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 Columnist Tom Kacich is a columnist and the author of Tom's Mailbag at The News-Gazette. His column appears Sundays. His email is tkacich@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@tkacich). One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021 MD Biosciences, Inc. Clinical and Diagnostic Services Laboratory announces the release of its rapid assay to detect the virus in human blood and urine samples. The nucleic acid test can be performed in a few hours in blood, plasma, serum or urine samples. The test is specific for the Zika virus and was shown not to cross react with other infectious viruses such as Dengue, West Nile or Chikunguya. The laboratory-developed test is available immediately. Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today The World Health Organization states that the spread of the mosquito-borne virus will grow explosively throughout the Americas. According to the CDC, the virus has also been shown to be transmitted through sexual contact. Upwards of four million infections are expected in the region. Close to 80% of infections are asymptomatic while others suffer from fever, rash, joint aches and other hallmarks. A steep increase in birth defects and Guillain-Barre syndrome has correlated to the spread of the virus. The explosive spread of the virus, along with major crowd and traveller-related events such as this year's Olympic Games in Brazil, have created the need for steps in fighting the virus, including the ability to rapidly and specifically identify the infection. Eddie Moradian, Chief Executive Officer at MD Biosciences states, "We are extremely proud of our CLIA diagnostics laboratory's ability to provide a reliable, accurate and rapid method of testing for Zika virus. This demonstrates our commitment in placing our expertise, knowledge and infrastructure for the betterment of health, in the US and throughout the world, whether through the development of more advanced diagnostics or by advancing newer, better and more efficient therapies." Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have discovered that the treatment of the most deadly form of blood cancer may be improved by combining two recently developed drugs. The combination of birinapant and p38 inhibitors showed promise in preclinical studies as a new treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Both drugs have been studied alone in clinical trials for treating cancer, offering hope that the combination could be safely given to people with AML who have few other treatment options. Dr Najoua Lalaoui, Professor John Silke and colleagues from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute made the discovery when searching for ways to enhance birinapant's anti-cancer effects. Their findings were published in the latest edition of the journal Cancer Cell. Dr Lalaoui said the team was excited to discover that the combination of p38 inhibitors and birinapant had a much stronger anti-cancer effect than either agent alone. "Both p38 inhibitors and birinapant have been safely used in humans in clinical trials," she said. "We are hopeful that the combination of these agents could be an effective anti-cancer treatment." AML causes around 850 deaths in Australia each year, more than any other type of blood cancer. Many people with AML respond poorly to treatment, with fewer than one-third surviving for five years after their diagnosis. Dr Lalaoui said that high-dose chemotherapy, the current treatment for people with AML, had many toxic side effects. "Our findings have made us hopeful that a combination of birinapant and a p38 inhibitor may be more effective in treating AML than current therapies, and also have less toxicity for patients," she said. "We tested forms of AML that are highly resistant to chemotherapy and found that birinapant and p38 inhibitors could even kill these cancer cells, which is great news." Professor Silke said the discovery was underpinned by two decades of research at the institute, mostly funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, into proteins called IAPs, which are targeted by birinapant. "We have had a long term interest in how IAPs function in healthy and diseased cells," he said. "Our research into how IAPs work made an important contribution to the initial development of birinapant as a specific IAP inhibitor. "Birinapant has been used in clinical trials for several types of cancers. Our latest research is part of an exciting next step, fine tuning how birinapant can be used in the clinic to enhance its anti-cancer effects," Professor Silke said. Birinapant is being developed by TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals Corporation based in Malvern, US. The research team worked closely with Pam, a community representative, through the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute's consumer-researcher buddy system. "The involvement of Pam in this project provided us with invaluable feedback and review, and opportunities to discuss our ideas with someone who has a personal experience of cancer," Dr Lalaoui said. Prof. John Oxford THOUGHT LEADERS SERIES ...insight from the worlds leading experts How much is currently known about the Zika virus? When was it first discovered? In short, not enough is known about the virus. It was first discovered by modern science in 1947/48 but it was around for thousands of years before that. WHO: Zika virus - Questions and answers (Q&A) Play It has been a bit of a black box until Zika re-emerged in 2007 in Southeast Asia. Prior to that it was moving around slowly in Africa. It is not known exactly why the virus re-emerged in 2007 but it is likely to be down to people movement. Is there conclusive evidence to support a causal link between microcephaly, Guillain-Barre syndrome and the Zika virus? The link between the Zika virus and Guillain-Barre on the one hand, and pregnancy and the virus affecting the fetus in terms of microcephaly on the other, is still not confirmed conclusively. However, there is clear evidence that the Zika virus can move across the placenta as the virus has been isolated from the brain of a fetus that was infected in utero. Why dont any vaccines currently exist? Vaccines are made by pharmaceutical companies, so they need to have a market. There are high costs attached to vaccine production on a large scale. Previously the Zika virus was not causing many problems in Africa as 98% who are infected have few symptoms and may not even know they have it. Consequently there didnt seem to be a need to produce a vaccine. However, since the evidence that Zika might cause microcephaly, there is a conceivable need to produce a vaccine. The last time we had a need like this was when I was first working in virology in the early 60s when 20,000 children in the US were infected with rubella that had crossed the placenta. This had a huge impact on society and sparked the development of the MMR vaccine. Realistically how long will it be before we have an approved Zika vaccine? South America are very experienced at making vaccines such as the yellow fever vaccine. They also have a big scientific infrastructure. Given this experience and the USs interest given their proximity, I think it will take 18 months to 2 years to create an approved Zika vaccine. Already people are starting to experiment but it will take time before they create one thats safe. Can the Zika virus spread from person to person? Yes it can, but very infrequently. The vast majority of people get the Zika virus from a mosquito bite. We know that 99.99% of people who get Zika get it from a bite from an Aedes aegypti mosquito. However, for about 5 days after you get bitten the virus multiplies in the blood so you could spread it to someone else if you exchange needles, if you donate blood or possibly even through sex. This is because Zika is not just in your blood but also your organs and bodily fluids. Whilst a vaccine is being developed, what control measures should be put in place? How important is the use of condoms in preventing the spread of Zika? Given the risks, it is sensible for men to use condoms to stop the spread of the virus. We have to act now. Contraception is an immediate thing we can do. For example, men going to the Olympics may pick up the virus so when they come back they should use condoms and if their partner is pregnant, use them for the duration of the pregnancy. How effective are mosquito control measures likely to be at preventing the spread of disease? Stopping mosquitoes is also extremely important. South America has experience of getting rid of these mosquitoes before when they were trying to get rid of yellow fever so hopefully they can do it again. It is difficult to get rid of them though as the Aedes aegypti feeds on five different people. The male is vegetarian, but the female needs a meal to give her a boost when reproducing. Female Aedes aegypti also feed throughout the day so people need to wear anti-mosquito repellents all day and think about nets. If a woman is pregnant, or thinking of becoming pregnant, she should consider postponing travel to South America at the moment and seek advice from authorities such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Can you please outline RBs Zika Relief Package? What impact do you think this will have? I was very impressed with the initiative. RB is a consumer health and hygiene company who have experience of providing support in disease outbreaks such as this. They have made a generous donation both in terms of kind and cash to the international efforts and they hope other companies will also join in the fight against the Zika virus. I suspect this will work and I hope it will do as there is a large need as the virus is afflicting the poorest parts of South America. What do you think the future holds for the spread of Zika? I think the future looks bleak from the virus point of view and its carrier as we will be using mosquito repellents, destroying the habitats where the females lay their eggs, killing the female mosquitoes and so forth. We will also be developing a vaccine, which can be done. Where can readers find more information? Im also in the process of finalizing the 5th edition of my textbook Human Virology, Oxford University Press. Here is the 4th edition: http://global.oup.com/uk/orc/medicine/collier4e/ About Professor John Oxford John Oxford is Emeritus Professor of Virology at Queen Marys School of Medicine and Dentistry. He is Founder of Retroscreen Virology Ltd and Oxford Media and Medicine Ltd. He has co-authored two standard texts: Influenza, the Viruses and the Disease with Sir Charles Stuart-Harris and G.C. Schild and most recently Human Virology, a Text for Students of Medicine, Dentistry and Microbiology with L. Collier and P. Kellam now in its fourth edition, published by Oxford University Press. Professor Oxford has also published 300 scientific papers. His research interest is the pathogenicity of influenza, in particular the origin and nature of 1918 Spanish Influenza strain, which he combines with conducting clinical trials using new influenza vaccines and antiviral drugs. This research has been featured on Science TV programmes recently in the UK, USA, Germany and Holland. He was awarded communicator for the year for the influenza pandemic by the Society of Applied Microbiology and top communicator by the Society of Journalists and placed amongst the 1000 most influential Londoners by the Independent and Evening Standard newspapers. He has recently been awarded a D.Sc for his research work on virology and as a science communicator, and elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (FRCPE). Red Hulk, Ronin, and more: 10 Heroes and Villains whose secret identities were hidden from readers There's a longstanding superhero tradition of hiding the identity of certain characters even from readers TOO MANY KILLERS The Commissioner was responding to the murder of prisons officer Fitzalbert Victor Jr, 36, of Prizgar Lands in Laventille, who was gunned down as he was washing his car at six oclock yesterday morning. Victor was last posted at the Port-of-Spain prison and investigators believe his murder was a hit ordered from behind bars. A sombre Commissioner Stewart said, there are just too many killers in Trinidad and Tobago and something needs to be done now. A prison officer has been murdered. My officers continue to operate under severe threat but remain committed to protecting society and reducing crime. For far too long officers have been killed and hunted down with impunity and it is time for decisive action to be taken. No longer can we continue in this way. The fear of my officers is real yet they continue to endeavour to secure the nations prisons and rehabilitate and prepare offenders for re-integration into society. The Commissioner said that the time for talk was over. I implore my officers to be extremely vigilant and cautious and act professionally in the execution of their duties. We are under attack! We have been for some time now and far too long. There are too many lawless, brainless killers roaming free. We call for justice. We demand decisive action now, he virtually screamed as his emotion got the better of him. Commissioner Stewart extended condolences to family, friends and loved ones of Victor and pointed out that counselling will be offered to his colleagues. Yesterday, a Prisons Service media release stated: How much longer will we continue to say farewell to good, honest officers while it appears these persons who are guilty of these cowardly and heinous acts continue to pick us off with apparent impunity? How much longer must we wait before the perpetrators of these dark dealings are brought to justice? I issue a call again, for the public to not look for misguided comfort in the general thinking (that has become the norm in times such as this) that this is just another rogue officer being given his just due. He was not! DILLON CONCERNED Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon strongly condemned the murder and expressed concern that, for the second time in five months, a Prisons Officer was targeted by criminals and executed. Both murders took place outsider the prisons officers respective homes in Laventille. On Monday November 2, Prisons Superintendent David Millette was gunned down. The Minister extended condolences to the family of fallen Victor and assured that his murder is receiving the full attention of law enforcement officials. Contacted for comment, President of the Prisons Officers Association (POA) Ceron Richards - who was preparing for an emergency meeting with his executive to discuss the killing of Victor - said he was extremely saddened by the incident. The Association is extremely frustrated and fed up and disturbed with regard to the continuous prevailing circumstances facing our prison officers over the years up until this time. Prisons officers continue to be threatened, attacked and even killed and nothing, absolutely nothing is being done by the State to treat with this situation, Richards said. We have called for an emergency meeting with the National Security Minister and we are anxiously awaiting to see how long it will take him to meet with the Prison Association to treat with the matter as urgently as the situation deserves, Richards concluded. Newsday understands that some colleagues of Victor yesterday complained of feeling of unwell and said they were unable to continue duties, claiming they too fear for their lives. Victor is the first prison officer to be murdered for the year thus far. Last year two prison officers were murdered, however figures revealed that for the past 25 years 18 prison officers have been murder Money woes lead to suicide pact Police said Ralph Boochoon, 41, died on Sunday at the San Fernando General Hospital while his common-law wife Yvonne Arjoon, a 42-year-old mother of two, remains warded in critical condition at the same hospital. A police report stated that at about 5 pm on Sunday, the womans mother Leela Arjoon, 65, discovered the couple in the living room of their Perth Avenue, Perseverance Village, Couva home. Both were sitting in chairs, frothing from the mouth while nearby on the ground was an open bottle of the deadly herbicide gramoxone (Paraquat). The couple earned a living by selling fruit at the Brechin Castle roundabout in Couva. I was upstairs when she called out to me. When I went downstairs they were sitting down next to each other in the living room. They were vomiting and he was not saying anything. The froth from his mouth and clothes was green and hers was white. My daughter kept calling out to him, but he was not responding, said a grieving Arjoon. The female victim, Newsday was told, has two teenaged children from a previous relationship and they live with their father. Boochoon, who was originally from Balmain in Couva, did not have any children. Recalling the horrific discovery, Arjoon noted that her daughter and son-in-law apparently, well planned this thing together. She recalled Boochoon telling her daughter, babes oh gosh, we worries will done just now. Nobody will come and kill us. The woman said that the couple owed several persons money and the fruit business was extremely slow. Persons constantly visited the house asking to see both Boochoon and Arjoon to enquire about payment of outstanding debt. She said that they could not take it anymore, the elderly Arjoon said. On discovering the couple frothing in the room, Arjoons mother raised an alarm and the couple was rushed to the Couva District Health Facility where Boochoon succumbed. Arjoon was transferred to the San Fernando General Hospital. Up to yesterday afternoon, relatives had not told Arjoon that her common-law husband was dead and instead, told her he was in another ward recovering, as they are fearful news of his death could affect her recovery. PC Labtiste of the Couva Police Station is continuing investigations. On May 16, 2008, Arjoons brother Saston DoolieArjoon, 29, shot and killed himself, hours after he shot and killed his girlfriend Sasha Ramsumair, 23. Reports are Saston, a fisherman, committed the act because Ramsumairs family objected to their relationship and demanded an end to it. I would not shame myself for $150,000 The minister denied a report that the transaction was $150,000 and gave four explanations for the unusual form the transaction took, namely: 1) money was received from her ill husband for the purpose of urgently paying the St Clair Medical and doctors in relation to unspecified treatment he underwent (and has since fully recovered from); 2) some money had been withdrawn from a savings account and were applied, in a lumpsum, to the part-payment of a mortgage at TTMF; 3) some money was also applied to a credit card; and 4) a clerical error resulted in her salary being placed at the wrong bank. FCB last night said it had not had time to review the Ministers statements but treated confidentially seriously and complied with laws relating to the declaration of funds. Yesterday morning, a Ministry spokesperson emailed the media stating, an urgent matter would be subject to a media conference at Level 20 of the Eric Williams Finance Building, which houses the Ministry, at 2pm. The media release gave no details of the nature of the conference. I have called this press conference, as I told you, to deal with a personal matter, Robinson-Regis said. She then recounted a sequence of events which began on February 28 when a reporter contacted her via Whatsapp with a list of questions in relation to a report that she had deposited $150,000 at First Citizens, Arima. MONEY WAS DECLARED The Minister said she replied to the query stating, I would like to indicate that the amount in question was $93,000 which represented my salary which had been deposited in Republic Bank from September to January. The money was declared using the source of funds form. And documents evidencing same sent from Republic. No big mystery. Need more info? The Minister said she further stated, They did ask me to do the source of funds and then contacted me to send a document from Republic, which I did and I wont sully my name for $150,000 or any amount for that matter. Robinson-Regis then told members of the media, Ladies and Gentlemen, since this is not the first time I have had to endure such blatant acts of maltreatment from the First Citizens Bank, where I have been a customer since the age of 18 years old, I have taken the decision to close all accounts that I have with First Citizens Bank. Clearly there is a clear breach of confidentiality and so I am taking this decision. Tomorrow morning (today) I will be going to the bank and closing all accounts that I have with First Citizens Bank because I cannot continue to be a customer or client with the bank because I fear that there may be a repetition of breach in confidentiality. The Minister continued, Personally I see today as a dark day, given what I have experienced with the bank, and in the circumstances I trust that citizens of Trinidad and Tobago would not be subjected to such unsavoury acts by this bank which ought to be the flagship financial institution in Trinidad and Tobago. Of the nature of the transaction, the Minister said, the question will probably be asked, well why were you depositing these funds from Republic into FCB? I was not depositing funds as such. What I did my husband (Fitz Regis) was ill. He gave me some money because we had to pay St Clair Medical. So we made cheques payable to St Clair Medical and to the doctors who were performing the surgery. Thank God the surgery was successful and he is more or less back to normal. The Minister further said, Additionally, I had been in contact with TTMF because I am paying the mortgage on my home and they told me I had 15 more years to pay the mortgage and I decided that since I had some savings I would take out the savings and put that money to paying part of the mortgage, paying a lumpsum to TTMF. So there is no mystery in this transaction. MINISTER VEX WITH FCB Though she alleged breach of confidentiality, the Minister said she understood the FCB had certain information in relation to other persons. I am really very disturbed that FCB, that, as far as I understand it, has other information on non-PNM politicians depositing large sums of money in their accounts, has taken it upon themselves to reveal a simple transaction that I made on a personal level and I am very disappointed in the State-owned bank, she said. Tomorrow I will be with the FCB and withdraw every single cent that I have with that bank. On whether the transaction was cash or not, the Minister said, Some of it was cash because the account I had with Republic the other account I have is a savings account. We needed to have access to the money right away because my husband was really going through a difficult time and we needed to pay the doctors and they would only take cheques. Some of it he gave me, I took from my account and some I had in the account. So we made cheques to various (entities) from Republic Bank and we also made cheques through FCB. FCB is the bank that I use to do my mortgage, but because of a clerical error at the Ministry they had been putting my salary in Republic Bank. And it is as simple as that. She added, It was, perhaps a little unusual, but he gave me his money and I took out some of my money all in cash. He was not well enough to go so I went to the bank with his money. It was not a deposit. It was not a transfer. It was money used to do a cheque or several cheques, some to St Clair Medical, some to the doctors who were doing the surgery, and some to TTMF, and I also put some money on my credit card. Asked how sure she was that a breach occurred at FCB, the Planning Minister said, I would say 100 per cent and this is also based on that previous encounter with FCB and that credit card. She added, It was just so wanting to get it done because his surgery was quite costly and he was suffering so I just wanted to get it done. I understand that. I guess if it was anything that I wanted to hide I would not have been so stupid but it was not anything that I thought about. The Minister further said, I have been working for a long time, so I am not exactly a pauper. I am not rich but I am certainly not going to make myself and my mother who is still alive shame for $150,000 and it was not even $150,000, and my husband and my children and Dr Rowley for that matter. On her husbands state now, she said, He is a lot better thank you so much for asking and the surgery was quite successful. She said her mother, Doris Robinson, will be 90 on June 18. I want her to live a little longer, Robinson-Regis said. In 2007, Robinson-Regis was accused of mis-use of a State credit-card. She was not selected, that year, by former Prime Minister Patrick Manning to contest a seat in that years election. Prisons Officers blame Govt for murder He spoke at a press conference at the Associations head office in Arouca, hours after Prisons Officer Fitzalbert Victor Jr, was shot dead outside his Laventille home. Richards said the governments inaction with regard to ensuring prisons officers safety, ultimately led to Victor Jrs demise. How long can we endure this situation, Richards asked. We have in the Commonwealth, the highest number of prisons officer killings. We also have the worst response or should I say no response to these killings. We are a very important arm of the State which is consistently under attack from the criminal elements and there has been no response coming from the State at all. Had meaningful action been taken before, we would not have had cause to be at this conference today. I am saying that the government has failed us! Continues to fail us! And we have no confidence in any administration not doing right by this organisation, Richards said. Richards revealed that in the past two decades, 18 prison officers have been killed. He said the murder of Victor Jr could very well have been a hit ordered from behind prison walls. Asked why anyone would want to kill the prison officer, reporters were told that simply applying for the prison service automatically makes one a target. What he did was come to YTC when they sent the ad in the papers, said Gerard Gordon, General Secretary of the Association. He presented himself to serve his country in the Prisons Service. It makes you, immediately, a target and that is the fact. Gordon said the killing of prisons officers was an attack on those who stand as the last line of defence between prisoners and free society. Richards once again made a public call for a legislative agenda to treat with issues of safety for law enforcement officers, an allotment of safe housing for prison officers and a discussion on policy in the prison service that wou ld treat with safety of prison officers. Previously, there have been calls for firearms to be issued to off-duty prisons officers Get the news faster. Tap to install our app. Access Newser even faster. Click here to install our app on your desktop. X (Newser) Nearly 50 years after he was mysteriously found dead in a bath tub, two new films are helping to put Germany's first Nazi hunter Fritz Bauer "back where he belongs: in the collective consciousness," reports Munich daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, via AFP. Both Labyrinth of Lies by Giulio Ricciarelli and The People vs. Fritz Bauer by Lars Kraume portray the state prosecutor from Stuttgart as a controversial figure in the post-war yearshe was Jewish, atheist, and gay, and he wanted those who worked in death camps brought to justice at a time when many Germans wanted to forget or ignore the horrors of the Nazi regime, reports AFP. And though his 1968 death looked like suicide, it remains a topic of debate to this day. "My guess is that until now the Germans did not want to honor a person who pointed so openly to their incompetence in dealing with their Nazi past," says the author of a Bauer book. Bauer tipped off Israel that Adolf Eichmann was hiding in Argentina; the Mossad swooped in and kidnapped him in 1960 and he was executed in Israel in 1962. A year later he brought the Nazis who ran Auschwitz to court for the first time in Germany, fueled in part by the nine months he spent in a concentration camp in 1933 just a few years after becoming Germany's youngest judge at 27, reports the Independent. He received hate mail and death threats and is said to have once told a colleague: "As soon as I leave the confines of my office, I am on enemy territory." The Independent calls it a "belated triumph" that half a century later reunited Germany is trying to track down the remaining Holocaust perpetrators, using Bauer's own logic that working in death camps equates complicity in murder. (This is what Eichmann wrote two days before he was hanged.) (Newser) NPR has lost one of its most familiar voices. Craig Windham, an award-winning reporter who anchored newscasts and covered a variety of subjects, died Sunday of a pulmonary embolism at age 66, NPR reports. He apparently had ongoing health issues and was visiting North Carolina to see his brother when he died in Winston-Salem, Current reports. "Craig touched so many lives," says NPR Newscast executive producer Robert Garcia. "His beautiful writing, his use of sound, his calm, steady, gorgeous deliveryall marked the work of a caring journalist who loved nothing more than telling a good story, adding the texture that took you there, and leaving every listener invested in some waymoved or informed." Before joining NPR, Windham reported on natural disasters, the first Persian Gulf War, and presidential campaigns for Unistar/RKO radio networks, according to his NPR bio page. At NPR he was on daily newscasts of Morning Edition and All Things Considered. When he wasn't reporting, Windham worked in his church and helped young people in overseas mission trips, youth programs, and his own business counseling adolescents. He had a Ph.D. in counseling from George Washington University. "In numerous national speaking engagements, Craig had established himself as one of the leaders in the counseling field in the United States," Garcia says. (Read more reporter stories.) (Newser) Comedian Katt Williams was arrested Monday on a battery charge in Georgia after a store employee told police that Williams punched him during an argument. Gainesville police officers responded to an assault call at a pool supply store around 11:30am and found Williams outside "lying on the ground with his hands behind his back as though he was ready to go to jail," a police spokesman says. A store employee told officers Williams, who was in the store with two women, began arguing with the employee and threw a pair of goggles at him before going behind the counter and punching the employee at least once. The cause of the argument wasn't immediately clear, the AP reports. When officers tried to question Williams, he told them to ask the store employee what happened. A Hall County sheriff's deputy says Williams faces a misdemeanor battery charge and is being held on $5,000 bond. Williams, 44, has starred in comedy specials and appeared in films, including Friday After Next. (Read more Georgia stories.) (Newser) Fishermen spotted a yacht with a broken mast drifting near the Philippines on Feb. 26 and discovered the owner inside, but the story doesn't have a happy ending. Manfred Fritz Bajorat, 59, was slumped beside the ship's radio telephone, long dead and apparently mummified by the ocean's hot temperatures and salty, dry winds, the Mirror reports. What police found pointed to a life of adventure and a marriage that collapsed along the way. What isn't clear is how or when Bajorat died: "It is still a mystery to us," a detective on Mindanao Island tells the Telegraph. Police say there's no evidence of another person on board and no weapon was in the partly flooded cabin. Neither was Bajorat's wallet, but expensive items like a GPS system were still on board the $180,000 yacht, Australia's News Network reports. A doctor suggests he might have died suddenly of a heart attack. Documentation and recovered photos helped authorities identify Bajorat, a German adventurer who began sailing the world with his wife, Claudia, 20 years ago, the Independent reports. Photos of them picnicking and visiting the Arc de Triomphe in Paris indicate a carefree life, but they split in 2008 and Claudia died of cancer two years later. "Thirty years we've been together on the same path," wrote Bajorat in an online tribute. "Then the power of the demons was stronger than the will to live." Bajorat continued sailing between the Pacific and Europe, and his final position indicates he might have been seeking help by radio. "He was a very experienced sailor," says a fellow seaman. "I don't believe he would have sailed into a storm. I believe the mast broke after Manfred was already dead." An autopsy is pending. (Japanese cab drivers reported "ghost passengers" after the tsunami.) (Newser) A judge in New York has handed Apple a major victory in its encryption battle with the federal government. In a case involving the locked iPhone of a suspected drug trafficker , the judge ruled that the government can't use the 1789 All Writs Act to force Apple to weaken its security measures and create a way for investigators to access the phone, Gizmodo reports. The government is trying to use the act in a way so far-reaching that it would "produce impermissibly absurd results," New York Magistrate Judge James Orenstein wrote, noting that the government is clearly trying to obtain "crypto-legislative authority" in the courts "rather than taking the chance that open legislative debate might produce a result less to its liking." The government is also trying to force Apple to unlock the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook. The two cases are unrelated and the New York ruling will have no bearing on the California one, but Apple believes the new decision adds weight to its position ahead of a congressional Judiciary Committee hearing on the Farook case Tuesday, the BBC reports. TechCrunch reports that in his opening statement, Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell will argue that strong encryption is a good and necessary thing, and that weakening it will "only hurt consumers and other well-meaning users who rely on companies like Apple to protect their personal information." He plans to say that the FBI's request will set a "dangerous precedent" that will make all iPhones less secure. (Read more Apple stories.) (Newser) When police officers boarded a rented fishing boat adrift off Florida's Boynton Beach on March 31 of last year, they probably feared the worst. There was "what appeared to be smeared blood in various locations on the boat," which had been rented by banker Richard Ohrn, along with Ohrn's wallet, cellphone, and the keys to his truck, found parked at a marina 15 miles south in Deerfield Beach, investigators say. The Coast Guard spent $400,000 on aircraft expenses alone as it searched for the missing man, to no avail, reports the Sun Sentinel. But odd tidbits started to surface: A marine repair shop had recently repaired an outboard motor for Ohrn, who also purchased an inflatable boat, gas tank, and fuel line, police say. He was also facing a $400,000 lawsuit and accused of stealing money from clients, per the Palm Beach Post. On April 12, Ohrn called police and admitted to "planning and carrying out his disappearance to escape legal issues," authorities say. After staging the accident scene on the fishing boat, Ohrn got back to shore in his inflatable boat, then hopped in a truck he'd bought weeks earlier to drive to Georgia and hide out in a rented house, police say. Following a grand jury indictment on Thursday, Ohrn, 45, now faces a felony charge of communicating false distress, which forced the Coast Guard to search 3,100 square miles of ocean. He remains in jail. "Whatever his punishment is, hopefully he learns his lesson and becomes a better person," Ohrn's mom told the Sun Sentinel last year. (This guy surfaced years after his "cremation.") (Newser) Canada's immigration minister said Monday the country has reached a significant milestone with the arrival of 25,000 Syrian refugees. Immigration Minister John McCallum said work continues to integrate the Syrians into the community. McCallum was at Toronto's Pearson airport as the last two government-arranged refugee flights were arriving as part of the Liberals' $501 million plan. The refugee resettlement program was launched in November, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power and promised to bring in 25,000 government-sponsored refugees by the end of 2015 amid an intense debate in the West over what to do with people fleeing violence in the Middle East. Trudeau later pushed back the date by two months. Canada's commitment reflects the change in government after October's election. The previous Conservative government declined to resettle more Syrian refugees, despite the haunting image of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian boy washed up on a Turkish beach. The boy had relatives in Canada, and the refugee crisis became a major campaign issue. McCallum previously said he hopes to bring in between 35,000 and 50,000 Syrian refuges by the end of the year. In the United States, the Obama administration plans to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees. But several Republican governors have tried to stop the arrival of Syrian refugees in their states in the wake of the deadly attacks in Paris and California. (Read more Syrian refugees stories.) (Newser) After Chicago suffered its deadliest January in at least 16 years, two deaths in separate shootings over the weekend brought this year's homicide total to 95, giving the city its deadliest start to a year in almost two decades. The same number of homicides was recorded in January and February of 1999; the most recent higher tally came in 1997, when the city saw 101 homicides in the first two months of the year, reports the Chicago Tribune. There were just 48 homicides reported at this time last year, per WLS. This year's violent deathsincluding two alleged robbers killed by a shop ownernumber 102, up from 52 at this time in 2015. Police blame gang violence. (Read more Chicago stories.) (Newser) Phoenix police are investigating a potentially volatile case: one that involves reports of a fetus briefly surviving an abortion. Police confirmed the investigation after anti-abortion protesters staged a vigil for the fetus over the weekend, though authorities have offered no confirmation that the fetus spent any period of time alive outside the womb, reports the Arizona Republic. Much about the case is unclear, but some of the facts are known: The Phoenix Fire Department responded to a medical call on Friday at a building where abortion provider Family Planning Associates operates. "Someone present there believed there was movement, or might have been movement," says Sgt. Trent Crump. A fetus was taken to the hospital, but it had "no fetal heart tones" and was pronounced dead upon arrival, say police. State law forbids abortions after a fetus could survive on its own outside the womb, about 22 to 24 weeks, and Crump says the procedure appears to have taken place within the legal time frame. The local Medical Examiner's Office opted not to conduct an autopsy. Protesters say they heard of the case through a 911 dispatcher and gathered Saturday night at Banner-University Medical Centerthe group Pro-Life Arizona has photos of the scenewhere the fetus was transported. (Read more abortion stories.) (Newser) "Boy, were we wrong." So starts an "unendorsement" from publisher Joseph W. McQuaid in Monday's New Hampshire Union Leader. The paper endorsed Chris Christie in the state primary back in November, with McQuaid touting him as "a solid, pro-life conservative" who "tells it like it is" based on experience and "won't get rolled by the bureaucrats." Christie's endorsement of Trump on Fridaythough McQuaid says the New Jersey governor told the paper he would never endorse him"demonstrated how wrong we were," McQuaid says. "We thought that as a Republican governor in a Democratic-leading state he had the skills and experience the presidency needs," McQuaid writes. "We also thought he had the best chance to take on and face down Donald Trump," whom McQuaid has, um, strongly criticized in the past. Instead, Christie chose to cave to the bully and "rejected the very principles of his campaign that attracted our support," McQuaid says, adding his hope that Trump fans will soon "wake up." His full piece is here, or you can read McQuaid's thoughts on Trump here. (Read more Chris Christie stories.) (Newser) Osama bin Laden set aside money for his relatives, but the majority of his fortuneincluding $29 million in Sudanwas to be spent "on jihad, for the sake of Allah," according to his just-released will. The handwritten document was one of hundreds seized during the 2011 raid that killed the al-Qaeda leader and not the only one that shows he believed his death could be imminent, reports the AP. "If I am to be killed, pray for me a lot and give continuous charities in my name, as I will be in great need for support to reach the permanent home," he wrote in a 2008 letter to his father, released Tuesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Some of the 112 other documents show al-Qaeda was struggling to find competent leaders and resources and was becoming increasingly paranoid, reports Reuters. In one letter, bin Laden warns aides that a suitcase carrying a ransom payment may have a tracking chip. (He was suspicious of dentists for similar reasons.) In another, he tells aides not to leave their home in Pakistan "except on a cloudy overcast day," suggesting he was afraid of US drones. Yet another describes how the terrorist group executed four alleged spies only to discover they were likely innocent, officials say. Still, bin Laden's commitment to global jihad never faltered. "We need to extend and develop our operations in America and not keep it limited to blowing up airplanes," he apparently wrote to an aide in Yemen. One of the more peculiar reads comes via an application for new recruits. "Who should we contact in case you become a martyr?" one question reads, per the New York Times. More documents are to be released later this year. (Read more Osama bin Laden stories.) A nanny has been arrested on Monday after she was seen waving a severed child's head around right outside of a Moscow subway station in Russia. Witnesses claimed that the woman, who has been identified as Uzbekistan native, Gulchekhra Bobokulova, 38, by the Interfax news agency, had shouted "Allahu Akbar" and threatened to "blow everyone up." She did not have any explosives on her, the authorities stated. Dozhd TV reported, via Yahoo News that Bobokulova was holding the head of the young girl by her hair as she paced around in front of Oktyabrskoye Pole station. "I saw that it was indeed a head," witness Alyona Kuratova had said to Dozhd TV. "The woman was going back and forth. She yelled something." "I was on my way to the metro station from home," reporter Polina Nikolskaya told Reuters. "She was standing near the metro entrance and caught my attention because she was screaming Allahu Akbar. I saw that she had a bloodied head in her arms, but I thought it was not real. People in the crowd said it was real." Reuters added that Lifenews.ru has uploaded video of Bobokulova. The video reportedly shows the woman wandering around with the child's head, which she had taken out of her bag after being approached by a policeman who wanted to check her papers. Bobokulova, who was reportedly the caretaker of the girl, had claimed that she murdered the child, whose body was found in an apartment near the station. Interfax stated that the apartment was set on fire. The Investigative Committee's statement read: "According to preliminary information, the child's nanny -- a native of one of the Central Asian countries, born in 1977 -- waited until the parents left the apartment with their elder child and, guided by unknown motives, killed the little one, set the apartment on fire and left the scene." It continued, "Given the clearly deranged behavior of the detainee, investigators swiftly ordered her to undergo psychiatric tests to establish whether she is capable of understanding the significance of her actions." Bobokulova has been charged with the murder of the child and will undergo a psychiatric evaluation. The authorities believe that the girl was three or four-years-old. The United States has advised Iraqi citizens to be prepared to leave the country if the Mosul dam, which is the largest hydro-electric dam in the country, collapses. "We have no specific information that indicates when a breach might occur, but out of an abundance of caution, we would like to underscore that prompt evacuation offers the most effective tool to save lives of the hundreds of thousands of people," the security message said. According to the U.S. estimates, reported by Reuters, if the dam breaks, as much as 70 feet of water could engulf Mosul, one of Iraq's largest cities that is currently under the control of the Islamic State, within the first few hours. After 24 to 72 hours, cities that are located downstream of the Tigris River, which include Iraq's capital, Baghdad, could also be affected. The U.S. Embassy reported that 500,000 to 1.47 million people live by the river. "Proper preparation could save many lives," the embassy said reported by CNN. Contrary to the U.S, the Iraqi government's warning was less extreme. In a statement released Sunday, the government informed citizens who live along the Tigris River to move at least 3.7 miles away from the banks. The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stated that the chances that a scenario described by the U.S. could occur are "extremely small." The country's minister of water resources had said earlier this month that the likelihood of the dam collapsing was "one in a thousand." An Italian construction company is currently under contract to make repairs to the dam. The dam is under the control of the Iraqi government. ISIS, another term for the Islamic State, had seized control of the dam for a very short period of time in August 2014. The extremist militant group, ISIS, publicly announced that it was responsible for a series of explosions in Iraq's capital city of Baghdad resulting to dozens of people dead amid an ongoing challenge to the country's fragile coalition government composed of fractious alliances and sect rivalries. Previously, ISIS managed to carve out vast swathes of territories in Iraq's unruly provinces until repulsed by multinational offensives. However, the blasts indicate that the attacks of the radical jihadist are unlikely to stop any time sooner. According to a Reuters report, two suicide bombers were riding motorcycles while forcing themselves into heavily Shi'ite crowded mobile phone market in Sadr City where the two attackers blew themselves up. The resulting blast killed at least 70 people and injuring 100 more. People residing in the mainly Shi'ite neighborhood wondered how Sunni extremists managed to breach security. "It's a Shia-majority area that is subject to heavy security measures, but as we can see those measures aren't quite enough to stop such attacks from happening," observed Al Jazeera's Waleed Ibrahim in his coverage of the Baghdad attacks. Some pundits view that as ISIS keeps on losing occupied areas due to Kurdish offensives and air raids from US and Russia, the organization may likely resort to deploying its operatives in crowded regions populated mostly by Iraqi Shi'ites. Furthermore, corruption is likely to make matters worse. Security analysts are tying terrorism to a cocktail of corrupt practices and behavior in government. "I think it's a cocktail of corruption, low-levels of investment in security and continuing political incompetence that has led to these continued bombings, unfortunately," said Jordan Perry of Verisk Maplecroft as cited by Newsweek. Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Mainly cloudy with snow showers around this evening. Low 26F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 80%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.. Tonight Mainly cloudy with snow showers around this evening. Low 26F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 80%. Snow accumulations less than one inch. Greece: Hundreds of refugees today tried to break through a border fence into Macedonia from Greece where more than 6,000 people are stranded, as Germany lashed out at EU states for abandoning Greece to refugee chaos. Macedonian police fired tear gas as a group of some 300 Iraqi and Syrian protesters forced their way through a Greek police cordon and raced towards a railway track where they tried to get through the barbed wire marking the frontier between the two countries, an AFP correspondent said. Open the borders! they shouted, prompting police to fire volleys of tear gas which prevented them from crossing. The angry protest took place several hours after Macedonia allowed some 300 Syrians and Iraqis to cross before resealing the frontier, keeping thousands of others out. With Austria and Balkan states capping the numbers of migrants entering their territory, there has been a swift buildup along the Greece-Macedonia border with Athens warning that the number of people trapped on its soil could reach as many as 70,000 by next month. As the bottleneck showed little sign of easing, German Chancellor Angel Merkel lashed out at a raft of restrictions imposed by Austria and the Balkan states, saying they risked plunging debt-ridden Greece into refugee chaos. We cant just abandon this country, she said in an interview late yesterday, pointing the finger at Austria, whose introduction of restrictions on February 19 triggered a domino effect. When one insists on his border, the other suffers. Thats not my Europe. On the ground, thousands continued to mass at the Idomeni crossing in the hope it would be opened after a day of protests in which scores of people lay down on the railway tracks, among them women and children, some holding slogans reading Open borders and We are humans, not animals. Macedonia had allowed in another group of 300 on Saturday night, Greek police said. The build-up at Idomeni camp, which can accomodate up to 1,500 people but is currently sheltering more than 6,000, began in earnest last week after Macedonia began refusing entry to Afghans and imposed stricter controls on Syrians and Iraqis. EU members Slovenia and Croatia quickly followed suit along with Serbia, with all four states imposing a daily limit of 580 migrants. The spate of border closures was sparked by Austrias announcement it would accept no more than 80 asylum claims per day and cap the numbers of those seeking to cross its territory, in a move Merkel said was responsible for the current buildup. Because Austria decided on a limit of 80 per day, and not one more, we have reached todays situation, she said in a TV interview with public broadcaster ARD late yesterday, saying the move and the subsequent border restrictions in the Balkans had left Greece in the lurch. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Los Angeles: An accident report filed with Californias Department of Motor Vehicles says a self-driving car being tested by Google collided with a public bus on Valentines Day. The report was written by Google, which has been testing two dozen Lexus SUVs outfitted with sensors and cameras near the tech firms Silicon Valley headquarters. It was posted today on the DMV website. Google wrote that its car was trying to get around some sandbags on a street when its left front struck the bus right side. The car was going 2 mph (3 kph), the bus 15 mph. No one was injured. Google said its cars safety driver thought the bus would yield. The report does not address fault. A DMV spokeswoman said the agency hoped to speak with Google on Monday. New Delhi: All eyes were on the Union Budget 2016 on Monday. Discussions, debate, reactions all done. Now, all eyes will be on Parliament on Tuesday as chaos is likely over the Smriti Irani issue. It is most likely that the Opposition will target the Education Minister in both Houses over her statements on Hyderabad Central University student Rohith Vemulas death and the JNU row. Congress leaders on Tuesday morning moved privilege motion against Smriti Irani in the Lok Sabha, accusing that she misled the Parliament. READ: Emotional Smriti Irani counters Opposition in Parliament over Rohith Vemula suicide Iranis statements were praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who congratulated her on Twitter. However, Rohith's family said her claim that "nobody allowed a doctor near his body" was a set of "absolute lies". The Dalit student had committed suicide on January 17, days after he was banned from entering certain areas in the college campus. WATCH: What 'Mahishasur row' is all about? For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government was accused of being confined to top industrial houses and was also branded as "suit-boot ki sarkar" by Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi. "Why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi seen with industrialists and the well-heeled all the time? He has no time for the poor and the country's farmers," he had said. The BJP paid a political price for ignoring the concerns of the poor and the farmer when it lost Delhi and Bihar assembly elections. Because a big chunk of the voters belonged to rural areas. To counter this tag, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Modi governments third budget, which is clearly focussed towards farmers and poor. But why did the government ignored the farmers and the rural India for two years? Why a sudden shift in focus? Many would raise such questions and may even suggest that it may all be done keeping in mind the elections. The two sections werent a major part of the governments plan for the economic revival of the country. Instead, it involved big investments, multi-dollar projects and making India a destination that attracts foreign money, while the farmers suffered. With a kind of budget presented, it looks like the government has now understood that without a happy and moralised rural populace, its politics and economy agenda will not be viable. The Opposition had managed to create the governments image as anti-farmer. And hence, the government was desperate to break free from this image. The government now seems to be concerned about the upcoming assembly polls in some states as it has already suffered big political losses. Even the Prime Minister has been raising farmers issues over the last few months. Below are the highlights of the Budget, which seems to be aimed at wooing the rural India, presented by Finance Minister: Rs 35, 984 crore for welfare of farmers Rs 20,000 crore for irrigation Rs 5,500 crore for Prime Minister's Fasal Bima Yojana Allocation for Krishi Sinchai Yojana Soil health cards for 14,000 farms this year Well, it is yet to be seen how the Governments plans will be executed on ground level. Only time will tell! New Delhi: Government will reach out to the Congress in the current session of Parliament to resolve the deadlock over the GST bill, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today. As far as GST is concerned, every political party claims to be in favour of it. The Congress party had put some conditions. I think one condition still remains there. I will try to talk to them in the remaining of the Budget session of Parliament, and try to move ahead with the GST bill, Jaitley said in a post budget Hackathon. Jaitley said the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) is the need of the hour and it has the capability to strengthen the Indian economy. It is simple, will help in expansion of revenue, states will get benefit out of it, business will have ease and it will facilitate seamless transfer of goods and services. GST will help in making the whole country in one single market, it means one-sixth of world market is one market. You wont get a bigger market than this elsewhere, Jaitley said. Bihar: In a bizarre and shocking incident, candidates were made to sit in underwear for the Army recruitment exam in Bihar's Muzaffarpur District. They were asked to do so reportedly in a bid to prevent any cheating, reports said. According to report, more than 1,150 aspirants sat on an open ground (Chakkar Maidan) in Muzaffarpur on Sunday, shockingly only wearing their underwears. Around 775 candidates appeared for the general duty category, 211 for clerical and 173 in technical category. They were not even provided a desk to write the exam. "We had no option but to comply with the instructions even though it felt odd," a candidate was quoted as saying by a national daily. Meanwhile, after the images were circulated across the media, the Defence Ministry has reportedly asked Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhaag to explain. For all the Latest Viral News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Mirpur: Hosts Bangladesh were today dealt a telling blow as their strike bowler Mustafizur Rahman was ruled out of the Asia Cup due to a Grade I side strain sustained during the home teams win against Sri Lanka. Bangladesh pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman has suffered a side strain and will not play any further part in the Micromax Asia Cup T20, a BCB release stated. A Grade I side strain can also make him a doubtful starter for Bangladeshs World T20 qualifying round matches against the Netherlands and the Ireland in Dharamsala. Team physio Bayjedul Islam Khan: Mustafiz complained of discomfort after Sundays match against Sri Lanka. An MRI scan was done today and the report from the radiologist confirmed a Grade-1 side strain on the right. He is under conservative treatment and rest for next 48 hours. Following that the rehab will begin. We are expecting that he will make a quick recovery and resume bowling soon. Opening batsman Tamim Iqbal will replace Mustafiz in the Asia Cup squad. Tamim was not in the original squad as he took leave because of the birth of his first child. New Delhi: A Delhi court on Tuesday sent JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya to 14-day judicial custody in a sedition case. The duo had allegedly organised the event in JNU on February 9 where anti-India slogans were raised, after police contended that they were required for further probe in the case to unearth the larger conspiracy. The police has claimed that around 22 people present at the flashpoint JNU event, including some outsiders, have been identified after the joint interrogation of Khalid, Anirban and JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar arrested in the same case. Khalid and Anirban are in police remand since their surrender and subsequent arrest on February 24. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Saudi Arabia as part of his three-nation trip from March 30 during which he will also visit Washington to attend Nuclear Security Summit, where his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif is also scheduled to be present. Starting his visit with Belgium on March 30 for India-EU Summit, Modi will travel to Washington for NSS from March 31 before his two-day bilateral visit from April 2 to Saudi Arabia, one of the most powerful Arab countries, where he will hold talks with the Saudi leadership on key regional and bilateral issues, including trade and energy. His visit, which comes nearly six years after last Prime Ministerial visit to Riyadh, assumes significance given the current regional situation and strained ties between SA and Iran, another strategically important country for India . Apart from being Indias largest supplier of crude oil, accounting for almost one fifth of its need, it is also Indias fourth largest trading partner. Saudi Arabia has the largest Indian diaspora. The Prime Ministers visit to SA will be preceded by a trip to Washington for NSS, which will be attended by leaders from nearly 50 countries, including Pakistans Sharif. While officials are tight-lipped about a possible interaction between Modi and Sharif on the sidelines of the event, experts feel that given both the leaders have held impromptu meetings in the recent pastbe it in Paris or Lahoreit will be difficult for them to avoid each other completely. This would be the first time after Modis unannounced and brief visit to Lahore on December 25 that the two leaders will be at the same place. Since then, the Pathankot terror attack has happened which has delayed the Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level talks, scheduled to take place in early January after the two countries announced resumption of comprehensive talks during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swarajs visit to Islamabad in December last. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi : If you have seen news reports of Google bragging about its self driving car, don't worry there is an Indian who has accompalished similer goals. The car developed by a Kerala man has all the usual functions, but an additional unique one - it can drive itself. You read that right! It's a self-driving car. The car is designed by Roshy John, Practice Head at Tata Consultancy Services who has been the technology for the past 5 years now. And, you will be surprised to know that he devised the technology on sister company's product Tata Nano. According to John, "Tata Nano is the cheapest automobile in the world and its rear-engined layout allows me to place an array of sensors in the front of the vehicle." "It's a cute little car. I mounted cameras on real vehicles and made it drive on (sic) real cities to which would help us to tune the algorithm to make it work in real time," John explains in his YouTube video. New Delhi : CBI Director Anil Sinha today refused to be drawn into the issue of American-Pakistani terrorist David Headleys recent testimony in 26/11 case that Ishrat Jahan was an LeT terrorist, saying the matter is subjudice. He noted that the agency has already submitted the chargesheet in the alleged fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan. The matter is sub-judice. We have already submitted charge sheet in the case. Hence I would not like to comment anything on this, Sinha, who was in Mumbai for inauguration of the new CBI office in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), said. He was asked by media persons if the revelation made by Headley before a special court here last month that Ishrat Jahan was an operative of banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) would have any impact on the case. Headley revealed this while deposing before a special court here, which is conducting trial against alleged LeT operative Abu Jundal in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case. Headley told the court that LeT leader Zaki-ur-Rehman had told him about Muzammil Butts botched up operation in India. It was some shootout with the police. I dont know which part in India. But there was one female who was killed in the shootout, Headley said. Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam then said, If I give you three names will you be able to point out who was the female who was killed?. To this Headley replied yes. Nikam then said, Was it Noorjahan Begum, Ishrat Jahan or Mumtaz. Headley then said, I think it is the second one. Headley had added that Ishrat was an Indian national. Ishrat, 19, was killed along with Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai from Kerala, and two alleged Pakistanis Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana on June 15, 2004 on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. The encounter team was led by D G Vanzara, who was then Deputy Commissioner of Police in Ahmedabad Crime Branch. The CBI, which was handed over the probe later, filed a chargesheet in 2013 against seven police officers and observed that it was a fake encounter. Currently, all the seven officers are out on bail. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi : Union Minister Ram Shankar Katheria was today pilloried by opposition parties for his alleged hate speech at a condolence meet for a VHP leader in Agra over which police lodged an FIR against three people for allegedly making inflammatory comments but he was not named. The Samajwadi Party(SP) demanded that Katheria be sacked, alleging that his remarks were aanti-nationala while Congress alleged it showed that BJP and RSS resorted to divisive agenda, especially ahead of elections. Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, said the real agenda of the NDA government is being aexposeda. As a group of social activists held a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against the alleged hate speeches of Katheria and fellow BJP MP Babu Lal, the junior HRD minister claimed he did not name any community at the Sunday meeting.A Lal remained unapologetic and said Hindus cannot watch silently when they are being targeted. aWhat has been published in one of the newspapers is false. I had not taken the name of any community. I had said that the culprits, who had murdered the VHP leader, should be given death sentence. I had also said that the Hindu community should unite for their safety,a Katheria said. aI never said anything against anyone at that meeting,a Katheria said. Katheria also ticked off saffron leader Sadhvi Prachi for her alleged inflammatory remarks at the meeting, saying she should not have made such comments. aAn FIR has been lodged against Prashant Chaudhary, Ashok Lavania and Kunduka Sharma at Loha Mandi police station in Agra,a IG (Law and Order) Bhagwan Swaroop told reporters in Lucknow. Asked whether the three belonged to BJP or VHP, Swaroop said he did not have any information in this regard. He said Katheriaas name was not in the FIR lodged by the concerned sub-inspector Anil Kumar. Katheria, who represents the Agra Lok Sabha constituency, along with Lal, an MP from Fatehpur Sikri, had attended a condolence meeting held for VHP leader Arun Mahaur, who was allegedly killed by some youths from another community in Agra on Thursday. aThey speak whenever elections are nearing. They talk about dividing the country and not uniting. If they continue to speak like this, there will be repercussions across the country. Today we are raising this issue because Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh are silent on this issue,a Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, a senior Congress leader from Uttar Pradesh, alleged that the inflammatory speeches at the condolence meeting was a adefinite designa to create communal tension in Agra because the BJP was making attempts to divide the society avertically on communal linesa in western UP.A Assembly elections in UP are due next year. BJP spokesperson Shrikant Sharma said the Minister has clarified his remarks. aKatheria has made it clear in his statement that he has said nothing wrong. And after this clarification, there is nothing to comment on.a Union Minister Kalraj Mishra said the atragica murder of the VHP leader highlighted the poor law and order situation there but cautioned against areactions which trigger violence and unresta. Minister refuses to apologise Facing flak over their alleged inflammatory speeches, Union Minister Ram Shankar Katheria today claimed he did not name any community while another BJP MP Babu Lal remained unapologetic and asked if Hindus should watch silently when they are being targeted. aTell me if we donat take revenge, should we worship them instead? Is the community only meant to worship others while the other communities come and shoot us down,a BJP MP from Fatehpur Sikri Babu Lal said. Katheria, who is Minister of State for HRD, and Babu Lal had made the controversial speeches at a condolence meeting held in Agra on Sunday for VHP leader Arun Mahaur, who was killed allegedly by some youths from another community on Thursday. At the meeting, Katheria had said: aThis conspiracy that is being hatched against the Hindu community, we have to be be alert to recognize it and strengthen ourselves. We will have to fight it because if we do not do it now, today we have lost one Arun, tomorrow it could be another Arun...the killers should also go, we have to set such an examplea. Asked about his remarks, the Minister today said, aWhat has been published in one of the newspapers is false. I had not taken the name of any community. I had said that the culprits, who had murdered the VHP leader, should be given death sentence. I had also said that the Hindu community should unite for their safety. I will send a notice to the newspaper.a Addressing the gathering, Babu Lal had said, aIf the Muslims have something in their mind, then draw a line and you will see the strength of the Hindu communitya. The BJP MP today justified his remarks and demanded that Uttar Pradesh government take action to rein in such elements so that similar incidents do not recur. He claimed that the VHP leader had lodged a police complaint that he was receiving death threats and his store was also set blaze. aWhen such an incident will take place, will the Hindu community sit and watch the drama, will it not take action...A then such incidents will keep on happening,a Lal said. Opposition parties reacted sharply to the remarks by BJP leaders with Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge alleging that BJP and RSS had plans to divide the country. aThey speak whenever elections are nearing. They talk about dividing the country and not uniting. If they continue to speak like this, there will be repercussions across the country. Today we are raising this issue because Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh are silent on this issue,a he said. Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, said that he is not surprised by the remarks of the Union Minister. aThis has been the continuous, consistent and obnoxious behavior by the Modi government. I am sure that no action will be taken,a he said. Owaisi added that this awas good because the real agenda of the government is being exposeda. aTheir real agenda is to promote Hinduvta. A Minister speaking such language clearly shows that he went to Agra not for condolence meeting but to create communal mayhem there,a Owaisi said. BJP spokesperson Shrikant Sharma said the Minister has clarified his remarks. aKatheria has made it clear in his statement that he has said nothing wrong. And after this clarification, there is nothing to comment on.a Union Minister Kalraj Mishra said the atragica murder of the VHP leader highlighted the poor law and order situation in Uttar PradeshA but cautioned against areactions which trigger violence and unresta. aThe law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh is really bad, due to which neither the common man nor political leaders are safe. The murder of a VHP leader is tragic. People have reacted (to it). We certainly donat want reactions which trigger violence and unrest,a Mishra said. A group of social activists today held a protest at Jantar Mantar here against the alleged hate speeches BJP MPs. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: In an exclusive interview with News Nation, Ram Shankar Katheria, MoS Human Resource Development, denied making any controversial remarks during a condolence ceremony of a VHP worker in Agra. Katheria, who represents the Agra Lok Sabha constituency, said that his statement has been perceived wrongly. People from every religion were present in that ceremony, I didnt make the remarks in the way newspapers have presented it Katheria said while talking to News Nation. However, he said that the anguish over the murder was obvious. The slain man was a Gau Bhakta and he was returning after offering prayers. The way this Dalit man was murdered in broad daylight, the anger after his death was obvious Katheria added. Before this, Union Minister Ram Shankar Katheria was on Tuesday slammed by opposition parties for his alleged hate speech. Police lodged an FIR against three people for allegedly making inflammatory comments but Katheria has not been named. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. France goes up in flames as migrants and police square off over destruction of make-shift Jungle camp As smoke filled the air, migrants turned on police who used tear gas to try to disperse the rioters. (Article by Nick Gutteridge & Alix Culbertson, republished from //www.express.co.uk/news/world/648285/Calais-migrants-refugees-French-authorities-raze-Jungle-camp-judge) Demolition crews entered the crime-ridden camp on Sunday morning after a judge gave his final blessing to plans to pull down a huge section of the tent shanty town. Hundreds of migrants are being evicted from the southern section of the camp in a move which could reduce its population to less than a thousand. But as French removal staff tried to dismantle temporary structures in the camp, some were set on fire while stones were thrown at them and then police who stepped in to help. Police responded by throwing tear gas bombs into the camp, with the wind blowing the gas across the entire southern section. A massive police presence has been deployed to the makeshift shanty town, with more than 100 officers guarding bulldozers demolishing the southern part of the camp. Earlier officers had threatened to use force against those who refuse to evacuate the area, according to reports from social media. The Calais prefect, Fabienne Buccio, said the threat was justified due to verbal and physical assaults made against authorities at the end of last week. Migrants were seen throwing rocks as fires burned in Calais Police have thrown tear gas at migrants throwing stones and setting fires in the camp Those who tried to encourage migrants to move into accommodation provided by the government were insulted [and] harassed by mainly British activists, according to Ms Buccio.The politician added that activists had tried to stop migrants boarding buses to go to migration centres.At least 55 police vans arrived at the scene yesterday and the area was cordoned off by officers.Authorities are threatening to arrest migrants who refuse to leave the Jungle as people sit on the roofs of shelters in protest. Read more at: //www.express.co.uk/news/world/648285/Calais-migrants-refugees-French-authorities-raze-Jungle-camp-judge Submit a correction >> The rising criminal gang threat from south of the border will impact U.S. communities (Bugout.news) There are plenty of things wrong with President Obamas intentional disregard for the nations immigration laws, especially in the age of international terrorism. But there is another, more pressing problem that threatens American security: The growing number of criminal gangs from Central and South America, many of whose members are making their way north to do business. Worse, if you think any country south of the border is in any position to do much about them, think again. First, a little background. Our problem with illegal immigration is nothing new, but Obama after winning reelection in 2012 and after promising not to do so changed the paradigm at the border when he [unconstitutionally] issued executive orders thwarting federal immigration statutes that called for immediate deportation of most aliens caught on the border. When he did that, it sent a signal to the oppressed in Central and South America that if they could run, walk or crawl into the United States, theyd get to stay. What does that have to do with criminal gangs? Simple. People are flocking into the U.S. because these gangs are proliferating south of the border and the governments in these countries are too weak and corrupt to oppose them. The police are corrupt, the courts are corrupt, and any public official who stands against the drug and human trafficking, especially, is eliminated. Mexico is the largest narco-state of them all, which is how so many migrants are able to get through to the U.S. If Mexico was in this with the U.S., then theyd beef up their border presence along their southern and northern boundaries. As the Council on Foreign Relations notes: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras consistently rank among the most violent countries in the world. Gang-related violence in El Salvador brought its homicide rate to ninety per hundred thousand in 2015, making it the most worlds most violent country not at war. All three countries have significantly higher homicide rates than neighboring Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama. Extortion is also rampant. A July 2015 investigation by Honduran newspaper La Prensa found that Salvadorans and Hondurans pay an estimated $390 million and $200 million, respectively, in annual extortion fees to organized crime groups; meanwhile, Guatemalan authorities said in 2014 that citizens pay an estimated $61 million a year in extortion fees. Extortionists primarily target public transportation operators, small businesses, and residents of poor neighborhoods, according to the report, and attacks on people who do not pay contributes to the violence. Guatemalas transportation sector has been hit especially hard: In 2014, more than four hundred transportation workers were killed, and authorities linked most of those cases to extortion. Proliferation of gangs and the region serving as a transshipment destination for U.S.-bound drugs are the two most common factors leading to the violence. MS-13 and M-18, the regions largest gangs, may have as many as eighty-five thousand members combined (PDF), CFR reported. Whats more, this border invasion is coming at a time when the Obama regime again, intentionally has reduced Border Patrol presence along the U.S.-Mexico boundary. Next up: The criminal gang invasion. Because when there is little-to-no risk in trafficking their product across the border, the chances are real good that importation efforts will increase. And once the product gets to America, it is distributed throughout the country by distributors who work for the gangs. Latin America is already one of the most violent places on earth, if not the most violent. Is America set to become just as violent? We will if we continue to import the worlds problem children, so to speak. Of all the presidential contenders one has pledged to end this nightmare. Americans are banking that real estate mogul Donald Trump will stand true to his word to erect a border fence along the boundary with Mexico and deport those who are in the country illegally. That single issue propelled him to the top of the Republican field immediately after he declared his candidacy; in fact, curbing illegal immigration was his opening salvo. Were not telling you who to vote for or even who we support but these are facts. And if he wins the White House, believe us, the American people will hold him to his word. In the meantime, be prepared for the influx of dangerous criminals and drug pushers from south of the border, because if things stay the same and border security continues to be lax, theyre coming and soon to a neighborhood near you, especially if Latin America begins to experience its own Arab Spring-like transformation and disintegration. Bugout.news is part of the USA Features Media network of sites. Submit a correction >> This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEWTOWN The sentencing of Steven Santucci, a former Newtown police sergeant who admitted to leading a steroid trafficking ring, has been postponed until he completes an electricians training program. The sentencing hearing, which was scheduled to take place in Hartford federal court this Wednesday, is now set for July 8. Mr. Santucci is diligently planning for a second career and it would be beneficial if he could complete his technical training so that he can begin the new career as soon as his legal problems are behind him, defense attorney Dan LaBelle wrote in a letter to the court. Santucci, 39, of Waterbury, faces up to 30 years in prison, but under a plea deal reached in December, LaBelle and the government recommended a jail sentence of 57 to 71 months. The judge could still sentence him below or above that range. Court records show that Santucci, a 15-year veteran of the Newtown Police Department, had been receiving shipments of steroids ingredients from China since at least 2011. He then manufactured and distributed large quantities of the muscle-boosting substance to bodybuilders in local gyms, authorities said. Santucci and several other accomplices, including a former co-worker, were arrested last spring after a year-long undercover investigation, which authorities dubbed Operation Juice Box. Bridgeport resident Jason Chickos, who worked for more than 10 years as a civilian Newtown police dispatcher, was one of Santuccis primary distributors, according to court records. Authorities said Chickos and Santucci sometimes made drug deals inside the police department. Chickos was sentenced in January to two years of probation for his role in the conspiracy. Santucci has been ordered to surrender his weapons and passport and he is not allowed to leave Connecticut or enter any gym, fitness center or body-building facility. He has been free on a $100,000 bond. The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State, Jimi Agbaje, says the last general election turned him into a ... Agbaje, who addressed party members at the PDPs secretariat in Lagos on Tuesday, insisted that he won the governorship election.The programme was organised ahead of the partys forthcoming congresses and national convention.The PDP governorship candidate, who spoke in Pidgin English, however, said despite the loss of the party in the last general elections, members of the party should shun bitterness and work to rebuild the party.He said, Some members were annoyed because those monies meant for the elections were not given to them to prosecute the last polls. I am angry too because the PDP won the last election in the state but was denied victory. I finish election, na gbese, I carry for head.In his remarks, a former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George, attributed the defeat of the party in the last general elections to a former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.The PDP chieftain, who lamented that indiscipline had been a major problem of the party, said the party would not tolerate groupings under any guise because it was dividing the party.George said, Our victory was scuttled by evil characters who preferred the narrow position of the ministerial office than the collective esteem and honour of winning the governorship election in Lagos State.We were defeated by the agent provocateurs within our ranks. We were defeated by political renegades who merely invested in their own greedy and selfish interests.This cannot continue. Nobody is above the constitution of the party. We must either strictly adhere to the normative pattern of the party rules or we ship out. There will be no exemptions. The party is supreme; enough of all these so-called groupings. It is unhealthy. It is divisive. It does not build a healthy and strong national party. It is parochial and destructive. The Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, sitting in Abuja, has shifted the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on the 13-count c... The Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, sitting in Abuja, has shifted the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on the 13-count corruption charge that was filed against him by the federal government, till March 11.The Justice Danladi Umar led tribunal which initially gave FG the nod to open its case against Saraki on March 10, deferred the proceeding by a day following a letter from his new lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN.A statement by the Head of Press and Public Relations at the CCT, Mr. Ibraheem Al-hassan, revealed that Agabi had in a letter dated February 26, pleaded for an adjournment on the ground that he has other cases fixed for March 10. Al-hassan quoted Agabis letter as stating:I write as lead counsel to the above defendant to apply that the matter which is now scheduled to come up on the 10th day of March 2016, subject to the convenience of the Honourable Tribunal and learned counsel for the prosecution, be taken on the 11th day of March, 2016, due to my earlier and urgent commitments in other courts on the 10th.I will sincerely appreciate the indulgence of the Tribunal to accommodate me in this way. It will be recalled that the Supreme Court had on February 5, okayed Saraki for trial over allegation that he falsely declared his assets. Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis greeted a group of activists from the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, group, who are campaignin... Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis greeted a group of activists from the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, group, who are campaigning for secession from Nigeria, after they gathered at the Vatican on Sunday.During his weekly Angelus address where the Pope addresses crowds of pilgrims gathered in St. Peters Square from the balcony of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis extended a word of welcome to the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.The Popes statement was greeted with cheers and celebration by the Biafran group, who were waving flags during the address.. In a release yesterday in Nigeria, the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB, said it took its agitation for the release of its leader and Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu to Pope Francis at Vatican City for him to see the level of killing and injustice meted to them by the present All Progressives Congress government of President Muhammadu Buhari.Addressing newsmen yesterday in Nnewi, IPOB Media and Publicity Officer, Mr. Emma Powerful said IPOB has made 5,500 calls to Pope Francis who accepted and gave his word to pray for the agitators and talk about Biafra and its restoration.The IPOB bombarded Pope Francis with 5,500 calls and the Pope answered the calls and gave his word to make sure he talks about Biafra and its restoration and yesterday, about 35,000 Biafra agitators in Europe, Asia and America visited the Pope at Vatican City and the Pope and other Catholic leaders addressed them as Biafrans and prayed for them.That was the first time a world leader at that level addressed us and called us by the name Biafrans and prayed for us, he said.We are therefore calling on other church leaders to condemn the evil of killing innocent protesters and agitators and detention of an innocent man who did not do anything to break the law of a country we are not part of, a country that we are demanding for our freedom they have forcefully taken and upon that, they are killing us for demanding for our freedom. This evil must be condemned by the world leaders and religious leaders, whom we want to pray for us.We urge the Christian leaders, Archbishop of Canterbury, Anglicans worldwide, World Christian Society, WCS, American Christians to pray for Biafra actualization and freedom. This is the time to stand up for the truth because the Boko Haram members who are killing people on daily basis have not been visited with the type of extrajudicial killings with which this APC government has visited us, he said. A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi, Abuja, has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to immediately grant bail... A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi, Abuja, has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to immediately grant bail to a former Aide de Camp to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Col. Ojogbane Adegbe, on liberal terms.Justice Yusuf Halilu, ruling on a fundamental human rights enforcement suit filed by Adegbe on Tuesday, however, refused the plaintiffs prayer for N100m compensation for unlawful detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and request for written apology from the anti-graft agency.Meanwhile, before the judge started delivering his ruling on Tuesday, Adegbes lawyer, Mr. Ogwu Onoja (SAN), informed the court that the EFCC after the hearing of the suit on February 25, transferred the ex-Presidents ADC from its custody to the Army.Ogwu also said that after the hearing, the EFCC which claimed it was only holding Adegbe on the instruction of the Army, decided to grant bail to his client in conditions that were allegedly impossible to meet.But EFCCs lawyer, Benda Musu, when asked to respond to the plaintiffs lawyers claim, said she did not have more knowledge about the said transfer than the SAN had.The judge however went on to deliver his ruling declaring as unconstitutional and illegal the detention of the applicant since February 11 without filing charges against him.The judge also reprimanded the anti-graft agency for reducing itself to the police station or detention centre of the Nigerian Army.He observed that the EFCC took contradictory positions by claiming that it was investigating alleged arms procurement fraud for which Adegbe was arrested and in another breath claimed to be holding the plaintiff on the instruction of the Army.While respondent (EFCC) is dancing makossa in one side, it is singing another song on the other side, the judge noted.The judge however said he was unable to direct the EFCC to pay damages to the applicant or tender apology to him, since he remained in the service of the Army and the anti-graft agency was equally a government agency. Nancy Keme Dickson, 26-year-old younger sister to Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson, has been freed after 73 days in kidnappers ... Gov Dickon Nancy Keme Dickson, 26-year-old younger sister to Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson, has been freed after 73 days in kidnappers den.Nancy, said to be the last child of the Dicksons family, was abducted on December 19, 2015, by gunmen.The student of the state-owned Niger Delta University (NDU) was kidnapped at her shop in Okaka Road, Yenagoa, the state capital.The gunmen, driving an ash Lexus Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), trailed her to her shop and whisked her away to an at 2:50 pm.Though it was not clear whether ransom was paid, Dickson said no money was paid to the kidnappers.The governor, in the statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said Nancy was rescued on Sunday evening by security operatives.Some of the kidnappers took to their heels while others were apprehended following a tip off. The kidnappers were rattled and overwhelmed to forcefully surrender their victim, following pressure mounted by security agencies, he said.He called on the people not to succumb to the demands of ransom made by kidnappers, adding that plans were underway to amend the Bayelsa State Secret Cult, Kidnapping and other Related Offences Prohibition Bill 2012 toproscribe payment of ransom in the state.He said the bill would stop kidnapping in the state.Dickson urged Bayelsans to emulate his experience with kidnappers when his aged mother was abducted in 2009 but later released without payment of ransom.A comprehensive security strategy would be launched soon to boost governments policy of zero tolerance on crime and criminality, he said.He advised persons indulging in kidnapping to turn a new leaf or face the full weight of the law. A former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.), who has been in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes C... A former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (retd.), who has been in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission since February 8, 2016, has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to grant him bail on health grounds.Badeh is still being held in the custody of the EFCC in Lagos over ongoing investigation into his roles in an alleged N4.4bn fraud involving the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.Justice James Tsoho fixed March 4 for ruling on the bail application after entertaining arguments by Badehs lawyer and the objection by the EFCC on Monday.Badehs lawyer, Mr. Samuel Zibiri (SAN), who filed the bail application, dated February 15, said though the EFCC had granted his client bail, the ex-CDS could not meet it because of the onerous conditions attached to it.He said his client was recovering from a recent surgery and also had a history of kidney stone.He predicated the application on Section 35(4) and Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution and sections 158, 162 and 165(1) (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.Zibiri urged the court to grant bail to his client on self recognizance or on such favourable and liberal terms as the court might deem fit to make.He urged the court to grant him bail pending the completion of investigation by the EFCC and/or arraignment before this court.His lawyer maintained that the alleged case of fraud, for which his client was invited, was bailable.He added, There is no reason for, or any likelihood that the applicant will jump bail, escape from Justice, interfere with witnesses or investigation if same is still ongoing, or the course of justice upon being granted bail.The applicant has no criminal antecedent or records. The applicant, owing to his status in the society, can be granted bail on self recognizance or in the most liberal of terms, as he will be available to attend any invitation by the respondents at all times.That the applicants health condition is bad and he recently had surgery on his spine which requires constant post-operative follow-up by his physician as well as renal condition, which he is currently undergoing treatment for.In an affidavit in support of the bail application, deposed to by one Emeka Okoroafor, the deponent stated, That three days after the applicant was detained, the respondent issued an internal memo dated February 10, on the most onerous and unrealistic bail terms.That upon receiving the bail condition, all efforts were made to satisfy same by the family and friends of the applicant, who could not satisfy same due to its onerous and unreasonable terms whereupon he, Mr Zibiri, SAN, wrote a letter for a review of the bail condition for the applicant.That the respondent has refused, neglected and ignored the said appeal and has continued to detain the applicant indefinitely.That he is currently recovering from a recent surgery on his spinal cord for Lumbo-sacral spondylosis and currently on medication. He also has a history of renal lithiasis (Kidney stones).In arguing his application, Zibiri said Badehs detention by virtue of a remand order issued by a Magistrates Court in Lagos is a gross abuse of the ACJA 2015, insisting he should be granted bail because a Federal High Court is superior to the magistrate court.EFCCs lawyer, Cosmas Ugwu, in opposing the application, told the court that Badeh had not made any effort to fulfil the administrative bail granted him by the EFCC in Lagos.He is in custody in Lagos; Abuja is not holding him; so, the convenient court to grant the applicant bail is a court within the same territorial jurisdiction, Ugwu argued.The EFCC lawyer also informed the court that Badeh was being held under a remand order issued by a Lagos magistrate court because he was fingered in the alleged NIMASA fraud scandal. Former President Olusegun Olusegun has said would not promote any narrow or sectional interest as he remains committed to the nations d... Former President Olusegun Olusegun has said would not promote any narrow or sectional interest as he remains committed to the nations development.Obasanjo said having weaned himself from partisan politics barely a year ago, he has made the general development of the country or its overall interest, his focus.The former Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said this yesterday when a delegation of the Okun Development Association (ODA) visited his Presidential Hilltop Estate home in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.Members of the group appealed to him to assist them regarding the socio-economic and political challenges facing the Okun nation of Kogi State.But Obasanjo said he will support any group or association whose goals and aspirations tally with his focus on Nigerias development and wellbeing.I am open to you if it has to do with the issues relating to national interest and development. But, I will not, when it has to do with any interest that is not open or has national interest as its focus.Since I have eased myself out of what I will call centre of political activities, I have not eased myself out of the totality of development in Nigeria. This I will welcome and support from any group or association, Obasanjo said.The ex President, however, urged the group to add more value to their community development association.According to him, people prosper and develop when they engage in agriculture and related businesses in the face of contending demands at the federal, states and local government levels.My association, Olaogun Development Association, did not wait for the government to provide water, clinic or build schools.You as the leaders should meet regularly to discuss more on the good of the association. I must warn that your work, interest and programme should not conflict with the overall development of the state and country, he said.ODAs Chairman Akere Owoniyi, who led the delegation, urged Obasanjo not to relent in giving advice on matters that affect the country.If the change effected during the last presidential election did not take place, one can only imagine what would have become of us as a nation today.The present government is confronting the numerous self-inflicted challenges that had slowed down the development of our nation. We must play our part and come to terms with the realities of our time. We, therefore, must join hands with the Federal Government to develop the nation. The Lagos State Police Command has said they are on the trail of the armed men who allegedly abducted about three school girls in Ikorod... The Lagos State Police Command has said they are on the trail of the armed men who allegedly abducted about three school girls in Ikorodu on Monday night.The students were taken from their hostel at the Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary, Agunfoye Lugbusi, at about 8 p.m., reports say.We are working on their rescue, Dolapo Badmus, police spokesperson, told newsmen on Tuesday.Theres nothing new yet, but we are closing up on them and we are seriously working on the recovery and we are still investigating how the occurrence came to pass. President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday assured pharmaceutical companies in the country of government support to enable them produce ess... President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday assured pharmaceutical companies in the country of government support to enable them produce essential drugs locally, instead of relying on wholesale importation.He spoke while receiving a team constituted by the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library to develop an agenda for the health sector in the country, led by Professor Olu Akinkugbe at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.Buhari, according to a statement by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, recalled that the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), which he headed in the 1990s, had developed what it called institutional strengthening, in which PTF supported pharmaceutical companies with resources to encourage local production of drugs.We can revisit the experience. We can strengthen pharmaceutical companies to produce essential drugs needed in the country locally. We can then be sure of the quality of such medications, the President said.On privatization of healthcare institutions as canvassed in some quarters, President Buhari stressed the need to be careful and take a look at the state of development of the country before considering the option.Privatization aims at maximum profit. It then excludes the poor and the vulnerable from accessing healthcare. But we have to look after the poor, President Buhari said.The Olu Akinkugbe-led team had earlier given insights into its agenda for the health sector to include proposals on healthcare financing, developing health intelligence/observatory to preempt epidemics, simultaneous focus on primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare, preventing labour unrests in the health sector, facilitating access to essential drugs through local production and the drug distribution system among others.Prof Akinkugbe commended President Buhari for keeping faith with the change doctrine in the country, adding that the current buffeting economic storms were global, and not peculiar to Nigeria.He expressed his belief that Nigeria will surely overcome. Everything Buhari and his party promised Nigerians when they were looking for votes, they have denied and it wont be a surprise if one d... Everything Buhari and his party promised Nigerians when they were looking for votes, they have denied and it wont be a surprise if one day, Buhari comes out to even deny that he was elected on the platform of APC. Ayodele Fayose Governor Fayose who described Buharis declaration that he would not pay the N5, 000 stipend he promised to unemployed youths in the country and Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammeds claim that creation of three million jobs per year was not promised by the APC as the peak of political 419 that the President and his party represent.Fayose who spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said: They have not fulfilled any of the promises they made to Nigerians. In fact, they have even told us that they never made any promise. It is close to one year that Buhari assumed office; no single job has been created. Instead of the three million jobs per year that they promised, what we have been witnessing is job losses, economic hardship and budget padding.The governor said it was more worrisome that President Buhari always choose foreign lands to make major policy pronouncements, asking whether Buhari has turned himself to Nigerias Diaspora or Online President. Governor Fayose described President Buharis declaration of support for Palestine and description of Palestinians as his brothers and sisters that must achieve their desired objectives as a confirmation of the growing suspicion that the President was interested in Nigeria becoming a full Islamic State.He said: Even though I am a lover of Muslims, I relate with them as I do with Christians in the State and across the country, but Nigeria must remain secular and a free nation where its citizens proclaim the name of Jesus Christ and Allah (Subhanahu Wa Taala) freely.The governor said the moment President Buhari disowned his own campaign document titled; My Covenant with Nigerians, that was circulated to Nigerians during the electioneering campaign and also published in national newspapers and posted online on March 16 and 17, 2015, he knew that Nigerians had been that duped.Nigerians have now realised that they are inside a One Chance Bus because Buhari and his APC have disowned their entire campaign promises by disowning their campaign document titled; My Covenant with Nigerians.This document that they disowned in August, last year contained everything they promised Nigerians and if today, President Buhari chose faraway Qatar to announce that he wont pay the N5, 000 promised unemployed youths and Lai Mohammed is here in Nigeria saying no job was promised, no one should be surprised.Rather, Nigerians can only begin to pray that God, who rescued Daniel from den of lions will rescue us from this Buhari/APC one chance bus that we have entered, he said.While insisting that no octogenarian must be allowed to rule Nigeria again, Governor Fayose said the youths of the country must know that people like Buhari do not have any stake in the future of Nigeria and those who will not be part of Nigeria of twenty years to come must not be part of those structuring the future of the country. Brent crude rose two per cent yesterday adding to strong gains last week as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) kin... Brent crude rose two per cent yesterday adding to strong gains last week as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) kingpin, Saudi Arabia said it would work with other producers to limit oil market volatility.Brent futures LCOc1 were trading at 35.77 dollars a barrel at 1443 GMT, up 67 cents from their previous close.U.S. crude futures CLc1 were up 42 cents at 33.20 dollars.The kingdom (of Saudi Arabia) seeks to achieve stability in the oil markets.It will always remain in contact with all main producers in an attempt to limit volatility and it welcomes any cooperative action, the Saudi cabinet said in a statement.Saudi Arabia and several fellow OPEC members agreed with non-OPEC Russia this month to freeze output at January levels in an attempt to prop up prices.Russian President Vladimir Putin has called a meeting with top managers of his countrys leading oil producers for today.However, Iran remains the main obstacle to a global output freeze because it is determined to ramp up supply after the countrys emergence from international economic sanctions in January.Yesterday, Iran said it had increased exports steeply over the past month. Exports climbed as high as 1.75 million barrels per day, adding to an already oversupplied market.There is still a lot of downside risk but the U.S. crude market seems to have passed the worst point.Crude runs should start creeping higher, taking pressure off inventory levels, said Richard Gorry, director of JBC Energy Asia.U.S. producers cut the number of rigs drilling for oil for a tenth week running, taking the rig count to its lowest since December 2009.A media monthly poll showed yesterday that oil prices are expected to average a little more than $40 a barrel this year.Financial data also suggested sentiment might be shifting.Data from InterContinental Exchange yesterday showed that investors in crude held more futures and options contracts betting on rising prices than at any time since the records began in 2011.The amount of open positions in U.S. crude contracts betting on a further fall in prices has dropped to about 17 per cent since mid-February.At the same time, financial traders have raised their bullish bets on oil after talk of a global production freeze, signs of falling U.S. shale crude output and growing gasoline demand.There are tentative signs the worst may be over for commodities, at least judging by the pick-up in investor sentiment, Barclays (L:BARC) said. President Muhammadu Buhari has said irrespective of divergent opinions of the populace, his administration is keeping the promises he ma... President Muhammadu Buhari has said irrespective of divergent opinions of the populace, his administration is keeping the promises he made ahead of the March 28, 2015 presidential election.The President also stated that with the arable land available in the country, Nigeria needed not to be importing food at all.A statement on Monday by the Presidents Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, stated that Buhari said this at a meeting with some senior executives of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and some private businessmen in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday.Buhari said, Agriculture and solid minerals will mobilise youths for gainful employment. We have the capacity not to need to import food at all.But we need to also tackle infrastructure deficit in power, transportation, rail, road and in other areas.He recalled that his campaign was based on three issues, which are security, employment generation and anti-corruption, contending that he was keeping faith with the promises.Buhari assured the business community in Qatar that his government would work hard to remove any impediment that could hinder investment in the country, adding that security was essential to prosperity and development.He said, Nobody invests without first knowing how secure a country is. That is why we have placed high premium on securing the country, because you cannot effectively manage a country you have not secured.We campaigned on zero corruption, promising that we would run an accountable government and we are keeping our promises.On the crash in the international crude oil prices and its effect on the Nigerian economy, Buhari informed the gathering that Nigeria was blessed with vast arable land for agriculture, and rich deposit of solid minerals, which the businessmen could invest in and reap rich returns in a short time.Speaking on behalf of the Qatari businessmen, the Vice Chairman of Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Muhammed Al Kuwari, said they would be interested in the finance, oil and gas, telecommunications, tourism, agriculture and food processing sectors, among others.All eyes are on Africa in the next decade. Africa is the next place for growth, the rest of the world is looking towards the continent and Nigeria is an important part of that continent, he told Buhari and members of his delegation. HACKENSACK -- Two local hospitals are partnering with Bergen County to provide job training to adults with disabilities. Students of Project Search, targeted at 20-year-olds, will attend year-long programs at Hackensack University Medical Center and Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck. They'll undergo employee orientation and skills assessment and develop career plans, the county said in a press release. Students will also take employment skills classes and take part in internships. Aside from the hospitals, the Bergen County Workforce Development Board runs Project Search with the state Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services and the state Department of Developmental Disabilities. The county launched Project Search in 2015 with a $30,000 budget allocation. Twenty-four adults will take part in the hospital pilot program. Students with disabilities age out of the school system at age 21. Many families face difficulty in facing life after graduation, County Executive James Tedesco said. "This program will open doors and expand the range of possibilities for both students and employers," he said. Project Search participants have a 73 percent employment rate since its launch, partnering with businesses like the Residence Inn Marriott in Saddle River, the county said. Statewide, individuals with disabilities have an employment rate of 40 percent. Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Tatianna Harrison At left, Tatianna Harrison, 17, of Berlin Borough, appears at the Camden County Hall of Justice on March 1, 2016 to be arraigned on first-degree murder charges. Harrison is accused of shooting a 21-year-old Pennsauken man to death last summer. (Greg Adomaitis | For NJ.com) (Greg Adomaitis | For NJ.com) UPDATE: N.J. girl, 17, accused in gangland slaying didn't do it, mom says CAMDEN -- One day after being waived up to adult court, a 17-year-old female from Camden County was held on $750,000 bail as a result of her alleged role as the triggerwoman in a 2015 city slaying. Tatianna Harrison, a Berlin Borough resident who was 16 when the shooting occurred, is charged with first-degree murder. She was arraigned before Superior Court Judge Edward McBride regarding the Aug. 2015 shooting death of 21-year-old Pennsauken man Vincent T. Bland. According to Camden County Prosecutor's Office Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Moran, Harrison "gave a long, complete, detailed confession" to borough police not long after the early morning slaying of Bland, who suffered a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. According to the prosecutor's office, Camden County police found Bland's body in a lot near S. 5th and Benson streets around 6 a.m. on Aug. 12, 2015. A witness told investigators they heard a gunshot around 1 a.m. that morning and a ShotSpotter activation at 1:14 a.m. revealed both the sound of a gunshot and an "audible moan" immediately after, Moran said. Harrison, wearing an orange jumpsuit and chain around her waist, said little during Tuesday's hearing. She sat nearly motionless as a litany of juvenile offenses -- from aggravated assault and false public alarm to terroristic threats and controlled dangerous substance distribution within a school zone -- were rattled off by Moran. Her lawyer, Meg Davies, argued that her client's confession to Berlin police was questionable and that a video recording of the fatal encounter showed a number of other juveniles with both alleged gang ties and links to the victim. Bland was taken to Cooper University Hospital for treatment and was pronounced dead eight days later. Family members who attended Tuesday's proceeding did not wish to speak with reporters. Davies said that no gun was ever recovered and Harrison did not pose a flight risk, as the 17-year-old's family has consistently appeared for their daughter's juvenile court proceedings. Despite Davies' doubts surrounding her client's confession, McBride felt that the document was a "critical piece of the puzzle" and Harrison posed a "significant flight risk." After McBride knocked down bail from a requested $1 million, Harrison was led out of the courtroom by Camden County Sheriff's Department officers. If convicted, she could face between 30 years to life behind bars. Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook. CHERRY HILL TOWNSHIP -- The sale of a township nursing home spurred its parent company to issue 255 employees possible layoff notices, but an administrator said Tuesday that 95 percent of them shouldn't be concerned. Cadbury Senior Living's Chief Human Resources Officer Megan Nessell said the Route 38 facility is being sold to Premier Healthcare LLC, and the new company has promised to hire the vast majority of its current staff. The company filed a WARN notice with the state and advised its staff members that jobs will be affected by the transfer of positions to a new company. Nessell said residents won't be impacted by the sale, which still needs to be finalized by the state's health department, since Division of Consumer Affairs regulations require current contracts to be honored by the buyer. The seniors who call the facility home actually see some improvements in conditions at the facility, said Nessel. The building, a former lodge bought by a group of Quakers in 1977, is the company's current flagship but needed "the most TLC" between it and Cadbury's other facility in Lewes, Del, she said. Selling the operation to Premier, which is trying to establish itself in the New Jersey market, is the best option since Premier has the funds on hand to spruce it up. "The goal is that Premier would have more capital to infuse [into the facility] to have a more positive experience for our residents and working experience for our employees," said Nessell. She said she expects the sale to be finalized by the end of April. Michelle Caffrey may be reached at mcaffrey@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShellyCaffrey. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook. TRENTON -- New Jersey has denied a controversial charter school expansion plan that divided parents in a Monmouth County community. The Christie administration on Monday rejected a proposal to double enrollment at the Red Bank Charter School, a K-8 school with 200 students. The plan was met with fierce opposition by some community members, who said the percentage of minority students is much lower in the charter school than in the district. In response, the school had proposed a slower phase-in of the additional classes. Education Commissioner David Hespe's rejection letter did not provide any specific reason for the rejection. Hespe wrote that the decision was made based on his review of the school's request and public comments submitted to the state. The rejection came at the same time that three new charter schools were approved to open and 16 other requests for expansion were granted. Gov. Chris Christie has called charter schools a resounding success for the state and said he will "aggressively prioritize" regulatory relief for charter schools Including Red Bank Charter School, the state rejected 10 proposed charter school expansions. Here are the other rejections announced Monday: LEAP Academy University Charter School (Camden) Barack Obama Green Charter High School (Plainfield) Discovery Charter School (Newark) Freedom Prep Charter School (Camden) Hatikvah International Academy Charter School (East Brunswick) John P Holland Charter School (Paterson) Marion P Thomas Charter School (Newark) Passaic Arts and Science (Passaic) Unity Charter School (Morris Township) Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Dexter Allen set for May trial in Metairie double murder of father and son Dine in the home of John Besh or James Carville at Fetes des Chefs The Force is with the Aquarium of the Americas, starting Saturday (full local movie events listings) Jeremy Lin not a fan of Chris Rock's joke about Asians at the Oscars, websites report WASHINGTON (AP) The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has issued a subpoena to Donald Trump. The nine-member panel sent a letter to the former president's lawyers on Friday, demanding his testimony under oath by mid-November and outlining a series of corresponding documents. The decision by lawmakers to exercise their subpoena power comes a week after the committee made its final case against the former president, who they say is the "central cause" of the multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. It remains unclear how Trump and his legal team will respond to the subpoena, if at all. WASHINGTON Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, will discuss the pending Supreme Court vacancy face-to-face with President Barack Obama today at the White House. It could be a short conversation. When Grassley and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., accepted the invitation last week, they made clear they had no intention of backing off their refusal to hold hearings or votes on an Obama nominee. We look forward to reiterating to him directly that the American people will be heard and the next Supreme Court justice will be determined once the elections are complete and the next president has been sworn into office, according to their joint statement. Grassley is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee tasked with reviewing court nominations. He and McConnell will be joined at the meeting by their Democratic counterparts. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest seemed to downplay expectations for the meeting at Monday briefings. Reporters, for example, asked whether Obama would look for Republicans to suggest potential nominees. Look, the president is open to a discussion, but it would represent a pretty dramatic reversal in position for Mr. McConnell who has said that the president shouldnt put anybody forward to come with a list of potential nominees, Earnest said. When his position is that the United States Senate is not going to fulfill their constitutional responsibility, it makes it hard for him to engage constructively until they change that position. At a later briefing, Earnest pointed to Obamas process in 2009 when he made a nomination to the high court. He cited quotes from Grassley at the time in which the senator said it was the first time hed ever been called by a president, Republican or Democrat, about a Supreme Court nomination. The presidents serious about his responsibility to consult with the Senate, he said. This is a consultation that Chairman Grassley has appreciated in the past and hopefully he will appreciate it this year. Well see. Grassley has repeatedly defended his position, citing the public debate that comes with a presidential election process. This year, Iowans and the entire country have a unique opportunity to expand that debate to include the role of the Supreme Court and the direction it will take for an entire generation, Grassley said. For the first time in decades, this debate has palpable relevance and lasting consequences. The White House has offered its own civics lesson, saying the Constitution is clear that its the presidents duty to nominate justices to the court and the Senates responsibility to consider them. Its a showdown that has both sides dredging up quotes from times past when roles were reversed Republicans defending their presidents right to make judicial appointments in an election year and Democrats questioning the practice. The White House also has pointed repeatedly to the case of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, appointed by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the Senate in 1988, Reagans final year in office. Grassley voted to confirm. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, have followed Grassleys lead in saying that the Senate should not act on an Obama appointment. Earnest told The Omaha World-Herald on Monday that the Constitution does not call for senators to evaluate nominees on the basis of whether it would be their most preferred selection. If you want to see your top candidate appointed to the Supreme Court to fill a vacancy, then you should run for president, Earnest said. Because thats the presidents job. The Senate has a different job. The Senate just has a responsibility to evaluate whether or not this person can serve honorably in a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, and I feel confident making the case that the person that we put forward will fit that criteria. James F. Hunter was born January 13, 1936, in Thurman, Iowa, to Robert J. and Hazel I. Hunter. At the age of 8, he was baptized into the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints and was an active member all of his life. He graduated from Thurman High School in 1953 and attended Graceland College for one year. In 1956, he married Sheryl Rae McElroy and in this union was born three children. He was in the trucking business for several years and then farmed for a few years with his Father-in-Law, where he developed a love for horses and rodeo, competing in bareback riding and bull riding. In 1966, Jim moved to Council Bluffs, and went into the real estate business and was a co-owner of Hunter Realty with his brother, Mark. He attended the Missouri School of Auction and for many years did Auction sales all over the United States. During this time, he started Hunter Trucking with his brother Joe and their trucks ran all over the United States and Canada. In 1990, he and Carol Martin, founded Bronco Billy's Arena and Tack. Jim and Carol shared a passion for rodeo, having 75 years of rodeo and equine knowledge between them. With this knowledge and expertise, he developed high quality saddles and a top of the line tack, making the Bronco Billy's brand known internationally. He is preceded in death by his parents, first wife Sheryl, sister and brothers in law Norma J. and Robert F. Edwards and grandson Kyle Hunter. He is survived by the love of his life, Carol Martin, sons Michael J. and Gail P. Hunter, daughter Paula Rae Miller, and son Robert Hunter and daughter Lori Vander Woude and their mother Peggy Hunter; brothers, Mark L. (Jerre) and Kenneth Joe Hunter (Susan); sisters, Marjorie Carson (Jerry) and Eileen Schneider (Don); 10 grandchildren and one great granddaughter. Visitation with the family, Tuesday, 4 to 7 p.m., at Community of Christ Church, 140 W. Kanesville Blvd. Funeral service, Wednesday, 11 a.m., at the church. High Priest Tom Arnold will officiate. A lunch will immediately follow the service at the church. Graveside service and burial, Wednesday, 3 p.m., in the Thurman, Iowa Cemetery. Memorials will be directed by the family. Community Its now easier than ever to connect and chat with others in your local area. You can connect with your community by asking general questions, give area updates and recommendations and even let your community know about local events that are taking place. Sudbury's one and only fresh doughnut bake shop opened on Feb. 9 and the donuts have been flying off the shelves faster than the staff can make them. Sudbury's one and only fresh doughnut bake shop opened on Feb. 9 and the donuts have been flying off the shelves faster than the staff can make them. Mighty Canadian Doughnuts (944 Barry Downe Rd.) has been open for three weeks now and they have been selling their made-from-scratch treats at a rate that triples what owner Ashley McCabe was expecting. I thought it would be a bit slow to start," she said. "I figured we could sell about 200 doughnuts per day. We've been selling closer to 600 ... and we could probably be doing more, but we're just a bit limited with the space we have, because our kitchen isn't that big. The cafe and bake shop has about 15 original flavours of gourmet doughnuts, with the maple bacon, salted caramel and blueberry cheesecake standing as the top sellers. Many of the flavours are original creations of McCabe and her mother Juanita, though Ashley says she's taken inspiration from other gourmet doughnut makers. Having moved to the North from Montreal two years ago, the highly motivated MCCabe now owns and operates two businesses in the city. I started North Rock Cleaning Company and was able to use the capital from that business to start Mighty Canadian Doughnuts," she told Northern Life. "I'm not a chef, I'm just a foodie who loves to bake. Plans for growth include opening another location, and introducing delivery and catering. If business continues to be as strong as it has been since her opening, McCabe said she hasn't ruled out franchising the business. Her staff of eight has been busy to say the least, and McCabe herself has been putting in days of up to 22 hours to keep things running as smoothly as possible. I haven't taken a day off since we opened, said McCabe. I'm in here overnight doing the dough prep for the morning then baking throughout the day. For the time being, McCabe is trying to get a feel for what flavours are striking a chord with customers to build a menu that best suits her clientele. We might have to phase some flavours out, (and) we're going to try a flavour of the month or flavour of the week so people can try out different things, she said. If you want to keep up with what flavours are being rolled out be sure to check out Mighty Canadian Doughnuts on Facebook. LU students honour two great profs Two Laurentian University professors have been honoured with the 2015-2016 Students' Choice Teaching Awards. Mathematics and computer sciences master lecturer Aaron Langille was named as one of Laurentian's Students' Choice award recipients. Supplied photo. Two Laurentian University professors have been honoured with the 2015-2016 Students' Choice Teaching Awards. From among more than 150 nominations, this year's Students' Choice award recipients are Aaron Langille, a master lecturer in Mathematics and Computer Sciences, and Marie St-Onge, an associate professor in the School of Nursing. The awards were announced by the Centre for Academic Excellence. The Students Choice Teaching Awards were created in 2013 to allow students to recognize faculty members for exceptional efforts to stimulate interest and support effective learning. The Centre for Academic Excellence solicits nominations each spring to select one instructor in French-language programs and one in English. It is very humbling to read some of the students' nomination comments, but it is equally exciting to know that my enthusiasm and passion for teaching has had an impact on them," said Langille in a news release. To share my enthusiasm with the students, to see them engaged and absorbed as they succeed in their course of study, is a most gratifying experience for me, as it is for any teacher," St-Onge said in the same release. This article originally appeared in the Huffington Post on Feb. 26, 2016. By Uri Wilensky Which religious group is the victim of the most hate crimes in the United States? According to the hate crime statistics kept by the FBI, Jews are the primary victims of religious hate crimes. More than 50% of all hate crimes (57% in 2014) are committed against them. For a point of comparison, anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2014 were 16%. If you include other groupings by ethnicity, race, or sexuality, Jewish people are still at the top. They are more than three times more likely to be the victim of a hate crime than any other group. To be sure, the FBI definition of hate crimes might not correspond fully with the prevalence of hatred in our society, but they are still seen as an indicator of broad patterns. These statistics may sound surprising. At a time that a Jewish presidential candidate won a primary election and so many Jews have prominence in many domains, how could Jewish people be the top victims of hate crimes? Yet, just as the election of Barack Obama didn't stop racist hate crimes against African Americans, the prominence of many Jews in the United States does not protect them more generally from hate and violence. There is a lot of coverage of hate against other groups, but one reads very little about proliferating anti-Jewish hate. In late January, acts of vandalism were discovered in a historic Jewish cemetery in Connecticut. Also in January, graffiti with Swastikas, the phrase "Hitler was a hero" and more were scrawled on the front door of a Brooklyn building belonging to Hassidic Jews. A Tampa synagogue was recently targeted by vandals during the Gasparilla celebrations. The hate crimes go beyond vandalism into threats and violence, like when a man killed three people at two different Jewish centers near Kansas City in 2014. In Europe, the situation for Jews is much worse. In the UK, new figures show that the annual total anti-Semitic hate crimes in London in 2015 was the highest on record. Today, Jews are leaving France in record numbers. There have been many high-profile attacks including those at the kosher market in Paris and the synagogue in Copenhagen last year. Citing countless examples of hate crimes, in 2014, the president of Germany's Central Council of Jews told the Guardian, "These are the worst times since the Nazi era." It is alarming that 70 years after the defeat of the Nazis, we are seeing a level of violence against Jews that has eerie similarities to the 1920s/30s in Germany and Poland, a history I know about all too well. My father, a Polish Jew, packed up his belongings and left Poland as a teenager in 1934. He recognized the increasing hate against Jews and begged his family to leave with him. But they said they were comfortable in Poland and this antisemitism thing was nothing new and wouldn't amount to anything. They paid for that belief and sadly, no one in my paternal family survived. This experience burned into my consciousness the importance of not dismissing concerns about antisemitism. Growing up in a liberal Boston suburb in the 1970s and 80s, I did not experience or witness much antisemitism. But today, the rise of more antisemitism in Europe is influencing increased antisemitism in the United States. Now, I hear colleagues at conferences making anti-Semitic remarks, expressing views that the Holocaust was exaggerated and describing Jews as owning the media and the banks. I have seen swastika graffiti on synagogues and on students' dorm rooms. I hear Jewish students saying they do not feel safe in their campuses. A 2015 survey published by Trinity College and the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law found that 54% of the participants had been subject to or witnessed antisemitism on their campus. One of the most common examples is anti-Semitic vandalism, including swastikas, targeting Jewish students, has been documented at least 50 times since 2013 on campuses like Stanford, Emory, DePaul and Yale. Certainly, a major factor for the increasing antisemitism is the increasing condemnation of Israel in its treatment of Palestinians. Movements like Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS), have often slipped from anti-Israel protests to anti-Semitic acts. I too have sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians. But no matter how people feel about it, the conflict there should not warrant a response of hate and violence against Jews worldwide. Groups like the ADL have done important work in documenting and combating anti-Semitism. But why has their message not gotten out more widely? And why have more Jews not spoken up more forcefully against the antisemitism? I believe many Jews have worked hard to fully assimilate into American society and don't wish to call attention to themselves as Jews. Many liberal Jews, aware of the attacks against Israel by other liberals, may feel embarrassed about their identity. Others internalize antisemitism, making them disassociate from their Jewish identity in general. But silence about hatred can do great harm. It is time for us to break the silence. First, we need to increase awareness of anti-Semitic acts, threats and expressions. With knowledge of the extent of anti-Jewish hate, other oppressed groups, such as Muslims, gays, Hispanic and African Americans, may welcome anti-racist coalitions, and Jews may be empowered to speak up, instead of ignoring the hate spewed against us. These groups are sometimes pitted against Jews and against each other, but we all have a common interest in creating a more equitable, safe society. If we in these groups - and all who oppose racism -- publicly call out racism against any group, we can change the climate so that anti-Semitic vandalism, slurs and attacks are no longer acceptable. - Uri Wilensky is a professor of learning sciences and computer science at Northwestern University. This article originally appeared in the Orlando Sentinel on Feb. 25, 2016. By Noelle Sullivan On Feb. 16, 18-year old Malachi Love-Robinson was arrested for posing as a doctor in West Palm Beach. Practicing medicine without a license is a third-degree felony in Florida. Yet, were Love-Robinson to fly to Tanzania, Cambodia, Bolivia, Honduras, Senegal, Nepal or any other so-called "developing country," not only would he be able to practice medicine without a license; his actions would be celebrated. An expanding and highly lucrative industry has sprung up around international "voluntourism." Placements in health facilities are popular. It is mostly health professions students, or aspiring professionals like Love-Robinson who pay companies to do these trips. Websites say anyone can offer "first-rate health care to people who usually don't have the regular opportunity to see a doctor." As a foreigner and a volunteer, regardless of training, you provide "more than hope" by virtue of who you are. Poor countries are depicted as having few locals with good ideas and a commitment to assist with the pressing problems there. In such places, "any help is better than no help at all." Nothing could be further from the truth. Worldwide, foreigners crowd health facilities and orphanages, despite concerned reports and campaigns about problematic ethics of both types of volunteering and the harms that volunteers could unwittingly cause. Celebratory assertions of "good intentions" echo those that Love-Robinson draws upon to justify his actions. He meant no harm, his grandfather tells us: "He was out trying to help people." The "good intentions" argument appears as hubris when applied to vulnerable American patients. Substitute the poor in other countries, and it commonly justifies otherwise unethical actions. I have been researching foreign clinical volunteering in Tanzania for nearly four years The health facility receives a paltry donation for each volunteer hosted; staff is expected to volunteer scarce time and resources to volunteers as well as patients. Tanzanian health professionals receive no compensation for hosting foreign volunteers. Some Tanzanians host volunteers to be hospitable. Some hope volunteers will help them personally or professionally. Some enjoy the deviation from the doldrums of work. While foreign volunteers are often more burden than boon, most Tanzanians are too polite to say anything. In countries with struggling health and education sectors, regulating the actions of several thousand foreigners in clinics is hardly a priority. When abroad, foreign volunteers routinely supersede Love-Robinson's actions in West Palm Beach. There is an informal rite of passage among foreign volunteers. Departing volunteers tell incoming ones where to go and who to befriend in order to get hands-on experience. Students teaching students how to do procedures was routine in several of the six hospitals I have researched in Tanzania. A former student of mine volunteered in India as a high-schooler, where he administered surgical anesthetics. During college, he went to Peru, where he administered shots, performed pre-natal check ups, tested patients for HIV and syphilis, and took blood samples. Many volunteers are good people, but ill-informed. There are systematic problems underlying volunteers' unethical actions, and meaningful ways to improve best practices. Our society tells young people that they not only can make a difference abroad, but that they should. Doing so is marketable. Clinical volunteering looks good on admissions essays and resumes. In rich countries, "clinical experience" is usually a requirement to get into medical school, but it is rarely defined. While professional health associations have guidelines for ethical practices abroad, students are rarely aware of them. Universities have to do more to foster awareness, and develop best practices for students' global engagements. Several organizations are working on this effort, including the Working Group on Global Activities by Students at Pre-Health Levels, the Global Ambassadors for Patient Safety course, and globalsl.org. Let Love-Robinson be a reminder to all of us: If the desire to "help" can't justify playing doctor at home, it shouldn't justify it anywhere. We can do better. - Noelle Sullivan is an assistant professor of instruction in global health studies and anthropology at Northwestern University. Officials with the Nebraska U.S. Attorney Office confirmed on Monday that Jack Seals, 30, of North Platte, had been arrested. Seals was one of six fugitives at large after one of the largest drug sweeps in the history of the state that included 60 federal indictments and four state indictments. According to documents released by the U.S. Attorneys Office last week, Seals was wanted for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Seals was booked into the Lincoln County Detention Center in North Platte on Feb. 28 as a fugitive from justice, according to jail records. Details surrounding Seals arrest were unavailable at press time. Joe Jeanette, law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorneys Office, confirmed that five individuals are still at large: Manuel Ortiz, 35, no known address Maria Robles-Rojas, 34, no known address Juan Manuel Munoz, 42, of Lexington Brian Titman, 37, of McCook Tomas Venegas, 29, of Scottsbluff Danny Huerta, 23, of Grand Island Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of these individuals should contact local law enforcement immediately. Do not try to apprehend them on your own. Reigning premiers North Queensland have arrived at season 2016 on the offensive, with co-captain Johnathan Thurston playing the rival card in describing their Round 1 opponent the Cronulla Sharks. Featuring seven-tackle tries, an unwinnable game and the end of an 11-game winning streak, recent history between the two certainly makes for interesting reading. Between the controversial 2013 elimination final victory, a one-point defeat from the longest odds this century and two regular season wins in 2015, Cronulla has had the better of the recent match-up. But when the chips were down in the semi-finals last season, the eventual premiers claimed the win, knocking off the visitors in a one-sided match at 1300SMILES Stadium. Big things are expected of Cronulla this year after a successful off-season recruitment drive which included the acquisitions of quality halves James Maloney and Chad Townsend, but it is the men up the middle namely a certain lock forward who have added some spice to this contest. We are starting to get a really heathy rivalry between the two clubs, Thurston said on Monday. They dusted us twice throughout the year last year, and over the years the semi-finals weve played against them, its starting to be a really good rivalry. They will be disappointed with the way they ended the year, and they will have full confidence theyve recruited well also. Theyre one of the smokies and no doubt they will have a good year. Meanwhile, with new interchange rules and the shot clock coming in to play this season, it has been said that Thurston could exploit big tiring packs such as Cronullas with the type of probing runs seen in the World Club Challenge match against Leeds. However, the 32-year-old was quick to quash any thought of using his tricky running game too often this season, mindful of preserving himself for the pointy end of the year. Greeny wasnt too happy with that, Thurston said of his running game against Leeds. I could feel that I was getting a fair bit of pressure from the outside and I threw an intercept in the first couple minutes, so I was just holding onto the ball [in that game]. But my style of play wont change [from last season]. I havent spoken to [Green about resting] at all. If we get in the position like we were last year where he has the option of resting players or limiting their time, then Im sure he will look to do that. But we havent spoken about it. Video first featured at cowboys.com.au The Porter County Community Foundation is helping more Porter County kids to stay active and adults to ride to their jobs with a grant to the Bike Project. The Foundation awarded Catholic Charities Diocese of Gary a Community Fund grant in support of the project spearheaded by the Knights of Columbus Council 7473. Since 2012, the local volunteer group has been rebuilding bicycles to donate to families who cannot afford to purchase new bikes for enjoyment or employment needs. With the funds from the Foundation, the K of C members will be able to repair and give an additional 100 bikes to families in need. The Foundation seeks to improve lives in Porter County by providing funds through an open grant making process for humanitarian, cultural, educational and environmental purposes. The Foundation has awarded more than $500,000 in Community Fund grants to nonprofit organizations throughout Porter County within the past three years. To make a donation to any of the Foundations charitable funds, visit online at portercountyfoundation.org. Expansion is coming to the Valparaiso Family YMCA when it breaks ground this spring on a two-story, 7,800 square-foot space that will be ready for members to use by the end of the year. The building extension was was made in part by a donation by St. Mary Medical Center, which announced Monday a new partnership with the Valpo Y. Included in the new space are a mind/body studio for group exercise classes, a space for personal training and physical therapy, private offices for physical therapy, a private exercise studio and expanded bathrooms and a new boardroom. The partnership between the YMCA and St. Marys includes a full-time nurse on site who will coordinate blood pressure and BMI checks, seminars and lunch and learn events for Y members and residents. Plans include physical therapy and cardiac rehabilitation services available for Y members and residents, provided by hospital therapists and clinical staff. It is an exciting time for the Valparaiso Family YMCA, CEO Bob Wanek said. We are answering the needs of our members and community with this vital partnership with St. Mary Medical Center. St. Mary Medical Center CEO Janice Ryba said the partnership grew from a shared commitment to the health and wellness of their communities. With so many of our friends, staff and patients living in the area, it truly feels like a natural extension of our St. Mary Medical Center Family, she said. Christy Cleveland, the St. Mary nurse on staff at the Y, said the partnership is a perfect thing. We have the same focus on health and wellness for the community, she said. Im excited for all the different programs were planning. What a great team. Also announced Monday was a new My Y On Demand program that combines fitness, nutrition and personalized goals. You will be able to access our services wherever you are, Wanek said. The program will begin March 15 and is $5 per month for members and $10 for Y subscribers. A New York judge has ruled that the Justice Department cannot force Apple to hack a locked iPhone. The ruling stems from a Brooklyn drug case where prosecutors were looking to access data from a convicted drug dealer's iPhone. The decision supports Apple's position in its fight to uphold digital privacy rights. The tech giant is opposing an order from a California judge that would require the company to create software to hack the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters. Officials from Apple, FBI Director James Coney and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance are set to testify before Congress Tuesday on security and digital privacy. In a statement, Alex Abdo, staff attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said, "This is a victory for privacy, security, and common sense. The government should not be able to run to court to get the surveillance power that Congress has deliberately kept from it. The future of digital privacy also hangs in the balance. If the government can force companies to weaken the security of their products, then we all lose." Mayor Bill de Blasio waded into somewhat unfriendly territory Monday night, holding a town hall meeting in Bayside, Queens. He faced pointed questions about rising property tax bills, pay raises for public officials and homeless shelters. Our Grace Rauh was there and has the story. Mayor de Blasio took his town hall tour to Bayside, holding court in a City Council district won by his Republican rival in the mayor's race, Joe Lhota, in 2013. Despite that history the crowd at the town hall was largely respectful, although there were moments of friction. "How do you respond to civic leaders like myself who perceive a completely tone-deaf administration to our community concerns?" asked Bob Friedrich, president of the Glen Oaks Village Co-op. "It is not tone-deaf to increase the NYPD by 2,000 officers, that is something I have heard people want in communities across this city," the mayor said in response. "It is not tone-deaf to give pre-k full day to every child for free. "I'd like you to know I am looking out for the interests of the people I represent." One New Yorker balked at the 32% pay raises the mayor recently approved for City Council members. He argued that the salary boost was fair and deserved since local officials do not have a typical 9 to 5 job. "I was a City Councilman in Brooklyn," de Blasio said. "You have an obligation to each of those 160,000 people. Each of them can walk up to you and demand follow up on any kind of issue." Rising property tax bills were also a top concern. The city's property tax rate has not changed but tax bills are soaring because property values are increasing. "We have to come up with a solution that goes across the entire property tax system, which means an incredibly challenging mission," de Blasio said. The mayor says he is not interested in raising the city's property tax rate. The Transit Workers' Union wants the NYPD to beef up its presence on buses and around bus stops in the wake of some high-profile attacks on bus drivers. The beating of this Brooklyn bus driver was caught on camera. As was this smack delivered onboard a Bronx bus. And those attacks occurred before a disturbed passenger drove off with an M101 for a few blocks last week in Manhattan. "Three bus operators a week are getting assaulted," said TWU 100 President John Samuelsen. "It must end, it must stop." Now the head of Transport Workers Union Local 100 is calling for an increased police presence on and around buses. "That is the ultimate deterrent against a criminal who thinks it's a smart idea to punch a bus operator in the face or spit on a bus operator or kick a bus operator," Samuelsen said. The union is asking New York City Transit President Ronnie Hakim for support in its latest campaign to protect drivers from passengers who get rough or unruly. "We've taken measures already to mitigate against those assaults," said the union boss. "But we need a police presence on the buses. Absent a uniformed police presence on the buses, the assaults will continue." The NYPD says its officers already board buses regularly for inspections, and that those patrols tend to increase in the wake of crimes on buses. But Samuelsen says there's room for even more protection beyond the thousands of driver partitions and security cameras that have been installed by the MTA since the fatal 2008 stabbing of a bus driver in Brooklyn. In spite of the recent high-profile criminal cases involving bus operators, the MTA says that attacks against bus drivers actually fell quite a bit in 2015 compared to the previous year. The agency says assaults dropped by 22% last year It also says at least 85% of its bus fleet will be equipped with cameras by 2019. It's equipment that proved vital in leading to an arrest in this bus beatdown. Just as Paul D. is settling in, however, another visitor materializes -a strange, secretive girl who calls herself Beloved; and in her arrival are contained the seeds of Sethe's redemption and destruction. In time, Beloved will become everything to everyone in the house at 124 Bluestone Road: she will become Paul D.'s mistress, Denver's sister and Sethe's daughter. Indeed, Sethe will come to see Beloved as the reincarnation of the daughter she once killed, and she will attempt, this time around, to make up for all that happened before. These events unfold before us, like dream images, in a succession of lyrical passages that jump back and forth in time, back and forth in point of view from one character to another. As a result, there is a contemporaneous quality to time past and time present as well as a sense that the lines between reality and fiction, truth and memory, have become inextricably blurred: by the end, we see Beloved as Sethe herself does, as both daughter and ghostly apparition. Thanks to this narrative method and Ms. Morrison's magisterial yet sensuous prose, ''Beloved'' possesses the heightened power and resonance of myth - its characters, like those in opera or Greek drama, seem larger than life and their actions, too, tend to strike us as enactments of ancient rituals and passions. To describe ''Beloved'' only in these terms, however, is to diminish its immediacy, for the novel also remains precisely grounded in an American reality -the reality of black history as experienced in the wake of the Civil War. It's not only possible to recognize the people in ''Beloved'' as older relatives of the small-town Ohio folks who populated Ms. Morrison's earlier novels ''Sula'' and ''The Bluest Eye;'' it's also necessary to understand their story in order to comprehend the loss of innocence that is the legacy of the characters in all her fiction. In ''Sula,'' the story of two girls coming of age, the reader meets characters so paralyzed by the weight of the past that they desire only survival; and in ''Beloved,'' one sees firsthand the brutalities of slavery that shaped their ancestors' lives. Whites carelessly beat, rape and maim their slaves, sell them for a price and kill them for a lark; and in this world, where a similar violence festers between black men and women, between parents and their children, one begins to see the terrible logic of Sethe's decision to kill her child. In fact, in this frightening world, love becomes a dangerous emotion - dangerous not because it involves emotional vulnerability and the threat of rejection but dangerous because it demands an unaccommodated response. ''For a used-to-be-slave woman to love anything that much was dangerous, especially if it was her children she had settled on to love,'' Paul D. thinks upon hearing Sethe's story. ''The best thing, he knew, was to love just a little bit; everything, just a little bit, so when they broke its back, or shoved it in a croaker sack, well, maybe you'd have a little love left over for the next one.'' AMSTERDAM Since it opened in 1885, the Rijksmuseum here has been the greatest treasure house of the Dutch Golden Age, brimming with paintings by masters like Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jan Steen and Franz Hals. A hulking building designed by Pierre Cuypers, it is an eccentric melding of Gothic and Renaissance architecture that expanded over the years as nondescript additions and courtyards were built to create more space. The result was an antiquated and inefficient structure that could not handle the museums growing collection and attendance, so in 2003 it closed for a much-needed makeover. Now the Rijksmuseum is poised to reopen on April 13, after a renovation that took five years longer than expected and cost nearly $500 million, tens of millions over its original budget. Still, the museum has regained much of its 19th-century grandeur, paired with 21st-century lighting and technology. Asked why the job took so long, Wim Pijbes, the Rijksmuseums director, said the project proved far more complicated than expected. The museum is monumental, and this was a complete transformation, he said in an interview in his commodious office, housed in a red brick villa with views of the museum. Amsterdam is a city of canals, and you cannot dig a hole in the ground without getting wet. Its also a national museum, and since were dealing with the government, things take time. The Spanish architects Cruz y Ortiz, who won an architectural competition to renovate the museum, undid years of renovations, restoring Cuyperss original layout of the galleries, along with ornamental details that had been obliterated over the years. That straightforward design and faithfulness to tradition struck a chord with museum officials. While many major museums have embarked on sweeping digitization projects, the one at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is distinguished by its ambition to be among the most exhaustive. By 2020, the museum intends to digitize all one million objects in its collection from masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer to Delft pottery, silk brocade gowns and matchlock muskets. Today, 25 percent of the museums collection, including nearly all of its paintings, is freely available for download in high-resolution on rijksmuseum.nl, with new images being added every day. What sets the Rijksmuseums digitization program apart is not just its scope, but also a very progressive approach to copyright. Works have a Creative Commons 0 status, which means they can be modified and disseminated in practically any way. That includes exploiting the images for commercial use downloaded artworks have been turned into iPhone cases, scarves, even a tattoo. The museum encourages experimentation, hosting creative contests and offering .tiff files (also for free) to those who want to republish images in large formats. Its really a fundamental belief of the management at the Rijksmuseum that sharing is the new having, said Cecile van der Harten, the head of the museums image department, who has spent the past decade leading the digitization effort. It means you want to try do anything and everything to let people enjoy the collection, whether its live or online. The past usually looks prettier than the present, especially when its set to music. And in her new show, Cafe Society, at Feinsteins at 54 Below, Christine Andreas looks back longingly to the days before television usurped the evening hours and fashionable New Yorkers flocked to nightclubs. For diehard cabaret fans, that pre-rock era was a golden age, and at her opening night show on Friday, Ms. Andreass stories about fabled clubs and legendary performers made you wish youd been there. Accompanying her was a trio led by Kenny Ascher on piano, with Dick Sarpola on bass and Warren Odze on drums. Several of her stories revolved around the 1983 Broadway revival of the Rodgers and Hart show On Your Toes, directed by the theater legend, George Abbott, for which Ms. Andreas won a Tony for best featured actress in a musical. The many figures she conjured from those years included the actress Dina Merrill, who appeared in that revival and who, Ms. Andreas recalled, doubled as my fairy stage mother. Glamorous and frisky at 64, Ms. Andreas presented herself as a bridge between then and now in a program that included an extended Gershwin medley. Her rendition of Irving Berlins Puttin on the Ritz substituted Bradley for Gary Cooper, a clever touch. While singing Cole Porters My Heart Belongs to Daddy, she spoofed the role of the avaricious baby doll and plopped into the lap of man in the audience. The criminal sexual assault case against the entertainer Bill Cosby was suspended on Tuesday by a Pennsylvania appeals court. Mr. Cosby had been scheduled to attend a pretrial hearing next Tuesday in Norristown in the case of a young Temple University staff member, Andrea Constand, who says the entertainer drugged and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. But the appeals court said it was temporarily halting proceedings in the trial court while it considers whether to hear an appeal by Mr. Cosby that the charges against him should be thrown out. Prosecutors at next weeks preliminary hearing in Norristown were due to present evidence and call witnesses for the first time to persuade a judge to allow the case to proceed to trial. Claude Parent, the French architectural visionary who in the 1950s broke with his traditional Beaux-Arts training and then orthodox Modernism to take a radical course, designing buildings on the oblique instead of the vertical and horizontal, died on Saturday in Paris. He was 93. His daughter, Chloe Parent, said he died at a hospital after his heart had stopped while he was being fitted for a pacemaker. He had celebrated his birthday on Friday. His quiet demeanor, impeccable manners, Issey Miyake jackets and white Rolls-Royce all belied the fact that Mr. Parent (roughly pronounced pah-RAHN) was an instinctive subversive though a highly successful one, not unlike more conspicuous French rebels like the writer Jean Genet and the artist Yves Klein, with whom Mr. Parent frequently collaborated. Mr. Parent subverted convention from the beginning of his practice, when he and a fellow Beaux-Arts student won a magazine-sponsored competition in 1952 to design and build a house. They created a long, low, California-inspired dream house and then fractured it, breaking the horizontal lines abruptly with a massive wall. The house lost its unity, a radical idea then and now. Viceland, the new cable channel from the nonconformist Vice Media, moves into the slot once occupied by H2 and toward subjects typically at home on Travel Channel, Bravo and MTV. Alicia Vikander, a newly anointed Oscar recipient for The Danish Girl, portrays the British pacifist Vera Brittain in Testament of Youth. And the networks report on Super Tuesday. Whats on TV NOISEY 10 p.m. on Viceland. Vice Media launches its new cable channel with Spike Jonze as its creative director with this music series, which places a preppy host, Zach Goldbaum, into some incongruous backgrounds to explore the sociopolitical issues inspiring beats around the globe. In this premiere episode, its the city of Compton, Calif., which gave rise to the Bloods gang and the Grammy-sweeping rapper Kendrick Lamar. With visits to a high school, a restaurant started by two former gangbangers, a church and a minister who condemns gangster rap lyrics while endorsing Mr. Lamar, its fluidly edited and consistently interesting without turning up any exceptional insights, Mike Hale wrote in The New York Times. (Image: A scene from the program.) WEEDIQUETTE 11 p.m. on Viceland. Krishna Andavolu explores marijuana legalization in the United States and abroad, starting with the use of cannabis oil as a treatment for cancer in children not just to ease the side-effects of chemotherapy but to attack the cancer itself. Among the discussions with researchers and activists, this gives the show the opportunity to show very young children high on weed, Mr. Hale wrote. (They smile a lot and stare at bugs.) He added, Its a very friendly and very watchable investigation, photographed beautifully in Oregon and California locations. (Image: Mr. Andavolu) SUPER TUESDAY ELECTION RESULTS 6 p.m. on CNN, Fox Business, Fox News and MSNBC; 7 p.m. on Al Jazeera America and C-Span; 10 p.m. on ABC, CBS and NBC; and 11 p.m. on PBS. The presidential candidates compete for delegates taking part in the nominating conventions. A nonprofit watchdog group on Monday called for an investigation of David H. Stevens, chief executive of the Mortgage Bankers Association, arguing that he may have violated ethics laws relating to his previous position as commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration. The National Legal and Policy Center, a right-leaning ethics-in-government group, urged the United States attorney for the District of Columbia and the inspector general at the Housing and Urban Development Department to conduct an official review of Mr. Stevenss activities while he was at HUD and after he left the agency in March 2011 to lead the mortgage association, one of the most powerful lobbying organizations in Washington. An investigation, the center said, would determine whether Mr. Stevens had violated federal rules barring former government officials from communicating or appearing on behalf of persons or entities with respect to matters in which the former officials personally and substantially participated during their government service. The ethics group also asked the government officials to look into whether Mr. Stevens had violated the law by trying to influence matters of interest to the mortgage bankers for a brief period when he was still in the government but had accepted the lobbying post. He was the F.H.A. commissioner, a post within HUD, from mid-2009 through March 2011. Gawker Media and the union that represents its employees announced on Monday that they had reached an agreement on a labor contract, the first designed and negotiated specifically for a digital media company. The contract, which the union, the Writers Guild of America, East, described as unique, says that editorial decisions must be made strictly by editorial staff, sets a minimum annual salary of $50,000 and ensures 3 percent yearly raises for staff members this year and for the next two years. Employees should receive severance amounting to two weeks for every year of service, it says. But employment is at-will, which the company argues allows it to respond to market conditions. The company described the negotiations as occasionally intense but always collegial and said that the agreement would guarantee writers and others the security, fair wages and quality benefits they have earned and the companys management the flexibility to run the business effectively in a fast-paced and fluid environment. The Gawker staff will vote on the contract in the coming days. Last June, Gawker became the first in a series of digital media companies to seek to unionize. Others like The Huffington Post, Vice and Salon followed suit. A new study of 42 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome in French Polynesia offers the strongest evidence to date that the Zika virus can trigger temporary paralysis, researchers reported on Monday. But experts cautioned that more evidence from other locations was needed to be conclusive. Since last year, doctors have noticed an unusual increase in Guillain-Barre cases in several countries with Zika outbreaks, including Brazil, El Salvador and Venezuela. But as the World Health Organization reported on Friday, a large number of those patients have not yet been confirmed through laboratory testing to have Zika. Guillain-Barre leaves patients unable to move, in extreme cases forcing them to depend on life support. While most patients eventually regain full movement, the condition can be fatal. In the patients studied in French Polynesia, none died, but 38 percent went to an intensive care unit and 29 percent needed help breathing. This study, published in The Lancet, used a number of tests to try to determine whether the group of 42 patients who contracted Guillain-Barre during a Zika outbreak in 2013 and 2014 also had the Zika virus. As part of that effort, city workers have been going door to door since last summer to identify tenants who are not receiving essential services such as heat or hot water; in those cases, the city does repairs and charges the landlord. Other times, they identified tenants who were threatened with illegal eviction and city lawyers have intervened in court cases, at no cost to the tenant. Most low-income tenants in New York still face their landlords lawyers without representation of their own. Elected officials, legal scholars and tenant groups in the city and nationwide have long pushed to establish a right to counsel in civic actions that affect basic needs like housing, but the cost is high. In New York City, it is estimated such an effort would cost more than $100 million. The $46 million the city has spent on legal services for tenants over the last two years has brought sizable savings in services for homeless people, given that about a third of families that enter shelters were evicted from private housing, studies show. One legal services agency, Legal Services NYC, has hired about 90 additional housing case handlers most of them lawyers since 2014, said Edward Josephson, the director of litigation. He said the lawyers helped negotiate more time for payments of back rent, fought any overcharges and took landlords to court in cases in which problems have been neglected or tenants have been harassed. Weve had two years to ramp up, Mr. Josephson said of the increased funding his agency received from the city. Most cases are over nonpayment of rent, and landlords welcome the declining number of evictions as well. Owners go to court for rent money, not looking for evictions, said Mitchell Posilkin, general counsel for the Rent Stabilization Association, a landlord group. While working as an American contractor across the Middle East, Tairod Pugh earned a reputation for his abilities as an airplane mechanic and for his extremist views. When the Islamic State beheaded its first American hostages in 2014, for instance, Mr. Pugh, 48, did not seem upset like his colleagues working at a small airline that serviced American military bases. Instead Mr. Pugh leapt to the groups defense, telling his co-workers that the Islamic State, just like any other group, had a right to defend itself, his manager at the time, Aamer Aslam, testified on Monday in Federal District Court in Brooklyn, at the start of Mr. Pughs trial on charges that he had planned to provide support to the militant group. That was only one of Mr. Pughs inflammatory remarks, part of a pattern that began at least as early as 2001, when a colleague of Mr. Pugh tipped off the F.B.I. that he sympathized with Osama bin Laden, according to the prosecutions legal filings in the case. No matter who comes out on top on Super Tuesday, this round of presidential primaries has been turning conventional notions about campaign finance upside down. For the time being. It would be soothing to think that the primary seasons bizarre twists and turns have shown the limits of the influence big money can have on the conduct and success of a political campaign. Jeb Bush blew through more than $100 million in campaign and super PAC money, and still dropped out early. Remember Scott Walker? Big backers didnt help him. Chris Christie ran out of money about the same time he ran out of mojo. Donald Trump says hes self-financing his campaign, a ploy that also involves leasing his plane and office space to himself. On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders has made himself an emblem of grass-roots campaign finance whose run is paid for by small donors and boasts no super PAC support. He has mounted such a surprisingly robust challenge to the super PAC-backed Hillary Clinton that many of her wealthy donors have already given her the maximum legal contribution of $2,700 each (although they can still contribute to her super PACs). So whats the problem? The general election. With only two nominees to back, tens of millions more from big donors will come sweeping into the race. Big Republican backers like the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson will come off the sidelines; other millionaires and billionaires will step up their super PAC giving. The Democratic National Committee just lifted the ban on lobbyist contributions; that means that if Hillary Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee, individual lobbyists will be able to contribute more than $300,000 each to the Hillary Victory Fund, a joint fund-raising committee established in partnership with the national committee. And those maxed-out donors? Come the general election, theyll all be able to kick in another $2,700. Several factors the fragmented media market, super PACs, new media have made it easier for factions both within and outside the party to coordinate on their own. The Tea Party and the progressive movement can empower candidates like Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders. Campaign finance laws have undermined parties and empowered individual candidates: Most think Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum lasted longer in 2012 than they would have without super PACs. In several contests, party leaders were hesitant to challenge candidates who appeared to have independent support. In the 2004 Democratic contest, most party leaders did not want Howard Dean as the nominee, but his fund-raising was impressive. It took Mr. Deans failure in the Iowa caucuses to embolden party leaders to back John Kerry. That the evolving political environment would give the party leaders trouble is no surprise. The invisible primary itself evolved as a response to the 1970s reforms, but it took party leaders a few cycles to work it out. They may yet work out these changes as well. Maybe the party is falling apart. Even without those obstacles, coordination was going to be especially difficult for Republican leaders in 2016. To see why, look no further than the House of Representatives. In October, House Republicans struggled to find a speaker who could win the support of the conservative House Freedom Caucus as well as more mainstream party members. That same cleavage is now doing for the presidential nomination what it did for the routine in Congress. We argued in the book that you should think of the party as a collection of different, often competing groups that nevertheless find ways to bridge their differences. Right now, the largest divide is between those groups that some call party regulars, or the establishment, and more ideological groups the Tea Party, religious conservatives and other movement conservatives. Jeb Bush was a clear early choice among many regulars, but he was just as clearly not the choice of movement conservatives. And Mr. Cruz, rejected by the national party, has been embraced by many movement conservatives. Before voting began, Mr. Cruz led in endorsements from politicians at the state level, where the Tea Party movement has been most effective. President Hassan Rouhani of Iran was quick to boast about returns showing that his reformist and moderate supporters had done well in voting for Irans new Parliament and influential clerical council. Kudos to the history-making nation of Iran. Lets open a new chapter based on domestic talents & global opportunities, he wrote on social media on Monday. Although final totals for Fridays elections have not been released, Mr. Rouhanis allies posted a landslide victory in Tehran and solid results in other areas as well. If confirmed, these trends would be a serious setback for the conservative Islamic establishment, headed by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and a significant endorsement of Mr. Rouhanis policy of engagement with the West as reflected, most recently, in the historic deal limiting Irans nuclear aspirations in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Moderate candidates took all 30 parliamentary seats in the Tehran district; combined with gains in other cities, reformist and moderate forces could secure a majority in the 290-seat Parliament. Hard-liners could also lose their dominance over the 88-member Assembly of Experts, the influential clerical council that will choose the next supreme leader. The reformist gains are all the more remarkable because the deck was stacked against them. The Guardian Council, which vets candidates and is dominated by hard-liners, disqualified most of the reformists who wanted to run. Iran is far from a democracy and the politics are complicated; many moderates in Iran could easily be considered hard-liners elsewhere. The hard-liners have a firm grip on the security forces, the judiciary and most of the economy and will for the foreseeable future. And despite the nuclear deal, Irans destabilizing role in the Middle East, its ties to Russia and its hostility toward Israel make it hard for the United States and its Western allies to have normal relations with Tehran. But on a trip across southeast Texas on the eve of the primary, I met voters who with an exception or two did not seem to think they were near any abyss, as Mr. Cruz has warned. At a nostalgically 19th-century event a rodeo parade on Saturday in Houston Texans seemed perfectly at ease with the times. Trail riders by the thousands had converged on the downtown. They clopped through the skyscraper streets, in the shadow of what used to be the Enron towers, along with covered wagons and floats and marching bands. Not a politician was in sight. Image The parade kicks off rodeo season in Houston. Credit... Michael Stravato for The New York Times I watched for a while with Kemal Anbarci, a 52-year-old petroleum engineer, born in Turkey, who loves Houston. I really feel American, he said. I feel like I belong here. He said he voted Republican when he lived in California, but was waiting until after the primary to see who is the most unifying candidate. He called Houston a wonderful place to be if you are not native-born. He observed that the riders in the parade were ethnically diverse, but rode in segregated groups. Its wonderful, he said, but they are in chunks. He laughed. Some of the chunks reflect the Texas story. Mexican-Americans in sombreros, holding lariats and with their exquisitely trained and groomed dancing horses. Hundreds of members of the huge array of African-American riding clubs in Texas. Bo Lundford, on his quarter horse, Doc, was the trail boss for the Black History Riders of America, a group that honors the memory of the one-third of Texas cowboys who, Mr. Lundford said, were black or Hispanic. He was leaning toward Bernie Sanders and did not trust Mr. Trump with the nuclear button. It feels like people clumped themselves into intellectual movements more 30 years ago than they do today. There were paleoconservatives and neoconservatives. There were modernists and postmodernists; liberals, realists, and neoliberals; communitarians and liberation theologians; Jungians and Freudians; Straussians and deconstructionists; feminists and post-feminists; Marxists and democratic socialists. Maybe there were even some transcendentalists, existentialists, pragmatists, agrarians and Gnostics floating around. Now people seem less likely to gather in intellectual clumps. Now public thinkers seem to be defined more by their academic discipline (economist or evolutionary biologist) or by their topic (race and gender), than by their philosophic school or a shared vision for transforming society. The forces of individualism that are sweeping through so much of society are also leading to the atomization of intellectual life. Eighty years ago engaged students at City College in New York sat in the cafeteria hour upon hour, debating. The Trotskyites sat in one alcove and the Leninists sat in another, and since the Trostkyites were smarter and won the debates, the leaders of the Leninist faction eventually forbade their cadres from ever talking to them. But today we live in a start-up culture. Theres great prestige in being the founder of something, the lone entrepreneur who creates something new. Young people who frequently say they dont want to work in some large organization are certainly not going to want to subsume themselves in some pre-existing intellectual label. Early one recent morning at the midtown New York flower wholesaler Dutch Flower Line, the author Susan Orlean paused to smell a fragrant bouquet of baby-blue hyacinth. With a light flurry of snow falling outside, the incongruity of her surroundings was not lost on her. New York, she noted, has a great talent for creating worlds inside worlds. Orlean is, of course, no stranger to uncovering the unusual. She traveled deep into Floridas swampy Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve with the orchid poacher John Laroche for her widely read 1998 book The Orchid Thief, which laid bare the little-known floral black market while also chronicling her own personal revelations along the way. Ive always had a strong tie to the flower district, she notes, pausing to pick up a bunch of freshly cut pink ranunculi. In fact, I had the launch party for The Orchid Thief at another flower shop just down the road. However, long before the success of Orleans book and the subsequent film it inspired Charlie Kaufmans wildly inventive Adaptation, in which Meryl Streep played Orlean she recalls forays to the flower district as special indulgences during her early years living in the city. Until I moved to New York, I could probably count on my hand the number of times Id bought flowers for myself, she says. One day, I thought, I need something alive in my new apartment. Pausing to head over to a bundle of yet-to-bloom crimson peonies, she continues: Coming up from the subway, Id get a bouquet even if it was about to be thrown out and bring it back to my little apartment. Image One of the artworks by Philip Taaffe that accompany Orleans text. Credit... Philip Taaffe/Courtesy of Planthouse Gallery Soon, however, the flower district Orlean recalls so fondly may itself become a distant memory. Over the past few decades, the number of vendors has shrunk, from some 60 wholesalers to 32. Much has been written about the plight of the industry, with businesses closing or in danger of it because of gentrification and its attendant surging rental prices. A webpage that masqueraded as a New York Times article and claimed that Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts had endorsed Bernie Sanders for president circulated widely on social media on Monday. The fake news article, which mimicked The Timess typefaces and design and included the bylines of two of the newspapers political reporters, appeared with the headline Warren Endorses Sanders, Breaking With Colleagues. The story included quotes attributed to Ms. Warren, Senator Barbara Boxer of California and the actress Lena Dunham, and was published at a URL similar to The Timess. An article circulating on social media tonight that is made to resemble a New York Times story and says Elizabeth Warren endorsed Bernie Sanders is a fake and has no connection to The Times, said Matthew Purdy, a deputy executive editor of The Times. Join us for live updates and analysis of Super Tuesday. _____ Until recently, Jared Taylor, long one of the countrys most prominent white supremacists, had never supported a presidential candidate. Theres been no one worth endorsing, he said in an interview. I mean, for heavens sake, was John McCain ever going to do anything useful as far as the legitimate interests of whites are concerned? But Mr. Taylor believes he has finally found someone who will: Donald J. Trump. This year, Mr. Taylors voice could be heard on robocalls to voters across Iowa and New Hampshire, urging them to support Mr. Trump. We dont need Muslims, he said on the call. We need smart, educated, white people who will assimilate to our culture. Then came Sunday a banner day for Mr. Trump in the eyes of white-power advocates. In an early-morning social media post, Mr. Trump approvingly reposted on Twitter a quotation from Benito Mussolini (It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep). Then, in an interview on CNN, he refused to condemn the Ku Klux Klan or David Duke, its onetime grand wizard, after Mr. Duke declared his support for Mr. Trump. While many senators are waiting for the results of the primaries on Tuesday to endorse Mr. Trump, renounce him or reserve the right to remain silent, many are privately pondering which camp to join. There is no playbook for the choice they face. In the last half-century, no prospective Republican front-runner at this stage has been the object of such intraparty animus. Some members say they are merely reflecting their constituents views. I come from an interesting rural county with a lot of Rust Belt union folks, and Donald Trump is truly resonating through western New York, said Representative Chris Collins, one of a handful of House Republicans who have endorsed the front-runner. It starts first and foremost with the leader who is going to make our borders safe again, and some of the rhetoric, he realizes, he now has to moderate. But other leading Republicans are saying a Trump nomination could hurt Republicans running for re-election in swing states. We cant have a nominee be an albatross around the down-ballot races, Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, told CNN on Monday. Thats a concern of mine. Democrats are already seizing on earlier comments that Republican lawmakers, including Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin and Senator John McCain of Arizona, have made suggesting that they will support any nominee out of party loyalty. Several Republican senators, led by Tim Scott of South Carolina, have enthusiastically endorsed Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, while House Republicans are more scattered in their choices. But regardless of their first choice, lawmakers are facing pressure to choose sides in what has become an almost moral quandary for Republicans: whether they can tolerate Mr. Trump as the de facto head of the party. In the days after Donald J. Trump vanquished his Republican rivals in South Carolina and Nevada, prominent Democrats supporting Hillary Clinton arranged a series of meetings and conference calls to tackle a question many never thought they would ask: How do we defeat Mr. Trump in a general election? Several Democrats argued that Mrs. Clinton, should she be her partys nominee, would easily beat Mr. Trump. They were confident that his incendiary remarks about immigrants, women and Muslims would make him unacceptable to many Americans. They had faith that the growing electoral power of black, Hispanic and female voters would deliver a Clinton landslide if he were the Republican nominee. But others, including former President Bill Clinton, dismissed those conclusions as denial. They said that Mr. Trump clearly had a keen sense of the electorates mood and that only a concerted campaign portraying him as dangerous and bigoted would win what both Clintons believe will be a close November election. That strategy is beginning to take shape, with groups that support Mrs. Clinton preparing to script and test ads that would portray Mr. Trump as a misogynist and an enemy to the working class whose brash temper would put the nation and the world in grave danger. The plan is for those themes to be amplified later by two prominent surrogates: To fight Mr. Trumps ability to sway the news cycle, Mr. Clinton would not hold back on the stump, and President Obama has told allies he would gleefully portray Mr. Trump as incapable of handling the duties of the Oval Office. WASHINGTON The State Department on Monday released the last set of emails from the 30,000 messages on Hillary Clintons private computer server, including an email about North Korea that remains a point of dispute between the department and one of the nations spy agencies over the secrecy of information that passed through the server. That email written on July 3, 2009, after a North Korean ballistic missile test was one of four that prompted intensified scrutiny of the emails for classified information and a referral last year to the F.B.I. for a review of the handling of classified information by Mrs. Clinton, her aides and other State Department officials while she was secretary of state. It was released as part of a chain of five replies and forwards on Monday with portions blocked out on the grounds that they contained information now classified secret, though not top secret, the higher classification that the spy agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, had cited last summer. Join us for live updates and analysis of Super Tuesday. _____ On the eve of a critical round of voting, Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz made kitchen-sink-style attempts to slow Donald J. Trumps persistent march toward capturing the Republican nomination, tarring him for not being honest with voters and even questioning his manhood. The day began with Mr. Trump fending off a growing controversy over his refusal on Sunday to disavow support from David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan leader, and ended with both Mr. Rubio and Mr. Cruz raising questions about the New York real-estate developers fealty to his hard-line position on immigration. Gov. John Kasich of Ohio stayed out of the mud fight, attempting to cast himself as the grown-up alternative to the other candidates. Voters in states as diverse as Virginia, Alabama and Massachusetts will cast ballots in primaries on Tuesday. Texas, the home state of Mr. Cruz, will also hold its primary, a test of strength for the candidate who has staked his campaign on support from evangelical voters and those who see him as the purest conservatives. Should Mr. Cruz fall short in the delegate-rich state, it would deal a devastating blow to his candidacy. Mr. Trump sought to quell questions about why, in an interview on Sunday with CNN, he had declined to disavow Mr. Duke. He said on NBCs Today show that he had not been able to hear because of a bad earpiece, although at no point during the interview did he appear to have trouble hearing the interviewer, Jake Tapper. WASHINGTON There was something like a consensus at the Supreme Court on Monday that it was not a good idea for a judge to hear a death penalty case he had worked on as a district attorney. But the justices seemed divided over how to fashion a constitutional rule that would bar such conduct yet not require judges to recuse themselves whenever they had had a glancing encounter with the matter under review. You want us to get pretty deeply into the issue of a constitutional recusal policy for judges, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. told a lawyer for a death row inmate in Pennsylvania. So its really not enough to just say what happened here was bad. The case started in 1986 when Terrance Williams and a friend, both 18, beat Amos Norwood, 56, to death with a tire iron. Philadelphias district attorney, Ronald D. Castille, authorized a capital prosecution of Mr. Williams. Approved to proceed on the death penalty, he wrote on a subordinates memorandum. WASHINGTON Recent gains against the Islamic State in eastern Syria have helped sever critical supply lines to Iraq and set the stage for what will be the biggest fight yet against the Sunni militancy, the battle to retake Mosul, Pentagon officials said on Monday. Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon news conference that American-backed forces had begun laying the groundwork for the fight by moving to isolate Mosul from the Islamic States de facto headquarters in Raqqa, Syria. Kurdish and Arab forces retook the town of Shaddadi in eastern Syria last week, cutting off what Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter called the last major artery between Raqqa and Mosul. But military officials cautioned that the fight for Mosul could last many months, requiring Iraqi forces unproven in urban warfare to advance street by street through the explosives-laden terrain of Iraqs second-largest city, with more than one million people. In addition to the advances in eastern Syria, the Pentagon has begun using cyberattacks on Islamic State communications between Raqqa and Mosul, as well as attacks meant to disrupt the militant groups ability to use social media to recruit fighters, officials said. Business / Companies by Staff Reporter Metallon Corporation, a gold producer firm top brass has been accused of massive asset stripping as the industrial action entered its second week yesterday.Two weeks ago, Metallon revealed that workers in grades 1 to 10 at Arcturus Mine had embarked on an industrial action over a backlog in wages which accumulated during the time the mine was closed.Workers said the management was busy stripping assets at the mine and taking them to Redwing Mine - one of its units."The management at the mine is busy removing underground air loaders, jack hammers, locomotives among other assets. They are taking these assets to Redwing Mine. We are worried that maybe they want to close the mine," one worker said.Workers accused management of being insensitive to their needs.However, Metallon's corporate affairs executive Zenzo Nsimbi accused the striking workers of making baseless allegations."Workers are always raising alarm for nothing. As a group, we have a policy of moving assets from one unit to another if there is a need." It's not asset stripping as they say. It's a regular thing that we usually do as a group. For example, if there is a machine that is lying idle at Shamva Mine but needed at Redwing, we take it there," he said.Nsimbi said some workers had returned to work while others were still on industrial action."Others are still on strike and others are back at work. We had a meeting with them (workers) on Saturday and we agreed on a number of things which we will discuss later," he said.In 2015, Arcturus Mine made a loss of $7 million and has been kept in operation due to interventions from other sources, the company said in a statement.Metallon Gold is owned by South African mining magnate Mzi Khumalo and has five gold mines in Zimbabwe How Mine, Shamva Mine, Arcturus Mine, Mazowe Mine and Redwing Mine. The United Nations announced on Monday that it would fully restore all food aid to hundreds of thousands of war-ravaged Syrians that had been cut by funding shortfalls. In a statement, the World Food Program, the main United Nations anti-hunger agency, said $675 million pledged at a London donor conference in February would allow it to fully reinstate the reduced aid to Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt for the rest of 2016. The money will also allow the agency to restore cutbacks imposed on internally displaced Syrians, at least until October. Most of the new money was provided by Germany, the statement said. The World Food Program, a pillar of aid to Syrian civilians in the five-year-old war, was forced to make cuts last year because its budget was drastically underfunded. Its clear what someone high up at the Mariinsky Theater must have been thinking when that companys United States tour was being planned. The Mariinsky, repository of ballet classicism, was going to Washington to perform a full-length work; why not send a few dancers, with a marquee name or two, to New York for a simultaneous season, and amortize the costs? Although the Mariinsky (formerly the Kirov) and the Bolshoi Ballet now tour the world fairly extensively, Russian ballet still has glamour and mystique. Ballet lovers long to see these storied dancers in the great classical works, and might have been grateful for this cost-effective strategy if the content on offer had any substance. Instead, the Mariinsky presented four incoherent, slight dance programs at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, billed as a tribute to the ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, who died in May. Though Plisetskaya danced with the Bolshoi, not the Mariinsky, a respectful homage to a great colleague is (just about) feasible. But before several dances on Friday nights program, a screen at the front of the stage showed black-and-white photographs of legendary Mariinsky names: Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijinsky, Enrico Cecchetti and Tamara Karsavina. The program a hodgepodge of solos and pas de deux from various works associated with these figures had nothing to do with Plisetskayas repertory, nor was her name or image ever invoked. Probably no one in the packed audience really cared. They were there to see Uliana Lopatkina, Vladimir Shklyarov and seven less-famous Mariinsky dancers rotate through a jumbled sequence of dances that ranged from a pas de deux from Act II of Giselle (1841) to John Neumeiers mawkish and absurdly kitsch Pavlova and Cecchetti (1971). Editors Note: March 10, 2016 After this article was published, questions were raised by some 3-D scanning experts about the artists account of what they did. An article about the questions and the artists response can be found here. BERLIN Two German artists walked into the Neues Museum in central Berlin in October and used a mobile device to secretly scan the 19-inch-tall bust of Queen Nefertiti, a limestone-and-stucco sculpture more than 3,000 years old that is one of Germanys most visited attractions. They used the data to create copies of the bust and delivered them to Egypt. Then last December, in the tradition of Internet activism, they released the data to the world, allowing anyone to download the information and create their own copies with 3-D printers. On Thursday, German museum authorities responded publicly for the first time. They were not amused. Birgit Jobstl, a spokeswoman for the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which oversees the national museum system in Germany, cast doubt on the quality and authenticity of the scan, saying in an email that the museum had noticed the artistic intervention regarding the Nefertiti bust, but sees no necessity to react. Nabil Maleh, who used social realism to challenge authority and became, in many critics estimation, the father of Syrian cinema, died on Feb. 24 in Dubai. He was 79. His death was confirmed by his daughter Ebla Maleh, who said he had recently learned he had lung cancer. Mr. Malehs 1972 film, The Leopard, based on a novel by the Syrian author Haydar Haydar, was the first feature film released by the state-run National Film Organization and won first prize at the Locarno Film Festival that year. It tells the story of a lone rebel who defends his village against corrupt local authorities. The Dubai International Film Festival honored Mr. Maleh with a lifetime achievement award in 2006, calling him one of the first Arab filmmakers to use experimental techniques, which paved the way for a new cinematographic language. The Real ONeals wants desperately to be the brash new sitcom that talks forthrightly about subjects that had been taboo. And a decade or two ago it might have been. Now, though, its just the guest who arrives late to the party, blundering in loudly and clumsily. The series, which offers preview episodes Wednesday on ABC before settling into a regular slot on Tuesday night, gives us an Irish-Catholic family of five in Chicago. Each member has been living a lie of one sort or another. By the end of the premiere, through a series of circumstances that are supposed to be madcap but mostly just strain for laughs, everyones facade has come down and the family members face a future of living with one another as they really are. Mom (Martha Plimpton, in a thanklessly idiotic role) and Dad (Jay R. Ferguson) have been planning a divorce without their childrens knowledge. Their oldest son, Jimmy (Matt Shively), is a jock with an eating disorder. Their daughter, Shannon (Bebe Wood), has been using proceeds from her charitable fund-raising work in unorthodox, possibly illegal ways. But the biggest secret involves the younger son, Kenny (Noah Galvin). Hes gay. Shocking! Or it would be, that is, if this were still the mid-20th century. Here in the 21st, series as different as Glee and House of Lies have dealt, sensitively and smartly, with teenagers who are gay or searching for their sexual identity, and with their parents and friends reactions. On any given night, shows on CW, Freeform and other outlets give us sophisticated takes on issues that rarely crossed Ozzie and Harriets radar: sexuality, teenage pregnancy, addiction, bullying, disabilities. SundanceTVs new six-part drama Hap and Leonard is based on the books of Joe R. Lansdale, a Texas-based novelist (and martial-arts instructor). If youre not familiar with Mr. Lansdales work, youll still get your bearings quickly. The setting may be East Texas but were essentially in Elmore Leonard country, where sordid crime, snappy dialogue and regional atmosphere meet. And Hap and Leonard has some family resemblance to Elmore Leonard-based screen works like the television series Justified and the movie Out of Sight. The sleepy, swampy ambience is tangible. The characters are appealing, if a little thin around the edges. The problem with the early episodes written and directed by Jim Mickle, who also made the film Cold in July, based on a Lansdale novel has to do with a slow pace and a sameness that muffle the humor and menace we expect from smart noir. The best friends of the shows title are a soulful ex-con (Hap, played by James Purefoy) and a gay Vietnam veteran (Leonard, played by Michael Kenneth Williams). We first see them being fired from their menial jobs at a rose farm. We next see them being approached by a femme fatale, Trudy (Christina Hendricks), who knows of a job that will pay them $100,000 each (big money in the late-1980s time frame). It sounds as if Jamie Dimon has been brushing up on his Sun Tzu. Mr. Dimon, the chief executive and chairman of JPMorgan Chase, appears to be goading one of his biggest rivals into the perilous terrain of global investment banking. He suggested in an interview with Bloomberg News that if Wells Fargo wanted to compete internationally, it would have to buy a Wall Street franchise. That would recklessly push the otherwise boring Wells Fargo, led by John G. Stumpf, deeper into businesses it does not know well. Wells Fargo, based in San Francisco, has a generally narrower focus on home buyers and corporate borrowers in the United States, which appeals to investors these days. Simplicity has trumped sprawl and riskier operations like bond trading since the financial crisis. JPMorgan trades at 90 percent of its expected 2016 book value, according to estimates culled by Reuters Eikon, but the larger Wells Fargo fetches a multiple of 1.3 times. Mr. Dimon gives the impression that he is both impressed by and fearful of Wells Fargos slow and steady rise in corporate finance. Though it is not top five in any broad market category, Mr. Stumpfs bank claimed 2.5 percent of the industrys global fees last year, as tallied by Thomson Reuters. Thats a far cry from JPMorgans leading 6.9 percent, but it put Wells Fargo ahead of the likes of UBS and Lazard, mainly on the back of selling bonds and syndicating loans for clients. Notwithstanding concerns from regulators, there would probably be some willing sellers of investment banking operations. Barclays, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are struggling to develop profitable strategies in the new capital-intensive world order. Mr. Dimon may be theoretically correct in saying that top clients operate globally, and that Wells Fargo could chase them across oceans with an acquisition leveraging its corporate relationships and lower cost of capital. What was shaping up to be the first big merger battle of 2016 has ended, at least for now. Honeywell said on Tuesday that it was withdrawing its $90 billion takeover bid for United Technologies after its rival steadfastly argued that a union of the two would be blocked by government regulators. In a statement, issued a day before Honeywell holds an annual presentation for investors, the company argued again that it believed a merger would have posed little antitrust risk. Putting the two companies together would have created a $160 billion titan, with a range of products like thermostats and advanced jet engines. Yet Honeywells options for prolonging the fight are limited. The company missed the deadline for nominating candidates for United Technologies board, which passed on Jan. 28. And several important customers of the two companies including Airbus and Boeing have issued statements expressing varying levels of opposition to a prospective deal. Entities that pay lip service to legitimate loan modification requirements while engaging in unfair or abusive practices toward borrowers should not be able to use government programs to profit from the continuing legacy of the financial and foreclosure crisis, said the letter, which was addressed to the Housing and Urban Development secretary, Julian Castro, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency director, Melvin L. Watt. The lawmakers asked the agencies to consider loan buyers who commit to foreclosure prevention efforts instead, including direct sales of loans to nonprofit agencies. The work these entities do to rehabilitate these properties and achieve favorable outcomes for neighborhoods should not be discounted as immaterial to the price that your agencies will accept. They also asked for greater details about loan sales, including criteria used to decide which loans go into which pool of assets up for auction and how vacant properties are treated versus occupied properties. In the realm of bonds, negative yields are no bar to positive returns. Thats just as well, because more than a quarter of JPMorgans Global Government Bond Index, or $6.4 trillion worth of debt, was trading with a negative yield last week. German 10-year government bond yields could soon join Japanese and Swiss peers in subzero territory. Investors need to be nimble to make money in this looking-glass world. Negative-yield bonds are worth buying as long as yields keep declining. Yields move inversely to prices so this sort of trend allows investors to bank capital gains. But when these gains are the only difference between making or losing money, even small price swings hurt. This was the case in April 2015, when German yields started bouncing back from record lows. As more and more investors were forced to bail, yields shot up 21-fold in less than two months. Investors need to be quick to spot when a falling yield trend might be about to reverse, even if only temporarily. They also need to exploit pockets of relative value quickly before they disappear. For example, some negative-yield French bonds might be more attractively priced than their German counterparts and thus offer more scope for capital gains. There are good reasons longer-dated bond yields can keep falling in Germany and Japan. Central banks in both countries are buying government debt at a fair clip, and the president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, might even increase purchases at a March 10 policy meeting. Nor is there any sign of the nascent price pressures that might spell an end to such asset purchase programs. Investors are so sure of this that Japan on Tuesday became the first Group of 7 leading industrial nations to auction 10-year debt at a negative yield. Business / Companies by Obert Gutu - MDC-T National Spokesperson Section 264 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe calls for the devolution of governmental powers and responsibilities. Whenever appropriate, governmental powers and responsibilities must be devolved to provincial and metropolitan councils and local authorities which are competent to carry out those responsibilities efficiently and effectively. The Constitution of Zimbabwe became operational in May, 2013 but almost three (3) years afterwards, the Zanu PF government has not yet activated the system of devolution in accordance with the constitutional dictates.The MDC-T is deeply concerned with the Zanu PF regime's reluctance to adopt the system of devolution as prescribed by the Constitution. One of the main objectives of devolution of governmental powers and responsibilities is to give powers of local governance to the people and enhance their participation in the exercise of the powers of the State and in making decisions affecting them. Essentially, therefore, local communities have been constitutionally empowered to manage their own affairs and to further their development. This is also meant to ensure the equitable sharing of local and national resources.Against the background of the Zanu PF regime's failure and/or refusal to adopt the principle of devolution, we have witnessed that the people of Chiadzwa and Marange in Manicaland province have completely failed to benefit from the God-given diamond reserves that are found on their ancestral land. It is tragic that alluvial diamnonds worth billions of United States dollars have been extracted from the Marange diamond fields over the past seven or eight years but the local communities have nothing to show for all this wealth that has been taken away from their homeland. Thousands of villagers in Marange are still living in abject poverty despite the fact that diamonds were being mined in their own backyard. No clinics, hospitals and other social amenities were constructed by the diamond companies that have been operating in the Marange communal lands. As if this is not enough exploitation, the people of Marange are also bitterly complaining that the Odzi river has been polluted through the dumping of toxic waste by these diamond mining companies. The million dollar question, therefore, is," who has actually benefitted from the diamond mining in Marange?"Local communities adjacent to the Hwange National Park as well as the Victoria Falls in Matebeleland North province have also hardly benefitted from the natural resources in their localities. The same predicament is facing local people in Binga communal lands in the same province. Poverty and destitution are the order of day for local communities living adjacent to the Matusadonha National Park in the Mola communal lands near Lake Kariba in Mashonaland West province. Thus, the MDC-T would like to call upon the Zanu PF government to urgently enact an appropriate Provincial Councils Act in terms of Section 268 of the Constitution as well as to align both the Urban Councils Act and the Rural District Councils Act with the provisions of the Constitution. For instance, there is absolutely no good reason why metropolitan councils have still not been created in Harare and Bulawayo; almost three (3) years after the harmonised elections that were held on July 31, 2013.The Zanu PF regime's reluctance to provide for devolution is very well documented. Members of Provincial councils have still not been sworn into office. Surely, there is not much money that is needed by the government to simply swear into office provincial councillors who were elected into office on the basis of the results of the July 31,2013 harmonised elections. The MDC-T is hugely disappointed by the Zanu PF regime's deliberate efforts to frustrate and sabotage the concept of devolution that is provided for in the Constitution. We call upon parliamentarians, across the political divide, to put their heads together and ensure that the Constitution of the country is not only obeyed but is also seen to be obeyed. Respect for the principle of constitutionalism is the very bedrock of any modern developmental democracy. Put alternatively, the economy of Zimbabwe cannot substantially grow when we have a government that pays lip service to constitutionalism. Both domestic and foreign investors are not keen to put their money into an economy where the government of the day is stubbornly refusing to fully operationalize all the key tenets of the supreme law of the land. A state-backed Chinese brewer has agreed to buy out SABMillers stake in the maker of Snow, the worlds best-selling beer, Anheuser-Busch InBev said on Tuesday. Anheuser-Busch InBev is hoping the sale to China Resources Beer will help to ease regulators concerns about its nearly $104 billion merger with SABMiller, which owns a 49 percent stake in CR Snow. The deal would value SABMillers stake at about $1.6 billion. Since their deal was announced last year, the two brewers have worked to win over regulators. The transaction would give the Chinese business full ownership of a beer brand that outsells better-known lines like Bud Light. This agreement is subject to any applicable regulatory approval in China, and AB InBev and CRB will work closely together through any such process, Anheuser Busch InBev said in a news release. All in all, the government will return about 1.7 billion Canadian dollars to businesses and families this year, more than the 1.2 billion dollars it expects to collect though the carbon tax, which amounts to roughly 5 percent of the provinces total tax revenue. According to the World Bank, about 12 percent of the worlds global emissions of greenhouse gases are subject to a carbon price either a tax or, more commonly, a levy under a regime of cap and trade like that in California and Europe, in which permits to emit are auctioned among companies. With few exceptions, British Columbias tax is the steepest and broadest in existence. While that sets British Columbia apart as a leader on the cutting edge, it is also part of its problem. For the policy to work best, it needs the rest of the world to catch up. Local leaders now recognize that they probably have to do more. Carbon emissions started rising again after the province froze the tax at 30 Canadian dollars in 2012. An advisory panel to the Ministry of the Environment recently laid out the problem: British Columbia is missing its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by a third from 2007 to 2020. On its current path, the province will also miss its target of an 80 percent reduction by 2050. This is not entirely British Columbias fault. True, the tax might have been too low. Spending some of the money on green initiatives might have curbed emissions faster. But its experiment has battled a harsh headwind: a collapse in the prices of oil and gasoline. Look at it this way. A study by Michael Greenstone and Thomas Covert of the University of Chicago and Professor Knittel concluded that at current battery prices, for an electric vehicle to be cheaper to run than a gas-power car, oil would have to cost $350 a barrel. Last year, it averaged $50. To make up the difference would require a carbon tax of $700 a ton of carbon dioxide. Nobody in British Columbia is talking about going that far. But to hit its long-term target, the advisory panel concluded that the tax must start increasing again in 2018, at a rate of 10 Canadian dollars a ton a year, perhaps all the way to midcentury. Craig Windham, a veteran NPR reporter known for delivering bite-size reports for top-of-the-hour newscasts in a warm, familiar tone to millions of Americans, died on Sunday in Winston-Salem, N.C. He was 66. His brother, Cris Windham, said the cause was a pulmonary embolism. Craig Windham had been visiting his brother in Winston-Salem when he fell ill. Mr. Windham joined NPR in 1995 and worked as a reporter, and sometimes as an anchor, in Washington. His reports on the events of the day, in roughly 40-second segments, covered topics ranging from natural disasters to hearings on Capitol Hill. In an interview on Tuesday, Robert Garcia, the executive producer of NPRs newscasts, described Mr. Windhams reports as gorgeous, beautifully layered audio. The Hachette Book Group has reached an agreement to buy the Perseus Books Groups publishing business, 18 months after its previous attempt to acquire the company fell through. The new agreement, which was announced on Tuesday, comes six months after Perseus, a large independent publisher, began looking for a buyer again after the first deal with Hachette collapsed. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition will strengthen Hachettes position in a publishing landscape where the biggest companies often dominate. It is the latest in a wave of consolidations that has swept the industry in recent years, including the 2013 merger of Penguin and Random House, which created a publishing behemoth with about 250 imprints, and the News Corporations acquisition of the romance publisher Harlequin for $415 million in 2014. By buying Perseuss publishing program, Hachette will fulfill the long-term goal of its parent company, Hachette Livre, which is owned by the French media conglomerate Lagardere, to expand its publishing footprint in the United States. In recent years, Hachette has acquired Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers and Hyperions adult books list. The Perseus deal is Hachettes largest acquisition to date. SYDNEY, Australia On the menu that comes to the table at the end of the meal, it is described simply as abalone schnitzel and bush condiments. But those words dont really do justice to the delicious eccentricity of the dish, part of a 10-week pop-up being staged here, through April 2, by the team from Noma, the Copenhagen restaurant famed for foraging indigenous ingredients and weaving them into a new kind of contemporary cuisine. Looking like a Seder plate from one of Saturns moons, the schnitzel dish involves a tender, crispy-battered half-disk of abalone surrounded by an orbiting green array of native Australian delights, a few of which are obscure enough that most Australians would never consider eating them. Theres Neptunes necklace, a seaweed whose briny pods pop in your mouth, and finger lime, whose minuscule capsules offer a contrasting squirt of tart citrus. Theres mat-rush, which grows along the coast and looks like a leek. Theres even a bunya nut, which may have been a favorite snack among the dinosaurs, and another nugget from a rain forest tree called the Atherton oak. PARIS In the mythology of fashion month, Paris is considered the crowning jewel; the city where creativity meets history and is blended into vision, which then gets translated into the clothes we all wear. It is the place where all absurdity is forgiven in the name of fashion, and the ridiculous can become the really cool overnight. Or so it has been. This season, however, Paris represents something else entirely: limbo. Two brands will be without creative directors: Christian Dior and Lanvin. Their collections are being produced by their design teams, led by named No.2s (at Dior, Lucie Meier and Serge Ruffieux; at Lanvin, Chemena Kamali), but it is unclear whether these arrangements are tryouts for the No.1 jobs or stop-gap measures. A third Saint Laurent is widely expected to be about to part ways with its creative director (Hedi Slimane), which means his show on Monday will be seen, by many on the front lines, through a scrim of nostalgia. It also means a fourth, Anthony Vaccarello, was viewed on Tuesday not only on its own merits but also as a tryout for Saint Laurent, since that designer was name-checked by Womens Wear Daily to be in the running for the not-yet-officially-empty job. And a fifth, Celine, has been so surrounded by rumors suggesting that its designer, Phoebe Philo, was about to leave, that it was forced to deny any departure internally (externally, it has remained silent, which has not helped matters). The brand she was rumored to be joining, Azzedine Alaia, made a public statement refuting any change to the creative direction of the house. Yet somehow, there is still a lingering suspicion; a sense that where there was so much smoke, there must be fire, and who knows what really is going on? It seems silly (Theyve denied it! Move on), except that it is indicative of the level of unease and distrust in the industry at the moment. Dr. Holbrook Kohrt, a hemophiliac who transformed his own chronic condition into a personal and public crusade for medical cures, died last Wednesday in Miami. He was 38. The cause was complications of hemophilia, his brother Brandon said. A lot of physicians say that being sick opened their eyes to what it means to be a patient, Dr. Kohrt told San Francisco magazine in 2014. For me, that doesnt really resonate Ive had hemophilia my whole life. Inspired by his own bodys ability to suppress disease, even as fellow hemophiliacs died from tainted blood transfusions, he pursued a medical career that coupled basic science with a clinical practice. Its difficult to see cancer patients for whom effective therapies dont yet exist, he said in an interview with Stanford Medicine magazine in 2009. So to be able to come back to the lab and work on what I was wishing for a few hours earlier, there cant be anything more rewarding than that. Songs My Brothers Taught Me, a melancholic portrait of Lakota Indian life on the Pine Ridge Reservation in the South Dakota Badlands, suggests a Native American answer to The Last Picture Show. As in the dying Texas town where that movie is set, a demoralizing stasis prevails, along with a lingering pride in tribal rituals that preserve a sense of continuity. When the residents don traditional headdresses and dance around a bonfire, there is joy in the air. Alcohol, illegal on the reservation, is a scourge of this impoverished community. Johnny Winters (John Reddy), the movies teenage protagonist and sporadic narrator, has a history of substance abuse and is involved in a bootlegging operation that leads to a vicious beating by more experienced rivals. In the first words heard in the film, Johnny, on horseback, warns that if you keep running a horse, youll break its spirit. He observes: Anything that runs wild got something bad in em. You want to leave some of that in there cause they need it to survive out here. Johnny is one of 25 children, from nine wives, of a bull rider who died in a fire. He and his peers jokingly address one another as brother from another mother. Johnnys embittered older brother, Cody (Justin Reddy), is in prison. When their alcoholic, guilt-ridden single mother, Lisa (Irene Bedard), visits Cody and tells him that shes found God, he sarcastically replies, Just dont make God another man you abandoned your children for. Most of Johnnys fellow students at Little Wound High School have no expectations of leaving the reservation. When a teacher questions them about their dreams for the future, Johnny, awakening from a hangover, says he wants to be a boxer or a bull rider. He also fantasizes about escaping his dead-end existence by following his girlfriend, Aurelia (Taysha Fuller), an aspiring lawyer, whos moving to Los Angeles for college. Asked by the teacher where he would live and what he would do for work, his answer is a sullen Ill figure it out. Just past sunrise on 69th Street, near a No. 7 subway stop in Queens, men in backpacks and work boots gather in groups, many on their cellphones. They are workers at one of the largest day laborer stops in New York City, hoping to be hired. Most are undocumented immigrants who have reported being cheated by employers. In the fight against wage theft, their phones could soon become their biggest allies. After three years of planning, an immigrant rights group in Jackson Heights is set to start a smartphone app for day laborers, a new digital tool with many uses: Workers will be able to rate employers (think Yelp or Uber), log their hours and wages, take pictures of job sites and help identify, down to the color and make of a car, employers with a history of withholding wages. They will also be able to send instant alerts to other workers. The advocacy group will safeguard the information and work with lawyers to negotiate payment. Image Omar Trinidad, a construction worker, is the lead organizer who helped to develop the Jornalero app. Credit... Danny Ghitis for The New York Times It will change my life and my colleagues lives a good deal, Omar Trinidad, a Mexican immigrant, said in Spanish through an interpreter. Mr. Trinidad is the lead organizer who helped develop the app. A New York appeals court decided on Tuesday that a lawsuit brought by the state attorney general claiming that Donald J. Trumps defunct for-profit school defrauded consumers can go forward. The attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, filed the lawsuit in 2013 asserting that Trump University, later known as the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative, misrepresented itself and bilked students individually of thousands of dollars and collectively of $40 million. A panel of justices from the State Supreme Courts Appellate Division ruled in Manhattan against dismissing the lawsuit. The justices found that Mr. Schneiderman was authorized to pursue the case and disagreed with the claim raised by Mr. Trumps lawyers that the statute of limitations for the claim had run out. In a statement on Tuesday, Mr. Schneiderman, a Democrat, hailed the decision as a clear victory in our effort to hold Donald Trump and Trump University accountable for defrauding thousands of students. Business / Economy by Vince Musewe - PDP Secretary for Finance and Economic Affairs Vince Musewe PDP Secretary for Finance and Economic Affairs. Contact details:vtmusewe@gmail.com or +263776917440 So far, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) we have articulated our policies based on our economic blue print HOPE (Holistic Program for Economic Transformation) on the pre-requisites for macro-economic stability and the priority for the effective management and allocation mining sector resources.This week we deal with the agricultural sector as the key driver of economic revival, food security and job creation.Agriculture remains one of the saddest stories in Zimbabwe's history. This is a sector that not only fed the entire nation but even exported huge volumes at independence. Sadly it is now just a shadow of its glorious past.We now import 70% of our food needs from South Africa and the Zambians are now feeding us with their grain. The contribution of agriculture to our GDP has fallen from about 30% in 1980 to a mere 12% of a declining GDP. This of course is mainly due to the preposterous and indefensible ZANU (PF) policies which have devastated every sector of our economy and created wide spread poverty.PDP views agriculture revival as a critical economic sector which must help us achieve food security as a matter of national security, alleviate poverty, create jobs and sustainable incomes and also lead to the revival of our agro processing industry so that we can reduce food imports and subsequently our trade deficit.How do we intend to do that?Zimbabwe has about fifteen million hectares of arable agricultural land, of which an estimated four million hectares were bought by black farmers on a willing buyer willing seller basis before the disastrous fast track land resettlement project of 2000. This means that the government now controls close to eleven million hectares.This eleven million hectares of arable land is effectively a dead and unproductive asset. Yes, a dead asset, because that land has no commercial value whatsoever due to tenure insecurity. In addition, the neglect of agricultural infrastructure maintenance since 2000 has resulted in vast pieces of potentially productive land being underutilised while the infrastructure has either dilapidated or has been stolen.We can change all this and in our economic policy, we identify the first item on the agenda as the land audit and the establishment of a non-partisan independent land commission. The commission must regularise ownership in the sector, rationalise its operations and advise government on new policies which will result an increase in productivity and investment. In fact a lot of work has already been done by experts and all we need is the political will to do the right things.As PDP we believe that the land reform need not be reversed but must be rationalised. We will also promote a new agriculture model of large scale industrial farming where experienced large scale farmers partner with small scale farmers around industrial hubs which add value to agricultural produce.The idea of separate development of an elitist white commercial farming sector as in the past is no longer viable nor is it desirable. An inclusive developmental agenda is therefore critical if we are to eradicate poverty, achieve food security, increase productivity and create decent jobs in the sector.Also critical is the issue of food security. Any country that fails to feed its citizens and minimise poverty is a failure. Zimbabwe despite having all the necessary agricultural resources, the requisite skills and knowledge has failed to do just that.We believe that hunger in our country is not inevitable and malnutrition is not a consequence of food scarcity, but a result of the way our economy is organized and of the political choices we have made to addressor ignorethe causes of hunger and poverty.The idea of poverty alleviation and achieving food security must therefore be an all-encompassing approach to improve the welfare and standard of living for all our people. As PDP we believe that, no Zimbabwean anywhere within the country should face hunger. Hunger and poverty are not inevitable but are mere consequences of bad leadership, bad policy and bad planning.However, we can only achieve the above by attracting the necessary investment in the agriculture sector.Before the fast track land resettlement project in 2000, the financial services sector had around $2 billion invested in the agricultural sector, compared to a mere $100 million in 2010. As long as our banks do not feel secure investing in this sector, we will continue to see a decline in new investments.As PDP we believe that the sacrosanct cornerstone upon which any successful economy can be built is the legal protection of private property ownership. This has been disregarded by this government in the agricultural sector to our extreme prejudice.The rule of law is an economic principle that is non-negotiable if we are to recover. We must create bankable land ownership instruments in collaboration with the local banks to release funding into this sector.In order to move forward, there is of course also the issue of compensation of those commercial farmers whose properties were taken by the government without compensation. This issue cannot be avoided forever and at some stage we will have to reach agreement with the victims.Our new constitution accepts the liability and the ZANU (PF) led government has in principle accepted its responsibility to compensate land owners, subject to an agreement with the farmers on a compensation framework, and the securing the required resources. The target is to complete this exercise by 2020 but as we all know there are no guarantees that this will be done as long as ZANU (PF) remains in charge.Only once we have removed the conflict on land and restored secure land tenure can we expect the financial services sector to look seriously at agriculture investment as it did in the past.Key issues under our agriculture revival strategy will include infrastructure rehabilitation and development, the re-establishment of agriculture support and research services, restructuring of agriculture and related state enterprises, new export markets development, value add products, enabling policies especially the pricing and marketing of produce, skills transfer and development and the availability of appropriate seasonal and long term finance.Also critical will be how we manage climate change. This is such an important issue which has been typically neglected by ZANU (PF). Zimbabwe faces a challenging future due to climate change impact and this will change how we achieve food security and prevent poverty and hunger. PDP is in the process of developing a comprehensive climate change policy in response. The issue of climate change will be covered under this column in the future as a key economic enabler.As PDP we acknowledge that there is no shortage of new creative ideas on how to revive agriculture. Much work has already been done by academics and experts on the subject. We believe that this sector can indeed be quickly revived and trigger off the revival of the entire economy, but only when with a new government which takes its responsibilities seriously.We intend to do just that! She would approach older men in Upper Manhattan restaurants or supermarkets, pretending she knew them, prosecutors said. She would get their contact information and from there, forge a relationship and gain their trust. That is when she asked for money. The woman, Mary Evans, was indicted on Tuesday in State Supreme Court on charges that included grand larceny for stealing more than $400,000 from three older men since 2009, prosecutors said. Ms. Evans, 44, was arrested on Monday and was being held at Rikers Island, according to jail records. Prosecutors said she told the men about abusive relationships and family tragedies. Next, she needed money for nursing school or to get her nursing license, and promised to repay them; instead, she went on shopping sprees. When the men asked about the money, prosecutors said, she disappeared. Companionship came at a high price for the elderly victims in this case, Cyrus R. Vance, the Manhattan district attorney, said in a statement. In the colonial period, the Jats initially suffered under the rapacious rent regime of the British, but they bounced back after the mutiny of 1857. By the end of the 19th century, they had consolidated their land holdings, often by buying up and settling entire villages. A government report from the time, quoted by Kai Friese in Peasant Communities and Agrarian Capitalism, describes a transaction in Meerut, about 40 miles from Delhi: The purchase was effected not only through clear proposals but also by force, arson and even murder. Today, Jats remain active in the land and water market surrounding Delhi. The metropolitan city area sucks up 900 million gallons of fresh water each day from across northern India, 60 percent of which must first flow through the Jat lands of Haryana. One quarter of Delhis households live without a water connection, according to 2013 government figures, the most recent and most reliable data available. Many people are forced to turn to private, and predominantly Jat, water-tanker suppliers, who are demonized in the press as a local water mafia. And when the state angers the Jats as it did in 2014 when it asked the Jat leader Ajit Singh to vacate his official residence long after he had ceased to be a minister they march off to the nearest canal. The roots of the current violence date back to the 1990s, when the Jats were excluded from a significant expansion of Indias affirmative action program, which set aside a percentage of government jobs and university seats for less privileged groups. Both the Congress Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party, which came to power in 2014, have at different times moved to include Jats in the quota system. But the Supreme Court has refused, claiming the group isnt backward enough. The recent protest erupted when a seemingly peaceful march of Jat demonstrators suddenly turned violent and quickly spread across Haryana. The violence has since subsided, after the army was deployed and the government offered to establish a high-level committee to look into Jat demands. Newspaper editorials have condemned the destruction of property, and describing the unrest as quota blackmail have warned the government against setting a bad precedent for other politically dominant communities who are demanding reservations, like Patidars, also known as Patels, in Gujarat. Granting job reservations to powerful castes takes away opportunities from genuinely oppressed groups like dalits, who are routinely discriminated against by most caste groups, including Jats. These are good arguments, but they miss a core point, which is that the Jats move to articulate their economic grievances in terms of caste is strategic. Indias poor wind up paying more than the middle class for water and electricity because they are often forced to give bribes for essential services, and they are disproportionately affected by direct taxes on consumption. While Indias state-owned banks have written off millions of dollars worth of unpaid corporate loans, indebted farmers are driven to suicide. Drone warfare and civilian deaths Re Drone warfare: Precise, effective, imperfect (Review, Feb. 20): Gen. Michael Hayden offers little if any evidence to back up his assertion that the U.S. militarys drone program works. As one who has investigated drone strikes and whose own village in Yemen was bombed, I found General Haydens views to be completely at odds with the reality in my country. General Hayden argues that civilian deaths have been both minimal and justified. But the United States has refused to provide evidence to support these statements and left unanswered credible reports of civilian casualties. In my research, I found that many of those killed by the United States were civilians. In my village, residents were unable to rescue strike victims because of their fears that they would be killed in a double tap strike. Years after the so-called targeted-killing program started in Yemen, neither Yemen nor the United States is safer. The ranks of Al Qaeda have grown and the country is in chaos. American intelligence agencies should spend less time gathering evidence for drone strikes and more time understanding the very real harm their policies are causing. Farea Al-Muslimi, Beirut The writer is co-founder and chairman of the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, and a student of public policy and international affairs at the American University of Beirut. To the Editor: Swings, Slides and the Lingering Memory of Reprehensible Actions, by Michael Wilson (Crime Scene column, Feb. 26), concluded that there was no crime of rape because there was no evidence of force and the young woman in question didnt press charges. Someone forced to have sex doesnt have to bruise or tear for it still to be rape. The woman was allegedly drunk. Was she sober enough to consent? Was sex with her biological father consensual? The womans decision not to press charges doesnt mean that she was not raped; its a window into the complexities of abandonment, foster care and perhaps the promise of connection, approval, love. Concluding a second time that she wasnt raped because she chose not to testify against any of the other men who may also have had sex with her is equally unacceptable. Imagine that you are this woman. Your father is having sex with you and five men arrive. You might try to survive with the least amount of harm. What if testifying against them feels like betrayal? Or you dread the stigma and repercussions of rape victim? More than two weeks after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, President Obama has not named a nominee for the vacant seat on the Supreme Court. Instead, he appears to be succumbing once again to his persistent belief that congressional Republicans can be reasoned with if only he tries hard enough. One would have thought the years of disrespect and obstruction from Capitol Hill would have cured him of this notion. But on Tuesday morning, Mr. Obama met with Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, and Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, the two Republicans who are leading the charge to prevent him from selecting a replacement. Of course, nothing came of the brief meeting. Mr. Grassley issued another insulting comment Monday, in response to a demand by Senator Harry Reid, the minority leader, that Republicans do their duty: It doesnt matter how much he jumps up and down and stomps his feet, we arent going to let the far left get away with denying the American people the opportunity to be heard. What does Mr. Obama think he will accomplish by talking to a brick wall? Almost from the moment Justice Scalia died, top Senate Republicans have not only vowed that they will refuse to vote on any nominee Mr. Obama sends them, but also said they wont even meet with that person. He and his son Ken, Kleban Properties president, plan to turn the site into a technology center, with a mix of high-tech businesses and possibly an educational campus connected to a university. Though still vague in concept, it is the first public imagining of a new use for the wooded campus that has housed G.E. since 1974. The gated headquarters property, where about 800 workers are now employed, is flanked by Merritt Parkway, preservation land and residential neighborhoods. Two three-story office buildings on the site contain a total of about 500,000 square feet, and sit above 300,000 square feet of underground parking, according to a company spokesman. Amenities include a cafeteria, a gym, a television studio, a guesthouse for overnight visitors and a helipad large enough to accommodate two helicopters. About 20 of the propertys 70 acres are undeveloped. About 200 G.E. headquarters employees will move to temporary offices in Boston in the second half of this year, the company has said. Others will be shifted to G.E. offices in Norwalk, Conn., and to the companys various shared services sites, one of the largest of which is in Cincinnati. The move to new, permanent headquarters in Bostons seaport district is expected to be completed in 2018. The move means the loss of one of Fairfields top taxpayers, with a July 2015 property tax bill of $1.89 million, according to town records. This year, after a revaluation, Kleban edged out G.E. as the No. 1 taxpayer in Fairfield, with property holdings assessed at $75.6 million, compared to G.E.s $70.8 million. Kleban owns several major retail/office plazas in Fairfields downtown, including the Fairfield Center building, which houses a Fairfield University bookstore, as well as a Starbucks, a Victorias Secret and other national chain stores, and at least 10 shopping centers along the Black Rock Turnpike commercial corridor. The company also owns properties elsewhere in Connecticut and in other states. After 340 days in space, Scott Kelly is back on Earth. Mr. Kelly, who spent the time about 249 miles above the planet aboard the International Space Station, and the Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko landed on Tuesday at 11:26 p.m. Eastern in Kazakhstan. Mr. Kelly, in a bulky, white spacesuit, pumped his fist and smiled as he was helped out of his space capsule. WASHINGTON The head of the F.B.I. acknowledged on Tuesday that his agency lost a chance to capture data from the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers when it ordered that his password to the online storage service iCloud be reset shortly after the rampage. There was a mistake made in the 24 hours after the attack, James B. Comey Jr., the director of the F.B.I., told lawmakers at a hearing on the governments attempt to force Apple to help unlock the iPhone. F.B.I. personnel apparently believed that by resetting the iCloud password, they could get access to information stored on the iPhone. Instead, the change had the opposite effect locking them out and eliminating other means of getting in. The iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the assailants in the Dec. 2 attack in which 14 people were killed, is at the center of a fierce legal and political fight over the balance between national security and consumer privacy. Many lawmakers at Tuesdays hearing of the House Judiciary Committee seemed torn over where to draw the line. RIO DE JANEIRO Brazilian federal police arrested a Facebook executive on Tuesday after the company failed to turn over information from a WhatsApp messaging account that a judge had requested for a drug trafficking investigation. Diego Dzodan, a Facebook vice president, was taken into custody, or what Brazilian authorities call preventive prison, which is often less than a week but can be extended, federal police said in a statement. The arrest was made because of Facebook repeatedly failing to comply with judicial orders, according to the statement. The information was required to be utilized in an investigation of organized crime and drug trafficking. WhatsApp is owned by Facebook. No other details were provided. The criminal case was filed in a court in the northeastern state of Sergipe. SAN FRANCISCO In 1970, a Stanford artificial intelligence researcher named John McCarthy returned from a conference in Bordeaux, France, where he had presented a paper on the possibility of a Home Information Terminal. He predicted the terminal would be connected via the telephone network to a shared computer, which in turn would store files that would contain all books, magazines, newspapers, catalogs, airline schedules, public information and personal files. Whitfield Diffie, then a young programmer at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, read Mr. McCarthys paper and began to think about the question of what would take the place of an individual signature in a paperless world. Mr. Diffie would spend the next several years pursuing that challenge and in 1976, with Martin E. Hellman, an electrical engineer at Stanford, invented public-key cryptography, a technique that would two decades later make possible the commercial World Wide Web. On Tuesday, the Association for Computing Machinery announced that the two men have won this years Turing Award. The award is frequently described as the Nobel Prize for the computing world and since 2014, it has included a $1 million cash award, after Google quadrupled its size. Business / Economy by Willias Madzimure - PDP Secretary for International Relations The People's Democratic Party (PDP) takes notice of the continued reengagement efforts between the government of Zimbabwe and its creditors namely the IMF, World Bank and AfDB which are aimed at clearing US$ 1.8 billion arrears on Zimbabwe's debt pursuant to the Lima agreement.As we rightly declare in the Mandel Declaration of 2014 that we believe Zimbabwe's discussions with the IMF, World Bank and other creditors on the question of debt should be concluded soon to allow Zimbabwe access to funds that should be used to address the infrastructural challenges we face.Therefore as the PDP we firmly believe in the principle of re-engagement but however we hold that such engagement must be undertaken in an environment of mutual trust, honesty and be inclusive of all the critical social and political actors.In our view parliament must play a critical role as the representative of the people, civil society must be given space to input into the process and labour must also be involved to represent the interest of the workers who after all will pay the debt through their taxes.Furthermore, any reengagement must take into account critical reforms in the political and economic environment. It would be futile to give a bail out to ZANU PF without due consideration of the prevailing political volatility characterized by continued human rights violations and total disregard of the rule of law as well as general economic decay.Almost one year on, the state has failed to account for the disappearance of human rights activist Itai Dzamara and has in fact upped its violence on ordinary citizens as witnessed by the indiscriminate assaulting of residents in Chitungwiza and the bashing of protesting teachers in Harare early in 2016.More critically on the political front, the ZANU PF government itself is in transition from Robert Mugabe and there has been an outbreak of unprecedented catfights for power which have destabilized the government.Thus for any serious engagement to bear fruits there is need for stability which is an ingredient ZANU PF does not have for now and going into the future. Under the circumstances reengagement is futile.On the economic front, the government payroll is still burden by over 250 000 ghost workers who were recruited ahead of the contested 2013 general election.The government is failing to maintain a primary balance of accounts and is spending more than it's earning using toxic treasury bills to sustain its avid appetite to spend. Recently state resources to the tune of US$500 000 were poured into Robert Mugabe's US$800 000 birthday bash.Land grabs continue unabated with the government recently gazetting 15 pieces of land. The state has not yet set up a land commission as required by the constitution to put a closure to the land question and begin to push for productivity as well as ensuring security of tenure through proper issuing of title deeds to those resettled.Parastatals continue to be an albatross consuming government revenue as they continue to post huge looses yet the government has proved to be unwilling to reform their operations.The irony is actually that while the state owned entities are making huge looses including the state run mobile telecoms company Netone, the state recently acquired another mobile telecoms company Telecel which is for all intents and purposes a junk company.What all this shows is that ZANU PF is not sincere in its engagement and it would be foolhardy for any institution to take them seriously. As PDP we remain clear on the route to another Zimbabwe as set out in our policy blueprints HOPE and ARREST.Released by; It is one of the most famous pieces of American music but for 70 years orchestras may have been playing one of its best-known effects wrong. The work is George Gershwins jaunty, jazzy symphonic poem An American in Paris, and the effect involves a set of instruments that were decidedly not standard equipment when it was written in 1928: French taxi horns, which honk in several places as the music evokes the urban soundscape that a Yankee tourist experiences while exploring the City of Light. The question is what notes should those taxi horns play. In something of a musicological bombshell, a coming critical edition of the works of George and Ira Gershwin being prepared at the University of Michigan will argue that the now-standard horn pitches heard in the classic 1951 movie musical with Gene Kelly, in leading concert halls around the world, and eight times a week on Broadway in Christopher Wheeldons acclaimed stage adaptation are not what Gershwin intended. The term post-traumatic stress disorder inevitably comes up in diagnoses of the strange and tragic case of Beau Willie Brown. Hes a Vietnam War veteran and the charismatic force of destruction at the center of But I Cd Only Whisper, Kristiana Rae Colons feverishly poetic portrait of the life and times of a violent man, which is receiving its American premiere at the Flea Theater. But theres nothing post about Beaus particular disorder. Long before the United States Army put a gun in his hands, this child of a poor black neighborhood was conditioned to attack by a toxic confluence of environment, circumstance and an innately combustible nature. As a sergeant from his platoon puts it, Beau had a knack for killing that seemed uncannily natural. First staged at the Arcola Theater in London in 2012, But I Cd Only Whisper is a lavish expansion on A Nite With Beau Willie Brown, a monologue from For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow Is Enuf, Ntozake Shanges landmark play from the mid-1970s. Ms. Shanges soliloquy portrays an unthinkable crime committed by Beau after he returns from Vietnam, from the perspective of his longtime lover, Crystal. Ms. Colons play, directed by David Monteagudo, depicts the history and aftermath of this event from a multiplicity of viewpoints. Crystal (a centered, earthy Kineta Kunutu) is still around to tell her side of the story. But it is now confirmed and contradicted by others, whose accounts swirl in an eddy of colliding voices. Oklahoma looks set to be the most interesting contest of the night. Googles numbers show that all three of the leading G.O.P. candidates have attracted a fair bit of attention today. Pushing the data a bit harder perhaps harder than one should Google gives Marco Rubio a slight lead in Oklahoma, with Mr. Cruz and Mr. Trump virtually deadlocked for second. (In fact, Mr. Trump is running third there.) The other notable result is in Vermont, where John Kasich has attracted enough support that hes running third in search queries, and may even be in striking distance of second. All of these numbers come courtesy of Nikhil Madadi, a number-crunching election enthusiast who compiled them for me at 4:45 p.m. While the overwhelming message of these numbers is that Mr. Trump is looking good, theres an interesting idiosyncrasy that explains why Im reluctant to quantify just how good. Currently around one-fifth of Trump-related searches are for Donald Drumpf. We counted only searches for Donald Trump, even as Mr. Cruzs numbers include searches for Cruz, Ted Cruz and other related terms. So in some sense weve stacked the deck against Mr. Trump, and despite that, he appears set for a dominant performance tonight. After the polls closed in New Hampshire on Feb. 9, the Republican primary had a clear winner: Donald J. Trump. It took nearly two weeks for the state to award its 23 delegates, and in the end it gave Mr. Trump 11, John Kasich four, Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush three each and Marco Rubio two. But theres a small problem: It looks as if New Hampshire gave Mr. Trump a delegate that actually belongs to Mr. Rubio. To understand how this works, it helps to know that there are no national rules in the Republican Party for awarding delegates. Each state makes up its own rules. In New Hampshire, the rules seem pretty straightforward. A candidate must get at least 10 percent of the vote to be eligible to win a delegate, a threshold cleared by both Mr. Trump (who earned 35.6 percent of the vote) and Mr. Rubio (who earned 10.6 percent). Then the candidates are awarded delegates in proportion to the total vote, with the statewide winner in this case Mr. Trump getting any delegates left unallocated. But New Hampshire is somewhat bureaucratically creative where math is concerned. State law specifies the use of an unorthodox double-rounding process, in which you round each candidates vote percentage before multiplying by the number of available delegates, then round this product again to get the number of delegates won. Rounding Mr. Rubios vote up to 11 percent, multiplying this by 23 and then rounding this number yields three delegates. But these early primaries have caused him to revisit his pessimism. It is not clear why online searches have proved so predictive, Mr. Stephens-Davidowitz said, but my interpretation is that people just searched for their candidate either before or after they voted for them. Its not a crazy idea. After all, who among us hasnt searched for reviews of a car, a stereo or a phone on the day of buying it? And if we do this when were shopping, whos to say that people dont do the same on Election Day? Its a bit harder to figure out how to use search data to predict a caucus. After all, caucuses are a bit like my university lectures: Once they start, youre meant to be deeply engaged by the speaker, rather than staring at your phone and calling up Google. Even so, Nikhil Madadi, an election enthusiast, shared with me his data on Google searches made within Nevada over the four hours before the caucus. He reckons that, like my students, perhaps the voters were doing their reading ahead of class. The big question leading into the Nevada race was whether the Trump campaign could turn out voters for a time-consuming caucus. Google search data suggested that Mr. Trump should be optimistic. They were right. Mr. Trumps win roughly paralleled his lead in online search activity. As in South Carolina, Mr. Cruz and Mr. Rubio were left to fight for second place, with each winning a bit more than a fifth of the vote. Again, Mr. Cruz was slightly more popular online, but Mr. Rubio edged ahead of him among voters. I have been unable to find directly comparable data for the Iowa caucuses, although Simon Rogers, a data journalist at Google, tracked online searches within Iowa of the form How to caucus for Mr. Cruz topped this measure, and he also surprised many analysts by outperforming his pre-election polls to win in Iowa. WASHINGTON Justice Clarence Thomas paid tribute on Tuesday to Brother Nino at a memorial service for Justice Antonin Scalia at the Mayflower Hotel attended by all eight remaining members of the Supreme Court. So did Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Scalias frequent judicial adversary and best friend on the court. He was once asked how we could be friends given our disagreements on lots of things, she said. Justice Scalia answered: I attack ideas. I dont attack people. Some very good people have some very bad ideas. Justices, clerks and four of Justice Scalias nine children recalled a happy combatant, in love with law and the power of words, a man of deep Roman Catholic faith, a demanding but loving father and a driver best avoided. WASHINGTON The two Republican senators sat together on one couch, while the Democratic senators sat a few feet away on another, but the gap between them in Tuesdays meeting with President Obama in the Oval Office could hardly have been bigger. After the discussions about choosing a nominee for the Supreme Court seat left vacant when Justice Antonin Scalia died, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont emerged and quickly denounced their Republican colleagues before a bank of TV cameras set up outside the West Wing of the White House. They think they are going to wait and see what President Trump will do, I guess, as far as the nomination is concerned, Mr. Reid said, referring to Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner. Mr. Reid said the meeting was brief. We killed a lot of time talking about basketball and other stuff, he said. Mr. Reid described the Republicans as implacable and said there was nothing to suggest that they might budge. The Race Within a Race Mr. Trump is favored on Tuesday in every state except Texas, but the battle between Mr. Cruz and Senator Marco Rubio for second place is an important one. If one of the freshman senators were to emerge as a decisive runner-up, he could make the case that the other should exit the race to give the party a better chance at stopping Mr. Trump. But the results might not lend themselves to such a clean outcome. Mr. Cruz and Mr. Rubio could trade second-place finishes across the map. And even if Mr. Rubio were to capture second place in all 11 states, Mr. Cruz could still win Texas outright and hold that victory up to argue that, as the only other candidate to beat Mr. Trump and win a state, he has every justification to go forward. But after emphasizing the importance of March 1 to his campaign, and investing so much in winning support from evangelicals, Mr. Cruz would be in a rough spot if he were to finish behind Mr. Rubio in such Bible Belt states as Alabama, Oklahoma and Tennessee. There is also pressure on Mr. Rubio to find a state he can win Tuesday, and Minnesota may represent his best opportunity. Texas, Rich in Delegates and Symbolism With 155 delegates, the Lone Star State is the big enchilada (or, keeping with current Texas trends, the big breakfast taco) of Super Tuesday. But even more important, it is a crucial test for Mr. Cruz, who would face intense pressure to withdraw from the race if he were to lose. And the Texas prize for Mr. Trump is found as much in its symbolism as in its delegate distribution. Not only is the deep-red state a citadel of the national Republican Party, but it is also home to George W. Bush, Rick Perry and Mr. Cruz. The police and Fire Department crews have responded to trouble in the camp more than 820 times in the last five years, including 70 violent incidents, 500 emergency medical calls and 250 fires. Last year was the worst for violence in a decade. The shootings in January led to the arrests of three teenage brothers, who are homeless themselves and now in jail. You step in there, and its like youre not even in the United States anymore, said Harold Scoggins, the chief of the Seattle Fire Department, who went into the Jungle after the shootings with a group of public health and safety officials for two days of study. Most big cities have a Jungle by some other name a stretch of woods by the railroad tracks, an industrial property gone to seed, a skid row. And in other big cities with major homeless populations, like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, the problem is also front and center on the streets. In San Francisco, for example, after warning the homeless in a particular encampment that they would have to leave by Friday for public health reasons, officials on Tuesday began clearing out the belongings of the few dozen people who had refused to go. But Seattle, where Mayor Edward B. Murray declared a state of emergency over homelessness in November, is being looked to as a model by some other cities because of its strategy of setting aside areas for authorized tent camps that are overseen by social service agencies and governed by rules of conduct. On Friday, for example, city councilors from Sacramento paid an official visit to Seattles designated tent cities to weigh adopting the strategy back home. A Maryland university president resigned on Monday, weeks after a furor erupted on campus over faculty firings and a student newspaper article that quoted the president as comparing struggling freshmen to bunnies that should be drowned or shot. The board of the university, Mount St. Marys in Emmitsburg, about 60 miles northwest of Baltimore, announced that the dean of the business school would replace the departing university leader, Simon Newman, as acting president effective immediately. Mr. Newman, a former financial industry executive who was born in the United Kingdom and was in his first year as president, said the controversy over his administration at the nations second-oldest Catholic university had become too great a distraction. I believe it is the right course of action for the Mount at this time, he said in a statement. The decision was an abrupt reversal for Mr. Newman, who had vowed not to step down even after faculty members called for his resignation and his actions were denounced by advocates of academic and journalistic freedom. News / Africa by Staff Reporter A 37 year old woman from Ekurhuleni is reportedly to be officially wedded by a 102 year old man who when she was born the many was already 65 years old."I plan to be with her until I die," said Japan Mfeka (102) from Thokoza, in Ekurhuleni. "I'm planning to send my family to her family for lobola negotiations."Daily Sun reported that he met his girlfriend, Nhlanhla Nkosi, in 2006. He said it was love at first sight."People tell me I can't afford a young woman like this but we have been together since she was 23 and life has been sweet!" he said.Japan, a father of four children, said he isn't worried about the criticism from his family or the people in the township."No one can separate two people who are in love. She loves me. Every time I call her to help me at my house with my cooking and washing, she gladly does everything," said Japan.He said their love is rock solid."I care for her and I perform in bed. I feel like a teenager when I'm with her," he said.He revealed his secret herb mixture."Many people think when you reach a certain age you can't satisfy your lover, but me, I'm still strong!"Nhlanhla was not prepared to discuss her life before she met Japan."I feel as if I have been with him forever. He looks after me so well," she said."He does not play with women and then dump them. I will be very happy if he pays lobola."Nonhlanhla said her family didn't approve of their relationship and had told her to leave her madala.Madala's relative, Fana Mtolo, said his family had also tried to stop the relationship."We even chased her away from visiting Japan but they still continued their relationship. Japan made his choice and noone could stop him so we ended up accepting them," said Fana. BEIJING A court in northeastern China has said that a senior aide to Bo Xilai, an imprisoned former high-ranking Communist Party official, must serve a life sentence in prison for corruption. The court rejected an appeal by the aide, Wu Wenkang, 57, who had been given the life sentence by a lower court in late 2014. Officials also seized Mr. Wus assets that year. An official explanation of the recent decision, on the website of the Higher Peoples Court of Jilin Province, sheds new light on the corrupt practices of Mr. Bo and his allies. State-run news media reported on the decision on Monday and Tuesday, but the announcement on the courts website was dated Jan. 8. Mr. Bo, a former Politburo member, commerce minister and party chief of the municipality of Chongqing, was involved in the most spectacular and closely watched murder scandal in the Communist Partys post-Mao history. Mr. Bo was dismissed from his Chongqing post and from the party in 2012, and the next year, a court sentenced him to life in prison for corruption and abuse of power after a melodramatic trial. A. In 2012, a classmate of his was going to the United States. Theyre good friends, and his mother asked whether we were interested in sending Zhang Xinlei there. I asked him, and he said he wanted to go. We didnt know much about this. The agent told us that it was a good school and that children could pick up good English once they got to the United States. We believed that the United States offers better education than China, where kids are put under too much pressure. So we just did what everyone else was doing. Q. After news of the assault broke, lots of people in China criticized these students on social media. What did you think of that? A. Lots of people in China have used horrible words to criticize them. But no one cares what the real problems are. They just say the kids are bad. No one tries to look for reasons. Nor does the American government. Many of them are not actually fuerdai [second-generation rich], as many say. Theyre just from middle-class families, who have some money but not enough to buy houses there [in the United States]. Neither are they well enough connected to have friends looking after their kids. If they were fuerdai, life would be a lot easier. Q. What was Zhang Xinlei like when he was in China? A. He did quite well in primary school. But once he entered high school, he became interested in computer games and didnt do so well. At 14 or 15, boys are difficult. He is a soft person, like me, and in some ways a bit weak. He does whatever people ask him to do. I think the biggest mistake he made was to get involved with Zhai Yunyao. He did everything she said and couldnt leave the scene. Q. Why did those good kids back in China commit such a crime in the United States? A. Chinese like to stick together. Because their English isnt good enough, they find it hard to mix with American peers. Since there are so many of them there, why bother speaking English? They hang out together, eat together, sing karaoke together and drink together. Then they get into fights. The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a resolution on Wednesday that toughens sanctions on North Korea in response to its latest nuclear weapons testing and the launching of a ballistic missile. Here are six questions and answers addressing why North Korea has festered as an international crisis for more than a half-century. Q. Who are North Koreas rulers? A. North Korea, an impoverished country of 25 million, was founded by the revolutionary leader Kim Il-sung in the aftermath of World War II. With the Korean Peninsula divided, he sought to reunify it, with Chinas help, by military means, which led to the 1950-53 war with South Korea and the United States. The war never officially ended, and the North has been ruled by the Kim family under a dynastic dictatorship ever since. Kim Jong-un, the founders 33-year-old grandson who has been the leader since 2011, has demanded an end to what he calls American military threats and wants a formal peace treaty that guarantees North Koreas security. Q. Why is Kim Jong-un, who presides over one of the most isolated and repressive countries, building nuclear weapons and missiles that could presumably carry them? KABUL, Afghanistan Women and girls in Afghan jails are frequently subjected to forced virginity tests, advocates from Afghanistans human rights commission said on Tuesday, calling for an end to a discredited practice that is both invasive and degrading. A report by Afghanistans Independent Human Rights Commission, based on interviews with 53 female detainees across 12 of the countrys 34 provinces, found that 48 of them, including girls as young as 13, had been sent for virginity tests. The procedure, which has widely been found to be scientifically invalid, is frequently conducted in the presence of many people and in an invasive manner that could amount to rape or torture, the report said. President Ashraf Ghani, who has not been briefed on the findings, was deeply saddened by reports of the practice, and had asked the human rights commission for a full review, said Sayed Zafar Hashemi, a spokesman for Mr. Ghani. The president expects the reformist chief justice to abolish the practice, Mr. Hashemi said. Around 750 women and girls are being held in jails and prisons across 29 provinces, according to Afghanistans Interior Ministry. Most of the women were detained on vague charges of moral crimes for running away from home either with a lover other than the husband arranged for them by their families, or to escape domestic violence. The restaurant attracts young urban professionals and hipsters and is often packed on weekends when the mall fills up. The menu offers a wide selection of teas and coffees, and a mix of Asian and European dishes like mussels in spicy lime leaf and coconut broth and spaghetti arrabbiata. The victim, Wayan Mirna Salihin, met her friend Jessica Kumala Wongso in the late afternoon on Jan. 6. The women, both 27, had attended college together in Australia. They were joined that day by a third friend, whom the Jakarta provincial police have identified only as Hani, and who remains a witness in the investigation. According to the police, Ms. Wongso arrived at the restaurant about an hour before Ms. Salihin and Ms. Hani, ordering drinks for herself and her companions. Ms. Salihin arrived, took a sip of her coffee and complained to her friends that it tasted strange. Within a minute, Ms. Salihin collapsed and went into convulsions. She was rushed to a hospital, where she died a few hours later. BEIJING How does an autocratic ruler trample on the law? How does a bureaucracy manipulate the ruler? How does a government accommodate people of unconventional lifestyles and beliefs? The Harvard historian Philip A. Kuhn cited these as questions worth exploring in his preface to the Chinese translation of a book he wrote about 18th-century China. His death last month at the age of 82 has revived these questions for those who see striking parallels with contemporary politics. In Soulstealers: The Chinese Sorcery Scare of 1768 (Harvard University Press, 1990), Mr. Kuhn examined the mass hysteria that broke out over rumors that sorcerers were roaming the country, cutting off mens braids and stealing their souls, and what this revealed about the inner functioning of the state. The Qianlong Emperor waged a vigorous campaign against the social unrest as a perceived threat to his rule. Officials eager to demonstrate their loyalty extracted confessions of sorcery from citizens under torture. Ordinary people, gripped by fear, lashed out against the marginalized people of society. This book really addresses basic issues in Chinese society and culture, said Liu Chang, a history professor at East China Normal University in Shanghai and one of the books translators, in a telephone interview. People, to survive, sacrificed others to protect themselves. In an article about Mr. Kuhn published shortly after his death, the journalist Song Zhibiao noted how in Soulstealers, people brought false charges against outsiders, and officials scrambled to obey the emperors order to identify sorcerers and framed the innocent. LONDON For all the high-minded talk of sovereignty and the political urgency of issues like immigration, Britains looming decision on whether to remain a member of the European Union is as much as anything the result of a bitter split within the governing Conservative Party over the countrys relationship with the Continent and its place in the world. After squabbling over the European Union for decades, the party has now imposed its internal obsession on the British people in the form of an in-or-out referendum on June 23, called for by Prime Minister David Cameron. At a time when the party could be taking advantage of its first majority government since 1992, it is instead ripping itself apart over an issue traditionally of secondary interest for most Britons. Mr. Cameron, who favors staying in Europe, hoped the referendum could be framed as thrusting modernists versus nostalgic old fogies. Yet he and his ally George Osborne, the chancellor of the Exchequer, find themselves opposed by one of Mr. Camerons closest friends, Justice Minister Michael Gove, and by Boris Johnson, the blustery, popular London mayor and Mr. Camerons old rival at both Eton and Oxford. More disturbing for Mr. Cameron and Mr. Osborne is that nearly half of the 330 Conservative members of Parliament at least 140 by most counts, including six cabinet members now support a Brexit, from the European Union. Not long ago, Downing Street insisted that only 80 Tory legislators would oppose their prime minister. ROME Italian lawmakers voted on Tuesday to stiffen a legislative decree that Italian olive oil producers and other critics charged would decriminalize olive oil counterfeiting. Commissions in both houses of Parliament approved the decree but recommended that the government ensure that criminal law prevail over administrative sanctions, such as simple fines, in cases of commercial fraud. The decree will now return to the government, which must draft a final version. The recommendations of the commissions are not binding, but it is rare that the government does not act on them. The decree is intended to regulate penalties for counterfeiting olive oil and its origins. One example of counterfeiting would be declaring that an oil was 100 percent Italian extra-virgin olive oil when, in fact, it contained olive oil from other countries. MADRID The politician whom King Felipe VI has picked to try to form Spains next government, after the current prime minister declined, is considered a long shot a very long shot. Yet this is the country that gave the world Don Quixote, and if the politician, Pedro Sanchez, the telegenic Socialist leader, succeeds, especially after facing near open rebellion in his own party, it will be considered something approaching a miracle. If Mr. Sanchez falls short in a crucial vote on Wednesday, however, the country can expect a continuation of the uncertainty and paralysis that began with parliamentary elections in December that left no party dominant and underscored the fragmentation of Spanish politics. And elections will most likely be held again. It really looks improbable that Sanchez will now make it and even if it does, it would be a very fragile deal, said Antonio Barroso, a Spanish political analyst at Teneo Intelligence, a think tank in London. This case is not about determining who is right and wrong in a religious sense, but about a war crime, the chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, told the International Criminal Court on Tuesday. The razed sites were intrinsic to religious practices and were part of the citys rich history, and were not military objectives, she said. Their destruction was a callous assault on the dignity and identity of entire populations, Ms. Bensouda said. For the court, it is the first case addressing cultural destruction as a heinous crime. Ms. Bensouda hinted that the court would have to address other cases in the future. Attacks against cultural property are a constant, she said, citing the damage caused recently in Aleppo and Palmyra in Syria and the Talibans demolition of Buddha statues in Afghanistan in 2001. This is the true significance of this hearing, she said. Cultural destruction as a punishable crime, however, is not a novelty in international law. The United Nations tribunal dealing with the former Yugoslavia has, through multiple trials, established extensive jurisprudence to treat the plundering and bombing of cultural and religious sites as both war crimes and crimes against humanity. Many were linked to Serbian ethnic cleansing campaigns in Bosnia, where more than 1,000 mosques and churches were deliberately destroyed. Two Serbian officers were convicted in the bombing of the historic city of Dubrovnik, and six Croatians were found guilty of blowing up a historic bridge and parts of the old town of Mostar. Until the pretrial hearings on Tuesday, few details were known about Mr. Mahdis arrival at The Hague last year. Prosecutors told the court that he had been captured in late 2013 by French troops while traveling with other armed Islamists in the desert in neighboring Niger. They and hundreds of others had fled Mali just before the announced arrival of the French forces in Timbuktu. News / Africa by Staff Reporter The Mmathethe murder case involving Chief Daniel Mathiba's two sons took a new twist this week when the fourth suspect, Gindra Stegling confessed that he single handedly killed the deceased Zimbabwean herdboy.The Voice reported that John Ngwenya's body was found in Mmarole lands on January 26 tied to a pole and with multiple injuries.Chief Mathiba's sons Ofentse Phenyo Mathiba, 28, Tumisang Tshidiso Mathiba, 34 and third suspect Thato Shadrack Koosaletse, 23, were then arrested on February 8 after they were implicated in the ritual murder.They appeared before Lobatse Chief Magistrate Dipate Mareledi last week where they were granted bail and appeared again on Monday for mention where the fourth suspect, Stegling was also brought before the courts.A visibly teary and disturbed Stegling who is also a herdboy made the startling confession much to the astonishment of the audience and relief from other suspects who stood in the dock with their eyes glued on their co-accused.He told court that he is the one who reported to the police that the chief's son had killed Ngwenya yet they are not responsible for the crime."Tota banna ba ke a ba golega (loosely translated honestly it would be wrong to implicate these men)," said Stegling.He also claimed that he implicated them under duress and to save himself from more police brutality."They covered my face during interrogation and I was scared that I was going to die," he said.Stegling pleaded with the court to grant him bail saying he had been in police custody for a long time.He was however denied bail with the magistrate saying he must undergo a mental check-up. DUBLIN The case against the remaining suspect facing criminal charges in the killing of 29 people in a bombing in Omagh in 1998, the deadliest attack during three decades of bloody conflict in Northern Ireland, collapsed on Tuesday after the state prosecutor unexpectedly dropped the matter. Seamus Daly, 45, who was detained pending trial after he was charged with the killings in April 2014, was released from the high-security Maghaberry Prison near Belfast on Tuesday. The director of public prosecutions in Northern Ireland, Barra McGrory, said the state had withdrawn the charges because of concerns about the reliability of the evidence provided by the main witness. The prosecution had built its case around evidence connected to a cellphone. The witness, Denis OConnor, the owner of a construction company, had told the authorities that Mr. Daly had called him about an unrelated matter on a phone that the police had identified as being near the scene of the attack about 20 minutes after it took place. 00:36-00:49: By God, Abu Khaled, when you honored me (visited me) in the house, it was a great honor for me. But my son, they betrayed us. 02:38-02:49 I swear by God, my son Abu Khaled, they have tortured my son! Even some of the leaders of the Qassam condemned it! 03:53-04:40 And I went to some of the leaders of Hamas, and I said, Im suffering from cancer Im suffering from cancer, I want to see my son! Let me speak to him by telephone! They refused. I told them, I want to see my son! I havent seen him since April. I told them, I have to go to Israel (to be treated), I just want to speak to my son! They refused. But I call on God, I call on God, He alone can be relied on, He alone can be leaned on. May God release you, my son, Abu Majd! I ask of you, Abu Khaled, to release my son, release my son. 05:30-05:47 What compelled me to offer this message and speak in the media is that we have called on some of the leaders of Hamas for a year, a whole year with the leaders of Hamas, and they did not help us at all. 07:14-07:53 Abu Khaled, are you pleased like this? I am a mother with cancer, I have been praying to my God, release my son! Nobody has answered me. I call on the mothers of the Qassam (fighters). I call on the mothers of the Gaza Strip to stand with me, to call for the release of my son, immediately, oh Abu Khaled! Immediately from the prison! This is a responsibility on your neck until the Day of Judgement, until the Day of Judgement! My son to be released, to see him, to hold him, to look at him, the children miss him! Attachments area Preview attachment .mp4 Video .mp4 Not virus scanned American officials in Baghdad are warning that a critical dam in northern Iraq may collapse, and that more than a million people could be drowned or left homeless if it gives way. Q: How important is the Mosul Dam? A: The dam, the largest in Iraq, controls the flow of the Tigris River north of Mosul. It can hold up to three trillion gallons of water and supplies electricity to more than a million people. Q: Why is it in danger? A: The dam was built in 1984 on a bed of gypsum, a soft mineral that dissolves easily in water. To stop the dam from leaking and being undermined, engineers have to continuously pump grout into it. That work was stopped when Islamic State fighters seized the dam in 2014; though the government retook it within two weeks, many of the dams engineers did not return and regular maintenance did not resume. Q: Who is at risk? A: Anyone who lives on or near the banks of the river in other words, a major chunk of the Iraqi population. The United States Embassy estimates that hundreds of thousands of people who are at highest risk from the projected floodwave probably would not survive its impact, and that more than one million would swiftly find themselves without homes. The city of Mosul could be flooded by 45 feet of water in less than four hours, and ultimately as much as 70 feet; even far downstream in Baghdad, the river could rise 13 feet within a day of a dam collapse. WASHINGTON American drones were devastating the upper ranks of Al Qaeda, his men were killing suspected spies, and Osama bin Laden wondered: Could an Iranian dentist have planted a tracking device in his wifes tooth? The size of the chip is about the length of a grain of wheat and the width of a fine piece of vermicelli, he wrote, using the nom de guerre Abu Abdallah. A few paragraphs later, Bin Laden signed off and then added, Please destroy this letter after reading it. The letter was among thousands of pages of documents and other materials seized by Navy SEALs during the raid on Bin Ladens compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011, and it was declassified on Tuesday with 112 other pieces of writings and letters found in the Qaeda leaders hide-out. We never gave much thought to circumcision. Our son was a surviving twin born at 27 weeks gestation. He spent the first 76 days of his life in the newborn intensive care unit at Prentice Womens Hospital in Chicago. Because he was fighting for his life, there were more pressing matters to consider than the shape of his penis. I had never really questioned why I was circumcised. It wasnt done for religious reasons. And I had never wondered what my life would have been like had I not been snipped. The look and shape of my penis are nothing more than a part of who I am. No different, really, than the hair on my chest or the mole above my left eyebrow. The doctors first brought up the subject a week before our sons discharge. They told us that if we wanted to have him circumcised, it would be most convenient to schedule it with his hernia surgery. It would be a two-for-one. My wife had said that because I was the one with the penis, the decision was up to me. For me, there wasnt a choice. Im circumcised. Of course my son would be. We have a multicar pileup on Establishment Lane, with fatalities reported. The most mangled vehicle belongs to the defunct presidential campaign of John Ellis (Jeb) Bush. The last time I saw Jeb before the crash, he was speaking at a town-hall meeting in Iowa and seemed to be bracing for something bad. I am part of the establishment, the former Florida governor said in a solemn tone, as though he were beginning a eulogy. By the fine manners of the crowd, you gathered that they, too, were establishment-bred. People raised their hands and stood in line and waited for the microphone to be brought over. Everything was calm and orderly, as it was back when Republican presidential campaigns always ran through Establishment Lane. Well save lanes for another day (or better yet, close them all) and focus here on the wounded establishment. What is the establishment other than one of those bloviation-chamber words that political types toss around to describe something that might not actually exist in the real world? No one really agrees, except that to be part of the establishment is most certainly a bad look in todays politics. It represents a catchall designation for people in charge and implies that theyve been ensconced too long. The establishment is tired and musty and too comfortable. Yet it is still invoked constantly as a phantom solution: The establishment will step in and bring order to this chaos. They are the parents that will arrive home just as the party has grown out of control, the house is being trashed and the cops are taking names. The worlds most exquisite bars are being made in a garage in Ho Chi Minh City. There is nothing unusual, not in this era, about being a tiny, artisanal, single-origin chocolate maker. But the artisanal, award-winning chocolate Ive come to see is being manufactured by a tiny operation called Marou in a factory on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, with beans that were hand-picked on a skinny strip of an island called Tan Phu Dong in the Mekong Delta. Vietnamese chocolate is unlike any other. Its made mostly from a bean called trinitario, an 18th-century blend of forastero the high-yield bean now used by Big Chocolate and the rarer, more nuanced criollo. Marous chocolate has a particular complexity and variability, because unlike most chocolate makers, they can create theirs from beans they select at the source. This means they have control of everything, from farm to bar. The result is chocolate with unusual aromas licorice, say, or tobacco. Though the move robbed Singapore of the lively street-food culture celebrated in many other parts of Southeast Asia, today the rough-and-tumble hawker centers thrive as community gathering spaces and lively eating houses. Here local chefs serve myriad foods hot, fresh and cheap, from Singaporean specialties like laksa (a rich, spicy, coconut broth-based soup) and chicken rice to Indian, Thai, Indonesian and even Western staples like hot dogs and spaghetti. It was the affordable Chinatown Complex rent, minimal start-up cost and the chance to pair beers with all these local foods that in 2011 inspired Mr. Goh, 40, to open the Good Beer Company, Singapores first hawker stall specializing in craft brews. Offering a choice of some 60 imported bottles, the stall proved so successful that in January 2014 Mr. Goh partnered with a fellow beer merchant, Meng Chao, 47, to set up another stall, Smith Street Taps, right next door. While Good Beer Company deals in bottled beers, Smith Street Taps began as the first Singapore stall hawking craft on tap. It was a risk, said Mr. Chao. Bottles can sit on shelves, but with draft we have to turn kegs around quickly. Thus far that hasnt been a problem. Now up to 11 taps from its initial seven, Smith Street Taps fast became the de facto center of Singapores nascent craft beer scene, going through its 20- to 30-liter kegs within two or three days. Some beers, such as the Bomb! imperial stout from the Oklahoma-based Prairie Artisan Ales, last less than a night. People come for beers theyll never, ever get to try, sometimes even if they travel to their source, Mr. Goh said. News / Africa by Staff Reporter A KITWE man has been sued for defamation after labelling a 56-year-old woman a witch.Zambia Daily Mail reported that Bravo Siame alleged that Rose Mayuka bewitched his son.In the Garneton Local Court was Mayuka who told local court magistrate Fredrick Ndhlovu that around mid-night on February, 2, 2016, she heard some noise outside her house."Around midnight, I heard noise outside my house and when I went to check, I found Siame with his six children who ordered me to go to their house. He said his son was undressing and calling my name saying I should leave him alone. Earlier in the day, Siame had stolen some meat I was selling," she said.She, however, refused to accompany them as it was late. Mayuka said she decided to go to Siame's house the next day."I found Siame's son undressing and shouting that he had been bewitched.Mayuka said Siame made the accusations that she was a witch in front of people who had gathered at his house.But Siame denied accusing Mayuka of having bewitched his son. He said he only confronted her because his son kept on calling her name.Magistrate Fredrick Ndhlovu adjourned the matter for judgement. Stanhope joins Sovereign with a robust background within the New Zealand financial services industry, most recently holding the position of executive general manager, wealth and insurance at ASB Sovereign chairman, Gavin Walker, says the organisation is thrilled to have a candidate of Stanhopes calibre join Sovereign as CEO, especially with such extensive experience in the New Zealand market.Nicks strength of relationships combined with his significant contribution to the Sovereign business while working at ASB, most notably the development of the highly successful Bancassurance channel, made him an outstanding choice for the role," says Walker.He is a proven strategic and results driven leader who will be a huge asset to the organisation. He is delighted to be joining the Sovereign fold to get underway with the exciting opportunities the role will offer.With a career spanning 27 years, Stanhope has held a range of roles across ASBs Corporate Banking, Wealth & Insurance and Business Banking divisions.Stanhope commences his role as Sovereign CEO on 11 April 2016.* Members of Salem's New Hope CME Church crowded into the Lee County Commission chamber Monday night to implore the re-opening of a recently closed rail crossing on Lee Road 190, the church's primary point of access. The group came before the commission during the body's last meeting with complaints about the safety of Lee Road 749, which is now the only way members can access the 140-yaer-old church nestled beside Dudley Lumber Company. "That road that you all closed was the connecting point. ...It is the nucleus in that area," said James Q. Smith, a church elder. "We've got senior citizens that can't drive down that road. We've got people not coming to church because they don't want to drive it." The commission maintained the two-track railroad crossing was closed after rail company Norfolk Southern deemed it one of the worst in the area. Officials closed it as part of negotiations to install a safety device at the crossing near Smiths Station High School. "You literally had to put your nose almost on the track before you could see, back toward Phenix City to see if there was a train coming," District 3 Commissioner Gary Long said. "That was a dangerous crossing." But churchgoers lamented they were not advised of the closure in advance. "It would've just taken you 10 minutes from 2014 to 2016 to stop by this church," Smith said. "The goal is to do everything we can to open it back up. I know that you may tell me no, but I'm not going to stop asking. ...Could we have we just looked at it...so that we all could win? And that power has been entrusted to you all." District 4 Commissioner Robert Ham took responsibility for not alerting the church before the road was closed, adding notification is the legal responsibility of the railroad. "They look at it as a whole corridor," he said. "The goal of the railroad, is because there are so many crossings all over the country and it costs them a lot, they try to limit as many as possible. ...Had we not agreed to close those two crossings, which they deemed as the worst crossings, we would not have been able to get protection for the crossing by the school. ...The legal responsibility is for the railroad to do that, not for the commission to do that." County Engineer Justin Hardee explained where county and railroad company rights of way meet, the responsibility, liability and authority falls to the railroad. "This was a joint project with the Alabama Department of Transportation, the Lee County Commission, the Lee County Board of Education as well as Norfolk Southern," Hardee said. The alternate route down 749 is about a mile from the turnoff of Lee Road 187 to the church, Long said. "I am all about the warning devices, I feel like they're critical in our community," he continued. "Lee Road 187 has those warning devices." But Smith countered Lee Road 749, a dirt road that passes over three creeks, is unsafe. "What are we going to do with that road?" Smith asked. District 5 Commissioner John Andrew Harris made a motion to reach out to rail company Norfolk Southern on the issue, which was seconded by District 2 Commissioner Johnny Lawrence, but failed with a vote of 2-to-3. The commission also heard concerns about safety impacts of increased traffic on Lee Road 149 because of the growth of the East Lake subdivision. Resident Peter Byrd repeatedly has come before the commission regarding the half-mile rural road. "We've been talking about it for about a year, but I think we've reduced the issues," Byrd said. Byrd presented information on the county's access management policy and criticized both Hardee's implementation of the policy and the county's response to his concerns. "I've asked for y'all to respond; I've asked for y'all to show me where I'm wrong," Byrd said. "Comments, questions, I'm wide open for it." Though Commission Chairman and Probate Judge Bill English praised Byrd for being "the best-informed citizen I've ever seen come in here," the commission stood by Hardee's implementation of the county's access management plan and took no action on the issue. The commission also: >> Approved a 20 percent match of $89,182 in ATRIP-designated funds for a total of $445,710 bridge replacement project on Lee Road 150 over Phelps Creek. >>Approved a $22,835 increase in the budget for demolition of the original detention hard ceiling, bringing the total to $317,767. >>Scheduled a work session to discuss dirt roads and funding for the Loachapoka Family Enrichment Center for immediately following the March 14 meeting. >>Approved the leverage of alcoholic beverage fees for 2016-17. CARL T. SIDES 1921-2016 1921-2016 Carl T. Sides, of Auburn, Alabama, was born in Langdale, Alabama on September 20, 1921 and passed away at Oak Park Nursing Home on February 28, 2016. He was 94 years old. Mr. Sides was proud to be a veteran of the Navy serving our country. He had many fond memories of people that he met during his service and enjoyed keeping in touch by writing those people. He was a pen pal to many people across the United States. The family would like to recognize the staff at Oak Park for their dedication and care for Mr. Sides. He was united in marriage to Myrtle Sides nee Richardson on December 25, 1957. She preceded him in death on August 20, 2015. They were married 58 loving years. He was also preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Flosie T. Sides; brothers, Willie Sides, Frank Sides; sister, Fannie Mae Rocks. He is survived by his children, Paul East (Kathleen), Robert Sides (Nancy), Glenda Miles (Tommy), Curtis Sides (Teresa); grandchildren, Paula Bramblett, Nikkie Sanders, Connie Swanson, Mandy Ray, Brooke Miles, Benji Sides, Clay Sides and Lindsey Sharpe, as well as great grandchildren, and several special nephews, and nieces. Visitation will be held in the Parlor at Frederick-Dean Funeral Home on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 from 11:00 until 12:30 p.m. CDT. Graveside will be held Wednesday, March 2, 2016 in the Auburn Memorial Park Cemetery at 1:00 p.m. CDT with Dr. George Mathison officiating. Frederick-Dean Funeral Home is directing. www.FrederickDean.com Funerals & Cremations Since 1900 Jake looked forward all week to getting out on the water. He dreamed of pulling in a few large mouths before his work took him back to Louisiana again for two weeks. He had done field work through Auburn University since graduating from the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences in 2012. He couldnt have imagined what happened out there that hot summer day or where it would lead him. It happened on Saturday, July 13, 2013. Right after lunch, Jake hopped in his truck with his 14-foot aluminum flat bottom boat in tow. He headed for the Georgia line and the waters of West Point Lake. He fished for a couple of hours and had caught a couple of fair size bass, but none worthy of hanging on his wall. The sky became slightly overcast, but Jake didnt give it much thought. Rain sprinkling his face woke him up. Excruciating pain shot across his lower back. He could not explain why he was lying in the back of his boat when he had been fishing from the front. His fiberglass rod lay in the bottom of the boat, broken in two. The stench of something burning filled his nostrils and his head hurt. He touched the back of his head and found that his hair felt strange. His hip hurt, too but none of his problems made sense. Everything seemed out of place and his memory of the entire day was fuzzy. He picked up his cell phone and called his parents back home in Muscle Shoals. His dad heard the nature of his unexplained injuries and said, I think youve been hit by lightning! You need to get to a hospital. He couldnt remember how to get to the boat ramp so he used his depth finder to navigate his way back. Even though he still doesnt remember the drive, he loaded up and traveled the 40-mile trek to the hospital in Opelika. He parked his truck and boat trailer on the backside of the parking lot so he would not be in the way. He walked in the E.R. and said, I think Ive been struck by lightning. I need help! The strike had entered the back of Jakes head, ran down his body, and exited through his right hip. He had second degree burns, but was blessed to be alive. He was admitted to the hospital and moved to the floor where Jenna was working at that time as a multi-care technician. After he was settled in, Jake asked Jenna for glass of water about 40 times but didnt remember that he had already asked. Jenna jokingly said to those working with her, Yall watch out, Im gonna marry this guy. After a couple of nights in the hospital, Jake went to his parents home in Muscle Shoals for some recovery time. Jennas friends dared her to send Jake a Facebook friend request. She did, and he accepted. They began to communicate through Facebook and then by phone. As Jake prepared to return to Auburn, he called Jenna and asked her if she would go out with him. Nineteen months later, in front of Samford Hall, on the campus of Auburn University, Jake got down on one knee, and Jenna answered, Are you serious? Then to Jakes delight, she said, Yes! They both had been struck Jake twice, Jenna once. On May 7, 2016, Jake Blackstock and Jenna Bowman will exchange wedding vows. God truly does work in mysterious ways and all things really do work together for good to those who love God! Congratulations Jake and Jenna! Bill King is director of Tuskegee Lee Baptist Association (tuskegeelee.com). He is a minister, author, singer/songwriter, and performs humor as Bro. Billy Bob Bohannon (brobillybob.com). Contact him at bkpreach@yahoo.com. News / Africa by Staff Reporter THE so-called sangoma looked real in his animal skins and spoke so convincingly that many families in Khayelitsha fell for his money scam.Daily Sun reported that but when he tried the evil trick on a family from site C, it backfired. People were attacking the 26-year-old fake Ugandan sangoma before cops bust him for fraud.Crossroads and Khayelitsha residents said he targeted women with pension packages. The last incident saw him trying to cheat a gogo's family out of R240 000.When she caught wind of the con, he tried to make her believe he had died.Police spokeswoman Nasiphi Same said the man promised the family he would double their money. "The suspect convinced them to sell their house and buy a bigger one, promising them he would pay for it. They sold the house."The last deal worth R40 000 was handed over to the suspect on 22 February. When they called the suspect the next day they were told he had died in an accident."The family approached the police and they found him in his vehicle in Browns Farm. He tried to flee but was arrested."He tried to fool all his victims the same way. "He said all the right things and made you believe him," said Asanda.Nxeleku (35) from Khayelitsha, who lost R10 000. She said when she tried to phone him after paying, he was always busy. "Then someone else answered and said he had died."She said she was shocked when she saw people attacking him and heard he had been arrested. "I got the shock of my life when I realised he was still alive."Sangoma Khanyisile Kheswa warned: "No real sangoma will tell you to sell your house, or that money will increase, or rob people, because ancestors are not crooks." ANAHEIM More than 300 people gathered peacefully Monday night in Pearson Park, the scene two days earlier of a bloody confrontation between the Ku Klux Klan and counterprotesters. They denounced the KKK as racist and said the organization has no place in Anaheim, dubbed by the mayor the City of Kindness. Fascists and hatemongers, we say go away, Rabbi Jonathan Klein, executive director of Los Angeles-based Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, told the enthusiastic crowd. Hate has no place in this community. Mirvette Judeh, an executive board member of the Arab American Caucus, told the crowd: We are all here because we are against all forms of bigotry. After the rally, the crowd walked the mile from Pearson Park along Harbor Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue to Anaheim City Hall. Charles Cole, pastor of the Brown Temple Christian Methodist Church in Santa Ana, held a candle. As members of the faith community, its our responsibility to pray for both sides, the protesters and those spreading hate, he said. I think this speaks volumes of how great this community is. Mondays peaceful rally and march were in stark contrast to Saturdays violence at Pearson Park between KKK members or supporters and protesters. Three protesters were stabbed at that KKK rally, one with a flagpole. A dozen people were arrested. Five were released from custody, all KKK members or supporters, after police determined they were acting in self-defense against counterprotesters. The remaining seven in custody were counterdemonstrators. On Monday, both sides said they had entered the park with peace on their minds and criticized the Anaheim Police Department for a slow response while officers said they had responded quickly and took steps to try to keep the calm. They didnt go out to cause trouble, Imperial Wizard Chris Barker said about the injured KKK members in a phone interview from the Loyal White Knights national headquarters in Pelham, N.C. The police should have been there. They knew about the rally for at least a month in advance. The Loyal White Knights plan to hold future White Lives Matter rallies at Pearson Park, he said. On Friday, about 25 Klan members held a klavern, a local meeting, at an undisclosed location in Anaheim to perform secret rituals and initiate new members, Barker said. The next day, some went to Pearson for their rally. A counterprotester sparked the melee by striking a Klansman in the head, prompting several other Klan members to fight back in self-defense, Barker said. The younger members did the stabbing to protect him, he added. We hate to see anyone get hurt. Will Quigg of Anaheim, a grand dragon for the Loyal White Knights and in charge of its California operation, suffered a fractured hand in the brawl, Barker said. Quigg told The Associated Press on Monday that he contacted Anaheim police ahead of time but that the agency denied his requests for a police presence. Sgt. Daron Wyatt said Anaheim police were at the rally and monitoring from nearby. They may not have seen us, because we didnt want to exacerbate the situation, but we were the ones that saw the violence break out and called for reinforcements, which arrived within a minute and a half, plus a helicopter, Wyatt said. Sufficient units were there within two minutes. In the days leading up to the rally, Wyatt said, the Police Department issued two warnings on Twitter to alert residents that several KKK members were planning to gather at Pearson Park. The second mentioned the likely arrival of counterprotesters. We are going to evaluate this from a holistic approach to see what we could have done differently, and what we should do differently in the future, Wyatt said. From jail on Monday, several counterprotesters told their versions of what happened. Marquis DeShawn Turner, 20, of Anaheim, in Orange Countys Central Mens Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, said he heard about the Saturday rally on social media and went to Pearson Park, near his mothers house, with friends. The KKK should not have been there, Turner said. There are families that go there, and there shouldnt be a hate gathering there. The police and mayors office shouldnt allow that. Thats what starts violence and riots. Turner said it was important for him to go as a black man, to stand up against the history of KKK violence. But he said he didnt plan for a melee. I started to walk away when I saw the fight broke out, he said. I went back to help my friends. Turner was wearing a bandana over his face during the brawl and in a YouTube video can be seen helping a KKK member off the ground. He looked at me like Im dirt, Turner said. If I was trying to hurt (him), why would I try to help (him)? Guy Harris, a 19-year-old transient, in jail Monday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, said he went to the rally to support Turner. I saw my friend Fuzzy getting stabbed, so thats when I ran to help and thats when he turned around and stabbed me, said Harris, who is white and was to receive stitches later Monday, about a Klan member. I dont think any of us should be in here. I was only doing this in self-defense. Attorney Thomas Kielty is representing three counterprotesters who were arrested Saturday. He said his clients were trying to stop a Klan member from getting away after having stabbed a protester. My clients are professionals and church-goers, said Kielty, adding that the three knew one another through Universal Unitarian churches in Los Angeles County. They wanted to protest the KKK. Thats it. One of Kieltys clients, 38-year-old Hugo Contreras from Hawthorne, broke his arm while police were taking him into custody. All he did was briefly try to help his friend who was in a tussle with an obvious suspect. Now, hes got a broken arm, charges and a $50,000 bond. A police official said he wasnt aware that a protester had broken his arm. Hours before Mondays rally, Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait said that the melee could have been handled better, but that judging in hindsight in this case puts unreasonable expectations on the Police Department. I can hardly think of another group that has such a history of racial hate and violence that hits such a raw nerve with people, the mayor said of the KKK during an interview at his familys environmental engineering firm, Tait & Associates. Nearly four years ago, the mayor kicked off a kindness initiative, promoting simple, kind gestures that this past year helped bring the Dalai Lama to town. The Ku Klux Klan has a history in Anaheim. In the early 1920s, about 400 Klansmen were living in Anaheim, according to The Invisible Empire of the West by Christopher N. Cocoltchos. Klansmen quickly got involved in politics and ultimately reigned the city for about a year. In April 1924, Anaheim elected four Klansmen to its five-seat City Council. Residents didnt stand for it, and in February 1925, a recall election kicked them all out. The KKK has made some appearances in Anaheim in recent months. Several members gathered at Pearson Park late last year, but there were no counterprotesters and the event went relatively unnoticed. Two members dropped off toys Dec. 18 at the Spark of Love toy drive at the Honda Center. In January, several dozen residents in Anaheims Colony District, near downtown, found plastic bags on their doorsteps and driveways filled with candy and KKK propaganda opposing Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The gestures, city and police officials said, are ways of trying to get attention but do not signal the KKKs resurgence in Anaheim or Orange County. Im very concerned about people worrying or thinking that there is a big number of Klan members in Anaheim, when that isnt the case, Tait said. The Klan, historically, is based on fear and intimidation, and I dont want people feeling that way by this group. Staff Writers Joanna Clay and Alma Fausto contributed to this report. Contact the writer: sschwebke@ocregister.com A combat soldier who is Sikh sued the Defense Department on Monday, saying his beard and turban had made him the subject of religious discrimination because the Army was putting him through arduous helmet and gas mask testing that no other soldier goes through. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington by Capt. Simratpal Singh, a decorated West Point graduate and observant Sikh, said that, unlike other soldiers, he had been ordered to undergo three days of performance tests that target him solely because of his religious beliefs. The Army has a ban on long hair and beards, which it says are a battlefield liability because helmets and gas masks must fit well to work. At the same time, the Army has permitted about 100,000 troops to maintain beards for medical reasons, and in recent years it allowed Special Forces troops in Afghanistan to grow beards. None of those people have had to undergo special tests, said Jagmeet Singh, a spokesman for the Sikh Coalition, which filed the suit along with the religious freedom group the Becket Fund and the law firm McDermott Will & Emery. We can only assume Captain Singh is being singled out because of his religion. Simratpal Singh was ordered late Friday to begin three days of tests to determine if his helmet would fit over his long hair and if his gas mask could seal to his face. No other soldiers go through helmet testing, and the standard gas mask test lasts only a few hours. He passed the standard gas mask test on Monday. The lawsuit asks for an injunction forcing the Army to stop what the complaint called extraordinary, targeted, repetitive testing. A ruling is expected on Monday afternoon. Military officials did not respond to requests for comment. Singh, 28, grew up in an observant Sikh family in Seattle and did not shave or cut his hair until he joined the Army in 2006. For 10 years he shaved and cut his hair as he rose through the ranks, and he was awarded the Bronze Star for exemplary service in Afghanistan. In 2015, he asked the Army to let him begin growing his hair and wearing the outward symbols of his faith. The Army granted him a temporary accommodation in December pending a permanent decision. Many observers saw it as a crack in the strict uniform standards that have discouraged many religious Americans from serving in the military. For generations, the Defense Department has nixed almost any departure from standard uniform appearance. In the 1980s, the case of a Jewish officer seeking to wear a yarmulke went all the way to the Supreme Court. Since then, while barriers for women and gay people in the military have fallen, religious accommodations for uniforms have remained rare. Only three Sikhs, two Muslims and a Jewish rabbi have been granted accommodations in the Army since 2009, and none served in combat roles. Lawyers representing Singh said they thought the testing was an effort by the Army to find an excuse to not allow religious turbans and beards. There is no other reason they would do this, said Amandeep S. Sidhu, a lawyer at McDermott Will & Emery who is representing Singh. If they want to do a study on beards and gas masks and include a variety of soldiers, including Sikhs, by all means. But to do a test with only one soldier while his religious accommodation decision is pending, thats unreasonable. Amid the architectural, culinary and artistic beauty of Italy is another, sometimes unappreciated specialty business. Thats the topic of a Chapman symposium on Saturday. Culture and Business: An Italian Perspective, presented by the Chapman University Italian Studies Council, will bring together business leaders from different fields that work within the crossroads of Italy and America. Attendees will learn about business models that both draw from, learn to be an ambassador between Italy and the United States, and explore applications of Italian studies toward entrepreneurship. The events keynote speaker will be Florindo Blandolino, director of the Italian Trade Agency, who will be joined by other guests such as Jari Ognibeni, co-founder and CEO of tech company Industrio, and Victor Laruccia, executive director of the San Diego Italian Film Festival. The symposium will be held in Beckman Hall 404s George Bush Conference Center and is free to attend. Contact the writer: jwinslow@ocregister.com As if we needed another example of how bad Californias business climate is, a new survey concludes that the Golden State is the worst state in the nation for trucking. The survey of Best and Worst States for Trucking in 2016 was conducted by Merchant Cash USA, which offers cash advances to small businesses. Rounding out the bottom five were Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Topping the list was Tennessee, followed by Washington, Oklahoma, Texas and Indiana. Despite a booming trucking industry nationwide, California suffers due to environmental and labor regulations that drive up the costs of fuel and operations and make it difficult to hire drivers. This has caused an exodus of owner-operators with small carriers, who either left the state or gave up their trucks, Scott Chatten of J.B. Hunt Transport told the Victorville Daily Press. In particular, the California Air Resources Boards Statewide Truck and Bus Rule mandates that commercial trucks in the state have a diesel particulate filter, supposedly to improve air quality, though the regulation was based on discredited research. This has forced trucking businesses to either spend $20,000 to $50,000 to retrofit each truck or fork over even more to buy a new truck that meets the regulations. A new truck costs 60 percent more than it did in 2008, Merchant Cash USA noted. To make matters worse, the filters are prone to clogging and have been blamed for at least 31 truck fires in the past two years, according to the Alliance for California Business. A state law that requires workers to take a 30-minute meal break within the first five hours of a work day has also been a hindrance. Can you imagine driving from the High Desert to Albuquerque and pulling off in the middle of nowhere to take your 30-minute break? one owner-operator said to the Daily Press. The destruction of the trucking industry in California will no doubt give some environmentalists reason to cheer, but it needlessly costs desperately needed jobs and inhibits economic growth all to further an ideological agenda unsupported by evidence. The U.S. Constitution provides that the president shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint . . . Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States . . . . There is no timeline given in the Constitution, and some lower offices have been left vacant for long periods of time. President Clinton, for instance, left open the position of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights for four years, fearing that his appointee would not be confirmed by the Senate. Clinton was able to put his choice in as acting Assistant Attorney General for several years, then made a recess appointment. The Republican leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, has announced that the Senate will not recess between now and the end of President Obamas term; so that route, which has been used for Supreme Court nominees in the past, is effectively closed. President Obama has said he will nominate a justice to replace Justice Antonin Scalia. Sen. McConnell has said the Senate will not proceed with any such nomination, leaving the vacancy for the next president to fill. So, just as the president can leave a position vacant, the Senate can do so as well. The Senate Judiciary Committee can choose to hold hearings or not on any nominee the president sends. All Republican members of that committee have now agreed that no nominee of President Obama will receive a hearing, let alone a vote. That is the position of the majority leader, Sen. McConnell, as well, and it takes 60 senators to compel a vote against the wishes of the majority leader. With 54 Republican Senators, that is not likely to happen. The Supreme Court can continue to decide cases with a quorum of a majority of Justices. Many times, due to individual justices having a conflict of interest, the court has had to decide a case with only eight, or even fewer, justices. Any such decision with fewer than five votes is not considered precedential, though it does decide the specific case in front of the court. A 5-3 opinion, however, is every bit as powerful as a 5-4 opinion. There are a number of important cases currently pending where the court was likely to decide a case 5-4, with Justice Scalia in the majority. These will now be either set over for re-argument during the 2016-2017, or even 2017-2018 term, when the court will have all nine justices; or a 4-4 result will be announced. In the latter case, the opinion of the court below will be sustained, but with no broader precedential value. There are three major cases that might be affected by this situation. The lower court upheld the University of Texas policy of including race in its decision about who to admit to college. This was likely to be overturned in a 5-4 opinion, because the 14th Amendment guarantees the equal protection of the laws to all persons in the United States, and non-minority students were not being given the same boost in their college admission as the minority students. Now, Texas will be allowed to continue, for the meantime. The challenge to the California Teachers Associations ability to force non-union members to pay the CTA for the CTAs work representing them in bargaining was also likely to have succeeded, on a 5-4 vote, with Justice Scalia in the majority. The lower court had upheld the union; so their ability to collect these payments (through deductions made by the state government employer) will continue throughout this election season. Had Scalia lived, the public employee unions would likely have suffered a massive setback in their funding, right in the middle of the election. (This is because, once it was established that non-members didnt have to pay anything to the union, many current members would likely leave the uniondepriving the union of sources for their political activities.) The case challenging President Obamas delay of deportation for parents of children legally here might also be 4-4. The lower court (the 5th Circuit) struck down the Presidents action, so the effect would be to stop the issuing of work permits to those whose deportation was temporarily stayed in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi, where the 5th Circuit has jurisdiction. It is unlikely anyone would be deported, however, as that would require positive action by the president, which a court would have difficulty ordering; as opposed to stopping the president from giving work permits, which a court could easily order. A good deal of the courts business would continue as before. The vast majority of opinions of the Supreme Court are not 5-4; though we tend to lose sight of that fact in the light of the highly controversial cases. The high visibility of those latter cases, however, will, I predict, cause the Senate to vote against, or fail to hold a vote, on any nominee of President Obama, unless the nominee is absolutely nonpartisan. If I am right, then the presidential election will determine the result of public employee union power, a presidents executive action authority and whether states can grant benefits only to some student applicants, based on race. Thomas Campbell is a professor of law and dean at the Fowler School of Law, Chapman University. He was a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White, and, during his five terms in the U.S. House, served on the Judiciary Committee. It was Leap Day at the Disneyland Resort, and even though spring doesnt start for another three weeks, flowers are blooming all over the place. In Frontierland, crews are continuing their preparations around the Rivers of America for the start of construction of Star Wars land. They installed two temporary dams on the Rivers of America so they can drain the northern portion of the river to reroute it. The pedestrian traffic in Adventureland was noticably down, as the Jungle Cruise continues its lengthy refurbishment and was joined by the closure of the Indiana Jones attraction for a few weeks. More displays related to the Disneyland Railroad went up at the New Orleans Square/Frontierland station, along with a new display in the Main Street Opera House about all of Disneys steam trains here, Walt Disney World and the one Walt Disney used to have at his home in Holmby Hills. The Toons were still painting many of the exterior walls of the buildings in Mickeys Toontown, and the Autopia is still closed for a lengthy refurbishment. Over in Disney California Adventure, Soarin is open again after periodic weekday closures. Grizzly River Run is also still closed for its annual refurbishment. The new ride at Luigis in Cars Land opens in a week, but the construction walls were still up around the attraction. Theyre slated to be removed Tuesday night. Take a look at the slideshow for more details and a few fun things to discover along the way, such as the return of the missing chair on the front porch at Disneyland. Contact the writer: meades@ocregister.com GLENDALE, Ariz. When the Dodgers signed Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda to an eight-year contract in December, they did not describe him as a replacement for the departed Zack Greinke. But catcher Yasmani Grandal was willing to compare the two, at least in one area, after catching Maedas first session throwing to hitters Monday morning. This is a guy who can throw four pitches, Grandal said. We had Greinke last year who could throw four pitches. Maeda twice won the Sawamura Award as Japans best pitcher, including last season. But it is a daunting standard to hold him to when comparing him to Greinke, who went 51-15 with a 2.30 ERA in three seasons for the Dodgers, including a major league best 1.66 ERA and 0.84 WHIP in 2015. Why because Greinke had a good year last year? countered Grandal, who caught 26 of Greinkes 34 starts last season. (Maeda) also had a pretty good track record in Japan. Weve had a lot of Japanese players come in here and do a great job. The reason I say Greinke is he was the only guy we had last year who had a four-pitch mix. So thats why I make the comparison, not that they have the same stuff. Theyre obviously two different pitchers. As to building a game plan and being creative and doing whatever we want to do, there is some comparison. With him, I think its going to be rocking batters back and forth slow-fast, slow-fast, slow-fast. Like I said, he can do that inside or outside. Its going to be fun. Facing Maeda and top prospect Julio Urias back-to-back in Mondays live batting practice session was no fun for Dodgers hitters. Maeda threw 38 pitches over two simulated innings to a group of hitters that included Adrian Gonzalez, Yasiel Puig, Chase Utley and Howie Kendrick. Good fastball, has a lot of life on it, Kendrick said of Maeda. He threw some breaking balls, threw me one changeup. His pitches are coming out really good. He was mixing it up really well. He has good stuff. Grandal noted that Maeda seemed to be struggling with the break in his slider Its known through the whole league that once you come to spring training in Arizona your breaking ball doesnt break as much, he said but got better as the session went along. I feel, overall, Ive been able to adjust pretty well, Maeda said through an interpreter of his first training camp with the Dodgers so far. Maeda is penciled in as the Dodgers No. 3 starter as the rotation lines up now and is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. TURNER STATUS The Dodgers maintain Justin Turners recovery from microfracture surgery on his left knee has gone as well as can be expected. But Turner was held out of most drills during Mondays workout and Manager Dave Roberts said Turner will not be ready to play in games for at least the first week of the Cactus League schedule. The Dodgers open spring play Thursday against the Chicago White Sox. I think its fair to say, you wont see him in a game for a week and then well keep an eye on it, Roberts said. Im fairly certain he wont be playing in a major league game within a week. Roberts said Turner remains on track to be ready for opening day April 4. Roberts said he is not concerned about Turners playing time in Cactus League games because he can get all the work he needs in minor league camp games if he needs to. Turner is doing well, Roberts said. Our main concern is his health and recovery, which every day he continues to get better. As far as the at-bats, we can get those on the other side if we need to. So Im not too concerned about the at-bats. And as far as him taking grounders and the lateral movement coming in on the ball, hes doing that every day. NOTES First baseman Adrian Gonzalez was back on the field for Mondays workout after missing Sunday because of his chronic neck issues. Right-hander Yaisel Sierra was in camp but not in uniform. He is in the final phase of completing the paperwork that will allow him to officially join the Dodgers. Sierras six-year, $30 million contract with the Dodgers was finalized last week. Three other Cuban players signed by the Dodgers right-hander Yadier Alvarez, outfielder Yusniel Diaz and infielder Omar Estevez are in minor league camp. The Dodgers signed the three to bonuses totaling $37.5 million last year. Contact the writer: bplunkett@ocregister.com Bill Gross said Pacific Investment Management Co. isnt playing by the rules in its effort to kill the lawsuit he filed last year over his departure. Gross told a California state judge Tuesday the the Newport Beach company he started more than 40 years ago improperly misconstrued his allegations in order to have them thrown out before he gets a chance to present his evidence. The money manager left Pimco in September 2014 amidst a public falling out with other managing directors after lagging results at the Pimco Total Return Fund, then the worlds largest mutual fund, led to a flood of redemptions. He sued a year later, saying he was ousted so that Pimco wouldnt have to pay him his $200 million cut of the bonus pool and his rivals could increase their compensation. Pimco in response said Gross lawsuit had no basis in law and should be thrown out. In his reply, Gross said he sufficiently stated his claims to let them proceed at this early stage of the litigation. He accused Pimco of repeated attempts to lure the court into making inappropriate factual determinations. A hearing on the dismissal request is scheduled for March 14. Mr. Gross faced endless misleading, false and inaccurate assaults in the press, his lawyers said in the filing in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana. He agreed to continued employment and an estimated salary of, at most, half of his current salary, in exchange for his committee resignations, the management of a small portfolio, and his agreement to work out of a separate office. Gross, 71, now co-manages the $1.26 billion Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund, which has gained 0.7 percent this year while almost breaking even since he took over management in October 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Most of the money in the unconstrained fund is from Gross $2 billion personal fortune. Gross has said he will donate any award or settlement from the lawsuit to charity. The Janus fund has outperformed the Pimco Unconstrained Bond Fund, whose investors have lost 5.3 percent since October 2014, according to Bloomberg data. Investors have continued to pull money from Pimco since Gross departure, with total assets under management falling to $1.43 trillion as of Dec. 31, down 23.5 percent from $1.87 trillion on Sept. 30, 2014, the end of the quarter when Gross was ousted. ORANGE Local anglers will have to find a new fishing hole after a popular Orange County lake closed to the public a side effect of prolonged negotiations including over the right to a profitable nearby RV lot. Irvine Lake in Santiago Canyon has been a fishing hot spot for more than 70 years, but the basin sat eerily silent Monday morning, just a day after nearly 200 frequent fishers cast their lines for the last time in the foreseeable future. There are very few fishing resources in Orange County like Irvine Lake, said Steve Carson, who has been fishing the lake since 1964 and writes a weekly newsletter detailing the conditions and record catches. When youre there you feel like youre at a lake up in the mountains, Carson said. Given the relative lack of freshwater and freshwater fishing opportunities in Southern California, its a real shame its closing. In order for fishing to resume at the 750-acre man-made lake, an agreement will need to be reached between the county, the Serrano Water District and the Irvine Co. over who will own, operate and profit from various lake businesses. While Irvine Co. has promised its land and water recreation rights to the county, Serranos recreation rights require the district also sign off on who runs lake activities. In October, Serrano officials proposed giving the county all the recreation rights in exchange for allowing the water district to continue to operate a nearby RV storage lot that brought in $310,000 last year. But the county balked at that suggestion in January, pointing out that the Serrano district wanted to keep the lakes most profitable business while relinquishing water recreation activities that have been a insurance liability in recent years. Insurance costs spiked after drowning accidents. The lake limited fishing to the shoreline last year. The two sides have not reached a compromise and, in a Feb. 19 letter, the Irvine Co. told Serrano officials that it would not extend a lease on the water districts RV storage area because the lack of progress in negotiations led the company to believe no deal would be finalized in the near term. Now that the Serrano district has been left with recreation rights and no land on which to use them, David Noyes, Serranos contract CEO, said the district is exploring ways to just sell or lease those rights to the county. County spokeswoman Jean Pasco said officials are working to have fishing resume as soon as possible, but called the property complicated. On Monday, employees hauled away stoves and cooking equipment from Rogers Cafe, where early risers could enjoy a breakfast burrito or purchase tackle. Crews from the water district placed no trespassing signs around the lake. Others removed old picnic benches and barbecues all of which have been sold off. Most of these people have been coming out here for over 20-something years, said Steve Duncan, a member of Team 57, an Orange County fishing club. We would really like to see it open back up as soon as possible. I know there will be plenty of people coming to the lake. Staff writer Denisse Salazar contributed to this report. SEOUL, South Korea The parents of an American college student who tearfully apologized on North Korean state television on Monday for having plotted to steal a political banner said they had been unable to speak with their son since the North Korean police seized him two months ago. In a statement about the arrest of the student, Otto F. Warmbier, an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, the parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, also said they hoped the televised apology would lead to his release. It was the first time they had said anything publicly about their sons ordeal. Our top priority is to get him back home with us as quickly as possible, read a copy of the statement released to the University of Virginias communications office after Otto Warmbiers appearance on a North Korean news broadcast. The statement urged the North Korean government to consider his youth and make an important humanitarian gesture by allowing him to return to his loved ones. The statement said, We had not heard from him during these many weeks, so you can imagine how deeply worried we were and what a traumatic experience this has been for us. The careful wording suggested that all diplomatic efforts undertaken so far to establish contact between Warmbier and his parents had failed. Warmbier, 21, from Cincinnati, had been completing an organized tour of North Korea when he was prevented from boarding a departing flight from Pyongyang, the capital, on Jan. 2. News of his arrest was not reported by North Koreas state media for three weeks. The televised apology showed Warmbier, dressed in a tie and jacket, sobbing as he beseeched the North Korean authorities to free him. It offered the first publicly disclosed indications of why he had been arrested by North Koreas virulently anti-American government. Saying he had made the worst mistake of my life, Warmbier admitted having stolen a political banner from the staff-only area of Pyongyangs Yanggakdo International Hotel, partly at the urging of an Ohio church, a secret society at the University of Virginia that he aspired to join, and the CIA. North Koreas state media called his action an anti-state crime. It was impossible to ascertain whether the apology had been coerced. But the unlikely nature of the details suggested the script had been written by Warmbiers North Korean interrogators. The apology asserted, for example, that Warmbier had a profit motive in the theft because his family was suffering acute financial difficulties. It also asserted that he had concocted the plot months earlier while dining at the home of a friend whose mother was identified as a deaconess at the Friendship United Methodist Church of Wyoming, Ohio, a Cincinnati suburb. Warmbier said the mother, whom he quoted as saying communism should be ended in North Korea, had offered him a $10,000 car if he succeeded and would pay his family $200,000 if he were caught and arrested. Warmbier also said the Z Society, one of the University of Virginias oldest and most clandestine clubs, had encouraged him to steal the banner, promising him membership if he was successful. Calls to the Friendship United Methodist Church for comment were not returned, and it was not immediately possible to reach any Z Society members. But students at the university, speaking privately, said it was absurd to suggest such a plot, particularly involving the Z Society, which is known for local charitable undertakings. A number of Americans have been arrested and released over the years in North Korea, which has remained in a technical state of war with the United States since the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War. But Warmbier was the first to be seized in the latest cycle of rising tensions over the Norths nuclear weapons and ballistic missile activities, which is likely to lead to tightened United Nations sanctions. Although American travel to North Korea is legal and encouraged by the North Korean authorities to attract tourist revenue the State Department strongly discourages U.S. citizens from visiting. All U.S. consular activities there are handled by the Swedish Embassy. Asked about Warmbiers televised apology, Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, told reporters Monday that the Obama administration was aware of the situation involving Mr. Warmbier and working through the Swedish Embassy to learn about the circumstances of Mr. Warmbiers detention. Swedish officials have repeatedly declined to comment on whether any efforts to conduct a consular visit with Warmbier have succeeded. News / Africa by Staff Reporter A 32-year-old pregnant Kenyan woman, who chopped off her husband's penis on Friday, has been arrested.Daily Nation reported that Pauline Mukiri was arrested at Kiembeni Estate in Mombasa, eastern Kenya on Saturday evening and was being held at the Bamburi police station.Mukiri attacked Alloys Matata at a local bar, where sources said he was having a good time with another woman.When they got home that evening, she chopped off his penis and left him for the dead.Matata was rescued by neighbours who rushed him to the hospital, but he later died.The couple had been staying together for a year, according to Citizen TV.Mukiri insisted she was acting in self-defence. The Westerners who find themselves detained in North Korea and there have been a fair few of them in recent years invariably end up in front of television cameras making full-throated confessions. American Otto Warmbier is the latest citizen of a Western country to appear before the North Korean press, reading a prepared statement Monday in which he confessed to the severe crime of trying to steal a propaganda poster from his hotel. North Korea has a history of using American detainees as bargaining chips with the United States, its avowed enemy. These are some of the previous cases of strange confessions by detained Americans which have been explained after their release. Jeffrey Fowle of Ohio spent almost six months in detention in North Korea in 2014 after leaving a Bible in a bathroom stall at a seamans club in Chongjin, a city on the northeast coast. Fowle appeared before the media several times. Before his first appearance, in front of North Korean journalists from Associated Press Television News, Fowles minder told him to put some emotion into it. Emphasize your desperation for wanting to get home and that your family needs you back, the minder, called Mr. Jo, told Fowle, according to a story by Joshua Hunt for The Atavist. Jo suggested that it might be good if Fowle cried. But during his second appearance, to a visiting CNN crew, Fowle forgot his talking points once he got in front of the cameras. Mr. Jo, off camera, had to prompt him, according to The Atavist. Im getting desperate, Fowle told CNN, in a few of the words that appeared to be his own. Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old Palo Alto man held in 2013 after mentioning to his tour guide that he fought in the Korean War on the wrong side said afterwards that he tried to signal in his televised confession that it was being made under duress. This is what Newman said in a statement after his release: Anyone who has read the text of it or who has seen the video of me reading it knows that the words were not mine and were not delivered voluntarily. Anyone who knows me knows that I could not have done the things they had me confess to. To demonstrate that I was reading the document under some duress, I did my best to read the confession in a way that emphasized the bad grammar and strange language that the North Koreans had crafted for me to say. I hope that came across to all who saw the video. John Short, an Australian, was arrested in North Korea in 2014 and held for almost a month after he left pamphlets about Christianity, written in Korean, at a Buddhist temple in Pyongyang on February 16, the anniversary of the birthday of Kim Jong Il, second in North Koreas ruling dynasty. I deeply apologize for what I have done by spreading my Bible tracts on February 16th the birthday of his Excellency Kim Jong Il, Short said in a televised confession broadcast by the official Korean Central News Agency. I realize that the mass media of the USA and the Western countries who say that the DPRK is the closed country and has no religious freedoms is inaccurate and wrong, Short read carefully and deliberately from prepared notes, echoing language often used in North Korean propaganda. After his release, Short told the Australian Associated Press that he underwent a long and grueling investigation. There were two-hour sessions each morning, which were repeated again in the afternoons, he said. Lim Hyeon-soo, a 60-year-old Korean-Canadian pastor who confessed last year to attempting to overthrow North Korea, was forced to make the claim, his friends say. Lim, who was pastor of the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto, was arrested in Pyongyang a year ago while traveling on a humanitarian mission. He had visited North Korea about 100 times. I have so far malignantly defamed the dignity and social system of North Korea, Lim said in a press conference organized by the North Korean officials, during which he named in the United States and South Korea who he said were involved in his subversive actions. It is quite obvious he was forced to say these things, and I find it very regrettable, Kim Kyong-sik, a pastor at a Korean-American church in St. Louis, Missouri, and one of the pastors named by Lim, told Voice of America. They know better than anyone else that he has been providing aid for nonpolitical and humanitarian reasons, Kim told VOA. TOKYO Japanese prosecutors indicted three former executives of the Tokyo Electric Power Co., owner of the ruined Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, on Monday, charging them with criminal negligence for their role in reactor meltdowns after an earthquake and tsunami five years ago. The indictments were the first stemming from the nuclear disaster, which spread radiation across a wide area in northeastern Japan and led to evacuations that left more than 100,000 people homeless. The sudden and often chaotic evacuations caused the deaths of 44 people, prosecutors said in a statement. They did not identify the victims, but most, if not all, are believed to have been older Fukushima residents who were in hospitals and nursing homes, or bedridden at home, when the disaster occurred. One died in a hospital because doctors and nurses were forced to flee, leaving the person without treatment or care, the prosecutors said. Others died in transit or in makeshift temporary shelters. (No one was killed by radiation, because levels outside the plant itself were too low.) This is a relief for the tens of thousands of victims who are still dealing with hardships and anguish, said Ruiko Muto, an opponent of nuclear power who leads a citizens group that has been pursuing charges against Tokyo Electric and government officials. Its wrong that no one has taken responsibility. The three executives Tsunehisa Katsumata, 75; Sakae Muto, 65 (no relation to Ruiko Muto); and Ichiro Takekuro, 69 are accused of failing to take measures that would have protected the nuclear plant from the damage the tsunami wrought. The enormous wave, caused by a magnitude 9 offshore earthquake, overwhelmed the plants protective sea wall and swamped the facility, knocking out cooling systems needed to keep its six reactors from overheating. Three of the units ultimately melted down. Katsumata was chairman of Tokyo Electric, known as TEPCO, at the time of the accident. Sakae Muto and Takekuro are former heads of the utilitys nuclear division. They did not comment on the indictments, but previously they testified during a parliamentary inquiry that they had no way of foreseeing that such a powerful tsunami could strike the plant. The quake that caused it was the largest ever recorded in Japan. Prosecutors initially declined to bring charges in the case. They said there was not enough evidence that failings by TEPCO or its leaders had amounted to criminal wrongdoing. But their decision angered Fukushima residents and anti-nuclear campaigners, who formed the organization led by Ruiko Muto, the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Plaintiffs Group, to demand a review. A rarely used feature of Japanese law allows committees made up of private citizens to examine prosecutors decisions regarding whether to indict suspects. In certain circumstances, they can order those decisions reversed. Two such committees revived the Fukushima case, and both determined that the TEPCO executives should be criminally charged. In response, prosecutors said last year that they would move forward with the case. A date for the trial has not been set, but lawyers involved in the case said it would probably not begin for at least six months. Studies by seismologists before the tsunami had suggested that waves higher than the Fukushima plants roughly 30-foot sea wall could strike the Pacific Coast, the site of the plant. Some engineers and critics of nuclear power had wanted the wall to be built higher and critical backup electrical generators to be moved to safer locations. The generators ended up swamped by seawater in the tsunami, which destroyed them and set off the cooling system failure. They know that measures were necessary, but for economic reasons they did nothing, said Yuichi Kaido, a lawyer and politician who supports the Fukushima plaintiffs group. TEPCO declined to comment, saying it could not discuss a pending trial. A person was shot Monday morning, at White Park in downtown Riverside, and police are searching for the person they believe was the shooter. The shooting followed an argument, Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz said. The victim has been taken to the hospital. White Park is closed, but surrounding streets are now open, Diaz said. Riverside police Lt. Val Graham said about 11:40 a.m. that several people had been detained. Theres a lot of people running. Thats why we have a lot of people detained. We dont know if they are victims, suspects or witnesses, Graham said. By 11:50 a.m., police had largely cleared out of White Park, although yellow crime scene tape remained up and detectives were called to the scene. The park gates remained closed and police were turning away people who were trying to enter from Market Street, said Riverside city spokesman Phil Pitchford, who could see the park from City Hall. Next to the park, the city-run Dales Senior Center at 3936 Chestnut St. in Riverside went on lockdown about 11:20 a.m. Willie Johnson, 74, of Riverside came to the center shortly before noon and found that he couldnt go inside. They were on lockdown by the time I got here, he said. They wont let you inside. Johnson waited at the porch with a few other people while a Riverside police officer was posted at the door.As of 11:45 a.m., no Riverside Unified School District campuses had been placed on lockdown, spokesman Justin Grayson said. District officials were listening to a police radio and taking advice from the Police Department on what to do, he said. We have schools on standby, he said. Were awaiting word from the Police Department on the details of whats going on. Encore Charter School students were told they were on lockdown, said one student of the campus on Orange Street. As a precaution, two Riverside County Office of Education buildings were placed on lockdown at 11:40 a.m., spokesman Craig Petinak said. The lockdowns apply to the main building at 3939 13th St. and a childrens services facility at Almond and 11th streets. Police may have found an eyewitness in an adult bookstore next to the park. They took a customer outside after the man confirmed hed seen someone. More than half a dozen police officers entered Romantix at 3945 Market St. searching for the suspect about 11:35 a.m., but the suspect wasnt in the store, said store manager Kami Rodriguez. We already knew something was going on. Just not exactly what, she said by phone. Five or six officers in uniforms and one in plainclothes with a tactical vest searched the store. On their way out, they asked customers if theyd seen anyone. A man in the store told officers he saw the guy outside. Police immediately took that customer outside, Rodriguez said. Staff locked the front door after police left. Rodriguez, who has managed the store for six years, said the situation made her nervous. Its a little nerve wracking, she said. In the many years Ive been working here, Ive never had an incident happen of this nature. This story is developing. Check back for updates. Staff writers Brian Rokos, Suzanne Hurt, Imran Ghori, Stephen Wall, Anne Millerbernd and Timothy Guy contributed to this report. Home prices got off to a strong start in January, with Orange Countys single-family home price up 7.8 percent from January 2015, CoreLogics Home Price Index shows. Thats the biggest price appreciation rate for the county since June 2014. Home price gains ranged from 3.8 percent to 5.8 percent in 2015. The CoreLogic HPI determined by comparing each homes sale price to a previous sale price reflects similar trends reported for January by two other indexes. For example, CoreLogic reported earlier that Orange County had a 7.2 percent gain in its median single-family home price or price at the midpoint of all sales. The California Association of Realtors reported a 4.5 percent gain in O.C.s median house price. Nationwide, house prices rose 6.9 percent in January, according to the HPI. Californias price was up 8.1 percent. CoreLogic projected that U.S. house prices will continue to increase, rising by 5.5 percent by next January. Heading into the spring buying season, home prices continue to rise across much of the country, said Anand Nallathambi, CoreLogic president and CEO. With rates staying low for now and continued solid job and income growth, the spring buying season is shaping up to be a good one. Contact the writer: 714-796-7734 or jcollins@ocregister.com NEWPORT BEACH A domestic violence suspect in a Hummer led authorities through a chase that sent Buena Park police and California Highway Patrol across Orange County freeways Monday evening. The chase stopped on Dover Drive in Newport Beach for at least three hours, police say, but the driver didnt surrender and eventually ran off. UPDATE: Police still searching for driver who fled At just after 10 p.m., the standoff ended when the suspect exited the car and ran up a nearby grassy hill. He was not immediately taken into custody but the woman and children in the car with him were uninjured and were in the care of authorities, said CHP Officer Florentino Olivera. Authorities said that the boys ages 1 and 5 are the children of the driver and woman. The status of the pairs relationship was not clear, but authorities said they are not married. Several times, the driver opened the door and stood outside for a minute with a baby and went back in. Another childs head could be seen popping in and out of the cars sunroof. Olivera said it was not known if there were any weapons in the car, and no one was reported injured. Olivera said authorities were talking to the woman in the car, not the suspect, because she had a phone. The chase began when Huntington Park police asked Buena Park police to look for the Hummer around 4:30 p.m. near Indiana and Commonwealth avenues, near the Fullerton Airport, said Sgt. Chris Nunez of the Buena Park Police Department. The ordeal originated in Huntington Park, when police received a domestic violence call. They were going to the residence to check on this domestic violence call and didnt find them, Olivera said. A short time later, someone reported that those involved in the domestic violence call were traveling together in a car. An officer saw the Hummer driving north on Beach Boulevard at Commonwealth and made a U-turn to pursue it, Nunez said. The officer felt the driver realized he was being pursued, Nunez said. He began making evasive maneuvers. Thats when the pursuit began in earnest, with the Hummer and police driving through La Mirada and Norwalk. The driver then pulled onto the 1-5, heading south. Authorities pursued the SUV through Buena Park, Anaheim and Santa Ana. It eventually traveled on the 55 and 405 freeways. The SUV went on the southbound 55 freeway, then onto the I-405, until getting off in Irvine, ending up in Newport Beach. For a time, eastbound Pacific Coast Highway at Jamboree Road was closed, Newport Beach police said. Orange Countys justice system needs an outside agency to review law enforcements use of informants in its jails, a panel of power brokers agreed Monday night during a lively community forum hosted by the Register. But four of the principal forum participants District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, assistant D.A. Ebrahim Baytieh, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders could not agree on what went wrong when law enforcement officials decided to use a jailhouse informant in the case of Scott Dekraai, who gunned down eight people in Seal Beach in 2011. More than 200 people gathered in the lobby of the newspaper to see the panel, led by Register Managing Editor Donna Wares. Register reporter Tony Saavedra and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Humes also participated in the panel. The forum, entitled Beyond the Snitch Tank, focused on solutions and the future of the Orange County justice system. RELATED: Inside the Snitch Tank news, video, e-book and more Sanders alleged that the District Attorneys Office has for 25 years employed a system of using informants illegally and hiding the information gathered from informants. Were not advancing here, Sanders said emphatically. Were not moving forward until you address the past. Rackauckas, who was first elected district attorney in 1998, said his office is now requiring more training for the law enforcement personnel who deal with inmates and informants. There is honesty in the system, Rackauckas said. This is not a corrupt system. Hutchens said no conspiracy exists. Its not a perfect system, but there has been no deliberate misconduct, the sheriff said. In one particularly heated exchange, Sanders accused Rackauckas of claiming his office had been cleared when the penalty phase of the Dekraai case was taken away by Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals and given to the states attorney general. Thats not a clearing of anybody, Sanders said. There was no intentional violation of anything, Rackauckas said. Goethals ruling is under appeal. The Register began chronicling the controversy over the use by police and prosecutors of informants in the jail system early in 2014. Shortly after his arrest, Dekraai landed in a jail cell next to a prolific snitch named Fernando Perez, who had been working with Orange County authorities in hopes of reducing his own sentence for gun crimes. Jailers recorded more than 130 hours of conversations between Dekraai and Perez. At the time, Rackauckas pledged to seek the death penalty against Dekraai. Sanders noticed that Perez also had been an informant in the case of another client accused murderer Daniel Wozniak. Sanders wrote voluminous court briefs accusing the D.A. of a decadeslong snitch system in which defendants who had been formally charged and were represented by an attorney were illegally questioned by jailhouse informants. The jails inmate and informant tracking system, called TREDS, came to light during Sanders research. He presented his findings to Goethals. Hutchens said Monday night that the TREDS system is part of a classification database and is not a clandestine operation. In March 2015, Goethals removed the District Attorneys Office from the Dekraai case, ruling that prosecutors failed to supervise their law enforcement partners. The judge also concluded that two sheriffs deputies either intentionally lied or willfully withheld material evidence during court hearings. On Monday night, Hutchens said Goethals went a little too far in his comments about the deputies. Former prosecutors and legal scholars from across the United States have asked for a federal investigation into Orange Countys justice system. Rackauckas also has sent a letter to the U.S. attorney general asking for a review. Since the Goethals ruling, at least six murder and attempted-murder cases have unraveled. Last week, the murder case against Henry Rodriguez was tossed out when Goethals granted a new trial after determining that prosecutors failed to turn over evidence that showed a key witness in the case was a seasoned jailhouse informant. Rackauckas has said that his office has made missteps but that the mistakes were unintentional. Baytieh said he wanted the community to know Orange Countys criminal justice system is working as it should. They should know its not broken, he said. Its the best system on Earth. Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com SAN BERNARDINO Authorities in Southern California said two men fleeing from police in a stolen taco truck sideswiped a school bus full of children, took down the lights at an intersection and smashed into a propane truck. No one was seriously hurt in the Monday morning chase. San Bernardino police Lt. Rich Lawhead said the men fled after officers spotted them in the stolen truck on Interstate 215. Witnesses told the San Bernardino Sun that officers fired two shots at the men in the truck after the crash. Motorist Jeremy Morales said the scene was so crazy that he pulled into a nearby service station to get out of the way. Lawhead says the men in the truck were taken to a hospital as a precaution. Other buses were called to take the children to school. Editors note: Because it is considered sacred, many Jewish people replace the o with a hyphen in G-d, as is the case in this column. When the Israelites were offered the Torah at Mt. Sinai, they responded, We will obey it and we will understand it. The order of their commitment seems odd since we usually seek to understand what is being asked of us before undertaking the assignment. Here, though, they pledged to act and only then to comprehend. They teach us that behavior is the primary determinant of who we truly are. A story is told of a white university professor in Knoxville, Tenn., who, during the civil rights era, announced he would sit at lunch counters in support of student sit-ins. When a friend mentioned that many people did not sympathize with attempts to gain equal service through this method, the professor replied that he himself was not sure what he believed about this matter. The friend said, But I understood you to say you would sit. The professor replied, You are right. Thats exactly why I am going down there to act in support of these people. I want to find out what I really believe. The Children of Israel intuited that if you behave a certain way it will be you, for a person is acted upon by his actions. We are who we act to be certainly not immediately, but slowly, as our behavior becomes ingrained. A student came to a rabbi with a seemingly mundane question. The young man was considering a banking position and wondered whether he should accept a seat at the window that cashed checks or at the one that accepted deposits. The rabbi encouraged him to occupy the place that cashed checks, reasoning that if he would be receiving money daily over decades, it would misshape his personality into a taker, but if he would be handing out money, he would be more inclined to become a giver. Through repetition of action, a difference in character would be manifest over time. It is through our hands that we change our hearts. The actor Richard Berry Harrison, who played the role of G-d in the original production of Green Pastures, provided a dramatic illustration that doing takes precedence over understanding. Harrison was chosen for the role because of his powerful build and deep, resonant voice, not necessarily for any spiritual refinement. His castmates testified that after 1,700 performances as G-d, he had become a highly spiritualized person. As he himself explained it, he strove to become G-d-like, to be worthy of the role he played. He came to understand what G-d wanted of him by doing what G-d would do. Even if our hearts are not initially in what we do, even if we do not understand why we should do something, our consistent acting in a caring and loving way teaches us to become caring and loving people. Rabbi Mark S. Miller is rabbi emeritus at Temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach. IRVINE UC Irvine officials want to add 250 faculty members within the next five years and about 9,000 students in 10 years bringing the total population to about 40,000, according to a strategic plan released Monday. The university also wants a quarter of its student population to be Latino within 10 years, a 1 percentage-point increase. The strategic plan which took about 18 months to produce, and involved input from faculty and staff is an attempt by the university to outline how it can improve as an institution of higher education, academically and culturally. With this plan, we have a clear direction into the foreseeable future that echoes the promise of our universitys founding mission, University Provost Enrique Lavernia said in a statement. The plan, available on UCIs website, is wide-ranging in its scope, including increasing research spending to $500 million annually from $300 million, allowing students to design majors not attached to formal schools or departments, and figuring out ways to address significant societal challenges particularly those related to health, energy, food, climate and water, the report says. The progress we make as an institution depends on talking to people who share our vision and want to have a real impact on the world, Lavernia said. Its our job to convince them that UCI is the right place to make that happen. And increasing the number of Latino students to 25 percent of the overall population will help the university more accurately represent the diversity of California, said Cathy Lawhon, spokeswoman for UCI. About 37 percent of California residents are Latino, according to the United States Census Bureau. At UCI, 24 percent of its population is Latino. Our chancellor is all about access and making sure Californians get access to California universities, Lawhon said. His aim is to make sure were serving the population. In recent years, the increasingly competitive job market has pushed more people to get a college education, and as a result, universities have had record numbers of applicants. UCI received nearly 98,000 applications for the fall 2016 semester, Lawhon said, a 10 percent increase from last year. The university has 8,700 freshmen and transfer spots. At the same time, the University of California system is trying to get more California residents onto campuses. The UC system will increase enrollment numbers by 10,000 over the next three years, including a 5,000-student increase for the 2016-17 year. At UCI, the 9,000 students to be added will not all be on-campus students, Lawhon said, referencing the increased popularity of online learning. And for those who will be on campus, the university will try to ensure it has the capacity to handle them, she said. For example, Lawhon said, UCI could increase the number of classes on Fridays, when the school is under capacity. We need to better use space, Lawhon said. And there are some alternative ways of getting information to students. Contact the writer: 714-796-6979 or chaire@ocregister.com Kevin Tison, the vocal music director at Fountain Valley High School, is once again staging The Voice, a solo singing competition that showcases talented students at the high school. The event is set for 6 p.m. Saturday, March 5 in the FVHS gym. The competition, Tison says, is in the same style as American Idol and The Voice but all done with Fountain Valley style. Last year, junior Paige Taylor won, performing Gravity by Sara Barellis in the first round, Skinny Love by Birdy in the second round and then offered her own arrangement of Funny Valentine in the final round. The Voice winner will receive a prize package valued at more than $150 that includes VIP tickets to see The Voice filmed in Hollywood, and a meet and greet with some very special guest artists, Tyson said. The top three finishers will also receive trophies and the second-place finisher will win $100 in gift cards, while the third-place winner will receive $75 in gift cards. More information: fvhsvocalmusic.com. FOUNTAIN VALLEY HIGH STUDENT TO COMPETE AT OLYMPIC TRIALS Speaking of Fountain Valley High School, lets hear it for Carly Perri. A student at FVHS, Perri is training and hoping to qualify this year to compete in three races at the Olympic swimming trials, an event that determines who will represent the United States Swim Team at the Olympic Games this summer in Rio, Brazil. Perri, 17, began competitively swimming when she was 9 years old on a city summer league team. She won two events at the Junior Olympics when she was 12 years old. Were rooting for Carly! EVERY 15 MINUTES PROGRAM TO BE HELD AT FOUNTAIN VALLEY HIGH The Fountain Valley Police Departments Every 15 Minutes program will be held at Fountain Valley High School on March 10-11. It starts at 10 a.m. The schools junior and senior students will witness an alcohol-related traffic accident and its consequences. The programs name was derived from statistics that show every 15 minutes someone in the United States dies from an alcohol-related traffic accident. The program is presented each year at either Fountain Valley or Los Amigos high schools. The goal of the program, police say, is to reduce alcohol-related traffic collisions in the community. The program is presented prior to prom and graduation ceremonies, which makes this a timely event, police said. The Fountain Valley Police Department, Fire Department and CARE Ambulance participate in the re-enactment. This is a program designed specifically for young drivers, but any motorist in town can take away a lot from the Every 15 Minutes program. MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THESE LIBRARY EVENTS The Friends of the Fountain Valley Library will hold an overstock book sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 19, at the library, 17635 Los Alamos St. Books and large paperbacks will be on sale for 25 cents and small paperback and childrens books will be 10 cents. For more information, call 714-968-9196. Also, the Friends of the Library will show the free movie, August Rush, March 25 at 1 p.m. The movie tells the story of a musically-gifted orphan who runs away from his orphanage and searches for his birth parents in New York City. News / Africa by Staff Reporter A HOUSEWIFE of Lusaka has complained in the Matero Local Court that her husband of five years has been denying her conjugal rights after she was found HIV positive.The Zambia Daily Mail reported that Felitus Banda, 29, complained before senior court magistrates Lewis Mumba and Pauline Newa that her husband Fred Banda, 33, refuses to have protected sexual relations with her because of her HIV status."I was found HIV positive during my antenatal visit. I advised my husband to also go for HIV test but he refused and started insulting me and my mother. He then stopped having sex with me even when condoms are available at home," she said.Narrating in a case in which she sued her husband Fred for divorce, Felitus said the two got married in 2011. They have two children together and bride price was paid. However, the couple has been on separation for six months."He only decided to sleep with me last week when I told him about my plans to divorce him. He told me he needs time to get used to the idea that I am HIV positive. I want a divorce so that we can go our separate ways," she said.But Fred told the court that he has lost interest in his wife because she demands for sex every day when he knocks off from work."My wife found out about her HIV status two years ago. It has been very hard for me to consent to having sexual relations with her because I am HIV negative," he said.He claimed that his wife has been telling people in their neighbourhood about her HIV status and that he has refused to take the test.The court granted divorce and ordered Fred to pay Felitus K6, 000 as compensation with an initial payment of K500 March month end to be followed by K250 monthly installments.Fred was also ordered to pay K300 monthly as child maintenance. These days, tattoo artists are almost as famous as the celebrities they tattoo. Some of the artists chronicled on reality shows such as A&Es Inked, and TLCs Miami Ink and LA Ink, have gone on to start clothing lines, sell their drawings and paintings in high-profile art auctions and earn top dollar traveling around the globe to appear at tattoo conventions and teach tattoo workshops and seminars. Some might think that the sudden surge of fame and increased pay days would lessen the artists workload, but tattooist Kat Von D hasnt lost her taste of ink. At the tender age of 25, shes already juggling running her tattoo shop, High Voltage Tattoo in Los Angeles, and maintaining appearances and being a part of LA Ink. She has decided to add one more thing on her plate: Musink, a three-day tattoo convention and music festival taking place Feb. 22-24 ao be held at the fairgrounds in Orange County. I wanted to do a really good American tattoo convention in Southern California, Von D said. We started planning this during the first season of the show and Ive been to a lot of other conventions and they always have some cheesy house band playing or no music at all, and you walk around for like an hour and youre just done with it. I wanted this to have great bands that I actually like and a well-rounded group of artists who do all styles of tattoos from traditional and Japanese to Polynesian and American styles. Von D sat down with several of her friends and started to plan out how to execute her vision for the festival. With the help of a friend who had connections in the music industry, she made a wish list of bands she wanted to perform. Im so happy with the lineup, Von D said. I love the Used and Tiger Army and its so cool that theyre going to be there. Originally Turbonegro and Eagles of Death Metal were going to play on Sunday, but Eagles had a recording scheduling conflict and Turbonegro lost its guitarist so they went on hiatus, and those are two of my favorite bands so I was a little bummed that they couldnt make it. During the three-day event there will be hundreds of tattoo artists showcasing their work, and doing on-the-spot tattooing. Various vendors will also be selling tattoo related items including clothing and accessories. Artists will be doing demonstrations throughout the event and there are even some small classes and seminars planned with some of the industrys best tattooers. By nightfall, the festival will be rockin with live music beginning at 7 p.m. each night featuring Vains of Jenna, Fireball Ministry and Metal Skool on Friday; Tiger Army, Guana Batz and Throw Rag on Saturday; and Invisible Humans, Revolution Mother and the Used on Sunday. Kat Von D, born Katherine Von Drachenberg, was born in Mexico and moved into the Inland Empire when she was four. She grew up a punk, and got her first tattoo at 14, the letter J written in Old English on her ankle. Two years later, Von D did her first tattoo, a Misfits skull, on a friend with a homemade rig. She was hooked. She began drawing more frequently, inspired by the artwork of Caravaggio and Michelangelo, as well traditional Mexican art. Soon she was working in a tattoo parlor, quickly learning from her elders; Von Ds tattooing abilities and work ethic had her rapidly rising through the ranks. Von D herself is also covered in tattoos a few small stars on her face over her right eye, portraits and names of family members and friends, and various pieces of artwork. I dont regret any of the tattoos I have but, I have a portrait of my ex on my leg and I have to look at his face every time I go pee, Von D said. Now that Im dating someone new, its uncomfortable to look at all of the time, but I dont hate my ex at all. Im going to get this tattoo lasered a few times and then get it covered with something new. With the technology now, you can lighten them up but, its going to be super painful. Von D spent time tattooing in various shops throughout Southern California and her tattooing skills afforded her the opportunity to be part of the staff at a tattoo shop in Miami that would be filmed for Miami Ink. Von Ds back and forth battles with shop owner Ami James made for great TV drama, but Von D said she felt out of her element and wanted to return to Los Angeles. The departure worked in her favor, as TLC offered her her own show, LA Ink. I wanted to come back so badly, I get so inspired just by this city, Von D said. All of the Mexican culture here, its a place you can find cholos and low riders, and the fashion and music, the weather and murals and Catholic artwork, and just all of the mixing of cultures in this one city is whats inspiring. My favorite thing is that you can have a German/Argentinean girl that was born in Mexico come here and make it as a tattoo artist. Von D has some high-profile clientele, including pro-skater Jamie Thomas, musicians such as Jim Rota from Fireball Ministry, and Scott Ian from Anthrax, as well as members of HIM and My Chemical Romance. But Von D doesnt consider herself a celebrity and is more concerned about what she is tattooing, rather than whom she is tattooing. My dream tattoo would be based on subject matter, Von D said. Id love to do a Will Ferrell tattoo, like him in Anchorman or Elf, I would be stoked to do that or a big rendition of a Caravaggio painting. Im surprised no one has asked for that yet. Von D has used her popularity to help out various charities including the nonprofit organization Vitamin Angels, which provides nutritional supplements to developing countries and various communities in need. Von D recently set a Guinness World Record for completing the most tattoos in a 24-hour period. She tattooed 400 clients and charged $20 a tattoo, with all proceeds going to Vitamin Angels. When I was 14 and I did my first tattoo, I didnt think it could ever be a job, let alone that I would become like a role model in some sense, Von D said. Its definitely a great pay off when I meet little kids that say they look up to me or say that Ive helped them. Its awesome and I never thought Id care about helping people, but now I defiantly do. Contact the writer: 714-796-3570 or kfadroski@ocregister.com Victims of a failed real estate venture confronted its former chief executive in a Santa Ana federal courtroom Monday, saying the firms $193 million collapse had ruined their lives. What you did, you did out of greed, and you should be ashamed, a sometimes tearful Cherie Ludwick, 47, of Huntington Beach daughter of one of the victims told fraud defendant Michael J. Stewart during his sentencing. Another victim compared Stewart, who ran Irvine-based Pacific Property Assets, an apartment investment fund, to Wall Street fraudster Bernie Madoff. Moments later, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney sentenced Stewart, 68, of San Clemente to 14 years in prison, the maximum requested by federal prosecutors. Carney also agreed to recommend Stewart for drug treatment while in prison, apparently to overcome a cocaine habit. Stewart had been convicted of 11 counts of fraud stemming from the 2009 collapse of PPA, which cost 650 mostly elderly investors $169 million, according to trial testimony. Lenders lost $24 mililion. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Robbins argued that Stewart and other PPA officers hid losses of $2 million a month for more than a year. As debts mounted, PPA recruited new investors to pay off earlier investors. Defense lawyers said Stewart deserved no more than five years behind bars, arguing that PPAs demise was mainly a result of the collapse of the real estate market. Stewart never intended to defraud his investors, they said. In a letter to the court, Stewart apologized, reporting that he lost $40 million in equity and his wife of 35 years, and is $20 million in debt. For nearly a decade, PPA was the culmination of my personal dreams, he wrote. The company is now bankrupt, its former investors are devastated, and I am a felon. Ludwick said her recently widowed mother invested her life savings in PPA just weeks before the company announced it was broke. It took (my parents) a lifetime to save it, Ludwick said, and it took (Stewart) only moments to take it away. Contact the writer: 714-796-7734 or jcollins@ocregister.com UC Irvine has rejected millions of dollars in gifts from a nonprofit foundation that seeks to promote cross-cultural understanding of Hinduism after faculty and students raised questions about the groups suspected ties to Hindu nationalists in India. Gifts involving two other South Asia religions, funding Jain and Sikh studies, also are being reviewed by the university. At issue is a total of $6 million that would fund four endowed presidential chair positions in the School of Humanities, including one that already has been approved by the UC system president. The donors say their groups reputation has been smeared and they never were given an opportunity to respond face to face to their critics. Its devastating, said Kalyan Viswanathan, executive vice president of the Dharma Civilization Foundation, who was reached on a business trip to Mumbai, India. We have almost been treated like criminals. In American law, when someone accuses you of terrible things, you should have an opportunity to defend yourself to say, Your accusations are false. In this instance, that opportunity wasnt provided. We werent engaged in a responsible manner. Foundation officials will meet in coming days to consider their response to UCIs decision, including possible legal action, Viswanathan said. The $6 million is a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions the university has raised in recent years. But the conflict illustrates the tensions between religion, academic freedom and the growing quest by universities for outside money. In this instance, there is the added dimension of international politics playing out on a local stage. This has been a valuable learning experience, Georges Van Den Abbeele, dean of UCIs School of Humanities, wrote in an email Feb. 19 to faculty members explaining the decisions on the donations. The school will clarify internal policies on accepting gifts for endowed chairs to ensure greater, and more meaningful, faculty consultation and review, he wrote. $6 MILLION Four separate gifts have come under scrutiny: The two from Dharma, totaling $3 million, were rejected. They are the Thakkar Family-Dharma Civilization Foundation Presidential Chair in Vedic and Indic Civilization Studies, approved by UC President Janet Napolitano, and the Swami Vivekananda-DCF Presidential Chair in Modern India Studies. Two more gifts, also totaling $3 million, were returned to the Humanities Executive Committee for further review. They are the Dhan Kaur Sahota Presidential Chair in Sikh Studies, funded by a gift from Drs. Harvinder and Asha Sahota, and the Shri Parshvanath Presidential Chair in Jain Studies, funded by a donation from Drs. Meera and Jasvant Modi and their children. Any association with the Dharma Civilization Foundation in name or funding would place restrictions that run counter to academic freedom, shared governance, and faculty expertise, and would be inconsistent with UCIs core values as a public university, concluded a report and recommendation by the Ad Hoc Committee on Endowed Chairs, which was accepted by the dean. Critics feared the gifts tried to place religious true believers into academia. A statement of concern from faculty in UCIs history department said Dharmas board of trustees includes members affiliated with Hindu nationalist organizations, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS). That statement, dated Feb. 1, said those groups are opposed to the principles of pluralism and secularism and seek to redefine secular educational curricula worldwide, including a failed attempt to change how California sixth-grade textbooks represent Hinduism. It also said the RSS is a radical and militarist organization that has not just advocated the use of violence but has been banned three times in India for its active participation in mass violence against religious minorities. Language in the gift agreements also gave critics pause. In some instances, it called for advisory councils through which donors could monitor who UCI hired and what the funding accomplished. In others, it specified skills that successful candidates would have to possess, such as facility with the classical Hindu language of Sanskrit. (A)ll four chairs were reviewed and approved with insufficient faculty input and consultation. concluded the the committee. Whether extensive consultation was required or not, lack of meaningful involvement of faculty experts resulted in gift agreements that indicate no coherent academic plan. Given the number of proposed chairs and their potential impact of these chairs in the School of Humanities, close consultation was necessary to ensure that the proposed agreements would complement and enhance existing programs and were in sync with the mission of the School of Humanities at large and with wider scholarly developments in the study of historical and modern South Asia. Viswanathan said Dharma relied on the university to draft acceptable language for the gift agreements, and was willing to consider revisions. BIZARRE Dharma officials objected strongly to the committees findings and characterizations that it is an agent of Indian politics, radical or otherwise. Viswanathan said the group is a California-based nonprofit dedicated to upgrading understanding of Indian traditions in the West. Accusations that it has ulterior, and even violent, motives, are bizarre and unbelievable, he said. DCF is deeply disappointed by the fact that a university which claims to respect diversity, academic freedom and enjoys the goodwill of a substantial number of Indian and Indian American students and alums would buckle so easily under the pressure of an orchestrated, highly politicized campaign and treat a major gift initiative from the community with such discourtesy and disdain, Viswanathan wrote in an official response to UCIs decision. It is one thing to say that the intentions of the Dharma Civilization Foundation are incompatible with the academic objectives of the UCI School of Humanities. It is however entirely another to engage in an orchestrated campaign of slander and libel designed to delegitimize the Foundation. The overwhelming message is that the Hindus are not welcome to participate at the academic table. We have to wonder, what indeed is the academic freedom that these Faculty members are defending? Is it the freedom to accuse, abuse and slander freely and without any check? The controversy is taking a toll, Viswanathan said. But he said Dharma is continuing to work with other universities, including USC and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. This perilous accusation against DCF conflates of the hopes and dreams of Hindu Americans to be accepted as full citizens of the USA with the Hindu nationalist politics of India, Viswanathan wrote. Such a conflation imputes guilt by association, marginalizes Hindu Americans and portrays them as a dangerous fringe group allied with a political party in India, instead of fellow American citizens. Contact the writer: tsforza@ocregister.com Disturbed by the $300 price tag for a textbook required in a large introductory economics course, UC Irvine professor Ami Glazer decided to shop around and put a little pressure on the academic publisher. After months of negotiations, Cengage Learning agreed to produce a customized text at a 75 percent discount. I had nothing to lose, said Glazer, who has taught at UCI for nearly four decades. I know they (the publisher) wanted our business and theyd talk to us, so why not? Higher education instructors are increasingly bucking tradition and looking for different and in some cases, unorthodox ways to help budget-conscious students save money on class materials. Oftentimes, absent a united front among their colleagues to support the cause or tougher state legislation to trim costs, theyre doing it solo. I wish we were celebrating (these professors) not for being the exceptions but for being the rule, said Kevin Sabo, president of the University of California Student Association. Perennial complaints about skyrocketing textbook costs took on a new force and urgency after Cal State Fullerton officials reprimanded an associate math professor for refusing to require students to use a $180 text written by his superiors. Alain Bourget, who appealed the 2014 reprimand last fall, assigned two books that were less than half the price. Despite a mostly favorable opinion from an independent panel of CSUF faculty members, CSUF President Mildred Garcia upheld the reprimand in November, stating the burden of proof was not met. Bourget is still working with school officials toward some kind of compromise. The situation, first reported by the Register, helped rekindle a national debate about academic freedom, rising book costs and whether its ethical for faculty members at public universities and colleges to profit from their students. Some of the cost-saving strategies being used by sympathetic professors are as simple as allowing students to use older book editions, assigning open-source works or aggregating online readings provided free of charge. Glazer was more aggressive. He reached out to various publishers who produce introductory economics textbooks, seeking the best deal for the roughly 1,500 students who take basic economics classes each year. After several months of talks, Cengage agreed to furnish UCI a special, slightly slimmed-down version of Principles of Economics for a bookstore price of $76 less than a third of the cost of the text previously used. The reduced price reflects omitted chapters that the class typically doesnt use, Glazer said. If the price is high, students dont buy the book, he said, even if its a spectacular book. Cengage noted the custom textbook also comes with access to a digital homework system. The digital product is more affordable and engaging than a traditional print-only text, said Cengage spokeswoman Lindsay Stanley in an email to the Register. At UCLA, professor Steven Margulis took more drastic measures. Those taking his Introduction to Hydrology course often complained about the quality and the roughly $100 cost of the assigned text. Margulis felt he could do a better job communicating the concepts of the course, which he has taught since 2003. Four years ago, he began formalizing his course notes into an e-book. It includes interactive videos, links to reputable resources and regular updates. The cost? $0. The book has been used for two years by students at UCLA, and instructors at more than 20 other campuses including MIT, UC Irvine and Ohio State also have used the text, Margulis said. I thought, Theyre spending enough money as it is, he said. This is a way to give them a very useful textbook that didnt cost anything. One of the alternative texts chosen by Bourget, the reprimanded Cal State Fullerton instructor, is free as well. The e-book Elementary Differential Equations with Boundary Value Problems was written by respected mathematician William F. Trench. Sabo, of the UC student association, told the Register last fall that some professors stockpile extra copies of textbooks for in-library use. Others, including professor Elaine Lewinnek of Cal State Fullerton, collect online or paperback materials that are in the public domain for their students. And when an entire book isnt needed, shell take parts of it, which she says is allowed by fair-use rules. Nearly two-thirds of new CSUF students will be the first in their family to get a college degree, according to 2013 figures from the school. Some are working part time and raising young families, said Lewinnek, interim chairwoman of the schools American Studies department. We dont want to hinder our students because theyre already doing so much, she said. State lawmakers have a mixed record in responding to student/parent complaints on textbook costs and potential conflicts. In 2009, a bill proposed by Sen. Carol Liu, D-Glendale, that would have required the CSU and community college systems to post lists of required readings and their prices at least a month before classes begin died in committee. Critics said it would have been too costly, an important factor then, considering the state was in the midst of a recession, said Lius chief of staff, Suzanne Reed. College officials argued the requirement would necessitate tens of thousands of dollars of website programming, ongoing data entry and extra faculty hours, records show. That same year, then-Sen. George Runner introduced legislation that quickly stalled in the face of opposition from the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges and CSUs Academic Senate. It would have required written justification for the selection of a new textbook within three years of the adoption of a previous edition of that text. The justification was to include a disclosure of any financial interests faculty members had in the new edition. In recent weeks, Assembly member Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, introduced new bills intended to help students and parents manage college expenses. One, AB2064, would ensure tuition remains unchanged during the first four consecutive years a student is in school. The other bill, AB1582, would require all public college employees to disclose royalties and conflicts of interest in their annual report to the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Currently, only higher-level public academic employees, such as deans, directors and presidents, and others such as buyers and auditors, are covered by varying disclosure rules. Allen said the legislation is in part a response to the treatment of Bourget, the CSUF associate math professor. Disclosure is really in everyones best interest if royalties are being paid, Allen said. It comes down to fairness. Contact the writer: 714-796-4976 or lleung@ocregister.com Twitter: @LilyShumLeungSpot government waste or a business scam? Email watchdog@ocregister.com. Everyone knows that social media has made an indelible impact on the 2016 election cycle. But can it be used to predict elections? Chicago-based software giant Cision recently utilized social monitoring tools as a means of predicting the Super Tuesday races. Conducting analytical polls that monitor online social conversations, the PR software company was able to produce voter forecast percentages in each of the 11 states participating in tomorrows crucial Super Tuesday presidential primary race. Cisions predictive analysis consisted of a collection of more than 10 million social conversations, replies and retweets from residents in a dozen states between February 20 and February 24. Messages were filtered to exclude those originating from underage voters or mainstream media sources, and were further refined to focus on mentions of specific candidates, including campaign hashtags and candidate slogans, in order to spotlight the candidates receiving the highest levels of positive engagement. The analysis includes data from Twitter, YouTube, online forums and Facebook fan pages. "Social mention analysis allows parties or brands to use people's own words to help develop effective strategies to engage with them," Cision content marketing and social media manager James Rubec told O'Dwyer's. "If people will tweet about a candidate, they are more likely to attend an event in support of them. If they'll attend an event, they are more likely to vote. Social media engagement is a strong indicator of intention to take action and smart candidates should be measuring that." Cision had previously predicted the winners for both the Iowa Republican Caucus (Ted Cruz) and the New Hampshire Democratic and Republican Party primaries (Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, respectively), based on an analysis of Twitter conversation percentages among IA and NH voters. Cision also accurately predicted that Trump would win the February 20 South Carolina Republican primary, based on the fact that he accounted for 40 percent of the GOP voice percentage occurring in that state. The methodology, however, incorrectly predicted that Sanders would win the Nevada Democratic Caucus, where he accounted for 53 percent of the Democratic share of the voice in that state. Clinton on February 20 earned a decisive win in the Nevada caucuses, with 52.6 percent of the vote. Rubec told O'Dwyer's that social analysis has shown online momentum recently shifting from Sanders to Clinton. "Just a month ago Sanders' share of voice on social across the country was between 10 percent and 20 percent higher than Clinton's. While more people are promoting Sander's popular hashtag #FeelTheBern than Clinton's #ImWithHer, fewer social media commentators engage in discussions about Sanders' policy proposals than Clinton's in all but four Super Tuesday States," Rubec said. Cision's percentage predictions for Super Tuesday are as follows: Democratic Party races: - Alabama: Clinton 53%, Sanders 47% - Arkansas: Clinton 52%, Sanders 48% - Colorado: Sanders 51%, Clinton 49% - Georgia: Clinton 52%, Sanders 48% - Massachusetts: Sanders 53%, Clinton 47% - Minnesota: Clinton 52%, Sanders 48% - Oklahoma: Clinton 54%, Sanders 46% - Tennessee: Clinton 51%, Sanders 49% - Texas: Clinton 53%, Sanders 47% - Vermont: Sanders 60%, Clinton 40% - Virginia: Sanders 52%, Clinton 48% Republican Party races: - Alabama: Trump 42%, Cruz 29%, Rubio 17% - Alaska: Trump 35%, Cruz 24%, Rubio 19% - Arkansas: Trump 37%, Rubio 27%, Cruz 27% - Georgia: Trump 36%, Cruz 23%, Rubio 22% - Massachusetts: Trump 31%, Rubio 23%, Cruz 21% - Minnesota: Trump 29%, Rubio 25%, Cruz 25% - Oklahoma: Trump 31%, Cruz 24%, Rubio 23% - Tennessee: Trump 34%, Rubio 26%, Cruz 24% - Texas: Cruz 31%, Trump 29%, Rubio 21% - Vermont: Trump 30%, Rubio 23%, Cruz 22% - Virginia: Trump 54%, Rubio 18%, Cruz 17% Students, among the biggest victims of excess Wi-Fi radiation, are starting to speak up. Kill Zone USA notes there are now 594,309 cell towers emitting pulsed radiation. Wireless burglar alarms are a no-no. A high school student asked the Montgomery County Board Feb. 9 how it could allow virtually every classroom to have Wi-Fi connected computers at each desk turning the school into a giant microwave when the wired option makes this simply unnecessary. I feel extremely uncomfortable going to school every day, supposedly a safe haven, and seeing my friends sitting directly under the transmitters, she said. Renowned scientists all over the world have shown the possible side effects of radiation including brain cancer, tumors, blood/brain barrier deterioration and other effects, she added. It is a violation of the rights of students and teachers, she said. Also on the same posting of Safe Tech for Schools Maryland are videos of mothers and fathers asking for the schools to switch to wired equipment. Ontario H.S. Students Rap Wi-Fi Students at a high school in Ottawa have petitioned the government to remove Wi-Fi from schools. They have the support of Frank Clegg, president of Microsoft Canada for 14 years who is now CEO of Canadians for Safe Technology. The Parliamentary Health Committee has already heard evidence and unanimously agreed that more caution is required particularly in schools, so I agree with the students its time the Prime Minister makes the health of every student in Canada a higher priority, he said. I did not consent to this level of risk, said Apurva Dixit, a high school student in Mississauga. The school board has been informed that our Wi-Fi system puts us at risk of infertility and breast cancer but its choosing not to protect us, she said, noting the World Health Organization classifies radiation from Wi-Fi and cellphones as a Class 2B Possible Carcinogen. Kill Zone USA Counts 594,309 Cell Towers Kill Zone USA, using stats of antennasearch.com, says there are 594,309 cellphone towers equipped with 1,805,623 antennas delivering relentless wave carcinogens to 321 million Americans. Not included are millions of Wi-Fi antennas nor the huge number of military and other radar installations. Wi-Fi signals bombarding this reporter's NYC apartment. New York City is one of the most heavily radiated cities, says Kill Zone. Within one square mile of City Hall in New York, there are 1,248 wireless antennas. Times Square has 178 cell towers and 2,510 antennas. Kill Zone quotes New Networks Institute as saying, This is only a fraction of the antennas and cell sites in Time Square since neither Verizon or the Federal Communications Commission has any complete data or documentation about the number of lines or even wireless cell sites. ABC-TV Aired Wi-Fried Feb. 16 ABC-TVs science program Catalyst presented a half-hour special Sept. 16 hosted by Maryanne Demasi, Ph.D., Australian science reporter, raising the question of whether wireless devices are harmful to health. Australias safety agency says theres no evidence of harm, but thats not the same as saying its safe, says ABC-TV description of the programs position. Among those quoted is Devra Davis, Ph.D., an epidemiologist who has called on schools to switch from wireless to wired web access. Dr. Darren Saunders, of the faculty of Medicine at University of New South Wales, called the program scaremongering and pseudoscience and a train wreck. In terms of the way the story was reported, there was very selective reporting of existing data, sensationalist headlines, and experts with potential conflicts of interest, he said. Wireless Burglar Alarms a Danger Electricsense.com says that wireless burglar alarms are dangerous because they use the same type of radiation emitted by cordless telephones. Such devices give out electromagnetic radiation 24/7, says Lloyd Burrell, who operates the site. Bellringer, alarm systems, Long Island, said about 65% of its 9,000 customers use wireless. Some use both wired and wireless, it said. [email protected] 2017 POWER WAGON Off-Road.com recently got a first look at the 2017 RAM Power Wagon during the Chicago Auto Show. Its an impressive truck, but theres no official word on pricing yet. Some speculations are that it will be near the 2016 model price range. John Smith via YouTube says that his guess, starting at $40k-$50k range. What do you think? Check out the the full story and video: 17 Ram Power Wagon Unveiled in Chicago -- MALIBU 4X4 WAGON Hi I'm trying to build an 82 Malibu wagon into a true bad ass off road 4x4 vehicle, I'm currently sitting on a stock suspension and don't know where to start I want to be able to go 4 wheeling and have enough clearance to fit 35 to 44 in tires, I already switched the motor to a 454 big block Chevy out of a 91 k 3500 dually any info would help greatly. Aaron Fulkerson Hi Aaron, Sounds like a fun Frankenwagon youre building, a real lady-killer. Although you could modify the factory frame to accommodate solid axle suspension, most of the 4x4 station wagon conversions Ive seen use a truck chassis already set-up with four-wheel drive. A Chevy Blazer or pickup chassis should do the trick. Just make that it has a similar wheelbase, ideally you want the wheel wells to line up with the wheels below. Some custom body mounts, firewall work and youll be ready to cruise the Blvd and mud bogs. One thing to remember: if youre going to register this fine work of metal madness, the title follows the chassis in most states. This might make a difference if you are planning on really hot 454 big block. Good luck, and please send us and update once you get rollin on this project. -- GM TRUCK GEAR RATIO Off-Road.com, I have a 03 silverado 4x4 what is the manufacturer front differential used in these vehicles gear ratio I was told it was stock any help would be great Martin Hi Martin, Most of these model trucks are equipped with 3.73 gear ratio from the factory. There are a few with 4.10s, but we tend to see this more in the 3/4 and 1-ton models. Theres a chance you might find some information on the gear ratio if you look on the build sheet or decal found either on the driver-side door or glove box. You could also take the front differential apart and do a teeth count on the ring and pinion to determine your actual gear ratio. Here is the formula: Ring Teeth / Pinion Teeth = Gear Ratio e.g. 39/8 = 4.88 Good luck. Want to learn to re-gear your GM K1500 Z71 Pickup? Check out: Project K1500: Richmond Gear and Powertrax Extreme Traction System -- DIESEL FORD F-150 Fords F-150 diesel pickup is on its way. Off-Road.com contributor Brian Williams recently captured a diesel test truck making its way through Michigan. It already has Ford fans and diesel junkies excited about whats to come from the blue oval. Off-Road.com reader xXBurntBaconXx says, Sounds like a small capacity diesel. Could it be the 5-cyl model from the transit/South America?# Fernando Diaz says he already owns an Ecodiesel, but this is pretty cool. He cant wait to see the numbers on it.# simjet22 is loving the engine tic and says, Yessssssssssss diesel goodness.# What do you think about having another Ford diesel truck option? We want to know. See and hear this diesel powered F-150 for yourself here. -- SQUATCHY 4RUNNER Off-Road.com, I just re-geared the rear diff in my 95 Runner, everythings perfect, except now 4WD feels like the wheels all want to go in their own directions?! I think it's some kind of sensor we forgot to wire back?? Help please!! Pete Anderson Hi Pete, Im not sure what kind of voodoo switches your Toyota is equipped with that would cause it to act crazy in four-wheel drive, but it wouldnt hurt to triple check everything. This includes the front diff, transfer case and rear differential plugs and wiring. I would also check the wheel sensors for any damage that may be throwing off the traction control (if equipped). Also, if you re-geared the rear differential, you also need to do the front differential. The gear ratio needs to match in both axles in order for the front and rear wheels to spin at the same rate. If they are geared differently, they will be spinning at different ratios and may even feel like theyre slipping because they are. The higher gear ratio axle will be spinning the wheels faster than the lower geared axle. -- NEW TOYOTA MODELS FOR 2017 Hey Off-Road.com, How about a look at the [TRD Pro] 4Runner? I'm really glad Toyota is keeping it in the lineup.# Gray Man -Youtube.com/OffRoadDotCom Comment spakred by 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Unveiled at Chicago Hi Gray, Glad you liked the video. Theres a lot of excitement regarding the new Tacoma in TRD Pro form. As for the Toyota 4Runner and Tundra version of the TRD Pro, both returned for 2016 and remain unchanged from last year. Want more on the 4Runner? Check out Off-Road.com's 4Runner TRD Pro Review -- 4-CYLINDER TOYOTA REDLINE Off-Road.com, I'm purchasing a stage 5 long block 22r from lc engineering. installed will be a 2.6l stroker kit 10:2:1 pistons with gapless rings, h-beam rods. Crank scraper, stage 5 head, stage 5 cam, head studs. Question is, how do I know my Rev limit? My internals are pretty much taken cared of. Please get back to me, or you can email me at [email protected] thank you for yoi time. David Quenga Letter sparked by Toyota 4 Cyl. Engine Information Hi David, Sounds like a powerful sun of a gun youre building. These 4-bangers can rev pretty high, maybe not Gixxer high, but they do rev up. Most stockfish 22r start to whine/redline at 5500-6000 RPM. To be honest, since youre already working with LC Engineering, Id give them a call to see what they say and recommend for a Stage 5 engine. Theyve been building these things for over 20 years and would be the best to answer your question. In the meantime, heres a little 4-cyl LC Engineering Stage 5 pumping 200HP to keep you motivated on the engine build. Get the Flash Player to see this player. Cheers! -- NISSAN TITAN DIESEL TRUCK Theres mixed love out there for the new 2016 Nissan Titan XD Cummins pickup truck. Off-Road.com reader Bfgai says, So the company that brought us the third least reliable vehicle is now going to produce a truck that no one has a use for. Are they sure they aren't running for a political office somewhere? So whats your take on the diesel Nissan? Love it, Hate it Ehhh? We want to know. Read the full review at 2016 Nissan Titan XD Cummins First Drive -- RAV4 LIFT Off-Road.com, In my research thus far I have found that the 95 4Runner and my 07 Rav4 front strut mounts have the same dimensions. So I purchased the Daystar KT09117BK 1" front strut spacer kit. That will give me 2" of lift in the front. My question is, Can I use the Daystar KT09100BK 1-1/4" Rear Suspension Leveling Kit (Pair) for Toyota 4Runner on the rear of my Rav4 to give me about 2.5" of lift in the rear??? John Nevison Hi John, Its hard to give you a clear answer since these parts are not designed for the RAV 4. That said, theres no reason you cant try them out. For the $35 price, its worth getting a pair to measure up and install if they fit. Another option would be to contact Daystar directly to see if theyll give you dimensions for that part before you buy it. Keep in mind that they probably wont recommend it for the RAV 4, even if it fits. Since youre building a Toyota RAV 4, we highly recommend you check out the rig built by Justin Fort for even more fun-sized action here on Off-Road.com: Toyota Rav4 Crawling: Recapping our Build of the Trucklet Rav4 Crawler: New Tires and Wheels Rav4 Crawler: Trail Testing --- 4X4 DAIHATSU ROCKY AXLE SWAP Hello Off-Road.com, I want to dress up my 1985 rocky, so I have few questions. I have one 1990 Hilux Ln106,I want put front and Rear axle to my rocky and I want use rocky original front and rear leaf to over axle to dress up, so the front and rear shift is use Hilux? How about the transmission gearbox use Hilux? Finally, how about the steering system? I want to use Hilux steering is well but how about the steering box? because I don't know the Hilux steering box can fix to my rocky. Can you give Hilux (ring and pinion ratio) and (transmission gear box) to me because I want to change 33' x12.5x 15 inch tire. Thank, PongPong5hk Hi PongPong5hk, Sounds like an interesting Daihatsu Rocky build you're doing. The Hilux straight axles will give your Rocky a wider track, with more stability and options for axle upgrades down the road. As for the stock drive shafts, they may work with some slight modification. Im not 100% sure if the U-joints are the same size, so you may need to modify the axle yoke as well. You should be able to run the existing transmission and transfer case, unless you want to run the Hilux drive train. As for gear ratio in your Hilux axles, the best way to find out exactly what you have is to open up the differential and count the teeth on the ring and pinion. Here is the formula. Ring Teeth / Pinion Teeth = Gear Ratio e.g. 39/8 = 4.88 You can also try and decode the gear ratio. According to BEERDOG from Australia, The Toyota Hilux has ID plates in the engine bay with the 'Axle' code originally fitted to the vehicle. As an example a RN25 Hilux manufactured during the 2/74 has the 'Axle' code "G142". The letter "G" signifies it has a "G" series differential and therefore an 8" diametre crownwheel (aka Ring). The next two digits, "14", nominate the ratio, which according the ratio table below is 4.875:1. The last digit, "2", is for the type of center, in this case 2 Pinion & Open centre as per the center table below. RATIO TABLE Code Ratio Code Ratio Code Ratio Code Ratio 01 3.300 13 4.790 25 4.556 37 3.583 02 3.360 14 4.875 26 5.571 38 3.417 03 3.545 15 5.125 27 3.364 39 3.154 04 3.556 16 5.286 28 4.300 40 5.375 05 3.700 17 5.600 29 4.100 41 3.308 06 3.889 18 5.714 30 3.727 07 3.900 19 5.833 31 3.909 08 4.110 20 6.167 32 6.591 or 4.807 09 4.222 21 6.667 33 7.503 or 5.583 10 4.375 22 6.780 34 6.781 or 4.786 11 4.444 23 6.833 35 7.636 or 5.600 12 4.625 24 7.640 36 4.778 DIFFERENTIAL Type 2 is a two-pinion open diff, Type 3 is a two-pinion limited slip diff, Type 4 is a four-pinion open diff, Type 5 is four-pinion limited slip diff. Good luck! -- FRONT LIFT Hello Off-Road.com, My name is Garrett and I have a 98 Z71 extended cab step side and I am getting 20x12 -44 off set Fuel lethals with 35 in firestone destination MT's and I only want my front end lifted so that my truck squats but I dont know what I need to do like can I put a 3 in body lift just in the front? Or what is the best way or the best height that I need to lift my front end? Garrett Pittenger Hi Garrett, You will need a 4-inch lift minimum to run 35-inch tires on a K1500 Z71 Chevy pickup (unless you dont mind cutting up sheet metal on fenders and quarter panels). Since your truck utilizes a torsion bar front suspension system, you should be able to crank them up so the nose sits higher that the back. Also, instead of running a 2-inch block in the rear, you could opt for a 1-inch block instead to make your nose sit higher without much adjustment to the torsion keys. If you crank the torsion bars too high, the truck will hop around like a pogo stick and have very stiff suspension. Good luck. -- SOUTHWEST COLORADO OHV My family camps and quads around north of Silverton every year, and we always had to pack a week's worth of equipment because we couldn't get back to Silverton without taking down the camper. This quad and Razor law is perfect. Timothy Johnson Letter sparked by Off-Highway Vehicle Access to Silverton Sets OHV-Friendly Standard Hey Timothy, Glad to hear youre out quad ridding and camping in the San Juans. It sure is amazing country our there with miles of trails to explore. If you thought Silverton was great before, its about to get even awesomer! Have a truck or SUV question for the 4x4 AnswerMan? Send your questions to edito[email protected]. Please include your name and location, and be as detailed as possible about your questions. January 2016 December 2015 October 2015 Wines of Portugal tasting: buyers urged to check out Tejo Retailers have been urged to take a look at Portugals Tejo region at the upcoming Wines of Portugal tasting in London. Regions like Douro, Dao and Vinho Verde may have enjoyed more limelight in the UK in recent years, but the marketing agency working for Tejo says it offers the right blend of volume, quantity and competitive pricing for the UK market and is spearheading a big push on the British retail trade. Tejo is located east of Lisbon and further south than Douro and Dao, and is split into three defined regions Bairro, Charneca and Campo. It was formerly known as Ribatejo but has simply been called Tejo since 2009, a tribute to the river that has defined its landscape, climate and economy for centuries and is also credited for shaping the distinct Tejo terroir. The DOC regulations allow a fairly wide range of grape varieties: for whites the local Fernao Pires, Alicante Branco, Arinto, Talia, Trincadeira das Pratas and Vital, but also Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and alongside the traditional red Castelao and Trincadeira it is possible to use Aragonez, Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Julie Kendrick, managing director at JK marketing, which markets the region, said: Tejo is an area of Portugal where you can still find producers with volume, quality and good pricing. This is the new upcoming and exciting region of Portugal! Certainly the region where Europe meets the New World. This region offers an array of opportunities for buyers. It is investing in the UK market this year and wants to help its producers find more distribution and business partners. The diversity of wines that Portugal itself offers is reflected in this region, which has products from entry level to premium wines and for all occasions. Tejo is a region with producers defining their identity and offering products, which are just what the market wants. One of the faces behind the Tejo region, Diogo Campilho, will join wine commentator Charles Metcalfe to guide buyers through the wines and educate them on the region at the Wines of Portugal tasting, which is held at RHS Lindley Hall in London on Wednesday, March 2. Tejo will occupy tables 86-88, where there will be five producers seeking UK distribution. They are as follows, with notes from Kendrick: Adega do Cartaxo They are a cooperative with land extending to 1,000 ha. Their production is around 7 million litres of which, within our diverse range, 70% is red. "We believe in our people, investing in them and in the technology we need to create the best wines possible. Genuine and authentic: This describes the wines of the Adega Cooperativa do Cataxo". New wine to discover: Plexus. Fiuza & Bright Very good quality for an accessible price. They export 50% of all our production and are keen to find a good partner in the UK. New vintages to taste: Fiuza Tinta Miuda 2015, Fiuza Alicante Bouschet /Touriga Nacional 2015, Fiuza Alvarinho 2015, Fiuza Touriga Nacional/Merlot. Quinta da Alorna Quinta da Alorna combines a long tradition of wine growing and modern winemaking techniques. The estate was established in 1723 by D. Pedro de Almeida, viceroy of India and the 1st Marquis of Alorna. It is now the largest vineyard in the Tejo region (220 ha), growing a wide variety of grapes and producing several nationally and internationally recognised wines. Quinta da Alorna exports around 50% of its production to 28 markets including the US, Sweden, Netherlands, China and Brazil. Two new wines to discover: Sauvignon Blanc and Alvarinho Quinta da Ribeirinha Quinta da Ribeirinha is a family based company. The vineyards are planted on clay-limestone soil, and they have a dry Mediterranean climate. They combine innovation and technology with the experience and knowledge learned over generations. The vines grow on an integrated production system in which the use of chemicals is minimal, saving the environment and looking after human health. Quinta do Casal Monteiro Established in 1979, Quinta do Casal Monteiro bottles limited production vintages exclusively from its 80 ha property. With an average age of 35 years, the vineyards are located in fertile alluvial sandy clay soil, rooting in an unusual combination and resulting in a low yield production of high quality wine. Moreover, the characteristic of the sub-Mediterranean temperate climate and its proximity to the river Tagus provides the wines with their own singular identity, revealed in both the lush aromas and the complex palate layered by a superb acidity. They are excellent food companions. Related articles: Loading... OilVoice will be with you shortly... News / Africa by Staff reporter Eldoret - A man is being held at the Eldoret West police station in Kenya for poisoning his four children following a domestic squabble with his wife.The man, identified as Musa Saka, was said to have initially threatened to kill his wife, forcing her to flee.It was then that the peasant farmer decided to vent his anger on his children by putting poison in their drinks, Standard reports.According to Daily Nation, the second-born child, 11, and the fourth-born, 2, succumbed to the poison.The first-born and third-born were currently undergoing treatment at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.Police said the man also attempted to poison himself after the incident, but was rushed to hospital where he was treated and discharged.Police said he would remain in custody, as they investigated the matter. News / Health by Staff Reporter HIV self-testing pilot project in 12 districts across the country would be rolled out this month in a move meant to reach out to 375 000 Zimbabweans over the next two years, a senior Government official said yesterday.However, people in Shamva are still to grasp the concept.Only individuals above 16 years would be permitted to collect the self test kits.Addressing journalists at a media symposium organised by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) in Harare HIV testing and counselling coordinator in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Mrs Getrude Ncube, said the protocol for the pilot had since been approved."So far we have done accurate studies in Harare and Shamva and we have realised that people from Shamva (a rural setting) did not understand the instructions, so we tried to simplify them again including diagrams on how to conduct the self-testing."We have even made Shona translations and we are in the process of coming up with Ndebele translations on the instruction sheet,"Mrs Ncube said the purpose of the first phase of the pilot project was to ascertain the acceptability and feasibility of self-testing by Zimbabweans."Self-testing is meant to normalise HIV testing, provide early diagnosis of HIV and provide greater convenience," she said.Statistics from the Ministry of Health and Child Care show that an estimated 1,2 million people are living with HIV in Zimbabwe but only 66 percent of them know their HIV status. "Mommy, did you know a man shot a lot of little kids in a school a few days ago?" my oldest son asked during dinner. I sputtered, choking on my mashed potatoes. It was December 2012, a week after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. My son Colin was in first grade. We live 20 miles from Newtown, and the tragedy was at the forefront of everyone's heart and minds. Our local schools were having lockdowns and drills in its wake. As parents, we'd been advised by our school district to keep children away from the upsetting headlines and television broadcasts. My husband and I had already decided not to mention the tragedy to our children, then 6, 4 and 2. We thought they were too young to make sense of what had happened. Our son Colin is a worrier by nature, and we didn't want him fretting or too frightened to go to school. Yet there he was at the table, his eyes wide and confused, informing me of the very tragedy we'd been trying so hard to shield him from. Later, I learned that he'd overheard some fifth graders on his bus talking about the shootings. In the moment, though, I floundered, unsure of how to answer him in a way that was truthful and comforting. Finally I told him that, yes, I knew what had happened. We talked about how sad and horrible it was, then talked about the ways his school and our community was working to keep everyone safe. Versions of our first discussion continued for weeks afterwards. For the first time in Colin's life, tragedy had struck close to his own little universe. For the first time in my parenting life, I had to make difficult decisions about how to guide him without paralyzing him with fear. I rehashed our discussions later, wondering if what I'd told him was helpful, second-guessing my words and abilities. Then I did something I've done my entire life. I looked for a book a book to read to him that would address his fears and questions. I wasn't looking for a book to cheer him up or distract him. Instead, I wanted one that would speak to what he was experiencing. That winter, we read Kathi Appelt's Newberry-Medal winner, "The Underneath." The book was beautifully lyrical a story about loyalty and friendship, but also about tremendous loss. It was sad, and there were moments reading it when we both felt tearful. There were times I worried that the book was too mature for him, and I thought about putting it aside. I was glad I didn't, because, as children often do, Colin surprised me. He asked thoughtful questions. We cuddled on his bed while we talked about death, hope and the destructiveness of hatred. The story resonated with him, and in turn, made me braver in selecting books for him. The following year we read "The Liberation of Gabriel King," by K.L. Going. The book was about a chronic worrier who reminded me of Colin. It was also about racism and prejudice. Colin had never heard of the Ku Klux Klan before we read the book, but soon we were discussing it along with aspects of the Civil Rights Movement he hadn't yet touched on in school. Last year, his third-grade class read Kate DiCamillo's "Because of Winn Dixie," and that spurred a discussion about drugs and addiction. So far my children have led sheltered lives, which is exactly why I want them reading books about difficult, uncomfortable topics. They've never experienced violence or prejudice firsthand, but I believe reading about it will broaden their views and open their eyes to others' lives and experiences. For children born into hardship, abuse or tragic circumstances, reading books about what they've experienced assures them that they're not alone. We find solace in sharing grief, and often people who've suffered through similar losses are the ones to offer us the most comfort. Solidarity grows from facing hardship together. Characters from books have the power to offer that solidarity as much as any living person. Recently I was discussing my newest young adult novel, "Serendipity's Footsteps," with a mother who was interested in purchasing it for her daughter. I cautioned her that it dealt with the Holocaust and contained violent scenes. Then I added, "There's pain, but it's purposeful." The pain of historical persecution and brutalities must be revisited by each generation, even if it's as remembrances in the pages of a book. It's the only way we can hope to break cycles of repeated malice or discrimination. As a mother, my instinct is to protect my children from pain. But life won't always be fair or kind to my children. It will be messy, glorious and terrifying. It will deal them blows I feel they're too young or ill-equipped to handle. People they meet may be wonderfully kind or unforgivably cruel. It's my job to give my children love, but also to give them ways to navigate the unexpected and painful. There are times when I, too, feel lost. That's when I reach for the best maps I know of. Books. Yes, I turn to them for happy endings, but I also turn to them for answers to questions I don't have the wisdom, strength, or courage to answer on my own. Why shouldn't my children do the same? Books without easy answers open doors to discussion. They offer connections to other people, places, and cultures. By portraying characters facing difficult or tragic circumstances, they provide us with tools we need to learn empathy or to survive similar challenges ourselves. Books especially the ones that keep us up at night, that bring us to tears, that make us angry at injustice, prejudice, and senseless violence have much to offer, if we're brave enough to accept it. They can guide us on our journey through this imperfect world. When Ryan Penke started distributing craft beer in Omaha about eight years ago, deliveries to local businesses were small enough to fit in the back of his Chevy Blazer. But when he inked an agreement in 2012 with Zipline Brewing to be the sole distributor of the Lincoln-based brewerys suds, he said his three-year plan became a one-year plan. Today, Arbella Distributing, under the direction of Penke and business partner Mike DiLorenzo, has nine employees and runs two delivery trucks multiple times a day to sate local demand for craft beer. We started the business with one beer with the hope that maybe more brewers would come and want to do business here, Penke said. No one was focused on craft beer. In that time, the number of U.S. breweries has nearly doubled, and there are more of them today than at any other point in American history. Even in Nebraska, which is generally a couple of years behind coastal trends, drinkers seemingly cant get enough local beer: They drank nearly 1 million gallons of craft beer in 2015, and that was just beer that was brewed by in-state breweries like Zipline. Thats compared with less than a half-million gallons five years ago. Penkes business is one of many in Nebraska that has benefited from the ripple effects of the long-brewing resurgence of local beer. For example: American Beer Equipment in Lincoln sprang up as a division of parent company Norland International, which until 2013 focused exclusively on water bottling systems. The division today sells more than $20 million worth of brewing systems annually and is in the middle of moving from the current 20,000-square-foot production floor it shares with Norland into its own 34,000-square-foot facility. Alpha Brewing Operations, also of Lincoln, formed in May 2014 when former American Beer Equipment employees Jon Marco and Matt Rennerfeldt struck out on their own to compete with their previous employer. The company was turning a profit within four months, sold about $12.1 million worth of equipment last year and today has 12 employees in Lincoln in addition to 70 contract steelworkers at a plant in Ningbo, China. Bruce and Annette Wiles of Plattsmouth last year opened a $3.5 million project that converted the former Plattsmouth Country Club grounds into a hops farm. If all goes according to plan, the project will result in about 20 jobs and a stable, local source of increasingly in-demand flowers used to flavor beer. All three companies have done nothing but grow since they started, and the same goes for Zipline. Its not the biggest brewery in the state, but it is arguably the most popular. According to figures from the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission, it sold more than 180,000 gallons of beer to Nebraskans last year, edging out more established producers like Lincoln-based Empyrean Ales and Nebraska Brewing of La Vista. Together, those three producers brewed more than half the local beer consumed in Nebraska in 2015, but dont assume theyre locked in any sort of struggle for dominance. Each operates distinctively from one another, with Empyrean brews featured at one FireWorks restaurant and three Lazlos Brewery & Grill locations in Omaha and Lincoln, in addition to numerous bars and retailers in Midwestern states, including Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Minnesota; Zipline beers are marketed across Nebraska with a focus on the Omaha and Lincoln areas; and Nebraska Brewings beer family can be found internationally in Denmark, Brazil, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan in addition to more than half of the continental U.S. Said Zipline co-founder and operations chief Marcus Powers: Were all in a great position in the Midwest because the region is behind the curve when it comes to the portion of craft beer consumed as a whole. If were going to double or triple the share to catch up, theres a lot of room to grow in this state. Tom Wilmoth, another Zipline co-founder and president of the Nebraska Brewers Guild, said craft beer makes up only about 2 percent to 3 percent of all the beer consumed in Nebraska, up from less than 1 percent in 2011. Nationally, craft beers share is about 14 percent, so theres a lot of catching up to do. I know its a cliche, but its really one of those situations where a rising tide lifts all boats, Wilmoth said. Omahan Scott Strain is happy to catch a lift. The way he sees it, being behind the trend curve has given him the gift of hindsight when it comes to planning a 2016 launch of his own brewery, Kros Strain Brewing, with a friend and business partner. The pair met and worked together at Nebraska Brewing, which they left last April. For almost 10 years, theyve been entering home-brew contests, and with plenty of gold medals to prove it, theyve perfected their recipes enough and seen demand grow enough to a point where theyre finally ready to take their hobby to the next level. Even though the number of breweries in the state has more than tripled since 2004, according to data from the Colorado-based Brewers Association, Strain thinks Nebraska is primed for even more growth in coming years. Hobert Rupe, executive director of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission, agrees. I think the increase in local alcohol consumption is tied in with the local food push, he said. Theres some very philosophical similarities between the two. Craft consumption in the Midwest as a whole is trending up, Ziplines Powers said. Thats more because more people are converting from mass-produced beers like Coors and Budweiser than because there are more breweries. But the latter certainly doesnt hurt, said Mike McFarland, president of American Beer Equipment. Employment there has more than doubled to 95 employees in the last 18 months. Meanwhile, the Brewers Associations Bart Watson said 75 percent of U.S. adults of drinking age live within 10 miles of a brewery, and he, too, attributes some of the industrys resurgence to a will to support local businesses and local products. I think the industry is alive and well everywhere, Watson said. Contact the writer: 402-444-1534, cole.epley@owh.com Correction: Alpha Brewing Operations' 2015 sales were incorrectly reported and Bruce Wiles was misidentified in a previous version of this story. News / Health by Staff Reporter In an effort to boost the local pharmaceutical industry, Government has put import controls on 23 pharmaceutical medicines.The industry, which employs over 1 000 people is made up of about nine companies but operations have been constrained by the current economic conditions and the influx of imported drugs some of which are smuggled into the country.The sector has also been struggling to breakthrough in regional markets as some of the countries have stringent licensing conditions, which subsequently make the products uncompetitive.Industry Minister Mike Bimha said the move to put controls would boost local industry as the medicines that were gazetted are available locally.The controls were gazetted under statutory instrument 18 of 2016. The drugs which are on the list include aspirin and caffeine tablets or capsules, cotrimoxazole suspension, syrup or dry granules, cotrimoxazole tablets, Ibuprofen tablets or capsules, metformin, metronidazole, erythromyein capsules or tables, paracetamol and codeine tablets, paracetamol syrup, amoxicillin capsules, amoxicillin granules, cloxacillin capsules or tabs, maintelyte with dextrose (glucose) intravenous (IV) Infusion fluid.Minister Bimha, however, said the controls apply only to those products that are brought into the country formally."The problem with those who smuggle the products into the country due to the porous border posts remains.However, Government is currently working on ways to improve border surveillance and the Minister of Home Affairs will soon make an announcement on the measures being taken."Last year, Government estimated that the pharmaceuticals industry requires $80 million to fund operations.Meanwhile, ZimTrade is encouraging local companies in the pharmaceutical sector to broaden their export base by exploring the Zambian market.The increase of the country's national healthcare budget by 72 percent from 2012 to 2015 shows that the Zambian Government is prioritising the health sector.Zambia's imports of pharmaceuticals have also been on an upward trend since 2010 increasing over 90percent from $115 million in 2010 to $220 million in 2014.According to Trade Map, the top five sources of medicaments for Zambia in 2014 were South Africa, India, UK, Denmark and USA with Zimbabwe being number 14.This presents opportunities to Zimbabwean companies in the pharmaceutical sector given both countries are members of the COMESA and have SADC preferential trade schemes.These trade arrangements offer zero duty on the importation of pharmaceutical products which meet the qualifying rules of origin. Furthermore, local companies should also take advantage of the close proximity to Zambia."Potential suppliers need to be aware that the import of pharmaceuticals into Zambia is highly regulated. The Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority(ZAMRA) determines requirements for market entry which include drug registration," said ZimTrade. 3000 condoms at JNU campus: BJP MLA Gyandev Ahuja says will prove my statement India oi-Mukul New Delhi, Mar 1: Rajasthan BJP MLA Gyandev Ahuja remains unfazed despite being pulled hard by BJP high command for his controversial statement on JNU row. According to media reports, Ahuja, who is MLA from Ramgarh assembly constituency in Rajasthan's Alwar district has said that he will soon hold a press conference regarding the same. Minister further said that he will give proof for his statement. Recently BJP MLA had alleged that "3,000 condoms and 5,00 anti-pregnancy injections are used daily" in the JNU campus. He also said that university students "dance nude" after 8 pm in the name of cultural programme. While holding a march in Alwar against students involved in anti-national slogan, Ahuja said that "they do bad things with our daughters and sisters". "This is a place (JNU) where Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru is praised. These people are traitors. Also, you will be surprised to know everyday some 3,000 beer cans and bottles are used in the campus, who drinks it? Guess yourself", MLA said. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, March 1, 2016, 16:48 [IST] No surprises here: Mallikarjun Kharge is the new Cong chief After the 'Jihad' comment, Patil now claims \"I never said it\" Cong protests against Sena minister's remarks on Deshmukh India oi-PTI Mumbai, Mar 1: Congress workers on Tuesday, March 1 condemned Shiv Sena minister Vijay Shivtare's remarks in Latur district about its leaders, including former Maharashtra Chief Minister late Vilasrao Deshmukh. A protest march was held at Latur by Youth Congress workers to condemn the Minister's alleged derogatory remarks. "We strongly protest (against) the abusive language of the Minister, who insulted our leaders," Congress corporator Vikrant Gojamgunde said. "This shows the level Sena leaders can stoop to," he said. The Minister had made allegedly derogatory remarks at an event in Latur on Sunday when the Sena launched a free water tanker supply scheme. "Two persons from Latur district occupied the CM's post. What kind of leadership did they provide? They could not solve the water scarcity despite being in power. They only cared about their self interest," Shivtare had said. The Minister had also allegedly used a derogatory Marathi phrase to claim both the former CMs were incompetent. The other person from Latur to occupy the CM's chair was Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar, who was Chief Minister from June 1985 to March 1986. He had to resign after his name came up in a court case. Deshmukh first became Chief Minister in 1999 and was serving his second term (from 2004) when he had to resign in the aftemath of the 26/11 terror attacks in 2008. PTI Five women among 8 Maoists killed in encounter India oi-PTI Raipur/Hyderabad, Mar 1: Eight Maoists including a local commander and five women were killed in a fierce gun battle with police in a dense forest in insurgency-hit Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, close to Telangana's Khammam district in the wee hours today, police said. The encounter took place between a team of Greyhounds -- Telangana's anti-Naxal force -- and the rebels in Sakler forests under Kistaram Police Station limits, nearly 500 kms south of Raipur. Based on an information that ultras were planning to strike, police parties have been carrying out combing operations in the bordering areas for the last two to three days, Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Sharma said. "At around 7.30 AM (this morning), our teams in joint operation with Chhattisgarh Police, were combing the area when one batch of the rebels fired on the security personnel and we also fired in self-defence in which eight maoists were killed," Sharma told reporters in Hyderabad. All the eight bodies have been brought to Bhadrachalam in Khammam, he said. Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, SRP Kalluri told PTI that out of the eight ultras killed, three have been identified as -- Gottimukkala Ramesh alias Lachanna (52), who was a special zonal committee member and belonged to Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, woman cadre Yosuf Bi alias Sony (40) from Medak district in Telangana, and Raju (25) from Chhattisgarh. After the exchange of fire, bodies of eight rebels, including five women, were recovered from the spot, he said, adding, an AK-47 rifle, one SLR, three Insas rifles and a .303 rifle were also found at the encounter spot, he said. Choppers were pressed into service to evacuate the security personnel from the area and shift the bodies of the rebels. PTI Home Ministry will present fresh facts on Ishrat Jahan case India oi-Vicky New Delhi, March 1: The Ishrat Jahan case needs a re-look in the wake of so many new revelations. Going by the statements that have been made in the past couple of days, it becomes clear that the UPA had tinkered with the files a great deal in a bid to make the encounter look fake. The Union Home Ministry has now decided to take a re-look at the case and has asked for files relating to the incident. Ishrat Jahan and three others were killed by the Gujarat police in an encounter in 2004 after concrete intelligence suggested that they were part of a cell of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba aiming to assassinate Narendra Modi the then Chief Minister of Gujarat. A re-look at the Ishrat Jahan encounter: The Union Home Ministry decided to have a re-look at the case following the startling revelations made by former Home Secretary, G K Pillai. The former Home Secretary had said that he had no reason to believe that Ishrat Jahan was innocent. He further went to state that the then Home Minister had taken an independent decision of changing the affidavit filed before the Gujarat High Court. Ishrat Jahan encounter - P Chidambaram needs to answer these questions The BJP has always said that the UPA was trying to go on a witch hunt on this issue in a bid to target Modi. The Home Ministry now wants to take a re-look at the files and see how and why the narrative relating to the encounter was changed. Home Ministry sources tell OneIndia that after taking a re-look at the files they would present the fresh evidence before the court. The court is hearing a matter on whether the encounter was fake or not. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, March 1, 2016, 9:47 [IST] From 'dangerous' to 'secure and confident': US makes a u-turn after Biden's comment on Pak The persecution of Hindus in Pakistan continues with a Hindu girl forcibly converted and married How significant is the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri in Pakistan? India oi-Vicky New Delhi, Mar 1: The hanging of Mumtaz Qadri in Pakistan raises one very important question. Is the narrative about terrorism in Pakistan shifting for the better? Mumtaz Qadri, a former police officer who in 2011 assassinated Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province. He was hanged recently in Pakistan. Michael Kugelman, Senior Associate for South and Southeast Asia Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, Washington following the assassination of Taseer who had questioned blasphemy laws a Harvard University analysis of social media's response in Pakistan to the Taseer assassination documented how many new Facebook pages were created to champion Qadri's act (one site registered over 2,000 likes early on). Many users urged each other to use Qadri's face as their profile picture. Salman Taseer's killer Qadri hanged to death Qadri continued to enjoy the support of numerous religious conservatives as well as lawyers to the day he died. After word of his fate became known, spontaneous protests sprung up around Pakistan to condemn his execution, Kugelman tells OneIndia. Is the narrative in Pakistan changing? Kugelam also writes in the Diplomat that hanging of Qadri is no small matter. In effect, the Pakistani state hanged a man who was revered by the radicalized elements of society. Pakistan's decision to execute Qadri, however, does not come in isolation. It comes on the heels of several other legal decisions that suggest the state is prepared to push back against religious extremists. In October, when Pakistan's Supreme Court upheld Qadri's conviction, it also stated that blasphemy laws are not beyond criticism. In recent weeks, the Punjab provincial government-led by the same party that runs the federal government-banned a hardline Islamist group, Tablighi Jamaat, from preaching in educational institutions (a prime venue for recruitment). And in recent days, the Punjab legislature unanimously passed a landmark bill that protects women's rights. It suggests that times are changing in Pakistan. This was a message I heard often and emphatically during a trip to the country several weeks ago. In Islamabad and Lahore, people continued to worry in a big way about the threat of terror, but there was a noticeable energy and optimism in the air. The state is crafting new narratives against extremism, I was assured. It can't happen overnight, but it is nonetheless happening, slowly but surely, Kugelman also writes. The bottom line: Furthermore, bottom-line realities about extremism in Pakistan remain in place. Little has been done to combat extremist ideologies and violence that target areas across Pakistan's borders. Quite simply, terror groups that do not target the Pakistani state-from the Haqqani Network to Lashkar-e-Taiba-are not being targeted by the Pakistani state. Mumtaz Qadri, who directed his ire at Pakistani domestic laws and a provincial governor, targeted the Pakistani state, not India or Afghanistan. This distinction is not surprising, given that the Pakistani state continues to espouse positions deeply critical of its neighbors. The large number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan-always a delicate matter, and particularly in recent years when many terror attacks in Pakistan have been carried out by Afghanistan-based militants-is often singled out by Pakistani authorities as a security threat, with the suggestion that Pakistan will become more stable when these refugees leave. If Pakistan is to make meaningful progress in its efforts to expunge violent extremism, then it will need to root out all sources of extremism, and not just those that target Pakistan proper. OneIndia News Is the case against JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar over? Delhi cops say no India oi-Vicky New Delhi, March 1: The Delhi police had a tough day at the High Court where it opposed the bail plea of JNU student leader Kanaihya Kumar. Among one of the surprising submissions that the Delhi police made was that it was not relying on the video tape, which allegedly showed Kumar raising anti-national slogans. This submission is a crucial one and the fate of the case largely lies on the same. When on February 9th an event celebrating the martyrdom of Afzal Guru was held at the JNU, there were allegations that anti-national slogans were being raised. This led to the circulation of a host of videos which played out in some channels and a lot on the social networking sites. Now the Delhi police almost admits that these tapes were alleged to be doctored. What exactly is Kanaihya Kumar's offence? Prima facie it seems like the Delhi police is on a weak footing where the case relating to Kumar is concerned. The submissions to the Delhi High Court, which has reserved its verdict on Kumar's bail plea were not forceful. When the case began the Delhi police slapped sedition charges on Kumar and this led to an uproar with many questioning the need to do so. The Delhi police, however, argues that they are not letting go off the case. We have just said that we are not relying on the videos. The videos do not show him raising anti national slogans. We have relied on the guards and students at the JNU who have deposed stating that he had in fact raised anti national slogans. The chargesheet in the case is yet to be filed and sources indicate to OneIndia that the sedition charges may be dropped for want of evidence. Moreover the police also were asked by Justice Prathibha Rani of the High Court yesterday whether they even knew what sedition meant? The Delhi police also found itself alone during the hearing before the High Court. While they were fighting against the defence, they also had opposition from the Delhi government which did not oppose the bail plea filed by Kumar. The Delhi government in its submission stated that it does not oppose the bail plea and also added that innocents should not be in jail. [Read: JNU: Video does not show Kanhaiya Kumar raising anti India slogans says Delhi police] Delhi police sources say that the investigations are still on. Kumar was not cooperative. He has maintained that he had not raised anti national slogans and also said that he reached the venue only to ensure that there was no fighting as the atmosphere had turned tense. When Kumar was shown the videos of the event, he was unable to recognise many people alleged to be raising anti national slogans as their faces were covered. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, March 1, 2016, 8:51 [IST] Several JNU students injured as Left, ABVP Members clash over non-veg food on Ram Navami JNU row: Arrested students Umar, Anirban sent to 14 days judicial custody India oi-IANS By Ians English New Delhi, Mar 1: A court here on Tuesday sent, to 14 days judicial custody, JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, facing sedition charges for allegedly raising "anti-India" slogans, sources said. Both the accused were presented before a magistrate in a police station in south Delhi due to security concerns after expiry of their additional one day police custody, sources said. On Monday, a magistrate allowed police to quiz the two Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students for one more day. Both the students surrendered before police on last Tuesday last week outside a gate of the university. A case against Khalid and Bhattacharya was registered at Vasant Kunj police station, soon after JNU Student Union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested under the same charges on February 12 after the event held on the university campus against the execution of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. He allegedly shouted anti-India slogans at the event. IANS JNU Teachers Association opposes installation of Army hoarding in the campus India oi-Shreyas New Delhi, Mar 1: The JNU Teachers Association not to allow Indian Army unipole hoarding proposed to be erected at the campus. A Professor of the JNU speaking to OneIndia said the JNU community as a whole deplore the very act of war and any move of sensationalising the war inside the campus will not be entertained. There was a proposal last year sent by the Directorate of Integrated headquarter of Ministry (Army) to erect a unipole hoarding at the JNU to inform avenues open for the recruitment in the Indian Army, apart from sign of motivation. [JNU: ABVP now stresses on unipole hoarding of Indian Army proposed to be erected at campus] However, on Feb 29, 2016, yesterday, the JNU Students' Union Joint Secretary Saurabh Kumar Sharma, also the member of ABVP has send a letter to the Vice Chancellor of the JNU requesting to know the status of the Army unipole hoarding. Saurabh Kumar has asked the VC, " I want to know at what ground it has not been erected till today? He has also requested the VC to consider the matter with seriousness. It could be observed that after JNU row erupted, the ABVP now stressing on installing a hoarding related to Indian Army in the campus. The Professor of the JNU reacting to the fresh development said, large section of the JNU is opposed to the idea of sensationalising wars, be it any where in the world. "We know this ongoing effort to install the hoarding and we are opposed to the idea." The Professor added that the JNU teachers association will not allow Indian Army hoarding to be erected in the campus. OneIndia News JNUSU to march to Parliament demanding Kanhaiya's release India oi-PTI New Delhi, Mar 1: Stepping up their agitation against arrest of JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar and two others in a sedition case, the students will march to Parliament tomorrow demanding the release of those jailed in the case. "We are going to hold a solidarity march to Parliament tomorrow to protest the stifling of dissent in JNU, Hyderabad university and elsewhere through sedition charges," JNUSU Vice President Shehla Rashid Shora. The protest march which will be joined by academicians and students from various universities across Delhi, will begin from Mandi House area at 2 PM tomorrow. "We want to take up our issues with the PMO, MHRD and the Home Minister. We will also be approaching the NHRC and the Minority Commission to register our concerns at the functioning of the Delhi Police and the continuing threats of physical violence against Kanhaiya, Umar and Anirban," she added. The students have been agitating on campus ever since Kanhaiya was arrested in a sedition case in connection with an event against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Following Kanhaiya's arrest- five students who were being searched by police in the case- Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, Ashutosh Kumar, Anant Prakash and Rama Naga- had gone into hiding fearing "mob-lynching". They resurfaced back on campus 10 days later. While Umar and Anirban surrendered before the police, the remaining three refused to do so but maintained that they are open to questioning by police as and when needed. "Our major demands include release of the three students, revoking sedition charges and the varsity suspension order," Shehla said. The students are also demanding resignation of HRD Minister Smriti Irani allegeing that she "misused powers" and "peddled lies" regarding the row at JNU and Hyderabad University where a dalit scholar -Rohith Vemula- was found hanging in a hostel room. "We want the government to enact a 'Rohith Act' to end caste based discrimination in universities and educational institutions," she added. PTI News / Local by Staff Reporter Different quarters of society have deplored actions of some couples, who commit crimes in the name of passion, saying violence is not a conflict resolution method.This comes after the murder of a Midlands State University (MSU) lecturer, Netsai Shavi, by her husband on Saturday.Reading into the cruel crimes of passion reportage should leave the nation thinking hard.Local tabloid, H-Metro has majored in some of the most shocking acts of scorned men and women turning against their partners.Headlines such as 'Acid Attacks 1, 2 and 3,' were featured in the paper last year.H-Metro Deputy Editor, Charles Mushinga said this should raise an important reality that violence does not solve any issues.Mr Fred Misi of the Varume Svinurai/Vukani Madoda Men's Forum, said no-one has a right to resort to violence and if ever there is conflict, the partners in the misunderstanding should seek outside intervention."This is no expression of passion at all," he added.Pastor Kurai Madzonga said when relationships are founded upon respect and involvement of elderly persons, they take a dimension of peace and understanding that people can settle differences just by mere talking.Police have not only arrested people who commit crimes of passion but they also say the teaching that violence is not a solution has become an important engagement tool with the public.A time Zimbabweans are trying to come to terms with the double tragedy that has rocked MSU in Gweru, the country has yet received another shocker as statistics show that cases of domestic violence have shot up.It seems Zimbabweans are resorting to the vice of violence to solve differences as 10500 cases of domestic violence were recorded by Musasa Project in 2014.In 2015, the cases shot to 21000.A study by the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development in conjunction with Gender Links concluded that at least 68 percent of women in Zimbabwe have suffered from gender-based violence perpetrated by men.In the search for solutions out of this wayward behaviour that has claimed lives, the voices of wisdom say infidelity has got no room in relations as its consequences have been devastating to those it has claimed as victims. JNUSU Vice President Shehla Rashid receives yet another hate letter India oi-Mukul New Delhi, Mar 1: It looks JNU controversy will not be over soon. At a time when Government is being criticized for its role in the whole matter, this will once again increase its cup of woes. JNU Students Union Vice President Shehla Rashid Shora said that she has received yet another threat letter for her agitation against imposing of sedition charge on few students in JNU campus. Earlier also Shehla, who is leading a movement against arrest of student union president Kanhaiya Kumar over an event against hanging of Afzal Guru had eceived a hate letter for opposing Ramdev's visit to the university. Shehla is now planning to approach the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) to complain against the hate letter. The letter received from an anonymous sender at JNUSU office is full of abuses and targets Shehla as an "anti-national" for supporting those accused of sedition. The communication also mentions political leaders Sitaram Yechury and Rahul Gandhi in the same "category" for having visited the campus to express solidarity with students. "This is the second time I have received such a blasphemous letter which is an insult of mine not only as a JNU student but also as a women. Last time I had approached the National Commission for Women (NCW) over the same and have not heard from them about my complaint for over a month," Shehla said. "I will now approach Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) about the letter. This is the best thing the right-wing opponents can come up with," she added. Shehla had last month approached NCW saying she had opposed the invite to Yoga Guru Ramdev to be a keynote speaker in an academic conference at JNU and in return, she had received a letter "hurling abuses" at her. Jawaharlal Nehru University is caught in a row over an event on the campus to commemorate the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, where "anti-national" slogans were allegedly raised. The varsity's students union president Kanhaiya Kumar is in judicial custody in a sedition case in connection with the February 9 event. Two other students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya are in police custody in the same case. OneIndia News (With inputs from PTI) For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, March 1, 2016, 13:37 [IST] Mahishasur Jayanti: Malayalam TV anchor gets 2,000 threat calls, called prostitute India oi-Reetu New Delhi, Mar 1: In a shocking incident, an anchor of a Malayalam TV news show, received more than 2,000 threat calls after she moderated a discussion on whether celebrating Mahishasur Jayanti could be considered an act of treason. Sindhu Sooryakumar, chief coordinating editor of Asianet News TV said that the callers abused and threatened her and also accused her of calling Durga a "sex worker" during the show. According to an IndianExpress report, "On Monday, Kerala Police arrested five people based on a complaint filed by the journalist. G Sparjan Kumar, Commissioner of Police, Thiruvananthapuram city, told the daily, "All of those arrested are connected to BJP, RSS and Hindu groups, including Sri Rama Sena." Cited Durga, Mahishasur to explain the truth, says Irani Three others are said to be the members of Sri Rama Sena, a pro-Hindutva group involved in many cases of moral policing. "I have been getting a call every minute. The main allegation is that I abused Durga, calling her a sex worker. Most of the abusers called me a prostitute and abused me. Some threatened me while others didn't even know what the charge was. No tribe in India venerates Mahishasur, says tribal scholar I got a call this morning from someone asking whether I was Durga. Another person called me sometime ago, saying I had posted something against Durga on Facebook, and that he wanted to abuse me for that," Sooryakumar was quoted as saying in the daily. Meanwhile BJP's Kerala chief Kummanam Rajasekharan on his facebook post said that his party "has nothing to do with this issue". He also said that "The BJP is a party that supports freedom of the press." Smriti Irani, who is a BJP member of the Rajya Sabha and human resource development minister, had read on Thursday in the house a pamphlet that purported to call for a celebration of 'Mahishasur Martyrdom Day'. The pamphlet, which had allegedly been circulated by a Leftist student organisation in the JNU campus, made certain derogatory references to Goddess Durga. The minister cited the pamphlet to bolster her contention as to how wrongly and "depravedly" students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) had been using their "freedom of speech". Responding to the controversy over her statement on Durga and Mahishasur, union minister Smriti Irani on Friday asserted she made the statement with a lot of pain because she had been asked to explain the truth. "I read it because I was asked to explain what is the truth. I said it with a lot of pain. I myself am a practising Hindu; I myself am a Durga worshipper. These are authenticated documents from the university itself," Irani said. OneIndia News Nationalism of JNU based on constitutional values, not on borders, says JNU Professor India oi-Shreyas New Delhi, Mar 1: The nationalism of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been constructed on the plinth of the constitutional values of India and not defined on the basis of borders and vengeance against neighboring country Pakistan, says a professor of Kannada at Center of Indian Languages, JNU. Professor Purushottama Bilimale spoke to OneIndia on JNU culture and why JNU is anti-establishment. JNU from 1969 since its inception has always stood against establishment whenever the governments pursued anti-India policies. The students of this elite campus in 1975 shunned former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi away from the campus not allowing to make inroads to the place. [JNU: ABVP now stresses on unipole hoarding of Indian Army proposed to be erected at campus] "Such was the strength of the students, which also barred former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram from entering the JNU," Bilimale recalled from the history. Bilimale who joined the JNU academia one and half months back has been pro-active in participating to protest against the sedition cases filed against the students of the JNU. He said Indira Gandhi made all efforts to create a hegemony by building a image; India is Indira, Indira is India, and subsequently was opposed by the students and teachers of the JNU. [Sedition accused Bhattacharya held public talk in 2015 at JNU defying order] "The JNU staunchly opposed Manmohan Singh's economic policy of liberalisation, which was and is anti-national in nature that promotes neo-colonialism. The liberalisation made easy way for foreign investors to take control of the Indian economy and this is nothing short of anti-nationalism," Bilimale scathingly observed. "The JNU is and will be always against such move by any government. Modi's new economic policy "Make in India" is a leaf taken out from neo-liberalisation policy and it hinders prospects of poor, backward and marginalised section of India, Bilimale opined. The JNU, like it opposed Manmohan Singh's economic policy, will continue to oppose current Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make in India policy as it further the clutch of foreign investors over Indian economy. The Make in India policy is truly anti-national, Bilimale hit out. [Forensic expert who solved mystery of first 'human bomb' talks on JNU videos] The nationalism of the JNU is constructed on the basis of constitutional values and not on the borders and vengeance or anti-Pakistan slogans. "How JNU opposing anti-India policies could be termed as anti-national?" asked Bilimale. "The students and JNU always opposed these policies and will always oppose." Bilimale further talking on admission discourse of the JNU said if a student hails from rural India, he will be given 5 as bonus marks and it is same if student is a girl and backward. "60% to 70% of the students in the JNU are from backward class due to this admission process. These backward class, women were completely discarded from so called Hindu philosophy. Recently RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat issued a statement that women should remain close doors. "Naturally, if Hinduism pursue anti-Dalit, anti-Women concepts, the backward, Dalit or women will become anti-Hindu and so do JNU, professor viewed. "I personally do not believe in Bhagawat Geeta. Why should I believe. My own forefathers lived for over 5000 years without the knowledge of Geeta. It was a book practiced only by elite class, Brahmins (Devatas). These people never allowed us to read Bhagawat Geeta and said it was Devavani." Professor continued "now why I want that? I want Male Mahadeshwara of Karnataka, I want Junjappa, I have my own deities". OneIndia News Nagaland lottery results: Check winning numbers for 99th draw of Dear Mercury Wednesday Weekly 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? NEET PG Counselling 2022: Check revised cut off scores for admission News Flash: ED gets court nod to extradite Lalit Modi from UK India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer New Delhi, March 1: Get the latest national and international updates here: 10.24 pm: Bombay HC asked DG Vanjara to give an undertaking that he will not try to influence the witnesses if he visits Gujarat. 9.53 pm: Fire broke out in a factory near Delhi's Gulabi Bagh Police Station; at least 3 dead. Fire under control now. 9.03 pm: South African President Zuma survives no-confidence vote. 8.25 pm: ED gets court nod to extradite Lalit Modi from UK in its IPL money laundering case probe. 7.48 pm: The country today is entitled to know whether Chidambaram, as then Home Minister, was questioning NIA, IB and RAW: BJP on Ishrat Jahan case. 7:30 pm: Sri Lanka lose third wicket as Hardik Pandya removes Tillakaratne Dilshan for 18. Sri Lanka 31/3 in 6.1 overs in INDvsSL #AsiaCupT20. 7:23 pm: Its disappointing, injustice has been done to the people and state of Assam, says Tarun Gogoi, Assam CM on Budget2016. 7:13 pm: NHRC issues notices to Union Ministries of Finance and Health over reported imposition of excise duty on life saving drugs making them costlier 7:00 pm: Case has been registered against 3 persons for hurting religious sentiments and inciting communal tension in Agra-Bhagwan Swaroop IG,Law and order. 6:45 pm: In exchange of fire with our party around 7:30 in morning today, 8 maoists were killed: Anurag Sharma, DGP Telangana 6:33 pm: India win the toss and elects to bowl first against Sri Lanka. 6:11 pm: Case has been registered against 3 persons for hurting religious sentiments & inciting communal tension in Agra-Bhagwan Swaroop IG,Law&order. 5:47 pm: In exchange of fire with our party around 7:30 in morning today, 8 maoists were killed: Anurag Sharma, DGP Telangana 5:30 pm: Fans outside Dhaka Stadium before India's match against Sri Lanka INDvsSL in AsiaCupT20. 5:21 pm: Activist Irom Sharmila resumes hunger strike after she was released from judicial custody, on Monday, Feb 29. 5:00 pm: RK Pachauri has been accused of offences under sections 354, 354 A, 354 D, 506 and 509 of IPC in Charge sheet running into over 1400 pages 4:42 pm: NIA takes over investigation of a case registered in Jaipur, against a man Mohd. Sirajuddin on allegations of promoting ISIS ideology. 4:25 pm: MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan announces increment of MLALAD fund from Rs 77 lakh to Rs 2 crore in MP Assembly. 4:10 pm: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan announces increment of MLALAD fund from Rs 77 lakh to Rs 2 crore 4:00 pm: Bodies of 8 Maoists killed in encounter at Chhatisgarh-Telangana border shifted to Bhadrachalam(Telangana). 3:54 pm: Umar Khalid and Anirbhan Bhattacharya have been sent to 14 days judicial custody. Both are JNU students accused of sedition. Their police custody ended today. 3:47 pm: Delhi police files charge sheet in court against TERI Executive Vice Chairman RK Pachauri in sexual harassment case. 3:29 pm: Govt issues clarification about changes made in the tax treatment for recognized provident fund and national pension system(NPS). 3:10 pm: All my businesses are legally compliant with regulatory and statutory requirements-Karti Chidambaram on allegations. 2:55 pm: Man arrested for allegedly abusing Karnataka power minister DK Shivakumar following power cuts. 2:40 pm: NGT issues notice to 13 cement companies for violation of environmental norms & provisions of Motor Vehicles Act, causing air pollution. 2:34 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 3 pm as AIADMK members continue protest on Karthi Chidambaram issue. 2:21 pm: This is being organised by the ruling party so that we do not discuss the Privilege motion: GN Azad, Congress on ruckus by AIADMK in Rajya Sabha. 2:05 pm: Muslim groups protest against Union Minister Ram Shankar Katheria's remarks in Delhi. 2:00 pm: any incidents have taken place in recent past, like Pathankot attack. Soldiers from Himachal lost their lives in J&K, says CM Virbhadra Singh. 1:55 pm: Candidates were asked to appear for an Army recruitment exam in their underwear in Muzaffarpur (Bihar). 1:54 pm: Police team at the residence of suspended RJD MLA Rajballabh Yadav in Patna, who is accused of raping a minor. 1:50 pm: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has sought a report from Army Chief Dalbir Singh on Bihar Army recruitment exam issue: Govt sources. 1:40 pm: Sensex up by 663.51 currently at 23,665.51. 1:30 pm: Total nine IPS officers and one HPS officer transferred in Haryana. 1:28 pm: Candidates made to give army recruitment exam in underwear: Defence Min Manohar Parrikar asks for report on incident from IA Chief Dalbir Singh. 1:25 pm: Haryana DGP/Crime Dr KP Singh transferred to Prakash Singh Committee as DG in addition to his own duties. 1:20 pm: 'Sabka saath sabka vikaas' is a our guiding philosophy which we will strive to meet every day: FM Arun Jaitley at 40th Civil Accounts day. 1:18 pm: Matter of Candidates asked to appear for Army recruitment exam in their underwear in Muzaffarpur: Patna HC seeks reply from Defence Secretary, Next hearing scheduled for April 5. 1:17 pm: We have made significant progress in respect of direct & indirect taxes in recent past. With prompt&reliable financial reporting quality of expenditure has greatly improved,, but a no. of challenges lie before us: Arun Jaitley 1:15 pm: Police have already reacted, they've filed the toughest act that could be enforced: KT Rama Rao,Telangana minister on Karimnagar rape case. We will definitely bring justice to the victim: KT Rama Rao,Telangana minister on Karimnagar rape case. 1:12 pm: Congress MLA Hardeep Singh Dang protests at Gandhi statue in Parl demanding compensation for farmers in drought affected areas of Mandsaur (MP). 1:10 pm: Aamby Valley resort in Lonavala (Maharashtra) sealed by Mulshi Taluka tahsildar for non-payment of non-agricultural tax of Rs 4.82 crore. 1:08 pm: Venkaiah Naidu also urged the NDA MPs to counter it by informing people of various initiatives and achievements of the Government:Sources. 1:07 pm: Venkaiah Naidu during Parliamentary Party meet said that some sections of opposition were indulging in disinformation campaign. 1:05 pm: PM Narendra Modi to reply on the motion of thanks to the President's address in Lok Sabha tomorrow. 1:00 pm: I never mentioned Rohith's name(in his letter to HRD Ministry).Never mentioned any student's name: Bandaru Dattatreya. 12:57 pm: Complaint against Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's World Culture Festival in Delhi: NGT defers hearing for tomorrow. 12:55 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm. 12:50 pm: Budget Session:AIADMK members continue to protest in the well against Karti Chidambaram in Rajya Sabha. 12:45 pm: We are planning a new branch in Mumbai for cyber crime investigation in near future: Anil Sinha, CBI Director. 12:40 pm: Haryana Govt wants enquiry into the acts of omission and commission. I have been asked to conduct enquiry: Prakash Singh on Jat Reservation. 12:38 pm: JNUSU seeks appointment to meet PM Modi, Home Min tomorrow. 12:24 pm: Gujarat: Deputy SP MA Vala shoots himself with service revolver in Chhota Udaipur, rushed to hsopital. 12:08 pm: Thiruvananthapuram: Petrol pump owners in Kerala go on indefinite strike demanding renewal of their licences. 12:07 pm: Pak has decided to send a team to Pathankot and we are waiting for further details: Kiren Rijiju 11:46 pm: Small salaried employees with up to Rs 15 thousand per month income will be kept out of purview of proposed taxation of EPF: Revenue Secy Hasmukh Adhia. 11:27 pm: PPF contributions will continue to be tax exempt; no tax on withdrawal: Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia. 11:13 pm: LS adjourned briefly following uproar by AIADMK seeking action against former Minister P Chidambaram's son Karthi. 11:00 pm: The Supreme Court will hear a matter seeking quashing of criminal proceedings against some Gujarat police officials. The petition challenges filing of criminal proceedings post the Ishrat Jahan encounter. 10:49 am: UN Security Council to vote on new North Korea sanctions on Tuesday: US 10:31 am: Shiv Sena's Sunil Mahadik hits shopkeeper with a stick in Mumbai for allegedly refusing to give 'free vada pavs'. Shiv Sena's Sunil Mahadik hits shopkeeper with a stick in Mumbai for allegedly refusing to give free vada pavshttps://t.co/oQqpcnYZnx ANI (@ANI_news) March 1, 2016 10:30 am: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to undertake visit to Nepal tomorrow. 10: 25 am: Five Naxalites killed in a joint operation by Andhra Pradesh Greyhounds and Chhattisgarh Police in Sukma district: ANI UPDATE: 8 Maoists killed till now in a joint operation by Andhra Pradesh Greyhounds and Chhattisgarh Police at Chhatisgarh-Telangana border ANI (@ANI_news) March 1, 2016 10:00 am: Freedom of speech also means to remain silent: SRK 9:35 am: Clashes erupt as France clears Calais migrant camp. 9:15 am: Indira Gandhi International Airport gets three international awards in the Asia Pacific region. 8:45 am: US presidential poll: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton heavy favourites going into Super Tuesday. 8:30 am: BJP Parliamentary Party Meeting to take place at 9:30 am in the Parliament. 8:25 am: Two injured in collision between two cars in Mumbai late Monday. 8:15 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi wishes Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on his birthday, says "may he be blessed with a long and healthy life" 8:00 am: Pentagon waging cyber war against IS OneIndia News AAP to burn effigies of Ravan made of garbage across Delhi today Helal Akbar Chowdhury Babor is an excellent example of non-communal spirit Protest at Jantar Mantar against Katheria remarks India oi-PTI New Delhi, Mar 1: A group of social activists on Tuesday, March 1 held a protest at Jantar Mantar here against alleged hate speech made by Union Minister Ram Shankar Katheria against minority community members at a condolence meet in Agra after the murder of a local VHP leader. The social activists also appealed to the President to "dismiss" Katheria, Union Minister of State for HRD, for his alleged "hate speech" against minority community members while addressing a condolence meeting for VHP worker Arun Mahaur, who was shot dead on February 25. Condemning the murder of Mahaur, the social activists alleged Hindutva leaders are using it to spread "venom" against the minority community. "Several leaders of BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal, including Katheria and Fatehpur Sikri MP Babu Lal, attended the condolence meeting of Mahaur on February and delivered hate speeches," said Shabnam Hashmi, Founding trustee of Anhad which organised the protest. Hashmi said the social activists have written a letter to the President appealing him to "dismiss" the minister and advise the government to take immediate action against those giving hate speeches and creating "an atmosphere of intimidation and insecurity" in the country. Dr Syeda Hamid, Navid Hamid, John Dayal, Sajjad Poonawala and many other social activists attended the protest. PTI Rating agencies doubt Arun Jaitley's revenue growth optimism India oi-PTI Mumbai, Mar 1: Domestic rating agencies have said while some of the revenue growth expectations expressed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's in the Union Budget are optimistic, but the government will have to deliver on the fiscal targets before the central bank can cut rates. "A closer look at the Budget math indicates that the revenue expectation is highly optimistic and for the government to stay on the fiscal consolidation path, it will have to cut capital expenditure," India Ratings said in a statement today. "Sticking to the fiscal deficit target despite pressure to undertake stimulus measures to revive growth will pave the way for the Reserve Bank of India to cut policy rates," its peer Crisil said. The agency said a rate cut may come as early as the next policy meeting, following the government achieving the FY16 fiscal deficit target of 3.9 per cent. Another agency Icra said a "final rate cut" of 0.25 per cent can come in 2016, provided the monsoons are normal. (7th Pay Commission, OROP: 'Burden of pay hike yet to be assessed'; Govt to prioritise expenses) It, however, raised question marks over the 14.2 per cent revenue growth target, which has been arrived at after calculating an 18.1 per cent growth in income tax, 12.2 per cent growth in Excise duty and a whopping 76.67 per cent growth in non-tax revenue from communication services expecting a windfall from the forthcoming spectrum sales. "The assumed buoyancy of income tax is optimistic; Excise resilience seems believable on the back of the increase in the clean environment cess and infrastructure cess," it said, and even the non-tax revenue from other communication services also appears optimistic. Icra said spectrum sale (Rs 98,000 crore), divestment (Rs 36,000 crore) and strategic divestment (Rs 20,000 crore) are optimistic, but tax growth targets are realistic. Crisil, however, offered a different view saying the government has got its maths correct, and that most of the tax collection targets are achievable, except income tax and corporate tax. It said while the overall subsidy burden is likely to come down on lower oil subsidies, there is only a mild hike in productive spending (which includes capital spending and revenues grants for creation of capital assets) has been increased only marginally to 2.75 per cent from 2.73 per cent. Icra said a "substantial portion" increase in the Central Plan outlay will be funded through extra budgetary sources, including institutional finance and market borrowings to be raised by NHAI and the Railways. Even though the government's borrowing is lower in FY17, this will push up bond yields and crowd out the private sector, it warned. PTI SAGY: Govt mulling giving 'matching grant' to MPs India oi-PTI New Delhi, Mar 1: The Rural Development Ministry is contemplating giving "matching grant" to enthuse MPs to adopt villages under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet scheme Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) following complaints of fund crunch. "We are thinking providing some sort of mechanism like a matching grant. We will have to see if our ministry could provide grant matching the contribution made by the MPs," Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh told a press conference a day after the Union budget. Singh said he would approach Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on the issue of providing "matching grant" to MPs. SAGY is a village development project launched by the Centre in October 2014, under which each Member of Parliament will take the responsibility of developing physical and institutional infrastructure in three villages by 2019. According to data available with the Ministry, only 34 of about 790 MPs from both Houses of Parliament have adopted villages in Phase-II of the scheme. In the first phase, 699 MPs had done so. When asked about the lukewarm response, Singh said the deadline for the second phase is October 2016 and one should wait till then. A major complaint of the MPs has been that since the scheme has no earmarked funding, they find it difficult to implement it from the existing MPLAD fund or through local resource generation. The Ministry had recently written to all MPs, asking them to adopt a second village under the scheme. However, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel opposed the scheme's expansion arguing that it has "fallen way short of expectations". The scheme aims at covering 2,500 villages by 2019. Though it was launched on October 11, 2014, the implementation began only in June last year after deliberations and extensive discussions with sarpanches and chalking out of village development plans. Some MPs from the Opposition had said it was a "flawed scheme that looks good on paper but whose implementation is flawed", an argument countered by the government. Under the scheme, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs have to adopt three gram panchayats in five years where special attention will be given for undertaking development works and providing basic amenities. PTI WikiLeaks' Julian Assange cannot be extradited to US, rules UK court Celebrities sign petition to let Julian Assange free International oi-PTI London, Mar 2: Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei, US filmmaker Oliver Stone and British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood on on Tuesday called for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be allowed to walk free. The celebrities were among 500 signatories of a petition to Britain and Sweden, urging them to enforce a UN panel opinion from last month that said Assange was being "arbitrarily detained". "We urge Sweden and the United Kingdom to respect the binding nature of the human rights covenants on which the decision is based," read the petition, details of which were released by Assange's spokespeople. Signatories included former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron and Indian novelist Arundhati Roy, as well as Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winners Shirin Ebadi. Assange is wanted on a European arrest warrant for questioning in Sweden over a rape allegation. He has denied any wrongdoing and has said he fears extradition for prosecution in the United States after WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of secret military and diplomatic documents on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and US diplomatic activity. Assange exhausted all legal appeals against extradition from Britain in 2012 and fled to the embassy of Ecuador, which granted him asylum. He has lived since then in a cramped office in the embassy which he has turned into his living quarters. British police have said they will have to arrest him as soon as he sets foot out of the embassy building because of the arrest warrant out against him. In a phone interview with AFP last month, Assange said the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention should be respected. "I am confident that the decision will be enforced," he said, adding: "Ultimately there are a number of different enforcement mechanisms, up to sanctions." PTI Narendra Modi, Nawaz Sharif may meet in Washington: Sartaj Aziz International oi-PTI Washington, Mar 1: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi here later this month on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, a top aide to Pakistan Premier said on Tuesday. "There are chances of meeting between the two (prime ministers)," Sartaj Aziz, the Foreign Affairs Advisor to Sharif, told PTI. "There are possibilities, when they are here (in Washington DC). They would interact with each other. Whether there would be a structured meeting I do not know. Depends on...Chances are there (for a meeting)," Aziz said. F-16 fighter jets imp for Pak's fight against terrorists: Sartaj Aziz The top Pakistani diplomat is in Washington to attend the sixth US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue which he co-chaired with Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday. Aziz said Sharif would be travelling to Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit at the invitation of US President Barack Obama. Modi too has been invited to the Summit on March 31 and April 1. No official announcement has been made yet. Responding to a question on the status of India-Pak relationship after Modi came to power in May 2014, Aziz said in the first year the situation was "not good". "But the last two months are better," Aziz said. Ahead of the Modi-Sharif meeting, Aziz said there is likelihood of a meeting between the foreign secretaries of the two countries. The timing of which has not been decided yet, he noted. "We do not know (when foreign secretaries would meet). He (Indian Foreign Secretary) has to come to Islamabad first. We are hoping that now," Aziz said after the breakfast meeting with Defence Writers Group here. PTI Nepal PM KP Oli to visit China in mid-March International oi-PTI Kathmandu, Mar 1: After choosing India as his first overseas destination, Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli will head to China in mid-March, a media report said today. A meeting of Council of Ministers yesterday decided on Oli's maiden China visit since he assumed office in October last year, My Republica reported but did not mention dates for the trip. The government will start preparations for the visit, Minister for Information and Communications and Spokesperson of government Sher Dhan Rai said. The meeting also reviewed the premier's recent six-day India visit last month, describing it as a historic and productive one. Rai said that during the meeting, it was assessed that the India visit had helped resolve the differences with the southern neighbour and augment the multi-faceted ties shared between these two countries. Oli had earlier said it would not be appropriate for him to visit New Delhi until the blockade of key trade points with India is lifted. Some reports had said that Oli could visit China before India due to hiccups in Indo-Nepal ties over the Madhesi issue and China was being seen as getting closer to Nepal by supplying fuel to the crisis-hit landlocked nation. But, the 63-year-old premier has rejected reports that he played the China card against India. "I don't believe in playing cards for one against the other. We want to develop friendly relations with both our neighbours on the basis of equality and mutual benefits," he said on Sunday. Oli said that during his India visit, he assured the Indian leadership that he would not allow the Nepalese territory to be used against any of its neighbours. "We will definitely honour and respect India's genuine concerns and interests," he said. PTI News / Local by Staff Reporter The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has challenged an urgent chamber application by Prosecutor General Johannes Tomana seeking the court to stop a commission of inquiry into his suitability of holding the office of the Prosecutor General.In its response through an affidavit, the JSC through the Secretary, Justice Rita Makarau says Mr Tomana should appreciate some of the provisions of the constitution.The JSC further says the applicant misdirected himself by believing that he holds the same position as that of the Chief Justice.The office of the PG is equivalent to that of a judge, says the JSC, adding that it is constitutionally empowered to initiate the removal of the PG.The PG had cited the Constitutional Court cases in which he argues that it was not properly constituted as the Deputy Chief Justice was not part of the bench that decided his fate.On this argument, the JSC says the judgements of the Constitutional Court is valid as it is the highest court in Zimbabwe and no other courts can review its decisions, adding that even the Constitutional Court in whatever circumstances cannot review its decisions.In its initial application, the JSC noted cases in which PG Tomana is believed to have erred.It cited the cases of Professor Charles Nherera and Dr Munyaradzi Kereke in which PG Tomana refused to grant the complainants a certificate of private prosecution. We have negotiated better deal in Rafale contract, says IAF Chief Indias new CDS by year end: Govt looking for larger pool of human resources say top sources UN chief condemns IS terrorist attacks in Iraq's capital, eastern town International oi-IANS By Ians English United Nations, March 1: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Iraq's Baghdad and eastern town of Muqdadiya which are claimed by the extremist group Islamic State (IS). Earlier on Monday, a suicide bombing attack near Muqdadiya killed at least 34 people and wounded 43 others. On Sunday, 53 people were killed and 117 others were wounded in back-to-back bombings at a busy marketplace in Baghdad. The deceased include seven Shia militia leaders, Xinhua reported. In a statement released by his spokesperson, Ban said he is concerned that these "cowardly" attacks claimed by IS at funerals, markets, and places of worship are aimed at undermining the unity of the people of Iraq. "The Secretary-General calls on the Government of Iraq to make sure that the perpetrators of these crimes are swiftly brought to justice," said the statement. Iraq is currently undergoing a wave of violence since IS took over areas of Iraq's northern and western regions in June 2014. A United Nations report estimated that over 22,300 people were either killed or injured in Iraq's armed conflict in 2015. IANS Trump is convinced Russia didnt interfere in 2016 polls; blames US for sour ties with Moscow US Prez poll 2016: Republicans, Democrats gear up for Super Tuesday International oi-Shubham Washington, March 1: The candidates for the presidential candidate nomination for this year's election to the White House were gearing up for Super Tuesday, when 11 states across the US will vote. Complete list of American presidential election primary and caucus schedules and results" title=" What is a Super Tuesday? Complete list of American presidential election primary and caucus schedules and results" /> What is a Super Tuesday? Complete list of American presidential election primary and caucus schedules and results US Prez poll: The delegate scenario so far In the Republican camp, while front-runner Donald Trump, who has won the last three primaries, is looking to take a decisive lead over the rest, the likes of Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich will look to survive another day. The fifth candidate, Ben Carson, is expected to not last beyond Super Tuesday. The Republicans will viw for 595 candidates across 11 states. To get the nomination, a Republican candidate needs 1,237 delegates. Trump is now leading the lot with 82 while Cruz and Rubio are way behind with 17 and 16 delegates, respectively. The GOP side saw the race for the nomination turning ugly with Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Texas Senator Ted Cruz traded attacks with Trump, a real-estate tycoon. On the Democratic side, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders will vie for 865 delegates. Clinton, who earned a massive victory over Sanders at South Carolina on February 27 after a not-so-encouraging start in the race, has a handsome lead over Sanders in terms of delegates (546 to 87). For winning nomination, a Democratic candidate needs to have 2,383 delegates. Oneindia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, March 1, 2016, 10:38 [IST] US Prez poll 2016: Why Texas & Massachusetts will be interesting on Super Tuesday International oi-Shubham Washington, March 1: Eleven states in the US will vote on Super Tuesday (March 1), a crucial day in ahead of this year's presidential election. What is Super Tuesday Complete list of American presidential election primary/caucus schedules and results The delegate scenario Of the 11, the analysts will look forward to how things unfold in Texas and Massachussets. Here is why. Texas or the Single Star state, the second-laegest state in the US, both in terms of area and population, is also home to the largest number of delegates (252 Democratic and 55 Republican). It is also the home state of Senator Ted Cruz, one of the contenders of the Republican presidential nomination and currently placed second after Donald Trump, though by a distance. Cruz will look to repeat his Iowa feat against Trump (the only time he could beat the latter this primary season) for a loss to the rival in his own den could derail his campaign. Cruz has the backing of both the current and former governors of Texas, Gregg Abbott and Rick Perry, respectively, which is a positive for him on Super Tuesday. Though much smaller in size (44th) and population (15th), Massachusetts is also significant on Super Tuesday for the moderate voters in this state could halt Trump's momentum. The fact that this northeastern state has an open primary could also produce a surprise here for anyone registered can vote in the Republican polling, irrespective of party affiliation. Masachusetts has 116 Democratic and 42 Republican delegates. The state's largest newspaper, the Boston Globe, recently urged the Democrats to vote for Ohio Governor John Kasich to weaken Trump's campaign---a move that is unusual. Oneindia News OK! Magazine 21 Oct 2022 Taylor Swift's new song 'Would've, Could've, Should've' might be about John Mayer and fans are already warning him of the.. News / National by Ivan Zhakata A HARARE man threatened to commit suicide at his former wife's house if she refused to reconcile with him, the Harare Civil Court heard last week.Muneni Muhwati allegedly told his ex-wife, Precious Mushure, that only death would separate them. Mushure, who was seeking a protection order against Muhwati, told magistrate Mrs Barbra Mateko that he was forcing her to reconcile with him and would threaten her if she refused.She said she divorced Muhwati over his ex-marital affairs. "He is coming to my house demanding that I reconcile with him," Mushure said. "He bangs my door and if I refuse to open it he breaks into my house. He said if I do not reconcile with him he will commit suicide at my house and he is also saying that only death will separate us."I divorced him after I discovered that he was having sexual relations with a woman he said was only a mother of his child. He lied to me that they were no longer in a relationship but I later found out that they were still in love," she said.Mushure told the court that Muhwati harassed her accusing her of witchcraft. Muhwati dismissed the allegations. He told the court that he still loved his wife and would do anything to have her back. "The main problem is that she does not want to see my other child," Muhwati said."Each time I went to see my child she accuses me of having sex with the mother whom I divorced a long time ago. I have never done all what she is alleging and I still love her," he said.Mrs Mateko ordered muhwato to stop threatening Mushure and advised the two to solve their disputes peacefully. New Managers SERVICERS' SPOT: Directors want to be considered trusted partners by new managers, Institutions are getting more hands on in seeding and forming new funds Directors want to be considered trusted partners by new managers Leanne Golding A hedge fund director provides her perspective on emerging hedge fund managers. She will happily work with those who have set themselves up for future growth, she says. Directors are not there only for compliance, she adds, managers should see directors as trusted partners, who they can call and ask for advice. Leanne Golding is a Senior Vice President of The Harbour Trust Co. Ltd, a Grand Cayman-based firm which provides directorship and related fund fiduciary services. She joined Harbour in 2009, after working at Goldman Sachs in the Cayman Islands for nine years. Harbor particularly enjoys working with new managers who are setting up a best-in-breed shop from day one and who position themselves to be able to make it a multi-billion firm, she tells Opalesque. "But we understand and respect the fact that that takes time." The right fit is someone who is committed to selecting the right service providers from the start, so that they do not have to switch them a couple of years down the road. Harbour's take-on process includes getting a feel of the managers' framework, their long-term and short-term goals, where they are headed, and where their seed capital comes from. "That way," she continues, "we can get a feel for whether they are going to match with our way of doing things. Obviously not every new manager is a good fit for us, but there is a good number of them out there that are." The right fit, she says, is someone who is committed to selecting the right service providers from the start, so that they do not have to switch them a couple of years down the road. Even if there is tremendous fee pressure, there i...................... To view our full article please login Apple Computer just won a case in United States District Court, Eastern District of New York that addresses the issues in the San Bernadino murders in early December. While the New York decision may not be binding, it clearly outlines the rationale for the federal case regarding the California murders. The FBI wants Apple to write original code to bypass encryption since there is no backdoor into the iPhone right now. Three observations on the FBI's efforts: 1) The FBI needs to do its job without ruining security on cell phones for everybody in the world using Apple products. It won't stop with Apple by any means possible. 2) The federal government cannot force a corporation or individual to do work against the will of the corporation (other than to follow regulations and laws on the books). This is a 13th Amendment case, at least. The precedent set would allow the government to force any federal contractor to do additional work to bring the originally completed work in line with national security needs -- at full cost to the contractor. In fact, it would apply to any business the government asks to enhance a product or service for national security needs. 3) Apple is by far the most successful company in the United States, a world leader in information technology and systems. If the FBI wins in court, it will take away the huge security advantage Apple provides its customers. It will hurt market share and sales. It will significantly harm our best company. This is just another manifestation of the inverted pyramid of intelligence n this country. The higher up the power ladder, the less intelligent the people. There's nothing wrong with the masses and the truly creative faction in this country. There is something very wrong with the rulers. They are severely challenged and ruin rather than enhance the work of the people. Stop those who contribute nothing other than negative outcomes and failed policies. Government Can't Force Apple to Bypass iPhone Lock Screen, New York Judge Rules By Andrew Crocker and Parker Higgins Electronic Frontier Foundation February 29, 2016 Creative Commons 3.0 While the government has argued that its extraordinary invocation of the All Writs Act is not intended to set a precedent, Judge Orenstein properly recognizes what is at stake. In particular, he casts shade on the very constitutionality of the government's interpretation, describing it as virtually unbounded: The government's position also produces a wholly different kind of absurdity: the idea that the First Congress might so thoroughly undermine fundamental principles of the Constitution that many of its members had personally just helped to write or to ratify. Its preferred reading of the law -- which allows a court to confer on the executive branch any investigative authority Congress has decided to withhold, so long as it has not affirmatively outlawed it -- would transform the [All Writs Act] from a limited gap-filing statute that ensures the smooth functioning of the judiciary itself into a mechanism for upending the separation of powers by delegating to the judiciary a legislative power bounded only by Congress's superior ability to prohibit or preempt. I conclude that the constitutionality of such an interpretation is so doubtful as to render it impermissible as a matter of statutory construction. [Emphasis added.] The government has repeatedly denied that there's a thread running through each of these cases, and claimed that each All Writs Act order pertains to just one device. Orenstein makes quick work with that argument, connecting those cases and the ongoing (and unsuccessful) government push for new legislation to grab new search powers and crypto backdoors. Where the government cannot get legislation, it seems intent to just reinterpret the law: It is also clear that the government has made the considered decision that it is better off securing such crypto-legislative authority from the courts (in proceedings that had always been ... shielded from public scrutiny) rather than taking the chance that open legislative debate might produce a result less to its liking. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Continuing the string of unwelcomed news outside of the cozy confines of Democrat Land, in some of the worst news of the campaign season, a New York Newsday poll is showing Donald Trump making inroads into normally reliably blue Long Island, and beating Clinton by 3 points while Bernie Sanders, in turn, thumps Trump head-to-head by 5 points. If New York State goes Republican for the first time since 1984, then Donald Trump becomes President of the United States. Newsday reports: "...in a potential head-to-head matchup, Long Islanders give Trump a 3 percentage point edge over Clinton" The news is tactically and strategically important. Even a tie for Trump in Long Island could mean a win for him statewide, since Long Island typically offsets the more conservative upstate vote. New York even being in play should be a preposterous proposition in the ordinary calculus of general elections, but Trump has appealed to many while saying virtually nothing once again. New York in play means resources drawn from swing states. This gets real bad real fast. All this before Trump has even begun tacking to the center and playing good-cop conciliator post-primaries, showing, shucks, I'm nothing to be afraid of after all. The knuckledraggers at Free Republic are drooling all over themselves at the new numbers. The irony is poll after poll keeps showing that the candidate best positioned to win in the general, if not among the Democratic choir, is Bernie Sanders. Nationally, a new NBC News poll shows Clinton beating Trump by ten points, but Sanders beating Trump by a full 16 points. This is consistent with the pattern shown by polls reported in Real Clear Politics, of Sanders doing better against Trump than Clinton does. The true bottom line here may boil down to a perception problem among Democratic Party faithful. Outside the circles where Trump is perceived as anathema, many Americans on the Dark Side would gladly cast a vote for Trump over Hillary. This is a harsh, ugly fact not being faced by many for whom Trump sparks a visceral reaction. But fact it remains. Clinton's negatives remain the highest of any candidate ever, while Sanders earns 'most trusted' even among people who disagree with his policies. What accounts for the apparent discrepancy between the primaries and the general election? One factor is the record 45% of voters now identifying as "independent," as well as, for lack of a better term, those who can still be described as Reagan, "lunch bucket" Democrats. Sanders' appeal to union rank and file, if not to union leadership, is obvious as you could never keep Bernie away from a picket line no matter how many big shots were waiting to meet with him. Copyrighted Image? DMCA NBC News Poll Copyrighted Image? DMCA NBC News Poll It is this conservative element which is threatening to stray in flirtation with The Donald, which Bernie may be able to keep chastely at home within the party fold. The shock of waking up and seeing that Ronald Reagan has been elected president has still not worn off on many of us, who would go on to make double Cold War defense budgets the new normal, and be responsible for the murder of hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans, Guatemalan Indians, and Nicaraguans, all while being cast as the new icon of virtue for the republic. If the same dynamic is in play, this time the evidence of disaster will have been before us all along. No one can pretend we didn't know what was going to happen, or how it could have been stopped. RELATED ARTICLES: Bernie Sanders Says He Will Take Aim at "Citizens United" as President Big Socialism for Corporations is American Way as Sanders Questions Priorities I'll say one more thing. The media have used Citizens United in their own way to maximize their opportunity to sell advertising, taking advantage of the bigger money pool. To do it, they've attempted to turn elections into entertainment. That's bad for America. Rob Kall is an award winning journalist, inventor, software architect, connector and visionary. His work and his writing have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC, the HuffingtonPost, Success, Discover and other media. Check out his platform at RobKall.com He is the author of The Bottom-up Revolution; Mastering the Emerging World of Connectivity He's given talks and workshops to Fortune 500 execs and national medical and psychological organizations, and pioneered first-of-their-kind conferences in Positive Psychology, Brain Science and Story. He hosts some of the world's smartest, most interesting and powerful people on his Bottom Up Radio Show, and founded and publishes one of the top Google- ranked progressive news and opinion sites, OpEdNews.com more detailed bio: Rob Kall has spent his adult life as an awakener and empowerer-- first in the field of biofeedback, inventing products, developing software and a music recording label, MuPsych, within the company he founded in 1978-- Futurehealth, and founding, organizing and running 3 conferences: Winter Brain, on Neurofeedback and consciousness, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology (a pioneer in the field of Positive Psychology, first presenting workshops on it in 1985) and Storycon Summit Meeting on the Art Science and Application of Story-- each the first of their kind. Then, when he found the process of raising people's consciousness and empowering them to take more control of their lives one person at a time was too slow, he founded Opednews.com-- which has been the top search result on Google for the terms liberal news and progressive opinion for several years. Rob began his Bottom-up Radio show, broadcast on WNJC 1360 AM to Metro Philly, also available on iTunes, covering the transition of our culture, business and world from predominantly Top-down (hierarchical, centralized, authoritarian, patriarchal, big) to bottom-up (egalitarian, local, interdependent, grassroots, archetypal feminine and small.) Recent long-term projects include a book, Bottom-up-- The Connection Revolution, debillionairizing the planet (more...) Story is much bigger than the obvious applications-- storytelling, movies and screenplays, novels and fiction, newspapers, television and magazines. We don't live, think or relate without playing stories in our heads. Politicians touch hearts by weaving their issues into personal stories. Psychologists help people to understand their personal narratives and stories, then revise them. Publicists use stories to promote A good attorney doesn't talk to a jury without wrapping evidence in story. Teachers use stories What would religions and religious services be without stories? Marketing uses stories to engage, touch hearts and sell. Cultures are defined by their stories. Knowledge management uses stories to archive institutional knowledge and expertise Add these all up and they produce a story industry that exceeds a trillion dollars a year, making story one of the biggest businesses in the world. Our brains evolved to process and tell stories. Humankind is a storying animal. Story is one of the world's biggest businesses and one of the oldest. One might even speculate that a person who can use stories to explain the world, to sell or persuade has a special kind of intelligence-- story intelligence. I'm sure you know some people who are brilliant at turning what one person describes in a few words into a hypnotic story. Actually, it's been said that effective stories literally induce in the listener or viewer a kind of hypnotic story trance. A growing school of independent workshop presenters have taught tens of thousands of budding screenwriters, novelists, film and TV producers, directors and other writers their new models of story structure and story creation. At least eight software programs have been designed to help writers build stories, with artificial intelligence prompting the writer to tap his or her unconscious resources for creative elements. Some story creation algorithms have already been patented. At the same time, consultants have begun helping organizations by using stories to build community culture, team and customer relations, sales, visions, etc. There is a growing body of wisdom developing around the art and science of story-- story structure, character development, arc, myths, archetypes, image, sound, icon, meme, symbol. About seventeen or eighteen years ago, Thom Hartmann turned me on to the work of Robert McKee, probably the most popular presenter of screenwriting workshops in the world. He'd just written a book, Story Structure, which summarized what he taught in his workshops. I read the book then attended the workshop and it blew my mind with the idea that there was an emerging science of story that could make stories better, more powerful. It got me thinking about how stories were so much more than just books and movies. I started learning about how story was applied in its other worlds, and I asked the practitioners if they'd ever been to a conference where people from the different worlds of story came together. No-one had. So I decided I would do it. I was already running one conference on the brain and consciousness and another on Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology. I organized the first multidisciplinary summit meeting bringing together leaders in different applications of the art, science and application of story, the Storycon Summit Meeting on the Art, Science and Application of Story and ran it for six years, until I retired from the conference business. Story is bottom up, building from and weaving together a tapestry of other stories, narratives and myths that have emerged over much time from the culture and the environment. Part of growing up involves integrating personal, family and cultural stories. (Image by Rob Kall) Details DMCA Putting together the conference was an interesting challenge. I included people who had written books on screenwriting, story, sound and story, images and story, storytelling, psychologists, a minister, a neuroscientist, mythologists, marketers, knowledge managers, a narratologist-- about 30 speakers. I wanted to do like I'd done with my other two meetings, have presenters speak at advanced levels, beyond the basics. To make that work, I organized the first day of the conference as a kind of pre-conference intro to story day, where all the experts spoke for 20-30 minutes each, telling the core ideas that they had developed for their work with story. Twenty-five people participated from morning through night of that first day. I recorded it and for a few years sold the CD set for $149 then $99, plus shipping. Now, I'm embarking on a new project, offering a download file of the MP3s of the recordings with no need for shipping and a lower cost. Reprinted from Counterpunch Finance ministers and central bankers from the world's biggest economies met in Shanghai, China over the weekend to discuss many of the problems for which they alone are responsible. Leading the list of issues, was the steady deceleration in global growth which, to great extent, is the result of experimental monetary policies central banks implemented following the recession in 2009. Surprisingly, the group admitted that their "easing strategies" had failed to produce the durable recovery that they sought, but at the same time, they made virtually no effort to correct their mistake by making the changes necessary to shore up flagging global output. Here's a brief recap from Bloomberg: "Finance chiefs from the world's top economies committed their governments to doing more to boost global growth amid mounting concerns over the potency of monetary policy. "In a pledge that will prove easier to write than deliver and may disappoint investors looking for a coordinated stimulus plan, the Group of 20 said 'we will use fiscal policy flexibly to strengthen growth, job creation and confidence.' After a two-day meeting in Shanghai, finance ministers and central bank governors also doubled down on a line from their last gathering that 'monetary policy alone cannot lead to balanced growth.'" This is complete gibberish. Finance chiefs from the world's top economies did not commit their governments to do more to boost global growth. Quite the contrary, they didn't lift a finger to change anything. That's why Wall Street has its knickers in a twist, because they didn't get the lavish handouts they were hoping for. You see, now that stocks are on the ropes and corporate profits have been dropping for two consecutive quarters (which is a sign of impending recession), the big money guys want more favors from Uncle Sugar, this time in the form of fiscal stimulus and "structural reforms" which is an opaque "pro-business" buzzword that refers to the further slashing of workers wages, additional tax cuts for voracious corporations, and more lifting of government regulations to make it easier for Wall Street to fleece We the People. What the markets were hoping for was some indication that more government freebies were on the way. But the finance ministers couldn't agree about anything, so the whole issue of stimulus was scrapped. In other words, Wall Street got zilch. That's why they're so upset. Check this out from Financial Review: "Investors burned by turmoil in global markets are looking for signs the world's top finance officials are ready to take action to bolster growth and calm currency moves... Citigroup's Steven Englander said a failure to include more explicit support for fiscal stimulus in the closing statement from policy makers would be taken badly by investors. For Andrew Brenner, head of international fixed income at National Alliance Capital Markets in New York, a commitment to fiscal expansion and clarity on China's currency policy will send equities higher next week, while stocks will slide if those issues aren't addressed... "'Keeping the previous language would be very disappointing and would be viewed as either complacent or reflecting policy paralysis,' Englander, Citigroup's head of currency strategy for major developed economies, said in a February 25 report. He urged the G-20 to 'man up and tell member countries that monetary policy should be accompanied by fiscal expansion.'" ("G-20 needs to 'man up' to avert more market turmoil, says Citigroup's Englander," Financial Review) Can you see what's going on? There is general acceptance of the fact that monetary policy has lost its effectiveness, so now Wall Street wants fiscal giveaways. And they don't care how they get them either. Notice how carefully Mr Englander phrases his comments: "Keeping the previous language would be very disappointing and would be viewed as either complacent or reflecting policy paralysis." In other words, if Wall Street doesn't get more government handouts it's going to stomp its feet and have another big hissyfit. Reuters tells the same story. Check it out: "Investors could trim back positions on equities given a failure by a weekend meeting of the G20 group of leading economies to come up with concrete, new measures to boost growth, analysts said... "'The fact that the G20 is going to do more of the same is likely to be greeted with a big yawn and a likely fall on stock markets,' said Richard Edwards, managing director at trading and research firm HED Capital. Others felt equally discouraged. "'Some people will be disappointed that there are no concrete measures,' said Francois Savary, chief investment officer at Geneva-based investment and consultancy firm Prime Partners." (Reuters) "Some people will be disappointed," says Savary?? Well, boo-fu**ing-hoo! I mean, how long are we going to continue to shape policy so it suits the exclusive needs of the bloodsuckers on Wall Street? It's insanity! Central banks and finance chiefs don't give a rip about growth, jobs or even the overall state of the economy. It's a joke. What matters them is profits and stock prices. That's it. All this rubbish about "doing more to boost growth" or "using fiscal policy to increase job creation and confidence" is enough to make you puke. Here's a short clip from the G-20 communique: Breast Imaging Equipment Market Growth, Industry Trends To 2020 by Grand View Research, Inc. http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/breast-imaging-equipment-market http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/breast-imaging-equipment-market/request http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/medical-imaging The Global Breast Imaging Equipment Market is expected to reach USD 4,638.1 million by 2020, growing at an estimated CAGR of 12.2 % from 2014 to 2020, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc. Growing global female geriatric population base, implementation of programs by government and healthcare organizations in order to provide early diagnosis and growing patient awareness levels coupled with sophisticated healthcare infrastructure are expected to drive the market growth during the forecast period. In addition, introduction of various healthcare reforms, government support and funding is expected to boost the demand for breast imaging equipment.Mammography dominated the overall product market in terms of revenue in 2013 and was valued at USD 1,057.7 million. Its large share is accounted for by factors such as relatively low radiation exposure and technological advancement in the product segment such as digital and portable mammography equipment. Introduction of digital mammography has led to reduction in examination time, easy transfer of information to remote locations and reduction of storage space requirements coupled with the benefit of using various tools to manipulate images. Breast MRI accounted for the second largest revenue share in 2013, owing to the fact that MRI provides information about breast tissue density, providing which has been made mandatory by National Institute of Health.Browse full research report on Global Breast Imaging Equipment Market:Further key findings from the study suggest: North America was the largest regional market in 2013, accounting for over 32.5% of global revenue due to the presence of high patient awareness levels, high healthcare expenditure and sophisticated healthcare infrastructure. Asia Pacific expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of above 14% from 2014 to 2020. Increasing radiology equipment digitalization owing to rising healthcare IT systems penetration rates, introduction of 12th five year plan in China with various healthcare reforms and increasing population leading to prevalence of breast cancer patients coupled with increasing awareness programs and high patient awareness levels are some of the factors accounting for its rapid growth. Key industry participants of this market include Siemens Healthcare Corp., Philips Healthcare, SonoCine Inc., Hologic Inc., Fujifilm SonoSite Inc., GE Healthcare Ltd and others.Read detailed report or request for free sample of this research report:For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the breast imaging equipment market on the basis of product and region: Breast Imaging Equipment Product Outlook Mammography Breast Ultrasound Breast MRI Tomosynthesis Nuclear Imaging Other Breast imaging methods Bioelectric Imaging Breast Thermography Breast Imaging Equipment Regional Outlook North America Europe Asia Pacific RoWBrowse more reports of this category by Grand View Research:Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.Sherry JamesCorporate Sales Specialist, USAGrand View Research, IncPhone: 1-415-349-0058Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519email: sales@grandviewresearch.comWeb: grandviewresearch.comRead Our Blogs legalworkshop.org, ni2014.org Market Report - Metal Cans Market Size, Company Share To 2020: Grand View Research, Inc. http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/metal-cans-market http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/metal-cans-market/request http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/food-safety-and-processing The Global Metal Cans Market is expected to reach USD 52.83 billion by 2020, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc. Metal cans are steel or aluminium container mainly used for the storage of goods such as beverages, foods and chemicals. Increasing environmental benefits coupled with growing demand for beverages and canned foods are expected to drive metal cans demand over the next six years. In addition, fast recycle rate for metal cans in comparison to conventional materials such as glass and plastics is further expected to augment its market growth. Technological innovation and use of eco-friendly products are further expected to serve as key growth opportunity.Beverages were the largest product segment with consumption of 280,809.8 million cans in 2013, expected to reach 347,915.3 million cans in 2020, growing at a CAGR of 3.1% from 2014 to 2020. The demand for metal cans in beverages is expected to rise due to its benefits such as excellent protection from ultraviolet rays and extended coolness. Moreover, product differentiation and innovation in shape and size of metal cans is expected to boost their demand in beverages. Within beverages, alcoholic beverages dominated market with demand exceeding 127,300.0 million cans in 2013, and generated revenue of USD 16.12 billion in 2013.Browse full research report on Global Metal Cans Market:Further key findings from the study suggest: The global metal cans demand was 354,128.3 million cans in 2013 and is expected to reach 431,573.9 million cans by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 2.9% from 2014 to 2020. In terms of revenue, North America was the largest market for metal cans accounting for over 31.0% of global market share, valued at USD 14.16 billion in 2013. The market is expected to show rapid growth due high consumption of canned beverages and processed foods in the region. Asia Pacific demand for metal cans was 94,764.7 million cans in 2013, and is expected to witness fastest growth owing to increasing disposable income coupled with growing preference towards canned food and is expected to grow at an estimated CAGR of 4.3% from 2014 to 2020. In 2013, vegetables accounted for the largest food type segment with market share of over 43.0%. Market demand was 24,156.1 million cans in 2013 and is expected to witness lucrative demand growth, at an estimated CAGR of 1.9% from 2014 to 2020. Key participants in global metal cans market include CPMC Holdings Ltd., Amcor Ltd., Siligan Containers Corporation, Ardagh Packaging Group Plc., Crown Holdings Inc. and Sonoco Phoenix Inc.Read detailed report or request for sample of this research report:For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global metal cans market on the basis of product and region: Metal Cans Product Outlook (Volume, Million Cans; Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2020) Beverages Carbonated Soft Drinks Alcoholic Beverages Fruit and Vegetable Juices New Drinks Foods Vegetables Fruits Soups and Miscellaneous Foods Other Foods Metal Cans Region Outlook (Volume, Million Cans; Revenue, USD Million, 2012-2020) North America Europe Asia Pacific RoWBrowse more reports of this category by Grand View Research:Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.Sherry JamesCorporate Sales Specialist, USAGrand View Research, IncWeb: grandviewresearch.comRead our blogs - dniamericas.org, terrapass.org, divog.org Travoline adds more hotels and car rental companies to its existing portfolio www.travoline.com To strengthen its existing portfolio and to catch up with latest travel trends, Travoline adds more hotels and car rental choices providing instant confirmation on reservations made online for its customers globally, even when booked at the last minute.Travoline, one of the leading hotel bookings portals adds more choices of hotels and car rentals to provide a unique frictionless experience, in a way that shows the availability on a real-time basis. Showing the customers the real-time availability of hotels, the customers get what they see, meanwhile getting instant confirmation.The addition to the car rental bookings comes via Travelauto one of the Dubai-based global car rental marketplaces, through which 99% of the car rental reservations will get confirmed even when the hire car is booked even at last minute. To make it more convenient to the customers with an exclusive car rental portal, Travoline would integrate Travelautos booking facility to Autorenteurope.com, which will have pre-negotiated rates to provide better rates on daily, weekly and monthly car rentals.The travel trends have changed over the years, consumers like to have new travelling experiences, explore new destinations, try a long road trip, stay in boat house or a tree house and so on. We are very much excited in adding more hotel destinations and diversity of choice including farm stays, apartments, vacation homes, boat stays and many more to provide unique stay experience for travelers. said Nishanthi, Managing Director of Travoline. When it comes to road trips, customers would like to avail premium and luxury cars having in mind the comfort and safety. We expect an accelerated growth in the vacation rentals catching along with the latest travel trends. She added.Travolines mission is to provide leisure and business travelers with their travel needs - be it a hotel, flight or car rental at affordable rates with whatever budgets they have to discover, enjoy and have a unique travel experience. The market gets more competitive day-to-day, hence to help customer choose their choice of hotels and car rentals at better prices, Travoline would soon have a smart web booking system, which would leverage the bookings via website, Smartphone and even phone booking. Also a traditional model of offline bookings is also getting developed for loyal customers in few of regions to have a hassle-free reservation, when the customers dont have access or time for reserving hotels or car rentals online in their busy schedule.About TravolineTravoline is an online hotels, flights, car rentals and vacation booking website started as a small startup and have been fast growing ever since its portal launch in 2014. It provides worldwide travelers with competitive and affordable rates partnering with leading international travel partners. Along with travel itinerary booking services, Travoline also acts a travel guide to for travelers to choose their destinations, help them in planning their trip within budget for leisure, business and holidaying families. Travoline has a strong online presence in the USA, UK and India.For more information, visitTravoline is an online hotels, flights, car rentals and vacation booking website started as a small startup and have been fast growing ever since its portal launch in 2014.Travoline Travel Services Pvt Ltd.No21, Maha Flats, Morrission 6th St,Chennai , India - 600016.media@travoline.com91 9884427066 News / National by Stephen Jakes ZimFirst President Maxwell Shumba has vowed to fight on with former Vice President Joice Mujuru and her cabal over the party name which he claims was stolen from his party.Recently Mujuru registered a political party called Zimbabwe People First in which she is an interim president much to the complaints by Shumba that the names already belonged to his party."When a thief breaks into your home, remaining silent is not an option. Mujuru Party spokesman Rugare Gumbo when asked about the stealing of our name he responded : "Our party is not called People First,it is called Zimbabwe People First'. Does it really matter Sir Rugare Gumbo?Those are the names that refers to our party, Zimbabwe First," Shumba said. Global 3D Bioprinting Market Size, Share, Growth, Trends, Analysis, Competitive Strategies and Forecast To 2022: Acute Market Reports Acute Market Reports Logo http://www.acutemarketreports.com/report/3d-bioprinting-market http://www.acutemarketreports.com/category/ict-market http://www.acutemarketreports.com/ 3D Bioprinting Market Overview:The worldwide 3D Bioprinting market volume was evaluated at 481 million US dollars in year 2014. It is predicted to observe a substantial expansion and growth. Also it will receive maximum attention from healthcare researchers during the estimated period due to growing occurrence of chronic ailments resulting in tissue and organ transplantations combined with growing life span of persons and restricted amount of donors of organs.View Full Report with TOC @Modernization in techniques and inclusion of information technology within the healthcare sector, growing old age population base and enhanced research & development efforts made for the development and growth of this sector are predicted to serve the long term interests of this sector. All these factors are going to have high impact on the growth of the 3D Bioprinting market encouraging the expansion of the market. As on year 2015, many educational institutes, universities as well as research institutes have begun examining the future prospects of bio printed implants, tissue reconstructions and organs. For example, the Herriot Watt University of Scotland made a 3D bio printer capable of printing the pluripotent stem cell cultures applied for testing the medicines and drugs.Yet another instance displaying the considerable growth of the market is the great current achievement and breakthrough in the field of thyroid gland transplantation in mice by using the 3D Bioprinting technique for treating ailment of hypothyroidism. If the outcomes are positive, the firm will begin testing the technique for using it for human beings in next few years.3D Bioprinting Market By Technology:Technologies used in 3D Bioprinting sector includes syringe based 3D Bioprinting, magnetic levitation, inkjet based 3D Bioprinting and laser based 3D Bioprinting. Magnetic levitation along with syringe based 3D bioprinters held the largest market share in year 2014. The laser technique is predicted to observe the rapid growth in future. Also, syringe based technique is predicted to get higher adaptation in future.The next generation magnetic levitation 3D bio printers are predicted to resolve more than eighty percent of the recent failure problems along with improving of precision and speed. Magnetic levitation printers find its applications in human cell generation, toxicity screening, drug response management and human cell generation.3D Bioprinting Market By Application:Main applications examined in the study includes biosensors, dental, Bioinks, medical, food and animal product Bioprinting as well as consumer & personal item testing. The medical section is forecasted to lead the global 3D Bioprinting market with more than thirty percent of market share in year 2022. It is predicted to cover the regeneration of implants, organs, tissues and prosthetics along with producing of medical invoice.A medical pill is the recent breakthrough in the global 3D Bioprinting market. It is predicted to observe high growth during the forecasted period. This expansion and growth can be ascribed to the growing requirement of drugs and the benefit of fast as well as cost effective manufacturing of bio drugs by using 3D Bioprinting. As per the different market experts, the pharmaceutical sector is predicted to grow manifolds thereby raising the size of medical invoice production.3D Bioprinting Market By Region:Sub Continent of North America is predicted to lead the global 3D Bioprinting market in terms of total income during the estimated period. It held more than 36% of the total market share in year 2014 and is predicted to grow at a CAGR growth rate of 10.3%. Presence of a large old age population as well as chronically sick population within the region combined with good healthcare infrastructure, efficient health care services, rise in per capita income and high patient disposable levels of income are the main drivers encouraging the growth of the 3D Bioprinting market in this region.Browse All Reports of This Category @Further, intensive research & development events recently carried out within this region of North America are predicted to be important growth aspects during the estimated period.APAC region is predicted to observe high growth due to high growth of healthcare IT sector in this region along with fast acceptance of new technologies by the key market establishments & key market player established in this region. In addition to this, growing level of consciousness among the capital investors, rise in proportion of foreign investments . Increase in number of research activities plus government support is predicted to fuel the growth of the 3D Bioprinting sector of this region in coming years.Competitive Landscape:Key market players functioning in the 3D Bioprinting market includes Cyfuse Biomedical, BioBots, Bio3D Technologies, Organovo, Envision TEC, Bio3D Technologies, Solidscape, Stratasys Limited, 3Dynamics Systems, Oceanz 3D printing & Additive Manufacturing, Voxeljet, TeVido BioDevices, Aspect Biosystems, Luxexcel Group BV, 3D Systems, CELLINK and Materialise NV.Many of the key industry players have made collaborations and associations with various educational institutes, universities and research firms which function on organ regeneration technologies and grafting. In addition to this, these market players are arranging various kinds of seminars and exhibitions to create worldwide awareness about the applications, uses and benefits of using 3D Bioprinting technology.About Acute Market ReportsAcute Market Reports is the most sufficient collection of market intelligence services online. Acute Market Reports provide online reports from over 100 best publishers and upgrade Acute Market Reports collection regularly to offer direct online access to the worlds most comprehensive and recent database with expert perceptions on worldwide industries, products, establishments and trends. Acute Market Reports database consists of 200,000+ market research reports with detailed & minute market research.For More Information, VisitContact:Chris PaulOffice No 01, 1st Floor,Aditi Mall, Baner, Pune,MH, 411045 IndiaPhone (India): +91 7755981103Toll Free (US/Canada): +1-855-455-8662 FREEEmail: sales@acutemarketreports.com Stauff showcases a machine for the pre- and final assembly of cutting rings The Stauff cutting ring assembly machine can be used for pre-assembly as well as for final assembly. www.stauff.com With combined pressure and position controlApart from a wide range of hydraulic tube connectors, Stauff will also be showcasing a machine for the pre- and final assembly of cutting rings at bauma.The machine designated the SPR-PRC-POC is ideal for the assembly of cutting rings for extra-light, light and heavy series 24 tube connectors in compliance with ISO 8434-1 / DIN 2353 onto tube ends with outer diameters between 4 and 42 mm.The combined pressure and position control is a particular feature of the Stauff assembly machine. It ensures that the pressure as well as the position are fixed and continuously monitored during the assembly process. Should there be any deviation by either of these two parameters from the entered values, the assembly process will be automatically stopped and a clear description of the fault will appear on the display.The SPR-PRC-POC is a sensible investment for mechanical engineering companies and hydraulics plants, as it can be used for pre-assembly as well as for final assembly. When utilising the machine-assisted 50% pre-assembly, the fitter then has to finish the assembly by tightening the connector 180 beyond the pressure point. With final assembly, the cutting ring has already cut 100% into the tube and the fitter only has to tighten the union nut 30from the pressure point. In both cases, the user can be certain that the cutting ring is assembled with maximum process reliability and reproducibility.The new machine is thus extremely flexible. At the same time it runs with a high degree of automation and a high level of safety. RFID-supported tool detection helps to avoid incorrect operation. A built-in tool contact switch triggers automatic start of assembly and automatic tool wear detection guarantees continuously reproducible assembly results. A safety light curtain protects the operator if he needs to reach into the assembly area.The internal PLC memory permits up to nine assembly programs to be stored. The clear text display constantly informs the operator of all key operating data thereby ensuring transparency at the human-machine interface. At the same time, the short assembly cycles offer the very best prerequisites for excellent machine productivity.Stauff at bauma: Hall A6, Stand 512For more than 50 years now, the STAUFF Group with headquarters in Werdohl (Germany) has been successful in the development, manufacturing and distribution of pipework equipment and hydraulic components for mechanical and plant engineering as well as for service and industrial maintenance. The overall product range currently includes about 33,000 standard products as well as numerous special and system solutions according to customer requirements or based on own developments.Wholly-owned manufacturing, sales and service facilities with more than 1,150 employees in 18 countries and a tight network of authorised distributors and representatives in all major industrial regions of the world ensure high presence and service paired with a maximum of availability.In April 2015, VOSWINKEL was acquired and became a member of the STAUFF Group. With two sites located in Meinerzhagen (Germany) and 230 employees, VOSWINKEL is considered to be one of the world's five largest producers of quick release couplings for hydraulic systems. The long-established company also develops and produces a comprehensive range of hydraulic hose fittings particularly for high-pressure applications as well as custom-designed piping, primarily for construction and agricultural machinery as well as for commercial vehicles.In 2015, the companies of the STAUFF Group have generated external sales revenue totalling EUR 230 Mio.Walter Stauffenberg GmbH & Co. KGBoris MetteIm Ehrenfeld 458791 WerdohlTel.: +49-2392 916-0E-mail: marketing@stauff.com Impelsys partners with GIST, a leading provider of educational content from global publishers www.videeya.com www.impelsys.com Impelsys partners with GIST, a leading provider of educational content from global publishers.Feb 22, 2016 New York : GIST Information Systems Technology Pvt. Ltd., a leading provider of eBooks and Digital Library Solutions to Indian Universities, Colleges, Government Institutions and Corporates has partnered with Impelsys, a market leader in publishing and learning technology solutions, to make publisher content available to Institutions across India.GIST will use Impelsys flagship digital content delivery infrastructure, iPublishCentral, to deliver scholarly content from global and Indian publishers to academic institutions and libraries across India. Scholars and Researchers will now have a single-window access to Academic eBook content from various publishers all over the world through GISTs portal, Videeya.com. Librarians can now develop eBook collections based on subjects and course curriculums for their students, faculty and researchers on Videeya.com. The platform provides institutions with the flexibility of gradually building the eBooks collection for their libraries by aggregating eBooks from multiple publishers on a single platform.Speaking on the partnership, Sameer Shariff, Founder and CEO of Impelsys conveyed GIST has over 30 years of experience working with institutions in India and global publishers. We are delighted about our association with GIST and proud of our ability to connect content publishers to end users through our powerful delivery platform and technology solutions.Tarun Arora, CEO of GIST said, As content aggregators, we were on the lookout for a technology partner to build our own content delivery infrastructure. Impelsys, with their experience spanning over a decade of working with some of the leading publishers and professional associations of the world was the right fit for us. We are excited to be associated with them.About GISTGIST, a leading provider of eContent and Digital Library Solutions plays a valuable role in enabling the delivery of scholarly content to Indias leading academic and research institutions. Backed by more than 30 years of experience, GIST is tuned to every need of publishers and their interests.To learn more, please write to info@videeya.com or visitAbout ImpelsysImpelsys is a leading provider of technology solutions and services for educational providers and publishers globally, managing content & learning delivery on their flagship platform iPublishCentral Suite, the Worlds Most Comprehensive Read to Learn Solution. Impelsys provides content engineering services across the digital product development lifecycle helping clients build new digital products ranging from eBooks to simulations to online courseware.To learn more, please write to corpmarketing@impelsys.com or visitImpelsys is a leading digital content delivery solutions provider to the globalpublishing and education market. We offer complete suite of solutions that help our clients through the entire digital product development lifecycle andcommercialization.Our flagship product, iPublishCentral, is a powerful SaaS platform that offers a quick-to-build, road tested solution to content creators which allows them to offer their digital content online for sales and delivery to B2B and B2C consumers.Impelsys Inc.116 West 23rd Street, Suite 500,New York, NY 10011, USAPress Contact: Roshan JayaramEmail: Corpmarketing@impelsys.com An epoch revisited: A new A to Z of inter-war Austrian culture in print and on the Web http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/english/inhalt/1.htm http://www.fwf.ac.at/en http://www.prd.at/en A project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF is currently exploring the literary and cultural landscape of the inter-war years in Austria. The results, which are published in several books and on an Internet research platform, will provide comprehensive access to the topics and creative figures of the period.The "Anschluss" debate, the Habsburg Myth and Red Vienna, Arthur Schnitzler and Robert Musil the cultural and literary history of Austria between the World Wars often is reduced to a few key topics and names. And yet, the period was characterised by radical changes in many areas, including the media and artistic culture. "Certain aspects of these changes were marginalised for a long time, however. And because many cultural actors were driven out of the country during the political upheaval of 1933/34 and 1938, their achievements were persistently neglected. Accordingly, the image of the period was characterised by gaps and simplifications", says Primus-Heinz Kucher from the Deptm. of German Studies at Alpen-Adria Universitat Klagenfurt. Thus, the aforementioned project, of which he is the main coordinator, has taken on the challenge of reconstructing the entire complex cultural landscape of the inter-war period with a view to re-assembling a more reliable identity.Opinion makers in the mediaThe centrepiece of Professor Kucher's FWF project, "Transdisciplinary Constellations", is the provision of access to comprehensive resources in print and on the Web. In an earlier project, which was also funded by the FWF, the project team examined thousands of texts, i.e. essays, reviews, and newspaper features on literary, artistic and everyday culture: "These contributions show that most of the authors were not focused primarily on the past but more interested in making intensive use of the emerging print media market to present their critical positions on aesthetic and political-cultural issues," explains Kucher.An overview of wide-ranging voicesAround 60 topics and some 700 contributions, which provide an incisive impression of the discourses and diversity of voices, are currently being edited and commentated for a basic source book entitled "Texte und Manifeste zur Kultur und Literatur der osterreichischen Zwischenkriegszeit" ("Texts and manifestos on the culture and literature of the inter-war period in Austria"). The topics deal with a wide range from the debates surrounding the upheavals and new opportunities of the time, the image of the USA and Russia, and changing gender roles to aspects of urbanity, technology, and leisure and their visual representation, inter alia, by avant-garde movements like the Kinetic Art movement led by F. Cizek and E. G. Klien. Music culture (such as E. Krenek or contemporary jazz reception), experimental theatre and film were also important components of the cultural scene. The research team focuses in particular on creative actors who played a role in shaping everyday culture through their intermedial works: "For example the importance of the work of Leo Lania, who was active across a range of media through his political journalism and contributions to radio and film, can only be really understood when embedded in the cultural setting of the period. Josef Frank's and Oskar Strnad's architectural-artistic works, for Vienna's 'Werkbundsiedlung' housing estate, are also indicative of the period's particular self-image and can be understood primarily in the context of everyday urban culture."Culture of the inter-war period onlineThe project team, which is being developed into an international research cluster through the involvement of, among others, recognised independent researchers, is processing other documents and information for presentation on a publicly accessible online platform. The platform will facilitate detailed investigation and study by providing access to additional source texts on each topic and to conference proceedings. An index of persons and keywords, short biographies and about 40 portrait modules, including a considerable number on authors and artists who were driven out of Austria, already cover a far more extensive range of authors from the period than any previous survey. "Users will find numerous links between the entries and an integrated search function on the platform. This means, for example, that approximately 30 newspapers and journals can be searched for project-specific questions," explains Kucher. The platform currently has over 60,000 entries.Together with the conference proceedings, for example those recently published in a book entitled "Verdrangte Moderne vergessene Avantgarde" ("Suppressed modernism forgotten avantgarde"), the source texts processed by the FWF project will provide a refined and, in part, altered image of the inter-war period. Numerous intellectual positions, cultural dynamics and knowledge, which were suppressed and stifled due to political events, are now being reconstructed and made accessible again to the public.FWF Austrian Science FundThe Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is Austria's central funding organization for basic research.The purpose of the FWF is to support the ongoing development of Austrian science and basic research at a high international level. In this way, the FWF makes a significant contribution to cultural development, to the advancement of our knowledge-based society, and thus to the creation of value and wealth in Austria.Scientific Contact:Prof. Primus-Heinz KucherAlpen-Adria-Universitat KlagenfurtInstitut fur GermanistikUniversitatsstrae 65679020 Klagenfurt, AustriaT +43 / 463 / 2700 - 2717E primus.kucher@aau.atAustrian Science Fund FWF:Marc SeumenichtHaus der ForschungSensengasse 11090 Vienna, AustriaT +43 / 1 / 505 67 40 - 8111E marc.seumenicht@fwf.ac.atCopy Editing & Distribution:PR&D Public Relations for Research & EducationMariannengasse 81090 Vienna, AustriaT +43 / 1 / 505 70 44E contact@prd.at Tax Defense Network, LLC Makes Landmark Move March 14th marks a milestone date for nationwide tax resolution company Tax Defense Network: the organization will move into its largest facility yet. The forthcoming transition will bring Tax Defense Network, LLC into a 52,000 square-foot space, occupying two floors at Bank of Americas Southside business campus.The seminal move addresses Tax Defense Networks rapid growth of personnel across most of its departments, recruited to meet the ever-expanding demand for taxpayer resolution services. The companys substantial upgrade represents the latest in expansion efforts that have been underway since TDNs departure from its original location that offered only 12,000 square feet of office space. The first office at Sutton Park was home for a long time, commented Human Resources Director, Pat Fekula. Its amazing just how far weve come over the last couple of years and this move really illustrates our ongoing success.Tax Defense Networks rapid growth can be attributed to the companys co-founders, Joe Valinho and Frank Valinho. They have led the charge in improving every level of the companys tax resolution service platform, including an enhanced infrastructure for the companys workforce and upgraded technology services. We are fully prepared to meet the demands of our expanding client base, and have the facilities and resources to resolve a vast number of IRS and state tax issues, affirmed Frank Valinho.The presence of Tax Defense Network on the Bank of America campus also presents a milestone for the banking titan, in that no outside business has occupied their campus offices. BOA, Jones Lang Lasalle and TDN senior officials have been working together to meet Tax Defense Networks goal of relocating by Friday, March 11th. The move is on schedule, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for Monday, March 14th. We are currently extending invitations to press groups and will be issuing passes to all media personnel in attendance on March 14th, explained HR Director Pat Fekula.During a tour of the new space, President Joseph Valinho insisted that the physical relocation is merely a stepping stone. Yes, we have expanded significantly, but were also focused on where were going, commented Valinho before a sweeping, 10-story view of downtown Jacksonville. The new facility enables us to grow our staff beyond our present headcount to meet our clients tax resolution needs and provide an even more expanded complement of services. Were positioned to be the premier tax resolution company in the United States, with a staff unparalleled in terms of expertise and talent.Tax Defense Networks reputation has been quietly growing over the last decade, as the company has maintained an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, with over 1000 positive reviews. According to senior officials, Tax Defense Network has assisted thousands of individuals and businesses, having resolved over $125 million in taxpayer debt. Tax Defense Network offers IRS and state tax resolution services for every level of collection action, with licensed tax professionals such as Enrolled Agents and attorneys on staff.Tax Defense Network is a national tax resolution company that assists taxpayers with state and IRS tax issues such as tax debt, unfiled returns, wage garnishments, bank account levy and more. Its team includes a nationwide network of licensed tax professionals, available to assist taxpayers anywhere in the United States, and is founded and headquartered in Jacksonville, FL."9000 Southside Blvd.Building 100, 10th FloorJacksonville, Florida"Zip Code: 32256 How do you know the earth is round? Find our book on Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1523851430?keywords=flat%20earth%20clues&qid=1456657057&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1523851430?keywords=flat%20earth%20clues&qid=1456657057&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1 Because everyone knows the earth is round! (eye roll), right? Well not according to Mark Sargent, the creator of the popular Flat Earth Clues series released on You Tube in February 2015. The conclusion in his book is that the world is flat! And its causing a buzz and much debate.For those of you new to this idea, theory, conspiracy, research (you decide) it may seem absurd, but it is a topical subject trending on Google - no doubt helped by the recent outburst of rapper BoB claiming that the earth is flat , (maybe hed watched Sargents clues?) quickly followed by Astrophysicist Professor Neil deGrasse Tyson wading in with a few choice words; Then Tysons nephew joined in and a rap battle ensued.Sargent, currently residing in Washington, USA spends most of his time trying to unravel the hidden truths of our civilisation said: Id gone through just about every conspiracy theory out there. All the major ones. But theres one conspiracy which is the runt of the litter. One conspiracy that even the conspiracy guys wont touch. Its silly and its ludicrus. And I didnt want to touch it either. It was called the flat earth theory. One weekend, I got frustrated, and I thought Im going to look at this thing, and just debunk it. Knock it out over the weekend and be done with it. So I started to look at it. And slowly but surely it started to make sense. The globe earth model just didnt add up.At this point you may want to get out your tin foil hat and cue the twilight music in the background as Sargent continues: Everyone laughs at first, but when you're done, ask yourself this: When did you first find out you lived on a globe? Because of the model you saw when you were six? or because of the ONE picture you saw in a textbook?You may be thinking that this is some sort of joke or that youve accidentally fallen down a worm hole and stepped out into the Dark Ages. But this is no joke. So who are these people who believe this theory? What qualifications do they have? They are known as flat-earthers. And their official science background is normally non-existent. They havent learned what they know from a PhD or degree in Cosmology or Galaxy Dynamics, but via their own research and observations.Most scientists are not available for reply to this sort of debate. Its damaging to their credibility if they even entertain such a discussion which was why Professor Neil deGrasse Tysons comments were so unusual. President Obama hasnt got time for a meeting of the Flat Earth Society (yes, they do exist) and Tyson doesnt believe this research should get equal airtime. But one thing Tyson does say is: The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.Good point, but who does believe in it? Aside from the flat-earthers, off the record there are airforce, army, military pilots, navigators and ex-NASA employees who would testify to this but (understandably) very few will want to stick their neck on the line. The negative publicity and damage to their reputation would most likely mean theyd never find work again.Editor in Chief, Lisa Newton, spokesperson for the publishers commented: Many people researching the idea of the flat earth or enclosed world would have stumbled across it and watched the clues on You Tube. However, not everyone has internet access and we wanted to be able to present the information in a book format to make it accessible to everyone, so that you can then decide and make up your own mind about what is going on. Despite the ridicule and controversy such a topic invokes due to the widespread belief that the world is round, the book does have some throught- provoking questions, such as why doesnt the GPS tracking system track plane flights for the entire duration of the journey? Why are all pictures of the earth from space composite images? Why has there only been one official photo taken of the earth in 43 years ? (Note the Whitehouse tweeted when the second one was released in 2015) a perfectly round blue marble image covered by clouds. And why is Antartica off-limits? The list goes on.Sargent adds, I didnt want to believe it either. But do your own research, and ask questions.Notes to the editor Flat Earth Clues is available on Amazon: The audiobook version will be available on itunes and audible in March 2016Flat Earth Clues is available on Amazon:The audiobook version will be available on itunes and audible in March 2016Boogles bookkeeping ltd230 City Road,London,EC1V 2TT.Kimberley Global IT Outsourcing Market Size Expected To Reach $481.37 billion By 2022: Acute Market Reports http://www.acutemarketreports.com/report/it-outsourcing-global-market-outlook-2015-2022 http://www.acutemarketreports.com/category/market-research http://www.mobilecomputingtoday.co.uk/ http://www.acutemarketreports.com/ According to Stratistics MRC, the Global IT Outsourcing Market is accounted for $314.92 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $481.37 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 6.2% during the forecast period. Improved company focus, gaining access to exceptional capabilities and reduced costs are some of the major factors driving the market. Whereas, factors such as loss of control and reduced employee morale are hindering the growth of IT Outsourcing market. New market opportunities and trends with cloud computing and new business models are prompting the IT infrastructure outsourcing services market. Asia pacific and Latin America are expected to witness prospective growth due to expansion by multinationals into these regions.Some of the key players in the global IT Outsourcing Market are Infosys, iGate, HCL, Cognizant, CGI, Capgemini, Wipro, Unisys, TCS and ITC Infotech.Browse full report with TOC @Security Types covered: Gain sharing Outtasking Co-SourcingEnd Users covered: Small and Medium enterprises Large EnterprisesApplications covered: Telecom and IT Retail Manufacturing Healthcare Government and Public Utilities Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) Aerospace, Defense and Intelligence OthersView all reports of this category @What our report offers:- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 7 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsBlog URL:About Acute Market ReportsAcute Market Reports is the most sufficient collection of market intelligence services online. It is your only source that can fulfill all your market research requirements. Acute Market Reports provide online reports from over 100 best publishers and upgrade Acute Market Reports collection regularly to offer you direct online access to the worlds most comprehensive and recent database with expert perceptions on worldwide industries, products, establishments and trends. Acute Market Reports database consists of 200,000+ market research reports with detailed & minute market research.Contact:Chris PaulOffice No 01, 1st Floor,Aditi Mall, Baner, Pune,MH, 411045 IndiaPhone (India): +91 7755981103Toll Free (US/Canada): +1-855-455-8662Email: sales@acutemarketreports.comFor More Information Click Here Office No 01, 1st Floor,Aditi Mall, Baner, Pune,MH, 411045 IndiaOffice No 01, 1st Floor,Aditi Mall, Baner, Pune,MH, 411045 India MediaGuru to Highlight Digitization and Media Asset Management Services at CABSAT 2016, Dubai Global Media Services Company www.mediaguru.com www.mediaguru.com MediaGuru, a global media services company will be participating at the Middle East and North Africas largest broadcast and media technology event, CABSAT being held in Dubai. Specialists and technology experts from MediaGuru will be available at booth #ZB1-30 from March 8-10, 2016 to showcase and discuss their services and solutions for broadcasters and media organizations. This year at CABSAT, MediaGuru will be presenting its award winning audio-video digitization services, media asset management and technology solutions.MediaGuru specializes in providing large scale content digitization, restoration, preservation and media management using its proven on-site, off-site or managed services model. With over a decade of experience, quality-driven processes, and access to best-in-class technology, the company is equipped to manage content in any format, any scale and complexity.Sanjay Salil, Managing Director, MediaGuru said, Middle East is of great strategic importance for us. The region has great cultural heritage and a vast collection of historic content is lying on archives of media organizations. We are rightly placed to help content owners preserve their legacy as well as manage their day-to-day content. In short, we enable broadcasters to maximize the value of their content.MediaGuru is now looking at increasing its footprint in the region by acquiring new customers and through strategic alliances with key industry players. Among its recent projects, the company has established state-of-the-art digitization facility for a middle east based public agency where over 100,000 hours of heritage content has been digitized. Its clients include leading broadcasters like TVC, TV Today Network, TV3, Times Television, Mediamax, Malayala Manorama TV, Libya Al Arhar, Freedom TV, KBC, CONSAT to list some.CABSAT is a great platform to meet clients, partners and industry peers under one roof, and have some serious discussions on business and technical priorities. We look forward to an interesting show this year, commented Ghallab Mohammed, COO MEA, MediaGuru.MediaGuru will be at booth #ZB1-30, from March 8-10, 2016.XXXABOUT MEDIAGURU: MediaGuru is a leading global media services company providing end-to-end solutions and services including digitization, digital media, technology solutions and consulting to broadcasters and media organizations. With over a decade of experience in setting-up state-of-the-art broadcasting stations, new media ventures and revamping the existing infrastructure, MediaGuru has helped broadcasters world-over to turn their enterprises into profitable businesses.MediaGuru is headquartered in India with offices in Singapore, South Africa and UAE servicing its clients across South Asia, Middle East and Africa. For more information, visitAnshul GuptaHead of Marketing | MediaGuruB-27, Sector 132 | Noida 201 301 | IndiaP: +91 120 6627000 | M: +91 987.106.3555UAE | India | Singapore | South Africa News / National by Staff Reporter War veterans on Monday called for the establishment of a military commission to advise the ruling Zanu PF party which they say will help protect the country's legacy.The same arrangement was also in place in Tanzania and China.Addressing a press conference in Harare, the embattled Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Liberation War Veterans Association, Victor Matemadanda, said the attack on their members on 18 February has prompted them to act as it had shown that there was a missing link between the ruling party and the liberation war fighters."If accepted, it is not going to be in Zimbabwe alone where there will be this set up."You cannot separate politics from the army, just like you cannot separate independence from the fighters. And therefore, because in many other countries, this was realised, if you go to America, you have what is known as the joint military commission, which advises even the presidium, and in our case, it should advise the politburo on how to go on security issues," he said."They have the same arrangement, if you go to China, the first thing that they did after attaining independence was to set up a political administration and on its side a military administration that works day in day out on how the country is managed," he said.Matemadanda said he was confident that those in Zanu PF and the war veterans' constituency would support the proposal because without the military commission, they risked losing the legacy of the country's freedom, which could be disastrous to their legacy. Cat Winters Steep and Thorny Way.jpg Portland author Cat Winters is receiving critical acclaim for her third young adult novel, "The Steep and Thorny Way," being released March 8. (Amulet) For Hanalee Denney, a 16-year-old girl still adjusting to the death of her black father and the remarriage of her white mother, life in rural Washington County, Oregon, in the 1920s, already has enough challenges. Then the white boy sent to prison after hitting her father with his car reappears and demands that she hear his version of what happened. Her white stepfather begins acting very strangely. And she starts hearing more about the local activities of the Ku Klux Klan. With that setup, Portland author Cat Winters is off and running in "The Steep and Thorny Way," her new novel for young adults. Inspired by Shakespeare's "Hamlet" (the book's title comes from the play's first act), the novel has been named a Junior Library Guild selection and has received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist and School Library Journal. It's recommended for ages 14 and up due to some profanity. Winters will hold a launch party for the book at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10, at Powell's at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton. Here's an excerpt from the first chapter. *** I drew a deep breath and marched into the woods behind my house with a two-barreled pistol hidden beneath my blue cotton skirt. The pocket-size derringer rode against my outer right thigh, tucked inside a holster that had, according to the boy who'd given it to me, once belonged to a lady bootlegger who'd been arrested with three different guns strapped to her legs. Twigs snapped beneath my shoes. The air tasted of damp earth and metal. Several yards ahead, amid maples blanketed in scaly green lichen, stood a fir tree blackened by lightning. If I turned right on the deer trail next to that tree and followed a line of ferns, I'd find myself in the shut-down vineyard belonging to my closest friend, Fleur, her older brother, Laurence, and their war-widowed mama. I kept trekking toward the little white shed that hid the murderer Joe Adder. Fleur's whispers from church that morning ran through my head. "Reverend Adder doesn't even want his boy around anymore," she had told me before the sermon, her face bent close to mine, fine blond hair brushing across her cheeks. "He won't let Joe back in the house with the rest of the kids. Laurence is hiding him in our old shed. And Joe wants to talk to you. He's got something to say about the night his car hit your father." I hiked up a short embankment covered in sedges and rushes that tickled my bare shins. At the top of the bank sat a little white structure built of plaster and wood. Fleur's father used to store his fishing gear and liquor in the place, and he sometimes invited my father over for a glass of whiskey, even after Oregon went bone-dry in 1916. A stovepipe poked out from the roof, and I smelled the sharp scent of leftover ashes. I came to a stop in front of the shed, my pulse pounding. I took another deep breath and wiggled the derringer out of its hiding place. I pointed the pistol at the closed door. "Are you in there, Joe?" A hawk screeched from high above the trees, and some sort of animal splashed in the pond that lay beyond the shed. "Who's there?" The voice I heard was a husky growl that couldn't have belonged to clean-cut, preacher's-boy Joe, from what I remembered of him. I lowered the pistol to my side and crept around to the back of the shed, feeling my tongue dry up from panting. I pushed past a tangle of blackberry bushes, pricking a thumb on a thorn, and came to a stop on the edge of the bank. In the pond stood a tanned and naked Joe Adder, a lock of dark brown hair hanging over his right eye. His shoulders were broad and sturdy, his biceps surprisingly muscular, as though prison had worked that scrawny little white boy hard. The last time I'd seen Joe, seventeen months earlier, he'd been a slick-haired, sixteen-year-old kid in a fancy black suit, blubbering on a courthouse bench between his mama and daddy. This new version of my father's killer--now just a few months shy of his eighteenth birthday, almost brawny, his hair tousled and wild--peered at me without blinking. "You don't want to shoot me, Hanalee," he said in that husky voice. "I don't recommend prison to anyone but the devils who threw me in there." I pointed the pistol at his bare chest. "If you had run over and killed a white man with your daddy's Model T," I said, "you'd still be behind bars, serving your full two years . . . and more." "I didn't kill anyone." "If you didn't kill him, you no-good liar, then why didn't you defend yourself at your trial?" "They never gave me a chance to speak on the witness stand," he said. "They hurried me into that trial, and then they rushed me off to prison by the first week of February." I pulled the hammer into a half-cocked position with a click that echoed across the pond. "You lied to your family about delivering food to the poor that Christmas Eve," I said, "and you crashed into my father because you were drunk on booze." "Stop pointing that gun at me and let me talk." "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't squeeze this trigger and sh--" "You should listen to me, Hanalee, because you're living with your father's murderer." A shallow breath fluttered through my lips. All the doubts and fears I'd harbored about Dr. Koning since he married my grieving mama last winter squirmed around in my gut. I stared Joe down, and he stared me down, and the gun quaked in my hand until the metal blurred before my eyes. From "The Steep and Thorny Way" by Cat Winters (Amulet; March 2016; U.S. $17.95). Used with permission. Screen Shot 2016-02-22 at 12.31.55 PM.png Students step back in history to make a movie about the Wright brothers (School photo) A teacher at a small Gladstone school called an Ohio museum last year on a whim, seeing if he could get a crazy project of his off the ground. Rich Peterson, a music and drama teacher, had just been hired at Grace Christian School to teach junior high and high school students. Peterson, who has a master's degree in theater from Portland State University, had previously taught in schools in Oregon, Tennessee and Texas, but the gig at Grace Christian was a new experience. "I found out I was the school's first performing arts teacher," he said. "I also found out that none of the students had ever been in a play, or sung in a choir. Performing arts gives kids confidence. They learn to speak in front of a group, and to challenge themselves." Peterson came up with an unusual idea: He wanted his 25 students to make a movie. And he wanted them to make one about the Wright brothers. "It would be a chance to teach the students about history," he said. "Also, the father of the Wright brothers was a pastor with deep faith. The brothers never flew on Sunday. So the story also fit with the mission of this school." Rich Peterson, teacher and filmmaker. He made the call to the Wright Brothers Aeorplane Company, a museum, to speak to an official to pitch his proposal. "I was told I had to talk to the lawyer for the estate," said Peterson. He finally contacted lawyers in Los Angeles. "It was crazy," he said. "I found out that the Elvis estate has a lawyer. So does Einstein. And so do the Wright brothers." After calls and emails outlining the scope of the project, Peterson was granted the rights he needed. "This was for a school and for parents," he said. "It wasn't about making any money." And with that, "Flyers" was launched. Peterson, who has a background in film and live theater, had some film equipment and got friends in the business to donate gear. He wrote the script and composed 13 songs. Then he turned it over to his students. "Every kid spoke lines, acted and danced," he said. "Every kid also was on the crew. They moved the lights and cameras. I played all the music." Peterson reached out to local community theater groups for costumes, and the parents of some student actors helped with sewing. The students, at first, thought it seemed ridiculous. "He said we were going to shoot a movie in nine months," said Given Wilson, 16. "When we started, it was weird." The class worked every Tuesday and Thursday, for about 45 minutes, Peterson said. "Terrible pressure," Peterson said. Heidi Koch, a teacher given the credit of assistant director of the movie, said the students were shy and apprehensive. "But they rose to the occasion," she added. "They learned about history, acting and filming. They also learned how to sing and dance, how to not be embarrassed, to let it out. They learned about themselves." Roslyn McKean, 15, said the students came together as a group. "It was an amazing experience," she said. "We took it seriously." A friend of Peterson's, John Pickerd, helped him edit the film, which will have a premiere this Saturday at Oak Grove Cinema. After that, it goes straight to the public access channel on local cable networks. Peterson left the school at the end of last year and is now a senior pastor at a Waldport church. The premiere will be the first time the students will have seen the movie, and the first time they've seen Peterson since he left the school. "They will be thrilled when they see this movie," he said. "They won't believe how good they are." Emily Hunt, the school's principal, said the experience bonded the students. "You have ups and downs," she said. "All of it creates an atmosphere for our kids, and our community. We're happy Rich found a new calling, but we miss him." Peterson said the movie was one of the more unusual assignments in his teaching career. "Art comes from the heart of the student," he said. "It's not just book learning. They needed to find what inspired them. Those are skills they can apply in life." --Tom Hallman Jr. thallman@oregonian.com; 503 221-8224 Salma Hayeks Dog Thurston County Sheriff John Snaza speaks to members of the media Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Olympia, Wash. A neighbor of Salma Hayek's Washington state ranch told investigators he shot at the actress' beloved Belgian Malinois with an air rifle because it was in his garage and fighting with his own dogs, investigators said Monday in finding the shooting justified. (Steve Bloom/Olympian via AP) The Thurston County Sheriff's Office concluded its investigation into the death of actress Salma Hayek's dog in Washington state and called the shooting justified. A neighbor admitted to shooting the Belgian Malinois, according to a press release from the sheriff's office. He told police that Hayek's dog was in his garage and fighting with his German shepherds. "At this time we do not see any criminal violation," Sheriff John Snaza told reporters at a press conference Monday at the Thurston County Courthouse, according to The Olympian. "We believe that the homeowner was only protecting his animals and not trying to purposely kill or maim a dog." The Olympian reports that Hayek owns the ranch near Yelm east of Olympia for its proximity to Ramtha's School of Enlightenment. Hayek requested a necropsy, which showed that Mozart, 9, was killed Feb. 19 by .177 caliber lead pellet that traveled between two ribs and nicked an artery, the sheriff's department reported. The wife of the neighbor who shot Mozart talked to The Associated Press. "We didn't even know we hit the dog," Kim Lund said Monday, adding that her husband held up the pellet gun and shot it to scare the dogs away. She said one of the dogs was on top of her dog at the time. Lund said she and her husband were inside their home watching TV when they heard a ruckus in their garage. She said Hayek's dogs often come over to her property and chase her dogs. "I'm still coming to terms with all of this, as you can imagine," Lund said. "We didn't even know we killed a dog. To find out we killed a dog that belonged to a high profile person, I'm in shock." Lund, who has five dogs of her own and other animals, said she was heart-broken to learn that the actress' dog had died. "My heart is broken. I'm really sorry that the dog died," she said. A message left with Hayek's publicist by The Associated Press was not immediately returned. --The Associated Press contributed Pope child An unidentified child, who was carried out from the crowd to meet Pope Francis, reaches out to touch the Pontiff's face during a parade on his way to celebrate Sunday Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia Sept. 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) While national media scrambled to cover every detail of Pope Francis's historic visit to the United States in September, most Americans just weren't that interested. Roughly 57 percent of Americans paid little or no attention to coverage of the papal visit, according to a survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Just one in seven followed the details. During the visit, Francis met with President Barack Obama, addressed Congress and led Mass for thousands. The survey found the highly publicized visit did little to raise awareness about Francis' landmark June 2015 encyclical on climate change, in which he called for a cultural revolution to correct a "structurally perverse" economic system. Researchers also found the encyclical had very little impact, if any, on the public's attitude about climate change. Only about a third of Americans know the encyclical exists at all. (And likely even fewer know what an encyclical is.) Womp, womp. -- Melissa Binder mbinder@oregonian.com 503-294-7656 @binderpdx News / National by Staff reporter China yesterday warned Zimbabwe to beware after President Robert Mugabe's government ill-advisedly moved to seize all diamond mining claims in Chiadzwa last week, including those in which Chinese companies have interests, the Daily News reported.At the same, the High Court temporarily chucked police out of Mbada Diamonds Chiadzwa operations yesterday after share holder Grandwell Holdings a subsidiary of South African conglomerate, The New Reclammation Group sought legal recourse over the government's controversial move.Meanwhile, the Herald reports that the Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Huang Ping has said China respects the Government's decision to cease operations of companies that were mining diamonds in Chiadzwa and has no problem with actions being executed within the confines of the law.Ambassador Huang said small differences would not affect the bond between China and Zimbabwe. If differences were to exist, the envoy said, they would be resolved in a progressive manner that does not affect agreed projects.This comes after Government ordered firms mining in Chiadzwa to cease operations and vacate the area within three months. The firms, which include Mbada Diamonds, Diamond Mining Company, Jinan and Anjin, had not renewed their licences as stipulated by the Mines and Minerals Act. An effort by the Oregon Legislature to deal with what many believe is a housing-affordability crisis, if it passes, may end up being more symbolic than effective, according to tenants' rights advocates, economists and public officials. "I really commend the Legislature for trying to take all this on," said Jim Long, affordable housing manager with the city of Bend. "But this is a pretty big elephant to try to eat in one sitting." The elephant, in this case, consists of four bills that share one fate. House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, has said that for any of them to pass, all have to pass. The compromise plan is the result of talks between Democrats, affordable housing advocates and prominent lobbyists for landlords, builders and realtors. Lawmakers have altered advocates' original proposals in an effort to secure votes. The package will likely mean different things to cities in the Portland area and those in outlying parts of Oregon. New renter protections, for example, are weaker than provisions already adopted by the Portland City Council. And Portland may be in better position than smaller cities to force developers to include affordable housing in their projects under another proposed policy. The first of the four bills to see a floor vote was House Bill 4143, which cleared the lower chamber Feb. 23. That measure would ban rent increases during a month-to-month tenant's first year and also require landlords to give 90-day warnings when looking to raise rents after the first year. Portland already requires 90-day warnings for all no-cause evictions. Justin Buri, executive director of the statewide renters' rights group Community Alliance of Tenants, said he was disappointed lawmakers stripped that provision from HB 4143 under pressure from industry lobbyists. Buri and other tenants' advocates also unsuccessfully sought mandatory relocation assistance from landlords and increased protection for renters from retaliatory evictions or rent hikes. Keeping those provisions would have inflamed industry lobbyists, cost Republican votes in the House and likely doomed the bill in the Senate. Sen. Rod Monroe, a Democrat who owns a large apartment complex in East Portland, said even he wouldn't have supported something more ambitious than what ended up passing the House. The second leg of the stool, Senate Bill 1533, would lift Oregon's statewide ban on "mandatory inclusionary zoning," or local-level requirements that a certain percentage of new housing development is affordable for lower-income residents. The bill, which the Senate approved 20-8 Friday, would also let cities and counties impose construction-excise taxes - 1 percent of a residential building permit's valuation - to fund affordable housing initiatives. The Oregon Home Builders Association lobbied for the ban in the late 1990s and has opposed lifting it since. But the group is supporting SB 1533 this year. Jon Chandler, chief executive with the Home Builders, played an active role in negotiations, even working with lawmakers on writing legislation. He said the bill has the appropriate limits to keep cities and counties from using inclusionary zoning policies so restrictive that they would simply stop all development. "What this deal does is shift the conversation away from ideology and onto economics," Chandler said. Under SB 1533, developers would only be required to build affordable housing in exchange for property tax breaks or waivers on certain development charges. And lobbyists successfully bumped the affordability threshold to those making 80 percent of an area's median income, up from 60 percent, and capped at 20 percent the proportion of units in any one building subject to that threshold. Laurent Picard, a Hood River city councilor who has helped lead that city's efforts on affordable housing, said he is "not happy" the threshold was raised to 80 percent of median. "But something's better than nothing, I guess," Picard said. The bill only applies to multifamily developments of at least 20 units - something that worries Long. He said Bend - a city dealing with worsening unaffordability - is composed mainly of single-family homes and rarely sees large apartment projects. An earlier version of SB 1533 would have applied to developments of at least 10 units outside Portland. "We're not that big," Long said. "We don't get a lot of big apartment complexes of 20 or more units. ... So does that help us? No." Erin Skaar, executive director at the Tillamook nonprofit Community Action Resource Enterprises, echoed that sentiment. As a leader of a task force examining solutions to the Oregon Coast's own housing crisis, Skaar often points out that many tools negotiated at the state level aren't effective in rural areas. She doubted whether cash-strapped Tillamook County or its cities would be able to afford granting property tax incentives, let alone find a developer willing to build affordable housing in a struggling area. "I'm not sure if that's something we could possibly do," Skaar said. Chandler said lawmakers included the construction excise tax for exactly that reason - to help cities finance waivers on system development charges or other incentives. Economists still doubt whether inclusionary zoning works at all, even in large cities like Portland. Joe Cortright, principal economist at the consulting firm Impresa who runs the think tank City Observatory, called the policy "pretty inefficient." He said it would likely have a chilling effect on new supply, creating uncertainty among developers at a time when cities need to add housing. The policy might create a handful of affordable units, Cortright said, but developers would likely make up their profits by increasing market-rate rents, hurting the rest of the tenant pool. He pointed to cities like Washington, D.C., where mandatory inclusionary zoning produced only 80 affordable units between 2006 and 2014, according to a 2015 report on the policy. In Denver, inclusionary zoning created only 77 affordable units between 2002 and 2014. "I understand, from a politician's standpoint, why this seems so compelling," Cortright said. "I don't have to raise taxes, and I can shift costs onto developers... and there will be something demonstrable that I can point to." University of Oregon economist Tim Duy agreed: "Making it less affordable to build housing would not create more housing," he said. But Chandler said his members feel that under the SB 1533 deal, projects would still pencil out. And Buri, the tenants' advocate, maintains that lifting the statewide preemption on inclusionary zoning wouldn't hurt. "Regardless of your thoughts on its effectiveness, it doesn't make any sense for it to be preempted on the state level," he said. "It needs to be a local decision." Portland-area developers including Clyde Holland and Dike Dame did testify in favor of SB 1533. Holland called it "a smart playbook," and Dame said "developers have an obligation to be a part of the solution." The two other bills in the housing package, House Bill 4079 and Senate Bill 1573, are relatively minor in scope. HB 4079 would create a pilot program under which two cities outside Portland's tri-county area - one whose population is less than 25,000 and one with more than 25,000 people - would expand their urban growth boundaries for affordable housing. SB 1573 would allow cities to add land without voter approval if the affected property owners wish to be annexed. Long criticized the former proposal, which could result in 50-acre affordable housing developments on the outskirts of the two cities in the pilot program. "Where do you get your diversity? ... You're making your own ghetto," said Long, who pointed out that low-income residents often need to be closer to services, which in turn tend to be located in a city's downtown core. Chandler countered that the HB 4079 homes wouldn't be intended as transitional housing but as workforce housing. And in a small city, he added, the edge of town isn't far from the center. "Growth is always going to happen at the edge, and also hopefully in the middle, as well," Chandler said. Long emphasized that "any tools provided are better than no tools." But he cautioned against too much optimism. "Thinking of this as a solution to the affordable housing program in Oregon is naive at best," Long said. "It's not." Denis C. Theriault of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report. -- Luke Hammill lhammill@oregonian.com 503-294-4029 @lucashammill By Jennifer Willis for The Oregonian/OregonLive Frank and Amy Yasui were married Nov. 10, 1945, in Ontario, Oregon. Native Oregonians, they met in the Minidoka internment camp in Idaho. Frank, 94, worked for Esco Corporation. Amy, 92, spent 27 years with the U.S. Post Office. The couple have two children, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. We visited them at their home in Southeast Portland to learn their secret to a long and happy marriage. How did you meet? Frank: From a mutual introduction. (By) a man named Mr. Katayama. Amy: In the camp. Frank: Well, (Amy) was in there before I was. First I was in the concentration camp in Pinedale, California. Then I got shipped to Tule Lake (California), then I got shipped to Minidoka. So I was in three different camps. Was it love at first sight? Frank: Yeah. For me. Because I had another girlfriend. I had a date the same day I was supposed to meet her. (they laugh) I dumped the other girl. Did you like him right away? Amy: I don't know. I guess so. Frank: Most of the time, I was outside working. I used to go into camp for a visit. Amy: Weekends and stuff like that. Frank: We were allowed to go out of the camp if we had a contract from farmers. There was about 10 of us. We were stationed first in Caldwell, Idaho, and worked out from there. If the farmer needs help, they used to come in and get us out. (We'd) go out to their farm and work during the day. Most of the time it was harvesting sugar beets, onions and potatoes. All hard work. What do you remember most about your wedding day? Amy: It snowed. It was November so it snowed and walking (was) hard. Frank: On the way to register for our marriage license, we drove and slid into a ditch. Amy: Had a hard time getting to the church. Frank: I could never forget that. We got a tow truck and got us out. We got there. We got registered for marriage. Amy: Only four (of us). Small wedding! Frank: She was (still living in the camp), and I was working outside. Amy: I lived with his family. Frank: I was born and raised in Oregon, but when I was about 4 or 5 years old my folks took me back to Japan. I lived in Japan until I was 12 years old when I was called back to the United States by my uncle. And he raised me. During the war, all my friends got A1 classification and my draft card gave me 4C, which is enemy agent. And they would not take me into (the) Army for any kind of service. It made me mad because they classified me as 4C, enemy agent, just because I was in Japan for four or five years, you know, during my kid period. They reclassified me as 1A after I got married and she was pregnant. That was 1946. I don't know why. They sent me a card for 1A. They sent me to get a physical, and I passed, and I was about ready to enlist in (the) Army, then the draft board just cut off. So I never did go into the service. Most of my friends were in the service. Some got killed. But I don't know. It made me kind of feel bad for not participating, to be in the Army and defend the United States. Did you ever get an apology? Frank: No. No. No. I was classified as an enemy agent. That was after we were in the concentration camp. My worst experience during the war was the time I went to work in Walla Walla. At Pendleton we had to change the train, and in those days we couldn't get any rooms or restaurants to eat or anything. We finally stayed at the train depot until they kicked us out. We had no place to go. So we ended up in jail. We went downtown and asked them to put (us) up a night in a cell. We asked them. They finally put us in a cell and we spent the night there. That was the worst experience I had. In those days, anywhere you go you'd see "No Japs" signs. We had a hard time. Doing the grocery buying? We had to get (someone) to go out and buy the groceries for us. They wouldn't sell us anything. What do you remember most about being newlyweds? Frank: I was really broke. By the time I got married and bought a ring, I had $160 left. That was my whole property. My car and $160 was all I had. By that time they were all disbanding the camps. Her dad came back to Portland first, and he (had) a hotel. So we came to her dad's hotel. Oh, it was tough getting (a) job. But I finally got a job at SP&S Railroad. Railroad gang, taking care of the railroad tracks. Then her father helped me to lease a hotel. Amy: In downtown. Frank: On 3rd Avenue. Merchant Hotel. My uncle and I both put the money together and leased the hotel. It was a skid row hotel, though. Then in 1950 we sold the hotel and we moved out. We bought a house that's (on) North Sumner Street. (I) went to work for Esco Corporation. Well, I started at the bottom and made the lead man, then the foreman of the shipping department. And I was a shipping department foreman for 20-some-odd years. What do you enjoy doing together? Amy: We traveled all over. Frank: Yeah, we went across the United States three times. I drove. Amy: And Japan. Frank: We went to Japan three times. I think our favorite trip was to Hawaii on our 50th anniversary. Amy: Hawaii was nice. Frank: We used to enjoy going to Reno and Las Vegas. Amy: Oh, yeah! Reno! Frank: (Now) I can hardly move. My legs gave out. Well, she goes to exercise every morning. And I go for walks outside whenever I feel like it. But I have to use my walker. I've lost my sense of balance, so I'm just like a drunkard. (They laugh.) I used to have a boat and I'd moor it at Scappoose. I used to do a lot of fishing in the spring. Amy: Oh, early in the morning. Frank: She used to go. She'd be sleeping and she got a fish on, and I'd have to wake her up. "Hey! You've got a fish on!" (They laugh.) Amy: It was fun. Was there ever a time that you thought your marriage wouldn't last? Frank: No. We've had our arguments up and down, but we overcame it somehow. Amy: (laughs) Yeah. We'd never fight or anything like that. Frank: I hate an argument, so whenever I get mad I'd just shut up. (They laugh.) What is your secret to a long and happy partnership? Frank: Even though we don't agree, I go along with the idea that she has, or she agrees with me. Amy: Yeah. I agree with you. Frank: I don't know how many new cars I bought. (Amy laughs) I think I bought about 10 new cars. Amy: Yeah, he likes to buy the cars. That's where we got to argue sometimes. Frank: I think give and take is the most important part of anybody's life. If you argue your point, and then the subject changes, and you get mad, just drop it and walk about. I think mutual agreement is very important. What do you like and admire most about each other? Amy: We love each other. He's a nice and gentle man. He tells me to buy anything I want. (laughs) He says, "Go ahead and buy it." (Do) I have any good parts? Frank: She used to be a good wife. Now she's forgetful. (they laugh) And she argues back and forth about anything. I like her. Well, her kindness. Even now she tries to help other people. Even though she can't do nothing, she tries. Amy: I like to help other people. Frank: That's her bad habit. (they laugh) AX141_595E_9.JPG (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian) A bill that would make it easier for some smaller medical marijuana growers to enter the regulated recreational market cleared the Oregon Senate on Monday. Senate Bill 1598 passed in a 20-8 vote and now heads to the Oregon House. (See related: Oregon Senate signs off on bill allowing recreational pot shops sell to medical patients) SB 1598 would allow certain growers to apply for a state recreational marijuana license without having to first obtain a land-use compatibility statement. Those statements are issued by local governments and confirm that a marijuana production site meets local zoning rules. Under current law, all marijuana producers applying for an Oregon Liquor Control Commission license must get a land-use statement. The proposed legislation removes that requirement for small-scale marijuana growers located outside of city limits, provided they were registered with the Oregon Health Authority before Jan. 1, 2015. The provision is intended to help bring smaller growers into the regulated recreational marijuana system through a so-called micro-canopy license, which would come with lower fees and fewer requirements. Senate Bill 1598 also adds medical and research marijuana grows as recognized farm crops, making them easier to locate in exclusive farm use areas and protecting them from lawsuits filed by neighbors over perceived nuisances like odor and noise. Recreational marijuana grow sites are already recognized as farm crops under state law. The proposed legislation also makes clear that local governments can impose "reasonable" time, place, and manner regulations on those marijuana operations. The bill also: -- Clarifies that home medical marijuana grows aren't subject to inspection by the Oregon Health Authority. -- Creates a sub-category of dispensaries for nonprofits. These establishments would be allowed to accept excess marijuana from growers and sell to patients for little or no cost. -- Requires the health authority to study medical marijuana access in areas underserved by dispensaries and retailers once the state's regulated marijuana industry is off the ground. -- Noelle Crombie 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie 1sanders.JPG In this Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. speaks during a campaign rally in Chicago. (The Associated Press) By The Washington Post editorial board Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a Democratic candidate for president, asks his audiences to think big, insisting that only fundamental reform, not incrementalism, will do. He has shown that this approach can attract a passionate following. He has also shown that big thinking quickly turns to wishful thinking without solid details behind it. Nowhere is this clearer than in Sanders's healthcare plan, which he promises would be a tremendous deal for nearly everyone. A new analysis from Kenneth Thorpe, an Emory University health-care expert who worked in the Bill Clinton White House, finds that Mr. Sanders's proposal would actually harm many working beneficiaries of Medicaid, the state-federal health-care plan for the poor and the near-poor. They already get government-provided care, but they would have to pay more of their wages to the federal government to finance Mr. Sanders's new single-payer system. Thorpe calculates that about 14.5 million Medicaid enrollees would end up worse off. He says he accounted for the increase in benefits Sanders is promising them. And Thorpe's analysis takes the program cost estimates provided by Mr. Sanders's campaign as given. But there are plenty of reasons to doubt those, too. Thorpe, who did extensive economic modeling for the state of Vermont when it considered a Sanders-like single-payer plan, found that taxes would have to rise much higher than Sanders's proposal admits in order to pay its full costs. The reason is that Sanders makes overly optimistic - sometimes even nonsensical - assumptions about how much his plan would save. Thorpe found that Sanders's plan would not simply cut payments to pharmaceutical companies for brand-name drugs; it would nearly end them. It would rely on states to pay an increasing share of his health-care plan's costs, when it may be illegal for the federal government to demand that they pay even what they do now after moving to a new system. Moreover, some of the administrative overhead that Sanders would eliminate goes to valuable things, such as care coordination and quality control. The Sanders campaign shoots back that, among other things, Thorpe neglects to consider that Sanders would raise the minimum wage along with establishing a new health-care system. The minimum wage increase, it is claimed, would offset the pain that low-income Medicaid beneficiaries would feel. Perhaps, but was not the point of the minimum wage hike to substantially raise living standards, not to offset added taxes? Besides, Thorpe reckons that many of the potential losers are already making more than the minimum wage, enough that, even if Sanders managed to pass both major reforms in tandem, there would still be a substantial number of low-income losers. And, remember, that calculation is premised on the notion that taxes would need to go up only as much as Sanders claims they would have to. Sanders needed to show that his "political revolution" could work. Instead, he has shown that grand pronouncements often collide with reality, raising unmentioned complications and trade-offs. By flubbing policy details, Sanders underlined the importance of getting the specifics right, rather than just pointing in a general direction. Anything else leads to unwanted side effects, unanticipated costs and unintentional losers. 1trump.JPG Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump points as he speaks during a rally Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, in Madison, Ala. (The Associated Press) By George Will WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump's distinctive rhetorical style -- think of a drunk with a bullhorn reading aloud James Joyce's "Finnegans Wake" under water -- poses an almost insuperable challenge to people whose painful duty is to try to extract clarity from his effusions. For example, last week, during a long stream of semi-consciousness in Fort Worth, this man who as president would nominate members of the federal judiciary vowed to "open up" libel laws to make it easier to sue -- to intimidate and punish -- people who write "negative" things. Well. Trump, the thin-skinned tough guy, resembles a campus crybaby who has wandered out of his "safe space." It is not news that he has neither respect for nor knowledge of the Constitution, and he probably is unaware that he would have to "open up" many Supreme Court First Amendment rulings in order to achieve his aim. His obvious aim is to chill free speech, for the comfort of the political class, of which he is now a gaudy ornament. But at least Trump has, at last, found one thing to admire from the era of America's Founding. Unfortunately, but predictably, it is one of the worst things done then -- the Sedition Act of 1798. The act made it a crime to "write, print, utter or publish, or cause it to be done, or assist in it, any false, scandalous, and malicious writing against the government of the United States, or either House of Congress, or the President, with intent to defame, or bring either into contempt or disrepute, or to excite against either the hatred of the people." Now, 215 years after the Sedition Act expired in 1801, Trump vows to use litigiousness to improve the accuracy and decorousness of public discourse. The night before his promise to make America great again through censorship, Trump, during the Houston debate, said that his sister, a federal judge, "[signed] a certain bill" and that [Supreme Court] Justice Samuel Alito also "signed that bill." So, the leading Republican candidate, the breadth of whose ignorance is the eighth wonder of the world, actually thinks that judges "sign bills." Trump is a presidential aspirant who would flunk an eighth-grade civics exam. More than anything Marco Rubio said about Trump in Houston, it was Rubio's laughter at Trump that galled the perhaps bogus billionaire. Like all bullies, Trump is a coward, and like all those who feel the need to boast about being strong and tough, he is neither. Unfortunately, Rubio recognized reality and found his voice 254 days after Trump's scabrous announcement of his candidacy to rescue America from Mexican rapists. And 222 days after Trump disparaged John McCain's war service ("I like people that weren't captured"). And 95 days after Trump said that maybe a protestor at his rally "should have been roughed up." And 95 days after Trump re-tweeted that 81 percent of white murder victims are killed by blacks. (Eighty-two percent are killed by whites.) And 94 days after Trump said he supports torture "even if it doesn't work." And 79 days after Trump said he might have approved the internment of Japanese-Americans during World II the Second World War. And 72 days after Trump proved that he does not know the nuclear triad from the Nutcracker ballet. And 70 days after Trump, having been praised by Vladimir Putin, reciprocated by praising the Russian murderer and dictator. And so on. Rubio's epiphany -- announcing the obvious with a sense of triumphant discovery -- about Trump being a "con man" and a "clown act" is better eight months late than never. If, however, it is too late to rescue Rubio from a Trump nomination, this will be condign punishment for him and the rest of the Republican Party's coalition of the timid. "Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,/In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side." So begins James Russell Lowell's 1845 poem protesting America's war with Mexico. The Republicans' moment is here. We are about to learn much about Republican officeholders who are now deciding whether to come to terms with Trump, and with the shattering of their party as a vessel of conservatism. Trump's collaborators, like the remarkably plastic Chris Christie ("I don't think [Trump's] temperament is suited for [the presidency]"), will find that nothing will redeem the reputations they will ruin by placing their opportunism in the service of his demagogic cynicism and anti-constitutional authoritarianism. George Will's email address is georgewill@washpost.com. (c) 2016, Washington Post Writers Group psu.JPG Portland State University. (Mike Zacchino/Staff) By Mike Richardson When I started Dark Horse Comics, I had several choices about where to start and build my business. I chose Milwaukie because the Metro region had creative workers who, like me, were here because Portland State University has invested heavily in teaching them how to think, collaborate and lead. I wanted to create the ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. I believed we could partner with artists, some of whom were PSU grads, to create a higher quality comic book. Now, 30 years later, Dark Horse is one of the largest comic book publishers in the country. I'm not alone. You don't have to read a study to know how businesses choose where to locate and how businesses thrive. They do so largely based on the quality of the people who work there. Educated workers are the lifeblood of business, the greatest resource a company can have. That resource is under threat however. Happily, PSU supporters are working a solution, which I'll explain a bit later. I'm worried about the direction Oregon is moving in developing an educated workforce. The state has cut higher education funding year after year, putting a heavier financial burden on students, a lot of whom end up passing on college because they can't afford it. An unacceptably high number start but drop out for the same reason. That's bad for society -- but more to the point, it's bad for business. We needs the skills and creativity these students would develop in college. The state has promised change for years, but has never delivered and isn't going to. Businesses like mine are trying to do our part to contribute to schools, but this is a systemic problem. We need a systemic solution. A group of Portland State University supporters may have found a way, and businesses ought to support it. I'm talking about the proposed ballot measure that would place a modest tax on businesses for scholarships and other student support at PSU. Businesses would pay a modest tax of one-tenth of 1 percent of payroll, or less than $45 for an employee who makes $45,000 a year. Employees wouldn't pay anything. This tax is tiny. It would have a negligible impact on businesses' short-term profits but would have a huge impact on our long-term prosperity, because it would be easier to hire more educated workers. Every business in this region benefits from schools and educated workers. In a global economy, if we don't invest in education, we will be outcompeted by the regions that do. This tax is an investment in our future. Please join me in supporting this initiative and help us win a better-educated workforce. * Mike Richardson is the founder of Dark Horse Comics in Milwaukie. News / National by Staff reporter People First president, Joice Mujuru has today and declared she was ready to fight an unjust system.Speaking at her first press conference since her ouster from government and Zanu-PF last year, the former Vice President, who was flanked by Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo said: "I was once a part of Zanu-PF, but our new party People First is completely a new entity with new values and followers. Our desire is to transform and build."Mujuru added that she has been reading a lot about an opposition coalition, but insisted she was yet to meet MDC-T president, Morgan Tsvangirai.She said-PF was ready to work with anyone who shared a similar vision with them and would engage any country even those perceived to be hostile to Zimbabwe without putting to the alter the country's values.She said-PF has people-centred power, and that although she has only known one political party since joining the liberation struggle, she would never return to Zanu-PF.The presser was attended by former Manicaland Zanu-PF provincial chairman John Shumba Mvundura, ex-deputy information minister Bright Matonga, former MDC-T Harare councillor Friday Mleya, ex-minister Sylvester Nguni, former Masvingo provincial minister Kudakwashe Bhasikiti and Colonel Claudius Makova.Mujuru later addressed scores of supporters outside the hotel who braved the rains and reiterated that she was ready to fight the unjust system under the values of-PF.She urged her supporters to work hard to peacefully wrest power from President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF in the 2018 general elections. 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. News / National by Felex Share and Costa Mano We have come to the end of our updates as the press conference has ended.1109: "I don't believe in talking about other people's characters I am not God. Yes, President Mugabe has been my boss for a long time and I will not discuss his character. Let's focus on progressive issues, bread and butter issues for the development of the country," she says after being asked on President Mugabe's character.1103: "Now more than 18 months since allegations were levelled against me no docket has been brought forward I don't know what that means to you," says Dr Mujuru in response to a question on allegations levelled against her.1059: She claims one of her followers lost a home in an alleged arson attack."Through our meet the people programme I saw horrible things people with scars no medical attention given to them because of political violence."1056: On coalition talks she says: "It's rampant in the media..I hear Mujuru has met Tsvangirai or she has rejected a certain post. I am yet to meet Morgan since the inclusive Government ended. We are open to dialogue. We now have an official party and we are open to dialogue"1047: She ends her address. It's now time for questions.1046: Rugare Gumbo, Didymus Mutasa, Sylvester Nguni, Cogan, Matanhire, David Butau, Kaunye, Svova, Makova, pastor Bulayani among others. Mavhaire to lead elections committee. Legal committee led by Gift Nyandoro, Mvundura external relations, Research committee by Butau.Four other committees to be occupied by women.1042: Time for management team to be announced.1040: Let's bring the transformation everyone is looking for and build our country in peace while some revolutionaries are pulling Zimbabwe down.1039: War veterans, the police, army and intelligence services to defend the Constitution of Zimbabwe.1037: Zimbabweans be part of this agenda to restore practical hope to our people. We abhor political violence and intolerance.1036: If there is any crime I am guilt of it is the belief in the democratic renewal of leadership from within. We shall have a congress to elect leadership. To spearhead this congress is a national management committee which I shall announce.1035: On those who say I was in Zanu-PF. We are a new entity with new values and followers from every political party. We are not a one woman's party we don't have one centre of power. I have known only one political party and now I am outside and I will not go back. I am neither a witch nor an assassinNow let's watch what's happening on the opposite.1032: We shall rejoin the Commonwealth. We have to have ties with countries, we can have diplomatic relations without affecting our sovereignty.1031: The civil service should be apolitical, efficient and professional..without these traits we can not build a better Zimbabwe and restore hope. A vibrant economy is built by such an effective civil service1028: We are fighting against a system, it is that system which is unjust she says quoting the late General Josiah Tongogara. This system has stolen any hope for the people of Zimbabwe1027: We fought for the right to self determination, right to vote not one man vote for us all.1026: We want to serve this country from wanton destruction by those who do not want to see what people value.1025: Zimbabwe is crying for transformation. ZPF stands for accountability hard work to build a better Zimbabwe. Our blue print BUILD outlines our policy thrust to change Zimbabwe for good.1024: Zimbabwe is a broken country in that time of the day we look to the get to bring the change desired but we know we will not be given this from the Government. We need electoral laws reformed to ensure a free and fair election. The suffering masses need to make this loud and clear to ensure elections are not stolen or rigged.1022: Agriculture, banking, financial, mining, tourism, manufacturing, sectors need redesigning to make Zimbabwe a 21st century emerging economy. There should be an independent land audit.1020: This has given decay across the whole country...we need investor and market friendly policies. Corruption needs to be uprooted. There is urgent need to create employment, an overhaul of the Indigenisation Act is needed.1018: Dr Mujuru is now on the podium and she says it's time to build a new Zimbabwe in peace. It needs reform in all sectors. She says people live under an unjust system that applies the law selectively. The ordinary person's capacity to earn a living has disappeared, Government faces a cash squeeze.We do not have currency of our own and infrastructure is in need repair if not complete overhaul.1011: He says present are party members from the 10 provinces who include business people and church leaders. Gumbo and Mutasa are introduced as founding fathers of the party1010: She is introduced as the party's president by Mr Nguni who says is her PA.1009: Dr Mujuru arrives.1000: Some of the party leaders present include Didymus Mutasa, Rugare Gumbo, Sylvester Nguni, Dzikamai Mavhaire, Bright Matonga, Colonel Claudius Makova (Retired), Lieutenant Colonel Kudzai Mbudzi (Retired). Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, Ambassador John Mvundura and Brigadier Elliot Kasi (Retired).0958: Scores of people are gathered at a local hotel waiting for an address by former Vice-President Joice Mujuru where she's expected to launch her party, Zimbabwe People First.the herald News / National by Stephen Jakes Mthwakazi Republic Party has said President Robert Mugabe's rule is clearly a photocopy of Ian Smith's regime but his is highly aggressive and retrogressive.Party's Secretary General: Hloniphani Ncube said a visit to government's departments have established that a lot have been done by the Mugabe led government more aggressive than the colonial government or rule."The Zanu PF policies especially internal government systems highly promotes tribalism, oppression and aggression especially to the Mthwakazi regions which are presently known as Matebeleland," said Ncube. "Firstly a visit to the labour court established that, the government labour court system cannot assist the government employees but instead they stand to monitor the treatment of private sector employees and one wonders that, what about a large number of civil servants whose labour related rights are manipulated on daily bases."He said secondly, the government lawyers also indicated that, they cannot assist anyone violated by the government."Hence the rhetoric question is who then will assist the scores of Mthwakazi people whose work related issues are violated by the government. The most disheartening discovery established by the secretariat of the party is that, there was no single office at Mhlanhlandlela which was presided by a fellow from Mthwakazi region except the accounting department," he said. "Furthermore the people working at that department could not pronounce even a single term of Mthwakazi languages that are spoken and one can only helplessly wonder that who will assist the Mthwakazi workers who cannot express themselves in English."He said furthermore, the Mugabe regime also introduced Public Order and security Act, which its components are similar and more aggressive than the LOMA of the Smith regime."This act hinders the right to freedom of association, which is the basis of African pride. In Africa we relate and associate, and we are one, but that is not tasted among the citizens of this oppressed and isolated land of Mthwakazi," he said. "Apart from that, the secretariat noticed that, the government of Zimbabwe is against educating the children from Mthwakazi region. Scores of students from our Lapane State University were outside classes on the bases that hey had no money for fees, and the question is, where does this government of Mugabe expect our people to get money from in this deepening economy which is engineered by them."He said they have noticed that since the introduction of a Shona vice chancellor a lot has changed policy wise to frustrate our children especially from Mthwakazi, and they warn them that, we are following the events closely."We are also worried about the judiciary system which is presided by people who are not locals, who does not understand the culture and customs of our land, as well as development related issues. We urge whilst there is still diplomatic time the now government to urgently address these concerns," he said. "A number of human rights crimes are committed by this government and we are saying the time to solve these issues is now. Furthermore, secondary and primary education of our region is highly necked. A cross section of evaluation undertaken by the officers in my department established that almost ninety percent teachers teaching in Bulawayo cannot understand the indigenous languages of the local people."Ncube said the Bulawayo province working with my office will very soon address these issues."As we always say it is our wish for every development we seek to undertake in our land to be peaceful and we hope no one will disturb us from addressing the challenges affecting our people. We urge all Mthwakazi development stakeholders to partner us in this endeavour to free our people from all forms of oppression," Ncube said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DAYTON, Ohio (AP) The brother being held in the fatal shooting of a southwest Ohio pastor had sued the minister over an inheritance dispute five year ago, court records show. The suspect also has a history of violence and once shot his nephew in the arm, a newspaper reported. Daniel Gregory Schooler, who was arrested in the shooting that occurred at the pastor's church office as Sunday services were ending, was in jail Monday. Authorities have said they expect to charge Schooler and are planning to meet Tuesday to discuss those options. The Rev. William B. Schooler, 70, was fatally shot at his church, St. Peter's Missionary Baptist. Police said they did not know Sunday what led to the shooting, but said the pastor was the only intended victim. Jail records did not list an attorney for Schooler. The younger brother sued the pastor and other church leaders in 2001, claiming he was owed from the real estate value of the church. Their father had been a minister at the church until he died in 1973, according to court records. Daniel Schooler said in his lawsuit that the title to the church was not properly transferred and that he should receive a part of its value. A court ruled against him in 2011. The brothers' niece, Joyce Napier, told the Dayton Daily News that Daniel Schooler has a history of mental illness. Sheriff's records said he shot his nephew in the arm in 2001, but the victim did not want to press charges, the newspaper reported. Daniel Schooler also was convicted of felonious assault with a deadly weapon and spent two years in prison in the attack of a woman in 2002, the newspaper said. Schooler had assaulted people in the past and had a tendency to be violent when he does not take his medication, a police report from 2008 said. His brother was well-known. William Schooler was a past interim president of the Dayton school board and current president of the local Baptist ministers union. He taught in the Dayton school district in the 1970s and served as a principal in the Jefferson Township district for nearly two decades, according to the Daily News. He also held other positons with community organizations and local governments, including serving as a certified city of Dayton mediator. "He had deep roots in the community," a friend, Ronnie Moreland, told the newspaper. Jane is suffering from cancer. It started in her liver and has now spread to her lungs and embedded in her bones. The chemo and radiation are not helping. But her doctor is yet to bring up hospice the H word so many dont want to hear. Americans are a death-denying culture, said Dr. Michael Paletta, chief medical officer at Hospice of Michigan and hospice physician for 20 years. Sometimes we dont want to accept our own mortality. Often, patients wait until a doctor mentions end-of-life before theyll even begin to wrap their minds around it. But if patients dont ask, doctors may continue to search out treatment options, even if a cure is unlikely. Paletta said that doctors dont always offer hospice as an option because they dont want to deny patients a ray of hope. Doctors take the decline and death of patients very personally, Paletta said. They dont want to be responsible for denying a patient the opportunity to recover, and they want to know theyve done everything possible to cure their patients of illness. In modern medicine, its unusual for a doctor to feel there is nothing else to offer. There is always one more experimental drug or treatment to try the question is what benefit will the treatment offer the patient and at what cost. While a doctor may not want to deny hope, Paletta said it can be just as harmful to foster a patients unrealistic vision of recovery. Hope comes in many shapes and forms, Paletta said. Instead of hoping for a cure that doesnt exist, patients can hope to manage their pain and symptoms and improve their quality of life. This isnt giving up hope; this is hoping for something that can actually happen and devoting energy to something that has proven to be valuable. Continue to pray for a miracle, but put things in place that will help you and your family. Perhaps the miracle provided is a controlled, dignified and peaceful ending of a celebrated life. But when is the right time to consider hospice for you or your loved one? If treatments are not going well, and if the treatment path the doctor initially laid out doesnt seem to be working, it might be the right time to ask your doctor whats next and when you should consider hospice, Paletta said. If your doctor says its too soon to discuss hospice, try to get a better understanding of what the road ahead looks like in terms of treatment options. Ask when it will be appropriate to consider hospice and request specifics. This will help you gain a better understanding of the path youre on and if you and your doctor have the same goals. If you arent satisfied with the plan your doctor has in place, seek a second option. Im always surprised to hear that people dont consult with another doctor. They seem to think this will offend the physician, but its usually welcomed. Good doctors realize that most of the time their recommendations are reinforced and a second option can actually enhance the faith and trust their patients have in them. Paletta said that considering hospice isnt a decision, its understanding your options. Hospice is a choice that patients and families can make, but no one should ever be forced to make that decision, Paletta said. If you decide youre not ready for hospice and you want to continue to seek out treatments, you can wait. And then its an informed waiting that has a specific end point rather than delaying or avoiding the decision. Paletta suggested that those suffering from a severe or terminal illness should contact hospice sooner rather than later, even if they arent necessarily ready to begin hospice care. Its always better for patients to reach out to a hospice organization early, rather than in a time of crisis. This gives them the time and ability to gather information about the services offered, choose the hospice organization that suits them best and make an informed decision. Hospice can even help with things like advanced directives and selecting a patient advocate. And perhaps most importantly, by looking into hospice options early in your illness, youve put yourself in a position where you can make the decision thats right for you and take that pressure off your family. For more information on Hospice of Michigan and the services it provides, contact (888) 247-5701 or visit www.hom.org. An official is responding to questions about the transition of nursing homes Stratford Village and Gladwin Pines, after MidMichigan Health recently announced the properties will be sold to The Peplinski Group, Inc. of Farwell. Jeff Schade, president and CEO of The Peplinski Group, told the Daily News on Tuesday that he and other Peplinski officials met with MidMichigan officials at both facilities last week and spoke with employees, residents and their families about the pending sale. The employees seemed enthusiastic about it, Schade told the Daily News, adding that some approached him and said they had worked at other Peplinski facilities and were excited to know we were chosen to acquire the buildings. He described the experience as very positive, and said his team is also excited about the transition, which they intend to make as seamless as possible, Schade said. There are 85 employees at Gladwin Pines and 143 employees at Stratford Village affected by the transition, which prompted WARN, or Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, notices filed Feb. 26. Schade commented on a media report of job cuts at both facilities, and said The Peplinski Group is encouraging all of the current employees to apply once the application process opens in the next two to three weeks. The process is also open to any qualified applicants, he added. As the transaction is not expected to be finalized until May, and remains subject to any regulatory approvals, Schade said his organization does not have 100 percent of the answers employees are looking for but will be visiting the facilities throughout the next two months. We are committed to being transparent with them, Schade said. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Farwell, The Peplinski Group operates skilled nursing facilities throughout Michigan with short-term rehabilitation and long-term care. In addition, it manages facilities that the Peplinski family has owned as far back as 1982. MidMichigan received inquiries from more than 30 companies after announcing a search for the next owner of the properties. Diane Postler-Slattery, president and CEO of MidMichigan Health, said The Peplinski Groups philosophy mirrors their own organizations goals of providing supportive living and compassion to residents and their families. They vet it out very carefully and came to the conclusion they were comfortable selling to a like-minded organization, Schade said. We are in the business of caring for people. Caring for people means our residents, their families and our employees. When asked about potential changes to the facilities, Schade said there is not much room for improvement at the recently renovated Stratford Village in Midland but there may be some short-term renovations in mind for the Gladwin facility. For more information on The Peplinski Group, visit www.peplinskigroup.com. Midland City Council considered traffic queue numbers, signal timings, concerns from residents and input from city staff for about an hour before approving a site plan for a new Kroger Marketplace. Site Plan No. 343 was submitted in December by LSG Engineers and Surveyors on behalf of The Kroger Co. of Michigan. It was approved last Tuesday by the planning commission, after a two and a half hour discussion. The site plan details the 125,190-square-foot Kroger Marketplace, to be located at 315 Joe Mann Blvd. and face east toward Jefferson Avenue. There will be a fuel station with nine gas pumps built on the site. Kroger officials have confirmed the current grocery store at 2808 Ashman St. will remain in business. Brad Kaye, assistant city manager for developmental services, told city council members there have been numerous public comments received about the new Kroger site plan. Its important to recognize that as soon as we determine a site plan is in compliance with our standards and ordinances, the city council shall approve the site plan, Kaye said, adding it is required by state law. Thats doesnt mean there wont be impacts, there will be. That impact does not provide reason to deny a site plan. One public comment did result in a change to the site plan, as of last week: bike racks first positioned in front of the Kroger store will now be moved south, closer to a biking trail. It was a very good suggestion from a resident, Kaye said, and Kroger officials agreed to change the location of the bike racks. The conversation Monday night included a traffic impact study required by the city on behalf of the petitioner. Mike Labadie of Fleis and Vandenbrink worked with city engineering staff and Midlands own traffic consultant to consider lighting changes and driveways, which caused a delay in the public hearing process for the site plan. As a result of the traffic study, access to the new Kroger has been closely inspected and three driveways chosen: one from Joe Mann Boulevard, and two from Jefferson Avenue. The driveway closest to the light at Jefferson and Wackerly will have a lane going into the parking lot, and one lane that will only be allowed to turn right onto Jefferson. There will also be a traffic signal installed at the intersection of Joe Mann Boulevard and Al Ott Drive, the site of one of the Kroger driveways. A drive lane to the north of the site plan, on property owned by Chemical Bank, will be paved in order to allow better access to the banks ATM and access to the Kroger parking lot. Labadie responded to some of the concerns that members of city council expressed. The intersections not operating optimally now; you can optimize it so it works better, Labadie said, citing options like left and right-turn signal cues at Jefferson and Joe Mann. A little change like that is going to make it better. He went through details of the study, which looked at traffic at peak times in the morning and evening across three weekdays and a Saturday, at the request of the city traffic consultant. With signal timing and longer cycles at those lights, Labadie said traffic will have better flow through the area. Theres no reason this shouldnt work. Itll work fine, Labadie said. I think theres no razzle dazzle, its pretty straightforward analysis. Everybody does it this way. It should be good. Other options to alleviate traffic in the area are being considered by the city, Kaye said, and City Manager Jon Lynch also responded to comments that Kroger officials should consider a different site in Midland. Those are problems we have to wrap our arms around as a municipality, said City Manager Jon Lynch, in response to concerns of growing traffic around Jefferson Avenue. He pointed out those consequences are the responsibility of city staff to combat. Midlands traffic consultant, Steve Loveland of OHM, also spoke at the meeting and said while the traffic study shows slightly worse numbers in terms of wait times and queued motorists, it still reflects acceptable levels of service and showed traffic will not back up to the proposed Kroger driveways along Jefferson. The biggest safety thing you are seeing here is prohibiting left turns on the north driveway, Loveland said. Its going to be self-regulating. These are acceptable levels of service but the biggest feature is that south driveway, preventing the left turns out. There were two people who spoke during the public comment portion of the discussion: Midland resident Gunnar Johanson discussed his concerns with turning on to Jefferson from his street, Harper Lane, with more traffic in the area, and Becky Church of Midland Tomorrow expressed the organizations support of the Kroger site plan. Tom Adams, Ward 1, described Midland as growing up and acknowledged issues of traffic and congestion in the mall area over the past few years. As we move further, we will have to look at some of these things we havent experienced before, but the plan for the business looks inviting, Adams said. The site plan was approved 5-0. Kroger officials have said previously that construction will start as soon as possible. News / National by Staff reporter South African President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday survived a no-confidence vote in parliament for a second time in less than a year.The mounting pressure on the president comes against a background of economic crisis sparked by his firing of two finance ministers within days in December.The fallout was followed by a public row between the respected new Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and the head of the tax authority, which has again rattled markets.The no-confidence vote was called by the official opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA)."South Africans demand that Jacob Zuma be taken to task for his reckless handling of our economy, and his sending South Africa into financial crisis," DA leader Mmusi Maimane said in a statement."A motion of no confidence is the best mechanism to ensure that President Zuma is fired, once and for all."It has become common cause that under Jacob Zuma's leadership, our country is spiralling downward - and doing so at an alarmingly fast rate."The Economic Freedom Fighters did not participate in Parliament's motion of no confidence debate in Zuma.EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said in a statement that the party had taken a decision not to participate."The EFF refuses to legitimise a morally and politically compromised President of the ANC through another process of Parliament," he said.He said members of the ruling party were going to vote to protect Zuma."Such a debate on vote of no confidence in Mr Zuma requires substance and judgment of the highest court in land, the Constitutional Court, and it is then that we will reveal to all South Africans that, to the ANC, the Constitution does not matter."It is in view of the position above that the EFF will not participate in today's debate but will be present to attend to other matters of the House, to fulfil the promise made during the elections to bring issues affecting our people to Parliament," he said.Ndlozi said they had appealed for a postponement, and said they would wait for the outcome of the Constitutional Court case against the president.The party had brought a case against Zuma in the Constitutional Court, calling for him to pay back a reasonable portion of the money spent on his Nkandla homestead. This is the second in a three-part series describing the lessons learned using Midlands PILOT application process for the Bracken Woods Apartments at 5301 Dublin Avenue. PILOT is shorthand for Payment in Lieu of Taxes. Why is a PILOT extension being requested by Lockwood Development for the Bracken Woods Apartments? The apartment complex is only 20 years old and Boston Capital Tax Fund has 15 years left on the original 35-year PILOT granted by the Midland City Council. Simply put, Boston Capital has met the 15-year Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) compliance period and the 10-year tax credit period has expired. Proactive management at the Boston Capital Tax Fund has identified the Bracken Woods Limited Dividend Housing Association for disposition or to cash out this investment and replace the investment portfolio with new, more profitable ones. Boston Capital is leaving behind a minimally maintained (hollowed out) asset in need of extensive remodeling with no reserve funds. The sale of Bracken Woods Apartments from Boston Capital is being brokered by Lockwood Companies. The new owners are the Great Lakes Tax Fund (now CINNAIRE). This sale would re-set the financial investment periods for the 15-year LIHTC compliance period and the 10-year tax credit period all over again for the new owners. Lockwood Development, a subsidiary of Lockwood Companies, initially presented this new PILOT to the Midland City Council on Aug. 17, 2015. It includes an expensive multi-million dollar remodeling investment for the Bracken Woods Apartments. The original 35-year PILOT was to be extended to 57 years or until 2052. This new PILOT application was denied by the Midland City Council. It would have provided only two out of the 104 rental units for low income (30 percent AMI) households. The amount of property tax forgiveness over 37 years was estimated to be $5,220,000 (todays dollars). Lockwood Development returned a second time to present a revised PILOT application to Midland City Council at its January 25, 2016 meeting. The video can be viewed at the city website: http://midland.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=2884. Be informed so that the city council will do the right thing on issues before them. Midland is fortunate to have a city council that is asking the right questions and weighing decisions in the communitys best interests. But, what does all this mean to the property taxpayer in the city of Midland? The PILOT description above is a classic case of crony capitalism where government and city taxpayers assume essentially all the risk with no consequences for the large capital fund investors. Part III in this three part series provides a summary of the lessons learned during the Bracken Woods Apartments PILOT application process. Midland Area Real Estate Investors Association (MAREIA) is presenting its view of the Midlands PILOT application process. This is intended to be a positive and a constructive critique using the Bracken Woods Apartments as an example. MAREIA is a professional association of primarily local independent rental housing investors. Part three of this series of articles will be published Wednesday. Sid Hansen is a member of the Midland Area Real Estate Investors Association (MAREIA) and played/s a lead role on MAREIAs team, which is actively involved in PILOT issues. Hansen owns and manages a rental unit in Midland. He became a landlord after retiring from Dow Corning Corp. where he was employed as a chemical engineer in Midland for 30+ years. The 459th Airlift Squadron recently outfitted two of their UH-1N Hueys with new rescue hoists, improving their search and rescue capabilities that support airlift operations across the Kanto Plains region. "It allows us to now go to places where we can't land," said Staff Sgt. Nicholas Poe, 459th AS special missions aviator. "From lifting people off the side of a mountain to carefully placing cargo onto buildings, the hoist gives the aircraft a wider range of capabilities that weren't possible before." Although all SMAs receive initial hoist certification during technical training, they must conduct retraining to maintain their certification. Without the hoist capability at Yokota, most SMAs with the 459th AS hadn't kept up hoist currency and training, so they required recertification. To conduct the requalification, SMA instructors from the 512th Rescue Squadron, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., and the 36th RQS, Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., arrived at Yokota to train the 459th AS flight engineers. The requalification process included day and night hoist operations with the supervision of instructors. "There's a crawl, walk and run phase for the hoist training," said Capt. Robert Konowicz, the 512th Rescue Squadron UH-1N pilot. "The crawl phase ensures Airmen understand the ins-and-outs of the equipment. The walking phase is using the hoist during day operations under the supervision of instructors. Lastly, the run phase is a live hoisting using night vision goggles." Yokota's UH-1N flight engineers revealed that their past experiences with SAR training and scenarios made the recertification process a fluid one. "Not only are the aircraft receiving this new capability, it's also fortunate that us flight engineers have all had previous experiences with the new equipment," said Tech. Sgt. Michael Wright, 374th Operations Group special missions aviator. "The recertification process has allowed us to utilize the skillsets we had honed during our initial training as well as our previous assignments." Previously, without the hoist, conducting rescues in small, tight areas wasn't feasible. Now, 459th AS can conduct any type of search and rescue scenario throughout the Kanto Plains. And, the aircraft receiving a new capability allows for the flight engineers to continue their hoist training and experience here for the unforeseeable future. Opinion / Columnist Former SA President Thabo Mbeki has used his latest article to justify why his administration had opposed the UN Security Council's attempts to imposed UN sanction on Zimbabwe after the 2008 rigged elections. He said "Zimbabwe posed any threat to international peace and security" and he wanted the UN to leave the Zimbabwe crisis to the AU and SADC who were helping the country resolve its problems."To the contrary, by exercising their right to self-determination, in 2008, and with our facilitation, the democratically elected representatives of the people of Zimbabwe adopted the Global Political Agreement (GPA)," wrote President Mbeki.Whilst one would readily accept the UN principle that regional bodies should be given the chance to solve member country's problems; what is disappointing about the AU and SADC is they have a track record of failure. The Zimbabwe crisis has proven to be yet another AU and SADC failure. SADC promised to deliver free, fair and credible elections at the end of the GNU, that never happened and the country is in any even worse political and economic mess today than in 2008!President Thabo Mbeki knew that Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies were NOT "the democratically elected representatives of the people of Zimbabwe". The GNU proposed after some of the worst cases of vote rigging and wanton political violence in modern history; it is an insult to the victims of the barbarism to call the process a democratic one.The only logical explanation why SADC proposed the formation of a GNU was to give Mugabe, who had been soundly defeated in the 2008 elections and had a reputation of rigging elections, a soft landing out of office. The GNU was tasked to implement a raft of GPA reforms designed to deliver free, fair and credible elections at the end of the GNU.Having granted Mugabe the soft land, God knows he did not deserve that, one expected SADC to show some human compassion for the long suffering people of Zimbabwe by ensuring that Zimbabwe did indeed have free, fair and credible elections. Sadly they did no such thing.On many occasions during the GNU, SADC leaders expressed their concerns for the lack of progress in the implementation of the GPA reforms and raised these with Morgan Tsvangirai and the rest of his fellow MDC leaders who were tasked to implement the reforms. After two or three years of the GNU with still no single reform implemented, SADC leaders should have known by then that MDC leaders were incompetent, corrupt and that they had sold-out on implementing the reforms. SADC leaders should have taken steps to force MDC leaders to implement the reforms; instead they did nothing other than wash their hands clean of Zimbabwe.SADC was the guarantor of the GPA and free, fair and credible elections; they could not therefore just abandon the ordinary Zimbabweans to the mercy of the corrupt and incompetent MDC. The argument that bringing pressure to bear on MDC leaders would have constituted interference in Zimbabwe's internal affairs does not hold water given SADC was the guarantor and worse still they had engineered a soft landing for Mugabe!"The accusation that we have betrayed the cause of human rights derived from the fact that, by asserting the rule of international law in the interest of countries without global leverage', we opposed the pernicious global diktat of those who, in their interest, see themselves and act as the universal benevolent hegemon," concluded Mbeki.What simpletons like President Mbeki and his fellow African leaders have failed to understand is that when leaders like President Bush, PM Tony Blare and other Western leaders play this "pernicious global diktat", as Mbeki called it; they always do so from a position of strength and they never shoot themselves in the foot. Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis has caused untold human suffering in our country and has, at the very least, held back the region's economic development. So of course no thinking Zimbabwean will ever thank President Mbeki for keeping Zimbabwe in this mess all these years!It is one thing for SADC or the AU to demand that the UN should allow them to deal Africa's problems but quite another for them to fulfil that commitment and resolve the problems, particularly when they lack the political will and/or material resources to deal with them. The AU and SADC are there to save the people and not to prop up tyrants and despots!As long as Africa continue to be ruled by tyrants like Mugabe, assured of AU protection and Russian and Chinese veto from UN censor, good governance, peace and prosperity will remain a distant dream for many Africans and the continent will never be taken seriously on the international political stage! WHITE BEACH, Okinawa -- Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 7 embarked amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), flagship of the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), for a patrol in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. Bonhomme Richard arrived in White Beach, Okinawa Feb. 28 to receive the ESG 7 staff subsequently converting the Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), consisting of forward-deployed Bonhomme Richard, amphibious dock landing ships USS Germantown (LSD 42), USS Ashland (LSD 48) and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), into the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group (BHRESG). ESG 7 is a compilation of the U.S. 7th Fleets amphibious forces, serving as the Navy's only forward-deployed amphibious force, and is responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare operations that support a full range of theater contingencies, ranging from humanitarian and disaster relief operations. Its great to be back at sea with Sailors and Marines, said Rear Adm. John B. Nowell, Jr., commander, ESG 7. With the successful completion of AIT/CERTEX this premier blue-green team is ready to demonstrate our capabilities as a Strike Group and the important role we have in maintaining security and stability within the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Sailors and Marines aboard Bonhomme Richard and Germantown recently completed their amphibious certification exercise (CERTEX) where the blue-green team demonstrated a full range of maritime and sea-to-shore capabilities. "CERTEX was an opportunity to put our interoperability to the test," said Capt. Ed Thompson, commander, amphibious squadron 11. "Integration with the 31st MEU is essential to the ARG's mission readiness. Each scenario demanded a series of aircraft, landing craft, equipment and personnel movements. The blue-green team drove the problem and safely executed the mission. I am proud of what we accomplished together." The BHRESG is scheduled to participate in Ssang Yong 2016, a biennial combined amphibious exercise conducted by integrated MEB/ESG forward-deployed forces with the ROK Navy and Marine Corps in order to strengthen our interoperability and working relationships across a wide range of military operations from disaster relief to complex expeditionary operations. For more information about Commander, Amphibious Squadron 11, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/PHIBRON11. GREAT LAKES (NNS) -- Rear Adm. Stephen C. Evans, commander, Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) hosted the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy's commander of Naval Education and Training on a tour of Recruit Training Command (RTC), Feb. 29. During the visit, Vice Adm. Jin-Sup Jung observed recruit training at many of the facilities at the U.S. Navy's only boot camp. "All the staff and faculties working at this command (RTC) seemed very professional in their field of expertise," Jung said. "It was very impressive to see how professional the instructors, facilitators and recruits were at the command." The visit began with a tour at RTC's premier training facility, USS Trayer (BST 21), the 210-foot-long Arleigh Burke-class destroyer simulator, the Navy's largest, where recruits go through Battle Stations, a grueling 12-hour culmination of basic training and the last evolution recruits accomplish before they graduate. Jung and his staff said they were amazed by the sights, sounds and even smells presented by Trayer using the latest in simulation technology with video screens, piped-in smells, large stereo woofer-created vibrations and shipboard sound effects, from helicopters to missile hits. Capt. Douglas Pfeifle, RTC's commanding officer, also joined the group during their tour around RTC. Pfeifle was pleased to showcase "The Quarterdeck of the Navy" and recognizes the importance of sharing how the Navy trains its recruits at boot camp with foreign military allies. "By sharing our training curriculum we not only get the chance to compare and learn from one another, we get the opportunity to create best practices as we move forward," Pfeifle said. "It's a win all the way around. The relationship between the United States and South Korea has always been strong, and today, we're pleased to strengthen that bond because we are very similar with how we train Sailors and operate as a Navy." Along with the tour of Trayer and Battle Stations, the group also toured the USS Chief Firefighting and Damage Control Training building. They also observed how recruits move from classroom training to hands-on training and fight a controlled shipboard compartment fire to prepare them for service in the fleet. "The tour of the damage control facility and the connectivity between the recruits, their instructors and equipment was also very impressive," Jung said. "I hope to be able to take some of that back to Korea to use in our training." NSTC oversees 98 percent of initial officer and enlisted accessions training for the Navy, as well as the Navy's Citizenship Development program. NSTC includes RTC, NROTC units at more than 160 colleges and universities, Officer Training Command (OTC) at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, and Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) and Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) citizenship development programs at more than 600 high schools worldwide. BUSAN, Republic of Korea The Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 7 commanded by Rear Adm. John B. Nowell, is scheduled to conduct a routine port visit to the Republic of Korea (ROK) beginning March 3. During the visit, Sailors and Marines will visit and engage with their ROK Navy partners and conduct a cultural exchange with the people of the ROK. The Bonhomme Richard ESG is comprised of the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) and amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42), along with embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). Approximately 3,400 Marines and Sailors make up the ESG. Embarked with air elements from Air Combat Element (ACE) and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25, the ESG is equipped with the ability to support a wide range of air, land and sea operations. Bonhomme Richard is the flagship of the Bonhomme Richard ESG and recently completed amphibious integration training (AIT) and a certification exercise (CERTEX) with Germantown and the embarked 31st MEU. Ashland recently participated in the U.S. and Thailand co-sponsored joint exercise Cobra Gold, an exercise designed to enhance and advance the security commitments in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Following the FTC regulations that govern reviewers I must state that people give me free books and products in exchange for my review of those products. I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews and my reviews are my honest, personal opinion, negative or positive. In no way are my reviews swayed by compensation. I do receive monetary compensation for product reviews, advertising and promotions on Prism Book Tours. WestRock CEO Steve Voorhees Named Executive Papermaker of the Year March 1, 2016 - PaperAge announced that Steve Voorhees, Chief Executive Officer of WestRock, is the recipient of the 29th annual "Executive Papermaker of the Year" award. An exclusive interview with Mr. Voorhees will be published in the March/April 2016 issue of PaperAge. PaperAge selects its Executive Papermaker of the Year based on corporate vision, strategic objectives and strong leadership both within the individual's company and in the paper industry as a whole. The award has been an industry tradition since 1988. In January of 2015, Voorhees, who at that time was CEO of RockTenn, announced that RockTenn would merge with MeadWestvaco "to create a new, more powerful company with leadership positions in the global consumer and corrugated packaging markets." The deal created WestRock, which would have a combined equity value of $16 billion. Following the merger, WestRock acquired SP Fiber Holdings, a producer of recycled containerboard and kraft and bag paper. The acquisition is expected to produce significant synergies and better position WestRock to serve the increasing demand for lighter weight containerboard and kraft paper. In a continuation of strategic moves, WestRock in October formed a joint venture in Mexico with Grupo Gondi, whereby the two companies combined their operations in Mexico, creating a leading paper and packaging company in that country. In January of 2016, WestRock completed the acquisition of Cenveo Packaging, a leading provider of value-add folded carton and litho-laminated display packaging. "By combining our operating expertise in folding cartons and integrating WestRock paperboard with Cenveo Packaging's packaging and printing capabilities, we will be able to better serve our customers while generating significant synergies and performance improvements," Voorhees explained at the close of the deal. Bio Steve Voorhees is chief executive officer of WestRock. Previously he was chief executive officer of RockTenn. Prior to his appointment as CEO, Voorhees served in various executive leadership roles, including president and chief operating officer; executive vice president and chief financial officer; and chief administrative officer. Before joining RockTenn, Voorhees was in operations and executive roles at Sonat Inc., a diversified energy company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Voorhees earned a bachelor's degree in economics and mathematics from Northwestern University and a master of business administration from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. About WestRock WestRock is a global industry leader in corrugated and consumer packaging. The recently combined company has 14 million tons per year of mill capacity and annual sales of $15 billion. The company has more than 250 operating and business locations spanning North America, South America, Europe and Asia, and employs 41,000 people. Originally founded in 1884 as a paper industry news publication titled, United States Paper Maker, PaperAge today has evolved into the premier publication for paper industry professionals around the world. SOURCE: PaperAge Vatican is condemning the death of Pope Francis' secretary, who was found dead in her apartment earlier this week. The 34-year-old aide was seven months pregnant. Her death is still under investigation and Vatican is saying that there is more to it than meets the eye. Miriam Wuolou of Eritrea, a diabetic, was discovered by policemen in her apartment. Her brother called police authorities after he tried contacting Miriam and the latter was not answering her phone, as per New York Post report. Miriam has been working for Pope Francis at Vatican's Santa Marta guesthouse for many years. According to a report in Mirror, the secretary was like a gatekeeper for Pope Francis, and for other priests in the guesthouse, including bishops and cardinals. The death of Wuolou will not go unnoticed as the Vatican has already called for an investigation. Persons closest to the victim were interviewed by police authorities including her ex-husband, boyfriend, and brother. In order to narrow down investigation, authorities will be performing a DNA test on the fetus so as to determine paternity. Il Messaggero, an Italian newspaper, stated that the current boyfriend of Pope Francis' secretary was a policeman, an angle that is worthy to look at. To date, the apartment of Pope Francis' secretary has been sealed off. Police are conducting a thorough search for evidence that would help them find the perpetrator and figure out the motive behind the killing. Forensic teams have also gone through the apartment and were able to take personal effects with them that will be used in aiding the investigation. Pope Francis personally visited the wake of Miriam Wuolou where he offered a 20-minute prayer. He also laid one dozen white roses beside her casket and subsequently sprinkled holy water on the coffin. The funeral service of Pope Francis' deceased secretary was held last Saturday, Feb. 27. Parents only want what's best for their children. But oftentimes, especially when it comes to discipline, most of them fail that they end up hurting or beating their children whenever their kids cross their boundaries. Given this reason, "Parent's Place" in Jamaica was established. "We find a shortcoming because a lot of the parents don't know how to relate to the children," a father of five Michael McLaughlin said. "Most of the times it causes the children to get out of hand and to be undisciplined." The parents of West Street in downtown Kingston gather every Monday at the Kington's All Saints Church to discuss topics related to child discipline and share ideas on how they could effectively implement it. For these parents, the future of their children depends on how they would discipline them. In the Parent's Place, parents are required to spend about seven hours every Monday. As posted by The Gleaner, their activities include the studying and meditating the Word of God, playing musical instruments and having fun with games like dominoes. The group also conducts discussions regarding the member's family life, their way of parenting and also the social issues that circulate which could possibly affect their community. To those parents who are not available by Monday, several churches reach out to them through the Ministry of Education. Their goal is to conduct lessons for them to provide an opportunity for these parents to open up and express what they feel towards their everyday challenges while educating them about possible solutions. Meanwhile, through research, it has been found that spanking, slapping or hitting a kid were never effective as a way of disciplining children, just as posted in Kid's Health. "Most of the time, beating don't work for kids, because if you beat them now, them a go back go do the same thing," mother of four Kiola Cowan reasoned out. An infant from Seattle got a miracle for having a heart available for his transplant just four days before his cardiac arrest. Doctors thought he wouldn't be able to make it, especially when it was nearly impossible for them to find a heart for the operation. In a news report written by WTOP.com, the infant's name is Lincoln Seay, the son of Rob and Mindy Seay who are originally from Alaska but had to travel all the way to Seattle in order to save their son's life. Baby Lincoln is only 7 months old when doctors found out that he has a birth defect, which affected the location of his heart in his body. The doctors did their best to fix that and it involved a lot of surgeries. Unfortunately, none of those seemed to have worked to make his heart go back to normal. According to the doctors, the 7-month-old baby boy needed a heart transplant immediately to keep his blood flowing and his heart beating. Rob was almost losing his hope seeing their son's condition getting worse as he was starting to decline right before their eyes. But a miracle happened that just four days before the child experienced cardiac arrest, the doctors were able to find a heart available for the transplant. Lincoln's mother was surprised and told ABC News, "I was shocked, I was elated, I was sad for the other family. I had every emotion you could think of." Tech Times also got a hold of this news, as they reported that the doctors were able to get the baby on the machine in only 12 minutes when the process usually takes 2 hours. After the successful surgery, they noticed that the baby's color started to improve. As of this writing, the baby is still confined in the hospital but is reported to be doing better after the operation. This story simply stirs up the significance of organ donation and how much lives it could save, especially those who are in desperate need. Contact your local hospital to gain more information about organ donation. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" placing Daisy Ridley in a starring role as Rey alongside John Boyega as Finn has been marked as a success in J.J. Abrams' push for diversity and inclusivity in "Star Wars." J.J. Abrams was reportedly asked if diversity in "Star Wars" will extend to include gay characters in the film franchise. According to The Daily Beast J.J. Abrams confirmed this possibility during the US-Ireland Alliance's annual Oscar Wilde Awards, which was hosted in Abrams' Bad Robot headquarters."When I talk about inclusivity it's not excluding gay characters," Abrams said. "It's about inclusivity. So of course. I would love it. To me, the fun of Star Wars is the glory of possibility. So it seems insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive to say that there wouldn't be a homosexual character in that world." Screen Rant reports that the inclusion of this specific agenda may either come from characters in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" or may be new characters in the new "Star Wars" films, although J.J. Abrams was unable to confirm. The media outlet points out that one angle that may be used among existing "Star Wars" characters to emphasize inclusion in terms of homosexuality are the characters of Finn and Poe Dameron. John Boyega's ex-stormtrooper Finn and "X-Men: Apocalypse" actor Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron grew into friendship when they first met in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." However, other characters may still be explored aside from Finn and Poe Dameron. The first in the "Star Wars" anthology, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" will be directed by Gareth Edwards, while "Star Wars" Episode 8 will be in the hands of "Looper" director Rian Johnson. "Star Wars" Episode 9, on the other hand, will be directed by "Jurassic World" director Colin Trevorrow. How much of what J.J. Abrams indicated will show in these and succeeding "Star Wars" films will eventually become clear. In the meantime, scheduled "Star Wars" theater release line up include "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" for December 16, 2016, "Star Wars" Episode 8 for December 15, 2017 and "Star Wars" Anthology on Han Solo for May 25, 2018. "Star Wars" Episode 9 will be in theaters in 2019. Kate Middleton's sister Pippa Middleton and Prince Harry have had the buzz going over their possible match up. However, both Kate Middleton and Queen Elizabeth are said to disapprove of any alleged pairing between Prince Harry and Pippa Middleton. Supposedly, a friendship with Princess Beatrice is all the help that Pippa Middleton needs to get with Prince Harry. Celeb Dirty Laundry reports that Kate Middleton and Princess Beatrice are not in good terms with each other. The media outlet points out that because of this discord with Kate Middleton, Princess Beatrice would be more than happy to play the go-between for Pippa Middleton and Prince Harry. This is based on the possibility that Pippa Middleton may have sought out Princess Beatrice in friendship, where the friendship supposedly includes bringing Pippa Middleton and Prince Harry together. Whether or not a hook up between Pippa Middleton and Prince Harry is in the offing, and whether or not this has Princess Beatrice as benefactor, will eventually become clear. However, Prince Harry has been linked with more than a few other women, either factually or hopefully. Among these are Lady Kitty Spencer, Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Juliette Labelle, who used to date "Fifty Shades of Grey" star Dakota Johnson's ex - Jordan Masterson. Also included in this list is "Suicide Squad" actress Margot Robbie. Allegedly, Prince Harry had been sweet on Margot Robbie since before his visit to Australia in May 2015. Furthermore, Prince Harry and Robbie were supposedly seen in a private party earlier this year. Margot Robbie and Prince Harry allegedly were inseparable throughout the party. Woman's Day, however, reports that Margot Robbie and Prince Harry were indeed at a party together but that Robbie did not even know Prince Harry. Supposedly Margot Robbie attended a housewarming party recently thrown by model and "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" actress Suki Waterhouse, where she crossed paths with Prince Harry. They spoke for half an hour and had a few photobooth shots taken together with host Suki Waterhouse and fellow "Suicide Squad" actress and model Cara Delevigne. Having served with Ghurka soldiers in Afghanistan, Prince Harry will visit the British Gurkha Camp in Pokhara #Nepal pic.twitter.com/jTBwXrhq5S Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) 25 February 2016 "I didn't know it was him for about half an hour talking to him," Robbie said. "Suki was having a housewarming party. I was like, 'I'll pop in for 10 minutes.' About six hours later the photo booth happened." Lucky Prince Harry and his hyped-up search for a princess is not lacking choices. Between Pippa Middleton and "Suicide Squad" star Margot Robbie, however, who is your preferred match for Prince Harry? Although "Wolverine 3" is rumored to start filming in April, many new details are emerging about the film. In fact, the film starring Hugh Jackman already has its temporary working title, "Juarez," as reported by Production Weekly. Rumors have long speculated that the "Wolverine 3" plot will follow the storyline of "Old Man Logan." Taking into consideration that Mark Millar arc bears the setting of a barren California desert, this may indicate that "Wolverine 3" is pursuing that path. "Juarez" is a Mexican city located in the Chihuahuan Desert, and if the name isn't just a random word, it could point to the harsh and arid climate of the area," reports Tommy DePaoli of MoviePilot. Meanwhile, ScreenRant reports that "Wolverine 3" director James Mangold has been looking at "Wolverine" comic books for inspiration on the film adaptation's story line, which includes "Old Man Logan." #Wolverine 3: 'Old Man Logan' plot is mentioned again & a possible return for Sabretooth - https://t.co/iFxra04RoQ pic.twitter.com/AWGz0o4Wkq The Daily SuperHero (@DailySuperHero) February 29, 2016 So it doesn't seem too far-fetched that "Wolverine 3" will delve more into the "Old Man Logan" storyline. As a matter of fact, it may even serve as a good conclusion for Jackman's final reprisal of Wolverine. Furthermore, several reports have claimed that "Wolverine 3" will be getting an R-rating, following the success of R-rated "Deadpool." 'Wolverine 3' Confirmed to Shoot for R-Rating, But Not Because of 'Deadpool' https://t.co/yiRXRkvrP6 pic.twitter.com/mmbaMab2i7 Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) February 24, 2016 According to Collider, "Wolverine 3" will start production on April 25, with shooting locations in New Mexico and New Orleans. Additionally, Jackman recently revealed that the final script isn't exactly finished yet, which may delay production. "Wolverine 3" releases on March 3, 2017. It seems as though the PlayStation TV (AKA PlayStation Vita TV) will soon become extinct. Sony has recently announced that it would discontinue selling the PlayStation TV to Japan. Sony made the announcement by updating the PlayStation TV's Japanese product page to reveal that the company will stop shipping the PlayStation Vita TV to Japan at the end of February (yesterday), as reported by Kotaku. According to AV Watch, Sony claims that the reason behind the decision is that the PlayStation TV has lost its need in the market anymore. The PlayStation Vita TV was designed for people who got away from the console but wanted to rekindle the life of playing games easily on television. Now that the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation Vita are doing well, there's nowhere for the PlayStation TV to position itself. Perhaps the move is done in smaller phases and areas, with Sony rumored to no longer push any PlayStation TV campaigns outside of the country. PlayStation TV Discontinued in Japan. Other Regions to Follow? https://t.co/8lgKkyXo4F pic.twitter.com/44SbEXL4wY Gadgets 360 (@Gadgets360) February 29, 2016 As it turns out, killing off the PlayStation TV might prove to be a better move for Sony in the long run. With its low consumer reception, and limited game variety, the company would definitely have difficulty keeping the PlayStation TV on the market if it's not selling so well. "It can only play some Vita games (which aren't hugely popular as it is), downloadable PS1 titles and Remote Play, and it's hard to justify as a media hub when other set-tops in its price range are better suited to the job," wrote Jon Fingas of Engadget. "Steep price cuts early in its history suggest that few people were enamored with it from the start, for that matter," continued Fingas. "Given that Sony is doing everything it can to improve its bank balance, the PSTV seems like a logical candidate for the chopping block." The woman who was seen in a viral video holding a severed head of a child in Moscow is now under the custody of the authorities. Investigators claimed that the woman is the dead kid's nanny. BBC identified the female suspect as Gyulchekhra Bobokulova, an Uzbekistan native who was seen in a closed circuit television (CCTV) footage (see video below) holding and waving a head of a child while she walked near a metro station. The same report mentioned that the hijab-wearing woman allegedly killed the little girl then burned the apartment of her parents. It was also highlighted that a police officer, later on, responded to the scene and apprehended her. According to Yahoo News, the woman identified herself as a terrorist while she shouted on top of her voice. "I hate democracy. I am a terrorist. I want you dead," she was quoted by the Yahoo as saying. "You have become so hardened, you have eliminated so many of us. Look I am a suicide bomber, I will die, doomsday will come in a second." Eyewitness Alyona Kuratova claimed that she saw Bobokulova holding the child's head by the hair. Kuratova also noted that though it was not clear what the suspect was repeatedly saying, police said it was "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest). She also reportedly threatened to kill herself while she stayed near the metro station for about 20 minutes. Police have cleared the area and found no explosives that could hurt the public. After the incident, BBC noted that Bobokulova has already been sent to a psychiatric center for treatment. Meanwhile, authorities are now looking into the murder of the child, estimated to be around three to four. It was highlighted that the kid's body was found inside their residence located along Narodnoye Opolcheniye Street. Quoting a statement from the Moscow Investigative Committee, BBC said that the suspect waited for the parents of the child to leave the house before murdering the child and setting the flat on fire. Be it a little fling of sweetness or the kind of pleasure that burns the marrow from your bones, KinkBNB wants to treat you to a different kind of wanderlust. Again and again, Airbnb ran into problems with its service and sex. Renters got caught with their pants down and sex-positive hosts were getting bounced off the site. Enter KinkBNB, where kink is not only allowed but encouraged. BDSM dungeons abound. Internal servers ensure privacy for all, and the site functions similarly to Airbnb, just with Orgy Friendly checked off instead of Wheelchair Accessible. Here, we present you with listings from KinkBNBs top ten cities. Travel lets you slip into someone elses skin for nights at a time and do the things you wouldnt at home. Peruse the list and instead of once again sleeping quietly in someones spare room, peel modesty with your nails and teeth in a lascivious lair. This San Franciscan loft is suspended in the space where art meets sex. More play than stay, this boutique studio provides only the essentials. With plenty of floor space and privacy, its sure to cater to the one-track minded. This art space hosts photography, film production, live performance, intimate showings and private events. with 18-foot ceilings and 14 secured rigging points, youll be high on suspense. For the ultimate in fetish retreats, visit one of the oldest around. The worlds first Bed and Dungeon, La Domaine Esemar is an out-and-out kink-friendly retreat. Since 1993, more than 500 couples have visited the BDSM training center. Now, access is easier than ever thanks to KinkBNB. Romp around the chateaus rustic grounds and experiment under a guiding hand. Lay your head where the experts play. A multi-room mansion flush with sex furniture and other implements of power play? Thats so LA. This getaway in the heart of the pornography capital is fashioned with a curatedhere your pleasure has the kink equivalent of a Michelin starselection of furniture and toys. Expect bedrooms, dungeons and playrooms of all kinds for fantasy fulfillment. Group play is welcome, so invite your friends. According to house rules, though, non-human pets are verboten. The pinch finds blood at this Portland property, which boasts one of the best dungeon spaces on this list. This boutique dungeon is private and cozy. Its a dedicated space, so you can live out almost any fantasy your wicked mind could spin up. If youre looking to also experience Portland and not just your partner, the Alberta Arts district is a hop, skip and a jump away, so you can have your cake and eat it too. First, lets appreciate the genius of InnThralls name. This bondage-heavy inn promises to leave you enthralled with a sexy, charming atmosphere. Garnet velvet couches and a steel framed bed kiss this bed and breakfast. Stay in the private suite equipped with cages, trinkets and lavish trimmings. A clothing-optional hot tub sits under the Seattle stars for a retreat equal parts adventurous and romantic. The house rules of this darling getaway encourage guests to Have Fun! Hydrate! Make noise! Do it again! How sweet. A transatlantic flight is perfect foreplay. Baroque accents compliment this BDSM apartment just outside of London Town. This listing promises a sweet little getaway for any couple traveling across the pond. Tuck into this residential with two fully equipped playrooms and comfy accommodations to satisfy both fetishes and wanderlust. With typical bedrooms in addition to the more exciting amenities, its the a perfect place to knot the sheets. With the crack of anticipation this listing promises to spark. The room for rent in this couples Las Vegas house holds a iron head with restrains and an antique school desk for schooling. Couples are welcome to zip across the hall to the stocked dungeon. Best yet: the tennants offer onsite Fem Dom sessions and boudoir photo services, making this Vegas vacation memorable through and through. This apartment is like any other, only stocked with sex furniture. This space, two blocks from the train station, welcomes all types of holidays, from trysts to honeymoons. Care for a menage a trois? Its orgyand swingerfriendly. Spanking benches arent the only amenities youll find. A tub with water jets? Yes, please. Deep dish and Navy Pier have their appeal, but if youre feeling bold pay a visit to this playground. Seek shelter from the wind in this Logan Square dungeon with two playrooms set up to satiate your desires. Its a private apartment, but still features impressive, well put-together play spaces. Benches, swings and other fun things make this a kink lovers delight. With crabapple and candlelit interiors, youll be seeing la vie en rose. A clean, full range apartment in the City is a kink in and of itself. The delightfully descriptive title of this listing construes the sweetness of it. This is a quainter option than other KinkBNB listings for first timers or those looking for a more quiet vacation. The listing still promises novelties to play with, and a whimsical host in Roxie the mannequin. Freelance writer Lauren Loudermilk writes about film, television and travel. She has written for Paste and Atlanta Magazine. When it comes to sex, people generally seem to think of it in one of two ways. Either its merely fun, an act of temporary pleasure-seeking as inconsequential in the long run as, say, eating a finely prepared meal or watching a mindlessly entertaining action movie. Or its undertaken in a weighty manner that ascribes great importance to the underlying implications of the actwhether as an expression of love between individuals, of ones power over another, and/or of some sort of interpersonal emotional connection more intense than other outward expressions. Naturally, the complexity of human thoughts and feelings dictate that there will inevitably be complications within those two poles, but in general, that hedonistic/meaningful dichotomy seems to dominate private and public discourse. This is especially the case in the realm of art & culture, with plenty of films, books, theater pieces, paintings, sculptures, and so on over the years and centuries, some more boundary-pushing than others in style and content, many of them inviting us to confront our own thoughts on sex and what it means to each of us individually. Judging by Window Water Baby Moving, a silent 12-minute short film made in 1959, its creator, legendary avant-garde filmmaker Stan Brakhage, appears to fall into the meaningful camp when it comes to sex. But Brakhage doesnt articulate this view through depicting the sexual act itself, instead juxtaposing an impressionistic rendering of sexual desire with the sometimes unpleasant reality of one of its the most profound consequences: childbirth. Juxtapositions were the lifeblood of Brakhages cinema, though he usually pursued that dialectical sense in the realm of visual abstraction than in more concrete forms. One of his most famous films, his four-minute 1963 work Mothlight, generates much of its meaning from the wild contrasts of color and texture that resulted from taping dead moth wings, flower petals, and blades of grass onto strips of 16mm film. No story, no charactersjust a series of images whizzing past, with the viewer forced to adjust to the rapid-fire pace in order to take in the finer details and perceive the bigger picture. Such was the gist of Brakhages body of work as a whole, an imposing monument to the inexhaustible vision of a man who was always interested in challenging conventional notions of filmmaking and film-watching. Brakhage didnt always deal in abstraction, however. In his earliest work, especially, he toyed with the boundaries of fiction and nonfiction in his films, shooting real human beings but using unexpected camera angles, lighting, and editing rhythms to render their on-screen behavior in unfamiliar ways. Window Water Baby Moving comes from this period, featuring both Brakhage himself and his then-wife, Jane, the latter seen throughout the film in the throes of giving birth to their daughter, Myrrenna. But the film is more than just a straight recording of a childbirth. The film cuts between roughly three different scenes and settings. Though the bulk of it is set in the room in which Jane is seen giving birth, it actually begins in a bathroom, with footage of a pregnant Jane bathing while Stan stays by her side. At some point during the bathroom footage, we see a few shots of the two, fully clothed, embracing in what appears to be a different room. Early Brakhage films such as this one bear the influence of Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisensteins theories about montagean approach to cinema that emphasized the importance of editing in a films creation, celebrating the power of the juxtaposition of images to imply intellectual and ideological content. In Window Water Baby Moving, those shots of Jane and Stan embracing are intercut with shots in the bathroom of their hands, Janes hand squeezing Stans as he rubs her pregnant stomach. The combination of shots creates a montage sequence that exudes deep affection, with the ensuing birth a symbol of their love for each other. Its a feeling that Brakhage is able to evoke without any ambient noise, music or dialogue whatsoever; its all in the images and the way theyre cut together. Such editing patterns, however, wouldnt necessarily mean much without the images themselves doing some of the expressive heavy lifting, and this is where Brakhages acute attention to light and texture comes in. Witness the golden glow of the images in the bathroom, with light flooding in from the window illuminating the beads of water on Janes body, the reflection of the bath water giving her face a near-angelic splendor. Brakhage isnt shy about showing us full-frontal nudity, genitalia and all, but one comes away from these images with a sense not of leering prurience, but of intimacy verging on the erotic. By comparison, the lighting in the shots of Jane as shes giving birth is flat and functional, with even close-ups of her vulva as the baby slowly emerges from her vagina presented without much stylistic adornment beyond the occasional restless camera movement. Even then, though, Brakhage avoids any sense of gynecological detachment simply by continuing to alternate such shots with more of the sensual bathroom shots, as if reminding us of the romantic feelings that have led to this spectacle of a new life being given to the world. Perhaps the key to the distinctive beauty of Window Water Baby Moving, though, lies in its close-ups of Jane in the midst of the birthing process. Her eyes closed and her eyebrows contorted in ways that radiate as much ecstasy as agony, her facial expressions dont seem too far off from the kind that accompany an orgasm. Few movies have linked sex and childbirth as vividly as Brakhages does; after all, both involve an act of vaginal penetration that induce both pleasure and pain, sometimes simultaneously. Its a connection that perhaps could only have been made in a context like this one, with the film alternating between the warmth of long-term romance and the harshness of labor, both threads informing and enriching the other. Window Water Baby Moving may be about childbirth on the surface, but in presenting the wonder and revulsion that radiates from the miracle of life that results from the sex act, Brakhages film is also one of the most profound movies about sex ever made. Kenji Fujishima is a freelance film critic, contributing to Slant Magazine, Brooklyn Magazine, The Playlist, and The Village Voice, in addition to Paste. He is also Deputy Editor of Movie Mezzanine and former editor-in-chief of In Review Online. When hes not watching movies and writing and editing film criticism, hes trying to absorb as much music, art, and literature as possible. He has not infrequently been called a culture vulture for that reason. I have a question for Democrats, regardless of who you support: How do you feel about the American southeast, which will inevitably vote for the Republican candidate in November, deciding the Democratic nominee? How do you feel about stronghold states like California and New York having almost no influence? Does it seem a little ridiculous? How about this one: Is it okay with you that the media has created a self-fulfilling prophecy wherein the winner of Super Tuesday is declared unbeatable because of momentum? Is it okay that theyve granted themselves this power at the expense of every state in America that votes after Super Tuesday? If any of this strikes you as a bit odd, a bit corrupt, and a bit enraging, youll want to read on to learn how it came into existence, how it works against actual progressives, and how the southeast made a successful power play to overload Super Tuesday with the so-called SEC states, snatching more than their fair share of influence over a process that is nominally democratic. Lets start digging, Q&A style. Q: Okay, I need to know the basics. What is Super Tuesday? A: After a slow, month-long start to the primary process, with voting in four different statesIowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolinathings kick into high gear on Super Tuesday. In a torrent of participatory democracy, primaries or caucuses are held in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia. Additionally, Republicans will hold caucuses in Alaska, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Thats eleven states for the Democrats, and 14 for the Republicans. Q: When is Super Tuesday? A: Uhhhits today. Q: Oh, shit. So wait, whats the problem with Super Tuesday? People have to vote sometime. Good question, and Ill answer by focusing on the Democratic primary. Look at those first 11 states again. Notice anything peculiar? If not, let me do a regional breakdown for you: Northeast states: 2 Midwestern states: 1 Southwestern states: 1 Southeastern states plus Texas: 7 Q: That seems a little off. A: Just a little, right? Theres a reason the first four primaries/caucuses are spread throughout the country, with one northeastern state (New Hampshire), one midwestern (Iowa), one southwestern (Nevada), and one southeastern (South Carolina). There are profound regional differences in this country, both demographically and philosophically. Its been that for a very long time, and spreading out the influence is a good way to ensure that none of these factions override the others. Q: So why does the southeast have more than half the fun on Super Tuesday? A: To paraphrase Rust Cohle, now youre asking the right f***ing questions. This information is surprisingly hard to Google, because the scheduling all happens on a state-wide level. Its easy to conclude that the whole thing is a weird coincidence, but as anyone with even a little experience studying American politics understands, there are no coincidences. We have to start in 1984, when Walter Mondale, a Minnesota liberal, won the party nomination just before getting a severe electoral ass-kicking from Ronald Reagan. At the time, America was deeply conservativethis was the heighten of the Reagan revolutionand the time wasnt right for any Democrat. But its instructive to look at the state-by-state results from that year, particularly on the first big multi-primary day. On March 13, the following states voted: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island Youll notice its slightly more balanced, especially when you consider that the four states voting before March 13 were Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Wyoming. Mondale actually won the SEC states that day (Georgia, Alabama), while Gary Hart took the northern states and the pseudo-southern state (Florida). But the Democrats overreacted, as Democrats do, and decided that the only way to get a candidate elected in the new conservative America was to put a moderate at the top of the ticket. And the way to do that was to put the moderate statesi.e., the southfirst. Q: How did that work out? A: Poorly. In 1988, they seem to have forgotten that black people are also allowed to vote. They did an incredible stacking job, with 12 states from Texas to Florida all voting on March 8 (out of 20 total), but Jesse Jackson spoiled the fun by sweeping the deep south states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, and also Virginia. Al Gore, the type of politician meant to be the beneficiary of the new system, won Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina, but the split in the southern states meant that Michael Dukakis, a Massachusetts liberal, would go on to dominate the northern and western states, and win the nomination. Almost by accident, the south was nullified, and the state governments more or less backed off the Super Tuesday strategy. Q: But didnt it work in 1992, with Arkansas Bill Clinton? A: Not in the way youd think. Things were a little more balanced that year, but of Clintons nine state wins before March 10, six of them came from the southeast. The region still mattered, but it wasnt quite as ridiculous as it had been in 88, because the primaries were spread out. To finish up the history lesson, there was almost no imbalance left by 2000, and Al Gore didnt need any help defeating Bill Bradley in every state on the docket. But 2004 might be the most interesting case study of all. On Mini Tuesday, only one true southeastern state was representedSouth Carolinaand it was won by John Edwards. John Kerry won the rest, and coasted to the nomination, but it would have been fascinating to see how the race might have been different for Edwards, a North Carolina politician, if the schedule had looked like it did in 88. Finally, in 2008, Barack Obama had one of the strongest coalitions in Democratic presidential campaign history, and the map was irrelevanthis support among the black community overrode any good feeling Hillary Clinton might have retained from her husbands southern connections. Q: Okay, so whats happening now? Why are we dealing with this again? A: After the failure of 1988, many southern states walked away from the primary plan, convinced it wasnt the path to commanding real influence. But last year, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, a Republican, decided to make a push for a so-called SEC primary. He rallied his own state, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, and Tennessee to the cause, and after some initial struggle in the state legislatures, hed secured his result: A Super Tuesday dominated by the south. Q: But why didnt other states respond? Cant anyone do this? A: Yes, but it was basically a surprise. In the next election cycle, youll probably see a response from the western states, in particular, who are almost totally unrepresented in primaries today. But it was too late to act for 2016. The south acted first. Q: So the plan worked. A: It worked well. Candidates are holding rallies in the south, and the region commands more attention than any time since 88. Q: What was Kemps ultimate goal? A: Honestly? It seems like it was influence alone. Ted Cruz is the only real southern candidate running on the GOP side, and hes not exactly the good-ole-boy type that might rally the entire region to his side. In fact, the system is actually set to benefit Donald Trump the most. The south may be the moderate region of the country on the Dem side, but it trends to the outer reaches of the right wing for the GOP, and even though Trump isnt a southerner by birth, hes speaking their language and is primed to have a very good night. Q: How about on the Democrats side? Theres a little irony here, because I seriously doubt Kemp knew how much hed be benefitting Hillary Clinton when he formed the SEC primary. For reasons that are still somewhat mysterious, Clinton has an ironclad hold on the southern black voteby an insane 84-16 margin in South Carolina, per the entrance pollsand will almost certainly have an excellent showing. This is, in fact, her strongest region of the country, and barring a miracle, shell get to celebrate an emphatic victory on the very first big night of the primary schedule. Q: So youre saying her best states come first? A: Lets put it this way: Here are Five Thirty Eights projected state-by-state results from March 22 onward, based on the premise that Sanders and Clinton would be tied nationally (a premise that is not yet true, but doesnt matter for this exercise, which is only designed to show which states have demographics that favor each candidate): Pretty crazy, right? Sanders has the lead in 21 of 25 states. Now lets look at the projected resultsagain with the assumption of a tie in the national pollsfrom states that vote any time between tonight and March 15: This time, its an 11-11 tie. Forgetting the accuracy of those numbers, what these two charts show is that of the 15 remaining states where Hillary Clinton has favorable demographics, 11 of them get to vote in the next two weeksand truth be told, considering the strength of her black support in South Carolina, you can add Tennessee to that list as well. Thats insanely imbalanced. Thats basically a gerrymandered primary. Q: So thats what she meant by her firewall. A: Yup! Q: But waitI still dont see the problem. Those other states, where Sanders theoretically leads, still get to vote. Who cares if her good states come firstSanders will just make up ground later. A: Ahhh, and heres where we get to the really big figure in this whole system: The mainstream media. Because youre rightin a sane world, the running order of the primaries and caucuses wouldnt matter. We do not live in a sane world. See, the media has utterly transformed American political dialogue since the invention of TV, to the point that its become a very loud, very ridiculous echo chamber. The media of 2016 loves the horse race, and hates nuance. They love the idea of momentum, and the way they present this momentum is entirely dependent on how they create it themselves. So yes, it matters quite a bit that Clintons best states come first, because the media has decided it matters. And once the media defines its own distorted, self-promoted reality, they will defend their turf with all the deafening volume they can muster. All other versions of the truth will be drowned out. Q: And so other states are essentially disenfranchised? Yes. Let me put this simply: People in California should not give two shits what happens in South Carolina. The politics in the two states arent remotely similar, and theres no reason that South Carolina should be more important in the national race. But thats the reality. The media loves to grasp onto small stories and blow them out of proportion, so when Hillary won in South Carolinaa state she has literally no chance of taking in Novembershe had momentum. Ditto for Nevada, which is even more ridiculous. She led by 37 points in that state last July, and won the caucus by five points. By any reasonable interpretation, Bernie Sanders was the one with lots and lots of momentum. But the mainstream media isnt about reasonable interpretationstheyre about promoting the shallowest analysis of results, and extrapolating from there. Hillary won, so she had momentum, despite losing 30 points in a period of six months. And its going to be worse tonight and tomorrow. The fact that 64 percent of votes tonight will be cast in her small demographic strongholdand as such, is a pretty poor representation of the American publicwill barely get a mention. Instead, youll watch the start of a coronation. Q: So what if the media took the approach that Sanders is bound for a slow start, but poised for a strong finish? A: But you see, they wont. That would require patience and a long view, and the system is set up to reward sensationalism and overblown reactions. Q: And youre saying that this approach influences the way people think and behave? A: It absolutely does. Tonight on CNN, you will have a roundtable of experts proclaiming that the race is over. Some of them, like Paul Begala, work for Clinton super-PACs, or are connected in other compromising ways. Theyll blather on about her invincibility, and its all because the calendar is stacked in her favor. That sad pantomime is inevitable, and you dont need to be a rocket scientist to predict exactly how itll play out. Its how the system works. Q: I just want to be totally clear: Youre saying the media is both the creator and enforcer of the idea that Super Tuesday will decide the primary race? Yes. Its the hysterical horn-blower of its own hysterical nonsense, and at this point its grown loud enough to be taken seriously. Welcome to the tragedy of American electoral politics in 2016. Q: How do we overcome this media bias? A: Its easy. Just stop listening. Stop caring. Treat the primary like it isa long process that runs through June. Dont buy into momentum narratives, because theyre only valid if you buy into what the mainstream media is selling. If you stop caring what they say, heres a shocking truth: Your vote will count just as much as a South Carolina vote, even though you cast it in April or May. Q: Can that actually happen? A: Well Q: Give it to me straight. A: I guess it depends on whether you believe the media has succeeded in brainwashing an entire country, or whether were capable of rejecting these enforced narratives and thinking for ourselves. Q: Hmmm A: Yeah, hmmm Q: Is it okay if I cry now? A: Go ahead. Ill just be over here, punching this wall. Drink like you own the place. Thats the motto of Fair State Brewing, Minnesotas only on cooperative brewery. By virtue of being a co-op, Fair State gives their patrons that exact opportunity if you like their beer, you can own a part of the company that makes it. The idea is novel in brewing, but co-ops have been around for hundreds of years. The first organized co-ops were founded over 200 years ago in Europe, eventually reaching the pitch of their popularity in America during the cultural revolution of the 1960s. There are many types of co-ops, but the way consumer co-ops like Fair State and REI operate is like this. Instead of private business owners, theres a democratically elected, often rotating, board that makes the decisions. Member owners pay a fee Fair State charges a lifetime rate of $200 for an individual or $300 for a household to be able to vote on the board and decide how revenue is distributed. Oftentimes, a portion of a co-ops profit is returned to its member owners via a refund. The biggest difference is democratic control by the members, explains co-founder Evan Sallee. Its not an investment in the same way youd invest in Apple where you just give them money and hope that, down the line, someone will give you even more money. Its just becoming a part of a thing sharing in its success. Sallee sits on the nine-person board as President and CEO, but he must be elected by Fair States 700-plus member owners. People who buy in also receive discounts on drafts, special access to new brews, input on recipes, and the right to shared profits (Fair State does not distribute profits yet, though), but they dont get to actually make any beer, which is a common misconception. From a day-to-day perspective, brewing co-ops run like any other brewery. Sallee and Head Brewer Niko Tonks have total control over the product, but the board could theoretically oust him at any point. They could theoretically fire me tomorrow, he says of his member owners. If we owned this outright, we could do whatever the hell we wanted, but the brewery that I started could just kick me out. Even though the model is ancient and becoming increasingly more popular, there are only four active breweries in America that operate as cooperatives, and Fair State was not the first. The Northeast Minneapolis brewhouse opened their doors just weeks after Fifth Street Brewpub, a co-op in Dayton, Ohio, who was similarly inspired by the original member-owned brewery, Austins Black Star Co-Op Pub and Brewery. Before founding Fair State with Sallee and Director of Operations Matt Hauck, Head Brewer Niko Tonks was working in Texas. When Sallee and Hauck would come visit to discuss their dream of founding a brewery in Minnesota, theyd meet up at Black Star. It was there that the inevitable became obvious. It was like holy shit, we need to do this, Tonks says. Wed kicked around the idea of a brewery for a long time, but it hadnt really stuck until we thought of doing it this way. Fairstates three founders Sallee, Tonks and Hauck Seattles Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery became the fourth cooperative brewery in August, 2015, and Sallee notes that there are several more in planning. But one thing that makes Fair State unique among their peers is their presence in Minnesota a state thats been a historic stronghold for co-ops. Generally, in Minnesota, especially the Twin Cities, people are willing to put their money where their mouth is, and that helps co-ops thrive, Sallee says. Its really been integral to Minnesota culture for a very, very long time. There are more co-ops in Minnesota than anywhere else in the United States. It seemed like a no-brainer. Minnesotas tie to cooperative culture is a result of its legacy of agricultural co-ops. As a largely rural farming state, the idea of community production and resource sharing is ingrained in the Minnesotan identity. The prevalence of ag co-ops like Land O Lakes naturally translated into a glut of local grocery co-ops, so applying the same philosophy to brewing seemed like a natural idea. Though Black Star may have been the inspiration and Flying Bike may be the freshest face on the scene, there is no other brewery with the depth of commitment to the cooperative spirit that Fair State has. Not only do they collaborate with likeminded neighbors like Eastside Food Co-op, but they also helped to found the Northeast Brewers and Distillers Association, an organization that unites the dozens of beermakers in Northeast Minneapolis to work towards the common goal of strengthening their community. They even make their rent checks out to a co-op. Our landlord is actually the Northeast Investment Cooperative, Tonks says with a laugh. Theres nested co-ops. Co-opception. If every level of the business was going to foster cooperation, Sallee and Tonks reasoned, then so should the beer. Fair States brews are designed to be social, drawing heavily on the beer-making culture of Germany and the Czech Republic, countries where beer is made to bring people together. Its very good beer, but in the modern brewing industry, making great-tasting beer isnt enough to be successful. You have to give people a reason to feel invested what better way than to actually make them investors? We always thought that we had to do something different than just making good beer, Salle says, and this was something that we knew we could leverage into something special. Santigold has always been in conversation with pop. From top to bottom, in choruses, asides verses and entire songs, her first album overflowed with militant statements about artistic integrity and authenticity. Master of My Make-Believe, her moody second album, was more fixated on the roiling world that artists live in, but it wasnt a departure from form. Buried beneath and between the songs about disaffected youth, a crumbling America and lurking pirates were truculent taunts mocking the way the pop landscape had morphed in Santigolds image, overflowing with artists whose eccentricity was merely embroidered in their fast-fashion seams rather than embedded in their artistic DNA. 99 draws from that same well of repulsion and scorn, but it also pushes against it, decrying the misery of the contemporary music marketplace, but still clamoring for a place on the sales rack. Denouncing the market while peddling a commercial product should be a tough balancing act, but Santigold pulls it off by fully embracing the contradiction. The album cover features her shrink-wrapped in plastic, surrounded by miscellaneous belongings and marred by a gleaming yellow sticker sarcastically declaring the market value of her life and her work: 99 cents. But though Santigold is clearly dissatisfied with the undervaluation of her music, the cover is also playful, brimming with color and style and panache. That sense of sunny cheekiness radiates throughout the album, especially on songs that openly accept established pop paradigms. Banshee is pure bubblegum, bright synths swirling around crisp percussion, short verses flowing into stratospheric builds and meteoric drops. But then the song is also genuinely about the mythical banshee, harbinger of death. Let me keep preaching to my choir/ Will you take me down or push me higher, Santigold belts, begging for the banshee to leave her shoulder, for the market and its narrow demands to let her make music in peace. All I Got, a delicious helping of candied new wave, is just as pleading. I should ask, but dont wanna know/ How you get something from nothing at all/ Built an empire for yourself/ Dont take this personal, go to hell, Santigold snarls, dropping her voice to a throaty deadpan. Its the catchiest critique of music streaming ever penned, especially since it could apply to both streaming services and labels (the latter are secretly just as responsible for the devaluation of music as the former). When shes not winking, Santigold spends her time on the verge of tears, forgoing subversion and coded language and speaking frankly. Chasing Shadows is among the most forthright songs of her career. The verses are rapid-fire stream-of-consciousness, an inner monologue at its most intimate, hurtfully honest. Im living on the shelf she confesses, deeply aware of her position in the pop hierarchy. At least someone knows where I am, she assures herself at the end of the bridge, her falsetto fading away. On Run the Races, a patient, fizzing ballad, she professes a profound fear of the future. It might not be safe, but Im going out there, she cries, her voice compressed into a lonely wail. Although the bulk of the album oscillates between sarcasm and sincerity, the most fully realized songs transcend that spectrum entirely. Rendezvous Girl, a dreamy synthpop elegy, is beautifully produced, but the mix is cacophonous, each element tumbling over the other in crisp yet confusing detail. It feels like a sonic paywall, willed glitchiness as the last bastion against an encroaching market. Outside the War is just as abrasive, featuring scratchy bird calls, sinister knocks and formless howls that slash right through the middle of the song like crazed fans bum-rushing a live show. Santigold has been experimenting with texture and discord and harmony since she was Santogold, but on 99 these experiments take on a new urgency, the songs roughness doing what sarcasm too often cant: instigate change. 99 isnt a perfect album (Cant Get Enough Of Myself is about three Drake albums, two Broad City seasons and one Chainsmokers single too late), but its thrill is that Santigold still seems to be having fun. Three albums in, from creator, to master, to mom, her titles have only accrued. The market value of her #brand might not follow suit, but even as her conversation with pop has become increasingly one-sided, shes refused to be silenced, as if she knows something the market doesnt. Only time will tell, but perhaps shes not the only one with the banshee on her shoulder. Apparently Fidel is more of a Beatles fan, but on Friday, March 25 The Rolling Stones will be playing their first-ever gig in Cuba, and, as the Associated Press reports, theyll be the biggest act to play the island since its revolution in 1959. The historic free Concert for Amity will occur days after President Barack Obamas first trip to Cuba and will be filmed for future release. We have performed in many special places during our long career but this show in Havana is going to be a landmark event for us, and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba too The Stones said in a statement. When you read the words sexuality in beer, its only natural for the first reaction to be thoughts of the Golden Era of Big Beer television advertising. The 80s and 90s-era commercials for Budweiser, Miller and Coors are so indelibly associated with phrases like bikini model that if you asked a random sampling of adult males to describe a stereotypical 80s Budweiser commercial to you, theyd almost invariably conjure one at the beach involving waggling butts, colorful bathing suits and the impish chick magnet that was Spuds MacKenzie. Or in other words, essentially this commercial. That kind of advertising has always been par for the course when it comes to macro beer, and it would be foolish to think it hasnt been a factor in the line of thinking that led beer to be seen as a predominantly male drink by so many in the pre-craft era. When it comes to sexuality in beer marketing its almost a guarantee that the ones being titillated have been men, which simultaneously sends an equally strong message to womenyoure not welcome here, unless youre a model holding the product and smiling. Or a willfully disobedient blonde mermaid on an IPA label, as in the image at the top of this piece. How, then, does the craft beer market truly differ when it comes to depicting or employing sexuality in their marketing? The small breweries thrive in the court of public opinion by presenting themselves as honest, egalitarian and all-inclusive; artisans struggling against the behemoth that is Big Beer, but its difficult to truly compare their marketing in a meaningful way when the level of resources is so very different. The question boils down to this: Have we never seen a craft brewerys bikini babe TV commercial because the breweries dont believe in that style of advertising? Or is it simply because they dont have the funding for national TV exposure? And as regional craft brewers continue to grow larger and their craft credentials grow more nebulous, should we expect craft beer marketing to follow at the sexualized heels of Big Beer marketing? Certainly, there has always been a minority current of immaturity and misogyny, even in craft beer. The social media era, however, has created an outlet for registering disappointment or outright disgust at some of the worst examples. To call on one of the very worst labels: Yep. A blueberry beer, thinly veiled with the name Panty Dropper, and literal panties dropping on the label. Where to even begin? With the implication that getting a woman to drink this beer will make it easier to have sex with her? Or the implication that drugging a woman is a great way to achieve coitus in the first place? Or, with the simple fact that it implies only a woman would possibly be interested in a fruit beer to begin with? Its terrible on so many levels, it boggles the mind. Of course, if that one is too subtle for you, there are also plenty in the vein of this beer from Buckeye Brewing, Summer Girl. This is, in my mind, about as close as a craft brewery can possibly come to a vintage Budweiser ad, to the point where they might as well be indistinguishable. If you dont like those examples, then theres plentyof othersto choose from. Theres no defending them. Theyre just awfulin a sexist sense, in a design sense, and in an economic sense. If craft breweries are unconvinced by those first few reasons, they should at least be listening to the third. Women, and young women in particular, are statistically among craft beers strongest supporters per capita, and they consume significantly above the national average of craft beer as a group. Indeed, craft beer has passed wine as the #1 alcohol choice among women 21-34. This group alone counts for 15% of total craft beer consumption, and women in general consumed 33% of all craft beer in the U.S. as of 2014a number that is no doubt even higher now. Its not going to be long before craft beer consumption is truly egalitarian. Therefore, even if it was proven that sex does sell to a certain segment of the male market, could the resulting boost in sales from male craft beer drinkers really be more significant than the likelihood of losing out on the female drinkers who make up 1/3rd (and growing) of the market? In a few years, when that number is drawing closer to 50%, will these breweries still be choosing to market to only half of their potential customers? How stupid would that be? One should consider, though, that the idea of sexuality crossing paths with craft beer is not an automatic negative in the eyes of every woman in this community in fact, some embrace it unabashedly or use it for self-promotion. Take an Instagram account like the Craft Beer Vixen, whose proprietor posts beer reviews accompanied by a variety of mildly risque selfies, while fundraising for the charity Autism Speaks. A viewer might be conflicted about the message, or concerned that it creates an unrealistic expectation for how female craft beer fans are supposed to look or behave, but at the same time you cant deny that person the right to both express her sexuality how she pleases and raise money for charity at the same time. Its a complex issue. In recognition of this, I decided to reach out to female members of Atlantas local beer community, seeking their opinions on sexuality as it applies to marketing in craft beer. I was ultimately able to speak to a good variety of female craft beer drinkers, including women actively working in the industry and those who are simply weighing in on marketing as consumers. Ive collected a few of the pertinent questions below. Keep in mindthese are the responses of a group that accounts for 33% and growing of craft beer consumption. Its very problematic for me. But Im not limited to that opinion in craft beer, Id feel that way about any product that used male-perspective female sexuality to entice customers. Im not enticed, and it makes me feel significant distance between me and the brandthese are not my people. I also find it to be a short-sighted way to be in business. Why would you alienate 50% of the population that happens to account for about 70% of the grocery store purchases? I feel like a brand using that marketing doesnt take itself seriously, and so I dont either. I assume that the beer is of lower quality and that the business people behind it are ill-advised at best, totally clueless at worst. - Nancy Palmer, Executive Director of the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild By making a label that is very clearly going to be offensive to a portion of the craft beer drinking (and buying!) population, youve pigeon-holed yourself and limited the commercial viability. For breweries that are okay with remaining niche and appearing counter-culture, they should go for it. I think they make themselves look like idiots, or worse, and in the end the market will squeeze them out. I would group the labels you called out along with labels like Against The Grains Brown Note. Its not appealing or funny, its just plain yucky. - Victoria Lynn, beer consumer and advisor at Noble Brewer Beer Co. Beer bottles now show up as a part of weekly bible study group discussions, enjoyed at upscale weddings, served in 5-star establishments and drank at the White House in front of the Press Corp. By having aggressive marketing, and especially lewd labeling, you are forcing these types of beer drinkers to make a choice that is not based on style, quality or integrity of the beverage itself. Those breweries are absolutely relegating themselves to an underdog, punk-rock, subversive culture. - Samantha Jane Eaves, self-described average beer consumer I just wont ever buy itits not ever okay for me. I spend a larger portion of my life than I would like explaining to my conservative family members that my interest in visiting breweries, homebrewing and BJCP judging is more than getting drunk and getting into trouble. I wont risk looking like a jackass just because some brewers thought it was cool to be a jackass. THAT being said-scantily clad women can still be tasteful and artistic without being lewd. Though strict conservatives would argue differently, I can clearly draw a line in the sand between scantily clad women and overtly sexualized women. And I do with my purchasing power. Samantha Jane Eaves I cant say that Id like that either, but it goes back to whether or not these are serious business people or not. I just cant imagine where something like that would serve to communicate anything about the beer or the company. - Nancy Palmer No different. Again could possibly be artistic, but it would more likely be used to appeal to common denominator in an overly sexualized manner. - Samantha Jane Eaves On the hiring of models to promote craft beer on Instagram, such as Resignation Brewerys KCCO beer girls This is a gross way of convincing women to use craft beer to get more attention and followings on Instagram, sexualizing a highly democratic product and reinforcing the message that its okay to sexualize women to sell beer. In fairness, these women are electing to show themselves this way, and it speaks more to our current society than craft beer itselfbut by perpetuating the practice, craft beer is edging itself closer and closer to the big beers it so loves to stand apart from. - Victoria Lynn 2px); width:calc(100% 2px);"> It seems to us that red and gold pair pretty well together. This week's #KCCOBeerGirl is @ClancyMclain! ???????????? A photo posted by Resignation Brewery (@resignationbrewery) on Feb 24, 2016 at 6:58pm PST I dont think women need their own line up of tropes that indicate, hey, ladies! but the avoidance of the tropes that have a masculine tinge is enough to market to everyone. Brands like Modern Times, Off Color, Prairie, Westbrook, Creature Comforts, etc. are great examples of what beer marketing could be. Of course, for female beer nerds, we love whales as much as the next guy and I dont really care that the brand uses comic sans on their label or has yet another graphical rendition of a hop (Oh! Theres hops in this beer!). But for women just entering the craft beer landscape, there are some things that guys can avoid that will leave them marketing to everyone. Its not about doing any one thing, its about not doing a couple things. - Nancy Palmer Women do not drink exactly like men. Though it would be shortsighted for a brewery to think styles or volume were the extent of the drinking/gender differences. Finding the appropriate differences and using those differences wisely (such as the way t-shirt makers vary their styles of cuts), makes good business sense. Acknowledging that the differences between each woman or between each man vary much wider than the differences between genders as groups, would be even wiser. - Samantha Jane Eaves That final sentiment, I believe, speaks volumes, so allow me to revisit it for just a moment. The differences between each beer drinker, regardless of their gender or any other factor, are much greater and more relevant than perceived differences between male craft beer drinkers and female craft beer drinkers, and this is how breweries should probably be thinking when attempting to tailor their marketing to target a specific group. Sexuality in advertising and marketing, on the other hand, is unsurprisingly still a sensitive topic, even in 2016. As one of the women above points out, it can be useful in establishing a reputation as counter culture or specifically targeting a certain segment of drinkers, but in a beer landscape that is more egalitarian every single year in terms of consumption, that just seems like poor economic sense. There will likely always be beer labels out there that exist bearing images of scantily clad women, using sex as a crutch, but I join the women I was able to interview in hoping these breweries never become anything more than they are nowan embarrassing but easily ignored undercurrent to the craft beer community. In the end, its up to the consumers, who vote with their dollars. Are you in the market for craft beer titillation? Jim Vorel is Pastes news editor, and he likes his beer labels classy. You can follow him on Twitter. This morning we posted a report titled "On Tuesday, Apple will face one of the Biggest Corporate Challenges in its History." As the day has gone on, new reports have surfaced with one stating that there could be serious consequences for Apple should the judge decide to make an example of them and Warren Buffet weighs in the matter in a new CNBC video interview. We learn from Cooper Levenson attorney Peter Fu that should "Apple openly defies or ignores the demands in the order signed by Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym, the court would most likely wield a civil contempt-of-court charge as the mechanism to coerce Apple to comply." The Fast Company report further explores many of the possible penalties that Judge Pym could hand out tomorrow, from fines in the $10,000 to $250,000 range per/day until Apple complies. And if Apple goes to the Supreme Court and still refuses to comply, then Cook could be jailed. Yet Apple believes that only Congress could decide the law that Apple will comply with because the standing laws don't address this modern day issue of privacy and the new world of encryption. David O'Brien, senior researcher at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard, points out that federal law enforcement has been trying to bring the whole matter to a head for quite some time. Law enforcement wants the establishment of a firm set of rules defining tech companies' responsibilities when asked to assist in an investigation. O'Brien says the courts were definitely not the government's first choice of venue for this, but rather its third choice. Congress was its first choice. Law enforcement has been pressing members of Congress to pass a bill for many months, and while some bills are circulating, nothing's expected to reach the president's desk any time soon. And this is likely why Apple's Tim Cook is favoring this angle as this could drag out for years. The ball is in the government's court to get something passed in Congress, but Congress won't entertain legislation forwarded by the Obama administration for anything, let alone anything to do with National Security. To learn more about the numerous 'ifs' that could play out tomorrow, read the full Fast Company report here. What the DA said Today about Apple Crippling Investigations across the Country Warren Buffet Weighs in on Apple and National Security Warren Buffett weighing in on Apple's fight against a government order to help hack the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino terrorists stated on CNBC today that "National security should supersede privacy concerns in major issues. "We live in a very, very, very dangerous world. If you were in the early days of September 2001 and you were receiving credible information that something was going to happen ... I think that in that case security trumps privacy." However, on the flipside, Buffett noted that he wasn't in favor of the law "fishing around on smaller-type things." In those cases he'd side on the side of privacy. This is what's complicating the matter. Apple's current case is about the terrorist's phone. On that issue, a slim majority of Americans favor the Government forcing Apple to comply with the order. Yet when it comes to general snooping on smartphones hoping there's evidence, the public is weary and yet this is what Vance's argument is about. Not national security but for everyday crimes as he notes in the video above. This is what Apple is vehemently against. Though in the big picture at the moment, Apple is saying no to any case where they're asked to provide private information. Will there be fireworks tomorrow when the judge makes her ruling? Perhaps, depending on what the ruling delivers. Yet I think it's safe to say that Apple's defiance against the court being so public will exact a steep price. Everyone following this case will, no doubt, be glued to their mobile devices tomorrow waiting for the official ruling to ring out. But one thing we know for sure: this is only the beginning of the war, not the end. No solution will come of this tomorrow and both sides will sharpen their knives preparing for round two So stay tuned. 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. Other Recent Reports on this Matter Apple's Legal Motion - The 'All Writs Act' doesn't give the Court a Roving Commission to Conscript and Commandeer Apple - Feb 26, 2016 Apple Files to Vacate Order on Shooter's iPhone while a Congressman States Apple Risks having Blood on their Hands Feb 26, 2016 Apple's Senior VP and General Counsel to attend Congressional Hearing Next Week on 'The Encryption Tightrope' Feb 26, 2016 Apple CEO on ABC News: Creating Software Enabling the FBI to unlock an iPhone is Software Equivalent of Cancer Feb 24, 2016 Poll: Slim Majority of Americans Think the Government Should be able to Look at Smartphone Data to Fight Terrorism Feb 24, 2016 Apple Confirms they'll refuse to obey the Court Order on the Basis of Free Speech Feb 24, 2016 Yesterday we looked at a basic breakdown of the 350+ responses to a poll of Buddhists on the 2016 US Presidential Race. Today well look at some of the breakdowns coming from deeper analysis. As mentioned, due to a change in platforms, I could only export and analyse data from the final 269 submissions made on the Google Form. Those make up the basis for the analysis below. The first of these is race/ethnicity, based on self-identification. Is race a significant factor for Buddhists in the upcoming election? For an excellent background on the topic, we can turn to a short article by Jeff Wilson from 2008. There he notes that the major Buddhist magazines overwhelmingly lean left, noting their largely white convert editorial staff and authorship. Meanwhile: Here in North America, there are large numbers of registered Republican Buddhists. Many of them are Asian-Americans, immigrants or the descendants of immigrants who fled left-wing violence in their native countries. One can only believe that Buddhists are naturally aligned with liberalism if no time has been spent among Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, Chinese, or other Asian-Americans. Anti-Communism drives many such Buddhists into the Republican Party, as does similar views on traditional values, economic policy, patriotism, and other issues. One of the greatest disconnects with the Democrats is over abortion, which the Democratic Party supports and the Republican Party opposes. The belief that life begins at conception is nearly universal across Buddhist Asia, and the overwhelming majority of Buddhist monks, nuns, and priests believe abortion to be a violation of the first precept. This has led many Buddhist leaders in Asian-American communities to endorse Republican candidates. At the same time, we have to be careful about stereotyping Asian-American Buddhism, a diverse phenomenon that also includes many Democrats and other liberals. Wilson cites a then-recent Pew Forum survey on the U.S. Religious Landscape which showed that 18% of Buddhists were Republican and 44% considered themselves to be moderates or conservatives. While that poll, like the one conducted here, over-represented white Buddhists, it did show that many political voices on the right exist in Buddhism even if major media outlets and popular blogs representing them cannot be found. Race/Ethnicity In designing the survey, no accepted set of race/ethnicity options existed in the SurveyMonkey database. The only question they had certified was one that left the question open to the user to fill in. This allowed for obvious inclusivity, but posed the new challenge of grouping similar responses. For instance it makes little sense to see who Caucasians support vs people who described their race/ethnicity as White or European. In a small survey such as this, it also made little sense to contrast those with the one or two people who gave country-specific answers such as Irish/German or Dutch. So for reporting purposes, all of these have been put under the category of White. Similarly, we reduced, as well as we could, various Asian individuals into that single category (while recognizing Wilsons caution above). There were also two Black respondents, five Latino, seven Mixed, and two Native American, along with dozens who left the question blank or entered human. As we will see, the polls respondents are overwhelmingly white, which does not represent the American Buddhist population as a whole, which is by most estimates between 75 and 80 percent Asian American (see Prebish, Looking West: A Primer for American Buddhism, 2011). So the results might be more accurately reported as (Mostly White) Buddhist political leanings in the American Presidential Race 2016. I plan to run near-identical polls each month with the hope that friends/readers can assist in reaching out to non-white Buddhists for a fuller and more accurate report. But now, for the numbers. Of the Asian group (14 total), 4 selected Hillary Clinton, (28.6%) 9 chose Bernie Sanders, (64.3%) and one chose none. From our two Black respondents: both selected Bernie Sanders. From the five Latino respondents: 4 selected Bernie Sanders; one wrote in Jill Stein. From the seven Mixed race/ethnicity respondents: 5 selected Hillary Clinton, 2 selected Bernie Sanders. From the Native American respondents: one chose Donald Trump, the other selected Bernie Sanders. And lastly, from the White respondents: 2 wrote in Anarchist/Radical 2 chose Ben Carson 127 selected Bernie Sanders (63.8%) 4 selected Donald Trump 48 selected Hillary Clinton (24%) 3 selected Jill Stein 1 selected John Kasich 6 chose Marco Rubio 2 were for Ted Cruz While the sample of Asian respondents is obviously too small (I cant fathom what the margin of error would be statisticians?), for now it seems that race plays little roll in the general strong support of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton over other candidates. Likewise, Sanders is the strong favorite for both Asian (64% to Clintons 28%) and White (64% to Clintons 24%) respondents. As always, comments/feedback are welcome. Also see further breakdowns in the polling data by age & gender here. Stay in touch with American Buddhist Perspectives on Facebook: Its Super Tuesday Eve, and the polls, and the twitter feed, are pretty depressing. Real Clear Politics shows Trump ahead by 14 in Virginia, by 15 in Georgia, by 27 in Massachusetts, and so on. The only state, of those with enough recent polling for RCP to calculate averages, where Trump isnt leading by a significant margin, is Ted Cruzs native Texas. Its deeply discouraging to listen to Trump, and to his supporters. Its not just that he makes unsupportable assertions of grandiose plans bringing jobs back, funding tax cuts by dealing with waste, fraud, and abuse, and so on. Its not just his ignorance on details. Theres his past Trump University, for instance, and Trump Steaks, and so on. Theres the fact that he shoots his mouth off, and his bizarre statement of a moratorium on any Muslim entry to the United States. And theres the deep suspicion that his policies would be a make-it-up-as-you-go-along, unpredictable, and, worse, potentially quite reckless. Whats more, the small flurry of endorsers Chris Christie, plus rumors that Newt Gingrich is in the picture feel like attempts to co-opt Trump, imagining they can control him behind the scenes, much as Weimar Republic power brokers thought they could control Hitler in a coalition. At the same time, Kasich and Carson are staying in the race for what appears to be reasons of personal vanity, and theres no indicator theyre leaving the race any time soon. And certainly Cruz and Rubio are each convinced they ought to be the last man standing for the final two-man fight, and neither of them are budging. So Id been trying to will Rubio to take the lead, get notice, get voters attention, but its not happening. And my twitter feed tells me that, in the same way as voters and pundits and bloggers couldnt get past Christies bro hug with Obama, there is too much opposition to Rubio for his Gang of 8 amnesty bill for him to gain supporters. If Cruz drops out, his voters wont make their way to Rubio, at least not reliably. A significant number will move to Trump. Which leaves Cruz. Which is discouraging to contemplate. Look at Rubios website: you might not like them, but hes got policy prescriptions for pretty much every issue you can think of. And I dont think hes simply delegated the task to staffers, but has genuinely, over the years, thought about these issues. Whats on Cruzs site? Surprisingly little. Restore the constitution (which means reduce executive/federal power). Support the Second Amendment. Secure the border. Defend the nation (e.g., defeat ISIS, cancel the Iran deal, rebuild the military). Stand with Israel. Support religious liberty. Oppose abortion and gay marriage. Rein in Washington, by eliminating various government agencies (IRS, Depts of Education, Energy, Commerce, HUD), and other bureaus/commissions/govt programs. Oddly, his flat tax proposal isnt even highlighted, but categorized under jobs and opportunity. And he doesnt even mention his proposed VAT-like tax. Hes a sucky candidate, in every respect but one: hes not Trump. And being not-Trump will have to do. (Yes, OK, Hillary Clinton is also not Trump. But, no, shes not an alternative. Democratic readers, Im in the middle of a book by Peter Schweizer which lays out a pretty damning pattern of donations to the Clinton Foundation, and speech purchases, for favored political outcomes.) The practice of offerings and sacrifices is not universal among all Pagans. The Charge of the Goddess says Nor do I demand aught of sacrifice, for behold: I am the Mother of all things and My love is poured upon the earth. I suspect early Wiccans wanted to insulate themselves against mindless and fearful accusations of animal or even human sacrifice. But offerings were quite common in ancient times, and the practice has been revived by a growing number of Pagans and especially polytheists. Giving things to the Gods, to the ancestors, and to other spirits is a regular part of our spiritual practice. Whats the difference between an offering and a sacrifice? While the two terms have different word origins and definitions (offering means to give while sacrifice means to make sacred), in contemporary practice theyre virtually the same. I joke that pouring wine is an offering, but pouring Lakewood Temptress Stout is a sacrifice. Offerings generally (but not exclusively) take the form of food and drink: wine, beer, mead, or whiskey; grain, bread, meat, or sweets. It can take the form of money, of objects, or of service. It can take other forms as required by tradition or by the Gods Themselves. If youre new to polytheism, especially if you come from a Protestant or an atheist background where religion is all about beliefs, dogma, and the written word, the idea of offerings may strike you as odd, anachronistic, or unnecessary. But for many of us, offerings are the cornerstone of our religious practice. This is why we make offerings. To express hospitality. If you invited a friend over to your house, as soon as they got there youd offer them something to drink. If they were there a while, or if they showed up at dinner time, youd offer them something to eat. Youd try to be a good, generous, thoughtful host who cares for their guests. The same is true with our interactions with the Gods. We dont want to invite Them to our rituals and start demanding They give us stuff. We want to be polite and generous. We make offerings to the Gods to show our respect for Them, and to demonstrate we practice the virtue of hospitality. To promote reciprocity. The world runs on reciprocity I give so that you may give. Sometimes this is quid pro quo a gift for a gift, or payment for a service. Sometimes you dont expect to be paid back right away you do a favor for a friend and you know that some day, theyll do something for you. Occasionally its even less structured you do a good deed and you figure things will even out in the long run. We give to the Gods so the Gods will give to us. This isnt appeasement and it certainly isnt bribery (as though a divine being could be bribed with a glass of wine). Its demonstrating that we understand the world runs on honest exchange I give so that you may give so that I may give again. Because our ancestors made offerings. Contemporary polytheists arent building a religion from scratch. Were reviving, restoring, and reimagining the religions of our ancestors. We need not and should not slavishly duplicate everything they believed and did, but where a practice was meaningful and helpful to the ancients, we are foolish if we do not at least explore it. Reviving their practices not only lets us learn from them, it helps restore the bonds across generations as we do now what they did then. Our ancestors made offerings. The photo at the right is a display of some of the coins that were deposited in the waters at Bath over the 400 year Roman period. Historian Walter Burkert described the ritual process for animal sacrifices in ancient Greece. The practice was beneficial to them or they would not have done it. Its worth following their example. Because the Gods ask for offerings. If a good friend asks me for something, my first impulse is to say yes. When Sharon Knight asked for help with her Portals project, I said yes (the album is out and its great Ill have a review in the near future). When the Coru priesthood asked me to give up three hours working as a temple priest, I said yes. Sometimes its just this simple: a God says I want that. Sometimes theres a practical reason why They want it. Sometimes theres a whimsical (to us) reason. Sometimes theres no reason at all, just that familiar voice or feeling or intuition that They want something from us. Ive learned to trust that if They ask for something, the best thing to do is to give it to Them. Of course there are limits. I grew up hearing the story of Abraham almost sacrificing his son Isaac to Yahweh. If that was a test, Abraham failed. Ive never been asked to give something I felt I shouldnt give or that I had no right to give, and I dont expect I ever will. To remind ourselves we have enough. As the meme going around Facebook says, you cant pour from an empty cup you cant give what you dont have. By historical standards, though, all but the poorest among us have far more than we truly need. Offerings and sacrifices remind us that we are not lessened when we give. We can and should debate how much we should give, who we should give to, and how our gifts should be made. But as we give to the Gods, we are reminded that we can also give to our fellow humans, because we have enough. To remind ourselves to do what must be done. Lets be honest. While I love being hospitable to the Gods and giving Them what They ask for, and the end of the day I really dont like pouring out perfectly good wine that I could drink. I also dont like going to work every day, wearing glasses, and putting up with Texas summers. But I do all these things because they must be done. They are necessary if Im going to make enough money to live the way I want to live, if I want to read anything smaller than 16 point type, and if I want to enjoy the mild Texas winters and low cost of living. When I make offerings Im reminded that nothing comes for free. Even the most priceless choices involve a tradeoff of one thing or another if I give a rare bottle of wine to the Gods, I cannot give it to a friend. Such is life we do what must be done. To express devotion. Why do we send flowers to a spouse, or bring souvenirs back for family, or take a close friend out for an expensive dinner? Because we love them and we want to do something nice and thoughtful for them we want to express our devotion to them. Likewise, as we come to know the Gods and to understand Their power and virtue, we not only want to ally ourselves with us by working for Their causes, we also want to express our devotion to Them. We make offerings because we want Them to enjoy what we have to give, however ultimately insignificant that may be. I encourage you to make offerings a regular part of your spiritual practice, and especially part of your usual ritual liturgy. If you call (invite, invoke) a being into your ritual, be a good host and offer them food and drink. Practice good hospitality, reciprocity, and devotion with all your guests. Patna: Teachers having cleared the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) and Bihar State Teacher Eligibility Test (STET) clashed with the policemen in Patna on Monday after they tried to breach the VIP security cordon outside the state Assembly. Stating that the government had not paid their salaries for the last five months, hundreds of protestors sat on a dharna in Gardanibagh to press for their demands. Later, the protestors marched towards the state Assembly when they were stopped by the security guards. Despite being warned of being tackled by force, the protestors broke the barricade and set the bamboo check post on fire. They also clashed with the police by assaulting them with bricks, stones, and water bottles but the law enforcement officials, showing extreme patience, did not resort to lathi charge or tear gas to quell the mob. Situation finally returned to normal after officials convinced them of a meeting with the Principal Secretary of the Education Department so they could put forth their grievances before him. Patna: Belying the claims of the Nitish administration of substantial improvement in the education sector in Bihar, law students appearing in the LLB Part I exams on Monday went on a rampage after the college authorities stopped them from resorting to unfair means. Students of Patna Law College were taking the Part I test at B N College when a college official stopped one student in Room Number 7 from cheating. When the teacher took away the answer sheet from this student, all hell let loose as the rest of the candidates walked out of the test center after vandalizing the room. Soon other students appearing in the LLB test followed suit and after tearing up their test papers, marched out of the examination center by smashing the hallway door. Demanding to be allowed to use unfair means, the protestors clashed with the security guards. The situation was finally brought under control after senior university officials and police from the Pirbahore police station arrived and threatened to arrest the belligerent students. The exam was officially canceled, B N College Principal Dr. Raj Kishore Prasad said. This is not the first time law students of Patna Law College have engaged in such shameful behavior. Last year also there was a boycott of the exam after examinees were stopped from cheating. "We're not used to seeing growth in our check business," said Deluxe's Tracey Engelhardt, who reports a 6% to 7% increase in revenue for check orders from businesses and consumers in each of the last three quarters, driven by various factors originating from the pandemic. Iran: Khatami calls vote results an endorsement of reformist policies 03/01/16 Source: Radio Zamaneh Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami issued a statement following the widespread success of reformists in the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, saying the people have expressed their support for the policies of the Rohani administration, and he called for the implementation of reformist policies. Mohammad Khatami In a statement on Monday February 29, Khatami said the people's votes "carried the message that the people want security, progress and a stable system." He said the elections "achieved the consolidation of the forces that want to reform the country's affairs." He went on to urge the elected candidates to work hard to provide for the people's demands "for prosperity and improvement in the people's livelihoods and creating a healthy political space." Mohammad Khatami is under a media ban by the Islamic Republic authorities for his involvement in the election protests of 2009. However, he rallied people to vote in a video message before the elections. Reformists outnumber conservatives in next Parliament The final vote count in Iran reveals 83 reformists, 78 conservatives, 60 independents and five minority representatives have won their seats in parliament. A reformist voting in Tehran for the "list of hope" on Friday February 26, 2016 ISNA reports that of the 290 seats in parliament 226 have been filled and another 128 candidates have moved to a second round of elections for the remaining 64 seats. The second round will be held in April, according to the minister of interior. Reformists remained the 30 top winners in Tehran with Mohammadreza Aref at the top of the list.No conservatives were elected in the Capital. The victory of reformists in Tehran has left out a number of prominent conservative figures from parliament including Hassan Aboutorabi, the deputy of the current parliament. Of the current 12 members of the parliament's presiding board, only five managed to win a seat in the first round of elections and another two may win their seats in the second round of the campaign. The current speaker of the parliament Ali Larijani however managed to win a seat as the second representative from Qom. Larijani won his campaign with partial support from both the reformist and the conservative camps. Meanwhile the final results indicate that 14 women have won seats in the coming parliament and another eight have managed to move up to the second round of elections. Iran religious minorities lawmakers elected 03/01/16 Source: Press TV Iran's Interior Ministry has released the names of elected lawmakers representing religious minorities in the country. Religions of Iran: From Prehistory to the Present According to the final results announced by the ministry on Monday, Siamak More Sedeq won the parliamentary seat for the Jewish constituency with 2,449 votes. Esfandiyar Ekhtiyari was announced as the elected lawmaker for the Zoroastrian constituency after he gained 3,966 votes. The ministry said Younatan Betkolia was elected as the lawmaker representing the Assyrians and Chaldeans with 2,212 votes. Georgik Abrahamian was elected representative of south Iran Christians with 2,290 votes while Karen Khanleri was picked as lawmaker for the religious minority in the north with 8,631 votes. According to Article 12 of Iran's Election Law, elections related to Zoroastrian, Jewish, Assyrian, Chaldean, and Armenian religious minorities in northern parts of Iran are centered in Tehran Governorate. Meanwhile, elections for Armenians living in south Iran are centered in Isfahan Governorate and are held by governors and district officials of those regions where the aforesaid minorities live. At present, out of 290 seats in the Iranian Parliament (Majlis), five lawmakers are allotted to religious minorities. Zoroastrians and Jews, each have one representative, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians have one representative overall, and Christians living in the south and north of Iran, each have one representative in Majlis. Photo: A Jewish gathering in early 1900s celebrates the second anniversary of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution in Tehran. Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli on Monday announced the end of vote counting in the 10th parliamentary and 5th Assembly of Experts elections with an overall turnout of 62 percent nationwide. The Iranian minister noted that the Guardian Council will soon start work to confirm the election results. At least 33 million out of the 55 million eligible voters took part in the two votes on Friday. The best 2-in-1 laptop 2022: our picks of the best convertible laptops These are the best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy right now A VPN is an excellent tool for securing your information and protecting your privacy online, but most people worry about whether it's going to slow down their internet connection to the point that it's unusable. That's not a worry with HideIPVPN, which is one of the fastest VPNs in my testing. It has a small server selection, though, as well as unusual pricing and fewer licenses per subscription than the average. It's a fast VPN service, but the best VPNs offer more than just speed. What Is a VPN? When a VPN is active, it creates an encrypted tunnel between your computer and a server operated by the VPN. If you're using the public Wi-Fi network at, say, a coffee shop, you can log into your email or even your bank's website without worrying about someone (or some three-letter agency) eavesdropping or intercepting your data. Not only is your Web traffic protected with a VPN, but it can also obscure your IP address, making it much more difficult for advertising trackers to get a fix on your location and identity. It also prevents your ISP from keeping tabs on your activities, and potentially selling anonymized information about your online behavior. HideIPVPN's Pricing and Features The pricing structure of HideIPVPN is annoyingly opaque. It appears to be similar to that of competitors, offering the same slate of features at subscriptions of different lengths. The longer the subscription, the bigger the savings. A subscription costs $6.99 per month, $17.99 per quarter, or $59.88 per year. When you're taken to the actual order screen, you'll see that a promotional discount has been applied. Weirdly, you can opt not to accept the discount, although why you would do so eludes me. Without the discounts, the pricing turns into $9.99 per month, $22.99 per quarter, and $69.99 per year. With or without the discounts, HideIPVPN has competitive pricing. That said, I'd like HideIPVPN to make its pricing clearer so customers know exactly how much the service will cost, and that it's clear how long that pricing will remain the same. As I write this, the price of a top-rated VPN is around $10.80 per month. HideIPVPN is well below that, whatever its pricing turns out to be, although it would be nice to know with certainty how much it actually costs. NordVPN (Get NordVPN With up to 68% off + 3 Months Free at NordVPN)(Opens in a new window) meanwhile, cruises above it all at $11.95 per month. How a VPN Works How a VPN Works Money doesn't need to be an obstacle when it comes to using a VPN. TunnelBear VPN and AnchorFree Hotspot Shield both offer free editions that restrict data usage on a monthly and daily cycle, respectively. ProtonVPN ($4 Per Month for Yearly Basic Plan at ProtonVPN)(Opens in a new window) offers even more flexible pricing, but limits some of its features and servers depending on which subscription you purchase. Despite this, ProtonVPN's free subscription places no limit on the amount of data you may use, making it easily the best option for free users. HideIPVPN doesn't have a free subscription, but you can demo the product for 24 hours without providing payment or even an email address. You can purchase a subscription from HideIPVPN using major credit and debit cards, PayPal, or a variety of online payment options. The company also accepts anonymous payments in BitCoin, via Bit-pay. TorGuard VPN offers other anonymous options by accepting numerous prepaid gift cards from the likes of Starbucks and Subway. Each subscription includes allows up to three simultaneous connections per account. That means you can have any three devices connected to HideIPVPN a the same time. Five is the industry standard, although NordVPN provides six, CyberGhost gives seven, and IPVanish VPN hands out an even more generous 10. Windscribe VPN and Avira Phantom VPN, it should be noted, have no restrictions on the number of devices you use with their services. If you want to extend VPN protection to every device on your network, HideIPVPN offers instructions on how to configure your router to use its service. That's handy, although a few VPN providers go further, offering preconfigured routers for sale. Some companies let you purchase additional simultaneous connections, but not HideIPVPN. I particularly like how TorGuard VPN handles these upgrades, with a simple slider letting you select how many simultaneous connections you need. Other services, such as NordVPN, provide static IP addresses for sale, should you require one. HideIPVPN also does not provide this as an option. VPN Protocols There's a number of ways to create a VPN connection, and I prefer the OpenVPN protocol. This is an open-source protocol, meaning its code is freely available and has been inspected by anyone with the interest to do so. I'm happy to see that HideIPVPN supports OpenVPNas well as the excellent IKEv2 VPN protocolon Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. The inclusion of iOS on this list is notable, since Apple requires developers to jump through more hoops when they include OpenVPN. HideIPVPN also supports L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, and SSTP on Windows. Its macOS app also supports L2TP/IPSec and PPTP, as does its iOS app. These are older, and in some cases less secure protocols, and you shouldn't use them if you can avoid it. They're handy if you're using a lot of legacy equipment, since these are commonly supported. HideIPVPN also supports SoftEther on Windowswhich is a bit unusual, but interesting for a certain kind of network geek. There's been a lot of buzz around WireGuard, an emerging VPN technology that promises to be faster, simpler, and more secure than current options. It's also still being developed, and not really ready for widespread deployment. Servers and Server Locations In theory, the more servers a VPN company provides, the better the service you'll experience, because you're more likely to have a server near you that isn't stuffed full of other subscribers. It's probably a more complicated story than that, but I err on the side of more being better. HideIPVPN, unfortunately, offers only 29 servers, a far cry from ProtonVPN's 347 servers, a farther cry from the 3,000-plus servers available from CyberGhost, ExpressVPN, TorGuard, and Private Internet Access ($56.94 for 2-Year Plan + 2-Months Free at Private Internet Access)(Opens in a new window) , and a distant wail from the 5,200-odd servers from NordVPN. Also important is the geographic distribution of those servers. More server locations means you're more likely to find one nearby, wherever you go. It also gives you more options for location spoofing. HideIPVPN comes up short here, as well, offering only 11 countries. This leaves Africa, Central and South America, India, and most of Asia high and dry. NordVPN, by contrast, offers servers in 62 countries. For its part, ExpressVPN boasts an impressive 94 countries in its roster. I'd like to see HideIPVPN greatly expand its available server locations in the future. Some readers have expressed concern over VPNs using virtual servers. These are software defined servers, meaning that a single physical server can host several virtual ones. These virtual servers can also be configured to appear in a country other than where their hosts are located. The concern is that it's harder to tell where your traffic is actually going. I don't see virtual servers as necessarily bad. A VPN company can, for instance, use a virtual server in a country with robust privacy laws and make it appear that it is in a more dangerous location, in order to service that region while protecting the server. I like to see VPN companies being clear about which servers are virtual, and where they are truly located. HideIPVPN says that 90 percent of its servers are physical hardware. But I was unable to determine if its virtual servers are where they appear to be. They certainly aren't clearly marked. I'd like to see HideIPVPN be more transparent about this. Your Privacy With HideIPVPN A big reason I use a VPN is to protect my personal information and online activities from being harvested and monetized by my ISP. But a crooked VPN company could just as easily gather my information as an ISP could. That's why I read through each company's privacy policy and have them answer specific questions about what the company does to protect customer privacy. HideIPVPN has a short but very readable privacy policy. It assures customers that their information will never be sold or shared with third parties. A company representative assured me that HideIPVPN only makes money from VPN subscription sales. Weirdly, the Privacy Policy says very little about actually using the VPN. For that, I had to look at the Terms of Service. This document is slightly longer, but includes assurances that the company does not gather personal information or data about customers' online activities while the VPN is active. That's what I want to hear. HideIPVPN operates under Servermanagement LLC and is within US legal jurisdiction. Other VPN companies, such as NordVPN, are quick to point out that because they are based outside the US, they are not required to respond to US subpoenas or court orders. Still, the company representative I spoke with assured me that when HideIPVPN responds to requests for information, it has nothing to share with authorities. HideIPVPN currently does not engage in third party audits or evaluations, which are starting to become a trend among VPN providers. An audit provides outside verification of the VPN company's standards and practices. While the scope of audits varies wildly, I'm grateful to see more efforts to hold companies accountable. TunnelBear ($120 for Three-Year Plan at TunnelBear)(Opens in a new window) , for example, has committed to undergoing annual audits, and has publicly released the information over two consecutive years. NordVPN recently commissioned its own audit of its no-log policy. Additionally, HideIPVPN has not participated in the Center for Democracy and Technology's VPN questionnaire(Opens in a new window). Much of the information requested by the CDT is the same that I asked for, and relayed here. ExpressVPN, IVPN, Mullvad, TunnelBear, and VyprVPN have responded. In general, I didn't find anything surprising or worrying in HideIPVPN's policies. That said, I believe the company could do a better job relaying this information to customers. I'd also like to see the company issue transparency reports relaying the amount of information requested by law enforcement each year, and undergo independent audits in the future. Hands-On With HideIPVPN I had no trouble downloading and installing the HideIPVPN Windows client on my Lenovo ThinkPad T460s laptop running Windows 10. While you can configure your computer to connect without using the client, I always recommend using the software provided by the VPN company. It's much easier to use and gives you access to features that wouldn't otherwise be available. The HideIPVPN app is tall and slender, looking quite a bit like a mobile app translated to PC. In fact, looking at the HideIPVPN Android app, I'd say that's exactly what it is. I'm all for apps having a consistent look and feel across different platforms, but I think HideIPVPN goes a bit too far, since the Windows app feels out of place and a bit clunky. It is, thankfully, very easy to use. A large connect button gets you online without any hassle. The option to browse for a different server location is clearly marked and within easy reach. From the location list, you can choose either a country or a specific server location within that country. You can also order the list by speed, which is handy. I prefer apps that provide a little more information about specific servers, such as what kind of load a server is currently experiencing. The company does allow P2P and BitTorrent on its servers, but only the servers in Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. If you plan on doing a lot of that thing, consider marking these as favorites to keep them close at hand in the app. The HideIPVPN app is a bit sparse, but does have one trick up its sleeve with App Killer. This automatically closes the applications you specify, should the VPN connection be disrupted. That way, you can be assured that no information will accidentally travel in the clear. Many other VPNs offer this feature, usually calling it a Kill Switch. One concern with VPNs is ensuring that information about your ISP or DNS requests isn't leaked. I test this using the aptly named DNS Leak Test tool(Opens in a new window). I found that while my ISP information was obscured, the DNS results were troubling. Without a VPN, I see five to six Verizon DNS servers listed, and usually only one DNS server when a VPN is running. In the case of HideIPVPN, I saw five to six Google DNS servers in the US and Belgium. I've reached out to HideIPVPN to clarify if this is expected behavior. HideIPVPN and Netflix VPNs are an important security tool, but some companies would prefer you didn't use them. Sometimes this is because of a genuine need to try and verify your location for security purposessuch as your bank making sure you are who you say you are. Other times, it's to enforce company policies. In the case of Netflix, the latter is true. Netflix distribution deals are specific to different regions, meaning that what is licensed in the UK isn't necessarily the same as what's available in the US. When you use a VPN, you can sidestep those restrictions, and Netflix isn't a fan. I had no trouble accessing Netflix via a US-based VPN server with HideIPVPN when I last checked. Given the cat-and-mouse relationship between Netflix and VPN companies, however, you may have different results. Beyond VPN In order to stand out from the ever-increasing horde of competitors, VPN providers sometimes include additional tools that go beyond VPN protection. NordVPN, for example, lets you connect to the Tor anonymization network via its servers. TorGuard offers ad-blocking and malware blocking DNS that uses blacklists to keep annoying advertisements and dangerous URLs out of your path. CyberGhost offers static, dedicated IP addresses for people that want to have a particular outward-facing IP address. There are many other features from different companies, but HideIPVPN isn't one of them. The company offers a VPN service, with associated features, and that's all. Speed and Performance No matter which VPN service you use, your Internet performance will take a hit. There's no way around it. To measure what kind of impact each service has, we perform a series of tests using Ookla's Speedtest.net(Opens in a new window), which is owned by our publisher, Ziff Davis. We then compare those results to a baseline, to find a percent change. You can read more about our speed testing methodology as well as its limitations in the aptly named feature How We Test VPNs. See How We Test VPNs In my testing, I found that HideIPVPN increased latency scores by 300 percent, and reduced upload speed test results by 53 percent and download speed test results by 52.8 percent. When I first tested HideIPVPN, these were far and above the best results I had recorded. Encrypt.me recently surpassed HideIPVPN, which narrowly beat HideIPVPN in upload speed tests and handily defeated it in latency tests. It was a close call, but Encrypt.me narrowly beat out HideIPVPN for the title of fastest VPN. You can see how HideIPVPN compares in the chart below with the top 10 performers among the over 30 services we tested. While speed might seem like it's important, I argue that server distribution, features, and the price of a VPN are far more important. Keep in mind that there are so many factors that can affect VPN performance, so while my results are useful for comparison, they will certainly differ from your experience. HideIPVPN on Other Platforms In addition to the Windows client I tested, HideIPVPN offers software for Android, iOS, and macOS. We haven't reviewed those other offerings as of yet. Other VPN companies offer proxy plug-ins for browsers, letting you change the apparent location of your online activities, but without the added protection of VPN encryption. TunnelBear does this, but goes even further with a standalone ad-blocker and password manager. Hide and Seek It had been some time since we last reviewed HideIPVPN and, for better or worse, things are mostly the same. The service has always been speedy, and remains very close to the top in our exhaustive speed testing. It's easy to use and approachable enough for a total novice to get online immediately. That said, we are unimpressed by the company's extremely limited server offerings. HideIPVPN has always done well with speed, but now it needs to expand its server base, clean up its pricing, and get competitive. We continue to recommend our Editors' Choice winners NordVPN, Private Internet Access, ProtonVPN, and TunnelBear, all of which excel in different areas. NordVPN offers a large service across the globe, Private Internet Access brings an affordable and robust offering, ProtonVPN provides a flexible and technically savvy service, while TunnelBear is friendly and approachable. HideIPVPN 3.5 (Opens in a new window) Check Price (Opens in a new window) Pros Excellent speed test scores. Simple interface. Allows P2P, BitTorrent activity on specific servers. Supports legacy and niche protocols. View More Cons Tiny number of servers in just 11 countries. Offers fewer licenses than the competition. Confusing pricing structure. The Bottom Line HideIPVPN is among the fastest VPNs, but it has a tiny number of servers and offers fewer licenses than the competition. A New York judge this week rejected the government's request to force Apple to unlock a phone involved in a drug case, a move that could be good news for Cupertino's more public battle with the FBI over the phone used by the San Bernardino shooter. New York U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein is not convinced that the All Writs Act gives the government the authority to force Apple to unlock a phone seized by the DEA. In deciding whether to grant the request, the judge said he considered three main things: the closeness of Apple's relationship to the underlying criminal conduct and government investigation; the burden the requested order would impose on Apple; and the necessity of imposing such a burden on Apple. "After reviewing the facts in the record and the parties' arguments, I conclude that none of those factors justifies imposing on Apple the obligation to assist the government's investigation against its will. I therefore deny the motion," Judge Orenstein wrote. At issue is an iPhone 5s seized in 2014 from Jun Feng, who was accused of drug trafficking. Eventually, Feng pleaded guilty, but the government said access to Feng's phone was still necessary because he pleaded guilty to conspiracy, so the device might lead the feds to accomplices. Judge Orenstein is not convinced. "Ultimately, the question to be answered in this matter, and in others like it across the country, is not whether the government should be able to force Apple to help it unlock a specific device; it is instead whether the All Writs Act resolves that issue and many others like it yet to come," he wrote. "I conclude that it does not." Going forward, this debate over privacy and security in the digital age "must take place among legislators who are equipped to consider the technological and cultural realities of a world their predecessors could not begin to conceive," the judge concluded. "It would betray our constitutional heritage and our people's claim to democratic governance for a judge to pretend that our Founders already had that debate, and ended it, in 1789," when the All Writs Act was enacted. As reported(Opens in a new window) by Reuters, a senior Apple exec says this bodes well for its fight with the FBI over access to the iPhone 5c belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters. In that case, Apple has rejected the FBI's request to unlock the shooter's iPhone. To do that, Apple would have to create a new operating system to crack the device's encryption, which Apple CEO Tim Cook says is a slippery slope. If it falls into the wrong hands, it could do serious damage to the security of iPhone's around the globe, he said. That case is ongoing; it remains to be seen if the New York decision has an influence on the San Bernardino case. A German court fined Facebook $109,000 (100,000) for not adequately complying with an order to update its terms and conditions. The Berlin Regional Court levied the fine against the social network(Opens in a new window), alleging that while Facebook changed the wording of its clause, the underlying message remained the same. This case dates back to 2010, when the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZBV) sued Facebook over its Friend Finder service, which sends email invitations in the name of the user to folks who are not registered with the service, and might not want to be. In January, Germany's top court reaffirmed a previous decision that the Friend Finder tool violates consumer protection laws by importing address data. It also requested the $109,000 fine on behalf of VZBV(Opens in a new window), which argued that the IP licensing clause in Facebook's T&C was not sufficiently modified. That fine has now been handed down. "Facebook tried very persistently to circumvent consumers' rights in Germany and Europe," the German watchdog said in a statement(Opens in a new window). "A fine of 100,000 is a clear signal. Companies must implement court decisions and can not just sit [them out]." Though Facebook complied with the order to clarify a provision in its terms "a while ago," a company spokeswoman told PCMag that "the court felt we did not update our terms quickly enough and has issued a fine, which we will pay." Facebook has also been under fire in Germany over xenophobic and racist comments posted to the social network. The social network in September agreed to partner with the German Justice Ministry to identify and remove offending posts. The agreement came about two months before German officials launched an investigation into Facebook's treatment of hate speechnamely that the service was leaving some of it online, which was possibly inciting racial hatred against immigrants. In general, the First Amendment in the U.S. protects whatever terrible things you can think to say on the Internet, though Facebook bans content that is "directly harmful." Countries like Germany and France, though have stricter rules on offensive comments, banning things like pro-Nazi commentary. Not a day goes by when we don't hear about another hack. To ensure that your business is not next, Microsoft has announced(Opens in a new window) Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection, which it says "provides a new post-breach layer of protection to the Windows 10 security stack." Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection firstly aims at detecting advanced attacks. According to Microsoft, it employs "sophisticated threat intelligence" that can determine who may have conducted the attack, how it was done, and why it happened. The company crunches that data with help from behavioral sensors, cloud-based security analytics, and other data compiled by Microsoft's security team. "This data is then augmented by expertise from world-class security experts and advanced threat protection Hunters from across the globe, who are uniquely equipped to detect attacks," according to Microsoft. Once the basics of the attack have been identified, Microsoft's new platform provides companies with recommendations on how they should respond. The tool will find the files and machines that were affected and allow users to quarantine them from the network. Microsoft says it will offer "remediation tools for affected endpoints" at some point in the future to help companies eliminate the flawed data. Finally, Microsoft says that its Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection will be continually updated and since it's based in the cloud, will not require "on-premise server infrastructure or ongoing maintenance." It will also work in tandem with Microsoft's other security solutions, including Advanced Threat Analytics. Looking ahead, Microsoft hopes to sign on more companies. As of this writing, the company has rolled out Advanced Threat Protection to "early adopter customers." It's currently protecting 500,000 endpoints, which includes the entire Microsoft network. The launch could prove important to the growing number of companies that are adopting Windows 10, including the Department of Defense. Google wants to help Android app developers better understand its policies. The web giant has redesigned its Android Developer Program Policy Center to communicate its Google Play policies "with greater transparency and clarity." The redesign should make it easier for developers to understand Google's rules, which cover appropriate content and activities in the store, and will hopefully result in fewer apps being booted from Google Play over violations. "From making it easier to self-correct minor violations in minutes using the app publishing status(Opens in a new window) feature to improving our policy communication, the new policy center is part of our ongoing effort to improve the developer experience," Google Senior Product Manager Atul Kumar wrote in a blog post(Opens in a new window). The redesigned site organizes policies by theme (like restricted content, privacy and security, monetization and ads) so it's easier to find what you're looking for. You'll also now find visual examples and detailed guidelines for the most common violations, as well as expanded information on Google's policy enforcement measures. "We constantly listen to our developers and users to maintain fair and defined policies and look for ways to improve how we communicate those policies to help developers avoid accidental pitfalls," Kumar wrote. If you're an Android developer, it's a good idea to stay in-the-know about Google's policies. At this point, more than 1 billion Android users hit up Google Play every month to discover new apps, so if you want to reach those users you'll need to follow the rules. Check out the new policy center(Opens in a new window) and then share your feedback(Opens in a new window) with Google. Apple took its iPhone encryption fight with the FBI to Capitol Hill today, where members of the House Judiciary Committee quizzed FBI Director James Comey and Apple's top lawyer, Bruce Sewell, about how best to balance privacy and security. Both sides reiterated their talking points, with Comey asking the panel if the U.S. really wants to have warrant-proof spaces, and Sewell arguing that Apple is in an "arms race" against criminals, terrorists, and hackers. Among the more contentious moments during the hearing were exchanges between Sewell and Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner and Trey Gowdy, who pressed the Apple exec for details on what type of legislative approach Apple would support on this issue. In a February interview with ABC, CEO Tim Cook said Apple wants the issue to be debated by Congress, not the courts, in large part because it would be more public than a flurry of court filings. Today, Sewell declined to lay out actual policy proposals Apple would support, though he said "it is my firm belief that such legislation can be drafted." The company is "asking for a debate; I don't have a solution," Sewell told Sensenbrenner. "We need to get the right stakeholders in the right room." That didn't appease Sensenbrenner and Gowdy, who separately berated Sewell for not giving Congress anything specific to introduce. "I can tell you I don't think you're going to like what comes out of Congress," quipped Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican. Comey argued that "the courts are competent," but acknowledged that they probably can't resolve the "tension between privacy and security we're all feeling." "Congress certainly has a critical role to play," Comey said. The FBI is looking to disable the password on an iPhone 5c owned by one of the San Bernardino shooters without activating a feature that wipes a phone after 10 incorrect guesses. To do this, Apple says it will have to create an entirely new operating system, which if it got into the wrong handscould conceivably unlock all iPhones, putting customers at risk of having their personal data exposed. Members of the committee questioned whether the FBI could just crack the iPhone themselves. "It pains me to say this," Comey responded, but the FBI does not "have the capabilities" that the movies and TV might suggest. "Apple is very good at what it does," Comey continued. "They have set out to design a phone that can't be opened, and they're darn-near succeeding. That poses a challenge for us." To that end, Comey argued that if Apple were to create this alternate operating system, it could probably keep it safe. "I have a lot of faith...in the company's ability to secure its information," Comey said. Apple's iCloud is not encrypted, but "I don't lay awake at night" worrying about my personal information. "I think these folks are pros." Apple is not convinced, but in addition to the security risks, Sewell expressed concern that complying "would set a dangerous precedent for government intrusion on the privacy and safety of its citizens." In the long run, it might not even work. Comey acknowledged that, if Apple weakened the security of its iPhones, terrorists could conceivably switch to an overseas encryption solution that is outside the FBI's jurisdiction. Though he has a "hard time seeing that" happen given the popularity of Apple's smartphones. Rep. Darrell Issa, meanwhile, questioned whether the FBI had tried to mirror the iPhone 5c so that it could try certain approaches without wiping the data. "For reasons I don't fully understand, [that is] not possible," Comey said. Ben admits that there is something missing from Caila. Little does he know (as we do from the previews) that she will show up at his resort to make things more complicated. I have a feeling that he's going to wipe that smile off her face, but then again, there's half an hour left. You guys, we are being tricked. They don't let them see each other like this. Either this will be the thing that's supposed to change his mind, or it will be heart break for Caila. She really never does stop smiling and acting like a Disney princess. He sits, staring contemplatively into the distance when she bounds over, putting her hands over his face, almost blinding him. Surprise! He won't hold her hand, so I guess he is going to break up with her. She is wearing a crazy amount of foundation, which she probably doesn't need. How will they fill up the remaining twenty minutes? She smiles even as she's being broken up with. She asks for more answers, like, was it something she did or didn't do in the fantasy suite (see first paragraph re: fisting)? Is it because she's too non-white for him? I thought she was the one. Let's not forget that he's not that much of catch. She leaves, sobbing in the car but with the perfect amount of curl to her hair. He sets us up for the climactic ending by telling the camera that he hopes he didn't make a mistake. The best, best, best ending would be if he sent both girls home at the last episode and said he wanted her. I bet that's what they're going to do. He'll be tortured by his choice and not be able to get Caila off his mind and then realize that he has to go to her.Or at least call her on his cell phone. He says, "Right now, I have two true loves." Uh...Oxymoron. Also: At the rose ceremony, he forces the remaining women to have a group hug. Lauren H. has to be annoyed that Ben would feel the same way about her as he does about JoJo. Maybe he could propose to both of them? Or neither. Or call Caila. Either way we have to wait two weeks. How will we survive? Three dental hygienists/entrepreneurs/software tuners in search of true love. Let's start with twenty minutes of recaps so that we can be reminded of who is who and be made to feel like they've gone on fifty first dates instead of two twenty minute interactions on the beach. As an aside, don't you just bet that there's a S & M movie out there called? I am afraid to Google it. Hey, I forgot that JoJo showed up in a unicorn mask. You're right, producers, that changes everything.This is the fantasy suite episode, where they get to choose whether or not they will spend all night together in the Holiday Inn Deluxe in Jamaica. The suspense factor is zero, because no one in the history ofhas ever turned down an overnight date card. I did not fact check that statement, but I'm fairly certain I'm right.First over night date with Caila who he describes as bubbly and exuberant (difference being?). First, they take a quiet and awkward trip down the river on a raft. Ben goes, "This is relaxing." Translation: "We have nothing in common." Caila explains to the camera that she is stressed out because there are two other women he might be in love with. No matter what he says to her, she responds with "Yeah!" They stop at a beach and are served jerky chicken in a giant green fond and drinks in real coconuts with plastic straws from McDonald's. The only black people who manage to stay on the show are the natives of the countries they are exploiting.Later that night, another conversation in front of the beach with flaming torches that illuminate their shiny faces. Ben, wipe the sweat from under your nostrils, please. A long river of perspiration slides down the divot of his nose. Caila makes a confusing speech like, "Whenever I'm with you, things feel so wrong together and then when we're apart, that feeling grows and I want to tell you that...I love you." They wade into the ocean and make out while fireworks prematurely explode, foreshadowing the three minutes of passion they'll experience momentarily in the fantasy suite. The next morning, Caila looks beautiful and her eyelashes are super curly, perhaps from the humidity.Second fantasy suite with Lauren H., flight attendant in a pair of denim underwear. They are shown a pail full of baby turtles that will undoubtedly be devoured in seconds by seagulls. Should you pile 25 baby turtles on top of each other in a bucket? They make a mad dash to the ocean, and we are not subjected to the reality of them being eaten one by one by other creatures. Later, Ben and Lauren H. will ironically be served turtle soup prior to relaxing in a hot tub.I can't capture all that's happened on this boring date, because I had to eat two bowls of Honey Chex. Ben did break all of the rules by saying that he's in love with Lauren. To her perky little face, I mean. They are completely in love with each other (they say as the music swells). He draws the blinds and the lights go out amid smooching noises. Why not just end the show now?Do any of the women get really pissed off after watching him essentially have the opportunity to have sex with two others? He pays the exact amount of attention to each one with the same level of tepid intensity.JoJo shows up, braless, runs toward him and wraps her legs around him in the way I hate. She has borrowed Lauren H.'s short shorts. The two brothers show up in a helicopter to whisk her away. Oh, wait, no, they are taking a journey to Negril, Jamaica where waterfalls abound. They appear to have chemistry. Is his tattoo from Psalms? "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Bachelorettes." This would be a deal killer for me. We get a romantic shot of Ben's butt crack as they loll on the rocks. He tells JoJo that he loves her too. What the flip?? He didn't say it to Caila. I looked up his tattoo. Ita Bible verse. It reads Happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks (Psalm 137:9). No wonder he sent the mommy character home. A bit troublesome that a person who says he's committed to the Lord has no problem making out with twenty different women and spending the night with three of them.Is he telling them that he loves them so that they will go farther in the fantasy suite? Ben questions JoJo about her family and she says, "My brothers just love me. They want to protect me. They would kill for me, capisce?" She accepts the fantasy card to the Romeo and Juliet Villa at Sandals. Did Ben forget about the fact that she is still communicating with her ex-boyfriend? They wake up and eat watermelon. He leaves with a back pack on, like a Boy Scout. A new malicious program that encrypts files on Web servers has affected at least 100 websites over the past few weeks, signaling a new trend in ransomware development. The program, which is written in PHP, is called CTB-Locker, a name also used by one of the most widespread ransomware programs for Windows computers. Its not clear though if theres a relationship between this new Web-based ransomware and the Windows version. Once installed on a Web server, the program replaces the sites index.php and creates a directory called Crypt that contains additional PHP files. It starts to encrypt all the files in the servers Web directory when it receives a specifically crafted request from an attacker. After the encryption process is complete, the websites home page will display a message asking for a payment to be made in bitcoin. One of the first attacks with this Web-based version of CTB-Locker was reported on Feb. 12 when the website of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy fell victim to it. It wasnt immediately clear at the time whether the website was affected by a real ransomware attack or if it was just an attempt to scare the website owners. Some people were understandably skeptical because the CTB-Locker name had previously only been associated with Windows ransomware. Researchers from Stormshield, a subsidiary of Airbus Defence and Space, have since managed to obtain a full copy of the malicious code from another affected website. In fact they they found 102 websites that have been infected with this Web-based ransomware so far. Its not yet clear how the attackers gained access to those websites in order to install CTB-Locker. Blaming a specific vulnerability in a popular content management system (CMS) like WordPress is hard, because some of the affected websites did not use a CMS, the Stormshield researchers said in a blog post Friday. The infected hosts run both Linux and Windows and the majority of them (73%) host an Exim service (SMTP server), they said. Some of them are vulnerable to ShellShock, but without a deep access on victims servers, it is difficult to understand how this ransomware infected hosts. Most of the affected websites also had a password-protected Web shell installed. This is a type of backdoor program that attackers install on Web servers once theyve gained unauthorized access to them. CTB-Locker is not the first ransomware to target websites. In November, researchers discovered a similar threat dubbed Linux.Encoder.1, but that program appeared to be experimental and had cryptographic flaws that allowed researchers to create a decryption tool. Its likely that Linux.Encoder.1 served as inspiration for other ransomware creators, showing that such attacks against Web servers are viable. As such, CTB-Locker will probably not be the last ransomware program to encrypt websites. Google has expanded the digital loss protection features in Gmail for Work, to help ensure that employees dont share confidential information outside the company they work for. The service can now use optical character recognition on attachments, so administrators can ensure that employees arent sharing mounds of confidential data in images (whether intentionally or not). That adds to existing features such as the ability to look inside common attachment types, including documents and spreadsheets. The OCR capabilities integrate with content detectors, so administrators can do things like prevent members of the accounting department from sending an email with a credit card number in it to someone outside the organization. Its a key feature for businesses worried about confidential information leaving the company, even if employees dont mean to do anything wrong. Google added more predefined content detectors with this update, including ones that cover personally identifiable information in additional countries, and ones that better cover medical data. Organizations that want finer control over their DLP policies can take advantage of new parameters in Gmail for Works settings to do things like set up different policies based on whether a message contains a few pieces of personally identifiable information or dozens. Google first added DLP to Gmail for Work in December. Improving its capabilities is important for Google as it tries to compete with Microsoft and other providers to sell more productivity services to businesses. Four U.S. senators have proposed a bill that would call on the Federal Communications Commission to study the need for more spectrum to connect Internet of Things devices. The bill, proposed by a bipartisan group of senators, would require the FCC to look at whether there is enough spectrum to support the continued growth of IoT. The agency also would have to study regulatory barriers to providing more licensed and unlicensed spectrum for IoT. The FCC would have to report back to Congress with recommendations within a year. IoT might benefit from a U.S. government push to make agencies give up little-used frequencies for commercial use or at least share them with other users. The Citizens Broadband Radio Service in the 3.5GHz band, created last year, will allow for unlicensed and lightly licensed use of spectrum that had been fully devoted to military use. The bill, called the Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things (DIGIT) Act, also calls for a federal IoT working group to consider issues like spectrum needs, consumer protection and security. The group would meet with enterprises, IoT vendors and consumer groups and come back to Congress with recommendations within a year. Congress has signaled before that it thinks theres too much at stake in IoT to leave it entirely up to industry. The Senate passed a resolution last March that said the U.S. should have a national policy on IoT, and Congress has already held a hearing on IoT issues such as privacy, security and spectrum. Industry representatives told Congress last July that heavy-handed regulation could stifle IoT innovation. But because it could bring many new devices into consumers lives and affect how industries operate, IoT touches on several areas the government regulates. And to grow as much as industry proponents like Cisco and Ericsson predict, the new technology may need more wireless spectrum from bands it cant yet use. The new bill, sponsored by a bipartisan group of senators, would have the U.S. Secretary of Commerce convene the new working group. It could include representatives from the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Transportation and other agencies. The DIGIT Act is sponsored by Republican Senators Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, along with Democrats Cory Booker of New Jersey and Brian Schatz of Hawaii. NTT Communications is adopting OpenStack in its public cloud, and introducing a bare-metal option to its hosted private cloud offering. It is also expanding connectivity and management tools for hybrid cloud environments. Japan will see the new Enterprise Cloud features first, followed later this year by the U.S., Germany, the U.K., Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong, the company said Tuesday. NTT Communications is the international networking and IT services subsidiary of Japanese telecommunications giant NTT, and Enterprise Cloud is the brand it uses for a variety of hosted services. The company has been testing a couple of open-source tools, OpenStack and Cloud Foundry, in its Cloud n hosting service at home in Japan, and now intends to roll them out to Enterprise Cloud users around the world. It boosted its European capacity last March with the US$840 million acquisition of hosting company e-shelter. OpenStack will give NTT Communications customers an industry-standard API for automated control of their workloads in the public cloud, while Cloud Foundry will provide the basis for its platform-as-a-service offering, allowing customers to deploy applications on OpenStack within NTTs cloud, or with other infrastructure-as-a-service providers such as Amazon Web Services. Rolling out these open-source platforms to international customers will increase the appeal of Enterprise Cloud for dev-ops and agile shops that have traditionally been better served at NTT by Cloud n, with its narrower geographical focus, and will allow the company to better compete with offerings from the likes of Google, Microsoft, AWS or RackSpace on a global basis. On the private cloud side, NTT is now offering bare-metal servers with hypervisor options including VMwares vSphere and Microsofts Hyper-V as part of Enterprise Cloud. It is also beefing up its internal network architecture, to bring public and private clouds closer together. This will allow enterprise customers to replicate on-premises computing environments in the hosted private cloud where necessary for security or licensing reasons, and to cut the need for server reconfiguration by putting public and hosted private cloud components in the same network segment, the company said. Within its data centers, the company offers a free 10Gbps closed network, while connectivity between data centers is provided by NTTs global carrier infrastructure, either free or at low cost, it said. Finally, NTT Communications is launching its own cloud management platform to unify control of its own public and hybrid cloud services and those of AWS, Microsoft Azure and other providers. NTT began rolling out direct connectivity between its cloud and those of AWS and Azure last August. The company isnt finished adding new features. In a future update to its cloud offering, it is also dangling the promise of SAP HANA cloud integration. The inventors of public key cryptography have won the 2015 Turing Award, just as a contentious debate kicks off in Washington over how much protection encryption should really provide. The Association for Computing Machinery announced Tuesday that Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman received the ACM Turing Award for their contributions to cryptography. The two are credited with the invention of public key cryptography, which is widely used to scramble data so it can be sent securely between users and websites, and to protect information on devices like smartphones and computer hard drives. The ability for two parties to communicate privately over a secure channel is fundamental for billions of people around the world, ACM said in a statement. By coincidence or design, the award was announced at almost the exact moment that a hearing on encryption got under way in Washington, D.C., before the House Judiciary Committee. Lawmakers are hearing testimony on how they should balance the right to privacy with the needs of law enforcement to access encrypted data for national security reasons and to solve crimes. Representatives from Apple and the FBI, who are battling in court over access to an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino mass shooters, are testifying at the hearing. Diffie was chief security officer at the former Sun Microsystems and Hellman is professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Stanford University. Their paper from 1976, New Directions in Cryptography, introduced the ideas of public-key cryptography and digital signatures, the foundation for most regularly-used security protocols on the Internet today, the ACM noted. In the system they invented, the public key is used to encrypt data, while the private key, which never leaves the receiving device, is used to decrypt it. The system is designed so that anyone who knows the public key cant calculate the private key, even though the two are linked. The Turing Award is named for Alan Turing, the British mathematician who helped crack the Enigma coding machine used by Germany in World War II, depicted in the film The Imitation Game. The award comes with a $1 million prize. In a blog post Tuesday, Hellman said he would use his half of the money to further a project to curtail nuclear proliferation and conflict. ACM didnt immediately reply to a question about the timing of the announcement. It also coincided with a panel at the RSA security show in San Francisco where Diffie and Hellman were speaking. A federal judge in New York on Monday ruled in favor of Apple, saying that an obscure colonial-era law did not authorize him to force the firm to lift data from an iPhone at the governments request. The ruling is not binding in any other court, but takes on an outsize importance as the U.S. government battles Apple in a separate case in California over whether the tech firm should help unlock a phone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino terrorist attack last December. The two cases involve different versions of iPhones operating system and vastly different requests for technical help, but they both turn on whether a law from 1789 known as the All Writs Act can be applied to cases in which the government cannot get at encrypt ed data stored on suspects devices. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein in Brooklyn, who sits in the Eastern District of New York, has become the first federal judge to rule that the act does not permit a court to order companies to pull encrypted data off a customers phone or tablet. Orenstein made the ruling, having noted that Apple has extracted data in similar federal cases at least 70 times before. Orenstein found that the All Writs Act does not apply in instances where Congress had the opportunity but failed to create an authority for the government to get the type of help it was seeking, such as having firms ensure they have a way to obtain data from encrypted phones. He also found that ordering Apple to help the government by extracting data from the iPhone- which belonged to a drug dealer would place an unreasonable burden on the company. We are disappointed in the Magistrates ruling and plan to ask the District Judge to review the matter in the coming days, a Justice Department spokewoman Emily Pierce said in a statement. As our prior court filings make clear, Apple expressly agreed to assist the government in accessing the data on this iPhone as it had many times before in similar circumstances and only changed course when the governments application for assistance was made public by the court. This phone may contain evidence that will assist us in an active criminal investigation and we will continue to use the judicial system in our attempt to obtain it. Nonetheless, Orensteins ruling, said Alex Abdo, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, sends a strong message that the government cant circumvent the national debate by trying to manufacture new authorities through the courts. Following Orensteins reasoning, Abdo said, If the court rejects the governments request in New York, then the FBIs request in San Bernardino is necessarily illegal, too. But other analysts say that other courts are just as likely to rule in the opposite direction. In Riverside, Calif., for instance, magistrate judge Sheri Pym, at the Justice Departments request, last week issued an order requiring Apple to build software to override a safety feature in a different iPhone operating system to enable the FBI to try its hand at cracking the phones password. The order was unprecedented. The government has never before asked a firm to build software to undo a security feature that it had built in to protect a phones encrypted data. In this case, the feature wipes data from the phone after 10 incorrect tries to guess the password. But FBI Director James Comey said the request was quite narrow and meant only to allow the bureau to try to guess the terrorists passcode without the phone essentially self-destructing. Experts said that once the feature was overridden, it should take about 20 to 30 minutes to crack a four-digit password. Apple fears that if it is forced to comply with that request, countless more will follow to help it unlock phones in even routine criminal investigations. Theron Brison loved spreading his joy of music, friends say. They plan to continue that tradition with a benefit concert to raise cash for music education while remembering the late bassist Saturday, March 5. The 7 p.m. show at The Box in downtown Riverside will feature several funk greats, including Nona Hendryx. Touched By The Funk 2 will be the second event held to honor Brison, a Moreno Valley resident killed in October 2011 at the San Jacinto office where he worked as a drug counselor. Two men were sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing the 48-year-old Brison. Friends organized the first concert a few months after his death to benefit a music education fund, also the beneficiary of the latest show. In addition to working as a drug counselor, Brison was an online music teacher with Funk University, part of the Bootsy Collins Foundation, which helps provide instruments to children. Best remembered as a bassist with funk legend Bootsy Collins, Brison was known in music circles as Thee Ram Jam for his elaborate stage persona that included wearing a mask. Nosente Uhuti, Brisons godsister and a member of Bent Not Broken Inspired, an arts group helping with the tribute, said Brison was a big believer in encouraging youth to pursue music. We hope to continue his vision that kids should have the resources they need to be creative, she said. Also appearing at the concert will be D-Funktion, Thee Ram Jam Crew, Saxual, Jahway, Four Plus One, American Idol contestant Rocky Peter and Lady Goldie. As part of the concert, organizers are giving away four bass guitars provided by guitar manufacturer ESP. Two will be go to the Encore High School for the Arts in Riverside; two will be given to young aspiring musicians between 15 and 25. The young musicians entered a contest in which they provided a three-minute music sample and a 200-word statement on their musical aspirations. The winners will get their guitars at the show. The prizes aim to offer extra encouragement to those who take up the bass, Uhuti said. Its not a simple instrument to play, she said. Those that choose it as their musical journey, they have made a serious commitment to playing. The group hopes to make the concerts regular events and plans another one in 2018. Contact the writer: 951-368-9558 or ighori@pressenterprise.com A marijuana activist and former Rialto congressional aide who was exonerated in 2012 of child-porn charges was stopped last week on a Texas highway with more than $1 million in marijuana in the vehicle, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety news release. Samuel Hershel Clauder II, 64, is listed as CEO and treasurer of California Cannabis Unity Campaign 2016. He backed two of the 19 initiatives proposed for the November ballot that would legalize marijuana for recreational use adults 21 and older. But he said in a phone interview Monday, Feb. 29, that he will not pursue those measure and instead work on legislative measures to legalize cannabis. A Texas trooper on Feb. 22 stopped a 2016 Chrysler mini-van Clauder was driving for a traffic violation on Highway 287 near Iowa Park, 150 miles northwest of Dallas. During the traffic stop, a DPS canine unit alerted to the smell of narcotics, according to the news release. The trooper discovered several large duffel bags of marijuana in the back seat, with a combined weight of more than 174 pounds. The release said the marijuana was being transported from California to Florida. Clauder was arrested on suspicion of felony possession of marijuana and booked at the Wichita County jail. He said he was released on $300,000 bail. Clauder said Monday he couldnt go into detail, but he insisted that $1 million is more than 10 times the real value of the marijuana in question and its really not accurate to say he was transporting the marijuana but said details will come out in court unless charges are dismissed. A website for the cannabis unity campaign states Clauder has been working to legalize cannabis since the early 1970s. Once a prominent figure in the San Bernardino County Democratic Party, Clauser was arrested in April 2008 while he was an aide to then-Rep. Joe Baca, D-Rialto, and charged the following year with felony possession of child pornography. Clauser said previously that the scandal ruined him professionally, making him a social pariah unfit for employment. Authorities said pornographic images of children were found on a family computer in a home where Clauder did not live at the time. Several family members had access to the computer. Evidence collected by a defense-retained computer expert later led to dismissal of the case in 2012, according to court records. Clauder was found factually innocent in the criminal case. The records were sealed until last year when Clauder and District Attorney Mike Ramos sought unsealing for use in Clauders two civil lawsuits filed against the county and public officials. Clauder has appealed the dismissal of his federal civil rights lawsuit to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month. The state Fourth District Court of Appeal sent a state court case issue back to San Bernardino County Superior Court in January with instructions on resolving an issue related to the computer seized in the criminal case, according to appellate court records. Contact the writer: 951-368-9075 or gwesson@pressenterprise.com Frank Underwood vs. Donald Trump Quiz Underwood vs. Trump: Can You Tell The Difference? In three seasons of Netflixs award-winning flagship political drama House of Cards, Frank Underwood has lied, cheated and straight-up murdered his way straight into the Oval Office. But Season Four, which drops this Friday, finds Kevin Spaceys hard-charging South Carolina Congressman fighting for his political life like never before. Its an election year in Washington, which means the stakes are higher than ever, and Underwoods dealing with new threats from both outside the White House and within last we saw Frank, his wife Claire (Robin Wright) had just announced she was leaving him. And then theres all those pesky homicides hanging over him and his campaign. Basically, House of Cards Season Four promises to be about as crazy as a presidential race can get. Or so we thought. Until New York real estate magnate/former reality TV host Donald Trump announced he was running for real, and even crazier, people started taking him seriously. And when you think about it, Underwood and Trump actually have a lot in common: theyve both had a contentious relationship with the media, badmouthed foreign leaders and feuded with female reporters, and have proven theyll do and say whatever it takes to take the White House, refusing to let anyone or anything stand in their way. Including all expectations of professional and personal decorum. And the more shocking their actions or statements get, the more impossible it is for people to look away. Theres seemingly no line either of these men can cross that goes too far. Trump took on the Pope, Underwood spit on a statue of Jesus. Trump continues to rile up his Republican base with increasingly outrageous statements about Mexicans and Muslims, while Underwood continues to pile up a body count thats more Dexter than Lincoln. Meanwhile, both have repeatedly gone on record about how sexy their daughter is. Oh, no, wait. Thats just Trump. But either way, the two presidential hopefuls have given us a wealth of juicy sound bites over the years. And to celebrate the launch of the new season of House of Cards, we thought wed test your Cards knowledge and see if you can tell the difference between a quote from the fictional Frank Underwood and the all-too-real Donald Trump. Good luck. And remember, sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction. The Riverside County public employee union that was the first to trade raises for pension concessions is now the first to go without a pay hike as the cash-strapped county takes a firm stance in labor talks. The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, March 1, will be asked to approve a two-year contract with the Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Association, which has been working without a new deal since July 1 of last year. Union members ratified the deal in early February. In an email, Assistant County Executive Officer/Human Resources Director Mike Stock said the proposed deal will help the county maintain a prudent general fund reserve and run more efficiently while staying competitive for highly qualified talent in the job market. The union and Riverside County Attorneys Association represent 382 non-managerial employees in the offices of the district attorney, county counsel, public defender and child support services. The deputy D.A. union negotiated on the other unions behalf. The deputy D.A.s were the first union to agree to a contract in December 2011, following a spirited showdown between the county and its collective bargaining units over public employee pension costs. At one point, the county declared an impasse and imposed pay and benefits changes on employees, leading to a one-day strike by Service Employees International Union Local 721 in January 2012. Eventually, the unions agreed to contracts in 2012 that traded pay raises for higher employee pension contributions and a lower tier of pension benefits for new hires. Those raises, along with the cost of staffing the planned $330 million Indio jail expansion, a projected $40 million-a-year rise in inmate health care costs and other ongoing expenses, are putting a strain on a county budget that lost more than $200 million in ongoing revenue during the Great Recession. Revenue is growing, but not at a fast enough pace to keep up with new expenses. As a result, the county is dipping into savings and supervisors have hired an outside firm to find ways to cut public safety costs. With most collective bargaining deals set to expire this year, supervisors have said the county cannot afford to hand out the raises of four years ago. Its a message the county negotiators drove home in talks with the deputy D.A.s. I think its a fair deal, said union President Chris Cook. When looking at the (financial) climate of Riverside County, the county made a good case. Assuming supervisors approve the new deal, it will run until June 30, 2017. While there are no across-the-board cost-of-living raises, two-step merit increases consistent with the last contract remain in effect. In addition, union members can sell back to the county up to 80 hours of unused leave per calendar year. The previous cap was 40 hours a year, Cook said. Also, the county counsel can now determine whether an employee in that office can continue to work a non-traditional work schedule. And the probationary period for district attorneys employees is now two years instead of 18 months. Contact the writer: 951-368-9547 or jhorseman@pressenterprise.com Assuming Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton keep their momentum through Super Tuesday and beyond, its unlikely Californias June 7 primary election will play a major role in choosing the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees, political observers say. Super Tuesday, March 1, marks the next milestone in whats been an unprecedented and unpredictable race for the White House. Almost 600 delegates will be up for grabs on the GOP side alone; 1,237 are needed to win the Republican nomination. For the Democrats, 1,017 delegates are available and 2,383 are needed for the nomination. With Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in a tight race with Clinton early on and 17 Republicans vying for their partys nomination, speculation mounted that Californias primary, which normally takes place after the nominees are pretty much decided, would be pivotal in determining who competes for the presidency in November. The Golden State will send 172 Republican delegates about 14 percent of the total needed to win the nomination to the GOPs convention in Cleveland this July. California Democrats will send 546 delegates roughly 23 percent of whats needed for the nomination to the partys July convention in Philadelphia. Any scenario that results in either the Democratic or Republican candidates splitting delegate counts in such a way that it doesnt give them a decisive victory will make Californias primary crucial, said Costas Panagopoulos, a political science professor at Fordham University in New York City. But Californias delegates wont be decisive if Clinton and Trump maintain their current trajectories, other experts say. A former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state, Clinton squeaked by in Iowa and rebounded from losing New Hampshire to beat Sanders in Nevada and South Carolina. Shes expected to do well in upcoming primaries and she enjoys an advantage over Sanders in superdelegates theyre free to support any candidate. Before Super Tuesday, Clinton had 505 delegates 453 of them superdelegates while Sanders had 71 delegates, including 20 superdelegates, according to The Associated Press. Trump has won three states in a row New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada and going into Super Tuesday, he has 82 delegates compared with 17 for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, 16 for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, six for Ohio Gov. John Kasich and four for retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, the AP reported. On each side, the greater the leading candidates victory, the smaller the chance that California will matter, said Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College. If Trump carries all the states (on Super Tuesday) including Cruzs Texas it will be extremely difficult for another candidate to overtake him. Similarly, a Clinton sweep would make it harder for Sanders to go on. Brian Janiskee, chairman of the political science department at Cal State San Bernardino, said that barring a drastic change, Californias chance to play a pivotal role in either major partys presidential nomination will have to wait until at least 2020. The nomination paths for either Cruz, Rubio or Sanders are now much harder to envision, although not impossible. WINNER TAKE ALL Since New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush dropped out of the race, establishment Republicans have been rallying around Rubio as the candidate to block Trump. The problem for Trump foes is that Kasich, Carson and Cruz remain in the race to split up the non-Trump vote. According to published reports, GOP insiders are pressuring Kasich to drop out so Rubio can pick up more support. At this point, the way to (block Trump) seems to get either Cruz or Rubio to back down, and neither seems interested in doing that, said Shaun Bowler, a UC Riverside political science professor. What that means is that it could still be a three-ish horse race by the time it gets to us though that seems unlikely. To keep their nomination hopes alive, Cruz, Kasich and Rubio need to win their home states primaries, Janiskee said. Recent polls show Trump leading Rubio in Florida and Kasich in Ohio and either trailing or tied with Cruz in Texas. Another quirk is a change in the Republican primaries held after Super Tuesday. Earlier primaries and caucuses award delegates on a proportional basis, meaning a candidate doesnt have to finish first to win at least a few delegates, assuming he gets a certain percentage of the total vote. GOP primaries held mid-March or later, including Californias, allocate delegates on a winner-take-all basis. So if Trump cant build a huge lead in delegates, a challenger could make up a lot of ground in states where the GOP voting base more moderate and with a higher level of education might not favor Trump. STILL WIDE OPEN? Its an unlikely scenario in the eyes of David Caputo, president emeritus and professor of political science at Pace University in New York City. Barring any major revelation or serious Thursday night debate error by Trump, he is positioned to get that increase in numbers, Caputo said before last weeks GOP debate in Houston. If he does, he could have his delegate count as needed for the nomination by mid- or late April. Jennifer Walsh, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a political science professor at Azusa Pacific University, sees the GOP race going into Super Tuesday as more wide open. While Trump has momentum, he has yet to capture a majority of the vote, even in a narrowing GOP field, she said. That means Cruz and Rubio, his closest competitors, will have an opportunity to draw delegates away from Trump. The ability of smaller candidates to earn delegate votes also means that if Carson and Kasich stay in the race after March, they could be in a position to influence the outcome by pledging their delegates to another candidate, Walsh added. California could finally become important, because its 172 delegates is a large enough prize to tip the race in favor of one of the other candidates. Contact the writer: 951-368-9547 or jhorseman@pressenterprise.com Updates with court filing by Apple intended to ensure an appeal of judges order. WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. government calls it a vicious guard dog that hurts national security. Apple says its critical to protecting consumer privacy against increasingly sophisticated hackers. As the debate over built-in iPhone encryption has deadlocked in the courts, law enforcement and the worlds second-largest cellphone maker agreed on one point Tuesday: Its now up to Congress to set boundaries in a long-simmering fight over who can legally access your digital life. Were asking Apple to take the vicious guard dog away and let us pick the lock, FBI Director James Comey told a House judiciary panel Tuesday, referring to a locked iPhone tied to the deadly December shooting in San Bernardino, California. The FBI is asking Apple to weaken the security of our products, Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell countered later that afternoon. Tuesdays hearing shifted attention from the courts where judges in the last month have issued significant but conflicting opinions to Congress, where both sides say the broader policy debate belongs. It also provided an extraordinary public forum for the Obama administration and Apple Inc. to stake out competing positions that could have sweeping ramifications. Apples recent opposition to bypassing security features for the government has pushed that dispute from tech circles into the mainstream. The strong positions articulated Tuesday make clear the deep divide between Silicon Valley and the government, even as the administration advocates open dialogue and resolution. Is it the right thing to make our society overall less safe in order to solve crime? Sewell asked. Thats the issue that were wrestling with. On Monday, a federal judge in Brooklyn said the government couldnt force Apple to help it gain access to the phone in a drug case. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein said Justice Department attorneys were relying on the centuries-old All Writs Act to to produce impermissibly absurd results. But two weeks ago, a different magistrate judge in California, Sheri Pym, directed the company to help the FBI hack into a locked iPhone used by one of the shooters in the December attack in San Bernardino, which killed 14 people. Apples lawyers, in court papers filed Tuesday, formally objected to Pyms order, a procedural move intended to ensure an appeal. With those two conflicting rulings in mind, Congress needs to get involved to address the broader collision between privacy and public safety, Comey said. The Obama administration last year decided against a legislative fix. Now, though, Congress must decide this issue, said Sewell, while also criticizing the U.S. government for simultaneously supporting encryption used by activists and journalists in countries with fewer free-speech rights. The San Bernardino case involves an iPhone 5C owned by San Bernardino County and used by Syed Farook, who was a health inspector there. He and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, later died in a gun battle with police. The FBI wants specialized software that would bypass security protocols on the encrypted phone so investigators can test random passcode combinations in rapid sequence to access its data. Should Apple create the specialized software to allow the FBI to hack the iPhone, Comey said it would take 26 minutes to do whats known as a brute force attack testing multiple passcodes in quick succession. Comey also acknowledged Tuesday there was a mistake made shortly after the San Bernardino attack, when the FBI asked the county which owned the phone to reset the password for Farooks iCloud account. That data, stored on Apple servers, kept backups of his phone. Had the password not been reset, the phone may have made a fresh backup available to investigators for further examination. Still, Comey said, The experts tell me theres no way we would have gotten everything off the phone from a backup. Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California, a critic of the administrations domestic surveillance practices, asked Comey whether the FBI had first asked Apple for the underlying iPhone software called source code by developers before trying to force the company to create its own digital workaround. Issa suggested the FBI hadnt exhausted its own efforts before the government went to court. Comey said the government has tried hard to break into iPhones, like the one in California, but he seemed unaware if those methods were successful. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance told the House panel Tuesday that there are 205 phones his investigators cant access in criminal investigations. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte said technology is moving toward newer generations of encryption and security, and were going to have to figure out a different way to help law enforcement. Whatever emerges from debate as the legislative response to the controversy will not change the fact that law enforcement is going to have to change the way it investigates and gathers evidence, said Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican. Alex Abdo, a staff lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Unions speech, privacy and technology project, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the larger debate is ultimately about whether we trust our devices. If the government prevails, then there is nothing to stop it from turning every major tech company into a tool of government surveillance, Abdo said. Companies will be required to spy on, rather than secure, their customers. This story is developing. Check back for updates. RELATED: Victims family supports Apples iPhone position NY judge rules against FBI in similar case Police Department to receive award for locating suspects Apple says county, FBI at fault in iPhone case Encryption is hardest question Ive seen, says FBIs Comey Court action for victims and families will be filed next week Q&A on the Apple vs. Justice Department court fight Complete coverage of the San Bernardino shooting, aftermath If youre in a hurry or must eat immediately, save El Patron for a day or evening of leisurely dining to savor the ambiance and food. Everything, from the chips to the tacos to the chorizos, is made fresh and to order. The food takes more time to prepare but is worth the wait. Each platter rates an A-plus for its presentation, a creative combination of tastes, seasonings and colors. Its also worth the trip to Riversides former train station, which dates from 1904, where El Patron moved in. Empty for nearly two years, the three-story building has been a destination since its November opening, this time with a new patron, meaning boss: Jose Hernandez, 58, of Corona. Hernandez fell in love with the curves and bones of the old depot, which he transformed into a colonial-style estancia with a lot of art and arches to remind him of his native Mexico. Even the servers are dressed as vaqueros. Every last detail, including pine wheel sconces, granite bar counters and clay roof tiles, Hernandez imported from Guadalajara. Its very much a family business. Hernandezs wife Claudia keeps the books, and hes partnered with his two eldest sons, Edgar, 23, and Mike, 19, to help run the joint. The plan is that one day theyll be the bosses. As for the food, Hernandez described it as very authentic, affordable and family-friendly. The menus fiesta platters ($9-$15) include homemade tacos, grilled chorizo, tostadas, fajitas, enchiladas and boiled white marinated fish. Herbivores will appreciate a Mexican restaurant where almost every dish upon request substitutes soy for meat without sacrificing flavors, textures or spices. Ive eaten lunch at El Patron three times, twice with friends who raved about the finely chopped and perfectly seasoned beef and chicken in their fajitas and tacos and the ridiculously low prices. At the most recent lunch, my friend Peter and I, vegan for vegan, warmed up by wolfing down two orders of the big, round, homemade tortilla chips and soupy, delicious salsa with a peppery kick that heated up the cilantro, tomato and onions. Peter surfed through his soy sopes, while I excavated the soy enchiladas, buried amid the beans, salad and rice and garnished with a festive piece of grilled corn on the cob. Both behemoth meals were $6.95. Peter praised the sopes as chewier, thicker and spicier than others hes eaten elsewhere, loved the beans but dissed the rice as a tad bland. As I will continue to work my way through the soy menu of tacos, tostadas and enchiladas and fajitas, a shout-out to the chef for his exquisite preparation of meat-free replacements that taste as good if not better than the real thing. All meals for Dining Review profiles are paid for by The Press-Enterprise. Contact the writer: llucas@pressenterprise.com, 951-368-9559 WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court has issued its first opinion since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, upholding a lengthy prison sentence for a man convicted of possessing child pornography. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the 6-2 opinion for the court Tuesday in which the justices rejected defendant Avondale Lockharts challenge to his 10-year minimum prison term. Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan dissented. Another ruling Tuesday says state officials cant force certain health insurers to turn over reams of data revealing how much they pay for medical claims. The justices ruled 6-2 that efforts by Vermont and at least 17 other states to gather and analyze the data conflict with federal law covering reporting requirements for employer health plans. The case involves Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., which operates a self-insured health plan for its workers and refused to turn its data over to Vermont. Writing for the court, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the potential for a patchwork of different state regulations could impose major financial and administrative burdens on health care providers and could subject them to wide-ranging liability. He said Vermonts reporting law is inconsistent with the federal goal of a uniform national scheme for collecting the data. Kennedy also pointed out that the U.S. Secretary of Labor, not the states, is authorized to collect data on benefit plans for statistical and research purposes. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented, saying Vermonts efforts to track health care services did not intrude on federal law. She said federal law was focused on making sure that benefit plans offered the right coverage, while Vermont was gathering data aimed at improving health care quality and reducing costs. She was joined in dissent by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Vermont and other states that have been collecting health care data say their databases would be incomplete and much less useful without data from all health care payers. These states argue that they are using their traditional powers to ensure the health and safety of their citizens. More than a dozen other states had shown interest in compiling similar databases to monitor health care prices and allow consumers to compare plans. About 93 million people are covered under self-insured health care plans, in which the employer pays out claims with its own funds rather than going through an insurance company. In the dispute before the high court, Liberty Mutual told the third-party administrator for its employee health plan, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, not to give the data to Vermont. A federal district court ruled in favor of the state, saying the state requirements did not interfere with Liberty Mutuals ERISA plan. But a federal appeals court sided with Liberty Mutual, saying that reporting requirements are governed by federal law and being subject to state requirements would be too burdensome. A man was found dead with a gunshot wound inside an Ontario office building Monday morning, Feb. 29, and now police detectives are investigating his death, officials said. The man was found shortly before 9:40 a.m. at the Farmers Insurance Building at 980 N. Ontario Mills Drive, according to an Ontario police news release. An employee of a neighboring business called police after walking inside the office building and finding the man already dead lying on the floor, according to the release. Although the man had a gunshot wound, officials say that no sounds of gunshots were reported in that area. The mans name was not being released until his family members could be notified, the release said. Police are asking anyone with information to contact Detective Mike Chavez at 909-395-2925. Contact the writer: agroves@pressenterprise.com Lois Carson remembers a very different Cal State San Bernardino. It looked like a desert, said Carson, 84, of San Bernardino, remembering 1965, the year the school opened. Lots of wind and jackrabbits and three little buildings, so you never got lost. The wind, whipping down from the Cajon Pass, is part of Joyce Paynes memory of the time as well. It was so strong, she said, it knocked down students and instructors. Mary Jane McCoy, 81, of Spokane, Wash., recalls feeling overwhelmed about her studies. Most all of us were scared to death, McCoy said. We thought we were all going to fail. The three alumni, graduates of CSUSBs inaugural class in 1967, were honored Friday at the schools fourth annual Pioneer Breakfast. They were three of just four African American students who crossed the stage that year and received their diplomas, along with 55 other students. The fourth African American graduate is no longer living, school officials said. CSUSB is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. President Tomas Morales said one of the organizers of the breakfast a fundraising event for the campus Black Faculty, Staff and Student Association had the idea of trying to locate the four graduates. They were the pioneers that opened the doors to subsequent African American students, Morales said during a short address to a crowd of about 300 at the breakfast. He said that progress was made in the intervening half-century, but that more needs to be done. Only about 15 percent of African Americans enroll as freshmen in a four-year university, Morales said. I would suggest we honor (the original graduates) by redoubling our efforts to increase diversity on our campus. All three of the honorees continued on to professional careers, largely in education. Payne, of San Bernardino, went on to earn a masters degree in administration at Boston State University. She said she initially was intimidated going up against students educated in East Coast schools. She soon discovered that the instruction she received at CSUSB had more than prepared her. In many ways, she said, she felt she had received a superior education. We were under some very stringent rules and regulations to graduate from here, Payne said. It was extremely scholarly. You had to know your information. The coursework was heavy, she said, and she struggled to keep up. She was working to support herself, primarily as a telephone operator but with occasional second jobs as well. I worked until 2 or 3 in the morning and then I had to be out here by 8, Payne said. Carson said she was working evenings and weekends as a counselor at juvenile hall while taking a full load of classes. She and her husband were raising six children. Toward the end of her two years at the school, it got to her. One day I left class and went straight to St. Bernardines hospital, she said. I thought I was having a heart attack. Carson said the doctor told her she was overly stressed. When she told him what her schedule was like, he told her she was burning the candle at both ends. I said, Just tell me how I can keep burning it for one more month, she said. The three also had to deal with a certain degree of discrimination. Their college years coincided with the height of the Civil Rights Movement. We were here, but we were not completely accepted, Payne said, adding that she and her colleagues didnt feel they were graded on an equal footing with white students. McCoy, then 32, said she studied regularly with a white friend who was in her history class. On one exam, she said, although their answers were comparable, her friend received an A and she got a C. Shed had enough. I took (the instructor) to the dean and the dean made him change the grade, McCoy said. I stood up for my rights. From them on, I made him call me Mrs. McCoy. I was almost 10 years older than him. I think he realized I was a force to be reckoned with and he had to treat me fairly. McCoy said that during her time as a principal with the San Bernardino City Unified School District, she helped with the integration of the schools. She worked in the citys heavily African American and Latino West Side. She said she started talking to her students about college when they were in first grade. One of those students was sitting at McCoys table Friday. Debra Zuniga, 54, of Redlands is a graduate of the University of Redlands and USC. She encouraged us students on the West Side, Zuniga said. She would sit us down and say, You can be whatever you want to be. McCoy said the significance of being in CSUSBs first graduating class never occurred to her. It never dawned on me theyd make a big deal of us walking across that stage, she said. I was happy I was able to do well and go up the ladder in the school system and make an impression on a lot of young minds. Contact the writer: mmuckenfuss@pressenterprise.com or 951-368-9595 Two women who were suspected of shoplifting at a Hemet discount store on Sunday, Feb. 28, pepper sprayed employees after being confronted about the incident, police said. Loss prevention personnel from a 99 Cent store on Florida Avenue followed the women to a car and attempted to detain them, said police Lt. Eddie Pust. While they sat in the car, one of them pulled out an unknown spray and sprayed the employees with it, Pust said. Then the women drove off. When police officers arrived at the store, the employees declined medical attention, Pust said. The incident occurred at about 11 a.m. Sunday. Another day, another American geography blunder. Cable news network CNN has accidentally reported that Australia, not Austria, is building a wall along our Slovenian border, which either means we have a much greater-reaching Border Force than any of us imagined, or theres a CNN researcher currently rocking back and forth in a broom cupboard mumbling: Arnie, Austria, Crikey, Australia. Arnie, Austria, Crikey, Australia. The blunder was picked up by American political and economic writer Matthew Yglesias: This seems a little paranoid for an island nation thousands of miles away. pic.twitter.com/6jTLYhGwqz Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) February 29, 2016 And the subsequent mocking was as swift as it was merciless: Looking forward to CNNs map of the Australia-Slovenia border. https://t.co/muiku2jf7K James Gleick (@JamesGleick) February 29, 2016 When youre too American to know the difference between Austria and Australia https://t.co/EF2scGWECF Tweets From Aleppo (@halabtweets) February 29, 2016 @mattyglesias Australian politicians ascribe to fractal chaos theory. Also building a light rail line in PuntArenas, Costa Rica. Tony Trout (@tony_trout) February 29, 2016 @mattyglesias Sadly, its not that much an exaggeration of Australias immigration policies. Daniel Schultz (@pastordan) February 29, 2016 CNN have a short but sweet history of mixing shit up i.e. that time they didnt see they didnt recognise a satirical ISIS flag made up of dildos at a Pride Parade for what it was and reported the thing as legit but Americans have a longer and slightly less sweet history of mixing up Australia and Austria; for example, back in the dark days of U.S. President George Dubya Bush, the gaff-prone POTUS once thanked then-Prime Minister John Howard for visiting Austrian troops in Iraq, of which there were in fact none. And lets never forget the ultimate demonstration of Americas grasp on world geography: Photo / Source: Matthew Yglesias / Twitter. Stereosonics organisers have backed a Sydney doctors push to instate pill-testing at the festivals New South Wales leg, provided all the key stakeholders sanctioned the initiative to ensure its effectiveness. The statement, obtained by Fairfax Media, outlines how Totem OneLove Group would be willing to accept the offer from the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundations Dr Alex Wodak and emergency medicine specialist Dr David Caldicott. Last week, the pair announced theyd be willing to circumvent NSWs stringent drug laws to offer the services at festivals, and that they want to do several big ones. Todays statement from Stereosonics organisers strongly support[ed] any policies or initiatives that would minimise harm, reduce drug use and make events a safer environment for patrons. However, that support may not extend to breaking the law in the way Dr Wodak has pledged to do. Critically, the law doesnt seem to be changing any time soon. Yesterday, Premier Mike Baird remained adamant that pill-testing is dead in the water, and reminded punters there is a very safe way to go about pills and that is, dont take them. That stance is mirrored by Police Minister Troy Grant, who recently said knowing what is in your illegal drugs doesnt make it safe. Organisers of Victorias Rainbow Serpent Festival have previously said they want a pill-testing system installed at their event, but Stereosonic is the first major player on the national touring circuit to vow total support. Tragically, the death of two young Australians due to suspected overdoses at this summers outings still looms large, but Stereosonics organisers appear to be open to any methods that could stop it happening again. Source: The Age. Photo: El Pics / Getty. China's Petrobras $10 billion loan keeps oil's cash flowing Brazil's oil production in 2015 was 2.53 million barrels a day SAN FRANCISCO Petroleumworld.com 03 01 2016 We're gonna need a bigger wrench. Closing off the spigot of capital to the oil industry is proving tougher than expected. QEP Resources on Monday became the latest U.S. exploration and production company to issue a sack of new shares to shore up its finances. Despite the miserable oil price and worries about looming bankruptcies, this could end up being the best quarter for U.S. E&P stock sales on record. Still, QEP's $330 million pales in comparison to the $10 billion that China Development Bank is lending to Petrobras , Brazil's struggling, scandal-plagued national oil company. And besides the bigger check, there is something else about this deal with big implications for the central question in the oil market: When will prices spike again? BRAZIL'S OIL PRODUCTION IN 2015 2.53 million barrels a day Petrobras needs the money. Having scotched the development of the biggest oil bonanza outside of shale -- namely, Brazil's offshore "pre-salt" resources -- Petrobras has incurred huge debts just in time for the price crash. Over a Barrel Petrobras has almost $54 billion of bonds and loans maturing over the next decade, with $14.5 billion falling due in the next three years Source: Bloomberg That squeeze has forced Petrobras to cut its growth plans repeatedly in recent years. In 2012, the International Energy Agency forecast that Brazil would produce 2.95 million barrels a day in 2017. In the latest medium-term outlook, published last week, the IEA cut its projections for Brazil (again), pushing that target back by almost 2 years. Keeping Brazil's oil industry on track matters because, even now, it is still expected to account for 41 percent of the net growth in oil output from non-OPEC countries through 2021, based on the IEA's forecasts. That is less than the extra oil expected to come from the U.S. over that period. But there is an important, qualitative difference. As the IEA and some OPEC officials have been saying , the U.S. shale industry is defined by its speed. With wells drilled and completed in a matter of weeks rather than years, shale output will, it is believed, recover relatively quickly once oil prices rise again (although how quickly that happens after a likely spate of bankruptcies and thousands of workers being shed remains to be seen). This is important because that rebound will tend to cap any increase in prices once excess oil supply has been worked off. Brazil's offshore fields are very different. They follow the conventional model of requiring huge upfront investment and years of work before a drop of oil gets produced. That's part of the reason why Petrobras is suffering. But it also means that, once oil starts flowing, it would require something like an asteroid strike to persuade the Brazilians to shut it off again. The success or failure of these huge, conventional oil projects holds the key to what happens with oil prices toward the end of this decade. Projects holding some 27 billion barrels of oil equivalent -- 63 percent of which is oil -- have been delayed worldwide, according to a report published by Wood Mackenzie last month. Roughly 20 billion of that relates to deepwater prospects or oil sands, another reserve type that tends to keep producing whatever the price once the initial investment is sunk. Onshore prospects, which would include shale, account for less than 10 percent of the total. Giving Petrobras a $10 billion shot in the arm helps to prevent that giant pool of untapped oil expanding even further. How much this motivates Beijing to lend the money is guesswork. Michael Levi of the Council on Foreign Relations suspects this is motivated more by a desire to cement bilateral political relations than securing oil per se . Despite its problems, Brazil remains the biggest economy in South America and, importantly for China, may soon overtake the U.S. as the world's largest exporter of soybeans . In comparison, China's reliance on Brazil for oil is minimal. While it takes almost a fifth of Brazil's oil exports, that equates to just 2 percent of what China imports. Still, it can hardly have escaped Beijing's attention that more than half its oil imports still come from that bad neighborhood known as the Middle East and that China's thirst for foreign oil, having already surpassed that of the U.S. in this dubious contest, is only getting more intense: Send It Over China's projected crude oil imports Source: International Energy Agency Based on the IEA's projections, by 2021, China's import needs will have risen by 2.6 million barrels a day -- roughly the same as Brazil's entire output today. So even if it isn't the primary factor here, floating a loan to Petrobras does help support a source of competing oil supply that will likely be crucial in mitigating OPEC's market share and the risk of price spikes in the next few years as other projects remain on the drawing board. Certainly, it is of a piece with China's willingness to lend to other dubious debtors in the oil world, such as Russia and Venezuela . And like the optimists buying freshly printed stock in U.S. E&P companies, China's check helps delay the reckoning for oil producers that little bit more. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. Liam Denning is a Bloomberg Gadfly columnist covering energy, mining and commodities. He previously was the editor of the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" column. Before that, he wrote for the Financial Times' Lex column. He has also worked as an investment banker and consultant. I come from a family of health-care providers and was raised to do what I can to take care of the people around me. My grandmother was a nurse in Pennsylvania for more than 30 years, and now I have been a nurse in the same state for over a decade. As a nurse, I see individuals from all walks of life, which has shown me there is no one-size-fits-all solution to people's health-care needs. I've worked in several departments within my hospital, but no matter the setting, I've come to appreciate that people need the ability to make the choice that is right for them and their families. My responsibility as a medical professional is to give them the best information and care possible. That's why I am so appalled by the disingenuous law that has shut down abortion clinics across Texas under the guise of protecting women's health. With abortion, as much as with any other health-care decision, patients need the ability to make the choice that is best for their personal situation. Yet, despite the overwhelming objections of medical experts, politicians in Texas have declared they know what's best for women and their families. This Texas law, which is now before the Supreme Court, with oral arguments scheduled for Wednesday, does nothing to improve women's health and, in fact, does the exact opposite. While the patients I see are empowered to make thoughtful decisions about their medical care, the same is not true for the 5.4 million women of reproductive age in the country's second-largest state. For Texas women, the law has created sharp disparities and they are now significantly limited in their ability to safely access the care they want and need. Women in Texas must now contend with increased costs, delays, travel times, and a host of other logistical challenges to obtain safe and legal abortion. What's more, as a nurse in a rural state, I know how important it is that these clinics provide essential health services to their communities, including family-planning services to avoid unintended pregnancies in the first place. As Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the country, many women and men in underserved communities depend on local clinics for basic care. When these clinics close, people have nowhere to turn. This is what leading medical experts including the American Medical Association, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Academy of Nursing, and American Nurses Association told the U.S. Supreme Court in a brief filed in the case challenging Texas' law, Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt. While politicians argue that turning clinics into "mini hospitals" and requiring providers to obtain admitting privileges at a local hospital protect women's health, there is no scientific evidence this is the case. Abortion is an extremely safe procedure, with less than one percent of cases requiring emergency care. As experts have pointed out, because many physicians travel to provide abortion care and women can live hundreds of miles from the nearest clinic, requiring admitting privileges within 30 miles of a clinic can be both impossible and nonsensical. Having worked in a hospital for many years, I know that no one will be turned away in an emergency, regardless of whether their physician has privileges at that hospital. The law has effectively created a problem where none existed. Instead, what this law achieves and, of course, its true intention is furthering an extreme agenda to end abortion and limit a woman's ability to make decisions about her body and her future. The outcome is not safer health care, but rather, more working women spending money they don't have to travel hundreds of miles to a clinic that is nowhere near their own doctor, their family, or their workplace. And it adds a maze of extra requirements for providers. What's more, there is evidence that when women cannot access comprehensive reproductive care in the first place, they are more likely to take matters into their own hands to end a pregnancy. When the justices hear this case, I hope they keep in mind the very real public and personal health risks to women when safe, legal abortion is not available. I fear that this law and the ones like it that have sprung up across the country could take us back to a time before Roe v. Wade made abortion legal and when women died of unsafe and unsanctioned abortions. We cannot let the extreme agenda of the few trump sound medical knowledge, high-quality care, and the ability of women to control their bodies and their futures. I know from my decade in the exam room that there are a lot of factors that come into play when making an important health-care decision. A politician's ideological agenda should not be one of them. Denelle Weller is a registered nurse from State College and a member of in Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania. media@seiu.org Police arrested Jeffery Sparks, 23, for allegedly robbing the Rite Aid on McCallie Avenue armed with a pistol on Saturday afternoon .The officer who was dispatched to the scene watched the surveillance video that showed a black male enter the store wearing a dark hoodie with blue material over his face. The suspect was armed with a silver pistol.The video showed the robber point the pistol at some customers then jump the counter and forcefully remove the cash box from the register.The defendant ran away and was later located by a K9 officer hiding in an abandoned home in the 2000 block of Ivy Street.Police recovered the evidence near where the defendant had been hiding, including the cash box and silver pistol.At the police station, detectives interviewed the defendant, who was identified as Sparks.During the interview Sparks confessed to committing the robbery. He said he was having financial problems and thought the robbery would get him caught up on bills.Sparks was arrested on the charge of aggravated robbery and given a bond of $80,000. The Tennessee Department of Transportation on Monday awarded an emergency contract to repair a rockslide on Interstate 75 in Campbell County. The slide, which occurred Friday at mile marker 142, sent vehicle-sized rocks falling onto both the north and southbound lanes of I-75.The $2.9 million contract was awarded to Charles Blalock and Sons, Inc. The contract includes removal of the slide debris, stabilization of the existing slope, and repairs to the interstate. The contract also stipulates the southbound lanes of I-75 will be reopened within 14 days, and one lane on the northbound side within 21 days.The entire repair project is scheduled to be completed on or before April 15.Currently, this section of I-75 remains closed in both directions. During the closure, all traffic will be detoured. Message boards are already in place on I-75 to alert motorists to the road closure. Drivers are advised to plan ahead and seek alternate routes.Motorist Detours (standard vehicles) Motorists traveling I-75 South can take Exit 160 (Jellico). Follow US 25W / SR 297 West to SR 63 South, and then re-enter I-75 South. Motorists traveling I-75 North can take Exit 134 (Caryville/Lafollette). Follow US 25W north to Lafollette, continuing to Jellico, and then re-enter I-75 North.Wide-Load and Alternate Motorist Detours Wide-load traffic traveling I-75 South can take Exit 29 (Corbin) in Kentucky. Follow US 25E into Tennessee, and enter I-81 at Exit 8 (Morristown/White Pine). Wide-load traffic traveling I-75 North can take I-40 East to I-81 North Exit 8 (Morristown/White Pine). Follow US 25E, and enter I-75 at Exit 29 (Corbin) in Kentucky.From a desktop or mobile device, get the latest construction activity and live streaming SmartWay traffic cameras at www.TNSmartWay.com/Traffic. Travelers can also dial 511 from any land-line or cellular phone for travel information, or follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TN511 for statewide travel. The Kappa Iota Chapter of Omega Psi Phi, Fraternity, Inc. will host its annual Talent Hunt at 4 p.m. on Sunday at Hurst Memorial United Methodist Church at 4 p.m. The Talent Hunt is open to area high school students, said Gary James, program chair. We bill it as our showcase of talent and the competition is very steep. Mr. James said that area students will have the opportunity to compete for cash prizes. The first place winner will go on to compete in the district Talent Hunt to be held in Nashville in April. The district winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship and all-expense paid trip to compete at the Omega Psi Phi, Fraternity, Inc. Conclave to be held in Las Vegas in July. Each year roughly five to seven students compete from high schools throughout the Chattanooga area, and most have been perfecting their crafts for years. The word is out that competition is tough, said Mr. James. Some of the local talent that are past winners include Roland Hayes and Booker Scruggs. The Talent Hunt program of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. is one of several national programs designed to support youth. While the idea was conceived in 1945, the first District Talent Hunt program was held in the Sixth District in Charlotte, N.C., on April 19, 1946. The need for such a program was born out of the unequal opportunity afforded to some American youth to develop and give full expression to their talents. The original statement of the Talent Hunt idea included this expression: Creative and outstanding capacities in any honorable activity should be eligible for consideration. During public presentations, all original displays were limited to the field of music. Since that time, the Talent Hunt program has been expanded to include other forms of the expressive arts. The Talent Hunt Program of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity has touched thousands of students, many of whom have gone on to make outstanding contributions to their communities and the world. Many have earned scholarships, awards, and recognition through exposure from this program. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Mr. James at 899-7911. The United Daughters of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis Chapter 900 held their monthly meeting for February at the Kinser Church of God in Cleveland. President Marilyn Kinne called the meeting to order. The UDC Ritual was led by Chaplain Helen Riden. The pledges were given and songs were sang. Minutes of the December meeting was read by Secretary Debbie Riggs. Harriett Caldwell reported that the history pamphlets that have been compiled by the chapter are being given to fifth graders at Bradley and Polk County Schools. The pamphlet includes articles and pictures of historic places and events in the area. Some significant events and places include Fort Hill Cemetery, Blue Springs Park, Charleston Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the Henegar House, the Bridge at Charleston and the Hill-Albritton House. Ms. Caldwell is a retired teacher that dresses in Civil War period dress and presents them to the students. Sales of the historical reprint of the original 1908 UDC Cookbook Echoes From the Kitchen are still ongoing. Copies of the book can be purchased at the Hiwassee Heritage Center in Charleston. They may also be ordered on eBay or through the website. Lisa Pritchett reported that approximately $900 worth of supplies was delivered to the Veterans Home. Each year members collect items such as socks, sweat clothes and toiletries that are used for veterans' needs. The announcement of the re-instatement of the charter for the Children of the Confederacy in the Jefferson Davis Chapter was announced by President Kinne. Membership certificates and a ceremony will be planned for a future date. The chapter is working on hosting the state convention in Chattanooga in October. Members were urged to attend the UDC East Tennessee District meeting to be held in March. It will be held at the Green Meadow Country Club in Maryville this year. A motion was made to change the monthly meeting dates. The meetings coincide with the district meetings and the yearly convention. The motion was passed. New member Christy Boggess Peden was welcomed by the chapter. President Marilyn Kinne, and Chapter Registrar Anita Green presented her the membership certificate. She is married to Michael Peden and has three children, Caleb, Luke and Ethan. She is the great-great-great granddaughter of Osborn Davenport, who served honorably as a private in Company B, 65th Regiment, Georgia Infantry in the War Between the States. He was killed in the battle of Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga. Anyone interested in the local United Daughters of the Confederacy can visit the Facebook page or website www.udcjeffersondavischapter900.com. MEDIA QUESTIONNAIRE Name of Publication Established (Give exact date) ADDRESS TELEPHONE FAX NO NAME OF EDITOR Name of Printer Language Frequency Please attach a copy of declaration certificate Off Days Please specify whether morning, evening or state the date of issue Date on which the first issue was brought out Any special edition Price per copy Annual subscription Editorial Objectives and policy Appeal to any special community, class or section News services subscribed to Special regular features (i.e Womens or Children page etc) & when appearing I am a cosmologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for NASA. I work for NASA, and my salary comes from NASA through Caltech. One of my primary jobs is working on the European Space Agencys (ESA) Euclid mission, which will launch on a six-year mission to study dark matter and dark energy in 2020. So, how does a NASA scientist end up playing a leading role in an ESA mission? The seeds of my involvement go back more than 15 years. The time it takes for a space mission to go from idea to launch can be decades. Many people focus on that mission for substantial portions of their careers. In 1998 I was in the final year of my PhD at Princeton, working on a data set from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) now known as the Groth Strip, after my advisor Professor Ed Groth. A postdoctoral researcher (a PhD working in academia, but not yet in a permanent job) at Princeton suggested we look for weak gravitational lensing in the Groth Strip. Weak lensing is a process whereby dark matterinvisible to usbends the path light takes from distant galaxies, distorting the measured images of those galaxies. While small by todays standards, the Groth Strip was the largest contiguous survey done with HST and seemed an ideal place to look for the theorized (but not yet observed) weak lensing effect. At about the same time, two separate teams were publishing evidence for the existence of dark energy, which drives the accelerated expansion of the Universe. This discovery went on to win the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics. The Princeton postdoc and I went on to publish some seminal papers in the field of weak lensing, including the first detections of that effect using data from a space telescope. Meanwhile, our colleagues were showing that weak lensing was also a good probe of this new newfound dark energybut it would require a survey much larger than the Groth Strip. In 2002, my postdoctoral colleague moved back to his native France into a permanent position, and began planning for a space mission to acquire weak lensing data that would help us unlock the mysteries of dark energy. He began working with Centre National dEtudes Space (CNES), the French space agency on a modest size and budget mission called the Dark Universe Explorer (DUNE). Eventually, as planning for DUNE progressed, it became clear the missions complexity and cost were more than CNES was ready to bear alone, so he began talking to ESA about a dark energy mission. He also contacted me about partnership opportunities with NASA. In 2004, I was a staff scientist at JPL, and he and I began discussing how NASA might contribute to this European-led dark energy mission. At nearly the same time, the dark universe was set out as one of several themes ESA wanted to pursue in its Cosmic Visions program for space missions in 2015 and beyond. In 2006, with JPL's support, I took the first of many trips to Europe to discuss potential NASA involvement in DUNE. In 2007, ESA put out its first call for proposals for the Cosmic Visions program, and the European community responded with more than 50 space mission proposals. Five medium class missions (roughly defined as a mission that would cost less than 1 billion) were selected for further study, including DUNE. SPACE, a rival dark energy mission, using a different astrophysical probe of dark energy, was ranked high as well. ESA decided that instead of competing, DUNE and SPACE should merge. Given that the DUNE and SPACE teams had taken entirely different approaches to a dark energy mission, it was a complicated but successful marriage and a new mission was born: Euclid. Senator Bob Corker announced on Tuesday that Micah Johnson will return to his office to serve on his senior management team as communications director. Micah is one of the most conscientious and dedicated people that I have ever been around and someone who works relentlessly to serve Tennesseans, said Senator Corker. She is a true communications professional, and we are fortunate she is returning to our office to help us continue our work for the people of Tennessee and our efforts to address the big issues facing our country. It is an overwhelming honor to return to Senator Corker's office in this new capacity and work again alongside his outstanding team, said Ms. Johnson. Senator Corker wakes up every day trying to find a way to move our country forward, and I am excited to communicate that work to the people of my home state. Ms. Johnson, who first worked for Senator Corker as an intern and most recently as his press secretary, will oversee communications and media strategy for his senate office and the majority office of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She replaces Tara DiJulio who will leave the Senate after nearly a decade to join General Electric. Chuck Harper will continue serving as press secretary and a spokesperson for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Tara DiJulio has been a tremendous asset to our office and helped build an outstanding and professional communications operation for both our personal office and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Senator Corker. We will miss her greatly, but we are excited for her as she begins a new chapter in her career. A native of Sevier County, Tn., Ms. Johnson graduated from the University of Tennessee (UT) in 2010 with a degree in marketing and international business. As an undergraduate, Ms. Johnson was named a Torchbearer, the highest honor bestowed on UT graduates by the university. She serves as a member of the universitys alumni board of directors and president of UTs Young Alumni Council. Ms. Johnson was elected by her peers to serve on the executive board of the Senate Press Secretaries Association for three consecutive years. She assumes her position as communications director on March 7. It took about a month in this mapping orbit to discover many of the subtleties of the gravity field and gain experience with how hybrid control affects the orbit. But even before descending to this altitude, the operations team understood the nature of these effects and was well prepared to deal with them. They devised several strategies, all of which are being used to good effect. One of the ways to account for Dawns actual orbit differing from its planned orbit is simply to change the orbit. Simply? Well, not really. It turns out to that to analyze the orbit and then maneuver to correct it in a timely way is a surprisingly complicated process, but, come to think of it, what isnt complicated when flying a spaceship around a distant, alien world? Nevertheless, every three weeks, the flight team makes a careful assessment of the orbit and determines whether a small refinement with the ion propulsion system is in order. For technical reasons, if maneuvers are needed, they will be executed in pairs, so mission planners have scheduled two windows (each 12 hours long and separated by eight days) about every 22 days. Adjustments to resynchronize the actual orbit with the predicted orbit that formed the basis of the exploration plan are known as orbit maintenance maneuvers. Succumbing to instincts developed during their long evolutionary history, engineers refer to them by an acronym: OMM. (As the common thread among team members is their technical training and passion for the exploration of the cosmos, and not Buddhism, the term is spoken by naming the letters, not pronouncing it as if it were a means of achieving inner peace. Instead, it may be thought of as a means of achieving orbital tranquility and harmony.) For both Vesta and Ceres, trajectory analyses long in advance determined that OMMs would not be needed in the higher orbits, so no windows were included in those schedules. There have been three OMM opportunities since arriving at the lowest altitude above Ceres, but only the first was needed. Dawn performed the pair on Dec. 31-Jan. 1 and on Jan. 8 with its famously efficient ion engine. The orbit was good enough the next two times that OMMs were deemed unnecessary. It is certain that some future OMMs will be required. Your faithful correspondent provides frequent (and uncharacteristically concise) reports on Dawns day-to-day activities, including OMMs. By the end of the Jan. 8 OMM, Dawns ion propulsion system had accumulated 2,019 days of operation in space, more than 5.5 years. During that time, the effective change in speed was 24,600 mph (39,600 kilometers per hour). (We have discussed in detail that this is not Dawns current speed but rather the amount by which the ion engines have changed it.) This is uniquely high for a spacecraft to accomplish with its own propulsion system and validates our description of ion propulsion as delivering acceleration with patience. (The previous record holder, Deep Space 1, achieved 9,600 mph, or 15,000 kilometers per hour.) The effect of Dawns gentle ion thrusting during its mission has been nearly the same as that of the entire Delta II 7925H-9.5 rocket, with its nine external rocket engines, first stage, second stage and third stage. To get started on its interplanetary adventure, Dawns rocket boosted it from Cape Canaveral to out of Earth orbit with only four percent higher velocity than Dawn subsequently added on its own with its ion engines. As Dawn and Earth follow their own independent orbits around the sun (Dawns now tied permanently to its gravitational master, Ceres), next month they will reach their greatest separation of the entire mission. On March 4 (about one Earth year after Ceres took hold of Dawn), on opposite sides of the solar system, they will be 3.95278 AU (367.434 million miles, or 591.328 million kilometers) from each other. (For those of you with full schedules, note that the maximum separation will be 5:40 a.m. PST.) They wont be this far apart again until Feb. 6, 2025, long after Dawn has ceased operating (as discussed below). The figure below depicts the arrangement next month. Hillary Clinton paid tribute Saturday during her primary victory rally to the mothers of black suspects killed by policewhile ignoring the rising number of police killed by gunfire in the line of duty this year. The Democratic presidential candidate paused during her speech in Columbia, S.C., to honor the five women, who also campaigned with her across South Carolina before Saturdays primary. They all lost children, which is almost unimaginable, yet they have not been broken or embittered, Clinton said, adding that they have turned their mourning into a movement. She recited the names of Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner; and three others, Fox News reports. But she did not mention the rash of police fatalities. So far this year, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 10 officers have been shot and killed, representing a 900 percent increase in firearms-related officer deaths compared with this time last year. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Apparently the idea of Republican politicians abandoning any civility in politics is catching on as the modus operandi of Republican supporters. As a reminder, civility is about more than just being polite, although being polite is a mandatory first step toward being civil. It is really about disagreeing without being disrespectful, listening past ones preconceptions, and being courteous while staying present even with those with whom one has deep-seated and fierce disagreements. Anyone remotely cognizant of American politics can attest to the horror that has become the total and complete lack of civility among Republicans; particularly since Americans first elected an African American man as their President. It is bad enough that Republicans cannot bring it upon themselves to be civil in Congress and state legislatures, but even worse that they are taking their lack of civility on the campaign trail. To make matters worse, since they are uncivil themselves, they have embraced inciting their supporters to replicate their chosen form of discourtesy and rudeness, and are encouraging violence targeting protesters and the press. The first name that comes to mind is Donald Trump, and the rude piece of work is one of the leading Republican barbarians, but the GOP establishments favorite son takes a very close second. At a rally in Virginia, Republican presidential candidate and sitting U.S. Senator Marco Rubio mocked two protesters as they were being assaulted by his supporters and egged them on. All this occurred while his supporters were roughing up two men, tearing up their signs, seizing and throwing away a prop, and causing one man to double over. Besides making jokes about the assault as it was happening, Rubio turned, mid speech, to watch his supporters attacking one protester and told the 3,500 at the gathering Looks like a lot of fun back there! A civil human being, much less a sitting Senator, would have immediately condemned the violence and urged their supporters to be civil and peaceful; but Rubio made jokes, mocked the victims, and urged the attackers on. Donald Trump would have been impressed at Rubios, and his supporters lack of civility and violence towards protesters; something Trump has called for, incited, and praised his acolytes for throughout the primaries. Speaking of Trump, Rubio made a Trump joke about his tacky suits and said the assaulted protester was The valedictorian of Trump U! while his supporters ripped up the protesters signs and threw them out. The protesters big sin that Rubio believed warranted being assaulted was holding up a sign calling Rubio an empty suit. The Virginia assault was very similar to the scene at a Rubio rally in New Hampshire earlier this month. At that gathering, Rubios supporters attacked a protester dressed as a robot; likely referring to Rubios tendency to give scripted, robotic replies to questions over and over again. It is very telling that despite a large media presence for Rubios rally in Virginia, and the medias practice of publicizing every instance of violence and incitement at Trump rallies, there were no reports, videos, or photos of the uncivilized treatment of a non-supporter; likely because Rubio is the establishments hope to scuttle Trumps run for the nomination and eventual candidacy. Main stream media knows they are owned by Republicans and dare not file a report that may be perceived as negative. The lack of civility at campaign rallies may be reserved for Republicans, but as Democrats and liberals have witnessed there has been no dearth of untoward nastiness on the Democratic side. Although not resorting to violence or assault, anyone either not endorsing Democrat Bernie Sanders or reporting about an endorsement for his Democratic opponent has been assailed mercilessly as corrupt and inherently evil. It is not all Sanders supporters by any stretch of the imagination, but it reveals that no small number of so-called Democrats can be mean-spirited and uncivil toward other Democrats. This violence and assaults occurring at Republican candidates gatherings, no matter if it is inside or out, did not start with Donald Trump or robot Rubio or during the 2016 race. During the 2012 primaries there were several reports of Republican thugs assaulting protesters outside of candidate rallies; such as Rand Paul supporters knocking a MoveOn member to the curb and stomping on her head. Rand Paul supporters also tried to interrupt the Republican debate in North Carolina last month because their hero boycotted the debate and was not on stage. Republicans have carefully conditioned a base of neo-con supporters that hew to the might makes right mindset and instead of the current crop of candidates dong everything in their power to stop the rancor and violence, Republicans are embracing their supporters actions. One really is not surprised that Donald Trump encourages violence and assaults toward protesters; he was closely-affiliated with big-time wrestling (WWE) and inducted into the organizations hall of fame. It is also what his supporters have come to expect and revere as a trait of a real badass American. Now, a sitting United States Senator and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination is trying to be one of those real badass Americans. It is telling that Marco Rubio thinks, and tells 3,500 supporters, that watching peaceful protesters get assaulted looks like a lot of fun. It appears now that violence towards protesters, and the press, is a Republican Party trait and should humiliate any American that any sense of comity on the Republican side has been wholly abandoned. Worse than that, Rubio and Trump are inciting violence and making jokes about American citizens getting roughed up. It is the new normal in conservative politics and a sign that Republicans who claim to be devout Christians have no use or interest in America being a Christian or living in a civilized society. While growing up in Chattanooga I was blessed with having a rather large family on my father's side, whom I saw frequently. My mother's family - once large - had dwindled to only a few older members, however. I knew most of them by name, on both sides, but often had no clear idea of just how they were related to me. We could trace dad's family back to his grandfather who was born in 1821, but had only sketchy information beyond that. Many years intervened before the Internet came along and simplified the whole process, bringing wonderful new ways to share information. On one of those new sites ("Geni") I was very surprised one day when I had at long last determined who my g-g-grandfather was. I simply typed in my dad's name, followed by HIS name, and seconds later his line had been traced back to Maryland, then to England, and wound up in Central Europe during Medieval times! This was stunning! And it told exactly how I was related to everyone on the list... My mother's family has been much harder than my dad's to trace. But much to my own credit I made a tape recording in 1962 of the oldest living member of her family - Jim Young of Dayton, Tn. He was 81 years old at the time and related how his grandfather had been a "Jung" from the Netherlands, and when he got angry no one could understand him. Very nice clue, for now the search must shift to ship's passenger lists...a daunting task to say the least. It may never get done in my lifetime. (Dutch "Jung" was anglicized to "Young"). I also recorded interviews with both my dad and mom - separately - in 1961. I feel guilty that I asked a lot of the "wrong" questions, but I at least have a fragmentary record, plus the sound of their voices. It is an established fact that my grandfather, James Lyde Young, was born in Missouri and then brought to Tennessee...and then, according to the Young of the recording, (above), the family moved back to Missouri, resulting in one unholy garbled mess. His father, (my great grandfather Young), died a POW in Fort Delaware prison during the Civil War, and my grandfather never knew him... So you get the idea that Genealogy can be very frustrating, though also a lot of fun at the same time. Oh, incidentally, the U.S. Census records show my Youngs to be from "Mississippi", instead of "Missouri". So beware the pitfalls and false leads you will surely encounter in your researches! I have known a number of people who enjoyed nothing better than to roam through old cemeteries in search of any name that fits with their own family histories. I have done some of that myself and never found cemeteries to be the least bit gruesome. A number of years ago I was at Macedonia cemetery on Ga. Hwy. 337 in Chattooga County, and found two ladies copying names and dates off every tombstone. No idea what database(s) would benefit from their efforts, but I thought it a very worthy project that should be "catching", nationwide. It would be very nice if every cemetery in the country could be so catalogued. Long before the Internet, my mother would go one day every week to spend a few hours in the really super "Genealogical Room" at our local library. It is now called the "Local History Department", and it is amazing what you can find there. It is a totally different experience from staring at a computer screen, and a lot more fun. Librarians bend over backwards to be helpful, and to unlock ancient books, microfiche, microfilm, etc., not available except by request. My oldest local Martin ancestors came from Greene County, Ga., and there is a whole book from that period (War of 1812 era) which describes the poverty of that area when the ports of Charleston and Savannah were both blockaded by English warships. The only new "store-bought" goods were brought in by pedlars from Connecticut! Details like that help me understand just why my G-G Grandfather may have wanted to relocate his family to Walker County as soon as the Native Americans were removed. They liked it there in Walker County, and so here I am in Hamilton County, - which is the next county up from Walker - and about 180 years later, as a result of that move. Oldsters like myself are forever amazed and amused by the proliferation of new gadgets which are capable of doing so many diverse things! If you are not at least 40 years old, you do not know how recently they all burst on the scene! Last night I watched home videos of my brother-in-law playing in an Alumni band at UT on Saturday. They zoomed in on his face from very far back in the stadium and the HD quality allowed me to see his moustache which was tantamount to positive ID! If only our great grandparents could have had such fabulous devices! Wouldn't it be great to watch videos of Aunt Tilly, now 75, when she was celebrating her third birthday? These things were only the wildest of dreams in my generation, when Dick Tracy's phenomenal (and fictional) "wrist radio" was the highest tech electronic device we had to contemplate. If the world will just survive we will have those digital memories recorded forever. (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 ) Rocky Butte Park (Brian Libby) BY BRIAN LIBBY Margarita Jover: Hybrid Infrastructures As part of the University of Oregon's Department of Architecture Winter Lecture Series, Jover, a professor at the University of Virginia's School of Architecture and co-founder the Barcelona firm Alday Jover Arquitectos with expertise as both architect and landscape designer, will deliver a talk called "Hybrid Infrastructures, Architecture and Landscape." Jover argues that transportation networks and other types of projects "created by our industrialized, capitalist culture are challenged in their form and design by the nature of our contemporary eco-digital culture. The public awareness provided by digital networks is pressing against the stability of our existing class structure with the privileged chosen by birth or fortune; aatural and manmade dynamics are beginning to make their way into our life and their influences are forcing our culture to be re-imagined. Crises are excellent moments to revisit our common beliefs and provide the starting point of design innovation." University of Oregon, White Stag Block, 70 NW Couch Street. 5PM Tuesday, March 1. Free. Rachel Hill: Food Urbanism - Everyone's Got To Eat Landscape designer Rachel Hill of Portland's Anderson Krygier will speak about what she calls food urbanism as part of the CPID Talks series from Portland State University's Center for Public Interest Design. Throughout history and across cultures, all people must eat. But the processes of planning, growing, processing and marketing food systems are as unique as the land and people that make them. Cities, which often are shaped by this universal need, are equally as complex and distinctive. Hill will examine food urbanism projects in Arizona, Croatia, Switzerland and the US where efforts are emerging to re-integrate food systems back into the places where people live. Portland State University, Shattuck Hall, Room 217, Broadway and Hall Streets. 12PM Friday, March 4. Free. The New Deal's Local Legacy: Pioneering Historic Preservation And A Landscape Aesthetic Oregonians know the story of Timberline Lodge as Oregon's best known Great Depression-era public works project. But the New Deals long list of agencies produces impressive evidence of a legacy in our midst. The roots of historic preservation in our region started with the Historic American Buildings Survey, while Works Progress Administration construction projects not only helped provide jobs to the unemployed but cemented the concept of a regional landscape aesthetic such as that found in the Rocky Butte Scenic Drive and the amenities of Overlook Park. Considering the contributions of famous architects, such as Ellis F. Lawrence and Jamieson Parker, and lesser-known local artisans, retired University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee geography and urban studies professor Judith Kenny will in this Architectural Heritage Center lecture explore the New Deal projects in the Portland area that contributed to the preservation of our pioneer architectural heritage and the development of a regional landscape style. Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Avenue. 10AM Saturday, March 5. $20 ($12 for AHC members). Gil Kelly: Learning From San Francisco As part of the ongoing Bright Lights discussion series from the University of Oregon's John Yeon Center and Portland Monthly magazine, host Randy Gragg will talk with Gil Kelly, former planning director for the City of Portland and now in a similar role in San Francisco. Both cities are undergoing dramatic change with similar underlying economic drivers, from a tech boom to a housing crisis. "San Francisco rarely contemplates what kind of city it wants to be when it grows up," says Kelley. "It's too busy just making that future in the moment, development project by development project." At the same time, he says, in everything from transportation to affordable housing, San Francisco can serve as laboratory from which Portland can learn. A Harvard Loeb Fellow, Kelley during his time in Portland played key roles in shaping the Pearl District, West End and South Waterfront. Jimmy Mak's, 221 NW 10th Avenue. 6PM Monday, March 7. $10. Parking in the NW Portland: public hearing On-street parking can be hard to find in the Northwest district, especially near the popular high streets of NW 21st and 23rd Avenues. To help address the problem, the City of Portland adopted the Northwest Parking Management Plan in 2013 to manage and improve access, including the installation of parking meters. The Northwest Parking Update Project is proposing two zoning code amendments to help improve and contribute to the long-term supply of parking options: establishing minimum parking requirements for residential development with more than 30 units, and expanding opportunities for accessory parking lots to rent out excess off-hour spaces. The public is invited to provide testimony on this proposal in person at a Planning and Sustainability Commission Public Hearing. City of Portland, 1900 SW 4th Avenue, Suite 2500A. 12:30PM Tuesday, March 8. Free. Mid-Century Architects and Builders of Portland Like many western US cities, Portland experienced a tremendous amount of new development in the two plus decades after the end of World War II. While the seeds of Modern and Northwest Regional architecture had been planted by the 1930s and the work of A.E. Doyle, John Yeon, and Pietro Belluschi, after World War II a new breed of architects and builders left their mark on Portlands built environment. In this Architectural Heritage Center lecture, education manager Val Ballestrem shares images and stories of some of the more prolific and interesting architects and builders from this era, such as architects John Storrs, Warren Weber, Ken Birkemeier as well as builders like Ted Asbahr. Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Avenue. 10AM Saturday, March 12. $20 ($12 for AHC members). Advertisements Portfolio English Edition's premium content is available only for subscribers Learn about the hottest news of the day, along with immediate follow-up analyses and 1000's of exclusive articles with full access to the premium content. Register and apply for a 14 days free trial period. Five hundred Mayo Clinic employees won a ticket lottery to see the Dalai Lama speak Monday afternoon at the chapel on Saint Marys campus in downtown Rochester, but the most poignant moment came in private between the spiritual leader of Tibet and a veteran journalist who moderated the event. His Holiness spoke for nearly two hours twice what was planned about compassion in health care. He closed the day with a brief ceremony to gift Mayo Clinic President and CEO John Noseworthy and Minnesota Public Radio's Cathy Wurzer with blessed scarves that represent friendship. The unexpected gesture left Wurzer in tears and prompted an intimate exchange in private. Two years ago exactly, were it not a leap year Wurzer reluctantly left her father's death bed in northern Minnesota to moderate the Nobel Peace Conference forum in the Minneapolis Convention Center. The Dalai Lama was a speaker that year and surprised an ailing man in the crowd, who happened to be the subject of recent stories by Wurzer, with an identical scarf. Those memories and emotions came flooding back as the veteran journalist shared her personal story with the Dalai Lama, who had unwittingly shown compassion on the almost-anniversary of her father's death. ADVERTISEMENT "I just told him and he looked like he was going to cry," Wurzer said. "It's almost like a full circle." Mayo Clinic physician Paul Mueller said he invited Wurzer to moderate Monday's event precisely because of that personal connection. He beamed while she shared her story but also said it was important for Mayo staff to hear the Dalai Lama's thoughts and praise for their efforts. "I liked what he said about his care and Mayo, and compassion," Mueller said. "That was great for our staff to hear." The Dalai Lama just finished up a month of treatment for his ongoing prostate problems, which have now stretched into a decade at the Mayo Clinic. As he prepares for next week's speech in Madison, Wis., the 80-year-old man credited Mayo staff with greeting him daily with smiles and becoming his friends during each visit. That personal message was wrapped into his larger point of avoiding the "destructive emotion" of anger. He argued that anger and pessimism negatively impacts a person's mental outlook on life, making it critically important for caregivers to show compassion as death approaches. "You've tried your best and it's impossible to cure," he said in response to how caregivers should deal with feelings of helplessness for terminal patients. "Then just provide kindness or a smile. At the time of dying, the mental state is very, very important for the afterlife." The Buddhist monk demurred when asked how he would reform the nation's health care system. "I'm just a patient," he said. "Come and go, come and go." ADVERTISEMENT But a previous answer may have provided a clue toward his inner thoughts on the matter. He argued that we should consider everyone a brother or sister no matter their education, cultural influence or wealth because "then we're talking on a human level." In the wide-ranging discussion led by Wurzer, he also cautioned against the world's increasing reliance on technology, especially as it relates to weapons that can kill "hundreds, thousands or millions." In a humorous moment, Wurzer got him to admit he neither owns nor knows how to use a cell phone. "Technology can be very helpful, but it can be very harmful if it's self-centered or used for destruction," he said. 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 great under-reported story of this years election cycle is the ongoing decline of the Democratic Party. We have written many times about the fact that at the state and local levels, the Republicans have become dominant. The GOP controls two-thirds of state legislative bodies and 60% of the nations governorships, not to mention both houses of Congress. To some extent, Republican ascendancy has been obscured by the fact that the Democrats control the presidency. But their hold on that office is weakening rapidly. This is reflected in the enthusiasm gap. Republicans are fired up and anxious to retake the White House. Democrats, battered and depressed after seven years of a failed Obama administration, are inclined to stay home. The numbers are unequivocal, as Michael Barone points out: Im not the only one who has noticed that Democratic caucus and primary turnout so far has been down as compared to 2008 and that Republican caucus and primary turnout has been up as compared to either 2012 or 2008. The results of the South Carolina Democratic primary Saturday confirm the trend. Total turnout was 370,000, down 30 percent from 2008s 532,000 . Many commentators have noticed that blacks constituted a higher percentage of South Carolina Democratic voters this year, 65 percent according to the exit poll, than they did in 2008, 55 percent. But this represents not a surge of blacks into the electorate, but rather the fact that black turnout declined by only 18 percent, whereas white turnout fell nearly in half, by 44 percent. That is a stunning number. The white Democrat is an endangered species, unless he is a hedge fund manager, Silicon Valley magnate or public sector union member. It is bizarre for a major political party in a two-party system, as opposed to a fragmented parliamentary arrangement, to scorn the votes of a majority of the population. I doubt whether it has ever happened before. But the Democrats have made it clear that non-rich, non-public sector whites are unwelcome in their party. Formerly Democratic white voters have gotten the hint. Clinton and Sanders both got significantly fewer white votes than Clinton or Edwards got in 2008. It is as if many South Carolina whites, with an ancestral attachment to the Democratic party, have decided to secede from it. White turnout in South Carolinas Republican primary was 707,000, compared to 129,000 in the Democratic primary. As Barone properly notes, those turnout figures relate in part to the fact that there was a competitive race on the Republican side, but not the Democratic. But the result is the same in state after state: historic turnouts in the Republican primary, declining numbers of voters showing up on the Democratic side. This isnt surprising: how much enthusiasm can a party engender, when it cant come up with a single plausible candidate less than 68 years old? But the rot, I think, goes deeper than that. The Democrats arent just out of candidates, they are out of ideas. Republicans are on the brink of a golden opportunity, if they dont do something supremely stupid. In the early days of global warming hysteria, the alarmists understandably warned that warmer temperatures would cause, among other things, less snow. Jim Steele reminds us: [Kevin] Trenberths 1999 paper framing the effects of global warming on extreme precipitation declared, With higher average temperatures in winter expected, more precipitation is likely to fall in the form of rain rather than snow, which will increase both soil moisture and run off, as noted by the IPCC (1996) and found in many models. The 2001 IPCC 3rd Assessment repeated those expectations stating, Northern Hemisphere snow cover, permafrost, and sea-ice extent are projected to decrease further. Soon climate scientists like Dr. Viner proffered alarming scenarios that children would no longer know what snow was. Similarly in 2008 politicians like RFK Jr. warned DC children would be deprived of the fun of sledding due to global warming. It all sounded plausible, but nature refused to cooperate: But our climate naturally oscillates and by early February of 2010 Snowmageddon was blanketing the USAs eastern seaboard with record snows, making global warming predictions the butt of many jokes. The heavy snows didnt disprove CO2 had caused any warming, but it definitely highlighted failed predictions. If the alarmists were scientists, they would acknowledge that a theory that generates false predictions is wrong. But they arent doing science, they are doing politics. So they retrospectively revised their predictions. Any port in a storm: In 2011 Chris Mooney writing for the DeSmog blog noted heavy snowfall had become a communications nightmare for global warming theory and urged, We need to move the public to a place where drawing a warming-snowstorm connection isnt so challenging. Good luck with that. Kevin Trenberth was already on point. Just two weeks after the 2010 Snowmageddon, Trenberth appeared in a NPR interview flip-flopping to a new climate change framework in which a Warming Planet Can Mean More Snow. Now he argued, The fact that the oceans are warmer now than they were, say, 30 years ago means theres about on average 4 percent more water vapor lurking around over the oceans than there was, say, in the 1970s. Thus you can get dumped on with more snow partly as a consequence of global warming, A year later the Union of Concerned Scientists held a press conference asserting global warming was no longer causing less snow, but causing heavier snow. And now, every year as heavy snowstorms approach, Trenberth and his well-groomed media outlets bombard the public, urging them not to be misled by their senses, but trust that cold and snowy days have worsened due to global warming. The alarmists new, improved global warming theory was that warmer temperatures caused the atmosphere to be able to hold more moisture. Therefore the total precipitable water vapor increases with CO2, andpresto!more water vapor means more snow. All earlier predictions were conveniently forgotten. There are several problems with this theory, including the fact that total precipitable water vapor has not increased in parallel with atmospheric CO2: It is true that warmer temperatures allow the air to hold more water, so the lack of any significant increase in TPW implies that the Earth hasnt been warming as required by the alarmists theories. Needless to say, this isnt the conclusion they draw. But as we all know, consistency is not their strong point. Trenberth is famous for writing privately to his political allies: The fact is that we cant account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we cant. The point of this amusing story is that for the alarmists, almost everything is negotiable. More snow? Less snow? No problem! No matter what happens, they tweak their models and pretend that they saw it coming all along. There is only one constant, one fixed star amid the models constant fluidity: the need for government control over the worlds economies. This is why governments pay billions to the climate alarmists, and are utterly indifferent to their laughable record of failed predictions. Climate alarmism has nothing to do with science. What is it with the Black Panthers? They were exposed as a vicious criminal gang long ago, and liberals who fawn over them have been subjects of ridicule at least since 1970, when Tom Wolfe wrote Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers. Yet somehow, they keep coming back. I wrote here about the University of Minnesotas disgraceful plan to honor two surviving Panthers, both of whom are available for the occasion because of a hung jury in their murder trial. Now its Minneapoliss Walker Art Center, which is putting on a show called Hippie Modernism. The Walker posted this work of art on Instagram: The picture was accompanied by this commentary: We are from 25 to 30 million strong, and we are armed. And we are conscious of our situation. And we are determined to change it. And we are unafraid. #BlackPantherParty minister of culture #EmoryDouglas was responsible for the partys bold visual style and even bolder depictions of social injustice. Betty Van Patter, Alex Rackley and the Panthers many other victims were unavailable for comment on the gangs bold visual style. Whats next, a fond retrospective on the Crips bold use of the color blue? Do liberals have no shame at all? It goes without saying that Leo Di Caprio wins the coveted Power Line Green Weenie Award for his climate change screech that accompanied his Oscar win for best actor Sunday night. I guess Marlon Brandos sidekick, Whatshername Littlefeather or something, wasnt available. The Guardian, of all places, offers some nice details about Leos interest in saving the planet: Leonardo DiCaprio was a climate champion long before the actor wrapped himself in an animal carcass, vomited up raw bison liver, and risked hypothermia for his Oscar-winning role in Revenant. Well yeah, but did he have to keep vomiting up pure Gore in his acceptance speech? Well, speaking of Gore, whaddyaknow? The two [di Caprio and Al Gore] met by chance in first class on a flight to Europe. A first class flight? Whatwere both of their private jets in the shop that week? How awful. Leo talked to Al the whole flight over, he picked Als brain the entire night, and it was a red eye, said Kailee Kreider, who was the working for Gore. The two of them talked all night. That is pretty unusual. The actor has stayed in regular contact with noted researchers such as Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Penn State University. I have talked with him and his folks frequently over the phone, Mann said in an email. The actor and the climate scientist met for the first time last October in a bar in New Yorks west village. So let me get this straight (so to speak): Leo was having climate change Mann-splained to him in bar in West Village, eh? Thats how rumors get started. I could support any of the remaining GOP presidential contenders, but I am opposed to the nomination of Donald Trump. I think he is deepening the rancor within the Republican Party and contributing to its defeat if not destruction. I fear that his testament will be President Hillary Clinton, a Democratic Congress and a leftist Supreme Court for the foreseeable future. I take it that my opposition to Trump requires some kind of a confession. I confess that I attended Dartmouth College. I am therefore an Ivy League elitist out of touch with the truths of Trump. However, I respectfully ask you to consider that I was admitted to one of the last all-mens classes at Dartmouth. I would never have been admitted under coeducation. So that may slightly mitigate the offense. I confess that I became a dedicated conservative as a graduate student in English at Yale in 1973-74. It was another Ivy League thing, I admit. Having spent more time in the library reading back issues of National Review than studying Middlemarch, however, I left after a year. I found the English Department just too weird. So that too may slightly mitigate the offense. I confess that I attended law school. Thats a black mark, I concede. Even worse, Im grateful for my legal education. I thought it helped me begin to understand the way the world works. I attended law school, but plead that it was at a public university. So please take that into account. I confess that I think my legal education gave me some understanding of the constitutional protections the Supreme Court has accorded speech in the bills of the modern era. You know, those bills that afford a wide ambit to the constitutional protection of defamatory speech affecting public figures. I confess to believing Donald Trump erred a couple of times over in saying he would reform libel laws when he is elected president so that he can sue newspapers for libel. Hes not going to be elected president and hes not going to reverse New York Times v. Sullivan, decided 9-0 by the Supreme Court in 1964. I admit to suspecting he has been counseled over the years regarding the law and knows he is wrong but doesnt care. I confess to having thought that the Supreme Courts bills even let public figures defame each other without worrying about defamation lawsuits. Even worse, I even suspect that Trump has liberally availed himself of the legal protection he decries. I confess that I believe in affording the maximum legal protection to political speech. I admit that my legal eduction even led me to believe the Supreme Court has erred in finding campaign finance laws inhibiting political speech to be constitutional. On the other hand, I support current law allowing Trump to self-fund his campaign on First Amendment principles. So I have that going for me. I confess that I must think Im entitled to share my views with Trump supporters even if they think my disagreement with them marks me out as someone who thinks hes superior. If Im really being self-critical, I would go so far as to say I think that even well-meaning voters are prone to error. I confess that I attended the Minnesota caucuses for the first time in 1976 on a cold winter evening to support the candidacy of Ronald Reagan against Gerald Ford. I admit that I have voted for every Republican presidential candidate since Ford in 1976. I admit that I must be some kind of a Republican Party shill. I would confess that Im a member of the establishment if I understood what it meant. Strike that. I confess to being a member of the establishment even if I dont understand what it means. I oppose Donald Trump, and thats enough. That I am a member of the establishment is probably the best that can be said of me. I confess that I harbor guilty thoughts. I think that Donald Trump is an embarrassment to his faithful supporters. I think that many of them even know it, but cut him slack because they believe his heart is in the right place on the issues they care about. I confess that I doubt Trumps heart is in the right place on the issues his supporters care about. I confess that I think Trump is quite a cynical man. I confess that I think Trump doesnt know very much about the issues he purports to care about. I confess that I fear Trump will lose hugely to Hillary Clinton. I think he will lose so hugely that his loss will usher in a Democratic Senate and possibly even a Democratic House. I fear Trumps loss will make us long for the days of the congressional RINOs who opposed Obamacare. I confess that I will miss Senator Johnson. I confess I will miss Senator Kirk. I confess that I will miss Senator Portman. I confess that I will miss Senator Toomey. I confess that I think Senator Sessions will miss them too, as ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee on immigration. I confess that there are reasonable grounds for disagreement and that I may be mistaken. So perhaps I am making progress. I respectfully ask for permission to end my confession here at this point. I need to save some material for the self-criticism at our next struggle session. Michael Fallon, British Defence Minister, said Britain would send troops to Tunisia to help prevent Islamic State fighters from moving into the country from Libya. He told Parliament on Tuesday in London that a training team of 20 troops from the 4th Infantry Brigade would move to Tunisia to help to counter illegal cross-border movement from Libya in support of the Tunisian authorities. Mr. Fallon said the move came after growing Western concern that Islamic State (IS) was seeking to use Libya as a base to plan and carry out attacks. Last June, 30 British holidaymakers were killed when an Islamist gunman attacked a beach at a hotel on Tunisias Mediterranean coast. I am extremely concerned about the proliferation of Daesh (IS) along the Libyan coastline, which is why we have been urgently assisting the formation of a new Libyan government, he said. The minister said the Jihadist groups had taken advantage of political chaos to expand their presence in Libya, and fighters loyal to Islamic State have taken control of the coastal city of Sirte. Fallon said Britain was not currently planning to deploy ground troops to Libya in a combat role. He declared that before taking any military action in Libya, Britain would seek an invitation from the new Libyan Government. (dpa/NAN) A report has shown that Al Qaedas leaders were increasingly worried about spies in their midst. A media review on Tuesday in Washington, showed that the drones in the air and secret tracking devices reporting their movements as the U.S.-led war against them. It said a documents seized in the 2011 raid on Osama bin Ladens Pakistani hideout and reviewed by Reuters revealed this. An unidentified intelligence official said the cache of 113 documents, translated and declassified by U.S. intelligence agencies, is mostly dated between 2009 and 2011. He said the documents, the second tranche from the raid to have been declassified since May 2015, depict an al Qaeda that was unwavering in its commitment to global jihad, but with its core leadership in Pakistan and Afghanistan under pressure on multiple fronts. The officer explained that in one document, bin Laden issues instructions to al Qaeda members holding an Afghan hostage to be wary of possible tracking technology attached to the ransom payment. He said bin Laden stated in a letter to an aide identified only as Shaykh Mahmud that It is important to get rid of the suitcase in which the funds are delivered, due to the possibility of it having a tracking chip in it. He said this was in an apparent reference to armed U.S. drones patrolling the skies. bin Laden says his negotiators should not leave their rented house in the Pakistani city of Peshawar except on a cloudy overcast day. While the document is undated, the hostage, Afghan diplomat Abdul Khaliq Farahi, was held from September 2008 to late 2010, he said. Another senior U.S. intelligence officials authorised to discuss the materials in advance of their public release, said another, fragmentary document acknowledges that al Qaeda executed four would-be volunteers on suspicion of spying, only to discover they were probably innocent. He said in a May 11, 2010 bin Laden in a letter to his then second-in-command, Atiyah Abd al Rahman, urged caution in arranging an interview with al Jazeera Journalist Ahmad Zaidan, asserting that the U.S. could be tracking his movements through devices implanted in his equipment, or by satellite. bin Laden wrote, You must keep in mind the possibility, however, slight, that journalists can be under surveillance that neither we nor they can perceive, either on the ground or via satellite. The intelligence officer said even as al Qaeda came under growing pressure, bin Laden and his aides planned a media campaign to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. He said the documents showed that they plotted diplomatic strategy and opined on climate change and the U.S. financial collapse. He said on April 28, 2011, just four days before his death, bin Laden was editing a document he had written on the Arab Spring revolutions. He said Al Qaedas leaders also urged further attacks on the U.S. He said a letter, apparently written by bin Laden, to Nasir al-Wuhayshi, Head of al Qaedas Yemen branch, stressed that We need to extend and develop our operations in America and not keep it limited to blowing up airplanes. One of the senior intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that bin Laden was still sort of thinking in very kind of grand schemes, and still trying to reclaim that 9/11 victory. The official said unfortunately he was somewhat out of touch with the actual capabilities of his organization. He said the documents showed the strains of managing al Qaedas external networks, including identifying capable leaders and finding resources to fund operations abroad. The officer said bin Laden, again wrote under the pseudonym Abu Abdallah, expressing alarm over his wifes visit to a dentist while in Iran, worrying that a tracking chip could have been implanted with her dental filling. He wrote The size of the chip is about the length of a grain of wheat and the width of a fine piece of vermicelli. He said bin Ladens letter ended with this instruction: Please destroy this letter after reading it. (dpa/NAN) A teenager, who was kidnapped from Bayelsa State to Kano, Ese Oruru, said on Monday she was not interested in reuniting with her family, claiming she was not abducted from her home. In an exclusive audio recording obtained by PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, the girl also said she came to Kano to convert to Islam. My name is Aisha Chuwas. I am 17-year-old. I came here to be a Muslim and I will stay here, she said in the audio. The recording appeared a conversation between Miss Oruru and a police interrogator in Kano. A human rights lawyer, Huwaila Mohammed, who was given access to the girl at the Zonal Police Headquarters in Kano, said upon interrogation, she understood the girl was never forced to convert to Islam. I was there to protect her rights, Ms. Mohammed said. When I approached her initially, she refused to talk to me. Later she opened up to me. She is very defiant. She told me she was born in February 1999. I personally wanted her to reunite with her family, but surprisingly she asked me to tell her mother that she will never return to Bayelsa. The police should ensure that she is protected and returned to her family. She is still not matured enough to take such a weighty decision without parental consent. Ms. Mohammed, who also spoke with Miss Orurus lover, Yunusa Yellow, said upon interrogation, she established that he is 18-year-old man not anywhere above 20. I was surprised when I saw a very small boy. He is just 18-year old. I was enraged thinking that it was an old man involved in the saga. From the way I see it, they eloped not because of religion but love, she said. But Miss Oruru is a minor, and under Nigerian law, she is not considered matured enough to take a decision to convert to another religion and leave her parents. In his reaction, the emir of Kano denied reports that he was holding Miss Oruru. The emir said on Monday that since September last year, the emirate council handed her over to AIG Zone 1, Tambari Yabo, for onward transportation to her family in Bayelsa. He said the district head of Kura brought the case to the palace when Mr. Yunusa presented Ms. Oruru to the district office, seeking approval to marry her. The emirs Chief of Staff, Munir Sanusi, further shed lights on the matter, saying the emir ordered that she be return to her family as she was too young to take such decision. The emir attached the girl with the palace emissary, Jakadan Mallam, and one of her relatives to go to the police headquarters, Mr. Sanusi said. Since she alleged threats from members of his family, we involved the police to provide security. Meanwhile, the Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, said he was on top of the situation as he had spoken to his Kano State counterpart, Abdullahi Ganduje, on the matter. The governors Special Adviser on Media, Francis Agbo, said Mr. Seriake had discussed the matter with Mr. Ganduje on several occasions to ensure a faster resolution of the crisis. PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Miss Orurus kidnapper has been arrested and is being detained at the Zone 1 Police Headquarters, Kano. The spokesman for the zonal police office, Rabilu Ringim, could not be reached to comment for this story. Mr. Ringim, an assistant superintendent of police, did not answer or return multiple calls and text message. Audio recording of Miss Oruru to come shortly Below is a transcript of a conversation between what appeared an unnamed police interrogator and abducted Bayelsa teenager, Ese Oruru. The exchanges took place at the premises of the Zone 1 Police Headquarters in Kano, on Monday. The recording was exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES on Monday afternoon. In the recording, Miss Oruru was heard saying she did not want to return to her home in Bayelsa, a claim a lawyer said should be disregarded because she is still a minor. Kano-based human rights lawyer, Huwaila Mohammed, said the police should ensure that she is protected and returned to her family. She is still not matured enough to take such a weighty decision without parental consent, Ms. Mohammed said. Read our earlier report on Miss Orurus claims here READ FULL TRANSCRIPT BELOW Interrogator: Please what is your name? Ese Oruru: My name is Aisha Chuwas? Interrogator: From where are you here (sic), come Kano? Ese Oruru: From Bayelsa State. Interrogator: How old are you? Ese Oruru: I am 17 years old. Interrogator: Ok, what are you doing here in Kano now? Ese Oruru: I am not doing anything but I came here to be a Muslim and I will stay here. Interrogator: In your own, own, own choice or. Ese Oruru: Silence Interrogator: Ok, Aisha your parent tell us you are (sic) abducted from Bayelsa. Its true? Ese Oruru: No. I am not (sic) abducted by anybody. Interrogator: Ok. Tell us the truth. Ese Oruru: I am (sic) not abducted by anybody, I came here on my own interest. Nobody forced me to be a Muslim. Interrogator: Thats all Ese Oruru: Yes Interrogator: Ok, Thank you Aisha. Ese Oruru, the teenager who was abducted from her Bayelsa home and moved to Kano for a forced marriage to one Yunusa Yellow, would be taken to hospital on Tuesday, preparatory to her journey back home. A security source told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday night that the police would take her for general medical check-up before taking her back to Bayelsa to rejoin her family. Despite her insistence to remain in Kano, we will surely take her back to her family, a police source said, asking not to be named because he had no permission to speak on the matter. Since she is not 18, her family still have control over her. So, we will ignore her request to be left in Kano and ensure her safe return back to her family. He added that Miss Oruru was, as at midnight on Monday, still in the custody of Zone 1 Police Command Headquarters, Kano. The spokesman for the zonal police office, Rabilu Ringim, could not be reached to comment for this story. Mr. Ringim, an assistant superintendent of police, did not answer or return multiple calls and text message. Another source in the palace of the Emir of Kano had also told this newspaper that the Assistant Inspector General in charge of Zone 1, Shuaibu Gambo, had indicated to the palace that Miss Oruru would be returned to Bayelsa on Tuesday. Mr. Gambo could not be reached for comments on Monday night, although he had earlier in the day confirmed to the African Independent Television (AIT) that the teenager was in his commands custody. In an audio clip obtained exclusively by PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, Miss Oruru was heard telling a security official that she was not abducted, and would like to remain in Kano. The police initially prevaricated in taking decision on her release based on that claim, a development that irked many Nigerians. A number of human rights activists and lawyers who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday unanimously said Miss Oruru should be reunited with her parents without delay. Aisha Yesufu, one of the conveners of Bring Back Our Girls group, said the questions of whether she eloped with her abductor willingly or not should not even come up in the first place and that she should be returned to her parents without delay. As a mother, I will say at 13 years of age I dont think she has the capacity to make those informed decisions whether to convert or not to convert and to run away from her family. In the first place what permission did he (the abductor) have to take her all the way from Bayelsa to Kano State without the parents consent. That is very, very worrisome, she said. As a child I dont think it was right for anybody to take her home and say she has been converted. That is coercion. She was coerced into it. She is a little girl that does not know much. She should have been returned immediately to her family, she added. Charles Musa, an Abuja-based human rights lawyer, said she is a minor in the face of the law and cannot make decisions for herself without her parents. Mr. Musa said whatever she said should be ignored and that she should be returned to her parents. The authorities should ignore whatever she has said and return her to her parents. Legally, she cannot take a decision like that. She can only speak through her guardian. She definitely cannot say she is not going back. She is a child under the law. She has no say in the matter, he said. Yomi Ogunsanya, another Abuja-based lawyer, while agreeing that she should be returned to her parents also added that her abductor should be charged for kidnapping. The police should simply take her back to her parents and ignore her claims. She is a minor, less than 18, and only her parents and guardian can speak for her. She was taken away without the consent of her parents and she should be returned. The person who took her away should be charged for abduction or kidnapping. Its a straightforward case, he said. The same point was made by Jiti Ogunye, a Lagos-based lawyer. Mr Ogunye said by abducting her from Bayelsa to Kano without her parents consent, her abductor violated Section 361 of the Criminal Code Act. Section 361 of the Criminal. Code Act, Cap C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, and the analogous provision in the Criminal Code Law of Bayelsa State defines the offence of abduction, and provides that any person who, with intent to marry or carnally know a female of any age, or to cause her to be married, or carnally known by any other person, takes her away, or detains her against her will, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years, he said. Mr Ogunye said her abductor, Yunusa, should be taken to Bayelsa and made to face criminal charges in the state as the alleged criminal act originated from there. And of course it can be imagined or assumed that the offence of rape would have been committed against the young girl . The punishment for rape under Sections 357 and 358 of the same criminal Code Act is life imprisonment. Also the Child Rights Act prohibits this abduction. It must be noted that the Act defines a child as any person under 18 years. Thus, the abductor and his accomplices are liable to be arrested and prosecuted in Bayelsa State. That is where the crime originated. And although it is being consummated in Kano State, the Bayelsa High Court has jurisdiction to try the offences. This beast cannot escape into Kano State and seek sanctuary in that unfortunately permissible environment. The police, the Bayelsa State Attorney General, the IGP, the AGF must do their job by bringing this barbarian to justice. If they dont, the parents must be assisted to bring an application for an order of mandamus against them to perform their public duty. The law must be utilized to the hilt to punish this crime. This is not another Chibok girls situation. And the moral compromise of the Emir of Kano should not deter the resolve to secure justice for the girl and her parents, he said. Reports say Miss Oruru was abducted from her Bayelsa home about eight months ago, and her parents, after trailing her to Kano battled for months to have her back. They did not succeed. Her case however caught the attention of the Nigerian authorities and citizens after the PUNCH newspaper did a detailed story on the matter on Sunday. Ese Oruru, the teenager who was abducted from her Bayelsa home and moved to Kano for a forced marriage to one Yunusa Yellow, has left Kano and is on her way to the police headquarters in Abuja, Nigerias capital, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report. The spokesperson for the Zone 1 Police Command, Rabilu Ringim, told a PREMIUM TIMES reporter who visited his office that a police team conveying Miss Oruru to the police headquarters in Abuja left Kano by road at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. The team, he said, comprised an assistant commissioner of police and other top ranking officers who were travelling under tight security. They are on their way already, and the parents are expected in Abuja today where they would be reunited, Mr. Ringim said. She is being taken to Abuja based on the express instruction of the IG. The police spokesperson said Miss Oruru was taken thorough medical check late Monday night to enable her to commence her journey back home early on Tuesday morning. Mr. Ringim also later told another PREMIUM TIMES reporter on telephone that the teenager indeed claimed she was 17 in several conversations with the police. He said she also claimed she feared for her life if allowed to return to her parents in Bayelsa, but that the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of the Zone, Shuaibu Gambo, assured that no one would harm her. Reports say Miss Oruru was abducted from her Bayelsa home about eight months ago, and her parents, after trailing her to Kano, battled for months to have her back. They did not succeed. Her case however caught the attention of the Nigerian authorities and citizens after the PUNCH newspaper did a detailed story on the matter on Sunday. In an audio clip obtained exclusively by PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, Miss Oruru was heard telling a security official that she was not abducted, and would like to remain in Kano. The police initially prevaricated in taking a decision on her release based on that claim, a development that irked many Nigerians. A number of human rights activists and lawyers who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday unanimously said Miss Oruru should be reunited with her parents without delay. On Tuesday morning, a rights group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), called on Nigerian authorities to immediately commence the prosecution of Yunusa Yellow, the man who allegedly abducted the minor from her Bayelsa home, and took her to Kano for underage marriage. In a statement Tuesday morning by its Executive Director, Ishaq Akintola, MURIC said Yunusas action violated the law and caused a Christian family to go through a traumatic period. Mr Akintola, a professor, said the alleged abductor should be charged to court in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, and then before a Sharia court in Kano if it is proven that he had canal knowledge of the girl. The Lagos State Police Command has said they are on the trail of the armed men who allegedly abducted about three school girls in Ikorodu on Monday night. The students were taken from their hostel at the Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary, Agunfoye Lugbusi, at about 8 p.m., reports say. We are working on their rescue, Dolapo Badmus, police spokesperson, told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday. Theres nothing new yet, but we are closing up on them and we are seriously working on the recovery and we are still investigating how the occurrence came to pass. More details to come A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has ordered the immediate release of the Aide de Camp to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Ojogbane Adegbe, on liberal terms. The judge, Yusuf Halilu, said the Economic and Financial Commission Crimes Commission (EFCC) had no right to detain Mr. Adegbe for more than 48 hours, without charging him to court. Mr. Halilu stated that the commission had a legal obligation to treat government and the populace in like manner, and frowned at what he described as the conversion of the EFCC into a police station by its officials. The counsel to Mr. Adegbe, Ogwu Onoja, told the court earlier that the EFCC had transferred his client to a military facility after granting him bail on stringent conditions. That submission was not argued by the counsel to the EFCC, Musa Denga. Mr. Halilu added that his judgement was binding not only on the EFCC, but also on any agency keeping him in detention. Mr. Adegbe had taken the EFCC to court on February 11. His counsel, Mr. Onoja, had stated in the application brought by his client that the arrest and detention of Mr. Adegbe by the EFCC violated his right to personal liberty and freedom of movement, as stipulated in sections 35 and 41 of the 1999 constitution. Mr. Onoja urged the court to declare his clients arrest and continued detention by EFCC unconstitutional, and a violation of his right to personal liberty guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution. He prayed the court to make an order directing the EFCC to immediately release the applicant from unlawful detention. The Assistant Police Commissioner in charge of Zone 1 Police Headquarters, Kano, Shuaibu Gambo, on Tuesday said Yunusa Yellow, the alleged abductor of a Bayelsa teenager, Ese Oruru, would be charged to court to face criminal charges. Mr. Yunusa and Miss Oruru were transported to the Police Force Headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday. She would be handed over to police commissioner in charge of Bayelsa State, who in return will hand her to her family, he said. According to him, the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, would address a press conference on the matter, saying the IGP would give details of the case to the press. Mr. Shuaibu, however, denied that Miss Oruru was taken to hospital for check-up. That is all I can tell you. I promise to talk to you as soon as the IG gives me go-ahead. Pre-empting him is an act of insubordination, he added. Miss Oruru had arrived the police headquarters in Abuja from Kano at 12.55 p.m on Tuesday. Dressed in a native attire and white hijab, she was accompanied into the complex by by two women and three men, all dressed in Hausa native attires. Our reporter later identified one of the men to be Yunusa Yellow. One of the women, who identified Miss Oruru, however, could not say her name before the officers quickly took her away with the others. On arrival, the teenager and her delegation were ushered into the office of Force Spokesperson, Bisi Kolawole, but then quickly taken away to another office shortly afterwards. Waiting journalists were prevented from taking photographs of the delegation. Mrs Kolawole later told journalists that the police was waiting for Miss Orurus parents to arrive before giving a press conference. The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, has expressed concern over the plight of candidates for Computer-Based Test (CBT) of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) who are not computer literate. Mr. Adamu made his worries known on Tuesday while monitoring the 2016 UTME at the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB)s Model CBT Centre at Kogo, Bwari in the FCT. Mr. Adamu said, however, that he was impressed with the conduct of the examination at the centre. The children seemed to be very happy and comfortable with what they are doing; but my question is what do you do with many who are not computer literate? I have sympathy for candidates who are not computer literate and there are many of them. I think we should combine CBT and paper examination for sometime but definitely, the future is for computer, he said. On his part, JAMBs Registrar, Dibu Ojerinde, said all factors were considered before the board migrated fully from Paper-Based Test to CBT. He said the Federal Government had mandated the National Commission for Communications (NCC) to set up at least four CBT centres every year. The first four are on and very soon more will be on. We have made improvement from that of last year; for instance, we now have calculator on the screen. Over 200,000 results have been released since the examination started on Feb. 27, he said. Ojerinde cited security challenges, high cost of producing writing materials for PPT, high cost of transporting materials and curbing examining examination malpractices as some of the reasons behind the adoption of CBT. A candidate, who pleaded anonymity, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the CBT was easy, as it only entailed clicking on the right answers. He said that the CBT was commendable because it reduced the stress of paper writing, adding that it would also encourage future candidates to upgrade their computer skills. The candidate said that any person with basic computer knowledge could write the exam without much difficulty. NAN reports that Adamu also visited the Charms City CBT Centre at Area 11, Garki, where he expressed satisfaction with the facilities therein. (NAN) Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has expressed regret over the abduction of 14-year old, Ese Oruru, in Yenagoa and taken to Kano for forceful marriage. He also called on parents and guardians to be extremely vigilant, especially in the monitoring of the activities of their children, with a view to ensuring that, they do not fall victim to the antics of mischief makers. A statement issued on Tuesday by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, condemned the action of the abductor, but also expressed satisfaction with the various individuals, non-governmental and civil society groups for bringing the matter to national and international focus. Mr. Dickson pledged his governments preparedness to support every effort at not only re-uniting Ese Oruru with her family back in Yenagoa, but also ensuring her proper rehabilitation and reintegration into the society to resume her normal life. While commending the Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, for the role he played in ensuring the release of the victim, Mr. Dickson also applauded security agencies for the swiftness and professionalism with which the matter was handled. He thanked the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, for ensuring the safety of Ese and eventual handing over to the Police in Kano. The government and people of Bayelsa State will remain eternally grateful to all those, who contributed in one way or the other in giving the issue the desired attention. President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Enoch Adejare Adeboye, as he turns 74 years on March 2, 2016. According to presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, President Buhari believes the revered Christian leader, who paid him a courtesy call at the Presidential Villa on February 16, 2016 and whom he had interacted with many times before, epitomizes the virtues of honesty, peace, patience, contentment, humility and diligence, which are the trademarks of a good believer. As a Christian leader, the President commends the relentless efforts, sacrifices and the grace of God upon the life of the General Overseer, who has over the years propagated the gospel around the world, organized large gathering of Christian worshipers and consistently counselled leaders and their citizens on living right before God. Besides preaching the gospel, President Buhari salutes the social and humanitarian interventions of the RCCG leader in providing health and educational services to complement the efforts of governments. The President prays that the Almighty God will grant Pastor Adeboye long life and more strength to carry on the good work, Mr. Adesina said. An Enugu High Court on Tuesday discharged a man who spent eight years in prison custody awaiting trial. The presiding judge, Justice Eno Oluedo, discharged Emeka Arum for inconclusive evidence by the prosecution. Mr. Arum was accused of armed robbery. Mr. Oluedo said the court could not act on the evidence of a witness not cross-examined in court. She said the fact that the main witness, as stated by the prosecution counsel, became disabled and could not remember his name, stood as inconclusive evidence before the court. The judge said the accused person had no case to answer if there was no evidence against him. Evidence must be sufficient, and contain essential elements and must be a ground to precede with the case as prima facie evidence. The witness could not conclude his evidence in which the prosecution counsel relied upon, meaning that there is no ground to continue with the case, she said. Mr. Oluedo held that abandoned evidence by the witness had no testimonial value since the court found it difficult to determine if the accused person was a robber, caught with arms or involved in the said robbery. The judge discharged the accused person of all the armed robbery and criminal cases brought against him. (NAN) The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has rescheduled the corruption trial of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, which was initially billed to resume on March 10. A statement,Tuesday, by the spokesperson for the tribunal, Ibraheem Al-hassan, said the shift became necessary following the request of Mr. Sarakis lead counsel, Kanu Agabi (SAN), asking that the hearing be moved by a day. The trial will now commence on March 11, the tribunal said. In a February 26 letter to the tribunal, Mr. Agabi had written: I write as lead Counsel to the above Defendant to apply that the matter which is now scheduled to come up on the 10th day of March 2016, subject to the convenience of the Honourable Tribunal and learned Counsel for the prosecution, be taken on the 11th day of March, 2016, due to my earlier and urgent commitments in other courts on the 10th. I will sincerely appreciate the indulgence of the Tribunal to accommodate me in this way. The lawyer apologised for the inconvenience the shift might cause the tribunal and other counsel in the matter. Mr. Saraki was docked by the Code of Conduct Tribunal on a 13-count charge on September 18 for alleged corruption and false declaration of assets. He was specifically accused of deliberately manipulating the asset declaration form he submitted prior to his assumption of his current position as senate president. He pleaded not guilty to the charges even as he subtly attributed his predicament to his emergence as senate president on June 9 against the wishes of his party, the All Progressives Congress. The office of the Attorney General of the Federation had dragged Mr. Saraki before the tribunal, saying the offences he committed violated Nigerias Code of Conduct for public officers. Mr. Saraki, who has denied any wrongdoing, had challenged the tribunals jurisdiction and constitution up to the Supreme Court which struck out his appeal on February 12. The Senate on Tuesday approved a request from President Muhammadu Buhari for the extension of the implementation of the N114 billion FCT capital budget to March 31. The Senate acceded to the request of the president and gave the bill an accelerated hearing as it was considered for second reading, third reading and passed. The president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, directed the conference committee of the Senate to harmonise its figures with the House of Representatives. Earlier, while presenting the bill for second reading, the Leader of the Senate, Ali Ndume, noted that the 2015 FCT budget was approved on May 28, 2015, allowing only seven months for its implementation. He said that in order to meet the obligations of the FCT and as requested by the president, the Senate should give accelerated passage to the request for extension. He said that in view of the seven months period, the FCT budget implementation only stood at 40 per cent, hence the need for the extension. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Buhari on Feb. 23 requested the Senate to extend the implementation of the budget to March 31. (NAN) The Nigerian Police Force has said it would speak to Nigerians on Wednesday about Ese Oruru, the teenager who was abducted from Bayelsa State and taken to Kano. The police spokesperson, Olabisi Kolawole, said the force was compelled to postpone a scheduled press conference due to the late arrival of the girls parents from Bayelsa. At the time of filing this report, Ese Orurus parents, according to the police, had only reached Abaji, a suburb of Abuja, and may not make it early enough to the Force Headquarters. The police had waited for Orurus parents to arrive before addressing journalists. Ms. Kolawole spoke over six hours after Ese Oruru arrived from Kano. The teenager, who was taken to Kano for a forced marriage, was driven into the Nigeria Police Headquarters in Abuja at exactly 12.55pm Tuesday. Dressed in a native attire and white hijab, she was accompanied into the complex by two women and three men, all dressed in Hausa native attires. One of the men, believed to be Mr. Yellow arrived in handcuffs. Miss Oruru was abducted in August 2015 by Yunusa Yellow, a man reported as a regular customer of her food vendor mother. The Ogun State Police Command on Tuesday redeployed the embattled Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Sagamu, John Mark, to the commands headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, and put in place a six-member committee to investigate allegations of extortion against him. The deployment of the officer was the fallout of a petition and protest by a member of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Yinka Mafe, who accused the DPO of extorting members of the public. Mr. Mafe, the majority leader at the assembly, on Monday organised a protest against the police officer in Sagamu, with some residents storming major streets of the town clamouring for Mr. Marks removal. The police had earlier accused the lawmaker, who represents Sagamu 1 Constituency, of 15 criminal offences, including cultism. However, in a statement Tuesday, the Ogun Police Command Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said DPO Mark had been redeployed to allow smooth investigations to be carried out. The Commissioner of Police Ogun State, Abdulmajid Ali, has ordered immediate redeployment of the embattled Divisional Police Officer Sagamu Division, CSP John Mark, to the Command Headquarters, Eleweran Abeokuta, the statement reads. The Commissioner has constituted a powerful six-man committee, led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Department of Finance & Administration and 2i/c Command DCP Celestine Okoye, to investigate the allegations against the DPO and the concerned Hon member of Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Yinka Mafe, and forward its report within one week from date. The Committee is expected to carefully X-ray the remote and immediate cause of the brouhaha vis-a-visa allegations and counter allegations in the said matter so as to set the record straight. The Commissioner therefore wishes to assure the general public that the Command will not tolerate any act of corruption or unprofessionalism or/and inappropriate behaviour that can damage the image and reputation of the Force, the release explained. ( Read 6318 Times) Editors Synopsis: The IIHMR University, Jaipur is a WHO Collaborating Centre for Primary Healthcare Offers a unique programme MBA in Health Economics, Finance and Insurance 80 Students of Bachelor of Management Studies, Bachelor of Accounting & Finance and Bachelor of Financial Markets visited The IIHMR University campusJaipur Indias globally recognized and leading healthcare research institutions of the country, The IIHMR University, organized a second study tour program for students of Chetnas H.S College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai. The study tour was conducted to share additional information on the research conducted, the academic programs and trainings offered at the IIHMR University.Dr. (Col) Ashok Kaushik, Dean Academics, The IIHMR University said, The second study tour requested by the Chetnas H.S College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai reflects the trust that the academia has developed for the IIHMR University. We are delighted to conduct this orientation for the second time. The session allowed students to interact with people to broaden their outlook and widen their spectrum on their fields of specializations. The objective of this orientation was to enable students to access the management, operations, infrastructure and co-ordinate with the growth and missions of The IIHMR University which would further allow them to relate to their streams.Speaking about one of the MBA programs conducted at The IIHMR University, Dr. Kaushik said, We at The IIHMR University offer a unique education program under the name MBA Hospital and Health Management with 5 specializations (Health Management, Hospital Management, Human Resource Management, Health Economics, Finance and Insurance and Procurement and Supply Chain Management. The primary objective of the MBA programs is to facilitate integrative learning in the deepest sense of the term, so that graduates are able to walk into professional roles with ease, and play a vital role both at the operational and strategic levels in their jobs. The programs are designed to promote efficient and equitable allocation of resources and development strategies to promote public health and cost-effective healthcare.The Orientation also included a discussion on various researches such as the Aapni Yojna, Jaipur Urban Eye Health which have been conducted by the IIHMR Universitys School of Rural Management alongwith the NFHS4 survey for which IIHMR University has been assigned by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) as the nodal agency to conduct survey.The IIHMR University has three major schools of management under the names; IIHMR Universitys School of Rural Management, IIHMR Universitys School of Pharmaceutical Management and IIHMR Universitys School of Hospital and Health Management. ( Read 29265 Times) Jaipur, :Narayana Multispecialty Hospital, Jaipur, a tertiary care hospital of Narayana Health offering high quality , affordable medical care to the people of Rajasthan and bordering states, has bagged the award of Quality beyond Accreditation at the Global Conclave of Association of Health Care Providers (India) (AHPI) held at Mumbai recently. Narayana Multispecialty Hospital, Jaipur is the only hospital in Rajasthan to have been awarded in any category by AHPI this year.The AHPI award technical committee scrutinized and made detailed assessment in respect of key indicators to monitor the clinical structures processes and outcomes which are used as tools for continual improvement. Also they went through the managerial structures, processes and outcomes, which are used as tools for continual improvement. Further, the committee looked into clinical audits that are conducted by all specialties on periodic basis to monitor and improve quality of nursing and complete patient care as per the registry provided by the accreditation agency. It noted the use of ICT for leveraging in improvement and sustaining delivery of quality care (Such as quality dash boards, alerts and alarms) and the data analytics/statistical and management tools, such as 7-QC tools,5-S, FMEA,LEAN Health, Six Sigma, to improve and sustain delivery of quality care. The committee also appreciated the patient centric approach of the hospital management and it went through the patient satisfaction reports that are measured using objective means and fed back in to system with demonstrable improvement. The committee members assessed the hospitals initiatives to foster quality culture such as, team building, effective communication and other good HRM practices since such actions can serve as a benchmark to other organizations in that area of services.Mr. Arunesh Punetha, Zonal Director (West), Narayana Health, said, We are extremely happy to receive the AHPI award which bears the testimony of our achievement in delivering safe, accessible, affordable, timely and patient oriented medical care to its patients. This is the first hospital in Rajasthan to be accredited by Joint Commission International on 2012 and re-accredited on 2015 for meeting international benchmarks in healthcare, he said.The AHPI Award Technical Committee scrutinized the applications along with the presentation submitted by the hospital. The award was won post a detailed facility assessment and inspection of the hospital processes by the representatives of AHPI. More than 180 hospitals across India competed for various categories of awards. This particular award Quality beyond Accreditation was awarded to only five hospitals in India.About Narayana Health:With all super-speciality tertiary care facilities that the medical world offers, Narayana Health is now a one-stop healthcare destination for all. From the first facility established in Bengaluru with approximately 225 operational beds in 2000, our Company has grown to 57 facilities (which includes 56 facilities in India and 1 facility in the Cayman Islands operated by our Companys associate company, Health City Cayman Islands Ltd.) with 5600 operational beds and the potential to reach a capacity of up to 6,600 beds. Our Company has a network of 23 hospitals (multispeciality and superspeciality healthcare facilities which provide tertiary care), 8 heart centres (superspeciality units which are set up in a third party hospital) and 25 primary care facilities (including clinics and information centres), across a total of 32 cities, towns and villages in India. For details, visit www.narayanahealth.orgAbout Narayana Multispecialty Hospital, JaipurStarted in January 2011 in Sanganer, Narayana Multispeciality Hospital, Jaipur, is 290-beds multispecialty tertiary care hospital located at Pratap Nagar offering tertiary care healthcare services. The hospital was awarded the International accreditation from Joint Commission International (JCI) in August 2012 making it the first hospital in Rajasthan to receive this prestigious recognition.About Association of Healthcare Providers (India) [AHPI]:Association of Healthcare Providers (India) represents the majority of healthcare providers in India. It works as "not for profit" organization and advocates with the government, regulatory bodies and other stake holders on issues, which have bearing on enabling its member organizations to deliver appropriate healthcare services to community at large. ( Read 6056 Times) Jaipur. The United States ambassador to India, Richard Verma on Tuesday visited the Jaipur Foot center at the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) and inspected the making of the world famous artificial limbAmbassador Verma accompanied by the officials of the US embassy in India evinced keen interest in the manufacturing process of the Jaipur Foot that has benefited over 1.5 million disabled persons both in India and in 27 other countries of the world.Ambassador Verma was received by the founder and the chief patron of the BMVSS D R Mehta, joint secretaries Bhupendra Mehta and Dr Deependra Mehta and the CEO of the BMVSS S S Bissa.Chief Technical Consultant Dr M K Mathur and the Technical Director of the BMVSS Dr Pooja Mukul explained the making and the utility of the Jaipur Foot to the ambassadorChief patron Mehta appraised the ambassador about the technical collaboration that BMVSS has with two reputed US universities- Massachusets Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University. These two universities extend their cooperation in the development and improvement of the Jaipur Foot and the Jaipur Knee. The Jaipur Knee was designed and developed by Stanford University and in 2008 the famous news weekly Time adjudged it as one of the 50 best innovations. The BMVSS has since fitted this Stanford University Jaipur Knee on thousands of disabled both in India and abroad,Ambassador Verma said during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Silicon Valley in US , he gave the example of the Jaipur Foot as a truly "Make in India"product that has acceptability all over the world.. He said the Jaipur Foot because of its high technical quality and durability is serving large number of disabled who are provided this artificial limbs free.Ambassador Verma discussed with D.R Mehta on the scope of collaboration between United States and BMVSS where the United States will be a willing partner in the progressAmbassador Verma also spoke to the disabled and knew how the Jaipur Foot was helping them in making their lives betterHe also inspected a prototype of a special wheel chair developed by the MIT which is being made in India now. The field trials of this wheel chair was conducted by the BMVSS and the improvement suggested. Former UChicago Law Students Say Scalia Was A 'Blatant Racist' Professor By Zoe Greenberg in News on Feb 29, 2016 10:26PM Several former black students at the University of Chicago Law School, where Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia served as a law professor from 1977 to 1982, say they remember the justice, who passed away last month, as a blatant racist who treated black students, and their work, as less-than. Arnim Johnson, who wrote about his time as Scalias student in a widely shared Facebook post, said one year Scalia flunked every black student who took his class. The school administration passed on taking any action, since the actual facts regarding his intent could not be adduced in a tribunal. However, what he thought of black people was indisputable, and believe me it was nothing nice, Johnson wrote. Ben Streeter, now an attorney with the Federal Election Commission and a former black student of Scalias, told Gawker that although he in fact passed Scalias course, he, too, noticed preferential treatment towards white students. Streeter said the final exam in one of Scalias classes included an unprecedented short-answer section, with answers that weren't covered in class. Streeter suspected Scalia had mentioned the material with students who came to visit him outside of class. In those days, the only students who came by to visit him were in the Federalist Society group, Streeter told Gawker. There was not a single black member of the Federalist Society in my three years at the University of Chicago. Phillip Hampton, the former president of the University of Chicagos Black Student Law Association, told Gawker that he found it strange that every black students lowest grade was in Scalias class. He also remembered Scalia once saying that he could usually tell papers that were written by African Americans, even if they had no names on them. Scalia came under fire earlier this year when he suggested that black students would be better off at worse universities in an affirmative action case before the Supreme Court. "There are those who contend that it does not benefit African-Americans to get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a slower-track school where they do well, Scalia said. Johnson's full Facebook post: Scalia was a law professor of mine, and was on the faculty of the U of Chicago the entire three years I attended. The law school is one of the smallest in the country, housed in one building and relatively intimate as graduate schools go. While I was there, Scalia was outed as a blatant racist to the extent that the Black American Law Students Association (BALSA) chapter at the law school brought it to the attention of acting Dean Norval Morris in several meetings. Scalia flunked every black student who took his classes that year. Nobody flunks courses in elite law schools. Its unheard of. He flunked one brother so badly, it skewered his grade average, and he became the first, last, and only student in the history of the school to repeat first year. That man went on to become a repected military judge. Ultimately, no action was taken because the source of the information was private, confidential and privileged, and Scalias racist attitude and actions toward black students could be plausibly denied, but just barely. He stuck with his story that he had graded blindly, but it came out that Scalia had done the same thing, when he was on the faculty at the U of Virginia. However, Scalia was an academic star actively politicking for a federal judgeship with national political connections, as well as being quite personable. The school administration passed on taking any action, since the actual facts regarding his intent could not be adduced in a tribunal. However, what he thought of black people was indisputable, and believe me it was nothing nice. Being a swarthy, son of poor Sicilian immmigrants, and intent on becoming an all-American white man, he was consumed with putting as much space between himself and Negroes as possible, and becoming an honorary member of the WASP elite. 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. 11 Highlights Of The European Union Film Fest, Picked By The Curators By Joel Wicklund in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 29, 2016 9:31PM My Big Night. (Photo: Film Factory Entertainment.) The Chicago European Union Film Festival is older than the euro and just a few years younger than the formal establishment of the union itself. But as its 19th edition approaches (March 4 to 31), what's more impressive than the longevity of the Gene Siskel Film Center's annual event is its growing vitality. It is the city's second largest global cinema showcase, but despite a more limited geographic coverage, many area movie lovers now hold it in higher esteem than the Chicago International Film Festival. A few years back, Newcity's Ray Pride wrote, "It may be the best film festival in Chicago in terms of curatorial focus, concentrated scale, quality of attractions and ease of attendance...". Last year, on his White City Cinema blog, film scholar and author Michael Glover Smith (Flickering Empire) claimed, "The evidence is undeniable: year in and year out, the EUFF brings in the films that local cinephiles are most excited to see, the ones that are routinely missing from the Chicago International Film Festival's fall lineup." It's clear that the EUFF is now firmly established as an essential part of Chicago movie culture. Most of the credit for that goes to the Film Center's longtime ace programmers, Barbara Scharres and Marty Rubin. In anticipation of the nearly month-long festival, each told Chicagoist about a handful of movies they're personally excited about from the 62-film slate. All of the movies are Chicago theatrical premieres. The Paradise Suite (March 4 & 5): The opening night feature is this Dutch-Swedish co-production that features intertwining stories and a multinational cast, including Burkinabe actor, dancer and musician Issaka Sawadogo. "The film addresses some of the prominent social problems of Europe right now, including sex trafficking, drugs, and war crimes," says Scharres. "Those themes all come together in these very dark stories." (Sawadogo is scheduled to participate in a post-film discussion both nights and will attend the opening night reception on March 4.) Liza, The Fox-Fairy (March 5 & 10): If the trailer is any indication, this Hungarian fantasy film will live up to Scharres' description of it as "one of the wackiest films in the festival this year. It's a combination of a sort of lovelorn tale and Japanese pop culture. It's darkly funny and very playful." Love Island (March 5 & 14): This Croatian feature has a strong Chicago connection, as acclaimed novelist Aleksandar Hemon (The Lazarus Project, The Making of Zombie Wars), who co-wrote the screenplay, calls the Windy City home. According to Scharres, this absurdist comedy touches on "sexual kinks [and] betrayals in a semi-comic context. It's a lot of fun." Any movie that features Bollywood-style musical sequences along with tunes by German rockers The Scorpions and Rammstein commands curiosity. (Hemon is scheduled to appear for Q&As at both screenings.) Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words (March 11 & 12): The icon of Hollywood and European cinema is depicted through archival footage, interviews with those who knew her (including daughter Isabella Rossellini), and her own letters and diary entries as read by Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl, Ex Machina). Rubin says, "It's the interplay between the dazzling subject's own words and those of her conflicted children that gives bite to this documentary portrait." Wondrous Boccaccio (March 11 & 16): Italian filmmaking siblings Vittorio and Paolo Taviani have been making movies together for over 60 years, including such acclaimed features as The Night of the Shooting Stars (1982) and Padre Padrone (1977). Their latest adapts five stories from Boccaccio's The Decameron. "Typical of the Tavianis, this is a very lush, colorful film," Scharres promises. Viva (March 13 & 14): Irish filmmaker Paddy Breathnach (I Went Down) is the unexpected director of this drama about drag queens, set in and around a Cuban nightclub. Shot on location in Havana and entirely in Spanish (though written by Breathnach's fellow Irishman Mark O'Halloran), Viva is yet another cultural globe-hopper on the EUFF schedule. Scharres calls it "a colorful and moving, powerful tale." (O'Halloran will be at both screenings to talk about the film.) B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989 (March 18 & 23): Here, a decade in the post-punk counterculture of West Germany is "filtered through the curious eyes of a British visitor who came, saw, and was conquered," according to Rubin. Documentary footage and reenactments bring to life the memories of promoter/engineer/enthusiast Mark Reeder. There are also glimpses of other notables who came to soak up the scene, including Nick Cave, Keith Haring, Tilda Swinton...and, yes, David Hasselhoff. "Not the best film in the fest, but, to be honest, the one I enjoyed the most," Rubin says. Land of Songs (March 19 & 21): This Lithuanian documentary highlights dying regional music, focusing on five elderly women who are the last to sing traditional folk songs passed down from previous generations. "It sounds pretty square," Rubin says, "But a deep undertow of melancholy and loss keeps this elegiac doc from being merely an exercise in nostalgia." (Director Aldona Watts will be at both screenings to discuss the film.) The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun (March 25 & 31): Rubin calls this French film noir, steeped in the tradition of European thrillers from the '60s and '70s, "a guilty pleasure, far from perfect, but sexy and stylish, and it'll look great on the big screen." Director Joann Sfar previously attracted international art house audiences with Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life. My Big Night (March 26 & 30): A New Year's Eve TV special sets the stage for an increasingly crazy intersection of events in the latest from the director of darkly comic spectacles like Day of the Beast and The Last Circus. "Overstuffed and over-the-top," Rubin says, "But that's what one expects from Spanish gonzo auteur Alex de la Iglesia. And the show-biz parodies, especially from ageless icon Raphael and up-and-comer Mario Casas, are muy sabrosos." The Measure of a Man (March 26): Both Scharres and Rubin are sky-high on the performance of Vincent Lindon in this naturalistic French drama about a middle-aged former factory worker navigating the dehumanizing effects of the modern working world. Rubin calls it "a Zen-like performance, in which 'nothing' is everything." Lindon earned Best Actor honors at last year's Cannes Film Festival for this role. Beyond these personal picks, the EUFF schedule includes new films by British master Terence Davies (The Long Day Closes, The Deep Blue Sea), art film favorite Aleksandr Sokurov (Russian Ark), and the final film from Chantal Akerman, a giant of avant-garde cinema who died unexpectedly last fall. All 28 EU nations are represented in the festival. For the complete schedule and ticket and festival pass information, click here. SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Expert education technology leader Joe E. Ross has joined Schoold as the college and career planning app's President and Chief Operating Officer, effective today. "We were looking for a leader who brought real depth of expertise in the educational technology space," said Sourabh Ahuja, Schoold's Co-founder and CEO. "We certainly found that in Joe - plus he shares our passion for driving positive and powerful disruption in education through technology." "The college search process is confusing, expensive and difficult for many of the 14.9 million high school students in the U.S. and by 2025, more than 262 million students worldwide will be enrolled in higher education," said Ross. "Schoold is simplifying that initial experience with a tailored, easy-to-use, free app that helps students and families plan effectively. I'm excited to join the team as we ramp up to connect these young people with the right schools and programs, student services, and financial aid support." In addition to connecting students with personalized recommendations and suggestions, Schoold also helps users visualize their futures with salary comparisons, cost breakdowns and free expert advice on all facets of the college experience. Schoold is now available on Google Play, with the iOS version anticipated in March. Ross comes to Schoold most recently from HotChalk, where he served as the Chief Strategy Officer of this leading education technology provider. There he helped drive many of the partnerships with nonprofit universities to create robust online degree programs. Ross's experience in technology also includes his role as Vice President of Citizen Schools, an education nonprofit operating in seven states, and his time as chief of staff to the CEO at Flip Video, which was subsequently acquired by Cisco. A U.S. Navy veteran and Truman Scholar, Ross earned his law degree from Stanford University and his bachelor's from Yale. ABOUT SCHOOLD: Schoold is a private education technology company that empowers students through knowledge and personalized content to enable their decision-making. Students face many challenges today, and with Schoold, students get the information they need to help them lead happy, successful lives, creating a brighter future for everyone. Learn more at www.schoold.co. Related Links http://www.schoold.co SOURCE Schoold CAMBRIDGE, England and SAN FRANCISCO, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- New Era of Machine-On-Machine Attacks - Digital Antibodies Launched Darktrace, the world leader in Enterprise Immune System technology, has announced Darktrace Antigena, a ground-breaking new product that uses machine learning to allow networks to automatically self-defend. At the dawn of a new era where machines fight machines and sophisticated attackers are mobilized, Darktrace is the first company in the world to arm the defenders with proven machine learning and mathematics that work without any prior knowledge of attacks, rules or signatures. With Antigena, Darktrace now spots and inoculates against unknown threats, as they germinate within organizations in real time. "The battlefield is the corporate network - we cannot fight the battle on the border anymore. We are living through a new era of threat which is relentless and pernicious - and it's inside our networks now. Today, we have arrived at new detection that reacts faster than any security team can," said Nicole Eagan, CEO, Darktrace. With over 200 customers and 20 global locations, Darktrace is the fastest growing cyber company in the world and recognized by the World Economic Forum, thanks to its Enterprise Immune System technology: De facto solution for addressing insider and external threats - across all industries solution for addressing insider and external threats - across all industries Detects threat without any prior knowledge of what it is looking for Powered by unparalleled machine learning , developed by renowned mathematicians from the University of Cambridge , developed by renowned mathematicians from the No rules, no signatures Darktrace Antigena is a new product innovation, which replicates the function of antibodies in the human immune system. As the Enterprise Immune System detects a threat in its tracks, Antigena modules act as an additional defense capability that automatically neutralize live threats, without requiring human intervention. With Antigena, organizations are arming themselves with self-defending systems that will strike back, irrespective of the type of threat faced. Unique capabilities of Darktrace Antigena: Directly inoculate against full range of potential threats - without rules or signatures Prevent, slow or disrupt activity in real time - stop threats before they spread No disruption to day-to-day activity - no false alerts "This is an incredibly difficult problem to solve. Darktrace has the only fundamental technology capable of addressing it - using machine learning and mathematics, developed by specialists from the University of Cambridge," continued Nicole Eagan, CEO, Darktrace. "Antigena is a major new step forward in 'immune system' defense - providing more automation, freeing up more people and equipping them with ammunition that actually works - in this new phase of perpetual internal threat." Darktrace Antigena modules include: Antigena Internet - regulates user and machine access to the internet and beyond Antigena Communication - regulates email, chat and other messaging protocols Antigena Network - regulates machine and network connectivity and user access permissions Find out more at darktrace.com/antigena or email info@darktrace.com About Darktrace Named Technology Pioneer by The World Economic Forum 2015, Darktrace is one of the world's leading cyber threat defense companies. Its Enterprise Immune System technology detects and responds to previously unidentified threats in real time, powered by machine learning and mathematics developed by specialists at the University of Cambridge, which analyze the behavior of every device, user and network within an organization. Some of the world's largest corporations rely on Darktrace's self-learning, self-defending technology in sectors including energy and utilities, financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing, retail and transportation. The company was founded in 2013 by leading machine learning specialists and government intelligence experts, and is headquartered in Cambridge, UK and San Francisco, with offices in Auckland, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto and Washington D.C. SOURCE Darktrace AUSTIN, Texas and NYON, Switzerland, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Endocare, Inc announced today the signing of an exclusive agreement with R-Action Distribution Sarl, a subsidiary of R-Action SAS, for the distribution of its Endocare Cryoablation technology in France and Switzerland coinciding with a first installation at Institut Mutualiste Montsouris in Paris, France. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160223/336402 ) Endocare cryoablation therapy is a specialized type of cryotherapy for the minimally invasive treatment of cancer of the prostate, kidney and lung as well as liver metastases and palliative intervention. Prostate salvage cryotherapy is a form of treatment administered when radiation therapy has not been successful and a growing amount of evidence supports the use of cryotherapy for patients with localized prostate cancer following radiation therapy (Jones JS. European Urology 2011; 60:411-412). Utilization of cryotherapy for the treatment of small tumors of the kidney has also increased in recent years due to the fact that, in addition to urologic cryosurgeons, interventional radiologists can perform cryotherapy with high precision using computerized tomography (CT) scanning under either general anesthesia or conscious sedation. About Endocare Endocare, Inc is a subsidiary of HealthTronics, Inc. dedicated to treating cancer with innovative minimally invasive approaches. The current core of its technologies is cryoablation for destruction of tumors in the kidney and lung as well as treating prostate cancer, liver metastases and providing palliative intervention for cancer. ENDOCARE is a trademark of Endocare, Inc, registered in the U.S. and other countries. www.endocare.com About R-Action Distribution R-Action Distribution Sarl is a manufacturer and distributor of medical devices for use in urology, coloproctology, OB/GYN, paediatric and general surgery. R-Action Distribution represents leading North American and European manufacturers through direct operations in Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria, the Benelux countries and a joint venture in Russia. www.radistribution.com Media contact: Toby Hamblin, toby.hamblin@radistribution.com, +41(0)223627682 SOURCE R-Action Distribution Sarl BELGRADE, Serbia, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Calling on the nation to unite behind his party "to complete the transformation of Serbia into a modern economy with European living standards," Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic today set early Parliamentary elections for April 24. Mr. Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) was elected in 2014. In his announcement today he said over the past two years Serbia had turned its back on "the disastrous old ways we inherited" of populism and chauvinism and now needed to move forward. "For that we need another full term to continue the reforms and complete the transformation of Serbia into a modern economy, with European living standards, which can offer a decent place for raising children," he said. In a nationally televised announcement on the RTS network, Mr. Vucic said: "I will tell you what I want to achieve in the next four years - I want our education and health system to reach a modern European level. I want every person in Serbia to have decent job so we can eradicate poverty and offer families a higher living standard. We have to continue our fight against corruption and establish our country with one rule of law for all. "These are all very big challenges. They are not easy but if we all stay united together we can deliver on that. For that we need another full term to continue the reforms and complete the transformation of Serbia into a modern economy, with European living standards, which can offer a decent place for raising children." In the last election, on April 27, 2014, the SNS party won 158 of the parliament's 250 seats. In that campaign, the SNS promised to stabilize the nation and begin to rebuild. Since then, there has been considerable progress. The country officially exited the recession and recorded 0.8% growth for 2015, expected to continue towards double-digit numbers in 2016 and 2017. Central government deficit for this year will remain below the 3% Maastricht rule and the acceleration of the growth in public debt has been stemmed, intended to start declining in 2017. The official unemployment rate of 3Q 2015 stood at 16.7%, coming down from 20.9% in 2Q 2014. The Government Statistics Office indicates that in 2015 alone, 80,000 new jobs were created. Despite the cuts in public sector salaries, overall the country's wages remained stable, pointing to a healthy increase in private sector salaries in 2015. The Government attracted EUR1.7B of foreign direct investment in 2015 thanks to increased credibility among investors. Government investment increased, resulting mainly in completing overdue infrastructure works around the country - 300 km of newly paved or reconstructed highways and new bridges. Only recently the World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" index indicated that Serbia has made a significant jump in two years from 91st to 59th place. "The hard work is starting to pay off and there is room for optimism," Mr. Vucic said. "2016 will be better for citizens, and 2017 even better, with dynamic growth as a result of the reforms and of even more in foreign investment. We will deliver on a four-year plan to bring Serbia to European standards of living: a decent job, a modern health system, good education, and one rule of law for all. This year-by-year plan will give young people and young families stability and hope to build their future in Serbia." About the Serbian Progressive Party Founded in 2008 by a breakaway group from the Serbian Radical Party, the SNS aimed to draw a line under the country's challenging post-war legacy in order to pursue Serbia's ambitious plans towards membership of the European Union. As party leader, Aleksandar Vucic has made strong progress on modernizing the Serbian economy by positioning the country as a key investment hub in the region. Serbia has emerged as an attractive business destination due to a number of government led policies and initiatives. Building on the strength of its partnerships with its neighbours, Serbia under Mr. Vucic's leadership aims to see EU entry by 2020 and position itself as a key political and economic player in Europe. Further information: Aleksandar Belevski - belevski.aleksandar@gmail.com or +381-63-8262241 SOURCE Serbian Progressive Party DUBLIN, Feb. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/dqzm8f/web_hosting) has announced the addition of the "Web Hosting Services - Global Strategic Analysis" report to their offering. This report analyzes the worldwide markets for Web Hosting Services in US$ Million. The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of World. Annual estimates and forecasts are provided for the period 2014 through 2020. Also, a seven-year historic analysis is provided for these markets. Market data and analytics are derived from primary and secondary research. Company profiles are primarily based on public domain information including company URLs. The report profiles 149 companies including many key and niche players such as: Amazon Web Services AT&T Inc. DreamHost EarthLink, Inc. Equinix, Inc. Key Topics Covered: 1. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW Internet Indispensability: The Cornerstone for Growth of Web Technologies Websites: A Vital Need in the On-Demand Economy Rising Cost of In-House Design & Ownership of Websites: The Foundation for the Growth of Web Hosting Services Need for More Control & Flexibility Spurs the Popularity of Virtual Website Hosting Spurt in eCommerce & the Ensuing Focus on the Importance of Websites Drives Demand for Web Hosting Services Rising Internet Penetration Catalyzes Broad Based Growth in the Market The Disruptive Ascend of Cloud Computing Gives Rise to Website as a Service The Disruption of Cloud Computing in the New Economy Website as a Service (WaaS) Grows in Prominence Unrestricted Scalability Drives Demand for Cloud Web Hosting Services Website Complexity Turns the Spotlight on Managed Web Hosting Services End-to-End Web Hosting Solutions Grow in Prominence as a Strategy for Service Differentiation Dedicated Hosting: Down But Not Out Security: A Major Concern for Web Hosts Green Web Hosting Finds Favor among Enterprises Focused on Sustainable Environmental Stewardship Linux: The Most Popular Web Server OS for Website Hosting Developing Markets to Drive Future Growth Key Statistical Findings Market Outlook 2. PRODUCT OVERVIEW Introduction Popular Types of Hosting: Shared Web Hosting Virtual Hosting Dedicated Hosting Cloud Hosting 3. STRATEGIC CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS HP Enterprise Announces the Phasing Out of its Public Cloud Services United Internet Takes over home.pl S.A. M247 Completes Take-over of eHosting Verio Announces Merger with NTT America Blackboard Finalizes Schoolwires Purchase JaguarPC Joins Hands with SpamExperts to Improve Security for Client's Email Endurance International Purchases Arvixe j2 Global Takes over Web24 Group Wow Technologies Purchases Virpus and Parcomweb. M247 Takes over UK Web.Solutions Direct Endurance Group Finalizes Directi Takeover Total Server Solutions Purchases Hands-on Web Hosting DreamHost & eNom Join Forces for Domain Hosting Easyspace Partners Crunch to Support Start-ups Littlejohn Acquires Hostway SherWeb Takes over Thoughbus GoDaddy Acquires Media Temple UberGlobal Takes over Hosting & Domain Business of MYOB IBM Finalizes SoftLayer Technologies Takeover Telecom Buys Revera 4. PRODUCT/SERVICE LAUNCHES AWS Introduces EC2 Dedicated Host CWCS Managed Hosting Unveils Premium Cloud Web Hosting Media Temple Unveils Managed Cloud Hosting Services for AWS WP Pro Host Introduces WordPress Web Hosting Plans DiscountASP.NET Introduces Managed TFS Web Hosting GoDaddy Forays into Managed WordPress Hosting Scala Introduces Cloud Hosting for Enterprise SSD Flywheel Introduces Premium WordPress Hosting WIPL Unveils SSD Hosting 5. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS Amazon Web Services (US) AT&T Inc. (US) DreamHost (US) EarthLink, Inc. (US) Equinix, Inc. (US) Endurance International Group (US) Bluehost ( USA ) ) HostGator.com ( USA ) ) Hostway (US) iPage (US) Google, Inc. (US) Go Daddy Operating Company, LLC (US) Hetzner Online GmbH ( Germany ) ) IBM Corporation (US) SoftLayer Technologies (US) Locaweb ( Brazil ) ) Network Solutions, LLC (US) Rackspace Hosting Inc. (US) ReadySpace LLC (US) SunGard (US) United Internet ( Germany ) ) 1&1 internet Inc. ( Germany ) ) Verizon Terremark (US) 6. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE Total Companies Profiled: 149 (including Divisions/Subsidiaries 165) The United States (71) (71) Canada (12) (12) Japan (2) (2) Europe (53) (53) - France (4) (4) - Germany (5) (5) - The United Kingdom (30) (30) - Italy (5) (5) - Rest of Europe (9) (9) Asia-Pacific (Excluding Japan) (25) (Excluding Japan) (25) Latin America (1) (1) Africa (1) For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/dqzm8f/web_hosting Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com SOURCE Research and Markets FRANKFURT, Germany, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hotel Group Adds 13 New Hotels to its Portfolio Worldhotels has welcomed 13 new hotels in South America and in Europe to its global portfolio in the first three months of 2016. The new additions are comprised of six hotels in South America and seven in Europe - and include hotels in new Worldhotels destinations. Worldhotels expands for the first time into the destination of Ecuador by joining forces with the Oro Verde Hotel Group, a luxury hotel chain with properties located in the most important cities of the country. As part of the agreement, five Oro Verde Hotels have joined Worldhotels' global network: Hotel Oro Verde Cuenca, Hotel Oro Verde Manta, Hotel Oro Verde Machala, Hotel Oro Verde Guayaquil and the Unipark Hotel in Guayaquil. Another strategic partnership with Elite World Hotels in Istanbul will bring two more additions: the Elite World Business Hotel as well as the Elite World Europe Hotel, whereof both hotels are located in Istanbul. Further new affiliates include Hotel Morrison 114 in Bogota, Columbia; Hotel Prealpina in Chexbres, Switzerland; Hotel de la Rose in Fribourg, Switzerland; Hotel Christiania Teater in Oslo, Norway; the Bohinj Park Eco Hotel in Bohinjska, Slovenia and the Courthouse Hotel London. The sister property Courthouse Hotel Shoreditch will follow in joining Worldhotels with its estimated opening in April. All hotels share their trust in Worldhotels' distinctive business model, which offers independent hotels and local hotel groups the exposure and commercial strength of an international chain, whilst leaving them full operational freedom. In addition to that, the hotels rely on Worldhotels' global sales office footprint to help them expand their international reach. "We are excited to welcome these high-quality additions into our group", says Geoff Andrew, Chief Operating Officer at Worldhotels. "We are strategically developing our portfolio to add new key destinations and reinforce destinations with high potential." Media Contact: Worldhotels +49(0)69-660-56-252 press@worldhotels.com SOURCE Worldhotels Chicago Public School Teachers Could Strike Next Month, Union Says By Rachel Cromidas in News on Mar 1, 2016 4:28PM Scott Olson/Getty Images The Chicago Teachers Union says it could begin a teachers' strike as early as April 1 if Chicago Public Schools pulls the 7 percent pension pick-up it has been funding for the city's teachers for years. The teachers union and CPS have been locked in contract negotiations that soured last month, partly because the public schools system is threatening to stop paying for part of teachers' pensions. The teachers union overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strikethe first step needed to strikelast December if CPS did not meet the union's contract demands. And in a move that union officials said came as a surprise, CPS announced layoffs of 62 employees Monday, including 17 teachers. Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey told reporters the strike could come in the next month hours after the CPS layoff notices. Sharkey also said that CPS has given the teachers a 30-day warning before they stop making teachers' pension contributionsa move that would amount to a pay cut for all union teachers. The board claims theyve got a right to do that. Were sure theyre wrong, Sharkey told the Sun-Times. If they actually go through with it, you can expect our labor to prepare for an unfair labor practice strike on April 1. With budget talks in Springfield at a 9-month standstill and CPS facing a large budget deficit, schools officials say they have been forced to make these cuts. The teachers union has maintained that the district has other options, including seeking outside funding. The teachers union last held a strike in 2012. It was the first CPS teachers strike in about 25 years. RICHARDSON, Texas, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Anritsu Company announces exclusive support for LTE 4x4 Multiple-In-Multiple-Out (MIMO) Carrier Acceptance Test (CAT) requirements for a major U.S. carrier. This new coverage, based on the ME7834LA Mobile Device Test Platform, builds on the leading 3G and LTE CAT test offering for this carrier. With this announcement, Anritsu is the first test solution provider in the world to offer a device acceptance solution for 4x4 MIMO. MIMO is an essential part of LTE that allows an increase in data rates without adding bandwidth. This is accomplished using "spatial multiplexing" of multiple streams of data on the same carrier. A 4x4 MIMO downlink configuration uses four antennas on the base station to transmit four simultaneous streams of data, and four antennas on the device to receive and separate the mixed streams. Combination of MIMO and LTE Advanced Carrier Aggregation (CA) can result in extremely high data rates, as evidenced by Anritsu's recent announcement of 1 Gb/s IP throughput using 3CA and 4x4 MIMO. "Anritsu is committed to developing device acceptance solutions for the entire mobile ecosystem so the benefits of MIMO and CA can be realized. This will help ensure consumers have the best experience for a multitude of data applications and use cases. The ME7834LA is part of our extensive wireless solutions portfolio designed to address the needs of operators, device makers, and chipset manufacturers," said Paul Innis, Vice President and General Manager of Anritsu's Americas Sales Region. The ME7834LA is a scalable GCF, PTCRB, and carrier-validated test system that enables certification of 3G and LTE devices to industry and carrier standards. The ME7834LA provides test coverage for 3GPP 36.523 and 34.123, as well as a wide portfolio of CAT test plans across multiple operators. For existing ME7834L platform users, an upgrade path is available with support for 4x4 MIMO and multi-carrier aggregation, as well as legacy test cases. About Anritsu Anritsu Company is the United States subsidiary of Anritsu Corporation, a global provider of innovative communications test and measurement solutions for 120 years. Anritsu's "2020 VISION" philosophy engages customers as true partners to help develop wireless, optical, microwave/RF, and digital instruments, as well as operation support systems for R&D, manufacturing, installation, and maintenance applications. Anritsu also provides precision microwave/RF components, optical devices, and high-speed electrical devices for communication products and systems. The company develops advanced solutions for 5G, M2M, IoT, as well as other emerging and legacy wireline and wireless communication markets. With offices throughout the world, Anritsu has approximately 4,000 employees in over 90 countries. To learn more visit www.anritsu.com and follow Anritsu on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150410/197878LOGO SOURCE Anritsu Company Related Links http://www.anritsu.com ARLINGTON, Texas, Feb. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Krish Prabhu, president of AT&T Labs and chief technology officer, has been named to The University of Texas at Arlington's Engineering Hall of Achievement and appointed a research professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Krish Prabhu, president, AT&T Labs and chief technology officer, will also serve as a research professor in The University of Texas at Arlington Department of Computer Science and Engineering Prabhu was recognized as the sole 2016 Hall of Achievement honoree Friday, Feb. 26, during the College of Engineering's annual awards and scholarship banquet. Since 1979, the College has inducted distinguished individuals who, through performance and example, have made significant contributions to the engineering profession. Watch a video interview with Krish Prabhu, president of AT&T Labs and chief technology officer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb_I95lW438 Before joining AT&T in 2011, Prabhu was chief executive officer of Tellabs, an Illinois optical network technologies company. He served as chief operating officer of Alcatel in Paris from 1991 to 2001. His career includes corporate leadership positions with Rockwell Telecom and Bell Laboratories. He also served as an adjunct UTA electrical engineering professor in the mid-1980s. He will remain in his current role at AT&T while serving as a resource for UTA as it bolsters its research and teaching in his areas of expertise. Prabhu expressed appreciation for the UTA recognition and noted UTA's increasing reputation for excellence and its recent "highest research activity" designation by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, the definitive list for the top doctoral research universities in the United States. "I am honored to be named to the Hall of Achievement in the College of Engineering at The University of Texas at Arlington," Prabhu said. "I'm excited to be affiliated with this incredible institution and look forward to being a resource for the students who will make a positive impact on the technologies of the future." UTA President Vistasp M. Karbhari said Prabhu's extensive experience in research, corporate leadership, innovation and venture funding will immediately amplify the College of Engineering's reputation on the global stage. "Dr. Prabhu has an exceptional history of leadership and innovation, and his induction into the Engineering Hall of Achievement is well-deserved. We are delighted that Dr. Prabhu has accepted a position as research professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering which will allow him to be a resource for our students," Karbhari said. "Our partnership with AT&T is an example of how a major research university such as UTA can leverage academic excellence with industry partners to create relationships that transform the student experience and strengthen University research leadership." Prabhu's involvement with UTA will be of great benefit to the University and its research endeavors because his background meshes with areas in which UTA researchers excel, said Duane Dimos, UTA vice president for research. "We are excited to recognize someone with a background in the areas of big data and cyber security, which are research areas in which we are highly active," Dimos said. "Krish's extensive experience in these areas, and in leading and encouraging innovation at a major global corporation, will allow our current faculty and students to help develop transformative new programs and proposals to move us forward in the area of data-driven discovery." Prabhu began his career in 1980 as a member of technical staff at Bell Laboratories where he was engaged in research on video coding and image processing. He joined Rockwell International in 1984 and led a team of engineers developing fiber optic telecom products that were deployed by companies such as MCI, Ameritech and Southwestern Bell. Later, at Alcatel, he led a team that was the first to launch digital subscriber line or DSL products for broadband Internet access. These were widely deployed all over the world. Prabhu also served as a partner at Morgenthaler Ventures, where he assisted in developing information technology and communications start-ups. He has advised industry-leading telecommunications and semiconductor companies and also has served on several public and private company boards. Prabhu earned his Master of Science degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. He received his Master of Science in physics from the Indian Institute of Technology and his Bachelor of Science in physics from Bangalore University. Since joining AT&T in 2011, Prabhu has overseen the company's global technology direction, which includes network innovation, product development and research, the intellectual property organization and the global supply chain organization. Hong Jiang, chair of the UTA Department of Computer Science and Engineering and a former National Science Foundation program director, said Prabhu will bolster the department's strengths in big data and cyber security critical areas of research identified for growth through the University's Strategic Plan 2020: Bold Solutions | Global Impact. "We are very fortunate to honor Dr. Prabhu, not only because of his long and illustrious career as a technology visionary and industrial leader, but also because he is an outstanding researcher and enabler of cutting-edge research and development," Jiang said. "His experience in leading AT&T's research and development in the areas of big data analytics and cyber security will be tremendously valuable to our ongoing efforts to position ourselves at the national forefront of research and education in these areas. Dr. Prabhu is very personable and loves to teach, which, combined with his rich industrial and leadership experiences, will no doubt make him very popular among our students." The University's growing collaboration with AT&T is furthering the University's work to advance data-driven discovery. Several faculty members in Computer Science and Engineering and other disciplines are engaged in active research projects aligned with Prabhu's areas of expertise, including: Heng Huang, professor of computer science and engineering, who has secured more than $3 million in National Science Foundation grants to support big data analyses that could lead to earlier identification of Alzheimer's disease; data mining of medical records data to help physicians personalize patient treatment, predict health care needs and identify risks that can lead to readmission; and building an interactive gene expression database. in National Science Foundation grants to support big data analyses that could lead to earlier identification of Alzheimer's disease; data mining of medical records data to help physicians personalize patient treatment, predict health care needs and identify risks that can lead to readmission; and building an interactive gene expression database. Physics professor Kaushik De , who is director of the UTA Center of Excellence for High Energy Physics, and Gergely Zaruba , a computer science and engineering professor, have collaborated with the Argonne and Brookhaven National Laboratories to develop a universal version of PanDA, a workload management system built to process huge volumes of data from experiments at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland . The $700,000 grant from the Department of Energy will allow more people to use PanDA, which played a significant role in the discovery of the Higgs boson, or "God particle." , who is director of the UTA Center of Excellence for High Energy Physics, and , a computer science and engineering professor, have collaborated with the Argonne and Brookhaven National Laboratories to develop a universal version of PanDA, a workload management system built to process huge volumes of data from experiments at the Large Hadron Collider in . The grant from the Department of Energy will allow more people to use PanDA, which played a significant role in the discovery of the Higgs boson, or "God particle." Kay-Yut Chen , a professor of information systems and operations management and a renowned behavioral and experimental researcher from Yahoo! and Hewlett-Packard, uses big data analytics to explain why people make the decisions they do in business and how those decisions can be predicted. , a professor of information systems and operations management and a renowned behavioral and experimental researcher from Yahoo! and Hewlett-Packard, uses big data analytics to explain why people make the decisions they do in business and how those decisions can be predicted. Michael Vasilyev , an electrical engineering professor, who won a $675,000 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency grant to use quantum mechanics to securely and quickly transport information over large distances. About The University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington is a Carnegie "highest research activity" institution of more than 50,000 students in campus-based and online degree programs and is the second-largest institution in The University of Texas System. The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked UTA as one of the 20 fastest-growing public research universities in the nation in 2014. U.S. News & World Report ranks UTA fifth in the nation for undergraduate diversity. UTA is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is ranked as the top four-year college in Texas for veterans on Military Times' 2016 Best for Vets list. Visit http://www.uta.edu to learn more, and find UTA rankings and recognition at http://www.uta.edu/uta/about/rankings.php. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160229/338805 SOURCE The University of Texas at Arlington Related Links http://www.uta.edu BELLEVUE, Wash., March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- From the young age of 9 on the Aegean island of Rhodes, Clara Barkey started writing to her uncle Ralph and aunty Rachel Capeluto in the far-away place known as Seattle, Wash. This smart and determined young woman, who was always at or near the top of her class, used the dying language of Judeo-Spanish, or Ladino, to report news of the relatives Ralph left behind on Rhodes and the happenings of her Sephardic Jewish community. But what started as friendly letters quickly turned to desperate pleas for help as life for the Jews of Rhodes deteriorated under the control of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who allied with Adolph Hitler. Photo - http://http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160229/338629 Forgotten and never thought of again, Clara's letters turned up more than 60 years after they were written and after she, Ralph and Rachel had passed away. Preserved and translated from Ladino into English, they paint a vivid and detailed 16-year story of how one family triumphed and survived after they became refugees and rode the roller coaster of successes and failures to legally win permission to immigrate to the United States. This compelling story of perseverance, determination, love and grit is brought to life in A Hug From Afar, a memoir Seattle-area journalist and publicist Cynthia Flash Hemphill has edited and compiled based on the letters written by her mother Clara Barkey from 1930 to 1946. "A Hug from Afar reads like a suspense novelonly it's a true story," Paul Burstein, Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Political Science, and Stroum Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies at the University of Washington, wrote in his commentary on the book. The book goes far beyond one family's story. This compilation of rich primary source documents captures the history of the Sephardic Jews on the Island of Rhodes, descendants of Spanish Jews exiled during the Inquisition of 1492. The book "gives voice to a now-lost Jewish community on the verge of annihilation, to a Jewish family seeking asylum, and to one young woman who initiated a thread of correspondence with relatives in the United States that would ultimately solidify her family's escape from the Nazis," writes Devin E. Naar, Isaac Alhadeff Professor in Sephardic Studies at the University of Washington, in a detailed and compelling foreword to the book. "The story itself is not only captivating and powerful on its own, but is also of great historical and cultural significance," Naar writes. "Too seldom do we have access to the perspectives of women in history, even fewer with regard to young women, and very few when it comes to the Sephardic Jewish world. While we know of Anne Frank and her diary, we have almost no sources composed by Sephardic Jewish girls or young women describing their experiences regarding the rise of fascism and the onset of the Second World War." The book uses letters and official documents to take the reader through a detailed journey of exile, community annihilation, dashed hopes, and real-life drama seen through the eyes of a young woman forced to grow up too quickly as she desperately worked to save her family from Hitler's efforts to destroy the Jews. "We are at a point in history now where we're willing to hear the broader stories of the impact that the Holocaust had on so many people - not only those tragically killed in the death camps, but also the refugees and the lives and communities left behind," Flash Hemphill said. "Most of these survivors are now gone. It's important to really embrace the stories of the few who remain. "I hope readers will consider the many other themes this book offers," she said. "It centers on the topic of immigration of refugees, a hot subject as the world struggles over this important issue. It also shows the importance of why it's important to preserve family histories, especially now that we have moved away from formal, hand-written letters to the instant and quickly discarded forms of today's communication - e-mail, texts and tweets." A Hug From Afar, by Claire Barkey Flash, edited and compiled by Cynthia Flash Hemphill, translated by Morris Barkey, is available at Amazon.com and through Createspace. "Like" the book and learn more about it at https://www.facebook.com/ahugfromafar. CONTACT: Cynthia Flash Hemphill 425-603-9520 Email SOURCE Cynthia Flash Hemphill CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Press Release at Press Conference at Charlotte National Building 428 East Fourth Street Corner 4th and S. Caldwell Sts. March 1, 2016, 10:00 a.m. Sunday, February 28, 2016, marked the entrance, finally, of Charlotte to the designation "world-class city." Our metropolis signaled its admittance to this coveted club by hosting a domestic terrorist event visitors spraying vehicles and a residential condominium/hotel from a government parking lot with automatic weapons fire before morning prayers could be completed Sunday morning. Only by the Providence of the gods were condo owners walking their pets spared being blasted to eternity; only by late night partying were visitors at the Hyatt spared a tragic end to their sybaritic week. The authorities will be justifiably triumphant over their quick apprehension of the perpetrators of this incident of domestic terrorism. The effectiveness of the millions of dollars in gunshot triangulation equipment provided by the federal authorities for the Democratic National Convention, however, was subverted by one alert security guard at the Transit Center recording the tag of a fleeing vehicle. But the real lesson to be learned by this event should not be curfews, surveillance curtails, or security prevents, but instead that the militarized police force of this city can do little to stop a similar incident, or tragedy, from occurring. It is in the spirit of newly enlightened apprehension that I as an owner in the Charlotte National Building beside the Hyatt Hotel and SKYE CONDOMINIUMS call on the hotels, and guest houses, apartments and townhouses of the Queen City to implement a program to prevent such an occurrence from ever happening again, extraordinary event or no extraordinary event: 1. I call on all hotels in the Central Business District to implement robust metal detection security systems to prevent guests and occupants from bringing weapons of any kind, whether of mass destruction like AK-47s, or so called "personal safety" handguns, permitted or otherwise, into their establishments. Either that, or post 24-7 armed guards. 2. Implement a "no-weapons" policy for all public spaces in the Charlotte Business District, enforced by metal-detection screening systems robustly manned at various and random times, like D.W.I. traffic stops. 3. Make it more difficult to take an automatic weapon to a governmental parking deck than it is to bring a pen knife in your pocket into the Government Center when you are trying to pay your water bill. These are my opinions as an owner in the Charlotte National Building, and mine alone. I urge my fellow Charlotteans to recognize the public health hazard that "Second Amendment Psychos" pose to their community, and to call for the protection of men, women and children, not well-regulated state militias, and certainly not GUNS. I entreat you to join me in repudiating the wholesale slaughter and chaos the Heller decision has created in this country by making us the slave of the gun industry, and to require our public authorities to pass and implement reasonable gun control immediately. John F. Rudisill, CNB Owners' Association President 428 E. 4th St., Suite 200 Charlotte, NC 28202 [email protected] Website: www.lawfortheaged.com This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com SOURCE John F. Rudisill, CNB Owners Association President Related Links http://www.lawfortheaged.com OTTAWA, Ontario, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CloudMask, a cloud data protection platform that assures data protection under breach is the first in its field to achieve Common Criteria Certification (ISO/IEC 15408) an international standard administered by the Cybersecurity agencies of 26 major countries worldwide, including the "Five Eyes." CloudMask Common Criteria Certificate The Common Criteria is an internationally agreed upon standard representing the highest levels of Cybersecurity. The standards are set through a process of international intergovernmental cooperation and are administered by the top-level security agencies within each member state. In Canada, the certifying agency is the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canada's national Cyber Security agency. In the United Kingdom, it is the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Similar agencies, such as NIAP-DOD in the United States, ANSSI of France and Germany's BSI, oversee the program in their respective countries. All tests certify that while using CloudMask, user data cannot be seen by the cloud providers, including CloudMask itself, governments, or insiders even if they have full control over the infrastructure. CloudMask protects confidential information by encrypting and masking data at source and keeping it masked throughout its lifecycle. By masking data, CloudMask renders it useless to intruders thereby ensuring that data breach does not mean data exposure. Tarek El-Gillani, CTO of CloudMask, emphasizes that "the CloudMask solution is ready and is already being used by security-conscious organizations. The world's best cybersecurity organizations have examined and approved CloudMask security." El-Gillani, further says "Breaches like the latest one at IRS, prove again that we must change our approach to data security. We must change our approach to start protecting the data itself, not merely where the data is." He continues, "CloudMask has been certified to protect data under total breach. If IRS and OPM were protected by CloudMask technology, their private data would not have been disclosed." Talking about the value of the Common Criteria, El-Gillani said, "One of the problems today is that many firms tout "Military Grade" and "Bank Grade" security without any end-to-end verification of their claims. At best they can claim that their security is FIPS 140-2 compliant. These marketing terms are essentially meaningless since they do not validate end-to-end security. The difference with Common Criteria is that it goes beyond encryption algorithms to validate that the data is indeed protected against threats from hackers and other malicious actors. Common Criteria Certification is the gold standard of international security certification. None of our competitors has this." Having secured Common Criteria certification, CloudMask is now well placed to provide security solutions to the world's most demanding government agencies and multinational corporations. CloudMask has been approved for public sector procurement under the Canadian Government's Software Licensing Supply Arrangement (SLSA) and the UK Government Digital Marketplace (G-Cloud). About CloudMask: CloudMask is a 'Software as a Service' (SaaS) security platform. CloudMask's platform provides data protection even under conditions of total infrastructure breach. It enables everyone to create, exchange and consume information on any device, connected to any network, using any application, with full confidence in the privacy of their information. There is no requirement to alter existing applications in any way to make them compatible with CloudMask. CloudMask technology is certified under the Common Criteria approved by 26 cybersecurity agencies around the world. It is FIPS 140-2 validated and goes well beyond it. Using patented methods, CloudMask, running on user devices, transparently intercepts and analyzes data to identify and encrypt private information. The intercepted data may belong to applications such as Google Apps, SalesForce, Box, and MS Office 365, CloudMask will ensure it is protected. For more information, visit www.cloudmask.com or for CloudMask videos see www.vimeo.com/cloudmask For further information: Christopher Wood Lead Executive Growth Team www.cloudmask.com Tel : +1 (604) 417-1574 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160301/339038 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160301/339039LOGO SOURCE CloudMask Corp Related Links http://www.cloudmask.com IRVINE, Calif., March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported February U.S. sales of 21,544 vehicles, representing a decrease of 16.0 percent versus last year. Year-to-date sales through February are down 10.2 percent versus last year, with 41,247 vehicles sold. Key February sales notes: The 2016 MX-5 has continued its sales growth with 759 vehicles sold, an increase of 48.5 percent YOY and the best February for MX-5 since 2008. In its sixth full month of sales, Mazda CX-3 celebrated its best month ever with 1,793 vehicles sold. Mazda CX-5 had its second-best February ever with 7,579 vehicles sold and an increase of 1.8 percent YOY. Mazda's predictive i-ACTIV all-wheel drive (AWD) has made up approximately 62.0 percent of CX-3 and CX-5 sales thus far in 2016. This same system will be available on the all-new CX-9 when it goes on sale this spring. SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY proves to be the key between performance and fuel efficiency as customers demand a no-compromise solution. More than 96.0 percent of Mazdas sold in February were equipped with SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY. TECHNOLOGY proves to be the key between performance and fuel efficiency as customers demand a no-compromise solution. More than 96.0 percent of Mazdas sold in February were equipped with SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY. Mazda reported Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) February sales of 3,016 vehicles, down 6.0 percent YOY. Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported February sales of 4,139 vehicles, up 2.0 percent versus last year, making it the best February in MMdM history and the 37th consecutive month of YOY growth. Year-to-date sales for MMdM are up 23.0 percent with 9,989 vehicles sold. Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at www.mazdausamedia.com. Month-To-Date Year-To-Date February February % % MTD February February % % YTD 2016 2015 Change DSR 2016 2015 Change DSR Mazda2 - 80 (100.0)% (100.0)% - 192 (100.0)% (100.0)% Mazda3 7,275 8,874 (18.0)% (18.0)% 14,826 16,770 (11.6)% (7.9)% Mazda5 60 1,999 (97.0)% (97.0)% 130 2,940 (95.6)% (95.4)% Mazda6 3,617 5,064 (28.6)% (28.6)% 6,189 8,830 (29.9)% (27.0)% MX-5 Miata 759 511 48.5% 48.5% 1,319 849 55.4% 61.8% CX-3 1,793 - N/A N/A 3,168 - N/A N/A CX-5 7,579 7,445 1.8% 1.8% 14,642 13,394 9.3% 13.9% CX-9 461 1,677 (72.5)% (72.5)% 973 2,946 (67.0)% (65.6)% Total Vehicles CARS 11,711 16,528 (29.1)% (29.1)% 22,464 29,581 (24.1)% (20.9)% TRUCKS 9,833 9,122 7.8% 7.8% 18,783 16,340 15.0% 19.7% TOTAL 21,544 25,650 (16.0)% (16.0)% 41,247 45,921 (10.2)% (6.4)% Selling Days 24 24 48 50 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131205/MM28870LOGO SOURCE Mazda North American Operations Related Links http://www.mazdausa.com METROWEST, Mass., March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeremy Flagg, takes his love of superheroes and comic books and adapts them for an older, darker, more mature audience in Nighthawks (March 1st, 2016; Limitless Publishing), the first book in the Children of Nostradamus series. A cross between Minority Report and X-Men, Nighthawks blends a not-so-pristine future with the trials of superhuman fugitives. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160229/338506 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160229/338507 It's been twenty years since Nostradamus predicted the end of the world. Since that day, a small percentage of people have emerged with extraordinary abilities. Fearing their gifts, the government has dedicated a branch of the military to capturing, researching and terminating the superhuman threat. The Children of Nostradamus who evaded capture flee to New England, a radioactive wasteland created by domestic terrorists. In 2032 a letter from Eleanor, a dead psychic and former aide to the President of the United States, reaches Conthan on the night of his controversial art gallery opening. As protestors and supporters clash, chaos breaks out and he discovers he is a Child of Nostradamus, a person with extraordinary abilities. Guided by the letter of a dead woman, he finds himself trapped between hunted super humans and a research center controlled by the government. Caught in a war between species, Conthan must decide what humanity he is willing to sacrifice in order to survive. Influenced by the comic books and dark fantasy he read as a kid, Jeremy Flagg has found a way to take these heroes and weave them into a fast-paced apocalyptic novel. Nighthawks invites the reader to witness the humanity behind the powers and the tough decisions they make for a greater good. About the Author Jeremy Flagg has written several books including the young adult Suburban Zombie High Series as well as a non-fiction book memoir, I.Am.Maine: Stories of Small Town Maine. He lives and writes in Metrowest, Massachusetts. Children of Nostradamus (Nighthawks, Book1) is currently available for order on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1L1cQso Contact: Jeremy Flagg, 781-913-2181 Email http://www.remyflagg.com SOURCE Jeremy Flagg Related Links http://www.remyflagg.com HAMILTON, Texas, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to help the fight against hunger, Pederson's Natural Farms recently donated 1082 pounds of organic smoked sausage to North Texas hunger-relief organization, Community Food Bank. Pederson's Natural Farms' donation will provide approximately 4328 servings of superior quality, hormone and antibiotic free protein source to individuals and families in need. According to both state and national research, protein is one of the most frequently requested items at food pantries yet the hardest to come by. "At Pederson's Natural Farms, we believe everyone deserves access to fresh, wholesome protein - customer or not," said Cody Lane, President of Pederson's Natural Farms. "There's no better feeling than knowing our donation will place organic sausage on the plates of those who would otherwise not be able to afford it. We're proud to work with Community Food Bank." In North Texas, a region the Community Food Bank serves, one in every six people is food insecure. The need is even greater in children where one in every five is food insecure. In addition to providing food for hungry children and families, Community Food Bank also participates in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. A program designed to help families learn about nutrition, and craft meals that not only satisfy their hunger but help them lead a healthy lifestyle. Pederson's Natural Farms' commitment to being a great corporate citizen doesn't stop at helping the fight against hunger. The company also focuses its charitable giving in three other key areas: Health and Human Services, Sustainability and Animal Well-Being. Health and Human services - To date, Pederson's Natural Farms annual Bacon Bash Texas event has donated over $50,000 of it's proceeds to benefit the homeless in North and Central Texas through Niki Warms the Cold as well as children with Type 1 Diabetes by providing Dexcom continuous glucose monitoring systems and Diabetes camp scholarships. To see how you can get involved with Bacon Bash Texas click here. Sustainability - Dedicated to sustainability, one of the many ways Pederson's Natural Farms promotes environmental stewardship and reduction of waste is by offering innovative products devoted to using the "whole hog." Learn about the most sustainable, responsible products here. Animal Well-Being - Pederson's Natural Farms only works with self-sustaining family farms. Why? Because they're good stewards of their land, and, like us, they feel the ethical and moral obligation to provide their pigs with a comfortable and stress-free life. About Pederson's Natural Farms: Based in Hamilton, Texas, Pederson's Natural Farms has been producing fresh and smoked natural meat products since 1992. Dedicated to providing superior quality, naturally cured bacon, hams, sausage and much more, Pederson's mantra is "real people making real food using natural meats raised with humane and environmentally safe practices." Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160226/338129LOGO SOURCE Pedersons Natural Farms Related Links http://www.pedersonsfarms.com TORONTO, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Skylink Group has announced the release of ATOMS Garage Door Opener to deliver an energy-efficient, durable and economical option for the professional and retail markets. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160229/338687 "We are very excited to announce this highly innovative Garage Door Opener, ATOMS," said Philip Tsui, CEO of Skylink Group. "The use of durable and light-weight materials with a compact design achieves an unrivaled performance. It is a major breakthrough in the garage door opener market." ATOMS was designed and built with features that optimize operational efficiency. The energy saving LED light eliminates the hassle of frequently replacing your light bulbs. ATOMS utilized a powerful and quiet DC motor to silence the motorized operations. The automatic door closing feature will close the garage door after a set period of time giving busy homeowners peace-of-mind that their garage door is safely shut. "The increased level of automation and the expandability will elevate customer satisfaction with their ATOMS garage door opener purchase." Gallen Tsui, Sales Director of Skylink Group. Skylink's expandable system allows the homeowner to monitor and control their garage door, home alarm system and home automation systems with a single easy-to-use App for iOS and Android. After decades in the industry, ATOMS' release will further strengthen Skylink's products lines and commitment to technological advancements. Skylink has been collecting feedback from their garage door dealers and installers to implement an enhanced design and competence level for ATOMS. "ATOMS was carefully and strategically designed to be suitable for both professional and retail markets by offering solid (pro.) and sectional (retail) rails. Throughout our testing phase, professionals described ATOMS as economical to store and transport because of the compact and lightweight design. These features transfer directly to the retail market as well. The lighter garage door opener enhances Skylink's effortless DIY installation," said Philip Tsui, CEO of Skylink Group. "Furthermore, we are excited to replace the last generation of bulky and noisy garage door openers. As ATOMS' head is universally compatible, customers can conveniently replace their existing head with ATOMS' without the hassle of reinstalling their existing rail and safety sensors. It's going to save them a lot of time and money." ATOMS is currently available for pre-order starting at just $69.95 USD MSRP. Visit Skylink's website for more details on ATOMS: http://www.skylinkhome.com/usa/gdo_Atoms.html Source: Skylink Group, [email protected], 905-456-8883 This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com. SOURCE Skylink Group DENVER, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Swisslog, a leading supplier of automation and software solutions for supply chain management, material transport and medication management, congratulates the nation's 100 best hospitals, selected by Healthgrades in its annual review. The listing of America's 100 Best Hospitals honors the top 2% of US hospitals, selected solely on their clinical quality and patient outcomes. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160229/338516LOGO America's best hospitals outperform their competitors on critical measures. Swisslog is honored to count 86% of these top hospitals as its customers. Swisslog automated solutions enable the best hospitals to achieve greater operational efficiency, lower their risk of medication errors and reduce waste. Each year, Healthgrades rewards exceptional performance across multiple disciplines. The hospitals recognized exhibit excellence and consistency year over year - representing the best clinical care available. Consumers rely on Healthgrades' research for selecting the best care providers. In fact, hospitals on the Healthgrades list reported 26.5% lower risk-adjusted, mortality rates when compared with all other hospitals. Swisslog Healthcare Solutions is the leading supplier of automation and software solutions for supply chain management, material transport and medication management in healthcare facilities. Swisslog has installed facility-wide and pharmacy automation systems in more than 3,000 hospitals worldwide, including more than 2,000 in North America. Denver-based Swisslog Healthcare Solutions offers total system design, manufacturing, installation and customer support providing an integrated solution for lean workflow and operations that enhances information access, patient safety and cost efficiency. About Healthgrades Healthgrades, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. Today, more than one million people a day use the Healthgrades websites to search, compare and connect with hospitals and physicians based on the most important measures when selecting a healthcare provider: experience, hospital quality and patient satisfaction. For more information about Healthgrades, visit http://www.healthgrades.com. About Swisslog Swisslog designs, develops, and delivers best-in-class automation for forward-thinking hospitals, warehouses, and distribution centers. We offer integrated solutions from a single source from consulting to design, implementation and lifetime customer service. Behind the company's success are 2,500 employees worldwide, supporting customers in more than 50 countries. Swisslog is part of the KUKA group, a leading global supplier of intelligent automation solutions. www.kuka.com Editorial Contact: Marian Robinson VP, Marketing Swisslog Healthcare Solutions Phone: 303.382.8335 Email SOURCE Swisslog Healthcare Solutions Related Links http://www.swisslog.com 27 Awesome March Wine Events Coming Soon By John Lenart in Food on Mar 1, 2016 6:00PM Photo Credit John Lenart March is filled with so many great events, even we're amazed. Whatever type of wine you're into, there's an event this month that you're sure to love. March 2 Vignobles De Larose Wine Dinner The Glunz Tavern 1202 N. Wells Street 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. $79/person including tax and gratuity Call 312-642-3000 for tickets A five course dinner accompanying the Haut-Medoc wines produced by Vignobles De Larose. Winemaker Franck Bijon will discuss his wines. Menu includes: Chateau Villa Bel Air 2013, Graves with Amuse Bouche Chateau Larose-Trintaudon 2009, Haut-Medoc with Escargots in Herbed Mushroom Caps OR Spinach Crepe Gratinee Chateau Arnauld 2010, Haut-Medoc with Confit de Canard, Oven-Browned Potatoes, Haricots Verts, Lingonberry Garnish Chateau Larose Pergonson 2009, Haut-Medoc with Selection des Fromages Mousse au Chocolat Domaine Bernard Moreau Wine Dinner The Bristol 2152 N. Damen Ave. 6:30pm to 10:30pm $149 For tickets click here. Join Alex Moreau of Domaine Bernard Moreau with Knightsbridge Wine Shoppe and the cuisine of Chef Sean Pharr for a dinner centered on Alex's red and white Burgundies. Chef Pharr and Sommelier Charles Ford have created a custom five-course menu based around these exciting wines. Blancs 2013 Bourgogne Blanc 2013 Chassagne Montrachet 2013 Chassagne Champs Gains 2013 Chassagne Chenvottes 2012 Chassagne Maltroie 2013 Chassagne Maltroie 2008 Chassagne Grandes Ruchottes 2009 Chassagne Grandes Ruchottes 2013 Chassagne Grandes Ruchottes Rouges 2009 Volnay Clos de Chenes 2010 Volnay Clos de Chenes 2012 Chassagne Montrachet Rouge VV Tenuta Olim Bauda tasting with Gianni Bertolini Osteria Langhe 2824 W. Armitage Ave. 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. $15 Tenuta Olim Bauda is to me one of the best representations for Gavi, as well as other wines such as Barbera, Grignolino from the Nizza Monferrato area, says Osteria Langhe owner Aldo Zaninotto. This is a great occasion to meet one of the well-respected wine producers of this area and taste his wines. March 3 Guided tasting of Italian Wine Eataly Chicago 43 East Ohio Street 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Cost: $40 per person Call 312-521-8696 for tickets Would you like to learn more about the world of Italian wine? In this guided tasting, Eataly's beverage manager will provide a crash course in the classic wines produced in the Tuscan hilltop towns of Montalcino and Montepulciano. Montepulcianos most well-known wine is Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, while Montalcinos is Brunello, which is considered one of the most distinguished wines in all of Italy. Guests will sample these two reds alongside a Rosso di Montalcino, paired with complementary antipasti. Kermit Lynch French Winemaker Tour The WineBar located in the Lounge of Plum Market 1233 N. Wells St. 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Cost: $20.00 For tickets click here. Join Plum Market for a special tasting with three French winemakers from the Kermit Lynch portfolio: Jean and Agnes Foillard of Morgon, Paul Breton of Bourgueil, and Valentin Montanet from Domaine de la Cadette. Foillard has a cult following and is widely known as a great producer of French wine. Well get to taste the debut of the much anticipated Foillard 2014 Morgon Cote de Py. Paul Breton is known for the purest organically grown Cabernet Franc in the Loire Valley. Montanets Domaine de la Cadette is known for its beautiful red and white Burgundies that are shockingly affordable. Sommelier for a Day III Forks 180 N. Field Blvd. 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. $20 per person. Call: 312-938-4303 to reserve III Forks' Sommelier Chris McFall will lead guests through a sampling of six different wines from the Pacific Northwest, paired with an array of hors d'oeuvres by Executive Chef Billy Caruso. Guests taste each wine then vote on their favorites, which will be featured for the month. Wines to be poured include: Brooks 'Ara' Riesling Willamette Valley, Oregon 2011 Cristom Viognier Willamette Valley, Oregon 2013 Big Table Farm Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, Oregon 2013 Gamine 'Mae's Vineyard Applegate Valley, Oregon 2013 Waters 'Loess' Syrah Walla Walla, Washington 2011 Gramercy Cellars 'The Third Man' Grenache/Syrah/Mourvedre Washington 2012 March 5 Sparkling Wine from Around the Globe at Spiaggia 980 N. Michigan Ave 1:00 p.m. Cost: $78 For tickets click here. Explore bubbles from around the world with Spiaggia Sommelier Rachael Lowe and compare a range of wines from Champagne to Franciacorta and from Prosecco to Cremate. Taste through and discuss the different techniques, grapes and regions where sparkling wines are made as well as discuss food pairing ideas. Light appetizers from Chef de Cuisine Joe Flamm will be served. March 6 Riedel Wine Glass Seminar and Tasting City Winery 1200 W. Randolph 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Cost: $90 includes tasting and three-glass set - Pinot Noir / Syrah / Cabernet Sauvignon - of Veritas stems for each guest (Retail value: $103.50) For tickets click here. Attention glass snobs! Join City Winery for an exclusive evening of wine tasting and education with Maximilian Riedel. Riedel, the worlds premier wine glass maker, knows that the pleasure of consuming wine starts with the glass. In this seminar, learn by doing comparisons of how the shape of a glass can profoundly affect a wines bouquet and flavor. Featuring pieces of stemware from Riedel's Veritas series, the maker will guide guests through an entertaining and informative seminar. Each glass will be paired with a well-known cult or reserve wine. Riedel will also demonstrate how to use two of his complex hand blown decanters. March 9 Lynfred Spring Winemaker-Dinner 15 S. Roselle Rd. Roselle IL 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Cost: $125 pp To reserve click here. Dine in the Lynfred Cellar as winemakers Andres Basso and Rodrigo Gonzalez guide you through wines to pair with dinner. MENU Amuse 1st Course Prawn & Tarragon fennel, tomato water 2nd Course Oxtail Ragu fresh pasta, pecorino, horseradish country bread Digestif 3rd Course Maple Leaf Duck roasted cauliflower puree, cherry gastrique 4th Course Artisanal Cheese 5th course Dark Chocolate Mille-Feuille mocha creme, strawberry, passionfruit March 10 Italian Icon Tasting with Master Sommelier Jesse Becker The WineBar located in the Lounge of Plum Market 1233 N. Wells St. 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Cost: $45.00 For tickets click here. Leonardo LoCascio has long imported many of Italys most celebrated producers. Jesse Becker, Master Sommelier and Brand Manager for Leonardo LoCascio Selections, will guide guests through Italys diversity in a seated tasting. The seminar will showcase comparative styles from the established regions of Piedmont and Tuscany, as well as from Campania and Sicily. Producers will include Altesinos Brunello Montosoli, Castellare di Castellinas I Sodi San Nicolo, Cerettos Barolo Brunate, Castello di Neives Barbaresco Riserva, Mastroberardinos Radici, and Passopisciaros Etna Rosso. March 15 Wine & Dine to benefit Girl Scouts Vera 1023 W. Lake 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Cost: $150 per person To reserve click here. Taylored Wines and Vera present a dinner with paired wines from female winemakers to benefit Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. Dinner wraps up with a special dessert featuring Girl Scout Cookies created by Chef Mark Mendez. Photo Credit John Lenart March 16 Paint Your Glass Off 15 S. Roselle Rd. Roselle IL 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Cost: $50pp - pre-payment required for online tickets. Includes wine, cheese, wine glasses to paint, paint and instruction. For tickets click here. Lynfred Winery believes that wine inspires creativity so theyve paired up with Bottle and Bottega to host an art and wine class. Join Lynfred winery in their cellar for wine, cheese and art. Paint wine glasses to take home and enjoy a fun evening. March 20 Enoversity: North Coast AVA Eno Wine Room 505 N. Michigan Ave. 3:00 p.m. Cost: $55 For tickets click here. Join Eno and explore the wines of the North Coast AVA. This area encompasses so many prime growing sites, one could spend a whole year tasting thru these wines. Eno picks out wines from Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino to taste. Enoversity is an intimate setting, so each class is limited to ten people. March 19, 2016 Heavy Hitters of Tuscany Webster's Wine Bar 2601 N. Milwaukee Ave. 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Cost: $50 per person For tickets click here. In remembrance of the day that Julius Caesars blood was shed as he was betrayed and assassinated, Webster's Wine Bar will open up some of the more notable wines of Italy. From Chianti Classico and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano to Brunello di Montelcino, Sangiovese is king here. Guests explore the many different clones and expressions of this noble grape. There will be around 20 wines, largely Sangiovese, with a few treats thrown in for good measure. The price of entry includes hors doeuvres. March 22 and 23 Easter Cooking Class 15 S. Roselle Rd. Roselle IL 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Cost: $50 per person - pre-payment required for online tickets For tickets for March 22, click here. For tickets for March 23, click here. The Lynfred Winery chefs will be cooking up Easter inspired dishes in the winery kitchen. The winery chefs teach cooking methods while Lynfred's sommelier pairs up wine suggestions. Guests enjoy wine, lots of food samples and education. March 23 Stonestreet Wine Dinner The Bristol 2152 N. Damen Ave. 6:30 p.m. Cost: $125 per person inclusive For tickets click here. Join Stonestreet Winemaker Lisa Valtenbergs at the Bristol for an evening of expertly paired wine & food. A reception of wine and passed appetizers, is followed by a sit-down, four-course dinner created by Chef Sean Pharr. Chef Pharr's dishes will be made specifically to accompany Stonestreet's high-elevation, single-vineyard Sauvignon Blancs, Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignons. This will be a small event with just 20 or so guests in Bristol's private event space. Special vintages and bottlings will also make an appearance. Weekly events: Terroir Tuesdays Table, Donkey and Stick 2728 W. Armitage Ave. Each Tuesday, Table, Donkey and Stick features glass pours of rare and older vintage wine poured at their cost. March 1: Katherine Astrip of Nervi and Simone Grimaldi of Bruna Grimaldi. Vertical tasting of wines from Gattinara and Barolo. Selections will include the 2002 and 2008 Gattinara as well as the 2006 Gattinara Molsino from Nervi, the Bruna Grimaldi Barolo 'Badarina' from 2010 and 2011, and Nervi's rare, sparkling "Jefferson Cuvee" made from Nebbiolo (or Spanna as its known in Gattinara). March 8: Featuring a range of the rarely seen, exceptional wines of Yarra Yering, including 2006 Pinot Noir, 2006 Dry Red No. 1, 2002 Dry Red No. 1, 2002 Underhill Shiraz. March 15: Meet the legendary Jo Landron for a night celebrating his incredible Muscadet. March 22 Dominique Belluard produces a tiny amount of distinctive wines of great character and purity. This will be an extremely rare opportunity to taste through his range, including the Mont Blanc Brut Zero, Altesse 'Grandes Jorasses,' Gringet 'Les Alpes,' and Gringet 'Le Feu.' March 29: Master Sommelier and Austrian wine expert Jesse Becker joins us to present a lineup of top Austrian wines and schnapps. Three Liter Thursdays Acanto 18 S. Michigan Ave. Each Thursday, Acanto pulls the cork on a three liter bottle and pours it by the glass. March 3: Duval Leroy Brut Prestige & Rose Champagne featuring Alexis Vaernewyck March 10: Botromagno 'Pier delle Vigne' - Basilicata featuring owner Benjamin d'Agostino March 17: St. Patrick's Day - Concannon 'Founders' Cabernet Sauvignon - Paso Robles (1st American winery founded by an Irish immigrant) March 24: Badia a Coltibuono 'Sangioveto di Toscana' 2009 - Tuscany March 31: Brugnano 'Honoris Causa' Nero d'Avola/Syrah 2012 - Sicilia Midwestern Man Accused Of Waterboarding His Girlfriend By Mae Rice in News on Mar 1, 2016 8:17PM Photo by slow911 Today in really dangerously fragile masculinity: A Wisconsin man has been accused of waterboarding his girlfriend while interrogating her about whether she was cheating on him, the Tribune reports. The 22-year-old from Merrill, Wisconsin, Dylan VanCamp, is charged with a total of six felonies and three misdemeanors; his charges include suffocation and stalking. (Waterboarding is so rare and outlandish that the legal system doesnt seem to have a specific charge for it.) Prosecutors allege that in June and November of 2015, Vancamp covered his girlfriends mouth with a washcloth and poured water on her face to prompt her to talk about another man, according to the Tribune. The woman told investigators that it was hard to breathe during these incidents, and she felt like she was drowning. You are here: Home A Beijing district committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) pledged severe intraparty penalties for Ren Zhiqiang, a celebrity blogger and property developer whose accounts were closed for allegedly spreading illegal information. The Xicheng district committee of the CPC on Monday issued a circular saying Ren, "as a CPC member, has been releasing illegal information and making inappropriate comments online, resulting in a vile influence and damage to the party image." The committee, where Ren's CPC membership is registered and managed, said it would punish him strictly according to party rules. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), China's top Internet regulator, on Sunday ordered closure of Ren's microblog accounts, accusing him of spreading illegal information. The administration urged celebrity microbloggers and bloggers with huge followings to use their influence correctly, obey the law, accept their due social responsibilities and promote "positive energy." It vowed intensified monitoring and managing of online information and content, saying that it would not allow users of the closed accounts to register again under other names. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Chennai, Feb 25 : Rana Daggubati, who plays a Naval officer in the trilingual "Ghazi", touted as India's first sub marine-based war film, has been shooting non-stop ever since the movie went on the floors in January. The period drama revolves around the mysterious disappearance of Pakistan's premiere sub, PNS Ghazi, near the eastern coast of India, en route to the Bay of Bengal, during the 1971 India-Pakistan war. Rana recently shot for a major underwater war sequence for the film. Being a certified diver, he didn't require any underwater lessons for the film. However, he rehearsed a bit before canning the final shots. Talking about the experience, Rana told IANS: "We began shooting on January 3 with the schedule drawing to a close on Tuesday. Two submarines have been created in a large pool in Hyderabad. I am currently on a 12-day break and will resume shooting from March 10 for a start-to-finish schedule." "I am quite good at diving, but the last time I did it was around four years ago. It was shot over three days and required me to be underwater from six in the morning to two in the night. It was taxing but I was committed to giving it my best. The fact that it's a first of its kind movie motivates me to keep working hard," he reminisced. There may not have been heavy-duty physical preparation involved for the war drama, but Rana did have to lose a few kg of his weight. "I was quite bulked up for 'Baahubali', so I had to shed some weight. I also underwent agility training as part of my prep," he said. The trilingual, which is directed by Sanklap Reddy, is being shot in Hindi and Telugu and will be dubbed in Tamil. The actor's research also involved meeting Indian Naval officers, particularly those on board the Indian naval ship. "My father helped me get in touch with many of them including those on INS Vikrant at the time," he added. Paris, Feb 26 : A court in Lille, north France upheld the decision to evacuate thousands of migrants camping in Calais, rejecting NGOs request to halt the eviction's order, Pas-de Calais prefecture authorities has said. Earlier this month, authorities said the southern part of the Calais "jungle", where "abuses" had been committed by migrants and violent clashes escalated, would be evacuated, Xinhua cited Calais town hall as saying on Thursday. They have proposed for the immigrants to move to a state-run container shelter nearby or other refugees centres across France. The deadline expired on Tuesday evening. The court previously delayed making a decision on whether migrants can be evicted from the "Jungle" refugee camp in Calais. Washington, Feb 26 : Faced with the prospect of being trampled under the Donald Trump train, the Republican presidential frontrunner's two main rivals finally took the gloves off to attack him ahead of the crucial March 1 Super Tuesday. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who is yet to win a state in the Republican nomination contests, in particular, attacked Trump on his immigration, foreign policy and health care positions, along with his business hiring practices. The two spoke over each other in the CNN Republican debate in Houston Thursday as the senator accused the real estate mogul of peddling a "fake" university and using Polish workers on one major project. "If he hadn't inherited 200 million dollars, you know where Donald Trump would be? Selling watches in Manhattan," Rubio suggested and closed the debate with another jab at him calling for an end to: "The silliness. This looniness!" Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who came in first-place in the Iowa caucuses but has not been able to notch another win since, also went on the offensive, saying Trump had previously donated to Democrats who had worked on the so-called Gang of Eight immigration reform bill. Voters should judge a candidate by looking at their "record before they were a candidate for president," Cruz added. A Monmouth University poll released Thursday put Cruz 15 points ahead of Trump in his home state of Texas, where there are 155 delegates at stake. Trump, who has three wins in a row under his belt, in turn, derided Rubio as someone who was easily rattled and Cruz as a friendless outcast in the Senate, who used dirty tactics on the campaign trail. "This guy's a choke artist," he said, turning towards Rubio. "And this guy's a liar," he said, pointing to Cruz. Trump repeatedly stated his support for Israel, billing himself the most "pro-Israel" candidate in the Republican field. But even as he said he was "totally pro-Israel", he also said he didn't believe there was any reason for labelling Israel and the Palestinians as the "good guy" and the "bad guy". "The position you've taken is an anti-Israel position," Rubio said. When Trump said he was simply a "negotiator", Rubio shot back: "The Palestinians are not a real estate deal, Donald." Trump also responded to former Mexican President Vicente Fox's recent response to Trump's claim that Mexico would pay for his proposed US-Mexico wall. "I'm not going to pay for that f***ing wall. He should pay for it," Fox told Fusion in an interview published Thursday. On the CNN debate stage, Trump quipped: "The wall just got 10 feet taller." "I saw him make the statement. I saw him use the word that he used," Trump added. "This guy used a filthy, disgusting word on television ... He should apologise." Thursday's debate provided the last chance to Rubio and Cruz to arrest Trump's momentum and somehow change the dynamic of the Republican race before Super Tuesday when 11 states go to the polls. (Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in) New Delhi, Feb 26 : The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday accepted a plea against an event being organised by Art of Living foundation, headed by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, for violating environmental laws. Environmental activist Manish Mishra, who had moved the NGT against the event, confirmed to IANS that his plea has been accepted and the tribunal would proceed the daily hearing on the matter from March 1. "The Tribunal has accepted our case today and summoned the organisers for a speedy trial which will begin from Tuesday (March 1)," Mishra told IANS. The Art of Living is organising world cultural festival in the national capital between March 11 and 13 that is expected to be attended by 35 lakh people from 155 countries, a statement released by the foundation said. "To be held from March 11-13 in New Delhi, the venue for the festival will cover an area of 1,000 acres and will witness the world's largest stage set-up spread over an area of 7 acres. Over 25,000 artists are expected to perform at the festival which includes 8,000 musicians playing 40 instruments in a Musical Symphony," it said. Mishra has described the event "blatant violation of environmental laws" and asserted in his petition to the tribunal to stop it. "To create a world record, they are trying to build a stage, spread over 7 acres, over which thousands of musicians are supposed to play at the same time. Construction on flood-plains is prohibited as it not only affects the natural flow of the river but even impacts the ecosystem. This is blatant violation of environmental laws and tribunal should take a note of it and stop it from happening," Mishra said. Ranchi, Feb 28 : Mahishasur, whom the popular belief views as the 'demon' slain by Goddess Durga, is not an object of inspiration or veneration for any tribal community in India, said Prakash Oraon, a tribal scholar in Jharkhand. "No demographic book and no references are found to associate Mahishasur with tribal people," Oraon, who is former director of the state government's Tribal Research Institute (TRI) in Ranchi, told IANS. Oraon said he has never heard, as a scholar and as a tribal himself, of any tribal community viewing Mahishasur as an object of inspiration. "This seems to be a new creation of some people. I am born and brought up in Jharkhand. I am tribal but never heard that Mahishasur is an inspiration for any tribal community," he said. Oraon said, "there is indeed an Asur tribe whose main occupation is iron smelting", suggesting that they too have nothing to do with Mahishasur. "Tribal people are non-violent and innocent," he added. The controversy over Mahishasur and Durga started when union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday referred in the Rajya Sabha to the celebration of "Mahishasur Martyrdom Day" in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). She contended that the organisers of such an event had been abusing their freedom of speech by making derogatory references to Goddess Durga. Irani has since been criticised for holding the celebration of Mahishasur against the JNU students. Some media reports contend that Mahishasur has long been venerated by communities, including tribes, spread across several states of India. Oraon said there could be a political reason for ascribing veneration of Mahishasur to the tribal communities. "We believe that there could be a political reason for linking tribals with Mahishasur. There may be a section of people who are trying to bring tribal and Dalits together for political reasons," he said. Oraon said Mahishasur's association with violence would also go against the non-violent nature of the tribal lifestyles. "Can anyone prove that tribal people were violent? Tribal people worship nature. There is a festival of tribal people every month. The festivals include Sarhul, Karma and others but where is a festival to worship Mahishasur?" According to anthropologists, Asuras were among the Proto-Australoid groups inhabiting what is now Jharkhand and the western region of West Bengal. They figure in the Rigveda, Brahamanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads. There is a popular belief that the Asuras are the descendants of Mahishasur. The people from the tribe are now mostly found in Gumla, Latehar, Lohardaga and Palamu district of Jharkand and in north Bengal's Alipurduar. Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 28 : Who will lead the Congress and the CPI-M in the coming assembly elections in Kerala? Both parties appear to be unsure. Over the years, power has changed hands in the state between the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) headed by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). The Left has two front-runners, both from the CPI-M. One is the 92-year-old former chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan, the other is long-time rival, Pinarayi Vijayan, 71. The former is considered widely popular and the latter is seen a party strongman. Vijayan has just ended a successful month-long tour of the state during which he covered all 140 assembly constituencies. CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury, whose closeness to Achuthanandan is well known, and party leader S. Ramachandran Pillai will take part in party leadership meetings here on Tuesday and Wednesday. The CPI-M has to decide whether both Achuthanandan and Vijayan need to contest the elections and, if yes, who will lead the battle, party sources said. Within the Congress, despite a full-term run by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, state Congress president V.M. Sudheeran and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala are expected to give Chandy a fair challenge. Chandy, whose UDF has 72 seats in the 140-member Kerala assembly, surprised many when he became the first Congress chief minister after K. Karunakaran (1982-87) to complete the full five-year tenure. While it has not been decided yet if Sudheeran should contest the election, Chennithala, who withdrew at the last minute in 2011, is certain to throw his hat into the ring this time. If that happens, there may be more than one claimant for the post of chief minister - if the UDF comes on top again. Similarly, if both Vijayan and Achuthanandan contest, the CPI-M will also face a dilemma. A wooden barrel used by two local wizards to steam a woman to death is seized by police. [Photo/Chinanews.com] A woman in Guangyuan of southwest China's Sichuan Province was put into a big wooden barrel and steamed to death on Saturday evening by two local wizards, who said it would drive away the devil in her and cure her illness. The woman, surnamed Li, was a villager in Yulong village, Rongshan town in Lizhou district, Guangyuan. She had been ill for years and different attempts at a cure had been unsuccessful, according to fellow villager Liu Jun. At around 9 p.m. Saturday, villagers rushed to Li's place after hearing her hysterical cries. The villagers then brought in two local "wizards" named Fan and Hu, who said the cries were were not being made by Li, but by the devil in her body, and that steaming would exorcise the devil. When Li was finally released by the villagers, her face had turned black and she was unable to stand. She died soon after medical workers arrived and all rescue efforts failed. Local police took Fan and Hu into custody and investigations are underway. Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation. Kabul, Feb 28 : A day after Taliban attacked a bus of the Afghan Defence Ministry in Kabul, the toll has risen to 15 while 31 others were injured, the ministry said on Sunday. Those killed in Saturday's attack included 11 personnel from the ministry and four passersby, Xinhua reported. The injured included 26 military workers and five civilians, the ministry said. The following is the listing of major attacks in Afghanistan since January 1, 2016. On February 27, about 13 persons were killed and 40 others injured after a suicide bomber attacked a pro-government local leader, Khan Jan, in Kunar province. Khan died in the attack. On February 22, a Taliban suicide attacker killed 13 people, including six Afghan Local Police (ALP) officers, and injured 11 in Parwan province. On February 17, three civilians were killed and 12 injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in Faryab province. On February 11, five ALP officers were killed following a insider attack in Kunduz province. On February 10, two police officers launched an insider attack, killing five policemen and injuring six officers in Kandahar province. One attacker was killed in shootout. On February 8, six civilians were killed and nine injured in a suicide bombing in Paktika province. On February 8, three military officers were killed and 18 injured when a suicide attacker struck an army bus in Balkh province. On February 1, at least 20 people, mostly police officers, were and 29 others were wounded when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive jacket at the gate of Civil Order Police station in western Kabul. On January 30, a police chief and an intelligence director were killed in an IED attack in the Dangam district of Kunar. On January 26, Zubair Khaksar, a local Journalist and cultural advisor to governor of Nangarhar, was killed in a targeted killing. On January 26, some nine police were killed in an insider attack in Uruzgan province. On January 20, up to seven media workers and a policeman were killed and 24 injured as a suicide car bombing struck a bus carrying employees of a local TV channel in Kabul. On January 17, a suicide attack struck a guesthouse of a local leader Malik Usman Shinwari in Nangarhar, killing 12 civilians and injuring 13 others. Shinwari was among the injured. On January 13, seven security forces and two civilians were killed and 11 injured after three gunmen attacked a building near Pakistani consulate in Nangarhar. On January 4, one suicide bomber was killed after his car bomb went off along a main road near Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The target remained unknown. On January 4, three civilians were killed and 38 others, including two foreign soldiers and five policemen, injured after a suicide truck bomb hit Camp Baron, a heavily protected residential compound of foreign civilian contractors near Kabul airport. On January 3, gunmen seized a building near Indian Consulate office in Balkh, killing one security force soldier and injuring nine others. The gunmen were killed after one-day clash with security forces. On January 1, three civilians were killed and 18 injured after a suicide car bomb targeted a local French restaurant in the Qala-e-Fatullah Khan area of Kabul. Baghdad, March 1 : The death toll from Monday's suicide bombing attack at a funeral in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala rose to 34, a provincial security source said. The deceased include seven Shiite militia leaders, Xinhua cited sources as saying. "The latest report concerning the casualties from Monday's suicide bombing attack near Maqdadiyah rose to 34 deaths and 43 wounded," the source said. The suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest detonated himself at a funeral tent in the Shiite village of Brishtah, 100 km northeast of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. He added that provincial security authorities imposed a curfew and intensified security measures in numerous villages and towns in the area, including Maqdadiyah, to prevent potential retaliatory attacks. The source confirmed the death of seven leading figures from the Shia militia, including Ali Hamad al-Temimi, Diyala's provincial leader from the powerful Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq militia, or League of the Righteous. The League of the Righteous group is believed to be divorced from the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi's Army. IS has frequently targeted crowded areas, including markets, cafes and mosques throughout Iraq. Iraq is currently witnessing a wave of violence since IS took over areas of Iraq's northern and western regions in June 2014. A United Nations report estimated that over 22,300 people were either killed or injured in armed conflict in Iraq in 2015. New Delhi, March 1 : Indian Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh's call earlier this month asking Indian companies to produce pulses and oilseeds in Africa to meet the country's production shortfall may have emphasised the need to diversify agriculture. But it also focusses attention on the lesser known and controversial operations of those who did acquire land in the 54-nation continent at a time when land acquisition was a hugely sensitive subject at home. Is the Indian dream of bountiful food products at cheap prices from Africa souring? It may seem so. "Foreign investors need to tread carefully and be sensitive to the needs of the local population when acquiring land in Africa," Alok Dikshit of Zambia-based Export Trading Company said on the sidelines of the India-Africa Agribusiness Forum in Delhi organised earlier this month by industry chamber FICCI. The concern is provoked by the behaviour of foreign companies in Africa, said Dikshit, who has been working in the continent for over a decade. "As we know from our Indian experience, land acquisition has to go with proper rehabilitation of the displaced, which Indian companies in Africa have, sadly, a poor record of," Dikshit told IANS. A global initiative called Land Matrix ranks India as one of the top ten investors in land overseas. In Africa, India is the biggest investor in land in Ethiopia, where Indian companies account for nearly 70 percent of the land acquired by foreigners after 2008. Nadia Paschetta, Tanzania country director of the ETG Farmers Foundation, who is of Italian origin, said the large-scale farming in Africa for export was affecting food security in the continent, besides the fact that only a fraction of people displaced from their land were expected to get jobs on the new highly-mechanised farms. "Africa's land should stay with Africans. Foreign companies can produce and sell to us African companies and we will buy," she said. Perhaps some of the dampening of initial enthusiasm for foreign capital in Africa also made Indian farmers realise that it may not be the promised land they thought it to be. Many of them have returned to India after having been enticed to Africa by attractive road shows held by Indian companies which had bought large tracts of land. Local media recently reported the case of 50 farmers from Punjab who took land on lease in Ethiopia for around Rs.25 lakh (2.5 million rupees) but had to return within the year when faced with several challenges. Their land needed water, but there were few irrigation facilities and diesel for tractors was available only long distances away from the farms. Besides, they were faced with the poor purchasing power of the locals. "During the first year, we grew maize but there were no buyers. I sold the crop by driving the tractor from village to village as there is no concept of a 'mandi' (wholesale market) there," Puneet Singh Thind, a farmer who returned to Ambala, told reporters. Initial attraction for Africa came from the fact that high cost of land in India and high input costs were making farming unsustainable in India. "In Punjab, the average rate of land is Rs.30-35 lakh an acre. This goes up to around Rs.1 crore if you are buying land near the city. As compared to this, in Ethiopia we got 2,500 acres of land for an investment of around Rs.25 lakh," said Baljinder Singh, who has returned to Amritsar. S.N.Pandey, an executive with Lucky Group, a company that has invested in Africa, had told IANS earlier that "the cost of agricultural production in Africa is almost half that in India. There is less need for fertiliser and pesticides, labour is cheap and overall output is higher." The scramble for land by other countries in Africa was sparked by the global food price crises during 2008-09, when prices of commodities like wheat soared 130 percent in a year and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's food price index shot up by 40 percent. India's response to soften the impact of the food price crisis resulted in Indian firms acquiring 600,000 hectares of land in Ethiopia, for instance. Others which had acquired significant land holdings at throwaway prices in the continent are China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, South Korea and the European Union. A World Bank report has shown that 45 million hectares of large scale agricultural land deals had been announced between 2008 and 2009. By the first decade of the new millennium, statistics from East Africa, which has a large Indian-origin population, showed more than 80 Indian companies had invested around $2.5 billion in buying or leasing huge plantations in Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal and Mozambique to grow foodgrains and other cash crops for the Indian market. This large enterprise has been accompanied by accusations against Indian companies of indulging in environmental damage as well as complaints from locals about losing access to grazing land and water due to the foreign farm projects. The Indian land dreams in Africa seem to have run up against reality. (Biswajit Choudhury can be reached at biswajit.c@ians.in ) Beijing, March 1 : Chinese health authorities ordered cleaning of public areas to prevent the spread of viruses transmitted by mosquitoes, including Zika, nine cases of which have been detected in the country till now. According to the Chair of National Commission on Health and Family Planning, Li Bin, the campaign will focus particularly on cleaning common public areas, including bus stations, ports, markets, residential areas, cities and border towns, Efe news reported on Tuesday. Li also advised Chinese citizens to keep their homes and work places clean in order to avoid the proliferation of these diseases. "Monitoring and analysis of infectious diseases should be increased and we must be especially vigilant in areas near borders," Li said. The campaign began on Monday, the same day the ninth case of Zika in China was reported after a 23-year-old man was diagnosed with the disease after returning from Venezuela on February 19. Zika virus has been detected in about 30 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and has also spread to other regions of the world mainly through travellers. New Delhi, March 1 : AIADMK members on Tuesday created a ruckus in the Rajya Sabha demanding action against former finance minister P. Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram, forcing four adjournments in the pre-lunch sitting. AIADMK members trooped near the chairman's podium soon after the house met at 11 a.m., raising slogans and demanding action. Slogans like "arrest Chidambaram and his son", and "Take action against Chidambaram" echoed in the house as the chairman and deputy chairman tried to conduct the proceedings amid the protest. Following the first uproar, minutes into the day's proceedings, Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien adjourned the house for 10 minutes. When the house reassembled, Kurien announced that a notice by AIADMK has been rejected as it was not in order. While the AIADMK members kept raising slogans, a few zero hour mentions were read out by members. Kurien also told the protesting members that it was not in his hands to take action. "This is an issue the chair has nothing to do with. If you want action against a private individual you can approach the government. Why do you trouble me?" Kurien said. However, as the din continued, the house was adjourned till 12 noon. The scene was no different in the question hour and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari tried to get a few questions answered even as AIADMK members raised slogans. The furious chairman then said: "Chair gets this impression that some honourable members are in the business of promoting specific newspaper this is very improper." The house was then adjourned for 15 minutes. With protests continuing the house was then adjourned till 2 p.m. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in December 2015 had conducted raids in Chennai at the premises of firms allegedly connected to Karti. Karti later said neither he nor his family were shareholders in any of the firms. New Delhi, March 1 : Non-state actors from Pakistan were involved in the Pathankot terror attack but they cannot function smoothly without support from the state, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Tuesday in the Rajya Sabha. Replying to supplementary questions in the upper house, the minister was asked by Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut whether the Pathankot attack was carried out only by terrorists or they had the support of the Pakistan Army. "Does the government believe it was just a terror attack or done with the help of Pakistan Army?" Raut asked. Parrikar, in reply, said: "All details will come out in NIA investigation. In this, non-state actors from Pakistan are certainly involved, that is sure... And any non-state (actor), they can't function smoothly without state support." Asked by a member whether important bases like Pathankot should be shifted far from the border areas, the minister said: "There are bases strategically located within the country. Pathankot is equally important because it is closer to border and there is lot of investment which has been carried out in Pathankot. It will be costly to shift Pathankot." He also informed the house that intelligence on the possibility of an attack on the air base was received in advance. "We have now done security audit in addition to normal security. We are in process of ensuring all installations are properly secured," the minister said. The January 2 terrorist attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab had left seven security personnel dead. Six terrorists, who attacked the base, were killed in a gun battle which lasted almost three days. Islamabad, March 1 : Only select officials knew about the plan to execute Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed killer of then Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer. Qadri, trained as an elite commando and who was a bodyguard to Taseer, was on Monday morning executed at Adaila Jail in Rawalpindi. Qadri shot dead Taseer in Islamabad on January 4, 2011 for supporting a blasphemy accused. An anti-terrorism court condemned him to death, a ruling upheld by the Islamabad High Court and Supreme Court. Right till Sunday night, only a few officers knew of the plans to execute Qadri. Those who did were told not to tell others, Dawn online reported. Expecting trouble, senior officers from the police and prisons departments had chalked out a strategy to cope with the fallout from the execution. More than 30 members of his family were summoned for a final meeting with the prisoner late at night. They included his father Mohammad Shabir, wife and a brother. Informed sources said a police team was sent to his residence to fetch his family after Sunday midnight. They were taken to the jail on the pretext that Qadri was ill and wanted to see them. Officials had expected protests after Qadri's mercy plea was rejected. "We were committed not to disclose plans for Qadri's execution before the process was completed," a senior police officer said. Similarly, the officers tasked with transporting Qadri's body to his Sadiqabad home communicated with their seniors in code till it was handed over to his family. Once this was done, police began efforts to convince the family to bury him without wasting time to avoid street protests. New Delhi, March 1 : The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 p.m. on Tuesday after the opposition members created a ruckus in the house, with the AIADMK members demanding action against former home minister P. Chidambaram's son over corruption charges. The Congress members, however, were demanding in the house that a privilege motion be moved against union Human Resource Development minister Smriti Irani. Earlier, the lower house witnessed two brief adjournments during Question Hour. When the house reassembled at 12 noon, the AIADMK members continued their protest demanding action against Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram over the recent IT and ED raids, which allegedly revealed that he has built a massive empire through investments across the world. Meanwhile, the Congress members sought to know from the Speaker about the status of their notices of privilege motion against Irani. Amid the din, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan laid the papers on the table of the house. "I have received the notices but those are under my consideration," Mahajan said. As the Congress members didn't relent, Mahajan adjourned the house till 2 p.m. Earlier in the morning, soon after the house met, the AIADMK members trooped near the Speaker's podium holding newspapers reports. They were raising slogans like "we want justice". Mahajan adjourned the house till 11.15 a.m. When the house reassembled at noon, AIADMK members again trooped near the speaker's podium shouting slogans. AIADMK members levelled corruption charges against the former minister's son citing revelations made by some media report. Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu urged the members to raise the issue after giving proper notice. "The issue being raised here is very important. But please go to your seats. Give a notice. Government has no problem to discuss the issue," he said. The Speaker also requested the members to let the house function. Amid the din, the Speaker tried to conduct the Question Hour but the AIADMK members were not relenting. She then again adjourned the house till 12 noon. Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli greets supporters at the 13th general convention in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, March 3, 2016. The 13th general convention ... Image Source: IANS Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli arrives in Kutch of Gujarat on Feb 23, 2016. Image Source: IANS Kathmandu, March 1 : Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli will pay an official visit to China towards March end, the media reported on Tuesday. A meeting of the Council of Ministers took a formal decision on Monday evening regarding the trip, Information Minister Sherdhan Rai said. This is going to be Oli's second foreign trip after he became the prime minister on October 11, Xinhua news agency reported. He visited India from February 19 to 24. Officials at the Nepal's ministry of foreign affairs said preparations for Oli's visit to China were on but dates were yet to be finalised. "The prime minister will attend the 2016 Annual Conference of the Boao Forum of Asia to be held in China from March 22 to 25," said Oli's Foreign Relations expert Gopal Khanal. "But it is confirmed that the prime minister will make an official trip to China," he added. Tel Aviv, March 1 : An animal rights activist in Israel has launched the nation's first fruit bat shelter out of her apartment in capital Tel Aviv, where she now hosts up to 70 wounded bats, the media reported on Tuesday. "I decided to help the fruit bats because no one helped them and then I started and it was one bat after another. Now it's become a big project," said 28-year-old Nora Lifschitz. Lifschitz recently used the online crowd funding site, Headstart, to raise money to care for the flying mammals - which typically nest in tunnels and cave-like structures - and has since raised over 60,000 Israeli shekels ($15,370) for food and medical supplies to treat injuries requiring surgery. "It is an animal that is usually very hard to catch, so when people bring them in, most of them have a broken leg or wing and were found on the floor," said a local photographer at the shelter. Egyptian Fruit Bats, which are common in Israel and feed on fruits such as lychee and loquats, are generally classified as agricultural pests and are unprotected, despite their ecological value of safeguarding natural ecosystems by dispersing tree seeds and pollinating plants. At the shelter, baby bats rescued from laboratory tests nest on a teddy bear hanging from the ceiling - a substitute for the mother bat, which normally carries her babies for a full six weeks after their birth. Guo Weimin: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our State Council Information Office Press Conference. Food and drug safety has been an issue that has sparked wide concern both at home and abroad. We are delighted to invite Bi Jingquan, director of the food safety office with the State Council and head of the China Food and Drug Administration, to the meeting today to introduce relevant information and answer your questions. Bi Jingquan: Good afternoon, reporters. The principle of food and drug supervision is to both protect and promote public health. The Party's leadership and the State Council proposed to reform the food and drug supervisory system, integrating the supervisory powers, which belonged to the business, quality testing and food and drug administrative departments, to form the Food and Drug Administration, and to build a food and drug supervisory system extending from the central government level to the grassroots level, which is in charge of the unified supervision of food and drug safety at every link of their production and circulation, so as to safeguard the people's safety in this regard. In the past year, the administration earnestly implemented the CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping's appeal of "the strictest standards, the harshest supervision, the heaviest punishment and the most serious accountability," as well as the work and reform deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. The administration took the transparency of information as a breakthrough, expanded the range and increased the frequency of food and drug tests and sample inspections, cracked down the crimes in the field of food and drug, publicly released the information about the testing and investigation results and punishment in a timely manner, so as to protect consumers' interests and rights, thwart potential wrongdoers, regulate the supervisors' behavior, play up the supervisory role of public opinion and promote the construction of a social credit system. We actively pushed ahead the institutional reform of the drug evaluation and approval system. We enhanced the approval standards, and conducted a technical evaluation of the new generic drugs applying to enter the market, as well as the ones that have already been sold, according to the quality and curative effects of the originals. We streamlined the administration system, improved the efficiency and piloted the reform of the holder of new drug marketing certificates, so as to boost China's transformation from a large drug producer to a strong power in the industry. China is in a development stage where food and drug safety cases frequently occur. There is still a long way to go in guaranteeing food and drug safety. This year, we will strengthen the routine testing of food samples as well as their retailers, producers and restaurants at both the city and county levels, as it has been required by the Party and the State Council. We generalized the two tasks into two responsibilities. We should deal with the excess residue of pesticides and animal medicine, and the excessive use of additives, as well as the other unlawful acts. We will make new standards, improve the law and rules, and draft more directive technological principles, and perform other fundamental work, to promote and regulate the research and development of the food and drug industries. We will deal heavy blows to the illegal acts threatening food and drug safety. We will continue to disclose information of the testing results, case investigation and punishment. We should improve the transparency of food and drug supervision, and strengthen the people's confidence with the food items and drugs made in China. We will establish a unified and authoritative food and drug administration system and institution, and form a professional, efficient, clean and responsible team of supervisors. Powerful supervision makes powerful industries. The food and drug enterprises are not only supervisory targets but also service targets of the food and drug watchdog departments. The supervisors of various levels should put their supervision into services, spur innovation and development through effective supervision and innovative services, push ahead the supply-side structural reform of the food and drug industries, and consolidate the industries' foundation. Food and drug safety directly concerns the people's livelihood, and are social issues as well. We hope people from all walks of life can actively take part in food and drug supervision, and promote social governance in the fields of both food and drug safety. Society should work together with the food and drug supervisory department to protect the people's "tongue tip safety." That's all for my introduction. Guo Weimin: Director Bi's introduction has been brief and to the point, leaving time for interaction with the media. Now, we'll open the floor for questions. China Central Television: As the director of the food safety office with the State Council and head of the China Food and Drug Administration, what is your perspective concerning the current food safety situation in China? What has the administration done in this field in 2015? Bi Jingquan: As for food safety, I would like to mention two things. Firstly, we should have confidence with China's food safety. Secondly, we need to continue to work hard. There are reasons in several fields justifying our confidence. First of all, sample testing has been increasing in recent years, and the results have steadily improved. Last year, the administration conducted sample testing on 170,000 batches of food, up 21 percent from the previous year and twice that of 2013. 96.8 percent of the food batches tested met a quality standard, 2.1 percentage points higher than that of 2014. Second, in terms of supervision, we disclosed 6,552 batches of unqualified food to the public last year. The food and drug administration departments investigated 240,000 cases, among which 15,000 were criminal cases threatening public food safety investigated by public security forces. Last year, the food and drug administration issued 157 new food safety standards together with the public health administration. About 400,000 restaurants opened their kitchens for public supervision nationwide. Third, in terms of legislature, the National People's Congress revised the Food Safety Law, which was implemented from Oct 1, 2015. The food and drug administration has made, and is making, a series of supporting rules to ensure the law to be enforced properly. The new law is a solid legal foundation for China to form the strictest supervisory institutions. Fourth, in terms of the supervision system, the Party committee and governments at all levels have attentively implemented the decision to perfect the unified food and drug supervision system by the Party's central committee and the State Council. Across the country, 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, as well as 70 percent of cities and 30 percent of counties, have unified the food and drug supervision department, and established independent supervision agencies for the food and drug industry. This has also provided major institutional guarantees for the supervision of the food and drug industry. The other thing I'd like to emphasize is that we still need to work hard. On one hand, food safety remains a big challenge. China is experiencing a period of development where food safety cases happen frequently. This has been decided by China's historical development stage. Large amounts of agricultural inputs have been used. The residue of pesticide and animal medicine constitute a big threat to food safety. More than 11.8 million licensed food retailers and production enterprises are the main targets in our supervisory net. There are a large number of small, unlicensed workshops, vendors and eateries existing outside the borders of our supervision. Adulterate and counterfeit cases occur frequently. Three percent of foods sampled were still unqualified to enter the market. They would have been sold in the market and made available for consumers were it not for our investigation. On the other hand, although the food safety in China is improving, it is still far from people's expectations and the requirements of the State Council. There are still some loopholes in our food safety standards. The punishments for law breakers remain ineffective, failing to serve as a deterrent to potential wrongdoers. Our supervision powers are still weak, the number of supervisors is still insufficient, the supervisory ability is not strong enough and part of the testing equipment is outdated. About 70 percent of counties and 30 percent of cities in China have not yet completed the food and drug supervisory institutional reform. So, the food and drug administration still faces a lot of challenges regarding supervision. However, we are confident and have resolved to do the job well and defend the people's "tongue tip safety." As it has been stipulated by Party Chief Xi Jinping, "the strictest standards, the harshest supervision, the heaviest punishment and the most serious accountability" must be the benchmark. Xinhua News Agency: Minister Bi, how should we comment on the current level of safety and quality of domestic infant formula? What should we do to improve consumer confidence in domestic products? Thank you. Bi Jingquan: Infant formula is the most supervised product of the food safety supervision departments. Article 81 of the new version of the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China has stipulated that enterprises producing infant formula shall implement full-process quality control from incoming materials to outgoing finished products and inspect the outgoing infant formula batch by batch so as to ensure food safety. This is a stipulation of the Food Safety Law specifically targeting enterprises and is also a duty they have to comply with. Overall, infant formula is reliable in quality and safe for use. At present, there are 103 enterprises that produce infant formula all over China. In 2015, we carried out a nationwide spot check on all the domestic infant formula products and some imported products in nearly 3,400 batches. With the testing items covering what's required by the state food safety standards, we found 94 batches of unqualified products. Among them, 36 batches had food safety risks since some indicators did not meet standards, accounting for a bit more than one percent of the total sampling. The remaining 58 batches failed the spot check due to their unqualified package labels rather than quality problems. All the details of this spot check have been posted on the official website of the CFDA. Local food and drug administrations have also recalled all the products which had food safety risks, asked some enterprises to suspend production for rectification and recalled those unqualified labels. Nowadays, products from small enterprises, particularly those that produce goat milk powder, are found to have more problems. During what we called a food safety audit, we conducted a systematic check on their production system and pointed out their defects concerning their management system of research and development, production and testing. On Feb 26, the CFDA issued a notice on the systematic problems of 17 enterprises at its official website and asked them to rectify problems and reform. This year, we will enhance the supervision of infant formula by increasing the spot check frequency from quarterly to monthly. We will continue to strengthen the inspections on production systems and strictly control the amount and brands of infant formula food. Meanwhile, we will prohibit producers from exaggerating the effects of formula to mislead consumers. Bloomberg News: The SFDA put out a guideline on Friday, saying it will accelerate the approval process for drugs that need certain criterion including new drugs for diseases like cancer and hepatitis. Given that there is public concern around diseases like hepatitis and there are lots of these types of drugs in the world, can you tell us what the time frame will be for foreign companies applying for approval in China, and how long it will take to get the SFDA's approval? Thanks. Bi Jingquan: It is really an arduous task for the SFDA to address the overstocking of drug appraisals and approvals. There used to be as many as 32,000 application files waiting to be processed. At the end of 2014, the SFDA started the reform on drug appraisal and approval system. In August 2015, the State Council issued an opinion, suggesting that the approval standards for medicine should be improved, that the consistency in the evaluation of generic drug quality and efficacy should be advanced, and that a program on marketing authorization holders should be piloted. So far, all these suggestions have been put into practice. As for how long it will take to approve certain drugs, I'm afraid Ican't give you a time frame. However, I'm certain it will be shorter than before. The amount of applications we processed last year increased by 90 percent over those processed in 2014, and the amount of unprocessed drug applications decreased substantially. In regard to approvals concerning the clinical trials of drugs, the new drugs had to pass three rounds of appraisal when it comes to phase III, but now the second and the third rounds will be substituted by a meeting after the first round. The procedure will enter into the next stage if approvals were confirmed at the meetings. Applications for clinical trials of generic drugs will be applied to the filing system rather than the appraisal and approval system. All these measures have tremendously improved the efficiency of drug appraisal and approval. The guideline on accelerating drug approval issued recently listed the drugs that shall be granted priority review, including the drugs mentioned by the journalist with Bloomberg. We also adopted some priority policies and measures for those drugs, including the meeting communications between the applicants and our review staff, reducing clinical study cases required in regard of rare and special diseases, and allowing innovative drugs for life-threatening diseases that lack effective treatments to enter the market conditionally before the phrase III clinical trial. In the guideline on priority appraisal and approval, the responsibilities of the reviewers and applicants are clarified and a clear timetable is set for these drugs' application reception, appraisal, examination, and on-site verification. It also requires the review staff to inform the applicants about supplemental materials, and lists certain punitive measures to deal with fraudulent activity concerning the authenticity of application materials. This means we need to build a more professional appraisal team. There are more than 5,000 reviewers in the United States' drug appraisal and approval center, while we only have about 130 on-post reviewers. What makes the situation worse is that we are losing key members in recent years. In the past three years, about one third of front-line reviewers left for enterprises where they could be paid as high as ten times that of the salary they received previously. What we target are the edged research advantages produced by high-tech enterprises around the world. That means we have to recruit first-class scientists, especially experienced doctors, to lead the review of new drug applications. Additionally, our reviewers should be able tosympathize with our country's specific circumstances, namely, a large population, consumption rate and pharmacy. What we face are not only Chinese high-tech enterprises, but also the ones from other countries. The State Council has asked us to outline policies to ensure recruited reviewers can work here for a long time. We are considering to reform the drug appraisal and approval system and adjust the drug review organization system, and we are determined to guarantee the safety of the drugs throughout the reform. Of course, efficacy is more important. To be honest, I don't dare to imagine the expansion of our review staff to 5,000, similar to the scale of the FDA in the United States. Even if we were allowed to recruit 1,000 to 2,000 reviewers, it would need to be done step bystep. To sum it up, it is time to address the low efficiency in drug approval and we will exert great efforts towards this goal. Guo Weimin: The SFDA is working tirelessly to address this issue, and of course some problems have to be taken care of. Next question, please. Phoenix TV: Mr. Bi, we learnt from a recent university research report that in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, as well as in the Shanghai Municipality, antibiotics for animals were discovered in many children's bodies. These medicines are likely to cause obesity. Compared with them, antibiotics for humans are not so closely related to obesity. What's your response to this issue? Besides, how serious is the antibiotic residue in China? Thank you. Bi Jingquan: This is the latest news, which was just released and has attracted great public attention. Whether pesticides and animal antibiotic can cause obesity among children is a scientific issue and needs to be further studied by scientists. I'd like to answer this question from the perspective of the food and drug supervision department. Currently, in the food safety field, the residue of pesticides and animal medicine is seen as the biggest risk, which is understood as chemical risk. It can't be seen or felt by consumers. In contrast, biological risks, such as the decay of foods, are often visible. Additionally, Chinese people tend to cook foods using high temperatures. This practice can kill almost any bacteria. However, people are unable to detect the residue of pesticides and animal medicine. Nor can they get rid of them when consuming the foods. Therefore, the residue of pesticides and animal medicine is always a very important issue for the food and drug supervision department. In 2015, more than 40,000 batches of food were selected to undergo inspections for residue of pesticides and animal medicine. They accounted for about one quarter of all the foods we selected for inspection. Of them, 225 batches were found to have excessive residues. A few days ago, we released a special notice on this issue. Systematic approaches need to be taken to solve the problem. There should be professional personnel and machines. Many of our staff didn't study the related subjects at school. Their knowledge in this field is insufficient. They also need training to improve working skills. In this field, we have a lot of work to do. That's why I reiterated in many occasions that we should establish a professional inspection team to carry out food and drug supervision tasks. We can't mistakenly think that inspection only involves watching, touching and smelling. It is not making tours around markets. According to the Food Safety Law, food producers should undergo required inspections when purchasing raw materials. Regarding animal derived foods, such as pork, beef, mutton, poultry, eggs and aquatic products, inspections should be conducted on raw materials and finished products. Food sellers also need to receive inspections when they purchase new stocks. They should be held fully and legally responsible for the residue of pesticides and animal medicine in the foods they sell. As for the food and drug supervision department, regular supervision on producers and sellers, and sample inspection on products available in the market should be intensified. When products are discovered to have excessive residues, their producers must be found out. A few days ago, the State Council released a document on establishing a product tracing system. This is stipulated explicitly in the Food Safety Law. It's an enterprise's responsibility to make its products traceable. In addition to making inspections in the market, we need to address the origin of the problem. General Secretary Xi has required us to accelerate the establishment of a unified, authoritative food and drug supervision system. He has also required us to establish the toughest standards, conduct the strictest supervision,make the harshest punishments and hold all concerned accountable to ensure food safety. Premier Li Keqiang also required us to speed up the development of specific opinions on improving various systems and work harder to improve the supervision systems at the state level and various local levels. Currently, we are working with all departments concerned to implement these orders. Taking this precious chance, I'd like to ask the Communist Party of China (CPC) committees and governments at all levels to pay attention to the reform of the food and drug supervision system. Great importance should be attached to the requirements repeatedly made by the 18th CPC Central Committee at its second and third plenary sessions, and by the central government. Efforts should be made to accelerate the integration of government functions. A unified, authoritative supervision organization should be established with corresponding functions and powers. Only in this way can our needs in law enforcement be met. As for obesity among children mentioned in the report, relative departments have begun to verify it. You may receive updates on it soon. China National Radio: Mr. Bi, based on our previous interviews we found a number of food manufacturers and processing assembly lines had packaged outdated food by changing or erasing their production dates. Moreover, they may also process expired food for a second time for sales. What are the government's measures to supervise and regulate the market that has been devastated in this way? Bi Jingquan: To process expired food as raw material for a second time or surreptitiously change the production dates in order to sell the outdated food again in the market are all criminal offenses offering expired products as qualified ones. The law violators will, therefore, be prosecuted for criminal liabilities. There is a well-known lawsuit, namely, the Shanghai Fusi Food. The People's Court in Jiading District, Shanghai, reached a verdict on Feb. 1 by sentencing a fine of 1.2 million yuan to Fusi Food suppliers in both Shanghai and Hebei Province. Ten defendants involved in the lawsuit were sentenced to be fined and imprisoned over a certain period of time. We hope that legal representatives, managers and quality supervisors from the food manufacturing and processing sectors can learn from the example of Fusi Food and do not touch the high-voltage wire of the law.. The manufacturers and sales representatives should work with conscience. The supervisors from the administrative departments should scrutinize the overall process of food manufacturers and launch regular exams on enterprises' food sales. They should start investigations no later than when a problem has emerged and send relative suspects to judiciary organizations to check their criminal accountabilities. We also welcome every individual in society to report these criminal behaviors to food supervision administrations as soon as they become aware of them. Health News: Mr. Bi, the China Food and Drug administration recently suspended a digital code for drug supervision, is thatindicating the Administration to give up the trend of digital supervision or are you simply replace the old one with a brand new one? How will the Administration to respond to the associated request proposed by relevant enterprisesto cancel all digital supervision codes? Thank you. Bi Jingquan: The digital supervision code was created during our supervision work. It is very unlikely to carry on with no different voices or disputes. First, the duties of the Administration are to uphold public health and ensure pharmaceutical safety and effectiveness. As a result, the application of modern technology reflects a liberal mind set and proactive action in a bid to better implement our tasks. As a supervision administration, we should be neither absent from our duties nor intervene in issues outsideour responsibility. A lack of duty and responsibility is dereliction and non-performance, whereas intervention is a misuse and abuse of power. Second, entrepreneurs are majorly profit-driven. However, when they are pursuing their economic interests, they create wealth, job opportunities and taxes for society. Therefore, we should not be allegedly skeptical to the social responsibilities of entrepreneurs who may also be willing to make contributions to social development. Third, when referring to the digital code, I had once responded to the issue at the supervision program launched to guarantee festival food safety in Guangdong on Feb. 3. I made a remark at a meeting involving entrepreneurs and healthcare staff. The enterprises are manufacturing entities, responsible for the research and development of food and drug, owning major responsibilities to the quality and safety of their products. Therefore, they should have a system capable of tracing back the trails of every single manufacturing process. The design of any policy should consider economic factors, effectiveness, fairness and legitimacy as well as a diversity of voices from every social sector , winning the understanding, coordination and support from entities under supervision. The remark is the result of our review and grasp of the disputes for the launch of the digital platform for administrative supervision. We'll follow the principles to further tackle the public consultation on the use of medicines, find out the real interests of enterprises and fully implement the Administration's duties. The problem left behind remains an actual problem influencing the future of the sector with great importance. China Radio International: In July of last year, the CFDA launched the self-examination of the clinical trial data for drugs. I would like to ask Mr. Bi about the work in this regard. Did you find any false data, and how did you deal with it? Thank you. Bi Jingquan: The clinical trial data of drugs is an important basis for drug evaluation. The prerequisite for medicine is its effectiveness, and the bottom line is its safety. In the past, we have stressed drug safety more and effectiveness less. But if a medicine is ineffective, then does it need to exist? The examination of clinical data is to check a medicine's effectiveness and safety, to see whether clinical data could substantiate the conclusion. The CFDA issued a memo last year on July 22, and listed all the 1,622 new medicines pending CFDA approval to enter the market, asking their manufacturers to conduct self-examination. In that batch, 193 drugs were exempted from self-examination and 1,429 drugs actually underwent the "self-exam." As of Feb. 22, 2016, pharmaceutical companies voluntarily withdrew 1,136 drugs, accounting for 79 percent of all medicine in this round of self-examination. A total of 1,184 drugs were either withdrawn from the self-exam or failed it, accounting for 83 percent of the total number. We publicized the cases with inauthentic or incomplete clinical data in two batches and decided to disallow 24 drugs to enter the market. As for the results of the third round of self-exams, the CFDA is still communicating with the manufacturers and will publicize the results soon. On Feb. 27, we announced another case that involved false data of clinical medical equipment. Cracking down on infringement and counterfeiting, and protecting property rights is the requirement of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. Producing and selling counterfeit goods is strictly prohibited by the Criminal Law, Food Safety Law, Drug Administration Law and others; these actions are violations of the law and crimes. We required applicants to launch self-examinations regarding their clinical data, and withdraw applications that had validity problems or failed to be complete, in a bid to warn these manufacturers of legal risks, so that they will develop high-quality and effective medicine for our family members, relatives and friends, and our future generations. It is a matter of legal issues as well as one of moral, conscience and social responsibility. Therefore, I am taking this opportunity to remind all manufacturers of food, medicine, medical equipment and health food, as well as the retailers of food and drugs, legal representatives, principal managers and quality controllers of catering businesses that you should strictly abide by law in your production and sales processes, strictly follow quality-control regulations, ensure that your data is valid, complete and accurate, and prohibit any false records, counterfeiting, false advertising or any other illegal activities. Those involved in the food and drug industry should be law-abiding role models. They should have high morals, and be responsible for people's health. Such requirements help to protect the safety of the public, and the safety of businesses engaging in food, drug and medical equipment, along with their personnel. Anyone that jeopardizes public safety will be caught. The verdict of the OSI Group in Shanghai on Feb. 1, hopefully, will be a lesson for all. I wish you to convey my words to the public. Thank you! China Pharmaceutical News: Mr. Bi, the shortage of child-friendly medicine is a general concern for parents and society as a whole. What kind of encouraging policies does the Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) have to research and develop child-friendly medicine, so as to meet consumer needs? Bi Jingquan: We have noticed a few related reports. Currently, approved medicine can basically meet the needs for common pediatric diseases. The prominent problem is mainly with regard to the shortage of a child-friendly dosage and standard. For those medicines which are absent in the domestic market but badly needed in clinical, the CFDA has set up special access for declaration and examination to speed up the process. On Jan. 29, the CFDA released an announcement to detail related polices on clinical pediatric medicine. Therefore, the problem is not about batch number, but about economic benefits for enterprises. To solve the problem, ask for joint efforts from both the CFDA and from other departments. People's Daily: I noticed that EU countries encourage the use of generic drugs and have related policies. I noticed that the Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) is asking enterprises to carry out conformance assessments of the efficacy of generic drugs. I would like to ask, why is the CFDA carrying out the assessment? What kind of encouraging polices do we have? Thank you. Bi Jingquan: To carry out the conformance assessment of the quality and efficacy of an approved generic drug is to make up for missed lessons. Since we didn't have these kinds of mandatory requirements in the past to carry out conformance assessment between generic drugs and the original formulation, some generic drugs are different from the original formulation regarding efficacy, especially those drugs produced before 2007. The U.S. and Japan have also experienced the same process with that issue; it took Japan over 10 years to promote this kind of work. To carry out the conformance assessment is to guarantee the generic drug and original formulation share the same quality and efficacy, so they can replace each other and save on social medical expenses. On Feb. 20, the State Council formally issued several opinions on promoting the conformance assessment of generic drugs, including the following content. Firstly, the subjects of conformance assessments are enterprises. Enterprises should take the initiative to find reference products, and research and carry out clinical trials based on the prescribed method. Secondly, the government should coordinate the confirmation, evaluation methods, data reporting and evaluation of the reference product, and guide the entire process. Thirdly, policy support should be provided regarding clinical use and medical insurance. Fourthly, we have defined the schedule. From now until the end of 2018, we will finish the conformance assessment of the oral solid dosage form of generic drugs included in national essential drug lists and approved before Oct. 1, 2007. By then, the generic drugs which couldn't be approved by the assessment will lose their drug approval number. For those generic drugs that have already come to market, the same variety of generics produced by other manufacturers have to pass the quality consistency evaluation within three years after the originator's products passed the same evaluation, otherwise, their approval number will be revoked. This is a huge challenge for all enterprises. However, it also a crucial task for our country to improve our medicine quality, transform from pharmaceutical giants to a great power, and introduce Chinese made pharmaceutical preparations to the international market. For enterprises, there is not only pressure but also hope. Procuratorial Daily: Through media reports, it is not difficult for us to find the illegal and criminal acts in the food and drug field where such acts now occur frequently. One of the reasons is the related departments' lack of supervision and their administrative inaction. The specific performances include the acts of replacing criminal penalties with fines and not transferring cases to higher courts for ruling. I would like to ask Mr. Bi, in the past year, what efforts have been made by the China Food and Drug Administration to promote the link between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice? What breakthrough achievements have been made in this regard? Thank you. Bi Jingquan: The phenomenon that food and drug supervision departments are blamed for weak law enforcement or administrative inaction is a reality. However, generally speaking, food and drug supervision departments have kept forging ahead in the past few years, strengthening food and drug inspection efforts, strengthening spot checks on food and drug production enterprises, and making the results of spot checks known to the public without delay. Comparatively, good effects have still been produced. At the same time, the problems mentioned by the reporter indeed exist, such as replacing criminal penalties with fines, turning big problems into small problems and small problems into nothing. Moreover, they have a direct relationship with the current judicial system which is dominated by administrative penalties, and also have a close relationship with local protection and various interferences in the process of handling cases. During the work, we have established a good cooperative mechanism with the Ministry of Public Security to conduct cooperation in sharing information, transferring cases to higher courts for ruling and publicizing the results of punishments. Many of the cases cracked by the public security departments were based on the clues provided by the food and drug supervision departments. Recently, the China Food and Drug Administration, the Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate jointly issued a work suggestion on strengthening the link between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice, which has made clear provisions on the standards of collecting evidence, transferring cases to higher courts for ruling, exchanging information and strengthening cooperation. While handling these issues, we need to cooperate closely and more importantly increase criminal punishments for illegal acts and criminal acts in the food and drug industry. The effect of punishments can be greatly reduced if responsibilities are not held to the person concerned. Just now, you mentioned the crime committed by the Shanghai Husi Food Co. Ltd. on food safety. Actually, the company was charged with manufacturing and selling counterfeit products. A powerful deterrent cannot be produced regarding food-and drug-related crimes until acts such as adulterating foods, manufacturing counterfeit products and OEM processing are all included into crimes. I don't think the food and drug supervision departments are greedy for this kind of administrative punishment power. Actually, we are working hard to fulfill our duties and achieve our goals of safeguarding and promoting public health. Personally speaking, and from the perspective of the head of the China Food and Drug Administration, I hope all the acts of adulterating foods and selling counterfeit products will be directly declared guilty, investigated their criminal liabilities and attached the corresponding administrative punishments to these crimes at the same time. As the food and drug supervision department, we must work towards this direction to promote this work. Thank you. Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the reporters from various media outlets who attended today's press conference. Thank you for your concern, stress and support of our food and drug supervision work. I also hope that in the future you can follow, with great interest, the website of the China Food and Drug Administration. Our website is now the most authoritative platform for releasing food and drug supervision information. It is also the most timely platform in this regard. If you want to get any breaking news, just keep a close eye to our website. Thank you. Guo Weimin: Thanks to Mr. Bi and all the reporters. We hope you will do a great job in reporting the press conference. Doing a good job in ensuring food and drug safety is also the desire of society as a whole. Thank you. New Delhi, March 1 : The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday adjourned till Wednesday the hearing on a plea against an event being organised by the Art of Living foundation, headed by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, for violating environmental laws. The tribunal said it will carry out day-to-day hearing from Wednesday. The matter, which came up before the tribunal on Tuesday, was postponed for a day on technical grounds. Environmental activist Manish Mishra has moved the NGT against the event. The Art of Living is organising world cultural festival in the national capital between March 11 and 13 that is expected to be attended by 35 lakh people from 155 countries, a statement released by the foundation said. London, March 1 : Demolition teams are due to return to the French port of Calais to dismantle more makeshift shelters in the migrant camp known as the "Jungle", the media reported on Tuesday. On Monday night, riot police fired tear gas at migrants who were hurling stones at the demolition squads, BBC reported. About 100 shacks were dismantled and 12 shelters were set ablaze. More trouble broke out later as about 150 migrants, some wielding sticks and iron bars, fanned out across scrubland towards the motorway heading to the port. Authorities said the migrants mainly from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa, must move to shipping containers on another part of the site. But many fear this will require them to claim asylum in France, and give up their hopes of travelling to Britain. At least four people, including activists from the Britain-based No Borders group, were arrested during Monday's unrest, police said. The number of migrants presently living at the "Jungle" is over 5,000. New Delhi, March 1 : Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Tuesday that Pakistan has decided to send a team to India to help investigate the terror attack on an air force base at Pathankot. He also said the details of the proposed visit are being chalked out. "India has handed over all the evidences collected to Pakistan in relation to Pathankot attack. They have registered a case and decided to send a team to India. For the first time Pakistan has initiated action" after evidences were handed over by India, Rijiju informed the Lok Sabha. He, however, said that Pakistan has not yet given details such as the date or the size of the team. "We are waiting for the details. India is ready to cooperate," he said while responding to a query from BJP member Ashwini Kumar. Kumar, who represents Karnal parliamentary constituency in Haryana, said: "We all know that Pakistan government plays in hands of its army. So what is the point of handing over the evidences. They are not even in favour of good relations with India." Earlier, while responding to another query, Rijiju informed the house that the government is taking all measures to stop infiltration from the border areas of Punjab. "After Pathankot and Dinanagar terror attacks, we are taking all the measures to stop infiltration from the border areas of Punjab. There is no fencing around 12 km of the border area. With the help of BSF (Border Security Force), we are trying to make these areas more safe," he said. He also said the central government is in touch with Punjab police and all efforts are being made to stop infiltration. Washington, March 1 : US Secretary of State John Kerry has accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of obstructing deliveries of humanitarian aid in Syria, calling on him to show "some measure of decency" during the truce in the country. A February 11 agreement to implement a cessation of hostilities in Syria had already resulted in direct aid reaching 116,000 people, Kerry said on Monday. But Kerry said he was concerned over reports that the Assad regime "continues to drag its feet" in providing permits for the aid to get through. "And so we call on the Assad regime to, at least in a moment of cessation of hostilities, try to show some measure of decency, if that is even possible." "And our hope is that they will also stop their people, their troops and their officials who get in the way or manage these shipments, from actually putting their hands into the shipments and taking out medicine or other preferred items simply to keep for themselves," he said. "So this obstructionism has to stop, and we call on the Russians and the Iranians to do everything in their power to leverage their client to understand the stakes here." The cessation of hostilities between a handful of rebel groups and the Assad regime began Friday midnight (local time), excluding terrorist groups such as Islamic State and Al Nusra Front which is linked to the Al-Qaeda group. Kerry said the UN hoped its aid would reach 150,000 more people this week and 1.7 million by the end of March, "providing that we can hold on to this process". The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement on Monday that many of its requests for medical aid delivery have not been approved by the Syrian authorities. Mumbai, March 1 : Passenger automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday reported a marginal decline of 0.9 percent in its total sales for February 2016. The company sold a total of 117,451 units during the month under review -- down from an off-take of 118,551 units in the corresponding month in 2015. "During the month, the reservation agitation had disrupted component supplies, causing a temporary suspension of production by the company," the company said in a statement. "Total production loss due to this was over 10,000 units." The automobile major resumed production at its facilities in Gurgaon and Manesar on February 23. The company had to temporarily suspend manufacturing of vehicles at its flagship facilities in Manesar and Gurgaon on February 20, due to the transport and other disruption caused by the Jat community's violent agitation for reservation in jobs and educational institutions. Domestic sales during the month under review inched up by 0.2 percent to 108,115 units from 107,892 units sold in February 2015. Exports plunged by 12.4 percent during the month under review with 9,336 units being shipped out -- down from 10,659 units sold abroad in the corresponding month of last year. The sales of passenger cars fell by 3.9 percent to 87,149 units sold during last month - from an off-take of 90,728 units in the like period of 2015. The company's passenger car segment comprises of brands like Alto, WagonR, Swift, Ritz, Celerio, Baleno, Dzire, Dzire Tour, and Ciaz. On the other hand, sales of utility vehicles which comprises of brands like Gypsy, Ertiga and S-Cross augmented by 44.7 percent at 8,484 units from sales of 5,863 units during February, 2015. Off-take in the van segment, which includes Omni and Eeco, grew by 10.5 percent to 12,482 units from 11,301 units in the corresponding month of 2015. The company's scrip at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) rose by 7.85 percent to Rs.3,497 (at 3.20 p.m.) from its previous close of Rs.3,242.60. New Delhi, March 1 : Fashion designer Namrata Joshipura will showcase creations inspired by the creativity and vibrancy of New York City -- a mash-up of fascinating street style juxtaposed with the most innovative ideas in fashion, art and technology -- at the Amazon India Fashion Week (AIFW) Autumn-Winter 2016 edition here later this month. Joshipura's show will be held in association with Maybelline New York on March 19 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, read a statement from the beauty brand. The designer, who is known for global aesthetics and contemporary silhouettes with modern interpretations, will display creations which embody high-fashion New York style, complementing Maybelline's latest innovations in make-up this season. Talking about the new collection, Joshipura said: "Taking inspiration from the various hues of Color Sensational Lip Gradation by Maybelline New York, the collection has deep reds, berry tones, grape and wine used in ombre gradation in dresses, embellishments and other techniques." Joshipura is a fit for the association as she resonates the spirit, style and energy of the brand, says Pooja Sahgal, general manager, Maybelline New York - India. "We are looking forward to creating stunning ombrA beauty and fashion looks on the runway. Through the show, we hope to inspire young girls and women to express themselves, define their beauty and make it happen with make-up," Sahgal added. Sunil Sethi, president of Fashion Design Council of India, is also excited about the collaboration and he is confident that the show "will see a resplendent amalgamation of the best in beauty and fashion, and create trendsetting statements that will capture the New York panache". Jerusalem, March 1 : A Palestinian student was shot dead and 10 people were wounded on Tuesday in clashes with Israeli Border Police in a West Bank refugee camp. A military spokesman said the clashes erupted after a jeep with two Border Police soldiers entered the camp in Jerusalem, and came under attack with rocks and firebombs being hurled at them, Xinhua news agency reported. According to Israeli media, the two soldiers accidentally drove into the camp after they lost their way. A large Israeli force arrived at the camp to rescue the soldiers and opened fire at the rioters, the spokesman said. Five Israeli soldiers were injured in the violence, he added. Eyad Omar Sajadiyeh, a 22-year-old Palestinian student was shot dead, according to the Red Crescent. The incident was the latest in the five-month-old violent Palestinian conflict. At least 170 Palestinians and 28 Israelis have been killed since last October. Hyderabad, March 1 : In a major gun battle, police shot dead eight Maoists, including five women, on the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border on Tuesday, police said. A gun battle erupted around 7.30 a.m. near Guttepadu in the Chintavadu forests in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh. The scene of gun battle was 15 km from Cherla mandal in Khammam district in Telangana. It began when the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the anti-Maoist force Greyhounds and police launched combing operations in the forests of Khammam following a tip off about the presence of Maoists. The Maoists, numbering about 30, escaped in the deep forests into neighbouring Chhattisgarh. In the fighting that ensued, eight Maoists were killed. Telangana Director General of Police Anurag Sharma said the forces were conducting combing operations in the area for last four days. The slain Maoists belonging to the Communist Party of India-Maoist included five women. The bodies were airlifted to Bhadrachalam Area Hospital in Khammam where an autopsy will be conducted. Police seized one AK-47 rifle, six SLR and three .303 rifles from the scene of the gun battle. New Delhi, March 1 : A campaign against holding the next Defence Expo in Goa found an echo in parliament on Tuesday with Congress M.P. Shantaram Naik raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha. The biennial event has always been held in New Delhi but is being moved to Goa this time because its usual venue, Pragati Maidan in the national capital. is unavailable. Naik told the Rajya Sabha that villagers of Betul, specifically the Naqueri plateau, where the temporary structure for hosting the expo is being constructed, were not happy. "The villagers of Naqueri and Betul are highly agitated over the proposal of defence ministry to hold the defence exposition in their locality against their wishes," Naik said. Last week, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party in Goa, said the opposition to the holding of the event in the state was baseless because the structures would be erected only for a few days and then removed. "There is no issue of land acquisition. The opposition to the project is baseless," Goa BJP unit president Vinay Tendulkar was quoted as saying on Saturday in a media report. The event, called Defexpo India 2016, is scheduled to be held in South Goa from March 28 to 31. It is expected to be attended by over 900 companies from over 44 countries manufacturing defence equipment. Naik said in the Rajya Sabha that the state government had given the go-ahead to the event despite the fact that the proposed site belonged to the Goa Industrial Development Corporation, where construction of an industrial estate is going on. "The industrial estate is going to employ a number of locals in various types of jobs. The Goa government has apparently succumbed to the pressures of the central government to allot the land to the DefExpo 2016," Naik said. The state government has reportedly assigned to the event six lakh sq metres of land at Betul village in South Goa, about 45 km from capital Panaji. The project's critics, including some civil society organisations, claim the decision to shift the event to Goa was not taken transparently. In reply to an unstarred question, Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh said that the central government has not acquired or taken land on lease or licence for the event. Tokyo, March 1 : A Japanese sewage firm is set to launch next month collectable cards featuring pictures of manhole covers with unique designs. The unusual project led by GKP, a group including officials from local governments and the infrastructure ministry's sewage management department, the cards will be distributed for free, the Japn Times reported on Tuesday. Pictures of the manholes will be on one side of the cards, which are roughly business card size, while explanations about their designs will feature on the reverse side. The manhole designs differ from area to area, and often feature flowers and animals used as symbols in respective communities. According to Hideto Yamada, 40, a member of GKP, such manhole covers are gradually gaining popularity. The manhole cover designs are decided after asking the public for ideas, or through a competition among manufacturers of manhole covers. The first batch of manhole cards will be unveiled at a "manhole summit" to be held by GKP in Tokyo on March 19, before the April launch. Yamada said he hoped the cards will help lift public interest in the sewage system. GKP is planning to release a second batch of manhole cards in July. Kabul, March 1 : Three civilians were killed and two injured when militants fired a rocket towards Pul-e-Khumri city of Afghanistan on Tuesday morning. "The rocket fired by Taliban militants struck a house in Pul-e-Khumri, killing three members of a family and injuring two others," Xinhua quoted police spokesman Zabiullah Shoja as saying. The injured were shifted to a hospital in the city, he said. Several rockets and mortar shells have hit the city since fighting began between security forces and Taliban militants in Dand-e-Ghori and Dand-e-Shahabudin districts in the past one month. More than 3,540 civilians were killed and over 7,450 injured as violence spread to different parts of the war-torn country last year, according to a report released by the UN mission in the country on February 14. The report attributed 62 percent of the casualties to the Taliban and other insurgent groups, 17 percent to security forces while the rest 21 percent of civilian casualties were unattributed or caused by explosive remnants of the war. Ranchi, March 1 : The Jharkhand assembly was disrupted for the third consecutive day on Tuesday over the opposition's noisy protests against the alleged irregularities in the state civil services examinations. The opposition parties allege that meritorious students were rejected on technical grounds and reservation quotas were not complied with in exams for 297 posts held by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) whose results came out last week. They also demanded an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). On Tuesday, when the house assembled at 11 am, the opposition members came to the well demanding cancellation of the JPSC results. Many legislators were wearing T shirts emblazoned with slogans demanding cancellation of the JPSC results. The house was adjourned till noon. When the house again assembled at noon, the opposition members again came to the well forcing speaker Dinesh Oraon to adjourn the house till 2 p.m. The house could not run on Monday and last Friday also over the same issue. The opposition parties have made it clear that the house could not run without handing over the probe to the CBI and cancellation of the results. "One institute's students have been selected in large numbers. The reservation quota has been violated and injustice has been done to the students of Jharkhand," Kunal Sarangi, a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislator, told reporters. Echoing his view, Pradeep Yadav a legislator of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM-P) said, "Why is the government shying away from a CBI probe." "Officials' kin have been selected in the JPSC exams. Reservation quota has also been violated. How can we allow the house to run when justice has not been done to students?". The opposition parties also alleged that students of other states have been selected for the higher posts. The state government has rejected the allegations as baseless. "The examination was conducted as per the provisions made during the Hemant Soren government. The matter is also pending with the Jharkhand High Court. The opposition parties should give written suggestion to government so that we can present our view in the court," Parliamentary Affairs Saryu Rai told reporters. Islamabad, March 1 : The toll in an outbreak of water-borne and food shortage diseases has reached 165 in a district of Pakistan's Sindh province since this January. People in Tharparkar district, largely from the Hindu community, held a special prayer meeting last month and invoked divine intervention amid rising deaths of children since the government was not able to render help and improve the situation, a report in Dunya News said. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has constituted a two-member judicial commission to monitor the situation, the report said. "I have improved health services, upgraded basic health units, dispensaries and taluka hospitals by providing equipment and have doubled the budget for medicines," Qaim Ali shah was quoted to have said. Many people, mostly children, died due to the shortage of food, and the area was declared as disaster affected by the chief minister earlier also in 2012. Due to the below average rainfall in Thar in recent years, the 22,000-km desert has, as a consequence, suffered major losses of human lives and livestock. New Delhi, March 1 : Foodies in the country have a new reason to cheer for! Drawing inspiration from the culinary trend in India, a 10-day multi-city food extravaganza called 'Beyond Flavours Dining Festival' will start March 11. Brewfer.com in association with HSBC is presenting the festival, which will be held between March 11-20, and will have as many as 100 gourmet restaurants across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata participating in it. The event provides customers with an opportunity to explore the fest that mainly consists of three- or four-course meals at one's favourite restaurants across the host cities for Rs.1201. Foodies in each of the cities can take their pick from several eateries. In Mumbai, one can choose among eateries like the Sofitel, Salt Water CafA, Terttulia, Hard Rock CafA, Burma Burma, TGIF, Harry's Bar and more. In Delhi, on offer are Hard Rock CafA, Smoke House Deli, Garage Inc, Oasis & Paranda by Vivanta by Taj, Singh Sahib and more. At Bengaluru, places like Smoke House Deli, the Glass House, the Big Kahuna, the Solitaire and Italia at The Park have made it to the list; while in Pune, one can head to Hard Rock CafA, the Little Door, Euriska, TGIF, Prem's, the Ship Grill and other options. For foodies in Kolkata, places like Gharana, Multi Cuisine, Fluid at the Big Boss, the Gateway Hotel, TGIF, Aura, Serafina & Bombay Brasserie are part of the gala, and from Chennai, food afficionados can indulge in menus from places like Hard Rock CafA, Kipling Masala & CafA at ECR, Tangerine, Tuscana Pizzeria, Teppan and more. Reservations will go live on Wednesday on Brewfer.com. Los Angeles, March 1 : Lionsgate/Summit is in negotiations with "Age of Adaline" helmer Lee Toland Krieger to direct "The Divergent Series: Ascendant". Robert Schwentke, who departed the project earlier last month, directed the second instalment, "The Divergent Series: Insurgent", and the upcoming third movie, "The Divergent Series: Allegiant". Now Krieger is in talks to replace him as the director, reports aceshowbiz.com. It was reported that Schwentke dropped out of the fourth and final film because he needed to take a break after making two entries back to back and wanted to spend more time with his family here. Krieger is best known for his work on "The Vicious Kind" (2008) which he wrote and directed. He also directed "Celeste and Jesse Forever" (2012) based on a script written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack. His most recent credit was directing "The Age of Adaline" starring Blake Lively. Stars like Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Zoe Kravitz, Maggie Q and more are expected to return for "The Divergent Series: Ascendant". Its production is still on track to start this spring for a June 9, 2017 release date. Kabul, March 1 : At least 70 militants were killed as Afghan forces, after three days of fierce fighting, captured Taliban bastion in the northern Faryab province on Tuesday, a senior official said. "Finally the security forces were able to overrun Taliban bastion in Khawja Namusi early Tuesday," Xinhua quoted army spokesman Captain Sakhi Dad as saying. Three government forces men were killed and 11 injured during the clash over the past three days, Dad said. Over the past one year, Khawja Namusi had served as main Taliban stronghold in the northern Faryab province with Maimana as its capital 425 km northwest of Kabul. Taliban militants who have been fighting the government forces in several provinces including Faryab, have yet to make comment. New Delhi, March 1 : A charge sheet was filed by police in a sexual harassment case against TERI executive vice chairman R.K Pachauri, court sources said. "The charge sheet was filed before a metropolitan magistrate Shivani Chauhan in Saket court who posted the matter for April 23 for consideration," victim's counsel advocate Prashant Mendiratta told IANS. According to court sources, police has chargesheeted Pachuari under various sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty, sexual harassment, stalking, criminal intimidation and word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman. Police have cited around 23 prosecution witnesses and several SMS texts, e-mails and WhatsApp messages exchanged between the accused and victim as evidence to support their case. Pachauri was accused of sexually harassing a female colleague in 2015. He stepped down as chairperson of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February last year and proceeded on leave from TERI where he was the director general. In November, the woman researcher who accused him of sexual harassment quit her job at TERI, alleging she was treated badly. TERI denied the charge. On February 8, Pachauri was appointed as the executive vice chairman of the organisation. After severe criticism, TERI on February 12 asked him to proceed on indefinite leave. Kabul, March 1 : Former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai attended the ongoing Raisina Dialogue 2016, which began in New Delhi on Tuesday. Karzai was invited to the conference by Observer Research Foundation (ORF), an Indian think tank, which is the organising partner of the Raisina Dialogue 2016 with the Ministry of External Affairs. Besides the Afghan delegation, over 400 personalities from 40 countries and organisations have been invited to the March 1-3 event, Khaama Press reported. Envisioned as India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics, the Raisina Dialogue 2016 is designed to explore prospects and opportunities for Asian integration as well as Asia's integration with the whole world. It is predicated on India's vital role in the region and how India along with its partners can build a stable regional and world order. The 2016 conclave will focus on Asia's physical, economic, digital connectivity and fostering common global spaces with an emphasis on Asia. Jammu/Srinagar, March 1 : With the annual budget from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ignoring any special package for Jammu and Kashmir, it seems the PDP may divorce the BJP after all. Given the general disappointment in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) camp, the party appears to have come to the end of the road with regard to its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "We were expecting at least two major announcements in the union budget to set the ball rolling for government formation (in Jammu and Kashmir) after the nearly two-month-long stalemate," a former PDP minister who did not want to be named told IANS. "We expected a financial package to Jammu and Kashmir for buying back two power projects from the NHPC. We also expected announcement of two smart cities for the state. "These were not hypothetical expectations. We had been given to believe this was happening," added the PDP source. Two PDP emissaries had been camping in New Delhi for 10 days. Despite no public announcement on parleys between the emissaries and the BJP pointsman on Kashmir, general secretary Ram Madhav, it is common knowledge in the state that they were engaged in government formation negotiations. PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti told a party rally in Anantnag assembly constituency in south Kashmir on February 28 that the central government needed to carry forward the India-Pakistan peace vision of her father, the late Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, whose death as chief minister has sparked political uncertainty in Jammu and Kashmir. She said this was necessary in order to pave the way for her to don the chief minister's mantle. In the same speech, she spoke of respecting the "overwhelming mandate" given by the Jammu region in favour of the BJP, praised the freedom of expression in India in comparison to Pakistan, and spoke well of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development agenda. This was seen as Mehbooba Mufti's way of dangling the olive branch vis-a-vis the BJP and pressing for political concessions. She, however, said that her taking charge as chief minister should come with a firm promise of peace and progress, and she was not interested in mere flags, cavalcades and sirens. But despite the passage of nearly two months, the PDP has not succeeded in getting any assurance from the central government over either a financial package for Jammu and Kashmir. A senior BJP leader in Jammu said: "It is all there in the agenda of alliance and both of us (PDP and BJP) should be content with that. The union budget is a broad-based economic exercise. It can't be expected to focus on state specific issues." The BJP leader stopped short of confirming whether or not the alliance with the PDP could end on this note. There are reports that some senior leaders and former ministers are mounting pressure on Mehbooba Mufti to take power because that would give the alliance five years to deliver on promises made to the people. Mehbooba Mufti alluded to this 'internal pressure' when she told party workers on February 28 that she would not form a government for party workers and ministers but for the people of the state. Any imminent concession, either political or financial, as a precondition to let Mehbooba Mufti take up the chief ministership is now unlikely from the central government. So, will the PDP and BJP part ways? Or will they somehow make up and shake hands? (Sheikh Qayoom can be contacted at sheikh.abdul@ians.in) Jakarta, March 1 : Indonesia will deploy 14,178 officers to beef up security during the fifth summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) starting in Jakarta this Sunday. Convened under the theme "United for a Just Solution", the summit is a response to the worrying situation in Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif, which affects not only the Palestinian people, but also the world's Islamic Ummah, Xinhua reported. "Our objectives include preventing any possibilities of traffic accident, violent rally, clash, terrorism activity or misuse of gun fire, bomb and explosives, road blocking, holding hostage, kidnapping and other trans-national crimes," Colonel Czi Berlin, a spokesman for the Indonesian military, said on Tuesday. The extraordinary OIC Summit on Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif will be held in Jakarta from March 6 to 7. "This high-level summit has an international scale. Therefore, the success of holding this event will affect the dignity and credibility of Indonesia," the official said. Some 57 OIC member nations will explore approaches and strategies to counter the continuous illegal occupation and apartheid policies of the Israeli government, as well as to advance the peace process and to resolve the situation in Al-Quds Al-Sharif. The summit is expected to come forward with a resolution, which will reaffirm the principled positions of the OIC member states on the issues of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and a Jakarta declaration, which will present commitments of the leaders of the OIC member states to pursue concrete steps in support of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif. You are here: Home The Chinese government will proactively engage with Kenyan institutions and local communities to strengthen conservation of wildlife and other ecological treasures, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa said on Monday. Liu, in a commentary published by a local daily, the Daily Nation, said China will honor its earlier pledges to help Kenya and other African allies conserve their iconic wildlife species. "Like Kenya, China places a high premium on eco-environmental and wildlife protection. Chinese philosophy and cultural traditions emphasize that nature and humanity are linked," Liu said. He added that Beijing is currently working on its 13th five-year plan that roots for pursuit of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development. China is signatory to international instruments that seek to promote conservation of wildlife species currently facing the threat of illegal hunting and climate change induced vagaries. Liu noted that China has also enacted sweeping legislation to preserve rare and endangered species. "We acceded to CITES in 1981 and has signed agreements with Kenya and other countries on wildlife protection," said the ambassador, adding that China recently supported a comprehensive crackdown on illicit wildlife trade in the east and central African region. As a responsible member of the global community, China has backed strategic initiatives to help eliminate the menace of wildlife crimes in Africa. Liu said Beijing has intensified awareness campaigns on wildlife protection targeting ordinary citizens. "Last year saw two temporary bans imposed on the importation of carved African ivory and ivory products acquired as hunting trophies. The authorities also destroyed large quantities of confiscated ivory," he said. The ambassador disclosed that China has established an international fund for elephant conservation to help African countries strengthen the protection of the iconic mammal. Chinese President Xi Jinping in his address to the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit held in Johannesburg in December last year pledged additional support to promote wildlife and ecological conservation in the continent. Liu noted that lately, China and Kenya have fast-tracked the implementation of joint programs to boost wildlife protection. "The last couple of years have seen closer cooperation between China and Kenya through joint law enforcement, capacity building and public education to promote the cause of wildlife protection," said Liu. He noted that in 2014, Chinese and Kenyan law enforcement agencies busted a criminal gang that was smuggling ivory to the Asian giant. Chinese businesses and expatriates based in Kenya are part of an ambitious initiative to promote wildlife conservation and friendship with the host communities. Liu said China funded infrastructure projects have also advanced ecological protection in the Kenyan hinterland. "Chinese companies pay great attention to wildlife protection as far as construction of projects is concerned," he added. New Delhi, March 1 : The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Tuesday said that Sadhvi Prachi, who is described as a leader of the outfit, is neither a leader, nor a spokesperson or any office bearer. "The VHP again clarifies that Sadhvi Prachi is neither the leader, nor its spokesperson or any office bearer of our organisation," VHP's joint general secretary Surendra Jain said in a statement. He also said that the Sadhvi has been active in politics and had fought elections in the past too. "Sadhvi Prachi has fought election on the symbol of a political party and is active in politics. Those active in politics can't be an office bearer of the VHP," Jain said. "So, Sadhvi Prachi should not be described as VHP leader," he added. New Delhi, March 1 : AIADMK members disrupted both houses of parliament on Tuesday demanding action against former home minister P. Chidambaram and his son Karti over corruption charges. The protesting members shouted slogans in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha against the former Congress minister and his son. Soon after the Lok Sabha met for the day, AIADMK members trooped near the speaker's podium shouting "We want justice" and waving newspapers which claimed that Karti had invested in real estate across the world. Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned twice in the first hour before noon. Meanwhile, Congress members sought to know from Speaker Sumitra Mahajan the status of their notices of privilege motion against HRD Minister Smriti Irani. The Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, stood up to raise the issue but was shouted down by AIADMK members. Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu tried to pacify the Tamil Nadu MPs saying the issue could be raised later after giving proper notice. Similar scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha too, where AIADMK members disrupted the proceedings by shouting slogans demanding action against the Chidambarams. The house witnessed multiple adjournments before being adjourned for the day at 3.45 p.m. The Rajya Sabha could not conduct any meaningful business. Slogans such as "Arrest Chidambaram and his son" and "Act against Chidambaram" echoed in the house as the chairman and deputy chairman tried to conduct the proceedings amid the din. Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said: "This is a deliberate attempt on the part of the AIADMK so that we don't discuss the privilege motion." The chair kept on asking the protesting members to take their seats as the motion of thanks on President Pranab Mukherjee's speech needed to be taken up but there was no stopping the sloganeering. "Please sit down. We are going to take up an important issue," Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien pleaded. "You are behaving in the most irresponsible way. Why do you disturb proceedings in the house? It is murder of democracy, I am telling you," he added in frustration. The agitated AIADMK members refused to pay heed, leading to the house being adjourned until Wednesday morning. Kolkata, March 1 : The headquarters Bengal Area (HQ BA), one of the oldest static formations of the Indian Army in the eastern region, entered in its 122nd year on Tuesday. Raised as the Bengal Command at Fort William on March 1, 1895, by Lt. Gen. Sir W.K. Ells, the Bengal Area saw a significant contribution to operations in World War II, the India-China conflict of 1962 and the India-Pakistan War of 1971. Besides operational war time tasks, the formation also supports the logistics requirements of fighting formations and units of Eastern Command in war and peace. On the occasion, Lt. Gen. Rajeev Tewari, general officer commanding, Bengal Area addressed the ranks of the formation at a special Sainik Sammelan. The Raising Day celebration included a drawing competition for children, a blood donation camp and 'Barakhana' (feast) for families of all personnel posted at HQ Bengal Area. The HQ also is the 'local military authority' acting as a link between the state government and the army besides being the custodian of the 'Maidan' area and all army land around Kolkata. It also provides assistance to the state government in combating calamities, disasters in entire West Bengal and bordering districts of Bihar. Panaji, March 1 : Hosting the four-day Defence Expo would benefit Goa by helping it pitch itself to the international investment community, Confederation of Indian industry (CII) said on Tuesday. The CII also criticised a campaign -- led by Congress party and some civil society organisations -- against holding the event in Goa, scheduled for March 28 to 31. "Activism should be for something positive. It would be right if Goa asked for defence manufacturing units being set up by foreign companies here. Goan youth will then get the best paying jobs," CII Goa vice chariman Shekhar Sardessai told reporters here. He said the defence ministry should even consider making Goa a permanent venue for the international B2B event which would help the state make its contribution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' dream. The biennial event has always been held in New Delhi but is being moved to Goa this time because its usual venue, Pragati Maidan in the national capital, is unavailable. "Goa should try to ride the wave of 'Make in India' in defence manufacturing and bargain with the Defence Ministry to set up defence manufacturing units in Goa like the helicopter manufacturing unit in exchange for using its land," Sardessai said. DefExpo 2016 has attracted opposition from the ruling BJP-led coalition government's political opponents as well as a section of the civil society over the allocation of six lakh sq metres of land at Betul in South Goa. The project's critics claim that the dicision to shift the venue to Goa was not taken in consultation with the local people. Beijing, March 1 : China aims to build 30 nuclear power units in countries involved with the Belt and Road Initiative by 2030, China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) president Sun Qin said on Tuesday. The CNNC has reached bilateral agreements on nuclear energy cooperation with countries including Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Britain, France and Jordan, Xinhua quoted Sun as saying. More than 70 countries are planning or are already developing their own nuclear power projects, and it is estimated 130 more nuclear power units will have been built by 2020, Sun said. The CNNC is willing to cooperate with countries throughout the whole nuclear power industry chain. It will actively promote localisation of the technology and strive to establish an integrated industrial system for countries involved with the Belt and Road Initiative, Sun said. Currently China has 30 nuclear power generating units with a capacity of 28 million gw and another 24 units are under construction, all of which are on land. Mumbai, March 1 : Tata Communications said on Tuesday that its plans to sell majority stake in its Neotel to Vodacom, the South African subsidiary of Vodafone, has lapsed due to regulatory complexities in concluding the transaction. "Vodacom, South Africa and Neotel have now confirmed that the agreement between the parties has lapsed due to regulatory complexities in concluding the transaction as well as certain conditions not being fulfilled. Accordingly, the parties have agreed that the proposed restructured transaction can no longer be progressed," the company said in a regulatory filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange. "The company remains committed to its investment in Neotel and its commitment to focus on customers, partners and employees in South Africa and providing the highest levels of customer service," it added. The company on December 10, 2015 had said that Neotel and Vodacom have concluded a modified transaction and the transaction documentation relating to the restructured deal was submitted to the Competition Tribunal. Vodacom had reached an agreement to buy Neotel, controlled by Tata Communications, for 7 billion rand (around Rs.3,200 crore), in a deal that was originally signed in May 2014. New Delhi, March 1 : Non-state actors from Pakistan were involved in the Pathankot terror attack but they could not function smoothly without state support, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. "All details will come out in the National Investigation Agency probe. In this (attack), non-state actors from Pakistan are certainly involved; that is (for) sure... And any non-state (actor) can't function smoothly without state support," Parrikar said in reply to Shiv Sena member Sanjay Raut's queries. "Does the government believe it was just a terror attack or done with the help of the Pakistan Army?" Raut asked. The January 2 terrorist attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab left seven security personnel dead. Six terrorists, who attacked the base, were also killed in the gun battle lasting almost three days. Asked by a parliamentarian whether important defence force bases like in Pathankot should be shifted far from the border areas, Parrikar said: "There are bases strategically located within the country. Pathankot is equally important because it is closer to border and there is a lot of investment which has been carried out in Pathankot. It will be costly to shift (from) Pathankot." He informed the house that intelligence on the possibility of an attack on the airbase was received in advance. "We have now done a security audit in addition to the normal security. We are in the process of ensuring all installations are properly secured," the minister said. On a query on the Pathankot terror attack in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said that Pakistan had decided to send a team to India and details of the proposed visit are being chalked out. "India has handed over all the collected evidence to Pakistan in relation to the Pathankot attack. They have registered a case and decided to send a team to India. For the first time, Pakistan has initiated action after evidence was handed over by India," Rijiju said. He, however, said that Pakistan has not yet given details such as the date or the size of its team. "We are waiting for the details. India is ready to cooperate," he said, responding to a query from Bharatiya Janata Party member Ashwini Kumar. In response to another question, Rijiju said the government was taking all measures to stop infiltration from the border areas of Punjab. "After Pathankot and Dinanagar terror attacks, we are taking all the measures to stop infiltration from the border areas of Punjab. There is no fencing around 12 km of the border area. With the help of the BSF (Border Security Force), we are trying to make these areas more safe," he said. Parrikar said the central government is in touch with Punjab Police and all efforts are underway to stop infiltration. New Delhi, March 1 : Three people have been arrested for possessing 150 kg marijuana valued at Rs.15 lakh in the international market, police said on Tuesday. Vijay Kumar Jha, 23, Guddu Kumar Jha, 24, and Bijay Ghosh, 28, brought the contraband in a car from Cuttack in Odisha to supply it in Delhi, the police said. The trio, belonging to an interstate gang, was arrested near the Vijay Ghat bus stand on the Ring Road ndear the Red Fort in Delhi on Monday night. "Five white plastic bags were found inside the car they were travelling in. On checking, ganja (marijuana) weighing 150 kg was seized. Efforts are on to find out about the supplier from Odisha," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav said. Vijay and Guddu are from Bihar while Bijay belongs to West Bengal. New Delhi, March 1 : Union minister Ram Shankar Katheria on Tuesday said that he did not target any community in his speech in Agra in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. "I did not take the name of any community. I said the culprits, who murdered a VHP leader, should be given death sentence. I also said that the Hindu community should unite for their safety," the minister of state in the human resource development ministry told reporters here. "What has been published in one newspaper is false. I will send a (legal) notice to the newspaper," Katheria said while referring to a news story published in an English daily. "This is a conspiracy hatched against the Hindu community; we have to be be alert to recognise it and strengthen ourselves. We will have to fight it because if we do not do it now... today we have lost one Arun, tomorrow it could be another Arun... the killers should also go, we have to set such an example," Katheria claimed to have said in his speech. Katheria and Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Fatehpur Sikri Babu Lal had attended a condolence meeting held for local Vishwa HIndu Parishad (VHP) leader Arun Mahaur, who was killed by some youths allegedly belonging to another community in Agra on Thursday. Washington, March 1 : Warning Pakistan that anti-Afghanistan and anti-India terror groups were "stealing" its sovereignty and undermining its efforts to improve relations with its neighbours, US has welcomed Pakistan's commitment not to differentiate between terrorist groups. "Groups like the Haqqani Network and Lashkar-e-Taiba (that) seek to undermine Pakistan's efforts to foster strong, positive relations with its neighbours," Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday. "In the end, a group like the Haqqani group or Lashkar-e-Taeba or Jaish-e-Mohammad - all of these groups are literally stealing the sovereignty of a nation," he said at the inaugural session of the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue here. "And they're stealing the future of a nation. And it is important for us to stand up to them," Kerry said. While Haqqani Network is active in Afghanistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba is held responsible for the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack and Jaish-e-Mohammad is blamed for the attack on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in January. Kerry also commended Pakistan's commitment not to differentiate between terrorist groups including those targeting India, as Pakistan assured that it had reached out to India as part of its policy of a peaceful neighbourhood. "We commend Pakistan for its whole-of-government approach to implement the National Action Plan and eliminate the ability of militant groups to recruit, to finance, and to incite violence. "And we welcome Pakistan's commitment not to differentiate between terrorist groups in the implementation of this strategy," he said. Pakistan Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz said: "As an all-important part of our policy of peaceful neighbourhood, we have reached out to India. "We believe the resolution of all outstanding issues, including the Kashmir dispute, is possible through resumption of full-scale and uninterrupted dialogue with India." Pakistan "would also propose a mechanism to address our respective concern on terrorism", he said. He described the Indian participation in the Heart of Asia conference in Islamabad last December and announcement to start the comprehensive dialogue as "positive developments that augur well for peace and stability in South Asia". Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Islamabad in December was welcomed by most in Pakistan, Aziz noted. He expressed Pakistan's gratitude to Kerry and President Barack Obama "for your consistent support to the revival of the Pakistan-India dialogue". "It is unfortunate that the agreement on resuming the dialogue process was disrupted by the attack on Pathankot airbase on 2nd January," he said. Pakistan has taken some very important steps in the aftermath of this incident, he said. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had called Modi immediately after this attack and assured of Pakistan's support in the investigation. Since then, national security advisors are maintaining frequent contacts, Aziz said. A case has been registered, and the special investigation team is likely to visit India in the next few days. "We, therefore, hope that the foreign secretary-level talks will be scheduled very soon," Aziz said. (Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in) Flash President Xi Jinping will meet with US President Barack Obama as part of a Nuclear Security Summit in Washington this month, it was disclosed on Monday. Premier Li Keqiang meets with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew in Beijing on Monday. [Photo/China Daily] Premier Li Keqiang made the announcement after meeting with Jacob Lew, special representative of the United States president and the US treasury secretary, in Beijing on Monday. The meeting between the two presidents would help to improve relations between the two countries, Li said. Lew was in Beijing after attending the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Shanghai last week. At this meeting, finance officials from the member nations pledged efforts to prevent competitive devaluation of currencies and to facilitate global economic growth. The meeting between Xi and Obama will take place after the National People's Congress holds its annual session in Beijing, beginning on Saturday. The White House website said the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit will be held on March 31 and April 1 in Washington, DC. When meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week, Obama said he hoped Xi would attend the summit. Li, when meeting with Lew, said good Sino-US relations were very important for both countries, and China placed great emphasis on its economic and trade cooperation with the US, which Li described as an "accelerator" for the overall bilateral ties. Li said it was good to see that during the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors that major economies would enhance coordination on macro policies. Li also said the meeting went smoothly and had sent a stable message to international society. Geneva, March 1 : The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday that Greece is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis as disunity and inconsistency continue to mar European response plans. "For us, there is no plan B. Relocation is one of the important solidarity measures vis-a-vis Greece. Solidarity can't be just financial transfer to Greece," Xinhua cited UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) director of the bureau for Europe Vincent Cochetel as saying. "Greece needs a safety valve, and that safety valve is the orderly intake of refugees through the relocation process," he added. The EU member states agreed in September last year to a relocation scheme to alleviate the refugee and migrant crisis mainly affecting Greece and Italy, the two top EU destinations for migrant arrivals. The UN refugee agency revealed that despite commitments to relocate 66,400 refugees from Greece, states have but pledged 1,539 spaces, while only 325 relocations have actually taken place. "Countries have to wake up, there is no other plan," said Cochetel. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) figures show that 120,369 refugees and migrants, many of them Syrians fleeing conflict, have reached Greek shores since the beginning of the year. Over one million migrant arrivals were recorded in Europe in 2015, with over 850,000 in Greece. Washington, March 1 : Militant groups like Haqqani Network, Jaish-e-Mohammad are steeling the sovereignty and the future of Pakistan, US Secretary of State John Kerry said in Washington while reminding Islamabad of its commitment that it would not differentiate between terror groups. "Groups like the Haqqani network or Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, all of these groups are literally stealing sovereignty of the nation. And they are stealing the future of the nation. It is important for us to stand up to them," Kerry was quoted by Dawn News. "We welcome Pakistan's commitment not to differentiate between terrorist groups... Groups like the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba seek to undermine Pakistan's efforts to foster strong, positive relationship with its neighbours," he said. Instead of asking Pakistan to do more, SecAretary Kerry said: "We recognise that every country can do more to intensify, to destroy and defeat violent radical extremists." Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz noted: "Regrettably there is tendency to blame Pakistan in a simplistic fashion for most of these challenges. We are blamed to be pursuing a duplicitous policy." "Who would like to set one's neighbour on fire with the hope to save one's own backyard?" he asked. Chandigarh, March 1 : The Haryana government on Tuesday ordered the transfer of 10 senior police officers, including an IG and three district police chiefs, just days after the violent Jat agitation for reservation which left 30 people dead and over 200 injured. Those transferred included nine Indian Police Service (IPS) officers and one Haryana Police Service (HPS) officer. Director General, Crime, K.P. Singh has been posted as director general with the Prakash Singh committee, which has been set up to look into lapses by officials during the Jat agitation, in addition to his own duties. Inspector General (IG) Paramjit Singh Ahlawat has been posted as IG, Telecommunication. Among the district police chiefs, Sangeeta Rani is the new superintendent of police in Rewari, Jashandeep Singh Randhawa at Jhajjar and Sumit Kumar the new SP at Kaithal. Kulwinder Singh, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), west, Gurgaon has been posted as commandant, 4th India Reserve Battalion (IRB), Manesar, Gurgaon. Balwan Singh has been posted in his place with additional charge of DCP, headquarters Gurgaon. Arun Nehra has been posted as DCP, Ambala (Urban) while Sumer Partap Singh will be the new SP in Yamunanagar and Krishan Murari has been posted as SP, Commando. The Haryana government had, last week, ordered the suspension of an inspector general of police (IGP) and two deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) following the Jat agitation. Those suspended include IGP Shrikant Jadhav, who was the Rohtak range IG till recently, when the agitation took a violent turn. The two DSPs suspended are Amit Dahiya and Amit Bhatia, both posted in Rohtak town. The Haryana Police was accused of not reacting to the situation and ensuring safety of people and property as the violent protestors had a field day in arson and looting. Rohtak, Sonipat, Panipat and Jhajjar, the districts worst-hit by violence in agitation, fall under the Rohtak range. Other affected districts included Bhiwani, Hisar and Kaithal. Rohtak town, 70 km from Delhi, suffered the brunt of the mindless violence by the Jat protestors with scores of buildings, shops, malls, private hospitals, educational institutions and vehicles being set on fire and extensively damaged. New Delhi, March 1 : The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday alleged flip-flop by the then Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre in the Ishrat Jahan fake gunfight case and demanded a thorough probe into it. The probe should look into the manner in which the Centre's affidavit in the case was changed and under whose "pressure" it was done, BJP leader and union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a press conference at the party headquarters here. He alleged that the home ministry affidavit was changed at the "political level". "On behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party, we demand that (in) the entire flip-flop in the Ishrat Jahan case, a fair inquiry be done," said Prasad. Former home secretary G.K. Pillai in a recent TV interview alleged that the then home minister P. Chidambaram bypassed him and rewrote the affidavit submitted to the Gujarat High Court on the alleged gunfight of Ishrat Jahan, a 19-year-old Mumbra student, and three others on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in 2004. In August 2009, the home ministry under Chidambaram submitted an affidavit in the Gujarat High Court that referred to Ishrat Jahan's alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba links. In the second affidavit filed in September 2009, however, references to Ishrat's alleged terror links were not there. In a recent video-conferenced deposition before a Special court in Mumbai, Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Coleman Headley from the US jail said he had heard of Ishrat Jahan being a suicide bomber of LeT. New Delhi, March 1 : Terror outfit Al Qaeda on Tuesday allegedly hacked a microsite of the Railnet page of the Indian Railway to show its sinister reach for the first time. It later left the page. The hacked page of Bhusawal division of Personnel Department of the Central Railway and part of a large intranet created for the department's administrative needs, was replaced by a message of Maulana Aasim Umar, Al Qaeda chief in south Asia, for all Indian Muslims. "Why is there no storm in your ocean? A message for Muslims of India from Maulana Aasim Umar (May Allah protect him)," read the message. An attached 11-page document on the hacked page read: "Will the land of Delhi not give birth to a Shah Muhadith Delhvi who may once again teach the Muslims of India the forgotten lesson of Jihad and inspire them to take to the battlefields of Jihad?" "Is there no successor left of the group that drenched itself in blood at Balakot, who possesses the spirit of rising in rebellion against a system based on disbelief and offering one's life for Allah?," the message said. Through the message, the Muslims in India were encouraged to participate in 'jihad' and help defeat the United State and its allies. Umar was a resident of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh and was appointed chief of the Al Qaeda in the Indian sub-continent (AQIS) last year. Umar, also known as Sanaul Haq, allegedly joined the jihadist circle after the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992. Educated at the famous Dar-ul-Uloom seminary at Deoband, from where he graduated in 1991, Umar, investigators say, disappeared from Sambhal in 1995. New Delh, March 1 : The Congress on Tuesday alleged that an effort is being made to distract attention of parliament from the breach of privilege notice against Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani by targeting former home minister P. Chidambaram. In a statement, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the Narendra Modi government is "jittery" over allegations concerning its actions at the Hyderabad and Jawaharlal Nehru universities and "attempt is obviously to distract attention from Smriti Irani misleading the parliament". Referring to AIADMK members raising the issue concerning Karti, son of Chidambaram, Surjewala said if there is any evidence of any irregularity, the Jayalalithaa government in Tamil Nadu and the Narendra Modi central government are entitled to take action they deem appropriate. He said Karti is a private individual and has issued a statement stating his position. "Of course, if it is a political battle against P. Chidambaram on account of vendetta, it should be fought in the arena of politics," Surjewala said. AIADMK members disrupted both houses of parliament on Tuesday targeting Chidambaram and Karti. Soon after the Lok Sabha met for the day, AIADMK members trooped near the speaker's podium shouting "We want justice" and waving newspapers which claimed that Karti had invested in real estate across the world. Slogans were also raised by AIADMK members in the Rajya Sabha demanding action against the Chidambarams. New Delhi, March 1 : The conflict between India and Pakistan has for long prevented integration between the South Asian countries, former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga said here on Tuesday. Speaking at the inauguration of the three-day Raisina Dialogue, a global conclave on geo-politics and geo-economics here, Kumaratunga said that while cooperation and economic integration proceeded very fast in the rest of the world, economic integration in South Asia was very slow. "The India-Pakistan conflict prevented regional integration," she said. However, she said things were likely to change now with the rise of the post-Partition generation. "This generation has left behind the baggage of conflict," Kumaratunga said. Calling for a pragmatic action plan for regional integration, she said South Asia stood to gain from such an integration as the region has the largest number of poor people. The former Sri Lankan president called for a paradigm shift from the old attitude of the South Asian countries towards each other. "Mutual understanding and cooperation will strengthen democracy in the region," she said. "In the emerging regional environment, national security concerns should compel us to cooperate with each other." Reducing regional trading costs, moving beyond the differences between India and Pakistan, more travel by people between the South Asian countries and large investments in infrastructure were among the steps she suggested for regional integration. Kumaratunga said that Sri Lanka could be a bridge for all South Asian nations as it has good relations with all of them. She also called for developing of soft power through tourism and people-to-people contact. With the theme of "Connecting Asia" this year, the flagship conference called Raisina Dialogue 2016, organised by the external affairs ministry and the Observer Research Foundation, is designed to explore and examine the prospects and opportunities for Asian integration as well as Asia's integration with the larger world. Over 450 participants from around 40 countries are participating in this year's conference. New York, March 1 : An exhibition of the works of the late Mumbai-based artist Nasreen Mohamedi was launched at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or simply The Met, here on Tuesday, supported by Nita Ambani-led Reliance Foundation. The exhibition, which will be open to public from March 18 to June 5, is part of The Met's new series of modern and contemporary programmes, hosted at the landmark building designed by Hungarian architect Marcel Breuer here. Inaugurating the "historic!" exhibition, Ambani said Mohamedi had been an inspiration to her as "in a patriarchal culture she created strong and assertive works". "It is a proud moment for every Indian, especially so, for Indian women," she said expressing her strong belief that Indian art needs wider global appreciation. "The richness and diversity of Indian art is truly brilliant," she said. "Over the years, I have come to share a very special bond with the arts." Ambani said her love for art started at the age of 5 with Bharatnatyam, and her training in the Indian classical dance form "has helped me develop a deep appreciation for all forms of art, leading to what we do at the Reliance Foundation today". Her husband Mukesh Ambani and she believed that "social sector development is most important for India as its economy grows. It is integral to building an inclusive India". That is why they established Reliance Foundation in 2010 with the vision of sustainable development and economic growth. Working in the areas of rural transformation, health, education, sports, arts and culture, and disaster response, the Foundation has already transformed the lives of over 6 million Indians, she said. Sheena Wagstaff, the chair of the Met's modern and contemporary division, apparently got Nita Ambani interested in the whole project. "One of our goals with The Met Breuer is to present thoughtful exhibitions that posit a broader meaning of modernism across vast geographies of art," Wagstaff said. "The poignant story of Mohamedi, a relatively little-known but significant artist, reveals a highly-individual artistic quest, drawing on historic sources from across the world, alongside her evocative photography as an unexpected form of visual note-taking." The exhibition is being co-hosted by the Queen Sofia Museum of Spain and the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. "One of the most significant artists to emerge in post-Independence India, Nasreen Mohamedi (1937-1990) created a body of work that demonstrates a singular and sustained engagement with abstraction," The Met said. What has come for praise is her minimalist practice, which not only adds a rich layer to the history of South Asian art, but also enrages the scope of the narratives into international modernism. Mohamedi's inspirations came from poetry of Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke and French philosopher-author Albert Camus, as also classical music and the modernist architecture of Le Corbusier's Chandigarh. Mohamedi is also believed to have had an exposure to Western and Eastern philosophy, poetry and literature, which can be seen in her diaries that include quotes by Rumi, Ghalib, and Mohammad Iqbal. Kolkata, March 1 : Attacking the Mamata Banerjee government over the dismal industrial scenario in West Bengal, the BJP on Tuesday began a four day march to Singur in Hooghly district. Ahead of the assembly polls in the state, the BJP's youth is undertaking the march to highlight the "flight of capital from the state", "rampant lawlessness" besides demanding jobs for youth. Addressing the march, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya blamed the Trinamool Congress regime for the "prevalent lawlessness in Bengal where nobody was safe". With the arrival of the central armed forces, Vijayvargiya assured the coming assembly polls will be fair and peaceful. "Earlier people could not vote in Bengal because of the goons. But now the central forces have arrived and undertaking marches in the districts. Whoever now will indulge in goondaism will be given a befitting reply. "There is no need to fear, the central forces are here, the elections will be fair this time," said Vijayvargiya who also hit out at the Trinamool over the chit fund scam. Party national secretary Rahul Sinha said the only industry flourishing under the Trinamool regime was "bomb-making". The march will culminate on Friday at the Tata Nano manufacturing site in Singur from where the automaker had to relocate its plant to Gujarat following sustained anti-acquisition movement by the Trinamool in 2008. Islamabad, March 1 : At least 10 people were killed and 42 others injured in three road accidents in Pakistan's Punjab province on Tuesday, local media reported. Urdu TV channel 92 News said that eight people were killed and 20 others injured when an oil tanker crashed into a van near Vehari area of Punjab. The report added that the oil tanker's driver lost control over the vehicle as it was over-speeding and crashed head-on into the passenger van coming from opposite direction. Separately in Hafizabad city, 14 school kids were injured when a passenger van and a school bus collided and the school bus overturned. The accident happened when the school bus tried to overtake the van. The third accident happened on motorway near Sheikhupura city where two people were killed and eight others injured in a pile-up of vehicles. Police said that 10 vehicles, including a bus, a van and eight cars, hit one another at the motorway due to dense fog. The injured people were shifted to a nearby hospital while the pile-up disrupted road traffic for a few hours. Road accidents happen frequently in Pakistan due to poorly maintained roads, violation of road safety rules and reckless driving. You are here: Home Flash Somalia's security forces on Monday arrested six Al-Shabaab suspects in connection to the deadly twin blasts in the Baidoa town in south-Somalia's central Bay region. Abdullahi Ali Watin, District Commissioner of Baidoa town, told reporters that the security forces conducted massive operations against terrorist elements inside the town, and held six members of the militant group of Al-Shabaab, whom they believe masterminded the deadly attacks. "Some of the suspects have been questioned and are giving crucial information. This is initial progress, but further investigation is continuing," Watin added. Al-Shabaab militants carried out two heavy explosions at social gatherings situated in the center of Baidoa town Sunday, killing over 30 and injuring 42 others. Both the Somalia government and AU mission in Somalia have condemned the attacks. Lucknow, March 1 : A man poisoned his wife and son and killed himself in the state capital due to an unpaid bank loan, police said on Tuesday. The tragedy occurred in Simra in Madiyaon area where Naresh (30), Kalpana (28) and their son Rohtash (11) were found dead in their house. The crime came to light when Naresh's younger brother knocked at the house door but did not receive a response. He called the police, who broke into the house to find the three bodies. Family members said Naresh was tense owing to a loan he had taken from a private bank. He was unable to pay the instalments and bank officials had allegedly sent musclemen recently to threaten the family, they said. New Delhi, March 1 : The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday alleged flip-flop by the then Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre in the Ishrat Jahan shootout case and demanded a thorough probe into it. The probe should look into the manner in which the Centre's affidavit in the case was changed and under whose "pressure" it was done, BJP leader and union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a press conference at the party headquarters here. He alleged that the home ministry affidavit was changed at the "political level". "On behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party, we demand that (in) the entire flip-flop in the Ishrat Jahan case, a fair inquiry be done," said Prasad. Citing former home secretary G.K. Pillai's recent TV interview, Prasad said the second affidavit came at the level of former home minister P. Chidambaram. He said a former home ministry official (Pillai), who signed the affidavits, told a news channel that he was "tortured" during the probe to ascertain if Ishrat Jahan was killed in a fake gunfight. Prasad alleged that there was a conspiracy to name Narendra Modi, who was then the Gujarat chief minister, in the case. He said that Pakistani-American terrorist turned approver David Coleman Headley said in his deposition in a Mumbai court that Ishrat Jahan was an Lashkar-e-Taiba activist. Prasad alleged that there was an attempt to raise questions on the information flow of intelligence agencies concerning terror networks. "Can a home minister behave in such irresponsible manner? We allege that Chidambaram was not doing it himself. He had directions from the top Congress leadership," Prasad alleged. Pillai in his recent TV interview alleged that Chidambaram bypassed him and rewrote the affidavit submitted to the Gujarat High Court on the alleged gunfight in which Ishrat Jahan, a 19-year-old student of Mumbra college, and three others were shot dead on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in 2004. In August 2009, the home ministry under Chidambaram submitted an affidavit to the Gujarat High Court that referred to Ishrat Jahan's alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba links. The position taken by the home ministry in the subsequent affidavit was in sharp departure from the position it took in its earlier affidavit. Countering allegations of Prasad, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said it was for the courts to decide if Ishrat Jahan was guilty. "But that courts would have done if she was alive," he said. He said India's democracy was strong and resilient enough to try and punish its worst enemies. The Congress leader said that a district judge of Ahmedabad who investigated the gunfight had found it to be fake. He said the Gujarat government went in appeal against that order and in the court-monitored investigation, same findings were upheld. New Delhi, March 1 : Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday unveiled bar codes for unreserved tickets to prevent fraud and a rail auto hub near Chennai. "This new bar coding system on unreserved rail tickets will stop possible fraudulent activities which will help in more railways revenue," said Prabhu through a video link at Rail Bhavan. Bar coding facility on unreserved tickets is available at nominated counters in New Delhi and Nizamuddin railway stations. Prabhu also inaugurated the rail auto hub at Walajabad railway station, near Chennai, of the Southern Railway as announced in his rail budget for 2016-17. "Chennai is our initial step and Indian Railways is further working on how to get more auto transportation onto the railway track," said Prabhu. Spread over 5,000 square metres, the hub has a capacity to load 300 four-wheelers and is located near the Nissan, Hyundai, Ford and Daimler Chrysler auto plants. Islamabad, March 2 : At least two local employees of the US consulate were killed when their vehicle was hit by a bomb in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of Mohmand Agency on Tuesday, officials with the US consulate said. The officials said that the victims, who were on drug eradication mission, were employees of the US consulate in the provincial capital Peshawar of the country's North West Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The employees were working for a USAID-funded poppy-eradication project in Ambar town of Mohmand Agency, a tribal area along Pakistan-Afghanistan border, when their vehicle was targeted by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), Xinhua reported. Three men were also injured in the blast, but it has not been revealed whether they were the consulate employees or the soldiers who were guarding them on the mission. The injured people were shifted to a nearby hospital. Jamatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. Country locations are set to outperform London as the prime property markets enter the next stage of the housing cycle, according to a new analysis report. Stamp duty changes introduced in the 2014 autumn Statement have had a bigger impact than many forecast, the effect initially being masked by the uncertainty in the run up to the General Election, according to the report from property firm Savills. However, it points out that both the prime housing markets of London and the country have reacted relatively rationally to the changes. Indeed, small price falls were recorded in the higher value markets where the stamp duty liability has increased but by contrast, in the lower value prime markets where there is now a tax saving, values have continued to rise, albeit at a slower rate than in 2014. The challenges faced by the prime markets of late are reflected by the fact that the total value of housing stock in Kensington and Chelsea fell in 2015, though the loss of 693 million is dwarfed by the gains of 68 billion over the preceding 10 years, the report explains. Transaction levels, though undoubtedly lower than in 2014, have not collapsed as some would argue. Figures from the Land Registry indicate a 5 to 10% fall above 1 million across England and Wales. While this suggests there is still a market for appropriately priced stock, it also means we are unlikely to see cuts to rates of stamp duty at the top end, said Sophie chick of Savills research team. Indeed, in the 2015 autumn Statement, more stamp duty changes were announced for buyers of additional homes (second homes and buy to let) causing further small price falls in markets with high concentrations of such buyers in the last quarter of last year, she explained. Chick pointed out that to understand what lies ahead it is helpful to look back and identify what happened between 2002 and 2005 when the market was at a similar stage in the housing cycle. In prime London, over the three and a half year period from June 2002, prices increased by just 5%. Currently, average values have seen no net growth since the first quarter of 2014, so if the market follows a similar trend we would expect prime London values to remain broadly flat through 2016 and most of 2017, she said. Over the same period, prices in the prime country markets outperformed London with an average increase of 17%. We expect a similar trend this time round as the ripple effect took hold and more equity flows to the housing markets beyond London, she explained. The analysis shows that in terms of how residential value is concentrated, Kensington and Chelsea sits far ahead of any other borough or local authority across the UK, not just by virtue of high property prices but also the relative density of housing in the borough. The combination of the two means that on average in each square kilometre of the borough, there is over 9.3 billion of residential property. The strong price growth across London in the past decade means that Watford, which surprisingly has the highest concentration of residential property value of any local authority beyond the capital, is preceded by 27 of Londons 33 boroughs in a list of value per square kilometre. High housing density rather than high property prices propels Watford up the league table. That puts it ahead of more obvious candidates such as Oxford and Cambridge, where green space and the concentration of heritage assets mean much lower housing densities, but act as a magnet to those relocating from London, chick pointed out. She also explained that the key corresponding difference between Watford and Oxford and Cambridge is the level of net housing wealth they hold, with Watford carrying far more mortgage debt relative to the value of its housing at 28% compared to 16%. Of the 10 areas with the highest concentrations of housing value beyond London, only the high value semi-suburban areas of Elmbridge and Epsom and Ewell have a housing density of less than 1,000 dwellings per square kilometre. Still they deliver substantially higher concentrations of residential value and net housing wealth than the centres of Manchester and Birmingham, which by comparison have been slow to benefit from the ripple effect out of London, Chick added. Properties in Peterborough and Milton Keynes are selling faster than anywhere else in the UK, taking a median average of just 13 days for a sale to be agreed, new research shows. A key factor is that both towns are considered an easy commute to London, as home buyers and property investors alike look to move out of the capital in search of better value, according to the research by Home.co.uk. Bristol is another area where property sells fast with city having five out of the top 10 postal districts in the firms property hotspot list of fastest selling location outside of Greater London. This includes the BS2 postcode area, which is next to the city centre's university, suggesting that the buy to let market for student accommodation is a strong motivator for buyers in Bristol. The continued interest in investing in student accommodation is also a factor in the Woodley area of Reading being named another property hotspot. In this area of the city, which is close to Reading University, it takes just 15 days to sell, in terms of the median average. Suburban Glasgow is another property hotspot. Clarkston and Giffnock, which are both affluent areas to the south of the city centre, take two top 10 spots in terms of median average time to sell outside of Greater London. Greater London's property hotspots are also dominated by suburban areas, showing heightened interest in commuter belt homes, the research report says. But while 10 areas outside of Greater London have a median average time to sell of 15 days or less, just two areas of the capital, Uxbridge and Sidcup, have such a quick turnaround. This research shows that properties in the UB7 area of Uxbridge, near to Heathrow Airport, and the DA15 area of Sidcup take only 15 days to sell. Sidcup takes one further Greater London top ten property hotspot place, with nearby Dartford claiming two places and Bexley, which is also near to Sidcup, another spot. The remaining top 10 places also show how popular such commuter belt districts are. Sutton has two postal code areas ranked among this elite group, while Romford and Kingston-upon-Thames claim the remaining places in terms of median average time on the market. Our figures show that the really hot areas in the current property boom are now outside of the M25. These top sellers' markets are typically well to do districts where already premium prices are going through the roof, as buyers compete for the very limited supply of properties for sale, said Doug Shephard, the firms director. Flash At least 30 people were killed and 42 others injured in twin blasts which hit popular restaurants in Baidoa town in the south-central bay region of Somalia, local officials said Monday. Somali civilians walk past a wreckage car after the attack on SYL hotel on February 27, 2016 in Mogadishu, Somalia. [Photo/Xinhua] Mayor of Bay region Abdirashid Abdullahi told Xinhua by phone that most of the killed are civilians. "The death toll has risen to 30 with 42 others injured, the explosions took place at busy restaurants in the city," Abdullahi said. According to the mayor the first blast was caused by a car bomb while the second was carried out by a suicide bomber, noting the troops carried out operations in the city and arrested the suspects. "We have arrested some people who we believe conducted the attacks. The troops are still launching operations in Baidoa town," the mayor added. Residents said troops are carrying out search operations in the city which was last night deserted for fear of more attacks. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack. "Somali troops started huge operations this morning arresting many people, some of them were nabbed from their homes, and the movement of the trade in the city is very low, because commercial sites are closed." Baidoa resident Siidow Nor told Xinhua. The blasts come after two massive explosions rocked a popular restaurant and neighboring park in Somali capital Mogadishu on Feb. 26, which killed at least 12 people and wounded nearly 30 others. The attacks were claimed by Al-Shabaab militants linked to Al-Qaida. The African Union on Monday condemned the latest terror attack in Baidoa town, with the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui calling for aggressive operations against Al-Shabaab militants to be fast-tracked. Mazda Canada has been a great partner for years through our supply chain services, and we are excited they have chosen to expand that relationship by adding the CollisionLink Solution Set to their network of dealers OEConnection LLC (OEC), the parts ecommerce technology leader for original equipment manufacturers (OEM) distribution networks, announced today that Mazda Canada Inc. (MCI) has selected the CollisionLink online parts ordering and fulfillment solution for its network of dealers. Through a parts marketing program powered exclusively through CollisionLink, 165 Canadian Mazda dealers will be able to offer competitive pricing on eligible OE parts against non-OE parts. Mazda Canada joins five other automakers in Canada and represents the twentieth automotive dealer network in North America to facilitate a parts marketing program through CollisionLink. Mazda Canada has been a great partner for years through our supply chain services, and we are excited they have chosen to expand that relationship by adding the CollisionLink Solution Set to their network of dealers, said Jon Palazzo, OEC Vice President, National Accounts. We anticipate that CollisionLink and our parts marketing technology will help Mazda Canada increase their parts market share and help their dealers improve efficiency, increase customer service and drive more OE parts sales, Palazzo added. We chose the CollisionLink solution from OEC because the Mazda parts marketing program has had great success with CollisionLink among its U.S. Mazda dealer network, said Don MacPhee, MCI Director Service and Parts Operations. Our dealers are looking forward to utilizing CollisionLink so that they can provide a higher level of customer experience and supply competitively-priced Mazda genuine collision parts, MacPhee added. The Mazda collision parts program will be available to Mazda Canada dealers in March 2016 with support available in English and French. ### About OEC OEConnection (OEC) is the leading parts ecommerce technology provider for OEM distribution networks, serving over 20 OEMs and 100,000 dealership and repair customers. Customers use OEC solutions millions of times each month to access real-time, dynamic pricing and to market, manage and move original equipment parts, facilitating an estimated $20 billion in annual replacement parts trade. The company is headquartered in the greater Cleveland area at 4205 Highlander Parkway, Richfield, Ohio, 44286. Additional information is available at http://www.oeconnection.com or by emailing Geo Money at Geo.Money(at)oeconnection(dot)com. About Mazda Canada Inc. Mazda Canada Inc. is responsible for the sales and marketing, customer service and parts support of Mazda vehicles in Canada. Headquartered in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Mazda Canada has a nationwide network of 165 dealerships. For additional information visit Mazda Canadas media website at http://www.media.mazda.ca. DMG Productions announced today the upcoming airing of Innovations with Ed Begley, Jr., scheduled to broadcast on Monday, March 7, 2016 at 7:30aET/7:30aPT via Discovery Channel In this episode, Innovations will focus on the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP). Viewers will learn about USCAPs dedication to creating a better pathologist through its mission to provide the ultimate in continuing education and translational research to improve practices and patient outcomes. Next, the show goes behind the scenes to learn about flow cytometry, which plays an essential role in the development of modern medicines. This segment will spotlight FlowMetric experts in flow cytometry, and will teach about how cytometry is altering the face of clinical trials, providing scientists with an unprecedented insight into safety, drug action, and efficacy. In addition, audiences will be educated on the world of biotechnology, as Innovations explores Delaware Biotechnology Institute, a place where scientific discoveries are pursued to address some of societys most pressing problems related to human health, agriculture, and energy and the environment. "This episode is full of scientific exploration and discovery, said Michele Nehls, Senior Producer for the Innovations TV Series. We look forward to enlightening audiences on these revolutionary advances taking place throughout the medical community. About Innovations & DMG Productions: Innovations, hosted by award winning actor Ed Begley, Jr., is an information-based series geared toward educating the public on the latest breakthroughs in all areas of society. Featuring practical solutions and important issues facing consumers and professionals alike, Innovations focuses on cutting-edge advancements in everything from health and wellness to global business, renewable energy, and more. DMG Productions (responsible for creating the Innovations show) includes personnel specialized in various fields from agriculture to medicine, independent films to regional news and more. Our field producers work closely with experts in the field to develop stories. This powerful force enables us to consistently produce commercial-free, educational programming that both viewers and networks depend on. For more information visit: http://www.InnovationsTelevision.com or contact Michele Nehls at: (866) 496-4065 x 822 or via email at: michele(at)innovationstelevision.com. Conformiq and iRise have partnered to deliver an integrated solution for software testing. This Conformiq / iRise integration is the fastest way to automated software testing success. iRise provides a platform for collaboration around prototypes, diagrams and requirements. Conformiq 360 Test Automation provides the most sophisticated and comprehensive automated test design solution in the industry, enabling the next generation of testing for complex environments. Mark Creamer, CEO of Conformiq, commented iRise is an excellent partner for Conformiq, with technology that helps ease deployment of automated software testing. Together, we can better serve our clients in enterprise IT, and deliver significant value to the market. The new integration with Conformiqs automated testing platform fits perfectly into our strategy of extending the power of collaborative prototyping throughout the entire SDLC, said Maurice Martin, CEO and Founder at iRise. Teams can now generate test cases from the iRise prototype that can then be seamlessly carried forward through design, development and testing. This new partnership should dramatically increase the quality and speed of our customers testing process. Advantages for business analysts include the ability to quickly and easily prototype system functionality based on requirements; visualize and prototype rapidly with streamlined model capture; avoid programming, yet model interactive specification of systems with sufficient detail for test generation; and validate (iRise) models to identify any process or specification errors. For test analysts, this new integrated solution is a way to import iRise prototypes / models into the Conformiq cockpit; dramatically speed up test planning; synchronize business analysts and test planners using a common language; accelerate time to value, through simplified adoption of model-based testing; and automatically generate test scripts and documentation, with customized exports. For testers, the partnership delivers capability to automate tests for execution; automatically generate user interface and functional test scripts and documentation from the iRise prototype; use and reuse iRise prototypes throughout the software development life cycle (SDLC) for accurate requirements validation and testing; automatically update tests when the specification (iRise model) changes; and to upload and link tests to test management tools automatically. Deployment of the Conformiq / iRise integrated solution allows users to prototype business operations in iRise and iteratively import these models as-is into Conformiq, then debug, validate, and improve the iRise models, and automatically generate tests, scripts and documentation with Conformiq. Users can export test documentation for business analysts and other team members, upload documentation automatically to test management tools, use tests and scripts for test execution, and run tests on the actual application or software system under test (SUT) with Conformiq. The new integrated Conformiq for iRise is the fastest way from requirements to automated testing. Please contact Conformiq about getting started with Conformiq 360 Test Automation and iRise. About iRise iRise is an enterprise visualization software and services company that works with many of the most recognizable brands in the world, helping business and IT departments better communicate, collaborate, and ultimately deliver better software in less time. iRise is the only solution that allows all stakeholders to collaborate, adapt and innovate on their vision in real time throughout the entire software delivery process. Headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., iRise is backed by Morgan Stanley Venture Partners and Deutsche Bank, and has sales offices across North America and in London. For more information, visit http://www.iRise.com. About Conformiq Conformiq is transforming software testing with Conformiq 360 Test Automation, providing the most sophisticated and comprehensive automated test design solution in the industry. The unique Conformiq 360 Test Automation technology enables the next generation of testing: transforming, streamlining and automating even the most complex system-level testing environments. Conformiq 360 Test Automation improves efficiency with a 40% faster test case development cycle; enables delivery of higher quality code through 50% more defects found; increases manageability with 50% better collaboration: and reduces costs with a 400% return on investment. Conformiq serves enterprise IT, communications and embedded software markets worldwide. Privately-held Conformiq is headquartered in San Jose, California, with a worldwide delivery and support organization including offices in Finland, Germany, Sweden, and India. Visit Conformiq at http://www.conformiq.com. PAGAL (Pakistani Anti-Grooming & Abuse League) is pleased to announce that it has today formally re-branded itself and will now be known as People's Anti-Grooming & Abuse League. PAGAL was launched in April 2015 by a group of concerned British Pakistanis, with backing from some leading businesses, with the sole aim of raising awareness in order to prevent young girls from being sexually abused. Since being launched, the PAGAL campaign has made considerable progress, been featured in various media outlets and also received a letter from UK Prime Minister David Cameron's office acknowledging its work. Tanweer Khan, founder and chairman of PAGAL commented "Over the last 10 months, we have observed that child sexual abuse is indeed a huge global problem - spanning all communities, races and religions. As such, we decided that our name needed to better reflect this. In fact, this name change is in direct response to feedback that we received from the public, particularly from Facebook users where we currently have over 240,000 likes and that number is growing every day." The PAGAL campaign has distributed thousands of leaflets highlighting the dangers of grooming and abuse, and held a very successful and well-attended stall at the London Mela in September 2015. Mr. Khan continued "Originally we chose the name PAGAL, as it means crazy, mad or passionate on the sub-continent. For the sake of continuity, we have kept this acronym as during our research we found that similar sounding words in various other languages can mean burdened, hope, strength and even daylight. All of these words seem somewhat appropriate when you are dealing with a subject as nefarious as child sex abuse. For more information, please contact PAGAL on +44 (0) 8450 940 870, http://www.pagal.org.uk About PAGAL PAGAL (People's Anti-Grooming & Abuse League) is the worlds first and only community led and voluntary operated organisation dedicated solely to raising awareness of and tackling sexual abuse. PAGALs mission is to empower the community to recognise and eliminate behaviour patterns that support a culture of grooming and abuse of young girls. Nouveau Eyewear Logo Nouveau has a 30-year tradition of excellence in the frame industry," said Marty Bassett, CEO and President of Walman Nouveau Eyewear has unveiled its new brand identity. The branding reflects an exciting and significant chapter in Nouveau Eyewears history after its acquisition by Walman, the nations largest independent eyecare company. The new brand identity complements Walman and its other six divisions: Walman Optical, Walman Instruments, X-Cel Specialty Contacts, ImageWear, ADO Practice Solutions and Ultra Optics. Nouveau Eyewear is a natural addition for Walman, said Marty Bassett, CEO and President of Walman. Nouveau has a 30-year tradition of excellence in the frame industry. Together we can leverage our combined strengths to offer customers unmatched quality and convenience in every category of the optical business. The new Nouveau Eyewear brand exemplifies its future and the focus we have on the success of our customers and the optical industry. The new brand identity will first appear this month in trade advertising, corporate communications, online at http://www.NouveauEyewear.com and across all social media sites supported by Nouveau Eyewear. About Walman: We are a family of optical companies with a 100-year history of excellent relationships built on enduring trust and added value. Each of our businesses is guided by the same core principles and single vision: to be the most trusted business partner in the industry. Please visit our website for more information: http://www.walman.com. About Nouveau Eyewear: Nouveau Eyewear is a leading provider of quality frames to eyewear retailers, optical laboratories and independent opticians. Nouveau Eyewear is dedicated to offering designs for all lifestyles with innovative features, materials and the highest standard of quality. A member of the Vision Council of America, Nouveau Eyewear is based in Carrollton, Texas. This is genuinely revolutionizing for the wig industry! Wigs.com, the industry leader in wigs and alternative hair, launches the Prime Power Collection by Ellen Wille, the top wig brand in Europe. The Prime Power Collection is a revolutionary blend of pure human hair enhanced with premium synthetic hair fiber. The new collection includes 3 wigs, a bang and a top piece: Illusion, Spirit, Mood, True and Real. Known for its quality, style and innovation, Ellen Willes new Prime Power Collection offers the best of both worlds for wig wearers. Prime Hair is the perfect blend of pure human hair and premium synthetic fiber. Due to its unique blend, Prime Hair keeps the shape and style longer, even after washing. Illusion, Spirit and Mood feature a very thin hand-knotting with a new, innovative lace front that seamlessly blends into the front part, replacing the well-known monofilament. The cap is adjustable and lightweight, providing comfort with a custom fit. True is an ultra-lightweight, face framing bang with a monofilament base and three pressure sensitive clips for a secure fit. Real is the perfect feathery and fine top piece that adds volume and seamlessly integrates with your own hair. We are so excited about the debut of the Prime Power hair, said Carliz Sotelo Teague, CEO & Founder of Beauty & Hair. It is like nothing you have ever felt before. You get the best of both worlds as the benefits of both human hair and synthetic hair are perfectly combined. This is genuinely revolutionizing for the wig industry! Urjanet is critical to our growth strategy. Utility Management Corporation (UMC), a full-service energy management firm, and Urjanet, the worlds leading provider of automated utility data, today announced a partnership to fuel UMCs utility bill payment and processing solution with Urjanets utility invoice data. Leveraging Urjanets high quality and timely data, UMC can support a larger volume of business and better service its clients with more accurate data. Urjanet is critical to our growth strategy, said Howard Randolph, CEO of Utility Management Corporation. Prior to Urjanet, we received bills in our P.O. boxes, scanned the invoices into our database, and then manually keyed the data into our software system. By partnering with Urjanet, we can automate and bypass those processes, which enables us to provide more reliable data to our clients and cost-effectively increase our bandwidth to add more clients. Founded in 1988 as an energy broker, UMC entered the data management business in 2004 serving the multifamily market. Since that time, UMC has grown the variety of market segments it services to include healthcare, manufacturing, commercial real estate, hospitality, banking, and more. Were excited to help UMC drive growth and alleviate the companys pain points with utility data collection, said Erik Becker, VP of Sales at Urjanet. Not only will Urjanets solution support UMCs bill payment and processing service, but it will also give UMC easy access to historical bill data for clients that utilize UMCs energy procurement practice. Aggregating utility data internally can have a variety of hidden costs that inhibit business expansion. One such cost is the overhead of employing data entry professionals, which have a national average salary of $29,000, as reported by Glassdoor. According to Groom Energy, data acquisition can consume up to 50% of the overall cost of an energy or sustainability management project and can pose serious risks to its success. Manual data entry possesses further drawbacks with slow turnaround time and poor data quality. We ultimately selected Urjanet for several reasons, said Randolph. One, we can depend on them in the long run. Two, they have superior data accuracy, and three, they have the most leading edge data aggregation technology on the market. UMC will receive automatically collected bill data from Urjanet for natural gas, electricity, water, and sewage and is currently exploring new opportunities with Urjanet to automate the acquisition of data from other types of invoices. ABOUT UTILITY MANAGEMENT CORPORATION Utility Management Corporation (UMC) is an independent full-service energy management and brokerage firm that specializes in working with clients to manage and reduce their utility expenses. Headquartered in Jackson, MS, UMC has been providing solutions in the face of uncertain energy markets for nearly 30 years. UMC has a successful track record of helping commercial facility owners and operators manage energy supply risks and rates and capitalize on the competitive climate of deregulated energy markets. As one of the few companies combining energy management and bill payment services, we tailor our programs specifically to the changing needs of our clients. ABOUT URJANET Urjanets mission is to provide the world with easy access to automated utility data. Our cloud-based platform connects directly to utilities to seamlessly acquire and normalize disparate utility bill and interval data. The processed data is delivered directly to industry-leading business applications. Public and private organizations across the world use Urjanet data to achieve sustainability goals and reduce energy consumption and cost. Urjanet is rapidly becoming the global standard for utility data and powers applications from the leading energy and sustainability solutions providers. Urjanet is a privately-held company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit http://www.urjanet.com. Object storage is essential in todays connected world, with more applications generating media-rich files on a near-constant basis. Green House Data, a national provider of cloud hosting, colocation, and managed IT services, today released its latest improvement to the gBlock cloud hosting platform with gScale Object Storage, enabling highly scalable, cost-effective storage for documents, media files, video, and other unstructured data. The new storage modes will also make it easier for users to move clouds between Green House Data and Amazon Web Services Swift-compatible storage environments. Were thrilled to offer customers a new way to take advantage of on-demand cloud infrastructure, said Green House Data CTO Cortney Thompson. Object storage is essential in todays connected world, with more applications generating media-rich files on a near-constant basis. Midsize enterprises that want to keep their on-premises backup software should leverage public cloud IaaS object storage to reduce on-site backup infrastructure and/or eliminate tape backup, notes James A. Browning, VP Distinguished Analyst at Gartner, et al. In addition, using the inexpensive object storage offered by public cloud IaaS providers to replace off-site tape backup is the primary driver for the cloud backup use case. * Object storage is distributed, meaning it treats all available hardware and disk drives, and treats files as containers, or buckets, rather than traditional storage, which is highly organized into directories. This allows better performance with less metadata attached to each file. We named our object storage platform gScale because it is virtually infinite in its scalability. If you have petabytes of information that you need to access with some regularity, gScale is going to be the ideal cloud storage platform, said Thompson. Object storage platforms also allow web interface access from anywhere with an internet connection, allowing convenient retrieval of files. gScale Object Storage is the third storage option attached to the gBlock Cloud, joining traditional file storage and block storage. The data center provider also offers four tiers of block storage so customers can maximize cost savings and performance depending on the application requirements. ABOUT GREEN HOUSE DATA With data center facilities and cloud installations across the country, Green House Data is uniquely positioned to handle new, legacy, and location-based IT workloads, and offer disaster recovery services anywhere in North America. The company is a certified VMware provider, SSAE 16 Type II and HIPAA compliant, as well as a B-Corp and EPA Green Power Partner. Visit http://www.greenhousedata.com to learn more. *Predicts 2016: IT Solutions That Help Midsize Organizations Optimize Resources, by James A. Browning, Mike Cisek, Federica Troni, Richard Marshall, Annette Jump, Pushan Rinnen, October 2015 Adam LaZarre The insight, expertise and guidance Adam brings to Kazzit is immeasurable and tremendously respected, said Babak Motamedi, Kazzit CEO Kazzit, Inc, the international winery guide and home to over 8,500 wineries is an extraordinary user-friendly proprietary platform, which provides the most efficient way to make wine tasting reservations, and discover wine events. Kazzits comprehensive curation of wineries thrills users and takes them from living room to the tasting room of their choice. Kazzit proudly announces the addition of Paso Robles winemaker Adam LaZarre, to their executive team. Adam LaZarre, is one of Californias most celebrated wine makers and is an honored addition to Kazzits already talent-packed advisory board. The veteran vintners experience and insight will undoubtedly add even greater depth to the sites outstanding array of services. Adam LaZarre, a native of New York Finger Lakes region, relocated to California to pursue his passion for winemaking, and has since acquired over 20 years experience creating award-winning vintages. The fruits of his expertise may be savored in superb wines such as those carrying the Fat Monk, Cycles Gladiator, Rex Goliath, and self-named LaZarre labels. In addition to being named Winemaker of the Year (Sacramento Bee), a Top Five Winemaker (San Francisco Chronicle) and one of the 100 Most Influential People in the U.S. Wine Industry (IntoWine.com), LaZarres skill has earned him accolades on the international stage. To date, he is the only three-time winner of the prestigious L.A. International Wine Competition. In short, LaZarres impressive pedigree is sure to lend credence to Kazzits extensive ecosystem of wine-related information. One of LaZarres most endearing qualities is his desire to produce taste bud-tantalizing wines at prices which make them accessible to the everyman. He is quite adamant that he would rather create wines that taste like they cost a fortune, than sell a scant few bottles to the handful of individuals flush enough to fork over $300 to enjoy them. When it comes to his chosen career, one of LaZarres greatest pleasures lies in knowing that on any given night someone somewhere is enjoying my wine. That LaZarres association with Kazzit will boost the websites reputation as the go-to source for wine-related information is without question. After all, what could be more authoritative than the opinion of the man whose pinot noirs make the competitions pale by comparison? All that remains to be seen is the impact LaZarres imposing presence will have on the only website which brings the very best the wine world has to offer together in one place. The insight, expertise and guidance Adam brings to Kazzit is immeasurable and tremendously respected, said Babak Motamedi, Kazzit CEO. One of the wine industrys most comprehensive online resources, Kazzit connects wineries, vineyards, restaurateurs, collectors, and enthusiasts. Home to the most relevant, timely, and accurate wine-related information available, Kazzits sophisticated platform makes it easier than even for growers, producers and consumers build meaningful relationships based on everything wine-related. RECAP WHO Celebrated wine maker Adam LaZarre joins Kazzits executive management team. WHAT Kazzit website and Wine Blog is the worlds most comprehensive winery guide delivering a user friendly platform to discover wineries, book wine tastings and explore the wine world. WHEN Now available on http://www.kazzit.com. WHERE Kazzit.com currently hosts over 8,300 winery profiles from around the world. HOW MUCH Kazzit is an absolutely free service for consumers. ### About Kazzit: Kazzit is a proprietary platform for facilitating tasting room reservations and discovering wine events. Kazzit is also home to a wealth of information concerning wine production, wine culture and wine education. Knowledge, expertise, creativity and care shine through every step of Kazzit.com. For more information: Kazzit, Inc. Media Relations Media(at)kazzit(dot)com 602-842-2155 New SCS Logo I was attracted to the business because of its superior product line and how they perfectly complement our existing housewares portfolio. Media Contact: Denise Hawkins Director of Public Relations| SCS Direct Inc. 203.951.5936; deniseh(at)scsdirectinc.com SCS Direct Inc. Increases Housewares Portfolio with the Purchase of Kuissential Connecticut Company Acquires Specialty Kitchen and Coffee Housewares Brand SCS Direct Inc., a consumer products company based in Trumbull, CT has recently announced the purchase of Miami-based, specialty housewares company Kuissential. Established in 2011, Kuissential is known for offering high quality and innovative coffee products and kitchenware at a reasonable price. The brands unparalleled customer service, through direct, open dialogue with consumers continue to attract a loyal customer base. In 2015, Kuissential created a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the production of a patented manual coffee grinder known as the EvenGrind 2.0. This new manual burr grinder is designed to yield a much more consistent coffee grind size at a fraction of the price of electric conical burr grinders. The Kuissential line also includes specialty kitchenware and coffee gadgets such as Milk Frothers, Coffee Drippers, French Presses, Juice Extractors and Bread Machines. Howard Greenspan, President of SCS Direct Inc. stated, I was attracted to the business because of its superior product line and how they perfectly complement our existing housewares portfolio. SCS Direct plans to further the brands mission of exemplary customer experience and integrate into the continuously evolving market of coffee consumers. Greenspans plans for Kuissential include furthering the functionality and enhancing the look of the EvenGrind 2.0 prior to its launch; upgrading product packaging of the entire line; enhancing brand awareness and offering this formerly internet-only product line to national retailers in order to expand to a mass consumer base. The former owners of Kuisssential, Alex Cacciamani and Andres Fernandez commented on the sale: SCS Direct understands Kuissential's vision and commitment to customer satisfaction. We feel they are the perfect team to grow the Kuissential brand to the next level, said Alex Cacciamani. Andres Fernandez added, "I'm very proud about what we were able to accomplish with Kuissential and grateful for all the help received along the way. While it was a difficult decision to move on to new projects, we know we found a perfect new home for Kuissential with SCS Direct. SCS Directs arsenal of housewares products are growing rapidly. In addition to Kuissential, the company owns several best-selling houseware brands such as Camerons Products, CucinaPro, Good Cooking, DEco, Fasta Pasta and Simple Cups. The Kuissential transaction was sourced and negotiated by Little White Dog Inc. based in Norwalk, CT. Kuissential is SCS Directs seventh successful transaction in the past two and a half years, including CucinaPro, Camerons Products, Fasta Pasta, MD Moms, Svan and Itzbeen Innovated. Little White Dog continues to search for additional strategic partners with proprietary, quality products and strong retail distribution that can enhance SCS Directs platform. ### About SCS Direct Inc.: SCS Direct Inc., founded in 1998, started as a niche marketing company focused on a single category. After more than two decades, SCS Direct has evolved into a robust consumer products powerhouse that develops best of breed products across the Toy, Baby, Housewares, Home Improvement and Outdoor Living categories. Our innovative line of unique products are purchased and enjoyed by consumers not only in the United States but across the globe. At SCS Direct, we task our design teams to develop unique concepts and to seek out hard to find categories of merchandise to bring to your doorstep. 2015 was a stellar year for SCS in the press. The companys products received over 2.3 Billion impressions of hard-hitting national media placements in major print publications, television and radio stations and digital media in national, regional and local markets. SCS Direct was ranked #296 on the Inc. 500 List of Americas Fastest Growing Companies and continues to grow year after year. It is our award-winning products, unique mix and ear to the ground approach that keeps us relevant in the ever-changing retail environment. Be on the lookout for life-sized waffles and walking maple trees. Greenmarkets Union Square shoppers will get a special treat later this month when EscapeMaker.com, New Yorks guide to local getaways and farm escapes, hosts Maple Fest on Friday, March 18th from 10am-4pm on the north side of the square. The event is the first in a 2016 series of agritourism-themed events designed to promote Greenmarket farmers, producers and winemakers within a striking distance of New York City. EscapeMaker will be on hand with general agritourism info on how to visit farms, farm stores, breweries and wineries whether by car, bus or by Amtrak. The family-friendly event kicks off that morning with live music, demos, free samples and all things maple. Every Greenmarket maple producer will be featured at a maple dipping bar; Deep Mountain Maple from Vermont, Berkshire Berries from Massachusetts and Remsburger Maple, Roxbury Maple and Wood Homestead from New Yorks Hudson Valley, Catskills and Central Regions respectively. In addition, there will be free samples of maple-flavored products like hard candy, beer, cotton candy, cream and even yogurt from Ronnybrook Dairy and maple turkey from Dipaola Turkey Farm. Deep Mountain Maple will be on hand for maple tapping educational demos alternating with Beth Linksey of Beths Farm Kitchen preparing and handing out samples of waffles, chunky maple apple sauce and maple squash soup. There will also be representatives on hand from tourism regions in New York and Vermont. Corning and the Southern Finger Lakes of New York will be highlighting their craft beverage trail which includes award winning breweries, a cidery, and a distillery. They will also be handing out maple martini recipes and offering tastes of craft beer served at their annual Maple City Brew Festival, taking place June 4th. Vermont Tourism will be promoting their Maple Open House Weekend scheduled for April 2-3rd, where sugarhouses across the state host pancake breakfasts, wagon and sleigh rides for kids. At some sugarhouses, many of which are accessible via Amtrak, you can ski or snowshoe through the woods. Others offer a chance to taste authentic Sugar-on-Snow a traditional maple delicacy. Westchester County, just north of the city, will be featuring their many farms like the eco-friendly Hilltop Hanover Farm and Environmental Center. In addition, Dutchess County in the Hudson Valley, will be sampling Crown Maples treats and signing up people for their popular Farm Fresh tours offered via Metro-North Railroad. Early this year, EscapeMaker.com solidified a partnership with Greenmarket for a consistent presence in their markets across the city and throughout the growing season. At Greenmarket we strive to bring shoppers closer to who grows their food and where it comes from says Greenmarket Director, Michael Hurwitz. There is no better way to experience how our food is grown than going with friends and family to visit a working farm. We are excited to continue our partnership with EscapeMaker this season to provide information on agritourism and other great ways to learn about the wonderful agricultural tradition of our region. Caylin Sanders, President and Founder of EscapeMaker since 2000, said our goal is to add value to the Greenmarket community and their shopping experience by educating on agritourism, offering info on local vacation packages and hosting fun kid-friendly ag-themed interactive events. In addition, she added, shopping outside in March is not as cold if youre distracting yourself with delicious maple treats and dancing with people dressed as pancakes and waffles. For more information, visit http://www.escapemaker.com and for a list of Greenmarket farmers and producers visit http://www.grownyc.org/greenmarket The nursery project allows Kolcrafts fans and followers to actively participate in the design of the nursery which the company will donate to a family in need. Kolcraft Enterprises, Inc., a Chicago-based family-owned and operated baby product manufacturer, will celebrate its 70th anniversary by helping families through their support of the March of Dimes. One event in particular kicks off in March where Kolcraft will design and furnish a baby nursery for a family in need, affectionately titled the For the Love of Family Nursery Project. Millions of babies are born prematurely each year worldwide, about 380,000 in the U.S. alone. With the stress and the time away from home supporting a premature infant in a hospital, many families do not have time to create a safe nursery space for their child. Kolcraft has partnered with the March of Dimes for the past three years, donating over a hundred thousand dollars and hundreds of volunteer hours to support families affected by premature births or children with birth defects. The nursery project allows Kolcrafts social media fans and followers to actively participate in the design of the nursery and win prizes by voting on which furnishings the company will donate. Fans have the opportunity to not only win gift cards for their participation in the nursery vote, but can also share their stories and well wishes for families in need on Kolcrafts social media sites throughout the year for bonus prizes. Kolcrafts story began in 1946 in Chicago when founder Leo Koltun began making pads for cribs, playards and high chairs. Kolcraft soon became the largest crib mattress manufacturer in the USA with Leos son Sandy running the business. Today, Kolcraft is still the leading crib mattress manufacturer in the USA, producing crib mattresses under the Kolcraft, Sealy and Stearns & Foster brands. In addition, the company offers a successful line of award-winning baby gear and nursery products including strollers, cribs, dressers, activity centers, bassinets and bedding. Kolcraft has maintained its family roots, with third-generation President Tom Koltun leading the company and its dedication to families. At Kolcraft, everything we do, we do for the love of family. This 70 year milestone is not just about my grandfather, my father and the extended family of Kolcraft employees around the world. Its really about the families we create products for. We put our hearts into making millions of families lives easier with high quality, innovative baby products, said Tom Koltun. Our partnership with the March of Dimes is also important to us to help fund important research programs to enable more families to have strong, happy babies. Families can visit http://www.kolcraft.com/family-nursery-project, #4theloveoffamily and #kolcraftturns70 for more information about Kolcraft, the March of Dimes, the nursery project and various promotions throughout the year. Al Wright, Manager of U.S. Military and GSA Sales Division at Stertil-Koni Al is a multi-talented professional who brings an established track record working in both the U.S. Military and the Department of Defense. Heavy duty vehicle lift leader, Stertil-Koni serving transit agencies, corporate fleets, municipalities and the U.S. Military today announced that Al Wright has joined the company as Sales Manager, U.S. Military and GSA. Wright brings extensive U.S. Military and Department of Defense (DOD) contracting experience to his new post. He is a disabled veteran, and a former DOD civilian of 20 years. Further, he has worked in multiple U.S. Army programs, including the PATRIOT Missile Systems, as a Quality Assurance Specialist for MRAP fielding teams, and as a Special Assistant to the Commanding General at Army Materiel Command. Prior to joining Stertil-Koni, Wright served as a Capital Investment Program (CIP) Manager for the Army Working Capital Fund (AWCF) at Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, Texas, from 2010 until 2016. In making todays announcement, Dr. Jean DellAmore, president of Stertil-Koni, stated, Al is a multi-talented professional who brings an established track record working in both the U.S. Military and the Department of Defense. He has a rare combination of hands-on technical skills and intimate knowledge of the U.S. Military, coupled with strong training in the contracting arena and an innate sense of how best to provide exceptional customer support. We are delighted to welcome him to the Stertil-Koni team. Wright attended Texas A&M University in Texarkana, Texas, where he received a Bachelors of Applied Arts and Sciences, with a major in Business Administration. Wright is a Rescue and Recovery Diver, and certified up to Public Safety Diver for Bowie County Dive Team in Bowie County, Texas. In his spare time, Wright enjoys hot rod and motorcycle fabrication, scuba diving and spending time with his family. About Stertil-Koni USA, Inc. Stertil-Koni, a brand of the Stertil Group, is the global market leader in heavy duty vehicle lifts bus lifts and truck lifts and is the preferred supplier to the worlds leading companies in the truck and bus industries. Stertil-Koni's breadth of products meets all ranges of lifting needs and includes mobile column lifts, two-post, four-post, in-ground piston lifts, platform lifts, half-scissors and its innovative axle-engaging, in-ground, scissor lift configuration, ECOLIFT. Stertil-Koni is also now installing DIAMOND LIFT across North America, a full rise telescopic piston lift designed to set new standards in precision heavy duty lifting. Stertil-Koni USA is headquartered in Stevensville, Maryland. Stertil-Koni has production facilities in Europe in The Netherlands, and in the USA in Streator, Illinois. Clear Comfort CEO Steve Berens We are honored that B Corp is recognizing our positive social and environmental impact and believe our commitment to these principles will only enhance our profitability and ongoing success. Sustainable pool sanitation company Clear Comfort has earned B Corporation certification, recognizing the companys commitment to high standards of social and environmental responsibility. Backed by impact investors since its founding, Clear Comforts mission has been to offer customers a healthier, cleaner, safer and more sustainable pool. With Clear Comforts chlorine-free and low-chlorine pool systems, customers reduce chemical handling and exposure, storage and the inevitable distribution into the ecosystem. Clear Comfort joins more than 1,500 certified B Corporations around the world, including notables like Ben and Jerrys, New Belgium Brewing Co. and Patagonia, that strive to operate sustainably and with social benefit in mind. Achieving B Corporation certification is a proud moment for our team and a natural fit with the values of our company, said Clear Comfort CEO Steve Berens. We are honored that B Corp is recognizing our positive social and environmental impact and believe our commitment to these principles will only enhance our profitability and ongoing success. Certified B Corporations meet rigorous requirements demonstrating social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. B Lab, the nonprofit that certifies and supports B Corporations, measures a companys impact on all of its stakeholders: workers, suppliers, community, customers and the environment. Clear Comforts journey with B Corp doesnt end at certification, but is the beginning of a longstanding promise. Maintaining a B Corp certification requires vigorous checks and balances to assure that Clear Comforts impact on its community, employees, customers and the environment are positive. Each assessment is an opportunity for continuous improvement. In addition to producing a sustainable product, Clear Comfort is demonstrating and measuring its commitment to the environment and the community by manufacturing all products within the United States, working with local vendors, offering generous employee compensation packages and supporting volunteering, and making financial contributions to local nonprofits. About Clear Comfort Clear Comfort manufactures and sells chlorine-free and low-chlorine pool and spa sanitation systems. Clear Comforts residential pool system can bring chlorine levels down to drinking water levels or chlorine free, while the commercial pool systems enable customers to reduce chlorine use by as much as 80 percent. With headquarters and manufacturing in Colorado, Clear Comfort brings its customers a United States-made, sustainable product. For more information, visit http://www.clearcomfort.com. About B Lab B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good. Its vision is that one day all companies compete not only to be the best in the world, but the Best for the World and as a result society will enjoy a more shared and durable prosperity. For more information, visit http://www.bcorporation.net, http://www.bimpactassessment.net, http://www.b-analytics.net and http://www.benefitcorp.net. About B Corporations Certified B Corporations are leaders of a global movement of people using business as a force for good. They meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. There are more than 1,500 Certified B Corporations in over 120 industries and 40 countries with one unifying goal to redefine success in business. Cindy Miklos Im very fortunate to have the opportunity to bring my experience and talents to Planet Depos, a highly respected company within the legal industry, recognized for its focus on innovative technologies and exceptional client services. Planet Depos LLC, an international court reporting, interpretation, and trial services firm, is pleased to announce that Cindy Miklos has joined the company as Account Executive. Based in the Pittsburgh legal market for more than 13 years, Ms. Miklos built a distinguished career at FindLaw, the legal marketing division of Thomson Reuters, by providing internet products and services to law firms in the Western PA, West Virginia and Ohio areas. Were very pleased that we could find someone of Cindys caliber for this role, said Jennifer Parratt, Director of Sales. The knowledge and experience that she brings to our team fortifies the talents of our existing sales group as we expand our reach in the Pittsburgh region. Cindy began working for FindLaw in 2003 as a Client Development Consultant based in the Pittsburgh area. During her time at Thomson, Cindy was recognized as a leading expert in helping law firms grow their businesses through creative digital marketing and internet strategies. Were delighted to welcome Cindy to the Planet Depos team, said Bill DiMonte, a founder of the firm. She shares our values and places the same strong emphasis as we do on the client experience. The knowledge and experience that she brings to Planet Depos significantly reinforces our presence in the Pittsburgh region. Miklos believes that customer service is paramount in any successful business. Over the course of my career, Ive gained an appreciation for the dynamics of the legal industry. I understand that an exceptional customer experience starts with building strong relationships and identifying ways to make it easier for firms to manage their business, commented Miklos. Im very fortunate to have the opportunity to bring my experience and talents to Planet Depos, a highly respected company within the legal industry, recognized for its focus on innovative technologies and exceptional client services. Cindy currently lives in the North Hills of Pittsburgh with her husband and three children. About Planet Depos Headquartered in Washington, DC, and with 60 offices around the globe, Planet Depos, LLC, is the only international court reporting agency led by court reporters and world-renowned industry experts. Planet Depos provides court reporting, videography, videoconferencing, interpretation, and trial support services throughout the United States and abroad to international law firms, worldwide corporations, and government entities. The Company has extensive experience reporting complex matters around the globe, including arbitrations, trials and depositions. A forward-thinking company, Planet Depos is conversant with the latest technologies and works closely with clients to implement case-winning tools, including streaming text and video, realtime to iPads, mobile videoconferencing, and digital exhibits. Learn more about Planet Depos Follow Planet Depos on Facebook Follow Planet Depos on LinkedIn Follow Planet Depos on Twitter Read our blog Google identifies 19 digital research touchpoints for auto purchasers. With ShopMyWay, dealer groups can instead make theirs the only one. Dominion Dealer Solutions, provider of industry-leading automotive responsive websites, has introduced ShopMyWay for automotive retail dealerships nationwide. ShopMyWay is a suite of shopping tools designed to enable the car buyer to control the shopping and research processes. It allows consumers to not only search a dealer groups entire inventory based on specific features or preferences, but also compare those vehicles side by side. Additionally, online car shoppers can view the value of a current trade and ascertain which vehicles can be purchased based on prequalified credit. Dealer groups have searched for a way to maximize their businesses entire inventory online, facilitating online shopping and directing traffic to their own websites. Dealers also need an environment where they can provide information to high or mid-funnel shoppers, empowering them to shop for vehicles based on their own needs. ShopMyWay captures these high and mid-funnel shoppers and creates engagement opportunities with them. These shoppers typically search 3rd-party or OEM websites for the same information that ShopMyWay now lets them view right on the dealerships website. With ShopMyWay, dealers can further connect with these shoppers without redirecting them to an automotive portal or manufacturer website. This is a first of its kind solution that allows a dealer group to provide consumers with the automotive shopping experience they always wanted," noted Nicole Case, general manager for Dominion Dealer Solutions. ShopMyWay provides an end-to-end, consumer-driven shopping experience. The sites are easy to use for vehicle, trade and payment-oriented automotive shoppers. Consumers can search the entire dealer groups inventory by payment preference and look at detailed, side-by-side vehicle comparisons. Without consumers having to leave the dealer group website, the full-service trade valuation tool lets them pre-qualify for credit and payments so dealerships can efficiently follow up. In addition to providing a singular digital resource for car buyers conducting research on a dealer group website, ShopMyWay reduces the dependence and money spent on 3rd-party automotive sites while driving high-quality appointments directly to the dealership. Instead of the dealer group website acting as a directory, ShopMyWay makes the site a destination for consumers, using the same science-driven responsive website design behind Dominions websites. Sean Stansell, product manager for Dominion Websites, added, Google identifies 19 digital research touchpoints for auto purchasers. With ShopMyWay, dealer groups can instead make theirs the only one. They can eliminate 3rd-party distractions and establish that direct shopping relationship with the consumer. About Dominion Dealer Solutions Dominion Dealer Solutions helps car dealers attract, retain, and service customers for life. Dominion's Progressive Retail Solutions include customer relationship (CRM) and dealer management systems (DMS) with actionable intelligence from the Microsoft Dynamics platform. Dominions Progressive Retail Solutions also feature lead management and equity mining technology, inventory management analytics, social media marketing and reputation management solutions. Dealers nationwide purchase custom lead generation and digital marketing tools from Dominion including: responsive design websites, SEO, SEM, digital advertising, multi-channel marketing, specialized data aggregation, mobile apps and market reports. OEMs and auto dealers nationwide utilize Dominion Dealer Solutions' technologies to solve their marketing challenges. Dominion Dealer Solutions is redefining automotive retail by delivering first-class customer experiences for local car buyers. For more information, visit our website, like us on Facebook, Pinterest or YouTube, or follow us on Twitter. About Dominion Enterprises Dominion Enterprises is a leading marketing services and publishing company serving the automotive, recreational and commercial vehicle, real estate, apartment rental, parenting, and travel industries. The companys businesses provide a comprehensive suite of technology-based marketing solutions including Internet advertising, lead generation, customer relationship management, website design and hosting, and data management services. The company has more than 45 market-leading websites reaching more than 20 million unique visitors monthly. More than 77 million For Rent, and HotelCoupons.com publications are distributed nationwide each year. Headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, the company has 3,300 employees in more than 145 offices in the United States, Canada, England, Spain and Italy. For more information, visit DominionEnterprises.com. Media Contact: Dominion Dealer Solutions Peyton Hoffman Director of Public Relations and Event Management 757.351.7271 Peyton(dot)hoffman(at)drivedominion(dot)com We are honored that these schools have chosen to team up with Career Step, and we are excited to help empower individuals in these new areas to improve their lives through our career education programs. Career Step, an online provider of career-focused education and corporate training, is pleased to announce seven new partnerships with educational institutions across the country, including: Cass Career Center, Northland Career Center, KMR Training, St Petersburg College, University of North Florida, Kennesaw State University and Louisiana State University. These institutions will be offering Career Steps online training programs within their communities, preparing students for careers in the healthcare, technology and administration industries. Career Step has more than 150 academic partners across the United States, said Ryan Ewer, Vice President of Academic Partnerships. These new partners are important to us because they will enable more people in the Midwest and Southern states to access affordable, employer-trusted training programs. We are honored that these schools have chosen to team up with Career Step, and we are excited to help empower individuals in these new areas to improve their lives through our career education programs. For more than a decade, Career Step has partnered with academic institutions to provide students opportunities in growing industries through affordable training. The Career Step programs are typically offered through schools continuing education departments, which is where these new partners will locate the Career Step programs within their course catalogs. Education is one of the most significant ways to enable individuals to enhance or change their career path, said Steve Tober, Career Step President and CEO. We are honored to join with these seven institutions to offer affordable training for in-demand careers and help more students reach their goal of a rewarding career. The job-focused training provided by the Career Step courses makes these programs an excellent choice for those looking to quickly start a new career. The programs incorporate feedback from employers, with many of the courses preparing students to earn third-party industry certifications. Specific industry associations have also evaluated the courses, and students receive extensive graduate support to help turn their educations into jobs. For more details about partnering with Career Step, visit CareerStep.com/partner. About Career Step Career Step is an online provider of career-focused education and corporate training. The company has trained over 100,000 students for new careers, has more than 150 partnerships with colleges and universities nationwide, offers a variety of continuing education courses for healthcare professionals and has educated more than 8,000 health information professionals through its Corporate Training Division. Career Step provides training for several of the largest and most respected healthcare employers in the nation and is committed to helping students and practicing healthcare professionals alike gain the skills they need to be successful in the workplaceimproving lives, advancing careers and bettering business results through education. More information can be found at http://www.careerstep.com or 1-800-246-7836. Reid's Gift, Inc. wil host its 1st Annual "Sparkler" Gallery Opening and Fundraiser on April 2nd, 2016, from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the Blackboard Gallery in Studio Channel Islands, 2222 Ventura Blvd, in Old Town Camarillo, CA. This event is aimed at raising funds to support Kindling Studios, a working art studio for entrepreneurs with special needs. Artist engage in expert-lead art and entrepreneurial classes to work to create and sell their own pieces in person and online. The studio is run by local Art Therapist Kristina Ebsen, MA. Tina and her team of staff and volunteers work to provide program participants with the ultimate goals of improved skills and increased self-sufficiency. The "Sparkler" Gallery Opening and fundraiser will include delicious appetizers, wine and beer, live music, art demonstrations, and a silent auction. Art from Kindling Studio artists will also be on display and for sale. All funds raised will directly support teens and adults diagnosed with developmental disabilities. Each ticket is $50 and sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting molly(at)reidsgift(dot)org. Additional monetary and in-kind donations are tax deductible. Online registration is available at http://www.kindlingstudios.org or by contacting art(at)reidsgift(dot)org. Founded in 2013, Reid's Gift Inc. provides direct services to teens and adults throughout Ventura, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara Counties. We believe everyone has the right to a high quality of life. We strive to grow and support interdependence, fulfillment, and community engagement for individuals with developmental disabilities. Learn more at http://www.reidsgift.org. We look forward to seeing you on April 2nd at Blackboard Gallery at Studio Channel Islands in Old Town Camarillo to celebrate the artists and their work. www.symplr.com Patrick Horine will show attendees how to make the accreditation information work for them and receive value from them, beyond just a certificate. symplr, a leading provider of Software as a Service (SaaS) based healthcare compliance and credentialing solutions, today announced their upcoming webcast, Changing the Culture of Accreditation: Stop Fearing Your Annual Survey. Part of the symplr Education Series focused on Credentialing, the webcast will air Wednesday, March 2, at 12 p.m. CT/1 p.m. ET. To register, visit https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4681285475741331714 When a hospital has more unspoken than spoken rules, it can be difficult for individual caregivers, techs, or support staff to explain why they follow the rules that they do. In this webcast, Patrick Horine, President and Chief Executive Officer of DNV GL Healthcare, Inc., will explain how having a meaningful accreditation partner can pave the way to improving processes and outcomes beyond just securing a certificate. Horine will help attendees spark a broader culture shift toward high performance and continual improvement through accreditation surveys, as well as seek buy-in from management and staff to make the necessary changes. Attendees will also learn how to create a seamless hospital program by combining the mandatory U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) evaluation with a proven world-class quality management system. Accreditation surveys can often be challenging, but if the outcome can be used to improve systems and, therefore, patient care, then the work is worth it, said Rick Pleczko, President and CEO of symplr. Patrick Horine will show attendees how to make the accreditation information work for them and receive value from them, beyond just a certificate. To view archives of past webcasts in the symplr education webcast series, visit http://www.symplr.com/community/events/webcasts-credentialing-upcoming. About Patrick Horine, MHA, President and Chief Executive Officer at DNV GL - Healthcare Patrick Horine serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of DNV GL Healthcare, Inc. He is responsible for the North American healthcare business of DNV GL, which includes a growing portfolio of standards-driven accreditation and certification services. Horine was part of an entrepreneurial team that created and brought to market the first new hospital accreditation program in the United States since the 1960s when Medicare was started. This program, the DNV GL National Integrated Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (NIAHO), has attracted more than 400 hospitals, and is recognized for its unique design, which integrates Medicare compliance with the ISO 9001 Quality Management System. Horine has more than 25 years of healthcare management experience, and has held various leadership positions in hospitals including that of Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Vice President for Quality and Business Development. He has a Masters Degree in Hospital and Health Administration from Xavier University. About symplr Founded in 2006, symplr is an industry leader in compliance and credentialing Software as a Service solutions that help healthcare organizations mitigate risk and ensure compliance. symplr has a single mission: to make healthcare compliance and credentialing simpler for all constituents of the healthcare community. For more information or to contact symplr, visit http://www.symplr.com/ or (866) 373-9725. We're excited to open the brewery and share our New York State beers with the community. Helderberg Brewery at the Carey Institute for Global Good will celebrate its grand opening with daily events from Thursday, March 10, through Sunday, March 13. All area residents are invited to attend. The four-day opening weekend begins with a Meet Your Maker event at the Palmer House Cafe on Thursday, March 10, at 6 pm. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy a pint while discussing the brewery and its commitment to local ingredients with brewer Greg Hostash and brewery manager Rebecca Platel. An industry night for area brewers attending Helderberg Brewerys Yeast Management Workshop will follow on Friday, March 11. The Grand Opening party will take place on Saturday, March 12, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The evening will feature live music by local band Red Haired Strangers as well as food and the chance to try the brewerys hand-crafted beers. The brewery will also be launching their Growler Club at the Grand Opening. The opening weekend culminates with a run-walk-hike event on Sunday, March 13. from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Helderberg Outdoor Club will be hosting a trail preview for the Rensselaerville Ramble Trail Run and Walk in advance of the June event being organized by the EN Huyck Preserve and the Rensselaerville Library. All interested runners and hikers will be able to sign up for early bird registration and enjoy a beer after checking out the route. The brewery offers a new way for the Carey Institutes conference guests, local residents and visitors to enjoy our campus, said Rebecca Platel, manager of Helderberg Brewery. Were excited to open the brewery and share our New York State beers with the community. The brewerys dedication to sourcing local ingredients is at the heart of its mission. It is currently transitioning to brewing with 100 percent New York State ingredients, from hops grown in East Berne to small grains grown and malted in the Hudson Valley. Helderberg Brewery is a project of the Carey Institutes Sustainable Communities Program. It is a fully operational farm brewery and brewery incubator. Through its operations, incubator workshops and other initiatives, Helderberg Brewery works to build a farm-to-glass supply chain connecting farmers, malt houses and craft beverage producers in the Greater Capital Region. Since its founding in 2013, the project has hosted over twenty workshops for farmers interested in growing hops and small grains, and has recently launched a technical workshop series for the regions many craft beverage producers as well as a hands-on internship for aspiring craft brewers. The brewery is also developing Source NY, an online marketplace and supply chain map to connect farmers and craft producers across New York State. Following the opening weekend in March, Helderberg Brewery will be open to the public for regular business hours on Wednesday evenings, Friday evenings (October through May) and Sunday afternoons (June through September). About The Carey Institute for Global Good The Carey Institute for Global Good is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2012 by Wm. P. Carey and is dedicated to making the world better by contributing to a strong, educated and just society. Through its programs, the Institute strives to bring together innovative and dynamic people from around the world to seek creative solutions to the most pressing challenges of the day. careyinstitute.org ### Hope for Heroes provides outdoor experiences for disabled service men and women, which not only let them connect to nature but, more importantly, to each other. USA Medical Card, a leading provider of free pharmacy discount cards, launched a nationwide initiative benefitting Hope For Heroes last year. The nonprofit organization was founded to empower independence for our nation's disabled military veterans, police, firemen, and EMS professionals. Hope For Heroes has just launched a capital campaign on its official website that will allow it to significantly increase the number of people they service every year. Watch the video to learn more. Hope for Heroes provides outdoor experiences for disabled service men and women, which not only let them connect to nature but, more importantly, to each other. The trips and outings provide a sense of healing, personal accomplishment and bonding for the heroes, caregivers, family and friends. Most of the time, relationships continue on after these excursions, which further helps them deal with their debilitating injuries, and often PTSD. "We are so appreciative of our national sponsor USA Medical Card. They not only help fund our programs, they also help build awareness of our organizations work. Their support means we can help even more disabled service men and women heal and experience great personal accomplishment," said Mitch Serlin, Founder and President of Hope For Heroes. A facility is at the center of the nonprofits programs. Its where participants receive assistance and training in order to regain their passion for the outdoors. Hope for Heroes currently has one lodge in Kentucky and have started this capital campaign to build another one in Hudson Valley, New York. Not only will this new location provide a broader array of outdoor activities, it will allow the organization to significantly increase the number of heroes that they service annually. USA Medical Card Co-Founder and President Jordan Sessler said, We are proud to be partnered with Hope For Heroes and helping to heal our nations heroes. These men and women were severely injured both emotionally and physically while protecting and serving us, and my Company is committed to helping them lead healthy, active lifestyles again. Our pharmacy discount card benefitting Hope For Heroes not only helps improve the health and wellbeing of our cardholders, but also these heroes. The card benefitting Hope For Heroes is available at http://www.USAMedicalCard.com/HopeForHeroes, where you can download a card or request one be mailed or emailed to you. You can also get a card by texting Heroes to 95577. This short video explains the advantages of the card: USAMedicalCard.com/video. To learn more about USA Medical Card, please visit: http://www.usamedicalcard.com Sara Lazar PhD American Meditation Institute Our data shows changes in the brain after just eight weeks of daily meditation. Noted neuroscientist and meditator Sara Lazar, PhD will join the faculty of The American Meditation Institute (AMI) for a 30 credit hour mind/body medicine CME conference on meditation, gentle yoga and diaphragmatic breathing for physicians and other health care professionals, October 25-29, 2015 at the Cranwell Resort and Spa in Lenox, Massachusetts. Entitled The Heart and Science of Yoga, this comprehensive training, accredited through the Albany Medical College Office of Continuing Medical Education, is designed to help relieve physician stress and burnout. Noted neuroscientist and meditator Sara Lazar, PhD will join the faculty of The American Meditation Institute (AMI) for a 30 credit hour mind/body medicine CME conference on meditation, gentle yoga and diaphragmatic breathing for physicians and other health care professionals, October 25-29, 2016 at the Cranwell Resort and Spa in Lenox, Massachusetts. Entitled "The Heart and Science of Yoga, this comprehensive training, accredited through the Albany Medical College Office of Continuing Medical Education, is designed to help relieve physician stress and burnout. Now in its eighth year of providing physicians continuing medical education credits, this unique curriculum of Yoga Science as holistic mind/body medicine will present an in-depth study of practical meditation and yogic skills designed to help relieve physician and patient burnout by reducing their allostatic loadthe physiological consequences of chronic exposure to fluctuating or heightened neural or neuroendocrine responses resulting from chronic stress. Presenter Sara Lazar PhD, is an Associate Researcher in the Psychiatry Department at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Psychology Instructor at Harvard Medical School. She also serves as a scientist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centers Mind/Body Medical Institute. Sara Lazar is a Board member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy and is a contributing author to "Meditation and Psychotherapy." Dr. Lazar has been practicing yoga and meditation since 1994. The focus of her scientific research is to elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of meditation and yoga, both in clinical settings and in healthy individuals. One main focus of her work has been to determine how meditation and yoga influence brain structure, and how these changes influence behavior. In 2005, as a leading researcher in the field, her team was the first to show how long-term meditation practice correlates with cortical thickening in brain areas associated with attention, sensory processing, and interoception (the awareness someone has about the physiological state of their body). In a 2011 paper, she found that people who learned meditation for the first time in an eight-week course had increases in gray matter concentration in areas of the brain associated with "learning and memory processes, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective taking." Dr. Lazars participation at this years Heart and Science of Yoga conference will include a lecture entitled Meditation and Neuroplasticity." In describing her research, Dr. Lazar explains that, We use neuroimaging techniques to study neurological, cognitive and emotional changes associated with the practice of meditation and yoga. We also incorporate measures of peripheral physiology, such as breathing and heart beat, in order to understand how meditation practice influences the brain-body interaction. The entire curriculum of this CME conference is dedicated to providing quality, comprehensive and evidence-based education to physicians and other health care providers on Yoga Science as mind/body medicine. In addition to neuroplasticity, topics this year will include mantra meditation, diaphragmatic breathing, Yoga Psychology, the chakra system as a diagnostic tool, mind function optimization, trauma, PTSD, relieving physician burnout, resilience, Functional Medicine, Epigenomics, Ayurveda, easy-gentle yoga and lymph system detoxification. Complementing Dr. Sara Lazars presentation, the dedication, enthusiasm, and teaching methodology of the entire AMI faculty will combine to create a dynamic and interactive conference for all attending medical professionals. This years additional presenters will include Leonard Perlmutter, AMI founder, meditational therapist and award-winning author; Mark Pettus MD, Director of Medical Education and Population Health at Berkshire Health Systems; Anthony Santilli MD, board-certified in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; Prashant Kaushik MD, board-certified Rheumatologist; Susan Lord MD, a private practice holistic physician focusing on prevention and treatment, and former course director for the The Center for Mind-Body Medicines Food As Medicine program in Washington, DC; Jesse Ritvo MD, Assistant Medical Director, Inpatient Psychiatry, University of Vermont Health Center; Beth Netter MD MT, holistic physician and acupuncturist, Albany, NY; Jyothi Bhatt BAMS, Ayurvedic practitioner and faculty member of Kripalu School of Ayurveda and Physicians Assistant at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center; and Jenness Cortez Perlmutter, faculty member of The American Meditation Institute. According to last years attendee, Jay Newman MD, of Towson, Maryland, This conference was absolutely excellent. It was the best CME conference I have ever attended. It was a superb presentation of Yoga Science by presenters who are very passionate in sharing their knowledge. I wish I took this course years ago! I will take it again in the future. Recent graduate, Joel M. Kremer, MD, Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology and practicing in Albany, New York, described his experience with the conference as follows: This teaching has been an enormous benefit in my personal and professional life. I have less stress, more focus, and am able to serve my patients with greater clarity. It becomes surprisingly easy now to recognize the many clinical situations in which patients with somatic manifestations of 'dis-ease' could greatly benefit from Yoga Science. -30- About the American Meditation Institute The American Meditation Institute is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization devoted to the teaching and practice of Yoga Science, meditation and its allied disciplines as mind/body medicine. In its holistic approach to wellness, AMI combines the healing arts of the East with the practicality of modern Western science. The American Meditation Institute offers a wide variety of classes, retreats, and teacher training programs. AMI also publishes Transformation a bi-monthly journal of meditation as holistic mind/body medicine. Call 518.674.8714 for a mail or email subscription. Media Contact: Robert Washington 60 Garner Road, Averill Park, NY 12018 Tel: 518.674.8714 Fax: 518.674.8714 An official parallel event of the United Nations, 60th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, titled "Understanding the Role of National Identity in Global Politics" has been set to continue a discourse started at the UN in early February to uncover the hidden history of African and Indigenous descendants of colonialism and enslavement in the United States. In response to the February 10th meeting held at UN Headquarters however, (http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/02/prweb13211665.htm) convener UN NGO, United States Sustainable Development Corp decided to open the platform to all of those African and Indigenous descendants of colonialism and enslavement around the world who share similar experiences. On the inaugural panel will be University of Connecticut Professor of History, Dr. Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar, author of "Black Indians", William Loren Katz, and Activist and Co-Founder of US grassroots network Momsrising, Monifa Bandele. Mr. Katz will cover the pre- and post-colonial origins of African people in the US and the proud history of freedom fighting and resistance alliances that developed with the Indigenous people that both preceded and succeeded English colonialism. Author of, "Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity (Reconfiguring American Political History," Dr. Ogbar will discuss the cultural consequences of adopting the historical narrative that has been taught and accepted as fact in the United States. Journalist Monifa Bandele will discuss the continued effect of that narrative on the daily lives of African and Indigenous descendants of colonialism and enslavement in the United States. The goal of the convener in this initiative, that is expected to span multiple years, is to bring together many representative voices of the subject people groups to establish the most authentic narrative of their respective stories. "The homogenous "black" experience is literally a heterogeneous collection of national origins, geopolitical experiences and cultural legacies, many of which have only slight glimmers of insight remaining of their existence on the continent. Nonetheless, their stories deserve to be told, what's left of their history preserved," said USSDC president and CEO, Ava Gabrielle-Wise. The meeting will be held at the The Salvation Army, International Social Justice Commission building from 2:30 to 4:30. Registration is required to attend. The link to register is https://www.eventbrite.com/e/color-me-black-understanding-the-role-of-national-identity-in-global-politics-tickets-20765168177 Ward Carter, COO of QualTex Laboratories Ward has been intensively customer-focused throughout his career, building relationships with businesses from coast to coast. BioBridge Global CEO Linda Myers Health care industry veteran Edward (Ward) Carter has been named the new chief operating officer for QualTex Laboratories, effective immediately. He will replace Dirk Johnson, who announced his departure late last year. Johnson will stay with QualTex through March to assist with the transition. Carter was selected after a nationwide search, said Linda Myers, chief executive officer of BioBridge Global, parent organization of QualTex Laboratories. Ward has been intensively customer-focused throughout his career, building relationships with businesses from coast to coast, Myers said. He is closely aligned with our commitment to increasing our levels of customer service across the organization. Carter, a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University, worked for more than 30 years in the diagnostics division at Abbott Laboratories. His most recent position was as director of strategic products, inventory manager at Abbott Diagnostics Division U.S. commercialization. His roles at Abbott Laboratories included extensive work with QualTex Laboratories, in various roles. He started with Abbott in sales 1984, and in 2011 he received the companys Chairmans Award, the highest the company bestows on its employees. I am thrilled to be joining an organization like BioBridge Global and QualTex Labs, Carter said. Were poised for significant growth throughout the enterprise, and especially in QualTex. QualTex Laboratories is one of the largest independent nonprofit testing centers in the United States, performing advanced testing services for blood, plasma and tissue donations, as well as reference testing and clinical research. With laboratories in San Antonio and Norcross, Ga., QualTex tests millions of samples for clients around the world every year. About QualTex Laboratories: QualTex Laboratories is a nonprofit affiliate of BioBridge Global that provides state-of-the-art biologic testing services on whole blood, plasma and human cells, tissue, and cellular- and tissue-based products (HCT/P) for its global biotechnology and biopharmaceutical customers. Its one of the nations largest nonprofit testing laboratories and has locations in Texas and Georgia. Visit us at qualtexlabs.org. About BioBridge Global: BioBridge Global (BBG) is a San Antonio, Texas-based nonprofit corporation that offers diverse services through its subsidiaries the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, QualTex Laboratories, GenCure and the Blood & Tissue Center Foundation. BBG provides products and services in blood resource management, cellular therapy, donated umbilical cord blood and human tissue as well as testing of blood, plasma and tissue products for clients in the United States and worldwide. BBG is rooted in the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, which has a proud history of serving the South Texas region and beyond for more than 40 years. BBG is committed to supporting groundbreaking research, addressing unmet clinical needs and enabling the development and commercialization of novel biotechnology products. Visit us at http://www.biobridgeglobal.org. Scheduled to open this summer (July 2016), we welcome our newest community, Grand Brook of Allen at Twin Creeks. Located in the high-end Twin Creeks development near W. Exchange Parkway and Highway 75 (Central Expressway) on the corner of Medical Drive and Junction in Allen, this newest Grand Brook community will have a spacious and comfortable 32-bed capacity in 2 small residential-style homes. Each home will face a central park area and will have a courtyard containing a covered patio that wraps the property to encourage outdoor/indoor living. The community will also have a multi-use clubhouse that will serve as a cafe, a chapel, and a salon in addition to facilitating other activities. It will also include the latest amenities including space for technology-based lifestyles (TV, iPads). Spokesperson, Chad Anderson, President, I appreciate being part of a family-owned company that truly can say we put the needs of our residents first and enjoy working in an environment where I am able to have a positive impact on the lives of seniors." Constant Care Management Co., the owners of Stoneybrook communities in Garland, McKinney and Grapevine, have partnered with two Dallas-based companies, Silverado Interests and Origin Bank to bring their 35+ years of compassionate memory care to even more Dallas area residents with the opening of their newest community. For additional information please visit: https://www.stoneybrookmemorycare.com/communities/allen-twin-creeks/ Or Contact: Susan Worthington at sworthington(at)constantcare(dot)com or 1-214-531-8796 Jodie Massey at jmassey(at)constantcare(dot)com Monica Eaton-Cardone addresses mobile payment security. Every transaction is a point of exchange based on trust. Mobile payments remove even more tangibility from the consumer end of the process, so they must be educated as to best practices for its use. Mobile payment security is still in its infancy a fact made evident as more than half (54 percent) of businesses reported a security or data breach involving payment data (1), prompting concerns among consumers reluctant to take advantage of the convenience of mobile payment options. Though mobile wallet adoption has been slow on the uptake, over the next five years mobile devices will reportedly be used in making payments 175 percent more often (2). Per Monica Eaton-Cardone, COO and co-founder of Chargebacks911 and eConsumerServices, while electronic payments technology provides merchants with ways to increase sales through convenience and also to track customers buying patterns, if mobile payment solutions are to take hold, security measures must be overhauled and consumers need to be educated about them. Highly publicized credit card breaches last year have put security at the top of the consumers list of mobile payment concerns. In fact, it appears to be the biggest consideration holding back more widespread use and has merchants rethinking security solutions. A recent survey found that over seventy-five percent of the respondents prioritized payment security as the most important feature of a mobile wallet offering. (1) As an the executive heading two companies that together provide solutions for both ends of the merchant-consumer line Eaton-Cardone, the answer to improved m-commerce security is a two-pronged approach: one-part increased security measures by merchants, in conjunction with all-out consumer security education that extends across the entire range of electronic payment solutions consumers have access to while at the same time advancing the security of payments and consumer identity with standardized best-practices that run end to end. Every transaction is a point of exchange based on trust. Mobile payments remove even more tangibility from the consumer end of the process, so they must be educated as to best practices for its use, Eaton-Cardone said. Additionally, with fraudsters looking to target the weak link in the chain, merchants bear responsibility in implementing security solutions such as point-to-point encryption and tokenization to remove hackable payment data and take payment credentials out of the reach of fraudulent users. Eaton-Cardone contends that the above changes are needed now. Over the next five years, mobile point of sale transactions, and particularly the NFC, contactless payment ecosystem will become more pervasive. It is projected that it will be used nearly three times more often. Naturally, where there are more users, there is more money, and thus more potential for fraud. And with the 50+ year-old consumers representing the webs largest and fastest growing constituency, security and education must be in place for rapid adoption. (2) Monica Eaton-Cardone will be speaking at the Growing Global Conference, a symposium on the expansion of eCommerce sales and profits worldwide, on April 13-14, 2016, at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, OH. http://www.mcmgrowingglobal.com/. She is available for interviews. About Monica Eaton-Cardone: Monica Eaton-Cardone is an entrepreneur and business leader with expertise in technology, eCommerce, risk relativity and payment processing solutions. She has co-founded a number of successful companies, employing 350+ people globally. With the advent of friendly fraud expanding from the U.S. to other countries, Eaton-Cardone recognized the necessity to protect the global economy from illicit chargeback threats; hence, Global Risk Technologies (GRT) was established. She currently serves as the CIO of GRT, an international organization with subsidiaries in the U.S.; Chargebacks911; and eConsumerServices. She additionally continues to hold the position of COO of Chargebacks911. Eaton-Cardone has earned a reputation for creative business solutions, helping merchants and banks to achieve sustainable payment processing practices and supporting consumers in resolving transaction issues. She is a champion of women in IT, and hopes to contribute to an expanded presence of females in technical professions and leadership roles. 1. "Payment Security Issues Worry Retailers." Payment Security Issues Worry Retailers. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2016. eweek.com/small-business/payment-security-issues-worry-retailers.html 2. "Talking Security with Iovation at Mobile Payment Innovations Summit | Payment Week." Payment Week. N.p., 17 Feb. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2016. paymentweek.com/2016-2-17-talking-security-with-iovation-at-mobile-payment-innovations-summit-9663/ Adding these new board members with significant marketing experience will help Unanet continue as a disruptive force in the people, project and financial management arena for professional services organizations In January of 2016, Unanet shareholders elected Michele Perry and Susan Ganeshan to the Board of Directors to expand the board to eight members. This expansion is due to the growth of Unanet following the release of Unanet Financials and the increased demand for the product from the professional services sector. Six incumbent members were also reelected. Unanet's two new board members are veterans of the enterprise software sector and their expertise will help Unanet continue its growth by delivering outstanding software and services to customers in its chosen markets. Michele Perry's experience includes a variety of executive leadership such as her current roles as Principal of MPB Strategies, LLC, Stars Mentor for MACH37 Cyber Accelerator, and Board Director and Interim Executive at ThreatConnect, Inc. Michele also served in senior roles at other technology companies, earning experience in operations, marketing, sales, product strategy, software, branding, and marketing automation. The expertise Michele has gained and her dedication to helping companies thrive and grow will assist Unanet through her Board of Directors position. In addition to the appointment of Michele Perry, Susan Ganeshan will be joining the Unanet Board of Directors. Susan Ganeshan currently presides as the Chief Marketing Officer of Clarabridge where she is responsible for driving high volume lead generation, redefining brand, and providing leadership. Along with Susans high-energy, results-oriented mentality and combination of technical and business expertise, this experience as a software executive will benefit the future growth of Unanet. Additionally, Susan brings nearly 20 years of software experience covering the areas of marketing, product management, implementation consulting, sales, and training. All of these abilities and traits will help Unanet to remain a market leader in the people, project and financial management arena. With the election of Susan Ganeshan and Michele Perry, shareholders reelected incumbent Board of Director members, Fran Craig, Jack Hughes, Jack Kerrigan, Patrick Mayworm, Morris Panner, and Chris Craig. All of these incumbent members bring a wealth of knowledge in a variety of professions, allowing for the Board as a whole to provide sound advice and guidance charting the future of Unanet as the company continues to grow. Adding these new board members with significant marketing experience will help Unanet continue as a disruptive force in the people, project and financial management arena for professional services organizations, noted Fran Craig, CEO of Unanet. "The entire board is focused toward growing the Unanet company and brand to be the market leader in professional services and project-based organizations. Unanet continues to enhance its one software product with capabilities helping its customers to do more with less, be more competitive in the market place, and move faster with real-time information and decision making." About Unanet: Unanet is a leading provider of Cloud and On-Premise software for project-based organizations. Unanet delivers a purpose-built Project ERP solution with skills management, resource planning, budgeting & forecasting, time & expense reporting, billing & revenue recognition, project management analytics and dashboards, and integrated financials with AR, AP, GL and cost pool calculations. Over 1,000 organizations rely on Unanet to maximize staff utilization, reduce administrative costs by 90%, improve invoicing by 10X, and support forward decision-making for improved operations. Zhi-Qing Lin, PhD, director of SIUEs environmental sciences program. There is strong demand for environmental scientists as public interest in the hazards facing the environment has grown dramatically The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is introducing a bachelors program in environmental sciences to begin fall 2016. There is strong demand for environmental scientists as public interest in the hazards facing the environment has grown dramatically, said Zhi-Qing Lin, PhD and director of the environmental sciences program. The increasing pressure placed on the environment and natural resources due to population growth is also expected to spur the need for environmental scientists and specialists. Students of the new interdisciplinary program may choose a concentration in the areas of environmental health, environmental toxicology and environmental management. Students perspectives on environmental issues will be cultivated. The program will provide students with refined knowledge of environmental issues at the local, regional and global levels. The curriculum will increase students technical competence in addressing these environmental issues, their origins, ramifications and resolutions. The program will promote experiential learning, professional education and prepare students for career opportunities in a wide variety of workplaces. Students in environmental sciences have various opportunities to conduct research with faculty on diverse, multidisciplinary and cutting-edge research topics in the fields of environmental biology, chemistry, toxicology, technology and environmental policy, said Bill Retzlaff, PhD and CAS associate dean. Students are also encouraged to gain professional experience through community service, internships and other hands-on learning opportunities during their undergraduate careers. SIUEs environmental sciences program is one of few in southern Illinois providing students with interdisciplinary and hands-on learning opportunities in the discipline. Giving undergraduate students the opportunity to work closely with faculty, who are at the top of their field in environmental sciences, sets our program apart and provides the kind of quality academic preparation that todays students demand, said Greg Budzban, PhD and dean of CAS. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment of environmental scientists and specialists is projected to grow 11 percent during the decade ending in 2024, which is faster than the average for all occupations in the U.S. The median annual wage for environmental scientists and specialists was $66,250 in May 2014. For further information about the bachelors in environmental sciences program at SIUE, please contact the CAS Academic Advising Office 618-650-5525, or Lin at 618-650-2650 or zhlin(at)siue(dot)edu. Central to SIUEs exceptional and comprehensive education, the College of Arts and Sciences has 19 departments and 85 areas of study. More than 300 full-time faculty/instructors deliver classes to more than 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Faculty help students explore diverse ideas and experiences, while learning to think and live as fulfilled, productive members of the global community. Study abroad, service-learning, internships, and other experiential learning opportunities better prepare SIUE students not only to succeed in our region's workplaces, but also to become valuable leaders who make important contributions to our communities. Friends of UNFPA appointed Minh Ngo to Chair of the Board of Directors and announced that Melissa A. Kuklin will serve as Executive Director, effective immediately. Bringing a wealth of executive management and board leadership experience to Friends of UNFPA, Ms. Ngo has served as the President of the 100 Women Charitable Foundation and actively serves on the board of directors of multiple non-profit organizations. Over the last decade, Ms. Ngo has raised millions in philanthropic contributions and social venture funds to support important social causes. Minh has a deep understanding of the complex fundraising challenges and leadership expertise for nonprofits, said outgoing Board Chair of Friends of UNFPA, Wendy Cai-Lee. Helping to fuel UNFPAs efforts at changing the world not just for the women of today but for our children and our childrens children requires big picture thinking and dedication that Minh has demonstrated throughout her career. Ms. Ngo will oversee the strategic direction of Friends of UNFPA and will work and engage with innovative funding platforms to drive funds to UNFPA programs that support womens sexual and reproductive health and rights. I am humbled and gratified to build upon the success of Friends of UNFPA, Ms. Ngo said. With our support, UNFPA can continue to save the lives and build the futures of millions of women, children and families in developing countries. Melissa A. Kuklin, a close to 30-year veteran of the non-profit sector has accumulated a wealth of experience in organizational leadership and development having held leadership roles at Lincoln Center and Merrill Lynch. Ms. Kuklin has been with Friends of UNFPA since 2010, and most recently was Officer in Charge and Director of Development. In her new role as Executive Director, Ms. Kuklin will lead Friends of UNFPAs efforts to foster ongoing collaboration and mutual support for UNFPAs lifesaving work. Together with UNFPAs leadership, Ms. Kuklin and Friends of UNFPA will help build awareness and raise funds to support women and girls during humanitarian crises, reduce maternal mortality and morbidity, increase access to family planning services, and protect the rights of young people. Melissas impressive experience, organizational expertise, deep institutional knowledge of UNFPA and strong track record in the development space make her a stellar fit to serve as Executive Director, Ms. Cai-Lee added. The adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals has ushered in a new era of development for all people everywhere, and Friends of UNFPA is now on the best footing to help UNFPA tackle these important and ambitious goals. UNFPA expands the possibilities for some of the worlds most vulnerable women and girls, said Ms. Kuklin. Ive seen firsthand the transformative value of investments in reproductive health and family planning and am committed to ensuring that Friends of UNFPA provides robust support for their efforts. About Friends of UNFPA Friends of UNFPA was established in 1998. It is a non-profit organization, headquartered in New York, that supports the work of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. UNFPA is delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young persons potential is fulfilled. Friends of UNFPA advances this global effort by mobilizing funds and action for UNFPAs lifesaving work. , , , , . The partnership between CIEE and Penn CMSI is an unprecedented effort to move the needle in a serious way around study abroad for students of color, and especially students at minority serving institutions. Today CIEE: Council on International Educational Exchange and The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Educations Center for Minority Serving Institutions (Penn CMSI) announce a three-year comprehensive strategy to increase study abroad at minority serving institutions (MSIs), including workshops for college presidents, faculty training programs, and student scholarships. Research shows that students who study abroad have higher GPAs, are more likely to graduate on time, and are more attractive to employers that seek to hire candidates with intercultural competencies. However, there is a significant gap in the profile of those who study abroad versus the overall population of U.S. undergraduates. While students of color represent almost 40 percent of all undergraduates, they represent only 26 percent of those students who study abroad, including just 8.3 percent who are Hispanic and 5.6 percent who are black. Recognizing the importance of senior leadership in addressing these gaps, in November 2015 CIEE and Penn CMSI gathered 10 presidents of leading minority serving institutions in Berlin, Germany, for an inaugural Study Abroad Leadership Workshop for Minority Serving Institutions to discuss the importance of exposing more students from MSIs to international education opportunities. Workshop participants agreed that study abroad must be adapted as part of a schools overall culture in order to succeed in engaging more students of color in the practice. Such culture change, they determined, requires a multipronged effort that relies on engaging faculty, known to be key influencers in mentoring and guiding students. After the strong endorsement on the impact of the workshop from the MSI presidents, CIEE and Penn CMSI have agreed to expand their partnership for three more years of programming, signing a memorandum of understanding to produce integrated training and support programs for key constituents at MSIs. "Our partnership with CIEE is an unprecedented effort to move the needle in a serious way around study abroad for students of color, and especially students at minority serving institutions, said Marybeth Gasman, professor and director of the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions. Through a comprehensive plan that engages MSI leaders, faculty, and students in the planning and facilitation of study abroad, we can bring vast learning opportunities to students who have longed to experience a larger world and enhance their learning. The partnership will include: 1. President Workshops on International Education CIEE and Penn CMSI will produce the Leadership Workshop for Minority Serving Institutions for two more years. The workshops will coincide with the 2016 and 2017 CIEE Annual Conferences in Los Angeles, California; and Austin, Texas. 2. Faculty Training and Development Programs on International Education CIEE and Penn CMSI will co-sponsor the ELEVATE conference, an annual program that brings together early career MSI faculty to further equip them with support, training, and an opportunity to create a close-knit network of peers. In addition, CIEE and Penn CMSI will co-sponsor MSI faculty to attend a special CIEE International Faculty Development Seminar in summer 2016, which will provide additional training and an introduction to best practices. 3. Student Scholarships for Study Abroad CIEE will donate all proceeds from its Annual Conference vendor fees to a scholarship fund that will be administered by Penn CMSI. Each year, Penn CMSI will award scholarships totaling at least $50,000 to students from MSIs who would not otherwise be able to study abroad. Expanding opportunities for global education is an imperative for university leaders across the country. Our experience indicates that the most successful colleges are those that have strong leadership advocating for international education, engaged faculty shaping programs that are appropriate for each institution, and students that have the support they need to participate, said James P. Pellow, Ed.D., president and chief executive officer of CIEE and a Penn Graduate School of Education alumnus. The opportunity to work with the nations leader in promoting best practices for education at MSIs is both a privilege and a powerful way to affect change. MSI presidents who attended the study abroad workshop in Berlin and who are working on this next phase of faculty engagement include: Wayne Frederick (Howard University), Joseph I. Castro (California State University-Fresno), Mildred Garcia (California State University-Fullerton), Henry Tisdale (Claflin University), Elmira Magnum (Florida A&M University), Vinton Thompson (Metropolitan College of New York), David Wilson (Morgan State University), George Wright (Prairie View A&M University), Michael J. Sorrell (Paul Quinn College), and Willie Larkin (Grambling State University). Said Michael Sorrell, president of Paul Quinn College, As the world has become a more interconnected and smaller place, students from under resourced communities cannot afford to be left on the sidelines and marginalized in this new world order. The work that CIEE does in expanding the cultural and educational opportunities for all students is critically important and tremendously under appreciated. The Paul Quinn College community is extremely grateful for CIEEs and Penn CMSIs investment in our students and our faculty. About CIEE: Council on International Educational Exchange Founded in 1947, CIEE is the countrys oldest and largest nonprofit study abroad and intercultural exchange organization, serving more than 340 U.S. colleges and universities, 1,000 U.S. high schools, and more than 40,000 international exchange students each year. CIEE serves as a leading sponsor for the U.S. Department of States Exchange Visitor Program (the J-1 visa program), supporting exchanges with over 90 countries. In addition, CIEE operates 67 study centers in 45 countries, sponsors international faculty training programs, teach abroad programs, and various specialty and custom programs for secondary, post-secondary, and international students. Visit http://www.ciee.org. About the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions The Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions brings together researchers and practitioners from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions. The Centers goals include: elevating the educational contributions of MSIs; ensuring that they are a part of national conversations; bringing awareness to the vital role MSIs play in the nations economic development; increasing the rigorous scholarship of MSIs; connecting MSIs academic and administrative leadership to promote reform initiatives; and strengthening efforts to close educational achievement gaps among disadvantaged communities. For further information about the Center, please visit http://www.gse.upenn.edu/cmsi. Using AIMS software means that they can quickly re-task an aircraft without expensive reconfiguration, training, or time on the ground CarteNav Solutions (http://www.CarteNav.com), the international leader in mission system software, will be demonstrating their very latest products at Helicopter Association Internationals (HAI) HELI-EXPO this week at booth 7336. Coming on the back of recent high-profile contract awards in the UK and Europe, and a very successful show in Singapore earlier this month, CarteNav is looking forward to demonstrating its latest software to a North American audience. Mr. Paul Evans, CEO of CarteNav, said, Weve just completed a very successful show in Singapore and we look forward to showing some of the softwares new features a little closer to home. The flexibility and adaptability of the software means it can be used in a wide variety of roles, including law enforcement, infrastructure monitoring, and Search and Rescue, as well as more traditional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations. Many of our customers use the same aircraft for different missions, continued Mr. Evans. Using AIMS software means that they can quickly re-task an aircraft without expensive reconfiguration, training, or time on the ground. The Heliwest Group, based in Australia, have been a long time user of AIMS, and use the same system for oil-spill monitoring, fire mapping, and other missions. Luke Aspinall, Special Operations Manager for Heliwest confirmed, It allows us to make huge efficiencies across our fleet and mission tasking. Based in Canada, CarteNav has a global customer base with military, government, and commercial clients in 20 countries over 6 continents. AIMS can integrate a wide range of sensors, including surveillance cameras, vehicle trackers, and searchlights. It can also link up multiple clients in the air and on the ground to provide every user with a comprehensive, real-time operating picture. About CarteNav Solutions Inc. CarteNav Solutions Inc. is an international leader in mission and sensor management software solutions for the airborne, land, and maritime environments. Founded in 2002, CarteNav offers operationally proven technology that integrates, manages, and displays relevant data that dramatically improves the performance of both sensor operators and tactical decision makers. The company has established a reputation for providing sought-after, high-value solutions that can be deployed on a wide variety of platforms for multiple mission types for government, military, and commercial customers. About HAI HELI-EXPO HELI-EXPO, produced annually by Helicopter Association International, is the worlds largest helicopter tradeshow and exposition and is dedicated to the international helicopter community. Held this year in Louisville, Kentucky at the Kentucky Exposition Center between 1st and 3rd of March, this years show has attracted more than 700 exhibitors and is expected to see in excess of 20,000 visitors from around the world over the three days. The new IntellaFlex 100G solution is shipping now and is compatible with all existing IntellaFlex XR monitoring systems, ensuring an easy migration path. APCON, a provider of intelligent network monitoring solutions, unveiled today the new IntellaFlex 100G Ethernet monitoring solution at the RSA Conference 2016 at booth #733 in the South Hall. Enterprises and service providers are increasing bandwidth and capabilities at critical network hot spots. This is great for users, but there is a risk of less visibility for security monitoring, said Richard Rauch, president and CEO of APCON. The new IntellaFlex 100G solution is shipping now and is compatible with all existing IntellaFlex XR monitoring systems, ensuring an easy migration path. The need for tools that require packet data shows no slowdown in growth, as network bandwidth and capabilities continue to grow faster than processing and storage technologies, writes Vivek Bhalla, principal research analyst, and Danilo Ciscato, research director, at Gartner, in the January 2016 Market Guide for Network Packet Brokers (NPB). NPBs help solve this problem by massaging data before handing it off to tools, and these mediators are becoming critical to build-out and upgrade projects. With the new 100G monitoring solution, APCONs IntellaFlex XR family provides complete network visibility and a wide range of features for traffic optimization to match the capacity of security and performance monitoring tools. An integrated IntellaFlex XR system offers: Monitoring of multiple ports for 1G, 10G, 40G and 100G traffic The ability to select traffic of interest with aggregation and Multi-Stage Filtering Load balance traffic to 10G and 1G network and security tools 100G trunking of multiple monitoring systems across campus locations Best-in-class WebXR GUI, TitanXR switch management and Mobile App APCONs IntellaFlex 100G solution is available immediately for purchase. Demonstrations of APCONs network monitoring solutions at the RSA Conference 2016 include: IntellaStore II: Collects data streams from different points across the network and merges them into a continuous flow. It multicasts the flow to customer selected network monitoring and security tools and can store traffic-of-interest to scalable storage for real-time or post-incident analysis. See the IntellaStore II page for information on APCONs certified apps. IntellaFlex Bypass Switch: Enables enterprise networks to remain functional and accessible even if a security device fails. APCON will demonstrate its security tool bypass and load balancing capabilities and real-time alerts on APCONs Mobile App. TitanXR: The industrys easiest to use single, centralized point of management for network monitoring in a multi-switch environment. TitanXR allows users to share expensive security devices throughout their networks. The APCON Mobile App complements TitanXR by providing realtime status of the APCON monitoring network remotely. Any media representative who wants to schedule an APCON product demonstration may contact the APCON public relations team at 469-291-6902. About APCON For more than 20 years, APCON has consistently delivered smart, stable and scalable technology solutions to service providers and businesses seeking total data center visibility and security. Its customers range from midsize companies to Fortune 1000 enterprises in more than 40 countries. APCON assures superior network monitoring while supporting traffic analysis and streamlined network management and security. For more information, visit http://www.apcon.com or follow us on Twitter @apcon. Tickets on sale for Carnival at the Pier "Carnival at the Pier offers something fun for both kids and parents alike. We are also proud that all of the funds raised will go towards helping thousands of at-risk children and their families to thrive..." Act fast less than a week left to purchase tickets for Children's Bureau's 14th Annual Carnival at the Pier event, hosted by the Angelic Auxiliary on Sunday, March 6, 2016 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier. Admission includes private use of the park, unlimited amusement park rides, lunch and carnival snacks, unlimited photo booth photos, game tickets, and more. Approximately 400 kids and parents are expected to attend the event and help raise $105,000 net for Childrens Bureau, a nonprofit leader in child abuse prevention and treatment. Carnival at the Pier offers something fun for both kids and parents alike. We are also proud that all of the funds raised will go towards helping thousands of at-risk children and their families to thrive. Childrens Bureau does extraordinary work in providing families with the tools and resources they need to succeed, said Jackie Hassett, President, Angelic Auxiliary. Major corporate sponsor is AECOM, and additional sponsors include Pacific Wheel Sponsor- Marianna & John Linfesty, West Coast Sponsors- Deepthi & Patrick Brown, Leigh & Rich Flisher, Jackie & James Hassett, Carleen & Bryant Riley, and Carrie & Peter Tilton, and Inkies Scrambler Sponsors- Kathleen & Greg Outcalt, Keitha Russell, and Jennifer Slator. Ticket price is $85.00 for adults (ages 16 & up) and $40.00 for kids (ages 3 - 15). Tickets will be held for guests at check-in. The Carnival tickets also include free parking in the pier lower lot. To purchase tickets, visit http://www.all4kids.org/carnival and watch more details unfold on Facebook @childrensbureau. Marc Sullivan, VP of Development & Operations at Domus Development When I first started working with Eric on a project basis with asset management, I realized that we had a great synergy together with the same work ethic and drive. Im excited to see what we will achieve in 2016. Domus Development, a veteran student housing development company based in Dallas, has recently hired Marc Sullivan as vice president of development and operations. Sullivan brings 10 years of experience in real estate, finance and development to Domus Development, making it a highly experienced firm in all aspects of student housing development. Marc is a great asset to Domus and because of him we have already doubled the size of our company, welcoming more clients and developing more properties, said Eric Jakimier, owner of Domus Development and student housing industry veteran. We have done nearly $100 million in development as a one-person firm and with the addition of Marc, we have the capacity to expand in scope to do more deals and also offer asset management services. Sullivans expertise is a result of working in various capacities in the real estate industry for the past 10 years, including financial analysis, asset management and development. Im so honored to be working with such a vibrant and successful development company, said Sullivan. When I first started working with Eric on a project basis with asset management, I realized that we had a great synergy together with the same work ethic and drive. Im excited to see what we will achieve in 2016. Following completion of his masters degree in real estate at the University of Texas Arlington, Sullivan began his real estate career in student housing development, with responsibility for the financial analysis and asset management of student housing projects located in Texas, Florida and Missouri. In 2007, he joined Reef Points Advisors as a partner where he was involved in broader real estate asset types, adding luxury multi-family, office, retail and industrial assets to his real estate portfolio experience. Over the course of eight years with Reef Points, Sullivan handled all financial analysis and underwriting, asset management and development for the partnership resulting in the acquisition and development of more than $165 million in projects in Texas, California, Missouri and the District of Columbia. At Domus Development, Sullivan is responsible for asset management of six assets, as well as sourcing new development deals, among others. Sullivan is also a licensed real estate broker in the state of Texas. For more information about Domus Development, please visit http://www.domusdevelopmentllc.com. About Domus Development Dallas-Based Domus Development specializes in the development of student housing, both university-owned and privately owned communities across the U.S. Domus Development is highly experienced in all aspects of student housing development, from site selection, acquisition, due diligence, design consultant management, lender contract negation, negotiations with governmental agencies, construction management, project turnover and reporting to investors. For more information, please visit http://www.domusdevelopmentllc.com. With AvePoint Meetings Pro, now even the largest enterprises can improve the way they manage meetings to streamline communication and maximize efficiency. AvePoint, the Microsoft Cloud expert, today announced the general availability of the latest release of AvePoint Meetings Pro for SharePoint. With AvePoint Meetings Pro, organizations bring order and productivity to meetings while maintaining accountability. AvePoint Meetings Pro allows users to collaborate with one another before, during, and after meetings through SharePoint by creating agendas, tasks, and notes, as well as tracking attendance to increase productivity and ensure accountability. New features include: Enhanced Scalability and Performance: AvePoint Meetings Pro now hosts all data structures in SQL Server to enable the scalability required for larger enterprises to maintain optimal performance. The Outlook Plug-In for Meetings is now installed via a Windows Installer package (MSI), which allows enterprises to utilize Group Policy to control the deployment. Meeting Privacy and Granular Security: Organizations can leverage a simple model for securing entire meetings or individual agenda items in order to keep content in the hands of those who need it, while reducing the risk of data leakage. Improved Features for Managing Meetings: End users now have more control over the content associated with meetings including configurable date formats, selective carryover of open agenda items for reoccurring meetings, and the ability to mark agenda items as completed or mark attendees late. Enterprise-Grade Monitoring: AvePoint Meetings Pro now includes a System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) plug-in to allow system administrators to monitor the health and performance of the application across a number of dimensions including errors, slow-loading meetings/pages, and time to create meetings. Meetings are an integral part of any organization, but can become even more complex in larger companies, said George Petrou, Chief Technology Officer, AvePoint. With AvePoint Meetings Pro, now even the largest enterprises can improve the way they manage meetings to streamline communication and maximize efficiency. The latest release of AvePoint Meetings Pro is generally available today, March 1, 2016. For more information on the product and its features, please visit our website. About AvePoint AvePoint is the Microsoft Cloud expert. Over 15,000 companies and 3 million cloud users worldwide trust AvePoint to migrate, manage, and protect their Office 365 and SharePoint data. AvePoints integrated cloud, hybrid, and on-premises software solutions are enhanced by 24/7 support and award-winning services. Organizations across six continents and all industries rely on AvePoint to ease transition to the Microsoft Cloud, increase IT administrator productivity, and satisfy governance and compliance objectives. A two-time Microsoft Partner of the Year Award winner, AvePoint has been named to the Inc. 500|5000 six times and the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 five times. AvePoint is a Microsoft Global ISV Partner, Gold Application Development Partner, Gold Cloud Platform Partner, Gold Collaboration and Content Partner, and US Government GSA provider via strategic partnerships. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Jersey City, NJ, AvePoint is privately held and backed by Goldman Sachs. All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners. CaseEdge has added Casemaker, a leader in online legal research, to their legal technology platform. CaseEdge now offers its subscribers access to cases, codes and statutes as well as citation tools, Case Check+ and CiteCheck, as well as an extensive Pleadings Repository. Casemaker and Mozato have entered into a multi-year agreement in which Mozato has been granted the exclusive right to distribute Casemaker outside of Casemakers distribution agreements with various bar associations. As part of the deal, Mozato has granted Casemaker users access to a rich repository of over 50 million pleadings. Casemaker is a leading provider of online legal research in the U.S. Subsequently, CaseEdge customers benefit from their experienced legal editors who are committed to providing the most up-to-date cases and statutes available anywhere. We are thrilled to offer this research tool as an additional benefit to our customers, said Mel Yarbrough, Mozato CEO. David Harriman, CEO of Casemaker, said, We are so pleased to be part of the CaseEdge package. Casemaker users love being able to improve their research efficiency and effectiveness with pleadings from the database of a long-trusted e-Filing provider. CaseEdge streamlines an attorneys practice with an affordable solution that combines leading, third party solutions such as e-Signing via DocuSign, payment processing via LawPay, expert witness records via Daubert Tracker and proprietary client intake applications. Accessible from any device via CaseEdge, Casemakers legal research enhances the tools available within the CaseEdge practice management suite. Attorneys with access to CaseEdge have finally found a low-cost, all-inclusive service that gives subscribers excellent content along with great value-added services. About Mozato Mozato (formally File & ServeXpress), headquartered in Irving, Texas, was formed in 2012 through an acquisition of two of the pioneers of e-Filing and e-Service CaseFileXpress and File & Serve, a former LexisNexis company. The resulting combination brought together more than 30 years of experience in legal e-Filing and e-Service to form the leader in the industry, offering products that provide access to universally compatible document exchange and management technologies. The company serves all types and sizes of courts, firms, cases and practice areas. In March 2015, Mozato launched its pioneering legal technology platform, CaseEdge, a fully integrated legal technology solution for attorneys. Mozato combines exceptional customer service and advanced e-Filing and e-Service technology with the management and financial strength of its private investors. Mozato was formed by the shareholders of MMC Group, LP, Strait Lane Capital and Rosewood Private Investments specifically to acquire File & Serve and CaseFileXpress. TSN Advertising promotes Pacifico at Staples Center We started out small in Vegas but took great care to execute a successful campaign for Corona, which Im pleased to see was just the beginning of a much larger partnership. TSN Advertising has announced the rollout of a multi month, six market campaign for the new Pacifico 24oz can, which will be hitting stores March 1st, 2016. Ahead of the March 1st release, TSN has launched a major truck campaign across most markets in the southwest promoting the new can where Pacificos customers shop, eat, and drink. Tasked with raising awareness of the new 24oz can, Pacifico decided to go with the TSN platform: beautifully branded large delivery trucks that make daily deliveries in the core of the Pacifico market. This newest campaign comes on the heels of a winter campaign for Victoria, which promoted the Mexican beer in SF and LA. Constellation Brands chief marketing officer, Jim Sabia, told Adweek, Our Pacifico beer and Casa Noble tequila brands have significant upside potential for growth. With the introduction of a 24oz Pacifico can, the brand is indeed expanding its reach. TSN Advertising has been working closely with Constellation Brands for nearly a year, launching their first campaign in Las Vegas to promote Coronas sponsorship of the inaugural Rock in Rio music festival. Kevin Dempsey, who helps manage the account for TSN, recalls, We started out small in Vegas but took great care to execute a successful campaign for Corona, which Im pleased to see was just the beginning of a much larger partnership. Soon after that promotion, Victoria Beer saw exceptional value in the unique coverage and product exposure that TSN could provide. Soon thereafter, TSN launched a three month, 26 truck hispanic initiative for Victoria beer across San Francisco & Los Angeles. Starting March 1st, Pacifico-branded TSN trucks will be making deliveries in Los Angeles, Inland Empire, San Diego, Sacramento, Phoenix and the Bay Area. Blueprint, an innovator and global leader in driving IT project success through requirements management, today announced the launch of its enhanced online customer community. The Blueprint Community is a virtual community of practice for customers to easily find information about how to use Blueprint, collaborate with other Blueprint users, learn Blueprint and industry best practices, and engage with Blueprints company experts. Through the community, Blueprints overarching goal is to help customers optimize the benefits of its solution, to manage software requirements and improve software quality. Highlights of the New Blueprint Community Through the enhanced online customer community, Blueprints valued customers will gain the ability to: Easily find resources to optimize their Blueprint experience. Community users have easy access to a consolidated set of resources, including documentation, videos, webinars, and Knowledge Base articles. They can learn how to use Blueprint and quickly find the answers to common questions. Connect with fellow Blueprint users to share best practices. All Blueprint customers can join the Blueprint Community, allowing them to connect with people in other organizations to collaborate, share approaches, and learn from one another. Interact directly with Blueprint to gain product and industry knowledge. Through the community, customers can connect with Blueprint product experts to participate in product discussions and learn more about how the requirements definition and management (RDM) industry and tools are evolving. Contact Blueprints support team to answer questions and solve problems. In a future release, the Blueprint Community will provide a quick way for users to contact Blueprint to learn more about their Blueprint environments and obtain technical support. Blueprint enhanced its online customer community in response to a 2015 customer satisfaction survey. Blueprint users from more than 40 customer accounts participated in the communitys beta testing and are now active users. The Blueprint Community will be open to all Blueprint customers on Monday, February 29, 2016 at https://community.blueprintsys.com. For additional information, contact Blueprint at 1-866-979-2583 (BLUE) or Blueprints Customer Marketing Manager, Saranya Yogarajah, at saranya(dot)yogarajah(at)blueprintsys(dot)com. About Blueprint Blueprint provides an industry-leading software solution that helps large organizations build better business and software applications. Enterprises across the globe use Blueprint to ensure regulatory compliance, speed transition to Agile, better align Business and IT and leverage seamless integration with leading ALM technologies. Nearly half of all Fortune 100 companies choose Blueprint to de-risk and accelerate their software projects. For more information, visit http://www.blueprintsys.com. Dr. Patricia DeSalvo of DeSalvo Dental was recently reviewed and approved as an NJ Top Dentist! DeSalvo Dental has provided personalized dental care to thousands of families. Their patients come from near and far to experience the warm, individualized care they provide. They pride themselves in utilizing the most modern equipment and methods available. In order to provide nothing but the best to their patients, their office uses state-of-the-art technologies in all their procedures. These new technologies allow them to detect dental concerns at early stages, treat patients dental issues with precision, and provide stunning and customized restorations. Their premium dental software system maximizes patient time and their office efficiency. When a patient visits their office they can be confident that they are receiving the finest and most advanced in dental care. Dr. DeSalvos specialties range from routine dental care for the whole family to cosmetic dentistry that includes veneers, porcelain inlays, onlays, crowns and whitening. Dr. DeSalvo is a graduate of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, with subsequent training at Hackensack University Medical Center. She is a familiar figure in local school districts, where she often volunteers to convey the importance of daily preventive care. Working together with my associates, an orthodontist, periodontist and endodontist, we strive to treat each patient individually to meet all their needs and goals, states Dr. DeSalvo, whose patients range in age from 4 to 84. Patient education is at the forefront of the new practice. During a visit, not only will Dr. DeSalvo explain the procedure, but will show you with a digital intraoral camera and a computerized patient education system called GURU. This greatly helps the patient make informed dental decisions. In addition, the practice uses digital x-rays, which provide less radiation and more comfort to the patient. Dr. DeSalvo provides pain-free laser dentistry with a state-of-the-art BIOLASE laser system. Dr. DeSalvo also believes that every patient should be routinely screened for oral cancer and has equipped the office with a non-invasive oral cancer screening system called VELscope. Some additional services she provides are: Bonding Orthodontics Crowns & Bridges Night Guards Dental Cleaning Dentures Extractions Fillings Implant Restoration Root Canal Sealants Veneers Whitening Technologies at the office: Paperless Charting Auto Appointment Reminders Digital Imaging Digital X-Rays Electronic Claims Intraoral Camera Dr. DeSalvo is conveniently located in Englewood, New Jersey. To learn more about Dr. DeSalvo please follow the link below to her online profile: http://njtopdocs.com/nj-dentists/desalvo-dental/ About Us NJ Top Dentists is a comprehensive information resource of Top Doctors, Dentists and Hospitals. We are profiling over 900 Healthcare Providers and have made it convenient for you to find them. NJ Top Dentists allows patients to meet these providers online before making their appointment. For more information, visit http://www.NJTopDocs.com. You can also follow us on Facebook Twitter YouTube Providing freight brokers, shippers, third party logistic providers and carriers with real-time locations of the loads theyve contracted out is an essential part of providing complete visibility across the supply chain MacroPoint, creators of patented freight tracking software designed to give 3rd party visibility into load status by tracking the location of a drivers mobile phone, including flip phones, or existing in-cab ELD/GPS devices, today announced that Bennett Adelson, president of MacroPoint will be a featured speaker at the HighJump Elevate 2016 User Conference in Orlando, Florida on Monday, March 7, 2016. Adelsons presentation-- Total Visibility in the Supply Chain will be part of an agenda of informative, in-depth sessions on industry trends and market needs. Providing freight brokers, shippers, third party logistic providers and carriers with real-time locations of the loads theyve contracted out is an essential part of providing complete visibility across the supply chain, Adelson said. The ability to automatically track loads using MacroPoint is a powerful tool for enhancing customer service and addressing issues that may occur. We are looking forward to explaining the benefits of load tracking and our seamless integrated solution with HighJump to customers attending the companys user conference. Announced at the 2014 Transportation Intermediaries Association Conference, the MacroPoint integration with HighJump, a leading supply chain execution software provider, tracks loads including arrivals and departures from stops and provides position updates. The seamless interface with HighJumps Prophesy Dispatch TMS automatically transfers load information from MacroPoint, reducing the need for check calls and provides event notifications that enhance the efficiency and profitability of operations. About MacroPoint Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, MacroPoint designs freight monitoring and tracking solutions for shippers, brokers and 3PLs. Founded in 2011, MacroPoints patented, automated load monitoring and tracking software provides load location visibility to third parties. The pay per use solution works on any cell phone, not just smart phones, and with existing in-cab ELD/GPS tracking devices to provide real-time location monitoring and tracking, delivery monitoring, and event notifications to third parties. Integrated with a wide range of TMS systems, MacroPoint automates the entire process, eliminating the need for drivers to check in with dispatchers, and for shippers and brokers to check in with carriers. To date, over 500,000 driver cell phones have been setup by thousands of brokers, shippers and trucking companies using MacroPoint to track their freight, and millions of trucks are MacroPoint enabled via their in-cab ELD devices. To learn more about MacroPoints industry leading solution for third party shipment tracking, call 866-960-0328 or visit http://www.macropoint.com. San Jacinto College and Baylor University today signed a transfer agreement to allow students an easy transfer between the two institutions. "We appreciate the opportunity, and are honored to be a part of the Baylor Bound program." San Jacinto College Chancellor, Dr. Brenda Hellyer San Jacinto College and Baylor University today announced the creation of a formal Baylor Bound transfer agreement that will help students transfer more easily between the two institutions and continue to expand educational opportunities for young people all across Texas. San Jacinto College Chancellor Dr. Brenda Hellyer, and Baylor President and Chancellor Ken Starr, signed the partnership agreement during a ceremony at the San Jacinto College Maritime Technology and Training Center on the Maritime Campus, the Colleges newest campus located along the Port of Houston. We are very excited about the possibilities and opportunities this Baylor Bound agreement will have for our students, said Dr. Hellyer. Part of our mission is to provide seamless transfers for our students, while providing an affordable and quality education for students who choose San Jacinto College as their entry point into higher education. This agreement and collaboration fall directly in line with our mission. We appreciate the opportunity, and are honored to be a part of the Baylor Bound program. As one of its goals under the Pro Futuris strategic initiative, Baylor intends to create 10 Baylor Bound partnerships during the next five years. The Baylor-San Jacinto College agreement is the eighth partnership, along with McLennan Community College in Waco, Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Blinn College in Brenham, Collin College in McKinney, Temple College in Temple, Alamo Colleges in San Antonio, and Midland College in Odessa. Partnerships such as these will help students like Cody Seals, a U.S. Navy Veteran and San Jacinto College sophomore in the Honors program, who plans to transfer to Baylor University this Fall to complete his baccalaureate degree in microbiology, en route to becoming a doctor. I chose Baylor because they have an extremely prestigious science program and medical school, and I love the challenge that moving on to a school like Baylor can offer me, he said. It was during my time in service that I realized my passion for helping people so I decided to return to school at San Jacinto College to start on a life sciences degree on a path to becoming a doctor. Students may declare their intent to transfer to Baylor by submitting the Baylor Bound application prior to enrolling at San Jacinto College or while enrolled as a full-time student. Admission to the program will be determined by Baylors Office of Admission Services. Students at San Jacinto College who become part of the Baylor Bound program can choose a plan from 66 majors, all of which are articulated through specific MAPS or Major Academic Planners that will assist them as they move toward timely degree completion. More information about these majors and course transfer equivalency between Baylor and San Jacinto College is available at baylor.edu/university_advisement/index.php?id=869884. Students must be enrolled in an approved Associate of Arts (A.A.) or Associate of Science (A.S.) academic program leading to an approved Baylor Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.), Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.), or Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree and refer to Baylors Major Academic Planner when planning course work. We continue to be proud of the Baylor Bound programs as we add more esteemed institutions such as San Jacinto College to our growing list of partners, Judge Starr said. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with San Jacinto College on this important partnership, which expands educational access for students across our great state. Advisers from both institutions will help students select courses that satisfy program requirements to allow for a successful transition from San Jacinto College to full-time status at Baylor. San Jacinto College Baylor Bound students will receive information about scholarships for transfer students and special transfer residential experiences. Also, students from San Jacinto College will have access to Baylors libraries via the Interlibrary Loan Agreement as well as special opportunities to visit the Baylor campus and meet with Baylor representatives. Baylor and San Jacinto College officials, along with alumni, friends and special guests from across the region, gathered at a reception following the signing to celebrate the historic partnership between the two institutions. Speakers included Baylor alumna Allison (Tate) Montalvo, a professor of psychology at San Jacinto College, as well as Chancellor Hellyer and President Starr. Texas State Senator Larry Taylor (District 11), a Baylor alumnus, was also at the signing ceremony, along with State Senator Sylvia Garcia (District 6), and State Representatives Ed Thompson (District 29) and Gilbert Pena (District 144). About Baylor University Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. About San Jacinto College Surrounded by monuments of history, industries and maritime enterprises of today, and the space age of tomorrow, San Jacinto College has been serving the citizens of East Harris County, Texas, for more than 50 years. As an Achieving the Dream Leader College, San Jacinto College is committed to the goals and aspirations of a diverse population of approximately 30,000 credit students. The College offers 186 degrees and certificates, with 46 technical programs and a university transfer division. Students benefit from a support system that maps out a pathway for success, and job training programs that are renowned for meeting the needs of growing industries in the region. San Jacinto College graduates contribute nearly $690 million each year to the Texas workforce. For more information about San Jacinto College, please call 281-998-6150, visit sanjac.edu, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. CyberFlow Analytics, an emerging leader in the IoT and Cyber Security market with its Security Network Behavior Analytics solution FlowScape, announces the integration with APCONs IntellaStore II network monitoring platform. The IntellaStore II includes a dedicated application processor pre-loaded with packet analyzer (Wireshark), network performance (nTop), and security/performance (NetFort) applications on a Linux KVM software environment. Customers can install VMware and CyberFlow Analytics FlowScape on the IntellaStore II to enable a comprehensive and high performance network monitoring platform for network anomaly detection. Legacy tools can provide detection of known threats, but for IoTand for Enterprise IT the detection of unknown threats are provided through Network Behavioral Analytics. The combined hardware/software solution from APCON and CyberFlow analytics will combine two best-of-breed security monitoring solutions that include performance/scale to data center environments. CyberFlow Analytics is a great example of a partner that extends our new network monitoring platform with security analytics capabilities stated Richard Rauch, president and CEO of APCON. We tested partner applications like FlowScape to help our customers reduce time spent integrating threat management and monitoring solutions. CyberFlow Analytics has developed a unique approach to securing both Enterprise IT and their expanding enterprise boundaries of IoT. The IoT world and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication present new attack vectors that organizations are typically unaware of. For industrial IoT and data center environments network behavioral analytics presents a new real-time streaming capability for detection of high-risk anomalies. Many new Industrial IoT manufacturing, energy, and smart cities may not be equipped with the switched infrastructure to properly monitor their networks without impacting performance. APCON specializes in providing network monitoring solutions that scale. The integration of CyberFlow Analytics FlowScape software and the APCON IntellaStore II platform enables networking monitoring scalability including security behavioral analytics. Our customers are seeking a high performance and scalable security analytics platform for finding unknown threats in real-time and a new approach to visualizing the threat landscape, stated Steve Nye, president and CEO of CyberFlow Analytics. Our partnership with APCON will enable our data center customers to have a pre-tested solution for analytics. CyberFlow Analytics has developed a unique approach to streaming real-time security analytics by becoming plug and play, zero-config solution. The solution installs in less than an hour and works out of the box. Customers enjoy a no-hassle approach with little configuration, tuning or non-stop arduous rule writing required by other solutions such as SIEMs. The FlowScape system machine learns the normal behavior of customer networks and then through Binocular Fusion Analytics across many different behavioral models, detects high-risk anomalies associated with known and unknown threats. FlowScape integrates with Splunk or other SIEMs in less than 15 minutes using an easy FlowScape CyberHooks web services integration layer. About APCON For more than 20 years, APCON has consistently delivered smart, stable and scalable technology solutions to service providers and businesses seeking total data center visibility and security. Its customers are service providers and businesses ranging from midsize companies to Fortune 1000 enterprises in more than 40 countries. APCON assures superior network monitoring while supporting traffic analysis and streamlining network management and security. For more information, visit us at http://www.apcon.com or follow us on Twitter @apcon. Media Contacts: Karen Thomas Karen.thomas(at)apcon.com 469-291-6902 About CyberFlow Analytics CyberFlow Analytics develops FlowScape software that delivers continuous cyber security threat assessment and monitoring at scale using unsupervised machine learning and behavioral analytics. CyberFlow technology is focused on detection of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) and cyber breaches for the enterprise security market and the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT). The company has coined the expression anomalytics to describe real-time network anomaly detection using predictive analytics, threat intelligence and advanced visualization. CyberFlow was the first place winner of the Cisco Innovation Grand Challenge award at the IoT World Forum in December 2015. The company was founded and is managed by an experienced management team, which includes former CTO of AT&T Dr. Hossein Eslambolchi, former Infoblox and Cisco Systems executive Steve Nye and Tom Caldwell, former executive at Cisco Systems. CyberFlow Analytics is a privately held company headquartered in San Diego, California with offices in Silicon Valley. For more information, please visit http://www.cyberflowanalytics.com. Media Contact: Tom Caldwell, +1-858-737-3642 pr(at)cyberflowanalytics.com Andrews Federal and Joint Base Andrews staff after the Military Saves Week Proclamation signing. Andrews Federal Credit Union recently wrapped up a week full of complimentary financial seminars provided to its membership and the local military community, as part of the 2016 Military Saves Week. Military Saves Week is an annual opportunity for installations and organizations to promote good savings behavior, as well as a chance for service members and their families to assess their own saving status. Typically hundreds of organizations participate in the week, reaching millions of people. Andrews Federal kicked off the weeklong activities by participating in the Military Saves Proclamation Signing held at the Joint Base Andrews Military & Family Support Center. Oma George, Chief Retail Officer, Polly Quinn, Director of Marketing and Rosalind Bishop, Regional Manager DC, MD, VA, witnessed the signing of the Proclamation by Col. Bradley Hoagland, Joint Base Andrews Commander and Capt. Scott Fuller, Commanding Officer, NAF Washington. The Credit Union then hosted a series of free seminars aimed at providing members of the military community and their family with financial tips for saving money, buying a home, and purchasing or refinancing a vehicle. Military Saves Week was a great way for us to give back to members of the communities we serve said Andrews Federal President & CEO, Jim Hayes. From notable speakers such as Mrs. Singletary, to our very own Andrews Federal staff, we are grateful for the impact we made this week in giving our members the resources they need to make informed financial decisions. On Monday, nationally syndicated Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary shared personal finance tips with a crowd gathered at Andrews Federal Headquarters in Suitland, MD. The event was also available via webcast to additional attendees. On Tuesday, Andrews Federal and Joint Base Andrews Military & Family Support Center staff began a series of free financial seminars to educate the military community and their family members. Lindsay Ruehl, Community Outreach Coordinator and Polly Quinn teamed up to encourage students at Imagine Andrews Charter School and the Youth Center at Joint Base Andrews, to begin investing in their future now by saving. Stan Koussis, Community Development Manager, presented an auto buying seminar; providing valuable information and resources to help individuals with the auto buying process, and Edith Jenkins conducted two home buying seminars. About Andrews Federal Credit Union Andrews Federal Credit Union was founded in 1948 to serve the needs of military and civilian personnel by providing a vast array of financial products and services. With over $1 billion in assets, Andrews Federal has grown to serve more than 116,000 members in the District of Columbia, Joint Base Andrews (MD), Springfield, Virginia (VA), Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (NJ), and military installations in central Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In addition, the Credit Union serves as a financial partner with many select employee groups in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia and New Jersey. To learn more about Andrews Federal Credit Union and its community involvement, or to become a member, call 800.487.5500 or visit http://www.andrewsfcu.org. Umbria plays a critical role in enabling firms to competitively price and manage their matters. Providing mobile access to this vital information is the next logical step. Prosperoware, a leading enterprise software company delivering innovative technology that connects the business with the practice of legal and professional services, today announces the release of Umbria Dashboard for iOS and Android. Umbria Dashboard leverages Umbrias modern BI and financial metrics to gives lawyers and other law firm decision-makers one-touch access to vital KPIs and actionable matter data on all of their clients, enabling them to monitor the financial performance of matters anywhere, anytime. Matter monitoring is a key component of effective legal process management, and therefore, exceptional client service. Umbrias BI and matter management platform unites law firm leadership and attorneys with their business development, pricing, finance, and human resources teamsallowing the firm to work in a more integrated manner. Umbria Dashboard for iOS and Android untethers access to these vital KPIs and statistics by extending them to where decision makers go. Umbria Dashboard provides instant, real-time mobile access to key, up-to-date matter and client information where and when it is needed. Mobile access enables lawyers and firm management to instantly monitor the financial performance of clients and matters on which they are working, and to ensure exceptional, uninterrupted client service. The Umbria Dashboard app features online and offline access to: High-level BI, statistics, and KPIs, including Realization, Utilization, and Margin Client financial, revenue, and matter performance graphs with inline previews Enhanced searching on matters, invoices, and time entries with capabilities to drill down into: o Invoices o Time narratives grouped by matter o Payment information o Accounts receivable at client and matter level Firm and client directories o Locate resources and utilize previews of Department and Practice Areas Learn more about Umbria Dashboard by watching this 2 minute video here. Keith Lipman, President of Prosperoware, comments, Were pleased to deliver more value to our clients with the development and release of Umbria Dashboard. Umbria plays a critical role in enabling firms to competitively price and manage their matters. This is a business critical issue of key importance to forward thinking firms. Umbria helps them solve it and deliver exceptional client service; providing mobile access to this vital information is the next logical step. Download Umbria Dashboard for Android. Download Umbria Dashboard for iOS. About Prosperoware Prosperoware is an enterprise software company focused on law firms, corporate legal departments, and professional services firms. Our customers include half of the G20 and AmLaw 100 firms as well as large global corporations and Big Four accounting firms. Our innovative software transforms how professionals work and enables firms to deliver more value to clients while protecting profitability. We empower firms to reduce costs, improve profitability, and better compete by: Improving relationships with clients by delivering predictable fees and beneficial insight into work performed Empowering professionals to price and budget while leveraging modern profitability metrics Evolving to a need to know security model without impacting workflow Simplifying iManage administration and improving user adoption of electronic files Our teams work primarily from offices in London, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Our more than 255 customers range in size from small firms with just a handful of users to those with more than 14,000. Prosperoware customers include: Akin Gump, Goodwin Procter, Baker Botts, Hill Dickinson, Berwin Leighton Paisner, DLA Piper, Duane Morris, Hughes Hubbard & Reed, Sheppard Mullin, Comcast, and NBCUniversal. Meyerkord & Meyerkord, LLC I am blessed to have a vibrant, growing family law firm supporting me and my clients and look forward to the next twenty years, We are pleased to announce that Attorney Geoff Meyerkord of St. Louis personal injury law firm Meyerkord & Meyerkord, LLC was recently recognized by the Missouri Bar for 20 years of service. "I am blessed to have a vibrant, growing family law firm supporting me and my clients and look forward to the next twenty years," said Geoff on this distinguishing achievement. Geoff Meyerkord was admitted to the Missouri Bar in 1996 just after graduating from the University of Missouri Columbia Law School with his Juris Doctorate degree. Since then, Attorney Meyerkord has handled 20 trials, routinely obtaining sizable settlements for clients ranging in value from thousands to over one million dollars. His dedication to his clients and longstanding commitment to the pursuit of justice is evidenced by his two decades of good standing with the state bar. Together with the rest of the team at Meyerkord & Meyerkord, LLC, he has helped obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for the injured Missourians who need it most. Geoff Meyerkord is also a long-time member of the Illinois Bar, the American Association of Justice, and the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys. To learn more about Geoff, please visit his online attorney profile. Meyerkord & Meyerkord, LLC is a Missouri personal injury law firm serving clients in St. Louis, Springfield, Florissant, Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Kansas City, Granite City, Chesterfield, St. Charles, and other cities throughout Missouri. They handle a wide variety of personal injury, wrongful death, and malpractice cases and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements on behalf of injured clients. To learn more about the firm, please visit them online at http://www.stlouis-personalinjury.com. CyberFlow Analytics, an emerging leader in the IoT and Cyber Security market with its Security Network Behavior Analytics solution FlowScape, announces it was recently selected by a panel of judges from leading financial service companies to be part of the Plug and Play Financial Services Innovation Platform. Plug and Play Tech Center is a global investor and technology accelerator that specializes in growing tech startups. Headquartered in Sunnyvale California, Plug and Plays network includes over 300 tech startups, 180 investors, and a community of leading Universities and corporate partners. Judges for the Plug and Play Fintech competition included representatives from Deutsche Bank, CapitalOne, USAA, US Bank, Santander, Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui, Deloitte, and TD Bank. Analytics is a great example of an area rich in innovation opportunities, especially when applied to the cyber security domain in financial services and payment systems stated Saeed Amidi, founder & CEO, @Plug and Play Tech Center, Plug and Play Ventures, Amidzad Ventures. We founded the Plug and Play Fintech Platform program with our financial service anchor partners to accelerate the top startups that are delivering disruptive technologies for securing the financial services industry CyberFlow Analytics has developed a unique approach to securing both Enterprise IT and their expanding enterprise boundaries of Internet of Things (IoT). In the IoT world and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication present new attack vectors that organizations are typically unaware of. Enterprises are beginning to realize that while legacy security tools like SIEMs find known threats in Enterprise IT domains, Network Behavioral Analytics solutions such as CyberFlow can find unknown threats horizontally across both Enterprise and IoT domains. We like collecting this type of recognition but we like protecting our customers even more. Our customers are seeking a cloud scalable software-only security analytics platform for finding unknown threats in real-time and a new approach to visualizing the threat landscape. stated Steve Nye, President and CEO of CyberFlow Analytics. We have a truly unique solution, our customers and industry experts continue to validate this. CyberFlow Analytics has developed a unique approach to streaming real-time security analytics by becoming plug and play, zero-config solution. The solution installs in less than an hour and works out of the box. Customers enjoy a no-hassle approach with little configuration, tuning or non-stop arduous rule writing required by other solutions such as SIEMs. The FlowScape system machine-learns the normal behavior of customer networks and then through Binocular Fusion Analytics across many different behavioral models, detects high-risk anomalies associated with known and unknown threats. FlowScape integrates with Splunk or other SIEMs in less than 15 minutes using an easy FlowScape CyberHooks web services integration layer. About Plug and Play Tech Center Plug and Play Tech Center is the world's largest global technology accelerator and venture fund. Since inception in 2006, our program has expanded worldwide to include entrepreneurs from 24 countries, providing necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley. With over 350 startups and 300 corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem. Plug and Play provides active investments with 180 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and more than 365 networking events per year. Companies in our community have raised over $3.5 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, PayPal, SoundHound, and Zoosk. For more information about Plug and Play, visit http://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com. Media Contact: Allison Romero Phone 408-524-1457 Email: allison(at)plugandplaytechcenter.com About CyberFlow Analytics CyberFlow Analytics develops FlowScape software that delivers continuous cyber security threat assessment and monitoring at scale using unsupervised machine learning and behavioral analytics. CyberFlow technology is focused on detection of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) and cyber breaches for the enterprise security market and the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT). The company has coined the expression anomalytics to describe real-time network anomaly detection using predictive analytics, threat intelligence and advanced visualization. CyberFlow was the first place winner of the Cisco Innovation Grand Challenge award at the IoT World Forum in December 2015. The company was founded and is managed by an experienced management team, which includes former CTO of AT&T Dr. Hossein Eslambolchi, former Infoblox and Cisco Systems executive Steve Nye and Tom Caldwell, former executive at Cisco Systems. CyberFlow Analytics is a privately held company headquartered in San Diego, California with offices in Silicon Valley. For more information, please visit http://www.cyberflowanalytics.com. Media Contact: Tom Caldwell, +1-858-737-3642 pr(at)cyberflowanalytics.com Hedge funds are becoming a hot topic on social media, though hedge funds themselves still sit on the sidelines. In a just-released survey of trends in hedge fund communications, leading integrated communications and marketing firm Peppercomm found conversations about these private investment pools happening in 2015 at never-before seen levels on social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and others (via Talkwalker, complete list below). Total social media mentions in 2015 topped 1.1 million, up 46 percent from 2014 levels. Social media discussions about hedge funds exceeded 100,000 in five of the months in 2015, and September broke all records for the industry with 116,600 mentions in a single month. Despite this uptick, Peppercomm reveals that hedge funds are largely absent from the social media conversations about their industry. In fact, only 11.1 percent of the 314 largest hedge funds have a social media presence (ex-LinkedIn), just slightly up from 9.9 percent in 2014. That low number includes many now-inactive hedge fund social media accounts, leaving consistent, active participation to a few of the largest financial institutions. Thanks to the proliferation of social media, the once private world of hedge funds is becoming more public every day, said Jacqueline Kolek, Partner at Peppercomm. But while the public commiserates about fund closures, industry asset growth and the political leanings of the big-name managers, the firms themselves remain virtually silent. Every time hedge funds shy away from the social media conversation, they throw away important thought leadership and content opportunities for themselves and for the industry. To adapt to this new environment, Peppercomm recommends that hedge funds of all sizes examine their presence on digital and social media channels with these three steps: 1. Assess your digital footprint. Does a Google search of your company and its executives reflect what you want key audiences to see? Are you telling your story or having others tell it for you? 2. Start listening. What are people saying on social media about the key issues you care about? Who among your peers and your target audiences is active online? How are journalists, analysts, academics, conference organizers and others you care about using social media? Where are the opportunities for you to engage in real time? 3. Be compliance-friendly. What internal protocols need to be established in order for your firm to become active on social media? How can a communications team and a compliance team work together to produce relevant, timely and insightful material that reflects how the company wants to be knownwithout bringing undue risk on the organization? Other key findings of Peppercomms research include: Mentions of hedge funds in top-tier traditional media have plateaued in recent years. An estimated 38,827 articles mentioning hedge funds appeared in 2015, compared with 37,367 in 2014 and 39,449 in 2013. Google searches for hedge funds have dropped sharply in recent years. After peaking in late 2008, Google searches had fallen nearly 75 percent by 2015, and are forecast to decline further, according to Google Trends. LinkedIn presence among hedge funds has ticked up slightly in the past year. Approximately 73 percent of the largest hedge funds are on LinkedIn, according to the latest Peppercomm survey, up from 66 percent the previous year. Only a small portion of this group (18), however, participate with any regularity, as measured by a least one post per month. Among the top 100 US-based hedge funds, nearly half have closed or client-only websites, which is similar to findings from 2014. Only 36 percent of hedge fund websites include investor relations and press release information. Among the largest hedge funds, 3.8 percent have a YouTube presence, attracting an average of 775,800 total views (this result is heavily skewed by nearly 4 million views for videos from just the two largest firms, Blackrock and Bridgewater; others show less than 25,000 views). About Peppercomm Helping clients see around the corner and determine what's next sets Peppercomm apart from other integrated communications and marketing firms. It enables us to push boundaries while mitigating risk for clients in financial services, consumer, B-to-B and multi-industry sectors. Our unique approach and dynamic workplace attract the best talent who, in turn, help us win and retain the best clients. While we've won countless awards, were most proud of being named Best Place to Work in New York City by Crain's New York Business and a Best Workplace for Women by Great Place to Work and Fortune. We were founded in 1995 and maintain headquarters in New York, with offices in London and San Francisco. Go to http://www.peppercomm.com for additional information. About Talkwalkers Research Some social media data provide by Talkwalker (http://www.talkwalker.com), one of the world's leading social data intelligence companies. Its data measured hedge fund mentions on the following social media channels: Facebook, Forums, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Dailymotion, Foursquare, Google+, Mixcloud, SoundCloud, Vimeo and Weibo. UV Skinz UPF 50+ Sunwear | The New Standard in Sun Protection By attending the 2016 AAD Annual Meeting, we hope to meet new partners who will help us spread the word about sun safety and the need for effective sun protection. UV Skinz attendance at the 2016 AAD Annual Meeting marks their sixth appearance and another step forward in the companys mission to protect children and adults from the damaging effects of the suns UV radiation. Sun safety is personal to UV Skinz, and just like dermatologists everywhere, the company wants to ensure people are protected and educated about the importance of wearing sun protection while they enjoy the outdoors. More than 3.5 million cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed this year, and current estimates state that 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime. UV Skinz hopes to change these statistics, as nearly 90% of these cancers are preventable. By attending the 2016 AAD Annual Meeting, we hope to meet new partners who will help us spread the word about sun safety and the need for effective sun protection, explains UV Skinz Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Rhonda Sparks. UV Skinz team members plan to encourage dermatologists to participate in the companys Medical Partner Program, where doctors have access to a 50% discount on UV Skinz brand products, as well as the option to receive UV Skinz brochures sent to their office featuring a discount code for patients. We offer this discount to all dermatologists, as we know the best way to recommend products is by having personal experience with them, and we stand behind our products 100%. You wont find higher quality for a better price than with UV Skinz, explains Rhonda. She adds, Sun protective clothing can be expensive, not to mention unfashionable and often times uncomfortable. This is not the case with UV Skinz products. We make it a top priority to provide comfortable, fashionable and affordable UPF 50+ options for the entire family that people actually enjoy wearingWe want families to Live in Our Skinz! The company will be exhibiting at booth 1045 and will be offering a free gift* to doctors who stop by (*while supplies last). About UV Skinz UV Skinz was created after founder and CEO, Rhonda Sparks, lost her 32 year old husband, Darren, to melanoma. The devastating loss of Darren, as well as being left to raise their three young boys on her own, gave Rhonda the drive to create a sun protective product line (sizes 3mo 4XL) for the entire family that would protect men, women, and children from harmful UV radiation while they enjoy time spent outdoors. By providing the highest quality and fashionable designs at competitive prices, UV Skinz aims to make sun protection easy and effortless for everyone, and ultimately hopes to get children and families covered worldwide. For more information about sun protection and UV Skinz products, please visit http://www.uvskinz.com. For information about interviews, samples and/or jpg photos please email the UV Skinz Marketing Team at marketing(at)uvskinz(dot)com. Softteks experience working with Predix has allowed us to develop custom applications for water treatment calculations, asset monitoring and customer issue tracking to enable customers improved visibility and analytics Softtek, founder of the nearshore industry and leading global IT services provider dedicated to creating value through technology, today announced that it has joined the GE Digital Alliance Program, the first of its kind dedicated to growing the digital industrial ecosystem. Softtek has created a comprehensive Industrial Internet service offering to help clients transform their industrial processes and systems into digital assets that generate unparalleled business impact. By joining GEs Digital Alliance Program, Softtek is connected with the technology and digital industrial expertise of GE. Softtek is proud to join the GE Digital Alliance Program, said Beni Lopez, Chief Globalization Officer at Softtek. This alliance program will leverage Softteks global industrial and digital expertise to help our clients maximize the value of their industrial processes and assets through technology using, GE Digital solutions. We look forward to helping customers adapt their business models and processes to this immense wave of digital transformation. Predix, GEs industrial cloud platform, provides the technical foundation to power industrial apps that drive outcomes ranging from the reductions of unplanned downtime and enhanced safety, to improved asset output and operational efficiency. The new GE Digital Alliance Program is designed to drive unprecedented growth for the Industrial Internet and also to build the largest ecosystem of qualified technical capacity, said Denzil Samuels, Head of Global Channels and Alliances, GE Digital. We are excited to work closely with forward-thinking companies in technology like Softtek to unlock unprecedented value for our customers. For the past two years, Softtek has implemented Predix solutions that allow industrial clients to significantly improve their operations, including a transformational water treatment solution that connects over 4.5 million assets such as cooling towers, boilers and water tanks. By connecting these physical assets, the company can gather and analyze valuable data in real-time, enabling mobile monitoring and enhanced decision-making. Softteks experience working with Predix has allowed us to develop custom applications for water treatment calculations, asset monitoring and customer issue tracking to enable customers improved visibility and analytics, said Beni Lopez, Chief Globalization Officer at Softtek. With 74 customers from the Fortune Global 500, Softtek helps organizations around the Americas, Europe and Asia with IT operations management, support and solutions to thrive in the digital world. In February 2016, Softtek held its fifth annual Digital Innovation Summit, gathering 180 clients, partners and analysts to discuss enterprise agility in the era of Digital. About Softtek: Founded in 1982, Softtek is a global provider of process-driven IT solutions with 30 offices in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. With 15 Global Delivery Centers in the U.S., Mexico, China, Brazil, Argentina, Spain and India, Softtek helps improve time-to-business-solution, lower costs of existing applications, deliver better engineered and tested applications, and produce predictable outcomes for top-tier corporations in over 20 countries. Through on-site, on-shore and its trademarked Global Nearshore service delivery models, Softtek teams with CIOs to constantly increase the business value of IT. Softtek is the creator and a leader of the nearshore industry. Visit http://www.softtek.com , follow @Softtek, connect with Softtek on LinkedIn and read Softteks blog. For more information, contact: Karen Liedl Softtek karen.liedl(at)softtek(dot)com +1-763-291-1464 1Heart Orange County with Mayor Hamilton '1Heart Cares' 1Heart Caregiver Services of Orange County with the support of the Lake Forest Chamber of Commerce has recently held a successful Ribbon cutting ceremony last February 19, 2016. Some of the important dignitaries that graced the event were guests of honor: Andrew Hamilton (Mayor of Lake Forest), Scott Voigts (Mayor Pro Tem of Lake Forest), Donovan Higbee (Representative of Congresswoman Mimi Walters), and Brian Lau (President of the Lake Forest Chamber of Commerce). Mayor Hamilton had this to say to the 1Heart Orange County team when he graciously welcomed them to Lake Forest as he handed them their Plaque of Commemoration. "We're so happy that you (1Heart Orange County) have decided to come here and put your business home here in Lake Forest...Congratulations!" 1Heart Caregiver Services of Orange County CEO Jovi Virata and President Fed Noarbe, were joined by 1Heart Caregiver Services Corporate Headquarter CEO Belina C. Nernberg, Vice President Kevin Tagarao, Director of Business Development Randolph Clarito, Senior Client Care Manager Arnold Navarro and Digital Marketing Manager Jorge Buencamino for this special event. Also present were Merle Dienzo, Binky Wormald, Cyndie Rodriguez who are partners in the business. "We congratulate the management and staff of 1Heart Orange County for a successful Ribbon Cutting ceremony. I am glad that they have been warmly welcomed by the business community of Lake Forest in Orange County. I am confident that the senior community around this area will benefit from the dedication and commitment that Jovi and her partners have shown in fulfilling the 1Heart mission of providing high quality in-home care through a client-centered and service oriented approach." says Belina. Jovi was very happy on how the event turned out. "We're very honored to have been welcomed here by some of the most important city officials and business delegates of the city of Lake Forest and Orange County. I'm very excited on the possibilities and the opportunity for our Franchise and 1Heart as a whole to be able to contribute to the city in providing the best quality of care possible to our seniors and those in need of care." says Jovi. About 1Heart Caregiver Services: 1Heart Caregiver Services (1Heart CS) is a premier in-home care service company that provides professional private care duty to seniors and adults requiring assistance in their home and healthcare needs. The company is run and managed by healthcare Executives with local and international training with combined top level work experience of more than 60 years. CEO Belina Tagarao is a Los Angeles IMAGE AWARDS honoree 2013 and HiFi 2014 awardee as a HiFi Ambassador of Goodwill for the Filipino-American business community in Los Angeles and 2015 awardee among the business leaders in Los Angeles California. 1Heart CS is the only in-Home Care Company that has its own in-house '1Heart Caregiver University' spearheaded by Training Director Randolph Neil. Aligned with 1Hearts principle of Continuing Professional Education the Caregiver University provides ongoing caregiver training to all staff of the company. 1Heart Vice- President of Operations Kevin Tagarao had created and designed integrated programs that will help propel the company into exponential growth including the technology platform that guarantees efficiency in operations. 1Heart CS is a Certified Member of CAHSAH (California Association for Health Services at Home), Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, International Franchise Association, International Franchise Professionals Group and is accredited by the BBB. We operate in Los Angeles County, Orange County, Ventura County, San Fernando Valley, San Bernardino County and Santa Barbara County area. Now, with a shop in place, well be able to leverage this tool in our toolbox to better serve aviation customers and can continue conversations to attract additional business to HGR, said Gregory B. Murray, administrator, Washington County Government. Washington County Government - Maryland is pleased to welcome Cycle Aviation to Hangar 64 at Hagerstown Regional Airport. Having an avionic shop onsite like Cycle Aviation to serve the HGR aviation community was a goal of the HGR marketing plan that weve worked diligently to accomplish, said Gregory B. Murray, county administrator, Washington County Government Maryland. Now, with a shop in place, well be able to leverage this tool in our toolbox to better serve aviation customers and can continue conversations to attract additional business to HGR. Cycle Aviation will establish an aircraft maintenance and repair operation at HGR to include the creation of up to 40 full-time positions as part of a $100,000 conditional loan agreement approved by the Washington County Board of Commissioners. Average wage for positions being created is $30 a figure almost double the per capita money income average for the State of Maryland. Expanding our service locations to include a site at Hagerstown Regional Airport was the next logical step for our business, said Mark Granger, president, Cycle Aviation. With this new location, well have many resources at our disposal including assets like the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics for staffing needs and room to grow as we buildout our client portfolio. In return, Cycle Aviation will also make more than $150,000 in capital expenditures as part of the expansion project. These funds will be reinvested in new equipment for the business expansion project in Hangar 64 and work is set to begin immediately. Cycle Aviation will open its doors to the aviation community during a May 3 grand opening celebration. More details about the event will follow closer to the opening date. To learn more about Cycle Aviation, visit: http://www.cycleaviation.com/. To learn more about businesses at Hagerstown Regional Airport, visit, http://flyhagerstown.com/airport_info/businesses.html For additional information, contact Public Relations Manager James Jenkins at 240-313-2384. About Hagerstown Regional Airport Hagerstown Regional Airport (HGR), a financially self-supporting airport complex managed by Washington County, is home to a variety of businesses that provide travel services to the general public and airside services to the general aviation community. The 400-acre facility includes a secured perimeter, an air traffic control tower, state-of-the-art navigational aids, and the second-longest public runway in the State of Maryland. Sun Air provides passenger service to Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT). Allegiant provides passenger service to Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE). Visit http://www.FlyHagerstown.com for more information. About Washington County, Maryland Government Washington County, Maryland Government strives to fulfill its duty to the citizens of Washington County with regard to operational efficiency, fiscal responsibility, and responsiveness to the needs of the community. This vision is used to ably assist the Board of County Commissioners of Washington County in achieving goals for moving the County forward as present needs and future plans are addressed. According to the Maryland Department of Legislative Services, the Washington County General Fund has one of the lowest costs per capita for services provided of all 23 counties and Baltimore City. This is attributed to the efficiency, staffing levels, and cost containment exhibited in Washington County Government operations. Visit http://www.washco-md.net for more information. Get Connected and See Updates Twitter: Tweet at us on Twitter @WashingtonCoMD Facebook: Like on Facebook at WashingtonCountyMD YouTube: Watch on WashingtonCountyMD Senator Blumenthal at last year's "Time for Lyme" Gala The Gala celebrates efforts of incredible individuals in the Lyme disease field. Thousands in the Lyme disease community hail U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) as a pioneer for the cause, who has worked for nearly 20 years with Global Lyme Alliance. Some of the highlights of his advocacy work: Ten years ago, as Attorney General, Blumenthal launched an investigation into guidelines for treating Lyme developed by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). The guidelines, which advised against antibiotic treatments beyond four weeks, favored insurers by restricting coverage for long-term treatment. Then, five years ago, Blumenthal announced he would introduce a bill in the U.S. Senate aimed at promoting better diagnosis, reporting and research on Lyme disease. Since then he has been unrelenting in his determination to increase public awareness and strengthen efforts to combat tick-borne diseases. Last summer, in his latest push for passage of Lyme legislation, he introduced S.1503, The Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education and Research Act which calls on HHS to develop better tools for diagnosing and reporting the illness, treatment and the exploration of vaccines. He hopes the bill will pass during this legislative session. This week, Blumenthal turned the spotlight on someone he described as a true pioneer in the study of chronic Lyme disease and he should know. He saluted Dr. Brian Fallon, director of the Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Research Center at Columbia University Medical Center, who will be honored with the Lauren F. Brooks Hope Award at Global Lyme Alliances (GLA) Time for Lyme Gala, April 2, in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. Its an honor to be part of this years Gala to celebrate efforts of incredible individuals in the fieldespecially Dr. Brian Fallon, the Senator said. Blumenthal, who has worked closely with Global Lyme Alliance over the years, added: I look forward to continuing my partnership with the Global Lyme Alliance in the fight to eradicate this pernicious public health threat. Said GLA Vice Chair Diane Blanchard, who has worked with Dr. Fallon for nearly two decades: We proudly honor Dr. Fallon who is recognized internationally for his research on neuropsychiatric aspects of Lyme and tick-borne diseases. He accomplished a lot of his work when Lyme disease research was not popular and was even risky for ones career. We also thank Senator Blumenthal for being there in the early years when Global Lyme Alliance was but a dream toward which we were striving, Blanchard said. I still remember when the Senator first announced plans for his Lyme disease bill. Im proud to say that his commitment to improving the lives of Lyme disease patients and being a friend to GLA has never wavered. The Time for Lyme Gala is a major fundraising event for Global Lyme Alliance, a leading Lyme and tick-borne disease nonprofit. The gala will be held Saturday, April 2, 2016 from 6:30 p.m. to midnight at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich in Old Greenwich, CT. It features a cocktail reception, dinner, dancing, and both silent and live auctions. For more information, or to purchase tables or tickets, please visit GlobalLymeAlliance.org or call 203-969-1333. ABOUT GLOBAL LYME ALLIANCE Global Lyme Alliance funds cutting-edge research at leading U.S. universities for the purpose of developing reliable diagnostic tools, effective treatments and ultimately curing Lyme disease, while building greater public awareness for disease detection and prevention. A 503 (c)(3), GLA is headquartered in Greenwich, CT. For more information please visit GlobalLymeAlliance.org or call 203-969-1333. Settlers Life Insurance Company We recognize our success is driven by our loyal partner agents and agencies who are out selling Settlers Life products every day. Each year, Settlers Life invites agents and agencies who met sales benchmarks during the prior year to an exciting destination to celebrate their achievements. In 2015, Settlers Life set a new annual sales record. We recognize our success is driven by our loyal partner agents and agencies who are out selling Settlers Life products every day, Chief Marketing Officer, Steve Bontell stated, Thats why months of planning and preparation go into making our annual sales conference memorable for our qualifying partners and their families. We are proud to honor them, and look forward to a magical stay at Disneys Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in May. Settlers Life Insurance Company specializes in simplified issue, final expense, whole life insurance coverage for ages fifteen-days to eighty-five years. A member of the NGL Insurance Group since 1999, the Settlers Life primary administrative office is located in Bristol, Virginia. Since 2007, Settlers Life has maintained an A. M. Best financial strength rating of "A minus" (Excellent), the fourth highest of 16 such ratings. A.M. Best states that an "A minus" rating "is assigned to companies which have, in our opinion, an excellent ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders." A.M. Best is the oldest and most widely recognized rating agency dedicated to the insurance industry. ACM Turing Award Bowl The ACM Turing Award, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of Computing, carries a $1 million prize with financial support provided by Google, Inc. ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, (http://www.acm.org) today named Whitfield Diffie, former Chief Security Officer of Sun Microsystems and Martin E. Hellman, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, recipients of the 2015 ACM A.M. Turing Award for critical contributions to modern cryptography. The ability for two parties to communicate privately over a secure channel is fundamental for billions of people around the world. On a daily basis, individuals establish secure online connections with banks, e-commerce sites, email servers and the cloud. Diffie and Hellmans groundbreaking 1976 paper, New Directions in Cryptography, introduced the ideas of public-key cryptography and digital signatures, which are the foundation for most regularly-used security protocols on the Internet today. The Diffie-Hellman Protocol protects daily Internet communications and trillions of dollars in financial transactions. The ACM Turing Award, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of Computing, carries a $1 million prize with financial support provided by Google, Inc. It is named for Alan M. Turing, the British mathematician who articulated the mathematical foundation and limits of computing and who was a key contributor to the Allied cryptoanalysis of the German Enigma cipher during World War II. Today, the subject of encryption dominates the media, is viewed as a matter of national security, impacts government-private sector relations, and attracts billions of dollars in research and development, said ACM President Alexander L. Wolf. In 1976, Diffie and Hellman imagined a future where people would regularly communicate through electronic networks and be vulnerable to having their communications stolen or altered. Now, after nearly 40 years, we see that their forecasts were remarkably prescient. Public-key cryptography is fundamental for our industry, said Andrei Broder, Google Distinguished Scientist. The ability to protect private data rests on protocols for confirming an owner's identity and for ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of communications. These widely used protocols were made possible through the ideas and methods pioneered by Diffie and Hellman. Cryptography is a practice that facilitates communication between two parties so that the communication will be kept private and authenticated from a third party trying to read or alter what is being communicated. From ancient times, cryptography has been achieved through encryption, the conversion of readable information into gibberish that only a select few can decipher. In its earliest incarnations, encryption might have involved substituting one letter for another or rearranging the order of letters in the message. The development of radio in 1903, followed a decade later by World War I, gave cryptography a central role it never had before. At the same time, the development of electricity and machining allowed the development of machines that could encrypt far more securely than any human could. The post-World War I period saw the development of a number of enciphering machines that matured over the next 20 years and became the backbone of World War II cryptography. After the war, the development of computer technology led to faster and more secure cryptography by purely electronic machines. In encryption, a key is a piece of information used to transform readable plain text into garbled incomprehensible cipher text. Encryption is much like keying a lock to accept a particular key and decryption is like using the key to open the lock. In the past, when two parties were seeking to establish secure communications, they needed to have identical keys. Supplying these keyskey managementwas a major limitation of the flexibility of encrypted communications. Two significant shortcomings of symmetric cryptosystems are the need for a secure means of key transfer and, because both parties have the same key, one could forge a message to oneself, claiming it came from the other. In addition, overuse of a particular key may provide an opponent with sufficient ciphertext to break the cryptosystem (i.e., discover the key). To limit the number of parties sharing the same key, separate keys are often distributed to each pair of communicating parties, posing additional key management challenges. In New Directions in Cryptography, Diffie and Hellman presented an algorithm that showed that asymmetric or public-key cryptography was possible. In Diffie and Hellman's invention, a public key, which is not secret and can be freely distributed, is used for encryption, while a private key, that need never leave the receiving device, is used for decryption. This asymmetric cryptosystem is designed in such a way that the calculation of the private key from the public key is not feasible computationally, even though one uniquely determines the other. Reversing the process provides a digital signature. The transmitter of a message uses a private key to sign the message, while the receiver uses the transmitters public key to authenticate it. Such digital signatures are more secure than written signatures because changing even one word of the message invalidates the signature. In contrast, a persons written signature looks the same on a $10 check and a $1,000,000 check. Any user of the World Wide Web is likely to be familiar with the use of public-key cryptography to establish secure connections. A typical secure URL begins with https, where the s means that the Secure Transport Layer protocol will be used to encrypt the communication. The secure connection is established using a combination of public-key cryptography to transport a key with symmetric cryptography that is used to encrypt subsequent communications. In addition to laying the foundation for todays online security industry and establishing cryptography as a leading discipline within computer science, Diffie and Hellmans work made encryption technologies accessible to individuals and companies. Background Whitfield Diffie is a former Vice President and Chief Security Officer of Sun Microsystems, where he became a Sun Fellow. As Chief Security Officer, Diffie was the chief exponent of Suns security vision and responsible for developing Suns strategy to achieve that vision. Diffie is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Diffie received the 1996 ACM Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award (with Leonard Adleman, Martin Hellman, Ralph Merkle, Ronald Rivest and Adi Shamir), and received the 2010 IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal (with Martin Hellman and Ralph Merkle). He is a Marconi Fellow, a Fellow of the Computer History Museum, and received an honorary doctorate from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Diffie has authored more than 30 technical papers, and has testified several times to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on the public policy aspects of cryptography. Martin E. Hellman is Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, where he was Professor of Electrical Engineering for 25 years. A graduate of New York University, Hellman earned his Master's degree and his Ph.D. from Stanford. Hellman received the 1996 ACM Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award (with Leonard Adleman, Whitfield Diffie, Ralph Merkle, Ronald Rivest and Adi Shamir), as well as the 2010 IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal (with Whitfield Diffie and Ralph Merkle). He is a Marconi Fellow, a Fellow of the Computer History Museum, and a member of the US National Academy of EngineeringHellman has authored more than 70 technical papers, 12 U.S. patents and a number of corresponding international patents. ACM will present the 2015 A.M. Turing Award at its annual Awards Banquet on June 11 in San Francisco, Calif. About the ACM A.M. Turing Award The A.M. Turing Award http://amturing.acm.org/ was named for Alan M. Turing, the British mathematician who articulated the mathematical foundation and limits of computing, and who was a key contributor to the Allied cryptanalysis of the German Enigma cipher and the German Tunny encoding machine in World War II. Since its inception in 1966, the Turing Award has honored the computer scientists and engineers who created the systems and underlying theoretical foundations that have propelled the information technology industry. About ACM ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery http://www.acm.org, is the worlds largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the fields challenges. ACM strengthens the computing professions collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking. Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that Attorney Edward H. Pappas has been selected for National Law Journals ADR Trailblazers list. He will be featured in the February 29, 2016 issue of National Law Journal. Mr. Pappas is Chairman of Dickinson Wright and is a Member in the firms Troy office. He focuses his practice in the areas of commercial and business litigation, arbitration and mediation. Mr. Pappas is a Fellow in the International Society of Barristers, the Litigation Counsel of America, and the American College of Civil Trial Mediators. He is a member, arbitrator and mediator of and for the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, the International Institute for Conflict Preservation and Resolution, and the American Arbitration Association. He is a Past President and a former member of the Board of Commissioners of the State Bar of Michigan. He currently serves on the State Bar of Michigans 21st Century Practice Task Force. In 2015, he received the Roberts P. Hudson Award, the State Bar of Michigans highest honor. Mr. Pappas received his B.B.A. from the University of Michigan and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. Dickinson Wrights Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice regularly assists clients with conflict management and dispute resolution. Our lawyers have facilitated settlements and served as arbitrators, facilitators, mediators and other neutrals in hundreds of cases from coast-to-coast as well as internationally. Using various ADR procedures, including nonbinding and binding arbitration, mediation, mini-trials, summary jury trials, and early neutral evaluation, we resolve a wide range of conflicts quickly and cost-effectively. Dickinson Wright is a member of the Center for Public Resources Institute for Dispute Resolution and our lawyers are listed with many national panels, including the American Arbitration Association, National Arbitration Forum, FINRA and JAMS. To learn more about our alternative dispute resolution practice, please visit us at http://www.dickinsonwright.com. About Dickinson Wright PLLC Dickinson Wright PLLC is a general practice business law firm with more than 400 attorneys among more than 40 practice areas. Headquartered in Detroit and founded in 1878, the firm has fifteen offices, including six in Michigan (Detroit, Troy, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Saginaw) and eight other domestic offices in Columbus, Ohio; Lexington, Ky.; Nashville, Tenn. (2); Las Vegas, Nev.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Reno, Nev.; and Washington, D.C. The firms Canada office is located in Toronto. The firm offers clients a distinctive combination of superb client service and exceptional quality. Dickinson Wright lawyers are known for delivering commercially-oriented advice on sophisticated transactions and have a remarkable record of wins in high-stakes litigation. Dickinson Wright lawyers are regularly cited by Chambers, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and other leading independent law firm evaluating organizations. Sam Briggs, Director of Sales for Midwest Region Were thrilled to have Sam join the IGS family, says Norma Villela-Alberico, Vice President & National Director of Sales. Our growth at IGS is a reflection of exciting expansion in the marketplace." International Group Sales (IGS), a meeting and group incentive travel company, is pleased to announce significant growth by way of the addition of new team member and an expanding portfolio with new properties available from both AMResorts and Grand Velas Resorts. Having more than 26 years of experience in the meetings and group incentive travel industry, Briggs is a true industry veteran and brings a wealth of experience to IGS and its customers. Briggs joins IGS as Director of Sales for Midwest Region. He has extensive knowledge of group travel operations in Mexico and the Caribbean, having worked both in sales and also operating client programs. Briggs began his career in incentive travel as on-site travel staff, eventually advancing to the position of executive director of group travel and, later, to a leading company as Director, Worldwide Accounts. Briggs also played a key role in retention and growth of top accounts for the companies where he worked. Were thrilled to have Sam join the IGS family, says Norma Villela-Alberico, Vice President & National Director of Sales. His tremendous experience adds great value to what we offer to our clients. Our growth at IGS is a reflection of exciting expansion in the marketplace. Briggs joins the company at the same time that AMResorts, one of several property brands promoted by IGS, will grow to nearly 60 resorts in 26 destinations and more than 20,000 rooms throughout Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America by the end of 2018. Throughout their expansion, AMResorts stays true to their philosophies of Endless Privileges, Unlimited Luxury and Unlimited fun with its six brands (Secrets, Dreams, Now, Breathless, Zoetry and Sunscape), each providing a unique style and personality to cater to every taste. One of the newest properties featured by Briggs and the team at IGS is a soon-to-be-open Grand Velas resort in Los Cabos, Mexico. This brand new property is the first luxury all-inclusive resort in the area facing the Gulf of California. It will feature 306 spacious suites, five fine-dining restaurants and a versatile convention center. This world-class resort will start welcoming groups and conventions in March 2017, at which time it will apply for recognition from AAA and other leading hotel ratings. Velas Resorts currently boasts a total of 43 AAA Diamonds. With the addition of Sam Briggs to the IGS Team, Barry Miller has now been appointed as Corporate Sales Manager. About International Group Sales Serving the corporate community for more than 30 years, IGS represents a portfolio of luxury resorts and hotels in Mexico, the Caribbean & afar each of which is fully capable of accommodating complex meetings and events. For more information, visit http://www.internationalgroupsales.com or by emailing Norma@IGSales.net JPL, leading mobile app development company, was awarded Top Business App for its Carlisle Construction Materials Proposal Writer. JPL is a leading mobile app development company with expertise in strategy, user experience, development, analytics and digital marketing. JPL, a full-service marketing and digital agency, was awarded bronze for Top Business App in the Creativity International Design Awards. The winning business mobile app was developed for Carlisle Construction Materials. The Carlisle Construction Materials Proposal Writer provides a mobile solution to expedite and improve the process of estimating roof repairs. The app was developed to address a critical business challenge Carlisle Construction Materials saw in the length of time it took estimators to collect the information on site. Instead of taking several hours to estimate a job, the new mobile app enables estimators to deliver a high quality proposal to customers right from the rooftop. Estimators use the proposal writer app on iPads or Android tablets to draw on top of satellite images to denote sections of the roof that need to be repaired or replaced. Photos of rooftop deficiencies can be taken on the tablet from within the app so that the proposal shows facility owners the documented issues. The proposal writer app also enables the sales rep to generate a custom cover letter and review the proposal before sending it to a customer. The Creativity International Awards is an independent competition representing the best in advertising and design among agencies, designs, producers and directors from around the world. JPL received the bronze distinction among a field of well-recognized mobile app development companies. Carlisle Construction Materials selected JPL to develop the app based on their expertise and capabilities in designing and building user-focused mobile apps and mobile-optimized digital content. JPL is a leading mobile app development company with expertise in strategy, user experience, development, analytics and digital marketing. In addition to hybrid mobile app development, JPL is a full-service marketing agency providing strategic thinking and creative execution across a full range of services. Learn more about JPLs mobile app development. About JPL JPL is one of Mid-Atlantics largest full-service, integrated, marketing agencies. The firm provides strategic thinking and creative execution across a full range of services that include brand, digital, marketing, advertising, hybrid mobile app development, video production and internal communications. JPL is a member of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4 As). Their clients include leading regional, national and global organizations. Learn more at http://www.JPLcreative.com. Judith Schumacher-Tilton New York Woman of Influence We have a special role as models for the next generation of women business owners and professionals, to continue to pave the way for them to become leaders in their industries and fulfill their true potential, both professionally and philanthropically. Past News Releases RSS Bloomfields 5th Annual Restaurant... Century 21 Cedarcrest Realty in... Tracy Chan, Multiple Award-Winning... Judith Schumacher-Tilton is highly regarded as a successful businesswoman who has built one of the largest volume Chevrolet dealerships in New Jersey as well as for the many contributions she has made to lift up the lives of others. Her accomplishments were recently recognized across the Hudson River when she was honored as a 2016 Woman of Influence by the New York Business Journal and Bizwomen, at the second annual Women of Influence luncheon on January 20 at the Harvard Club in New York City. The event honored 79 women leaders throughout the New York metropolitan area, with successful business careers and proven track records of paying it forward in the community through philanthropy and mentoring. The honorees came from the business, technology, science and nonprofit sectors. Schumacher-Tilton has been recognized on numerous occasions for her extensive mentoring activities and charitable endeavors in northern New Jersey. It is so important for all business leaders to give back to their communities and support others, said Schumacher-Tilton. As women, we also have a special role as models for the next generation of women business owners and professionals, to continue to pave the way for them to become leaders in their industries and fulfill their true potential, both professionally and philanthropically. The Women of Influence honor is part of a national effort by American City Business Journals to identify and celebrate women business leaders and to foster business environments that will create even more successful women in the future. It also includes the recent creation of Bizwomen, a national news site covering women in business. The program included a panel discussion on issues that relate to women in business that was moderated by Mary Johnson, editor of Bizwomen.com. Judith Schumacher-Tilton is a second generation automotive dealership owner and one of just a few females in the industry being recognized on various occasions for her community outreach. She was honored by Ally Auto as a 2013 Ally Dealer Hero in recognition of her founding, with son Stephen Tilton Jr., of Give the Kids Hope Foundation, Inc., which supports recreational and educational programs for underprivileged children in northern New Jersey. Her dealerships have won the Genuine Leader Award from GM, the Spirit of Leadership Award from the Womens Automotive Association and she was presented with GM's Women's Retail Network Performance Award in 2009 and 2011 (northeast region). She is the recipient of the Womens Choice Award by Women Certified in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015; her dealerships have received this award for their outstanding female friendly customer experience, an honor that has only been given to a limited number of dealerships in the nation. She was nominated as 2012 TIME Dealer of the Year becoming New Jersey's first-ever female to compete for this very prestigious award. In recognition of her dealerships' performance and her extensive community service, she went on to win the title of Northeast Regional TIME Dealer of the Year and was among the four finalists for the national title which was published in TIME Magazine. For more information about the Schumacher Chevrolet Auto Group, visit http://www.schumacherchevrolet.com. ### About Schumacher Chevrolet Auto Group Schumacher Chevrolet Auto Group is the parent company of three Chevrolet dealerships in Clifton, Little Falls and Denville, N.J. and.is the largest volume Chevrolet dealership in the state. At the helm of Schumacher Chevrolet Auto Group are President and Dealer Principal Judith Schumacher-Tilton and her son, CFO Stephen Tilton, Jr. Their charitable organization, Give the Kids Hope Foundation, Inc., (http://GiveTheKidsHope.org) is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to helping underprivileged children in northern New Jersey. About New York Business Journal Women of Influence New York Business Journal is part of American City Business Journals, the largest company in the country devoted to the reporting of local business news. American City metropolitan business newspapers reach 4 million readers each week with exclusive, in-depth coverage of their business communities. American City is a unit of Advance Publications Inc. benel Solutions, an Abila Certified Implementation Partner offering services ranging from netFORUM Enterprise implementation, integration, development and consulting services to name a few, today announced that it will sponsor the 2016 Abila User and Developer Conference (AUDC 2016) as the Opening Reception Sponsor. The conference runs March 3-5 in Austin, Texas. benel Solutions is proud to offer a full stable of services and products focused around the netFORUM customer base, empowering customers to extend and enhance their Abila solutions and experience efficiency in new ways, said Benjamin Muscolino, co-founder of benel Solutions. Sponsoring the Opening Reception at AUDC reinforces our work with Abila to bring the most value to nonprofits and associations while reminding us to also have a little fun while we kick off a few days of teaching, learning and strategizing with the rest of the Abila Ecosystem. A three-day event, AUDC 2016 will bring together more than 1,000 leaders from both the association and nonprofit sectors to network, share best practices, and learn about the latest industry trends to help improve decision making and better engage members and constituents. We are excited to have benel Solutions support AUDC as the Opening Reception Sponsor, said Krista Endsley, Abilas chief executive officer. Our partners are a vital part of our business. They help enhance and extend the capabilities of our award-winning product portfolio to ensure our customers are successful. In addition to a keynote presentation from Roy Spence, co-founder and chairman of advertising giant GSD&M, AUDC 2016 will feature one-on-one product support labs; educational sessions designed to engage attendees in learning, sharing, and collaborating; and vision presentations from Endsley and Abila senior vice president of product management, Erin Shy. The opening reception, sponsored by benel Solutions, will take place at the famous Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theatre, with a musical performance by the Night Owls. About benel Solutions LLC benel Solutions is a full service technology partner for associations & nonprofits including Association Management Software implementation and customization services, consulting, upgrade audit and management, software development, integrations, support and documentation around your data and digital strategy. benel Solutions understands both the business processes and technology that associations and nonprofits need to be successful and pride themselves on support and accessibility to their customers and partners. benel Solutions is an industry leading systems integrator in the AMS space and as a company founded of executives from both the business and technology sides of the industry, they are the fastest growing and one of the most well balanced implementation firms serving the association and nonprofit markets today. For more information please visit http://www.benelSolutions.com About Abila Abila is the leading provider of software and services to associations and nonprofit organizations that help them improve decision making, execute with greater precision, increase engagement, and generate more revenue. With Abila solutions, association and nonprofit professionals can use data and personal insight to improve financial and strategic decision making, enhance member and donor engagement and value, operate more efficiently and effectively, and increase revenue to better activate their mission. Abila combines decades of industry insight with technology know-how to serve more than 8,000 customers across North America. For more information, please visit http://www.abila.com. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson (center) with California Casualty's Norma Alfaro, CEO Beau Brown, Amanda Keidel, AVP Lisa Almeida and Susan Frantz Its an honor to be a partner in this exceptional endeavor that recognizes the achievements of students, teachers, classified employees and elementary schools that are advancing excellence in education. Supporters of education gathered February 15 to honor the five 2016 California Teachers of the Year finalists. They were recognized for their dedication and innovation in helping grow a brighter future for California. One, Daniel Jocz, social studies instructor at Downtown Magnets High School in Los Angeles, was named Californias 2016 National Teacher of the Year candidate. As the Presenting Sponsor of the California Department of Educations School Recognition Program, California Casualty was proud to be part of the event. California Casualty Assistant Vice President Lisa Almeida, who introduced State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, was impressed that every one of the finalists has a passion for their students and education that cannot be quenched. She hopes that one day her daughter, a first year kindergarten teacher, might be among this dedicated group of educators. This is the second year that California Casualty is the Presenting Sponsor, helping to make possible these other California School Recognition Programs: California Gold Ribbon Schools honoring exemplary public schools which demonstrate significant gains in narrowing the achievement gap Classified School Employee of the Year highlighting those who symbolize the professions commitment to education California Green Ribbon School Awards recognizing schools that accomplish great things in the areas of sustainability and health California Blue Ribbon Schools celebrating schools that promote and support the improvement of education Its an honor to be a partner in this exceptional endeavor that recognizes the achievements of students, teachers, classified employees and elementary schools that are advancing excellence in education, said California Casualty Chairman and CEO Beau Brown, who was also in attendance. California Casualty Field representatives will present awards and attend other special recognition ceremonies, enhancing the companys commitment to California educators. Headquartered in San Mateo, CA, California Casualty provides auto and home insurance to educators, firefighters, law enforcement and nurses across the country American heroes who enhance their communities. Celebrating 100 years of service, California Casualty has been led by four generations of the Brown family. To learn more about California Casualty, or to request an auto insurance quote, please visit http://www.calcas.com or call 1.800.800.9410. Hotel Teatro is an ideally-located Denver Hotel that is popular with both business and leisure travelers. Hotel Teatro has a number of special offers to welcome those who come to say farewell to winter and those who come to celebrate the start of spring. With spring just around the corner, Denver hotels like Hotel Teatro are preparing to welcome the visitors that will come to enjoy the outdoor activities and special events that spring brings to the City. Hotel Teatro has a number of special offers to welcome those who come to say farewell to winter and those who come to celebrate the start of spring. View offer details > The Bike & Brew Package This is one of Hotel Teatros top special offers. Denver is home to several craft breweries, and the Bike & Brew Package is a wonderful way to visit some of them. Guests who choose this package will have the chance to visit a number of carefully-selected breweries using one of the hotels impressive vintage bikes for transportation. This package also includes a beer-lovers welcome and a $40 breakfast credit, so guests can enjoy a delicious meal before starting their adventure. Bed & Breakfast Package Those planning a romantic getaway may appreciate the Bed & Breakfast Package. The luxurious guest rooms at Hotel Teatro are a wonderful place to retreat. The $40 breakfast credit can be used in The Study or for room service, so guests can opt to enjoy a leisurely breakfast in bed. The Nickel Dinner Package The Nickel is the onsite restaurant at Hotel Teatro, and it has earned wonderful reviews. Guests who choose The Nickel Dinner package when staying at this Denver hotel will enjoy a lovely meal at the restaurant along with a welcome drink and a beautiful flower arrangement. Celebrate Package Whether celebrating an anniversary, an engagement, or just the pleasure of enjoying a Denver getaway, the Celebrate Package is a perfect choice. Included with the beautiful guest room are 2 signature drinks and an appetizer in The Nickel along with a $40 breakfast credit. Other special packages are also available, and details of each are available on the Denver hotels website. Those who want to make a reservation can do so on the Hotel's website or by calling 888.727.1200. About Hotel Teatro - A Denver Hotel: Located in Downtown Denver, Hotel Teatro - A Denver Hotel is located across from the Denver Center for Performing Arts. The luxury, Four-Diamond Boutique Denver Hotel features 109 exquisite guest rooms and suites. The Denver Hotels meticulously-restored historic facade and newly renovated lobby has been distinguished as one of the Top Hotels in the World by Expedia and one of the Worlds Best 50 City Hotels in the US by Travel + Leisure. With its moniker derived from the Italian word for Theater, Hotel Teatro delivers a thoughtfully-curated collection of experiences, 24-hour Room Service and exemplary guest amenities including pet pampering and wellness programming. Planning a visit? Check Rates, Make Reservations, or call 888.727.1200. oct8ne's Coviewer and live chat We're extremely excited to be working with oct8ne...to help our clients increase their sales, and provide a better, more memorable shopping experience, said Robert Rand, VP of Operations at Rand Internet Marketing oct8ne, a live sales and customer engagement solution for eCommerce stores recently partnered with Rand Internet Marketing, one of South Floridas premiere website design, development, and Internet marketing firms. The partnership was formed in order to seamlessly bring eCommerce websites a personalized, guided buying experience for online shoppers connecting by phone, live chat, email or social media channels. Rand Internet Marketing is recognized as an award-winning firm in the internet marketing industry for providing high-quality services and solutions for their clients. An array of services are offered by Rand, including responsive website design and development on the Wordpress and Magento eCommerce platforms and much more. Since Rand works closely with clients to provide consultative services, they naturally discuss strategy regarding how to better optimize the website and sales. Because oct8nes sales suite provides a guided buying experience for eCommerce shoppers that provides significant increases in average order values and conversion rates, the partnership was a logical move to be able to provide the best comprehensive services to eCommerce companies. "One of the biggest challenges in the eCommerce world is the lack of personal support for shoppers as they browse a store. Oct8ne provides a solution that goes above and beyond traditional live chat technology, and allows store representatives to act like personal shoppers for the digital world. We're extremely excited to be working with oct8ne to help promote their system in order to help our clients increase their sales, and provide a better, more memorable shopping experience, said Robert Rand, Vice President of Operations at Rand Internet Marketing. Now, current and future clients of Rand Internet Marketing can easily have the oct8ne system integrated within their site. Companies will be equipped with powerful tools to provide live purchase assistance, personalized product recommendations and cross-sell & upsell opportunities at critical moments when customers abandon the buying process. The unique guided buying experience can be used to assist customers connecting through 1-800, chat, social media and mobile to increase conversion and lower cart abandonment. Detailed analytics about sales interactions will also be provided so sales associates strategies can be shaped by useful intelligence, and operations and the customer experience are optimized. This information coupled with Rand's ongoing consulting expertise magnifies the benefits clients will experience. "We are happy to have identified Rand Marketing as a partner. oct8ne's live sales and customer engagement offerings will be a great complement to the design and marketing services they already provide so well to their customers." Tim Kunihiro, CEO, oct8ne. About oct8ne: oct8ne is a privately held company based in Menlo Park, CA. Its real-time, interactive sales suite turns customer engagement into a new sales channel, allowing eCommerce sites to significantly increase conversion rates and average order values. Learn more and request a live demo at http://www.oct8ne.com About Rand Internet Marketing A division of Rand Business Services based out of Fort Lauderdale, FL, Rand Internet Marketings team offers a full range of web design and marketing services, including responsive website creation, web development, search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing, brand / logo design and development, graphic designing and more. Rands specialty is primarily in responsive web design and development, including in the WordPress and Magento e-commerce platforms, and pay per click (PPC) marketing. In addition, Rand offers video production / marketing, full-color printing press services, business review and reputation management, product photography, merchant services and a host of other professional business services. For more information about Rand or the oct8ne partnership, call 888.707.RAND (888.707.7263) or request a consultation online at http://www.randmarketing.com/request-consultation . A small airplane is used for aerial application of cover crops on Schmidt Farms. Applying the cover crop seeds while the original crop is still in the field allows us to take advantage of seed mixes that produce dual results for soil health. A small airplane swoops low over a field of golden soybeans, and then zooms back up into the air before making another round at Maryland Soybean Board member Schmidt Farms, located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. What were doing is an aerial application of cover crops, explains Hans Schmidt, on a sunny day last fall. Applying the cover crop seeds while the original crop is still in the field allows us to take advantage of seed mixes that produce dual results for soil health. Schmidt Farms is one of many Maryland farms which together seeded a record 492,244 acres of cover crops last fall, the Maryland Department of Agriculture has announced. Maryland farmers have exceeded the Watershed Implementation Plan milestone goals in 2011, 2013 and 2015 for cover crops and are on track to exceed the next two year milestone in 2017 with this new record enrollment acreage. Cover crops are widely recognized as one of the most cost-effective and environmentally sustainable ways for farmers to meet nutrient and sediment reduction targets outlined in Marylands Watershed Implementation Plan to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay by 2025. Maryland farmers believe in the environmental and agronomic benefits of planting cover crops on their fields to improve the soil, recycle unused plant nutrients, control erosion, and protect local waterways, said Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Joe Bartenfelder. This is the sixth consecutive year that farmers have planted more than 400,000 acres of cover crops on their fields. Schmidt Farms is a third generation family farm, operated by Hans and his wife, Jennie, and Hans brother, Alan and his wife Brenda. The farm cultivates about 2,000 acres of food and feed high oleic soybeans used to create soybean oil, soybeans used in tofu and soy milk, green beans, tomatoes and wine grapes. In addition, they grow soy, corn and barley for animal feed. Using a cover crop application program allows the farm to feed nutrients into the top soil, and at the same time improve the fields soil tilth. Tilth is the physical condition of the soil that allows for a healthy root system to support plant growth and plant health, says Jennie. Having soil with good tilth means that the soil has large pore spaces for oxygenation and water filtration. This all adds up to a better no-till program in the spring and a reduced use of fertilizer. The cover crop program is not a new idea on the farm. In fact, Walter Schmidt was one of the first farmers in the country to implement cover crops, way back in the late 1960s. Dad wanted to ensure that the next generation of our family had healthy soils to continue our family farming legacy, says Hans. He certainly was able to meet that goal, and Alan and I continue the practice of constantly improving our soils. The Schmidt family goes out of its way to promote environmental stewardship and leadership for agriculture in Maryland. The farm has earned a designation of Certified Agricultural Conservation Steward under the Farm Stewardship Certification and Assessment Program (FSCAP), and Hans, who recently retired as volunteer chairman of the Maryland Soybean Board and from the Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts, has been appointed Assistant Secretary of Resource Conservation at the Maryland Department of Agriculture. Jennie is now president of the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board. Its rewarding to grow food for our neighbors, and the larger community, says Hans. We all have an influence on the environment. As farmers, we put the safety and health of the environment first. We are not the only farmers doing this, for most, its second nature. About Maryland Soybean Board: The Maryland Soybean Board administers soybean checkoff funds for soybean research, marketing and education programs in the state. One-half of the checkoff funds stay in Maryland for programs; the other half is sent to the United Soybean Board. To learn more about the Maryland Soybean Board, visit http://www.mdsoy.com. http://www.myrobots.com/ A centralized service which monitors, manages and controls robots and smart objects, and ultimately facilitates the coexistence and communication between machines as well as between machines and humans. RobotShop, the world's leading source for domestic and professional robots, has been developing, since 2009, a unique technology to allow robot owners and robot manufacturers to connect their hardware to the Internet via a universal API. The advantage of such a system is a centralized service which monitors, manages and controls robots and smart objects, and ultimately facilitates the coexistence and communication between machines as well as between machines and humans. A new era for millions of robots and users of connected objects: MyRobots aims to promote the development and implementation of a variety of cloud applications for many types of existing and future robots (domestic, professional, hobbyist, educational and recreational). Since its launch, MyRobots has attracted thousands of users and robot builders who have connected their devices to the cloud with the help of the "MyRobots Connect", or other hardware. The devices which use the MyRobots service are not only robots of various brands (Lynxmotion, Robotis Darwin OP, Vex Robotics, DFRobotShop Rover, LEGO Mindstorms, Aldebaran NAO, iRobot Roomba, Neato Robotics XV Series), but also includes monitoring of normal computers, mobile phones and microcontrollers such as Arduino. According to statistics released by MyRobots, over 33% of connected devices are custom-made robots. The possibilities in this field are infinite - MyRobots recently hosted its first connected plant (named Irene), that sends notifications automatically when it needs water. Mario Tremblay, RobotShop CEO, said: "MyRobots is the culmination of a long-term vision that we have been working on for more than 7 years. The Beta website, launched in 2011, gave us valuable information pertaining to the needs of the market, and the necessary technology to meet or exceed them. We are now ready to begin phase two of our development. To accomplish this, we created a "spin-off" company and found Robot Lab to be an ideal partner that shares our passion and determination needed to achieve our goals. After only 15 months in existence, Robot Lab has proven their ability to successfully accelerate technological development. I am delighted about this new partnership and confident in our ability to support manufacturers and developers in connecting their products to MyRobots, and ultimately simplify the lives of millions of users of robots and connected devices." Alexandre Ichai, founder of the Robot Lab adds: "I am very proud to share Marios ambition and to accompany him in this success. His vision is powerful, and we will do everything to make it a reality." Value-creating synergies within the Robot Lab ecosystem already identified: The company Blue Frog Robotics has confirmed that its robot "Buddy", the first real robot companion for the mass market, will be natively compatible with the universal platform MyRobots. "Buddy", designed to improve our lives by bringing us closer to each other through interactions with all surrounding technology, is set to become the platform of choice for developers throughout the robotics community. Blue Frog Robotics, is also incubated at Robot Lab and was funded in part by Robot Capital and a crowdfunding campaign of $618,000 on Indiegogo. AutoPets, the global leader in automatic self-cleaning litter boxes, announced that it would make the next Litter-Robot compatible with MyRobots. They envision the connectivity will inform users when to refill litter, empty the waste drawer, or even flag irregular behavior patterns of the cat using the litter boxan early warning sign that it might be time to consult the veterinarian. By connecting to MyRobots, the LitterRobot can share its status and interact with fellow robots on the network, such as a nearby connected robot vacuum. By detecting that the Litter-Robot has just gone through a cleaning cycle, the robot vacuum could make a pass around the unit, removing any litter that may have been tracked out by the cat. "Connectivity is a direction weve been heading in for a while" said Brad Baxter, President of Automated Pet Care Products, Inc. DBA AutoPets, "and as we approach the launch of our mobile app, were excited to integrate MyRobots into our product plans to maximize compatibility for our customers with other connected devices in their homes." Other visionary robot manufacturers have also announced their intention to implement native compatibility with MyRobots including the company Immersive Robotics, and their first tele-robotic robot Waldo, as well as the telepresence robots "Ubbo" from AXYN Robotics and "Keylo" from WYCA. The new MyRobots spin-off also announced that in 2016 the popular "Cloud Robotics Hackathon" will be re-introduced and held with the support of the LetsMakeRobots.com community website, the largest online group of robot builders in the world. Thousands of registered members will be given the chance to connect their robots and exploit the full potential of MyRobots. About RobotShop Inc. RobotShop is the world's leading robot store for personal and professional robot technology. It provides personal, domestic and professional robots, development platforms, kits, and specialized robotic parts. RobotShop is also an important source for robotics education and research. For more information on RobotShop, please visit http://www.robotshop.com About MyRobots MyRobots.com aims to connect all robots and intelligent devices to the Internet and is essentially a "social network" for robots and smart objects. In the same way that humans connect with each other via social networks, robots benefit by sharing information online , allowing them to interact with humans and each other as well as being controlled and monitored remotely. With cloud robotics applications, robots are increasing their capacity and can do more than they were originally designed for. Robot owners can thus reap all the possible benefits. When MyRobots was launched in 2011, Forbes, New Scientist, Mashable, Engadget, Venture Beat, The New York Times and many others; touted it as a "Facebook for robots", which strives to make cloud robotics a reality, accessible to all. For more information on MyRobots visit http://www.myrobots.com/ About Robot Lab Robot Lab is an incubator for robotic products that allows groups and startups to share their dreams and to reach their goals faster. They offer specialized expertise, an integrated robotics lab and an accelerator program with a dedicated team. They also offer investment through Robot Capital, where Robot Lab takes a share in each project and works with its network to find all the tools and resources needed for the development and commercialization of their products. Founded in 2014 by entrepreneur Alexandre Ichai, Robot Lab has become a key player in the sector in project acceleration and "Hyper Innovation". After opening five offices in France, various international antennas will be deployed in 2016 to offer its partners unique access to markets, technology and production tools worldwide. For more information on Robot Lab, visit http://www.robot-lab.org Business Liability Insurance and Payroll in under 90 seconds Canada's most loved cloud payroll and payments service, PaymentEvolution and the award winning insurance brokerage Bullfrog Insurance have teamed up to provide Canadian small businesses with near instant access to payroll and business insurance. The companies are working together to remove the common barriers small business owners face when trying to run their business. Getting adequate insurance coverage for their business would often take weeks. Getting their staff paid accurately and on time was an additional headache. Today, Bullfrog Insurance can setup business owners with Professional and Business Liability Insurance in 90 seconds. Adding payroll and employee payments is just a few seconds more. "For the first time Canadian business owners can get competitive, near real-time coverage for their business and solve their headaches around back-office functions like payroll - all in one place." said Sam Natur, CEO and president of Bullfrog Insurance. "We're focused on helping these businesses succeed by making insurance and payroll simple and fast.." Canadian small business owners can get real-time quotes for Business Liability Insurance today from http://bullfroginsurance.com and register for quick access to payroll from http://bullfroginsurance.com/payroll . This innovative service includes payroll, business payments, employee self-service as well as access to affordable employee benefits. "We've worked with thousands of small businesses across Canada who've experienced issues getting access to insurance services. We're proud to finally help them get access to these services through one of the most innovative platforms available today." said Sam Vassa, co-founder and CEO of PaymentEvolution. Learn more at http://bullfroginsurance.com/payroll About Bullfrog Insurance Bullfrog is a licensed insurance brokerage dedicated to commercial insurance for small businesses across Canada. Our award winning platform and service enable you to get near real-time access to coverage when you need it. Our insurance partners include Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, The Guarantee Company of North America (GCNA), Northbridge Insurance and South Western Group. Learn more at http://bullfroginsurance.com About PaymentEvolution PaymentEvolution provides easy to use, secure online payroll and payment services to small and mid-sized businesses across Canada. We're trusted by thousands of businesses, and process over $1B in payments. See why we're Canada's most loved payroll and payments service at http://PaymentEvolution.com The St. Patrick's Day Parade is one of the top NYC events that take place near DoubleTree by Hilton Metropolitan - a Manhattan Hotel. Parades, expos, and art shows are a few of the well-attended March events. DoubleTree by Hilton Metropolitan has impressive special offers to welcome March visitors. DoubleTree by Hilton Metropolitan and other Manhattan Hotels prepare to welcome the visitors that will come to the City to attend some of the top NYC Events in March. Parades, expos, and art shows are a few of the well-attended March events. DoubleTree by Hilton Metropolitan has impressive special offers to welcome March visitors. View offer details > International Restaurant and Food Service Show of New York March 6 through March 8, 2016 Jacob K. Javits Convention Center | 655 West 34th Street New York, NY 10001 Tel: 212.216.2000 Thousands who work in the food industry will attend this NYC event. The exhibit hall will be lined with vendors showing restaurant equipment, tableware, ingredients from around the world, and much more. Another highlight of the event is the seminars that will cover a variety of topics including marketing, effectively using social media, legal issues, and much more. St. Patricks Day Parade March 17, 2016 The 2nd oldest St. Patricks Day Parade in the country is also one of the largest in New York City. About two million spectators will line the streets to watch the marching bands and other groups that take part in this parade that has been a St. Patricks Day staple since 1762. The Armory Show March 3 through March 6, 2016 Piers 92/94 More than 200 galleries will show their works at this international art show. The 2016 show will mark 22 years that this NYC event has provided a place for emerging artists to show their works. New York International Auto Show March 25 through April 3, 2016 Jacob K. Javits Convention Center | 655 West 34th Street New York, NY 10001 Tel: 212.216.2000 This NYC event is a perfect opportunity to see the newest cars from all of the top car makers. Even those who are in the market for a new vehicle can enjoy the chance to see the latest offerings, shop for car accessories in the exhibit hall, and learn about financing options, insurance, and more. The Auto Show also features events, such as Camp Jeep, that ensure a good time for the entire family. Those planning a visit in March can visit DoubleTree by Hilton Metropolitans website or call the Manhattan Hotel at 800.675.6706 to make a reservation. About DoubleTree by Hilton Metropolitan A Manhattan Hotel: DoubleTree by Hilton Metropolitan is perfectly located in Midtown Manhattan on Lexington Avenue. Both business and leisure travelers appreciate the upscale amenities, onsite dining, modern decor, and thoughtful service provided to each guest. Travelers coming for New York Events, business trips, or a family getaway find these NY Accommodations to be a great choice. The NYC hotel was recently renovated and features newly renovated guestrooms with Sweet Dreams by DoubleTree Sleep Experience beds, contemporary bathrooms, modern work desks with ergonomic chair, new LCD television and more. Crabtree & Evelyn bath products await each guest. The hotels bar and lobby were renovated in 2015. The Midtown location of DoubleTree by Hilton Metropolitan gives guests the advantage of being near some of the Citys best dining, shopping, attractions, and activities. Top restaurants are within walking distance, and there is plenty to see and do without venturing far from this Midtown Manhattan Hotel. Times Square, the Empire State Building, Central Park, Rockefeller Center and Carnegie Hall are just a few of the NY attractions located within walking distance of the hotel. Those planning a trip to New York City can view the hotels contemporary accommodations and full-service amenities by visiting the Hotels website or by calling 800.675.6706. San Francisco Oral Surgeon While many San Francisco Bay Area patients come to oral surgeons from referrals, more and more patients turn to the Internet for information on dental and medical procedures. Dr. Alex Rabinovich MD, DDS, a top oral surgeon in San Francisco specializing in procedures such as wisdom teeth extraction, dental implants, and orthognathic (jaw) surgery, is proud to announce a major upgrade to his oral surgeon website at http://www.oralsurgery-sf.com/. While many San Francisco Bay Area patients come to oral surgeons from referrals, more and more patients turn to the Internet for information on dental and medical procedures, explained Dr. Alex Rabinovich of San Francisco Dental Implants. By updating my oral surgery website, I plan to provide a better online experience for potential patients, including some explanations in lay people terms about common procedures such as wisdom teeth extraction that I perform in my San Francisco office. In addition to visiting the newly updated website, one can learn a great deal about Dr. Rabinovich as a San Francisco oral surgeon on the newly updated landing pages. Of particular interest is the page on wisdom teeth at http://www.oralsurgery-sf.com/wisdom-teeth/, as this is one of the more common procedures. Patients interested in dental implants in San Francisco are referred to his sister website at http://www.sfdentalimplants.com/. Common Procedures Performed by Dr. Alex Rabinovich as an Oral Surgeon Dr. Rabinovich is a physician with advanced training in Facial Plastic Surgery as well as Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery. Educated in both medicine (MD, SUNY Downstate College of Medicine) and dentistry (DDS, Columbia University), Dr. Rabinovich is an expert in Facial Cosmetic Surgery, Corrective Jaw Surgery (Orthognathic and TMJ) and Facial Reconstruction (Trauma and Cleft Lip / Palate deformities). He successfully performed hundreds of facial surgical procedures, conducted clinical research and authored a number of medical articles. Procedures available at his Oral Surgery office include, but are not limited to, the following: dental implants, bone grafting, wisdom teeth extraction, and jaw (orthognathic) surgery. In addition, surgery for disorders such as TMJ and sleep apnea are increasingly in demand. While the website is fully updated with new, 2016, information on procedures, interested patients are encouraged to reach out by email or phone for an in-office consultation. All patients are different, and individual results may vary. More Information Media inquiries are handled by the San Francisco Dental Implant Center. Accordingly, interested parties are directed to the following: San Francisco Dental Implant Center, Media Relations Web: http://www.sfdentalimplants.com/ Email: info(at)sfdentalimplants(dot)com Tel. (415) 992-9188 Left to Right: Gardner Britt, Don Waugh, Marcelline Waugh at the Closing "George was very helpful and professional in bringing the parties together to consummate a successful transaction." - Gardner Britt, Ted Britt Automotive Group In 1976, the Waugh Family established Waugh Enterprises Harley-Davidson, Inc. which prior to the sale was considered the oldest Harley-Davidson dealership in Virginia. Founder, P.D Waugh, began his career in 1939 offering automobiles and tractors, with Triumph motorcycles being offered for sale starting in 1953 and Harley-Davidson motorcycles shortly thereafter. In 1998 the dealership expanded into a 10,000 square foot showroom with designated Parts and Service departments, currently residing on 10 acres. Don Waugh, Marcelline Waugh and Donna Waugh Robinson contacted George C. Chaconas, a Harley-Davidson and new car dealership broker from Performance Brokerage Services to assist them with their negotiations with a local dealer. After long and tenuous negotiations with a local Harley-Davidson dealer, we finally reached an agreement with Georges help, shared Donna Waugh. She continued, George held our hands throughout the entire process and until the closing. Prior to the completion of the sale, Waugh Enterprises Harley-Davidson hosted the Big Daddys Big Damn Auction on December 4th. Having been around since 1939, this event auctioned off Don Hoss Waughs personal collection of Harley-Davidson memorabilia and artifacts as well as his $1 million investment into the Memory Lane Motorcycle Museum, which was featured onsite at Waugh Enterprises Harley-Davidson. The event was expected to have 3,000 people in attendance as well as offering online bidding. Gardner Britt of the Ted Britt Automotive Group purchased Waugh Enterprises Harley-Davidson from the Waugh Family. Ted Britt Automotive Group also operates Chevrolet of Sterling, Ford Lincoln of Chantilly and Ford Lincoln of Fairfax, all located in Virginia. In September 2013, Ted Britt Automotive Group acquired its first Harley-Davidson dealership through George Chaconas and Performance Brokerage Services, when they purchased East Coast Harley-Davidson in Dumfries, Virginia, now renamed Harley-Davidson of Quantico. Looking to expand his Harley-Davidson portfolio, Gardner Britt remained on Georges radar. George showed us the perfect Harley-Davidson dealership he had listed for sale in our adjacent market, commented Gardner Britt. He continued, George was very helpful and professional in bringing the parties together to consummate a successful transaction. We highly recommend George and Performance Brokerage Services if you are in the market to buy or sell a Harley-Davidson dealership. George C. Chaconas, the exclusive agent for this transaction and the head of the National Harley-Davidson and Powersports Division for Performance Brokerage Services commented, With tremendous satisfaction, we announce the sale of the oldest Harley-Davidson dealership in the state of Virginia. This was a terrific acquisition for the Ted Britt Automotive Group and the Waugh Family found an excellent buyer to carry on their legacy. About Performance Brokerage Services Performance Brokerage Services, an auto dealership broker, specializes in professional intermediary services to buyers and sellers of automotive, Harley-Davidson and Powersports dealerships. The company offers a different approach to the automotive, Harley-Davidson and Powersports industries by providing complimentary dealership assessments, no upfront fees, no reimbursement of costs and is paid a success fee only. Performance Brokerage Services gets paid only after the client gets paid. With over 24 years of experience, the company utilizes an extensive network of industry related accountants, attorneys, hundreds of registered buyers and enjoys longstanding relationships with most of the auto manufacturers and the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. The intermediaries at Performance Brokerage Services have been involved in well over 400 transactions. Pledging loyal and unwavering representation, confidentiality is vigilantly protected during the selling process and after the transaction closes. With corporate offices in Irvine, California located at 7545 Irvine Center Drive, four satellite offices in Utah, Florida, Texas and New Jersey, and a dedicated Harley-Davidson and Powersports Division, Performance Brokerage Services provides its clients national exposure with local representation. For more information about the services offered by Performance Brokerage Services, visit https://performancebrokerageservices.com. The inauguration of the new water system for the Nicaraguan town of Salales will be in late February. There is a great need for distributed, potable water in Nicaragua and the Salales community is grateful for this project. New Energy Works Timberframers and Pioneer Millworks supported efforts of the Enlace Project, a non-profit organization that promotes the economic development of small communities in Nicaragua, and the Victor-Farmington Rotary of Western New York who lead the initiative of providing a pump, chlorination and distribution system for the town of Salales. The community of Salales, Nicaragua was either drawing water from local streams or from an unmanaged well in the midst of a cattle field. Consequently, a high level of sickness prevailed. The new water system will affect 187 families living along the pipelines. A local elementary school and high school, or about 130 students, will also directly benefit from safe, clean water. The inauguration of the new water system for the Nicaraguan town of Salales will be February 26th. Currently the pump and chlorinater are in place, and piping/distribution to homes has been installed. Once construction is over, and the water is flowing, a community group will monitor and guide the project locally. There is a great need for distributed, potable water in Nicaragua. At the end of this month, I will be traveling to Salales to participate in the inauguration and celebration of this water supply. The Salales community is so grateful for the success of this project, explained Rotarian Karen Parkhurst. The Salales Water Project is not Victor-Farmington Rotarys first project in the municipality of El Sauce. On her third trip to Nicaragua, Parkhurst, an employee of New Energy Works Timberframers and Pioneer Millworks, was inspired by the sight of solar panels and a well and wondered what more they could do. A meeting with Water Commissioner Yuri Garcia yielded two potential sites for a water project. After completing a needs assessment and appointing a committee of villagers to oversee the system, Salales was chosen. Fourteen Western New York Rotary Clubs and another from Istanbul, Turkey have provided the funding for the Salales Water Project. Other individual donations and a substantial donation from New Energy Works/Pioneer Millworks resulted from Parkhursts travel to her area Rotary Clubs to make the case for the project. A total of almost $52,000 was raised to purchase a pump, chlorinator, holding tank, and other various materials including piping necessary to complete the initiative. Parkhurst credits both New Energy Works and its president, Jonathan Orpin, for introducing her to need in Nicaragua. Orpin accompanied her on her first trip to Nicaragua in 2008, resulting in a $65,000 solar oven project, one financially supported by New Energy Works, Pioneer Millworks, and the Rotary. In 2012, the Victor-Farmington Rotary Club completed a smaller solar panel project in a remote mountain village in Nicaragua. Pioneer Millworks is the leader in the reclaimed wood industry. To date, theyve rescued over 25 million board feet of old wood from rot and landfills, giving it new life as flooring, paneling, millwork, cabinetry, and more. All wood is manufactured in a way thats healthy for customers, employees, and the environment. Pioneer Millworks is FSC certified and Green America approved. All of their products are LEED point eligible. New Energy Works Timberframers have been designing and building environmentally responsible timber frames across the USA for more than 30 years from their facilities in Oregon and New York. Offerings include: Timber Framing (design, engineering, manufacturing, build), Enclosure Systems, Fine Woodworking, and Recycled and Sustainable wood products. New Energy Works has two LEED AP staff members, is a member of the US Green Building Council, and is FSC Certified. Our local publications have been bringing news and information to our readers for generations, and partnering with Shiva.com gives our readers an additional resource during a difficult time. Shiva.com, the resource for Jewish mourning, has announced several new media partnerships in the Las Vegas region, providing comprehensive resources for learning, planning and sending condolences. Shiva.coms Learning Center guides and informs individuals and organizations about the traditions surrounding Jewish mourning and shiva, in particular with sending sympathy gifts that are customarily appropriate during the ritual of shiva, which begins following the loss of a family member. The partnerships with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Boulder City Review, Pahrump Valley Times, and El Tiempo provide articles and planning tools, along with the ability to express condolences directly through these media outlets, further enhancing the users experience prior to and when viewing the obituary sections of their respective websites. We are proud to expand our network of media partners to include such storied and well respected outlets, says Michael Schimmel, CEO and founder of shiva.com, and look forward to working with each partner to help provide the most informative and complete set of Jewish mourning tools and resources. For the Las Vegas Review-Journal and its affiliated publications, the partnership with shiva.com represents the emphasis these publications place on providing valuable and relevant resources to readers. There is a high degree of sensitivity for individuals seeking to understand loss and express condolences, especially within specific faiths and cultures. This partnership provides readers with curated articles and tools that help to inform, guide and assist with sending appropriate sympathy gifts according to the customs of shiva and Jewish mourning. Our local publications have been bringing news and information to our readers for generations, and partnering with Shiva.com gives our readers an additional resource during a difficult time, said Deidre Dyer, Division Sales Manager. Connecting through our publications and online sites is easy and effective. This new partnership continues the expansion of shiva.coms network of media outlets, grief centers, and nonprofit organizations dedicated to provide the most qualified resources on Jewish mourning and sympathy. About shiva.com Shiva.com provides an easy-to-use, efficient resource to help family members, friends, colleagues and acquaintances honor the passing of loved ones. The site carefully blends centuries-old religious traditions with modern-day customs to help support, communicate and mourn. Shiva.com offers information as well as guidance about appropriate items to send and words to express condolences in a respectable and understanding way. 2016 shiva.com, LLC. All rights reserved. shiva.com and the shiva.com logo are trademarks of shiva.com, LLC. Tiffany Henninger - Envy Airbrush Tanning in Elysian, Minnesota I learned so much from her and her unique spray tanning technique has gotten my clients to love it just as much as I do and the instant gratification my clients receive after they get sprayed is priceless Past News Releases RSS Hollywood Airbrush Tanning Academy... Retired NYC Police Detective Opens... New Spray Tanning Business Launches... Hollywood Airbrush Tanning Academy proudly announces that their student Tiffany Henninger has completed her hands-on spray tanning training at the academy. Following the footsteps of many of her predecessors, Tiffany has also started her own sunless tanning business after the completion of training. Hollywood Airbrush Tanning Academy is a Southern California-based airbrush tanning school founded in 2011 by acclaimed airbrush tanning expert Simone Emmons. In addition to teaching the intricacies of spray tanning, the academy also helps their students start their own business in this emerging market. Tiffany Henninger has been married for twenty-one years and is the mother of two children aged twenty and seventeen years. Till this stage, her only desire was to be the worlds best mom and wife. However, with one child already out of the home and the other expected to follow soon, she recently felt the need to do something for herself. Explaining the reason for opting for spray tanning as her new career path, Tiffany said, There isnt a lot of spray tanning salons around the area, so it gave me the idea of starting my own business of airbrush tanning. I can honestly say this is the first winter I have gone without laying in a tanning bed, but instead, I am getting spray tanned now. Also, with being over 40, I am more conscious of my skin and wanting to take better care of it. Tiffanys new business Envy Airbrush Tanning is now up and running in the Ana Bela Salon located at 205 SW 5th St, Elysian MN 56028. She is hoping that the people from the surrounding areas such as Waterville, Morristown, Mankato, Faribault, Kilkenny and Waseca will come and try her Hollywood style spray tans as well. Tiffany is accepting service requests and inquiries through her mobile number 507-381-8598 or find her by visiting http://www.EnvyAirbrushTanning.com. Airbrush tanning is now the more preferred form of tanning compared to the traditional concept of tanning beds. The popularity of spray or airbrush tanning has increased by leaps and bounds over the last few years because this method does not expose the skin to the suns UV radiations. With the increasing popularity of this tanning technique, there has been an increasing demand in the beauty and wellness market for trained airbrush tanning technicians. Though her training academy, Simone Emmons has been playing a pioneering role in creating Americas most proficient spray tan experts for the future. Tiffany Henninger has high regards for her mentor Simone and her training program. Simone actually gave me my first spray tan, and I was hooked. I learned so much from her and her unique spray tanning technique has gotten my clients to love it just as much as I do and the instant gratification my clients receive after they get sprayed is priceless. It's been great to have a mentor to reach out to whenever I have a question, or run into a problem I need answered, she said. Tiffanys goal is to reach as many people as possible and help them boost their confidence, or just make them feel better about themselves. About Hollywood Airbrush Tanning Academy: Hollywood Airbrush Tanning Academy is located in Los Angeles, California and offers an extensive Spray Tanning Certification program to individuals who want to start their own full or part-time airbrush tanning business. Founder and trainer, Simone Emmons is a professional spray tanning expert and teacher and has trained over 300 entrepreneurs from 27 states (and counting) including international students from Trinidad, South Korea, Kuwait and Canada. Simones airbrush tanning business has recently won the Best of Los Angeles Award 2015 for airbrush tanning in Los Angeles. The spray tanning training provided by the Hollywood Airbrush Tanning Academy is private and hands-on and prepares the student to start in business immediately. Prior to the hands-on training, over four hours of videos lessons are provided to students covering everything from safety and technique to marketing and Search engine optimization. Hollywood Airbrush Tanning Academy does not sell any of their own products and provides training and education on all equipment and tanning solutions in the sunless industry. The academy provides hands-on training classes in Los Angeles and Connecticut area as well as online airbrush tanning certification classes. Visit HollywoodAirbrushTanningAcademy.com to sign up for the next spray tanning class or call Hollywood Airbrush Tanning Academy at (818) 674-9621 for more information. San Francisco Partnership / LLC Tax Preparation Services Many partnerships and LLCs (but not all) tend to be smaller businesses, either family businesses or startups. Safe Harbor LLP, a top San Francisco accounting firm serving startups as well as traditional businesses, is proud to announce preparations for the filing of tax returns of partnerships and/or LLCs. The Federal government has made many rule changes with the passing of the extenders and the highway bill, these changes affect the manner in which partnerships and LLCs are audited, and also will change the due date of 2016 tax returns. Many business owners may be confused about the deadline changes. Early awareness and planning to prepare for these changes will avoid unnecessary confusion and consequences among San Francisco business owners, especially startups. Many partnerships and LLCs (but not all) tend to be smaller businesses, either family businesses or startups, explained Chun Wong, CPA, managing partner at Safe Harbor LLP. In our experience, many are not set up with a full-time, in-house CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and they may not be aware of changes that could adversely affect them in the near future. We are thus announcing preparations for the 2016 season unique to LLCs and/or partnerships with ample planning time as we finalize 2015 tax returns. Among the pages updated, interested parties are referred to the page specific on Partnerships and LLC's at http://www.safeharborcpa.com/partnerships/. There, in addition to updated 2016 information, one can reach out for a phone consultation. In addition, the update to the business tax calendar at http://www.safeharborcpa.com/2016-sf-tax/ specifically explains the new, earlier deadlines for the 2016 tax year. (Individuals are reminded that this year's deadline to file their 2015 returns is April 18, 2016, due to a Federal Holiday in the District of Columbia). And third, Safe Harbor LLP is prepared to file extensions, when needed, for those partnerships or LLCs that are a bit behind this year and avoid harsh late filing penalties on the entity and partner or member level. "Our business is one of 'hurry up and wait,'" explained Mr. Wong, adding, "We also prepare for procrastinators, especially in this hectic tax year." San Francisco LLCs and Partnerships: Startups With the startup and mobile tech scene booming in San Francisco, Safe Harbor has become the 'go-to' CPA firm specializing in startup issues, small and medium businesses. Often, the first issue is the form of business organization. Safe Harbor can advise as to whether a C or S corporation, or an LLC or partnership is the best form of organization for tax purposes. In addition, many startups need advice on employee and owner compensation, including stock options. That, in combination with the tax filing deadline (coming soon), have formed the core of the firm's information outreach and blogging efforts for early, 2016. About Safe Harbor LLP a San Francisco CPA Firm Safe Harbor LLP is a CPA firm that specializes in accounting and tax services for individuals and businesses throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and greater California. Safe Harbor CPAs helps both individuals and businesses with tax preparation, IRS audit defense, and audited financial statements. The firm prides itself on friendly yet professional service and utilizes state-of-the-art Internet technology to provide quality customer service. Safe Harbor CPA http://www.safeharborcpa.com Tel. 415.742.4249 The American Academy of Thermology (AAT) is the premiere organization in North America for the scientific development, health care training and clinical application of medical infrared imaging. Highlights include the Keynote address Uses of Thermal Imaging for Hypothermia in Day Surgery, Mountain Climbing, and in Monitoring Natural/Man-Made Disasters The American Academy of Thermology (AAT) has announced that it will hold its 2016 Annual Meeting & Scientific Session on September 10-11 in Greenville, SC at the Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital campus at the Bernadine Center. A pre-meeting Physicians member certification course will be held at the same location on September 9 (more information and registration). The AATs 2016 Annual Meeting & Scientific Session has been planned, and will be implemented, in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). Highlights include the Keynote address Uses of Thermal Imaging for Hypothermia in Day Surgery, Mountain Climbing, and in Monitoring Natural/Man-Made Disasters, and the invited presentation Near Infrared Spectroscopy & Acute Compartment Syndrome: Lessons Learned. At this years Annual Meeting & Scientific Session, changes to the newly-revised Guidelines for Veterinary Thermal Imaging and the procedures for submitting cases to the new AAT Members Atlas will be reviewed. There will also be several clinical case presentations that focus on how Medical Thermal Imaging results h change clinical diagnosis and treatment decision making. In total, there will be 4 session streams: Session 1: Revised AAT Guidelines, AAT Thermography Atlas Update Session 2: Advancements in Uses of Infrared Imaging Cameras, Equipment, and Translational Applications within the Infrared Spectrum Session 3: Clinicians Corner: Thermography as an Extension of the Physical Exam for Use in Diagnosis and Treatment Session 4: Thermal Imaging Research Issues and Challenges In addition to several other talks and Q&A sessions, attendees will also have the opportunity to network with their peers and AAT leadership at a special reception on the evening of September 10 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Greenville, SC, during which the AAT 2016 Achievement Award will be handed out. More information on the AATs 2016 Annual Meeting & Scientific Session is available at http://aathermology.org/events-calendar/annual-session-program. AAT members and non-members who plan on attending can find directions, recommended hotels, and special discounted rates (limited inventory available) at http://aathermology.org/events-calendar/annual-session-program/hotel-travel. For additional information, interview requests or media inquiries, visit http://aathermology.org, email info(at)aathermology(dot)org or call (864) 236-1073. About the American Academy of Thermology Founded in 1971, The American Academy of Thermology (AAT) is the premiere organization in North America for the scientific development, health care training and clinical application of medical infrared imaging. The AAT provides a forum for those who have interest in medically-related conditions that involve the autonomic nervous, peripheral vascular and immuno-inflammatory systems. The organization also holds annual conferences for the presentation of scientific and professional papers, and serves as the voice of its members in medical practice, health care finance, legislative and regulatory related matters. Learn more at http://aathermology.org Associate Attorney Kathryn C. Rolewick The Wheaton law firm of Rolewick & Gutzke, P.C. announces the hiring of Associate Attorney Kathryn C. Rolewick. The law firm of Rolewick & Gutzke, P.C. is pleased to announce that Kathryn C. Rolewick has joined the firm as an associate attorney. Rolewick was admitted to practice law by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2013. She has been working as a Trust Administrative Officer for U.S. Trust, Bank of America, N.A. since graduating from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2013. She is now happy to be joining the firm founded by her father, David Rolewick, in 1978, and they will be working together in the areas of estate planning, wealth management, probate estates, contracts, and general corporate and business structures. A graduate of Wheaton Warrenville South High School in Wheaton, Illinois, Rolewick attended Boston College where she graduated cum laude from the Honors Program in 2004. She is a member of the DuPage County Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. She has been a member of the ISBA Trusts & Estates Section Council since 2014. Rolewick lives in the western suburbs with her husband and young son. About Rolewick & Gutzke, P.C. The law firm of Rolewick & Gutzke, P.C. is located in Wheaton, Illinois. Since 1978, the attorneys at Rolewick & Gutzke, P.C. have successfully represented businesses and individuals in DuPage County and throughout Illinois. The firm offers services in a wide range of practice areas including: estate planning, business formation, corporate maintenance, contracts and contract disputes, real estate, and civil litigation. For more information please call 630-653-1577 or visit http://www.rglawfirm.com. Children are the future, and we want to get behind an organization that supports them in any way we can The Chiropractic Doctors, in association with The Wellness Champions of Grand Rapids, are hosting an evening of education, awareness, and wine samplings in an event to remember. The Wine, Women, and Wellness event is open to anyone looking to learn more about health, wellness, and improving social relationships to help reduce stress. The complimentary event is scheduled for Thursday, March 3, 2016, at 6:30-8:30pm at the offices of The Chiropractic Doctors. Wine, Women, and Wellness will feature wines and food catered by Russo's, and will include multiple, short wellness presentations from local experts. The four presenters for the evening will focus their conversation-starter talks around the topic of Why women helping women is important, a topic inspired by the scientific findings of Joan Silk and her studies on how social relationships can influence a woman's ability to cope with the stresses of daily life. The Chiropractic Doctors and The Wellness Champions will have information available at the event about the regional chapter of the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization, an organization that The Chiropractic Doctors partners with frequently. We have been working with Big Brothers Big Sisters for the last five years, said Dr. Matt Phinney, founder of The Chiropractic Doctors Cascade location. They are a great organization that really supports the youth of our community. Children are the future. Dr. Phinney added, We have seen the impact their organization has on these young lives, we want to get behind them in any way we can. In addition to opportunity for attendees to make donations to the charity, Wine, Women, and Wellness will offer discounted health packages from The Chiropractic Doctors available for purchase, with all proceeds going to support Big Brothers Big Sisters. The event is free, but registration is encouraged. Register either by phone or online: 616-432-3103 or http://j.mp/winewomenwellness The Chiropractic Doctors is located at 5747 28th Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 If you are new to iQ you can schedule a demo and learn more about this opportunity. PSFK iQ - Where Innovators Turn for Research. Our professional-grade research platform is designed specifically for Retail and CX leaders who want to know whats next. Whether youre staying current on trends or need a real-time research partner to help you get ahead, count on PSFK iQ to deliver the info you need to make your next move. The driver of a Ford Ranger pickup died in a crash in the village of Boyceville Wednesday morning. According to Captain Kevin Bygd, the Dunn County Sheriffs Office and Boyceville Ambulance were called to the scene of the crash on West Street (County Highway O) on the southern limits of the village at 7:53 a.m. Within minutes, rescue workers arrived and found that Tyler A. Mathews, 19, of Boyceville had died from injuries suffered in the crash. Sheriffs Office investigation determined that Mathews was heading north when his pick-up left the road on a curve and collided with a tree, perhaps as a result of falling asleep at the wheel. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Dunn County Medical Examiners Office. Mathews obituary can be found at www.olsonfuneral.com Having failed in its bid to buy the Perseus Book Group in 2014, Hachette Book Group announced Tuesday afternoon that it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the companys publishing division. Perseus announced last September that it was looking for potential buyers, and discussions are ongoing about the sale of its distribution business. Both parties hope to close the deal by the end of March, following regulatory approval. When the deal is done, HBG will make the Perseus publishing group a new division under Susan Weinberg, a long-time Perseus executive who has served most recently as senior v-p and group publisher. Weinberg will join HBGs executive management board as senior v-p and publisher of Perseus Books, reporting directly to HBG CEO Michael Pietsch. Perseus comprises nine imprints: Avalon Travel, Basic Books, Basic Civitas, Da Capo Press, Da Capo Lifelong Books, PublicAffairs, Running Press, Seal Press, and Westview Press. The publisher also has partnerships with The Economist, The Nation Institute, Participant Media, and The Weinstein Company. Noting the last minute cancellation of the Perseus purchase 18 months ago, Pietsch told PW he was very happy to be at this point. He sees the purchase as "a big step in expanding our range and expertise in a wide number of new nonfiction categories." HBG has made no secret of its desire to expand in the nonfiction area, and it acquired about 1,000 adult nonfiction books from Hyperion after the bid to buy Perseus failed. Those titles now form the core of the Hachette Books division under the direction of Mauro DiPreta. Piestsch said he has no plans to make major changes in Perseuss publishing operations. "They have been publishing brilliantly and we want to help them be even better," he said. Perseus publishes about 500 new titles annually and has a backlist of approximately 6,000 titles. In addition to its large nonfiction library, Perseus also publishes childrens books and a number of fiction works. In about six months, HBG plans to move Perseuss New York City employees into its own offices in Manhattan. HBG also intends to move the Da Capo Boston staff to HBGs Boston office. The purchase does add three cities to HBGs operational map, with Perseus having offices in Philadelphia, Boulder, and Berkeley. David Steinberger, CEO of Perseus, said the company has made "very good progress" on selling the distribution business and has been in ongoing talks with a number of interested parties. Steinberger will stay on with Perseus, until the future of the distribution business is decided. An announcement regarding the distribution business, Steinberger added, "will be made at the appropriate time." WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Fruit growers in central Indiana will have the opportunity to learn myriad topics involving fruit production at a meeting in Morgan County. The meeting, sponsored by the Hancock County and Morgan Country Purdue Extension offices, will be held March 15 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT at the Morgan County Purdue Extension Office, 180 S. Main St., Suite 229, Martinsville. "New production practices and pest identification, prevention, control tools and techniques continue to emerge, and growers may be seeking ways to learn more about these," said Roy Ballard, agriculture and natural resource educator for Purdue Extension in Hancock County. "Knowledge, accompanied with a lot of care and hard work, can often be the best tool in producing a quality and profitable fruit crop." The meeting will cover current production practices, pest diagnostics, pest control research, a look at the production year ahead and more topics. There will be presentations by: * John Phillips, of Crop Production Services, on weed control possibilities. * Richard Weinzierl, a University of Illinois professor and Extension entomologist, on key recommendations for insect and mite management in apples. * Khalil Jahed, a Purdue University graduate student, on pollination and fruit set of apples. * Janna Beckerman, a Purdue botany and plant pathology professor, on fruit tree disease updates. The meeting has been approved as a Pesticide Applicator Recertification Program. Those wishing to recertify should bring their PARP card to the meeting. Ballard will discuss a PARP recertification topic on pollinator protection. The meeting is free to attend, and lunch will be provided. To register, contact Ballard at rballard@purdue.edu, 317-462-1113. Writer: Megan Tarter, 765-496-6734, metarter@purdue.edu Source: Roy Ballard, 317-462-1113, rballard@purdue.edu Agricultural Communications: (765) 494-2722; Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu Agriculture News Page Dev Niyogi Download Photo WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A partnership among scientists and the governments of the United States and India has made significant progress in improving the safety of people vulnerable to cyclones along the Indian coast since a devastating supercyclone there in 1999 claimed 10,000 lives, a Purdue University researcher says. Dev Niyogi, professor of agronomy and earth, atmospheric and planetary science, noted that while the Orissa supercyclone that year made landfall in the state now known as Odisha on the Bay of Bengal coast and killed that many people, the death toll from a similar storm in the same area in 2013 - very severe cyclonic storm Phailin - was 39. "The storm in 1999 was a pretty massive disaster," said Niyogi, who is also Indiana state climatologist. "Phailin, in 2013, was roughly the same strength and took about the same track, and it had roughly the same intensity, yet this time the number of deaths was many times smaller. When we improve science, when we improve models, it impacts the ability for officials to make life-or-death decisions and implement effective disaster and communication plans. This is the result of science and action." In 2000, the U.S. and Indian governments developed the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum, whose purpose is to catalyze collaborations in science, technology, engineering and biomedical research through interactions involving government, academia and industry. Niyogi and collaborators from the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Indian National Institute of Technology Rourkela and the India Meteorological Department compared the storms in the December issues of the journal Earth Interactions. Significant improvement in storm forecasting models was key to those results. Whereas storm watchers in 1999 were guessing at a 300-kilometer range of where the Orissa cyclone would make landfall, that number was cut in half by 2013's models. Along with more certainty about the storm's path came better information about the strength of the cyclone and the potential for damage and death. "The ability to communicate accurate forecasts improved the credibility of the information with Phailin," Niyogi said. "The confidence that the media have in the output of the model helps them communicate with people in real time." After the Orissa cyclone, government agencies in India worked with U.S. partners to develop new methods for disseminating warnings to the public. Besides the advent of social media, which helped spread information quickly, the India Meteorological Department implemented a broad-based strategy for keeping the coastal population informed, including updates on the Web and through texts, email, telephone, telefax, television and radio. The Indian government also spent years planning and building infrastructure and action plans for a storm, including evacuation protocols, identifying safe buildings for evacuees and developing community-based volunteer teams to assist with the process. "The government of India did a remarkable job using the information at hand to develop a disaster-response plan," Niyogi said. Niyogi says the takeaway from the storms' comparison is that a well-developed partnership between scientists and government, as well as international partnerships, can lead to more robust and effective plans for dealing with storms and other natural disasters. He said this should be a model to emulate. "Our problems are global in nature, and our solutions must be global in nature," Niyogi said. The partnership will continue to improve forecasting models and evaluate disaster plans for storms. The Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program, Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services, the National Science Foundation, the Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Department of Science and Technology funded the research. Writer: Brian Wallheimer, 765-532-0233, brian.wallheimer@gmail.com Source: Dev Niyogi, 765-496-2926, climate@purdue.edu ABSTRACT A Great Escape "Super SapphirePhailin" Tropical Cyclone: A Case of Improved Weather Forecast and Societal Response for Disaster U. C. Mohanty,* Krishna K. Osuri,*,+,# Vijay Tallapragada,@ Frank D. Marks,+ Sujata Pattanayak,* M.Mohapatra,& L. S. Rathore,& S. G. Gopalakrishnan,+ and Dev Niyogi**,++ * School of Earth Ocean and Climate Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India + Hurricane Research Division, NOAA/AOML, Miami, Florida # Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Odisha, India @ Environmental Modeling Center, NOAA/NCEP, College Park, Maryland & India Meteorological Department, New Delhi, India ** Department of Agronomy, and Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana The very severe cyclonic storm (VSCS) "Phailin (2013)" was the strongest cyclone that hit the eastern coast of the India Odisha state since the supercyclone of 1999. But the same story of casualties was not repeated as that of 1999 where approximately 10,000 fatalities were reported. In the case of Phailin, a record 1 million people were evacuated across 18,000 villages in both the Odisha and Andhra Pradesh states to coastal shelters following the improved operational forecast guidance that benefited from highly skillful and accurate numerical model guidance for the movement, intensity, rainfall, and storm surge. Thus, the property damage and death toll were minimized through the proactive involvement of three-tier disaster management agencies at central, state, and district levels. Agricultural Communications: (765) 494-2722; Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu Agriculture News Page State Senator Sheila Harsdorf was among four legislators honored Wednesday, Feb. 24 in a ceremony that preceded the Wisconsin Newspaper Association/Associated Press Annual Convention and Trade Show in Middleton. In addition to Harsdorf (R-River Falls), Rep. Mary Cjaza (R-Irma), Sen. Stephen Nass (R-Whitewater) and Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville) were presented with Legislative Service Awards in recognition of their work on behalf of the newspaper industry. Harsdorf was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1998. She serves on the legislatures budget writing committee, the Joint Committee on Finance. During the 2015-16 legislative session, Harsdorf will also serve as chair of the Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges and as a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Small Business, and Tourism and the Senate Committee on Education Reform and Government Operations. She will also co-chair the Joint Committee on Information Policy and Technology. The Wisconsin Newspaper Association (WNA) was established in 1853 and is among the oldest press associations in the world. Over the years, the association has established a number of services for its members, advertisers and the general public. Created by and for Wisconsins newspapers, WNA exists to strengthen the newspaper industry, enhance public understanding of the role of newspapers, and protect basic freedoms of press, speech and the free flow of information. CAMBRIDGE -- Mark and Karen DeDecker, of rural Cambridge, have been named 2016 Master Farmers by Prairie Farmer magazine. They and three other Illinois farm couples will be honored for their agricultural production skills and community service at a March 8 ceremony in East Peoria. Other honorees are Reggie and Norma Jean Dowell, of Greenview; Ron and Julie Lawfer, of Kent; and Bill and Brenda Raben, of Ridgway. The award was established in 1925 by the magazine. "Its become a Hall of Achievement for Illinois farmers like no other because its honored farmers who seem to do it all: combining top agricultural production skills with community service, grassroots achievement and dedication to their families, said Holly Spangler, Prairie Farmer editor. "They are the folks who make our rural communities tick. The DeDeckers' farming operation is in its third generation. Mark DeDecker and his father began with 640 acres and 1,000 hogs in a farrow-to-finish operation. In 1975, the DeDeckers had an opportunity to grow in a way that wasnt yet popular in Henry County -- hog confinements -- when Mark DeDecker converted a 40-x-214-foot henhouse into a 30-crate nursery finisher. Through the decades, they sold the sows, bought feeder pigs and expanded the operation through additional building construction and rental. Today, their feeder-to-finish operation finishes 30,000 hogs a year. They also farm 2,000 acres in partnership with their son, Lance, using variable rate technology on fertilizer applications for more efficient placement. Their goal is to apply just enough so the crop isnt starving for nutrients, without over-applying. Every year, they also install several thousand feet of tile where needed. All of their fields are no-till, with the exception of about 200 corn-on-corn acres. The DeDeckers also open their farm operation to people from all over the world, hosting international agricultural bus tours, college trainees, livestock judging teams and soil judging teams. For more than 40 years, Mark DeDecker has been involved with the Henry County Pork Producers and has served on the state board for eight years. This year, he is the committee chairman for the 2016 Illinois Pork Expo. Their three children also contribute to the the agricultural community. According to the DeDeckers, "Their lives truly show the strength of this farm." BETTENDORF -- The first of four planned Pita Pit restaurants in the Quad-Cities should be open by the end of April, a company spokesman said Monday. The restaurant -- known for its bold, spicy, ethnic and healthy food, along with mainstream music selections -- will finish a building at 2421 53rd Ave., Suite 2, in Bettendorf, before turning its attention to three other sites, vice president of franchise development Bill Wilfong said. Quad-Citian franchisees Christopher Wenzel and Chad Delp have agreed to the four-store deal, Mr. Wilfong said. People agreeing to multiunits generally build one per year, but future sites are yet to be determined, he said. More than 40 percent of them signed on as multiunit owners, he said. The chain opened its 600th restaurant Friday, Mr. Wilfong said. Its newest restaurant is in central Washington, he said. Pita Pit opened 35 new sites last year. It was the company's best year and its 20th anniversary. Iowa has been one of its fastest-growing sites, Mr. Wilfong said. "Iowa has been fantastic in terms of store counts and performance," he said. Among Pita Pits are ones in Cedar Falls, Waterloo, Iowa City, Coralville, Ottumwa and Des Moines. The next closest Illinois Pita Pit is in Rockford, Mr. Wilfong said. "People love Pita Pit in the Midwest," he said. "We are pretty stoked it will continue when we open up more in Illinois." A panel of Illinois lawmakers is scheduled Wednesday to consider a bill to suspend the $20 late fee for those who forget to buy license plates stickers. There are a couple of lessons lurking here regarding how quickly the issue is moving toward a resolution after initial reports that late fees paid by tardy sticker-buyers had doubled and the number of traffic citations for expired tags had climbed since the state suspended mailing registration renewal reminders in October: -- The squeaky wheel does get the grease, especially when it comes to government, and -- Things can get done in Springfield if the folks in charge are motivated to act. That appears to be the case with legislation to address the spike in tardy-renewal fees which appears to be on the fast track and has gathered powerful supporters, including Senate President John Cullerton. "I know a lot of people, my constituents, that missed the deadline, had to pay fines. It's not fair. It's something we should definitely address," said the Chicago Democratic leader who is in a position to help ensure that it is. Don't blame the Secretary of State's office for the extra cost to those who forget to buy a sticker. Like many state agencies feeling the bite of a budget impasse that has dragged on since July, the one responsible for highway safety had to look for ways to cut costs. It opted to forgo the $450,000 a month it pays to mail sticker reminders to Illinoisans. No big thing, except that, many Illinoisans have essentially been trained to rely on those reminders. "We become creatures of habit," the Associated Press quoted Leon Fields, a 68-year-old Glenwood resident, as saying. "When I see the light bill, I pay it. You live by that kind of thing." Tens of thousands of other creatures of habit have already felt the bite of missing reminders and many times that will follow, if lawmakers fail to act. Case for personal responsibility At the same time as the General Assembly gets ready to address the issue, there is growing movement to permanently eliminate mailed sticker reminders and save the financially troubled state $5.4 million it costs to send them each year. They have a point. But if the state does so, it shouldn't just yank the cushion from beneath unprepared residents, especially those who can least afford the extra $20 tacked onto their $100-plus license renewal, including the working poor or unemployed job seekers. There already is a safety net for a great many of us, as reader Bill Elder, of Milan, reminded us over the weekend. The Secretary of State offers electronic notification to tell Illinoisans when they need to buy a sticker. In his letter to the editor elsewhere in Viewpoints today, he directs those with computer access to the Secretary of State's website at ilsos.gov/greenmail/. Vehicle owners also can call 800-252-8980. His own experience shows that it is a relatively simple process to sign up and be notified, especially if you have your last registration card. We thank him for sharing that information with our readers. Unfortunately, electronic reminders won't be much good to the many Illinoisans who remain unplugged. Proponents of eliminating the mailed reminders say its a simple matter of checking your plates and making a note in some prominent place of when it's time to make a trip to the local driver's license facility for a new sticker. Right again, but it seems equally certain that they won't do so if they don't know that they need to. What's the answer? The answer to the dilemma is twofold: -- Approve a bill suspending the late payment fee, and requiring law enforcement to issue written warnings rather than ticket to those caught (for the first time) driving on expired plates for now, and; -- Explore ways to permanently eliminate the emailed reminders, but take steps to ensure drivers know about the change before it takes an extra bite out of their budgets. DAVENPORT -- A woman was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries following a shooting Monday night, according to police. Around 9:40 p.m., police were called to the area of Clark Street and Central Park Avenue, near Peterson Park, for a report of a person lying in the street with a possible gunshot wound. The first officers on the scene found a female gunshot victim in the middle of the street. The woman was taken to Genesis East with life-threatening injuries. Her condition was not immediately known as of Tuesday morning. A preliminary investigation was conducted by members of the Davenport Police Department and Iowa State Police. As of late Monday night, no arrests had been made. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Davenport Police Department at 563-326-6125 or submit an anonymous tip via the mobile app CityConnect Davenport, IA. Police on both sides of the Mississippi River answered calls this weekend of shots fired and other gun-related offenses. As of Monday, no injuries had been reported in any of the cases. It was not clear whether any of the incidents were related. The weekend yielded at least five arrests for gun offenses, including one man sought for more than five months in a Rock Island shots-fired case. Davenport * Officers were called shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday for shots fired in the 1900 block of West 2nd Street. A residence was struck and shell casings were recovered. Davenport Police Capt. Brent Biggs said the incident was believed to be linked to a prior altercation but did not elaborate. * Three hours later, Davenport police were called to an armed robbery at 700 Iowa St. The alleged victim's property was recovered, along with part of a revolver that had been taken apart, police said. Brett Roelandt, 25, of Davenport, was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery in connection with the incident. * At 9:11 p.m., officers responded to the 300 block of East 11th Street for shots fired during a disturbance. Capt. Biggs said investigators determined the incident stemmed from a verbal altercation. Brandon Scriven, 28, of Davenport, was arrested for intimidation with a dangerous weapon and felon in possession of a weapon. * Shortly after midnight, police responded to a gun-related call in the area of Rockingham Road and Elmwood Avenue. Shell casings were found in the area. * At 3:10 p.m. Sunday, police were called to the intersection of Rusholme Street and Eastern Avenue, where they said a verbal altercation between occupants of two vehicles resulted in shots being fired. Davenport police said the vehicles both stopped at a southbound stop sign on Eastern Avenue. As the first vehicle was in the turn lane to go west on Rusholme, someone in the vehicle fired gunshots as the second vehicle went south on Eastern, police said. Shell casings were found in the intersection, police said, and the cargo compartment of a nearby box truck was struck. East Moline Police on Friday arrested Ricky Gomez, 21, of East Moline, for unlawful possession of a firearm by a street gang member. Charges accuse Mr. Gomez of having an uncased, loaded handgun and ammunition "which were both immediately accessible" to him while he was in a vehicle on 12th Avenue in East Moline. Mr. Gomez is a member of a street gang and does not have a valid Firearm Owners Identification card, charges allege. Mr. Gomez was arraigned the same day on the charge, which carries a mandatory sentence of three to 10 years in prison if convicted and is not probationable. He also faces counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of less than 15 grams of prescription anxiety medication. Moline Police were called to a complaint of reckless discharge of a firearm at 10:50 a.m. Saturday near the 3500 block of 70th Street. No further information has been released. Rock Island * Brandon DeShaw Branigan, 25, of Rock Island, is accused of firing a gun Saturday in the direction of a vehicle he knew, or reasonably should have known, was occupied by another person, charges said. A $300,000 arrest warrant issued by the Rock Island Police Department charged Mr. Branigan with aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony. He was not in custody as of Monday evening. * On Sunday, a Rock Island man sought for more than five months was arrested for reckless discharge of a firearm. DeAndre Emmanual Hopkins, 31, is alleged, on Sept. 25, 2015, to have discharged a gun in the direction of, or in close proximity to, another man, endangering the man's bodily safety. Rock Island police issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Hopkins on Sept. 30, 2015. Mr. Hopkins made his initial court appearance Monday afternoon on the charge and is scheduled to return to court March 8. Melissa Watkins is challenging 21-year incumbent David Johnson in the March 15 primary for the Republican nomination as Henry County coroner. The winner will face Democrat Martin Rothschild, of Geneseo, in the November general election. At a recent forum in Kewanee, Ms. Watkins, a registered nurse, talked about her compassion and the importance of a medical background in determining the cause of a death. Having lost two children in accidental deaths, she said she knows what it's like to get news of death first-hand. Mr. Johnson noted his ability to get to all parts of the county from his central location and said he always tells people he'll work to do the best he can for them. He said 14 states have coroner systems; the rest have medical examiners and noted the latter is much more costly. What are your qualifications to be coroner? Johnson: Former deputy sheriff, former EMT on ambulance service. Death investigator training and mandatory training in death investigation regulated by the Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. Watkins: Years of experience being with people during the most difficult and vulnerable times of their life. Compassionate. What is your related experience? Johnson: Past deputy coroner six years Watkins: Sadly, I have dealt with the personal loss of two children due to accidents. I have seen the need for professionalism, support and understanding from both perspectives. I have had many years of experience in the Emergency Department and have been exposed to many traumatic events. I have experience of being with patients/families during the worst time of their life. I feel that the passing of a loved one is traumatic enough event without being exposed to a non-caring coroner. What are the greatest needs of the office? Johnson: Always keeping an eye on the budget. Recently updated both computers Watkins: To reiterate, I feel the additional medical training and background to be of tremendous significance to this position. As well, I believe that, at a certain point, lack of change can lead to a stale approach, a tendency to take some things for granted and that a fresh prospective is needed. Are there any policies or practices you would change? Johnson: The systems we presently have in place are working quite well. Work more with suicide prevention groups. Watkins: Prompt response to scenes, respond to media, follow up call, referrals for grief support. David A. Johnson Age: 60 Address: 308 Larigo Lane, Cambridge Family: Wife, Debra; daughter, Dara Stalf; son, Ryan Party: Republican Education: Degree in law enforcement Job: Henry County coroner Political experience: Past elections to office Melissa Watkins Age: N/A Address: Colona Family: Husband, Steve; children, Steve Jr., Kalin (deceased), Joel, Jake (deceased), Nick, Emily; three grandchildren Party: Republican Education: Geneseo schools, graduated from Trinity College of Nursing, attended Western Governor's University- Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Job: Registered nurse for 20+ years, emergency room Political experience: none Social media: Facebook: Melissa Watkins for Henry County Coroner Here's a look at what some voters had to say as they went to the polls Tuesday: ___ Tyler Murphy, a 26-year-old Boston resident who works as a project manager for a construction company, voted for Trump on Tuesday even though he thinks the billionaire businessman is "undeniably wrong on a lot of things." For better or worse, he said, the controversial candidate is the "wake up call" the country needs. "Ultimately, if we have to elect someone who is borderline crazy to get people to understand what's going on, then that's what we have to do," Murphy said. An independent, he voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 and Barack Obama in 2008 and said he's donated to both parties in the past. Murphy said that if Trump had not become such a viable candidate, he would likely have voted for Hillary Clinton. "I just don't think she's going to be the person to shake people out of their seats," he said. "She's not what the country needs right now." ___ Owen Worley, a 26-year-old Houston resident who works in finance, voted for Ted Cruz because he believes Cruz is focused on economic issues, including reducing the size of government and controlling the national debt. "These were the more hot-button issues with me. He's been pretty consistent with what he was elected here in the state to do," he said of Cruz. Worley thinks Rubio is too young and inexperienced to be president, and he didn't like the last debate when Rubio attacked Trump. It came off "as a Stephen Colbert comedy routine rather than a legitimate policy discussion," Worley said. If Trump wins the GOP nomination then Worley says he'll support him. Worley said he's concerned that Trump can be too brash, but that "in the end if he's an executive type, he's good at being advised by smart people." ___ Karen Williams, a lifelong Democrat from Duluth, Georgia, said she voted for Hillary Clinton. But the 55-year-old voter mostly has her eyes on Trump, whom she wants to stop from gaining the White House. "I can't see him talking to dignitaries from other countries, insulting people," she said. "A lot of countries don't take kindly to insults." Williams is so concerned about the campaign season's "childish behavior" in the face of very real challenges for the country that she said a prayer before going in to vote Tuesday. "I prayed," she said. "I prayed for this nation. I really did. I'm really concerned." ___ Ken Allen, from the Atlanta suburb of Johns Creek, voted for Marco Rubio. The 57-year-old IT project manager called it a "critical election" full of tough choices. To sort through the options, he tried to ignore the "mudslinging" and rhetoric and instead closely examined candidates' track records. He even dug back and looked at interviews Trump gave in 1990 to compare what he said then with what candidate Trump is saying on the campaign trail. "He's not my choice," he said of Trump. Allen said he was looking for qualities such as statesmanship and leadership. He ranked his top issues as the economy first, foreign affairs second and the nation's domestic "health and welfare" third. So, what will he do if in November it comes down to a choice between Trump and Clinton? "That'll be a real tough choice," said Allen, who typically votes conservative. "But I will tell you this ... if Trump at least gets up there, I think he's not beholden to anybody. That's good and bad, right? He's not going to feel obligated to do he'll do whatever he has to do to win." ___ Something vile happened in Chippewa Falls last week and its not what you think. Rep. Kathy Bernier, R-Lake Hallie, walked out of a meeting with educators because they dared ask why Minnesota was faring better than Wisconsin on some economic metrics. We began asking that question more than a year ago and President Barack Obama referred to our editorial during his visit to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in July. But Bernier thinks such comparisons are political and hateful. She made her feelings clear to educators who questioned her last week. And before she left the meeting in anger, she said: This vile political speech is not helpful. Vile? Maybe her dictionary is different than mine (Websters), but I dont think asking why the neighbor is faring better is morally despicable or abhorrent, evil or immoral, disgustingly and utterly bad and contemptible. It might fall under the definition of unpleasant, but that doesnt mean its an unfair question especially as Wisconsin continues to cut funding for education while Minnesota is working on a healthy surplus. Of course, Ive had experience asking Bernier questions she doesnt appreciate. During an editorial board interview with the Chippewa Herald a couple of years ago, I asked whether she thinks that Wisconsins priorities are out of whack now that the state spends more on corrections than it does on the University of Wisconsin System. So, last weeks forum with educators wasnt the first time shes heard the topic. I quickly understood that Bernier didnt agree and thats fine. When were paying more for incarceration than education at our state universities, we should all be asking about our priorities. But she doesnt see it that way. Ive heard plenty of vile political speech covering politics for 40 years especially during the past few years in Wisconsin. No party not Republican or Democrat, not independent or green or tea has an exclusive hold on vile politicking. Ive seen it and heard it from all sides. But simply asking about the neighbors success doesnt qualify as vile. What is vile is the notion that an elected representative of the public who belongs to the majority party believes she is above question, above scrutiny, above public debate especially during a public forum. Thats vile as vile as trying to gut the states laws governing open meetings and open records, which her party attempted in July. A day after her departure from the meeting with educators, Bernier told a Herald reporter: Its worse than going to a dentist, going to these meetings. I happen to like my dentist and would gladly offer a referral, but I dont think that would help. Dont be so cynical about the state of Wisconsin and how were doing, because were doing great, she said the day after, when she released information showing the two states are roughly equal in per-pupil spending for K-12 yet Wisconsin has a much better graduation rate. We are doing well. And I am so tired of hearing how bad we are, she said. But we could do better. From education to infrastructure and broadband accessibility to the availability of workforce to fill jobs, we can do better. Saying that isnt vile. Its the truth. If Bernier believes shes above questioning about issues involving the states spending priorities and strategies for growth, she was in the wrong meeting. In fact, if she cant be professional and engage in honest discussion, shes in the wrong business. The first of 20 regional radio surveys has been released today, with Griffith in NSW the first. The survey shows that Star FM was number 1 most listened with a 35.5% 10 plus. 2nd in the market was stablemate 2RG with 32.3%. And in the distance was ABC Local Radio with a 9.7% slice of the market. You can view the full results below. Star FM dominates any demo under 54, its only 55 plus that you see 2RG gain the upper hand. Its a tight battle in breakfast with Star FM leading the pack with 34.2% and 2RG 32.8%. You then see 2RG take mornings with Ray Hadley, Arvos and Drive to Star and nights to 2RG. General Manager of 2RG and 99.7 Star FM, Chris Corbett, said: Were very excited to be involved in the first radio ratings here for many years, and were confident that it will help us to more fully realise the important role radio plays in local communities. The survey from Xtra Research involved more than 800 respondents and was conducted from February 1-20. Commercial Radio Australia announced earlier this year that radio surveys will be held in 20 key regional centres, as part of a move to put regional radio in the spotlight. Key markets to be surveyed include Dubbo, Bendigo, Cairns, Toowoomba and Wagga Wagga. Union Tank Car Companys Repair Business Unit has established a tank car remanufacturing facility in Marion, Ohio, the company announced March 1, 2016. The new plant was developed to retrofit existing DOT-111 and CPC-1232 specification railroad tank cars with new safety features required by HM-251. The cars will attain a DOT 117R specification that will allow their continued use in flammable liquids service. The retrofit adds top fittings protection, thermal insulation, an 11-gauge steel jacket, full -inch thick head shields, and a bottom outlet valve handle that disengages from the valve when the car is in transit. DOT-117R cars will also have their trucks and brakes reconditioned, as required for 286,000-pound Gross Rail Load service. The new remanufacturing plant is located less than two miles from Union Tank Cars existing full-service repair show in Marion. The 125,000-square-foot building, which previously had been used for heavy manufacturing, has been fitted with more than 1,000 feet of in-grade standard gauge rail, heavy lift cranes, and a turntable with scale capability that is capable of rotating a 66-foot-long tank car inside the building. A unique drum welder facilitates fabrication of the tank jackets. Cars are moved through the process by battery powered cart caddies that pull them from one station to the next. A car shopped for remanufacturing is first cleanered, inspected, and qualified as Marion 1 before it is moved to the new Marion 2 shop for the in-line conversion. When the remanufacturing work is completed, the car is moved back to Marion 1 for fittings reapplication, paint, and stenciling. The proximity of the two plants provides a seamless process and capitalizes on the established repair shops ample capacity for waste treatment and management, the company says. The remanufacturing plant received Association of American Railroads (AAR) certification this past February and is currently staffed and producing two DOT-117R conversions per day, with more planned as technicians are trained and earn AAR certification in their specialties. Union Tank Car Company, with its Canadian affiliate, Procor Limited, owns and manages a fleet of more than 120,000 railroad cars. In addition to new railcar manufacturing facilities in Sheldon, Tex. And Alexandria, La., the Chicago-based company operates a major network of tank car and plastic hopper car repair shops and interior lining shops. The companys On-Site repair and inspection resources currently include more than 80 dedicated mini shops and mobile repair locations that are strategically located throughout North America. Union Tank Car, a Marmon Group/Berkshire Hathaway Company, is celebrating 125 years since its incorporation in 1891. Welcome to Railway Gazette. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of these cookies. You can learn more about the cookies we use here. OK After several delays, France 24 is to finally Latin American audiences through a Spanish-language feed from 2017. The announcement was made by Francois Hollande, president of the French Republic, during a state visit to Argentina. France 24 already broadcasts on five continents in French, English and Arabic.According to the state-owned network, this launch will mark the culmination of a project initiated by the CEO of France Medias Monde, Marie-Christine Saragosse.France 24 will broadcast programmes for six hours a day for Latin American audiences, supplemented by its programmes in French. The editorial offer in Spanish will offer France 24's perspective on international news, with a focus on regional issues.In addition to linear TV, France 24 in Spanish will also be available via the website, mobile applications and social networks for greater accessibility and increased interaction and engagement.The channel will have a multinational editorial team based in Latin America, supported by a large network of correspondents across the continent. The editorial team will work closely with the French and international content team, based in Paris.The channel will benefit from distribution agreements that have already been signed in Latin America for the French and English channels.The Spanish-language feed has been a goal of France 24 since 2013 , when first moves were made towards launching Latin American-targeted programming. Federico Rava has been named president of Telefonica Argentina, replacing Luis Blasco. In the new role, Rava, who was general manager of Telefonica and Movistar in the country, will take on extra responsibilities, such as institutional relationships and will also be chief administrative officer.Rava has wide experience within Argentina's telecom industry, having participated in the launch of Movicom, the country's first mobile operator.He has been working for Telefonica since 2005 , first as Movistar's director for Argentina and Uruguay, between 2009-2012 as head of residential business in Spain, and since then as general manager of Telefonica and Movistar in Argentina, helping to integrate the management of fixed and mobile businesses.Blanco will now focus on the telco's worldwide video strategy as global director of video operations, president of Spain's DTS (Movistar+) and president of Telefonica's content division, a position he gained in August 2015. Members of the AIMS consortium have been working with the European Broadcast Union (EBU) and Belgium public broadcaster VRT on a project to develop an IP-based live TV production studio. In the project the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) is supporting the work of the LiveIP Project, in advancing the transition to open protocols for media over IP in television broadcasting.AIMS was formed to promote open standards and interoperability in the transition to IP. The alliance believes that as broadcasters and other media companies look to use IP-based workflows to speed and streamline the movement and management of increasingly complex content and adapt their businesses to better compete with other content options such as over-the-top (OTT), open standards are the key to protecting current investments and ensuring long-term interoperability.Formed in August 2015, LiveIP is a multi-vendor system integration to showcase IP-based live TV broadcast production and a collaborative project between the EBU and Flemish Belgian public broadcaster VRT, within which AIMS member companies, EVS, Grass Valley, Lawo, Nevion and Tektronix, are industry technology partners. Moreover, the latter have worked to implement a live TV production studio at VRTs Brussels production centre, using IP and IT-centric hardware and software.On 15 January VRT successfully accomplished a trial remote production of a live musical concert over IP. An outside broadcast unit at a concert hall was connected to the VRT production studio five kilometres (three miles) away via IP, using just a single dark fibre cable.The trial was claimed to prove the capability to remotely produce live broadcast events via IP, without the use of an OB vehicle. Karel De Bondt, project manager for LiveIP, remarked: All signals were transmitted via the single cable without noticeable delay, such that technically, there was little difference between an OB truck and a remote production room.Added AIMS chairman Michael Cronk: The LiveIP Project is a major proof of concept of just how far the industry has already moved towards a possible future based on open standards. Not only is it another proof point that a multi-camera live production can be achieved with SMPTE 2022-6 and AES-67 technology, it showcases the wide availability of SMPTE 2022-6 and AES-67 technology as ten different vendors contributed equipment to this production. AIMS is proud to stand with the LiveIP Project as it showcases standards-based interoperability over IP. As we see a surge in inflation globally, it is now critical that everyone is aware of the implications this will have along every step of the insurance and reinsurance value chain. State Patrol Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson described the damage as significant and said he expected it to be a significant long-term event, though he didnt know how long it would be. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale Buy real estate. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale in US and Canada. Search Real Estate As the Chippewa Falls City Council meets in closed session tonight about a developers agreement with Cray, Inc., it revives memories of when local officials were poised to help Cray expand in the city over five years ago. The agreement would be between Cray, the city and Chippewa County, according to the councils agenda for the closed session. The council will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 30 W. Central St. Nick Davis, public relations manager for Cray, said that during an earnings call in the second week of February the company mentioned the possibility of expanding in the city. We said we are evaluating our options to build an additional facility in Chippewa Falls, Davis said, adding that the company had nothing to announce as of Monday. Cray currently has 240 employees in Chippewa Falls. They work in buildings with 213,000 square feet of space, where manufacturing and hardware development are taking place. In November 2010, Cray considered a 135,000-square-foot office and industrial building on the northwest corner of Highway 178 and Chippewa Crossing Boulevard. That expansion would have involved an investment of $36.5 million in facilities. Work on a possible expansion went on despite no firm commitment by Cray to the project. What was then-called the state Department of Commerce (now the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation) had assembled a $5 million incentive package for Cray to take part in expanding in Chippewa Falls. Developer Wangard Partners said about six months earlier Cray approached the developer about possibly expanding in the area of Chippewa Crossing Boulevard. Wangard finished a feasibility study. Wangard said the expansion would have brought 50 new jobs. However, the office of then-state Sen. Pat Kreitlow said up to 100 new jobs could have been created. Todays announcement that the Department of Commerce will be able to provide $5 million in incentives for this project puts us one large step closer to seeing this exciting new high tech campus and 100 new, good-paying jobs at Cray become a reality, Kreitlow said. Its also a great example of how a strong partnership between public and private sectors can create economic opportunity and job growth. But the expansion fizzled out. Cray is just looking at their options and alternatives. They decided they didnt want to make a decision as quickly as we wanted them to, City Planner Jayson Smith said at the time. Cray eventually expanded in 2014 with a second facility in the city and upgrades to its main manufacturing site. The history of Cray dates back to 1972 when it was founded as Cray Research by Seymour Cray, Jr. The company merged with Silicon Graphics, Inc. in February 1996. SGI sold Cray Research to Tera Computer, based in Seattle, Washington, in March 2000. Tera then renamed itself Cray, Inc. Property details: DOGMA Mine Idria Department of Land Transfer Info Equipment Feedback Other Claims for Sale Contact Us Add To Favorites DOGMA Mine CAMC0311566 With this claim you will be getting the exclusive mineral rights to 20 acres on an excellent spot located in between 2 of largest, well-known Benitoite mines. This claim is an unpatented placer mining claim located on federal land in the Idria Mining District of San Benito County, California. Benitoite is a very rare gemstone and also interesting to note i... Price: $ 511 Seller State of Residence: California Property Address: San Benito COUNTY State/Province: California City: Paicines Type: Unpatented Mining Claims Zoning: Minerals Zip/Postal Code: 95043 Location: 950**, Paicines, California You will be redirected to eBay Nearby 95043 By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/24/2016 ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. is returning to TV only a few months after its cancellation by The CW.VH1 has announced it has picked up the long-running reality series for a "reinvented" 23rd season that will still be executive produced by Tyra Banks but not feature her as Top Model's host.The new season of Top Model will be filmed in New York City and revamped with a new host and judging panel that will be revealed at a later date.Ken Mok will continue to executive produce the modeling competition alongside Banks, who created the show and served as host for all previous 22 editions. A premiere date for the upcoming edition has yet to be announced."This is a homecoming for the series, as VH1 helped catapult the show to cultural icon status as the first cable network to air the show after it launched," VH1 general manager Chris McCarthy, promising to "reinvent this franchise for a whole new generation.""We could not be more excited to bring back and breathe new life into one of the greatest unscripted franchises on television," added Scott Koondel, an executive for CBS Television Distribution, Top Model's distribution company."VH1 is the perfect partner for this new endeavor and we hope this is the beginning of a long relationship."Banks also commented on the franchise's comeback, which will run over the course of 14 new episodes."After creating an incredible, global brand, I am beyond excited to have the show reborn," Banks said in a statement."I will continue as executive producer, but must turn my attention to new business endeavors, so I want to find a new host. I'm pumped to identify that person and bring back the show. Top Model fans, you demanded that the show come back, and VH1 answered the call. Get ready for a fierce-a-fied rebirth!"The CW had announced Top Model's cancellation in October, however reports began surfacing only weeks later that there was a possibility Top Model might return for a 23rd season despite The CW's decision.Top Model's 22nd edition, which was supposed to be its last, aired its finale December 4 on The CW, but a subsequent season was reportedly being pitched to cable and streaming outlets due to its success with off-network re-runs on cable channels like VH1, Bravo and Oxygen as well as streaming services Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. Mok and Banks reportedly led the effort to keep Top Model alive.debuted in May 2003 on UPN and became the first series to air on The CW in September 2006. Its format later launched into 30-plus countries and has been The CW's most successful reality series and its longest-running series thus far.Top Model's international edition hosts include Project Runway host Heidi Klum , who has hosted all eleven seasons of Top Model's German edition since its premiere in 2006. Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane reprised their roles in "The Producers" on Monday to mock presidential hopeful Donald Trump during "Jimmy Kimmel Live's" post-Oscars special. ADVERTISEMENT Appearing once again as eager film producers Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, the comedic duo set out to produce a musical so bad that it will fail, allowing them to collect more money. Settling on Trump after realizing they can raise millions in campaign donations that they can keep after he drops out due to his off-putting remarks, Bialystock and Bloom start production on "Trumped." After seeing that "The Apprentice" star is rising in the polls despite his demeanor, the two are forced to go along with "Trumped," much to their surprise. "Where did we go right?," Bialystock asks before mentioning that Trump has made disparaging remarks about John McCain, immigrants, Muslims and even Heidi Klum. "He's building a wall, a thousand feet tall. Don't worry because Mexicans are going to pay for it all!," the duo sings onstage as part of the musical, with flashing lights, a giant American flag, and dancers wearing a Trump mask. Originally a musical written by Mel Brooks, "The Producers" featured Bialystock and Bloom making a musical about Adolf Hitler after realizing they could "make more money with a flop than with a hit." Also during Kimmel's post-Oscars special, guest Ben Affleck smuggled his best friend, Academy Award-nominated actor Matt Damon under his coat in surprising fashion before introducing a new clip from his upcoming film, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." Hulk Hogan's sex-tape lawsuit against Gawker is heading to trial Monday, nearly four years after the media company posted the video on their website. ADVERTISEMENT With jury selection starting this week, Hogan's attorney Charles Harder spoke with CNN about how the former reality TV star and WWE Superstar compares to sportscaster Erin Andrews who went through her own trial over nude recordings. "What's interesting is that I get this sense that the public and media are so in favor of Erin Andrews," Harder said. "But for some reason, Hulk Hogan gets treated a different way." Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, brought on the $100 million lawsuit against Gawker after they published parts of a video of him having sex with the wife of his former friend, radio host Bubba "the Love Sponge" Clem in 2012. The trial will feature testimony from defendants Gawker Media founder Nick Denton and former Gawker.com editor-in-chief A.J. Daulerio, as the company lean on First Amendment Rights during its defense. "Gawker is allowed to join that very public conversation without getting sued for tens of millions of dollars simply because Hogan didn't like the way Gawker did so," Gawker attorney Seth Berlin said to CNN. "Public figures and celebrities don't get to use the court system to punish speech about them that they don't like. That's just not the country we live in." FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! Back in July, WWE cut ties with Hogan after The National Enquirer obtained the sex-tape and revealed that the television personality had used racial slurs to describe daughter Brooke Hogan 's boyfriend. Hogan and his team blamed Gawker for the leak and filed a compliant in August. "WWE is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide," the organization said at the time. The trial was originally scheduled for July 6, 2015 but was pushed back until March from its original October postponement date to allow for the hunt for possible leaks from Gawker to the Enquirer. , We're sorry, this article is not currently available HOME > The Bachelor > The Bachelor 20 'The Bachelor' recap: Ben Higgins blindsides Caila Quinn after Fantasy Suite date By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/01/2016 star ADVERTISEMENT Ben sent Caila, a 24-year-old software sales representative from Hudson, OH, home before the Rose Ceremony. She tried to sweetly surprise him at his villa in Rio Chico, Jamaica only to get blindsided and dumped following Ben's three romantic overnight dates. "I could tell. I, like, wanted this to be a surprise and I was so excited to see him. I tried to jump into his arms and I just, like, didn't feel [the excitement back]. I thought I'd be getting engaged in a week-and-a-half. I was ready," Caila said in tears following her ouster. "I was ready to get married. I was ready to be his wife. I was ready. I was ready for our future. It's all I thought about. My purpose in life is to love other people and I don't know why I haven't found it yet. I thought this was it. I thought this was it. I was ready. I didn't see this coming. I love him, too. Like, I still love him." Caila might've fallen behind Ben's Final 2 bachelorettes But Caila was "off" only because she was struggling to tell Ben she was in love with him and deal with the fact two other women probably were as well. Ben thought she was unusually "quiet, reserved and melancholy." That night, however, Caila ignored all distractions and told Ben everything felt right when she was with him. "Part of me has been wanting to tell you something for a long time. And that is that I'm in love with you," Caila told him. Caila said a man had never made her feel the way Ben did, and she could see it in the Bachelor's eyes and feel it in his breath when they kissed that he reciprocated the love. Caila agreed to stay in the Fantasy Suite with Ben, as did Lauren and JoJo later on. "I could wake up in the morning and know for certain that Caila is the woman for me," Ben told the cameras. "There is no doubt in my mind that it will be him and I at the end of this," Caila said in a confessional, adding that she'd love to wake up next to Ben every day for the rest of her life. However, Ben didn't tell Caila he was in love with her, and he ended up saying "I love you" to both Lauren and JoJo. On his date with Lauren, Ben told her that she was too good for him -- that she was smart, beautiful, sensitive and simply out of his league. However, Lauren felt the same way in return. FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! "I'm head over heels for her," Ben told the cameras. That night, Lauren let her walls down and opened up to Ben. She felt it was "all or nothing" in that moment. "I've been afraid and just -- I feel like I've felt this way for a long time, but I am completely in love with you and you really are the man of my dreams. You make me feel a way I didn't even know I could feel. I've been meaning to tell you for a while," Lauren told Ben. "For me, I've known I'm in love with you for a while as well," Ben confessed. Ben's admission moved Lauren to tears, and the couple exchanged a few more "I love you's" before their date was done. Lauren didn't think someone like Ben existed and he made her the happiest girl in the world. "Ben is just my person. He's my person... Hopefully in a few days, I'll be waking up next to my fiance," Lauren noted in a confessional. JoJo ended up telling Ben she loved him during the day portion of their date while they sat by a romantic waterfall. They had amazing chemistry and Ben found her so uplifting. He also always felt like he could be himself around her. "When I think about the future, there's not a doubt in my mind that I want to spend it with you... I do love you and I'm not just falling in love anymore," JoJo told Ben. ADVERTISEMENT "Are you allowed to say that!?" JoJo asked. "I'm not," Ben confessed. JoJo was ecstatic and said she was "freaking out." Her relationship with Ben was a fairytale and she said things couldn't have been more perfect. It was the best day of her life and JoJo finally felt 100% confident in what they had. JoJo envisioned a future with Ben and assured him that her brothers would grow to love him. JoJo also let Ben know that saying those three little words back to her meant the world before they entered the Fantasy Suite together. Both individuals said "I love you again" before their date was done. "I don't know how you can be in love with two women, but I am... Right now, it's impossible for me to say goodbye to one of these women," Ben told the cameras after his three overnight dates. Ben eventually eliminated Caila and she was absolutely devastated. "It's really hard to imagine saying goodbye to you," Ben told Caila. "That sounds like a line," Caila snipped. "I'm going to miss you Caila," Ben promised. "You don't have to say that," Caila insisted. "I really did love you." Before Caila left in the car, she confronted Ben about whether he knew she was going home earlier that week. Ben said he was extremely conflicted and it wasn't until the two other women expressed their feelings for him that he realized how he felt. Ben said he never would've gone through with their Fantasy Suite date had he been sure she wasn't the one for him. Caila then graciously exited the show and Ben bawled, hoping he didn't make a mistake since Caila was such an amazing girl. ADVERTISEMENT About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON GOOGLE NEWS star Ben Higgins eliminated Caila Quinn after their Fantasy Suite date during Monday night's broadcast on ABC.Ben sent Caila, a 24-year-old software sales representative from Hudson, OH, home before the Rose Ceremony. She tried to sweetly surprise him at his villa in Rio Chico, Jamaica only to get blindsided and dumped following Ben's three romantic overnight dates."I could tell. I, like, wanted this to be a surprise and I was so excited to see him. I tried to jump into his arms and I just, like, didn't feel [the excitement back]. I thought I'd be getting engaged in a week-and-a-half. I was ready," Caila said in tears following her ouster."I was ready to get married. I was ready to be his wife. I was ready. I was ready for our future. It's all I thought about. My purpose in life is to love other people and I don't know why I haven't found it yet. I thought this was it. I thought this was it. I was ready. I didn't see this coming. I love him, too. Like, I still love him."Caila might've fallen behind Ben's Final 2 bachelorettes Joelle "JoJo" Fletcher , a 24-year-old real estate developer from Dallas, TX, and Lauren Bushnell , a 25-year-old flight attendant from Marina Del Rey, CA, because she was standoffish during the day portion of their date in Jamaica and Ben felt she expressed her feelings somewhat poorly.But Caila was "off" only because she was struggling to tell Ben she was in love with him and deal with the fact two other women probably were as well. Ben thought she was unusually "quiet, reserved and melancholy."That night, however, Caila ignored all distractions and told Ben everything felt right when she was with him."Part of me has been wanting to tell you something for a long time. And that is that I'm in love with you," Caila told him.Caila said a man had never made her feel the way Ben did, and she could see it in the Bachelor's eyes and feel it in his breath when they kissed that he reciprocated the love. Caila agreed to stay in the Fantasy Suite with Ben, as did Lauren and JoJo later on."I could wake up in the morning and know for certain that Caila is the woman for me," Ben told the cameras."There is no doubt in my mind that it will be him and I at the end of this," Caila said in a confessional, adding that she'd love to wake up next to Ben every day for the rest of her life.However, Ben didn't tell Caila he was in love with her, and he ended up saying "I love you" to both Lauren and JoJo.On his date with Lauren, Ben told her that she was too good for him -- that she was smart, beautiful, sensitive and simply out of his league. However, Lauren felt the same way in return."I'm head over heels for her," Ben told the cameras.That night, Lauren let her walls down and opened up to Ben. She felt it was "all or nothing" in that moment."I've been afraid and just -- I feel like I've felt this way for a long time, but I am completely in love with you and you really are the man of my dreams. You make me feel a way I didn't even know I could feel. I've been meaning to tell you for a while," Lauren told Ben."For me, I've known I'm in love with you for a while as well," Ben confessed.Ben's admission moved Lauren to tears, and the couple exchanged a few more "I love you's" before their date was done. Lauren didn't think someone like Ben existed and he made her the happiest girl in the world."Ben is just my person. He's my person... Hopefully in a few days, I'll be waking up next to my fiance," Lauren noted in a confessional.JoJo ended up telling Ben she loved him during the day portion of their date while they sat by a romantic waterfall. They had amazing chemistry and Ben found her so uplifting. He also always felt like he could be himself around her."When I think about the future, there's not a doubt in my mind that I want to spend it with you... I do love you and I'm not just falling in love anymore," JoJo told Ben."JoJo, I love you too," Ben replied, causing JoJo to burst into tears."Are you allowed to say that!?" JoJo asked."I'm not," Ben confessed.JoJo was ecstatic and said she was "freaking out." Her relationship with Ben was a fairytale and she said things couldn't have been more perfect. It was the best day of her life and JoJo finally felt 100% confident in what they had.JoJo envisioned a future with Ben and assured him that her brothers would grow to love him. JoJo also let Ben know that saying those three little words back to her meant the world before they entered the Fantasy Suite together. Both individuals said "I love you again" before their date was done."I don't know how you can be in love with two women, but I am... Right now, it's impossible for me to say goodbye to one of these women," Ben told the cameras after his three overnight dates.Ben eventually eliminated Caila and she was absolutely devastated."It's really hard to imagine saying goodbye to you," Ben told Caila."That sounds like a line," Caila snipped."I'm going to miss you Caila," Ben promised."You don't have to say that," Caila insisted. "I really did love you."Before Caila left in the car, she confronted Ben about whether he knew she was going home earlier that week. Ben said he was extremely conflicted and it wasn't until the two other women expressed their feelings for him that he realized how he felt. Ben said he never would've gone through with their Fantasy Suite date had he been sure she wasn't the one for him.Caila then graciously exited the show and Ben bawled, hoping he didn't make a mistake since Caila was such an amazing girl.The episode concluded with a Rose Ceremony in which Ben handed out roses to JoJo and then Lauren. THE BACHELOR 20 THE BACHELOR SPOILERS MORE THE BACHELOR 20 NEWS << PRIOR STORY Emily Maynard: I am pregnant again! NEXT STORY >> Erin Andrews in tears as she testifies about nude video in court Get more Reality TV World! Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or add our RSS feed. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Page generated Fri Oct 21, 2022 20:47 pm in 0.82085585594177 seconds Your humble abode may be a haven for you and your family after a long and tiring day at work or in school. Unfortunately, your house may be making you and your loved ones sick without you even knowing it. Recent reports suggest that certain laminate floors can increase your risk of getting cancer. Many homeowners raised their concerns when a report came out on "60 Minutes" regarding a higher than usual content of formaldehyde on laminate floorings from a certain brand, Realty Times reported. It has been found out that U.S.-based company, Lumber Liquidators' Chinese-made floorings had a high concentration of formaldehyde, which increases a person's risk for cancer. CDC initially reassured the public that the levels of formaldehyde on the said floorings were low and "not significant enough to be considered a danger." However, "60 Minutes" conducted their own investigation and found that CDC's findings were "about three times lower" than it should have been, as the basis was done on an incorrect ceiling height value. "While laminate flooring from Home Depot and Lowes had acceptable levels of formaldehyde, as did Lumber Liquidators American-made laminates, every single sample of Chinese-made laminate flooring from Lumber Liquidators failed to meet California formaldehyde emissions standards," the report stated. It was found that these Chinese-made laminates from the said company were "six to seven times above the state standard for formaldehyde." This alerted several homeowners who were wary and concerned if their homes had such laminate floorings installed. The publication noted that homeowners can get their floors tested by sending an email to the Benchmark International Laboratories. This, however, is not the only thing that homeowners need to be wary of. As previously reported here on Realty Today, there are other means in which your house can make you sick. Overlooking your regular cleaning duties at home is enough time for mold, bacteria and viruses to grow. This could lead to certain respiratory conditions and even infection. Dozens of former state Department of Natural Resources scientists and managers say state leaders are endangering water quality by cutting DNR budgets, ignoring effects of climate change, reducing enforcement activity and disregarding scientific and legal issues when approving pollution permits. In a letter sent Monday to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 45 retired DNR officials urged the federal agency to conduct a full review of state water protection programs. George Meyer, a former DNR secretary who is now executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, is among those who signed the letter supporting a petition filed in October by Midwest Environmental Advocates, a public interest law firm based in Madison. The petition asks the federal agency to force Wisconsin to do a better job of protecting water quality or take away the states authority to regulate water pollution. The EPA must seriously consider the recent assault on the basic principles of the CWA (Clean Water Act) by the Legislature, the Governor, and DNR political appointees when examining the need to correct deficiencies in the DNRs exercise of its CWA permitting authority, the letter states. Allowing this decline would have financial implications for all Wisconsinites: prior and significant public investment in water clean-up would be mooted; water pollution would pose greater and greater threat to public health. DNR spokesman Jim Dick said he hadnt seen the letter. When the petition was filed on Oct. 20, Dick said the agency takes water quality seriously. An EPA spokesman said that in July the DNR reported it had resolved about 40 of the 75 issues the federal agency listed in a 2011 letter. The EPA was working on confirming that the deficiencies were resolved. The DNR addressed 36 issues through administrative rules or other means, and planned public hearings for rules packages addressing 21 other issues, Dick said in an Oct. 28 press release. The remaining 18 would be addressed through two other rules packages and other efforts, the DNR said. Our administration has been working diligently to address the previous issues and we believe that these rule packages will help us move forward in our efforts to protect and restore Wisconsins vital water resources, DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp said in the release. While most pop stars are just trying to please their fans and stay relevant, Santigolds trademark weirdness has always been her claim to fame. Her third album 99 Cents is no exception. The University of Georgias Terry College of Business was named one of the countrys 77 best business schools on the Military Times list of Best for Vets: Business Schools 2016. If you are confused about the black crosses adorning the foreheads of many a few Wednesdays back, do not fretthis is not a scary cult, but rather ashes that symbolize the start of a 40-day spiritual journey for many Christians. SHARE 5,055 pounds of trash removed in cleanup Law enforcement and local residents removed 5,055 pounds of trash this weekend during a cleanup of illegal camps in the Linden Canyon area, according to Redding Police Officer Mike Thomas. The Police Department's Code Enforcement Team and Community Clean Up Program were joined by 41 volunteers from Shasta Support Services to clean up the area. Among the trash found were enough discarded needles to fill a 5-gallon bucket. In the past couple of months Code Enforcement and local residents noticed an increase in illegal camps. Code Enforcement officers notified and cited illegal campers several weeks prior to the cleanup, according to law enforcement. PG&E to patrol lines by helicopter Pacific Gas and Electric Company will patrol by helicopter to check on trees and vegetation growing near power lines in eastern Shasta County on Tuesday. A helicopter will fly low, about 200 to 300 feet above the ground, along distribution power lines. The flights will be over Whitmore, Round Mountain, Montgomery Creek and Oak Run. PG&E is using a contract helicopter service to fly foresters along power lines to identify trees and vegetation in need of pruning and removal. Spending bill assists Mayers Memorial Mayers Memorial Hospital got a financial shot in the arm Monday when the state Legislature passed a health care financing plan that will help keep its skilled nursing facility open. The funding plan sponsored by Assemblyman Brian Dahle, R-Bieber, restores Medi-Cal reimbursement rates that were cut 25 percent in 2011 and 2013. Other facilities benefited by the spending plan besides Mayers Memorial in Fall River are Modoc Memorial Hospital in Alturas; Seneca Healthcare District in Chester; Surprise Valley Community Hospital in Cedarville; and Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee. Women's Day event this Saturday Northstate Women's Health Network will hold its third annual International Women's Day Celebration from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Atrium, 1670 Market St. The theme is Pledge for Parity. The event will feature free music, art, dance and education. Organizations and businesses will showcase their services. There will also be a silent auction and free beverages and hors d'oeuvres. Reed to announce congressional bid today Democratic challenger Jim Reed is making his entry into the 1st Congressional District race official today. Reed plans to announce his candidacy during campaign visits that will take him to Redding, Chico and Grass Valley. The contest marks his third bid for the congressional seat and the second time he would face Republican incumbent Doug LaMalfa. He is scheduled to speak at 8:30 a.m. at the corner of Placer and Market streets in the downtown. Reed, who attended the California Democratic Party convention this past weekend in San Jose, had been waiting for the leadership's endorsement before moving ahead with a new run for office. His sights on a rematch against LaMalfa raises questions about the path for Republican challengers Gregory Cheadle of Happy Valley, Joe Montes of Chico and Doug Wright of Millville. Wright, in particular, has been building his campaign around pulling support from LaMalfa and bringing Independents and Democrats in the fold. Woman's painting earns state honor A Redding woman's painting of a male ring-necked pheasant was chosen as the winning entry in the 2015-16 California Upland Game Bird Stamp Art Contest. Robert "Roby" Baer is the first California artist to win the competition since the 2011-12 contest, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The art contest determines the official design for the state's Upland Game Bird Stamp that allows people to hunt upland game birds such as pheasant and quail. Baer's painting depicts a male pheasant and a Brittany spaniel hunting dog. Money from Upland Game Bird Stamps is used to pay for upland game bird conservation projects, hunting opportunities and bird validations, the DFW said. Greg Barnette/Record Search Jim Reed announces Tuesday that he is running for the U.S. Congress. SHARE Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight Jim Reed, from left, talks with supporters Margaret Earnest, Frank Treadway and Art McBride Tuesday at the Market Street Promenade. Reed was announcing his bid for the U.S. Congress. By Jenny Espino of the Redding Record Searchlight Democratic challenger Jim Reed on Tuesday entered the race for the 1st Congressional District seat, potentially setting up a repeat of the 2012 contest in which he faced Republican incumbent Doug LaMalfa. Backed by three supporters, Reed spoke to two reporters at the Market Street Promenade about his vision for turning around the economy and the higher unemployment that dogs the North State. He planned candidacy announcements in Chico and Grass Valley also. "The single most important thing we can do is a massive infusion of funds to construct, improve and repair our infrastructure. When I say infrastructure, I'm talking roads, bridges, airports and high-speed Internet," he said. He said he would support shifting dollars from the defense budget to pay for such work and made it a point to note that the military at one time was self-sufficient. It had its own cooks and mechanics. But in the last 15 years, they have been replaced by independent contractors, whose work is more costly than that done by soldiers. He said the move has short-changed veterans because when they come out of the military, they don't have those added skills. Reed, an attorney from Red Bluff with ties to Fall River Mills, has previously run for Shasta County judge, twice for Congress and once for state Assembly. In his eight-minute speech, he touched on populist themes from his past campaigns, including his support for financing Medicare, closing tax loopholes, getting a handle on the student loan debt problems and reforming campaign finance laws. LaMalfa, a rice farmer from Richvale, is vying for his third two-year term in office. He also is facing opposition from Republican challengers Gregory Cheadle of Happy Valley, Joe Montes of Chico and Doug Wright of Millville, though their path out of California's June primary seems uncertain with the entry of a Democratic challenger. Asked why he waited until March to jump in the race, Reed said he had not planned to make a Congressional run. But he got excited by what is happening at the national level and no Democrat stepped up locally, he said. "I should have been working on this three months ago, and I started thinking about what I was going to do three months ago. But I didn't really go into it until about two weeks ago when I realized there was a real possibility here," he said. The mostly rural district is made up of eight counties and parts of three counties in the northeastern corner of California. Butte and Shasta are the most voter-rich counties in the district. Reed received 125,386 votes in 2012. LaMalfa bested him with 168,827 votes. Reed, who has yet to win Shasta County over in his past Congressional bids, plans to visit it two or three times a week for the next eight months. He was upbeat the level of support he saw in 2012 would be enough to pull a surprise in 2016. "I realize that can change any time, but looking at the present national situation, I believe 125,000 votes in this election will be enough to win," he said. Graphic showing the longest vacancies in Supreme Court seats. SHARE By David Hawkings, CQ-Roll Call WASHINGTON What if a single story dominated Congress for an entire election year, and four out of every five members had no formal avenue for getting involved? Thats not a rhetorical question now. With the Great Supreme Court Standoff entering its third week, one of the most politicized balance-of-powers showdowns of modern times is still supposed to remain entirely between the president and the Senate. As anyone with a passing grade in civics understands, the House of Representatives has no official role in the advice and consent part of the confirmation process. But that is not stopping some prominent House members from inserting themselves into the debate about seating a replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia. And the buttinsky roster is destined to grow along with the campaign season, as more and more lawmakers are pulled by their constituents, local editorial boards or re-election opponents, if not their own egos into a discussion thats officially none of their business. Its a longstanding fact of congressional life how few House members can resist an open microphone, even when they know theyll get asked about topics outside of their official purview their powers enumerated in the 18 paragraphs of Article I, Section 8. Most assume they have the ability to get good press, and shore up their electoral base, with whatever musings they offer on almost any subject. So they weigh in all the time on matters (treaties along with executive and judicial nominations) that are entirely the Senates responsibility. At least as often, congressmen go home and wade into municipal political feuds, county zoning fights, statehouse legislative showdowns and sometimes even whatever pop culture controversy is dominating the local water-cooler talk. So its not surprising how even some of the Houses most conservative Republicans, the sort who have spent this decade griping about executive overreach into legislative prerogatives, have publicly taken the side of their senatorial counterpart. (The GOP senators say they wont schedule hearings or a vote on President Barack Obamas next high court nominee.) The leadership of the ultraright House Freedom Caucus met with Mitch McConnell last week to signal they had the Senate majority leaders back and to make just as clear to the Kentucky Republican that hed best not disappoint them by backing the party away from its position. Leader McConnell has indicated hes going to hold the line and continue to make sure that its the next president whose nominee gets confirmed in the Senate, Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina said afterward. It was reassuring, a message that honestly Im going to take back to my grass-roots supporters to let them know that hes heard the message and that he is standing with them. Speaker Paul D. Ryan has inveighed in favor of the Senate stonewalling any Obama nominee, arguing that its his business to take sides because keeping the court as eight justices for the rest of 2016 is in the Houses institutional best interest. The president has tried everything he can to empower the executive branch at the expense of the legislative one, the Wisconsin Republican told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. His Supreme Court nominees have all contributed to that, those that he has placed on the bench already. So not only does Congress have the authority to stop a nominee, it has an obligation to defend itself against a president and a radically altered court that would continue to seize its powers. (Ryan also tacked slightly away from the party line in predicting that, if the partisan power structure were reversed, hed be pressing the case that a president with a full year left in office is entitled to a confirmation vote, and Senate Democrats would be resisting just as emphatically as the GOP is now. I think everyone is going to make spin that benefits their side, he said. I think its pretty obvious.) And at the House Judiciary Committee, both the incumbent and previous chairmen have endorsed the McConnell approach as good for democracy. Making the courts ideological balance central to the presidential campaign is far better than letting a lame-duck president make a nomination that is going to clearly tilt the court, the current holder of the gavel, Robert W. Goodlatte of Virginia, has said in a series of cable news interviews. Now everybody realizes the race is not just about one branch; its about two branches of government, his predecessor, Republican Lamar Smith of Texas, told a group of college students in his district last week. The House GOP has not been speaking with one voice, though. Some members in tight fights for re-election in swing districts, or seeking promotion to the Senate in purple states, have urged Senate Republicans to at least go through the motions of considering Obamas pick even if they spurn the nominee in the end. I dont think there should be any block, John Katko, a freshman in a toss-up race in upstate New York, told local media. But, it may be an exercise in futility unless its someone thats appealing to everyone. David Jolly, whos running for the open Senate seat in Florida, predicted the president would render the debate moot by not picking a candidate that meets the approval of the Republican Senate. The leading House Democrat for that same seat, Patrick Murphy, has synthesized his partys altogether unified message on the topic: McConnells tactic is a complete and disgraceful abdication of his constitutional responsibility, he said in an email to supporters. Its a shame theyre just saying they dont intend to honor their responsibilities, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said when pressed by reporters in San Francisco, while the ranking Democrat on Judiciary, John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, tweeted that the Senate must fulfill its duty to confirm a nominee swiftly. Your vote is your voice will again be one of the standard rallying cries for boosting turnout this fall. Your voice is your vote is going to be as good as it gets for House members on Topic A this year. 2016 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved Visit CQ Roll Call at www.rollcall.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. SHARE Pamela Flick of Defenders of Wildlife painted a rosy picture of Northern California inviting wolves to peacefully coexist with our game animals, livestock, pets and children. She states that the problem of livestock predation can be adequately addressed by using "range riders" and specialized fencing. She makes no mention of the cost for these measures. By her thinking, having a few police cruisers and some special fencing should solve the problems of theft, burglary and assault in our society. Range riders are effective if they are allowed to shoot any wolf on sight. Wolves are smart and will then learn to avoid humans and their domestic animals near occupied areas. Otherwise, the range riders' only value is in documenting wolf kills after the fact. Ms. Flick proudly points out the Wood River Wolf Project in central Idaho where she claims the wolves successfully coexist with sheep grazing on public lands with "minimal livestock losses," whatever that means. She fails to mention Idaho's Lolo elk zone where the large wolf population has decimated the resident elk herd from 16,000 animals a few years ago to fewer than 1,000 elk today. This month Idaho Fish and Game, with assistance from USDA Wildlife Services, using a helicopter, killed 20 wolves in an effort to provide some help in restoring the Lolo herd. They felt this was necessary because hunters have only taken 20 wolves this winter, well below the biologist's target of wolf removal necessary for the survival of the elk herd. Another expensive proposition; using taxpayer money for helicopters to control the wolf population. And it shows that even allowing wolf hunting for lengthy seasons is unable to control the wolf population because of the rough and remote terrain, and the wariness of the wolves. These wolf-control measures have been necessary for the past five years, so this expensive helicopter project is now an annual event. I hope California can come up with a better plan. We can learn from the experience of other states regarding the issue of wolves. Many problems and much expense can be avoided if we do not encourage the wolves to repopulate in Northern California. Milo Johnson lives in Redding. Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is walking a tightrope with his party's presidential front-runner, Donald Trump. Now the bipartisan firestorm surrounding Trump's most recent proposal, to bar all Muslims from coming to the U.S., threatens to disrupt Johnson's balancing act. As Trump has surged to the top of national GOP presidential polls in recent months, Johnson's approach has been to acknowledge Trump's appeal to the GOP grassroots while distancing himself from his most controversial remarks. When Trump issued his call Monday to bar all Muslims from the U.S., Johnson, R-Oshkosh, made clear that he doesn't support it. But as Democrats and political observers note, other Republicans went further in denouncing -- not just disagreeing with -- Trump. Even some on the right said Johnson's response to Trump has been "tepid." Johnson, in a Friday statement to the Wisconsin State Journal, said he'll keep working to the make the U.S. safer through his perch as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security committee. "I will remain focused on doing my job, and will not be distracted by the comments of others," Johnson said. "Not only did I clearly state I disagree with Mr. Trump, I have repeatedly denounced demagoguery on all sides of the political spectrum." Trump's plan, which many legal experts say is likely unconstitutional, sparked stronger words from other Republicans. House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters Tuesday that "what was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for and, more importantly, its not what this country stands for." An incensed Congressman Reid Ribble, R-Sherwood, told the State Journal that he wouldn't back Trump if he is the Republican presidential nominee. Ribble also called Trump's Muslim proposal "un-American." Johnson, in his initial response to Trump's Muslim comments, reaffirmed that he'll support whoever the GOP nominates for president. That spurred the Democratic Party of Wisconsin to rip Johnson Friday. "It's rare that we agree with Speaker Ryan or Rep. Ribble, but the voters deserve to know if Sen. Ron Johnson will support a Donald Trump and his extreme, divisive agenda," the party's executive director, Kory Kozloski, said in a statement. Kenya Dalcour participates in a silent march at the locations of shootings on Jan. 15, 2016, in Chicago. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) Amid a spike in shootings, the city of Chicago has witnessed its deadliest start to the year in nearly two decades, according to crime statistics. With January and February complete, the Chicago Police Department counts 95 homicides, the same as in 1999. There hasn't been a deadlier start to the year since 1997, when the city had 101 homicides in the first two months and 761 for the full year. Advertisement The official police count includes only violent deaths considered criminal. This year's toll rises to at least 102 if all violent deaths are counted, including a man shot by police and two robbery suspects killed by a shop owner in a shooting considered justified by investigators. By that same measure, there were 52 violent deaths by Feb. 28 last year about half this year's total, according to data compiled by the Tribune. The rise in violence this year has been concentrated mostly through neighborhoods on Chicago's South and West sides that for decades have been stricken by poverty and a lack of investment from the city, and that are plagued by gang activity and drug sales. Advertisement The surge in violence comes at a tumultuous time for the department as it tries to move past fallout over the court-ordered release late last year of a dashboard-camera video showing a Chicago police officer shoot Laquan McDonald 16 times as the teen walked away from police with a knife in his hand. The video, which was starkly at odds with the police account of the shooting, led to murder charges against Officer Jason Van Dyke, weeks of street protests, the firing of longtime police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, calls for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign and the launch of a U.S. Justice Department investigation of the Police Department. Police officials blame the uptick in homicides on intensifying gang conflicts that often lead to retaliatory violence, including disputes that start on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. "While the Chicago Police Department is taking action to keep our communities safe, gun violence driven primarily by gang conflicts remained at an unacceptable level in February," department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement. "The level of violence is unacceptable and CPD continues to aggressively target those responsible, especially in neighborhoods where gang activity is most active." Meanwhile, officers within the department have told the Tribune the McDonald shooting has made them less aggressive on the street out of fear that doing even basic police work will get them into trouble. They say criminals are taking advantage of their passive approach. Criminologists, though, say there's no evidence to suggest criminals are exploiting officers' reluctance to do their jobs. This past weekend, in which Chicago experienced springlike weather, at least two people were killed and 24 wounded in shootings throughout the city. One of those killed was Shari Graham, a 30-year-old mother of three young children who was shot Friday night as she sat in a cab about two blocks south of U.S. Cellular Field. Graham, who had returned to Chicago from Texas at Christmastime, was looking for work as a nurse. Advertisement The next afternoon, Eric Henry Jr. was sitting in a car with a woman in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood when someone walked up and shot him, police said. He died at the scene, and the woman was shot in the jaw and leg and was in serious condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Over the past decade, there haven't been more than 66 homicides during the first two months of each year. There has been an even bigger spike in the number of people shot in the city this year. As of Monday, at least 467 people had been shot compared with 217 in the same period last year, according to Tribune statistics. Chicago outpaces New York City and Los Angeles in the number of homicide and shooting victims. While the city is experiencing a spike in violence, the number of homicides and shootings is less than it was decades ago, when homicides sometimes exceeded 900 in a year. Criminologists have cautioned about making month-by-month or even year-by-year comparisons, arguing that long-term trends more accurately explain how violence in a city has changed over time. Among the homicides this year was that of Phillip Dupree, who was killed Jan. 13 in what police believe was a gang-related slaying. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Michele Cobb, 62, was in her car when Dupree, her 26-year-old grandson, was shot and killed in the front passenger seat as they drove along South Ashland Avenue the dividing line in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood between two factions of the Gangster Disciples, including one to which Dupree belonged. Advertisement His grandmother was grazed in the back of her head. "Boom, boom, boom, like a machine gun or something," Cobb said during an interview Monday. "I thought they were having a crossfire, like people were shooting from one side of the street to the other. That's what I thought. I didn't know they were shooting at my car." Dupree's family acknowledged that he was involved in gang life. Of late, however, he was being mentored by the Rev. Michael Pfleger, who encouraged Dupree who was known by the nickname "Toon" to attend services and do volunteer work for Pfleger's St. Sabina Catholic Church. "I knew Toon from the street, but I got to know Phillip," Pfleger said Monday in an interview at the church. "Phillip could sell you a car that didn't work. I mean, just a really charismatic personality." Chicago Tribune's Alexandra Chachkevitch and Megan Crepeau contributed. jgorner@tribpub.com pnickeas@tribpub.com Twitter @JeremyGorner Twitter @PeterNickeas This government has stayed the course on unglamorous reforms and tax proposals, feels Rathin Roy In the run-up to the Budget, there had been a debate on the desirability of sticking to fiscal consolidation. The Economic Survey tantalisingly presented both sides of the argument. The decision in the Budget was as important to the fiscal health of India, as exam numbers were to the students the Prime Minister addressed on Sunday. I am elated the government has maintained its commitment to stick to the fiscal consolidation path. It has maintained the fiscal deficit at 3.9 per cent of gross domestic product in FY 2015-16. It has reduced the revenue deficit to 2.5 per cent from the projected 2.8 per cent. Thus, the FY 2015-16 revenue/fiscal deficit ratio is 63.84 per cent -- the lowest since FY 2007. The government has also committed to deliver a fiscal deficit of 3.5 per cent and a revenue deficit of 2.3 per cent of GDP in FY 2016-17. This consolidation has been achieved in very difficult circumstances. Growth has been lower than projected, the external environment difficult, the pressure to spend more from just about every interest group considerable. The fact that the government has maintained Indias credibility by sticking to fiscal commitments is such a relief that I am tempted to end this column here. But there is more to commend in this Budget. The government has finally bitten the bullet and commenced important structural reforms in the fiscal and financial architecture. I have, in the past, criticised successive governments for treating the business of tax collection no differently from a British-era zamindari, with tax targets being set by fiat, and taxpayers then being harassed and hounded to meet these. This Budget has broken with that horrid tradition. More than half of part B of the Budget (on taxation) is about reducing litigation, providing certainty and simplifying and rationalising the tax system. The measures proposed, if successfully implemented, are radical and will mark a regime change in the taxation framework of this country. The government has also delivered on its promise made in the last Budget, and commenced reducing the headline corporate tax rate while lowering exemptions. These are strategic reforms, which will yield a higher tax-GDP ratio with less taxpayer harassment and greater transparency in the medium term. Given this, I am not going to churlishly quibble about the usual irrelevant tinkering with individual tax reliefs and exemptions that still remain. I have been depressed about the bipartisan inability of successive governments to make important structural changes in fiscal management, especially public expenditure reforms. The absence of any output in the public domain from the expenditure management commission has only added to my depression. It is, therefore, heartening to see that the government has initiated a series of concrete measures on this front. It has announced a new policy for management of government investment. Renaming the Department of Disinvestment as the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management is not just optical. Every fiscal entity must have a strategic framework within which it decides what assets to keep and sell, in line with its delivery priorities. The Budget signals the government's intention of going down this road and I can only applaud. I have disliked the use of the word 'schemes' to describe public spending initiatives. This was resonant of fiscal drag and pandering. Every 'scheme' will now have a sunset date and outcome report. This is a commendable move. The government has also decided to do away with the Plan/Non-plan classification. Presumably, this means that we will have a modern medium-term fiscal framework in place with medium-term expenditure ceilings that can be allocated, and a credible revenue forecast built around a macro-fiscal framework that specifies how much the government will borrow to meet its fiscal aims. Thus, this Budget has put in place all the building blocks necessary to build a fiscal framework that will finally shift India from outdated annual budgeting to strategic medium-term fiscal execution. In this context, I read the proposed review of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act as a step in that direction, unlike many who, I suspect, will see this as a sign that the government wishes to backtrack on its future consolidation commitments. Other important reforms -- to the Indian financial code, rationalising Centrally Sponsored Schemes and targeting subsidies and improving the ease of doing business -- have also been announced. Overall, I get the sense for the first time in my career, that the Achilles heel of fiscal management in India -- a broken disarticulated fiscal process -- is being addressed. There are, of course, some bad habits that persist in this Budget. The most serious of them is the continued tendency to increase cesses rather than tax rates to meet intended spending objectives. This would nominally be an optical matter, but in our system cesses are not shared with states and imposing these is tantamount to an unfair theft of resources from the divisible pool. There continue to be an unacceptably high number of exemptions and rebates on direct and indirect taxes, which clearly pander to specific interest groups and leech revenue that could be used for other purposes. This is a bad legacy that continues. The share of subsidies in total expenditure has not fallen, despite a fall in fuel subsidies. Irrelevant announcements continue to be part of the Budget, including how long retail stores should be kept open, linking state employment exchanges with the national career service and, especially, paragraphs 104 and 105 of the Budget speech, which promise 'closer engagement between different states and districts in a structured manner' that I find incomprehensible. There will be issues in detail, which may be disingenuous, another legacy of years past. But these trespasses are eminently excusable in the light of what has been delivered. Like every Budget, this one makes grandiose claims and seeks to please political constituencies. But unlike many in the past, it maintains prudence, enhances the government's credibility as a fiscal manager and initiates important, unglamorous structural reforms. For this reason, I have not written such a fulsomely positive review of any Budget since 1997. I live in hope that I will not have to wait this long to write another one. Image: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Photograph: Reuters Rathin Roy is director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, and member, Prime Minister's Task Force on Poverty. These views are personal Facebook chief challenged the priorities for next-generation 5G networks Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Monday tried to extend an olive branch to mobile phone companies, on which the popular social network company increasingly relies, but which are also among his biggest critics. Speaking for the third straight year to an annual gathering of telecoms executives at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Zuckerberg sought to show his company could be a valuable, if truculent, ally to the wireless industry. He described a new project Facebook is working on with major telecom players, including Nokia, Deutsche Telekom, SK Telecom and Intel, to help rapidly build far faster mobile networks at lower costs. But while listing the various ways Facebook was prepared to help network operators contend with spiralling consumer appetites for data, he also criticised and made more demands on the industry. Zuckerberg challenged the priorities for next-generation 5G networks, which the industry is gearing up to deliver around 2020. He called them 'faster connections for rich people' and said the companies should make more effort to "finish the job of making sure that everyone in the world gets Internet access." More than 4 billion people have no access to the Internet, he noted. Telecom operators complain that companies like Facebook and Google Inc that offer data-heavy mobile services are effectively free-loading on the big investments they must make to keep fixed-line and mobile networks from becoming overloaded. "Facebook has always had a love-hate relationship with carriers," Forrester Research analyst Thomas Husson said after Zuckerberg's comments. Further complicating his relationships with the telecom industry, Zuckerberg said video would be the next big driver for Facebook growth, putting more pressure on existing networks. Its users watch more than 100 million hours of video daily. While criticising the industry for failing to do more to reach unconnected populations, Zuckerberg is a leading proponent of new virtual reality cameras that he said could be a killer app for 5G but which would place vast new demands on networks. He also defended Facebook's Free Basics program, through which the company works with operators in emerging markets to offer a pared-back free Internet service to reach consumers who cannot afford data plans. The Indian government introduced rules blocking Internet services from having different pricing policies for accessing different parts of the web, effectively shuttering the Free Basics program in that country, one of Facebook's most important emerging markets. Zuckerberg is kicking off a tour of Europe on Monday that includes a town hall meeting in Berlin on Thursday. Facebook has faced criticism in Germany in recent months from politicians and regulators over its privacy practices and a slow response to anti-immigrant postings by neo-Nazi sympathisers on the popular social network. Additional reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb in San Francisco Aditi Phadnis brings us a ringside view of the reactions Jaitley's speech generated in Parliament. Loosely translated, the couplet that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley used to illustrate the big idea in Budget 2016-17 said: Tired and defeated, they handed the oars to us. We found ourselves in the midst of tempest and a raging tide but we did and we will any time show that we too know how to conquer choppy waters. When he read it out, a small smile played on the face of his son Rohan, in the visitors gallery. The finance ministers family his wife, daughter and son in law and son, settled themselves in the Lok Sabha gallery, among the first to be seated. They saw, somewhat wide-eyed, the attempts of the Congress to raise the issue of sedition cases registered against Rahul Gandhi and others in Hyderabad, Rahul Gandhis grimace when the rebellion failed and Jaitleys firm push ahead with the budget speech. The loudest applause was reserved for Jaitleys announcements concerning the farm sector. Minister for Food Processing, Harsimrat Kaur Badal essayed a small salute to him when Jaitley said that 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through the FIPB route would now be allowed in the marketing of food products produced and manufactured in India. But the biggest applause was reserved for announcements relating to the creation of rural infrastructure, especially from the MPs from Karnataka and Maharashtra, the two states that have seen a third year of drought: the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana that seeks to connect all the villages in the country with all-weather roads in the next two or three years; budgetary support to MGNREGA amounting to Rs 38,500 crore (Rs 385 billion), the highest in the last few years; and the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) the crop insurance scheme. Another announcement that was popular was the electrification of all villages in India. Power Minister Piyush Goel went pink as the finance minister spoke approvingly and fondly about his work and the fact that he had achieved targets well ahead of their deadline. The visitors gallery was almost full but the Distinguished Visitors Gallery to which invitations are issued by the Speaker was packed to capacity. Those present were clearly supporters of the finance minister, for his wife greeted all of them with a clasp of the hand. The Foreign Visitors gallery was inhabited by representatives of two countries Sweden, which was Indias partner in the Make in India campaign in Mumbai; and unaccountably, Zambia. Introducing himself to Business Standard, the representative of that country told his Swedish colleagues sotto voce: "I wanted to see the reaction when I named the country I come from". Zambian nationals suffered racial abuse both in Delhi and Bengaluru. The Budget got the special notice of those among MPs who are professional chartered accountants: while Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kirit Somaiyya took furious notes, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu nodded several times when Jaitley read from the second part of his speech while Power Minister Piyush Goel thumped the table emphatically. The finance minister delivered a large part of his speech on his feet, but had to sit down wearily for a part of it however the congratulations that poured in after the speech obviously revived him. On February 25, Sanjay Dutt walked out of Yerwada jail as a free man after completing his prison term. As soon as Dutt was released, the actor was warmly greeted by family, fans and the media. While the 56-year-old is back home and gearing up to start shooting of his films, here's what some of his colleagues and friends from the industry have said about his release: Sanjay Gupta: His 23-year ordeal has finally ended. His family can finally live in peace. Professionally, he will rise again, as he always has. Paresh Rawal: I am extremely happy and relieved as his journey to hell and back, is finally over. Pritish Nandy: I am delighted. Sanjay is a dear friend and I know how deeply distressed he was when people called him a terrorist. But luckily all that is behind him now. The courts have cleared him. The sentence he served was for possessing an illegal weapon. Not for anything to do with the bomb blasts. He is a free man now and can go back to what he loves doing. Acting. Raveen Tandon: Sanju has and will always be my most favourite co-star. As a person, he's wonderful. I remember when we were shooting together, the entire unit, from the director to the spot boy, would have a blast all thanks to Sanju and his humour. It was when we were shooting in Mauritius that Sanju got arrested for the first time upon his return to the city. I remember him being very lost and in deep thought. While everyone was having fun on the beach, he was evidently worried, sitting at the far end looking into the sea. But the law has to take its course and one can't question it. But the fact remains that Sanju never condemned the law, its decision or the police. He served his sentence, stayed a good inmate and I'm happy that he will walk out a free man today. I'm so happy for him and I wish the best for him. Now, I can't wait to see another Munna Bhai! Rati Agnihotri: May God bless Sanjus entire family. Sanju, I am truly happy for you. Now please act in some good films. You owe that to your fans. Subhash Ghai: He is going to play his second innings bigger than the first. Coz he is wiser now. Sanjay Gadhvi: I am really glad that he is back! It was during the shoot of Kidnap that the judgement had been passed! I would see the stress every day that we shot. On the positive side, he also got married during my shoot...we were shooting in Goa. He has 'done his time' .... served the time as directed by the judiciary system. I welcome him back, congratulate him on his freedom, laud him for his undying spirit!. I am sure he wants to put all this behind him, and move on. Let us all help him do that! 'When he was killed, did you ask questions of the Muslim community? But when we spoke of 'aar-paar' you are asking questions?' Despite the uproar in Parliament, BJP MP Babu Lal stands by his controversial remarks in this interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com On Sunday, February 28, at a condolence meeting for Vishwa Hindu Parishad worker Arun Mahaur, who was murdered by some Muslim youth in Agra, Babu Lal, the Bharatiya Janata Party's Lok Sabha MP from Fatehpur Sikri, had reportedly thundered: 'People of other communities can do anything and we will stay quiet?' 'If we can't take revenge against these people then should we worship them? Don't try to test us... We will not tolerate insults to the community. We do not want unrest at any cost, but if you want to test Hindus, then let's decide a date and take on Muslims,' Babu Lal was reported to have said. On the dais with Babu Lal was Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development Ram Shankar Katheria, who also reportedly made inflammatory remarks against Muslims. Speaking to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com on Tuesday, after the Lok Sabha was adjourned amidst an uproar by the Congress and other Opposition parties over his remarks, Babu Lal said he stood by his comments. What did you mean by your statement that 'people of other communities can do anything but we have to keep quiet'? You tell me. The VHP worker was killed in broad daylight. Two days before his death he had gone to the police and informed them that his killers had threatened him, but there was no action. Last year his shop was burnt down. At 10 am on February 25, he was killed in public. Is this good work or what? Aakhir mein Hinduoon mein khoon ka paani ho gaya kya? (Finally, has the blood of Hindus turned into water?) There may have been some personal enmity between them. Why bring religion into it? The problem is that the Mantola area is Muslim dominated. They kill cows and its progeny in that area. Arun was a Dalit from the Mahaur community. Being a VHP member, he used to oppose such activities and so they killed him. It is personal enmity, so why are you blaming Muslims? . How can this be personal enmity? The police are not doing any investigation. If the police had taken some action, he would not have got murdered. Why are you blaming the entire Muslim community for this murder instead of blaming just the people who killed the VHP worker? You are right in a way. When he was killed, did you ask questions of the Muslim community? They killed a Hindu in broad daylight. But when we spoke of 'aar-paar (final battle),' you are asking questions. Hindus have no right to talk of their rights or what? Hindus have a right only to be shot? Kuch government Muslims ko sar par chadhaney ka kaam karti hai (some governments allow Muslims to sit on their heads). Do you feel the Samajwadi Party is supporting such people? Of course. The SP only speaks for Muslims. If today a Muslim is murdered by a Hindu, the Congress, the SP and BSP (the Bahujan Samaj Party will raise a hue and cry. Have you heard anyone talking about this issue? Mayawati speaks of Dalits, but this Arun is not a Dalit or what? Today for Muslim votes every party is talking for them. Is this not vote bank politics? I am asking you again: Was there personal enmity in this case? No, this is not a personal enmity case. The one who speaks of Hindus and gauraksha (protection of the cow) is considered to be an enemy. The whole (Muslim) community believes them to be their enemy. But there is the police... He had gone to the police two days ago, but they did not take any action. The police knows that if they take action against such people, they will be transferred. One year ago, when his (Arun Mahaur's) shop was burnt, did the police take any action? Even the witness in the case is being threatened to withdraw from the case. They are challenging him openly. Do you feel there is minority appeasement in Uttar Pradesh? Yes, it is there. They know Mulayam Singh is ruling and their leader is Azam Khan, so who will dare to take them on? You are an MP, why did you not speak about this to the UP government? Did you give any written complaint? No, we have not written any letter. On February 25, after Arun was killed, we left Parliament and came to Agra. We then called for a condolence meeting. Don't you think when an MP like you uses such language, it could lead to a law and order problem in the state? Law and order problem is a different thing. But you tell me whether an MP is above society? If there is some wrong happening in society, will an MP not speak? If people in society are getting killed and if an MP cannot speak, what is the point of him being an MP? But an MP should maintain peace and promote brotherhood between communities, isn't it rather than create further problems? Community ke beech shanti honey wala samaj hi nahi hai woh (that is not a community which wants peace in society). They know the Samajwadi Party is supporting them, why will they listen to us? What about brotherhood in society which you must maintain as an MP? When they have killed people by bullet, will they listen to anyone? Do you feel the media was highlighting the Mohammed Akhlaq issue (who was killed by a Hindu mob in Dadri for alleged possession of beef) but not highlighting these issues? Akhlaq's family got Rs 50 lakh, four flats and also a job. And for a Hindu Dalit who got murdered, the Samajwadi Party gave Rs 15 lakh only. A Hindu or Muslim life is the same, why discriminate? The media must write about this. Do you think these murders are happening because elections are scheduled in UP for next year? This murder has got nothing to do with elections. 'I am ready to respond against the allegations in Parliament.' Facing ire over his alleged inflammatory speech warning Muslims of a 'final battle', Union Minister of State for Human Resource and Development Ram Shankar Katheria claims he did not make any such comments and the allegations are false. On Sunday, February 28, Katheria -- the Lok Sabha MP from Agra -- along with the BJP MP from Fatehpur Sikri Babu Lal attended a condolence meeting held for Vishwa Hindu Parishad worker Arun Mahaur, who was allegedly killed by Muslim youth, in Agra. At the meeting, several speakers reportedly threatened the Muslim community with revenge. According to the Indian Express (external link), Union Minister Katheria is reported to have said: 'We have to make ourselves powerful. We have to launch a struggle. If we don't begin a struggle, then today we have lost an Arun, tomorrow we will lose another.' 'Doosra jane se pehle, yeh hatyare hi chale jayen is prakar ki taqat humen dikhani hogi (Before another is lost, we must show such strength that these killers themselves disappear),' the Indian Express reported. 'The administration might think that main toh mantri ho gaya, haath bandh gaye (that because I'm a minister, my hands are tied),' the newspaper added. 'We are not withdrawing this movement. On Wednesday and Friday, we will all hold condolence meetings in our colonies. After that, whatever our leadership decides, if we are required to take to the streets, we will come on the streets in thousands. Let anybody dare stop us,' Katheria told the meeting, according to the Indian Express. Speaking to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com on Tuesday, Union Minister Katheria said he would respond to the allegations against him in Parliament. What have you got to say about the controversial statements made at the meeting? I never made any such statement which is being attributed to me. What was the reason for such a meeting? A Dalit youth, by the name of Arun Mahaur, had been murdered in broad daylight in a bazaar. So, I attended the condolence meeting (in Agra). What were you demanding at the meeting? We were demanding justice for the murdered youth. Why was the boy murdered? It was a condolence meeting that I had gone to attend. Is it true that the VHP worker who was killed had gone to the police and asked them to take action? Yes. He had gone to the police, but they did not take any action on this case. Is there a law and order problem in Uttar Pradesh? Law and order is finished in Uttar Pradesh. Is it true that during the condolence meeting there were controversial statements made against Muslims? I have never said anything like this. Your party MP Babu Lal said, 'Hindu kab tak chup baithenge.' What is your take on it? I did not make any statement like this. There was an uproar in Parliament against your statements. I am ready to respond to the allegations in Parliament. IMAGE: Union Minister of State for HRD Ram Shankar Katheria at the condolence meeting for the VHP worker in Agra. Rahul Gandhi has openly supported anti-nationals. Freedom of speech cannot be in favour of anti-nationals. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi addressing students at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus following the arrest of student leader Kanhaiya Kumar. Photograph: PTI Advocate Sunkari Janardhan Goud is an angry man. He has filed complaints of sedition against Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPIs D Raja, Janata Dal-United MP KC Tyagi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and Congress leaders Ajay Maken and Anand Sharma for extending their support to the cause of Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Kanhaiya Kumar. The Cyberabad police has registered Goud's complaints after the XI metropolitan magistrate of L B Nagar ordered the cases to be filed under Section124A of the IPC following his complaint and posted the matter for hearing on March 4. My blood boils when I hear slogans such as Bharat tere tukde ho and Pakistan Zindabad which were uttered at the JNU campus, says Goud (image, below). It was wrong of Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders to express their solidarity with these JNU leaders and therefore I have filed a case of sedition against them, adds Goud. The Hyderabad-based lawyer spoke to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com. Why did you file this case? Rahul Gandhi has openly supported anti-nationals (Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid) who are accused in sedition cases. They have raised slogans against the nation and therefore I have filed the case against Rahul Gandhi. What is wrong if he visited JNU to show his support to students? It was absolutely wrong for Rahul Gandhi to visit JNU. I have filed this case against him because he should not involve himself in such cases in the future. Being a politician and Opposition leader, he should focus on policies and not on anti-national issues like JNU. They (the JNU students) were talking about the destruction of India and not any political party. It has been reported that the video showing Kanhaiya making alleged anti-India statement was doctored. So how can you call him anti-national? I dont think that tape is doctored. It is an original one. The Delhi police has also confirmed it. They have registered the case only after seeing this video (of Kanhaiya making anti-national statements). There is a debate going on in the country over freedom of speech. What does it mean to you? Freedom of speech means you can express your opinion. It cannot, however, be in favour of anti-nationals (like Afzal Guru). But Rahul Gandhi went to JNU in favour of students and for freedom of speech. He says the Bharatiya Janata Party government wants to suppress the voice of students and dissent. This programme was conducted for Afzal Guru. They shouted slogans like Bharat ki barbadi tak and Pakistan Zindabad. All these slogans I have seen. And knowing about these slogans, these people still went to JNU and openly supported the students. Therefore, I filed a case against Rahul Gandhi. You are a lawyer and if I am not mistaken, the case of sedition must be applied only when violence occurs. Students have raised slogans against the country which is very offensive. Therefore, I have filed the case and it attracts the charge of sedition. The courts have stated that if no violence occurs following a statement, then the sedition law does not apply. That is in a different context. This case is offensive in nature. How is this different from what happened in the Hardik Patel case? That is a very different case. That is a social cause, a reservation issue. They have not supported any other country. What is freedom of speech according to you? It has to be within limits. It should never be anti-national. Freedom of speech means a right to express opinion, but not against the nation. Hyderabad-based lawyer Sunkari Janardhan Goud What part of Rahul Gandhis speech made you file a case against him? The entire issue is against the nation. Your intention itself amounts to a crime. Rahul Gandhi went there to support Afzal Guru. Since you speak of Afzal Guru, are you satisfied with his trial and ultimate punishment? After an elaborate and exhaustive trial, Afzal Guru was hanged after proper judicial proceedings. After this, some people are saying it was judicial killing. What is judicial killing? He was involved in the Parliament attack with the support of Pakistan. Will your case against Rahul Gandhi be registered in Hyderabad or Delhi? The director general of police made a statement on Sunday that the FIR has been sent to Delhi. You are a lawyer and you have sought legal action against Rahul. Your colleagues in Delhi beat up Kanhaiya in the Patiala House court premises. How do you feel about that? That is a small thing. It is a petty case. Let them file a case and they will face trial. Do you think those lawyers beat up Kanhaiya? In that kind of situation, they might have beaten him (Kanhaiya) up. Proceedings of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were virtually washed out on Tuesday due to the uproar created by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam members who were demanding action against former Union Minister P Chidambaram's son Karti in the Aircel-Maxis issue. Both the Houses witnessed continuous disruptions due to the slogan-shouting by the AIADMK members who were in the well, forcing repeated adjournments. The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day at around 2.45 pm while the day's proceedings of the Rajya Sabha were terminated at around 4 pm. The AIADMK members were displaying copies of an English daily which has claimed that Karti has invested in real estate across the world, as per investigations by the Enforcement Directorate and income-tax authorities during searches at his premises. In the Upper House, an angry Deputy Chairman P J Kurien even threatened to suspend the agitating members but to no avail. In the Rajya Sabha, a Calling Attention Motion on inflammatory speeches made by a Union Minister and elected representatives violating the constitution and oath of office could not be taken up due to the noisy protests by the AIADMK. Trouble started in the House as soon as it met for the day, with the AIADMK members, waiving copies of a newspaper, raising the issue and demanding action against Karti Chidambaram. Chairman Hamid Ansari said it was "unbecoming" of members and accused them of promoting the particular newspaper which was "not proper". Deputy Chairman P J Kurien termed the disruptions as "murder of democracy". As the AIADMK members led by V Maitreyan continued raising slogans for arrest of P Chidambaram and Karti, a visibly angered Kurien said, "How can I take action? I can take action against you." He warned that he could taken action against the AIADMK members under Rule 255 and bar the disrupting members from the proceedings of the House for the day. With regard to the Calling Attention Motion, Kurien said it was not taken up since government did not distribute the statement. He said Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was on a wrong foot. "I called (Leader of Opposition) Ghulam Nabi Azad and then asked to distribute but papers were not distributed. So Calling Attention Motion was not taken up. If that would have done, I would have considered it a Calling Attention Motion but statement was not distributed so it was not taken up. They can repeat. I have given the ruling," he said. Naqvi said no such matter can be raised in the same session. During the brief periods for which the House met amid adjournments, the Congress accused the AIADMK members of disrupting the proceedings at the behest of the ruling BJP. Similar scenes were witnessed in the Lok Sabha. As soon as the Lok Sabha met for the day, the AIADMK members rushed to the well demanding action in Aircel-Maxis deal issue. They raised slogans like "We want action", "Aircel-Maxis why delay, why delay" and "NDA sarkar take action." Amid uproar, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan continued with the question hour for some time but adjourned the House for nearly 10 minutes. Soon after the House was adjourned, the AIADMK members were seen distributing copies of the newspaper to BJP members. Congress President Sonia Gandhi was seen talking to Deputy Speaker M Thambi Durai who belongs to the AIADMK. At one point of time, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge stood up to raise some issue, apparently relating to privilege notice against HRD Minister Smriti Irani over the Rohith Vemula suicide issue, but he was shouted down by the AIADMK members. Gandhi was seen telling the AIADMK members against raising slogans near Kharge. Some Left members were also seen standing at their places and seeking speaker's intervention. Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said that if they give proper notice, the issue could be discussed and government was open to a debate. Raising the Aircel-Maxis issue, AIADMK leader P Venugopal demanded that the prime minister should come to the House to respond on the issue which involved the former finance minister and former DMK Minister. Even assurances by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy that the matter was in the Supreme Court and the government would do "whatever is within the law" failed to satisfy the agitated members. In the Rajya Sabha, the chairman told the protesting AIADMK members: "The Chair gets the impression that some members are in the business of promoting a specific newspaper. This is very improper. You will not bring newspapers." He asked them not to come into the well, saying, "Don't come here. All I can say is this is unbecoming of you." The question hour also saw disruption and then the House was repeatedly adjourned over the issue. With regard to the Calling Attention Motion, Azad said, "There has to be an order in the House to discuss this". Azad, who was to move the motion, also said that the disruption was "organised by the ruling party" so that the calling attention on the "serious" issue, listed in the agenda on Tuesday, is not taken up. "A serious issue is not discussed like this. This is a deliberate attempt by the AIADMK. Otherwise, never before has the AIADMK behaved like this," the Congress leader said. Kurien, who was in the Chair, kept slamming the noisy protests, saying the behaviour of the AIADMK MPs was "very bad". "You can approach the government for appropriate action. Why are you disrupting the proceedings of the House? This is irresponsible behaviour. This is murder of democracy,"he said. Kurien kept telling them to approach the government if they wanted action against a private person. Earlier papers were laid amid sloganeering. When AIADMK members continued demanding action against Chidambarm, Kurien said, "What can I do, you ask the government" and adjourned the House till 3.45 pm. When the House re-assembled at 3.45 pm, Kurien asked minister and BJP leader J P Nadda to move the Motion of Thanks for the President's address. To this, Naqvi questioned how it can be initiated when the House is not in order and appealed the AIADMK members for cooperation. Kurien too sought the AIADMK members' cooperation but as they continued their protest, he adjourned the House for the day. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal seven years in the making before it was unveiled this month, has quickly moved into the sights of some on Capitol Hill including a vocal cadre of Wisconsin Democrats. The partnership is a proposed free-trade agreement between the U.S. and 11 other nations bordering the Pacific Ocean. After being negotiated in secret, the deal was finalized last month. Now it must be approved by the U.S. Congress and lawmakers in other member countries to take effect. Lawmakers views on the trade deal dont follow party lines. Wisconsin Democrats such as U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Congressman Mark Pocan and Senate candidate Russ Feingold have made their skepticism of the deal a top issue in recent months. Some Republicans, including presidential front-runner Donald Trump, also oppose it. But Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Ron Kind, along with GOP U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and House Speaker Paul Ryan, have signaled they might support the deal though their statements have been more guarded. That could align them with the chief proponent of trade partnership: President Barack Obama, whose administration negotiated it. Obama and other backers of deal, which include business groups, say it could stave off rising Chinese influence in East Asia. By strengthening trade ties with countries such as Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, they say the U.S. not China can write the economic rules of engagement in that region. In Wisconsin, there are signs the deal would benefit the states agriculture industry. Still, critics such as Pocan, D-Black Earth, compare the trade partnership to past free-trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement. He and other skeptics of the deal, which include labor, environmental and human rights groups, say such deals have enriched CEOs and corporate shareholders while undercutting U.S. jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector. Thats especially problematic in a manufacturing-heavy state such as Wisconsin, Pocan said. The bottom line is, these deals traditionally cost U.S. jobs or flattened our wages, Pocan said. We strongly feel this will do the same. Deal has 5,600 pages Other nations in the proposed partnership with the U.S. are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The 30-chapter deal outlines plans to remove or lower tariffs on a range of products, create a mechanism for resolving international investor disputes and protections for intellectual property such as copyrights and patents. Labor provisions would require participating countries to allow workers to join unions and collectively bargain, do away with child labor and forced labor, and be free from employment discrimination, according to a Washington Post report. But Pocan and other critics say its not clear if these or other provisions of the deal could be enforced. Pocan also said the deal does nothing to resolve a key concern of many U.S. businesses in trading with Pacific Rim nations: currency manipulation. One of the major U.S. companies that has weighed in on the deal, Ford Motor Co., said it didnt do enough to curb such practices. Benefits to agriculture? Wisconsins agriculture industry might get a lift from the deal. It likely would aid agricultural producers, food processors and agriculture equipment manufacturers by lowering trade barriers for those exports, according to Ian Coxhead, a UW-Madison professor who specializes in the economics of development and trade. For Wisconsins dairy industry, Karen Gefvert, spokeswoman for Wisconsin Farm Bureau, said analysts still are combing through the deal to assess its implications. Coxhead said Wisconsin workers have little to fear from the trade partnership and that its a mistake to attribute the erosion of U.S. manufacturing jobs in recent decades to free-trade deals. Instead, he said the trend is due to industrialization in countries such as China and Mexico, which he said paved the way for free-trade agreements. Free-trade deals are really a symptom of whats happening in those countries, not the cause of job losses in the U.S., Coxhead said. No vote set A congressional vote on the deal hasnt been set. In June, Congress narrowly passed a trade promotion, or fast-track, authority measure that enabled the White House to negotiate trade deals and submit them for congressional approval through an up-or-down vote. That means lawmakers cannot amend or filibuster the deal. Many viewed the fast-track measure as a test vote for the partnership. Among Wisconsins House members, Pocan and Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, voted against the measure. The rest of the states delegation voted in favor: Kind, D-La Crosse; Ryan, R-Janesville; and Reps. Sean Duffy, R-Wausau; Glenn Grothman, R-Campbellsport; Reid Ribble, R-Sherwood; and Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Menomonee Falls. The states Senate delegation, Johnson, of Oshkosh, voted for it, and Baldwin, of Madison, against it. Baldwin has repeatedly criticized the Obama administration for keeping the deal under wraps. She said last month that she was eager to review it and see if its another unfair trade deal that stacks the deck against Wisconsin workers. Feingold pointed to bipartisan opposition from Trump, whos leading most Republican presidential polls, and Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential front-runner. When you see the leading presidential candidates on both sides opposed to this, that tells you something, Feingold told the State Journal in an interview. Feingolds opponent in the 2016 election, Johnson, said in a statement Tuesday that hes still reviewing the deal and that its too early to express an opinion on it. Speaking at a wispolitics.com lunch event last month in Madison, Johnson said Wisconsinites stand to benefit from global trade that is more free. These trade deals are trying to open up markets to American products to our agriculture, to our manufacturing, Johnson said. So Im hoping that we benefit. Central Bureau of Investigation Director Anil Sinha on Tuesday refused to be drawn into the issue of American-Pakistani terrorist David Headley's recent testimony in 26/11 case that Ishrat Jahan was a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, saying the matter is sub judice. He noted that the agency has already submitted a chargesheet in the alleged fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan. "The matter is sub judice. We have already submitted a chargesheet in the case. Hence, I would not like to comment anything on this," Sinha, who was in Mumbai for inauguration of the new CBI office in Bandra-Kurla Complex, said. He was asked if the revelation made by Headley before a special court in Mumbai last month that Ishrat was an operative of banned terror group LeT would have any impact on the case. Headley revealed this while deposing before a special court, which is conducting trial against alleged LeT operative Abu Jundal in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case. Headley told the court that LeT leader Zaki-ur-Rehman had told him about Muzammil Butts botched up operation in India. "It was some shootout with the police. I dont know which part in India. But there was one female who was killed in the shootout," Headley said. Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam then said, "If I give you three names will you be able to point out who was the female who was killed?" To this Headley replied yes. Nikam then said, "Was it Noorjahan Begum, Ishrat Jahan or Mumtaz." Headley then said, "I think it is the second one." Headley had added that Ishrat was an Indian national. Ishrat, 19, was killed along with Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai from Kerala, and two alleged Pakistanis -- Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana -- on June 15, 2004 on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. The encounter team was led by D G Vanzara, who was then deputy commissioner of police in Ahmedabad crime branch. The CBI, which was handed over the probe later, filed a chargesheet in 2013 against seven police officers and observed that it was a fake encounter. Currently, all the seven officers are out on bail. The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea seeking quashing of criminal prosecution, suspension and other actions taken against Gujarat cops in the 2004 alleged fake encounter killing of Ishrat Jahan in view of recent testimony of jailed Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative David Headley. Headley, the Pakistani-American terrorist, had told to a Mumbai court that Jahan was a LeT operative. Let it be listed. We will see it then, a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit said when advocate M L Sharma mentioned the matter for its urgent hearing. Sharma said that the statement of Headley is significant as it conclusively establishes the fact that Jahan was a LeT operative. Gujarat Police personnel, including the then Deputy Inspector General of Police D G Vanzara, are facing trial in a Mumbai court for their alleged role in the encounter. The plea, which cited the recent statements before a special court recorded by Headley, who allegedly conspired with LeT in plotting the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, said the facts are now undisputed that all four persons killed by Gujarat Police, including Ishrat Jahan, were terrorists. The judicial proceeding and statement of David Headley, who conspired with LeT in plotting the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, stated via video conference and recorded in the special court at Mumbai that four persons, including Ishrat Jahan who were killed in June 2004 by Gujarat Police, were a part of LeT terrorist organisation belonging to Pakistan and they were assigned to kill then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, it said. The plea sought a direction to close criminal proceedings and action taken in FIRs lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation against the Gujarat Police personnel and others, saying it was unconstitutional within the judicial facts and evidences of Headley. It also sought a direction from the court declaring that killing of a terrorist is not an offence under Indian law and proper compensation be paid to the state police personnel in the interest of justice. It also wanted initiation of suo motu perjury/contempt proceedings against the then home minister and CBI director for concealing true facts before the Supreme Court and the Gujarat high court and for filing a false affidavit pertaining to facts about Ishrat Jahan case. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Washington later this month on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, a top aide to Pakistan Premier said on Tuesday. "There are chances of meeting between the two (prime ministers)," Sartaj Aziz, the Foreign Affairs Advisor to Sharif, told PTI. "There are possibilities, when they are here (in Washington DC). They would interact with each other. Whether there would be a structured meeting I do not know. Depends on...Chances are there (for a meeting)," Aziz said. The top Pakistani diplomat is in Washington to attend the sixth US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue which he co-chaired with Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday. Aziz said Sharif would be travelling to Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit at the invitation of US President Barack Obama. Modi too has been invited to the Summit on March 31 and April 1. No official announcement has been made yet. Responding to a question on the status of India-Pak relationship after Modi came to power in May 2014, Aziz said in the first year the situation was "not good". "But the last two months are better," Aziz said. Ahead of the Modi-Sharif meeting, Aziz said there is likelihood of a meeting between the foreign secretaries of the two countries. The timing of which has not been decided yet, he noted. "We do not know (when foreign secretaries would meet). He (Indian Foreign Secretary) has to come to Islamabad first. We are hoping that now," Aziz said after the breakfast meeting with Defence Writers Group in Washington. Identifying the "strategic and conventional imbalance with India" as the topmost security threat to it, Pakistan on Tuesday rejected America's call to reduce or cap its nuclear weapons arsenal, believed to be the fastest growing in the world. "I think (Pakistan's top) security concern is strategic and conventional imbalance with India," the Pakistan prime minister's advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz told Defence Writers Group in a breakfast meeting this morning. Terrorism comes only after that, he said. "Terrorism is something our own domestic (concern). It is overflow of terrorism from Afghanistan that becomes the second (top security concern for Pakistan) within our borders, which hopefully we would be able to control it in the next few years," he said, responding to a question on what was Pakistans top security concern or threat. Aziz also ruled out Americas desire that Pakistan reduce or cap its fast expanding nuclear weapons arsenal and put the onus for it on India. "If India does (caps its nuclear weapons program) we would think about it," he said when asked at this point of time Pakistan is not thinking of capping or reducing its stockpile of nuclear weapons, as asked by the United States. "But if India does not, how can we cap?" Aziz asked. "I think, it is important for Pakistan to really process that reality and put that front and center in its policy," he said in an apparent reference to the reports that Pakistan has the fastest growing stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. The nuclear and non-proliferation issue is among the six topics that was discussed during the sixth US-Pak Strategic Dialogue co-chaired by Kerry and Aziz here on Monday. "Our nuclear program is a deterrence. It is India which is expanding its nuclear arsenal at a much faster rate than we are," Aziz alleged. "The concept of deterrence is a dynamic one. Deterrence has to be effective and our deterrence is India centric. If India would not have started its nuclear program, we would have never done this," he said. "India is developing its nuclear stock. Its ability after the (civil nuclear) agreement with the United States to divert more stocks to it, more fissile materials to nuclear weapons has increased much more," he claimed. A Pakistani team probing the Pathankot terror attack may visit India in the next few days, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz said on Monday and expressed hope that the Foreign Secretary-level talks will be scheduled very soon after that. "It is unfortunate that the agreement on resuming the dialogue process was disrupted by the attack on Pathankot Airbase on January 2. Pakistan has taken some important steps in the aftermath of the Pathankot incident," Aziz said in his opening remarks to the US-Pak Strategic Dialogue. "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called the Indian Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) immediately after the attack and assured of Pakistan's support in the investigation. National Security Advisers are maintaining frequent contacts," he said. "Case has been registered and the Special Investigation Team is likely to visit India in the next few days. We therefore hope that the Foreign Secretary level-talks will be scheduled very soon," Aziz said during the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue which he co-chaired with US Secretary of State John Kerry. As an important part of Sharif Government's policy of peaceful neighborhood, Islamabad has reached out to India, he noted. "We believe that the resolution of all outstanding issues -- including the Kashmir dispute - is possible through resumption of full-scale and uninterrupted dialogue with India. We had also proposed a mechanism to address our respective concerns on terrorism," Aziz said. A six-member Special Investigation Team was set up by Pakistan government for the initial probe into the January 2 attack based on the leads given by India. Three men arrested for their alleged role in the attack were sent to a six-day police remand by an anti-terrorism court in Gujranwala city of Punjab on Saturday. The FIR by the Counter-Terrorism Department of Punjab police has been lodged on the basis of information provided by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval that four attackers crossed from Pakistan into India and attacked the airbase. The attack led to the postponement of a scheduled meeting between Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and India in January in Islamabad. Since then, no date has been fixed for the talks. Aziz said the Indian participation in the Heart of Asia Conference in Islamabad last December and announcement to start the Comprehensive Dialogue were positive developments that augur well for peace and stability in South Asia. "Prime Minister Modi's visit to Islamabad was welcomed by most in Pakistan. Here, I would like to express our gratitude to you and President (Barack) Obama for your consistent support to the revival of Pakistan-India Dialogue," Aziz said in his opening remarks, which was open to the press. Aziz said instead of being viewed through lenses borrowed from East or West, Pakistan must be afforded its own strategic space. "We believe we have earned this over a history of result-oriented relationship," he claimed. The Pakistani Government, he stressed, is committed to act against all types of terrorist groups. "Our strategy to eliminate the terrorist networks and defeat their extremist ideology is all-encompassing. We are focusing on three fronts that include both kinetic and non-kinetic actions," he said. The terror attack on Pathankot airbase in January was carried out by Pakistan's 'non-state actors' who operate with support of the Pakistani establishment, the government suggested in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. 'The complete details will come out in the National Investigation Agency's probe. But in this, non-state actors from Pakistan are surely involved. This is for sure. Any non-state actors there, they cannot function smoothly without full state support,' Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. He was responding to a question by Shiv Sena member Sanjay Raut who wanted to know whether it was merely a terror attack or an armed operation carried out with the support of Pakistani army. Replying to supplementary questions, Parrikar said intelligence had been received about the possible attack indicating Pathankot Army installations as suspected targets. Following the attack, steps are underway to ensure that vital defence installations in the country are secure. 'We have now done a security audit in addition to the normal security and are in the process of ensuring that all Army installations will be properly secured,' he said. Asked if the airbase would be shifted from Pathankot in Punjab as it is perilously close to the border, Parrikar ruled it out. 'A lot of investment has been carried out in Pathankot and it will be very costly to shift the airbase. But we have other bases which we have created,' the defence minister said. 'Other bases are strategically located within the country, much inside the border, but Pathankot is also equally important because it is closer to the enemy border,' he said. Parrikar refused to share further details about the attack, saying the NIA is already investigating the matter. 'Further details about the incident cannot be given till the investigation is complete,' he said. In a written reply, the minister said 'the government has constituted a committee under the chairmanship of a former vice chief of army staff to, inter alia, suggest measures to strengthen security of various military establishments across the country'. He said, 'The committee appointed is to ensure that defence establishment security audit and any lack of security aspects and to further improve the security aspects and to give suggestions on that.' He said in his written reply that a group of terrorists attacked the Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab, in the intervening night of January 2 and 3, 2016 and a joint operation by the Army, Air Force and National Security Guard was conducted to neutralise the terrorist attack. 'The terrorists were confined to non-residential and non-operational area of the base. Thereby, they were successfully prevented from damaging the strategic assets of the Indian Air Force,' he said. Image: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar speaks in Parliament during the Budget session. Photograph: PTI Photo People raise their hands next the ambulance carrying the body of Mumtaz Qadri during his funeral in Liaqat Bagh in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Photographs: Faisal Mahmood/Reuters Tens of thousands of Islamist supporters of Mumtaz Qadri chanting provocative slogans on Tuesday attended his funeral, a day after the ex-police commando was executed for killing liberal Punjab governor Salman Taseer who sought reforms in Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law. "Qadri, your blood will bring the revolution" and "The punishment for a blasphemer is beheading" were heard as supporters of Qadri threw flowers at the casket and flocked the historic Liaquat Bagh ground in the heart of Rawalpindi. While a police official said that over 15,000 people were present inside the sprawling ground in the garrison city, private estimate put the number of those attending the funeral nearly 1,00,000. The roads to Liaquat Bagh were blocked off but thousands arrived on foot. Roads around government buildings, the Parliament and diplomatic compounds were also closed. Supporters of Mumtaz Qadri shower rose pastels on an ambulance carrying the body of Qadri for funeral in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The gathering was peaceful as the ambulance carrying the body inched through the sea of supporters to the burial site at Qadri's ancestral village near Bhara Kahu in suburbs of Islamabad. Pakistan remained on high alert as security personnel were deployed at all main junctions and sensitive areas in the capital and the adjacent Rawalpindi to avoid any untoward incident as some supporters were also seen carrying sticks. "Special measures have been taken to check any untoward incident," an interior ministry official said. Fearing violence by Qadri's supporters, most of the private schools in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been closed for a second day. Former police commando Qadri, who shot Taseer 28 times in broad daylight in an upmarket locality of Islamabad in 2011, was hanged in Adialia jail in Rawalpindi on Monday. His execution triggered protests by thousands of Islamists who called it a "black day". Within hours of the hanging, street protests broke out in several cities by the supporters of Qadri, who considered him as a hero for defending the faith. The supporters blocked roads and forced many shopkeepers to close down their stores. The biggest protest was held in Karachi with around 8,000 people taking to the streets. After the execution, Qadri's body was handed over to his family living in Sadiqabad area of Rawalpindi where hundreds of his supporters belonging to radical religious groups gathered to mourn his death. Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often triggering mob violence. The controversial law was introduced by former military dictator Zia-ul Haq in 1980s and so far hundreds of people have been charged under it. Image: Supporters of Mumtaz Qadri shower rose pastels on an ambulance carrying the body of Qadri for funeral in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Photograph: Faisal Mahmood/reuters As electoral sails shift in the dynamic political winds of West Bengal, two factors may still change the electoral equations are how the BJP fares this time and how Muslims are going to vote. Mayank Mishra reports. A supporter of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shows off her loyalty. Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri/ Reuters With the central committee of the Communist Party of India-Marxist deciding to join hands with "democratic forces", the decks have been cleared for the CPI-M-led Left Front to have some sort of an understanding with the Congress to take on Mamata Banerjee's All India Trinamool Congress in the forthcoming assembly elections in West Bengal. Only a few days ago, the state committee of the CPI-M had taken a decision with an overwhelming majority to have an alliance with the Congress. Only 11 of the 73-member state committee had opposed the move to have such an alliance. While a formal response from the Congress is awaited, there are indications that the two political groups may just stop short of formal alliance but may go in for what is known as the Siliguri model. In local body elections in Siliguri last year, Congress and Left workers had worked in tandem and registered a win. From then on, state unit leaders of the Left and the Congress have been openly advocating the use of the same model in the assembly elections too. What has brought the two erstwhile foes to come together now? The magic of numbers perhaps, and the fear of further isolation if the two political groups contest separately against the powerful AITC. "What is important to note that in the last two elections -- 2011 assembly and 2014 Lok Sabha -- there is very little change in the vote share of the Congress. It has been slightly under 10 per cent both the times. If it gets added to any of the two groups -- the Left or the AITC -- it makes a lot of difference," says Kolkata-based political analyst Rajat Roy. Vote share numbers are indeed compelling. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Left Front could win just two seats with a vote share of almost 30 per cent. Assembly constituencies wise, the Front led in only 28 segments. The Congress, with a vote of little under 10 per cent, also led in 28 assembly segments. The combined vote share of the two come close to the Trinamool's vote share of 39 per cent in the same elections. With a vote share of nearly 40 per cent, the Trinamool led in as many as 216 of the total 294 assembly segments in the state. In the 2011 assembly elections, the Congress and the Trinamool contested together and won a staggering 227 seats with a combined vote share of 48 per cent. The Left could win just 62 seats with 41 per cent votes. "With some understanding between the Congress and the Left, the entire dynamics may change," argues Roy. Analysts argue that once the alliance is in place, it may open up several possibilities. One, there is likely to be consolidation of anti-AITC votes. Two, a chunk of anti-AITC votes that may have gone to the Bharatiya Janata Party as both the Left and Congress separately were perceived to be no match for the Trinamool in the Lok Sabha elections is likely to come back to the Left-Congress fold. "With the index of opposition going up, it will put the ruling party in a tight spot. The Congress-Left combine will certainly improve its performance in urban areas and may attract some young voters," argues Rabindra Bharati University's Sabyasachi Basu Roy Chaudhury. What can, however, spoil the prospect of the coming together of the erstwhile foes is the deep division among their core bases. "For generations of voters, the Congress and the Left have always been in opposite camps. It will be very hard for them to reconcile their differences now. And it raises doubts about the transfer of votes from either side," observes Roy Chaudhury. The two factors that may still change political equations are how the BJP fares this time and how Muslims are going to vote, say experts. The BJP had polled just 4 per cent votes and won no seat in the 2011 assembly elections. However, just three years later, in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, its vote share touched 17 per cent and the party established lead in as many as 22 assembly segments. Experts Business Standard spoke to are of the view that the BJP is unlikely to repeat its 2014 performance. "The BJP's vote share is bound to come down this time. By how much is a matter of conjecture as there is no wave now as was the case in 2014," says a Kolkata-based political observer. He requested not to be named. Another major factor is how the Muslims will end up voting. According to the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies survey, the erosion of Left's support base among Muslims started in 2009 Lok Sabha elections itself when it got just 36 per cent of the votes of the minority community. Since then, the Trinamool has secured more Muslim votes than the Left. What may go against the Trinamool as far as its popularity among Muslims is concerned is a recent report that says that there has been little change in the socio-economic status of Muslims since 2011. The report was prepared by two Kolkata-based research organisations, Association SNAP and Guidance Guild, in association with Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen's trust -- Pratichi India. "The report may have some impact as it has been released just a few months before the elections. It is quite likely that the Congress and Left may be able to increase its support among Muslims," observes Roy. Muslims constitute nearly 27 per cent population of West Bengal. Shiv Sena has expelled Sunil Mahadik, a local youth wing leader, after he was caught on video assaulting a vendor for allegedly not giving him free 'vada pav', a popular street-food in Mumbai. The incident took place in Vile Parle (West) area, where Mahadik is seen clearly on CCTV footage assaulting Chetan Geveriya (28), who works at Trupti Sweet and Farsan Mart on DJ Road, with a bamboo stick. A day ago, Mahadik had sent another person to the shop demanding 100 'vada pavs', a popular street-food in Mumbai, free of cost. Chetan told him that they didn't have so much stock, so the person left. The next day, Mahadik allegedly called Geveriya on his mobile phone and abused him, and said he must hand over 100 vada pavs immediately to a person he was sending. Geveriya said Mahadik should speak to the owner of the shop first. Irked, Mahadik himself went to the shop and hit Geveriya with a bamboo stick and threatened to kill him, police said. Geveriya, though not seriously injured, was taken to Cooper hospital in Juhu, police said. The incident was captured by the CCTV cameras in the shop and Juhu police registered an FIR. The footage was also aired by some local news channels. Mahadik was arrested and a local court sent him to police custody. This incident comes in the wake of another in neighbouring Thane where a Shiv Sena worker was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman traffic constable three days ago. CCTV footage of the incident had gone viral. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are set to lead two major parties in the 2016 US presidential election, according to a new poll as Americans began voting in a dozen states on "Super Tuesday" primaries. According to a CNN/ORC poll, both Republican front-runner Trump and his Democratic rival Clinton were well ahead of their closest rivals who were struggling to stay in the race. Trump has expanded his lead over the diminished field to capture the support of nearly half of Republican voters, while Clinton tops Bernie Sanders by nearly 20 points on the Democrat votes. On the Republican side, the new survey finds Trump's lead is dominant, and his support tops that of his four remaining opponents combined. The 69-year-old real estate tycoon tops his nearest competitor by more than 30 points: 49 per cent back Trump, 16 per cent Marco Rubio, 15 per cent Ted Cruz, 10 per cent Ben Carson and 6 per cent John Kasich. Trump's supporters are incredibly enthusiastic about the coming election, and largely committed in their support for him. Nearly 8 in 10 say that they are more enthusiastic about voting this year than in previous elections. Likewise, 78 per cent of Trump's backers say they will definitely support him versus 22 per cent who say they could still change their minds. The survey asked those Republicans not currently backing Trump whether they would support him if he became the party's nominee, and just a quarter of Republicans overall say they probably or definitely wouldn't support him in November. That is about the same as the share saying they would not back Rubio or Cruz, CNN reported. Trump is widely viewed as the candidate in the field who would be most effective at solving the country's problems, 51 per cent vs. 17 per cent for Cruz, 13 per cent for Rubio and 10 per cent for Carson. As accusations of dishonesty have flown between Trump, Cruz and Rubio, voters say they are more apt to see Trump as honest and trustworthy. Asked who of the five candidates is most honest and trustworthy, 35 per cent name Trump, 22 per cent Carson, 14 per cent Cruz and 13 per cent Rubio. The 'Super Tuesday' on March 1 is the biggest day of the 2016 US presidential primary primary season, with 12 states and one territory participating: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming and American Samoa. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton tops Bernie Sanders 55 per cent to 38 per cent in the new poll, a slightly wider margin than she held in late January before any primaries or caucuses were held, the report said. There are sharper demographic splits among the Democratic electorate than on the Republican side. Men, younger voters, independents and liberals are all about evenly split between 68-year-old Clinton and Sanders, while Clinton's lead rests on large advantages among women, older voters, Democrats and moderates, the report said. Democrats are more apt than Republicans to say they would support either of the remaining top candidates should they become the nominee. Just 15 per cent each say they would not back Clinton or Sanders. Clinton tops Sanders handily as the candidate who would be more effective at solving the country's problems and can better handle the responsibilities of being commander-in- chief, but Sanders fares better than Clinton on honesty, 59 per cent say he is more honest and trustworthy vs. 36 per cent who say Clinton is. Overall, voters are split on whether Clinton or Sanders better understands the problems facing people like you, 49 per cent say Clinton, 48 per cent Sanders. The CNN/ORC Poll was conducted by telephone February 24- 27 among a random national sample of 1,001 adults. Results for the 418 registered voters who are Democrats and Democratic- leaning independents have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. It is the same for results among the 427 Republican and Republican-leaning voters, the report said. Image: A woman (left) receives instructions before she votes in Super Tuesday elections at the Wilson School in Arlington, Virginia. Photograph: Gary Cameron/ReutersA woman (left) receives instructions before she votes in Super Tuesday elections at the Wilson School in Arlington, Virginia. Photograph: Gary Cameron/Reuters The Patna High Court on Tuesday sought a response from the defence ministry over reports on the Indian Army making candidates take a written exam in their underwear in Bihar to prevent them from cheating. The court will hear the case next on April 3. According to a report in The Indian Express, over 1,150 candidates aspiring to join the Army were dressed only in their underwear, sitting on an open ground in Muzaffarpur on Sunday. These included candidates hoping to make it as soldiers on general duty, clerical and technical roles. The candidates, which included around 775 candidates appearing for the general duty category, 211 candidates in clerical and 173 candidates in technical category, were not even provided with a desk to write the hour-long exam. The candidates later told media persons that they were shocked when the Army authorities instructed them to take off their clothes and give the exam in their underwear on the field. "As we entered Chakkar Maidan, the venue, we were asked to remove all clothes except underwear. We had no option but to comply with the instructions even though it felt odd. The gap between candidates was about eight feet in all directions," The Indian Express quoted a candidate as saying. The daily quoted a senior army official as saying candidates being asked to strip was an "administrative lapse". However, justifying the move, Colonel VS Godhara of the Army Regional Office said: "I am entitled to take all precautions necessary. In the past year, there have been two instances of candidates hiding cheating slips and mobile phones in their vests and undergarments." Following the high court directive, the defence ministry has asked Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhaag to explain the matter. With inputs from M I Khan in Patna Federal authorities investigating alleged crimes committed at the states troubled youth prison are also determining whether to start a second federal investigation into whether the prison violated inmates civil rights. U.S. Attorney John Vaudreuil said Tuesday that in addition to the criminal probe headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation into alleged abuse at Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls juvenile facility in Irma, federal agents also will review evidence and interviews to see if there is a more systemic, in-place, long-running system that is violating peoples constitutional rights. In January 2015, the state Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into alleged abuse at Lincoln Hills, with allegations ranging from sexual assault to misconduct in public office. The Lincoln County District Attorney launched a John Doe probe into the allegations in October, and the FBI assumed control of the investigation earlier this year. Vaudreuil said after all evidence is reviewed by federal authorities, his office and the FBI will forward their findings to U.S. Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, who heads the U.S. DOJs civil rights division, and she will decide whether to open a civil investigation. If Gupta convenes such an investigation, the state could face a lawsuit or consent decree which would require the state to adhere to a federal plan making changes to the states system found to be violating civil rights. FBI spokesman Leonard Peace declined to comment on the investigation Tuesday. Kenneth Streit, a professor at UW-Madisons Law School, said Tuesday the investigation could be looking at whether there were violations of federal law that is intended to protect prison inmates from sexual assault. He said state corrections departments are required by federal law to develop extensive protection systems that require staff training and a way for inmates to report sexual assaults without fear of retaliation. Usually this is associated with adult prisons, where there may be inmate predators and new inmates who believe they must submit and fear retaliation by gangs if they report, he said. So it would be a little different here because its a juvenile facility. It would also be a problem for Wisconsin DOC if 1) They had failed to develop a protective system in the first place; 2) They had developed a system but it negligently malfunctioned; or 3) There were intentional directions by supervisors to not report, Streit said in an email. Streit said under federal law, there must be a state-level person responsible for ensuring that there is a system in place in each of the institutions that both notifies inmates and staff of the law/rights and also makes sure there are multiple opportunities and routes for reporting and investigating. In February, Gov. Scott Walkers office released records that showed Lincoln Hills staff in 2012 failed to take an inmate who was sexually assaulted to an emergency room until after a prison basketball game three hours after the assault took place. Officials from Racine County, where the victim was from, law enforcement or child protective services werent notified of the incident by prison officials, despite being mandated by law, according to a memo written by a Racine County Human Services case worker. Syria: UN agency restores full rations thanks to boost in donor funding Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 29 February 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Syria: UN agency restores full rations thanks to boost in donor funding, 29 February 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56d55ba240d.html [accessed 22 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. 29 February 2016 - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that new funding pledged during a conference in London earlier this month will enable the agency to fully reinstate its food assistance to Syrians. The record pledge of $675 million made during the 'Supporting Syria and the Region Conference' will support a comprehensive restoration of food assistance for refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt from March until the end of the year, WFP said in a press release today. On behalf of the Syrian people whose lives have been torn apart by the conflict, we thank those world leaders who stepped up in London. Their generosity means we are able to fully meet the immediate basic food assistance needs of 1.8 million refugees in the region and 4.5 million Syrians inside the country who rely on WFP assistance every day, said WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin. The funds will also enable WFP to provide a full food basket for families inside Syria from April until October 2016. WFP noted that the pledges will also support increased school meals and other in-kind activities in Syria that will help restore hope for a better future for the millions of people affected by the crisis. Also today, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCA) said that over the next few days, the UN and its partners plan to deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance to about 154,000 people living in besieged locations inside Syria. A number of trucks have already reached Moadimiyeh today, and deliveries are expected to Madaya, Zabadani, Kefraya and Foah and East Ghouta in the coming days, OCHA said. This assistance will include food, water and sanitation supplies, basic household items, nutrition, medicine and health supplies for people trapped in the besieged areas. The deliveries are in addition to regular operations delivering humanitarian aid to millions of Syrians every month, the agency said. The UN calls for the immediate lifting of all sieges imposed by any of the parties to the conflict in all besieged towns in Syria where close to 500,000 people are trapped, and continues to call on all parties to ensure unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access to the 4.6 million people who are in hard-to-reach or besieged locations across the country, OCHA said. Dundar and Gul to be freed soon, but still face trial Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 25 February 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Dundar and Gul to be freed soon, but still face trial, 25 February 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56d55dca411.html [accessed 22 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. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is delighted to learn that detained journalists Can Dundar and Erdem Gul should be released soon as a result of today's ruling by the Constitutional Court that their detention is illegal. The Constitutional Court, which is Turkey's highest court, ruled by 12 votes to 3 that their provisional detention violates their fundamental rights. The Istanbul court in charge of their case must now comply with this ruling and order their release. They have been held for nearly 100 days. "We hail the courage of the Constitutional Court, which has just salvaged the Turkish judicial system's reputation, and we are relieved for Can Dundar, Erdem Gul and their families," RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. "We are delighted by this development but it is just a first step, because the two journalists are still due to go on trial in a month's time. We must all continue to campaign on their behalf. We will not rest until the absurd changes against them have been dropped." In the trial scheduled to begin on 25 March, Dundar and Gul will be facing possible life sentences (without any provision for a pardon) on charges of divulging state secrets for espionage purposes, trying to overthrow the government and assisting a terrorist organization. Keep supporting them, sign the petition ! Prime Minister wages personal war against outspoken newspaper Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 26 February 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Prime Minister wages personal war against outspoken newspaper, 26 February 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56d55dee40b.html [accessed 22 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. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to stop hounding Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam over his admission on 4 February that, like many of the country's newspapers and TV stations, he published information in 2007 that seemed to implicate Hasina in corruption although it could not be verified independently. The information was provided to him and to Bangladesh's other media outlets by the military, who were in power in Bangladesh from 2007 to 2009. In a 22 February address, Hasina called on Anam to resign, blamed his editorial error for her imprisonment at the time, insinuated that his newspaper had colluded with the military and accused him of trying to sabotage the constitution during the period of military-backed rule. Taking advantage of the outspoken and critical newspaper's mistake, Hasina went on to ask the leaders of her party, the Awami League, to unanimously condemn the actions of Anam, currently the target of a campaign of harassment that is without precedent in Bangladesh. No fewer than 79 legal actions have been filed against Anam in the past three weeks in 53 districts throughout the country. Seventeen accuse him of sedition, which is punishable by three years in prison, and 62 accuse him of defamation, which carries a possible two-year sentence. More than a trillion taka (15 billion euros) in damages are being demanded by the plaintiffs, who do not include Hasina herself. "This public lynching, orchestrated by a prime minister who claims to respect democracy and media freedom in her country, is completely unacceptable," said Benjamin Ismail, the head of RSF's Asia-Pacific desk. "The law is being flouted on the pretext of seeking justice in what is just a matter of journalistic ethics. Mahfuz Anam can in no way be accused of sedition because he did not violate the constitution. And he cannot be prosecuted 72 times for the same mistake. It is time the Awami League understood that political opposition is necessary in a democracy and that suppressing critical media is a direct violation of fundamental freedoms and human rights." Anam owned up to his error during a political discussion programme on the ATN News TV station on 4 February, acknowledging that he should not have run stories based solely on information provided by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), which was running the country at the time. In his articles, Anam conceded that he had not been able to verify the authenticity of the confessions he was reporting. At the time only two publications, the daily New Age and the online newspaper bdnews24, refused to run stories based on the information. The English-language Daily Star and its sister newspaper Prothom Alo (the leading Bengali-language daily) provide critical coverage of all the various branches of government in Bangladesh. The country's biggest companies, including mobile phone operations such Grameenphone, have been forbidden to advertise in either of these two independent newspapers for the past six months. The ban, issued by the DGFI on 16 August 2015, the day after the Daily Star ran a story about crimes newly committed by the military in the eastern division of Chittagong, has resulted in an approximately 30 percent loss in revenue for the newspapers. No Bangladeshi media outlets have reported the existence of this illegal and discriminatory order, which is designed to throttle the two newspapers economically. Bangladesh is ranked 146th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2015 World Press Freedom Index. Photo newsnetbd.com Are indigenous Filipinos being murdered for anti-mine activism? Publisher IRIN Author Lennart Hofman Publication Date 26 February 2016 Cite as IRIN, Are indigenous Filipinos being murdered for anti-mine activism?, 26 February 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56d55e9c4.html [accessed 22 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. Kailo Bontulan sat in front of a cluster of thatched bamboo huts next to a humble Protestant church in Davao, a city on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. About 700 members of his indigenous community fled there almost a year ago following deadly attacks by paramilitary groups. "In the camp I feel safe. The army can't abduct me that easy, like back home where I can disappear without a trace," said the community leader. "Here we are together and strong, and able to tell the world what is done to us by the army." Bontulan spoke too soon. Weeks later, on 24 February, unidentified men set the makeshift camp on fire, burning two buildings to the ground and injuring five people. The United Church of Christ in the Philippines said in a statement that Lumads, a collective term for the numerous indigenous peoples of Mindanao, continued to be harassed even after fleeing their villages. In December, the displaced community camping around the church received threats that their temporary dwellings would be burned down. "The threats have been executed, and, once again, the Lumads have been harmed," the church said. The Lumads find themselves caught in the middle of a violent struggle between an array of armed groups. The Philippine Army is battling the New People's Army, which has waged a Maoist guerrilla struggle since 1969. The government army has allegedly drawn on indigenous communities to form paramilitary groups, which are accused of some of the worst abuses. Paramilitary links After a 1 September attack allegedly committed by the Magahat-Bagani paramilitary group that killed three indigenous leaders in the town of Lianga in Surigao del Sur, the province's outspoken governor Johnny Pimentel said in a statement: "The military created a monster." The UN special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Chaloka Beyani, has expressed concern about links between the army and paramilitaries. The Philippine human rights group Karapatan says it has documented the relationship between the military and the Alamara, another Mindanao paramilitary group, going back to 2002. Military officials routinely deny such allegations. But the circumstantial evidence is so strong that former justice secretary Leila de Lima announced last September an investigation into violence against Lumads and promised to probe the role of "paramilitary groups", which are by definition connected to the army. Since that statement, however, the ministry has released no further information about the investigation, and de Lima was replaced in January. Officials at the Justice Ministry did not respond to phone calls or emails. Mining violence There is an economic element to the plight of Mindanao's indigenous peoples. The area is rich in minerals and the province of Surigao del Sur has been designated by the government as the "mining capital of the Philippines", Human Rights Watch has noted. After Wednesday's arson attack, the church said: "The Lumads live in mineral rich areas coveted by foreign mining companies. There is massive militarisation in these areas to protect foreign mining interests." It is a common enough allegation, but it's hard to prove a direct connection between the individual acts of violence and mining interests. However, anti-mining activists like Bontulan often receive death threats from members of the military. "They told a family member they would skin me alive if they ever saw me again in the village," he told IRIN. Bontulan takes the warning seriously. Targeted killings are common in Mindanao, and although the assailants are rarely prosecuted, the victims are disproportionately Lumads and often involved in anti-mining activities. On 9 February, two Lumads were killed and others wounded in Compostela Valley Province, where the Compostela Farmers Association has opposed mining. The human rights group Karapatan said one of the victims killed by an unknown assailant was the sister of a CFA activist, while the second person was killed when the army bombarded the village of Sitio Diat. Local media quoted an army spokesman saying the bombardment occurred during a battle with the NPA, but Karapatan denied that NPA elements were in the area at the time and accused the army of indiscriminately bombing the village. IRIN requested comment from the army on this incident and its alleged support for paramilitaries, but a spokesman did not reply before publication. Karapatan also documented the extrajudicial killings of four people in Compostela Valley and Davao del Sur provinces in January. Despite the continuous attacks, indigenous leaders say they will not be driven from their lands. Sabello "Tatay Bello" Tindasan, a CFA member, fled to Davao after a soldier shot at his son-in-law in November but missed. That followed a hail of bullets on his home from a nearby army base after he participated in a roadblock last June to prevent a mining company from bringing heavy equipment into the area. In January, Tindasan decided to return home despite the risks. Standing by his house, which is still pockmarked by gunfire, he told IRIN: "This is my ancestral land. It belonged to my father and it will belong to my son. I have no other choice than to stay and defend it." Will probe of "executions" at Afghan clinic bring justice? Publisher IRIN Author Jared Ferrie Publication Date 25 February 2016 Cite as IRIN, Will probe of "executions" at Afghan clinic bring justice?, 25 February 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56d560134.html [accessed 22 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 day after the UN's first airdrop into Syria, the World Food Programme said that only four of the 21 aid pallets it dropped into the besieged city of Deir Ezzor had made it to their intended destination, and even those packages were damaged because of failed parachutes. In an emailed statement to IRIN Thursday, the WFP told IRIN that 10 of the 21 food pallets "drifted away and are so far unaccounted for." Four more pallets landed "in or around the drop zone and were damaged as the parachutes did not open properly and seven more pallets cannot be reached." On Wednesday, UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien told the UN Security council that the WFP had carried out a successful airdrop into Deir Ezzor - where some 200,000 people live under siege in the government held city that is surrounded by the Islamic State. But soon after O'Brien's comments, the WFP announced there had been "technical difficulties" and activists from the city told IRIN the containers had been damaged or were unreachable. Wednesday's airdrop was done at a high altitude for such an operation, as the WFP highlighted in its comments to IRIN: "The aircraft crew is highly experienced and have done numerous airdrops before but this was their first high altitude airdrop in Syria (at a height of 7,000 metres) and this operation is not without risk." Until recent talks led by the US and Russia, aimed at a partial ceasefire and better humanitarian access, aid organisations had effectively ruled them out because aid drops, even at low altitude, are notoriously difficult to carry out. But Russia has been dropping aid to regime-controlled areas of Deir Ezzor, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces use planes to get aid where they want it to go. The UN food agency stressed the difficulty of airdrops. "WFP knew this would be a challenging operation," it said, adding that it will "try again when possible to deliver assistance to those in desperate need in Deir Ezzor city. We are disappointed that people who were anxiously waiting to receive this food did not receive it." Airdrops are always a last option, they said, as land access is easier and less costly. But that access has not always been forthcoming - the UN has said that only 10 percent of its requests to bring aid convoys into hard-to-reach or besieged areas were successful in 2015. Some besieged areas have seen an uptick in aid as part of 12 February agreement by the International Syria Support Group earlier this month that was also meant to lead to a "cessation in hostilities." The WFP said yesterday's drop was enough to feed 2,500 people for one month, and contained vegetable oil, lentils, rice and salt. "As humanitarians we must use every opportunity to reach hungry people in besieged and hard-to-reach areas in Syria," the WFP said. "This is a desperate measure in desperate times." An attorney's commentary on trending news, politics, and culture. BOLD: Female Arab journalist asks, 'What if Christians were suicide bombers?' 29 February, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , | DOHA, Qatar (Christian Examiner) A female Arab journalist who lives in Qatar has penned a bold article that asks Muslims in the Middle East how they would respond if Christian suicide bombers struck their public markets, collapsed their tall buildings or tried to force Muslims to convert to Christianity. Liberal Saudi journalist Nadine Al-Budair writes in Kuwait's Al-Rai newspaper that Arab countries have refused to address the problem of terrorism and have yet to create a climate that matches the liberal, humanitarian climate of the West. She asked Muslims to consider what their world would be like if Christians the world over had responded to Muslims the way terrorists have spread radical Islam. "Imagine a Western youth coming here and carrying out a suicide mission in one of our public squares in the name of the Cross. Imagine that two skyscrapers had collapsed in some Arab capital, and that an extremist Christian group, donning millennium-old garb, had emerged to take responsibility for the event, while stressing its determination to revive Christian teachings or some Christian rulings, according to its understanding, to live like in the time [of Jesus] and his disciples, and to implement certain edicts of Christian scholars," Al-Budair writes in a translation of the editorial provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). Al-Budair asks her readers to imagine Christian priests calling Muslims infidels over loudspeakers and chanting that God has demanded their deaths. She also writes they should also consider what would happen if Arab countries had provided Westerners with entry visas, benefits, modern healthcare only to have them turn on their hosts to kill them in the name of religion likely a reference to the San Bernardino attacks carried out in December 2015. "These images are far from the mind of the Arab or Muslim terrorist because he is certain, or used to be certain, that the West is humanitarian and that the Western citizen would refuse to respond [in this manner] to the barbaric crimes [of the Muslim terrorists]," Al-Budair writes. "Despite the terrorist acts of Al-Qaeda and ISIS, we [Muslims] have been on [Western] soil for years without any fear or worry. Millions of Muslim tourists, immigrants, students, and job seekers [travel to the West] with the doors open [to them], and the streets safe [for them]." She writes, however, that tolerance for Muslims is fading in the West because Muslims refuse to confront the problem of Islamic extremism. As evidence of this, she points to the presidential campaign of New York billionaire Donald Trump, who in a "scary declaration," she writes, "demanded to bar Muslims from entering the U.S." Al-Budair wrote that Muslims do not have the right to condemn statements like those made by Trump without addressing the failures of Arab educational systems which teach jihad and hatred of the West in madrassas (Islamic schools) around the world. Al-Budair claims Muslim nations should apologize to the rest of the world. Much of what she said about education in the Middle East was voiced a year ago by Jordan's Queen Rania in addressing the United Arab Emirages UAE Government Summit in Dubai. Al-Budair isn't confident, however, that anyone will heed her call for tolerance. "After all these farces, some Arab analyst comes out touting a pathetic message, and reciting the same words in his friend's ear that he has repeated millions of times: 'Those [Muslims who commit terrorism] do not represent Islam, but only themselves.' "This is all we [know how to do] absolve [ourselves] of guilt," she wrote. Al-Budair, who describes herself, as a feminist, last year encouraged Muslim women to flee their "benighted countries" for the safety, security and opportunity of the West. Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain. Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred. For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here. What you need to know about Powerball and the $580 million jackpot One of the Most Creative Christian Rock Releases of the Last 20 Years CANONSBURG, Penn., March 1, 2016 / Many will connect with this album not realizing they were just exposed to a "concept album." That wasn't by design, but as God usually has it, things elevate when it's for Him. It is our hope that the music given from above can be used to share the message of the gospel with those in your circle that may "gag" or hold less than honorable opinions of the current CCM cookie cutter offerings. The explosive growth in vinyl sales tells us that people are desiring a more tactile and tangible experience with how they interact with music. This is the reason why we invested ourselves into offering the accompanying over sized 16 page booklet. The music offers a modernly classic vibe that while still creative in it's approach providing something new and fresh, also delivers that recognizable and timeless feel. Even if someone doesn't have a turntable, the 16 page booklet can be purchased with the CD or individually. Everything will be shipping by the end of April and all pre-orders will receive the Bluesyndrome3 album download (mp3's) for free. All vinyl purchases (pre & post release) will receive the Bluesyndrome3 CD for free. The vinyl release will be issued on "Transparent" see through vinyl. This symbolizes how our hearts and souls need to be open, unguarded and available not only to each other but more importantly to our Lord. Our call to action is simple... help us get this album into as many hands as possible. Follow the link below to be directed to the artist page to watch the video that will take you through the booklet as well as introduce you to the music. To learn more, hear more and to order go to Thanks in advance & God bless. Share Tweet Contact: Rob Perez, 412-737-6812CANONSBURG, Penn., March 1, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Trinity Records is extremely excited to announce the forth coming April 10th release of M.A.P.'s first album titled "From Where We Are, To Where We Will Be. The last year and a half has been well worth the time and prayerful effort. We're confident the music contained on this album will offer a unique message and perspective to those who may still be seeking and searching for those truths in Jesus Christ that many of us Christians take for granted as common knowledge. The large 16 page full color booklet chronicles the path taken by "The Traveler," a seeker who comes to grip with the reality that what the bible says about Jesus is true. The written story line uniquely accompanies and flows with the lyrics and the visuals for each song brings the story to life. Musically it's accessible while still maintaining progressively creative arrangements giving the music an opportunity to connect with a wide audience.Many will connect with this album not realizing they were just exposed to a "concept album." That wasn't by design, but as God usually has it, things elevate when it's for Him. It is our hope that the music given from above can be used to share the message of the gospel with those in your circle that may "gag" or hold less than honorable opinions of the current CCM cookie cutter offerings.The explosive growth in vinyl sales tells us that people are desiring a more tactile and tangible experience with how they interact with music. This is the reason why we invested ourselves into offering the accompanying over sized 16 page booklet. The music offers a modernly classic vibe that while still creative in it's approach providing something new and fresh, also delivers that recognizable and timeless feel.Even if someone doesn't have a turntable, the 16 page booklet can be purchased with the CD or individually. Everything will be shipping by the end of April and all pre-orders will receive the Bluesyndrome3 album download (mp3's) for free. All vinyl purchases (pre & post release) will receive the Bluesyndrome3 CD for free.The vinyl release will be issued on "Transparent" see through vinyl. This symbolizes how our hearts and souls need to be open, unguarded and available not only to each other but more importantly to our Lord.Our call to action is simple... help us get this album into as many hands as possible.Follow the link below to be directed to the artist page to watch the video that will take you through the booklet as well as introduce you to the music.To learn more, hear more and to order go to TrinityRecords.net Thanks in advance & God bless. Coach Valentine's legacy honored with park rededication Friday Under new policies adopted in December by the city's parks board, the name change will stand for at least 50 years. TUESDAY Alzheimer's program The Alzheimer's Association North Central Texas Chapter will present "The Basics: Memory Loss, Dementia & Alzheimer's Disease" from 2-4 p.m. at its office, 301 S. Pioneer Drive, Suite 105. Admission is free, but seating will be limited. For reservations, call 325-672-2907 or 800-272-3900. Comptroller workshop The Texas Tech Small Business Development Center Abilene will conduct a Texas Comptroller Workshop from 6-8 p.m. in the Texas Tech Training Center, 749 Gateway St., Suite 301. To make a reservation, call 325-670-0300. Texas Exes celebration The Texas Exes Abilene Chapter will present its annual Texas Independence Day Celebration and Scholarship Program at 5:45 p.m. at the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature, 102 Cedar St. A reception with appetizers will be 5:45-6:30 p.m., followed by a presentation by Dr. Linda Hicke, dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Molecular Biology at the University of Texas at Austin, on "Texas Science in the 21st Century." Admission is $20 for the reception and presentation, or $10 for the presentation only. Proceeds will go toward scholarships. Students and military will be admitted free with ID. For reservations, contact utexes.abilene@gmail.com. Square dance workshop TYE The Wagon Wheel Squares will conduct a square dancing workshop at 6:30 p.m. at the Wagon Wheel. Gospel concert A gospel concert featuring Greater Vision will begin at 7 p.m. at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church, 701 Pioneer Drive. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Admission is free, but an offering will be taken. Other ... Blood drive, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital, 200 E. Arizona Ave., Sweetwater. Veterans benefit meeting, 10 a.m. to noon, Disabled American Veterans, 2555 Grape St. 325-793-9699 or 325-480-6175. Mission on the Move Soup Kitchen, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Southwest Drive Community United Methodist Church, 3025 Southwest Dr. Abilene Southwest Rotary Club, noon, Beehive Restaurant, 442 Cedar St. High Noon Al-Anon, noon, Southern Hills Church of Christ, 3666 Buffalo Gap Road (south end; follow the yellow signs). Stroke/Aphasia Recovery Program support group, 1:30-2:30 p.m. West Texas Rehabilitation Center boardroom, 4601 Hartford St. 325-793-3535. Betty Hardwick Center board of trustees, 5:15 p.m., Betty Hardwick Center, 2616 S. Clack St., Suite 150. Dystonia Support Group, 5:15-6:15 p.m., Not Without Us, 3301 N. First St. Suite 117. Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS), 5:30 p.m., Brook Hollow Christian Church, 2310 S. Willis St. 325-232-7444. Legacies Al-Anon Family Group, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Open Door Building, 3157 Russell Ave. 325-280-7584. Dining For Women Abilene Chapter, 6 p.m., First Christian Church, 1420 N. Third St. Family (of Mental Health Consumers) Support Group, 6-7 p.m., Mental Health Association in Abilene, 333 Orange St. 325-673-2300. MHAA Bipolar/Depression Peer Support Group, 6-8 p.m., Ministry of Counseling & Enrichment, 1502 N. First St. 325-673-2300. Free certified nurturing parent class (pregnancy to toddler), 6-8 p.m., Mission Church, North Third and Mockingbird streets. 325-672-9398. Abilene Star Chorus, 6:15 p.m., First Baptist Church, 1333 N. Third St. 325-829-1470. Overeaters Anonymous, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Exodus Metropolitan Community Church, 1933 S. 27th St. Al-Anon Parents Group, 7 p.m., Hillcrest Church of Christ, 650 E. Ambler Ave. Use Church Street entrance. Al-Anon, 7 p.m., Doug Meinzer Activity Center, Knox City. 940-658-3926. Abilene Society of Model Railroaders, 7-8:30 p.m., 2043 N. Second St. Parents, Family, Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) of the Big Country, 7-9 p.m., Unity Church, 2842 Barrow St. 325-232-4726, www.pflagbc.weebly.com. Unity Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, 8 p.m., Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, 602 Meander St. WEDNESDAY Free tax assistance The AARP will offer free assistance in preparing income tax forms for low- and middle-income taxpayers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Abilene Public Library, 202 Cedar St. Doors will open at 9 a.m. Space is limited, and help will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis. Texas Independence Day celebration MERKEL A Texas Independence Day celebration will be presented from 4-7 p.m. at the Merkel Museum, at Exit 269 on the South I-20 Frontage Road. A barbecue sandwich supper will be served for $8, and live music will be featured. Other ... Overeaters Anonymous, 8 a.m., Hinds Square Building, Room 112, 100 Chestnut St. Blood drive, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Abilene Christian University, McGlothlin Campus Center. Abilene Cactus Lions Club, 11:45 a.m., Cotton Patch Cafe, 3302 S. Clack St. Abilene Wednesday Rotary Club, noon, Abilene Country Club, 4039 S. Treadaway. $12 for lunch. Jo Ann Wilson, 325-677-6815. Kiwanis Club of Abilene, noon, Abilene Country Club, 4039 S. Treadaway Blvd. Clearly Speaking Toastmaster Club, noon, Westgate Church of Christ, 402 S. Pioneer Drive. 325-795-5570. Free swim class for people with multiple sclerosis, 5:30 p.m., YMCA, 3250 State St. Veterans Peer Support Group, 6 p.m., 765 Orange St. 325-670-4818. Mid-week Al-Anon Family Group, 6-7 p.m., Open Door Building, 3157 Russell Ave. 325-698-4995. Advanced Square Dancing, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Wagon Wheel. Al-Anon, 7 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 1501 N. Broadway, Ballinger. 817-689-2810 or 325-977-1007. DivorceCare support group, 7 p.m., Hillcrest Church of Christ, 650 E. Ambler Ave. 325-691-4200. THURSDAY Free tax assistance The AARP will offer free assistance in preparing income tax forms for low- and middle-income taxpayers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Abilene Public Library, 202 Cedar St. Doors will open at 9 a.m. Space is limited, and help will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis. 'Nickel and Dimed' A production of "Nickel and Dimed" will be presented at 7:30 p.m. in Culp Theatre at Abilene Christian University. Tickets are $15. For tickets, or for more information, go to www.acu.edu/theatre. Other ... Veterans Association Club, 10 a.m., Rose Park Senior Citizens Center (in Rose Park, South Seventh and Barrow streets). Blood drive, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Westbrook High School. Chronic Pain and Depression Group, 11 a.m. to noon, Mental Health Association of Abilene, 333 Orange St., 325-673-2300. Abilene Founder Lions Club, 11:30 a.m., Al's Mesquite Grill, 4801 Buffalo Gap Road. Kiwanis Club of Greater Abilene, noon, Beehive Restaurant, 442 Cedar St. 325-695-0092. Retired Military Wives Club business meeting, 1 p.m., Rose Park Senior Activity Center, 2625 South Seventh St. 325-677-9656 or 325-793-1490. Mental Illness Open Support Group, 1-2 p.m., Mental Health Association of Abilene, 333 Orange St. 325-673-2300. Abilene 42 Club, 6 p.m., Rose Park Senior Center. Teen Recovery Group, 6-7 p.m., Mission Abilene, 3001 N. Third St. Free certified nurturing parent class (all ages), 6-8 p.m., Mission Church, North Third and Mockingbird streets. 325-672-9398. Take Off Pounds Sensibly, 6:30 p.m. Brook Hollow Christian Church. Weigh-in begins at 5:30 p.m. 325-665-5052. Free swim class for people with multiple sclerosis, 6:30 p.m., YMCA, 3250 State St. Gambler's Anonymous, 6:30 p.m., Unity Spiritual Living Center, 2842 Barrow St. 325-338-2575. Round Dancing, 7 p.m., Wagon Wheel. 325-829-1517. Old Town Abilene Neighborhood Association, 7 p.m., Shining Star Baptist Church, 302 Palm St. 325-676-4068. Big Country Audubon Society, 7 p.m., Rose Park Senior Citizens Center. Key City Coin Club, 7 p.m., Rose Park Senior Citizens Center, Room B. 325-675-0266. American Legion Post and Auxiliary 661 meeting, 7 p.m., Lueders Legion Hall, Highway 6, Lueders. South Pioneer Al-Anon Group, 8 p.m., 3157 Russell Ave. Unity Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, 8 p.m., Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, 602 Meander St. FRIDAY Rummage sale ASPERMONT A rummage sale will begin at 9 a.m. at the Stonewall County Senior Citizens Center Proceeds will go to center operations. Free tax assistance The AARP will offer free assistance in preparing income tax forms for low- and middle-income taxpayers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mockingbird Branch of the Abilene Public Library, 1214 N. Mockingbird Lane. Doors will open at 9 a.m. Space is limited, and help will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis. Daddy and daughter ball The Crown & Gown Daddy Daughter Ball will be presented from 6-9 p.m. in the Hunter Welcome Center at Abilene Christian University. Tickets are $50 per couple, and $20 for each additional child. For tickets, or for more information, go to www.queenbroyalevents.com. 'Nickel and Dimed' A production of "Nickel and Dimed" will be presented at 7:30 p.m. in Culp Theatre at Abilene Christian University. Tickets are $15. For tickets, or for more information, go to www.acu.edu/theatre. Other ... Blood drive, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Walmart, 1650 Highway 351. Overeaters Anonymous, noon, Hinds Square Building, 100 Chestnut St., Room 112. Abilene Chinese Corner, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Abilene Christian University library. lld09a@acu.edu. Mid-City Al-Anon, 7 p.m., First Christian Church. 325-670-4304. "There's no accounting for taste" is based on an ancient Latin cliche that argues personal preferences are just that personal. Opinion occasionally defies explanation. Taste is what it is. Given the amount of media devoted to food websites, books, magazines, cable channels, blogs and even newspaper articles obviously a lot can be written to describe taste. But sometimes, the reasons some dishes are a success are as inexplicable as why two people fall in love. The success of Beef Birmingham as a comfort food given some of its seemingly incongruous ingredients is hard to explain. I saw the recipe by Mrs. Wallis M. Paul (Jo) in the 1978 "Flavors" cookbook by the Junior League of San Antonio. I wondered if the hearty entree of thin beef strips simmered in a stock with garlic, onions, celery, peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar and mushrooms was a regional dish in Alabama. A Google search did not reveal such a reputation in the Roll Tide state. But the sauce intrigued me. Were those ingredients going to play well together? The answer is yes. They blend harmoniously like a choir holding one chord simultaneously. In consistency and color, the dish reminded me of Beef Stroganoff, with peanut butter replacing the sour cream and soy sauce subbing for Worcestershire sauce. So, for anyone who is dairy intolerant but can down goobers just fine, Beef Birmingham is a nice alternative. I thought the dish was a little bland, so I boosted the flavor with salt, pepper and cayenne. I also suggest fresh mushrooms instead of canned. The directions have been updated too. BEEF BIRMINGHAM Ingredients 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup onion, sliced 1 cup celery, diced 1 clove garlic, minced 1 pound round steak or sirloin tip, cut into thin strips 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon sugar Salt, pepper and cayenne, to taste 1 cup beef stock 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced Optional Chopped peanuts and sliced green onions Directions 1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery and saute for about 2-3 minutes, or until translucent. Add garlic and saute 1 more minute. 2. Add beef and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. 3. In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, soy sauce and sugar. Stir into meat. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne. 4. Stir in beef stock and mushrooms and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 1 hour, or until meat is tender. Add additional liquid during cooking if necessary. Before serving, taste and adjust seasonings. 5. Serve over cooked rice or egg noodles. Top with chopped peanuts and sliced green onions. IN PRAISE OF THE ONION Onions usually are relegated to a supporting role in many dishes, but they also warrant more attention on occasion. The following recipe for Baked Onion is from Mrs. Howard Hasting in the "Flavors" cookbook. She describes the cooked onion as a "delicious surprise to serve with steak or barbecue." I had to cook the onions about 30 minutes longer than the recommended one hour baking time. But it gives a nice sweet, spicy balance to heavy meat. The onion cooks in foil, so it would be easy to prepare them outdoors during grilling season. The original recipe recommends a white onion, but I suggest a super sweet, yellow variety, like the 1015. BAKED ONION Ingredients 1 large onion, peeled Salt and pepper to taste 1 teaspoon brown sugar 1 teaspoon juice from pickled jalapenos Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Cut onion into quarters, stopping before it is sliced all the way through. Place on a square of foil. 3. Top with remaining ingredients in order listed. Seal foil. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until a quarter of the onion can be pierced with a fork and pulled away. One onion can serve 2 to 4 people, depending on preferences. Share your own old recipes or food-related historical recollections by emailing Laura Gutschke at lgutschke@gmail.com. Police arrested John Anthony Brown, of Abilene, on Sunday on a charge of third-degree felony possession of child pornography. Brown, 65, is behind bars at the Taylor County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail. According to a court document, police identified Brown as allegedly harassing young passengers on CityLink buses. On Feb. 7, Brown reportedly went to the Law Enforcement Center in the 400 block of Pecan Street and told police that he sexually assaulted children and that he had killed a child. Detective Frank Shoemaker reportedly spoke with Brown, who allegedly said he sexually assaulted children in the United States and abroad. According to the court document, Shoemaker was unable to verify Brown's claims but did ask for permission to search the cellphone of Brown, who obliged. On Feb. 9, David Gray, an APD official, discovered what appeared to an image of two underage males engaging in sexual intercourse on Brown's phone. Chief U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis sentenced Roy Rene Andrade of Abilene Tuesday to 20 years in federal prison, after his guilty plea in December to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas announced the sentence given to the 31-year-old Andrade. According to court documents, law enforcement authorities arrested Andrade on Nov. 18, 2014, and found methamphetamine and more than $12,000 cash in his vehicle. In addition, they found 123 grams of methamphetamine and a .40-caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol in a safe in Andrade's apartment. On Jan. 21, 2014, approximately 660 grams of methamphetamine were found in a vehicle that was registered to and driven by Andrade. Last month, Andrade's co-defendants Dion Ray Wheeler, 33, and Scott Andrew Michael, 39, also of Abilene, received five years in federal prison. Each pleaded guilty in October to one count of possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine. For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser Growing up, Gina Smith spent a lot of time moving around the state of Texas. Born in Hamlin, Smith and her family moved to Plainview. Her single mother worked two jobs supporting Smith and her six siblings before the family packed up and moved to Abilene for her final year of high school. It was here where she said she found home. As fate would have it, she's now working as a teacher's aide inside the content mastery room at Abilene High, her Alma Matter. Smith said she loves seeing her students, many with developmental disabilities, do well. "It's just working with each one of the students to be successful in life," Smith said. "Every one of them is so different, their needs. Some of them are hyper. You just have to be patient with them, to help them figure out what they need and go from there." Smith didn't always picture herself working with students. Originally, she had plans to go into nursing, but she soon found out some of the details like the blood and the other bodily fluids she'd need to deal with on a daily basis simply weren't for her. That career path no longer an option, she started doing private sittings, still in the nursing field, to help her family pay the bills. Her alternative arrived in the form of substitute cafeteria monitoring at Bonham Elementary 27 years ago. She hasn't left the school district since. Eventually hired as a permanent monitor, Smith hopped schools from Bonham to Reagan Elementary and from Reagan to Lee Elementary. It was while at Lee that she eventually got the bug to once again pursue something different. Principal Andy Blessing had the perfect spot for her. Teaming Smith with Bekah Sellers, the pair spent three years working with young students and preparing them for life beyond elementary school. She made her way to Fannin Elementary for one year and then transferred to Clack Middle before making her way back to Sellers, now associate principal at Abilene High, for her current stint. Smith has always been a hard worker, a trait she picked up from her mother working two full-time jobs raising seven children. She, too, ended up with two jobs. She started working for Walmart 18 years ago as cashier, a position that evolved into customer service manager. She now serves part time, supervising cashiers and ensuring the front of the store is operating smoothly. While raising three sons, she has to deal with the untimely death of her husband, Freddie Smith, from cancer. Connie Mangin, executive director of special education at the district, was among those she relied on for support. Mangin spoke to Smith on the phone regularly, encouraged her and prayed with her. Asked to describe Smith for a recent Abilene ISD newsletter, Mangin said she "portrays treating everyone with respect in the same way you want to be respected." "She is always smiling and positive and never hesitates to help students who need encouragement to be successful," Mangin said. Twitter: @TimothyChippARN Those eye-catching signs waving in the wind along the side of the road won't matter much after the voting polls close Tuesday night. Voters have their final opportunity to cast their ballots for their preferred candidates in the primary election from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. After then, candidates will know how effective or ineffective their signs and campaigns were this year. Many local races are poised to head for a runoff election May 24, especially for the eight Republican candidates still standing in the U.S. District 19 election. No Democrats filed to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock. Farmer Don Parrish dropped out of the congressional race last month and threw his support behind candidate Michael Bob Starr, retired Air Force colonel and former commander of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base. Starr's strongest opponents appear to be Lubbock Mayor Glen Robertson and Jodey Arrington, former Texas Tech University vice chancellor, according to campaign finance reports. The three candidates have raised the most money out of the eight left in the race. Other possible runoff elections include the state Senate District 24 seat, which has attracted six Republican candidates, including Susan King. King currently represents District 71 in the state House of Representatives. Virginia "Jennie Lou" Leeder is the only Democrat who has filed for the District 24 seat. The election to replace King also could result in a May runoff. Five Republican candidates are contending for the District 71 position. One Democrat Pierce LoPachin has filed for the seat. No Democratic candidates filed for any of the Taylor County races, so they will either result in a May runoff or an uncontested November election. The election to replace retiring Precinct 3 Commissioner Stan Egger garnered the most candidates with four men contending for the seat: county employee Elvin "Pete" Wheeler, sheriff's office Lt. Brad Birchum, developer Dale Morrison and Gary Young, volunteer firefighter chief. Two candidates are vying to replace District Attorney James Eidson, who is running unopposed for 42nd District Judge. They are Joel Wilks and James Hicks, both assistant district attorneys. For the County Court-at-Law No. 2 race, attorney Erica Hall faces two other candidates for the judgeship: Harriet Haag, assistant district attorney, and Kevin Wilhelm, another attorney. Neither party will hold precinct conventions postelection Tuesday night because voters no longer have to vote by precinct. Both the Republican and Democratic precinct conventions will be held March 19. Holding the conventions on a Saturday allows for more people to attend, said Edward Conley, Taylor County Democratic Party chairman. The Democrats will meet in the Craig Middle School cafeteria, 702 S. Judge Ely Blvd. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the convention begins at 10, according to the party's website. The Republicans will meet at the Abilene Women's Club, 3425 S. 14th St., at 9 a.m. for the precinct conventions, said Nick Coates, Taylor County Republican Party chairman. The county convention begins at 10 a.m. Each party will discuss which delegates to send to the state convention, precinct chairs, voting monitors, referendums and other "in-house" party business, Conley said. For the Democrats, they mainly will discuss who to support nationally because the party lacks local candidates. Conley said he anticipated this year's convention to be as well attended as 2008's because of the "massive support" for presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. He saw the same situation in 2008 when Democrats' support was split between Clinton and President Barack Obama, he said. With "huge support among young people," Conley said Sanders' platform has doubled the number of people who attend party meetings, with college students decked out in Sanders T-shirts and hats. "It's a national phenomenon," he said. The Republicans will have much more to discuss regarding local elections with so many candidates from their party. They will have to determine who to support, which could prove difficult in the case of a May runoff election. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below This just in... Nearly one year after their detention as they planned an anti-sexual harassment campaign for International Women's Day, five Chinese feminist activists are still far from being free to live normal lives, the activists and their lawyers told RFA on Tuesday. Li Tingting, Wu Rongrong, Wei Tingting, Wang Man, and Zheng Churan were released "on bail" last April after being detained on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble" on March 6, 2015, two days ahead of International Women's Day. The five women, whose detention prompted an international outcry, are still officially regarded as criminal suspects in spite of protesting to the United Nations over continuing police restrictions on their movements. "It's hard for us to go about our lives or our work," Zheng told RFA. "If we leave our home province, we have to notify the police ahead of time." "I had planned to go on a vacation trip to Beijing, but then a bunch of police visited my grandmother in her home, saying they were looking for me, even though I don't live there," she said. "Those are the kind of problems we face." Continuing interference Zheng said the continuing police interference in the women's lives makes their private lives uncomfortable. "Of course we have this sense that they are smearing our reputations in the eyes of friends and relatives," she said. Fellow activist Wu Rongrong said she is constantly under police surveillance. "I have to ask permission to make a trip, and I can't stay away for too long," Wu said. "I had to apply for permission to visit my parental home for Chinese New Year." "There is huge psychological pressure with this hanging over me, and my physical health has got worse." Wu said the restrictions make it hard for her to seek work, or to attend conferences linked to her field. "They often come to check up on me, supposedly to see how I'm doing," she added. Legal status unclear Wu's defense lawyer Lu Zhoubin said the authorities have never dropped the charges against the five women, who have been left with no clarification of their legal status and could still face formal arrest and a trial. "The investigating agency originally said that a crime had been committed, and recommended that they be formally arrested and the case passed to the prosecutor's office, perhaps for indictment," Lu told RFA. "But in my opinion, no crime has been committed, and the case should be dropped entirely, including the bail status." Lu said the women should never have been released on "bail," which is only intended for criminal suspects awaiting trial. He said that all of the women's lawyers have recently written an open letter to police authorities in Beijing, to the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the National People's Congress (NPC), and the All China Women's Federation. 'Time nearly up' Wei's lawyer Ge Wenxiu, who signed the letter, said bail is limited under Chinese law to one year after the date of initial detention. "That time is nearly up, but there has been no move from police to drop the case," Ge said. "That's why we think that we must tell the relevant authorities our legal opinion on the matter." "We are calling on them to proceed according to the law." According to Li Tingting's lawyer Yan Xin, the activities carried out by the woman amounted to nothing more than performance art, and in no way constituted a threat to public order. Meanwhile, Zheng said she still plans to speak out on behalf of women's rights. "I will always be a feminist, of course I will, for the rest of my life," she said. "I will continue to work for women's rights in whatever way I can." She said it is hard to say whether the open letter will have any effect, however. Reported by Wen Yuqing for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Yang Fan for the Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie. Student protesters (L to R) Nathan Law, Joshua Wong and Alex Chow talk to the media outside of court in Hong Kong on Feb. 29, 2016. Three leaders of the 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong are defending themselves this week against government charges linked to a mass sit-in during a week-long class boycott that kicked off the Occupy Central movement. Joshua Wong, 19, who heads the academic activist group Scholarism, Alex Chow, 25, former secretary-general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, and Nathan Law, 22, current leader of the student federation, are on trial for offenses related to the protest. At the eastern magistrate's court on Monday, Wong and Law pleaded not guilty to charges of inciting others to join an unlawful assembly, and to taking part in an unlawful assembly, local media reported. Chow pleaded not guilty to taking part in an unlawful assembly, according to the reports. While they face up to five years in prison, Wong told reporters he did not fear for his freedom. "I'm not scared, because I believe that justice will prevail," he said, adding that it was "unreasonable" for the government to press charges in the first place. An activist who founded the pressure group Save Hong Kong who watched from the public gallery as the trial continued on Tuesday told RFA's China service the government was trying to intimidate the population. White terror "They say that they organized an unlawful assembly, but this is all a form of white terror [intimidation]," said the activist who only gave RFA the nickname Ah Ngau. "Civic Square should be a public space. Why did they fence it off in the first place?" The square has remained under tight lock and key ever since the Umbrella Movement," he said. "Nobody is allowed in or out." He said government controls are far more draconian since chief executive Leung Chun-ying took office. "He is using attitudes left over from the Cultural Revolution to divide Hong Kong," Ah Ngau said, in a reference to the Mao-era political turmoil of 1966-1976. "Leung doesn't listen to public opinion. He just wants to pit Hong Kong people against each other." The prosecutions could spark more unrest, warned Civic Party youth branch activist Joshua Li. "I think the authorities' prosecution of the activists would likely lead to more protests in future," Li told RFA."A lot of young people in Hong Kong are likely to have less respect for the government ... and more people are likely to express their dissatisfaction through protests. The trial is also capturing attention from outside of Hong Kong as Washington politicians have latched onto the trial as a bellwhether for democratic freedoms and true autonomy in Hong Kong. Washington watches Republican Senator and candidate for the partys presidential nomination Marco Rubio expressed concern over the recent developments as did New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith. The two lawmakers chair the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Rubio used the trail and other moves by Beijing to criticize the President Obamas policy in the region saying in a CECC statement that Chinas current trajectory is troubling and merits greater attention from the Obama Administration. These most recent actions call into direct question Beijings commitment to the principle of one country, two systems, Rubio said. It is against this backdrop that Joshuas case goes to trial. We will be watching closely how it is handled. Smith cited concerns that Beijings expanded influence and reach in Hong Kong are undermining the city's "high degree of autonomy," promised. What happened that night The charges relate to the night of Sept. 26, 2014 when a group of protesters climbed a high fence around government headquarters, occupying the area beyond it called Civic Square. About a dozen guards were reportedly injured in the clashes that followed. According to the prosecution, Scholarism applied for an assembly in a site across the road from government headquarters in Admiralty on Sept. 26, 2014. A permit was granted by police, on condition that the assembly ended at 10 p.m. and with the proviso that participants should not enter the Civic Square on the east side of the government building. Prosecutors said Wong called on students to join him in entering the square at 10:20 p.m. Soon after, he began running towards Civic Square followed by several other protesters soon after speaking, according to police video footage shown to the court. Law was accused of similarly urging protesters to surround government headquarters, after he was filmed snatching up a microphone from Wong. Lawyers defending the trio argued that the police officers' statements appeared to have been copied from each other. Officials deny the accusation. The Occupy movement campaigned for Beijing to withdraw an Aug, 31, 2014 electoral reform plan, which it rejected as "fake universal suffrage," and to allow publicly nominated candidates to run for chief executive in 2017. The plan, which offered a one-person, one-vote in 2017 elections for chief executive, but required candidates to be vetted by Beijing, was voted down on June 18, 2015 by 28 votes to eight in Hong Kong's Legislative Council, leaving the city with its existing voting arrangements still in place. Reported by Xin Lin for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie. Aung San Suu Kyi (L), chairwoman of the National League for Democracy, is escorted by NLD lawmaker Zaw Myint Maung as she arrives at the parliament building in Naypyidaw, March 1, 2016. Myanmar has moved up the date for members of parliament to nominate presidential candidates to March 10, signaling a faster tempo for the transition of political power to the incoming government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD) after its November election victory. The vote, which was originally scheduled for March 17, will see elected deputies in the NLD-dominated lower and upper houses and appointed military legislators nominate a candidate for president. A parliamentary vote by all MPs will determine the winner, who will assume the nations top office, while the two runners-up who will become vice presidents. Win Khaing Than, speaker of Myanmars combined houses of parliament, announced that lawmakers would discuss the selection of presidential nominees at their March 10 session. He did not state a reason for the date change. The names of lawmakers must be submitted on that day to the presidential nominees scrutinizing committee so they can look though the nominees resumes as required before the candidates are approved and put to the vote, he announced in parliament. The announcement of the date change followed a meeting by the NLDs 15-member central executive committee on Sunday. Political observers believe that NLD chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi, who sits on the committee, and other party members have been working behind the scenes to try to forge a deal with the powerful military that would allow her to become president. Aung San Suu Kyi will surely become the president. NLD party spokesman Win Htein told reporters on Tuesday. Its just a matter of time whether its earlier or later. Read the constitution thoroughly, he said. Read the bylaws. We are working hard for her to become president. Foreign minister post But Win Htein said the NLDs central executive committee members did not discuss constitutional article 59(f), which prevents Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president. The article, which the military junta that controlled the country included in the constitution when it was drafted in 2008, bars anyone with close foreign relatives from holding the office. Aung San Suu Kyis two sons are British citizens, as was her late husband. Although she still has not named the candidate that her party will endorse as president, she has stated publicly that she will occupy a position above the president. A report in the Myanmar Times on Tuesday said Aung San Suu Kyi would likely assume the post of foreign minister, which would give her a seat on the National Defense and Security Council. In the months prior to the election, Aung San Suu Kyi had led efforts to change the constitution so that she could become president and to limit the legislative veto power of military deputies, who control one-fourth of the seats in parliament. Although Aung San Suu Kyi has had several private meetings with military commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing since the NLD won the general elections by a landslide last November, the military remains staunchly opposed to amending or suspending article 59(f). Army officers are not the only ones against the move. Buddhist nationalists and their supporters held a demonstration in the commercial capital Yangon on Sunday, urging lawmakers not to amend the article. Ready for the president Khin Saw Wai, a deputy from the Arakan National Party (ANP), told the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar before Tuesdays parliamentary meeting that the presidential election could be held earlier than scheduled because citizens are ready to know who their next leader will be and because military representatives are ready to submit their nomination to parliament. Others, however, say Aung San Suu Kyi wanted to speed up the process to end disagreements between the NLD and the military over amending the constitution and to prepare for the new government. Moving the date forward means the NLD will no longer pursue its strategy to suspend article 59(f), ANP deputy Pe Than told RFAs Myanmar Service. The military chief had told them to go by the constitution, and the military MPs also had shown their disapproval during a recent parliamentary session. So, the NLD is giving up its call to have the article suspended because there is too much opposition from the government and the military, [and it wants] to pave the way for a quick transition, he said. Lamar Naw Aung, a lawmaker from the Kachin Democratic Party (KDP), agreed. Now that [parliament] has moved the date forward, Im thinking that Aung San Suu Kyi has dropped the idea of having article 59(f) changed or suspended, he said. I think the date has been moved forward because her discussions on this with the military chief didnt go well, he said. Thein Tun a lawmaker from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) said the current USDP government and incoming NLD government must carry out the handover of power according to the constitution. This transition time is so delicate, and it would be better for the stability of the Hluttaw [parliament], the government and the country if it goes smoothly, he said. We will immediately have to discuss their [the NLDs] motions and proposals among our members all the time and look for the best options in the interests of the people and make suggestions, he added. The presidential swearing in ceremony will take place on March 31. Afterwards, the president will select his cabinet, which will take over from current President Thein Seins outgoing administration the following day. Reported by Win Ko Ko Latt, Myo Thant Khine and Thinn Thiri for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. A Tibetan monk set himself ablaze and died on Monday in southwestern Chinas Sichuan province in an apparent challenge to Beijings rule in the first such protest in a Tibetan area of China this year, a source in the region told RFAs Tibetan Service. Kalsang Wangdu, a monk of the Maretsokha Aryaling monastery, self-immolated at around 4:00 p.m. on Feb. 29 near his monastery in the Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures Nyagrong (Xinlong) county, RFAs source said, contacting RFA on social media and speaking on condition of anonymity. [While he burned], he called out for Tibets complete independence, the source said, adding that witnesses to Wangdus protest intervened, intending to take him to Sichuans provincial capital for treatment. However, he died on the way before reaching Chengdu, he said, adding, His fathers name is Sotra, and his mothers name is Urgyen Dolma. Wangdus self-immolation could not be immediately confirmed, and authorities were not available for comment. But his action would bring to 144 the total number of burnings by Tibetans living in China since the wave of fiery protests calling for Tibetan freedom and the return of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama began in 2009. Tibetans living in Kardze prefecture are known for their strong sense of Tibetan national identity and frequently stage protests alone or in groups opposing rule by Beijing. Student also burns Meanwhile, a young Tibetan student living in India set himself on fire on Monday to protest Chinas rule in Tibetan areas after telling his parents he hoped to do something for the cause of Tibet, a Tibetan source in exile told RFA. Dorje Tsering, 16, set himself ablaze near a housing complex for elderly Tibetans in Dehra Dun at about 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 29, RFAs source, housing complex staff member Lobsang Tsultrim, said. He was severely injured in the fire, and was quickly moved to the Safdurjung hospital in Delhi, Tsultrim said. He is reported to have suffered burns over 95 percent of his body, he said. Tsering had previously hinted at his coming protest, asking his parents if they would be happy if he was able to do something for the cause of Tibet, Tsultrim said. Yesterday, he did exactly what he said he would do, he added. I did discuss my intentions with my parents, who told me they would kill themselves if I did this, Tsering said from his hospital bed, speaking in a video. [But] I have the will to do something for the Tibetan cause and thought that I could sacrifice this body for the Tibetan cause, he said. I want His Holiness the Dalai Lama to live long and for Tibet to achieve its independence, he said. Tserings protest was a sign of how deep and sustained opposition to Chinese rule remains [even] among Tibetans outside Tibet, London-based Free Tibet director Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren said in a statement Tuesday. Whether inside or outside the country, young Tibetans feel the sense of injustice and are driven to act because of it, she said. Reported by Yangdon Demo for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney. Afghan security forces have pulled back from more Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan, continuing a withdrawal that began in February when they abandoned two districts in Helmand Province after months of heavy fighting. Dost Mohammad Nayab, the spokesman for the governor of Uruzgan Province, said on March 1 that about 100 Afghan police and soldiers were pulled from checkpoints in two parts of the volatile Shahidi Hassas district after heavy fighting late on February 29. Nayab said the security forces were redeployed in the neighboring district of Deh Rawud. A Taliban spokesman said the withdrawal left the area around the village of Yakhdan under their control. Nayab said Afghan forces want to create a reserve battalion in the Deh Rawud district, adding that forces from other nearby districts also may be moved there. Government forces in Uruzgan Province have been worn down by combat losses and desertions. Meanwhile, four Afghan police from Uruzgan Province were killed late on February 29 when another police officer who sympathized with the Taliban attacked them at a checkpoint in the northernmost part of Kandahar Province. Based on reporting by Reuters and AP An Afghan human rights watchdog has urged the government to take measures against the practice of "virginity" tests by state doctors that it says amount to "torture" and "sexual harassment." Afghanistans Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) says women and girls accused of having sex outside marriage -- a criminal offense in Afghanistan -- are often forced to undergo "invasive" and "humiliating" tests by government doctors. In a report published on February 29, the Afghan rights group said 48 of 53 women whom it interviewed during 2015 had been subjected to compulsory gynecological exams by law-enforcement officials. "Since gynecological tests are conducted without consent of the victim, it can be considered sexual harassment and human rights violation," the commission said. The report said most of the tests included invasive genital and anal exams that were carried out in the presence of male guards and others, and often amounted to "torture" with "horrible effects and consequences." Nearly half of those tested were examined more than once, the study said. Sorya Sobhrang, the women's rights commissioner at the AIHRC, said the tests damaged the women's "personal integrity and emotional well-being." The exams purportedly verify whether a woman has been sexually active outside of marriage. However, Sobhrang, a gynecologist by profession, said the veracity of such tests has been widely challenged by medical doctors and scientists. "There are no medical forensics specialists...[or] DNA tests in Afghanistan, therefore it's impossible here to determine...whether the woman was raped or had sex outside marriage," Sobhrang told RFE/RL's Tajik Service. The report said the tests also violate the spirit of Afghanistan's constitution, which states that "no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam." According to the study, a number of the women forced to endure the tests were accused merely of leaving their homes without permission, which is not a crime under Afghan law. In Afghanistan's conservative society, a bride's virginity is regarded by many as proof of her purity. There are cases of women who were unable to prove their virginity being killed in so-called honor killings whose perpetrators claim to be preserving a family's integrity. Sobhrang cited an Afghan practice in which a bride may be returned to her family with her face painted black -- as a sign of disgrace -- if she is thought not to be a virgin. In such cases, she said, the bride's parents must repay the dowry and wedding expenses. In some cases, she said, a groom might then marry the "disgraced" bride's sister. "Law-enforcement agencies or any other institutions should not be allowed to conduct such tests on women or girls to determine their virginity, adultery, or sex outside marriage, unless a victim asks for such a test." Sobhrang said. Millions of Afghan women regained their rights to education and work following the fall of the hard-line Taliban regime more than a decade ago, but domestic abuse and violations of women's rights are still widespread in Afghan society. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and RFE/RL's Tajik Service There are the videos of crying and singing children, the photographs of public employees holding placards, and a human rights ombudsmans argument that allowing him to resign as Chechnyas leader would violate the rights of the long-troubled Caucasus region's residents. Such is the strange state of politics in Chechnya, where Ramzan Kadyrovs oversized presence as the Caucasus republic's leader may or may not be coming to an end, amid cascading concerns about whether the Kremlin has given him too much free rein to rebuild the war-ravaged Russian region and quash the long-running insurgency that has plagued Moscow since the Soviet collapse. The bearded, gruff-talking former rebel's term as leader formally ends next month. Given his singular dominance of the region's politics for the past nine years -- and the relative calm that has taken hold there -- most observers of the region expected him to be a shoo-in to stay on. Last month, however, Kadyrov said in a radio interview that he had no desire to continue as leader. On February 27, he explained his reasoning further, saying my time has passed. For Kadyrov, this is the peak, he told the Russian channel NTV. In the days since, however, a public campaign calling on him to stay in power has taken off, with hints of endorsement or even involvement by government officials. That, in turn, has stoked speculation that Kadyrovs resignation may be anything but. The day after Kadyrovs announcement, a group calling itself the Civic Forum of the Chechen Republic released a statement saying "society sees no alternative to [Kadyrov] and there can be no talk of successors." The statement was published on the official website of the Chechen administration. A day later, the regions top human rights official, Nurdi Nukhazhiyev, posted a similar announcement. The dark irony wasn't lost on human rights activists who have documented rampant rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, political assassinations, and collective punishment for relatives of insurgents, during Kadyrovs tenure. "The refusal of Kadyrov [to stay on as leader] would be a massive violation of the rights of [Chechen] citizens," Nukhazhiyev wrote. And then there were the videos and photographs circulating on social networking and chat sites like Whatsapp and Instagram, featuring children singing Kadyrov's praises and, in one case, begging him to stay. On Instagram -- which Kadyrov has used liberally both to promote himself and issue various edicts and announcements -- a Russian-language hashtag that translates as "Ramzan Dont Go" had received more than 6,600 different posts as of March 1. "The strength of Ramzan Kadyrov, Ramzan Kadyrov is cool. We in Chechnya are all patriots. Cheer for us," sang a boy in one Instagram video. TRANSLATION: A woman is heard asking "What don't you want?" The crying boy answers "I don't want him to go." The woman asks "Who is going?" The boy answers sobbing "Ramzan Akhmadovich." The woman replies "Well, tell him." TRANSLATION: The children are chanting "Ramzan Don't Go! TRANSLATION: The women are holding up a sign saying, "Ramzan Don't Go! Kadyrov, 39, all but inherited the post following the assassination of his father, Akhmad, in 2004. He also inherited a Kremlin strategy that came to be known Chechenization, which turned Chechen paramilitaries into Moscows proxy fighters, taking the lead in battling the separatist rebels and Islamic radicals in the second Chechen war that began in 2000. Kadyrov's forces gained a reputation for brutality and have been accused of torturing people and abducting relatives of suspected insurgents, or even burning down houses. But the Kremlin strategy also included showering Chechnya with money, to help rebuild the capital Grozny and the countryside, which in places resembled devastated battlefield and war zones. Now the Grozny cityscape is adorned with glass-and-steel skyscrapers, street lamps, and manicured pedestrian walkways, and is home to the largest mosque in Europe -- a reconstruction that Kadyrov has largely claimed credit for. But Kadyrov has also become a lightning rod in recent months. He has taunted Russia's beleaguered opposition activists, called some traitors, and issued thinly veiled threats against them. Kadyrov has also called for defying, or even shooting, federal law enforcement forces should any of them enter Chechen territory without his knowledge. The resignation interview came on the same day that tens of thousands of people marched through Moscow's streets to mark the anniversary of the killing of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. He was gunned down on a bridge just meters from the Kremlin walls, and one of those now under arrest is a top commander in a paramilitary unit close to Kadyrov. In another Instagram post on February 28, Kadyrov appeared to leave the door open for staying on, noting that, under Russian election law, President Vladimir Putin must first select a slate of candidates from which voters can choose a local leader. "With full responsibility, I must emphasize that I will fulfill any decision of the President of the Russian Federation, any order," he wrote. "There isnt a clear replacement for him. There is international pressure that points to him as an obvious bad guy, the links to the Nemtsov murders, that gets picked up, so maybe theres an effort to distance the Putin regime from all that, and have him step down," said Olga Oliker, director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "On the other hand, Kadyrov has been Putins guy in Chechnya," added Oliker, author of Russia's Chechen Wars 1994-2000: Lessons From Urban Combat. "Who replaces him? What credibility he has, comes from his dad. So who comes next? Does it fall apart?" Oliker asked. "Does anyone in Moscow really know whats going on in Chechnya?" So, don't look now, but while we were all watching Syria, Moscow has stepped up its aggression in Ukraine. Pro-Moscow separatists have increased their attacks this week near Luhansk and have intensified their shelling of four villages near the front lines in the Donetsk region. The separatists have also reportedly moved 88 tanks up to the cease-fire line near Debaltseve. It's all part of Moscow's classic bait-and-switch tactics and they appear to be working. Instead of focusing on the renewed Russian aggression, the French and German foreign ministers last week chose to lecture Ukraine about its failure to pass an electoral law for the separatist-held territories. And some Western officials have indicated that sanctions against Moscow will not be automatically extended this summer. A little bit of perspective here. In the year since the Minsk cease-fire, nearly 400 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed, 1,500 have been wounded, and Kyiv has lost several hundred square kilometers of territory. So, basically, Ukraine is essentially being asked to prepare for an election in the separatist-held areas of Donbas with a gun to its head. And Kyiv's reluctance to do so is repeatedly being equated with Moscow's repeated violations of the Minsk cease-fire on the battlefield. This is just the kind of false equivalence that Moscow has been counting on from distracted Western leaders. Keep telling me what you think on the Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page. President Hassan Rohani has called for foreign partnerships to boost Irans car industry, and said the sector must be privatized to improve its competitiveness. Rohani made the comments at an international carmakers' conference in Tehran on March 1, after international sanctions against Iran were lifted in January in connection with a July nuclear deal with world powers. Partnerships with prominent world carmakers will allow the sector to "reach to the optimum point in technology, protecting the environment, saving energy and safety," Rohani said. The market should be "completely privatized and competitive," he added. But Rohani warned that plan would mean removing protections for the domestic car market, saying that "government support cannot be everlasting." The Iranian state currently controls about half of the car sector. Last month, France's PSA Peugeot Citroen signed a joint venture agreement with automaker Iran Khodro to make 200,000 cars a year. Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP Iraqi government troops, backed by Shiite paramilitary militia forces and U.S. air support, launched an offensive on March 1 aimed at recapturing key areas north of Baghdad from the militants group that calls itself Islamic State (IS). The offensive began at dawn in an agricultural area northeast of the city of Samarra, about 95 kilometers north of Baghdad. Iraqi military officials said the aim of the operation is to cut off IS supply lines and to tighten the grip of government forces around the IS-held northern city of Mosul. Military spokesman Sabah al-Numan said controlling the Jazerat Samarra area is essential for future operations to retake Mosul and parts of the western province of Anbar that remain under IS control. A U.S.-backed Iraqi offensive is widely expected later in 2016 to recapture Mosul, which has been under IS control since 2014. Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov has said in an interview with a German newspaper that he may shut down the so-called Balkan route for migrants altogether later this year. Ivanov told Der Spiegel in an interview published February 29 that when Austria reaches its limit of 37,500 migrant entries, Macedonia will close its border with Greece, effectively shutting down the Balkan route to northern Europe used by hundreds of thousands of migrants. "When Austria reaches its limit, it will happen," he said, suggesting that could occur very soon, "perhaps right at this moment." He added: "We need a political decision now. Soon it will be too late. The Austrian ceiling of 37,000 will be reached." The interview was published on a day when Macedonia used tear gas and stun guns to repel an attempt by several hundred migrants to ram through the barbed-wire fence on its border with Greece. WATCH: Migrants Try To Storm Greek-Macedonian Border Macedonia already has imposed sharp cuts in the number of migrants it will allow to pass through to countries further north. It is rejecting Afghan migrants entirely and allowing transit for up to 580 people a day from other countries, mostly Syria and Iraq. Ivanov's remarks reflect the view of most Balkan leaders that new restrictions they are placing on migrants are justified by curbs imposed by Austria, the follow-on destination of most of the migrants attempting to pass through. Austria recently said it would accept no more than 80 asylum claims per day and cap the number of people seeking to cross its territory at 37,500 this year. Some days, Macedonia, which has applied to join the European Union, has not allowed any migrants to enter from Greece, leaving thousands of people stranded in Greece. Ivanov defended his government's border restrictions despite criticism from the United Nations, European Union, Amnesty International, and others that it violates international laws governing the treatment of asylum seekers. "We can't wait until Brussels makes a decision. We have made our own decisions. In times of crisis, every country must find its own solutions," he said, adding that most Balkans leaders are taking their cue from Austria. "The closing of the border to Greece was merely a reaction. Whenever a country to the north closes its borders, we follow suit," he said. "Macedonia made it clear that it would only be able to tolerate 2,000 migrants at a time making their way through the country. Macedonia may not be in the EU, but it is still behaving more responsibly than some EU member states." "If we had waited for EU guidelines, Macedonia would have been flooded with refugees," he said. Ivanov acknowledged that if Macedonia closes its door to migrants, they likely will seek to go through Albania or some other route. "No one wants to stay in Greece, Macedonia, and Serbia," he said. "The goal of the refugees is Germany. They will find a path there. A dangerous path." With reporting by AFP and Macedonian Information Agency A large part of Moldova's military equipment dates back to Soviet times and is in urgent need of replacement, Defense Minister Anatolie Nosatii told RFE/RL, adding that the money allocated by the government for defense amounts to a small sum but is still important for its badly underfunded and underequipped army. Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries, was part of the Soviet Union until 1991, when it declared independence. It has a long border with Ukraine and has been hosting hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees since the start of Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Russia has some 1,500 troops in Moldova's Moscow-backed separatist region of Transdniester, a sliver of land sandwiched between Moldova proper and Ukraine. "Some 90 percent [of our military equipment] is of Soviet origin and dates back to the 1960s to the 1980s.... You cannot modernize a ZIL-131 [military truck] or an antiaircraft system made in the 1970s," Nosatii said. The pro-European government of President Maia Sandu accelerated its EU bid after Russia invaded Ukraine and in June was given candidate status alongside Ukraine. Moldova's armed forces consists of 6,500 professional personnel, while 2,000 conscripts are being recruited annually for compulsory military service. The military also employs 2,000 civilians as auxiliary personnel. Nosatii told RFE/RL that the 0.5 percent of the gross domestic product allocated for defense by the government -- roughly $25.5 million -- while small, is still very important for the implementation of modernization projects. Nosatii also spoke about the equipment shortages that the Moldovan military faces because of insufficient funding. The Defense Ministry covers only partially the contents of the so-called "emergency backpack" that contract soldiers, who account for the bulk of Moldova's armed forces, must have at the ready for unexpected situations, Nosatii said. Nosatii, who was appointed in August last year as defense minister in Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita's reformist government, told RFE/RL that his ministry's current priority is to provide every member of the armed forces with one of these individual first-aid medical kits. Moldova has been cooperating with foreign partners, including NATO, in its efforts to supply the first-aid kits to its military personnel, Nosatii said. Besides the first-aid kit, the emergency backpack must also include personal items such as underwear, socks, gloves, a woolly hat, food, and a flashlight, Nosatii said, adding that the state can only partially cover the cost of such equipment. "For example," Nosatii told RFE/RL, "if the state provides four T-shirts [for daily usage] but the backpack has to cover seven days of deployment, the remainder of three or more T-shirts must be bought by the soldier." Nosatii said that supplying Moldova's small military with equipment has been a permanent underlying problem but that the ministry has obtained aid from Moldova's external partners. "You can't demand that a soldier perform his duties when he doesn't have what he needs, when he's cold, lacks military equipment, or is forced to buy it himself," Nosatii said. Military equipment donated by Moldova's Western partners this year consists of protective gear such as helmets, flak jackets, and waterproof and winter clothing. Earlier this month, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht visited Moldova and said Berlin is prepared to provide drones and other military equipment to Chisinau. Lambrecht also said the German Army is ready to provide military training to Moldova. She said Berlin also realizes the importance of supporting Moldova in the wake of energy shortages stemming from the war in Ukraine. The United States says two Pakistani employees of the U.S. consulate in the northwestern city of Peshawar have been killed in an explosion. Secretary of State John Kerry said in Washington on March 1 that the pair had been killed along with an unknown number of Pakistani soldiers when an improvised explosive device detonated while they were on a mission to eradicate narcotics fields. Kerry said the Pakistani soldiers were guarding the mission. Pakistani government administrator Naveed Khan said a roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying Pakistani officials working for a USAID-funded poppy-eradication project in a northwestern tribal area on March 1. Khan said two people were killed and four others wounded, but he could not say whether those killed or wounded were also working for the U.S. consulate. Jamatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. Based on reporting by AP and Reuters Pakistan has closed all schools and has stepped up security in Islamabad and the adjacent city of Rawalpindi ahead of the funeral of an executed former police officer who assassinated a governor in 2011. Authorities said the measures were a precaution against violence by supporters of Malik Mumtaz Qadri, the executed assassin whose funeral was scheduled for March 1 in Rawalpindi. Roads around government buildings, the parliament, and diplomatic compounds were closed for the day. Qadris hanging on February 29 triggered street protests in several Pakistani cities where some religious figures, political leaders, and militant groups have publicly defended him. Qadri was on guard duty in January 2011 when he shot dead Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab Province who had called for reforms of Pakistans harsh blasphemy laws. Qadri accused Taseer of blasphemy and admitted in court that he killed the governor. With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP MOSCOW -- Russian TV stations aren't usually fainthearted when it comes to covering supposed acts of brutality by foreigners against Russian children. But when reports emerged that a nanny from Uzbekistan had pulled the severed head of a 4-year-old girl from a bag outside a busy Moscow metro station and cried "Allahu Akhbar," Russia's main channels acted as if it simply hadn't happened. Many Russians believe that this was the result of a Kremlin order to keep the gruesome story off-screen in order to avoid inciting ethnic tensions in a country that relies heavily on labor from Central Asia -- and to play down news that cast a grim light on life in President Vladimir Putin's Russia. Whatever the motive, the decision to withhold the story from viewers was diametrically opposed to the approach the same channels tend to take when an ethnic Russian is the alleged victim of violence abroad. In July 2014, Russia's state-run Channel One reported from war-torn eastern Ukraine that a 3-year-old Russian boy had been crucified by Ukrainians, sparking outrage among many ethnic Russians in Ukraine -- though the story turned to be untrue. Earlier this year, Russian TV stations reported on what they described as the abduction and gang rape by migrants of a teenage girl whose family emigrated from Russia, sparking outcry among many Russians living in Germany. That, too, turned out not to have happened. By contrast, part of the tragedy that played out in Moscow on February 29 could be seen in on the Internet. Grisly images and video footage of a black-clad woman holding up a bloodied child's head flooded social networks, prompting broad coverage in the Russian online and print media. But on the main TV channels, which reach far larger audiences across Russia and set the country's news agenda, the incident was ignored. The contrast was lost on few observers. "I can imagine what would have happened if a migrant nanny cut off the head of a little girl in Berlin or Cologne. The agitprop wouldn't stop for a month," wrote Pavel Pryanikov, chief editor of the blogging website LiveJournal. "Here it'll be forgotten in a few days. 'Too Monstrous' For TV A survey of news programming by RFE/RL showed that none of the three main channels -- state-run Rossia-1 and Channel One, and NTV -- covered the disabled toddler's killing. The news on Rossia-1 at 2 p.m., for instance, led on a funeral wake following a coal-mine disaster in the northern city of Vorkuta, a new fuel tax, and the truce in Syria, making no mention of the incident in a 24-minute program. Media outlet RBK cited two state television employees who said the killing had been airbrushed out of the news agenda at the behest of the Kremlin in order to avoid stirring up nationalist sentiment. Killings of ethnic Russians or other Slavs by representatives of other ethnic groups have triggered unrest among extreme nationalists on several occasions in Russia, where tension between Slavs and minorities from the Caucasus and Central Asia is a persistent problem. In October 2013, rioting nationalists in Moscow overturned cars, smashed windows, and stormed a warehouse where migrants work after the killing of an ethnic Russian man was attributed to an Azerbaijani. Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on March 1 that the Kremlin approved of the TV stations' decision not to report the news, but denied that it was the result of a directive from the president's office. "The federal channels do not receive orders from the Kremlin," the newspaper Vedomosti quoted Peskov as saying. His remark contradicts past accounts by insiders of frequent meetings and instructions in which the Kremlin allegedly advises the main channels on their coverage. Peskov said the girl's death and the actions of her nanny were "too monstrous to show on TV." WATCH: Woman Pulls Child's Severed Head From Bag In Moscow (WARNING: Disturbing Content) However, the same channels have frequently gone further than many Western media outlets in showing gory scenes, such as the corpses of alleged militants killed by Russian security forces in the North Caucasus. Authorities said they were not treating the girl's death as a terrorist attack and that the suspect was being subjected to a psychiatric evaluation. But despite that and the denial that the blackout was ordered by the Kremlin, there were other signs the authorities were moving to curb any actions by nationalists over the incident. The Interfax news agency cited a source as saying law enforcement agencies were holding "preventative chats" with representatives of youth organizations, fearing some kind of street reaction. 'Stockholm Syndrome' Extremists were stirring up anger on social networks. Radio station Govorit Moskva reported that nationalists were planning to gather for a "memorial event" at the Moscow metro station where the nanny brandished the child's head. Nationalist blogger Yegor Prosvirnin wrote an article on February 29 in which he denigrated Uzbeks and accused state-run and liberal media of trying to downplay the significance of the alleged crime by suggesting that the suspect was insane. Opposition politician Aleksei Navalny suggested that TV channels that ignored the incident or skewed the reporting were failing to do their part to protect a large segment of the population. "This is in principle all that you need to know about the defense of Russian speakers in Russia," Navalny, who has come under fire for nationalist remarks in the past, wrote on his blog. Some took a more jocular approach in their criticism of the coverage gap. The satirical website Russiainyourface.com ran a report on March 1 headlined: "Breaking: Nothing Happened In Moscow Yesterday." Others said suppressing the news was the right thing to do. Film critic Anton Dolin argued that broad coverage would have encouraged xenophobic stereotyping among viewers, who he said might jump to the conclusion that "Muslims are a nightmare" or "nannies from Central Asia are dreadful." But Ilya Klishin, editor-in-chief of Dozhd TV, said those who supported withholding the news were showing signs of "Stockholm Syndrome" by defending the authorities. "Who ultimately has the right to hide information from society? There are dry and scarce facts, they weren't relayed," Klishin said on Facebook. Ekho Moskvy radio anchor Vladimir Varfolomeyev was also critical, saying that the response by law enforcement and the state media presented telling "symbols" of Russia today. Referring to claims that police officers initially ran away from the nanny instead of detaining her, Varfolomeyev wrote: "Police running away and the silent TV -- the symbols of our wonderful state." Russian authorities are insisting that the underground explosions that killed 36 people in an Arctic mine over the weekend were the result of natural causes, not negligence or fraud. Four miners died when explosions fueled by high methane levels tore through the Severnaya coal mine north of the Arctic Circle on February 26. Another six people attempting to rescue the coal miners were killed by another explosion on February 28, which is believed to have also killed 26 miners trapped in the vicinity where they were searching. Russia's Investigative Committee opened a criminal probe into the disaster, the deadliest to hit the industry since 2010, dispatching investigators and forensic experts to look into possible safety violations. But Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said on February 29 that preliminary evidence shows a sudden surge of methane caused the incident -- something that no monitoring system could have stopped. "At this point, based on the analysis of the data from both Rostekhnadzor (Russia's industrial safety watchdog) and the Investigative Committee, it is clear that there was an abrupt outburst, increase in methane concentration. ... There was no gradual methane concentration increase, sensors did not register anything of the kind, so it was almost impossible to prevent the outburst using sensing devices," he said. Dvorkovich said the mine operator, Vorkutaugol -- a unit of steelmaker Severstal, which is headed by Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov -- acted "according to the rules." "This is a terrible tragedy for Russia and for our coal industry," he said as he explained that rescue efforts had been abandoned because no further survivors are considered likely to be found due to the fire that continues to rage underground. Pechora Alexander Goncharenko, head of Rostekhnadzor's regional branch, said preliminary evidence suggests the incident was "a natural disaster" caused by methane leaks that occur naturally in coal mines. Methane explosions occur every few years in Russian mines and elsewhere. In 2007, an explosion at a mine in Ulyanovskaya in Siberia killed 110 people. Vorkutaugol has said safety measures were recently ramped up at the facility and that it would continue to pay all the workers at the Severnaya mine and find employment for them at the company's other mining sites. But trade union members, miners, and relatives of those that died say they had serious concerns about the levels of methane in the pit and that workers feared something could go wrong. "My father was coming home and warning about the strong fumes and the high level of methane," said Daria Tryasukho, whose father was one of the miners killed. "He talked about this almost every day, but the management at Severnaya closed their eyes and let people go underground," she wrote in a posting online. Miner Mikhail Momot has been on break from working in the Severnaya mine since November, but his older brother Konstantin was killed in the blast. Momot told AFP that workers had regularly noticed discrepancies between the various devices monitoring methane in the mine. "It was systematic that the amount of methane shown on the official monitors set up in the mine and our own individual monitors didn't coincide," Momot said. "The management couldn't not know about this." "Since the beginning of February, the guys were telling me that there was a lot of gas, but they had to go on working," Momot said. "The bosses usually reply that if you don't want to work, you can quit. But where could I go?" A Vorkutaugol spokeswoman told AFP it was impossible to falsify information on the monitors and that miners' individual monitors often differ from the stationary ones because they are moving constantly. With reporting by AFP, dpa, and TASS President Emomali Rahmon has warned Tajik citizens of a potential drought this year, urging them to save water and stock up on food. "Snowless winter and early spring this year are precursors of a potential drought," Rahmon told a government meeting on February 29, adding this could threaten food security. Amu-Darya, the biggest water source of ex-Soviet Central Asia, originates in mountainous Tajikistan, the region's poorest country. The country of 8.5 million uses the rivers tributaries to generate electric power and irrigate farmland. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, located downstream, have repeatedly complained they do not receive their fair share of Amu-Darya's resources. The potential water crisis also comes as economies across Central Asia are struggling with the consequences of low oil prices, which pushed their key partner Russia into recession. With reporting by Reuters Ukraine has banned government officials from publicly criticizing the work of state institutions and their colleagues. The rule is part of a new ethics code that civil servants must follow or face disciplinary action, according to a decree posted on the government website on March 1. The decree says the government decided to introduce standards of ethical conduct for civil servants to "restore public faith in the work of the state bodies and officials." The move comes after Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuks government barely survived a no-confidence vote in parliament last month amid growing disenchantment among Ukrainians with the pro-Western government that took power following the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014. The county is struggling with a deepening recession and continuing violence from Russia-backed separatists in the east. Based on reporting by Reuters and TASS Viktoria Sydorenko makes do with just one light bulb instead of five to light her apartment in the Ukrainian city of Odesa on the Black Sea. "I used to use at least two for normal lighting," Sydorenko told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. She and millions of other Ukrainians are thinking twice these days about when to flick the switch and when not to. That's because the country's electricity regulator has just hit them all with a 25 percent rate hike effective March. And it won't stop there. Another rate increase is due in September. For more than 10 ten years, electricity rates for consumers hardly changed, and costs for power generation and distribution were passed on to industry, small businesses, and government agencies, Vasyl Kotko, the chairman of Ukraine's National Energy Regulatory Commission (NERC), explained to RFE/RL. Echoing what experts have said in the past, Kotko said that high energy prices have made Ukrainian businesses uncompetitive, while low prices have given consumers little reason to save power. When it comes to wasting energy, Ukraine is literally at the top of the global charts. The country's energy intensity -- the ratio of energy used relative to economic output -- is twice that of Russia and 10 times that of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average. According to the UN, there is no country in the world more energy intensive than Ukraine. "We are a very poor country that is using energy at much higher rates than other Europeans," said Kotko. Showdown With Moscow And energy also looms large in Kyiv's showdown with Moscow. Russia has cut supplies to Ukraine several times in the past over disputes over pricing. To free itself of Russia's energy grip, Kyiv is not only looking for resources abroad, but at ways to save at home. In 2014, Carl Bildt, then Sweden's foreign minister, said: "If Ukraine improved its energy efficiency to reasonably EU levels, I doubt it would need to import any gas at all." Some experts say energy conservation makes more sense for Kyiv than increasing energy supplies particularly supplies of natural gas, which account for about 40 percent of Ukraine's energy pie. "The same as in Russia, it would be cheaper to work on efficiency than on additional gas production. Bearing in mind that there is huge potential for efficiency in housing, that's the way to go first," explains Christian Cleutinx, a senior associate fellow at the Clingendael International Energy Program in The Hague. The rate hikes, however, come at a time when Ukraine is facing its most serious challenges since achieving independence in 1991. The conflict with Russia-backed separatists in the southeast forced more than 1 million people to leave their homes. According to the UN Development Program, the relative poverty rate in Ukraine is 24.3 percent. Some 5.5 million Ukrainians now qualify to receive state subsidies to pay utility bills, according to Ukraine's Ministry for Social Policy. "For those families receiving subsidies, they will not be affected by the rate increases, whether they are 10, 20, or 30 percent. They will continue to pay a fixed rate, and all increases will be covered by the state budget," Vitaliy Muzhychenko, an official at the ministry. But for people like Viktoria Sydorenko, who are struggling as it is, the rate hike couldn't come at a worse time. Sydorenko said she was already paying about 100 hryvnia a month during the winter since she was forced to switch to a boiler after Odesa halted centralized hot water in 2014. "I tried to lower the temperature of the boiler; tried turning if off after it warms up. That didn't help. It ended up running for a longer time than when I had it switched on all the time," Sydorenko lamented. But she and the rest of the country of some 44 million will have to get used to higher energy prices. Kotko said the energy regulator plans to gradually raise rates until they meet market levels, still a ways off. Ukraine says three of its servicemen have been killed and five wounded in the countrys east. A military spokesman in the eastern region of Luhansk said three soldiers were killed and two wounded when their vehicle hit a mine on the highway between the villages of Novotoshkivske and Hirne on March 1. A military spokesman in Kyiv said another three government troops were wounded in exchanges of fire over the past 24 hours near the front line separating separatist-held parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions from the rest of Ukraine. Two Ukrainian troops were wounded as a result of firing in the government-held towns of Krasnohorivka and Maryinka, while another soldier was injured in a booby-trap blast near the village of Kamianka. Fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 9,100 people since April 2014. The Minsk peace agreement signed a year ago has helped reduce the violence, but skirmishes have continued. Based on reporting by AFP and UNIAN A lawyer for Ukraines ousted former president, Viktor Yanukovych, says his client now wants to return to Ukraine and serve as its president. Speaking in an interview with the Glavkom newspaper, lawyer Vitaly Sergyuk said Yanukovych intends to return to Ukraine from his exile in Russia and that legal steps will be taken for this. Sergyuk maintains that Yanukovych did not relieve himself of his duties as president and opt out of ruling Ukraine. The lawyer also maintains that the procedure to dismiss Yanukovych from office violated Ukraines constitution. Yanukovych fled Ukraine in late February after months of protests against his rule turned violent, leaving scores of demonstrators in Kyiv dead. A majority of 328 lawmakers in Ukraines 450-seat parliament voted on February 22, 2016, to remove Yanukovych from power, citing as grounds his abandonment of his office and the deaths of more than 80 protesters and police during the previous week. Based on reporting by TASS and Glavkom The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has criticized European countries over a "domino-like" buildup of tens of thousands of refugees in Greece, warning that the continent is on the "cusp of a self-induced" humanitarian crisis if governments fail to work together. The UNHCR's warning on March 1 came after Macedonia used tear gas and stun grenades to repel hundreds of migrants attempting to ram through a barbed-wire fence at a crossing in Idomeni. The UNHCR also warned that crowded conditions in Greece have led to a "completely unmanageable" situation that includes shortages of food, shelter, and water among migrants, stoking tensions and "fueling violence." "We are faced with an extremely alarming situation at the moment, with Europe on the cusp of a new and largely self-induced humanitarian crisis," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told RFE/RL on March 1. Edwards said Mediterranean arrivals in January and February totaled 131,000, compared to around 147,000 in the first six months of last year, more than 122,000 of them coming to Greece after fleeing conflict in Syria. The UN agency said an estimated 24,000 refugees were in need of accommodation in Greece as of February 29, while Greek police said the number of people massed at the Idomeni crossing has reached 10,000. The UNHCR spokesman noted that "compared to refugee crises that we see in the Syria region, in Afghanistan, in parts of Africa, these are still relatively small numbers." Greece has been left to cope with much of the burden of new arrivals since a cap on migrant entries was imposed by its Balkan neighbors and Austria, which is further along a route used by people trying to reach Germany and other rich European Union countries. Large numbers of migrants have built up in the country as a result. WATCH: Migrants Rush Greece-Macedonia Border Fence (February 29) "Governments across Europe are not working together despite agreements that have already been reached in a number of areas," Edwards said. The 28-member European Union, which has been struggling to cope with a surge in migration that saw more than 1 million new arrivals last year, has been criticized for its failure to show a united front in protecting the rights of the refugees. "Country after country is imposing new border restrictions and a series of inconsistent practices across Europe causing both unnecessary suffering and risk being at variance with EU and international law," Edwards said. "And most serious still, bring Europe back into a crisis over a situation which should be entirely manageable." The UNHCR said that for many months European countries simply waved refugees and migrants through without any proper screening system to establish who was a refugee and who wasn't and without functioning mechanisms that could have ensured that help is available for people who need asylum. "Now we're seeing a turning of the tide that's forcing people country-by-country domino-like back towards Greece into a situation which is completely unmanageable. We urgently, urgently need now to see Europe return to trying to address this together," Edwards told RFE/RL. Meanwhile the border remained closed on March 1, as Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov warned he could shut down the Balkan migrant route altogether later this year. Ivanov told German newspaper Der Spiegel that, when Austria reaches its limit of 37,500 migrant entries, Macedonia will close its border with Greece, effectively shutting down a path to northern Europe used by hundreds of thousands of migrants. "When Austria reaches its limit, it will happen," Ivanov said, suggesting that could occur very soon, "perhaps right at this moment." The UNHCR warned that such moves "risk being at variance with EU and international law and are causing unnecessary suffering to many people." Edwards urged European countries to work together to solve this "manageable" situation instead of taking unilateral action. "The crisis that Europe has now is one of failing to work together to address this properly. It's a self-induced crisis. It's also one solvable and avoidable," he said. With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and AP The United States will provide more support for Iraqi forces to retake Mosul from Islamic State (IS) militants than it did in the recapture of Ramadi, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on February 29. The United States will provide more logistics support for Iraqi ground operations and help in setting up temporary bridges that allow Iraqi forces to move into the northern Iraqi city, which is on the Tigris River, he said. "We are talking about additional things of the kind that we've offered previously but that weren't necessary in the case of Ramadi but might well be helpful as Iraqi forces move north," he said. Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, was captured nearly two years ago. As in past campaigns against IS, Iraqi troops will take the lead role in the fight to recapture the city, Carter said. General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the operation to retake Mosul will be bigger than the Ramadi operation in December because Mosul is a bigger city, and that's why it will require more support. Based on reporting by AP and Reuters Downtown Richmond is humming along with residential and commercial projects, as more people and businesses are drawn to the urban core. The momentum continues; each year, it increases exponentially, said Lucy B. Meade, director of marketing and development for Venture Richmond. Were seeing a quality mix not only of big projects but also small ones. The downtown advocacy group partnered with the city of Richmond and the Greater Richmond Association for Commercial Real Estate to present the annual Downtown Development Forum on Monday night. In all, 18 developers presented updates on 55 projects recently completed or underway in downtown Richmond. About 450 people registered to attend the event at Dominion Arts Center, the former Richmond CenterStage. If the leasing market wasnt good for residential, we wouldnt be seeing more residential coming online, Meade said before the event. New construction of The Terraces at Manchester, a 10-story luxury apartment high-rise that opened last year in the Manchester neighborhood of South Richmond, provides an interesting architectural component to the citys skyline, Meade said. She also mentioned 7West, a luxury 12-unit town-house project, which will rise near The Terraces this year along the river at the southern base of the Manchester Bridge. A significant historic project north of the river is the old Signet Bank building at Eighth and Main streets that was converted into loft apartments with a rooftop pool. We love pools on the roof, Meade said. Charles Macfarlane, one of the presenters, said the yearly event helps people see in one place all of the development activities either recently completed in 2015 or underway this year. He estimated that a total of 2,220 apartment units are under development or about to start construction in the citys urban core. That does not include units in Richmonds Fan District or Scotts Addition. He also estimated the total value of the investments is north of $1 billion. Macfarlane, in a joint development, is getting ready to start on Manchester Park, a project with 12 town houses and 12 apartments units with retail and office space at McDonough Street. That $3.9 million project should be ready in the fall. He also developed a $9 million historic tax credit project, turning a tobacco warehouse at 232 E. Main St. into 71 apartments and commercial space. The building opened in January and is 40 percent leased. A game-changer for the city is the renovation of the long dormant and vacant Central National Bank building at North Third and East Broad streets. It will open this spring as Deco at CNB, a 200-unit apartment building. The Monument Cos. alone is doing 289 residential units; 29,600 square feet of office, retail and restaurant space; and 250 parking spaces and investing $48.6 million in six downtown projects, including 10 residential units above the Penny Lane Pub on East Franklin Street. John Gregory with Fountainhead, which is developing the Reynolds north project, said his company has been a huge beneficiary of the multifamily boom in downtown Richmond. But we are a little concerned about how sustainable that is, he said, adding that Richmond has lost 10,000 jobs in the past 10 years. Trina Lee, spokeswoman for CarMax, said the Goochland County-based automotive retailer was looking for an environment that evokes the entrepreneurial spirit for its digital and technology center. It chose the historic Lady Byrd Hat building along the Canal Walk and plans to open there this summer. Downtown is the center of innovation and creativity for the region, Meade said in response to Lees presentation. John Sansom, who spoke from the tenants perspective, said Gateway Plaza, Richmonds newest high-rise, is a work of art. The building captures the spirit and energy of the river, said Sansom, regional office administrator at the McGuireWoods law firm, which last summer moved into the 18-story Gateway Plaza at 800 E. Canal St. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Once again, the Ku Klux Klan has cast its long shadow over American politics. On Sunday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was asked one of the simplest questions in politics. Referencing Trumps endorsement by former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke, CNNs Jake Tapper asked Trump his position on the Klan. Specifically, he asked would you just say unequivocally you condemn them and you dont want their support? Trump declined to do so. Trumps reaction left me like African-Americans across the U.S. bewildered. What about the KKK is not worthy of condemnation? The lynchings? The torture? The bombings? The persecution of a people solely because of the color of their skin or their commitment to equality? It made me wonder: If these acts of terror arent worthy of condemnation, what is? And if a modern-day American isnt willing to condemn them, is he or she living in the present or in the past? Established 150 years ago by former Confederates, the KKK justifiably earned its reputation as a domestic terror organization. Through its grim campaign of arson, beatings and murder, the Klan sought to maintain white supremacy by intimidating freed blacks and their sympathizers. All told, it is estimated that nearly 3,500 black and white Americans perished at the hands of the KKK. Not only is the number horrifying but so too is its composition. Innocent men, women and yes children were victims of the Klans atrocities. Among them are the four innocent little girls who were blown up in 1963 by dynamite planted by Klansmen in Birminghams 16th Street Baptist Church. The KKK pursued its evil agenda through other means as well. The Klan became synonymous with cross burnings, and its violent assaults left tens of thousands injured. Like its pogrom of lynchings, the KKKs atrocities had a chilling purpose: to prevent blacks from realizing their newly won freedom by persecuting them and ridding the South of their Republican defenders. Yes, Republican. Like Abraham Lincoln, those supporting the abolition of slavery were principally Republicans. Indeed, it was for the purpose of ending slavery that the Republican Party was formed in 1854. And it was for that reason that many of the blacks and whites brutalized by the KKK were targeted because they were Republicans. For example, the Louisiana Republican Convention of 1866 was attacked, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 20 white and 40 black Republicans. Two years later, a mob in Opelousas, La., attacked Emerson Bentley, the white schoolteacher of former slaves who also served as editor a Republican newspaper called The Progress. Bentley had written an article critical of Democratic officials racism and, as punishment, he was beaten and whipped in front of his class. When local black Republicans came to his defense, a Negro hunt ensued in which as many as 300 African Americans, including black Republican leaders, were viciously hunted down and killed. Which is why its so difficult to fathom why Trump, a Republican candidate, was unwilling to condemn the KKK. Fortunately, other Republican contenders for the Republican nomination quickly expressed a different view. While touring Virginia, Marco Rubio reacted by saying We cannot be a party who refuses to condemn white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan. Ted Cruz affirmed this, saying We should all agree, racism is wrong, KKK is abhorrent. And John Kasich said Hate groups have no place in America. But still, its been impossible for me to make sense of Trumps response. Ours must be a nation in which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s vision is not a goal but a reality. I have a dream, he told us on that unforgettable day in 1963, that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Thats why, whether youre a Republican or Democrat whether you support candidates like Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders who advocated for civil rights reform or candidates like Dr. Ben Carson, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio who have personally experienced racial bigotry due to their African American and Latino heritage we must all agree on one unifying principle: The KKK is the very definition of what every American should condemn. Anyone not willing to do so may have their head in the past rather than a heart for the future. MANASSAS An Army staff sergeant has admitted shooting his wife and three police officers who showed up at his front door, including a rookie officer working her first shift who died from her wounds, according to court records. Ronald Hamilton, 32, of Woodbridge, is charged with capital murder in Officer Ashley Guindons shooting death Saturday. He also faces a murder charge in the shooting death of his wife, Crystal Hamilton, 29. An affidavit filed Monday states that officers arrived at the Hamiltons home in reference to a 911 domestic dispute call, and were shot with a rifle after Hamilton met the officers at the front door. The affidavit says that more officers conducted a sweep of the home after Hamilton was brought under control, and they found Crystal Hamiltons body in a bedroom. The accused made statements to law enforcement officers stating that he shot his wife and the police officers, according to the affidavit. Guindon died of rifle wounds to the right arm and torso, medical examiner Nancy Bull said. Crystal Hamilton died of gunshot wounds to the head and torso. FAIRFAX Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton spent the eve of Super Tuesday in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, telling several hundred students and activists at George Mason University, I need your help tomorrow. Three of the seven presidential hopefuls campaigned in Virginia Monday, ahead of Tuesdays contests in 11 states. GOP front-runner Donald Trump held a rally at Radford University, and Republican hopeful Ben Carson spoke at Regent University in Virginia Beach. Ohio Gov. John Kasich holds a noon rally today in Arlington County. I will stand up and fight for you throughout this campaign, no matter who the Republicans nominate, Clinton told an enthusiastic crowd at GMU in Fairfax County. Clinton said she has the experience and temperament to lead the nation, but cast doubt on the GOP field. At some point you cant just say whatever pops into your head when you are president of the United States, she said to loud applause. Clinton, who spoke at a Norfolk high school Monday night, hopes to maintain her momentum on Super Tuesday after her big win over Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Saturday in South Carolinas Democratic primary. She campaigned Monday with Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime friend who led her unsuccessful 2008 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Virginia is Clinton country! yelled McAuliffe, as Clinton stood next to him at George Mason. Elections matter, and it matters that Hillary Clinton gets elected president of the United States of America. Clinton did not mention Sanders at GMU. She focused most of her remarks on Republicans and the general election. A Republican in the White House would rip away the progress, send us backwards, and deprive people of rights, Clinton said. Im running for president to break down every barrier that stands in the way. America never stopped being great, she said, in a twist on Trumps pledge to make America great again. Weve got to make America whole, Clinton said. Clinton said she regrets the tenor of the GOP presidential contest the scapegoating, finger pointing, blaming. ... She said that as president, she would target communities that have been left out and left behind. She said Republicans want to sell America snake oil and return to trickle-down economics. She said she would defend the Affordable Care Act, and said Republicans would return care to the insurance companies. Clinton said she would defend Obamacare, improve it and make it work better. Clinton said the United States doesnt need any more prisons, but needs investments in education. She promised to allow student debt to be refinanced, and offer reductions, discounts and forgiveness in exchange for public service. She also said she would defend Planned Parenthood, marriage equality and voting rights and that the U.S. Senate should not resist President Barack Obamas prerogative to nominate a Supreme Court justice to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died Feb. 13. She said she favors comprehensive immigration reform and would protect Social Security and resist Republican attempts to privatize it. Clintons backers at the event included Sen. Timothy M. Kaine, D-Va. Virginia is now the battleground of battlegrounds, said Kaine, who endorsed Clinton in May 2014, nearly a year before she announced her candidacy. We were irrelevant 15 years ago, he said. Now all of a sudden, folks ... Virginia is (a) front and center battleground, spotlight on. When the spotlights on, youve got to do your best work, he told the crowd, encouraging them to work for Clinton until the polls close Tuesday evening. The governor said he is confident that the party would unite around Clinton once Sanders no longer has a path to the nomination. Right now its a competition, and once we get through that point and once shes the nominee, people are going to come together, he said. Theres going to be such a stark contrast between the nominee Trump on their side, and obviously, Hillary Clinton on our side. McAuliffe said of the GOP primaries: People around the globe have got to be watching television not able to comprehend what is going on in the United States of America. He said that in the general election, Republicans are going to have no ability to bring that Hispanic community back in, to bring communities of color back into their side its just not going to happen. Its never easy, added McAuliffe. But listen, Id much rather be us than them. Republicans on Monday criticized Clinton for her email practices as secretary of state, marking the final court-ordered release of her private server. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement: On more than 2,000 occasions, Hillary Clinton recklessly jeopardized our national security and sensitive diplomatic efforts by using a secret, unsecure email server to send and receive classified material, including Top Secret intelligence. This was information so sensitive, its exposure potentially put lives at risk. At George Mason, Clinton spent nearly 30 minutes after her remarks interacting with the diverse crowd, posing for selfies in a sea of cellphones while surrounded by Secret Service agents. Eight-year-old Morgan Seibold and her mother, Holly, were among those to get up close and personal. Morgan wore a cinched-up Hillary for President T-shirt that her mother had sported during Clintons 2008 campaign. They made the short trip from Vienna Monday because, Holly Seibold said, Clinton would fight for womens rights, education everything that is important to my daughter. For federal worker Edison Aponte, Clinton is the only mainstream, proven leader in the field. No other candidate has the experience, the leadership abilities, the qualifications, by far, he said. Sanders, he said, does not have the right game plan. Its very ambitious but not realistic. Republicans, he said, do not know what is going on in America. They are not in touch with reality. A Clinton win in Virginia also would be a personal victory for McAuliffe. To have that map of Virginia up, that blue map, and they click Winner, Hillary Clinton, thats all thats it for me, he said. It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search? Search for: Search Walz Business Mailing System Solutions Mailing machines and postage meters Address printers Tabbing and labeling machines Mail management and preparation software Postage scales Mailing Machines Address Printers Mail Management and Preparation Software Postage Scales is a local family operated and owned organization with stores located throughout central Illinois. The company was started back in 1966 by Fred and Patricia Walz as a small an independent sales and service company.Walz' client base has grown over the years forcing the company also to evolve with time. This evolution has seen the automation of services that eventually meet the customer's unique needs. The product and service portfolio of Walz has continued to improve parallel with technological advances.Over years of technology advancement,has managed to expand its labeling, automation and mailing divisions. As at now, thousands of companies across the Midwest depend on Walz for their business automation and mailing system needs. Being an independent dealer for some of the leading manufacturers in the world, Walz offers solutions that fit different companies specifications, budget and support requirements.Walz is equipped with the state of machines and programs that enable the company to provide efficient and automated services and products to its customers. These machines and programs include:These are the tools of trade that make Walz a leader in automated labeling and mailing in Illinois. Learn more about some of these mailing system solutions below. Walz has a total of 12 states of the art mailing machines and postage meters that include popular models like the; Advanced Curve, DIB, WJPRO, IM-6000, IM-5000, IN-750, IN-700, IN-600 AF, IN-600 HF, IN-360, IM-330, and the IM-280. All these brands are manufactured by Neopost, an American company that is renowned for its production of top end mailing machines and systems. These postage meters/mail machines have the capability of providing you with any mailing solution that you may need.These machines have different capacities. The IM-280 is designed to offer home-based solutions, unlike the IM-330, which is more advanced and is designed for an office environment. The others mentioned are all ideal for busy business surroundings. However they coma with different specifications. The advanced curve, on the other hand, is the most versatile of them all. Walz has an array ofwith different specifications. Depending on a customer's choice, one cannot miss out on getting the preferred address printer in Walz. The company has a total of 19 address printers in stock. They range from the HJ980 that has the ability to process 34,000 postcards per hour to the smaller SA-3100 ideal for small businesses.Apart from these, there are others like IMAGER 1.5, AS-710, SA-3100, AS-930, SA-5000, IMAGER 1.5- PLUS, DA95A, IMAGER 2.5, IMAGER 3.0, P4, SA 5300 PRO, MACH 5, MACH 8, AS 960, P8, and the 655MB. All these printers are also manufactured by NEOPOST. They all have different printing capacities thus giving the client a variety to choose from.The firm offers three mail management software which are, Account Reporting Manager, NEOSHIP, and Enhanced Mailing and Shipping. The ARM assists in providing summary statistics to detailed reports. It also has a database with the capability of saving very crucial information. The EMS platform provides many tools that manage costs and build good relationships with customers. It comes with an address correction feature that enables it to eliminate complications that might lead to late deliveries, address correction fees, and other inconvenience. NEOSHIP, on the other hand, is responsible for confirming the 1Mbp compliance from USPS for all the package shipping requirements.Mail preparation software availed by Walz are Bulk Mailer Professional, A-QUA Mailer, and EASYTRACK. The Bulk Mailer Professional prepares USPS compliant direct mail easily and faster thus saving ample time. It can be used to manoeuvre complex postal regulations, achieve the lowest postal rates and increase mail deliverability.A-Qua Mailer is an innovative web-based software solution that allows clients to process mailing lists for duplicate detection, move update, auto correction, and presorting over the internet using credits as they move. EASYTRACK gives you viable visibility of your mail as it passes through USPS mail stream.Walz has 6 different scales that can serve up to a certain capacity. The NCI-7820 and NCI-7815 are the one most suitable for weighing heavier mail. The smallest is the MSB-25 that is used to weigh fewer pieces of mail. The others include; The PS-15, PS-30, and PS-60. They have the capacities of 30lb/15kg, 70lb/30kg, 150lb/60kg respectively.To learn more or contact the company, follow the address and contact information below:Walz Mailing & Mailing Systems624 High Point LnEast Peoria, IL 61611877.971.1500 A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. "Oh, look at it go!" It was Claudia Jarema's first time giving blood, but the needles and the blood didn't seem to affect her like it did some of her classmates. Jarema, a sophomore at Cave Spring High School, was one of the first of many to donate blood at a drive held to honor former Knights Kendall Bayne and Hannah Bryant, held on Feb. 19. Kendall died in October of adrenal cortical carcinoma, and Hannah, who had leukemia, died in January from complications from pneumonia. Both women were 19 years old. Senior Lexi Link was also donating for the first time and confessed to liking neither blood nor needles. But she did know both Hannah and Kendall and said she felt this was the right thing to do. Sophomore Andrew Monsour was also a first-time blood donor, but he said he wasn't nervous. Having been close to Kendall, Monsour felt donating was "a way to give to people which is not going to cost me much. ... No point in NOT doing it." Maddi Monsour, volunteer "hand-holder" who was scheduled to donate later in the day, remembered Kendall's tweets where she gave a shout-out to "the person who donated the blood" she was receiving in her treatments. The blood drive was the brainchild of PTSO President Leah Kinder. She said she remembers being at a blood drive "that my employer [The Branch Group] was holding, and it was the day after Kendalls memorial service so I was sitting there in the chair, first time I had ever donatedand I just thought I need to bring [the idea of a blood drive] up to the board and the principal. "Everyone was like, 'We need to do this.' It wasnt the right time in November with the holidays, and for the Bayne family it was too soon, too raw. So we waited until after the first of the year. "Well, then we lost Hannah. And so at our February meeting we said, 'We have to do this.' And here it is, the 19th, and we pushed it and pulled it together quickly." The drive, open to Cave Spring students, teachers, staff and PTSO members, was run by Virginia Blood Services. VBS is a nonprofit provider of blood products to hospitals, including the VA, in this area. The goal for the blood drive was to get 60 people to donate. They not only met their goal, but surpassed it 107 students signed up! Throughout the day, teachers, staff and PTSO members filtered in throughout the day to donate, as well. The Cave Spring PTSO is planning on holding a community blood drive this spring but, at this time, the date has not been scheduled. For photos of the CSHS blood drive, see the photo gallery, or for a different view, click here. Faith Christian School's Little Hands, Big Hearts members had the privilege of seeing the fruits of their labors when they traveled to Pheasant Ridge Assisted Living Community to celebrate Valentine's Day with residents. The students had made fleece blankets, an activity they do annually, but this year they were actually able to see the faces of the recipients. (In previous years, blankets were made for the Rescue Mission, Straight Street, Ronald McDonald House and First Baptists Foster Care Program.) Before the blankets were presented, students and residents played a rousing game of Valentine Day's Bingo with Hershey chocolate kisses awarded to winners. The highlight of the party, though, was when the students presented the blankets to residents. Each one was a unique design and many seemed to match the personality of the recipient. The residents, judging from the smiles, seemed very pleased and grateful. For photos to the Faith Christian students at Pheasant Ridge, see the photo gallery, or for a different view, click here. In the January 25 edition of The Roanoke Times, a color picture of a large building caught my attention. It was identified as a postcard of an undated picture of the Main Building, U.S. Veterans Administration Hospital in Salem. On Oct. 19, 1934, I was an 11-year-old lad and a student of Mrs. Peels fifth-grade class at Virginia Heights Elementary School. That was the day that President Franklin D. Roosevelt came to Roanoke to dedicate that newly constructed 472-bed hospital. President Roosevelt arrived at the N&W train station at 3:30 p.m., as planned. According to the newspaper, the procession crossed the railroad tracks on Jefferson Street, turned right on Campbell Avenue then passed Jefferson High School, where a large group of school children had gathered, cheering the waving President. It was estimated that 75,000 people had waited to see the countrys 32nd president. It has been said that it was the largest crowd ever assembled in the Roanoke Valley. My family lived on Belleville Road, one block west of Grandin Road. On that day, my older brother, Dickie, and I walked from our home to Grandin Road where we stood at the corner. When the Packard Phaeton drove by, all occupants, which included the president, Virginia Governor George C. Peery and U.S. Rep. Clifton A. Woodrum, were waving. Following that, my parents drove us to Salem to hear the presidents speech. We sat on the ground, considerably lower than, and at a distance from, the platform. Mr. Roosevelt was the first United States president I had ever seen. -- Robert A. Garland, a reader in Roanoke A former part-time staff member at two Salem schools has confessed to viewing sexually explicit images of a male student who spent a week at his home, according to a search warrant filed last week in Salem Circuit Court. Police have not charged the man, 57, who was a part-time choir accompanist at both Andrew Lewis Middle School and Salem High School. His contract with the school system was terminated Feb. 3, a few days after he was interviewed by police, Salem spokesman Mike Stevens said. The case is currently under investigation, Stevens said in an email. The Roanoke Times is not naming the man because he has not been charged with a crime. A search of adult criminal court records shows he has no previous criminal history in Virginia. He is not listed on the sex offender registry. Police began investigating him in January after receiving a complaint from the students mother through Child Protective Services, according to the search warrant. The man is described in the warrant as the teens former piano teacher. The mother told detectives she took her son, who was 15 at the time of the incident, to stay with the man at his home in Salem for a week over spring break. Later, the teen told his mother that he was mad at [the teacher] because he had touched him, according to the warrant. The mother believed the teacher was attempting to massage her sons shoulders. When the teen was interviewed by police in late January, he declined to name the man but said he has a relationship with a teacher at Salem High School, the warrant states. Police interviewed the man on Jan. 27. He told police he taught the teen in the Salem High School choir and had purchased him gifts, given him money and went to see him several times while [the teen] was in Staunton, the warrant states. The man told police he had viewed photographs of the teen wearing only his boxer briefs, according to the warrant. Additionally, he told police he had viewed and downloaded other child pornography, and he provided the names of two other male minors who also had spent time with him at his home. Police seized an iPhone and 17 thumb drives, according to the warrant. The man has worked in Salem schools since 2006, Stevens said. In 2014, his duties were expanded to include part-time marching instructor with the band. News researcher Belinda Harris contributed to this report. A 28-year-old man from Glasgow died Tuesday after his pickup truck collided with a tractor-trailer on Interstate 64 in Rockbridge County, according to Virginia State Police. Trooper J.S. Montgomery responded to a report of the two-vehicle crash near mile marker 45 at 6:06 a.m. Police determined that Dustin James Hamm was traveling west in his 1995 Toyota T1000 pickup when he struck a 2001 Volvo tractor-trailer traveling the same direction in the right lane. Hamm was wearing a seat belt. He died at the scene, according to the release. The tractor-trailer driver, 64-year-old Dennis C. Williamson, was not injured. He was wearing his seat belt, according to the release. No charges have been filed in connection with the wreck. RADFORD Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump got lots of support from people dissatisfied with current government leadership Monday, but he was also interrupted at least seven times by protesters unhappy with what they said was a message of hate. The biggest disruption during the Trump event at Radford Universitys Dedmon Center came from a group of a few dozen, mostly black Radford students chanting No more hate! No more hate! Lets be equal, lets be great! That groups protest then touched off an incident between a photographer and a Secret Service agent. The group locked hands as they were marched out of the Dedmon Center by security to a flurry of boos and cursing. The group had students from the Black Student Alliance, Latino Student Alliance and the Muslim Student Association, said Omawali Omar Murray, the president of the Muslim student group and a participant in the rally. The inspiration for the group was simple: to have minority students heard above the fiery voice of Trump, said Geoffrey Preudhomme, a Radford student dressed in an all-black suit for the event. Hes the biggest face of modern American racism, Preudhomme said. Silence is consent. We could not be silent with this coming to our campus. He said the group had been planning the protest in the days after they got tickets to the event. Then, as the group was removed from the building, a Secret Service agent grabbed photographer Chris Morris by the neck and slammed him to the ground after he appeared to bump the agent. Morris, who was working for Time magazine, told The Roanoke Times that he put one foot outside of an assigned media area to get a better angle for photos of the protesters. At that point the Secret Service agent touched his neck, Morris said. Morris said he responded by saying dont f---ing touch me, and attempted to brush his hand away. The agent slammed him to the ground by the throat and the two scuffled briefly before he was escorted out of the building. The incident was caught on video and in photos that hit the Internet minutes after it happened. Time released a statement saying the news magazine contacted the Secret Service about the incident, expressing concern. We are relieved that Chris is feeling OK, and we expect him to be back at work soon, the statement quoted a magazine representative saying. By 4 p.m., video from the event was viral and Secret Service was trending on Twitter across the country. The Secret Service released a statement saying that the Roanoke field office of the agency was investigating and had no further details to provide Monday afternoon. The National Press Photographers Association also released a statement, condemning the agents actions If indeed all Mr. Morris was attempting to do was step out of the press pen to photograph a newsworthy event happening at the rear of the room, the agent clearly overreacted, the organizations President Melissa Lyttle said in the statement. Throughout his speech, Trump was interrupted every few minutes by protesters in the crowd of about 4,000 to 5,000 who were quickly pointed out by others and removed. Prior to Trump taking the stage, a message was relayed to the crowd on loudspeakers, asking those in attendance to point out protesters by raising Trump signs and shouting: Trump, Trump, Trump. For Trump supporters, the protests didnt change how they felt about the GOP front-runner. Honestly, it was expected, said Kile Quick, a Virginia Tech student there to support Trump. Quick said he just wished that the students hadnt been disruptive and slowed down the event. He said there was no need to display division at what shouldve been a positive rally. Theyre the ones full of hate, he said. Were not going to show up and disrupt a Bernie Sanders rally. As the rally ended, the students marched away from the Dedmon Center and back toward campus. Several rally members yelled go home as they left. The event was coming to a close and Trump walked off the stage after most of the students had left. A few lingered to display their signs to the folks exiting the arena. But, the shouting and vitriol were largely over. Many on both sides had their minds made up about who they would support in Tuesdays primary election. The Rolling Stones hit song You Cant Always Get What You Want blasted in the background. In another twist to an eventful day, Morris got a ride to the airport with former U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, who had rallied the crowd for Trump earlier in the day. Staff writer Matt Chittum contributed to this report. RADFORD Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump meandered through an hourlong stump speech at Radford University on Monday, dishing out personal attacks against his rivals and ordering numerous protesters removed from the building. Throughout the speech at the Dedmon Center, Trump was interrupted every few minutes by protesters who were quickly pointed out by others in the crowd so they could be removed. The biggest disruption came from a group of a few dozen black Radford University students chanting No more hate! No more hate! Lets be equal, lets be great! As they were escorted out, a Time magazine photographer tangled with a Secret Service agent and was choked and thrown to the ground before being removed from the building. Isnt it fun to be at a Trump rally? Trump said. Trump arrived just after noon to deafening roars from a crowd of about 3,800 in the Dedmon Center. He launched right into his customary red meat topics to stir his followers, who responded with deafening cheers and spontaneous chants of USA! and Trump! Trump belittled his main opponents as Lying Ted Cruz and Little Marco Rubio, focusing mostly on Rubio, who has launched repeated personal attacks on Trump in recent days. Rubio peppered Trump with barbs at a Sunday night rally at Roanoke College, calling him a con artist and bringing up the size of Trumps hands. You know what they say about men with small hands. You cant trust em, Rubio said. Trump dismissed Rubios attacks as desperate. He had no choice. I guess he had to come up with something, he said. On Democrat front-runner Hillary Clinton, he said, She shouldnt even be allowed to run. When the crowd interrupted him with boos for Clinton, he said, You can boo. He dismissed Bernie Sanders campaign as over. Periodically, protesters would interrupt Trump with shouting. They were immediately shouted down by Trump supporters. Just before Trumps arrival, a recorded message over the loudspeakers told the crowd that Trump supports the First Amendment right to free speech, but this was a private event paid for by Trump, so protesters wouldnt be tolerated. If a protester starts demonstrating in the area around you, please do not touch or harm the protester, the message said. Please hold a rally sign over your head and start chanting Trump! Trump! Trump! About 20 minutes in, the crowd did as instructed and called out a young man near the front of the room. Are you protesting, darling? Trump said to him. Get him out of here! About 10 minutes later, a woman to Trumps left began shouting in protest, and again the crowd around her shouted her down. Trump was in the midst of talking about heavily taxing goods brought into the United States from other countries, including Mexico. Are you from Mexico? he shouted at the dark-skinned woman as she was removed. As that ruckus calmed, a group of a few dozen students from the Black Student Alliance, Latino Student Alliance and the Muslim Student Association at Radford stood, held hands and began chanting. Folks, youre going to hear it once: All lives matter, Trump said, citing the response often given to the Black Lives Matter movement. Trump was interrupted by more protesters every few minutes for a while as he continued to try to give his speech. He lamented that they had ruined the punch line on a story he was telling. He still managed to whip the crowd up easily. We will be building the wall, he said, referring to his promise of erecting a wall along the Mexican border to keep illegal immigrants from crossing over. That triggered chants of USA! USA! We need 1,000 miles, Trump continued. Im going to make our wall even higher than Chinas. Trump also reiterated his call for reform of libel laws. The press is a real problem in this country, he said. Trump also focused a section of his speech on his plans to bolster the U.S. economy, which he said would benefit from his history as a dealmaker. Clinton drew Trumps scorn, as he criticized her tone and for being part of a weak foreign policy. We need strength, we need strong people; its the only thing thats going to be respected, Trump said. Trumps rambling talk hit a long list of topics, including knocking the hell out of ISIS, banning Syrian refugees, jacking up taxes on imported goods to force American companies to return manufacturing operations to the U.S., doing away with the Common Core education standards, reviving coal production and support for the Second Amendment, which drew particularly spirited cheers. Before Trump even arrived, a series of speakers stirred them up for him. I dont need a politician to have perfect hair, I need him to have balls, said Tamara Neo, the former Buchanan County commonwealths attorney. Spectators lined up hours ahead of Trumps scheduled noon appearance, many buying poofy red Make America Great Again ball caps and T-shirts. Fire the Idiots, Help the Vets read the front of one popular T-shirt. On the back, DONALD TRUMP: FINALLY SOMEONE WITH BALLS. The shirts sold for $10 each. One was worn by an elementary school-aged girl. The event drew a large number of Radford University students like Tristan Rines. Rines said the opportunity to see Trump likely the first presidential candidate to make a stop in Radford was too rare to pass up. He and his friend, Virginia Tech student Ethan Haley, showed up at 6 a.m. to get one of the first spots in line for the event. The pair said they were undecided as to who they would vote for come November. Haley said he was undecided between Trump and Sanders. I like what both of them have to offer, he said. Its all about the fiery rhetoric and making a necessary change in the U.S. economy, Haley said. Bill Orrell of Clemmons, North Carolina, said he supported building a wall to keep terrorists from entering the country. And Trump is the only guy willing to build it, Orrell said, probably because he isnt concerned with politics like his Republican primary opponents. Politicians do a lot of talking, Orrell said. He does a lot of working. Trump played to the crowds sense of importance throughout his speech. He reeled off a list of endorsements and said many more wanted to endorse him but they all want to have dinner with him first. I dont want to do it. I want to be with you, he said. As he closed, he instilled the sense his supporters are part of something monumental, a movement. Four years from now, he said, youre going to say you were there at the beginning. Staff writer Robby Korth contributed to this report. VIRGINIA BEACH Ben Carson said at Regent University on Monday that he will win enough delegates on Super Tuesday to reshuffle the deck and make voters take another look at his candidacy. I think Im going to get delegates from a lot of states, the Republican hopeful told an audience at the conservative Christian school in Virginia Beach, noting that its not winner-take-all yet. When I get all of these delegates, people are going to take a second look, the retired neurosurgeon said. A day before Virginians vote on Super Tuesday, Carson warned the audience that when people make decisions based on anger and fear, they usually dont make good decisions. Carson and the four other GOP hopefuls are trying to slow Donald Trumps momentum on Super Tuesday, when Republicans vote in 11 states. Carson also said that he would look for a running mate with whom he is philosophically aligned, not someone who could help him with a demographic slice of the population. Carson delivered introductory remarks, then Regent founder Pat Robertson joined him onstage and posed questions in a sit-down interview. In his opening, Carson said was delighted to be back home at the school where he once served on Regents board. In his introductory remarks, Carson decried the divisiveness in politics and the culture. He quoted Abraham Lincolns statement that a house divided against itself cannot stand, which echoed a statement from Jesus recorded in the Gospels. Carson was in second place in Virginia in an October poll released by Christopher Newport University, but has since faded. He was tied for fourth, at 7 percent, in a Feb. 16 CNU poll of likely GOP primary voters. Carson is the fifth current or former GOP presidential candidate to take part in Regents presidential candidate series, following former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; Ohio Gov. John Kasich,; Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Regent and Liberty University in Lynchburg, where Carson spoke in November, are key stops for Republican candidates who hope to court evangelical voters, a key voting bloc in the GOP primaries. In his discussion with Robertson, Carson said he thinks Americans are frightened and angry. Theyre frightened because they recognize that there are global, radical Islamic terrorists who want to destroy us and they dont get the impression that our government recognizes the seriousness of the situation, Carson said. He said Americans are angry because they keep sending people who are supposed to change things and nothing gets changed. He sketched out his plans for illegal immigrants, saying he would not allow a path to citizenship. Carson said he would scrap a number of President Barack Obamas executive orders and that he would go after the Islamic State group. On the Iran nuclear deal, Carson said: Not only was it a horrible deal, but the U.S. turned its back on its friends in the Middle East. On health care, Carson said he would scrap the Affordable Care Act and set up health empowerment accounts that give people the ability to control their spending on coverage. He said they would be just like a health savings account without the bureaucrats. Carson also talked about his childhood in Detroit and how his mother, who had a third-grade education, made her children turn off the TV set, read books from the public library and submit to her book reports. The most important thing I learned by reading books about people of accomplishment is that the person who has the most to do with what happens to you in life is you, Carson said. I went from the bottom of the class to the top of the class, Carson said. I didnt have a brain transplant but I had an attitude transplant, and thats the key. In response to a question from the audience, Carson said one of the reasons the U.S. culture has gotten away from virtue is because of the politically correct environment that says there is no right, there is no wrong. The soft-spoken Carson said that when it comes to national security, opponents and voters should not mistake his demeanor. Some people say I cant be tough because Im nice, he said. Referring to the story of David and Goliath, Carson said: I think David was nice. He was a nice shepherd boy but he turned out to be a pretty good warrior, too. RICHMOND The House of Delegates has dropped efforts to slow the resettlement of refugees from Syria and other global hot spots. The House shelved proposals to curb state assistance for refugees from certain nations, an idea backed by several in the GOP caucus amid last falls heightened debate about refugee security screenings. The last bill died quietly in House Appropriations before crossover amid uncertainty about whether denying services to some would mean forfeiting up to $2 million in annual federal aid Virginia gets for its work with all refugees. Del. Tim Hugo, chairman of the House Majority Caucus, said lawmakers will continue to monitor the situation and talk with state and federal authorities. I think theres concern out there, said Hugo, R-Fairfax, part of a small group of legislators who spearheaded the initial work on the issue. Well wait and see. We may come back with those bills again next year. Virginia Republicans were among those calling for a pause on Syrian refugee resettlement in the wake of the Paris attacks and the debate they fueled about national security and refugee screenings. In the House, a trio of bills were filed, each taking a slightly different approach to the issue but pivoting on the idea that the state would restrict assistance for certain refugee resettlement. States wield little power over refugee admission decisions as that falls under federal purview. But they could arguably make the process more difficult by refusing to help coordinate support services. Virginia and many other states help administer resettlement services. The commonwealth receives about $2 million in federal aid to cover staff costs and health department screenings, according to a fiscal impact statement. No state general fund money goes into the program, according to the state. Officials were unsure if denying services for some refugees would mean jeopardizing part or all of the money received to support others. Federal authorities warned several states in a letter last year that refusing services based on a refugees country of origin could result in enforcement action, according to an Associated Press report. The Virginia bills were folded into one proposal carried by Del. Bob Marshall, R-Prince William, and modeled after the legislation overwhelmingly passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would have barred state agencies from assisting in the resettlement of new Syrian and Iraqi refugees unless three top national security officials certified the refugee was not a threat. It ended up being tabled in an appropriations subcommittee earlier this month. Marshall said he was surprised and distressed that the bill was scuttled. Frankly, we are morally delinquent in the first duty of government to protect our citizens from harm by not checking this out, he said, at one point referencing the arrest of two Iraqi refugees on terrorism-related charges. The federal version of the refugee legislation was blocked in the U.S. Senate. The White House criticized the multilayered certification proposal as untenable. Refugees admitted to the United States are subject to extensive security checks, but there has been a fierce debate over whether those checks are effective in war-racked countries where the ability to verify information can be limited. Last year, more than 30 governors spoke out against accepting more Syrian refugees. There are at least two states, Texas and Alabama, suing the federal government over the issue. Gov. Terry McAuliffe wasnt among those who opposed the program. Spokesman Brian Coy said the governor continues to feel its best to remain engaged in the federal program rather than pulling away and risk being cut out of discussions that affect Virginia. Obviously, the federal government is the decision maker, Coy said of refugee admissions. Being an active partner is the best way to keep our thumb on the pulse of whats happening. RICHMOND A major overhaul of Virginia's Line of Duty Act is on its way to the full Senate after speeding through the Finance Committee Tuesday with the support of representatives of state police, local governments, fire chiefs and volunteer rescue squads. House Bill 1345, introduced by House Appropriations Chairman Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, would put in place a new framework for handling death benefits, disability, claims, and insurance benefits for public employees killed or injured in the course of their duties. Jones carried legislation adopted last year with a re-enactment clause. It would move administration of the program from the treasury department to the Virginia Retirement System to determine eligibility, and to the state human resources department to administer benefits that have grown dramatically in scope and cost since the law was first adopted in 1972. The proposed new system would establish one plan for administering health insurance benefits to people injured in the line of duty and their families, saving government employers an estimated $30 million over 10 years, he said. Jones promised to develop a source of sustainable funding for the program, which originally was supported by state general fund revenue. In 2010, the state created a separate fund with employer premiums and interest earnings from assets managed by VRS. "This has been a concern every year, as we all know how are we going to fund this?" he said. The new law would change the health benefits for people who qualify on or after July 1, 2017, requiring them in most cases to rely on Medicare for health benefits after they turn 65. It also would require periodic review of a person's disability status and end benefits for surviving spouses of those killed in the line of duty after they remarry, as well as for spouses of disabled beneficiaries after divorce. The Joint Audit and Legislative Review Commission issued a study in 2014 that recommended a complete overhaul of the Line of Duty Act program, beginning with transferring its administration to VRS from the Department of Accounts. The VRS completed a study last fall that made a series of recommendations addressed in the pending legislation. In other action today, the Senate Finance Committee: approved legislation to allow the Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority to build and operate a new civic arena to replace the decrepit Richmond Coliseum. House Bill 1237 is sponsored by Del. G. Manoli Loupassi, R-Richmond. He told the committee that the regional authority cannot undertake any project without approval from all of its members - Henrico and Chesterfield counties, as well as Richmond City Council and the mayor. "I don't think they will go anything crazy," he said. adopted a bill to allow auxiliary grants, financed by the state and localities, to provide supportive housing for as many as 60 people with mental illness, rather than adult homes and assisted living facilities that supporters said may be less well-suited for their needs. Del. Christopher K. Peace, R-Hanover, who sponsored House Bill 675, said the legislation would create "a gateway" for people with mental illness to receive less-intensive "step-down services" in their communities. FAIRFAX Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton spent the eve of Super Tuesday in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, telling several hundred students and activists at George Mason University, I need your help tomorrow. Three of the seven presidential hopefuls campaigned in Virginia on Monday, ahead of Tuesdays contests in 11 states. GOP front-runner Donald Trump held a rally at Radford University and Republican hopeful Ben Carson spoke at Regent University in Virginia Beach. Ohio Gov. John Kasich is holding a noon rally Tuesday in Arlington County. I will stand up and fight for you throughout this campaign, no matter who the Republicans nominate, Clinton told an enthusiastic crowd at GMU in Fairfax County. Clinton said she has the experience and temperament to lead the nation, but cast doubt on the GOP field. At some point you cant just say whatever pops into your head when you are president of the United States, she said to loud applause. Clinton, who spoke at a Norfolk high school Monday night, hopes to maintain her momentum on Super Tuesday after her big win over Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in South Carolina on Saturday. She campaigned Monday with Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime friend who led her unsuccessful 2008 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Virginia is Clinton country, yelled McAuliffe, as Clinton stood next to him at George Mason. Elections matter, and it matters that Hillary Clinton gets elected president of the United States of America. Clinton did not mention Sanders at GMU. She focused most of her remarks on Republicans and the general election. A Republican in the White House would rip away the progress, send us backwards and deprive people of rights, Clinton said. Im running for president to break down every barrier that stands in the way. America never stopped being great, she said, in a twist on Trumps pledge to make America great again. Weve got to make America whole, Clinton said. Clinton said she regrets the tenor of the GOP presidential contest the scapegoating, finger pointing, blaming. She said that as president, she would target communities that have been left out and left behind. She said Republicans want to sell America snake oil and return to trickle-down economics. She said she would defend the Affordable Care Act, and said Republicans would return care to the insurance companies. Clinton said she would defend Obamacare, improve it and make it work better. Clinton said the United States doesnt need any more prisons, but needs investments in education. She promised to allow student debt to be refinanced, and offer reductions, discounts and forgiveness in exchange for public service. She also said she would defend Planned Parenthood, marriage equality and voting rights and that the U.S. Senate should not resist President Barack Obamas prerogative to nominate a Supreme Court justice to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died Feb. 13. She said she favors comprehensive immigration reform and would protect Social Security and resist Republican attempts to privatize it. Clintons backers at the event included Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. Virginia is now the battleground of battlegrounds, said Kaine, who endorsed Clinton in May 2014, nearly a year before she announced her candidacy. We were irrelevant 15 years ago, he said. Now all of a sudden, folks Virginia is [a] front and center battleground, spotlight on. When the spotlights on, youve got to do your best work, he told the crowd, encouraging them to work for Clinton until the polls close Tuesday evening. Republicans on Monday criticized Clinton for her email practices as secretary of state marking the final court-ordered release of her private server. At George Mason, Clinton spent nearly 30 minutes after her remarks interacting with the diverse crowd, posing for selfies in a sea of cell phones while surrounded by Secret Service agents. But those efforts could be stalled by a fight over a request from Native American tribes and environmental groups to designate 1.9 million acres of federal land in southern Utah as the Bears Ears National Monument. The lands on sweeping plateaus east of the Colorado River are filled with ancient artifacts, burial grounds and sites considered sacred by the Navajos and other tribes, and they include scenic areas managed by three federal agencies, including the National Park Service. Under the Antiquities Act, the president has the power to authorize the preservation of federal land that holds historic, scientific and/or archeological interest. Once designated, the land would be off limits to new development such as gas and oil exploration and grazing allotments, although existing leases would continue. Obama has an incredible opportunity before him with the Utah proposal, said Sharon Buccino, director for the Natural Resources Defense Councils Land and Wildlife program. The decision has the ability to make or break Obamas conservationist legacy, Buccino says, mainly because it would protect so many acres. Images: Sky Filming / Facebook GMB members in engineering construction are holding three separate protest demonstrations in Wales, Scotland and Yorkshire against undercutting of workers on three energy from waste power station construction sites.Construction began last year on the 150m biomass-fired power plant project at Templeborough where Babcock & Wilcox Vlund A/S, the Danish subsidiary of the giant US Babcock & Wilcox Company, will design, manufacture and operate the plant, with Interserve responsible for its construction.The GMB Union claims that skilled workers on the site are being paid about 7 per hour and that the subsidiary has declined to follow National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI) which covers infrastructure like power stations, oil refineries and transport installations. Under that agreement the rate for skilled workers is 16.64 per hour.Under the EU Posted Workers Directive contractors employing labour from third countries are obliged to follow sector agreements like the NAECI agreement but increasingly employers are ignoring this legal requirement.Bob McNeill, GMB Regional organiser, said: "GMB members have negotiated and honoured the Terms and Conditions of our National Agreement (NAECI) for decades and I support our members campaign for the National Agreement to be fully implemented on the Rotherham site."Interserve and Babcock Wilcox Vlund are undermining our agreement by exploiting non UK workers and paying inferior terms and conditions. This is nothing other than social dumping."Phil Whitehurst, GMB national officer for engineering construction, added: "GMB members in the Engineering Construction Sector are being debarred from employment on energy from waste (EfW) facilities being built around the UK."Unscrupulous construction companies using spurious umbrella companies exploit non UK workers at rates of pay as low as 7 per hour rather than paying 16.64 per hour which is the applicable rate through direct employment and utilising UK collective agreements."GMB and Unite intend to launch a major campaign to raise the profile of the issues.Unite and UCATT Unions area also taking part in the protest and are also calling on the contractors to guarantee that workers on the projects will be employed directly to stop workers being exploited by bogus self-employment schemes run by sub-contractors, employment agencies and "umbrella" payment companies. Babcock & Wilcox Vlund awarded the Croatian company uro avokic the contract to manufacture and install the main boilers for all three energy plants. A PROTESTS panel will be set up in Rotherham to advise police following a review into the Wellgate disorder last year. The advisory group will comment on South Yorkshire Police proposals before and after demonstrations. Police commissioner Dr Alan Billings called for the review after the trouble outside the William Fry pub on September 5 following the Britain First (BF) and counter protests. The report Towards A New Approach said: It appears from our conversations with police officers and others, that policing resources had not been made available for that location. Nineteen men were charged with violent disorder after the protests last September. Dr Billings accepted the recommendations, which also included having public observers protected by police present at future marches. Report authors Andrew Lockley and Imam Mohammad Ismail, from the PCCs independent ethics panel, said there had been a failure to appreciate heightened tensions among Rotherhams Muslim population after the murder of Mushin Ahmed. Their report said: Police did not appear to anticipate until late on, that the numbers who would turn out to oppose BF would be both greater than on previous occasions of far right marches, and from a much wider cross-section of the community. The September 5 demo was the 14th protest in Rotherham since October 2012, at a policing cost of 4 million. The review also flagged up difficulties calling the police for people whose first language is not English. The 101 non-emergency number is currently the subject of a separate PCC review. AS I have been professionally involved in the arboricultural industry for 40 years I read with interest the letter from Mr Ray Hill where he expresses his concern about poor tree management. I have not seen the site in question but I would guess that the probable removal of the trees was purely through lack of knowledge of trees and their requirements. The trees will have been initially been planted on the whim of the architect who, at the planning stage, has decided that site needs trees to improve the aesthetic of the area. This is a common mistake where ignorance allows any type of tree to be planted in any situation. Trees grow! All too often good quality trees are removed, or mutilated, by inexperienced operatives because they have been planted in the wrong place. It is good to know that Mr Hill is aware of the benefits of trees in our towns but if he takes careful note of other trees he will see that poor tree-work is rife and almost always carried out by contractors who have no knowledge of individual trees requirements. Severe topping ( as the cowboys term extreme pruning techniques) is possibly the worst thing that can be done to trees. Unfortunately this practice has been adopted by the local authority as an ongoing management programme. Mr Hill only needs to look at some of the towns roadside trees to see this for himself. On Far Lane is an avenue of what were particularly fine examples of London Plane that have received this treatment. And from the Stag roundabout to Worrygoose roundabout a number of Populus serotina Aurea (an unusual tree in Rotherham) have been pollarded. The long term prospects of these trees aesthetic merits are now severely limited and the treatment will only create serious future problems that did not exist prior to the work being executed. Unfortunately, while the general public see this type of work being accepted and approved by the local authority they consider it to be correct practice. Mr Hill should, I hope, keep up his observations and make his concerns known then, perhaps, more people might take note and hopefully the long term advantages of trees in the town will be a benefit for years to come. Some 93 diamond companies from Israel are preparing a major presence with Israeli Diamond Pavilion at HKTDCs Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show this March. There will also be 10 Israeli companies exhibiting in other locations throughout the show. The Israel Diamond Pavilion, organized by the Israel Diamond Institute Group of Companies (IDI), will measure 1,332 square meters. Within the pavilion IDI will host a spacious lounge with three Find Your Diamond terminals. The popular system enables buyers to search a computerized database of all goods offered by Israeli exhibitors at the show. The Israeli exhibitors will be presenting diamonds of all shapes and sizes, with several companies showing very large and important stones and fancy colored diamonds. Moreover, many of the exhibitors will also be showing specially designed pieces of diamond jewelry. Hong Kong is Israels second largest market for polished diamonds, representing close to 30% of total polished diamond exports. The Israeli Diamond Industry is cautiously optimistic about the success of this show for Israeli exhibitors. IDI Chairman Shmuel Schnitzer said, Hong Kong is a very important market for us since it is the gateway to Asia. Despite the current slowdown in China, we believe in the future of this market and were there to show our support. According to him, IDI would again be participating in four trade shows in Hong Kong this year - in March, June, September and November. Theodor Lisovoy, Rough&Polished, Moscow China plans to launch its new yuan-denominated gold pricing fix on April 19 this year, according to reports in the media. The launch date has been officially settled and draft trading rules have been sent out to those banks that will be involved in the Shanghai fixing. The banks that will participate in the planned launch are predominantly Chinese but it is understood that foreign banks could also be involved. It is likely that the 10 banks that are official market makers in the system set up by the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) in January, to facilitate interbank gold trading, will participate in the yuan-denominated fixing. Most Chinese banks in the list of official market makers probably will be involved in the fix, alongside one foreign bank. The 10 official market makers are ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, China CITIC Bank, China Merchants Bank, Industrial Bank Co, Bank of Ningbo and ANZ (China). The SGE is reportedly looking to bring more foreign banks on broad. The new benchmark will be run through the state-owned SGE, the worlds largest physical gold exchange. Aruna Gaitonde, Editor-in-Chief of Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished Scientists confirmed that the Zika virus can also cause a severe neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome, or GBS. The virus, being spread among humans by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is currently sweeping Latin America and blamed for severe birth defects. Recent evidence suggests that it can also be sexually transmitted by men carrying the virus. GBS provokes muscle weakness in legs and arms, and, in severe cases, breathing problems requiring intensive care. Researchers analyzed the blood samples from 42 patients who became ill with GBS in a previous outbreak in 2013-2014 in French Polynesia, and found they had neutralizing antibodies against Zika virus. 39 patients had Zika virus IgM and 37 had experienced a transient illness in a median of 6 days before the onset of neurological symptoms, suggesting recent Zika virus infection. Zika was strongly suspected behind Guillain-Barre syndrome, but this is the first study providing evidence for Zika virus infection causing the disease. The results of the study were published in the medical journal The Lancet. Between October 2013 and April 2014, French Polynesia in the Pacific experienced the largest Zika virus outbreak ever described at that time. During the same period, an increase in Guillain-Barre Syndrome was reported, suggesting a possible association with Zika virus. In rich nations, GBS is lethal in about five per cent of cases, and another five per cent suffer lasting disabilities. More than a quarter of patients require intensive care. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Two citizens killed in hostile raid on Sanaa SANAA, Feb. 26 (Saba) Two citizens were killed on Friday in an air raid launched by the Saudi aggression war jets on Nehm district in Sanaa province. A security official told Saba the Saudi-led coaltion war jets targeted a car in al-Huqah area, which led to the death of the two citizens as a result of the injuries they sustained. The official condemned the continuation of the aggression warplanes in targeting innocent civilians since 11 months, decaying the silence of the international community and rights organizations. BA Saba Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Telegram Email Email Print Print [26/February/2016] Saudi airstrike kills four, injures tens in Sanaa br> SANAA, March 01 (Saba) An airstrike launched Tuesday by the Saudi aggression war jets on al-Haymah al-Dakhelyah district of Sanaa province killed and injured 24 civilians. Dr. Khaled al-Muntaser, director general of the health office in the province, explained that the hostile air raid targeted Bani Yusuf village, killing four citizens and injuring 20 others in an initial toll. The health office sent five ambulance cars to the district to transfer the injured, Dr. al-Muntaser added. BA Saba Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Telegram Email Email Print Print [01/March/2016] Saudi warplanes bombs Khawlan br> SANA'A, Mar. 01 (Saba) - The Saudi-led coalition waged on Tuesday two air raids on Khawlan district in Sana'a province, a security official said. The Saudi warplanes targeted al-Arqoob area, causing damage to agriculture lands. No human causalities were reported in the raids, the official added. Last month, Aggression raids targeted Khawlan district many times. On February 15, the Saudi aggression bombed al-A'adi area in Khawlan with two raids, causing large damage to the agricultural lands in the area. On February 24, the aggression waged two raids on the public road between Khawlan and Mareb province in al-Khayyam area in al-A'arosh. HA/AF Saba Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Telegram Email Email Print Print [01/March/2016] Quick Links SACI Facebook : SACI Instagram: Statement on Diversity and Inclusion South African Chemical Institute The South African Chemical Institute is committed to diversity and inclusivity in chemical sciences. The Institute opposes discriminatory acts or threats based on race, ethnicity, citizenship, culture, language, disability, age, religious or spiritual beliefs, political opinion, gender, sexual identity, sexual orientation and economic class. The Institute is dedicated (i) to endorsing excellence and scientific credibility across chemical sciences conducted in academic, industrial, and governmental institutions, and (ii) to nurturing the values of diversity, inclusivity, and equity in the chemical sciences in South Africa. Hence, SACI will continue to play a leading role in assuring the professional competence and integrity of chemists and fostering international collaboration whilst upholding inclusivity and diversity. Statement on Sexual Harassment South African Chemical Institute The South African Chemical Institute will not permit any kind of sexual harassment (physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct) in the Institute or at events organised by or related to the Institute. The Institute is committed to and fully supports environments that are free of any form of unfair discrimination and harassment, including gender-based violence. Allegations of any form of sexual harassment will be dealt with seriously, expeditiously, sensitively and confidentially. Statement from SACI Council on tertiary training in chemistry as a result of disruptions to the 2020 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the professional body representing the interests of all chemists in South Africa, we recognise the challenges that the current COVID-19 crisis presents to all our members in academia, research and industry. We also acknowledge the challenges the current situation presents to our tertiary institutions and specifically the challenges presented by moving to online teaching. We applaud the efforts of all our members who work at tertiary institutions who have adapted and innovated to ensure that we can continue as far as possible with our teaching and learning of chemistry even when on campus face-to-face contact is not possible. Our tertiary institutions play a critical role in not only training the next generation of chemists, but they are also tasked with the important responsibility of ensuring that many people from other professions and disciplines are trained in the fundamental principles of chemistry. We reaffirm our belief that this training is essential, as chemistry is one of the central sciences. Key to this training is the practical component and laboratory based skills development. While we accept that this critical component of our training is not possible under the current situation, we strongly urge that plans be put in place to preserve this component of training as part of the curriculum as far as possible. In some cases, virtual laboratory tools can facilitate learning, but we believe that in laboratory practical training particularly for senior level courses should be preserved. SACI strongly recommends that at least a critical minimum practical experience should form part of the plans to complete the 2020 academic year at our tertiary institutions. We believe that this is essential to preserve the validity and integrity of the academic training programmes in chemistry. Latest Updates: Pay your SACI membership fees with SnapScan SACI Ties, Scarfs and T-shirts Periodic table ties and ladies scarfs R130 each. Periodic table T Shirt Short sleeve R180, Long sleeve R200 Please contact head office to place orders. There is also a courier charge of R150 per order for delivery. Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ... 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 Do Kansas' drug-induced homicide laws actually help with fentanyl? As drug overdoses related to fentanyl rise in Kansas, does a state law allowing drug dealers to effectively be charged with homicide have any impact? 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Ireland 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 By Peggy Kelly Santa Paula News It looks worse on paper the City Council was told when the annual financial audit showed the city had deficit spending during last fiscal year. Finance Director Sandy Easley told the council at the February 16 meeting that the new reporting was more comprehensive showing the pension liability not reflected in past reports. The budget has 52 different funds that must be reported, including seven that are included in the General Fund alone. The report by auditing firm Van Lant & Fankhanel LLP found that the citys general fund expenditures exceeded revenue by $893,645 in the 2014-2015 fiscal year that ended June 30. Easley said the deficit is actually less than it appears with the audit report reflecting the $529,000 purchase of a new fire engine as a one-year expense, when in fact it was financed for seven years. Easley said that leaves the actual deficit at just under $388,000. The unrestricted balance in the General Fund, also called the reserve, was about $1.8 million. The water enterprise lost money while the sewer account saw a $1.7 million boost. The police department was $290,000 over budget primarily due to overtime costs. Public Works was under-budget by $1.3 million due to projects not completed. Easley said sales tax saw a boost of about $300,000 and overall the General Fund was $22,000 under-budget, 0.001 percent. I am really concerned about this audit because we have overspent, said Councilwoman Ginger Gherardi. We are definitely headed to deficit spendingand by next year, when the funds from the million-dollar plus sale of the defunct wastewater plant will be spent, we wont be able to do that. Gherardi said the city must look at some structural changes, in or well just perpetuate the problem Councilman Jim Tovias agreed noting Were definitely heading down the wrong path and this council is going to have to make some decisions that are tough, depending on the results of a report on financing the fire department and operational alternatives. The report is expected in March and Tovias said the city cannot spend reserves allocated for emergencies and catastrophic disasters on day-to-day operations. We may have to go over it department by department, to determine cuts. Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/01/2016 -- Angola's only additional electricity generation will come from hydropower sources, due to lack of economically viable thermal power projects. A subdued economic forecast - due to oil price collapse - will rein in further government spending on power projects, which leaves our forecasts for future power projects subdued. Latest Updates And Structural Trends - Our forecasts for Angola's electricity generation are currently that it will remain level from 9.9TWh in 2016 to 10.7TWh in 2025. This forecast is subject to changes if any progress on planned power plants are made. - It has been announced that the phase 2 upgrade of the Cambambe hydropower plant will be operational by June 2016. Generation capacity will be boosted by 780 MW, raising the total generating capacity to 960MW. - Construction works on the Lauca are reportedly 65% complete, with the project being touted to come online towards the end of 2017. For more information Visit at: http://www.marketresearchreports.com/business-monitor-international/angola-power-report-q2-2016 Belgium will become increasingly reliant on electricity imports due to the decommissioning of its nuclear reactors. Only non-hydropower renewable power will experience any growth throughout our forecast period, which will not be enough to cover the gap in electricity generation. A well developed grid infrastructure and interconnections will ensure Belgium will still be able to import the deficit from neighbouring countries. Latest Updates And Structural Trends - We currently forecast total generation to decrease from 74.8TWh in 2016 to 40.5TWh in 2025, due to nuclear power plants being decommissioned from 2022 onwards. Currently there is no major capacity forecast to be added to cover the void left by nuclear generation. Therefore, we are forecasting an increase in electricity imports by Belgium. - Belgium has restarted the Tihange 2 nuclear reactor, despite protestations from neighbouring Germany over safety issues. The plant was originally shut down due to tiny cracks being discovered in the reactor casings. - Belgium has decided to extend the lifetime of all its nuclear power plants, with the earliest closure happening in 2022. The government has affirmed it remains committed to its goal to close all nuclear reactors by 2025. For more information Visit at: http://www.marketresearchreports.com/business-monitor-international/belgium-power-report-q2-2016 Norway's already mature power sector will experience limited, but stable, growth throughout our forecast period due to electricity generation far exceeding consumption. Any investment in new capacity will focus on hydropower plants, which will crowd out thermal power and, to a lesser extent, wind power, due to lower level costs. Latest Updates And Structural Trends - We forecast total generation will grow from 135.7TWh in 2016 to 145.8TWh in 2025, on the back of new hydropower plants. - We have updated our hydropower forecasts to include the addition of two new hydropower plants coming online between 2017 and 2019, namely the 80MW Rosten plant and the 370MW Lysebotn II plant (replacing the 210MW Lysebotn I plant). - We have revised our non-hydropower renewables forecasts downwards, as we do not currently project any new capacity coming online within our forecast period. We forecast total electricity generated from non-hydropower renewable sources to grow by an average of 0.5% y-o-y throughout our forecast period, generating 3.2TWh in 2025. - A Norwegian competition regulator has ruled that Statnett should retain its monopoly on the construction and operation of international power links. This has reportedly been announced in order to prevent higher electricity prices. - The Norwegian Energy Minister has stated that Statnett will have to assess the added impact of the interconnection links with Germany and the UK before constructing any new interconnection lines. For more information Visit at: http://www.marketresearchreports.com/business-monitor-international/norway-power-report-q2-2016 About Market Research Reports, Inc. Market Research Reports, Inc. is the world's leading source for market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest market research reports on global markets, key industries, leading companies, new products and latest industry analysis & trends. Yearly/Quarterly Report Subscription: http://www.marketresearchreports.com/subscriptions Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/01/2016 -- Equatorial Guinea Ceiba Project Panorama, GlobalDatas latest release, presents a comprehensive overview of the asset. This upstream report includes detailed qualitative and quantitative information on the asset, provides a full economic assessment and reflects several parameters including (but not limited to) geological profile, asset development and specific challenges. Based on this analysis, future outlook for the asset is presented with possible trends and related scenarios identifying upside/downside potential. View Full Report at http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/analysis/600184 Scope Overview of the asset based on an analysis of the economic indicators Key financial indicators including Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return Review of factors affecting the economic outcome of the field including development overview, geology, challenges, reserves and production with qualitative perspective on of the overall assets life with GlobalDatas analysis on the assets future outlook Detailed production profile for the asset, giving annual output rates for each commodity produced Cash flow statements from our economic analysis of the asset including capital expenditures, operating expenditures and tax liability Individual valuations for equity holders Sensitivity analysis for asset value considering a range of factors Download Sample Copy of this Report at http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/600184 Reasons to buy Understand the economic and non-economic factors that affect production of an asset Benefit from an asset valuation derived from detailed research and modeling by our analysts Basic view of various scenarios and its effect on the asset for risk or strategy planning Utilize the quantitative and qualitative evaluation to ascertain trends within the region to inform decision making Identify economic trends of an asset to determine investment requirements About MarketResearchReports.biz MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries. Browse Latest Industry Press Release http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/pressreleases Contact Us: State Tower 90 State Street, Suite 700 Albany, NY 12207 United States Tel: 518-621-2074 Website: http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Fort Lauderdale, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/01/2016 -- Flitejob.com release the official initial job search and job posting with integrated and smart filtering capabilities for employer and employees. This integrated recruitment concept helped the organization improve their Human resources efficiency by having simplified and efficient solutions for their human resources selection and recruitment processes, from classifying their human resource needs, identification and filtering the skill and knowledge and selection tools benchmarking processes. The partnership with Principal office in Fort Lauderdale, USA is managed by Ludlow Beckford who is responsible for the US office, this in collaboration with Vision Concept in Dubai, UAE. The marketing is also supported by Shawn Abdollahi in Toronto office for the Canadian market and Abbas Younis for Middle east market with its location in Cairo, Egypt. Christian Schroeder handles the Europe and China market while Anaziaz and Baldi for the Asia market based in Jakarta under aerotekavia.com The employment platform is custom tailored to meet customer needs, with the technical question screening module, and which includes video resume recording capability that is being developed securely which will be the leading product that employers can filter and rank candidates scores to meet the right requirements. There are many websites that offer identical recruitment platforms, however they are missing the most important tools which is filtering, selection tools and profiling capabilities. This will be the primary solution for employers that cover not only pilots jobs but also extend to cabin crew jobs, engineers jobs from air operators, aircraft design organization, as well as maintenance organization or other aviation related jobs such as airports and Air Traffic control environment. Flitejob.com employment websites is free for job seekers and also for employer with the basic job posting, however it is also providing advance paid recruitment and selection tools. Currently we see a high demand for pilots who have just graduated from flying school and can not be readily absorbed by airlines, and so it requires further training to maintain and improve their skill and knowledge said Beckford who is also Type Rating Examiner who is also responsible to manage the training developments section. About Flitejob.com The partnership has over 50 years combined aviation experience, which was formalized in 2013 with 5 partners from various continent, US, Canada, Europe, Egypt and Indonesia. Contact: Azzy Zikir Company: Flitejob US Office: 20th CT, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33323, United States US office: 954-993-8935 Middle East office: 9715637063722 Email Azzy@aerotekavia.com Twitter: @FlitejobInfo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flitejob Website: https://www.flitejob.com/ Salem, NH -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/01/2016 -- As an international community committed to the improvement of the patient experience through shared information and collaboration, the Beryl Institute is a global leader in understanding the patient experience. They emphasize the importance of understanding the interactions, culture, perceptions and continuum of care as important elements that make up the broader explanation of the patient experience. ImageFIRST New Hampshire, a leading provider of healthcare laundry items and services from linen to nurses' uniforms in New England, NH, is delighted to announce that ImageFIRST is now an organizational sponsor of The Beryl Institute. The company considers this an excellent match, as the importance of the patient experience is at the heart of how ImageFIRST develops their products and services. It's why they have chosen to focus on quality products and cost-effective solutions that assist their client facilities in making patients feel comfortable and cared for. For example, the company's patient gowns are hand-inspected for quality, and they come individually wrapped to ensure the best possible experience. ImageFIRST New Hampshire has also developed the Comfort Care gown, a line of premium patient gowns specifically designed to improve the patient experience. ImageFIRST New Hampshire is also attending The Beryl Institute's Patient Experience Conference in April of 2016. The conference is an interactive opportunity for healthcare industry specialists to identify and discover strategies and solutions for improving the patient experience. Anyone interested in more information about ImageFIRST New Hampshire or their wide variety of products from patient gowns to medical uniforms and scrubs in New England, NH, is welcome either to visit the company's website or to call 800-932-7472. About ImageFIRST New Hampshire Founded in 1967, ImageFIRST is the largest and fastest growing national linen rental and laundry service specializing in the outpatient medical market. ImageFIRST's 36 locations nationwide serve over 5,500 medical offices every week, providing linen, patient gowns, scrubs and much more while partnering with facilities to better manage linen inventory. With a customer retention rate of over 95%, ImageFIRST is dedicated to improving patient satisfaction through quality linens and remarkable service: their Comfort Care gowns product line increases patients' favorable perception of a facility by more than 50%. For more information about ImageFIRST New Hampshire, the cost-effective solution for greater patient satisfaction, please visit http://new-england-nh.imagefirst.com/. About The Beryl Institute The Beryl Institute is the global community of practice dedicated to improving the patient experience through collaboration and shared knowledge. We define patient experience as the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization's culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care. Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/01/2016 -- Prosthetic Heart Valve Market by Type (Mechanical, Transcatheter, Tissue), and Geography (Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa) - Global Forecast to 2020 The global prosthetic heart valve market is USD 2.87 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach USD 4.80 billion in 2020 at a CAGR of 9.1% from 2015 to 2020. The purpose of this report is to cover the definition, description, and forecast up to 2020 of the global prosthetic heart valve market. It involves deep dive analysis of market segmentation which comprises products and geography. The report also gives the deep insights of strategic analysis of key players for the market. In this report, the global prosthetic heart valve market has been segmented based in products, into mechanical heart valve, tissue heart valve, and transcatheter heart valve. Get More Details on this Report and a Full Table of Contents at Prosthetic Heart Valve Market - Global Forecast to 2020 The prosthetic heart valve market has been segmented by geography, which includes major regions, such as the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. The Americas has been further segmented into the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Columbia, Uruguay, and Paraguay. The Europe region has been further segmented into Germany, France, the U.K., Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Turkey, and Russia. In Asia-Pacific, the major countries included are China, India, Japan, Australia, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Thailand. North America contributed the largest share to the global prosthetic heart valve market in 2014. The large share can be attributed to the rising aging population; increasing number of patients suffering from rheumatic heart diseases; and growing prevalence heart and vascular system conditions, such as coronary, carotid, and peripheral artery diseases and heart rhythm disturbances in the recent years. Besides this, insurance coverage & reimbursement scenario will also influence the growth of the prosthetic heart valve market. Presently, in the U.S. Medicare (CMS) covers aortic valve replacements for the patients whose aortic heart valves are damaged. In this reimbursement, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made a joint decision that will permit the CMS to cover transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Moreover, the reimbursements for medical devices including valve, stent, and pacemaker, among others are evaluated on a case-to-case basis. The report also provides a detailed competitive landscaping of companies operating in this market. Segment and Country specific company shares, news & deals, mergers & acquisitions, segment specific pipeline products, product approvals, and product recalls of the major companies would be detailed. The main companies operating in this market are Zimmer Inc. (U.S.), DePuy Synthes (U.S.), Stryker (U.K.), and Smith & Nephew (U.K.), B. Braun Melsungen AG (Germany), Corin (U.K.), and Waldemar LINK GmbH & Co. KG (Germany). Reasons to Get the Report: From an insight perspective, this research report has focused on various levels of analysis, namely, industry analysis (industry trends and PEST analysis), market share analysis of top players, supply chain analysis, and company profiles. All of these together comprise and discuss the basic views on the competitive landscape, usage patterns, emerging- and high-growth segments, high-growth regions and countries and their respective regulatory policies, government initiatives, drivers, restraints, and opportunities in the global prosthetic heart valve market. The report will enrich both established firms as well as new entrants/smaller firms to gauge the pulse of the market, which in turn will help the firms in garnering a greater market share. Firms purchasing the report could use any one or a combination of the below mentioned five strategies to strengthen their market share. The report provides insights on the following pointers: -Product Analysis and Development: Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, research and development activities, and new product launches in the global prosthetic heart valve market are provided. -Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative emerging markets is provided. The report also analyzes the markets for prosthetic heart valve across various regions, exploit new distribution channels, new clientele base, and different pricing policies. -Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments decisions in the Global prosthetic heart valve market is provided. Detailed description regarding the related and unrelated diversification pertaining to this market is also provided. About Fast Market Research Fast Market Research is a leading distributor of market research and business information. Representing the world's top research publishers and analysts, we provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available. Our unbiased, expert staff is always available to help you find the right research to fit your requirements and your budget. For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at http://www.fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156. Browse all Medical Devices research reports at Fast Market Research You may also be interested in these related reports: -MediPoint: Prosthetic Heart Valves - Global Analysis and Market Forecasts -MediPoint: Prosthetic Heart Valves - 5EU Analysis and Market Forecasts -MediPoint: Prosthetic Heart Valves - APAC Analysis and Market Forecasts -MediPoint: Prosthetic Heart Valves - South America Analysis and Market Forecasts -MediPoint: Prosthetic Heart Valves - US Analysis and Market Forecasts Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/01/2016 -- ResearchMoz added Latest Research Report titled "Global Recruitment Market Report 2016 Edition: Worldwide Market Research, Analysis, Shares, Size, Trends, and Outlook report" to its Large Report database. Recruitment is the process of attracting, screening, and selecting a qualified person (from within or outside of an organization) for a job opening. The global recruitment/staffing industry comprises of recruitment or employment agencies providing for services of recruiting staff/employees for various business enterprises in different sectors. Such companies hire these employment agencies to recruit personnel to carry out their business operations. The recruitment market can be segmented into temporary and permanent staffing markets on the basis of job duration. The temporary staffing market is cyclical in nature and establishes high correlation with the global GDP. Permanent staffing market also maintains a positive relation with economic conditions. Both permanent and temporary staffing markets have a positive relation with the deregulation of labor market. The staffing market varies considerably from one country to another with the U.S., Japan and the UK showing the highest degree of fragmentation. North America represented the single largest market measured in terms of revenues followed by Japan, the UK, France and Germany. Browse Market info, get a Sample PDF with TOC: http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=605185 The EU region continues to struggle with its economic revival, especially France, Spain, Greece, among others. Income growth has also come under pressure from rising unemployment, putting downward pressure on real wages in many advanced economies. With the economic revival in the coming years, sources of new employment opportunities can be expected; however, the continuing challenge in overcoming the problem of skill gap in both advanced and emerging economies will continue to affect the revenue growth of the staffing industry. Most of the mergers and acquisitions that took place in the IT & Healthcare segment and involved middle sized staffing firms as they proved to be attractive acquisition targets, offering geographic coverage and differentiated services. The staffing industry acquisition activities remain primarily driven by privately held strategic buyers, as the larger and better known public staffing companies' account for only a limited number of transactions each year. People are increasingly using social media to network and identify employment opportunities. Moreover, the global recruitment market is fiercely competitive and highly fragmented with numerous players vying for market share. However, consolidation in the staffing industry is ongoing, particularly in the fragmented markets and is prompted by several factors. Adecco Group is the largest company operating in this industry, followed by Randstad and Manpower. The present report profiles these four companies along with a discussion of their respective business strategies. Enquiry at: http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=605185 The report provides a comprehensive overview of the global staffing industry along with the coverage of major regional markets like North America (the U.S. and Canada), Europe (France, Germany, Italy, the UK,), and Asia Pacific (Australia and Japan), discussing the market size, segmentation, and employment/unemployment rates. By combining SPSS Inc.'s data integration and analysis capabilities with our relevant findings, we have predicted the future growth of the industry. We employed various significant variables that have an impact on this industry and created regression models with SPSS Base to determine the future direction of the industry. Before deploying the regression model, the relationship between several independent or predictor variables and the dependent variable was analyzed using standard SPSS output, including charts, tables, and tests. About ResearchMoz ResearchMoz is the world's fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMoz's service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators. Contact Us: Mr. Nachiket Albany NY - 12207 United States Tel: +1-518-621-2074 Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free) Email: sales@researchmoz.us Most Ebola survivors continue to suffer from brain impairments months after their initial infection, a study in Liberia reveals. The study shows that the Ebola virus penetrates into the brain and causes lasting symptoms, says neurologist Lauren Bowen from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in the United States. Bowen and her colleagues travelled to Liberia to examine a group of people who survived Ebola virus disease, at least six months after their initial infection, and then follow them up over time. A cohort study of this type is challenging to do, but is the most rigorous way to study the problems of Ebola survivors. Jimmy Whitworth, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom Nearly all survivors had some neurologic[al] disability, the researchers say, listing symptoms ranging from headache and muscle pain to memory loss and depression. Two-thirds of the group had abnormal eye movement and a third had muscle tremors and reflex problems, they write. Out of 82 patients, two were suicidal and one had active hallucinations, say the researchers, who will present preliminary results of the study at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, in Canada in April. These symptoms were striking to all physicians involved and certainly surprising in young patients, Bowen tells SciDev.Net. The average age of those examined was around 35. To determine whether these problems are due to Ebola, the researchers will now study a group of people who had close contact with Ebola survivors but did not catch the virus. Comparing both groups will help tease out if the symptoms are due to Ebola or to other infections, says neurologist Bridgette Billioux, also from NINDS. She is travelling to Liberia this week to carry out this part of the research. The findings show high levels of mental and neurological problems, says Jimmy Whitworth, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom, who praises the study as very important. A cohort study of this type is challenging to do, but is the most rigorous way to study the problems of Ebola survivors, he says. Since the conference abstract was submitted, the number of survivors in this study has doubled to reach 164, says Billioux. In all, about 17,000 people were infected with the Ebola virus during the recent West African outbreak and survived. Another 11,000 died of the disease. This neurological study is part of a larger research project on Ebola survivors, known as Prevail III. Several medical teams including eye doctors, infectious disease specialists and internal medicine doctors will study other symptoms. Scientists in developing countries are scrambling to find a cure for a devastating fungus that threatens to wipe out the global banana trade and plunge millions of farmers into poverty. Around the world, banana farmers are fighting a losing battle against Tropical Race 4, a soil fungus that kills Cavendish bananas, the only type grown for the international market. The disease was first spotted in the early 1990s in Malaysia, but has now started to wipe out crops in large parts of South-East Asia as well as in Africa and the Middle East. [1] The Tropical Race 4 pathogen, a new strain of what is known as Panama disease, escaped from Asia in 2013. By 2015, it had infected plantations in Jordan and Mozambique, as well as Lebanon and Pakistan, with many scientists fearing an epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa. [2] The impact on affected farms is immense, with significant losses of plants and the inability to eradicate the fungus from affected fields, says Altus Viljoen, a plant pathologist at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. The disease can be devastating for small banana farmers, who provide much of the 17 million tonnes of Cavendish bananas traded every year mostly to rich countries where the fruit is popular as a healthy snack. [3] Bananas are also a staple food in many tropical countries, and the main source of protein for more than half a billion people around the world. Tropical Race 4, a variant of the Fusarium oxysporum fungus, is transmitted by infected plant matter, but also from the clothes and shoes of plantation workers. In Indonesia and Malaysia, the fungus wiped out more than 5,000 hectares of Cavendish bananas in 1992/93, says Agustin Molina, who leads the banana research efforts in the Asia-Pacific region for Bioversity International, a global research organisation. The banana export trade in Malaysia and Indonesia failed to prosper because of Tropical Race 4, he says. Now tens of thousands of banana farmers in the Philippines, China and Taiwan could be affected. Molina and his team try to work with local farmers to raise awareness of the threat and contain the spread of the fungus. He advocates footbaths, regulating the movement of workers and tough quarantines for seedlings and other imported plant matter. But despite such efforts, Tropical Race 4 has crossed the Pacific Ocean. With the fungus now in Mozambique, other East African countries largely dependent on Cavendish exports such as Uganda fear for their crop. If nothing is done in the next ten years, billions of dollars worth of crop will be lost, says Enoch Kikulwe, an associate scientist at Bioversity Internationals Uganda branch. The reason for Tropical Race 4s rapid spread is globalised trade (see chart 1). Uganda, the worlds third largest banana producer, imports second-hand trucks and farming equipment from China, but these are rarely disinfected before shipping putting the country at risk. Likewise, Sudan exports bananas by lorry to Lebanon and Oman, while seedlings grown in Jordan or Pakistan are sold to Mozambique. Credit: Panamadisease.org Once the fungus has infected a plant it spreads to its xylem, the tubular tissue that transports water around the plant from the roots. These tubes get clogged, and the plant wilts and dies. The fungus continues to feed on the dead tissue and releases spores that enter the soil and attach to any material that comes in contact with the plant. Sub-Saharan African scientists are stepping up research on the disease in the hope of preventing its continuing spread. But funding is scarce and local governments are not yet sufficiently aware, says Eldad Karamura, regional coordinator at the Banana Research Network for Eastern and Southern Africa. We are threatened, he says. We need greater awareness of the problem by policymakers and to train more scientists and buy equipment, he adds. At present, a laboratory at Stellenbosch University in South Africa is the only one in Sub-Saharan Africa that can test for the presence of Tropical Race 4. A Ugandan expert committee on the disease says the country could do testing too, but would need US$2.5 million to set up test facilities. More long-term plans could include research both on genetic modification to produce fungus-resistant plants and on other banana species to replace Cavendish in international markets, the committee says. Karamura has seen first hand the devastation that Tropical Race 4 causes on banana plantations. When I visit farms in Mozambique or Asia, I dont come back to Uganda with my shoes I leave them there, he says. However, the fungus poses the greatest threat to Latin America and the Caribbean. The region is responsible for 25 per cent of bananas grown worldwide, and 80 per cent of global exports. But local farmers are still reeling from a previous infection, this one caused by Tropical Race 1, the first instance of Panama disease. Panama disease emerged in the 1950s in Latin America, nearly wiping out global trade in the Gros Michel banana, a predecessor to the Cavendish. As with Tropical Race 4, the funguss spores can survive in the soil for decades. To get a sense of the potential impact of Tropical Race4 if it were allowed to spread globally, it helps to talk to Javier Chinchilla, a small-scale farmer of Gros Michel bananas in Costa Rica. He is sticking with the less popular banana type as he cannot compete with larger Cavendish growers. The ghost of Panama disease haunts him still his farm used to have 30,000 banana plants in the 1980s, but now he is down to 500. We sell Gros Michel at the farmers market, but it is increasingly difficult to get good crops because the fungus lingers in the soil, Chinchilla explains. My two brothers had to go out of business. Now its just me, my father and six other farmers that continue. But our families depend on our work with bananas. Chinchilla tries to keep his farm afloat by planting coffee, squash and maize in between the banana plants. But like thousands of other farmers in the region, he has abandoned large swathes of land to Panama disease. Production is, to some extent, nomadic, says Ana Cecilia Tapia, an agronomist at the University of Costa Rica. Farmers move their farms when a patch is contaminated, since there are no technological resources to attack the disease. The experiences of Phillippine banana growers with Panama disease Faced with the high risk of Tropical Race 4 infection, the Central America-based International Regional Organization for Agricultural Health (OIRSA) has brought together researchers and policymakers. The group tries to mobilise funds for research and preparation, such as better monitoring of crops. We also coordinate actions with regional plant protection organisations and set up specialised groups for the care and handling of Tropical Race 4, says Carlos Ramon Urias, OIRSAs regional director for plant health. The group advocates moving away from the current heavy reliance on Cavendish. There are almost 1,000 different banana species. If more of these were grown for sale, farmers would be less affected by the diseases arrival, while the fungus would also have less chance to spread. But the preferences of consumers, mostly in Europe and the United States, restrict these options. The Cavendish, which makes up 47 per cent of all bananas grown globally, is what many customers think the fruit should be: large, long and yellow. Because of this, farmers such as Chinchilla fear buyers will snub local varieties, which might be smaller, savoury or even red or green. With little international action, the responsibility to find a solution , or at least a coping strategy, for Tropical Race 4 lies with scientists from the global South. [4] Chinchilla is working with researchers from the University of Costa Rica in the hope that it will help his farm survive the fungus, should it hit Central America. We keep growing bananas, he says. By necessity, but also because we have given the researchers a vote of faith. They want to find a cure. This article was originally published on SciDev.Net's Global edition. FLORENCE, S.C. South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Costa Pleicones visited Florence on Monday to speak to the Florence Rotary Club about his plans for his first and final year as chief justice. Pleicones, who celebrated his 72nd birthday on Monday, described the Supreme Court of South Carolina as an institution in transition. He mentioned former Chief Justice Jean Toal, who served as top judge for 15 years but reached her mandatory retirement age last year. Now Pleicones will serve as chief justice for 10 more months until he will be forced to retire. John Few, former chief judge of the State Court of Appeals, took Pleicones seat following the election in May 2015. In less than a year, the General Assembly will elect my successor, and someone will fill that vacancy, Pleicones said. It is an institution that is in transition but not in turmoil as long as the right people continue to be elected to the courts of our state. Pleicones went on to talk about the courts future, saying its success (or failure) depends directly on its reliability and standing among the people of South Carolina. Pleicones said the remainder of his term will be dedicated to sustaining those characteristics. As long as the court maintains its credibility and the confidence of the people, thats all we have to legitimate our authority, Pleicones said. And I pledge to you in the remaining 10 months that I have, that legitimacy will be maintained. So far, Pleicones has accomplished one of his major goals by adopting the Uniform Bar Exam for the state. The exam will be administered starting in February 2017. Those who pass the UBE earn a portable score that can be used to apply for admission in other UBE jurisdictions, according to the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Pleicones said instituting the UBE changes two things about the exam the state uses now. Its a huge difference in terms that it is two days instead of three days, Pleicones said. Its also a huge difference in the fact that the number of essay questions is significantly reduced. I think is going to be a big plus for our youthful members who are going to come up and take the bar. Pleicones said he expects to release more information on the UBE and what the specifics are in the coming months. When talking about retirement, Pleicones said he is looking forward to the next 72 years of his life, though he isnt sure how he will spend his time. I have no idea what Im going to do, but its certainly not going to be sitting at home, Pleicones said. Likely it will have to be something related to law. I dont know anything else." The report highlighted that massive overcapacity suggests a continuation of poor financial results this year, following 2015 in which nearly all key financial indicators declined. Not only did industry profits, as measured by EBITDA, fall 7% in the latest 12-month period, including a 35% decline in the all-important third quarter, more critically, cash from operations declined by 12%, almost twice as fast as EBITDA indicating that carriers face working-capital challenges, and often seen as a precursor to bankruptcy. Largely due to the continued introduction of megaships, capacity is expected to increase 4.5% this year, while demand is expected to increase just 1% to 3%. Meanwhile, given low profitability levels, merging companies need to retain combined customer bases and realize substantial cost synergies to successfully service debt burdens. Rates-wise, traditional peak demand failed to materialize in the third quarter, leading to collapsing freight rates. According to the study, industry revenue in the critical, preholiday third quarter has declined in each of the last three years, to $39.6bn in 2015 from $45.9bn in 2014 and further still from $46.5bn in 2013. The revenue drop last year was the most serious, representing a 16% decline. The study notes that after a decade of muted M&A inactivity, the container shipping industry could be ripe for a long-deferred consolidation, as seen by the recent rash of mergers. This could greatly benefit ambitious carriers and financial sponsors and the study suggests that the restructuring of the US airline industry previously, could be a template for consolidation in the liner market. Lim Lian Hoon, managing director at AlixPartners, said: While weak demand and industry-wide overcapacity are major challenges for all global shipping players, larger financially strong shipping companies in Asia may be able to find further consolidation opportunities in the current environment. "Chinese shipping companies are particularly well placed to pursue acquisitions of smaller operators, but will need to consider integration plans and also be wary of taking on too much debt in the process. Richards is replaced as Gulftainer ceo by Flemming Dalgaard, who joined the company last year as ceo international operations, and whose career has also seen stints at DP World and Maersk Line. In his 30-year career with the company, Peter Richards has spearheaded efforts to [transform Gulftainer] from a UAE company into an international player in the global port operations business," said Badr Jafar, chairman of Gulftainers executive board, and ceo of Crescent Enterprises. ThebBoard has great confidence in his abilities to further accelerate our growth within the US market. Richards oversaw the start of GT USAs operations at Port Canaveral, Florida, last year, making Gulftainer the first Arab company to enter the US ports market, after its UAE rival, DP World, failed in its 2006 bid to take over the US assets that came with its acquisition of P&O. Gulftainer said Dalgaard's role would be to oversee strategic global growth from a current annual throughput of 6.5m teu at its ports in the UAE, Iraq, Brazil, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the US. Gulftainer claims to have recorded average year-on-year growth of 12% over the past decade, compared to average annual global market growth of 8.6% over the same period. Following the model prevalent across the larger energy transport spectrum, the MLP is actually a spin-off from an established parent entity, in this case, Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers (KNOT)- which, as the General Partner, owns 33% of the MLP. As its executives explained in their slides, the strengths of the partnership stem from a mix of advanced vessels on long charters to highly credit-worthy oil majors; its rise to prominence in the 1980s was intertwined with the growth of Statoil, and oil production in the burgeoning North Sea fields. Today, the partnership owns 10 shuttle tankers, all on long-term charters, in the North Sea, with charters to Statoil, ENI and ExxonMobil, and also offshore Brazil with units on to TransPetro (but also to Shell and Repsol. Waiting in the wings, potentially, are five additional vessels - one on the water, and four newbuilds- presently owned by the parent. Dropdowns as transfers from parent to daughter companies are called, can be accretive to distributable cash flows if they are done when the timing is right for all concerned. Unlike peers in the MLP space, KNOPs market performance in 2016 has been positive, albeit highly volatile. This performance is even more remarkable considering the death spirals that have dragged down many MLPs, a preponderance of which earn their revenues from transporting energy- usually crude oil, refined products, or natural gas. KNOP has not only maintained its distribution quarterly payments, similar to a dividend, to investors- now $0.52 per unit, giving an annualized yield of more than 14%, based on recent prices above $15.00 per unit. Probably the closest peer, among listed partnerships, is Teekay Offshore Partners (TOO), which has been hammered directly by the rout facing the sector. In December, 2015 it announced a reduction in its quarterly distributions, from $0.70 per unit, down to $0.14 perunit- based on a need to conserve our internally generated cash flows to fund future growth projects and reduce our debt levels. It subsequently announced a distribution of $0.11/unit, paid in mid February. Why the differences? After all, TOO, certainly a first-class outfit, also operates complex equipment on multi-year charters with investment grade entities. An easy answer lies in the realm of capital deployment. Noted shipping wags have opined that you can either build vessels or pay out distributions- but its hard to do both. Indeed- at the extreme, one partnership where original charters have now run off, Navios Maritime Partners (NMP) in the dry bulk arena, has cut its distributions completely in a cash conservation move, prompting analyst Jon Chappell from ISI Evercore to assert that: An MLP Without a Distribution is Not An MLP. Unlike KNOP, TOO was actually funding capital intensive projects notably the life extending upgrade of an FPSO, after having acquired it from the parent, soon to go on a five-year charter in offshore Brazil. The upgrade, with a headline price of $253m, would entail risks not suitable for its parent, which had re-invented itself as a financial holding company. TOOs risks were in stark contrast to the more boring and less bodacious routine of dropping down an asset already on the water, or about to be, with a charter in place from the parent to the daughter company. From its recent results and strong prognosis, KNOP is happily still a viable MLP - with a yield that may be more than commensurate with the associated risk. The move leaves one final appeal, scheduled for 1 June, while the crew remains in jail, according to information from campaigner Human Rights At Sea (HRAS). Madras High Court Justice V.S. Ravi said he was not inclined to grant the relief in view of the grave charges levelled against the six British nationals, 14 Estonians, three Ukranians and 12 Indians. This is yet another blow to the families of the vessels crew and security guards, though our charity sees them as one body of seafarers caught in the Indian judicial system, said HRAS ceo David Hammond. We have always supported the rights of these men to lawfully challenge the facts of the case, the charges laid against them and now to appeal their sentences. We will continue to support their position alongside other key maritime organisations and charities pressing for justice and their release. The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) stepped in to provide legal support to the men following their abandonment by previous employer Advanfort. The Sierra-Leone-flagged private security vessel Seaman Guard Ohio, owned by Advanfort, and its crew were detained in October 2013 on charges of entering Indian territorial waters carrying unlicensed rifles and ammunition, as well as illegally buying bunkers from a local supplier. At the time, Advanfort maintained the vessel had been seeking safe harbour from a typhoon. All charges against the 25 private security personnel and 10 seafarers were dropped in mid-2014, but following a last-ditch appeal against the ruling by the Indian security forces, the verdict was overturned and the 35 men re-tried. In January this year, the crew were sentenced to five years "rigorous imprisonment" - equivalent to hard labour - by a Tuticorin court. MIDDLE EAST Syria Expected Council Action Council members will be closely watching whether the cessation of hostilities that went into effect on 27 February, and was endorsed in resolution 2268, is sufficiently observed by the parties to allow for the resumption of political talks in early March. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura is expected to brief in mid-March on implementation of resolutions 2254 and 2268. Council members will also receive their regular monthly briefings on the chemical weapons and humanitarian tracks in Syria. Key Recent Developments As Syria enters the sixth year of devastating conflict, there is an agreed cessation of hostilities and path toward a political solution. Following intense diplomatic activity between Russia and the US in the context of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), on 22 February terms were agreed for a cessation of hostilities. This includes the necessity for all parties to agree to participate in UN-facilitated talks towards full implementation of resolution 2254; allowing sustained and unfettered humanitarian access; ceasing attacks, including aerial bombardment; refraining from acquiring territory from other parties to the agreement; using force proportionately and only in self-defence; and committing to work for the early release of detainees. Counter-terrorism operations are excluded from the cessation of hostilities. In the preceding weeks, attempts to forge a political solution went through several dramatic turns. UN-facilitated talks in Geneva between the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition began on 29 January with the intent to continue for six months. However, in under a week they were suspended. On 5 February, de Mistura briefed Security Council members, reporting that the negotiations were undermined by the ongoing lack of humanitarian access coupled with the sudden increase in aerial bombings and military activities, a reference to the governments Aleppo offensive backed by Russian airstrikes. On 10 February, Council members New Zealand and Spain called for consultations after OCHA head Stephen OBrien announced that the Aleppo offensive had displaced 30,000 people. At press time, the situation along the Syrian-Turkish border was fragile as almost 70,000 Syrians had fled the Aleppo offensive and were amassed near Turkeys border. Meanwhile, Turkey shelled Kurdish positions in Syria along the border to check advances by Kurdish forces taking territory lost by Syrian opposition groups. Russia called for two meetings of Security Council members in February to discuss the military escalation between Turkey and Syrian Kurdish forces, and introduced a draft resolution on the issue. There was not significant support among Council members for the draft text, with several stressing the need to de-escalate the situation and stay focused on a political solution to the Syrian crisis through the implementation of resolution 2254. In an 11 February statement, the ISSG committed to use their influence with parties on the ground to press for the end of any indiscriminate use of weapons; support and accelerate agreement on implementing a nationwide ceasefire; facilitate immediate humanitarian access; urge the release of arbitrarily detained persons; and fight terrorism. The ISSG also announced the creation of two follow-up task forces under UN auspices, one on humanitarian access and another on a nationwide ceasefire, starting with a cessation of hostilities. On 26 February, the ISSG ceasefire task force, co-chaired by Russia and the US, met in Geneva to review the parties agreement to the terms of the cessation of hostilities. The government, which had previously said it planned to fight until it re-established control over all of Syria, has agreed to cease combat operations except those against ISIS, Al-Nusra Front and other terrorist organisations. The Riyadh-based opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) also agreed, but signalled that they would give the truce two weeks to establish the seriousness of the governments commitment. Opposition groups have also flagged significant concerns about the selective nature of the agreement, which allows counter-terrorism operations to continue. Russia and the US, via the ISSG ceasefire task force, have agreed to delineate the territory held by ISIS and Al-Nusra Front, and other terrorist organisations designated by the UN Security Council, so that such parties, and the areas they control, would be excluded from the cessation of hostilities. De Mistura briefed the Council via video teleconference from Geneva after this meeting, announcing that political talks would resume on 7 March if the truce holds. Also on 26 February, the Council adopted resolution 2268 endorsing the cessation of hostilities in Syria. The resolution demands furthermore the full and immediate implementation of resolution 2254 on a Syrian-owned political transition in accordance with the 30 June 2012 Geneva Communique as set forth in ISSG statements; demands that all parties to the cessation of hostilities fulfil their commitments and acknowledges the acceptance by the government and Syrian opposition groups of the terms; welcomes the cessation of hostilities as a first step toward a lasting ceasefire and a parallel political process; calls for sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access via the most direct routes, and specifically names a number of besieged and hard-to-reach areas; calls on member states with influence to advance the peace process and confidence-building measures, including the early release of arbitrarily detained persons; and requests the resumption of UN-facilitated negotiations. In addition, the draft resolution annexes in full the 22 February joint statement by Russia and the US that details the terms of the cessation of hostilities. On the humanitarian track, OBrien briefed the Council on 24 February presenting the latest Secretary-Generals report that described an increasing trend of attacks on medical facilities, and noted that of 112 such attacks in 2015, 85 percent had been committed by the government. After an attack on a hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontieres on 15 February, the organisation announced it would no longer provide locations of medical facilities to the Syrian government or Russian forces due to the increased chance of being directly targeted. OBrien also reported that aid had reached 100,000 people in need of assistance in five besieged towns (rebel-held Madaya, Zabadani and Mouadamiya besieged by government forces, and government-held Foua and Kefrayathe only two villages under siege by opposition fighters). However, the government had yet to provide clearance for sustained and unimpeded access to all besieged and hard-to-reach areas, an important confidence-building measure for the cessation of hostilities and political talks. Humanitarian access remained sporadic and subject to ad-hoc approvals. In February, OCHA increased its estimates of those living under siege from 394,000 to 486,700. However, the NGO SiegeWatch estimates almost 1.1 million Syrians are besieged in 46 areasoverwhelmingly by government forces or allied militias. Similarly, for months the UN has maintained its estimate of 250,000 killed by the conflict, but the estimate by the Syrian Centre for Policy Research is 400,000 killed and another 70,000 fatalities due to the lack of basic services such as clean water and access to medical care. On the chemical weapons track, Acting UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Kim Won-soo briefed Council members on 22 February. He reported that the OPCW Declaration Assessment Team had raised new issues regarding gaps in Syrias declared chemical weapons arsenal which would be addressed at a meeting of the OPCW Executive Council in March. Virginia Gambathe head of the UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), the body mandated to determine responsibility for the use of chemical weapons in Syriaalso briefed, presenting the JIMs first report. Gamba gave an account of the methodology used to identify seven potential cases that will be subject to in-depth investigations beginning in March. Human Rights-Related Developments The Commission of Inquiry on Syria released on 8 February a thematic report, Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Deaths in Detention in the Syrian Arab Republic, which examines the killing of detainees by all parties. The report details how Syrian civilians have been arbitrarily arrested, unlawfully detained, taken hostage or kidnapped, and describes how thousands of detainees held by the Syrian government have been beaten to death or died as a result of injuries sustained due to torture. Many other detainees died from inhumane living conditions and deprivation of medical care. The Commission determines that the Syrian government has committed the crimes against humanity of extermination, murder, rape or other forms of sexual violence, torture, imprisonment, enforced disappearance and other inhuman acts, constituting war crimes where the acts were committed after the start of the armed conflict. The Human Rights Council will consider the Commissions 11th report during its 31st session in March. Among the reports findings are that Syria is on the brink of collapse, humanitarian space is shrinking, denial of humanitarian access and other forms of deprivation are being used as instruments of war to force surrender or to extract political concessions, and an inadequate international protection response has meant that civilians pay the price of the horrors of war. The Commission recommends that the Security Council include regular briefings by the Commission as part of its formal agenda and that it take appropriate action by referring the situation to the ICC or an ad hoc tribunal. Key Issues The essential issue for the Councilentering the sixth year of a war that has exacted a death toll of 470,000, injured one million and displaced half of the Syrian population, including 4.7 million refugeesis to build on the momentum of resolutions 2254 and 2268, and the agreements reached by the ISSG, and exert effective leadership in supporting a cessation of violence and efforts to implement a political solution. Options The ISSG and resolutions 2254 and 2268 have identified roles for the Security Council in the event that talks in 2016 produce concrete results towards a national ceasefire and a parallel political process. How such a ceasefire would be monitored would require more consideration by the Council. On 18 January, de Mistura provided the outline of what the UN is planning in terms of a light touch option, based out of Damascus, whereby national counterparts would call in violations that could be investigated by a small group of UN personnel. If future security conditions permit, a further option might be a strengthened international role. However, more recently, the Secretary-General has said that under current conditions it would be difficult to envisage any deployment of UN monitors. In the near term, any party to the cessation of hostilities will be able to bring a violation to the attention of the ISSG ceasefire task forceeither through de Misturas office or directly to Russia or the US as co-chairs. Council Dynamics There is unanimity in the Council on the importance of lowering overall levels of violence, improving the humanitarian situation and putting a political process in place. However, it is unclear to many Council members whether the cessation of hostilities agreement and the adoption of resolution 2268 is a pivotal moment in the trajectory of the Syrian conflict, or whether the momentum will falter. Regarding the cessation of hostilities agreement, some Council members have observed that the government will be able to argue that their military operations are targeting terrorists, whereas opposition groups will not be able to make similar claims. A few Council members have reservations about whether the delineation of territory by the ISSG will sufficiently restrain how counter-terrorism airstrikes will be conducted. There is significant concern that opposition groups which are not designated terrorist groups, but may cooperate tactically with Al-Nusra or are located near Al-Nusra positions, will be subject to attack, placing the cessation of hostilities agreement on an uncertain foundation. Most outcomes on the Syria political track are agreed between Russia and the US prior to seeking agreement by the broader Council, as was the case with resolutions 2254 and 2268. Egypt, New Zealand and Spain lead on humanitarian issues. Egypt has been consistent in cautioning against politicising the humanitarian track, while New Zealand and Spain have argued that when the devastating humanitarian situation on the ground impacts political talks, it is impossible to keep the two tracks separate. France and the UK are also active in calling for meetings and drafting texts. UN Documents Endorsed the cessation of hostilities and called for the resumption of political talks. This was the first resolution focused exclusively on a political solution to the Syrian crisis. It was adopted unanimously. This was a resolution that requested the UN Secretary-General and OPCW Director-General to recommend the establishment and operation of a UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism to determine responsibility for the use of chemical weapons in Syria. This resolution condemned the use of toxic chemicals such as chlorine, without attributing blame; stressed that those responsible should be held accountable; recalled resolution 2118; and supported the 4 February 2015 decision of the OPCW. This resolution was adopted unanimously by the Council and required the verification and destruction of Syrias chemical weapons stockpiles, called for the convening of the Geneva II peace talks and endorsed the establishment of a transitional governing body in Syria with full executive powers. Renewed the authorisation for cross-border aid delivery until January 2017 and included language calling on member states to prevent and suppress the flow of foreign terrorist fighters in and out of Syria. Renewed authorisation for cross-border humanitarian access until 10 January 2016. This resolution authorised cross-border and cross-line access for the UN and its partners to deliver humanitarian aid in Syria without state consent and established a monitoring mechanism for 180 days. This resolution demanded that all parties, in particular the Syrian authorities, allow humanitarian access in Syria across conflict lines, in besieged areas and across borders and expressed the intent to take further steps in the case of non-compliance. Condemned the 21 February ISIS attacks in Damascus and Homs. Condemned the ISIS attack on 31 January in Damascus. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura briefed the Council ahead of the adoption of resolution 2268 on the cessation of hostilities. The was the regular monthly humanitarian briefing by OCHA. This was the Secretary-Generals monthly report on the humanitarian situation. This was the 60-day report on the implementation of resolution 2254 on a political solution to the Syrian crisis. This was the first report of the UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism. This was the 28th OPCW report on chemical weapons. The 11th report of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria. The Commission of Inquirys thematic report, Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Deaths in Detention in the Syrian Arab Republic, examines the killing of detainees by all parties. Press Release February 29, 2016 Keynote Speech of Senator Loren Legarda NCCA 8th Ani ng Dangal Awards 29 February 2016 | SM Aura, Samsung Hall Tonight we are gathered to celebrate the profound creativity of the Filipino people. From the music we select to accompany us in the daily grind of commuting, or the urban street art that speaks to us as we traverse the congested streets of the metro -- the Filipino spirit of creativity is present. It is in the mainstream television shows that we watch together as a family or independent films that introduce us to the new realities. It is an artwork, a photo, a compilation of words, or beautiful music that moves us -- these allow us to ponder a world bigger than we can ever hope to understand. Tonight we honor and celebrate 83 creative individuals for bringing us international recognition and for allowing us to tell the world who we are. I congratulate everyone for their achievements as well as the National Commission for Culture and the Arts for again recognizing exemplary men and women through the 8th Ani ng Dangal. The collective creativity of the people here has made the art and culture scene of the Philippines alive. Too often, art is mistaken as a luxury instead of a necessity. But try to imagine a society that lacks the humanizing influence of music, movies, theater, visual arts, literature and you get a life that is bereft of pleasure or contemplation. We would have no reason to argue or celebrate, or dream. Arts and culture shed light on our inner selves and allow us to connect as a society. In the economic realm, thousands of Filipinos have been working all over the world in creative industries as writers, artists, editors, photographers, musicians, filmmakers and they bring not only pride but revenues for the country. Investing in arts and culture is an economic necessity. As the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, I made sure that our cultural agencies will not be left behind in terms of government support. Under the 2016 General Appropriations Act, the government has invested more in arts and culture, including the three major programs of NCCA: (1) Preservation and promotion of tangible and intangible Filipino Heritage through research, documentation, publication, promotion, exhibition and film production; (2) Scholarships and grants for artists and cultural workers and funding for schools of living traditions (SLTs); and (3) cultural and heritage mapping projects. Moreover, in a bid to further cultivate Filipino arts and culture, we put in a special provision in the 2016 national budget that encourages the establishment of councils for the promotion of culture and the arts in all cities and municipalities nationwide. This provides support to cultural organizations and local artists in the form of grants-in-aid, technical assistance, networking opportunities and capacity-building initiatives. Under the special provision, the Department of Interior and Local Government shall ensure the establishment of a council whose purpose is the promotion of culture and the arts in all provinces, cities and municipalities, pursuant to the Local Government Code. The LGUs and NCCA will coordinate to undertake cultural mapping of our tangible and intangible heritage, which shall form part of the national registry to be maintained by the NCCA. In the future, I would like to see the mainstreaming of arts and culture in our education system, like in Bhutan where they have a National Institute of Handicrafts where young people go through four to six years of college courses on weaving, woodcarving, painting, and the handicrafts. I hope we can have our own Institute of Arts and Culture. Our efforts are not just focused on promoting traditional arts, and in fact we are conquering contemporary art through our participation in the Venice Biennale for both Art and Architecture. Through the collaboration of NCCA, the Department of Foreign Affairs and my office, we will be participating for the first time ever in the International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale. This historical event comes after our successful return to the Venice Art Biennale in 2015 with the exhibit Tie A String Around the World curated by Dr. Patrick Flores garnering international acclaim. The government also fully supported our collaboration with Mr. Brillante Mendoza to produce Taklub, a film that captures the critical message of disaster and climate resilience. It earned a special commendation from the Ecumenical Jury at the 68th Cannes International Film Festival. We are in the midst of an exciting period in Philippine art and culture. We only have to look around this venue for proof. As a legislator, and an individual who is in awe of arts, culture, and talent, it is my honor to be here today. Thank you for a job well done. Thank you for giving us more reasons to be proud of being Filipino. Congratulations and Mabuhay! Press Release March 1, 2016 DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG LORDS - MARCOS Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. has expressed his support for calls for the re-imposition of the death penalty but only to drug lords. Marcos said while he is against the death penalty, he will agree to its re-imposition if the same covers drug lords because they are in effect destroying the future of the country. "These drug lords should be given the death penalty because it is clear that they are destroying the future, our youth. They are destroying their lives, the future of our country," he said. He said the next administration should act more resolutely in the fight against illegal drugs in the light of reports that show that 93 percent of barangays in Metro Manila have illegal drug peddlers. But what is more disconcerting, Marcos pointed out, is the fact that even rural areas have been infiltrated by the illegal drug trade. "The newest development that came out is the report that even rural areas have been penetrated by these drug lords which is the reason why the problem has become so serious," he stressed. Marcos said based on other countries' experience in fighting illegal drugs, it is not the amount of money put in the campaign that would make a difference. It is, he said, the foundation of the family. He said illegal drugs in the United States remains a serious problem despite the allocation of more than a trillion dollar budget. However, in other countries that do not consider illegal drug a serious concern, they put strong emphasis on values formation and the strong foundation of the family. "Let's take a look at Amerika. Their so-called 'War on Drugs', they spend more than a trillion dollars but the problem remains big. Then let's take a look at countries that do not have consider drugs a serious problem and we could see that they put emphasis on the family. Their parents play a major role in the lives of their children. Values formation is what they call it," he said. This is the reason why people should not consider the problem on illegal drugs a purely law enforcement concern but something that needs the full cooperation of every member of society. "In my opinion, let's not think that the problem on illegal drugs is a problem only for the police to solve or the PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency). It is a problem of the whole Philippines, our society," he said. The senator, who has been advocating for unity in his campaign, said this is also the best deterrent against the moneyed drugs lords who have the ability to bribe their way out of every case that may be filed against them. "The problem is these drugs lords could easily use their money to bribe almost everyone and this is what we should change. We should all be involved, from the police operation to the cases filed in court. Let's involve our parents, our teachers, our church leaders, every member of society and let's go back to values formation," he said. He added, "(t)his is the kind of unity that we need right now because with unity everything is possible and we can certainly put an end to this problem on illegal drugs if we have unity." POE: INCLUDE POOR SOLO PARENT HOUSEHOLDS IN MODIFIED CCT PAMPANGA--Solo parents found a partner in Sen. Grace Poe after the leading presidential candidate said they should be included in the government's Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program aimed at helping poor families. In a campaign sortie in San Fernando, Pampanga, Poe said the government must make sure that indigent solo parents are protected and accorded the same benefits under the law. "Sa ating mga nanay, mga tatay na single mothers o single fathers, importante talaga sa ating batas ang mabigyan kayo ng proteksyon para sa inyong pamilya at sa inyong anak. Layunin namin ni Senator Chiz na pagaanin ang inyong mga dala-dalang mga obligasyon," Poe said. Solo parents make up about 14 percent of the population or about 13.9 million Filipinos, according to a 2011 report by the Department of Health (DOH) and the University of the Philippines-National Institute for Health (UP-NIH), the latest available statistic on the subject. Poe said including poor solo parents in a modified CCT would help lessen their financial burden. The government's modified CCT covers "families in need of special protection" such as those displaced by natural calamities, street families, itinerant indigenous families, and families with members who are disabled, sick with a terminal ailment or are victims of human trafficking and child labor. Poe said the local government units (LGUs) can assist the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the lead agency for implementing the anti-poverty program, in gathering eligible constituents, including solo parents, who may qualify for the CCT. "Bakit naman natin paparusahan ang mga walang partner? Kailangan basta may bata, mayroon kayong inaalagaan at kinakailangan ng tulong ay masama natin hangga't maaari," Poe said in a forum where she was asked by a single mother why solo parents are not included in the CCT. "Kailangan natin ire-evaluate kung sinong mga puwedeng masama diyan. Kung ikaw yung maliit ang kita at kailangan mo ng karagdagan ay masasama ka," the senator said. To be a CCT beneficiary, a household must be tagged as poor based on the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction, and must either have children aged 0-18 or have a household member who is pregnant at the time of the enumeration. Parents are required to undergo responsible family development sessions, according to the DSWD, which selects CCT beneficiaries. More than cash grants, Poe said it is also important to give poor Filipino parents easy and affordable access to quality public health care. "Ang gusto namin, libreng pananghalian sa lahat ng public elementary schools para sa mga bata dahil malaking bawas na 'yon. Importante rin ang health care lalung-lalo na sa ating mga mahihirap. Kailangan 'yung mga bata napapa-check-up regularly," said Poe, whose first enacted legislation provides free lunches to public elementary students. Poe, joined by her running mate Sen. Chiz Escudero and senatorial bets from Partido Galing at Puso, held consultations and school visits in Pampanga before a rally Tuesday afternoon. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Following a week of threats and a deadline that came and went, city work crews cleared out a homeless camp Tuesday morning under San Franciscos Central Freeway that was declared a health hazard and for months has been a source of irritation for neighbors and businesses in the area. Nearly 50 workers from the Department of Public Works moved along Division Street starting around 4:30 a.m., kicking out campers, cleaning up garbage and clearing the sidewalks. Once the walkways were cleared, workers began setting up barricades to prevent anyone from re-pitching a tent. Weve been out here every day cleaning up, but today were moving people out, said public works spokeswoman Rachel Gordon. Health code violations were posted last week informing hundreds of campers they would have to leave within 72 hours, but officials waited four days after the deadline passed to move on the makeshift city because we wanted to give ample opportunity for people to move to other locations, Gordon said. Dozens refused to go The initial deadline came and went on Friday evening, and the camp dwindled in size as homeless outreach workers hustled to provide resources to the scores of people who stuck around the encampment. While some folks recognized the sweep as an inevitability, others who were roused in the early-morning hours were livid. Im not going to be bullied, said Ashante Jones, a longtime Division Street camper who said he wasnt going anywhere. If I have to, Ill get arrested for these people. He said that he felt like a secondary citizen and thats not right. Where else are the police going to go to somebodys door and start banging on it with a billy club at 4:30 in the morning? Later in the morning, Jones was negotiating with outreach workers about a possible move to the homeless Navigation Center at 16th and Mission streets, and he eventually loaded his belongings onto a flatbed truck headed to the shelter. Police did not arrest any homeless people during the sweep, and the vast majority of those forced to exit the area were extremely cooperative, said San Francisco police Lt. Mike Nevin. At least a dozen public works trucks, garbage trucks and police cars moved through the camp Tuesday morning, while workers washed down the sidewalks with steam cleaners and disinfectant. The public health inspector came down here and found feces, urine, vermin and rotting garbage, Gordon said at the scene Tuesday. Its not safe for the people that live here, and its not safe for the people that have to come here to work. Haven from storms The stretch along Division and 13th is at times directly under the freeway, which provides overhead shelter. When several winter storms began to hit the Bay Area in early January, the number of campers under the highway ballooned. Some camp residents said they were given explicit instructions to head toward Division Street around the time the Super Bowl rolled into town the first week of February. They came in two weeks ago and told us we have to move, so we knew it was coming, said 37-year-old Jose Navarro as he packed his belongings into black plastic bags early Tuesday. We knew it would be early in the day, so we stayed ready. As the number of homeless grew, so too did the incidents of overt drug use and tense interactions between patrons of local businesses and some of the campers in the area. You used to have to worry about graffiti, but its been out of control down here for the last couple of months I felt like a prisoner, said Sean Buckley, owner of a lawn-and-garden equipment business near Harrison and Division streets. He said the homeless deserve to be taken care of, but added he was frustrated by drug users stealing his property. I dont know how long its going to last, Buckley said of the evictions. But they let it get out of control, especially around the Super Bowl. The city has provided several shelters, including a 150-bed, semipermanent tent at Pier 80 where the homeless can avail themselves of food, showers, toilets, counseling and other resources. But the shelter at the pier isnt a desirable solution for many of the campers. Its too much of a FEMA camp, Benjamin Headrick, 40, who works as a house cleaner and has been homeless for about seven months, said referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They started with 80 (beds) and bumped it up to 150, but how quickly is that going to fill up? The only way they are going to solve this problem is by building something permanent that doesnt look like a concentration camp. Vow to return As Jones, one of the very last holdouts, watched his stuff loaded onto a flatbed truck destined for the Navigation Center, he seemed upbeat about his prospects. Ill be in there for a bit and then, when I get back on my feet, Ill be back out here, but as an advocate, he said, noting that while the tents on Division Street were gone, the problem was not. And just off Division on Florida Street, that point was made plain as a smaller camp of roughly a dozen tents was left undisturbed. A mans badly decomposed body washed ashore Monday in the Bodega Bay area, officials said. A man jogging along the beach called 911 around 8:15 a.m. when he came across the body on the shoreline south of Salmon Creek. Because of the amount of decomposition, officials of the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office were unable to immediately release an identity. Sgt. Cecile Focha, a spokeswoman, said it is possible the body is that of missing Santa Rosa attorney Steven Mitchell but that several other men have gone missing in the area in recent months. The coroners office will conduct a forensic examination to try to determine an identity and cause of death. Search efforts for Mitchell were suspended two weeks ago after detectives found a suicide note he had apparently written and his abandoned car near Bodega Bay. His wife reported him missing Feb. 13. Mitchell, 56, was a prominent civil attorney and was recently representing a Sonoma County sheriffs deputy who fatally shot 13-year-old Andy Lopez in October 2013. Authorities said Lopez was carrying a realistic-looking toy gun. Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov Pacific Gas and Electric Co. should be fined nearly $112 million in connection with a natural-gas explosion that leveled a Carmel cottage and damaged three other homes in 2014, the safety division of the state Public Utilities Commission says. Protecting public safety mandates a substantial fine being applied to PG&E, Ed Moldavsky, an attorney for the safety division, said Friday in urging administrative law Judge Maribeth Bushey to impose a $111.9 million fine against the company for its deeply flawed records and for allegedly failing to reveal a 12-year gap in pipeline repair documents. It would be the second-largest penalty ever against PG&E for gas-related violations, behind the $1.6 billion that the commission imposed last year stemming from the 2010 explosion in San Bruno that killed eight people. PG&E noted that it has already paid $10.8 million in fines for the March 3, 2014, blast in Carmel, after regulators found the company had failed to alert residents of the gas leak promptly and had handled the emergency poorly. The company maintains it should not be penalized further, saying the safety divisions recommendation misinterprets applicable regulations and the record in this proceeding, and (fails) to acknowledge the significant improvements PG&E has made to its distribution records. The Carmel explosion happened as crews were replacing a street distribution gas line, a smaller pipe than the type that ruptured in San Bruno. The replacement line was supposed to be hooked up to a separate pipeline, which PG&E records showed was made of steel. However, sometime after 1997, PG&E or a contractor had inserted a plastic pipe inside the steel one. In doing so, workers made slices in the steel line, rendering it useless for carrying natural gas. No one marked the changes on PG&Es pipeline maps. In 2014, workers relying on the inaccurate documents drilled into the old steel main and pierced the plastic line inside. Gas then flowed out of the plastic line and into the surrounding steel line. The gas escaped through a cut in the steel pipe and eventually got into the cottage at Third Avenue and Guadalupe Street. A pilot light apparently touched off the explosion that destroyed the one-bedroom cottage, which was empty, and damaged three nearby homes. No one was injured. Utilities commission staffers say a similar incident happened in July 2013 in Mountain View, when welding crews caused a leak when they melted an unmapped plastic insert in a steel pipe. The leak forced an evacuation but caused no injuries. PG&E recently conceded that it has lost 12 years of gas-line paper repair records for the South Bay, but has not said that contributed to the Mountain View incident. Moldavsky accused the company of hiding the problem from regulators until last June, more than year after the Carmel blast investigation began. PG&E should be reminded that the commission and its staff are not operating on a need-to-know basis with PG&E, Moldavsky wrote in his recommendation. It should not have taken an (official regulatory probe) to pry this information from PG&E. PG&E has a duty to disclose even troubling facts to the commission, Moldavsky wrote. PG&Es failure to do so makes a mockery out of the regulatory compact. PG&E, in its argument to Bushey, acknowledged that inaccuracies in its records contributed to both the Mountain View and Carmel incidents, but said regulators failed to demonstrate that PG&E fell short of what the regulations do require. The company conceded that it does not have perfect records, but added, No pipeline operator does. For their part, Carmel officials are asking Bushey to levy a $652 million fine against PG&E for the blast in their city and other problems. How many times does the corporate mule need to be hit over the head with a 2-by-4 to get its attention? city attorneys asked Bushey. Yet here we are again. The facts are clear, and the law is clear. Jaxon Van Derbeken is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jvanderbeken@sfchronicle.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The largest container ship ever to visit a U.S. port arrived at the Port of Seattle on Monday morning. The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin is longer than the Empire State Building and is as tall as a 20-story building. The ship had previously docked in Oakland on Dec. 31, becoming the largest container ship to ever grace an American port. It returned to the Bay Area last Thursday. When it docked in the Northwest, SeattlePI.com got exclusive access to the interior of the ship. Click through the gallery above to see inside the behemoth. The Benjamin Franklin can carry up to 18,000 containers -- normal ships can carry 10,000 -- and its maximum load capacity is almost 590,000 cubic meters, which the company's site says is equal to 235 Olympic swimming pools. It is 1,300 foot long, 177 feet wide and 197 feet high. In Oakland, port officials spent years preparing for the arrival of the Benjamin Franklin and similar megaships. The following is from this Dec. 31 article by Carl Nolte: Preparing meant spending $400 million on dredging to make sure big ships can fit into the Oakland harbor, as well as upgrading cranes and other port facilities. "Oakland is the most efficient port on the West Coast, and ships like this are important to us," said John Driscoll, maritime director for the Port of Oakland. The Benjamin Franklin, which is 1,310 feet long, displaces 158,000 gross tons and can carry 18,000 shipping containers, loomed over the pilot boat like a moving mountain of steel. "God, that's big," said George Livingstone, a ship pilot who boarded the Benjamin Franklin at the Golden Gate. "You know that's something when even professionals are saying, 'Wow!'" Livingstone and two other pilots, John Carlier and David McCloy, went aboard to familiarize themselves with megaships like this and to assist the principal pilot, Capt. Richard Hurt, who was in charge of guiding the ship in from the ocean to its dock at the Oakland Outer Harbor. As the Benjamin Franklin came under the Golden Gate Bridge, it passed the container ship Matsonia, bound for Hawaii. The two ships exchanged whistle salutes three short blasts on the whistle and a long blast for good luck. The Matsonia, which regularly sails from California to Hawaii, was considered a big ship when it was new 42 years ago. The Benjamin Franklin, which went into service in the first week of December, is more than four times the size of the older ship. The Matsonia looked almost like a ship model next to the brand new megaship. The Benjamin Franklin took it slow inside the bay, easing to about 8 knots to pass the San Francisco waterfront, and slower still as it made a turn to go under the Bay Bridge. Livingstone said it would clear the bottom of the bridge by about 15 feet. It took about an hour to get from the Golden Gate to the dock at the Oakland Outer Harbor. Four tugs helped the ship into the dock. It was a perfect day to mark a new era in shipping the sky was clear, the sea was calm, there was no wind or fog, and everyone was as careful as they could be. "We are always aware that there is a risk with a ship this huge," said Coast Guard Capt. Greg Stump, captain of the port of San Francisco Bay. "There is safety, there is security and environmental concerns." Livingstone said piloting ships like this is "a public trust." "We have to be perfect," he said. "Ninety-nine percent is not good enough." There are not many ships the size of the Benjamin Franklin, and most of them are deployed on trade routes from Asia to Europe. But the ship's owner, the French outfit CMA CGM, is expanding its trade in the Pacific and hopes to send more megaships to the West Coast. Big ships are more efficient because of the economy of scale, Livingstone said, and many more are on order. "In the next two years," he said, "50 of these ships will be launched. We need to be ready." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A barrage of storms interspersed with brief respites will start hitting the Bay Area on Thursday morning and continue for at least a week and a half, kicking off March with significant rainfall to boost reservoirs and hopes that El Nino will show its true colors at last. All told, throughout the 10-day period starting Thursday, coastal areas will see about six or so inches of rain, and cities at higher elevations are forecast to be drenched in at least 10 inches, forecasters said. But Bay Area residents will be slowly introduced to the atmospheric river, with the first front delivering only about a quarter to half an inch of rain. Theres just a series of very notable rain systems that will be plaguing us throughout the weekend, said Bob Benjamin, a National Weather Service forecaster. People should be getting prepared for a very, very wet period. The storms will be accompanied by winds of 15 to 20 mph blowing through lower elevations, and 35 mph or stronger at higher elevations. Theres also a possibility for another bout of thunder and lightning, as some Bay Area cities saw two weeks ago, but its still too early to know precisely what will strike, Benjamin said. Cities at lower elevations will likely see roadway and river flooding, and residences in mountainous areas may experience power outages, meteorologists said. Officials urged residents in areas prone to electrical failures to gather flashlights and other emergency equipment. The California Highway Patrol is expecting an uptick in collisions, in line with what it usually sees during storms. Officials advised drivers to slow down, increase their following distance and create extra space around large vehicles that might drift into adjacent lanes with strong gusts. If people drive the same way in the rain as they do during dry conditions, theyll probably crash, said Officer Daniel Hill, a CHP spokesman. The onslaught of precipitation is being generated in the north-central Pacific Ocean, meaning temperatures wont climb higher than the low- to mid-60s and probably wont fall farther than in the 40s at night. After last month left the region with pitiful rainfall San Francisco seeing just 22 percent of what it normally gets experts are hopeful the next few weeks will bring the Bay Area up to par. Were coming off an extremely dry February, Benjamin said. March is going to come in like a lion. Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate No longer will a daily newspaper bear the name of Oakland or San Jose due to a mass consolidation by Bay Area News Group, which on Tuesday also announced plans to cut roughly 20 percent of the companys newsroom staff. Half a dozen Bay Area newspapers will be folded into two daily publications meant to serve the East Bay and South Bay. The last daily edition of the 150-year-old Oakland Tribune will be published April 4. On April 5, the East Bay will get its first look at the East Bay Times a consolidation of the Contra Costa Times, the Oakland Tribune, the Daily Review in Hayward and the Argus, which serves Fremont. The company will also replace the contracostatimes.com and insidebayarea.com websites with a new East Bay focused site, eastbaytimes.com. Every Friday, subscribers in Oakland, Hayward and Fremont will receive hyper-local news inserts bearing the mastheads of the Oakland Tribune, the Daily Review and the Argus, respectively. In the South Bay and on the Peninsula, the San Mateo County Times will join the San Jose Mercury News to become the Mercury News, also debuting on April 5. Bay Area News Group president and publisher Sharon Ryan pointed to a 2015 survey of readers as the impetus for the changes. We are committed to enhancing the quality of that journalism and creating an economic model that ensures a thriving BANG and a well-informed Bay Area community, Ryan wrote in a memo to employees. Readers have been quite clear with us about how much they like their newspapers and what they want more of, and were changing to serve them better. Well give them better focused front page stories that cover national and Bay Area news from each regions point of view. Its the companys latest effort to streamline operations and cut costs at a time when newspapers across the country are struggling for survival. Roughly 20 percent of the news groups 200 newsroom employees are expected to lose their jobs some through voluntary buyouts, and others in layoffs. A total of 23 buyouts will be offered to newsroom employees age 60 or older, who have been with their paper for at least 20 years. There are only 30 people company-wide who meet these conditions. Out of the 23 newsroom buyouts, only five will be offered to reporters, said Dan Smith, BANGs vice president of audience. On top of that, 10 to 20 employees will be fired. Im just so sad for journalism, said a journalist at the Oakland Tribune, who asked that her name be withheld because she feared for her job. They say people want more local news, yet well be giving them far less news. How does that make sense? Journalists at the Bay Area publications found out about the changes Tuesday morning in regional meetings. The brunt of the cuts, employees were told Tuesday, will be made to jobs related to production, meaning copy editors and designers. Management claims the readers asked for this, said Carl Hall, the executive officer of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, the union that represents journalists at both the Bay Area News Group and The Chronicle. I have a hard time believing too many people demanded a 20 percent or more reduction in editorial staff from their already devastated newsrooms. He criticized Bay Area News Group leaders for lacking foresight and a commitment to journalism, and said the loss of the Oakland Tribune, which has served the East Bay for 150 years, would be to the communitys detriment. Im not naive about the economics of this business, but it is long overdue to stop relying on cuts and start finding a business plan that actually works, Hall said. This is a deep, deep cut. These papers do not have any excess left in them. Everybody there is functioning at full tilt already, so here we go again, asking our newsrooms to do more with less. As of 2015, the Bay Area News Group had a circulation of 525,000 print copies on Sundays and just under 400,000 daily. Bay Area News Group leaders on Tuesday emphasized a commitment to digital journalism and staying relevant amid medias changing landscape. The news group announced that it would also be adding jobs to the East Bay newsroom for subjects in which readers expressed the most interest: environment, transportation and local business coverage. Digital First Media, a New York publishing company that is controlled by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital, owns the Bay Area News Group. Digital First Media is the second-largest U.S. newspaper chain by circulation about 67 million readers across 15 states, according to its website. Its papers include the Salt Lake Tribune, Los Angeles Daily News, St. Paul Pioneer Press, New Haven Register and Denver Post, among others. Union leaders from several of Digital Firsts papers have joined efforts to push for fair wages and job security at their papers, where some workers have gone eight to 10 years without a raise. Bay Area managers were scheduled to meet with union representatives Wednesday morning. Marissa Lang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mlang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Marissa_Jae This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Troubled game maker Zynga announced Tuesday that founder Mark Pincus will step down as CEO for the second time in three years, and named former Electronic Arts executive Frank Gibeau as his replacement. Pincus will remain executive board chairman for the San Francisco company, which has not come close to regaining the popularity it had when social game hits like FarmVille and CityVille flooded the timelines of Facebook members. But Gibeau, 47, told The Chronicle Tuesday that he believes the companys turnaround is already under way because it has reversed the declining popularity of core games Words with Friends and Zynga Poker. We do have our work cut out for us, he said. But Zynga has the right ingredients. Pincus founded the company in 2007, but abruptly relinquished the CEO spot in 2013 to former Microsoft Xbox boss Don Mattrick, who was also a former Electronic Arts executive. Mattrick was hired to reverse Zyngas flagging fortunes by focusing more on mobile games, but he was ousted in April. Pincus, who had remained chairman of the board, retook the CEO spot. In an interview Tuesday, Pincus said that under Mattrick, the company brought more polish to its products. But Zynga strayed a bit from its focus on social gaming and providing games as a service, he said. We lost some of our special sauce, this unique passion and commitment to social and running games as a service, Pincus said. I thought it was important DNA to re-inject into the company. Gibeau worked for Redwood Citys EA for about 25 years, rising to become vice president for mobile gaming. He lead the development of highly profitable games such as Battlefield, The Simpsons: Tapped Out, Plants vs. Zombies, Real Racing and Bejeweled. He joined Zyngas board intending to spend only one day a week coaching the companys game development teams. That eventually turned into four days. Pincus said he wasnt necessarily thinking about finding another CEO, but that as Gibeau became more involved, we found we shared this passion for social gaming and mobile gaming. He saw the same potential that I do. When Pincus asked if he would be interested in taking over as CEO, it was kind of a no brainer Gibeau said. I said Yeah, Im in. I couldnt help myself. My passion for gaming is what drives me. As CEO, Gibeau faces challenges. For example, the release of two mobile games that Zynga has touted for two years, especially the action strategy-fantasy game Dawn of Titans, has again been delayed, until sometime this year. Gibeau has flown to London to work with NaturalMotion, the studio developing Titans. But he also said that Zynga has a slate of nine other games to release this year. And hes been directly involved with the teams working on the core games such as Poker and Words With Friends. He said he sees the same ingredients at Zynga that I saw at Electronic Arts when we started that turnaround. Gibeau, who will take the reins Monday, will also have to convince skeptical investors that the revolving door at the top has finally stopped. Zynga shares, which were priced at $10 when it went public in 2011, ended trading Tuesday at $2.16 per share, up 5 cents. However, news of the shuffle sent the stock up nearly 9 percent in after hours trading. Zynga at its height had about 3,000 employees, but by the end of last year had scaled back to 1,669. About 1,000 employes work at Zyngas Potrero Hill headquarters, which it bought for $228 million in 2012. Zynga is now exploring a sale of the building, but with a long-term leaseback as part of any deal. Pincus said the company doesnt plan to move. Nor is it being forced to sell to raise money for its survival, he said. Rather, property values in the neighborhood have risen dramatically, and the company wants to unlock the capital in its building, he said. Its only going to add to our flexibility in the future as we pursue this vision of social gaming, Pincus said. Benny Evangelista is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: bevangelista@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ChronicleBenny CPS Energy board Chairman Ed Kelley said Monday the utility is seeking two or three top candidates from the consultant helping the utility find a new CEO. Kelley said the consultant, Los Angeles-based Korn Ferry, is in the process of reviewing possible candidates, including new ones who did not participate in the previous executive search effort. Its a dating process, Kelley said. Do we like what we see? Do the candidates like what they see? We hope someone will come forward shortly who will fulfill the qualifications we are looking for. Kelley gave the comments after a closed executive session by the board that lasted more than an hour. The trustees discussed their strategy for renewing the CEO search in the wake of reports that the never-identified finalist in a months-long search had withdrawn from the process. The withdrawn candidate is in the midst of great career, Kelley said. I guess weve hit the reset button. Mayor Ivy Taylor, who sits on the CPS Energy board, said last week the withdrawn candidate and the utility could not come to an agreement on salary. CPS Energy has been searching for a CEO since last year when the previous top executive, Doyle Beneby, announced his departure for a position with a Chicago renewable energy company. Doyle, who had made $739,407 in salary and performance bonuses, left on Oct. 31. Eight candidates, selected with the help of Korn Ferry, were selected for the initial round of interviews. That was winnowed to three for the second round. Trustees settled on a lone finalist at a mid-December board meeting. Kelley and Vice Chairman Derrick Howard are the boards two-trustee search committee. Kelley said Monday that Korn Ferry is the very best at this. They sourced Doyle Beneby for us. Beneby was hired in 2010. Kelley declined to say when a new round of interviews might start. If we get a call (from the consultants), well be on a plane tomorrow, Kelley said. dhendricks@express-news.net On Tuesday the Senate Agriculture Committee approved the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, also known as SAFE, which would prevent states from passing mandatory food labeling laws for genetically modified organisms, including one such law scheduled to go into effect July 1 in Vermont. Fourteen of 20 members of the committee, including three Democrats, voted in favor of the markup of the bill by Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan. Opponents of the bill, who call it the Deny Americans the Right to Know Act, or the DARK Act, say it preempts state law and keeps consumers from getting information they want about their food. The legislation, which does not prevent companies from providing voluntary labeling, will now go to a vote on the Senate floor. Let the buyers make up their mind, said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who voted against the bill. In the committee meeting, he also said the legislation was too rushed. You seem to be saying to the world that GE producers have something to hide. Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press But legislators who supported the bill cited estimated costs that manufacturers would pass on to consumers to comply with mandatory labeling as well as a potential burden on farmers and ranchers. In addition, they thought mandatory GMO labels would imply to consumers that genetically modified foods are not safe, even though government agencies have said they are. We cant ignore advances in science, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, one of the Democrats who voted in favor of the bill. She also expressed concern about inconsistencies among existing state GMO labeling laws; for example, Vermonts exempts dairy products from GMO labeling whereas one in Connecticut does not. I dont think we can have this patchwork of laws, she said. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle In a statement issued after the bill was approved, California Sen. Barbara Boxer urged fellow senators not to pass it. This is a sham bill that will deny American families the right to know what theyre feeding their kids, she said. Boxer has been a proponent of other GMO labeling measures such as Californias Proposition 37, which voters rejected in 2012. In a phone interview, Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group, one of several groups in favor of GMO labeling, said that asking companies to provide American consumers this information isnt asking them to do any more than theyre already doing for two-thirds of the worlds consumers, who live in countries with mandatory GMO labeling. Tara Duggan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tduggan@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @taraduggan This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Live oak trees grip the concrete curbs on Hazel and Sixth streets, symbolic of how tightly residents cling to their neighborhood of grand Queen Anne homes and little, squat bungalows. Here and there, older, but still-trim apartments and duplexes share space with single-family homes. In that particular block of Old Town are no commercial establishments. Virginia Jordan, president of the Oaks Historic District neighborhood association, says that's because businesses are neither needed to help stabilize the block nor welcome because it's a residential area. "The premise of a business deteriorates values almost immediately. It rots through the neighborhood," she said on a recent walking tour of her block. Directly across the street from her home, built in 1912, is the home of Carolyn R. Fernandez, president and chief executive of Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas. Fernandez spoke out in a City Council meeting last year against a bid to grant a permit for a law office to locate in the middle of the block between Sixth and Seventh streets, saying it would begin to change the neighborhood's residential nature. Since City Council's vote to deny the permit, some things have happened for the better in the neighborhood, Jordan said. For one, the property that could have become a law office recently sold to a family that just moved here from San Antonio. Chris Ellebracht, the home's buyer, recently joined the ranks of the Port Arthur Fire Department as a firefighter/emergency medical technician. He and his wife, Sabrina Victory and their 16-month-old daughter, Emily, and their dog, Ender, were enjoying a recent sunny and mild day with their doors and windows open. "I didn't know much about the neighborhood or what went on here before," Ellebracht said. "It worked out for us." The Ellebracht family is another leaf on the Oaks Historic District family tree, which is enjoying more growth. A city of Beaumont analysis of Hazel Street between Sixth and Seventh streets, excluding the corner properties, showed 17 structures with significant increases in value after a rezoning eight years ago. In 2003, the combined value of the 17 structures, single-family homes and multi-family duplexes or apartments, was $931,490. In 2007, the values grew to $1,292,640. In 2014, the total value was $1,424,830. Chris Boone, the city's director of planning and community development, said the increase from 2003 to 2014 was more than 50 percent. In his analysis, Boone wrote that the rate compared to an increase of 12.4 percent in another, more traditionally stable part of Old Town; 20 percent in an area on the south side of Calder Avenue; and 13 percent at a randomly selected, but similar area in another part of the city. "Cities with declining historic neighborhoods often turn to light commercial uses, especially professional offices, to help stabilize an area," Boone said. He said the particular block of Hazel between Sixth and Seventh has stabilized in the eight years since its most recent zoning study. Since last summer, when City Council voted against a permit for a commercial use in mid-block on Hazel, Jordan said the neighborhood has seen more improvements. The apartments at 2220 Hazel were cleaned up, planters were placed out front, and the city provided green trash cans, replacing a large commercial trash bin. One of the duplexes on the block, housing Nos. 2210 and 2206, is home to landlord David Bradley's daughter and his parents, who previously lived in Houston. His parents moved in two or three months ago. Bradley recalls going for a walk in the neighborhood in the early 1990s with then-Councilwoman Lulu Smith. Before they went on their tour, Bradley said, "Let me get my pistol first." The 2200 block was run down, with junk cars on the street and a streetlight that didn't work. Wrecks of old homes appeared occupied by drug dealers. Bradley said City Council took an active interest after that. The city's former planning director, Steve Richardson, suggested making it a historic district, and the neighborhood's fortunes revived. Jordan kept pointing out little miracles of reclaimed homes, fresh paint, manicured front lawns, all neatly kept. "All in a few months," she said. The Oaks district might be one of the largest historic districts in the state, she said. It extends from Interstate 10 on the north to Rusk Street on the south and from 11th Street on the west to the railroad tracks near Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway on the east. Jordan said she doesn't know how much area that is, but she has a handy statistic ready. "It has 161 intersection signs," informing people that they are in the Oaks Historic District. DWallach@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/dwallach WASHINGTON House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday anyone who wants to be the Republican presidential nominee must reject any racist group or individual, a tacit swipe at GOP front-runner Donald Trump. Ryan told reporters that the GOP is the party of President Abraham Lincoln and this party does not prey on peoples prejudices. At the same time, Ryan reiterated that he will support whomever the GOP nominates. Ryan was apparently referring to Trumps appearance Sunday on CNN when he declined to disavow the support of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and other white supremacists. When I see something that runs counter to who we are as a party and a country, I will speak up. So today I want to be very clear about something: If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican party there can be no evasion and no games. They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry, Ryan said. Trump subsequently disavowed Duke, blaming his interview performance Sunday on a bad earpiece. But the episode provided fodder for candidates such as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. Rubio quickly pounced on Trumps comments, saying the GOP cannot be a party who refuses to condemn white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan. Not only is that wrong, it makes him unelectable, Rubio told thousands of supporters gathered in Leesburg, Va., on Sunday. How are we going to grow the party if we nominate someone who doesnt repudiate the Ku Klux Klan? Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called Trumps comments Really sad. Youre better than this, Cruz wrote on Twitter. We should all agree, racism is wrong, KKK is abhorrent. On Tuesday, USA Today reported that a group of about 30 African American students from Valdosta State University in Georgia were kicked out of a Trump rally by law enforcement officials. The only reason we were given was that Mr. Trump did not want us there, 22-year-old senior Brooke Gladney told the newspaper. The campaign denied any role in their ouster from the event. Ryan bemoaned the current discourse in the GOP and said it was time to get back to focusing on how Republicans would solve the nations problems. We are the party of Lincoln, Ryan added. We believe all people are created in the eyes of God and our government. This is fundamental. And if someone wants to be our nominee they must understand this. Ryan was the GOP vice presidential nominee in 2012. He said he has tried to avoid commenting on the presidential race but felt a need to speak up. I try to stay out of the day-to-day ups and downs of the primary, Ryan said. But Ive said when I see something that runs counter to who we are as a party and a country I will speak up. Many Washington Republicans are increasingly open about their dismay at the prospect of Trump winning the GOP nomination. 1 Police shooting: A 17-year-old male who authorities say was wielding a metal stick was shot and critically injured by Salt Lake City officers Saturday night, touching off unrest downtown as officers donned riot gear and blocked streets and bystanders threw rocks and bottles. The teenager shot by two officers was in critical condition at a hospital Sunday after being struck twice in the torso, according to Detective Ken Hansen. The department said officers were trying to break up a fight around 8 p.m. where the teenager and another male were hitting a third male with metal objects. The officers ordered the males to drop the sticks. The teenager did not and instead moved toward the victim in a threatening manner, said Detective Greg Wilking said. One or both of the police officers then shot the teen. 2 Lab visits: President Obama is launching a version of take your child to work day thats focused on Americas science laboratories instead of its corporate work spaces. Its part of Obamas effort to encourage young people, especially girls and minorities, to pursue careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. More than 50 national labs in 20 states are opening their doors this week to elementary, middle and high school students to help spark interest by exposing them to the scientists, engineers and lab employees. The students, including from communities aligned with Obamas My Brothers Keeper initiative, will participate in mentoring sessions and hands-on experiments. WASHINGTON The White House said Monday that President Obama will press hard throughout the spring and into the summer for confirmation of his Supreme Court nominee, despite steep odds against getting Senate approval. Democrats hope to make life as hard as they can for Senate Republicans who insist that the decision should be left to the next president, even as many GOP leaders privately, and some publicly, express horror that their presidential nominee may be Donald Trump. Senate Republicans last week took the unprecedented step of ruling out hearings for Obamas eventual pick for the high court to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last month. Since then, the prospect that Trump could dominate the Super Tuesday primaries and be unstoppable for the nomination has thrown the GOP into an existential crisis. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters that it remains relatively early in the process of finding a nominee to replace Scalia and that no final list of potential names has been drawn up. While the White House is not committing to the 30 days Obama took to select his previous two nominees to the high court, Earnest said the time frame is a relevant context for the decision. Whoever Obama nominates will almost certainly endure months of political scrutiny with little hope of being confirmed. Earnest gave no hints as to whom Obama is considering, other than that the nominee will have impeccable credentials. He promised that the White House will enlist help from outside interest groups to push for confirmation. The stakes for the Supreme Court are higher than theyve been in at least a generation. The next justice has the potential to swing the courts conservative majority, anchored since the Reagan administration by Scalia, an intellectual powerhouse revered by the right. Conservative interest groups have been adamant that Senate Republicans reject any Obama nominee. Senate Republicans easily have the votes to do so, but they calculated that by refusing to hold hearings, they could minimize attention on Obamas nominee and deprive Democrats of a platform to make the nomination an issue in the presidential race. Meanwhile, many conservatives do not believe Trump is one of them, suggesting they cant rely on getting a nominee from him who would carry on Scalias legacy. National Review magazine, an opinion leader for the right on high court battles, dedicated an entire edition in January titled Against Trump, calling him a philosophically unmoored political opportunist who would trash the broad conservative ideological consensus within the GOP in favor of a free-floating populism with strong-man overtones. Yet, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican in charge of confirmation hearings, showed no sign of backing down Monday. Grassley warned that a shift in the courts makeup could mean that a host of Supreme Court precedents on free speech, freedom of religion, the right to keep and bear arms, the death penalty, and abortion would be overturned. Grassley is scheduled to meet with Obama on Tuesday. The odds of the White House getting a Supreme Court nominee confirmed are long. Democrats need to get 14 Republicans on their side to end a filibuster on a nomination and five to vote to confirm. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The historic sign welcoming visitors to Yosemite National Park's renowned Ahwahnee Hotel was stolen over the weekend. The metal, rounded sign atop the hotel's gatehouse appears to have vanished sometime Saturday night or Sunday morning. Park rangers are now investigating. "It's part of the park's historic fabric," Park Service spokesman Scott Gediman said. "And we are taking this seriously." The crime came just days before the a deadline for the 89-year-old structure was due to be renamed "the Majestic Yosemite Hotel." The park service announced last year that it would change the names of The Ahwahnee, along with Curry Village, the Badger Pass Ski Resort and many other attractions after failing to reach agreement with the company that says it owns the trademarks to those attractions. The company, Delaware North, has served as the park's concessionaire since 1993, running numerous park operations until losing the contract to Aramark, which is scheduled to take over at midnight. Delaware North and the Park Service have been unable to agree on the value of the trademarks and the Buffalo, New York-based company filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit. The dispute prompted the Park Service to announce the name changes. Starting at midnight, Park Service employees will begin placing temporary signs over road signs directing visitors to the attractions while Aramark will be responsible for changing the names of the attractions. Gediman said temporary signs are being used in the hope that a settlement will be reached with Delaware North. The new operators, Aramark, plan to begin selling souvenir items with the name "Yosemite" instead of "Yosemite National Park." Merchandise embossed with the the full park name began disappearing from shelves this week because of the dispute. Delaware North spokesman Glen White said Park Service officials turned down the company's offer to let the park continue using the trademark names until the legal dispute was resolved. Gediman said the Park Service turned down the offer made Friday because that would "acknowledge they own the names." Mark Bartholomew, a University at Buffalo law professor who teaches trademark law, says Delaware North may also want to preserve the value of the names at issue. The iconic names will lose value if they are no longer used, he said. "I think all sides will ultimately come to an agreement after some more posturing," Bartholomew said. Court filing show the Park Service valuing the trademarks at $3.5 million and Delaware North puts their worth at $51 million. The Associated Press contributed to this report. JERUSALEM A recent gathering of American Reform rabbis in Jerusalem was meant to celebrate the small gains the liberal Jewish movement has made in Israel in recent years. But a series of comments by Israeli officials denigrating the group marred the event, reflecting an awkward relationship that many fear is alienating the worlds second-largest Jewish community from Israel. The Reform Movement is the largest stream of Judaism in the United States, claiming to represent 1.5 million people, and its members provide a key source of financial support and political advocacy for Israel. But the movement is marginal in Israel, where religious affairs are dominated by the Orthodox rabbinical establishment. Israeli lawmakers, both secular and ultra-Orthodox, have repeatedly disparaged the group, questioning their Judaism and accusing them of promoting Jewish assimilation. How do you ask Jews around the world to support Israel politically, economically, socially ... and at the same time you have these ministers who say to our people youre not really Jewish or you dont have a place here in Israel? said Rabbi Steven Fox, the chief executive of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which held its septennial convention in Israel last week. In the U.S., Reform synagogues are commonplace, characterized by practices such as mixed-gender prayers, services led by female rabbis and members who drive to synagogue on the Sabbath customs that violate Orthodox norms. In Israel, Reform Judaism is at best seen as a curiosity and at worst, a threat. This in turn has placed obstacles in the way of the movements effort to make inroads in Israel, beaten back by an Orthodox monopoly over Jewish rituals such as marriage, burials and conversions. Reform rabbis have made small gains in Israel, and in January, the movement was jubilant over perhaps its greatest victory Israels announcement that it would create a special mixed-gender prayer area at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The wall, managed by an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who opposes having Reform customs at the site, is the holiest place where Jews can pray. The new area will also permit women to wear prayer shawls and skullcaps, a rite reserved for men under Orthodox custom. But right after the plan was approved, Israels secular Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said the Reform movement was a waning world. He accused it of tolerating intermarriage, encouraging assimilation and predicted the mixed-prayer area would become unnecessary within two or three generations. Under religious law, Jews cannot marry non-Jews. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A small passenger shuttle bus caught fire Monday afternoon at a South of Market gas station, sending smoke and flames billowing above San Francisco and destroying four gas station pumps. The 25-passenger bus, believed to be four years old, was parked alongside one of the gas pumps at the Chevron station at Ninth and Howard streets when it began smoking, according to its driver, who was not identified. One firefighter suffered minor injuries to his neck and back, said assistant Fire Chief Tom Siragusa. A large Chevron sign was destroyed but the station buildings did not appear to be damaged. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire. Witnesses said they heard loud hissing when the tires of the burning shuttle bus were believed to have ruptured. Markings on the bus indicate it was operated by Transmetro of San Francisco, which runs a fleet of paratransit vehicles that are typically used to transport wheelchair users. Operations supervisor Peter Anis confirmed that the burned bus was theirs and that its driver, whom he identified as Ernie Intiro, was uninjured. He said the driver had gone to the station to buy fuel prior to his daily run and that he had reported no problems with the vehicle. Anis said Intiro told him he raised the front hood of the bus and flames shot from it. That account was confirmed by a gas station patron. As soon as he (Intiro) lifted the hood, flames just started raging, said customer Tim White, who said he watched station employees push emergency buttons to shut off power to other gas pumps at the station. The station, which includes a car wash and coffee bar, opened in 1999 to considerable fanfare with the appearance of race car legend Mario Andretti, who was initially involved in operating the business. The gas station is owned by Worldco Co. LLC., a San Francisco-based development firm. In 2014, Worldco filed an application to develop 123 housing units on the site, along with 13,700 square feet of commercial space. In the application the developers says that the two-building project "will anchor the neighborhood with a new, mixed-use residential, office, and retail development with a pedestrian alley dividing the two structures. The proposal is under review by the city planning department and could be up for approvals at the Planning Commission later this year. The property is one of about a dozen gas stations in San Francisco currently in the process of being developed as housing. Residential projects are slated for two other gas stations on Sixth Street, as well as the Union 76 service station on nearby Rincon Hill. Jenna Lyons and Steve Rubenstein are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: @jlyons@sfchronicle.com and @srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno and @SteveRubeSF This terrier may not be a human, but he can tell when another dog is a little bit...different. The dog, whose name is Cosmo and belongs to Android cofounder Andy Rubin, was set in front of Google's "Spot," a "quadrupled" robot made to move just like a real canine (except without a head or fur), and while those watching couldn't exactly say the two got along, there was at least a reaction. The hotels and gift shops at Yosemite National Park might have been forced to change some longtime signage and unload merchandise as the park prepares to welcome a new concessionaire company, but some of the disgruntled workers who call the forced changes "terrible" and "obscene" are making the absolute worst of it. The orders to change the traditional (and apparently trademarked) names of hotels and other attractions in the area comes following a change in Yosemite's concessions operator. When the now former operator, Delaware North, was beaten out by Aramark for a new contract, which begins in March, the company revealed that it had trademarked the names of some of the area's most iconic destinations, including the Ahwahnee Hotel, the Wawona Hotel, Curry Village, and the Badger Pass Ski Area. When you go to the California Democratic Partys convention, and you happen to be the rare registered Republican in the press corps, you have to come prepared with an answer to The Question: Can I vote for Donald Trump in November? (My answer: I dont have to decide now. Trump hasnt won the primary.) Its no secret that I dont like Trump. But as I listened to speakers at the San Jose Democratic confab Saturday denounce the corrosive impact of money on politics, I realized some know Trump in a way I never will theyve tasted his money. Trump has donated buckets to Hillary Clintons Senate campaign, to the Clinton Foundation and even to California Democrats. Trump donated $20,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006. The Dems went on to win the House, and San Franciscos own Rep. Nancy Pelosi became House speaker. Trump met with Pelosi right after she ascended to the speakership. In January, Trump told MSNBC he always had a good relationship with Pelosi. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate San Franciscans aren't new to squeezing into itty-bitty spaces, and now even more people will be able to try out this style of living when the 69 units in 388 Fulton in Hayes Valley hit the market this month. In this sparkling modern building, 26 of the apartments are 350 square feetthat's the size of about seven ping-pong tables. The rest of the building is filled with six one-bedroom units at 485 square feet and 28 two-bedrooms at 743 square feet. Studios of 350-square-feet or less are often called micro-units in the real estate world, but Mitch Breindel, the spokesperson for 388 Fulton, insists this term doesn't accurately describe these. More Information ` See More Collapse "These are smaller, efficiently designed homes for people who are trying to find an affordable price point, motivated by efficient, intentional living," Breindel said in an interview. Efficient? Yes. While small, these units all include ample closet space, a full kitchen equipped with high-end appliances including a Bosch dishwasher and Bertazzoni oven; a comfortable living space that accommodates both a couch and bed; and a bathroom with a full-size bathtub. Those needing more space to stretch their legs have access to a landscaped private courtyard and rooftop retreat with sweeping views, social seating, outdoor grill, film screen area and sun deck. What's more, lively Hayes Street lined with boutiques, cafes and a grassy park is steps from the front door. Affordable? The studios will be listed around $500,000, the one-bedrooms $600,000 and the two-bedrooms $800,000. These prices are definitely on the low-end in San Francisco where real estate is notoriously expensive and anything under a million dollars rare. But anyone not living in a major metropolitan area might be shocked by the pricea half a million dollars for an apartment the size of a master bedroom in suburbia? "There is no other homeownership opportunity in San Francisco at this price point, and monthly costs will be far more affordable than renting at nearby properties," Alan Mark, president of the Mark Company, the marketing agency representing the building, said in a press release. "388 Fulton offers tremendous value, with high quality materials and finishes at extremely competitive prices for new construction. Known as a cultural, retail and dining destination, Hayes Valley also has a palpable sense of community. 388 Fulton was designed to embody this notion and offer residents a highly-interconnected lifestyle, both within and just outside the building." As the city faces a housing shortage and skyrocketing rental prices, a growing number of pint-size pads are hitting the market. Recent developments include the Lofts at 7 with 88 units ranging in size from 275 to 530 square feet and the Panoramic with 160 apartments with an average size of 354 square feet. Many housing advocates and local politicians support small apartments because they increase the supply of affordable real estate. The city passed legislation in 2012 lowering the minimum size of apartments to 220 square feet to open the door to the development of micro-units. "To confront San Francisco's rising housing affordability crisis, we must be creative and flexible," Supervisor Scott Wiener, who supported the legislation, said in a 2012 statement. "Allowing the construction of these units is one tool to alleviate the pressure that is making vacancies scarce and driving rental prices out of the reach of many who wish to live here." Others say packing people like sardines is uncivilized and feel the trend is geared to the tech workers flooding the city in search of high-paying jobs. "If they become urban crash pads for high-tech employees, then we fear they could have a gentrifying effect on the neighborhoods as they get built," Ted Gullicksen, director of the San Francisco Tenants Union, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "We do have a strong need for family-size housing as well as affordable housing, and we have limited development sites in San Francisco." But many beyond a typical start-up employee would probably a appreciate a unit in 388 Fulton. The studios seem like a good fit for any single person who's living with roommates and wants a quiet space of her own. And any couple with a new baby sleeping in a crib tucked into the closet of their one-bedroom would gladly move into one of the two-bedrooms. The apartments in 388 Fulton seem to be giving San Francisco what it needs: more housing options. WASHINGTON U.S. drones were decimating the upper ranks of al Qaeda, his men were killing suspected spies, and Osama bin Laden wondered: Could an Iranian dentist have planted a tracking device in his wifes tooth? The size of the chip is about the length of a grain of wheat and the width of a fine piece of vermicelli, he wrote, using the nom de guerre Abu Abdallah. The letter was among thousands of pages of documents and other materials seized by Navy SEALs during the raid on bin Ladens compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011, and it was declassified Tuesday along with 112 other pieces of writings and letters found in the al Qaeda leaders hideout. Among the newly released documents was what appeared to be a will written by bin Laden, in which he said he had about $29 million in Sudan. If he was killed, it said, he hoped his family will obey my will and to spend all the money that I have left in Sudan on Jihad. In what has been released so far, the fear of being tracked resurfaces again and again. In one letter, bin Laden warns that a suitcase used to deliver a ransom could contain a tracking device. There is also what appears to be a course syllabus for new fighters. Titled a Course of Islamic Study for Soldiers and Members, it includes subjects and skills to be taught (No. 1: reading and writing) and lectures to be given (subjects range from history of jihad in the Horn of Africa to a brief word on raising children). There were letters to loved ones, including a note to one of his wives in which bin Laden said that if he were killed, she could remarry. But he included a caveat, I really want for you to be my wife in paradise, and the woman, if she marries two men, is given a choice on Judgment Day to be with one of them. 1 Iraq bombings: Militants attacked an outdoor market Sunday in eastern Baghdad, killing at least 59 people and wounding almost 100, officials said. A bomb ripped through the crowded Mredi market in the Shiite district of Sadr City, police said. Minutes later, a suicide bomber blew himself up in the crowd that had gathered at the site of the first bombing. The Islamic State-affiliated Aamaq news agency later claimed responsibility for the bombings. The militant Sunni Muslim group controls key areas in northern and western Iraq and regularly targets government forces, civilians and especially Shiites, whom the militants regard as heretics. 2 Miners killed: A methane gas leak at a coal mine in Russias far north caused three explosions that ignited fires and partially collapsed the mine, killing 36 people, officials said Sunday. The dead included five rescue workers and a mine worker who were killed early Sunday when the third explosion rocked the Severnaya mine in Vorkuta, a town north of the Arctic Circle in the Komi region, the emergency services said. The first two explosions struck late Thursday, killing four miners and trapping 26 others. Federal officials said none of the trapped miners survived. The Investigative Committee said it had not yet determined what caused the gas explosions. KINSIBBA, Syria A series of artillery shells exploded near the main street of a Syrian village close to the border with Turkey on Tuesday, sending a group of visiting international reporters running for cover and underscoring the limits of Syrias partial cease-fire. The shelling came as Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with German television that rebels who lay down their arms can expect a full amnesty. Assad was asked in the interview with ARD television airing Tuesday what a moderate rebel could do to be accepted by him as a Syrian civilian again. According to excerpts released by the channel, he replied: Just to give up your armament, whether you want to join the political process or (are) not interested about the political process. He added that the most important thing for him is that citizens cant hold machine guns and hurt people. This is the only thing that we ask. We dont ask for anything. As I said, we give them full amnesty. Assad has made similar gestures in the past, but opposition and rebel groups have rejected such offers saying he has no role to play in the future of Syria. The journalists were visiting the government-controlled village of Kinsibba, in the coastal province of Latakia, on a trip organized by Russias defense and foreign ministries. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the projectiles came from positions held by the Al-Nusra Front, al Qaedas branch in Syria, which is excluded from the Russian and U.S.-brokered cease-fire, along with Islamic State. The journalists were traveling in armored trucks provided by the Russian military, and were escorted by Russian special forces. Reporters were talking to locals when the first shell struck a hillside a few hundred feet away. Russian officers yelled at journalists to lie down, and they ducked as more shells fell and landed closer to the group. A Russian armored personnel carrier rushed forward to screen the reporters from direct hits. A couple of journalists suffered minor scratches as they ran for cover and were quickly treated by Russian military medics. Just after reporters left, more shells landed in the area, killing three Syrian troops and wounding eight others, Konashenkov said. The partial cease-fire has brought a notable reduction in hostilities for the first time in the five-year war that has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced half of Syrias population. Here is some stuff in the news today...[Content Note: Refugee crisis] "Europe is 'on the cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis' because of a rapid build-up of migrants on Greece's borders, the UN has warned . 'The crowded conditions are leading to shortages of food, shelter, water, and sanitation,' UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesman Adrian Edwards said. Close to 24,000 migrants in Greece are in need of housing." Fucking hell.[CN: Refugee crisis; abuse] Reuters details the horrendous conditions in which the refugees in Greece are trying to survive: "Mohammed Asif and his family have no food, no shelter, and no security. 'Home,' for now, is a thin green blanket spread over a piece of plastic on a pavement in a grimy neighborhood of the Greek capital. ...There are no public facilities and soiled nappies are strewn on a sidewalk next to bins brimming with rubbish. A Christian charity distributes biscuits and orange juice, and the occasional local turns up with a saucepan of food. Further down, young mothers with month-old babies sat on the sidewalk. A man held a child aged about 10 in his arms, looking stonily ahead. 'I'll stay here until Macedonia opens its borders,' said Ali Khan Ranjbar, 28, from Ghazni, a city in central Afghanistan and a Hazara like Asif. As of Feb. 20, crossings of Afghans to Macedonia have ceased, with witnesses reporting migrants being forcibly removed from border outposts and sent by buses back to Athens. On Monday Macedonian police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of migrants who stormed the border from Greece as a deeply divided Europe traded barbs over how to tackle its biggest humanitarian crisis in decades."[CN: Domestic violence; austerity] "According to the NNEDV's annual survey of domestic violence service providers, on a given day in 2015, 12,197 victims who sought help had to be turned away . ...Most of the people turned away are seeking shelter: 41 percent of the unmet requests were for emergency shelter, while 22 percent were for transitional housing or some other housing service. Yet 72 programs reduced or eliminated their housing services last year altogether. This left victims exposed and vulnerable to their abusers. ...Beyond cutting programs, many service providers had to eliminate staff. Last year, they laid off 1,235 staff members, or an average of 1.4 people each. That comes on top of 1,392 staff that were cut in 2014. Nearly 80 percent of the staff eliminated last year were in direct service positions, such as case managers, advocates, and shelter staff. These hardshipsbig cutbacks at providers that leave victims without the help they needstem from a lack of resources. The most common cause that shelters cited last year for not being able to meet all of the demand, at about a quarter of providers, was a reduction in government funding."[CN: War on agency] Teddy Wilson has more on the recent report about the dramatic number of abortion clinic closings: "Elizabeth Nash, senior state issues associate at the Guttmacher Institute, toldthat numerous clinic closures are due to anti-choice activists pushing state lawmakers to pass measures making it impossible for many clinics to operate. 'Unfortunately the report shows that abortion access is becoming more and more limited and that restrictions do have a direct and negative impact on access,' Nash said. ...These closings disproportionately affect marginalized populations. 'Laws like these impact women across the board, but impact rural women, lower-income women, and women of color in dramatically intensified ways,' [Laura McQuade, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri] said."[CN: Racism; austerity] This is just devastating : "The Carter G. Woodson Library in Chicago's Washington Heights neighborhood is rooted in history. It was named after the 'Father of Black History' and holds the largest collection of black literature in the entire Midwest. It notably contains the Vivian G. Harsh Collection, named after Chicago's first black librarian, which features slave and genealogy records and original manuscripts from notable black authors. The library is now at risk of closing due to damage to the building after years of not being kept up by the city. ...While the library has been granted nearly $10 million by the state specifically to restore Woodson, nearly $4 million is tied up in the current state budget stalemate between state lawmakers and [Republican] Governor Bruce Rauner."[CN: Homophobia] Good grief: "Georgia State Senator Greg Kirk has said his anti-gay First Amendment Defense Act is just fine because he's run it past his many, many gay friends. ...'Look, I'm 52 years old. I've grown up with friends who now live a gay lifestyle. But they're still very close friends to me, and I care deeply about them, and I have shared this with some of my friends and asked their viewpoint as well. That's been part of my vetting process.' ...columnist Bill Torpy took it on himself to track down these elusive 'gay friends' of Kirk. ...Torpy pushed Kirk on the issue, going so far as to have the Senator give his number to his numerous gay friends. Obviously, nobody called the reporter back because, according to Kirk 'the only one, and there are only three, that I thought would speak with you said no.'"Whooooooooops! "On Monday, you may have seen what looked like aarticle floating around the internet announcing that Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren had endorsed Bernie Sanders for president. There's just one problem : Warren hasn't endorsed anyone for president. The article was created using a hoax-website creator called Clone Zone, which lets users create fake webpages and articles that look strikingly similar to popular news sites." RIP George Kennedy : "George Kennedy, who won a supporting actor Oscar for his role alongside Paul Newman in the beloved filmand was also a fixture of 1970s disaster movies including thefranchise anddied Sunday in Boise, Idaho. He was 91."Wow: "Fossils of an ancient creature resembling a shrimp with an armored head contain the oldest and best-preserved nervous system ever found , which could help scientists decipher the evolution of nervous systemsin animals alive today, according to a new study. The remarkable remains belonged toa crustaceanlike creature that lived 520 million years ago in what is now South China. The fossils revealed a long 'ropelike' central nerve cord that extended throughout the body, with visible clusters of nerve tissue arranged along the cord, like beads strung on a thread. Even individual nerve structures could be detected, the scientists discovered."[CN: Attempted abduction] GOOD DOG: 16-year-old "Joanna Bojorquez was saved by a dog named Willow when a man stopped and tried to abduct her this past Saturday. ...'I start kicking, trying to move him away from me, and luckily Willow saw that we weren't being friendly and she throws herself on him. He moved out of the way and I ran and we were able to get home safe,' said Joanna."And finally! BABY RHINO ! "The Toronto Zoo would like to announce that Ashakiran, an 11-year-old female Indian Rhinoceros (), gave birth to a male calf on Wednesday, February 17, 2016. The recent birth is very important for Indian Rhinoceros conservation, as the species is currently listed as 'Vulnerable' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, and there are only approximately 2,000 left in the wild." That is one cute behbeh! Moonves called the campaign for president a "circus" full of "bomb throwing," and he hopes it continues. "Most of the ads are not about issues. They're sort of like the debates," he said. "Man, who would have expected the ride we're all having right now? ...The money's rolling in and this is fun," he said. "I've never seen anything like this, and this going to be a very good year for us. Sorry. It's a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going," said Moonves. Today is Super Tuesday, in which primary voters will head to the polls in twelve states and one US territory: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia (both Democrats and Republicans); Alaska (Republicans only); and Colorado and American Samoa (Democrats only).Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will be competing for 865 delegates.Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, John Kasich, and Ben Carson will be competing for 661 delegates.Unless something truly wild happens, we're probably going to come out of today with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as the clear presumptive nominees for their respective parties. But I'm guessing that Kasich will be the only person to drop out after today.The closer we get to what looks to be a Clinton-Trump match-up in the general, the more I am worried about the need for the media to get its shit together. If they continue to treat Trump like the most entertaining sideshow and Clinton like history's greatest monster, they're going to usher in genuine fascist leadership in the US because they couldn't bear to do their fucking jobs when it was just too fun to be entertained.In related news, [content note: violence; racism] here are a couple things that happened at Trump rallies yesterday:1. Guard Chokeslams Photographer at Trump Rally in Virginia : "A photographer was slammed down on a table by someone who appears to be a security guard during a Donald Trump rally Monday in Virginia. ...The photographer, Time magazine's Christopher Morris, ended up on the ground, kicking out his legs at a man in a gray suit who was trying to hold him. ...A video of the incident posted on Instagram showed the guard clearly grabbing Morris by the neck before slamming him down on a table."2. Black Students Removed From Trump Rally Over Silent Demonstration : "[T]hereported that a group of about 30 black Valdosta State University students were ejected from a Trump rally on the Georgia campus, though they weren't being disruptive. ...The Valdosta students say they were standing silently at the top of the bleachers when they were approached by Secret Service agents, who said Trump had asked that they be removed before he took the stage."The terrifying thing is that these incidents aren't objectionable to Trump supporters. To the contrary, they are all the more reason to like him.After today, it's very likely that we're going to have to figure out how to defeat Donald Trump. And that's necessarily going to include combatting a national media who are intractably fascinated with him, consequences be damned.Right on cue: CBS executive chairman and CEO Les Moonves says that Trump leading the GOP field "may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS."Welp. Fonterra Cooperative Group, New Zealand's largest dairy cooperative, is planning to close its cheese plant in the South Island town of Kaikoura. The site is open for three to five months a year, and employs 22 full-time staff, Fonterra said in a statement. It's understood the co-operative is looking at offering redeployment to affected staff. The Kaikoura plant processes 245,000 litres of milk a day, turning it into 28 tonnes of cheese that is exported to international markets in Japan, the USA, Australia, Europe and Brazil. Fonterra says moving production to other sites would deliver "significant savings". Mark Leslie, Fonterra's director of New Zealand manufacturing, said a final decision is expected by the middle of the month and the company was discussing all "options and opportunities" available to the staff around their future employment should the closure go ahead. "This is a difficult process for our people and supporting them is our priority as we work through the details," Leslie said "The proposal to close the Kaikoura site has not been made lightly and is one intended to help generate cost savings for the benefit of all Fonterra farmer shareholders." Last year Fonterra made 835 people redundant as it underwent a major restructuring in the face of falling dairy prices around the world. In November, it said 'business transformation' initiatives were expected to increase recurring cash benefits to $340 million a year and contribute to both 2016 earnings and the farmgate milk price. Units in the Fonterra Shareholder's Fund, which gives investors access to the co-operative's earnings stream, were up 0.2 percent at $5.95. They've fallen by 0.8 percent since the start of the year, outperforming the broader S&P/NZX50 Index. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Mainfreight Investor Day / Market Update GFI - Greenfern - Offer closes 27th Oct MCY - Quarterly Operational Update VCT - Operational performance for the 3 months ended 30 Sept 2022 NZL - Forestry Estate Acquisition October 21st Morning Report Air New Zealand Limited Retail Bond Offer Books Close Spark welcomes C-band spectrum allocation AIA - 2022 Annual Meeting Chair & Chief Executive Addresses MOVE Completes Purchase of Vessel for Trans-Tasman Service Truck shop Flexi Buy has been fined $50,000 by the Auckland District Court with a further $3,408 awarded in damages to affected customers, in the first conviction of a mobile trader since the Commerce Commissions investigation into the industry last year. The company, which is no longer trading, previously sold electronic and household goods such as smartphones and televisions door-to-door on credit at inflated prices. The goods were sold in a number of predominantly lower socio-economic areas around the North Island including south Auckland, Whangarei, Tokoroa, Porirua, Kaikohe, Hastings and Gisborne. Flexi Buy was charged under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act for failing to provide adequate disclosure to customers on key information about their credit contracts including the frequency and amount of payments, default interest, and the debtors cancellation rights. Flexi Buy was also accused of describing some key information in a misleading or deceptive way with a number of customers claiming to have not received goods they had paid for. In sentencing, Judge Chris Field said the company had been entirely reckless in its dealings with members of the public. In September the commission filed charges under the Crimes Act and Fair Trading Act against former Flexi Buy director Bikram Mehta, alleging he obtained money from customers by deception and accepting payment from customers without intending to supply the goods they contracted to purchase. Mehta has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is due to reappear in the Auckland District Court on March 22. Companies Office records show Flexi Buy Ltd is owned by Dunedin-based Rishi Bhatia. The Commerce Commission currently has three other cases before the courts involving mobile traders and investigations underway into four others. Its mobile trader report published last August after a year-long investigation into the industry found that 31 out of 32 mobile traders identified didnt comply with their legal obligations. The main problems were lack of disclosure to customers entering into contracts and a failure to be registered as financial service providers. The regulator initiated the investigation after a big increase in consumer complaints about how the truck shops operated, with anecdotal evidence the most vulnerable members of the community were being given confusing or deceptive information by mobile traders, particularly over the total price of their purchase. Despite the total price of items being sometimes double that in other stores, customers were attracted by the convenience of the truck shops, the low weekly or fortnightly payments, and the easy credit as many traders dont bother with credit checks, the report said. Commissioner Anna Rawlings said changes to the law which took effect last year will enable the regulator to seek higher penalties for breaches of the CCFA Act than were available to the court in Flexi Buys case. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Mainfreight Investor Day / Market Update GFI - Greenfern - Offer closes 27th Oct MCY - Quarterly Operational Update VCT - Operational performance for the 3 months ended 30 Sept 2022 NZL - Forestry Estate Acquisition October 21st Morning Report Air New Zealand Limited Retail Bond Offer Books Close Spark welcomes C-band spectrum allocation AIA - 2022 Annual Meeting Chair & Chief Executive Addresses MOVE Completes Purchase of Vessel for Trans-Tasman Service Imagine you are the VP of a successful tech company. You wake up in the morning in Maui, Hawaii. The sun is shining brightly and the seas are inviting. So you go out swimming in the ocean, enjoying the warm waters and beautiful coral reefs. You come home and at the click of a button, instantly teleport to your company's headquarters in New York, NY.After attending a board meeting and discussing business plans, you realize that there is a product launch scheduled in Barcelona, Spain. You instantly beam into the Mobile World Congress conference and talk with potential customers to get a feel for how the product is being perceived. As sunset approaches, you go for quick surf back in Hawaii. With your mind refreshed, you head down to Singapore to inspect a brand new manufacturing line which is going online next week. In a single day, you have travelled all around the world, while enjoying the warm weather in Hawaii.Science Fiction? Perhaps, but more like a vision of the future. Thousands of people around the world in companies like Google, Microsoft and Accenture are already living this dream. They are able to make use of the advances in telepresence devices to completely eliminate the need for travel. Breaking the geospatial link between their home and office allows them to enjoy life to the fullest, while saving the environment and dramatically slashing costs. It also allows companies to find and hire the best talent in the world, without having to worry about relocating them and their families. These devices are not automations designed to eliminate jobs. Instead, they are empowering employees to break the barriers of space, geography and national boundaries allowing employees to be where they are needed, regardless of wherever they are at present time.All that is needed to use these devices on the remote end is a mobile phone, tablet or a computer (Mac or PC) and access to internet. The telepresence system is in the company HQ, factory floor, conference, etc. As broad band becomes ubiquitous, these cloud powered telepresence devices are becoming easier and more affordable to integrate into work environments. And it doesn't stop there. Set up a telepresence system at home and you can now beam back from a business trip in California to your child's birthday party in Hawaii. You are no longer torn between having to constantly balance work and family. With the help of these telepresence devices you can easily weave these two threads of work and family seamlessly together.A simplified way of looking at these devices is to consider them as skype on wheels. Just like you can use an app on your mobile phone or tablet or computer to make a skype call, you can use an app to make a telepresence call. The telepresence device can be setup to accept calls from some people automatically - say the VP of the company. Others (for example visitors) would need someone next to the device to accept the call - something as simple as shaking the device. Once the call is completed, your face appears on the telepresence device and voila, you are there!You can control the movement of device using your keyboard arrow keys, mouse or even touch pad. Also many of these devices have wide angle field of views - the same range as human eyes and multiple microphones for picking up the tiniest of sounds and cancelling echoes. This provides a significantly richer experience than traditional video conferencing. Also video conferencing has no concept of personal space and personal communication. Only one person in the room can talk. However, with telepresence devices, it is just like having everyone locally. Each person gets his/her own device and can engage in one-on-one conversations. Moreover, the conversations can continue as the meeting ends and people start leaving the room. You can follow your colleagues to the water cooler or their office for a private chat!Slowly, but surely, all information and communication is getting digitized. The only non-digital is our physical body. Telepresence devices are changing that and digitizing our bodies. For most business activities, we use our eyes, ears, legs and mouth. These have all been digitized. You are not looking at your screen; you are looking through your screen to the other side. To give some examples of businesses those are getting disrupted:When there is no need to travel, why would someone book a hotel? There will be a significant dip in the amount of business travel in the near future so what can hotels do? They can change their business model and instead of fighting the technology, they can embrace it. They can rent telepresence devices for people wishing to attend conferences in their hotel, but don't want to physically travel.Telepresence devices are a boon to human resource professionals. Traditionally, they had to fight for a small pool of local talent. Also HR would lose valuable talent when people decided to move to other locations - for family or other needs. However, with Telepresence devices, HR can finally get the best of both worlds. They can recruit the best talent from anywhere in the world and they don't have to worry about relocating them or losing them when they decide to move to a different place.Inspecting manufacturing facilities and supply lines will be done remotely avoiding expensive over seas travel. This allows the supply chain executives to choose the best vendor for the specific job and avoid costly mistakes. Also there can be ongoing regular remote inspection of facilities looking for potential concerns and preventing them from escalating into major issues.Telepresence devices allow students to take the best classes anywhere in the world, without worrying about visa restrictions, travel costs etc. Also it allows the best professors to teach anywhere in the world, even in the most remote regions of the world. Also it is a great boon to people with disabilities and those who are severely ill to get education, maintain social connections as well as find employment.It is extremely expensive to visit the doctor in person. What if the doctor could just come to you on a telepresence device, which also had enough digital peripherals to take your pulse, measure your heart rate and scan your pupils, sending this to the doctor?. In addition, for patients with family who are in remote locations, telepresence allows them to visit their loved ones, engage in conversation and move around a hospital room. The visit is initiated by the remote family member hundreds or thousands of miles away.Museums around the world are adopting telepresence devices to give a glimpse of their treasure to televisitors from around the world. It allows them to keep the museums open throughout the day, without fear of theft.Telepresence is becoming one of the best ways to travel and it is likely to have the same impact in this decade as e-commerce had in the last decade. LOS ANGELES: Five nominations and 23 years later, Leonardo Di Caprio's cold streak at the Oscars finally came to an end as he won the best actor trophy for his role of a wounded fur trapper seeking revenge in "The Revenant". The actor's role in the Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu- directed 1823-set film was gritty and thrilling, a territory DiCaprio has not dabbled too much. The superstar, in his lengthy speech thanked his co-star Tom Hardy, director Inarritu for his cinematic vision and all the filmmakers, including his frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese, who helped him navigate through his career. DiCaprio, a keen environmentalist, also took the opportunity to discuss climate change and its impact on planet. "Last I want to say this, making 'The Revenant' was about man's relationship in the natural world... Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species and we need to work together and stop procrastinating," he said. A self-declared vegetarian, DiCaprio, for his role of 19th-century American frontiersman Hugh Glass, a rugged mountain man fighting for survival, had to guzzle a live fish, and tuck into a bison liver. The actor shot for six months in the inhospitable Canadian wilderness. Whether it was going in and out of frozen rivers, or sleeping in a horse carcass, DiCaprio's real-life ordeals were no less challenging than the character he played on screen. DiCaprio complimented Emmanuel Lubezki's breathtaking cinematography. The actor might have had Tom Hardy as a co-star, but nothing could steal the spotlight from the 41-year-old star. The odds were in favour of DiCaprio right from the begining of the awards season as the actor was the toast of the Golden Globes and SAG Awards. At the Oscars, he was nominated for best actor along with Bryan Cranston ('Trumbo'), Michael Fassbender ('Steve Jobs'), Eddie Redmayne ('The Danish Girl') and Matt Damon ('The Martian'). Although the race was tough, DiCaprio's physically gruelling performance, star power, and the growing narrative that he is long overdue for an Oscar win, propelled his win at the 88th Academy Awards. This was the sixth Academy Award nomination for the actor, who earned his first nomination in 1994 for his breakthrough role in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" at the age of 22. As Johnny Depp's developmentally disabled younger brother, he received a nod for best supporting actor. Tommy Lee Jones took home the award that night for "The Fugitive." In 2005, Leo was nominated for an Oscar for best actor for his part in "The Aviator" and even developed obsessive- compulsive disorder while preparing for his role of billionaire recluse Howard Hughes. But he was trumped by Jamie Foxx, who took home the statue for his portrayal of Ray Charles in "Ray". DiCaprio was once again in the running to take home an Oscar for his role in "Blood Diamond" but returned empty-handed. The actor doubled his chances for Academy Award victory in 2014, receiving two nominations for "The Wolf of Wall Street" - one for best actor and another for best picture (as a producer) but luck still did not favour him. In his 37-year career, DiCaprio has filmed with the very biggest directors including Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Sam Mendes, Danny Boyle and Quentin Tarantino. Read Also: 10 Exquisite Restaurants that are Owned by Renowned People 8 Bizarre Hotels, Worth a Visit I have been mesmerized by the potential for Prime Minister Modi to transform India given his massive electoral mandate two years ago. His pronouncements on a Clean India, Make in India, and most recently on Startup India are all key pillars of what I believe is necessary for India to create the jobs needed to meet the aspirations of millions of youngsters joining its workforce every year. First, let me state what I like about the budget. It is a fiscally prudent budget that is socially inclusive. No increase in the fiscal deficit. Formalizing the Aadhar platform to make it a vehicle for subsidies and other programs. Minor tax benefits to the poor and middle class with a reasonable increase in taxes on the rich. Just what is required to give comfort to stakeholders that India is on a steady course. All the grandees of the Indian economy like senior officials from state banks and promoters of large family businesses jumped in to endorse the budget. This is what they do for pretty much every budget, including the ones under the previous Congress government. Unfortunately, a steady course will not be enough. We had a steady course under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as well. The expectations on Modi are to go beyond the steady course and put India on a path to sustainable prosperity, or at least grow fast enough to pull the remaining 300 million out of poverty. Heres where I feel the budget has failed to meet expectations. Tweaking details at the edges : The budget is the best opportunity to communicate with all stakeholders on what the governments plan is to implement PM Modis vision. Unfortunately, all budgets, including this one, quickly degenerates into a list of who is getting what. Here is an example of items that the Economic Times carried in its coverage: Traveling by hiring air-conditioned stage carriage will also become more expensive as it will now come under service tax with a rate of 5.6 per cent. Hiring of agency to pack and move household items while shifting premises will also become expensive as it will now attract a service tax of 5.6 per cent as against 4.2 per cent earlier. Half measures that are short of stated intent : If the budget aims to drive progress in certain areas that the government is interested in, it is imperative that the stated vision is fully realized and implementable. A great example is the much discussed long term capital gains tax on equity in unlisted companies and startups. There was much discussion on why it is unfair to have a higher tax rate for private companies than public companies when the risk is higher in private companies. The government expressed through various media statements over the last few weeks that it would address that problem. When the budget came out it stated that whereas earlier you had to hold private equity for 3 years to get the long term capital gains rate, now it would be just 2 years. Obviously a step in the right direction but the usual half measureit would have been a strong signal to follow through their earlier statements by making public and private company investments exactly equal. This is just one example of half measures that are strewn throughout the budget. Confused measures that sometimes contradict stated intent : After two years of indicating that they would put the retrospective tax controversy surrounding Vodafone to rest, the issue is back in the front again. A spokesperson for the Finance Ministry stated that they would allow Vodafone to settle the case with a one-time payment of the original tax demand. However, the whole point of Vodafones defense is that the tax would not be due as per the old tax laws and is only due using retrospective taxation. I personally do not care whether Vodafone is right or wrong in its grievance, my only concern is the wrong signal it sends to investors on whether anything the government states is sacrosanct or always subject to change. Consistency, red-tape, and transparency continue to plague the investment and business climate in India. My criticism does not mean that I think this is a weak budget. I think it is as good a budget as the last 5 budgets. A cautious move in the right direction, but doing too little to make a real difference. WASHINGTON: Top US lawmakers today slammed the popular H-1B visa programme and demanded strict action against companies abusing it to replace Americans with low-paid foreign workers, including from India. "The sad reality is that - not only is there not a shortage of exceptionally qualified US workers - but across the country thousands of US workers are being replaced by foreign labour," Senator Jeff Sessions, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and The National Interest, said during a Congressional hearing. Sessions refuted the claims of many US companies about shortage of skilled workers in the US and thus the need to bring in qualified foreign workers from India. "The data shows that there is no shortage of highly qualified working American professionals, nor is there a shortage of American STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) college graduates every year," he said. Senator Patrick Leahy, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee said immigrant visa programmes must be used to complement the US workforce, not displace it. "We must ensure that current laws are not misused in ways that disadvantage American workers," he said. Sharing the concerns Leo Perrero and several other, who were fired by Disney, Leahy said when immigrant visa programmes are misused to depress the wages of American workers and outsource jobs, all workers suffer. "These programmes should be used to help create opportunities in America, not displace them, but the current allocation system does nothing to achieve that result," he said. Testifying before the Senate Committee, Perrero, the fired Disney IT engineer, with teary eyes recollected the days when he was asked by Disney to train foreign skilled workers to replace him. Perrero said there are many American IT workers who have been displaced by both H1-B visa holders, who are physically being flown in from foreign countries, as well as the growing use of foreign remote offshore workers. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin alleged that the top recipients of H-1B visas are foreign outsourcing companies which use loopholes in the law to disqualify qualified American workers and offshore American jobs. This, he argued, is contrary to the very purpose for which H-1B visas was established. Read Also: Trump Hiding 'Bombshell' In Tax Returns: Romney Triumphant Trump Hopes to Score a Hat Trick in Nevada Source: PTI By clicking Agree, you consent to Slates Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and the use of technologies such as cookies by Slate and our partners to deliver relevant advertising on our iOS app to personalize content and perform site analytics. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about our use of data, your rights, and how to withdraw consent. Agree A flash point on the edge of the Channel, the camp sprang up less than a year ago in the port city, which has both ferries and the Eurotunnel rail route to Britain. It has grown explosively in past months amid Europe's migrant crisis, fueling far-right sentiment in Britain and France. About 4,000 people are estimated to live in the camp down from 6,000 in December. Best Canadian Blog 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 About Kate Why this blog? Until this moment I have been forced to listen while media and politicians alike have told me "what Canadians think". In all that time they never once asked. This is just the voice of an ordinary Canadian yelling back at the radio - "You don't speak for me." (goes to a private mailserver in Europe) I can't answer or use every tip, but all are appreciated! Katewerk Art Support SDA I am not a registered charity. I cannot issue tax receipts. Reconnaissance Man Economics for the Disinterested ...a fast-paced polar bear attack thriller! Want lies? Hire a regular consultant. Want truth? Hire an asshole. Weather Shop Click to inquire about rates. Dow Jones What They Say About SDA "Smalldeadanimals doesn't speak for the people of Saskatchewan" Former Sask Premier Lorne Calvert "I got so much traffic after your post my web host asked me to buy a larger traffic allowance." Dr.Ross McKitrick Holy hell, woman. When you send someone traffic, you send someone TRAFFIC. My hosting provider thought I was being DDoSed. - Sean McCormick "The New York Times link to me yesterday [...] generated one-fifth of the traffic I normally get from a link from Small Dead Animals." Kathy Shaidle "Thank you for your link. A wave of your Canadian readers came to my blog! Really impressive." Juan Giner - INNOVATION International Media Consulting Group I got links from the Weekly Standard, Hot Air and Instapundit yesterday - but SDA was running at least equal to those in visitors clicking through to my blog. Jeff Dobbs "You may be a nasty right winger, but you're not nasty all the time!" Warren Kinsella "Go back to collecting your welfare livelihood."Michael E. Zilkowsky Intelliweather Seismic Map Comments Policy Read this Best Of SDA Hide The Decline The Bottle Genie (ClimateGate links) You Might Be A Liberal Uncrossing The Line Bob Fife: Knuckledragger A Modest Proposal (NP) Settled Science Series Y2Kyoto Series SDA: Reader Occupation Survey Brett Lamb Sheltered Workshop Flakes On A Plane All Your Weather Are Belong To Us Song Of The Sled The Raise A Flag Debacle (Now on Youtube!) (.mwv Video) Abuse Ruins Life Of Girl Trudeaupiate Kleptocrat Jeans Child Labour I Concede Small Dead Feminist Protein Hoser: THK Interview The Werewolf Extinction Dear Laura (VRWC) We Wait Blogging The Oscars Jackson Converts To Islam Just Shut The HELL Up Manipulating Condi Gay Equality Rights San Mateo, CA (94402) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low around 55F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low around 55F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948 /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. 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Mr Goyder told a retail forum in Sydney on Tuesday his biggest fear was not the competitive threat from Australian retailers, but tech companies such as Amazon, which are gearing up for a major push into Australia. "We've got big competition online and through a physical presence we are in a disruptive, disrupted world," Mr Goyder told about 450 retailers at the Retail Leaders forum. Mr Goyder said online retailers such as Amazon, Google and asos.com could trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year, while Australian bricks and mortar retailers, including Wesfarmers' Bunnings, Kmart, Target, Coles and Officeworks chains, were restricted by archaic trading hours and excessive regulation. When Peter Woolford's son died in a motorbike accident 12 years ago, the rural community of Kimba united to help the farmer and his wife through their personal cataclysm. But that was then. Now, old friends in the community no longer speak, and people on the streets of the South Australian town are afraid to talk about the issue that has driven a wedge between neighbours: a proposed nuclear waste dump. Cortlinye, near Kimba, is one of six sites across Australia the federal government has shortlisted to host the nation's first permanent nuclear dump for low-level and intermediate waste. The others are at Sallys Flat near Hill End in NSW, Hale in the Northern Territory, Pinkawillinie and Barndioota in South Australia and Oman Ama in Queensland. Tony Abbott has weighed into the tax debate by encouraging the Turnbull government to reflect the Coalition's core project of delivering lower taxes, amid an extensive party room discussion of the merits of keeping or modifying negative gearing. The former Liberal leader heaped praise on the man who replaced him as Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, describing the latter's scathing critique of Labor's negative gearing policy as "brilliant". But he warned the government's "words will come back to haunt us" if the Coalition adopted any changes to negative gearing. Rome: Cardinal George Pell has declared he has the "full backing of the Pope" on arrival at the second day of his cross-examination over sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Australia. It was his only comment, prompted by a question about his meeting with the Pope on Monday. Pope Francis and Cardinal Pell met face to face at the Vatican on Monday, just hours after the Australian cleric's first session giving evidence by video link to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Allegations that a priest was molesting children were flooding into the Diocese of Ballarat but Cardinal George Pell never heard such rumours, despite holding a significant role advising the bishop on the placement of clergy, a royal commission has heard. On his second day of testimony about his knowledge of clerical sex offences in Ballarat, Cardinal Pell said complaints about paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale did not reach his ears as he was busy running the Institute of Catholic Education which had 2000 students. "It's not a small job," he said via video-link from Rome. "I certainly wasn't plugged into life at the diocese." Idomeni, Greece: Pressed against coils of razor wire and shouting "Help us!," refugees and migrants at Greece's northern border were pushed back by Macedonian police using tear gas and stun grenades, as authorities raced to build more camps to shield the escalating number of stranded people from winter. A top European Union official prepared to visit the region on Tuesday to try and ease the crisis that produced more scenes of chaos: Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others forced their way through part of a Macedonian border fence, some clutching infants or struggling to free duffel bags caught in the razor-wire. They were met by Macedonian riot police. Volunteer doctors said at least 22 migrants, including 12 children, were treated for breathing difficulties and cuts. Authorities in Macedonia said one policeman was injured and that dozens of special forces officers were flown in by helicopter to help quell a refugee protest. Owners of three bed and breakfast businesses on Northbourne Avenue in Downer have warned they face serious economic loss from planned service road closures connected with the light rail project. A National Capital Authority public information session on Tuesday night heard the Miranda Lodge, the Blue and White Lodge, the Canberran Lodge and Northbourne Lodge would all suffer access problems and loss of business through the closure of a service road connecting Swinden Street and Antill Street, adjacent to Northbourne. An artist's impression of the Capital Metro Gungahlin tram line. Blue and White Lodge owners Michael Papas and Mary Constantine said their 50-year-old business relied in part on business from drivers arriving in Canberra, who would be forced to drive further down Northbourne Avenue and double back in order to access accommodation. The closure of the service road had only recently been explained to the business owners, including manager of the Miranda Lodge, Siyang Yu. Love or hate the Barr government's Capital Metro project with the winner selected, public funding in place, a binding contract and a local workforce about to be engaged it's time for the Canberra Liberals to accept that the Capital Metro is a reality; and they should move on quickly from their current promotion of sovereign risk. Of course, some will agree with the sentiment that the opposition are hoping to harness. From left, ACT Deputy Chief Minister Simon Corbell, Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Canberra Metro Consortium chairman Mark Lynch shake hands as the winning tender is announced on February 1. Credit:Jeffrey Chan Infrastructure projects like the Capital Metro are large, disruptive and expensive. Large transport systems also need to be developed over time, meaning that many suburbs across Canberra may not see their own light rail connection for some decades. It is also absolutely appropriate for political leaders to hold the government of the day accountable for their infrastructure and other expenditure decisions. The opposition should oppose priorities and policies that it disagrees with. A federal bid to allow the ACT to reclaim control of euthanasia legislation has been welcomed by advocacy groups and rejuvenated debate on the issue in Canberra. A private federal member's bill introduced on Tuesday aims to repeal a 19-year-old law restricting the ACT and Northern Territory politicians from passing any legislation on the issue. ACT senator Katy Gallagher and ACT Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury have called for the ACT to be able to legislate on euthanasia. Credit:Colleen Petch The law, known as the Andrews Bill, was introduced after the Northern Territory legalised euthanasia in 1995 and allowed terminally ill patients to die with medical assistance. ACT senator Katy Gallagher, who supported the bill along with Greens leader Richard Di Natale, said territory citizens should have the same rights as those in other jurisdictions. Hundreds of angry veterans from across the country are expected to rally outside Parliament House on Wednesday in support of a call for a royal commission into the Department of Veterans Affairs. John McNeill, one of the rally organisers, served with the Australian Defence Force in East Timor in 2007. He is living with debilitating back, neck and shoulder injuries from that deployment. Department of Veterans Affairs royal commission rally organiser John McNeill. John McNeil 2.jpg Credit:David Ellery Mr McNeill said more rallies were planned in state capitals around the country to allow veterans who couldn't make it to Canberra to express their views. He said no single person had come up with call for a royal commission into the DVA and that it had very strong grassroots support. Two new two-bedroom units in Watson will soon provide affordable rental housing to people on low to moderate incomes. ACT Housing Minister Yvette Berry handed the keys over to the Environmental Collective Housing Organisation (ECHO) on Tuesday. Treasurer of ECHO Peter Sutherland gets the keys from Housing Minister Yvette Berry. Credit:Elesa Kurtz ECHO is assessing its tenant profile from the ACT government's social housing register for two families of up to four people who meet the criteria for the homes. Treasurer Peter Sutherland said he is looking at a person with a low paying job or a part-time job, such as a single parent with two or three kids. As Qantas frequent flyer members know well, snaring a business class or premium economy award seat booking can be difficult because of their scarce availability relative to economy class. Or sometimes flyers don't have enough points for an award seat in a premium cabin upon booking but accumulate them by the time they actually fly through credit card spending or from other flights. For the first time, the airline will now give customers who book a "classic flight reward" seat in economy class a shot at an upgrade to business or premium economy using points. Those with premium economy award bookings can use points to upgrade to business class. ANZ wealth chief Joyce Phillips is departing the banking giant following a restructure of the $67 billion institution's wealth management arm. Chief executive Shayne Elliott said the group was simplifying its approach to wealth management, and this includes the bank's insurance, superannuation and investments products. As a result of the changes, Ms Phillips, who led ANZ's wealth, marketing and innovation divisions, will leave. "The simplified approach also provides the opportunity to focus on improving returns and capital efficiency from our insurance, superannuation and investments product business given higher regulatory capital requirements," Mr Elliott said. Another multi-billion dollar loss has hit the mining industry, with Glencore revealing a $US4.96 billion ($6.91 billion) statutory loss for 2015. The loss, which follows BHP Billiton's $US5.7 billion half-year loss last week, came on the back of $US5.8 billion worth of impairments against Glencore's oil and nickel assets, in particular. Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg has phoned in a multi-billion dollar loss Credit:Bloomberg Glencore's underlying profit was better than expected at $US1.34 billion. Analyst consensus was for a $US1.17 billion underlying profit. Weak commodity prices have made Glencore's large debt pile hard to service, prompting the miner to try to sell assets. cn dairy circles, Guernsey cows have long been overshadowed by their heftier, black-and-white cousins. The reddish-coloured breed originally from Guernsey, in the British Channel Islands, has been decimated in recent decades, purged from farms to make room for higher milk-yielding Holsteins, according to South Australian dairy farmer Lyndon Cleggett. His family began breeding pedigree Guernseys in 1964 and is one of about 100 members of the Guernsey Cattle Society of Australia. Guernsey cattle breeders in Australia are seeing unexpected interest from dairy farmers as far away as Japan and Thailand. Credit:Dallas Kilponen Now, Guernsey cattle are enjoying a mini revival, thanks to the popularity of their milk. Golden-coloured, it typically lacks a type of protein prevalent in regular milk that some researchers have connected to a raft of chronic illnesses. While scientific proof of the link remains contested, Guernsey cattle breeders in Australia are seeing unexpected interest from dairy farmers as far away as Japan and Thailand. "I can't keep up," said Cleggett, who runs the "Brookleigh" herd of about 330 milkers at Glencoe, about 430 kilometres south-east of Adelaide. "We've got back up to the Holstein prices, whereas years ago we were always well under." Slightly astounded at the announcement that Canberra was to spend $50 million on new assets for the silent service, we asked if anyone recalled an Australian submarine firing a torpedo in anger since 1945. Our mistake was the timing. Aaron Haugh, of West Ryde, and a volunteer guide at the Australian National Maritime Museum aboard the submarine Onslow, kindly informed us that between April 24 and 29, 1915 our boat, AE2, was under orders to "generally run amok" inside the Dardanelles. She fired three torpedoes with one suspected but no confirmed hit. For some reason, many of us like to sit in the direction the train is going. Ken Follows, of Erina, wishes it known he does not want to look behind too often but in the interest of backwards railway stations (Column 8, Thursday), points out that the Central Coast boasts the classic Yow Yow. And how could we ignore Newcastle's palindromic Civic? Ivor Jones, from Baulkham Hills, changed track slightly, saying he thought Peter Sham, Louie Sham and Stan More had stations named in their honour. Wahroonga's Derek Ruddock tells us he took the ancient game of backward station names to London where he spotted a dubious Tube destination called Krapy Rubsnif. Column 8. Leap day passed fairly unremarked but for a group of retired Sydney teachers. They've been meeting for more than 10 years for lunch on the last Monday of February, May, August and November. Can Column Phds delay getting another life to please work out when the next February 29 falls on a Monday? The world seems to have agreed that a hen house named "Aubergine" is really code for egg plant. But Leura's Anna Marshall has had the temerity to break ranks and suggest Auberge is French for Inn and In (sic) is English for Inn. "Therefore," she concludes, "the hens are enjoying double hospitality." Beth Hansen, of Lennox Head, joined the great hen house debate but went slightly ratty, revealing that she and her sister once had a large cage in the backyard for their white mice. The sisters called their pet abode "Rathaus". The engineering battalion built more than 1000 bridges up to January 1950 before returning to the Netherlands in 1950 but several sappers, including Dick, chose to be demobilised in Indonesia. Dick then migrated to Australia and played a key role in many of Victoria's ground-breaking designs and constructions. He worked on the Snowy Mountains Scheme from 1950 to 1952, followed by work on Singapore plantations. His first marriage having ended, Dick wed June Sullivan and his second son was born in Singapore. Further experience was gained in Turkey, working for the Dutch firm Havenwerken N.V. In Australia he worked for many private practices on projects including the Shell refinery at Corio, wharf extensions at Portland, the launching platform of the concrete spans of the Westgate bridge, and the design of the cable-stayed pedestrian and sewer McIntyre Bridge across the Barwon River constructed in 1967, and one of the first applications of computer-aided bridge design in Australia. He later assisted with the computer-aided design of the concrete hyperbolic-parabaloidal sound shell at Rosebud. By the 1980s, Dick was moving towards academia. He gained a master's degree in civil engineering from Melbourne University in 1982, subsequently becoming a senior lecturer in concrete design and technology and expert in timber structures. He embarked on the preservation and heritage listing of the Ovoid Sewer Aqueduct across the Barwon River. This eye-catching structure, designed by E.G. Stone and built in 1913-1916, suffered from seriously corroded reinforcing and concrete shedding. Dick worked pro bono to save the bridge. For this, and his work on the heritage listing of the Tasmanian Ross River Bridge, he received an award of merit from Engineering Heritage Australia in 2007. At the age of 75 he retired from the university and embarked on an investigation into the success and failure of engineering projects, culminating in the award of a PhD in 2006 from Newcastle University. Dick van der Molen's strong sense of justice was accompanied by a great sense of humour. Modest about his own achievements, he was an excellent mentor. He was especially supportive of the many women who worked with him but had no tolerance for rogues or fools. He enjoyed reading, music, and vigorous discussion. Dick and his wife June were active members of the Melbourne University alumni bushwalking group and were involved in the cooperative "Urimburra" land conservation in the Little Desert. Generous with his time, he was always ready to assist people and causes. An accident at Melbourne University when both knees were broken, curtailed much of his later physical activity. He is survived by his sons Frank and Richard. A tiny tattoo of a mute button behind a young woman's ear is causing a cacophony online. In an artful and humorous expression of her disability, Imgur user raingoose said the delicate tattoo was a polite way of letting people know she was hearing impaired. raingoose posted the photograph to Imgur. Credit:Youtube "Since I'm deaf on one ear I thought this was a friendly [way] to tell the world not [to talk] to me from the left," raingoose captioned the image of a speaker next to a cross. The photo, posted on Saturday, had been viewed more than three million times by Tuesday afternoon (AEST), and attracted a torrent of comments supporting the woman. Australian cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, who won an Academy Award for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, was missing from the Oscars' In Memoriam segment of the program. Lesnie, 59, who died on April 27, 2015, was the director of photography on a wide range of local and international features, including the Lord Of The Rings films, The Hobbit, Babe and Bran Nue Dae. His final film was Russell Crowe's The Water Diviner. Andrew Lesnie Credit:Reuters He was not the only Oscar winner to be omitted from the segment, which seeks to pay tribute to members of the film industry who have died during the past 12 months. But first, one more Abraham moment, because it's mad and it's funny. Ol' Abe asks Glenn if he and Maggie had actually been trying to get pregnant. Glenn says yes. Abe says he can't understand that. "We're trying to build something, me and her," Glenn says. "All of us." Abraham thinks that's a crock. "For the record, I see rain coming, I'm wearing galoshes," he says. "I double up." Is he talking protection? I think he is. Oh, that's TMI, Abe. TMI. En route to the promised land, they come across a crashed vehicle; Jesus says they're his people. Rick and Daryl smell a trap, but investigate anyway. They find four survivors, including a doctor hallelujah, a resource even scarcer and more valuable than jewellery fashioned from tail lights! and bundle them into the Griswold mobile to resume their journey. Even better, Dr Carson (R. Keith Harris) used to be an obstetrician, and may have some pre-natal vitamins for Maggie. (Really? Pre-natal vitamins in the End Times? How the hell did kids even get born in the Beginning Times?) "I'd say you two just hit the jackpot," the doc says. As Jesus leads the gang towards Hilltop, the walled settlement he calls home, some of his people up on the high wall yell "stop right there". Daryl (Norman Reedus), ever the negotiator, yells back: "You gonna make us?" I don't know about you, but I think it's time he knocked it off with all those Dale Carnegie self-help manuals, because he's totally nailed the art of winning friends and influencing people. Jesus smoothes the way, negotiating their entry, weapons in hand. "I like you people," he tells Rick. "I trust you. Trust us." It's OK. We're with Jesus. Inside, it's like a cross between an Amish village and the set of 12 Years a Slave. There's crops, chickens, shacks and, at the centre of it all, Barrington House, a Georgian-era brick mansion, which became a museum "before", and "after" has become the seat of power for some doofus called Gregory (Xander Berkeley). "I'm the boss," he says, talking over the top of Rick's attempted introduction. "Why don't you all go get cleaned up?" This dirtbag takes all of 20 seconds to proposition Maggie. Worse than that, he insists on calling her Natalie. He may be overseeing some sort of agrarian utopia here, but he seems to have mistaken himself for an antebellum plantation owner, and Maggie for a negro slave girl. I predict he's about to get whupped. When some of the natives return to the fort, they have a message for Gregory from Negan a knife in the guts. It's his reward, supposedly, for shortchanging Negan on his promised 50 per cent cut of their harvest. But let's call it payback for being sleazy, too. "Get offa me," the stabber says as Rick and the others jump on him. "I had to." And this is for all those times you told me man buns were so 2015! All Hell breaks loose, and knifeman Ethan (Justin Kucsulain hello, Justin, and goodbye) has Rick on the ground, knife at his throat, when Michonne distracts him. He turns to look at her and Rick stabs him in the throat. Ethan bleeds all over him like a stuck pig, and Rick drenched, not for the first time, in someone else's blood stands to stare down the crowd. "What?" Oh, nothing. Just wondering what we should have for dinner. Some Amish dude has a pikestaff pointed at Rick, and Rick has a six-shooter pointed at him. Into the midst of this fair fight steps Jesus, arms outstretched in a fair impersonation of (a) Luke Skywalker trying to keep the walls of the trash compactor separated in Star Wars or (b) Jesus. "Put the gun away," he tells Rick. "You've done enough." Ah, blessed are the cheesemakers. Thing is, I can't quite tell if Jesus is spooky spiritual or just a master of ironic understatement. Rick has indeed done enough. Since he and his band turned up, Gregory done got stabbed, Ethan done got stuck like a pig, two others done got clobbered, and the prospect of outright warfare with either Negan's gang or Rick's crew done gone and become a near certainty. Yep; thanks for coming, Rick. After the mayhem, it's Maggie's turn to proposition Gregory. "We've handled people like Negan," she tells him. "How?" "They're dead." She's offering her gang's services as mercenaries, to keep Negan and his thieving band of Saviours at bay. Gregory accepts, but Maggie has one more treat in store. Her price. "Half," she says. "Half of what you have." It's the same terms as Negan offered, so I'm not sure how Gregory might chalk this up as a win. Still, she does manage to make being screwed over sound rather sexy, and I'm not sure Gregory was quite so susceptible to Negan's charms. "Congratulations," he says, applauding weakly from his sick bed. "You want anything else? A kidney maybe?" "Most conservation biologists and ecologists do not oppose non-native species per se," wrote Daniel Simberloff, a professor of environmental science at the University of Tennessee, who led the group that wrote the rebuttal. He added that Davis and his colleagues had vastly played down the severe harm that alien species caused. But in the five years since that contentious exchange, the idea that invasive species should be assumed guilty until proven innocent has begun to wane, the shift prompted in part, Davis speculated, by concerns over the use of chemical pesticides and the disruption of landscapes caused by many eradication efforts. Some alien species are undeniably harmful, a fact that neither Davis nor others who share his view dispute. The fungus that causes chestnut blight, for example, decimated thousands of trees and changed the US landscape in the early 1900s. The Zika virus is invading new regions, carried by infected mosquitoes that some say are being driven northward by warmer temperatures. The vampire-like lamprey, sneaking into the Great Lakes in the 19th century, gradually champed its way through the fish population. Islands and mountaintops are especially vulnerable to damage from invaders because their native species often evolved in isolation and lack natural defences against predators or immunity to exotic diseases. The brown tree snake, accidentally transported to Guam, has virtually eliminated the bird population there. But, Davis noted, "all species have negative impacts on something," and the danger, he said, is often exaggerated. A study published in the journal Biology Letters concluded that alien species "are the second most common threat associated with species that have gone completely extinct" since 1500 AD. But the study, Davis and other experts said, relies on subjective judgments about extinction and does not distinguish between island species - which are far more vulnerable - and land or ocean species. In some instances, non-natives offer clear benefits. In California, for example, monarch butterflies prefer to spend their winters in the branches of the eucalyptus, an exotic tree transplanted to the state more than 150 years ago and viewed by some as an invasive fire hazard. In Spain, non-native crayfish serve as prey for migratory wetland birds, including some endangered species. And some notorious invaders can have positive effects. Western states have spent a fortune trying to eradicate the tamarisk tree, which many experts believe hogs more than its share of water and damages the habitat of native species. But Julian Olden, an associate professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington, said tamarisks had been found to provide shelter for birds like the southwestern willow flycatcher. Some studies have also concluded that the tree's water use is not significantly different from that of other tree species. The antipathy to foreign plants and wildlife is relatively recent. While the distinction between native and non-native species dates to the 18th century, the term "invasion" was first used in a 1958 book - The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants, by Charles Elton - that drew on the militaristic vocabulary of the post-World War II era. But the moniker did not achieve its full derogatory weight until the 1990s and early 2000s, when academic interest in the subject peaked and the number of papers on the subject generated by invasion biologists grew proportionately. To biologists like Simberloff, taking action to head off alien species early on makes sense, allowing governments to address threats before invaders take firm hold. Non-native species are far more likely to do harm than native plants and animals, he argued, adding that the debate was "a phony controversy". Whether a species is viewed as native, however, often depends on when you arrived on the scene. Much of what Americans eat was originally imported: The horse, an icon of the American west, for example, was reintroduced by the Spanish thousands of years after the original North American horse became extinct. Several states list the honeybee as their state insect. But like many other state fish, insects and flowers, the bees are in fact immigrants. In at least one case, a species that was long extinct in its native range was treated as an interloper when it finally returned home. Beavers were common in Britain until they were hunted to extinction centuries ago. But when a group of the toothy dam builders took up residence along the River Tay in western Scotland several years ago, local farmers and fishermen greeted the animals with hostility, saying they posed a threat to farmland and salmon runs and were potential carriers of disease. Scottish Land and Estates, an organisation representing landowners, insisted that the beavers' centuries of absence from Britain nullified their resident status, the Independent reported in 2010. "It's just silly," Thompson said of the reaction to the Tay beavers. "I don't think we would have ended up in this ridiculous situation if we hadn't been so bombarded by propaganda about invasive species." Often, he and others say, "invasion" is just another word for "change". And the only thing that is certain is that more change is to come. Already, the flora and fauna of countries around the world are more homogeneous than they once were, as globalisation has, accidentally or intentionally, moved exotic species from one place to another. "From birds to plants to fish to mammals, there's strong evidence that things are becoming more similar," Olden said. As more species migrate, new quandaries are likely to arise. And as the human population increases, driving more animals and plants toward extinction, a species' second home may be the only one it has. In a paper published last month in the journal Conservation Biology, two scientists in California, Michael Marchetti and Tag Engstrom, describe the "paradox" of species that are under threat in their native range but are viewed as invasive in other places they have settled. They include the Monterey pine, endangered in California and Mexico but treated as a pest in Australia and New Zealand, and the Barbary sheep, endangered in Morocco and other countries but running rampant in the Canary Islands and elsewhere. "This is a challenge," Olden said. "If we identify a plant or animal that might not be able to respond to climate change, do we roll the dice and intentionally move that species northward, or up in elevation?" "We're playing a little bit of ecological roulette here," he added. Controversial Liberal senator Cory Bernardi, who has called the United Nations an "unelected and unaccountable body", will represent Australia during a three-month secondment with the global organisation. Senator Bernardi will be joined in the bipartisan annual delegation by Tasmanian Labor senator Lisa Singh. The trip usually commences in early September. While in New York, the parliamentary delegates will work with the established Australian Mission to the United Nations, and attend meetings, speaking engagements and other official functions. Senator Bernardi is a longstanding critic of the UN. In a 2010 speech to the Senate, he lamented that the then-Labor government's climate change agenda was "outsourcing aspects of our national sovereignty to unaccountable foreign organisations like the United Nations". Fears of an imminent mass coral bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef have prompted federal authorities to issue an urgent warning on the natural wonder, which is under threat from climate change. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority on Tuesday said patchy bleaching had already been detected on multiple reefs in mainly shallow areas, and weather forecasts of upcoming hot conditions posed a dangerous threat over the next few weeks. In a statement, the authority said the conditions had triggered "level one incident response" involving more in-water field surveys and monitoring by authorities and researchers. Climate action advocacy group 350.org said the bleaching was "tragic" and the Turnbull government should block what would be Australia's largest coal mine, by Indian mining giant Adani, and commit to halting new fossil fuel projects nationally. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has offered to hold "frank and open" discussions with East Timor about the unresolved maritime boundary between the two countries but stopped short of the fledgling state's request for formal and discrete talks to settle the impasse. East Timor's prime minister Rui Araujo wrote to Mr Turnbull on February 1 asking that the two leaders meet to discuss a permanent maritime boundary in the Timor Sea, rich in oil and gas. Dr Araujo told Mr Turnbull that the current arrangement, where the two countries share oil and gas revenue in a joint development area, does not reflect East Timor's entitlements under international law. As a result, East Timor believes it has lost some $US5 billion in royalties and tax revenue since independence, enough to fund its entire budget for three years.. West Australian senator Joe Bullock has announced he is retiring from politics citing an inability to support the Labor Party's position requiring MPs to vote in favour of same-sex marriage. Calling it "homosexual marriage," the 61-year-old right-wing senator told Parliament on Tuesday night that he was "morally obliged" to quit, just two years after entering Parliament because he could not agree with the party's decision to impose a binding vote on MPs from 2019. He said his decision to retire began when he was asked how he could support the Labor Party given his view on same sex marriage. "This question has dogged me for six months," Senator Bullock said. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has defended his decision to order a review into the controversial Safe Schools anti-bullying program, saying it was the "responsible thing" to do and showed the government "standing up for children". Mr Turnbull was quizzed about the review during question time on Tuesday, when Greens MP Adam Bandt asked if he had given in to "bigots". "Is your commitment to socially progressive values so skin deep that you will put young people's welfare at risk and throw a successful anti-bullying campaign under a bus, just because the bigots in the conservative brotherhood tell you to?" I'm 64 and finished work in the construction industry 10 months ago. Due to my age, it hasn't been easy to find another job. I own a property in Taylors Hill, Melbourne, rented for $550 a week and valued at about $700,000. Being out of work, I have redrawn $65,000 and this is the only mortgage on this property. I have a $400,000 property at Kings Park, Melbourne, fully paid off and rented out for $350 a week. This used to be my former home with my ex-wife and kids for 20 years, bought for $154,000 in 1989. With my current partner, I have an investment property in Pearsall, WA, valued at $500,000, rented out for $450 a week and carrying an interest-only loan of $443,000. Since 2013, we live in our home in Mindarie, WA, which carries a loan of $735,000. My partner sold her own house with the intention of putting $200,000 into our large mortgage. I would like to keep the property at Taylors Hill, so can I sell the property in Kings Park and put $200,000 into our mortgage as well? Should I wait until I retire next year? Is capital gains tax too high on this property? From this sale, I can pay the $65,000 outstanding to the bank and the rest into my Cbus super fund. I have $105,000 in AMP super and $220,000 in Cbus. What do I have to do in order to start my retirement plan? The $3400 a month coming in from the two properties in Melbourne is used to pay the mortgage on our home in Mindarie, which is costing us $5775 every month. B.R. I prefer to see people retire debt-free, unless they have so much retirement income that loan repayments won't reduce their quality of life. Yes, you can sell your Kings Park property now. At a rough guess, based on the limited information given, I estimate your additional tax due to capital gains tax to be in the region of $10,000 to $15,000, assuming you have no income other than rent and noting that you lived in the house for 20 out of 27 years. This would leave you with about $320,000 after paying off your $65,000 debt, allowing you to contribute $200,000 to your Mindarie home mortgage and still have some left over. However, I think you will still have some major problems. After together placing $400,000 into your Mindarie mortgage, you would still have a debt of $335,000 and little likelihood of paying it off from working income. Your Pearsall property is negatively geared and probably costing you $5,000 to $10,000 a year in interest and other outgoings, so I query whether that is a good investment for a retired couple. During other moments, he leant into his partner and covered his face with his hands. Levey addressing the media in Rome on Tuesday. Credit:Getty Images He later said he wanted to walk out of the room but couldn't bring himself to until Cardinal Pell had finished his evidence. At the end of the evidence detailing his abuse in Mortlake, a visibly upset Mr Levey was supported out of the public hearing by his partner and counsellor. Paul Levey hugs his wife Michele before travelling to Rome. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer Earlier, Cardinal Pell, Australia's most senior Catholic, accepted no responsibility for Ridsdale's offending, telling the inquiry he had no knowledge of his crimes. Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns was among a number of clergy who knew Ridsdale had a boy living with him, but failed to intervene. On Tuesday, emotional abuse survivors put their arms around Mr Levey's shoulders as he addressed the media. Mr Levey said his mother had called Bishop Mulkearns multiple times requesting he be removed from Ridsdale's care, but she was repeatedly ignored. "I can't believe that those meetings never discussed his paedophilia," he said. "There is no way Cardinal Pell couldn't have known what was going on." Mr Levey said Ridsdale hadn't been shifted into another parish as a promotion as suggested by Cardinal Pell, but was removed from Mortlake to stop him sexually abusing children. "He had to have known, he was at those meetings," Mr Levey said. "The church definitely knew I was at the presbytery. It was common knowledge the whole time I was at Mortlake that other clergy knew I was there." He fought back tears as he said: "This has been the hardest part of it all so far ". Mr Levey said he would attempt to meet Cardinal Pell after he finished his testimony. Mr Levey told Fairfax Media he had battled drug and alcohol addictions and had made multiple suicide attempts. He said was still crippled by flashbacks and nightmares of his time living with Ridsdale. "I have drunk alcohol in order to sleep most nights and I have only recently stopped as I am taking sleeping medication instead," he said."I wouldn't be here without the support of my partner, Michele, and my daughters." Cardinal Pell's evidence contradicted a statement from a Ballarat diocese priest who told the royal commission in December that Ridsdale's sexual behaviour was raised at a high-level church meeting in 1982. Father Eric Bryant said problems managing Ridsdale were raised by Bishop Mulkearns at the meeting of seven priests, including Cardinal Pell. Father Bryant said Bishop Mulkearns told the priests: "We've got a problem with homosexuality in the diocese." He said it was later decided to shift Ridsdale from the parish of Mortlake. Complaints about a paedophile priest were "common knowledge" in the Catholic community and among two senior clergy members but Cardinal George Pell did not have "much interest" in them, he told a royal commission. In his second day of questioning about what he knew of sexual offending by priests when he was in Victoria, Cardinal Pell's admission drew an audible gasp from those listening to his testimony. Giving his evidence via video-link from Rome, Australia's most senior Catholic agreed that some people knew there had been complaints about Gerald Ridsdale in the 1970s, a former priest now serving a prison sentence for multiple child sex offences. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard a police investigation into Ridsdale found his alleged offending at Victorian parishes was "common knowledge" among the Catholic congregation. Cardinal George Pell regrets not doing more to protect young boys from a paedophile Christian Brother working at a Catholic school in Ballarat in the 1970s, a royal commission has heard. In the third day of his testimony, Cardinal Pell admitted he had heard about "problems" at St Patrick's College from one or two students. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard the "problems" related to Brother Edward Dowlan, who was later convicted of multiple sexual offences against boys between 1971 and 1986. In 1993, Ridsdale made his first court appearance on child sex offences. He was accompanied by Cardinal Pell, who later said he regretted doing so. Ridsdale, who also allegedly abused children in New South Wales and the US, will be eligible for parole in 2019, when he will be almost 85 years old. Monsignor John Day Monsignor John Day, who died in 1978, never served time in jail for his offences against children. Mildura sex offender Monsignor John Day was a senior priest in the Diocese of Ballarat. He died in 1978. He never served time in jail for his offences against children. The royal commission has been told a 1971 police investigation found that the senior priest, who was active until the 1970s, had molested children in Victoria over 13 years. Cardinal Pell told the commission this week that Monsignor Day's case made him aware of sexual abuse among clergy, but that he didn't recognise signs of abuse by Christian Brothers in Ballarat, where he served as assistant parish priest from 1973-83. The royal commission heard last year that former Mildura policeman Denis Ryan had investigated allegations against Day of child sexual abuse while under pressure from his superiors to stop. His superiors later took over the investigation and cleared Day of any wrongdoing. Victoria Police tried to force Mr Ryan to transfer to another station in 1972, and he ultimately resigned from the force. Victoria Police has since apologised to former detective over the cover-up. Ryan, who wrote a book about his struggle to bring Day to justice, believes the priest sexually abused more than 100 children. When Day died, Bishop Ronald Mulkearns said he had "faithfully fulfilled his ministry in God's name". Brother Gerald Leo Fitzgerald Brother Gerald Fitzgerald was appointed as a Christian Brother to East Melbourne in 1921 and held a number of positions around Victoria until the mid-1970s. In 1962 he became the grade 3 teacher at St Alipius Boys' School in Ballarat. He was part of the clergy paedophile ring that worked at the primary school. It included Christian Brothers Edward Dowlan, Stephen Farrell and Robert Best, as well as paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale, who was the school's chaplain. All, except Fitzgerald, were later convicted of sex crimes. Fitzgerald died in 1987 while being investigated but was never charged. Data produced to the royal commission shows 15 male victims made a claim of sexual abuse against Fitzgerald for the period of 1950 to 1975. The average age of victims at the time of the abuse was eight. The data shows the first alleged incident occurred 30 years after he became a priest, at 48 years of age. A number of former students of St Patrick's College and St Alipius Boys' School have given evidence that students and some staff members were aware of the risk of sexual abuse by clergy, including Brother Fitzgerald. On Fitzgerald, Cardinal Pell told the royal commission this week: "I think it [used to be alleged] when some of the boys were leaving, he'd given them a kiss ... The general conviction was it was harmless enough." Fitzgerald stayed at St Alipius until he was forced to retire in 1975. An internal Catholic report said he went into the school's dormitory to play with boys. Brother Edward 'Ted' Dowlan Cardinal Pell said he had heard 'fleeting references' to former Christian brother Edward Dowlan which he concluded 'might be paedophilia activity'. Credit:G. Ampt Dowlan was jailed in 1996 for sexually abusing 11 boys at four Christian Brothers schools. In 2015, he was jailed again after being convicted of abusing 20 boys. County Court judge Richard Smith said at the time that Dowlan had preyed on vulnerable boys over a 14-year period at six different schools. Judge Smith said Dowlan had been in a position of authority and trust and believed he had "some right of entitlement" to abuse the boys in appalling circumstances because he had power over them and they were unable to resist him. The judge described Dowlan's offending as brazen and said he did not believe he was remorseful. Dowlan's first appointment was as a grade 5 teacher at Ballarat's St Alipius Boys' School. In the 1970s he worked at St Thomas More Boys' Regional College in Nunawading and St Patrick's College in Ballarat. He served as deputy headmaster of Cathedral College in Melbourne and also worked at St Mary's in Geelong, Catholic Regional College in Geelong, and St Vincent's Special School. Data produced to the royal commission shows the average age of Dowlan's victims was 11. Dowlan was thrown out of the Christian Brothers order in 2008. He changed his name by deed poll to Bales in 2011. Father Paul David Ryan Father Paul Ryan was shuffled between parishes. The first allegation of child sex abuse made against Ryan was in 1976, within a week of him being ordained in Ballarat. He was jailed in 2006, aged 57, after pleading guilty to assaulting an altar boy in his parish house. The convicted priest told the royal commission last year that former Ballarat Bishop Mulkearns knew about him in 1977 and "buried his head in the sand" about sexual abuse in the Ballarat diocese. In 2012, the mother of one of Ryan's victims accused Bishop Mulkearns of shuffling him between parishes where he continued to prey on victims. Ryan was sent to the US in 1977 and 1979, returning after three child sex abuse allegations emerged. In Victoria, he was sent to Warrnambool, Terang, Penshurst and Ararat. On Ryan, Cardinal Pell told the royal commission he had an "unusual style". "I was never particularly supportive of his vocation," Cardinal Pell said. Brother CCK Brother CCK joined Christian Brothers Novitiate in 1960. The first child sex abuse complaint against him was made two years after he took his vows, aged 22. He is the subject of the highest number of proven complaints against a single Christian Brother in Victoria and/or Tasmania. The church has paid survivors of 37 child abuse claims $3.5 million in compensation, and three others $350,000 in civil claims. The alleged abuse occurred between 1963 and 1987. CCK taught at number of schools in Victoria and Tasmania, including St Alipius Boys' School in Ballarat from 1968 to 1973. Brother Stephen Farrell The first allegation of child sexual abuse against him was made the year of his vows, aged 20 years old. He was convicted of nine counts of indecent assault in 1997 against two boys at St Alipius Boys' School in Ballarat and given a suspended two-year prison sentence. In 2013, he was sentenced to three months prison for another indecent assault against a boy at the Ballarat school. He told the royal commission in a private hearing that when Ballarat Superior Brother Paul Nangle raised abuse allegations against him, he gave him a "long cuddle" of support and walked out of the room. Brother BWX Within two years of his first appointment in Perth in 1958, BWX admitted ordering at least seven boys to undress in his house, where he spoke of the function of genital organs and indecently assaulted them. BWX worked at St Patrick's Province in Brunswick, St Joseph's Christian Brothers College Warrnambool, in the Diocese of Ballarat, and St Kevin's College in Toorak. In 1994, Brother BWX was sent to the US for treatment for child abuse incidents. In 2003, during an interview with Towards Healing, BWX said he was warned seven years earlier by the then principal of St Joseph's not to "go one to one with boys or touch their genitals". Data produced to the royal commission reveals two people have made claims of child sex abuse against Brother BWX, which occurred between 1961 and 1976. The first allegation refers to a claim against him when he was 22 years old, four years after professing his vows. Brother CCJ Internal church documents reveal concerns about Brother CCJ's behaviour dating back to the early 1970s, soon after he began teaching in Victoria. In 1981, he was recorded as spending a "considerable amount of time counselling the boys" and the following year he was moved to St Patrick's College in Ballarat. In 2005, Brother CCJ pleaded guilty to 10 charges of indecent assault against students at Trinity College in Brunswick in the 1970s. Data produced to the royal commission shows 17 people made a claim of child sexual abuse against him for the period from 1971 to 1983 (94 per cent were male, 6 per cent female). The first allegation relates to abuse that occurred two years after he professed his vows, aged 22. Father Kevin O'Donnell Father Kevin O'Donnell. O'Donnell is subject to the largest number of complaints to the church's internal compensation scheme, Melbourne Response. O'Donnell is a former parish priest at Sacred Heart Primary School in Oakleigh. All 50 complaints against O'Donnell - relating to abuse between 1944 to 1992 - were upheld. The Melbourne Response has paid about $2.2 million in compensation and counselling costs to O'Donnell's survivors as of March 2014. Other complaints against O'Donnell were settled outside the Melbourne Response. He was charged with 49 child sex offences in 1995 and pleaded guilty to 12 counts of indecent assault. He was sentenced to 39 months' imprisonment. O'Donnell died in March 1997, about four months' after his release from prison. Two of his victims, Emma and Katie Foster, were repeatedly abused by O'Donnell at primary school. Emma later took her own life, and Katie is in a wheelchair after being hit by a car. They are the children of prominent survivors' advocates Chrissie and Anthony Foster. Father Peter Searson Peter Searson died in 2009 before facing any child sex charges. There were complaints about paedophile Peter Searson's behaviour for more than a decade while he was parish priest at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Sunbury and at Holy Family in Doveton. Complaints ranged from carrying a handgun at school, animal cruelty, showing a body in a coffin to children and unnecessary sexualised conduct with students and frequenting the boys toilets. The royal commission heard that children would sit on his knee and he would tape the "hot" confessions. Victim Julie Stewart testified to the royal commission that Searson abused her on numerous occasions in the confessional when she was nine years old in the mid-1980s. During her last confession she said Searson lifted her onto his lap and pushed her against his erect penis while telling her she was forgiven for her sins. "He whispered in my ear: 'You are a good girl. The Lord forgives you'," she said. In 1993, Searson admitted holding a large knife to a child's chest. The Catholic Education Office failed to take the matter further despite receiving legal advice that it should investigate the incident. Searson's faculties as a priest were removed in 1998. Data produced to the royal commission shows the church paid compensation to four people who were sexually abused as children by Searson in Kew, Sunbury and Doveton between 1974 and 1985. Searson died in 2009 before facing any child sex charges. The church has paid out almost $300,000 to his victims. Father Nazareno Fasciale Fasciale was an assistant priest at various parishes including Geelong and North Fitzroy. He went on extended leave to his native Italy in 1960 after church officials were made aware of allegations that he had molested three girls. He returned to Australia and was appointed parish priest at Yarraville in 1973, but was sent for treatment by then Archbishop James Knox after concerns were raised about his conduct with young boys. In the early 1990s, more complaints were made against him from the 50s and 60s, to then Melbourne Vicar-General Monsignor Cudmore. The commission was told Fasciale admitted his criminal actions to Monsignor Cudmore and asked not to be stripped of his faculties. He was allowed to resign for health reasons in 1993 and died three years later while due to face multiple child abuse charges. Despite the controversy at the time, his funeral was attended by 60 priests and bishops, including future archbishops of Melbourne George Pell and Denis Hart. Data produced to the royal commission shows 20 people claimed sexual child abuse at the hands of Fasciale between 1953 and 1985 at multiple schools and parishes. The church paid out $753,000 to 19 victims. Father Ronald Pickering Father Ronald Pickering [L] with choir. Pickering has been linked to multiple suicides of victims he allegedly abused as children. He was moved to parishes around Melbourne before fleeing to Britain. A victim testified that Pickering sexually abused him while he was an assistant priest at St Mary's Parish and chaplain of St Mary's Boys School in St Kilda East. During confession with another paedophile priest, Wilfred Baker, from a neighbouring church, the victim reported abuse at the hands of Pickering. Baker broke the seal of confession and told Pickering about the complaint. The victim continued to be abused by Pickering until he was 23 years old. Pickering's faculties as a priest were removed in 1994. The Melbourne archdiocese has previously acknowledged in writing Pickering's "proclivity for child abuse" and has financially compensated several victims. Data produced to the royal commission shows 19 people claimed child sexual abuse at the hands of Pickering between 1960 and 1989 at 14 institutions. Sixteen victims who went through the church's Melbourne Response program shared in $881,000. Pickering died overseas in 2012 having never been charged. Father Wilfred "Billy" Baker Former priest Wilfred Baker was jailed for multiple counts of indecent assault in 1999. Credit:Ken Irwin Baker worked was a priest at Gladstone Park and St James Parish in North Richmond, and as an assistant priest at various other parishes in Melbourne. The first complaint against him, about his relationship with a teenage boy, was made in 1978. More complaints were made to the church in the early 1990s about his serious drinking problem and his rude and unprofessional conduct. Senior Catholic education officials warned a Melbourne principal that children were not safe to be left alone with Baker before he moved to St James Parish in mid-1992. Former St James Primary School principal Patricia Taylor took her concerns about Baker to her regional bishop Peter Connors, who she said told her "once a paedophile always a paedophile". The royal commission has heard she did not hear from the bishop again and that Baker was appointed to the parish a short time later. A victim testified that he was sexually abused by Baker on multiple occasions from 1976 while he was an altar boy at Gladstone Park. When he was 12 years old, he said Baker took him to his parents' house in Maryborough and sexually abused him in a bedroom after his parents were asleep. Baker was put on administrative leave by then Archbishop Pell on the recommendation of Independent Commissioner Peter O'Callaghan, QC. In 1999 Baker was jailed for multiple counts of indecent assault and one of gross indecency against eight boys aged 10 to 12 spanning two decades. Former Kings Cross drug king pin Bill Bayeh was found with a piece of paper that appeared to refer to a large quantity of drugs, when he was searched by police last year, court documents reveal. On Tuesday Mr Bayeh pleaded guilty to one charge of hindering police over the February 2015 incident, allowing the full facts in the case to be revealed for the first time. Bill Bayeh leaves Downing Centre courts on September 8, 2015. Credit:Daniel Munoz They show that the 56-year-old was sitting at the Five Burroughs Cafe in Potts Point about 7.45pm on February 12 last year when he was approach by police. Following a series of convictions for commercial drug trafficking which saw him jailed for 15 years, Mr Bayeh was forbidden from entering Kings Cross unless it was for the specific purpose of attending his new business interest, the Love Machine strip club on Darlinghurst Road. A man has been arrested after allegedly walking up to a pram and spitting on a four-month-old baby seated inside during a bizarre incident in Sydney's east. The baby girl was being pushed in her pram by relatives along Crown Street about 5.30pm on Saturday when a stranger approached her. The man allegedly leaned inside the pram and spat on the infant's face before running off. The baby's grandfather chased the man, who is known to police, to nearby Foveaux Street where the man collided with a car and fell on the ground. However he managed to pull himself up and was last spotted running along Crown Street. Five months after a fire ripped through his Sydney property and left more than a dozen foreign students who had been living in squalor homeless, property owner Masaaki Imaeda sold the industrial lot for $4 million. Now, he faces losing a chunk of those plump earnings. Masaaki Imaeda talks with police at Alexandria in July 2014. Credit:Peter Rae Following a more than 18-month-long council investigation, Mr Imaeda has been charged over using his industrial lot in Alexandria as a makeshift housing complex - with decrepit caravans, shipping containers and a rundown bus - against land use conditions. Fire engulfed the 56-year-old's Burrows Rd property in July 2014, almost killing the 15 Japanese, Korean and New Zealand nationals who were renting a spot on the industrial site. That Monday morning, Elise had walked Ivy across the road to drop her off at daycare near their home, while Lara stayed behind with Skylar. As Elise was walking across a pedestrian crossing to return home, she was struck by a car and knocked to the ground, Lara said. Lara thought it was odd when Elise had not returned home nearly an hour after she'd left. "I went out the front door to go looking for her, and I saw all the police tape. I went to the childcare centre and just said 'Is Elise still inside?' And I knew by the look that the teachers gave me," Lara said. Lara rushed to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where Elise had been taken, unsure about the extent of her injuries. The shock of the accident was compounded by the initial confusion she encountered surrounding their relationship. "I had a baby in my arms and I was at the entrance to the emergency room, going, 'You've got to let me in, you've got to let me in, I know it's my wife.' " After explaining her relationship several times, Lara was allowed in to see Elise before she died. Once the initial confusion had been cleared up, Lara said the hospital staff and police were "just amazing". "We were able to help at least nine lives with the organs that she donated, but that was all given to me as a decision to make, even with all of her [Elise's] family being there with me," Lara said. "They [the hospital staff] did not discriminate, they spoke directly to me, they have let me make decisions. I think if this had happened 10 years ago it could have been a very different story and we've come a really, really long way." But she said it was the start of a painful journey. She says she has spent the weeks since Elise's death ringing lawyers, government agencies and their insurance company, explaining the nature of thier relationship. "For anyone - whether you're gay, straight, a son, a daughter, a sister, a partner - it's a very trying thing to tell the same story over and over again and go through forms and red tape and not fitting into particular boxes," Lara said. "I just remember crying to my mum and saying 'If I had a proper marriage certificate, this would not be so hard. It would just be accepted.' "If I had a husband, I would just say 'My husband has passed away,' and people would get that. "But every person I've spoken to today, I've had to explain the back story, that she was my partner, de facto, and that hurts, because I don't see her as my de facto, I don't see her as a partner. I see her as my wife. We were married in our eyes." In her frustration and grief, Lara sat down and wrote a simple Facebook post explaining what had happened. Her post wasn't to get sympathy, but to explain the realities of how Australia's marriage laws were affecting real people. "Because love is love and we should celebrate it and encourage it always. The world is harsh enough," she wrote. Her post on Monday has since been shared nearly 45,000 times and rising. Lara and Elise didn't consider themselves political, and Lara now says Elise would be "rolling her eyes up there". Brisbane City Council's bus network is the least reliable in south-east Queensland and do not meet Translink guidelines according to a state government report. Brisbane's bus fleet while the biggest and most complex bus network in the state - is not meeting Translink's guidelines to have 90 per cent of services run on time. Translink data says Brisbane's buses do not meet on-time targets. Credit:Harrison Saragossi The Translink Tracker shows in the September to December 2015 quarter only 83.97 per cent of Brisbane's buses ran on time, compared to 94.86 per cent of Gold Coast buses and 97.63 per cent of Sunshine Coast buses. Rail Back on Track's Robert Dow, who challenged the previous state government for publishing an aggregate south-east Queensland figure showing the buses did meet guidelines, said the low Brisbane figure was revealing. NSW businesses bringing rubbish across the border to dump it in Queensland could soon be fined. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said fines were one of the ways the government was looking at to address the problem. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Credit:Glenn Hunt The practice developed after the former Newman government scrapped a $35-a-tonne waste levy, making it cheaper for NSW business to bring their rubbish over the border to dump it in Queensland. Ms Palaszczuk has ruled out replacing the levy during this term of government, given Labor's election commitment to introduce no new taxes. In the US, company law differs from state to state. Some have minimum age requirements, while others including California, where start-up dreams are made have none. Johnson says registering a company in his name will help considerably when talking to investors, many of whom won't engage with sole traders. A company structure also takes the burden of financial liability off the founding individual. That's a key ingredient in the high-risk tech start-up sector, where a more holistic attitude to failure can encourage innovation. Johnson is not alone in his frustrations. Sixteen-year-old Rafe Skidmore co-founded Stickasmile, which aims to bring happiness to the world particularly to teenagers through channels including social media, smiley stickers and merchandise. He wants to register Stickasmile as a not-for-profit so he can use donations from its growing supporter base to fund the project, rather than his own money. "If the government could change this [age restriction] I think there would be a heap more start-ups in Australia," he says. "It would encourage young people. I know heaps of people my age who have ideas to start companies." Fellow Glenaeon Steiner School student Harrison Shoebridge, 17, founded a coding club for Sydney kids called Hack Lab. Harrison says he used to have to use his dad's name when submitting the iPhone apps he created to the Apple App Store. He found the experience off-putting and says he would have been "way more productive" in his coding pursuits if he hadn't been made to jump through hoops. "In my eyes it pretty much sends the signal of 'You're not good enough to do this by yourself until you are 18'," he says. Harrison believes the message the age restriction sends to young people about entrepreneurship is "very contradictory" to the government's National Innovation and Science Agenda, announced in December. Federal assistant minister for innovation Wyatt Roy says the age restriction is worthy of further consideration. However, the government currently has no formal plans to address it. Roy says he became aware of the issue after speaking with 11-year-old entrepreneur William Grame, who invented a prototype of a diabetes test-strip disposal unit. "I'm not suggesting company directors as young as Will, but at the very least we should have a look at what other countries are doing," the minister says. Victorian minister for innovation Philip Dalidakis also says there would be "positives in such a change". However, any change to age restrictions on company directors will need to happen at the federal level. William Grame was able to appoint family members as co-chief executives of his company, Diabetes Domination. Not all ambitious kids necessarily have that level of support at home or elsewhere to help their bright ideas grow, however. Victor Zhang, co-founder of not-for-profit organisation Generation Entrepreneur, which supports and encourages high school students who want to start their own ventures, says the age limitation can discourage young people from incorporating companies altogether, or to find loopholes like shifting their business overseas. According to the national start-up industry survey StartupMuster, nearly one in five start-ups is considering a move overseas, while one in four is considering a capital raising overseas in the future. Zhang says support for school aged entrepreneurs is growing in Australia but remains missing from the government's recent investments in innovation and entrepreneurship. "There is almost nothing in the high school sector helping young entrepreneurs," he says. StartupMuster statistics show teenagers make up just a small portion 1.3 per cent of Australia's start-up community. However StartupMuster chief executive Monica Wulff says that number could grow if impediments such as company age requirements were removed. "I think there is an opportunity to delve further into that," she says. "I can really understand the frustration young entrepreneurs would have if they were able to get through other barriers in the whole start-up development process only to have the last hurdle be a tax or legal issue of this nature. It is saddening," Wulff says. A mega-merger is on the cosmic cards. In roughly four billion years, our home galaxy, the Milky Way, will collide, and join forces, with its nearest large galactic neighbour, Andromeda, scientists say. Like the Milky Way, Andromeda is a spiral galaxy although it's bigger than our creamy coterie of suns and contains as many as a trillion or so stars. Viewed almost edge-on from the northern hemisphere, Andromeda appears as a fuzzy, oval patch of starlight that can just be made out on a clear night. Right now, it is 2.4 million light years away and closing. Gravity is pulling the two galaxies together at about 400,000 kilometres an hour. By the time you finish reading this sentence, Andromeda will be something like 200 kilometres closer to us. The principal of Australia's only mainstream Catholic school signed up to the Safe Schools Coalition says he is under "considerable pressure" to withdraw from the anti-bullying program. St Joseph's College principal Paul Tobias said he had received emails from conservative Catholics who are not part of the school community who claimed it was wrong for a Catholic entity to be involved in the program. "This debate has put people like me in a particularly difficult position," he said. "But I don't believe there is anything in the Catholic faith that should stop us from promoting inclusiveness, diversity, and tolerance." Parents are considering removing their children from a WA school after learning a convicted child sex offender is among the students. Credit:AFR Just three weeks into the 2016 school year, Education Minister Peter Collier revealed 981 children were 'missing' from WA schools. Nearly 1000 West Australian children are missing from the state's education system while another 10,000 regularly miss more than two days of class a week, according to Department of Education figures. Another 10,037 students, half of which hail from the Perth metropolitan area, attended school less than 60 per cent of the time in Semester 1, 2015 - equivalent to missing more than two days a week. Mr Collier told Radio 6PR on Wednesday afternoon that the buck stopped with him. "The education of children is paramount," he said. The minister said the unknown whereabouts of a number of children had actually fallen from 1500 in 2011 to around 1000. "We're also introduced a range of strategies to motivate students including engagement centres aimed at children who just don't want to be at school," Mr Collier said. The son of WA Premier Colin Barnett has laughed off getting charged with property damage on the Gold Coast, claiming it "was just one of those stupid nights out." Sam Barnett and his girlfriend Melissa Garbin were charged after smashing each other's laptops and phones. Their loud arguing reportedly caused security to call the police to the hotel in the early hours of Monday morning. "It was one of those stupid nights out on the Gold Coast where she broke my laptop and I broke hers," Mr Barnett told Radio 6PR on Tuesday morning. More than US$1 billion ($1.4 billion) was deposited in the bank accounts of Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak millions more than was previously identified, according to the Wall Street Journal, quoting unnamed people familiar with the matter. The newspaper published the allegation hours after Malaysia's former leader Mahathir Mohamad quit his country's ruling party, saying he did not want to be associated with a group that is seen as supporting corruption under Mr Najib's leadership. The Wall Street Journal said millions of dollars arrived in Mr Najib's accounts in 2011 and 2012, citing two people familiar with flows into the accounts and a person familiar with one overseas investigation. Mr Najib, a British-educated son of a former Malaysian prime minister who has close ties to the Australian government, denies any wrongdoing and says the allegations are part of a plot to topple his government. About 150 to 200 migrants and activists threw stones at police, who later deployed a water cannon. There were reports children were also hit with tear gas. The clashes came as officials attempted to remove migrants from their shacks after a judge upheld a decision to evict them from the southern part of the squalid camp. Calais: Riot police fired tear gas to push back migrants who set fire to tents and threw stones as bulldozers and demolition teams moved into the Calais "Jungle" camp on Monday. A British woman who is a member of the No Borders activist group, which French officials have accused of encouraging migrants to attack police in the area, was arrested as the operation began, police said. A migrant watches a hut burn as police officers clear part of the Jungle migrant camp on Monday. Credit:Getty Images Helmeted workers in orange overalls pulled down makeshift structures where migrants had been sleeping in the muddy, rat-infested settlement of wooden shacks and tents that is home to several thousand people. Police arrived at the camp at dawn and told migrants in the southern section that they had to move out or they would be arrested, aid workers in the camp said. "That was my home," said one man, a 17-year-old Afghan who gave his name as Salahuddin, sitting beside the smouldering, smoking remains of a shack. He said his tent had been set ablaze when a police tear-gas grenade fell on it. Other migrants had set fire to their makeshift homes in protest at the eviction. What is it? A day when more than a dozen US states hold their primaries and caucuses, putting more delegates at stake in the Democratic and Republican Party than any other day of the year. A decisive win for Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump can cement their place as likely nominee for their respective parties in the presidential election in November. When is it? Tuesday, March 1, in the US. Wednesday, March 2, Australia time. InfiNet Wireless Show Commitment and Growth in LATAM Region with the appointment of Conian Technology as its Main Distributor for the Dominican Republ Posted by Publisher Networking Malta and Dominican Republic, March 1st 2016: InfiNet Wireless, the global leader in fixed broadband wireless connectivity, has today announced the official signing of Conian Technology as its main distributor for the Dominican Republic. Conian Technology is the partner operating in the Caribbean and will work with InfiNet Wireless to bring its latest connectivity solutions to the region. The Latin American region is experiencing significant growth for InfiNet Wireless and the companys commitment to this region was again demonstrated with its first ever LATAM partner conference, which was organised in Punta Cana and saw more than 50 partners from across the region gather to hear updates on the latest technologies offered by Infinet Wireless and share experiences from other parts of the world. Conian Technology is a value added distributor (VAD) operating for more than 20 years in the fields of IT and telecoms. Using Infinet Wireless range of solutions, Conians main objective for the coming years is to add significant value to its own customers and improve connectivity throughout the Dominican Republic. Our mission is to provide our customers with the highest quality and reliable solutions that they will value for a long time; Infinet Wireless is bringing to us the right technology and at the perfect time, said Martin Alejandro Santana, CEO of Conian Technology. We are very excited to be appointed as the main distributor for the Dominican Republic, added Mr Santana. Conians initial focus will be on the InfiLINK XG, the newest edition to the InfiNet Wireless product family. The XG a record-breaking and innovative Point-to-Point solution is a software defined radio with a competitive 480Mbps throughput in both licensed and unlicensed bands. The InfiLINK XG is a product that is going to guarantee our clients a future-proof solution because no additional hardware will be required to cater for future needs, just a software updates. said Elvyn Gomez, Senior Engineer at Conian Technology. The adaptable nature of this technology gives our customers the added value they are looking for, and not only are they buying wireless units to deploy in their networks, but they are also buying a long-term relationship with InfiNet Wireless and Conian Technology. Conians current market focus is on the tourism and video surveillance sectors in the Dominican Republic. The company has also carried out projects in the countrys electricity generation and distribution markets, working closely with the Electrical Service Providers (ESPs) in order to modernise their infrastructure through the deployment of InfiNet Wireless solutions for more reliability and higher productivity. As a group with more than twenty years experience in the industry, Conian Technology have already deployed various networks in the country for such customers as Orange Dominicana (ex-France Telecom), Barrick Gold Dominicana one of the largest mining groups established in the country, and EDESUR an electricity distributor. Other customers include financial entities in the Dominican Republic, as well as local electricity plants and generators, metal producers, hotels, car dealerships, etc. To read more about the InfiNet Wireless and its successful deployments across the globe, please visit http://infinetwireless.com/success-stories Connect with InfiNet Wireless on social media: @InfinetW AVST Presents Skype for Business A Customers Journey at Enterprise Connect ORLANDO, FL (Marketwired) 03/01/16 Next week at , (AVST) will present Skype for Business A Customers Journey featuring esteemed UC experts: Roy King, Senior Business Development Manager at Microsoft, Russell Batchelor, Enterprise Strategy Architect from London and Tom Minifie, CTO of AVST. This panel session will share a real-life customers journey to Skype for Business. Many businesses are beginning a complex, evolutionary journey to Skype for Business as a critical part of their Unified Communications (UC) solution set. The session at Enterprise Connect will highlight some of the most challenging scenarios that decision-makers face, including multi-PBX interoperability, intelligent call processing and mobility. Attendees will learn how to navigate the waters to address these challenges and realize a successful deployment of Skype for Business. According to King, Skype for Business is a modern communications solution that enables a highly-connected workforce. AVST, a Microsoft Gold Partner, provides value-added enterprise-class UC applications that enhance our customers experience and let them take advantage of the Skype for Business platform without foregoing any of the functionality they expect. This panel session is a great opportunity to share a real-world implementation that addresses serious customer requirements. A critical component of the panel discussion is the insiders view of a successful customer implementation of Skype for Business in the UK. Presented by Batchelor, this portion of the session will cover the implementation of Skype for Business in the London Borough of Lambeth. When migrating their legacy PBX to Skype for Business, this local authority needed AVST to bridge the two voice platforms together to accommodate their large and diverse user base. AVST also accommodated the authoritys large pool of mobile workers and offered intelligent call processing capabilities for routing critical inbound calls quickly and effectively. It was crucial for us to find a robust solution that could intelligently route calls to various endpoints and ensure that messages were secure, said Batchelor. AVST was instrumental in helping us modernize our communications and make the transition to Skype for Business. I look forward to sharing our experiences with attendees at Enterprise Connect. AVSTs Minifie will round out the panel with a review of the companys UC applications that enhance Skype for Business and offer a seamless transition. For businesses looking to deploy Skype for Business as a full or partial PBX replacement, AVST offers the following essential communications applications: Voice Platform Interoperability for Skype for Business Automated Attendant for Skype for Business IVR for Skype for Business Voicemail for Skype for Business Call Center for Skype for Business Personal Assistant for Skype for Business The session will take place in Osceola 1, from 2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8, 2016, at Enterprise Connect in Orlando, Florida. To learn more about AVSTs integration with Skype for Business, visit . With more than 30 years of continuous innovation, Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc. (AVST) is a trusted developer of software-based Unified Communications (UC) solutions for businesses of all sizes. Our passion is to develop communications solutions that transform the productivity of individual workers, teams and businesses while leveraging the value of their existing and evolving IT infrastructure. Thousands of businesses worldwide rely on AVST to meet their mission-critical communications requirements today, align their business with key trends and, with the world-class interoperability of AVSTs UC solutions, provide a bridge to their digital future. Headquartered in Orange County, California, AVST maintains facilities in Seattle, Washington, Victoria B.C., Canada and the United Kingdom and has remote sales offices throughout the United States. AVSTs UC solutions are sold and supported worldwide by an extensive network of resellers and OEM partners. To learn more about AVST, our products and partners, please visit or you can follow us at , or . Stephanie Olsen Lages & Associates (949) 453-8080 New 2016 Painter Masters Represent Excellence in Digital Art OTTAWA, ONTARIO (Marketwired) 03/01/16 Editors Note: There are three photos and one video associated with this press release. The team is honored to introduce the newest members of its prestigious program. Ten new Painter Masters were selected from an impressive collection of applicants demonstrating some of the most influential and talented digital artists working today. Each of the selected Painter Masters represent the top of their fields and have been chosen for their ability to captivate, motivate and educate Painter enthusiasts of all levels. Without question, Painter artists are the number one source of inspiration for our team. Their creativity, imaginations and incredible talent leave us awestruck every day. With the 2016 Painter Master program, weve once again reached out to our community to find the best of the best and are honored to have them as outstanding evangelists for Painter our community, said Chris Pierce, Product Manager for Painter. The stunning work created by the 2016 Painter Masters covers the full spectrum of art from the classical to the fantastic and span industries from film and gaming to editorial and commission fine art. Each Painter Master shares a few things in common: proven technical skills, a signature style, a desire to develop others in the community, and a passion for Painter. Congratulations to the : For more information about the 2016 Painter Masters and to find samples of their art and links to their work, please visit . To learn more about Corel Painter 2016 and to download a trial, please visit . About Corel Painter: Corel is the proud creator of , the worlds most realistic paint program. Whether youre a budding artist or a creative professional, Painter gives you the freedom to create digital art without boundaries. The Corel Paint Program lineup also includes Painter Essentials, the complete home art studio, , a Particle brush plugin for Adobe users, and mobile apps that let you create digital art on the go. Boasting some of the industrys best-known brands, Corels product lines also include CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, Corel PaintShop Pro, Corel VideoStudio, Corel WordPerfect Office, and titles from Roxio, Pinnacle, ReviverSoft and WinZip. For more information about Corel Paint Programs, please visit . 2016 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved. Corel, the Corel logo, the Corel Balloon logo, Painter, CorelDRAW, Essentials, PaintShop, Particle, ParticleShop, Pinnacle, ReviverSoft, Roxio, VideoStudio, WinZip and WordPerfect are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in Canada, the U.S. and elsewhere. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners. Patents: . To view the photos associated with this press release, please visit the following links: To view the video associated with this press release, please visit the following link: Contacts: Media Contact Alex Brazeau Corel PR Broadband Service Providers Embrace Momentum Telecoms Rollout of Intuitive RPM Platform BIRMINGHAM, AL (Marketwired) 03/01/16 Telecom, a premier provider of Business Voice, Broadband Management and Unified Communications solutions, recently enhanced their new integrated provisioning system, . RPM delivers state-of-the-art provisioning tools that will both transform and modernize the way Momentums customers are able to manage their accounts. Many residential users are already seeing the benefits of RPM. With the recent enhancements and migrations, enterprise voice users are also now experiencing the platforms groundbreaking capabilities. RPM was specifically designed with the goal of developing a consolidated cloud communications management system that brings benefits to both the administrator and the end user. So were very enthusiastic about RPM launching into the marketplace, where we firmly believe the interface will not only be more efficient, but also more effective for all parties involved, said Tara Kelley, Momentums Vice President of Customer Experience. The primary beneficiaries of RPMs many enhanced features will be end users and Broadband Service Providers. End users will find a more intuitive interface and the ability to effortlessly change account settings, make E911 service address updates, access training materials and update add-on features. Broadband Service Providers are already increasing their efficiency by taking advantage of RPMs upgraded management features. The ability to manage end user accounts, provision devices, add subscribers with a bulk-order wizard and utilize workflow engine automation from a single platform is enabling these customers to reduce human error and increase productivity. Momentum Telecom strives to provide premier voice and broadband management service while remaining the easiest provider to do business with. RPM strongly advances those objectives and is a leap forward for telecommunications management, stated Bill Fox, CEO at Momentum Telecom. If youre interested in seeing the pioneering RPM management tool in-person, March 1st-3rd Momentum Telecom will be exhibiting at the American Cable Associations Summit in Washington D.C. For more information about how to schedule an RPM demonstration or to discuss partnership opportunities, contact Director of White Label Sales Colin Scott at or (678) 399-9496. Momentum Telecom is a premier provider of Business Voice, BBX Broadband Management and solutions. Momentums solutions offer smart, customizable cloud-based applications such as voice, video and collaboration that enhance business productivity and efficiency for direct customers and more than 500 channel and white label partners, nationwide. Momentum Telecom is committed to delivering best-in-class products backed by a geo-redundant network paired with industry leading uptime and customer service. Headquartered in Birmingham, AL, Momentum Telecom has regional offices across the United States. To learn more visit or connect with us on , , , or check our . At Momentum Telecom our mission is to enable others to thrive by combining smarter technology with seasoned experts to deliver an unmatched customer experience. Elizabeth Hildreth 315-579-7112 DCN Announces Data Center Expansion in Bismarck BISMARCK, ND (Marketwired) 03/01/16 Dakota Carrier Network (DCN) is expanding its data center located at 4202 Coleman Street in Bismarck. Approved by DCNs Owner Companies in August 2015, the 30,000-square-foot expansion project will provide 12 times the current server floor space available at the center and will increase the centers total space to 72,000 square feet. The project is currently under construction and is expected to be complete by early 2017. Prior to the expansion, DCN was already the largest co-location data center operator in North Dakota. DCN CEO Seth Arndorfer says the additional square footage is being added in response to continually increasing demand for secure and reliable IT solutions and services from companies in major metropolitan centers throughout the United States. The amount of data being generated continues to increase across all industries, but particularly in the areas of telemedicine, electronic patient records, financial historic data and education, Arndorfer says. More data means increased storage needs and we intend to provide enough storage space to satisfy even global companies needs. Customers can take advantage of our fiber optic connectivity to Chicago, Denver, Seattle and Minneapolis to access markets anywhere in the world and our private suites will allow customers storage space in an entirely secluded environment. The expanded co-location data center will be built to the same Fort Knox-like specifications as DCNs current data centers in Bismarck and Fargo. All DCN data centers are designed as carrier-grade hardened facilities able to withstand F4 tornado-force winds with fully redundant power and cooling systems. DCN will offer customers private suites (selected spaces leased exclusively to a single customer) and will also offer customers flexibility in choosing cabinets for their specific business application. State-of-the-art security will be incorporated throughout the data center, including multiple levels of security, biometric fingerprint scanners, personalized combination locking cabinets, and 24/7 monitoring with a closed caption TV video surveillance system. DCNs data center expansion will provide customers with additional capacity to house their business critical applications, ensuring 99.999% network uptime to North Dakotas most critical institutions, including health care, public safety, state government and financial institutions. Dakota Carrier Network, created in 1996, is owned by 15 North Dakota-based independent telecommunications companies representing 85 percent of all telephone exchanges in North Dakota and more than 90 percent of the states total surface area. They serve more than 164,000 customers in approximately 250 communities. The DCN companies currently have more than 40,000 miles of fiber optic cable in service. DCNs corporate headquarters is located in Fargo, N.D., and its Network Operations Center (NOC) is located in Bismarck, N.D. DCN owner companies include: BEK Communications, Consolidated Telcom, Dakota Central Telecom, Dickey Rural Communications, Intercommunity Telephone, Midstate Communications, MLGC, North Dakota Telephone, Northwest Communications, Polar Communications, Red River Technologies, Reservation Telephone, SRT Communications, United Communications, and West River Telephone. Contact: Kris Bevill 701-499-2180 Solar Novus Today Has Been Integrated With Novus Light Technologies Today Visit Novus Light Technologies Today to see all the cutting-edge stories and products that you have come to enjoy on Solar Novus Today. In addition, you will find more information on related light-based technologies. Get the latest solar and renewable energy news delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for the Green Technologies newsletter CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR GREEN TECHNOLOGIES NEWSLETTER By Jagdeesh Mann Special to The Post If she were still alive, this month would mark the 17th anniversary of Jaswinder Jassi Kaur Sidhus marriage to Sukhwinder Mithu Singh. But instead of a celebration, her husband continues to mourn for his wife who was killed because she dared to break the 'love rules' tied to her family's rural Punjabi culture. Born and raised in Maple Ridge, BC, Jassi Sidhu was killed in June 2000 by hired killers while living with her husband in Punjab, India. Police traced 266 phone calls between Jassi's maternal uncle, Surjit Badesha, to the hired killers, becoming a basis by which India formally requested extradition in 2005 of Badesha and Jassi's mother Malkit Sidhu to face murder charges. Police allege the millionaire blueberry farmer Badesha and his sister Malkit Sidhu hired the contract killers to kill Jassi because she had married a lower-caste auto rickshaw driver in Punjab. Punjab Police investigations confirmed it was an honour killing plotted by the mother and uncle while the duo were at home in Maple Ridge, Canada. In May 2014, the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver ordered that duo must be deported to India to face trial. The struggle to obtain justice for Jassi, however, was set back this past week when the British Columbia Appeal Court overturned the extradition order against Jassi's mother and uncle. The judge expressed concern that the both of the accused will be beaten and tortured in Indian jails. This is a travesty of justice I dont know if there will ever be justice for Jassi, given the latest court ruling, said Fabian Dawson, a Vancouver-based journalist, author and filmmaker, who has been following this international saga of forbidden love for the last 16 years. The court ruling effectively suspends the deportation process for Jassis mother and uncle and it will take years more for a final decision if the crown decides to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, said Dawson, the Deputy editor-in-chief of The Province, who broke the story of Jassis murder in June of 2000. In a split decision, Justice Ian Donald said in his ruling that Indias assurances about violence against prisoners are empty because of the countrys record of human rights abuses. In my view, there is a valid basis for concern that the applicants will be subjected to violence, torture and/or neglect if surrendered, he wrote in a decision released last Friday. This overturned the earlier decision by a B.C. Supreme Court judge who had ordered the surrender of Jassis mother Malkiat Sidhu and uncle, Surjit Singh Badesha to police in India in May 2014 after finding there was enough evidence for them to face trial for the murder of 25-year-old Jassi. Donald however consented that the conspiracy charges against the duo from Maple Ridge, B.C., was strong and suggested that the new Canadian justice minister should consider whether the pair could be tried in Canada. I have no doubt that consular monitoring can be effective regarding the death penalty and the corruption/ fair-trial issues, Donald said. The more worrisome issue is the day-to-day exposure to harm in custody and the risks associated with retaliation against prisoners who complain. Consular staff may only discover a rape, beating or neglect of medical care after the fact. Right-thinking Canadians ... would be distressed at the prospect of the applicants escaping justice because of conditions in India, Donald said. He said other than revisiting the possibility of holding the pairs trial in Canada, the justice minister could also secure meaningful and effective assurances from India about their treatment in that country, according to Canadian Press. If we dont respect extradition treaties which Canada has signed with other countries, then why have them, said Dawson. Our judges seem to have made it a habit of questioning the penal and justice system of other countries and reinforce the view that Canada is a safe haven for fugitives. Dawson added that Canadian courts have stymied efforts to send back fugitives from the Philippines, Thailand, China and Mexico over the past decade. If Justice Donald is so concerned about the safety of prisoners in Indian jails, perhaps he should look closer at home, said Dawson pointing to dozens of lawsuits against the B.C. government by inmates injured in jail attacks. With hundreds of assaults in provincial jails every year, some of the victims, their lawyers and the union representing correctional officers say the violence has reached epidemic levels, The Vancouver Sun reported last year. The level of violence in Canadian provincial centres is out of control, said lawyer Tonia Grace, who represents several B.C. inmates with lawsuits. Dean Purdy, vice-president of the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union, said the union has documented an increase in violent assaults in B.C. jails. We are seeing both inmates and correctional officers targeted, he said. In 2014, there were 973 violent incidents by inmates on other inmates and on staff at B.C.s nine jails. By the end of August 2015, there were already 907 incidents on record. Given these numbers Justice Donald perhaps should ask himself are our jails any safer than the jails in India, added Dawson. Harbinder Singh Sewak is the Vancouver based publisher of The South Asian Post which won a Jack Webster Award for its work on the Jassi case and is the co-author of the book Justice for Jassi. He decried the BC Court of Appeal decision and stressed that the struggle for justice for Jassi will continue. The ruling has shocked many people many think this murder is about honour and religion it is about greed, said Sewak. The book, Justice for Jassi, documents the entire saga and is narrated from the perspective of Mithu, who since his wifes murder has continued fighting to see justice done for his wife, despite threats and attempts to silence him. The authors scoured through thousands of police and court records in Canada and India, as well as hours of tape interviewing officials. The book shows how her mother and uncle orchestrated Jassis murder from Maple Ridge. We kept the website www.justiceforjassi.com going and we kept the story alive. We will continue to do so until there is justice for Jassi, said Sewak. Meanwhile in India and Canada, the latest ruling has shocked and upset many. Ujjal Dosanjh, the former attorney general and premier of B.C. said the ruling left him 'an angry Indian and an angry Canadian'. For the longest time the RCMP didnt feel the murder of Canadian Jassi Sidhu in India was worth investigating until the pressure from the activists and media mounted, he wrote in a column. What is troubling about this decision is the implicit assumption that every Indian prison cell is a potential torture chamber, said Dosanjh. What troubles me and leaves me angry is the terrible truth that circumstances and international failings continue to conspire against justice for the brutal taking of Jassi Sidhus life. Swaran Singh, an assistant sub-inspector who investigated the case, said the judgment took him by surprise. We have an open and shut case against Jassis mother Malkit Kaur Sidhu and her maternal uncle Surjit Singh Badesha, he said. They ordered the killing as Sukhwinder Singh was from a weaker community, socially and economically. R.K. Meena, additional director-general of police (prisons), said 119 foreigners were lodged in Indian jails, including three from Canada. Canadian officers have visited Punjab jails several times, he said. They have never complained of abuse or unhealthy conditions. Neither have the Canadian citizens lodged in the jails complained of inhuman conditions. Jassi Sidhu - the story at a glance Canadian-born Jaswinder Sidhu had met auto rickshaw driver Sukhwinder Singh (Mithu) in Jagraon during her visit to Punjab in 1996 and fallen in love with him. The two secretly married in 1999 when she flew back to India from Canada to tie the knot. Millionaire blueberry farmer Surjit Badesha and his sister Malkit Sidhu from Maple Ridge, B.C. had hired contract killers to eliminate Malkit's daughter Jassi (Jaswinder) Sidhu in June 2000 because she had married a lower-caste auto rickshaw driver in Punjab, police in India allege. Jassi Sidhu is found murdered in June 2000 near Sukhwinder's village. Punjab Police investigations confirmed it was an honour killing plotted by Jaswinder's mother Malkit Sidhu and her uncle Surjit Badesha while the duo were in Canada. Based on the evidence of 266 phone calls that Surjit Badesha made with the hired killers, India formally requested Canada in 2005 to extradite him and Malkit Sidhu to face trial. In May 2014, the the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver ordered that Jaswinder's uncle and mother must be deported to India to face trial. But last week, the British Columbia's Appeal Court overturned the deportation order against the mother and uncle of Jaswinder Sidhu, citing India's "appalling" record in regard to prisoners. IANS To read a full background on the case click here. Jagdeesh Mann is a journalist based in Vancouver. Follow @JagdeeshMann What you need to know about Powerball and the $580 million jackpot News 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. Never miss a Swansea story with our daily newsletter Sign up to comment on our stories here Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Swansea City news | Ospreys news | InYourArea Blue Origin's New Shepard launch vehicle lifts from the company's West Texas launch site on a suborbital test flight. Blue Origin has set July 20 for its first crewed flight, including founder Jeff Bezos and the auction winner who placed a $28 million bid. Blue Origin is a private spaceflight company started by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos in 2000. It was the first company in the world to successfully land a reusable rocket on a landing pad, a feat pulled off by the New Shepard suborbital vehicle during a test flight in November 2015 (and many times thereafter). Blue Origin plans to take space tourists aloft using New Shepard and also aims to launch people and payloads to orbit, using a new rocket still under development called New Glenn. Blue Origin is targeting July 20, 2021 for its first crewed New Shepard mission a suborbital jaunt that will loft Bezos, his brother Mark, pioneering aviator Wally Funk and 18-year-old Oliver Daeman. (Daeman took the place of a still-mysterious person who paid $28 million for his or her seat in an online auction but pulled out of the July 20 flight due to scheduling conflicts, according to Blue Origin.) Related: Blue Origin will launch billionaire Jeff Bezos into space on July 20. Here's how to watch. Previously, NASA provided Blue Origin with more than $25 million in contracts (payment was based upon milestones completed) for the Commercial Crew Development program, which has helped develop privately funded space vehicles to bring people to the International Space Station. In 2014, NASA chose to support SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft for those flights. Quiet beginnings Blue Origin is known in the space industry for not releasing much information about its flights and aspirations ahead of time, unlike companies such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic. Blue Origin was registered as a company in 2000 but didn't garner much public attention until 2006, when Bezos made a series of land purchases in Texas. According to the Wall Street Journal, these purchases were made under names such as "James Cook L.P.," "Jolliet Holdings," "Coronado Ventures" and "Cabot Enterprises," which all traced back to the same address. The corporate names were based on famous explorers. In January 2007, according to MSNBC, Blue Origin's website opened for business, featuring videos and photos from such milestones such as a November 2006 test flight. Blue Origin received two rounds of funding from NASA: $3.7 million in 2010 for the first round of the Commercial Crew Program, and $22 million for the second round in 2011. The company's first major disclosed setback came in 2011, when a development vehicle failed at around 45,000 feet (13,700 meters) in altitude during a flight test. "A flight instability drove an angle of attack that triggered our range safety system to terminate thrust on the vehicle. Not the outcome any of us wanted, but we're signed up for this to be hard," Bezos wrote in a Sept. 2, 2011, update to the company's website. He added that the company was already working on another development vehicle. The next "short hop" took place in November that year. October 2012 saw tests of the crew capsule escape system; the company dubbed the event "a great day in Texas" on its website. The system soared to 2,307 feet (703 m) before returning to Earth by parachute. Blue Origins pusher escape system rockets the Crew Capsule away from the launch pad, demonstrating a key safety system for both suborbital and orbital flights. Image released Oct. 22, 2012. (Image credit: Blue Origin) "The progress Blue Origin has made on its suborbital and orbital capabilities really is encouraging for the overall future of human spaceflight," NASA Commercial Crew Program manager Ed Mango said in a statement at the time. "It was awesome to see a spacecraft NASA played a role in developing take flight." However, as the Commercial Crew program continued, NASA chose rival systems SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner to provide crewed flights to and from the International Space Station. This left Blue Origin reliant on finding other customers to eventually support its work. One of the income streams Blue Origin is pursuing for New Shepard which is named after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard is space tourism. Related: Space tourism, 20 years in the making, is finally ready for launch Here's what space tourists can expect: New Shepard will lift off using the rocket's BE-3PM engine, which will burn for about two minutes and 45 seconds. After main engine cutoff, the crew capsule will separate from the rocket. Passengers will be weightless for about four minutes, and will be able to see the Earth's curvature from an altitude of about 307,000 feet (93,573 m). The spacecraft will then re-enter the atmosphere for a safe landing on Earth, about 11 minutes after liftoff. The rocket, meanwhile, comes down for a powered, vertical landing at its designated touchdown pad. New Shepard has undergone multiple iterations over the years, making 15 test launches to suborbital space as of mid-July 2021. Many of these flights have carried experiments for university researchers and other scientists, but none have yet been crewed. Now, Bezos is scheduled to fly to the suborbital frontier on New Shepard on July 20, the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. It will be the first crewed spaceflight for New Shepard. Related: As space billionaires take flight, 'the right stuff' for space travel enters a new era Jeff Bezos at the Blue Origin launch pad with a New Shepard rocket in the background. (Image credit: Blue Origin) (opens in new tab) Reusable rocket flights One of the frontiers of space exploration right now is creating reusable rockets. SpaceX is another company that has been working on the concept for years, but Blue Origin beat them to the punch in landing on solid ground several weeks before SpaceX. That moment came on Nov. 23, 2015, during a New Shepard suborbital test flight. The rocket and vehicle separated as usual, but the rocket did not fall back to Earth. Instead, it moved toward a landing pad and softly touched down with the assistance of its engines. "Rockets have always been expendable. Not anymore," stated a blog post on the company's website written by Bezos. "Now safely tucked away at our launch site in West Texas is the rarest of beasts, a used rocket. This flight validates our vehicle architecture and design." SpaceX landed the first stage of its two-stage Falcon 9 rocket successfully on land about a month later, in December 2015. And this was a different kind of feat, for the Falcon 9 is a more powerful rocket that goes much higher all the way to Earth orbit. Blue Origin followed up its world first with a reusability milestone on Jan. 22, 2016, launching the same New Shepard vehicle on another suborbital test flight. (SpaceX has since taken reuse to another level, landing Falcon 9 first stages during orbital launches 82 times and reflying used first stages 64 times as of mid-July 2021.) Following the January 2016 mission, Bezos wrote that the company may soon have plans to share for a more powerful orbital system. "We're already more than three years into development of our first orbital vehicle," he wrote. "Though it will be the small vehicle in our orbital family, it's still many times larger than New Shepard. I hope to share details about this first orbital vehicle this year." That orbital launch system is called New Glenn, which is named after Mercury astronaut John Glenn. Blue Origin will attempt to make New Glenn available for national security government missions. Most of that work is performed now by United Launch Alliance with its Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, though SpaceX has recently won some of those launch contracts. Blue Origin is also developing a lander called Blue Moon, which is designed to carry people and payloads to the lunar surface. Other activities Blue Origin also has other aspects to its business. For example, it's an engine supplier as well. That engine is the BE-4, which will power the New Glenn orbital rocket. In 2018, Blue Origin signed a deal to provide the BE-4 to United Launch Alliance, which will use it on the first stage of its Vulcan Centaur vehicle, the successor to the Atlas V. Vulcan Centaur is scheduled to launch for the first time in 2022, on a mission that will send Astrobotic's Peregrine lander to the moon. And Blue Origin has lunar ambitions of its own. The company leads "The National Team," a private group that proposed a human lander concept for use by NASA's Artemis program of crewed lunar exploration. In late April 2021, NASA selected SpaceX's Starship vehicle over the offerings of The National Team and a third competitor, Alabama-based company Dynetics. The National Team and Dynetics soon filed protests with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) over NASA's human landing system choice, however. The GAO will issue a decision soon; its deadline to do so is 100 days since the protests were filed. This article was updated on July 16, 2021 by Space.com Senior Writer Michael Wall. Scientists searching for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life should put themselves in the aliens' shoes, a new study suggests. Researchers have identified and characterized many potentially habitable alien planets via the "transit method," which notes how parent stars' light changes when orbiting worlds cross these stars' faces from Earth's perspective. (NASA's Kepler space telescope is the most famous and prolific instrument to use this technique.) Intelligent aliens could theoretically use this same strategy to discover Earth, and to determine that it has the ability to support life, scientists said. [13 Ways to Contact Intelligent Aliens] Advanced aliens who have made such a detection might try to send Earth a message to get in touch, the reasoning goes. But cosmic geometry dictates that Earth's solar transits are visible from a limited swath of the sky a sliver Heller and co-author Ralph Pudritz, a professor of physics and astronomy at McMaster University in Canada, dub the "transit zone." The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) including projects such as the recently launched Breakthrough Listen Initiative should therefore focus on the transit zone, Heller and Pudritz wrote in the new study, which will be published in the journal Astrobiology. The transit zone contains about 100,000 stars, according to the researchers, so there's no shortage of potential targets for SETI scientists' radio telescopes. (Observations by Kepler and other instruments suggest that every Milky Way star hosts at least one planet on average, and many of these worlds orbit in the "habitable zone" the range of distances from a host star where water may exist in liquid form on a planet's surface.) "If any of these planets host intelligent observers, they could have identified Earth as a habitable, even as a living world long ago, and we could be receiving their broadcasts today," Heller and Pudritz wrote in the new study. To date, researchers have discovered about 2,000 confirmed exoplanets; Kepler is responsible for more than half of these finds. Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com. LIGO team members at the congressional hearing on Feb. 24, 2016. Left to right: Fleming Crim, assistant director of the NSF's Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences; David Reitze, LIGO Lab director; Gabriela Gonzalez, LSC spokesperson; David Shoemaker, LIGO MIT Director. On Feb. 18, members of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) testified before Congress about the Feb. 11 announcement that the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) had directly detected gravitational waves ripples in the fabric of space-time predicted by Albert Einstein 100 years ago. The congressional panel members questioned the scientists about what the discovery means for humanity, science and innovation. Sheer inspiration, for both scientists and the general public, tops the list as can be seen by the roughly 17 million tweets that followed the discovery but that's closely followed by the ability to build a stronger, international workforce and to create spin-off technologies, the scientists said. "The window to this new world of gravitational waves has just been cracked open," said David Shoemaker, project leader for Advanced LIGO and director of the LIGO Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "As we open it wider [and] more people look out on the landscape, we'll be rewarded with discoveries that will, time and time again, give us all scientists, students, leaders and laypersons a thrill of understanding things much bigger than ourselves." [Hunting Gravitational Waves: The LIGO Laser Interferometer Project in Photos] The waves came from two black holes that spent aeons circling each other, hurtling closer and closer, before they eventually collided, releasing great shudders of gravitational energy. That energy which exceeded the energy output of all the stars in the universe combined traveled for 1.3 billion years until it washed over the Earth in a signal just one-ten-thousandth the diameter of a proton. "This discovery is a beginning, not an end," said Fleming Crim, assistant director for the National Science Foundation's Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. "It marks the birth of gravitational-wave astronomy a new tool for understanding the cosmos." Indeed, the first direct detection provided direct evidence that both gravitational waves and black holes exist two phenomena that previously had been observed only indirectly. The continued study of gravitational waves holds great promise for future surprises, and scientists are continuing to improve the sensitivity of LIGO's detectors. (The upgraded detector is sometimes referred to as "Advanced LIGO.") "The really good news is that Advanced LIGO is designed to be three times still more sensitive and should begin observations with an even greater reach this summer," Crim said. Moving masses generate waves of gravitational radiation that stretch and squeeze space-time. See how gravitational waves work in this Space.com infographic (Image credit: By Karl Tate, Infographics Artist) Looking forward, scientists expect to see gravitational waves from neutron stars stars that have stopped the fusion process in their cores and collapsed from their original size, becoming so dense that a single teaspoon would weigh 10 million tons on Earth and supernovas, stars that have exploded with so much brightness they often briefly outshine their host galaxy. Observations on the former might help explain what happens to regular matter under such extreme conditions, and observations of the latter might help to explain why these stars explode in the first place, the LIGO scientists said. But an even weirder discovery, scientists speculate, would occur if bursts of gravitational waves were detected coming from cosmic strings, hypothetical defects in the curvature of space-time. "There will certainly be surprises," Shoemaker said. "Every time we open a new window into the universe, we see new things, and we're surprised every time." "The majesty of exploring our universe motivates this ambitious experiment," Crim said. "But as with all fundamental science, LIGO offers other important benefits. The science will advance education, inspiring students in developing the workforce our society requires." Such inspiration can already be seen. Included in that list of 17 million tweets was one by President Barack Obamahimself, congratulating the LIGO collaboration and the National Science Foundation (which funds LIGO). LSC spokeswomen Gabriela Gonzalez also pointed out that, on the Saturday following the announcement that LIGO had directly detected gravitational waves, almost 1,300 people, some driving hours to get there, visited the LIGO Science Education Center at the LIGO observatory in Livingston, Louisiana. Using laser beams, scientists have detected the physical distortions caused by passing gravitational waves. See how the LIGO observatory hunts gravitational waves in this Space.com infographic (Image credit: By Karl Tate, Infographics Artist) "After we announced our discovery, the amount of reaction to it worldwide was awe-inspiring," said David Reitze, director of the LIGO Laboratory at Caltech. That inspiration will help to improve the scientific workforce in various ways, the scientists said. "Many scientists, when they come to LIGO, they fall in love with it, and they choose to stay," Reitze said. "However, others go on to distinguished careers in both high-tech industry and national laboratories." LIGO employees might one day bring their polished skill set to places like SpaceX and Apple. Gonzalez noted that more than half of the members of LIGO's collaboration are postdoctoral scholars, graduate students and even undergraduate students. "These are young, busy and happy investigators in training in a very interdisciplinary and international scientific environment," she said. "We are training the workforce in the U.S." Then, of course, there are technology spin-offs. Although every member who testified to the panel was careful to point out that he or she can't predict the exact technological advances, many drew the parallel to general relativity a once-obscure theory that is now used in GPS measurements. Yes, Einstein's scary mathematical formulas help you find the closest Starbucks. "There are remarkable efforts of vibration isolation, laser stabilization all of those are spinning forward into technologies that are extremely important for the country," Crim said. Follow Shannon Hall on Twitter @ShannonWHall. Follow us@Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. XCOR aims to take paying passengers on a suborbital weightless hop to the edge of space. Lynx is XCORs planned suborbital passenger space plane. The craft is designed to use conventional kerosene fuel, take off and land on a standard airport runway and make up to four flights per day. Lynx carries a pilot and one passenger to an altitude of about 62 miles (100 kilometers), where they experience about 5 minutes of weightlessness. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly (left) and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko (right) spent a total of 340 days in space on their one-year mission to better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to long-duration spaceflight. An astronaut and a cosmonaut are wrapping up a nearly yearlong mission on the International Space Station (ISS) today (March 1), the longest in the 16 years since humans began continuously occupying the orbiting outpost. But Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko's 340 days in space place only fifth on the list of the longest spaceflights of all time, coming in behind four cosmonauts' previous missions to the former Russian space station Mir. Those missions each lasted more than a full year. Launched on March 27, 2015, Kelly and Kornienko will land Tuesday night (March 2) on the snow-covered steppe of Kazakhstan, returning to Earth with cosmonaut Sergey Volkov on Russia's Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft. Their "One-Year Mission," the first for the International Space Station, was devoted to collecting medical data to support future, longer missions out into the solar system, including sending astronauts to Mars. [The Most Extreme Human Spaceflight Records] "I'd like for the legacy of this flight to be that we can decide to do hard things that will take us farther away from the Earth, and this is one of them," said Kelly in a recent in-flight press conference. "I am hopeful, and I think we will learn a lot about longer-duration spaceflight and how that will take us to Mars someday. "I'd like to think this is another of many stepping stones of us landing on Mars sometime in our future," he added. Past years in space NASA astronaut Mark Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are taking the ultimate space trip: one year in space on the International Space Station. See how their epic yearlong space station mission works in this infographic (Image credit: By Karl Tate, Infographics Artist) Prior to Kelly and Kornienko's expedition, four Soviet-era cosmonauts each spent a full year or more orbiting the Earth. The first humans to complete a trip around the sun while in space were Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov, who logged just shy of a full year and one day 365 days, 22 hours and 38 minutes as crewmembers on the Mir space station, from December 1987 to December 1988. Their record was broken eight years later by one of their former crewmates, Valery Polyakov. Living aboard Mir from January 1994 until March 1995, Polyakov set a record that still stands today for the single longest space mission: 437 days, 17 hours and 58 minutes. "I think it is a little bit of a different experience being on this space station versus Mir," said Kelly when asked about Polyakov's experience. "We have better connectivity with people on the ground, [and] I think the environment is a little bit more comfortable. "I really respect what he did back then, obviously," Kelly said, adding that he felt he could match Polyakov's time in space, if he was called upon to do so, but was also looking forward to coming home. Unlike Titov, Manarov and Polyakov and for that matter, Kelly and Kornienko, who knew they were embarking on a yearlong mission before they launched the most recent cosmonaut to log a full 12 consecutive months in space learned the duration of his mission only after he was already living aboard Mir. "I was prepared that my flight might turn out to be a little bit longer, but I never thought it would be twice as long," Sergei Avdeyev told a NASA interviewer in 2015. Avdeyev ended up spending 379 days, 14 hours and 52 minutes in orbit due to an unexpected change in the length of another crewmember's stay. "The last long-term space mission ... brought major data for investigations and research about how humans will feel during long-duration flights into space," Kornienko said in an interview before his current mission began. "I hope our mission [provides] an opportunity for others who will follow in our footsteps." Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov looks out the Russian space station Mir's window during his record-setting 438-day mission from 1994 to 1995. (Image credit: NASA) 25 days shy of a year Though Kelly and Kornienko's expedition was titled the first "One-Year Mission" by NASA and its international partners, at 340 days, it is in fact 25 days shy of a full revolution around the sun. "I really don't think about that kind of stuff," Kelly said when asked by a reporter if he was disappointed, if only slightly, about the 25-day shortfall to his mission. "For me, if I launched in March and land in March, that's pretty close to a year." "So, no, I'm not slightly disappointed at all, actually," he said. "It is actually something I haven't really considered." Even without the full 365 days, Kelly will return home having set new records for the most time in space by an American and the longest single mission by an American astronaut. There will be no similar national records for Kornienko, though, being the fifth Russian cosmonaut to fly on a one-year mission. Robert Pearlman is a Space.com contributing writer and the editor of collectSPACE.com, a Space.com partner site and the leading space-history-focused news publication. Follow collectSPACE on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. Optimization Are you frustrated with a slow pc or a hard disk not performing as it should? Try SLOW-PCfighter to speed up boot time on a slow PC, or try a free scan of FULL-DISKfighter to recover space on a full disk. The latest offering is DRIVERfighter to update your driver updater. Get complete PC optimization and extend the life of your PC with these must-have software tools. UPDATE 3/7: Nominations are now closed! The polls will go live tomorrow at 12 pm ET and the Top 5 Readers Choice nominees will be revealed then. Thank you to all those who participated in the nominations round this month! UPDATE 3/3: For those of you still checking this post here is a potentially rewarding opportunity for you. Start a creative "Do Your Part And Nominate" campaign and spread the link to this post around. Once you launch your campaign through any fan forum or social media public forum be sure to leave your campaign link in the comments section or email me the link to your campaign at aimee@spoilertv.com and be sure to label your email "POTM February Contest" or something along those lines so I can identify it. I will only accept full links as shortened links will not be clicked on and therefore your campaign will not be seen. The creator of the most creative campaign will win the opportunity to nominate 1 performer to be guaranteed a spot on the poll as a Contest Winner Nominee. You have until March 6th at 12 pm ET to send me your entries and I'll notify the winner later that evening so I can get the winners' nominee. The timeframe is kind of short this month but if it goes over well I'll launch the contest again next month when the nominations round starts. For the entry to count it must include the link to this article and an instruction telling people to follow the entry instructions to ensure their nominations count. If you have a nominee that you really want to have a chance in the polls but you don't think will make it into the Top 5 then this is your chance to get that performer to the next round. Have fun and let others outside of our awesome community know they have the chance to reward extraordinary performers from February. PLEASE READ THE BELOW BEFORE MAKING YOUR NOMINATIONS! THERE ARE A FEW CHANGES FROM JANUARY! First let me thank all of you for making the January contest such a success and helping to preserve the integrity of this search for the best performers every month. Before you make your nominations please take a minute and think about all the great performances you saw in February and narrow it down to your top 2 outstanding actors and actresses. Rules for nominee eligibility: -The actor/actress must have delivered an outstanding performance in the prior month in a new first run episode of a network, cable, or streaming series. -Guest stars are eligible for nomination as long as they appeared in a new first run episode. -Netflix and other streaming series performers who are on a series whose whole season was released at one time are eligible for 60 days from the release date. (ex: Fuller House premiered in February and will be eligible for the February and March nomination rounds) -If a performer wins 2 times within a year they become ineligible to be nominated again until the following year. Some performers have larger fan bases than others and we want every nominated performer to have a fair chance at winning. As with anything the first outing provided some insight into a couple changes that can be made to the nomination process to make things go smoother. Here are some guidelines for making your nominations that will hopefully help make the whole process go just a bit smoother. Nomination Guidelines/Rules: -As stated above only outstanding performers who delivered an outstanding performance in February are eligible. To help ensure this ALL nominations MUST list an episode where the nominee delivered their most outstanding performance during the month. My hope is that this will make everyone pause for a second and think about who you're nominating and why. If enough of the nominations single out a particular episode I will include it on the poll next to the performers name to give voters some guidance on why this nominee earned a place on the poll. -ALL submissions MUST have a username. Only 1 submission per person! Multiple submissions from the same user will not be permitted and anyone discovered making multiple submissions will have all of their nominations discarded. However, if you think you have submitted twice on accident let me know and Ill erase the erroneous submission for you and your nominations will still count. -Please use the performers full name as it appears in the credits of the show they appear in. -When placing your nominations please use the below format as it will help me determine the Top 5 Reader Nominees faster and help expedite the creation of the poll. This is not mandatory but will be a major help to me. Performer Name (Character Name) (If a guest star please state Guest Star here) - Show (Episode # In Which Outstanding Performance Took Place) -ex: Jane Doe (Jane) (Guest Star) - Jane Doe (1x1) For the purposes of this column we want to reward outstanding and powerful performances that blow the minds of the viewers so take that to heart when making your submissions. Nominations will be open from 12 pm ET on the 1st of the month to 12 pm ET on the 7th. The polls will then run from 12 pm ET on the 8th to 12 pm ET on the 14th. Winner write ups will be up as soon as possible after the polls close. Submit your nominations below and then hit the comments to convince others why they too should cast a vote to nominate your nominee. Only the Top 5 nominated performers in each category will earn a spot on the polls so the more nominations someone gets the better chance they have of making the poll as a reader nominee and moving one step closer to the title of Performer of the Month! January Winners: Outstanding Actor: Bob Morley (Bellamy Blake) - The 100 Outstanding Actress: Alycia Debnam-Carey (Lexa) (Guest Star) - The 100 All winners throughout the year earn a place on our year end Performer Of The Year poll which will determine the best performer of 2016! PLEASE READ THE ABOVE BEFORE MAKING YOUR NOMINATIONS! THERE ARE A FEW CHANGES FROM JANUARY! Preferred Nomination Submission Format: Performer Name (Character Name) (If a guest star please state Guest Star here) - Show (Episode # In Which Outstanding Performance Took Place) -ex: Jane Doe (Jane) (Guest Star) - Jane Doe (1x1) ALL nominations MUST be submitted with a username and include an episode number where each nominee delivered their best performance in February. Loading... About the Author - Aimee Hicks Aimee works for a newspaper in North Carolina and has a BA in Broadcasting and Cinema. She has been a TV lover since before she really understood what TV was. She has a long list of shows that she loves to watch and can be found on twitter (@ahicks83) live tweeting about each new episode whenever she can. If the show is sci-fi, fantasy, comic book based, drama, or action the odds are good she watches it or has at least watched a few episodes of it. She also has a love for comedies 2 Broke Girls and Mom. She was the original creator and co-founder of LOST Video Island (lostvideo.net) which is still operating under the management of the very capable and skilled group she turned it over to. You can email her at aimee@spoilertv.com. All Reviews) Recent Reviews Wow, this was the Vampire Diaries/Originals crossover so many of us have really been waiting for since that lame cop-out in Seasons 5/1 with Tyler visiting New Orleans left us craving for more deep and meaningful interactions between TVD and TO characters. Well, "Moonlight on the Bayou" had those types of moments in spades, and that wasn't all the episode had to offer: with Damon and Bonnie digging into Enzo's mysterious new secret society, Caroline debating whether to become a mother to Alaric's twins, and everyone trying to get the hell away from Rayna Cruz, it was a dramatic and highly memorable hour. "Welcome to New Orleans, old friend." Though Stefan thought he could just run from Rayna in a normal, somewhat stealthy manner, Valerie warned that this would not be sufficient. Sure enough, Stefan was nearly shishkebobbed trying to buy a cell phone charger. There are no pit stops when fleeing the huntress. Even though she's in pursuit of our beloved vamp characters, it's hard not to admire Rayna's relentless badassery in scenes like this. And impossible not to thank the gods of t.v. that she has replaced Julian as our current villain! Stefan's next stop was a bar in New Orleans safety cordoned off by a spell preventing those who seek refuge there from being discovered. Naturally, Klaus was present at his frequent haunt, where he pulled up a chair to make cordial conversation and drink with his old frenemy Stefan...until the conversation took a turn for the worse. Stefan's story about being in New Orleans due to a dispute with Damon was so thin that it reconfirmed him as a terrible liar. Klaus soon discerned the truth of his having been marked for death by Rayna, which was enough to send the Original vampire into one of his typically huffy little bitchfests, much to the amusement of those who miss these classic scenes of Klaus losing his temper at the Salvatores. Nothing will ever top "I will kill you and everyone you've ever met!" but this was a cute walk down Stefan/Klaus toxic bromance memory lane. What in the world could ever make Klaus soften his attitude towards Stefan after his former buddy led Rayna right into NOLA and then lied about it? A ring of Stefan's phone, left on the table as Stefan obeyed Klaus' command to "Get outtttt!!!" As we had gleaned by Klaus' perceptive, quiet, almost pensive responses to Stefan's updates about what Caroline had been up to lately, Klaus is still very interested to know how she is doing. What followed when Klaus picked up Stefan's phone and spoke to Caroline (who was baby-laden in a diner on a trip with Alaric to his new home in Dallas) was a lovely gift to fans of Klaroline's relationship and just a touching scene in general. While I do wish the two had interacted in person, there was something so sweetly unexpected and subtle about watching their expressions change as they talked to each other, slipping back into the rhythm of their connection. Among several poignant statements, Klaus assured Caroline that it is "not a crime to love what she doesn't understand." In other words, her need to stay with the babies and care for them is something she might need to embrace even though it makes no sense to her previous plans for her life, the famous "things she wanted." I loved that it was the idea of making Caroline happy that made Klaus rush to Stefan's rescue, temporarily killing the huntress long enough for him to take Stefan to see a witch and try to deal with this Rayna Cruz problem...which played out in the episode of The Originals that followed TVD. Bonnie: a better friend than an enemy. Definitely. The continued quest to stop Rayna led Damon and Bonnie to Enzo, who was chilling out in the swanky digs of the secret society he recently joined, the Armory. In exchange for his assistance in the Armory's ongoing mission to find and secure supernatural weapons and other ephemera (such as vicious and unstoppable huntresses), Enzo had been promised details about who his family were or are. I liked the character development we finally got from Enzo in this episode, and especially that it played out in scenes between him and Bonnie: he revealed his lack of morality and empathy often come down to his never having learned these things or having had much affection or a support system in his whole life. Enzo, please stop these shenanigans and join up with the scoobies for good right now! Alas, for now, despite the heart to heart with Bon Bon, Enzo was quick to stick Damon in a sealed room with an unconscious, about-to-wolf-out Tyler (so that's why Tyler didn't tell Damon it wasn't the real Elena in that coffin!) and knock Bonnie unconscious. This was all in an attempt to force Damon to give up Stefan's location so the Armory could use him to find Rayna. I adored Bonnie's attitude when she woke up and reacted to Enzo offering to help her after he had knocked her out: "What's wrong with you?!" He needs that kind of sassiness to set him right. After having his character flaws unhelpfully pointed out by Ty Ty, Damon warned Bonnie not to rescue him, as a wolfed out Tyler would certainly kill her as well. But that Bamon b.f.f. love is just too damn strong for Bonnie to walk away from him in such peril. Enzo probably had some regrets about his turncoat ways once Bonnie stood over him with an axe so that she could cut his hand off and use his fingerprints to open the door trapping Damon. While the gang evaded death at Tyler's claws (I loved every single one of Damon's canine jokes at his expense once again), Bonnie was injured in the scuffle, causing Damon to question why he allows those who care for him to put themselves in harm's way again and again. This seems to be the moment of clarity that urges him to put himself in a coffin and wait for Elena to wake up...a wait we saw him interrupted from three years in the future, earlier this season. After being allowed to slip back into a bit of a maudlin, whining mode in the aftermath of thinking he had killed Elena, I was so glad to see Damon showing his good side so strongly in this episode, from being willing to die to protect Stefan or Bonnie, to being prepared to sit out the next 60 years to ensure that his loved ones remain safe. Elsewhere in the episode...Enzo learned that he is related to Alex St. John, who works for the armory. What else will he find out about his roots, and how will the revelations effect this wandering, often volatile and destructive soul? Caroline and Alaric were relatable and adorable in their interactions, trying to respect one another's wishes and promote the welfare of the twins while, without even realizing it, learning how to co-parent rather fluidly. Caroline's longing to allow herself to care for these babies was really lovely to watch unfold. Three years from now, Caroline seeks Klaus' help in New Orleans, but he is nowhere to be found. What has caused his three-year sabbatical from NOLA? That's putting his departure pretty close to the current events of The Originals. What will Caroline do next and how will Stefan's standoff with Rayna turn out? I can't wait to see more. What did you think of this episode? Share your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to catch an all-new The Vampire Diaries, Friday at 8/7c on the CW. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate With a bit more than 3 acres fronting Greenwich Avenue at the corner of Greenwich and East Putnam avenues, Pickwick Plaza has until now remained a quiet presence in a bustling, designer coat-cosseted neighborhood. Built in the 1970s to house Xerox headquarters, it was something of a funless cypher along a strip that thrived in the popular imagination and in reality behind some storefronts as platinum fantasy. That is changing with an ongoing $20 million upgrade that has opened Pickwick Plaza to Greenwich Avenue via a major retail real estate space (or spaces, depending on subdivision). The work is also remaking the office element of Pickwick Plaza and, when phase 2 is completed, will further open the property to the public with what Manhattan-based owner Kensico Properties described as a living wall of growth along a newly made entry on Greenwich Avenue. In Pickwicks building No. 3, the work is substantially complete, said Kensicos Nancy Lara, who toured the property recently with the senior property manager, Glenn Haber, and the buildings engineer, Danny Kilkullen. Views in No. 3 include Long Island Sound and, owing to the height, a good deal of Long Island beyond. Its the corner of Main and Main, said Lara. You could not have a better location. The sites three buildings possess 280,000 square feet and are now about 66 percent filled. The mostly business-lease equation has remained viable for some time, attracting an A-list of clients that today includes Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Merrill Lynch and Sothebys International Realty. (Sothebys is part of Pickwick Plazas original retailing layout on East Putnam Avenue.) Lara said future marketing efforts will target similar tenants. We have had interest from two or three hedge funds just in the last year, she said. Kensico Properties bought Pickwick Plaza, reportedly for $235 million, in 2006. Lara said at least part of the impetus was to diversify north of Manhattan, where Kensico owns several properties. That diversification also includes ownership of 55 Railroad Ave. in Greenwich. In 2014, Kensico Properties initiated the current upgrade that includes halls, bathrooms, elevators and entries. There are also upgrades to the sites 850-car garage, which features five levels and which is partly available for public use in the retail-centric section of town where parking can be tough to find. Newmark Grubb Knight Frank in Greenwich is marketing the new retail space through the efforts of Jessica Curtis. It is being offered in footprints of up to nearly 8,800 square feet or as small as 1,904 square feet. Jay Hruska of Stamfords Cushman & Wakefield Inc. office is leading the marketing effort for the office space, about 100,000 square feet of which is available. You never knew it was here or you never knew it was this big, said Lara of the plaza. But it had become antiquated. It did not have the amenities to match the location. Were modernizing everything, she said. Were bringing the property into the 21st century. She said the next phase involves upgrades for buildings 1 and 2 and for landscaping. The architect is Stamford-based Perkins Eastman. Addressing the side of the property that fronts on Mason Street, Perkins Eastman in a statement said renovations there will include an improved pedestrian connection to the street with a new building approach and landscaping. Bill Fallon is editor of the Fairfield County Business Journal. For more of his work and that of the journal, seewww.westfaironline.com. HARTFORD The states worsening financial condition forced the governor Monday to cancel more than 2,600 scheduled pay raises for managers, including about 700 Judicial Branch employees. The raises were scheduled to take effect this week, but the continuing shortfalls in tax revenue prompted Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to revoke them. It is our strong feeling that the contribution of managers to state government is essential and the raises slated to take effect this week most on March 4 would have given managers parity with those that were received by unionized employees and employees of the Legislative Branch on July 1, 2015, wrote Brian Durand, Malloys chief of staff and Ben Barnes, secretary of the Office of Policy and Management. Today, however, the states fiscal situation has deteriorated significantly. Earlier this month Malloy offered a budget adjustment that would cut spending by nearly $570 million in the fiscal year that starts July 1. Last week, the latest tax-revenue projections indicated that the $20-million deficit in the current fiscal year, which runs through June 30, will balloon to $266 million. The estimated deficit for the next fiscal year is nearly $900 million from a total of $20 billion. Malloys budget proposal planned for thousands of layoffs among the 45,700 state employees. More Information Connecticut's worsening budget resulted in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Monday cancelling pay raises for state-agency managers Employees affected FY 2016 savings FY 2017 savings General government 1,950 $2.70 million $10.04 million Judicial Branch 700 $2.9 million $3 million. Total 2,650 $5.6 million $13.04 See More Collapse We have a responsibility to the taxpayers of Connecticut not to move forward with managerial raises at a time when so many state programs will see reductions and while many state jobs are likely to be eliminated, Durand and Barnes wrote of the revoked cost of living adjustments as well as annual pay hikes. Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said Monday night that Malloys move is a good start. I applaud the governor for doing what hes doing, Fasanso said in a phone interview. At least hes taking steps in the right direction. Fasano warned, however, there are much-bigger issues as the state heads into a contract-renegotiation period. Fasano said he intends to send a letter Tuesday to Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, and Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, asking whether they will let a contract for 1,900 non-teaching professionals at UConn approved in a legislative committee last week come to votes on the floors of the House and Senate, where the deal might be overturned. The contract, which includes a 4.5 percent pay increase that would cost the state $94 million over five years, would automatically go into effect if it is not brought to the full House and Senate and voted down. The governor is starting to do his job, Fasano said. Whats the majority doing? House and Senate Democrats did not return requests for comment on Monday. kdixon@ctpost.com; STAMFORD A city man has been accused of clubbing two people over the head with a beer bottle at a popular West Side bar over the weekend. Sgt. Sean McGowan said police found a woman with cuts to her upper chest area, right forearm and left forehead and a man with a large gash to the back of his head when they responded to a report of an assault at Hugos Tacos about 1:25 a.m. Saturday. Through a Spanish interpreter, the 35-year-old man told police he was at the restaurant with his girlfriend when he went to the bar to order more drinks. He noticed a man, who was later identified as Samuel Mix Maldonado, 35, talking to his girlfriend. When the man returned to the table, he got into a confrontation with Maldonado and his friends, McGowan said. The woman, however, got between them and Maldonado and his friends left. About a half hour later, Maldonado returned and clocked the other man over the back of the head with a beer bottle, McGowan said. Maldonado then struck the woman with the same bottle, opening up a gash on her forehead, McGowan said. The 35-year-old girlfriend identified the man as Maldonado and directed police to his Greenwich Avenue home. Maldonado was charged with two counts of second-degree assault and disorderly conduct. He was held in lieu of a $75,000 court appearance bond. The man and the woman were taken to Stamford Hospital where they were treated and released. jnickerson@scni.com; B A boss Willie Walshs warnings that the airline could abandon London City Airport if its new owners a consortium featuring the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan hike prices struck a chord with one disgruntled Spy reader. Teachers bought lottery operator Camelot six years ago and our man is bemoaning his misfortune: Look what they have done to the National Lottery; as a syndicate of 16 people, we havent had a 25 win since November last year and with the additional 10 numbers, we are not holding our breath. So Willie and the others had better watch out. Slaughter & May not so sweet on bold tactics When it comes to sugar-coating your job application, a candidate looking for work at Slaughter & May takes some beating. Marketing boss Mary-Anne Anderson tells of how a keen youngster sent in her CV along with a couple of bags of Haribo. Helpfully, she included a note advising her potential employer to eat the Tangfastics after the Starmix. Sadly, it went downhill from there. The covering letter began: I do apologise for not addressing you by name. I did try to find out, but I was unable to. Google was no help either. Im sure you have a lovely name, though. Snapchat heads to Soho Snapchat may have spent some time expanding to ensure its not just seen as a portal to send snaps of boobs and bums. But the tech giant isnt afraid of setting up camp in Smut Central. It is to debut in London with a European headquarters in mucky Soho across four floors on Lexington Street, counting Sony, Apple and Universal as near neighbours, according to chartered surveyors Edward Charles & Partners. Snapchat will shell out nearly 1 million a year for its troubles, though. Sad face. Ousted boards last-minute sweetener Nice work if you can get it. The board of oil and gas explorer JKX were all ejected by Russian fund Proxima at an extraordinary meeting at the end of January but not before they had voted for, and paid themselves, around $2.5 million (1.8 million) in severance costs and additional remuneration in the last 24 hours before the meeting, according to the new management at JKX. Exact details of the payouts remain shrouded in mystery but Spy notes that former chief executive Paul Davies picked up 423,000 in basic pay alone in last years annual report. Nothing like easing the blow of being out of a job. Change of plan for Powa's Wagner Hes never one to turn down the chance to blow his own trumpet, so it was hardly a surprise that Dan Wagners name was on the list of speakers for the Fintech Investor Forum at the London Stock Exchange last Friday. But a couple of weeks before, things started to unravel at Wagners latest venture, Powa Technologies, and the e-commerce and mobile-payments firm went into administration. Spy noticed Wagners name had miraculously dropped off the speaker list for the Fintech event at the last minute. Funny that. T he company behind the so-called Gatwick Gusher has said that tests at one of its oil wells near the Sussex airport have moved the project into "the zone of commercial reality". UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) had previously estimated that there could be up to 100 billion barrels of oil beneath the south of England in areas such as the Weald Basin. It has been testing the Horse Hill well in recent months and said on Tuesday that after the latest assessments "light, sweet oil has flowed freely to surface, without pumping, at an average stabilised rate in excess of 900 barrels per day". The result was an improvement on previous tests and the company, led by Stephen Sanderson, said it provides "unequivocal proof of concept" at the site. "The two Kimmeridge flow tests have not only shown that moveable oil exists within the Kimmeridge, but more importantly, that it can be extracted at commercial rates even from vertical wells without significant stimulation," he added. "This result is therefore very significant for the company and the Weald Basin of the UK. The Kimmeridge play has moved from science project into the zone of commercial reality." Shares in UKOG were up more than 15% at 2.93p in early trading. T he City continued to chip away at tool-hire firm Ashtead, whose plans to cut spending sent shivers down investors spines. The group, one of the most-shorted stocks on the FTSE 100, splashed out 932 million in the nine months ended January, but plans to spend no more than 1 billion in total next year, wary of the outlook for its Sunbelt division in the US, where it makes the bulk of sales. The move worried investors that it wont keep up its high revenue and profit growth and the shares slumped 122.5p, or 13%, to 801.5p. Pre-tax profits for the nine-month period jumped 19% to 465.4 million on revenues of 1.88 billion, also up 19%. On a jam-packed day for corporate results, Ashteads dive was the heaviest on the blue-chip index, but in terms of influence, Barclays 10% tumble, down 17.2p to 154.85p, stole the show. But the pairs demise did not stop the FTSE 100 from rising 21.67 points to 6118.76, boosted by the mining sector. Severn Trent, which was up 4p at 2140p, and United Utilities, 3p firmer at 928.5p, revealed a joint venture to merge their non-household water and wastewater retail businesses before the sector is opened up to competition next year. Rotork stormed to the top of the FTSE 250 leaderboard, 24.8p higher to 184.3p, as the under-pressure valve makers annual results provided no real shocks for investors as revenues and profits fell as analysts had expected. Moneysupermarket.com, whose Epic Strut commercial was the most-complained about ad on TV last year, crept up 1p to 339.2p as the price-comparison sites full-year numbers were slightly ahead of forecasts, while serviced-office group Regus improved 5.2p at 294.7p as annual, pre-tax profits soared 67% to 145.7 million. Cause for concern: Moneysupermarket's "Epic Strut" ad (Picture: YouTube) / YouTube Troubled Toronto-based stockbroker Canaccord Genuity which last month revealed the worst quarterly loss in its history, another round of jobs cuts and suspended the dividend said it planned to delist from the LSE to save costs. The shares fell 25p to 170p. Over on AIM, Brits snapping up Marc Jacobs and Christian Louboutin goods on the cheap helped nudge up sales at MySale, the flash-sale etailer backed by retail tycoons Mike Ashley and Philip Green. First-half revenues grew just 4% to A$128.2 million (65.5 million), but the company, which generates most of its sales from Australia, New Zealand and South-east Asia, trimmed pre-tax losses to A$500,000, lifting the shares 0.55p to 44.55p. D o you recognise this combination or layout of numbers? 60-20-08, 23-40-17, 50-33-12? Odds are that you dont, but actually you use one or more of them on a near-daily basis. They are bank sort codes, and they are the latest headache to crop up in the bewildering world of ring-fencing UK banks retail operations from their riskier investment banking business as ordered by the Banking Commission and due to take place from 2019. They are unique to the UK and Ireland and were introduced during the Sixties as banks moved towards automation. They identify the bank (e.g. NatWest) and the branch (e.g. Fleet Street) at which a particular account is held. They are not the same as the BIC (business identifier code) used far more widely across the international electronic payment world. But they are vital for ensuring that payments made to you or by you come in or out of your account and not someone elses. Sort codes also allow banks to settle their daily positions with the Bank of England and are key to informing the Bank how much money there is sloshing around the system and where it is. "The potential for cock-up is enormous and the banks will have to provide indemnities against any errors they make for years to come." The sort code remains at the heart of the banking system. Indeed, it has been one of the major barriers to making it as easy to switch current accounts between banks as it to switch from one mobile supplier to another. When ring-fencing comes in, the parts of a bank within the ring-fence will not be able to have the same sort code as the parts outside. But sort codes currently apply to all customers of one branch. So the one branch say NatWest on Fleet Street may hold my (and thousands of other retail accounts) but also the account of a huge multinational British company. My account will go into the ring-fence but the likes of a blue-chip FTSE 100 companys account is most likely to end up in corporate banking, outside the ring-fence, where it has access to services like foreign exchange and treasury services. Since I cannot have the same sort code as, say, British Airways, something has to give. My bet is that the bank will decide that BA, with its tens of thousands of transactions a day, should not be changed, while my five transactions a week should. The likely result is that probably hundreds of thousands of personal account customers will be told their sort code is changing in the run-up to ring-fencing. That means new cards, new chequebooks and changing all the details of those direct debits I make and the salary, pension or benefits I receive. The potential for cock-up is enormous and the banks will have to provide indemnities against any errors they make for years to come. After all, if you get penalised for not paying your mortgage because your bank failed to send your payment to the right place, you will be very unhappy. Its yet another big headache and potential cost for banks to deal with. S ales growth at Revolution Bars has been propped up by cocktail-loving suits pouring out of the Cheesegrater and the Lloyds of London building, according to the drinks venues' boss. Mark McQuater, chief executive of the 60-site bar chain, said City workers flocked to its Leadenhall Street branch in the six months to December 31. Its 9 blended ice cocktails were the tipple of choice. Sales of those contributed to a 2.2% revenue rise to 59.2 million for the operator of the Revolution and Revolucion de Cuba brands. Pre-tax profit increased to 4.7 million from 4.3 million in the same period in 2014. We are seeing a higher spend per head, and we consider this a cracking set of results, McQuater said. He added that around six more bars are planned for 2016. A second site in the City is being sought. Shares in the company which floated at 200p last March, rose 3p to 168p. T he European migrant crisis took an ugly turn yesterday on two fronts: in Macedonia, police were obliged to use tear gas to repel frustrated migrants seeking to travel to northern Europe while in Calais there was a fightback by residents of the so-called Jungle camp against the demolition teams dismantling their makeshift homes. In both cases the authorities faced an unpalatable situation: the Calais refugees are being resettled elsewhere while in Macedonia the police were seeking to implement decisions made by other EU states, specifically Austria, to limit the numbers of refugees heading north. What both situations make clear is that the influx is not simply of desperate people seeking refuge from war. The migrants in Greece are already safe; they are looking for an economically secure life, mostly in Germany or Sweden. The Calais migrants are plainly free from war and persecution in France but they seek to join relatives, or a new life, in Britain. Its an understandable human aspiration but we must recognise that there is unlimited demand for a better life on the part of people living in failed or war-torn states from Afghanistan to Eritrea while there is a limit to our capacity to absorb them. Plainly, the best option is to do all we can to diminish the need for desperate people to escape their own countries, from assisting their economies (and in the case of Eritrea, scrutinising its governance) to doing all we can, as in Syria, to support a diplomatic end to the war there. But there is one area where we can legitimately assist refugees to come here and that is, as Save the Children has already called for, in the case of migrant young people those aged 16 and under. These are vulnerable to exploitation by people traffickers, and abuse generally; there is a good case for them to be admitted here on compassionate grounds. This has to be done on a one-off basis, if families are not routinely to send lone minors to Europe in the belief that they will have a better chance of admittance. If we cannot help all, lets help the young. School supply As anxious parents find out today whether their children have secured a place at a secondary school they really want to go to, we report on figures showing that one in five of Londons schools is now full or over-subscribed. The extent of demand for the best schools in the capital will come as no surprise to parents who go to extraordinary lengths to fulfil the criteria for admission. Their chances of getting their first-choice school are lower than anywhere else in the country. And given the numbers coming to this city, demand is increasing more than supply. Plainly the provision of new academies is not in itself sufficient to meet that demand. One possible solution to the problem is the building of ever bigger schools so called Titans but its not an inviting option. The London problem, however, is not just one of ever-rising pupil numbers but the fact there are many schools here that are outstanding and naturally attract demand. We have brilliant schools; we just need more offshoots. A eurocrat meets me for coffee and I ask him if he loves Brussels, as David Cameron can never bring himself to do. He sighs that nobody loves Brussels. It is like asking if you love Whitehall. It is an administrative centre, not a land of milk and honey. Nevertheless, Europeans have feelings too. According to my eurocrat, they are offended by the coarseness of the debate taking place here in the UK. The journalists are bad enough but they have been joined by politicians who behave like journalists. So everything has become black or white instead of reassuringly grey. The man from Brussels points out that the word compromise is benign in Europe whereas in the UK it shrieks of appeasement. In other ways too we are ill-suited. We have not got the hang of European codes of behaviour. We are brisk and transactional, whereas Europeans set store on long-term relationships. But it is not all wham bam thank you maam on our part. We have brought our own qualities to the marriage. My eurocrat says Brussels has appreciated our piece of grit in the oyster. Western Europe, particularly Germany, is naturally cautious. Germanys first response to change is to reject it. It is parochial by nature. France also retreats into protectionism. Both countries regard the financial sector as being principally about insurance. So our outward-looking liberal ease with global markets is an important influence over Europe. London is also widely acknowledged to be the most exciting cultural capital in Europe. We can change the way people think. The Brussels emissary points out that we have already changed the way people speak. Even if we leave, business will continue to be conducted in English. The unquantifiable question remains: what damage will we do to ourselves and to Europe if we leave? The eurocrat view is that of course we will be punished, in order to deter others and for the sake of competitive advantage. London is a huge player in financial services. If we leave, France and Germany will want to make the most of it. Those who spend their time doing trade deals in Brussels are naturally at pains to point out that they are not as easy as they might seem. My eurocrat has just spent four years ironing out one of them. So this is a glimpse of how we look from the European perspective. As for the rest of the world, I do not know, although I notice that the International New York Times has paid scant editorial attention in the past week or so to our glorious battle. The question is whether our heroic sense of our destiny can last the next few months. While we argue over fear versus hope, darkness versus light, courage versus timidity, it is exhilarating but confusing. Maybe the next phase should be defiantly duller. We know London will survive whatever happens but where lies the incremental benefit? Its a case of access to markets versus regulation. If we use the language of Brussels we might get closer to understanding the true nature of the European Union. Boris can rely on the Shakespeare bounce A September books catalogue arrives and it is crammed with erudite works about William Shakespeare. Learned professors search for the skeleton key to the plays. Shakespeare is examined on stage, in relation to the Bible, and of course in comparison with Christopher Marlowe. In a category of its own top seller is Boris Johnsons forthcoming take on Shakespeare. The publishing blurb promises that Johnson will get to grips with Shakespeares genius in a simple and readable way. The book also promises to repeat the success of The Churchill Factor. Boris has been examined as a politician at the crossroads of his career. Lets not forget he is also a best-selling writer. The Churchill Factor has sold hundreds of thousands of copies, which must have made him more than 1 million. The Shakespeare bounce in the autumn, which coincides with Conservative Party Conference, will do Boris no harm. If his political career goes pear-shaped he can become a full-time writer. Boris never loses. We need proof in abuse cases The other evening I watched Edward Halls production of Firebird at The Trafalgar Studios. The play, about girls groomed by a sex gang in Rochdale, is painfully topical. The audience were tear-stained as they watched a girl wretched and out of her depth, with nobody to champion her. We seem to be all over the place with accusations of sexual abuse at the moment. The BBC did not take accusers seriously but may or may not now be overreacting. The Met took some too seriously. Spotlight won best film at the Oscars for its exposure of child abuse within the Catholic Church. Sexual abuse is a modern evil that we are confronting, and we have yet to get to grips with it. Children are both vulnerable and capable of lying. We used to ignore sexual abuse and now we seem to talk of little else. We have to stick to the evidence. That is what The Times produced in its coverage of Rotherham and the Boston Globe in Spotlight. Only proof will do. * Although we all watch it, some viewers have found the language of the Oscars overblown. It is the UN in dresses. That is why we need the light relief at the moment of the England rugby team, and particularly their new manager Eddie Jones. The ferocious new style of the team coupled with Joness twinkling scrappiness is so cheering. And his politically incorrect description of himself is an inverted style of leadership we could all learn from: Im not that smart. Im Australian, Im a convict, mate. It means: I know exactly what I am doing. C rashing through the moonlit Indian Ocean on the final leg of our journey to the island of Kunfunadhoo, the white-clad boathand politely but firmly confiscates our shoes. Our destination, more famous as the Maldivian resort of Soneva Fushi, is known for coining the term barefoot luxury to describe its back-to-nature yet stealthily high-end vibe. Nonetheless we are surprised at how literally the motto is enforced. Assuming it to be a gimmick, and that well be back in our Birkenstocks by morning, we step on to the warm wood jetty and pad along powdery sand lanes to our villa. Inside it is a glowing, glass-walled haven with more square footage than our London home. We flop gratefully on to the vast cushioned seating area before drifting between the sunken bath of the outdoor wetroom (which also features its own pond, jungle shower and resident fruit bat) and the observation deck, from where we can see the twinkling lights of a neighbouring island. Within an hour we are lulled into a welcome state of serenity by the sounds of the sea and whooping night birds. We climb into our fourposter coconut-frame bed and agree it was worth the particular challenge of a three-part overnight flight with a five-year-old to get here. But it is the next days sunrise that reveals how blessed we are. Through the sliding doors we take a dozen (barefoot) steps to the beach where the sand is pristine, pale and soft as snow. The bath-warm sea is more blindingly turquoise than pictures suggest and a coral reef circles the island just yards from the shore. We are taken to breakfast by Inthi, our Man Friday, who miraculously appears whenever a question or a need arises. He pays particular attention to our daughter, as do all the staff on this fantasy island, calling her by her name and remembering her likes and dislikes. As we weave through the maze of jungle lanes, Inthi points out key landmarks (turn left at the banyan tree) and introduces us to the islands inhabitants, from the American sculptor who runs the glass-blowing studio to the on-site chocolatier, marine biologist and team behind the incredible kids club which has its own DJ deck, juice bar and Lego room. But we decide to spend our time in this paradise as a family. Soon we are despatched across the sparkling ocean with a hamper for a day of enforced isolation on a tiny deserted island. After a mild sensation of panic on seeing our boat depart, we manage to relax, grazing on exotic delicacies, sipping iced beer and beachcombing the day away. The only other signs of life are scuttling hermit crabs, a few leaping fish and a passing dhoni. A day later, we take to the sea at sunset in the hope of spotting dolphins. To the sound of Maldivian drumming, we sip Prosecco and wait. Suddenly we see the silvery curve of dolphin backs as they dip and dive in glistening arcs beside our boat before sliding beneath the waves as the children whoop with delight. Another evening is spent on the sandbank (left) taking cocktails with the other guests, and yet another on a trail through the island discovering stalls of Asian street food. Before long, the days blur into one. We swim in the sea and we cycle the lanes on our comically rickety bikes, which have special pads on the pedals to save our soles. We eat our way around the island, from a treetop tasting menu during a tropical storm to the sushi restaurant where we learn to make our own California rolls. On my partners birthday our beds are transformed into floral works of art. Did I mention the sublime spa? Where outdoor massages melt your muscles into sweet submission. In between are moments of true magic, like the evening we find ourselves, beneath a full moon, in our own outdoor cinema, watching a Bob Hope and Bing Crosby film, while our daughter goes stargazing at the observatory in the trees. But Id trade it all for the day I snorkel with dozens of manta rays in the cerulean waters of Baa Atoll. At first I watch in alarm as a gaping mouth emerges from the milky blue, hoovering plankton and coming straight for me. But rather than swallow me whole, this great black velvet blanket of a fish passes just below my motionless body, not even grazing a flipper. Then another sail-like creature appears and then another. They swim in formation, performing swooping somersaults one after another, like an expertly choreographed underwater ballet. But all dreams must end, and our awakening comes in the form of Inthi bearing three bags containing our shoes. Only then do I realise that our week was spent entirely barefoot. Scott Dunn offers seven nights at Soneva Fushi from 1,655 per person, based on two adults and two children sharing a Crusoe villa on a halfboard basis, and includes flights and sea plane transfers (020 8682 5020; scottdunn.com) Follow us on Facebook and Twitter: @EsMagOfficial I ts smooth and sweet and one of the tastiest toppings to slather on your toast in the morning, but what exactly is in Nutella? If you regularly find yourself spooning the chocolatey spread from the jar, you may want to look away now - as the shocking sugar content may have you running to the bathroom to brush your teeth. Ferrero makes its product from hazelnuts, cocoa powder and skim milk powder - but a look at the ingredients list on a tub of Nutella shows you that sugar is the main constituent, accounting for 55 per cent of the spread. So sugary is it, in fact, that a standard 440g jar of Nutella contains a tooth-aching 249g of sugar. That works out as a 37 gram serving of sugar in every two tablespoons, or a whopping 57 cubes per jar. One London father was so shocked to discover how much sugar was in his childrens favourite spread, that he decided to create his own healthy alternative. Former city worker Kevin Bath gave up his hefty salary to set up Jim Jams, a confectionary company that takes the excess sugar out of chocolate spreads and fruit preserves. His chocolate spread contains 83 per cent less sugar than Nutella, while its jams are made up of 35 per cent sugar, just under half the usual concentration. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Kevin said: "My two youngest children both absolutely loved Nutella and we as a family, I think like many others, were looking at cutting our sugar consumption. "I was shocked at the amount of sugar in Nutella, so I thought it's time to come up with an alternative. The fact is Nutella sales were going through the roof and when we looked at it, it contained 57 sugar cubes." Mr Bath, of Halstead in Essex, said his fruitless search for a reduced sugar alternative led him to setting up the company. "The Cadbury's alternative was exactly the same amount of sugar and the own brands from Tesco and Asda were worse. Posh chocolate spreads - in pictures 1 /9 Posh chocolate spreads - in pictures Scroll to see our pick of the best chocolate spreads... Shutterstock Hotel Chocolat Salted Caramel & Pecan Chocolate Spread From the award-winning British chocolatier comes this moreish spread made up of finely ground pecans, milk chocolate, caramel and a dash of salt. Its rich, sweet-salty flavour makes it perfect for adding to ice cream. 6, Hotel Chocolat, Buy it now Pierre Marcolini Classic Collection Jams & Spread Haute chocolatier Pierre Marcolini is famed for its innovative creations made with exceptionally high-quality chocolate. This tempting trio includes the Pate Fraiche spread, which tastes just as succulent as the chocolate makers bars and truffles. 29.90, Selfridges, Buy it now La Molina Gianduja Chocolate Spread The creamy one. Rich and velvety, La Molinas gianduja spread is crafted from a traditional Piedmontese recipe. It contains 55% hazelnuts and has a milky flavour thats pretty similar to the super-sweet Nutella. Great for romancing, the jar is finished with an adorable I Love You message. 13.99, Selfridges, Buy it now Waitrose Seriously Chocolatey Chocolate Spread With intense cocoa aromas, here's one for dark chocolate fans. Created with Belgium chocolate and dairy cream, it contains less fat and calories than traditional chocolate spreads and is great for decorating cakes with. 2.79, Waitrose, Buy it now Biona Organic Dark Chocolate Spread A deliciously dark vegan-friendly spread made with organic ingredients. As its pretty light on the nuttiness, this one might not serve well to those looking for a Nutella-knockoff. Try mixing it into cake icing to create a delicious topping. 3.60, Ocado, Buy it now Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend Heavy on the nutty flavour, this one contains 50 percent less sugar than most hazelnut spreads and is created with organic ingredients. Its packed with protein, which makes it an ideal companion at your breakfast table, but its slightly gritty texture means its best suited to the serious nut-lovers out there. Also suitable for vegans. 13.76, Amazon, Buy it now "Even with the Weight Watchers alternative, you're still talking more than 50 per cent sugar.When we looked around for healthier alternatives, nothing really stood out, so we thought 'here's a gap in the market." The healthy spreads and jams are being made in Belgium and retail at 2.70 per jar. They are currently available to buy on Ocado, but Mr Bath hopes to bring his product to major supermarket shelves soon. Revealed: 'Shocking' amount of sugar in hot drinks sold in UK high street chains Chocolate spread from the jar without the guilt? Watch this space Follow us on Twitter: @eslifeandstyle J ules Robertson is revealing how he broke Twitter. The reaction has been really good, really positive. I get the best lines as well I steal the show every time. I broke Twitter! Ill be doing plays at the National soon. No, no Im just joking. The actor, who has Aspergers syndrome, is talking about making his debut last month on Holby City, which led to an emotional outpouring of support on social media from the autistic and learning difficulty community. Much like the recent debates around race, gender equality and transgender representation in the arts, it feels like an important moment for disability representation in the UK to have a recurring character with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) on a mainstream soap, and more importantly played by an actor who has Aspergers. Robertson, 24, and son of author Kathy Lette and renowned human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson, is one of a cohort of actors who have graduated with a Performance Making Diploma for Adults with Learning Disabilities from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, which is now in its third year. His fellow alumnus Cian Binchy, whose one-man show The Misfit Analysis is showing at the Vault Festival in the tunnels beneath Waterloo station this week, is delighted to see autism portrayed more authentically on screen. He pulls a pained expression when I ask about how often actors are rewarded with plaudits when they play disabled characters. The Misfit Analysis is showing at the Vault Festival in the tunnels beneath Waterloo station this week Basically, I have seen many actors in my time play autism that dont have autism or are supposedly neurotypical [without learning conditions], and I think sometimes they do it very well, very believably, but its much more authentic if the actor is on the spectrum. I am somebody who knows how it feels to have autism, and to have Aspergers to be more precise. And when you see me performing, what you see is pretty much real and I am somebody who is actually going through a struggle, which I hate to call it. Both Binchy and Robertson are practically evangelical about the course, which is run by the charity Access All Areas (AAA), a theatre company in Hackney for adults with learning disabilities. Binchy, 25, describes it as giving him a newfound confidence (or in his words, it made him stick [his] Kanye on), and his show aims to explore the autistic mind and question the place of disability in society. It is categorically not Rain Man. Nick Llewellyn, the artistic director of AAA (who is neurotypical), agrees that confidence is crucial for the actors he supports. Its about enabling people to feel confident about who they are as a person and not just trying to fit in with everybody else. To embrace their difference, use it within their work and to inspire other people to see that difference is interesting, that difference is complicated. But the Central diploma takes one step further to help its participants carve out legitimate careers in the arts. Cian Binchy is delighted to see autism portrayed more authentically on screen Llewellyn, 36, explains: There is a two-pronged attack weve got here. Weve got Cian on the one side creating his own show and actually making a market for that as well. Hes creating his own style of performance and his own aesthetic. And then Jules on the other side, breaking down doors in places like the BBC. Theyve been a closed shop for far too long for neuro-diverse people to come in through those doors. In Holby City, Robertsons character Jason has a type of Aspergers that is slightly different to the actors condition (Jason is obsessed by medical terms in the show while in real life, Robertson is obsessed with Steve Martin), although they do both like to compare people to animals (he reckons Im a sparrow). His first role was as an extra on Harry Potter and he names Alan Rickman as an inspiration. Before the actor passed away in January, he emailed Robertson to say Bravo. Llewellyn credits casting director Sarah Hughes with beginning the movement that led to Robertson being cast in Holby, when she led the BBC Talent Alert for disabled actors in 2009/10. Really its Sarahs work a long time ago that kick-started all this happening. And now she teaches audition technique classes for us, which Jules has taken part in. Often people think access is about opening a door and saying come on in but actually access is about something a bit extra. An open-door policy doesnt always work because you still need to support people through that door. Binchy thinks that the industry has been slow to recognise the potential of disabled actors and performers but also acknowledges that they need support and cannot do it alone. I owe it all to AAA. I do feel like Im breaking some barriers and I feel like Im saying that people with autism can perform, if they meet the right people. It makes me feel great that people might look to me as a role model. When people with autism see people like me and Jules perform, I hope they will say that can be me but be realistic at the same time. Best TV dramas 2016 1 /38 Best TV dramas 2016 The Missing The addictive and twisty second series of the BBC's crime anthology series BBC/New Pictures/Robert Viglasky Dark Angel Joanne Froggatt stared as Victorian mass murderer Mary Ann Cotton in this ITV drama ITV Close to the Enemy Stephen Poliakoff's post-war drama thriller BBC/Little Island Pictures Ordinary Lies The BBC anthology drama returns with more twisted tales BBC/Red Productions/Adrian Rogers The Night Of Riz Ahmed stars in HBO's critically acclaimed crime mini-series HBO Cold Feet The classic ITV comedy-drama returns - and it's just as good as it ever was ITV Victoria ITV have given Poldark some stiff competition with this period drama about a young Queen Victoria ITV Poldark The BBC's hit drama returns with more brooding, and less naked scything BBC/Robert Viglasky One of Us The BBC kept everyone guessing with this claustrophobic four-part whodunit Ripper Street The fan-favourite Victorian police drama returned for Series 4 BBC/Tiger Aspect 2016/Bernard Walsh The Secret Agent Toby Jones led the cast in the BBC's Joseph Conrad adaptation BBC/World Productions/Mark Mainz/Matt Burlem The Living and the Dead The BBC's gothic romance debuted in full on iPlayer BBC Preacher AMC's adaptation of Garth Ennis' cult comic book is available week-by-week on Amazon Prime Amazon / AMC Versailles A raunchy royal romp around the court of King Louis XIV, spicing up Wednesdays on BBC Two Canal +/ BBC Locked Up The Spanish prison drama came to the UK thanks to Channel 4's Walter Presents series Channel 4 / Global Series Peaky Blinders The Birmingham-set gangster thriller was more popular than ever in its third series BBC/Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd/Tiger Aspect/Robert Viglasky The A Word The BBC gave us a nuanced and emotional take on autism BBC/Fifty Fathoms Marcella Anna Friel stars in ITV's British take on the Scandi-noir thriller ITV Grantchester James Norton is back as the crime-solving vicar ITV / Lovely Day Stag The comedy-thriller from the team behind The Wrong Mans is both hilarious and chilling BBC/Des Willie/Hal Shinnie/Matt Burlem Vinyl Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger present a glossy drama about the Seventies music industry HBO American Crime Story: The People vs OJ Simpson Cuba Gooding Jr leads an all-star cast in a dramatic re-telling of the 'trial of century' BBC/Fox Happy Valley Sarah Lancashire returned as Sgt Catherine Cawood for a second series of the gritty crime thriller BBC/Red Productions/Ben Blackall The X Files Mulder and Scully return for a brand new set of mysteries War and Peace The BBC's epic adaptation of the Russian literary classic BBC/Mitch Jenkins Call the Midwife The BBC period drama moved into the Sixties for Series 5 BBC/Neal Street Productions/Sophie Mutevelian Dickensian Charles Dickens' most famous characters collide in this historical soap BBC Jericho ITV's British western set in the wilds of Yorkshire Silent Witness The hugely popular detective drama returns for a 19th series He was a consultant on the National Theatre production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time in 2012, where he advised the actors about his experience with Aspergers, and he likes the show. But Binchy still admits hed like to see an actor with autism in the lead role (the part was played by Luke Treadaway). Most of all he wants to see autistic characters portrayed as real people. When you see a character with autism, you should actually see that character rather than think that everyone with autism is going to be like that. You should show that character as an individual, not just somebody with autism. It might not be such a far-off ambition as the industry is starting to respond to pressures to represent the 19 per cent of people in the UK (according to the national disability charity, Scope) who have some sort of disability more accurately. Llewellyn cites Channel 4s 360 Diversity Charter, which states that for every role there should be two disabled actors going up for it, even if disability isnt part of the storyline, and the Arts Councils vow that disability should be considered at the forefront of all programming. He says: People are being a lot more receptive to it now they want to get it right. They know that they have to get it right. I am in favour of quotas to kick-start us. Itll probably take a while to get the momentum going and then, maybe in 10 years time, the quota thing will just have been a temporary thing, an intervention, and then it can disappear. He emphasises that the AAA programme is careful only to boost peoples careers where they believe the individual is at the right level to cope with being exposed to the theatre industry. It wont work for everyone. But for Binchy and Robertson this is only the beginning of their careers, and neither is short on ambition.Binchy would like to take his show to New York, while Robertson wants to play the first Aspergers Hamlet. I think it would be really interesting because I definitely think Hamlet had some form of autism, I think he had Aspergers. Whatever the role, both men are most keen to impress that it is not a one-size-fits-all approach and that they are each their own distinct performers. As Robertson says: Im very proud to be Jules Robertson. I dont need to be anyone else. Follow Rachael Sigee on Twitter: @littlewondering The Misfit Analysis is at the The Vaults, SE1 (020 7401 9603, vaultfestival.com). For more information on Access All Areas, visit accessallareastheatre.org T he manager of Billingsgate Fish Market is facing jail after stealing more than 84,000 from traders rents to feed his gambling addiction. Roshan Persad, 48, took the money from the markets landlord, the City of London Corporation, over an 18-month period and then tried to blame security firm G4S for losing the missing cash. He had tried to shuffle funds around the markets accounts to hide his fraud, logging thousands of pounds in bogus credit notes from traders to make it seem they were in arrears. Persad, from Hornchurch, had denied taking 84,234, but a jury at the Old Bailey found him guilty of six charges of theft, seven of false accounting and one of fraud by abuse of position. Recorder Karim Khalil told him: You must already know, because of the amount of money involved, the period of time over which the offences were committed and the breach of trust towards your employer, that it is almost inevitable that a custodial sentence, and a rather lengthy one at that, will be required. The court heard Persad started dipping into the markets accounts in March 2011. Traders renting stalls and shops mainly paid their rents in cash, delivering it to Persads office. The rents totalled 13,500 per week, or 700,000 a year. In March 2013 a Corporation accountant spotted a shortfall in the accounts as some payments had not been logged. The reason why these cash payments were not recorded was because the defendant was stealing the cash, prosecutor Louis French said. A total of more than 95,000 had not been recorded, and Persad then launched an elaborate bid to cover his tracks by shifting funds between different accounts and logging false credit notes. He was robbing from Peter to pay Paul, Mr French said. In a final effort to hide his fraud, Persad asked G4S in January 2013 to arrange a collection of 94,000 in cash and 9,000 in cheques. But when G4S counted the cash there was only 15,664. The defendant was trying to make it seem like the money went missing in the hands of G4S, said Mr French. There was absolutely no reason for 94,000 suddenly appearing when the weekly take was 13,000. Persad was freed on bail until a sentencing hearing on April 25. A drugs company boss who submitted bogus invoices totalling 3.1 million for pharmaceuticals to HSBC is facing jail. Baljit Brad, 52, used his Enfield-based firm Lister Pharmaceuticals to set up a factoring deal with the bank for the sale of large batches of medication. HSBC agreed to collect the debts for Brad, but when it tried to get the money it discovered the deals had been faked. The bank is believed to have lost 1.8 million in the scam between 2012 and last year, Southwark crown court heard. The company boss yesterday admitted four counts of fraud. Brad, who now lives in Glasgow, was freed on bail but was warned by Judge Alistair McCreath that he will be going to prison when sentenced on April 5. Given the amount of money involved in this case, you know what the outcome is bound to be, he said. A factoring deal enables a firm to generate money while it waits for debts to be collected. When an invoice is factored, the company receives part of the debt upfront from the bank and the rest when the debt is collected. Brad doctored a string of invoices from front companies he controlled to make it look like he was selling large quantities of pharmaceuticals. A Burger King customer sustained a broken wrist after being allegedly assaulted as he tried to stop an argument. The 21-year-old victim was allegedly pushed to the floor by a man who was being abusive to staff at the fast food chain at Paddington Station at about 12.30am on October 28. Detectives from British Transport Police (BTP) said the man they believe was responsible for the assault then boarded a train before getting off in Maidenhead. BTP have today released a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to in connection with the incident. Detective Constable Martin Coburn said: The rail network is a safe place and we want to keep it that way. Appeal: Detectives want to identify this man captured on CCTV British Transport Police / British Transport Police Violence is unacceptable and we will do our utmost to ensure those responsible are brought to account. I think the man in the image we are issuing today has important information about this incident. Please tell us who he is. Anyone with information should call British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 or text 61016, quoting reference 142 of 1/3/16. Information can also be given to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. F ive police officers could face criminal charges over the death of a man after he was restrained. The Independent Police Complaints Commission said it has passed the investigation to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether a case should be brought to court over the death of Sean Rigg. Mr Rigg, a musician who suffered from schizophrenia, died at Brixton police station in 2008 after being held down for eight minutes in the "prone position". The five officers have been interviewed over potential misconduct in public office. Mr Riggs sister Marcia has called for them to be suspended while charges are considered. She said: We hope the CPS makes a decision to charge as soon as is reasonably possible. "We have had to battle every step of the way through two separate investigations (one failed) and a lengthy inquest into Sean's death to get to the bottom of what happened to my brother and to hold the officers involved to account for their conduct. "Now that the officers are potentially facing criminal charges, we call on the Commissioner to alleviate any public concern that they might be allowed to remain on any form of active duty by suspending them immediately. This is essential for ensuring continuing public trust in the police. "A failure to do so would send the wrong message about how seriously the police take these matters, especially once the CPS have been asked to consider criminal charges." In 2012, an inquest jury found police used "unsuitable" force after arresting Mr Rigg in Balham for attacking passers-by and officers. He was taken to Brixton police station where it was decided to keep him in a van for 11 minutes until the custody suite had been cleared. Mr Rigg was found to be unwell when he entered the building and later died from a heart attack. IPCC deputy chairwoman Sarah Green said: "I have decided to refer this investigation to the CPS to determine whether any criminal charges should be laid. The evidence relates to the actions of five police officers." The watchdog has investigated how police dealt with Mr Rigg on the day he died. Scotland Yard said a sergeant and a police constable are suspended, while another three constables are on restricted duties. It added potential internal misconduct proceedings could be considered "in due course". M inisters are considering a ban on powerful laser pens after a co-pilot fell sick when his plane was hit by a light beam in mid-air. Transport minister Robert Goodwill said the threat posed by lasers being shone at aircraft was discussed at cross-Whitehall talks. It is already an offence to direct or shine any light at a plane in flight so as to dazzle or distract the pilot, with a maximum sentence of five years. But the Government is considering tightening the law after a Virgin Atlantic flight to New York returned to Heathrow last month after a laser was shone into the cockpit while it flew at 8,000 feet about seven miles west of Heathrow. About an hour into the flight, the pilot declared an emergency when his co-pilot fell ill and returned to Heathrow. A BA flight approaching Heathrow was also recently targeted with a laser. The Department for Transport has received seven representations following the incident involving the Virgin Atlantic plane. The meeting last week involved aviation bosses, police, public health and Whitehall officials. A Government spokeswoman said: The meeting focused on accessibility and enforcement. We will continue to work on a plan which will improve public safety. More than 1,300 incidents were recorded by the Civil Aviation Authority in each of the four years from 2010, compared with only 20 in 2005. A Met police officer has been placed on the sex offenders register for five years after he was sentenced for voyeurism offences. Police constable Irshad Kamal, 48, a serving officer attached to Merton Borough, was given a two-year community order at Southwark Crown Court on Monday. He was also given 100 hours unpaid work, ordered to attend a sex offenders group program for 100 days, and told to pay 810 court costs. Phones and computers seized before the sentencing will be destroyed and a sexual harm prevention order was also made. The punishments were handed down after Kamal pleaded guilty to three counts of voyeurism at the same court on Friday, January 29. The offences took place sometime between February 2010 and December 2012. Scotland Yard said they happened while he was off-duty. It also added Kamal remains suspended and that misconduct proceedings can be completed now the case has ended. T hree men have pleaded guilty to their parts in a plot to spring a convict from a prison van which saw a man shot dead by police in north London. The scheme aimed to help Izzet Eren escape while he was being transferred between jail and Wood Green Crown Court in December. Police carried out an intelligence-led operation to foil the plot, during which Jermaine Baker, 28, from Tottenham in north London, was shot dead by an officer. Eren, 32, Nathan Mason, 30, and Gokay Sogucakli, 18, all from Tottenham, admitted at Woolwich Crown Court to conspiring in the escape plot and conspiracy to carry an imitation firearm with criminal intent. Two others, Ozcan Eren, 31, of Douglas Road, Wood Green, and Eren Hasyer, 25, of Kettering Road, Enfield, have pleaded not guilty to the same charges. All five men who appeared in the dock were remanded in custody to appear again next month. The Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation is ongoing into the shooting of Mr Baker. A teenager was left with "serious" injuries after being stabbed in south London. The man, in his late teens, was attacked in East Street, Walworth, at about 7.30pm on Tuesday. He was taken to a south London hospital where he remains in a serious but stable condition, police said. Witnesses said police sealed off the road for some time as forensics officers combed the area. David Hayes, who lives nearby, said: "A couple of police cars sped past with sirens on my walk home. "I got to East Street and the street was closed off with police tape. There were about 10 or more police cars there and at least one ambulance." Scotland Yard said another male, of unknown age, has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. He remains in custody as officers continue to investigate. O ne in five London secondaries is now full or over capacity, making schools in the capital the most overcrowded in the country, according to figures released today. They show 19.6 per cent of secondary schools in London are full (1.1 per cent) or over capacity (18.5 per cent), ahead of those in the South-East on 18 per cent and the West Midlands on 17.2 per cent. The figures, obtained by Labour mayoral hopeful Sadiq Khan, show big discrepancies between different boroughs. In Kingston-upon-Thames and Redbridge, half of secondary schools are at or over capacity. In Kensington & Chelsea, Merton, Tower Hamlets, Haringey and Wandsworth the figure is 36 per cent, while Hackney, Lambeth and Newham have no issues. The House of Commons Library figures were released to coincide with National Offer Day, the day families learn if their child has been given a place at their favoured secondary school. Some schools feeling the squeeze on places have had to convert music rooms and libraries into classrooms as well as installing mobile classrooms in playgrounds and on playing fields. Mr Khan, who is calling for the next mayor to be handed oversight of school places, said: The Tories approach ... just isnt working and is creating a crisis in school places in London. Parents dont care about the boundaries between Londons boroughs, they just want to know their child will get a place in a good school nearby, in a class of 30 or fewer. What we need is a stronger role for the mayor to address the crisis and to make sure children are not being crammed into over-large class sizes. The Tooting MP said he would set up a School Places Forum of specialists to co-ordinate and plan Londons response to school places pressure. Boris Johnson created a New Schools for London unit in 2012 with the aim of setting up dozens of free schools across the capital but has not yet succeeded in producing the number of places needed to deal with the crisis. London pupils are expected to be the least likely in the country to get their preferred place at secondary school.Education experts have predicted more than 28,000 London 11-year-olds will miss out on their first choice this year. According to City Hall, demand for secondary places is expected to rise by 105,000 by 2025, while 60,000 new primary places will also be needed. The Good Schools Guide has warned there are not enough secondaries in the capital to cope with the number of children needing places this autumn. A DfE spokesman said: "Every parent should have access to a good school place for their child. Despite rising pupil numbers, 95 per cent of parents received an offer at one of their three preferred schools last year. London continues to be the highest performing region in the country, so its no wonder that the capital's schools are hugely popular. "London has received almost 2 billion in basic need funding in the last four years. This funding and over 90 mainstream free schools delivered centrally - has helped to create over 155,000 school places in London between 2010 and 2014. The city has already been allocated 960 million for school places up to 2018 and there are 56 mainstream free schools already in the pipeline. Together this will create tens of thousands of new school places in the capital, giving parents more choice than ever before. Six-year-olds tutored from age of six London parents are registering their children for tutoring from the age of six in a bid to prepare them for secondary school entrance exams, a tutor agency revealed. Nav Johal, founder of Examberry, said she gets calls from parents of six-year-olds once a week asking for tutoring. This has increased from two years ago when she would get a call once a month. The children are tutored for entrance exams for grammar and private schools. Ms Johal added that there had been an increase in eight-year-olds opting for two years of 11+ tutoring. E nvironmental lawyers today gave the Government 10 days to promise to improve its plans to cut toxic pollution or face fresh court action. Legal experts ClientEarth forced ministers last year to publish a master plan to reduce NO2 levels in the UK. They won a Supreme Court judgment which ordered the Government to draw up better proposals. But the new Whitehall blueprint is flawed and will not cut NO2 levels quickly enough, according to the eco-lawyers. ClientEarth chief executive James Thornton said: Despite an order from the UKs highest court, despite tens of thousands of premature deaths in this country every year and despite clear evidence to show air pollution has a terrible effect on the health of vulnerable groups like children, the Government has consistently ducked its responsibility to ensure our right to clean air... We have had to issue this legal warning to the Government because of its failure to produce a plan that would bring air pollution down as soon as possible. In a letter, giving the Government the 10-day deadline, ClientEarth argued Boris Johnsons plans for an ultra low emission zone by 2020 do not cover many polluted roads outside the area. A Government spokesman said: Our plans clearly set out how we will improve the UKs air quality through a new programme of clean air zones, which, alongside national action and continued investment in clean technologies, will create cleaner, healthier air for all. Meanwhile, the Clean Air Alliance and the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership launched an initiative in Parliament today to encourage changes in transport to address both climate change and air pollution. A refugee who was forced to flee Syria following a bout of violence in the country is now the subject of a striking graffiti mural in north London. Businessman Ayman Hirh lived with his wife and two young sons in the Syrian capital of Damascus when he was forced to flee in January 2012. The family now live in Edinburgh after they were granted leave to remain in the UK for five years. Emerging street artist PANG has been commissioned by the British Red Cross to create an artwork inspired by Mr Hirhs story. The work in Camden, north London, features a portrait of the refugee, plus an account of his life story and journey to the UK within it. PANG said: It is an honour to be asked to create this artwork for the Red Cross and Ayman whose story feature within the piece. I hope that it spreads the message that refugees are all individuals, like you and me, who have no choice other than to seek sanctuary in the country that they arrive. The work is part of the charitys wider project hoping to raise awareness about the plight of refugees across the world. As part of the project, the charity is to release an album called The Long Road which features musicians including Robert Plant, Scroobius Pip and Sierra Leone All Stars. www.thelongroad.uk T he organisers of a popular LGBT club night in east London have faced a backlash after using Islamophobic cat memes to promote their parties. Alternative club night Sink The Pink, which stages parties at various venues, faced a backlash after posting the images to its Instagram account on Monday night. One of the memes showed a cat apparently dressed up as a suicide bomber, wearing a makeshift explosive belt, with a caption that reads: Jihad cat is readies for my virginz! Another shows a kitten wearing a headdress and says: I iz prophet meowhammad. Journalist Zing Tsjeng wrote beneath one of the pictures on Instagram: I've been coming to your nights since they were at BGMWC [Bethnal Green Working Men's Club], but this is just tasteless (and not in a fun, cute way). Seriously, youre one of the biggest queer nights in London. You can do better than trashy Islamophobic memes." Another meme posted on Sink The Pink's Instagram account Another club-goer Martin Chivers, 29, said he has stopped going to Sink The Pinks parties after feeling uncomfortable about its use of problematic stereotypes. The university administrator told the Standard: I thought the memes were trying to be deliberately offensive - depicting Mohammed, mocking suicide bombers - by punching down on a marginalised community in the UK. Also it erases the fact that there are queer Muslims in this country, and the world, and you want to mock their religion in an offensive and unfunny way for self-promotion, just stop. Be better. It also made me roll my eyes. Another Instagram user described the memes as "tasteless". The club night has claimed it uploaded the images by mistake and said it was mortified by them. It said in a statement: "We google imaged 'religious cat' and we have no idea how that image got bundled into the ones that made it onto our Instagram. We are absolutely mortified that was included and we took the picture down as soon as we realised, because in no way are we Islamophobic or against any religion. "We apologise to anyone who was offended by this. We're having a tongue in cheek themed event called the Church of Sink The Pink, obviously we believe in equality, peace and love." A handful of far-right protesters today staged a hapless demonstration outside one of Londons largest mosques. No more than 10 Britain First members stood in the rain chanting we wanted our country back while a class of young primary school pupils were on a tour of the centre, staff said. Spokesman Salman Farsi said the demonstrators, holding an unfurled Britain First banner, set up at around 11am and left shortly after police arrived at 11.20am. "They were chanting 'we want our country back', he said. "It was a bit worrying for us because we had a school group on a tour inside the mosque". "There was a moment when they were provoking passers-by and someone confronted them and spat in their direction, so mosque staff stepped in to move them along". Demo: Three protesters stand with an unfurled Britain First banner on the doorstep of the East London Mosque / East London Mosque In a caption of a YouTube video showing the incident, the mosque wrote: Another hapless Britain First protest outside the East London Mosque today. Last time they entered the mosque and trampled over the carpets, before running off when a traffic warden approached their illegally parked vehicle! In the footage three people including a woman clutching the Christian symbol of a cross can be seen stood outside the religious building on Whitechapel Road, near Whitechapel Tube station. At one point she is heard telling Muslims they are worshipping a false prophet and won't make it to paradise. She also appears to remonstratewith someone out of shot, telling them it is their democratic right to be here. Footage later cuts to a confrontation with a police officer, in which she asks: Is it within your job description to come and mock a Christian whos preaching in the street? She then claims the police officer told her the bible forbids eating seafood before proceeding to add he needs to show her more respect. She says: This is whats going on in the world now people. In our country, even the police are against us. This is a Christian country but weve got our own police force turning on us, traitors to this country. Police said officers were called to the demonstration at about 11am but no action was taken. A couple with two young children have told of their on-going nightmare after botched basement work caused their house to collapse and left them homeless. Jacquie Hale, 40, was eight months pregnant when the home she shared in Finchley with her partner Ed Goldswain, 41, came crashing to the ground. The house in Stanhope Avenue, where the couple lived in a two-bed flat, collapsed in November 2012 after work to convert their basement. Last year a judge ordered the "incompetent" building company behind the work, run by Christopher Knott, to pay 287,000. But the firm has since gone into liquidation, meaning the couple got nothing. Jacquie Hale and Ed Goldswain with children Ernest and George The couple, who are now parents to two small boys, three-year-old Ernest and George, 18 months, are now raising funds for a legal battle against the insurance firms which refused to pay out over the collapse. Ms Hale told the Standard: It's an incredible financial stress for us, we've had to move five times and incur the costs of that, and the mortgages. The children have moved away from friends and family because we can't afford to live in London anymore. Cracks: the work caused the house to crumble / Jacquie Hale It's been a life-changer, a constant stress. The only thing we have is our family are all healthy and we are thankful for that, but everything else is just a nightmare. The couple are still paying the cost of a mortgage for their non-existent flat and Ms Hale has had to give up work, as without family nearby to help out, they cannot afford to pay for childcare. Condemned: the whole property had to be demolished / Jacquie Hale They have been forced to move to Harpenden, away from friends and relatives, as they can no longer afford to live in Finchley, where Mr Goldswain was born and raised. They are now trying to raise 60,000 to sue their own insurance company and the building firm's insurer, after both refused to pay out. Ms Hale said: "We will stop at nothing to take them to court." Mr Knott, who is now running a building company under a different name, could not be reached for comment. D etainees have been held for up to five years with long spells in segregation and dirty accommodation at Europes largest immigration detention centre near Heathrow, inspectors say. Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke said conditions at Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre had deteriorated since its last inspection and there were concerns across most areas. Their report found 18 detainees had been held for over a year and one man had been detained on separate occasions adding up to a total of five years. Mr Clarke said it was "unacceptable that conditions were allowed to decline so much towards the end of the last contract" when the centre was run by GEO Group. Management of the centre in West Drayton was branded "deplorable" last night by campaign group Detention Forum, who called on the Government to impose a time limit on immigration detention. The centre, which holds up to 661 men, has been run for the Home Office by the Mitie Group since September 2014. But the unannounced inspection last September showed many concerns dating back to 2013 had still not been rectified and in some respects, things had deteriorated. Inspectors singled out the "appalling" state of some of the residential units as a sign of lack of investment from the previous contract. Some newer accommodation was dirty and rundown, while many toilets and showers in the older units were seriously insanitary with many overcrowded, poorly ventilated rooms, the report said. Mr Clarke said: "The Home Office and its contractors have a responsibility to ensure this does not happen again. "Following the inspection, we were informed by the Home Office that lessons had been learned and that a new set of principles were established to prevent a recurrence of this situation. We will assess the success of these measurements in due course." Danny Spencer, a managing director of the centre, said: "We are encouraged that the efforts of our people and partners have been recognised. "The inspection also identified things we need to do better. We were aware of most of them and have been working on an improvement programme since we commenced the service. This has continued in the six months since the inspection, addressing the recommendations and the operational and cultural challenges that we faced as incoming operator." A GEO Group spokesman said: "We are not commenting on the report on Harmondsworth as GEO has not been involved in operating the centre since 2014. T own halls in the capital want stronger planning powers to fight childhood obesity by clamping down on fast food outlets near schools. London Councils, representing the 33 local authorities, also wants to make it tougher for takeaways to appeal against decisions banning them from certain locations. It has called on the Government to put more emphasis on public health so it is not always trumped by economic development in the planning process. Islington is among the boroughs which now have a policy against new hot food takeaways within 200 metres of primary and secondary schools. The council also requires new outlets which are granted planning permission to sign up to minimum healthy catering standards. 37% 10 and 11-year-olds in London considered overweight London has the highest number of obese 10- and 11-year-olds in the country. Thirty-seven per cent are overweight, compared with 33 per cent nationally. Officials are worried that secondary school children, many of whom are allowed to leave school premises at lunchtime, are unable to resist junk food if it is available nearby. TODO: define component type apester Children from deprived backgrounds are twice as likely to be overweight as those from more affluent homes. London contains 10 of the 33 poorest local authorities. Last week, the Department of Health delayed its eagerly awaited strategy for tacking childhood obesity from this month until the summer. Many campaigners and health charities have called for a sugary drinks tax. Others want to see an end to buy-one-get-one-free promotions and a ban on junk food advertising before the watershed. London Councils previously called for the strategy to help boroughs refuse permission for burger bars and chip shops near schools by strengthening the position of public health in the National Planning Policy Framework. It now wants the Government to act in other ways to simplify the process and improve the consistency of planning decisions. Under existing rules, decisions to refuse planning permission on public health grounds because of high numbers of takeaways clustered together are often overturned. The body has also called for increased local power over business rates to enable boroughs to use discounts to encourage healthier food outlets. Local authorities can refuse permission for a new takeaway within 400 metres of a schools gates, a play centre or a park under existing planning laws, and it can be tricky for firms to transform vacant shops into takeaways. That has not prevented a scramble for spots such as one in Clapham Park Road just 710 yards from a primary school and half a mile from two others. A pizza chain, Pizza Inn, won the bid. Teresa ONeill, health spokeswoman on London Councils, said: Giving boroughs more clout in the planning system to prioritise public health will allow us to create a healthier environment for Londons children and young people. I T crowd actor Richard Ayoade has backed a petition calling on Lambeth Council to stop their plans to install gyms in libraries across the borough. Under Lambeth Councils Culture 2020 plans, some library buildings will be refurbished and transformed to provide health and fitness services alongside study spaces, computers and book lending. Councillor Jane Edbrooke told the Standard only one library in the borough Waterloo will close completely, with services being transferred to a nearby community centre. Meanwhile, two other libraries - Minet and Carnegie - will share their space with fitness facilities. Lambeth Council said the sites need to be used differently to keep them open due to funding cuts and that utilising the space for other services was crucial. Cllr Edbrooke said: Minet and Carnegie are big libraries and at the moment they are not very well used. There is a lot of unused space. We are going to refurbish them and integrate services that will help generate income. But library users have been left furious by the proposals, which will come into force within the next few months, and are calling for the council to reconsider. Victoria Sherwin, a member of The Friends of Lambeth Libraries, launched a Change.org petition calling on Lambeth Council to halt their action. The petition reads: Replacing free Libraries with paid-for membership gyms is in no-one's interest. No child learnt to read in a gym, no older person found a friendly face to help with their information needs. We believe that closing libraries is a short-sighted and irresponsible plan; public libraries are an essential part of a functioning literate nation. This is an act of vandalism against the community, signalling the death of hope that anything can ever get better. Libraries change lives. Libraries are more than a material resource; they are the commitment of our community to its future. They express a faith in the power of shared imagination. Mr Ayoade, known for his role of Maurice Moss in The IT Crowd, signed the Dont steal our libraries petition on Monday afternoon and later called on others to sign their names. The actor also retweeted a post about a demo against the proposals taking place in Windrush Square, Brixton, at 10.30am on Saturday. Cllr Edbrooke said the council was still working on the proposed layouts for Minet and Carnegie libraries and could not comment on how much space of the existing libraries would be taken over by fitness equipment. She added: "The reality is the space will be shared, so the library space will probably be reduced. "But we will ensure book stock is regularly refreshed, we have not reduced our overall book stock budget - and residents can order any books they can't find in the library. "Again, at the moment libraries like Minet are open around 31.5 hours a week and under these proposals will be open as much as 70 hours a week. "We have protected our home delivery service and the opening hours of our town centre libraries." A London hospital cremated one of its patients without informing his family that he had died. Distraught relatives - including the mans sister - were denied the chance to go to his funeral after Kings College Hospital NHS Trust failed to tell them he had died. A complaints watchdog criticised the Trust for the grief and distress experienced by the man's family. The Trusts bereavement manager asked Lambeth Council to help find the patients next of kin after he died in their care in 2013. The authority searched his house and found letters to his family, which were placed in an envelope with the keys to his property. But the documents were lost down the back of an office cabinet and the man, identified only as Mr C in an ombudsman report, was cremated without his loved ones present. His sister said the mistake meant her brothers estate was charged for rent and storing his body for four months after his death. Following an investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, the trust and council apologised to the mans family and gave them 650 compensation and 750 for the rent. Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Julie Mellor said: The NHS provides an excellent service for thousands of people every day, which is why when mistakes are made it is so important that they are dealt with well. When people complain to public services they deserve answers. If mistakes are made, an open and frank apology should be given and action should be taken to stop it from happening again. A Lambeth council spokesman said: We have sincerely apologised to the family for the errors that occurred in this case, and have worked to ensure they will not be repeated. A spokesperson for Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: "We would like to apologise wholeheartedly once again to the family involved in this case. When a patient dies, we always do our best to contact the next of kin, which can sometimes prove difficult, as it did in this instance. "Since this incident, we have taken a number of steps to prevent it from happening again. We reviewed our procedure on arranging funerals for patients, and amended our checklist to ensure written acknowledgment is provided by the Council following their property search. "This ensures any information which may help us identify the next of kin is obtained and thoroughly explored before a funeral is booked." A suspected World War Two bomb sparked a security scare at a house in south-east London. Police were called to reports of a military device in Sandhurst Road, Catford just before 10am today. A Met spokesman said the item was inspected and was found to be a 10-inch shell that was in do danger of exploding. It was discovered during renovation work at the house. Lewisham officers urged people to avoid the area as they dealt with the incident but homes were not evacuated. A police spokesman said some road closures were in place. F ire crews have battled a warehouse blaze at a business park which sent smoke billowing across north-east London. The fire broke out at 11.43am at a bedding and packaging warehouse in Walthamstow. The site, just off Blackhorse Lane, is near a school and college. Around 35 firefighters and six engines were sent out to the business park, where part of the single storey building was alight. A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said the incident was under control at 1.13pm and one person needed to be treated for smoke inhalation. A college was today evacuated of about 1,000 students this morning while fire crews dealt with a suspected "chemical incident". The London Fire Brigade and police were called to South Thames College on Wandsworth High Street at around 1.25pm after reports of a leak. Two people were treated by the London Ambulance Service due to the effects of irrtitants but, despite a sweep of the building, fire crews were unable to detect any unusual chemicals. The area around the college was cordoned off, but has since reopened. A senior Cabinet minister today launched an unprecedented attack on mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan, calling him a Labour lackey who speaks alongside extremists. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon claimed the Labour candidate was unfit to be Londons Mayor because he had shared platforms with extreme radicals. He lambasted Mr Khan as a man who has said Britains foreign policy is to blame for the terrorist threat. Mr Khans office hit back by accusing the minister of demeaning his office by making an attack on mainstream Muslims like Sadiq. The row follows a series of media reports highlighting links between Mr Khan and controversial individuals and groups. Mr Khan was challenged on LBC radio this morning over several allegations, which he called desperate. He responded: For goodness sake, lets have a campaign that is positive. Rally: Sadiq Khan at a Stop Political Terror protest in 2004 Mr Fallons strongly worded attack came in a speech to Conservatives in Bromley. The minister said the first duty of a Mayor was to unite the city and back the security forces against terrorist threats. He added: My priority as Defence Secretary is to give our armed forces what they need to protect our people and our territory, here at home and overseas, now and into the future. With the Home Office and the police, we have plans in place to deploy up to 10,000 troops in the event of Paris-style terrorist attacks. The Mayor has an important role to play in protecting London, supporting the police, and reassuring the public. "That is why we need a candidate who can unite our city, not a Labour lackey who speaks alongside extremists, proving himself unfit to perform that role. A man who has said Britains foreign policy is to blame for the terrorist threat. Mr Fallon, speaking in support of Tory mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith, went on: London has witnessed appalling terrorism in the past. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon launched a strongly worded verbal attack against Mayoral hopeful Mr Khan / PA "It needs a mayor who will back our police, security services and armed forces all the way. Labour cannot be trusted with our countrys security and they cannot be trusted with Londons either. A spokesman for Mr Khan hit back at the minister: The Tory campaign is in real desperation and it was only a matter of time before they went down this route so its no surprise its Michael Fallon who will literally say anything during an election. Sadiq has consistently spoken out against extremism and terrorism. Hes suffered death threats and constant abuse from Muslim extremists throughout his life because of his mainstream views. "Hes the only candidate in this election who has a real plan to put a stop to radicalisation. "Attacks like this on mainstream Muslims like Sadiq only make it harder for us to fight extremists, put an end to radicalisation and beat the terrorists it demeans the office of Defence Secretary. London Mayor Election 2016: Sadiq Khan The attack went much further than any launched by Mr Goldsmith, who has branded Mr Khan radical and divisive, to the fury of Labour which says the terms are coded racism and designed to link their candidate with radicalisation in the minds of voters. The Evening Standard revealed earlier this month that Mr Khans former brother-in-law, lawyer Makbool Javaid, had taken part in events in London with the extremist group Al-Muhajiroun in the Nineties and Mr Javaids name appeared on a fatwa in 1998 calling for a full-scale war of jihad against Britain and the US. Mr Javaid, now a leading lawyer, told the Standard he totally rejected extremism and never authorised his name being included on the fatwa, which he condemned. He said he regrets a controversial Trafalgar Square speech and added that he was naive at the time. Mr Khan was challenged this morning on LBC radio about the reports linking him with radical or controversial events or individuals. Asked about his appearance at an event run by the Islam Channel, he responded: Government ministers since then including Conservative ministers and Labour ministers at the time have done stuff with the Islam Channel and so, you know, like many other ministers I was invited and I attended. "And by the way, in the last couple of years David Cameron has done events with Islam Channel. LBC presenter Nick Ferrari raised reports that Mr Khan followed the Twitter feeds of a man who posted links to Islamic State propaganda videos and another whose brother was convicted of supporting insurgents in Afghanistan. Mr Khan responded: I will check these two followers, Nick, to make sure if they are inappropriate I wont follow them. Asked about the Evening Standard reports on his former brother in law, Mr Khan said: I have not seen this guy for more than 12 years, Nick. On a Sunday Times report that he repeatedly shared a platform with preacher Suliman Gani, who has called women subservient to men, Mr Khan scoffed at the idea he shared his views, saying: This gentleman was very unhappy that I voted for same sex marriage. Mr Ferrari asked him: Is there a problem with the company you are keeping? Mr Khan answered: Lets be quite clear. I am the only candidate with a plan to address the issue which is very serious for Londoners of extremism and radicalisation. Im also somebody who feels passionately that it is possible to be a Londoner and to be of Islamic faith... I think it is a bit desperate to attack somebody who follows me on Twitter, or to attack me because I follow somebody, or to attack me because of my ex-brother in law who Ive not seen for 12 years, or to attack me for sharing a platform when government ministers shared the same platform with the same people. For goodness sake, lets have a campaign that is positive. J eremy Corbyns youngest son was allegedly headbutted as he left a nightclub. Student Tommy suffered a cut to his eye after he was reportedly assaulted outside a dance venue at around 4am on Saturday. The 22-year-old, who studies electrical engineering at the University of York, complained to police after he was headbutted outside the citys Mansion club, according to the Daily Mirror. The left-wing activist is said to have been partying with friends inside the venue, after earlier organising a Party for Palestine hip-hop event elsewhere in York. Police are investigating the alleged attack. A statement from North Yorkshire Police said: Police in York are investigating an allegation of assault on a 22-year-old man. The incident occurred at the Mansion Nightclub, Micklegate, between 4am and 4.30am on Saturday (27 February 2016). The victim, who suffered a cut to his eye, reported the matter to North Yorkshire Police at 1.26pm on Saturday. Enquiries are on-going to investigate the full circumstances surrounding the incident. Nobody has been arrested. Witnesses or anyone with information that could assist officers are asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 1, and speak to the Force Control Room. B oris Johnsons economic case for Brexit was published today in a major report insisting that London has nothing to fear from leaving the European Union. The 300-page study by the Mayors economic adviser concluded that the capital would remain Europes economic powerhouse whether the UK is inside the EU or out. It argued that Londons future financial success instead depended on playing to its economic strengths to adapt to the new global economy. It also said the capital had to make sure it was equipped to challenge new economic forces such as China and India which posed both a threat and an opportunity. London: The Global Powerhouse, authored by Dr Gerard Lyons, admitted leaving would be an economic shock for the capital that would depress activity. But he added: These forecasts also indicate there is uncertainty associated both in leaving the EU and staying in it. It comes after Mr Johnson dismissed as baloney David Camerons insistence that the PM is pursuing project fact by laying out the dangers of a Brexit. On a visit to Northern Ireland last night, the Mayor hit out at the project fear tactics being used by the Remain campaign. He said: There is an attempt going on to scare people into staying with the status quo, when I think the real risk is we will simply remain in a system that is less and less suitable to our needs. The Mayors report backed up his argument that leaving the EU would be better in economic terms than staying in an unreformed EU. That is, leaving and pursing sensible economic policies would provide more than the status quo, it said. EU referendum: Should the UK vote to stay or leave? However, it suggested that staying in the EU if it was reformed would be the best outcome for the capital. It predicted that Londons economy would grow in real terms from 350 billion to 640 billion over 24 years in the brave new world scenario of a reformed EU. But it described Mr Johnsons preferred scenario of being outside, but on good terms with the EU and globally focused, as second best as it would see the capitals economy grow to just 615 billion. The report added: The future of the economic and financial success for London and the UK will not depend solely on whether the UK is in the EU or not. TODO: define component type apester Dr Lyons said the debate was more nuanced as much of it depended on how engaged the Government was on EU reform, if Britain votes to stay in, and on its relationship with Europe and the wider world if it opts to pull out. The report highlighted that key industries including finance and insurance, the scientific and technical sectors and transport considered a seat at the table of the EU to be of high importance. These account for one in four jobs and one third of the output of Londons economy. But for other sectors of Londons economy, covering three in four jobs and two-thirds of economic output, the need to stay in the EU was less important. Many City firms felt the biggest issue was the relationship between the eurozone and the non-eurozone, which would remain the case whatever the outcome of the referendum. Mr Johnson said: London is a truly colossal commercial and economic dynamo, driving job creation across the country and acting as a magnet for investment and opportunity. This invaluable report proves that London is leading the way as Europes leading city. Dr Lyons added that London beats almost all of its counterparts worldwide but one of its greatest challenges was how to handle the impact of globalisation. Labour heavyweight Lord Mandelson slapped down Brexiters in a speech in London today, saying they lacked world trade experience and hugely underestimated the difficulty of striking a new EU trade deal. Why should those we have just divorced give us back the keys to the marital home as if nothing has changed? he added. D onald Trump looks set to sweep to victory in the Republican presidential race on Super Tuesday, as voting to select candidates gets underway in a dozen US states. The race for the Republican Party nomination could be all but over by the end of the day with Trump poised to take at least eight of the twelve. Residents of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia, as well as those living in American Samoa and Democratic voters living abroad, will be able to cast their vote in the primary election today, while results for Wyoming's Republican caucuses will also be completed. Trump is leading the races in most states, although Ted Cruz is predicted to win on home turf in Texas and is ahead in Arkansas, while in Minnesota rival Marco Rubio is the front-runner. It is also thought that by the end of Tuesday, Hillary Clinton could find herself in a similarly dominant position for the Democrats, with pollsters predicted her to cruise to an easy victory in the five southern states - Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Arkansas, and Virginia. There are 880 delegates up for grabs today as presidential candidates seek to accumulate enough to secure their partys nomination, with Democrats needing 2,383, while the Republican candidates have to reach 1,237. Trump has already secured 82, while his nearest rival Cruz is on 17, with Rubio just behind with 16. On Monday a national CNN opinion poll of Republican voters put Trump support at 49 per cent, more than all his opponents combined. The New York billionaire has already won three out of four early primary contests, and Super Tuesday, the biggest single voting day of the year, is expected to see him seal the deal. The former reality TV star, who was originally seen as something as a joke candidate, rallied supporters in Tennessee on Saturday, ahead of todays vote. "On Tuesday, you have a big day," he said. "You get up, you go to the polls, and you vote! "I promise you, that you are going to look back on this night and you are going to say this was a very important night, a very important evening in your life." Rival Ted Cruz, a Texas senator, has already admitted that the other Republican candidates are facing an uphill battle. "Right now, Donald Trump has enormous momentum," he said on Friday. "If he continues with that momentum and powers through and wins everywhere on Super Tuesday, he could easily be unstoppable." T he West End could be in for a 280 million boost after Scottish MPs signalled they may now back George Osbornes proposal to relax Sunday trading rules. The Chancellors plan looked doomed after some 20 Tory MPs said they would join opposition parties in voting against it. But the SNP has now indicated a change of heart, claiming ministers are addressing concerns about the effect on Scottish workers pay. With SNP support the Government could win a vote regardless of the number of Conservative rebels. The news was welcomed by the New West End Company, which represents shops in the West End and Knightsbridge. Chief Executive Jace Tyrrell said it may mean an extra 280 million in sales and 2,000 more jobs. However, the SNPs potential change of position on the Commons vote due for March 8 was met with dismay by Tory critics. Enfield Southgate MP David Burrowes said the SNP should be consistent in opposing the reforms as nothing has really changed since their opposition in November. Existing laws allow smaller shops to open all day on a Sunday but restrict to six hours those with a floor space of more than 3,000 sq ft. SNP business spokeswoman Hannah Bardell said: The SNP welcome the provision for additional employee protections the Government has brought forward. A plastic bag manufacturer has blamed the new 5p charge for causing it to go bust. Nelson Packaging has gone into administration after 40 years in business, with 40 people losing their jobs at its factory. Managing director Michael Flynn was quoted by the BBC saying the Lancashire firms troubles were mainly down to "the English bag legislation and corresponding impact on customer and retailer demand". Robert Copeland, a union rep at Nelson, who had been with the firm since 1986, told the BBC that staff were informed on Wednesday and asked to leave the factory immediately. He said: It's daunting as I have no interview skills. I'm 49 years old and I've got to now go into a new working environment and start again. It is scary. Mr Flynn also blamed "aggressive overseas competition", the BBC said, while an unnamed worker claimed the 5p charge only had a "slight but not a massive impact". The policy was brought in across English supermarkets in October after earlier being introduced across the rest of the UK between 2011 and 2014. Statistics show it has been responsible for huge falls in plastic bag use of 70 per cent and higher in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. M illions of peoples retirement plans were thrown into doubt today as the Government opened the door to a major shake-up of the state pension. Ministers said a review would look at whether the current system of a universal state pension age, rising in line with life expectancy, was optimal in the long run. MPs immediately warned that it could lead to some people having to work for even longer than currently planned to get their state pension. The review would take into account the costs to the taxpayer, fairness and fuller working lives objectives. The Government said the review, to be headed by former CBI boss John Cridland, would not affect planned rises of the state pension age to 67 by 2028. Whitehall sources said it was not something for people to be alarmed about. Labour called on ministers to be honest about the review, saying it smacked of a bid to raise the retirement age more quickly. Shadow work and pensions secretary Owen Smith said: People are right to worry that the terms of this review may suggest that Government is set to speed up rises in the state pension age, throwing into chaos the retirement plans of millions of British workers. Mr Smith attacked the gross mishandling of a higher pension age for women born in the Fifties which had caused huge financial worries for 2.6 million families. Experts also said one issue is whether manual workers in physically demanding jobs like building can be expected to work as long as office employees as the state pension age rises. Reforms could lead to arrangements where manual workers, who left school at 16 and paid into the system for 40 years, could then start claiming the state pension early. Similarly, people in poor health might also be able to get the state pension at an earlier age. The state pension age is due to rise to 66 by 2020, before going up to 67 as early as 2026, 68 in the mid-2030s, and then 69 in the late-2040s. Ministers ordered the increases to take into account longer life expectancy since the state pension age of 65 for men was set decades ago. The Pension Act 2014 included a review at least every five years which would be based around the idea that people should be able to spend a certain proportion of their adult life drawing a state pension. The terms of reference of the review include: What a suitable state pension age is over coming years and the longer term. Whether the current system of a universal state pension age rising in line with life expectancy best supports affordability, fairness, and fuller working lives objectives. And if not, how state pension age arrangements might better support these objectives. The independent review would have regard to variations between different groups. Minister for Pensions Baroness Ros Altmann said: As our society changes its only right that we continue to review state pension ages and take into account the relevant factors to make sure that the state pension is sustainable and affordable for future generations. Mr Cridland said: I know how important this issue is, and will consider all the evidence to ensure that we have a state pension age fit for the future. A nine-year-old girl has died during a flight to Germany after a sudden emergency which sparked desperate attempts to save her life. The child was a passenger on a Lufthansa Airbus jet flying from Shanghai to Munich when she stopped breathing. Flight LH727 diverted to Yemelyanovo International Airport in Krasnoyark, Russia for an emergency landing to provide urgent medical care. However, despite desperate attempts by medics to resuscitate her, she was pronounced dead shortly after the plane grounded, according to the TASS news agency. The girls identity has not been released. A spokesperson for the West Siberian department of Russias Investigative Committee told TASS: She was an Italian citizen, an ethnic Chinese. The child was not breathing and had no pulse. The doctors tried to bring her back to life but to no avail. The plane touched down in Russia at 1.22am Moscow time. I ve touched down for the homecoming of the First Lady of Arkansas. This is the state that propelled Hillary and Bill Clinton from young law professors to political power couple. In the run-up to Super Tuesday, Hillary has decided to return. It feels like a calculated move, to remind people of Hillary the Person before she became Hillary the Politician. Im here to see where it all began, in Fayetteville. A short walk from the law school where she taught sits a neat, understated home, now the Clinton House museum. Im greeted at the door by its director, Kate Johnson. She launches into a story about how Bill had surprised Hillary, buying her the house to persuade her to move here. In a cabinet is a replica of her wedding dress. Kate says it took three proposals before Hillary said yes and were standing in the room where they married in front of just 14 people. But on campus, theres a Bernie Sanders march afoot. I meet Joyce, a life-long Democrat nailing campaign banners to a tractor. She tells me, Its never been about Bernie. Its about us. Bernie has opened a door. If we refuse to walk through thats our problem. The march is enthusiastic but Bernie hasnt visited the state, an admission he probably cant win here. Mrs Clinton is holding a rally, but not in Little Rock, where she worked as a successful lawyer and Bill served as governor. Instead shes come to Pine Bluff. As we drive into abandoned streets, a retro sign reads: The rebirth of Pine Bluff Starts here. Theres little sign of any progress, only derelict buildings. But inside the rally, the mood is positive. Classie Green, an African American, says: We were even for Hillary when President Obama was elected. We knew her, we knew Bill and we just had confidence in her. But this once deeply Democratic state is now firmly Republican, driven by economic and racial division. Even if Mrs Clinton wins the nomination, in a general election she may well lose in the place she called home for so long. Cordelia Lynch is US Correspondent for Sky News T his was the moment angry protesters hurled rocks at police in chaotic scenes at the Calais Jungle camp amid clashes during efforts to clear part of the settlement. Video captured demonstrators blocking the path of French police in riot gear as they moved through the squalid camp on Monday. Police later discharged tear gas and water cannon as they came under fire from rocks. It emerged as authorities stepped up efforts today to clear the area after the violent clashes halted the operation yesterday. Diggers and demolition teams tore down makeshift homes and shelters in the southern part of the camp which the French authorities were given the go-ahead by a judge to demolish last week. They were flanked by hundreds of armed police as the operation got underway at 8.30am local time. Diggers scooped up waste and debris from dozens of homes and shelters before dumping it into skips. There was no repeat this morning of violent scenes yesterday with little resistance from migrants as the demolition got underway. But police were on hand armed with more tear gas and two water cannon in the event of further clashes. On Monday, migrants clashed with armed police until late in the evening during stand-offs at both main entrances to the camp. Hundreds of officers in about 50 riot vans guarding both entrances fired tear gas as migrants were heard shouting f*** you police as they threw stones. Police response: French riot police react to Monday's protest by migrants against the partial dismantlement of the camp / REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol It came after a day of clashes as police formed a ring around demolition teams with diggers who began dismantling and knocking down huts. Between 20 and 50 shelters were razed along with a distribution centre used to give out clothes and blankets. The Standard witnessed one stand-off in which young migrants threw several large rocks at advancing police who used riot shields to block the missiles. Aid workers begged with camp residents to stop, but police disrupted the attacks by firing dozens of tear gas shells into the crowds and soaking them with water cannon. Clashes: Protesters hurl rocks at police / David Churchill Migrants responded by making a makeshift blockade on one of the main tracks through the mud-covered shantytown and creating huge fires by setting several of their own shelters alight so police could not advance further. The Standard spoke to two Sudanese friends whose shelter was destroyed. They spoke of police storming their makeshift home and threatening them with arrest if they did not leave. Hamdi Abas, 25, and Atif Ibrahim, 37, said they were left with nowhere to go. Clare Moseley, a former top Deloitte executive who left her career to start charity Care4Calais and move to the town in September, paid for the pair to stay in a town-centre hotel after witnessing their ordeal. Unrest: A youth throws a stone as smoke and flames rise from a burning makeshift shelter / REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol Mr Abas, who has been in the Jungle for eight months and said he was fleeing war in Sudan, said: The police came in at 7.30am shouting and said we have to leave because it will be destroyed and thats an order from the Government. They gave us a few minutes to collect our things but it wasnt enough and then I just watched as they destroyed my house with hammers, a chainsaw and diggers. Mr Ibrahim said: I am speechless at the kindness Clare has shown us. If it wasnt for her I dont know where we would have ended up. The way the police handled us was horrible. They just came and destroyed our things. It wasnt very humane. Aid workers say they expected more time and negotiations with the local authorities, who dismantled a relatively small part of the camp and are expected to continue today, over a leaving strategy. Liz Clegg, who works with the Camps lone children, said: People are absolutely terrified. The police gave us no notice. We were of the impression the authorities would come in and talk and negotiate with people over this, but they havent. We needed more time to give out information about peoples choices. Charities say more than 3,000 people would be affected by the demolition, including 300 to 400 lone children. They argue local authorities have drastically underestimated the number of people living in the area and they should be given more time to move until enough alternative accommodation is on offer. A series of containers have been set up with better living conditions near to the camp but aid workers say there are not enough places for everyone and worry they will move about 20 miles east to another camp in Dunkirk, where there are already about 2,500 migrants. A judge ruled against the charities last week, saying the demolition could go ahead except for certain community spaces which should be protected. An appeal has been lodged. Additional reporting by Sebastian Mann S ubway customers will be able to tuck into a Footlong sandwich true to its name after the chain agreed that the bread it uses will now be at least 12 inches long. The fast-food chain faced a backlash about the length of its sandwiches after an Australian teenager posted a photo of his Footlong on Facebook that was only measured 11 inches, back in 2013. The image sparked international media attention, including an investigation carried out by the New York Post, which discovered four out of seven Footlongs bought in the city measured 11 to 11.5 inches. Last week, a judge granted final approval to the settlement of a class-action suit filed against Subway after the photo emerged. As part of the settlement, between Subways parent company Doctors Associates and lawyers for the plaintiffs, the sandwich chain agreed that it will ensure that for four years its bread will be at least 12 inches long. Subway said in a statement: This allows us to move forward, without distractions, on our goal to provide great tasting sandwiches and salads, made exactly as each guest likes. We have already taken steps to ensure each guest receives the Footlong or six-inch sandwich they order. The 10 individuals who brought the suit were not awarded monetary damages. Thomas Zimmerman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said: It was difficult to prove monetary damages, because everybody ate the evidence. A London MP who visited the Jungle migrant camp today warned that hundreds of lone children are at risk of falling into the hands of traffickers if Britain does not step up efforts to help them. Enfield Southgate MP David Burrowes, who sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee, said we cant just leave it to the French to sort out the humanitarian and refugee crisis. He blasted the French authorities for their inhumane approach. The Standard accompanied the Tory MP on a trip to the Grande-Synthe camp in Dunkirk, home to about 2,500 migrants, before heading to the Jungle camp 25 miles away, where police fired tear gas on migrants throwing rocks. Mr Burrowes said conditions in the French camps were worse than those he had visited in Burma and he claimed that the catastrophic failure to deal with the crisis lay very much at the door of the European Union. He added that unaccompanied children are very much at risk now of being trafficked and exploited. The Government committed in January to step up and provide resources and safety for these children... we really need to see some action urgently. He urged a much more humane way of processing applications for children to be reunited with family members in the UK. At the Grande-Synthe camp the MP met families seeking asylum in Britain. They included Abbas Hasan, 32, who fled from Kirkuk in Iraq. He has been in the camp for 10 months with wife Soad Mohammed, 28, and their children Manr, 2, Male, 3, and Mane, 7. A s storm clouds gather over Europe, Britain stands at a crossroads. Down one path lurk Iain Duncan Smith and Nigel Farage and that woman in the sequined Union Jack mini-dress from the Britains Coming Home video, all harmonising about fishing quotas. And down another is Clemence Poesy, looking all chic and voulez-vous in a Breton top, tossing her honeyed hair and imploring us not to say adieu to the dream of European togetherness. I feel so much more European than French, says the French actress and model, 33, who divides her time between Hackney and Paris. I dont really understand it when the English talk about Europe as if theyre not part of it. Really, were supposed to be talking about The Ones Below, a psychological thriller in which she plays an expectant London mother whose idyll is disturbed by a deeply creepy couple who move into the flat below. (Were you traumatised? Im so sorry...). However, given the amount of her life she spends criss-crossing the Channel on Eurostar and her evident delight in working here the referendum on Britains place in the EU hangs over our conversation. It makes me so sad, she says of the prospect of Brexit. I love England so much in SO many ways. Im aware that I have a very privileged life and Im sure everyone has their valid reasons. But all I can say is that it would make me sad if you were to leave. It would be giving up on a very beautiful idea. New role: Posey as Kate in The Ones Below Should the Out campaign prevail, Poesy would surely be in line for some sort of special visa. When we meet at The Ivy in Kensington, she orders builders tea with the barest breath of an accent and goes into raptures about the kindness of Londoners and the beauty of Hackney marshland. Shes modest, friendly and with the exception of her love life I never talk about it at all entirely open. Shes a regular at east London electro gigs and the LFW front rows as the face of French label Chloe, while her Instagram account suggests a bookish spirit: well-composed shots of cult fiction and decaying flowers rather than your usual selfies w/spiralizer. She could be a poster girl for a generation of young Europeans who have made London home from home and enriched the capital as a result. A child actress, she later appeared as Natasha Rostova in a French TV adaptation of War and Peace, before crossing over to England with a role as French exchange student Fleur Delacour in Harry Potter (2005). Her British projects have included Martin McDonaghs cult comedy In Bruges (2008) and the 2012 TV adaptation of Birdsong opposite Eddie Redmayne. Ive always felt very welcome. Im lucky in that the work Ive done in England has been very loved here, she says and pays tribute to the unique qualities of English thespians. Theyre serious about the job but they never take themselves too seriously. They ask a lot of questions too, its much more collaborative. In France people allow themselves to wait for inspiration a lot more. You get a lot more smoking in cafes Best TV dramas 2016 1 /38 Best TV dramas 2016 The Missing The addictive and twisty second series of the BBC's crime anthology series BBC/New Pictures/Robert Viglasky Dark Angel Joanne Froggatt stared as Victorian mass murderer Mary Ann Cotton in this ITV drama ITV Close to the Enemy Stephen Poliakoff's post-war drama thriller BBC/Little Island Pictures Ordinary Lies The BBC anthology drama returns with more twisted tales BBC/Red Productions/Adrian Rogers The Night Of Riz Ahmed stars in HBO's critically acclaimed crime mini-series HBO Cold Feet The classic ITV comedy-drama returns - and it's just as good as it ever was ITV Victoria ITV have given Poldark some stiff competition with this period drama about a young Queen Victoria ITV Poldark The BBC's hit drama returns with more brooding, and less naked scything BBC/Robert Viglasky One of Us The BBC kept everyone guessing with this claustrophobic four-part whodunit Ripper Street The fan-favourite Victorian police drama returned for Series 4 BBC/Tiger Aspect 2016/Bernard Walsh The Secret Agent Toby Jones led the cast in the BBC's Joseph Conrad adaptation BBC/World Productions/Mark Mainz/Matt Burlem The Living and the Dead The BBC's gothic romance debuted in full on iPlayer BBC Preacher AMC's adaptation of Garth Ennis' cult comic book is available week-by-week on Amazon Prime Amazon / AMC Versailles A raunchy royal romp around the court of King Louis XIV, spicing up Wednesdays on BBC Two Canal +/ BBC Locked Up The Spanish prison drama came to the UK thanks to Channel 4's Walter Presents series Channel 4 / Global Series Peaky Blinders The Birmingham-set gangster thriller was more popular than ever in its third series BBC/Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd/Tiger Aspect/Robert Viglasky The A Word The BBC gave us a nuanced and emotional take on autism BBC/Fifty Fathoms Marcella Anna Friel stars in ITV's British take on the Scandi-noir thriller ITV Grantchester James Norton is back as the crime-solving vicar ITV / Lovely Day Stag The comedy-thriller from the team behind The Wrong Mans is both hilarious and chilling BBC/Des Willie/Hal Shinnie/Matt Burlem Vinyl Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger present a glossy drama about the Seventies music industry HBO American Crime Story: The People vs OJ Simpson Cuba Gooding Jr leads an all-star cast in a dramatic re-telling of the 'trial of century' BBC/Fox Happy Valley Sarah Lancashire returned as Sgt Catherine Cawood for a second series of the gritty crime thriller BBC/Red Productions/Ben Blackall The X Files Mulder and Scully return for a brand new set of mysteries War and Peace The BBC's epic adaptation of the Russian literary classic BBC/Mitch Jenkins Call the Midwife The BBC period drama moved into the Sixties for Series 5 BBC/Neal Street Productions/Sophie Mutevelian Dickensian Charles Dickens' most famous characters collide in this historical soap BBC Jericho ITV's British western set in the wilds of Yorkshire Silent Witness The hugely popular detective drama returns for a 19th series These cross-cultural themes play a large part in The Tunnel, the Canal+/Sky Atlantic adaptation of the Scandi drama The Bridge, in which she forms an Anglo-French detective alliance with our own Stephen Dillane. The second series departs from the Swedish-Danish version, which allows it to establish its own (actually more compelling) mood. She plays Elise Wasserman, the intensely rational, slightly autistic detective from the I want to have sex with you now school of chat-up lines opposite Dillanes more emotional, loose-cut Englishman. I love how it took all these preconceptions about French and English, male and female, and twisted them. This series begins with a plane crash in the Channel and takes in the Jungle in Calais, promising to open up problems that will remain on our doorstep whether or not we turn our back upon them. Its a way of talking about the world today, she says. Im worried for Europe in general. The idea of open borders is being questioned all the time and terrorism is making people feel that it was all just a dream. Of course, with the European Union there is a lot that needs to be changed. But I still cling on to the idea of why it was created in the first place. It was such a beautiful idea. How would she persuade a British person who was thinking of voting to leave? I would try to understand their reasons, she says but then falters. I mean, what are they? I say I think some people are angry because they feel the EU has stolen all our fish and money. Also they want to get rid of red tape and take back control of our borders. Poesy seems a little confused by this notion: she points out that Britain doesnt have open borders with Europe, hence the existence of the Jungle, which would still exist whether or not we remain in the EU. All those people actually only want to get to Britain. However, with the rise of the far Right in France, she acknowledges that many fears are well founded. France has so many problems of its own to be honest, everything is a bit scary at the moment. And I understand that fear. I saw it after the attacks in Paris last year when youre scared what you want to do is stay in your home with your family and friends. And you need to do that to heal for a while. But thats not the way I want to live my life. Its not what I dreamed of as a child. I still cling to the idea that were all richer as one people with all our differences. She feels her native citys wounds deeply, faltering as she recalls the IS murders last November. I heard the news from American friends the minute I got their text, I heard the sirens. Everyone fell into a stupor. None of us could think for a few days afterwards. Has it changed the way she views the city? I find it so hard to talk about it as there are so many peoples lives who are more directly affected than mine. But it made us or at least me feel that the rest of the world was a lot less distant. It burst the bubble. It doesnt seem like the right time to be emphasising our differences. But its hard to tell people not to be scared when things are scary. She is especially anxious at the idea that Europe will lose Britains influence not least our civilised way of relating to one another. Its really hard to get in a fight with anyone here. It can be so frustrating sometimes youre in these situations where you think, how can we go on pretending this is all OK? But it makes day-to-day life so much nicer. I recently took a French friend to a swimming pool in London and she couldnt get over how people let each other pass. That would NEVER happen in Paris. Theres a kindness here that just doesnt really exist in France. Really? Theres a wide perception that London is a rude city. Not at all. At least not compared with Paris. Though Im always wondering if people are just being nice because they have to be nice.Does anyone actually like me? Thats the trickiest thing to understand if youre foreign. Its pretty hard when youre born here, I tell her. She has just finished filming a movie about an industrial dispute in Italy naturalmente, she speaks fluent Italian, and no doubt spends the rest of her time telling correspondents from Corriere della Sera how charming their countrys manners are too. Shes also in Final Portrait, a film about the sculptor Giacometti starring Geoffrey Rush and directed by Stanley Tucci. Hes such a cool man, hes so much fun to be around. But more immediately, we can see her in The Ones Below. Its written and directed by David Farr (who also adapted John le Carres The Night Manager) and it features the most memorable villains in David Morrissey and Laura Bim; basically, never trust anyone who takes off their shoes before they enter their home. Poesy is tremendously good as Kate the first English character she has played. At least theres nothing to indicate otherwise, since her characters mother is English and so is her name and no further mention is made of her nationality. Ah, it was a big worry of mine! she laughs. In my head she would have been half-French and I kept adding lines in order to make it clear but David insisted on cutting them all out. Im going to get so much shit for the accent. I doubt she will. Cest impeccable. Moreover, enough bright young Europeans live and work in London for a wisp of an accent to be unremarkable. At least, for now. The Ones Below is in cinemas from March 11 The Tunnel will premiere on 5th April on Sky Atlantic J ustin Bieber has met the Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir to present them with their Official Christmas Number One Chart Award after they beat the Canadian pop star to claim the top spot. Bieber, 22, surprised 40 members of the group at a London hotel with their award. Speaking at the meeting he said: "I was honoured to meet everyone from the choir and Im really happy that they got their Number One." Bieber helped the choir to reach the top spot after he encouraged fans to buy their single, A Bridge Over You, over his hit, Love Yourself, tweeting: So for 1 week its ok not to be #1. Lets do the right thing & help them win. Its Christmas. @Choir_NHS good luck. Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir Award winner: Justin Bieber posing with his record breaker award / Official Chart Company But the choir also had a surprise for Bieber and presented him with the first ever Official Chart Record Breaker Award after he broke a UK Singles Chart record to become the first ever artist to occupy the top three spots at the same time with What Do You Mean, Sorry, and Love Yourself. On meeting the world famous star one member of the choir said she was taken aback, while another said he looked smaller in real life but described him as gracious. Junior doctor and choir spokesperson, Katie Rogerson said: We are all delighted to meet Justin Bieber today, and congratulate him on his tremendous achievements. It was wonderful that Justin supported the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS choir. "By doing this, he not only recognised our mental health charities (MIND, SAMH and NIAMH) and Carers UK, but also acknowledged every single member of our hardworking NHS team across the UK. On a personal note... it gives me a bit of street cred with my paediatric patients as Dr Katie! Im now a Belieber in every sense of the word!" Grammy Awards 2016 1 /66 Grammy Awards 2016 Taylor Swift Taylor Swift poses in the press room with the awards for album of the year for 1989, pop vocal album for 1989 and best music video for "Bad Blood" Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP Nile Rodgers and Lady Gaga Nile Rodgers, left, and Lady Gaga perform a tribute to David Bowie at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar performs a medley of songs including Alright and The Blacker the Berry REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Adele Adele performs onstage during The 58th GRAMMY Awards Larry Busacca/Getty Images Ed Sheeran Ed Sheeran accepts the award for best pop solo performance for 'Thinking Out Loud' Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Taylor Swift Taylor Swift performs at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards Frank Micelotta/Rex Tribute to Glenn Frey Jackson Browne and The Eagles perform a tribute to Glenn Frey Mario Anzuoni/Reuters Ellie Goulding and Andra Day Ellie Goulding and Andra Day perform at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Hollywood Vampires Alice Cooper and Duff McKagan of the band Hollywood Vampires perform As Bad As I Am Mario Anzuoni/Reuters Lady Gaga Lady Gaga performs a medley of David Bowie songs as a tribute to the late singer during the 58th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles Mario Anzuoni /Reuters Justin Bieber Justin Bieber performs Where are U Now with Skrillex and Diplo Mario Anzuoni Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift arrive at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Ariana Grande Ariana Grande arrives at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Lady Gaga Lady Gaga arrives at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) The Hollywood Vampires Johnny Depp, from left, Joe Perry, and Alice Cooper of The Hollywood Vampires arrive at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Lionel Richie John Legend, from left, Demi Lovato, Lionel Richie, Meghan Trainor, Tyrese, and Luke Bryan perform a tribute to MusiCares Person of the Year honoree Lionel Richie at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Selena Gomez Singer Selena Gomez attends The 58th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center Christopher Polk/Getty Images Carrie Underwood Carrie Underwood performs "Take Your Time" Mario Anzuoni/Reuters Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift Kevin Mazur/WireImage Ellie Goulding Ellie Goulding arrives at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Bruno Mars Bruno Mars accept the award for record of the year for 'Uptown Funk' Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Mark Ronson Musician Mark Ronson accepts the Best Record of the Year award Mario Anzuoni/Reuters The Weeknd The Weeknd poses in the press room with the awards for best R&B performance for "Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)" and best urban contemporary album for "Beauty Behind The Madness" Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP Ghost Ghost poses in the press room with the award for best metal performance for 'Cirice' Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP Beyonce Beyonce presents the award for record of the year at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Florence Welch Florence Welch arrives at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Earth, Wind and Fire Lifetime Achievement Honorees Phillip Bailey (L), Ralph Johnson and Verdine White (R) of Earth, Wind and Fire pose backstage at the 58th Grammy Awards Lucy Nicholson/Reuters Adele Adele arrives at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Selena Gomez arrives at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Justin Bieber Jaxon Bieber and Justin Bieber arrive at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Demi Lovato Demi Lovato arrives at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Kaley Cuoco Kaley Cuoco arrives at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Ciara Ciara arrives at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP James Bay James Bay Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Chrissy Teigen and John Legend Chrissy Teigen and John Legend Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Anna Kendrick Anna Kendrick arrives at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Sam Smith Sam Smith Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Lady Gaga Lady Gaga arrives at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Meghan Trainor and L.A. Reid Meghan Trainor and L.A. Reid Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Carrie Underwood Carrie Underwood Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP The Weeknd and Bella Hadid The Weeknd and Bella Hadid Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Alessandra Ambrosio Alessandra Ambrosio arrives at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Gene Simmons Nick Simmons, from left, Sophie Simmons, Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed arrive at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Tony Bennett Tony Bennett, left, and Bill Charlap accept the award for best traditional pop vocal album for 'The Silver Lining: The Songs of John Kern' at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Sofia Vergara and Pitbull Sofia Vergara and Pitbull perform at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Muse Matt Bellamy and Dominic Howard of Muse pose in the press room with the award for best rock album for "Drones" at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP Miguel An image of Michael Jackson appears on screen as Miguel performs 'She's Out of My Life' at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Jane Seymour Actress Jane Seymour arrives at the 58th Grammy Awards Danny Moloshok/Reuters Johnny Depp Johnny Depp of Hollywood Vampires performs at the 58th annual Grammy Awards Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Follow @StandardShowbiz for more entertainment news. L ena Dunham has publicly called out a magazine for photoshopping an image of her. Dunham, 29, hit out at Spanish publication, Tentaciones a supplement in national newspaper El Pais after she claimed Photoshop was used to edit her body on the cover of the March edition. The Girls actress said that the image did not reflect what my body has ever looked like or will ever look like and encouraged the publication to be honest with readers. Alongside a picture of the cover she posted on Instagram: Oh hello El Pais! I am genuinely honored to be on your cover and so happy you licensed a pic by @ruvenafanador, who always makes me feel gorgeous. BUT this is NOT what my body has ever looked like or will ever look like- the magazine has done more than the average photoshop. So if you're into what I do, why not be honest with your readers? Much love, Lena. The post has received more than 34,000 likes and fans of the actress were quick to praise her on calling out the publication. Dunham has spoken openly about her figure and recently revealed that she has always felt comfortable. "Despite a knowledge that my body didn't necessarily meet a perfect norm, I've also always felt [comfortable]," she told Paper magazine. She continued: "I think that it was important to me also to announce that 'this is what I look like. I don't have an interest in changing unless it's on my own terms I won't say I'll never lose weight in my life, but it'd have to be for reasons that made sense to me and weren't to try to meet some industry standard." Girls season four party 1 /10 Girls season four party Girls night out Zosia Mamet, Lena Dunham, Allison Williams and Jemima Kirke party at the season four afterparty (Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Loved up Lena grabs her boyfriend Jack Antonoff for a hug (Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Kiss me quick The pair shared a kiss - but made sure to dispel engagement rumours (Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Peace out The Girls star went for a colourful number (Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Dad-to-be The Mad Men star poses for photos with his pregnant partner Jennifer Westfeldt (Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Tartan (Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Pretty in pink Sophia Bush dares to bare in a plunging pink dress (Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Party time The lavish bash was held at the American Museum of Natural History.(Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Follow @StandardShowbiz for more entertainment news. S ylvester Stallone may have been magnanimous in defeat at Sunday nights Oscars, but it seems that his brother Frank isnt taking it lying down. After Stallone lost out to British actor Mark Rylance in the Best Supporting Actor category, Frank took to Twitter to hit out at the snub. As well blasting the Academy, he also got rather personal about Rylance, for which he later apologised. Clearly not familiar with Rylances prolific body of acting work and his multiple Best Actor Olivier and Tony Awards, he wrote: The Academy should be ashamed of themselves. It's as clear as the nose on your face that Sly won. Mark who? It's total Hollywood bulls**t. Mark Rylance wins Oscar First of all my brother has created 2 American icons 40 yrs worth and he did a historic job. If I was Mark? I would have been embarrassed. He then got a little too personal when he criticised Rylances appearance on the night. Mark Rylance couldn't even comb his hair for Christ sake this is the 3rd time Sly's gotten ripped off Rocky, Copland and Creed. New Voters. After gaining some flack from his followers, he added: First I stick up for my family especially when it's right. He got ripped off period most people agree. So keep your PC bulls**t off my site. He later apologised for his comments about Rylance, adding: I will always defend what right but I was wrong to put down Mark Rylance and I apologize. He is a fine actor but I thought Sly deserved it. T he Rolling Stones have announced that they are set to play a free concert in Cuba. Confirming the news on Tuesday, the iconic British rockers told fans that they will perform in Havana for the first time ever on March 25. According to the bands press release, their performance at the Ciudad Deportiva de la Habana will be the first open air concert in the country by a British rock band. In a statement, the band said: We have performed in many special places during our long career but this show in Havana is going to be a landmark event for us, and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba too. The Rolling Stones, in pictures 1 /6 The Rolling Stones, in pictures Keith Richards in the Joshua Tree National Park, 1968 The original line-up of the band, pictured in 1968 Hell-raisers: the original Rolling Stones, featuring Brian Jones, far right MIck Jagger with Anita Pallenberg in 1968, on the set of Performance Keith Richards enjoys the fresh air A young Mick Jagger The Stones will be the biggest act to play in Cuba since the 1959 revolution and will happen just days after President Obamas planned visit. It was recently announced that American DJ group Major Lazer would perform on March 6, making them the first major US act to perform in Cuba since the Cold War embargoes. The Rolling Stones gig In a statement, Diplo said: Cuba has such a powerful cultural impact all over the world and for me, especially growing up in Florida, it became one of the biggest cultural centres for music to evolve from. I was lucky enough to visit Cuba a few years back with my friends Calle 13 and during my four days there my mind was blown by the people, depth of culture and their way of life. The concert will be a pre-curser to the US and Cuban-produced Musicabana Festival, which will take place in May. LINCOLN On Wednesday, Feb. 24, this years class of Leadership Scottsbluff traveled to Lincoln to tour the Governors mansion, have breakfast with Nebraska senators and view a Legislative session. During the tour of the Governors mansion, Senator John Stinner of Gering shared his views on the importance of younger generations being involved. Stinner was president of Twin Cities Development for a year and was involved in 23 different organizations during his time in Scottsbluff, he said. The faster we get young people involved, the better we have a plan as far as succession, Stinner said. So if somebody like myself wants to retire, youve got to have people stepping up in that 40-50 year old bracket. You also need to have the 20-30 year olds out there understanding what the organization and community is about. We need to continue to have those high levels of participation. On Thursday, the class discussed leadership with the Executive Director of Leadership Nebraska Roberta Pinkerton. The Leadership Nebraska program was designed to focus on leadership development by broadening the understanding of and involvement in issues and opportunities facing Nebraska. Participants learn about the critical issues in areas such as economic development and agriculture by engaging in discussions with top officials of the state, professionals in the areas, as well as participating in field trips and experiential activities. Although the selected participants for Leadership Nebraska will be from different regions, have varied backgrounds and diverse talents, they all must have a common interest in Nebraska and its future. If you are enjoying what you are doing in your community leadership programs, Leadership Nebraska would be a great next step, Pinkerton said. We encourage people from all across the state to participate. The diversity is what makes it interesting. The networking you build becomes very interesting and important as well. Pinkerton said the program accepts between 25 and 30 applicants to be part of the Leadership class. With six class sessions once a month beginning in June, it is a very big commitment. Each session takes place in a different location and topics include agriculture, healthcare, education, economic development and government and policy. One of the favorite sessions is when we come to western Nebraska, Pinkerton said. We have a lot of applicants from the eastern side of the state and they just dont have the opportunity to get to the western part. They enjoy getting to see Lake McConaughy, spending time in North Platte, touring Western Sugar, stopping at Chimney Rock and walking up the Scotts Bluff National Monument. An upcoming business and community education class provided by Western Nebraska Community College will involve teaching how to retain and engage a business customer base. The class is e-marketing and is a part of the Building Business Skills series of classes that the WNCC business and community education department does once or twice a year. It is being held March 3 and will be taught by Eli Aguilar, independent consultant, who has started to offer more classes through WNCC. It will focus on some benefits in regards to potentially utilizing a web presence, e-mail marketing and social media in one gambit, said Aguilar. Leaders in the business industry will also be able to increase their reach to potential customers. Aguilar said that last year 75 percent of Google users didnt go past the first page of results, so new business has also became about getting the top hits. Aguilar said there also needs to be responsive web design, because more users are using the sites on their mobile phone or other devices. 40 percent of people who use a site on their phone and it doesnt work think that the business doesnt care about their business, said Aguilar. Lori Stromberg, Business and Individual training director for WNCC, said these classes are packaged differently for businesses and there are three new classes that are added this year, one being the e-marketing class. We have a variety of business classes for entry level to the more experienced manager as far as the business skills series classes, said Stromberg. Stromberg said that the class would be appropriate for a wide variety of people from the large businesses to the mom-and-pop entrepreneurs. Everybody wants to market their product or their business, or their skills, or something else. If that is an area where you think you can use new information on, or somebody to answer some questions, this would be the class to hit, said Stromberg. Stromberg said the class will expand the online presence of a business to be something that is more than just an address and contact info. The class is going to give them the ideas and tips for marketing online beyond a website and hands-on experience to explore re-engagement. Aguilar said there will be breakout sessions if people want a review of their site and want to personally analyze it. Simpler is better and they are more likely to come back, said Aguilar. Aguilar said the goal is to make it not so overwhelming. Another piece of advice is to obtain users information through a contact form and pay attention to reviews as they are a way of advertising because according to Aguilar, people will listen to other people before anything else. Some businesses will want to leave out negative comments but Aguilar always tells them to leave them there because its a testimony to somebodys actual experience. Aguilar said that engagement is critical to get peoples business unless theres something that keeps them engaged or something of value to the visitor they arent going to stick around. The new ways to reach the target audience have identified what works and what doesnt. Aguilar said in todays world, there is a way to measure how long somebody has been engaged in something to see how they reacted. The main way to attract people to the business and keep them engaged is to monitor their time on social media, or find out what e-mails they are clicking. The main pieces we will be reviewing is website ROI (Return on Investment), characteristics of a bad website, SEO fundamentals, and to personalize the experience, said Aguilar. According to Stromberg, several people are already registered for the classes and she is expecting more last-minute registrations. The preferred method to sign up for the class is to call and pre-pay but there will also be walk-in registrations accepted on the day of the event. The cost for the e-marketing class and all of the Building Better Business Skills classes are $65 a person or $50 a person for businesses who bring four or more of their members of staff. There are three more Building Better Business Skills classes left this spring and summer that people can register for, which are Character Based Servant Leadership, beginning Powerpoint, and effective decision making. To register for this class or any classes, call 308-635-6700 or give Lori Stromberg an e-mail at stromber@wncc.net The 88 annual academy awards wrapped up on Sunday night. The stars were out in high fashion ready to walk the red carpet. The media was all abuzz on whether Leonardo DiCaprio would finally get his Oscar this year or not. It was quite the event. The night started out with Chris Rock shredding Hollywood for the Oscars So White controversy that led up to the award show. He had a pretty outstanding monologue landing some quality quips and jokes with some impressive observations before jumping into the award show. Mad Max: Fury Road had the most brag worthy note taking home six statues out of their 10 nods. While the Oscars were fairly predictable, there were a few upsets of the night. Oscar favorite The Revenant only took home three statues out of their 12 nominations, including Best Actor finally giving DiCaprio his win. The Revenant also won Best Director and Best Cinematographer and the producers were all but unfolding their acceptance speeches for best picture after that. However, they didnt capture the big win as Morgan Freeman stepped up as the final presenter of the night and announced that the Best Picture award would go to the movie Spotlight. Spotlight is the story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism team from the Boston Globe who uncovered the massive scandal of sexual abuse being covered up by the Roman Catholic Church in 2001. The team were put to task in their mostly Catholic community to see why many of these sexual assault cases were being sealed by courts. Through the investigation, the team discovered that many of these cases were settled out of court and victims were kept quiet through bribes or shame. Many of the priests were not even removed from their positions but instead simply relocated over and over to various parishes to keep them from being exposed. The team soon found out that this had not simply been a few priests, nor even close to their first guess of 15-20. Instead, they uncovered nearly 250 priests who had been sexually assaulting minors over decades in the Boston area alone. It was a story that shocked the world, but also caused major changes to be made in the Catholic Church. The story had a huge impact on the Boston community and the weeks after it was released over 300 victims came forward realizing that they were not alone and were able to share their story as well as find help. This story was revitalized in 2015 with the release of the movie, and it is a vital one to tell as sexual abuse is still rampant in our society, not just in the Catholic church, and survivors are often too ashamed to come forward and held captive by stigmas and embarrassment. The win for this movie will help in its promotion and getting the story out to a wider public view, encouraging even more survivors to come forward and get help. This message was further driven home during one of the musical portions of the night as Lady Gaga came out and sang an empowerment ballad Till It Happens To You and survivors joined her on stage with various phrases on their arms such as Survivor, You Are Love, Unbreakable and Not Your Fault. It was a powerful performance that left many in the audience and on stage in tears. Mark Ruffalo, who stars in the movie, was even at an advocacy rally for victims Sunday afternoon before the award show. He was joined by director Tom McCarthy. Some people were upset by the win, saying that it was only because the movie rallied around a civil rights cause that garnered it a victory and that it wasnt as visually impressive as other movies or didnt garner the same type of acclaim as its competition. However, for the category of Best Picture I would argue that this movie did what all best pictures should do, it spoke to us. It hit something deep within the audience. It made me feel compassion for these survivors and made me want to do more. It rallied viewers to a very worthy cause, and it did so while telling an important story in a compelling way. The Revenant was a good film, and an earlier critique I myself called it the contender for Best Picture this year, but after seeing Spotlight and understanding the depth of its impact I commend the academy for promoting the civil rights issue and helping bring this story to light. This page may have been moved, deleted, or is otherwise unavailable. 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"It's helped me tremendously to grow as a person," said Caldellis, who is working on a bachelor's degree in history. College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. Private money kept some prison education programs going when government dollars vanished. Several recent studies have shown those projects cut crime and prison costs by helping inmates go home and stay there instead of returning. "Education in prison is transformative. It leads to safer communities and that's to the benefit of everyone," said Fred Patrick, director of the Center on Sentencing and Corrections at the Vera Institute of Justice, a New York nonprofit that combines research and demonstration projects associated with criminal justice. Now more dollars are starting to follow those results, led by a recent decision by the U.S. Department of Education to experiment again with federal Pell Grants for inmate students. Forty-seven states have applied to participate in that program. States such as Washington, New York and California also are looking into spending more state dollars on these programs. Rudy Madrigal, a student in Washington's University Beyond Bars program, said the experience transformed his life. Madrigal, who expects to serve about 24 years for second-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, said he had a rough start to his sentence, getting in fights and other trouble. He took his first class as another way to pass the time, but started getting excited about school after really connecting with a math teacher and finding out he could work toward a degree with a scholarship from a private foundation. "Since I started school and educating myself, I've built up connections not just with people in here but with people out there," said Madrigal, who hopes after prison to get into social services to help other people. While his path is personally enriching, state officials and prison experts say the community is the real beneficiary. A Rand Corporation study on education in prisons found inmates who participate in any kind of educational program behind bars are 43 percent less likely to reoffend. Another study paid for by the Indiana Department of Correction found that while all kinds of inmate education has a positive influence on recidivism, inmates who take college courses have a prison return rate of less than 5 percent. That's compared to the national average of nearly 68 percent within three years of release, federal statistics show. In Washington state, private donations have been paying for college classes at prisons across the state since 2008. The state also provides vocational education in subjects ranging from computer coding to auto mechanics. One way Washington is unique among the states is how many inmates are participating in its education programs. It has about 16,500 inmates and 11,000 are involved in education, said Mike Paris, state administrator of offender education. In comparison, in California less than a quarter of its more than 112,000 inmates participate in educational programs. The Vera Institute's Pathways from Prison to Post-Secondary Education Program, which is paid for with private foundation money, gives inmates a free college education, both in prison and after release, along with other supports such as mentoring and housing assistance for inmates in Michigan, New Jersey and North Carolina. California will be starting a new pilot project this fall to pair four community colleges with state prisons to provide classes. In the past, most California inmates going to college took online classes supported by private dollars. In 2014, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state would be putting money back into inmate education programs. Lawmakers fought the plan, saying it rewarded criminal behavior, but others pointed out how much less expensive it is to educate prisoners than to incarcerate them. Authorities estimate New York spends about $60,000 a year to incarcerate one prisoner while a year of college in prison will cost about $5,000. Katja Schatte, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington who teaches world history at the Washington state prison in Monroe, said criminal justice reform is intertwined with so many things happening in American society today from the Black Lives Matter movement to inequity in public schools. "People should be thinking about how do we keep people out of prisons in the first place and education is the answer," Schatte said. As stated by the Turkish Iron and Steel Producers' Association (TCUD), Turkey s steel imports from China that rose by 199 percent to 3 million mt in 2015 fell by 32.9 percent to 121,000 mt in January this year compared to the 180,000 mt recorded in January 2015. By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com During last Thursdays county commission meeting, the topic of tourism came up. First District Commissioner Karen Stuppy reported on the Tourism Advisory Council and Tourism Tax Commissions joint meeting earlier that week, at which a task force was formed. She said that the tourism department has an $89,548 budget, with $45,000-50,000 Racist City Employees Are on Notice, and 9 Other Greater Cincinnati News Stories You May Have Missed This Week Catch up on local government, politics, sports, celeb sightings and Halloween fun. Appaloosa Management isnt giving up its fight to keep TerraForm Power Inc. from buying some of the assets of a residential solar firm. And TerraForms parent, SunEdison, now faces new questions about its own liquidity position. Last week, the Court of Chancery in Delaware denied Appaloosas request for an injunction to block SunEdisons yieldco, TerraForm, from buying some of Vivint Solar Inc.s assets. SunEdison is acquiring Vivint and the asset sale is part of the deal. The hedge fund, led by David Tepper, is a TerraForm shareholder and worries that the Vivint deal could hurt the company. On Monday, Appaloosa announced that it planned to seek an expedited trial against SunEdison. In a press release, the hedge fund said the judge, Delaware Chancellor Andre Bouchard, indicated that he would grant expedited proceedings and that there were serious questions about the fairness of the deal. SunEdison declined to comment. Appaloosa has repeatedly said TerraForms acquisition of the Vivint assets, which had an initial purchase price of $922 million, was not in the interest of the yieldcos shareholders, mainly because it would alter the companys business model and force it to take on debt of $960 million. Shares of SunEdison, based in Maryland Heights, soared 31 percent Friday after the company reported that the injunction was denied. On Monday, following Appaloosas announcement, SunEdison shares lost 28 cents, or 12 percent, to close at $1.98. After the stock market closed, SunEdison announced the company wont be able to file its annual report by the legal deadline due to an internal probe. The audit committee of SunEdisons board of directors is still investigating allegations by former company executives concerning the accuracy of its liquidity position and cash needs in the most recent quarterly filing, according a regulatory filing. So far, the audit committee, which began working on this probe in late 2015, has found no wrongdoing, but the investigation is ongoing, SunEdison said. If the allegations have merit, the companys management may have to reassess its liquidity position, including whether the Company may require greater liquidity than previously anticipated and/or whether the sources are sufficient to meet its requirements, SunEdison said in the filing. Reuters contributed to this report. WASHINGTON States could no longer require labeling of genetically modified foods under legislation approved by a Senate panel. The Senate Agriculture Committee voted 14-6 Tuesday to prevent the labeling on packages of foods that include genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Vermont is set to require such labels this summer, and other states are considering similar laws. Senators have said they want to find a compromise on the labeling issue before Vermont's law kicks in. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., chairman of the panel, said a patchwork of state laws would be a "wrecking ball" that could be costly for agriculture, food companies and ultimately consumers. "Now is not the time for Congress to make food more expensive for anybody," Roberts said. The bill would block Vermont's law and create new voluntary labels for companies that want to use them on food packages that contain genetically modified ingredients. The legislation is similar to a bill the House passed last year. The food industry has strongly backed both bills, saying GMOs are safe and a patchwork of state laws isn't practical. Labeling advocates have been fighting state-by-state to enact the labeling, with the eventual goal of a national standard. Passage won't be as easy in the Senate, where 60 votes will be needed to overcome a certain filibuster. Vermont Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders have both strongly opposed efforts to block their state's law. Roberts and Stabenow have worked to find a compromise that can pass the Senate. But those negotiations broke down before the committee vote, and Roberts said the panel needed to move quickly ahead of the Vermont law. Both said they are still negotiating and hope to find agreement. Stabenow said that for the legislation to receive broad enough support to pass the Senate, "it must contain a pathway to a national system of mandatory disclosure that provides consumers the information they need and want to make informed choices." Three Democrats voted for Roberts' bill: North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Genetically modified seeds are engineered in laboratories to have certain traits, like resistance to herbicides. The majority of the country's corn and soybean crop is now genetically modified, with much of that going to animal feed. Corn and soybeans are also made into popular processed food ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup, corn starch and soybean oil. The food industry says about 75 percent to 80 percent of foods contain genetically modified ingredients. While the Food and Drug Administration says they are safe and there is little scientific concern about the safety of those GMOs on the market, advocates for labeling say not enough is known about their risks. Among supporters of labeling are many organic companies that are barred by law from using modified ingredients in their foods. Those groups said they are holding out hope for a compromise on the Senate floor. "We remain hopeful that the Senate will craft a national, mandatory GMO labeling system that provides consumers with basic factual information about their food," said Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group. NEW YORK Add the juggernaut that is Donald J. Trump to the list of what-ifs that is worrying Wall Street. A growing realization that the unpredictable New York real estate developer is in a position to win the Republican nomination and then battle Hillary Clinton for the White House in November's election has caused some investors to sell U.S. stocks. They fear having such a wild-card president could trigger trade wars, hurt the economy and add a lot of market volatility. "As the market rarely feasts on lack of predictability Trump represents a nightmare for investors this year," said hedge fund manager Douglas Kass of Seabreeze Partners Management Inc, who said last week that he was adding to his existing short bet on the U.S. stock market in part because of Trump's increasingly strong position in the race. Trump's statements on business and Wall Street don't neatly fit into one ideological worldview, but if anything, they are seen as isolationist in a globally connected world. He can also suddenly pick on businesses over various issues, such as his call for a boycott of Apple Inc.'s products after the tech giant refused to help the FBI unlock the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters. "The election this year is the height of uncertainty," said Phil Orlando, a senior portfolio manager and chief equity strategist at Federated Investors in New York, which manages $351 billion. He said political concerns personified by Trump's emergence as a frontrunner are one of the main reasons why he began reducing equity exposure in mid-January. There are, of course, plenty of other factors having an impact on U.S. financial markets. U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday after strong U.S. factory and construction data suggested the economy was regaining momentum. That was even as investors contemplated expectations that Trump would do very well in 11 states holding Republican primary or caucus elections on this Super Tuesday. LITTLE POLICY SUBSTANCE Trump's rhetoric mixes populist criticism of immigration policy, Wall Street behavior, and other countries' trade policies, while also citing support for business-friendly efforts such as lower taxation. The lack of detail from Trump about his policies and how he would implement them is a particular worry for investors. "Trump has been light on policy substance so it's very difficult for the markets to handicap," said Dave Lafferty, chief market strategist at Natixis Global Asset Management, which manages $870.3 billion in assets. He expects market volatility to rise if Trump extends his lead in Tuesday's elections. Some investors are particularly concerned about Trump's nationalist rhetoric, saying it is potentially destructive to a global economy that is already struggling. If it reduces trade flows then it could also hamper U.S. and global growth and hurt U.S. company profits. The real estate investor proposes labeling China a currency manipulator and ending what he calls China's illegal export subsidies and theft of U.S. intellectual property. He also wants to penalize companies who move jobs from the U.S. to Mexico by hitting them with high tariffs if they want to export back to the U.S., as well as build a wall at the Mexican border to prevent the flow of illegal immigrants. "In areas of trade policy and foreign affairs lies the greatest uncertainty," Kass said. "Trump is not likely to be market-friendly in any of these policy areas." In response, Trump's spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in an email to Reuters that the same crowd criticizing the Republican Party's top candidate had been responsible for causing the last worldwide recession and economic meltdown in 2007-2008. "They have zero credibility," said Hicks. "Mr. Trump will restore confidence to the global markets by ending runaway spending and borrowing, restoring trade balance and fairness, and bringing wealth to America's middle class." CARRIED INTEREST Investors had, for some time, been concerned about the strength of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' insurgent campaign for the Democratic nomination against former Secretary of State Clinton, given he declares himself to be a democratic socialist and has said Wall Street's business model is fraudulent. With recent losses to Clinton in Democratic contests in South Carolina and Nevada, he is now seen as less likely to win the nomination. Trump's plans include ideas that traditionally come from Republican candidates, such as lowering the corporate tax rate, simplifying the tax code, and as his website puts it, cutting the deficit through "eliminating waste, fraud and abuse" and "growing the economy to increase tax revenues." "I think markets will like Trump on the taxes issue since he favors lower rates and a permanent change in repatriation rules," said David Kotok, chairman and chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors in Sarasota, Fla., which manages $2 billion in assets. Still, financial advisers say that Trump's plans to do away with the so-called carried interest tax loophole which gives hedge fund and private equity managers preferential tax treatment on much of their income would prompt more selling if he begins to climb in national polls against Clinton. Jeffrey Gundlach, the co-founder and CEO of bond investing and trading powerhouse DoubleLine Capital, said that Trump has a history of being "comfortable with a lot of debt and leverage," and that won't impede him from spending heavily. He said he believes Trump's pledge to spend heavily on the military makes defense stocks a good investment play. Others see such spendthrift tendencies more darkly. David Ader, chief government bond strategist at CRT Capital Group in Stamford, Conn., said Trump's history raises questions about his ability to run an organization as unwieldy and complex as the government. The businessman has in the past filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the Trump Taj Mahal casino and Trump Plaza Hotel. Ader says the uncertainty would cause investors to flock to safe-haven U.S. Treasuries should Trump take office. "It's one thing to run casinos that have gone bankrupt, it's another to run a country and its foreign policy," he said. Whether he would enjoy the support of the Senate and House of Representatives is a critical question, and will determine how many of his policy pronouncements can be turned into legislation. Congress could act as a brake if Trump gets the presidency and behaves as wildly as Trump the candidate. He clearly does not have the full support of a number of key Republican senators and would be unlikely to get much Democratic support for many measures. Todd Morgan, senior managing partner at wealth management firm Bel Air Investments Advisors in Los Angeles, said that the increasing likelihood that Trump will be the Republican nominee is one reason why he has raised cash in some client portfolios over the past four months. He would likely sell more if it looks like Trump will win the general election, he said. "It's like a scale and you keep dropping more weights on the balance everyday, and the political uncertainty is becoming a bigger and bigger weight," he said. Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan. Girl Scouts are having a media moment. On the upside, Chris Rock invited the worlds luckiest Girl Scout troop onstage at the Oscars to sell cookies to the assembled glitterati. On the downside, Archbishop Robert Carlson captured headlines in St. Louis and nationally when he released a letter discouraging the longtime ties between Roman Catholics and Girl Scouting. The Archbishops letter piqued my interest. Ive been involved with Girl Scouting for 35 years, since I started as a Brownie. And while Im a Mormon, not a Catholic, Mormonism shares many socially conservative interests with Catholicism. I live directly in the collision of social ideals at the center of the controversy. Much of the Archbisops complaint addresses corporate Girl Scoutings institutional ties to high-profile organizations supporting abortion. These are high-level, strategic political moves among big corporate brands, none of which interests me much. The Archbishop is certainly free to steer his ship through these waters as he wishes. But he also suggests that Girl Scouting fails to instill character values consonant with Catholicism. At the basic level of the individual girl, does Girl Scouting promote the spiritual, emotional, and personal well-being of Catholic girls? The Archbishop doubts it. Similar doubts exist in some Mormon circles. Mormonism does not formally affiliate with Girl Scouting, as it does with Boy Scouting; instead, it provides its own character-formation program for elementary-aged girls. While Girl Scouting is certainly not forbidden for Mormon girls, nor even officially discouraged, my observation is that few Mormon families involve their daughters in Scouting. One reason is surely that time is scarce in large Mormon families, and theres no room to add another commitment to the family calendar. But occasionally Ive heard fellow Mormons comment on Girl Scouting with a hint of suspicion, as if there were something unnecessary or even slightly unkosher about its association with girl-power and feminism. I largely dismiss these concerns. Ground-level Girl Scouting, when under the guidance of a motivated troop leader, provides service, outdoor education, leadership and, yes, character formation through a structured program that church-based programs simply cant match. The legacy of Girl Scouting inspires me and I am proud and grateful to be a part of the organization with my daughters. But I have my own quarrels with the recent direction of Girl Scouting, quarrels not unrelated to the progressive political stance to which Archbishop Carlson objects. About five years ago, Girl Scouts of America introduced a major overhaul of its curriculum. Gone are the days of first aid, hiking and basket-weaving merit badges. Such content-based learning was replaced by a series of Journeys, instructional units put together by corporate headquarters on topics like advocacy, bullying, stereotypes and self-esteem. The constant refrain throughout the series is a cheerleading Girl Power! message. I have nothing against girl power. My girls are powerful, and I want them to know it. But in my experience, real power and confidence comes from skills, not from slogans. I would rather spend six Girl Scout meetings teaching girls about First Aid, or cooking, or orienteering, than assuring them that they are powerful, confident and will change the world. To be sure, individual leaders can still choose to earn a few legacy badges as part of their troop activities. Girl Scout summer camps still do their thing. But badges and content-based learning is no longer the centerpiece of the Girl Scout experience. I think thats a real loss. Still, I dont believe that the new curriculum represents a significant threat to traditional religious values at the troop level. I hope that Catholic Scout troops can find a way to reconcile Scouting with their Catholic values. Im still a loyal Scout, and Ill volunteer as a leader and encourage my daughters as long as I can. But I miss the old days of first aid, basket weaving and orienteering. At least we still have the cookies! Welch is an active Mormon and a writer and independent scholar of contemporary Mormonism. She is a regular contributor to STLtoday.com/religion. Q My wife is nuts about the slaw at the Charcoal House in Rock Hill. Alan J. Steinberg, Creve Coeur A Quick, now. Name the St. Louis restaurant that imports olive oil from its very own olive grove near Kalamata, Greece. The Charcoal House, you say? Good answer. Restaurateurs George and Steve Angelos came to the U.S. from their homeland as young men but remember a time when horse-driven stone mills were employed during the olive crush. Today other family members tend the olive grove while the brothers preside over the restaurant theyve owned for almost 40 years, a destination for hand-cut char-broiled steaks, fresh seafood and courtly service. Its real cozy and warm here, George Angelos says, surveying couples and businesspeople talking quietly over lunch. At night, candles cast light off the white tablecloths. People like that Old World touch, he says. You dont find many restaurants like ours anymore. Maybe its the cocktails, which Angelos calls the best drinks in the county, especially the vodka martinis. Think icy cold glasses dipped into crystallized ice. Think free pours. Think jumbo olives hand-stuffed with rouquefort. No wonder guests often snap a photo. Angelos says that the Charcoal Houses Greek-style slaw is popular at lunch, especially during Lent when guests often pair it with a fish sandwich, fresh sole broiled or fried on toasted rye. Angelos sister Olga Salas works in the Charcoal House kitchen and prepares fresh soup every day, ham and bean, chicken noodle and more. Everything is fresh here, she says. No heavy stuff; we are very healthy eaters. In Greece, Salas says, this coleslaw would be served in the summer. We make it with the right ingredients, our good olive oil, fresh lemon juice. She insists on starting with a small head of green cabbage. Big heads are old, she says. We want smaller, fresher. And she grinds the cabbage by hand, including the heart, in an old-fashioned rotary grater. It comes out nice, like the snow. Special Request is written by Town and Country resident Alanna Kellogg, author of the online recipe column KitchenParade.com and veggie evangelist at the food blog about vegetables, A Veggie Venture. To request a recipe Would you like to request a recipe from a restaurant that is still open in the St. Louis area? Send your request along with your full name to reciperequest@post-dispatch.com. The Missouri Supreme Court does not have the authority to order consolidation of St. Louis Countys myriad municipal courts, a working group assigned to study municipal court reform said Tuesday in a long-awaited report. Consolidating the courts was one of the recommendations from the Ferguson Commission appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon to study ways to heal rifts in the community after the shooting death of Michael Brown on Aug. 9, 2014. It was also urged by activists and lawyers who have driven some of the reform debate. But the working group, appointed in May 2015 to study measures beyond last falls sweeping municipal court reform legislation, said consolidation is simply beyond the scope of the top courts powers. It said recent legal settlements and the new state law may, in fact, have gone too far in meddling with court procedures and local governance. The ultimate responsibility for the working policies and day-to-day operational practices adopted by any given municipal court must always remain with the voters of that municipality who can elect or remove officials from office, the group wrote. The report suggested restoring some power to municipalities to help them ensure tickets are paid, which drew praise from a north St. Louis County mayor but scorn from the lawyer who has arguably fought the hardest to limit that power. What I like about this report is that it creates a mechanism for oversight of the courts but protected municipalities ability to prosecute people who are openly defiant about breaking laws and skipping court, said Normandy Mayor Patrick Green. The report said a new state law created confusion about whether someone could be jailed for nonpayment or failure to show in court. Jail should be an option for people who are found to be in contempt, the group said. Cash bail, when used appropriately to ensure someones court appearance, is consistent with the state constitution and necessary. Thomas Harvey, co-founder and executive director of ArchCity Defenders, said he hopes the Supreme Court doesnt place much weight on the report. It is a political document that I think genuinely expresses a fundamental misunderstanding of the basic issues raised by our pending federal litigation alleging that several St. Louis County communities run debtors prisons, he said. The report took issue with the city of Jennings settlement with ArchCity Defenders, saying it would appear that the municipal court gives up any claim to having the authority to issue warrants in the event of nonpayment and nonappearance ... Harvey said the comment was an astoundingly disconnected statement that could only emanate from a middle-class white guy who has never considered a possibility that he might not have the money to secure his freedom. The report did seek to dispel any notion that municipal courts in St. Louis County have been unfair targets of criticism. Based on its review, the group wrote, the most serious concerns, operational deficiencies, and resulting loss of public confidence in Missouris municipal court system, are largely limited to certain municipal courts in St. Louis County. The high court said in a statement it would give the report careful study but offered no timetable for potential changes. Judge Karl DeMarce, an associate court judge in Scotland County and member of the working group, would oversee any reforms. Reforms proposed by the working group that it said were within the courts power include: Barring municipal judges from practicing law in other municipal courts in the same circuit. Barring attorneys from working as municipal prosecutors and defense attorneys in the same circuit. Studying the cost of having all municipal court proceedings recorded to encourage proper behavior by judges, court personnel, attorneys and others. Requiring municipal courts to maintain open records and proceedings and minimizing the need for in-court appearances to resolve tickets. Ensuring that the presiding judge of the state court circuit monitors the municipal courts. Creating two new positions in St. Louis County to supervise the municipal courts, which could include frequent scheduled and unannounced visits. Requiring municipal courts to dismiss failure to appear cases. Requiring municipalities that exceeded revenue caps set by state law to dismiss cases and warrants that predate January 2014, unless the prosecutor finds the case has merit. Subjecting judges to retention votes or direct election in courts where revenue limits have been exceeded or other serious problems have been observed. The areas municipalities have been under fire for abusive ticketing and court practices that disproportionately penalize low-income and African-American people. An ongoing Post-Dispatch investigation showed the disparity in how people with money and connections are treated compared to poor people unable to hire lawyers, and conflicts of interest in the municipal courts that thrive in an atmosphere of secrecy. The working group held several public hearings, including one that drew about 70 people in St. Louis in November. Most who spoke were familiar faces in the reform movement, urging a massive overhaul of the fragmented system of 80 courts for 90 municipalities. The report said some suggestions may have been well-intended, but were political solutions, not legal ones. The group acknowledged if it had to design a municipal court system from scratch, it might have done things differently. But it placed much of the reform responsibility on the state Legislature, which it noted, already made significant changes most prominently, a tighter cap on what can be raised in traffic revenue. Lawmakers are studying further measures, such as applying the revenue limits to code violations too. Our recommendations proceed from the belief that if the economic incentives for courts ... are removed, some of the more far-reaching recommendations of the other groups may not be necessary, the group wrote. Similarly, the report noted, eliminating a judges ability to also work as a prosecutor or defense attorney, or be directly hired by the municipality, reduces conflicts of interest and remove(s) them from the need to respond to a citys revenue needs. Working group member Kimberly Norwood, a Washington University law professor, dissented by saying the report doesnt go nearly far enough to address the problems in St. Louis County. ST. LOUIS Derreaun Davis appeared to be having a hard time making up his mind Monday. Co-defendant Corey R. Wade had just admitted a 2014 holdup at a popular cop hangout bar in which a woman was killed. Would Davis accept the prosecutions deal or take his chances with a trial? He called his mother from the courtroom, using his lawyers cellphone, and that sealed the decision. Like Wade, Davis pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and 31 other charges on the expectation of getting up to 60 years in prison, with the possibility of parole. Prosecutors dropped first-degree murder charges, which could have meant life with no parole. Formal sentencing was scheduled Tuesday for Davis, 21, of the 5700 block of Goodfellow Boulevard, and Wade, 30, of the 4500 block of Davison Avenue. They were wounded, and a third man escaped when the robbery turned into a shootout Dec. 2, 2014, at Poohs Corner, 6023 Virginia Avenue in the citys Carondelet neighborhood. A third suspect was arrested but never charged. Poohs has been a popular spot for off-duty and retired police for more than two decades. Twice before, robbers there had been met with gunfire. In one of those cases, the same retired St. Louis officer who wounded Wade and Corey shot a different robber in the buttocks. In the 2014 crime, one of the robbers shot Diana Lawrence, 63, of the 3400 block of Dunnica Avenue, prosecutors said. She was struck in the head and died the next day. Authorities said that Davis, Wade and another man entered the bar about 10:55 p.m., ordering people to the floor and one of them shooting into the ceiling. The former officer, who worked for the department for eight years in the 1970s and had a concealed-carry permit, fired a .357-caliber snub-nose pistol, hitting Wade in the eye and Davis in the shoulder, police said. A male customer, 73, was shot in the ankle in the melee, and another man, 66, was shot twice in his buttocks. The ex-officer, then 65, sustained a leg injury. On Sept. 15, 2008, he had been working as a bartender at Poohs when he stopped two would-be robbers, shooting one. Those men, in their 20s, went to prison. In late November 1995, an off-duty St. Louis narcotics detective wrestled with a robber at Poohs and was struck in the forehead with the barrel of a sawed-off shotgun. The detective then pulled a pistol from his jacket and fatally shot that robber, Anthony Bickell, 18. Pooh was a nickname for the bars original owner, but the name stayed and gave rise to the taverns slogan: Police Officers Official Hiding Spot. ST. LOUIS Two men who stormed into a St. Louis bar in 2014 and triggered a deadly shootout were sentenced Tuesday morning to 60 years in prison. St. Louis Circuit Judge Elizabeth Hogan followed terms of a plea agreement by sentencing Derreaun Davis, 21, and Corey Wade, 30, both of St. Louis, to two consecutive life sentences or up to 60 years in prison with the possibility of parole. Davis and Wade pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder and 31 other counts of assault, attempted robbery and armed criminal action stemming from a robbery attempt that turned into a shootout at Poohs Corner, at 6023 Virginia Avenue in the citys Carondelet neighborhood. The watering hole is popular with St. Louis police officers. Police said that Davis, Wade and another man entered the bar about 10:55 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2014, ordering people to the floor. One of the robbers fired a shot into the ceiling. A retired St. Louis officer who was having a drink at the bar shot and wounded Davis and Wade. A third suspect was later arrested but never charged in the crime. During the gunfire, authorities say one of the three robbers shot bar patron Diana Lawrence, 63, in the back of the head. Lawrence, of St. Louis, died the next day. Three other people in the bar, including the retired officer, were injured in the shootout. In the plea agreement with Davis and Wade, prosecutors dropped first-degree murder charges, which could have meant life with no parole. At Tuesdays sentencing, Lawrences relatives and friends spoke of their grief over Lawrences death and fear that remains since the shooting. It destroyed me, said Billie Wilson, who was in the bar the night of the shooting. Im not the same person. Davis uncle, Rayshaun Williams, said more than one person made bad choices to use guns that night, referring to the former police officer in the bar. Williams said he thinks gun laws need to be stricter to deter people from making poor choices involving guns. In this case, there are no winners, Williams said. We lost my nephew. They lost their family member. Pooh was a nickname for the bars original owner, but the name stayed and gave rise to the taverns slogan: Police Officers Official Hiding Spot. JEFFERSON CITY Police have closed their investigation into a January fight between two Missouri lawmakers. The probe, which formally ended Tuesday, resulted in no charges being filed in connection with the altercation between Democratic state Reps. Courtney Curtis of Ferguson and Michael Butler of St. Louis. Curtis alleged the two tussled in an alley near the Capitol on Jan. 19 outside of an event hosted by the AFL-CIO. Afterwards, he obtained a restraining order barring Butler from coming within 100 feet of him. But, a 14-page report released Tuesday by the Jefferson City Police Department shows that within two weeks of reporting the incident, Curtis decided he no longer wanted police or prosecutors to pursue the case. He followed up by informing me that he apologized for the time that was given to this investigation, wrote Jefferson City Police Department investigator Jason Ambler. The fight between the duo came just two weeks into the start of a legislative session highlighted by an effort to clean up the image of the capital city after a year that saw two lawmakers resign after allegedly having inappropriate relationships with college-age interns. Since then, one additional lawmaker has resigned in connection with an extramarital affair and a Democratic political operative linked to current office holders has been barred from the Capitol building after being accused of sexually harassing interns. The Senate, meanwhile, has been unable to agree on key pieces of ethics-related legislation designed to rein in the relationship between lobbyists and lawmakers. Curtis told the Post-Dispatch and police that he and Butler exchanged words at the AFL-CIO event a downtown bar over Curtis support of a controversial anti-union proposal last year. He accused Butler of following him outside of the reception and touching off a physical altercation. In his initial interview with police, the report notes that investigators observed a scab on Curtis ear. Curtis attempted to show a cut on his lip but it had healed over. Curtis stated his cheek near his left eye was sore to the touch, as well as his left shoulder was sore he stated he has had difficulty getting dressed since the fight due to shoulder pain, the report notes. In an interview nine days after the incident, Butler told police he was hoping the case would go away and that he believed Curtis also was no longer pursuing criminal action. Police were unsuccessful in an attempt to find video evidence of the incident. And, witness interviews failed to yield new information. The report notes that Curtis agreed to sign a refuse to prosecute form. This case is to be considered closed with no further action being taken, Ambler wrote. WASHINGTON To Trump or not to Trump? The billionaire Donald Trumps attempted hostile takeover of the Republican Party is forcing elected Republicans to begin taking stands. Some St. Louis-area members of Congress say theyll support the Republican nominee for president, no matter who it is. They include Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and representatives Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth; John Shimkus, R-Collinsville; Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville; and Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro. All said through spokespeople this week they will support whomever their party nominates. Others, however, while not shutting doors, are not exactly holding them wide open to Trump, either. Rep. Ann Wagner, who previously endorsed ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, issued a statement this week stopping short of saying she would back anyone her party nominates. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., is not endorsing anyone, and his campaign spokesman, Kevin Arti, said that Kirk would not engage in crystal ball prognostications given the fluidity of the race. The question will get more pressing for local Republicans in the next two weeks. Primaries in Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and Florida on March 15 could result in the favored Trump effectively tying up the nomination. Or, a challenger could win enough delegates to prolong the fight to a less predictable conclusion in the weeks that follow. Wagner, R-Ballwin, and Kirk have been among the most publicly critical of Trump among St. Louis-area Republicans. Last year, after Trump called into question the courage of Arizona Sen. John McCain, a former Vietnam POW and the Republicans 2008 presidential nominee, Wagner sent to the Ballwin VFW Post 6274 a $1,000 contribution that Trump had donated to her campaign. Ive never met Donald Trump nor solicited him for campaign donations, Wagner said then. I have no respect for anyone who uses a national microphone to disparage our vets. She called the VFW a sanctuary for war heroes in the heart of Missouris 2nd District. Wagners son, Army Capt. Raymond Wagner III, is a 2011 graduate of West Point. Kirk suggested last July that Trump should just shut up after he made what many considered to be offensive comments about Mexican immigrants. This week, Wagner stopped short of saying what shell do if Trump becomes the GOP nominee. This is a consequential election and American families deserve a serious, conservative leader who can rebuild our economic and national security, and restore our countrys strength and standing in the world, Wagner said, in a statement issued by her communications director, Meghan Burris. I am eager to hear actual policy positions from all candidates in the coming weeks. That latter plea is becoming harder to obtain given the intensely negative, and personal, nature of the Republican primary campaign. Trump and Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, routinely call one another liars, and Trump and Rubio over the weekend engaged in back-and-forth insults over the size of one or the others hands, ears and wrinkles, and their respective propensities to perspire. On Sunday, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., a hard-liner on immigration, endorsed Trump. But Sen. Ben Sasse, a young Nebraska Republican, denounced Trump and said he would look for a third-party candidate to support should the choice come down to Trump and the Democratic nominee. He accused Trump of dividing Americans. JEFFERSON CITY More than 185 Missouri businesses, faith leaders and other groups have signed on to a letter denouncing a fast-moving Republican proposal barring state penalties for those who refuse to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies. Sen. Bob Onder, R-Lake Saint Louis, has proposed putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would forbid the state from penalizing churches, bakers, wedding planners, florists and others who decline to provide services for the weddings or receptions. It would also add protections against civil suits, he said Tuesday. Opponents have said that churches and clergy aren't required to conduct same-sex weddings, and that discrimination based on sexual orientation isn't protected under the Missouri Human Rights Act, meaning that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people denied services already lack legal recourse in parts of the state without local nondiscrimination ordinances. PROMO Missouri, an LGBT advocacy group, and the ACLU of Missouri published the letter, saying the proposal resembles a controversial bill signed into law last year in Indiana that opponents said would legalize discrimination against gay people on religious grounds. The Associated Press reported in January on figures from Visit Indy, Indianapolis' nonprofit tourism group, that the city has lost as many as 12 conventions and up to $60 million in economic impact because of national backlash. The letter, addressed to the Missouri General Assembly, reads in part: We are committed to diversity, inclusion, and above all the Golden Rule. These dangerous bills and potential constitutional amendments only succeed in showing people Missouri is not a welcoming state. We should focus on keeping Missouri competitive, not keep people away. The people of Missouri deserve better than this type of legislation. They deserve to be respected as taxpaying, hardworking Missourians, nothing more, nothing less. Lets keep hate out of the Show-Me State. Together as small businesses, faith leaders, corporations, and nonprofits, we say #NotInMyState. The signees include: Left Bank Books, Liquid Technology, PETCO STL County, Viviano & Sons, Kirkwood Baptist Church, Brentwood Christian Church, Paraquad and the Ethical Society. Sarah Rossi, the director of policy at the ACLU of Missouri, said last week that the ACLU believes churches shouldn't be required to hold same-sex marriages, but she told a Senate committee that that right is already guaranteed under the First Amendment. "We don't think that clergy or churches should have to open their doors to lesbian and gay couples who want to get married," she told the committee. But "denying access to buildings, denying access to bakeries, denying access to catering services all of this stuff goes too far." The proposal's definition of "religious organizations" would also include entities such as preschools, colleges, children's homes, elder care facilities and hospitals as long as they have some religious tie. Because of the broad definition, and another provision that says the state couldn't penalize an organization in "accordance with a sincere religious belief concerning marriage between two persons of the same sex," opponents say the language could stretch beyond only denying service for same-sex weddings. But Onder has defended the proposal, saying Tuesday that the assertion was an "overly broad reading." "I think these assertions that there is some blanket to deny service to people is, you know, utterly incorrect," Onder said last week. "It's really a matter of people not being commandeered into being forced to participate in a ceremony that violates their religious beliefs." Another proposal, a bill sponsored by Republican Sen. Kurt Schaefer of Columbia who is running for state Attorney General would expand the definition of "religious organization" in Missouri's Human Rights Act to include many of the same entities as Onder's measure. The Missouri Human Rights Act bars discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, disability and age but does not include sexual orientation. Religious groups have historically been granted some exemptions, so that, for example, the Catholic Church wouldn't be required to hire female priests. But Steph Perkins, the executive director of PROMO, said that because sexual orientation isn't included in the law, businesses and other groups (with ties to religion) would be able to discriminate in ways that are now illegal. "Missouri LGBT folks are not included in the Human Rights Act, yet; and so if it's passed it would open the door for discrimination to women or people of color," Perkins said. Schaefer said last week his bill isn't anti-LGBT and simply clarifies state statute after a court ruling struck down the old definition of a religious organization. His bill was introduced in January, heard and voted out of committee last week. Onder's resolution was introduced Feb. 17, heard and voted out of committee last week. Both are scheduled to be debated on the Senate floor this week. Onder's bill only needs to pass both the GOP-dominated Senate and the House to go on the ballot, and doesn't require a signature from Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat. "We're seeing bills move faster than we've seen bills move in a long time," Perkins said. Onder's measure is Senate Joint Resolution 39. Schaefer's is Senate Bill 916. Updated at 7:30 p.m. with comments from the Missouri Alliance for Freedom. JEFFERSON CITY After three weeks of delayed debate, the Missouri House gave initial approval to a new prescription drug monitoring program but with less support than in years past. Under the bill, the state Department of Health and Senior Services would start a database to monitor federal Schedule II through Schedule IV drugs, including prescription painkillers. The sponsor, Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, said that Missouri has become a haven for doctor shopping where patients seek out multiple doctors for the same prescriptions. Rep. Cloria Brown, R-South St. Louis County, said that when her mother was in and out of treatment, she had to keep track of her mom's prescriptions. She said Rehder's bill would help seniors taking multiple drugs and help reduce access to drugs for young people. "I was my mother's database," Brown said. "I kept track of all her meds. Fortunately I did, because whenever she was in the hospital and she was there often when she would leave, they would say these are your meds and I would say 'no, she already takes that.'" "Had I not been there, then she might've taken multiple drugs, because she was in a lot of pain," Brown said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says that while chronic pain has not increased nationwide since 1999, the amount of opioid painkillers such as Vicodin or OxyContin dispensed has quadrupled. And as prescriptions have increased, so have hospital stays and overdose deaths. A 2015 report from the Missouri Hospital Association said that hospital stays due to painkiller misuse have increased 139 percent over the last decade. But House members raised concerns about privacy protections. An amendment which won passage states that anyone who had their information released wrongfully would be able to sue the state Department of Health and Senior Services for damages. Also included was a provision to exempt minors from the data collection, which Rep. Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, said would preempt St. Louis County's plan to monitor all prescriptions, regardless of how old the patient is. Still, Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, said that Missourians not suspected of any crime shouldn't have their medical histories tracked. He said opioid addiction was a "real problem," but was still critical of the bill. "I think there are two questions," Barnes said. "One is: Will it work? And two is: Even if it might work, is this the sort of thing that is consistent with our values as a free society?" Opponents argued the bill, if signed, might not withstand a court challenge, because it may not jibe with the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. But Rep. Rehder said that the Legislature votes to track data regularly namely on some cold medicine purchases, driving records and health records from Missouri HealthNet, which administers some state aid. "We're for databases until we're against them," Rehder said. She continued, "So it's very interesting to me how we pick and choose when to ring the freedom bell." The bill won initial approval on a 91-to-68 vote this year, when in past years it has consistently earned more than 100 "yes" votes. Barnes and outside groups had lobbied against its passage. The conservative nonprofit Missouri Alliance for Freedom has hinted at supporting primary challenges for Republicans who voted for Rehder's bill. Late Tuesday, Ryan Johnson, president of Missouri Alliance for Freedom, said that the group has only voiced opposition to the bill, and hasn't mentioned supporting primary challengers. An email dated Feb. 7 to lawmakers said the group would "talk about it (the vote) loudly in legislative districts around the state." The bill still needs to win final approval in the House. It faces a steeper challenge in the Senate, where a minority has held up similar bills in previous years. Rehder's bill is House Bill 1892. JEFFERSON CITY In tearful testimony, Ferguson resident Tiffani Reliford told a panel of lawmakers Tuesday that a proposed change in Missouri law could improve the relationship she and other black residents have with the police. Reliford was among a handful of witnesses who urged members of a Senate committee to support a plan seeking to expand racial reporting requirements for police to include pedestrian stops, rather than just traffic stops. Reliford said the data collected could be used to help improve frayed community relations. I could be viewed as a suspect simply for being black, Reliford said. Law enforcement is supposed to uphold the law. I dont feel safe with law enforcement. The measure, sponsored by state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, was borne out of the events that followed the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown. Protests and accompanying violence highlighted the frustrations of many African-American residents who believed the police were heavy-handed toward minority residents. Under current law, police must report certain information regarding motor vehicle stops, which is then analyzed by the attorney general and released in an annual report. Nasheed wants to also require police to report certain information regarding pedestrian stops. In addition, her legislation calls for police departments to update the data and publicize it on their websites on a monthly basis. Nasheed said the measure will improve the relationship between the public and police. This is not an attack on police officers. Nasheed said. We have good and bad cops. The measure is among a package of legislation being discussed in the capital city in the wake of the unrest in Ferguson in August 2014. Last month, Lezley McSpadden, the mother of Michael Brown, called on the Legislature to approve a bill requiring body cameras for police. Brown was fatally shot by a Ferguson police officer, sparking protests in the St. Louis area and nationwide. McSpadden said body cameras wouldve helped explain why Brown was shot and killed. Andrea Boyles, a criminal justice researcher at Lindenwood University, was among those supporting the pedestrian stop reports. She said it could bring new and important data to her field. Accurate and consistent reporting is crucial to my research, Boyles told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Police groups raised concerns about the additional data collection required under the proposal. The committee did not formally vote to endorse the legislation. The legislation is Senate Bill 976. WASHINGTON America, the polarized union. Ever wonder how both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, could contend for the Republican and Democratic nominations, at the same time? Simple: Ideologically, the United States has become far more polarized in the first 15-plus years of this century. While the right wing has solidified, the left wing has grown. The American Enterprise Institute laid out the case in a recent report. It cited Gallup Poll results that found that while the number of Republicans identifying themselves as conservative grew from 62 percent to 68 percent from 2000 to 2015, the number of Democrats identifying themselves as liberals jumped from 29 percent to 45 percent over that time. No wonder that Sanders' tax-the-rich, free-college-for-all, health-care-as-a-right message caught on in early Democratic primaries. The Democrats' primary electorate is moving toward the ideological left. In January, an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll showed that of Democrats likely to vote in their parties primaries, those considering themselves very or somewhat liberal constituted 63 percent of Sanders' support, 37 percent of Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton's. Almost half of Clinton's Democratic supporters thought of themselves as moderates; only 14 percent of Sanders's did. Sanders' chances against outcome of Tuesday's Super Tuesday primaries could hinge on how far the Democratic electorate has moved left since 2008, the last time there was a contested Democratic primary. Many of the states voting Tuesday are in the South, where the Democratic electorate has been less liberal than in some earlier states on the primary calendar, starting with Iowa. In 2008 primary election polls in Georgia, 41 percent of Democrats described themselves as moderates, another 9 percent as conservative, and 2 percent as very conservative. In Texas, another Super Tuesday state, 62 percent of Democrats in 2008 primary voting described themselves as either moderate, conservative, or very conservative. (Chuck Raasch) BY THE NUMBERS: 60 - Percent of Republican primary voters in Texas in 2008 who described themselves as evangelical or born again, according to exit polls. 43 - Percent of Republican primary voters in Illinois in 2012 who described themselves as evangelical or born again. Illinois, like Missouri, has its presidential primary March 15. ON THE WEB: HE SAID IT: "If I become President, oh, do they have problems. . . . I'm going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles we can sue them and win lots of money." Donald Trump, on what he'll do to crack down on the media and the First Amendment if elected President. In November 2008, Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure giving home health care providers, who care for some 12,000 of the states most vulnerable citizens, a path to something more than minimum wages. The path has led to a dead end. With their 2008 vote, Missourians declared overwhelmingly that they want home health care to be provided by well-trained, properly compensated professionals. Their resounding voice wasnt enough, it appears. Missourians now should tell their lawmakers to stop dragging their feet and honor the peoples will. Tell them to uphold the veto of Senate Concurrent Resolution 46. For more than seven years, red tape and political gridlock have stood in the way. Even though the federal government pays an hourly wage of $15.56 under the Medicaid program for home health care workers, the workers union says its members are still being paid about $7.75 an hour, a dime more than the state minimum wage. The state decides how that $15.56 will be allocated. In Missouri, the private vendors who administer the program get almost as much as the people preparing food, checking medical equipment, bathing and changing diapers and otherwise helping their clients avoid nursing homes. Sometimes the workers are family members, and Medicaid allows them to stay close to loved ones. The delay is unconscionable. The latest development came last week, when Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed a legislative resolution blocking implementation of a new rule issued by the state Department of Health and Senior Services. The Legislature effectively nixed raising workers wages to between $8.50 and $10.15 an hour. Under Medicaids Consumer-Directed Services program, clients are given some power to decide how to spend it to improve their care. In November 2008, Missouri voters decided 3-to-1 to set up the Quality Homecare Council to ensure a properly trained workforce. Workers unionized and began negotiating wages with the council. The two sides reached agreement in 2014 on a wage scale of $8.50 to $10.15 an hour, depending on the clients wishes. This immediately ran afoul of the Republican-dominated Legislature, which opposes any kind of minimum wage increase, to say nothing of unions. Nixon, a Democrat, invited their meddling by deciding to implement formal rules rather than amending contracts with vendors. He said he wanted the new rule to have the force of law. Administrative rules arent usually controversial, but this one dealt with collectively bargained minimum wages. In May, a special legislative committee rejected the rule change, blaming it on Nixons executive overreach. Nixon called that argument camouflage for the true motivation of holding down wages. The governor was right to veto the resolution. Now the Legislature will attempt to muster two-thirds majorities to override the veto. Missourians who want their will honored should tell their lawmakers to let the veto stand. 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: FTSE 100 ends higher; Mordaunt makes UK PM tilt Friday, October 21, 2022 - 17:22 The pound regained some poise on Friday afternoon but remained in precarious territory, after falling below the $1.11 mark in afternoon trade. The pound was quoted at $1.1203 at the close on Friday, down versus $1.1294 at the London equities close on Thursday. It hit an intraday low of $1.1063 not long after midday. Sterling was hurt by continued political uncertainty. Speculation about who will join Penny Mordaunt in throwing their hats in the ring in the race for Number 10 continues. Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, one-time neighbours at Number 10 and 11 Downing Street - but now bitter rivals - have pockets of support from Tory MPs. Adding to the pressure on sterling, disappointing UK retail sales data showed a bigger-than-expected decline in September, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. Retail sales fell 6.9% annually in September, with the decline accelerating from a 5.6% fall in August. It also was worse than FXStreet-cited market consensus, which had expected a fall of just 5%. The pound had initially found some support on Thursday after Liz Truss called an end to her disastrous tenure as prime minister - poking above $1.13 - but has since been dragged lower. The FTSE 100 index closed up 25.82 points, or 0.4%, at 6,969.73 - closing out the week up 1.6%. The FTSE 250 lost 182.38 points, or 1.1%, at 17,206.55, but still managed to gain 1.0% this week, and the AIM All-Share ended down 1.04 points, or 0.1% at 785.40 - but advanced 0.8% over the past five days. The Cboe UK 100 closed up 0.4% at 696.31, the Cboe UK 250 ended down 1.0% at 14,694.15, and the Cboe Small Companies lost 0.3% at 12,240.46. In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.9%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt gave back 0.3%. The Tories have begun to declare their allegiances in the party's second leadership contest of the year as speculation mounts over who will seek to replace Truss at the helm of the party. Supporters of Johnson are backing the former prime minister to make an extraordinary political comeback, while ex-chancellor Sunak and Commons Leader Mordaunt also have the public support of several MPs. Mordaunt become the first to declare her candidacy, with a pledge to re-unite the bitterly divided party. The leader of the House who finished third in the last leadership election said she had been encouraged by the support she had received from fellow Conservative MPs. There has also been no declaration yet from Sunak, who did not answer questions from reporters as he left his home on Friday morning. Whoever does win will face an immediate test, choosing whether to go ahead with the planned Halloween statement setting out how the government intends to get the public finances back on track, Downing Street has said. Work is continuing in Whitehall, led by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, in preparation for the medium-term fiscal plan to be announced on October 31 along with an updated set of economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility. However, a Number 10 spokeswoman said it would be up to Liz Truss's successor to decide whether to proceed with that approach and with the same timetable. In London, blue chip miners helped push FTSE 100 higher. Glencore gained 3.6%, Anglo American 3.1%, Antofagasta 2.7%, and Rio Tinto added 1.6%. Retailers, however, were showing weakness after the disappointing UK retail sales data. A profit warning from Adidas did nothing to help the mood either. JD Sports closed down 6.1%, Frasers 4.0%, Burberry 2.2%, and Next shed 2.9%. On Thursday, Adidas lowered annual guidance as it struggles with "deteriorating traffic" in China and high inventory levels. The sports apparel maker said it has needed to turn to "higher clearance activity" to try and shift stock. It lost 9.0% in Frankfurt. Deliveroo gained 3.6%. The London-based online food delivery service said gross transaction values rose 8.3% annually in the third quarter to 1.70 billion from 1.57 billion, though orders fell by 1.1% to 72.8 million from 73.6 million. Deliveroo said the decline in orders was due to a difficult consumer environment. With economic data on Friday showing that UK consumer confidence remains near record lows, this seems unlikely to change anytime soon. InterContinental Hotels gave back 2.2% but reported strong revenue growth in the third quarter to September 30, saying that high global employment levels are boosting occupancy levels. Revenue per available room, or RevPAR, rose 28% year-on-year and now exceeds its pre-pandemic level, being up 2.7% on the third quarter of 2019. In the third quarter of 2022, the average daily rate increased by 13% compared to a year ago and was up 11% on 2019. Chief Financial Officer & Head of Strategy Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson will leave the company in six months time to become CFO of Flutter Entertainment in the first half of 2023. IHG has started the process of finding a new CFO. The euro stood at $0.9802 Friday evening, down against $0.9822 at the close on Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP148.03, compared to JP149.77 late Thursday. The yen was staging a fightback after the open on Wall Street, after nearly hitting JP152 during the Asia session. Stocks in New York opened higher on Friday, with the DJIA up 1.1%, the S&P 500 index up 0.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.6% higher. Brent oil was quoted at $92.84 a barrel late Friday, down from $93.29 late Thursday. Gold was quoted at $1,643.70 an ounce Friday, up against $1,641.90 from Thursday. In the international economics events calendar next week, Monday will be dominated by a slew of composite PMIs, with Japan overnight followed by Germany, eurozone and the UK in the morning then the US in the afternoon. A quiet Tuesday will be headlined by a US house price index. On Wednesday, there is Chinese GDP, retail sales and industrial production overnight, then on Thursday attention will be on the European Central Bank interest rate decision at 1315 BST. Friday will be headlined by a Bank of Japan rate decision. In the local corporate calendar on Monday, there are half-year results from Dr Martens, while education publishing firm Pearson will issue a third quarter update. Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. An Indian firm (Mahindra) and BAE (a major British arms manufacturer) have agreed to jointing produce 145 M777 howitzers for the Indian Army. It was only in mid-2015 that India and BAE finally settled all their contract differences and confirmed the M777 sale. One of the conditions was BAE finding an Indian firm to assemble the howitzers in India. The Mahindra M777 facility will begin production in late 2018. India first approached BAE about buying the M777 in early 2010. Selling weapons to India is a very complicated process, made more complex since 2006 because of an escalating Indian crackdown in corruption in weapons procurement. Thus Indian procurement bureaucrats became even more troublesome and obstinate than usual. The M777 deal was almost completed in 2013 but more problems kept showing up. All those have been worked out. This sale went through the BAE American subsidiary, which because of its size, ownership and track record basically operates as an American defense firm. With this purchase India is joining the United States, Canada and Australia in using the M777 towed 155mm howitzer. India is buying the lightweight (3.4 ton) M777 howitzers for about $5 million each. India is particularly attracted by the fact that the M777 can be moved slung under a helicopter, and thus quickly moved to inaccessible areas near the Pakistani and Chinese borders. The M777 is a British design and, at four tons (for the standard version), is the lightest 155mm towed howitzer ever fielded. M777 fire control is handled by computerized system that allows faster response time and more accurate shooting. The M777 can use all current 155mm ammunition, including the Swedish/American Excalibur GPS guided shell. The guided round cuts ammo use enormously. India already uses a similar Russian guided shell called Krasnopol. The helicopter is the preferred method of moving the M777 across rough terrain. An M777 on a mountain top, with a few dozen Excalibur or Krasnopol rounds, provides precision fire support for troops within a 30-40 kilometer radius. Indian land borders are largely mountainous, and difficult to reach by land routes, especially for artillery that could not be flown in. The M-777 changes that. The M777 is also the first new artillery for the Indian Army since the late 1980s. Currently most Indian artillery is either obsolete or soon to be. All these guns are also quite worn and less reliable as a result. Decades of pleas to parliament to speed up acquisition of new weapons. Until 2010 nothing much happened, but since then public pressure and the rapidly deteriorating (and publicized) state of Indian artillery led to some action. NATO and Ukraine have officially agreed to have NATO personnel help train and expand Ukrainian special operations forces. This is sorely needed because when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 Ukraine inherited about 6,000 special operations troops. During the 1990s this force shrank to about 3,000. A common reason for special operations troops leaving was that many were Russian or pro-Russian and Russia made more of an effort recruit special operations troops who had ended up in the armed forces of one of the new 14 nations created from the wreckage of the old Russian Empire. When a Ukrainian popular revolt in 2014 put an anti-Russian government in power even more Ukrainian special operations troops left, or were discharged, because they were more loyal to Russia. Since then Ukraine has been rebuilding its special operations forces using troops who are loyal to Ukraine. Thus the need for NATO help. The Soviet era special operations troops Ukraine does still have come from highly respected Russian tradition. Airborne Forces (paratroopers) and special operations forces (Spetsnaz) have historically been a major source of pride to Russians, going back to the '70s and '80s, when 30,000 Spetsnaz and airborne troops constituted the most effective troops available during the Afghan War (1979-1989). Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia's special ops suffered the same problems as the rest of the Russia, namely corruption, low morale, low funding, and a major decline in the quality of training. Special operations soldiers were often accused of doing contract killings and other "special tasks" for the Russian mob during the chaotic '90s. Ukraine were on the receiving end of Russian special ops in 2014 Russia grabbed the Crimea Peninsula. Most of the work was done by several hundred members of the GRU 45th Spersnaz Regiment. These operators were sent to the Crimea disguised as civilians to create a popular uprising that would enable Russia to annex Crimea. Some of the uniformed men who then took control of Crimea were apparently pro-Russian locals hired by the Russians. The core of this local militia was men with obvious military training and who have been using those skills recently. These were the spetsnaz and they were obviously in charge. Nearly 60 percent of Crimeans are ethnic Russians and GRU appears to have been recruiting, or prospecting there for years. Some of these locals admitted that money changed hands and they were glad to be part of the effort that returned control of Crimea to Mother Russia. When you use armed amateurs you have to expect this sort of unauthorized contact with the media but these comments did not sidetrack the takeover plan. The armed men were obviously briefed and most would not talk to reporters or even let journalists get close. But a few of these fellows, apparently local recruits, just could not resist a reporter with a camera crew looking for a few snappy comments for the evening news. Some of the anonymous armed men may be civilian contractors (which Russia exports to some parts of the world) and some were just pro-Russian veterans willing to take a gun and endure a bit of risk. There are actually several different special operations, or Spetsnaz organizations and most are of recent origin. After World War II it took the Soviet Union a while to note the success of U.S. and American commandos and attempt to emulate their success. In the 1960s, the Red Army began to organize "troops of special purpose" ("Spetsialnoye nazranie", or Spetsnaz for short) units. The Soviet Union had always had some form of commandos but they were special units of the secret police (KGB). For special operations the army would form temporary units consisting entirely of officers. The original Spetsnaz were organized more like a massive use of SAS raiding teams. A Spetsnaz brigade of 1,300 men could field about a hundred 8-10 man teams. A Spetsnaz company had 135 men further divided into 15 independent teams. The actual organization of these brigades was four parachute battalions, an assassin company, a headquarters, and support troops (mainly communications). A naval Spetsnaz brigade had two battalions of "combat swimmers" (comparable to U.S. SEALs), a parachute battalion, a midget submarine company, and other units the army Spetsnaz brigades had. There were also many independent Spetsnaz companies assigned to armies or smaller units. In wartime each team would be given an objective to destroy deep inside enemy territory. Or, if not to destroy something, to go deep and find out what was happening in the enemy rear. Put simply, the job of the Spetsnaz was reconnaissance and sabotage. The Spetsnaz teams would get to the target by parachute, ship, submarine, or as "tourists" before the war began. At the height of the Cold War the Soviet Union had about 30,000 Spetsnaz in service. There was one flaw with this system: most of the Spetsnaz troopers have long been conscripts, in the army for two years. The Russians made this work by being selective in who they chose to be in the Spetsnaz and putting the recruits through a rigorous, and violent, training program. You could think of the Soviet era Spetsnaz as paratroopers with additional training in demolitions, infiltration techniques, foreign language training (which many Russian conscripts had just received in high school) and reconnaissance techniques. Perhaps most importantly, the Spetsnaz recruits were taught to think for themselves. This was a rare directive in the Soviet (or Russian) armed forces. But for commandos to be effective they had to think independently, and the Soviets realized this when they set up the Spetsnaz and the Spetsnaz training program. During the Soviet period the Spetsnaz were seen as an elite organization and a career enhancing thing to have on one's resume. The army had more volunteers than it needed and would take the top graduates from the training program. A favorite method was to send volunteers to the six month NCO course. This course had a high washout rate but those who made it through were competent leaders and just the kind of people the Spetsnaz were looking for. Even after the Soviet Union fell the Spetsnaz were still seen as elite. It did not go unnoticed that Spetsnaz veterans were always in demand as well paid bodyguards and security experts. The Soviets knew they were getting a lot of eager, motivated, and not thoroughly trained Spetsnaz troopers. But they had so many of them that it was felt enough of them would do enough damage to make it all worthwhile. We'll never know if the original plan would have worked, but the Spetsnaz were effective during the 1980s Afghanistan war. The main reason wasn't the superior Spetsnaz combat skills but their initiative and ability to think for themselves. The Afghans they were fighting noted this and learned to clear out of the area if Spetsnaz were found to be operating there. The Spetsnaz recognized the need for career troops for some jobs. The assassin company in each Spetsnaz brigade was staffed with 70-80 career soldiers, whose job was to find, identify, and kill key enemy political and military leaders. When the Soviet Union fell in 1991 the Spetsnaz didn't disappear. The new nations formed from parts of the Soviet Union inherited any Spetsnaz units stationed in their territory. Many of these non-Russian Spetsnaz still exist, although most are not of the same quality as they were when the Soviet Union still existed. Although there are fewer Spetsnaz today there are still about 10,000 of them in Russian service. And more of them are career soldiers (more than half, versus 20-30 percent during the Soviet period). Soon all Spetsnaz will be volunteers because conscription is fading away in Russia. Many of the current Spetsnaz are specialists, with specific skills needed for underwater operations (like U.S. SEALs) and anti-terrorist operations (like the U.S. Delta Force). The post-Soviet Union Russian government maintained the strength of their commandos because they knew they would need some skilled and dependable troops for emergencies. The Spetsnaz selection and training methods were used to create commando units in the FSB (the successor of the KGB), military intelligence (GRU), the Interior Ministry (the national police), and various other paramilitary organizations. By 2012 most (about two-thirds) of the 15,000 Spetsnaz troops were in the ten army Spetsnaz Brigades. Since 2012 Russia has been working to expand its Spetsnaz force further. Preliminary results of the February 26 national elections indicates that the reformers did much better, more than tripling representation in parliament from about ten percent to at least a third. Unlike 2012 the ruling clerics did not try to rig the voting. There were two main reasons for that. First, many hardliners have become pro-reform. Second the ruling clerics know they are in trouble. The government has long used surveys and a large informer network to monitor actual public opinion they knew that an effort to manipulate the vote like was done in 2012 would likely trigger popular anger and disorder. The ruling clerics understand that the huge post-Iraq war (which ended in 1989) generation wants change and within that generation reformers far outnumber religious conservatives. Unless handled carefully this growing pro-reform majority could be a lot of trouble for the government. For example a major complaint of the reformers is against the way the huge financial empire the religious conservatives have built up since the 1980s is run. These companies were taken over by clergy (and their families) for a lot of largely bogus reasons. These huge holdings make the religious conservatives much wealthier, on average, than ordinary Iranians and that is a very unpopular situation. Too much reform could threaten that cozy, and quite corrupt, arrangement. All Iranians want a stronger economy but the reformers understand this will only happen if there is more foreign trade with the West, especially the United States. The official government attitude towards the U.S. is still Death to America. Another major complaint of reformers is the use of lifestyle police to enforce unpopular rules about how women should dress and behave as well as prohibitions on all sorts of traditional Iranian pastimes (like drinking alcohol and watching what they want in movie theaters, TV and the Internet). Religious hardliners do not want to give any ground in these areas but the senior clerics pay more attention to Iranian history and know that the hardliners could be crushed if it came to a fight and most Iranians do not want that sort of bloodshed. But most Iranians also want change and in the past they have shown a willingness to fight if pushed too far. Violent rebellion is still a possibility, especially with so many new reformers being former hardliners who now are all for less corruption, lifestyle police and more foreign trade but still want America and Israel destroyed one way or another. Yet these same anti-American reformers also want better relations with Turkey and the Arabs as well as less dependence on Russia. As usual, not all is what it seems in Iran. Saudi Arabia ignored Iranian, Russian and Syrian threats and insists it is sending some troops to Syria to fight ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). These will probably only be small numbers of special operations troops. Syria, Russia and Syria (the Assads) all openly shared their belief that Saudi ground troops could not handle ISIL or Syrian soldiers. Iran and Russia have long felt that the Saudi armed forces were second rate. There is some truth to this and it has long been an open secret even among Gulf Arabs. But after decades of efforts, including a lot of blunt criticism by foreign (mainly American and British) military advisors and trainers change did occur. The Gulf Arab ground forces proved quite capable (or at least more so than Iran expected) in Yemen. Foreign Arabs have been fighting there since early 2015. Iran was also dismayed to see the skill of Saudi and other Arab pilots in Yemen (and earlier in Iraq and Syria). In this part of the world publically demeaning a neighbors troops after those forces have recently displayed competence is a high praise. It also sends a message to Iranian commanders and troops to try harder because the Arabs may not be as easy to beat as before. The fact that Iran went public with disparaging remarks about Saudi troops ensured that the war of words stayed in the media and more recently Iran has threatened Saudi troops with Iranian supplied violence if the Saudis dared to send troops into Syria. Iran knows that such an invasion would be as much against the Assads and their Iranian backers as against ISIL. The Saudis have warned Russia to stand aside if the Saudis and Iranians get violent with each other inside Syria. Turkey then warned Russia that an attack on Saudi forces would compel the Turks to enter Syria to assist their Arab ally. Turkey and Saudi Arabia have had good relations for a long time so this Turkish pledge should come as no surprise. The Saudi threat of intervention on the ground is likely to occur after the current multi-national Northern Thunder military exercises in northern Saudi Arabia end on March 10th. These exercises involve over 150,000 troops from Saudi Arabia, the other Gulf Arab nations plus Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Jordan, Sudan and Senegal. It is to Irans advantage that ISIL hold the attention of the West and the Arabs. Iran is fighting ISIL, but mainly in Iraq, where Sunni Islamic terrorists have long focused their attacks on Shia civilians. Since the Shia are a majority in Iraq Iran becomes even more popular there as Iran backed militias and other military assistance plays a crucial role in driving ISIL (and eventually all Sunni Islamic terrorists) out of the country. Iranians speak openly (especially inside of Iran) of how well they have exploited their enemies and duped them into fight for Iran instead of against Iran. Iran understands that Yemen is far more important to the Gulf Arabs than to Iran. Moreover the Yemeni Shia have never been dependent on Iran like those in Lebanon (Hezbollah), Iraq or Syria. Control (or substantial influence) in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon give Iran a land route to their declared main foe; Israel. The Saudi royals and Arabs in general are secondary to the Iranian official hatred of Israel. The Iranian threat to the Arab states in the region, especially those with oil, is of more immediate concern for the Arabs and the main reason why Arabs have openly become allies with Israel against Iran. This complex web of opportunities and capabilities means Yemen is basically a sideshow where winning is not the highest priority for Iran or Arabs. Both the Arabs and Iran have an interest in shutting down the Sunni Islamic terrorists in Yemen because these cutthroats see both Arab rulers and Shia in general as prime candidates for elimination. The U.S. fears that Iraq is on its way to becoming subordinate to Iranian foreign policy. Because of effective Iranian aid in dealing with ISIL the Iraqi government has become less enthusiastic about needing more American and NATO troops in Iraq. Iraq also announced that Saudi Arabia should not even consider sending troops into Iraq to fight ISIL. The Saudis did not suggest this but are planning to send troops into Syria. The Saudis have no border with Syria but do have land access to Jordan and Iraq. Thus Iraq is making it clear that Saudi forces are not welcome in Iraq even if they are just passing through. Jordan is another matter and has become an ally of the Saudis. Meanwhile Iran supports the increasingly aggressive and autonomous behavior of the Iran-backed Iraqi Shia militias that are assisting the army in the fight against ISIL. The Shia militias are also taking control of territory in urban and rural areas, displacing the police and local government. Because of that by late 2015 the Iraq government saw more American troops as saviors. At the end of 2015 there were several thousand American troops already in Iraq and more (most of them Special Forces) on the way. The government has made it clear to Iran (which is very hostile to U.S. forces in Iraq) that some American troops were essential. The presence of American troops also makes it less likely that Iran will attempt anything too ambitious (like invading or backing a takeover by Shia militias) and everyone knows that. But now Iran appears to have convinced Iraqi leaders that American troops come and go while Iranian forces are always next door. Most Iraqis are more concerned with Iranian meddling than anything the Americans might do. At the same time Iraqis are wary of the other Gulf Arabs, especially Saudi Arabia. For example the Saudi ambassador to Iraq suggested that the Iran backed Shia militias in Iraq should stand aside and let the Iraqi Army deal with ISIL. That comment was widely condemned by Iraqi Shia clerics and politicians. The Shia politicians running Iraq have to move carefully because Iran, Saudi Arabia and America are making demands, often contrary ones, on Iraq. February 29, 2016: A lot of publicity was given to a government announcement about new Iranian designed and made chemical warfare equipment. This included chemical weapons detectors, a protective suit as well as medicines used to treat victims of chemical weapons. Officially Iran does not have any chemical or nuclear weapons. Unofficially no one is sure. Over 100,000 Iranians (mostly military personnel) were killed or badly injured by chemical weapons during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Most of the casualties were from chemical weapons like mustard gas that were developed during World War I (1914-18). But the 1980s also saw the first combat use of nerve gas, a World War II era weapon that, unlike nukes, was never used during that war. Iran and Iraq both made and used nerve gas against each other. February 28, 2016: The United States revealed that it had halted an Iranian arms shipment to Shia rebels in Yemen. February 27, 2016: In Syria a ceasefire was supposed to begin on the 27th but it only really lasted a day and there is widespread doubt that it will actually work. The main reason is the fact that ISIL and al Nusra (nearly as large as ISIL and affiliated with al Qaeda) have not agreed to stop fighting. This is the second attempt at a ceasefire this month. That first effort failed for the same reasons the new effort will. The UN and most of the West is eager for peace in Syria but for most Moslem nations Syria is a main battleground in the current Shia (led by Iran) and Sunni (led by Saudi Arabia) civil war as well as a joint effort to destroy ISIL, which threatens everyone. The West is not willing to use enough force to make a difference and the pro-government forces are better armed and more determined than the rebels. The UN is caught in the middle and goes along with whatever seems least offensive. Meanwhile the rebels willing to negotiate demand a lot of pre-conditions aimed at the Russians. At the very least the rebels wanted the Russians to halt their Assad support while peace talks go on. That never went anywhere. The rebels are asking for other concessions, like release of captured leaders and lifting of sieges of some pro-rebel civilian areas. Russia refused to consider this as well. Another issue the rebels are angry about was the UN agreeing to keep the Syrian Kurds out of the peace talks. This was something Turkey insisted on. There were other problems, like the tensions between Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran which have also helped cripple UN efforts obtain a meaningful Syria peace deal. The growing tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran has made cooperation over brokering a Syria peace deal less likely. Russian efforts to mediate are also compromised because of tensions with Iran and the Saudis. February 25, 2016: The government announced an aid program to Palestinians that would pay $7,000 to the families of Palestinians killed while trying to kill Israelis. Over 116 Palestinians have died that way since September 2015. Iran will also pay $30,000 to Palestinian families who have their homes destroyed by Israel (to encourage families to dissuade their children from being terrorists). Until 2003 Saddam Hussein had a similar Palestinian aid program. February 20, 2016: Officials have been in Russia discussing a multi-billion dollar deal to buy Russian Su-30 jet fighters, Yak-130 jet trainers and Mi-17 helicopters. Such sales are still forbidden without explicit permission from the UN. At the same time it was confirmed that Iran is still discussing details of the S-300 anti-aircraft systems sale. This was thought to be a done deal. In December Russian announced that deliveries would be made via the Caspian Sea. Some supporting equipment has already been flown in or came by sea as non-military equipment. Apparently the key S-300 components (missiles and fire control systems) have not been delivered. February 19, 2016: Saudi Arabia is suspending military aid to Lebanon largely because the Lebanese government has been unable to curb Iranian use of Hezbollah fighters in Syria and Yemen. The $3 billion in weapons and equipment is being supplied for by France, paid for by Saudi Arabia and was arranged back in 2013. Deliveries began in early 2015 and were to have been completed by 2018. Training and maintenance services were to continue into the 2020s. Pakistan officially lifted all economic sanctions it had imposed on Iran. Pakistan was obliged to enforce these sanctions because of international treaties (like belonging to the UN). Now that a July 2015 international agreement has lifted those sanctions Pakistan is free to resume trade and revive joint economic projects that had been stalled by the growing list of sanctions. India and Pakistan were both doing a lot of business with Iran before the sanctions and both countries are now reviving those activities. February 18, 2016: The government revealed that it had sent special operations troops (Saberin) to Iraq and Syria. Those in Iraq are there mainly to ensure security around some very important Shia shrines in southern Iraq. The Saberin in Syria are apparently for special combat missions. The Saberin are modeled on the British SAS and U.S. Special Forces. At the same time the Saberin were headed to Syria many, if not most, of the 2,000 trainers and advisors from the IRGC (Revolutionary Guards) have been withdrawn. Many of these appear to have been shifted to Iraq where Iran wants its military well represented as Iraq seeks to clear ISIL out of western Iraq (Anbar province) and Mosul (second largest city and held by Iraq since mid-2014). At least 500 Iranians remain in Syria. Thousands of Iranians have served in Syria since 2012. Although Iran has never revealed how many troops have been in Syria it is known (from Iranian media) that at least 150 of these military personnel have been killed in Syria and several hundred more wounded. That would indicate that at least 5,000 (and probably more like 10,000) Iranians have been there training and advising Syrian troops or pro-Syrian militias and foreign volunteers. Israel believes that many more Iranian troops will return to Syria once ISIL is crushed in Iraq. Once the rebellion is crushed in Syria Iran expects the Assads to be more cooperative in supporting terror attacks against Israel. February 11, 2016: Saudi Arabia detained a cargo ship carrying UN aid for Yemen. Saudi inspectors say they found four cargo containers containing computer and communications equipment that was not declared and is considered suspicious because this gear can also be used for military purposes and would be useful to the Shia rebels. Deutsche Bank earlier reiterated a Buy rating on Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) with a price target of $90. Analyst Kristen Stewart said investors should buy weakness. The analyst explained, "We continue to rate MDT a Buy. Why? We see a number of recently and to-be launched products should sustain at least mid single digit sales constant currency growth. There are several catalysts including medical conference (SAGES, ACC), investor briefings, and notably the June 6 Analyst Day that should reinforce this view. The leverage is coming through and cost savings with the Covidien, but FX is masking it. MDT now trades at a slight discount to the market and some of its peers despite more predictable sales and EPS, and superior cash flow profile as we view its Irish domicile worthy of a premium." For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Medtronic, Inc. click here. For more ratings news on Medtronic, Inc. click here. Shares of Medtronic, Inc. closed at $77.39 yesterday. Citigroup (NYSE: C) reached a definitive agreement to sell its 20% equity stake in China Guangfa Bank (CGB) to China Life Insurance Company Ltd. The financial terms of the transaction are not material to Citigroups earnings. Francisco Aristeguieta, CEO of Citi Asia Pacific said, While we are proud of our decade-long partnership with China Guangfa Bank, this transaction is consistent with the simplification of Citi and allows us to focus our resources in China on growing our core franchise further. Citi has operated in China for more than a century and it remains one of our highest priority markets around the world. We employ more than 8,000 people in China and work closely with a targeted set of clients across both consumer and institutional banking. Citi has been in China since 1902 and in 2007 was among the first international banks to locally incorporate in China. In 2012, Citi became the first global bank to launch a sole-branded credit card in China. Citi has operations across 13 cities in China. Citi first acquired its stake in CGB through a consortium investment in 2006 that included China Life Insurance Company. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2016, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Citis Institutional Clients Group advised Citi on this transaction. Citi will announce its first quarter of 2016 results on April 15, 2016. BRISBANE, Australia, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cryptsoft today announced it will release new advanced Audit, Analytics and Compliance modules for its industry leading Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) and Cryptographic interface (PKCS#11) Server Software Development Kits (SDKs) at the RSA Conference 2016. "Cryptsoft is proud to be extending our industry leading KMIP and PKCS#11 server software development kits," said Greg Scott, CEO of Cryptsoft. "Cryptsoft has worked closely with our data storage, infrastructure & security and cloud platform customers to deliver Audit, Analytics and Compliance functionality for interoperable open standards based secure applications." Cryptsoft applies its expertise in cryptographic, enterprise key management and authentication technologies, helping to drive several industry standards initiatives, including the OASIS Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) Technical Committee and the OASIS Public-Key Cryptography Standard #11 (PKCS#11) Technical Committee. "Cryptsoft has worked with a number of our customers who have requirements for Audit, Analytics and Compliance features in the applications they deliver. The challenge of managing multiple key objects, encryption algorithms, interface protocols and security interfaces is now easier and quicker through these features," said Tim Hudson, CTO and Technical Director at Cryptsoft. "Our industry leading KMIP C server and PKCS#11 SDKs now capture information about all operations of the KMIP server and deliver this using the Audit, Analytics and Compliance modules to allow enterprise key management while still conforming to open standards and delivering interoperable and verifiable secure applications for the modern enterprise." Cryptsoft will be available at booth 3030 in the Moscone North exhibition hall. More information: Cryptsoft Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) Products About Cryptsoft Pty Ltd: Cryptsoft is a privately-held Australian company with 20 years' experience in the cryptographic and security markets. Cryptsoft's Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) and PKCS#11 software development kits (SDKs) for Server and Client empower vendors to provide the secure, simplified, and vendor-agnostic interoperable enterprise key management solutions the global market is demanding. Cryptsoft is an OASIS Foundational Sponsor, SNIA and SSIF Voting Member. http://www.cryptsoft.com PRLog ID: www.prlog.org/12537779 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cryptsoft-releases-kmip-c-server-sdk-modules-for-audit-analytics-and-compliance-at-rsa-conference-2016-300228737.html SOURCE Cryptsoft DySIS Colposcope to be incorporated into national cervical screening programme EDINBURGH, Scotland--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- DySIS Medical Ltd. (DySIS) today announces that it has signed a multi-million pound contract with medical technology distributor, ITEM Medical Technologies as part of the national cervical screening programme in Turkey. No financial details have been disclosed. As part of plans to advance the countrys cervical screening programme, the Turkish Ministry of Health selected DySISs Colposcope over other technologies. The aim is to install a DySIS Colposcope in every City hospital in the country. ITEM Medical Technologies has purchased an initial instalment of 75 instruments from DySIS in order to begin the roll-out during 2016. Alastair Atkinson, CEO of DySIS, said: This order is another clear endorsement of our technology. ITEM Medical Technologies is working closely with the Turkish Ministry of Health to bring better standards of healthcare to women. Adopting the DySIS Colposcope will enhance Turkeys screening programme. Zafer Yazici, Managing Director of ITEM Medical Technologies, said: Cervical cancer screening in Turkey is a vital component of womens healthcare, delivered thorough approximately 1,000 screening centres. The advantages offered by the DySIS Colposcope were proven in the clinical evaluation that was performed and are strongly appreciated by gynaecologists. The DySIS Colposcope differs from traditional colposcopes by measuring the cervical epithelium, producing a map of the cervix. The DySISmap assists the clinician with the processes of evaluating the cervix, selecting biopsy sites or performing treatment if needed. The DySISmap technology acts as an adjunct to conventional methods. Alastair Atkinson added, This contract builds on the strong adoption of our products in the UK, US and Middle Eastern markets where over 80,000 DySIS examinations have now been undertaken. We continue to receive very positive feedback from consultants and we know our technology is saving womens lives. DySIS is proving itself as the new standard of care for cervical cancer prevention. Sales of the DySIS Colposcope continue to grow. The instrument is now installed within 70 centres within selected US states and is available in the UK, northern Europe and the United Arab Emirates. Ends Notes to Editors DySIS Medical Ltd DySIS Medical, a medical devices company active within Womens Health, has developed an advanced cervical scan which, in addition to performing traditional colposcopy examinations, uses dynamic spectral imaging to scan, quantify and map the cervix. www.dysismedical.com About the DySIS colposcope The DySIS colposcope differs from traditional colposcopes by measuring the cervical epithelium automatically, producing a map of the cervix which assists the clinician with assessing the cervix, identifying biopsy locations and performing treatment if needed. DySIS delivers dynamic spectral imaging, in vivo quantified assessment of the cervix, high sensitivity quantified mapping of the aceto-whitening effect and HD digital imaging & video with intuitive touch screen interface. The DySIS colposcopes ergonomic design is compatible with all patient beds. About cervical cancer Worldwide, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer for women and the seventh most common cancer overall. While it is the only entirely preventable cancer, approximately half a million women are diagnosed with the disease every year. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160301005924/en/ DySIS Medical, Inc. Alastair Atkinson E: [email protected] T: 01506 592159 or Instinctif Partners Melanie Toyne Sewell/Gemma Howe E: [email protected] T: 020 7866 7860 Source: DySIS Medical PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News: PSA Peugeot Citroen (Paris: UG) is fulfilling its transparency commitments to customers. In connection with the 2016 Geneva International Motor Show, it is releasing the initial results on real-world fuel consumption for three models. This initiative is a world first in the automotive industry .The results come from a test procedureestablished with two non-governmental organisations, Transport & Environment (T&E) and France Nature Environment (FNE), and are audited by Bureau Veritas. This protocol confirms the real-world fuel consumption of PSA customers, as well as the results of the independent data bases. In November 2015, with media coverage casting a pall over the automotive industry, PSA Peugeot Citroen decided to take a unique approach by publishing real-world fuel consumption data for its cars in order to be transparent with customers. PSA Peugeot Citroen is the first carmaker to adopt such an approach and is today publishing initial fuel consumption metrics for three of its most popular vehicles. The measurements were made under a protocol developed with the NGO Transport & Environment, on public roads near Paris (25.5 km urban, 39.7 km extra-urban, and 31.1 km motorway) and under real-life driving conditions, notably with passenger and luggage loads, road gradients, and use of air-conditioning systems. Based on the European Union's Real Driving Emissions (RDE) project, the protocol measures fuel consumption by means of a portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) installed on the vehicle. Bureau Veritas, an independent and internationally respected body, guarantees the protocol, ensuring that it is conducted in line with specifications and that the results are accurate and reliable. The initial measurements are comparable to those made by customers (obtained from independant customer surveys). They show that the procedure conducted with Transport & Environment is scientifically robust and representative of a typical driver. Vehicles tested PEUGEOT 3081.6l BlueHDi 120S&S BVM6Allure CITROEN C4GRAND PICASSO 1.6l BlueHDi 120S&S BVM6 Exclusive DS 31.6l BlueHDi 120S&S BVM6So Chic Consumption measured under the protocol(l/100km) 5.0 5.6 4.9 Consumption measured via customer surveys(l/100km) 5.0 / 5.1 5.5 / 5.7 5.1 / 5.3 PSA Peugeot Citroen is European leader for low-carbon emissions. Confident in its technologies, the Group is anticipating future testing standards and calling for the introduction of the Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedures (WLTP), which will better reflect real-world driving conditions. Before summer 2016 PSA will release official real-world fuel consumption figures for 30 Peugeot, Citroen and core DS models. Gilles Le Borgne, Executive Vice-President, Research & Development, said: "As announced in late 2015, after working with Transport & Environment, France Nature Environment and Bureau Veritas, the procedure has now been validated and the initial results are consistent with customer-reported consumption data. Greg Archer, Clean Vehicles Director at Transport & Environment, said: The test developed with PSA Peugeot Citroen is reproducible and representative. It confirms the fuel consumption of a tested model by a typical driver in real-world driving conditions. This test proves that the on-road tests are reliable and can be used to measure real CO2 emissions. This should become the benchmark for all carmakers advertising their vehicles fuel efficiency. Michel Dubromel, Vice-Chairman of France Nature Environment, added: "The proactive approach taken by PSA Peugeot Citroen reflects total transparency on CO2 emissions and is set to continue for other pollutants. Its our response to people's legitimate concerns about public health". Commenting, Marc Boissonnet, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Communication at Bureau Veritas, said: "The initiative, based on cooperation between a manufacturer, an NGO and a certification organization, is both innovative and constructive. It meets all the conditions for addressing issues that may be raised by consumers. PSA Peugeot Citroen has done what was necessary to ensure an independent and credible verification that can set the standard for the automotive industry". About PSA Peugeot Citroen With its three world-renowned brands, Peugeot, Citroen and DS, The Group sold 3 million vehicles worldwide in 2015. Second largest carmaker in Europe, PSA Peugeot Citroen recorded revenue of 54 billion in 2015. The Group confirms its position of European leader in terms of CO2 emissions, with an average of 104.4 grams of CO2/km in 2015. It is also involved in financing activities (Banque PSA Finance) and automotive equipment (Faurecia). For more information, please visit www.psa-peugeot-citroen.com About Transport & Environment (T&E) Transport & Environment (T&E) is the only environmental organisation working at European-level to develop a more sustainable transport policy. Its work to clean up road transport includes promoting the development of vehicles that are more sustainable in terms of their impact on the environment and human health. About France Nature Environment France Nature Environment is the French federation of associations for the protection of nature and environment. This is the spokesman of a movement of 3,000 associations, grouped in 80 member organizations, presents throughout the French territory in mainland France and overseas territories. France Nature Environment, wherever the nature needs us. www.fne.asso.fr About Bureau Veritas Bureau Veritas is a global leader in testing, inspection and certification services. It offers services and innovative solutions to ensure that clients' assets, products, infrastructure and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility. The group has 66,000 employees in 1,400 offices and laboratories around the world. For more information, visit www.bureauveritas.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160301005939/en/ Media Contacts PSA Peugeot Citroen +33 (0)1 40 66 42 00 or Transport & Environment +32 (0)484 27 87 91 or France Nature Environnement or Bureau Veritas +33 1 55 24 76 01 Source: PSA Peugeot Citroen CLEARWATER, Fla., March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Kevin Maier, a chef at the Church of Scientology religious retreat in Clearwater, Florida, won the Chaine des Rotisseurs Southeast Regional Young Chef Competition, Sunday, February 28, held at Keiser University in Melbourne, Florida. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160301/339087 Founded in 1248 in Paris, Chaine des Rotisseurs, is the world's oldest international gastronomic society. Their young chef completion is open to chefs who are 27 or younger. Arriving at the site of the competition at Keiser University, each chef received a black box containing frog legs, a rack of lamb and rabbit, golden beets, red beets, fennel and asparagus. They were then allotted 30 minutes to plan a menu and three hours, with access to a common pantry, to produce a three-course culinary tour de force consisting of appetizer, entree and dessert. Finally, they had 30 minutes to "plate the meal" and present it to the panel. Judges watched as they prepared their dishes, looking for the way they conducted themselves in the kitchen, including knife skills and sanitation. These were factored into their final scores, along with the nutritional value of the food and its taste and artistic presentation. Maier will now go on to the national Chaine des Rotisseurs competition in June at Keiser's campus in Sarasota, Florida. The other competitors were Lydia Ross, who works at Chevy Chase Club in Maryland; Robin Neff, who works at the Ritz Carlton in Sarasota; Richard McCaw, who works at Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Bonita Springs; Devin Davis, who works at Rolling Pin Kitchen Emporium in Brandon; Daniel Wernz, who is a work study tudor at Le Cordon Bleu in Orlando; and Arthur Meade, who works at La Coq au Vin in Orlando. The first of the Young Chefs competitions was organized in 1977 in Switzerland to support and promote future young chefs by giving them the opportunity to demonstrate their skills. This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/scientologist-takes-first-place-in-florida-culinary-competition-300228735.html SOURCE Church of Scientology Thailand's Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith gestures during an interview with Reuters at the Transport Ministry in Bangkok, Thailand, February 29, 2016. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom By Pairat Temphairojana and Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK (Reuters) - China should supply the bulk of the investment needed for a planned railway from the Thai-Laos border to the Gulf of Thailand as the project will benefit Beijing, Thailand's transport minister said. The proposed line, part of China's efforts to expand infrastructure in Southeast Asia, would cover 845 kilometers from the Thai-Laos border to Thailand's industrial seaboard along the Gulf of Thailand. Thai Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith told Reuters on Monday that China and Thailand were still negotiating a 60:40 shareholding plan, and that the railway would be a high-speed one, rather than mid-speed as originally discussed. "As this project benefits them (the Chinese), they will have to invest more because this is a strategic route that will benefit China," Arkhom said. China has put the project cost at 560 billion baht ($15.71 billion), according to Arkhom, but Thailand thinks this is too high. Arkhom said China wants Thailand to finalize the rail deal quickly before any change of Thai government will disrupt the project, adding that construction is expected to begin in May. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, asked about Arkhom's remarks, said he hoped the project could be implemented as soon as possible to benefit the two countries and the region. "After the Thai railway is constructed, it will benefit Thailand's social and economic growth and make Thailand the center of regional connectivity," he told Tuesday's daily news briefing in Beijing. FINANCIALLY VIABLE? In December, there was a groundbreaking ceremony in Vientiane, for a chain from a border town in China to the Lao capital. Such a train, combined with a new one in Thailand, would connect China with the Gulf of Thailand. For its part, Thailand is trying to increase spending on infrastructure to boost its struggling economy. But critics in the country have said the touted railway project is not financially viable. Korn Chatikavanij, a former finance minister, told Reuters in January that Thailand isn't leveraging its strong bargaining position in the project. Arkhom said the high-speed line "will change travel and logistics in Thailand" as well as generate revenue. In Thailand, some will be looking at China's winning of a $5.5 billion high-speed rail project in Indonesia as a test of its ability to operate in Southeast Asian countries. China beat Japan for the contract to build Indonesia's first high-speed railway, but construction in was halted a week after a ground-breaking ceremony took place in January due to paperwork not being finalised. ($1 = 35.67 baht) (Additional reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre in BANGKOK and Ben Blanchard and Jessica Macy Yu in BEIJING; Editing by Richard Borsuk) By Darya Korsunskaya MOSCOW (Reuters) - European banks have greater chances than U.S. ones of being among the organizers of a Russian sovereign Eurobond issue this year, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Tuesday. Russia has invited 25 Western and three domestic banks to bid to organize up to $3 billion in Eurobonds this year, in what would be its first foray into foreign debt markets since 2013. "First of all (it could be) European banks," Siluanov told journalists. "This is because of the position of the American authorities." The U.S. government has warned some banks that bidding for the deal would undermine international sanctions imposed on Moscow for its role in the Ukraine conflict in 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported. Banking sources told Reuters that German bank Deutsche Bank had responded to the Russian Finance Ministry's invitation to express its interest. Sources also said U.S. banks Citi (NYSE: C) and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (NYSE: BAC) had not responded to the invitation to organize the Eurobond. Deutsche was one of the organizers of Russia's last sovereign Eurobond. Deutsche, Citi and Bank of America all declined comment. The list of invited banks also includes foreign banks J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Barclays, as well as local banks Sberbank CIB, VTB Capital and Gazprombank, according to a letter published on the ministry's website. Russia will pick organizers of the Eurobond issue this month, Interfax news agency cited Konstantin Vyshkovsky, the head of the Finance Ministry's sovereign debt department, as saying on Tuesday. Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said last week that many of the invitees had not responded, but the ministry nonetheless would have a pool of banks to choose from. Business daily RBC reported on Tuesday that Goldman Sachs had initially responded positively to the invitation but was now looking to withdraw its application. A Russian representative of Goldman Sachs declined to comment. Concerns that the proceeds of any Russian government bond issue would flow to state-run companies under Western sanctions have meant many portfolio managers have been consulting compliance officers and legal experts for advice on whether to invest in the debt. Sergio Trigo Paz, head of emerging debt at BlackRock, said he was very positive on Russian debt. He said he was considering buying the new Eurobonds. Asked whether compliance was an issue he said: "That's why we are considering it". (Additional reporting by Alexander Winning, Elena Fabrichnaya and Lidia Kelly in Moscow and Sujata Rao in London; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Ralph Boulton) By Anastasia Moloney BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A group of Guatemalan women used as sex slaves by two former military officers during the country's civil war are seeking $3 million in compensation following a historic trial, their lawyers said. On Feb. 26, a Guatemalan court convicted a retired army officer and a former paramilitary for holding 11 indigenous women as sex slaves at a military base, murder and forced disappearances dating back to the early 1980s. The defendants -- Esteelmer Reyes Giron, a lieutenant colonel and former commander of the Sepur Zarco base and Heriberto Valdez Asij, a civilian with links to the army -- were sentenced to a total of 360 years in prison. Both deny wrongdoing and will appeal, their lawyers said. The verdict marks the first time that sexual slavery perpetrated during a conflict has been prosecuted in the country where the crimes took place as opposed to an international tribunal, legal experts said. "(It) is the first time a national court has recognized and established state troops were responsible for subjecting women, the majority indigenous women in this case, to sexual slavery and exploitation and that sexual violence was used as a weapon of war," said Paula Barrios, a Guatemalan lawyer involved in bringing the case to court. "This ruling sets a very important example and precedent for criminal proceedings and convictions involving sexual violence in conflict that's not only relevant for Guatemala but other countries like Colombia in armed conflict," Barrios, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview. HARROWING TESTIMONY As many as 250,000 people were killed in a bloody civil war lasting from 1960 to 1996 in the Central American country. Up to 45,000 people disappeared in the conflict between state security forces and Marxist guerrillas. During the trial, prosecutors told the court that in 1982 soldiers killed, captured and were responsible for the disappearances of more than a dozen men in Sepur Zarco village. Many of the victims had been campaigning for land rights and were accused by the army of sympathizing with the rebels. Some of their wives were forced into slavery at the military base. The court heard recorded and live testimony from the 11 surviving Mayan women, many in their seventies and eighties, who said they were raped at the base and forced to cook, clean and wash for the soldiers. One woman, Rosario Xoc, told the court she was gang raped by soldiers near a river where she would wash clothes. "My young son was screaming when he saw what they were doing to me but nobody helped me," she said through a Q'eqchi Mayan language interpreter. REPARATIONS The women's lawyers will seek around $3 million in damages, access to health care, a school and land titles for the victims during a hearing on reparations on March 2. A United Nations-backed Truth Commission set up under a 1996 peace deal concluded that the military was responsible for more than 85 percent of abuses committed during the war. But until now no members of Guatemala's armed forces had been convicted of wartime rape in the country. Rigoberta Menchu, Guatemala's Mayan Nobel laureate and a leading rights activist said the trial had set a precedent that would likely pave the way for more women to come forward. "The bravery of these Mayan women has allowed the silence and impunity surrounding sexual violence to be broken after more than 30 years," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Barrios said around 1,500 testimonies had already been collected from other women who suffered wartime rape and that the Guatemalan authorities were investigating more cases. (Reporting by Anastasia Moloney, Editing by Katie Nguyen.; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org) The United Nations logo is displayed on a door at U.N. headquarters in New York February 26, 2011. REUTERS/ Joshua Lott By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council plans to vote on a resolution on Tuesday that would dramatically expand existing U.N. sanctions on North Korea in response to its Jan. 6 nuclear test, the U.S. mission to the United Nations said on Monday. The vote is expected to come during a meeting that begins at 3 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Tuesday, an official at the mission told Reuters. Last week the United States presented to the 15-nation council a draft resolution it negotiated with China that would significantly tighten restrictions after North Korea's nuclear test and rocket launch, and create what it described as the toughest U.N. sanctions regime in two decades. Originally Washington had hoped to put the resolution to a vote last weekend but Russian demanded more time to study the text, which the United States agreed last week with China in an unusual partnership against Beijing's neighbor and ally Pyongyang. The draft, seen by Reuters, would require U.N. member states to conduct mandatory inspections of all cargo passing through their territory to or from North Korea to look for illicit goods. Previously states were only required to do this if they had reasonable grounds to believe there was illicit cargo. One diplomat said there had been minor changes to the text, though he offered no details. The United States used the nearly two months of bilateral negotiations that at one point involved President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, diplomats said, to win China's support for unusually tough measures intended to persuade North Korea to abandon its atomic weapons program. The proposal would close a gap in the U.N. arms embargo on Pyongyang by banning all weapons imports and exports. There would also be an unprecedented ban on the transfer to North Korea of any item that could directly contribute to the operational capabilities of the North Korean armed forces, such as trucks that could be modified for military purposes. Other proposed measures include a ban on all supplies of aviation and rocket fuel to North Korea, a requirement for states to expel North Korean diplomats engaging in illicit activities, and blacklisting 17 North Korean individuals and 12 entities, including the National Aerospace Development Agency or 'NADA', the body responsible for February's rocket launch. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power told reporters the new measures, if approved, would be "the strongest set of sanctions imposed by the Security Council in more than two decades." North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006 because of its multiple nuclear tests and rocket launches. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Michael Perry) HARARE (Reuters) - A Zimbabwean court has allowed the largest diamond mine in the Marange fields to return and assume control of all assets after challenging government's decision to stop mining operations. Zimbabwe's mines minister on Feb. 22 ordered all nine companies operating in the diamond fields in the east of the southern African country near Mozambique to stop mining and leave because their license had expired. Mbada Diamonds, a 50/50 venture between the government and Mauritius-registered Grandwell Holdings, on Monday won a reprieve from the High Court, which ruled that Mbada should have full control of its assets. In the interim judgment seen by Reuters on Tuesday, the ministry of mines was ordered to let Mbada's security personnel have access to the company's mining site in Marange. "As a contingency plan pending the hearing of this matter ... (minister of mines) shall allow such security personnel full access to all the relevant premises thereat, including residential premises, full access to all the equipment, diamond ore and any other assets," Judge Joseph Mafusire said. A full hearing on whether Mbada can resume mining will be held on Wednesday. Mines Minister Walter Chidhakwa told Reuters that the government, through the Attorney General, would launch an appeal on Tuesday, which would automatically suspend Monday's ruling. "We believe in the original position that we took and we stand by that decision. The Attorney General will launch an appeal this morning," said Chidhakwa. Mbada wants the court to remove the ministry of mines from its concession and force the government to renew its license. Analysts say the latest move by President Robert Mugabe's government could further tarnish the country's image as a risky investment destination, with investors already unnerved by Mugabe's drive to force foreign-owned firms to sell majority shares to locals. (Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by James Macharia) UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 8-K CURRENT REPORT Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): February 26, 2016 Commission file number 001-16111 GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in charter) Georgia 58-2567903 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 10 Glenlake Parkway, North Tower, Atlanta, Georgia 30328-3473 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrants telephone number, including area code: (770) 829-8000 NONE (Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report) Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below): x Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement As previously reported, in connection with the proposed acquisition by Global Payments Inc. (the Company) of Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (Heartland), on January 8, 2016, the Company entered into an amended and restated debt commitment letter with Bank of America, N.A. (Bank of America) and certain additional financial institutions (the Amended and Restated Debt Commitment Letter). On February 26, 2016, as contemplated by the Amended and Restated Debt Commitment Letter, the Company and certain wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company, as borrowers or as guarantors, as applicable, entered into the First Amendment to (i) the Second Amended and Restated Term Loan Agreement (the Term Loan Agreement) and (ii) the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (the Revolving Credit Facility Agreement and, together with the Term Loan Agreement, the Existing Credit Agreements), each with Bank of America, as administrative agent (the Administrative Agent), and a syndicate of financial institutions, as lenders and other agents (the Amended Credit Facility Agreement). The Amended Credit Facility Agreement amended, restated and combined the Existing Credit Agreements, each dated July 31, 2015 and the corresponding guarantees thereof. The Amended Credit Facility Agreement provides for (i) a $1.75 billion term loan facility (the Term Loan Facility), (ii) a $1.25 billion revolving credit facility (the Revolving Credit Facility) and (iii) a new $685 million delayed draw term loan facility (the Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility and, together with the Term Loan Facility and the Revolving Credit Facility, the Credit Facilities). The available borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility may be increased, at the Companys option, by up to an additional $250 million, subject to the Companys receipt of increased or new commitments from lenders and the satisfaction of certain conditions. The Term Loan Facility and the Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility mature in July 2020, and the Revolving Credit Facility Agreement also expires in July 2020. The Amended Credit Facility Agreement allows for the addition of approximately $1.095 billion of term B loans (the Heartland Incremental Term B Loan Facility) in connection with the Companys proposed acquisition of Heartland, resulting in total financing of approximately $4.78 billion as contemplated in the Amended and Restated Debt Commitment Letter. Pricing and certain other terms with respect to the term loans under the Heartland Incremental Term B Loan Facility will be set forth in the applicable joinder agreement. Compared to the financing commitments set forth in the Amended and Restated Debt Commitment Letter, the Amended Credit Facility Agreement provides for a new additional Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility, which is expected to be subject to a lower applicable margin than the loans under the Heartland Incremental Term B Loan Facility. The Delayed Draw Term Loan Facility will have an initial aggregate principal balance of $685 million, which, if drawn at the closing of the Heartland acquisition as expected, will result in a decrease in the anticipated initial aggregate principal balance of the Heartland Incremental Term B Loan Facility to $1.095 billion from the prior $1.78 billion. Upon consummation of the Companys acquisition of Heartland pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger entered into on December 15, 2015 (the Merger Agreement), certain Heartland subsidiaries and Company subsidiaries will enter into customary joinder and security documents to grant a security interest in certain assets in favor of the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the lenders under the Amended Credit Facility Agreement and certain other secured parties. Pursuant to the Amended Credit Facility Agreement, 37.5% of the Term Loan Facility must be repaid in equal quarterly installments commencing in November 2016 and ending in May 2020, with the remaining principal balance due upon maturity in July 2020. The Delayed Draw Term Loans must be repaid in quarterly installments in the amounts set forth in the Amended Credit Facility Agreement commencing in August 2016 and ending in May 2020, with the remaining principal balance due upon maturity in July 2020. Each Credit Facility may be prepaid without penalty. Prior to the closing date of the Heartland acquisition, the Amended Credit Facility Agreement provides for an interest rate with respect to borrowings under each of the Credit Facilities, at the election of the borrowers, of either (i) LIBOR plus a margin ranging from 1.0% to 1.75% or (ii) a base rate plus a margin ranging from 0.0% to 0.75%, in each case depending on the Companys leverage ratio. After the closing date of the Heartland acquisition, the Amended Credit Facility Agreement provides for an interest rate with respect to borrowings under each of the Credit Facilities, at the election of the borrowers, of either (i) LIBOR plus a margin ranging from 1.75% to 2.50% or (ii) a base rate plus a margin ranging from 0.75% to 1.50%, in each case depending on the Companys leverage ratio. The base rate is the highest of (a) the Federal Funds Effective Rate (as defined in the Amended Credit Facility Agreement) plus 0.50%, (b) the Bank of America prime rate and (c) LIBOR plus 1.0%. The Amended Credit Facility Agreement also provides for a commitment fee that (i) with respect to undrawn commitments under the Revolving Credit Facility is due and payable quarterly in arrears at an applicable rate per annum ranging from (x) 0.10% to 0.25% prior to the closing date of the Heartland acquisition or (y) 0.25% to 0.35% on and after the closing date of the Heartland acquisition, in each case based on the Companys leverage ratio, and (ii) with respect to commitments under the Delayed Draw Facility (x) is due and payable on the earlier of the closing date of the Heartland acquisition and the last day of the availability period (as defined in the Amended Credit Facility Agreement) at a rate per annum equal to 0.50% and (y) shall accrue commencing on March 31, 2016 through the earlier of the closing date of the Heartland acquisition and the end of the availability period. The Amended Credit Facility Agreement contains customary affirmative and restrictive covenants, including, among others, financial covenants based on the Companys leverage and fixed charge coverage ratios. The Amended Credit Facility Agreement includes customary events of default, the occurrence of which, following any applicable cure period, would permit the lenders to, among other things, declare the principal, accrued interest and other obligations to be immediately due and payable. The foregoing description of the Amended Credit Facility Agreement is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Amended Credit Facility Agreement, which is attached as Exhibit 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K (this Report) and incorporated herein by reference. Item 2.03 Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant The information set forth above in Item 1.01 of this Report is incorporated herein by reference. Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits (d) Exhibits Exhibit No. Description 10.1 First Amendment to the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, First Amendment to the Second Amended and Restated Term Loan Agreement, First Amendment to the Company Guaranties and First Amendment to the Subsidiary Guaranties, dated as of February 26, 2016, by and among the Company and Global Payments Direct, Inc., as borrowers, Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, and certain other lenders party thereto. Important Additional Information Has Been Filed with the SEC In connection with the Companys proposed acquisition of Heartland, the Company has filed with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 that includes a preliminary proxy statement of Heartland that also constitutes a preliminary prospectus of the Company, as well as other relevant documents concerning the proposed acquisition. Heartland will mail the proxy statement/prospectus to its stockholders. INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE PRELIMINARY PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS REGARDING THE MERGER AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN OR WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. A free copy of the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus, as well as other filings containing information about the Company and Heartland, may be obtained at the SECs website. You may also obtain these documents, free of charge, from the Company at investors.globalpaymentsinc.com or from Heartland by accessing Heartlands website at www.heartlandpaymentsystems.com/investor-relations. Copies of the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus can also be obtained, free of charge, by directing a request to the Companys Investor Relations department at Global Payments Inc., 10 Glenlake Parkway, North Tower, Atlanta, Georgia 30328-3473, Attention: Investor Relations, by calling (770) 829-8234, or by sending an e-mail to [email protected] or to Heartlands Investor Relations department at 90 Nassau Street, Second Floor, Princeton, NJ 08542 by calling (609) 683-3831 or by sending an e-mail to [email protected] The Company and Heartland and certain of their respective directors and officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the Heartland stockholders in respect of the proposed acquisition. Information regarding persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be deemed participants in the solicitation of Heartland stockholders in connection with the proposed acquisition are set forth in the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus filed with the SEC. Information regarding the Global Payments directors and executive officers is contained in Global Payments Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2015 and its Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, dated September 25, 2015, which are filed with the SEC. Information regarding Heartlands directors and executive officers is contained in Heartlands Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and its Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, dated March 27, 2015, which are filed with the SEC. Forward-Looking Statements Investors are cautioned that some of the statements we use in this filing contain forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties and depend upon future events or conditions. Actual events or results might differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, the Company cannot guarantee that its plans and expectations will be achieved. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about intentions and expectations regarding the Heartland transaction, pricing and other terms of certain credit facilities, and other statements that are not historical facts. Important factors, among others, that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated by the Companys forward-looking statements or historical performance include the ability to meet closing conditions to the Heartland transaction at all or on the expected terms and schedule, including without limitation the approval of Heartlands stockholders and other regulatory approvals required for the merger; delay in closing the merger or failure to consummate the merger; and the Companys ability to accurately predict future market conditions, including without limitation credit market conditions. Additional factors that could cause events or results to differ materially from those anticipated by the Companys forward-looking statements or historical performance can be found in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended May 31, 2015, Heartlands Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and each companys subsequent filings with the SEC. The Companys forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and should not be relied upon as representing its plans and expectations as of any subsequent date. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise any of these statements to reflect future circumstances or the occurrence of unanticipated events. Signatures Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized. GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC. Date: March 1, 2016 By: /s/ Cameron M. Bready Cameron M. Bready Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer FIRST AMENDMENT TO SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED CREDIT AGREEMENT, FIRST AMENDMENT TO SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED TERM LOAN AGREEMENT, FIRST AMENDMENT TO COMPANY GUARANTIES AND FIRST AMENDMENT TO SUBSIDIARY GUARANTIES Dated as of February 26, 2016 among GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC., The Other Borrowers Party Hereto, The Guarantors Party Hereto BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as Administrative Agent, Swing Line Lender and L/C Issuer and The Other Lenders Party Hereto MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED, THE BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI UFJ, LTD., PNC CAPITAL MARKETS LLC, TD SECURITIES (USA) LLC, FIFTH THIRD BANK, SUNTRUST ROBINSON HUMPHREY, INC., BARCLAYS BANK PLC, and CAPITAL ONE, N.A., as Joint Lead Arrangers MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED, as Sole Bookrunner THE BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI UFJ, LTD., PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, TD BANK, N.A., FIFTH THIRD BANK, SUNTRUST BANK, BARCLAYS BANK PLC, and CAPITAL ONE, N.A., as Co-Syndication Agents BANK OF MONTREAL, CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE, NEW YORK BRANCH, and REGIONS BANK, as Co-Documentation Agents U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCATION and HSBC BANK USA, N.A., as Co-Senior Managing Agents FIRST AMENDMENT TO SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED CREDIT AGREEMENT, FIRST AMENDMENT TO SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED TERM LOAN AGREEMENT, FIRST AMENDMENT TO COMPANY GUARANTIES AND FIRST AMENDMENT TO SUBSIDIARY GUARANTIES THIS FIRST AMENDMENT TO SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED CREDIT AGREEMENT, FIRST AMENDMENT TO SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED TERM LOAN AGREEMENT, FIRST AMENDMENT TO COMPANY GUARANTIES AND FIRST AMENDMENT TO SUBSIDIARY GUARANTIES dated as of February 26, 2016 (this Amendment ) is entered into among Global Payments Inc., a Georgia corporation (the Company ), the other borrowers party hereto (together with the Company, the Borrowers and each a Borrower ), the Guarantors (as defined below) party hereto, the Lenders (as defined below) party hereto and Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent (as defined below). All capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Amended Credit Agreement (as defined below). RECITALS WHEREAS, the Borrowers, the lenders party thereto (the Revolving Lenders ) and Bank of America, N.A. (the Revolving Administrative Agent ) entered into that certain Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of July 31, 2015 (as amended or modified from time to time, the Revolving Credit Agreement ); WHEREAS, the Company, Global Payments Direct, Inc., the lenders party thereto (the Term Lenders and collectively with the Revolving Lenders, the Lenders ) and Bank of America, N.A. (the Term Administrative Agent and collectively with the Revolving Administrative Agent, the Administrative Agent ) entered into that certain Second Amended and Restated Term Loan Agreement dated as of July 31, 2015 (as amended or modified from time to time, the Term Loan Agreement and collectively with the Revolving Credit Agreement, the Existing Credit Agreements ); WHEREAS, the Company entered into that certain Second Amended and Restated Company Guaranty dated as of July 31, 2015 (as amended or modified from time to time, the Revolving Company Guaranty ) in favor of the Revolving Administrative Agent and the Holders of Obligations (as defined in the Revolving Company Guaranty); WHEREAS, certain Subsidiaries of the Company (the Revolving Subsidiary Guarantors ) entered into that certain Second Amended and Restated Subsidiary Guaranty dated as of July 31, 2015 (as amended or modified from time to time, the Revolving Subsidiary Guaranty ) in favor of the Revolving Administrative Agent and the Holders of Obligations (as defined in the Revolving Subsidiary Guaranty); WHEREAS, the Company entered into that certain Second Amended and Restated Company Guaranty dated as of July 31, 2015 (as amended or modified from time to time, the Term Company Guaranty and collectively with the Revolving Company Guaranty, the Existing Company Guaranties ) in favor of the Term Administrative Agent and the Holders of Obligations (as defined in the Term Company Guaranty); WHEREAS, certain Subsidiaries of the Company (the Term Subsidiary Guarantors and collectively with the Revolving Subsidiary Guarantors, the Guarantors ) entered into that certain Second Amended and Restated Subsidiary Guaranty dated as of July 31, 2015 (as amended or modified from time to time, the Term Subsidiary Guaranty and collectively with the Revolving Subsidiary Guaranty, the Existing Subsidiary Guaranties ) in favor of the Term Administrative Agent and the Holders of Obligations (as defined in the Term Subsidiary Guaranty); WHEREAS, the parties hereto agree to amend the Existing Credit Agreements, the Existing Company Guaranties and the Existing Subsidiary Guaranties as set forth below; NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual covenants contained herein, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows: 1. Amendments to Existing Credit Agreements . (a) Effective upon satisfaction of the conditions precedent set forth herein, the Existing Credit Agreements, the Schedules to the Existing Credit Agreements and the Exhibits to the Existing Credit Agreements are hereby amended and restated in their entireties and combined into the agreement set forth in Annex I attached hereto (as so amended, collectively, the Amended Credit Agreement ). (b) Effective upon satisfaction of the conditions precedent set forth herein, the Existing Company Guaranties are hereby amended and restated in their entireties and combined into the agreement set forth in Annex II attached hereto (as so amended, collectively, the Amended Company Guaranty ). As so amended, the Existing Company Guaranties shall continue in full force and effect. (c) Effective upon satisfaction of the conditions precedent set forth herein, the Existing Subsidiary Guaranties are hereby amended and restated in their entireties and combined into the agreement set forth in Annex III attached hereto (as so amended, collectively, the Amended Subsidiary Guaranty ). As so amended, the Existing Subsidiary Guaranties shall continue in full force and effect. (d) The parties hereto each hereby agree that, at such time as this Amendment shall have become effective pursuant to the terms hereof, (i) the Existing Credit Agreements automatically shall be deemed amended and restated in their entireties by the Amended Credit Agreement, (ii) the Revolving Commitments and Loans under the Revolving Credit Agreement and as defined therein and the Term Loan Commitments and Loans under the Term Loan Agreement and as defined therein automatically shall be continued as Commitments and Loans under the Amended Credit Agreement, as set forth therein, (iii) the Existing Company Guaranties automatically shall be deemed amended and restated in their entireties by the Amended Company Guaranty, (iv) the Guaranteed Obligations under the Revolving Company Guaranty and as defined therein and the Guaranteed Obligations under the Term Company Guaranty and as defined therein automatically shall be continued as Guaranteed Obligations under the Amended Company Guaranty, as set forth therein, (v) the Existing Subsidiary Guaranties automatically shall be deemed amended and restated in their entireties by the Amended Subsidiary Guaranty and (vi) the Guaranteed Obligations under the Revolving Subsidiary Guaranty and as defined therein and the Guaranteed Obligations under the Term Subsidiary Guaranty and as defined therein automatically shall be continued as Guaranteed Obligations under the Amended Subsidiary Guaranty, as set forth therein. The Amended Credit Agreement is not a novation of the Revolving Credit Agreement or the Term Loan Agreement. The Amended Company Guaranty is not a novation of the Revolving Company Guaranty or the Term Company Guaranty. The Amended Subsidiary Guaranty is not a novation of the Revolving Subsidiary Guaranty or the Term Subsidiary Guaranty. 2. Conditions Precedent . This Amendment shall be effective upon satisfaction of the following conditions precedent: (a) Receipt by the Administrative Agent of counterparts of this Amendment duly executed by the Borrowers, the Guarantors, the Required Lenders under the Revolving Credit Agreement, the Required Lenders under the Term Loan Agreement and the Administrative Agent; (b) Receipt by the Administrative Agent of fully executed Delayed Draw Term Notes (to the extent requested by any Delayed Draw Term Lender); (c) Receipt by the Administrative Agent of satisfactory evidence that (i) the representations and warranties of the Borrowers set forth in Article V of the Amended Credit Agreement and in each other Loan Document are true and correct in all material respects as of the date hereof with the same effect as if made on and as of the date hereof, except to the extent such representations and warranties expressly relate solely to an earlier date (in which event such representations and warranties shall have been true in all material respects on and as of such earlier date) and (ii) no event has occurred and is continuing which constitutes a Default or an Event of Default; (d) Receipt by the Administrative Agent of favorable written opinions (addressed to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders and dated the First Amendment Effective Date), in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, and covering such other matters relating to the Credit Parties, this Amendment as the Required Lenders shall reasonably request; and (e) Receipt by the Administrative Agent of such documents and certificates as the Administrative Agent or its counsel may reasonably request relating to the organization, existence and good standing of each Credit Party (other than the Foreign Borrowers), the authorization of this Amendment, and any other legal matters relating to the Credit Parties (other than the Foreign Borrowers), all in form and substance satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and its counsel. 3. New Lenders . By executing this Amendment, each Lender that was not a party to the Revolving Credit Agreement or the Term Loan Agreement prior to the date of this Amendment hereby joins the Amended Credit Agreement as a Lender party thereto, ratifies the terms and conditions of the Amended Credit Agreement and agrees to be bound by all of the terms and conditions of the Amended Credit Agreement. 4. Miscellaneous . (a) The Existing Credit Agreements, the Existing Company Guaranties, the Existing Subsidiary Guaranties and the obligations of the Credit Parties thereunder and under the other Loan Documents, are hereby ratified and confirmed and shall remain in full force and effect according to their terms, as amended hereby. This Amendment is a Loan Document. (b) Each Guarantor joins the execution of this Amendment for the purpose of (a) acknowledging and consenting to all of the terms and conditions of this Amendment, (b) affirming all of its obligations under the Loan Documents and (c) agreeing that this Amendment and all documents executed in connection herewith do not operate to reduce or discharge its obligations under the Existing Credit Agreements or the other Loan Documents. (c) Each Borrower hereby represents and warrants as follows: (i) It has taken all necessary action to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of this Amendment. (ii) This Amendment has been duly executed and delivered by it and constitutes such Borrowers legal, valid and binding obligations, enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as such enforceability may be subject to (A) Debtor Relief Law and (B) general principles of equity (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding at law or in equity). (iii) No consent, approval, authorization or order of, or filing, registration or qualification with, any court or governmental authority or third party is required in connection with the execution, delivery or performance by such Borrower of this Amendment. (d) The Borrowers represent and warrant to the Lenders that (i) the representations and warranties of the Borrowers set forth in Article V of the Amended Credit Agreement and in each other Loan Document are true and correct in all material respects as of the date hereof with the same effect as if made on and as of the date hereof, except to the extent such representations and warranties expressly relate solely to an earlier date (in which event such representations and warranties shall have been true in all material respects on and as of such earlier date) and (ii) no event has occurred and is continuing which constitutes a Default or an Event of Default. (e) This Amendment may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which when so executed and delivered shall be an original, but all of which shall constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed counterpart of this Amendment by telecopy or other secure electronic format (.pdf) shall be effective as an original and shall constitute a representation that an executed original shall be delivered. (f) THIS AMENDMENT AND THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTIES HEREUNDER SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED AND INTERPRETED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. [SIGNATURE PAGES FOLLOW] IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have caused this Amendment to be duly executed as of the date first above written. BORROWERS : GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC., as a Borrower under the Revolving Credit Agreement and as a Borrower under the Term Loan Agreement By: /s/ David L. Green Name: David L. Green Title: Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel GLOBAL PAYMENTS DIRECT, INC., as a Borrower under the Revolving Credit Agreement and as a Borrower under the Term Loan Agreement By: /s/ David L. Green Name: David L. Green Title: Secretary GLOBAL PAYMENTS UK LTD., as a Borrower under the Revolving Credit Agreement By: /s/ David L. Green Name: David L. Green Title: Director GLOBAL PAYMENTS ACQUISITION CORPORATION 2 S.A.R.L., as a Borrower under the Revolving Credit Agreement By: /s/ David L. Green Name: David L. Green Title: Manager GLOBAL PAYMENTS ACQUISITION PS 1 - GLOBAL PAYMENTS DIRECT S.E.N.C., as a Borrower under the Revolving Credit Agreement By: Global Payments Direct, Inc., its General Partner By: /s/ David L. Green Name: David L. Green Title: Secretary GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC. FIRST AMENDMENT GLOBAL PAYMENTS ACQUISITION PS 2 C.V., as a Borrower under the Revolving Credit Agreement By: Global Payments Direct., Inc., acting in its capacity as general partner of Global Payments Acquisition PS 1 C.V., in its turn representing Global Payments Acquisition PS 1 - Global Payments Direct S.e.n.c., in its turn acting in its capacity as general partner on behalf and for the benefit of Global Payments Acquisition PS 2 C.V. By: /s/ David L. Green Name: David L. Green Title: Secretary GUARANTORS: GLOBAL PAYMENTS DIRECT INC., as a Guarantor under the Revolving Credit Agreement and the Term Loan Agreement By: /s/ David L. Green Name: David L. Green Title: Secretary GLOBAL PAYMENTS CHECK SERVICES INC., as a Guarantor under the Revolving Credit Agreement and the Term Loan Agreement By: /s/ L.J. Williams Name: L.J. Williams Title: Secretary GLOBAL PAYMENTS GAMING SERVICES INC., as a Guarantor under the Revolving Credit Agreement and the Term Loan Agreement By: /s/ L.J. Williams Name: L.J. Williams Title: Secretary GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC. FIRST AMENDMENT ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as Revolving Administrative Agent and Term Administrative Agent By: /s/ Maurice E. Washington Name: Maurice E. Washington Title: Vice President LENDERS: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as a Revolving Lender, a Term Lender, Swing Line Lender and L/C Issuer By: /s/ Thomas M. Paulk Name: Thomas M. Paulk Title: Senior Vice President THE BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI UFJ, LTD., as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Lillian Kim Name: Lillian Kim Title: Director PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Andrew Fraser Name: Andrew Fraser Title: Vice President TD BANK, N.A., as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Shreya Shah Name: Shreya Shah Title: Senior Vice President FIFTH THIRD BANK, as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Robert Urban Name: Robert Urban Title: Managing Director SUNTRUST BANK, as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Michael Chanin Name: Michael Chanin Title: Vice President GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC. FIRST AMENDMENT BARCLAYS BANK PLC, as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Ritam Bhalla Name: Ritam Bhalla Title: Director CAPITAL ONE, N.A., as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Jeremy Mipro Name: Jeremy Mipro Title: Assistant Vice President BANK OF MONTREAL, as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Christina Boyle Name: Christina Boyle Title: Managing Director By: /s/ Anthony Ebdon Name: Anthony Ebdon Title: MD By: /s/ A. McClinton Name: A. McClinton Title: MD CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE, NEW YORK BRANCH, as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Andrew R. Campbell Name: Andrew R. Campbell Title: Authorized Signatory By: /s/ Gordon R. Eadon Name: Gordon R. Eadon Title: Authorized Signatory REGIONS BANK, as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Stephen T. Hatch Name: Stephen T. Hatch Title: Director U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Allison Burgun Name: Allison Burgun Title: Vice President HSBC BANK USA, N.A., as a Revolving Lender By: /s/ Stephen J. Contino Name: Stephen J. Contino Title: Relationship Manager GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC. FIRST AMENDMENT CITIBANK, N.A., as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Erik Anderson Name: Erik Anderson Title: Vice President CITIZENS BANK, N.A., as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ Sean J. Lynch Name: Sean J. Lynch Title: Managing Director MIZUHO BANK, LTD., as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ James R. Fayen Name: James R. Fayen Title: Deputy General Manager THE NORTHERN TRUST COMPANY, as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Kimberly A. Crotty Name: Kimberly A. Crotty Title: VP WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Anthony J. Richter Name: Anthony J. Richter Title: Director Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, New York Branch, as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ Hector J. Gonzalez Name: Hector J. Gonzalez Title: Vice President Capital Bank Corporation, as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ William W. Adams, Jr. Name: William W. Adams, Jr. Title: Senior Vice President GOLDMAN SACHS BANK USA, as a Revolving Lender and a Term Lender By: /s/ Jerry Li Name: Jerry Li Title: Authorized Signatory GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC. FIRST AMENDMENT First Commercial Bank, Ltd. New York Branch, as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ Bill Wang Name: Bill Wang Title: SVP & General Manager TAIWAN BUSINESS BANK, LOS ANGELES BRANCH, as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ Sandy Chen Name: Sandy Chen Title: General Manager BANK OF TAIWAN, NEW YORK BRANCH, as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ Yue-Li Shih Name: Yue-Li Shih Title: VP & General Manager LAND BANK OF TAIWAN, NEW YORK BRANCH, as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ Arthur Chen Name: Arthur Chen Title: General Manager HUA NAN COMMERCIAL BANK, LTD. NEW YORK AGENCY, as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ Wen-Taug, Wang Name: Wen-Taug, Wang Title: Vice President & General Manager TAIWAN COOPERATIVE BANK, LTD., ACTING THROUGH ITS NEW YORK BRANCH, as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ Li-Hua Huang Name: Li-Hua Huang Title: Senior Vice President & General Manager FirstMerit Bank, N.A., as a Term Lender By: /s/ Sherlyn Nelson Name: Sherlyn Nelson Title: Director TRUSTMARK BANK, N.A., as a Term Lender By: /s/ Robert Whartenby Name: Robert Whartenby Title: First Vice President STIFEL BANK & TRUST, as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ Matthew L. Diehl Name: Matthew L. Diehl Title: Senior Vice President GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC. FIRST AMENDMENT CREDIT INDUSTRIEL ET COMMERCIAL - NY BRANCH, as a Delayed Draw Incremental Term Loan A Lender By: /s/ Garry Weiss Name: Garry Weiss Title: Managing Director By: /s/ Clifford Abramsky Name: Clifford Abramsky Title: Managing Director First Hawaiian Bank, as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ Jeffrey Inouye Name: Jeffrey Inouye Title: Vice President CITY NATIONAL BANK OF FLORIDA, as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ Tyler P. Kurau Name: Tyler P. Kurau Title: Senior Vice President AMERICAN SAVINGS BANK, F.S.B., as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ Danford H. Oshima Name: Danford H. Oshima Title: Senior Vice President ATLANTIC CAPITAL BANK, N.A., as a Delayed Draw Term Lender By: /s/ Preston McDonald Name: Preston McDonald Title: Vice President GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC. FIRST AMENDMENT ANNEX I (See attached.) SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED CREDIT AGREEMENT (as amended by that certain First Amendment to Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement and First Amendment to Second Amended and Restated Term Loan Agreement dated February 26, 2016) Dated as of July 31, 2015 among GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC., The Other Borrowers Party Hereto, BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as Administrative Agent, Swing Line Lender and L/C Issuer and The Other Lenders Party Hereto TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ARTICLE I DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING TERMS 1 1.01 Defined Terms 39 1.02 Other Interpretive Provisions 40 1.03 Accounting Terms 40 1.04 Rounding 40 1.05 Exchange Rates; Currency Equivalents; Rates 41 1.06 Additional Alternative Currencies 41 1.07 Change of Currency 42 1.08 Times of Day 42 1.09 Letter of Credit Amounts 42 1.10 Certain Determinations 43 ARTICLE II THE COMMITMENTS AND CREDIT EXTENSIONS 43 2.01 Loans 43 2.02 Borrowings, Conversions and Continuations 44 2.03 Letters of Credit 50 2.04 Swing Line Loans 58 2.05 Prepayments 60 2.06 Termination or Reduction of Commitments 62 2.07 Repayment of Loans 63 2.08 Interest 65 2.09 Fees 65 2.10 Computation of Interest and Fees; Retroactive Adjustments of Applicable Rate 66 2.11 Evidence of Debt 67 2.12 Payments Generally; Administrative Agents Clawback 67 2.13 Sharing of Payments by Lenders 69 2.14 Cash Collateral 69 2.15 Defaulting Lenders 70 2.16 Designated Borrowers 72 ARTICLE III TAXES, YIELD PROTECTION AND ILLEGALITY 73 3.01 Taxes 73 3.02 Illegality 77 3.03 Inability to Determine Rates 78 3.04 Increased Costs 79 3.05 Compensation for Losses 80 3.06 Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders 81 3.07 Survival 81 ARTICLE IV CONDITIONS PRECEDENT 81 4.01 Conditions to Effectiveness and Initial Credit Extension 81 4.02 Conditions to all Credit Extensions 83 4.03 Conditions to Heartland Facilities 84 ARTICLE V REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES 86 5.01 Organization; Powers 86 5.02 Authorization; Enforceability 86 5.03 Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts 86 5.04 Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Change 86 5.05 Properties 86 5.06 Litigation and Environmental Matters 87 5.07 Compliance with Laws and Agreements 87 5.08 Investment Company Status 87 5.09 Taxes 87 5.10 ERISA 87 5.11 Subsidiaries 87 5.12 Margin Securities 87 5.13 Disclosure 87 5.14 Taxpayer Identification Number; Other Identifying Information 88 5.15 OFAC 88 5.16 Anti-Corruption Laws 88 5.17 Perfection of Security Interests in the Collateral 88 5.18 Solvency 88 5.19 EEA Financial Institution Status 88 ARTICLE VI AFFIRMATIVE COVENANTS 88 6.01 Financial Statements and Other Information 88 6.02 Notices of Material Events 90 6.03 Maintenance of Existence 91 6.04 Payment of Obligations 91 6.05 Maintenance of Properties; Insurance 91 6.06 Books and Records; Inspection Rights 92 6.07 Compliance with Laws 92 6.08 Use of Proceeds 92 6.09A Additional Guarantors 92 6.09B Additional Guarantors 92 6.10 Anti-Corruption Laws 93 6.11 Pledged Assets 93 6.12 Maintenance of Ratings 94 ARTICLE VII NEGATIVE COVENANTS 94 7.01A Subsidiary Indebtedness 94 7.01B Indebtedness 95 7.02A Liens 97 7.02B Liens 98 7.03 Consolidations, Mergers and Sales of Assets 98 7.04 Lines of Business 100 7.05 Transactions with Affiliates 100 7.06 Restricted Payments 100 7.07 Accounting Changes 101 7.08A Leverage Ratio 101 7.08B Leverage Ratio 102 7.09A Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio 102 7.09B Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio 102 7.10 Sanctions 102 7.11 Anti-Corruption Laws 102 7.12 Investments 102 7.13 Burdensome Agreements 103 ARTICLE VIII EVENTS OF DEFAULT AND REMEDIES 104 8.01 Events of Default 104 8.02 Application of Funds 106 ARTICLE IX ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT 107 9.01 Appointment and Authority 107 9.02 Rights as a Lender 107 9.03 Exculpatory Provisions 107 9.04 Reliance by Administrative Agent 108 9.05 Delegation of Duties 108 9.06 Resignation of Administrative Agent 109 9.07 NonReliance on Administrative Agent and Other Lenders 110 9.08 No Other Duties, Etc 110 9.09 Administrative Agent May File Proofs of Claim 110 9.10 Collateral and Guaranty Matters 111 9.11 Related Swap Agreements 112 ARTICLE X MISCELLANEOUS 113 10.01 Amendments, Etc. 114 10.02 Notices; Effectiveness; Electronic Communication 116 10.03 No Waiver; Cumulative Remedies; Enforcement 116 10.04 Expenses; Indemnity; Damage Waiver 116 10.05 Payments Set Aside 118 10.06 Successors and Assigns 118 10.07 Treatment of Certain Information; Confidentiality. 122 10.08 Right to Setoff 123 10.09 Interest Rate Limitation 124 10.10 Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness; Amendment and Restatement 124 10.11 Survival of Representations and Warranties 124 10.12 Severability 125 10.13 Replacement of Lenders 125 10.14 Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Etc. 125 10.15 Waiver of Jury Trial 127 10.16 No Advisory or Fiduciary Responsibility 127 10.17 Electronic Execution of Assignments and Certain Other Documents 127 10.18 USA PATRIOT Act 128 10.19 Judgment Currency 128 10.20 Acknowledgement and Consent to Bail-In of EEA Financial Institutions 128 SCHEDULES 1.01 Existing Letters of Credit 2.01 Commitments and Applicable Percentages 5.11 Subsidiaries 7.01 Existing Indebtedness 7.02 Existing Liens 10.02 Administrative Agents Office; Certain Addresses for Notices EXHIBITS Form of A-1 Loan Notice A-2 Swing Line Loan Notice B-1 Revolving Note (Domestic) B-2 Revolving Note (Foreign) B-3 Existing Term Note B-4 Incremental Term Note B-5 Delayed Draw Term Note B-6 Heartland Incremental Term B Note B-7 Swing Line Note C-1 Compliance Certificate (Pre-Heartland Acquisition) C-2 Compliance Certificate (Post-Heartland Acquisition) D Assignment and Assumption E Second Amended and Restated Subsidiary Guaranty F Borrower Request and Assumption Agreement G Borrower Notice H Second Amended and Restated Company Guaranty I U.S. Tax Compliance Certificates J Secured Party Designation Notice K Incremental Term Loan Lender Joinder Agreement L Heartland Incremental Term B Loan Lender Joinder Agreement M Solvency Certificate N Security Agreement SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED CREDIT AGREEMENT This SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED CREDIT AGREEMENT ( Agreement ) is entered into as of July 31, 2015, among GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC., a Georgia corporation (the Company ), the other Borrowers from time to time party hereto, each Lender (defined below) from time to time party hereto, and BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., as Administrative Agent, Swing Line Lender and L/C Issuer. The Borrowers are party to a certain Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of February 28, 2014 with certain Lenders and Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent for such Lenders (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time until (but not including) the date of this Agreement, the 2014 Credit Agreement ). The 2014 Credit Agreement was amended and restated by this Agreement (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time until (but not including) the First Amendment Effective Date (defined below), the Existing Revolving Credit Agreement ). The Company and Global Payments Direct are party to a certain Second Amended and Restated Term Loan Agreement dated as of July 31, 2015 with certain Lenders and Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent for such Lenders (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time until (but not including) the First Amendment Effective Date, the Existing Term Loan Agreement and together with the Existing Revolving Credit Agreement, the Existing Credit Agreements ). The parties to this Agreement desire to amend the Existing Credit Agreements as set forth herein. In consideration of the mutual covenants and agreements herein contained, the parties hereto covenant and agree as follows: ARTICLE I DEFINITIONS AND ACCOUNTING TERMS 1.01 Defined Terms. As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below: Act has the meaning specified in Section 10.18 . Acquired Entity means the assets, in the case of an acquisition of assets, or Equity Interests (or, if the context requires, the Person that is the issuer of such Equity Interests), in the case of an acquisition of Equity Interests, acquired by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to an Acquisition. Acquisition means any transaction, or any series of related transactions, consummated on or after the date of this Agreement, by which any Person (i) acquires any going business or all or substantially all of the assets of any firm, corporation, partnership, limited liability company or division or other business unit or segment thereof, whether through purchase of assets, merger or otherwise, or (ii) directly or indirectly acquires (in one transaction or as the most recent transaction in a series of transactions) at least a majority (in number of votes) of the securities of a corporation which have ordinary voting power for the election of directors (other than securities having such power only by reason of the happening of a contingency) or a majority (by percentage or voting power) of the outstanding ownership interests of a partnership or limited liability company. Administrative Agent means Bank of America in its capacity as administrative agent under any of the Loan Documents, or any successor administrative agent. Administrative Agents Office means, with respect to any currency, the Administrative Agents address and, as appropriate, account as set forth on Schedule 10.02 with respect to such currency, or such other address or account with respect to such currency as the Administrative Agent may from time to time notify the Company and the Lenders. Administrative Questionnaire means an Administrative Questionnaire in a form supplied by the Administrative Agent. Affiliate means, with respect to any Person, another Person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, Controls or is Controlled by or is under common Control with the Person specified. Aggregate Revolving Commitments means the aggregate Revolving Commitments of all the Revolving Lenders. The aggregate principal amount of the Aggregate Revolving Commitments in effect on the First Amendment Effective Date is ONE BILLION TWO HUNDRED FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS ($1,250,000,000). Agreement means this Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement. All-In-Yield means, with respect to any Indebtedness (including the Existing Term Loan, any Incremental Term Loan, any Delayed Draw Term Loan and any Heartland Incremental Term B Loan), the weighted average yield to maturity with respect to such Indebtedness which shall take into account interest rate margins and any interest rate floors or similar devices, and shall be deemed to include any original issue discount and any fees (other than facility arrangement, structuring, underwriting, closing or other similar fees and expenses not paid for the account of, or distributed to, all Lenders providing such Indebtedness) paid or payable in connection with such Indebtedness, in each case, as reasonably determined by the Administrative Agent in a manner consistent with customary financial practice based on an assumed four-year life to maturity or, if less, the actual remaining life to maturity of such Indebtedness, commencing from the borrowing date of such Indebtedness and assuming that the interest rate (including the Applicable Rate) for such Indebtedness in effect on such borrowing date (after giving effect to the incurrence of such Indebtedness) shall be the interest rate on such Indebtedness for the entire Weighted Average Life to Maturity of such Indebtedness. Alternative Currency means, with respect to Revolving Loans and Letters of Credit, each of Euro, Sterling, Canadian Dollars and each other currency (other than Dollars) that is approved in accordance with Section 1.06 . Alternative Currency Equivalent means, at any time, with respect to any amount denominated in Dollars, the equivalent amount thereof in the applicable Alternative Currency as determined by the Administrative Agent or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, at such time on the basis of the Spot Rate (determined in respect of the most recent Revaluation Date) for the purchase of such Alternative Currency with Dollars. Applicable Percentage means, with respect to any Lender at any time, (a) with respect to such Revolving Lenders Revolving Commitment, the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the Aggregate Revolving Commitments represented by such Revolving Lenders Revolving Commitment at such time, subject to adjustment as provided in Section 2.15 ; provided that if the commitment of each Lender to make Revolving Loans and the obligation of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions have been terminated pursuant to Section 8.02 or if the Aggregate Revolving Commitments have expired, then the Applicable Percentage of each Lender shall be determined based on the Applicable Percentage of such Lender most recently in effect, giving effect to any subsequent assignments, (b) with respect to such Lenders portion of the outstanding Existing Term Loan at any time, the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the outstanding principal amount of the Existing Term Loan held by such Lender at such time, subject to adjustment as provided in Section 2.15 , (c) with respect to such Lenders portion of any outstanding Incremental Term Loan at any time, the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the outstanding principal amount of such Incremental Term Loan held by such Lender at such time, subject to adjustment as provided in Section 2.15 , (d) with respect to such Lenders portion of any Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment at any time during the Availability Period, the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the amount of such Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment held by such Lender at such time, subject to adjustment as provided in Section 2.15 ; provided that if the commitment of each Lender to make Delayed Draw Term Loans has been terminated pursuant to Section 8.02 or if the Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments have expired, then the Applicable Percentage of each Lender shall be determined based on the Applicable Percentage of such Lender most recently in effect, giving effect to any subsequent assignments, (e) with respect to such Lenders portion of any outstanding Delayed Draw Term Loan at any time, the percentage (carried out to the ninth decimal place) of the outstanding principal amount of such Delayed Draw Term Loan held by such Lender at such time, subject to adjustment as provided in Section 2.15 and (f) with respect to such Lenders portion of any outstanding Heartland Incremental Term B Loan at any time, the percentage (carried out to 2 the ninth decimal place) of the outstanding principal amount of such Heartland Incremental Term B Loan held by such Lender at such time, subject to adjustment as provided in Section 2.15 . The initial Applicable Percentage of each Lender is set forth opposite the name of such Lender on Schedule 2.01 , in the Assignment and Assumption pursuant to which such Lender becomes a party hereto or in any documentation executed by such Lender pursuant to Section 2.02(f) , 2.02(g) or 2.02(h) , as applicable. Applicable Rate means with respect to: (a) any Incremental Term Loan made pursuant to any Incremental Term Loan Lender Joinder Agreement, the percentage(s) per annum set forth in such Incremental Term Loan Lender Joinder Agreement; (b) any Heartland Incremental Term B Loan made pursuant to any Heartland Incremental Term B Loan Lender Joinder Agreement, the percentages(s) per annum set forth in such Heartland Incremental Term B Loan Lender Joinder Agreement; (c) Revolving Loans, Swing Line Loans, Existing Term Loans, Delayed Draw Term Loans, the Commitment Fee and Letter of Credit Fees prior to the Heartland Acquisition Closing Date, the following percentages per annum, based upon the Leverage Ratio as set forth in the most recent Compliance Certificate received by the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 6.01(c) : Pricing Level Leverage Ratio Eurocurrency Rate Loans and Letter of Credit Fees Base Rate Loans Commitment Fee 1 < 1.00 to 1.0 1.000% 0.000% 0.100% 2 > 1.00 to 1.0 but < 1.50 to 1.0 1.125% 0.125% 0.125% 3 > 1.50 to 1.0 but < 2.00 to 1.0 1.250% 0.250% 0.150% 4 > 2.00 to 1.0 but < 2.50 to 1.0 1.375% 0.375% 0.175% 5 > 2.50 to 1.0 but < 3.00 to 1.0 1.500% 0.500% 0.200% 6 > 3.00 to 1.0 1.750% 0.750% 0.250% Any increase or decrease in the Applicable Rate resulting from a change in the Leverage Ratio shall become effective as of the first Business Day immediately following the date a Compliance Certificate is delivered pursuant to Section 6.01(c) ; provided that if a Compliance Certificate is not delivered when due in accordance with such Section, then, upon the request of the Required Lenders, Pricing Level 6 shall apply as of the first Business Day after the date on which such Compliance Certificate was required to have been delivered and shall remain in effect until the date on which such Compliance Certificate is delivered. Subject to the proviso in the immediately preceding sentence, the Applicable Rate in effect from the Closing Date through the first Business Day immediately following the date a Compliance Certificate is delivered pursuant to Section 6.01(c) for the Fiscal Quarter of the Company ending August 31, 2015, shall be determined based upon Pricing Level 5; and (d) Revolving Loans, Swing Line Loans, Existing Term Loans, Delayed Draw Term Loans, the Commitment Fee and Letter of Credit Fees upon and after the Heartland Acquisition Closing Date, the following percentages per annum, based upon the Leverage Ratio as set forth in the most recent Compliance Certificate received by the Administrative Agent pursuant to Section 6.01(c) : Pricing Level Leverage Ratio Eurocurrency Rate Loans and Letter of Credit Fees Base Rate Loans Commitment Fee 3 1 < 2.25 to 1.0 1.75% 0.75% 0.25% 2 > 2.25 to 1.0 or < 3.25 to 1.0 2.00% 1.00% 0.25% 3 > 3.25 to 1.0 or < 4.00 to 1.0 2.25% 1.25% 0.30% 4 > 4.00 to 1.0 2.50% 1.50% 0.35% Any increase or decrease in the Applicable Rate resulting from a change in the Leverage Ratio shall become effective as of the first Business Day immediately following the date a Compliance Certificate is delivered pursuant to Section 6.01(c) ; provided that if a Compliance Certificate is not delivered when due in accordance with such Section, then, upon the request of the Required Lenders, Pricing Level 4 shall apply as of the first Business Day after the date on which such Compliance Certificate was required to have been delivered and shall remain in effect until the date on which such Compliance Certificate is delivered. Subject to the proviso in the immediately preceding sentence, the Applicable Rate in effect from the Heartland Acquisition Closing Date through the first Business Day immediately following the date a Compliance Certificate is delivered pursuant to Section 6.01(c) for the second full Fiscal Quarter of the Company ending after the Heartland Acquisition Closing Date shall be determined based upon Pricing Level 4. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this definition, the determination of the Applicable Rate for any period shall be subject to the provisions of Section 2.10(b) . Applicable Time means, with respect to any borrowings and payments in any Alternative Currency, the local time in the place of settlement for such Alternative Currency as may be determined by the Administrative Agent or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, to be necessary for timely settlement on the relevant date in accordance with normal banking procedures in the place of payment. Approved Fund means any Fund that is administered or managed by (a) a Lender, (b) an Affiliate of a Lender or (c) an entity or an Affiliate of an entity that administers or manages a Lender. Arrangers means Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., PNC Capital Markets LLC, TD Securities (USA) LLC, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc., Fifth Third Bank, Barclays Bank PLC and Capital One, N.A. in their capacity as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners. Asset Sale means the non-ordinary course sale (including any transaction that has the economic effect of a sale), transfer or other disposition (by way of merger or otherwise, including sales in connection with a sale and leaseback transaction, or as a result of any condemnation or casualty in respect of property) by the Company or any Subsidiary to any Person other than a Credit Party, of (a) any Equity Interests of any Subsidiary, or (b) any other assets of the Company or any Subsidiary (other than inventory licenses and sublicenses granted in the ordinary course of business, obsolete or worn out assets, scrap, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, in each case disposed of in the ordinary course of business and the unwinding of any Swap Agreement), except (i) Permitted Sale-Leasebacks and (ii) sales, transfers or other dispositions of any assets in one transaction or a series of related transactions having a value not in excess of $20,000,000; provided that the aggregate value of all assets sold, transferred or disposed of during the term of this Agreement pursuant to clause (ii) shall not exceed $100,000,000. Assignment and Assumption means an assignment and assumption entered into by a Lender and an Eligible Assignee (with the consent of any party whose consent is required by Section 10.06(b) ), and accepted by the Administrative Agent, in substantially the form of Exhibit D or any other form (including electronic documentation generated by MarkitClear or other electronic platform) approved by the Administrative Agent. Audited Financial Statements means the audited consolidated balance sheet of the Company and its Subsidiaries for the Fiscal Year ended May 31, 2015, and the related consolidated statements of income or operations, shareholders equity and cash flows for such Fiscal Year of the Company and its Subsidiaries, including the notes thereto. 4 Availability Period means, (a) with respect to the Revolving Commitments, the period from and including the Closing Date to the earliest of (i) the Maturity Date, (ii) the date of termination of the Aggregate Revolving Commitments in their entirety pursuant to Section 2.06 , and (iii) the date of termination of the commitment of each Revolving Lender to make Revolving Loans and of the obligation of the L/C Issuer to make L/C Credit Extensions pursuant to Section 8.02 and (b) with respect to the Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments, the period from the First Amendment Effective Date to the earliest of (i) June 15, 2016; provided , that, if on such date, all of the conditions set forth in Article VI and Article VII of the Heartland Merger Agreement are satisfied or waived (other than those conditions that by their terms are to be satisfied at the closing of the Heartland Acquisition, provided that such conditions would be satisfied if the closing of the Heartland Acquisition occurred on such date) and the Marketing Period (as defined in the Heartland Merger Agreement) has commenced and not ended (the Ongoing Marketing Period ), such date shall be automatically extended to the twenty-first (21 st ) Business Day following the first day of the Ongoing Marketing Period, (ii) the date of termination of the Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments pursuant to Section 2.06 , and (iii) the date of termination of the commitment of each Delayed Draw Term Lender to make Loans pursuant to Section 8.02 . Available ECF Amount means, on any date, an amount determined on a cumulative basis equal to the portion of Excess Cash Flow for each Fiscal Year, commencing with the Fiscal Year of the Company ending May 31, 2017 and ending thereafter with the Fiscal Year of the Company most recently ended prior to such date for which financial statements and a Compliance Certificate have been delivered pursuant to Section 6.01(c) to the extent Not Otherwise Applied. Bail-In Action means the exercise of any Write-Down and Conversion Powers by the applicable EEA Resolution Authority in respect of any liability of an EEA Financial Institution. Bail-In Legislation means, with respect to any EEA Member Country implementing Article 55 of Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union, the implementing law for such EEA Member Country from time to time which is described in the EU Bail-In Legislation Schedule. Bank of America means Bank of America, N.A. and its successors. Bank Subsidiary means any Subsidiary that is a bank, limited purpose bank, or similarly regulated Person. Base Rate means for any day a fluctuating rate per annum equal to the highest of (a) the Federal Funds Effective Rate plus 0.50%, (b) the rate of interest in effect for such day as publicly announced from time to time by Bank of America as its prime rate and (c) the Eurocurrency Base Rate plus 1%. The prime rate is a rate set by Bank of America based upon various factors including Bank of Americas costs and desired return, general economic conditions and other factors, and is used as a reference point for pricing some loans, which may be priced at, above, or below such announced rate. Any change in such prime rate announced by Bank of America shall take effect at the opening of business on the day specified in the public announcement of such change. Base Rate Loan means a Loan that bears interest based on the Base Rate. All Base Rate Loans shall be denominated in Dollars. BIN/ISO Agreements means (a) any sponsorship, depository, processing or similar agreement with a bank or financial institution providing for the use of such bank or financial institutions BIN or ICA (or similar mechanism) to clear credit card transactions through one or more card associations, or (b) any agreement with any independent sales organization or similar entity related to, or providing for, payments processing to merchant customers. Board means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System of the United States. Borrower means each of the Company, Global Payments Direct and any Designated Borrower that is identified on Schedule 5.11 as a Borrower or becomes a Borrower under the terms of Section 2.16 . 5 Borrower Materials has the meaning specified in Section 6.01 . Borrower Request and Assumption Agreement has the meaning specified in Section 2.16(a) . Borrowing means each of the following, as the context may require: (a) a borrowing of Swing Line Loans pursuant to Section 2.04 , and (b) a borrowing consisting of simultaneous Loans of the same Type, in the same currency and, in the case of Eurocurrency Rate Loans, having the same Interest Period made by each of the Lenders pursuant to Section 2.01 . Business Day means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks are authorized to close under the Laws of, or are in fact closed in, the state where the Administrative Agents Office with respect to Obligations denominated in Dollars is located and: (a) if such day relates to any interest rate settings as to a Eurocurrency Rate Loan denominated in Dollars, any fundings, disbursements, settlements and payments in Dollars in respect of any such Eurocurrency Rate Loan, or any other dealings in Dollars to be carried out pursuant to this Agreement in respect of any such Eurocurrency Rate Loan, means any such day on which dealings in deposits in Dollars are conducted by and between banks in the London interbank eurodollar market; (b) if such day relates to any interest rate settings as to a Eurocurrency Rate Loan denominated in Euro, any fundings, disbursements, settlements and payments in Euro in respect of any such Eurocurrency Rate Loan, or any other dealings in Euro to be carried out pursuant to this Agreement in respect of any such Eurocurrency Rate Loan, means a TARGET Day; (c) if such day relates to any interest rate settings as to a Eurocurrency Rate Loan denominated in a currency other than Dollars or Euro, means any such day on which dealings in deposits in the relevant currency are conducted by and between banks in the London or other applicable offshore interbank market for such currency; and (d) if such day relates to any fundings, disbursements, settlements and payments in a currency other than Dollars or Euro in respect of a Eurocurrency Rate Loan denominated in a currency other than Dollars or Euro, or any other dealings in any currency other than Dollars or Euro to be carried out pursuant to this Agreement in respect of any such Eurocurrency Rate Loan (other than any interest rate settings), means any such day on which banks are open for foreign exchange business in the principal financial center of the country of such currency. Canadian Dollars means the lawful currency of Canada. Canadian Receivables means the accounts receivable of Global Payments Direct generated in the ordinary course of business of its merchant processing business in Canada, including VISA receivables, debit card receivables, merchant chargeback receivables and merchant business receivables (relating to fees owed to Global Payments Direct by its Canadian VISA merchants) generated in connection with such business and any indemnities or obligations of VISA related to non-payment of the foregoing. Canadian Receivables Collateral means, collectively, the Canadian Receivables, the accounts maintained by Global Payments Direct with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and into which are deposited only proceeds of the Canadian Receivables and other sums anticipated for use in connection with the settlement of the Canadian Receivables, and any foreign exchange hedging contracts entered into by Global Payments Direct in order to mitigate foreign currency exchange risk arising in respect of obligations under the Canadian Receivables Credit Facility, together with all products and proceeds of the foregoing. Canadian Receivables Credit Facility means the documents evidencing the credit facility made available to Global Payments Direct by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce providing for shortterm advances to Global 6 Payments Direct made in respect of the Canadian Receivables, with the obligations of Global Payments Direct under such credit facility to be Guaranteed by the Company and certain Subsidiaries, together with any refinancings or replacements of such credit facility and any amendments or modifications of such credit facility or refinancing or replacement, in each case to the extent any such refinancing, replacement, amendment or modification is not on terms or otherwise less favorable in any material respect to the Lenders or the Administrative Agent. Capital Lease Obligations of any Person means the obligations of such Person to pay rent or other amounts under any lease of (or other arrangement conveying the right to use) real or personal property, or a combination thereof, which obligations are required to be classified and accounted for as capital leases on a balance sheet of such Person under GAAP, and the amount of such obligations shall be the capitalized amount thereof determined in accordance with GAAP. Cash Collateralize means to pledge and deposit with or deliver to the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of one or more of the L/C Issuer or the Lenders, as collateral for L/C Obligations or obligations of the Revolving Lenders to fund participations in respect of L/C Obligations, cash or deposit account balances or, if the Administrative Agent and the L/C Issuer shall agree in their sole discretion, other credit support, in each case pursuant to documentation in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the L/C Issuer. Cash Collateral shall have a meaning correlative to the foregoing and shall include the proceeds of such cash collateral and other credit support. Cash Equivalents means, as at any date, (1) with respect to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries: (a) securities issued or directly and fully guaranteed or insured by the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof ( provided that the full faith and credit of the United States is pledged in support thereof) having maturities of not more than twelve months from the date of acquisition, (b) Dollar denominated time deposits and certificates of deposit of (i) any Lender, (ii) any domestic commercial bank of recognized standing having capital and surplus in excess of $500,000,000 or (iii) any bank whose short term commercial paper rating from S&P is at least A-1 or the equivalent thereof or from Moodys is at least P-1 or the equivalent thereof (any such bank being an Approved Bank ), in each case with maturities of not more than 270 days from the date of acquisition, (c) commercial paper and variable or fixed rate notes issued by any Approved Bank (or by the parent company thereof) or any variable rate notes issued by, or guaranteed by, any domestic corporation rated A-1 (or the equivalent thereof) or better by S&P or P-1 (or the equivalent thereof) or better by Moodys and maturing within six months of the date of acquisition, (d) repurchase agreements entered into by any Person with a bank or trust company (including any of the Lenders) or recognized securities dealer having capital and surplus in excess of $500,000,000 for direct obligations issued by or fully guaranteed by the United States in which such Person shall have a perfected first priority security interest (subject to no other Liens) and having, on the date of purchase thereof, a Fair Market Value of at least 100% of the amount of the repurchase obligations and (e) investments, classified in accordance with GAAP as current assets, in money market investment programs registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 which are administered by reputable financial institutions having capital of at least $500,000,000 and the portfolios of which are limited to Investments of the character described in the foregoing subdivisions (a) through (d) and (2) with respect to any Foreign Subsidiary: (a) investments of the type and maturity described in clause (1) above of foreign commercial banks, which investments or commercial banks (or the parents of such commercial banks) have the ratings described in such clauses or reasonably equivalent ratings from comparable foreign rating agencies (if available) and (b) other short-term investments utilized by Foreign Subsidiaries in accordance with normal investment practices for cash management of comparable tenure and credit quality to those described in clause (1) above or other high quality short term investments, in each case, customarily utilized in countries in which such Foreign Subsidiary operates for short term cash management purposes. Cash Management Agreement means any agreement to provide treasury or cash management services, including deposit accounts, overnight draft, credit cards, debit cards, p-cards (including purchasing cards and commercial cards), funds transfer, automated clearinghouse, zero balance accounts, returned check concentration, controlled disbursement, lockbox, account reconciliation and reporting and trade finance services and other cash management services. 7 Cash Management Bank means any Person that (a) at the time it enters into a Cash Management Agreement, is a Lender or the Administrative Agent or an Affiliate of a Lender or the Administrative Agent, (b) in the case of any Cash Management Agreement in effect on or prior to the First Amendment Effective Date, is, as of the First Amendment Effective Date or within 30 days thereafter, a Lender or the Administrative Agent or an Affiliate of a Lender or the Administrative Agent and a party to a Cash Management Agreement or (c) within 30 days after the time it enters into the applicable Cash Management Agreement, becomes a Lender, the Administrative Agent or an Affiliate of a Lender or the Administrative Agent, in each case, in its capacity as a party to such Cash Management Agreement. CFC means a controlled foreign corporation within the meaning of Section 957 of the Code. Change in Control means the occurrence of one or more of the following events: (a) the acquisition of ownership, directly or indirectly, beneficially or of record, by any entity, organization or group (within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder as in effect on the date hereof) of 50% or more of the outstanding shares of the voting stock of the Company; (b) during any period of up to 12 months, individuals who at the beginning of such 12 month period were directors of the Company (together with any new directors whose election or nomination for election by the Companys board of directors was approved by a vote of at least twothirds of the directors then still in office who were either directors at the beginning of such period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved) cease for any reason (other than death, disability or voluntary retirement not for reasons related to an actual or proposed change of control) to constitute at least a majority of the directors of the Company then in office; (c) the Company ceases to own (directly or indirectly) 100% of the outstanding shares of the voting stock of Global Payments Direct; (d) the Company ceases to own (directly or indirectly) 100% of the outstanding shares of the voting stock of each Designated Borrower; or (e) the occurrence of any sale, lease, exchange or other transfer (in a single transaction or series of related transactions) of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company to any Person or group (as defined above). Change in Law means the occurrence, after the Closing Date, of any of the following: (a) the adoption or taking effect of any Law, (b) any change in any Law or in the administration, interpretation, implementation or application thereof by any Governmental Authority or (c) the making or issuance of any request, rule, guideline or directive (whether or not having the force of law) by any Governmental Authority; provided that notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, (i) the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and all requests, rules, guidelines or directives thereunder or issued in connection therewith and (ii) all requests, rules, guidelines or directives promulgated by the Bank for International Settlements, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (or any successor or similar authority) or the United States or foreign regulatory authorities, in each case pursuant to Basel III, shall in each case be deemed to be a Change in Law, regardless of the date enacted, adopted, implemented or issued. Closing Date means July 31, 2015. Code means the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Collateral means all Collateral or other similar term referred to in the Collateral Documents and all of the other property that is or is intended under the terms of the Collateral Documents to be subject to Liens in favor of the Administrative Agent, for the benefit of itself and the other holders of the Obligations and excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, any Excluded Property. Collateral Documents means a collective reference to the Security Agreement, the Mortgages and other security documents as may be executed and delivered by any Credit Party pursuant to the terms of Section 6.11 or any of the Loan Documents. Commitment means an Existing Term Loan Commitment, a Revolving Commitment, an Incremental Term Loan Commitment, a Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment or a Heartland Incremental Term B Loan Commitment, as the context may require. Commitment Fee has the meaning specified in Section 2.09(a) . 8 Commodity Exchange Act means the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.). Company has the meaning specified in the introductory paragraph hereto. Company Guaranty means the Second Amended and Restated Company Guaranty substantially in the form of Exhibit H (including any and all supplements thereto) executed and delivered by the Company, in favor of the Administrative Agent, the Lenders and the Swap Providers. Compliance Certificate means, prior to the consummation of the Heartland Acquisition, a certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit C-1 and, after the consummation of the Heartland Acquisition, a certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit C-2 . Connection Income Taxes means Other Connection Taxes that are imposed on or measured by net income (however denominated) or that are franchise Taxes or branch profits Taxes). Contractual Obligation means, as to any Person, any provision of any security issued by such Person or of any agreement, instrument or other undertaking to which such Person is a party or by which it or any of its property is bound. Control means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of a Person, whether through the ability to exercise voting power, by contract or otherwise. Controlled has the meaning correlative thereto. Corporate Restructuring means the transfer of any Foreign Subsidiary (or any Equity Interests in any Foreign Subsidiary) to any other Foreign Subsidiary of the Company, or the transfer by any Foreign Subsidiary of any Domestic Subsidiary (or Equity Interests in any Domestic Subsidiary) to any other Foreign Subsidiary or Domestic Subsidiary of the Company, in each case, in connection with bona fide tax planning activities so long as (a) taken as a whole, the value of the Collateral securing the Obligations is not materially reduced and (b) the security interests of the Administrative Agent, on behalf of the Lenders, in the Collateral, taken as a whole, are not materially impaired, in each case, as reasonably determined by the Administrative Agent in consultation with the Company. Credit Extension means each of the following: (a) a Borrowing and (b) an L/C Credit Extension. Credit Parties means, collectively, each Borrower and each Guarantor. Customary Settlement Lien Intercreditor Agreement means that certain Intercreditor Agreement dated within 20 Business Days of the Heartland Acquisition Closing Date (or such later date as the Administrative Agent may agree in its sole discretion) by and among Global Payments Direct, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association and the Administrative Agent, or any other intercreditor agreement by and among the Company, any applicable Person for the benefit of whom any applicable obligations are secured by a Settlement Lien and the Administrative Agent, in each case, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory in all respects to the Administrative Agent. Debt Issuance means the issuance by the Company or any Subsidiary of any Indebtedness other than Indebtedness permitted under Section 7.01A or 7.01B , as applicable. Debtor Relief Laws means the Bankruptcy Code of the United States, and all other liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, reorganization, or similar debtor relief Laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdictions from time to time in effect and affecting the rights of creditors generally. Default means any event or condition that constitutes an Event of Default or that, with the giving of any notice, the passage of time, or both, would be an Event of Default. 9 Default Rate means (a) when used with respect to Obligations other than Letter of Credit Fees, an interest rate equal to (i) the Base Rate plus (ii) the Applicable Rate, if any, applicable to Base Rate Loans plus (iii) 2% per annum; provided , however , that with respect to a Eurocurrency Rate Loan, the Default Rate shall be an interest rate equal to the interest rate (including any Applicable Rate) otherwise applicable to such Loan plus 2% per annum, in each case to the fullest extent permitted by applicable Laws and (b) when used with respect to Letter of Credit Fees, a rate equal to the Applicable Rate plus 2% per annum. Defaulting Lender means, subject to Section 2.15(d) , any Lender that (a) has failed to (i) fund all or any portion of its Loans within two Business Days of the date such Loans were required to be funded hereunder unless such Lender notifies the Administrative Agent and the Company in writing that such failure is the result of such Lenders determination that one or more conditions precedent to funding (each of which conditions precedent, together with any applicable default, shall be specifically identified in such writing) has not been satisfied, or (ii) pay to the Administrative Agent, the L/C Issuer, the Swing Line Lender or any other Lender any other amount required to be paid by it hereunder (including in respect of its participation in Letters of Credit or Swing Line Loans) within two Business Days of the date when due, (b) has notified the Company, the Administrative Agent, the L/C Issuer or the Swing Line Lender in writing that it does not intend to comply with its funding obligations hereunder, or has made a public statement to that effect (unless such writing or public statement relates to such Lenders obligation to fund a Loan hereunder and states that such position is based on such Lenders determination that a condition precedent to funding (which condition precedent, together with any applicable default, shall be specifically identified in such writing or public statement) cannot be satisfied), (c) has failed, within three Business Days after written request by the Administrative Agent or the Company, to confirm in writing to the Administrative Agent and the Company that it will comply with its prospective funding obligations hereunder ( provided that such Lender shall cease to be a Defaulting Lender pursuant to this clause (c) upon receipt of such written confirmation by the Administrative Agent and the Company), or (d) has, or has a direct or indirect parent company that has, (i) become the subject of a proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law, (ii) had appointed for it a receiver, custodian, conservator, trustee, administrator, assignee for the benefit of creditors or similar Person charged with reorganization or liquidation of its business or assets, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other state or federal regulatory authority acting in such a capacity or (iii) become the subject of a Bail-in Action; provided that a Lender shall not be a Defaulting Lender solely by virtue of the ownership or acquisition of any Equity Interest in that Lender or any direct or indirect parent company thereof by a Governmental Authority so long as such ownership interest does not result in or provide such Lender with immunity from the jurisdiction of courts within the United States or from the enforcement of judgments or writs of attachment on its assets or permit such Lender (or such Governmental Authority) to reject, repudiate, disavow or disaffirm any contracts or agreements made with such Lender. Any determination by the Administrative Agent that a Lender is a Defaulting Lender under any one or more of clauses (a) through (d) above, and of the effective date of such status, shall be conclusive and binding absent manifest error, and such Lender shall be deemed to be a Defaulting Lender (subject to Section 2.15(d) ) as of the date established therefor by the Administrative Agent in a written notice of such determination, which shall be delivered by the Administrative Agent to the Company, the L/C Issuer, the Swing Line Lender and each other Lender promptly following such determination. Delayed Draw Term Lender means any Lender that holds a portion of the Delayed Draw Term Loans at such time. Delayed Draw Term Loan has the meaning specified in Section 2.01(d) . Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment means, as to each Delayed Draw Term Lender, its obligation to make a portion of the Delayed Draw Term Loan to the Company pursuant to Section 2.01(d) , in the principal amount set forth opposite such Delayed Draw Term Lenders name on Schedule 2.01 , as such amounts may be adjusted from time to time in accordance with this Agreement. The aggregate principal amount of the Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitments of all of the Delayed Draw Term Lenders in effect on the First Amendment Effective Date is SIX HUNDRED EIGHTY-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS ($685,000,000). 10 Delayed Draw Term Loan Commitment Fee has the meaning specified in Section 2.09(b) . Delayed Draw Term Note has the meaning specified in Section 2.11(a) . Designated Borrower means any Subsidiary that has been designated as a Borrower pursuant to the terms hereof and that has not ceased to be a Borrower pursuant to the terms hereof. Designated Jurisdiction means any country or territory to the extent that such country or territory itself is the subject of any Sanction. Designated Subsidiaries means the non-wholly owned Subsidiaries of the Company that are subject to an encumbrance or restriction pursuant to an agreement between the Company or the applicable Subsidiary with the Person (other than any Affiliate of the Company) owning the minority of the outstanding Equity Interests in such non-wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company requiring the consent of such Person prior to (a) paying dividends or making any other distributions on any of its Equity Interests, (b) paying any amounts owing to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or (iii) granting any Liens on any of its assets to secure any of the Obligations. Dollar and $ mean lawful money of the United States. Dollar Equivalent means, at any time, (a) with respect to any amount denominated in Dollars, such amount, and (b) with respect to any amount denominated in any Alternative Currency, the equivalent amount thereof in Dollars as determined by the Administrative Agent or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, at such time on the basis of the Spot Rate (determined in respect of the most recent Revaluation Date) for the purchase of Dollars with such Alternative Currency. Domestic Subsidiary means any Subsidiary that is organized under the laws of any political subdivision of the United States. Dutch Auction means an auction (an Auction ) conducted by the Company or one of its Subsidiaries in order to purchase any Heartland Incremental Term B Loans (the Purchase ) in accordance with the following procedures or such other procedures as may be agreed to between the Administrative Agent and the Company: (a) Notice Procedures . In connection with any Auction, the Company shall provide notification to the Administrative Agent (for distribution to the Heartland Incremental Term B Lenders) of the Heartland Incremental Term B Loans that will be the subject of the Auction (an Auction Notice ). Each Auction Notice shall be in a form reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and shall specify (i) the total cash value of the bid, in a minimum amount of $10,000,000 with minimum increments of $1,000,000 in excess thereof (the Auction Amount ), and (ii) the discounts to par, which shall be expressed as a range of percentages of the par principal amount of the Heartland Incremental Term B Loans at issue (the Discount Range ), representing the range of purchase prices that could be paid in the Auction. (b) Reply Procedures . In connection with any Auction, each Heartland Incremental Term B Lender may, in its sole discretion, participate in such Auction by providing the Administrative Agent with a notice of participation (the Return Bid ) which shall be in a form reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent and shall specify (i) a discount to par that must be expressed as a price (the Reply Discount ), which must be within the Discount Range, and (ii) a principal amount of the Heartland Incremental Term B Loans such Heartland Incremental Term B Lender is willing to sell, which must be in increments of $1,000,000 or in an amount equal to such Lenders entire remaining amount of its Heartland Incremental Term B Loans (the Reply Amount ). The Heartland Incremental Term B Lenders may only submit one Return Bid per Auction. In addition to the Return Bid, each Heartland Incremental Term B Lender wishing to participate in such Auction must execute and deliver, to be held in escrow by the Administrative Agent, an assignment and acceptance agreement in a form reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent. 11 (c) Acceptance Procedures . Based on the Reply Discounts and Reply Amounts received by the Administrative Agent, the Administrative Agent, in consultation with the Company, will reasonably determine the applicable discount (the Applicable Discount ) for the Auction, which shall be the lowest Reply Discount for which the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company, as applicable, can complete the Auction at the Auction Amount; provided that, in the event that the Reply Amounts are insufficient to allow the Company or such Subsidiary, as applicable, to complete a purchase of the entire Auction Amount, the Company or such Subsidiary shall either, at its election, (i) withdraw the Auction or (ii) complete the Auction at an Applicable Discount equal to the highest Reply Discount. The Company or such Subsidiary, as applicable, shall purchase the applicable Heartland Incremental Term B Loans (or the respective portions thereof) from each applicable Heartland Incremental Term B Lender with a Reply Discount that is equal to or greater than the Applicable Discount ( Qualifying Bids ) at the Applicable Discount; provided that if the aggregate proceeds required to purchase all applicable Heartland Incremental Term B Loans subject to Qualifying Bids would exceed the Auction Amount for such Auction, the Company or such Subsidiary, as applicable, shall purchase such Heartland Incremental Term B Loans at the Applicable Discount ratably based on the principal amounts of such Qualifying Bids (subject to adjustment for rounding as specified by the Administrative Agent). Each participating Heartland Incremental Term B Lender will receive notice of a Qualifying Bid as soon as reasonably practicable. (d) Additional Procedures . The Purchase shall be consummated pursuant to and in accordance with Section 10.06 and, to the extent not otherwise provided herein, shall otherwise be consummated pursuant to procedures (including as to timing, rounding and minimum amounts, Interest Periods, and other notices by the Company or such Subsidiary, as applicable) reasonably acceptable to the Administrative Agent ( provided that such Purchase shall be required to be consummated as soon as reasonably practicable but in no case later than five (5) Business Days (or such longer period as the Administrative Agent shall otherwise agree) after the time that the participating Lenders receive notice of a Qualifying Bid pursuant to the last sentence in clause (c) above). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, if the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company, as applicable, withdraws an Auction, the Company and its Subsidiaries may not conduct a new Auction for at least 30 days after such withdrawal. EBITDA means, for any period, the sum of the following (without duplication) in each case determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP (to the extent applicable): (a) with respect to the Company and its Subsidiaries (excluding any Persons or assets that became Acquired Entities at any time during such period), the sum of Net Income for such period plus (1) each of the following for such period (to the extent included in determining Net Income): (i) federal, state, local and foreign income, value added and similar taxes, (ii) depreciation, (iii) amortization, (iv) Interest Expense; (v) extraordinary or unusual losses incurred other than in the ordinary course of business, (vi) Non-Cash Items to the extent such Non-Cash Items do not represent an accrual or reserve for a future cash expenditure, charge or loss; and (vii) Non-Recurring Items in an amount not to exceed, for any period of determination, the Non-Recurring Cash Items Charge Limit; minus (2) each of the following for such period (to the extent deducted in determining Net Income): (i) extraordinary or unusual gains realized other than in the ordinary course of business; and (ii) non-cash income or gains plus (3) with respect to each Acquisition not prohibited hereunder (other than the Heartland Acquisition), cost synergies (net of continued associated expenses) and integration, business optimization and operating improvement expenses that, as of the date of calculation with respect to such period, are anticipated by the Company in good faith to be realized within 12 months following such Acquisition; provided that (A) such cost synergies are factually supportable and (B) the aggregate amount of such adjustments under this clause (a)(3) taken into account in determining EBITDA for any period of determination shall not exceed an aggregate amount equal to 10% of the EBITDA attributable to the property acquired (or the property of the Person acquired) in such Acquisition plus (4) with respect to the Heartland Acquisition, cost synergies (net of continued associated expenses) and integration, business optimization and operating improvement expenses that, as of the date of calculation with respect to such period, are anticipated by the Company in good faith to be realized within 18 months following the Heartland Acquisition; provided that (A) such cost synergies are factually supportable and (B) the aggregate amount of such adjustments under this clause (a)(4) taken into account in determining EBITDA for any period of determination shall not exceed $125,000,000 and (b) EBITDA of any Persons or assets that became Acquired Entities at any time during such period, calculated on a pro forma basis for such Acquired Entities for the entire period in a manner otherwise 12 consistent with this definition and the definitions referred to herein. Notwithstanding the foregoing, EBITDA for Heartland and its Subsidiaries (i) for the Fiscal Quarter ended March 31, 2015 shall be deemed to be $45,563,000.00, (ii) for the Fiscal Quarter ended June 30, 2015 shall be deemed to be $60,149,000.00, (3) for the Fiscal Quarter ended September 30, 2015 shall be deemed to be $62,983,000.00 and (4) for any other Fiscal Quarter ending prior to the Heartland Acquisition Closing Date, such amounts as agreed by the Administrative Agent and the Company, in each case, as may be adjusted on a pro forma basis in accordance with the terms hereof. EBITR means, for the Company and its Subsidiaries for any period, an amount equal to the sum of each of the following for such period (without duplication) in each case determined on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP: (a) EBITDA plus (b) Lease Expense, minus (c) depreciation and amortization. EEA Financial Institution means (a) any credit institution or investment firm established in any EEA Member Country which is subject to the supervision of an EEA Resolution Authority, (b) any entity established in an EEA Member Country which is a parent of an institution described in clause (a) of this definition, or (c) any financial institution established in an EEA Member Country which is a subsidiary of an institution described in clauses (a) or (b) of this definition and is subject to consolidated supervision with its parent. EEA Member Country means any of the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. EEA Resolution Authority means any public administrative authority or any person entrusted with public administrative authority of any EEA Member Country (including any delegee) having responsibility for the resolution of any EEA Financial Institution. Eligible Assignee means any Person that meets the requirements to be an assignee under Section 10.06(b)(ii) and (iv) (subject to such consents, if any, as may be required under Section 10.06(b)(ii) ). Environmental Laws means all laws, rules, regulations, codes, ordinances, orders, decrees, judgments, injunctions, notices or binding agreements issued, promulgated or entered into by any Governmental Authority, relating in any way to the environment, preservation or reclamation of natural resources, the management, release or threatened release of any Hazardous Material or to health and safety matters. Environmental Liability means any liability, contingent or otherwise (including any liability for damages, costs of environmental remediation, fines, penalties or indemnities), of the Company or any Subsidiary directly or indirectly resulting from or based upon (a) violation of any Environmental Law, (b) the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment or disposal of any Hazardous Materials, (c) exposure to any Hazardous Materials, (d) the release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials into the environment or (e) any contract, agreement or other consensual arrangement pursuant to which liability is assumed or imposed with respect to any of the foregoing. Equity Interests means shares of capital stock, partnership interests, membership interests in a limited liability company, beneficial interests in a trust or other equity ownership interests in a Person, and any warrants, options or other rights entitling the holder thereof to purchase or acquire any such equity interest. ERISA means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. ERISA Affiliate means any trade or business (whether or not incorporated) that, together with the Company, is treated as a single employer under Section 414(b) or (c) of the Code or, solely for purposes of Section 302 of ERISA and Section 412 of the Code, is treated as a single employer under Section 414 of the Code. ERISA Event means (a) any Reportable Event; (b) the failure to contribute the minimum required contribution under Section 412 of the Code; (c) the filing pursuant to Section 412(c) of the Code or Section 303(d) of ERISA of an application for a waiver of the minimum funding standard with respect to any Plan; (d) the incurrence by the Company or any of its ERISA Affiliates of any liability under Title IV of ERISA with respect to the termination of any Plan; (e) 1.2 billion worms turn waste into black gold in the South Waikato. A scientist has chosen the South Waikato to develop the country's largest worm farm. A pioneering idea to turn waste from Oji Fibre Solutions, in Kinleith, and Fonterra, in Lichfield, into fertile soil was a "nice fit" for Dr Michael Quintern who owns Mynoke. "We were very pleased they picked up the idea to see the wider picture and trying to support our primary sector, like agriculture, horticulture and forestry," Quintern said. FRANCES FERGUSON/FAIRFAX NZ Dr Michael Quintern harvests 1.2 billion worms at his sites in the South Waikato. "We created the biggest party in New Zealand for 1.2 billion worms. We have free food, drink and accommodation." After many years of dedicated research, Quintern - who has a PhD in soil sciences and 25 years experience - found the exact mixture he needed to turn the 50 hectares (123.5 acre)of soil into black gold. "I found the rejected fibre from Oji. It needed more nutrients so the sludge from milk plants is the ideal match for the fibre to put organic matter back into soil as soil humus." The South Waikato made it the ideal place to operate his farm, he said. Taking the concept to the next level he developed the industrial sized worm farms in Kinleith and Putaruru. In 2007 Quintern visited Kinleith Millto get some fibre and was told to help himself to the 60,000 tonne that was just sitting there. "We needed some butter and jam for the worms. I said 'this is just fantastic you should have a worm farm'." A 30 hectare site was set up in 2009 on forestry land, vermicomposting 114,000 tonnes of organic waste per year. A second 20,000 hectare site was developed in Putaruru when Fonterra wanted to use their own waste to improve the soil on their land. Quintern said the stewardship in 2010 meant they could make their business sustainable and environmentally friendly. "The earth worm didn't like the waste at the beginning. We did a lot of trials and after a while we found the best recipe. They are thriving and they love it. "It's our flagship. All our knowledge is implemented here and we are very proud of this one." He said soil converted from pine forest was lacking organic matter and earth worms. "I encourage farmers to think outside the fertiliser bag and to combine not replace mineral fertiliser, farm effluent and farm manure with worm casting." Environmental manager for Oji Fibre Solutions Edwin Mercer said partnering with Mynoke had been a great initiative. Since 2009, he estimates 259,000 tonnes of vericompost has been made from waste. "It's taken a long time to get to this point but its one of the key things. Mercer said none of their organic waste went to landfill. Last year 53,000 tonne of sludge was turned into worm manure which was organically certified. "We have a policy for continued improvement, every year we improve. "If we operate sustainable in a environmentally friendly fashion then we will be here forever." Environmental technician manager Ron Hamilton said the story was a very positive one for Fonterra. "We are very pleased to be associated with Dr Quintern's initiative. There's a lot of positive benefits for fonterra and for farmers." The extra flights are on the back of high demand in regional centres, especially flights from Tauranga to Nelson. Increasing demand has seen Kiwi Regional Airlines put on extra flights from Nelson, including a new service to Christchurch and daily flights to Dunedin. An extra flight will also be added to its Nelson to Tauranga route, which currently has two flights a week. The new Nelson-Christchurch service will see Kiwi Regional Airlines (KRA) fly to the southern city twice a week. KRA chief executive Ewan Wilson said it was an exciting time for the region. READ MORE: * Kiwi Regional Airlines plane grounded for repairs * Kiwi Regional tosses up Napier, Tauranga flights * Big test looms for Kiwi Regional Airlines "This is great news for Nelson. We can offer Christchurch for the first time. Nelson asked for a Christchurch service, the Nelson people asked and we delivered," he said. Among the other changes KRA announced was a daily return flight between Nelson and Dunedin. It will also fly four times a week between Hamilton and three times a week between Tauranga and Nelson. It started flying the Tauranga to Nelson route twice a week last month. The new services will start on May 14. The changes are being made due to high demand in regional centres, especially flights from Tauranga to Nelson. "In the last six months, we have sold well over 10,000 seats, and we will continue to look at how we can best meet regional New Zealand's needs," Wilson said. The airline has one 34-seat twin turbo-prop Saab 340A. Wilson said he was "keeping his cards close to his chest" about whether he had plans to get another plane, and said further announcements about the fleet would be made in the next week. Nelson's central location meant the airline considered the region an important location. "Nelson is very much our hub ... We are providing regional air services that the travelling public is demanding," Wilson said. "We are pleased that residents in many regional centres have responded so well to our airline." KRA started operating in October flying routes between Nelson, Dunedin and Hamilton. It cancelled a route from Dunedin to Queenstown early on. KRA also announced this year that it had partnered with Barrier Air which flies routes to Auckland, Kaitaia, North Shore and Great Barrier Island. Increasing regional flights into Nelson will also help to boost and improve tourism for the district. Nelson Tasman Tourism chief executive Lynda Keene said the expansion of the airline's regional air services was good news for Nelson. "The fact that in the first six months of operation they have been able to evaluate which routes are working best and increase the frequency is really encouraging," Keene said. "The Hamilton and Bay of Plenty catchment area is quite huge, it is really underrated, I think doing the direct links to and from Nelson is really going to grow for them." Other airlines including Jetstar and Originair started flying to the regions last year. A smoking ban in mental health units is contributing to suicides, a lawyer says. An important case about a smoking ban in mental health units nearly ended up in the toilet for a lawyer with "an emergency defecation situation". Lawyer Richard Francois had a series of tetchy exchanges in the Court of Appeal on Tuesday. The atmosphere seemed to settle but then erupted again when Francois left the court without permission while another lawyer was talking. The most senior of the three judges, Justice Lyn Stevens, stopped the hearing while Francois was found. READ MORE: *Hospital smoking ban labelled torture *Hospital smoking ban defended When he returned, Francois said he had "an emergency defecation situation", a phrase also used in defence of Malaysian military man Muhammad Rizalman bin Ismail when he entered a Wellington woman's home without trousers or underwear. When the normal court courtesy was explained, Francois did not back down. "Well, your honours, so make your complaint to the Law Society, have me struck off, put me in jail." "You seem to have given me two very sensible options," Justice Stephen Kos said. Francois had sparks flying with the judges early in the hearing too. After one comment, Francois told a judge, "Well, you don't have to be like that, your honour." Further on, Francois was told his "impertinence" was not going to help him. When Justice Stevens suggested he move on with his submissions because he was not helping his client's case, Francois replied, "I don't want to hear that, that's an indictment of you, not me". Francois was appearing for two psychiatric patients and a former nurse challenging the Waitemata District Health Board smokefree policy as applied in two units where mental health patients were not able to leave hospital grounds to smoke. Francois said it was inhumane and contributed to patient suicides by forcing them to withdraw from nicotine when they were already acutely unwell. Nicotine replacement therapy did not work, he said. The smokers lost in the High Court and on Tuesday the decision was reserved on their appeal. Francois said that psychiatric patients were confined for the treatment of mental illness, not to achieve the health goals of others. The health board defended its smoking ban. Lawyer Jonathan Coates said some patients in the general wards who were immobile or connected to machines could not smoke either. Patients in the open psychiatric units were locked in overnight and unable to smoke. It was a neutral policy and treated everyone the same, Coates said. A twister in the sky, or so it seems. Snails and spinning tops and goodness knows what else? Mt Cook photographer Simon Middlemass has been documenting the "alien" cloud formations that appear regularly at his front door. Aliens regularly come to life outside the front door of Simon Middlemass. For the past 15 months, a wide variety of lenticular clouds have formed around Middlemass as he has co-managed the New Zealand Alpine Club base Unwin Lodge on the footsteps of Aoraki-Mt Cook. The eerie phenomena of New Zealand's highest alpine area have understandably captured the imagination of the mountaineer and photographer. "Most of these photographs are taken from the front door, this view being our daily fare - looking straight up the Tasman Valley to Elie de Beaumont," Middlemass said. SIMON MIDDLEMASS Mt Cook photographer Simon Middlemass has been documenting the "alien" cloud formations that appear regularly at his front door. "It's an ever-changing land and cloud-scape that one never tires of and is never the same." "Many of the clouds seem to take on alien forms or are reaching out from the heart of the mountains to those beyond." Middlemass, who had previously worked at Mt Cook in the 1980s doing Alpine Search and Rescue for the Department of Lands and Survey, returned with his wife to live in Mt Cook after a couple of years in Copenhagen because they were missing the New Zealand mountains. He started photography while at university and got into mountaineering to capture scenes in remote places that his friends were visiting. SIMON MIDDLEMASS The weather provides photographer Simon Middlemass with a palette of light and colour to capture stunning photos of clouds over the mountains. Middlemass lists professional photographer friends - Rob Brown, Colin Monteath and Mark Watson - as his inspiration. "They all return to the Aoraki-Mount Cook area time and time again. The weather constantly provides a palette of light and colour we are fortunate enough to have in in our front yard." Leroy Brown died on Saturday. He was a wonderful fisherman, his family says. The father of the nine-year-old boy who died in a crash in Te Kuiti on Saturday has spoken of his grief. Heath Brown is understood to be at Starship Hospital with his daughter, who was also injured in the two car crash that claimed the lives of three people. Leroy John Brown died on the road. On Monday, Leroy's mum, Leonie Angela Berger, died of her injuries in an Auckland hospital. CHRISTEL YARDLEY/FAIRFAX NZ Police talk to people after a fatal Te Kuiti crash on Saturday. Leroy's dad last saw him on Tuesday last week when he picked him and Elyse up from Warkworth Primary School. READ MORE: * Crash claims rodeo champ * Fatal single car crash in Waikato * Driver dies at crash scene at Waikato intersection * Fatal Te Kuiti crash was 'an accident waiting to happen' "I took them down by the Mahurangi River,' Brown told the New Zealand Herald. Supplied Len Mackey, 59, also died in the crash in Te Kuiti. "We spent a bit of time by the river there and he gave me a bag of acorns from off the acorn tree at school that day and told me to plant them which I haven't done as yet and he just said hooray and walked away and waved to me, and done it a couple more times and then he was gone, that was the last time I saw him." Brown's daughter, Elyse, the fourth occupant of the car, was transferred from Waikato Hospital to Starship Hospital, where she is recovering. The crash just north of Te Kuiti on Saturday also killed Leonard Marshall Mackey, 59. The scene after the fatal Te Kuiti crash on Saturday. Leroy loved being outdoors but fishing was his biggest love, including the ITM Fishing Show, said Brown. "I was just keen myself when I was his age and ever since he was 3 he was out with me fishing," Brown told the Herald. "He told me to take the sinker off here or he'd throw a line over and a minute or two later he'd have a fish or he'd tell me where to throw the line over. He was catching flounder with his hands...He was pretty keen when the tide was coming in, he was like 'Dad let's go and get a flounder'. He just loved the water. He knew where to find them, the flounder, at the bottom of the farm. One day we were working on a farm and he came back with a big flounder he had speared." Brown said he visited the scene of the crash on Sunday so he could see where his son died and try and make sense of what happened. He told the Herald he left a toy bumblebee attached to a fence in memory of his boy. In a funeral notice published in Tuesday's Herald, Brown wrote: "You have brought us so much energy and enjoyed everything in life. Fond memories which will last forever -- Thank you -- even teach us new tricks catching fish. You are a shining star little man, not a second will go by without you being in everyone's hearts. Keep shining bright our little playmate." The trio, along with 19-year-old Hamilton man Bradon Vincent, who died in a separate accident when his car crashed into a tree near Hamilton on Friday night, are three of 13 people killed on Waikato roads so far this year. At the same time last year, nine people had died in road crashes - four of those in February, compared to the eight people who died in crashes around the region last month. Leroy and his mother are also survived by little brother Cameron. His uncle Brett Brown said family and the wider Warkworth community are devastated by the loss. Leroy was born in Warkworth and was the great, great, great, great grandchild of the town's founder, John Anderson Brown, he said. "On the other side of the family he is a Berger, which is a well-known family in Warkworth as well. "Both our families have been in the area for generations. All the locals are shutting down - it's a very small community and everyone knows someone who knows us, so it's affecting most of the identities and schoolmates around Warkworth." Brown described his nephew as an amazing, energetic boy who lived for fishing. "He was a very energetic, very outdoors person, a really neat kid with a nice smile. He had an ability with fishing - he was like a fish whisperer." Brown said Leroy would fish for hours at the nearby river with his father and cousins. "They would be fishing in rain, hail or shine, doesn't matter what the weather was, they would be out there fishing - he could just catch fish, it was unbelievable." He even once caught a flounder with his bare hands, he said. "They were walking in the water and managed to get a flounder there with his bare hands and flicked it out on to the beach. He was just amazing." Brown understood Berger and friend Mackey had been looking at property in the Te Kuiti area and may have been attending a rodeo at the weekend. "She was horse crazy. She had Kaimai horses and just lived for the horses. He was tied up with the rodeo down there." Brown said his brother Heath had remained beside his daughter's bed at Starship Hospital. "She survived it. She was conscious the whole time and she has just done amazing," Brown said. Berger's friend Rodney Local Board deputy chairman Steve Garner said he was at school the same time as Leonie. "I was at school at the same time as Leonie. The father of the kids, Heath, was a friend of my brother." Growing up he remembers Leonie was vivacious, headstrong and very spirited. She was close to her parents and her father has been devastated, not just by the death of Leonie but particularly by Leroy's. "Leonie was a good mum and her eldest son Cameron, 23, from a previous relationship is still living at home." The Bergers are a large family and have very close ties with many families in the district, Garner said. A heartbreaking funeral notice for Leroy describes the nine-year-old as a "dearly loved son". "The last nine years have been the best in our lives. You have brought so much love, fun and joy to everyone you met. You had so much energy and enjoyed everything in life. Fond memories which will last forever - Thank you - even teaching us new tricks catching fish. "You are a shining star little man, not a second will go by without you being in everyone's hearts. Keep shining bright our little playmate. Till we meet again little man - lots of love forever." Warkworth Primary School had informed parents of the loss and set up a refuge room for any students needing counselling. "Each classroom teacher has supported their students throughout the day to help them come to terms with such difficult news and will continue to do so throughout the week," the school said on its website. Rodney ward councillor Penny Webster said Warkworth is in shock. "It's always tragic, particularly when children are killed." "When it's a small town like Warkworth a lot of people feel hurt and shocked. "Especially when the families are so well known. "I know people will reach out to the families involved. "Our sympathy and prayers go out to them." Ronald Van Der Plaat will be released from prison in May. GRAPHIC WARNING: One of New Zealand's worst sex offenders is set to be released from prison, with the Parole Board warning he is of high risk to the community. Dutch-born Ronald van der Plaat, 82, was jailed in 2001 for acts described by his sentencing judge as "indescribable cruelty" against his daughter Tanjas Darke in the Pacific Islands and at their Te Atatu, West Auckland home. Van der Plaat kept Darke as a sex slave for 23 years, committing heinous acts including hanging her from the ceiling by her ankles before abusing her, making her pregnant with a baby she later miscarried, and raping her after giving her overdoses of drugs and alcohol. Darke waived her automatic name suppression and went on to write an autobiography, Flight of the Dancing Bird. READ MORE: * Sadistic sex offender back in jail * Sex offender's legal appeal threat * Sex offender back in the community She also recounted her life story in a TV documentary To Hell and Back. Van der Plaat appeared before the Parole Board last month to set his final release conditions before his statutory release date of 11 May. In its decision, the Board noted the latest psychological assessment put Van der Plaat's risk of reoffending as medium high. He scored above average on the psychopathy check list, specifically for traits including grandiosity, lack of remorse and deceitfulness. The psychologist reported that van der Plaat's ageing, possible cognitive decline and lack of insight regarding his risk made relapse prevention planning difficult. "The psychological report says that the most likely target for Mr van der Plaat will be vulnerable solo mothers, most likely non-European immigrants, and that he will groom their trust through offering financial, material, practical and emotional support. "Future victims are likely to be their female children with Mr van der Plaat assuming some form of caregiver role." His old age was also unlikely to be a deterrent. "The psychologist can only conclude that Mr van der Plaat's increasing physical frailty...is likely to mitigate his risk of sexual recidivism "over time". There is no evidence before the Board that we are at that point at this time." The Community Probation Service believed Van der Plaat remained an undue risk to the community, with the Board raising concerns about his proposed release plan. "The Board needs to record its observation that it is by no means clear that Mr Van der Plaat's proposal will provide the basis for his safe return to the community." During his time in prison van der Plaat has continued to deny his offending, meaning he is ineligible to take part in any intensive rehabilitation programmes. The Board found he remained an undue risk to the community and denied him early parole, but van der Plaat will regardless be released in May. He will be subject to a raft of conditions, including GPS monitoring and being forbidden from associating with people under 16 years old. The conditions will exist for six months after his release, but van der Plaat could be subjected to an Extended Supervision Order allowing conditions to run for up to 10 years. Van der Plaat was earlier released on parole in 2010 but soon reoffended after being caught on a museum camera holding hands with a four-year-old girl. He had befriended the girl's mother and often babysat the young girl. Van der Plaat's offending was some of the worst seen in New Zealand and was likened to that of Austrian man Josef Fritzl, who kept his daughter Elisabeth locked in the basement as a sex slave for 24 years. Left to raise Tanjas on his own in 1969 when she was nine, van der Plaat began abusing her and took a series of sadistic photos of his naked daughter. He took pleasure in the pain he inflicted on her and put her head in a specially-built wooden box that he padlocked as he had sex with her. Darke eventually escaped when she was 32 and fled to Germany, where she contacted police in New Zealand. Van der Plaat was arrested in 1999. A convicted child abuser will stay in New Zealand after a local High Court judge rejected an Australian bid to extradite the man for alleged sex crimes. The Australian Government wanted the 59-year-old man extradited to face seven charges of indecent treatment of a boy. But at the High Court in Christchurch, Justice Gerard Nation echoed an earlier district court decision criticising Queensland Police's investigation into the case. The man was born in New Zealand but lived in Australia in the 1980s. The offences were alleged to have occurred between September 1, 1985 and January 1, 1986. The complainant was aged 13 at the time. A district court earlier heard the man was convicted in 1995 of indecently dealing with a boy under the age of 16. For that, he was sentenced to two years probation with "special conditions" involving counselling and treatment. Queensland police became aware of the alleged offences now under discussion in 2000. But Queensland police closed the case after the victim's mother said her son was not emotionally strong enough to make a statement. Two years later, the accuser, then in his 30s, approached police. An appointment was made for him to provide a statement but the accuser did not turn up, so the case was again closed pending the victim's statement. About the same time, the New Zealand man was convicted of more child abuse offences between 1996 and 2001, leading to him being imprisoned in Australia until 2006. He was then deported to New Zealand. The victim made a new complaint in 2012. He followed this with two formal statements, the second of which followed a recorded phone call between the accuser and his alleged abuser. Australian police contacted New Zealand police to help find the man and hoped to start extradition proceedings in 2013. An arrest warrant was issued soon after. District Court judge Robert Murfitt denied the extradition order in November, saying it would be oppressive to force the man to return to Australia to face further charges. The decision prompted an appeal by the Australian Government. In a newly-released decision, Justice Nation said there was no error of law in the original decision. He said Judge Murfitt was correct to say Queensland police showed a lack of vigour in pursuing a timely investigation. Justice Nation said Queensland police were aware of the alleged crimes but chose not to fully investigate them before the man was deported to New Zealand. "The issue for the Judge in the district court here was whether or not, in the context of delay, it would be unjust or oppressive for the respondent to be extradited to Australia so that proceedings could continue against him there," Justice Nation added. Karen Potter and Bev Nickel still have the clipping from a 1964 newspaper celebrating the official opening of Jaggers, or N & E Jagger Ltd as it was known back then. Family and business don't mix - isn't that what they say? Well after more than half a century in operation, two generation, family-owned retail store Jaggers has written that theory off. Matamata's iconic Arawa St shop will officially close its doors on March 23, a strange phenomenon for owners and sisters Bev Nickel and Karen Potter who still remember working their school holidays in N & E Jagger Ltd under the watchful eyes of their parents, the store's founders Nowell and Edie Jagger. Bev and Karen, both now in their 60s, said they have never found it hard working with or for family. "Our parents were both incredibly hard workers...we've never had a problem in that we have different skill sets...we work things out together," Bev said. But 50 years of retail hasn't passed without its challenges. "The first day in business my father took 2 [shillings] and 6 [pence]. He was too embarrassed to ring it up. "One handkerchief, all day he sold one handkerchief," Karen said But on that day in 1964 the former grocer, who bought a milk bar business at the age of 19, taught his daughters perseverance. "He was a very hard worker from humble beginnings." So in 1968 it was only natural that Bev started full-time followed by Karen in 1972. Three years down the track and the pair were running the "multi-everything store", Bev said, years she describes as the "wonderful 70s". "At one time we had up to 15 staff." But all good things come to an end and Karen said for the past four years they have been waiting for the right time to exit. "It's not an easy thing to do and we never wanted to leave the building empty...but neither of us wanted to come in to work with a walking stick." The pair still own the building and will be leasing it out to another retail store. Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith have welcomed the Commerce Commissions release of the final report on the state of competition in New Zealands dairy industry today. I would like to thank the Commerce Commission for its hard work and the expertise applied in delivering the report. We also appreciate the way that dairy industry stakeholders have engaged in the process, Mr Goldsmith says. The report was commissioned by Minister Guy in consultation with Minister Goldsmith on 2 June 2015 as required under the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001. The Act allowed the formation of Fonterra, and includes provisions to promote the efficient operation of dairy markets in New Zealand. The Commerce Commission formed an independent view based on its expertise as New Zealands primary competition regulatory agency. In summary, the final report has found that competition in the New Zealand dairy industry is not sufficient to warrant full deregulation at this time, says Mr Guy. The Commerce Commission recommended that the default expiry provisions in the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act be repealed and another competition review be carried out when either: independent processors collect 30 percent of the total milksolids in the North Island or South Island; or at the end of the 2021/22 dairy season. The Commerce Commission also recommended that Ministers consider options to: facilitate the development of the factory gate market to gradually reduce reliance on regulated raw milk; and allow Fonterra greater discretion in deciding whether or not to accept supplies of raw milk from new dairy conversions. Mr Guy will now consider the report in detail before responding publically with the Governments intentions within the 90 day statutory timeframe. The Government will then consult publically on a package of policy proposals. Source: Office of Nathan Guy and Paul Goldsmith. A reminder of the months after the Pearl harbour attack in December 1941 when New Zealanders feared and prepared for a Japanese invasion was revealed in earthworks at Gate Pa this week. The soil profile, revealed by digging behind the Gate Pa shopping centre, shows the filled-in tank trench that once surrounded Tauranga, built to prevent invading Japanese tanks from breaking out of town into the hinterland. Earlier this morning, Police attended a protest at the Hawera District Court which was later closed due to the protesters activities. Public safety and order is a main priority when attending a protest such as this and although the public are within their rights to protest events, sometimes crowd behaviour becomes anti-social and Police have to take action. Police are well accustomed to managing events such as these however will not tolerate illegal behaviour. Police have liaised with the Hawera District Court, and we can confirm that five protesters have been arrested for disorderly behaviour while a police woman, who was assaulted by a protester, was admitted to hospital to receive treatment for minor injuries but has since been released. The court was closed for quite some time but has since re-opened. Source: New Zealand Police. The Kiwi Air flight from Nelson to Tauranga today came in 91 per cent occupied, thats with only three vacant seats, and underlines the regional airlines announcement of expanded regional services. From May 14, Kiwis air services will include new direct flights between Nelson and Tauranga, more flights between Nelson and Dunedin, and twice-weekly connections between Christchurch, Dunedin and Nelson. New warnings of a global recession places the spotlight on New Zealands $67b net debt, leaving the economy in a much worse state than before the 2008 downturn when net debt was zero, says Labours Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson. Despite claiming the figleaf of fiscal responsibility the latest government accounts show that National has racked up over $67b in net debt. With Citigroup warning of a global recession that level of debt will be an albatross around the neck of the government if the downturn occurs. Bill English likes to pretend New Zealand will be insulated from any international downturn, saying we came through the previous one better than other countries. Thats because Michael Cullen had reduced net debt to zero for the primary purpose of preparing New Zealand for a rainy day. After seven years of National, the finances are in a much worse state to deal with any recession. While some of that debt is justified, especially in the Christchurch rebuild, the problem is Bill Englishs complacent attitude real economic growth has ground to a halt and he is in no hurry to re-balance the New Zealand economy. This year is set to be the most volatile in almost a decade. The threat of a major economic downturn is real. Bill English must take it seriously. New Zealanders need a government that is an active partner in growing the economy, keeping the Kiwi dream alive and preparing for the future, not the bunch of distracted bystanders we currently have, says Grant Robertson. Source: Office of Grant Robertson. UPDATED: A motorcyclist is fighting for his life after an early morning crash which closed a Bay of Plenty road this morning. Ngongotaha Road/State Highway 36 is now open after police carried out a scene examination of the crash. Central Otago Police arrested two men in relation to a serious assault that occurred in The Mall at Cromwell at 12.10am on Saturday, February 27. An 18-year-old employed Cromwell man has been arrested and charged with Wounding with Intent to cause Grievous Bodily Harm and theft. A 17-year-old unemployed Cromwell man has been charged with Disorderly Behaviour, Likely to cause Violence and Threatening Language. Both men have been bailed and will appear in the Alexandra District Court today. The victim is recovering from serious injuries and is receiving ongoing treatment. As the matter is now before the court there will be no further comment from Police. Source: New Zealand Police. Trade Minister Todd McClay has welcomed the support of the European Parliament to commence negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with New Zealand. It is heartening that the resolution won the support of 479 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), 77 per cent of the 619 who voted, says Mr McClay. The European Union (EU) is the notable missing link in our network of FTAs with our major trading partners and it is a big missing link, with total GDP of more than NZ$20 trillion. The EU is also one of New Zealands most significant trading partners with current goods and services trade valued at NZ$19.6 billion. Foreign Direct Investment and Research and Development are also important. The EU is our second-largest source and third largest destination for foreign direct investment and is our largest research and development partner. The importance of completing an FTA with the EU cannot be understated. It has progressively expanded its own FTA network and our exporters have become increasingly disadvantaged - for example, manufactured products face tariffs of up to 39 per cent. And our agricultural exporters face average tariff rates into the EU of 31.3 per cent. Competitors from countries like Chile, Singapore, South Africa, Argentina, Viet Nam and Korea enter the EU tariff-free. I look forward to the commencement of negotiations and congratulate the European Parliament on this resolution, says Mr McClay. Source: Office of Todd McClay. How did you choose your baby's name? While I was pregnant with Coco, we didn't find out the gender of the baby, so we had to choose two names. Before we had even conceived, we loved the name Theodore because J and I had both had a student named Theo. He was in my class first and then graduated to J's class when we were teaching in Portland. He was a simply delightful child, lovable in every way. My dad died when I was five years old, so using his name as the middle name was a given. Voila. Theo's name was chosen before we had even started trying to become parents. Ha! One great thing about our TV service in Switzerland was that we got a huge number of British channels and could watch all the murder mysteries we desired! Have you ever watched Poirot? He's a very funny Agatha Christie mystery character. J and I have seen every single episode of Poirot ever produced, but at that time there were still loads of episodes that we hadn't seen yet. I was about two months pregnant and so queasy when we settled on Coco's name. It was an evening in February and J and I were watching TV after dinner. I was sipping on mango juice to try to curb my nausea. One great thing about our TV service in Switzerland was that we got a huge number of British channels and could watch all the murder mysteries we desired! Have you ever watched Poirot? He's a very funny Agatha Christie mystery character. J and I have seen every single episode of Poirot ever produced, but at that time there were still loads of episodes that we hadn't seen yet. as himself! Only Poirot... Anyway, one guest at the party who was part of a six member Harlequin group costume gets stabbed to death at the ball. Then, the following day, another member of the Harlequin costume group dies of a drug overdose. Well, of course, Poirot uses his little grey cells and pieces together what happened and how the deaths were connected and solves the mystery. So there we were, watching Poirot and the story was The Affair at the Victory Ball . Everyone is going to a costume ball, where guests are supposed to dress as someone famous, so Poirot goes! Only Poirot... Anyway, one guest at the party who was part of a six member Harlequin group costume gets stabbed to death at the ball. Then, the following day, another member of the Harlequin costume group dies of a drug overdose. Well, of course, Poirot uses his little grey cells and pieces together what happened and how the deaths were connected and solves the mystery. I don't remember much (it's funny how Agatha Christie mysteries are so completely forgettable) but I do remember that the woman who died of the drug overdose was named Corrine Courtney -- and she went by Coco! J and I had been throwing around the name Courtney for a girl for a while at that point. He knew a girl in college named Courtney who had a Swiss boyfriend and a Freitag bag and he thought she was super cool and always associated the name Courtney with Switzerland. I like the name Courtney because I have never met a Courtney I didn't like. I love that it's a really solid, down to earth, yet happy name. Even still, I was on the fence because I really wanted to name a girl Maxine. Catherine Keener's character in Being John Malkovich is my absolute forever style icon, but J wasn't convinced, mainly because of the nickname "Max" or kids making fun of her and calling her Maxi pad. So silly. But, he did have a point, so my counter argument was that "Court" isn't a very nice nickname either. So when Coco Courtney was there on the screen with her CC monogrammed pill box on the bedside table, dead in her bed, I grabbed J's arm and practically screamed, "We can call her Coco!" and the name Courtney was settled. And now this is the point in the story when we all collectively ask ourselves who the hell names their daughter after a woman who's just overdosed?! Well, we've gotta grab inspiration where we find it, right? Besides, just read the book or watch the show and you'll see she wasn't really to blame... Fast forward 7 months and I'm in labor. J is all excited and proud as he fills out the paperwork after we arrive at the hospital. We still don't know if it's a boy or girl. He chooses this moment (look at my face) to ask me if maybe we should do a different middle name if it's a girl. Do I look like I give a damn? No, no I do not, but he's asking, so I suggest my grandma who died just a few months after our wedding. J is delighted with this idea because she once complimented him on the headdress he was wearing at Thanksgiving; when in reality, it was just his hair. J was already proud of his ridiculously amazing hair at that point, but that remark from my grandma really put him over the top. During my labor, I am convinced we are having a boy, so I don't think much of it. That night at 10:21 pm little Courtney Julia was born, and you better believe that that paperwork was in the hands of an efficient Swiss clerk by 8 am Friday morning. They're not just efficient, they will actually fine you 2500 CHF for holding up the birth certificate and registration of your child if you don't have a name selected within 72 hours of the birth! So when I found myself unable to shake the feeling that she looked more like a Margaret the first day, I had to just shrug it off. Doesn't she kind of look like a Margaret? The first few weeks of her life, I was insanely proud of my baby girl and everywhere we went with her in the Bugaboo, people would lean to peek in and ask her name. They would smile at me expectantly, and then when I replied, "Courtney," their smiles would vanish from their faces, which would then contort into an expression of repulsion and confusion. They'd often just shake their heads and walk away. After experiencing this a few times, I realized that perhaps the name Courtney really doesn't work in Switzerland. I mean, how would you feel feel upon seeing a beautiful baby girl, asking her name, and then being told, "Hildegard." Not good, right? My apologies to any Hildegards reading this, but that name is just not pretty in English, much the same way Courtney is not pretty in German. Plus, the Swiss can't even say Courtney! When our Swiss neighbor would see her, it sounded like she was saying, "Hi, Curny!" like Kurt, but without the t, and a knee at the end. Eeeeew! So, we used Coco exclusively from the time she was about two weeks old. It never failed to turn that expectant smile into a bubbling over expression of outright mirth. "Like Coco Chanel!" they would squeal. Yes. Just like Coco Chanel. Much better! When we moved back to the US, we wondered if we might start calling her Courtney more. But, it turns out she doesn't even respond to Courtney. She is Coco. When she's in trouble, she's still Coco. When she introduces herself, she's always Coco. I've even stopped filling out forms with Courtney "Coco" because it just lends itself to confusion. When I got pregnant with Theo, we knew that that would be his name. But before we knew he was a boy, we tossed around a few girl names: Maxine Lindsey and Marlowe Lindsey were the two top contenders. Then, we found out it was a boy and he was born and we named him Theo and it's been all good ever since. I often wonder if we should have put more thought into Coco's name, or if we should have named her Coco legally. I guess I really regret not giving her my name as her middle name. But any time I find myself doing that, I just shrug it off! In the end, your baby embodies whichever name you choose and it takes on a whole new meaning of its own. Don't you agree? How did you choose (or are you choosing) your baby's name? Spreadsheets and rankings? Reading through book names? Or just choosing one without much thought? The Wythe County Sheriffs Office, along with school personnel, investigated a student who reportedly made threats against Fort Chiswell High School students and staff last week. According to a search warrant requested by the sheriffs office to search the students cell phone, a juvenile reported on Feb. 24 that the student, also a juvenile, made threats of death or bodily injury by the way of a shooting inside the school. The juvenile said the threats were made by text and/or images that had been transmitted by a cellular device and in person. The juvenile reported that the threat was transmitted by the students phone via text and different cell phone apps, according to the warrant. Wythe County School Superintendent Jeff Perry confirmed that a student made verbal threats and posted a threat on various social media sites. He said that several days passed between when the student made the threats and when school officials found out about them. Educators immediately removed the student from school and launched a threat assessment to determine how valid the threats were and if the student had the means, motive and opportunity to carry out the threats, Perry said. Sometimes, students say things in anger or the heat of the moment and dont really mean what they say, he said. Sometimes they do mean what they say. It is up to the threat assessment team to determine how serious a threat is, Perry said. The superintendent, citing confidentiality laws, would not elaborate on what educators found out or if they took disciplinary action against the student. We conducted a thorough investigation and initiated the threat assessment team, then made the determination and took appropriate disciplinary action to make sure the students and staff were safe, Perry said. Our primary mission is to ensure the safety of students and staff. We took the appropriate measures to ensure that safety, and the process worked. We were able to identify the problem and then address the problem effectively. Perry said the school system did not alert parents to the situation because several days had passed between when the threat was made and when officials found out. There was no particular time frame mentioned in the threat, he added. There was no violent activity at school and nobody was injured, nobody was hurt, nothing of that nature, Perry said. If we had felt there was an immediate threat, we would send a note. Speaking hypothetically, Perry said that after a threat assessment, if the team feels a student acted out of anger and frustration with no real means, motive or opportunity to act on a threat, there are still consequences for the student like detention, counseling or suspension. If the team finds that there is motive and intent to carry out a threat, the consequences escalate. It can also involve criminal prosecution, Perry said. It can run the gamut from relatively minor consequences to expulsions and a criminal investigation. The search warrant authorized school resource officer Deputy J. Jones to search a white Samsung Galaxy S4 cell phone for any and all multi-media, social-media, text messages, and picture messages containing threats of death or bodily injury involving adults, minors or school personnel. Also, to be searched for are the names and numbers of any contacts that any of the above listed materials may have been electronically transmitted to from the cellular device. Information about whether the sheriffs office charged the student was unavailable; attempts to reach officers were unsuccessful. To reach Millie Rothrock, call 228-6611, ext. 35, or email mrothrock@wythenews.com. Marie Hunter1.jpg Marie J. Hunter, of Weedsport, was charged with falsifying timesheets, according to state police. (Provided photo) BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. -- A Weedsport woman was charged with submitting fabricated timesheets in 2014 to her former employer, according to New York State Police. Marie J. Hunter, 33, of 10591 Smith Road, was charged with third-degree grand larceny and five counts of first-degree falsifying business records, all felonies, police said. Hunter is accused of stealing over $5,000 by fabricating timesheets from the David M. Smart Accounting and Tax Service in Baldwinsville, police said. Hunter was arrested by the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation based in Lysander. She was arraigned in Baldwinsville Village Court and released on her own recognizance. Sarah Moses covers the northern suburbs of Onondaga County and Oswego County. Contact Sarah at smoses@syracuse.com or 470-2298. Follow @SarahMoses315 Town of Van Buren, NY -- Former Solvay police officer Curt Francemone, who pointed a gun in a bar, pleaded guilty Monday evening to second- degree harassment for punching a man during a bar fight early on Valentine's Day. Francemone, 52, of Geddes, who is an investigator with the Oneida Nation Police Department, did not face charges for pulling his gun out and pointing it during the fight. He pleaded guilty in front of Justice Darlene O'Kane to the single charge which stems from punching another man. Second-degree harassment is a violation under New York law. The judge sentenced him to a one-year conditional discharge and ordered him to pay a $200 fine plus a $125 mandatory fee. Over the defense's objections, the judge also granted a request by the district attorney's office that for the period of a year Francemone can have no contact with Chester Orzel, the man he admitted punching. Curt Francemone in a 2003 file photo The district attorney sought the order of protection because both men frequent the same bar, Assistant District Attorney Anthony Copani told the judge. "I think it's probably very unlikely that Mr. Francemone will frequent this establishment ever again," said Louis Mannara, his defense attorney. Francemone was scheduled to be arraigned in Solvay Village Court last week, but both justices there recused themselves from the case. His case was then switched to the court in Van Buren. The district attorney's office said that the charge against Francemone did not stem from him pointing a handgun in a bar. Francemone is an investigator with the Oneida Nation Police and has a permit to carry a handgun, the district attorney's office said. Syracuse.com has contacted the Onedia Nation police department to ask about Francemone's status with the department. "While his actions, specifically pulling his gun out in a crowded bar, was an exercise in poor judgment, under these particular facts and circumstances, that conduct does not rise to the level of a criminal offense," the district attorney's press release said. Francemone declined to speak with the media after his court appearance. His lawyer, Mannara, said the case was not about pointing a gun in a bar. "This was a harassment case plain and simple. It was not the gun case it has been made out to be so far," the lawyer said. The charge stems from a bar fight at about 1:15 a.m. on Feb. 14, at Bosco's Village Pub, 201 Cogswell Ave., Solvay. Video of the fight taken by bar patrons shows a man pointing a handgun. What the video does not show is what started the fight. Mannara said the fight began after another bar patron, Orzel, used a very vulgar term to refer to Francemone's wife. When she told her husband about the remark, Francemone punched Orzel, his attorney said. Surveillance video from the bar shows the men separating, but then a crowd encircles Francemone and he pulls out a handgun, his attorney said. However, video from the bar also shows that Francemone did not have his finger on the gun's trigger, Mannara said. The district attorney's investigation found that after a "heated verbal exchange", between Francemone and Chester Orzel, Francemone punched Orzel twice. A brief scuffle took place and the men were separated. Both men then moved to opposite ends of the pub. But, Orzel reignited the confrontation by "aggressively approaching Francemone and threatening to physically harm him," the press release said. Francemone then briefly displayed and pointed a handgun at Orzel and the incident ended. "The witnesses and the video indicate that Francemone was surrounded at the time. As Orzel rushed towards him threatening to harm him, Francemone believed himself to be in reasonable fear for his safety and other family members present," the press release said. Francemone worked for the Solvay Police Department in the early 1990s before moving to the Syracuse Police Department for at least seven years, according to syracuse.com | The Post-Standard archives. He rejoined the Solvay department in 2002, the archives show. The website for the Oneida Nation's police department, lists Francemone as an investigator. Ryan Lawrence_Horizontal.jpg Mug shot of Ryan Lawrence, 24, of Valley Drive, Syracuse that Syracuse Police Department released on Feb. 23. (Provided photo) SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Ryan Lawrence, the Syracuse father accused of killing his 21-month-old daughter, is being held in protective custody at the Onondaga County Justice Center, according to a spokesman for the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office. Lawrence was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder in the death of his daughter, Maddox Lawrence. Lawrence is accused of killing his daughter near Tinker Falls in Cortland County and dumping her body in the water in the Inner Harbor in Syracuse, according to authorities. Lawrence is currently on a "one-on-one" supervised status and "protective custody" due to the nature of the charges against him, according to Detective Jon Seeber. Seeber later said there is a risk in high-profile cases like this one that inmates might target Lawrence, especially because he is alleged to have killed a young child. Protective custody if this sort is administered on a case-by-case basis. A deputy's sole assignment is to keep watch over Lawrence, Seeber said. City Court Judge Stephen Dougherty ordered a mental health exam for Lawrence this morning. Two doctors will examine whether Lawrence can properly understand the proceedings against him and assist in his own defense, said Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick. The case was sent to a grand jury today without an appearance by Lawrence in city court. Once indicted, his case will proceed in county court. Lawrence is being held without bail. Sarah Moses covers the northern suburbs of Onondaga County and Oswego County. Contact Sarah at smoses@syracuse.com or 470-2298. Follow @SarahMoses315 2016-03-01-dn-homicide.JPG 227 Rich St on the south side of Syracuse. A 21 year old man was shot to death Monday, Feb, 29. 2016. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com (Dennis Nett) SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Gun violence has ended three lives in three years on the Syracuse street where a man was shot to death Monday night. Rich Street is also the place where a stray bullet hit a Centro bus driver as he waited at the corner of Rich Street and Bellevue Avenue last fall. His cell phone stopped the bullet. And, at least four shootings on the street have left five people injured between Jan. 1, 2009 and July 25, 2015. Charles Townsend, 21, of Syracuse died at Upstate University Hospital after he was found shot in the lower abdomen at about 8:30 p.m. Monday night at 227 Rich St. He was shot not far from two street memorials to two other murder victims on Rich Street: Rayquell Jones, 19, was found dead July 6, 2015 on the 300 block of Rich Street hours after writing a Facebook post predicting he would be shot. Adon Boatwright, 20, was killed on Oct. 25, 2014 while sitting in a van in front of 218 Rich St. He died a year after being cleared of a murder himself. The Jones and Boatwright killings remain unsolved. Hours after Townsend died, anti-violence activists gathered on the beleaguered street to rally against the shootings in the neighborhood. Maurice Crawley, a member of "OGs against violence," said he rushed to the South Side street just after 8:30 p.m. Monday after receiving a Facebook message about the shooting. Crawley arrived just as a wounded Townsend was carried into an ambulance. The people crowding around the crime scene were "very upset," he said. Rich Street is one of the areas Crawley patrols for "OGs against violence." He and Clifford Ryans, the group's founder, returned Tuesday morning in response to the shooting. (OGs is slang for original gangsters, but Ryans says he is not a "gangster." He says he is an "older gentleman" who is working to reduce violence in Syracuse.) Syracuse police taped off part of Rich Street, between Bellevue and Sterling avenues in the city, as they investigated a deadly shooting on July 6, 2015. Standing at the corner of Rich Street and Bellevue Avenue this morning, both men shook their heads when they found out Townsend was the young man who had died. "He's one of the kids we talked to," Crawley said. "He was always talking to us." "I'm sure he took a photo with us," Ryans added. Crawley said Townsend had recently moved to Syracuse from the south. When approached on Rich Street by the anti-violence activists, Crawley said Townsend had been receptive to their anti-violence message. The sign-carrying activists stood on the sidewalk on the 22-degree morning, waving to motorists and speaking to pedestrians. No marked police cars or police tape remained at the home where Townsend was found shot. Around 9 a.m., a man approached Crawley and Ryans -- wondering if the person who was killed was one of his friends. The man, who declined to share his name, said he didn't know Townsend. But the 21-year-old man said he is well acquainted with violence in the Rich Street area. Lifting up his shirt to show a pale scar stretching down from his belly button, the man said he was repeatedly shot Oct. 30 near the corner of Bellevue and Palmer avenues. A bullet from the shooting traveled a block away to Rich Street -- passing through the window of a Centro bus and striking driver Reynard Hutchinson. He called the continued violence in the Rich Street area "crazy." Crawley agreed. And to the stem the violence, he asked anyone who loved Townsend and is considering revenge not to retaliate. "Stand down," he asked. "Let the police do their work." Vigil held for Word of Life Christian Church victims A women attending a candlelight vigil for Christopher and Lucas Leonard holds a candle with a picture of each brother. At left is Christopher, at right is Lucas. The two teenagers were beaten at the World of Life Christian Church in Chadwicks on October 12. Lucas was killed, Christopher has been released from the hospital. The vigil was held at St. Patrick's St. Anthony's Catholic Parish in Chadwicks. Michael Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com (Mike Greenlar | Syracuse.com) NEW HARTFORD, NY -- Utica-area news outlets are reporting that Sarah Ferguson, a woman described as the "angriest" of the suspects accused in the church beating deaths of a young man, will not face some murder and other charges for her alleged role in the assaults. Sarah Ferguson is the half-sister of Lucas, 19, and Christopher Leonard, 17, two young men who drew the church's ire in October for undisclosed "sins" and prompted a "counseling session" that turned deadly. Lucas died of his injuries and Christopher was severely injured. In addition to Ferguson, the boys' parents, Deborah and Bruce Leonard, are facing murder, kidnapping and other charges. They join a number of other Word of Life Christian Church members who are accused of beating the young men for hours after an eight-hour church session. Six charges dismissed against Word of Life church defendanthttps://t.co/L7wVvD1YUd pic.twitter.com/DDNlnWu0Bc Micaela (@mi_mi_micaela) March 1, 2016 In court on Tuesday, prosecutors requested that a murder and five kidnapping charges be dismissed against Ferguson, and the judge granted the request. Citing a gag order, District Attorney Scott McNamara did not explain why the charges were dismissed, WKTV reported. However, Ferguson is still facing seven charges stemming from the beatings, according to the Utica Observer-Dispatch. One second-degree murder charge remains, WKTV reported. Deborah Leonard struck a plea deal for her alleged role in the beatings in exchange for cooperating against other church members. She testified that Sarah Ferguson was the "angriest" of those who beat the young men, and she was angry over "things they had said". The question of what prompted the counseling session has not yet been answered, though allegations of witchcraft, threats to leave the church and other possible reasons have surfaced. Police have said that there is no evidence of molestation against the church's youngest members. Ferguson was the mother of several children removed from the church and placed in protective custody. Her mother is Deborah Leonard but has a different father from the boys who were beaten. The District Attorney also said in court that his office is ready to go to trial against the church members. joseph carelli crop.jpg Joseph Carelli stands before County Court Judge Anthony Aloi (not pictured) in 2014 before beginning his state prison sentence. (Douglass Dowty | ddowty@syracuse.com) Syracuse, NY -- Former nurse Joseph Carelli was sentenced to two years in prison for having sexual contact in 2013 with a 16-year-old patient at Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital. Carelli, 26, of Marcellus, is due to be released from state prison next month. Today, he was brought back to Onondaga County Court in shackles to determine his rating as a sex offender. Judge Anthony Aloi ultimately ruled that Carelli will be a Level 2 sex offender. That means that he faces a lifetime registration (subject to petition for removal after 30 years) and his name and photo will be listed in the state's sex offender database. During today's hearing, defense lawyer Jeffrey DeRoberts argued that Carelli did not prey upon a helpless victim because the teenage girl was undergoing normal tests for cystic fibrosis. But prosecutor Jarret Woodfork noted that the victim also suffered from pneumonia during her two-week hospital stay. Aloi ruled that Carelli's breech of trust was the main factor for his prison sentence, not preying on a helpless victim. He decided against taking the victim's alleged helplessness into account. The acts were not physically forced, but Carelli was charged because the victim was under the age of consent and because of his position of authority. As it turned out, the victim's health didn't matter. Using the state's points system, Carelli would have been a Level 2 sex offender either way. That's based on factors like his professional relationship with the victim, the repeated contact and the age of the victim, among other factors. Carelli lost his nursing license as part of his guilty plea. Related: How the state's sex offender rating system works 2016-03-01-dn-homicide.JPG This is 227-29 Rich St. in Syracuse where Charles Townsend, 21, of Syracuse was shot on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. He later died at Upstate University Hospital. (Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com) SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A man shot Monday night on the South Side of Syracuse has died, according to Syracuse police. This morning, police identified the man as Charles Townsend, 21, of Syracuse. The Syracuse Police Department rushed to 227 Rich St. around 8:40 p.m. for a shooting, said Sgt. Richard Helterline. When officers arrived, they found a man who had been shot in the lower abdomen, he said. The man was rushed by Rural/Metro Ambulance to Upstate University Hospital, where he later died. There is no suspect information, Helterline said. The home at 227-229 Rich St. was blocked by police tape Monday night. Dozens of police officers, along with the Syracuse Fire Department and paramedics, responded to the scene. Townsend's death marks the fifth homicide in Syracuse this year. Investigators believe Maddox Lawrence, the baby police say was murdered Feb. 20 by her father, was abducted in Syracuse and killed in Cortland County. There were 23 homicides in the city in 2015. The three-family residence at 227-229 Rich St. is owned by Malcolm and Rhian Foulkes of Clay, according to Onondaga County real estate records Police asked anyone with information about the homicide to call (315) 442-5222 or submit an anonymous tip through the SPD Tips app. NEW_crime_icon_2.jpg Albany, NY--An investigation by the New York State Inspector General found that a lack of control procedures and adequate oversight of a state office that managed trust funds for native American children allowed a state employee to raid the funds. The investigation found the lack of controls by the State Office of Children and Family Services Native American Services Bureau allowed the then-director to steal nearly $20,000 from 14 trust funds between 2007 and 2014. The money was held in trust for children of the Cayuga Nation who do not live with their parents. The Office of Children and Family Services, through its Buffalo-based Native American Services Bureau, administers treat obligations and a variety of programs for Native Americans in New York State. The former director of Native American Services, Kim Thomas-Muffoletto, 57, of Getzville, last year pleaded guilty to felony grand larceny for stealing from the trust funds and was ordered to pay full restitution. She was the only person with authority to deposit or withdraw money from the trust fund accounts. The administration of the accounts has since been transferred to the Cayuga Nation. The inspector general found that under the state office there were no internal controls, no audits, and no supervision of Thomas-Muffoletto's management of the money. This Page Is Under Construction - Coming Soon! Why am I seeing this 'Under Construction' page? The Caulkins Citrus Co. water farm, a 413-acre reservoir between Palm City and Indiantown, stores excess water from the C-44 Canal, where it evaporates and percolates into the ground instead of reaching the St. Lucie River. The former citrus grove has kept nearly 6 billion gallons of water out of the C-44 Canal. (ERIC HASERT/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS) SHARE By Isadora Rangel of TCPalm TALLAHASSEE The Florida House and Senate ended their first round of budget negotiations Monday without reaching a deal on funding for Everglades restoration, conservation land purchases and a Martin County project to store polluted water that would otherwise end up in the St. Lucie River. Lawmakers in charge of negotiating the environmental portion of the state budget met over the weekend and had until Monday to come up with an agreement on individual projects. But since they didn't reach a deal, funding will now be decided by the House and Senate budget chiefs before the end of the legislative session March 11. Lawmakers did agree on $35 million for the annual Rural and Family Lands Protection program, in which the state pays farmers not to develop their land. That's more than the $25 million Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam had asked for. The House and Senate didn't agree this early on the project in previous years, said Janet Bowman of The Nature Conservancy. She also said she's pleased with the money going into land management, such as $5 million for reforestation and $1 million for prescribed burns. The House and Senate still are apart on Everglades restoration but agreed on $100 million for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project, which includes the C-44 Canal reservoir to store water flowing into the St. Lucie River, and $51 million for projects around Lake Okeechobee, said Rep. Ben Albritton, chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee. How far apart the chambers still remain on Everglades money was not available Monday evening. "We made huge strides in areas that are certainly important," said Albritton, R-Wauchula. Also pending is $7.5 million the Senate proposed at the request of President-elect Joe Negron, R-Stuart, to expand the Caulkins Citrus Co. water farm near Indiantown. The project has pumped and stored nearly 8.3 billion gallons of rainfall runoff out of the C-44 Canal since February 2014 and Negron has made it a priority to get funding for it in light of the recent Lake Okeechobee discharges. But the project, even if expanded to 30 billion gallons, won't significantly reduce discharges. Albritton and his Senate counterpart, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government Chairman Alan Hays, didn't agree on a final figure for the Florida Forever conservation land-buying program. It's unclear how much each chamber was proposing to give to the program Monday. Environmentalist crafted Amendment 1, approved by voters in 2014 for land and water conservation, after Florida Forever funding got cut during the economic recession. The Senate wants to give $20 million to the Florida Communities Trust, a grant program that helps local governments build parks, but the House hasn't agreed to it. SHARE By Staff Report Name: Armando Rodriguez Age: 47 Occupation: Unemployed Seeking: Port St. Lucie City Council District 2 Party: Nonpartisan race Position salary: $32,582 Position term: 4 years Residence: Port St. Lucie Political experience: None Current volunteer/civic involvement: Torino Residential Committee; Puerto Rican Association for Hispanic Affairs Committee; San Juan Festival Committee; Treasure Coast Hispanic American Club Committee; Centennial High School Special Olympics team volunteer; 1984 Olympic Torch Relay participant in New York City; and former volunteer for Mako Soccer, Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, and Boys Clubs of America Youth Conference Education: Indian River State College Law Enforcement Academy, 1998 and 2004; New York City Police Academy, 1992; Mount St. Michael Academy, 1986 Family: Children Armando Jr. and Justin Tyler Lawmakers crafting the states proposed $80 billion budget remained at odds Monday over several areas, including a controversial teacher scholarship and funding for long-term care under Floridas Medicaid program. (LEAH VOSS/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS) SHARE By Arek Sarkissian, Naples Daily News/Tribune Bureau TALLAHASSEE Lawmakers crafting the state's proposed $80 billion budget remained at odds Monday over several areas, including a controversial teacher scholarship and funding for long-term care under Florida's Medicaid program. Lawmakers made some progress in weekend meetings on major parts of the budget, including adopting tax cuts and rejecting economic incentive money for businesses. Issues that remained unresolved as they wrapped up work late Monday night will be hashed out this week by House Appropriations Chairman Richard Corcoran, R-Land O' Lakes, and Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon. Any issues unresolved this week between Corcoran and Lee likely will be pushed to House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, and Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando. The education budget was the first to be referred to Corcoran and Lee with a difference of $22.5 million in the contentious Best and Brightest teacher scholarship program. The Senate offered half the $45 million proposed for the scholarship, which was rejected by House Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Erik Fresen, R-Miami. The scholarship, which was designed by Fresen, rewards teachers with extra cash for classroom performance and exemplary college entrance test scores. Fresen said other conflicts within the education budget were small issues with budget language. "I think if you look at the numbers we aren't actually that far off," Fresen said. The House and Senate also were about $20 million apart on the state's $34 billion health care budget. A sticking point was the Senate's bid to spend more to pare down a list of people waiting to be accepted to the Medicaid long-term care plan. Senate Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, said a compromise was unreachable. "That issue was above my pay grade," Garcia said. "We'll leave it up to the chairs." A smaller conflict between the two chambers was whether to provide $7 million to a vendor that provides portable radios to the state's law enforcement agencies and forestry firefighters. House General Government Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Janette Nunez, R-Miami, said the money would upgrade 10 percent of the 17,000 portable radios in use by the state. But Senate counterpart Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, said the money is rooted in a battle for a vendor contract. Melbourne-based Harris Corp. holds the $18 million contract to operate the State Law Enforcement Radio System, which will be up for renewal in 2021. Harris already faces competition for the contract from Motorola and Airbus. "The agencies are not clamoring for these radios. This is the vendor that wants the radios to be sold to the state," Hays said. "We need to wait and let that process work out and then whoever wins that contract can do a comprehensive phaseout of the old radios." Corcoran and Lee had already agreed Friday to slash funding for two priorities of Gov. Rick Scott. They agreed not to honor Scott's request for $250 million in corporate incentive cash for Enterprise Florida. They also agreed to provide $400 million in tax cuts, well below the $1 billion requested by Scott. The details of the tax cut plan will be released Tuesday. Contact Daily News reporter arek.sarkissian@naplesnews.com or 850-559-7620 Will the tropics remain quiet for the rest of the season? Did you know your property could be seized by law enforcement officials based on the suspicion you have committed a crime? In fact, in 2014, law enforcement seized more property than burglars did. Yes, you read that correctly. This is a little-known fact of which Floridians should be aware. The reason? Under the current policy of civil forfeiture, law enforcement officials can stop you, seize your property and assume ownership of it without making a charge or arrest. Once proven innocent, it is up to the owner of the seized property to pursue having that property returned. This may involve hiring an attorney and going through lengthy, expensive legal proceedings. For this reason, many owners either accept a settlement offer for less than the value of their seized property or simply walk away without claiming their rightfully owned property. Civil forfeiture was initially used in the U.S. to enforce duties and excise taxes. But, in the 1980s, law enforcement agencies began to use it to supplement their resources. Vehicles, boats, cash, jewelry and other forms of property have been seized and, in some cases, kept and used by the agency for its operations or to purchase equipment. Other times, it has been sold for profit or given to a favored charity. It is not difficult to see how corruption could propagate due to the potential profit motive through seizure. In many cases, the seizure of cash was particularly attractive. Justin Pearson of the Institute for Justice wrote about one well-publicized example of civil asset forfeiture in Volusia County, Florida, that took place during the 1990s. "The Volusia County Sheriff recognized that drugs entered the county on one side of Interstate 95, with the proceeds returning in the other direction. Rather than attempt to stop the drugs, which the Sheriff obviously could not sell or apply to his budget, the Sheriff instead focused his resources on trying to intercept the money going back out. The Sheriff specifically targeted minorities, and the only evidence required for seizure was the mere fact that the driver had cash in their possession. Documentation proving the legitimacy of the money was irrelevant, as discovered by Navy reservist Bobby Jones, who provided pay stubs for his $3,989, but watched in horror as his money was seized anyway. More than 75 percent of Volusia County's seizures resulted in zero arrests." Many states have reformed their civil forfeiture laws to remove potential profit motives. For example, the North Carolina Constitution requires all seized funds to be applied to public schools. However, a more important question remains: regardless of where the seized property ends up, is it right to take property based on suspicion and without an arrest being made? Addressing this concern, several states have banned civil forfeiture or now require a criminal conviction. These kinds of reforms would serve citizens' property rights and build confidence in law enforcement. A Florida Senate bill dealing with this issue sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, and co-sponsored by Senate President-Designate Joe Negron, R-Stuart, passed through its final committee stop on Monday. The House counterpart (sponsored by Rep. Larry Metz, R-Yalaha, and Rep. Matt Caldwell, R-North Fort Myers), which also prohibits seizure without arrest and clarifies what should happen to seized property, passed out of its final committee stop last week. The bills will now be heard on the floor of the House and Senate as early as next week. Brad Cates, former director of the U.S. Justice Department's Asset Forfeiture Office (1985-89), wrote an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal recognizing that civil asset forfeiture is now "policing for profit." "During the Reagan administration, I helped establish these programs because I believed they would quickly channel seized criminals' profits into the fight against organized crime and drug cartels. Yet over time, we have created a new bad incentive: policing for profit, out of the reach of the proper legislative budget process three decades ago I helped create our civil asset forfeiture system; now it is time to end it." John Adams, one of our nation's founding fathers proclaimed, "Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist." This legislation is an important step in the right direction for protecting Floridians' liberty and their property rights the time is now to move forward on reform. Daniel Peterson is director of the Center for Property Rights at The James Madison Institute. GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 65,603 Thanked: 254,656 Times View My Garage Re: Budget 2016 & Indian Cars: All you need to know The Price Impact: The 1% infrastructure cess won't make much of a difference to the petrol hatchback segment. Think of a price impact of Rs. 3,000 on an Alto (or less than the cost of two tanks of fuel). The Swift petrol? Between Rs. 5,000 - 6,500. The higher cess on small diesels makes the price difference between petrol & diesel hatchbacks / compact sedans wider by 1.5%. The 2.5% infrastructure cess makes your Grand i10 diesel pricier by ~15,000 rupees, while the fully-loaded Elite i20 diesel is now more expensive by about ~20,000 rupees. It's cars over 4 meters in length or engines bigger than 1.2L P / 1.5L D that will see a greater impact. The Etios petrol, Maruti Ertiga, VW Vento, Mahindra Thar and gang just saw their prices shoot up by 4%. On a Rs. 9 lakh Skoda Rapid, the tag is heavier by Rs. 36,000. Any car over 10 lakhs is usually over 4 meters in length and / or has bigger engines. These cars will attract not only the 4% infrastructure cess, but even the 1% TCS (tax collected at source). Again, remember that the TCS will be credited back to you at the time of paying your income taxes. Still, the net 5% hike means that your outflow for a Honda City has increased by Rs. 50,000. The same for an XUV500 AWD AT is a lakh! Eyeing a C-Class? Be prepared to shell out about 1.5 - 2 lakhs more at the time of purchase. An E-Class? Between 2.5 - 3.0 lakhs. S-Class? You probably won't bother with such small details. Logistical Challenges: While I personally support the 1% 'luxury car TCS', I'm not entirely convinced if it's a good idea to deposit the advance tax with the dealer. It does raise a number of concerns. For one, dealers are known for their carelessness and you should be prepared to follow up frequently with their accounting departments (for your TCS certificate). Then, considering how many organisations default on paying TDS, service tax etc., what happens if the dealership delays / doesn't deposit the tax with the government? It's just a logistical nightmare. Imagine what will happen if a customer pays the TCS amount to a loss-making dealership, who in turn uses that to pay salaries / other expenses and then shuts down? It would have been preferred if the car buyer could himself pay the TCS online and produce the certificate before the car goes for registration. Online tax payments today have a simple procedure that anyone can follow! Facebook has been using artificial intelligence to sharpen its focus on the roughly 10 percent of the world that has been overlooked by the Internet revolution, the company announced Sunday at the Mobile World Congress. The work has been led by the Connectivity Lab, Facebooks research and development wing, which is tasked with making the breakthroughs needed to connect the world to the Internet. The research was done in collaboration with the Core Data Science, FAIR and Applied Machine Learning teams. Coding Cartography Before building the backbone necessary to support Internet delivery in the most remote areas of the world, Facebook set its AI loose on 350 TB of satellite imagery. Its neural network analyzed about 13.4 million square miles of terrain in search of the telltale signs of settlements. The group started by discarding imagery that appeared to consist of little more than deserts, water and forests. About 99 percent of the landmasses it scanned were devoid of human habitation, according to the Connectivity Lab. After discarding the satellite imagery of clearly uninhabited areas, the researchers tweaked their neural network to look for signs of settlements. Facebooks DigitalGlobe satellite image of Naivasha, Kenya (left) and the results of the population density analysis of the same area (right). The effort comes down to maximizing the productivity of Facebooks drone-based wireless service, said Charles King, principal analyst for Pund-IT. The Earth is a huge place, and blanketing the entire planet with wireless would be enormously expensive and unproductive, he told the E-Commerce Times. Instead, Facebook has used AI to identify the location of human settlements, thus significantly improving the overall efficiency of its wireless provisioning efforts. That effort will speed up deployment of Internet services to areas that need it, while saving Facebook money and other resources. Theres no sense blanketing a region with wireless if no one lives there, said King. Access for All Facebook will make its data public later this year, but it shared one finding about how far the world has progressed: In 2015, the number of people using the Internet grew from 2.9 billion to 3.2 billion, according to a report titled State of Connectivity 2015: A Report on Global Internet Access. While Internet availability has hit the 90 percent mark globally, about 4.1 billion people werent using it in 2015, Facebook said. The company has taken heat, especially inIndia, for attempting to deliver its brand of free Internet services to those without access. Still, the extension of the Internet to all populations is sure to have a positive impact on world peace, said Susan Eustis, senior researcherWinterGreen Research. Enterprise globalization has brought common patterns of commerce to every country where marketing is conducted, she told the E-Commerce Times. Even the extension to Facebook will likely be a good thing, according to Eustis. Facebook messaging provides free texting that people love, she said. Facebook will begin to support e-commerce through its free messaging, further stimulating small business in communities worldwide. Development and deployment arent the only issues standing in the way of Facebooks vision of a fully connected world. Roughly 1 billion people in the world are illiterate, and it could be hard to engage them with a platform thats largely reliant on text, according to Pund-ITs King. Nearly half the worlds 6 billion people live on $2.50 or less per day. How will they connect to a universally available Internet? he noted. Around 1.8 billion people dont have access to safe drinking water many would say thats a greater concern than Internet access. A federal magistrate judge on Monday ruled that Apple did not have to unlock an encrypted iPhone used in a federal drug case. The ruling gave the company a key victory against the Department of Justice in the midst of a legal struggle over an FBI request that the encrypted phone of one of the suspected shooters in the San Bernardino, California, massacre also be unlocked. Federal Magistrate Judge James Orenstein ruled that the government failed to prove that it had the power under an 18th century law called the All Writs Act to force Apple to unlock the phone of the drug dealer. Following a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency search and seizure of mobile devices belonging to an alleged dealer a New York man named Jun Feng in June 2014, the government spent more than a year not doing anything to pursue what evidence there was on his phone, until getting a warrant in July 2015, the court noted. The DEA was not able to get the information and sought help from the FBI, which was unable to get evidence off the password-protected device. They sought Apples help two weeks after the expiration of the device warrant, and Apple said it would help if the government obtained a court order, consistent with its practice in 70 other instances. Feng pleaded guilty in October. However, the government continued the request while it was pursuing additional evidence prior to sentencing and potentially to uncover evidence in related cases of coconspirators, according to court documents. Apple last month filed documents seeking a review of the repeated requests by the government to unlock encrypted phones under the All Writs Act. Privacy Victory This is a victory for privacy, security and common sense. The government should not be able to run to court to get the surveillance power that Congress has deliberately kept from it,American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Alex Abdo said. The future of digital privacy also hangs in the balance, he added. TheElectronic Frontier Foundation was pleased by the decision, EFF Executive Director Cindy Cohn said, noting that the operating system involved in the New York case is an older version than the phone at issue in the San Bernardino attack. The judge decided that federal agents cant try to get a court to do something that Congress has considered but not allowed the government to demand specifically that companies like Apple do not have to help the government bypass the security they have built into devices, she told TechNewsWorld. The court rejected the argument that the government is only seeking Apples compliance on one device, Cohn noted, citing a statement in the decision that the burdens the government seeks to impose on Apple under the authority of the All Writs Act are not nearly so limited. A dozen other cases with similar demands are pending in federal courts across the country, she added. The EFF, along with the ACLU, is supporting Apple in the New York case and in its challenge to the federal court order to unlock an encrypted phone in the San Bernardino investigation, Cohn said. While the New York ruling will not impact the California case directly, it may prove to be persuasive and the EFF was pleased that the court found the government request overreaching and inappropriate, she said. Congressional Showdown Federal and local law enforcement officials and Apple executives are scheduled to testify before Congress on Tuesday over whether the company should be forced to provide technology to unlock iPhones in national security and criminal cases. The FBI is asking Apple to weaken the security of our products, according to prepared remarks for the hearing by Bruce Sewell, general counsel at Apple. Hackers and cybercriminals could use this to wreak havoc on our privacy and personal safety. It would set a dangerous precedent for government intrusion on the privacy and safety of its citizens. The U.S. Attorneys Office in Brooklyn declined to comment on the ruling, spokesperson Nellin McIntosh said. A spokesperson for Apple was not immediately available. New Delhi, India, March 01, 2016: Lenovo Group has emerged as the 3rd largest smartphone brand in India, according to IDCs Asia Pacific Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, CY Q4 2015 (February 2016 release), with a market share of 11.6 per cent. Lenovo Group grew by an astounding 97 per cent by volume in 2015 as compared to last year, states the IDC report. Lenovos continuous focus on introducing value offerings through its dual brand strategy has helped it register a healthy 10.8 per cent sequential growth in shipments. Lenovos sub-brands Moto and Vibe have been effectively positioned in the market with Vibe offering best technology for money and the aspirational Moto offering premium features and consumer experience. Lenovos product portfolio has been leading the technology curve consistently and its introduction of 4G devices has taken the smartphone industry by storm. The 4G devices shipments in Q42015, accounts over 50 per cent of the overall smartphone market. Sudhin Mathur, Director- Smartphones, Lenovo Group, said, As category leaders we are constantly bringing innovative products and trying to create best devices for different consumer segments. This year we will further expand our reach through both online and offline channels this year, and strengthen our manufacturing base in India. Lenovo including Motorola maintained its position in CY Q4 2015 (Oct-Dec) as the number one smartphone brand in online sales capturing close to 25.4 per cent market share according to the IDC CY Q4 2015 report. Devices such as K3 Note, Moto G (3rd Gen), Moto X Play, Moto E (2nd Gen), A6000 and A6000 Plus were clear favourites throughout 2015. IDC predicts that the overall smartphone shipments in India would grow at a double digit rate in 2016. The share of smartphones in the overall mobile phone market was around 40 per cent in 2015 and given the current trend, smartphone sales will overtake feature phone sales in 2016. The report further predicts that by the end of 2016, at least one in two smartphones shipped in India would be a 4G-enabled device. Technuter.com News Service New Delhi, India, March 01, 2016: Kingston has announced that it has finalized the integration plans for IronKey. As a player in the USB Flash drive market since 2004, Kingston will utilize its IronKey product line to deliver FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certification solutions for customers who need the highest level of encryption and security. Kingston will ensure a smooth transition for existing IronKey customers and will work with its collective partners to enable access to sales and technical support, plus access to Kingstons world-class product and service resources. The Kingston IronKey will be the companys top of the line as well as the industrys most secure USB Flash drive featuring FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certification. FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certification is a requirement for civilian and government agencies as well as military branches in the United States and Canada. The certification is also often a requirement or guideline for financial and healthcare industry organizations. FIPS 140-2 Level 3 calls for a tamper-evident seal for physical security to detect and respond to attempts to access, use or modify the cryptographic module. Achievement of this certification required rigorous testing, which was reviewed and approved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It is a benchmark for security and reliability for agencies and enterprise organizations looking for the highest level of encryption. Kingston will maintain its encrypted DataTraveler products, the worlds most-used encrypted USB drives, for customers who do not require FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validation. In addition, its close software partner DataLocker Inc. will continue to manage the SafeConsole and Enterprise Management Services (EMS) platforms that both Kingston and IronKey managed encrypted drives utilize. The encrypted USB market continues to be viable as there is always the need for governmental agencies and organizations of all levels to protect mobile data, said Nathan Su, Flash Memory Sales Director, APAC Region, Kingston. Many IronKey products today support legacy NAND technology. Kingston will leverage our longstanding relationships with Flash memory semiconductors, controller partners and other component makers as well as our strong channel presence to bring IronKey products into the future and to new customers. The recent purchase of IronKeys technology and assets allow Kingston to focus on its core strength of encrypted USB drives. As part of the acquisition, Kingston has sold the encrypted external HDD business to DataLocker, whose product portfolio already includes similar solutions. The deal further strengthens the partnership between the two companies. Technuter.com News Service Google's self-driving vehicles have logged millions of hours on public roadways. Inevitably, they've also been involved in a handful of traffic accidents. Up to this point, however, Google says its autonomous vehicles have never been at fault in any of them. That claim no longer appears to be case. The Verge points to a report from the California DMV first spotted by Mark Harris that describes a recent incident involving one of Google's self-driving vehicles and a city bus. In it, Google describes an out-of-the-ordinary scenario in which one of its Lexus-model autonomous vehicles was attempting to merge back into traffic at a slow speed when it made contact with the side of a public transit bus. Google said its autonomous vehicle, which was in self-driving mode at the time, was traveling around 2 mph and the bus was going about 15 mph at the time of impact. The vehicle's safety driver saw the bus approaching from the rear but believed it would stop or slow to let the Google car continue. What makes the scenario unique is the fact that the right-hand lane on this particular street is wide enough to allow two lines of traffic. It's not uncommon for a vehicle attempting to turn off the road to hold up traffic and when that happens, drivers make full use of the wide lane and go around them. In a report on the matter, Google says its vehicle did just that but encountered some sandbags blocking its path near a storm drain. As such, it needed to merge back into "traffic" to go around it which is when the accident happened. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported at the scene. Samsung has today unveiled the first monitors that support AMD's FreeSync variable refresh technology over HDMI, instead of through DisplayPort. While the experience should be mostly the same, delivering FreeSync over HDMI allows consumers to use more common (and often cheaper) cables and connectors. The three monitors Samsung has unveiled all pack 1080p displays, and all support FreeSync over HDMI, although unfortunately the refresh rate is capped at just 60 Hz. All three monitors also use VA LCD panels, with brightness and contrast ratings of 250 nits and 3000:1 respectively. For those that prefer flat displays, these new monitors might not be for you, as Samsung has implemented a 1800R (1800mm radius) curve in all three. This is a pretty strong curve as far as curved displays are concerned, with many other monitors opting for less tight 2700R or 3000R curves. The three curved monitors on offer with FreeSync over HDMI are split between two lines: CF591, as a single 27-inch monitor; and CF390, where there's 23.5- and 27-inch models available. The main differences between these monitors are in features, with the CF591 covering 117% of the sRGB color space, and offering dual HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, and built-in 5W speakers. The CF390 series doesn't offer any of these features, instead packing just HDMI and VGA. Samsung's new monitors will be hitting the market in March for those in the United States, Europe and Asia, with other markets to follow in April. Pricing has yet to be announced. Much of the press from last week's Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona focused on the mobile device announcements---the traditional stars of that show---but there was an underlying theme that was actually a much bigger and more important story: the palpable evolution of the Internet of Things (IOT). From telecom companies like AT&T and T-Mobile, to network equipment makers like Cisco and Huawei, to component makers like Qualcomm and Intel, everybody was focused on the IOT opportunity. After a decade-long run highlighting the voice and data improvements their networks could provide, the major telcos, for example, were clearly looking beyond smartphones to applications like connected cars, factory automation, and smart cities. Similarly, hardware companies were as eager to talk about how their technologies are deployed in industrial applications as they were to show off their slick, consumer devices. Just prior to the show, there was even a major breakthrough on the IOT connectivity and standards front, as the OIC group, led by Intel, announced that they were being joined by Qualcomm and other members of the AllJoyn group and that they were forming a new organization called the Open Connectivity Forum (OCF). Mind-numbing acronym shuffles aside, this is actually a very important development that removes a critical barrier and should lead to faster advancements in connectivity across a wide range of devices, both at home and in businesses. Of course, it's still the early stages for IOT, so there was a lot more blustering in Barcelona about a few small examples than widespread real-world deployments, but the change in the air was clear. One of the things that's fascinating about IOT is that it brings together so many key technology trends into a unified whole. From 5G networks to sensor-based edge devices to multifaceted computing demands to big data-driven analytics software, it's the biggest mixing pot of technologies that we've seen in some time. Put another way, there's something that nearly every technology-related company can find in the IOT world, and still a lot waiting to be determined. From 5G networks to sensor-based edge devices to multifaceted computing demands to big data-driven analytics software, IOT is the biggest mixing pot of technologies that we've seen in some time. In fact, this is part of both the beauty and frustration of IOT---it's too big and too all-encompassing to be controlled by one entity or even sub-segment of the overall tech industry. At the same time, it's too big to be moved forward in any kind of consistent, rational way. Instead, it appears to be moving along in fits and starts in multiple different directions simultaneously, not unlike a beach ball being buffeted wildly across a sandy beach when a storm front moves in. One of the many challenges is that each company trying to drive developments in IOT has an agenda or angle and many of these angles are far from complementary. Even the end goal for customers is quite varied---is it driving down costs, improving processes, or generating revenue? Despite these questions, it's clear that there are some intriguing new options coming into play and the promise of many more to come. Just today, for example, United Health Insurance announced a new wearable device---developed in partnership with Qualcomm Digital Life---which medium-sized businesses (100-300 employees) can offer to their employees to reduce their health insurance premiums. Essentially, by following an activity schedule that's tracked by the wearable, you can earn money towards your premiums---much like Progressive Insurance offers for automotive customers who put an OBD2 dongle in their car to monitor how safely they drive. At the other end of the spectrum, you have innovative startups like Terbine, who just debuted their online marketplace for sensor-driven data. The idea is that companies looking to generate revenue from their IOT deployments can share their data into Terbine's database. Companies wanting to leverage data from various sources can purchase that data and mash together various combinations to get the data set they need, or make comparisons across best-of-class standards to see how they compare. It's a complex but fascinating idea that shows the kinds of innovations going on in IOT business models. Moving forward, I expect we'll see a great deal more interesting combinations of existing technologies put together in creative ways to drive new applications in IOT. To be clear, there are still enormous technical, logistical, political and business-related challenges to overcome. Nevertheless, the once foggy picture of where IOT is going and what it really means is finally starting to come into focus. Bob O'Donnell is the founder and chief analyst of TECHnalysis Research, LLC a technology consulting and market research firm. You can follow him on Twitter @bobodtech. This article was originally published on Tech.pinions. Last week, it was reported that Apple had gained a number of allies in its battle against the US government over the San Bernardino iPhone. Many giants of the tech world, including big rivals Microsoft, are planning on filing a joint amicus brief supporting Apple in court. Yesterday, the Cupertino company got another boost when, in a similar case, a New York judge ruled that authorities can't force Apple to unlock a suspect's iPhone. The ruling, by US Magistrate Judge James Orenstein, comes as part of a separate trial that has been ongoing for the last few months. It involves Queens resident Jun Feng, who pleaded guilty to drug charges and had his iPhone 5s taken by DEA agents. Apple feared that the Department of Justice would invoke the All Writs Act to break Feng's passcode, much like it intends to do in the San Bernardino case, but the judge ruled otherwise. "This matter [involving the San Bernardino shooter] is therefore one of a dozen pending cases in which the government and Apple disagree as to the court's authority to command Apple to assist the government in defeating the passcode security of devices Apple has manufactured," Judge Orenstein wrote. Echoing the views of Tim Cook and the many other tech names that are standing side-by-side with Apple, Judge Orenstein warned of the dangerous precedent that would be set if the DoJ did get its way. He also warned of the privacy issues that could arise in today's connected society. In a world in which so many devices, not just smartphones, will be connected to the Internet of Things, the government's theory that a licensing agreement allows it to compel the manufacturers of such products to help it surveil the products' users will result in a virtually limitless expansion of the government's legal authority to surreptitiously intrude on personal privacy. Orenstein also rejected claims that Apple's only concern in the case was public relations. He added that he found no limit on how far the government would go to require a person or company to violate the most deeply-rooted values. The US government was, as you would expect, "disappointed" with the ruling. "Apple expressly agreed to assist the government in accessing the data on this iPhone --- as it had many times before in similar circumstances --- and only changed course when the government's application for assistance was made public by the court," said Justice Department spokesperson Emily Pierce in a statement, quoted by USA today. While the San Bernardino case won't be bound by the New York ruling, Judge Orenstein's decision will no doubt have a huge influence on proceedings. People who are obese are at an increased risk of health problems including diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. A new study says that obesity could also increase the likelihood of cognitive impairment. Researchers from University of Cambridge Department of Psychology have found that overweight young adults may have poorer episodic memory, the ability to recall past events, than people with normal weight. This study sheds light on better understanding the link between overeating and memory. In the new research published [pdf] in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, psychologists have found that adults who are overweight may have problems with memory especially the one dealing with past events. Even though this study is small, the findings support existing studies that point to excess body weight as a driver in the alterations in the function and structure of the brain and its capacity to do certain tasks properly. How Obesity Can Impact Brain Memory Obesity Affects The Hippocampus It is well known that obesity poses stress on the joints, heart and other important organs in the body, but doctors are saying that it also affects the brain and its cognitive abilities. Past body of knowledge suggests that obesity lead to abnormalities in hippocampal function. The hippocampus is the part of the brain responsible for emotion, memory, and is in charge of the autonomic nervous system. Eating foods high in fat promotes changes in the hippocampus. If this part is altered, it leads to poorer memory. Changes in the hippocampus may fuel overeating and inability to suppress thoughts of food, leading to weight gain in already obese individuals. Obese People Have Lesser Brain Mass In a previous study by researchers at the University of California Los Angeles, they have found that brains of people who are obese had 8 percent brain tissue compared to people with normal weight. Overweight people also had 4 percent lesser brain tissue. This study highlighted the link between being obese or overweight and what scientists describe as brain degeneration. In another study, scientists have found that obesity can cause reduction in brain size without other contributing factors. A 2.4 percent decrease in the brain parenchymal volume was seen in obese people compared to leaner ones. Photo: Tony Alter | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Microsoft has published a couple of new Windows 10 ads that illustrate things the PC can do that the Mac cannot. The videos are 15 seconds long with a 30-second introduction of the stars of this miniseries of sorts, featuring numerous bugs of different kinds as well. To get things started, first meet the bug chicks Kristie and Jess in the footage below. Putting aside the introduction, the first video in line is titled "The Bug Chicks: Windows 10 and Hello," and it showcases the "most secure way to log in," with Kristie saying that "even on the new Macs, they don't have that." The feature takes advantage of either a fingerprint or iris sensor to let users sign in to their devices. The next one in the series is "The Bug Chicks: Windows 10 and Inking." It demonstrates how new Windows 10 devices support touchscreens, allowing users to write, draw or anything along those lines on the fly. Kristie says that she "doesn't have a touch screen on her Mac." Now, the final video to complete the trinity is called "The Bug Chicks: Windows 10 and Cortana." It exhibits how the well-known Microsoft virtual assistant Cortana works, performing tasks such as the search function from the key phrase "Hey, Cortana." Kristie repeats that "even the new Macs don't have that." For the record, what these ads are trying to say is that Macs don't have certain features that the PCs have or at least, some equivalents. In other words, Microsoft is telling people that Windows 10 devices have more in store than what Apple computers can offer. It's also worth mentioning that the videos start out as a pleasant explanation of Windows 10 features, but then it takes a sudden aggressive turn right before they end. It's kind of funny in a way. At any rate, it would be interesting to see how effective these videos would be for boosting Microsoft's marketing, but what's more intriguing is how Apple will respond to these "targeted" ads. In related news, Microsoft officially announced that Project Astoria is dead, so it makes even more sense how the company is pushing a great effort to get things in gear. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. First, they came for the hoverboards, and now it looks like the latest victim of the ever-combustible Lithium-ion battery media craze is a product that isn't really too great for you to begin with: the e-cigarette. While CBS News went as far as to equate hoverboards with e-cigs (or, as they're also known, personal vapes) as the new product to watch out for (for safety purposes, that is), is it more or less hyping up a story or reporting objectively and accurately? With media coverage on explosions caused by e-cigarettes on the rise, will the electronic smoking device become the next gadget to receive a wave of stringent bans? According to news sources, two e-cigarette-related explosions have occurred within the month of February this year. The first incident happened in Naples, Fla. As the Associated Press reported: "Cassandra Koziol told the Naples Daily News she had parked her car outside a friend's house Thursday night to use the e-cigarette and charge her car. She said that when she pressed the device's button, it exploded, loosening her teeth and flying from her hand." In a CNN report originally reposted by Fox 59, a man from Owensboro, Ky. was severely burned when an e-cig battery exploded in his pocket. The incident was caught on film by the store's surveillance cameras, with eyewitnesses that corroborated the story. "He was giving me money, he put his hand in his pocket, so suddenly there was fire. Big fire, and he was burning," said Jassie Singh, the cashier on duty at the gas station where the explosion occurred. According to results collected from a study issued by FEMA in October 2014, "[T]wenty-five separate incidents of explosion and fire involving an e-cigarette were reported in the United States media between 2009 and August 2014" with "nine injuries and no deaths ... associated with these 25 incidents." The data the agency collected revealed that "two of the injuries were serious burns." (For those keeping score at home, there have been purportedly 52 reported incidents of hoverboards catching on fire within the past year, meaning the rate is exceedingly more within one 365-day cycle than five years of collected e-cig data.) Perhaps more importantly, the study revealed how the explosions occurred, and noted that almost all of the respective incidents somehow involved the Lithium-ion batteries used to power e-cigs. As per the report, the majority of the incidents happened while the e-cig's Lithium-ion battery was charging and most likely charging improperly. "The shape and construction of e-cigarettes can make them more likely than other products with lithium-ion batteries to behave like 'flaming rockets' when a battery fails," stated the report, which then went on to caution e-cigarette smokers that li-ion batteries should only be charged in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, and unapproved power sources were intrinsic to significantly upping the chance of a fire and/or explosion. The study also elucidated why the design of a typical e-cig (and the battery that powers it) paired with an unsanctioned power source could set off an unexpected explosion: "A cylindrical lithium-ion battery is made by winding alternating layers of metallic anode and cathode material separated by a porous film. The porous separator film holds a liquid electrolyte made of an organic solvent and dissolved lithium salts. This core is placed into a cylindrical metal can through the open end, and the can is then sealed closed tightly so that the liquid electrolyte cannot escape or evaporate." To put it in layman's terms, if something goes wrong inside of a li-ion battery (i.e., overheating), the tightness of the cylinder minus one open end creates the aforementioned "rocket-like" effect. There is one big "however": the FEMA report is also quick to note that it found "no evidence that overheating can be a problem" namely, that if they're put together correctly, they should work without any flare-ups (sorry about the pun). "... concern has been raised that the heating element inside the e-cigarette could become an ignition source. Manufactured PVs [personal vapes] typically have built-in circuits to limit the time that the heating element can be turned on, which prevents overheating and possible fires or injuries. In the absence of independent safety testing of the e-cigarettes, no assurance that these circuits will reliably perform their safety function is available. Homemade Mods may not have overheat protection built in." Basically, this means that, while e-cigs have other pretty dangerous byproducts like the alleged chance of developing a disease nicknamed popcorn lung the chance that your e-cig or vape might explode shouldn't be the big one, and that poorly built models will have a greater risk of malfunctioning. Surprise! So, why not just make better batteries? As Jay Whitare, a professor of materials science and engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, told CBS, companies that make these smokable electronic products use "batteries [that] are simply not made to the same standard as the batteries that are made by say Sony or Panasonic, which has much more stringent quality control." "In general, with this kind of technology, it is very difficult for the user to be at fault," he continued. "There is a well controlled charging circuit and there should be a good package that the cell lives in. Both of those things should be designed to protect the user." So, if you're looking to get your e-cig on, it's probably better to splurge a little so that you're getting a more high-end vape, as opposed to a cheaper model that might have a tampered and/or poorly-made battery cell package. We're definitely not advocating smoking, but if you do, happy trails, and know that your e-cig is probably not going to be banned from a public street anytime soon. Photo: Lindsay Fox | ecigarettereviewed.com 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. As NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko wrap up their mission aboard the International Space Station, Kelly's fellow NASA astronaut Tim Kopra has now assumed command of the habitable satellite. On Leap Day, Kelly handed over the reins of the ISS to Kopra in a traditional Change of Command ceremony at 3:15 PM EST, effectively relinquishing his post as the commander of the space station. "It's kind of hard to believe that we've been here for two and a half months, and it's only a small portion of Scott and Mikhail's time here," Kopra said in the live broadcast of the Change of Command ceremony. "But I have to say that it's an honor and privilege to assume command of the International Space Station." Kopra also thanked Kelly for his leadership and for being a great role model in every aspect. The task of the commander -- the highest authority on the ISS -- is to direct activities for the crew members, provide regular updates to the flight director, maintain the peace, and prevent a space mutiny. Kelly, who has spent the highest number of consecutive days in space for American astronauts, has been commander of the ISS for his previous missions, Expeditions 45 and 46. Kornienko and Kelly were blasted off into space on March 27 last year for their one-year mission. When it officially ends on March 1, Kelly will have spent 520 days aboard the ISS, with 340 of it coming from this recent mission. Kornienko will also have spent 340 days in space. Future Mars Missions Kopra will be starting Expedition 47 aboard the ISS as the Soyuz spacecraft carrying Kelly, Kornienko and his fellow cosmonaut Sergey Volkov undocks from the ISS on Tuesday. The Soyuz spacecraft will plummet through Earth's atmosphere and land at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday night. Kelly will return to Mission Control in Houston on Wednesday. Kelly, Kornienko and Volkov will have to re-acclimate to Earth's living conditions after spending quite a long time aboard the space station. These spacemen have an especially specific task: to help researchers figure out whether we could hit the ground running for future Mars missions. For instance, Kelly will try to pop up from a lying position and stand still for three minutes. He will be taking a crack at a mini-obstacle course, attempting to walk in a straight line, heel to toe. NASA considers the task as crucial for future Mars explorers who will have to spend so much time in space and won't have the help of a welcoming committee. Kelly believes that scientists will learn a lot about longer-duration spaceflight and how it will someday take us to Mars. In fact, Kelly and his twin brother Mark are involved in research to study the impact of living in space for future Mars missions. "I'd like to think that this is another of many steppingstones to us landing on Mars sometime in our future," Kelly said during his final news conference from orbit. The tests on Kornienko and Kelly should provide some answers to questions like: what could Mars explorers do when they arrive on the red planet? Could they jump up and down? Could they even open a hatch? Could they immediately do a spacewalk? All these questions were asked by Dr. Stevan Gilmore, the lead surgeon who will be receiving Kelly. The tests will include blood draws, heart monitoring and other medical exams, and will continue for weeks. We will surely miss Kelly's Twitter updates from space, but returning home and being back with his family after a long period definitely feels good. Watch below as Kelly hands over the command to Kopra. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. For Google, Feb. 14 is more than just Valentine's Day, as it also marks the first accident that one of the autonomous vehicles (AV) of the company caused. The accident involves a public transit bus and a self-driving Lexus RX450h SUV, and it occurred on El Camino Real near Google's hometown of Mountain View, California. The Google AV was driving in the far right side of the three-lane boulevard, preparing to take a right turn onto Castro Street. However, it couldn't smoothly do so because of sandbags that surrounded a storm drain, and it had to move to the center to make the turn. The Lexus did let a couple of cars pass before it proceeded to maneuver around the obstruction, but a bus approaching at 15 mph was right behind it. According to the accident report, the bus was visible in the left mirror. It then collided with the bus, incurring damage on its front-left fender, wheel and sensor. "A public transit bus was approaching from behind. The Google AV test driver saw the bus approaching in the left side mirror, but believed the bus would stop or slow to allow the Google AV to continue. Approximately three seconds later, as the Google AV was reentering the center of the lane, it made contact with the side of the bus," the report says (PDF). A test driver was occupying the Google AV at the time, but the car was set in autonomous mode. Fortunately, the accident did not cause any injury. Placed in the same situation that drivers face every day, the Google AV predicted that the bus would allow it to pass first, as it's positioned ahead of the incoming vehicle. The occupant also thought the same. Apparently, they were both wrong. Google says the company itself and the AV in question are at fault to a certain degree, making this the first case under that condition. "We clearly bear some responsibility, because if our car hadn't moved, there wouldn't have been a collision," Google tells Reuters. This incident will no doubt provide groups against self-driving cars with fuel to fire their sides. Particularly speaking, Consumer Watchdog already issued a statement on Monday saying that the technology needs to be under stricter standards. "This accident is more proof that robot car technology is not ready for auto pilot and a human driver needs to be able to take over when something goes wrong. The police should be called to the site of every robot car crash and all technical data and video associated with the accident must be made public," John Simpson, project director of the group, says. This isn't the first time Google had to file an accident report to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), as it already submitted 17 reports in a span of six years. However, the company was not to blame in those incidents. The fleet deployed on California roads consists of 23 steering wheel-free Lexus RX450h SUVs, and it has clocked in a total of approximately 1 million miles. In light of the accident, Google is dedicated to learn from the mistake and improve the technology crammed in the company's self-driving cars. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Recent reports say that wintering monarchs are on a rebound in Mexico. Despite the positive progress, there is no time to relax as the future of the milkweed butterfly population remains uncertain. In a survey conducted in December 2015, investigators discovered that the population of the butterflies were able to cover about four hectares (9.9 acres) of the forest. This number is far bigger than the previously recorded 1.13 hectares (2.8 acres) in 2014. Future Still Grim Although the present population of the wintering monarchs are higher than the previous year, experts say it is still a far cry from the 1 billion insect population recorded two decades ago. In 2014, the estimated number of butterflies was 33.5 million. In 2015, the population rose to 56.5 million. The rise may look impressive but that is not even half of the staggering 500 million butterflies recorded 20 years ago. Such data show that the new future is still considerably grim, but it also show that people can still do more. Action Required World Wildlife Fund Director General in Mexico, Omar Vidal says now is the time to amp up efforts to protect and restore habitats of these butterflies in North America. Environmental and safety organizations in the U.S. recognize the need to boost the population of the wintering monarchs. With this, some of them have called on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to declare the species as endangered so that due protection may be given. Private companies are also doing its part. One example is Creve Coeur-based Monsanto, which may have started efforts to increase the population of the butterflies. The favorable weather condition is also said to play a huge role in the improvements of the population. The U.S. government has also stepped up as President Barack Obama initiated a "Pollinator Health Task Force," which aims to produce 225 million butterflies and cover 15 acres of overwintering habitat in Mexico by the year 2020. What Can We Do? Now is the best time to unite and do something for the wintering monarchs. Last winter, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that it will be collaborating with two conservation organizations to safeguard and restore habitats. The agency's director Dan Ashe says monarch butterflies may be saved if only people will act promptly and together. The said project had a budget of $2 million to plant milkweed on over 200,00 acres of land. WWF adds that partnerships that aim to address the use of herbicides, illegal logging and climate change are vital to save the monarch butterflies of North America. "It's a big challenge, but together we can save them, and save this unique migratory phenomenon," says WWF. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Samsung showed it can enhance an already great design and add enough features that would not only tempt those looking for a new flagship Android 6.0 Marshmallow smartphone, but even current Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge owners into sticking with the company and upgrading to its latest devices. LG and Samsung had press event scheduled on Feb. 21 to officially unveil their 2016 flagship smartphones, just in time to open Mobile World Congress. LG confirmed months of reports claiming it was planning on introducing a "Magic Slot" that would allow the metal-equipped smartphone to include both a removable battery and microSD expansion slot. All four major U.S. carriers have announced the LG G5 will be offered on their networks and the smartphone is expected to go on sale in April, about a month from when Samsung releases the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge worldwide on March 11. Like LG, Samsung also put focus on microSD expansion and reintroduced the Galaxy S5's water resistant case; a feature mainly used by Sony, but is also rumored to be coming to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in fall. While Samsung didn't bring back a user replaceable battery, the company was able to pack the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge with significantly larger batteries than that of their predecessors, the pair also benefit from Android 6.0 Marshmallow's battery-saving features. Samsung announced it would release the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge worldwide on March 11. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint have already begun taking preorders for the smartphones. Tech Times also reported that T-Mobile has already started shipping the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge to customers who preordered the handsets early. AT&T and Sprint customers will be glad to know that those carriers have followed T-Mobile in releasing the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge well in advance of Samsung's planned March 11 global release date. "[My] S7 Edge on AT&T says will ship before March 1st but no shipping update yet," a user commented. While a Sprint customer posted, "I'm with Sprint and my preorder just changed to Shipped status today. No tracking number yet." Several other readers have left similar comments in addition to the above image of the Samsung Galaxy S7's retail box. Now we'll have to wait and see if Verizon joins the party or adheres to Samsung's official release date. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Killer Asian hornets that feast on up to 50 honeybees every day are likely on their way to Great Britain soon, warned experts. These insects scientifically known as Vespa velutina and considerably more aggressive that than their British counterparts arrived in neighboring France 12 years earlier hidden in a shipment of Chinese pottery. They spread quickly across the continent and all the way to southern Portugal. Invasive non-native species (INNS) cost the United Kingdom alone more than 1.7 billion ($2.37 billion) every year to control, with more than 300 of their 2,000 species invasive and considered culprit to several bird extinctions over centuries. Asian hornets feature a wingspan of more than 7 centimeters (2.75 inches), and an almost completely dark abdomen with a number of faint yellow stripes. Experts estimated that they are likely to cross the channel through imported potted plants, cut flowers, fruit and timber. "Like all invasive non-native species, once established the Asian hornet would be incredibly difficult and hugely costly to tackle," says Camilla Keane, chair of the Wildlife and Countryside Link's invasive species group. Keane warned that the problem is not going away anytime soon, as many other INNS are already wreaking havoc on the countryside while new ones arrive over time. During the ongoing Invasive Species Week, Keane called on the UK government to work with different groups to create list of invasive alien species that are of countrywide concern, as set out in the developing European Union Invasive Alien Species (IAS) Regulation. Honeybee populations in Europe have already experienced alarming declines, and they are not in the safe zone yet as Asian hornets eat them and other pollinators in large quantities. The hornets hunt them up, chop them to pieces using their jaws, and feed them to larvae present in the nest. According to Charity Plantlife, anyone who spots the Asian hornet in the UK should report it to the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat. As for humans, the Asian hornet's sting can be greatly painful and the venom is delivered repeatedly and rapidly. The sting can be fatal, but only when the individual suffers an anaphylactic shock. As a safety precaution, humans should keep away from their nests, which are usually up in trees but are sometimes located in sheds and garages. Unlike the common wasp, too, they rarely nest in wall cavities. An Asian hornet is different from the common wasps, which have little to no hair, are black and bright yellow, and do not swarm. The common wasp consumes insects, food waste and sugary drinks. Photo: T. Mizo | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Now on its fourth attempt, SpaceX will launch a telecommunications satellite on Tuesday evening from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Unlike the past three attempts, the fourth one will have an earlier launch window starting at 6:35 PM. It will close at 8:05 PM. According to SpaceX, the earlier schedule will help them avoid upper-level winds better. The team is mainly on the lookout for thick layers of clouds and cumulus clouds. But according to 45th Weather Squadron's launch forecast, there's an 80 percent chance of good weather at the Launch Complex 40. As a backup, the team is looking at a Thursday relaunch schedule which also comes with an 80 percent likelihood of good weather as per the 45th Weather Squadron. Last Sunday, SpaceX called off its third telecommunications satellite launch attempt just a few seconds before its liftoff. SpaceX cited that a boat strayed into the launch site's restricted zone. On Twitter, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that the computers automatically shut down Falcon 9 rocket's nine engines due to a low thrust detection. "@SpaceX Launch aborted on low thrust alarm. Rising oxygen temps due to hold for boat and helium bubble triggered alarm," tweeted Musk last Sunday. The first two launch attempts last week were also scrubbed because they had problems with the liquid oxygen not chilled to freezing point. SpaceX needed a denser form of the liquid oxygen for the upgraded Falcon 9 rocket to launch the 11,600-pound SES-9 satellite. For the Tuesday launch, SpaceX will try to land the first stage 400 miles off Florida shores. Instead of landing on the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, it will land on an unmanned barge in the Atlantic Ocean. Due to the SES-9's high-orbit delivery and incoming speed, SpaceX doesn't expect an effective landing on the unmanned barge. However, industry experts expressed that an ocean barge landing will help lower costs. This will lead to reduced financial bases for launching space deliveries. Some also say that it'll help SpaceX to propel towards a mission to the red planet. The SES-9 telecommunication satellite was designed by Luxembourg-based SES. It will provide broadband, video, government and maritime communications from 22,000 miles in the Asia-Pacific region. Photo: SpaceX Photos | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Olms are explicitly blind salamanders, and just in time for "Game of Thrones" Season 6 premiere, scientists and tourists in Slovenia are eagerly awaiting the rare birth of olms or "baby dragons." A mother olm has been guarding her eggs fiercely at a cave in Postojna, Slovenia. Tourists are welcome to catch a glimpse of the "Dragon Mom" and her 55 olm eggs but it would take four more months to see if the eggs will hatch or not. Olms are small and have snake-like bodies. They lay eggs just one every 10 years, which makes a hatching a rare phenomenon to watch. If an olm egg successfully hatches, the new "baby dragon" can live for up to a century. The Postojna Cave is already a popular tourist site in Slovenia. Last Jan. 30, a tour guide noticed a just single olm egg; however, the cave now holds 55 tiny olm eggs. Since then, the hatching vigil has become another feature to see in the Postojna Cave. "[We saw] what we had waited and hoped for all along - the olms' embryonic development with visible cell division. To put it simply: it looks like the little 'dragons' are growing," said biologist Lilijana Bizjak Mali from Ljubljana's Biotechnical Faculty who visited the site. The team has put up a live coverage of from the Postojna Cave aquarium so visitors can see the daily status of the "Dragon Mom" and her eggs. Many visitors have shown interest and have continually asked when the "little dragons" will arrive and how many they will be. Unfortunately, other cave creatures have also shown interest in the olm eggs, particularly small crustaceans and cave amphipods. These cave creatures consider olm eggs special delicacies. The threat has also shown how ferocious a maternal instinct can be. Despite her blindness, the "Dragon Mom" has been successful in keeping the predators at bay, so far. In a water temperature of about 11 degrees Celsius, an olm egg requires 120 days to develop. However, in caves that are 2 degrees Celsius colder, the eggs need longer time to hatch. The olm mother is also getting help from a team of biologists. A safe haven has been created for them; however, the team is unsure how many of the 55 olm eggs will successfully hatch. Early estimates suggest only three will make it. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Of Threatened Species, the olm or baby dragon is considered "vulnerable." Therefore, scientists are carefully monitoring the eggs' development in the Postojna Cave. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Every year, approximately 1,500 near-Earth objects (NEOs) turn up in the surrounding outer space, at varying distances, from our planet. Some of these asteroids pass by Earth multiple times on long orbits. So far, though, NEOs have not made any devastating impact on Earth since the time the dinosaurs, which are believed to have been affected by such devastation, went extinct. In case an asteroid with a width of 200 meters (656 feet) strikes the planet, however, Russian scientists believe the best course of action is to destroy the NEO by annihilating it with a nuclear bomb. Calculating The Destruction One such asteroid, called 99942 Apophis, has been a cause of concern among scientists for a while now because it is estimated it could come "dangerously close" to Earth in 2036. Now, researchers from Tomsk State University in Siberia have used a supercomputer to conduct a series of calculations to determine how to blast the 99942 Apophis with a nuclear weaponin case it does turn up. Here's the catch: the explosion should not cause radioactive fragments to fall into Earth. Through the university's SKIF Cyberia supercomputer, researchers have found that a powerful warhead that can yield 1 megaton, or the power of about 66 Hiroshima bombs, would be potent enough to obliterate the asteroid. What's more, it would reduce the object to liquid and gas droplets, leaving only a few small solid fragments that are no more than 10 meters (32 feet) in diameter. Preventing Nuclear Radiation From Affecting The Earth Tatiana Galushina, an expert in astrometry, said previous preventative measures proposed to destroy the asteroid involved targeting the object as it approached our planet. "But this could lead to catastrophic consequences: a fall to Earth of the majority of the highly radioactive fragments," said Galushina. So the team concluded that it is wisest to destroy the asteroid in a pre-emptive strike, instead of waiting until it was hurtling toward our home planet. Doing so would reduce the possibility of its fragments impacting Earth. If the warheadin this case, a missilestruck behind the asteroid, almost all of the object's pieces after the destruction would fly forward. Galushina said that, for 10 years after this hypothetical explosion, an insignificant number of fragments would fall to Earth. Their radioactive levels during this period would, however, decrease, and after several years, the fragments would no longer pose a threat. Instead of suffering from a mass destruction, Earth would be saved. Still, one member of Russia's scientific community is not sold on the idea. Boris Shustov, Director of the Russian Institue of Astronomy, said nuking asteroids would be like "using a steam-hammer to crack a nut." Nuking Asteroids Is Illegal - But There Is Always An Exception, Scientists Say Using nuclear weapons in space is against the terms of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. However, Galushina believes that, in case of a "real threat to humankind," an exception to the rule should be made. The European Commission, for its part, has funded other Russian scientists to develop plans that would involve sending a warhead to nuke an asteroid. The program is aptly called NEOShield. Just like Galushina, the Commission also believes governments may opt for the use of nuclear-tipped missiles in deep space if Earth is in imminent danger. "If the asteroid threat becomes a matter of serious damage or even the very existence of life on earth, that ban would naturally be lifted," the group said. Tech Times has also reported that a team led by Sabit Saitgarayev of the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau is planning to convert intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) into projectiles that can destroy NEOs. It remains to be seen whether the ICBM project will be completed, but it has already been jumpstarted. Photo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Cyber security experts of the United States government have confirmed that the Ukraine power outage in December was caused by "synchronized and coordinated" cyberattack. The cyberattack happened in Dec. 23 impacted no less than 225,000 consumers. The Department of Homeland Security's Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) confirms in its report that the blackout was brought about by remote intrusions at three regional electric power distribution firms. The report says that its analysis is based on the team's interviews with six Ukrainian organizations plagued by the event. "The [cyberattack] was reportedly synchronized and coordinated, probably following extensive reconnaissance of the victim networks," reads the report. "According to company personnel, the [cyberattacks] at each company occurred within 30 minutes of each other and impacted multiple central and regional facilities." ICS-CERT says that during the attacks, a number of "external humans" carried out malevolent remote operation of the breakers by using remote administration tools "at the operating system level or remote industrial control system (ICS) client software via virtual private network (VPN) connections." The affected companies are convinced that to be able to facilitate remote access, the attackers obtained legitimate credentials ahead of the attack. While the report indicates that the companies were infected with BlackEnergy malware, it says that it doesn't particularly know if the malware played out a role in the attacks. Reportedly, the malware was delivered to each of the companies by means of spear phishing emails which include harmful Microsoft Office attachments. ICS-CERT suspects that the malware might have been used in gaining user credentials. The report, though, underscores that this information is currently being looked at. While the report does not specifically speculate on who was responsible for the attack, another report from BBC says that United States investigators have accused Russian hacking group to have caused the power hack attacks in Ukraine. The investigators said, though, that it wasn't possible to determine whether the group behind the attack was the "Russian government or a well-funded [non-government] team." Could the cyberattack also happen to other parts of the globe? Robert Lee, an infrastructure expert at cybersecurity company Sans Institute, told BBC that "the answer is yes," countries in other regions of the world could also be vulnerable to a similar cyberattack. "The way the Ukrainians set up the grid and the type of the equipment they are using is also the way a lot of other nations do it," he added. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. New York Judge delayed the implementation of the city's salt law, which requires food chain restaurants to indicate a warning beside menu items that are high in salt. Clash Of Courts As a response, the National Restaurant Association appealed against the proposed rule. "The Health Department is disappointed that the National Restaurant Association would want to prevent New Yorkers from receiving this important health warning," the department of health statement reads. On Wednesday, Feb 24, Justice Eileen Rakower of Manhattan Supreme Court turned down the request of the group to challenge the proposed rule. On Monday, however, the group had the last laugh as a judge in the first department of the Appellate Division granted the temporary stoppage of the rule's enforcement. "We are gratified that the appellate court recognized the seriousness of the issues that we've raised on appeal," says the association lawyer S. Preston Ricardo. The One-Of-A-Kind Rule The new rule is said to be the first of its kind in the U.S. Under these regulations, restaurants that have 15 or more branches in the entire country need to put an illustration of a salt shaker inside a black triangle beside menu items that contain over 2,300 milligrams of salt. As per the federal government, 2,300 milligrams is the limit of salt intake per individual every day. National Restaurant Association has so much words to describe the salt rule - unlawful, arbitrary, unprecedented and capricious. The group, which represents over 500,000 business, adds that the rule is full of illogical exceptions and nonsense loopholes. With this, it is looking forward to present the case before the appellate court. If the rule was pushed through, violators would have been stashing $200 in fines by now as the supposed effectivity date of the salt law was Mar. 1. Eventual Enforcement Despite the delay of enforcement, New York City authorities still believe that the rule will be implemented in the end. The Department of Health says it is confident that the court will eventually side with the salt law, which is a vital effort to prevent heart disease and stroke. The agency will still continue to warn violators, but will not issue sanctions. Years before, New York City also prohibited trans fats in restaurant chains and ordered businesses to identify the number of calories that each food item on the menu has. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A court in Germany fined Facebook $109,330 for its refusal to follow an order regarding an intellectual property statement. Four years ago, the court found that site's terms and condition failed to sufficiently tackle intellectual property concerns in the country. The German court gave the ruling on March 1, just a week after Mark Zuckerberg visited Berlin to receive the pioneer Axel Springer Award. According to the regional court, the message on Facebook's revised intellectual property statement remained the same and failed to address the said issue. A Facebook spokesperson said that the issue was more about the timing and not the message. "We complied with the order to clarify a single provision in our terms concerning an IP license a while ago," said the Facebook spokesperson. However, the German court felt that the message was not revised fast enough so they issued a fine, which the social media giant will pay. On the other hand, the German court said it wasn't the speed by which the statement was revised. Rather, the ruling was based on the fact that the key message in the terms and conditions did not change. The case focused on the revised clause that applied to German users last December. According to the terms, the users are permitted Facebook the following: "[G]rant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook." According to the German court, the key message in the supposedly revised clause was the same with the earlier version posted in 2012, saying it violates consumer rights. An appeals court in 2014 further affirmed that Facebook needed to revise the statement. To date, Facebook removed the "royalty-free" and "in connection with" lines from the said clause for German users. Facebook is dealing with a series of legal problems in other countries throughout Europe. Their facial recognition technology, wherein the user is prompted to "tag" another user in their photos, has also been under fire. The FriendFinder feature also threw Facebook in a legal battle earlier this year. The District Court of Berlin ruled in 2012 that Facebook violated a user's right because of the feature. The ruling was sustained in 2014 in a lower court. Last January 15, the same ruling was upheld in Germany. Facebook is also in hot waters with the French when it suspended a teacher's account when the user uploaded a famous nude painting on social media. Photo: Pascal Paukner | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NASA astronaut and twitpic enthusiast Scott Kelly has spent 340 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and March 1 marks his last aboard. The crew team leader will begin his descent back to Earth today, with a record-breaking accomplishment and maybe a claim to the title "Champion of Liquid Ping Pong in Space." Kelly is set to make his return Earth-bound flight with fellow cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov on their Russian Soyuz spacecraft at roughly 8:05 p.m. EST. The flight is expected to take only a few hours to complete and is expected to land in Kazakhstan at 11:25 p.m. ET. Both Kornienko and Kelly have spent roughly a year in space. Yesterday, Kelly handed over ISS keys to his colleague and fellow NASA member Tim Kopra, who will serve as acting captain from now on. The event was broadcasted from ISS by NASA, during which Kopra stated his admiration for Kelly, whom he had only known for two and a half months prior. "Thank you [Scott] for your leadership," remarked the new captain. "You've been such a great role model to us in every aspect: as a crew member, and as a space station commander." "A really smart person said to me one time, 'team work makes the dream work in space flight,'" Kelly said as he gave the keys over the (space) kingdom to Kopra. "Space flight is the biggest team sport there is, and it's incredibly important that we all work together to make what is seemingly impossible, possible," he added. After Kelly's landing, the astronaut will then begin his acclimation back to Earth (read: gravity) and subsequent rehabilitation; simultaneously, NASA scientists and researchers will also study the effects of living in space for a year (twice as long as the normal tenure) with help from blood, urine and other bodily samples Scott collected while up in the air. Research teams will then compare his stats to that of his twin brother, Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut who stayed bellow, and hopefully find some useful stuff to keep in mind for future long-term missions. if you're interested in watching the historic landing happen in real-time, NASA is planning on streaming it tonight on NASA TV. From all of us here at Tech Times: good luck, Scott! Check out this video from the Verge on how Scott Kelly's body has been altered from his year of ISS living in the clip below. Source: YouTube | NASA 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Like or loathe him, Donald Trump is generating plenty of buzz on Google and Twitter during this 2016 presidential campaign. In an Associated Press Election Buzz data post powered by Google and Twitter, each of the technology companies key in on peaking online activity swirling around what has been one very controversial 2016 United States presidential race. Perhaps ... the most controversial race for Commander-in-Chief of all time. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Trump has captured a 59.9 percentage share of search interest on Google among all candidates in the past 24 hours, with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton far behind with 13.1 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively. Trump is quite easily the most controversial candidate in the race, and controversy has been known to spark conversation or in this case, plenty of Google searches and tweets. Over on Twitter, Trump is dominating, too, capturing 58.9 percent of the conversation as the most-mentioned candidate in the 2016 presidential race over the past 24 hours. Similar to what Google's search trends are showing, Sanders and Clinton trail with 13.7 percent and 12.8 percent, respectively, of the tweets among the candidates in the race. As for particular moments, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie competing against Trump only to turn around and endorse the businessman late last month stood as a peak moment on both Google's Political Index and Twitter's Election Conversation data, as people had plenty of reaction over a story that they had to seemingly see to believe themselves, before going off with their reactions about it. When it came to Search Interest for Issues on Google and the Most Mentioned Issues on Twitter, that's where the tech companies sharply contrast. Google users have seemingly been most interested in searching government budget recently, while Twitter users have been weighing in the most about energy and the environment, followed by national security, foreign affairs and immigration. The best thing about this AP Election Buzz data powered by Google and Twitter is that it's constantly being updated in real-time. That's precisely why it shouldn't come as a surprise that Trump with his knack for saying something controversial on seemingly a daily basis is both amassing more Google searches than any other candidate and being the most tweeted as well. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. More than 11 million HTTPS websites at risk of new DROWN attack After the deadly Heartbleed vulnerability which shook the world last year, another critical vulnerability is looking ominous to create similar fears. A recently discovered OpenSSL security hole enables an ancient, long deprecated security protocol, Secure Sockets Layer (SSLv2), to be used to attack modern web sites. Readers should understand the seriousness of the the vulnerability as almost all of banks, financial institutions and other websites which gather personal identifiable information (PII) use HTTPS for secure communication between the user and the web server. The attack exploiting this, dubbed DROWN(Decrypting RSA with Obsolete and Weakened eNcryption), is estimated to be able to kill off at least one-third of all HTTPS servers. The researchers who discovered the flaw stated that as many as 11.5 million websites who use the HTTPS protocol may be at risk from DROWN attack. DROWN attack was uncovered by academic researchers from Department of Electrical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Munster University of Applied Sciences, Horst Gortz Institute for IT security, Ruhr University Bochum, University of Pennsylvania, Hashcat Project, University of Michigan, Two Sigma/OpenSSL, Google/OpenSSL. The researchers stated that Weve been able to execute the attack against OpenSSL versions that are vulnerable to CVE-2016-0703 in under a minute using a single PC. Even for servers that dont have these particular bugs, the general variant of the attack, which works against any SSLv2 server, can be conducted in under 8 hours at a total cost of $440. As of now, some of the top web sites listed on Alexa are vulnerable to DROWN-based man-in-the-middle attacks, including Yahoo, Sina, and Alibaba. Even Indias premier bank State Bank of India is vulnerable to CVE-2016-0703 (MitM attack) which allows potential hackers to decrypt recorded traffic and steal data. The researchers said that obsolete Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) versions 7 and earlier are vulnerable, and editions of Network Security Services (NSS), a common cryptographic library built into many server products prior to 2012s 3.13 version, are also open to attack. You can find out if your site is vulnerable using the DROWN attack test site. In any case, if you use OpenSSL for security, now is the time to upgrade to 1.0.2g. OpenSSL 1.0.1 users should also upgrade to version 1.0.1s. This is why Apple is getting support from Google, Facebook, and Twitter in its fight against the FBI Even though the legal battle between the FBI and Apple intensifies over access to a San Bernardino terrorists iPhone, Apple is maintaining that it is defending the privacy and safety of all iPhone users by resisting the government. Looks like almost everyone in Silicon Valley such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook are siding with Apple in its fight against the FBI. In support of Apples effort to prevent the U.S. government from compelling it to help unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists, more than 25 major tech firms, media and civil liberties groups are filing briefs this week. According to industry lawyers, Microsoft, Verizon, Facebook, Google, Amazon and Yahoo are among the tech and telecom giants preparing to file or join friend-of-the-court briefs. Twitter will also be seen supporting Apple in motion, though it is not clear if it will join the combined filing. The government can put me in jail, said Larry Downs, a scholar at Georgetown Universitys Center for Business and Public Policy. Google, Facebook and Twitter cannot. That makes the details of the iPhone case especially important. The FBI says its only asking for narrow technical assistance on a phone used by one of the shooters who killed 14 people in San Bernardino by bypassing its security features. We couldnt look the survivors in the eye if we did not follow this lead, FBI Director James Comey said online. However, Apple opposes that a magistrates order would compel it to create software that will make other iPhones susceptible to future hacking by authorities and criminals. Its not just that the U.S. government wants Apple to unlock the iPhone that was once owned by one of the two terrorists that executed the San Bernardino massacre it has unlocked iPhones for the government in the past. The government now wants Apple to build a software backdoor into the iPhone, and thats where Apple draws the line. The implications of the governments demands are chilling, Cook wrote. If the government can use the All Writs Act [of 1789] to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyones device to capture their data. All the companies who are showing support for Apple in the past had protested loudly after former government contractor Edward Snowden exposed the scope of National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs that gathered user information and even tapped their networks without the knowledge of the user. The companies have gone to court and Congress to restrict that kind of government data collection, while also fighting efforts to weaken the encryption codes that protect your messages from snooping eyes. Yet, privacy advocates have long complained that those companies make billions of dollars by gathering all kinds of personal information, including records of customers online behavior, and using it to target them for advertising. Apple CEO Tim Cook took shots at his competitors, by boasting that Apple doesnt depend on ad revenue for most of its services. As hes said more than once: When an online service is free, youre not the customer. Youre the product. But even Apple gathers some customer data, while experts say that it is not very clear if the companys privacy stand is a big selling point for most consumers. Companies like Google and Facebook argue they take efforts to protect the data that they collect. For example, Facebook tracks users likes and actions so the company can show them ads targeted to people with similar characteristics. But Facebook made it clear that it does not provide advertisers access to information linked to any individual by name. Internet companies do function in a very different way from traditional data brokers such as credit bureaus, which make their money by selling all kinds of information on individuals from their income and bill-paying history to where they have lived and worked. Rachel Whetstone, who was then a Senior Vice President for the giant Internet in a company speech last year said, Google does not sell your personal information. Nor do we share it without your permission except in very limited circumstances, such as when faced with a court-issued warrant. Like Facebook, Google says it pushes back against government requests that seem unjustified or over-broad. In contrast to Googles business, Whetstone said, government surveillance often involves data collected for an entirely separate purpose, basically from people who didnt expect it would be seen by authorities. She said Google gives users the ability to restrict the collection of their data. Whetstone was speaking in Europe, where many national governments that limit what businesses can do with individuals data because of its strong privacy laws. The American view is we need protection from the government misusing information, rather than we need the government to protect us from other people misusing our information, said Downs. Still, some privacy advocates say the iPhone clash highlights their worries about data collection. Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said consumers should understand that any information they give to companies could be sought by the government one day. Im glad these companies are coming together to support Apple, she said. It ultimately may raise some hard questions for them about how much information they need to collect, and how they secure it, and how long they keep it. The case between Apple and the FBI has drawn worldwide attention and the result might decide as to how the government could intrude into our privacy and security, forever. Online social networking platforms thrive on user privacy, which is critical for users as well. If a law that enables government access to user information is eventually passed, it could possibly trigger the downfall of massive digital services such as Facebook, Twitter, and several others. ISIS threatened to hack Google but instead targeted a poor namesake website The hacking arm of ISIS, Cyber Caliphate has claimed responsibility for a series of online attacks and falsely boasted that they hacked Google. The hacking group which calls itself the Cyber Caliphate Army, vowed in a post on the messaging app Telegram, which is popular among ISIS supporters, that they would attack Google on Monday. Keep the promise inshallah (God willing), expect us today, they declared, However, within hours their promise fell through as Google remained untouched. They instead defaced the website https://addgoogleonline.com, registered in the name of Gandani K. from India. On Monday morning, the site displayed the logo of the hacking group, and played an Islamic State song in French. Hacked By: CCA, the defaced website said. Cyber Caliphate published a list of the websites it had managed to hack through Monday. While Google stood out prominently in the list, the list also contained 35 British websites that it allegedly targeted. Almost all of the websites listed in the Telegram message belonged to random collection of small businesses websites. Cyber Caliphate said that the sites were hacked to avenge the killing of British jihadist Junaid Hussein, who died in a U.S. airstrike last year. According to Vocativ, the sites targeted by CCA included those of a salon, an instructor who offers Japanese dance classes and businesses selling bedroom furniture and laminate flooring. The attacks followed direct threats by another group of ISIS hackers last week against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. As the Internet of Things (IoT) revolutionizes the way consumers interact with hardware in their daily lives, security has come to the forefrontwith connected cars at the vanguard of the conversation. By 2020, there will be nearly 21 billion devices connected to the Internet, including smart refrigerators, water meters and even binoculars, according to the IDC. But online vehicles might be the first transformative wave that consumers experience. In fact, up to 22 percent of passenger vehicles worldwide are expected to be connected to the Internet by 2020, according to IDC, with that percentage in developed economies like North America ticking much higher. Given the safety concerns associated with hurtling along the interstate at 65 MPH, it is, of course, in everyones best interests that cyber-defenses and best coding practices are part of the vehicles design from inception to assembly line. Manufacturers cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to application and overall system security within vehicles, said Duncan Brown, research director, European Security Practice, IDC. A History of Hacks Unfortunately, so far, the driving record, so to speak, has not been great. Just last month, it was revealed that completely unauthenticated APIs for the mobile app that goes with the Nissan LEAF can open the door for hackers to remotely control the worlds best-selling electric vehicle. In a stunning oversight in connected car security, security researchers Troy Hunt and Scott Helme found that an attacker with access to a vehicles VIN number (something thats visible in the windshield of every Nissan LEAF) can control the climate control and other features of someone elses car, literally from the other end of the earth. They can also check the battery status, and access a persons driving historyincluding locations and times, which is of course a potential privacy nightmare. The ramifications are clear. Fortunately, the Nissan LEAF doesn't have features like remote unlock or remote start, like some vehicles from other manufacturers do, because that would be a disaster with what's been uncovered, said Helme. Still, a malicious actor could cause a great deal of problems for owners of the Nissan LEAF. Worryingly, its been shown that hackers, if theyre enterprising enough, are indeed able to remotely control more dangerous aspects of a connected car. Last fall, U.S. auto giant Chrysler recalled 1.4 million cars (the 2015 model of the Dodge Ram pickup, Dodges Challenger and Viper, and the Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee SUVs) after researchers demonstrated that the connected Jeep Cherokee could be hacked via the cars internal 4G connection. Security researchers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek demonstrated with an unsuspecting journalist driving 70mph on the freeway that they could take over a cars air-conditioning, in-dash system and windshield wipers remotely. Miller and Valasek also said that they could take control of the vehicles brakes and steering, and, yes, remotely lock and unlock the car. Sixteen major automobile manufacturers responded to questions from Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) in 2014 about how vehicles may be vulnerable to hackers, and how driver information is collected and protected. The results were not positive: The lawmakers report shows a vehicle fleet that has fully adopted wireless technologies like Bluetooth and even wireless internet access, without addressing the real possibilities of hacker infiltration into vehicle systems. Also, there is overwhelming potential for the widespread collection of driver and vehicle information, since few automakers have implemented privacy protections for how that information is shared and used. Car companies are unfortunately not cyber-security specialistsand the situation points out the growing pains that are likely to continue as online, virtual dimensions intrude on slow-moving manufacturing and design businesses that have always just been about the hardware. The situation with the Nissan LEAF and the demonstration of how easy it is to decipher the communication between the car and the back-end is yet another demonstration on how security frequently becomes an afterthought for companies not accustomed with the broader issues surrounding the Internet of Things, or IoT, said Reiner Kappenberger, global product manager for HPE Security Data Security, via email. It is not uncommon that companies put their traditional security measures, normally deployed for their normal infrastructure, in place when creating an IoT solution and thus focus on areas like network and event logging and monitoring for their data centers. However with the explosion of new IoT environments, this is just another demonstration that this is not enough. First Gear for Car Security What manufacturers and developers of IoT devices need to consider is that it is not only the protocol they use but also the authentication and authorization to these services. Clearly the Nissan LEAF attack shows that neither of these were present but they could be fixed easily with a software update. It also demonstrates that the communication between the mobile device and the back end was not encrypted. Most people, when using a mobile app to do their finances, would not connect to their bank if they do not see a green bar showing proper SSL protection, yet have no visibility into the fact that the mobile application that they are using does not encrypt their data at all, Kappenberger said. And indeed, research from Veracode has revealed that automotive manufacturers on average have a security lag of up to three years before systems catch up with cyber-threats. It also shows that car-makers do not feel they need to worry about driver data privacy. Howeverand its a big howeverconsumers are waking up to the dangers, which may force manufacturers hands when it comes to correcting that lag. Veracode found for instance that half of British drivers (49 percent) are concerned about the safety of the connected car. Respondents also believe that manufacturers should be liable for the cyber-safety of the connected car: 87 percent of drivers polled believe all aspects of safety including resiliency of applications to cyberattacks rests with manufacturers, regardless of whether an in-car application was developed by a software company or the car manufacturers themselves. Also, 46 percent of drivers are concerned about privacy, particularly as navigation systems evolve to do things like find, reserve and pay for parking automatically. Here, the potential for leaking credit card information and other personal data is clear. What were seeing happen in the auto industry is a microcosm of whats happening in financial services, healthcare and virtually every other sector applications are not created with security in mind, creating a major area of risk, said Chris Wysopal, CTO, Veracode. Exposing a car to the Internet makes it vulnerable to cyberattack due to poorly written software, which could render the car unstable or dangerous. Building a secure application development program is a significant challenge for manufacturers, which is compounded by the need to do so under the microscope of government regulated safety standards and liability concerns. Applications Crash-Test: A Rising Threat Vector Unfortunately, the security implications in the connected car ecosystem dont just impact vehicle and component manufacturers. Eyeing a big applications opportunity, independent software vendors (ISVs), are racing to keep up with driver demand too, opening a new front in the cyber-battleground. Case in point: as the ability for drivers to download applications to navigate, park, communicate, conserve fuel, self-park or do other things gives hackers a way to penetrate the cars network, or, worse, control critical aspects of the user experience that can lead to driver distraction or even loss of control. And as mentioned before, there are escalating privacy and financial data protection concerns too. Also, Veracode respondents from Fiat-Chrysler, Seat, Scania, Delphi and German industry body ADAC all agreed that driver-downloaded applications pose concerns around the security of critical systems being exposed to applications they did not develop. This creates situations where the safety of the vehicle would leave the control of the manufacturer. The developers have the best intentions and do a terrific job creating those applications, Kappenberger said. However they are typically not security experts and, therefore, implement protocols that either have limited or no security elements incorporated. Making sure that security is a first class citizen during the design and development phase of those applications is more critical in the IoT space than ever before. While todays security best practices focus on the security of the data, with IoT we now must consider the implications to physical security of infrastructure and of people, as we see in the connected car. Half of drivers in the Veracode survey are concerned about the security of driver-aid applications, such as adaptive cruise control, self-parking and collision avoidance systems, reflecting an equal level of concern with the safety of the entire vehicle. But this isnt likely to affect the market very much. The positive implication from our research is that the market for downloadable applications is large, spanning the entire market of drivers of all ages and genders, Brown said. Manufacturers should increase their focus on how to secure applications that enhance car functionality, such as the many driving aids currently being developed. Rolling with Solutions The state of connected car security may leave much to be desired today, but there are bright horizons ahead. For instance, trusted platform module (TPM)-based solutions are expected to play a key role in securing vehicle-to-cloud (V2X) applications and systems. TPM is an international standard for secure cryptoprocessors, which are dedicated microprocessors designed to secure hardware by integrating cryptographic keys into devices. Infineon, which is ranked as a world leading supplier of automotive semiconductors, has for instance debuted a solution for embedded security in connected cars based on its OPTIGA TPM. A combination of ease of use in system design and implementation paired with the robust nature of hardware-based security is increasingly recognized as essential to the success of IoT deployments as well. One result of this is that researchers at IHS Technology forecast that the use of embedded secure microcontroller units (MCUs) in all IoT applications will grow at a compound annual rate of 30 percent between 2014 and 2020, reaching shipments of more than 480 million units. MCUs use symmetric cryptography to provide secure communications; offer authentication and anti-cloning to protect manufacturers and consumers from spurious after-market and counterfeit accessories, disposables and replacement parts; offer IP protection that prevents malicious and dangerous code from being inserted into car algorithms and apps; and offer tamper protection help to seal customer applications and protect devices against retrieving and modifying systems and information. As these small steps continue, its important to remember that its not just cars that should be of concern when it comes to the burgeoning IoT ecosystem. The ability of smart cars to put us at risk is just a small part of the larger trend towards everything in our lives becoming computer controlled and networked, Lance Cottrell, chief scientist at Ntrepid, commented via email. Some of these have the ability to violate our privacy, while others have the possibility of harming us physically or damaging critical infrastructure. Automakers, like most other companies involved in the Internet of Things, are primarily focused on cool capabilities with security being an afterthought at best. Edited by Stefania Viscusi We've noticed you're adblocking. We rely on advertising to help fund our award-winning journalism. We urge you to turn off your ad blocker for The Telegraph website so that you can continue to access our quality content in the future. Thank you for your support. Mother's Day, the celebration of mums far and wide, took place on Sunday, March 27, with children presenting flowers, cards and chocolates to their maternal figures as a thank you for all they do. While the occasion has become heavily commercialised in recent years and we now typically associate the day with buying gifts and making breakfast in bed for our mums, it has not always been linked to honouring motherhood. From the history behind the calendar date to the traditions and its Americanisation, here is the story of Mother's Day. Why do we celebrate Mother's Day? Mothering Sunday is a celebration of mothers and the maternal bond, and offers us all a chance to show love, gratitude and appreciation. Children commonly give flowers, presents, cards and acts of kindness to their mothers, as well as their other special maternal figures including grandmothers, stepmothers and mothers-in-law. When is Mother's Day in 2022? This year, Mother's Day, otherwise known as Mothering Sunday in the UK, fell on Sunday, March 27. The date changes every year, but always takes place on the fourth Sunday of Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday and usually in the second half of March or early April. The history of 'Mothering Sunday' Celebrations of motherly figures date back to ancient periods, with the Greeks holding festivals of worship every spring to celebrate Rhea, the Mother of the Gods, and the Romans honouring their mother goddess, Cybele, every March as early as 250BC. Yet, the early Christian date, known as Mothering Sunday, is the first clear recognition of the maternal bond, beginning as a religious occasion in the 16th century to give thanks to the Virgin Mary, or Mother Mary. The development of Christianity across Europe led to Mothering Sunday becoming an official calendar date, falling on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Throughout the years during this period, people in England and Ireland would regularly visit their "daughter" church, but on Mothering Sunday, people would visit their "mother" church instead to bring offerings of thanks. The fourth Sunday of Lent is also the date of another Christian celebration, known as Laetare Sunday, where people would return home to their families and mothers from church. Anyone who did this was said to have gone "a-mothering". Mothering Sunday later became a day when children and young people, working as domestic servants, were granted a day off to visit their mothers and families. Reunions often took place within the "mother" churches. While the religious celebration of Mothering Sunday had a significant following for many centuries, by the early 1900s it began to decline, following the Americanisation of Mother's Day. Anna Jarvis and the impact of the US campaign for "Mother's Day" While "Mothering Sunday" originates from the UK and Ireland, the history behind Mother's Day is slightly different, originating from a US movement. American social activist Anna Jarvis, from Grafton, West Virginia, was behind the creation of Mother's Day, lobbying the Government for an official day. Her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, dedicated her life to motherhood, creating work clubs before the Civil War, which taught women how to care for their children. She also set up the Mother's Friendship Day in 1868, uniting mothers with former Union and Confederate soldiers. Here in Nebraska, our land is our livelihoodsfarms and ranches cover 92 percent of the states total land area. Agricultural production in Nebraska accounts for $22.6 billion of the Gross State Product and supports nearly a quarter of the states workforce, but because our farms and are so expansive, small aircraft help us to get food on the table for our own families and for citizens around us country, and often, the world. As an adjunct faculty member in the University of Nebraska-Lincolns Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, I have seen firsthand the importance of aviation in supporting our nation's food production. There are many unrecognized but important components of our economy and aviation is one of them, particularly when it comes to agriculture. With hundreds of aerial applicator businesses throughout the state, most of them small and family-owned, and 81 airports, aviation helps businesses and farms to keep our economy moving. A turbine ag aircraft is able to service up to 4,000 acres per day, and on average, protects nearly 50,000 acres of cropland and pastureland throughout the year, depending on weather and crop conditions. In total, the states fleet of crop dusters can protect over 6 million acres throughout the year. When crop pests are present, the crop protection provided by ag aircraft will likely result in at least a 10% yield increase over an untreated crop. Without the aerial spraying industry in Nebraska, it would take an additional 600,000 crop acres to maintain Nebraskas current crop production levels. In addition, many other businesses rely on small planes and their community airports. General aviation in Nebraska contributes $1.2 billion to the states total economic output and supports 7,900 jobs in the state. Business owners that need to travel quickly and to destinations not served by commercial airlines use general aviation to meet with customers and suppliers, transport equipment, and reach new markets. General aviation doesnt just benefit businesses. It connects communities in need. Emergency responders, firefighters, and law enforcement use aviation to keep us safe. Medical services depend on general aviation to reach rural communities, deliver blood and platelets, and ensure that every citizen can get the care they need. Yet as much as we understand the importance of small airports and airports, there has been a growing and concerning push underway to privatize our air traffic control system, which would take public control of our airspace from Congress and put it in the hands of an entity controlled by big, commercial interests. This would be a potential death blow for rural America. Congressional oversight is necessary to ensure that Americas air system works for everyone and that rural communities continue to have access to this important public benefit. Nebraskas farms are the heart of our local and national economy. Let's stand up for them by protecting general aviation and access to our air system for rural communities. Alan Corr is an Emeritus Extension Educator for irrigation management at University of Nebraska Lincoln, Education Director and Operation Safe Analyst for the Nebraska Aviation Trades Association, and has worked with the aerial application industry across Nebraska for several years. Fire workshop slated March 22 COLUMBUS -- A National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) arc flash protection workshop will be offered from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. March 22 in the Student Center, Room 176, at Central Community College-Columbus. The workshop is designed for individuals who work on, around, or near any type of electrically energized equipment. It will cover electrical hazards, proper electrical work practices and procedures, and the safe installation of electrical equipment. Participants also will learn how the NFPA 70E requirements work in conjunction with OSHA requirements. Class size is limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The cost is $199. For more information or to reserve a space, contact Sue Baer at 402-562-1425; toll-free at 1-877-222-0780, ext. 1425; or email sbaer@cccneb.edu. Computer classes at CCC COLUMBUS -- Central Community College-Columbus will offer two computer classes in the Student Center in March. The courses are Basic Publisher 2010, offered from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. March 9 in Room 179, and Basic Access 2010, offered from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. March 23 in Room 176. Preregistration is required at least a week in advance. The cost, which includes a book, is $105 per class. For more information or to register, contact Sue Mahlin at 402-562-1409; toll-free at 1-877-222-0780, ext. 1409; or email smahlin@cccneb.edu. Reception for youth artists set COLUMBUS -- Youth Art Month will be held now through April 2 in the Columbus Art Gallery on the lower level of Columbus Public Library. A free public reception will be held from 6-8 p.m. Thursday. This annual exhibit features artwork of area middle and high school art students. For more information, call 402-563-1016, email gallery@megavision.com or visit www.discoverthearts.org. Electrical code seminar at CCC COLUMBUS -- A National Electrical Code (NEC) review seminar will be offered from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m.-noon Saturday in the North Education Center, Room 920, at Central Community College-Columbus. The seminar is designed for electricians, safety and electrical engineers, contractors, journeymen, apprentices and supervisors who want to review the major components of the NEC manual. Class size is limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The cost is $220. The seminar has been approved for 12 continuing education units by the Nebraska State Electrical Board for electrician license renewal. For more information or to reserve a space, contact Sue Baer at 402-562-1425; toll-free at 1-877-222-0780, ext. 1425; or email sbaer@cccneb.edu. Food handler program set DAVID CITY -- The University of Nebraska-Extension will be offering the ServSafe Food Handler Program from 1:30-5:30 p.m. March 9 at the Butler County Health Care Center, 372 South 9th St. Class instructor is Amy Peterson MS, RD from UNL Extension in Polk County. Cost is $20 per participant, which includes the ServSafe Food Handler Course Book and additional classroom materials. Registration is due by Friday. Return registration form and check made out to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Polk County, Box 215, Osceola, NE 68651. For more information, contact Peterson at 402-747-2321 or apeterson3@unl.edu. Democratic caucus at VFW COLUMBUS -- The Platte County Democrats will host the third presidential selection caucus Saturday at the VFW Club. Doors will open at noon, and voting will begin at 2 p.m. Registered democrats may participate in the caucus. For more information, call Tom Havelka at 402-276-6601. Environment presentation set COLUMBUS -- New Century Environmental will give a presentation on crane migration at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Columbus Public Library. This is an opportunity for the public to come and learn more about our native environment and ask questions. The presentation will cover fish, wetlands, birds, climate change, and threatened and endangered species. Refreshments will be provided. COLUMBUS Addressing health concerns in the county has been an ongoing goal since a Community Health Needs Assessment was released last year. A number of people involved in health care, education, law enforcement and other entities have been working out ways to improve the top five health problems, which were identified as substance abuse, access to health care, obesity, family support and mental health. Over the course of the past year, numerous initiatives have been developed to make a positive impact on those health concerns. Alcohol and marijuana use by youth has been an issue in Platte and the three other counties in the East Central District Health Department coverage area. The other counties include Boone, Colfax and Nance. Two areas of concern are binge drinking and driving while impaired among youth. Binge drinking among eighth- and 12th-grade students in the district is slightly higher on average compared to their peers across the state. Binge drinking is defined as having five or more drinks in a row. There was a decline in the number of high school seniors who reported driving while impaired since 2003, but that number went up in 2012. In 2003, about 51 percent of 12th-graders said they had driven while impaired. That went down to 22 percent in 2010. Two years later, the figure jumped to 24 percent. Marijuana use has also been on the rise among youth. The rate of use for eighth-grade students went up from about 1 percent in 2003 to 5 percent in 2012. About 17 percent of seniors in 2012 said they had used the drug, up from 3 percent in 2003. To decrease those numbers, a group of people has been pushing to pass local resolutions and increase educational opportunities. One resolution passed in Columbus is a tobacco-free policy for city parks. There have also been numerous outreach efforts targeting local youth. Through community events, school assemblies and health fairs, more than 3,700 youths were reached. Addressing mental health is an ongoing priority in the district. There have been positive signs, though, among youth. Statistics show there has been a decrease in the number of youths who are depressed and considered or attempted suicide. The percentage of students in high school who seriously thought about attempting suicide in the past 12 months went down from 17 percent in 2001 to 13 percent in 2010. Suicide attempts during that same time period also decreased as reported by the assessment, but remain higher at 11 percent compared to the statewide figure of 9 percent. To address the issue, support has been given to a legislative bill that would establish five crisis centers in the state to provide mental health treatment. The bill would also change where Platte County law enforcement sends people with mental health issues. Instead of placing them with Faith Regional Health Services in Norfolk, people would be sent to Richard Young Behavioral Health Center in Kearney. Efforts are also being made to provide mental health first-aid training to best respond to a person with mental illness or in a crisis. Obesity has remained an issue in the district for a number of years. According to the latest figures in the assessment, about 69 percent of adults are overweight or obese, which is 3 percent higher than the statewide figure. Children have also been putting on extra pounds. About 37 percent of students in kindergarten through sixth grade were overweight or obese at the time of the assessment. There have been efforts to reduce those numbers by encouraging day care providers to make policy changes like offering children water instead of juice to limit calorie intake. There have also been health screenings conducted in 15 schools that reached 2,124 students. A focus has also been put on offering support to families. A demographic for families that has been on the rise is poverty. While the poverty rate in the state has remained stable at around 12 percent since 2009, it has gone up quickly within the district. The area poverty rate rose nearly 4 percent from 2010 to 2012, nearly equaling the statewide average. There have been several programs put in place to help families and caregivers support the development of children. One of those programs is Parents Interacting With Infants. The program teaches parents through a series of sessions where parents learn specific skills for interacting with their child, are taught why that skill is important and learn how to carry it forward into their lives at home. Making health care accessible to people is another concern that is being addressed. One step being taken is helping people through the marketplace to get health insurance. Three of the four counties covered by the health department have a higher population without health insurance than the statewide average. Colfax County is the highest with 20 percent, while Boone is the lowest at 8 percent. The statewide figure is 13 percent. Other efforts include offering free or reduced-price health screenings for mammograms and Pap smears, recruiting physicians to fill needs in the community and providing educational sessions on health issues such as diabetes. Ruth Sherlock reports from Houston: Ruthie Morris is a guitarist in a Houston church and a diehard Christian. Seen through her eyes, the world seems a truly frightening place. She came to support Ted Cruz, she said, speaking from the presidential candidates rally in Texas last night, when she realised that Barack Obama was out to destroy America. I knew it was bad when I found out that he was a Muslim, she said. But, when she learned about Obamacare, his programme for socialised medicine, she said: This guy is a nut. Mr Obama, she said, was part of an evil plot by high level organisations, which she said included the United Nations, to bring down America through a system of forced socialism. If you want to kill a country that is what you do, she said, explaining that small businesses wouldnt be able to survive. Meet RuthieMorris, a religious #Texas supporter of #TedCruz who believes the #UN will soon storm the #US @Telegraph pic.twitter.com/5twZBikR6V Ruth Sherlock (@Rsherlock) March 1, 2016 Ms Morris said she feared an invasion by the United Nations: But UN troops cannot come here, she said. People are moving to Texas in droves to start small business. We are the number one state that Obama hates, and I pray to God to protect us. These may seem the ramblings of a person in a fringe conspiracy movement. But Ms Morris was only espousing if a relatively extreme version of beliefs that are held by many social and religious conservatives in Texas. The fear of the United Nations is so widely held that Mr Cruz deemed it appropriate to include it in his appeal to voters last night America was one Supreme Court justice appointment away from the countrys sovereignty being given up to a United Nations world power, he said. In churches across this state pastors and prophets, as some of the preachers are called, espouse an apocalyptic vision of the future that has many Americans fearing that this election is a turning point for the very survival of the world. Haiti's diplomat Rodrigue welcomed the imposition of sanctions, although he stressed that more measures are needed to restore security in his country. | Read More Kyle Asche had a choice, either piano or guitar. His parents wanted his sisters and him to be well-rounded so he had to play an instrument. His sisters chose piano, and Asche, at the age of 8, went with the guitar. I was into listening to music at even a young age, so the guitar sounded a lot cooler to me than plunking away at the piano, he explained. It was a wise choice as the Columbus High School graduate has gone on to make a name for himself in the jazz world. Hes released three albums. Some of his songs have even earned radio play and been reviewed by international publications. In 2005, Asche was a semifinalist in a jazz guitar competition held at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., through the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. With more than 100 applicants from across the world and the judges being some of his biggest idols, he couldnt believe he made the final 10 while still under the age of 30. I didnt win, but just to be in that last group was definitely a life-affirming thing for me, Asche said. I was on the right track and exceeding even my own expectations. Hes also performed alongside and recorded an album with the late esteemed jazz organ player Melvin Rhyne, who played with the well-known Wes Montgomery. But the road to fame took some twists and turns. In the beginning, Asche learned mostly folk music from his teacher, but things changed at the age of 11 when he received an electric guitar for Christmas. From there, the focus was on rock. He started taking lessons at Columbus Music from Scott Murphy, a guitarist for a classic rock cover band called Black Pearl. I was hooked, Asche said. He joined up with a few friends from Scotus Central Catholic and Lakeview to form a cover band called Afterthought, and later an original band called The Nesbitts, named after the classic orange soda brand. As time passed, the band began to slowly dissolve. One by one, the members left until Asche was all that remained. Asche realized he wanted music to be his future. I thought I wanted to be in a rock band, but then I got bit really, really hard by the jazz bug around freshman year of high school, he said. That happened when Fred Ritter, the now-retired longtime CHS vocal music director, was Asche's teacher. Asche recalls Ritter inviting a jazz group touring for Columbia Records to make a stop at CHS on their way to perform at the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln. Even now, at age 36, Asche remembers the performance like it was yesterday. It was the last period of school, he said. There were two professional jazz guitarists sitting in that room and they did some pretty amazing stuff that blew my mind. He left school that day with music on his mind, just a different kind than rock. It was all about jazz there. That was most definitely a life-changing day for me, Asche said. Asche still attributes his love for jazz to the music department at CHS. They went out of their way to expose their students to the arts, he said. After graduating from CHS in 1997, he enrolled at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, about 60 miles west of Chicago. It was the perfect fit because of the music scene. I wanted to go to a school with a really good jazz program, he said. It wasnt so big of program that Id feel lost and it was also not exactly in Chicago, so it still had that small-town feel to it and it was much more affordable being a state school (rather than private). Through his years at NIU, Asche was able to study under Fareed Haque, a well-known and respected guitarist within the jazz scene. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in music with an emphasis in jazz performance. His career didn't take off right away, though. You dont walk out of music school with a performance degree and then walk into a nice $45,000-a-year job. So it really didnt do anything for me as far as job placement, he explained. I think thats true of any of the visual and performing arts, you get the degree but its not going to guarantee you any sort of job security or even guarantee you a job at all in that field. But his networking skills paid off. Many of the performers he befriended during college through his performances at jazz clubs helped lay the groundwork for the career he was working toward. While the education was great, Asche said it was the networking that paved the way for where he is today. He also credits his parents for not coddling him and paying his way through life, instead letting him sink or swim after college. Thats what kept me motivated, he said. It made me hungry to get out there and try. Asche said he knew he finally made it when big-name performers around Chicago began requesting him by name. That was a big turning point, I was finally going to have a career, he said. I was driving into the city every Friday and Saturday night to perform. Though hes not as involved in the music scene since marriage and the birth of his two children, he said hes still pretty active. He teaches music at three different colleges around the Chicago area while finding time to perform weekly in the city during the summer and fall when the scene is more active. At this point Im trying to focus a little more on the family aspect of things and Im pretty busy with teaching, so I try not to overload my schedule, Asche said. Hes glad hes been able to have a career in music. There is nothing Im happier doing in my professional life than when Im playing music with a good band, he said. Its a very therapeutic experience for me. Its something I need to be doing on a regular basis to feel like Im a whole person. It keeps me going. This summer Asche will be back in his hometown to take part in a reunion show with members from his old junior high bands including Matt Moseman, Nate Marik, Jen (Arp) Karolski, Chris Wemhoff and guest Derek Klosner. LINCOLN The director of a commission organizing celebrations for Nebraska's 150th birthday next year joined with the governor and first lady Monday to announce that events will be held within driving distance of every citizen. Sesquicentennial commission director Regan Anson said the group is promoting 12 programs so far to mark the March 1, 1867, granting of statehood for Nebraska. They include a traveling children's museum exhibit; a three-day whistle stop train tour sponsored by Union Pacific Railroad; initiatives to hold on to state history by giving free books about Willa Cather and Chief Standing Bear to elementary and high school students; and a parade with a light show, fireworks, music and art on Centennial Mall in Lincoln. "For a birthday normally we'd get a cake, we'd invite some friends over, we'd sing happy birthday and that would be it. That's a very Nebraska thing to do," said Shore, who was joined by Gov. Pete Ricketts and first lady Susanne Shore. "It's humble, it's understated, it's traditional. But we think that'd be a waste of great opportunity." The commission will also play off the birthday number with web-based challenges like eNErgize Nebraska, a fitness program encouraging Nebraskans to walk, run, bike, or swim at least 150 miles in 2017, and Impact Nebraska, a program to track 150 hours of team volunteering service. "Each and every community across the state has an opportunity to find their own unique way to participate in or benefit from the celebration," Anson said. "We are here to help inspire, energize, and support those endeavors." Groups that have on-going events in 2017 can apply to be recognized as official projects of the Nebraska 150 Celebration. Among the dozen events already getting the designation is a birthday party thrown by a fourth-grade class in Bayard and co-taught by Trevor Teichroeb. Teichroeb said he saw the opportunity to join the Nebraska 150 celebration online and thought it'd be a way to take his students' annual celebration to the next level. The school had its first Nebraska birthday party last year, Teichroeb said. Fourth-graders gave presentations about notable Nebraskans to the mayor and Bayard community members, a representative from the governor's office spoke, and the school served a Nebraska lunch: roast beef, corn on the cob, Kool-Aid and salad with Dorothy Lynch dressing. Teichroeb has not set the agenda for the 150th birthday party, but said with the school's location only a few miles north of state landmark Chimney Rock, he would like to invite surrounding schools to celebrate in Bayard. In 2014, the Legislature established the 17-member Nebraska Sesquicentennial Commission, which receives funding from the Legislature and a portion of proceeds from Nebraska's Sesquicentennial license plate sales. Recruitment of part-time soldiers in Territorial Army Hyderabad , March 1 (INN): Recruitment for part time soldiers in the Territorial Army (Infantry Soldiers) will be carried out from 18th to 22nd March at the 125 Infantry Battalion (TA), 'The Guards', Tirumalagiri, Secunderabad. Educational qualification for General duty candidates is matriculation/SSC with 45% minimum pass marks and 33% in each subject or pass/qualified in higher class (i.e 12th or above). For Soldier Tradesmen candidates should pass 10th (excluding Safaiwala and Masalchi is 8th pass) while for Soldier Clerk 10+2 pass from any stream with minimum 50% marks in aggregate and 40% marks in each subject individual with proficiency in computer and typing will be given additional weightage. Age should be between 18 to 42 years, height 160 cms, chest 77-82 cms and minimum weight should be 50 kgs. Interested candidates from all districts of Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharastra States apart from Union Territories of Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Daman & Diu, Lakshwadeep and Pondicherry should report for recruitment proceedings at 5 AM on 18th and 19th March at the 125 Infantry Battalion (TA), 'The Guards', Post Tirumalagiri, Secunderabad - 500015, along with the original certificates and passport size photographs. Candidates my contact on telephone number 040-27791785 for further details. News Posted: 1 March, 2016 ABVP holds protest against TET postponement Hyderabad, March 1 (INN): The activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad on Tuesday held dharna in protest against the Telangana Government's decision to postpone the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET). Nearly 100 ABVP activists held the protest at Rajiv Crossroads in Dilsukhnagar. Raising slogans against the State Government, they demanded that the TET be conducted as per schedule on April 9. They said postponement of TET would cause more injustice with the unemployed youth. News Posted: 1 March, 2016 LINCOLN Nebraska's prison system is facing a staffing crisis that it may not be able to overcome amid a statewide nursing shortage and the state's relatively low wages. The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services is struggling to fill 14 of about 65 nursing positions, including seven registered nurses, two nurse practitioners, two nurse supervisors and three licensed practical nurses. State nursing leaders said filling those positions will be difficult thanks to high demand for nurses throughout the state and the fact that many nurses would rather work in a hospital or clinic rather than a prison. In 2011, the Nebraska Center for Nursing, a group created by the Legislature to seek ways to reduce the nursing shortage, predicted there would be 3,838 vacant registered nursing positions by 2020. Since then the center has taken steps to recruit younger nurses and track current and future demand. Though federal data suggests the national trend is shifting toward a surplus, Dr. Liane Connelly, associate professor of nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and chair of the Nebraska Center for Nursing, said the state shortage persists. Factors for the shortage include a lack of faculty at Nebraska nursing schools, increased demand for nurses under the Affordable Care Act and an aging nurse population, which now averages 43.6 years old. As the pool dwindles, nurses gravitate toward the most lucrative jobs and salaries, Connelly said. Besides pay, those who choose to work in prisons also must realize some of their patients will have issues with trust and following rules, making the already stressful job of nursing more difficult, said Mary Andersen, a nursing instructor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Norfolk. "You have to have a really strong mental stamina to be in there," she said. "It isn't that you should just be scared and clinging to the wall and not able to move. You shouldn't be paralyzed with fear, but you need your eyes open and a healthy awareness of what's going on around you." Andersen said some nurses are cut out for a corrections setting, but as a general rule she would caution a just-graduated 21- or 22-year-old nurse with little life experience to think carefully before taking a prison job. "They would not have the nursing experiences. They would not have the experience dealing with the population," she said. "Maybe they would have a bad experience or are taken advantage of, and then it could ruin them for all nursing, and they'd say 'that's it, I'm out of it completely.'" It's difficult to draw medical providers to the department at all, said Dr. Mark Lukin, a corrections department psychologist, because the state must compete with higher wages offered by hospitals or private practice. In 2014, the average pay for a registered nurse was $28.59 per hour in metro regions and $26.58 in non-metro regions. The advertised pay for a registered nurse in the corrections department is $20.71 an hour, which is subject to experience. Andersen said state benefits can offset some, but not all, of the pay differences. Andersen suggested a bonus after working in the department for three or more years. The Legislature is considering a proposal by Syracuse Sen. Dan Watermeier to give the department an extra $2.5 million to provide incentives for veteran workers. "What you're doing now, you're not getting them in and they're not staying anyway," Andersen said. "So if you could get somebody to stay for two or three years, that could at least help you for that time. And if you can get somebody who would want to stay, out of 10 people, that would at least be a positive." Dr. Randy Kohl, the corrections department's director of medical services, says the agency currently relies on overtime and nurses from private sector agencies to maintain around-the-clock care. Amy Miller, legal director for ACLU Nebraska, told state senators at a hearing Thursday that unless the department takes action to address medical and mental health staffing issues, it could face a federal lawsuit. Miller said the ACLU has found responses to inmate requests for prescriptions and medical consultations have lagged up to 45 days, which she assumes is due to limited medical staffing. Courts have ruled that three weeks delay is enough to qualify as a constitutional violation, she said. "We've reached our crisis point to this problem," Miller said. The department changed its recruitment efforts last year, said spokesman Andrew Nystrom, adding advertising on digital billboards, radio and TV ads, and social media campaigns. Last summer, the state also began attending more job fairs and adding automatic postings to colleges' job boards. Both Lukin and Kohl said pay incentives would help, but they added that providers who continue to work in corrections usually share a desire for public service. "The trade off to me is, the reason I'm still here, is I get the thrill of public service," Lukin said. "That sense of commitment and duty is a big driver for people who work here and stay here and help make this place run." Online fashion retailer The Iconic expects to make a maiden profit in the next 12 months after racking up losses of $109 million in its first three years. According to accounts lodged with the corporate regulator last week, The Iconic lost $27.2 million in calendar 2014 as sales rose 54 per cent to $77.6 million. Gross margins slipped from 41 per cent to 38 per cent, but costs fell 17 per cent, trimming losses. The Iconic's chief executive Patrick Schmidt confirms the company is on track to make a maiden profit in the next year. Credit:Ben Rushton The 2014 result compares with losses of $32.5 million in 2013 on sales of $50.4 million and $49.2 million in 2012, its first full year, when sales reached $31 million. The Iconic has not yet lodged accounts for 2015, but chief executive Patrick Schmidt confirmed that if the current rate of growth continued the company was on track to make a maiden profit in the next year. A Stuart Flats resident allegedly stabbed a neighbour to death during a dispute at the public housing complex on Monday afternoon. Police were called to scene in Griffith about 4.30pm on Monday, finding the body of a 46-year-old man, and later charged Scott Jamie Cole, 40, with what is the ACT's second alleged murder so far this year. Police investigate the suspicious death at the Stuart Flats in Griffith on Monday. Credit:Melissa Adams Mr Cole appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court for the first time on Tuesday, but entered no plea and made no application for bail. Prosecutors described him as "extremely violent and dangerous", and opposed a move by Mr Cole's defence to have him placed in the Canberra Hospital's mental health unit, saying there was a risk he may escape. Parents of students at the Islamic School of Canberra feel their children are being punished unfairly after it was revealed the withdrawal of federal funding could force the closure of the school. The school will appeal the loss of $1 million in annual Commonwealth funding, and its provisional ACT registration as a result, after Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham announced his decision to revoke the funding on Monday. Parent and teacher Imad Alsmadi said their school has been forced to pay the price for mismanagement in other schools. Credit:Jay Cronan Senator Birmingham said the school's management was not able to demonstrate they had addressed concerns about their "independence, financial management and governance arrangements", following a long-running investigation into the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC), which operates the school. Parents, teachers and students were said to be distressed by the imminent closure of the school on Tuesday, although Islamic Council of Canberra chairman Mohammed Berjaoui still held out hope their appeal would be upheld. The boundary changes might have made it still more difficult for independents and minor parties to get elected in Canberra, but that hasn't deterred Tuggeranong newcomer Joel McKay. Mr McKay, 29, has announced his candidacy as an independent, standing on a platform of getting more attention for Tuggeranong. He has lived in the valley since age 13 and now with wife photographer Trudie Hargrave, and children aged four and two. Independent candidate for Tuggeranong Joel McKay at home with his family, Trudie Hargrave, Logan, 4, and Shara, 2. Credit:Rohan Thomson "I can no longer stand idly by while my local area is neglected," he said. "Tuggeranong needs someone who will stand up and fight, to ensure the necessary infrastructure and resources are brought to our region." Mr McKay is one of three independents to so far announce plans to stand the others are Andrew Dewson, 30, also a Commonwealth public servant, standing in Gungahlin; and Marcus Fillinger, a wildlife campaigner with a focus on the government's handling of the kangaroo cull. One of the country's most powerful business leaders, Catherine Livingstone, has joined the Commonwealth Bank board of directors after last week quitting as chairman of Telstra. CBA chairman David Turner said on Wednesday Ms Livingstone would join the board as an independent non-executive director, to replace retiring director Jane Hemstritch. As well as chairing Telstra for almost seven years, Ms Livingstone is also the president of the Business Council of Australia, and has served on the boards of Macquarie Group, Goodman Fielder and Rural Press. Mr Turner, 70, has been chairman of CBA since 2010 and the appointment of Ms Livingstone, aged 60, is likely to spark speculation she could be the next chairman of the country's largest bank. Investec Australia has taken a stake in the fintech accelerator H2 Ventures, a move the specialist lender believes will put it in the box seat to win work from entrepreneurs as they scale their businesses. The amount of Investec's investment in H2 has not been disclosed but is understood to be several million dollars. David Phillips, the head of principal investing at Investec Australia, will join the board of H2, whose only other two shareholders are the founders, brothers Ben and Toby Heap. Credit Suisse's Anthony Lazzoppina has been appointed as a managing director for Investec's corporate advisory team. Credit:Quentin Jones QCJ H2 plans to invest in 100 early-stage fintech companies over the next four years. Its model is to put $100,000 into each start-up in return for 10 per cent of the equity while bringing them into the accelerator for six months. It hopes about 80 per cent of the start-ups it supports will progress to a seed funding round. While its investment in H2 will make Investec a shareholder in the start-ups, Mr Phillips said Investec was not seeking to import particular fintech models into its Australian operations. Rather, H2 would create a pool of new entrepreneurs that might turn to Investec for capital markets products and advice as the companies expanded. "We don't have a fintech strategy. We are backing Ben and Toby as entrepreneurs and we will benefit from the multiplier effect of them investing in other entrepreneurs," Mr Phillips, who also heads Investec's aviation financing division in Asia, said. "Becoming a shareholder in their business gives us access to them, and the chance to participate in the ecosystem. It has always been in our DNA to back entrepreneurs." Slimmed down Investec's operations in Australia changed markedly after the sale of its professional loan book to Bank of Queensland in 2014. It has slimmed down to focus on corporate advisory, aviation finance, property, resource and infrastructure finance, and acquisition financing. Mr Phillips said it was also focused on providing capital and hedging products and advice to entrepreneurs. Investec Australia has put equity into other emerging growth businesses, including a multimillion-dollar investment in ICM Airport Technics, the Sydney-based company that has worked with Qantas and is looking to expand globally. It also invested more than $1 million in the New Zealand-based crowdfunding platform Equitise, which is also backed by H2 Ventures, to assist its expansion into Singapore. BHP Billiton will clear a crucial hurdle if it secures an agreement with the Brazilian government covering last November's tragic tailings dam collapse at its half-owned Samarco iron ore joint venture in Brazil. A Brazilian state police report recommending "qualified homicide" charges be laid against six senior Samarco employees and a consultant to the company concluded last week that the dam wall liquefied and collapsed after becoming saturated, and that monitoring of the dam by Samarco was inadequate. BHP's position is that an independent inquiry ordered up by it and its Samarco joint venture partner at Samarco, Vale of Brazil must be completed before a verdict is delivered. That put BHP's chief executive in a corner when he was interviewed on ABC's Four Corners television programme on Monday night. He struggled to answer questions about the dam wall collapse, the deaths and destruction it caused, and Samarco's response. Glencore believes thermal coal markets will improve in 2016 and the Swiss miner wants to work with BHP Billiton to jointly buy a stake in a Colombian coal mine. BHP and Glencore both own 33 per cent of the Cerrejon coal mine in Colombia, and have been approached by the owner of the remaining 33 per cent, Anglo American, about its desire to sell its stake. Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg has made a big bet on Russia. Credit:Bloomberg Like most mines, the existing partners in Cerrejon have first opportunity to bid for stakes that come onto the market, and Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg said he would be willing to grow his stake if an appropriate price could be agreed. Mr Glasenberg said his preferred model would be for BHP and Glencore to both increase their stakes to 50 per cent. 1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war. 2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war. 3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength. 4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war. 5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites. 6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination. 7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N. 8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N. 9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress. 10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N. 11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.) 12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party. 13. Do away with all loyalty oaths. 14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office. 15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States. 16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights. 17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks. 18. Gain control of all student newspapers. 19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack. 20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions. 21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures. 22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms." 23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art." 24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press. 25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV. 26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy." 27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch." 28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state." 29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis. 30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man." 31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over. 32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc. 33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus. 34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities. 35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI. 36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions. 37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business. 38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand. 39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals. 40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce. 41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents. 42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems. 43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government. 44. Internationalize the Panama Canal. 45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike. Malaysian investor Creative Wealth (Aust) has flipped the Fletcher Jones corner development site in Queen Street to a syndicate associated with a well-known Melbourne developer for an estimated $18 million. Funds associated with Caydon Property Group are believed to be behind the unconditional transaction which has turned a tidy $7 million capital gain for Creative Wealth. The Fletcher Jones site in Queen Street has been sold. Credit:AFR It was the site of clothing manufacturer Fletcher Jones' large city store from the mid-1950s until recently. Creative Wealth is controlled by Malaysian interests associated with Queensland investor Peter Griffiths. For the first time in nearly three decades the voters of Australia may be going to the polls in a double dissolution election, an election at which the entire memberships of both the Senate and the House of Representatives are contested. The last, and only the sixth, occasion when voters were so drawn to the polls was on July 11, 1987. The Australia Card legislation was the sole bill relied upon by the Hawke government to call that election. A double dissolution is a calculated risk for the government which calls it. Credit:Tanya Lake It gave it an opportunity to have a slightly early election for the House without its being particularly apparent, after a May economic statement, and also seek what had become, for both sides of politics, an elusive majority in the Senate. The Labor government improved its position in the House but still lacked a majority in the Senate. It had sufficient numbers to secure passage of the Australia Card legislation at a joint sitting. Scientists by and large aren't very political beasts. They mostly like stuff they can measure, observe, test and retest, and predict with some level of certainty. None of that is a very good description of politics. Even so, this week 200 scientists of every kind from all over Australia will flood the corridors of the Federal Parliament at the Science meets Parliament (SmP2016). They are not coming with placards or with their hands out, they come to remind parliamentary leaders about what they do and why it matters. They also come to learn more about politics and the policy-making sausage factory, and ways to inject more science into the mix. Over 100 federal parliamentarians will take part in the event, taking one-to-one meetings, attending debates and dinners and informal chats. It's a bit like mass speed dating except with better results. The statement "I do not remember (or recall) such an event" also means "It did not happen" (Letters, 1/3). Pell made this clear to the counsel assisting the royal commission when she attempted to interpret such an answer as: "Could that mean it did happen but you do not remember?". Furthermore, when Pell did answer "No", the "hmmm" by counsel assisting implied prevarication. Besides, you don't need to remember what someone did or said to you 40 years ago to be able to control current finances. Paul Borg, Burwood 'Nobodies' are easy to forget I believe Pell is telling the truth when he says he has no recollection of the events in Ballarat. Most of us would only recall and remember significant events and people in our lives after many years. In Pell's eyes, the altar boys were "nobodies" and what happened to them was easily forgettable in his world of self-importance and power. Shwu Fun Lam, Wheelers Hill Anguish never ends The massive attention given to Pell's testimony and Dianne Lee's experience (Letters, 29/2) bring to mind the most harrowing story that I took on a crisis call number many years ago. The caller was very distressed and was planning to kill himself to end the pain resulting from sexual abuse he received as a student at St Joseph's College, Geelong. His anguish was heartbreaking. During the overnight shift, he phoned four times after midnight, which meant there was a chance to keep him alive. I hope I did. As a former lay teacher in schools run by the Christian Brothers, I now realise that many of the brothers whom I respected were aware of the abuses and overnight school transfers of abusers such as Ted Dowlan. Pell and his colleagues have no idea of the pain and anguish they have complied with in the name of Christ. Shame on them all. Laurie Miller, Yeppoon, Queensland Erasing a good start Watching Malcolm Turnbull as PM is a little like watching a Geoff Boycott Test innings, but in reverse. Boycott would ever so conservatively prod his way to a reasonable score, his prime objective being to occupy the crease. Turnbull is emulating Boycott in his determination to occupy high office, but with an ever more conservative approach to policy, he is steadily erasing his promising start. Occupancy may be his only achievement. Tim Mulligan, Warragul Distorting economy It is disturbing that real estate has become the country's principal earner, though this is hardly surprising as land is one of the triumvirate of primary products, along with agriculture and mining, that has defined our economy. Unfortunately most of the profits involved in real estate are based on speculation, the increase in land prices over a generation, and the rakings of middlemen. And given the artificially inflated prices, and the locking out of many people from ever owning a home, it is clear that ownership of real estate has become another marker of class division, with the wealthy simply increasing their wealth through speculative gain. While the sector sustains a small construction industry and some involved in producing house fittings, it is nowhere near large enough to make up for the jobs lost in manufacturing, retail and to a lesser extent mining. And since capital is always scarce, it would be far better to put money into start-up industries that actually add value. Our economy is already very narrowly based. We cannot allow it to become still more distorted. Greg Bailey, St Andrews Fairness or greed? The Gonski review remains unfunded for the critical final two years. Society faces a choice: create an opportunity for all children to fulfil their potential through funding education adequately or persist with tax avoidance schemes, headed by negative gearing and superannuation. Do we citizens seek a country where fairness rules or greed rules? All of society benefits, culturally and economically, from an educated population. Robert Pettit, Glen Iris Magical powers Former Howard government parliamentary secretary Chris Miles has funded and authorised a pamphlet that claims gay marriage will lead to sexual diseases, drug use, unemployment, sexual victimisation, suicidal thoughts and depression ("Anti gay-marriage campaign leak", 1/3). The same pamphlet also claims that same-sex couples have all the rights and responsibilities they need via the 85 changes to federal legislation, which included de facto recognition, that the Rudd government made in 2008. So how will issuing a marriage licence to same-sex couples already in de facto relationships unleash his list of horrors, and how will withholding this legal document from gay and lesbian couples prevent this deluge of nastiness? It must be a remarkable piece of paper to have such magical power. Brian Greig, Bayswater, WA Howard speaks for us John Howard is right. Who has the guts to fight back against those who would call us racist, homophobes or Islamophobes? I do, but I risk having my letter to the editor censored, heavily edited or ignored because it may offend. Thankfully, Mr Howard can state his case, uncensored. He speaks for the majority of Australians, regardless of what the noisy mini-minority may think. Peter Wynd, Bamawm Answers, not questions Hugh White (Comment, 1/3) explains why the Defence white paper is "a dud": no coherent response to shifting circumstances; no credible proposals to respond to the rise of China and the Asian century; no major new capabilities or effective military strategy; no clarity about potential enemies; nothing substantive about defending ourselves against major attack; and all of it based on "wishful thinking" and "incurable optimism". White ends with: "So we face hard questions, and the new Defence white paper offers no answers." Only trouble was, in relation to all the above matters, neither directly nor specifically did White. Rowan Forster, Surrey Hills Nothing left in till Obviously there is little money left for useful projects like the Melbourne Metro when Admiral Blimps need $150 billion worth of useless submarines, and Air Marshall Biggles needs dozens and dozens of you-beaut jets that still can't fly properly, but their price keeps going up to support the economy of our "great ally". Terry Beath, Melbourne Are we really in 2016? Leonardo DiCaprio is shown clutching an Oscar for best actor. Then there's Chris Rock, lauded for his political statements. And where are the women? Six are pictured, divided into "worst dressed" and "best dressed", and others are listed as wearing such fashion items as "thigh splits" ("Key trends on the red carpet"). Is it really 2016? I can't believe that on pages 2 and 3 of The Age women are being judged on their looks while men are shown clutching awards and praised for their acting ability and political nous. Pauline Hopkins, Beaconsfield Protect bay swimmers Only when a jet-ski kills a swimmer does it become news, but how many "near misses" go unreported? How many deaths does it take to change rules? On Sunday, I was one of many swimmers in the bay, returning to shore with four friends from the Cerberus at Half Moon Bay. Six jet-skis came from nowhere, travelling at incredible speeds (personal water craft are restricted to 9km/h within 200metres of shore and 50metres of a swimmer). I didn't hear them, but felt the rush over my legs. My friends saw the jet-ski swerving on top of me, then saw me disappear under the ski and thought the worst. Miraculously I was unhurt. The driver did stop, and was visibly shaken, but he blamed me for not being bright enough (I was wearing a fluoro cap and bathers). Further restrictions are needed, and they must be policed. Swimmers deserve more safe space. Sally Catt, Parkdale Fatality around corner Incompetent design, planning and approval processes have left inner Melbourne with a legacy of hazardous low bridges. The trucks that continue to smash into these bridges are all of legal height so the blame game needs to shift to the structures, which defy common sense. As there is a high probability a fatal catastrophe will occur, VicRoads needs to shut the offending underpasses. The ensuing chaos should prompt VicRoads into immediate remedial construction work and not just another Band-Aid solution involving signage that is bound to fail. Ian Sandford, Dromana Where car is king Dennis Whelan claims that in his part of the world miles of bike lanes rarely see a cyclist (Letters, 29/2). In Balwyn and nearby suburbs, car is king; and the area's residents don't want it to change. A noisy minority is fighting proposals to build paths in recreation areas and parks that would facilitate people riding to school, shops and sport. It is also true that cyclists in his area are middle-aged men; potential riders are deterred by the horrendous safety record of main road riding (the only option in much of the area). Recent Bicycle Network counts show that only 13 per cent of riders in the City of Boroondara are female the lowest of any Melbourne municipality. The city-wide average is 23 per cent, and 33 per cent in the adjacent City of Yarra, which provides friendlier conditions. David Farrow, Kew Good reason for boycott Reports from the US that Apple Corporation is refusing to cooperate with the FBI to decode a terrorist's phone data are consistent with Apple's activities in profit shifting and tax avoidance. Apple is reportedly developing products that will be even harder for law enforcement agencies to penetrate. Apple is essentially a stateless rogue corporation living as a parasite on the world's economy owing allegiance to nothing other than its own corporate success. Furthermore, encrypted information on phones that is inaccessible to law enforcement provides Apple with a great marketing opportunity for terrorists, drug smugglers and other criminals wishing to hide their tracks. This is consistent with its behaviour in the tax sphere and is an excellent reason to boycott Apple products. Greg Angelo, Balwyn North Locals not 'authentic'? Why are our cafes importing staff on 457 visas? Aren't locals "authentic" enough? Skilled enough? Or is it because visa holders are easier to exploit? Italy and France would never allow such imports when their own people are seeking employment. Sue Bertucci, Richmond AND ANOTHER THING... Cardinal Pell The handling of Gerard Risdale was "a catastrophe for the victims and a catastrophe for the church". Even if you thought that second part you'd never say it. Neale Meagher, Canterbury "Fleeting references" to "eccentricities" in real terms were increasing reports of sexual abuse. Say it like it was, George. Glenda Johnston, Queenscliff Alan Bond seemed to recover from Alzheimer's after inquires into his business affairs ended. Let's hope Pell achieves the same miracle recovery. John Groom, Bentleigh Politics Double disillusion: first a crude PM with no idea how to stop being leader of the opposition; now, a sophisticated PM with no courage to stop pandering to the loony right. Brian Nelson, Fitzroy Ironically, the far right Christian lobby has a better chance of spreading its divisiveness under Turnbull, the man who really did "sell his a---" to become PM. Chris Pettifer, Hughesdale No wonder men are afraid to show their feelings when a few shed tears makes front page news. Roger Farrer, Hampton Great to see that under Turnbull, the economy has transitioned to one propped up by piles of money for real estate flooding in from China. Dean Wotherspoon, Northcote Real estate is now the most profitable sector an industry well known for its integrity. Marie Nash, Balwyn Amanda Vanstone (29/2) should read Ross Gittins (29/2) to see who's really guilty of self interest over Senate reform. Joe Wilder, Caulfield North Christopher Pyne's new centre for "innovation" in gas, coal and oil? What an oxymoron. Kristen Yong, Eaglemont Google's car was attempting to make a right-hand turn on red, and moved to the right side of a wide lane to pass traffic stopped at the light. But as Google's car neared the intersection, its path was blocked by sandbags around a storm drain, according to a report Google filed with the California DMV. Google's 53 vehicles have driven more than 2.25 million kilometres autonomously and been in 17 crashes, but never been at fault before. The crash took place on February 14, about five kilometres from Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. A Google self-driving car sideswiped a bus last month, the first blemish on the otherwise spotless driving record of the company's vehicles. Google's car tried to go around the sandbags by cutting into the line of vehicles on the left side of the lane. Instead, it struck a metal piece connecting the two halves of an accordion-style bus, according to a Valley Transportation Authority spokeswoman. According to Google, its car Google was going less than two miles (3.2 kilometres) per hour and the bus was moving at fifteen miles (24.1 kilometres) per hour. Both parties said there were no injuries and described the crash as minor. The 15 passengers on the bus were transferred to another bus following the accident. Google characterised the crash as a misunderstanding and a learning experience, saying its cars will learn that large vehicles are less likely to yield than other types of vehicles. "We hope to handle situations like this more gracefully in the future," Google said in a monthly report. "We clearly bear some responsibility, because if our car hadn't moved there wouldn't have been a collision." The accident highlights the imperfections of the current self-driving technology, which is widely seen as a promising solution to the thousands of lives lost each year on roadways. While many in the tech and auto industry have circled 2020 as a roll-out date for self-driving vehicles, others have warned that it will likely take longer. This banner, from a real comment Jenkins recorded reads: "Brainless ho. I bet she gets grant money from Obama for her 'art'." Credit:Justin McManus And on it went. At first, Jenkins didn't realise she'd become a global phenomenon. The video came out the week the show ended and the follow-up stories were all done after it was over. When the website Gawker covered her, she says she didn't know what it was or its reach. People recognised her at the shops, teenage girls asked for selfies with her at the pool. The original SBS video has now been viewed six million times. Jenkins says it was easy at first to dismiss the hate. The comments were clearly from people who hadn't even watched the video or were never likely to engage in her work. Besides, in the world of radical politics that the Melbourne-born artist moved in (Jenkins has for years been a "craftivist", running the Craft Cartel group, a "femme fight club" and even once staged an anti-gentrification festival) her work didn't seem so strange. But then things got personal and some family members were upset. She also angered some in the queer community, accused of being anti-trans because her work focused so much on female genitalia and the body. Meanwhile, there were those familiar with the history of feminist performance art who considered it derivative. As an artist and activist, she had often sought attention for her work but this was different and certainly out of her control. The initial video, a thoughtful profile of what she described as a peaceful almost meditative performance, was suddenly in the same mix as cat memes. The stream of invective seemed almost a robotic response from a public she'd mostly never know. Does she regret it? "No. But I'm looking forward to putting a full stop to the end of this," she says. Jenkins went quiet, artistically, after the initial reaction, but she started to log comments about her work as they came through. Mostly the responses involved "ick" or "ewwww" or "wtf", and usually involved lots of exclamation points. The negative response file was quickly bigger than the positive. Her work in the two years since has hardly touched on the issues raised in the aftermath of Casting Off My Womb. Her new show, Programmed to Reproduce, for the Festival of Live Art is the first comprehensive airing of all that has happened. For FOLA, Jenkins is using industrial knitting machines to create finely wrought banners of the abusive comments as clips from people's response videos to her work play in a soundscape above. In another part of the room, she will be reading from her files of comments. And in a corner, bathed in warm light, Jenkins will crouch on a cushion and weave a cocoon around herself from wool she's pulling from her vagina. Yes, she's going there again. It's all significant the banners use some of the wool she menstruated on, the machines reference what she saw as the automatic nature of the public's reaction but the cocoon has a dual meaning. Symbolic of protection, it's also a call for privacy. Jenkins says in the years since Casting Off My Wound broke, her own circumstances have changed. In 2013 she was thinking about what it meant for her to be a queer-identifying woman at an age when women were expected to have children, or at least be considering it. Then, last year, she got pregnant. She has a male partner now and having a child was suddenly a possibility that she hadn't entertained. She was beginning to work on her FOLA show on a completely different theme and the idea of being heavily pregnant while performing it was on her mind. A subsequent miscarriage gave her pause. Maybe, she thought, it was OK to have some things private, something for yourself. The cocoon reflects that. "Before all that happened I'd been trying to get to a place where I had no secrets, who I was by myself was who I presented in public. I thought that would be the ideal thing. But now I'm more comfortable with keeping things for yourself," she says. As she's been preparing for her coming show, Jenkins has revisited her files of comments to use in her performance. No matter how much she believes in her work, she says, the effect of reading and re-reading them can be cumulative. "I'm interested in how far empathy extends," she says. "Early on there were all of these tweets of people going 'it's disgusting'. It probably did get to me without me knowing." "What's the reverse of positive affirmation? It's like that," she laughs. The director won an Oscar in 2006 for Happy Feet as best animated feature and has three previous nominations for writing Lorenzo's Oil and writing and producing Babe. Mark A. Mangini (left) and David White after winning best sound editing. Credit:Getty Images Gibson said he understood why Mexico's Emmanuel Lubezki won best cinematography for The Revenant his third consecutive Oscar after Gravity and Birdman but did not believe Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu should have collected best director for the survival epic. "We came out so long ago and it's easy to untangle the strands of technical stuff and just take a lead from the guilds but when it comes to what everybody's talking about the water cooler talk of Los Angeles The Revenant came out at exactly the right time ... Director George Miller and editor Margaret Sixel, his wife, at the Academy Awards. Credit:WireImage "Obviously [Inarritu] did a great job and he's a very clever man but [Miller] reinvented the genre and invented his own way of cutting ... and using a whole new set of tools and making them his own. I just thought they missed a golden opportunity." Gibson said there had to be some disappointment for Miller despite all the recognition for Fury Road at the Oscars. "Of course he was happy for everyone else and he was overjoyed for Margie [his editor and wife] but how could you not be disappointed," he said. "He'll say he's perfectly happy and I'm sure he is deep down but I'm not. "I just think there was a bit of an injustice. I felt we were robbed. "What we do for a living is we twine together all the collaborators the make-up, the hair, the wardrobe, the concepts, the visual effects, the design, the acting, the stunts and the cinematography. We put them all together then you pump up the volume with sound and editing. "Whoever's in charge of all of that must have an incredible responsibility and therefore be owed. So if you can get six out of 10 nominations and those six are integral to what it was it does seem rather odd the director misses out." David White, who won an Oscar for best sound editing, agreed that Miller deserved to win. "All of us felt disappointed that George didn't win for best director," he said. "Our team leader was the extraordinary director George Miller, who is the smartest person I've ever met. "He's a phenomenal human being, extremely humble, totally lovely. We're all going 'poor George, I wish he'd won' but he was going 'no, no, no'. He's so humble. "There's no way he's going to feel bad and take away anybody's enjoyment of what they've just achieved. He's a very generous person in that respect." White was full of praise for how Miller had overcome apparently endless setbacks to deliver his vision of the action movie. "There's probably less than a handful of people in the world like George," he said. "This guy has had a singular vision to do this film." It took 12 years to make the movie shooting Happy Feet and Happy Feet 2 during delays in production then having to shift the cast and crew to Namibia because heavy rain at Broken Hill had left the desert blossoming. Loading "They had to shoot in Namibia under the most extreme circumstances," White said. "We're talking boiling hot during the day and freezing cold at night and sand and dust and chaos and each shot had real vehicles moving along at 60, 80, 100 kms an hour. A Channel Nine cameraman and producer were assaulted and injured in Stockholm on Tuesday during the filming of a 60 Minutes story on the European refugee crisis. Swedish news services are reporting that a "group of masked men" objected to the 60 Minutes team, including presenter Liz Hayes, filming and interviewing immigrants at Rinkeby Square. In the Rinkeby district of Stockholm nearly 90 per cent of residents come from an immigrant background. Liz Hayes on the set of 60 Minutes. Jan Sjunnesson, who works for local news website Avpixlat, which partnered with Nine on the story, wrote that the Nine crew ran into the trouble before reaching Rinkeby when a man approached asking why they wanted to film in Rinkeby. He then deliberately drove over the cameraman's foot. Sjunnesson wrote that six police officers were assigned to protect the Nine crew, but that when they left without warning things took a turn for the worse. A group of masked men allegedly circled the TV crew, with two crew members suffering blows. A bottle was also thrown at a camera, according to the report. One cameraman "was beaten right across the chin so that a tooth [came] loose," Sjunnesson wrote. The outspoken News Corp columnist has been sent to Rome as a Sky News contributor to cover Cardinal George Pell coming before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Viewers of Sky News Australia may have been shocked this week to find Andrew Bolt reporting on the royal commission into sex abuse from Rome. "Cardinal George Pell is the victim of one of the most vicious witch hunts to disgrace this country. It is shameful. Disgusting. Frightening," he wrote in his February 18 column. George Pell gives evidence to the Royal Commission from Rome "People pretending to be moral have competed with each other to slime Pell as the defender of paedophiles, if not a paedophile himself. "There is no mercy and no attention to the facts. There is just the joy of hatred." He appeared on 2GB on Monday night with presenter Steve Price suggesting Bolt will interview Pell later in the week. The Collins Class submarine fleet's life will need to be extended and its systems upgraded while the nation waits for its replacement and potential regional rivals develop their own fleets, Defence chiefs have acknowledged. Their remarks came as former prime minister Tony Abbott faced a backlash over his endorsement of Japan's submarine bid despite having established a supposedly impartial "competitive evaluation process" in office. In a briefing on last week's Defence white paper, the Chief of the Defence Force Mark Binskin confirmed that the Collins fleet would need to be extended beyond its planned retirement starting about 2026. The white paper revealed that the 12 new submarines will not come into operation until the early 2030s. Meanwhile half the world's submarines will be in the Indo-Pacific region by 2035. The Disney Sweepstakes List is full of current sweepstakes to win free Disney vacations, sweepstakes offered by the Disney company, and more. Disney sweepstakes give you and your family the chance to win a trip to Disney World or Disneyland, a free Disney cruise, or other great prizes without paying a cent. Disney sweepstakes often include Park Hopper tickets, free stays at the Disney Resorts, and special events like VIP tours of the Disney parks, breakfast with Disney Princesses, stays in the Cinderella Suite, and meet and greet events with prominent Disney stars. Good luck! 1. Visit Orlando - Family Vacation Sweepstakes Enter to win a free vacation in Orlando, Florida for up to four people. Entry Frequency: 1 x daily per person End Date: June 29th, 2022 Eligibility: Open to the U.S. (void in HI & AK) More Information about this Sweepstakes Enter Sweepstakes Directly Enter to Win More Vacation Sweepstakes If you'd like to win other vacation prizes as well as Disney sweepstakes, visit the Top Vacation Sweepstakes List for all of our best sweepstakes and contests with dream vacation prizes. Mr Mackerras faced a truncated hearing of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters along with fellow psephologist Antony Green, the ABC election expert, constitutional expert Professor George Williams and University of Tasmania academic Dr Kevin Bonham. Veteran psephologist Malcolm Mackerras said the voting changes - which would clear the way for a snap double-dissolution election likely to clean out the current crossbench - stemmed from a "filthy deal" between the Greens and the Liberal Party, "led by the unelected, dud Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull". Senate voting changes, if passed in their current form, are almost certain to incur a High Court challenge, polling experts have warned. Their criticism of the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Bill - designed to end the era of "preference harvesting" by micro parties - centred on a perceived discrepancy in that the new Senate ballot paper will provide for optional preferential voting above the line but retain full preferential voting below the line. Lee Rhiannon is in open conflict with former party leader Bob Brown Credit:Andrew Meares That means that if a voter made the same six preferences below the line as they did above the line their ballot would be deemed invalid because those going below the line will still have to number all boxes - which can entail choosing between more than 100 candidates in some states. Professor Williams described the proposed new system as "incoherent" and Mr Green, who broadly supports the changes, which he said would "put preferences back in the hands of voters" said the anomaly above and below the line were "a foot in the High Court challenge". Mr Mackerras believes the proposed system is unconstitutional because it does not adhere to the "candidate-based" system envisaged at federation. Pensioners are demanding so much support from taxpayers that the generational "bargain" between retired and working Australians is becoming unbalanced, the Centre for Independent Studies says. A new CIS report, called The Myths of the Generational Bargain, is warning an unrealistic expectation has been established in Australia that the real value of the pension should keep increasing over time. Retirees in receipt of the age pension before January 1, 2017 can retain their low-income pension card. It says such an expectation will ensure that the real cost of the pension per worker will nearly triple over the next few decades, putting greater stress on the Commonwealth budget and testing taxpayers' willingness to pay for the pension. What you need to do: "Put your hair in a half up half down pony tail by pulling the hair from ear-to-ear and securing that section, then plait it and secure. Plait the rest of the hair on either side and then pull it all together in a low ponytail. Secure with a hair tie and then plait that," Longhurst said. "Next add the sea salt spray and with your finger tips pull the plaits apart to make it look a little dishevelled. Then spray to hold," she added. 2. Bright, colourful eye shadow that matches your ensemble Australian model Kerr is not known for one to be too daring when it comes to red carpet glamour, but when she stepped out for the Vanity Fair Oscar party it wasn't just her red, cut-out dress that turned heads. She paired the bold look with matching lips and a similar toned reddish metallic eye shadow that helped make her eyes pop. Is this easy to DIY? "Absolutely," Napoleon Perdis' global makeup artist, Tannia Tiropanis, said. "Making the eyes compliment the lips unifies the look." What you need: A shade of lipstick, blush and eye shadow that have the same undertones. If you don't have eye shadow, blush can be used as a substitute. What you need to do: "Use a really soft brush to run the colour that matches the lip and dress through the socket of the eye," Tiropanis added. You need to apply a surrounding eye shadow shade that favours the rest of the tones. "On Miranda, gold compliments the red in the lips, cheeks and eye, but it varies with complexion and dress." 3. Nice bun, hun The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo's Mara certainly stood out with her sci-fi, triple bun, a total contrasting look to the more demure, half up half down styles that were seen on Oscar winners Brie Larson and Alicia Vikander. Is this easy to DIY? "It is very easy to do," said hairstylist Longhurst. "The hardest part is securing the sleek ponytail." What you need: A fine tooth comb or upstyling brush, gel or lacquer hairspray, hair ties and pins. What you need to do: "First make sure your hair is blow dried in the direction of the bun," said Longhurst. "Separate your hair and style in three ponytails.Then you apply a gel or lacquer and twist the hair into buns and secure with a pin. Then hairspray." 4. Natural waves Natural waves were best seen on Ronan and Robbie, who added va va voom when it came to their standout, embellished gowns. Is this easy to DIY? "Yes!" Longhurst said. "With the tools we have in our bathroom we can create this look easily." What you need: "You need really good foundation products as it's not easy to hold the waves and volume in place," Longhurst explained. "A beautiful mousse that will help hold the curls. I would prefer to use a tong as opposed to a straightener as it is something that will give you a smooth curl and finishing spray instead of hairspray," she added. What you need to do: Apply the mousse, blow dry the hair for volume and curl the hair in alternating directions. "It gives it more texture," Longhurst explained. Pro tip: "Let the hair cool down completely before you add extra product like a finishing spray or brushing it and that will give it the most longevity," Longhurst said. 5. A dramatic lip OK, we know this one sounds like a piece of cake, but it's not easy rocking a drama-filled lip without getting it on others, your teeth or your champers glass. Basically we're in it for the long haul and we want our lipstick to be there all the way - a la aforementioned Mara and Gwen Stefani. Is this easy to DIY? "So easy," said makeup guru, Tiropanis. What you need: Lip liner and lipstick in the same colour and translucent powder. What you need to do: "Line the lips firsts, apply the lipstick and then line the lips again. It's a trick Napoleon always uses," Tiropanis said. "Use a pressed translucent powder over the lips and that keeps the colour in place for longer, so it doesn't transfer." Pro tip: "Make sure you balance the look and keep everything else nude and natural," she added. 6. Wet look hair Kate Hudson attempted to wear her hair in the so on-trend wet look style - favoured by Gigi Hadid - at the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty, but the actor failed to use the right products to keep it looking wet all night long. "I don't think this worked for her," said Longhurst. "She went for a mid-split instead of pulling it all back like Gigi and it does not really suit her face type. It would have looked much better all pulled back. "If you are going to do the wet look, make it look like it is on purpose. Go all the way and use products that stay shiny and wet," she added. Summing it up: go hard or go home Hudson. Is this easy to DIY? "Yes, it's a very easy look and great for people who are time poor," Longhurst said. Loading "These formulas create an artificial barrier to lock in moisture, but when overused, can cause lips to become lazy because the skin doesn't have to work to maintain its own hydration level," Zeichner explains, adding you have to wean yourself off your lip balm addiction and tolerate a little dryness before your lips will see the light again. "You have to go through the dry spell to get lips back to normal and working on their own again before applying another balm." If they're dry and you choose a ''moisturising'' lip balm (a common claim if the balm has glycerin or hyaluronic acid, which are humectants), make sure it also contains a ''protectant'' ingredient, says dermatologist Dr Rick Mizuguchi. "Most of what we know about lip care comes from studies that have used ingredients that restore skin damage like hyaluronic acid and emollients. However, when lips get dry and damaged, they're no longer protected from negative environmental factors," Mizuguchi told Byrdie. "So first, it's important to restore the skin damage [with humectants], then it's important to occlude the ingredients so your lips don't dry out instead of just being restored." Zeichner however says that the best lip balm is lanolin-based, as lanolin is semi-occlusive, meaning that your lips can still breathe, aka still do the work to hydrate themselves. But public health groups and some other women's groups contended that the science did not justify its approval. The drug's effects were modest, they said, and not worth the unpleasant side effects such as sleepiness, dizziness, fatigue and nausea. And the risk of some side effects increased with alcohol consumption. Last year the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, flibanserin, making it the first drug in the US available to treat low sexual desire in women. It was promoted vigorously by a group of women's rights activists who argued it was unfair that men had numerous drugs to boost sexual function while women had nothing. The drug was promoted vigorously by a group of women's rights activists who argued it was unfair that men had numerous drugs to boost sexual function while women had nothing. Credit:Sprout Pharmaceuticals That is the average benefit a woman gets when she takes the new female libido drug, sometimes known as the "female Viagra," researchers have reported. In the new study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers found benefits that were slightly more modest than those submitted to the FDA during the approval process. The researchers analysed eight studies of about 5900 women, using a method that involved pooling the data. They concluded that treatment with flibanserin, now marketed as Addyi, resulted in "one-half of an additional sexually satisfying encounter per month". That result was not very different from the original findings of three clinical trials submitted to the FDA as support for the drug's approval. Those trials found that once women started taking the drug, they had an average of about one additional satisfying sexual encounter a month, on top of the two to three they were having already. In a statement, Dr Tage Ramakrishna, the chief medical officer at Valeant, the company that now owns the drug, said that the new analysis simply confirmed the findings of the clinical trials and "provided little additional context". The drug is not selling well. As of early January, Addyi was generating only 240 to 290 prescriptions a week, according to a report last week by David Maris, an analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, who cited the prescription tracker IMS Health. Maris estimated that sales of Addyi were running at a rate of $US11 million a year. The New York Times The view of Sydney from the Third Quarantine Cemetery at North Head is to die for. And many did, and were buried overlooking Sydney's city skyline and harbour. Ground-penetrating radar is being used by archaeologists and students to find unmarked graves at the Third Quarantine Cemetery near the Quarantine Station at North Head. Credit:Nick Moir "It was an absolute tragedy," said Louise Steding, an archaeologist and criminologist who is trying to find unmarked graves on the site above the Quarantine Station. "These people were coming in on the ships. They were stopped at the quarantine station for diseases." A convicted child rapist has been arrested for assaulting two young teenage girls just hours after he was granted parole on Monday. The 26-year-old man was on his way home from jail on a train where he met one of his victims, Seven News reported. The man took the girl to Best Road Reserve in Seven Hills at about 3.30pm. He then allegedly indecently and sexually assaulted the teenager and one of her friends, police said. The girls, aged 15 and 16-years-old, left the park and were taken to Blacktown Hospital, where the alleged assaults were reported to police. The organisers of Stereosonic, one of Australia's largest annual music events, have become the first to publicly support on-site pill testing after two patrons died at their events last year. Electronic music company Totem OneLove Group, which runs the Stereosonic festivals, gave their "full support" to hold a pilot pill-testing program at the Sydney leg, providing the NSW government and other key stakeholders support the process. In a statement provided to Fairfax Media, a spokesman for the company said they "strongly support[ed] any policies or initiatives that would minimise harm, reduce drug use and make events a safer environment for patrons." Mr Beattie said former LNP premier Campbell Newman may have gone too far with his asset sell-off plans, but urged Labor to rethink its position. But Treasurer Curtis Pitt said voters made it crystal clear at the last election they wanted assets kept in public ownership and Mr Beattie's comments changed nothing. The government has rejected former Queensland premier Peter Beattie's calls for asset leasing. Credit:Jacky Ghossein The former Queensland premier told Annastacia Palaszczuk she must embrace long-term leases of public assets to increase economic growth, News Corp reported. Queensland's Labor government won't be selling or leasing public assets, despite a call from party elder Peter Beattie. "In my view, public-private partnerships are the key... leasing out assets like ports and letting someone else pay for them while still keeping them in public hands... that's an ideal way to grow the economy," he told News Corp. Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg said Labor won the last election on the back of its position on public assets, but knew it to be untenable. "Former premier Peter Beattie is now trying to soften the fall for when the Palaszczuk government breaks its election promise not to sell or lease assets," he said. Former LNP premier Campbell Newman said someone in the Labor party was finally telling the truth about the necessity of asset sales. "It was the truth over a year ago, and it's the truth now," Mr Newman told ABC radio. Brisbane's largest sewage plant with 12 waste storage ponds is only 200 metres away from where the city's proposed $100 million new cruise ship terminal would be built at Luggage Point by 2019. Fairfax Media went to Luggage Point to investigate the site after learning Queensland Urban Utilities and the Port of Brisbane have begun talks on ways to reduce odours from the waste plant. An artist impression of Brisbane's proposed cruise ship terminal at Luggage Point. Credit:Tony Moore Today it is a veritable abandoned sandy wasteland 30 minutes from the CBD and looks like the perfect place to dump a body. What it will look like in 2019 is open for debate. Two of the world's leading cruise ship companies; Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruises lines have joined a market-led pitch with the Port of Brisbane to build a new cruise ship terminal at Luggage Point. A Chinese waiter living illegally in Australia for more than 30 years claimed he feared for his life when he stabbed to death a father of four at lunchtime in Melbourne's Chinatown over a $24,000 gambling debt, a court has heard. Defence barrister Jarrod Williams told a Supreme Court jury on Tuesday that Fai Sing Yiu, 60, stabbed Alan Wong, 64, eight times believing he was a member of a criminal organisation known as the 14K Triad Society. Mr Williams said Mr Yiu told police he had armed himself with a knife when working at the Post Deng Cafe in Little Bourke Street because he feared being attacked by Mr Wong or one of his criminal associates after missing three repayments. Mr Yiu claimed Mr Wong, who had suffered two heart attacks, was on a disability pension and needed a walking stick to get around, had been a loan shark. The latest head of a country Victorian ice syndicate wasn't a brutish bikie or a wannabe gangster in an oversized suit, but a young woman who ruled the roost with slippery sophistication. Ultimately, it all came undone for Jessica Fogarty, who on Tuesday was sentenced in the Wangaratta County Court to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to six charges, including commercial drug trafficking. But for four years before her September 2014 arrest, the now 26-year-old was queen of a syndicate that peddled millions of dollars in ice and cocaine across the north-east. The Wangaratta-based Fogarty, allegedly alongside boyfriend Matthew Tymms, supplied drugs through connections in Melbourne and Sydney that she would on-sell to lower-level local dealers. She rewarded loyal dealers with cut-throat prices, while those who owed her faced threats of violence from the enforcers who worked for her. Brad McKenzie hears what people are saying about the end of the mining boom and the start of the construction boom, and about jobs moving from west to east. The young sparkie, 29, has read the headlines about FIFO work waning and stay-at-home jobs being plentiful and well paid funded by gains in real estate and the promise of major Melbourne infrastructure projects. Electrician Brad McKenzie is still to find work in Melbourne after finishing three years as a fly-in, fly-out worker in Western Australia. Credit:Pat Scala McKenzie would love all that to be true. But that is not what the unemployed electrician has experienced. McKenzie only recently returned to his home in Croydon after almost three years in Western Australia, where he worked on the Gorgon natural gas project on remote Barrow Island, off the Pilbara coast. A Singleton man has been charged with assault after he allegedly punched in the window of a Perth grandmother's car during a road rage attack in October. The 29-year-old was arrested and charged on Tuesday a day after footage of the incident went viral on the internet. Police will allege the man shouted abuse at a 56-year-old woman as she drove her Ford Fiesta onto the Kwinana Freeway on-ramp in Success around 3.30pm on October 17. "As the left lane merged into the right lane, a vehicle in the right lane started sounding its horn and swerving towards her vehicle in an aggressive manner. The woman continued driving and merged onto the freeway," a police spokeswoman said. The Public Theater has announced an extension for its world-premiere of Sarah Burgess' Dry Powder. The production, which is directed by Thomas Kail, was originally set to run March 1-April 10. It will now close on May 1. Dry Powder stars Emmy winners Claire Danes (Homeland) and Hank Azaria (The Simpsons) as well as John Krasinski (The Office) and Sanjit De Silva. Azaria leads the company as Rick, who, in the same week as his private equity firm forced massive layoffs at a national grocery chain, threw himself an extravagant engagement party, setting off a publicity nightmare. Fortunately, Seth (Krasinski), one of Rick's managing directors, has a win-win deal to invest in an American-made luggage company for a song and rescue his boss from the company's PR disaster. But Jenny (Danes), Seth's counterpart, has an entirely different plan: to squeeze every last penny out of the company, no matter the human toll. Dry Powder features scenic design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by Jason Lyons, and sound design by Lindsay Jones. For tickets and more information, click here. It takes as long to describe the plot of William Shakespeare's Pericles as it does to watch it. It's a goulash of a play that features an incestuous father and daughter, two shipwrecks, intervening gods, a pantomime, and a jousting match. It can be a tough nut to crack, but when the eminent British director Trevor Nunn is at the helm, as he is in Theatre for a New Audience's new production at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn, the experience is oftentimes quite lovely. Believed to be the earliest of Shakespeare's romances, Pericles sets the tone for his four remaining works in this genre, a list containing the plays Cymbeline and The Winter's Tale. It's structured like a tragedy with comic elements, until a mysterious string of events (usually with a hand from the divine) set everything right. Here, it begins with Pericles, Prince of Tyre (Christian Camargo) in Antioch, seeking the hand of the King's daughter. But Pericles soon sees the signs of incest between the king (Earl Baker Jr.) and his progeny, and he just as quickly flees so as not to be murdered by the vengeful monarch. Pericles lands in Tarsus, a land suffering from a great famine. Unloading his ship's cargo of corn to save them, he wins thanks from Cleon (Will Swenson), the governor, and his wife, Dionyza (Nina Hellman). Fearing an attack, he flees again, only to end up shipwrecked in Pentapolis. There, he finds himself at a jousting tournament to celebrate the birthday of Princess Thaisa (Gia Crovatin). Of course, it's just when they fall in love and have a child that things start to go wrong. What ensues includes a burial at sea, a time jump of nearly two decades between acts, a kidnapping by pirates, and a magical reunion. Gower (Raphael Nash Thompson), a storyteller, narrates the proceedings. Christian Camargo as the title role in Trevor Nunn's production of Pericles at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center. ( Henry Grossman) Nunn's experience with Shakespeare (he's now directed all but two of the Bard's canonical works) shimmers throughout. In an effort to clarify the storytelling, he's rearranged the text somewhat and added passages by the author George Wilkins, who is widely believed to have written a sizable portion of Pericles. But three hours is still too long for this story really just a series of events separated by shipwrecks, as scholars have noted and rather than rearrange some of it, Nunn probably could have cut a chunk of text without affecting the overall arc. But his physical production is rollicking, beautifully conjuring images of choppy seas through a mix of ropes and fabric on Robert Jones' minimalist set, with appropriately melancholy lighting (by Stephen Strawbridge). The vastly different locations are conjured through beautifully elaborate costumes by Constance Hoffman that evokes ancient fairytales. Irish composer Shaun Davey provides thrilling and melodic musical underscoring, performed, in an ingenious touch, by the talented actor-musicians of PigPen Theatre Co. At times, though, the acting is more of a mixed bag. Few American actors speak the language of Shakespeare with as much finesse as Camargo does, and he is a mightily appealing Pericles, grounding the play with his dignified work at its center. Similarly, Thompson and Swenson show off a wonderful command of the text's musicality. Crovatin is an appealing romantic lead, though her command of the text is still developing. In the late-introduced role of Pericles and Thaisa's daughter Marina, Lily Englert is oddly disconnected from her role and the play itself. The romances, with their sudden shifts in tone and jumps of decades between acts, aren't viewed with as high regard as some of the other entries in Shakespeare's body of work. Pericles, specifically, is the rarest of all, produced with considerably less frequency than works like Cymbeline and The Winter's Tale. For completists, this is the chance to scratch another one off the list. And this production is a particularly handsome way to do so. WATCH LIVE: Mercedes-Benz Unveils New E-Class Business Limo in Geneva at 2:15PM EST +VIDEO The most intelligent business limousine in the world Compact roadster now named SLC GENEVA - March 1, 2016: Mercedes-Benz is taking a big step into the future with the new E-Class celebrating its European debut in Geneva. The all-new E-Class is the most intelligent business limousine in the world. Numerous technical innovations enable comfortable and safe driving on a new level plus a new dimension in driver assistance. With the new Drive Pilot, Mercedes-Benz further advances on the way to autonomous driving. On motorways and country roads this system not only keeps a correct distance to the vehicles in front, for the first time it can also follow them at a speed of up to 210 km/h. Live broadcast begins at 2:15PM east coast time, 11:15AM west coast time. The new C-Class cabriolet will have a strong presence at the Mercedes-Benz stand. On display are the standard production cars as well as the AMG models of the four-seater convertible. The all-new Mercedes-AMG 43 Coupe will also be revealed in Geneva, completing the C-Class family with an additional member Coinciding with the 20-year anniversary of its legendary compact roadster, Mercedes-Benz is relaunching the SLC - formerly known as SLK with a significantly enhanced technology and look. The name change refers to the close affinity with the C-Class. There are new additions to the model line-up - the sporty top-of-the-line Mercedes-AMG SLC 43 and the entry-level SLC 180. Florida women will now have to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion after an appeals court allowed a once-blocked 2015 state law to go into effect last Friday. In so doing, Florida has become the second-most populous state, behind Texas, to impose a legally mandated waiting period on women seeking abortion. But Floridas waiting period law also marks a significant tipping point in a nationwide trend of abortion restrictions: Six out of 10 women in the U.S. now live in a state where an abortion waiting period law is in effect. According to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau population estimates cross-referenced with data on waiting period laws maintained by the Guttmacher Institute, 59 percent of the U.S. population lives in states that require women to wait between 18 and 72 hours before receiving an abortion. Prior to the Florida law taking effect, the majority was not nearly as clear, with 53 percent of the population spread across 27 states affected by waiting period laws. Broken down to look exclusively at women of reproductive age, 58 percent of women and girls between 15 and 44 now live in a state with a waiting period law in effect. Before the Florida ruling, it was a more even split: 53 percent of women of reproductive age were affected, 47 percent unaffected. This threshold was crossed just days before oral arguments in Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt, a Supreme Court case that will decide whether or not current restrictions in Texas place an undue burden on women seeking abortion. Floridas waiting period law was signed into law by Republican Gov. Rick Scott last June but the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) quickly filed for an injunction. The day before the law was scheduled to take effect, a Florida judge blocked it, but the state appealed. Now, a three-judge panel at the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee has lifted the injunction, effectively enacting the waiting period statewide. Like 13 other states laws, Floridas waiting period legislation, HB 633, requires the physician to be physically present in the same room as the patient when providing the state-mandated counseling. This forces women to make two trips to an abortion provider on separate daysa requirement that can be logistically and financially challenging, especially for low-income women. Only two of these states make specific concessions for women who live more than 100 miles away from an abortion provider. In Florida, a medical emergency can nullify the waiting period. If a Florida woman is pregnant as the result of rape, incest, domestic violenceor if pregnancy would cause her serious bodily harmshe will still have to wait 24 hours before terminating her pregnancy unless she can provide her physician with written evidence of her situation, such as a restraining order or a police report. This ruling will harm women in Florida, said Julia Kaye, staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, in a press statement. A woman who has decided to have an abortion should be able to get one without the state putting up unnecessary roadblocks to prevent her from getting the care she needs. The CRR has promised to continue challenging the 24-hour requirement. We vow to fight this law until the courts permanently strike it down, ensuring that Florida women are able to get the health care they need, said Autumn Katz, senior CRR staff attorney. Floridas waiting period law will affect a sizable populationaccording to 2013 estimates, 3.8 million women of reproductive age live in Floridabut other states have even stricter legislation. In Missouri, for example, women must show up in person for counseling, receive state-mandated information that states, the life of each human being begins at conception, and then wait 72 hours before receiving an abortion. Oklahoma also has a 72-hour waiting period after women receive a printed packet of state information containing the loaded statement, Abortion shall terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being. South Dakotas 72-hour waiting period excludes weekends and holidays, which forces some women to wait longer there than they would anywhere else in the country. Opponents of abortion rights say that these waiting period laws give women enough time to decide whether or not they really want an abortion. However, early research on the subject suggests that the majority of women experience waiting periods as an obstacle, not as a decision-making aid. One study of over 5,000 women seeking an abortion at a U.S. clinic published in Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health found that 87 percent were already highly confident in their decision before counseling. One-third of female respondents to a Texas survey conducted by the Population Research Center at University of Texas at Austin said that the states 24-hour waiting period had a negative effect on their emotional well-being. The extra visit is burdensome for some women and adds additional cost to the procedure, but it does not change womens minds about having the abortion, the researchers concluded. Given these findings, Floridas new 24-hour waiting period is not likely to change many womens minds. Instead, with a single ruling, three judges have given nearly 60 percent of U.S. women of childbearing age yet another hoop to jump through before getting an abortion. At midnight on Feb. 27, after months of negotiations and meetings in Geneva, New York, Moscow, Riyadh, and elsewhere, and after an intense day of Russian airstrikes, a partial ceasefire came into effect in Syria between the regime and the opposition. The fighting and violence have gone down considerably in the days since, but with a handful of possible violations coming from each side, the ceasefire is on remarkably shaky ground. While many are quick to point out Russian and regime aggression is a threat to the truce (and rightly so), less attention is given to concerns about the opposition. One rebel group in particular, Ahrar al-Sham, has made the situation extremely complicated and is an enormous threat to the ceasefires success. Indeed, Ahrar al-Sham has refused to clarify whether it will respect the truce. On the one hand, the group has made real efforts to present itself as moderate and distinct from Syrias al-Qaeda affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra, which is excluded from the current ceasefire and, as such, is considered a fair target for Russian airstrikes. On the other hand, Ahrar al-Sham has worked closely with Nusra since the war began and has been in a formal alliance with it since early 2015. Since the ceasefire came into effect, some of Ahrar al-Shams leaders have indicated they will continue fighting and stand with Nusra. Unless the Ahrar al-Sham clearly denounces these statements and makes a firm commitment to adhere to the ceasefire, it remains a fair question whether it, too, is a legitimate target. Ahrar al-Sham may appear to be a group dividedteetering between moderation and extremism, between democracy and Salafismbut this is likely a charade. With such wide gaps between statements emanating from its leadership, the positions they have taken, and the alliances they have made, it is hard to believe that the group can exist simultaneously as one of the most extreme Salafist organizations and also as one of the most liberal champions of pluralism. To the extent that there are internal disagreements in Ahrar al-Sham, they are not likely rooted in ideology or competing visions for Syrias future. Instead, they seem to reflect differences over public relations strategies. Those who believe Ahrar al-Sham is truly moderate risk empowering a dangerous group that will be a problem in Syria for years to come. How did it get here? Under its original leadership, Ahrar al-Sham was already clearly a radical Salafist militia. Though the groups founder, Hassan Aboud, refused to pledge allegiance to al-Qaeda and claimed to have ideological disagreements with Nusra, the substantive differences were hard to discern. In an interview with Aljazeera Arabic, Aboud condemned democracy outright and expressed views remarkably similar to Nusras about Syrias futurethat the country, minorities and all, should be governed by strict Sharia law. Despite distancing itself from Nusra rhetorically, Ahrar al-Sham certainly cooperated with and coordinated its operations with the al-Qaeda group. Working together with Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham not only fought the Assad regime but also weakened the Free Syrian Army. To Ahrar al-Shams credit, its forte was guerilla-style fighting and it steered away from the Nusra-style suicide bombings, but it committed its own war crimes against Syrias civilians and minorities to solidify its control. After a September 2014 explosion killed Hassan Aboud along with many of Ahrar al-Shams senior leadership, Hashem al-Sheikh (also known by his nom de guerre, Abu Jaber) took control of the group. Under his leadership, Ahrar al-Sham seemed to embrace a more moderate approach. Al-Sheikh gave a lengthy interview to Aljazeera Arabic in April 2015 in which he criticized Nusras relationship with al-Qaeda and insisted that minorities would be well treated in a post-Assad Syria, albeit under Islamic law. Going further, Ahrar al-Shams head of foreign relations, Labib al-Nahhas, wrote op-eds in The Washington Post and the Telegraph calling for a national unifying project in Syria that protects minority communities and enables them to play a real and positive role in Syrias future. Yet al-Nahhas pieces came just a month and a half after the groups spiritual leader, Abu Muhammad al-Sadeq, issued statements decrying the falseness of democracy and the West. Ignoring these comments, al-Nahhas lamented that Ahrar al-Sham was falsely accused of having links to al-Qaeda and insisted that his group was a moderate force for good in Syria; Washington simply needed to open its eyes and see it. Off the op-ed pages and on the ground, the reality was entirely different. Over the course of 2015, Ahrar al-Shams new, more moderate leadership had dramatically expanded its cooperation with Nusra. The two formed the umbrella group Jaish al-Fatah, or the Army of Conquest. With support from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey, the Army of Conquest took the cities and countrysides of Idlib and Jisr al-Shughour, carving out a major stronghold for themselves in northwestern Syria. Ahrar al Shams actions contradicted its rhetoric, yet that was no accident. The group played both anglesboasting democratic values and fighting for Salafismand it benefited from each. Talk of moderation and inclusion made it somewhat more palatable for Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey to support the Ahrar al-Sham and the Army of Conquest militarily (although there was certainly discomfort over Nusras connections to al-Qaeda). Meanwhile, enhanced cooperation with Nusra allowed Ahrar al-Sham to make major gains even as it neutralized Nusra as a potential opponent. Nusra could hardly afford to squabble with Ahrar al-Sham when the two groups were busy fighting an Assad reinforced by increased involvement from Iran and Russiaespecially if reports are true that Nusra depended on Ahrar al-Sham to supply it with weapons. By the end of 2015, maintaining both moderate and extreme positions and alliances seemed to have stretched Ahrar al-Sham too thin. In September, Hashem al-Sheikh stepped down as emir, making way for Abu Yahia al-Hamawi, who continued to push the notion that Ahrar al-Sham was mainstream and aligned with Western interests. Al-Hamawi reportedly claimed that Nusra had withdrawn from the Army of Conquesta rumor that would have been convenient for the umbrella groups foreign backers, but nonetheless proved false. Al-Hamawi also sent Labib al-Nahhas to participate in the Saudi-led rebel conference in Riyadh in December that produced the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), a group that would represent Syrias anti-Assad opposition in the January 2016 Geneva talks. The conference deliberately excluded Nusra and the so-called Islamic State, as both are widely considered to be terrorist groups. Ahrar al-Shams participation, however, was crucial to the Saudis, as its Army of Conquest alliance had been the most successful force against the Assad regime. In the whirlwind of the Riyadh conference, Ahrar al-Shams cracks became apparent. The group, facing pressure from Nusra, issued a statement announcing it was withdrawing from the talks on Dec. 10. Despite the statement, al-Nahhas signed the conference document, leading to confusion on whether Ahrar al-Sham was a part of the HNC. Leaders of the group, including the supposedly moderate former emir, Hashem al-Sheikh, tweeted in support of the groups original hardline decision to withdraw, and in the end, Ahrar al-Sham did not send a representative to the Geneva talks. It remains unclear whether Ahrar al-Sham considers itself a part of the HNC, but, following the pattern of the groups previous behavior, this vagueness is likely intentional. Now, after crucial losses in Aleppo, the rebels in the northwest may be experiencing some restructuring. In late February, Ahrar al-Sham entered into a new coalition with a handful of Islamist and FSA militias under the leadership of its former emir, Hashem al-Sheikh. The new umbrella group is called Jaish al-Halab, although none of its members seem to be using the name. While it excludes Nusra on paper, the member groups may well continue to work with the al-Qaeda affiliate. Why then form this confederation? Jaish al-Halab is a means by which Ahrar al-Sham can play both sides of the newly implemented ceasefire. If hostilities resume (beyond the small scale violations seen already), Ahrar al-Sham can of course continue its close cooperation with Nusra as it has for the past year. But if the ceasefire holds, Ahrar al-Sham can separate from Nusra; go dormant in the fight against the regime; stockpile weapons from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey; and exert significant control in northwest Syriaall legitimized by the international process. It will be positioned to pivot in whatever direction it finds to be more convenient in the moment. It is impossible to know the true intentions of Ahrar al-Shams leadership. Perhaps there are indeed substantive divisions, and the politically minded leaders are sincere but are unable to control the group. More likely, Ahrar al-Sham is hedging its bets. It is keeping a foot in both moderate and radical circles and trying to reap the benefits of both. If Ahrar al-Sham is serious about its proclaimed moderate values, it should use its weight as a dominant player on the battlefield to secure and ensure a long-term ceasefire. It cannot do this on its own, of course, but it can play an important role in making this a reality. A truly moderate Ahrar al-Sham will make it clear that it wont participate in joint operation rooms that include Nusra, and it will engage in negotiations in good faith without preconditions. If for lack of will or for lack of ability it fails to do these things, no one should regard Ahrar al-Shams claims as anything but a public relations strategy. MINNEAPOLIS Nearly two hours into a Ted Cruz lovefest in a gaudy Hilton ballroom downtown, Glenn Beck held up a golden ticket which he inexplicably claimed came straight from Charlie Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Our golden ticket is the Constitution, shouted Beck, somehow able to yell at the top of his lungs without water for over an hour. The metaphor, delivered among long tangents about George Washingtons mapmaking abilities and stories about Becks illustrious career at Fox News, actually struck a nerve with fans in the crowd waving red-white-and-blue Choose Cruz signs. For them, Cruz is a fervent constitutionalist with a devil-may-care attitude about critics on Capitol Hill and in the media. When they vote, or in Minnesotas case, caucus for Ted Cruz, they know what theyre going to get. And Donald Trump is a scary wild-card option, waffling on everything and threatening the fate of the country as we know it. There is so much garbage out there about Trump, 81-year-old Betty Marquardt told The Daily Beast. If it would only come out, I think Trump would be sort of scary. Hell say one thing and then hell say something else. Hes not even sure how many years hes been audited. It depends on where he is as to what he wants to say and how he wants to say it. Marquardt, who like many Cruz supporters at the event said their second choice would be Marco Rubio before this reporter was even able to finish asking the question, called Trump childish and said he calls people names too much. Trump, who leads in many Super Tuesday state polls with the noticeable exception of Minnesota, has bragged that he doesnt have a ceiling of support because if someone like Cruz dropped out, hed swallow up his voting base. But if these Minnesota voters are any indication, that may not be entirely true. Some wouldnt even consider backing Trump as the nominee, let alone considering him as a second choice in a primary. If it was Donald Trump, I dont think I could [vote], 54-year-old Susan Richardson, a political activist, told The Daily Beast. I would say that a lot of Republicans I know would not vote for Donald Trump. Richardson, without hesitation, said her second choice would be Rubio, because she believes he is still a conservative despite his co-authorship of the Gang of Eight immigration overhaul bill. Trump has seemed impervious to declines in his poll numbers, even after he appeared on national television and refused to disavow the endorsement of a former KKK leader. But on a person-to-person level in Minnesota, those types of things make him an impossible choice. Now thats scary, 60-year-old Nancy Sathre said. That is some scary business. I dont even understand it. Beck used this as a talking point as well, running up to a poor soul in the crowd and rhetorically asking I wake you up in the middle of the night and I say Hey, the Klan. Are they bad? What do you say? Cruz fans painted a picture of Trump as manipulative, phony, and opportunistic, none of which inspire confidence in scary times. I think hes a good actor and knows how to work the deal, pardon the pun, Sathre said. Minnesota is a state known for its progressivism, suggesting that maybe even among Republicans, Trumps firebrand rhetoric is off-putting instead of exciting. Hours before Tuesdays caucus was set to begin, no new polls had been conducted in the state, though. The most recent numbers, according to Real Clear Politics, indicate that Rubio holds a slight lead in Minnesota, with Cruz and Trump closely following behind. The Florida senator is hoping to count Minnesota as his first state win, making a last-minute trip here on Tuesday afternoon. But even for the most ardent Cruz fans, who showed up to cheer Beck on as he stalked the stage in front of a Keep the Promise PAC banner, Trump seems like an unfortunate inevitability. I just dont think he has morals, 37-year-old Christine Stevens told The Daily Beast. She has already made a decision in the foreseeable general-election matchup. Honestly I would rather see Hillary Clinton in than Donald Trump. Via the legal blog Opinio Juris: Surprise Hearing in Haiti Cholera Case Appeal. Excerpt: In a surprise announcement late last week, the Second Circuit granted a hearing in the Haiti Cholera Case. The hearing will take place tomorrow, and the lawyers will have had only 4 days to prepare. While no reasons were given as to why the hearing was granted so suddenly, the speculation is that upon reading the papers, at least one or more judges decided a hearing was warranted. If you are in New York on March 1, and want to attend the hearing here are the details: What: Second Circuit appeals hearing in Georges v. United Nations. When: Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 2pm Where: Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse 17th Floor, Room 1703 40 Foley Square New York, New York 10007 Each side will be granted 10 minutes. Anyone interested in travel writing or freelance writing may want to take a look at the blog I've created to publicize my workshops. 6 years ago These numbers indicate the immediate need for public policy to move beyond permissive measures such as bicycle lanes and more buses, towards ones that have a substantial short term impact. The private automobile is a weapon of mass human destruction, both through the casualties its accidents generate and the lethal gases it emits. Community welfare requires more containment of the private vehicle than present policy provides. Some might argue - not the least the climate change deniers - that other forms of death are directly treatable, while reducing air pollution in London involves a complex process of cultural and technical adjustment that cannot be done quickly. This argument is false. Below I list several policy measures that would immediately reduce health-threatening pollution by sharply curbing motor vehicle use (forgive the pun) and require little enabling investment. Limiting the pollution carnage The principle behind all the recommendations below is immediate impact, eliminating evasion and minimising negative distributional effects. 1. Raise the congestion charge to 50 At the moment the congestion charge for private automobiles is a paltry 11.50, which goes down by a pound if you pay online. The policy goal should be reducing private cars in the most air polluted parts of London (see pollution map), not generating revenue. Contrary to observation and common sense, some argue against the pollution charge on grounds of its negative distributional impact - the rich find it easy to pay it, while the non-rich suffer a heavy burden. A study by the Institute of Fiscal Studies in anticipation of the introduction of the congestion charge concluded that the overall distributional effect would be progressive, supported by analytical and empirical findings in subsequent research on Orange County, California (where, if anything, one would expect to find a regressive impact). If counter to all common sense and observation there were some repressive impact, my other suggestions would negate that regressiveness and turn it progressive. 2. Prohibit single passenger cars In response to rising petroleum prices and fears of shortages, in the United States and other countries as far back as the 1970s, local and state governments introduced legislation requiring motorway drivers to have at least one passenger or receive a hefty fine (High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes, HOVL). Britain has more video surveillance by permanent cameras than any country in the world, many of which the Department of Transport operates (about 180 in London). London Transport could quickly add more cameras. Monitoring whether a vehicle had a passenger other than the driver is a technically trivial matter. I would recommend a two person minimum, with 100 fine for the first violation and the second time a year's ban from the area defined for multiple occupancy (which would be larger than the current congestion zone). In addition, no single occupant car could enter the congestion zone at any price. 3. Commercial car parks under public control Any serious reduction in private car use in London requires the public sector to increase regulation of private car parks. Car parks facilitate car use. Limiting access to them reduces driving. It really is that simple. The hard part is working out something effective to do about them. The first step is for parliament to give the government of London the power to regulate all car parks 'in the interest of public health and safety'. This power would include regulating charges and all conditions of use. Regulations would limit the time a private car could park in commercial garages (for example, two hours with no return to that one or any other) and set a minimum rate (such as 10 per hour). Planning authorities would no longer approve private car parks, and would not replace those that are demolished. The distributional impact of this policy would be positive, by in effect banning wealthy business people from driving (finding nowhere to park when they arrive). 4. Home deliveries for shopping Supermarket and department store shopping represent a common use of the private car. Several obvious measures would reduce the need for people to use individual transport for this purpose. First, all parking areas directly linked and provided by retail shops including supermarkets, department stores and shopping malls would fall under the parking garage regulations described in number three (minimum charges and maximum stay). Second, all retail outlets - whether or not they have dedicated parking - would be required to provide a home delivery service without charge. Large department stores and supermarkets already do this if the purchase exceeds a minimum cost. For in-store shopping, supermarkets could do this with the same delivery systems they use for online purchases, with booking in advance. Households typically plan large supermarket shops in advance, so they would easily adapt to advance booking. 5. Discourage the 'school run' Not as frequent as the supermarket shop, but common, is the use of private vehicles to drop and collect children to and from school. This is largely the preserve of upper-income households, often but not always involving fee-paying schools. Discouraging the 'school run' would have a positive income distribution impact along with enhancing air quality. To end the school run, the street fronts of schools would be 'no standing' zones, monitored by video cameras, with hefty fines for transgressors. As an alternative to parental drop-and-collect, fee charging schools could operate buses, which some already do (common in the United States for both public and fee charging schools). Parents concerned about safety of their children could walk them to school - considerably safer than venturing into London traffic. Taking action Implementing these five policy measures would represent a major step towards making London's air non-lethal. Implementing the policies would have a major impact no matter what measures were or were not taken elsewhere. This is not a case of 'it makes no difference what we do if the Chinese/Indians/Americans/etc. do not do the same'. Equally important, all five can be implemented immediately. Once the Commons and the London Assembly put in place legislation to facilitate the policies, implementation would allow a period for adjustment. During this period, the privately owned bus companies would place their orders for additional vehicles, retailers would arrange for their delivery services, and employees would alter their travel arrangements from private to public transport. Several enhancing policies would be desirable but not immediately needed: 1. 'Freedom Passes' for those attending schools and universities; 2. discounts for season tickets (perhaps with payment enforced on employers); and 3. requiring taxis and buses to have electric or hybrid engines, with more recharging points. These proposals are not as radical as they may appear to the lover of private transport. The number of people entering London by private automobile during rush hour has declined in recent years, though almost 30% of workers still commute. Finally, far from expensive, these five policies could reduce public sector spending. Fewer vehicles in London mean less deterioration of road surfaces and less budgeted expenditure on road maintenance (see Transport for London budget 2014-15). The increases in health would reduce NHS expenditures. If ever the cliche 'win-win' applies, it does so for the reduction of private car use in London; lower road maintenance, less congestion and a more equal distribution of social benefits. To those benefits I might add the obvious - Londoners living healthier, longer lives. John Weeks is Professor Emeritus, School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London, and author of Economics of the 1%: How mainstream economics serves the rich, obscures reality and distorts policy, Anthem Press, published earlier this year. This article was originally published by openDemocracy under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. It has been updated by The Ecologist with news of Client Earth's legal challenge. Loss of biodiversity and diminishing plants of the country have been identified through the National Strategic Plan of Conservation of Biodiversity in Sri Lanka by well-known professionals under the Ministry of Environment and Forest resources in 1999. In addition, Sri Lanka has been designated as one of the 18-biodiversity hotspots in the world [5] In 2002, the Native Forest Foundation (NFF) in Sri Lanka conducted a baseline survey on the availability of such species in the rural elderly community and identified that there is a wealth of information on traditional knowledge associated with plants and trees, but there has been a dramatic loss of such knowledge and species. Due to this exercise, the writer as a founder of NFF decided to dedicate a personal land for the purpose due to non-availability of resources to purchase a new land and was in the process of establishing a mini-arboretum in a one-acre plot of land in 2005. This initiative was mainly to serve the purpose of recovering loss of natural resources in wild fruit and selected medicinal plant categories in collection, conservation, and propagation with the establishment of field gene bank as a conservation and education unit with over 200 such species. Training for future generations starts at the grassroots level In addition, the goal is to provide a facility where people can learn, exchange, and research with hands-on experience from local traditional knowledge bearers to the next generation. Thus NFF has selected Sunday Schools, which are places regularly visited by children and are typically endowed with sufficient space for the purpose by their local partners in order to get the young generation involved in regenerating their interest and creating wider awareness on the value of available local natural resources. Our rational for selecting Sunday Schools is mainly due to easy implementation at practical level since there is an extreme difficulty in entering primary schools with high red tapes to obtain approvals and poor interest of the children during school hours as they are at a rat race to achieve their educational goals in a highly competitive environment. NFF conducts programmes irrespective of religious interests in churches, temples, other social and educational institutions where there is an adequate land space available. In addition, NFF is in the process of introducing the concept of 'Wild Fruits for All' in building up a small orchard with 15-20 lesser known species by incorporating traditional home remedies as a part of reawakening the ancestral wisdom amongst young generation in future. Therefore, proper education that includes transmission of knowledge for attitudes and practice is a prerequisite in promoting traditional native plants. In this process, NFF promotes active participation of the present generation with hands-on exercise in 'Field Gene Bank' to collect lesser-known wild fruit plants, propagate, and popularize these plants to show the importance of conservation. NFF also covers sustainable utilization and creates new income avenues as a valuable resource for the benefit of the future generation of the country. Furthermore, another component of the arboretum is propagation of these species as ex-situ conservation plots in selected areas, benefited with existence of 4Bs (Bees, Butterflies, Birds & Bats) in nature. Training through academia programmes In 2009, the Tear Fund (UK) recognized the arboretum and its activities in selecting in their inspired individual and fellowship programme with necessary assistance to extend the plant propagation in Sunday Schools for a period of 3 years. NFF has been able to conduct over 114 interactive awareness sessions in 62 Sunday Schools covering over 2400 students by distributing another 2500 plant species with 62 agricultural motivational kits during this period. The Tear Fund further generously assisted in putting up a building by incorporating traditional ecological architectural concepts to accommodate the volunteers, students, library and administrative unit. In addition, the arboretum has been assisting both local and foreign students to fulfill their academic dissertations in Anthropology, Environment Science, Ethnobotany and Agriculture. The Significance of Sinhalese Buddhist Cultural Beliefs and Concepts of Sacred in the Conservation of Plants in Sri Lanka was one of the remarkable dissertations carried out by a student in University of Kent (UK) in 2003 in association with NFF. Furthermore, the arboretum is providing a venue for foreign volunteers who are keen on working with the younger generation in plant conservation. Over 60 foreign volunteers from different parts of the world have contributed with their resources so far. At present, NFF has a collection of over 60 species of wild fruits, another 72 species of medicinal plants, collected over 100 traditional knowledge pertaining to plants and trees in Sri Lanka and joined the global network of the Sacred Seeds sanctuaries in 2013. The program is further expected to collect another 40 species of wild fruits, compiling and publishing the traditional knowledge booklet, establishment of plant nursery in order to propagate the plants amongst selected partners, and seeks opportunities to build up partnership or collaboration to further expand the activities in a more professional manner in future. Damitha Rajapakse works for the Native Forest Foundation in Sri Lanka on the Conservation of Lesser-Known Species & Ethnobotany Project. References Rajapakse, U. (1978) Traditional Food Plants in Sri Lanka. Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, Sri Lanka. Jayawardhana, S. (2014) Kovakka for Type 2 Diabetes. The Island. 8 April 2015. Sri Lanka. Fonseka S.De. (2008) Pleasure of a Guava. Lanka Newspapers.com. 25 Feb 2008. Page 3. Jayawardhana, S (2014) A Sri Lankan fruit with global potential. Sunday Observer. March 2014. Ministry of Forestry and Environment of Sri Lanka (1999) Biodiversity Conservation in Sri Lanka. A Framework of Action. Page 15. Further reading 1 Mohaymen Kiaran McLaughlin TapitJustwhistledixie, by Dixie Union Weve heard of horses peaking too soon, but this time it looks like the Kentucky Derby may be peaking too soon, with the classic East-West showdown of unbeaten horses taking place in the Florida Derby instead of the first Saturday in May. Bonus or no bonus, thats a long way for Nyquist to go to face this guy on his home turf. He is so cool and so automatic, you just flip the switch when you want him to go and sit back. Imagine the buildup in Kentucky if an unbeaten Mohaymen and an unbeaten Nyquist squared off in the Derby. But it looks like that will be merely a Derby preview. If the Nyquist team can take any positives out of the Fountain of Youth it is that they didnt come home very fast, but Mohaymen, after being forced wide into the first turn, went his second and third quarters in :23 flat and :23 3/5 and he was never put to any real pressure to dispose of Zulu, drawing clear under a hand ride and being geared down in the final strides. One thing we know about Mohaymen, ground loss does little to slow him down. Coming back off a big 3-year-old debut is often tricky, and many horses regress a little, but this was perfect, as it wasnt a regression and wasnt a giant leap forward; it was somewhere right in between and that is what these prep races are for. These are supposed to be building blocks and he now has two victories under his belt without coming anywhere near peaking, as evidenced by his back-to-back-to-back 95 Beyer figures. But because he didnt move forward at all speed-wise in a race that was perfectly set up for him, he will need to start cranking up the engine when he tackles Nyquist and an improved Zulu in the Florida Derby, but still leave enough in the tank for the big one. This race, like the Holy Bull, seemed to take nothing out of him, and he was doing awesome the following morning, cleaning up his feed. Ive been saying all along that McLaughlin is a major Derby gods candidate and so far they appear to be smiling down on him, with two perfect prep races; the emphasis on the word prep. 2 Mor Spirit Bob Baffert EskendereyaIm a Dixie Girl, by Dixie Union When Bafferts plans go awry and its back to the drawing board, you can bet he will draw up new plans that will put him back on the right track. Such was the case when he had to adjust to this horses aborted work last week. This time with plenty of company, he was aggressive enough to work 5f in :59 4/5 with jockey Martin Garcia aboard, putting him right on schedule for his important test in the San Felipe Stakes, assuming thats where he winds up running. As we all know, the last time he worked, Gary Stevens pulled him up during the work when he felt he was too unresponsive. Baffert attributed it to the cotton in his ears not being removed before the work. In any case, this time, going in company and having two other workers in front of him to run at, he turned in the kind of sharp work one expects from a top-class Baffert horse. The way the San Felipe is shaping up, he should have another ideal pace scenario, with his four main competitors all having early speed, whether on the lead or in a stalking position. He now likes to sit back with those long effortless strides and wear down his opponents methodically. He should get that opportunity in the San Felipe, but as we all know, Baffert doesnt commit to long-term goals. So at this point well just say hell run in the San Felipe as long as he continues to train to Bafferts satisfaction. 3 Brody's Cause Dale Romans Giants Causeway Sweet Breanna, by Sahm Ho hum, another week, another attempt to fill this space. Ill begin with his sharp 5-furlong breeze in 1:00 3/5 at Gulfstream. I have to admit I probably should have Nyquist ahead of him, but after all this time I figured Id just let it stay the way it is until we find out once and for all where he stands when he debuts in the March 12 Tampa Bay Derby against what should be a pretty salty field, especially those who have already run well over the track. We all know that Tampa Bay can be deep and quirky and not all horses care for it. But this has been the plan from the beginning, and if he can get through this race with a big effort, not necessarily a victory, just something good enough to set him up for the Blue Grass Stakes, he should be in good shape. All I want to see is that acceleration he showed in his 2-year-old races, especially in the Breeders Futurity when he kicked into high gear on the far turn. Tampa does help build a strong foundation, and that no doubt helped Street Sense when got into a slugfest with Any Given Saturday. Remember, it was Street Senses victory in the Kentucky Derby that opened the floodgates for trainers giving their horses only two preps. 4 Nyquist Doug O'Neill Uncle MoSeeking Gabrielle, by Forestry What separates him from the others is his ability to turn back all challenges and kick on. In short, hes been impossible to pass, although a number have tried. In his career debut, one horse pulled on even terms; he turned back that challenge and then turned back a second challenge to win by a head. In the Del Mar Futurity, a horse got within a head of him at the top of the stretch; he turned back that challenge and drew off to a 3 3/4-length victory. In the Frontrunner, his first start around two turns, he got bumped around between horses into the first turn, turned back the challenge of a horse who got within a head of him turning for home, and then turned back the challenge of Swipe, who also got within a head of him trying to sneak up the inside. In the Breeders Cup Juvenile, he had to go 6-wide on the first turn, put away a couple of horses and then held off Swipes challenge again to win by a half-length. And in the San Vicente, one horse got within a neck of him at the top of the stretch; he turned back that challenge and then turned back the challenge of Exaggerator, who got within a half-length of him, before drawing clear to win by 1 1/2 lengths. I have no issues at all with this colt and admire his determination and consistency, and knowing just where the wire is. ONeills master plan is to try to get him through the Triple Crown without regressing, and if he can pull off the Florida Derby against Mohaymen off one 7-furlong sprint and the Kentucky Derby off only one two-turn race, then the skys the limit the rest of the way and a huge congrats to ONeill. But its a tough assignment, even for Nyquist. One vote of confidence came from Exaggerators trainer Keith Desormeaux, who said of the Mohaymen-Nyquist showdown, Mohaymen will have his hands full. He has enough second-place checks to back up that statement. 5 Exaggerator Keith Desormeaux CurlinDawn Raid, by Vindication He bounced out of the San Vicente speed fest in great shape judging by his sharp 5-furlong breeze in 1:00 2/5. The more I watch his race the more I like him. He looks like hes made great progress from 2 to 3, he ran a winning race, and this will set him up perfectly for the San Felipe and Santa Anita Derby. Desormeaux said he was in top form and ready to win, but that was not the primary objective. He trained him with the purpose of using the San Vicente as a building block toward the Kentucky Derby. But because the colt was working so sharply, he felt he could win anyway, but he underestimated Nyquists raw speed and commends him for beating his horse in such fast time. In his latest work, Desormeaux said he clipped off :12s like he was galloping and he loved how he was willing to relax, which assured him the San Vicente, despite its blistering time, did not fatigue him physically or mentally in any way. Desormeaux is one of the few trainers who believe in preparing a horse for the Derby the traditional way, with a sprint as a sharpener and then a pair of two-turn races. Injury stopped him last year with Texas Red, but good for him for sticking to his principals again this year. Exaggerator should keep improving as the distances stretch out, being by classic winner Curlin and from a tail-female family that traces to English and Irish Derby winner The Minstrel and Belmont Stakes runner-up Ruritania, a Greentree-bred son of Graustark. 6 Greenpointcrusader Dominick Schettino BernardiniAva Knowsthecode, by Cryptoclearance Watching only six horses compete in the Fountain of Youth, I couldnt help but miss the presence of this colt, who, as Ive stated, I would prefer to have two more preps to get back into a come-from-behind groove, and the way to do that is to make sure he doesnt get too fresh, as he was in the Holy Bull. I would love to hear a definitive plan for this horse rather than leaving so many options open over a three-week period. He continues to turn in leisurely works, breezing 5 furlongs in 1:02 2/5. As Ive also stated, he is attempting to do something no other horse has ever done, and that is win the Kentucky Derby straight from the Louisiana Derby, if that is indeed where he runs next, as originally stated. But it must be added that before 2010 the Louisiana Derby was run at 1 1/16 miles, so one would think it can stand alone as a final prep much more than it used to, and weve seen too much Derby history torn to shreds in the past decade with the more conservative style of training. Whatever Schettinos reasoning is for going this route, he obviously is trying to get this horse to the Derby what he believes is the best way. Like ONeill, if he can pull it off being this conservative, and gets this horse to win the Derby off one race in 14 weeks, more power to him. I just dont like the precedent his and Nyquists strategy would set. Next thing you know, most trainers will follow suit and youll have a boring, inactive Derby trail with a field of short horses on the first Saturday in May, which eventually will take its toll. As for this colt, I believe its time to set a target and train him accordingly. If it is indeed the Louisiana Derby, he is going to have to get an awful lot out of the race to establish himself as a legitimate contender and then get battle fit all over again waiting six weeks for the Kentucky Derby. 7 Zulu Todd Pletcher Bernardini Temporada, by Summer Squall I admit I am not a big fan of horses going into the Kentucky Derby off only four career starts, especially with two of them being sprints, but the way he ran in the Fountain of Youth and the room he has for improvement, along with his raw talent, nothing he does on the first Saturday in May would surprise me. Historically, only two horses in the past 98 years have won the Derby with four starts or less and neither of them had ever run in a sprint. This colt is attempting it having run in two of them. Thats not a lot of foundation. He looked great in the paddock and post parade before getting a little wired and sweaty nearing the gate. But he broke sharply, relaxed beautifully in second, and was able to rattle off quarters in :23 3/5, :23 2/5, and :23 3/5. When Awesome Banner abruptly called it a day midway on the far turn, he found himself on the lead, partly to try to get the jump on Mohaymen, who was breathing down his neck. That put him at a disadvantage, having never been two turns. He needed to save more in reserve for the stretch run, but was already under a left-hand whip nearing the top of the stretch. To his credit, he tried to fight back when Mohaymen collared him turning for home. He was tiring at the end and was striding a bit high, but he never gave up. Getting beat 2 1/4 lengths by an undefeated horse who had won three two-turn graded stakes and had run 18 1/2 furlongs farther was very respectable. This race definitely will move him forward, and considering the competition in the Florida Derby and the big difference in experience and foundation, he doesnt need to win that either, as long as it takes him one step closer to peaking on the first Saturday in May. But he is going to have to get a lot out of the Florida Derby; mainly experience, bottom, and toughness, and that means looking Mohaymen and Nyquist in the eye and standing his ground. As far as raw talent goes, he takes a backseat to no one, which is why he was in the initial Top 12. The bottom line is he is behind the leading contenders in every aspect and needs to catch-up quickly, and Pletcher is going to have to time this perfectly and get him to run an absolute monster race on the first Saturday in May. 8 Mo Tom Tom Amoss Uncle MoCaroni, by Rubiano For a horse with his style of running, hes been remarkably consistent, having never finished worse than third in six career starts at distances from six furlongs to 1 1/16 miles at four different racetracks. Its just a question of whether he can duplicate his closing feats at longer distances. Here is where his pedigree becomes an enigma. People look at it and see speed on top with Uncle Mo and a broodmare sire who was strictly a sprinter. But the sons of Uncle Mo are mostly come from behind horses who look they want to go on. And although Mo Toms broodmare sire, Rubiano, was closing sprinter, he is a half-brother to the dam of Tapit. In fact, its even closer than that, as Tapits dam is by Unbridled, while Rubiano is by Unbridleds sire Fappiano, so some may consider him more of a three-quarter brother. I also cant get a handle on the Fair Grounds-based horses. Those who go through the series of preps here normally dont make an impact on the Derby for some reason. You would think this should be a perfect track to prep for the Derby. Mucho Macho Man did win the Risen Star and finish third in the Louisiana Derby and Kentucky Derby, but he shipped in from Florida for the Risen Star after running in the Holy Bull Stakes. The only horse to run in all three Fair Grounds preps and even finish in the money in the Derby was Risen Star himself, back in 1988 when the race eventually named after him was the ungraded Louisiana Derby Trial. 9 Smokey Image Carla Gaines Southern ImageSpecial Smoke, by Free House Hes had a pair of eventful works, hooking up with other horses, this time Danzing Candy, but he just seems to shrug it off and go about his business. In his last drill, he still wound up working a bullet 6 furlongs in 1:12 1/5, fastest of 30 works at the distance. Weve gone through all this horses attributes and the comparisons to California Chrome, and the ease with which he won the Cal Cup Derby in his first race around two turns. Its now up to him to show how much class he has when he takes on Mor Spirit, Exaggerator, Uncle Lino, I Will Score, Danzing Candy and others in the San Felipe Stakes. He wont be strolling out there on any easy lead, so hell have to show his stalking ability against some very fast horses who can carry their speed a distance. Judging from the way he rallied after tracking the pace and then getting stopped cold on the turn in the Golden State Juvenile, I dont see him having any trouble adapting to whatever pace scenario plays out. If he runs back to his works he should be competitive with these horses. But there simply is no way to tell how he stacks up with them at this point. 10 Suddenbreakingnews Donnie Von Hemel MineshaftUchitel, by Afleet Alex Breezed an easy half in :51 1/5 in preparation for the Rebel Stakes. There really is little to dislike about this gelding, with his ability to beat you from anywhere on the track and his explosive late kick. What was most impressive in the Southwest Stakes was the way he ran right on by a very good horse in Whitmore, who is extremely close to making the Top 12. Whitmore appeared to be making a big winning move and becoming a major Derby contender when Suddenbreakingnews streaked by him late and quickly opened up by nearly three lengths at the wire. He is bred to run all day, with his broodmare sire having won the Belmont and his great-grandsire two Arc de Triomphes. His dam is a half-sister to grade I winner Composure and West Virginia Derby winner Ready Set and his granddam was grade I-placed. Hes inbred 4x4 to Allegeds sire Hoist the Flag, a son of the great stamina influence Tom Rolfe, and he traces to the prolific Dans Dream, the dam of seven stakes winners. Its been a long time between mint juleps for Von Hemel, who picked the wrong year to have his best 3-year-old, Clever Trevor, who managed to win three Derbys in 1989 and finish second to Easy Goer in the Travers Stakes. Ironically, Suddenbreakingnews first career stakes victory came in the Clever Trevor Stakes. 11 Gun Runner Steve Asmussen Candy RideQuiet Giant, by Giant's Causeway Returned to the work tab with an easy 5-furlong breeze in 1:02 4/5. His Risen Star victory was a big step in the right direction, especially maintaining the lead from the top of the stretch to the wire down that long Fair Grounds stretch, despite getting a bit tired in the closing yards. He has tremendous scope for improvement and looks to be extremely talented and probably deserves to be ranked higher. But lets remember, he did beat a 40-1 shot by a half-length and Mo Tom did have to take up in the stretch. And the 34-1 shot who set a brisk pace of :22 4/5 and :46 1/5 was beaten only 2 1/4 lengths. So, although this was a very good effort for his first start in almost three months and in an 11-horse field, he still has to show improvement in the Louisiana Derby when he faces these same horses and some quality shippers, and then have a six-week gap to the Kentucky Derby. In the past, when the Louisiana Derby was six weeks away and run at 1 1/16 miles, horses would often run back in three weeks for their final prep. The past few years, the race has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby and we have had some big efforts, such as Commanding Curve, Golden Soul, and Revolutionary. So well see what trainers do this year with the race back to six weeks out. Well also have to see if the six-week gap will affect him, being the only Fair Grounds-based Derby hopeful making his 3-year-old debut in the Risen Star and having only two preps. 12 Destin Todd Pletcher Giants CausewayDream of Summer, by Siberian Summer This is my new dark horse for the Derby. I loved this horses career debut and hated his next two starts, especially failing to catch a 28-1 former claimer who you couldnt find with a telescope in his two most recent starts. But then I loved his race in the Sam F. Davis, which left me totally confused about him. I went back and watched all four of his races again and saw something in his uninspiring fourth in the LeComte that caught my eye. For most of the race he seemed to show little interest and was a mess turning for home, being hit left- and right-handed, and that was with the addition of blinkers. But then at the sixteenth pole, out of nowhere, he leveled off, found his best stride, and was moving with great power and authority to and past the wire. Pletcher then made an adjustment with his blinkers and he turned in a powerful effort from start to finish in the Sam Davis, flying home in :06 1/5, despite still being a bit green. Im now convinced that this colt, who was a handful to break at WinStar Farm and constantly tested his handlers, simply woke up when the light bulb went on at the sixteenth pole of the LeComte, and he then carried it into the Sam Davis. The problem with him early on was that his mind had a tendency to wander when running at high speed, in the afternoon and morning. Even after returning from his victory in his career debut, he went right to the inside rail, turned his head, and stood there motionless for several seconds just staring out into the infield. Between the blinker adjustment, Johnny Velazquez working with him, and just finally maturing, I believe he has turned into the racehorse everyone thought hed be and will keep moving forward. KNOCKING ON THE DOOR Where are the Florida 3-year-olds? The Holy Bull Stakes drew 6 horses; the Fountain of Youth drew 6 horses; the Sam F. Davis Stakes drew 6 horses; the Swale Stakes drew 6 horses. The Palm Beach Stakes on grass had more Triple Crown nominees entered than the Fountain of Youth the same day. In the Fountain of Youth, the three main threats to Mohaymen Zulu, Awesome Speed, and Awesome Banner had a combined total of nine career starts, with Mohaymens five opponents having run in only one two-turn race, and that was restricted to horses by Florida-based stallions. By comparison, the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park not only drew 14 horses, but they got an additional eight horses in a two-turn allowance race run four days later, and even carded a 1 1/16-mile allowance race for 3-year-olds and up a week after that, which drew two more Rebel possibilities. At Fair Grounds, the Risen Star Stakes drew 11 horses, and they were able to muster up a seven-horse field in an allowance race five days later (see report below). Thats 40 3-year-olds, the vast majority of them stakes caliber, competing at those two tracks within the span of a week and a half. Gulfstream, to its credit, did card a 1 1/16-mile allowance race the day after the Fountain of Youth, which drew a field of eight and was won by a horse who had never run on dirt. There are three top-quality horses who are leaving town and heading to New York for Saturdays Gotham. Lets hope we get deeper and more competitive fields for the Tampa Bay Derby and Florida Derby, but that is doubtful regarding the latter, with Mohaymen, Nyquist, and Zulu likely to keep that field small as well. As for the beaten horses in the Fountain of Youth, FELLOWSHIP ran pretty much the same race he did in the Holy Bull. You can say he finished third by default, but well give more credit to the horse, although he was no threat to the top two. AWESOME SPEED was mugged twice, once being knocked sideways, going into the first turn, by a horse, GOLDEN RAY, who really didnt belong in this race other than he managed to beat Destin four races back. How he managed that is beyond me. Hes run some decent races, but not in this company. He was totally out of control around the turn and into the backstretch and faded to finish last, beaten over 26 lengths. Awesome Speed never did a thing after that, tiring early to be finish a well-beaten fourth. It's a shame he never got a chance to show what he can do. And AWESOME BANNER simply showed that he's a sprinter, stopping badly and finishing just in front of Golden Ray. CHERRY WINE having to miss the Fountain of Youth was unfortunate, but although its a setback, there is still time to still get two preps in him. Hell just have to forget the Gulfstream route and head elsewhere. The worst part of the defection is that the colt has been very sharp in his works and has now bypassed two stakes and will have to go more than two months between starts, having raced last back on Jan. 9. The most likely route would seem to be the Rebel and Arkansas Derby, but there is also the possibility of running him against stablemate Brody's Cause at Tampa, and thats for Romans to decide, whether he wants to run both horses against each. With that said, I had no choice but to drop him from the Top 12 for the time being. Unlike Brodys Cause, who is a proven top-class horse in graded stakes company, Cherry Wines inactivity still leaves question marks. He still has not proven his class against stakes horses and on the Derby trail, inactivity and unproven dont mix. How popular would a horse owned, trained, and bred by Larry Jones be on the Derby trail? Well, we may find out after JENSENS impressive 6 3/4-length wire-to-wire victory in a mile and 70-yard allowance race at Fair Grounds, in which the son of Haynesfield easily defeated a couple of very nice horses in SPIKES SHIRL and HARLAN PUNCH. Both Haynesfield and Jensens broodmare sire, Hard Spun, who was trained by Jones, were frontrunners who could carry their speed 1 1/4 miles, so Jones wanted to put the colt on the lead to see if he could carry his speed as well. Despite the manner of victory, Jones is convinced Jensen can be just as effective rating off the pace. What was most impressive about the victory was how the colt kept building up momentum throughout the race and powered his way to the wire, getting stronger with every stride. And he did it the right way, running a straight course down the stretch with smooth, efficient strides. He is not nominated to the Triple Crown, but will be a late nominee if he performs well in the Louisiana Derby. Joness wife Cindy is co-owner and co-breeder of the colt. MALIBU SUNSET, a 10-length maiden winner going 6 furlongs at Fair Grounds before being sent to Bob Baffert, stretched out to two-turns in a mile allowance race and showed a good deal of professionalism, having to contend with constant pressure on his outside and inside before asserting himself and pretty much coasting to a stylish 1 1/2-length victory in 1:37 4/5. He was never asked in the stretch and, despite the margin and time, was much the best. Its just too bad he couldnt have gotten started a little earlier. Running in the Derby off three career starts would be asking a lot. Baffert sent out TOEWS ON ICE for his first work, a half in :49, since his disappointing effort in the Smarty Jones. But the other Baffert horse to watch on the Derby trail is CUPID, whose impressive maiden victory, in which he charged past his opponents at the top of the stretch with a powerful sweeping move, stamped him as a very talented colt. He demonstrated his sharpness, working 5 furlongs in :59 4/5. Itll be interesting to see where he shows up next. You always have to consider the Rebel when it comes to Baffert. After a string of seconds, WinStar Farm's CREATOR broke his maiden in explosive fashion, rallying far back in the 1 1/16-mile race to blow his field away in the stretch, drawing off to an impressive 7 1/4-length victory, coming home his final sixteenth in a sharp :06 1/5. But all six of his starts have been run in plodding fractions, so he will have to get faster to take the next big step. I will go into more detail on this colt next week. But for now, he could be one to keep a close eye on among the late developers, especially with his unusual pedigree. He will get higher billing next week when things are a little slower. Saturdays Gotham Stakes looks to be one the strongest in years, with a number of promising horses in addition to several proven stakes horses. The first and third-place finishers of the Withers Stakes, SUNNY RIDGE and ADVENTIST, will be back. Sunny Ridge, who breezed a half in :51 4/5 over the Belmont training track, is not being pointing for the Kentucky Derby, according to his owner. Adventist, who should show big improvement off his last start, breezed 5 furlongs in a bullet 1:01 1/5 also over the Belmont training track. A trio of Florida shippers who should get a great deal of attention are SHAGAF, RALLY CRY, and CONQUEST BIG E, who is trying to rebound off a disappointing effort in the Holy Bull Stakes. Shagaf and Rally Cry finished first and third, respectively, in a Gulfstream allowance race, with the latter having to take up sharply and then rallying in the final furlong without ever threatening the winner, who is undefeated in two starts and could be any kind. Shagaf breezed a half in :48 4/5 at Palm Meadows, while Rally Cry breezed his half in :48 3/5 at Palm Beach Downs. Another shipper is the lightly raced LAOBAN, third in the Sham Stakes, who worked 6 furlongs in 1:15 at Aqueduct for trainer Eric Guillot, who caught the colts last quarter in :24, galloping out 7 furlongs in 1:27 3/5. Although still a maiden, he appears to have ability and is on the improve. Possibly pointing for the Gotham is MATT KING COAL from the Linda Rice barn. Although hed be making his first start of the year, if he runs back to his sensational maiden victory last fall, hed be tough to handle. He breezed a sharp 6 furlongs in 1:14 3/5, an excellent work over the Belmont training track. Rice is weighing her options. She has another 3-year-old who can run in SEYMOURDINI, who was beaten a half-length by Mohaymen in his career debut and then broke his maiden by 9 lengths stretching out to a mile. The son of Bernardini had his first work of the year, breezing a half in :50 4/5. Mark Casse, who now has a new-look Derby team compared to the one he had at the beginning of the year, said SIDING SPRING will stay home and point for the Rebel Stakes, while recent allowance winner CONQUEST WINDYCITY will head to Fair Grounds for the Louisiana Derby. Judging from his last start and how strong he looked at the finish he should love that long stretch. He does have CONQUEST BIG E in the Gotham Stakes, and you just never know what to expect from this colt. Trainer Ron Moquett was looking for a two-race rider commitment for Southwest runner-up WHITMORE and he was able to line up Irad Ortiz Jr., who will ride the colt in the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby. Mike Smith rode him in the Southwest. The son of Pleasantly Perfect turned in a bullet half-mile breeze in :48 1/5 in company, fastest of 75 works at the distance. This colt is sitting right on the edge of the Top 12, and Im looking for the slightest excuse to put him on. Also on the Rebel front, Jack Van Berg said CUTACORNER, ninth in the Southwest, deserves another chance after getting cut up pretty bad on his front legs. Others pointing for the Rebel are SUDDENBREAKINGNEWS, DISCREETNESS, VORTICITY, who worked 5 furlongs in 1:01 1/5 at fair Hill, AMERICAN DUBAI, who breezed 3 furlongs in :36 1/5, SIDING SPRING, who breezed 5 furlongs in 1:01, undefeated allowance winner DAZZLING GEM, and allowance sprint winner MO FOR THE MONEY, trained by Tony Dutrow. Well have to wait to see if there are any other shippers coming and, as mentioned earlier, if Bob Baffert is planning on sending Cupid. Donnie Von Hemel said he will back off Smarty Jones third-place finisher SYNCHRONY after his poor showing in the Southwest and will not point for the Rebel. It was great to see SWIPE back on the work tab. Four times runner-up to Nyquist, including a three-quarters of a length defeat in the Frontrunner and a half-length defeat in the Breeders Cup Juvenile, he breezed a half in :49 2/5. As of now, FLEXIBILITY is not listed as a probable or possible for the Gotham, which to me is great news. If Brown waits for the Wood Memorial I feel he will be very live in there at a good price, because people have forgotten him after his fourth in the Withers. As Ive been saying, I just feel he had too many races close together and needed a break, and he ran like it in the Withers. But just watch his two races against Mohaymen and you know this is a very good horse. He had his second work since the Withers, breezing a half in :48 4/5 at Belmont. He has a ton of stamina top and bottom, hes inbred to two Triple Crown winners and his dam is inbred to the great classic influence Hail to Reason. Brown also has Swale Stakes runner-up ECONOMIC MODEL for the same owners likely pointing for the Tampa Bay Derby. His pedigree says he should have no trouble stretching out to two turns. Because I think so highly now of Destin, I have to give RAFTING another chance, even though hes become a Jekyll and Hyde type. One race he does everything wrong, then the next he looks smooth and professional, and then hes back racing like a green 2-year-old. He even went from looking like a winner to looking totally messed up in the span of a few seconds in the Sam F. Davis. I truly believe the talent is there and think very highly of him. I just want to see him show that hes matured and doesnt keep going back and forth mentally. But first he has to show up on the work tab, as he hasnt worked since the Sam Davis. California Derby and El Camino Real Derby winner FRANK CONVERSATION breezed a half in :49 as he prepares to depart for Dubai for the UAE Derby. Team Valors KASSEOPIA, who finished an unlucky third in the El Camino Real Derby and looks to be a good one, will likely remain on synthetic and point for the Spiral Stakes April 2. Another Team Valor colt, RIKER, could also show up in the Spiral, the race that was Animal Kingdoms springboard to the Derby for the same owner. Last week, I mentioned Todd Pletchers crew of late developers. There are others to add to the list, and all of them are nominated to the Gotham Stakes. Theres AWESOME GENT, runaway winner of a maiden and allowance race over Aqueducts inner track; OUTWORK, undefeated in two starts at Keeneland and Tampa Bay; SARATOGA MISCHIEF, who hasnt run since finishing second to Exaggerator in the Saratoga Special; and one early starter, DONEGAL MOON, an impressive maiden winner who is looking to regain his form after several poor efforts and a horrible break, unseating his rider and nearly going down. Pletcher even accidentally backed into a winner when he scratched AZAR from the Palm Beach Stakes on grass because of a bad post and entered him on the dirt for the first time in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race the following day, and the son of Scat Daddy scored a workmanlike three-quarters of a length victory in a slowly run 1:45. Pletcher could also decide to switch GIMLET to the dirt after the son of Lemon Drop Kid rallied from far back to finish fifth in the Palm Beach, beaten only 1 1/2 lengths. Gimlets second dam was a stakes winner on dirt in New York and is a full-sister to million-dollar earner Althea, winner of the Arkansas Derby in track-record time and five other grade I stakes on dirt, and a half-sister to Peter Pan and Withers winner Twining. UNCLE LINO, second in the Robert Lewis Stakes, breezed an easy 5 furlongs in 1:03 for the San Felipe, while I WILL SCORE went his 5 f urlongs in 1:01 3/5. Another San Felipe hopeful, DANZING CANDY, worked 6 furlongs in 1:13 right in front of Smokey Image. MAC DADDY MAC continues to move close to his 3-year-old debut, breezing 5 furlongs in 1:01. COCKED AND LOADED continued his easy breezes, going 3 furlongs in :38 1/5 at Tampa Bay Downs. UNBRIDLED OUTLAW, who is an under the radar horse to watch down the road, breezed 5 furlongs in 1:01 2/5. Another Dale Romans-trained colt, LOOKIN FOR A KISS, who broke his maiden first out in 1:09 3/5, turned in a bullet 5-furlong breeze in 1:00 flat, fastest of 26 works at the distance. The Spiral Stakes on Polytrack gained a couple of prospective starters in CONVERGE, winner of the Palm Beach Stakes, and CITE, a son of Blame who came from way back to break his maiden in a 1 1/8-mile turf race at Gulfstream. The upgrades in the Bristol-London line are expected to increase house prices in Bristol by 5-10% above existing trends. But local renters and first time buyers living and working in the town do not benefit. And land and property owners get a huge benefit ... at public expense. It's the same and worse for HS2. Local people benefit little from ultra-fast service to London and fares will increase too. Smaller cities such as Coventry and Stoke will find they have fewer trains. People across the UK will pay for HS2 in higher taxes, whether they benefit or not. And since the route does not connect many cities - and often goes to isolated parkway stations rather than city centres - the benefits, even for landowners, are small. A better way - high speed UK Yet there is a better scheme. There is also a better way to pay for it. Only now has the detail been mapped, costed, and published for discussion and consultation. 'High Speed UK' is an alternative national upgrade plan. It is based on a four-track spine along the M1 corridor from London to Yorkshire. Its restoration of the abandoned Woodhead corridor between Sheffield and Manchester will relieve trans-Pennine congestion. Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield will be connected together straight away. Birmingham and the West Midlands will benefit hugely by upgrading key radial routes to four tracks. High speed trains will run on to existing tracks (as in France). This will mean massive time savings on journeys between all the main centres of population in the Midlands and the North of England. Considering the infrastructure necessary to fully interconnect ten UK primary cities, High Speed UK is estimated to be around 20 billion cheaper than HS2 and HS3 combined - which together still fail to meet the gold standard of full interconnection. Even a more intensive route which would be necessary to interconnect 33 key centres, offering around 45% average journey time savings, and considering also four-track construction between London and Yorkshire, High Speed UK is still at least 5 billion cheaper than HS2+HS3. High Speed UK's hugely improved connectivity and capacity will drive the road to rail modal shift necessary to deliver CO 2 reductions in line with the 80% reduction target of the 2008 Climate Change Act - whereas HS2 is predicted to be no better than 'carbon neutral'. A better funding model High Speed UK could be paid for by levies on property owners who would benefit, an approach which helped to fund the Jubilee line extension. Landowners who benefit from the scheme would pay. Land rents are higher the more connected a location is and the lower the transport costs. Therefore, the lower the fares, the higher the revenue from land taxes. If land value increases were captured, this makes possible a high capacity, low fare model, rather than the 'high speed for the rich' scheme now in prospect. Land near stations should be purchased by the government at unimproved values and then developed. This resulting integrated transport and property development near stations could make a large profit for the government. High-capacity rail provides the opportunity to solve the transport and housing crises in an integrated and beneficial way. The Hong Kong Mass Transit authority makes a profit of $2 billion a year by integrated rail and property development. Railways paid for by these two means (land taxes and property development) could repay the investment to the government many times, giving the public sector a long-term profit. A vision of the future It is not too late to get this one right. High Speed UK has been planned in great detail, with 1:25,000 plans of the route and timetables which show exactly who would benefit. The costs of the basic route are 20 billion less than HS2. The land issues would be much less contentious. The Chiltern Hills would be spared, ancient woodland would be protected and so would the huge cost of tunnelling in the Chilterns and under much of London. Carbon emissions savings would be far greater, giving the UK a real chance of meeting its climate change targets. Imagine a network where you can get from anywhere to anywhere. Where new and old railway are totally interoperable, so if there's a problem, trains can switch from one line to another. Where Heathrow and the Channel Tunnel are connected to every major city in the country, so there's little need for domestic flights. Where the North and the Midlands operate as fully integrated and connected 'powerhouses', as soon as possible ... not at some distant point in the future. Where massively enhanced capacity and a better funding model allows much lower fares. Where city centre stations provide the hub for integrated property and rail development, offering convenience for all. All this with a system that could pay for itself - or turn a profit, as Hong Kong has shown. Rather than degrade existing services, make them better. Rather than merely giving landowners near stations a free ride, ask them to pay for it. And use this as a great opportunity to develop our major cities. The High Speed 2 hybrid bill is currently finishing its Committee Stage in the House of Commons. After the report stage it will be voted on decisively in its Third Reading in the Commons, before heading to the Lords and then, if successful to Royal Assent. This is a 'once in two centuries' opportunity. While it's still in consideration in Parliament, it's not too late for a rethink. We cannot as a nation afford to get this one wrong. Colin Elliff BSc CEng MICE is the designer and Civil Engineering Principal, of High Speed UK. He is a chartered civil engineer UK with over 30 years experience in railway civil engineering. Andrew Coulson MA PhD is a research fellow at Birmingham University with interests in East Africa, local economic strategies and scrutiny in local authorities. He is Chair of Birmingham Fabian Society. Stephen Stretton MA MPhil is an economist, financial risk modeller and programmer. He founded Re:think HS2 and is currently writing a commissioned book on tax and welfare reform for a China based British businessman. Graphics: In addition to those shown here (above right) more images are available from rethink-hs2.uk/graphics. More on The Ecologist: SHARE By Deborah Yetter, The Courier-Journal Rep. Darryl Owens, a Louisville Democrat, has filed two bills seeking to block Gov. Matt Bevin's plans to dismantle kynect, the state health exchange, and scale back the state Medicaid program. Owens said he hopes to get a hearing on his bills in the House, where Democrats hold the majority, though he acknowledged that they likely won't fare well in the Senate, controlled by Republicans. But he said he decided to file them out of his concern that the changes proposed by Bevin will make it too hard for people to get health coverage and that many will lose it. "The folks out there, they have no voice, they don't have a lobbyist," he said. "You are going to have a number of folks who are just going to drop off." House Bill 5 would require the state to continue to operate kynect, the site where people can shop for private health insurance or sign up for Medicaid if they are eligible. House Bill 6 would require the state to continue the Medicaid expansion at its current level. Jessica Ditto, spokeswoman for the Bevin administration, said the governor "would welcome an up or down vote on both bills on the House floor as expeditiously as possible." She added House members have not yet had the opportunity to weigh in on either issue. Bevin ran on a campaign pledging to dismantle Kentucky's nationally recognized health insurance exchange, created by his predecessor, Gov. Steve Beshear, under the federal Affordable Care Act. He also has pledged to scale back the state's expansion of Medicaid under the federal health law that added about 425,000 Kentuckians to the government health plan. Bevin has called the expansion "unsustainable," a claim repeated recently by Vickie Yates Brown Glisson, his secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Glisson last week at a hearing of the House human services budget subcommittee said the state Medicaid program is "hemorrhaging" money. But most of the projected shortfall of about $125 million in the current fiscal year comes from about 60,000 more people added to "traditional" Medicaid who were eligible before the expansion, Medicaid Commissioner Stephen Miller said. The federal government covers 70 percent of the costs of people in traditional Medicaid, who include the poor, pregnant women, children, the disabled and low-income elderly in nursing homes. For now, the federal government pays 100 percent of the costs of those added under the expansion, which covers anyone up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. That will gradually decrease to 90 percent by 2020. Owens said he wants to give kynect and the Medicaid expansion a chance to work in Kentucky. "Health care should not be a privilege for the wealthy," he said. "I believe affordable access to insurance is the right of every Kentuckian." Owens said he's not convinced by Bevin's claims the state can't afford kynect and expanded Medicaid, pointing to outside studies that showed the Medicaid expansion will add 40,000 jobs and $30 billion to the state's economy through 2021 and will generate a net positive impact of nearly $820 million to state and local governments. So far, Bevin has not backed up his claims that such benefits are exaggerated, Owens said. "We should have more information other than his opinion that those numbers are not correct," Owens said. Copy of ballot SHARE By Beth Smith of The Gleaner Henderson County Schools' nickel tax was, for the second straight meeting, the subject of debate during Tuesday's regular session of the Henderson County Fiscal Court. The tax, which was narrowly approved by Henderson County voters 4,956 to 4,799 in the general election on Nov. 3, can only be used to update Henderson school facilities. Henderson Superintendent Marganna Stanley on Monday delivered letters to the Fiscal Court members (PDF), in response to Dean Spooner's appearance before the court last week, in which she refuted claims that the tax was illegal or a "scam." Meanwhile Spooner, who has filed a lawsuit in Henderson Circuit Court seeking to block the tax, again appeared in front of the Fiscal Court on Tuesday this time asking for an answer to his request that the panel file an injunction blocking the tax until the matter is decided by the Circuit Court. In her letter, Stanley who said she listened to the audio recording of Feb. 23 Fiscal Court meeting denies that the school system imposed an illegal tax on citizens. "Please rest assured that the Henderson County School District has not placed an illegal tax on the citizens of Henderson County, nor would it ever attempt to do such a thing. "The school system made candid and transparent efforts to educate the public about the nickel tax ... Frank discussions occurred at our formal board meetings, our community forums, school meetings, and general or casual conversations at the grocery store, restaurants, diners, et cetera. We also provided print materials and a Web page to educate the citizens on the impact of the nickel tax and the benefits to students and the school system." As he addressed Fiscal Court members Tuesday, Spooner asked that magistrates "stop this wrongful taxation. ... I would like, as a citizen, the dignity of having a response from the county magistrates," he said. Henderson County Attorney Steve Gold, on behalf of the court, told Spooner that based on his own research and after seeking opinions from Rich Ornstein, an attorney with the Kentucky Association of Counties, and Ryan Halloran, an attorney with the state Attorney General's office, the magistrates don't have the authority to block the tax. (PDF) Spooner then asked the magistrates their opinion of the tax and "what do you intend to do?" ... "Is any elected official here going to do or say anything? ... Just speak publicly to this. I would like to hear from each magistrate." "Let me just say, it wouldn't be my position to overreach the law," said Magistrate Butch Puttman. "Mr. Gold just said what our ability is at this time. We can't do anything." Gold tried to balance his personal and professional opinions. "The easy thing to do would have been to find something that says, 'Yes, the Fiscal Court can (block the tax)' because then there would've been a lot of happy citizens. I'm a taxpayer too. I'm not particularly happy to pay it. However, I advise this court on what I think the law is, whether I like it or not," he said. "I think the answer to this does come up in Henderson Circuit Court. I think the plaintiffs, you and Mr. Pruitt, have some definite arguments to make that have the benefit of common sense on your side. I think the (circuit judge) is going to have a lot to look at. I've also received information from the schools and they believe they have good arguments as well. "However the question is whether the Fiscal Court as a body itself has the standing to be able to do anything. At the end of the day, my conclusion is that it does not." Spooner then asked magistrates to offer their opinion on the tax. "I would like our representatives that were elected to say 'This sounds wrong to me or that it's right,' " he said. "I've read everything, and yes, it could be that you have a case," said acting County Judge-executive Bruce Todd. "But it's not for us (the Fiscal Court) to say that. It will come out eventually in court." "We can't overstep our boundaries and go into someone else's area of responsibility," Warren said. "My personal opinion and how I voted on that is not going to change the outcome. The outcome is going to be decided over there in Circuit Court." "You were asking for a response from us," said Magistrate Charles Alexander. "And normally, keeping your mouth shut is the best thing, which is what I've always been told. But I'm going to expound on this. This is me as an individual. I wasn't for (the Nickel Tax). I don't like it. ... I can't be with you as a magistrate in a court of law, but I'm with you as an individual." School Supt. Stanley's letter to fiscal court claimed there had been "no 'deceit' as stated by Mr. Pruitt and Rev. Spooner." "The levied tax complies with the law and is consistent with the Board of Education's motion of approval," she wrote. "Contrary to Mr. Pruitt and Rev. Spooner's statements to you, the school system never changed the amount of the tax ... the ad placed in The Gleaner on April 12, 2015, was the first official document using the active nickel rate 6.0 cents. The amount continued to be utilized in the informational campaign so as to inform voters of the project impact on their tax bills," the letter said. "In addition, Julie Wischer (public information officer for the school district) spent time with Mr. Pruitt one-on-one to try to explain how the nickel tax works. Despite these efforts, I believe Mr. Pruitt is still confused as to the actual amount of the tax as he stated at the Fiscal Court meeting the $0.9 is being illegally charged. That would equate to 90 cents. It is OK if he does not want to be taxed, but it is not OK for him or Rev. Spooner to say we have deceived the citizens, made a mistake, or just unilaterally decided to change the worth of the nickel tax. All of the nickel tax decisions were made in open meetings with good faith, and by the law. ___ Additional PDF: SHARE James McGan Janice McGan By Beth Smith of The Gleaner A convicted sex offender and his wife have entered guilty pleas in connection with a sexual abuse case involving a child. James L. McGan, 70, 9100 section of Martin Martin Road, pleaded guilty Monday in Henderson Circuit Court to first-degree sexual abuse (victim under 12). A charge of being a second-degree persistent felony offender was dismissed. His sentencing has been scheduled for April 18. His wife, Janice McGan, 66, 9100 section of Martin Martin Road, pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a minor, amended from first-degree sexual abuse (victim under 12). She was sentenced to a total of 12 months, which was conditionally discharged. Among the conditions, Janice McGan must spend 90 days on a leg monitor and have no contact with the victim. Henderson County sheriff's deputies arrested James McGan on Aug. 13 - three days before his parole was to end after serving time on a federal child pornography charge. McGan had pleaded guilty in 2008 to a federal charge of receiving child pornography. As part of his parole stipulations, he was not allowed to have direct contact with children under age 18 unless supervised by an adult "who was approved in advance by the sex offender treatment counselor and the supervising parole officer," according to court documents. He was also ordered to report unauthorized contact with children to his sex offender treatment counselor and the supervising probation officer, court papers said. Authorities said Janice McGan was her husband's "accountability partner." Also, according to court documents, the director of the sex offender treatment program of which James McGan was a part, said that to fulfill the role as an accountability partner, Janice McGan had to "be aware of every single violation to which James had confessed and she had to know and understand every condition and stipulation" of his supervised release. On July 22, the sheriff's office began investigating a report that James McGan had sexually abused a young girl. Court records said that as the investigation unfolded and McGan was arrested on suspicion of sexual abuse, it was discovered that for several months between December 2014 and July 2015, five juveniles resided with the McGans. Neither his parole officer nor his sex offender treatment counselor were aware that the children were living with the couple, sheriff's officials said. Further investigation revealed that Janice McGan had traveled to Florida for one week, leaving the children solely in the care of James McGan, court papers said. Authorities said James McGan's sexual abuse charges are related to a child with whom he was left alone. According to court documents, when Janice McGan was questioned about leaving the children along with James McGan, she said, "I wasn't aware I was supposed to watch him 24/7." SHARE By Erin Schmitt of The Gleaner Henderson County Schools did not violate the law as it campaigned for voters to approve a nickel tax, according to the findings of Kentucky General Assemblys Office of Education Accountability. The school system recently received a letter from the OEA that found that Henderson County Schools had taken no illegal measures by approving funds to promote the approval of the nickel tax on the Nov. 3 ballot. The school system spent $3,569.28 in donated funds to advocate for a yes vote on the tax. Additionally, the school system used the districts website and social media to promote the taxs adoption. The nickel tax, which would generate funds for renovation and construction projects for Henderson County Schools, was narrowly passed on Nov. 3 following a public vote by ballot. Residents opposed to the tax appealed to the Kentucky Attorney Generals Office in December for an opinion on the legality of the nickel tax. They questioned whether a tax could be legally applied retroactively and asked for a review of the election process. Terry Sebastian, a spokesman for the Kentucky Attorney Generals Office, told The Gleaner in mid-February, that his office had received a request to review the election process on the tax. Our office partnered with the Kentucky State Board of Elections, reviewed the election process and found no violations. Henderson residents Dean and Lynda Spooner, two of the people who submitted complaints, argue the tax is a ballot violation since voters approved a $0.05 tax per $100 of property valuation, but $0.059 was levied. The wording on the ballot is still being investigated by the state. The Spooners also contend the school system engaged in illegal politicking by using the taxpayer money and resources in the form of the school systems social media and marquee signs to promote the tax. The Office of Education Accountabilitys finding refutes this claim. After receiving the complaint from the Attorney Generals Office, the OEA requested the school system provide a list of donations the district received to support the nickel tax, as well as a list of expenditures made using the donated money. According the information the school system provided, the district received $3,570 in donations, using all but $0.72 in its campaign for voters to pass the nickel tax. The school system also used its website, Facebook and Twitter accounts to promote the taxs adoption. These online sources were used at no expense to the district. We did everything by the book, said Julie Wischer, a spokeswoman with Henderson County Schools. Yes, we were allowed to use our Facebook page and our electronic boards and all of that. No, we did not spend any additional money than what we brought in, but we could have if we wanted to because it was for the common good of the school district. The school system was advised via a letter issued Feb. 19 that OEA finds no violation of the law by the Henderson County School District Board of Education. The complaint alleges violation of KRS 161.164. This statute addresses election of candidates to the board of education and is therefore not applicable to these allegations. If a violation occurred, it would be related to a violation of the duties of boards of education in expending school district resources, according to the OEA. Schuerman v. Stated Board of Education, a case heard by the Court of Appeals in 1940, lays out the power conferred on school boards by Kentucky Statutes. ... The discretion vested in boards of education to expend school monies is subject to the restriction of such expenditures must be for purposes of common school education. In its letter, the OEA said the Henderson County Board of Education used funds, all of which were donated to the district for this purpose, to promote the adoption of the nickel tax initiative on the Nov. 3 ballot. The approval of the nickel tax would create an additional source for funding for the district which would benefit students in the district; therefore, the expenditures were for the purposes of common school education, according to the OEA. Application for student loan forgiveness plan is available: Here's what to know This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) -- On the eve of Super Tuesday's crucial primaries, a sharp new divide erupted between Republicans who pledge to fall in line behind Donald Trump if he wins their party's nomination and others who insist they can never back the bombastic billionaire. The fissure could have major implications beyond the primaries, exposing the looming challenges in uniting the party after the election, no matter who wins. Nebraska's Ben Sasse, a rising star among conservatives, became the first current senator to publicly raise the prospect of backing a third party option if Trump clinches the nomination. In a letter posted on Facebook late Sunday, Sasse urged Republicans to consider whether a party led by Trump would still represent their interests. "If our party is no longer working for the things we believe in -- like defending the sanctity of life, stopping Obamacare, protecting the Second Amendment, etc. -- then people of good conscience should stop supporting that party until it is reformed," he wrote. Other Republican leaders were less explicit, but sent similar messages on Monday, particularly in light of Trump's refusal to immediately disavow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke's support. Mitt Romney, the party's 2012 nominee, called that "disqualifying." And South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, campaigning in Atlanta alongside Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, said she would "not stop fighting a man who refuses to disavow the KKK." Trump said he had not understood the interviewer who first raised the question about Duke, and he did later repudiate him. "How many times do I have to continue to disavow people?" he said. Several high-profile Republicans and conservative writers have embraced an anti-Trump social media campaign, using the Twitter hashtag "NeverTrump." Trump has won three of four early primary contests, roiling a party that had assumed his populist appeal with voters would fizzle. Instead, he's only grown stronger and appears to be in commanding position heading into Super Tuesday, the biggest single-day delegate haul of the year. The Associated Press asked Republican senators and governors across the country if they would back Trump if he secured the nomination. Just under half of those who responded would not commit to backing him, foreshadowing a potentially extraordinary break this fall. "I am increasingly concerned by Donald Trump's statements and behavior, and I have serious concerns about his ability to win the general election and provide presidential leadership," Indiana Sen. Dan Coats said in a statement to AP. Tensions boiled over during Trump's rally Monday in Radford, Virginia, where he was repeatedly disrupted by demonstrators, including 20 or more chanting "Black lives matter." At another point, he asked a protester, "Are you from Mexico?" after he was interrupted during remarks about immigration. He ordered several people to be removed, then cast himself as a unifying political force. "Believe it or not, we're going to unify this country," he said. If Trump sweeps most of the states up for grabs Tuesday, he could amass a delegate lead that would be difficult for any rival to overcome. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is banking on a win in his home state to keep him in the race, while Rubio wants to stay close in the delegate count until the primary hits his home state of Florida on March 15. Meanwhile, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is solidifying her lead. Like Trump, Clinton could begin putting her party's nomination out of reach for rival Bernie Sanders with a strong showing on Super Tuesday. As Trump has rolled through the early voting states, he's received enthusiastic endorsements from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and from Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, one of the most vocal opponents of immigration -law changes on Capitol Hill. Several other party officials have said they would back the real estate mogul if he does become the nominee, though some say their support would be reluctant. "I'm a Republican and I will support the nominee," Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said Monday. "I do not think he is our best nominee, but I will support the nominee." Party leaders are particularly worried about the ripple effect of a Trump nomination on other races. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson urged Republicans to remember that their White House pick also impacts "the Senate and whether we're going to continue to elect Republican governors across the country." A new commercial released Monday by Arizona Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, who is challenging John McCain for his Senate seat, served as a likely preview of how Democrats would seek to link GOP candidates to Trump. The 60-second spot highlighted several of Trump's more incendiary statements and questioned how McCain could say he would support him in the general election. Some Republicans said Senate candidates and others would have to forgo party unity in order to save themselves. "It's not going to be a team effort. It's going to be every man for himself," said Matt Mackowiak, a GOP strategist who is unaffiliated in the 2016 race. ___ Pace reported from Washington. AP writers Thomas Beaumont in Atlanta, Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, and Andrew Taylor, Donna Cassata and Steve Peoples in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Jill Colvin at http://twitter.com/colvinj Gelato, smoothies, pizza and more: Check out the newest in Bucks' eats These new Bucks County dining spots are serving up everything from gelato, pastries and pizza to green smoothies, cold-pressed juices and acai bowls. 7th India-Seychelles Joint Training 'Ex Lamitye' concludes Published: March 1, 2016 The 7th edition of India, Seychelles joint military exercise LAMITYE 2016 concluded in Victoria, Mahe Island, Seychelles. The fourteen day exercise was conducted at Seychelles Defence Academy (SDA), Victoria from February 15 to 28, 2016. Key facts The aim of joint bilateral military exercise was to improve interoperability between armies of both countries in jointly fighting Counter Terrorism/ Counter Insurgency. Indian contingent was represented by an infantry platoon and representatives from the Special Forces. Seychelles Peoples Defence Forces (SPDF) was represented by the Tazar (Special Forces Unit) and Seychelles Infantry. This edition mainly focused on interoperability in drills related to Counter Insurgency/ Terrorism, along with number of training activities and exercises Exercise Sea Hunt was also conducted which was culmination of cordon & Search operations in anti-piracy setting enmeshed with hostage rescue operations. Background India and Seychelles are conducting joint military drill Exercise Lamitye since 2001. Lamitye in Creole (local dialect of Seychelles) means friendship. The exercise is conducted biennially with the aim of enhancing military cooperation and interoperability between the Armed Forces of two countries. Month: Current Affairs - March, 2016 Topics: Current Affairs 2016 Defence India-Seychelles Indian Military Exercises Military exercise Latest E-Books Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 As many as 279 Kalijodo households have been relocated from the former red-light district to two separate low-cost apartment complexes in Jakarta, prepared by the Jakarta city administration just days prior to knocking down all of their houses. As many as 199 former Kalijodo resident families have been relocated to the Marunda in North Jakarta, while 80 others have been sent to live in the Pulo Gebang low cost apartments in East Jakarta. Former Kalijodo residents were allocated 265 low-cost apartments in Marunda and 86 in Pulo Gebang. "We are now preparing new identity cards for the residents and schools for their children,' head of Pulo Gebang Housing Management Ageng Darmintono told thejakartapost.com on Tuesday. The East Jakarta education agency will facilitate the transfer of children to public schools in East Jakarta, Ageng said, adding that the city social agency and the city administration would help the residents to find jobs based on their respective skills. "We will provide a space for them to set up a business, most probably for culinary work as most of them have experience in that business," Ageng said. The city administration is expected to provide them with space from which to establish a new business and involve private companies, in the form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), to help them with new jobs, Ageng added. Meanwhile, head of Marunda Housing Management Suharyanti said that the apartment management had started to help new occupants comprehend apartment life. "We will inform them of their rights and obligations in the apartments,' she said, adding that the most important thing was that they learned the apartment code of conduct. The rental fee for the Pulo Gebang is said to be Rp 281,000 (US$21.06) per month, while then rental fee for the Marunda low-cost apartments range from Rp 120,000 to Rp 180,000. (bbn)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Prima Wirayani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 State-owned construction company PT Adhi Karya saw its net profits soar by more than 40 percent last year thanks to government spending on infrastructure projects. A financial report submitted by the publicly listed company to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) over the weekend revealed that Adhi booked Rp 463.69 billion (US$34.67 million) in net profits last year, an increase of 40.82 percent year-on-year (yoy) from Rp 329.08 billion in 2014. Its revenues, 91 percent of which were driven by its construction business, went up by 8.55 percent yoy to Rp 9.39 trillion. However, its costs also jumped 9.79 percent yoy to Rp 8.41 trillion. 'We saw our contract value grow due to increasing government spending on infrastructure last year,' Adhi corporate secretary Ki Syahgolang Permata said over the phone on Monday. The firm booked Rp 13.9 trillion in new contracts throughout the year. That amount was 51.09 percent higher than the Rp 9.2 trillion recorded in the previous year. However, it was lower than the company's initial ambition to double its new contracts from the 2014 figure. Of the new contracts sealed last year, government projects contributed 49 percent, Ki stated. He was upbeat the company would grow this year as the government's infrastructure projects would continue on a bigger scale and at an even faster pace. The government has earmarked Rp 2.09 quadrillion in state spending, 63.2 percent of which will go to the central government's programs. As much as 37 percent of the spending will go to the ministries and agencies. The Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, responsible for some of the most important infrastructure projects, will receive the largest allocation, totaling Rp 104.1 trillion. 'We see this as a good chance for our business,' Ki said. Adhi, appointed to work on the Greater Jakarta section of the light rapid transit (LRT) project, targets to book new contracts worth Rp 25.1 trillion this year. Its construction business line is projected to contribute 75.1 percent of the value, followed by precast manufacturing at 9.4 percent, property at 8.6 percent and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) at 6.9 percent. The firm, which was the first state-run construction company to list its shares on the IDX, has secured Rp 1.1 trillion in new contracts as of January this year. Aside from the new contracts, Adhi also projects to reap Rp 20 trillion in revenue and Rp 750 billion in net profits by the year's end. This year, the company allocated Rp 1.1 trillion in capital expenditure, sourced from bank loans and its own reserves, to achieve such targets, Ki said over the phone. Earlier this month, Adhi secured Rp 1 trillion of loans from the Indonesian Export Financing Agency (LPEI), also known as Indonesia Eximbank. 'We will use the funds as working capital for the construction contracts,' Ki said. ------------------- To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 The Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday sentenced former Makassar mayor Ilham Arief Sirajuddin to four years' imprisonment after he was found guilty of pocketing Rp 5.5 billion in a scandal-ridden construction project for a local water company in the South Sulawesi city. The panel of judges also found that Ilham, who lost a pretrial hearing against the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in July, had handed PT Traya Tirta Makassar executive director Hengky Wijaya, the businessman who won the project, Rp 40.3 billion from the project fund. Although his offenses involved tens of billions of rupiah, the court only ordered Ilham, a Democratic Party politician, to pay Rp 100 million in fines, in addition to Rp 150 million in restitution that the former mayor must return to the state. An additional month in jail awaits Ilham should he fail to pay the fine, while the failure to return the restitution money to the state would be equal to another year in prison. 'If within one year he does not pay the restitution then his assets will be confiscated. If his assets can not cover the amount then he will have to serve an additional one year jail term,' presiding judge Tito Suhut said during the sentencing. The panel of judges found discrepancies between payments made by the company and the amount of money that the Makassar administration transferred to state coffers with regards to the construction of facilities for city-run tap water company PDAM. The difference amounted to Rp 45.8 billion, of which Rp 5.5 billion was funneled to Ilham, while the remainder was enjoyed by Hengky, another suspect in the case who died last month due to complications from an illness. The four year sentence was lower than the eight years demanded by KPK prosecutors last week. The KPK's prosecution team said it was considering filing an appeal with the Jakarta High Court to overturn the verdict and convince the panel of judges at the high court to sentence Ilham to eight years as demanded. The KPK said it would make the decision next week. Meanwhile, Ilham's lawyer Johnson Panjaitan said his client also wanted to file an appeal in the case because 'the court had no guts to free my clients from the charges'. 'We will make the decision in the near future,' Johnson said. The KPK named Ilham a suspect in the case on May 7, 2014, the day he bid farewell to his subordinates at the Makassar administration on his last day as mayor. On May 11, 2015, Ilham won a pretrial hearing against the KPK and managed to have the South Jakarta District Court annul his graft suspect status. The court controversially claimed that the KPK's investigation into Ilham was invalid because it failed to present original investigation documents to back up its probe during the pretrial hearing. The KPK renamed Ilham a suspect in June, only to have him file a second pretrial plea which was later rejected by the South Jakarta District Court in July. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rob Harris (The Jakarta Post) London Tue, March 1, 2016 If he's celebrating with the Premier League trophy in May, Arsene Wenger's attempts to head off another bout of abuse will seem reasonable. "Let's not go overboard," the Arsenal manager cautioned after failing again to win at Manchester United. Despite Sunday's 3-2 loss, Arsenal remains third in the Premier League, Leicester is only five points in front and there are still 33 points to play for. "I cannot fault our commitment and spirit and desire," Wenger said of his players. In reality, they lack the fighting spirit and doggedness to grind out the wins required to end a 12-year-old title drought. In the 20th anniversary year of his appointment, Wenger is fast running out of excuses, particularly when the teams above Arsenal are Leicester and Tottenham. Leader Leicester has never won the league. Tottenham, whose last title came in 1961, hosts Arsenal in the north London derby on Saturday. Not even Alex Ferguson's retirement and the ensuing disarray under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal has enabled Arsenal to end its Old Trafford hoodoo. Arsenal last won at United in the league in September 2006. Since then lesser teams ' from Norwich to Swansea ' have all emerged victorious at a ground that was renowned as a fortress under Ferguson. Arsenal has rarely been presented with a better chance to win at the record 20-time champions than on Sunday. It was a patched-up United defense and injuries up front forced Van Gaal into handing Marcus Rashford his first Premier League appearance in place of the sidelined Wayne Rooney. It's too early to declare Rashford a teen sensation. But the 18-year-old academy graduate followed up his debut double in the Europa League on Thursday with another brace on Sunday. Rashford's emergence highlighted Arsenal's deficiencies developing talent within in its own youth system. But Arsenal did boast a front four of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck which cost more than 100 million pounds ($140 million) to assemble. They still came out second best in a team lacking leadership. For a striker bought in 2014 for 35 million pounds (then $60 million), Sanchez has failed to live up to his price tag this season. The Chile forward scored six times in three games across September and October in the league. He hasn't scored since then in the competition, with just three cup goals to his name. Once Wenger blamed the financial advantage of rivals while Arsenal was funding the move to the Emirates Stadium over the last decade. Even an end to austerity has only produced a couple of successes in the FA Cup, a prize with an increasingly diminished status in England. In the build-up to the United game, Wenger resorted to moaning about players who are "tapped up to go somewhere else" ' reinforcing the manager's failure to hold onto talent such as Cesc Fabregas. What irritates Arsenal fans who have seen only one outfield player added to the squad in the last two transfer windows is the club's cash balance: 159.4 million pounds ($221.6 million) in the latest accounts published on Friday. But Arsenal's revenue rose to 160 million pounds ($222.4 million) in the six months to November 30. And the club's main commercial backer, kit maker Puma, is relaxed about Arsenal's failure to win the Premier League since 2004 or challenge for a first Champions League title since reaching the 2006 final. Arsenal heads to Barcelona next month trailing 2-0 in the round of 16. "Anytime you have a partner who can be focused on doing cool things, yes it makes some of those other things less important," Puma global marketing director Adam Petrick told The Associated Press when asked the importance of winning the Premier League and Champions League. "We want everybody to be successful absolutely in every aspect of what they are doing. But it's not only about winning. It's also about having a good time." Recently, the anguish has eclipsed rare moments of euphoria for fans of a club which has become adept at tossing away chances of winning the title. Arsenal has collected nine points from a possible 21 in the last seven games. "They have been very successful in the past," Petrick said earlier this month in London. "They have a tremendous winning tradition." Wenger has relied on past glory to remain the Premier League's longest-serving current manager, with the last of three title triumphs in 2004. With Chelsea's woeful title defense leaving it stranded in the bottom half of the standings and United erratic under Van Gaal, Wenger has never had a better chance to lift the trophy again. At Arsenal, they constantly talk about potential in the team. The players have 11 games to fulfil it. Don't count on it. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 The National Intelligence Agency (BIN) plans spend Rp700 billion (US$54 million) to recruit more agents in response to concerns over personnel constraints, a lawmaker has said. BIN currently has three thousands agents, which is considered insufficient to cover such a huge and problematic country. 'We need two thousand more spies,' House of Representatives member Tubagus Hasanuddin told reporters after the House's budget hearing with the BIN chairman on Monday. The additional BIN personnel are to be dispatched to provincial intelligence bureaus (Binda) in accordance to the threat level, population and size of the respective region. The intelligence body would also try to improve the qualifications of its human resources through more training, Tubagus said. "The agents' capacity must be equal or even greater than the threat," he asserted. BIN chairman Sutiyoso has asked for extended powers to arrest suspected terrorists following the recent terrorist attack in the heart of Jakarta that left eight people dead. BIN has been criticized for failing to prevent the attack, which has been attributed to the radical Islamic State group. "The point is, we are asking for more authority to extract information from suspected terrorists and complete the investigation," said Sutiyoso.(vps/dan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Tue, March 1, 2016 The British government plans to strengthen partnerships among Islamic organizations in the UK and Indonesia to learn from Indonesia's experience in addressing extremism, promoting tolerance and diversity, as well as moderate religious practice. The British government has initiated an exchange program in which British and Indonesian Muslim groups engage in dialogue via intercultural Muslim organizations, British Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik said. "I want to build a partnership that allows British Muslim communities to also be aware of tradition, interpretation, and teachings of Islam in Indonesia," Malik told journalists on Monday. He made the statement during a discussion between British and Indonesian Muslims at an event in Jakarta on sustainable working partnerships in countering extremism. Malik praised Indonesia's diverse understandings of Islam and distinct traditions of theological education through the Koran and Hadith, influenced not only by the Middle East but other parts of the world as well. The diverse religious practices among Indonesian Muslisms, he added, would bring up challenges, but also stimulate insightful debate among British Muslims in developing their own understanding of Islam and identity. Akeela Ahmed, a staff member of the working group on anti-Muslim hatred based at the UK Department for Communities and Local Government, said that although most Muslims in the UK were pluralistic and tolerant, there were still a few radical Muslims with an extreme understanding of Islam who isolated themselves from society. The groups were a big challenge for the government in its promotion of pluralism, Ahmed said, as they were also susceptible to be swayed to commit terrorist attacks or move to Syria to fight with the Islamic State (IS) movement. "What we could learn from Indonesia is not only how to exist in a plural society, but also how to build our religious literacy," she told thejakartapost.com. The British government had sent several Muslim groups to Indonesia since December 2015, ranging from representatives of Islamic Centers of UK-based universities to representatives of UK-based British theological colleges. Two groups of representatives from British Muslim groups were scheduled to visit Indonesia in March while two Indonesian groups would visit the UK as part of the exchange program, Ambassador Malik said. (rin)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Raras Cahyafitri and Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 The rift within the Cabinet over the future of the Japan-led Masela gas block has amplified to a new level of animosity after the nation's energy minister said on Monday that a fellow minister had been trying, for considerable time, to stymie reform in the energy sector. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said did not openly name the minister, but Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli is thought by many to be the minister in question because of Rizal's tendency to frequently engage in heated arguments over several issues. 'It's not only hampering the Masela project. There were also negative comments on electricity, the Energy Security Fund, infrastructure development and on Freeport [Freeport Indonesia],' Said said. In an emotional tone, Sudirman, who was once an accountant and the co-founder of the Indonesian Tranparency Society (MTI), said it was easier to deal with the so-called 'mafia' in the Indonesian oil-and-gas business. 'Being disturbed by a colleague is tougher than being troubled by the mafia. With mafia or criminals, we can confront them. With a colleague, will we exchange rhymes?' Sudirman said. The conflict between the two ministers started as soon as Rizal was appointed a minister in August last year following a Cabinet reshuffle. On day one as minister, Rizal, who was an outspoken critic of the government, and finance minister in 2001, said the government's program to develop 35,000 megawatts of power in five years was too ambitious and should be scaled down. Soon afterwards, Rizal voiced criticism targeting various sectors, but most of his barbs were directed to policies in the energy and mining sector. Regarding the Masela block development, Rizal insisted that the project should be developed under an onshore scheme instead of an offshore scheme, which will involve a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on the gas block located on the Arafura Sea. He said the onshore scheme would deliver more benefits to regional development. He made the comment after Japan's Inpex and the Anglo-Dutch oil firm Shell, the contractors of the block, submitted last year a revised plan of development (POD) to the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Task Force (SKKMigas). Rizal's view was diametrically opposed to the views expressed by the contractors, SKKMigas and the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, all of whom preferred on offshore development plan. President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo tried to resolve the dispute, but he has not made a firm decision despite a new study by an international expert and a series of meetings involving the contractors and the office of the Presidential chief of staff. 'Ministers are the ones who execute the President's policies. Before any decision is made, it is inappropriate to build up a polemical atmosphere outside the Cabinet. Polemics are only permitted during limited meetings or Cabinet meetings,' presidential spokesperson Johan Budi said. He said that Jokowi would call for another limited Cabinet meeting before coming up with a firm decision. The Masela POD under an offshore scheme was approved in 2010 by the previous administration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Inpex and Shell submitted a revision after they discovered larger reserves, bringing the capacity of LNG production from the block to 7.5 million tons per year from a previous estimate of 2.5 million tons. Approval was expected last year so that the contractors could meet the scheduled final investment decision (FID) in 2018 and fully complete development in 2024. The timeline is now unclear. Inpex, which holds a 65 percent interest in Masela, has expressed its disappointment in the prolonged decision-making process. 'It is unfortunate that the decision-making process is so lengthy. However, we appreciate the President's attention and his interest in this project. Inpex, which has long been a partner of the Indonesian government and always complies with regulations, will appreciate certainty,' Inpex spokesperson Usman Slamet said. 'It would be fair if all government institutions had corresponding views and performed prudent practices, such as we have experienced with SKKMigas and the oil-and-gas directorate general.' ___________________________________________ To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Beijing Tue, March 1, 2016 China attaches importance to its relations with Vietnam and works to develop the ties sustainably, said Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping. He made the statement in Beijing Monday while receiving Hoang Binh Quan, special envoy of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who came to inform the host of the results of the 12th National Party Congress. Xi expressed his hope that the two sides will strengthen political trust, maintain high-ranking delegation exchanges, boost strategic co-operation and people-to-people diplomacy, and control disputes in order to develop the relationship between the two parties countries. Quan affirmed that the Vietnamese party and state maintain their foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, co-operation and development while attaching importance to their friendship and comprehensive collaboration with the Chinese party and state. Zika virus can cause severe neurological disorder: Study Published: March 1, 2016 Researchers from France have found first evidence that mosquito-borne Zika virus might cause a severe neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). GBS is a rare condition in which the bodys immune system attacks a part of the nervous system that controls muscle strength leading to muscle weakness in the legs and arms. The syndrome is also be caused by bacterial infections as well as the dengue and chikungunya viruses transmitted by be vector Aedes aegypti mosquitoes (also host for Zika Virus). Key facts The study was carried out using blood samples from 42 patients who became ill in a previous outbreak of virus. It was found that patients developed the neurological problems around six days after Zika infection making the virus main culprit of severe neurological disorder. However, the biological mechanism by which Zika virus triggers the Guillain-Barre syndrome has yet to be identified. Earlier in February 2016, World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern due to outbreak of Zika virus in Latin America and also rising cases of microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome. It is observed that there is 20-fold increase in the number of GBS cases during the Zika outbreak. Month: Current Affairs - March, 2016 Topics: Current Affairs 2016 Diseases Guillain Barre syndrome Public health Science and Technology Zika virus Latest E-Books Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Writer National (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, March 21, 2016 The Central Jakarta District Court has denied a pretrial motion filed by murder suspect Jessica Kumala Wongso on Tuesday, saying that police officers had so far acted in accordance with the law. The court, lead by sole judge I Wayan Merta, said that police officers had carried out the proper legal process before naming Jessica as a suspect in the murder case of Wayan Mirna Salihin, who dies after drinking cyanide-tainted coffee. The process included investigation, arrest and the imposition of overseas travel restrictions before Jessica was named a suspect. "All police conduct has been in accordance with the Criminal Code [KUHAP] procedures, [therefore] we deny the request made by the plaintiff," Wayan told the court as reported by newsportal kompas.com. Judge Wayan only considered the testimony of one of the three witnesses presented by Jessica's legal team to be relevant, namely legal expert Arbijoto. The legal scholar testified that police had the right to arrest anyone suspected of committing a crime if they had sufficient evidence. After declaring someone a suspect, the next step was to arrest and impose travel bans on the suspect so they did not run away or destroy evidence, he said. "The pretrial judge does not agree with the plaintiff who says that there is no sufficient evidence to support the naming [of the plaintiff] as a suspect," he said. The judge did not take the evidence for naming Jessica a suspect into account as Jessica filed the pretrial motion to contest her long questioning, travel ban and arrest by the police. "There is no reason to approve the plaintiff's request to be released from the Jakarta Police's detention center and lift the travel ban on her," Wayan said. With the rejection of the pretrial motion, Jessica will remain a suspect and continue to be detained at the Jakarta Police's detention facility. Jessica is the sole suspect in the murder case of her friend Mirna, who died after drinking cyanide-tainted ice coffee at Olivier Cafe in the upscale Grand Indonesia mall, Central Jakarta, in early January. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 JAKARTA: The Public Works and Public Housing Ministry plans to allocate Rp 10 billion (US$747,664) this year for a pilot project on roadside stations, or government-designated rest areas, in a bid to improve road safety and local tourism. The head of the ministry's Regional Infrastructure Development Agency (BPIW), Hermanto Dardak, said the pilot project stations would be located in Jembrana, Bali and Trenggalek, East Java with construction targeted to start this year. Hermanto said the full program would be a multi-year scheme, with each station estimated to cost Rp 70 billion. 'We design the typical station to fit onto three to five hectares of land. Construction should finish within three years,' he said on Monday. With 30,000 fatalities every year, it was urgent to have designated rest areas to improve road safety, Hermanto said. The ministry also aims to boost tourism through the program, by providing spots for tourists to enjoy a view of the surrounding area as well as inviting local small and medium enterprises to sell their goods at the stations. The Trenggalek station will be placed near the Tugu dam, which is slated to be fully constructed in 2017 at an estimated cost of Rp 619 billion. The pilot project will be carried out as part of the ministry's cooperation with Japan's National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (NILIM), which will provide road safety and data collection technology. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Tue, March 1, 2016 On Saturday, the US and Russia-brokered cease-fire took effect in Syria. However, just a few hours later, warring parties ' the Syrian government, rebels and their allies ' traded accusations that their enemies had violated the truce and that they therefore had the right to defend themselves. It is evident that the bloody conflict will continue to escalate at the expense of civilians, especially women and children. Syria has turned into a battlefield not only between the government and opposition, but also among major archrivals, such as the US, Russia, Iran, Turkey and even Saudi Arabia. The Islamic State (IS) group has gained significant control over strategic parts of the country. No one cares about the misery of millions of victims of unlimited greed and hunger for power. The UN should play a bigger role in saving the nation, rather than leaving the matter to the Security Council, whose members have conflicts of interest in the region. In the past five years, the civil war has left 250,000 people dead, while half of the 23 million inhabitants have fled their homes and millions of others are starving and homeless. This constitutes a gross human rights violation. For 46 years, Syria has been under the rule of the al-Assad dynasty. Like his late father Hafez, Bashar is treating the country as his private property and therefore seeking every path to maintain his grip. Bashar is therefore part of the problem. He will not follow in the footsteps of former Tunisian president Ben Ali and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, who fell after they opened dialogues with their foes when the Arab Spring blew back in 2011. The Syrian tragedy will continue unless Bashar goes. Syria has triggered the world's most severe refugee crisis since World War II, forcing EU members to deal with an inflow of people. And as long as the international community fails to take a united front against the dictator, Syria will continue to be a major source of instability and a security threat not just for the Middle East and Europe, but the whole world. Major powers like the US, Russia and the EU have sadly helped Bashar cling onto power, based on their geopolitical calculations. Indonesia, despite its limited influence in the Middle East, needs to do more to save the Syrian people through humanitarian missions. One thing is sure, however: to end the Syrian agony, Assad must go and let the people decide their future. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Denpasar Tue, March 1, 2016 The Denpasar District Court in Bali on Monday agreed to the demand from prosecutors to punish Margriet Christina Megawe, 60, with life in prison for murdering 8-year-old Engeline Margriet Megawe. The court's sentence concluded the four-month-long trial that captivated the entire nation. The court also sentenced the other defendant, Agustay Handa May, to 10 years in prison for helping Margriet, the victim's adoptive mother, cover up her crime. A panel of three judges agreed that Margriet was guilty of violating Article 340 of the Criminal Code on premeditated murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison or capital punishment. The judges also declared Margriet guilty of violating multiple articles in the 2002 Child Protection Law by exploiting Engeline for economic reasons and abandoning her. 'The defendant is found guilty of premeditated murder, child exploitation, child abandonment and discrimination. She is therefore sentenced to life in prison,' presiding judge Edward Harris Sinaga said. The judges said that based on witnesses and evidence presented during the trial, Margriet was incapable of taking care of Engeline as she had no steady income for the past few years. Thus, starting several years ago, she used her backyard to raise chickens and sell them to people. She forced Engeline to take care of all the chickens. 'The defendant tried to hide the fact that she was no longer able to take care of the victim. Thus, she wanted to kill her because it was impossible to give the victim back to her biological parent,' Edward said. The judges also emphasized that Margriet had prepared a murder plan as she had told Agustay, her former domestic worker, to dig a burrow in the backyard before killing the victim. 'The defendant prepared a carefully thought-out plan before and after the murder,' the verdict said. Margriet was surprisingly calm when her sentence was read out. She did not shed tears like she did when the prosecutors read out their sentence demand on Feb. 4. In contrast, Engeline's biological mother, Hamidah, who was present on Monday, cried after the judges read out the sentence. 'She should have been sentenced to death. She must feel what my daughter felt,' Hamidah said. Margriet's lawyer, Hotma Sitompoel, meanwhile, said that his client would file an appeal against the court's guilty verdict in a higher court. Engeline's body was found buried in the backyard of Margriet's house in June last year after she was declared missing several weeks beforehand. Engeline's disappearance attracted public attention and the family created a Facebook page for Engeline called 'Find Engeline ' Bali's Missing Child'. However, a police investigation later led to accusations that Margriet had killed Engeline by slamming her head into the floor and then ordered Agustay Handa May, her domestic worker, to bury the corpse. The police named Agustay a suspect immediately after they found Engeline's body. They named Margriet the main suspect a couple of weeks later. Both suspects have been undergoing separate trials in the murder case since October last year. When testifying as a witness in Margriet's trial, Agustay said his employer had tortured Engeline by pulling her hair and repeatedly slamming her head into the floor prior to her death. He also said Margriet ordered him to cover Engeline's body, along with her doll, with bed linen and a curtain and that she burned Engeline's back with a cigarette to ascertain whether or not she was dead. After he took Engeline's body to the backyard and buried her there, Agustay testified that Margriet told him to cover the spot with a big red basket and put some chicken feed on it to avoid suspicion. Agustay's sentence was lighter than the 12 years' imprisonment sought by prosecutors. Reading out Agustay's sentence, judge Edward, who also served as the presiding judge in Agustay's trial, said that the defendant had helped Margriet bury Engeline's body and was thus guilty of violating Article 181 of the Criminal Code for concealing evidence and articles 76 and 80 of the Child Protection Law. The panel of judges, however, declared that Agustay was not guilty of premeditated murder. Agustay's lawyer, Hotman Paris Hutapea, said that his client would challenge the sentence. He said that the sentence was too heavy for Agustay because he was forced to help Margriet bury Engeline's body. Timeline of Engeline murder case May 16, 2015 Eight-year-old Engeline Margriet Megawe Engeline is reported missing June 10, 2015 Engeline's body is found buried in the backyard of Margriet Christina Megawe's house on Jl. Sedap Malam in Denpasar. Police name Margriet's former domestic worker Agustay Handa May a suspect. June 14, 2015 Police name Margriet as a suspect in a child abandonment case. June 18, 2015 Agustay retracts his previous statement that he had raped and killed Engeline, saying that Margriet, the victim's adoptive mother, had murdered her. June 28, 2015 Police name Margriet as main suspect in Engeline's murder Sep. 7, 2015 Bali Police investigators hand over dossiers and supporting evidence in the murder case to the Denpasar Prosecutor's Office. The office confirms that the dossiers are sufficient to bring the case to trial. Dec. 21, 2015 Agustay testifies that Engeline was tortured on the day she was killed. Feb. 2 Prosecutors demand the Denpasar District Court sentence Agustay to 12 years in prison and a fine of Rp 1 billion (US$75,000). Feb. 4 Prosecutors demand a life sentence for Margriet. Feb. 29 The Denpasar District Court sentences Margriet to life imprisonment, Agustay to 10 years in prison. __________________________________________ To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Tue, March 1, 2016 A contender to Golkar's chairmanship is seeking 'neutral' figures to lead the organizing committees that will be in charge of implementing the party's upcoming national congress aimed at reconciling competing factions and electing a chairman. The organizing and steering committees should each have a "fair referee" for all chairman candidates, said senior party member Airlangga Hartarto. "Regional branches are hoping that the organizing and steering committee members will not be involved in any campaign teams of the candidates," he said in Jakarta on Tuesday. At a recent plenary meeting of the party's executive board, Nurdin Halid was proposed to chair the steering committee, which sparked protest from a number of chairman candidates who feared he sided with other candidates. Whoever was elected to lead the committees should have a spirit of reconciliation to end the internal conflict in the country's second largest political party, Airlangga demanded. Other candidates beside Airlangga include House of Representatives Speaker Ade Komarudin, the House's Golkar faction chairman Setya Novanto and Golkar secretary general Idrus Marham. Golkar has been split into two factions for over a year. One is led by Aburizal Bakrie, who was elected at the Bali congress in November 2014, and the other by Agung Laksono, who was elected at a congress in Ancol, Jakarta, in December 2014. "This time, we have a strong spirit to foster reconciliation. At a meeting, even Pak Aburizal said there were no more problems between the Riau and Ancol factions," said Airlangga. The spirit of reconciliation came following a decree by the Law and Human Rights Ministry that extended Aburizal's leadership based on the Riau congress, which was actually due to expire in 2014. "I believe Pak Ical [Aburizal] has the wisdom to make the right decision and he will still hold the national congress," said Airlangga. (vps/bbn)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 The Great Indonesia Movement Party has thrown its support behind businessman Sandiaga Uno for the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial race after Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil announced that he would not run for the capital's top post. Gerindra deputy chairman Habiburohkhman praised Sandiaga and Ridwan, calling them "successful professionals, humble and well-mannered people." Ridwan announced on Monday that he would stay in Bandung until the end of his tenure in 2018 and would not participate in the 2017 Jakarta regional election despite strong support from Gerindra. Ridwan gained popularity after becoming mayor of Bandung in West Java. Along with current Jakarta governor, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, and Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini, Ridwan has been mentioned among popular potential candidates. However, Gerinda is convinced that Sandiago has what it takes to beat Ahok in the election, Habiburokhman said. The party, established by former Army general Prabowo Subianto, is still in the process of selecting other potential candidates, he added. Among Gerindra's potential candidates are assistant to the defense minister, Sjafrie Syamsuddin, Jakarta city secretary Saefullah, Gerindra secretary-general Ahmad Muzani, Gerindra lawmaker Biem Banjamin and Gerindra city councilors Mohamad Sanusi and M. Taufik. The party will carry out a survey in April and May to recruit other potential candidates. Ahok was backed by Gerindra in the 2012 regional election when he was paired with then gubernatorial candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Ahok remains the most popular candidate among other names, recent surveys say, pointing out public support for the former East Belitung regent. Ahok left the party in 2014 in protest of the party's backing of the Red-and-White Coalition and claimed himself an independent candidate in the 2017 gubernatorial race. Separately, Ahok said that he remained on good terms with Gerindra but was focusing on the support garnered by Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok), a group supporting his independent candidacy. "I highly appreciate Teman Ahok. But things are getting complicated as they now have to fill out the deputy governor space as well," he said on Tuesday. He has proposed that his current deputy, Djarot Saiful Hidayat, who is a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), join him in the independent candidacy. "If Djarot opts against running then Teman Ahok will propose another name," he told journalists, adding that should Djarot refuse, he would prefer choosing a civil servant from the city administration as his running mate. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Tue, March 1, 2016 The fee charged on the Surabaya-Madura (Suramadu) bridge for automobiles and trucks was cut by 50 percent today and it is expected that the cut will decrease the cost of logistics to Madura. The government has not charged motorcycles since the middle of 2015. Automobiles, however, are still charged. The cost for big trucks was Rp 90,000. Now it is Rp 45,000. The cost of a middle-sized truck was Rp 60,000. Now it is Rp 30,000. The cost of a private vehicle was Rp 30,000. Now it is Rp 15,000. The cut will make the cost of goods in Madura competitive. "The impact cannot be predicted today. Probably next week, the impact will be seen," said Suharyono, head of the Suramadu toll road, to Tempo.co on Tuesday. Jasa Marga, the operator, is not bothered by the cut because the company is not the owner of the bridge. Jasa Marga is paid by the government to operate the bridge. "We don't mind the cut. The owner is the government and the revenue is going to the government. We are just the operator," Jasa Marga corporate secretary Muhammad Sofyan said. The local government is hoping for an improved economy after the fee decrease. With a similar price in goods between Madura and Surabaya, it is hoped that people might consider living in Madura. "Nobody will invest in Madura if the fee is still high. Madura's real estate sector will skyrocket if Suramadu is free," East Java Governor Soekarwo said last month. (anh/dan)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Hans Nicholas Jong (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 After the deaths in rapid succession of Sumatran elephants and other protected animals over the past few years, the government and the House of Representatives have agreed to revise the natural resources conservation law to place heavier sanctions on hunters and traders. Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said on Monday that the government and the parliament were in the process of revising Law No. 5/1990 on natural resources and ecosystem conservation. 'The law is outdated,' she told reporters at her office. 'Right now the revision is in progress, being drafted by us and House Commission IV [overseeing forestry, agriculture, plantations and fisheries] and we have started to promulgate [the revision].' The government felt the urgency of the revision after seeing that most cases of animal trading and hunting resulted in prison time of less than one year for perpetrators, and fines of less than Rp 100 million (US$7,476), Siti said. Acccording to WWF Indonesia, the harshest prison sentence that has ever been given to a perpetrator of illegal wildlife trafficking is only two years. 'On the other hand, a big elephant tusk can go on sale for hundreds of millions of rupiah,' WWF Indonesia communication and advocacy director Nyoman Iswarayoga told The Jakarta Post. Therefore, he added, it was important for the House to include the revision in next year's National Legislation Program (Prolegnas). 'The revision is currently sitting on the waiting list [for this year's Prolegnas]. So, it's important to upgrade the status of the revision to make it a priority,' Nyoman said. Besides including harsher punishments, the revision should also update the list of protected animals, according to WWF wildlife and landscape Ecologist Sunarto. 'There are frequent changes in taxonomy and naming of animals in Indonesia. There are also animals that weren't threatened [when the law was issued in 1990] but now are,' he told the Post. Excessive land conversion and massive wildlife hunting have recently driven wild animals in Indonesia to the brink of extinction, a phenomenon dubbed by Sunarto as a 'silent forest'. 'I believe that the state of wildlife in Indonesia is in emergency. Elephants, for instance, have been facing extinction since 2012,' he said. At least 152 Sumatran elephants, which are included in the critically endangered species category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), have died since 2012, according to data from the Indonesia Elephant Conservation Forum (FKGI). The FKGI also noted that Sumatran elephants were already gone from 13 out of 56 regions of their natural habitat in Sumatra. At the moment, the population of Sumatran elephants has shrunk to 1,300, a 50 percent decline in 10 years. At the current rate, Sunarto predicts that they could be gone from the face of the earth in less than 10 years. Therefore, he said that the revision of the law itself was not enough, reasoning that the problem was deeply rooted in Indonesian culture. 'There lacks a sense of guilt among the public [when it comes to animal violence]. From childhood, we are taught to be hostile to animals by throwing rocks at them or catching them if they run across the yard. We see them as threats even if they do nothing besides crossing the yard,' Sunarto said. Excessive land conversion has further aggravated human-wildlife conflicts. As the territory of wild animals becomes increasingly limited, they begin entering human settlements. Sunarto said that Indonesia had the highest number of human-elephant conflicts in Asia. The prevalence of human and elephant conflicts in Indonesia stands at 1.2 percent, followed by Thailand (0.4 percent) and Vietnam (0.2 percent). Sri Lanka, meanwhile, boasts a very low number of human-elephant conflicts as a result of its populations' high esteem for the endangered species. ________________________________ To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 House of Representative Commission IV member Fanny Afriansyah, better known as Ivan Haz, underwent police questioning as a suspect in relation to abuse allegations regarding his child's nanny on Monday. Ivan, who was tight-lipped with reporters, visited the Jakarta Police with his lawyer Tito Hananta Kusuma after being summoned for a second time. 'We have followed all the procedures set out by the police but we hope the public upholds the presumption of innocence,' Tito said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com. Ivan, a son of former vice president Hamzah Haz, and his wife Anna Susilowati were reported to the police in October last year by their nanny Toipah, 20, after she fled from their house suffering from several injuries. Last Friday, Ivan was arrested by the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) after being found using drugs with eight Kostrad members, five policemen and five civilians. On Monday, Tito denied Ivan's involvement in the drug allegations. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 The Jakarta Police have named Didi Suryadi, former elementary education subdivision head at the Depok Education Agency, a graft suspect in a school uniform and shoes procurement case. The Jakarta Police's special crimes unit corruption subsection head, Comr. Ferdy Iriawan, said Monday that besides Didi, the police also named Agus Sulaeman a suspect. Ferdy claimed Didi and Agus were involved in the graft case by embezzling Rp 3.6 billion (US$268,767) of the total Rp 15.8 billion for the project. 'An audit committed by the Development Finance Comptroller [BPKP] found Rp 3.6 billion losses in the project,' Ferdy said as quoted by tribunnews.com. Ferdy added that despite naming Didi and Agus suspects, the Jakarta Police had yet to detain the pair as they had been cooperative during the investigation. The dossiers would be submitted to the State Prosecutor's Office in March, Ferdy said, adding that the investigation remained open for more suspects. Separately, Depok Mayor Idris Abdul Shomad said Didi had submitted for early retirement as soon as he was named a suspect. A mashup of images, videos, and other information you may find entertaining or useful --Marge Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 The Tidung Island subdistrict administration recently implemented a new regulation obliging visitors to register during trips that occur outside holiday periods or national holidays. Tidung Island subdistrict head Surahman said Monday that during holidays, the subdistrict office could obtain visitors' information from travel companies, but said that people who visited the tourist spot outside of holiday periods or national holiday may not be tourists. 'People coming to the island outside of that period are not tourists, moreover if they spend the night here,' Surahman said as quoted by beritajakarta.com. He added that visitors could report their identity and the purpose of their visit to the neighborhood unit and community unit. 'The main purpose of the regulation is to provide safety and comfort for tourists,' he said. The administration and the police have dispersed information on the new policy via homestays. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 The State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry will create a holding company for state-owned construction companies this year to better coordinate the government's numerous current infrastructure projects. SOEs Minister Rini Soemarno said the holding company would increase efficiency and provide better leverage for the companies to increase external funding in a bid to support the government's massive infrastructure projects. "Due to the enormous amount of construction works, we are first concentrating on building toll roads. [With the better leverage], the toll developments will not depend on the state budget," she said after a limited meeting regarding the SOE holding company at the State Palace on Monday. According to the SOE holding companies roadmap, the ministry will establish holding companies in every strategic business sector, including the mining sector, financial sector, renewable energy sector and construction sector. Rini added that establishing holding companies by sector would be prioritized first, adding that if there were companies with multiple assets such as hotels or other non-core assets, the ministry would begin allocating those assets to the relevant holding company so they could be more efficient. Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo encouraged SOEs to not only act as the engine of the national economy, but to also provide multiplier effects and be more competitive globally. "The President has called for the development of the holding company to be carried out carefully, and seriously, with attention to efficiency and coordination. And to also make state-owned companies more efficient and agile, and free of non-professional practices," he explained. (ags)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Erika Anindita Dewi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 The deliberation of a draft tax amnesty bill will likely start in April when the House of Representatives resumes its sitting session, a lawmaker has said. 'We are anticipating that the deliberation process will be conducted as soon as the recess period ends,' House Deputy Speaker Agus Hermanto said after a plenary meeting at the House complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta. The delay will affect the House's initial target of passing the draft bill into law before entering its recess period on March 18. Separately, House Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon confirmed that the deliberation would likely take place after the recess. 'The deliberation depends on the stance of political party factions within the House's Steering Committee [Bamus]. There are also other agenda items that must be immediately finished and the House schedule is tight right now,' Fadli said. Last week, the House postponed discussions on the draft tax amnesty bill, saying the factions needed more time to study the draft comprehensively. During a Bamus meeting on Feb. 25, leaders of the House's factions asked for more time to consider the draft bill, which was submitted by the government on Feb. 23. 'We decided to delay the discussion of the draft tax amnesty bill until the upcoming Bamus meeting, when all factions will give suggestions and will understand the draft bill clearly," Agus, who led the meeting, told the press. Fadli, who is a Gerindra Party lawmaker, said his faction was currently studying the draft although it tended to reject the government's bill initiatives. Meanwhile, Agus, who is also the Democratic Party's deputy chairman, said his party had assigned a team to study the draft. The bill would allow taxpayers to apply for an amnesty between January and March to pay only 2 percent of the value of their assets as a penalty for unpaid dues. The penalty will increase to 3 percent if the application is lodged between April and June, and to 5 percent if a taxpayer submits his or her amnesty application between July and December. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Words Banyubening Prieta (The Jakarta Post) Tue, March 1, 2016 LET THE POURING COMMENCE FOR THIS YEAR'S DIAGEO WORLD CLASS BARTENDING COMPETITION Mixology is not simply a question of choosing between shaken or stirred. It's also a reflection of the artistry of hospitality. Celebrating the firewater culture, Diageo World Class (DWC) Bartending Competition recently invited the ten best bartenders from Bali and Jakarta to showcase their cocktail creations. The event, dubbed a 'Cocktail Crawl', was held in several bars around the Senayan Central Business District, including Artoz, Potato Head, Cork & Screw and Three Buns Senopati. The mixologists on hand, comprising those who made the cut after the DWC's elimination rounds, will be under review until April, when two winners from Jakarta and Bali will compete in Southeast Asian Finals, which are slated to be held for the first time in Bali in May. The victor will represent the Red-and-White at the DWC Global Finals in Miami. From Jakarta, the chosen ones were Upay from Union Street Gallery, Rizky Sanjaya from Artoz, Yosi Pranantaka from Cork & Screw Pacific Place, Julian Decraene from Potato Head Pacific Place, Kiki Moka and Muhammad Fadli from Cafe Milano, Albert Yacob from Bluegrass, and Sabda Adamyah, Widya Prasetyo and Henry Maraben from E&O. On the menu were Diageo Reserve Brand's best-selling Ketel One vodka, Bulliet bourbon and Johnnie Walker Gold Label scotch. Prominent British mixologist and DWC judge Tim Etherington was on hand to share his experience. Etherington, named the 'Global Whiskey Guy' for Bulleit, said he didn't expect to find a fast-growing bartending culture in Indonesia. 'They come from various cities and have their own signature styles,' he said. We sampled the concoctions of 28-year-old Cork & Screw mixologist Yosi. From Wonosobo, Central Java; Yosi crafted a tipple combining Ketel One vodka with the traditional Javanese drink wedang uwuh, which is made from organic waste, such as the old leaves of clove, nutmeg and cinnamon trees. 'Exploring traditional culture is the key to distinguish yourself from others. It makes you exotic,' Yosi, who has bartended in Jakarta; Surabaya, East Java, and Yogyakarta. Henry, the Kupang-born mixologist at E&O, echoed Yosi. 'As bartenders, we know the classic formulas'but how the gimmick is created is the issue.' Henry chose to use the John Collins, the classic 1860s drink, as a base, incorporating the sweetness of Ambonese banannas. 'I used pisang ambon, pandan paste and a honey-tasting [liquor] like Johnnie Walker Gold Label to produce a papeda flavor,' he said, referring to his childhood breakfast of Maluku's staple sago congee. Rizki of Artoz used different approach. 'As a guy who lives in the city, my breakfast is bread and Nutella spread. This is where my drink comes from.' Knick-naming his concoction the 'Bulleit Breakfast Flip', Rizki combined Nutella's chocolaty taste with borboun and Lagavulin whiskey, which gave a gentle sweet taste when sipping, with a tad of freshness emerging from mint leaves. 'I created this drink last Christmas, which is why it is feminine in design and gentle in character,' Rizki said, as he ornamented the plate with nutmeg, vanilla and mint as a final touch. However, no matter how delicious the drink, your experience can amount to naught if the bartending is off. Etherington says that the key is hospitality, citing Kiki Moka, who he first met at the DWC competition in Dehli in 2011, as one of the nation's top mixologists. 'Bartending is how you host people'and Kiki is an amazing host. He smiles a lot and is very humble.' Before Etherington started bartending 13 years ago, he visited Indonesia and fell in love with Sumatra. Etherington said he remembered an apt piece of local wisdom he's applied in his life as a bartender. 'Treat your guest as a king. That is what people said when I was living in Lake Toba. As hosts, we should do that.' On the development of the local scene, Etherington is phlegmatic. 'It's a slow evolution. There is a great demand for professional bartenders across the globe. Sometimes bars steal bartenders from another bar and that what makes them travel.' One example of this is the Frenchman Julian Decraene of Potato Head, who moved to Indonesia after working as a bartender in New York and London. Decraene chose the famous New York Sour'a whiskey sour twist, and transformed it into his signature 'Forget Me Not' quaff. 'This is to celebrate my 10th anniversary abroad. This is the first cocktail I created when I worked in New York.' Performing with a suave attitude and evincing in-depth knowledge, Decraene described his technique. 'With this drink, I use no ice'known as a 'dry shake' technique, to help get the whites foamy without diluting the drink.' Decraene has a great zest for entertaining guests, suggesting that guests pair his drink with a good New York steak with pepper sauce. The event ended at Three Buns, Senopati, where Etherington showed his own skills when crafting his favorite tipple, the mint julep. The connoisseur elegantly created the cocktail while he the poet quoted from Joshua Soule Smith: 'Then comes the zenith of man's pleasure. Then comes the julep'the mint julep. Who has not tasted one has lived in vain.' Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 The British Ambassador to Indonesia has praised Indonesia for its effort to prevent citizens from being recruited as foreign fighters, recruited to fight for Islamic State (IS) groups in Syria and Iraq. UK Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik said on Monday that there were currently about 500 British people who had left the UK in order to join the IS group, the same number as Indonesians who had departed for Syria. While the Muslim population of the UK is less than three million people, 5 percent of the UK population, in Indonesia, the majority of the population is Muslim, Malik said. "Compared to other countries in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and even in Europe, some things are going right in Indonesia and we all need to learn from that," Malik told journalists. The reason behind the relatively small numbers leaving to Syria is thought to be driven by several factors, such as the strong role of Indonesian civil society organizations, the role of Indonesia's national ideology as well as the national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in diversity), he added. The government's effort to create inclusiveness for a political community that stretches across 17,000 islands with 500 languages was also an example of good practice, Malik said. However, he added, the Indonesian government had to remain vigilant in terms of the growing radical ideology and strengthen the role of Muslim organizations such as Muhammadiyah, Nahdaltul Ulama (NU), and other communities in order to push extremists to the fringe and out of the country. "Indonesia has not won the fight, it needs to continue to win the fight," Malik said. (bbn)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Gorontalo Tue, March 1, 2016 Investigators from the Gorontalo Police have teamed up with colleagues from the National Police to track down a suspect in the trafficking of local underage girls. The suspect, identified by the initial J, allegedly offered his victims jobs as models, promising them high salaries. Gorontalo Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Bagus Santoso told The Jakarta Post on Monday that J was believed to have fled to Sumatra. The police previously arrested CD, 32, of Gorontalo city and named her a suspect in the case. CD, alleged to be an accomplice of J, reportedly took a 15-year-old girl from Limboto, Gorontalo regency, to Jakarta in early February. She offered the girl work as a nude photo model for a payment of Rp 50 million (US$3,736). The police found 12 other trafficking victims under 25 years old during a raid at a hotel in Mangga Besar, Jakarta, two weeks ago. 'They came from Manado, North Sulawesi and areas across West Java,' said Bagus. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Tue, March 1, 2016 Feb. 26, p5 Local authorities of Kotagede district in Yogyakarta have decided to shut down the Islamic Al Fatah School for transgender students and ban any religious activities from taking place on the premises, citing 'public order' issues following pressure from local hard-liners. The decision was made after a meeting between representatives of Al Fatah, security officers, local officials, the Yogyakarta Islamic Jihad Front (FJI) and local people on Wednesday night. 'We decided to close down the transgender Islamic school considering security, order and public comfort issues,' Banguntapan subdistrict chief Jati Bayu Broto told journalists at his office on Thursday. Your comments: First they came for the transgender people, and I did not speak out, because I was not transgender. Then they came for gay people, and I did not speak out, because I was not gay. Then they came for the Christians, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Christian. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me. Apatisme So the Islam Defender's Front (FPI) rules West Java, FJI rules Java. Our police force take their lead from these groups and our politicians look the other way. Betawi Spring On the contrary. It's the FPI and their gangster buddies who are perverting beautiful diverse Indonesia with their imported foreign fascist ideas. Deedee S. Is this intolerance just manipulation from the 1 percent to avoid change? Is this Arab invasion a deliberate strategy to dumb down the masses and delay the social reform that Indonesia deserves? Farmer Jakarta But where's the public outcry and support for these people? The people here just don't seem to care one bit. One day they will wake up and realize they have lost all their freedoms, and that day does not seem so far away. The scourge of organized religion ' absolute evil in disguise. Sometimes it feels like the foreigners I know care more for the future of this country than its inhabitants. Masmon I just don't buy this. Nor that some opportunity, never to come again, was missed. Intimidation only works by inducing fear but you can refuse to be intimidated and so take away the power of the bully. It is easy to hide and just hope it happens to another person, not you, but you end up with a culture devoid of empathy, filled with harsh self-interest. Alba2000 Hardly anyone speaks out. Those who do are roundly ignored and in fact tarred with the same brush or are doing so with an alternative motive. NGJ I am Indonesian and remember too well how I grew up; my siblings, high school friends and relatives are there in Java. I went to an elementary school built from woven bamboo ' you have probably would have seen that if you came to Java in the 1960s. After school, I would help mother with her home business and father with his bookstore business. But still every month, I always wondered if my and siblings' school tuition would be paid. And that was not that bad, the family had each other. Friends and some relatives disappeared and lost their loved ones during the communist purge. How can I forget that? And so I do appreciate, follow, and respect most rights activists who speak up and rally for the cause of others. Want2makecents Exactly, as described by the famous Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Abraham Maslow suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met before the individual will desire (or focus motivation upon) higher-level needs. Filling up an empty wallet to buy food and get shelter is the most basic-level need. Agitation against corruption, social abuses, etc. are higher-level needs. Wandering Star You know sometimes this just feels like an excuse to me ' 'I can't think beyond where my next meal is coming from.' That sounds an awful lot like an Indonesian politician saying 'I can't think about human rights until I have bought my next car.' People can always come up with excuses, my needs, as a way of avoiding their responsibility for other people's needs. Or to put it another way ' how much money does an Indonesian need to have in his wallet before he thinks he has enough? France And when will those who force the less prominent to obey them show repentance? I would expect at least a little before they shut down the next place of worship or community center: The list is growing. Will Graham Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Agnes Anya and Dewanti A. Wardhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 Over 6,000 military and police personnel and public-order officers have arrived to a mostly deserted Kalijodo for an eviction that ends the story of the city's oldest and biggest red-light district in North and West Jakarta. Anticipating resistance from the area's notorious thugs, the 6,175-strong party came to keep watch, standing and sitting on the sidelines while several excavators went about demolishing the deserted houses. The sex workers and thugs that previously occupied the area were nowhere to be found. Only dozens of residents remained in Kalijodo on Monday, mostly to take a last look at their houses. 'I just finished rebuilding this house in December last year after it caught fire along with five other houses due to an electricity short circuiting,' said a resident, Etty, 56, who had lived in the area since 1978. Etty sat on some cardboard near her half-demolished house with teary eyes. She had emptied it and left a week ago and was now staying in a rented room nearby Kalijodo with her husband and fifth-grader daughter. The family actually received an apartment on the fourth floor of the Marunda low-cost apartment complex in North Jakarta. However, they turned it down as it was too far from their source of income and up too many stairs for Etty and her husband, who is 60 years old, to access. 'Please tell Ahok not to evict any other areas. Let Kalijodo be the last. Ahok should see Kalijodo for himself. It is not only about prostitution,' said Etty before bursting into tears as she recalled the struggles of building her house. Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama decided on clearing the area without entering into any dialogue with the residents. Etty rejected the allegation that Kalijodo was a den of thugs. She said that since she had moved there she had never seen or been intimidated by thugs in the area. As of Monday evening, backhoes were still demolishing houses and stalls in Kalijodo, which had emptied out a week earlier, residents moving themselves rather than staying to fight. Kalijodo has been cleared several times but the businesses have always returned, as well as the pimps and sex workers. The city administration now plans to transform the area into an open green space to increase the percentage of parkland in the capital. Ahok said on Monday that the city administration considered itself obligated to develop a park in the Kalijodo area, with the help of a private firm. He said the city would not spend its own budget on the development. Ahok said the park's development would use a similar concept to a child-friendly public space (RPTRA), providing not only a semi-natural green park but also a playground, a futsal field and an assembly room. Ahok said that construction would commence in March and could be completed in five months. Separately, Jakarta Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat said that many private firms had expressed their interest in developing the park, one of which was the management of Best Western Hariston Hotel in Penjaringan, North Jakarta. 'I went to Kalijodo last night, when the [hotel's] management offered to build the green space,' said Djarot as quoted by kompas.com during his visit to the eviction scene, adding that the Hariston was attracted to the project because the location was only around 100 meters from their hotel. 'Projects carried out with funding from [corporate social responsibility programs] are usually faster and of better quality.' He added that the city administration planned to conduct a design contest for the Kalijodo park. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 Courier service and logistics company PT Tiki Jalur Nugraha Ekakurir (JNE) aims to strengthen its land-courier business as well as its grip on e-commerce, which contributes to around half of its revenue, through the launch of seven new programs this year. The new programs, including Android-based app MyJNE, locker-to-locker delivery JNE-Popbox and JNE trucking, are expected to help reach the company's targeted revenue growth of 30 percent this year. The MyJNE application, for instance, will facilitate consumers' monitoring of the shipping status of their goods, check the location of the nearest JNE and aid interaction between buyers and sellers. Meanwhile, JNE-Popbox will enable members of the JNE Loyalty Club to pick up goods from designated lockers at 32 locations across Jakarta. 'We think minimum growth will be around 30 percent this year, but our expectation is actually more than that. We're optimistic for 2016,' JNE president director M. Feriadi told the press on Monday. He also said the company would invest in infrastructure and IT development to support its future business, with Rp 400 billion (US$29.9 million) going toward infrastructure expansion and Rp 55 billion to IT-related development. The infrastructure development will include the construction of its new warehouses, including one to be built in Cikarang, West Java, on a 30,000-square-meter site, and the automation technology for the warehouses. Construction on the Cikarang warehouse is slated to begin in first semester this year. The IT-related development will include website improvements and the development of the mobile application. With the new programs, the company also expected revenue from e-commerce to flourish as its JNE trucking service will soon be used by big e-commerce players. JNE trucking, which operates throughout Sumatra, Java and Bali, accepts shipping orders for items of minimum 10 kilograms, as well as motorcycle shipping. The new program is slated to start operating this month. 'Next week, we'll launch the service with several big e-commerce players. So for players like Tokopedia, Bukalapak or Elevania, there will be an option of shipping using JNE trucking services,' JNE marketing vice president Eri Palgunadi said. Eri said four to 10 trucks were ready to go and the company would add more in the future. With the service, JNE plans to tap the boooming home-industry along Java's northern coast (Pantura) highway that will likely use the service for both business-to-consumer or business-to-business shipping. So far, 80 percent of JNE's total revenue has come from the retail sector, which is dominated by online shops. 'Around 50 percent of revenue is from e-commerce. We hope that at least 10 percent of e-commerce shipping for items weighing more than 10 kilograms will be delivered through our service,' he said, adding that the company would also tap smaller e-commerce businesses that were not integrated into major platforms. The company, which currently runs around 5,000 independent counters, will also increase its number of the counters by 500-1,000 to boost services. JNE also works with international express service firm DHL to improve international shipment to the European region, as well as Hong Kong-based SF Express for shipments in Asia. ------------------- To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's visit to Lake Toba in North Sumatra is aimed at ensuring that development to turn the area into a prominent tourist destination is on track. The visit to Lake Toba marks the first part of the President's three-day tour of the provinces of North Sumatra, Aceh and South Sumatra. Jokowi and his entourage left the capital on Tuesday morning for Kuala Namu International Airport in North Sumatra in Indonesian Presidential Aircraft-1. At the airport located in Deli Serdang regency, the group will change aircraft to a CN-295 to Silangit Airport, North Tapanuli and continue the journey by road. The government has designated Lake Toba as one of ten priority tourist destinations together with Borobudur in Central Java, Mandalika in South Lombok, Labuan Bajo in Nusa Tenggara , Bromo-Tengger-Semeru in East Java, Thousand Islands in Jakarta, Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi, Tanjung Lesung in West Java, Morotai in Maluku and Tanjung Kelayang in Belitung. In a limited Cabinet meeting on Feb 2, Jokowi instructed relevant ministers to improve access to Lake Toba by developing better airports, roads and seaports. "I also emphasized the importance of boosting the brand [of Lake Toba] through promotion and better services to meet international standards," Jokowi said at the beginning of the meeting, adding that other tourism stakeholders also needed to provide tourists with better artistic and cultural attractions. Jokowi is also scheduled to meet with the tourism minister and local authorities. On Wednesday, the President and his entourage will proceed to Takengon, Aceh for the opening of the Rembele - Takengon airport. He will return to North Sumatra to inspect the progress of various infrastructure projects. On Thursday, before returning to Jakarta, the President will inspect infrastructure projects in South Sumatra. Jokowi and his entourage is scheduled to arrive in Jakarta on Thursday afternoon, March 3. (bbn)(+) : , ; Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 Jakarta's oldest red-light district Kalijodo was deserted days before its scheduled eviction on Monday and neighboring areas have spotted many of its former inhabitants in their red-light districts, while where many others have gone is not yet known. Some are reported to have returned to their hometowns. Tangerang regency administration in Banten has found out that some sex workers have moved to Dadap red-light district in Kosambi subdistrict, Tangerang. Kosambi subdistrict head Bambang Misbahudin said Friday the administration had intercepted 20 sex workers arriving from Kalijodo since the capital's red-light district was vacated on Thursday. He said the 20 girls were immediately sent to their hometowns. 'We expected the influx of prostitutes from Kalijodo. Therefore, we have combed all bars and cafes in Dadap,' he said. Bogor administration in West Java has also reportedly braced for an influx of sex workers but there have been no reports of such so far. Meanwhile, Jakarta Social Affairs Agency head Masrokhan said that the sex workers had not moved to any other red-light districts in Jakarta. 'No, they have not [moved to nearby red-light districts in Jakarta]. We have combed areas considered hotbeds [for prostitution] but we have not found any of them,' he told The Jakarta Post on Friday. He said, however, that while some of the sex workers had returned to their respective hometowns, others had remained in the capital. 'They just do not dare to come out. We are looking for them as well,' he said. He did not say how many had returned home. 'Local authorities have informed us that some of them returned to their hometowns after the administration's first eviction notice last Thursday.' According to local data from Kalijodo, of 1,405 people with jobs connected with the area's nightlife, 450 were sex workers. The remainder worked as security guards, parking wardens, cleaners, etc. There 3,052 residents in Kalijodo, located in Pejagalan on the border of North and West Jakarta. Pejagalan village head Maskur said none of the sex workers were local residents but rather came from various areas around the country, such as Bogor and Bandung in West Java, Semarang in Central Java and parts of Lampung. Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama has often said that buildings in Kalijodo were illegal because they were built on state land. Some locals begged to differ but the eviction plan went ahead on Monday with the city administration sending a joint force of 6,175 personnel to the already largely deserted place. The administration has pledged to relocate affected residents to two low-cost rental apartments located in Marundain North Jakarta and Pulo Gebang in East Jakarta. The requirements for claiming such apartments are having a Jakarta ID card and having had a permanent house in Kalijodo. This means that Kalijodo sex workers will not be able to claim apartments as they were not, according to Maskur, local residents and did not have permanent homes in the area. The administration has pledged to take care of the sex workers, by either helping them change profession or returning them home, to prevent them from working in the sex industry in other parts of the city. Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansah said recently that the government would provide training to sex workers who wanted to change professions. She said each of them would undergo six months of training before being given Rp 5 million (US$373) to start a business. But, the ministry's program seems to interest only few workers, Masrokhan said. Masrokhan said that although the Jakarta Social Affairs Agency had opened the program last week, no-one had come to register so far. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who is also a former chairman of the Golkar Party, said the democratic process was costly, but not all political expenses could be directly categorized as 'money politics'. Responding to growing allegations of money politics in the upcoming Golkar chairmanship race in April, he conceded that many processes for the race however should be paid for by the candidates. The party chief from 2004 to 2009 cited as an example that a candidate should pay for trips to regions when seeking to garner support from local executives. 'Today [a candidate] gives money [to party members], there's no guarantee that [he] will be elected,' he said on Monday as quoted by tribunnews.com. 'Transportation costs, hotel costs, are regular. Every large party is doing it.' As the party congress in April that is scheduled to elect a new party chairman approaches, candidates have gotten into mudslinging. House of Representatives Speaker Ade Komarudin, a strong contender in the race, has been accused of accepting gratuities as he traveled to regions to meet local executives. Ade denied the allegations, arguing that he hadn't even said that he would run. Other party members have come forward to declare their candidacies, such as the party's House faction leader Setya Novanto and party secretary-general Idrus Marham. A money politics scandal in a chairmanship race brought down former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said on Saturday that many military personnel still got involved in the drug business after being asked as law enforcers to monitor it. Gatot said that he would impose severe punishments on personnel involved in drugs and give no mercy. 'The TNI has trained and armed soldiers, so if they use drugs, they will no longer be soldiers. We will give severe sanctions and also dismiss them from the institution as an additional punishment,' he said. According to the chief, the TNI has put some effort into cleaning up the institution from drugs, such as by conducting unannounced urine tests and raiding the houses of personnel. Last week the intelligence unit of the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) held a series of raids in the Kostrad housing complex. During the raids, they arrested 33 drug suspects: 19 from the military, five from the police and nine civilians, including a lawmaker for a prominent party in Indonesia. On Sunday, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) arrested a military officer with the initials JS at the Kalibata City Apartments in South Jakarta because of drug possession. The BNN handed JS, who holds the rank of major, over to the military police. The number of military personnel caught using drugs has been on the rise. Based on TNI data in 2014, there were 161 drug cases in 2012 and the number increased to 235 in 2013. The drug suspects were not only the low-ranking soldiers, but were also middle- or high-ranking officers. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Corry Elyda (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 The administrations of the capital's satellite cities have requested Rp 4.8 trillion (US$355.2 million) from the Jakarta administration's 2017 budget, an amount far bigger than the previous grant. Rano Karno, the Greater Jakarta Coordination Board (BKSP Jabodetabekjur) chairman, said after submitting the proposal to the city administration at City Hall recently that the total funds requested by the board was about Rp 4.8 trillion. Rano said that each regional member of the BKSP would get a different amount of money in accordance with the projects proposed. 'The projects vary from river normalization to road construction,' he said. According to the proposal, the cities requesting the biggest grants include Tangerang city with Rp 2.5 trillion and South Tangerang with Rp 1.9 trillion, while the smallest were Cianjur with Rp 5 billion and Bekasi regency with Rp 5.5 billion. The amount is far larger than the requests in 2015 as the city did not allocate any grants in 2016. The city only spent Rp 358 billion in 2015 ' Rp 67.4 billion on Bogor regency, Rp 100 billion on Tangerang city, Rp 98.1 billion on Bekasi, Rp 74.8 billion on South Tangerang and Rp 17.7 bilion on Tangerang regency. Rano said Tangerang city asked for Rp 2.5 trillion to develop the extension of Transjakarta Corridor 13 running from Blok M in South Jakarta to Ciledug in South Tangerang to Poris Plawad in Tangerang. The head of infrastructure at the Tangerang Development Planning Board (Bappeda), Ruta Ireng Wicaksono, said previously that the extended lane would be built once the initial route was completed. The construction of Corridor 13, extending for 9.4 kilometers, is supposed to be completed this year. Ruta said the planned route for the Ciledug Central Business District (CCBD) would run along Jl. Raden Saleh, Metro Permata Park and the STA 11 lane, to the Poris Plawad terminal. Ruta said the route would also accommodate the Transjakarta bus passengers wanting to go to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng. Rano said another essential program was the Ciawi Dam in Bogor. 'We hope the project, initiated by then governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, can start this year,' he said, adding that Bogor was requesting Rp 72 billion. Rano said the proposal would later be verified about whether the amount requested would be in accordance with the projects. He said that the grant would not only be provided in the form of financial aid, but also in-kind. For example, other cities would be able to use equipment owned by the Jakarta administration. Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama had conveyed his intention to fund the elevated lane. Rano said the surrounding cities regularly asked for grants from Jakarta every year. He said, however, that the requests were not to go through the BKSP. 'We want to use the right procedure this year,' he said. The BKSP was formed in 2010 to coordinate issues among cities that have connections to the central axis of Jakarta. They comprise Bogor, Bekasi and Depok, as well as the Cianjur, Bogor and Bekasi regencies in West Java and Tangerang and South Tangerang cities and Tangerang regency in Banten. The board was disbanded in 2014 and the following year its secretary was named a suspect for allegedly embezzling money from the fund. However, it was revived in January this year. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rakyan Adibrata (The Jakarta Post) Tue, March 1, 2016 In times of conflict, the law should not fall silent. And with the new, tougher anti-terrorism law currently before the House of Representatives, the question remaining before us is no longer one of silence but of what kind of law. In the wake of Jakarta's January 14 terrorist attack, arguments for strengthening the existing counterterrorism legislation are clearly sound as the hastily prepared Law No. 15/2003 does have weaknesses. Overseas military training, foreign terrorist fighters, the Islamic State (IS) phenomenon and preparatory acts of terrorism are a few of the country's worries. They need to be addressed urgently as the nature of Indonesian terrorism has changed and security risks continue to evolve. Here pundits and politicians agree. But this time urgent should not be synonymous with haste. The devil in details of the new draft revision for the counterterrorism law lies in at least two significant issues: intelligence coordination and extended powers for law-enforcement officers. Intelligence gathering and coordination for counterterrorism is not properly regulated in the existing laws. Though counterterrorism intelligence is coordinated by the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) as stipulated in the proposed draft, based on the Intelligence Bill it is the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) that has the authority to coordinate all intelligence information and agencies. In practice, the National Police have played a pivotal role but its efforts have been relatively independent. The recent Jakarta attack exposed ample shortcomings and lessons to be learned. In the broader national security context, early terrorism warning mechanisms could be enhanced through better coordination among intelligence agencies. I cannot stress this enough as the new draft includes provisions that would allow Indonesian citizens found to have participated in military training or war here or overseas to be deprived of both their passports and their citizenship. Police need to coordinate with the military, intelligence bodies and Immigration to make this effective. In a post-Snowden and WikiLeaks world, intelligence sharing should not just be laws but norms in the fight against terrorism. For intelligence gathering purposes, the new draft also appears to provide security agencies with the authority to detain and interrogate terror suspects based on suspicion alone and without necessarily contemplating filing criminal charges. Based on changes to articles 25 and 28 in the draft, the police can detain a suspect for up to 390 days and prosecutors can then hold the same person for a further 150 days. A terror suspect can thus be detained for up to 540 days without legal certainty. Such a practice could be regarded as a form of arbitrary detention and speaks volumes on the position of human rights in the draft. Presumption of innocence is officially out the window. Terrorising suspected terrorists in reality has not been proven to be an effective counterterrorism measure. From other countries' experiences, we know it only enflames the backlash at the government and provides the needed justification for radicals to continue waging jihad against perceived tyrannical governments that they consider illegitimate, particulalry if supported by Western countries. Repression indeed begets resistance. Suharto's New Order produced Indonesia's most potent terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiyah with excessive security measures giving birth to vengeance and more radicals. Although we may perceive terror suspects as wanton and gratuitously violent people, we cannot run from the fact that they are also citizens who have rights that should be protected by the law. But if we throw a terror suspect into legal limbo, or enact counterterrorism measures that don't respect the law, we will have our own Guantanamo. Trust in the law and the legal system it works through, however imperfect they may be, is what separates us from terrorists. The ring of Gyges should not be given to any shepherds around the hamlet and nor need anyone enter a Hobbesian contract with the state. We have learned the hard way in the past that extensive power is often authoritarianism in disguise. Fear is the most potent of political weapons for the terrorists. And we are no better than the terrorists themselves when we foster among the public an atmosphere of alienation, fear and suspicion, which they thrive on anyway. Once we remove presumption of innocence, violence resumes. American revolutionary leader and former US president John Adams has it right: If innocence itself is brought to the bar and condemned, it would be the end of security whatsoever. Let's not repeat our mistakes in the name of security lest we get condemned by history. (+) ___________________________________ Rakyan Adibrata Regional representative for the International Organization for Security and Intelligence (IOSI) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ruslan Sangaji (The Jakarta Post) Palu, Central Sulawesi Tue, March 1, 2016 Joint police and military elite forces continue to hunt down Poso-based terrorist group the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT), following a shootout that took place from Sunday to Tuesday in Central Lore district, Central Sulawesi. Based on intelligence analysis, the MIT is cornered as they are running out of supplies and the security apparatus deployed in Operation Tinombala has managed to surround them, Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Idham Azis said on Tuesday. The MIT, led by Indonesia's most-wanted terrorist fugitive Santoso aka Abu Wardah, were thus moving toward neighborhoods in Central Lore to look for supplies, Idham said. "All troops in Poso and Parigi Moutong [Central Sulawesi] have been deployed to cover those areas," Idham told journalists. Earlier on Friday, dozens of MIT members reportedly entered neighborhoods in Central Lore and Lore Peore districts, where they took a number of locals hostage as they hunted for supplies. The police and military personnel chased them down to their hideout in the neighborhood, leading to an exchange of fire that later killed one member of the terrorist group. "The deceased terrorist was known by the initial D aka P. He was an IT expert in the MIT group," Idham said. D aka P was Santoso's right-hand man who had been responsible for publishing all of MIT's Youtube campaigns aimed at recruiting people to participate in jihad and retaliate against the state, Idham said. His death further weakened Santoso and his group since they are now unlikely to continue publicizing their jihadi activities to the world via the internet, Idham added. Currently there are about 2,500 elite personnel of the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) deployed in Operation Tinombala aiming to eradicate the MIT led by Santoso, who is said to be the commander of the Islamic State (IS) group's forces in Indonesia. The operation will continue until March. 10 utilizing personnel from the Mobile Brigade (Brimob), Army special forces (Kopassus), the Navy Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion and Raiders. (afr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 The government may discourage critical thinking among young people if it keeps on ambushing cultural events accused of harboring communist sympathies, activists have said. Upholding past ideological hostilities inherited from the Cold War, the government recently raided and banned the Belok Kiri (Turn Left) Festival from Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center, claiming that the organizers had not inform them of the event. The Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) recorded that at least 20 similar such incidents occurred in 2015. Of the 20 cases, six involved forced dispersion and another six featured the arrest and intimidation of the event organizers. Belok Kiri Festival organizing committee head Dolorosa Sinaga said that the event was aimed at educating the young generation of the history related to the 1965 genocide that saw thousands of people killed in a series of massacres ostensibly directed at the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). 'Critical thinking is not a movement. It is a way of thinking. We need to encourage critical thinking in society to uphold justice and to respect differences. Time has proven again and again that critical thinkers are the people who correct history,' she added. Remembered as one of the country's darkest periods, 1965 was a tumultuous year of slaughter after then army strategic reserve commander (Pangkostrad) chief Soeharto claimed that the PKI, which was at that time the main supporter of Sukarno, had murdered Army generals and had attempted to orchestrate a coup d'etat in the country. Soeharto effectively took over the government in 1968 after years of political crisis. Under his leadership, the PKI was blamed for the atrocities. Soeharto's war on communism brought his administration closer to the anti-communist Western bloc led by the US. While global politics has shifted ever since and Soeharto's New Order era is now in the past, the government still maintains the TAP MPRS XXVI/1966 ban on communism as a tool to discourage public discussion on leftist thinking. Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) chairman Alvon Kurnia Palma said that the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) should consider reviewing the 1966 regulation. '[The review] is to find out whether or not it is still relevant to the current state of affairs in Indonesia,' said Alvon. The Belok Kiri Festival was transferred to the offices of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation. The festival is slated to run until March 5. In December, the police also canceled a discussion and the reading of a drama script about the 1965 purge of communists after the Islam Defender's Front (FPI), a hard-line Islamic group, blocked the event, which they claimed 'harmed nationalism'. Led by the Attorney General's Office (AGO), the government started to prepare a kind of reconciliation with the families and victims of the 1965 genocide. The process, however, stumbled under pressure to take legal action against the perpetrators of the mass killings. The complexity of those years has made it difficult for the government to effectively resolve the lingering tensions. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Raras Cahyafitri (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has demanded the acceleration of the development of refineries to support rising demand in the country. During a keynote speech in a signing ceremony for numerous infrastructure contracts at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Jokowi pointed out the fact that the country had not built any new facilities for years although energy and fuel demand continued rising. 'This year, a decision has to be made and refineries must be built. Any country with a crude oil supply is welcomed. We need to have bigger stocking capacity here so that the supply chain can be shortened and we no longer need traders,' Jokowi said. In the past years, the country had several plans to build new refineries. However, the attempts fell through, usually over financial issues. 'In the next 20 to 30 years, we will face fights to secure energy and food. Therefore, we have to establish a grand strategy for our energy and food security,' the President said. The President also highlighted the need to build up stockpiles during the period of low oil prices so that the country would not suffer when oil prices jump. 'It doesn't matter if the stockpiles are located onshore or overseas. State-owned enterprises, Pertamina and the ministry have to think how to build up the stocks to anticipate price rebound,' Jokowi added. Global oil prices dropped by a third since late 2014 to about $35 per barrel recently following a global glut of supply caused by the success of US shale oil. As an importing country, Indonesia may currently enjoy the drop in prices as the country needs to spend less money to purchase the commodity, which has burdened the country's current account. Indonesia's oil demand is estimated to be equal to 1.6 million barrels per day, but Indonesia's fields can deliver less than 800,000 per day because they have been depleted. The lack of oil is exacerbated by aging refineries, which can run on less than their original capacities. There are currently six big refineries that had a capacity of 1 million barrels per day, but they are now operating at about the 800,000 level. The government has rolled out regulations to support refinery development, in part by opening up the business to private players and planning to give incentives to investors who wish to develop refineries in the country. 'Apart from the regulations, we can also use state assets such as land in Bontang to host new refineries. There will be no land rent and they will get tax holidays. Another point is that Pertamina is obliged to be offtaker of the refineries' product,' Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said said. Pertamina is currently in the process of selecting a partner for the development of a refinery in Tuban. The company's director for refineries, Rachmad Hardadi, previously revealed that Pertamina had shortlisted five candidates for the project, namely Russia's Rosnef, Saudi Arabia's Saudi Aramco, Kuwait's Kuwait Petroleum International, China's Sinopec and a consortium of PTTGC and Thai Oil. ----------------- To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Severianus Endi (The Jakarta Post) Pontianak, West Kalimantan Tue, March 1, 2016 The Pontianak administration, supported by a Dutch water company, is preparing to normalize the Jawi River, which flows throughout the city. The program will be proposed to the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, which will implement it as part of the government's reservoir construction program. Partnering with Oasen, the Pontianak administration has carried out a feasibility study on raw water reserves for municipal tap water company PDAM Tirta Khatulistiwa over the last four months. Results of the research conducted by two students from Wageningen University in the Netherlands revealed that it would be possible for the company to use the tributary as a raw water source during the dry season. Pontianak Mayor Sutarmidji said follow-up research would soon be carried out because the survey covered a stretch of only six kilometers of the 20 kilometer-long river. The river, which is on average 18 meters wide and 2.5 meters deep, extends from Pontianak to Kubu Raya regency. Sutarmidji said that if the entire river could be normalized, it would be possible for the administration to install four floodgates. 'I will compose a detailed plan and submit it to the public works ministry in Jakarta,' the mayor said recently. He said the Jawi River normalization plan was in line with the government's reservoir construction program. The Jawi River has long been used as a disposal site for domestic waste. A number of illegal bridges are scattered along the river. The Pontianak administration has demolished some of the bridges, which were set up by local residents to cross the river. Oasen customer and overseas director Jeroen Schmaal said some of the main tasks the Pontianak administration and Oasen still had to carry out were conducting follow-up research, digging and building a dam on the river. 'The result of the pre-research was that it is possible to build a reservoir on the Jawi River. But after this, we still have to do proper research. We need two or three more years at least. But if you look back, we have established this cooperation with Pontianak over 10 years. So, three years is not very long,' said Schmaal. Until now, PDAM Tirta Khatulistiwa has depended on the Kapuas River, Indonesia's longest river, which stretches 1,143 kilometers, as its raw water source. In the dry season, however, sea water intrusion has caused the river water to become 'salty'. PDAM Tirta Khatulistiwa engineering director Lajito said the company's water supply capacity had declined by 100 liters per second, but added that in April, it would receive and install a water pump with capacity of 300 liters per second from the government. 'Currently, PDAM's water supply capacity stands at 1,450 liters per second. With the new equipment, the capacity will increase to 1,750 liters per second in April,' said Lajito. PDAM Tirta Khatulistiwa has more than 90,000 customers at present, almost 80 percent of which are households in Pontianak. The Pontianak administration and Oasen have cooperated since 2003 and their partnership has managed to push down PDAM Tirta Khatulistiwa's water supply leakage to below 30 percent. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ruslan Sangadji (The Jakarta Post) Palu Tue, March 1, 2016 Following the death of two suspected couriers for the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) on Feb. 9, members of the Central Sulawesi-based terrorist group are reported to have been cornered as they are running out of supplies, while military and police personnel in a joint security operation called Operation Tinombala managed to narrow their space of movement. The group, led by Santoso, who is believed to also be a leader of the radical Islamic State (IS) movement in Indonesia, is reportedly beginning to leave its hideout in a forested area of Poso regency in search of food. On Friday, dozens of MIT members reportedly entered neighborhoods in the districts of Lore Peore and Central Lore to stock up on supplies. They took a number of residents hostage as security insurance while browsing the neighborhoods. A group of police and military personnel chased them down to their hideout, resulting in an exchange of fire. One member of the terrorist group was reportedly killed, but the body has not yet been removed, due to the danger for security forces to enter the location. Central Sulawesi Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Hari Suprapto confirmed the incident, but provided no further details. 'That's true. Crossfire emerged and one terrorist was reportedly killed in the incident,' he said on Monday. Hari added that the MIT members involved in the crossfire numbered between 20 and 31. They promptly dispersed after the crossfire. An intelligence source told The Jakarta Post that two residents had been taken hostage on Feb. 24 by a number of men at their coffee plantation in Watutau subdistrict. One of the hostage-takers introduced himself as Andika. He was described as long-haired, skinny and wearing camouflage pants and white rubber shoes. Two of the other men apparently carried rifles, and three wore masks to cover their faces. At about 3 p.m., one of the farmers asked permission to go home, arguing that it was about to rain. The suspected terrorists let him go and stayed at the hut near the plantation, while grilling cassava. Upon receiving information about the group, the security personnel surrounded the location on Sunday evening, before engaging in the crossfire that lasted until Monday morning. After the crossfire, the team swept the area and found a body believed to be that of a member of the Santoso-led group. Hari did not deny or confirm the information, adding that the troops had found, among other things, three homemade rifles, a walkie-talkie, a GPS device, 15 homemade bombs and 20 sacks of rice. 'The rice was promptly burnt down at the location,' he said. 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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 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Tue, March 1, 2016 The Indonesian Military will heighten security in the lead up to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit to be held on March 6 to 7. The Jakarta military command organized troop parade on Monday as part of an effort to strengthen security prior to the event. "No form of disturbance should be tolerated. Soldiers have been urged to implement immediate procedural action in response to any suspicious activities," said TNI commander Gatot Nurmantyo on Monday during the troop parade, as quoted by Antara news agency. Hosting the OIC Summit is a source of national pride, said Gatot, citing the country's Muslim-majority. "It is an honor to be entrusted to provide security for the OIC Summit, part of a diplomatic mission in which Indonesia will host approximately 57 Muslim countries," he said. Securing a state event is an honorable duty for the military, he told the soldiers. "A soldier's duties are not that of common routine, but duties of significance directly related to the honor and the image of Indonesia in the eyes of the world. I myself will lead the joint cooperation," said Gatot. In his address, Gatot called on soldiers to commit themselves and ordered them not to compromise any activity or indication that would lead to a security breach, emphasizing that soldiers must also keep close watch on any sign of a terrorist attack. The military commander instructed all personnel to comprehend their individual duties as well as those of the unit to which they have been assigned. "Implement strict coordination, both internally and across inter-component security, including the security of the heads of state, who will have brought their own security," he added. As many as 10,150 military and police personnel attended the troop inspection, from across various levels of defense security. Gatot said that the joint team of defense personnel would monitor prevention and handling across all areas, with potential disturbances including traffic accidents, anarchic demonstrations, riots, terrorism, misuse of firearms, bombs and other explosive items, sabotage, ambush, hostage, kidnapping and incarceration, as well as other conventional and transnational crimes. (liz/bbn)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Khoirul Amin (The Jakarta Post) Palembang Tue, March 1, 2016 Diversified conglomerate Sinar Mas has claimed it was a victim in the recent forest fires that affected not only the nation, but also neighboring countries Singapore and Malaysia. Sinar Mas managing director G. Sulistiyanto said on Tuesday that rival companies had put the blame on his firm as they were worried its soon-to-be launched pulp and tissue mills would make market competition stiffer. 'How could we burn an industrial forest that we built ourselves?' he said during a meeting with Industry Minister Saleh Husin at the PT OKI Pulp and Paper Mills industrial complex in Ogan Komering Ilir regency, South Sumatra. OKI is Sinar Mas' largest pulp business arm and is set to start operating what it claims will be one of the largest pulp mills in Asia in October this year. The pulp mill will produce 2 million tons of pulp annually, with some 80 percent expected to be exported. The company also targets to start the construction of a tissue plant, with the capacity to produce 500,000 tons of tissues a year. The two plants will occupy 1,700 hectares land, with total investment of US$3 billion. The two plants are forecast to have a combined export value of $1.5 billion. A number of Singaporean retailers previously withdrew their paper and tissue products from Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), another subsidiary of Sinar Mas Group, because of the company's alleged involvement in Indonesia's recent forest fires. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Kor Kian Beng (The Jakarta Post) Beijing Tue, March 1, 2016 Singapore and China are working on some exploratory ideas to minimize the risk of unplanned encounters at sea, amid increased fears of potential clashes between Chinese and foreign militaries in the contentious South China Sea. Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said he discussed the ideas with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at their meeting Monday, and that both sides would work on them in the coming months. Speaking to reporters later without taking questions, Balakrishnan said both sides had "very frank, useful and constructive" discussions on the South China Sea disputes and that Singapore, though not a claimant state, has to fulfil its role as country coordinator of China-ASEAN relations. "We reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability and freedom of navigation and overflight. This is an essential lifeline for China and all ASEAN countries because so much of our trade and energy flow through this area. "So we all have a big stake in ensuring peace and stability," said Balakrishnan, who is making his first visit to China since becoming Foreign Minister on Oct 1 last year. He added that both also discussed the importance of complying with the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and speeding up negotiations on formulating a Code of Conduct. The South China Sea faces competing territorial claims from China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Tensions have risen of late as Beijing builds new islands and deploys military equipment, while US Navy vessels and planes conduct freedom of navigation and overflight missions. In an op-ed article published in the China Daily Monday, Balakrishnan said Singapore "will work objectively with all parties to promote positive and forward-looking ASEAN-China relations" by "sensibly managing" the disputes. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Balakrishnan also conveyed the concerns expressed by ASEAN foreign ministers at their retreat last Saturday as well as "the importance of non-militarization and self-restraint in the conduct of activities to lower the temperature and prevent incidents in the South China Sea". Wang told reporters he believes Singapore could play a positive and constructive role though he stressed that it is not an issue between China and ASEAN. "Also, some ASEAN members oppose 'specific forces' from stirring up the issue," said Wang, as he advocated China's dual-track policy of conducting direct negotiations with claimant states and working with ASEAN members on maintaining peace and stability. Balakrishnan stressed that the areas of convergence and opportunities for collaboration between China and ASEAN "are far, far greater" than the areas of differences as both sides mark 25 years of relations this year through activities including a commemorative summit in Vientiane, Laos, in September. Sino-Singapore cooperation, such as progress on the upgrade of the bilateral free trade pact and also the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, which is the third government-led project between both sides, also figured in Balakrishnan's meetings with Wang and Vice-President Li Yuanchao Monday.(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ruslan Sangadji & Syofiardi Bachyul Jb (The Jakarta Post) Palu/Padang Tue, March 1, 2016 Local residents in a number of regions are eager to welcome the advent of the total solar eclipse on March 9 because they are expecting to make extra income with the arrival of foreign and domestic tourists who want to closely observe the rare natural phenomenon. In Sigi regency, Central Sulawesi, 38-year-old Intan was busy on Sunday cleaning up a guest room in her three-bedroom house at Ngatabaru subdistrict. She plans to rent it out to incoming travelers. Ngatabaru, located 10 kilometers south of the provincial capital of Palu, will host a series of events from March 7 to March 11 to welcome the total solar eclipse. Hundreds of foreigners are expected to gather in a 6,000 square-meter tourist village and enjoy various programs including cultural performances and rave parties. Intan said she was planning to charge her guest Rp 250,000 (US$18.7) per night, including meals. 'Our guests can eat what we eat at home,' she told The Jakarta Post. Mangge Jidi, another villager, has also managed to make additional income for the past two months as a construction worker building bamboo structures for the tourist village. The 36-year-old man said he and dozens of other villagers each received Rp 75,000 per day for their services. 'Many villagers who have no permanent job are happy to take this job,' he said. Unlike a partial solar eclipse, a total eclipse can usually only be seen from a particular spot on Earth once every few decades. The phenomenon occurs when the moon travels between the sun and the earth and casts the darkest part of its shadow, the umbra, over the earth. Astronomers have predicted that this year's solar eclipse will fall on March 9, with Indonesia the only country in the world from which the phenomenon will be visible. Dozens of cities across 11 Indonesian provinces, including those in West Sumatra, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Bangka-Belitung, East Kalimantan and North Maluku, have been identified as areas that will experience the short-lived yet breathtaking occurrence. In Central Sulawesi, the provincial administration claims that more than 3,000 visitors from 12 countries, including the US, UK, Canada and China, plan to arrive in the region early next month in the hope of observing the solar eclipse. The shortest total eclipse will be visible on South Pagai island, West Sumatra, and will last for one minute and 54 seconds, while the longest, which will last for three minutes and 17 seconds, will occur in Maba, a small town in East Halmahera regency, North Maluku. Many foreign tourists have selected regions in Central Sulawesi from which to observe the total solar eclipse because certain areas within the province offer a relatively long eclipse duration of two minutes and 20 seconds and are more accessible than Maba. In North Maluku, the Ternate municipal administration has been working to improve the appearance of local markets and transportation to the venues. 'Tourists will definitely visit local markets to taste our local culinary dishes and other specialties. That's why we must make our markets clean and comfortable,' Mayor Burhan Abdurahman said on Sunday as quoted by Antara news agency. Meanwhile in West Sumatra, the Mentawai Islands regional administration is also offering various events, including culinary festivals and a traditional Turuk Laggai dance performance, on March 9 in an effort to lure foreign and domestic tourists. The events will take place at Silabu subdistrict in North Pagai Island, which will become the first Indonesian region to experience the total solar eclipse at 7:20 a.m. local time on March 9. Mentawai Islands Tourism Agency head Desti Seminora said dozens of foreign tourists had signed up to attend the events. 'But, we are expecting to see more domestic tourists at the events,' Desti said. Since independence, Indonesia has experienced 18 partial solar eclipses and nine total solar eclipses. It has also experienced six annular solar eclipses. A partial solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks only part of the sun's disk, while an annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon is a new moon or too far away, and is subsequently too small to completely cover the sun. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 Diverging from the government's planned amendments of the 2003 Terrorism Law, the country's spy agency demanded on Monday that intelligence officers be bestowed with the power to summon and question terrorist suspects. National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Sutiyoso said that the agency wanted to summon suspects to gain more information. 'We don't want to arrest suspected terrorists like the police do. We just want to summon the suspects to explore information,' he said after a closed hearing with House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs. The House has begun deliberating the antiterrorism bill, discussing 12 provisions that the government proposed in the draft revision. Among the proposed changes is widening the categories of terrorist offenses to include sales of chemical, biological, radiological, microorganism, nuclear and radioactive weapons. The bill also allows the police to detain a suspect for up to 180 days for investigation. The government has also proposed prohibiting relations with terrorist groups abroad, as there is currently no law that can be used to incriminate Indonesians who go overseas to join such groups. The new provisions would also prohibit Indonesians from undergoing military training in other countries. Another proposed revision covers a ban on adopting radical Islamic values, recruiting people for terrorism purposes, sending proxies for terrorist attacks, funding terrorist movements, giving assistance to terrorist groups and committing violence in the name of terrorism. The draft revision does not include giving intelligence bodies the power to summon or arrest suspects. Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan previously said that the government was considering revising the Intelligence Law to give such authority to the spy agency. 'It is very much worth considering. We will see the related regulations. [A suspect] can be arrested for 10 days and then released. Why not?' he said. The idea of extending the authority of the spy agency, however, has been met with strong public resistance, with human rights activists highlighting the potential for abuse of the power. Commission I deputy head TB Hasanuddin of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), who also attended Monday's hearing, said there was still no agreement on giving additional authority to the agency. Civil society groups called on the government to be transparent in the deliberation of the Terrorism Law. Maarif Institute researcher Wahyudi Akmaliah said that long periods of detention by law enforcers could lead to the abuse of power as it would allow them to arrest and detain anyone assumed to be a threat to national security. He said the government should deliberate carefully to avoid reverting to the New Order regime when citizens were subject to a draconian antisubversion law passed in 1963 under the dictatorship of then president Soeharto. The law was often abused to silence political activists and government critics. 'The state's intervention in individuals and public freedom will be too strong, so that if we try to criticize the government, we can be considered terrorists,' Wahyudi said. House Legislation Body (Baleg) member Arsul Sani of the United Development Party (PPP) said the House would criticize the detention period. 'It's too long. Two weeks still makes sense. Furthermore, preliminary evidence can be obtained using intelligence reports, so it should to be easy for them to find one more piece of evidence,' Arsul said. The member of House Commission III overseeing human rights, security and legal affairs also revealed that the government planned to implement a deradicalization program, in which it would place terrorist suspects, defendants, former terrorists and their families in rehabilitation for six months. ________________________________ To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 1, 2016 The approach of the authorities toward dealing with sexual orientation and gender identity has taken another turn that may put traditional cross-dressing performance art on the brink of extinction, with male performers in makeup and female costumes not being allowed to appear on television. In the wake of a public outcry over the pros and cons of the existence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and questioning (LGBTIQ) individuals, the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) refreshed its warning to local TV stations. The circular issued on Feb. 23 stated that TV stations are not allowed to air programs that show 'ladylike men'. The circular was not the first issued by the commission. 'Such program content may encourage children to learn and/or to justify the inappropriate behavior as common practice,' commission chairman Judhariksawan argued in the statement. The warning, however, was seen as a threat toward artists who dedicated their profession to keep the traditional cross-gender performance culture relevant today. Indonesia recognizes the all-male Javanese ludruk and reog folk theaters with performers doing female impersonation, as well as the cross-gender bissu culture in South Sulawesi. The cross-gender culture took form in rituals and socio-cultural roles as women were placed in a subservient position in society. On the other side, the Tari Topeng (mask dance) from Cirebon, West Java can only be performed by women and the role of Arjuna, the flamboyant and handsome archer in the Mahabaratha story, is commonly played by a female dancer. Dancer and choreographer Didik Nini Thowok, who is on the frontlines of cross-dressing performance art, questioned the warning, which he said could prevent his fellow performers from engaging in the activity. 'Art is history. It tells everything about the people and the nation. If TV stations refuse to air the footage of us performing, even for a few seconds in the news section, no one will recognize this traditional art and it will soon be gone.' The Yogyakarta-based dancer demanded the commission make clear whether the regulation also targets performance art. 'There are distinctions on sexual behavior and the art of performance. The commission should not relate LGBT issues with art,' said the 62-year-old who is part of the International Cross-gender Performers group along with fellow artists from Japan, China and India. The warning was made based on the Broadcasting Code of Conduct, Article 4, which requires the commission to promote the law and to protect public morals and values. It also quoted the Broadcasting Program Standards regulation Article 9 on keeping a program within the society's courtesy and decency norms, Article 15 on the need to heed the rights of children and teenagers and Article 37, which bans programs categorized as R, suitable for teens, to contain inappropriate behavior. There are seven points of 'indecent behavior' stated by the commission in its circular that are frequently shown on TV by male hosts, talents and artists. The criteria include the use of costume and makeup in female style, the use of feminine body gestures in walking, sitting, moving the arms and hands, as well as using female tones while speaking. The commission would also reprimand the justification or promotion of a man to act with feminine characteristics, airing a part when a man is addressed with an honorific title commonly used for woman, as well as the use of words or slang commonly used by 'ladylike men'. A popular TV dangdut singing contest, which was aired daily in the evening, was put under a spotlight following the arrest of one of its male judges over an accusation that he was sexually harassing a male acquaintance. Designer Ivan Gunawan, who was also on the show as fashion consultant for the contestants, said the warning would serve as a guideline for the program, which had a rising popularity. 'The commission could have informed us of what it did not want from us and what we should not do in order to make a program fit for any age group,' said Ivan, who is known for his feminine characteristics and who is usually addressed as a bunda (mother) on the show. While saying the program would heed the warning, Ivan defended the need to use makeup on the male host, talents and artists on the show. 'Makeup could cover skin complexions and even fatigue so that everyone will look perfect on the screen,' he said. 'There's a silver lining in all this attention given by the commission to us because it means the show is the most popular now.' The commission came under fire earlier this month after it discouraged broadcasters, television and radio stations, from running programs that promote the activities of LGBTIQ individuals. As the result, comedian Kabul Basuki, widely known as cross-dresser Tessy ' the role he played as part of the Srimulat comedy group ' has been banned from appearing on TV. The move, however, was lauded by lawmakers and politicians who consider LGBTIQ individuals as 'immoral' and 'a threat to the young generation', with a former minister affiliated with a religion-based political party suggesting the 'annihilation of people with deviant sexual orientations'. The National Commission on Human Rights has criticized the commission and suggested it instead encourage broadcasters to air programs that could throw light on the issue. Didik said as an educator, he purposely removed cross-gender cultural art from the curriculum while encouraging his students, mostly female dancers, to find their own style. 'Cross-dressing performance art is not something to be taught or passed onto others. It comes from a long time of study and experience.' Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Costas Kantouris and Konstantin Testorides (The Jakarta Post) Idomeni, Greece Tue, March 1, 2016 On foot or by taxi, hundreds of exhausted refugee families trying to reach Western Europe flocked Tuesday to a burgeoning tent city on Greece's border with Macedonia, which has not allowed anybody in for 24 hours, citing a similar policy by Serbia further north. Greek police say there could be up to 10,000 people ' mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees ' stuck at the country's Idomeni border crossing now in deteriorating conditions. Hundreds of tents fill the fields stretching toward the border fence, which is patrolled on the Macedonian side by scores of regular police, Macedonian special police forces and police from other Balkan countries. During the day on Monday, Macedonia let in only 30 refugees. The Idomeni crossing has become a key flashpoint in Europe's migration crisis. Several European nations, led by Austria, have imposed refugee caps and border restrictions over the past 10 days, creating a huge backlog of migrants in Greece. These unilateral actions have infuriated Greece and threaten to damage the unity of the 28-nation European Union. Some migrants have been waiting at Idomeni for more than a week. The camp is full and hundreds more people arrive daily. Overnight rain soaked many families, who hung up clothing to dry in the sun Tuesday. Jasmin Rexhepi, head of the aid group Legis which has volunteers working in Macedonia on its borders with Greece and Serbia, told The Associated Press that Macedonian authorities were restricting the numbers of migrants they let through because Serbia only allowed 30 people to cross their border Monday from a train carrying 410 people. He said Macedonia was waiting for Serbia to open that border. About 70 people including children, who Macedonia says are mostly from Pakistan, have been stuck on the Macedonian side of the border between two razor-wire fences for three days. Rexhepi said Macedonian authorities had been trying to send them back to Greece because they had crossed the border illegally, but Greece was refusing to take them back. "We are providing food, water, sleeping bags and raincoats for this group," Rexhepi said. On the Greek side, another group of 150 people who have been told it's their turn to enter Macedonia have spent days in a large, flimsy tent in front of the crossing. "I've been at Idomeni for 10 days and it's the fourth day I've been waiting to cross over," said Hassan Rasheed, 27, from Iraq. "Conditions are very bad. There are many ill children who are coughing, and we spent the night in this tent under heavy rain." Macedonia closed its border following clashes Monday when hundreds of migrants tried to force their way into the country. Police responded with tear gas and stun grenades, driving the refugees back. Nevertheless, small groups of refugees arrive in a steady flow, mostly on foot after walking up to 30 kilometers along Greece's northern highways. One was Ahmed Majid, a 26-year-old Iraqi travelling with his wife and two children. "We have been walking for 3 kilometers. Police stopped our taxi on the national road, which is why we are going through the fields," said Majid. Greece, meanwhile, deported 69 people from North Africa back to Turkey at the Kipi border crossing, saying they were only seeking better jobs and were not refugees in need of protection. A further 230 people are to be sent back by Wednesday, mostly Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian citizens. ____ Testorides contributed from Skopje, Macedonia. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Hanoi Tue, March 1, 2016 Vietnam calls on relevant sides to take responsible and constructive actions in maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea, said Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Le Hai Binh. The spokesperson made the appeal Monday in reply to reporters' queries on Vietnam's response to China's deployment of warplanes to Phu Lam (Woody) Island in Vietnam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and its construction of a high frequency radar facility on several features in Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, as well as news released by US media that the country may base mobile artillery weapons in the East Sea. At the ministry's regular press conference, Binh noted Vietnam's hope that the parties will respect the UN Charter and international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea. "Vietnam has indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes," the Foreign Ministry's spokesperson said. The spokesman said that China's acts, despite the objections and concerns raised by Vietnam and the international community, not only seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty and accelerated militarization in the East Sea, but also threatened peace and stability in the region as well as maritime and aviation security, safety and freedom of the sea. "Vietnam strongly opposes to the actions that seriously infringed its sovereignty and demands China have responsible and constructive words and deeds in maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world and respect international law," he said. Maintaining peace, stability, maritime and aviation security, and freedom of the sea is in the shared interest of all countries, both in and outside of the region, Binh noted. Asked what Vietnam's viewpoint would be if it is suggested the country should join a patrol with the US and its allies, the diplomat said Vietnam has conducted normal activities in the region in line with the country's and international law, particularly UNCLOS. The activities, which are performed by the relevant Vietnamese agencies, have always contributed to peace and stability in the region and the world at large. Vietnam has repeatedly voiced its viewpoint of respecting innocent passage through the country's territorial waters in tune with relevant rules stated in international law, especially UNCLOS, he said. Vietnam suggested that countries make constructive and pragmatic contributions to peace and stability in the East Sea, and respect international law. The country's foreign policy of independence and self-reliance has contributed to keeping peace and stability in the region, and received high appraisals from countries in and outside the region, he said. Regarding ongoing tensions in the East Sea, the spokesman said the recent developments in the region, especially in the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes, show that the region's status quo is being broken, and the greatest concern is the militarization of the East Sea. According to Binh, the heightened tensions would harm peace, stability, maritime and aviation security, and safety in the region. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Severianus Endi (The Jakarta Post) Pontianak, West Kalimantan Tue, March 1, 2016 The Sekadau regency in West Kalimantan is set to pilot the application of child identity cards (KIA) in March as it has been appointed by the Home Ministry as among the 50 KIA pilot project areas. The Sekadau administration's head of population affairs and civil registration, Ignatius Boni, said the regency's selection as one of KIA pilot project areas was on account of its achievement in the issuance of birth certificates for newborns and children aged up to 17 years old among areas across the province. He said around 65 percent of newborns and children aged up to 17 years old in the regency had obtained birth certificates. 'On the appointment of Sekadau as one of KIA pilot project areas, we are ready. Actually, it's not a new thing for us. We have carried out various demography administrative services, such as the issuance of birth certificates and electronic identity cards [e-KTP],' said Boni on Tuesday. Located around 315 kilometers from Pontianak, the province's capital, Sekadau has a population of 206,505. Its selection as among the KIA pilot project areas has been widely praised. Pontianak, the capital city of West Kalimantan, has not been selected to pilot the program. Pontianak Deputy Mayor Edi Rusdi Kamtono said as part of demography administrative programs for children, the KIA program was very positive because every child in Indonesia would be registered by name and address'[...] We are ready if Pontianak is instructed to implement the KIA program,' said Edi. He said Pontianak was home to around 600,000 people, around 20 percent of whom were newborns and children aged up to 17 years old. 'The population growth in Pontianak is quite high. Around 11,500 to 12,000 women give birth every year,' said Edi. The chairman of the West Kalimantan chapter of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), Alik R.Rosyad, said the government should have first completed its mandatory birth certificate program before it implemented the KIA program as a birth certificate was the first and most basic document for all Indonesian children. Alik said good administrative documentation for children would be helpful for the government in protecting children. In West Kalimantan, 20 cases of sexual violence against children were reported last year. 'In the first two months of this year, we have received 16 reports of violence against children cases, of which seven cases involved sexual violence against children. These are two most outstanding cases,' said Alik. Pontianak Children Forum president Septian, 17, said he was not yet aware of the KIA program. 'I think it's a good program because it's impossible for us to always bring our birth certificates wherever we go,' said Septian. Home Ministerial Regulation No.2/2016 on KIA stipulates that starting from 2016, all Indonesian children are required to have a KIA. The cards will be issued for children 17 years old and younger. (ebf) The biggest night in the awards calendar has at long last passed, and although it seemed to very much be the Leo show, there were plenty of other winners too. Aside from a few upsets now and then, the Academy Awards are usually a pretty predictable affair, so it came as no real surprise that the big winner of the night this year was a certain much-buzzed-about star of a certain much-buzzed-about film. There were oddly a few curveballs thrown in to the proceedings though, so without much further ado, heres a breakdown of the winners and losers of the 88th Academy Awards. Winners Best Lead Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) The mans been practically begging for one of the top awards for so long, and now he finally has one - and for arguably his most devoted performance to date. You can finally drop the memes; Leo, we salute you. Best Lead Actress - Brie Larson (Room) Brie Larsons not a name everyone was overly familiar with at the start of this awards season, but having snatched up every prize from the Golden Globe to the BAFTA for her role in the truly heart-wrenching Room, shes now very much a force to be reckoned with. Thoroughly expected, though still thoroughly deserved. Best Director - Alejandro G. Inarritu (The Revenant) One of few directors to nab the best director prize two years in a row (up there with John Ford and other cinematic legends), Inarritu was also something of a shoe-in for this one. I mean, did you see The Revenant? Best Picture - Spotlight Arguably the biggest upset of the night was Tom McCarthys stoic journalism drama nabbing the top gong, with The Revenant expected to be named the years best picture instead. A triumph for substance over style? Looks like it. Best Supporting Actor - Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) Another semi-surprise was Mark Rylances name being called for his excellent work in Spielbergs spy drama. A bit of a wonky category this year, true, but Rylances victory here feels worthy. Best Supporting Actress - Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) This time last year no one really knew who Alicia Vikander was, and now shes one of Hollywoods top names, having pretty much owned 2015 with appearances in genres across the board. Whereas it might be Ex Machina where she shone brightest, her win here is still thoroughly well earned. Best Animated Film - Inside Out Okay, well, did anyone else really expect anything other than Pixars gloriously high-concept, multi-generational mega hit to take home this one? Best Original Score - Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight) A legend of cinematic scores for over fifty years, and the creator of the now iconic spaghetti western twang, Morricone finally picked up his first Oscar ever this year after being coaxed out of retirement by Quentin Tarantino. Good call. Losers Sylvester Stallone (Creed) Poor Sly. Having battled with being typecast as a knucklehead action hero for the large majority of his career, he finally nabs a redemptive dramatic role, in the process bringing back the character that made his name: Rocky Balboa. Sadly he lost out to Mark Rylance, after being the firm favourite through most of the race. A solemn day for Philadelphians everywhere. Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs) Poor Fassy cant catch a break. After finally grabbing a leading nomination this year for arguably his finest work to date as the multi-faceted Apple mogul Steve Jobs, he finds his entire campaign trounced by a final Oscar-push from a certain DiCaprio. To be fair, he didnt seem too upset when Leo beat him. Rooney Mara (Carol) You can say what you like about Carol but one thing that must be praised is its performances, in particular Rooney Maras. Its a sensationally deep piece of work that shows the young actress really expanding her range, and to see her celebrated for it wouldve been rather fitting. I guess theres always next year; she shows no sign of stopping any time soon! Sicario Denis Villeneuves searing, uncomfortable and beautifully shot exploration of Mexican drug cartels was one of 2015s finest, but found itself annoyingly left out of a large part of the Oscar race. As one of the films only nominees, Roger Deakins found himself again left on the sidelines, trounced by a third sequential Lubezki win for Best Cinematography, whilst a push for Best Picture ended up with the film not even getting a nomination. Harsh Academy, mega harsh. Sam Smith He may have actually won the award for Best Original Song, but British talent Sam Smith has found himself hit by a hefty dose of backlash. Not only was his Spectre Bond theme not quite up to scratch, but during his acceptance speech he claimed to be the first openly gay person to win an Oscar - a rather out-of-touch fabrication on his part. Awkward. You can check out the full list of winners over here: http://oscar.go.com/winners. See you all next year for more over-hyped fun! Government to harden migrant watch BANGKOK: Authorities will toughen measures to monitor migrant workers from neighbouring countries in the wake of the rape and assault of French tourists in Trat on Saturday night (Feb 27), deputy national police chief Pongsapat Pongcharoen says. violencecrimetourism By Bangkok Post Tuesday 1 March 2016, 09:47AM Cambodian suspects re-enacted their alleged attacks on tourists on Koh Kut on Monday. (Photo by Jakkrit Waewkraihong) Five Cambodian fishing crew members were arrested on Sunday (Feb 28) for allegedly raping two French tourists and attacking two other male tourists who tried to help the women on the resort island of Koh Kut. The suspects identified as Thi, 20, Bot Man, 20, Yim, 25, Pai, 22 and Jern, 25 were believed to have swum to shore from their anchored fishing trawler and carried out the attack about 1km from a resort where the four tourists were staying. Pol Gen Pongsapat said yesterday (Feb 29) the five suspects confessed to carrying out the attacks, which they allegedly said was due to them being intoxicated. The injured French tourists are now in a safe condition, he said, adding the French embassy has been contacted to notify the victims relatives about the incident. Pol Gen Pongsapat said national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda had instructed his deputy Wut Liptapanllop to investigate whether other accomplices were involved, and provide assistance to the victims. He said all suspects had been cooperating with investigators. He said most crimes against foreigners were found to have been committed by migrant workers from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. Officers will have to intensify measures to keep tabs on them. The measures include checks on whether they have criminal records, Pol Gen Pongsapat said, adding the information could lead police to suspects when crimes occur. Pol Gen Chakthip said cases in which migrant workers come ashore to commit crimes have occurred before and police were able to catch the suspects. Police have always made full efforts to ensure security for both Thai and foreign tourists, the police chief said. However, regarding what happened over the weekend, police will look into what may have been loopholes that allowed such an attack to take place. Meanwhile, police yesterday brought the five suspects to re-enact the crime on a road leading to a resort in Ban Khlong Hin where the assault took place. About 50 officers, defence volunteers and rescue workers were called in to ensure security at the re-enactment after a crowd of locals turned up. The suspects were divided into two groups. One group re-enacted the attack on a 57-year-old woman and another on a 25-year-old woman. A villager breached the security line and punched one of the suspects in the face while the suspects were being brought back to a pick up truck, prompting officers to quickly whisk them away. A tourist police officer in charge of Koh Kut has been transferred in the wake of the attacks. Pol Maj Kittiwut Putnual, of the Tourist Police Division's Sub-Division 2, has been moved to the division office as he failed to quickly report the incident to his superiors, Pol Gen Pongsapat said. He said a probe will be carried out to find out whether officers in the area were negligent in their duty, which allowed the attacks to take place. The number of police could be increased to help tourists, he said. Chuchart Srisaeng, a former Supreme Court judge, wrote on Facebook the suspects could face a maximum punishment of life in prison if found guilty of attempted murder and gang rape. Read original story here. Phuket Bike Week targets B1bn for Songkran fest PHUKET: The annual Phuket Bike Week extravaganza is set to return to Phuket from April 8-16, with organisers anticipating more than 10,000 bikes and more than 50,000 people from more than 30 countries arriving on the island to take part. By The Phuket News Tuesday 1 March 2016, 10:21AM Phuket Bike Week will return from April 8-16, with events at Patong beach and in Phuket Town. Phuket Bike Week will return from April 8-16, with events at Patong beach and in Phuket Town. Phuket Bike Week will return from April 8-16, with events at Patong beach and in Phuket Town. Phuket Bike Week will return from April 8-16, with events at Patong beach and in Phuket Town. Phuket Bike Week will return from April 8-16, with events at Patong beach and in Phuket Town. In total, organisers expect the annual bike fest to generate B1 billion baht for the local economy. Phuket Bike Week, held annually in sync with the Thai New Year, or Songkran water festival, this year is celebrating 22 years of welcoming motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world, with this years Phuket Bike Week being held under the event theme Legend of riding tourism in the Asean region. The 2016 edition of the event will be held in two parts, with the opening days celebrated at the events traditional stomping ground of Loma Park in Patong from April 8-10. The closing days of the event will be held at "Anuphas courtyard" near Phang Nga Rd in Phuket Town on April 15 and 16. Phukets biggest show on two wheels this year will feature its usual crowd-pleaser spectacles, including displays of classic motorcycles by collectors and impressive new motorcycles by leading motorcycle companies. There will also be the popular custom motorcycle contest, the Miss Phuket Bike Week contest and live music concerts. On the social awareness trail, the event will include activities to promote safe driving and the reduction in global warming, and displays by leading artists in Thailand, product exhibitions of decorative accessories and motorcycle apparel. Entry is free to all events at Patong Beach. Regular tickets for events in Phuket Town cost B300, includes wristband entry and two drinks. VIP tickets to the event cost B1,500 and include entry to all events and venues, including the Grand Dinner, as we as a T-shirt, bandana, pin, patch, sticker, Ride Thailand Magazine, key chain, wristband entry every day, every site. EVENT PROGRAM PATONG BEACH, APRIL 8-10 DAY 1: FRIDAY, APRIL 8 15.00 24.00 Motorcycle Festival 16.30 18.00 Live music by rock band from Malaysia Backyard 18.00 19.30 Live music by rock band from Hard Rock Cafe Phuket 19.30 20.00 Cowboys & Indians show 20.00 21.30 Live music by rock band from Malaysia Backyard 21.30 00.30 Music Festival & Beach Party DAY 2: SATURDAY, APRIL 9 15.00 24.00 Custom bike competition & Motorcycle festival 16.00 17.30 Live music by rock band from Malaysia Backyard 16.30 18.00 Riding convoy around Patong (Meeting point at Soi Haad Patong, opposite Loma Park) 17.30 18.30 Live music by rock band from Hard Rock Cafe 18.30 19.00 Show from Miss PBW2016 contestants 19.00 21.00 Opening ceremony PBW 2016 by Mayor of Patong. Presenting the token of appreciation to special guests and International Bike clubs presidents. 19.00 22.00 VIP Grand Dinner (at event main stage area) 21.30 23.30 Live Music from Pong Hin-lek-fai Bands & Beach Party 23.30 00.30 Live Music from Rock band & Beach Party DAY 3: SUNDAY, APRIL 10 12.00 24.00 Motorcycle Festival 16.00 18.00 Live music by rock band from Malaysia Backyard 18.00 19.30 Live music by rock band from Hard Rock Cafe 19.30 20.00 Miss Phuket Bike Week 2016 Contest. (Final round) 20.00 21.00 Thank you party hosted by Phuket Bike Week Association 20.30 22.00 Live music by rock band from Malaysia Backyard 20.30 22.00 Event organizer present the token of appreciation to bike clubs 22.00 00.30 Music Festival & Beach Party Wednesday, April 13 Water festival (Thailand New year) PHUKET TOWN: April 15-16 DAY 4: FRIDAY, APRIL 15 13.00 - 24.00 Motorcycle Festival 14.00 - 17.00 Safe riding demonstration 17.30 - 20.30 Live music 20.30 - 21.00 Welcome speech by President of Phuket Bike Week Association 21.00 - 24.00 Music Festival & Live Bands DAY 5: SATURDAY, APRIL 16 13.00 - 15.00 Motorcycle Festival, Gymkhana and Stunt show 16.00 - 18.00 Convoy around Phuket Old Town - Promthep Cape 17.30 - 19.30 Live music 19.30 - 20.00 Show from Miss Phuket Bike Week 2016 Winner & finalists 20.00 - 21.00 Opening Ceremony and speech from Phuket Governor and Mayor of Phuket Town. Presenting the token of appreciation to Bike clubs presidents. 21.00 24.00 Music Festival and Live concert The event, organised by the Phuket Bike Week Association, is supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket Provincial Administration Organization, Patong Municipality, and held in cooperation with Ride Thailand Magazine. Class Act Media is a proud sponsor of Phuket Bike Week. Phuket-bound Russian charter flight makes emergency landing PHUKET: A charter jet carrying 327 passengers and nine crew from Moscow to Phuket was forced to make an emergency in Uzbekistan due to engine failure just after midnight, last Friday night (Feb 26). Russiantourismtransportaccidents By Anton Makhrov Tuesday 1 March 2016, 06:05PM The Boeing 767-300 aircraft, belonging to the AZUR Air fleet, made an emergency landing in th Uzbek capital Tashkent after the pilot reported a low oil level in one of the engines. Photo: AZUR Air The Boeing 767-300 aircraft, belonging to the AZUR Air fleet, made an emergency landing in th Uzbek capital Tashkent after the pilot reported a low oil level in one of the engines, reported state news agency TASS. (See story here.) After notifying the passengers, the captain shut down the failing engine and burned out excess fuel before making the emergency landing at Tashkent International Airport, said the report. According to official reports, the aircraft did not sustain any damage and none of the passengers suffered any injuries. They later continued their journey to Phuket on another jet. Russian Police transport safety authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, said the reports. (See story here.) Read our Novosti Phuketa report here. Police riled by Phuket graffiti vandals PHUKET: Police are looking for foreigners suspected of spraying graffiti at tourist locations in Phuket, following posts on social media today (Mar 1) complaining of a recent spate of same-style spray-painted markings across the island. crimepolicetourism By The Phuket News Tuesday 1 March 2016, 07:23PM Two garbage trucks in Rawai also recently were the targets of a graffiti attack. Photo: Nay Phuket / Photo: Seang Prachachon Phuket Two garbage trucks in Rawai also recently were the targets of a graffiti attack. Photo: Nay Phuket / Photo: Seang Prachachon Phuket Graffiti on Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge, which links Phuket with the mainland. Photo: Pongyos Saetan One of the posts showed two men standing on Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge, which links Phuket with the mainland, with graffiti left behind at the same spot immediately after their departure. Other posts showed same-style graffiti at popular tourist beach locations, including Phukets popular sunset viewpoint at Promthep Cape. Meanwhile, two garbage trucks in Rawai suffered a blight of graffiti in recent days, though the it has yet to be confirmed whether officials believe the same graffiti artists were involved. Regarding the defaced Rawai Municipality garbage trucks, Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos said, We do not know who is responsible for the paint on the trucks or on the rocks and wall at Promthep Cape, but we have asked the Chalong Police to look in to it. Police are now checking CCTV in the respective areas, he added. Mayor Aroon told The Phuket News that he had heard rumours that two Frenchmen were responsible for the graffiti attacks. But so far police have yet to confirm any leads about this, he added. Chalong Police Chief Col Nopadon Thiraprawat told The Phuket News that he has received reports of graffiti attacks across the island. We have found spray-painted graffiti at many places in Phuket, as well as in my precinct, and especially in the Nai Harn Beach area, he said. They must not do it. It is illegal and they must be fined, Col Nopadon warned. Tha Chatchai Police chief Col Somchai Sanprasert, who is responsible for patrols covering the bridges on and off Phuket, told The Phuket News that his officers were also checking CCTV in the hope of catching the culprits. I believe they might have come from Krabi province, but we have yet to confirm any details about this, he said. Col Teerapol Thipjaroen, Deputy Commander of Phuket Provincial Police, left in the matter in the local police chiefs hands. We know about this spate of graffiti from social media, but these photos cannot prove anything, he told The Phuket News. I am not overly concerned about what these people are doing. I am sure the local police chiefs will do their jobs, he said. Terror Groups Eyeing Israel's Destruction from inside NGOs Two stalwarts go sleuthing: "The research suggests that antisemitism is the fuel that primes the PSC engine" 'For as long as these antisemites wrap themselves up in the Palestinian flag, too many people are willing to turn a blind eye. Only against Jews is this type of racism openly tolerated. It is flourishing in schools, colleges, universities, unions and in city councils. In fact, so rampant is the disease now, in some settings you can be ostracised if you do not partake in the frenzy yourself. Bashing Jews has becomes a trendy position for the ignorant social justice warrior. "Palestinianism" is a viral "ponzi scheme" and as it spreads, it carries antisemitism in the undergrowth.' David Collier (2017) 'This new rise in antisemitism, which I had thought long dead, was not shaven-headed white imbeciles from the far right. It was Muslims, a large chunk of it.... Suddenly I grasped that the British far left didnt want people to know about antisemitism because it pointed the finger at people they really, really liked. From that moment on, it all fell into place.... Time and again the same tropes emerged, the same sort of stuff that Streicher and Goebbels would have commended and uttered.... And from that a whole bunch of other stuff emerged: the old blood libel business (a favourite of the repulsive Jenny Tonge).... Nice, avuncular, Jeremy Corbyn, with his peace badges, happily laying a wreath at the graveside of Palestinian terrorists who murdered innocent Jewish athletes, oh, and much much more.... It is the same antisemitism, exactly the same: the obsession with Israel to the exclusion of everything else, the conspiracy theory paranoias, the derangement.... Heres the test if you cannot see the flagrant racism in the BDS movement, and if you are obsessed with the perfidy of the Middle Easts only democracy to the exclusion of all else, you are an antisemite. That means a good proportion of the Labour Party, including the leader, and almost all of Momentum: no brown shirts, no marching bands, but the same old filth, dressed in the clothes of a polytechnic geography lecturer.' Rod Liddle (2018) Pro-Israel Down Under Shalom and Welcome to my blog! I'm the little Aussie blogger who took the screenshot and broke the story of Stephen Sizer's notorious 9/11 post, and I've since broken two other stories that subsequently went viral, one Australia-wide and one, thanks to the sterling work of two other bloggers, worldwide. I remain very surprised and very honoured to have been co-winner, Best Pro-Israel Blog, Hasby Awards, 2013 Please "Like" me on Facebook; my Facebook page is here 'In a region where women are stoned, gays are hanged, Christians are persecuted, Israel ... is different.... Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israel's Arab citizens enjoy real democratic rights.... Israel is not what is wrong about the Middle East. Israel is what is right about the Middle East.' Bibi Netanyahu (20 Iyar 5771; 24 May 2011) Scroll to end for more quotations Tired of anti-Balfour agitprop? Balfour and Beyond Try this for Sizer 'Before the June 1967 Six Day War, there were no such things as "settlements". Palestinians were trying to destroy and displace Israel anyhow. The core problem is not, and never was, "settlements," but the right of Israel (or any non-Muslim nation) to exist inside any borders in that part of the world. If you take a stand that is based on a lie, then that stand cannot succeed. If you try to oppose antisemitism but pretend it is the same thing as "Islamophobia," then the structure on which you have made your stand will totter and all your aspirations will fail. If you try to make a stand based on the idea that settlement construction rather than the intransigence of the Palestinians to the existence of a Jewish state is what is holding up a peace deal, then facts will keep on intruding.' Douglas Murray (31 December 2016) https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9685/britain-little-lies BDS is Antisemitic The Bigotry & Immorality of BDS 'Islamophobia does NOT come from the same wellspring of hatred as antisemitism. Antisemitism is a true prejudice because the hatred and demonisation it promotes derive entirely from lies and a repudiation of rationality itself. Islamophobia is a false allegation of prejudice which is deployed to silence rational criticism based on actual facts about attitudes and practices within the Islamic world. [L]ethally compromised even-handedness is to misunderstand, and thus minimise, antisemitic attitudes and behaviour while shutting down legitimate and necessary discussion of the threat from the Islamic world even to demonise as Islamophobic anyone who draws attention to the extent and consequences of Muslim antisemitism.' Melanie Phillips (14 December 2016) "Selling a house to a Jew is a betrayal of Allah" Maps of Mendacity & Mischief These misleading maps were deliberately prepared to date from 1946 intentionally papering over the momentous events that had occurred between 1917 and 1945. Attempts to unravel binding precepts of international law established between 1917 and 1945 and failing to insist on their being upheld and enforced has a lot to do with the sorry situation the world finds itself in today. David Singer (2016) How They Twist the Truth! Jews have re-assumed the role of the canary in the mine and are the first to be targeted, but the world would face the same threat if Jews did not exist. Israel has been at the front lines confronting Islamic extremism but has received scant support... For Jews, the writing has been on the wall for a long time. The virulence of the antisemitic hatred closing in on Jews in Europe (and elsewhere) is horrifying... Europe is today facing a crisis as serious as the confrontation with Nazism. If Western leaders continue behaving like Chamberlain and fail to stand up to this global threat, it could usher in a new Dark Age in which the Judeo-Christian culture is subsumed by primitive barbarism. The writing is on the wall Isi Leibler (12 January 2015) Expose The Lies! There is a war of lies and deceit on the internet generating unbelievable hate by denigrating and delegitimising the legal rights conferred on the Jewish people by the League of Nations in 1922 and the United Nations in 1945. The idea that there are two narratives on the Arab-Jewish conflict is rubbish. There is only one the factual truth that details the return of the Jewish people to reconstitute the Jewish National Home in its ancient biblical, ancestral and historic homeland after 3500 years of dispersion with the unanimous endorsement of the nation states then comprising the League of Nations.... Generals cant fight a war without soldiers. Jews around the world need to join the fight or vacate the internet to the Jew-haters and their lies that repeated often enough eventually become accepted as truth. David Singer (2016) Exposing Lies The "Apartheid" Slur The division of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into three separate areas A, B and C was agreed on by Israel and the PLO pursuant to the Oslo Accords. 95% of the West Bank Arabs live in Areas A and B and their daily lives are under the total administration and control of the PLO since the Palestinian Authority was disbanded by Abbas in January 2013. The PLO has total security control in A and shares security control in B with Israel. Israel has total administrative and security control in C. Israel is entitled to and will continue to take responsibility for the security of Jews living in the West Bank. Jews were given the legal right to settle in the West Bank under article 6 of the Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the UN Charter. They did so for decades until they were driven out in 1947 and not able to return there until 1967. There are Arab roads only in the West Bank that Jews are not allowed to use. Jews are also forbidden from entering Area A. Selling land to Jews is forbidden by the PLO under pain of death. The PLO runs the daily lives of 95% of the West Bank Arabs and Hamas runs the daily lives of 100% of the Gazan Arabs. They have been under occupation and subjugation by these two evil groups for the last ten years and given no say in their future or any opportunity to elect others to lead them following the disastrous political decisions of their leaders over the past ten years. Hamas and the PLO do not accept the continued existence of a Jewish State and call for its disappearance. The narratives did not begin in 1948 they began in about 1917. How do you make peace with an enemy that has been obsessed with not recognising any Jewish national rights in former Palestine for the last 100 years? David Singer (2016) Telling the Truth The Jews of the Holy Land ... are surrounded by hostile states 650 times their territory and sixty times their population. Yet their last, best hope of ending two millennia of international persecution - the State of Israel - has somehow survived. When, during the Second World War, the island of Malta came through three terrible years of bombardment and destruction, it was rightly awarded the George Cross for bravery. Today, Israel should be awarded a similar decoration for defending democracy, tolerance and Western values against a murderous onslaught that has lasted twenty times as long. Andrew Roberts (historian) A voice of courage & reason He knows, y'know An Aussie demo against BDS On the left, black people are usually allowed to define whats racism; women can define sexism; Muslims are trusted to define Islamophobia. But when Jews call out something as antisemitic, leftist non-Jews feel curiously entitled to tell Jews theyre wrong, that they are exaggerating or lying or using it as a decoy tactic and to then treat them to a long lecture on what anti-Jewish racism really is. Jonathan Freedland (The Guardian, 29 April 2016) An awkward fact for some! Socialist thought was tainted from its very origins with the heavy baggage of anti-Jewish stereotypes. Robert Wistrich, From Ambivalence to Betrayal:The Left, the Jews, and Israel (2012) BDS hypocrisy! Want more? Israel is understandably obsessed with security, but its greatest security lies ultimately not in the Israeli Defence Forces, but in political warfare.... Most of the world is not deeply interested in what happens in Israel, and probably does not want to be deluged with legalistic defences of particular actions. What it wants is a clear, calm, repeated case. It is a case aimed more at public opinion than at foreign ministries about freedom, democracy, a Western way of life and the need for the whole of the free world to fight terrorism. Sometimes you hear Israelis say: It doesnt matter what we say. The whole world is against us. You can see why they say it, for they are indeed unfairly treated. But when they say it, they are uttering a self-fulfilling prophecy. If they wont say what needs saying, no one else will say it for them. Charles Moore (2010) #Je suis ISRAEL Aujourdhui, lantisemitisme est masque par lantisionisme. Il faut dire les choses comme elles sont! ["Today, antisemitism wears the mask of anti-Zionism. We must tell things as they are!"] Nicolas Sarkozy (27 May 2015) Once again the armies of the Arab nations are coordinating their military efforts to destroy Israel - whatever they say about wishing merely to regain the lost territories.... [I]f the present Arab offensive had been launched at the pre-1967 frontiers, then the Israelis would indeed have been fighting to avoid annihilation. It seems now that the Israelis were right to maintain the ceasefire lines gained in 1967, and that to do so is the only guarantee of their continued safety. Alan Sillitoe (The Times, 11 October 1973) A nuclear Iran threatens our existence Iran and ISIS are competing for the crown of militant Islam... In this deadly game of thrones, theres no place for America or for Israel, no place for Christians, Jews or Muslims who dont share the Islamist medieval creed, no rights for women, no freedom for anyone... [T]he greatest danger facing our world is the marriage of militant Islam with nuclear weapons. To defeat ISIS and let Iran get nuclear weapons would be to win the battle, but lose the war. We cant let that happen...[T]he days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are over. We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves. We restored our sovereignty in our ancient home. And the soldiers who defend our home have boundless courage. For the first time in 100 generations, we, the Jewish people, can defend ourselves....Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand. But ... I know that America stands with Israel... You stand with Israel, because you know that the story of Israel is not only the story of the Jewish people but of the human spirit that refuses again and again to succumb to historys horrors. Bibi Netanyahu (12 Adar 5775; 3 March 2015) The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews. Other nations drive out thousands, even millions, of people, and there is no refugee problem.... [N]o one says a word about refugees. But in the case of Israel displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees.... Other nations - when they are defeated - survive and recover, but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed.... [A]s it goes with Israel, so it will go with all of us. Should Israel perish the holocaust will be upon us. Eric Hoffer (1968) My archived Tuesday blogs at Elder of Ziyon , Most of the present Arab countries were given their freedom after the 1914-18 War, or after the 1939-45 War.... Yet to listen to Arab spokesmen one might think that they had been cheated ... because they have not also got Israel. Israel is only .2 per cent of the land where Arab States have been established. Surely no fair-minded man can begrudge the Jews their own promised land when it is remembered that for every 2 acres that went to make up Israel, 1,000 acres became Arab.... Why is there an Arab refugee problem? The oil-rich countries have the money. There is no shortage of land, and the Israelis have the technical knowledge to show how it could be developed and made fertile. Bring those things together and the problem could be solved. 3rd Earl of Balfour (1968) Blog Archive January 7, 2015 has already its place in the history of infamy, but also will be the date when the defenders of freedom and democracy will rise and pay tribute to those who died for their freedom and ours. Therefore, we must not forget on which side we are and who are our allies in the defense of the West and its values. Whether we admit it or not, the West is at war with an enemy who will not stop to destroy us... The State of Israel boasts a commandment that, in one of the darkest hours in the fight for liberty Winston Churchill taught: "Never give up". Israel has proven to be a key ally in the fight against Islamism and also an example of how a liberal democracy can resist the jihadist stake and thrive as a Western nation ... Not only France but also all the West should look to Israel to defeat Islamism... friendsofisraelinitiative.org [I]ts impossible to believe that an active antisemite wouldnt if only opportunistically seek out somewhere to nestle in the manifold pleats of Israel-bashing, whether in generally diffuse anti-Zionism, or in more specific Boycott and Divestment Campaigns, Israeli Apartheid Weeks, End the Occupation movements and the like....[T]ell me that not a single Jew-hater finds the activity congenial, that criticising Israel can never be an expression of Jew-hating, not even when it takes the form of accusing Israeli soldiers of harvesting organs... Howard Jacobson (The Independent, 27 May 2013) What has happened to the 800,000 Jews who lived for over 2000 years in the Arab lands ...? Where are they in Arab society today? You dare talk of racism when I can point with pride ... to the fact that it is as natural for an Arab to serve in public office in Israel as it is incongruous to think of a Jew serving in any public office in an Arab country, indeed being admitted to many of them. Chaim Herzog (6 Kislev 5736; 10 November 1975) I stand with Israel, I stand with the Jews.... I defend their right to exist, to defend themselves, to not let themselves be exterminated a second time. And, disgusted by the antisemitism of many Europeans ... I am shamed by this shame that dishonours my country and Europe. Oriana Fallaci For Western countries to side with those who question Israel's legitimacy, for them to play games in international bodies with Israel's vital security issues, for them to appease those who oppose Western values, rather than robustly to stand up in defence of those values, is not only a grave moral mistake, but a strategic error of the first magnitude. Israel is a fundamental part of the West. The West is what it is thanks to its Judeo-Christian roots. If the Jewish element of those roots is lost and Israel is lost, then we are lost too. Jose Maria Aznar Israel is, for us, a normal and a special country. A normal country, because it is just like any other democracy. A special country, because the Jewish culture, which eventually became the Judeo-Christian culture of the dignity of man, is the conceptual foundation of liberalism and democracy. This is why attacking Israel is tantamount to attacking Europe and the West. This is also why disputing Israel's legitimacy and its right to existence means questioning democracy. And this is why we are Friends of Israel. By defending Israel, we are defending ourselves. Marcello Pera Israel ... is beset today by a unique combination of threats. It must defend its people from attack while defending its very right to exist. No other nation in the world faces this dual challenge. To deny Israel's right to confront some of the world's most vicious terrorist groups in order to ensure the safety of its citizens is to corrode international norms from within ... The assault on Israel is one part of a more general assault on the West, on democracy, and on the moral and cultural heritage that grew from the fruitful interaction of Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome ... Should these efforts succeed, similar efforts will certainly be turned against other western democracies. George Weigel Apart from America itself, Israel still stands as the world's brightest model of national self-liberation based on ideals of individual responsibility and human freedom. Israel's ability to withstand Arab attempts to destroy it in one of the longest and most lop-sided wars ever fought serves as an indelible testimony to the strength of democratic culture.... We know from the past that the West paid dearly for ignoring Hitler's war against the Jews. One can only hope it will not pay as dearly for having ignored or underestimated for so long the Arab war against Israel and the Jews. Ruth Wisse The choice before us is not between victory and defeat, but between victory and annihilation. We therefore have not the slightest intention of allowing the re-creation of the conditions of vulnerability in which we found ourselves, abandoned and alone, in the summer of 1967. Diplomat Michael Comay (1970) I am duty-bound to defend freedom, culture, peaceful coexistence, the civic education of children, and all the principles that the Tablets of the Law have rendered universal. Principles which Islamic fundamentalism systematically destroys. This means that, since I am a Gentile, a journalist and a leftist, I have a triple moral commitment to Israel. Because, if Israel were to be vanquished, modernity, culture and freedom would also be crushed. Even though the world has failed to wake up to this fact, Israel's struggle is the world's struggle. Pilar Rahola About Me Daphne Anson I'm a writer/researcher, with many academic books and articles under my own name. Daphne Anson is my blogging alias. Combining the names of two ships, it's a moniker of special significance to me - I'm a naval history buff. I use an alias owing to a perceived need to keep my blogging and professional identities separate. An Aussie, I've long been interested in politics and foreign affairs, having studied International Relations in the USA and Britain for my first degree, and I also hold a doctorate. I began blogging in response to the exponential rise in antisemitism and hostility to Israel in the wake of the Mavi Marmara affair. Another reason I use an alias: http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2015/08/alias-two-ships-daphne-anson.html View my complete profile Followers Nicht Ihr Computer? Dann konnen Sie fur die Anmeldung ein Fenster zum privaten Surfen offnen. Weitere Informationen Gov. 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Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. A man whose wife was wounded during the San Bernardino attack has taken Apples side in its ongoing battle with the FBI over unlocking an iPhone used by one of the shooters. Salihin Kondoker the husband of Anies Kondoker, who was shot three times, but survived the attack at Inland Regional Centre on Dec. 2 that left 14 dead wrote the official who ordered Apple to unlock the phone to say he believes privacy is important and Apple should stay firm in their decision. When I first learned Apple was opposing the order I was frustrated that it would be yet another roadblock, Kondoker wrote in the letter to Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym, as reported by Buzzfeed and the Associated Press. But as I read more about their case, I have come to understand their fight is for something much bigger than one phone. They are worried that this software the government wants them to use will be used against millions of other innocent people. I share their fear. Kondoker wondered whether the FBIs efforts to get at information on the iPhone, used by attacker Syed Rizwan Farook who attended the same mosque as the Kondokers might prove fruitless. It is unlikely there is any valuable information on this phone, Kondoker wrote. This was a work phone. My wife also had an iPhone issued by the County and she did not use it for any personal communication. Saying that we need stronger gun laws and that guns killed innocent people, not technology, Kondoker questioned how the FBI was handling the case. I also believe the FBI had and still has access to a lot of information which they have ignored and Im very disappointed in the way theyve handled this investigation, he wrote. Favouring Apple are Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder Sundar Pichai, Google CEO Jan Koum, creator of WhatsApp Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), lobby group representing big-name firms such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Samsung Edward snowden, whistleblower. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Favouring the FBI are: Barack Obama, U.S. president Bill Gates, Microsoft founder Donald Trump, who has called for a boycott of Apple. The public narrowly. Fifty-one per cent of Americans say Apple should unlock the iPhone, according to a survey by Pew Research Centre. Kondoker also shared details about his familys life. We are proud to call America home and prouder still to be raising 3 children here, he wrote. We are also Muslim and have always taught our children that religion is about love and community. I dont believe terrorism and religion have any connection. It is an act of hate. Kondokers letter comes as the war between Apple and the FBI over unlocking the iPhone heats up in and out of court. Just last week, invoking the First Amendment, Apple CEO Tim Cook made passionate arguments about iPhone users right to privacy. FBI Director James Comey, meanwhile, made an equally passionate plea that law enforcement be given access to the iPhone attacker Farook used. We have awesome new technology that creates a serious tension between two values we all treasure privacy and safety, Comey wrote. That tension should not be resolved by corporations that sell stuff for a living. It also should not be resolved by the FBI, which investigates for a living. It should be resolved by the American people deciding how we want to govern ourselves in a world we have never seen before. On Monday, in a unrelated case, a New York federal judge ruled that the company did not have to comply with a request to unlock a drug-dealers iPhone. None of the factors in the case, Magistrate Judge James Orenstein of the Eastern District of New York wrote, justifies imposing on Apple the obligation to assist the governments investigation against its will. Kondokers letter also highlights what the AP called a schism among the families of San Bernardino victims. As tech companies such as Google have taken Apples side, many families have raised their voices in support of the government. One, Gregory Clayborn, whose 27-year-old daughter was killed in the attack, wants legislation requiring businesses to co-operate with investigators in such cases. Apple Inc. could use all the friends it can get in Congress as lawmakers prepare to confront its refusal to unlock an iPhone used by a terrorist. But the company hasnt invested as much time and money as competitors to buy influenceat least in the traditional ways of Washington. Ive never run into an Apple lobbyist, and I think thats the way they like it, said Chris Jones, managing partner of lobbyist recruiter Apple needs all the friends it can get in the battle, but while the $4.48 million it spent on lobbying in Washington last year was an all-time high for the iPhone maker, its not nearly on the scale of tech giants such as Google or Microsoft Corp. Google parent Alphabet Inc. spent $16.7 million in 2015 to rank among the top 12 lobbying spenders, according to the Centre for Responsive Politics, a non-profit that tracks money in elections. Microsoft, which boosted its Washington presence after a bruising antitrust battle in the 1990s, spent $8.5 million in 2015, according to the centre. There were 36 lobbyists registered to represent Apple in 2014, compared with 98 for Google, according to the center. They may need to rethink how much firepower they have, and how much theyre going to need, said Jim Manley, senior director at QGA Public Affairs, a Washington-based lobbying firm. Apples staking its reputation on this and theyre going to need to be very aggressive. Fifty-one per cent of Americans say Apple should unlock the iPhone, according to a survey by Pew Research Centre. Some 38 per cent said Apple shouldnt do so. The furor has attracted attention in the presidential campaign, with Republicans Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz saying during a Feb. 25 debate Apple should comply with the FBI order. Front-runner Donald Trump has gone further, calling for a boycott of Apples products. Includes files from Bloomberg Read more about: SHARE: Despite all the social and professional advancements for women, the monthly period is still treated as a taboo. Because of this persisting social stigma, women will surreptitiously slip a tampon up their sleeve on the way to the bathroom. Theyll talk about having their periods in code. Theyll hide their symptoms from bosses or teachers. To explore just how deep this goes, a recent global survey conducted by Clue, a womens health app, and the International Womens Health Coalition, an advocacy group, asked women about their attitudes toward their periods. They received responses from 90,000 women who use the app from 190 countries. The survey found that globally there are thousands of euphemisms women use to talk about their period. In the U.S., women commonly refer to it as a visit from Aunt Flo, that time of the month, their monthly friend, or, as coined by Cher in Clueless, riding the Crimson wave. The Swedish may say, Lingonveckan, which means lingonberry week and the German say Erdbeerwoche, which means strawberry week. Some French say, Les Anglais ont debarque, which means the English have landed an ode to the bloody battles of yore. The survey also found that most women, regardless of whether they lived in the Eastern or Western world, were uncomfortable talking to a male family member, colleague or friend about periods. For you to understand your body and take care of your body you have to first not be ashamed of this part of your life, said Clues founder Ida Tin. Without cycles there would be no humans on this planet, its that fundamental. That taboo is left over from the dark ages. IWHC president Francoise Girard recalled being at a conference on sexual health in Ghana and one of the male speakers started referring to intimate parts. The lack of clear, straightforward language is confusing for girls, especially ones in the developing world who receive such little, if any, information about menstruating. You internalize the shame, it suggests something is wrong and something you should be ashamed of, Girard said. Society is suggesting this is something (women) should keep hidden. If women cant even say the word period without someone laughing, or themselves feeling embarrassed, it can then be challenging for women to be advocates for their own health. By using cute names for periods, and other reproductive organs, it can suggest women shouldnt be taken seriously. Its a huge public-health issue in the developing world, where some girls think theyre dying when they suddenly start bleeding because they had no education about their periods, Girard said. Many stop going to school while theyre menstruating. But its also an issue in the developed world. Women are still dismissed as having PMS if theyre perceived to be in a bad mood. This even came up in U.S. presidential politics when GOP front-runner Donald Trump said after the first debate in August that Megyn Kelly of Fox News had blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever. Though he denied it, most people understood it as he was saying she asked tough questions because she was on her period. This prompted women to tweet about their periods with the hashtag #periodsarenotaninsult. There have been other movements to address the social stigma around periods. Thinx, for instance, is an underwear that absorbs menstrual blood. The companys mantra is, we bleed for womens empowerment. Its website says 100 million girls in the developing world fall behind in school just because of their periods, forcing many of them to eventually drop out. Its an issue in American schools too, which is why a New York City councillor has pushed to get free tampon dispensers in public schools. Its important to destigmatize feminine hygiene products, which help us carry out our daily functions without interruption and avoid those risks, Councillor Julissa Ferreras-Copeland told Yahoo in September. Its also a matter of giving young girls dignity throughout the process they shouldnt feel ashamed of being women. For her part, Tin developed Clue when she tried birth control pills in her twenties and couldnt bear the side effects. She looked for other contraceptive options and realized there hadnt been many major developments in family planning since the pill came on the market in the midst of the 1960s sexual revolution. With all of todays technological advancements, she was baffled that no one had successfully brought family planning into the modern-age. Sure there were plenty of period-tracking applications, but, in her view, they lacked scientific seriousness and most were pink and flowery in a way that felt stereotyping and almost belittling. So Tin, a Danish woman who lives in Germany, started Clue, a free smartphone app that tracks not just a womans menstrual cycle, but also moods, physical symptoms such as headaches and cramps, sleep, sex drive and energy level. The idea is to give women a complete picture of their health. Women use it for many different reasons, Tin said in an interview. They use it as a body diary and that is very empowering. Anything from figuring out what that headache is about to a young woman starting out on her first period. Since she launched it about three years ago, more 2.5 million women from nearly 200 different countries are users. It also recently integrated with Apple to allow users to merge its data with the iPhones existing health app. So now, alongside daily steps, nutrition, and body mass index, women can maintain a record of their basal body temperature, cervical mucus quality, menstruation, ovulation test results, sexual activity and spotting. Tin is quick to say that Clue itself is not a contraceptive. But she said it can be a tool to help women know when to have sex if they want to get pregnant, and when not to if they dont. But the larger goal, she said, is to give women the power to know what is going on in their own bodies, and not be ashamed of it. SHARE: Reaching a high note of winter with record-breaking temperatures of 13.8C on Sunday, Old Man Winter has Torontonians getting set to put on snow boots and parkas as a major winter storm is expected to hit the city on Tuesday. Initially a winter storm watch, Environment Canada upgraded the weather alert on Monday to a winter storm warning for Toronto as the influx of a low pressure system would bring in heavy and blowing snow mid-day on Tuesday. Morning commuters will wake up to a high of -4C, with temperatures steady throughout the day before the night temperature dips to a low of -7C. On Tuesday morning, Toronto is forecasting light snow, so the commute shouldnt be too difficult, Yoseph Mengesha, meteorologist at Environment Canada told the Star. Snow will be at its heaviest in the evening, and continuing overnight. So just how much snow are we expecting? Environment Canada says that in the afternoon, Toronto will be hit with around 5 centimetres, which will significantly intensify in the evening to 10 to 20cm. Mengesha also says that another factor is the gusting wind that will be expected to reach up to 70 kilometres per hour along the Lake Ontario shoreline during the heavy snowfalls. But there is light at the end of the snow tunnel, as the blowing and heavy snow from the storm tapers off on Wednesday morning, well be March-ing into a weekend reaching over 0C by Saturday. SHARE: The intergovernmental squabbling has begun. Premier Brad Wall staked out his governments emphatic opposition to a national carbon price last week, a line drawn in the (oil) sand in advance of the First Ministers meeting on climate on Thursday. The conflicts over carbon pricing should surprise no one. Creating a climate consensus amongst Canadian provinces with highly differentiated energy systems has always presented a political challenge. Complicating progress further, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made few meaningful promises on emission reductions during the election, giving him very little bargaining leverage with the provinces. Federal climate policy might still be saved by the momentum created by the Paris climate agreement and climate action coming from provinces like Alberta and Ontario. The political debates centre largely around a potential carbon price. Faced with these debates we see proposals that would weaken a national carbon pricing system. However, maybe it is the myopic preoccupation with market mechanisms that creates political and economic barriers to a Canadian low-carbon transition? Carbon pricing, of course, is vital to any serious national effort to curb emissions. It makes polluters pay no matter where they are in the country, and is an effective way to send a broad signal to markets. For well over a decade policy experts have heralded the primacy of market based instruments such as carbon pricing over and above other policy strategies such as energy efficiency programs, feed-in tariffs, and technology development initiatives. However, this rhetoric has done a disservice to political leaders by pitting one type of policy instrument against others, rather than outlining how a mix of policies could reinforce one another. In place of carbon pricing Brad Wall calls for more research and development. Of course we need both R&D and carbon pricing. At the same time, neither a carbon price, nor a gamble on producing miracles from R&D will help achieve the kind of transformation required. We need entrepreneurial efforts focused on developing a variety of technologies, from their initial stages towards full deployment. Right now, government is the missing entrepreneurial actor. A new report entitled, A Green Entrepreneurial State as Solution to Climate Federalism, published by the Broadbent Institute, argues that government plays an important role in shaping the direction of technological innovation toward a low carbon future. Furthermore, a stronger policy focus on developing specific green technologies could create more favourable political conditions within the Canadian federation. A green entrepreneurial state would work toward analyzing Canadas green innovation opportunities and implement a suite of policies highly tailored towards different sectors and technologies. Governments should be ready to define new challenges for basic and applied science; to foster connections between traditional industries and green sectors; to create initial markets for the testing and demonstration of technologies; to change outdated regulatory systems; and to provide the patient capital required to deploy green technologies at scale and help Canadian clean technology companies grow into international players. These technology-specific strategies are also likely to be highly regionally specific. Alberta might explore how drilling and exploration capabilities from its oil and gas industry overlap with enhanced geothermal technologies, and develop a geothermal innovation strategy. Quebec might consider how to leverage its hydroelectric capabilities to scale-up electric vehicles and manage fully renewable electricity grids. The federal government could use Canadas regional diversity as an opportunity to promote technological diversity and share knowledge across the different areas of the country. The key political implication of developing regional low-carbon innovation pathways is that the development of green industries in Canadas regions creates political momentum for more climate action. What about the carbon price? The federal government should not abandon its pursuit of a uniform and meaningful carbon price. It is a policy best applied at the national level. In contrast, green innovation policies are more effective when regionally differentiated. By opening up the policy tool box, the federal government could find more options to manage regional conflict than backing away from meaningful carbon pricing. For provinces, identifying regional low-carbon transition pathways can shine a light on the policy supports they should demand from the federal government instead of the policies they should resist. We need to create both political and economic momentum for a low-carbon future. In Canada, that means seeing carbon pricing as one of many policy tools and recognizing the need to create a uniquely Canadian Green Entrepreneurial State one attuned to the countrys regionally distinct green innovation opportunities. Brendan Haley is a Broadbent Institute Policy Fellow and the author of the report A Green Entrepreneurial State as Solution to Climate Federalism. Read more about: SHARE: When we hear stories about anti-black racism and the struggle against it in the United States, we like to imagine that Canada is a superior place; a place that, with our different history, and has escaped such problems. Sadly that is not the case. Take the recent controversy at the University of Missouri. The stories of anti-black racism at that school were all too familiar to us. One of us is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and we are both current students at the University of Toronto, and we recognized the plight of black Mizzou students from our own experience. Blackface, a lack of representation, the slow death or complete erasure of programs that focus on black people and thought; these are issues above the 49th parallel, and its time we recognize it and do something to fix it. At our own institution, there are no courses where you can study black people at the graduate level. The school of Global Affairs is completely devoid of programs and courses that focus on the continent of Africa. This is the largest school in Canada, often touted as the best. Its difficult to imagine such an omission with regard to, say, Europe or Asia. Canada itself has a long and vibrant black history. Should we not be able to study it? Black students and faculty at the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, and other schools across southern and eastern Ontario recognize this, and have begun working with students at institutions across the United States on efforts to resist the racism we experience on our campuses. The success of our movement and the backlash we have experienced is telling. On Nov. 18, black students across the United States and Canada marched, protested and gathered on our respective campuses to share our experiences of what it means to be black on campus. From Ottawa to Guelph to Toronto, hundreds of students and faculty participated in the actions. At the University of Toronto, we released a comprehensive list of demands focused on tackling anti-black racism at the schools core. As a result, the university has agreed that it needs to work on the ways anti-black racism manifests on campus and has committed to begin collecting census data on the representation of black students, faculty, staff and administration. But the response from some in the academic community was reprehensible. At the University of Guelph, dozens of anonymous attacks on black students were made online in the form of discriminatory remarks, threats and harassment. These responses lay bare the similarities between the black experience in Canada and the United States. Although the University of Toronto agreeing to collect race-based census data is a great first step, it is only that. It has been two months since we met with administration to discuss our detailed demands. After promising a thorough response to each one, the administration finally responded last week with a disappointing email that did not address our issues in concrete or actionable ways. Our work continues, as it does for the black students on campuses across Canada continuing to organize events and further action. As a follow-up to their demonstration, black organizers at the University of Guelph held an anti-black racism teach-in, exploring the issues black students on Canadian campuses face and how to address them. At Ryerson University, black students are currently working on an anti-black racism poster campaign and a petition for their demands. Its time we stop thinking of ourselves as superior to the United States when it comes to racism. We should be looking within and recognizing the racism that exists throughout our society whether its in policing, education, media representation, housing the evidence is there. Black students know this, and live it. We were encouraged by the University of Torontos commitment to collect data, but our demands are far from finished. Working together, black student organizers in both Canada and the U.S. know the changes were seeing now are only the beginning. Sefanit Habtemariam and Sandy Hudson are founding members of the Black Liberation Collective-Canada, a pan North-American movement dedicated to eliminating anti-black racism on college and university campuses. SHARE: The so-called basic income guarantee is having a moment. Hot on the heels of Quebecs plan to explore the policy, it was announced that Ontarios provincial budget included funds for a basic income pilot project. And on that very day, Senator Art Eggleton tabled a motion calling on the Senate of Canada to encourage the federal government to do the same. The basic income guarantee (BIG) is a strategy for poverty reduction that is simpler and more effective than our existing social assistance systems. Quite simply, individuals whose incomes fall below a certain threshold get topped up to a level that would meet basic needs. This streamlined approach would replace existing social assistance programs, and would provide much-needed income security for the increasing numbers of Canadians in precarious and part-time work. If designed correctly, it should also eliminate some of the perverse incentives of the welfare wall that institutionalize poverty in Canada. A series of pilot projects now seems inevitable. So what should we hope to learn from those experiments? In the past, much of the focus of BIG pilots has been on labour market outcomes. The intention is to design programs that will provide income security without discouraging work. The benefits of a basic income include that individuals face fewer barriers getting back into the workforce than they do from social assistance, and they do not fall into deep poverty if they are unable to find employment immediately. So labour market effects will need to be examined, but thoughtfully. Canadas prior experiment with a BIG, the Mincome pilot in Manitoba in the 1970s, found that a BIG did not cause people to stop working with two important exceptions. The first was women with infants at home, who effectively used the BIG to purchase maternity leave. We should expect a different response from women in modern-day Canada, where maternity leave benefits are much more extensive. But where child care and other supports for working parents are insufficient, we may see responses to a BIG that will show us those cracks in the system. The other group whose employment levels decreased under Mincome was teenage boys. A closer look reveals that with a basic income guarantee, male high school students were more likely to make the decision to stay in school until graduation. Given the Ontario governments aim of increasing graduation rates and the need for a highly educated population, it will be important to understand how peoples labour market decisions interact with other important choices. Will they, for instance, decide to improve their skills and buy a better long-term future for themselves and their families? But a BIG has potential effects well beyond the labour market. Some of the most important outcomes that should be examined in a pilot are health outcomes. Poverty is the biggest determinant of health. As such, we should expect to see significant improvements in health among recipients of a basic income. For example, the Mincome data showed that under a BIG, hospital visits dropped by 8.5 per cent. This included fewer emergency room visits from car crashes and domestic abuse, and fewer mental health visits. In Ontario today, these indicators along with others such as low birth weight, avoidable hospitalizations, and health system expenditures are already measured, and a close look at the impact of a BIG on those metrics must be included in a basic income pilot. Finally, in designing this pilot, the diversity of the provinces population will need to be taken into account. Ontarios pilot will need to include inner city, rural, and suburban populations, and also take into account the provinces social and cultural diversity. The differential impacts of the intervention on various populations will yield knowledge essential to the successful implementation of a basic income program that meets the needs of our most vulnerable neighbours. The Ontario governments plans to pilot a basic income guarantee should be applauded. Now the hard work begins of designing our evaluation to reflect the full aspirations of a 21st-century Canada. Laura Anderson is a researcher at Wellesley Institute. Dr. Danielle Martin is an adviser with EvidenceNetwork.ca, Vice-President at Womens College Hospital and author of Better Now: 6 Big Ideas to Improve the Health of all Canadians, to be released by Penguin Canada in 2017. SHARE: Log In Receive full access to our market insights, commentary, newsletters, breaking news alerts, and more. Log In Search Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" trading recommendations using our exclusive "Mad Money" Stock Screener. Politics is hurting your stocks, Jim Cramer proclaimed to his Mad Money viewers Monday. This year's increasingly angry presidential race is making investors less certain about the future, which in turn makes them less likely to take risks or own stocks at all. How bad are things getting? It caught the eye of famed billionaire Warren Buffett, where in his annual letter to shareholders he said that our government is getting in the way of "investable progress." That sentiment was echoed by General Electric (GE) CEO Jeff Immelt who, in an open letter, said that the relationship between government and business is the worst he's ever seen, and our policies are only slowing growth or stopping it altogether. The political backdrop lowers the PE ratios of the entire market, Cramer explained, and whether you're talking biotechs, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, oil or tech, our government is becoming increasingly vocal with its anti-business rhetoric. Cramer recalled that President Eisenhower once said the job of the government was to promote American business. But while that ideal seems to be slipping further from reach, it is only obscuring, and not eliminating, opportunities in the stock market. Great investments are still out there, he concluded. They're just getting harder to find and taking longer to realize. Off the Charts In his "Off the Charts" segment, Cramer once again checked in again with colleague Carolyn Boroden to see where she sees the markets heading next. Viewers will recall that Boroden correctly predicted on Jan. 26 that the rally had no staying power. Indeed, the markets peaked on Feb. 1 and subsequently bottomed on Feb. 11, where Boroden then called a "tradable low." Boroden now see multiple Fibonacci timing cycles converging on the weekly S&P 500 chart, signaling that the market's trajectory could soon change for the better, especially if the markets are able to stage a rally tomorrow. Continued declines tomorrow would signal that the markets are entering a trading range cycle. Turning to a chart of the Nasdaq 100, Boroden saw a reverse head-and-shoulders pattern, which would be bullish, but only if the average can hold above the 1,810 level. Gambling on Wynn? After roaring back 40% in just the past two weeks, is there still time to get into Wynn Resorts (WYNN) , the casino operator that has seen a remarkable rise and fall over the past decade? Cramer took a closer look. Shares of Wynn were on fire from the depths of the recession in 2009 to their peak of $242 in 2014. But that red-hot growth came to an abrupt halt when the Chinese government put the brakes on corruption in its gambling mecca of Macau. With a sudden lack of VIP clientele, Wynn saw its growth dry up almost overnight, sending shares down 80% from its peak in the months that followed. But Cramer noted that Macau, and Wynn, are now on the mend as the Chinese economy works through its lows. Trading at 19 times earnings, Wynn is attractive, Cramer said, but he also cautioned that after the stock's monster move, investors will need to wait for a pullback to get a better entry point. Executive Decision: Aneel Bhusri For his "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer once again spoke with Aneel Bhusri, co-founder and CEO of Workday (WDAY) , which just reported a 1-cent-a-share earnings miss. Shares of Workday are down 24% for the year. Bhusri explained that despite the miss on the bottom line, business at Workday remains strong and the company is seeing its highest win rate in the past eight quarters. He said Workday continues to focus on growth in this exceptional "land grab" market or the next generation of enterprise cloud services. When asked for more details, Bhusri said large companies continue to replace their legacy HR systems with more efficient cloud-based ones and in some cases are even replacing cloud-based systems for Workday's better cloud offerings. The cloud offers value, he said, which is something all companies crave. Bhusri did admit, however, that Workday needs to do a better job educating Wall Street about the company, especially in reference to the seasonality in the business. Cramer said in a industry like Workday's, investor need to focus on revenue growth and big customer wins and not on the bottom line. Lightning Round In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on TJX Companies (TJX) , Etsy (ETSY) , Blackstone Group (BX) , Owens-Illinois (OI) and Home Depot (HD) . Cramer was bearish on Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) , Carlyle Group (CG) and USG Corp (USG) . No Huddle Offense In his "No Huddle Offense" segment, Cramer said unlike many annual reports, the one offered by Warren Buffett is a treasure trove of terrific investing advice, and best of all it's totally free. Cramer reiterated his buy on Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) but also called out many highlights gleaned from Buffett's diverse portfolio of investments that include insurance, rails, energy, chemicals and more. For example, Buffett remains pleased with Bank of America (BAC) , a stock Cramer owns for his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS. He also was upbeat on Kraft Heinz (KHC) , another Action Alerts PLUS holding. Cramer said Buffett's take on the rails also made him bullish on the likes of Union Pacific (UNP) and CSX (CSX) as both of those railroads have room to improve, even in a downward business environment. To watch replays of Cramer's video segments, visit the Mad Money page on CNBC. To sign up for Jim Cramer's free Booyah! newsletter with all of his latest articles and videos please click here. At the time of publication, Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS had a position in BAC and KHC. With stocks from Brazil, Russia, India and China in meltdown this year, the benchmark index for emerging-market stocks looks almost untouchable. So Aberdeen Asset Management (ABDNF) simply disregards it. Managers of the firm's Emerging Markets Fund barely consider the composition of the benchmark MSCI Emerging Markets Index when picking stocks. Instead they just look for stocks they like -- wherever they are. They've loaded up on Hong Kong stocks, even though Hong Kong (despite being part of China) isn't in the index. The strategy has helped to limit the fund's losses in 2016 to 4.4%, according to Morningstar. Not like that's much to crow about, especially since it's lost an average 2.4% annualized over the past five years. But it's still beating more than four-fifths of its peers, as well as the index, which is down 23% this year. "Our geographic weightings reflect the opportunity that we see from our on-the-ground stock picking," said Stephen Parr, a senior investment manager at London-based Aberdeen. The firm hasn't dodged en-masse redemptions from emerging-market funds, as investors grow increasingly dismayed by a multi-year recession in Brazil, a depressed outlook for exports from oil-producing countries like Russia and an opaque foreign-exchange policy in China. Indian stocks have been swept up in the selloff. The Aberdeen Emerging Markets Fund, which tripled in size in the three years through 2013, has since suffered an outflow of about 40% of its assets, down to $6.7 billion at the end of last year. Aberdeen, which oversees $430 billion in total, has seen its own share price tumble 45% in the past year. Ashmore Group, another London-based money manager that specializes in emerging markets, is down 21%. "A lot of investors are growing tired of emerging markets," said Patricia Oey, a senior analyst at Morningstar Manager Research in Chicago. Only two emerging-market countries in the MSCI index produced positive returns in 2015, according to Parr: Russia, which inched up after a 46% plunge in 2014; and Hungary, home of just three member stocks, which collectively outperformed. "There weren't a lot of places to hide," Parr said. "All sectors were in negative territory." The Aberdeen fund has 3.5% of its holdings in Malaysian insurer AIA Group, which isn't a member of the MSCI index, he said. While the fund owns some Chinese stocks like state-owned China Mobile, its exposure to the country is far lower than the benchmark's 25% weighting because of concerns about corporate governance there, according to Parr. For example, Chinese video-game publisher Tencent Holdings (TCEHY) has decent growth opportunities, but Aberdeen avoids it because the ownership structure obscures how minority investors would fare in a bankruptcy, he said. Aberdeen also shuns South African media conglomerate Naspers, one of the biggest stocks on the MSCI index, because it owns a big stake in Tencent. Tencent has "performed very well, but at this stage we're not comfortable holding it," Parr said. "If you were an investor in our fund, you would not be pleased to find out we had no claim on the underlying assets." The Aberdeen fund does have about 9% of total holdings in Hong Kong-based companies, many of which own real-estate holdings in mainland China, he said. They include Hang Lung Properties and Swire Properties, according to the firm's website. "The Hong Kong overweight mitigates the underweight China," Parr said. "The territory offers companies that have better standards of corporate governance." Other big bets include Astra International, an Indonesian conglomerate with interests ranging from toll roads to distribution of Honda motorcycles; Femsa, the Mexican Coca-Cola bottler and convenience-store operator; Housing Development and Finance, India's biggest mortgage lender; and UltraTech, India's biggest cement maker. Incidentally, the Aberdeen fund's holdings in India are 8 percentage points higher than the country's weighting in the MSCI index. "We see world-class companies there," Parr said. Hopefully that'll help, with the benchmark Indian Sensex stock index down 16% during this year's first two months. Retailer Kroger (KR) , one of the word's largest grocery store chains, will report fourth-quarter 2015 earnings results before the opening bell Thursday. Kroger stock -- which is down about 3.8% on the year -- has begun to rebound, posting gains of 15% and 6% in the past six months and three months, besting the S&P 500undefined during both spans. This includes better-than-5% gains in the previous five trading days. Even with these recent gains, Kroger stock is cheap, priced at just 19 times earnings. Compare that to a price-to-earnings ratio of 20 for the average stock in the S&P 500. That makes the Cincinnati-based retailer an excellent buy ahead of Thursday's results. For the quarter that ended in January, the average analyst earnings-per-share estimate calls for 54 cents a share on revenue of $26.26 billion, a year-over-year increase of 3.8% and 4.2%, respectively. For the full year, earnings are projected to rise 16% year over year to $2.04 a share, while full-year revenue of $109.94 billion would mark a year-over-year rise of 1.4%. Full-year earnings are projected to climb at 16%, and revenue at 1%. That underscores the strength of Kroger's business, suggesting strong profit margins. The company is also able to make money even amid periods of weak revenue. Kroger stock looks like a safe haven for value-seeking investors. Not only has Kroger beaten Wall Street estimates in its previous three quarters, the company is poised to close out the year with higher-than-5% same-store sales growth (excluding fuel). Same-store sales, a performance measure of stores open at least one year, indicates underlying strength and pricing power. For some context, rival Walmart Stores (WMT) is growing annual same-store sales at less than 1%. Last quarter, Kroger delivered a 24% increase in earnings per share and extended its streak of positive quarterly same-store sales results (excluding fuel) to 48. There's a strong chance that streak will be extended Thursday. Kroger shares are currently priced at around $40, below their average analyst 12-month target of $45. That's excellent value, especially when you consider the 10.5 cent per share quarterly dividend. This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned. Nearly 40 years ago, a victorious Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate was said to have "put all the hate groups into one pot and let it boil." Donald Trump may be doing the same thing in 2016. As Republicans in 11 states vote on Tuesday, it's worth recalling the stunning election of Edward J. King, whose 1978 victory over Michael Dukakis presaged much of the anti-Establishment anger and economic populism fueling Trump's run for the presidency. A large man with a steely stare, King was outspoken in his opposition to abortion, welfare, the state's high taxes, while backing capital punishment and longer prison sentences. In challenging the incumbent Dukakis for the Democratic nomination for governor, a King aide told a reporter that his boss had "created a hate campaign." In the 1970s, Massachusetts was mired in the torturous drama of Boston's school busing experiment. Race riots had roiled the city and tensions remained high. For Boston's Catholic working class, anger wasn't directed solely at liberal politicians. It was heaped upon a federal judge in an unelected post who had ordered that school children be bused between neighborhoods. Residents had little recourse to stop it. "There was enormous anger at the political process," Jeffrey Berry, a political science professor at Tufts University and co-author of The Outrage Industry: Political Opinion Media and the New Incivility, said in a phone interview from Medford, Mass. "A judge had imposed policies on an electorate that didn't have any say over it. People struck back at the establishment the only way they could by choosing King over Dukakis." There are many parallels with Donald Trump's ascendancy over the past six months. King, at his swearing in ceremony, January 1979. Like Trump, King was keenly attuned to voter frustrations with party leaders -- in his case with the state's liberal establishment which included Senator Ted Kennedy and House Speaker Thomas "Tip" O'Neill. After defeating the Republican in the general election, King led the passage of a referendum limiting property taxes, weakened rent control and eliminated funding for bilingual education. Ronald Reagan called King his favorite Democratic governor. White working class Catholics overwhelmingly voted Democrat in Massachusetts back then but over the next three decades many of them would become Republicans. After losing to Dukakis in a 1982 re-match, King switched as well. Like King, Trump is getting most of his support in Massachusetts from "less-educated, lower-income" voters, said Steve Koczela, president of The MassInc Polling Group, a non-partisan firm based in Boston. Yet even as John Kasich and Marco Rubio tend to poll better among upper-income and better-educated Republicans, there are few demographics where Trump isn't the nominal leader, he added. Heading into Tuesday's Massachusetts primary, Trump was leading 40% to Kasich and Rubio each with 19%, according to MassInc. Ted Cruz received the support of 10% of respondents to a poll conducted in late February. Trump's popularity may be less about Tea Party rage over taxes and big government than an anger born of a perception that government is doing more for immigrants and non-whites, and even the wealthy. As King stoked racial animosities over busing, Trump has done the same with immigration, blaming Mexicans and Muslims as well as free trade for the changes that have remade local communities and the U.S. economy. His supporters, Koczela said, tend to favor the strongest, "most muscular" possible responses to a variety of issues. For immigration, MassInc's polling revealed, Trump supporters talk of mass deportation, erecting a 1,000 mile wall. On the military, it's about being bigger, about exerting international power wherever possible. "Trump's supporters share an attitude more than an ideology," Koczela said in an interview from Boston. "It's not necessarily that there's a consistent political ideology that you can place somewhere on the spectrum, but that the changes that have taken place in the U.S. economy hasn't really benefited them." Much as Ed King excoriated the Democrats of Dukakis and Kennedy, Trump has won over blue-collar and independent supporters by blasting Republican leaders. His targets have been Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney and John McCain as much as they've been Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. "The commonality with Ed King is in the anti-establishment sentiment," Berry said. "For Republicans voting for Donald Trump, it's more the Republicans who they're angry with than liberals. Although they come from different places, King and Trump more or less both wanted to give the finger to those in office." "Britain does not dream of some cozy, isolated existence on the fringes of the European Community. Our destiny is in Europe, as part of the community.That is not to say that our future lies only in Europe, but nor does that of France or Spain or, indeed, of any other member.The community is not an end in itself." --Margeret Thatcher in The Bruges Speech, 1988 The decision about whether Britain chooses to exit the European Union, popularly known as Brexit, or stay put will be decided in a national referendum on June 23. The consequences of a Brexit could be profound for both Europe and the world. The United Kingdom is the EU's second-largest economy after Germany, has a powerful military and exerts a great deal of influence in global affairs. British Prime Minister David Cameron, who has been pushing Britons to vote to stay in the EU, said in a speech to Parliament on Feb. 22 that if the United Kingdom remains a part of the bloc it could "have the best of both worlds." EU History Created in 1958 in the aftermath of World War II, the EU was called the European Economic Community until 1993. It is a unique economic and political partnership that brings together 28 European countries. The United Kingdom has been an EU member since 1973. The other member countries in are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, The Republic of Cyprus, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Under the single currency, the euro, the member nations maintain a single market so that Europeans can draw maximum benefit from it. But nine EU member nations, including the United Kingdom, don't use the euro. Although Cameron doesn't support a Brexit, he does want the EU to consider a list of demands. The list includes a restriction on EU migrants in the United Kingdom from claiming work benefits until they have been a resident for four years and also the exclusion of Britain from the EU's founding ambition of an "ever closer union," so as not to be drawn into additional political integration, according to the BBC. The debt crisis in the eurozone has weighed down many individual economies of the single-currency zone. It is has been argued that if Cyprus, Greece, Ireland and Portugal had their own currencies, they would tackle their issues domestically and not seek financial aid approvals from the so-called Troika, or the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund. Brexit supporters think that by leaving the EU, the United Kingdom will be more free from bureaucracy and better able to control the nation's sovereignty. Because member nations in the EU are bound by common regulations, the United Kingdom is forced to comply with obligatory EU regulations and bureaucracy. A Brexit would give the United Kingdom the liberty to trade globally with little restrictions. In his weekly column in The Daily Telegraph, London Mayor Boris Johnson openly supported a Brexit and said that EU membership is "a slow and invisible process of legal colonization, as the EU infiltrates just about every area of public policy." Britons have the choice between two competing visions, and how it plays out will have profound implications for the rest of the world. This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned. Apple (AAPL) has vigorously defended itself against the federal government and the FBI in the San Bernardino hacking case, and one New York judge is siding with the world's most valuable company. Federal Magistrate Judge James Orenstein has ruled the government can not force Apple to break into the iPhone password security in a similar matter, with the government trying to access meth dealer Jun Feng's iPhone. As in the San Bernardino case, the government tried to use the All Writs Act to compel Apple to cooperate, but Orenstein questioned whether the Act, passed in 1789, was sufficient and relevant enough. The ruling could establish some precedent that could be used in the San Bernardino case. Apple is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Exclusive Look Inside: You see Jim Cramer on TV. Now, see where he invests his money and why Apple is a core holding of his multi-million dollar portfolio. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells AAPL?Learn more now. Feng, who has pleaded guilty of his crime, had an iPhone 5s in his house and when the government tried to access it, but Feng said he forgot his password, leading the FBI to try to coerce Apple into accessing the account. The difference between the Feng case and the San Bernardino case, in which gunman Syed Farook used an iPhone 5c, is Feng's phone was running iOS 7, which doesn't encrypt data by default the way that newer operating systems do. In the Feng case, Apple is being asked to bypass the phone's password so that authorities can extract some of the information on it. Here is the key passage of Orenstein's ruling, denying the government's case: The government seeks an order requiring Apple, Inc. ("Apple") to bypass the passcode security on an Apple device. It asserts that such an order will assist in the execution of a search warrant previously issued by this court, and that the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. 1651(a) (the "AWA"), empowers the court to grant such relief. Docket Entry ("DE") 1 (Application). For the reasons set forth below, I conclude that under the circumstances of this case, the government has failed to establish either that the AWA permits the relief it seeks or that, even if such an order is authorized, the discretionary factors I must consider weigh in favor of granting the motion. More specifically, the established rules for interpreting a statute's text constrain me to reject the government's interpretation that the AWA empowers a court to grant any relief not outright prohibited by law. Below is the entire ruling from Orenstein: IN RE ORDER REQUIRING APPLE, INC As China's recent military aggression in the Asia-Pacific region fuels a massive arms build-up among its neighbors, the largest defense contractor in the world will see its coffers substantially grow over the next decade. War and strife are ugly, but ingrained, fixtures of the human condition. Investors should dispassionately pinpoint powerful investment trends that will unfold over the long term, regardless of fiscal or financial vagaries. And in the troubled Asia-Pacific region, most countries are sustaining huge, multi-year increases in defense spending, especially for sophisticated and expensive fighter jets. These trends are driving robust business for one military contractor in particular: Lockheed Martin (LMT) . With a market cap of $65.4 billion and a vast global footprint, Lockheed is the largest defense firm in the world. In addition to the Pentagon, LMT claims several entrenched and loyal clients in Asia and the Pacific Rim, as well as in Europe and the Middle East. LMT data by YCharts Tensions between South and North Korea are escalating, while China's assertiveness in the region is worrying its neighbors. In the East China Sea, China is at odds with Japan over the Senkaku, or Diaoyu, islands. In the South China Sea, China is at loggerheads with several Southeast Asian countries, notably the Philippines and Vietnam. Many of these squabbling countries are now clamoring for LMT's advanced fighter jets. Lockheed Martin exemplifies a time-tested Wall Street axiom: The best investment opportunities are the stocks of companies that build technologically advanced products that tap into pressing needs. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute last month released a report showing that six of the 10 largest importers of heavy weapons, especially expensive combat jets, are in Asia and the Pacific Rim: India, China, Australia, Pakistan, Vietnam and South Korea. From 2011-2015, the region collectively bought 46% of all global weapons imports, up from 42% in 2010-2014. That's twice the amount of the war-torn Middle East. In a separate report, the research firm Defence IQ estimated that 4,000 combat fighters valued between $260 billion to $367 billion will be procured around the world over the next 15 years. Based in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed manufactures a wide range of military aerospace products for the Pentagon and international clients. In addition to its core competency of combat fighters, the company makes missiles, satellites and coastal warships. Lockheed Martin last year paid $9 billion to United Technologies for Sikorsky Aircraft, one of the world's pre-eminent makers of civilian and military rotorcraft. Among Sikorsky's most popular products are variants of the UH-60 Black Hawk, flown by the U.S. military and also exported to countries around the world. Despite threats in Congress of U.S. defense cutbacks, one program that isn't slated to take a significant hit is the most expensive U.S. weapons program in history: Lockheed's F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. The F-35 is the most advanced combat jet fighter ever built and the Navy, Air Force and Marines are deeply committed to their respective models of the aircraft. More than 3,000 of the aircraft are currently slated for delivery to 12 countries. Initial Asia/Pac-Rim customers for the F-35 include South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia. South Korea has set a budget of about $6.8 billion for 40 F-35s, among the biggest international orders for the jet. These foreign orders should drive LMT's revenue and earnings for many years. Lockheed Martin reported full year 2015 revenue of $46.1 billion, compared to revenue of $45.6 billion in 2014. Earnings came in at $3.6 billion, or $11.46 in earnings per share (EPS), compared to $3.6 billion, or EPS of $11.21, in 2014. In terms of 2016 full year guidance, management expects EPS to be in the range of $11.45 to $11.75 and revenue in the range of $49.5 billion and $51 billion. The consensus estimates call for $12.23 in EPS on $49.52 billion in revenue. LMT's latest operating results are ostensibly modest, but the company more than held its own as Congress tightened the Pentagon's purse strings during the last budget cycle. The fact is, this defense contractor is brimming with new, multi-year orders from overseas "hot spots" that will reward investors into the foreseeable future. Lockheed Martin's trailing 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 18.83 is roughly in line with the trailing P/Es of its industry (18.26) and specific competitors Northrop Grumman (18.50) and Raytheon (18.23). Year to date, Lockheed Martin's stock has beaten the broader market as well as its industry. LMT has been roughly flat YTD, whereas the S&P 500 has declined 5.16% and the iShares US Aerospace & Defense, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the industry, has fallen 5.12%. With LMT stock now trading at about $215, the one-year median analyst price target is $234.50, for a gain of 9%. On the high end, the one-year price target is $252, for a gain of 17.2%. While you're waiting for LMT's capital appreciation, you can enjoy the healthy dividend yield of 3.04%. You see Jim Cramer on TV. Now, see where he invests his money and why Lockheed Martin stock is a core holding of his multimillion-dollar portfolio. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells LMT? Learn more now. We've found a small-cap biotech "rocket stock" that's about to take off. UCLA researchers are stunned by a Nobel Prize-winning cancer breakthrough that's proven in clinical trials to eliminate lethal forms of cancer with a single dose. One small company owns the patent to this life-saving treatment. Now trading at about $5 a share, the stock of this innovative company is projected to surge 2,700% on an imminent FDA announcement. To download the full report, click here. John Persinos is editorial manager and investment analyst at Investing Daily. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned. What if the government paid every citizen a minimum guaranteed income? Proposals to do something like that have been around for decades and even tried a few times on small scales. Now the idea is making the rounds in a number of countries, including some that plan to put it to a vote. In the United States guaranteed income is supported by an exceptionally broad spectrum of people from libertarians to liberals. The basic concept is straightforward. "Essentially, it is the idea that the government would provide all adults with a certain income not connected to any other requirements," says Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. "It's simply a flat grant of income to everybody." Guaranteed income appeals to fiscal conservatives like economist Milton Friedman because of its potential for replacing a costly, complex, inefficient and ineffective net of welfare programs. Liberals as far back as Martin Luther King hoped it could do a better job than existing programs at easing poverty, homelessness, hunger and other social ills. Today, libertarians including a number of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs propose it as a way to ease the impact when advancing technology wipes out jobs. And for anyone concerned about retirement funding, guaranteed income promises to drastically reshape that issue. Switzerland will be the first country to vote on a guaranteed minimum income proposal. Voters will cast ballots in June 2016 to decide whether to pay every Swiss citizen the equivalent of $34,000 a year. While the Swiss proposal is not given a good chance of passing, different national plans are being considered in the Netherlands, Greece, Finland and elsewhere. And in Canada, the province of Ontario has announced it will conduct a pilot of a basic income program. While the theoretical appeal of guaranteed income is broad, concerns about how it would actually work have kept it from being tried on a big scale. One problem is cost. If all 319 million United States citizens were to receive $10,000 a year, notes Tanner, the bill would approximate the entire federal budget of $3.8 trillion. "Even if you were to abolish all the other federal anti-poverty programs, it would still cost much more than we're currently spending," Tanner he says. "So that's not going to work." Adding a means test would control costs by limiting payments to people who earned below a certain amount. Even if payments were $20,000 per year per recipient, a means test would greatly reduce the cost of the program. Another modification would pay households instead of individuals, or adults only. These approaches could cut cost below combined federal and state outlays for things like Social Security, food stamps and unemployment insurance, so that guaranteed income might be a money-saver. The means test also has potential problems, however. One is that the program would become much more complex, requiring rules and definitions of what constitutes income, for example. Another worry is that people would have a disincentive to go to work, since earning income might disqualify them for the basic income payment. Practical concerns like these have kept national guaranteed income proposals from becoming reality, Tanner says. Guaranteeing income seems so radical that, without proof of feasibility, no nation is willing to take the first step. "We just don't have any evidence to go by," he says. "There's no data out there. We don't know how it would work in practice." Pilot programs have been tried at the local level in various places, including the United States and Canada. And, while detailed data are indeed incomplete, there's been no indication that many people stopped looking for work or the programs proved excessively costly. For now, guaranteed income seems destined to be a part of the discussion about how to deal with poverty, hunger, homelessness, long-term unemployment and other social issues, including how to pay for retirement. And with impetus building for trials in Europe and elsewhere, skeptics and fans may soon have some real evidence to support their cases for or against. "That's terrific," says Tanner, "because then we'll have data to work with." NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Barclays (BCS) stock is falling by 6.14% to $8.86 in early afternoon trading on Tuesday, as the London-based financial company slashes its dividend, exits its Africa business and reports a profit decline. Barclays is reducing its annual dividend to 3 pence during 2016 and 2017, down from 6.5 pence in 2015. The dividend cut is part of Barclays's effort to build up reserves against losses as the bank sells an increasing amount of unwanted assets, the Wall Street Journal reports. CEO Jes Staley plans to sell down its 62% stake in Barclays Africa Group to focus instead on Barclays UK and Barclays Corporate and International. The latter two divisions generate more than 10% return on equity, Reuters notes. The restructuring announcement came as Barclays reported a loss of 394 million pounds, wider than the 174 million pound loss reported in 2014. Adjusted pretax profit came in at 5.403 billion pounds for 2015, compared to 5.502 billion pounds during the previous year. Analysts were looking for 5.772 billion, according to Reuters. A 1% increase in total income, excluding insurance claims, to 25.5 billion pounds was countered by litigation and restructuring costs, the Journal adds. Barclays warned that its investment bank's 2016 first quarter will be weak, and CFO Tuschar Mozaria signaled additional cost cutting measures within the division. BCS data by YCharts The growth of agriculture sector has been projected at 1.1 per cent in 2015-16 fiscal as against decline of 0.2 per cent a year ago. (Representational Image) New Delhi: The government has presented a "pro-farmer" budget this year which will help in addressing farm distress and achieving 4 per cent growth in the sector, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said today. The minister said the Budget has made fund provisions to speed up the implementation of various schemes initiated by the government in last two years. "The government has presented a pro-farmer budget for the first time after the country's independence," Singh told reporters here. Asked if the 2016 budget will help address farm distress and achieve 4 per cent growth, he said. "Definitely, we will be able to achieve". The growth of agriculture sector has been projected at 1.1 per cent in 2015-16 fiscal as against decline of 0.2 per cent a year ago. The government is already implementing schemes to reduce cost of production, raise productivity and provide better price to farmers besides raising the minimum support price (MSP), Singh said, adding that the budget has provision to speed up implementation of these sche mes. Simultaneously, the new crop insurance scheme and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojana would also help, he added. Yesterday, the government announced a major thrust for agriculture sector in the Budget by almost doubling allocation to Rs 44,485 crore and raising credit target to a record Rs 9 lakh crore. Singh said the state governments will be ready with irrigation plan for 150 districts by next month and the work would be speed up. "The launch of unified electronic agri-market from April 14 will also help in ensuring farmers get better price in the market", he said. The country has received deficient monsoon rains for two consecutive years, resulting in lower foodgrains production and higher prices of pulses. Some cases of farmer suicides were reported in states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Of the Budget allocation for the 2016-17, a sum of Rs 15,000 crore has been provided for interest subvention on farm credit, Rs 5,500 crore for crop insurance scheme, Rs 815 crore to promote dairy and allied sector and Rs 500 crore to boost pulses output. To fund agri-initiatives, the government also imposed a Kisan Kalyan cess at 0.5 per cent on all taxable services from June. Apple (AAPL) shares finished higher Tuesday after the company's general counsel met with legislators in Washington to discuss the government's attempt to get Apple to open up an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters. Apple General Counsel Bruce Sewell testified before Congress that the tool the government has asked Apple to create -- effectively a new operating system -- would work on any iPhone in use and not just the iPhone 5c used by gunman Syed Farook. He also said that making the tool would be burdensome and take more than a month to create, and that the new operating system, which some have dubbed govtOS, would harm the safety and security of the phones, while not materially impacting the terrorists who are trying to do harm. FBI director James Comey also testified at the hearing, admitting investigators had made a mistake by initially resetting the cloud storage account on the phone, making it more difficult to later retrieve its data. But he said that even without the error, the FBI would still need Apple to help access additional information stored on the phone. Apple shares closed at $100.53, up 4%, their highest levels in over a month. Apple is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Exclusive Look Inside: You see Jim Cramer on TV. Now, see where he invests his money and why Apple is a core holding of his multi-million dollar portfolio. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells AAPL?Learn more now. On Monday in a separate but similar case, Federal Magistrate Judge James Orenstein ruled the government can not force Apple to break into an iPhone, with the government trying to access meth dealer Jun Feng's iPhone. As in the San Bernardino case, the government tried to use the All Writs Act to compel Apple to cooperate, but Orenstein questioned whether the Act, passed in 1789, was sufficient and relevant enough. The ruling could establish some precedent that could be used in the San Bernardino case. Feng, who has pleaded guilty of his crime, had an iPhone 5s in his house. The government tried to access it, but Feng said he forgot his password, leading the FBI to try to coerce Apple into accessing the account. The difference between the Feng case and the San Bernardino case, in which gunman Syed Farook used an iPhone 5c is, Feng's phone was running iOS 7, which doesn't encrypt data by default the way newer operating systems do. In the Feng case, Apple is being asked to bypass the phone's password so authorities can extract some of the information on it. Montreal, CA (H4T1V6) Today Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 44F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 44F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Street vendors collect their belongings after deadly bombing attacks in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016. Militants attacked Mredi outdoor market on Sunday in eastern Baghdad, killing at least 24 people and wounding dozens, officials said. Minutes later, a suicide bomber blew himself up amid the crowd that had gathered at the site of the first bombing, he added. (AP Photo/Ali Abdul Hassan) I forgot to open a thread, which I'm doing now, about today's Presidential Primaries in Virginia. If you have any opinions on the pro- or anti- bicycle positions of the various candidates. This is your chance to share them. Here are some interesting facts about some of the candidates Trump once sponsored a bike race called, of course, the Tour de Trump. Ted Cruz gave an interview in 1988 while on a bicycle. Hillary Clinton attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Metropolitan Branch Trail. Bernie Sanders played a roll in building the Burlington Bike Path. There you go. All you need to know to vote now. The project has three components that include grants support to higher education Institutions, State Level Initiatives and improving system management. New Delhi: India on March 1 signed a loan agreement with multilateral lending agency World Bank for USD 300 million for Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Quality Improvement Project. The objective of the project is to improve student outcomes especially of disadvantaged groups in selected Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and to increase the effectiveness of the Higher Education System in Madhya Pradesh, a finance ministry statement said. The agreement was signed between Department of Economic Affairs Joint Secretary Raj Kumar on behalf of India and World Bank's Country Director Onno Ruhl on behalf of World Bank. The project has three components that include grants support to higher education Institutions, State Level Initiatives and improving system management, the statement said. A lawyer attends law school; a doctor goes to medical school; plumbers, electricians and tradespeople of all types have professional training and licensing programs. But the standard in the kosher industry is that someone can become a mashgiach without such professional training. However, thanks to the Kashruth Council of Canada (COR), that is about to change. In conjunction with Liaison Culinary College, the largest private culinary college in Ontario, Canada, COR has launched a first of its kind college accredited mashgiach training program; and recently, COR commemorated the graduation of its first cohort of 13 mashgichim at a celebratory graduation dinner in Toronto. The course itself is a rigorous combination of in class lectures, out of class text book readings, labs, video presentations and regular tests culminating in a comprehensive and demanding final examination. The technical kashrus component is taught by senior COR Rabbis and consists of topics including: ensuring compliance with bishul Yisrael, kosherizing equipment, checking fruits and vegetables for insect infestation, separating terumos and maasros, hafrashas challah, and the laws of Pesach, amongst many others. There is also an emphasis on broader skills that a mashgiach requires, such as a conflict resolution course taught by noted author and psychologist Dr. David Lieberman, and a series on auditing techniques such as inventory control and invoice tracking tools that are necessary to effectively manage an establishments kosher program. Finally, the Liaison College staff taught knife handling, menu skills, and food safety and handling, with each mashgiach graduate also receiving food safety and knife handling certificates. At the graduation dinner, the Honourable Reza Moridi, the Ontario Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities addressed the graduating class, The skills that you have gained will benefit you greatly and improve food safety and handling in kosher restaurants. Your dedication to helping your community will be valued, she asserted. Rabbi Tsvi Heber, CORs Director of Community Kosher and the force behind the program also addressed his graduating class with warm words of congratulations. I really mean it when I say I cant believe Im standing here today. Just like any other job has a professional training course, now so do you. You are all professional mashgichim! Mazal tov! Other representatives of the Jewish community also shared Rabbi Hebers enthusiasm. Kosher food is something that unites people across the entire Jewish community and having mashgichim who are formally trained at this level raises the calibre of the mashgichim as professionals and increases the collective confidence we have in the products and institutions that they supervise, noted Shimon Koffler Fogel, Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). COR deserves a great deal of credit for trailblazing this very valuable initiative, which weds our sacred tradition with modern-day knowledge and food industry best practices. The mashgichim themselves were also struck by the precedent setting nature of the COR Mashgiach Training Program. This course is a foundational change in the kashrus industry because of all the professional knowledge this course offers, reflected Rabbi Mendel Gansburg, one of the graduates of the COR Mashgiach Training Program. I may have known some of this information before, but now that I have been formally educated, I have internalized everything in a more lasting way. Of particular value to Rabbi Gansburg were the lessons that werent limited to technical kashrus, like kitchen skills. Interestingly, the proprietors the COR certified establishments that use the services of the mashgichim appeared to be the most enthusiastic about the program. Recently, my dream came true, said Mrs. Aliette Ponte, owner of COR certified LeChaim Catering. I have been with COR since the beginning and they have been amazing. But my dream has always been to send the mashgichim to school and now finally my dream came true. [PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE] [COMMUNICATED CONTENT] By Malky Lowinger Its Erev Shabbos at the Project Inspire Convention, and we enter a beautiful lobby with soaring ceilings. A lavish buffet is spread before us. After a quick check-in, we expect to meet our 1300+ fellow participants enjoying the vast culinary selection. Instead, they are already attending the workshops and events. Welcome to the Project Inspire Convention, the ultimate Shabbos experience that offers the best in gashmiyus coupled with an overwhelming dose of ruchniyus. Project Inspire is dedicated to activating the Torah community to reach out to our fellow Jews to help stem the tide of assimilation. By providing tools, opportunities, and training, Project Inspire encourages frum Jews to form a grassroots kiruv movement and help change the world. Dusk settles upon the city of Stamford, and the stirring melodies of Kabolas Shabbos and Maariv, led by Simcha Leiner and the Travelling Chassidim, set the tone for the entire event. The esteemed Rav Asher Weiss Shlita, joins us for Shabbos and speaks about the concept of Kol Yisroel Areivim. Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky, Rabbi Eytan Feiner, Rabbi Yitz Greenman, Rabbi Yosef Wallis, Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi, Mrs. Aviva Feiner, Rabbi Yom Tov Glazer, Rav Gav Friedman, Dr David Lieberman, Rabbi Shlomo Farhi, and Charlie Harary, are just some of the many outstanding speakers. Clearly, a Shabbos nap is out of the question this week. In fact, we barely sleep at all. Sessions continue till the wee hours of the night, often becoming more thought provoking as the hours go by. Morning tefillah is followed by a Gala Kiddush and a powerful keynote presentation by Rabbi Farhi on the special qualities of Rachel Imeinu. Our presenters this weekend are invariably amazing. But in the end, they are not the true heroes of this Convention. The heroes are us, Am Yisroel, the regular people. We may not be kiruv professionals or outreach experts, but we have the power to create a Kiddush Hashem every single day. David is one of our heroes. With his rye humor and quick wit, he speaks of his personal journey that began when one person reached out to him at JFK airport. He quickly becomes the sensation of the weekend. A key element of his success, he tells us, is the enthusiastic encouragement of the Director of Project Inspire, Rabbi Chaim Sampson, who cheered him on as if he was an all-star champion. Mrs. Berger, a Chassidic woman from New Square, is another hero. Determined to be mekarev others, she will let no obstacle get in her way. She speaks of how she desperately wanted to attend a recent Aish Conference, but needed to find an unaffiliated partner to accompany her. She davened for hatzlacha , and in the end she was rewarded. Dr. Stuart Hytman, Louis Mayberg and Nachman Auerbach are heroes. They are three successful business people, each of whom was blessed to find his way to a life of Torah and mitzvos. All three have decided to give back to the Jewish community and all are actively involved in various kiruv programs and initiatives. Fernando is a hero. He lives in Mexico but attends Hebrew School in San Diego, which means he must cross the border and travel three hours each day so he can learn Torah. Fernando dreams of studying in Eretz Yisroel one day, and Project Inspire will be making his dream come true. Rabbi Yaakov Salomon, Senior Lecturer at Project Inspire, invites Fernando to the stage, surprising him with the incredible news that he has been accepted to Aish HaTorahs Gesher program next year. His benefactor is Reuven Handlesman, who met Fernando on a recent Project Inspire trip to be mechazek the San Diego community. Geri is also a hero. She is embarking on her own journey, and is fortunate to have a strong support system a group of women who call themselves Queens Inspire. Its not the speeches, she explains, or even the challah baking. It isnt any of that. Its something about these women. I just want to be with them. It is a weekend of Wow, observes Rabbi Salomon. But he also cautions us to ensure that it will be transformed into a lifetime of Now!. Rabbi Sampson tells us about Sara Schenirer, and how her tears of caring were able to impact Klal Yisroel profoundly. Each one of us, he said, has the same power, if we but care. HaRav Shmuel Kamenetsky, Shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Philadelphia, joins the Motzei Shabbos Grand Presentation and Keynote Session. People have a great need for friendship, he says. We just have to open our hearts. At the Sunday Keynote Session, Dr. Hytman expresses a call to arms. All these great speakers are inspiring us to use our unique talents to inspire other yidden. Lets walk out of here not just inspired, but also empowered! Rabbi Orlofsky ended the program, saying: You have the koach to change peoples lives and to change the course of history. Its time to wake up! Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Zini is angered over what he sees as a double standard, the IDF permitting chareidi soldiers to have a beard while dati leumi soldiers are being told to shave. He laments the fact that today, it appears that officials in the security establishment have entered into a competition to determine who can receive the title of being more outrageous than his colleagues. Rabbi Zini questions how persons have decided to make decisions pertaining to Yiddishkheit and the Jewish character of the nation, decisions that are to be made by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and IDF Rabbinate. He questions those who speak of streams of Judaism, Orthodox, Conservative and Reform, asking who authorized those ignorant in Yahadut to determine what is and what is not Judaism and if anything that characterizes Jews in particular can be called Judaism, please then include Christianity in your Jewishness for Yeshu was a Jew, even a talmid of gedolei yisrael, and Paul was also fanatical anti-Christian until he changed his spots and becomes a pious fool of the same many perhaps to be accepted by [the IDFs] Human Resources Branch. He adds that Those seeking a more modern example can join the apostate Archbishop Lustiger, whose family lived in Meah Shearim! If you wish, take the three drafters of the Koran, who were probably converted Jews! Rabbi Zini blasts IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-General Gadi Eizenkott who recently came under fire for making flippant statements regarding Chazal, explaining he is fortunate his roots trace back to Torah observant families in Morocco, and he was thereby spared from what occurred in Europe since the 19th century. Rabbi Zini compared the directive from the head of the IDF Manpower Branch to shave with that instructions from the Nazis YSVZ and for him, as a son of a survivor of Auschwitz, he is painfully aware of the of the meaning of the cruel stupid order, calling on them to awaken to the reality they have dug themselves under the feet of every nation, a bottomless pit. Rabbi Zini questions how do they expect Torah-observant Jews to serve while Bowing down to this degrading and infuriating regulation. He quickly adds that he is not addressing halachic aspects than demand , for this is a foreign concept to the IDF but the simple fact the IDF is supposed to be the army of the entire nation, and it is not supposed to compel one to act contrary to ones beliefs and against halacha. Do they want us to join the anti-Zionist branch of Judaism he questions, adding Perhaps they dont want us to serve in this essential and precious national service for now it harms ones religious beliefs. Rabbi Zini angrily questions how chareidim are permitted to keep a beard and the dati leumi soldiers, the backbone of the military, those who serve in the most dangerous positions, are being targeted with this insulting order. Rabbi Zini concludes with a suggestion, that this command should lead to recommending to shave off the beard of the founder of the nation, Dr. Theodore Herzl for he was not religious and even if he would honor the Torah and the rabbis, many military commanders would feel his beard was just a ruse to facilitate his life. Rabbi Dr. Zini is Rosh Yeshivat Hesder Ohr VYeshua in Haifa and was a former Rabbi of the Technion University in Haifa. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Recent events that directly impact the Jewish character of the State of Israel has prompted a number of prominent rabbonim in the dati leumi community to convene to discuss the matter. Rabbonim who took part in the meeting include HaGaon HaRav Dov Lior Shlita, Rabbi Nachum Neria Shlita, Rabbi Mordechai Sternberg Shlita and Rabbi Elyakim Levanon Shlita. Topics discussed included the allocation of the egalitarian prayer area near the Kosel and recent gains made by the Reform Movement in Israel. They also discussed recent decisions of the head of the IDF Manpower Branch, especially the ban on beards among military personnel. Rabbi Lior stated There is an erosion in government policy pertaining to the Jewish character of the nation, the Rabbanut, kashrus and the IDF. He stated there is a major struggle taking place over the identity of the state and he feels that religious representatives and Members of Knesset must stand firm against these efforts, citing It is a war against Hashem and his messengers. Rosh Yeshivat Har HaMor Rabbi Mordechai Sternberg Shlita stated I was unaware the Torah belongs to the state and the people. There is a Torah and it is inconceivable not to consult with rabbonim in general and the Chief Rabbinate in particular. The granting of legitimacy to the Reform Movement is grounds for dissolving the government. Regarding the order for soldiers to shave their beards, Rabbi Sternberg instructs them not to obey but rather go to jail. Rosh Yeshivat Elon Moreh and Chief Rabbi of the Shomron Rabbi Elyakim Levanon Shlita added I is clear to everyone there is a broad system that addresses the Jewish identity of the state, the desire to break it by importing non-kosher foods, the campaign against religion in the IDF, the allocation of a place for the Reform at the Kosel as it were, Reform giyur, and many other items. The voice of the Torah must be heard above all else The rabbi adds that action must be taken to prevent recognition of the Reform and their actions. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) In a shiur which the rabbi knows is recorded, Hgaon HaRav David Yosef Shlita, a member of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel Council, slammed the Reform Movement in unprecedented terms. This is the second time of late the rabbi decided to speak out against the Reform. The first time some explained it is not entirely clear what he meant. This time around, it appears Rabbi Yosef decided not to leave any room for speculation as he stated Reform Jews worship avoda zara. The rabbi left no room for interpretation or softening his remarks, explaining the Reform leaders removed links to Eretz HaKodesh in their prayers, do not accept Shabbos and do not recognize the Torah was given from Shomayim. He adds they do not keep kosher and do not accept mitzvos, questioning the need to toivel in a mikve. Let them use a bathtub or a mixed swimming pool for they are not interested in tevila but provocation. He stated that do not have any regard for the Kosel either and their actions in that area are clearly provocation, nothing less. Rabbi Yosef adds that model their houses of worship after churches and clearly, they are not viewed as kosher Jews but those who worship avoda zara. He added chilonim (non-religious) are not to be compared to Reform in any way as the former are not observant yet while the latter denies everything that is holy to Am Yisrael. Rabbi Yosef added that 80% of Reform Jewry is assimilated and they in no way represent any authentic side of Yiddishkheit. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Tough talk about torture is a guaranteed applause line for Donald Trump on the GOP presidential stump. Trump has repeatedly advocated waterboarding, an enhanced interrogation technique that simulates the feeling of drowning. In the Middle East, we have people chopping the heads off Christians. I would bring back waterboarding and Id bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding, he said to applause in a recent debate, without ever specifying what a lot worse would entail. I dont think we go far enough, he said, drawing loud clapping at a rally last week in Las Vegas. We dont go far enough, he repeated, prompting now-thundering applause and chants of USA! USA! Trouble is, waterboarding and a lot worse interrogation techniques are illegal. To bring it back, Trump would have to get Congress to repeal the law that prohibits it. That could be an uphill battle. Last June, Republicans joined all 44 Senate Democrats in voting 78-21 to reaffirm a ban on harsh interrogation techniques. That vote came just months after a Senate intelligence committee report denounced brutal interrogation methods as ineffective. In general, what Ive taken away from our practices and what the research shows is that the rapport-based techniques that we operate under and focus on are shown to elicit greater detail in a quicker fashion, said Frazier Thompson, director of the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group, a secretive team of interrogators from the FBI, Defense Department, the CIA and other intelligence agencies that interrogates top suspects believed linked to plots against the U.S. or its allies. Every individual is different and every situation is different, Thompson said, adding that its important to know where the suspect is emotionally and intellectually so that an interrogator with the right skill set can build rapport and elicit intelligence. Trump, however, told voters in Bluffton, South Carolina, simply that, torture works. The Army Field Manual specifically bans the military from using so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding. However the CIA used waterboarding after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and other methods that are illegal under domestic or international law. Those included some physical contact such as slapping and slamming an inmate and psychological torture. One inmate at a secret CIA black site died of exposure, according to the Senate panels report. In 2009, Obama issued an executive order saying all U.S. government personnel and contractors not just those in the military are prohibited from using any interrogation techniques that arent in the Army Field Manual. Last year, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona introduced an amendment to the 2016 defense policy bill that essentially put the executive order into law. Feinstein said it was important because a future president could lift Obamas executive order. This year, after hearing Trump and other GOP presidential candidates talk favorably about torture, McCain weighed in. McCain was shot down over North Vietnam in 1967, held as a prisoner of war in Hanoi and tortured before his captors released him six years later. Given the loose talk on the campaign trail about reviving waterboarding and other inhumane interrogation techniques, it is important to remember the facts, McCain said. These forms of torture not only failed their purpose to secure actionable intelligence to prevent further attacks on the U.S. and our allies, but compromised our values, stained our national honor and did little practical good, he added. Some of McCains Republican colleagues and some former CIA officials, however, maintain that waterboarding and other harsh methods have yielded vital intelligence. In his book, The Great War of Our Time, former deputy CIA director Mike Morell argued that the techniques used on al-Qaida detainees by the CIA produced crucially important intelligence. I believe that waterboarding was one of the two most effective of the all the harsh techniques (the other being sleep deprivation), he wrote. Americans remain split on the issue. In a poll conducted 10 years after the 2001 attacks, 52 percent of Americans favored harsh interrogation techniques against individuals suspected of terrorism. Fifty-two percent said torture can sometimes or often be justified while 46 percent thought torture was never or rarely justified. The 2011 poll of 1,087 adults by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. (AP) Dr. Renee Rabinowitz, a retired attorney living in Israel for about a decade, feels El Al Airlines discriminated against her because she was compelled to change her seat in business class to accommodate a chareidi man on the flight. She is seeking compensation over what she views to be a discriminatory policy by the airline. Dr. Rabinowitz, 81, was traveling to Tel Aviv on a flight originating in Newark, NJ a number of months ago. She explains a distinguished looking chareidi man was assigned a seat in her row but he objected to being seated next to a woman. An El Al employee offered her a better seat elsewhere in an effort to accommodate the frum man and reach an acceptable compromise. She explains that she agreed to move, albeit reluctantly. She told the NY Times in an interview conducted in a Jerusalem apartment For me this is not personal, it is intellectual, ideological and legal. I think to myself, here I am, an older woman, educated, Ive been around the world, and some guy can decide that I shouldnt sit next to him. Why? Anat Hoffman, of the Israel Religious Action Center, is quoted explaining her organization, which is described by the Times as a liberal advocacy group explains we needed a test case that involved a flight attendant and it appears Dr. Rabinowitzs incident will become the test case against El Al. Hoffman told the Times she and her colleagues have been searching for such a case for two years. Ms. Hoffmans group, the Israel Religious Action Center, the public and legal advocacy arm of the Reform Movement in Israel, has championed many a battle against chareidi life in Israel, including mehadrin bus lines which led to the 2011 High Court ruling outlawing compelled separate seating on public buses. Despite telling the media she is in no way anti-chareidi, Dr. Rabinowitz is moving ahead with her case as Hoffmans group has already sent a letter to El Al explaining Rabinowitz felt pressured by the flight attendant and accusing the airline of discrimination. The Times report the attorney demanded NIS 50,000 in compensation for Ms. Rabinowitz. El Al offered a $200 discount on her next flight, explaining there is no gender discrimination on board flights, adding the flight attendant made it clear, that she was not compelled to change her seat. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Mumbai: India plans to focus defence spending more on the domestic market instead of importing combat planes, ships and submarines, after saying on Monday it will leave military spending for 2016/17 largely unchanged following years of increases. Major global defence companies have been circling over the Indian market, buoyed by the military's modernisation plans worth more than $100 billion. But the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to end the military's dependence on imports that have made it the world's largest buyer, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. "For the first time this government is having a look at our procurement policies and they are telling the military we are not interested in your outright purchases anymore," said Deba R. Mohanty, chairman of Indicia Research and Advisory, a consulting firm on defence affairs. India's military is deployed on the border with China as well as Pakistan and says it has to plan for a "collusive threat" from them both. For decades it relied on the former Soviet Union to supply planes, ships and artillery. Then it turned to Western manufacturers including France, United Kingdom and in recent years Israel and the United States for expensive combat planes, missiles and surveillance planes. In his federal budget presented to parliament on Monday Finance Minister Arun Jaitley allocated 2.49 trillion Indian rupees ($36.5 billion) for defence, a 0.96 per cent increase over the 2015/16 allocation of 2.46 trillion rupees. Amit Cowshish, who handled defence accounting in the ministry, said more than funds, the bigger problem was lack of clarity on the defence procurement policy. "It's not that the money is not there, it's that there's no still no clear-cut policy on indigenous manufacture, the procedures etc. That is why even the money that has been allocated ends up not being spent." The budget papers showed that the military didn't spend the full amount given to it last year. The revised estimate for spending for the fiscal year ending in March was 2.24 trillion rupees. Defence wages and pensions have also risen this year, making even less money available for modernisation, Cowshish said. China is expected to announce a large rise in defence spending next month, as the ruling Communist Party seeks to assuage the military's unhappiness at sweeping reforms and as worries over the South China Sea and Taiwan weigh on Beijing. At 886.9 billion yuan ($136.4 billion), China's budgeted defence spending last year was more than three times that of India's expenditure announced on Monday. Two Brooklyn precincts that have heavily populated Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods are getting new Commanding Officers, police sources have confirmed to YWN. 71 PRECINCT: The 71 Precinct which covers Crown Heights will be getting a new Commanding Officer. Assigned to lead that Precinct is Captain Norman Grandstaff. He is replacing Inspector George Fitzgibbon. Rabbi Chanina Sperlin, vice president of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council said he was looking forward to working with Captain Grandstaff. He told YWN I have only heard great things about him from the Brooklyn South Chief to the highest Brass in NYPD Headquarters in Manhattan. The community looks forward to working together with Captain Gardner. I am also sad to see Inspector Fitzgibbon leave, as he has been a great partner in working with the community. I am certain that his career will continue to go in the right direction, as he always displays strong leadership as well as compassion. I wish him the very best in his career forward. 90 PRECINCT: The 90 Precinct which covers the Williamsburg Jewish community will be getting NYPD Capt. William Gardner as their new commander. Gardner has been working at the Strategic Response Group in Brooklyn. Gardner will be replacing Inspector Mark DiPaolo who has been at the 90 Precinct for over three years. Rabbi Abe Friedman, a leading community activist in the community told YWN the following in a brief phone interview. On behalf of the community I want to thank Inspector DiPaolo for the incredible working relationship between the community and the NYPD over the past three years, and wish him only the best in his career. He will be missed by everyone in the 90 Precinct. The community and I look forward to a great working relationship with Captain Gardner. I am confident that the NYPD made a wonderful choice by assigning Captain Gardner to the 90 Precinct. (Charles Gross YWN) Beersheva Chief Rabbi Yehuda Deri Shlita spoke with Kol Chai Radio on Monday morning 20 Adar-I about recent events and the allocation of an egalitarian prayer area near the Kosel. There have been rumors that another meeting of the Chief Rabbinate Council is planned for this week and a decision will be forthcoming that will provide a solution to the allocation of the egalitarian prayer area near the Kosel by the cabinet. Rabbi Deri explained the rabbonim would have already met if not for the fact Kosel Rav Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz Shlita is abroad. They are currently expecting to convene on Tuesday 21 Adar-I and he expects the decision will be publicized by Wednesday the latest. Unwilling to drop a hint, Rabbi Deri explained the new decision that will be announced will put the Reform back in their place for years to come, assuring listeners the Reform has not made great advances and even the little that was gained is going to be short-lived. Kol Chai cited that despite claims to the contrary, the Chief Rabbis were consulted before the cabinet passed its decision. Rabbi Deri quoted the Chief Rabbi explaining Coming to meet a few short minutes before candle lighting on erev Shabbos does not constitute consulting with us. Regarding the recent High Court decision to compel the Beersheva Religious Council to permit a Reform giyur candidate to toivel in the presence of a Reform Beis Din, Rabbi Deri explains this decision has already been circumvented as the Chief Rabbinate has decided to prohibit the use of public mikvaos for converts to toivel and this applies to all, even converts accepted by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. Therefore, he explains, the Supreme Court can no longer view the policy as discriminatory against the Reform. Rabbi Deri explains that candidates for giyur will make arrangements to use a private mikve. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Governors and senators are often regarded as political bellwethers in their states during the presidential primaries. But 2016 is no typical election year, with Donald Trump as the GOP front-runner. The Associated Press surveyed some of Americas Republican governors and senators, and looked at their public statements about Trump. Heres what they had to say: ALABAMA Obviously he must have thought that David Duke, and that type of person, was OK with people in Alabama and the South. I want to tell you they are not OK with us, said Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley. Bentley said Trumps rival Ohio Gov. John Kasich was really the only grown-up in the room, but that at the end of the day he will back whoever is the final GOP nominee. FLORIDA, GEORGIA, INDIANA, KANSAS, MISSISSIPPI, TEXAS: Each of the governors from these states, all Republicans, said they would support whoever wins the GOP nomination but stopped short of expressing any enthusiasm for Trump. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback put it this way: Ill support the Republican nominee over Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott offered this twist: I will vote for whoever the Republican nominee is going to be. But that Republican nominee is going to be Ted Cruz. Indiana Sen. Dan Coats said: I am increasingly concerned by Donald Trumps statements and behavior, and I have serious concerns about his ability to win the general election and provide presidential leadership. His comment about Trump came in a statement endorsing Trump rival Marco Rubio. MAINE Maine Gov. Paul LePage said in a radio interview that Trump wants to make America great again and that the candidate is the only one doing that right now. But Sen. Susan Collins had backed Jeb Bush. A spokeswoman for the GOP moderate said Collins wont be making any further endorsements until the nominating process has concluded. MARYLAND Gov. Larry Hogan says his support for previous candidate Chris Christie doesnt translate to Trump. At this point, I not only havent endorsed anybody, I havent decided who I am going to support, he told The Baltimore Sun. MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker has ruled out voting for Donald Trump in the Massachusetts Republican primary, saying hes not my guy and hes not my candidate. The Republican on Monday indicated he was choosing between Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Baker wouldnt say whether he would support Trump if the New York billionaire emerged as the partys nominee and says he isnt willing to concede that Trump will win the nomination at this point. MICHIGAN, TENNESSEE These Republican governors provided mostly non-answers on whether theyll back Trump if hes nominated. Were not there yet. One of the important things about the democratic process is that you let it happen. And were in the middle of that, said Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyders spokesman Ari Adler said: We are not answering a hypothetical question about an election in November for which we dont even know who all the candidates will be. WISCONSIN Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who ended his own bid for the nomination last fall, said he signed a pledge that he wouldnt support anyone other than the GOP nominee and Im a person of my word. But when Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson was asked on a radio show whether he would support Trump, the Republican would only say that he goes to bed every night praying that the GOP nominee is a person of integrity, intelligence, ideas and courage. He added that these elections are just its just depressing. (AP) For those who insist PA (Palestinian Authority) residents are supporters of dual existence, this is yet another example of the hate for Israelis that prevails among PA residents, who did their best to murder two IDF soldiers who made a wrong turn and found themselves in Kalandia, which borders Jerusalem. The soldiers explain they erroneously entered the Kalandia refugee camp on Monday night at about 22:00 because Waze directed them. The incident occurred on Monday night, the eve of 21 Adar-I. Within seconds of entering the area, the yellow Israeli license plate on their vehicle served as a call for residents to come out and attack the vehicle. The vehicle was about 100 meters from the main entrance when the occupants, two unarmed IDF soldiers, realized they were in a life-threatening situation. They both ran from the vehicle as they realized locals were trying to set it ablaze, which they succeeded in doing. One soldier ran to a nearby home while calling for assistance. A very large response followed and he was extricated safely BH a relatively short time later. The second soldier headed for Kochav Yaakov, quite a distance. His disposition was unknown and military officials feared the worse as they faced off the blood-thirsty mob. Eight border policemen were injured in a shootout, one listed in moderate condition. The residents clearly tried to kill all Israelis in their community. Bchasdei Hashem the second soldier was extricated unharmed as well and the large force pulled out of the area, which is located on Jerusalems northern border, not far from Atarot. Kalandia is run by the Tanzim military faction of Abu Mazens Fatah faction. Despite all reports to the contrary, IDF Spokesman Brigadier-General Moti Almoz on Tuesday morning 21 Adar-I states he spoke with the Binyamin Regional Brigade Commander who confirms the two were indeed armed. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) The Torah VAvodah organization has petitioned the High Court of Justice to order the suspension of Holon Chief Rabbi Avraham Yosef Shlita. The petition calls to compel Minister of Religious Services (Shas) David Azoulai to suspend the chief rabbi, who has been indicted on charges including fraud and breach of trust. The organization explains it has made the request of the ministry as well as the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and since there was no response, it is now turning to the nations High Court. Rabbi Yosef is accused of advancing the interests of Badatz Beit Yosef, operated by Rabbi Moshe Yosef, a brother, using his position as the citys chief rabbi to compel food businesses seeking a mehadrin hashgacha to hire the services of the badatz. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) A senior minister has been made in-charge to coordinate with the implementation of this exercise New Delhi: In a first-of-its-kind exercise, all central government ministers will be launching a media campaign on the union budget 2016-17 explaining policies, programmes and budgetary allocations given to their respective ministries, to the public. All ministers have been asked to hold discussions with correspondents covering their ministries, either through press conferences or meetings in the next 15 days, official sources said on Tuesday. They said ministers will explain priorities of the government and key programmes being undertaken by their ministries. Ministers will be responding to the opposition parties' allegations against the union budget for 2016-17 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday and highlight its "pro-poor" agenda, the sources said. A senior minister has been made in-charge to coordinate with the implementation of this exercise, they said. The decision assumes importance as opposition parties have termed as "mere rhetoric" projection of the budget as pro-poor and said government will not be able to "fool" the agrarian community with "hollow promises". Congress has said the budget "failed to create an immediate stimulus" to address economic challenges including employment generation. All ministers have been asked to hold these interactions as early as possible, the sources said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the 2016-17 budget is pro-village, poor and farmers with focus on bringing about qualitative change in the country and alleviate poverty through a slew of time-bound programmes. The owner of the New York Stock Exchange is considering gatecrashing the London Stock Exchange's proposed plans for a 20billion merger with Germany's Deutsche Boerse. Intercontinental Exchange confirmed today it is mulling an offer for the London Stock Exchange, although it stressed it has not approached the group's board and has yet to decide whether to make a bid. Last week the LSE - which also owns index compiler FTSE - revealed it was talks regarding a a proposed 'merger of equals' with Deutsche Boerse. On the march: ICE is an American network of exchanges and clearing houses, which includes the NYSE But the pair pointed out that the tie-up would see Deutsche Borse shareholders own more than 54 per cent of the combined group and lead to the departure of LSE chief executive Xavier Rolet. Analysts have said the potential tie-up with its German cousin would cede too much power to Frankfurt and leave LSE shareholders short changed. After dropping yesterday on uncertainty over the planned Deutsche Boerse merger, LSE shares on the FTSE 100 index jumped 8 per cent this morning, up 201.0p to 2,878.0p, just easing back from a record peak of 2,914p as investors prepare for a possible bidding war. Mike van Dulken, at Accendo Markets, said: 'Those buying into LSE are hoping that a bigger US appetite for LSE's operations will be rewarded with an even higher offer than the 20billion merger of equals with DB that is currently on the table and which would result in the biggest exchange in Europe; a genuine rival to US markets.' ICE - which is headed by founder, chairman and chief executive Jeff Sprecher - has embarked on an acquisition spree in recent months, including a $5.2billion deal to buy financial market data provider Interactive Data. This big: ICE boss Jeff Sprecher (pictured left) on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange - he now has until March 29 to make a bid for the London Stock Exchange or walk away Under City 'put up or shut up' takeover rules ICE now has until 5pm on March 29 to make a firm bid for the LSE or walk away. ICE said in a statement: 'There can be no certainty that any offer will be made, nor as to the terms on which any offer will be made.' A move by the Atlanta-headquartered company could scupper another LSE and Deutsche Borse planned merger, which already marks a third move by the pair to join forces after two previous failed attempts in 2000 and 2004-5. The LSE confirmed that talks with Deutsche Borse 'continue to progress', adding it had not yet received a proposal from ICE. The possible pan-European merger is also under a cloud of uncertainty cast by Britain's referendum on European Union membership, with the LSE and Deutsche Borse warning last week it could be derailed in the event of a 'Brexit' vote. The bourses said a Brexit 'would put that project at risk' and have now formed a referendum committee to assess the outcome of the vote on June 23. They have already disclosed that their proposed all-share deal would see Deutsche Borse boss Carsten Kengeter become chief executive of the combined company and LSE's Donald Brydon taking up the role of chairman. The current chairman of Deutsche Borse Joachim Faber would become deputy chairman and senior independent director, with LSE's David Warren retaining his position as chief financial officer. The combined business would run headquarters in both London and Frankfurt. The LSE is one of the world's oldest stock exchanges and can trace its history back more than 300 years. The wider LSE Group was formed in October 2007 when the London Stock Exchange merged with Milan stock exchange Borsa Italiana. Vacancies for new jobs across the UK fell for the second month in a row in January as employers look to boost skills of existing workers rather than hiring more staff and uncertainty over a potential Brexit looms, findings suggest. 'A potential Brexit brings new unknowns into the jobs market. Politicians are at risk of fuelling uncertainty fears and only increasing doubts', Doug Monro, co-founder of Adzuna, warns. Advertised vacancies fell by more than 7 per cent to just over a million in January, the findings suggest. Staying put: Vacancies for new jobs across the UK fell for the second month in a row in January as employers look to boost skills of existing staff and uncertainty over a potential Brexit continues, Adzuna suggests There were 165,000 fewer jobs on offer in January than last November, with those looking for roles in manufacturing and finance hit hardest. Mr Monro said: 'January's jobs market has failed to take flight. The normal rhythm of hiring hasn't happened. 'Vacancy levels are down and job competition is getting tougher. Fewer options for those looking for new jobs is putting pressure on career plans. 'Hiring habits are changing in a sign of potential instability and employers are retaining their best workers for longer.' Adzuna's boss warns that a Brexit could trigger a 'weaker jobs market', adding that those advocating a Brexit are playing a 'dangerous game.' 'Business expansions and hiring sprees are being put on hold as a result. EU languages are still in high demand throughout the UK and whichever road the referendum takes us down, this is sure to remain so', Mr Monro added. Musings: 'A potential Brexit brings new unknowns into the jobs market. Politicians are at risk of fuelling uncertainty fears and only increasing doubts', Doug Monro, co-founder of Adzuna, warns Last month, recruitment firm Hays said demand by UK companies for new staff fell in the final six months of last year. Reporting its half-yearly results, Hays said it saw softening demand from property and construction firms in its first half, as well as local government and healthcare groups. While demand in some sectors weakened, demand for IT and office support workers increased by 9 per cent, the international recruitment firm said. In January, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that unemployment across the UK has fallen to its lowest level for ten years. With 1.68million of Britain's workforce population out of work, the unemployment rate has fallen to 5.1 per cent, its lowest since 2005, the ONS said. British businesses are being warned to be on high alert after increased reports of losses from what is being dubbed 'CEO fraud' by cyber-crime experts. The scam, which sees criminals impersonate e-mail accounts of chief executives to trick staff into wiring payments to an overseas bank account, has cost firms around the globe $2billion or 1.43billion in the last two years, according to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. Now Action Fraud is warning businesses in Britain to be vigilant after a marked increase in the scam with nearly 1,000 reports being made between July 2015 and January 2016. Cyber criminals: Large and small businesses are been increasingly targeted by scammers looking to steal huge sums of cash A recent report from the City of London Police's National Fraud Intelligence Bureau shows 32million has been reported lost as a result of CEO fraud in Britain. This figure is likely to be far higher, as many may not realise yet they have been hit or could fail to report the crime. Criminals are targeting both large and small firms. The average loss is 35,000, but can vary wildly, Action Fraud says. One firm see the box below lost 18.5million to the scam. The scam typically starts with an e-mail being sent from a fraudster to a member of staff in a company's finance department. The member of staff will be told by the fraudster who is purporting to be a company director or CEO that they need to quickly transfer money to a certain bank account for a specific reason. They will do as their boss has instructed, only to find that they have sent money to a fraudster's bank account. The fraudster will normally redistribute this money into other mule accounts and then close down the bank account to make it untraceable. No borders: The FBI chief of money laundering says cyber criminals have no borders and that CEO fraud is a global problem Out of the 32million reported to be lost by British businesses to CEO fraud only 1million has been recovered. This is due to businesses taking too long to discover that they have been the victim of fraud and the lost money already being moved by fraudsters into mule accounts. Most businesses reported initially being contacted via emails with gmail.com and yahoo.com suffixes. HOW ONE BRITISH FIRM LOST 18.5M The largest reported amount of money given by a member of staff to a fraudster is 18.5million. The company - which hasn't been named - is a producer of healthcare products and has offices globally. In July last year, a man who purported to be a senior member of staff, phoned a female financial controller based in one of the company's Scottish offices and asked her to transfer money to accounts in Hong Kong, China and Tunisia. She believed the man to genuinely be a senior member of staff and exchanged several calls with him as well as e-mails. The man convinced her to transfer money into three foreign bank accounts which resulted in the company losing 18.5million. The fact that one company lost 18.5million while others lose approximately 35,000 suggests there may be two tiers of CEO fraud currently being committed, with some aiming to obtain millions of pounds and others targeting a number of businesses attempting to receive lesser amounts, Action Fraud says. As well as Action Fraud, the FBI in the US has reported on a sharp increase in the scam, with 12,000 affected globally. Some firms have been tricked into sending as much as $90million to offshore accounts, US authorities say. James Barnacle, chief of the FBI's money laundering unit, told the Financial Times: 'Criminals don't have borders and this is a global problem. 'We're working with our criminal investigation resources, our cyber resources, our international operations divisions - which is all our legal attaches overseas - and we're working with foreign partners around the world to try to tackle this crime problem.' Of the $2billion, $800million has been in the last six months, showing the scale of the crime is growing. US authorities have traced the money involved to more than 100 countries. Most of the offshore bank accounts that the cash ends up in are located in Asia or Africa, which it can be harder for the US to gain the assistance of local authorities to track it down. It is not clear if there is one dominant global ring. Action Fraud says limited companies tend to be the most targeted, and one in five reports of the crime have come from businesses within London. Steve Proffitt, deputy head of Action Fraud, said: 'It is important that all businesses are made aware of this type of fraud. We encourage businesses to educate their staff about this type of fraud in order to prevent themselves from becoming the next victim. 'Employees should be encouraged to double check everything they do and never be rushed into transferring large amounts of money even if they do think that it's an important task given to them by their CEO. In the face of low-priced aluminium from foreign countries, local producers have been finding it difficult to stay competitive and slipped into losses. (Photo: Representational Image) New Delhi: In a bid to protect local aluminium producers from cheaper imports, the government on Monday proposed raising the basic customs duty on the metal by 2.5 per cent. Presenting the budget, the finance minister said basic customs duty is being increased on primary aluminium from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent and that on aluminium products from 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent. It is mixed bag for metal and mining companies in the budget. Higher import duty would help to some extent in curbing rising imports but increase has fallen short of industry expectaion of 10 per cent, Abhijit Pati, chief executive officer, Vedanta Aluminium told Financial Chronicle. In the face of low-priced aluminium from foreign countries, local producers have been finding it difficult to stay competitive and slipped into losses. Vedanta Resources in August last year had initiated the process to shut down its one-million tonne a year alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Odisha. The Budget addressed concerns of the iron ore producers by completely exempting from export duty on low-grade iron ore fine (current 10 per cent) and lumps (30 per cent) with less than 58 per cent iron content. The move will largely benefit Goan iron ore producers that faced shutdown due to low demand in prime export market of China and court imposed restrictions on production due to allegations of illegal mining. The current situation of weak ore prices combined with high taxes is making mining operations unviable. The duty relief would help the industry somewhat," industry body Goa Mineral Ore Export Association president Shivanand V Salgaocar said. The budget also withdrew export duty on chromium ores and concentrates (earlier 30 per cent) and cut the duty on bauxite from 20 to 15 per cent. Mumbai: Superstar Shah Rukh Khan revealed that before he joined the filmdom, he felt he looked like Bollywood actor Kumar Gaurav but at a later stage thought his looks matched that of Hollywood veteran Al Pacino's. In his upcoming film 'Fan', Khan will be seen playing two roles, one of a superstar Aryan Khanna and his fan Gaurav, who comes across as his lookalike. Read: Freedom of speech also means right to remain silent: Shah Rukh Khan "Initially I used to feel I look like Kumar Gaurav (son of Rajendra Kumar)...He was the first star I wanted to meet. I was happy that I looked like someone good like him (Kumar Gaurav). Then after some point, I felt I looked like Al Pacino (an American actor)," Khan told reporters here at the trailer launch of 'Fan'. "Now at the age of 50, I feel I look like my father. I am hopeful a time will come when I would feel I look like myself," he said. 'Fan' is the story of Gaurav (Khan) a young man, 20 something, whose world revolves around superstar Aryan Khanna (Khan) or God as he refers to him. From the bylanes of Delhi, young Gaurav embarks on a journey to the city of dreams, Mumbai, in order to wish his God on his birthday. But when things don't go according to plan, Gaurav's love and passion the superstar turns in to a dangerous obsession. When asked about playing a psychotic obsessive role like 'Darr' again in 'Fan', SRK said, "No not really...the role (of Gaurav) is different from what one saw me doing in 'Darr', 'Baazigar'. These are anti-hero." "In this film, he is not a psychotic lover. It's the story of a young boy and his love for a superstar," he said. The 'Chak De India' star feels it is not right on his part to dictate or tell his fans how they should be. "A fan can be like Devdas, Rahul or Gaurav (referring to his popular roles). They have their own way of expressing ...at times it is so much. I just don't want them to write letter with blood. Today we have email system and social media," he said. The trailer launch of Shah Rukh Khans Fan was one of the most awaited events ever since the film was announced. And Khan with his massive entourage and grand scale, lived up to the hype. Fans trailer was launched in the presence of thousands of Shah Rukh Khan fans at at the YRF studios on Monday night. The film, which is slated to release on April 15, tracks the journey of a fan that turns antagonistic after being snubbed by his idol. We bring you the highlights of the grand event: Inside YRF premises For the first time, Yash Raj Films made an exception of allowing outsiders the aam aadmi inside the premises. Speaking about the move, Shah Rukh Khan said while addressing the huge gathering, Aditya Chopra, the producer of the film and the karta dharta of YRF, is an extremely inspiring and a wonderful young boy". "He had decided to keep the launch of Fan on February 29 because it comes once in four years. And its also for the first time that people who were not part of film, have been invited". "YRF security is so high, that even actors are thoroughly checked before they enter the premises. Something like this is happening for the first time and it is because Adi loves me and he knows how much I love you. Shahrukh Khan with his fans during Fan trailer launch Safety of the girls Considering the gathering was so massive SRK and his team took special measures to ensure that the women were safe. There were separate areas demarcated for the girls and boys. And King Khan in his true witty style said, This seems like a YRF movie itself like how in a party the girls and boys are on either side. We did that because we dont want the boys to get trampled upon by the girls because the girls are tougher here. The fan who cried A girl who seemed to be in her 20s was standing behind the barricade for over two. She was crying bitterly. A security guard informed Shah Rukh that the girl was waiting to embrace the star. Shah Rukh asked the security to bring her backstage after the event and promised to take a picture with her. Chanting his own dialogues On popular demand, SRK mouthed the popular dialogue from his film Raees which is yet to be released. He also said some lines from DDLJ, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Om Shanti Om and of course Fan. What is SRKs fan moment He said, When I was a kid, I thought I looked like Kumar Gaurav. I remembered when Love Story had released in Bengaluru, everyone would call me Kumar Gaurav and I would like that a lot. When I came to Mumbai, the first star I wanted to meet was Kumar Gaurav. Then when I grew older I thought I looked like Al Pacino. And now at the age of 50, I think I look like my father. There will come a time in my life when I will be very proud to look like myself. Shahrukh Khan at YRF studios during trailer launch of fan Slapped by a woman When a fan wanted to know if SRK had taken the train or the flight during his first visit to Mumbai, the actor had an interesting anecdote to share. He said, I came by train. The train would turn into a local after entering Mumbai, something I was not aware of". "So I did not let a few people sit on my berth saying that it is mine and that I had paid for it. I did offer it to a lady though, saying, you can sit but I wont let the men with you sit on my berth. And that lady slapped me real hard saying that it isnt yours, it is everybodys. After several good-looking actors like Vidyut Jamwal, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Rahul Dev made an impact as menacing villains in Tamil cinema, Tarun Arora, the model-turned-actor is the latest one to arrive in Kollywood as a baddie! He has been receiving accolades for his negative role in Kanithan. Talking about how he was roped in for the film, he says, Years back, I started out as a model at a time when there was no social media and other online means of promotion. I used to carry a hard copy of my picture and give it individually to each of the producers. Now, life has become much easier. Click a picture and upload it online, things fall into place if they are destined to! Thats precisely what happened to the Jab We Met actor when he made his debut in south films. I heard Jackie Shroff was the first choice by director Santhosh, as the team needed someone versatile like him. But, when they wanted a younger looking actor, they saw my pictures. Thus, I replaced Shroff, he quips. Having spent his early years near Chennai, the actor says that it helped him understand the language. Circumstances forced me to move out of my native Assam and my parents felt that Chennai was the safest place to live in. So, they put me here in an institution called Triveni Academy in Chengelpet, where I studied for four years. Though I cant speak Tamil fluently, I can understand the emotions of Tamil enough while shooting. Remind him about the danger of typecasting here, and Tarun seems too happy to continue playing a baddie Now, I have found my strength. I do not mind being typecast and I am ready to experiment. I want to become the next big villain in Tamil cinema! On his co-star Atharvaa he says, I enjoyed every bit working with him. He was down to earth and was very co-operative. Catherine Tresa was also very sweet, although there were not many scenes with her. October Fun Calendar: Plenty to do this month in Beaver County Over the past two years, renowned artist from Pakistan, Shahid Rassam, has been working on a project of painting Ghalib and Gulzars poetry. The exhibition of his works, titled Ghalib and Gulzar, was supposed to be inaugurated on February 20, at the Victoria Hall Museum (VHM) in Kolkata. Gulzar, along with Governor Kesari Nath Tripathi, were supposed to grace the occasion as the chief guests. However, the exhibition was called off at the last minute, which has understandably disgruntled the artist. Shahid had met Gulzar two years ago in Mumbai when they had discussed about the whole project. The artist says that it is the first time that Gulzars poetry has found expression on canvas. These are my works in which I have paid tribute to Ghalib and Gulzar saab. He had attended the Mumbai launch of the exhibition and he had even come to Karachi for the same. Gulzar saab was to be my guest this time too, and he had never clearly told me that he wouldnt be coming. But him not being able to make it shouldnt result in the entire exhibition being cancelled. This was a friendly gesture between both countries and art is above religion and law. This has not only upset me, it has left a bitter taste overall. Shahid Rassams paintings When we contacted Gulzar wasnt keen on elaborating on the matter. He said, I dont want to comment on anything. What happened is unfortunate and sad. Shahid is a good painter. The artist was in touch with the museum authorities at Victoria Hall for the past one year. He came to India two weeks ago and reached Kolkata two days before the exhibition. When we asked Dr Jayanta Sengupta, director-in-charge of Indian Museum and curator of VHM about the reason behind the exhibition getting cancelled, he said, We were doing it because Gulzar was the star attraction. That is why we had convinced the Governor also to come and inaugurate the nine-day exhibition. But Shahid Rassam informed us at the last minute that Gulzar would not be able to make it. We had made alternate arrangements, but when we found out that he was never supposed to come, we had to cancel the exhibition. Shahid Rassams paintings So, did they only agree to host the exhibition because Gulzar would be the chief guest? Gulzar was the main reason yes, but the paintings were also interesting. There was a lot of miscommunication. This has got nothing to do with the nationality of the artist, it has to do with criminal fraudulence. Denying the museums allegations, the artist says, I dont want to make a big issue out of it but the whole episode has been very upsetting, I was in talks with VHM since last year and still they cancelled it at the last minute. It takes a lot of effort to get all the artwork from one country to another. If they were only interested in Gulzar saab, then they could have invited him to some other event. Why cancel my exhibition? The artist has returned to Pakistan, but his paintings are still with VHM. Contributed image This is one of 276 obelisks placed on the U.S.-Mexico border during the second half of the 19th century by the Mexican and United States governments. Photographer David Taylors exhibit shows each one of these monuments. The exhibit runs through April 30 at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University and is part of a U.S.-Mexico border symposium at MSU. SHARE By Richard Carter, Special to the Times Record News Not a day goes by when the United States-Mexico border isn't in the media, whether it be for political, economic or cultural concerns. To thoughtfully explore the history of the U.S.-Mexico border and modern tensions resulting partly from immigration issues, Midwestern State University History Department Chairman Harry Hewitt developed an interdisciplinary symposium that incorporates history, photography, journalism and contemporary cultural studies. "Immigration 2016: Mexico and Latin America in Crisis and in Context" opens at 1:45 p.m. Thursday at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU. The program will feature five speakers. A reception at 5 p.m. will feature photographer David Taylor's show, "Monuments: 276 views of the United States-Mexico Border," which runs through April 30. Guests also are encouraged to attend the museum exhibit "In His Own Words: The Life and Work of Cesar Chavez," a collection of photographs on the civil rights and farm labor leader, on display in the museum through Friday. The symposium is free, the public is invited, and no registration is required. The five speakers, Hewitt said, will touch on various aspects of the border, with three talks related to immigration. The first two presentations, titled "The Mexico-United States Boundary, 1849-1857," will be by David Miller, retired professor of history at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma, and Hewitt. The professors will discuss how the border between the two countries came to be. Miller will go through the process of how the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty got settled in 1848. It ended the Mexican-American War and established the survey to determine the physical border. Surveys were made by Mexican and American teams from 1849 to 1855, and mapmaking was completed in 1856-57. "There was tension between Mexico and the United States governments regarding the surveys and the two different views of the border," Hewitt said. "In a way, that tension still goes on." The talks will continue with Paul Hart, professor in the department of history of Texas State University. His lecture is called "Empire and Immigration." Hart will discuss 20th century immigration policies. His area of specialization is the Mexican revolution and modern Mexico. Taylor and former University of Texas anthropology professor/now journalist Cecillia Balli will helm a joint talk placing the border in its present day context. The talk is titled "AQUI/THERE: Where Local and International Meet." Balli has written articles on the border, including a piece on "Calderon's War." She writes about then newly elected Mexican President Felipe Calderon declaring of war on the cartels in 2006 and how that war escalated. In addition to the speakers, the photography exhibit by David Taylor will further explore U.S.-Mexican border issues visa visual art. In 2007, Taylor began taking pictures of the 276 monuments on the border, from El Paso to San Diego. Aided by a Guggenheim fellowship, he documented numerous changes on what has become an increasingly more anxious environment. The monuments were originally placed on the border, every 19 to 50 miles or so, to designate the borderline between the two countries. The obelisks were made and established as a joint project between the Mexican and United States governments. The first monument went up in 1851, and the project was not completed for another five decades. The five presentations will run until about 5:30 p.m. Thursday or so, then the symposium transitions to the opening of the photography exhibit(s). Hewitt first became involved in the boundary border project with Miller in 1983 and has spent significant time on the border in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California. On another note, an art exhibit called "Existe Lo Que Tiene Nombre: Contemporary Photography in Mexico" may be viewed in the Juanita Harvey Art Gallery in the Fain College of Fine Arts Thursday to April 24. The opening reception will be 6-8 p.m. Friday. TORIN HALSEY/TIMES RECORD NEWS The Wichita County Commissioners Court saw a standing-room-only crowd Monday morning as several people voiced their opinion on a proposed low-income housing project in Iowa Park. Commissioners turned down the plan. SHARE By Claire Kowalick of the Times Record News The consensus was clear at Wichita County Commissioners special session Monday many Iowa Park's residents do not want income-based housing in their town. More than 40 residents of Iowa Park attended the meeting to speak against the proposal for 39 single-family houses that would be rented at a discounted rate through a Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs tax credit program. Lance Windel, owner of LW Development, presented the idea to the court last Monday, but no action was taken then. About 30 Iowa Park residents attended the meeting last week. The commissioners unanimously decided Monday to not support the Cornerstone Ranch Homes project. The city of Iowa Park voted about three weeks ago to show support for both this project and another separate project for an apartment complex with the knowledge that only one would win the funding. Windel needed both city and county approval of the project to apply for the funding because the area he wanted to build on is just outside city limits. The apartment complex did not have to receive county approval because it is within the city limits. The Internal Revenue Service allows private industry to receive income tax breaks if they provide partial funding for these types of housing or apartment developments. This year's TDHCA program has five contenders for funds in our rural area, including two in Iowa Park. Windel feels that the winner of funds this year would be either his housing plan or the 49-unit apartment complex. Of the dozens of residents at the meeting, 15 voiced their concerns to the court citing possible issues with traffic, safety and an increased strain on infrastructure and the school system. Iowa Park resident James Skinner spoke first, saying the project was another example of "top-down rulers telling us what to do." He said plans for sustainable development take control away from local leaders and it's all part of a larger United Nations scheme to have no one own private property by the year 2030. Cortney Hoyt said she and her family chose to live in Iowa Park for specific reasons including the safe environment and good school system. She said the project could lower surrounding home values and bring the possibility of gangs, drugs and other unsavory activity. "It's not a yes/no question at this point, it's an either/or," Windel responded to commenters. He said that with his plan out of the running, the apartment complex is a likely winner of the TDHCA funds. Funding through TDHCA is different than his home state of Oklahoma, Windel said, because TDHCA promotes building based on preference for high property value areas and successful school systems. "They were building the other way, working in the bad part of town to revitalize it. Then they got sued. They out liberaled the liberals. Now to get funded you go to the nicest area you can find. In this area, Iowa Park tops the list," Windel said. Iowa Park City Manager Jerry Fleming said the idea for income-based housing is not a new one and they have been discussing an addition to the city for more than five years. He said either project would meet a need for affordable housing in the city. "We have 100-percent open meetings. There has been very little opposition, historically speaking, to the idea," Fleming said. He said their city meetings are open to the public and they invite public input . Without the county letter of support, Windel said he will not pursue a project in Iowa Park at this time. The apartment complex is owned and operated by a separate company and Fleming said the land they are considering would have to be rezoned from agricultural use to residential. If the project moves forward, Fleming said there will be opportunity for further public input at that time. Windel said he has 11 developments in Oklahoma, but this was his first venture into building in Texas. He said he has received push-back from residents before, but never as much as he heard the past two weeks. He said as a former Marine he is tenacious and will continue to attempt developments in Texas in the future. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate An Oregon man who has spent more than 15 years living inside of a decommissioned Boeing 727 airplane converted into a home wants to build another in Japan. Bruce Campbell acquired his current Boeing 727 in 1999 and stuck it on a 10-acre lot in the Portland woods. Since then, he has updated his website, AirplaneHome.com, which charts the progress he's made to turn the plane's cabin into suitable living quarters. "If a conventional home is a legacy age family Chevy or Ford, an airliner home is a fresh new Tesla or Porsche Carrera," Campbell told mySA.com. Boeing first commissioned the 727 in 1960 and only planned to build 250 at the model's outset, according to the company website. By the time Boeing ended production on the 727 in 1984, the company had manufactured 1,832 of them. Campbell said in an interview that the plane's design "seemed to offer the most attractive overall characteristics. It's a reasonable-size home for an individual or small family, but not so large that it can't be transported over public roads." The renovated 727 contains many of the amenities found in a normal home: A kitchen, sleeping space with a cot, laundry area and a bathroom. "Airliners, free of hundreds of passengers and the clutter of their seats, are a sheer thrill to live within," Campbell said. "They impart a near-science fiction aura to an otherwise ordinary life, truly." The next step? Campbell, who spends half of the year in Japan, is looking for a decommissioned Boeing 747-400 which seats a maximum of 660 passengers, more than three times as many as the 727 to create a new home in the Japanese city of Miyazaki. United Airlines, British Airways and Delta Air Lines all have 747-400s in use. Campbell said he believes "a superbly executed second project which very nearly fully preserves the original aircraft in all its sleek, gleaming majesty will attract a great deal of world press interest for a very long time, and thus be of considerable promotional value to a partner airline." ALBANY A 52-year-old Albany man was found guilty of failing to register as a sex offender, according to the Albany County District Attorney's Office. Gary Carden man faces 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison when he is sentenced on March 30. A Fulton County woman arrested last fall for injecting Benadryl into her sick son's feeding tube pleaded guilty Tuesday in Cincinnati to misdemeanor child endangerment. Jessica Valik, 25, whose son Jackson Baldwin has a rare skin condition, pleaded to the charges in exchange for prosecutors dropping felony charges. She was originally charged with two counts of felony child endangerment and one count of felonious assault. NEW SCOTLAND A 35-year-old Rensselaer man faces a felony charge after sheriff's deputies found him on Sunday in his vehicle in a New Scotland park with a 15-year-old boy, according to the Albany County Sheriff's Office. Joel Harrington is accused of committing a criminal sexual act and also misdemeanor child endangerment. Boston Preparing for the biggest delegate haul of the campaign, Hillary Clinton is trying to leave Bernie Sanders with little room to operate and douse the flames behind his once insurgent campaign. Clinton has shed nearly all references to her Democratic opponent, choosing instead to focus on Republican front-runner Donald Trump in advance of the "Super Tuesday" contests in the South and around the country. Sanders, meanwhile, remains resolute in his message, offering his standard economic-focused stump speech and looking past last weekend's thrashing by Clinton in South Carolina. "We are listening to the American people and their pain and their needs rather than hustling all over the country collecting millions of dollars from the 1 percent," Sanders said at a Minneapolis rally on Monday, pointing to his agenda of overhauling the campaign finance system and expanding Social Security benefits for retirees. Sanders hopes to score victories in Minnesota and Massachusetts, where he was traveling to later Monday, and in Oklahoma and Colorado. He was ending his day in his home state of Vermont, which stands as the only sure thing in his Super Tuesday calculus, underscoring Clinton's sky-high expectations of padding her delegate lead this week. Clinton, powered by strong support among black voters, was in firm control in several Southern states holding contests on Tuesday, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas. Athens, Greece It was a scene of a type that could become all too common in coming months: Thousands of increasingly desperate people backed up at the frontier between Greece and Macedonia on Monday, stymied in their efforts to reach Germany. A group of angry asylum seekers burst through a razor-wire fence. Armed police officers fired tear gas as frenzied crowds chanted, "Open the border!" Less than a week after 10 European countries took steps to stem the flow of refugees from Greece to other prosperous countries, the spasm of violence on Greece's northern border exposed the European Union's inability so far to settle on a common policy to address the migration crisis. War in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and repression and economic hardship across the Middle East and Africa continue to compel large numbers of people to strike out for Europe. Germany, the most popular destination, continues to signal that it will accept refugees, especially from Syria. The number of people arriving is expected to spike this spring, putting a huge strain on Greece, which in effect is becoming a giant holding center for migrants who cannot go forward because of the new border restrictions, but cannot or will not go back. An estimated 7,000 migrants are at the border with Macedonia, and camps and refugee housing in Athens are full or nearly so. Greece, already struggling under its long economic slump and budget austerity imposed by the European Union, has requested emergency aid from the bloc to help it deal with the migrant crisis. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said on Sunday that Greece could not be required to shoulder the burden on its own. "Do you seriously believe that all the euro states that last year fought all the way to keep Greece in the eurozone, and we were the strictest, can one year later allow Greece to, in a way, plunge into chaos?" she said on the public broadcaster ARD. While officials in Brussels have joined Merkel in decrying unilateral steps by countries along the migrant trail to limit the flow of people, it is not clear whether EU leaders can reach some sort of accommodation before a new surge of migrants and the potential for more violence of the sort that broke out Monday. Scientists have revealed that children diagnosed before the age of seven develop a more aggressive form of the disease than that seen in teenagers. (Photo: Pixabay) For six weeks seven-year-old Bethan Westcott-Storer was feeling listless and losing weight, worrying parents Lizzie and Dean. Now aged nine, she's the picture of health, having been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in November 2014, since when she's been treating herself via an omnipod pump that delivers insulin via a cannula under her skin. "I felt very weak and tired all the time, and if my friends in the playground said 'do you want to play It?' or something, I'd just feel like 'ohh, not really," Bethan told Reuters during a check-up at the University of Exeter Medical School. According to her mother, "we noticed that she'd become quite thin, she'd lost a lot of weight, but she didn't have all of the signs that other children normally have with type 1 - she didn't have the excess thirst and urinating. Just lost a lot of weight, so she's been diagnosed for 15 months now." Exeter scientists have revealed that children diagnosed before the age of seven develop a more aggressive form of the disease than that seen in teenagers. Their research could open up new, differing, treatments for both teenagers and young children. It could even help scientists develop a vaccine that prevents children developing diabetes. Working alongside scientists from the University of Oslo, the team, led by Professor Noel Morgan and Dr Sarah Richardson, analyzed 100 pancreas samples from people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes shortly before their death. The samples are housed at the Exeter Archival Diabetes Biobank, the world's largest pancreas collection. According to Richardson, a JDRF career development fellow, "those samples are extremely important because we do not understand the underlying disease process that goes on in these individuals and it's that recent diagnosis that's critical for us to actually look inside the pancreas and see what is going wrong, and the pancreas itself is an extremely inaccessible organ." The study shows that children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes before the age of seven suffer from insulitis, an inflammatory process which kills off almost all the insulin-producing beta cells in their pancreas. By contrast, those diagnosed as teenagers or older retain unexpectedly large numbers of beta cells, albeit malfunctioning. "The significance of these findings is that we find that the individuals who are diagnosed young have a very different disease profile to those that are diagnosed older, and that has important implications for potential treatments in that those individuals that are diagnosed young might benefit more from immunotherapeutic therapies, whereas those that are diagnosed older we might need to look at different therapies that reactivate their sleeping beta cells at the same time as applying immunotherapeutic drugs to prevent any reactivation of an immune response," said Richardson. Morgan told Reuters "it's always been thought that when people get type 1 diabetes they've lost as many as 90 percent of their insulin producing cells from their pancreas. What we've found is that while that might be the case for the younger children it certainly doesn't appear to be true for those that are older. They have quite a considerable reserve of cells left. That's a new insight and it might mean that if we could reactivate those cells we could help them to cope better with their illness." The team's discovery also has implications for the younger group. "We might even be able to stop people getting the illness who otherwise might," said Morgan. "That's our real hope, that we might have a way of stopping children from becoming diabetic by understanding the process and targeting it more specifically." He added: "We're trying to understand what the trigger is and it may be possible to use a vaccine to stop the triggering process, but it might also be able to use a different kind of vaccine to target the specific immune cells that are causing the illness, and that's where the excitement lies." According to type 1 diabetes charity JDRF (formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), which part funded the research, a child diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of five faces up to 19,000 insulin injections and 50,000 finger-prick blood tests before they are 18. Bethan Westcott-Storer hopes the Exeter team will succeed. "One day in the future they find a cure lots and lots of people are going to be really happy," she said. The research, which received European Union backing, was published online in the journal Diabetes. Colonie When United Express ended its service between Albany and Cleveland, it blamed a shortage of regional airline pilots. When Republic Airways filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy organization on Thursday, it, too, blamed a shortage of pilots. Regional carriers, which operate more than half the commercial flights nationwide, are parking planes because they can't staff the cockpits. Republic, which operates at least four daily departures at Albany International Airport, said parking its "out of favor aircraft" while continuing to make payments on them reduced revenues and contributed to its Chapter 11 filing. The 50- to 70-seat regional jets, once so popular with travelers, have fallen out of favor as airlines shift to larger planes to carry more passengers per pilot. The newer, larger aircraft also are more fuel-efficient. Not that this matters. Plunging oil prices have produced a windfall for mainline carriers. Able to offer higher salaries and better benefits, those carriers have their pick of regional airline pilots. The Air Line Pilots Association, meanwhile, estimated in a 2014 posting that Republic pilots that year made just $20,655 annually. New mandates that required more experience for pilot candidates, which followed the 2009 crash in Buffalo of a Continental Connection flight operated by Colgan Air, reduced the candidate pool even as starting salaries remained low. Regional carriers are working with their mainline partners to make beginning pilots' jobs more attractive. When United Express carrier Commutair announced it was adding Embraer regional jets to its fleet of turboprops, and that they'd be maintained at its Albany base, it also said it would participate in United's Career Path Program. That gives pilots at CommutAir a "clear and reliable path" to a job with United. Steven Baldwin, an airports consultant at Latham-based Steven Baldwin Associates, doesn't believe the regional pilot shortage will be a long-term problem. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. Airlines, he said, will find a way to attract pilots, likely through guaranteeing minimum salaries and employment. In the meantime, however, carriers are trimming service at some of the smaller airports and substituting larger planes. An airport that previously had three regional flights might see one flight with a larger aircraft. Baldwin said Cape Air, which operates a fleet of nine-seat aircraft and has its maintenance base at Albany, notified Rhode Island officials it is ending seasonal service between Providence and Block Island, a popular resort destination in the Long Island Sound, citing a shortage of pilots. Schenectady County Community College offers programs to train both pilots and air traffic controllers. Pilots for mainline carriers such as United need at least a bachelor's degree to be considered for openings in the cockpit. eanderson@timesunion.com 518-454-5323 Albany Using a cane, he gingerly stepped out onto the stage of The Egg's Hart Theatre on Sunday evening, waved to the crowd, sat down at his white, custom-made digital baby grand piano, dropped his cane to his side and immediately began pounding away at an up-tempo romp through Ray Charles' R&B nugget "I Got a Woman," before the intermission music stopped playing. It seemed as though Leon Russell was anxious to get things rockin', and rock he did, digging deep into the songbags of fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famers stretching from Ivory Joe Turner and Chuck Berry to the '60s holy trinity of the Beatles, the Stones and Bob Dylan (a particularly impressive blast through "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"). And while his range of covers was a delight, it was his own arsenal of songs that the fans came to hear, and he fired up plenty of them from "Dixie Lullaby" to "Delta Lady," from "The Prince of Peace" (a perfect match for his always gospel-infused brand of piano playing) to "Stranger in a Strange Land." More Information Concert Leon Russell with Dave Mason When: 7 p.m. Sunday Where: The Egg's Hart Theatre, Empire State Plaza, Albany Length: Russell 80 minutes; Mason 70 minutes Highlights: Russell - "Hummingbird," "Kansas City Woman"; Mason - "We Just Disagree" The crowd: About 860 fans of a certain age (as you might expect) See More Collapse Backed by a lean trio featuring the multi-talented Beau Charron, who played guitar, organ, mandolin and pedal steel guitar over the course of the set the 73-year-old Russell also stretched from the breezy, tropically tinged "Back to the Island" to the bluegrass standard "Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms," but it was his solo turn on his love ballad "A Song for You" that drew the biggest applause. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. His sandpapered voice a soulful dust bowl howl is still in damn good shape, and his phrasing has become almost jazz-like over the years. And as impressive as his music was, his wry, between-song storytelling touching on B.B. King, divorce, Gram Parsons, growing up in Oklahoma, the Concert for Bangladesh indicated that he's got a future on the lecture/storytelling circuit, too. Dave Mason and his band opened the evening with a solid set rooted in the blues, including his solo hits (the opening "Only You Know I Know," "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave" and the 12-string guitar-fueled "We Just Disagree"), some classic Traffic gems ("Rock & Roll Stew," "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and "Feelin' Alright") and a new song, "Good 2 U." His set was unfortunately marred by an amateurish and relentlessly self-serving backdrop video. Greg Haymes is a frequent contributor to the Times Union. February 29, 2016 This year you may have noticed that February 29th has made an appearance on your calendar thats because 2016 is a Leap Year! When it comes to the cybersecurity landscape, a lot has changed in the four years since the last Leap Year. Below Ive taken a look at five areas in which the cybersecurity landscape has changed since 2012. Cloud Security: From Adoption to Lines Being Redrawn 2012: Industry experts expected an increase in cloud data security adoption, which would impact the way data security is approached by companies and provided by vendors. The rise of the hybrid cloud also started to come into play, due to its added agility and security benefits. In addition, as a result of the explosion of APT (News - Alert) attacks against high-profile companies and government agencies in 2011, APTs were expected to become even more predominant in 2012. 2016: Between Safe Harbor being struck down and a new Safe Harbor framework, the E.U.-U.S. Privacy Shield, coming to fruition, residency and data sovereignty laws are a big topic of conversation. As surveillance becomes public knowledge, increasingly rigorous data residency laws are ahead. In addition, with the development of new technologies and evolving Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) solutions, lines will be redrawn on what applications and operational business use cases are cloud-compatible. Companies will use the cloud more aggressively for functions where it was inconceivable to consider cloud even a few years ago. The Cybersecurity Debate in Washington 2012: The most comprehensive cybersecurity legislation at the time, The Cybersecurity Act of 2012, was voted down by the Senate in a 52-46 vote. When this happened, many believed the Senates shut down of the bill would block any chance at cybersecurity legislation passing that entire year, and maybe for years to come. 2016: Fast forward to 2016, and the atmosphere in Washington is much different. In October 2015 the Senate passed the cybersecurity information sharing bill, on a 74-21 vote. In addition, in 2016 the White House unveiled the Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP) to fortify America's digital defenses. Breaches Just Keep on Getting Bigger 2012: 2012 saw a number of big breaches for some major companies with millions effected. Retailers and major credit card companies suffered data breaches that set the stage for what was to come. At this time, attackers were primarily stealing credit card information and selling it on the black market. 2016: In four years, the attack landscape has shifted significantly as the healthcare and financial services industries are now being hit hard. There has also been a shift in the type of information hackers are stealing. Information contained in health care records has a much longer shelf life and can be leveraged for identity theft. Unlike financial data, which becomes worthless the second the customer detects the fraud and cancels the card, Social Security numbers can't easily be cancelled, and medical and prescription records are permanent. There is also a large market for health insurance fraud and abuse, which hackers have honed in on. BYOD Security vs. IoT Security 2012: Four years ago, the rise of bring your own device (BYOD) was at its height, resulting in the trend growing in popularity in the workplace. As a result, the industry was fixated on how this growing trend would create potential compatibility headaches for IT departments and the security risks involved with employees working on their own personal devices, accessing private company data. 2016: While BYOD security concerns continue to grow, experts are directing more of their attention to the rise of machine-to-machine attacks. Research company Gartner (News - Alert) predicts there will be 6.8 billion connected devices in use in 2016, a 30 percent increase over 2015. The sheer number of connected devices, or the "Internet of Things," presents an unprecedented opportunity for hackers and many believe we are facing a massive problem moving forward for growing attack surface. Would you be interested in connecting with an executive from Blue Coat (News - Alert) to discuss this topic in more detail? With Leap Year less than two weeks away, I thought an article on this topic would be an interesting piece for your readers. Blue Coat can also look ahead to what the next four years will hold in store in the fast-changing world of cybersecurity. More Network Attacks Use Encrypted Traffic to Bypass Controls 2012: SSL/TLS encryption was, and still is, widely used to secure communications to internal and external servers but can blind security mechanisms by preventing inspection of network traffic, increasing risk a risk that lacked, and still lacks awareness by organizations. In 2012, attackers were preying on the security gaps created by encrypted traffic and they are doing so increasingly today. 2016: The rapid adoption of cloud apps and services dramatically expands and complicates the IT environment, accelerates SSL/TLS encrypted traffic use, and expands the risk surface for attacker exploitation. Modern applications such as social media, file storage, search and cloud-based software increasingly use SSL/TLS as their communications foundation. Monitoring and scouring these applications and services for malicious content and activity is highly recommended. In fact, Gartner predicts that in 2017 more than half of network attacks targeting enterprises will use encrypted traffic to bypass controls. Edited by Maurice Nagle [March 01, 2016] EVERTEC Completes Processa Transaction EVERTEC, Inc. (NYSE: EVTC) today announced that the Company closed on the acquisition of 65% of the share capital of Processa S.A.S., a Colombian payment processing company that is based in Bogota. Caja de Compensacion Familiar ("Compensar"), the second largest social funds administrator in Colombia, has retained a 35% ownership in Processa. Mac Schuessler, EVERTEC's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are pleased to have completed the acquisition of Processa and welcome the Processa team and customers to EVERTEC." About EVERTEC EVERTEC, Inc. (NYSE: EVTC) is a leading full-service transaction processing business in Latin America, providing a broad range of merchant acquiring, payment processing and business solutions services. The Company manages a system of electronic payment networks that process more than two billion transactions annually, and offers a comprehensive suite of services for core bank processing, cash processing and technology outsourcing. In addition, EVERTEC owns and operates the ATH network, one of the leading personal identification number ("PIN") debit networks in Latin America. Based in Puerto Rico, the Company operates in 19 Latin American countries and serves a diversified customer base of leading financial institutions, merchants, corporations and government agencies with "mission-critical" technology solutions. For more information, visit www.evertecinc.com. Forward-Looking Statements This announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including revenue and earnings estimates and management's expectations regarding future events and developments, are forward-looking statements and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Important factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking statements include the following: the effect of current domestic and worldwide economic conditions, including sovereign insolvency situations, and future performance and integration of acquisitions including Processa, and other risks detailed in the Company's SEC (News - Alert) filings, including the most recently filed Form 10-K, as applicable. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise any of these statements to reflect future circumstances or the occurrence of unanticipated events. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160301006591/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2016] Newron Pharmaceuticals reports 2015 financial results Newron Pharmaceuticals S.p.A. ("Newron"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for patients with diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) and pain, announces its financial results for the year-ended December 31, 2015, reiterates material events and presents the outlook for 2016. Key facts and events EU Commission approves Xadago (safinamide) for mid-to-late-stage Parkinson's disease in February A late-cycle review meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was held in September 2015 for the New Drug Application. The PDUFA date is set for 29 March, 2016 Zambon launches Xadago in Germany in May Meiji Seika Pharma initiates Phase II/III confirmatory and Phase III long-term trials with safinamide as add-on therapy to levodopa in patients with Parkinson's disease in Japan in October Swissmedic approves Xadago for use in Parkinson's disease patients in Switzerland in November Orphan Drug Designation for sarizotan for the treatment of patients with Rett syndrome received from EU Commission and from U.S. FDA in the summer Planned pivotal international trial with sarizotan in patients with Rett syndrome; study expected to start in Q2 2016 U.S. Phase II study initiation with NW-3509 as add-on treatment in patients with schizophrenia in December, following positive Phase I data reported in January 2015 sNN0031 and sNN0029 development programs terminated following early-stage pipeline prioritization in October Completion of EUR 28.4 million private placements with leading EU and U.S. investors in April and November Zambon launches Xadago in Switzerland, Spain and Italy in the beginning of 2016 (post-period events) Stefan Weber, CEO of Newron, said: "It is very rewarding to see Xadago now available to patients suffering from Parkinson's disease. Xadago has been approved and launched in several territories across Europe and is continuing to progress towards approval in both the U.S. and Japan. We are delighted to have made such major achievements in 2015." Ravi Anand, Newron's CMO, added: "While Xadago remained the main focus of 2015, sarizotan has made significant progress, too. In summer, both the European Commission and the U.S. FDA granted Orphan Drug Designation for sarizotan for the treatment of patients with Rett syndrome. We have carried out advanced and extensive discussions with regulatory authorities in Europe, the U.S. and Canada, and we are planning a pivotal, 24-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled efficacy study to start in Q2 2016. Previous studies indicate that sarizotan has the potential to reduce apneas and hyperventilation episodes significantly, therefore having the potential to improve the quality of life of patients with Rett syndrome and their carers. If approved, sarizotan is likely to be the first product approved for this devastating disease and the first product that Newron commercializes on its own." Xadago (safinamide) launched in Germany Early in the year, the European Commission approved the use of Xadago for patients with mid-to-late-stage Parkinson's disease. Xadago was approved as add-on therapy to levodopa alone or in combination with other Parkinson's disease treatments, making it the first new chemical entity in 10 years to receive approval for this indication. Most importantly, the label clearly lists the unique features of the product. In May, Newron's partner Zambon launched Xadago in Germany and, following November's Swissmedic approval of Xadago for use in Parkinson's disease patients in Switzerland, Zambon and Newron announced in early 2016 that Xadago has been launched in Switzerland, Spain and Italy. The reception in Germany has been positive. Further to this, in September the U.S. FDA New Drug Application late-cycle review meeting for Xadago was completed with a PDUFA date of March 29, 2016. In October, the Japanese partner, Meiji Seika Pharma initiated Phase II/III confirmatory and Phase III long-term trials of safinamide as add-on therapy to levodopa for patients with Parkinson's disease in Japan who are experiencing the "wearing-off" phenomenon of their standard therapies. Xadago has thus been approved and launched in several territories across Europe and is continuing to progress towards approval in both the U.S. and Japan. Progress with sarizotan This new chemical entity is being developed for the treatment of Rett syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder. Mid-year, the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) adopted a positive opinion, recommending sarizotan as an orphan medicinal product to the European Commission for the treatment of patients with Rett syndrome. This was followed by both the European Commission and the U.S. FDA granting Orphan Drug Designation to sarizotan for the indication. Newron believes sarizotan has the ability to reduce apneas and hyperventilation episodes significantly, therefore having the potential to improve the quality of life of patients with Rett syndrome and, by reducing secondary cardio-respiratory complications, to extend the lives of girls and women with Rett syndrome. Following advanced discussions with regulatory authorities in Europe, the U.S. and Canada a pivotal, 24-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled efficacy study for sarizotan is currently being planned. Secured financing of pipeline projects Newron's shareholders have been supportive and approved capital increases of up to 1.3 million additional shares to raise funds for developing the Company's pipeline assets. In April, institutional investors from Europe and the U.S. demonstrated their confidence in Newron by subscribing to 843,072 newly issued shares raising gross proceeds of EUR 23.4 million. Further to this, in November, Newron completed a private placement of 209,364 shares with a leading U.S. biotechnology and healthcare specialist fund, raising gross proceeds of EUR 4.9 million. These funds will be used to accelerate the development of the innovative product pipeline, namely the lead clinical programs, sarizotan in Rett syndrome and NW-3509, a novel add-on therapy for schizophrenia. Financial Highlights License income, amounting to EUR 1.8 million (2014: EUR 1.3 million), is related to the non-refundable milestone payment from Zambon S.p.A. upon approval of Xadago (safinamide) for the treatment of idiopathic Parkinson's disease; royalties of EUR 0.5 million were paid by Zambon based on net sales in Germany of Xadago occurred in the period from May 15 to December 31 Research and development expenses, net, increased to EUR 18.4 million (2014: EUR 6.0 million), primarily due to the progress made in the development of sarizotan and NW-3509, as well as the cost of terminating development, impairing sNN0031 and sNN0029, and restructuring the operations. R&D expenses related to Xadago (safinamide) of EUR 3.2 (2014: EUR 6.4) have been reimbursed by Zambon. R&D expenses of EUR 1.7 million (2014: 2.1 million) have been covered by grants. Cash used in operations has increased to EUR 12.9 million (2014: EUR 9.9 million), mostly due to the increased investment in to R&D projects. Group's liquidity, including available for sale financial assets and cash and cash equivalents, was EUR 41 million at year-end. Financial Summary (IFRS) In thousand EUR (except per share information) 2015 2014 Licence income 1,800 1,300 Royalties 475 0 Other income 105 257 Revenue 2.380 1.557 Research and development expenses, net 18,449 6,017 Operating loss 24,400 11,215 Financial income (583) 492 Net loss 22,816 10,095 Loss per share 1.66 0.80 Cash used in operating activities 12,862 9,998 Cash, cash equivalents, other short term fin. Assets 40,931 25,702 Total assets 44,380 37,074 Newron's full annual report 2015 is available on http://www.newron.com/financial-report Outlook Xadago is now commercially available in Germany, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. The FDA has given a PDUFA date for Xadago of March 29, 2016. The key pipeline projects sarizotan and NW-3509 are progressing well. The pivotal efficacy study with sarizotan is expected to start in Q2 2016 and results from the Phase II study of NW-3509 are anticipated in Q4 2016. On the basis of higher expected royalties on net sales of Xadago in various European territories over the full-year period 2016 plus additional milestone payments and potential income from further licensing of Safinamide due from Zambon, 2016 revenue is expected to notably increase over 2015. R&D expenses will be higher compared to 2015, due to clinical development cost for the efficacy studies for sarizotan and NW-3509. The Group's liquidity will take Newron well into 2017, beyond expected key value inflexion points. AGM/EGM 2016 Agenda Newron's Board of Directors has approved the below agenda for the March 22, 2016, 10:30 am CET, ordinary and extraordinary Shareholders' meeting, which will take place at the Company's registered office in Bresso (Mi), Italy. The formal invitation to shareholders will be issued and disclosed in the statutory papers on March 1. The full invitation and supporting material will be made available on the Company's website on the same date. Approval of the balance sheet as at 31 December 2015 Appointment of the statutory auditors for the three year time 2016-2018 and, therefore, until the approval of the balance sheet as at 31 December 2018, and determination of their fees Appointment of the auditing company for the period 2016-2018 Granting to the Board of Directors of the powers, pursuant to article 2443 of the Civil Code, to increase, in one or more time, the share capital, severally (in via scindibile), even with the exclusion of the option right pursuant to article 2441, parts 4, first section, 5, 6 and/or 8 of the Civil Code, provided that in the whole the increases in the share capital under points 4, 5 and 6 of this shareholders' meeting can be executed for a maximum par value not higher than Euro 711.177,20 and therefore for a maximum of n. 3.555.886 Newron Pharmaceuticals S.p.A. ordinary shares Granting to the Board of Directors of the powers, pursuant to article 2420-ter of the Civil Code, to issue convertible bonds and to increase, in one or more time, the share capital, severally (in via scindibile), and to increase, in one or more time, the share capital, severally (in via scindibile), even with the exclusion of the option right pursuant to article 2441, part 5 and 6 of the Civil Code, provided that in the whole the increases in the share capital under points 4, 5 and 6 of this shareholders' meeting can be executed for a maximum par value not higher than Euro 711.177,20 and therefore for a maximum of n. 3.555.886 Newron Pharmaceuticals S.p.A. ordinary shares Increase in the share capital, severally (in via scindibile), for payment, with the exclusion of the option right, within the limit of 10% of the share capital pursuant to article 2441, part 4, second section, of the Civil Code, provided that in the whole the increases in the share capital under points 4, 5 and 6 of this shareholders' meeting can be executed for a maximum par value not higher than Euro 711.177,20 and therefore for a maximum of n. 3.555.886 Newon Pharmaceuticals S.p.A. ordinary shares Subject to approval and execution of resolutions under points 4, 5 and 6 above, revocation: (i) of the resolution adopted on 27 March 2014, drafted by Notary Public Filippo Zabban of Milan, rep. 66.143/11.351 granting to the Board of Directors, pursuant to article 2443 of the Civil Code, the power, within 27 March 2019, to increase the share capital for payment, severally (in via scindibile), in one or more time, up to a maximum par value of Euro 375,844.00 and therefore up to maximum no. 1,879,220 Newron Pharmaceuticals S.p.A. ordinary shares having the same characteristics of the already issued ones, with exclusion of the option right pursuant to Article 2441, part 5, of the Civil Code; (ii) of the resolution adopted on 2 April 2010, minuted by Notary Public Stefano Rampolla of Milan, rep. 34893/8887, upon the several (in via scindibile) share capital increase in option up to a maximum par value of Euro 375,844.00 through the issuance of maximum no. 1,879,220 ordinary Newron Pharmaceuticals S.p.A. shares. Dial-in to media / analyst conference on 1 March 2016, 9:15 - 10:15 am CET The Newron management team will present the full year results and provide an update and guidance for the development of Newron's R&D pipeline. The conference call can be accessed via the following dial-in numbers: Continental Europe: +41 (0) 58 310 50 00 UK: +44 (0) 203 059 58 62 U.S.A.: +1 631 570 5613 Italy: +39 02 30 46 48 58 The slide deck used in the presentation is available at http://www.newron.com/downloads Next events Annual Shareholders' meeting 22 March 2016 Half year report 2016 15 September 2016 About Newron Pharmaceuticals Newron (SIX: NWRN) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for patients with diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) and pain. The Company is headquartered in Bresso near Milan, Italy. Marketing authorization in the EU for Xadago (safinamide) for the treatment of Parkinson's disease was granted by the EU Commission in February 2015, followed by Swissmedic's marketing authorization for Switzerland in November 2015. The drug has been launched by Newron's partner Zambon in the first key EU countries Germany, Spain and Italy, as well as in Switzerland. The New Drug Application (NDA) has been accepted for review by the FDA, PDUFA date March 29, 2016. Zambon has the rights to develop and commercialize safinamide globally, excluding Japan and other key Asian territories, where Meiji Seika has the rights to develop and commercialize the compound. Newron's additional projects are based on highly promising treatments for rare disease patients and are at various stages of clinical development. They include Sarizotan for patients with Rett Syndrome, for which Newron received Orphan Drug Designation in both the US and the EU, ralfinamide for patients with specific rare pain indications, and NW-3509 as potentially the first add-on therapy for the treatment of patients with positive symptoms of schizophrenia. Important Notices This document contains forward-looking statements, including (without limitation) about (1) Newron's ability to develop and expand its business, successfully complete development of its current product candidates and current and future collaborations for the development and commercialisation of its product candidates and reduce costs (including staff costs), (2) the market for drugs to treat CNS diseases and pain conditions, (3) Newron's anticipated future revenues, capital expenditures and financial resources, and (4) assumptions underlying any such statements. In some cases these statements and assumptions can be identified by the fact that they use words such as "will", "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "project", "intend", "plan", "believe", "target", and other words and terms of similar meaning. All statements, other than historical facts, contained herein regarding Newron's strategy, goals, plans, future financial position, projected revenues and costs and prospects are forward-looking statements. By their very nature, such statements and assumptions involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that predictions, forecasts, projections and other outcomes described, assumed or implied therein will not be achieved. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set out in, contemplated by or underlying the forward-looking statements due to a number of important factors. These factors include (without limitation) (1) uncertainties in the discovery, development or marketing of products, including without limitation negative results of clinical trials or research projects or unexpected side effects, (2) delay or inability in obtaining regulatory approvals or bringing products to market, (3) future market acceptance of products, (4) loss of or inability to obtain adequate protection for intellectual property rights, (5) inability to raise additional funds, (6) success of existing and entry into future collaborations and licensing agreements, (7) litigation, (8) loss of key executive or other employees, (9) adverse publicity and news coverage, and (10) competition, regulatory, legislative and judicial developments or changes in market and/or overall economic conditions. Newron may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in forward-looking statements and assumptions underlying any such statements may prove wrong. Investors should therefore not place undue reliance on them. There can be no assurance that actual results of Newron's research programmes, development activities, commercialisation plans, collaborations and operations will not differ materially from the expectations set out in such forward-looking statements or underlying assumptions. Newron does not undertake any obligation to publicly up-date or revise forward looking statements except as may be required by applicable regulations of the SIX Swiss Exchange where the shares of Newron are listed. This document does not contain or constitute an offer or invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities of Newron and no part of it shall form the basis of or be relied upon in connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160301005443/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2016] Technavio Announces Top Five Vendors in the Global Ground-based Augmentation Systems Market Technavio has announced the top five leading vendors in their recent global ground-based augmentation systems market 2016-2020 report. This research report also lists numerous prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period. Competitive vendor landscape The global ground-based augmentation systems (GBAS) market is highly competitive and vendors compete on the basis of cost, product quality, reliability, and aftermarket service. To survive and succeed in such an intensely competitive environment, it is crucial for vendors to provide cost-effective and high-quality landing systems with latest technology and materials. "Government organizations like ICAO, IATA, FAA, EASA, and CASA, and the EU, certify and encourage the use of GBAS landing systems. These systems enhance flight safety as well as improving the landing and navigation of aircraft. "Therefore, vendors invest in creating new, cost-efficient and effective GBAS for use by the airports, globally," says Abhay Singh, lead research analyst at Technavio for aerospace components. Request sample report: http://goo.gl/oRSDTI Honeywell (News - Alert) Honeywell was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, US. Honeywell provides aerospace products and services; electronic and advanced materials; and energy-efficient products and solutions for homes, business, and transportation industries globally. The company offers SmartPath, which is a GBAS, used for ensuring precision landing solution for aircraft. SmartPath provides digital navigation data to the aircraft and terminal operators and helps them in reducing delays in landings, as well as air traffic noise. This system is certified with CAT I precision approaches. In 2009, they launched two ground proximity warning systems, SmartRunway and SmartLanding solutions, for global airport operators. Honeywell has installed over 2,300 SmartRunway and SmartLanding solutions in various airports across the globe. Indra Navia Indra Navia was founded in 2012, after the acquisition of Park Air Systems by Spain-based cosulting and technology solutions provider Indra Sistemas. The company is headquartered in Oslo, Norway and was formerly owned by aerospace and defense technology provider Northrop Grumman. The company engages in the design, development, and integration of airport communication, navigation, and surveillance systems for global airport operators and aviation companies. Since its inception, the company has provided its solutions to over 1,200 airports across the world. In May 2015, Indra Navia entered into a strategic partnership with UK-based provider of air traffic control services NATS. The two companies have collaborated on a development program, which is focused on the capability enhancement of existing GBAS technology. NEC (News - Alert) NEC was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company, along with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets computers, electronic devices, navigation and telecommunication equipment, and software across the globe. NEC provides ground-based navigation systems that are designed to provide a seamless navigational aid to the operators for safe landing of aircraft. This GBAS is designed to operate in all weather conditions for precision approach and landing of aircraft. The company's GBASs are composed of GBAS reference stations, VHF data broadcast antennas, GBAS processors, and GBAS VHF data broadcast equipment. Northrop Grumman (News - Alert) Northrop Grumman was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, US. The company provides systems, products, and solutions focusing on aerospace, electronics, information systems, and technical services for government and commercial customers across the globe. Northrop Grumman provides navigation and positioning systems that enable airport operators and pilots to acquire information about location and direction while landing. The company through its European subsidiary, Park Air Systems, provides communication, surveillance, navigation, and solutions for airspace operations globally. It also engages in the design and installation of ground-based systems that are used in ATC and air defense applications globally. Thales (News - Alert) Thales was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Paris, France. The company provides solutions primarily to the aerospace and defense industries globally. Thales, along with its diversified portfolio of navigation and aircraft control systems, provides a satellite based augmentation system (SBAS) solution that helps airport operators and pilots in aircraft landing with the support of wide-area or regional augmentation by using additional satellite-broadcast messages. Browse related reports: Global Commercial Aircraft Seat Actuation Market 2016-2020 Global Automotive Sensors Market 2016-2020 Commercial Aircraft Autopilot System 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 [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/20160301005220/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 29, 2016] United Kingdom - Telecoms, IP Networks and Digital Media NEW YORK, Feb. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- UK's telecom market bolstered by quad play efforts among telcos The UK's telecom market is characterised by fierce competition in the mobile and broadband sectors, and by an innovative broadcast sector which has pioneered business models for distributing digital content. Consumer prices across the board have fallen steadily in recent years, while network capabilities have been greatly expanded following recent investments by British Telecom and Virgin Media. The mobile market is served by major providers with a significant international presence. Recent merger activity has seen dramatic consolidation in the market and has had knock-on effects for network infrastructure deals struck between them in recent years. Orange and T-Mobile merged to create EE, which is itself in the process of being acquired by the incumbent British Telecom, while early in 2015 H3 absorbed O2. A growing number of low-cost MVNOs provide effective price and service competition. The market has also been characterised by developments in advanced data services delivered over upgraded networks, the bundling of mobile as a quad-play service, and regulatory controls on charges and fees. The UK's mobile data market, based on extensive 3G and 4G networks, is one of the largest in Europe. Competition among network operators has induced them to provide similar pricing and usage models. This has substantially increased consumer use of mobile data. The market is in the process of radical change, with Hutchison 3G UK Holdings having been set up in March 2015 to incorporate 3UK and the newly acquired O2, and with BT's 12.5 billion bid for EE being under regulatory and competiion authority review. Low-key data applications such as SMS still dominate the data market while mobile TV, though widely available, has thus far failed to capture public attention. This report surveys the UK's mobile data market, providing an overview of 3G, 4G and 5G developments, as well as an analysis of regulatory issues and technologies. It also profiles the major operators, presents statistics on non-voice services, and analyses developments in mobile TV and mobile application stores. The broadband market enjoys excellent cross-platform competition, with comprehensive DSL complemented by Virgin Media's cable networks which provide data at up o 152Mbs. The company has embarked on a 3 billion investment program to improve and extend network capabilities, while its parent company Liberty Global has plans to trial DOCSIS 3.1 technology during 2016. The DSL network has been upgraded during the last few years as a result of BT's migration to its new 21CN. Although the DSL subscriber base is falling as migration to fibre continues, BT is also trialling G.fast technology capable of delivering data at 1Gb/s and higher. The broadband market remains fiercely competitive as a result of regulatory measures which provide competitor access to BT's exchanges. A new wholesale access pricing regime was extended to BT's fibre infrastructure in April 2015 . These developments have seen a gradual increase in average data speeds, which by mid-2015 approached 23Mb/s. This report analyses the key aspects of the UK's telecom market, presenting statistics on the fixed network services sector and an overview of the key regulatory issues including the status of interconnection, local loop unbundling, and carrier preselection. The report also profiles the overall UK broadband market, covering broadband technologies and including the latest statistics, an update on recent commercial initiatives, an assessment of Next Generation Access, and forecasts to 2020. In addition the report surveys the digital media market, including analyses on the pay TV, cable TV and streaming media sectors. It also covers the mobile market, providing an overview of mobile statistics, regulatory issues, and emerging technologies. Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03007622-summary/view-report.html About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. http://www.reportlinker.com __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/united-kingdom---telecoms-ip-networks-and-digital-media-300228117.html SOURCE Reportlinker [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2016] Infosys to Offer Healthcare Analytics Solutions on Microsoft Intelligent Cloud Technology LAS VEGAS, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Integrating Technology and Data Science to Develop Analytics Solutions for Contextualized Decision Support to Healthcare Providers and Payers Infosys (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in consulting, technology and next-generation services, today announced that it will collaborate with Microsoft Corp., a global leader in platform and productivity offerings, to deploy advanced analytics solutions to support healthcare organizations in their digital transformation. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130122/589162 ) The healthcare industry is undergoing a paradigm shift largely due to consumerization and increasing costs. With the advent of advanced analytics and cloud technologies, it is now possible to process, store and analyze large volumes of structured and unstructured datasets at a lower cost, which can yield tremendous benefits to various healthcare processes. Today, these processes are managed by custom solutions or through CRM platforms like Microsoft Dynamics. Infosys has developed healthcare analytics solutions to augment the current processes and make them more efficient using Microsoft Cortana Analytics Suite. Infosys analytics healthcare solutions will enable healthcare professionals to unlock the potential of a wide range of datasets. Insights generated from this will help track population health trends, advance clinical effectiveness and enhance patient satisfaction. They will also help providers improve operational effectiveness and financial and administrative performance. These solutions use the common healthcare reference architecture that is built on Microsoft technology. Through the use of different Microsoft analytics offerings such as Cortana Analytics Suite and SQL Server 2016, organizations will have a compelling and economical alternative to niche analytical products, without having to change their current enterprise storage solution. These solutions will give enterprises the ability to integrate databases and publish layers with enterprise-grade security. One of the solutions focuses on making the actuarial planning process efficient. This helps payers to forecast the utilization and cost of care for better actuarial planning. Another solution focuses on supporting healthcare contact center processes implemented in Microsoft Dynamics to provide live decision upport to contact agents. This reduces costs, increases the return on investment for existing tools and brings healthcare providers closer to a fully realized cloud infrastructure. "This relationship will provide managed care organizations with the tools to improve clinical and operational effectiveness at a reasonable cost. It will also provide healthcare call centers with contextualized customer support and self-service options to both consumers and healthcare workers," said Manish Tandon, Executive Vice President, Global Head, Healthcare, Insurance and Life Sciences. "Cortana Analytics is a fully managed Big Data and advanced analytics suite that enables customers to transform data into intelligent action," said Joseph Sirosh, Corporate Vice President of the Data Group, Microsoft. "The technology we have today at Microsoft, and the deep collaboration with Infosys, will enable novel healthcare solutions that make smarter decisions, improve customer service, and uncover new possibilities to transform patient care faster than ever before." Infosys is demonstrating these solutions at the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference, to be held in Las Vegas from Feb. 29 to March 4. More on Infosys healthcare work can be found at https://www.infosys.com/industries/health care/. About Infosys Ltd Infosys is a global leader in consulting, technology, outsourcing and next-generation services. We enable clients, in more than 50 countries, to stay a step ahead of emerging business trends and outperform the competition. We help them transform and thrive in a changing world by co-creating breakthrough solutions that combine strategic insights and execution excellence. Visit http://www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY), with US$ 9.2 billion in LTM revenues and 193,000+ employees, is helping enterprises renew themselves while also creating new avenues to generate value. Safe Harbor Certain statements in this press release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015. These filings are available at http://www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. In addition, please note that the date of this press release is January 14, 2016, and any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law. SOURCE Infosys [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The new gene identified by the study is thought to be associated with strokes that result from large-artery atherosclerosis. (File photo) Washington: Scientists have identified new genes that predispose people to the risk of ischemic stroke, an advance that may lead to a drug target to prevent the potentially deadly and often debilitating condition. Researchers seeking to better understand how our genes contribute to stroke risk have completed what is believed to be the largest and most comprehensive review of the human genome to identify genes behind ischemic stroke, the cause of approximately 85 per cent of all stroke cases. An international team of scientists including those from University of Virginia (UVA) in the US examined the genomes of tens of thousands of stroke patients and far more control subjects. The research has confirmed the role of the handful of genes previously suspected, ruled out others and identified a new gene that may become a drug target for doctors seeking to prevent the potentially deadly and often debilitating condition. Stroke is the number two killer worldwide, and risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol are well established. Our genes, however, also play an important role in determining our stroke risk, but relatively little is known about the inheritable risk for ischemic stroke, researchers said. To advance the understanding of ischemic stroke, a massive study was conducted by researchers with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke's Stroke Genetics Network (SiGN) and the International Stroke Genetics Consortium. "We have started to alter the mortality from stroke, which is great and exciting. However, if you look at all the known risk factors, they are fairly poor at predicting an individual's risk," said Bradford Worrall from UVA. "There is some statistics that suggest as much as 50 per cent of the residual risk is unexplained, which is why understanding the underlying genetic contributors is so important," said Worrall. Ischemic stroke represents a collection of several different stroke subtypes, including strokes caused by blood clots that form in or near the heart and strokes that result from hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, in the head or neck. The new gene identified by the study, for example, is thought to be associated with strokes that result from large-artery atherosclerosis, researchers said. The study also sheds light on the only gene that has been linked to all forms of ischemic stroke. Researchers were able to show that the gene appears to have the strongest effect in strokes related to small vessel disease. This suggests that each identified stroke gene so far is associated with a specific stroke subtype, researchers said. The findings were published in the journal Lancet Neurology. [March 01, 2016] Research and Markets - Crowdfunded Elio Motors Achieves USD 1.3 Billion Market Valuation in Days DUBLIN, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The low emission vehicles market in the US is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 5.13% during the 2014-2019 period, according to a recent report available from Research and Markets. The report states that low emission vehicles in the US are gaining importance due to the implementation of stricter emission standards. This forecast was supported today with news of start-up automaker Elio Motors' market valuation of close to USD 1.3 billion. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130307/600769 ) Elio Motors is prepping the launch of their debut car, an aerodynamic three-wheeled vehicle boasting low emissions and an impressive fuel efficiency of 84 miles per gallon. Elio Motors is the first equity-crowdfunded business to list shares on public markets, and surpassed the USD 1 billion valuation just days after joining the market. The US automaker says that 50,000 cars have been reserved to date. The light vehicle market in the US will slow to a growth of 2.0% CAGR in 2016, as noted in a report. Elio Motors plans to start production of their three-wheeled vehicle in 2016, so it remains to be seen if the low costing vehicle will promote additional growth in this market. The global crowdfunding market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 26.87% by 2020, as stated in an industry report. However, this forecast could be far higher if projects such as Elio Motors prove successful, as it may convince new people to participate in crowdfunding endeavours. For further information on this topic, and a full list of all related documentation, please visit the Automotive section at http://www.researchandmarkets.com/rm/MKIQ. Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/amyfeldman/2016/03/01/elio-motors-first-equity-crowdfunded-company-soars-past-1b-valuation-days-after-listing-shares/#65a8caef41cf About Research and Markets Research and Markets is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: +1-646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets [March 01, 2016] Research and Markets - IBM Plans Purchase of Cyber Security Specialist Resilient Systems DUBLIN, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The global cyber security market is set to grow at a CAGR of 12.13% during the 2016-2020 period, according to an industry report available from Research and Markets. The report states that an intensifying overall competitive landscape is forcing existing vendors to develop advanced solutions to remain competitive. This forecast was supported with news today of IBM's decision to purchase cyber security firm Resilient Systems. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130307/600769 ) The terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but it is expected to close later this year. IBM has said that it intends to retain the 100 or so employees currently working at Resilient Systems. Originally known as C03 Systems, the cyber security firm was founded in 2010 and in the years since has become a leading player in the incident response field. Resilient Systems offer its services to private ad government clients, helping them to prepare and deal with cyber breaches. The global data loss prevention market is expected to be worth USD 2.64 billion by 2020, as noted in a recent report. This value could be higher if larger corporations like IBM continue to purchase and invest in smaller firms servicing this market. The global cloud security software market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 48.46% by 2020, suggesting heavy investment in the market. Again, as we can see from today's news, this growth will be spurred on by larger vendors seeking to acquire the skills and technology of smaller and more focused firms. For further information on this topic, and a full list of all related documentation, please visit the IT Security section at http://www.researchandmarkets.com/rm/MKML. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-ibm-idUSKCN0W220G About Research and Markets Research and Markets is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: +1-646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets [March 01, 2016] Arena Solutions And Triniti Release Integration With Arena PLM And Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) Arena-Oracle Adapter Automatically Transfers Changed Product Data from the BOM to the ERP FOSTER CITY, Calif., March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Arena Solutions, the pioneer of cloud-based product lifecycle management (PLM) applications, today announced that it has partnered with Triniti, the leading global Oracle E-Business Suite consulting and solutions firm pioneering in Application Data Management, to release an integration between Arena PLM and Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS). With this adapter, new and changed product data are automatically transferred from Arena PLM to Oracle EBS, enabling customers to plan more accurately and greatly reduce time to market. This Arena-Oracle Adapter automates the process of transferring changed product data from Arena to Oracle ERP, avoiding manual entry errors and ensuring that Oracle ERP is up-to-date. When a product is released from Arena, the Adapter is configured to capture the data automatically without the need for user intervention, eliminating any lag in data synchronization between Arena and Oracle. Based on business requirements, the adapter can be configured to create and change the product data at right places in EBS with right attributes. "With this adapter, product companies can reduce manual data transfer from the BOM to Oracle, improving accuracy and speeding time to market," said Steve Chalgren, Executive Vice President of Product Management and Chief Strategy Officer at Arena. "As a result, engineers can spend more time developing new products and far less inputting data into the ERP." Customers can also enable Oracle's workflow technology to send otifications to different teams, such as product planners and cost managers, to capture planning, costing and other ERP specific data for the items released from Arena. "At Triniti, we specialize in integrating strategic business applications with Oracle, providing business value with end-to-end solutions tailored to meet your business goals and flexible to adapt to its changing aspects," said Srinath Alamela, CEO at Triniti. "The Arena-Oracle Adapter addresses a growing need that we identified in the market as large enterprise customers already using Oracle ERP increasingly turn to Arena PLM's cloud-based offering to manage their BOM." About Triniti Founded in 1997, Triniti provides world-class business and application consulting, along with software products specifically designed to extract the full value of Oracle's e-Business Suite. Triniti offers Products and Oracle e-Business Suite Implementations services that are designed to deliver a finely tuned, robust environment that supports consistent, fact based decision making in real time. We provide best in class solutions for complex supply chains comprising internal and/or outsourced manufacturing. Triniti has successfully led large multi-site, multi-country "big bang" implementations of the entire e-business suite. Likewise, Triniti has also implemented for much smaller companies using techniques that complement their business objectives. http://www.triniti.com/ About Arena Solutions Pioneer of cloud-based PLM, Arena's suite of PLM and supply chain solutions enable engineering, manufacturing and their extended supply chains to speed prototyping, reduce scrap, streamline their supply chain, improve margins, and collapse time to market. Based in Foster City, Calif., Arena's PLM applications simplify bill of materials (BOM) and change management for organizations of all sizes, and the company has been ranked as a Top 10 PLM provider and Top 5 Supplier Collaboration solution. Arena also holds a spot on National Association for Business Resources' "San Francisco's Best & Brightest Companies to Work For" List for 2015. For more information, please visit: http://www.arenasolutions.com/ To learn more about Arena Solutions: Visit the Arena Solutions website. Read the Arena blog on product design, development and manufacturing. Follow @arenasolutions on Twitter. Follow Arena on LinkedIn. Arena and Arena Solutions are trademarks of Arena Solutions, Inc., Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. All rights reserved. Other product and company names are the property of their respective holders. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151117/288645LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arena-solutions-and-triniti-release-integration-with-arena-plm-and-oracle-e-business-suite-ebs-300228372.html SOURCE Arena Solutions [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2016] Untangle Announces NG Firewall Version 12 SAN FRANCISCO, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Untangle?Inc., a security software and appliance company, announced the release of version 12 of its award-winning NG Firewall software today at the RSA Conference 2016. Untangle NG Firewall version 12 is the evolution of the network security platform designed specifically for the needs of small-to-medium businesses, schools, nonprofits and government agencies. NG Firewall delivers a comprehensive solution for content filtering, malware and threat protection, secure Wi-Fi, application control, bandwidth optimization, virtual private networks and more. Untangle combines Unified Threat Management (UTM)to address all of the key network threatswith policy management tools that enable administrators to monitor, manage and shape internet traffic. NG Firewall's fully customizable industry-leading reports provide administrators an unprecedented level of insight into what's happening on their networks across all applications by user, group, time of day and more. The NG Firewall platform is designed to work like an app store. Apps are plug-ins that add functionality, just like apps on a smartphone. Though each app has a different task, like blocking spam or preventing virus infections, all of the apps work together via the powerful, flexible Integrated Rules EngineTM (IRE). Using deep packet inspection at the application layer, NG Firewall's proprietary Virtual PipelineTM technology replaces the inefficient application proxies found in competitive products. Data flows through all applications in a datastream, allowing NG Firewall to perform better and faster with fewer resources, even with a large number of applications. This performance boost enables it to run on less powerful, less expensive hardware, ideal for the SMB environment. "Version 12 gives customers a radically improved administrative interface experience," said Dirk Morris, founder and chief product officer at Untangle. "Its revolutionary, responsive dashboard is unlike anything available from competitors. Custom configurable widgets give IT administrators unprecedented visibility into and control over the traffic on their network. And the dashboard can be accessed anytime, anywhere from anyinternet-enabled device." 360 Dashboard The dashboard is a new way to look at the data available in the Reports app, as well as acting as a single pane of glass providing security alerts and insight into system performance. Some of the pre-configured widgets available in the dashboard include: System and hardware information Network interfaces CPU load, memory resources, server resources Hosts & devices Sessions Alert events Web Filter usage Bandwidth Control top hostnames Administrators can add to or replace these widgets with custom widgets they can create using any of the data available in Reports. Version 12 also brings a fresh look to the administrative interface which is now simpler, cleaner, faster and more responsive on mobile devices. This enables busy IT administrators to keep tabs on their network anytime, anywhere directly from their smartphones. There are now four global tabs available in the administrative interface: Dashboard, Apps, Config, and Reports. These tabs provide quick, easy access to all reporting and management features. Untangle CloudTM With version 12, Untangle has further extended the capabilities of the NG Firewall platform to integrate with the Untangle Cloud, an intelligence infrastructure that powers the onsite instances of NG Firewall with global insights from threat intelligence metadata. Virus Blocker is the first app to utilize the Untangle Cloud, performing a cloud scan concurrently with a local scan, resulting in greater protection against zero day and emerging threats. Additionally, version 12 uses the Untangle Cloud to improve email deliverability, ensuring that administrative alerts aren't missed. Version 12 Major Features In addition to the 360 Dashboard and the integration with the Untangle Cloud, version 12 also includes these major features: Device awareness for Internet of Things security. Version 12 adds a Device List which tracks devices on the network by MAC address and gathers pertinent data about them, enabling administrators to create rules and alerts to manage them. Version 12 adds a Device List which tracks devices on the network by MAC address and gathers pertinent data about them, enabling administrators to create rules and alerts to manage them. Faster Reports, now with Google Drive storage. Version 12 logs five times the number of events per second on the same hardware and features Google Drive integration for offsite data storage for daily logs as well as configuration backup. Version 12 logs five times the number of events per second on the same hardware and features Google Drive integration for offsite data storage for daily logs as well as configuration backup. Greater support for third party hardware. This allows customers to choose between using their own servers or a turnkey Untangle appliance. Other Updates HTTPS Inspector has been renamed SSL Inspector. It now scans SMTP over SSL, enabling Spam Blocker, Phish Blocker and other apps to inspect this traffic. IPsec VPN now has the ability to create GRE tunnels (normal and encrypted with IPsec) to remote sites. Modernization and improved usability of the Spam Blocker email quarantine interface. Pricing & Availability Untangle NG Firewall version 12 is available as a free download. Current Untangle customers will be able to upgrade seamlessly at no charge. For more details about the release, please visit untangle.com. Webinar Join Untangle's NG Firewall version 12 community webinar on March 10, 2016. Founder & chief product officer, Dirk Morris, will discuss the updates and new features in this release and provide a live demonstration. Attendees should register early; space is limited. Title: NG Firewall v12 Community Webinar Date: March 10, 2016 Time: 10 AM PDT About Untangle Untangle is an innovator in cybersecurity for the below-enterprise market, safeguarding people's digital lives at home, work and on-the-go. Untangle's integrated suite of software and appliances provides enterprise-grade capabilities and consumer-oriented simplicity, bringing a new generation of smart security to homes and small-to-mid-sized businesses. Untangle's award-winning network and endpoint security solutions are trusted by over 400,000 customers, protecting nearly 5 million people, their computers and networks around the world. Untangle is headquartered in San Jose, California. For more information, visit www.untangle.com. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160229/338712 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/untangle-announces-ng-firewall-version-12-300227979.html SOURCE Untangle [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2016] Intelligent Decisions Awarded Army ITES-3H Contract ASHBURN, Va., March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Intelligent Decisions (ID), Inc., a premier global IT systems integrator, today announced that it has been awarded an Information Technology Enterprise Solutions 3 Hardware (ITES-3H) contract by the United States Army. The contract has a ceiling value of $5 billion and a potential period of performance of five years - one 3-year base plus two option years. ID received contract award as a small business contractor. Under this contract, ID will support information technology infrastructure requirements from nine distinct catalog areas, which include: UNIX Based Servers; Non-UNIX Based Servers; Workstations, Thin Clients, Desktops and Notebooks Storage Systems; Networking Equipment; Network Printers, Scanners and Support Devices; Cables, Connectors and Accessories; Video Equipment Products; and Uninterruptible Power Supplies for CONUS, OCONUS and remote OCONUS locations worldwide. Army's designated source for commercial information technology is the Computer Hardware Enterprise Software Solutions (CHESS) organization. All requirements above $3,000 will be procured through CHESS via RFQs from decentralized contracting offices. CHESS is responsible for implementing consolidated information technology purchases at the enterprise level. "Intelligent Decisions has a long track record with the Army dating back to Army Portable-3, ADMC-1, STOC II and CTS contracts," said Joe Armstrong, president and CFO of Intelligent Decisions. "We are honored to receive this contract award and we are committed to using our extensive supplier relationships and unparalleled service delivery standards to provide the best technology solutions and services to meet and exceed the Army's needs." ID is uniquely qualified for this award, having served as the Prime contract holder on the previous Army IT contracts, dating back to 1998. With a strong track record of outstanding performance, ID will continue to leverage its extensive knowledge of the customer and ever-changing IT landscape to deliver cutting-edge solutions. About Intelligent Decisions Founded in 1988, Intelligent Decisions, Inc. is a recognized leader in developing and delivering innovative federal IT solutions to the civilian, defense and intelligence communities. For more information, visit www.intelligent.net or call toll-free (800) 929-8331. Contact: Erin Driscoll, 703-554-1636 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150501/213306LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/intelligent-decisions-awarded-army-ites-3h-contract-300228786.html SOURCE Intelligent Decisions, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2016] Hortonworks and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Accelerate Apache Spark SAN FRANCISCO, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hortonworks, Inc. (NASDAQ: HDP) and Hewlett Packard Labs, the central research organization of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE), today announced a new collaboration to enhance Apache Spark, one of the most active Apache big data projects. The collaboration will center around an entirely new class of analytic workloads that benefit from large pools of shared memory. Early results of the collaboration include the following: Enhanced shuffle engine technologies: Faster sorting and in-memory computations, which has the potential to dramatically improve Spark performance. Better memory utilization: Improved performance and usage for broader scalability, which will help enable new large-scale use cases. "This collaboration indicates our mutual support of and commitment to the growing Spark community and its solutions," said Scott Gnau, chief technology officer, Hortonworks. "We will continue to focus on the integration of Spark into broad data architectures supported by Apache YARN as well as enhancements for performance and functionality and better access points for applications like Apache Zeppelin." "We're hoping to enable the Spark community to derive insight more rapidly from muc larger data sets without having to change a single line of code," said Martin Fink, EVP and CTO, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Hortonworks Board Member. "We're very pleased to be able to work with Hortonworks to broaden the range of challenges that Spark can address." Hortonworks and Hewlett Packard Enterprise plan to contribute the new technologies to the Apache Spark community. About Hortonworks Hortonworks is an industry leading innovator that creates, distributes and supports enterprise-ready open data platforms and modern data applications that deliver actionable intelligence from all data: data-in-motion and data-at-rest. Hortonworks is focused on driving innovation in open source communities such as Apache Hadoop, NiFi and Spark. Along with its 1,600+ partners, Hortonworks provides the expertise, training and services that allow customers to unlock transformational value for their organizations across any line of business. Hortonworks, HDP and HDF are registered trademarks or trademarks of Hortonworks, Inc. and its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. For more information, please visit www.hortonworks.com. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. About Hewlett Packard Enterprise Hewlett Packard Enterprise is an industry leading technology company that enables customers to go further, faster. With one of the industry's most comprehensive portfolios, spanning the cloud to the data center to workplace applications, our technology and services help customers around the world make IT more efficient, more productive and more secure. Hortonworks Contact Michelle Lazzar (408) 828-9681 [email protected] HPE Contact Simon Bowers (650) 857-3518 [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140227/SF73721LOGO Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160301/338978LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hortonworks-and-hewlett-packard-enterprise-accelerate-apache-spark-300228420.html SOURCE Hortonworks, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2016] Philips further extends capabilities of its cloud-based HealthSuite digital platform; expands ecosystem to drive value-based connected health solutions AMSTERDAM and LAS VEGAS, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- At HIMSS 2016, Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) today introduced its newest connected digital health solutions and services to support healthcare organizations in the transformation towards value-based, patient-centered care models. With the formal opening of its first North American HealthSuite Labs innovation center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Philips will provide health systems a dedicated environment to design cutting edge programs for population health management. Philips today also announced the debut of CareCatalyst, a developer bundle of platform services and open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to drive the realization of digital propositions to enhance collaborative care between health consumers and healthcare providers. CareCatalyst breaks down data silos, collecting and connecting personal health data, consumer and medical device data, and healthcare organizations' electronic health records, enabling closer collaborations between patients, their providers and caregivers. Since its introduction in 2014, Philips has progressively built out the HealthSuite platform as a digital enabler for the next generation of personal health offerings and clinical applications with an expanded portfolio of cloud-based digital solutions and services. Philips continues to enhance the capabilities of the platform itself, while growing its collaborative ecosystem of industry leaders and innovative start-ups to expand the breadth of its connected health technology solutions. "Many healthcare providers are about to or have already embarked on population health programs to improve the health of people at-risk by moving care closer to patients, transforming from a reactive to a proactive model focused on health and prevention, as well as treating illness," said Jeroen Tas, CEO, Connected Care and Health Informatics, Philips. "Successful population health management comes with overcoming challenges and barriers, ranging from change management to technology integration. HealthSuite Labs and CareCatalyst are important contributions in our mission to deliver integrated solutionsand services to help health systems in their transformation to value-based care." Debut of Philips HealthSuite Labs in North America The North American Philips HealthSuite Labs will be co-located with the Philips Research headquarters facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts, building on its research alliance with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the region's rich innovation heritage. HealthSuite Labs is established to facilitate the collaboration between healthcare providers and multidisciplinary care teams, along with patients and Philips healthcare transformation experts, to deliver integrated care solutions. These collaborations will work to address fundamental care issues and health IT challenges by leveraging design thinking and agile methodologies, as well as the latest digital technologies and clinical reasoning. CareCatalyst developer bundle The CareCatalyst developer bundle simplifies the development of HealthSuite digital platform enabled applications by third-party commercial and hospital-based developers. Its open APIs facilitate access to a broad range of health data and faster development of applications to support different models of care delivery from consumer-centric care to population health management. Growing ecosystem of technology leaders To further strengthen its HealthSuite-powered connected health strategy, Philips is carefully crafting a comprehensive network of leading technology companies with a shared vision to create a secure, high-performance and cloud-based infrastructure to transform healthcare and realize truly connected and personalized health. Validic provides seamless connectivity and interoperability of a large range of third-party medical and consumer devices and apps; Hitachi Data Systems provides capabilities in information protection, consolidation, archiving and search, and flexible data management, to provide a future-proof universal data management solution that supports anytime, anywhere access to medical imaging and digital health records across the enterprise in less than 3 seconds; Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides more than 50 cloud services, ranging from compute to data storage to Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity to cloud-based disaster recovery services and more; Salesforce and Philips announced a strategic alliance in 2014 and have collaborated with university medical centers on care coordination and chronic disease management. Now with the release of Salesforce Health Cloud, the two companies are collaborating on new solutions that put patients back at the center of care. To learn more about Philips' HealthSuite Labs, CareCatalyst and how Philips is connecting care for continuous health, visit the Philips booth (#3416) at the HIMSS 2016 Annual Conference and Exhibition at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas, Nev, February 29 March 4. For updates on Philips' presence at HIMSS, follow @PhilipsLiveFrom and visit www.philips.com/HIMSS. For further information, please contact: Kathy O'Reilly Philips Group Communications Tel.: +1 978-659-2638 E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @kathyoreilly Joost Maltha Philips Healthcare Informatics, Solutions and Services Tel.: +31 610-55-8116 E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @joostmaltha About Royal Philips: Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people's lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips posted 2015 sales of EUR 24.2 billion and employs approximately 104,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. The company is a leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as male shaving and grooming and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140122/NE50581LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/philips-further-extends-capabilities-of-its-cloud-based-healthsuite-digital-platform-expands-ecosystem-to-drive-value-based-connected-health-solutions-300228764.html SOURCE Royal Philips [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2016] ThinkTel Communications among Top 20 Most Promising Office 365 Solution Providers of 2016 by CIO Review TORONTO, Mar. 1, 2016 /CNW/ - ThinkTel Communications, a division of Distributel, has once again secured elite industry status, after being included in CIO Review's list of 2016 Top Office 365 Solution Providers, for proven expertise in this space. This is the second recent recognition for ThinkTel by CIO Review, following the 2015 addition to the Top 100 Most Promising Microsoft Solution Providers in North America. Winner selection is conducted by a panel of independent industry experts, with criteria based on a number of quantitative and qualitative elements, including the company's experience, industry recognition, technical certifications, market presence, and positive client reviews. ThinkTel Communications, a Microsoft Gold Communications Partner, scored in the highest percentile in all categories, and cemented a top ranking, once again, as the preferred Solutions Provider, for the SMB, Enterprise, Wholesale and Public Sector segments. "To be named to this list once again proves our efforts are being recognized in the industry," commented Mr. Dave Damer, President of ThinkTel, and VP Business Services Division at Distributel. "This year we are introducing new capabilities in the Microsoft Azure Cloud-Connect, as well as in the Office 365 E5 space, which will provide us with several first-mover advantages in Canada, and provide customers with deep, feature-rich environments for voice and data," Damer concluded. About CIO Review CIO Review constantly endeavors to identify "The Best" in a variety of areas important to tech business. Through nominations and consultations with industry leaders, its editors choose the best in different domains. The Office 365 Special Edition is an annual listing of 20 Most Promising Office 365 Solution Providers 2016. For more information, visit the website at http://www.cioreview.com/ About ThinkTel Communications ThinkTel, a division of Distributel Communications, is a national provider of SIP-based voice, video, and data services catering to the SMB, enterprise and wholesale business segments. A Microsoft Gold Partner, ThinkTel is the first Canadian company independently qualified by Microsoft's standards to deliver SIP trunking to Microsoft Lync 2010 and 2013, and is one of a few select Skype for Business Launch Partners in North America. For more information, visit: http://www.think365.com SOURCE TechWyse Internet Marketing [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2016] Pico Announces Acquisition Of AlgoSpan Limited As Firm Broadens Its European Expansion NEW YORK, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pico, a group of affiliated managed services providers of multi-asset electronic trading technologies, is expanding its presence in Europe with the acquisition of AlgoSpan Limited, a specialist market infrastructure provider. The completion of the acquisition was announced today, and will help accelerate Pico's EMEA infrastructure buildout and solution development and provide clients with faster European availability of Pico managed services, including infrastructure, connectivity and market data. Pico provides core managed infrastructure and multi-asset market data services to the financial community, in addition to regulatory reporting and consulting services in the United States. Pico has a presence in all of the major financial data centers in North America and offers hosting, direct market connectivity, and real-time and historical data in both raw and normalized formats. Additionally, Pico has been building out its low latency network in Europe. Pico clients benefit from quick time-to-market, high quality service and delivery, and outstanding customer service. "Pico's recently built, low-latency, resilient European network is aimed to leverage superior network design and industry leading hardware to provide a winning combination for our clients," said Roland Hamann, head of Pico's U.K. office. AlgoSpan is based in the U.K. and provides end-to-end trading infrastructure and real-time market data services to financial firms operating low latency trading strategies to bring improvements to bottom-line trading performance. AlgoSpan's trading infrastructure underpins all of its customer solutions, incuding the delivery of its multicast normalized and raw exchange data. The capabilities of the two technology-driven companies are similar; both are known for managing large scale, reliable, low-latency deployments. The acquisition accelerates Pico's ability to provide market data content in both raw and normalized formats in the region. Pico plans to integrate AlgoSpan's licensed Radio Feed product technology into its market data offering. It is anticipated that clients will benefit from the technology by minimizing time-to-market and development costs, with a simple high performance protocol-based interface. "We are excited to be joining Pico, who share our entrepreneurial culture and dedication to client service. AlgoSpan clients will benefit from Pico's global product offering and investment in low latency infrastructure," said Kristofer Peterson, chief technology officer of AlgoSpan. "Our biggest differentiator at AlgoSpan has been that we apply our 'shortest path' philosophy to all infrastructure taking the most direct dedicated fibre routes and combining those with the latest generation equipment and network management that eliminates any 'invisible' sources of latency," said Dr. Rami Habib, director and co-founder of AlgoSpan and chief executive officer of AlgoEngineering Europe Limited, a technology firm specializing in proprietary low latency systematic trading. "Combined with Pico's new state-of-the-art infrastructure buildout and the Radio Feed product technology, we believe that our integrated network and market data offering will be well sought after in the region." "AlgoSpan is a well-respected company in EMEA with long standing roots in the region and a similar company culture of driving results for its clients. We will be fully onboarding key strategic personnel who bring a wealth of experience and local knowledge and we look forward to the combined company offering," said Jarrod Yuster, co-founder and chief executive officer of Pico. "We expect that all of our clients will benefit from the combined Pico and AlgoSpan employee base and product offering. We look forward to supporting AlgoSpan's existing partners, including the low-latency trading business for AlgoEngineering, who will now be able to leverage Pico's broad global offering in their expansion." In connection with the transaction, Rosenblatt Securities Inc. acted as the exclusive financial adviser to Pico, and NovitasFTCL acted as exclusive financial adviser to the shareholders of AlgoSpan. About Pico Pico is a group of affiliated companies that offer premium technology hosting and managed services, specializing in trading technology. Specifically, Pico Quantitative Trading LLC is an agency-only U.S. broker-dealer that specializes in providing services to multi-asset electronic trading clients, and is a member of FINRA and SIPC. Pico Global Ltd., a private limited company registered in England and Wales, under company number 09365923, with a registered office at Paternoster House, 65 St. Paul's Churchyard, London, England, EC4M 8AB, is Pico's U.K.-based affiliate. To learn more, visit: picotrading.com. CONTACT: Kate Dockstader, +1.646.362.4365, [email protected] Roland Hamann, +44. (0) 20.37.53.5421, [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150708/233797LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pico-announces-acquisition-of-algospan-limited-as-firm-broadens-its-european-expansion-300228810.html SOURCE Pico [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2016] WESCO International, Inc. Announces the Acquisition of Atlanta Electrical Distributors PITTSBURGH, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE: WCC), a leading provider of electrical, industrial, and communications MRO and OEM products, construction materials, and advanced supply chain management and logistics services, announced today that WESCO Distribution, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Atlanta Electrical Distributors (AED). Closing is expected to occur in March 2016. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., AED generates approximately $85 million in annual revenues from five locations in Georgia. AED is an electrical distributor focused on the construction and MRO markets. Mr. John J. Engel, WESCO's Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, said: "The addition of AED to our portfolio supports our One WESCO growth strategy and expands our presence in this growing Southeastern end market. This acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings by approximately $0.03 per diluted share in the first year of operation." Mr. Kevin Kester, AED's President, commented, "We are plased to become part of the WESCO team.We look forward to bringing a more comprehensive offering of electrical solutions to the industrial, commercial and contractor customers in the Atlanta Metro area." WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE: WCC), a publicly traded Fortune 500 holding company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a leading provider of electrical, industrial, and communications maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) product, construction materials, and advanced supply chain management and logistic services. 2015 annual sales were approximately $7.5 billion. The Company employs approximately 9,300 people, maintains relationships with over 25,000 suppliers, and serves over 80,000 active customers worldwide. Customers include commercial and industrial businesses, contractors, government agencies, institutions, telecommunications providers and utilities. WESCO operates nine fully automated distribution centers and approximately 500 full-service branches in North America and international markets, providing a local presence for customers and a global network to serve multi-location businesses and multi-national corporations. The matters discussed herein may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. Certain of these risks are set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, as well as the Company's other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wesco-international-inc-announces-the-acquisition-of-atlanta-electrical-distributors-300228756.html SOURCE WESCO International, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Preventable errors described by parents included delays detecting a foreign body left behind after a procedure, recognition and treatment of urinary retention, and receipt of pain medication. (Photo: Pixabay) Parents often catch medical errors that their childs doctor missed, according to a U.S. study that suggests families may be an untapped resource for improving hospital safety and preventing mistakes. Roughly one in ten parents spotted mistakes that physicians did not, according to the study of safety incidents observed on two pediatrics units at a hospital in Boston. Parents may notice different things than healthcare providers do, and thereby provide complementary information that can only help make care safer, said lead study author Dr. Alisa Khan, a pediatrics researcher at Harvard Medical School and Boston Childrens Hospital. As anyone who has ever been hospitalized knows, hospitals are very complex places where there are a lot of moving parts, and errors are bound to happen despite all of our best efforts, Khan added by email. I think we including parents can all work together to keep children safe. To assess how frequently parents detect mistakes that doctors didnt catch, Khan and colleagues reviewed data on 383 kids hospitalized in 2013 and 2014. Parents completed written surveys detailing any safety incidents their children experienced during their hospital stays. Then, two physician reviewers classified incidents as medical errors, other quality issues, or situations that werent safety problems. Overall, 34 parents (8.9 percent) reported 37 safety incidents, the researchers report in JAMA Pediatrics. When doctors reviewed these incidents, they found 62 percent, or 23 of the cases, were medical mistakes. Another 24 percent, or 9 situations, involved other quality issues. The remaining 14 percent, or 5 cases, were neither mistakes nor quality problems, the physician reviewers concluded. For the subset of cases that were medical mistakes, the reviewers found 30 percent of the incidents caused harm and were preventable. Children with medical errors appeared to have longer hospital stays, and these kids were more likely than others in the study to have either metabolic or neuromuscular conditions. Preventable errors described by parents included delays detecting a foreign body left behind after a procedure, recognition and treatment of urinary retention, and receipt of pain medication. In one case a poorly dressed wound got contaminated with stool, while in another instance a child got an infection from an unused intravenous catheter. Parents identified communication problems as a contributing factor in a number of errors, including instances when day and night staff didnt note a medication change and when written information for one patient was documented in a different patients medical record. Beyond its small size and the fact that it was conducted at just one hospital, other limitations of the study include its reliance on English-speaking parents and its sample of participants who were predominantly female, well-educated and affluent, the authors note. Kids of non-English-speaking parents may be particularly vulnerable to errors, and its possible that including these families might have exposed even higher rates of parent-reported errors, the researchers point out. Even so, the findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that clinicians may often be unaware of errors affecting their patients, said Dr. Daniel Neuspiel, a pediatrics researcher at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Charlotte who wasnt involved in the study. The specific frequency of such errors may differ in other populations, but we know they occur in all clinical settings, Neuspiel added by email. While the study is too small to draw broad conclusions on error rates or safety, it still highlights the value of parents speaking up when something seems amiss with their childs care, said Dr. Irini Kolaitis, a pediatrics researcher at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago who wasnt involved in the study. A parent knows their child better than any member of the health care team does, stands by their bedside and plays an active role in their childs health care delivery throughout their hospitalization and after discharge, and often has a sense when something is not right, Kolaitis said by email. For these reasons, any perceived error that a parent reports noting in the care of their child must be taken seriously. [March 01, 2016] BTL To Launch "Full Nationwide" 4G LTE In Belize With Huawei BELIZE CITY, Belize, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), under the banner of its DigiCell Mobile brand, and its telecommunications vendor-partner Huawei Technologies, today announced the roll-out of its nationwide 4G LTE network, expected for launch in December of this year. The installation of DigiCell's brand new 4G LTE mobile network throughout Belize will position BTL to be the first and only telecommunications provider to have this high speed mobile service throughout the country and at speeds and quality that will ultimately be superior to that of any provider within the country, or elsewhere throughout the Caribbean & Central American region. The term "4G LTE" refers to the Fourth Generation, Long Term Evolution mobile technology that allows for data speed bursts surpassing 100 Megabytes per second (Mbps), alongside reduced latency and improved stability and capacity. Huawei Technologies, also present at the today's press conference, has been selected as the vendor for the LTE network. Huawei is a global leader in mobile technology with over 240 4G LTE deployments worldwide. Overall, Huawei wireless networks are used by more than 500 mobile operators worldwide, serving more than 2 billion customers. "BTL has made the very conscious decision to install LTE throughout the entire country wherever we have current mobile coverage and not simply do a partial installation in select places. It is an important differentiator between us and our competitor, as we believe that it is critical that as many Belizeans as possible have access to this cutting edge high speed mobile technology," noted Anwar Barrow, Chairman of the BTL Executive Committee. "Furthermore, in our next phase of mobile deployment we will be adding more than 60 additional cell sites throughout the country, ensuring that DigiCell will have unmatched reach and capacity in Belize. "We are also very pleased to work with a company of the stature and competence of Huawei Technologies. They will bring significant experience and expertise to the project not only during the implementation phase, but even after the initial LTE installation. They are charged with ensuring that the LTE service will work optimally, an that our BTL team members are fully trained to manage the new network on an ongoing basis," Barrow continued. The investment in a new nationwide 4G LTE network and related components is expected to top BZE $40 million (US $20 million). The investment is part of a broader strategic effort of the company to modernize both its mobile and landline plant to radically improve broadband connectivity and quality across the country. "Huawei's goal in this long-term partnership with BTL for managed services, fixed broadband and LTE is to make DigiCell the fastest, most reliable network possible for all Belizeans," said He Ming, President of Huawei Technologies USA. "Our customer-centric approach also includes Huawei providing the latest training to the BTL team so they can ensure the ongoing quality of the network and the voice and data services delivered to their customers." About BTL Belize Telemedia Ltd. (BTL) is the leading telecommunications provider in Belize. The company provides mobile, PSTN, and broadband services to both the residential and commercial markets, with full reach throughout the country. The company is committed to the development of the Belizean community, and the expansion of its product offerings to ensure that the country of Belize becomes a regional leader in telecommunications as measured by quality of service - by the year 2020. The company employs 600 persons. It is a limited liability company, with 63 percent of shares held by the Government of Belize on behalf of the Belizean people. The remaining shares are held by domestic institutional investors and individuals. The company trades in the mobile marketplace under the brand name 'DigiCell'. www.belizetelemedia.net www.digicell.bz About Huawei Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Our aim is to enrich life and improve efficiency through a better connected world, acting as a responsible corporate citizen, innovative enabler for the information society, and collaborative contributor to the industry. Driven by customer-centric innovation and open partnerships, Huawei has established an end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing. Huawei's 170,000 employees worldwide are committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers. Our innovative ICT solutions, products and services are used in more than 170 countries and regions, serving over one-third of the world's population. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees. For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com or follow us on: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Huawei http://www.twitter.com/Huawei http://www.facebook.com/Huawei http://www.google.com/+Huawei http://www.youtube.com/Huawei Media Contact: Jannie Tong 214-919-6438 [email protected] Francis Hopkins (240) 472-1724 [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/btl-to-launch-full-nationwide-4g-lte-in-belize-with-huawei-300228993.html SOURCE Huawei [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Chennai: A six-year-old girl who was fast asleep was thrown into a farm well from where her lifeless body was fished out in Kalpattu village, in neighbouring Kancheepuram district, on Monday. Police said Divya (6), a class I student in a local school, was found missing. The girls parents Sathish Kumar and Devaki realized the girls absence when the latter woke up to drink water at around 1.30 am. The family alerted the neighbours and sought their help to locate the missing child. The child was found afloat in the farm well which was about 500 m away from the house and was moved to Chengelpet GH by Chunambed police. The farm well was 31 ft deep and had over 6 ft water. Preliminary investigations suggest that the girl was murdered. There were no external injuries on the body and the cops maintained that they would know whether the girl was sexually only after the post-mortem examination which is scheduled on Tuesday. TIRUNELVELI: Despite the global economic slowdown the Narendra Modi government seemed to have passed in the Big Examthe union budget 2016-2017- in the eyes of the farmers and small traders in the southern districts as the budget has its main focus on the rural economy, especially on the farming sector that is to get a total allocation of Rs 35,984 crore. Having focused mainly on enhancing the general welfare of the rural farmers and the poor people in the villages, the finance minister has presented a budget that has tongue-tied the opposition members, said farmer Balasubramaniya Adithan of Tiruchendur, Nainar Kulasekaran, the coordinator of Thamirabarani river water protection forum welcomed the budgetary allocation of Rs 60,000 crore for recharging ground water. The increased excise duty on tobacco products by 10-15 per cent, though, has been generally appreciated. This increase is expected to discourage tobacco consumption, the anti-tobacco campaigner, Dr Charles Prem Kumar of Tirunelveli said, and suggested that beedi too should not have been given exemption as beedi having raw tobacco in it is more injurious to health. The physician, Charles too applauded the announcement creating facilities at every district hospitals in the country for dialysis. He however wanted the facility to be created by the government under the National dialysis service programme instead of implementing it through PPP mode. The allocation of Rs 38,500 crore, the highest ever for the rural employment guarantee scheme, introduced by the Congress-led UPA government, and the announcement to create a hub to support SC/ST entrepreneurs would help the BJP gain its position among the Dalits, observed a left leaning bank employee, the Nagercoil based Maruthappan. He was, however, critical about no increase in the income tax slabs. The Rs 25,000 crore proposed for re-capitalization of the public sector banks is highly inadequate, he added. Allocation of Rs 3,000 crore for nuclear power generation brought in the criticism of anti-nuke activists like Pushpa Rayan, according to whom the government should place a White Paper before the nation over the amount being spent actually for its civil nuclear programme every year. Rayan too was critical about the Finance minister saying a comprehensive plan for nuclear energy in the next 15-20 years has been developed. Disappointing, says Consumer body The Federation of Consumer and Service Organisations expressed its dissatisfaction over the Central budget for the coming fiscal 2016-17, and said that there was no attractive announcement even in the third budget of the BJP Government. In a release, Federation president M Sekaran said that the personal income tax slab also remain unchanged and this was a great disappointment to the middle class. There was no encouraging scheme announced to widen the income tax payers net. However, he welcomed the huge allotment of funds for various schemes and said that some announcements for the development of farmers and agriculture seemed good. He also criticised the health insurance scheme and said that it would only help corporate hospitals. Government should ensure health care to all citizens without any ceiling amount, he added. Mr Sekaran further said that there was no encouraging announcement in the budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday to promote small-scale industries under the Make in India scheme. Chamber welcomes Budget The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Madurai, welcomed the Union Budget 2016-2017 for giving more focus on rural development and agriculture growth and farmers welfare. With an allocation of Rs 35,984 crore for farm sector, grant-in-aid for grama panchayats and municipalities totaling Rs 2.87 lakh crore, commitment to achieve 100% village electrification by May 1, 2018 and plan to launch the digital literacy mission to spread digital literacy in rural area, the finance minister seems to have realised the importance of development of rural economy and multiplication of agricultural production to accelerate our GDP growth, said N Jegathesan, president, TNCCI. On the infrastructure front, the total outlay of Rs 2,18,000 crore in the Budget on roads and railways, action plan for revival of 160 unserved and underserved airports and air strips with state government participation at an indicative cost of Rs 50 crore to Rs 100 crore each and the introduction of three new initiatives to reinvigorate the infrastructure, with many schemes to be implemented in PPP mode, shows the government commitment to modernising infrastructures to motivate industrial and economic growth in the country, he said. Permitting 100% FDI through FIPB route in marketing of food products produced and processed in India will provide adequate impetus for the growth of food processing industries in the country, said Jegathesan. However, in the tax proposals, it is unfortunate that FM has chosen to ignore the popular demand for increasing the threshold for income tax for individuals as if would have provided more surplus funds with consumers at large and consequent boost to domestic production, especially in consumer durable products, he said. Raising of the ceiling of tax rebate under section 87 A of the Income Tax Act from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 and increase in the limit of deduction in respect of rent paid under Section 80 GG from Rs 24,000 to Rs 60,000 would provide only marginal relief to the middle class tax payers, he added. However, an increase in the annual turnover limit for mandatory audit report for presumptive taxation under section 44 AB of the Income Tax Act for non corporate businesses from Rs 1 core to Rs 2 crore, as demanded by TNCCI would provide big relief to a large number of assessees in the MSME category. Hyderabad: Going by this years Budgetary allocation to the Polavaram project, considered the lifeline of AP, it would take around 300, not three years as claimed by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, to complete it. Mr Naidu had often said that the project would be completed by 2018, but the Centre apparently doesnt share his enthusiasm, having allotted Rs 100 crore. Centre has declared the Polavaram project a National Project, meeting one of the promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act. Recently, the state government increased the estimates of the project to Rs 36,000 crore from Rs 16,000 crore and had requested the Centre to allot at least Rs 4,000 crore to the project in this years Budget. The Rs 100 crore announced by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley was a repeat of his last years allocation. The allocation is in stark contrast to the Congress government, which had spent about Rs 5,000 crore on the Project. After the TD came to power, it concentrated on the Pattiseema project to interlink Rivers Krishna and Godavari, spending about Rs 2,500 crore while Rs 300 crore was spent on Polavaram. The state government said that the expenditure incurred on Pattiseema was part of the Polavaram expenditure and the Centre was requested to reimburse Rs 2,500 crore. However, the Centre refused to buy this argument, making it clear that Pattiseema project was not a part of Polavaram but a separate project. It also said that unless the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) certified the expenditure, it would not sanction the funds. Recently, the Centre released Rs 300 crore for the Polavaram Project, but the funds would not reach the state government directly. They went to the PPA, which would release them to the state government after it is satisfied about the expenditure on Polavaram project. The state government said that even though the Centre has allotted only Rs 100 crore for Polavaram in the Budget, it is optimistic that that the money it spends on the project will be reimbursed by the Union government. Patna/Muzaffarpur: The Patna High Court on Tuesday directed the Ministry of Defence to reply by April 5 on reports that it had asked candidates for varied Army posts to appear for a test without clothes, other than underwear, at Muzaffarpur last Sunday to prevent cheating. A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Iqbal Ahmad Ansari and Justice Chakradhari Saran Singh issued the order today on a petition. On the basis of photographs appearing in some newspapers in which candidates were shown writing examination in an open ground without any clothes except underwear, lawyer Deenu Kumar had filed a PIL yesterday which the High Court had converted into a writ and gave the order today to the Ministry of Defence to reply by April 5. Read: Bihar: Candidates made to sit in underwear in Army recruitment exam Test was conducted for 1,159 posts at different levels in the Army at Chakkar Maidan in Muzaffarpur, about 100 km from Patna, by the Army Recruitment Office, Muzaffarpur. Director, Recruitment at Muzaffarpur Colonel V S Godra told reporters today that the step asking candidates to sit for the examination bare bodied was taken as a preventive measure against cheating. Because of this, no complaint of smuggling of mobile phones and chits inside the examination venue took place this time, he claimed. "We did not insult anybody or subjected anyone to cruelty...no examinee complained, so why outsiders are making a hue and cry over the matter?" Godra wondered. This is in contrast to photographs from Vaishali appearing last year showing people perched on window shades of a multi-storey building handing over answer chits to students appearing for exams inside. New Delhi: Amid allegations of sitting over a rape complaint for 15 days filed by the German national, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Monday said that it was verifying the veracity of the complaint before forwarding it to the police as the email it received was unsigned and did not have the phone number of the victim. The Commission, instead, has now issued a notice to Delhi Police seeking to know the reason for the delay in registering an FIR which it claimed was leading to harassment of the victim as she was having to continue her stay in Delhi to ensure the same. "The Commission had received a brief email from the victim on February 5, 2016 and the email was unsigned and did not have the phone number of the victim. In order to verify the veracity of the complaint, the Commission with great effort was able to identify the mobile number of the victim," said the Commission Chairperson Swati Maliwal. The Commission further said that a DCW Counsellor then spoke to the victim and made efforts to clear her apprehensions and encouraged her to report the facts to the Commission and the Delhi Police. After several calls, the victim finally informed the Commission that she would come to the Commission on February 19 and requested the Commission that her complaint be registered with the police...and reveal the complete facts to the Commission, said Maliwal. "Immediately, the Commission sent the girl to the police station along with a DCW Counsellor. The girl's medical examination was also done. However, the police did not register an FIR and instead, on the third day after reporting the incident to them, the police handed over a long questionnaire consisting of around 150 questions to the victim," said Maliwal. "Registration of FIR is mandatory under Section 154 of the Code if the information discloses commission of a cognizable offence and no preliminary inquiry is permissible in such a situation," she said. The Commission issued a notice to the police to explain why an FIR was not being registered. "Delay in registering an FIR was leading to harassment of the victim as she was having to continue her stay in Delhi to ensure the same. It was sad that the Commission is being blamed for 'sitting on a complaint' when it is because of the persistence of the Commission that the victim was able to properly and comfortably report her case to the Police," Maliwal said. New Delhi: India and US could sign a key military logistics agreement as top officials from the two sides meet here in April to look at ways to deepen the bilateral ties in the critical sector. Defence sources said one of the key area of focus during the visit of US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter to India in April will be three contentious agreements that Washington has been pushing for long. Known as the "foundational agreements", these pacts are - Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA), Logistics Support Agreement (LSA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA). "Discussions are on. Logistics agreement, tweaked as per India's interests, is doable and may be signed. However, some more discussions is to be held on BECA," sources said adding that CISMOA needs detailed discussions and clarifications. The sources had earlier said that LSA, which enables cashless supplies to each other's armed forces on credit, is doable as it can be done on "case by case" basis. "Of course no help will be extended in event of a war with our friendly countries," the sources had said. CISMOA allows interoperability of Indian and US equipment, which can be critical in a multi-nation operation for rescue, disaster relief or any other such matters. Indian defence establishment has concerns about this agreement as well as the BECA, which facilitates the exchange of geospatial information between governments for military as well as civilian use. The US has been pushing India over these agreements arguing that by not signing them, India is itself blocking potential for defence and high-technology cooperation. Kenneth Handelman, Deputy Assistant Secretary (Defence Trade Controls) in the State Department, had in February last year said that not signing of these pacts by India "are going to be an issue" at some point as both the countries work on high-end technology. Even though the previous UPA government had refused to sign these, sources said Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has asked the US to address India's concerns over these agreements for holding further talks, particularly on CISMOA and BECA. During his trip to US in December, Parrikar had indicated to the US that it may reconsider its stand on three contentious defence foundational agreements if its apprehensions about some of the issues in the pacts are addressed by Pentagon. "The Indian side has expressed certain reservation/apprehension about some of the issues (with regard to Foundational Agreements)," Parrikar had told reporters at the end of his US trip. SAN FRANCISCO Many well-known antivirus products have serious flaws that undermine Windows security and render PCs more vulnerable to attack than they would otherwise be, two Israeli researchers demonstrated at the BSides SF 2016 security conference here today (Feb. 29). (Image credit: Sergey Khamidulin/Shutterstock) The problems arise because most types of antivirus software penetrate deep into Windows, intercepting both Microsoft and third-party-software processes with "hooks" that alter the running processes. The best antivirus software products do this to make Windows safer, but they often leave their hooks accessible to external attackers, who can hijack the hooks and successfully infect a Windows machine. "Almost all the vendors we tested were vulnerable to at least one issue," said enSilo researcher Tomer Bitton, who presented the findings with his colleague Udi Yavo. In a December blog post, Bitton wrote that AVG, Kaspersky Lab and Intel McAfee had had insecure products, which had all been patched by the previous September. At today's presentation, Bitton and Yavo hinted that they had found vulnerabilities in other products that they could not yet disclose. "We worked closely with the vendors to address these issues, most of which are already patched," Bitton said. "But they're not all patched, so we're not mentioning names." In the past year or two, information-security experts have become increasingly concerned that antivirus products themselves could be exploited to infect computers. Antivirus products have a very large "attack surface" in that they monitor all network ports, examine all third-party software and handle malware directly. They also run with very high system privileges, have permission to alter processes all sorts of running processes and launch at system startup. Google researcher Tavis Ormandy has in the past six months found major flaws in Avast, AVG, Comodo, Malwarebytes and Trend Micro antivirus software. The flaws included insecure browser "tune-up" tools, a password manager that exposed stored passwords and at least three "secure" Web browsers that were vulnerable to attack. Perhaps the most serious flaw, and one that Bitton and Yavo did not address, is that many antivirus products don't use secure Web connections to update malware definitions, or don't verify their own software updates with digital signatures. At the ShmooCon security conference this past January, Synack researcher Patrick Wardle showed how a "man-in-the-middle" attack that intercepted an update of Kaspersky antivirus software could be used to infect a Mac with malware. (Kaspersky's Mac software regularly makes our list of the best Mac antivirus software, and its Android product is among the best Android antivirus apps.) This past October, German antivirus testing lab AV-TEST evaluated products from 21 antivirus brands for internal security. Only six brands were found to be signing their code, and only three of those ESET, Intel McAfee and Symantec Norton had taken defensive measures that would at least partly protect against the sort of hook-hijacking that Bitton and Yavo discussed today. For technically skilled Windows users, Bitton and Yavo created a tool that they've called AVulnerabilityChecker to, well, check for vulnerability in AV software. They've posted instructions for using it on the enSilo blog. (We tried it ourselves, and our build of Bitdefender Antivirus Plus seems to have passed.) "Code hooking is an important technique for security software, but it has security implications," the researchers said. "On some of these products, it was quite clear that the security-research team [of the antivirus company] was not part of the development process." On Feb. 16, 2016, Apple refused to comply with a court order to help the FBI unlock an iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the two suspected shooters in the San Bernardino terrorist attack on Dec. 2, 2015. (Image credit: 1000 Words/Shutterstock) The case has been in the headlines ever since, and we've tried to keep up with the daily events surrounding it. The next hearing in the case was set to have been on March 22, but it was abruptly canceled as the FBI said it may have found a way into the phone that doesn't involve Apple. The FBI was given until April 5 to see whether its new method worked, but on March 28 announced that it had, and that it no longer needed Apple's assistance. Here's a quick timeline, in reverse chronological order, of this convoluted case, with the most recent news up top. For deeper examinations, check out our lengthy explanation of the Farook case, and an FAQ explaining the larger controversy over smartphone encryption. March 29, 2016: U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym vacates the order compelling Apple to assist the FBI. March 28: The Department of Justice tells the judge and Apple's lawyers that the FBI has gained access to the data on Farook's iPhone, and asks the court to vacate the order compelling assistance from Apple. The case appears to be over. March 25: Former CIA and NSA chief Michael Hayden has a simple message for the FBI in its worries about encryption: "Get over it." "Understand that no matter what we do with Apple, it's going to get harder and harder to get content," Hayden tells the American Enterprise Institute in a speech in Washington, D.C. Instead, law-enforcement agencies should do what the NSA does, he says focus on the huge amount of communications metadata available, which can tell you who's talking to whom and how often, rather than what's being said. There are "incredible volumes of digital exhaust blowing out there right now into the atmosphere that a good intelligence service can collect ... and glean an incredible volume of information," Hayden says. "It's just you're not going to be able to get content." March 23: An Israeli newspaper says Israeli digital-forensics firm Cellebrite is the "outside party" helping the FBI decrypt Farook's iPhone. There's no confirmation, but Cellebrite already contracts for the FBI and other U.S. law-enforcement agencies. The odd timing of the Department of Justice's application to postpone the March 22 court hearing indicated that the "outside party" might be overseas and in a country where Sunday is a workday. March 21: At an event introducing the iPhone SE on Apple's campus in Cupertino, California, Apple CEO Tim Cook says, "We need to decide how much power the government should have over our data and our privacy." "We did not expect to be in this position at odds with our own government," Cook said. "But we believe we have a responsibility to our customers. This is an issue that affects all of us, and we will not shrink from this responsibility." Later that same day, the judge in the Farook case cancels a hearing set for March 22. The FBI says an "outside party" has demonstrated a viable method of accessing the data on Farook's iPhone without Apple's help. The order compelling Apple to cooperate with the FBI is stayed pending the outcome of the FBI's new method. March 20: The Washington Post reveals that a flaw has been discovered in the way Apple's iMessage service handles encrypted photos and videos, and that viewing and copying such files is possible for a skilled third party. Apple's iOS 9.3 update should fix the flaw. In a long feature, Bloomberg News says Apple's relationship with law enforcement first soured with iOS 8, which made previous data extraction methods impossible. (Until then, Apple routinely pulled data from devices sent to its headquarters, according a companion piece.) Behind-the-scenes dialogue continued for 18 months, the feature says, until the FBI decided to go public with the Farook request, surprising and angering Apple. March 19: The New York Times gets a look at a Paris police report on the Nov. 14, 2015 attacks in that city. The newspaper notes that the attackers used so many "burner" cellphones that boxes of unopened phones were found. But it also concludes, perhaps erroneously, that the attackers used encrypted messaging because no traces of archived messages were found on their cellphones or computers. March 17: Cook gives an interview to Time magazine in which he says that this case is "not about one phone. It's very much about the future." If the government bans unbreakable encryption, he argues, "bad guys will use encryption from non-American companies." "We're in this bizarre position where we're defending the civil liberties of the country against the government," he says. "I still feel like I'm in another world that I'm in this bad dream." In an opinion piece in the same issue, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, says that "Apple is not fighting for privacy; it's fighting for profit." "If Apple succeeds, the implications will be broad and dire." Cotton writes. "Terrorists and criminals will feel free to plot, organize, and instigate through their iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks because Apple will protect its brand more than our safety and security." March 15: Apple replies to the Department of Justice's motion to force the company to immediately comply with the court order, directly addressing the mystery of why the FBI did not ask the National Security Agency to help unlock Farook's iPhone. "The government does not deny that there may be other agencies in the government that could assist it in unlocking the phone and accessing its data," the filing states. "Rather, it claims, without support, that it has no obligation to consult other agencies." Apple also invokes the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to argue that it cannot legally be compelled to decrypt data if it does not possess the decryption key. Ironically, the FBI has for years been seeking to add Apple and other providers of Internet-based encrypted messaging to the types of service providers compelled by CALEA to provide law enforcement agencies access to communications. (Stored data, such as on Farook's iPhone, might not be covered by CALEA even if the law were amended to include Internet communications providers.) In a supporting declaration to Apple's reply, Apple security engineer Erik Neuenschwander says the FBI fundamentally misunderstands certain things about iOS, including the difficulty of creating a security override for Farook's phone, the ease with which the code for that override could be stolen, and whether Farook could have erased iCloud backups from the iPhone itself. Neuenschwander also says that, despite a claim by an FBI forensics expert, iCloud backups are not encoded with the user's iPhone password. iCloud backups are known to currently be decipherable by Apple. The Wall Street Journal reports, without naming sources, that Apple is working to make iCloud backups undecipherable by Apple itself. Re/Code reports that many other Silicon Valley companies, including Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Box, decided to band behind Apple in a secret conference call on Feb. 26. March 14: Former White House counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke tells National Public Radio that the FBI could simply have asked the National Security Agency to break into Farook's iPhone, but chose instead to create a public controversy. "Every expert I know believes that NSA could crack this phone," Clarke said. The FBI and the Department of Justice "want the precedent that the government can compel a computer device manufacturer to allow the government in." "You really have to understand that the FBI director is exaggerating the need for this and is trying to build it up as an emotional case," Clarke added. "They're not as interested in solving the problem as they are in getting a legal precedent." March 13: Comedian John Oliver explains the Apple-vs.-FBI tussle on HBO's "Last Week Tonight." He's pretty accurate and pretty hilarious. The New York Times reports that the Department of Justice wants access to encrypted WhatsApp messages something that WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, says it simply can't provide. (See our smartphone-encryption explainer for the differences between communications encryption and data-storage encryption.) March 11: At the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, President Barack Obama makes his first public statements on smartphone encryption since the Apple-vs.-FBI battle became public. "If it's technologically possible to make an impenetrable device or system, where the encryption is so strong that there's no key there's no door at all then how do we apprehend the child pornographer? How do we solve or disrupt a terrorist plot?" Obama said. "If your view is strong encryption no matter what that does not strike the balance that we've lived with for 200 or 300 years. And it's fetishizing our phones above every other value. That can't be the right answer." March 10: The U.S. Department of Justice formally responds to Apple's Feb. 25 motion to dismiss the court order to help unlock Farook's iPhone. The DoJ filing (opens in new tab) says that Apple made a "deliberate marketing decision to engineer its products so that the government cannot search them." "Instead of complying," the reply says, "Apple attacked the All Writs Act as archaic, the Court's Order as leading to a 'police state,' and the FBI's investigation as shoddy, while extolling itself as the primary guardian of Americans' privacy. Apple's rhetoric is not only false, but also corrosive of the very institutions that are best able to safeguard our liberty and our rights: the courts, the Fourth Amendment, longstanding precedent and venerable laws, and the democratically elected branches of government." In response, Apple top lawyer Bruce Sewell says in a conference call with reporters that, "In thirty years of practice, I don't think I've ever seen a legal brief that was more intended to smear the other side with false accusations and innuendo and less intended to focus on the real merits of the case." "It seems like disagreeing with the Department of Justice means you must be evil and un-American," Sewell adds. "Nothing could be further from the truth." March 8: NSA document leaker Edward Snowden tweets from exile in Moscow, using an, um, barnyard epithet to say that the FBI's claim that it cannot unlock Farook's iPhone with Apple's help is false. He cites an ACLU paper to that effect; Ars Technica writer Peter Bright details other ways in the which FBI might be able to get in on its own. In an interview in Spanish with Univision, Apple head of Internet software Eddy Cue says that forcing Apple to create software to help unlock Farook's phone could lead to the government forcing ordinary people to turn on their smartphone cameras and microphones when asked. March 7: The Dept. of Justice appeals to U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, asking it to compel Apple to unlock a confessed drug dealer's iPhone. A lower federal justice, Judge James Orenstein, had refused to use the All Writs Act, a 1789 law giving judges the ability to order parties to produce materials relevant to a criminal case, to force Apple to comply. "The Department of Justice has made the same application, for the same assistance, from the same company, dozens of times before," the DOJ motion (opens in new tab) says. "The company has complied every time. Until now." John Miller, deputy commissioner of the New York City Police Department, and a former ABC News and CBS News journalist, reportedly tells a New York radio show that Apple is "providing aid to the kidnappers, robbers and murderers who have actually been recorded on the telephones in Rikers Island telling their compatriots on the outside, 'You gotta get iOS 8. It's a gift from God,' and that's a quote 'because the cops can't crack it.'" The Huffington Post reports that at the American Enterprise Institute's World Forum over the weekend, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, debated smartphone encryption. "Cotton was pretty harsh on Cook," an unnamed source reportedly said. "Everyone was a little uncomfortable about how hostile Cotton was." March 6: Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering at Apple, pens an op-ed for The Washington Post in which he says that "the FBI, Justice Department and others in law enforcement are pressing us to turn back the clock to a less-secure time and less-secure technologies." March 4: Commenting on the Apple case, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, says in an official statement that "the authorities risk unlocking a Pandora's Box that could have extremely damaging implications for the human rights of many millions of people, including their physical and financial security." "A successful case against Apple," he says, "will set a precedent that may make it impossible for Apple or any other major international IT company to safeguard their clients' privacy anywhere in the world." March 3: More than 50 companies and organizations, including the ACLU, Amazon, AT&T, Cisco, eBay, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Facebook, Google, Human Rights Watch, Intel (opens in new tab), LinkedIn, Microsoft (opens in new tab), Mozilla, Reddit, Twitter and Yahoo sign on to amicus briefs in support of Apple (opens in new tab) in the Farook case. So do nearly 90 legal and technology experts. At the RSA security conference in San Francisco, Mike McConnell, former director of the National Security Agency, and Michael Chertoff, former head of the Department of Homeland Security, speak in favor of unbreakable encryption, deeming it a national necessity. March 1: FBI Director James Comey, Apple lawyer Bruce Sewell and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. testify before the House Judiciary Committee on the Farook case. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, head of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, introduce a bill that would establish a national commission to study device encryption and advise on any further legislation. The Digital Equilibrium Project, a group of current and former government officials, privacy advocates and information-security industry executives, calls for "ending stalemate and fostering real dialogue that can help forge the laws, policies, and social norms needed" for "a peaceful, safe, and secure digital age." Feb. 29: Federal Magistrate Judge James Orenstein rules that Apple cannot be compelled to unlock an iPhone used by a drug dealer in Queens, New York. In his 50-page decision, Orenstein says the government's use of the All Writs Act, a 1789 law giving judges the ability to order parties to produce materials relevant to a criminal case, may be unconstitutional. Orenstein's decision has no direct bearing on the Farook case, but lends Apple theoretical support. Feb. 25: Apple responds to the court order in the Farook case, citing the First and Fifth Amendments in its 65-page motion to vacate the order. MORE: iPhone 'Back Door' Is Slippery Slope That Could Save Lives Feb. 24: Apple CEO Tim Cook appears in an interview on ABC News and calls the FBI's request "the software equivalent of cancer." Former National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden takes a position similar to Apple's, telling CSM Passcode that "American security if you truly understand the rich, full meaning of security is better served with unbreakable, end-to-end encryption." The New York Times and Washington Post quotes anonymous sources who said Apple was working to make a phone that even it couldn't hack into. Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix, announces that it will no longer buy iPhones for county employees. Feb. 23: A Pew survey of U.S. citizens finds that 51 percent of respondents think Apple should help the FBI unlock Farook's iPhone. Meanwhile, Apple's lawyers release a list of 12 iPhones in nine other cases, none involving terrorism, that the FBI wants Apple to help unlock. New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton co-authors a New York Times opinion piece criticizing Apple's refusal to unlock iPhones. Feb. 21: On the Lawfare legal blog, FBI Director Comey calls for legislation governing the unlocking of smartphone, saying that the "serious tension between two values we all treasure privacy and safety ... should be resolved by the American people." Feb. 19: The Department of Justice files a motion seeking immediate action on Farook's iPhone, stating that Apple's refusal to cooperate "appears to be based on its concern for its business model and public brand marketing strategy." Meanwhile, Apple sources tell the press, and the FBI later confirms, that the FBI lost a chance to collect all the data on Farook's iPhone because it reset the password on Farook's iCloud account during the scramble for evidence following the Dec. 2 shootings. Bloomberg News reported that in a secret White House meeting in the fall of 2015, national-security officials had ordered law-enforcement and intelligences agencies to find ways to crack iPhones and other encrypted devices. Feb. 18: Sen. Richard Burr (opens in new tab), R-North Carolina, head of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, writes in an opinion piece in USA Today that "the outcome of this dispute will also have a drastic effect on criminal cases across the country. Murderers, pedophiles, drug dealers and the others are already using this technology to cover their tracks." Feb. 17: In the conservative journal National Review, columnist Kevin D. Williamson applauds Apple's stance, writing that "the federal government has shown, time and again, that it cannot be trusted with any combination of power and sensitive information." Feb. 16: Apple refuses to unlock San Bernardino terror attack suspect Syed Rizwan Farook's work iPhone, citing issues over whether use of All Writs Act is legitimate. Feb. 12: Even though the suspect in the Brooklyn drug case has pleaded guilty, the issue of the All Writs Act remains open. Apple asks the judge to rule on the matter. Oct. 25, 2015: Apple refuses to unlock an iPhone 5c running iOS 7 in a drug case in Brooklyn, New York, after the judge asks whether Apple has objections to the U.S. government using the All Writs Act to compel assistance. New Delhi: India has told Pakistan, including at the highest level, to uphold the sanctity of the Line of Control and abide by the ceasefire commitment of 2003 along the International Border and LoC. Minister of State for Home, Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary on Tuesday said ceasefire violation is taken up with Pakistani authorities through the established mechanism of hotlines, flag meetings as well as talks between the Directorate Generals of Military Operations. "Government has repeatedly emphasised, including at the highest level, the need for Pakistan to uphold the sanctity of the LoC and abide by the ceasefire commitment of 2003 along the IB and LoC in Jammu and Kashmir," he said in Lok Sabha in a written reply. The minister said there were 253 instances of ceasefire violation along the IB in 2015, 430 in 2014 and 148 in 2013. Chaudhary said there were 121 infiltration attempts along the border in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015 of which 33 were successful. However, 46 terrorists were killed by security forces. He said in 2014, there were 222 infiltration attempts in the state of which 65 were successful. A total of 52 terrorists were killed by the security forces that year. The minister noted that 208 terror incidents took place in the Valley in 2015 in which 39 security personnel and 17 civilians were killed. There were 222 terrorist incidents in J-K in 2014 in which 47 security personnel and 28 civilians were killed, he added. Apple's complicated and convoluted fight with the FBI over San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook's iPhone may be over, but the larger issue of smartphone encryption remains unresolved. Apple and other tech companies continue to insist that total, unbreakable data encryption is necessary and inevitable, while the FBI and other law enforcement agencies say they need access to suspects' communications and devices. Protestors in Portland, Oregon, supporting Apple's position against the FBI. Courtesy: Fight for the Future The case that made all the headlines was sparked by a judge's order on Feb. 16 that compelled Apple to help the FBI break into an iPhone used by an apparent terrorist. Apple refused to comply, and on Feb. 25 filed a 65-page motion to vacate the court order. After several weeks of legal maneuvering and media posturing, as well as surprising pro-encryption statements from former national-security officials, the FBI disclosed in late March that a third party, as yet unknown, had stepped forward and successfully broken into the iPhone. The court order was vacated, at the Department of Justice's request, on March 29. In a related case, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, had ruled Feb. 29 that Apple doesn't have to help the FBI unlock an iPhone used by a Queens drug dealer. That had no direct impact on the San Bernardino case, but bolstered Apple's overall argument and may affect future cases. It may seem strange that the largest American company defied the U.S government, that its CEO was cheered by shareholders for doing so, and that Facebook, Google and Microsoft backed Apple. But there was -- and is -- a lot more at stake than the data on a dead terrorist's iPhone. One thing is clear: Most people didn't, and may still not, completely understand what's going on. Here are answers to some frequently asked questions. Also check out our explainer on the larger battle over smartphone encryption and encrypted communications. THE BASICS Whose phone was this? The iPhone in question, an iPhone 5c running iOS 9, was used by Syed Rizwan Farook, who, with his wife Tafsheen Malik, killed 14 of Farook's co-workers in San Bernardino, California, on Dec. 2, 2015, in what looks to have been both a terrorist attack and a workplace shooting. Farook and Malik were themselves killed by police later that day. But Farook didn't own the iPhone himself. It belonged to his employer, the County of San Bernardino Department of Public Health, which issued it to Farook as a work phone. Farook and Malik destroyed their personal cellphones the day of the shootings. The FBI wanted to get into Farook's work phone to see if there was any stored data on it that could indicate whether Farook and Malik were communicating with anyone overseas before the attacks. (After the couple killed Farook's co-workers, Malik posted a statement on Facebook pledging allegiance to the Islamic State. But as of yet, there's no evidence that they coordinated or planned the attack with anyone else.) MORE: iPhone 'Backdoor' Is Slippery Slope That Could Save Lives (Op-Ed) Why couldn't the FBI read the data on the phone? The phone had a locked screen that prompted the user to input a passcode to access the device. Neither Apple, nor the FBI, nor the County of San Bernardino Department of Public Health knew that passcode which could be a 4-digit PIN, a 6-digit PIN or a much longer alphanumeric password. If it's the latter, this effort may be fruitless. (One FBI agent said in a legal proceeding that the display indicated a 4-digit PIN.) Couldn't someone just have guessed the phone's passcode? No. Apple built safeguards into iOS 8 and iOS 9 to prevent random passcode guessing. After three incorrect passcode inputs, you'd have to wait 60 seconds before trying another one. After a few more incorrect passcodes, the delay is 5 minutes. If someone tries 10 incorrect passcodes, the phone may factory-reset itself, erasing all user data. (One expert says that on an iPhone 5c, a device reboot will restart the incorrect-input countdown, and that the wipe-after-10-bad-inputs feature is turned off by default.) So what did the FBI want Apple to do? It wanted Apple to disable the incorrect-passcode entry delay and the factory-reset safeguard. If those were disabled, then the FBI could have used special hardware to try to "brute force" the passcode by running through all 10,000 possible 4-digit PINs, then all possible 6-digit PINs. Why didn't Apple want to help? Helping the FBI break into an iPhone would be undermining the security of all iPhones, Apple said. This is just one phone. What's the big deal? It's not just this one phone at all, Apple said. If it caved on this case, the company argued, Apple would be compelled to use this technique to unlock iPhones in police custody all over the United States. On Feb. 24, Apple's attorneys released a list of nine other cases involving 12 different iPhones of different models and configurations that law-enforcement authorities had asked Apple to help crack. None of the nine other cases involved terrorism. And on March 30, an Arkansas county prosecutor said he'd got the FBI to agree to help unlock an iPhone and iPod connected to a murder case. Wasn't this case a matter of national security? It sure seems that way. But this isn't the first time Apple had refused to unlock an iPhone. In October, it refused to do so in the Brooklyn drug case mentioned above. That didn't make many headlines, perhaps because the Justice Department chose not to publicize it. TECHNICAL QUESTIONS Don't iPhones back up all data to iCloud automatically? Yes, and Apple did provide the FBI with everything from the phone that had been backed up to iCloud. But the user can turn off automatic backups, and it appears Farook did just that more than a month before the killings. The FBI had iCloud data only up to Oct. 25, 2015. Couldn't the County of San Bernardino Department of Public Health just have forced the phone to backup to iCloud? Yes, normally it could have, but... What happened with the iCloud backup? In the rush to collect evidence from Farook's devices in the days after the shootings, someone at the FBI asked the County of San Bernardino Department of Public Health to reset the iCloud password. It did, and now the backup won't work. Couldn't the encrypted data just have been copied off the phone, and then decrypted? No. Beginning with iOS 8, each encryption key was generated using information specific to the device, as well as with the passcode. Pull the encrypted data off the phone, and you won't be able to decrypt it. What if Farook used a long alphanumeric passcode? Unless he used one of the most 10,000 or so most common passwords (and lists of those do exist), then the FBI would have been unlikely to get in. But since we don't know how the ultimately successful method worked the FBI has classified it as secret it's possible the the passcode was bypassed altogether. Could Apple have disabled the safeguards? Yes. On an iPhone 5c, it definitely could have. Apple could have put the phone into Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) mode and run specially designed software which would have to have been specially created that would have disabled the incorrect-passcode safeguards. Was the FBI asking Apple to create an encryption master key or 'backdoor'? Technically, not in this case. Apple wouldn't have been breaking this phone's encryption. Instead, it would have removed obstacles that stood in the way of the FBI trying to "brute force" the passcode by trying every possible numerical PIN. But Apple says that distinction was irrelevant, because it was asked to undermine the security of its own products. Why couldn't the FBI have just run that specially designed software by itself? Because an iPhone will run only software that's "signed" with Apple's secret digital signature. Apple's not letting anyone else know that signature. It's possible that the successful method somehow managed to install new firmware without Apple's signature -- that's essentially what "jailbreaks" of older versions of iOS have done. Could hackers use the software the FBI wanted to break into iPhones? Theoretically not, because they would need Apple's secret digital signature. But iOS 9.1, the latest version of iOS that Farook's iPhone could have been running on Dec. 2, 2015, was indeed jailbroken on March 11, 2016 by the Chinese hackers known as Pangu Team. Can Apple disable the incorrect-passcode safeguards on other iPhones? It's not completely clear if Apple could do this on an Apple 5s, 6, 6 Plus, 6s or 6s Plus. Those phones have a Secure Element that's tied into the fingerprint reader and is difficult to tamper with without erasing the entire phone. But some experts say it can be done. However, Apple is rumored to be working on a phone that will be completely impossible for it to hack, even for Apple technicians. The Apple Store in midtown Manhattan. LEGAL ISSUES What was Apple's argument against helping the FBI? Apple said that being compelled to write software to defeat its own security would violate Apple's First Amendment right to free speech, and its Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Furthermore, it argued that creating software to break into the iPhone would be like asking a manufacturer of safes to create a special key that could unlock a specific safe. From there, Apple argued, it wouldn't be long before Apple would be required to create a master key, or "backdoor" that could be used to break into any iPhone. The existence of such a backdoor would undermine the security of its products. MORE: Encryption 'Backdoors' Won't Stop Terrorist Attacks (Op-Ed) How did the First and Fifth Amendments fit into this? Years ago, it was established in federal courts that software is a form of speech. Like the language in a book or newspaper, software's value lies in the information that it communicates. By that argument, Apple is protected from communicating information that it does wish to communicate, and from communicating information that would contradict previous communications such as security software. What about the Fourth Amendment right against unwarranted search? That would only apply if the phone's owner had been opposed to the search. In this case, the County of San Bernardino Department of Public Health had given its consent. Has Apple helped police get into locked iPhones before? Yes, at least 70 times. Until iOS 8, police could just bypass the lockscreen with special equipment, but after that, they needed Apple's help. One report said that police departments simply sent locked devices to Apple, and received a file with all the extracted data a few weeks later. I've heard this involves something called the All Writs Act. What's that? The All Writs Act is a law, initially dating from 1789, but most recently amended in 1911, that allows a federal judge to order specific actions on a case-by-case basis if no applicable law governing the case exists. It's what the U.S. government has been using to get Apple to unlock phones. Wait, so a judge can order anyone to do anything using the All Writs Act? Not exactly. The order can't compel anyone to do anything illegal. But it provides a means by which a judge can make things happen when there's no particular law governing a case. THE BROOKLYN DRUG CASE What happened in the Brooklyn drug case? In October 2015, Federal Magistrate Judge James Orenstein asked whether Apple had any objections to what the U.S. Justice Department had asked him to do to compel Apple to unlock a drug dealer's iPhone. (The drug dealer resides in Queens, but the federal court that covers Queens and Long Island is in Brooklyn.) Until then, Apple thought it had no choice but to comply with such orders. But after Orenstein raised the question whether Apple wanted to, or had to, comply, it stopped complying with requests to break into iPhones. Orenstein asked Apple to give him its objections, which the company did in February. On Feb. 29, Orenstein ruled in favor of Apple, saying that the All Writs Act does not grant the U.S. government the power to order Apple around. What is the Brooklyn judge's problem with the All Writs Act? Judge Orenstein believes the government is abusing the All Writs Act to get whatever it wants, whenever it wants, and that its interpretation of the act may be unconstitutional. The New York Times says he's called it a "Hail Mary play" that the government turns to when it runs out of other options. In his Feb. 29 ruling (which has no bearing beyond the Eastern District of New York), Orenstein wrote: "The implications of the government's position [on the All Writs Act] are so far-reaching both in terms of what it would allow today and what it implies about Congressional intent in 1789 as to produce impermissibly absurd results." Did the drug dealer go free? No, he pleaded guilty even without his phone being unlocked. But the FBI says there might still be information on the phone that could be useful in other cases. So if the Brooklyn judge hadn't raised that question, this whole terrorist iPhone case might not be a problem? Maybe not. But this standoff between Apple and the FBI, and more generally between Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., has been brewing for a long time. The Justice Department simply decided to bring it to a head when it had a locked iPhone in a case involving terrorism. POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS Could authorities in other countries force Apple to unlock iPhones? Possibly, and that's what Apple is really worried about. If it did this for the U.S. government, the company argued, then China or repressive Middle Eastern countries could force Apple to cooperate with authorities in those countries and ban sales of iPhones if it didn't play ball. Do other technology companies agree with Apple? Many do. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and the CEO of Google, Sundar Pinchai, both spoke out in support of Apple's position. Microsoft's top lawyer said his company would file a legal brief in support of Apple, and indeed it, Facebook, Google, Twitter and many other companies are joined that brief. Could the NSA have hacked the iPhone? If so, then why didn't it? It's possible that the NSA could have broken nto the iPhone. We don't know, and we also don't know if a request from the FBI to the NSA was made regarding this case. Why didn't President Obama get involved? Obama made a few general public remarks about encryption in early March, but didn't directly address the case. But it's noteworthy that the White House was more receptive to Silicon Valley's arguments for encryption when Eric Holder was the U.S. attorney general. According to the New York Times, the pendulum has swung back in the FBI's favor now that Loretta Lynch has replaced Holder. MORE: Apple, Google Tell Obama He's Wrong About Encryption Where will this all lead? During month that the issue was unresolved, there appeared to be two possible legal outcomes. The more likely one was that the case would have been appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court would normally have rendered the final judicial decision, but if the justices split evenly (possible since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia), then the most recent previous ruling by a lower court would have stood. The other possibility was, and still is, that Congress creates a law, and the president signs it. The law could compel device makers to help police whenever possible, or shield them from having to cooperate, or mandate that no device be created that no one can ever hack into. Thanks to Jeanna Bryner, Henry Casey, Andrew Freedman, Marshall Honorof, Jeanette Mulvey and Adam Uzialko for suggesting questions. Theres been a whole lot of action coming out of the M83 camp lately. After recently announcing an international band member search, the one-man-band led by Anthony Gonzalez now has a new album, a new single, and an Aussie tour to celebrate. Junk is out 8th April via Inertia and fans can check out the albums first single, Do It, Try It below. The album is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Hurry Up, Were Dreaming, which featured the ubiquitous single Midnight City. Whilst previous M83 albums have been noted for Gonzalezs knack for combining shoegaze and synth-pop elements into a hazy, nostalgic concoction, Junk sees the songwriter and producer experimenting with bold new sounds and styles never before attempted. Meanwhile, his Australian tour is set to kick off this May. Joining him will be local upstart Japanese Wallpaper, whos gone from strength to strength since releasing his debut single, Breathe In, a collaboration with fellow Aussie Wafia. M83 AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES Tickets on sale at 9am local time Monday, 7th March Tuesday, 10th May 2016 Forum Theatre, Melbourne Tickets: Ticketmaster | 136 100 Saturday, 14th May 2016 The Tivoli, Brisbane Tickets: Ticketmaster Monday, 16th May 2016 Enmore Theatre, Sydney Tickets: Ticketek | 132 849 THE "KC FIGHT BACK INSURRECTIONIST COLLECTIVE" WAS CHARGED WITH THE POTENTIAL FIRE BOMBING AND SOCIAL MEDIA TROLLING HELPED LEAD AUTHORITIES TO AN ARREST!!! KC MAN CHARGED WITH THROWING MOLOTOV COCKTAILS AT CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE Take a look at this presser offering all the deets on a dude who threatened Kansas City's most powerful politico.To wit . . .Check the deets and the threat to Congressman Cleaver's office that involves a tube sock an "unknown liquid" (ewwwww) along with more serious allegations . . .KANSAS CITY, Mo. Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was charged in federal court today with throwing Molotov cocktails at the local congressional office of U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II.Eric G. King, 28, of Kansas City, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., with using a dangerous instrument to oppose, impede, intimidate and interfere with a federal official engaged in the performance of his official duties.On Sept. 11, 2014, at 2:52 a.m., a window was broken and two Molotov cocktails were thrown at Cleavers congressional office located at 101 W. 31st Street, Kansas City, Mo. The office was unoccupied at the time of the incident. A hammer used to break the window was recovered from the scene, as well as two broken Molotov cocktails. There was not any fire damage done to the building.According to an affidavit filed in support of todays criminal complaint, video footage shows King retrieve two bottles with a white ignition source from his backpack, then walk around the parking lot for a few minutes in an effort to hide from cars that were passing by. The footage allegedly shows King throwing a hammer through the west window and lighting the devices. The first device thrown appears to bounce off the side of the building. The second device is ignited and is thrown at the window. King allegedly sprints away from the office.A Kansas City, Mo., Police Department detective, while investigating a series of anti-government related vandalisms in the immediate vicinity of the congressmans office over the Labor Day weekend, reviewed surveillance footage from one of those incidents at a nearby Bank of America. The incidents involved spray painting anti-government/anarchy graffiti and included some police vehicles, a Federal Protective Police vehicle and the Liberty Memorial National World War I museum. According to the affidavit, detectives who were familiar with King from other previous investigations were able to confirm that it was in fact King on the surveillance footage.Investigators reviewed social media and Facebook posts by King, the affidavit says. One post, dated Sept. 3, 2014, states: KC Fight Back celebrated its first labor day with a lovely variety of action, action and more action against a series of government and Financial properties. Other posts include King posting KC Fight Back Insurrectionist Collective is alive, and these cops arent going to kill themselves, get to the streets. On Aug. 10, 2014, King allegedly posted, I want to leave kc better than I found or an ashes. A social media post allegedly by King on the day before the incident at the congressmans office, Sept. 10, 2014, reads, KC Fight Back has been in serious in its Insurrection activity, and that is the thing that is giving me the most pride in my life.King was arrested as he was leaving his apartment on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014. According to the affidavit, King was carrying a backpack that contained a red can of spray paint, Kingsford Charcoal Lighter fluid and a clear plastic soda bottle (containing an unknown liquid) with a tube sock placed over it.Agents executed a search warrant at Kings residence and found a hand-written letter on a bedside shelf, entitled Operation House Committee. The letter lists: (1) Paint thinner/alcohol, (2) face cover/hand cover/all tattoos covered, (3) Three bottles glass, (4) paper towels, old rags/lighter, (5) drive/driver, must be someone trust with. The letter then mentions the steps to light the devices, says to use hammer/sledgehammer to break door, light bottles, throw them, light curtains, and repeat these steps on government buildings, all things police, certain law firms, corporations The first part of the backside of the letter reads, The arsons committed on Sept 11, 2014 were committed solely by the KC FIGHT BACK Insurrectionist Collective.The letter then specifically reads The Missouri congress has been a willing partner in the US governments capitalist war hungry agenda. The letter discusses several future targets, including police officers, pay day loans, banks and the Federal Reserve. Towards the end of the letter it mentions K.C.F.B. I.C. has declared war on the Missouri National Government.Dickinson cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick C. Edwards. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Federal Protective Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.**************** "Recall that Kobach helped deep-six the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney. Hes credited with duping the GOP nominee into believing that illegal immigration can be solved by self-deportation. Thats the theory that making life as unbearable as possible for undocumented migrants will convince them to return to their native countries en masse. Its a false notion, one from which the GOP later distanced itself. But Trump doesnt have a clue about immigration policy; how it works, how it goes astray and the solid fixes necessary for our broken system . . ." "The GOP front-runner Donald Trump announced the support from NASCAR CEO Brian France at a rally in Valdosta, Ga. Retired driver Bill Elliott and current drivers Chase Elliott, Ryan Newman and David Lee Regan are also backing the real estate mogul." On the eve of Super Tuesday it's clear that the Kansas City Star and their coven of editorialists are getting nervous about the growing support for presidential candidateTo be fair, the GOP can't cope with it either:Still, the Kansas City Dead Tree Media seems to be coming unhinged when writing about so much love for Donald Trump rising among politicos.Our favorite Latina hackoffers the latest screed:Money line:The column goes on to offer more backhanded compliments and outright attacks of anti-immigration policy that's meeting with a tremendous amount of support in the midst of the seemingly failed mainstream GOP effort to win back with White House by way of faux Latinos.informs us that it's just going to be worse . . .Amid the Heartland and among the many people in KCK, and their ilk, who enjoy watching left turns all afternoon, this endorsement is even more important that politics:Like it or not, the Trump campaign seems to be rolling over the competition and rather than reporting or trying to explain or understand the phenomena . . . Their writers seem to be working to offer dead tree media roadblocks that are easily maneuvered by so many fans fueling this Trump trend.Developing . . . EVEN THE MORE REASONABLE DENIZENS OF OUR BLOG COMMUNITY QUESTION AND ARGUE AGAINST CLAIMS OF "SYSTEMIC RACISM" WHEN BOTH OUR POLICE CHIEF AND MAYOR ARE AFRICAN-AMERICAN . . . AND SO WE ASKED THIS QUESTION TO MORE2 INSIDERS AND THEY OFFERED A SURPRISING ANSWER!!! MORE2 Insider: "A person can hold public office and uphold or facilitate systemic racism. If it weren't so, don't you believe our nation would be very different?" Local activist grouphas been stepping up their local activity with massive voter registration plans and ongoing efforts to host conversations about race among Kansas City residents.Example:One topic that always comes up among our blog community butgets answered at these kind of "preach to the choir" events is the topic of racism in regard to local leadership.Moreover . . .Here's the word . . .Actually, the only thing that has ever unified nations on this planet since the dawn of recorded history is the ability to start and win wars but nobody cares about TKC's pessimistic understanding ofAlso, in so many words . . . Is that an accusation that Mayor Sly and the KCPD Chief are racist or have acted to enforce racism???More to the point . . . From D.C. to Kansas City . . . Even greater diversity at the highest ranking levels doesn't seem to be an answer to ongoing and seemingly never-ending accusations of racism.Agree or not, it's important to know where people stand and realize thatIn fact, racial divisions throughout the nation and right here in Kansas City seem more pronounced.The great Kansas City race debate continues amid the very real impact ofto racial tensions throughout the University of Missouri system and then Midtown Kansas City arguments regarding racial disparity in terms of tax abatement and our divided community . . . And maybe even the fact that this town hasn't seen a Latino councilmember in more than a generation.The term "systemic racism" might not only apply to cultural logics, practices and policies which have historically worked to oppress minorities but also an exponentially growing industry of consultants, politicians from every demographic and civic organizations who have found a successful niche fighting the legacy of American intolerance for both better and worse thereby creating a new self-perpetuating philosophy predicated upon (like it or not) the preeminence of racial considerations in the popular discourse.And all of this is why scantily clad hotties are so important to the conversation here at TKC.You decide . . . Greece boasts over 2,000 islands, so making a decision on which one to visit could prove a little daunting. This is why British tour operator Thomas Cook helps make things a little easier for its customers, by picking some of the best If, like many others, youre considering a holiday to Greece this summer, you might be in need of some direction when it comes to choosing which Greek island is right for you, Thomas Cook advises. Greece boasts over 2,000 islands, so making a decision on which one to visit could prove a little daunting. This is why the British tour operator helps make things a little easier for its customers, by picking some of the best below: Best for beaches: Kefalonia The island of Kefalonia basks in breathtaking beauty and I dare you not to fall in love with its authentic charm. Visits to traditional Greek fishing villages such as Assos and Fiskardo will fill your cameras memory card, but its the islands stunning beaches that truly captivate everyone. Youll find beautiful bays with azure waters around every corner, but the most famous of them all is Myrtos Beach and its easy to see why in the picture above. Best for history buffs: Rhodes Rhodes is an incredibly popular island with British holidaymakers in particular, thanks to its excellent beaches and vibrant nightlife. But those arent the only things that make it such an ideal holiday destination. Theres also a wealth of history to be explored across the island. Wander the narrow, cobbled streets of Rhodes Old Town or visit the picturesque village of Lindos with its ancient Acropolis overlooking the resort. Best for scenery lovers: Thassos Thassos is often referred to as the Emerald Isle, so that gives you an idea of just how stunning its landscape is. Think lush, green countryside, rolling mountains and golden beaches and youll be on your way to imagining your ideal holiday in Thassos. Its one of the more unspoilt Greek islands, so visitors here take advantage of this by going on long hikes, taking in the panoramic views and peaceful atmosphere as they go. Head to the Archangelous Monastery for spectacular views across the Aegean Sea to Mount Athos. Best for budding explorers: Crete The island of Crete might be home to some of the best beaches in all of Greece, but theres far more to the largest of the Greek islands than just that. Its multiple ancient sites and varied terrain makes it perfect for those who struggle to spend all day attached to their sun loungers. Explore the ancient city of Knossos, take a boat ride to the former leper colony of Spinalonga or trek through Samaria Gorge and the White Mountains. Best for night owls: Kos There are many things that Kos is famous for: its got amazing beaches, its perfect for families and its a haven for sailing enthusiasts. But perhaps the biggest crowd draw to the island is its fun and vibrant nightlife. In particular, the resort of Kardamena is popular with groups of young holidaymakers who want to make the most of its golden beach by day before partying the night away on the aptly named Bar Street after the sun goes down. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report New Delhi: It can't order the military to shoot at the crowd, the Supreme Court today said while dismissing a plea seeking giving free hand to Army to control "unruly mob" during the Jat agitation in Haryana. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur said that Army was capable enough to deal with any situation and as and when the situation arises things will be taken care of. "You want us to issue direction to Army to shoot at the mob. We can't issue such directions. We can't allow the army to open fire at the mob. As and when the situation arises things will be taken care of. Army is capable enough to deal with any situation," the bench also comprising justices R Bhanumathi and UU Lalit said. It said that whoever will take law in his own hand will be prosecuted as per the law and dismissed the petition as withdrawn. The bench observed that had the petitioner advocate Ajay Jain sought compensation to the victim of the violent agitation, it would have thought of considering it. "Had you asked for compensation to the victims of the agitation, we would have thought of considering it," the bench said. Petitioner then sought court's permission to amend the prayer in his petition which the bench denied, saying it can't allow him to do so. The bench also refrained itself from imposing the cost on petitioner after he kept on insisting for consideration of his plea. He, however, later agreed to withdraw his plea. The petitioner in his plea has sought direction for Haryana government to give complete free hand to the Army/Para Military forces to control the situation which includes inter alia to fire at the mob to bring the situation under control. He has also sought direction to local administration of Rohtak, Haryana to hand over the administration to Army and not to interrupt in any manner whatsoever in the Army's affair in dealing with the situation. "Direct the Union of India to provide adequate number of Army/Para Military forces as is required to deal with mob of 20,000 people roaming in or around district Rohtak," the plea had said. The level of contract awards in the GCC projects market will fall slightly to $167 billion in 2016 compared to $197 billion in 2015, but the impact of oil price volatility will be limited, a new report said. This is a clear drop, but nothing as pronounced as the delayed drops in 2010 and 2011 which followed the global economic crisis, according to research presented at an event recently hosted by Ventures Onsite, a construction projects information platform, in Dubai, UAE. The reason, according to Julian Herbert who presented the data on behalf of Ventures Onsite, is that there is no clear relationship over time between oil price levels and the value of project awards. Despite anxiety in the media and elsewhere about the low oil price, history shows that the value of contract awards is not necessarily at its highest or lowest when the oil price peaks or troughs, said Herbert. Three years ago, bodies like the International Energy Agency were predicting a marked softening of the oil price as a response to the impact of US tight oil production and sustained Saudi oil output. This warning gave GCC governments a two to three-year window in which to stockpile surpluses to spend strategically on long-term projects and on social and transport infrastructure. The data shows that this is happening, most notably in Kuwait which awarded over $35 billion in contracts in 2015, its highest ever and Qatar which awarded $34 billion in 2015, for the second year in a row. Oman too recorded contracts worth over $18 billion with water, power generation and industrial diversification projects featuring prominently. History also shows that major events over a five-year time span, starting with the global economic meltdown in 2008/09 leading up to the award of Expo 2020 to Dubai in December 2013, have compelled companies involved in the construction sector and governments to adapt, making them better able to take advantage of opportunities when they arrive. For this reason, while Saudi Arabia and to some extent Abu Dhabi is treading a cautious path with projects, the rest of the GCC Dubai, Kuwait and Qatar in particular will be alive with activity for the next two years, Herbert explained at the event. Over a hundred representatives from companies across the construction industry, met at the Grosvenor House hotel in Dubai to hear about the state of the GCC construction projects market. Mibu John, head of Syndicated Research from Ventures Onsite also shared information about expected project tenders for the next 12 months and the top projects to look out for. We expect to see contracts worth $167 billion being awarded to contractors in 2016, which is nearly 15 per cent less than the total value of contracts awarded in 2015, said John. We have seen some major contractor awards already in January and February such as The Royal Atlantis Resort, Bahrain International Airport expansion, Borouge BOG compressor, Sohar-Ibri IPP to name a few. The top projects to look out for in the coming months include the Route 2020, MMRT contracts, Alba Sixth Potline expansion, Qatar Power Transmission Phase 13 among others. It is our strong intention to stay close to our clients and support them with their information needs on a project-by-project basis as well as at a higher industry level, he added. In the past two months, many of our clients have been asking us about the outlook for 2016-17 and we saw this event as an opportunity to reach our clients and prepare them for both embracing the coming opportunities and facing the challenges ahead. The response to the event was amazing and we hope to put together more events likes this in the future for our clients in different cities and countries, John concluded. TradeArabia News Service Global consultancy Turner & Townsend has been appointed to project and cost manage the multi-million pound internal fit out of Qatars first department store by the popular French retailer Galeries Lafayette. The three-level, 14,000 sq m space is franchised by the Ali Bin Ali Group (ABA Group), a private family company which is considered as one of the major conglomerates in Qatar. The interior of Les Galeries Lafayette, which will include 400 luxury brands in clothing, accessories and homeware, will be designed by Paris-based architect Bruno Moinard of 4BI & Associates. The luxury department store, expected to be completed before the end of 2017, will form part of the prestigious Katara Cultural Village and Katara Retail Plaza shopping mall in the capital Doha. The plaza will also include a unique mall for children, a branded spa, shops, cafes, restaurants, offices, luxury boutique hotel and landscaped park areas - all built over two storeys of basement parking. Ground cooling technology will be used to help control the centres climate and enhance the shopping experience, making it one of the worlds first outdoor, air-conditioned commercial plazas, said a top official. Turner & Townsend has proven experience working successfully with high-profile brands such as Tiffany & Co's emerging markets in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, remarked Stephen McCartney, Qatar country manager for Turner & Townsend. "We are immensely proud to have been selected to provide project and cost management services for such an internationally-renowned retail brand," he stated. "We fully understand the importance of successfully delivering the project on time and budget, and of meeting the sheer quality of design, which will combine classical Roman architecture with traditional Arabic building styles. To be working with international designer Bruno Moinard is a privilege," he added. David Miller, the general manager for Galeries Lafayette, Doha, said: "We are confident Turner & Townsends experience and deep knowledge of the market in the Middle East will ensure the department store becomes a focal point for all visitors to the Katara Plaza." "Les Galeries Lafayette is a world-class retailer and were delighted to have secured the franchise which will concentrate on exclusive brands rather than chain retailers," stated Miller. "The new cultural village is part of establishing Doha as an international centre of retail, arts and culture," he added.-TradeArabia News Service German Development Bank has signed an agreement with Jordan government to provide 28 million ($31 million) finance for the construction of a 20-km-long wastewater pipeline project to help transport sewage from Zarqa Governorate and parts of Amman to Al Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant, said a report. This comes as part of a deal with Ministry of Water and Irrigation and the German Development Bank to implement water and sewage projects worth 32 million ($36 million) to support host communities of Syrian refugees in the northern and central regions of the Kingdom, reported Petra. The agreements were signed by Hazem Al Nasser, Minister of Water and Irrigation, and Birgitta Siefker-Eberle, German Ambassador to Jordan in the presence of the director of the German Development Bank. Leading Indian companies and organisations will participate in an event, organised by the Embassy of India in Muscat, aimed at promoting business and trade relations between India and Oman, a report said. The event will be held in association with the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) and will focus on the healthcare, food industry, information technology, mining and mineral and the construction and infrastructure sectors, added the Oman Daily Observer report. Leading Indian business organisations, notably the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Export Organization (FIEO), National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI), will be fielding delegations of reputed Indian companies to showcase their products and services to the Omani business enterprises, it said. The objective is to provide Indian companies from these sectors a platform to explore opportunities for exports, business tie-ups, investments and project work in Oman, added the report. Citing data sourced from Omans Ministry of Commerce and Industry, The Indian Embassy noted that there are over 2,900 Indian enterprises in Oman with an estimated investment of $4.5 billion. Omani investments in India are estimated at $3 billion. The Indian Embassy along with the OCCI will host a business-to-business (B2B) Meeting, at Crowne Plaza Muscat on March 30, with Omani enterprises to be invited by OCCI. Later in the afternoon, a seminar on business/project work opportunities available in Oman in the above sector will be organised at the embassy premises. Key Omani government/private authorities will be invited for making presentations to the Indian delegation on project work and investment opportunities available in Oman in above sectors, added the report. The Middle Easts homeland security market is set to grow from $17 billion to $34 billion by 2020, at three times the global growth average, according to a recent Frost & Sullivan report. The steady increase demonstrates the Arab worlds robust homeland security and national resilience agenda, announced industry experts recently in the build-up to International Exhibition for National Security and Resilience (ISNR) 2016, to be held later this month, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The largest share, 55 per cent or $15 billion, will go to securing government, energy, and critical national infrastructure. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is expected to spend $57 billion on military and security in 2016, the highest share of its budget at 25 per cent, according to Frost & Sullivan. The ISNR is set to be the largest of its kind in 2016, focusing on how to protect citizens against threats, enhance emergency readiness, and ensure stability, added the statement. The event will be spread across 20,000 sq m of net indoor exhibition space, and will host five exhibitions, two conferences and over 60 seminars, and dozens of live events, simulations, workshops, and new solution launches, it said. The organisers expect 20,000 attendees from over 90 countries, and 500 exhibitors from 45 countries, it further stated. The event is held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor, and Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. The event is set to host over 20 country delegations and 200 representatives from government buyers, including armed forces, customs agencies, ministries of defense and IT, national oil companies, and police departments from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and the UAE. The latest edition of ISNR will be held under the theme of Connecting Governments, Society, and Business, Through Innovation, Leadership, and Excellence to Build Safer Communities and Ensure a More Resilient World, said the statement. Demonstrating the strong business opportunity, ISNR 2014 drove over $300 million in deals and partnerships. Continuing the momentum, ISNR 2016s business connect team is set to arrange more than 3,000 meetings between government, private sector buyers, and exhibiting companies, a 60 percent growth over 2014. Ten new countries will be participating, along with three new International Pavilions featuring participation from France, Germany, and the US, it added. TradeArabia News Service Japan has enlisted electronics firm Toshiba Corp to help it try to win Asia's biggest defence contract, a A$50 billion ($36 billion) deal to build a dozen submarines for Australia, three sources said. Toshiba is considering building a factory in Australia to make lithium-ion batteries to power the vessels, said the sources who are familiar with the plan but not authorised to talk to the media. The potential investment, which is contingent on Canberra picking the Japanese design, is part of an incentive package promising commercial and defence sector work beyond the submarine programme, aimed at winning over politicians who want jobs in Australia. The proposed plant, which could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, will also fabricate industrial scale power packs for commercial customers around the world, said the sources. Such an investment could be an attractive proposition for Australia, which is seeking other avenues of growth as it grapples with plunging commodity prices. "Australia's prime minister (Malcolm Turnbull) is promoting innovation, and that is something Japan can do," said one of the sources. Australia's submarine industry is based in South Australia, but the sources did not say where Toshiba was considering building a factory. Toshiba denied it was mulling a new Australian battery plant. "There is no such a fact, no such a plan," a spokesman said. A spokesman for Japan's Ministry of Defence said nothing was decided regarding which maker's batteries would be used if its bid was successful. "If Japan is chosen, then Japan and Australia would consider detailed plans over several years and the first discussion would come from there," the spokesman said. BOOST FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA, TOSHIBA Without commenting on Toshiba's potential involvement, South Australia's Minister for Defence Industries Martin Hamilton-Smith said he expected new facilities associated with battery technology would be based in the state as part of any domestic-build option, regardless of who won the tender. "This is an example of the impact the Future Submarines project would have across other industry sectors," he told Reuters in an emailed response. "It also underlines the economic effects of a local build and why such effects should be taken into account when the Federal government considers where the submarines will be built." Australia's Department of Defence did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The choice of Toshiba to supply the Australian submarine batteries would be a boost for the struggling Japanese industrial conglomerate as it braces for a net loss of 710 billion yen ($6.3 billion) this year following a major accounting scandal. It was not immediately clear if the plant would build lithium ion battery cells from scratch or be a cheaper, simpler assembly operation, offering fewer jobs and economic benefits. Toshiba's batteries were picked for the Australian submarine project over those made by GS Yuasa Corp because they are easier to maintain, two of the sources said. GS Yuasa declined to comment, while Japan's Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. JAPAN'S STRENGTHS Japan is offering Australia a variant of its 4,000 ton diesel-electric Soryu submarine built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, with a lithium-ion underwater propulsion system. It is up against France's state-owned builder DCNS, which plans to make a conventional version of its 5,000-tonne Barracuda nuclear-powered submarine, and Germany's ThyssenKrupp (TKMS), which is proposing to scale up its 2,000-ton Type 214 class vessel. Domestic political considerations, particularly jobs for Australian workers, will also weigh on the final choice. Japan was initially slow to commit to build all vessels at South Australian shipyards. But sources told Reuters in January the competition was narrowing to a race between Japan and France as TKMS loses ground over concerns about the technical challenges of scaling up the size of its sub. To win over Australia, Japan's government is also pushing the strategic value of its design over one from Europe. The two U.S. allies in Asia are deepening security ties as Washington pushes its defence partners to work more closely together to balance China's rising regional power. Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida stressed that strategic significance when he met his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop in Tokyo last month. Defence officials in Tokyo, however, worry their bid is undermined by a dearth of experience managing overseas military projects and a lack of industrial ties in Australia it will need to complete the complex vessels, the sources said. Until Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ended a decades-old ban on arms exports in 2014, Japanese military equipment makers had only ever sold kit to domestically. Australia's government has said it will make its submarine pick this year. - Reuters Oman Air, the national carrier of Oman, has selected SmartKargo, providers of air cargo management solution, to power their cargo sales and operations, beginning June 2016. SmartKargo is the only cargo platform that is 100 per cent cloud-based, which delivers a range of benefits for users, including electronic airway bill, highly flexible pricing and ratemaking which increases cargo sales, quick completion of all tasks and 24/7/365 support from trained company experts through three global call centres, said a statement. The cargo company offers a robust set of tools for managing warehouse and ramp operations, accessible from any device with an internet connection and with a system born on the cloud every partner in the Oman Air cargo chain will have instant access to shipment information. Oman Air operates a fleet of 40 wide body and narrow body aircrafts, including brand-new Boeing 787s, to 50 destinations throughout the Gulf and Middle East, and beyond to Europe, Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Abdulrahman Al Busaidy, deputy CEO and chief commercial officer, Oman Air, said: SmartKargo has one of the best solutions in the marketplace. Our objective is to have a rapid deployment of an industry-standard solution without having to spend on infrastructure, and the company meets that criterion. Moreover, its robust and flexible capabilities will help us leverage our joint venture agreement with Cargolux to develop Muscat as a logistics hub, ready to flow a wide range of commodities from the US, Europe, and Africa to destinations throughout the Gulf and Middle East, South Asia, and beyond, he added. Des Vertannes, strategic advisor at SmartKargo said: We are an ideal solution for a rapidly growing airline like Oman Air. Our companys versatility combined with the rapid implementation will enable Oman Air to quickly capture the systems many benefits. In my experience as a recently retired head of cargo at IATA, it used to take many years and millions of dollars to implement a cargo IT solution. Our approach, to create an industry-standard cloud solution is a game changer, he added. TradeArabia News Service The court had heard brief arguments on Kanhaiya Kumar's bail plea and posted it for further hearing on Sunday (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: Taking note of the Delhi Police submission that JNU sedition case has been transferred to its anti-terror cell, a court in New Delhi today allowed the custodial interrogation of two arrested accused students, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, for one more day. The court extended the police custody of the duo, who had allegedly organised the event in JNU on February 9 where anti-India slogans were raised, after police contended that they were required for further probe in the case to unearth the larger conspiracy. According to police sources, the anti-terror unit of Delhi Police's Special Cell to which the case has been transferred, needed some time to interrogate both the accused. The police has claimed that around 22 people present at the flashpoint JNU event, including some outsiders, have been identified after the joint interrogation of Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar arrested in the same case. Both students are in police remand since their surrender and subsequent arrest on February 24. Earlier, the Delhi High Court had ordered that "confidentiality" be maintained during the remand proceedings of the both students, besides Kanhaiya Kumar, while directing the police to ensure that no one "suffers even a scratch" and there is no ruckus this time. Lawyers had allegedly assaulted Kumar when he was brought to Patiala House Court for remand proceedings, in defiance of a Supreme Court order, on February 17. Two days earlier, when Kanhaiya Kumar was to be brought to the court, the same set of lawyers had thrashed journalists and JNU students and teachers. The high court order came during the hearing on Kanhaiya Kumar's bail plea after it was informed that the student leader and Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were apprehending threat to their safety and security during production before Patiala House courts for remand proceedings. The police also inquired whether two of them were the main organisers of the February 9 event against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and whether they were involved in anti-India sloganeering which allegedly took place. The duo had returned to the JNU campus last Sunday after they went missing on February 12. Besides Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, the other students named in the case are Rama Naga, Ashutosh Kumar and Anant Prakash. Ashutosh has joined the investigation with the Delhi Police. The police had issued a look-out notice on February 20 against these students. In its order, the high court had also directed its Registrar General to depute a Metropolitan Magistrate for conducting remand proceedings and asked DCP (South) Prem Nath, who was present inside the courtroom during the hearing, to coordinate with the Registrar General for this. The bench said Kanhaiya Kumar's counsel has apprehended serious threat to his client's life during production before the court for remand proceedings and for this reason, his bail plea was transmitted to the High Court by the Supreme Court. The court had heard brief arguments on Kanhaiya Kumar's bail plea and posted it for further hearing for today with Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta stating that in view of the arrest of Khalid and Bhattacharya, the police would file an application seeking his further custody. The court had also heard separate petitions filed by Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya in which they had sought security before they surrender to police and their advocates told the bench that since their clients have surrendered the prayer "does not survive". Lexus Bahrain has announced a special limited finance offer on the Lexus IS 200t and ES 350. The Lexus ES 350 is now available from BD217 per month and the Lexus IS 200t is available from BD190 per month, said a company statement. The Lexus IS 200t comes with a 241HP petrol turbo-charged engine with innovative direct fuel injection technology for both fuel economy and instantaneous torque. The vehicle delivers acceleration up to a top speed of 230 km/h with its eight-speed sport direct shift transmission originally developed for the RC F. The rear wheel drive IS 200t is the first Lexus sedan to vary gear shifting in accordance to G-forces, revealed the statement. To complement the new form of the ES 350, two 17-inch wheel options with directional spoke patterns have been added. This model is equipped with a 3.5-litre V6 engine, the statement added. Both models are fitted with the Lexus Safety System+ which combines key safety technologies into a single networked package. Among them are the Pre-Crash Safety System, and the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, the Lane Departure Alert (LDA), as well as the Automatic High Beam (AHB). -TradeArabia News Service A first full-fledged travel mart focused on sellers from global business and luxury travel segments was launched at this year's Outbound Travel Mart (OTM 2016), which concluded on an upbeat note last month. OTM 2016 saw more than a 1,000 sellers from 50 participating destinations meet over 6,000 buyers on the exhibition floor. Several global destinations at OTM 2016 participated with the keenness to carve a piece of Indias projected 50 million outbound pie including UAE, Indonesia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Thailand, New Zealand, China, among many others. Organisers of Indias biggest outbound travel trade show, Fairfest Media Limited, launched Business & Luxury Travel Mart (BLTM) to cater to the hundreds of luxury travel buyers in India. India's Business Travel industry is maturing and Business Travel is increasingly seen as a specialised market with differentiated needs, in keeping with global trends. The Indian Luxury Travel segment on the other hand is also rapidly increasing as it enters a new phase where conspicuous consumption by the affluent Indian traveller is creating huge markets globally for luxury travel. The luxury travel demand is fuelled not only by free independent travellers but also by Indians looking to travel for social events like weddings. Hosted Buyers will include Wedding Planners to address this market. Destination promotion for and through film shoots is another somewhat uniquely Indian marketing opportunity that will be made available to the sellers, by way of hosted buyers in this segment, from all over India. The BLTM will be hosted on October 24 and 25 at the sprawling 20,000 sq ft Convention Hall of Hyatt Regency Gurgaon in Delhi NCR. BLTM will provide destination sellers and travel service providers, the ultimate business platform to meet hundreds of corporate MNC buyers from around the Delhi and National Capital Region, plus many qualified meeting planners and incentive travel planners hosted from other major Indian cities to the two-day event. TradeArabia News Service Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) has topped the category of Best Airport by Region: Middle East in the 2015 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Survey, a leading airport passenger satisfaction benchmark programme. This second consecutive win bolsters QAIAs standing as a front-runner in its sector, setting it among the worlds best airports for passenger satisfaction and service quality. Among other regional airports, QAIA shared this category with Abu Dhabi International Airport and Doha International Airport, which tied for second place, as well as Dubai International Airport and King Fahd International Airport that tied for third. In the rapidly evolving world of aviation, the ASQ Survey - published annually by the worldwide association of airports, Airports Council International (ACI) - is essential to understanding how airports can increase passenger satisfaction and improve business performance. Based on the cumulative results of individual ASQ passenger satisfaction surveys, which are completed every month of the year, the 2015 Survey revealed that QAIA once again registered exceptional improvements in all 34 key performance indicators across 18 key elements in the Best Airport by Region: Middle East category. In order to be eligible for the ASQ Awards, QAIA strictly adhered to the ASQ Survey, submitting a representative sample of its flight schedule, destinations and passengers served. In addition, ACI conducted regular on-ground audits and passenger interviews to guarantee compliance with quality control procedures and to validate results. Ensuring continuous enhancement of customer service levels at QAIA, Airport International Group implemented additional internal customer satisfaction tools, which monitor all touch points and services and seek to understand passenger perceptions through surveys and complaint management systems, enabling the Airport to work on any shortcomings that might deter passenger satisfaction. On his part, Airport International Group CEO, Kjeld Binger, said: For QAIA to be bestowed with the title of Best Airport by Region: Middle East for the second successive year is a great honour and a truly gratifying reward for us all. The fact that we have been recognised once again by our passengers through such a prestigious global organization is further testament to our consistent track record of achievements and of our dedicated efforts toward sustaining our standing as one of the top 20 airports, which serves five to 15 million passengers. Looking back at how far we have come since the new terminal was inaugurated by His Majesty King Abdullah II in 2013, it is clear that our competitive advantage lies in our conveniently smaller size, which makes for shorter transit processes and walking distances, not to mention Jordans stability and strategic proximity to Europe and Africa, making QAIA an ideal gateway for business and leisure passengers. Since its inception in 2006, the ASQ Survey has emerged as the worlds leading airport passenger satisfaction benchmark programme with more than 300 airports participating, across 80 countries. ASQ is the only global airport survey based on measuring passengers satisfaction while they are at the airport. Its scientific methodology, strict quality control procedures and commitment to impartiality have won industry recognition and established the ASQ Survey as the global standard for measuring passenger satisfaction. Almost 600,000 passengers per year are interviewed prior to boarding their flight and asked to rate their satisfaction with the airports services. TradeArabia News Service New Delhi: Stepping up their agitation against arrest of JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar and two others in a sedition case, the students will march to Parliament tomorrow demanding the release of those jailed in the case. "We are going to hold a solidarity march to Parliament tomorrow to protest the stifling of dissent in JNU, Hyderabad university and elsewhere through sedition charges," JNUSU Vice President Shehla Rashid Shora. The protest march which will be joined by academicians and students from various universities across Delhi, will begin from Mandi House area at 2 PM tomorrow. "We want to take up our issues to the PMO, MHRD and the Home Minister. We will also be approaching the NHRC and the Minority Commission to register our concerns at the functioning of the Delhi Police and the continuing threats of physical violence against Kanhaiya, Umar and Anirban," she added. The students have been agitating on campus ever since Kanhaiya was arrested in a sedition case in connection with an event against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Following Kanhaiya's arrest- five students who were being searched by police in the case- Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, Ashutosh Kumar, Anant Prakash and Rama Naga- had gone into hiding fearing "mob-lynching". They resurfaced back on campus 10 days later. While Umar and Anirban surrendered before the police, the remaining three refused to do so but maintained that they are open to questioning by police as and when needed. "Our major demands include release of the three students, revoking sedition charges and the varsity suspension order," Shehla said. The students are also demanding resignation of HRD Minister Smriti Irani alleging that she "misused powers" and "peddled lies" regarding the row at JNU and Hyderabad University where a dalit scholar -Rohith Vemula- was found hanging in a hostel room. "We want the government to enact a 'Rohith Act' to end caste based discrimination in universities and educational institutions," she added. Thiruvananthapuram: Echoes of the ruckus in Parliament over the Mahishasura comment, by HRD Minister Smriti Irani, were heard in newsrooms across the country. But Sindhu Sooryakumar, anchor who moderated a debate on the topic on a local channel in Thiruvananthapuram, is having to bear the brunt over something she had little to do with. With over 2,000 hate calls abusing her and threatening her, Sindhu has become the target of misguided ire of pro-Hindutva groups. I have been getting calls every minute. The main allegation is that I abused Durga, calling her a sex worker. Most of the abusers called me a prostitute and abused me. Some threatened me while others didnt even know what the charge was. I got a call this morning from someone asking whether I was Durga. Another person called me sometime ago, saying I had posted something against Durga on Facebook, and that he wanted to abuse me for that, The Indian Express quoted Sindhu as saying. The report also pointed out that the derogatory comments on Durga was actually quoted by Kerala BJP State Secretary, from the pamphlet allegedly published by the JNU students. Union Minister Smriti Irani also quoted her controversial statements in the Parliament form the same pamphlet. Five people have been arrested so far regarding the case, following a complaint by Sindu. All of those arrested belong to the various pro-Hindutva groups including Sri Ram Sena. One of the accused from Thiruvananthapuram revealed to the police that he got the news presenter's number after it was shared in a WhatsApp group called Sanga Dhwani. The members of the group were asked to call and abuse her for a Facebook post on Durga, the man claimed. The news channels routine functioning has also taken a hit after the incident, with the usual lines clogged with hundreds of phone calls trying to reach Sindhu. New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Labour (independent charge) Bandaru Dattatreya on Tuesday accused Congress's Jyotiraditya Scindia for 'tarnishing his image', and said that he never mentioned Hyderabad PhD scholar Rohith Vemula's name in the letter sent to the HRD ministry. "I never mentioned Rohith's name (in the letter to the HRD Ministry). I never mentioned any student's name or any organisation of the university as casteist or anti-social or anti-national element. Jyotiraditya has tarnished my image," Dattatreya told the reporters here. "But, I have mentioned the petition which came for me through a BJP vice-president which I forwarded to the HRD Minister because whatever were the activities prevailing in the university, I wanted to make it correct. I don't want any punishment for anybody but my intention was only to see that these activities when Yakub Memon incident was glorified, I thought that I should mention that one," he added. Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia on February 24 accused the BJP-led government of creating an atmosphere of intolerance in the country and alleged that efforts were on to crush any opposing point of view. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Scindia demanded action against Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani and Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya over Rohith's suicide. Rohith, who committed suicide in Hyderabad Central University, along with four other Dalit students was allegedly expelled from hostel following a tussle with students affiliated with the student wing of the BJP, Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He belonged to Guntur district of Amravati and was doing his PhD in science technology and society studies for the past two years, before the scholar allegedly got involved in a tiff between two student groups in August last year. Minister said the ISIS funding in India is mostly through the self-financing mechanism. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: As many as 24 people were arrested by the NIA for their suspected links with ISIS and the outfit's funding in India is mostly through self-financing mechanism, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said the National Investigation Agency and police of some states have registered cases and arrested some active cadres affiliated to ISIS in the recent past. "So far, NIA has arrested 24 accused (Jammu and Kashmir - 1, Karnataka - 7, Madhya Pradesh - 1, Maharashtra - 7, Tamil Nadu - 1, Telangana - 4 and Uttar Pradesh - 3) in the cases being investigated by the agency," he said in a written reply. Chaudhary said the ISIS funding in India is mostly through the self-financing mechanism. "However, hawala channel has also been used in one or two instances to raise funds," he said. The Minister said ISIS uses both positive and negative imagery to attract recruits from across the world but it has influenced or attracted very few youths from India. Chaudhary said the dreaded terror group is using various internet based platforms for propaganda and to propagate its ideology. The intelligence and security agencies monitor the cyber space closely to identify potential recruits and keep them under surveillance and take further action if necessary. In order to assess the threat posed by ISIS and to devise a national strategy to deal with it, "meetings have been held by the Ministry of Home Affairs with all the central agencies concerned and the state governments," he said. Chaudhary said government has taken all necessary measures to counter the incipient threat posed by the ISIS and further details cannot be disclosed in the interest of national security. Hyderabad: In the revised estimates, the Centres revenue has come down to 8 per cent from 12.5 per cent in the Budget estimate. Every month, the Centre allots around Rs 2,000 crore to the State under tax devolutions. Due to shortfall of revenue, the Centre will cut Rs 342 crore in March. Principal secretary, finance, P.V. Ramesh said that this was a big blow to the state government. In the Union Budget allocations, the state government had requested the Centre to make provisions of Rs 4,000 crore for Amaravati and Rs 4,000 crore for Polavaram. However, not a single rupee was allocated for the capital in the budget and only Rs 100 crore was allotted for the Polavaram project. The state government had requested release of 50 per cent of outstanding arrears of Rs 13,000 crore to fill the revenue gap in the previous financial year and to make a provision in the budget for the remaining 50 per cent. But the Centre did not consider this request too. For the Vijayawada Metro Rail project, the Centre has allotted Rs 106 crore as its equity share, and only `3 lakh for the Vizag Metro Rail project. For Central and Tribal universities, allocations of only Rs 1 crore each was made. Mr Ramesh said that the Vizag Metro Rail project and the Central and Tribal Universities had not yet been sanctioned by the Central government and thus it had made notional allotments to these projects. Once the Centre accepts these projects, it would release the required funds, he said. Regarding the Polavaram project Mr Ramesh said that the Centre had indicated to the state government that whatever amount the state spends would be reimbursed. The principal secretary, told the media that the Centre had copied many schemes of the state government to implement at the national level. He said the state governments schemes like Deepam (gas connections), NTR health scheme, direct payments of all cash disbursement schemes such as pensions, scholarships, digitalisation of revenue records, generic medicines scheme and others had been copied. He added that the Centre had increased 15 per cent funds to Central government schemes and the state government could make money out of that. Figures as per the report show that in the urban areas, there were 25,10,169 stray dogs while in rural areas, there was 1,46,28,180 stray dogs. New Delhi: In the backdrop of increase in the number of dog bite incidents, the government on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha there were around 1.71 crore stray dogs in different parts of the country. "The information regarding the number of stray dogs as published in the 19th Livestock Census 2012 by the department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture in both rural and urban areas in states and UTs is 1,71,38,349 as per table number 79 of the above report," Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said in a written reply. Figures as per the report show that in the urban areas, there were 25,10,169 stray dogs while in rural areas, there was 1,46,28,180 stray dogs. Javadekar said the Animal Welfare Board of India has released grants-in-aid under the scheme for birth control and immunisation of stray dogs and the number of dogs sterilised under it are 89,708 in 2012-13, 48,405 in 2013-14, and 31,341 in 2014-15. He said several municipal corporations were also carrying out sterilisation programme of street dogs. He said as per the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules 2001, it was the responsibility of the local authority or the municipal corporation to control the population of street dogs. He said that action is taken against the animal welfare organisation as per the guidelines of the scheme and general financial rules in case of any default on their part in carrying out sterilisation. As per reports, Supreme Court too recently asked Kerala whether measures can be taken to collect stray dogs in one place and sterilise them as per the law. The menace of stray dogs has been on the rise in Chandigarh, with nearly 500 dog bite cases being reported from the city each month and the municipal authorities battling to find a solution to the problem, a recent report said. New Delhi: The terror attack on Pathankot Airbase in January was carried out by Pakistan's "non-state actors" who operate with support of the Pakistani establishment, government suggested in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. "The complete details will come out in the NIA investigation. But in this, non-state actors from Pakistan are surely involved. This is for sure. Any non-state actors there, they cannot function smoothly without full state support," Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said. He was responding to a question by Shiv Sena member Sanjay Raut who wanted to know whether it was merely a terror attack or an armed operation carried out with the support of Pakistani army. Replying to supplementaries, Parrikar said intelligence had been received about the possible attack indicating Pathankot Army installations as suspected targets. Following the attack, steps are underway to ensure that vital defence installations in the country are secure. "We have now done a security audit in addition to the normal security and are in the process of ensuring that all Army installations will be properly secured," he said. Asked if the Airbase would be shifted from Pathankot in Punjab as it is perilously close to the border, Parrikar ruled it out. "A lot of investment has been carried out in Pathankot and it will be very costly to shift the Airbase. But we have other bases which we have created," the Defence Minister said. "Other bases are strategically located within the country, much inside the border, but Pathankot is also equally important because it is closer to the enemy border," he said. Parrikar refused to share further details of the attack, saying the NIA is already investigating the matter and investigations are on. "...Further details about the incident cannot be given till the investigation is complete," he said. In a written reply, the Minister said, "Government has constituted a Committee under the chairmanship of a former Vice Chief of Army Staff to inter-alia suggest measures to strengthen security of various military establishments across the country." He said, "The Committee appointed is to ensure that defence establishment security audit and any lack of security aspects and to further improve the security aspects and to give suggestions on that." He said in his written reply that a group of terrorists attacked the Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab, in the intervening night of January and 2, 2016 and a joint operation by the Army, Air Force and National Security Guard (NSG) was conducted to neutralise the terrorist attack. "The terrorists were confined to non-residential and non-operational area of the base. Thereby, they were successfully prevented from damaging the strategic assets of Indian Air Force," he said. Muslim women have their hands tied while the guillotine of divorce dangles, perpetually ready to drop at the whims of their husbands who enjoy undisputed power. (Photo: PTI, Representational Image) New Delhi: The Supreme Court has sought the Centre's response in a plea challenging the constitutionality of Muslim practices of polygamy, triple talaq (talaq-e-bidat) and nikah halala. Talaq-e bidat is a Muslim man divorcing his wife by pronouncing more than one talaq in a single tuhr (the period between two menstruations), or in a tuhr after coitus, or pronouncing an irrevocable instantaneous divorce at one go (unilateral triple-talaq). A bench comprising justices A R Dave and Adarsh Kumar Goel issued notice to Ministry of Minority Affairs and tagged the matter with the similar suo moto petition heard by the Supreme Court. Petitioner Shayara Bano said in her petition she was subjected to cruelty, and dowry demands, from her husband and his family. She claimed she was administered drugs that "that caused her memory to fade, kept her unconscious" and made her "critically ill" at which point her husband divorced her by triple talaq. She challenged the constitutionality of Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 in so far as it seeks to recognise and validate polygamy, triple talaq and nikah halala. The petitioner also challenged the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 saying that it fails to provide Indian Muslim women with protection from bigamy. Bano stated in her petition that the issue of gender discrimination against Muslim women under Muslim personal laws, specifically the lack of safeguards against arbitrary divorce and second marriage by a Muslim husband during currency of first marriage notwithstanding the guarantees of the Constitution, needs to be examined by the Supreme Court. "Muslim women have their hands tied while the guillotine of divorce dangles, perpetually ready to drop at the whims of their husbands who enjoy undisputed power. Such discrimination and inequality hoarsely expressed in the form of unilateral triple-talaq is abominable when seen in light of the progressive times of the 21st century. "Further, once a woman has been divorced, her husband is not permitted take her back as his wife even if he had pronounced talaq under influence of any intoxicant, unless the woman undergoes nikah halala which involves her marriage with another man who subsequently divorces her so that her previous husband can re-marry her," her plea said. New Delhi: Shiv Sena member Arvind Sawant on Tuesday demanded that the word 'Sindh' in the national anthem be removed and replaced with an appropriate word, saying there was no state by that name in the country. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, he said that as the national anthem was adopted by Parliament, it should initiate action to remove the word. Sawant said a correct word with appropriate pronunciation should replace the word 'Sindh'. The National anthem 'Jana Gana Mana', composed by Nobel laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore in 1911, was adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1950. Raising other issues, NCP member Supriya Sule asked the government to ban 'pan masala' as it was carcinogenic and a public health hazard. A P Jithender Reddy (TRS) suggested that the fares of luxury train Maharajas' Express should also be expressed in rupees for Indian citizens. Currently, the fare of Maharajas' Express, which is operated by Indian Railways for tourists, is mentioned only in US dollars. BJP member Maheish Girri demanded that a helipad should be built in East Delhi, saying it would come handy in dealing with emergencies or natural calamities. Moreover, the helipad would also ensure easier movement of VIPs without disrupting normal traffic, he added. Congress member Shashi Tharoor suggested that a National Institute of Medicinal Plant should be set up in Thiruvananthapuram. He also wanted to government to immediately to release Rs 50 lakh for setting up of the institute. Tony Wheeler, founder of Lonely Planet and world pioneer of experiential travel has joined the WildChina Explorer Grant judging panel for 2016. (TRAVPR.COM) CHINA - 1st March, 2016 -We are thrilled to welcome Tony Wheeler to the panel, says Mei Zhang, WildChina Founder and CEO. Each year we invite judges who exemplify the idea of mindful exploration promoted by the WildChina Explorer Grant. For us, Tonys dedication to venturing beyond the boundaries of conventional travel makes him an authority in this area. Tony joins the panel alongside Zhang and Xi Zhinong, one of Chinas first wildlife photographers. Xi was the first person to capture the endangered Yunnan snub-nosed monkey on film and as a regular contributor to National Geographic China, has since created a number of high profile documentaries. Also on the panel is COO of Chinas no. 1 travel community website Qyer.com Jinghui Cai and 2014 WildChina Explorer Ricky Qi. Cai collaborated with Tony Wheeler to bring Lonely Planet to China and continues to make solo exploratory travel more accessible to Chinese travelers. With over 5000 votes cast, the public have chosen the 5 finalists who will now be considered by the judges for the grant. Finalists projects include creating a star map of Yunnan Province, documenting the culinary traditions of Chinas minority cultures, and attempting to establish new rock-climbing routes in Chinas western regions. Each project aspires to make unprecedented findings within its field through exploration. Previously, the WildChina Explorer Grant has helped support expeditions in search of rare lotus flowers in rugged Xinjiang and the filming of a documentary about Chinas last matriarchal society in the far reaches of the Himalayas. Every year we are so inspired by our applicants passion for exploration and their desire to dig deeper and travel further, says Zhang. The quality of applications this year has astounded us and it brings me great pleasure to support this exciting next generation of explorers though I am sure that choosing a winner is going to be a tough decision to make. ENDS About WildChina Travel Established in 2000, WildChina is a luxury travel company specializing in authentic experiential travel. We offer bespoke journeys and expert-led small group tours that cater to the curious traveler and facilitate in-depth exploration of people and places. Our innovative style has been critically recognized through numerous awards including National Geographic Traveler "Tours of a Lifetime; Travel + Leisure Best Life Changing Trips; and Fast Company 50 Most Innovative Companies. In 2011, we launched our outbound brand, Beshan Travel, bringing our award-winning travel style to Chinese. Trend-setters for experiential travel in the Chinese market, we have been featured by China's biggest travel and lifestyle magazines including Conde Nast, Harpers Bazaar, and Vogue. We have also been named one of China's top 12 luxury travel companies in 2015 by Hurun Report. WildChina is widely recognized as a leader in luxury China travel. The Harvard Business Review named WildChina a leader in its field, and the many industry awards the company has received include: FastCompany 50 Most Innovative Companies (2014) National Geographic Traveler 50 Tours of a Lifetime (2012, 2013, 2014) Travel & Leisure Best Life-Changing Trips (2010) National Geographic Adventure Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth (2009) Mei Zhang, Travel & Leisure A list agent (2009-2015) Mei Zhang, Conde Nast Traveler Top travel expert (2010-2014). For more information about WildChina Travel: www.wildchina.com ### Search News Archive : Fast Travel News Promotion Via Search, Social Media + Email Follow Us On : VISA-VIETNAM.ORG PROPOSES DISCOUNTED VISAS FOR FREQUENT MEMBERS Industry: Visas As an expression of generosity, Visa-Vietnam.org offers Vietnam visas at discounted rates up to 22% for frequent customers. (TRAVPR.COM) VIET NAM - March 1st, 2016 - One of the leading travel agents in Vietnam, Visa-Vietnam.org offers Vietnam visa at reasonable rates with their 'Frequently Member' program. Travellers who regularly apply for visas through their web service can claim up to 22% discount for the service fee displayed. Visa-Vietnam.org is renowned for their Visa on Arrival service by which the firm has developed a base of delighted customers. Notably, the agent provides visas at affordable rates with easy accessibility and faster processing times. The company asserts that travellers who apply for Vietnam visa through their website can be sure of receiving them stamped as they arrive at the airport. A spokesperson elaborated, "Our Frequently Member program is designed to express gratefulness to our customers who often applies for visas through us. With membership program, we offer 18% discount from 2nd order, 20% percent discount from 5th order and 22% discounts for 10th order and above. We are elated by the response and we couldn't thank them more for that." The company has also setup a separate program for corporate members. For customers enrolled in their 'Corporate Members' program, the firm provides visas with 26% discount. "It's not just about the discounted rates we offer, but the convenience of service being rewarded to our customers. Our service excludes the need for visiting and staying in long queues at embassy or consulate. And they don't have to wait any longer as our dedicated team will process their applications in a swift and steady manner," expressed the spokesperson. The firm is open for 24 hours, committed to offering their services for travellers. All their services are in compliance with the regulations as enforced by law. "We established from 2007 with service of arranging visa pre-approval letter for picking up visa on arrival at international airport of Vietnam. The visa pre-approval letter and visa issuing office at airports come from Vietnam Immigration for making travelers getting visa to Vietnam with less hassle, especially for travelers coming from country without embassy or consulate of Vietnam," revealed the spokesperson. Customer satisfaction is a top priority for the firm, which is evident from their refund policy. The firm explained that they would refund the entire expenses incurred for visa application if the customers are unsatisfied with their services. About Company: Visa-Vietnam.org is a travel agent established to offer Vietnam visas in fast, affordable and reliable manner. They process applications in less than 24 hours and offer them upon arrival at the airport for travellers. ### Please contact the person or company listed above for information regarding the content of this press release. TravPR.com are not the issuers of this press release and are not responsible for the accuracy of the content. Share Release : CONTACT INFORMATION Name: Ta Hoai Nam Company: Nam Thang Travel Co., LTD Phone: 84966569956 Email: visavietor@gmail.com Web: PRESS RELEASE TAGS A seasoned hotelier with 25 years of experience with special expertise in business development and working with luxury hotels, Mr. Mathur is perfectly suited to open this distinctive new property in Raipur. (TRAVPR.COM) MAHARASHTRA - March 1st, 2016 - Mr. Mathur has held a variety of positions of progressive responsibility at luxury hotels across New Delhi and Ahmedabad. Before joining the Marriott family, Akhil served on the management teams for The Park Calangute in Goa, the Country Inn in Saket and the Fortune Park DJ Avenue by ITC, in New Delhi where he was responsible for the development, planning and growth of the DJ Group and oversee all their corporate business operations, whilst effectively managing the hospitality division. He served as Director of Business Development at The Hilton New Delhi Janakpuri, as the Director of Marketing Communications at Le Meridien and as Sales Manager at The Leela Palaces Hotels and Resorts, New Delhi. To Courtyard by Marriott Raipur, Mr. Mathur brings his rich experience of working with various prominent luxurious hospitality brands. Mr. Mathur believes a leader should walk the talk, be a good listener and have the ability to take success and failure with equal composure. Mr. Mathur holds a Bachelors degree from IHM Ahmedabad and has attended The Cornell Universitys School of Hotel Administration, in the US. ### EyfeorTravel Asia talks about creating a seamless travel experience (TRAVPR.COM) SINGAPORE - March 1st, 2016 - 1st March 2016 Singapore Travel brands are being made to work harder with the shifting use of mobile, social media, sharing economies and the gradual move from offline to online across Asia. They need to plan new strategies, develop new teams and refocus their budgets while trying to maximise ROI and build new revenue streams We need to remember what makes you (and all our customers) want to travel today? The call of the sea, a life changing business deal, whistling windy mountains or maybe even the mayhem of a city? And we need to know how to service not just the booking but the trip itself. Travellers like to plan, experience, customise and have an itinerary built for just them. To shed light on the growth of the Asian market and how mobile is driving consumer engagement and numbers for travel brands, Tim Gunstone, Managing Director for EyeforTravel said "We are at a tipping point where brands can focus on the customer experience, consumer behaviour and the need to engage and build relationships with these connected travellers right through the travel cycle. and at the centre of it all we have data! Asia has always been an important market to EyeforTravel and now in its 12th year in Singapore the event has changed angle to reflect the demands of their TDS Asia conference attendees, as well as the shifts taking place in the industry. With this in mind EyeforTravel Asia Summit (15-16th June) is perfectly placed to bring together the key thinkers from both the traditional travel market and the new disruptive talent. Their list of speakers extends from: Oliver Hua , Managing Director - Asia-Pacific region, Booking.com Louis Song , Business Director, Tencent International Niklas Schlappkohl , Senior Director, eCommerce, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group Ryan Furguson , Head of Sales- APAC, Google Paul Whiteway, Sales Director, Skyscanner Chua Hui-Lin, CEO, Singapore ZUJI Puneet Mahindroo, Director, Revenue Management - APAC , Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts Jeroen Vaassen, Senior Director - Revenue Management, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Grant Colquhoun , Senior Director of Account manager APAC, TripAdvisor Jia-en-Tao, Co-Founder, Roomorama Steven Greenway , Head of Commercial, Scoot Airlines Ranjeet Oak , Chief Business Officer, MakeMyTrip Learn more about the topics and what the this c-level speaker list will cover: http://events.eyefortravel.com/travel-distribution-summit-asia/ The event will explore topics like: Direct vs Indirect Balancing the Relationship: Understand the importance of analysing your distribution channels and smart marketing tools to ensure you are pricing accurately Revenue Management Systems: Whats New? New distribution channels, digital transformations and other factors changing the revenue management model? Social Media: Keeping your Customers Happy Learn how travel brands are using smart analytics to create customer profiles with their data to better engage customers, build loyalty and bring them back as repeat customers China in a League of its Own: Discuss how local Chinese companies are investing internationally to cater to their growing outbound travellers and the rise of Chinese centric travel brands EyeforTravel Asia Summit (15-16 June) is an intimate networking and discussion event that unites 400+ leading players from travel market from the hotels, airlines, online marketing and PR teams, data integrators, software developers, social media experts, tech innovators and government to examine the steps needed to develop and deploy a strong business model to create market traction and engage the connected traveller with their host of services. Register now to save $300 with our limited passes. EyeforTravel is a community where the world's top online travel brands from hotels to airlines, online travel agents, cruise, car hire firms and more come to meet to drive forward growth and innovation in the industry. We aim to provide you with industry focused news, events, reports, updates and information. EyeforTravel Limited is a registered company. The Company Registration number is 06286442. It is also registered in England & Wales. Registered office is 7-9 Fashion Street, London E1 6PX, United Kingdom. Shreya Ganapathy Project and Research Director Asia and Middle East | EyeForTravel + 44 20 7375 7150 shreya@eyefortravel.com ### Swine flu has claimed 34 lives in Rajasthan in January and February this year (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: An advisory has been issued to all states to step up their preparedness to tackle swine flu, Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday. "Government has issued an advisory to all the state governments and UTs to step up preparedness for H1N1 Influenza," Union Health Minister J P Nadda said in a written reply. The advisory includes enhanced surveillance, capacity for laboratory diagnosis, setting up of screening centres in outpatient departments of hospitals and earmarking isolation wards, including ventilator beds. The advisory also includes stocking of personal protective equipments and to make drug Oseltamivir available and also to create awareness among the public for early reporting to hospitals for treatment, Nadda said. This comes after the disease has claimed 62 lives in various states, including Rajasthan and Punjab. Swine flu has claimed 34 lives in Rajasthan in January and February this year. Out of 2,000 samples collected in the state, 162 people have tested positive, he said, adding that of them, 34 had succumbed to the H1N1 virus. Seven more deaths due to swine flu were recently reported in Punjab, taking the death toll from the disease to 24, while four persons including three women died of the H1N1 virus in Haryana. Fishermen who gathered in Valluvar Kottam take out a rally towards the Lankan Deputy High Commission in Nungambakkam on Monday pressing a charter of demands including immediate relase of Indian fishermen languishing in Lankan jails. (Photo: DC) Chennai: High drama was witnessed during protest by states fishermen pressing a-three-point-charter of demands against the Sri Lankan government on Monday at Nungambakkam after two participants attempted self-immolation. Fishermen from Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, and Thoothukudi, participated in the demonstration. Following the protest by fisherfolk, the neighbouring island government ordered the release of 27 Indian fishermen languishing in its prisons with immediate effect. The protesters who gathered at Valluvar Kottam marched towards the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission at Nungambakkam. Security was in place to prevent them from going beyond Tank Bund Road. The firsherfolk objected to the barricading and attempted to go towards the diplomatic mission. Policemen convinced them to get into the vehicles kept to ferry them to shelters in police custody. As policemen were engrossed in removing the protesters from the spot, two participants Felix Mary and Muniyasamy from Ramanathapuram district, doused themselves with kerosene. The police removed the duo to safety. The protesters were lodged in community and marriage halls at Nungambakkam, Thousand Lights and Choolaimedu. Those arrested were released in the evening. The AP government prepared plans to get at least 20 per cent of funds from the Centre and 60 per cent from Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA). (Representational image) Vijayawada: The Vijayawada Metro Rail project has got only Rs 106 crore funds, a meagre allocation even while the state government wants to complete it by 2018. As per the project plans, the Centre should extend Rs 1,200 crore, as part of its share while Rs 6,000 crore is needed to complete it. The AP government prepared plans to get at least 20 per cent of funds from the Centre and 60 per cent from Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA). Now, the project may be delayed due to the poor allocation of funds by the Centre. JICA asked the state government to give it 16 months to approve the project. According to the officials, Rs 850 crore is required for land acquisition and evacuation under rehabilitation and relief works, before launching the project. The state government has opened a separate office for supervision of metro rail works and also decided to set up a special corporation dedicated to the project. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has prepared the DPRs for the project. Several foreign companies are inspecting the project. Against this backdrop, the state government and metro rail corporation have been drawing plans to extend the project up to Gannavaram airport from Ramavarapadu and from Pundit Nehru Bus Station to Amaravati capital in another direction. The present allocations are meagre and the project may get delayed. The government may not focus on further expansion plans, said one official. However, Metro Rail Corporation managing director G. Ramakrishna Reddy expressed satisfaction over the allocation of funds in the Budget. New Delhi, March 1 Under all-round attack, the government today promised to consider demands for a partial rollback of the proposal to tax 60 per cent of withdrawals from provident fund and a ceiling on employers contribution but made it clear that PPF will continue to be tax exempt. Earlier in the day, Revenue Secretary Hashmukh Adhia said only 60 per cent of interest on contributions made after April 1, 2016 will be taxed and that the principal amount of contribution will remain untouched at the time of withdrawal. However, in the evening a government press note said a proposal to tax only interest and not principal is under consideration. After that Adhia also said there was a demand being made to this effect and it would be taken into consideration. The press note said the new tax proposal was aimed at taxing only the high salaried individuals totalling about 70 lakh people out of the 3.7 crore employee provident fund (EPF) members. About 3 crore individuals come under the statutory wage limit of Rs 15,000 per month so will not be affected by the proposed changes. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget for 2016-17 yesterday had proposed that 60 per cent of the withdrawal on contribution to employee PF made after April 1 this year will be subject to tax. This would apply to superannuation funds and recognised provident funds, including EPF. He also proposed a monetary limit for contribution of employer in recognised PF and superannuation fund at Rs 1.5 lakh per annum for taking tax benefit. The proposal came under immediate attack from various employees unions, including RSS-backed BMS, and political parties who termed it as "an attack on the working class and a clear case of double taxation." The Finance Ministry issued a press note containing a clarification about the proposed changes in the tax treatment of recognised PFs and recognised pension schemes noting that there seems to be some amount of lack of understanding about the changes made in the Budget on the issue. "We have received representations today from various sections suggesting that if the amount of 60 per cent of corpus is not invested in the annuity products, the tax should be levied only on accumulated returns on the corpus and not on the contributed amount. "We have also received representations asking for not having any monetary limit on the employer contribution under EPF, because such a limit is not there in NPS. The Finance Minister would be considering all these suggestions and taking a view on it in due course," the press note said. All contributions and interest accrued to EPF before April 1, 2016, will not attract any tax on withdrawal. The press note said the purpose of this reform of making the change in tax regime is to encourage more number of private sector employees to go for pension security after retirement instead of withdrawing the entire money from the Provident Fund Account. Towards this objective, the government announced that 40 per cent of the total corpus withdrawn at the time of retirement will be tax exempt both under recognised Provident Fund and NPS. "It is expected that the employees of private companies will place the remaining 60 per cent of the corpus in annuity, out of which they can get regular pension. When this 60 per cent of the remaining corpus is invested in Annuity, no tax is chargeable. So what it means is that the entire corpus will be tax free, if invested in annuity," it said. The government in the Budget also made another change to say that when the person investing in annuity dies and when the original corpus goes in the hands of his heirs, then again there will be no tax. The idea behind this mechanism, it said, was to encourage people to invest in pension products rather than withdraw and use the entire corpus after retirement. "However, in EPFO, there are about 60 lakh contributing members who have accepted EPF voluntarily and they are high-paid employees of private sector companies. For this category of people, amount at present can be withdrawn without any tax liability. We are changing this," the press note said. Such employee can withdraw without tax liability provided they contribute 60 per cent in annuity product so that pension security can be created for him according to his earning level. However, if he chooses not to put any amount in annuity product the tax would not be charged on 40 per cent only. "There is no change in the existing tax treatment of Public Provident Fund (PPF)," it said. Currently there are no monetary ceilings on the employer contribution under EPF with only ceiling being that it would be 12 per cent of the salary of the employee member. Similarly, there is no monetary ceiling on the employer contribution under NPS, except that it would be 10 per cent of salary. The Finance Bill 2016 provides that there would be monetary ceiling of Rs 1.5 lakh on employer contribution considered with the ceiling of the 12 per cent rate of employer contribution, whichever is less. In an interview to PTI, Adhia said withdrawal of principal amount contributed to EPF after April 1 would remain exempt from any tax and its only the interest on contributions made after April 1, 2016 which will be taxed. The purpose (of the Budget proposal) is not to mobilise revenue. We want people to move towards a pension society. So we have given another incentive wherein the investment in annuity product will be tax exempt. Annuity product was always taxable. But here, even after death of a person when the money is transferred to legal heir, we have made it tax exempt," he said. Central trade unions oppose proposal, threaten nationwide strike The Central trade unions have opposed the Budget proposal to tax EPF withdrawals and as many as 11 of them have planned to go on a nationwide strike on March 10 to protest against governments unilateral labour reforms and anti-worker policies, including taxation of EPF withdrawals. This is an anti-worker Budget proposal. Taxing PF means double taxation. PF is deducted from a salary on which workers have already paid tax... tax should be imposed on new income. PF accumulation are not generated or new income, BMS general secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said. He said BMS would write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to protest against these proposals and demand to roll those back. All-India Trade Union Congress general secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said this issue would be raised by Left parties in Parliament while debate on the Budget. At present, social security schemes run by retirement fund body EPFO fall under Exempt-Exempt-Exempt scheme in which deposits, accrual of interest and withdrawals are tax free. Chartered Accountancy firm Nangia & Co said the current tax structure of National Pension Scheme (NPS) was Exempt-Exempt-Tax, which was at a sharp disadvantage to the other major retirement products such as the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the Public Provident Fund (PPF). To remove the anomalies and inconsistencies in the taxation of the NPS, the government has given partial relief by giving exemption of 40 per cent at the time of withdrawal in order to encourage retirement savings, Nangia & Co Executive Director Neha Malhotra said. PTI Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 1 The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) today decided to waive the five-year lock-in period in transfer cases of dwelling units allotted by it under all schemes. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the CHB here. At the last meeting of the board, the condition of the five-year lock-in period was waived only in the case of the General Self-Financing Housing Scheme, Sector 63, Chandigarh. The board said to give relief to all allottees, it had been decided to waive the condition of the lock-in-period and the decision would be applicable in all types of transfer cases of dwelling units allotted by the board. Under the earlier condition, the flat owners could not sell the house before the completion of the five-year lock-in period. The board has also allowed allottees to make internal changes in their dwelling units/flats/apartments without approval from the CHB, subject to the following conditions. The internal changes are required to be certified as structurally safe. The owners are required to get the structures (to be added or modified) certified, designed and supervised during construction by qualified structural engineers having ME/MTech (who are registered with the Chandigarh Administration) for safety purposes. Prior written consent of allottees of all floors in the block shall be obtained by the allottee so that there is no nuisance to anyone arising out of leakages and cracks. The internal changes should be in line with the updated Chandigarh urban development laws and the latest National Building Code (light, ventilation and area), certified by an architect registered with the Council of Architects. It will also be ensured that that the internal changes are within the building line, skyline and within the plotted area without any increase in the covered area and there is no change in the facade of the building so as to present a uniform street picture. The board has also reversed the cancellation order of 77 flats under the rehabilitation scheme. CHB appoints banks for housing scheme The CHB has appointed seven banks for the upcoming housing scheme under which 128 two-bedroom flats will be constructed in Sector 51-A, Chandigarh. The banks are the State Bank of India, Sector 9, CHB Branch, Punjab National Bank, Sector 8 branch, Axis Bank, Sector 8 branch, ICICI Bank, Sector 9 branch, Allahabad Bank, Sector 17 branch, Punjab & Sind Bank, Sector 11 branch and IndusInd Bank, Sector 8 branch. Tribune News Service Ludhiana/Chandigarh, Feb 29 Delhi Chief Minister and national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal was today attacked by a mob which threw stones at his car near Hassanpur village in Ludhiana. It is probably the first time that a visiting Chief Minister has been attacked in the state. Kejriwal escaped unhurt but his aide suffered minor injuries. Calling it a murder bid, Sanjay Singh, AAP's political affairs in-charge in Punjab, and Sucha Singh Chhotepur squarely blamed the Akalis for the attack. They claimed that intimidated by the public response that Kejriwal had received during his five-day tour of the state, the Akalis had plotted to kill him. The Mullanpur police have lodged an FIR against unidentified persons under Sections 336 (endangering the life and safety of others) and 427 (mischief causing damage) of the Indian Penal Code on the statement of Mullanpur SHO Kulwant Singh. But AAP has demanded that the assailants be charged under Section 307 (attempt to murder) and the incident be probed by a sitting High Court Judge. Addressing mediapersons in Chandigarh, Sanjay Singh alleged that among the attackers was Harkinder Singh, brother of Akali MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, Amandeep Aulakh, Jassa Singh and Prabhdeep Mangat, all SAD office-bearers. He said the police had been informed about them. Ayali denied the allegations. Kejriwal can stoop to any level to hog the limelight. His party (AAP) may have staged the attack for publicity, he said. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, condemning the incident, said he had asked the police to look into it. State DGP Suresh Arora said he had asked the IG, Jalandhar zone, to submit a report. SK Kalia, DIG, claimed that Ludhiana-Rural SSP Ravcharan Singh Brar reached the trouble spot and defused the situation. But AAP leader Durgesh Pathak and Bhagwant Mann, MP, who were travelling with Kejriwal, said: The police vehicles were about 100 metres ahead of us when the mob rained stones on the car. When no policeman came to our rescue, it surrounded the car and broke the windows with sticks. Bhagwant said the attack took place after 12.15 pm when Kejriwal had concluded a meeting with local industrialists at a marriage palace near Hassanpur. As a huge mob gathered outside the exit gate, the police advised us to take an alternative route, which too proved to be unsafe, he said, adding the mob raised slogans against the failure of the AAP government in Delhi to get justice for the riot-hit. President of the 1984 Sikh Qatl-a-Aam Peerat Welfare Society said though the riot victims had staged a protest, they were not part of the mob that had attacked Kejriwal. Simran Sodhi Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 1 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will begin his foreign travels this year with a three-nation tour beginning end of the month. Modi will travel to Belgium, the US and Saudi Arabia beginning March 30. The dates and the itinerary have yet to be announced officially but sources within the government confirm so. The PMs first visit will be to Belgium where he will attend the India-EU Summit. This would be the first India-EU summit in the last four years. This would also lay to rest the unpleasantness caused last year when the EU refused to confirm the dates for Modis Brussels visit. His second stop will be Washington DC where he will attend the Nuclear Security Summit from March 31-April 1 hosted by US President Barack Obama. Speculation is high that Washington DC might see Modi meeting his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif. India and Pakistan relations have been on the downslide since the beginning of this year. The Pathankot attacks made sure that the much-anticipated foreign secretary-level talks between the two countries were re-scheduled. While coming back from the US, Modi is likely to stop over in Saudi Arabia. India and Saudi Arabia relations have grown significantly in the last decade. Bilateral cooperation between the two countries in counter-terrorism is one area where the two countries are co-operating intensively. The finance ministry claimed the main category of people for whom the EPF scheme was created were members of EPFO. New Delhi: The finance ministry said the purpose of this reform of making the change in tax regime is to encourage more numbers of private sector employees to go for pension security after retirement instead of withdrawing the entire money from the provident fund account. A statement read: Towards this objective, the government has announced that 40 per cent of the total corpus withdrawn at the time of retirement will be tax exempt both under the recognised provident fund and under NPS. The ministry said it was expected employees of private companies would place the remaining 60 per cent of the corpus in annuity, out of which they can get a regular pension. When this 60 per cent of the remaining corpus is invested in annuity, no tax is chargeable. So what it means is that the entire corpus will be tax-free, if invested in annuity, it said. The finance ministry claimed the main category of people for whom the EPF scheme was created were members of EPFO, who are within the statutory wage limit of Rs 15,000 per month. Out of around 3.7 crores contributing members of EPFO as on today, around 3 crore subscribers are in this category. For this category of people, there is not going to be any change in the new dispensation. New York, March 1 Students from two eminent universities here demonstrated in support of students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, following the arrest of its student leader on charges of sedition, asserting that voicing dissent is a right and not a crime in a thriving democracy. The students of New York University and Cooper Union conducted a sit-in on February 27 in solidarity with JNU students. In a thriving democracy, voicing dissent is a right and not a crime, the universities said in a message on their Facebook page of the event Stand with JNU. JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested last month by Delhi Police on charges of sedition after anti-India slogans were allegedly raised at the university during a protest meeting in memory of Afzal Guru, hanged in 2013 after his conviction in the Parliament attack case. A report in Washington Square News, NYUs independent student newspapers, quoted student Anjana Sreedhar as saying that one of the primary purposes of the event was to raise awareness about Kumars arrest, especially among local students of South Asian descent. We re protesting against the fact that he was arrested under the sedition law which is very very antiquated and very outdated, Sreedhar said. Anthropology professor Tejaswini Ganti said in the report that even if one disagrees with certain views of the government, the reaction is not to clampdown and arrest or resort to violence, which is what has been happening in India, but to actually be able to have an open exchange of ideas. In a separate message posted online, community, student and legal activists in the US said they join to send strong messages of solidarity to all students, workers, communities and human rights defenders throughout India struggling against an increasingly repressive right-wing nationalist and neoliberal regime. We salute Rohith Vemula, the Dalit scholar and poetic writer whose brave act ignited new and important waves of protest throughout India. We stand in solidarity with student leader Kanhaiya Kumar...We applaud every student, lawyer and journalist who have supported Kanhaiya in the face of attacks, the online post, endorsed by several organisations said. PTI Patna/New Delhi, March 1 Amid a controversy over candidates being asked to strip down to their underwear for an Army exam in Bihar, the Union Government today sought a report from the Army Chief while the Patna High Court directed the Ministry of Defence to give a reply by April 5. Defending the bare body recruitment test, Director (Recruitment), Army Regional Office (ARO), in Muzaffarpur Col VS Godra said it was a preventive measure against cheating. Pictures showed candidates, dressed only in their underwear, cross-legged at Chakkar Maidan, an open ground in Muzaffarpur, 100 km from Patna, taking a written test in the hope of making it to the Army. The test, which was taken by 1,159 candidates, was conducted by the ARO Army Recruitment for various posts at different levels. On the basis of photos in some newspapers, lawyer Deenu Kumar filed a PIL on Monday. A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Iqbal Ahmad Ansari and Justice Chakradhari Saran Singh converted it into a writ and ordered the Defence Ministry today to reply by April 5. Col Godra said because of the measures taken, no complaint of smuggling of phones and chits inside the exam venue were reported. PTI New Delhi, March 1 Proceedings of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were virtually washed out today due to the uproar created by AIADMK members who were demanding action against former Union Minister P Chidambaram's son Karti over the Aircel-Maxis issue. Both the Houses witnessed continuous disruptions due to the slogan-shouting by AIADMK members who were in the Well, forcing repeated adjournments. Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day at around 2.45 pm while the day's proceedings of Rajya Sabha were terminated at around 4 pm. Read: All my businesses are legally compliant: Karti Chidambaram The AIADMK members were displaying copies of an English daily which has claimed that Karti has invested in real estate across the world, as per investigations by the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax authorities during searches at his premises. In the Upper House, an angry Deputy Chairman P J Kurien even threatened to suspend the agitating members but to avail. In Rajya Sabha, a Calling Attention Motion on inflammatory speeches made by a Union Minister and elected representatives violating the Constitution and oath of office could not be taken up due to the noisy protests by AIADMK. Trouble started in the House as soon as it met for the day, with AIADMK members, waiving copies of a newspaper, raising the issue and demanding action against Karti Chidambaram. Chairman Hamid Ansari said it was "unbecoming" of members and accused them of promoting the particular newspaper which was "not proper. Deputy Chairman P J Kurien termed the disruptions as "murder of democracy". As AIADMK members led by V Maitreyan continued raising slogans for arrest of P Chidambaram and his son Karti over the Aircel-Maxis issue, a visibly angered Kurien said, "How can I take action? I can take action against you." He warned that he could taken action against the AIADMK members under Rule 255 and bar the disrupting members from the proceedings of the House for the day. With regard to the Calling Attention Motion, Kurien said it was not taken up since government did not distribute the statement. He said Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was on a wrong foot. "I called (Leader of Opposition) Ghulam Nabi Azad and then asked to distribute but papers were not distributed. So Calling Attention Motion was not taken up. If that would have done, I would have considered it a Calling Attention Motion but statement was not distributed so it was not taken up. They can repeat. I have given the ruling," he said. Naqvi said no such matter can be raised in the same session. During the brief periods for which the House met amid adjournments, Congress accused AIADMK members of disrupting the proceedings at the behest of the ruling BJP. Similar scenes were witnessed in Lok Sabha. As soon as the Lok Sabha met for the day, AIADMK members rushed to the Well demanding action on Aircel-Maxis deal. They raised slogans like "We want action", "Aircel-Maxis why delay, why delay" and "NDA sarkar take action." Amid uproar, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan continued with the Question Hour for some time but adjourned the House for nearly ten minutes. Soon after the House was adjourned, AIADMK members were seen distributing copies of the newspaper to BJP members. Congress President Sonia Gandhi was seen talking to Deputy Speaker M Thambi Durai who belongs to AIADMK. At one point of time, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge stood up to raise some issue, apparently relating to Privilege notice against HRD Minister Smriti Irani over the Rohith Vemula suicide issue, but he was shouted down by the AIADMK members. Gandhi was seen telling AIADMK members against raising slogans near Kharge. Some Left members were also seen standing at their places and seeking Speaker's intervention. Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said if they give proper notice, the issue could be discussed and government was open to a debate. Raising the Aircel-Maxis issue, AIADMK leader P Venugopal demanded that Prime Minister should come to the House to respond on the issue which involved former Finance Minister and former DMK Minister. Even assurances by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy that the matter was in Supreme Court and government would do "whatever is within the law" failed to satisfy the agitated members who continued to shout slogans. In Rajya Sabha, the Chairman told the protesting AIADMK members: "The Chair gets the impression that some members are in the business of promoting a specific newspaper. This is very improper. You will not bring newspapers" He asked them not to come into the well, saying, "don't come here. All I can say is this is unbecoming of you." The Question Hour also saw disruption and then the House was repeatedly adjourned over the issue. With regard to the Calling Attention Motion, Azad said, "There has to be an order in the House to discuss this". Azad, who was to move the motion, also said that the disruption was "organised by the ruling party" so that the calling attention on the "serious" issue, listed in the agenda today, is not taken up. "A serious issue is not discussed like this. This is a deliberate attempt by the AIADMK. Otherwise, never before has AIADMK behaved like this," the Congress leader said. Kurien, who was in the Chair, kept slamming the noisy protests, saying the behaviour of the AIADMK MPs was "very bad". "You can approach the government for appropriate action. Why are you disrupting the proceedings of the House? This is irresponsible behaviour. This is murder of democracy," he said. Kurien kept telling them to approach the government if they wanted action against a private person. "Why do you trouble me? I am not the government," he said trying to restore order in the House, but to no avail. Earlier, papers were laid amid sloganeering. When AIADMK members continued demanding action against Chidambarm, Kurien said, "What can I do, you ask the government" and adjourned the House till 3.45 pm. When the House re-assembled at 3.45 pm, Kurien asked minister and BJP leader J P Nadda (BJP) to move the Motion of Thanks for the President's address. To this, Naqvi questioned how it can be initiated when the House is not in order and appealed AIADMK members for cooperation. Kurien too sought AIADMK members' cooperation but as they continued their protest, he adjourned the House for the day. PTI New Delhi: After the BJP MP raised the issue of breach of privilege against Mr Scindia, Congress MPs too trooped into the Well demanding their notice against Smriti Irani be decided first. Amid pandemonium, Mr Dattatreya accused Mr Scindia of defaming him and tarnishing his image by attributing such comments to him, which he claimed he never made about Vemula. My mother used to sell onions. I have always worked for OBCs, Dalits. I have made sacrifices for Dalits, said the minister, recalling his humble background and work for the downtrodden. He further elaborated that his letter to Ms Irani, for which he has been attacked by Congress, had not even mentioned Rohith Vemulas name. I never made such a charge against him, he said. But the Congress members were unfazed, with party MP K.C. Venugopal showing the rule book to the Speaker, at which she shot back: Dont show me the rule book. I know. Ms Mahajan added: All the notices for privilege motions are under my consideration. As pandemonium continued, the Speaker adjourned the House. In the Rajya Sabha, Opposition MPs sought to raise the breach of privilege issue against the Human Resource Development minister. She (Irani) has misled this House and the nation through the House. Not only here, she has misled the country in both Houses. It is a very serious charge, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said. Community leaders who were part of the 1960s civil rights movement that changed Tulsa and the nation shared some of their experiences Monday afternoon during a Black History Month panel. Remembering the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement in Tulsa was held at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa campus. Former state Sen. Judy Eason-McIntyre said she had little contact with whites while growing up in Tulsa. She and her friends saw white people at the movie theater from the balcony, where they were required to sit, and at sporting events, but lived in a bubble. And Eason-McIntyre acknowledged that she had no clue what the civil rights movement was about. In 1963, she attended the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.s historic I Had a Dream speech in Washington, D.C., she said, and wondered why he kept repeating himself. All that changed when Eason-McIntyre went to the University of Oklahoma and was one of only 50 black students on campus. I was called the n-word by teachers and other students. I cried. I begged my parents to let me come home, she said. That was the beginning of my transition from the age of innocence to unbridled rage, she said. You had the killings. You had the lynchings. When I left OU, I was so angry. Eason-McIntyre got a job as a social worker at the state Department of Human Services and insisted, successfully, that she not be assigned any white clients. I didnt want to have anything to do with anyone who was white, she said. Eason-McIntyre got involved in the Black Panthers, a revolutionary group, and worked actively in the civil rights movement. During one incident, she said, she carried a gun because police checked the men for firearms but not the women. But over time, Eason-McIntyre said, she made the hard journey from rage to working within the system. She went on to become a state senator, Tulsa Public Schools board member and chair of the Tulsa County Democratic Party. If America is going to realize Kings dream, she said, We must move away from the kind of rage that I had, the kind of division that we have. We have to bring up this next generation to understand that we must co-exist on this Earth together or were going to destroy each other. Until we start listening to each other, as uncomfortable as it is, were not going to make the kind of progress that we need to make. Bobby Eaton, a Tulsa native who was an outspoken young leader in the Tulsa civil rights movement, said the 1960s brought about changes, but were still fighting for civil rights. Contrary to what a lot of people believe, Tulsa is an ultra conservative city. ... North Tulsa has one nightclub. Not one grocery store. Does that exist in any part of the city? The truth hurts. If the city is ever to reconcile, it has to acknowledge that everything is not OK, he said. Former Mayor Robert LaFortune, who was street commissioner during the 1960s, said most of the changes that took place in Tulsa were the result of programs initiated by the federal government and picked up by the city programs like Tulsa Urban Renewal, the Tulsa Housing Authority and public accommodation ordinances. In 1964, when I was elected, Tulsa was still a very segregated city, he said. Tulsa City Councilor Jack Henderson said he has spent his whole life trying to right some wrongs that I saw growing up. Weve come a long way, but we have a long way to go, he said. People are hated just because of the color of their skin. The only way things will change is when we acknowledge that we still have a problem, Henderson said. My goal was to make Tulsa one city, and not the tale of two cities. We still are two cities. As long as I am a city councilman, I will continue to make Tulsa a better place to live that one city that we are shooting for. Tulsa attorney James Goodwin and his family were central figures in the 1960s civil rights movement through their newspaper, the Oklahoma Eagle. Goodwin, who was one of two blacks in his freshman class at Notre Dame University, said Tulsa was relatively calm during the tumultuous 1960s not because the evils were not here, but because people were acutely aware of the devastation of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. Mondays panel was organized by OU professor Rodger Randle, moderated by former state Sen. Jabar Shumate and sponsored by the OU Department of Human Relations. The panel revealed that there is a real hunger in the black community to talk about these issues, Randle said later in the day. He said steps are being taken to create that dialogue that was started 50 years ago and just got dropped. Former first lady Hillary Clinton and businessman Donald Trump lead their respective parties presidential candidates heading into Tuesdays Oklahoma primary, according to a News on 6/SoonerPoll released Monday. A large number of undecided Democrats creates volatility in that partys primary, SoonerPoll President Bill Shapard said, but among those who have made up their minds, Clinton leads Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders 56 percent to 44 percent. Among Republicans, Trumps share remained steady at 33 percent. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio moved into second place by remaining at 21 percent, while Texas Sen. Ted Cruz slipped to third with 18 percent, down from a high of 25 percent. Dr. Ben Carson at 9 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 6 percent round out the field. Thirteen percent were undecided. The Oklahoma primary, like the other primaries and caucuses held Tuesday, determine the allocation of delegates to the parties national conventions. Under party rules, the delegates are allocated proportionately based on primary results and within each of the states five congressional districts. Shapard said Trump led other Republican candidates in all congressional districts and across the state regardless of age or gender. Ninety-five percent of Republicans said they were either dissatisfied (53 percent) or angry (42 percent) with the federal government. More than half said the most important quality in a candidate was their ability to effect change. Shapard said Trump has effectively tapped into those sentiments, even though Oklahoma Republicans view Cruz as more conservative and Rubio as more electable. The only one who really understood this anger was Donald Trump, Shapard said. Shapard said the Democratic primary is particularly problematic because one-third of the states registered Democrats live in the 2nd Congressional District, and nearly 40 percent of those are undecided. Overall, Clinton stood at 40 percent, with Sanders at 31 percent and 29 percent undecided. Poll data indicate those Democrats, and most other undecided Democrats, identify as conservative or very conservative. The poll sample includes independents, who may vote in the Oklahoma Democratic primary this year. Shapard said history suggests they will have little impact on the election. Independents typically vote at lower rates than Republicans and Democrats, he noted, and those who do vote tend to vote Republican. Sanders Oklahoma campaign has targeted independents. I think hes misinterpreted what an independent means in Oklahoma, Shapard said. A Monmouth University poll released Monday shows Sanders leading Clinton by 5 percentage points, with 8 percent of Democrats undecided. The two polls are similar on the Republican side. Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a statement from the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. An Oklahoma lawmaker joined an environmental advocacy group and two others Tuesday to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state question that is to be put to a public vote in November. Rep. Jason Dunnington, D-Oklahoma City, sued the Oklahoma State Election Board and Attorney General Scott Pruitt over State Question 777, also known as the Right to Farm and Ranch Amendment. He joined Ed Brocksmith, a landowner within the Illinois River watershed, and farmer John Leonard in filing the suit, which requests an injunction that would prevent the state from placing the question on the Nov. 8 ballot. State Question 777, if it receives a majority vote, would add citizens guaranteed right to farm or ranch to the Oklahoma Constitutions Bill of Rights. It would bar the Legislature and local governments from passing laws that interfere with those rights unless there is a compelling state interest in doing so. The state question says agriculture is a vital sector of the states economy that provides multiple benefits to Oklahomans, and it seeks to protect farmers and ranchers rights to use agricultural technology, among others. Critics say the amendment could lead to animal abuse and pollution. A news release announcing the lawsuit alleges the state question amounts to a massive giveaway to corporate agriculture in a truly unprecedented way. Oklahomans have a right to clean water, clean air and food safety. This Right to Harm amendment strips them of those rights in favor of an industry that cares only about its own bottom line, said Denise Deason-Toyne, president of Save the Illinois River, which also is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Former Attorney General Drew Edmondson, with the Oklahoma Stewardship Council, has been an outspoken critic of the proposal, along with multiple advocacy organizations. Speaking on behalf of the council, he said last fall that the measure would benefit corporate agricultural operations, such as poultry and swine, at the expense of small family farmers. Supporters of the question include the Oklahoma Cattlemens Association, the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, the Oklahoma Pork Council, and American Farmers and Ranchers. The lawsuit says the state question violates the Oklahoma Constitutions due process clause because the language throughout the measure is facially unconstitutionally vague. The news release says that if the state question is approved, corporations and courts will set agricultural policy in Oklahoma rather than voters and their representatives. Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting are only a fraction of Oklahomas gross domestic product and provide less than 1 percent of all jobs in the state, according to an Oklahoma Employment Security Commission report published in January. Dunnington voted against the measure when it came before the Legislature last year, saying he believed it would impermissibly infringe on the rights of future lawmakers to be able to solve unforeseeable problems posed by industrialized factory farms and yet-to-be-invented agricultural technology, the lawsuit states. A spokesman for the Election Board declined to comment, citing pending litigation. Lincoln Ferguson, a spokesman for Pruitts office, said the department was still in the process of studying the contents of the lawsuit as of Tuesday afternoon. I ran for office to improve the lives of Oklahoma citizens, Dunnington said in a statement. I voted against State Question 777 on the House floor because I believe it will prevent legislators from doing their job to protect Oklahomans in the future. Our citizens deserve better. Tulsa Public Schools has launched a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of attendance. The district is partnering with an organization called In Class Today for Attendance Counts, a campaign that will use letters to reach out to parents and guardians of students with frequent absences. All children deserve the opportunity to develop their full academic and social potential, TPS Superintendent Deborah Gist said in a news release about the campaign. Its important that students, parents and guardians understand the full impact of absences. The Attendance Counts initiative is research-based and proven effective in encouraging families to get children to school on time every day, according to the release. Chronic absenteeism, defined as missing at least 10 percent of school days in an academic year, is a primary cause of low academic achievement and is a predictor of students dropout likelihood, the release states. Gist said students who miss two days of school a month end up losing a full month of learning each year. By working to eliminate chronic absenteeism in our schools, we can improve academic achievement, increase graduation rates and prepare students for long-term success, she said. Parents started receiving letters late last week, TPS spokesman Chris Payne said, noting it is the first of three rounds of letters that will be sent out. The campaign, paid for by private donors, will cost $85,000 including $45,000 for the first round of letters and $20,000 for each of the next two rounds. The February mailings were sent out to the parents of 60 percent of TPS students with the most absences during the 2015-16 school year, as of Jan. 18. Parents and guardians will be informed of the number of absences their children have accrued and will receive a message about how even a small number of absences can add up to a lot of lost learning time. More rounds of letters will be sent out in March and April, reflecting the most up-to-date evidence on absence-reducing messaging, the release states. The letters will be sent out in English and Spanish. Payne said districtwide at TPS, 27.8 percent of students are chronically absent. In secondary grades, that rate is significantly higher, coming in at more than 50 percent. Among the suggestions listed to help eliminate chronic absenteeism, parents and families are encouraged to make getting to school on time every day a priority, talk with their kids about the importance of attendance from an early age, have backup plans for transportation or other challenges, schedule appointments for after-school hours when possible, and monitor attendance of their children to be sure they are in class every day. For more information, email attendancecounts@tulsaschools.org. OKLAHOMA CITY - Just a day before Super Tuesday, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders could be poised to score a Sooner State victory over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A poll released Monday shows Sanders in the lead in Oklahoma's Democratic primary, with a five-point lead over Clinton. Sanders polled at 48 percent to Clinton's 43 percent. Another 8 percent said they were undecided, and 1 percent said they planned to vote for another candidate. Sanders' lead is within the poll's 5.7 percent margin of error. Meanwhile, real estate mogul Donald Trump continued to lead the Republican field, with 35 percent. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz came in second, with 23 percent, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio came in third, with 22 percent. The Republican poll has a 4.9 percent margin of error. The survey of 703 Oklahoma likely voters was conducted by Monmouth University Polling Institute between Thursday and Sunday. Hyderabad: Ten ultra-modern graveyards, each costing Rs1 crore, are to be set up in the city within three months. Experience shows that locals have not taken kindly to having electric crematoria in their midst, at Amberpet and Panjagutta. A technical snag has stopped operations at the SR Nagar crematorium. The electric crematorium at Bansilalpet is the only one that is functioning one. Besides this, a modern graveyard is functioning in the city without public resistance at Road No. 45, Jubilee Hills. A three-acre site has been identified beyond Mount Opera for one of the 10 new graveyards.As residents were opposed to setting up crematoria, the GHMC had approached the Ranga Reddy district administration for land. A site beyond the city limits on the National Highway to Vijayawada, was then identified. Locals oppose crematoria within the city due to stench emanating from burning bodies. Secondly, the delay in handing over unclaimed bodies by the police and mortuaries at government hospitals means many bodies in a decomposed condition are brought to the crematoria. Unclaimed bodies are not released immediately because of medico-legal issues. Hospitals and police do not try to speed up the procedure, said a senior official from the health and sanitation department. It is also that equipment at electric crematoria develop snags because of the highly decomposed state of the bodies. This issue was addressed by the previous GHMC council and the then Mayor Majid Hussain had sanctioned Rs10 lakh per circle to carry out the rites of all unclaimed bodies. Rukmini Reddy, a resident of Amberpet, said, The bodies that are brought to the crematorium are often decomposed and disease-ridden, and emit a foul smell. At Panjagutta, resident N. Chandrashekar Rao who protested against the crematorium, blamed the GHMC for poor maintenance, It used to take three to four hours to burn a body, which ought to have been completed in 40 minutes. The slow process only adds to the problem with the smoke staying in the air for a long time. Asked about these problems, an official from the GHMCs health and sanitation wing said the operations and maintenance of all four electric crematoria would be privatised. Private parties would be given three-year contracts to operate crematoria from 9 am to 6 pm. No decomposed body will be allowed to be cremated there, he said. The contractor would be required to maintain the equipment, including oiling and lubricating them, cleaning the system, removing debris and checking all electrical points. The process of receiving the body, entering details in the performance register and collecting user charges would be monitored by the GHMC, he said. Asked about the 10 new graveyards, he said, They would be built on the lines of the Mahaprasthanam at Jubliee Hills Road No. 45 in private public partnership (PPP) mode. They will be pollution-free. Each of them would have electric crematoria with technology-enabled operations. Land had been identified, and a few of them would be located within the city. These graveyards will not invite any objection from nearby residents, he said. 2005 Supreme Court bans execution for juveniles In a historic 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that states can not execute juveniles who commit murder before reaching 18 years of age. No juveniles were on death row at the time, but Oklahoma had executed two offenders since 1976 who committed murder while they were juveniles. Creek County killer Scott Allen Hain was executed in 2003 for the murders of Michael Houghton and Laura Lee Sanders, who were burned to death in the trunk of a car. Oklahoma County killer Sean Sellers was executed in 1999 for the murders of his mother, stepfather and a store clerk. 2006 Smoking banned in most state restaurants Most Oklahoma restaurants went smoke-free after being given 30-month notice of the new law that allowed some eateries to have smoking rooms if establishments complied with extensive smoking-room guidelines. Restaurant inspectors working for the Tulsa City-County Health Department began to examine smoking rooms during normal restaurant inspections. Smoking sections were required to be completely enclosed, have separate entrances, dedicated ventilation systems and have negative air pressure so no smoke escaped when a door is opened. 2006 Record heat, winds fan Oklahoma wildfires Record heat and gusting winds fanned wildfires across much of Oklahoma, injuring four firefighters, destroying several homes and closing several highways. The temperature in Tulsa reached 93, breaking the previous high of 81 in 1967. In the Tulsa area, a grass fire torched at least 300 acres, injured two Broken Arrow firefighters and briefly closed the Creek Turnpike. More than 50 firefighters from Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Catoosa, Oak Grove and Rolling Hills worked to contain the blaze. A fire near the Turner Turnpike in Creek County destroyed at least two houses. 2015 Tulsa dentist surrenders license, closes practice A Tulsa oral surgeon surrendered his license after being found to have operated while under the influence of medications, including extracting the wrong teeth and operating on the wrong side of the mouth. Dr. Gary Dean Burnidge, 75, sold his practice at 6565 S. Yale Ave. after voluntarily surrendering his license to the Oklahoma State Board of Dentistry. The board began investigating after an internal complaint filed in October claimed Burnidge was operating while under the influence of medications and was slurring his speech and drooling. Tuesday-Saturday Just Between Friends The Just Between Friends spring consignment sale is underway at the Exchange Center at Expo Square, 4145 E. 21st St. The event brings together dozens of consignors so shoppers can find the best deals on clothing, toys and supplies for kids, home decorations and more. JBF Tulsa offers a wide variety of gently used childrens and maternity clothing, as well as shoes, baby equipment, household furniture, outside playground equipment, nursery/maternity items, books, software, videos and lots of toys. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $10 for adults and free for those 18 and younger. For more, visit tulsa.jbfsale.com. Tuesday Breaking Benjamin The hard-rock band Breaking Benjamin is set to rock the Brady Theater this week. The Pennsylvania rockers will perform Tuesday, with doors opening at 7 p.m. The group Starset is scheduled to kick off the show. Breaking Benjamins fifth album, Dark Before Dawn, was released last summer. Tickets start at $35 for reserved seating and $42.50 for general admission pit and are available at bradytheater.com, by phone at 866-977-6849, at area Reasors stores and at Starship Records and Tapes, 1241 S. Lewis Ave. Friday, Saturday Tulsa Gridiron For nearly 80 years, the Tulsa Gridiron has been lampooning and lambasting local luminaries and lunkheads with satirical songs and skits that skewer city politics and national pop culture. This years show is titled The Farce Awakens, or Ding-A-Ling Brothers Bynum & Bartlett Circus. Rebecca Ungerman returns as director, with Jordan Hehl and Christy Lynn Stalcup serving as music directors. Proceeds from the Tulsa Gridiron help to fund scholarships for the next generation of journalists. Performances are 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, 101 E. First St. Tickets are $30-$80 individual seating, and a table of eight is $400-$600. For more, call 918-520-0934, or visit tulsagridiron.org. Friday-Sunday Bassmaster Classic The 2016 Geico Bassmaster Classic comes to Tulsa this weekend. The three-day competition features 55 of the worlds best bass anglers competing for a share of the $1 million prize and the Bassmaster Classic trophy. The outdoor expo is open to the public and will set up at the Cox Business Center, 100 Civic Center. The event will feature live updates of the competition, seminars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The free expo is open noon to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Thursday Billy Currington Country music star Billy Currington will perform at 8 p.m. Thursday at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa. The award-winning singer-songwriter has released six albums, with hits including Must Be Doin Somethin Right, People Are Crazy and Let Me Down Easy. Tickets to the 21-and-older show start at $55 and are available at hardrockcasinotulsa.com. A 60 Minutes cameraman and producer were assaulted and injured while filming a story on the European refugee crisis. In a suburb of Stockholm yesterday they were confronted by a group who objected to them filming, a Nine statement read. There was a series of scuffles and the police were called. The 60 Minutes cameraman and producer were slightly injured but filming continued with police at the scene. Fairfax reports a group of masked men objected to the 60 Minutes team, including presenter Liz Hayes, filming and interviewing immigrants at Rinkeby Square. One man deliberately drove over the cameramans foot, a bottle was also thrown and one cameraman was beaten right across the chin so that a tooth [came] loose. Nine confirmed the crew were now fine and would continue working on the story. The episode will appear on Channel Nine in the coming weeks. TEN will switch on TEN HD today at 3pm AEDT on Channel 13. The channel uses MPEG4 technology meaning some older sets may not be able to access the channel, but an SD simulcast will remain on Channel 10. TEN HD will be available in metro markets in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and the Gold Coast plus overlap markets, where TEN and Southern Cross signals overlap, eg, Wollongong and Gosford. Southern Cross is not planning to launch TEN HD in the markets it covers meaning other regional viewers will miss out for now. It will be available to Foxtel cable subscribers, but not satellite subscribers. TEN SD Channel 10 ONE Channel 1 and 12 ELEVEN Channel 11 TEN HD Chanel 13 TVSN Channel 14 Spree TV Channel 15 tenplay offers a comprehensive FAQs section here. How do I know if my TV set can receive TEN HD? If you have a compatible HD TV set that auto tunes, you may see a pop-up with new channels. Just hit OK and go to Channel 13. If not, you can re-tune your TV set by going to Set Up then Auto Tune to receive Channel 13. How do I re-tune my TV set to receive Channel 13/TEN HD? It is easy and takes just a few minutes. Go to your TV Menu settings. Click on Set Up and then the Auto Tuning option. Auto Tuning Menu or Home button on remote control Press OK Settings or Set Up Press OK Digital Set Up Press OK Auto scan or Auto Re-tune will appear Press OK It will take a few minutes to do the re-scan. This will search and tune the all the channels. You can then exit and select Channel 13 These instructions do not relate to any specific receiver brand, and menu descriptions and labels may vary. If in doubt, please read your TV manual. Or for more assistance, please contact the TEN HD Helpline on 1800 783 117. The first programme on the new-look TEN HD is Judge Judy. TEN previously launched TEN HD before it was rebranded as ONE. This week on Home Delivery, Julia Zemiro spends time with much-loved Denise Scott, heading to memories of Melbournes Greensborough. There are also recollections for working with Judith Lucy and the great Lynda Gibson, plus the auditions for Winners and Losers. Actress, writer and standup comedian Denise Scott takes Julia home to the tree lined streets of Greensborough in this episode of Home Delivery. Denises talent for story-telling is obvious from the get-go as they tumble into an old Holden just like the one her Dad once drove. Denises partner, John, dons the chauffeurs cap as we drive from inner city Melbourne and out to the burbs. Along the way Julia asks them about their long-standing union and Denise describes idyllic childhood days playing in the once unpaved streets of her old neighbourhood. In the home that her parents bought back in 1954, Denise tells Julia about growing up with her meticulous mother Marg and father, Dennis, who liked to dress up as a clown at family get-togethers. Denise is delighted to see that the note she wrote for the new owners when the house was sold holds pride of place on the kitchen wall. Both the outside dunny and tin garage still stand and Denise is reminded of her 21st birthday party which was a unique affair in that it combined her big day with her uncles 80th. Not quite the rock n roll event shed expected. They visit the Deloraine Aged Care Home across the road where Marg was a nurses aid for many years. It was something of a home away from home for Denise who spent many afternoons there in a dress up Nurses Hat. At Our Lady of Mercy College she tells Julia how much she loved being at a single sex school and feels that the whacky playful girl she was, was able to thrive at an all girls school. She shares some stories about her spirited high jinx and remembers the moment she realised she could make an audience laugh. They finish up at Melbournes Trades Hall home to the Bella Union Bar where comedians try out new shows. She talks about her start in comedy and reflects on what a lonely calling it can be, however her friendships with Judith Lucy and Lynda Gibson were enduring and supportive. Lynda died of cancer in 2004, but the trio devised and performed a memorable show shortly before her death. She also reveals that she endured four auditions before she was cast in Winners and Losers, because the producers werent convinced that she could act. 8pm Wednesday on ABC. The Coalition party room has cleared media reforms proposed by Communications Minister Mitch Fifield, who will introduce legislation tomorrow to repeal two regulations in the Broadcast Services Act. Fifield has proposed abolishing both the reach rule, which prevents mergers between regional television networks and their metropolitan affiliates, and the two-out-of-three rule, which stops any proprietor from owning a newspaper, radio station and television network in the same major market. The media laws that we have were drafted in an analogue world and for an analogue world, Fifield told reporters in Canberra. Current laws are well intentioned; they were designed to provide and ensure diversity in a world with few options. Extra local content obligations will be imposed on regional networks to sustain local production if they are acquired by or merged with another company, taking effect six months after a merger trigger event. This will comprise two points for new content relevant to a local area or three points for material that includes local footage. The anti-siphoning list remains unchanged. If anti-siphoning was to be addressed I think it would need to enjoy broad support in the parliament, he said. Labor has been willing repeal the reach rule but has yet to back repeal of the two-out-three rule, meaning crossbench support may be critical to passing the legislation. Support from media has been divided. News Corp and Seven West Media have been critical of the proposal. Tim Worner, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Seven West Media said, Media ownership changes might be great for the deal junkies out there but they are not going to ensure a strong future for Australian film and television production. You wont see one more minute of local content as a result of these changes, in fact you will probably see a lot less, especially in regional Australia. Its disappointing that the Government has not walked the talk when it says it wants to focus on innovation and the future. These changes tinker with rules put in place by the Howard Government 10 years ago. They do nothing to improve competitiveness or offer better services. The regulatory change that this industry is crying out for is to address the 4.5 per cent gross revenue licence fee that is crippling our ability to invest in local news, live sport, drama and other programming. And that is something that the 70 per cent of Australians who rely on free television highly value and dont want to lose. But Ten Network Chief Executive, Paul Anderson, said: Removing these archaic media laws is an important first step in dismantling a set of rules that are making Australian media companies less competitive in a global, converged media market. Ten Network is now competing directly for viewers and advertisers against large, global internet companies that are exempt from local media regulation, dont pay television licence fees, pay minimal corporate tax despite taking billions in advertising revenue in this market, and in some cases dont have a single local employee. Meanwhile, we pay the highest broadcasting tax in the world on top of our normal corporate taxes and we are held back by media ownership rules that dont even recognise the existence of the internet, he said. We welcome the Ministers comments about addressing the onerous television licence fee regime. Addressing television licence fees and updating media laws are essential if we want to see a vibrant, diverse and competitive Australian media industry going forward. These changes are critical and urgent if we want to retain local voices in our media and a local content production industry, Mr Anderson said. This post updates. Sourc: Fairfax, News Corp, SKY News Bondi Rescue is back with its 11th season this month, airing twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This year, there are 3 new faces: trainee, 19-year-old Ryan Yerbury who is a cousin to Trent Maxi Maxwell, plus Chris Emery from Western Australia and Jackson Doolan from the Sunshine Coast both with extensive lifeguarding experience. The Bondi Rescue lifeguards are household names in Australia and around the world. The combination of their larrikin humour and their second-to-none life savings skills has captured the attention of millions of viewers worldwide, and while they think they have seen it all, this summer will get their pulses racing. The action-packed new season sees Bondis team of 36 in blue encounter bag thieves, street hoodlums, drug abuse and alcohol. They deal with sharks, resuscitations, cuts, broken bones and gripping rescues, in a summer that will be remembered as Bondis busiest season on record. Supermodel Heidi Klum pays the beach-side suburb a visit and even Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stops by to say hello. With record-breaking heat, waves, crowds and rescues, Bondi has never seen a summer quite like this. Premieres Tuesday, 15 March at 7.30pm Continues Thursday, 17 March at 7.30pm on TEN. NEW DELHI: The Delhi police on Tuesday chargesheeted former Teri chief R.K. Pachauri in connection with the sexual harassment case filed against him on February 13 last year by a former colleague. This comes about a fortnight after Mr Pachauri was asked to go on leave from Teri amid outrage over his elevation to the post of executive vice-chairman. In the charge sheet filed on Tuesday in the court of metropolitan magistrate Shivani Chauhan, the former chief of the green body was accused of stalking and criminally intimidating the victim with gesture or act intended to insult her modesty. Some 23 listed as witness The judge fixed April 23 as the day for consideration on the chargesheet. Investigating officer in the case, Ms Pratibha Sharma, who submitted the over 1,400-page chargesheet, said the probe was also based on the SMSes and e-mails exchanged between the accused and the victim. She said the complaint of the former Teri woman employee was thoroughly examined and statements of witnesses, many of whom are present and former employees of the organisation and friends, were recorded. The IO said 23 persons, including friends, present and former employees of The Energy Research Institute, have been named as prosecution witnesses in the chargesheet. She said based on the complaint of the victim, offences punishable under sections 354 (assault / criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354 A (sexual harassment), 354 D (stalking), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of IPC, are made out against Pachauri. 5:10 p.m., March 1, 2016--As Black History Month comes to a close, University Student Centers (USC) staff members have unveiled a permanent art display in Perkins Student Center. The exhibit, titled Dare to be First: Celebrating Student Pioneers, shares stories of outstanding students who have contributed to the University of Delawares rich culture. Detailing efforts from the earliest days at Francis Alisons Free School all the way to present day, the stories reveal a compelling narrative about the UD student one that emphasizes equality, persistence in the face of adversity, and an overwhelming dedication to putting Delaware first. Casey Impagliazzo, communications specialist for the USC and designer of the display, said the overall message came as a surprise to those involved. When we started the project, the goal was to chronicle student firsts throughout UDs history to strengthen the USCs welcoming and inclusive atmosphere, knowing that the visibility of relevant role models supports student success, she said. However, as we worked with University Archives and Communications and Public Affairs to flesh out the content, an additional theme emerged. Time and time again, we discovered students who had displayed considerable courage and foresight in their efforts to enhance the institution and the state. By bringing these anecdotes together, we merely set the stage for the story to be heard. Included in the display are individuals such as Manlove Hayes, a student from Dover who laid the first brick for Old College and founded the schools first student group; Rebecca Churchman, who entered during the first era of coeducation and became the first graduate of the Womens College when she returned to finish her degree at age 61; and Zachary Swarr, who convened the first official community of gay students in the early 1970s. Gil Johnson, senior associate director for the USC, said he couldnt imagine a more fitting space for the display than the Universitys first student union space which was made possible by a determined alumnus named W. Owen Sypherd. Who has more school spirit than Helen Handy, he asked, who helped pave the way for future generations of Blue Hens more than a decade before the Civil Rights Act? Handy was part of Louis Reddings landmark lawsuit, and later became one of the first African American students to graduate from the newly desegregated University. All involved describe the project as a living one, acknowledging that it is largely symbolic of the innumerable firsts that have taken place and will continue to occur. The last panel of the display features the call to action, How will you dare to be first? Marilyn Prime, executive director of the University Student Centers and Student Engagement, noted that there are countless opportunities for students to make a difference. Even those who were the first to choose their academic field are pioneers, just as every major since them, as they have supported the Universitys ability to continue these programs for future graduates, she said. This display illustrates the many remarkable things that students can achieve. Additionally, it reinforces our mission both departmentally and within UDs Division of Student Life to foster inclusive communities, facilitate student engagement and leadership development, and promote responsible citizenship. Dare to be First: Celebrating Student Pioneers is located on the first floor of Perkins Student Center across from the Information Desk, and it is accessible any time the facility is open. For more information about the University Student Centers, visit the website. 1:25 p.m., March 1, 2016--Each year, a growing number of American taxpayers report that returns have been fraudulently filed in their names. These scams, which defraud the IRS and prevent legitimate tax returns from being processed, are commonplace and affect thousands of people around the country. University of Delaware employees and students are not the only targets of this method of defrauding the IRS. No one set of taxpayers seems singled out fraud reports have come from employees of other universities, medical centers, large private businesses and small businesses. Because its possible for scammers to file fraudulent tax returns without any legitimate information about the owner of a Social Security number (SSN), these kinds of scams affect everybody. The information does not necessarily come from any breach of personal information, and breaches do not automatically mean that identity theft is imminent. As the IRS adamantly reminds us all, Not all data breaches or computer hacks result in tax-related identity theft. In fact, it is not always possible to correlate an individual instance of identity theft to any data breach. The IRS is working with stakeholders in the tax preparation industry to ensure more complete and accurate detection of tax scams. However, tax return fraud continues to occur. If the IRS suspects that a fraudulent tax return has been filed using your SSN, they will mail you a 5071-C Letter and instructions. If you receive this letter, follow the instructions and contact the IRS for additional information. The IRS also provides online guidance for this process. Sometimes, you may discover fraud if the IRS or a tax preparer notifies you that a return using your SSN has already been filed. In this case, contact the IRS to report the fraud and follow the procedures recommended by the IRS. Members of the University community are encouraged to file their taxes early and to work with the IRS if fraudulent activity is detected. For more information: IRS Publication 5027: Identity Theft Information for Taxpayers IRS Identity Theft Victim Assistance: How It Works Image courtesy Missouri Business Alert, under a Creative Commons license. West has constantly stressed on the necessity for reforms in Ukraine, however Europe and the United States are not always aware of what has been achieved and what is next in line. Because of this fact we have to talk more about achievements and reinforce our own efforts in order to get support and investment. Deputy Head of Presidential Administration of Ukraine Dmytro Shymkiv to the Ukrinform own American correspondent in his comments, while the official is now visiting Washington, D.C. for a few days. "When we evaluate the situation regarding U.S. awareness of Ukrainian reforms, we see that Americans are not always in the know about details," said the representative of Ukraine Presidential Administration following his talks with business community of the United States that was organized by the American-Ukrainian Business Council and the Ukraine - USA Foundation. "We ought to visit more and report what has been already fulfilled, what is planned to be achieved, where assistance is vital so that we can get support there. By the way, U.S. business community says that we [Ukraine] are not asking for support quite often, and this is a fact. We have to strengthen our own work," Shymkiv said. He noted that he came to the U.S. capital for this very reason - to facilitate such communication. "Many meetings are planned where I endeavor to make us known so that we will be included on the agenda, to hear feedback and to do our best so that American and international business start their operations in Ukraine," said the Ukrainian government official. Russia has not fulfilled any of its obligations to resolve the conflict in Donbas region in accordance with the Minsk agreements. This has been said in the statement of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine on implementation of the Minsk agreements, the official website of the ministry informs. Russia and its proxies continue military provocations, including by using weapons that should have been withdrawn under the OSCE monitoring and verification multiple launch rocket systems, self-propelled artillery, 82mm and 120mm mortars. Russian troops in Donbas continue with unfettered rotation, training and supply through the uncontrolled sections of the state border. Thus far, the OSCE SMM has not been provided with full, secure and unhindered access to all territories controlled by Russia and its proxies. No progress has been achieved on OSCE access to the border and on establishing the security zone, as envisaged by the Minsk agreements, to stop and prevent the massive inflow of weapons and troops to Ukraine. "Russia and its proxies continuously obstruct releasing more than 130 Ukrainian hostages, while subjecting them to inhuman treatment and tortures and threatening the hostages with capital punishment based on the USSR criminal code," the statement reads. In turn, Ukraine urges all UN member states to demand from the Russian Federation to fulfill all its commitments under the UN Charter and international law, to implement the Minsk agreements in full and in good faith and to stop immediately all acts of aggression against Ukraine. ish New Delhi: Having failed to get a response from them, Delhi government has now approached the wives of four Bollywood actors urging them to encourage their husbands not to endorse pan masala products as they contain areca nuts, a potential cancer causing agent. Additional Director (Health), Delhi Government, Dr S K Arora has written to Kajol, wife of actor Ajay Devgn, Gauri Khan, wife of Shah Rukh Khan, Malaika Arora Khan, wife of Arbaaz Khan and Suneeta Ahuja, wife of actor Govinda asking them to persuade their husband not to endorse pan masala products in larger public interest. "Humble appeal to you for encouraging Mr Shah Rukh Khan not to participate in advertisements of pan masala in larger public health interest. "Earlier, a letter was written to Mr Khan for not to participate in such advertisements in public interest. Nonetheless I have not received any response till date nor he has plugged doing such advertisements," Arora said in his letter to Gauri. He further said even if these pan masalas do not contain tobacco or nicotine, they surely contain areca nuts (supari) and now there are a lot of scientific evidences which prove that supari causes cancer. "A similar letter was sent to Ms Sunny Leone and I am delighted to inform that I have received an affirmative response with the assurance of not to indulge in such promotion in future. Moreover, she is consulting the companies for the terms and conditions of present contract to stop advertising pan masalas," Arora said. Delhi government also urged the actors and their wives to join its anti-tobacco campaign to save the lives of lakhs of people who die due to oral cancer every year. In January, the Health Department had written to six actors--Shah Rukh Khan, Govinda, Saif Ali Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Ajay Devgan and Sunny Leone--urging them not endorse pan masala products. Arora had said that they (actors) were role model for youngsters and should not participate in pan masala or any other similar advertisements as these attract the vulnerable population, especially, children and women and are directly and indirectly responsible for the increasing trend of tobacco use. Leone's husband Daniel Weber, had called up to say that she will not sign any contract for such advertisements in future. According to experts, areca nut, the main ingredient in pan masala, is in the league of caffeine, tobacco and alcohol when it comes to addictive properties and also leads to a high number of cases of submucous fibrosis, which can easily turn cancerous. European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides will pay a working visit to Ukraine in March. Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for the issues of European integration Iryna Heraschenko wrote on Facebook. Today at a meeting in Brussels we have discussed with Mr. Christos the details of his forthcoming visit. We have thoroughly discussed the humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine, Heraschenko said. According to her, Stylianides noted the worsening of humanitarian situation and security situation in Ukraine, which negatively influences possibilities of rendering aid to civilian population. Heraschenko stressed that Ukraine considers the humanitarian aspect of the Minsk agreements as a priority: "I have informed the European Commissioner about the process of liberation of captives and the difficulties Ukraine faced with during the liberation of captives and the search for missing." iy Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Groysman in Brussels has presented a roadmap of reforms of the Ukrainian parliament. The speaker wrote this on his Facebook page. The Verkhovna Rada reform will be carried out transparently. Ive submitted to the European Parliament an initiative to further support us on the way of its implementation. Here is a step-by-step plan, he wrote and the text of the report in Ukrainian and English, which was drafted by the European Parliament's needs assessment mission to Ukraine, led by former European Parliament President Pat Cox. iy The UA|TV international broadcasting TV Channel of Ukraine has begun broadcasting in the cable network of one of the largest operators in Poland. The Ukrainian Information Policy Ministrys press service reports this. On February 25, 2016, the Ukrainian International Broadcasting TV channel UA TV of the multimedia foreign broadcasting platform of Ukraine has begun broadcasting in the cable network of Poland Vectra S.A. The TV channel has been included in all packages of digital television, reads a report. iy UNHCR is warning today that Europe is on the cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis. This is in light of a rapid build-up of people in an already struggling Greece, with governments not working together despite having already reached agreements in a number of areas, and country after country imposing new border restrictions. Inconsistent practices are causing unnecessary suffering and risk being at variance with EU and international law standards. As of last night (Monday), the number of refugees and migrants in Greece and needing accommodation had soared to 24,000. Around 8,500 of these were at Eidomeni, near the border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. At least 1,500 had spent the previous night in the open. The crowded conditions are leading to shortages of food, shelter, water and sanitation. Tensions have been building, fuelling violence and playing into the hands of people smugglers. The Greek authorities have responded with the military setting up two camps near Eidomeni with a projected capacity of 12,500 and a nearby third site already under construction. With our partners UNHCR continues to supplement the Greek response effort. We have provided rub halls, tents and refugee housing units, other core relief, plus additional staff and specialists, including protection and technical staff. Overall Mediterranean arrivals have slowed over the winter but remain relatively high. Data as of this morning shows that 131,724 people made the journey during January and February (122,637 of these landing in Greece). This is approaching the total for the first half of 2015 (147,209). This year so far, 410 lives have been lost. Solving Europe's refugees and migrants situation and preventing a new crisis in Greece requires a number of clear actions. Among the most urgent of these when it comes to Greece is the need for better contingency planning, with increased accommodation capacity and other support. The authorities are trying to respond now to prevent a further deterioration of conditions throughout Greece. But, more resources and better coordination are critical for averting wider suffering and chaos. UNHCR is continuing to support the response operation: We have set up field offices in 8 locations, and deployed additional staff including mobile emergency teams who quickly move to wherever the changing situation demands. However, with increasing border restrictions across the Balkans, we are concerned that the situation could escalate into a humanitarian crisis similar to that on the Greek islands last autumn. UNHCR is urging the Greek authorities with the support of the European Asylum Support Office and EU Member States to strongly reinforce its capacity to register and process asylum seekers through the national asylum procedure, as well as through the European relocation scheme. Greece cannot manage this situation alone. It remains absolutely vital therefore that the relocation efforts that Europe agreed to in 2015 are prioritized and implemented. It should concern everyone that despite commitments to relocate 66,400 refugees from Greece, States have so far only pledged 1,539 spaces, and only 325 actual relocations have occurred. Increased regular pathways for admission of refugees from countries neighbouring Syria will also help in the overall management of this situation. More resettlement and humanitarian admission, family reunification, private sponsorship, and humanitarian and refugee student and work visas all serve to reduce demand for people smuggling, onward movements, and dangerous boat journeys. They thus save lives. UNHCR will convene an important conference on this topic in Geneva on March 30 and hopes for concrete offers in this regard. UNHCR is urging Greece and States along the Balkans route to act quickly to avert a disaster and approach this emergency in a spirit of solidarity and sharing of responsibility. Safe access to asylum, shelter and basic assistance, and treating people with dignity and respect must remain essential elements of the response. For more information on this topic, please contact: A young Afghan sleeps at Victoria Square. Athens. Hundreds are now caught there since States along the Balkan Route tightened borders. UNHCR/A. Zavallis GENEVA, March 1 (UNHCR) - Europe faces an imminent humanitarian crisis, largely of its own making, following a rapid build-up of people in already over-stretched Greece, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warned today. "With governments not working together despite having already reached agreements in a number of areas, and country after country imposing new border restrictions, inconsistent practices are causing unnecessary suffering and risk being at variance with EU and international law standards," UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told a press briefing in Geneva. Edwards added that as of last night (Monday), the number of refugees and migrants in Greece and needing accommodation had soared to 24,000. Around 8,500 of these were at Eidomeni, near the border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. "At least 1,500 had spent the previous night in the open. The crowded conditions are leading to shortages of food, shelter, water and sanitation. Tensions have been building, fuelling violence and playing into the hands of people smugglers," Edwards stressed. The Greek authorities have responded with the military setting up two camps near Eidomeni with a projected capacity of 12,500 and a nearby third site already under construction. UNHCR is supplementing the Greek response effort. "We have provided rub halls, tents and refugee housing units, other core relief, plus additional staff and specialists, including protection and technical staff," he added. Overall Mediterranean arrivals have slowed over the winter but remain relatively high. Data as of this morning shows that 131,724 people made the journey during January and February (122,637 of these landing in Greece). This is approaching the total for the first half of 2015 (147,209). So far, 410 lives have been lost. Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR's Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Refugee Crisis in Europe, called for Europe to implement burden-sharing agreements reached last year, warning there was "No plan B." "Greece needs a safety valve it is time for Europe to wake up, either we have a massive orderly relocation from Greece or a repeat of what we saw last year, more chaos and confusion," he told the briefing in answer to questions on the current situation on the ground. He added that some 55 per cent of refugees from Syria currently arriving in Greece were women and children and many were from the north where fighting had recently taken place. UNHCR has reiterated its overall position that solving Europe's refugees and migrants' situation and preventing a new crisis in Greece required a number of clear actions. Among the most urgent of these when it comes to Greece is the need for better contingency planning, with increased accommodation capacity and other support. "The authorities are trying to respond now to prevent a further deterioration of conditions throughout Greece. But, more resources and better coordination are critical for averting wider suffering and chaos," Edwards stressed. UNHCR is continuing to support the response operation and has set up field offices in eight locations and deployed additional staff including mobile emergency teams who quickly move to wherever the changing situation demands. However, with increasing border restrictions across the Balkans, the agency says it is concerned that the situation could escalate into a humanitarian crisis similar to that on the Greek islands last autumn. UNHCR is urging the Greek authorities with the support of the European Asylum Support Office and EU Member States to strongly reinforce its capacity to register and process asylum seekers through the national asylum procedure, as well as through the European relocation scheme. "Greece cannot manage this situation alone. It remains absolutely vital therefore that the relocation efforts that Europe agreed to in 2015 are prioritized and implemented. It should concern everyone that despite commitments to relocate 66,400 refugees from Greece, states have so far only pledged 1,539 spaces, and only 325 actual relocations have occurred," Edwards detailed. Increased regular pathways for admission of refugees from countries neighbouring Syria will also help in the overall management of this situation. More resettlement and humanitarian admission, family reunification, private sponsorship, and humanitarian and refugee student and work visas all serve to reduce demand for people smuggling, onward movements, and dangerous boat journeys. They thus save lives. UNHCR will convene an important conference on this topic in Geneva on 30 March and hopes for concrete offers in this regard. New Delhi: JNU Students Union Vice President Shehla Rashid Shora who had earlier received a hate letter for opposing Ramdev's visit to the university has now received a similar communication over her agitation against imposing of sedition charge on few students. Shehla who is leading a movement against arrest of student union president Kanhaiya Kumar over an event against hanging of Afzal Guru, is planning to approach the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) to complain against the hate letter. The letter received from an anonymous sender at JNUSU office is full of abuses and targets Shehla as an "anti-national" for supporting those accused of sedition. The communication also mentions political leaders Sitaram Yechury and Rahul Gandhi in the same "category" for having visited the campus to express solidarity with students. "This is the second time I have received such a blasphemous letter which is an insult of mine not only as a JNU student but also as a women. Last time I had approached the National Commission for Women (NCW) over the same and have not heard from them about my complaint for over a month," Shehla said. "I will now approach Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) about the letter. This is the best thing the right-wing opponents can come up with," she added. Shehla had last month approached NCW saying she had opposed the invite to Yoga Guru Ramdev to be a keynote speaker in an academic conference at JNU and in return, she had received a letter "hurling abuses" at her. Jawaharlal Nehru University is caught in a row over an event on the campus to commemorate the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, where "anti-national" slogans were allegedly raised. The varsity's students union president Kanhaiya Kumar is in judicial custody in a sedition case in connection with the February 9 event. Two other students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya are in police custody in the same case. Chennai: DMKs rigid posture in seat allocation to DMDK, besides the hurdles faced by BJP in bringing PMK and DMDK together, has raised hopes of Peoples Welfare Front (PWF) leaders, who are optimistic of Vijayakanth teaming up with them for the Assembly polls. The DMK, BJP and PWF are in a stiff race to woo Vijayakanth and rope him in their front. Although, most DMDK functionaries and MLAs want a tie-up with DMK, talks between the two parties are deadlocked as DMK is not yielding to key conditions of Vijayakanth. The BJPs talks with Vijayakanth too are inconclusive as the actor is in no mood to team up with PMK again, as suggested by BJP leaders. A VCK functionary said, The DMK has not agreed to coalition government and unlikely to accept Vijayakanths demands for Deputy CMs post and power share, besides 80-90 seats. My friends in DMDK say Captain has conveyed to the district secretaries that talks with DMK is not moving ahead due to DMKs adamant posture. He has asked district secretaries to carry the message to the lower functionaries that an alliance with DMK is unlikely as the Dravidian party is not yielding to any of his demands. MDMK leaders too are in a cheerful mood and said they are the only front who could fulfill Vijayakanths political agenda. One of them asserted that BJP could not bring the PMK and DMDK together and teaming up with BJP could result in loss of minority votes for DMDK. He said, Vijayakanths cadre had vowed to see him as king. Our leaders are open to consider him as the Chief Ministerial candidate. Besides, corruption is the most important plank for Captain and he will be seen as one compromising with corruption if he joins the DMK front. Political analysts also see more possibilities of Vijayakanth joining PWF as his party could contest a higher number of seats. Political commentator A, Marx said, Vijayakanth seems to be leaning towards PWF as it will fulfill his aspirations of leading the alliance and becoming the CM candidate. But, most of his partymen want a tie-up with DMK and Vijayakanth is trying to pacify them. If the DMK consents to some of the hard but key demands, he may end up in DMK front as well. AIADMK claimed that Karti Chidambaram has invested in real estate across the world (Photo: Video grab) New Delhi: Proceedings in the Parliament were adjourned on Tuesday following an uproar by AIADMK members over former finance minister P Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram's alleged involvement in the Aircel-Maxis scam. AIADMK members marched into the Well of the House and raised slogans against Karti, following which the Rajya Sabha was adjourned. Earlier in the day, following the furore over Minister of State for Human Resource and Development Ram Shankar Katheria's inflammatory rant against the Muslim community, the Congress moved an adjournment motion on the matter in the Rajya Sabha. However, Katheria cried foul saying that the charges against him were completely untrue. According to the footage, Katheria, along with BJP MP from Fatehpur Sikri Babu Lal, had recently attended a condolence meeting held for VHP worker Arun Mahaur, who was allegedly killed by Muslim youth, in Agra. During the meeting, several speakers threatened the Muslim community of revenge. Read: Union minister Katheria claims 'conspiracy' against Hindus, says will show strength Meanwhile, the Congress Party, which gave the privilege motion against Union Human Resource and Development Minister Smriti Irani urged Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan to reprimand the minister, thus maintaining the tradition of the Parliament where no one is allowed to lie. Here are the live updates: 3.50 pm: Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day. 2.15 pm: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 3 pm after uproar by AIADMK members. 2.10 pm: AIADMK continues to protest in well in RS. Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad says this is being organized by ruling party 12.15 pm: Lok Sabha adjourned again till 2 pm after protest by AIADMK members against Karti Chidambaram. 11.45 am: Both Houses of Parliament adjourned till noon after ruckus over BJP minister Ram Shankar Katheria's remarks. Lok Sabha adjourned briefly following uproar by AIADMK members seeking action against former Minister P Chidambaram's son Karthi. 11.40 am: BSP gives privilege motion against HRD minister Smriti Irani in Rajya Sabha. 11.35 am: Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya has given a privilege motion against Jyotiraditya Scindia. "The letter I sent to HRD Ministry never had Rohith's name. Jyotiraditya Scindia has tarnished my image," says Bandaru Dattatreya in Lok Sabha. Read: 'Never mentioned Rohith Vemula's name' in letter to HRD: Bandaru Dattatreya 11.30 am: Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Ranjeet Ranjan give privilege motion against HRD minister Smriti Irani in Lok Sabha. 11.06 am: Lok Sabha adjourned till 11.15 am. 11.00 am: Congress moves adjournment motion in both Houses of Parliament over BJP minister Ram Shankar Katheria's remarks. Katheria created a stir after he called Muslims 'traitors' and 'demons' and asked Hindus to pick up 'guns' for polls. Earlier, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said, "Unfortunately, Sumitra ji is a bit of a partisan speaker and does not give ruling in a correct way. But this is a tradition where the Parliament must come together and reprimand the minister. It is not the matter of a BJP Minister or any other minister. It is a tradition you are setting. Once you let Smriti Irani ji go misleading the house, then any other minister will start doing that. It will be a sad day for democracy if it happens." "It is very clear that Smriti Irani misled the house. There are three factual errors that she made. It is a very serious matter. In the Parliament, ministers cannot quote wrong facts. In this case it was not a mistake because she knew exactly what was happening, she had all the facts with her and deliberately she told lies in the Parliament," he added. Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Ranjeet Ranjan today gave the privilege motion against Smriti Irani in the Lok Sabha as party vice president Rahul Gandhi is expected to address the House today. The Congress gave notice for a privilege motion against Irani yesterday and created a ruckus in the Lok Sabha for a short while before Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stood to present the General Budget 2016-17. The grand old party claimed earlier that Irani's arrogance and blatant lies in Parliament during the discussion on Hyderabad University scholar Rohith Vemula forced them to move the privilege motion against her. Irani in her speech in Parliament had said there was no question of an apology from her. She pointed out that according to a report submitted to the Telangana High Court, the police had reached Rohith's hostel at 7:20 pm when they found the body. "The police said that when they reached the hostel, they found the room open and the dead body was on the table. A hand written suicide note was found. The suicide note that was left behind does not blame anyone," she said. "This is not my submission. This is what the police said. No one allowed a doctor near this child, to revive this child. Instead, his body was used as a political tool. No police was allowed till 6:30 am the following morning. Who tried to help this child?" she asked. A new study reveals that sleep deprivation can trigger powerful changes in how you eat, similar to the 'hedonistic eating' triggered by smoking pot, the Washington Post reports. The new paper was published in the journal Sleep on Monday. The study was partially funded by the Department of Defense. For the study, Eric Hanlon, from the University of Chicago, and her colleagues' studied just 14 healthy men and women in their 20s, but in extremely controlled conditions. The participants came in for two four-day visits during which their sleep and food intake were closely studied. Hanlon explained when asked about how the participants felt about food after normal sleep vs. short sleep that the study subjects reported feeling hungrier when they had had less sleep. "They had a stronger desire to eat and thought they could eat more," she said. The study found that limiting sleep seemed to amplify and change the daily rhythm of a chemical signal known as endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol or 2-AG, that is part of the endocannabinoid system, which impacts appetite as well as motor learning, pain and some cognitive functions. The active ingredient in marijuana also targets the endocannabinoid system. The study showed that when the participants slept less, they not only reported higher scores for hunger and a stronger desire, but also ate nearly twice as much fat as when they had slept for eight hours when they were given access to a buffet. Hanlon explained that staying awake longer could lead the body to crave more food to create the additional energy it needs. In the study, for example, the participants who slept less ate an average of 300 extra calories. "What we found is that it's not just about energy homeostasis but also for the reward or pleasurable aspects of hedonistic eating," Hanlon said. In a commentary accompanying the paper, Frank Scheer of the Medical Chronobiology Program at Harvard University's Brigham and Women's Hospital, said that despite the study's limitations, it provides "compelling" evidence that our brains as well as our bodies may trigger hunger when we've had inadequate sleep. The researchers suggest that the impacts on net global wealth may not be that straightforward (Photo: Pixabay) Washington: A new study has warned that global warming will drive vast and unpredictable shift in natural wealth by taking from the poor and giving to the rich. Many studies have shown that critical natural resources, including fish stocks, are moving poleward as the planet warms. The study from Yale, Rutgers, Princeton, and Arizona State universities suggests that these biophysical changes are also reallocating global wealth in unpredictable, and potentially destabilizing, ways. On its surface, these biophysical movements will shift resources from communities and nations closer to the equator into places closer to the poles. In many cases this would seem to exacerbate inequalities between richer and poorer communities. The researchers suggest that the impacts on net global wealth may not be that straightforward. In fact, they make the case that changes are more likely than not to produce an overall net loss in global wealth. The reason, says lead author Eli Fenichel, is the inevitable and unpredictable price impacts in places where the quantities of fish stocks increase depending on the quality of its resource management, existing institutions, and fishing regulations. Co-author Malin Pinsky said, "We tend to think of climate change as just a problem of physics and biology. But people react to climate change as well, and at the moment we don't have a good understanding for the impacts of human behavior on natural resources affected by climate change." To illustrate their case, the authors model potential outcomes in two fictitious fishing communities (Northport and Southport) in the face of climate-driven shifts in fish populations. Southport's fish stocks decline as the climate changes while Northport's stock increases; it's a scenario that reflects changes anticipated in areas such as the mid-Atlantic and the waters off New England in the eastern US. According to their analysis, if fish quantities increase in a northern community, for instance, it will likely cause a devaluation of that resource locally, particularly if that community isn't equipped to manage the resource efficiently. "If the northern community isn't a particularly good steward or manager, they're going to place a low value on that windfall they just inherited," Fenichel said. "So the aggregate could go down." "To be clear, the 'gainers' here are clearly better off," he said. "They're just not more better off than the losers are worse off. The losers are losing much more than the gainers are gaining. And when that happens, it's not an efficient reallocation of wealth." The analysis suggests that policy discussions around climate change should address how the physical changes will affect wealth reallocation, rather than allowing nature to redistribute this wealth in an unpredictable, "willy-nilly" manner. The study appears in the journal Nature Climate Change. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. All the latest Uttoxeter news Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. UW Art Museum Receives Gift of Ancient Small Bronzes This garment ornament of an animal head is among 35 ancient small bronzes given to the UW Art Museum by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation. (Gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation) The University of Wyoming Art Museum recently received a gift of 35 small bronzes, dating from the 13th to first centuries B.C. A gift from the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, the bronzes originate from the horse-riding dwellers of the Eurasian Steppe, a region that extends from Northern China westward through Mongolia to the plains of Eastern Europe. Bronzes in the collection range from a 10-inch-long sword to a 1-inch garment ornament of an animal head. Small bronze sculptures, such as these, are the best-documented artistic medium from the Eurasian grasslands, says Susan Moldenhauer, UW Art Museum director and chief curator. This significant gift represents only a fraction of the collection Arthur M. Sackler amassed over his lifetime, and it is a testament to Dr. Sacklers generosity and avid support of the arts, Moldenhauer says. The museum looks forward to sharing these beautiful small works with the academic community, preschool through 12th-grade students and the general public. A selection of the small bronzes will be included in the summer exhibition New Acquisitions: The Art Museum Collection, which will be on display June 8-July 23 at the Art Museum. For more information, call the Art Museum at (307) 766-6622, visit the website at www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum, or follow the museum on Facebook and Instagram. Through its Museum as Classroom approach, the UW Art Museum places art at the center of learning for all ages. Located in the Centennial Complex at 2111 Willett Drive in Laramie, the museum is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday hours are extended to 7 p.m. February through April and September through November. Admission is free. About Arthur M. Sackler Although he was a research psychiatrist and entrepreneur, Sackler was an avid student of art history, and Asian art became the core of his collections. A generous benefactor, Sackler funded many museums and galleries, including the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution and the Sackler Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation was established in 1965 to make available to the public his extensive art collection. For more information about the foundation, visit http://arthurmsacklerfdn.org/. UW Energy Resources Council to Meet March 11 The University of Wyoming Energy Resources Council (ERC) will meet at 8 a.m. Friday, March 11, at the BP Collaboration Center in the Energy Innovation Center on the UW campus. Council members will hear updates on personnel, divisions, legislative issues, the Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute and new budgetary amendments. The council will reconvene after lunch as the Advanced Conversion Technologies Task Force (ACTTF) to hear information about the Integrated Test Center, technology commercialization and updates on the Centers of Excellence. The ERC was established by the Wyoming State Legislature in 2006. Made up of representatives from industry, state government and academia, the council advises the School of Energy Resources on priorities for research and outreach. The ACCTF consists of the voting members of the Energy Resources Council; it awards funds for advanced conversion research. The UW School of Energy Resources (SER) provides undergraduate and graduate education, conducts research on existing and emerging industry resources, and disseminates scientific, engineering and economic information to support Wyomings near- and long-term energy future. People with disabilities requiring special accommodations to attend this meeting should call the SER at (307) 766-6897. Information about the SER is available at www.uwyo.edu/SER. UW to Host World Languages Day Approximately 350 junior high and high school students are expected to attend the fourth annual World Languages Day March 4-5 at the University of Wyoming. The annual event provides a venue for students to showcase their language talents in judged competitions. UWs Department of Modern and Classical Languages sponsors the event, and UW student volunteers and faculty members conduct the workshops. World Languages Day provides an opportunity for students from all over Wyoming grades 6-12 to get together and show off their burgeoning linguistic skills in a fun setting, says Mollie Hand, academic adviser at UWs Department of Modern and Classical Languages. The students will meet others during a Friday night tour of campus, scavenger hunt, dance lessons and foreign language movies. Saturday, students will compete in events that must have a language component such as skits, videos, poetry recitation, songs and cultural presentations in their skill level along with created artwork that will be displayed and judged. After the competitions, visitors have an opportunity to try out new languages during language workshops that feature Chinese, Arabic, Latin, Haitian Creole, French, German and Spanish. Schools competing in the event are: Casper -- CY Middle School; Kelly Walsh High School. Cheyenne -- Cheyenne East High School. Cody -- Cody High School. Evanston -- Davis Middle School; Evanston Middle School. Gillette -- Campbell County High School. Laramie -- Laramie High School. Rock Springs -- Rock Springs High School. Sheridan -- Sheridan High School. Shoshoni -- Shoshoni High School. Sundance -- Sundance High School. Wyoming State Science Fair March 6-8 at UW Qualified Wyoming students will showcase their original projects during the Wyoming State Science Fair March 6-8 at the University of Wyoming. Students will display their science, technology, engineering and mathematics research for the opportunity to qualify for two prestigious science competitions. For students in grades 9-12, the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), in Phoenix, Ariz., is an opportunity to meet student-scientists from throughout the world and the chance to win prizes of up to $75,000. Students in grades 6-8 have an equivalent national competition, Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering Research Scholars). The 30 finalists will be selected later this fall for an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. These are among the largest and most prestigious pre-college science competitions in the world, says Erin Stoesz, Wyoming State Science Fair coordinator and a past winner of nine ISEF awards over three years. Quality of idea and research counts at all levels. The winners at both ISEF and Broadcom MASTERS are the science leaders of the future. At the state science fair, student research may cover areas as diverse as robotics, environmental management, behavioral and social science, energy and transportation, and chemistry. Students competing this year also will participate in enrichment activities and laboratory tours on the UW campus, a pizza and planetarium night, and a robotics demonstration. All competitors will receive T-shirts, welcome bags from the Albany County Tourism Board and an opportunity to meet fellow competitors, says Stoesz, a UW Science and Mathematics Teaching Center assistant lecturer. Science fair is a life-changing and memorable experience for so many students, myself included, Stoesz says. The experience should be fun and educational for every student, regardless of whether they go home with an award. She adds that UW has hosted the Wyoming State Science Fair for many years and continues to be highly supportive of the event. More than 100 judges, community and campus volunteers are contributing to this years science fair. Many local and national organizations, UW departments and industry also are sponsoring special awards. The public is invited to view the student research displays in the Wyoming Union Ballroom during public viewing times Monday, March 7, from 5:30-8 p.m. and Tuesday, March 8, from 8 a.m.-noon. The public also is welcome to attend the awards ceremony program at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 8, in the College of Arts and Sciences auditorium. For more information, contact Stoesz at (307) 766-9863 or estoesz@uwyo.edu. The US department has been forcing Apple to create specialized software to help the FBI hack into an iPhone linked to the San Bernardino terrorism investigation. New York: The US Justice Department cannot force Apple to provide the FBI with access to a locked iPhone data in a routine Brooklyn drug case, a magistrate judge ruled Monday. US Magistrate Judge James Orenstein's written decision gives support to the company's position in its fight against a California judge's order that it create specialized software to help the FBI hack into an iPhone linked to the San Bernardino terrorism investigation. Apple's filing to oppose the order by Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym in California is due by Friday. Syed Farook, who was a health inspector, used the San Bernardino county-owned iPhone 5C. He and his wife Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people during a December 2 attack that was at least partly inspired by the Islamic State group. Apple's opposition to the government's tactics has evoked a national debate over digital privacy rights and national security. Orenstein concluded that Apple is not obligated to assist government investigators against its will and noted that Congress has not adopted legislation that would achieve the result sought by the government. "How best to balance those interests is a matter of critical importance to our society, and the need for an answer becomes more pressing daily, as the tide of technological advance flows ever farther past the boundaries of what seemed possible even a few decades ago," Orenstein wrote. "But that debate must happen today, and it must take place among legislators who are equipped to consider the technological and cultural realities of a world their predecessors could not begin to conceive." A Justice Department spokesman said they were disappointed in the ruling and planned to appeal in the coming days. Apple and their attorneys said they were reading opinion and will comment later. In October, Orenstein invited Apple to challenge the government's use of a 227-year-old law to compel Apple to help it recover iPhone data in criminal cases. The Cupertino, California-based computer maker did, saying in court papers that extracting information from an iPhone "could threaten the trust between Apple and its customers and substantially tarnish the Apple brand." It followed up by declining to cooperate in a dozen more instances in four states involving government requests to aid criminal probes by retrieving data from individual iPhones. Federal prosecutors say Apple has stopped short of challenging court orders judicially, except in the cases before Orenstein and the California jurist who ruled about the San Bernardino shooter's phone. "Ultimately, the question to be answered in this matter, and in others like it across the country, is not whether the government should be able to force Apple to help it unlock a specific device; it is instead whether the All Writs Act resolves that issue and many others like it yet to come," Orenstein wrote. "For the reasons set forth above, I conclude that it does not." Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. "An IED exploded and several were lost; a few of the soldiers who were there to guard them also," Kerry said. (Photo: AP) Washington: Two local employees of the US consulate in the Pakistani city of Peshawar have been killed by an explosive device along with some soldiers while on drug-eradication mission, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday. "Just this morning, I woke to the news that we had lost two local employees in Peshawar who worked with our consulate there who were going out on an effort to eradicate narcotics fields," Kerry told an event in Washington on countering violent extremism. "An IED exploded and several were lost; a few of the soldiers who were there to guard them also," Kerry said. He gave no other details of the incident. The State Department spokesmen did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The British comedian urges voters to not vote for Donald Trump in his hilarious new episode. (Photo: YouTube screenshot) Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has been making news for all the wrong reasons, but that has not stopped him from getting the right endorsements that might help him seal his place as the future President of America. Trump has won three crucial primaries in South Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire, making him a serious contender, a development that is perceived as alarming by many. And John Oliver, the British host of the popular show 'Last Week Tonight' took it upon himself to debunk notions held by Americans that make Trump so popular with the masses. At this point Donald Trump is Americas backmole, it may have seen harmless a year ago, but now that it has gotten frighteningly bigger, it is no longer wise to ignore it, Oliver says in the opening comments of his show, reflecting the sentiments of many poll analysts who did not expect Trump to get this far and had taken his candidature lightly. Olivers take on Trump will leave you in splits but at the same time it is extremely informative for the uninitiated Americans who are rooting for the businessman based on his boisterous personality and his apparent success and wealth. The comedian and political commentator first explains why Americans are rooting for the blonde haired businessman and then offers a point-by-point rebuttal to the views held by the voters. The top four things that seem to attracts voters to Trump are: He tells it like it is He is truly independent and not beholden to anyone His success He is tough But John Oliver tells how Donald Trump is a serial liar, quoting figures from a website called PolitiFact, which checked 77 statements made by Trump and found that 76 percent of them as 'varying degrees of false'. Donald Trump put this photo on his Instagram account. Case in point is Trumps recent Instagram image, which had a quote made by Mahatma Gandhi - "First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win - Mahatma Gandhi." But there is no proof that the iconic leader had ever said that, and according to WikiQuote, the quote has largely been falsely attributed to Gandhi. Oliver also busts the largely held belief that Trump is very successful and talks of how he had inherited most of his wealth from his father and had even lost most of it. Dont vote for him because 'he tells it like it is', because he is a serial bullsh**ter, Dont vote for him because 'he is tough', because he is a baby, with even smaller fingers, dont vote for him because 'he is a builder', because he is more of a shi*** lifestyle brand, appeals John Oliver. He points out the most problematic trait of Trump that he is inconsistent. He's been pro-choice and pro-life, for and against assault weapon bans, in favor of both bringing in Syrian refugees and deporting them out of the country," Oliver says. But his inconsistence is all right for a private citizen, but not for an individual who can be the potential President of the country. But the most hilarious reveal made by John Oliver on the show is that, Donald Trumps family name was not always Trump. The family name was originally Drumpf and one of their ancestors had gotten it changed to Trump. Tonight I am asking America to make Donald Drumpf again, Oliver says, explaining how many associate the name Trump as a strong brand in itself. Oliver tears into Republican and warns America to be not be blinded by the magic of his name. But would you vote for a man called Donald Drumpf? Watch the full episode here: Overloading a network is a common type of cyber attack known as a denial of service, but Carter hinted that other techniques are being used. (Photo: AFP) Washington: The Pentagon is expanding its cyber war against ISIS computer networks, senior defence officials said Monday as they claimed to have seized the momentum in the 18-month-old fight against the jihadists. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter and the US military's top officer, General Joe Dunford, told reporters the United States was determined to "accelerate" the anti-ISIS campaign, and indicated cyber warfare is playing an increasingly important role in doing so. The US-led coalition is working to disrupt ISIS's command chain "to cause them to lose confidence in their networks," Carter said. He did not offer technical specifics but said the tactic was to "overload their network so that they can't function, and do all of these things that will interrupt their ability to command and control forces there, control the population and the economy." Overloading a network is a common type of cyber attack known as a denial of service, but Carter hinted that other techniques are being used. "The methods we're using are new, some of them will be surprising and some of them are applicable to other challenges... we have around the world," he said. Carter and Dunford visited the US Cyber Command headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland in January and encouraged workers there to "do what they can" to intensify the fight against the IS group. Nearly two years since it started bombing ISIS positions in Iraq and Syria, in a campaign that also included training and equipping local anti-IS forces, the US-led coalition is now focusing on cyber tactics. 'Momentum now on our side' While the ISIS group maintains a firm grip on vast areas of Iraq and Syria, the jihadists have suffered some serious setbacks. In Iraq, coalition-supported Iraqi forces recaptured Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province west of Baghdad, in December. And in recent weeks in Syria, a largely Kurdish group called the Syrian Democratic Forces, again backed up by commando training and US-led precision air strikes, encircled the town of al-Shadadi in Hasakeh province, then moved in and recaptured it from the jihadists. "Because of our strategy and our determination to accelerate our campaign, momentum is now on our side and not on ISIL's," Carter said, using an alternative abbreviation for the ISIS group. Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted the next major step in Iraq -- to retake the key city of Mosul -- is already well underway even though Iraqi officials have been skeptical that the task could be accomplished this year. "People have confused maybe when would Mosul be secure with when will operations start," Dunford said. "Both in terms of the cyber capability, as the secretary spoke about, as well as operations to cut the line of communications and begin to go after some of the targets in and around Mosul, those operations have already started." For the coalition, a key prize is the recapture of Raqa, the ISIS group's de facto capital. Pentagon officials have suggested local forces are getting closer to mounting an assault. Despite defeats in Iraq and Syria, the ISIS group has nonetheless expanded its presence in Libya. US warplanes and drones on February 19 pulverized a jihadist training camp near the Libyan coastal city of Sabratha, killing dozens of people including an IS operative who allegedly helped plot two deadly attacks in neighbouring Tunisia. Dunford said the Pentagon was looking at ways to increase such strikes. "Where there is opportunity to conduct operations against ISIL, to disrupt them at this point and not undermine the political process, that is where we are," he said. The Instagram post included a picture of hordes of supporters rallying at a Donald Trump campaign stop in Alabama. (Photo: Twitter) Washington: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Monday posted a quote on Instagram attributing it to Mahatma Gandhi, but the American media said there is no evidence that the Indian leader had ever used these words. "First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win - Mahatma Gandhi," Trump wrote on social networking site Instagram as part of his effort to rally supporters. The Instagram post included a picture of hordes of supporters rallying at a Trump campaign stop in Alabama. Soon, the anti-Trump lobby was up in flames on the social media. The Hill, a top US political website, said, "There's no record that Gandhi ever used the phrase, which has been widely attributed to him." The quotation appears to be similar to words used in a 1918 trade union address by socialist leader Nicholas Klein, it said. Christian Science Monitor has put this among the top 10 political misquotes. There was no immediate response from the Trump's campaign on the issue. "Gandhi did not say this," one Scott T Smith wrote on twitter. Trump sought to quote Gandhi a day after he was criticised for re-tweeting Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini early Sunday morning. "He got tired of quoting Mussolini and he's saving the Hitler quotes until he's really desperate," tweeted Brad Fraser. Several popular websites have attributed this quote -- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win - to Mahatma Gandhi. According to Wikiquotes, this is the quote, which is often misattributed to Mahatma Gandhi. Washington: The State Department on Monday released the 14th and final batch of emails from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's private server, bringing the total to more than 52,000 including some 2,000 that were censored for containing information now deemed classified. In releasing the final batch of 3,800 documents, the department also settled a long-running dispute over one sensitive email as intelligence agencies dropped a months long demand an exchange on North Korea's nuclear program to be designated "top secret," the highest level of classification. The State Department, which had insisted the information was not classified at all, partially won its battle over the document as the intelligence community revised its initial assessment and determined the information was "secret," the next lower classification. "Based on subsequent review, the intelligence community revisited its earlier assessment," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters. He added: "The original assessment was not correct and the document does not contain top secret information." The announcement came a day before Clinton competes in 11 Democratic primary contests. She is the front-runner to win the Democratic presidential nomination. The department faced a Monday deadline set by a federal judge to release the final documents from the private server Clinton exclusively used while in government. Clinton aides went through her emails and turned over the ones they determined to be work-related. The North Korea email is one of two that Charles I. McCullough, lead auditor for US intelligence agencies, identified last year as particularly problematic. The other concerned the CIA's drone program and led to officials classifying 22 emails from Clinton's private account last month as "top secret." They were withheld from publication. No emails Clinton wrote or received were marked as classified at the time of transmission, which Clinton has repeatedly cited in her own defence. As with earlier releases, Monday's contained emails with information that has been upgraded to "secret" and "confidential." Two hundren and sixty one were so identified, bringing the total of such upgrades to more than 2,050 for the entire set. No material in Monday's release contained documents with information now deemed "top secret." After some 20 years in the wrestling business, the established Kurt Angle has made many friendships, accumulated a huge fan base and gained knowledge throughout his illustrious career. The self-proclaimed 'best in the business' is one of the few remaining icons in the industry and lucky fans got a chance to put their questions to the 47-year-old at a recent question and answer session in London. A return to WWE has been a hot topic for a while now with the former Tag Team Champion reportedly interested in a 'Team Angle' reboot, but with many issues facing the company the wrestling machine offers his thoughts in the build up to WrestleMania 32. On Booing Roman Reigns Angle says he understands the fan's frustrations over Roman Reigns (image: BleacherReport.com) The talk surrounding Roman Reigns is now inescapable during the build up to what is being labelled 'The Big One' and the veteran superstar was no Houdini during the fan orientated session. With 30-year-old Reigns set to headline WM 32 in Dallas going one-on-one with authority member Triple H, fans are split between the booking decision but who else is better to ask for their opinion than a man who headlined 'The Grandest Stage of Them All' at WrestleMania 19 against Brock Lesnar. Angle's thoughts on the fan rejection towards the push of the former Shield member was clear, he believed there were too many favourable matches that have caused 'The Big Dog' to become stale very quickly as he said he could "understand fan's frustrations." The four-time WWE Champion offered a simple solution for the predicament "turn him heel" in a rather blunt admission, but it could prove to be the simplest and boldest move but most importantly the right move. Angle's success truly arrived upon turning heel after his character originally maintained a comedic nature to his personality, it was not until Judgement Day 2002 - after losing to Edge in a stipulation match that saw him forced to shave his head- that he became 'The Wrestling Machine' as his well famed bald head become the emblem of his no nonsense persona. On Shane McMahon return Shane McMahon returned to Monday night raw with a huge 'pop' from the crowd (image: therollingstone.com) The son of chairman Vince McMahon returned to WWE television on last week's Monday Night Raw receiving a huge pop from the crowd in what was the most unexpected moments of the past year. Shane McMahon announced 'a deal' his father had made with him to take control of the company in its time of need. After angling for a complete takeover of Raw, Shane-O-Mac was cornered into a huge match at WrestleMania 32 against The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell contest. Angle felt this was a great move for WWE describing it as "The best thing" the company had "done in five years." The bold statement offered perspective to how an established professional outside of the company has viewed the recent years of the company, and many would agree that in the PG Era the product has become restrained and too simplistic, lacking any real surprises. This is why the crowd reaction last Monday may have been so emphatic. Shane left the company in 2009 stating he needed not to "spend more time with family" and cites his "father's shadow" as one of the key reasons of his release. After venturing out successfully into the business world, the father of three became chairman of a broadband company in China before he becoming CEO of YOU, an videoing service in Asia, dubbed 'The Netflix of China.' With an impressive stock standing at $36 million and rising it's clear the former Hardcore champion is not returning to his family's company to make a profit to which Angle said on the 46-year-old's return "He must really love his family." On Chris Benoit Angle faced of against Benoit on a number of occasions (image: Sportskeeda.com) Despite most wrestlers shying away from any mention of the rabid wolverine, Angle answered the questions regarding his former friend citing him as "The best wrestler I have faced." The history regarding the tragic death of the 40-year-old has been well documented, but the WWE have opted to ignore the death of the 2004 Royal Rumble winner. The acts he committed to his wife and child are not ones a publicly traded company rightly deem acceptable. The overlook of the deceased Canadian has been something that Angle has spoken about in the past as he revealed to WrestleTalk TV in December 2015 "If things did not end up the way they did" he believed people would be "talking about Benoit as the best ever." This year could be a hard time for property investors in South Africa as the country's economy is currently experiencing crisis, resulting to slower rate of property investment. Based on the information from SA Commercial , South Africa is facing economic recession. It is possible that the property investment rate in South Africa could be in a junk status. Economists are now concerned that SA's economy will barely grow this year. The International Monetary Fund recently forecast 0.7% growth for 2016 which will make its operating environments highly difficult for property developers and even owners, reports Ortneil Kutama, SA Commercial Prop News Media Director. Apparently, the property sector got the biggest impact as a result of the economic recession in South Africa that led to restrict investor shares from the said sector and move to offshore investments. As reported by BBC news, South Africa's GDP growth fell from 1.7% to 0.9%. As the result, there was 25% unemployment and widespread poverty. This fact was also confirmed by the Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, who admitted "There is no doubt about the fact that we are in crisis". To solve this, the Finance Minister tried to save the government spending. The solutions he brought are freezing civil service jobs and rising tax. These tax increase affects property sales, fuel, sugary drinks, alcohol, tobacco and capital gains. The tax hikes should help raise an additional 18.1 billion rand in revenue in the year 2016 and 2017. Therefore, it would be hard for property investors to expand their investments. According to The Africa Report, Pravin Gordhan is trying to overcome this crisis, but accepting loans from other countries is not the best solution. "We cannot spend money we do not have. We cannot borrow beyond our ability to repay. Until we can ignite growth and generate more revenue, we have to be tough on ourselves" told the Finance Minister to the parliament. Meanwhile an analysis on Pravin's solution said that his proposal is a good option. London-based EMEA analyst, Rajiev Rajkumar said that lower projections for the budget deficit are a plus. But he also stated that the "Country's weak economy could be cause for further ratings downgrades to junk status." The economic recession reflects the future of property investment in South Africa. The higher tax, increase of unemployment and slower business demand should be cautioned by property investors in this country. Famous coffee chain company Starbucks announced on the 29th of February a partnership to open its first store in Milan, Italy. The Licensee in Italy is said to be Percassi, a renown retail and real estate developer. The company CEO, Howard Schultz, made a deal with Antonio Percassi to open up a new store in Milan, Italy. "We know that we are going to face a unique challenge with the opening of the first Starbucks store in Italy, the country of coffee, and we're confident that Italian people are ready to live the Starbucks experience, " said the Percassi president in a prepared statement, according to The Seattle Times. Based on the information from The Guardian, Starbucks has already entered in Europe, but it has not been as successful there as in other markets. The company entered Britain in 1998 and it has now more than 2,000 stores worldwide, making up about 10% of stores globally. Schultz reportedly visited Milan for the first tie thirty three years ago and he was impressed with the place. It is tremendously an honor for him to finally able to make his mark in the city that has once inspired him. According to DW, with other major companies, Starbucks in Europe has come under the spotlight for its tax arrangements. In 2015, it paid as much UK corporation tax as it did in the first 14 years of its operations there. The company had come under pressure to end its complex tax structures, shifting profits out of the UK into lower tax jurisdictions. Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee since 1971. Today, with more than 23,000 stores around the globe, Starbucks is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through its unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, it brings the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. Percassi on the other hand, is a business company whose activities are focused on managing its portfolio of own trademarks. In the past, Percassi developed stores worldwide for the Benetton Group and contributed to the entry and growth in the Italian market of Inditex (Zara, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Pull and Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius) as well as of Swatch, Calvin Klein, Guess, Tommy Hilfiger and Levi's. Percassi operates also in the Real Estate business with the development and improvement of major real estate projects in the sales and managerial sector, always at the forefront of innovation and high quality. Starting April 1, India is going to induce 250 billion rupees or $3.65 billion of capital to lenders controlled by the government due to bad and restructured loans set to climb from a 14-year high. The introduction target follows with the 250 billion rupees which the government revealed in August for the government-controlled lenders for the year 2017. The funding will help banks to boost capital buffers submitting to a deadline set by Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan to clear their balance sheet, according to Bloomberg. "We are now confronted with stressed assets at public sector banks, which is a legacy of the past," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Monday in New Delhi while presenting the federal budget for the year ending March 2017 to parliament. The government will find "additional resources" if the banks require more money, he said. Twenty-four government-controlled lenders, being directed by State Bank of India, have power to more than two-thirds of the nation's banking assets. Due to political interference history, poor management and deficiency of bankruptcy code, large debts became unrecoverable, as reported by CNBC. Lenders have been struck hard by an increase in bad and troubled loans even if the economy has grown fast; rising the capital necessity which is more than 1.8 trillion rupees the government estimates they must increase to fit the global bank capital rules by 2018. Some banks became relieved from what Finance Minister Jaitley said that the state would back the lenders in case they need capital. He said that the government will consider slashing its share in government-state run IDBI Bank to below 50%, making the bank's stakes higher by up to 16.5%. He also added that the government will enable asset reconstruction companies which buy loans from banks, to be wholly owned by their sponsors. This is a step aimed at supporting the sector that is capital-deficient. Foreigners are also allowed to own 100% of these companies without the need to ask prior government approval, Reuters reports. Banks owned by the government comprise of more than 70% of India's unpaid loans. State-controlled lenders will need infusions of 1.8 million rupees in shares to adapt with international standards under Basel III regulatory regime. The Canadian drug company admitted to be under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies. Afterward, the company's shares was down 18% on Monday trading. Valeant spokeswoman Laurie Little admitted as quoted by Reuters, "Valeant confirms that it has several ongoing investigations, including investigations by the U.S. Attorney's Offices for Massachusetts and the Southern District of New York, the SEC, and Congress." The company's share plunged 18% on Monday trading to close at $65.80 per share. Indication of the investigation came after the Quebec-based company cancelled to release its fourth-quarter earnings and withdrawing 2016 financial guidance. Meanwhile it also announce that its CEO Michael Pearson returned from two-month absence of medical leave. CNBC was first reported on Sunday regarding the return of Valeant's CEO Michael Pearson from medical leave, and the postpone of its fourth-quarter results planned for Monday. The Canadian drugmaker said in a statement that it had received a subpoena from the SEC. However further details regarding the investigation is not available. Valeant stated that due to the investigation, its fourth-quarter result announcement and formal regulatory filing of 10-K is being delayed. Market Analyst of BMO Capital Markets Alex Arfaei in his note to investors as quoted by Bloomberg wrote, "The withdrawal of prior 2016 financial guidance is clearly negative." However the return of Michael Pearson as CEO is deemed positive as, "few other executives would be as qualified, and incentivized, in turning Valeant around." Michael Pearson is known with his serial acquisition and also played a major role in surging the company's drug price following acquistion of other companies. Last December, he was hospitalized due to severe pneumonia. The news of his comeback is expected to regain trust from investors as the company was under pressure for its price hike and series of investigation. The controversy began in September, when Valeant increased drug price by 66% resulting a ridiculously high price of its drug in the United States. Price of its flucystosine is 10,000% higher in the U.S. than Europe. While the company also increase the price of two important drugs Nitropress and Isuprel to 212% and 525% respectively. More than that, following acquisition of Salix Pharmaceuticals last year, Valeant surged the price of the diabetes pill Glumetza by 800%. Pearson and his business model was under heavy criticism, as the company shares sunk and investors turned away as the company's business model was under fire. Later on, the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform subpoena the company. The committee investigated companies operated in the U.S. which involved in raising drug price to skyrocket. Now Valeant was also under the investigation by SEC with an undisclosed . The company shares dropped on Monday by 18% after the company admitted the investigation. Converse unveils its newest concept of sneakers as the next generation of Chuck II. The innovative new model, called the Chuck II Reflective Print, proves that Converse is adopting a new approach to updating its shoes. The Chuck II franchise was first launched in July. The initiative began in 2014 where the 108-year-old company's executives decided that their products needed to be updated. They realized that the Chucks models have become repetitive with updates only on the colors, graphics, and collaborations, even though the shoemaker has been acquired by Nike Inc. in 2003. The new concept showed some differences from the classic Chuck Taylor. The Converse All-Star patch on the side is no longer stamped but embroidered. The shoelace eyelets are not silver but monochrome without the shiny effect. The shoes also have non-slip padded tongue and micro-suede lining. Chuck II also receive the Nike influence with its Nike Lunarlon footbeds. Many sneaker-enthusiasts commented that although the new collection is comfortable, it has lost the true concept of Chuck Taylors and has lost a bit of style compared to the classic version. The new Converse's Reflective Print adopt the changes in the Chuck II franchise. "When creating the latest version of our successful Chuck II sneaker, we were inspired by our consumers and being able to further enhance their creative and active lifestyles," said product director at Converse Ryan Case, as quoted by Footwear News. Case further explained the distinctive feature between the Chuck II and the new collection of Reflective Print. "With the Chuck II Reflective Print, we've given our consumers a sneaker that provokes personal style while enhancing visibility in low light, enabling them to do more of what they enjoy throughout the day or night. According to KicksonFire, The reflective print models in the collection are specially designed to improve visibility. The shoemaker aims to provide users with some more functionality aside from the visual aesthetics of the design. Reflective shoes could help users doing their activities in low-light places or at night and give users a safety benefit. According to Bloomberg, in 2003 Converse had annual sales of around $200 million. In 2015, the amount surged to nearly $2 billion, or about 6.5 percent of Nike's total sales. However, the company faces decline in sales in the last two-quarters of the last three years. The shoemaker blamed a weaker euro and anemic sales in the U.K for the slowdown while sales remained strong and stable in the U.S. Converse is paying more attention to functionality and comfort to update its shoes, besides keeping on improving the look and visual design. With the new approach, the shoe company expects that its products could give more to users. Converse unveiled its newest Chuck II Reflective Print with functionality updates. The world's second largest economy will have its new financial super-regulator very soon. Considering the growing concerns about market stability and weakening investor confidence, the Chinese government is in the process of appointing a new financial super-regulator. China is working on creating one regulatory entity for banking, securities and insurance sectors. The ongoing sluggish stock markets are propelling the Chinese government to revamp its financial monitoring mechanism as its previous one was considered to be ill-adapted and not adhering to ground realities. Bloomberg reports that the Chinese government has been doing a lot of brain storming over a proposal to merge regulators from banking, securities and insurance segments into one. China is very keen on new financial regulatory system and the appointment of regulator. People's Bank of China (PBOC) will have more powers to oversee the economy. Discussions are going on how to create a single entity for banking, securities and insurance segments. The creation of single super regulatory body will handle the functions of all the three segments. The country's government has been seeking a more open financial system to tackle economic slowdown after last summer witnessed a massive sell off of $5 trillion stocks and several financial scams. The introduction of circuit breakers in the stock market has further increased pressure on regulators. Chinese currency Yuan is also falling continuously since December 2015 recording its longest run of decline. Chinese markets tumbled on last weekend just days after the appointment of Liu Shiyu as the new Chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). A senior official at CSRC opined that it's challenging to find out the best supervisory path in the country. The market has been divided between small and big players, a totally different one from that in the US, as reported by South China Morning Post. Highlighting the lack of coordination in the fragmented system, Hu Xingdou, an economics professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology, said "This should have been done a long time ago. Under a fragmented system, each regulator is going its own way. There's a lack of coordination and sharing of data, it's bureaucratic and there's a lot of overlap." The recent lapses in financial system led to different standards for capital requirements and entry norms for business operated by various institutions. Internet finance is another example. As per rules framed in July 2015, the central bank has to supervise online payments, while China Banking Regulatory Commission oversees internet lending, trusts and consumer finance. Recently, the Chinese government replaced Xiao Gang, Chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission, with Liu Shiyu, Chairman of Agricultural Bank of China. The latest turmoil in financial markets led to the dismissal of Xiao. Investors were not surprised, however, over the change at top position of CSRC as Xio managed to remain in his position for long, according to CNBC. The securities regulator was to handle equity crowd-funding and online fund sales. This multiplicity and complex structures have created competition among regulators resulting in overlapping supervision with a territorial mindset. With a number of new venture capital (VC) firms coming up, Israel registered an inflow of $665 million VC funding during the first two months of the year. The recent market crash couldn't affect the funds inflows. Investment firms in Israel have received over $665 million new funding in January and February of 2016. Though it's not direct investment, the funding requirements for startups at several stages can be met with this funds inflow. Israel's Secondary Fund with a corpus of $100 million has been set up in February. Catalyst CEL, in partnership with Catalyst Private Equity, has floated its first private equity (PE) fund of $200 million for Israel-based startups. Catalyst fund focuses on mid-to-late stage funding requirements for startups in Israel in manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare and water sectors, according to Tech Crunch. Titanium Investments from Russia has launched a $50 million fund for Israel startups. Israel's venture capital firm TLV Partners has also unveiled a new fund with $115 million in February. All these announcements put together make more than $665 million new commitments made during the first two months of 2016 in funding support for Israel startups. Dror Glass, Managing Partner of ISF, said in a statement: "The secondary market has been developing rapidly in the recent years in Israel and it continues to grow at an accelerated pace. Investments of over $30 billion in Israeli funds and technology companies in the past decade have created an Israeli secondary market potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars." Times Of Israel further adds that about 300 startups in the country received funding for the first time in 2015. Despite the market crash, venture capital funding continued to flow into Israel. According to a data from Israel Venture Capital (IVC) and law firm APM and Co, the country's most active venture capitalists Singulariteam, founded by Moshe Hogeg and Kenges Rakishev, have been leading the funding activity. Secondary markets in Israel are also attracting funding support from several nations. Debt instruments for alternative financing for startups are also gaining momentum of late. European Investment Fund (EIF) and Bank Leumi along with Leumi Tech have made a deal to increase lending support to Israeli-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The number of startups in Israel rose to 1,400 in 2015. About 373 startups raised $3.58 billion capital and 69 firms have been sold for $5.41 billion. Israel-based startups gave an exit opportunity for investors, who got $1.5 from exit route for every $1 invested, according to Geektime. The new agreement of European Investment Fund (EIF), Bank Leumi and LeumiTech will bring in a funding support to the tune of $100million for Israeli cloud tech, fintech, SaaS and digital media startups. Puerto Rico, the island territory of U.S. is facing debt the crisis. U.S. officials have alarmed about the debt, while governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla reiterated debt moratorium warning. Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla reiterated that his government may stop making payments as soon as May on $70 billion in debt, unless U.S. assist the commonwealth's efforts to restructure its obligations. In his State of the Commonwealth speech in San Juan, as quoted by Bloomberg, governor Padilla said, "We have to solve this problem this year." He also pleaded, "If the Congress doesn't act, in May bond payments will not be made. We would have to stop paying police officers, medical workers, and firemen. Under this situation, I will pay government workers." U.S. lawmakers is considering option to allow federal government play more central role in the Puerto Rico debt crisis, which began to escalate in June. At that time, governor Padilla had mentioned the Puerto RIco's government could not afford to pay its debt. The commonwealth of Puerto Rico has already defaulted on some securities and the governor has warned that he may declare moratorium if federal government do not act to help. Governor Garcia Padilla repeated the warning in his speech, as its retirement system has only about $2 billion of assets while its liabilities is at $46 billion. On Monday, the governor sent letter to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan via email, stating that Puerto Rico will finish its much-delayed audited financial statements for 2014 by April. Reuters reported that governor also explained the reason of delay because of the "complexities posed by our current financial crisis." He also explained further issue which require what he called as "adjustment to such timetable." As financial draft which released last week citing a substantial doubt in the government ability to continue, and KPMG as the auditor has not approved the draft. Republican Congressmen had also criticized the delay and lack of financial transparency from Garcia Padilla's administration. Puerto Rico hoped to receive legislative aid from U.S. Congress to handle its $70 million debt and other issue such as population issues, because many residents are fleeing to mainland U.S. to escape poverty. Paul Ryan has called House of Representatives to propose legislation by the end of March addressing Puerto Rico. Senior official at U.S. Treasury Department also considered the urgency to help Puerto Rico. As CNBC reported, the third-ranking official at the Treasury Department Anthony Weiss during a hearing for the House of Natural Resources Committee said, "The urgency could not be more apparent. What started as a recession has turned into a fiscal and liquidity crisis that shows signs of becoming a humanitarian one as well." Puerto Rico is in dire need from U.S. to help the commonwealth island escaping the debt. While U.S. lawmakers also insisted more financial transparency by the administration. American voters living in Wellington and registered as Democrats voted just after midnight early on Tuesday local time, almost a day ahead of compatriots back home (Representational image: AP) Wellington: New Zealand may be thousands of miles from the US presidential campaign trail but local Democratic Party supporters could boast about being the first in the world to cast ballots in multi-state primaries dubbed Super Tuesday and in a bar, no less. American voters living in Wellington and registered as Democrats voted just after midnight early on Tuesday local time, almost a day ahead of compatriots back home. In keeping with the South Pacific nations informal style, the votes, all 28 of them, were cast in local drinking spot, the Public Bar and Eatery. Handily winning the day in New Zealand was senator Bernie Sanders, who picked up 21 votes, while former secretary of state Hillary Clinton got six. One ballot was spoiled. The results will be confirmed later this month at the global voter tally centre in Germany. Wellington is the first of 111 cities in 41 countries outside the US to cast ballots in the primary for Democrats abroad. Republicans living overseas wont be able to do the same because the party doesnt have a similar mechanism for its supporters to vote in primaries. So far, four states have held primaries or caucuses to choose each partys nominee in Novembers presidential election. On Tuesday, Democrats will be voting in 11 states and American Samoa, with 865 delegates at stake. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the partys nomination. Democrats abroad are allocated 17 of those delegates. Republicans, meanwhile, will be voting in 11 states on Super Tuesday, with 595 delegates at stake towards the 1,237 delegates needed to capture the partys nomination. Americans living in New Zealand include students, people with specialised jobs, and retirees, said Kat Allikian, chair of the Democrats Abroad New Zealand. She said a big motivation for local voters was to stop Republicans winning the White House in particular, leading candidate Donald Trump. The overwhelming concern of all Democrats overseas is this Trump phenomenon that is happening on the Republican side, she said. Its mind-boggling that hes running away with the nomination. Although its not set yet. Allikian said it was an honour to lead the vote among those living overseas. People are really tickled that were the very first in the world, she said. China is planning to layoff millions of workers from 'zombie enterprises' over the next two to three years to reduce industrial overcapacity and pollution levels. The Chinese government has decided to spend 100 billion Yuan ($15.27 billion) on relocating retrenched workers. Though the target of layoff has not been officially announced, some sources say it would be five million, while some estimate six million. However, the boldest measure by the Chinese government will see retrenchment of 5-6 million workers from industries with overcapacity. CNBC reports that the restructuring plan at state-owned enterprises during 1998-2003 resulted in 28 million redundancies and it incurred a cost of 73.1 billion Yuan ($11.2 billion) for the government in resettlement funds. The Ministry of Industry didn't make any announcement in this regard. Yin Weimin, Minister for Human Resources and Social Security, on Monday said the government was anticipating to lay off 1.8 million workers in coal and steel sectors. But the minister didn't mention any time frame for retrenchment. The minister's statement about the retrenchment was the first official statement about the layoff. The Chinese government for the first time mentioned its plan to deal with overcapacity and reducing pollution levels. Yin added "This involves the resettlement of a total of 1.8 million workers. This task will be very difficult, but we are still very confident." About 1.3 million workers will lose jobs in the coal sector and 500,000 from the steel sector. The combined headcount in the China's coal and steel industries stands about 12 million workers. The Chinese government that has earmarked 100 billion Yuan ($15.27 billion) will spent it over two years in relocating workers, according to Reuters. The counrtry is keen on slashing overcapacity in seven sectors including cement, glass making and shipbuilding. However, the solar power industry, though it's oversupplied, may be spared out from the list of restructuring as the government considers it to be growth potential. The latest major decision by the Chinese government is creating tremors in the country. Local governments are expressing concerns over social and economic impact of the massive layoff. It's feared that rise in bankruptcies and unemployment will worsen the economic and social climate in several regions, as reported by Mail Online Wires. China's Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao quoted Premier Li Keqiang as telling US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew that the fund would mostly focus on relocating workers from the steel and coal sectors. Clean-tech companies from British Columbia (B.C.) have asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to allocate a $500 million venture capital (VC) fund. An alliance of 51 clean-tech and investment firms from B.C. province has written a letter to the Prime Minister Trudeau to extend support to clean-tech industry. British Columbia, Canada's western province and is one of the most vibrant clean tech clusters in North America. Generally, stimulus priorities go to same old sectors such as automobile and aeronautics industries. But, clean-tech companies in the British Columbia province are optimistic about bringing in change. The Globe And Mail reports that CEO Alliance of clean-tech companies from B.C. are seeking the government's initiative to invest over $3 billion in loan guarantees, venture capital funding and development funds. The alliance has also proposed to extend tax credits to clean-tech industries in the province. The CEO alliance has called for a $500-million allocation venture capital fund for clean tech companies. The funds could leverage upto $3 billion in total capital. Metro Vancouver area has been witnessing a flourishing of technology companies over the past decade. Several clean-tech companies engaged in several activities. Right from treating industrial waste to tracking power use to developing commercial fusion energy, several clean tech companies have established their operations in the province. The CEO alliance in letter to the Prime Minister stated that the global market for clean technologies rose to over $1 trillion during the past decade. Accordingly, Canada's clean-tech industry exports too picking up on the lines of forestry, livestock and mining exports. The alliance of CEOs from clean-tech industry shot off letter a day ahead of Globe 2016 conference in Vancouver. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will address the conference, as reported by Business Vancouver. However, the exports growth is slowing down these days pulling Canada from 19th position to 14th position in the global market share. The huge investments made by countries such as the US, China, Germany and Singapore are enabling them to evolve new technology applications in the clean-tech industry. CBC News further adds that clean-tech industry is a major pillar of Canada's economy, but it's fast losing market share. To address this problem, the CEO alliance has suggested the government to establish a task force for clean-tech industry. The government in consultation with experts from the industry should chart out a national strategy for clean-tech industry. Canada is lagging in investments, as said the CEO alliance, and so is behind other countries in developing new technologies. The clean-tech industry has urged the Prime Minister to immediately announce $1 billion loan guarantee program to execute projects in early stages. Secondly, a $500-mln allocation for establishing clean-tech venture capital fund. The British Columbia Cleantech CEO Alliance, a group of investors and entrepreneurs, has warned the Canadian government on possible buyer role in clean technology. Lack of more support from the federal government in the clean energy sector has been cited as the reason behind the warning. A letter, addressed to the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has been sent urging the government to do more for development of the sector. Global spending in the industry, during the past ten years, has reached to $1 trillion. Canada's clean-tech sector has increased over the same period. But its share in the global clean energy tech has been eroding, reports CBC News. Investment in Clean Energy has surged to $497 billion globally in 2015 compared to $5.4 billion in Canada. The investment is a 46% plunge from its previous year. Global investment has been increased from $420 billion in 2014. LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR A permanently closed sign greets would-be diners at Red Lobster in Thousand Oaks. The restaurant at 156 W. Hillcrest Drive closed on Sunday. SHARE LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR Flags and Adirondack-style chairs remain in place Monday morning at Red Lobster in Thousand Oaks. The restaurant closed Sunday, just 10 months shy of its fifth anniversary. By Lisa McKinnon of the Ventura County Star Red Lobster in Thousand Oaks closed on Sunday, 10 months shy of its fifth anniversary in a stand-alone building at The Oaks mall and without having ever turned a profit. It is the chain's only closure since it became an independent company in 2014, a Red Lobster Seafood Co. spokeswoman said Monday in an email to The Star. A call to mall owner Macerich was not immediately returned. Red Lobster locations were operated by Florida-based Darden Restaurants Inc. when the restaurant opened at 156 W. Hillcrest Drive in December 2011. Three years later, Darden sold the chain to the San Francisco-based private equity firm Golden Gate Capital for $2.1 billion. The chain reported a 33 percent jump in sales this month after the release of a Beyonce song suggesting that Red Lobster's food be used as a reward for sex. But the Beyonce bounce came too late for Thousand Oaks. The location "has not been profitable since it opened," the spokeswoman said. "Of our 705 company-owned restaurants, this is the only closure we've had since becoming an independent company in July 2014." Managers were offered jobs at other Red Lobster locations and all team members were given advance notice of the closing, along with the opportunity to relocate to a nearby location, according to the spokeswoman. "In addition, team members who continued to work with us from the time we gave notice of the closure through the duration of operations received severance," the spokeswoman said. Diners at the Thousand Oaks location said Sunday that they were told by Red Lobster employees that it was the restaurant's last day of business. Initial reports were that it would stay open till the usual 10 p.m. closing time, but one diner said his party was turned away at around 5 p.m. By Monday morning, signs thanking diners for their business had appeared on the front doors and in a side window. Other windows were blacked out. The signs direct patrons to the two nearest Red Lobsters in Canoga Park and Oxnard. For information, go to https://www.redlobster.com. Betty Berry Q: I am beginning to have some problems with my vision but am unsure of which doctors are trained to do what procedures. Can you provide definitions for doctors and/or providers of eye care? A: I'd be glad to. It is very important to know the difference between the types of eye care specialists and the services they are qualified to perform. There are three types of eye care specialists: ophthalmologists, optometrists and opticians. Ophthalmologists are physicians who are either medical doctors or osteopathic physicians. They specialize in diagnosing and treating diseases of the eye and may perform surgery. They are also licensed to prescribe drugs, administer eye examinations and dispense eyeglasses and contact lenses. Optometrists, while they have earned doctor of optometry degrees, are not medical doctors. They can, however, examine eyes for vision problems and eye diseases. They are also licensed to dispense eyeglasses and contact lenses. The ability of optometrists to diagnose and treat eye diseases and prescribe drugs varies from state to state. In California they can dilate a patient's eyes but must refer the patient to a licensed ophthalmologist for appropriate medical treatment. Opticians fill prescriptions for eyewear written by ophthalmologists and optometrists. They may not prescribe lenses. Federal law gives you the right to a copy of your eyeglass prescription so that you can shop for the best value in eyewear. This Prescription Release Rule requires eye doctors to give you your eyeglass prescription at no extra cost immediately after an eye exam where it is determined that a prescription is needed to correct your vision. Whenever you are in doubt don't hesitate to ask your doctor about specific services he or she is licensed to perform. Q: My neighbor receives an SSI check from the federal government each month. Is this the same as Social Security? A: No. SSI, or Supplemental Security Income, is different from Social Security even though the Social Security Administration oversees the SSI program. The money actually comes from the general fund of the U. S. Treasury and not from the Social Security Trust Fund. SSI is a direct cash assistance program for people who are in financial need. Payments are made to people 65 and older, or who are blind or disabled who meet the strict eligibility requirements. There are two portions to the SSI payments: one is the funding by the federal government, which comes from the general fund of the U.S. Treasury; the second funding is from the State Supplemental Pay Program. For convenience of the recipients the federal and state governments combine their payments into one check, which is rendered by the federal government. To qualify, applicants must have little or no income and very few assets. They must be either United States citizens or in this country legally. If an applicant is eligible for any other benefits such as Social Security, they must apply for those benefits before eligibility for SSI can be determined. If the applicant is eligible because of a disability, he or she must accept vocational rehabilitation services if they are offered. For more information about eligibility and benefits contact your local Social Security office or visit www.socialsecurity.gov. HAPPENINGS: March 9: "Will You Pass Your Next Driving Test?" seminar, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Agoura Hills Recreation & Event Center, 29900 Ladyface Court in Agoura Hills. Reservations can be made online at www.agourahillsrec.org or by calling the center at 818-597-7361. March 12: "What to Expect from a Dementia Diagnosis - Now What?" seminar, 10-11:30 a.m. at Cypress Place Senior Living, 1200 Cypress Point Lane in Ventura. For information and reservations call 650-8000. March 15: "How To Improve Your Driving Skills" seminar, 1:30-3 p.m. at Simi Valley Senior Center, 3900 Avenida Simi in Simi Valley. For reservations call the Simi Center at 583-6363. March 15: "Travel Training Program" seminar to introduce residents to new or unfamiliar services to get around town in a safe, fast and friendly manner, 4-5:30 p.m. at Senior Concerns Day Care Center, 401 Hodencamp Road in Thousand Oaks. For reservations call 497-0189. March 16: "When Every Second Counts" seminar, tips on how to help first responders save you, 1:30-3 p.m. at Westlake Village Civic Center, 31200 E. Oak Crest Drive in Westlake Village. For information call the Advocate's office at 495-6250. Betty Berry is a senior advocate for Senior Concerns. The advocates are located at the Goebel Adult Community Center, 1385 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks or call 495-6250 or e-mail betty@seniorconcerns.org (please include your telephone number.) You are invited to submit questions on senior issues. SHARE By Staff Reports Camarillo High School has won the Ventura County Mock Trial, ending La Reina High School's five-year winning streak. Grace Brethren High School, a private Christian school in Simi Valley, placed second. The winners were announced Monday night in a ceremony at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. In mock trial, students play the roles of all key figures in a hypothetical trial, including attorneys for the defense and prosecution, witnesses and the bailiff. This year, 32 teams competed countywide. Camarillo High now advances to the state mock trial competition March 18-20 in Sacramento. STAR FILE PHOTO A sand truck route for the Broad Beach renewal project in Malibu may lead to Fillmore suing Moorpark. SHARE By Mike Harris of the Ventura County Star The Fillmore City Council has authorized the city to likely join in any litigation filed by Ventura County against Moorpark over a sand truck route agreement with the Broad Beach replenishment project in Malibu. The Fillmore council announced the decision after a closed session last week, City Manager Dave Rowlands said Monday. "The council has authorized our city attorney to work with the county and if the county does file a lawsuit, we will probably be joining the lawsuit," he said. "It's an invalid agreement between Broad Beach and the city of Moorpark" on California Environmental Quality Act grounds, he added. The Moorpark City Council in October ratified the agreement under which each day hundreds of trucks filled with sand from nearby quarries would, in general, avoid Moorpark by traveling to Broad Beach via Highway 126 through Fillmore. Fillmore officials felt blindsided by Moorpark, which didn't include them in discussions about the truck routes. Fillmore officials don't want the trucks rumbling through their city for the same reasons their Moorpark counterparts don't: environmental impacts, including noise and air pollution. The Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 9 authorized the County Counsel's Office to sue Moorpark by an April 4 deadline if the city doesn't rescind the agreement, contending Moorpark should have subjected the pact to a CEQA analysis. The Fillmore council went a step further and authorized City Attorney Tiffany Israel to likely join in any county litigation against the Broad Beach district as well, Rowlands said. But the board authorized possible litigation only against Moorpark, not the district. "It is not the district's responsibility to do CEQA, it is Moorpark's responsibility," Supervisor Steve Bennett said Monday. "CEQA is a requirement of public agencies." Ken Ehrlich, the attorney for the Broad Beach Geologic Hazard Abatement District, said such districts are exempt from CEQA review. The district is the group of wealthy Broad Beach landowners, including Hollywood and business elites, who are funding the $31 million restoration project. Moorpark Councilman Keith Millhouse, an attorney, said any lawsuit by the county and Fillmore "would be completely lacking in merit. They want to spend their taxpayer money in poor fashion, that's their choice. We had to protect ourselves with the Broad Beach issue." Ehrlich said he was disappointed at the latest threat of litigation. He said the Broad Beach district wants to reach a resolution acceptable to all parties and is looking at other possible sand sources so that the trucks don't have to travel through Fillmore. Ehrlich said that since no litigation has been filed yet, "I can't even begin to comment on whether a CEQA argument would be meritorious or not." However, "agreements" are not subject to CEQA, only "projects" are, he said. "The district, probably against hindsight and better judgment, entered into this agreement with Moorpark as a means to try to respond to stakeholders about our truck route," he said. "We weren't trying to somehow avoid legal responsibilities under CEQA." Greenlighted by a divided California Coastal Commission in October, the Broad Beach project will create a new 1.1-mile public beach, including a restored dune system. Ehrlich said he hopes the trucks will start to roll by the fall, whatever the source of sand is. STAR FILE PHOTO Michael Wesner participated in a walking tour of Old Town Saticoy taken by the Planning Commission and the public in 2014. SHARE By Kathleen Wilson of the Ventura County Star Michael Wesner, a longtime member of the Ventura County Planning Commission, is stepping down in two weeks. Wesner, 66, of Moorpark said his resignation was prompted entirely by personal reasons. He and his wife, Susan, are moving to Ohio to be near family, he said. "We have no family left west of the Mississippi and grandbabies are coming," he said Monday. The attorney has served on the panel that rules on land-use issues in the unincorporated part of the county for 21 years, he said. His resignation takes effect March 18 and his last commission meeting is the previous day. Wesner said he stayed on the five-member panel for two decades because he enjoyed interacting with people and making a difference. "You were affecting not only individuals but the entire county," said Wesner, who previously served on the Moorpark Planning Commission. The commissioner said key issues during his tenure included mining proposals, the Toland and Simi Valley landfills and the unsuccessful proposal to develop Ahmanson Ranch near the Ventura and Los Angeles County line. Wesner was first recommended to the Board of Supervisors by former Supervisor Judy Mikels and subsequently her successor, Peter Foy. Foy issued a statement Monday praising Wesner for the time he spent dealing with difficult issues. "Over the years he has put in countless hours listening to public testimony and preparing for those meetings," Foy said. "All of this culminated in well thought out projects that our residents can be proud of." Foy is weighing applications for an appointee to serve the remainder of Wesner's four-year term, which expires in January 2019. Wesner said he will practice law in both California and Ohio after the move. He and his wife plan to live in Columbus, Ohio, where a son, John Michael, and his wife, Jennifer, are expecting the commissioner's first grandchild in mid-March. Still, it will be a "new adventure" for Wesner and his wife, both longtime residents of California, Wesner said. "It is going to be different but family is family," the commissioner said. Get ready for the sexiest birthday celebration ever at Crazy Horse III! Dancer, musician and actor, Kevin Federline, will host his birthday bash, followed by a guest DJ set, at the award-winning gentlemens club on Saturday, March 12. Federline will celebrate his birthday alongside an entourage of close friends and hundreds of the clubs stunning entertainers; one may even be hiding inside a delicious cake, ready to wish Federline an extra special happy birthday. He will also perform a live DJ set and will spin top EDM and hip-hop hits late into the evening. Guests can plan out their night in advance with the new Crazy Horse III app where users can book table reservations, pre-pay for bottle service and view dancer profiles. Complimentary limo transportation to Federlines birthday celebration is available through Crazy Horse IIIs limo service, pending availability, by calling 702-673-1700 or booking through the app. Crazy Horse III is located on Russell Road, just a few blocks west of the Las Vegas Strip. The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System along with sponsors Catholic War Veterans of the USA, Inc. & Auxiliary, Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Chapters 12, 13, & 15, and Elks of Southern Nevada Veteran Services will hold a Welcome Home Celebration for Veterans of all generations and their families on Monday, June 6, 2011. Its a day of celebration, education and information with an opportunity for Veterans to learn more about VA health care, benefits, employment opportunities, education funding , housing and mortgage information. There will be federal, state and community resource representation to assist all Veterans. To all Veterans: Welcome home, and job well done, said Stacy DePriest, LCSW and OEF/OIF/OND Veterans Transition Center Program Manager for the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System. The VA and the Las Vegas Community thank you for serving and protecting our country; now it is our honor and privilege to serve you. The Welcome Home Event will provide Veterans with critical resources to assist Veterans with employment, education, filing claims, health care, as well as many additional community resources and programs. The event is open to all Veterans and will be held Monday, June 6, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Palace Station Hotel & Casinos Grand Ballroom, 2411 W. Sahara Ave, on the 2nd floor. Door prizes will be provided. For further information, call (702) 636-4000 or visit www.lasvegas.va.gov or on Facebook. The girl went to a community centre in London to study the Quran from Islam when the incidents started. (Representational Image) London: An Islamic studies teacher of Bangladeshi-origin found guilty of raping a 14-year-old pupil has been jailed for 19 years by a court. Mohammed Islam, 31, started molesting the girl when she was just nine years old in 2010 before he raped her and made her pregnant in July last year, Snaresbrook Crown Court in north-east London was told on Monday. The girl went to a community centre in London to study the Quran from Islam when the incidents started. Last year when she fell pregnant she decided to delay her abortion long enough to prove Islam was the father of the child through a DNA test. "A profile was obtained that was identical to this defendant.. He was clearly the father of that foetus," said Prosecuting lawyer Robert Brown. Islam pleaded guilty to rape and sexual activity with a child after initially claiming his victim had proposed sex. He admitted to the charges on the first day of the trial when she turned up to testify against him, the 'Sun' reported. "What Mohammed has done to my daughter has broken me. In our religion she is no longer considered a virgin and is therefore unable or unlikely to get married to have a family," the girl's father said in a statement. "I am devastated. I am so angry," he said. Islam, from Bethnal Green in east London, admitted rape, four counts of sexually assaulting a child and two of sexual activity with a child. He was handed a 19-year jail sentence along with two concurrent sentences of five and two and a half years for four counts of sexual assault and sexual activity with a child. Islam was also put on the sex offenders' register and given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and notification. "You were respected as a religious man teaching young children the Quran.. I only hope and pray for her that this abuse will not have a long term effect on her," Judge Sarah Paneth told Islam. "I do not accept that a nine-year old child could possibly have instigated any sexual activity with you. I do not accept that she could in any sense encourage you," the judge said. Cutting-edge magician Jeff McBride hosts Wonderground, a magical, interactive club experience, following his show Magic at the Edge. Special performers this week include Steve Dacri and Kubilay QB Tuncer. Dacri, star of Xtreme Close-up Magic, recently won International Magic Societys Close-up Magician of the Year and has appeared on several television shows including The Tonight Show and Good Morning America. Tuncer, a Turkey native, tours extensively with his stage show, QB and His Magic Friends and has also produced and starred in several Turkish television shows focused on magic. Wonderground is a magical club experience that features interactive close-up magic, uncommon variety acts, performance art, a psychic sideshow and DJ Leo Diaz spinning house, mash-ups and down-tempo techno. The guests are different every week and you never know who might appear. Past celebrity guests have included Lance Burton, Criss Angel and Sophie Evans from the BBC television series The Sorcerers Apprentice. Entrance is $10 at the door, or half price for patrons showing up in magical costumes before 10:30 p.m. Those who have attended McBrides Magic at the Edge show earlier in the evening can show their ticket stub for free admission. For more information, go to www.vegaswonderground.com. WHEN: Friday, Oct. 3 and Saturday, Oct. 4 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. WHERE: Sound Trax Showroom, Palace Station 2411 W. Sahara Ave. Las Vegas based Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas has been selected as one of 500 nonprofit finalists in Toyotas 100 Cars for Good program, a major philanthropic initiative in which the automaker is giving 100 cars to 100 nonprofits over the course of 100 days. Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas was selected as a finalist from more than 4,000 applications nationwide. Each day, beginning May 14, 2012, 100 Cars for Good will profile five finalists at www.100carsforgood.com. Individual members of the public will be able to vote for which ever nonprofit they think can do the most good with a new vehicle. The nonprofit with the most votes at the end of each day will win one of six Toyota models. Runners-up will each receive a $1,000 cash grant from Toyota. Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas will be up for consideration on Sunday, June 24 from 7 a.m. PST to 8:59 p.m. PST. Everyone at Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas is thrilled to have been selected as a finalist for the 2012 100 Cars for Good program, said Dulcinea Almazan, Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas president. Were grateful for this incredible opportunity to hopefully win Sienna van. We hope everyone will help us spread the word now and, of course, will make time to visit www.100carsforgood.com on June 24 to vote for us. At Toyota, we appreciate what a significant impact a new car can have for nonprofits nationwide, noted Michael Rouse, vice president of philanthropy for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Toyota has donated more than half a billion dollars to nonprofits across the U.S. over the past 20 years, and 100 Cars for Good allows us to expand that commitment to local communities in important new ways. The 500 finalists are an extraordinary group, and we look forward to the public learning more about them. 100 Cars for Good is the first initiative to directly engage the public to determine how Toyotas philanthropic donations are awarded. For more information on Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas and its efforts to win one of Toyotas 100 Cars for Good, please visit Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas website at www.bgclv.org. For complete information on 100 Cars for Good and profiles of all 500 finalists, please visit www.100carsforgood.com. Local residents are encouraged to support Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas and their quest for a Sienna van. If Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas receives the most votes and is awarded the vehicle, it will use the vehicle to transport teens from school to the Club and to educational field trips, competitions and sporting events. A six-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty will also be provided for each vehicle, compliments of Toyota Financial Services. A migrant mother with her children await on the Greek side of the border to enter Macedonia near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija on Tuesday. (Photo: AP) Idomeni: Hundreds of refugees on Tuesday tried to break through a border fence into Macedonia from Greece, where more than 7,000 people are stranded, as anger mounts over barriers to entry imposed on migrants flooding into Europe. In a sign of deepening divisions within Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel lashed out at Austria and Balkan states for introducing tight limits on migrant entries, leaving Greece with a growing bottleneck as refugee boats continue to arrive from Turkey. And Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov warned that once Austria reaches its cap of a maximum 37,500 migrants transiting through this year, the refugee route through the Balkans will have to close. At Idomeni on the frontier, Macedonian police fired tear gas as some 300 migrants forced their way through a Greek police cordon and raced towards a railway track between the two countries. Open the borders! they shouted as a group of men used a metal signpost to bring down a section of barbed wire fencing, prompting police to fire volleys of tear gas and block them from crossing. At least 30 people, many of them children, requested first aid in the stampede that ensued, the charity Doctors Without Borders said. Police and market watchdog officers seize products from a branch of network marketing firm Thien Ngoc Minh Uy in Gia Lai Province, located in Vietnam's Central Highlands. Tuoi Tre As of the end of last year, there were 65 licensed multilevel marketing firms, 11 of which were foreign owned, across the country, according to the Vietnam Multi Level Marketing Association (MLMA). In 2015, Vietnams multilevel marketing sector reported more than VND7 trillion (US$312.5 million) in revenue, with 1.4 million distributors receiving a total of VND2.1 trillion ($93.75 million) in commission, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. For most network marketing firms, salespeople not only sell their products but also encourage others to join the companies as a distributor. A person will receive commission not only for the sales they generate, but also for the sales of the other distributors they recruit. However there are firms in Vietnam that only urge people to buy their products and recruit as many distributors as possible without pressuring them to sell anything. There are also companies that promise to pay commissions to distributors even when they do not receive any products to re-sell, or those that recruit salespeople to do nothing. These are all illegal forms of network marketing, said Truong Thi Nhi, chairwoman of the MLMA. In legitimate multilevel marketing business, selling goods is a must, and a person is only compensated on the sales they generate, or the new distributors they recruit, Nhi explained. But many firms do not focus on selling products and instead seek to recruit as many salespeople as possible, she said. Another kind of fraudulent multilevel marketing company is those that sell poor-quality products at exorbitant prices and offer hefty commissions to newly recruited distributors. At workshops to recruit salespeople, these firms talk little about their products, but blind people with promises of a bright future for doing nothing and still being able to rake in dozens of millions of dong per month. (VND1 million = $45) Most fraudulent network marketing companies usually encourage people to buy their products without a proper contract, enabling them to easily swindle distributors out of money. Another sign in recognizing a fraudulent multilevel marketing firm is them not allowing salespeople to return the purchased products, Nhi said. According to the law on multilevel marketing, a distributor is permitted to return the goods and take back their money within 30 days from purchase for any reason, Nhi explained. Kon Tum, a mountainous province in the Central Highlands with a large population of the Gie Trieng ethnic minority, has emerged as a lucrative destination for multilevel marketing firms. A Lan, residing in the provinces Dak Glei District, has paid VND36.6 million ($1,634) to buy four packs of coffee and a pack of tea from a pyramid selling firm, in exchange for a VIP membership. Lan said the company had promised to pay him back the initial investment, plus VND99 million ($4,420) in commission after nine months, which he never received. In Kon Tum, the number of these companies rose to 19 in 2015, with 4,190 people recruited as distributors. This man in Kon Tum paid VND5 million ($2.4) for a Chinese electric oven to join a multilevel marketing network. Photo: Tuoi Tre Vietnam has recently cracked down on many networking marketing firms for swindling, most recently the Hanoi-based Lien Ket Viet Co. On February 20, leaders of Lien Ket Viet were arrested and initial police reports show that the company has appropriated a total of VND1.9 trillion ($85 million) from 45,000 people. Firms like Lien Ket Viet make use of the multilevel marketing scheme for fraudulent purposes and are not real network marketing companies, said Phan Duc Que, head of the unhealthy competition office at the Vietnam Competition Authority. People who want easy money have fallen victim to such companies, and there are also those who know it is an illegal scheme but still join because they are so thirsty for profit. Nhi from the MLMA suggested the Criminal Code be amended to criminally charge those who take advantage of the network marketing scheme for fraud. This will deter swindlers and kick fraudulent firms out of the multilevel marketing market, she said. Three people are killed including a six-year-old child after a car driver looses control of her vehicle and hits several motobikes in Ha Noi's Long Bien District.-Photo vietnamplus.vn The accident occurred at about 7.30am in front of house No.33 on Ai Mo Street in Bo De Ward, when a Camry, with registration number 29A-86623, crashed into several motorbikes travelling in the same direction, head of No.5 Traffic Police Colonel Nguyen Duc Chung said. The car, which was reportedly being driven by a young woman, stopped only after it climbed a pavement and smashed into a tree. Next to the car, the front part of which was severely damaged, lay three motorbikes and their broken parts on the pavement. Local resident Nguyen Thi Truc, 47, who lived in house No.58 on the same street, was run over by the car while she was walking on the sidewalk. The car also hit 64-year-old Tran Viet Tien and his six-year-old granddaughter Tran Gia Han. Tien was reportedly taking his grandchild to school when the accident happened. Truc and Tien died instantly, while the child died on the way to hospital. Residents said the critically injured child could not be taken to hospital immediately as the ambulance did not appear for at least 45 minutes even after the residents made emergency calls. The ward police later had to use the unit's mini truck to rush the victim to hospital. The police are looking for the car driver who fled the scene after the accident. Long Bien District Police Deputy Head Colonel Nguyen Viet Chuc said the police had managed to identify the driver as a 25-year-old woman who also lives in the same neighbourhood. The military-run company was the only representative of Vietnam attended the recent Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2016 in Barcelona, the largest event in the mobile industry, drawing 85,000 telecommunications and information technology companies from around the world. At the four-day event, Viettel presented new information technology solutions and communications services as well as searching for opportunities to expand globally. Visitors to our booth at the MWC were surprised to learn that Viettel has succeeded in popularising mobile services, even 3G, in very poor areas without electricity in Vietnam, as well as in distant African countries. They wanted to know how we did it, shared one of Viettels MWC representatives. Regarding the companys latest business achievements in tapping foreign markets, Viettel deputy general director Tao Duc Thang revealed that the group posted record growth in two new African markets in 2015. In Burundi, Viettels Lumitel brand jumped from the fourth largest to the largest mobile service provider after less than three months in operation, while in Tanzania the groups Halotel brand reached one million subscribers after three months. In Vietnam as well as in other countries, we pursue the strategy of embedding telecommunications and information technology into every facet of life. This will transform the way we live, learn, work, and entertain, enabling us to lead smarter lives with more rapid social development, said Thang. Thus far, Viettel has made forays into 10 foreign markets. In most of them the company made profits after two years of operations, taking the largest market slice. Of these, Viettels operations in Timor Leste started generating profits after six months, while its Movitel brand in Mozambique brought sweeping changes to the telecommunications sector there and was dubbed the African miracle. Telecommunications, and particularly mobile services, provides the fastest way to shorten the gap in development between nations. Viettel has gone out of its way to transform the telecommunications industry landscape in the markets we have invested in, explained a Viettel spokesperson. Thang shared that Viettel plans to boost presence in 20-25 countries by 2020, serving about 600-800 million subscribers, and hopes to become one of the top 10 telecommunications companies in outbound investment worldwide. Photo by ASSOCIATED PRESS Carole Joseph holds her toddler twins, Angelo, left, and Angela, after visiting a local health center to examine her children for signs of malnutrition, in Oriani, Haiti. The 28-year-old mother of four, is among roughly 1.5 million Haitians who cant get nearly enough nutrition because of a yearslong drought that has spoiled harvests in her small mountain village and across large sections of the countryside. Iraqi soldiers guard a checkpoint following an attack by Islamic State jihadists in the Abu Ghraib district of Baghdad. (Photo: AFP) Baghdad: Four Islamic State group suicide bombers infiltrated an army headquarters west of Baghdad, killing an Iraqi general and five other soldiers, army and police officers said on Tuesday. The bombers attacked a regimental headquarters in the Haditha area of Anbar province late on Monday, killing Staff Brigadier General Ali Aboud, Lieutenant Colonel Farhan Ibrahim and four others, the sources said. Major General Ali Ibrahim Daboun, the head of the Al-Jazeera Operations Command, said one suicide bomber blew himself up inside Aboud's office, while the other three detonated explosives elsewhere inside the headquarters. Seven soldiers were also wounded in the attack, Daboun said. Colonel Faruq al-Jughaifi, the Haditha police chief, confirmed the attack, saying it took place near a major dam in the area, and that the bombers were dressed in military uniforms. IS overran swathes of Iraq, including large parts of Anbar, in a sweeping offensive launched in June 2014, but has largely been on the defensive in the province since the middle of last year. Iraqi tribesmen and security personnel defending Haditha, which lies near the country's second largest dam, have held off IS for more than 18 months with the help of air strikes by a US-led coalition. Sanders keeps his Judaism in the background, irking US Jews remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. The head of a Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) - an elite squad of the Bangladeshi police - said his unit had come across 45 cases of women who had been exploited, beaten, tortured or raped in Syria in the last year. (Photo: AP) Dhaka: Scores of Bangladeshi women have been lured with the promise of a good job in the Middle East and then trafficked to war-torn Syria, where they are forced into domestic or sex work, a senior Bangladeshi police official said. The head of a Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) - an elite squad of the Bangladeshi police - said his unit had come across 45 cases of women who had been exploited, beaten, tortured or raped in Syria in the last year. "It started with one woman called Shahinoor who escaped from her captors in Syria. She called her mother who complained to us," Commander Khadaker Golam Sarowar of RAB-3 told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Monday. "Shahinoor was supposed to go to Lebanon. Instead she was taken to Dubai with five other women, and then onto to Syria where she was sold to different people -- sometimes to work as a maid, sometimes for sex. She told us there were others." Sarowar said the 34-year-old woman was "extremely sick and unable to move". Bangladeshi officials in Syria flew her to Dhaka where she is being treated for a kidney illness, he added. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than 8 million Bangladeshi nationals are working abroad, many of them in Gulf Arab states and Singapore, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Many migrate willingly, but find themselves in situations of forced labour due, in part, to exorbitant recruitment fees which need to be repaid and restrictions placed on them by their employers. Women, in particular, take up jobs as domestic workers in Gulf states where they are abused and face a lack of freedom. Sarowar said Syria -- where a civil war has raged for five years -- has become a new destination for traffickers who were using Bangladeshi recruitment agencies to legitimately move people to countries like Jordan and Lebanon. Traffickers in these countries then transported the women to Syria, where they were bought and sold and passed on to different people, with little chance of escape. Eight people have been arrested in Bangladesh, he said, adding most were owners and staff of recruitment agencies who had either knowingly or unknowingly been part of an international trafficking ring. Traffickers in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan has not been identified or arrested yet, he added. Sarowar said the victims were largely poor rural women who were paying an average recruitment fee of 30,000 taka ($380) in return for a one-year contract with a monthly salary of $200. "They are innocent, uneducated women who come from the villages. They do not know anything about Syria and what is happening there. They think they are going to Lebanon or Jordan for a good life," he said. Same-sex relationship may not be outlawed in Cambodia, but advocates say the countrys lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities are not protected against high rates of emotional, sexual and physical abuse. Rights campaigners want the government to take a more active role by introducing legislation that will protect LGBT Cambodians. There are indications that the government might be prepared to listen, especially with a prominent official, Information Minister Khieu Kanharith, presiding over a National LGBTI Dialogue Consultation this month. A 2014 study by the United States Agency for International Development found that like in other countries in Southeast Asia, LGBT Cambodians face discrimination and emotional, sexual and physical abuse. Despite a level of cultural acceptance and legal tolerance of same-sex relationship, it found, laws and policies are silent on LGBT people. Speaking to VOA Khmer at the dialogue on Feb. 16, Srun Srornthe founder of the Phnom Penh-based group CamASEAN Youths Future who initiated the first LGBT rights campaign in Cambodia in 2006said people were often at risk of abuse from their own family, friends and colleagues. Our goal is to make the voice of LGBT people heard, because they have been abused in many forms, physically and emotionally. And we seek active interventions from all stakeholders, including the government, said Srun. LGBT people may miss out on schooling opportunities due to bullying from classmates, as well as teachers. They may also face serious discrimination in the workplace. Srun noted that Cambodia is far more tolerant of same-sex relationships than other countries in the region. In Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and parts of Indonesia it is strictly illegal to have sex with someone of the same gender. But Theravada Buddhism, Cambodias dominant religion, does not distinguish between homosexuality and heterosexuality. Sixty-five percent of male respondents in a 2012 nationwide survey expressed their support for laws that protect the rights of LGBT people in Cambodia. However, Cambodian LGBT people, and their families, also experience shame, fear and guilt. According to the same survey, 63 per cent of male respondents believed having a homosexual son would bring shame to the family. Most LGBT people report that they feel that being Kteuythe Khmer word for people who do not identify as either female or maleis wrong. They said they are shameful and fearful and should do their best to hide their sexual orientation. Srun said that more support for LGBT activismfrom nongovernmental organizations and the governmentwas pledged at the National LGBTI Dialogue Consultation. We have the Minister of Information pledging a two-hour radio program reserved for our LGBT program, and the Ministry of Womens Affairs already incorporated rights to same-sex relationships in its second National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women 2014-2018, he said. Srun, who has been advocating for LGBT rights in Cambodia for over a decade, told VOA Khmer that the prospect of drafting and adopting laws that would protect LGBT people from discrimination was possible in the next few years. There could also soon be recognition for gay marriage, he added, which would be a first in Southeast Asia. We already heard that the Ministry of Interior is looking at the possibility to push for same-sex marriage legislation, but that might take a few more years, he said. Im optimistic that this would happen eventually. Police said Monday they will have to tighten security on an island in eastern Thailand after four French tourists were brutally assaulted, including two women who were raped. The attack raises fresh concern about tourist safety in Thailand, which hosted a record 29 million visitors last year. Police had the five Cambodian suspects in the attack on Koh Kut reenact the crime, a standard procedure in Thai justice. Irate residents tried to attack the men but police pushed them away. Police say they will press charges of rape and conspiracy to assault against the five, whom they claim have confessed their involvement. "We don't have a lot of criminal cases in Koh Kut, not even robbery," Koh Kut deputy police chief Lt. Col. Suraporn Thepsen said in an interview by phone. "The perpetrators are not local people and they just anchored their boat to avoid strong winds. We will have to tighten security in Koh Kut.'' A director of the hospital where the victims were taken after the Saturday night attack said their condition has improved, with the most badly injured one moved out of the intensive care unit on Sunday. The women, ages 57 and 28, are mother and daughter. The two men, one from the same family, are 30 and 29 years old. The hospital official, who insisted on anonymity, said one of the three admitted patents had a broken nose and scratches, another a broken arm and swollen face and the most seriously injured person had cuts on the head and bleeding inside the skull. Trat province police chief Maj. Gen. Nopparat Rintapon said the five suspects had jumped off their anchored fishing boat and swam to Koh Kut after they had been drinking. Two of them met the French tourists and began talking to them, when the other three came running from the brush where they had been hiding and attacked them with knives and sticks, slashing one of the men badly while the other was able to escape and run to a nearby hotel for help. Nopparat said about 50 police and other officials and local residents cordoned off the area, and at around 4 or 5 a.m. on Sunday managed to capture three of the suspects. The other two were arrested Sunday afternoon at a border checkpoint when they tried to cross into Cambodia. Tourist safety in Thailand has become a major issue since the murders of a British man and woman whose bodies were found on the southern Thai resort island of Koh Tao in September 2014. The woman had also been raped. A court sentenced two Myanmar migrants to death in December in a case battered by concerns that the convicted men may have been scapegoats, and that police did not conduct a competent investigation. A Cambodian flutist was selected to play in a prestigious orchestra performance at the National Cathedral in Washington last week in front of an audience of several hundred. Panh Panhlauv, 15, came from Phnom Penh to study in the United States in 2012 is now in Grade 10. A flute player for 10 years already, Panh Panhlauv told VOA Khmer that he practices three times a day at school, in private classes at home, and at weekly classes in Washington. Music is really important for life because it teaches discipline and also helps your brain, because music makes us smarter and thats a scientific fact, he said. Panh Panhlauv was chosen to play in this years High School Choir Festival for the first time as part of the D.C. Youth Orchestra Program. Parents, students and other audience members cheered and applauded after the performance. The orchestras director, Mariano Vales, said that Panh Panhlauvs playing was at the highest level for both the flute and the clarinet. We have seven orchestras and this is the top, which is the highest level in our own organization, he said. So for them is very important to play in this orchestra. The young virtuosos father, Panh Meng Heang, said a lot of practice had gone into his sons musical abilities. He has his talent, that is the reason the director selected him to play in the National Cathedral today in Washington, D.C., he said, adding that his daughter was also a musician, and that another son is hoping to become a film actor. He was proud that his children had the chance to pursue such interests, since many Cambodians did not get the opportunity, said Panh Meng Heang. In all, students from eight schools took part in the event, which was attended by about 800 people and was organization by the Cathedral Choral Society. The numbers performed included Battle of Jericho, Hallelujah Chorus from Christ on the Mount of Olives, Sound of Silence, and Precious Lord. Kate Breytspraak, director of operations and community engagement at the society, said she would not be able to stage the festival without the enthusiasm and hard work of directors and students. It is thrilling to see these individual parts come together [and] strengthen our community through the joy of music, she said. Rebel commanders and opposition activists are warning that jihadist recruitment of Syrian fighters is likely to jump in the coming months because of the collapse of some moderate militias and a shake-up of others in the wake of a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive in northern Syria. But it is not Abu Bakr al-Baghdadis Islamic State that will benefit the most, but al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, they warn. Al-Nusra has pursued a stealthier approach in Syria than its jihadist rival, alternately intermingling with other rebel militias and assisting them when more is to be gained or turning on them and seeking to dominate when circumstances change. With the majority of Jabhat al-Nusra's fighters being Syrian analysts estimate only about 20 percent of the groups fighters are from overseas the group has appeared less alien than IS and more rooted in the country. Battlefield effectiveness Jabhat al-Nusra and ally Ahrar al-Sham, a hardline Islamist faction al-Qaida veterans were instrumental in forming, have legitimacy among Syrian rebels, not so much for ideological reasons but because of their effectiveness on the battlefield, say rebel commanders. Jabhat al-Nusra is being seen by rebel fighters as the best vehicle to continue the fight against President Bashar al-Assad and his foreign Shiite allies from Iran and Lebanon. Many fighters already furious with the West for its passivity in the face of the Russian airstrikes and Assad offensive will feel they have no other option but to join with the jihadists, says Bassam al-Kuwaitli, a well-known figure in political opposition circles. They will follow the money and join who can supply them with arms, he laments. Al-Qaidas affiliate is expanding geographically, sending fighters back into Aleppo a year-and-half after it withdrew from the city to focus on building control of neighboring Idlib province as a counter to the Islamic State's presence in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor. Redeployment into Aleppo The redeployment back into Aleppo came as the Russian-backed Assad offensive unfolded last month in northern Syria. Al-Nusra fighters set up checkpoints to protect larger incoming conveys. The group also expropriated several large buildings and warehouses in rebel-held districts of Aleppo for use as offices and barracks. Political activists quickly raised an alarm about the large presence of al-Nusra fighters, arguing it would make more sense to have them on the outskirts of the city if they were there to combat the Assad offensive in the suburbs of Aleppo. Anger beyond borders Al-Nusras rejection of a proposal by moderate rebels and Islamic nationalists for a unified police force to be formed in Aleppo also prompted concern and fears the al-Qaida affiliate will impose its will on rebel-held districts, helped by the rising bitterness among Syrian rebel factions and civilians directed at the West for not confronting Assad and his allies, the Russians. The anger can be heard in southern Turkish border towns. The Americans, the Russians, the regime, they are all responsible for the deaths, for the killing of Syrians, said Mustafa, a refugee in Kilis. His words were greeted with vigorous nods by a small crowd of Syrians. In a joint study issued last month by the Institute for the Study of War and the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, both Washington-based research organizations, analysts warned Western powers must alter the popular narrative that the West has abandoned the Syrian Sunni Arabs in favor of Iran, Assad, and Russia. In search of a strategy In the report, Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS: Sources of Strength, the analysts concluded, Identifying means of separating Jabhat al-Nusra from the opposition in order to destroy it is the most difficult intellectual task in developing a strategy for Syria." Developing such a strategy and countering al-Nusra is not being helped by the Assad government or the Russians. The targeting of al-Nusra, which has been excluded from the shaky U.N.-mediated cessation of hostilities, is building up even more sympathy among rebel fighters for al-Qaidas affiliate, cautions Nader Othman, deputy prime minister in the opposition's Syrian Interim Government. The Assad offensive has damaged the moderates, and more fighters will move over to al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham, he says. This is the logical result. Only five percent of Russian airstrikes were on ISIS, most were on us, the moderate rebels. And the regimes idea was to demolish the moderate alternative to the regime. People will keep on fighting, but we should worry about where the fighters whose militias collapse will go, he adds. There is huge danger, says a Turkey-based European diplomat. This war is going to become more terrorist-based, more of an underground fight. Many more fighters are going to become highly radicalized and we are going to be seen as much the enemy as Assad. They feel the world is against them and they will lash out, he adds. An Argentine judge overseeing the investigation into the mysterious death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman on Tuesday declared herself unfit'' to try the case, the state news agency Telam reported. The move by lower court Judge Fabiana Palmaghini effectively pushes the case to federal court. Her decision comes a day after she heard testimony by the South American nation's most famous spymaster, Antonio Stiuso, about his relationship with Nisman who died while investigating Argentina's worst terrorist attack. Stiuso had assisted Nisman's investigation of the unsolved 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center before he was found shot dead in his apartment Jan. 18, 2015. Days before his death, Nisman accused then-President Cristina Fernandez of helping Iranian officials cover up Iran's alleged role in the bombing that killed 85 people. The case against Fernandez was later thrown out. At the time, Fernandez suggested Nisman was killed by rogue intelligence agents, though she gave no evidence. She also said that Stiuso fed false information to Nisman and even had a hand in writing the late prosecutor's report detailing the accusations against her. Judges reasons not disclosed Palmaghini had previously said that there was not enough evidence to determine that the prosecutor was slain. She also had rejected a request to move the case to a federal court, prompting Nisman's family to appeal. The details that caused her to change her mind have not been released. Telam only said on Tuesday that Palmaghini will send Nisman's file to federal courts in Buenos Aires where a new judge will be picked to handle the unsolved case that has rocked Argentina. Stiuso oversaw a widespread wire-tapping operation before he was removed as head of Argentina's spy agency in December 2014. The evidence shows that Nisman tried to contact Stiuso four times by telephone the day before he was found shot dead. But Stiuso said in a statement to a prosecutor last year that he never heard the calls and he fled Argentina complaining of threats on his life. He had failed to comply with a summons ordering him to testify until this week. His closed-door testimony came just days after a top Argentine prosecutor told the country's criminal court of appeals that the case should be handled by a federal court and that he believes Nisman was killed and didn't take his own life, marking the first time that a judicial official has called Nisman's death a homicide. Osama bin Laden predicted the demise of the Islamic State (IS), warning before his death that any effort by jihadists to declare a caliphate before defeating the West would be doomed to fail. The insight is one of several emerging from 113 newly declassified documents, part of a trove found by U.S. Navy SEALs during the 2011 raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in which the al Qaida leader was killed. Written in Arabic and translated by U.S. intelligence, the notes and letters portray a hands-on administrator who had grown increasingly paranoid while struggling to keep the terror organization he founded from falling apart. The movement is nothing like unified. It disagrees with itself all the time, a senior U.S. intelligence official said of the documents, most of which date from 2009 to 2011. You got to see the mess it was behind the scenes. Schism One of the biggest struggles was the growing schism between al Qaidas central leadership and that of al Qaida in Iraq (AQI), the forerunner to the IS terror group, which was already expressing the strong desire to declare the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate before defeating the U.S. and the West. Bin Laden argues not only is it illegitimate to do it this way but if its done in this order it will fail, the official said. We should realize by now that in order to establish an Islamic State, we should destroy the international infidels because they are against an Islamic State no matter how little it is, bin Laden wrote in a letter addressed to Abu Basir, an alias for Nasir al Wahayshi, the leader of al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. Bin Laden also expresses more practical concerns about setting the necessary conditions for a successful Islamist state, especially given AQIs penchant for using extreme brutality while failing to avoid attacks on fellow Muslims. It would fail because it had not earned popular support, the official added. Hes very critical of AQI attacking locals. Another senior U.S. intelligence official familiar with the declassified documents said bin Laden and other core al Qaida officials also had practical concerns about long-term sustainability. They were very strident about not declaring an Islamic state, particularly if you could not hold territory and provide for people, the official said. Among other concerns was whether mujahideen could bear the burden of running a country, the officials said, adding bin Laden had come to the conclusion that they could not. And while bin Laden clearly foresaw a time when there would be an Islamic caliphate, his letters and notes provide little to indicate he saw himself playing a vital role. Bin Laden never made reference to or indicated at any point that he would lead anything once this was over, a senior intelligence official said. He saw himself as a visionary. Paranoia The documents released Tuesday also show Osama bin Laden had become increasingly paranoid and restless while in hiding in Pakistan. In one instance, bin Laden, writing under the pseudonym Abu Abdallah, worried the U.S. might have followed his wife's visit to a dentist in Iran, and possibly implanted a tracking chip in a filling. "The size of the chip is about the length of a grain of wheat and the width of a fine piece of vermicelli," he wrote. At the end of the note, he instructed: "Please destroy this letter after reading it." In another instance, the al Qaida leader expressed concern that a tracking device might have been placed in a suitcase filled with cash in a ransom exchange for an Afghan prisoner who al-Qaida was holding. "It is important to get rid of the suitcase in which the funds are delivered, due to the possibility of it having a tracking chip in it," bin Laden wrote in a letter to an aide identified only as "Shaykh Mahmud." Worried about U.S. drones tracking al-Qaida activities, bin Laden told al-Qaida fighters they should not leave their rented house in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, "except on a cloudy overcast day." Losing touch An undated, unsigned document admitted that al-Qaida had executed four would-be volunteers on suspicion of spying, only to realize later they were probably innocent. "I did not mention this to justify what has happened," the writer said, adding, "We are in an intelligence battle, and humans are humans and no one is infallible." It also appears that despite bin Ladens hands-on management style, he was also increasingly out of touch with his organizations capabilities according to senior intelligence officials, even looking for pilots to carry out more attacks like the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington that killed more than 3,000 people. At the time, officials say, al Qaida was struggling to house and feed recruits, and even to get them into the fight. U.S. intelligence officials say one of the oldest documents released Tuesday was a hand-written will, dating to the time when the al Qaida founder lived in Sudan, between 1991 and 1996. In it, he claims to have about $29 million in personal wealth, most of which he wanted spent "on jihad, for the sake of Allah." The U.S. intelligence community released a first set of 103 declassified documents, as well as a list of English-language books that the terror mastermind had at his compound, in May 2015. Officials say they plan to disclose still more documents later this year. "There are chances of meeting between the two (prime ministers)," Sartaj Aziz, the Foreign Affairs Advisor to Sharif, said. (Photo: PTI) Washington: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi later this month on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, a top aide to Pakistan Premier said on Tuesday. "There are chances of meeting between the two (prime ministers)," Sartaj Aziz, the Foreign Affairs Advisor to Sharif, said. "There are possibilities, when they are here (in Washington DC). They would interact with each other. Whether there would be a structured meeting I do not know. Depends on...Chances are there (for a meeting)," Aziz said. The top Pakistani diplomat is in Washington to attend the sixth US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue which he co-chaired with Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday. Aziz said Sharif would be traveling to Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit at the invitation of US President Barack Obama. Modi too has been invited to the Summit on March 31 and April 1. No official announcement has been made yet. Responding to a question on the status of India-Pak relationship after Modi came to power in May 2014, Aziz said in the first year the situation was "not good". "But the last two months are better," Aziz said. Ahead of the Modi-Sharif meeting, Aziz said there is likelihood of a meeting between the foreign secretaries of the two countries. The timing of which has not been decided yet, he noted. "We do not know (when foreign secretaries would meet). He (Indian Foreign Secretary) has to come to Islamabad first. We are hoping that now," Aziz said after the breakfast meeting with Defence Writers Group. Brazil's justice minister has resigned amid a firestorm in the ruling Workers' Party over his failure to curb a corruption probe that has targeted prominent figures including the country's popular former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Jose Eduardo Cardozo, who had served as justice minister since 2011, will be replaced by Wellington Cesar Lima e Silva, a prosecutor from the state of Bahia linked to the Workers' Party, President Dilma Rousseff's office said in a statement on Monday. His resignation came amid growing discontent within the party over a wide-reaching bribery and kickbacks investigation that landed some of its officials in jail and has now spread to include its founder, Lula. Brazilian dailies Folha de S.Paulo and Estado de S.Paulo said the pressure on Cardozo increased in recent days after Lula, who was president from 2003-2010, was notified that courts were planning to subpoena his bank, telephone and financial records. Cardozo will replace outgoing Attorney General Luis Inacio Adams and take over responsibility of defending the Rousseff government as it faces increasing scrutiny over the alleged funding of her 2014 re-election campaign with graft money. Brazil has been rocked by a massive price-fixing, bribery and kickbacks investigation tied to state-led oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA that has ensnared members of its political and business establishment. Lula has already faced police questioning over the financial dealings of his children and friends and now faces questioning of his alleged ownership of a beach-front penthouse triplex and country estate. The penthouse and country home were allegedly renovated by construction companies involved in the scandal at Petrobras, as the state oil firm is commonly known. Lula has said the properties don't belong to him. On Saturday, Lula lashed out over the subpoenas. "If this is the price people must pay to prove their innocence, I'll do it," Lula said referring to the subpoenas. "The only thing I want is that afterward they give me a good conduct certificate, because I doubt there is anyone more honest than I am in the country." Party Pressure Cardozo, a lawyer and professor who is recovering from lymphatic cancer, was upset over Workers' Party pressure on him to hold back what some saw as a political witch hunt against Lula and other government allies. He has said he has no authority to interfere in investigations without evidence that police violated a person's rights. The cabinet changes followed last week's arrest of Joao Santana, a political consultant who ran Rousseff's two successful presidential bids and Lula's successful re-election campaign in 2006. Prosecutors allege Santana was paid with money siphoned from Petrobras by corrupt construction companies who bribed the oil firm's executives and politicians in Rousseff's governing coalition. If prosecutors turn up evidence Rousseff's 2014 campaign was funded with illegal money, that would boost a case brought by the main opposition party, the PSDB, asking the top electoral court to annul her re-election. Rousseff, whose popularity has tumbled in the midst of Brazil's worst recession in decades and the corruption scandal, is also facing a bid in Congress to impeach her for allegedly manipulating government accounts in 2014 so as to allow more public spending in the run-up to the elections. Two more people in China have been diagnosed with the Zika virus, bringing the total number of cases in China to eight. A 6-year-old and an 8-year-old recently returned from Venezuela, arriving in Guangzhou with rashes and fever. So far transmission has not been reported in China, but some experts say with summer approaching, that may change. Ben Cowling, a professor at the University of Hong Kongs school of public health, said, Its quite likely I believe that Zika will spread in central America and the southern United States, and so once that happens there will be epidemics of Zika in the northern hemisphere, in summer, and probably a greater chance of exportation to Southeast Asia. The Zika virus was discovered nearly 70 years ago, but over the last few months the virus is believed to have caused severe birth defects in children born to infected women. The disease has now been found in nearly 30 countries and territories. Modern trends worsen spread of virus Globalization and increased international travel is allowing the virus to spread quickly. Duane Gubler, a professor at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore, said urbanization, with large numbers of people living in urban centers in developing countries, has also fostered spread of the disease. A lot of those people live in inadequate housing, they live in conditions without good hygiene, with poor water systems, poor waste management, and that creates ideal conditions for the breeding of the vector mosquito, he said. Chinas densely packed cities could prove a haven for the virus, but officials say they are prepared. The government has stepped up screening of travelers at airports, and is eradicating mosquitoes on aircraft. Most people who catch the virus dont show any symptoms, but pregnant women are at the most risk. Chinas National Health and Family Planning Commission has also urged citizens to remain vigilant as temperatures rise during the spring and summer months. Dr. Bernhard Schwartlander, the WHO representative in China, said, I think the authorities are on very high alert. As its getting warmer, these mosquito populations are becoming more active, so the control of the mosquito is becoming more and more important. China says it has quarantined all of the people who have been diagnosed the virus. The majority of the infections in China were contracted in South America, including four in Venezuela and one in Suriname. Three Chinese patients were infected in Fiji and Samoa. Zika may be connected to more than 3,000 cases of microcephaly in Brazil, in which babies are born with developmental problems. A court in northeastern China has upheld a life sentence for a former aide of disgraced Politburo member Bo Xilai. Chinese state media said Wu Wenkang was originally sentenced in November 2014 for using his public positions in Liaoning province and Chongqing to make money illegally from local land development. Court documents released Monday show the court upheld the original verdict upon Wu's appeal. Wu was chief aide to Bo, the former Communist Party boss in Liaoning province and later the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing. He was ousted from the party's decision-making Politburo and sentenced to life in prison for corruption and abuse of power. The United Nations warned Tuesday that Europe is near a "self-induced humanitarian crisis" because governments are imposing border restrictions and failing to work together as migrants continue to reach the continent. Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency, said more than 130,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean this year, most of them reaching Greece. The two-month total is near the figure for the first six months of last year. Some 24,000 refugees and migrants are in need of accommodation in Greece, with around 8,500 of them massed next to the border with Macedonia. Macedonian police fired tear gas to push back refugees trying to cross the border from Greece on Monday in the latest clashes between people seeking to move through Europe and governments trying to control the flow of people into their territory. The UNHCR urged Greece and Balkan countries to quickly act in order to prevent a disaster. Edwards said European nations pledged last year to accept more than 66,000 refugees who reached Greece, but that so far only 325 relocations have taken place. He said Greece cannot manage the situation by itself. European Council President Donald Tusk is visiting Austria on Tuesday as part of a five-nation trip to work on how to handle the migrant crisis. Germany: No plan that abandons Greece Austria has held firm to its policy to cap the number of migrants it allows into the country. That, in combination with measures set up by others further south along the migration route, has led to bottlenecks at borders. Those restrictions have drawn sharp criticism from human rights groups, the United Nations and others in the EU, particularly Germany. "When one country defines its limit, another must suffer," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday. "That is not my Europe." She said an EU solution cannot be done in a way that abandons Greece, where more than 100,000 migrants have already arrived this year. Tusk will finish his tour in Greece after stops in Slovenia, Croatia and Macedonia. Next week the EU will have a summit with Turkey, a country it has pressured to help stop the flow of migrants from the Middle East into Europe. Also Tuesday, crews in Calais, France continued dismantling part of a sprawling camp as a group of migrants protested and police kept watch. The site has served as a home to migrants hoping to make their way in Britain. It had grown to house an estimated 6,000 people in December and has since dropped to about 4,000 people. 'A challenge for all of us' U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday the refugee crisis is a problem for the entire world, and that nothing would help stem the flow of people more than ending the war in Syria. "It is a global challenge and it is not somebody else's problem," he said. "It's a test of all of us." Kerry said the ultimate goal of diplomats like himself is to make sure people can live peacefully in their own country and not feel the need to go somewhere else. He highlighted the "unbelievable burden" shouldered by Turkey and other Syrian neighbors Jordan and Lebanon. Together, they are currently hosting nearly 4.5 million Syrian refugees. But their struggle to provide for such a big influx has led many people to seek a better life in Europe where governments have been wary of admitting too many newcomers. Struggling with limited resources to house migrants itself, Macedonia had briefly closed its border last week, only to re-open it but with much stricter controls, allowing only a few hundred people to pass through over the weekend - not enough to alleviate the constant influx of new arrivals as thousands come to the Greek mainland by ferries and immediately head north. Hundreds of people tried to break through the border fence from Greece into Macedonia on Monday, prompting police to fire tear gas at a group of Syrians and Iraqis. At least 30 people, including many children, requested first aid, the charity Doctors of the World said. The crossing is next to the main transit point for refugees traveling towards western Europe. Close to 10,000 people have been stranded in the small transit camp designed to hold 2,500 for brief stays. Tens of thousands of people in Pakistan Tuesday attended the funeral of a man executed a day earlier for the killing in 2011 of a powerful politician who criticized the country's blasphemy laws. Funeral prayers for Mumtaz Qadri were held in Rawalpindis Liaquat Bagh park, the same place where former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in December 2007. The crowd carried the body more than 20 kilometers to bury it in a place called Bhara Kahu, near Islamabad, the nation's capital. All roads leading to Islamabad were blocked for traffic with heavy shipping containers guarded by police in riot gear. Schools and most marketplaces in Rawalpindi were closed for the day. Earlier, the crowd chanted slogans in favor of Qadri and against the government and judiciary. His supporters hailed him as a hero and a defender of the faith. The head of the Council of Islamic Ideology in Pakistan, Maulana Mohammad Shirani, however, said Monday that Qadri was punished for taking the law into his own hands. No one is above the law, Shirani told journalists. Anti-media sentiment seemed high among the crowd Tuesday, possibly due to muted coverage of protests over Qadris hanging. Qadri supporters had beaten up some members of the media, including a Reuters cameraman, on Monday and smashed his equipment. Anticipating further violence directed toward them Tuesday, both local and foreign electronic media mostly stayed away from the funeral. No television cameras could be seen on site in a country where such crowds are usually covered live by multiple stations. Qadri, who worked for the elite unit of the police and was on duty to guard the governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer, shot him almost 30 times outside a popular market in Islamabad. When Qadri arrived at court to stand trial in Taseer's death, he was showered with rose petals by lawyers who offered to take his case for free. Taseer was a vocal supporter of a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy. He wanted the country's blasphemy laws amended. A few weeks after Taseer was killed, another politician, Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, was gunned down. Bhatti also advocated reforming the blasphemy laws. Human rights activists have long complained that the blasphemy laws are abused to settle personal scores or land disputes. People accused of blasphemy, they say, often do not get a fair trial because lower court judges are afraid to rule in their favor. An accusation of blasphemy is considered a de-facto death sentence in Pakistan. At least 65 people have been murdered in connection with blasphemy allegations since 1990, according to the Center for Research and Security Studies and a tally by the Reuters news agency. Qadris execution, however, shows the government is toughening its stance on hardliners carrying out vigilante justice. The transformation of American politics is happening in miniature about 40 kilometers southwest of Washington, in Prince William County, Virginia. Corey Stewart chairs the county board. He lives in a historic home where George Washington slept on his honeymoon. Stewart says the house looks a lot like the Founding Father's Mount Vernon manor did before wings were added. "If you want to see what Mount Vernon originally looked like, come to Bel Air," he said. Historically, Prince William County has been solidly Republican. Six of the eight county board members are Republicans. But the party's dominance here could become as much a part of history as Stewart's house. Increasing diversity The county is changing. The sprawl of the Washington suburbs surrounds Stewart's home just beyond the tree line. Prince William County's proximity to jobs and relatively low cost of living has drawn minority residents in particular. Hispanics, Asians and African-Americans now outnumber whites. And those groups don't lean Republican. "As the county has changed, has become more diverse, you're also looking at a county that has become increasingly Democratic in their political loyalties," said University of Mary Washington political science professor Stephen Farnsworth. Barack Obama won the presidential vote in Prince William County in 2008 and 2012. Before that, the last time the county elected a Democratic president was 1964. The demographic shift taking place in Prince William County is happening across the United States. By 2044, minority groups will make up the majority of the U.S. population. "It makes Prince William County a bellwether county," Stewart said. "It's almost a perfect representation of America itself." So it may be surprising that Stewart is running Republican Donald Trump's Virginia campaign. Trump, the party's frontrunner, has referred to some Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists and has proposed a ban on Muslim immigration. Hispanic heart Carlos Castro is founder and CEO of Todos Supermarkets, two full-size grocery stores in Prince William County. Each is a "regular store with a Hispanic heart," Castro said. Castro, winner of several business awards, first arrived in the United States in 1980 as an undocumented immigrant fleeing El Salvador's civil war. He's a citizen now, and he votes. But not for Republicans. And definitely not for Trump. He says he doesn't speak for everybody, but adds, "The Hispanic community in general feels abandoned by the Republican party. And obviously, Mr. Trump's rhetoric doesn't help at all." Professor Farnsworth says Trump and Stewart are a perfect match. "Corey Stewart has made a career, among other things, of being an anti-immigrant politician," Farnsworth said. Stewart led a crackdown on undocumented immigrants that drew national attention. He has raised concerns that undocumented children could carry diseases. "That he would sign up with Donald Trump is entirely, entirely likely," Farnsworth added. "One of the things that occurs as an area becomes more diverse sometimes is that the politicians who are more divisive can really do well in that environment," he noted. As minority populations grow, "there becomes a really powerful opportunity for white voters to talk about a more pro-white agenda. And that politics can be very, very destructive to immigrants." Diversity not the problem But Stewart says he's not anti-immigrant. Take the crackdown on the undocumented, for example. "It wasn't the diversity that was the problem," he said. "It was the fact that we had people who were coming here illegally, committing crimes, and where the federal government just turned the other way." Crime is down, he noted. "Diversity, for Prince William County, has been a very, very good thing," Stewart added. "The mix of religions, of ethnicities, of cuisine all of these things work together to make Prince William County a more interesting place." Stewart, the son of a Minnesota longshoreman, says he can relate to Trump's "very blunt, straight approach. He just says what he believes. And I think people find that very refreshing." And he doubts the Democratic Party's appeal to voters who feel abandoned by the federal government. In politics, experts say, demographics is not always destiny. Minority turnout has been low in previous elections. Castro says Hispanics and others are working hard to get more of their voters to the polls. "There's a big push from all the minority groups, he said, but it takes time. It takes time and a lot of work." Who wins the White House will largely depend on who shows up at the polls in November. A Hong Kong bookseller missing for two months says he was not kidnapped, but had sneaked into China illegally to help authorities with an investigation. Lee Bo, a dual British and Hong Kong citizen, went missing on December 30, just months after four of his publishing associates disappeared. The disappearances drew concern that China was eroding the "one country, two systems" principle under which Hong Kong has been governed with civil liberties such as freedom of the press. In an interview with the pro-China Phoenix TV, Lee said he went to China voluntarily. Lee said the purpose of his trip was to assist in a Chinese investigation, which required him to give evidence against some people whom he declined to name. Lee also said he would renounce his British citizenship. The four other Hong Kong booksellers say they have been detained for illegal booktrading in mainland China. The men were all associated with the publisher Mighty Current, which specializes in books on political scandals involving China's Communist leaders and other sensitive topics that are banned in the mainland. In January, one of them, Gui Minhai, a naturalized Swedish citizen, said he returned to China to surrender to police 11 years after fleeing a fatal drunk driving incident, despite receiving a two-year suspended sentence at the time. Gui's friends have suspected he was abducted for political reasons by Chinese agents from his apartment in Pattaya, Thailand, and smuggled into China. The issue of succession to the supreme leadership is generally a taboo subject in Iran. It probably would not have been discussed at all in recent weeks if the current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hadn't alluded to his inevitable demise in a speech last September. Now that voters have selected a new Assembly of Experts, the topic is very much on minds both inside and outside of Iran. Comprising 88 clerics tasked with naming, monitoring and possibly even dismissing Supreme Leaders, the new assembly may be called on to name Irans next leader. Election results issued Monday stunned Irans ruling elite: The first 30 seats went to reformists and moderates. Former president Hashemi Rafsanjani won the top seat, and President Hassan Rouhani the third highest. Adding insult to injury for the establishment, two prominent conservative clerics lost their seats altogether, and the current head of the Guardian Council, the man who barred thousands of mainly reformist candidates from running in last weeks elections, made it onto the assembly by the skin of his teeth only, finishing last place among Tehrans 16 representatives. I think that once you put these factors together, it sort of communicates to the Supreme Leader where the public stands on a lot of these issues, said Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Chair and Professor of Political Science at Syracuse Universitys Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. So I would say the significance of it really is as a wakeup call at this point -- but not necessarily something radical in terms of how the next leader will be selected. Iranian king-making Deciding the most powerful man in Iran is still a somewhat untested process. Khamenei assumed office in 1989 on the recommendation of his predecessor, the founder of the Islamic Republic, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Irans constitution tasks the assembly with selecting a new leader who is grounded in Islamic theology and jurisprudence, politics and social issues and possesses prudence, courage, administrative facilities and adequate capability for leadership. In case of a tie, the assembly should select the man with more legal and political expertise. Its not a decision the assembly is likely to make in a vacuum; Khamenei could handpick his own successor. And because so many of the sitting members of the assembly are his boys, his personal representatives, we might say its a fait accompli, Boroujerdi said. Other influential groups could have a say in matters, said lawyer, political analyst and commentator Saam Borhani. One is the Revolutionary Guard. The other is business interests, which we dont really hear about that much. Iran's traditional business class represents a power base itself that is mostly friendly to the technocrats and moderate conservatives aligned with Rafsanjani and Rouhani, he explained. These groups, along with the reformists, have loudly complained about military overreach in the economy and they are an important factor in Iranian politics," he said. Analysts agree it isnt likely a reformist will be named as supreme leader any time in the near future, as they have been banished from the system. But that doesnt mean they dont still have influence. Potential contenders Originally, only the top-ranking religious clerics were eligible for supreme leadership, but in 1989, Khomeini appointed a review council who amended the constitution to accommodate his choice for successor, Khamenei. While many clerics meet the positions qualifications, a few names stand out: Grand Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, the former head of the judiciary, Iraqi born, considered to be a moderate conservative that could appeal to both the left and right in Iran. However, because he was born in Iraq, analysts say he may not be eligible to lead. "If I were a betting man, the current head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, is a good candidate, said Syracuse Universitys Boroujerdi, in the sense that he is young, 56 years of age and smart. He has been very, very loyal to the Supreme Leader, functioning as his pack dog in many ways. Larjani is a member of a politically-prominent family; his brother is speaker of the parliament, and he is married to the daughter of a heavyweight Grand Ayatollah. There has been talk that either reformist Hassan Khomeini, the founders grandson who was disqualified from running in last weeks vote, or Khameneis own son Mojtaba could qualify for the job. But I wouldnt put too much stock into him, said Borhani. After all, he added, the whole point of the Islamic revolution was to oust a dynasty. Islamic State militants attacked an Iraqi military headquarters overnight killing eight officers including a local commander, according to army and police officials. The four militants, dressed as soldiers, attacked the compound near the town of Haditha 240 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, in Anbar province. Military officials say one suicide bomber blew himself up at the gate of the compound, while the other three detonated explosives elsewhere inside the headquarters. Islamic States claimed the attack in an online statement, but said it was conducted by two suicide bombers, both Syrian nationals. The militant group has overran swathes of Iraq, including large parts of Anbar, in a sweeping offensive launched in June 2014, but has largely been on the defensive in the province since the middle of last year. Iraqi tribesmen and security personnel defending Haditha, which lies near the country's second largest dam, have held off Islamic State militants for more than 18 months with the help of air strikes by a U.S.-led coalition. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Tuesday the cessation of hostilities in his country's five-year war is a "glimmer of hope." In a German television interview, Assad said his government will do its part to make the truce work. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the next few days "critical" in building momentum toward the goal of de-escalating the Syrian conflict. He spoke to reporters Monday evening in Washington as Syria entered its fourth day under a cessation of hostilities that includes pro-government fighters and opposition forces, but not Islamic State militants or those from al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra. Kerry said he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agree there have been a number of violations since the truce began Saturday, but that they do not want to litigate them publicly. Instead, they will rely on a task force led by their two countries to investigate every reported violation and promote compliance with the halt in fighting. "This is hard," Kerry said. "But the fact is that we need to stop the cycle of fighting and of bloodshed that is destroying Syria. It is that simple." The task force monitoring the truce met Monday and Kerry said it will continue to do so regularly. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also said that despite "some incidents" the cessation of hostilities was largely holding. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said "if properly adhered to," the cessation can lead to an overall decline in violence. "It could be the first step towards a political solution that would end the civil war and the suffering of the Syrian people," he added. There was a noticeable uptick in violation claims on Monday with Syrian rebels alleging the Assad regime attacked towns and villages they hold 26 times. Seven of the breeches they claimed consisted of barrel bombing by low-flying regime helicopters. The regime has continued to target populated areas using helicopter raids using explosive barrels, resulting in a large number of fatalities and causing significant injuries, most of whom were innocent women and children, Riad Hijab, the rebels chief negotiator, complained in a formal letter to the United Nations. Rebels claim there have been 24 recorded breaches involving regime artillery shelling and five incidents of offensive ground operations. Hostilities committed by Russian, Iranian, the Syrian regime, and foreign militias and mercenaries allied to them have continued against the Syrian people despite the truce taking effect on 27 February 2016, Hijabs said. He added: Right from the onset of the truce, a large number of violations have been committed by the regime and its allies in several parts of Syria. Rebels claim 26 Russian airstrikes Hijab said on Sunday Russian fighter jets launched 26 air strikes against territory held by opposition groups which have announced and entered into the truce. Disturbingly significant is the fact that cluster bombs as well as Thermobaric weapons have been used, he wrote. Rebels say a map issued publicly at the start of the truce by the Russian Ministry of Defense detailing the positions of moderate opposition groups is full of errors. They are urging the U.N. to draw up a separate map. Russian monitors Sunday said they have recorded nine violations of the truce, attributing most to the rebels. Meanwhile, the U.N. and aid partners began deliveries Monday in hopes of reaching more than 150,000 Syrians in besieged areas. The U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Yacoub El Hillo, said the shipments are scheduled for multiple areas across Syria through Friday. "It is the best opportunity that the Syrian people have had over the last five years for lasting peace and stability," he said. U.N. envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said he will reconvene intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva on March 9, two days later than the original target date. The delay was needed to "allow adequate time to address logistical and practical matters," a U.N. spokesman said. Investigators said Mohammad Rehmat, who is now on the run, killed his 18-year-old daughter Komal Bibi on Monday after she failed to tell him where she had been for about five hours. (Representational Image) Lahore: A father has shot dead his daughter in the Pakistani city of Lahore in an apparent "honour killing", police said on Tuesday, a day after a Pakistani director won an Oscar for a documentary on such murders. Investigators said Mohammad Rehmat, who is now on the run, killed his 18-year-old daughter Komal Bibi on Monday after she failed to tell him where she had been for about five hours. "The father fled after killing his daughter and police are searching for him," local police official Mohammad Yaqoob said. "It appears to be a case of honour killing," he said. "A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness", a film telling the story of a rare survivor, won the Academy Award for best documentary short at the star-studded Hollywood ceremony on Sunday. Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif recently as speculation grew the film would win an Oscar, turning a global spotlight on honour killings in the conservative Muslim nation. Hundreds of women are murdered by their relatives in Pakistan each year on the grounds of defending family "honour". Under a controversial provision of Islamic law in force in Pakistan, men who kill female relatives escape punishment if they are "pardoned" by relatives following the payment of blood money. Sharif has vowed to eradicate the "evil" of honour killings in Pakistan. Separately, a court in Lahore Monday passed a death sentence on two brothers who murdered their sister and brother-in-law in 2009 because the couple married without family consent, defence lawyer Chaudhry Mohammad Imran said. The convicts were also fined one million rupees ($9,550) each, he added. Oil was on the mind of Nigerias President Muhammadu Buhari during his three-country tour of the Middle East last month. In Qatar, he called the low global price of crude oil unacceptable. And after a visit to the king of Saudi Arabia, Buhari released a statement saying the two leaders had agreed to stabilize the price of oil. But at a meeting with business leaders in the capital Riyadh, Buhari talked up his governments investments in agriculture and mining an acknowledgement, perhaps, that the price of oil was unlikely to rise substantially any time soon. Despite Buharis lobbying ahead of a meeting of several OPEC members later this month, analysts say Nigeria has little leverage to convince petroleum-producers to take steps, such as cutting production, that would allow the price of oil to rise. Saudi Arabia's leading role One OPEC member in particular has shown little interest in slowing down the flow of crude: the cartels top producer, Saudi Arabia. With OPEC, a lot relies on Saudi Arabia, said Rhidoy Rashid, an analyst at London-based Energy Aspects. If theres going to be a cut in OPEC production, Saudi Arabia will have to take the lead on that. Proceeds of oil make up the majority of Nigerias government revenue and nearly all the countrys export earnings. But with the price of a barrel hovering around $35 per barrel - down from more than $100 per barrel just two years ago - growth is expected to slow, and Buharis new government plans to turn to lenders to fund this years budget. In the face of an oil supply glut, Rashid says Saudi Arabia has adopted a strategy of fighting for market share, and has show little interest in cutting down on the crude flowing from its pipelines. Saudi Arabia is unwilling to cut output unilaterally to support the market and is extremely skeptical of other countries, including Nigeria, that theyd ever deliver on promises to reduce production, Rashid said. Nigeria reluctant to cut production Even though its production of about two million barrels per day makes it Africas largest producer of crude, Nigeria is not in a position to cut oil production on its own, said Hannes Loacker, an analyst at Vienna-based Raiffeisen Bank International. Fears that militants or thieves might disrupt output in the oil-producing Niger Delta, he says, will lead Nigeria to keep the oil wells pumping. I dont think that they really will do this, Loacker said of supply cuts. They have plenty [of] problems with pipeline attacks in their country. OPEC members will meet later this month, and may agree on capping oil production at a certain level. But such a cap would only work if all countries abide by it, Loacker said. He cited Iran, which is ramping up exports of crude after the relaxation of economic sanctions, and has shown signs it wont cooperate. The best hope for an oil price increase, Loacker said, will come from better economic performance by emerging markets in Asia such as China, which has recently grappled with tumult in its stock markets and a slowdown in growth. Although China officially ended its decades-long one-child policy in January, millions of parents who had previously given birth to two or more children are still dealing with its aftermath. Many are still burdened with fines, known as "social maintenance fees," and their children remain unregistered as legal citizens. Fines, a nightmare Fan Ziting, 36, is still dealing with the impact of the controversial policy and was among 30 couples who petitioned outside the health department of Guangdong province Tuesday, urging authorities to reconsider their situation. Fan had her first child in 2008, and three abortions afterward. When she became pregnant again in 2014, she was torn. Knowing that family policies were loosening, she and her husband decided to go ahead with the pregnancy. The delivery of their second child last April came eight months before China completely lifted its decades-old one-child policy, allowing all couples to now have two children. In response, authorities fined the couple $28,500 six times their annual incomes as factory workers. The local government also canceled the family's annual bonus of some $1,530 from their village for 10 years after a village-owned property was leased for rental. Although the Fan family of four is the ideal model of what the government is now advocating, the Fan familys situation has become a nightmare as it struggles to make ends meet. The fines are too much and more than we can afford, which puts a lot of pressure on us. Thats also what keeps us from registering our second child [as a legal citizen], Fan said. Before it was relaxed in early 2014 and officially ended this year, Chinas one-child policy was enforced at the provincial level and enforcement varied as it was within the local governments discretion to impose penalties or forced abortion. Forced abortion was one of the reasons thousands of Chinese couples were said to have sought asylum overseas each year in the past two decades. In Zhejiang province, 29-year-old Dong Yulong faces a pending fine of $21,400 four times his familys annual income after his second child was born five days before the province was the first in China to allow couples (on January 17, 2014), one of whom is an only child, to have two children. Although his 2-year-old is now legally registered, Dong decided to take his case to court, seeking to further nullify the fine on him. I think a legal action is worthwhile because child-bearing should be a fundamental right to all of us as humans, Dong said. Dongs lawyer, Wu Youshui, argued that no fines should be imposed on either Dong or Fan because their violations occurred during the transitional period, after the central government had confirmed the policy direction and before the relaxation was officially implemented. During the transition, whether the new law or old law should apply, it should depend on which law benefits the party concerned more. It is a legal principle also known as the principle of interest in the party concerned, Wu said. Calling the birth control policy a mistake, Wu further urged Chinese authorities to call off all fines on millions of couples who had broken the law to have two children. According to a nationwide census in 2014, China has as many as 13 million unregistered citizens, half of them are illegal second children. The flow of fines questioned The lawyer further challenged the legality of the fines. Wus inquiries with 24 provincial governments found that more than $310 million had been collected in 2012 in the name of social maintenance fees, but no local government could detail where and how the money was spent. Wu, nevertheless, was pessimistic that authorities would allow redress, especially for civil servants who were removed from their jobs for having two children. Last week, 32 former employees of government-affiliated institutions from nine provinces who were dismissed for having a second child petitioned the State Council to give them their jobs back in light of the two-child policy. Chen Yaya, a researcher with Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, also echoed her opposition to Chinas birth planning policies, which she said infringed basic human rights, including womens birth rights and childrens rights to survival. On a national level, incentives should be given to encourage couples to have more or fewer children in accordance with the governments birth control plan. No governments should impose mandatory or punitive measures to enforce birth control, Chen said. The researcher said that many problems remain to be addressed in the aftermath of the one-child policys termination. As a cure-all, Xiao Yuhui, a farmer-turned-activist from Guangdong province, advocates abolition of the nations birth control policies, allowing couples autonomy to decide how many children they plan to have. We believe the collection of social maintenance fees is illegal. Hence, were calling [on] the government to completely abolish any of the nations birth planning policies, he said. Myanmar's parliament will announce its nominees for the country's next president on March 10, a week earlier than planned. The new date, which was announced Tuesday by Win Khaing Than, the speaker of Myanmar's upper house of parliament, suggests democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will not reach a deal with the military to remove the constitutional ban on those with foreign-born spouses or children from becoming president. The Nobel laureate's late husband was British, as are her two sons. Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won an overwhelming majority of seats in both houses of parliament in last November's election. Under the constitution, the two houses of parliament and the military -- which maintains control of 25 percent of all parliamentary seats -- will each select a candidate for president. The top vote-getter will become president, while the other two candidates will become vice presidents. Although she is barred from taking the top post, the 70-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi insists she will still rule Myanmar through a figurehead candidate. However, the military retains control of several key government posts, including defense, interior and border security. The new government will take office on April 1. NATO's military commander has told the U.S. lawmakers that Russia poses a long-term threat to the United States and to its European allies and partners. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove said that Russia is eager to exert unquestioned influence over neighboring countries. Russia has used military force to violate the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Georgia and others like Moldova. In Ukraine specifically, Russia continues to use all elements of national power to hinder Kyiv, he said. Breedlove said Tuesday that NATO has recently observed an increase in violence along the line of contact in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and a number of diplomatic, economic and propaganda efforts on Moscows part to keep Ukraine from moving closer to the West. Moscow seeking leading role Breedlove told senators Russia has also undertaken a massive military deployment in Russia's Kaliningrad province, the Black Sea and, most recently, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and western Syria, sharply constraining the alliances access to those areas. Russia seeks to re-establish a leading role on the world stage. Russia does not just want to challenge the agreed rules of the international order, it wants to re-write them. Russia sees the U.S. and NATO as threats to its objectives and as constraints on its aspirations. So, Russia seeks to fraction our unity and challenge our resolve. Russia recognizes strength and sees weakness as opportunity, he said. To that end Russia is using what some call unconventional or hybrid warfare, Breedlove said. Russia is using diplomatic, economic and informational tools in addition to military pressure to shake and influence nations, while trying to remain below triggering a military response, he said. Russia is using snap exercises to mask and desensitize real military deployment, he added. Russias entry into the fight in Syria has changed the dynamic in the air and on the ground, despite public statements to the contrary, Breedlove said. He added that Russia has done little to counter the Islamic State militant group, but has greatly bolstered the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and his allies. From human smugglers to bus services to the sellers of life jackets, new businesses have popped up everywhere along the routes migrants take from the Middle East and Africa to Europe. Near one port in Greece, a new Syrian restaurant caters to migrants looking for a taste of home after leaving their country, possibly forever. In Mytilini, Greece, near the port where migrants depart for their next stop on their way to countries like Germany, there are new businesses serving the needs of the thousands of new customers arriving and leaving the island almost every day. This Syrian restaurant opened a few months ago. The owner says it was simple economics: many of his customers prefer Arabic food. "I am from Lesbos and this business is similar to other work that I have done. But it is the first time that I have opened an Arabic restaurant, which serves solely Arab cuisine. We have other businesses, too, that are cafes, bars, nightclubs on the island," said Damas restaurant owner Veggelis Asvestas. Among the restaurant staff are Syrian refugees who fled the war years ago, before the flood of people crossing the sea to Europe began last year. Fleeing war has always been dangerous, they say, but with hundreds of people drowned at sea, it is more deadly than ever. "I wanted to bring my family, but I told them to stay home and I will send them money and any other help I can. I would never risk bringing them here now. It is a big risk," said Syrian chef Gamal Elsaqa. But local diners say, in some ways, new businesses that cater to migrants are a much-needed cultural exchange on a continent where there is hostility to the incoming masses from the Middle East and Africa. "Because it is nice, have nice people, nice service. It is all OK," said Lesbos resident Panojiotas. And as more migrants continue to flock to Europe, more businesses catering to them are expected to thrive. North Korea says it will boycott the U.N. Human Rights Council and "never, ever be bound" by U.N. resolutions critical of its rights record. Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong told the council Tuesday in Geneva any resolutions against the reclusive Communist country will only be "proof of partiality and double standards." Ri said North Korea will no longer take part in international sessions that single out its human rights record "for mere political attack." He said the council was plagued by "politicization, selectivity and double standards." The U.N.'s top rights body has repeatedly slammed the situation in North Korea, with a massive 2014 report charging the country and its leadership were guilty of a wide range of crimes against humanity. But Ri insisted Tuesday the United States and others who have long yearned for the "elimination of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea]" were using false allegations of human rights abuses to boost their cause. He charged they were driving a "human rights racket" against the country. U.S. President Barack Obama and key Republican senators ended brief talks at the White House on Tuesday firmly at odds over who should fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Obama conferred with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley in the Oval Office, along with leading members of his Democratic Party - Vice President Joe Biden, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Patrick Leahy. The normal differences of opinion between the two main U.S. political parties on a Supreme Court nomination have taken on a new intensity this year because it is expected a new justice would tip the court's ideological balance in either a conservative or liberal direction. And the specifics of when and how the Senate should consider a new nomination are complicated by the fact this is a U.S. presidential election year. Obama, who will remain in office until late January 2017, says it is his constitutional responsibility to choose a Supreme Court nominee promptly, and that the Republican-controlled Senate is obligated to hold confirmation hearings on his pick. Many Republicans insist the court vacancy must not be filled until after the November election, and they have said they will not consider - nor even hold informal meetings with - whoever Obama nominates. The meeting was a good opportunity for Republicans to "reiterate that this appointment should be made by the next president," said McConnell. "This vacancy will not be filled this year, insisted the Senate majority leader. We will look forward to the American people, who they want to make this appointment through their own votes." Democratic Senators Reid and Leahy accused Republicans of trying to politicize the nations high court. Although Republicans are adamant that they will not hold hearings, Reid said, under the U.S. Constitution the Senate is obligated to hold hearings [and] they are obligated to vote for or against the president's choice for the high court. Reid said the party leaders' meeting in the Oval Office was very short, but Obama made clear to the Republicans that he will consider any judicial candidate they propose to him. Leahy said the Republicans' tactics will not affect Senate Democrats. We are not going to play their game of obstruction," he said. "We are going to do our jobs like were supposed to. Republicans contend that Obama should not make an appointment to the Supreme Court - a lifetime position - during his final year as president, and that he should instead leave the task to his successor, who will take power in 2017. The White House says the president has spent a significant amount of time reviewing potential nominees, but the list of potential candidates still is not finalized. Administration officials note that Obama spent about 30 days selecting his nominee on the two previous occasions when a Supreme Court vacancy occurred during his administration. Spokesman Josh Earnest said the White House is open to future consultations with Republicans who want to engage seriously about filling the vacancy. I can tell you that the offer was not a one-time-only offer Earnest told reporters at a briefing after Tuesdays meeting. The next move would be for Republicans to avail themselves to consult with the president if they choose to do so. Meanwhile, Earnest said, the White House will push forward to select a Supreme Court nominee. An Israeli company that manufactures devices for making fizzy drinks at home was forced to lay off its Palestinian workers after relocating from the West Bank to Israel because the Israeli government refused to give them work permits. Some Israeli businesses are leaving the occupied Palestinian territories under the pressure of worldwide criticism and a Palestinian-led boycott campaign. The SodaStream plant in the southern Israeli town of Levahim was forced to let go of the last 74 of its Palestinian employees Monday. They came with the company after its West Bank plant closed in October. "There is no hope in Palestine. There is little work; we can't be happy there like we were happy here," said Anas Abdul Wadud Ghayth, a Palestinian who worked for SodaStream. The management said it would fight the government's decision. "If the government of Israel does not allow the Palestinians to get to their jobs, I will bring those jobs to the Palestinians. That is not a threat. It is a fact," said Daniel Birnbaum, SodaStreams CEO. The company employed about 500 Palestinians in its West Bank plant, but decided to close it after a Palestinian-led call for the boycott of Israeli products proved effective. "The boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign is one of the most peaceful and non-violent forms of resistance of the Palestinian people to achieve freedom, justice and peace. It's not against Jewish or Israeli people; it's against apartheid, against occupation, against the policy of the Israeli government which is preventing peace here. And like it has succeeded against apartheid in South Africa at one point in time, it will succeed in Palestine," said Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian legislator. The movement has its supporters worldwide. Last year, the European Union imposed a labeling regulation requiring Israeli companies to clearly mark whether their products were made in the occupied territories. Israel resists BDS The Israeli government is calling such moves anti-Semitic and is launching its own campaign to suppress them, including an effort to bring U.S. celebrities to Israel. "We are inviting the Oscar nominees, and those whom they decide to take along with them, for a dreamy visit in Israel," said Amir Halevi, the director general of Israels tourism ministry. The invite has been fiercely resisted by a U.S. group campaigning for an end to Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. "We think it's important at this time that they (the celebrities) think about the issue of Palestine as well and not take the bait and not take the trip to act as apartheid lackeys in this casting call by the Israeli government," said Yousef Munayer of the U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation. Even some Jewish groups support economic pressure on Israel to halt the construction of settlements. But last month, the British government banned the public sector boycotts of Israeli suppliers, giving a boost to Israel's battle against a Palestinian-led international boycott campaign. On Super Tuesday, as U.S. voters choose their Republican and Democratic presidential candidates in at least 11 states and one territory, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump will again be in the spotlight. Recent polls show Trump leading in every state except Texas, where Texas Senator Ted Cruz is ahead in most surveys. With Trump set to further cement his commanding lead in the Republican race, some lawmakers are taking a stand on his candidacy. Freshman Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska posted an open letter to Trumps supporters on Facebook outlining why he will not support Trump if he wins the nomination. Citing Trumps refusal to disavow the endorsement of white supremacist and former KKK Grand Master David Duke in a CNN interview Sunday, Sasse wrote: A presidential candidate who boasts about what he will do during his reign and refuses to condemn the Klu Klux Klan cannot lead a conservative movement in America. Sasse wrote that he cannot support Trump or the Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, adding: If Donald Trump ends up as the GOP [Republican] nominees, conservatives will need to find a third option. Sasse told Trumps supporters they have a right to be angry, but insisted that Trump is not the right candidate. He accused Trump of dividing Americans and tearing down rather than building back up this glorious nation. Sasse was elected to the Senate in 2014 as a conservative Tea Party challenger. His clear rejection of Trump came only hours after Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama became the first sitting U.S. senator to endorse Trump. Sessions joined Trump at a rally in Alabama, putting on a red Make America Great Again cap and saying: At this time in Americas history, we need to make America great again! Sessions praised Trump as the man who can finally deal with illegal immigration and securing the U.S. southern border with Mexico. The Alabama senator has long been tough on opposing comprehensive immigration reform efforts in the Senate, condemning what he terms amnesty for illegal immigrants. He is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. At the rally, Trump was thrilled, saying: Im becoming mainstream. All these people are now endorsing me. Trump picked up a key endorsement on Friday from recent Republican rival and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. In recent weeks, Christie had blasted Trump for calling for a ban on Muslims to the United States and for saying he would build a huge wall on the border with Mexico and make Mexico pay for it. Now, Christie has been accused by a number of Republicans of blatant political opportunism. He says Trump is the strongest Republican candidate to face Democratic frontrunner Clinton in the November general election. Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney blasted Trump on Twitter Monday, tweeting: A disqualifying and disgusting response by Donald Trump to the KKK. His coddling of repugnant bigotry is not in the character of America. Two House Republicans have endorsed Trump Representatives Chris Collins of New York and Duncan Hunter of California. A long list of Republican U.S. senators and House members has endorsed Florida Senator Marco Rubio in the presidential race, and a few House members have endorsed Texas Senator Ted Cruz. An imprisoned Ukrainian pilot on trial in Russia has threatened to go on hunger strike unless she is extradited back home after the verdict, her sister says. Closing arguments in the trial of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko begin on Wednesday, and the verdict is due shortly. Russian authorities have indicated that they expect Savchenko, who is accused of involvement in the deaths of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine, to be found guilty. Savchenko was fighting in a volunteer battalion against Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine when she was captured by the rebels in June 2014. She has accused the rebels of kidnapping her and taking her across the border to Russia where she was jailed and charged as an accessory to murder. Russian authorities insist that Savchenko provided the Ukrainian army with coordinates for the attack that killed the two journalists and several civilians before she was captured by the rebels. They say she then escaped from the separatists and crossed into Russia on her own, where she was detained. The Ukrainian government has campaigned for Savchenko's release, claiming that the charges against her were trumped up and that she should be treated as a prisoner of war. Ukraine has been counting on getting her exchanged for Russians held captive in Ukraine. Russian officials have said Savchenko could in theory be exchanged but only after the verdict is in. Savchenko's sister Vira said in an interview with The Associated Press earlier this week that Nadiya has pledged to go on hunger strike unless she is sent back home. If there is no action like extradition 10 days after the verdict, Nadiya will go on hunger strike, Vira Savchenko told the AP. She does not plan to lodge an appeal, and she will not wait for the (Russian) Supreme Court's verdict, because there is no justice. Since her detention, the 34-year old professional pilot who previously served as a peacekeeper in Iraq has been elected into the Ukrainian parliament and voted as a delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of Europe. To a supplementary question, Pakistan has objections to the design of Kishanganga project by India and efforts are being made to address the issue at the level of Indus Basin Commission. (Photo: PTI) Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's vision of a friendly neighbourhood has been the driving force for normalisation of relations with India, parliament was told on Tuesday. Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan made the remarks while responding to questions in the Senate, the Upper House of bicameral parliament. Pakistan wants to achieve the objective of friendly neighbourhood by resolution of all the outstanding issues including Kashmir, with India, Radio Pakistan quoted the minister as saying. He said that the two countries had agreed to restart the comprehensive bilateral dialogue to address all the outstanding issues but the progress is stalled because of the Pathankot terror attack. To a supplementary question, he said Pakistan has objections to the design of Kishanganga project by India and efforts are being made to address the issue at the level of Indus Basin Commission. Khan told the House that the government is taking the issue of security of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) offices in abroad seriously and it has taken up the issue of attack on its offices in New Delhi with the Indian government. Responding to a call attention notice, he said response of the Indian government was positive and they have conveyed that security of PIA offices would be ensured. Russia's foreign minister says convoys entering war-torn Syria from neighboring Turkey have supplied rebel groups with weapons and is calling for the closure of the border. In Geneva on Tuesday, Sergei Lavrov told the U.N. Human Rights Council that gangs have received arms across this border, including from humanitarian convoys. Russia, an ally of Syria's president, has had tense ties with Turkey in recent months. Earlier, he told the conference on disarmament that information showed terrorist groups, have the technical specifications and facilities needed to make chemical weapons, and have hired specialists with knowledge of how to create chemical weapons. Russia and the United States last week pushed through a cessation of hostilities accord in Syria. Officials say it has largely eased the violence since taking effect Saturday. Russia's Defense Ministry says the ongoing cease-fire in Syria has been violated 15 times in the past 24 hours. The ministry said in a statement Tuesday that most of the violations were recorded around Damascus, Aleppo, Homs and Latakia. The Russians blamed the shelling on the Islamic State group and the Nusra Front, al-Qaida's Syrian branch. Both extremist groups have been left out of the current cease-fire, and the ministry statement said they have been attacking government positions and residential areas from territory controlled by the Syrian opposition. The cease-fire in Syrian began at midnight Friday and has brought a notable reduction in hostilities for the first time in the five-year war that has killed more than 250,000 people, displaced half of Syria's population and flooded Europe with refugees. It appears there is another delay to the arrival in Juba of South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machars forces, a crucial part to the implementation of the agreement signed last August between the Juba government and the SPLM-In Opposition. A week ago, rebel leader Machar told VOA he was ready to return to Juba once the city had been demilitarized and the first group of 1,370 of his forces had been transported to Juba. Now SPLA-In Opposition military spokesman Colonel William Gatjiath Deng says the troops will not be arriving in Juba Tuesday as scheduled because the South Sudan government has not designated cantonment areas and food and medical care facilities for the troops. They supposed to go tomorrow to Juba, but we have a number reasons that can prevent our troops to go to Juba. These numbers can be numerated, like the government of South Sudan will designate cantonment areas within Juba, and also they can even provide transportation from Juba. When our troops reach the airport in Juba, they can also be picked up from the airport to our cantonment areas. And also we agreed that they can even provide basic life support like water, food, and medical care, he said. Col. Deng also said the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) has yet to get guarantees from the Ethiopian government to allow the rebels passage through Ethiopia with their light weapons.Also, the JMEC agreed that they have to talk with the Ethiopian government so that they can approve the transit of our weapons from Gambella, including our ammunition and light weapons because our troops cannot just go without approval from the Ethiopian government, Deng said. He said the IGAD-Plus, which includes the East African Community, the African Union, China, the European Union, Norway, the UK, United States, and UN are supposed to transport the rebel troops to Juba. But once the troops arrive in Juba, the South Sudan government would be responsible for transporting the troops to the cantonment areas. Government blames rebels But the South Sudan government said the rebels are to blame the fact that their troops will not be arriving in Juba on Tuesday as part of the peace agreement. Information Minister Michael Makuei said the rebels have yet to submit the names of their troops to the troika that is supposed to transport them to Juba as well as the types of weapons they are bringing. The main issue is not the absence of food or non-preparation of the site for their accommodation, but the main problem is on the side of the SPLM-IO which failed to give the list of these soldiers to the troika and to the EU who are supposed to transport them to Juba, Makuei said. Makuei said government forces have begun moving out of Juba, but they slowed down because they dont want to leave Juba without security. Deng appealed to South Sudanese to have patience. He said the rebels are simply following what the agreement said. We need to go back to our country and our capital. We know that our people really need peace. And of course, we also need peace. But if these things are not being done, how could we just go [to Juba] without guaranteeing this, Deng said. Suicide car bomb attacks on Iraqi security forces in the western Baghdad outskirts of Abu Ghraib that killed eight Monday are a sign of Islamic State (IS) desperation, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart E. Jones told VOA Alhurra-Iraq. The blasts were targeting a security checkpoint. Were going continue to see Daesh make desperate attacks like they did today in Abu Ghraib, and thats serious. They have to be addressed, Jones said, using a derogatory name for IS. The blasts followed a suicide bomb blast earlier in the day at a funeral north of the capital that killed at least 24 people. IS has claimed responsibility for the attack in Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers north of Baghdad. But overall IS is losing, Jones said. Daesh has not been able to launch a significant attack against the Iraqi security forces, and everywhere the Iraqi security forces confront Daesh, Daesh is now being pushed back. We saw that up in Ramadi. Weve seen it up in the north. Assault on Mosul The Pentagon says an assault on Mosul in Iraq is not something that will happen in the deep, deep future after the capture of Shaddadi in northeastern Syria last week. Shaddadi was "a critical node for IS training and logistics, as well as for its oil enterprise," U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter told reporters Monday. "By encircling and taking this town, we are also working to sever the last major artery between Raqqa and Mosul, an operation critical to dissecting IS's parent tumor into two parts in Iraq and Syria. Carter added that the U.S. and coalition partners are using cyber tools to disrupt IS's ability to operate on the virtual battlefield. He said Iraqi soldiers will take the lead in Mosul, which will be similar to the reclamation of Ramadi in December, but larger. Jones said U.S. and coalition partners are very proud to be supporting the Iraqi security forces with airstrikes, weapons and intelligence gathering. He added, Weve now trained over 20,000 Iraqi security force members and were seeing the difference on the ground Daesh is not really able to stand up and fight against the Iraqi security forces anymore. Lessons learned in Ramadi Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford acknowledged that after Ramadi, the U.S.-led coalition will be making some changes. "There's a couple of things we want to do. One is we want to position ourselves to most effectively support combined arms for the Iraqis as they conduct operations, and the second piece is we want to make sure that we have uninterrupted flow of logistic support," he said. Jones admitted that the struggle against IS has a long way to go and that the campaign will be a difficult one. As in Ramadi, he said the help of local of fighters will be critical. In Ramadi, they helped the Iraqi forces get through the city, a dangerous mission that incurred a lot of casualties. I dont think that any of these campaigns are going to be easy, but we are seeing that Daesh is weaker and weaker with each step, Jones said. Food aid from U.S. The United States will give Iraq another $20 million in aid, intended for supplying food rations for vulnerable Iraqi families. U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones said Monday that, with the additional funding, the U.S. government is helping the United Nations World Food Program reach 1.5 million displaced and conflict-affected Iraqis throughout the country. The family baskets include food to be cooked such as flour, rice, oil, and dry peas and beans while the ready-to-eat baskets are for displaced families who do not have access to kitchens. They include canned meat, canned peas and beans, dates and biscuits. Since 2014, the United States has provided nearly $624 million in humanitarian assistance for the Iraqi people. For Republicans, Super Tuesday may be the last chance for candidates to blunt the momentum of front-runner Donald Trump, the real estate billionaire from New York. For Democrats, the voting contests from Massachusetts to Texas could determine if Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders can remain viable as former secretary of state Hillary Clinton's momentum builds. Voters in 13 states and one U.S. territory (American Samoa) are set to cast ballots in primaries and caucuses Tuesday. It is unlikely that a candidate in either party will win sufficient delegates to claim the nomination, but a big win in several delegate-rich states could provide the momentum needed to close the deal with wins in upcoming primaries. About half of the delegates needed to win the Republican nomination are in play, but Super Tuesday delegates are awarded proportionally, so no one candidate could win all of them. However, Trump could win a big enough portion of the total delegates to cinch the nomination if he wins a large enough percentage in each state. Is Trump unstoppable? Trump has won every contest so far with the exception of the Iowa caucuses, which Texas Senator Ted Cruz won. Trump beat Cruz in subsequent races, including the primary in South Carolina, which pundits expected Cruz to win because of his strong appeal to Christian evangelicals there. WATCH: Republicans in Texas According to recent polls, Cruz maintains a lead in his home state of Texas, which has 155 of the 595 Republican delegates at stake. But Trump contends he could upset Cruz here. "He's not winning in Texas," Trump said. "We are tied in Texas, according to the last poll, and I am beating him in every other state by tremendous numbers." Cruz has spent more time than might be seen as necessary campaigning on his home turf. A loss to Trump in Texas would be a disaster for Cruz and effectively end his campaign. Florida Senator Marco Rubio has emerged as the possible surviving candidate from Super Tuesday who can continue the challenge to Trump. In order to stay viable, he needs to at least come in second in a number of important states and make a good showing among conservatives in southern states. Trump's visceral appeal Bill O'Sullivan, treasurer of the Texas Patriots PAC, said many conservatives may back Trump because his plain-spoken, often harsh, rhetoric expresses the frustration and anger they feel. "People are reacting viscerally to Trump," he said. "It is a gut reaction that has a lot to do with frustration with the system." Rice University Political Science professor Mark Jones understands Trump's visceral appeal, but finds him an odd choice for conservatives. "His position is closer to that of a Democrat than any of the other major Republican candidates, in terms of his past support for something akin to Obamacare, his more protectionist economic policy," Jones said. Many voters speaking to pollsters and reporters in recent weeks have expressed their approval of both Trump and Democratic candidate Sanders, an avowed socialist, who is far to the left of even many Democrats, let alone conservative Republicans. Jones said that is because most voters are not tied to ideology as much as they are to the idea of choosing an outsider who will upset the established system in Washington. The Democratic contest Sanders has presented a much stronger challenge to Clinton than most political experts thought possible six months ago. But his campaign, based on small donations and no corporate money, is struggling against a mighty war chest that large donors have filled for Clinton. Clinton also counts on support from prominent Democrats, union heads and minority group leaders. Texas awards 222 of the 865 total Democratic delegates at stake on Super Tuesday, but Sanders has not spent much time here. He has concentrated on must-win states like Minnesota and Massachusetts, where Clinton is now close in the polls. Sanders strength among youth But Sanders' supporters are active here as elsewhere, working on the grass-roots level. At a recent gathering near downtown Houston, Cesar Vargas, a campaign worker from New York, described the movement as "real people coming together because we have had enough of the same political establishment, the same political game." WATCH: Democrats in Texas What has boosted Sanders in every state where he has done well has been his appeal to voters under 30. Take Kayenta Smith the 17-year-old can't even vote yet, but she has volunteered to make phone calls on Sanders behalf. "He is not afraid of the label of being socialist," she said. "He is a strong candidate because he stands up for what he believes in." Smith, who has lived in Canada and Britain, where some form of socialist medicine is available, said she thinks such programs are beneficial. She said she would willingly pay higher taxes to support free education and free health care for everyone. Practical vs. fervent But that is a tough sell, especially in conservative Texas, where even most Democrats reject socialism. Clinton has condemned Sanders for not explaining how he would pay for such programs, while at the same time trying to reassure young voters that she supports the same overall goals. Given the fervor of Sanders' supporters and their view that Clinton is part of the old guard standing in the way of progress, Clinton faces a tricky challenge. She needs to defeat Sanders for the nomination while not alienating his youthful supporters, whose votes she will need to win the general election in November. Voters across 12 states helped decide their parties nominees in the 2016 presidential campaign, providing a clearer picture of the battle Donald Trump may trigger in the Republican Party and maybe hinting as to how he might do in a general election. Trump headed into Super Tuesday, the campaigns single biggest day of voting, with three straight wins, a 4-1 delegate lead, and endorsements from New Jersey governor Chris Christie and several members of Congress. Analysts said his showing in so-called purple states, states that can go to either the Democrats or Republicans in presidential elections, would be the most detailed test of his strength as a candidate. One of those states was Massachusetts, where a strong showing for Trump could be a key test of his appeal with working-class conservative Democrats willing to cross over and vote Republican on economic issues, said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean. If he did really poorly there, thats an indicator of what the general election could look like, he said. Trump did not do poorly. He won 49 percent of the vote in Massachusetts while no rival earned more than 18 percent. Marco Rubio, the freshman Florida Senator looking to unite the Republican establishment around his candidacy, adopted Trumps strategy of personal attacks in recent days, mocking the frontrunners appearance and demeanor. Rubio, who had yet to win a nominating contest heading into Tuesday, needed to show well against his other opponent, Ted Cruz, to stay in the contest until March 15th. Marco Rubio has been campaigning quite a bit in Virginia in the past few days, so he might think he has a shot there, said Bonjean. Virginia, a key battleground state in past Presidential elections, allows residents to vote in either partys presidential primary, leaving the field wide open for independent-minded voters. Rubio was strong in Virginia, getting 32 percent of the vote, but not enough to beat Trump's 35 percent. Meanwhile, Ted Cruz staked his data-focused campaign on winning delegates in his home state of Texas. Cruz likes to remind voters he beat Trump in the Iowa caucus. But the Texas senator has lost momentum since that win a month ago, slowed by accusations his campaign plays dirty tricks on other candidates and an unexpectedly poor showing among evangelical voters in South Carolina. People are coalescing behind Rubio, said Democratic pollster Margie Omero. Cruz home state was the big prize in Super Tuesday voting, awarding the highest number of delegates of any contest. His campaigns strategy focused on winning delegates district by district, rather than a win statewide. He won 44 percent of the vote in Texas, beating out Trump's 27 percent. Bonjean said ahead of Tuesday's results that a strong showing by Trump would result in a number of additional establishment conservatives coming out to support him, triggering questions about who controls the Republican party. Geographic advantage Hillary Clinton went into the Super Tuesday vote following a resounding victory in the South Carolina primary last Saturday. Clintons 47-percentage point win over Senator Bernie Sanders helped calm doubts about her candidacy after close contests in early voting states. Whatever happens today will come out with an advantage for Clinton, said Omero. Clinton holds strong leads among Latino and African-Americans, populations that make up a large portion of the voters in southern states that voted on Super Tuesday. In recent days, the Sanders campaign focused on states with smaller delegate numbers, but friendlier demographics. If Sanders could perform well in states with white liberal populations like Massachusetts, Colorado, Minnesota and his home state of Vermont, then he could prevent Clinton from amassing an insurmountable delegate total and keep going with primary voting well into June. Sanders took three of the four, losing only Massachusetts to Clinton. Sanders strategy depends in large measure on generating voter enthusiasm, particularly among younger voters who have appeared resistant to Clinton. After voting Tuesday in Burlington, Vermont, Sanders told reporters if voter turnout is high "we are going to do well. If not, we're probably going to be struggling.'' Clinton appeared confident campaigning in the days before Super Tuesday. She ignored her opponent, Sanders, focusing on a potential general election battle with Donald Trump. The Republican frontrunner also appeared to be looking ahead to November. Trump said Tuesday, "I can tell you the one person Hillary Clinton doesn't want to run against is me.'' Omero said the Super Tuesday results should not be the final word on a Trump general election run. Republican elder statesmen can be more forceful and more clear, she said. Have Republican women come out and say the way he speaks is unacceptable. There can be a third-party run by other candidates to try and siphon votes away from Trump. There should be no stone left unturned, rather than throw up our hands and say oh well. Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump have strengthened their grip on their parties' presidential nominations, racking up a series of wins in key states on Super Tuesday, the primary election's most important day of voting. According to media projections, former Secretary of State Clinton has won six Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. The states rival Bernie Sanders is projected to have won are Oklahoma, Minnesota, Colorado and Vermont, his home state. On the Republican side, Trump took Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont and Massachusetts. Trump's only losses were to Senator Ted Cruz, who took his home state of Texas as well as Oklahoma. Florida Senator Marco Rubio picked up his first win of the primary election, in Minnesota. Watch video report from VOA's Jim Malone: The results were not surprising. Opinion polls had showed Trump and Clinton with large leads in Super Tuesday states and nationally. In their victory speeches, each candidate focused on the other, rather than their primary opponents. "America never stopped being great," Clinton said at a rally in Florida, referencing Trump's campaign slogan. "We have to make America whole," she said, adding that the rhetoric on the Republican side "has never been lower." Fires back At his own speech in Florida, Trump shot back: "She wants to make America whole again. I'm trying to figure what that's all about. Making America great again is going to be much better than making America whole again." Trump also referenced his rival, Rubio, saying, "I know it as a very rough night for Marco Rubio. He worked hard, he spent a lot of money. He is a lightweight, like I have said many times. "Rubio was the big loser of the night. He didn't win anything tonight. He hasn't won anything period," Trump said. Speaking to a large crowd in his home state late Tuesday, Sanders stayed optimistic. "This campaign, as I think all of you know, is not just about electing a president, it is about transforming America. It is about making our great nation the country we know it has the potential to be," he said. Sanders stressed that Democratic primaries are proportional, and that they award delegates according to the vote count. "By the end of tonight, we are going to win many hundreds of delegates," he said. After the voting finished Sanders released a statement saying his campaign is "just getting started" and that he intends to remain in the race until the party's nominating convention in July. WATCH: Candidates speak to Super Tuesday results But there was no doubt that Clinton was the "big winner" of the night, according to Mo Elleithee, executive director at the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service. Elleithee, who worked as a Clinton campaign spokesman in 2008, pointed to Sanders' difficulty in attracting voters outside his largely white support base, especially as the primary process moves toward states with larger minority populations. "We've moved past the phase of the campaign where it's about momentum, and it's now about math. And it's pretty clear [Bernie's] not going to have the delegates necessary to win," he told VOA. Ford O'Connell, a Republican strategist, said Trump came out on top on the Republican side, and is now the "clear prohibitive frontrunner." "Donald Trump won big tonight," O'Connell told VOA, adding that the billionaire businessman may actually benefit from losing several contests to his rivals. "His greatest ally is a divided GOP field, so all around it's nearly perfect night for Trump," he said. 'I voted with my heart' Americans across the nation - from Georgia to Alaska - cast their votes Tuesday. One of those voters was Barbara Ballow from Arlington, Virginia, who voted for Sanders in the Democratic race. "I voted with my heart," Ballow told VOA outside a polling location. "I don't like Hillary. I don't like her, and I don't trust her. I think she's part of the political establishment." Others, such as Arlington resident Deborah Klaus, are taking advantage of their state's open primary system, which allows voters to cast a ballot for a candidate in either party. Klaus calls herself a "huge" Sanders fan, but instead voted for Ohio Governor John Kasich, a Republican, saying it was more important for her that Trump lose than Sanders win. "We've got to stop Trump. It probably won't work, but I don't want to see Trump in," she said. "And I like (Kasich). He's the least ideological, most issues oriented candidate." Opinion polls Nationally, a new NBC News/Survey Monkey poll Tuesday showed Trump with 40 percent support among registered Republicans, with Rubio at 21 percent and Cruz at 18 percent, followed by former neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 8 percent and Kasich at 7 percent. In the Democratic race, the NBC poll showed Clinton with a 51-to-41 percent lead over Sanders. Cruz is warning that the "Trump train" could be "unstoppable" if he wins big victories Tuesday. GALLERY: Super Tuesday action Taipei has emerged as a role model for Asian cities, with a public bike rental program that has reached 20 million trips per year because of low rates and an abundance of bikes throughout the crowded Taiwanese capital. Envoys from Tokyo and Singapore, two other dense Asian cities, have visited Taipei to ask the citys transportation department how the rental program, known as YouBike, has developed. Interest surged after the seven-year-old program suddenly saw rentals double from 2013 to 2014. Biking took off in Taipei because more than 30 percent of people already commute by metro or bus. They willingly pedal the final kilometer to work if rentals are close to their final metro or bus stop. Taipeis city government has placed many of its 222 rental kiosks in exactly in those locations. Officials in the city of 2.6 million also keep rates as low as 15 U.S. cents for the first half hour, affordable to city dwellers who want the bike for a day trip on one of the mostly flat citys riverside trails. Rentals total about 20 million per year now. Taipeis population density is high and peoples usage of buses and the metro has reached a certain level, said Liu Chia-yu, a division chief under the city governments transportation department. Those people actually can use YouBike in the natural course of their movements. After slow pickup in the first years, the city added stations and bikes. It also cancelled a program membership in 2012 to bring in more riders. It plans to spend about $32 million between 2015 and 2019 on more new bikes and places to rent them. Riders are allowed to rent from one place and drop off at any other. When Taipei was planning its overall city transit system, bikes were a form of transport we wanted to encourage, Liu said. Users like convenience of rentals Taipei now lacks the traffic jams that are notorious in Asian cities such as Bangkok, Beijing and Jakarta. Air pollution is also less severe in here. Taiwan-based Giant Manufacturing, a maker of bikes that are sold internationally, operates the YouBike system and supplies it with 7,200 clean, orange bikes. Chang Da-you, a 28-year-old office worker in Taipei, is a typical YouBike commuter. He rides five kilometers to and from work every day that its not raining. On weekends, he bicycles up to 20 kilometers along a river trail. Its convenient. Wherever you go, there it is, Chang said. If theres a metro stop nearby theres also YouBike, so you can take the metro to your bike and ride the bike to any other place. Taipei is now examining ways to improve traffic safety for riders after the first phase of green-painted designated bike lanes on major streets attracted too many stopped cars and trucks to offer a haven from the traffic. The city will open more than 150 kilometers of new paths by 2019. Japans tourist city of Kyoto also has rentals, but mainly older bikes and from specific shops. Seoul launched a rental system like Taipeis in October and plans to expand city-wide by 2020 with as many as 20,000 bikes. Taipei is credited with not giving up where other cities might. In the beginning days there wasn't a lot of action. But rather than stop they sort of redoubled their efforts, which is fantastic, said Anthony van Dyck, a Canadian in Taipei who follows YouBike as founder of an informational website for foreigners. I think a lot of governments would just take a step back and they did it the exact opposite. They just tried twice as hard, he said. With Russian-Turkish tensions mounting, a recent poll finds that the Turkish people see Russia as their greatest threat. The annual survey on Turkish attitudes carried out by Istanbul's Kadir Has University shows Russia displacing Israel in the No. 1 spot. The findings are not surprising, says international relations expert Soli Ozel of Kadir Has, as Turkey's nationalist and pro-government media continue to target Moscow with accusations of conspiracies against Turkey - the expulsion of a Turkish diplomat from Bulgaria just last month was blamed on Moscow. "This is a public that gets 85 percent of its news from TVs, Ozel said. Given the fact that most TVs repeat the allegations, assertions and thoughts of the government, so long as the government does present the Russians as certainly very inimical to Turkey, and given the fact they did down a plane. Russia would probably take pride of place in terms of Turkey threats." Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter jet operating from a Syrian airbase in November plunged the two countries into crisis. Until then, there had been two decades of deepening relations in trade and tourism, as well as growing numbers of inter-marriages. 'Good old nasty feeling' But the historical rivalries always remained, says historian Ayhan Aktar of Istanbul's Bilgi University. "There is a good old nasty feeling between those two countries, Aktar said. And there have been several military encounters, which Turkey lost all of them. Then we have the cold war. For ordinary Turks, there was no difference between Russia Empire and the Soviets, it was always Russia. Therefore, there is a basis for this enmity. " Aktar argues that historical suspicions by Turkey are not confined to Russia. The current crisis with Moscow, he says, is part of a wider pattern of national insecurity, both within society and the state. "In any ceremonies, commemorations in schools, you are always hearing that Turkey is surrounded with enemies, he said. It could be Greeks, Armenians, Russians, Iranians, whatever you can imagine." Moscow's recent deployment of fighters and bombers in Armenia, Turkey's neighbor, can only add to Turkey's unease something well-known to Moscow, observers say. And considering Turkeys strained or non-existent diplomatic relations with all its southern neighbors, historical insecurities are likely to intensify. The United Nations reports that efforts are under way to bring an end to the long-standing displacement crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. DRC remains the longest and most protracted humanitarian crisis on the African continent, with ongoing conflict in North and South Kivu, Ituri Province and north Katanga. Instability in neighboring countries has forced thousands of people to seek refuge in DRC. The U.N. refugee agency reports there were more than 2.5 million internally displaced people and more than 100,000 refugees in DRC at the end of last year. It is beyond time to bring the crisis to a close, said Mamadou Diallo, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in DRC. "We have now started the conversation with the government of Congo to discuss the issue of durable solutions to the issue of displacement as a way of ensuring where feasible the dignified and safe return of displaced people into their areas of origin, he said, or else ... looking for other durable solutions through settlement or resettlement of some of these displaced people into the host communities as a way of ending this long-term displacement." The United Nations has launched a $690 million appeal to assist 7 million people in DRC, of whom more than half are going hungry. Priorities include health care, water and sanitation, aid for millions of victims of rape and sexual violence, and assistance for the displaced. Diallo, however, said peace can bring huge economic potential to the country in particular, eastern Congo. North and South Kivu, the breadbasket of the Congo, have the potential to feed the entire nation and export crops to neighboring countries, he told VOA. "But, because of the insecurity, people in the displacement, some of the people no longer have the possibility of going to their fields, attending to their crops and doing other things, Diallo said. So, they remain in the camps and rely on handouts." The situation can be reversed with political will from the government and the necessary resources to help the millions of displaced leave their lives of dependency and resume a normal life, he said. The United Nations refugee agency warns Europe is on the verge of an explosive self-induced humanitarian crisis, which could spiral out of control and result in widespread violence. The agency reports the number of refugees and migrants in Greece in need of shelter has soared to 24,000. This, it says, includes around 8,500 people stranded near the border with Macedonia. It says the crowded conditions are leading to shortages of food, shelter, water and sanitation. Vincent Cochetel is UNHCR's refugee crisis in Europe coordinator. He says the congestion at border crossings along the Balkan migratory route is leading to frustration among the migrants and refugees. They do not understand that they can no longer move onward, that they have to queue; they have to go through the relocation process - for those eligible for relocation and it is not everybody. So, there is a lot of frustration building up, which may lead to acts of violence, said Cochetel. A peaceful protest Monday near the Macedonian border turned violent as police threw tear gas canisters to force refugees and migrants away from the razor-wire fence. Nearly 132,000 people, half of them women and children, have made the perilous Mediterranean Sea crossing this year, exceeding the total for the first half of 2015. Almost all have landed in Greece. UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards says the European Union must absolutely go through with the plan it approved last year for an equitable relocation of refugees among its 28 members. It should concern everyone that despite commitments to relocate 66,400 refugees from Greece, states have so far pledged only 1,539 spaces, and only 325 actual relocations have occurred, he said. The UNHCR says Greece must urgently increase its ability to accommodate and support the masses of people arriving and that more resources, and better coordination among EU member states, are critical. kbear said: i know--if we are forced to choose between trump and hillary it will be a sad day and i for one will probably sit this one out. i couldn't bring myself to vote for either one.:unsure: Click to expand... i suspect it wont matter that much anyway, i have always said the actual current president of america has a degree of power, but most of what america does is done on momentum, the president doesnt make as much difference as they claim. my instincts actually are to go with trump. i think trump will, most of the time, defer actual decisions to his advisers when it comes to military matters, foreign policy, trade policy, etc, he might claim to be The Great Leader, but he will actually be largely a puppet. he will, however, be a kick in the pants for politics in general and thats a good thing. hillary might be the opposite, because of her experience and history, she might ignore her advisers believing herself to be informed enough to act alone, and that would be far more dangerous. The U.N. Security Council has postponed until Wednesday a vote on resolution that would impose new sanctions on North Korea in response to its latest nuclear test and long-range missile launch. The vote had been expected Tuesday afternoon but Russia invoked a 24 hour procedural review, according to the U.S. mission to the United Nations. The resolution, drafted by the United States and introduced last Thursday, calls for a total arms embargo on Pyongyang, a mandatory inspection of all cargo in and out of North Korea, whether by land, sea or air, and halts imports of all products that could be used for military purposes. The vote was already delayed for a few days when Russia declared it needed to study the document. Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said the resolution "would break new ground and represent the strongest set of sanctions imposed by the Security Council in more than two decades." The U.N. already has imposed a number of sanctions on North Korea in response to past nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The U.S. submitted the resolution after several weeks of negotiations with China, North Korea's closest ally and largest trading partner. Beijing was angered by the North's January nuclear test and its February 7 ballistic missile test, but it has been reluctant to support harsh international sanctions on Pyongyang for fear of destabilizing the country and triggering a surge of refugees across their border. The resolution also bans imports to North Korea of aviation and rocket fuel, as well as exports of commodities such as coal, iron, gold, titanium and rare earth minerals. It also adds 17 individuals and 12 entities to the U.N.'s sanctions blacklist, including North Korea's space agency NADA, and requires nations to expel North Korean diplomats engaging in illegal activities. In a televised speech Tuesday ahead of the vote, South Korean President Park Geun-hye says the international community must continue to pressure North Korea until the regime proves it is committed to giving up its nuclear weapons development program. The U.S. Justice Department and technology giant Apple took their standoff over a locked iPhone to Congress Tuesday, answering questions before lawmakers about the effort to force Apple to help U.S. investigators access a device used by one of the San Bernardino, California terrorists. In a congressional hearing, lawmakers expressed skepticism toward the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation James Comey's arguments over why officials need a court to force Apple to build a software tool that will help them access the iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook, who along with his wife, killed 14 people and injured 22 others in the December mass shooting. . Comey told the panel that the FBI needs greater access to digital communications to keep Americans safe from child abductors, sexual predators and terrorist groups such as the Islamic State. Legal Precedent? A number of committee members criticized Comey for turning to the courts instead of Congress to get help with the investigation into the shooting. Democratic ranking member John Conyers blasted the FBI for asking a federal magistrate to give them special access to smartphones. Conyers said the House Judiciary Committee is the correct place to begin the high stakes debate over the tradeoff between security and privacy. Conyers added he would be deeply disappointed if it turns out that the government is found to be exploiting a national tragedy to pursue a change in the law. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte questioned Comey on whether this San Bernardino case would set a legal precedent, and Comey conceded that it potentially would. Republican Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina said he finds it baffling that Apple is refusing to help the FBI unlock the password of a deceased terrorist who was using a iPhone owned by San Bernardino county. Farook was a county health inspector and local authorities have already given permission for investigators to access the phone he was provided as part of his job. Apple's 'Vicious Guard Dog' Apples General Counsel Bruce Sewell also testified at the same hearing, but appeared in a separate panel after Comey left. Sewell told lawmakers Apple has no sympathy for terrorists, but said the U.S. government is asking Apple to create a backdoor which would threaten the privacy of all smartphone users. Comey told lawmakers: There is already a door on that iPhone. Were asking Apple to take the vicious guard dog away and let us pick the lock. Tuesdays hearing is likely only the first of many in Congress on the complex and long-standing debate over the conflict between digital privacy rights and national security. A magistrate judge in California ordered Apple to comply with the demand, but the outcome is uncertain pending the company's appeal. The hearing before the House Judiciary Committee came as Apple won a case on government-ordered phone intrusion on Monday that is similar to the Farook case. In New York, a different magistrate judge ruled that the Justice Department cannot force Apple to unlock the iPhone of a suspected drug dealer. Judge James Orenstein said the government's demand "is unavailable because Congress has considered legislation that would achieve the same result but has not adopted it." A Justice Department spokesman expressed disappointment in the New York ruling and said the department plans to appeal. Surveys Show Support for Government In the Farook case, the FBI wants to check his phone to see if the American-born Muslim was in contact with others about the early December attack he carried out with his Pakistani-born wife, Tashfeen Malik. Both were killed hours later in a shootout with police. If the California judge's order is upheld, U.S. law enforcement officials say they will ask the company to unlock other Apple devices involved in criminal investigations. One survey in the United States showed that a majority of Americans favors the government's position in the dispute. A U.S. federal judge said Monday the north central state of Indiana cannot attempt to deter the resettlement of Syrian refugees, calling an order by Governor Mike Pence clearly discriminatory. After the November terror attacks in Paris, Pence ordered state agencies to suspend funding for groups that help refugees in Indiana. He said the measures would be in place until he got assurances proper security measures were in place. More than two dozen other states took similar stances while expressing fears about terrorism. U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt said withholding funding for social services "in no way furthers the state's asserted interest in the safety of Indiana residents." Her decision does not end the lawsuit brought by a group called Exodus Refugee Immigration, which expects to resettle nearly 200 Syrians in Indiana this year. But she said Exodus is likely to win, and thus blocked the state from continuing to suspend the funding. Similar lawsuits are also pending in Pennsylvania, Texas and Alabama. President Barack Obama has said the country will take in 85,000 refugees this year, with Syrians accounting for 10,000 of them. The refusal by some states - most with Republican governors - to accept Syrians drew attention to the process by which refugees are admitted to the U.S. But Obama and other officials defended the government's vetting efforts, saying the extensive process can take up to two years. The federal government pays groups like Exodus directly for expenses to prepare for the refugees' arrival, including costs such as obtaining and furnishing a place for them to live. Once the refugees are in Indiana, federal funds go through state agencies to pay for social services, including job training, cultural integration, adult English classes, medical assistance and school aid. The governor's order blocks the first part of that list, but refugees can still get medical and school aid if they otherwise qualify. Judge finds no harm to state During the lawsuit, Indiana argued that the federal government is not fulfilling its responsibility to "consult regularly" with states to consider their views before placing refugees within their borders. It said that without that support, the governor's directive "is part of a larger effort not only to deter resettlement of Syrian refugees without better background checks, but also to persuade the United States to consult more seriously with the states." Judge Pratt rejected the state's arguments, saying the court "could hardly disagree more with the state's position." She said it is clear Exodus and its refugee clients will be harmed by the governor's order, while there is "near complete absence of harm to the state." Governor Pence responded with a statement saying the state will seek an immediate stay and appeal of Monday's injunction. He also stood by his November decision. "So long as the Obama administration continues to refuse to address gaps in the screening of Syrian refugees acknowledged by the FBI and a bipartisan majority in Congress, Hoosiers can be assured that my administration will continue to use every legal means available to suspend this program in Indiana unless and until federal officials take steps to ensure the safety and security of our citizens," he said. The City of Bulwayo that has borne the brunt of factory closures over the past few months will soon see a $60 million shopping mall going up at the Egodini Commuter Omnibus Rank. Construction of the state-of-the-art mall, under a Build, Own and Transfer Agreement, is expected to start in two months' time. Under the BOT agreement with a developer, Teraccotta Trading Private Limited, a joint venture between a Zimbabwean and a South African businessperson, the mall will be handed over to the local authority after two years of its completion. Commuter omnibus operators and vendors using the rank were last year given two months to vacate the place. They have been given another two months to wrap up their business. A ceremony to officially launch the project was held in the city Monday where acting town clerk Sikhangele Zhou said they were only going to relocate vendors and commuter operators when construction at the site starts. Councilor Mlandu Ncube, chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee, said the development marks a new beginning for Bulawayo as the project is set to generate about 1,000 jobs. This mall is going to be a very big and wonderful mall. Everyone is going to admire it. We are expecting the construction to start in three months time, said Ncube. Former Vice President Joice Mujuru on Tuesday appeared in public for the first time since her expulsion from Zanu PF last year and told a news conference that she was ready to deliver political change in Zimbabwe. Addressing a news conference in Harare, Mrs. Mujuru, who is leading the newly-formed Zimbabwe People First party on an interim basis, said she was ready to get Zimbabwe out of its social, economic and political problems. The former vice president said a coalition to unseat President Robert Mugabes government was necessary. However, she noted that negotiations with other opposition parties were yet to start. Mrs. Mujurus remarks confirmed earlier assertions by former Prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change party who told reporters last month that the coalition talks were yet to begin. She also called for key democratic reforms to be implemented ahead of the 2018 polls to ensure that the elections do not breed a pre-determined outcome. She, however, fell short of saying the 2013 polls were rigged by President Mugabe and his Zanu PF party, adding that policies that scare away investors such as the black economic empowerment law should be reviewed. The former vice president said she would work flat out to ensure that Zimbabwe rejoins the Commonwealth. Zimbabwe pulled out of the Commonwealth in 2002 after it was accused of election rigging and rights violations. Mrs. Mujuru further said a steering committee has been set up to spearhead People Firsts inaugural elective congress that would be held on a date yet to advised. The former vice president, who was accused of corruption and plotting to assassinate Mr. Mugabe, said her hands were clean hence the police have not arrested her. Asked by one journalist of her relationship with Mr. Mugabe following her expulsion from both Zanu PF and government, Mrs. Mujuru said her business is to focus on key national developmental issues than to talk about other people. She added that if Mr. Mugabe, who turned 92 last month was to come face to face with her, she doubted if the nonagenarian leader would recall what he said when he called her a witch. Upon getting out of the hotel where she addressed journalists, Mrs. Mujuru was surprised to see hundreds of her supporters singing outside. Mrs. Mujuru then told her loyalists that she would work hard to uplift their standard of living and called for an end to politically-motivated violence in Zimbabwe. One of her supporters, Nester Chikowore of Harares Budiriro high-density suburb said she was happy that the former vice president had formally joined opposition politics. Chikowore hoped that Mrs. Mujuru as a woman- would advance the interests of women if she is elected president in 2018. She, however, urged Mrs. Mujuru to form a coalition with other opposition parties in order to increase the oppositions chances of winning elections in 2018. Another youth, Christelle Kanoshambira, who supports Mrs. Mujuru said she also expects her leader to push for the creation of jobs if she becomes president one day. Diplomats and other notable political figures such as Didymas Mutasa, Rugare Gumbo, Ibbo Mandaza, Dzikamai Mavhaire, Bright Matonga, Sylvester Nguni, Retired Major Kudzai Mbudzi, and Pearson Mungofa attended Mrs. Mujurus press conference. Zanu PF Central Committee member, Joseph Tshuma told VOA Studio 7 they are ready to tackle Zimbabwe People First. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, described by his critics as the Machiavelli of Africa - skillfully playing one heir apparent off against another - has Thursday called for an emergency Politburo meeting to try and deescalate tensions in the ruling Zanu PF party. Party insiders say Mr. Mugabe's attempts to use threats and repressive state apparatus to maintain control of the party have not worked and as a result he will again turn to diplomacy to address the widening rift between him and one of his vice presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is now being openly backed by a section of the war veterans. Last week, Mr. Mugabe called for a rare press conference to apologize to some war veterans after their public demonstration to show support for Mnangagwa was violently disrupted by the anti-riot police. Mr. Mugabe, according to critics, tried to isolate War Veterans Minister Chris Mutsvangwa from the war veterans but the freedom fighters vowed to back the under fire minister. Some war veterans said their February 18th meeting was disrupted because some of them were openly protesting against Mr. Mugabe's increasingly powerful wife, Grace Mugabe, who is also the boss of the party's Women's League. This after the first lady took a swipe at Mnangagwa castigating him for allegedly attempting to push Mr. Mugabe out and assume the presidency. Addressing supporters during his birthday bash at the weekend, Mr. Mugabe also warned "misguided party members" against attacking his wife calling it "very rude". The secretary general of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, Victor Matemadanda, said their crunch meeting scheduled for Thursday might be postponed to accommodate an emergency Zanu PF Politburo meeting. Matemandada told VOA Studio 7 that there is a possibility that they might reschedule their meeting; I have been told that there would be a Politburo meeting on Thursday so I advised my fellow comrades to sit and see if its possible that we continue on the that Thursday date or we postpone to Friday. Attempts to get a comment from Zanu PF spokesman, Simon Khaya Moyo, were futile as he was said to be in a cabinet meeting that dragged for long hours. There are serious tensions between two bitter rivals, Team Lacoste supporting Mnangagwa and Generation 40 backed by the Young Turks and the first lady. The two factions are battling to succeed President Mugabe who turned 92 on February 21st. Tension escalated Tuesday after police sources reported that there was a yet another break-in at Mnangagwas New Government Complex offices Monday night. If the break-in is confirmed, it will be the fifth such attempt. CAUTION Defense Minister and Zanu-PF secretary for War Veterans, Sydney Sekeramayi, who was blamed by war veterans for deliberately misleading President Mugabe about their intention to hold a meeting in Harare urged the former fighters to be disciplined. Sekeramayi is quoted in the state-controlled Herald newspaper as saying, When the meeting is held, it should be in the spirit of what the president has advised, that is, it should be a meeting supporting the president, the party and our structures and with discipline. Last week, the president said he was not aware of the war veterans meeting and other ministers in the security sector Sekeramayi, Kembo Mohadi (Security) and Ignatius Chombo (Home Affairs) were also not briefed about the war veterans meeting. But Matemadanda in an interview with VOA Studio 7 said he had personally met with Sekeramayi and briefed him about their intended peaceful demonstration. The volcano continues to produce intermittent explosions, but there might be something new in the making: weak, but continuous glow from the crater has appeared during the last night - something that hasn't been observed since the latest effusive eruptive phase in July last year. Itindicate that a new lava dome is about to appear. The next days or weeks will probably give a better answer. ... Background: Colima volcano is one of the most active in North America and one of the potentially most dangerous ones. It has had more than 30 periods of eruptions since 1585, including several significant eruptions in the late 1990s. Scientific monitoring of the volcano began 20 years ago.The Colima volcanic complex is the most prominent volcanic center of the western Mexican Volcanic Belt. It consists of two southward-younging volcanoes, Nevado de Colima (the 4320 m high point of the complex) on the north and the 3850-m-high historically active Volcan de Colima at the south.A group of cinder cones of probable late-Pleistocene age is located on the floor of the Colima graben west and east of the Colima complex. Volcan de Colima (also known as Volcan Fuego) is a youthful stratovolcano constructed within a 5-km-wide caldera, breached to the south, that has been the source of large debris avalanches. Major slope failures have occurred repeatedly from both the Nevado and Colima cones, and have produced a thick apron of debris-avalanche deposits on three sides of the complex. Frequent historical eruptions date back to the 16th century. Occasional major explosive eruptions (most recently in 1913) have destroyed the summit and left a deep, steep-sided crater that was slowly refilled and then overtopped by lava dome growth.--- Armistice Agreement reached by Russia and the United States is the result of the various groups, that fought with the Syrian government, reaching the brink of a military disaster. However, Hello! French political analyst, journalist Thierry Meyssan writes: "President Vladimir Putin has based his policy on Syria on the fight against Jihadis. It is based neither on support of the Syrian Arab Republic, nor the support of President Bashar al-Assad. Putin intends to oppose the Jihadis because , since 2012-th on, he firmly maintained that the Syrian issue was internal Russian problem, too. Because he and only he understood the logic of this system. Russia can now recreate the situation that the world saw in the period of 1936-1939. In 1936, the British king was on the side of the Nazis, the Bank of England sponsored the Nazis in Germany .... And this is what Russia has done - it has changed the political line and forced the hand of the United States to shift their position to the one against the Jihadis, even though it was the United States that had created this system of Jihadis. " Thierry Meyssan - a French Orientalist - spoke about the possibility of US-Russian agreement on Syria as early as 2012. The agreement, in which no one believed, which has been regularly sabotaged by the US military hawks, who were in charge of Islamic groups, and into which Obama himself finally believed only in the face of the threat of a military victory of the Russian-Syrian-Iranian coalition. Advisor to the President of Syria for political and informational issues Buseyna Shaaban: "As for the US claims about a certain plan" B ", then we do not know what exactly the US Secretary of State is referring to . For us any " B "is very clear - we will continue to fight terrorism." Translated into plain Russian, it means - there is no plan "B". Rejection of plan "A" means return to the offensive of the Syrian army, with the support of allies. Thus, the United States commitment to the plan "A" is the only way to achieve peace in Syria at the minimum acceptable conditions for the United States. Thus, the plan "A" - is not only victory for Putin, but also a victory for Obama- over himself and over the overwhelmingly influential group of American neocons, pushing America to the brink of disaster. A prelude to the current truce, not the consequence, as it seems to some, was a rejection of each member of the coalition of pro-Saudi ideas to conduct ground operations in Syria. Bahrain first, followed by Qatar, then Saudi Arabia, every relevant party in the negotiations, bar ISIS (DAESH, ISIL) and Dzhabhat-en-Nusra, that have been outlawed. And Turkey! Turkey is the only party remaining outside the peace process, together with ISIS and a bunch of pro-Turkish groups that have also renounced the armistice. French political scientist Thierry Meyssan writes: "Turkey not being a signatory to the agreement between Russia and the US is just a bureaucratic formality, but it shows Turkeys position. What Turkey is going to do? It is going to return to the Syrian territory to attack Kurds, the very allies of Moscow and Washington.. By doing so, Turkey would violate the truce, violate the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic and Turkey would enter into armed conflict with the allies, Moscow and Washington. I think it is . a trap for Turkey, and that in the next few weeks or in the next few months we will see a collapse of the rule of Mr Erdogan. " Well, with time-frame of "weeks and months", Meyssan, perhaps, is a little on a hasty side, but the fact that Erdogan has driven himself into a corner and that the local Russian-American agreement in some way does involve Erdogan is a rather plausible possibility. Agency "Regnum", referring to Turkish Hurriyet, posted the statement of the Turkish military, which followed the meeting with President Erdogan: "The Turkish army will not set a foot on Syrian territory without a UN Security Council consent and the decision can not be accepted, given the position of Russia." This statement, in addition to direct text, contains a quite clear subtext - the Turkish army sends Erdogan President to the hands of international law. Acute desire of the Turkish army to do this is understandable- Erdogan has only removed the Turkish army from the political pedestal, but also has imprisoned half of the generals. But it is impracticable without the consent of the Americans. And this is a very bad news to Erdogan, who has lost the ability to manoeuver between the Americans and Russia. However, Good-bye! Anytime youre asked to meet someone in an alleyway straight out of Hellraiser, odds are youll either wind up dead or with a major albatross around your neck. Granted, Mikes is no ordinary neck. Its tough and reddened from years of hard work and harder living, and can handle having major weight anchored to it. As he stands across from Nacho and considers the proposal to make one of his human headaches (Tuco, we assume?) go away, he can nevertheless tell this one decision may sink him like a stone. Mike endures for another decade-plus before meeting a fatal bullet, but whats so unique about Better Call Saul is we wont have to wonder how small choices will have major consequences deep into these characters journeys. The likely choice to accept Nachos offer all but seals his fate. Earlier that day, in the Davis & Main offices, Jimmy exercises similarly perilous judgment that accelerates his descent into underworld dealings. Where once-schmucky Jimmy McGill landed in the crosshairs of cartel activity at random, hes now fast-tracking his way to a lasting entanglement with the Salamancas and their kind. So much for making partner. Though, one could argue that its all Chucks fault. Jimmys older brother is fixated on remanding him back to a life of petty mischief so much so that he openly questions the integrity with which Jimmy recruited two dozen new clients in the Sandpiper case. In fairness, hes not wrong to be suspicious. As we observe in the winning opening segment, Jimmy pays a Sandpiper van driver to pull over in Amarillo so he can hop aboard and drum up new business with a dog-and-pony show. Its unethical and worthy of disbarment, but it works. And fortunately for Jimmy, the partners at both Davis & Main and HHM are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt (for now) and cast Chucks misgivings aside. To Cliffs credit, he and the Davis & Main honchos only call Jimmy to the carpet after he airs a TV commercial aimed at seniors in Colorado Springs without their approval. Generally speaking, they were game for a media buy so long as it was appropriately kinda nebulous, but not too nebulous, like the snoozer spot their guys threw together. Jimmy knows better. He knows youve got to be direct and illustrative; you shouldnt leave anything to the imagination. Enter his duo of film-student wunderkinds from season one, who are shall we say, willing to go for round two if it means a hundred bucks each. So long as Jimmy realizes theres no dolly and theyll be shooting in black-and-white. The result, even by Kims admission, is almost tasteful: It depicts an elderly woman in dire straits after shes been manipulated out of her savings. Viewers in Colorado Springs agree and light up his Sandpiper Hotline like so many Fixodent smiles. When Cliff interrupts Jimmy and Kims living-room viewing of Ice Station Zebra with a late-night call, all Jimmy wants to hear is, Way to go Charlie Hustle. Fuck your brother and his eternal vigilance. This is how an attorney whos unambiguously unafraid of electricity advocates for justice in the 21st century. What he gets is a furious boss, who is understandably incredulous at his underlings audacity. Not hard to see how, several years on, our thoughtful ad director will regress into Saul Goodman, local televisions most shamelessly artless ambulance chaser. Back in the present, Mikes got plenty going on that justifies mulling Nachos offer, never mind being talked down to by his shady veterinarian-cum-criminal middleman. His daughter-in-law Stacey is cracking under the pressure of work and single motherhood. Shes not quite paranoid, but shes certainly neurotic about imaginary gunshots and other bumps in the night that arent really there. After an overnight stakeout in his car (and, as some readers noted, that does seem to be a new maroon interior courtesy of Nachos dad), Mike witnesses little more than a paperboy slinging the next morning edition onto driveways and curbsides hardly the pop pop pop of a 9mm. But he still feels responsible for his sons death and cant have his granddaughter Kaylee raised in an environment that makes her mother feel unsafe. His reasons for breaking bad, as it were, are less self-absorbed than Jimmys, but just as hard to switch off. Season two has been a mostly slow burn so far, but its building toward dirty deeds, severed ties, and binding new relationships that in their own small way all clear a path for Mike and Jimmy/Saul to one day make Walter Whites acquaintance. When Jimmy hangs up with Cliff, returns to Kim and Ice Station Zebra, and asks, Anything blow up yet? he certainly doesnt know that. But in fact, hes already affixed a bomb to his life and lit a long fuse. For now, one things for sure: Jimmys slippin. Apart From All That: I continue loving the attention to specific times and numerical delineations, particularly in light of the mathematically gifted chemist who eventually alters their lives. Jessica Fletcher forever. Okay, so we know Kim has daddy issues, hence her high standards for Jimmy. More asides like Jimmys Does anyone like you? to his camera guy, please. Amos Leidecker is a great name. This weeks opening titles said it all. No actual Birdies Buffet in Amarillo, but try Furrs. This was Scott Winants first directorial effort for Saul, though the former My So-Called Life coexecutive producer helmed two episodes of Breaking Bad (Crawl Space and Green Light), and recently worked behind the camera for Fargo and The Affair. KKTV: for all your Colorado Springs news, weather, and solicitations. Corrections: A previous version of this recap suggested that Jimmy and Kim were watching The Poseidon Adventure, and failed to mention Scott Winants work on Breaking Bad. Photo: Universal Studios At the beginning of (and during) every month, Amazon Prime and Amazon Video add new movies and TV shows to their libraries. We figure you might want to know about them. For more comprehensive coverage of the best titles available on Amazon and elsewhere, check out Vultures What to Stream Now hub, which is updated throughout the month. Look at that subtle off-white coloring: American Psycho (2000) Christian Bales Patrick Bateman covers up his taste for murder with a (somewhat) respectable job on Wall Street. Based on Bret Easton Elliss novel, Mary Harrons film comes with its share of quotable dialogue and brutality covered by the sheen yuppie excess. Its also fun to compare to The Big Short, a more recent Bale offering, in which the bankers are the monsters in and of themselves. Available March 1. Back to the classics: The Blue Angel (1930) and The Seven Year Itch (1955) Amazon has acquired a slew of classic films this March. Two suggestions: The Blue Angel, which launched the career of the great Marlene Dietrich; and The Seven Year Itch, which gave the world the iconic image of Marilyn Monroe in that white dress. Available March 1. Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters (1984) Before Paul Feigs new take on Ghostbusters comes out this summer, look back on the Bill Murrayled original. You may have memorized all the quotes, drank the Ecto Cooler, and had nightmares about the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man as a kid, but now you can go back to relive the schlocky 80s glory of it all. Available March 1 Consider the profiler: The End of the Tour (2015) James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now) takes on a snippet of the life of David Foster Wallace in this miniature biopic, which is based on David Lipskys book about his time spent interviewing the novelist on book tour. Jason Segel more than proves his dramatic chops as a tortured genius, while Jesse Eisenberg plays a version of a sycophantic, intrusive reporter that will make you cringe every time you pick up a magazine profile from now on. Available March 3. Clone club: Orphan Black (Season 3) In the third season of BBC Americas clonetastic thriller, Tatiana Maslany faces off against Tatiana Maslany, teams up with Tatiana Maslany, and even betrays Tatiana Maslany. It works, because she can make each iteration of herself unique, and because Orphan Black doesnt take itself too seriously. This is a pulpy adventure story, and one of TVs funniest genre programs, especially when Alison Hendrix (Tatiana Maslany) is onscreen. Available March 27. AVAILABLE ON STREAMING TELEVISION Louie (Season 5) (March 4) Bosch (Season 2) (March 11) Arthur & George (Season 1) (March 20) Orphan Black (Season 3) (March 27) MOVIES Available March 1 Affair In Havana (1957) American Psycho (2000) American Psycho 2 (2002) Angelique Et Le Sultan (1968) (English Subtitled) Attila, Il Flagello Di Dio (1982) (English Subtitled) Black Magic (1949) The Blue Angel (1930) (Kino Restored Edition) (English Subtitled) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) The Courage Of Black Beauty (1957) Days Of Sin (1963) The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) For Better, For Worse (2011) Ghostbusters (1984) Ghostbusters II (1989) I, Mobster (1959) Ive Gotta Horse (1966) The Golden Stallion (1949) The Gunfighter (1950) Josephine and Men (1955) Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (1994) Love Play (1961) The March Hare (1956) Now and Forever (1956) Raw Deal (1948) The Rules Of Attraction (2002) The Seven Year Itch (1955) The Story Of Ruth (1960) Tempest (1928) Wicked Lady (1945) Available later in March The End of the Tour (2015) (March 3) Gattaca (1997) (March 3) Marc Maron: More Later (2015) (March 3) Hans Crippleton: Talk to the Hans (2014) (March 4) Deet N Bax Save Th World (2015) (March 5) Regression (2015) (March 5) Seven Wonders of Brazil (2014) (March 7) Earth: The Inside Story (2014) (March 12) Prevertere (2012) (March 15) Beyond the Reach (2014) (March 20) Mojave (2016) (March 22) 71 (2014) (March 27) A Single Shot (2013) (March 28) AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE TELEVISION Misfit Garage (Season 3) (March 1)* Mail Order Moms (Season 1) (March 1)* What History Forgot (Season 2) (March 2)* House of Horrors: Kidnapped (Season 3) (March 4)* Motives & Murders: Cracking the Case (Season 4) (March 4)* Say Yes to the Dress (Season 14) (March 5)* Paranormal Lockdown (Season 1) (March 5)* Naked and Afraid (Season 6) (March 7)* Return to Amish (Season 5) (March 7)* My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding (Season 5)(March 7)* On The Case With Paula Zahn (Season 13)(March 7)* Legendary Motorcars (Season 3) (March 9)* Bering Sea Gold (Season 6) (March 10)* Raised Human (Season 1) (March 13)* Deadly Demands (Season 1) (March 15)* Death Row (Season 1) (March 15) Gold Rush - The Discovery of America (Season 1) (March 15) Little People, Big World (Season 15)(March 16)* The Willis Family (Season 2)(March 16) Awkward. (Season 5B)(March 16)* Yukon Men (Season 6)(March 19)* Boston EMS (Season 1)(March 19)* Legend (Season 1)(March 22) Deadliest Catch (Season 12)(March 23) How Its Made (Season 20)(March 25)* *Episodes available the day after they air on broadcast TV. MOVIES Alvin & The Chipmunks: Road Chip (2015)(March 4) Monsters High: Great Scarrier Reef (2016)(March 8) In the Heart of the Sea (2015)(March 15) Brooklyn (2015)(March 15) Concussion (2015)(March 15) The Big Short (2015)(March 15) For more details on the best film and television available online, consult Vultures What to Stream Now hub. On this weeks Vulture TV Podcast, Margaret and Gazelle are joined by Gilmore Guys Kevin T. Porter and Demi Adejuyigbe to explore what we want from the Gilmore Girls revival, the original shows issues with young relationships, and why Team Jess vs. Team Dean is irrelevant. Plus, how much does Gilmore Girls 2.0 really need Sookie anyway? Were also joined by Mary Elizabeth Ellis, star of The Grinder and Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia about playing The Waitress for 11 seasons, shaping her role on The Grinder, and how she gets typecast. Further reading: Everything we know about the Gilmore Girls revival so far; Margaret on what should happen on the revival Tune in to The Vulture TV Podcast, produced by the Slate Groups Panoply, every Tuesday, on iTunes or SoundCloud. And please send us your burning TV questions! Tweet us @Vulture, email tvquestions@vulture.com, or leave us a voice-mail at 646-504-7673. Lyzza said: Indeed. Good for you. For millions of Americans, that is not the case when discussing this terrorist group. If there was an organization operating freely in this country that had a history of killing, terrorizing and raping your family and people, wouldn't you feel a bit upset about them setting up shop in a public space in your neighborhood to preach that hate? Would you want that? People showed up to exercise their first amendment right to free speech by telling those racist pigs to **** off, and a fight broke out. This never would have happened if the pigs hadn't shown up in the first place. The very fact that the terrorist KKK fuckers showed up caused this to happen. Click to expand... As long as you don't have any evidence of them CURRENTLY terrorizing and raping then there is little you can do about it.Would I be upset if they set up shop? Absolutely. Would I want it? Absolutely not.But none of that gives me the right to physically assault them.I can show up and protest them, I can try to out shout them, I can tell others why I think they are ******** and why I don't think anyone should listen to them.But the second I cross the line to physically assaulting them I am, at that instant, in the wrong.Hate speech is awful and we should do what we can to combat it....but it is still, at the end of the day, speech that is protected by the First Amendment and physically assaulting anyone engaging in hate speech (without first being assaulted yourself) is just wrong. Mark Shaw is running for office as a Republican in a district centered on East Waco, where Democrats typically win by a landslide. But whats more unusual is that hes running as a Republican in a nonpartisan race for Waco City Council. Shaw is challenging incumbent Wilbert Austin for the District 1 seat on the council, a governing body that long has shunned partisan politics. Shaw, who filed earlier this month for the May 7 election, included a red-white-and-blue Republican elephant logo on recent campaign fliers he sent out to an email list. Asked whether he was running as a Republican, Shaw answered, I am. I think part of what happens in any political race is that your values have to be established based on what you believe, he said. Im a conservative, and I believe we have to be responsible and do our part to manage our tax dollars. Shaw, 55, a manager at the Johnson Group, said he hasnt been heavily involved in party politics and is not seeking help from the McLennan County Republican Party. But he said he attends Republican functions and favors candidates such as presidential hopeful Ben Carson. Austin, who has served 10 years as the District 1 representative, said he had never heard of a council candidate running as a Republican or Democrat, but he didnt criticize Shaw for flaunting his partisan preferences. Thats his prerogative, he said. I certainly dont have a problem with him running as whatever. All municipal elections in Texas are officially nonpartisan, conducted without primaries or ballot identification of political parties. Mayor Malcolm Duncan Jr. said the city council has benefited by keeping partisan politics at bay. I think its critically important, he said. I dont think you would find a lot of people on the council who would serve if it was partisan. . . . Ive never seen anyone attempt to inject partisan platforms of policies at the council level. Its really not applicable. Duncan, who has pushed with limited success to lower the property tax rate, said he doesnt see cutting taxes as a partisan issue but one of fiscal priorities. But he stressed that he was a nonpartisan candidate and pointed to priorities such as public transportation and payday loan regulation that were not traditionally conservative issues. Meek has recently been appointed to the Texas leadership team of Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio, but he has not injected partisan politics into council discussions. Jeb Leutwyler, McLennan County Republican Party chairman, agreed that council races are nonpartisan, though he said theres no law forbidding a council candidate from expressing partisan preferences. There would be nothing we would have to say about that, he said, referring to Shaws statements. Hes not the Republican candidate per se. Shaw acknowledged that a Republican label isnt exactly a selling point in East Waco, the largely black area that dominates District 1. The district also includes Texas State Technical College, Timbercrest and McLennan Community College. East Waco long has been known as a reliable Democratic stronghold. For example, Precinct 12, which centers on the Carver Park neighborhood, voted 92 percent for John Kerry in 2004, 96 percent for Barack Obama in 2008 and 97 percent for Obama in 2012. Shaw grew up in East Waco, in the same neighborhood where he lives today. He said his father, a Veterans Affairs worker, was a black Republican at a time when that was not a rarity. He said he still thinks his message of cutting taxes and getting tough on crime will resonate with others in the district. I think a lot of people from my era are conservative, he said. Its just part of my identification of who I am. As long as you don't have any evidence of them CURRENTLY terrorizing and raping then there is little you can do about it. Would I be upset if they set up shop? Absolutely. Would I want it? Absolutely not. But none of that gives me the right to physically assault them. I can show up and protest them, I can try to out shout them, I can tell others why I think they are ******** and why I don't think anyone should listen to them. But the second I cross the line to physically assaulting them I am, at that instant, in the wrong. Hate speech is awful and we should do what we can to combat it....but it is still, at the end of the day, speech that is protected by the First Amendment and physically assaulting anyone engaging in hate speech (without first being assaulted yourself) is just wrong. Voters go to the polls with economic worries uppermost in their minds. Although more job opportunities exist and the headline unemployment rate has fallen to 4.9 percent, the labor force participation rate remains near historic lows. Discouraged workers have given up looking for work altogether. Middle-class, family-wage-paying jobs with good benefits are scarce. One issue ties these troubles together manufacturing. Despite our economic growth, U.S. manufacturing is in a recession. The sector has now contracted for four straight months, with exports lower due to a weak global economy and a strong dollar. But competition from illegally subsidized foreign producers is the main culprit. A glance at federal data shows the United States has lost roughly 5 million manufacturing jobs since 2000, including 220,000 jobs in Texas alone. The loss of so many skilled, high-paying jobs has profoundly hurt Americas middle class with formerly well-paid workers forced into unemployment, early retirement or lower-paying service jobs. No wonder voters are angry. When Americans are asked why factories are moving overseas, they usually respond cheap labor. But labor is only a small part of the picture. What really hurts Americas manufacturers are the massive subsidies that foreign governments provide to their industrial sectors: China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and some European Union countries intervene in currency markets to weaken their currencies. Such manipulation makes a countrys goods artificially cheap against American-made goods, both here and abroad. Thats why the annual U.S. trade deficit with China has exploded over the past 15 years, jumping from $83 billion in 2000 to $366 billion in 2015. Thats a lot of lost jobs. Both the Bush and Obama administrations failed to take action. Voters should be asking, Who will stop this hemorrhaging of our wealth-creating manufacturing ability? In 2013, bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress urged President Obama to include strong, enforceable currency measures in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. Congress did so again in 2015 when they passed negotiating objectives for the TPP. Inexplicably, Obama ignored the Congress. There are no penalties for currency manipulation. That means the TPP, if passed, will allow even more artificially cheap goods to enter the U.S. market, further weakening our manufacturing. Americas manufacturers also are beset by a host of other unfair trade practices. China and others massively subsidize their energy sectors and prop up key industries such as autos, steel, glass, paper, rubber and electronics. These subsidies are actionable under world trade law and could be countered if only a U.S. president enforced existing trade laws. Most countries have cohesive industrial strategies to grow manufacturing sectors but not the United States. Thats why Germany, not America, enjoys a trade surplus with China and the world, successfully exporting its products while restraining imports. A strong manufacturing base is critical to Americas economic future. Manufacturing jobs pay better than service jobs and provide better benefits. And manufacturing undertakes 70 percent of private-sector research and development, spawning future industries. Voters must identify candidates who support action against currency manipulation and subsidies by China, Japan and others, as well as candidates who reject outsourcing deals such as the TPP. When voters listen to candidates on trade issues, theyll find out who wants a robust future for Americas factories, jobs and middle class. Kevin L. Kearns is president of the U.S. Business & Industry Council, a national business organization advocating for domestic U.S. manufacturers since 1933. A breakdown of early voting reveals that more Republican voters cast early ballots in McLennan County the past two weeks than Republicans and Democrats combined voted early in 2012, the last time we faced presidential contests. Thats sure evidence of the high stakes involved in this years elections, whether they involve the presidency, Congress or the countys Republican Party chairmanship. A quick rundown then of those races in which the Trib editorial board has opted to offer recommendations: Republican presidential nominee: John Kasich. Our decision is based on the Ohio governors significant experience not only on Capitol Hill as a deficit-busting congressman from the Gingrich days but also as a chief executive who cut taxes and produced a budget surplus. And to accomplish much of this, Kasich reached across the aisle. > Read more U.S. Congress (GOP): Incumbent Bill Flores. The lawmaker and retired oil & gas executives business background, amiability, pragmatism and ability to grasp complicated issues ranging from health care to immigration and to reasonably discuss these with people of very different perspectives explain not only his success in Congress but his popularity back here in Central Texas. > Read more McLennan County commissioner, Precinct 1: Incumbent Kelly Snell. Snell and Cory Priest both strike us as conservatively grounded. Given a debate about the two candidates appearances that has broken out in letters, we give Priest higher marks in the looks department, but give Snell the edge in policy matters based on such strides as his longtime push for a more efficient payroll system over one that, incredibly, issued paychecks to county employees before their time worked was even verified. > Read more McLennan County commissioner, Precinct 3: Incumbent Will Jones. He wins our recommendation because of his push for responsible fiscal budgeting, including aggressive payment of county debt, and his efforts at greater transparency and accountability by county officials. He has supported intelligent efforts to keep individuals with mental health-related illnesses out of county lockup. > Read more Railroad commissioner (GOP): Lance Christian. During his comments before the McLennan County Republican Club, Lance Christian was the only GOP candidate to talk intelligently about horizontal drilling, injection wells and protecting groundwater. In short, he knew what he was talking about and didnt feel the need to pander. Easy decision. > Read more coke said: Well, yeah I think it would be a good idea to disavow them. Now if you are a democrat, well its kind of part of your history. You know segregation, jim crow and slavery. All of which was brought by the Democrat party. Its history. Try reading it sometime Click to expand... We have gone over this so many times. Yes, vile racists called the Democratic Party their home at one time. That's when the South voted solidly Democrat. Then a funny thing happened. 50 years ago President Johnson started to move Civil Rights legislation through the Congress. This made many racists angry. Then Richard Nixon saw an opportunity to flip the South by welcoming these racists into the Republican Party. It worked and, since then, the South has voted solidly Republican. This is our most recent history. Try reading that some time tool. THE MULLAHS EXECUTE EVERY MAN IN AN ENTIRE VILLAGE. Are you really that surprised that the Islamist psychos would do this ? The following article is from the Front Page Magazine. While the world's human rights watchdogs continue their romance with the Iranian regime. March 1, 2016 Dr. Majid Rafizadeh Where is the professional journalism the mainstream media keeps talking about? While they have been focusing on Irans artificial democratic elections, the mainstream liberal outlets seem to have intentionally ignored one of the most heinous and egregious acts that the ruling mullahs of Iran committed during the elections. The Islamist henchmen of the Islamic Republic executed every man in a village in the province Sistan-Baluchestan, according to the latest report coming from Iran. Shahindokht Molaverdi, the vice president for women and family affairs, called for increased protection for the families of the executed as she claimed to a Persian news outlet that We have a village in Sistan-Baluchestan (province) where every single man has been executed. In addition, while liberal journalists often report on the mass executions that are being carried out by the non-state militia -- the Islamic State -- they have chosen to ignore larger scale of human rights violations by a powerful Islamist state, Iran. Iran has surpassed China in the number of executions being carried out per capita, now ranking at the top. The number of executions of juveniles, women, and political prisoners has significantly increased under the government of the so-called moderate president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani. So far, under the presidency of the moderate hangman of Iran, Rouhani, more than 2,000 people have been executed by hanging, which is the largest number in the last 25 years. The Iranian regime usually charges the victims with "muharebeh," Corruption on earth, enmity to Allah, and being conspirators with the West. The prisoners are beaten and forced confessions obtained from them. I was told that that in some cases the regime police forces would place drugs in the victims car, house, or clothes after arresting them and then execute them for possessing drugs. Maya Foa, head of the human rights and death penalty team at Reprieve Organization, pointed out: The apparent hanging of every man in one Iranian village demonstrates the astonishing scale of Iran's execution spree. These executions often based on juvenile arrests, torture, and unfair or non-existent trials show total contempt for the rule of law, and it is shameful that the UN and its funders are supporting the police forces responsible. Several other groups as well are calling on the United Nations to help, but unfortunately the UN continues its romantic relationship with the ruling clerics of Iran and forges ahead with the lifting of sanctions on the Iranian regime. The more astonishing fact is that many media outlets, scholars, journalists and politicians are naive enough to think that the current elections in Iran might change this trend of human rights abuses. They should be aware of the simple fact that every candidate who runs for elections in Iran should have heart-felt and pragmatic allegiance to the Islamist state of Iran and the radical version of Islam. So, whether the person is a moderate, reformist, or a hardliner, the scale of executions and human rights violations is not going to slow down. Mr. Shahedd, the U.N. special reporter for human rights in Iran, who is barred from entering Iran by Iranian authorities, wrote in his latest report that The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to execute more individuals per capita than any other country in the world. Executions have been rising at an exponential rate This spate reportedly accelerated at a further staggering rate during the first seven months of 2015. Wherever a government is run by an Islamist theocratic rule, human rights violations, abusing women, and mass executions will be at the heart of its socio-political system. Did anyone see the John Oliver piece on Donald Drumph, I mean Trump on HBO? Pretty much has stated what I dislike about the guy and his style. Spot on. It put all together all the crap that Trump is.The Democrats have enough stuff to throw Trump's way as Trump does Hillary's way, if not a lot more. That Trump University scam should be his Achilles' Heel. Should be. The problem is that I do not like Cruz or Rubio either. I do not like any of them. Even my beloved Libertarian Party is probably going to put up Gary Johnson again, who has smoked more dope in a day than I do in a month.By the way, John Oliver rules! If you don't know him, watch him on You Tube. I would suppily a Youtube link, but I am in evil Red China which has banned Youtube unless you have a VPN which I only have on my Ipad. Still Xi Jinping would make a better President than Donald ******* Trump (I like Hu Jintao better though). I still stand by Vladamir Putin, a MAN I would be proud to have as my dictator!He is a riot, much better than Jon Stewart (who discovered him) or Colbert in my opinion. I was Barack Obama's first full time volunteer in New York City. Two months before the death of his live-in girlfriend, Devin Hansen spent nearly 12 hours talking on the telephone with his mother, telling her their life together was volatile and unhealthy and that he was trying to find a way to kick her out of his Geary Street apartment. But shortly after 6 a.m. on Jan. 25, 2014, Hansen, then 31, and Christine Smith, 29, got into an argument that resulted in Smiths death and Hansen being charged with murder, second-degree assault, fourth-degree assault, strangulation, menacing and reckless endangerment. A 15-day trial began Monday in Linn County Circuit Court, the honorable Deann Novotny presiding. Hansen is represented by Eugene attorney Elizabeth Baker. Representing the state is Jonathan Crow. Cheryl Hansen, the defendants mother, said that around Thanksgiving 2013, her son called her home in Redmond. She and her husband Tim had met Smith only once. He said Christine wouldnt stop hollering at him, and he didnt know what to do about it, Cheryl Hansen said. Hansen said the first phone call lasted about four hours and subsequent calls added up to about 12 hours. He was trying to make plans to shut her out, but he wanted her to be able to find a place, Hansen said. I asked him if he could hold on until he got his tax return, then he could quit his job and move to Central Oregon. Hansen said her son was upset. He didnt know how to make Christine leave him alone. She would follow him from room to room, and he felt overwhelmed. Hansen said Devin at one point told her he was afraid he might hit her. Hansen said she could hear Smith in the background over the telephone saying, I love you. Its because I love you, Devin. I dont want you to hate me. According to the state, Devin Hansen worked the night shift at Paragon, a local phone and alarm answering service and would get to the couples Latitude 44 apartment on Geary Street a little after 6 a.m. that day. Shortly after, an argument ensued that reportedly included Smith slamming doors and throwing items about what was described as a cluttered one-bedroom apartment. At some point, Hansen reportedly was bitten on the forearm by Smith and also suffered scratches to his arms and face. Hansen took photos of his injuries on a cellular phone during a break in the altercation. But by about 6:16 a.m., the 6-foot 3-inch Hansen, who at the time weighed 400 pounds, pinned Smith on a couch and put his forearms on her throat and face. When he realized she wasnt breathing, he began administering CPR and, at about 6:25, called 9-1-1. Hansen told detectives that at one point he stopped CPR and talked to Smiths body. Hansen said he started CPR while Smith was on the couch, but soon moved her to the floor. Albany police officers Jorge Salang and Nathan Ard were the first to arrive on the scene. They entered the apartment through a door that was already partially open and saw Hansen administering CPR. They cleared the apartment and found Smiths 3-year-old daughter lying on the floor of the bedroom, wrapped in a blanket. They allowed Hansen to continue CPR until Albany paramedics arrived and the officers handcuffed him and took him into custody. Paramedic Greg Sipe said the emergency response team administered advanced life support and eventually Smith restored a very shallow pulse. She was taken to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, where she died two days later. Several law enforcement officers were sworn in and all reported that Hansen was cooperative and did not appear extremely agitated as is usually the case in a domestic violence situation. Lt. Marvin Hammersley called Hansens demeanor flat. Catherine Hobson said she worked with Hansen at Paragon and called him a good, solid worker. We worked together three to four nights a week, Hobson said. Hobson said she cared for Hansen like he was her own son. Hansen does not have a drivers license. Hobson said she would often volunteer to drive him home, which she did the morning of the incident. He would talk with Hobson about his rocky relationship with Smith. Things were not going well, Hobson said. They had fights. Things werent working out. He wasnt happy with their relationship. Hobson said Hansen appeared extremely tired when he came to work Friday evening. He wanted to get some sleep, but he said Christine wanted to go out and do things, Hobson said. I was afraid he wasnt getting much sleep. Hobson told Baker that she considered herself Hansens friend and added, Im not his biological mother, but Devin is my boy. I care very much for him. She knew about Hansens mental health issues and could understand his situation because members of her own family dealt with similar issues. Hobson also said that Hansen kept his work area neat and professional, a contrast to the apartment clutter reported by police detectives. When questioned, Detective Glenn Fairall said the apartment was, definitely unkempt, but I have seen worse than this. Throughout Monday, Hansens mental health history was focused upon. According to his attorney, as a young man, Hansen had tried to commit suicide by taking pills, cutting his wrists, drowning himself and hanging himself. At one point, he would draw patterns on his arms and then use a knife to trace the patterns. Over the years, he has received treatment at state mental hospitals, most recently in 2010 when he was diagnosed as being bipolar. But Baker said Hansen does not believe that diagnosis was correct, and after taking only about a half bottle of prescription Lithium, he quit taking his medicine. Hansens mother said her son didnt like taking the medication because (emotionally) he couldnt feel anything at all. Detectives said Hansen appeared calm during two interviews, but became upset when he learned that intravenous drug paraphernalia had been found at the apartment. Retired detective Dawn Hietala said syringes and a bag of white powder were found, but she did not know what a lab analysis revealed about those materials. He knew there had been a drug history, but he did not know it had been going on in his house, Hietala said. He seemed surprised by this information. Several of Smiths friends were present in the courtroom and wore buttons with her photo on them. They said her now 5-year-old daughter is in a stable foster home in east Linn County. The trial will resume at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. Hansen has been lodged at the Linn County Jail since Jan. 25, 2014. He sat quietly through Mondays proceedings, glancing up occasionally to look at evidence shown on a large media screen in the courtroom. In March 2015, Hansen was declared mentally unfit to proceed with a trial, and he was committed to the Oregon State Hospital in Salem for treatment. The trial had been scheduled to begin on June 1, 2015. After watching a video of heavy Brahman steers being tortured and killed in Indonesian abattoirs, Bidda Jones was grateful her home sits within a quiet forest of enormous ribbon gums and brown barrel eucalyptus. Most people could not bear to see the harrowing images in 2011 that caused the Australian Government to temporarily ban the live export trade to Indonesia. Julian Davies and Bidda Jones walking through their property near Braidwood. Credit:Jay Cronan After breaking from the viewing for a stroll into a sea of bracken through the forest, Jones regained enough composure to sit down and watch the footage again, well before it was publicly aired. RSPCA Australia's head of science and strategy, Jones analysed 50 slaughters, watching each one four times, some times in slow motion. Animals Australia's Lyn White took the video, including of one steer clumsily and slowly hacked to death after it stumbled, and had its back tendons cut and then over three minutes succumbed to its injuries. Sydney AFL boss Andrew Ireland is confident the Swans won't alienate their fans in the west of the city and cede that area to the Giants by shifting their three ANZ Stadium games to the SCG. The Swans last November signed a 30-year agreement with the SCG Trust for the iconic venue to host all of their AFL home games from 2017. On Monday, Sydney announced that they had successfully negotiated with ANZ Stadium management to transfer the three 2016 matches at that venue against Collingwood (round one) Essendon (round seven) and Carlton (round 18) to the SCG. They were the final matches from the home and away season to be played at the western Sydney venue before the contract with ANZ Stadium expired at the end of the 2016 season. Mr Stokes' Seven West Media, which analysts say will do worse than rival Nine from the changes, dismissed the Bill pointedly for failing to "address the 4.5 per cent gross revenue licence fee that is crippling our ability to invest in local news, live sport, drama and other programming". "Media ownership changes might be great for the deal junkies out there but they are not going to ensure a strong future for Australian film and television production," said Seven chief executive Tim Worner said. "You won't see one more minute of local content as a result of these changes, in fact you will probably see a lot less, especially in regional Australia. It's disappointing that the Government has not walked the talk when it says it wants to focus on innovation and the future. "These changes tinker with rules put in place by the Howard Government 10 years ago. They do nothing to improve competitiveness or offer better services." Senator Fifield said licence fes would be addressed in the context of the May budget, and expressed sympathy with the networks' argument that they are outdated due to flood of competition from foreign players such as Google and Netflix. In January, Fairfax Media revealed that the Department of Communications recommended that Mr Fifield cut the free-to-air industry's $153 million annual licence fees. Asked if he was concerned about a possible backlash, including from the Murdoch press, Senator Fifield said the decision on what reforms to propose had been taken in the public interest. "My discussions with all media organisations have been cordial and professional and we've made sure they have good input and are not surprised by the outcome," he said. Greg Hywood, chief executive of Fairfax Media, owner of The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, welcomed the package, saying: "We believe the removal of these restrictions will provide substantial benefits to all Australians by strengthening local media. It also sets the platform for further media law reform in the future." Labor worried about power of News The Bill will be lodged with the House of Representatives on Wednesday and will be referred by the Government to a Senate committee, increasing the chances that it may not pass before an election if the Government calls an early poll. Labor has signalled it is willing to repeal the reach rule but has yet to back abolition of the two-out-three rule amid some fears such a move could hand more power to News Corp. Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare said: "We accept and understand that the digital world has changed our media landscape but maintaining the diversity of our media is important. "Labor will consider the evidence presented to this committee and determine our position on the bill through normal Shadow Cabinet and Caucus processes." In order to guarantee the bill's passage, the Coalition will need the support of six of the eight Senate cross benchers if the Greens and the ALP block it. Senator Fifield said he "would not dare" to speak for the cross bench but that they "have an open mind and recognise the media laws we have are being rendered redundant". Regional television networks, which have led the campaign for the changes, were unanimous in their support "The Minister's reform package will enable regional media businesses to achieve the necessary scale to determine their own future and start to reduce their dependency on others," said Ian Audsley, chief executive of Prime Media. Senator Fifield announced that extra local content obligations will be imposed on regional television networks if they are acquired by or merged with another company, rising from 720 to 900 "points" of local content over a six week period. The changes would come in six months after the merger "trigger event". Points of content At the same time regional networks' operations in areas not currently captured by the local content regime will be require to produce local content, at a lower level of 320 points, if their ownership changes. Networks will continue to earn one point for each minute of local content in a licence area, and two points for new content relevant to a local area, but will also earn three points for material that includes local footage from the area. Senator Fifield told a press conference in Canberra this was "intended to serve as an incentive for broadcasters to have a presence that's local", such as employing cameramen and journalists. WIN Corp chief executive Lancaster said: "The new local content obligations strike a sensible balance between ensuring reasonable levels of local content are maintained upon the merger of a regional and metro broadcaster, while ensuring local news services remain financially viable in the meantime." Ten Network chief executive Paul Anderson called Mr Fifield proposed changes an important first step in helping Australian media companies compete in a globalised market. "Ten Network is now competing directly for viewers and advertisers against large, global internet companies that are exempt from local media regulation, don't pay television licence fees, pay minimal corporate tax despite taking billions in advertising revenue in this market, and in some cases don't have a single local employee," Mr Anderson said. "Meanwhile, we pay the highest broadcasting tax in the world on top of our normal corporate taxes and we are held back by media ownership rules that don't even recognise the existence of the internet." Mr Anderson welcomed Mr Fifield's comments on television licence fees. Kevin Rudd told Hillary Clinton in 2009 that while they needed to integrate China into the world community as much as possible, they also needed to be "preparing to deploy force if everything goes wrong". This conversation, leaked by Wikileaks and never denied, exposed the true thinking behind his government's defence white paper delivered that year. Australia and the US had agreed on a strategy of classic hedging, working towards the best outcome on China while preparing for the worst. And so Australia had decided on a major naval build-up, the then PM told the then US secretary of state. It was exactly this thinking that led, after seven wasted years, to the Turnbull government plan last week to implement Rudd's vision. Because while the Rudd government's white paper promised a doubling in the size of Australia's submarine fleet, for instance, as part of its build up, Rudd never properly allowed for funding it. The Rudd plan to pay for the armaments was based on a fantasy in the form of an implausibly vast cost-cutting program. The Defence Department was supposed to cut $20 billion in costs over 10 years to help pay for the dozen subs and 100 combat aircraft. It's quite possible that British voters have had enough of the European Union and will exit the EU in the forthcoming June referendum. The so called Brexit could lead to a domino effect. The Czechs might leave and maybe others. And within Britain, the Scots might start agitating for another referendum. The Brexit supporters have got John Howard on side and, in Britain, senior members of cabinet, London mayor Boris Johnson, former Tory leader Michael Howard - and there are others - are jumping on the Brexit bandwagon. Some bookies are reporting that the likelihood of an exit has jumped from 29 per cent to 33 per cent in the past week. Some polls are higher. Prime Minister David Cameron's campaign for a yes vote has got off to a bad start. He started by telling constituents to ignore their views on Brexit. More recently there was a letter in the press signed by a dozen former defence chiefs of staff saying that the EU was essential for defence and security. Unbelievably, nobody mentioned NATO. Then one of the brass told the papers that he was pressured into signing and that the letter was written by Downing Street. It emerged that a number of others declined to sign and Downing Street had to apologise to General Sir Michael Rose for including him as a signatory (to be called thereafter "administrative error") when he holds the opposing view Imagine the furore if a PM tried that sort of stunt in Australia; like Australians, the Poms don't like being kept in the dark by politicians. Adorable Star Wars robot BB-8 and its entourage of droids turned up conspicuously for the Oscars - but they were probably later beeping with chagrin and leaking brake fluid when it was clear they weren't getting an award. Not only did Star Wars: The Force Awakens fail to reel in any prizes for actors, writers or directors, it also lost out to big winner Mad Max: Fury Road on the much-contested special effects front. The Force, it seems, has no sway over the Academy. Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in the film Creed. Credit:Barry Wetcher And the too-cute robots weren't the only ones to be disappointed. Sylvester Stallone had to keep his square chin up even when Arnold Schwarzenegger tweeted a moving message of condolence to his contemporary, who must have been shocked to miss out on the Best Supporting Actor award. Greens leader Richard Di Natale is under pressure from within his own party, the union movement and the party's supporter base not to allow the Turnbull government to run to a double dissolution election on the back of controversial Senate voting changes which could wipe out the crossbench. Greens senators are unanimous in their support for voting reforms, which have been a long-held ambition for the party since the Bob Brown era, but some senators are worried at the prospect of a double dissolution. As revealed by Fairfax Media, the proposed changes would likely benefit the Greens in normal half-Senate elections but in a double dissolution there is only a slim chance the party would return two senators in all the states they currently have two. For women who have gone to the effort of seeking professional advice to help them organise their finances and realise their financial dreams, getting the most out of an adviser is critical. Given what is at stake your ability to be financially independent at any age, to give your children the opportunity to reach their full potential, to retire at a time of your own choosing and lead a retirement of dignity and comfort extracting the most out of an adviser relationship is critical. The first step is to select an adviser whom you can trust and whom you feel will listen to and value your needs and interact with you in a non-judgmental way. Angela Semple says the best recommendation for a financial planner is word of mouth. Credit:Wayne Taylor This is critical because a relationship with a financial adviser is a two-way affair. The more prepared you are to share information with your adviser not just financial data, but also your dreams the better positioned an adviser will be to help. Finding the right person means choosing someone who is on your wavelength and, of course, who has the appropriate qualifications and experience, coupled with a transparent charging structure that you understand. Mystery surrounds the drowning death of a woman and the near death of her companion in the pool of a Cairns resort. The two women were found underwater at a resort in White Rock on Thursday last week, just minutes after they'd asked a staff member to take their photo. When the staff member returned a few minutes later, he spotted both women under the water and dived in to pull them out. CPR was administered to both women before they were rushed to hospital where one, believed to be aged about 50, later died. Albert Wayne Duncan, 90, of Lebanon died Thursday. A viewing will be at noon Tuesday, March 8, at Sweet Home Funeral Chapel. A funeral service will follow at 1 p.m. Final Burial with military honors will be at IOOF Cemetery in Lebanon. Sweet Home Funeral Chapel is handling arrangements. A West Australian planning body has identified big development approvals as a key 2017 election decider after the Supreme Court overturned approval for a South Perth high-rise. State-appointed development assessment panels have in recent years taken over councils' power to decide on all developments worth over $10 million developments in some cases controversial. Lumiere was 60 per cent sold within three weeks of its launch, highlighting demand for high-end apartments in Perth. The Supreme Court last week overturned a DAP approval of the 29-storey, $60 million Lumiere development on Mill Point Road, an apartment-and-commercial mix, on the appeal of two local residents neighbouring the site. But not all residents can bankroll a court challenge. A Hong Kong man has been jailed for nine years in Perth for trying to import methamphetamine into Australia estimated to be worth more than $1 million. Chi Ho Lau, 21, was caught with more than one kilogram of the drug with a purity of 43.3 per cent in September last year. Chi Ho Lau, 21, was caught with more than one kilogram of the drug. Lau pleaded guilty in the West Australian Supreme Court on Tuesday and must serve a minimum of five years behind bars before he can be eligible for parole. - AAP A 45-year-old UK man has been arrested for allegedly importing half a kilogram of methamphetamine into Australia in the form of 106 internally concealed pellets. The man was targeted for a baggage examination after he arrived in Perth on a flight from Thailand on Saturday, Australian Federal Police said. The UK man carried 106 pellets of meth in his bowels, police say. He has been charged with importing a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug and will face the Perth Magistrates Court. - AAP Police are scouring the southern suburbs looking for a gunman who shot a 27-year-old man in the chest in South Lake on Monday night. Police say the injured man arrived at Fiona Stanley Hospital with a gunshot wound around 8.30pm where he remans in a stable condition. Police are searching for Michael Ivan McNeill is regards to a shooting in South Lake. The Tactical Response Group raided a home in Silkpod Gardens in the southern suburb looking for suspected gunman Michael Ivan McNeill. Police believe the 38-year-old could still be in possession of a firearm. He is described as being 173 centimetres tall, of medium build, light skinned with brown hair and brown eyes. Trump, he said, had small hands and a bad spray tan. Donald Trump's campaign is gaining strength, with the loudmouthed property developer the preferred candidate of many Americans tired of politicians. But Wall Street is worried. Credit:AP "Donald Trump isn't gonna make America great, he's gonna make America orange," said Rubio. By Monday, though, Rubio seemed determined to reclaim the high ground. Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio holds up an anti-Trump sign in Oklahoma on Monday. Credit:AP "Name me a single great leader in human history that is saying the things, doing the things or acting the way he's acting now," Rubio said during a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday afternoon. "This is not who we can turn over this country to, or our party. So I ask you: go out there and let your friends know that tomorrow's an important day." Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz was in Houston on Monday. Credit:AP By then Trump himself was the focus of what appeared to be yet another manufactured racism controversy. During a CNN interview on Sunday he had refused to reject the endorsement of David Duke, the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. A member of the Metro-LEC SWAT team stands guard outside of a campaign rally for Bernie Sanders on Monday. Credit:Bloomberg "I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists," he said. "So I don't know. I don't know - did he endorse me, or what's going on? Because I know nothing about David Duke; I know nothing about white supremacists." But on Monday Trump said he misheard the question regarding Duke due to a faulty earpiece. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes photos with supporters after speaking at a campaign rally in Norfolk, Virginia, on Monday. Credit:AP More than once during the campaign Trump has dominated news cycles by making controversial statements only to seek to refute them the following day. But inflaming racial tension has been a constant element of Trump's political persona ever since he first introduced himself to Republican voters by championing so-called "birther" conspiracy theories about Barack Obama during the President's first term. Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, speaks at a campaign rally at Milton High School, Massachusetts, on Monday. Credit:Bloomberg Even as the KKK controversy played out, Trump maintained his aggressive posture during campaign events on Monday. When his supporters began jeering at a protester during a campaign event in Virginia on Monday, Trump heckled her from the stage, asking "Are you from Mexico? Are you from Mexico?" as the audience laughed and chanted "USA! USA!". The tone at his rallies has long been ugly to those who dare question him, be they protesters or media. Last week he lamented that he could not punch a protester in the face. "You know what they used to do to a guy like that in a place like this?" Trump said. "They'd be carried out on a stretcher, folks." The controversy has done nothing to dampen to his popularity among Republican voters who seem intent on punishing the party's establishment. He is expected to win in at least 10 states on Tuesday, with senator Ted Cruz likely to hold on in his home state of Texas. Such a rout would nonetheless cripple Cruz, who had been depending on support in the southern states that Trump is expected to win. It is also not clear that Rubio can win any of Tuesday's contests, making his claim to be the natural alternative to Trump hard to defend. Hillary Clinton is expected to cement her lead over senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday for the Democrats, with polls suggesting she will win most contests, though Sanders is expected to trounce her in his home state of Vermont. ALBANY POLICE Assault arrest 12:22 p.m. Friday, Linn County Jail. Cody John Plagmann, 36, of Albany, was arrested on charges of second-degree assault, third-degree assault and second-degree disorderly conduct. His initial bail was set at $57,000. Theft arrest 1:10 a.m. Monday, Walmart, 1330 Goldfish Farm Road S.E. A caller reported an instance of fraud where the suspect returned stolen merchandise. Karen May Vineyard, 28, of Albany, was arrested on a charge of first-degree theft. She was released from jail without posting bail and scheduled to appear in court on March 30. LEBANON POLICE Meth arrest 7:43 p.m. Friday, Linn County Jail. Michael Allyn Jung, 36, of Lebanon, was arrested on charges of delivery of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of methamphetamine and violation of a release agreement. His initial bail was set at $26,000. Stolen car arrests 5:07 a.m. Sunday, 1900 block Main Street. A caller reported that he was following his own stolen vehicle. The automobile was reported as stolen from the 1300 block of Belmont Ave. S.W. in Albany at about 3:45 a.m. on Sunday. A Lebanon officer stopped the vehicle at Highway 34 and Denny School Road. Cody Michael Lobdell, 20, and Veronica Sue Szuch, 19, were each arrested on charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Lobdells initial bail was set at $6,000, while Szuch was released from jail without posting bail and scheduled to appear in court on March 23. WASHINGTON Senate Republicans say they will refuse to have a hearing for President Obamas nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. So Democrats on Wednesday took matters into their own hands: They held a hearing all by themselves. A dozen members of the Senate minority assembled on the dais in an ornate hearing room in the Russell Senate Office Building. They used their official nameplates Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Warren, Mr. Cardin and they had cardboard name cards for the witnesses, a quartet of law professors. They put out a media advisory and hung an official-looking sign at the door. They filled the public seats in the audience with staffers and other extras, distributed written testimony for the press and even had a C-SPAN crew on hand to film the proceedings. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, arriving late, made himself at home in one of the empty seats typically occupied by the majority party, prompting Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota, the former comedian, to tattle to Madam Chair. I think Senator Blumenthal is sitting on the Republican side, he reported. Without actual Republicans, the hearing became an echo chamber, as lawmakers lobbed what Madam Chair Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota admitted were softball questions and witnesses gave emphatic concurrence. Are the Republicans violating the Constitution? asked Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii. I would say they are violating the Constitution, replied University of Chicago law professor Geoff Stone. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts piously reminded the audience that for the rest of this year, President Obama is still president of the United States of America. Can I have an amen on that? An amen is about all she can have. Alas for the Democrats, they dont have the power to hold a real hearing. Klobuchar is in charge only of the Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, a party apparatus that doesnt have real committee powers. Klobuchar herself has been mentioned as one of the possible nominees for the Supreme Court vacancy. But given the way the eventual nominee is likely to be treated, the president might instead consider nominating Klobuchars Minnesota colleague Franken, who isnt a lawyer but can appreciate farce. Democrats have no authority to force the Republican majority to vote on Obamas eventual nominee, or even to hold a hearing. But they think they can make Republicans pay a political price for their reflexive decision not to hold a hearing for an Obama nominee. GOP leaders said Wednesday they would stick to that position even if Obama were to nominate Brian Sandoval, the Republican governor of Nevada. Polls indicate the GOP position which goes well beyond the more defensible position of voting down Obamas eventual nominee both stirs up the Democratic base and offends independent voters. The incoming Democratic Senate leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, said Wednesday that this is going to be the dominant issue for the remainder of the year, overshadowing anything that may happen on the Senate floor. To guarantee that, Democrats will launch all manner of stunts and theatrics. On Wednesday, Democratic staffers and liberal activists assembled an impressive arsenal of props in a Capitol basement and called in reporters. There were six boxes containing, they said, printouts of 1.3 million electronic signatures of a petition demanding action on the Supreme Court vacancy. There were also nine posters telling Senate Republicans to Do your job and Follow the Constitution, along with four U.S. flags, four senators and eight earnest activists posing for photos with the props. A moment of silence for the trees, requested liberal activist Adam Green as they posed with the massive printout. There will, evidently, be little silence as Democrats try to make Republicans own the obstructionist label in November. Senate Republicans are giving a middle finger to the American people and giving a middle finger to this president, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said at the news conference. That was the unanimous view at the Democrats faux hearing Wednesday afternoon, where witnesses and senators alike talked about the unconscionable and lawless and unprecedented acts of the Republicans. Its tyrannical, declared Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. (There were no Republicans on hand to point out that Vice President Biden in 1992 took a position very similar to the current Republican stance.) But what recourse do Democrats have other than shouting and hoping for revenge in November? Hirono put the question to one of the witnesses, Georgetowns Peter Edelman: What is the remedy? Guantanamo, he deadpanned. Its a thought. Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. By West Kentucky Star Staff-AQS Mar. 01, 2016 | 02:26 PM | PADUCAH, KY The American Quilters Society announced Tuesday that it will host a second AQS QuiltWeek in Paducah starting next year. The Fall AQS QuiltWeek Paducah will be held at the Paducah Convention & Expo Center, September 1316, 2017. During the announcement it was proclaimed that the Paducah Expo Center is now named the William and Meredith Schroeder Expo Center, to honor the Paducah couple who started and continue to be very involved in the annual and now biannual AQS Paducah Quilt Week. The couple was totally surprised by the announcement. AQS president Meredith Schroeder said, The Fall 2017 AQS QuiltWeek in Paducah will have a new contest with more prizes and new events for the quilters to attend. More than $250,000 will be awarded to quilters in the Spring and Fall QuiltWeek events in 2017. It will also be another opportunity for AQS to recognize todays quiltmakers and to provide another tourism event in Paducah and Western Kentucky. "We appreciate the assistance of Mayor Kaler and the Paducah City Commissioners, Judge Leeper and the County Commission, Brian Katz, chairman and the Paducah-McCracken County Convention Center Board, and Mary Hammond, executive director and the Paducah Visitors Bureau in making this new event possible. The AQS Quilt Contest at the new Fall AQS QuiltWeek in Paducah features new categories, with the Best of Show award of $20,000 and $125,250 in total cash awards. There will be no purchase awards for the Fall Paducah contest. AQS has hosted events in Paducah for 32 years. A 2014 survey indicated an economic impact of $25.4 million in Paducah and western Kentucky from the event. For more information on the American Quilters Society, please visit http://www.americanquilter.com or call 1-270-898-7903. Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Feb. 29, 2016 | PADUCAH, KY By West Kentucky Star Staff Feb. 29, 2016 | 03:53 PM | PADUCAH, KY A Reidland woman charged in a Feb. 19 burglary is facing additional charges. According to the McCracken County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded on the morning of Feb. 20 to a reported burglary at the home of Tiffany Comer on Reid Circle. Comer told deputies she left her apartment the night before and when she returned, she discovered several items, including electronics, jewelry and cash, stolen from her apartment. Later that day, Comer discovered her neighbor, 26-year-old Sarah Ledgerwood, had placed an ad on Facebook trying to sell her stolen camera. Detectives obtained a search warrant, and during the search, detectives found Comers stolen property inside Ledgerwoods apartment, along with property belonging to others. Ledgerwood was arrested on a charge of receiving stolen property over $500 and booked into the McCracken County Regional Jail. After detectives sorted through the items seized in the search warrant at Ledgerwood's home, it was determined some of the items were linked to previously reported burglaries in McCracken County and possibly other locations. After learning of the possible link to other burglaries, detectives obtained an additional search warrant for Ledgerwoods home, which they executed on Feb. 22. Detectives said that during the search they discovered additional stolen property including power tools, electronics and other personal property from at least two other McCracken County locations. Ledgerwood now faces two additional counts of receiving stolen property, 1st degree possession of a controlled substance (meth) and possession of drug paraphernalia. By West Kentucky Star Staff Feb. 29, 2016 | 12:32 PM | PADUCAH, KY Two people were hurt Monday in a crash on Clarks River Road. McCracken County sheriff's deputies responded just after 8:00 am to the 4400 block of Clarks River Road. Deputies said that as 60-year-old Delton Rhea of Ledbetter was traveling east, he was rear-ended by a pickup truck driven by 32-year-old Robert Ingram of Paducah. The impact pushed Rheas vehicle into the median where it struck a concrete culvert and overturned. Rhea was taken by ambulance to Baptist Health Paducah after being mechanically freed from his vehicle by the Reidland Farley Fire Department. Ingram was taken to the hospital by family. By West Kentucky Star Staff Mar. 01, 2016 | 05:49 AM | MCCRACKEN COUNTY, KY Two people have been arrested on drug and gun offenses in Lone Oak following a car crash, and a subsequent search of a home. On Monday, McCracken County Sheriffs detectives conducted surveillance on a home on Clinton Road after receiving complaints of alleged drug activity occurring there. At approximately 8:45pm, detectives observed a vehicle leave the home. A short time later, that same vehicle was located abandoned after it struck an embankment and a tree near the intersection of Clinton and Contest Road. Deputies searched the vehicle and located a 9mm handgun with an obscured serial number, and other items that were left behind by the driver. A Sheriffs Department K-9 was called to the scene to attempt to locate the driver who fled the accident. The K-9 eventually led deputies back to the Clinton Road home. Detectives obtained a search warrant for the home and found several individuals inside. During a search of the home detectives seized approximately 24 grams of methamphetamine, three sets of digital scales, a marijuana plant, an AR-15 rifle, two shotguns, one with the barrel sawed off, a handgun, and what was believed to be a live hand grenade. The Paducah Police Department bomb squad responded to the home and took possession of the grenade. Detectives arrested Tammy Abanatha and James Dowell and lodged them in the McCracken County Regional Jail. Abanatha was charged with trafficking in methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Dowell was charged with firearm enhanced trafficking in methamphetamine, three counts of possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police said Dowell is a convicted felon and cannot lawfully possess a firearm. By West Kentucky Star Staff Feb. 29, 2016 | 10:28 PM | MAYFIELD, KY Two people were arrested on drug charges in Graves County Monday and police are looking for three more suspects. According to the Graves County Sheriff's Office, drug detectives had been conducting surveillance at a home on West South Street in Mayfield after receiving information that illegal drug activity had been taking place there. As officers approached the home, they met two individuals that had just left the home. One of them, 37-year-old Christopher Marty Riley of Mayfield, fled on foot. During a search of the home, 21-year-old Robert Trent of Pilot Oak was found in a bedroom. Inside the home deputies found methamphetamine, pills and drug paraphernalia. Trent was arrested on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and prescription controlled substance not in the proper container. Another man who had been at the home, 21-year-old James Don Walker of Sedalia, was also arrested. He's charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Deputies are searching for Riley, along with 26-year-old Maddie Clark and 22-year-old Michael Phillips, both of Mayfield. Anyone with knowledge of their whereabouts is encouraged to contact the sheriffs office at 270-247-4501. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. By The Associated Press Mar. 01, 2016 | 04:59 AM | GOLDEN POND, KY The U.S. Forest Service is expecting a wildfire at Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area to extinguish itself in the next couple of days as rain moves into the area. The fire started Sunday afternoon in Lyon County in off Forest Service Road 120. Firefighters from the Forest Service as well as Eddyville and Kuttawa responded, and built a fire break to contain the fire. On Monday the fire was still covering some 28 acres, but Land Between The Lakes fire specialist Todd Lerke said the fire is expected to stay within the contained area of about 43 acres. The Forest Service said wetting rain was expected to aid their efforts through Tuesday. By The Associated Press Mar. 01, 2016 | 10:54 AM | LOUISVILLE, KY A veteran compliance officer at the University of Louisville has resigned and accused President James Ramsey and other officials of interfering with his duties of enforcing conflict of interest rules. News outlets report that Robin Wilcox, a deputy compliance officer who worked 10 years at the university, filed a whistleblower lawsuit Monday against Ramsey and the university. Wilcox, whose Feb. 26 resignation letter was attached to the lawsuit, says Ramsey "intentionally and knowingly" committed official misconduct to benefit himself and others. Among his accusations, Wilcox says Ramsey lied by saying allegations of misconduct against two vice presidents weren't brought to the university's attention until 2014. Wilcox says Ramsey knew about the complaints in December 2012. University spokesman John Karman says the university typically doesn't comment on pending litigation and hasn't had time to review the lawsuit. Field and grass fires have been burning in Graves, McCracken, Calloway Counties One of the few interesting items in the New York Times' whitewash of Hillary and Obama's illegal Libyan war is the confirmation of weapons shipments. Humvees, counterbattery radar, TOW missiles was the highest end we talked about, one State Department official recalled. We were definitely giving them lethal assistance. Wed crossed that line. The story blames the problem on Qatar aiding Jihadists and Obama's unwillingness to defy the terror oil state. But the claim that we had to arm terrorists to fight Qatar's arming of terrorists doesn't hold up too well. Furthermore we already know that US forces were told to turn a blind eye to Qatar's weapons shipments. We could have blocked them instead. The story mentions a competition between Qatar and the UAE over arming the locals, but fails to clarify that Qatar was arming straight Jihadists, while the UAE had taken an anti-Islamist line. It also fails to clarify that Qatar was backing the Muslim Brotherhood. Just like Hillary and Obama. Rita Redmond was a true lady who felt that every pupil had something to gift to the world If you have vehicle repairs of $200, you will be paying about $15 more starting on Tuesday. The NC General Assembly voted last year to tax the labor on your vehicle repairs. The impact of the cost on consumers will be determined by the sales tax charged in individual counties. Sales tax in the state varies and is between 6 and 7.5 percent. North Carolina tire dealers have expressed concern with the new tax. Republicans, who control both the state house and senate as well as the governors office, say the tax is part of overall tax reform which ultimately will save taxpayers money. Gov. Pat McCrory says he opposed the tax, but he signed the budget bill that makes it laiw. By Larry Freeman For reasons still unclear, elite special operators are often let down by their respective services and have to pay out of pocket for the most basic gear. Private military suppliers have started to notice this phenomenon. During a panel discussion on Capitol Hill Thursday, heads of supply companies met with Congress to discuss the shortages and raise the issue with Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, Stars and Stripes reports. In one case, former Navy SEAL Sean Matson had to pay $900 for an advanced ballistic helmet after the military measured his head four times but subsequently failed to provide him with the necessary equipment. This same scenario has repeated itself with GPS devices and medical gear. The shortages may come as a shock to some, since according to GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter , These are the guys we assume have the best gear all the time. Hunter said his office is inundated with reports from special operators who say they simply cant get their hands on the equipment they need. But despite an ongoing investigation, Hunter still is unsure where the military supply chain is malfunctioning. Aaron Negherbon, executive director of TroopsDirect and co-host of the panel along with Hunter, reflected on the attack which devastated the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, and noted even there he was contacted by a Marine commander in desperate need of batteries. They came to us forbatteries because they didnt have any of those It is kind of like, What the heck is going on?' Negherbon said, according to Stars and Stripes. TroopsDirect helps supply troops with valuable equipment not obtainable through command. Requests for gear come straight from troops on the battlefield. And the requests are seemingly endless. Helmets, stretchers, gun lubricant, body armor and ballistic eye protection were the most requested items in 2015. As the panel noted, special forces units are the greatest requesters. Supply chain problems are hardly new. CS Monitor reported back in 2008 about the growing trend of troops going around command to pick up their own gear. Then-Democratic Rep. Gene Taylor told the House Committee on Armed Services the military was taking far too long to send body armor to troops on the frontline. Something amazing has happened in California. First, a brief background: Crime rates across the state, after a long period of steady decline, had reached fifty-year lows in 2014. Then, that November, a 60 percent majority of California voterspresumably incapable of accepting such good news without a measure of collective guiltdecided that it would be a really enlightened idea to pass Proposition 47, a ballot initiative bearing the cheery name The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. The purpose of this measure was to downgrade many types of drug possession and property crimes from felonies (punishable by more than a year in prison) to misdemeanors (which often entail no prison time at all). For the benefit of squeamish skeptics, the self-assured proponents of Prop 47 condescended to explain that these reduced penalties would not only alleviate prison overcrowding, but would also make California's streets safer by placing drug offenders into warm-and-fuzzy treatment and counseling programs, rather than into disagreeable prison cells. If you think this sounds like a familiar old tune, you're quite correct. It was #1 on the left-wing hit parade throughout the 1960s, when it became the theme song of skyrocketing crime rates across the United States. And now the Golden Oldie is back, in the Golden State. The tangible results of Prop 47 were both immediate and breathtaking. Within a year, there were some 14,000 fewer inmates in California's state prisons and local jails, just as the Proposition's backers had promised. But the other half of their promiseimproved public safetysomehow failed to materialize. In 2015: Violent crime increased (above 2014 levels) in every one of California's 10 largest cities, while property crime increased in 9 of the 10. Of 66 California cities whose crime trends were analyzed in depth, 49 saw their violent crime rates increaseusually by at least 10 percent. Forty-eight of those same 66 California cities saw their property crime rates riseand in half of those cases, the increase was 10 percent or greater. A typical case was San Francisco, where theft of merchandise from automobiles increased by 47 percent, auto theft rose by 17 percent, and robberies were up 23 percent. The property crime rates for California cities as a whole increased, on average, by 116.9 offenses per 100,000 residents. By contrast, in states that hadn't passed Prop 47 or anything like it, the corresponding rates decreased by 29.6 offenses per 100,000 residents. These statistics are stunning. California criminals, meanwhile, ingeniously adapted their tactics to the new law, so as to maximize their gains and minimize their risks. The Los Angeles Times, for instance, profiled Semisi Sina, a practiced criminal who rejoiced when he first heard about Proposition 47particularly its provision reducing to misdemeanor status the theft of any merchandise whose value was below $950. Semisi interpreted this as a green light for him to begin stealing, among other things, some higher-end bicyclesan offense that previously would have been classified as a felony. Proposition 47, it's cool, Semisi chirps. Like for me, I can go do a burglary and know that if it's not over $900, they'll just give me a ticket and let me go. Ain't criminal justice reform grand? Noting that the most commonly committed felonies no longer carry a prison sentence, Michael Rushford of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation says that when California police apprehend someone today, they're just going to cite him and let him out again. Palm Springs police chief Al Franz calls the new arrangement under Prop 47 catch and release. And sheriff's deputies throughout the state are well aware that they're generally wasting their time when they arrest and book suspects on narcotics charges, only to have them either released immediately or given minimal penalties. As a result, drug arrests by such deputies in California declined by 30 percent in 2015. Yet another promise of Prop 47 that failed to materialize was the happy notion that drug offenders and thieves would dutifully file into treatment/counseling centers to get their psychological and emotional houses in order. If Prop 47 has demonstrated anything, it's that without the credible threat of a felony conviction and a lengthy prison term, very few offenders are willing to proactively do anything to transform themselves into better citizens. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell, enrollment in L.A. substance-abuse treatment programs is down by 60 percent since the enactment of Prop 47. From January through August of 2015, only 73 of nearly 2,200 drug offenders who were sentenced under Prop 47 guidelines entered any kind of court-ordered treatment program. If the purpose of [Proposition] 47 was largely to rehabilitate drug offenders, says Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, that's not what's happening. Supporters of Prop 47 think everything's going swimmingly, however. One of its authors, Lenore Anderson, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice, buoyantly reports that Proposition 47 is working. It's reducing the state prison population, it's giving people second chances and it's saving state money that has never been saved before. Another Prop 47 backer, the ACLU of California, casually dismisses the ominous crime statistics cited above. It's way too early to assess 2015 crime rates in California at all, let alone potential causes, says the organization. It's a safe bet that the thousands of crime victims whose lives have been shakenand in some cases destroyedas a consequence of Prop 47, see things differently. If you wish to have your announcement appear here, please submit it to one of the above moderated lists. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. SUNDAYS conflicted Oscars telecast should we have felt bad for watching? Should we have summoned the resolve to skip it altogether? Can a satisfyingly diverse film industry ever come to pass? turned out to be just as long as an unplanned stay on Mars and as self-satisfied as any other Oscar telecast of the last decade or so. Fury Road? More like Suppressed Anger Boulevard. Chris Rock delivered a highly scrutinized and fairly funny opening monologue and said he considered turning down the job of hosting the 88th Academy Awards ceremony (Otherwise known as the White Peoples Choice Awards, Rock joked) after the academys members once again collectively failed to nominate black performers and artists in major categories. People are like, Chris, you should boycott. Chris, you should quit. How come its only unemployed people that tell you to quit something, you know? No one with a job ever tells you to quit, Rock said. So I thought about quitting, I thought about it real hard. But I realized, theyre going to have the Oscars anyway. Theyre not going to cancel the Oscars because I quit, you know? That was more or less the evenings tone the inevitability of an event that still meaningfully impacts our popular culture and still has many of its deepest, perhaps permanent, flaws. This years answer was to feature an African-American delivering sharp commentary that was calibrated to singe rather than burn. After coming out to the recognizable beat of Public Enemys 1989 song Fight the Power, Rocks medicine could have been stronger, more angry and absolutely necessary, considering the captive audience of Hollywoods top brass. Viewers kept waiting for Rock or another presenter to cross a line that needs to be crossed more often, not just on Oscar night. In another highlight from his monologue, Rock talked about attending a political fundraiser in Los Angeles featuring U.S. President Barack Obama where most of the attendees were white Hollywood liberals. Heres the real question, Rock said. Is Hollywood racist? You know you got to go at that at the right way. Is it burning-cross racist? No. Is it fetch me some lemonade racist? No, no. Its a different type of racist It isnt the racist youve grown accustomed to. Hollywood is sorority racist. Its like We like you, Rhonda, but youre not a Kappa. Thats how Hollywood is. Rock added: Its not about boycotting anything, its just, we want opportunity. We want the black actors to get the same opportunities as white actors. Thats it. Thats it Not just once, you know? Leo (DiCaprio) gets a great part every year. And, you know, and everybody all you guys get great parts all the time. But it was the pre-recorded comedy bits later in the show that seemed to deliver a stronger message (Angela Bassett narrating a Black History Month tribute to white actor Jack Black; a montage of what some of the nominated films might have looked like with black actors, including Tracy Morgan as The Danish Girl These danishes good, girl and Saturday Night Lives Leslie Jones as the fierce creature that attacks DiCaprio in The Revenant); and bringing out a troop of black Girl Scouts to sell cookies to the audience in the Dolby Theater. Perhaps the best bit in the whole show featured Rock doing man-on-the-street interviews of movie-goers at a California cineplex in the south-central Los Angeles County city of Compton. As Rock read the titles of this years best picture nominees to one woman, she asked, Where are you getting these movies from? I come to movies all the time. These are real movies, Rock insisted. Like in London and stuff? she asked. This was followed by a quick cut to white megastars in the audience (DiCaprio), laughing like people who know theyre being watched laughing a measurement of their ability to be part of the problem and yet sympathetic to it. Its so Hollywood. Its so awards show. Because, in the end, thats what it is. While the Oscars lack diversity, the show is always willing to try some new way to speed things along and keep viewers from peeling off. Maybe the best line of the evening came early, from Jenny Beavan, who won best costume design for the apocalyptic Mad Max: Fury Road: It could be horribly prophetic, Mad Max, if were not kinder to each other, she said, and if we dont stop polluting our atmosphere, so you know, it could happen. Too true. As the show dragged on, U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden appeared on stage to present one of the original song nominees, Lady Gaga, who performed Till It Happens to You from The Hunting Ground, a documentary about rape on college campuses. She was joined on stage by rape and sexual assault survivors at least, that was the presumed message. There will always be a reason to skip, on principle, the drudgery of watching the Oscars, just as there will always be moments in the ceremony that can be used to drive a point home. As the show came to an end, the real goal remained elusive to stage an Oscar ceremony thats simply cant-miss. Washington Post Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A local specialty clothing manufacturer cant find enough experienced sewing machine operators here, so its going abroad to find them. Peerless Garments president Albert El Tassi said new orders are coming in and the Winnipeg company needs at least 20 more experienced sewing machine operators to handle the growing volume of work. El Tassi said Peerless was able to find 10 new operators in Winnipeg within the last three months, but has since hit the proverbial brick wall. So it now wants to expand its search outside of Canada. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS On Monday, February 29, 2016 Albert El Tassi, owner of Peerless Garments, says they need more sewing machine operators and will be approaching the two senior levels of government seeking help in staging a recruitment drive in Mexico. Peerless manufactures parkas, rainwear and other specialty outwear for the military and police. He noted the 72-year-old company was successful in the 1970s and 1980s in recruiting sewing machine operators from as far away as the Philippines, China and South Korea. But this time it would like to try a little closer to home. Mexico would be more appropriate than anywhere else. The Philippines and China are so far away. But if its not there, then well have to go elsewhere to China or the Philippines again. El Tassi said Peerless hopes the federal and Manitoba governments will lend the company a hand, and hell be approaching both within the next week or two. Im sure they will be OK with that. Were not alone in this predicament. There are other companies here, as well in Toronto and Montreal. There is a lot of need for sewing machine operators. Peerless, which is owned by Vancouver-based Unisync Corp., specializes in the production of highly technical protective garments such as parkas, rainwear, flight suits and camouflage clothing for the Department of Defence (DND), the RCMP, the Ontario Provincial Police and a number of other federal, provincial and municipal departments. Were not alone in this predicament. There are other companies here, as well in Toronto and Montreal. There is a lot of need for sewing machine operators Albert El Tassi, president of Peerless Garments, which is looking to hire 20 experienced sewing machine operators El Tassi and Unisync Corp. CEO Douglas Good said Peerlesss sales had been declining in recent years due to federal budget cuts. And as production declined, the company had to let go some of its sewing machine operators. But with last falls change in government and DND and others having to replace old or worn-out garments, orders have started picking up again in the last few months, they said. Unfortunately, the sewing machine operators it let go have since found work with other local garment factories, such as parka-maker Canada Goose, they said. So theyre no longer available. El Tassi said he understands many of those factories are also having trouble finding enough experienced sewing machine operators, and he expects they also will be looking to recruit outside the country. A spokesman for Canada Goose could not be reached Monday for comment. While Peerless hopes to find some experienced operators in Mexico, El Tassi said it will also continue to search for suitable candidates here. In addition to advertising in the local Filipino community, it will be contacting local immigrant groups to see if any of the recent Syrian immigrants might be interested. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Finding experienced sewing machine operators can be tough and Peerless Garments is expanding its search outside Canada. The company is looking to countries such as Mexico, and perhaps the Philippines and China. The mothers would normally know sewing, he said, although he noted many of them also have young families. So if their children arent school-age, they likely wont be be able to take a job outside of the home, he said. He noted Peerless has donated space on the second floor of its Notre Dame Avenue factory to a local non-profit group the Canadian Muslim Womens Institute which offers training programs for female newcomers. If they become good sewing machine operators we will gladly take them. But everything has to be perfect for the DND and for the RCMP, so we cant compromise with the quality at all. Peerless currently has about 97 employees, including the 10 new ones who were hired within the last few months. At its peak, six or seven years ago, it had about 230 workers. El Tassi said its only looking for another 20 sewing machine operators because thats all it has room for in the garment-sewing area of its factory. He noted that about 18 months ago, the company started making tents for the DND so it wasnt so dependent upon garment orders. Peerless Garments president Albert El Tassi says the company needs at least 20 additional experienced sewing machine operators. He said the company recently won a contract to make 4,125 new tents for DND, and its likely going to take about six months to complete that work. murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA The dollars are still being counted, but the amount of money donated by Canadians for overseas Syrian relief efforts will likely fall well short of the maximum $100 million the government had promised to match. But a spokesman for a coalition of aid groups said it was unlikely that number was ever going to be met and the pressure is now on aid agencies to find other ways to get public support for the humanitarian crisis created by the five-year-old Syrian civil war. The matching program for Syrian relief was created last fall and was supposed to close at the end of 2015. By then, about $12.2 million had been raised and the Liberals extended the deadline until Feb. 29 to try and bring in more. Young Syrian refugees play in the Zaatari Refugee Camp, near the city of Mafraq, Jordan, on Nov. 29, 2015. The dollars are still being counted, but the amount of money donated by Canadians for overseas Syrian relief efforts will likely fall well short of the maximum $100 million the government had promised to match. Monday marked the final day for Canadians to give money for Syrian aid in order to ensure those dollars were matched by the federal government. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson Three groups UNICEF, World Vision and the Humanitarian Coalition say they pulled in about $10.3 million in total during the entire matching period. Officials at UNICEF were reaching out even in the final hours, said spokesperson Tiffany Baggetta. We have seen an increase in donations to our Syrian crisis response through January and February particularly in the last couple of weeks, she said. Baggetta said two major donor events brought in $200,000 for the fund in the last week. Deadlines are among the reasons matching funds work as an engagement tool, said Nicolas Moyer, the executive director of the Humanitarian Coalition, which is made up of CARE, Oxfam, Plan Canada and Save the Children. Still, he said he never expected the total to hit $100 million, calling it a political number, not one grounded in policy. Weve never seen that kind of result for a conflict like this in Canada, he said of why that goal was unrealistic. Its something that had already been in the news for four years. Past experience did not suggest we would be in that realm. The challenge now, Moyer said, is for aid agencies to figure out how to get to that realm. Even as a fragile truce holds in Syria, the majority of the population is living in extreme poverty, without secure access to food, water or shelter. Regular UN requests for money remain underfunded and the nature of the conflict has also seen aid unable to reach some of the most vulnerable populations in the country. Meanwhile, more than 4.7 million people are registered as refugees with the United Nations in countries in the region, while hundreds of thousands more have fled to try and find safety in Europe. Among those who fled was the family of Alan Kurdi. The toddler drowned; a photograph of his dead body on a Turkish beach made him a household name around the world. Kurdi had relatives in Canada, which brought the crisis home for many and turned it into an unexpected campaign issue for the Conservatives, prompting, among other things, the launch of the matching fund. The $10.3 million the three groups raised in the six months of the matching period is only slightly higher than the amount the Red Cross has raised since it started fundraising for overseas Syrian relief in 2013. Since then, theyve brought in about $9.6 million. The vast majority of the funds did come from after the matching program was announced, the agency said, but they wont know the final amount eligible to be matched until they finish processing donations. All aid groups participating in the fund have until the middle of this month to declare their final totals to the government. Follow @StephanieLevitz on Twitter Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous story said upwards of $16 million had been raised. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/02/2016 (2426 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The RCMP investigation into Winnipegs police headquarters now into its 15th month was sparked by fraud allegations involving Caspian Construction, the main contractor on the $214-million project. In December 2014, the Mounties executed a search warrant at Caspians McGillivray Boulevard offices and spent three days removing computers and documents. The raid occurred four months after Manitoba Justice asked the federal police to look into the new headquarters for their municipal counterparts. Since the initial raid, the RCMP have been tight-lipped about their investigation, going as far as to argue in court to extend the period in which the search warrant was sealed from public view. The warrant, unsealed on Monday, alleges Caspian president Armik Babakhanians defrauded the city of more than $5,000 and used forged documents between February 2011 and December 2014. It also alleges Babakhanians and Caspian manager Pam Anderson created a forged document between February 2011 and August 2014. Boris Minkevich / Free Press files RCMP executing the search warrant at the Caspian offices on Dec. 17, 2014. No charges have been laid and the allegations have not been proven in court. In the warrant, RCMP Const. Marc Allard states the Mounties were told Caspian engaged in numerous instances of improper invoicing and payments in regards to services rendered during the construction of the Winnipeg Police Services new downtown headquarters. Invoices are said to have been improperly associated to the WPS building when in fact the work was either done at other city properties, private properties or was not done at all, Allard states. For example, the warrant states former Caspian employee Tiffany Gray described several incidents where invoices were charged to the (Winnipeg police headquarters) that had nothing to do with the work being done. Gray stated that work included a swimming pool at a Headingley house belonging to Caspian employee Shaun Babakhanians, renovations at another Babakhanians family house and septic work at a third Babakhanians-owned property. Gray also cited irregularities involving other firms as well as inflated invoices involving police-headquarters sub-trades, alleging Caspian coached the sub-trades on how to fill out the bids to quote low and then they would submit change orders. The warrant also states general contractor Fabca had some police-HQ invoices paid by Caspian but was then billed by companies owned by Armik Babakhanians. The warrant also states contactor Century Steel conducted work at a Winnipeg Transit garage as well as at the police HQ but all the invoices were shown to have involved the latter project. In a brief telephone interview on Monday, Armik Babakhanians said he rejects the allegations made about himself and his firm. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS RCMP documents used to acquire a search warrant at Caspian Construction, the company involved in the reconstruction of the Winnipeg Police headquarters. The police headquarters has been plagued by delays and cost hikes since city council approved a $135-million purchase and renovation of the former downtown Canada Post building. The total project cost now stands at $214 million, due to a series of design changes and cost overruns, some of which were excoriated in a scathing external audit completed by consulting firm KPMG in July 2014. The same month, former Canadian Taxpayers Federation prairie director Colin Craig sent a letter to Manitoba Justice, claiming two whistleblowers had approached the Winnipeg Police Service with allegations of doctored invoices at the police HQ and payments to a member of council. According to the letter, only one witness was interviewed. Winnipeg police Chief Devon Clunis has since said his members acted upon the information they received. In August 2014, Manitoba Justice asked the Mounties to review Craigs letter as well as external audits of Winnipegs police headquarters, fire-paramedic stations and real estate transactions. According to the search warrant, the Mounties investigated the police-HQ file for months before they raided Caspians office and declared they were engaged in a criminal investigation. More than 14 months later, no charges have been laid in the police-HQ case, RCMP Sgt. Bert Paquet confirmed on Monday. Once we complete our investigation, we will provide Manitoba Justice with all of the material and findings. A decision on charges will be made after this step has taken place, Paquet said in a statement. We know there are a lot of questions surrounding information contained within the documents released but as this is an ongoing investigation and to maintain the integrity of the case, we are not able to provide any additional specific details at this time. Paquet said the RCMP has assigned 14 investigators to the case as well as a number of specialized support staff. This is a large and extremely complex case that has already involved over 80 interviews, Paquet added. RCMP investigators are also reviewing tens of thousands of pages of hard copies seized throughout the investigation as well as over 200,000 emails. bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Mayor Brian Bowman says hes open to the idea of an inquiry into Winnipegs construction and real-estate scandals in the wake of new allegations involving the citys police headquarters. An RCMP search warrant unsealed earlier this week elaborated upon allegations of fraud and forgery involving the citys $214-million police headquarters project, which has suffered from delays, $79-million worth of cost increases and a series of project-management issues detailed in a 2014 audit. In the search warrant, the RCMP allege Caspian Construction president Armik Babakhanians defrauded the city and used forged documents. The RCMP also allege Babakhanians and Caspian manager Pam Anderson created a forged document. In the warrant, Const. Marc Allard said two witnesses provided evidence of fraudulent invoicing and accounting related to the police HQ. He also stated a steel contractor was instructed to show work done on a Winnipeg Transit garage actually took place at the police HQ, house renovations were billed to the police HQ and a general contractor who submitted invoices to Caspian was also billed by smaller companies owned by the companys president. Babakhanians said Monday he rejects the allegations, which have not resulted in charges and have not been proven in court. The warrant also states Caspian wrote personal cheques to former Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz while the former mayor was in office. Katz said the statements are accurate and said he accepted the cheques as repayment for concert tickets at MTS Centre and Winnipeg Jets tickets. During Katzs time in office, Caspian was awarded both the police-HQ and transit-garage contracts. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Winnipegs current mayor said hes troubled by the contents of the warrant, which elaborated upon allegations first reported by the Free Press in 2014. These are very serious allegations and I am deeply troubled by what were reading. I am mindful of the fact they are, at this point, unproven in court. We want to continue to support the important work of the RCMP, Bowman said outside his office at city hall. The City of Winnipeg, the media and the public need to hear from the RCMP as to which allegations are true. Once we hear from the RCMP, then all options are on the table here at the City of Winnipeg to do our part to ensure there is value for money and accountability. Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press Mayor Brian Bowman responds to allegations towards the previous mayor and city administration in an RCMP search warrant. The said that includes asking the province to call an inquiry into Winnipegs construction and real-estate scandals, which have also involved the construction of fire-paramedic stations, the purchase of the new police HQ, the sale of the Winnipeg Square Parkade and other city transactions. All options means all options. If there are significant unanswered questions that remain unresolved as a result of the RCMP investigation, then absolutely we shouldnt rule that out, Bowman said. I and many others on council ran to do our part to restore trust and faith in city hall. Thats why all options have to be on the table. Some members of council are calling for an inquiry now. Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt said the province should call an inquiry that would cover, at minimum, the cases covered in the real-estate, police-HQ and fire-paramedic audits. Theres definitely a perception of wrongdoing, Wyatt said in an interview. I think the best thing to do to clear the air is to have a full, independent, judicial public inquiry on all these matters. The province, however, will not act before the RCMP investigation is complete. Rachel Morgan, a spokeswoman for Premier Greg Selinger, said the province will await the investigations conclusion before deciding upon an inquiry. In the interim, Bowman said the city is taking steps to improve the way it manages capital projects. Chief administrative officer Doug McNeil said efforts are underway to change the culture of the public service to ensure more openness and transparency. The mayor said he has not heard an explanation from Chief Devon Clunis as to why the Winnipeg Police Service did not interview one of two whistleblowers who initially approached city police fraud allegations. Those whistleblowers eventually spoke to an official with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, who wrote to Manitoba Justice, who in turn contacted the RCMP. These are very serious allegations and I am deeply troubled by what were reading Mayor Brian Bowman I have full confidence in our police chief and the police service, Bowman, when asked whether he had concerns about the actions of Winnipegs police. Clunis said in 2014 that the police did act on the complaints about the police HQ, but did not specify in what manner. bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/02/2016 (2426 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A northern Manitoba chief says he was accused of carrying marijuana Saturday at the Richardson International Airport when a security guard aggressively confronted him about a sacred medicine pouch he wears around his neck. In a peculiar twist to the incident, the guard walked off in an apparent huff when two other security guards tried to intervene and calm the situation down, leaving Pukatawagans Mathias Colomb Chief Arlen Dumas and his companions speechless at the security screening area where passengers must pass through metal detectors or scanners and have their belongings X-rayed for safety before boarding a flight. I was caught by surprise. I do a lot of flying, and usually I dont have an issue. Usually the people I see are courteous, Dumas said Monday in a phone interview. I try to be accommodating; I can appreciate how difficult these jobs are. SUPPLIED Mathias Colomb Chief Arlen Dumas (left) holds a sacred medicine pouch he wore around his neck at the airport. Dumas and his partner, Pam Palmater, a national indigenous rights advocate, were lined up with other passengers Saturday morning before entering the departure area for a flight to The Pas. Also with them was Dumass son, Achahk Dumas, 16. Dumas said hes filing a complaint over the incident. The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority is already investigating a similar complaint involving another Manitoba indigenous leader. Manitoba Grand Chief Derek Nepinak filed a complaint with the agency that provides security at airports in Canada after sacred items in his pipe bundle were unwrapped and handled by screening officers at Ottawas Macdonald-Cartier Airport three weeks ago. At the time, the security agency said its staff receive cultural training to treat indigenous sacred objects seriously and with respect, advising passengers to speak directly with supervisors if they have concerns at screening areas. Monday, agency spokesman Robert Labbe upped the urgency of that earlier advice. If a passenger believes they have not been treated with respect, we encourage them, strongly, to get in touch with us directly, through our website or our 1-800 number. We thoroughly review and investigate all complaints, and we try to resolve it in a satisfactory manner, and when an issue is substantiated, we take measures to address the manner, Labbe said. In this specific case, well need to do an investigation, which isnt ongoing at the moment. Dumas said he and his son were both selected for a body scan, and the guard who conducted it asked what the pouch a ceremonial item made out of tanned moose hide and with beaded embroidery was for. Dumas told him it was a medicine pouch. Such pouches are a common indigenous item, often worn around the neck, much like a man in a business suit wears a tie. Tobacco mixtures are typically carried for cultural reasons; in a pinch, the tobacco can be used as an offering with a prayer. Its one of those tiny ones. Youve probably seen them, Dumas said. But the guard appeared unfamiliar with the practice and was suspicious about the pouch, Dumas said. Dozens of indigenous people fly in and out of the Winnipeg airport, filing through security without being questioned over everyday ceremonial objects. The objects, called bundles, usually go through X-ray and arent tampered with. As with Nepinaks pipe, such objects are considered sacred and are usually only handled by their custodian. Most often, such indigenous symbols also indicate abstinence from alcohol and drugs, which made the accusation about marijuana sound disrespectful and insulting to Dumas, his son and Palmater. Nepinak called for basic indigenous culture training for airport security guards, a call echoed by Palmater and Dumas Monday. He was very disrespectful and rude, said Dumas. And when Pam tried to tell him the cultural significance of the medicine pouch and that I was a chief, the guard said Whats a chief? In the end, Dumas unpacked the pouch and the guard took the broadcloth wrapping from inside the pouch and ripped it open to show the tobacco mix. He then accused the chief of possessing marijuana, and we both vocally protested at his racism, Palmater said. He continued to take apart the medicine, which was clearly cedar tobacco and sage and smelled as such, and he kept saying This is obviously marijuana and smells like it, too, she added. He started by being very aggressive and he said It looks like marijuana, Dumas said. I dont know what this mans beliefs are but whatever they are, his job is to be professional. Security is supposed to be there for our protection, not to insult people, Dumas said. Adding to it all was the purpose of the trip, Palmater said. It was a medical trip for Dumass son. Born with cystic fibrosis, he recently underwent a double lung transplant and hes still being closely monitored. alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca The Minnesota City Historical Association will host its spring presentation at 2 p.m. March 6 at St. Pauls Catholic Church Hall, 132 Anderson St. The program, called "Memories, Stories, Histories will feature recollections of several area individuals. The storyteller roster includes Lester and Maxine Church Spaag, Janet Hill Seabern, Jean Gardner, Howard and Gladys Church Volkart, Barbara Pierce and Emil Sulla. Attendees could hear about bounties on rattlesnakes, acquisition of land by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, authoring books, changing careers and attitudes, field and home work, summer resorts and community service. Audience members will be able to respond and tell their own stories. This is an afternoon of visiting with neighbors designed to enrich our humanity while adding to the existing trove of historical anecdotes in the area. This event is free and open to the public. The emerald ash borer is continuing its expected spread through Minnesota, having now been confirmed in Wabasha County. The state Department of Agriculture announced the discovery Monday, having found ash borer larvae in an ash tree in the southeast corner of the county with assistance from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Wabasha will join several other area counties in having a confirmed presence of the destructive pest, including Winona, Fillmore, Houston, and Olmsted counties in Minnesota, and Buffalo and Trempealeau Counties in Wisconsin. Because this is the first time the ash borer has been identified in Wabasha County, the county will be placed under emergency quarantine, which will limit the movement of firewood and ash material out of the county. All other counties in the region, including Winona, are under the same quarantine. In the city of Winona, where the ash borers presence was first confirmed in April 2014, crews have been removing infected ash trees, while inoculating a select number of trees. Emerald ash borer larvae kill ash trees by tunneling under the bark and feeding on the part of the tree that moves nutrients up and down the trunk. Since its accidental introduction into North America, the ash borer has killed tens of millions of ash trees in 24 states, according to the Department of Agriculture. The invasive insect was first discovered in Minnesota in 2009. Minnesota is highly susceptible to the destruction caused by the ash borer. The state has approximately one billion ash trees, the most of any state in the nation. In its ongoing fight against the ash borer, the Department of Agriculture has released thousands of stingless wasps in the metro area and in southeast Minnesota since 2011. The Asian wasps are a natural predator of the ash borer. When released near ash trees, the wasps kill ash borer eggs and larvae. The department intends to expand the use of the wasps with expanding ash borer infestations. Their long-term goal is to establish parasitic wasp populations wherever the ash borer is found, bringing borer numbers down to a level that will enable ash trees to survive their attacks. Robert Gorder doesnt mind getting his hands dirty for the sake of art. The Baraboo man brings charcoal images to life through two businesses: Rethought Drawings and Charcoal Expressions. Gorder discovered the joy of working with charcoal when he was in college pursuing a commercial art degree. I had a one-night class for figure drawing that we did charcoal in, he said. That was it. I fell in love with it ever since. He decided commercial art was not for him and took a service job with Don Larson Superstore of Baraboo. Then, it was marriage and kids, so the art kind of fell off for about 10 years, he said. In 2011 he decided to start again. I drew my friend Elis portrait, which took about two months, he said. I gave it to him for Christmas and he cried, which was great! That experience rekindled his love for the art form and he eventually started both art businesses, one in which he draws custom art for people and another that involves teaching charcoal art in two-hour sessions at venues throughout Wisconsin. Rethought drawings Ive been infatuated with things people take for granted, like barbed wire, looking up a silo or at the back part of a parking meter, he said. I drew a lot for myself. He said most artists create things for themselves and expect people to like what they do, but he had another idea. I said, why dont I draw pictures for people based on childhood memories or people they love? he said. So, I started doing commission work on their photographs and memories. Gorder would then travel to their home to get an idea about what they love on their property or the people and things that were special to them. One of the neatest things is people are showing up with pictures that are 50 years old and asking if he can make something, his wife, Teri, said. The couple has been married almost 20 years and they have three daughters. Teri said when her husband decided last year to quit his full-time job last year to spend more time on the custom drawing and start teaching charcoal art, she fully supported the decision, saying she wanted him to follow his dreams and do the thing he was passionate about. She said her husband was a great role model for their daughters. It hasnt always been easy, especially with no guarantee of income, but the children are basically understanding of the change, they said. Its a different stress being on your own, Robert said. They are seeing the budget side of it, but yet the dream side of it. Charcoal expressions The artist decided to share his love of charcoal drawing with the public, teaching simple techniques to create their own 11 by 14 inch work of art. He teaches the art of subtraction through Charcoal Expressions, by having participants cover paper with charcoal and then erase the picture out of it. We were hoping there was a fan base out there for black and white, he said. We wanted to give people something they can easily frame. If they havent drawn with charcoal, they find out it is super easy, super fun, and everybody gets dirty. Charcoal Expressions is set up in venues, from restaurants to wine bars. Robert said the businesses have benefitted from having the art classes in their establishments. It brings people in to their businesses he said. Its a win-win for both. Teri said they take care of everything. We set up, we clean up and make sure everything is done and back to normal when we leave, she said. The artist credits his wife for more than just cleanup and moral support of both businesses. Teri is a huge part of bringing this all together and my doing this full-time, he said. She helped me break out of my shell and go out and do it. Ive never been a teacher and now Im standing up in front of all of these people teaching them how to draw. Teri said his students assume he has been doing this his whole life. I cant draw at all, she said. I took one of his classes and Im proud of what I did. Many of his completed works are featured on the site and at different locations throughout the country. Ive probably been in 22 galleries throughout the U.S., he said. Teri said that is a great part of being the art business. We went to Colorado for a show and LA for a show, she said. Its a blast. Break-in Thursday at 8:49 a.m., a man reported that his cat, wallet, and a ring was taken from his apartment in the 100 block of Lake Crest Drive. Accident Thursday at 1:54 p.m., a man driving a SUV hit a post near Kwik Trip, 1504 N. Center St. Disorderly conduct Thursday at 2:14 p.m., a man reported being assaulted by two men in the 500 block of East Burnett Street. Theft Thursday at 2:47 p.m., a 26-year-old woman told police that jewelry was taken from an apartment in the 100 block of Lake Crest Drive. Accident Thursday at 3:19 p.m., two men were involved in a vehicle accident near the Dodge Drive and North Spring Street intersection. Disorderly conduct Thursday at 3:40 p.m., a father said his son is being bullied near Beaver Dam Middle School, 108 Fourth St., as he walks home from school. Retail theft Thursday at 4:41 p.m., a 27-year-old man was cited with retail theft at Walmart Supercenter, 120 Frances Lane. Theft Thursday at 4:55 p.m., a 27-year-old woman reported a theft from her apartment in the 100 block of Lake Crest Drive. Her car keys and her vehicle were stolen. Hit and run Thursday at 6:35 p.m., an officer witnessed a hit and run accident near Mr. Madisons Bar, 1108 Madison St. Accident Thursday at 6:41 p.m., a 22-year-old driver hit a parked car in the 700 block of South Lincoln Avenue. Suspicious Thursday at 7:53 p.m., a woman reported that a house in the 300 block of West Maple Avenue has a camera that faces outside. Suspicious Thursday at 8:25 p.m., a woman told police she saw a gun lying on the grass in the 200 block of Gilmore Avenue. Police found that it was a toy. Misc. Thursday at 8:41 p.m., a 21-year-old man was cited with loitering near Aldis, 1733 N. Spring St. A 17-year-old boy was also cited for underage possession of tobacco. Suspicious Thursday at 9:48 p.m., a woman in the 100 block of Lake Crest Drive told police a known man ran into her apartment while she was in the hallway. A ring was dropped. Animal Thursday at 11:36 p.m., someone in the 100 block of Lake Crest Drive reported seeing a cat roaming the hallways. Police advised the caller to contact the Dodge County Humane Society if it was seen in the halls again. Hit and run Friday at 1:26 a.m., a man reported that his friends vehicle was struck near Walmart Supercenter, 120 Frances Lane. Traffic Friday at 3:40 a.m., someone near the Commercial Drive and Green Valley Drive intersection said that a driver was doing donuts and driving erratically. Police located the driver and all involved denied doing the crime. Theft Friday at 11:45 a.m., a 22-year-old woman in the 900 block of DeClark Street was cited with theft and a man was arrested for an outstanding warrant. In addition a 22-year-old woman was arrested for an outstanding warrant. Suspicious Friday at 2:46 p.m., a man at Cocktails, 1305 N. Center St., said he found a .45 caliber bullet on the bathroom floor. Disorderly conduct Friday at 5:01 p.m., two men attempted to kick down an apartment door in the 100 block of Lake Crest Drive. One man was arrested for disorderly conduct and a previous warrant. Break-in Friday at 5:16 p.m., a woman in the 100 block of Lake Crest Drive reported a possible break-in. Traffic Friday at 11:45 p.m., a man decided to drive through a snow bank and got stuck near Applebees, 115 Industrial Drive. Disorderly conduct Saturday at 1:58 a.m., a woman in the 400 block of West Burnett Street told police that an unknown man was in her residence. Police arrested the man for disorderly conduct. Noise Saturday at 2 a.m., someone reported that subjects in an apartment in the 100 block of Lake Crest Drive were possibly fighting. When police arrived loud music was playing. Police were unable to make contact with the residents. Retail theft Saturday at 9 a.m., a 20-year-old man was cited with retail theft at Shopko, 822 Park Ave. Disorderly conduct Saturday at 10:25 a.m., a woman reported that a man wouldnt let her into the residence in the 200 block of Webster Street. She was attempting to get her belongings. Theft Saturday at 1:24 p.m., a 53-year-old man told police that someone broke into his sons apartment in the 200 block of Madison Street. Accident Saturday at 3:42 p.m., a man and a woman were involved in a vehicle accident in the 1600 block of North Spring Street. Retail theft Saturday at 8:51 p.m., a 35-year-old woman was taken into custody for retail theft at Walmart Supercenter, 120 Frances Lane. Disorderly conduct Saturday at 10:03 p.m., a woman and a man were separated at a property in the 500 block of Prospect Avenue for disorderly conduct. Vandalism Saturday at 10:32 p.m., someone reported that vehicles were being egged near Recheks Food Pride, 609 N. Spring St. Police met with a 15-year-old suspect and gave him a warning. Fight Sunday at 1:11 a.m., someone reported a fight in the 200 block of Front Street between two women. Police took one women into custody for battery. Disorderly conduct Sunday at 1:39 a.m., someone told police that a 28-year-old man was in Tower Lanes, 1660 N. Spring St., threatening people with a knife. The man was later taken into custody for disorderly conduct. Intoxicated person Sunday at 2:28 a.m., a woman near the Front Street and Center Street intersection was arrested and cited with operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Accident Sunday at 9:19 a.m., a woman near the Center Street and Scott Street intersection told police that a man on a bicycle ran into her vehicle. Fire Sunday at 3:33 p.m., a 12-year-old started a garage on fire in the 200 block of Oneida Street and fled. The child was later located. Disorderly conduct Sunday at 5:21 p.m., a 43-year-old man was reported to be out of control in the 300 block of Haskell Street. The man was arrested and cited with domestic disorderly conduct. Five eighth graders from Columbus Middle School were asked to present information about Project Lead the Way at the Wisconsin Association of School Boards Convention in Milwaukee in January. Maya Johnson, Liz Fogarty, Geki Saliu, Austin Lietha and Sophie Schalk built a robot before the convention and then programmed it on site and talked to school officials from across the state about how they did it and what Project Lead the Way is. In case youre wondering, Project Lead the Way is part of the seventh and eighth grade science curriculum these days. It teaches science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills and hopefully prepares todays students for tomorrows jobs. Through Project Lead The Way, we learn valuable skills like problem solving, and creative thinking, explained Fogarty. We also learn a creative skill, which is the design process, added Johnson. The five students who got to represent Columbus at the event all had PLTW last year and were selected by science teacher Tim Dworak. Their robot was built out of what are called VEX parts, which are kits that come apart and can be reassembled, kind of like Legos, except a little higher tech. The parts they built the robot with included a metal frame, controller, wires and wheels. The students didnt have a lot of time to program the robot, so it was only able to go frontwards and backyards, Saliu said. If they had had more time, they could have made it turn and made the motor stronger so it would have been able to push objects in front of it. The students said it was a fun experience for the most part, although they admitted to being a little nervous, especially when they would have a big crowd gathered around listening to them. They asked us a lot of questions about how we did it, how well we worked together, are you guys enjoying it, Lietha said. Lietha is the only one of the group in a PLTW class currently. He said his class just finished working on another robot project. Next up was a unit on mechanical gears and motors. As Donald Trump barrels toward the GOP presidential nomination, Wisconsins top Republican officials are divided over whether to support him if he succeeds and represents the party in the general election. On Monday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Oshkosh declined to rule out a future break with his partys presidential front-runner, a shift from his past statements that he would back whoever the GOP nominates. Its depressing to see how this is devolving, Johnson said. Meanwhile, Gov. Scott Walker made clear that he would prefer Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida or Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas over the New York real estate mogul and reality TV celebrity. But the former presidential candidate steered clear of joining the emerging #nevertrump movement fanned by conservative activists on social media. I signed a pledge and Im a person of my word, Walker said. I wasnt going to run against someone else and I wasnt going to support someone other than the nominee. Walker last fall dropped his presidential bid and called on others in the huge field to do the same in an effort for an alternative to Trump to emerge. Two of the top three Republicans in the state Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke of Kaukauna and Joint Finance Committee co-chairman John Nygren of Marinette, both of whom support Rubio say they wont support Trump and would consider voting for a conservative third-party candidate in the general election if hes the nominee. This is a defining moment for our party and our country, Steineke said. He would forever ruin the Republican brand. In a meeting with the Racine Journal Times editorial board, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester didnt rule out supporting Trump but questioned his conservative credentials. I know quite a few conservatives who have said, Im not going to vote for somebody who isnt a conservative. Because on certain things, Im not sure he is, Vos, a Rubio supporter, said of Trump. Nevertheless, he said, My assumption is I will support the Republican nominee, whoever it is. Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, co-chairwoman of the Joint Finance Committee, said shell support whoever the nominee is, including Trump, to avoid a situation like 1992, when Democrat Bill Clintons election benefited from the third-party candidacy of Texas billionaire Ross Perot. Darling hasnt endorsed a candidate, but is disappointed former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is out of the race. People are questioning who Donald Trump really is and what he really stands for, Darling said, but she added supporting a third-party candidate would be a huge mistake. We know what happened with Perot. No Wisconsin lawmakers so far have endorsed Trump, though he leads the Republican field in the state with 30 percent support, according to the latest Marquette Law School Poll. Poll director Charles Franklin said he doesnt recall ever seeing a phenomenon where party leaders said they wouldnt support the frontrunner for their partys nomination. They are in a rather last-minute panic about this, Franklin said. Thats partly driven by the effect Trump could have on down-ballot contests in November, a concern Vos cited while discussing a Trump nomination. In a hypothetical head-to-head match-up with Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, Trump loses by 11 points in Wisconsin, the Marquette poll found. In a Rubio-Clinton match-up its Clinton 44-43. Those 10 points matter, Franklin said. Johnson whos locked in a tough re-election battle in which he faces the prospect of sharing a GOP ticket with the controversial Trump told WTMJ radio hes praying for leaders who wont be divisive. Without naming Trump, Johnson said hes demoralized by the current state of the presidential race. Trump was asked Sunday about the support he has received from David Duke, a former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Pressed three times in a CNN interview on whether he would distance himself from Duke or the Klan, Trump declined to do so. He later said he does disavow Duke and blamed the exchange on a faulty earpiece. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., became the first Senate Republican to publicly split with Trump late Sunday, posting to Facebook that he will not support Trump for president. Asked by radio host Charlie Sykes in Mondays interview if hell do the same, Johnson said: Lets see how the process plays out. I dont like demagoguery on any side of the political spectrum, and we have it across the political spectrum, Johnson said. The possibility of GOP U.S. senators publicly breaking en masse from Trump was floated publicly over the weekend in a widely circulated report by The New York Times. It reported Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has laid out a plan behind closed doors for lawmakers to break explicitly with Trump in a general election, should he claim the Republican nomination. McConnell reportedly said of Trump: Well drop him like a hot rock and even assured Republican senators they could air ads attacking Trump in order to distance themselves, the Times reported. Conservatives in Wisconsin are also contemplating a full-on assault of Trumps thin conservative record and policy positions, according to Republican strategist Brian Fraley. If Wisconsin matters there will be a strong anti-Trump effort here because Wisconsin conservatives are more organized and more educated on the importance of free market economics and liberty, Fraley said, adding that the opposition might emerge even if Trump locks up the nomination before the April 5 primary. The possibility of Trump being the GOP nominee has grown in recent weeks as he racked up primary and caucus wins in the early presidential states of New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Tuesdays multiple contests, mostly in Southern states, are not expected to serve as a breaker for the Trump surge. Congressman Reid Ribble, R-Sherwood, one of the first GOP office-holders to publicly denounce Trump, has heightened his social media criticism of Trump in the wake of his most recent comments. For the record, condemning the KKK isnt something you should have to think twice about. #nevertrump Ribble posted to his Twitter account late Sunday. The other four Republicans in the Congressional caucus Speaker Paul Ryan, Sean Duffy, Glenn Grothman and Jim Sensenbrenner didnt respond to a request for comment Monday. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald also didnt respond. Steineke, the Assembly majority leader who has been bashing Trump publicly on Twitter for weeks, said one reason more Republicans arent coming out against Trump is because they worry popular opposition to elected officials will cause their criticism of Trump to backfire. Franklin, the poll director, said another possibility is Republicans are worried about alienating a large swath of their own voters. Asked whether Trump represents the Republican Party he sought to represent last year, Walker said a number of his views and positions are different than mine. Even if we dont agree with every choice that certain candidates make or articulate, then the bottom line is you have to respect the voters and the process, Walker said. The Racine Journal Times contributed to this report. Gov. Scott Walker signed 46 bills on Monday, including a ban on county executives serving concurrently in the Legislature. The bill was drafted by Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, who said the candidacy of Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris for a state Senate seat raised questions about whether a public employee earning six figures should also receive a legislators salary. Democrats and other critics of the bill say it is a blatant attempt to target Harris a Democratic candidate for the open Senate seat in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac, currently held by retiring Republican Rick Gudex, thats expected to be hotly contested in the November election. Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, has called the bill the height of hypocrisy, noting Republicans didnt raise the issue when Republican Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow served concurrently in the Senate for three months last year. Walker also signed a bill allowing towns in Dane County to opt out of county zoning laws. The bill, authored by Rep. Keith Ripp, R-Lodi, was introduced after the Dane County Towns Association pushed for a way for towns to gain more autonomy over developments in rural areas, and to grow tax bases to pay for services. But officials from Dane County, its cities and villages and a group of towns say town governments lack the financial and staff resources to responsibly administer their own zoning codes, and that allowing an opt-out could unleash irresponsible rural development. Another bill signed into law permits libraries to report borrowers who owe late fees to collections agencies, or in some cases, to law enforcement. It allows a library to report delinquent accounts to a law enforcement agency if the delinquency is at least $50. Information that may be disclosed is the individuals name, contact information and the amount owed. The governor signed a bill allowing farmers, food processors, frac sand mine operators and other operators of high-capacity wells to replace them without a state review of how the wells are affecting groundwater, lakes and streams. The law requires flow meters on wells and mandates study of certain areas affected by high-capacity wells. It waives permit requirements for lake associations that want to install high-capacity wells to pump water into lakes as part of a hydrological study. A bill that bolsters private property rights while loosening protections on thousands of bodies of water in Wisconsin also was signed into law. The law limits local powers over shoreline construction, allowing construction of boathouses, fishing rafts, utility facilities, water towers, rail systems and other kinds of construction to be built closer to bodies of water. The true definitions of euthanasia and assisted suicide versus the euphemisms used by proponents for both With the recent release of the parliamentary report, from the Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying, it seemed only fitting that with today's post I return to the issue of euthanasia and assisted suicide. Although an important read in of itself, that would help Canadians further understand how the "culture of death" is being ushered into Canada, today's post does not focus on the parliamentary report, but rather on a presentation, made by Larry Worthen, executive director of the Christian Medical and Dental Society (CMDS) . I was not at the presentation, but I did watch it in its entirety on YouTube. The presentation is thirty-one minutes long, and contains several thought provoking points that spotlight the negative implications of having euthanasia and assisted suicide legalized in Canada. If you are somewhat new to this issue, watching this video will certainly raise your awareness level, and provide you with a greater understanding of what is at stake. You may also want to consider reading my post, , to bring you "up to speed," on how and why euthanasia and assisted suicide has become such an issue in Canada, and what the teachings of the Catholic Church have to say about it. The remainder of this post does not summarize the entire video, but rather focuses on selected segments that I found particularly important. War of Words The publishing of the image associated with this post seems to have been a most appropriate choice considering how proponents for euthanasia and assisted suicide are making use of manipulative language, including euphemisms, to alter the thinking of Canadians on this issue. If you look to the actual definitions of euthanasia and assisted suicide, and compare them with the ever growing list of euphemisms used to replace them ("physician-assisted death or suicide," "hastening death," "end-of-life care or options,") to recall the Psalmist's admonition seems most fitting, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter" (Isaiah 5:20) The "War of Words" comes to us though a variety of sources in the media, and in great detail through policy development by professional medical associations such as the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPSO) who I have written about in my post, recommendations from the Provincial-Territorial Expert Advisory Group on Physician-Assisted Dying, whose Final Report, I also blogged about at my post, Ontario's End-of-Life Consultations: The Ushering in of Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide and the Increased Moral Disorder in Canada . The use of manipulative language and euphemisms is typically rampant in these types of documents, which have the potential to diminish, and perhaps even remove the truth about euthanasia and assisted suicide from the hearts and minds of those who read them, providing in the process, procedures and guidelines that all amount to one thing, the attempt to rationalize euthanasia and assisted suicide. At the fourth minute of the YouTube video, Larry Worthen begins to address the "War of Words" in the public square by stressing the importance of using the proper technical terms. Worthen stated how necessary this was because when people hear assisted suicide or physician assisted death, they tend to think that it means "pulling the plug," but this has nothing to do with it. To clarify further, he included the actual mechanisms that distinguish euthanasia from assisted suicide. Euthanasia normally means giving someone a lethal injection, whereas assisted suicide usually involves providing a lethal prescription that allows the patient to take that prescription at a later time. Carter vs. Canada Supreme Court Ruling The presentation actually began with a few points on the Carter vs. Canada ruling, in which the Supreme Court on February 6, 2015 struck down sections 241(b) and s.14 of the that dealt with euthanasia and assisted suicide. Worthen immediately spotlighted a very important point; the mistaken inclusion of "terminal illness" as one of the qualifying criteria for "physician-assisted death." The Supreme Court only mentioned that an illness or condition be " grievous and irremediable." In no way did the Supreme Court include or refer to "terminal illness," yet the opposite was reported by Peter Mansbridge at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). To be clear, here are the two aforementioned sections of the Criminal Code. The , under the heading of states the following, "Every one who (a) counsels a person to commit suicide, or (b) aids or abets a person to commit suicide, whether suicide ensues or not, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years." In addition the , , states the following, "No person is entitled to consent to have death inflicted on him." Together these two provisions do not permit for euthanasia or assisted suicide. The Supreme Court's Carter decision changed all this when it stated that section 241(b), and s.14 of the has no force and effect to the extent that they prohibit PAD (physician assisted death) for a: competent adult person, who clearly consents, and has a grievous and irremediable medical condition (includes illness, disease or disability), which causes enduring suffering that is intolerable to the individual. The Supreme Court's Carter decision is a deplorable anti-life decision. Worthen spotlighted this point perfectly when he expanded upon what exactly the Carter decision may actually mean and include, in terms of who would qualify for euthanasia and assisted suicide. He asked the audience to notice how all that is required from the Supreme Court, is that an individual's medical condition be " grievous and irremediable," which by this definition, would permit for a paraplegic or quadriplegic to be euthanized, as well as those with chronic illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, the suffering is not meant to be understood as physical pain, but as a subjective test; that is, what is " intolerable to the individual." Worthen concluded this segment by stating that what we are witnessing with the Carter decision, is a failed public perception of what the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide may actually entail. Seventy-Five Percent of Palliative Care Physicians Oppose Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Worthen began this segment of the presentation by listing the countries, and states that currently have legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide. There are five countries that have legalized euthanasia: Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Columbia. There are three American states that only have legalized assisted suicide: Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. Worthen asked, what do the doctors feel about it. Before providing their answers, he noted that seventy-five percent of all palliative care physicians in Canada are opposed to the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide, which only begged another question, what do doctors know that we don't. First, it is difficult to detect a cognitive impairment. What exactly does that mean. A cognitive impairment is when a person has trouble remembering, learning new things, concentrating, or making decisions that affect their everyday life. Worthen points to the example of a friend (Barb) who became depressed due to her lengthy stay in a hospital where she was being treated for arthritis. Was her depression sufficient to keep her from being able to provide consent if she had wanted to end her life. Worthen went on to state that the Canadian Medical Association has stated that it is very difficult to determine when someone is depressed whether or not they are actually able to consent to euthanasia or assisted suicide. Second, there is a risk of coercion and undue influence. Worthen pointed out that people are vulnerable. Those who are sick, and in need of constant care sometimes succumb to a feeling of guilt; that is, of being a burden to family members. It wouldn't take much for an unscrupulous family member to work on that guilt to the point that, the sick family member may be coerced into consenting to euthanasia or assisted suicide. Third, in all of the jurisdictions there is a non-compliance with protocol. So no matter what things are put in legislation those protocols are very often not followed. Fourth, there is the fallibility of prognosis. For example, a doctor can tell you that you have only six months to live, but in reality you end up living for another five-to-ten years. The danger lies in acting upon an incorrect prognosis where the patient consents to euthanasia or assisted suicide. Fifth, it has been documented in Belgium that life ending acts have been performed without specific requests from the patients. These findings were from a survey in Finders, Belgium were thirty-two percent of patient deaths were performed without a request. Sixth, physicians have many concerns, one of which is the vulnerability patients experience at the end-of-life, after a traumatic injury or debilitating illness. Worthen provided the example of how anyone at the presentation upon returning to their homes, could experience a serious car accident , the result of which could be the amputation of limbs. Such a development could easily make anyone fall prey to discouragement and depression, such that even though we may be able to legally consent to euthanasia and assisted suicide, we might not recognize that if we could just get through that difficult period, we may be able to adjust, and live a healthy, happy and productive life. This is the problem with euthanasia and assisted suicide; t here is a tremendous risk of wrongful death. Adding to all this is the important point Worthen made with respect to the proper focus for end-of-life care; that is , it is not about pain, but about the lack of access to proper palliative care. Expanding on this, Worthen stated that palliative care physicians inform us that pain at the end-of-life can be dealt with with proper palliative care. In Canada today, the real problem facing Canadians is that only thirty percent have access to appropriate palliative care. Worthen concluded this point with a most noteworthy question, "A re we short-circuiting the need to provide proper palliative care by allowing people to end their lives with euthanasia." Canadian Medical Association Brief to the Carter Case At this segment of the presentation, Worthen spotlights an important point regarding the Supreme Court; that is, its failure to understand the reality that doctors face in palliative care. He began by quoting a portion of the brief from the Canadian Medical Association: The trial judge placed great reliance on the ability of physicians to access the competency of patients requesting medical aid in dying and the voluntariness of their wishes. The CMA submits that the challenges physicians will face in making these assessments have been understated, especially in the end of life care context where the consequences of decisions are particularly grave and in a public medical system in which resource constraints are a pressing issue. Worthen began to translate this portion of the brief by stating that, it is a polite way of the CMA trying to indicate to the judges that decisions that are made within hospital and palliative care contexts are very dynamic, active and turbulent. To further spotlight the lack of understanding from the Supreme Court, Worthen explained that the judges seem to project the environment in which they make decisions on to the medical care system. He elaborated on this point by stating that it is their (Supreme Court) assumption that doctors are making these types of decisions with the same amount of time that judges have, and with both sides being articulated as is the case in a court room, but this is not the case. As Worthen noted, in actual fact doctors are under daily pressure to keep beds clear, and to move people out of hospitals. Worthen shared that doctors he had spoken to are very concerned about the capacity to be able spend the time required with patients to determine whether or not they are consenting to death. The last note from palliative care physicians that Worthen shared at the presentation was the following: Pain is rarely the reason patients ask for hastened death--it more often comes out of a desire to control the circumstances surrounding death. Palliative care physicians assure their patients that with current tools and resources, pain and other distressing symptoms can usually be controlled and support provided to ensure comfort and quality of life. The Risk of Wrongful Death Just after the fourteenth minute mark of the presentation, Worthen introduced to the audience a case of wrongful death. Amongst all the negative implications of having euthanasia and assisted suicide legalized in Canada, this is perhaps one of the worst. The wrongful death case is about Dr. Tom Mortier, a chemistry professor in Belgium, whose mother, Lieve De Troyer, lived with chronic depression. She became widowed from the suicide of her husband, and whose condition worsened after a long term relationship ended, that only exacerbated her depression. On April 19, 2012, Lieve died by euthanasia with the recommendation of one psychiatrist. An important point to note here is that in Belgium, a patient requires the recommendation of two psychiatrists, but that requirement was not fulfilled in this case. This fact alone tears down the so-called safeguards that one reads about in documents recommending euthanasia and assisted suicide. My recent post on the Final Report from the Provincial-Territorial Expert Advisory Group on Physician-Assisted Dying, as noted in the War of Words section of today's post, contains several references to "safeguards." What is even more troubling is the shocking circumstances in which her son, Dr. Tom Mortier, found out about his mother's death. One day Dr. Mortier received a phone call from the hospital asking him to come, and pick up his mother's things. He immediately inquired as to why that was necessary. The answer from the hospital, "Because she was euthanized this morning." It is not a scenario that anyone in their right mind hopes to confront, but the sad reality is that if euthanasia and assisted suicide are legalized, this is exactly what will happen in Canada. This holds true because of the privilege between a doctor and a patient, even though in Quebec, it is recommended that the family be consulted, there is no legal requirement in Canada to do so. The Implications For Health Care Professionals There are many doctors who are seriously considering leaving Canada if euthanasia and assisted suicide are legalized, because they fear they would be forced to provide or procure both, in direct violation against their faith beliefs and conscience. Although the Carter vs. Canada decision did mention that, "The physician's decision to participate in assisted suicide is a matter of conscience and religious belief," (p.132) the problem of ensuring this rests with provincial colleges and legislatures to work out the details regarding: referral, performing, and discrimination for not performing. Worthen stressed how important that last point is, because in essence what this entails is for organizations such as the CMDS to lobby every provincial college and legislature to ensure Christian doctors can continue to practice. Time to Fight For Christian Doctors Worthen's wife is a Christian doctor, and he shared with the audience that many patients have come up to him grateful that they have had the opportunity to be treated by a Christian doctor, after which, he boldly stated, "The time has come to fight to keep Christian doctors." I wholeheartedly agree. Christian doctors potentially face discrimination with their refusal to perform and procure euthanasia and assisted suicide. Here is the scenario that Worthen presented spotlighting this very point. Once you consider euthanasia and assisted suicide as a "medical procedure," and physicians are being hired for palliative care, there is a very real possibility that the governments and departments of health will eventually be able to claim that if a physician is not prepared to provide all the "medical services," for end-of-life care, then he or she will not be hired for the job. Essentially people will be discriminated against because of their religion. The reality is that Catholics and Christians alike will face incredible challenges to protect our doctors and their practices. If we value having Christian doctors in our communities, then the ushering in of euthanasia and assisted suicide is a clarion call to all Christians to do something about it. Doing something about it must first begin with a recognition and understanding that this is primarily a spiritual battle, one that begins with, and is sustained by time spent (on our knees) in front of the Blessed Sacrament. In addition, we must also employ the spiritual weapons of prayer (Mass and the Rosary), and fasting . Last, putting faith into action is also a key component. We the laity, must not remain idle, but do our part with the gifts we have, and fulfill our vocation and mission in the Church and the world ( Christifideles Laici ), to effectively eradicate euthanasia and assisted suicide from our land. May Saint Gianna Beretta Molla intercede for all doctors, nurses and medical staff in Canada so that conscience rights may always be protected, and that no one will be forced to perform or procure euthanasia, assisted suicide, and any other threats to the value and inviolability of human life. A Chicago man is being held on a $2,500 cash bond following an arrest over the weekend for obstructing an officer and possession of marijuana as a second offense. Deandre Caldwell, 26, was one of 12 people to appear in Columbia County Circuit Court via video on Monday for initial appearances. It is our understanding that he was supposedly staying with a sister, said District Attorney Jane Kohlwey, asking the judge to hold Caldwell in lieu of a cash bond of $2,500. The situation was supposedly she said, because Caldwell had an outstanding warrant in Illinois in connection to probation violation connected to a robbery case in which he was considered to be armed and dangerous. Caldwell was arrested on Saturday when Portage police responded to a reported theft at Pohlks Pub in downtown Portage. The officer was investigating the complaint and spoke to a man identifying himself as Anthony Davis from Chicago. The officer reported that the man was cooperative, but insisted his name was Anthony Davis, despite no record being found of that name. The officer returned to the scene later and approached the man who he then identified as Deandre Caldwell, who had an extraditable warrant for his arrest in Illinois in connection with his parole for a robbery conviction. During the ensuing arrest, the officer found a bag of what turned out to be marijuana, which would be Caldwells second offense, the first being a conviction for possession in Cook County, Illinois in January 2011. Felony possession of marijuana as a second or subsequent offense carries a sentence of up to three and a half years in prison in Wisconsin. Despite what Kohlwey described as Caldwells lack of verifiable ties to the community that might encourage his return to a future court date, defense attorney Ronald Benavides pointed out that Caldwell had been living and working in Portage. That adds to my concern, said Judge W. Andrew Voigt, that he has this warrant, but he has been here long enough to get a job. Voigt said that under the circumstances, the prosecution would be within reason to request a much higher cash bond, but approved the recommended $2,500. Caldwell declined to waive time limits in order to promptly move the case forward. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Thursday at the courthouse in Portage. The Big Chicken is crossing the road, to get to the other side of Portage. The antiques store at 131 E. Mullett St. is now the property of Columbia County, since owners Joe and Nancy Bonin closed Monday on the sale of the property, to make way for a parking lot for the two new county buildings going up alongside the Portage Canal. The Bonins actually had two closings on Monday. After the countys purchase of their property was finalized, they officially acquired the former location of Kuhls Flooring at N6574 Highway 51 in the town of Pacific, just south of Portage near the intersection of Highway 51 and Columbia County Highway P. A status update on the Kuhls Flooring Facebook page, posted on Feb. 12, said Kuhls Flooring would re-open in mid-March at a new location on Portages north side. Meanwhile, Joe Bonin said, the inventory from the Big Chicken was moved out of the old location and into the new, starting late last week. Jim Kuhls been great, he said. He let us move in before the closing date. Bonin said the new location is more spacious and more brightly lit than the former canal-side location which also included a 154-year-old feed mill. A Hillsboro-based firm, H&H Demolitions, has taken down the feed mill piece by piece, since Bonin sold H&H the salvage rights in December. According to Bonin, the equivalent of seven semi-truck loads of salvaged wood has been hauled away for use as recycled building materials, and some of the mills metal mechanisms also were salvaged for re-use on farms. However, Bonin said, H&H workers were not interested in taking apart the building adjacent to the mill that housed the antiques store. That buildings demolition will be the responsibility of Columbia County. The County Boards Ad Hoc Building Committee already has some estimates for the demolitions cost, though those estimates cant be finalized until the company, Waunakee-based Robinson Brothers, can get onto the property to take a close look at it. Most of the county-acquired buildings alongside the canal have been torn down the lone exception being 109 E. Wisconsin St., where J.H. Findorff and Sons construction headquarters have been set up. The county still has not negotiated a deal to acquire Gruber Automotive at 208 E. Edgewater St., and that matter might end up before the countys rarely-convened Condemnation Commission, or even in court. The Gruber property and the Big Chicken were named in a County Board resolution, adopted in June, authorizing county officials to undertake eminent domain proceedings if the impasse between the county and the building owners could not be resolved. Ironically, Bonin is likely to lose part of his new property to another government project. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has proposed to add turning lanes at highways 51 and P to make the heavily-traveled area safer. Bonin said that would likely mean that if the project comes to fruition, the state would acquire a small strip of his land, but not the whole property. He said he knew about the proposed road project when he decided to explore the purchase of the property. Right now, he said, the big concern is organizing the inventory in preparation to open, in a few weeks, what will be the third location for the Big Chicken. (The first was in Pardeeville, along Highway 22 near downtown.) And, since his regular customers have asked, he said that the four cats who inhabited the Big Chicken on East Mullett Street all have homes two of them in the new store, two of them at the Bonins home. Mary Hannah Mother Mary Paula Hannah, O. Cist., 80, of Prairie du Sac, passed away in the Lord early in the morning on Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. She was born Genevieve Mildred Hannah July 24, 1935, to Rose (Hetzel) and Maurice Hannah in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. The sixth of nine children, Mother Paula was blessed with keen intelligence and a quick wit. At the age of 19, she entered Sacred Heart Monastery, a Benedictine community in Yankton, South Dakota; but before professing final vows, she discerned a call to the newly founded Valley of Our Lady Monastery (then known as St. Idas convent). Living with the six Swiss foundresses, Mother Paula learned the Cistercian monastic way of life and helped the small community transition from a Swiss-based to an American-based culture. She was elected in 1978 as the first American prioress of the monastery, a role she would fill until 2005. As the foundresses returned one by one to Switzerland, Mother Paula continued to form the new community in faith and religious obedience, guiding it skillfully through the turbulent years that followed Vatican Council II. In the early 2000s, Mother Paula began noticeably to decline from Alzheimers disease, a condition she learned to accept with grace and good humor. After resigning from the office of prioress, she continued to teach classes based on St. Thomas Aquinass Summa Theologiae; she never tired of reminding her students that All that really matters is that we get to heaven. And to the end, she persevered in teaching all her sisters how to abandon oneself completely to God. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at Bethany Lutheran Church in Wisconsin Dells, with the Rev. Craig Wolfgram officiating. Burial will be at Spring Grove Cemetery in Wisconsin Dells. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. until the time of service at the church. A luncheon will follow. Gene was born Sept. 20, 1963, in Baraboo, the son of Gene and Bessie (Wheeler) Jones. Following graduation from Wisconsin Dells High School he attended Madison Area Technical College and received an accounting degree. He also attended UW-Whitewater. He began his career with Heritage Federal in Madison, moved on to Ho-Chunk. Finally, he started his own accounting firm, FMS Accounting, in Wisconsin Dells. He enjoyed and appreciated all of his clients, including the local Polish community, which was true to his heart and his heritage. In addition to his business, he was also employed by Riverview Boat Lines and Helland Law Office. Gene had a passion for everything culinary, and enjoyed his hobby, model railroading. In his free time, he spent many years remodeling his home, and loved to travel to places such as Mexico and Poland. USDA announces $1 billion debt relief for 36,000 farmers The USDA announced a program to provide $1.3B in debt relief for about 36,000 farmers who have fallen behind on loan payments or face foreclosure. 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. Studying populations to develop Africa Africa Month: Professor Clifford Odimegwu is passionate about developing a new generation of population scientists in Africa. Any professor who has not supervised a PhD student to completion is not worthy of being a professor, says the Head of the Demography and Population Studies Programme at Wits. Odimegwu is a Nigerian citizen who spent time as a research fellow at Harvard Universitys School of Public Health before joining Wits in 2003. A sociologist and demographer-social statistician who focuses on health issues in Africa, Odimegwu has implemented a number of research projects, which have important policy implications. His research interests cover the broad field of demography, sexual and reproductive health and gender issues. One of his key projects is the examination of the role of gender inequality on demographic outcomes in Africa. There have been huge investments on issues of gender inequality women empowerment over the past 20 years, so we are now looking at existing data sets to find out what has changed in gender relations and inequities, says Odimegwu. Our finding is that despite the investments in gender equality programmes, the inequalities remain. So we are asking what has happened to the millions of dollars spent on these programmes in trying to achieve gender equality in Africa. In most of Africa, women are still subjected to men, and to change this, Odimegwu says a new approach needs to be taken. We have to try to find a way of promoting an understanding of what gender equality actually means. Because, in an African society, when you bring up the issue of gender equality, you tend to scare men away, you do not get their support. However, our challenge is to make a man understand that by respecting the rights of women, they are going to get more benefits than when they are undermining these rights. Odimegwu cherishes the various studies undertaken by his doctoral students, ranging from examination of the role of community factors on demographic outcomes to issues of teenage pregnancy in South Africa; changes in African family and its consequences across several African countries; adolescent health and sexuality; youth development in Nigeria and South Africa; womens health and child health in Uganda and Zimbabwe; amongst others. He is also involved in promoting the use of demographic information to deepen democracy and development in Africa. Odimegwu has taught students from all over the continent and has graduated more than 80 Honours and 40 Masters students. He is currently leading a research network on family demography in Africa. With his heart solidly in Africa, Odimegwu loves nothing more than to teach young Africans to become leaders in their own right. We need to prepare people who will take over from us, he says. Passion makes a difference. If you are not passionate about helping a young South African find his or her feet, then you dont belong here, he says. CALS supports legal recognition of assisted dying The Centre for Applied Legal Studies, Wits University, seeks leave to enter the landmark assisted dying case before the Supreme Court of Appeal as friend of the court In April 2015, Robin Stransham-Ford approached the North Gauteng High Court for urgent relief. At the time, he was suffering from terminal cancer and requested to end his own life with the help of a doctor. On 30 April 2015, Judge Fabricius handed down judgment in Stransham-Fords favour, stating that laws prohibiting assisted dying unjustifiably limit the Applicants constitutional rights to human dignity and freedom of bodily and physiological integrity. The Court further ruled that any doctor who agreed to assist Stransham-Ford to end his life could not face criminal charges or disciplinary action. Stransham-Ford died naturally hours before and did not live to hear the landmark judgment. The Department of Justice and Correctional Services is appealing the decision to the Supreme Court of Appeal and the matter is expected to be heard later this year. With consent from all the parties, CALS has sought leave from the Supreme Court to enter the matter as amicus curiae, or friend of the court. CALS recognises that this case raises the important constitutional issues of the rights to equality, life, and human dignity; as well as the right not to be treated in a cruel, inhumane and degrading way and the right to bodily and physiological integrity. CALS seeks to assist the court by providing evidence from expert witnesses from the Netherlands and the state of Oregon in the United States, jurisdictions which have legalised euthanasia and assisted dying respectively. Our submissions support the findings of Judge Fabricius, arguing that the absence of a right to assisted dying can amount to torture or cruel and unusual punishment. We recognise that euthanasia or assisted dying can never be a substitute for the availability of world class palliative care. Notwithstanding the best available palliative care, there is a small percentage of terminally ill patients whose pain and suffering cannot be adequately relieved through palliative care, without unconscious sedation. There is also a small percentage of terminally ill patients who determine that their quality of life towards the end of their illness is not worth continuing, who seek the option of this choice. Prior to the High Court decision, the only choice remaining to such individuals is to refuse further medical treatment, nutrition, or hydration. CALS argues from compassion and out of respect for individual choice, that there is a strong Constitutional argument in favour of legally recognised euthanasia or assisted dying, with all necessary procedural checks and balances in place. The right to live ones life includes the right to end it, said Prof Bonita Meyersfeld, Director of CALS. This is the ultimate respect for the full autonomy of an individual. Denying this right is one of the last lawful vestiges of torture, where a person is compelled to exist in dire and unrelenting pain. For inquiries, please contact: Permalink Notice Because of changes created by Blogger, older permalinks to my archived posts no longer work. My apologies for that. The year-and-month in the old permalinks are correct, however, so you may be able to find the post you are looking for with some work. Alternatively, e-mail me for the currently functioning permalink. 15th Graduate Research Symposium to be held March 18-19 Symposium: People gather in the Sadler Center for last year's graduate research symposium. Courtesy photo Photo - of - Hide Caption William & Marys 15th Annual Graduate Research Symposium will be held at the Sadler Center on the campus of William & Mary March 18-19. The symposium is a two-day, broadly themed academic conference designed to bring together graduate students in differing areas of study in the Arts & Sciences. The theme of this years event is Fifteen Years of Excellence in Research. Our students contribute seriously to human understanding on their way to advanced degrees. They then continue to do so as teachers and scholars, writes William & Mary President Taylor Reveley in a letter of welcome to participants. The symposium provides an opportunity for our graduate students and their peers from other schools to present their work and receive comments from people in other departments and schools, as well as the greater William & Mary community. Students in each of William & Marys 11 Arts & Sciences graduate programs will participate, as will graduate students from 19 visiting institutions. A total of 160 graduate students will participate in poster sessions and lectures. Awards totaling $8,500 will be given for excellence in scholarship in the humanities and social sciences and in the natural and computational sciences, plus $1,500 in awards for excellence in undergraduate mentoring in the humanities and social sciences and in the natural and computational sciences. In addition to William & Marys graduate students, grad students from Boston University, Clemson University, College of Charleston, Drexel University, George Mason University, Georgia State University, James Madison University, University of North Carolina, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Tech will give presentations on their current research in fields ranging from American studies to physics. This symposium is hosted by William & Mary's Graduate Student Association of Arts & Sciences and the Arts & Sciences Office of Graduate Studies and Research. It is free and open to undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni and the general public. For more information, visit the symposium web page. China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page Woonsocket Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, at podium, commends the efforts of local, state and federal police and law enforcement agencies in removing 35 alleged drug dealers from the streets of Woonsocket during a press conference in Harris Hall Monday. Baldelli-Hunt also had special praise for local police officers who she said serve our residents daily and were an integral part of the effort to keep our city free from the scourge of narcotics. Behind the mayor is, from right, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, First Assistant U.S. Attorney R.I. Stephen G. Dambruch, State Police Lt. Col. Todd E. Catlow, DEA Special Agent In Charge New England Michael J. Ferguson and Cranston Police Chief, Col. Michael J. Winquist, a former State Trooper. (Joseph B. Nadeau/The Call) Email Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter Brandon Famous Mark Burlton Sign Up Free | The WPJ Weekly Newsletter Relevant real estate news. Actionable market intelligence. Right to your inbox every week. Go Thank you for your interest! You will now be receiving our Weekly Real Estate Newsletter. Real Estate Listings Showcase According to a new survey of more than 150 major international brands released last week by CBRE Group, retailers are expanding their networks of stores internationally this year despite the presumed headwind of online shopping, with a greater percentage eyeing growth in the Americas than last year.CBRE's survey found that 25 percent of respondents plan to expand in the U.S. this year, up from 21 percent in last year's survey. The 2016 percentage for the U.S. trailed those of Germany (35 percent), France (33 percent), the U.K. (29 percent) and China (27 percent).The survey produced results that hint at a positive correlation, rather than an adversarial one, between the growth of online sales and retailers' expansion of their ranks of bricks-and-mortar stores. Specifically, 83 percent of the survey's respondents said their store-expansion plans won't be affected in 2016 by the growth of e-commerce.To that end, in naming their greatest concerns for 2016, only 22 percent of responding retailers listed "stiff competition from online retailing." That ranked behind five other concerns, led by real-estate cost escalation (56 percent) and unclear economic prospects (42 percent).One reason for retailers' optimism about growth of both online and offline sales is that the former has allowed them to be smarter and more efficient about the latter. While few retailers are opening stores in the U.S. at the pace they did in the go-go 1990s and early 2000s, the stores that are opening in 2016 are better located for their customers and better suited to shoppers' tastes because of insights provided by e-commerce."Retailers are becoming smarter and more efficient in their site-selection process, and a lot of that comes from e-commerce," said Brandon Famous, CBRE's Senior Managing Director of retail representation in the Americas. "When a retailer sees that a lot of its online sales come from Asia, it will look to open stores there. Retailers' success rate now is much stronger because they have much better information about their customers."Asia remains a preferred destination for expanding American retailers due to the population density and income levels in its major cities, as well as the region's affinity for U.S. luxury brands. However, many retailers need a local partner to expand in countries such as China and India, and slow-to-develop supply chains in some countries can hinder growth.In Europe, American retailers often find steady demand across major cities, mature supply networks and easy currency adjustments. Those factors help to explain why western European countries claimed the top three spots in CBRE's 2016 survey. It is difficult, though, to find or assemble in Europe the large store spaces favored by American retailers.Conversely, the U.S. offers international retailers an ideal mix of population and income. But some international retailers have found the varied markets outside of U.S. gateway cities to be a challenging puzzle to solve in some cases."If you're in the fashion business, the U.S. customer is quite different once you get outside of the big, cosmopolitan cities like New York," said Mark Burlton, Global Executive of CBRE's Retail Representation team in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, specializing in cross-border expansion. "Even on-trend brands have struggled in places like Chicago, where the customer is more conservative. The U.S. is a big, wealthy country with a lot of great cities, but you have to approach it with a bit of caution until you know what you're getting into."The survey also revealed that 17 percent of respondents plan aggressive expansions of 40 or more new stores globally in 2016, up from 9 percent in the 2015 survey. Most respondents (67 percent) intend to open up to 20 stores this year.Respondents ranked the most common shopping-center formats in which they are opening stores as street shops (76 percent), regional shopping malls (72 percent), open-air centers (45 percent), transit hubs (20 percent) and outlet centers (18 percent), among others. One of Google's self-driving cars in Silicon Valley was involved in a collision with a school bus. Nobody was injured, but now there's a question on everyone's mind: who is to blame? Googles self-driving car tech might have just been dealt a serious blow: one of their self-driving test cars collided with a public school bus in Silicon Valley on Feb. 14 according to a report from Californias Department of Motor Vehicles. According to International Business Times, Google has owned up to the incident but will not accept full responsibility, claiming the accidnet would not have occurred if not for the erratic and unpredictable behavior of the bus driver. We clearly bear some responsibility, because if our car hadnt moved, there wouldnt have been a collision. That said, our test driver believed the bus was going to slow or stop to allow us to merge into the traffic, and that there would be sufficient space to do that, Google said in a statement. Thankfully, not injuries were reported as a result of the crash. According to the DMV report, Googles self-driving care was to blame for the crash. The report claims that the self-driving car was trying to move around some sandbags in the street when it sideswiped the school bus. State law requires the driver who is monitoring the test vehicle to grab the wheel and take control when needed. However, Googles test driver claims they thought the bus would give move to give the car room. Googles car was driving at 2 miles an hour and the bus was traveling at 15. We saw the bus, we tracked the bus, we thought the bus was going to slow down, we started to pull out, there was some momentum involved, said Carl Urmson, head of Googles self-driving car project. The transit agency is investigating the accident and has yet to conclude who is really liable in this case. Googles self-driving cars have been involved in around a dozen accidents since 2014. After a recent meeting with his National Security Council team, President Barack Obama said the only way to defeat ISIL in a way that lasts is to end the chaos and the civil war that has engulfed Syria for the last five years. The cessation of hostilities that was agreed to by Russia, the United States and other members of the International Syria Support Group on February 22, and which went into effect February 27, is a test, Mr. Obama said, of whether the parties involved are truly committed to negotiations: The process agreed to in Vienna is clear a transition toward a more inclusive representative government, a new government, a new constitution, followed by free elections. Acknowledging differences with Russia and Iran on the issue, President Obama reiterated his conviction that Syrias new future cannot include Bashar al Assad: Its clear that after years of his barbaric war against his own people including torture, and barrel bombs, and sieges and starvation many Syrians will never stop fighting until Assad is out of power. Theres no alternative to a managed transition away from Assad. Its the only way to end the civil war and unite the Syrian people against terrorists. President Obama said that a political settlement that would end the civil war means that all parties could then turn their attention to the crucial task of destroying ISIL: And thats why the United States will do everything we can to maximize the chance of success in this cessation of hostilities. At the same time, I want to make totally clear that there will be absolutely no cease-fire with respect to ISIL. We remain relentless in going after them. President Obama noted that the U.S.-led coalition with its local partners and allies is making headway in shrinking the core of ISIL in Syria and in Iraq. ISILs control of territory has been diminished; its leaders have been killed; its flow of foreign fighters has been slowed; its finances have been disrupted. The fight against ISIL will remain difficult, said President Obama. But we will continue to draw on all elements of our national power -- military, intelligence, diplomacy, homeland security, law enforcement and the strength of our communities. And I am confident that we will prevail. The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, and the Coca-Cola Company have announced support for a new program in Nigeria, under their Water and Development Alliance, also known as WADA project. The $2 million project will provide up to 100,000 citizens in Cross River State with access to safe drinking water and good sanitation facilities by 2019. This joint investment is aligned with USAID and Coca Colas shared focus on clean water provision as a means to help build healthy, sustainable communities in Nigeria. The U.S. Government is committed to engaging in effective and innovative alliances with committed partners to support Nigerias critical development needs, said William Steuer, Acting U.S. Consul General in Lagos. We are proud to collaborate with Coca-Cola to bring a sustainable and safe water solution to thousands of people in Nigeria, he added. During the signing event, USAID Mission Director to Nigeria, Michael T. Harvey said, Today, we are consolidating a special partnership, one in which a private firm has joined with a U.S. Government Agency to contribute to a priority set by the Government of Nigeria. USAID and Coca Cola have collaborated in Nigeria since 2007. The partnership has improved water resource management and expanded sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation services in Kano and Enugu States. The WADA project helps to control and prevent water-related diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and diarrhea by providing water and sanitation services, hygiene education, and establishing Water, Environment, and Sanitation Committees in communities where the project works. This new agreement will provide a framework to implement WADA and to allow the parties to establish a range of policy issues to achieve their shared objectives in Nigeria. The United States is proud to work with Nigeria and its international and private sector partners to give the Nigerian people better access to something all human beings need safe drinking water. The challenge filed to the 2015 UAW-Ford contract vote by a Ford skilled trades worker at the Rouge complex in Dearborn, Michigan is winning support from rank-and-file autoworkers angered at the manner in which the UAW pushed through the sellout agreement last November. Art Pedersen, a veteran worker at the Dearborn Truck Plant, is scheduled to meet March 7 with UAW Local 600 officials on his complaint, which charges serious irregularities in the conduct of the vote by the local union on November 20, 2015. Among the issues raised by Pedersen was the unexplained fact that there were exactly 500 more ballots cast for the national agreement than the local contract presented at the same time and that ballots were found folded-up in bunches in the voting box. Pedersen also noted in his letter to Local 600 that, there were no Privacy Booths set up for the marking of the Ballots, the Ballots were not numbered and no signatures or initials were taken as the Voters names were crossed off the Membership list. This prevented oversight of the voting process and could facilitate fraudulent photocopying of ballots, he charged. Pedersen also pointed to the lack of any outside, impartial oversight of the voting process. In fact the same UAW officials were counting the ballots that were out campaigning for a yes vote. A second-tier worker at the Dearborn Stamping plant, also a member of Local 600, told the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter, I am interested in supporting a challenge. I think the vote was rigged. They did the vote in the break room of the cafeteria. There was no private voting; you couldnt go anywhere to vote by yourself. They didnt check IDs. They just had a list. We dont know how the votes were counted. The way the UAW conducted the vote at Local 600 was highly suspicious. With the defeat of the contract at major factories in Kansas City, Louisville and Chicago, the contract appeared headed for a national rejection. The UAW rescheduled the vote at Local 600 to make it the last local to vote. This meant the UAW knew exactly how many votes it needed at the local in order to claim the deal had been ratified nationally. Before the vote, UAW Vice President for Ford Jimmy Settles held a press conference at the Local 600 union hall in which he warned workers that voting no could cost them their jobs. He also browbeat local officials and told them to get onto the shop floor to push for a yes vote. There were large numbers of tier two workers at the Dearborn Truck plant and sentiment appeared strong for a rejection of the contract, which maintained the hated two-tier wage and benefit system and removed the cap on the percentage of tier two workers. Yet, at the conclusion of voting the UAW announced a massive yes vote by members of Local 600, providing just enough votes for the contract to be approved by a razor thin majority of 51 percent nationally. Afterwards, Settles declared the deal had been ratified through a democratic and fair process, adding cynically that there is no higher authority than the membership in the UAW. After the vote, there were numerous allegations of irregularities, prompting Pedersen to file his challenge. The young Dearborn Stamping worker said, It, [the vote] is what the company paid them [UAW] for. I think they are getting something out of it. I dont think they wanted tier two guys making as much as tier one. But, it should be equal pay for equal work. This is the most unequal job I have ever worked at in my life. I have worked at nonunion jobs that were more equal. To this day people are still saying it didnt pass. If they are giving him [Pedersen] the run-around, that says volumes. If it was an honest vote, the UAW wouldnt have a problem proving it. While the conduct of the vote at the Rouge complex is an egregious example of irregularities, it is not an isolated case. A young tier two worker at the Sterling Axle plant north of Detroit said he entirely sympathized with the challenge to the vote. I am glad someone is doing something. I have some buddies who work at Rouge and they thought for sure that Dearborn would vote for eliminating the tiers [by voting no]. Everyone they knew wanted to eliminate the tiers. The UAW used the same tactics here that they used at Local 600. People have been talking about it. It wasnt a tier one or tier two thing, most of the people at our plant voted it down. The WSWS encountered widespread distrust of the UAW, including among retirees. Vern, a retiree from the former Ford Ypsilanti plant, said he felt the recent UAW-Ford agreement was a sellout. When Ford started paying UAW officials in the plant I knew that at some point they would expect something in return. The retirees were left out 100 percent on the contract. We got nothing. That alone would make me want to protest. I sent a letter to the UAW, but they never published it. They were making all these promises about what they would do for seniors. But it turns out we were just water down the drain. The two tiers shouldnt even exist. That was putting a lot of money in Fords pocket. We lost a lot and Ford is probably in a better position than ever. Ford had an astronomical year. The exposure of the corrupt practices of the UAW deserves the widest support. However, workers should place no confidence in the UAWs rigged appeals process. The UAW will use all its resources to prevent an accounting of its anti-democratic methods, not shrinking from the use of threats and intimidation. To wage a fight against the auto companies workers need new, democratic organs of struggle. The Socialist Equality Party and the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter advocate the building of factory committees, independent of the UAW and corporate management. The Canadian-based airplane and train manufacturer Bombardier is making 7,000 job cuts in its global operations, with over 1,000 of those in its division in Belfast, Ireland. The company employs 64,000 workers internationally and is one of Northern Irelands largest private sector employers, with around 5,500 workers. Many other workers are employed in its supply chain industries. The corporation announced that 1,080 jobs would go at its Belfast plant, which makes the wings for its new C-Series plane. According to reports, the Belfast workers were informed their jobs were being ended via a text message. Bombardiers significance to the regional economy is hugeit accounts for around 7 percent of all manufacturing jobs across Northern Ireland (almost 50 percent of the total number of manufacturing jobs in Belfast itself) and produces 10 percent of Northern Irelands total manufacturing exports. As well as making components for executive jets, four sites in and around Belfast produce parts for other manufacturers such as Rolls Royce. However, by far the highest-profile department is that responsible for the development and production of composite wings for the Bombardier C Series, which is housed in a 520 million plant officially opened in 2013 by the British Prime Minister David Cameron. Bombardier is the worlds largest builder of business jets by revenue and the biggest international manufacturer of passenger trains. The Financial Times commented that the firm faces falling sales during 2016 because of cutbacks in business jet manufacturing. It predicted revenue of $16.5 billion-$17.5 billion in 2016, against $18.2 billion during 2015, less than analysts had been expecting. Alain Bellemare, who took over as president and chief executive of Bombardier Inc last year said, We are turning Bombardier around to make this great company stronger and more competitive. Michael Ryan, the Vice-President of Bombardiers Bombardier Belfast operation, said, The whole global aerospace world is looking at how they can optimise their cost-base and that includes going to what we would call lower cost countries. If we want to compete being in a global market place then we need to take advantage of that where its relevant. Another 270 jobs will be cut at other non-aerospace sites in the UK, including Derby, Crewe and Burton-on-Trent. The announcement at Bombardiers Belfast division followed large-scale job cuts at tyre giant Michelin in Northern Ireland and cigarette producer, JTI Gallaher. Around 860 jobs are to go at Michelin when it closes its doors in 2018 and a similar number of jobs will be lost at JTI Gallaher when it shuts completely by the end of 2017. A number of other firms, including Caterpillar NI and Schrader Electronics, both based in County Antrim, have made substantial job cuts. Stephen Kelly of Manufacturing NI said of the combined closures, One percent of our manufacturers employ almost half of all those who work in manufacturing and 49 percent of turnover. Long-established manufacturing jobs such as those in Belfast are being terminated, as firms seek to continually lower their wage bill. Commenting on the spate of recent Belfast redundancies, the Financial Times stated, One factor common to the three announcements is the companies emphasis on the need to become more competitive globally. This suggests that Northern Irelands relatively high wages and location at the periphery of the UK and the EU are making the province increasingly uncompetitive. In a statement last year, Michelin referred to the heavy logistics costs related to manufacturing in Northern Ireland. On Wednesday, Bombardier, referring to its job cuts in Northern Ireland, said it is crucial that we right-size our business in line with market realities. The concern of the union bureaucracy is not with the fate of the workers, but to assist. Peter Bunting, assistant general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions declared that Northern Ireland urgently needs a comprehensive and ambitious manufacturing strategy. The Unite trade union announced its sorrow at the latest, cruel blow to Northern Irelands manufacturing sector. The scale of the losses reflect the severe market conditions being experienced by the group, which has led to over 7,000 job losses globally. No fight is being taken up to defend any of the jobs, with Unite adding, The Northern Ireland Executive needs to redouble their efforts and secure alternative employment for those highly skilled workers who will be made redundant. Invest NI [the inward investment agency] must now commit themselves fully to proactively seeking foreign investment in manufacturing. Unite makes this bankrupt call despite Invest NI having already offered Bombardier 75 million of assistance between 2002 and 2015. Fear of a social backlash over the haemorrhaging of jobs has led to sharp political recriminations in the Stormont Assembly, with both the Ulster Unionist Party and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) calling on the newly appointed Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Enterprise Minister, Jonathan Bell, to resign. The ruling elite fear a social backlash due to growing social inequality and rising unemployment. In Northern Ireland, 18 to 24-year-olds are 40 percent more likely to be unemployed than in any other region in the United Kingdom. Mark Dougan, the acting director of the Princes Trust charity in Northern Ireland, wrote recently that it is urgently calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to take bold, decisive action to eradicate long-term youth unemployment by 2020. In the Belfast Telegraph article, he noted that this year marks 10 years since the publication of the Ten Year Strategy for Children and Young People in 2006, which set out a series of aims to help children and young people in Northern Ireland achieve their potential. Dougan concluded, However, it is a shame that the opportunities for our young have diminished rather than flourished. In the past decade, youth unemployment has more than doubled to 21,000. Long-term unemployment has nearly tripled, and the number of young people in employment has fallen by 16 percent to 89,000. The Belfast base of Bombardiers operationsthe Shorts planthas historically been one of the plants at which privileges offered to Protestant employees have been used to tie workers politically to the Ulster bourgeoisie. Unionism has rested on the claim that the interests of Protestant workers in Northern Ireland can be defended through an alliance with British capital. The breakup and decay of this relationship is embodied in the fate of the Shorts plant, once a pioneering company, taken over in 1989 by Bombardier and now an integral part of that corporations global operation. Today, Shorts workers of all religious denominations are forced into global competition with other sections of the Bombardier workforce, in Canada, Germany, Sweden, the US and the UK. This process has created the objective basis for the international unification of the working class. Past struggles of Bombardier workers were sabotaged by the respective trade union bureaucracies with invocations of defending the national interest, in order to justify their deepening collaboration with the financial elite. Unions, aided by the various Stalinist and pseudo-left groupings, have insisted that Bombardier workers have no other option than to pit themselves against their co-workers in other countries. The only way to defend jobs and conditions in any country is by the working class rejecting the nationalism of the trade union bureaucracy and all divisions based on religion, race, region or nation and uniting its struggles through adopting an international socialist perspective. A two-part series entitled The Libya Gamble published in the Sunday and Monday editions of the New York Times is a damning indictment of Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and current front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. The piece, written by Times national security correspondent Scott Shane and investigative reporter Jo Becker, details the leading role played by Clinton in fomenting a war of aggression that killed tens if not hundreds of thousands. The fact that it is not intended as an exposure of these imperialist atrocities makes it all the more incriminating. The Times has endorsed Clintons presidential campaign, describing her as one of the most broadly and deeply qualified presidential candidates in modern history and as a president who would use American military power effectively. The paper has helped promote the political propaganda touting her as a feminist icon and a candidate deserving the support of African-Americans. No one would suspect that Ms. Clintons criminal record makes her the political equivalent of a black widow spider. Even the Libya piece suggests that her pivotal role in instigating the US-NATO war of 2011 casts a favorable light on what kind of president she might be. It describes her as a diligent student and unrelenting inquisitor, absorbing fat briefing books, inviting dissenting views from subordinates, studying foreign counterparts to learn how to win them over. She was a pragmatist, willing to improvise... Taken for granted in this account is that all of this diligence, pragmatism and improvisation was in furtherance of a criminal war of aggression that laid waste to an entire society. Today, as the article notes, Clinton deflects questions about the war with bromides about the Libyans having participated in two electionswhich have produced what are now three competing governments, none of which can claim to rule any significant part of the country enmeshed in a bloody civil war. It is too soon to tell how things will evolve in Libya, she adds, five years after the war and under conditions in which Washington is once again deploying special operations troops on the ground and bombing the country from the air. The article acknowledges that Clinton had fought within the Obama administration against dropping support for Hosni Mubarak under conditions in which the masses of Egypt had risen up in a revolutionary struggle against the US-backed dictator. Yet somehow in Libya, the article argues, Clinton had a new opportunity to support the historic change that had just swept out the leaders of its neighbors Egypt and Tunisia. And Libya seemed a tantalizingly easy casewith just six million people, no sectarian divide and plenty of oil. Here the phrases tantalizingly easy and plenty of oil were the operative ones in Clintons real calculations. A regime change operation was mounted against the Libyan government of Muammar Gaddafi not to further the revolutionary upheavals that were dubbed the Arab spring, but rather to contain them by imposing a US-controlled puppet state in the country separating Egypt and Tunisia, and asserting unfettered Western control over Africas largest oil reserves in the bargain. The article establishes that Clinton pressed for a secret program that supplied arms to rebel militias, composed largely of Islamist groups, some with direct ties to Al Qaeda. Within the administration, the Times reports, she pressed for direct US military intervention on the grounds that the British and French governments would go ahead without the US and Washington would be left behind and be less capable of shaping the scramble for control of Libya and its oil wealth. The pretext, that Libyan government forces were on the verge of a genocidal massacre of protesters in the eastern city of Benghazi, was subsequently refuted by international human rights groups, and the total number killed in armed clashes before the US and NATO began their bombing of Libya amounted to barely 350. At the outset of this bombing campaign, the article recounts, numerous attempts were made by Libyan officials, UN functionaries, other African governments and the African Union to negotiate a ceasefire and a political settlement, all of which were rejected by Washington. Charles Kubic, a retired rear admiral who received a proposal from a top Libyan military officer for a 72-hour ceasefire, was told by the US military command to immediately cut off the discussion based on orders that had come from outside the Pentagon. The question that stays with me is, why didnt you spend 72 hours giving peace a chance? he told the Times. The obvious answer was that those who had promoted the Libyan intervention, with Clinton in the lead, were determined to have their war for regime change fought to a bloody conclusion. That came in October 2011 with the vicious lynch-mob murder of Gaddafi by the US-backed Islamist rebels. After watching a video on an aides BlackBerry of the Libyan leader being beaten and sodomized with a bayonet before he was killed, Clinton exclaimed Wow! She then infamously turned to her television interviewer, exclaimed We came, we saw, he died! and cackled in delight. Murdered alongside Gaddafi was his son Mutassim, who just two years earlier had been warmly welcomed to the State Department with smiles and handshakes by the same Hillary Clinton. As the article makes clear, these bloody crimes were viewed by Clinton and her supporters as grist for her 2016 presidential campaign. Her top aide at the State Department issued a memo stating that the record demonstrated Clintons leadership/ownership/stewardship of this countrys Libya policy from start to finish. The memos language put her at the center of everything, the article states: HRC announces ... HRC directs ... HRC travels ... HRC engages, it read. In the aftermath of the catastrophe in Libya, the article credits Clinton with pushing for an aggressive American program to arm and train Syrian rebels trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad. It fails, however, to spell out the concrete connection between these two imperialist interventions. Arms seized from Libyan government stockpiles were funneled, along with Libyan Islamist fighters, into Syria, under the supervision of the CIA, which established a secret station in Benghazi along with another in southern Turkey. After rivalries and recriminations between the agency and the Islamists erupted in the September 11, 2012 attack on the US facilities in Benghazi that killed the US ambassador and three security personnel, Clinton came under Republican fire, not for waging an illegal war, assassinating a foreign leader or arming Al Qaeda, but for an alleged cover-up of the Benghazi incident. Similarly, a continuing investigation has been mounted over Clintons use of a non-secure private email server which handled material deemed secret, but little attention has been paid to the content of these emails, which again implicate Clinton in the bloody crimes carried out in Libya, Syria and beyond. Summed up in Clintons role in the Libyan events is the arrogance and recklessness of a US foreign policy that is inseparable from militarism and aggression. In Clintons shameless attempt to exploit events that killed tens of thousands and turned millions into refugees to further her grubby political ambitions, one finds a consummate expression of the degraded character of the American ruling elite and its political system as a whole, and of the Democratic Party in particular. In a just world, or at least one in which the principles upon which the Nuremberg war crimes trials of the surviving leaders of the Third Reich continued to be observed, Hillary Clinton would not be running for US president but, at best, be spending the rest of her life in a prison cell. Today is Super Tuesday in the primary election process for the selection of the presidential candidates of the two major US capitalist parties. Candidates for the Republican and Democratic parties will be contesting ballots in 12 states and one US territory, making March 1 the day when the largest number of delegates is chosen for party conventions. The US political system is entering this decisive stage in the run-up to the 2016 election in a state of deep crisis. On the Republican side, billionaire Donald Trump is far in the lead, according to polls. A CNN/ORC poll released yesterday estimated Trumps nationwide support among Republican voters at 49 percent, followed by Senators Marco Rubio (15 percent) and Ted Cruz (10 percent). Trump is expected to win the bulk of the delegates to be apportioned in todays contests. Over the past week, the Republican campaign has descended ever deeper into political reaction and backwardness. Last Thursdays debate in Houston, Texaswith the various candidates hurling insults and seeking to outbid each other from the righthas been followed by ever more openly fascistic comments from Trump. On Sunday, Trump displayed extreme reluctance in an interview with CNN to repudiate the support of white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. You wouldnt want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about, he said. I would have to look. In a separate interview with NBCs Meet the Press, Trump defended his favorable citation of a quote attributed to Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. While Trump later sought to backtrack on his comments on Duke, the incident highlighted the racist character of his campaign, which has featured denunciations of Mexican immigrants as rapists and proposals to ban all Muslims from entering the country. An article posted yesterday on the web site of the New York Times (Donald Trumps message resonates with white supremacists) noted the enthusiastic support for Trump from the likes of Jared Taylor, the editor of American Renaissance, who is described by the Times as long one of the countrys most prominent white supremacists. Taylor told the Times: Someone who wants to send home all illegal immigrants and at least temporarily ban Muslim immigration is acting in the interest of whites, whether consciously or not. Trump has also received the enthusiastic support of the Nazi-inspired Daily Stormer magazine. An element of violence and thuggishness pervades Trumps rallies, highlighted yesterday in the physical assault on a TIME magazine photographer by a member of the Secret Service as the event was disrupted by protests from members of Black Lives Matter. The incredible level of hypocrisy in the disavowals and expressions of surprise from the media and political establishment (including sections of the Republican Party) in response to Trumps statements recalls the line from the classic film Casablanca, I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here! The Republican Party has long cultivated the most backward layers, going back to Nixons southern strategy, after George Wallaces third-party bid in 1968, in opposition to the civil rights movement. In 1980, Reagan opened his general election campaign by delivering a speech invoking states rights in Philadelphia, Mississippi, the scene of the 1964 Ku Klux Klan murder of three civil rights workers. After a decade and a half of war and political reactionunder Republicans and Democrats alikethe ugly reality of American capitalism is metastasizing in the Trump campaign. Trumps appeals, moreover, are a particular expression of the incessant focus of the political establishment as a whole on issues of race and identity, aimed at covering over the enormous class divide in the United States. On the Democratic side, the campaign is closer, with national polls split on who has more overall support, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Clinton has a significant lead over Sanders in polls in the southern states voting today, following her large victory in South Carolina over the weekend, with Sanders polling ahead or competitive in Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Vermont, Colorado and Minnesota. While the Republican Party is poised to nominate a fascistic thug, the Democratic campaign has highlighted the fact that millions of people in the US are prepared to vote for a candidate who presents himself as a socialist, despite the fact that socialism has been barred from political discourse for decades. In his campaign, Sanders has continued to focus his stump speeches broadly on issues related to social inequality, including criticisms directed at Clinton over her paid speeches to Goldman Sachs. He is advancing proposals for a number minor social reforms without challenging the economic domination of the giant corporations and banks. What is most striking about the Sanders campaign is how ineffectual it is. Sanders and the various pseudo-left political organizations that have been mobilized around his campaign are quite consciously seeking to maintain the political authority of the Democratic Party after more than seven years of war and reaction under Obama. Almost nothing is said by either candidate on foreign policy or democratic rights, though both have fully embraced the militaristic policies of the Obama administration. In an interview on NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday, Sanders was asked to respond to a report in the New York Times detailing Clintons direct and active role in the 2011 war in Libya, including the overthrow and murder of its then leader, Muammar Gaddafi. Sanders sought to cast his criticism of Clintons involvement in criminal actions in as mild a tone as possible, saying, You cant just go forward with regime changeyouve got to be thinking about the day after I would have worked more patiently. Over the past month, Sanders has given his full support to the Obama administrations policy of militarizing Eastern Europe and its threats against Russia. On Sunday, he backed the truce in Syria negotiated by Secretary of State Kerry with his Russian counterpart, behind which the White House is preparing a plan B of major military escalation in the proxy war. Sanders said nothing about the extraordinarily provocative statements made by Obama officials in recent days, including the declaration by US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work that the recent test-launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles was intended as a signal that we are prepared to use nuclear weapons in defense of our country if necessary. In an indication of the important political function that he serves, some sections of the Democratic Party leadership have moved to endorse Sanders, including Congressman Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned her position as the Democratic National Committee vice chair on Sunday in order to back the Sanders campaign. Gabbard, an active duty member of the Hawaii Army National Guard and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said it was necessary to have a commander in chief who exercises good judgment. Underlying the crisis in both parties, and the divisions within the political establishment itself, are the explosive social tensions in the United States. At the same time, the ruling class is preparing, behind the backs of the American people, a massive escalation of military violence. The outcome of the primary campaigns is highly uncertain. Whether the eventual candidates for the primary campaign have even entered the race yet is not clear. What is absolutely certain is that the contradictions tearing apart American society cannot be contained within the framework of the two-party capitalist system. A 22-year-old prison inmate was killed while fighting a fire to protect a hillside of mansions in the ultra-wealthy resort town of Malibu, California, on Thursday. The young woman, Shawna Lynn Jones, sustained life-threatening injuries when a boulder rolled 100 feet down a hill and crushed her head. She was taken off life support Friday at UCLAs Ronald Reagan Medical Center. A brushfire broke out Thursday in the early morning, threatening homes valued at $2 million to $8 million. Alongside more than 100 professional firefighters, 63 inmates were sent to fight the fire. Jones, who was serving time for drug possession, was scheduled to be released in six weeks. Joness death symbolizes the brutal state of social relations in the United States today. Paid a pittance, poorly trained, and kept under close watch by armed guards, young, nonviolent drug offenders lives are endangered and sacrificed to protect the already-evacuated homes of the aristocracy. Jones was one of 4,000 inmate firefighters used by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). These prisoners are tasked with the extremely difficult job of cutting fire lines to combat Californias increasingly dangerous wildfires. Inmate firefighters are paid little as $1.45 per day and are given inadequate training to handle Californias massive brushfires, whose flames can reach over 100 feet in height. Inmates are sometimes forced to work 24-hour shifts. Thirty percent of Californias firefighters are prisoners. The state has heavily relied on chain gang firefighters after years of budget cuts to state and federal fire prevention programs, with state officials boasting that the inmate firefighter program saves up to $100 million each year. The cuts come as global warming and severe drought have produced conditions ripe for fires. Throughout 2015, 4,382 wildfires took place in California. The US Forest Service said in an August 2015 report, With a warming climate, fire seasons are now on average 78 days longer than in 1970, creating an elevated need for fire protection. CDCR spokesman Scott Kernan said in a statement that Joness death is a tragic reminder of the danger that inmate firefighters face when they volunteer to confront fires to save homes and lives. On behalf of all of us in the department, I send my deepest condolences to her family First, Kernan is a long-time prison warden and his words of sympathy are hollow. Joness death was an entirely preventable product of the super-exploitation of the US prison population. Second, to say that prisoners volunteer for fire protection duty is to bend the meaning of the word. The fact that thousands of prisoners would rather fight flames and risk death than remain in Californias overcrowded prisons speaks to the horrendous conditions of incarceration that exist in the US. In 2011, the US Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Plata that overcrowding in California prisons violated the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution, which protects against cruel and unusual punishment. In reality, conditions for Californias inmate firefighters are themselves cruel and unusual. Demetrius Barr, an inmate firefighter, told the web site Buzzfeed: Psh, this might be beyond slavery, whatever this is. They dont have a whip. Thats the difference. Paul Wright, editor of Prison Legal News, told Vice: Its not just slave labor, its very dangerous slave labor. If they werent having the prisoners do the work for whatever pittance they pay them, they would be paying non-prisoners 15-20 dollars an hour plus benefits. Forcing prisoners to fight fires is so cost-effective that the state wants to keep prisoners incarcerated in order to force participation in the program. Arguing against a proposed 2014 reform to facilitate release of nonviolent offenders, Californias Democratic attorney general Kamela Harriss office argued in court that releasing nonviolent prisoners would severely impact fire camp participation, a dangerous outcome while California is in the middle of a difficult fire season and severe drought. In 2013, more than 2 million people were incarcerated in state or federal prison, a total equaling nearly 1 percent of the adult population of the US. Exploitation of prison labor is not limited to firefighting. According to a 2007 article in the Vanderbilt Law Review, Well over 600,000, and probably close to a million, inmates are working full-time in jails and prisons throughout the United States. Most inmates make between $0.23 and $1.25 an hour, with tens of thousands of prisoners producing material for the US military. By 2014, 37 states had legalized the exploitation of prison labor by private corporations, with corporations like IBM, Boeing, Motorola, Microsoft, AT&T, Dell, Honeywell, Intel, and Nordstroms making billions in profits from prison labor. Shawna Lynn Jones, like thousands of prisoners in the US, never lived to see her release date. She spent her last day outside the prison, unconscious, and under observation by the police in a Los Angeles hospital. Her firefighting crew accomplished their task. As the Los Angeles Times reported Friday after the fire was extinguished: No structures were damaged. Speaking recently to the Club of the Cabinet of Ministers in Kyiv, Ukraine, U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt gave the strongest possible assurance of the United States regarding our commitment to continue to stand with the Ukrainian people so long as Ukraine -- the Ukrainian Government, the Ukrainian Rada, and the President -- continues to stick to the difficult path of reform and make emphatically clear that the policies and practices that did so much to hold this country back in the past will no longer be tolerated. From that standpoint, said Ambassador Pyatt, I particularly welcome the Prime Ministers statement of his commitment to make the reforms of the past year now irreversible. In that regard, I am extremely proud of what the United States has accomplished. The U.S. has committed over $20 million dollars to help support the new patrol police. The United States is also committed to continuing its strong partnership with the National Guard, building on what was accomplished at Yavoriv through the Fearless Guardian training, and to maintain its longstanding partnership with the Border Guards. Through the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. will also continue to partner with the Government of Ukraine, the courts, and civil society to support reforms that strengthen the rule of law, tackle corruption, and increase judicial independence and accountability. Finally, Ambassador Pyatt noted, the importance of addressing the third pillar of justice and rule of law reform, which is the prosecutorial sector. In this regard, the United States is going to continue to offer maximum support to the anti-corruption reformers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, and to those within the office of the Prosecutor General who have demonstrated a true commitment to reform. But the number one requirement in this area, according to Ambassador Pyatt, is to demonstrate absolutely clearly that there will be a new system. That this is not about perpetuating the poisonous practices of the past, or tolerating the kind of corruption that characterized previous Ukrainian governments. To achieve this goal, Ukraine can rely on the full and unwavering support of its partner, the United States. More information is surfacing about the April 2013 decision to cut off Flints source of treated drinking water in order to move to a yet-to-be-built pipeline. Examination of uncovered documents, combined with the thousands of newly-public emails released by Governor Rick Snyder, are beginning to shed light on the economic interests behind the switch, which was promoted by high-level state officials and politically connected businesses. Snyder has released batches of internal emails over the last several days in hopes that his new transparency will diffuse the political crisis. He told reporters last week, Im kicking myself every day, for failing to connect the dots earlier. Even as he was issuing his umpteenth insincere apology for the catastrophe, Detroit Free Press reported Monday that the governor could have declared a state of emergency in Flint months earlier than he did. In a November 13 email from a state police official, Chris Kelenske, the deputy state director of emergency management and Homeland Security, to a close Snyder aide, Kelenske said the Governor can declare at any time for any reason. After more than a year of ignoring citizen complaints about the water and slandering scientists who were issuing warnings about dangerously high levels of lead, on October 1, 2015, Snyder grudgingly acknowledged that there were problems with Flints water. On October 6, 2015 he provided the funds to switch back to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) pipeline. The use of the Flint River as a water source led to almost 100,000 people, including some 27,000 children, being poisoned and resulted in an outbreak of Legionnaires disease in which nine people died. Up until October 2015, local, state and federal officials worked might and main to prevent any public acknowledgment of the health danger. It is remarkable to note the consistency of the campaign of deception by high-placed officials who insisted the water was safe. Even after that lie was exploded at the end of last summer, Snyder presented a narrative at his State of the State address on January 19, that This crisis began in the spring of 2013, when the Flint City Council voted 7-1 to buy water from the Karegnondi Water Authority. The Detroit Metro Times examined that meeting in an expose over the weekend. Legal documents and a video of the City Council proceedings revealed several important facts: Flint was under the authority of a Snyder-appointed emergency manager, Ed Kurtz. A vote by City Council was not required to make the decision to contract the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA), and should the vote be against it, it could be overruled. The video shows that certain council members were skeptical about being asked to hold a vote on the proposal at all. Councilman Sheldon Neeley stated he became convinced a vote was necessary when he learned of a state regulation that if it was a bad decision or a poor decision then the state could be held liable for that decision and have to recoup the costs to the residents of the community. According to the Metro Times, the purpose of the City Council vote was to use the body as the scapegoat in the event of a disaster. Michigan Treasurer, Democrat Andy Dillon, who played an instrumental role in the decision to force Detroit into bankruptcy, had already approved Flints severing the decades-long relationship with the DWSD to provide drinking water. It is also a fact that as state treasurer Dillon, a former investment banker, had oversight powers over the states emergency managers and had to approve major financial decisions. The study by engineering consultants Tucker, Young, Jackson and Tull (TYJT) that was contracted by Dillon himself, and rejected the financial viability of the switch to KWA, was not provided to council. Rather than the TYJT study, council was provided with a response to it drafted by Rowe Engineering, the company that was hired to begin construction of the KWA pipeline and make adjustments to the Flint Water Treatment Plant. While the Metro Times article gives the local Democrats a pass neither the City Council nor then-Mayor Dayne Wallingwho also held a seat on the KWA boardwere innocents. The video of the March 25, 2013, shows City Council members discussing a plan that relied on blending the water sources, i.e., combining KWA water (70 percent) with Flint River water (30 percent). During the meeting City Council members question Genesee County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wrightalso the CEO of KWAabout containing the costs of upgrading the citys water treatment plant. The switch to the Flint River would require $61 million in upgrades, Wright said, while treating Lake Huron water delivered by KWA would require $7 million in upgrades, according to an account of the meeting in the Detroit Free Press. Blending the sources would lead to a cost in between the two amounts, Wright said. City Council member Sheldon Neeley said, he liked the idea of blending KWA and Flint River water as a cost-cutting measure and noted state DEQ official Michael Prysby said in a May 7, 2012, letter to the city that blending Flint River water and KWA water would be a viable option. If Flint took just 30% of its drinking water from the river, I dont believe that we would need to have any additional softening, or anything like that, for that very low amount, Neeley said. By having to purchase lower volumes over time from KWA, that would be a better option for us to save costs. Under fire from outraged city residents over crippling high water rates, the local Democrats, despite reservations about the suspect motivations of the emergency manager and other state officials agreed to the switch to the KWA, accepting the claim that the move would save the city $19 million over eight years, compared to continuing drawing treated water from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. The City Council voted to contract KWA for a quantity of 16 million gallons per day (MGD), overwriting the proposal signed by Kurtz for 18 MGD. The citys actual usage had been estimated at 10-11 MGD, with a peak of 15 MGD, according to figures provided by then-Public Works Director Howard Croft. Three days after the councils vote, Kurtz signed a contract for 18 MGD, amounting to some $1 million a year more than what the council approved. Considering that the official line was that endorsing the KWA project was to save money for the city of Flint, the additional expenditure contradicted that narrative. Jeff Wright and Mayor Walling supported the 18 MGD commitment, while acknowledging that the lower amount would reduce construction costsand therefore the cost borne by Flintbecause the size of the pipeline would have to be reduced. At the 18 MGD volume, KWA would be able to build a 72-inch pipeline. At 15 MGD, the pipeline would have to be smaller, 54 inches. However, this would not suit the needs of the KWA. The KWA was incorporated in 2010. Its website claims it could save local residents millions of dollars in water costs over time by avoiding future increases from the Detroit system. It goes on, The pipeline will supply untreated water to the municipalities of the region, industrial customers, agribusinesses, rural agriculture developments, residential commercial light and heavy manufacturers. The KWA was established in response to perceived business opportunities in the region. Energy giant DTE had already committed to 3 MGD and other businesses, including General Motors and hydraulic fracturing operations were prospects for the KWA. Yet, the signing on of Flint, to commit to a third of its constructions costs, was necessary for construction to begin. That is why the signing of that commitment be Kurtz on April 18, three days after the Flint City Council meeting was the necessary step before construction could begin. The following June, the groundbreaking ceremony signaling the beginning of the pipelines construction was held. But as the WSWS reported in May 2014, The decision by Flint to break ties with the DWSD and embark on its own independent water system serves an example of the irrationality of the rule of financial interests over the allocation of public resources. The KWA pipeline parallels the DWSD pipeline from Lake Hurononly six miles to its North (see map). Yet the Detroit pipeline provides treated potable drinking water and has more than enough capacity to handle Flints needs for years to come. The elections held in Iran last Friday have strengthened the faction of the Islamic Republics bourgeois ruling elite that favours speedy rapprochement with Washington and has spearheaded the push for neo-liberal restructuring. This faction is led by Irans current President Hassan Rouhani, and by his longtime mentor, former two-term President Hashemi Rafsanjani. Making clear where its sympathies lie, the Western media invariably dubs this the moderate or reformist faction. At stake in Fridays elections were the composition of Irans 290-seat parliament and the 88-member Assembly of Experts. Membership in the latter body, which chooses and oversees the work of Irans supreme leader, is restricted to Muslim clerics. Because the current supreme leader, 76-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is in poor health, it is likely the incoming Assembly of Experts will have to choose his successor at some point during its eight-year term. Consequently, the outcome of this years Assembly election has been considered especially important. The precise makeup of Irans new parliament is not yet known, as there will have to be run-off elections in April to fill about 15 percent of the seats and because the politics of Irans ruling elite is not organized on the basis of highly structured parties, but rather by means of looser factional groupings. Nevertheless, the partial results do indicate that the Rouhani-Rafsanjani faction rallied substantial support from the more privileged sections of Irans population, enabling it to make major gains in both Irans parliament and the Assembly of Experts at the expense of its hardline rivals, the Principalists. Comprised of staunch Shia religious conservatives and elements with ties to the Revolutionary Guards and their substantial business interests, the Principalists have voiced concerns and in some cases outright opposition to the nuclear deal that Rouhani, with Supreme Leader Khameneis blessing, reached with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany. Under that agreement, Iran has made sweeping concessions, including dismantling much of its civilian nuclear program and submitting to the most intrusive-ever International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection regime, in exchange for the US and its European Union allies lifting the economic sanctions that have crippled Irans economy. The Principalists have also criticized the Rouhani government for its plans to auction off Irans oil resources to the Western oil giants, advocating instead the continuation of a nationally focused resistance economy. The electoral gains for the Rouhani-Rafsanjani faction were especially pronounced in Tehran, which, with a population of some 16 million, is home to more than one-fifth of Irans population. Running under the List of Hope label, it won all 30 of Tehrans parliamentary seats and 15 of Tehrans 16 seats in the Assembly of Experts. Prior to the elections, the Rouhani government had the support of just two Tehran MPs. Rafasanjani topped the polls in the Tehran district-wide Assembly of Experts election, while Rouhani finished third. The defeated included Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, the outgoing head of the Assembly, and Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, mentor and spiritual adviser to Mahmoud Ahmadinejada populist, closely identified with the Principalists, who served as Irans president from 2005 to 2013. According to Western news reports, the middle class in Irans capital city turned out in large numbers to vote, forcing voting hours to be extended in some neighborhoods up to three times. Meanwhile, the working class, centered in southern Tehran, was largely indifferent to the election, indicating its alienation from and hostility to both rival bourgeois camps. On Monday, the Iranian government reported that the election turnout in Tehran was just 50 percent, a sharp contrast to the nationwide average of 62 percent. In winning the presidency in 2005, Ahmadinejad tapped into widespread hostility to the pro-market IMF-endorsed policies Rafsanjani and his reformist successor, Mohammad Khatami, had implemented, and the resulting growth in social inequality and economic insecurity. Under conditions of rapidly rising world oil prices, Ahmadinejad during his first presidential term significantly increased social spending, to the dismay of much of Irans clerical-bourgeois establishment. During his second term, which unfolded in the wake of the 2008 world financial crash and as the US ratcheted up sanctions and war threats against Iran, Ahmadinejad and the Principalist-dominated parliament turned sharply against the working class, slashing price subsidies and accelerating an already ambitious privatization drive. The Rafsanjani-Rouhani faction improved its showing in other large Iranian cities, albeit less dramatically than in Tehran. Its Principalist rivals, however, have reportedly won most of the smaller towns and rural areas. News organizations have provided different estimates of the relative strengths of the rival groupings in parliament. The BBC said hardliners won in excess of 150 seats and the reformists 111, while Reuters and Al Jazeera gave conservatives between 35 and 40 percent of the seats, reformists 30 percent and independents slightly more than 15 percent. A significant factor in the Rouhani-Rafsanjani factions strong electoral showing was its ability to draw support from other groupings. Former President Khatami lent support, as did many leaders of the Greens, who, with Western encouragement, challenged the validity of Ahmadinejads reelection in 2009 on the basis of unsubstantiated charges of ballot-rigging. Khatamis former first Vice President Mohammed Reza Aref was the biggest List of Hope vote-getter in Tehran. The pro-Rouhani government slate also drew support from prominent figures, including noted social conservatives previously associated with the Principalists. Chief among these was the current parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, who hails from one of Irans most powerful clerical establishment families. Larijanis reelection was also endorsed by one of the Revolutionary Guards most prominent leaders, Quds Force Commander General Qassem Suleimani. Iranian business leaders and pro-market economists were ecstatic over the election results. In economic affairs the next parliament will be much better, Saeed Leylaz, one of Khatamis former economic advisors, told Reuters. Ramin Rabio, the chief executive of Turquoise Partners, a large financial services company that specializes in managing foreign investments in Iran, said he expects that the new government will quickly implement a raft of pro-market reforms, including gutting labour law restrictions on layoffs and updating the countrys commercial code to make it more business-friendly. A major objective of the Rouhani government is to rewrite the regulations governing the countrys oil industry to entice European and ultimately US capital. Its hope is that a flood of western investment, seeking to take advantage of Irans abundant skilled cheap-labor and natural resources, will buoy the economy, providing the regime with sufficient political support and cover to eliminate the little that remains of the social concessions made to the working class in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Shahs bloody, US-backed dictatorship. Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei has pointed to the 62 percent participation in last Fridays election, which actually represented a 2 percentage-point decline from the 2011 elections, as proof of the Islamic Republics broad popular support. Khamenei has long sought to maneuver among the various factions of the bourgeois-clerical establishment. He authorized the shift to seek a nuclear deal with the US and ultimately prevailed on all sections of the state apparatus to rally behind it. He has voiced no objection to the Rouhani governments full court press to woo European governments and transnationals. However, under conditions where the Obama administration and the US military-security establishment continue to threaten Iran, maneuver to overthrow its Syrian ally and lavish arms on the Saudis and Israel, and where the Republicans have vowed to scuttle the nuclear deal should they win the presidency, Khamenei has cautioned against rushing into closer engagement with Washington. Rouhani and his foreign minister have been far less circumspect. Since concluding the nuclear deal they have repeatedly suggested that Iran could be a valuable partner for US imperialism in stabilizing the Middle East. In past pronouncements, Rafsanjani has been even franker in offering to tie Iran to US strategic objectives, suggesting, for example, in September 2013, as the US was contemplating a military assault on Syria, that Iran should withdraw its support for the Assad regime. If the Obama administration chose to back off from its war drive against Iran and pocket major concessions instead, it was done in order to concentrate on US imperialisms military-strategic offensive against its more powerful adversaries, Russia and China. A second major calculation was that US diplomatic and Western economic engagement with Iran would enable Washington to better explore and exploit cleavages within the Islamic Republic ruling elite, so as to force it to unreservedly accept US hegemony over the Middle East, or lay the political groundwork for regime-change in Tehran. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations committee last week, US Secretary of State John counseled against the imposition of further sanctions against Iran in the name of human rights and making Tehran abandon its ballistic missile program, arguing Washington should rather see how the implementation of the nuclear deal goes. The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) and International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) in Sri Lanka are holding a public meeting at Hatton in the central hill district to discuss a socialist program to defend the wages, jobs and working conditions of plantation workers. For almost a year, the plantation companies have pointed to the crisis in the world tea market and vehemently rejected any wage increase for 200,000 plantation workers, one of the most oppressed sections of the working class. Instead, the Planters Association, representing 22 large companies, has proposed the replacement of the present meagre system of daily wages by a revenue-sharing scheme that is akin to share-cropping. The plan will not only reduce workers income but increase workloads and scrap the current pension funds and welfare facilities. The plantation trade unions, many of which are partners in Sri Lankas coalition government, have abandoned their limited demand for an increase in the daily wage to 1,000 rupees. The government and unions are fully backing the plans of the companies. Workers in several estates took action to fight against increased workloads but the unions betrayed them and connived with police witch-hunts instigated by the companies. The ruthless attacks on plantation workers are part of a broader assault being unleashed on the working class and the poor to make them bear the burden of the countrys worsening economic crisis. Workers cannot defend their rights through the unions and need a socialist perspective to fight the escalating attacks. The SEP is campaigning for workers to form action committees, independent of the unions, to wage a political struggle for decent wages and living conditions. It is impossible to defend workers rights while the plantations are privately owned and run for profit. The SEP calls for their nationalisation under the democratic control of the working class. This can be achieved only as part of a common struggle of the working class to bring to power a workers and peasants government to implement socialist policies. The SEP and IYSSE urges the workers in the plantations and other workplaces, as well as young people, to take part in the Hatton meeting, which will discuss this socialist program. Meeting venue: Town Hall, Hatton Date and time: Sunday March 13 at 2 p.m. The United States and China agreed last Thursday to harsh new UN sanctions against North Korea over its recent nuclear and rocket tests. The draft resolution was presented to members of the UN Security Council, with a vote expected soon. The sanctions, pushed by Washington, are designed to further isolate North Korea and cripple its economy. While the full text of the resolution has not been released, several key points have been made public. Washingtons ambassador to the UN Samantha Power declared that the measures would be the toughest in 20 years. These sanctions, if adopted, would send an unambiguous and unyielding message to the DPRK [Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea] regime. The world will not accept your proliferation. There will be consequences for your actions, she said. The US has exploited North Koreas nuclear programs to justify its military build-up in North East Asia, which is directed primarily at Beijing, not Pyongyang. The latest round of UN measures follow new unilateral US sanctions voted by Congress and approved by Obama last week, which will not only penalise North Korea but companies and individuals doing business with itabove all, in China, Pyongyangs largest trading partner by far. The far-reaching UN sanctions threaten to further destabilise the already highly unstable regime in Pyongyang. They include: All UN member states would be required to inspect shipments, whether by land, sea, or air, bound for and departing from North Korea for any banned goods, including those that could be used in its nuclear or rocket programs. The bans would extend to materials that could be used in chemical or biological weapon programs, as well as to tougher restrictions on luxury goods. Any companies, such as North Koreas Ocean Maritime Management Company Limited, suspected of engaging in actions that violate the sanctions would have their port calls or flights barred. North Korea would be subject to a full weapons ban, which would apply not only to small arms and other conventional weapons, but to anything that could potentially be used for military purposes, including trucks. All financial transactions between North Korea and other countries would be banned and assets frozen if there is a belief that the funds are being used by Pyongyang for its weapon programs. In general, all North Korean financial institutions would be barred from opening new offices or branches overseas. The financial corporations of other nations would similarly be prevented from expanding within North Korea. A ban would be imposed on a range of North Korean exports, including gold, titanium ore and rare earth metals. Pyongyang would be able to buy oil and sell coala concession to Chinabut only for livelihood purposes. The import of any materials, such as aviation fuel, that could potentially have a military application will also be banned. As most of North Koreas trade is with China, the UN sanctions will put enormous pressure on Beijing, which is already being accused by Washington of not doing enough to rein in Pyongyang. The sweeping character of the new sanctions leave plenty of scope for new US accusations that China is aiding North Koreas weapons programs by allowing the entry of dual-use articles or funds that are being siphoned off for banned purposes. Speaking to the Financial Times, Bruce Klingner, a former US intelligence official now with the right-wing Heritage Foundation, declared that the restrictions on North Korean exports were a significant ratcheting up of pressure that would also raise the question of whether China is severing or severely curtailing its economic trade with North Korea. He condemned China for being lax in enforcing its own export rules, let alone UN resolutions and turning a blind eye to North Korean proliferation. Choi Gyeong-su, head of the North Korea Resources Institute in Seoul, commented: You cant determine which part of the mineral trade is related to peoples livelihoods or not. But the South Korean government used this very rationale to justify the closure earlier this month of the Kaesong Industrial Complexa cheap labour zone across the border where South Korean companies employed North Korean workers. Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo claimed on February 14 that 70 percent of the funds earned at Kaesong had gone to North Koreas weapon programs. The following day, Hong backtracked and admitted there was no evidence for his claims, but this has not prevented Seoul from continuing to make the allegation. China has been pushing for a peaceful resolution to the confrontation over North Koreas weapons programs. Commenting on the draft resolution, Liu Jieyi, Beijings UN ambassador, said it should pave the way for a negotiated solution down the road, not be a stone wall. Beijing is deeply concerned that the US is exploiting North Koreas nuclear and rocket tests to beef up its military presence in South Korea, including nuclear-capable strategic assets and the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile system. China also fears that a collapse of the North Korean regime could lead to a unified Korea, backed by US troops, directly on its northern border. The US military is certainly preparing for war to intervene in North Korea. Large-scale annual joint US-South Korea military exercises, designated as Foal Eagle and Key Resolve, will start this month. For the first time, these war games will be based on the new Operational Plan 5015 agreed last year, whose scenarios include preemptive strikes on North Korean military positions and the assassination of officials, as well as the complete seizure of the Korean Peninsula. General Curtis Scaparrotti, head of US forces in South Korea, spelled out the implications of such a war. He told the House Armed Services Committee last Wednesday: Given the size of the forces and the weaponry involved, this would be more akin to the Korean War and World War IIvery complex, probably high casualty. Conflict on the Korean Peninsula would inevitably draw in other countries, including China. The United States is chiefly responsible for the political crisis in Pyongyang and the sharp rise in tensions on the Korean Peninsula, having isolated North Korea for decades and scuttled previous agreements over Pyongyangs nuclear program. Now as part of its pivot to Asia and military build-up against China, the US is deliberately exacerbating a dangerous flashpoint that could trigger a devastating conflict that would engulf the entire region. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is locking residents out of their homes, some permanently, using secret court orders before residents have a chance to defend themselves and without warning, according to an investigation by Pro Publica and the Daily News published earlier this month. Conducted under a public nuisance abatement law, the evictions are considered civil actions, not criminal cases, so that tenants have no right to an attorney while the police, using only a judges signature, deny them constitutional rights of due process. The result has been to push hundreds of people into homelessness and the resulting devastating short and long-term consequences for them and their families lives. The report analyzed 516 residential nuisance actions filed in court from January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014 and the outcomes of related criminal cases. Most of those targeted were poor and living in mostly minority communities. Of the people forced to give up leases or banned from their homes, 173 were not convicted of a crime, including 44 who did not even face criminal prosecution. In order to regain their residency, another 74 agreed to warrantless searches of their home by the police and others agreed to the forfeiture of their leases if they were accused of future wrongdoing. One case described in the report is the arrest of Jameelah El-Shabazz and her son, who had had run-ins with the police over drugs, in their Bronx apartment. Police found cups of white powder that turned out to be crushed eggshells used in practicing the Ifa religion of Nigeria. It took a week before testing results allowed their release from Rikers Island prison. Five months later the police locked out the family with a nuisance-law court order based on previously dismissed drug charges. El-Shabazz was coerced into signing an agreement that her son, whom police claimed had sold drugs from the home to a confidential informant, was barred from the apartment for life. To demand a hearing before a judge to challenge this could have left her still locked out for weeks. The Pro Publica/Daily News report notes that the narcotics officer behind the nuisance abatement case against El-Shabazz, Detective Peter Valentin, was the most-sued officer on the NYPD, and was put on desk duty in 2014 for allegedly fabricating buys from confidential informants. Police request temporary residential closing orders as an emergency which does not permit residents a chance to go before a court to defend themselves, even though police filings show alleged offenses that were, on average, six months old. Orders have been granted 70 percent of the time, with eight of the twenty judges giving approval in 100 percent of cases. The New York public nuisance law was originally enacted in 1977 to eliminate sex shops from the Times Square area in order to promote family-friendly tourism. It was amended to include residences and violations were expanded to include drugs, gambling, illegal social clubs and counterfeit goods operations. A court ruled that the three violations necessary to close a location need not to have resulted in convictions. The NYPD was authorized in 1994 to file its own nuisance abatement cases independent of the Mayors office. In effect, the police became prosecutors as well as an enforcement agency. Nuisance abatement went from 25 closings of businesses in 1977 to 1,082 cases in 2013, 44 percent of which were at residences. With growing homelessness and the lack of affordable housing at socially explosive levels throughout the city, officials moved to cover themselves from the political fallout of the report. Fern Fisher, the deputy chief administrative judge for the citys courts, recommended limiting lockout orders before residents had a chance to come to court, especially when based on old allegations by confidential informants. The Police Commissioner, William Bratton, promised he will take a fresh look at the policy. The head of the city Law Department claimed it will ensure that the ex parte orders (in which a judges decision is made without all parties present) are requested only in cases of appropriate urgency, but did not define how this is specifically interpreted. New York Citys progressive Democratic mayor, Bill de Blasio, commented that there should always be due process, and that he would examine the protocols around such evictions, but a spokesperson added that the Mayor did not mean to imply that he was opposed to the use of secret lockout orders by the NYPD. Various other elected city officials raised the usual diversions of class-action suits and calls for federal investigations. As a social problem, universally they have construed the problem in racial terms, as being chiefly a violation of the civil rights of minorities. This attack on basic democratic rights in fact converges with the increasingly severe crisis of affordable housing facing the working class throughout the city. There were 28,743 eviction judgements processed in the citys housing courts in 2012, a figure that hides the real number of incidents because formal court-mandated evictions comprise only a minority of forced moves. The Defence White Paper released by the Australian government last week is yet another warning that the global breakdown of capitalism is plunging humanity toward the abyss of a third world war. The document is predicated on the claim that Australia, as a key strategic ally of the United States, is threatened by Chinas efforts to exert greater influence in Asia and internationally. The White Paper commits Australia to a US-led military confrontation with Beijing to preserve what it calls the rules-based global orderthat is, the ability of the US and its allies, under conditions of intractable economic crises and geopolitical turmoil, to dictate the international rules in the interests of their financial and corporate elites. Australian imperialism has joined the US war drive as the means of advancing its own economic and strategic interests not only in its immediate sphere of influence in the South West Pacific but more broadly in Asia and around the world. Australia has been placed on a war footing against China. Military spending will be ramped up to at least 2 percent of gross domestic product in order to finance a massive expansion of the countrys armed forces. Over the next decade, some $195 billion is to be spent on new submarines, warships, jet fighters and an array of other military hardware. The sole purpose of the acquisitions is to better equip the Australian military to participate in what the Pentagon has labelled the AirSea Battle Conceptplans for devastating air strikes and missile attacks on mainland China, supported by a naval blockade to strangle the Chinese economy. It is an open secret that the US military has parallel plans for the wholesale use of nuclear weapons in any conflict with a major rival such as China. Such is the debased state of official Australian politics, that not one politician, media commentator or public figure has stepped forward to exposelet alone denouncethe criminality, not to mention insanity, of collaborating in the preparations for a nuclear holocaust. No reference is made in the Australian media to the military calculations that are undoubtedly being made behind the scenes as to how many millions of Australians let alone Chinese, Americans and many others would be slaughtered. The potential triggers for such a catastrophe are increasing. The US and its regional allies are challenging Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea; a highly volatile state of affairs exists on the Korean Peninsula; and sharp Sino-Japanese tensions are continuing in the East China Sea. The entire political establishment has endorsed the central thrust of the White Paper. The opposition Labor Partys sole criticism is that the conservative Coalition government has not yet followed Washington in provocatively sending Australian warships into territorial waters around Chinese-controlled islets in the South China Sea. The only concern expressed by the Greens was that the level of military spending might delay returning the governments budget to surplus. The pseudo-left organisation Socialist Alternative, which denounced opposition to the US-led neo-colonial intervention in Syria as knee-jerk anti-imperialism, has consciously downplayed the threat of war. Since the former Labor government endorsed the US pivot to Asia in 2011, the entire fake left has maintained a conspiracy of silence about the US military build-up throughout the region, including in Australia, in order to block the development of an anti-war movement of workers and youth. The only party that has warned the working class of the danger of warthrough constant analysis on the World Socialist Web Site, public meetings and election campaignsis the Socialist Equality Party (SEP), the Australian section of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). The publication of the Australian White Paper underscores the correctness of the analysis made in the ICFI statement of February 18, 2016, Socialism and the Fight Against War. The war drive, the statement stressed, is a conspiracy of the capitalist elites, orchestrated by the highest levels of government, the military-intelligence apparatus, the corporate-financial oligarchy and a corrupted right-wing media, without even the pretext of democratic debate. The militarist agenda spelled out in the White Paper is incompatible with the democratic and social rights of the working class. The expansion of the armed forces will be financed through devastating spending cuts to health, education and other essential social services. Mass opposition to austerity and the lunacy of war will emerge. That is why the Australian ruling class is seeking to condition the population by devoting vast resources to stoking up xenophobia and nationalism through the persecution of refugees, and promoting narrow-minded patriotism by glorifying the actions of Australian imperialism in World War I. At the same time, under the guise of the war on terror, it is preparing police state methods to suppress any opposition. The situation in Australia is replicated, to one degree or another, in all the imperialist centres in North America, Japan and Europe. Everywhere, the capitalist class has responded to its crises by turning to militarism. The bogus war on terror has been used to justify the destruction of entire countries and regions, from Afghanistan and Iraq, to North West Pakistan and Yemen, to Libya and Syria, and to inflict unspeakable human suffering. Now, the supposed threat posed by Russia and China is being exploited to prepare new wars so as to ensure the global domination of the US and its allies. The nationalist rhetoric and military build-up of the regimes in Moscow and Beijingthe political representatives of corrupt capitalist oligarchiesonly fuels the danger of war. More than a century ago, Leon Trotsky wrote that World War I represented the most colossal breakdown in history of an economic system destroyed by its own inherent contradictions. Today, the struggle between rival capitalist elites and antagonistic national-states for sources of profit again threatens the survival of human civilisation. However, the same contradictions are providing the impulses for the greatest revolutionary movement of the international working class in history. Workers in Australia, in the United States, in Japan and across Asia, in China and Russia, and around the world are not going to be passively dragged into the maelstrom of war and catastrophe. They have class interests and will fight for them. The critical issue is the development of the necessary revolutionary leadership to lead the working class in the overthrow of capitalism and its outmoded nation-state system, and the establishment of world socialism. The ICFI is that leadership. In its statement of February 18, the ICFI set out the historically-derived and verified principles that provide the essential political foundation for the unification of the immense social strength of the working class into an international mass movement against war and imperialism. Workers and youth in Australia, as in every country, should do everything they can to ensure the statement is circulated and discussed as widely as possible, and join the SEP and the ICFI to fight for a socialist and internationalist perspective. The United Steelworkers union (USW) is forcing 2,200 locked out Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) workers to vote on a deep concessions contract on Tuesday, eight days after announcing the tentative agreement with the company, and only three days after revealing any of its contents to the membership. The contract being pushed by the USW is a major betrayal, both for ATI workers, who have been locked out for over six months, and for the working class in general. The sellout will only embolden the giant steel companies and other employers to escalate the assault on the wages, benefits and conditions of all workers. According to all available information, the USW has agreed to all of ATIs major demands. By rapidly bringing the contract to a vote, the USW, is seeking to prevent workers from having any time to adequately review and discuss the contents of the contract and mount a campaign to defeat it. An article in the Valley News Dispatch lists the contract highlights that the USW has cherry picked in order to market the contract to the membership. The full contract, which has not been released to the public, doubtless contains further concessions. Under the new contract workers will now need to pay 10 percent of all medical costs after meeting current deductibles and annual fees. This could easily amount to thousands of dollars, especially for families with children, or older workers with prescription medications. The USW has given in to ATIs demands for increased use of contractors, claiming that contractors are needed to restart ATIs operations. The USW is well aware that this language will be used to allow the continued employment of the scab workforce that ATI brought in during the lockout. The company wants to contract out up to 40 percent of all positions. The USW secured the worthless assurance that ATI does not intend for this proposal to result in any active employee losing their employment. Such assurances in the past have been repeatedly broken with the USWs backing. Moreover, the contract does not guarantee the jobs of the 420 steelworkers at the recently idled Bagdad and Midland plants in Pennsylvania. The USW received another worthless promise that the company will continue monitoring the market for grain-oriented electrical steel ... to determine whether conditions justify a restart of those operations. While the company is promising to rehire the Bagdad and Midland workers, there are no details of when or where. Six years ago 127 workers at an ATI facility in New Castle, Indiana were transferred more than 350 miles east to Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. The USW has also accepted ATIs demand for a two-tier contract. New hires will lose defined-benefit pensions in exchange for a 401(k) plan. Workers will receive a de facto pay cut, with their $1.50/hour quarterly bonus transformed into a $1/hour increase in base pay. The additional $0.50/hour is paid into the USW-controlled Voluntary Employee Benefits Account (VEBA). These multi-million-dollar funds, established throughout the steel industry, provide union officials with lucrative investment opportunities and positions, and a direct incentive to slash retiree health benefits. The Valley News Dispatch reports that a profit-sharing plan would be paid to the USW to be split among the USW members. All profit sharing plans are reactionary since they tie workers earnings to the profits of the company. While the top executives and big investors will continue to draw huge payouts, the profit-sharing scheme backed by the USW will allow the giant companies to make workers pay for the worldwide slump in the steel industry and the global economic crisis. That the profit-sharing funds will be funneled through the USW represents further evidence of the corporatist structure of the union. With a payout of between $250,000 and $3.75 million per quarter, based on the companys profits, the USW will have another incentive to boost ATIs profitability at the expense of the steelworkers themselves. Two key questions are conspicuously absent from the USWs highlights. One of the most hated demands ATI made in its August last, best, and final offer was for changes in scheduling practices that essentially transformed workers into on-call laborers, who could be scheduled to work irregular hours with only a few days notice or less. The USWs highlights make no mention of scheduling. Whats more, the USW remains silent on whether ATI workers will be forced to work alongside the scabs ATI has been using for the past six months. The USWs silence on these issues is a strong indication that it has capitulated on both of these questions. Workers must understand this contract not as the outcome of negotiations between two parties with opposing interests, but rather as a conspiracy between ATI and the USW, two entities that share the same interests in exploiting them. From the very beginning the USW agreed that its most fundamental task was to force workers to pay the costs of the crisis of the global steel industry. The lockout of ATI workers in August of 2015 took place as hundreds of thousands of workers throughout the US also faced contract battles, including over 30,000 steelworkers at US Steel and ArcelorMittal, 140,000 autoworkers at GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, and 40,000 Verizon workers. Having long collaborated with the employers, the Obama administration and the Democrats in suppressing the wage demands of workersin the name of boosting the profits and international competitiveness of corporate Americathe last thing the USW, the United Auto Workers and the rest of the union apparatus wanted was a unified struggle of the working class. That is why the USW forced US Steel and ArcelorMittal workers to continue working without a contract, and deliberately isolated the ATI struggle. At the same time, the USW has put locked out workers on rationsalthough they control a $149 million strike fundin an effort to starve them into submission. Approximately 12,000 steelworkers at ArcelorMittal are still working without a contract. ArcelorMittal is demanding many of the same concessions as ATI. At the same time, the company continues to cut jobs, most recently announcing the closure of its aluminizing line at its Indiana Harbor mill in East Chicago, Indiana. In an effort to dupe workers into accepting further attacks on their living standards and to block a unified struggle by steelworkers around the world against the global corporate giants, the USW has conducted a non-stop chauvinist campaign to blame the attack on jobs and living standards on unfair trade and workers in China, Korea and other Asian countries. This takes place as the global capitalist crisis is destroying the jobs of workers in every country, including in China where 1.8 million steel and coal jobs are being slashed. The USW is using economic blackmail to force ATI workers to accept a contract that will throw them back decades. The sellout agreement should be roundly rejected. However, the conduct of this struggle cannot be left in the hands of the company agents in the USW. Instead, ATI workers should form rank-and-file committees, democratically controlled by workers themselves and organized independently of the USW. These committees should directly appeal to US Steel and ArcelorMittal workers, and every section of the working class to break the isolation of the ATI workers and oppose the strikebreaking efforts by the corporation, which is backed by all the steel giants, the politicians from both big business parties and the USW and other unions. The policies of the USWcorporatist labor-management partnership, subordination of workers to the capitalist profit system, and virulent nationalismmust be rejected. A new strategy is needed to unify every section of the working class in political struggle to break the economic and political stranglehold of the capitalist ruling elites, and fight for the socialist reorganization of the US and world economy in order to ensure the social rights of all workers. In this critical struggle, the World Socialist Web Site will do everything possible to mobilize support for the ATI workers. The xenophobic enforcement initiative of the right-wing populist Swiss Peoples Party (SVP) was rejected on Sunday by a clear majority of 58.9 percent of voters. Turnout was exceptionally high for Swiss standards, at 63.4 percent, the highest level since 24 years ago, when voters rejected joining the European Economic Area. The clear defeat of the initiative surprised not only the SVP but the establishment parties and the media as well. In the last seven years, the SVP had prevailed three times with xenophobic referendum initiatives. In 2009, 57 percent supported a ban on minarets; in 2010, 53 percent voted for the expulsion of foreign criminals; and in 2014, 50.3 percent voted for the initiative against mass immigration. Last autumn, opinion polls were predicting that the enforcement initiative, which further sharpened the Deportation Initiative of 2010, would win more than 60 percent approval. In particular, the EU-wide campaign against refugees and the hysteria over the New Years Eve events in Cologne seemed to favour right-wing populist movements. All the other parties opposed the initiative because they feared Switzerland would be isolated, with adverse effects for the Swiss economy. However, as was the case when confronted with previous SVP initiatives, they offered no serious opposition to the costly and aggressive campaign of the party headed by billionaire entrepreneur Christoph Blocher. But then a backlash developed in the population, outside the control and influence of the established parties. The naked racism and the injustice of the initiative had apparently hit a nerve. If passed, the referendum meant that foreigners would be deported following two minor offences without any further investigation and without any room for discretion. This would also apply to so-called secondos, second-generation immigrants born in Switzerland, but without a passport. More and more young people, students, blue- and white-collar workers came forward to condemn the initiative and to call for its rejection. Using the Internet, over 50,000 signatures were collected in a very short time and well over a million Swiss francs gathered for the referendum campaign. The newspaper 20 Minuten wondered: In recent weeks, scarcely a day passed without another group speaking out against the SVP. The Tages-Anzeiger in Zurich wrote: The opinion polls showed 66 percent saying yes. Everything seemed to be over. And then the debate turned. It turned because a totally unexpected (for the SVP) adversary appeared: the people. ... There were thousands of citizens who went into opposition to the SVP: lawyers, professors, artists, young liberals. Not least, the opposition consisted of the backbone of Switzerland: well-trained professionals. Even Spiegel Online noted: Then something happened never before seen: A powerful movement formed itself from out of civil society. ... The counter-campaign did not come from the political establishment, but from ordinary citizens and young students. Suddenly the SVP, which otherwise enjoys saying it represents the people, confronted a massive popular movement. The vote then provided a clear picture. Apart from four small, rural cantons in central Switzerland and Ticino, all cantons voted no. In cities with a high proportion of workers and foreigners, turnout and the number of negative votes were higher than average. For example, in the city of Basel over 70 percent rejected the initiative, on a turnout of 67 percent. In Geneva and the canton of Zurich 65 percent voted against. The clear rejection of the SVP initiative, however, will not stop the rightward shift of official politics. Since the Deportation Initiative in 2010, all the mainstream parties in parliament, including the Social Democratic SP, have essentially implemented the main policies of the SVP and agreed to amend the Criminal Code in March 2015. This amendment, which differs only slightly from the latest SVP initiative, will now come into force in its place. Under the new law, criminal foreigners must also be swiftly deported if they are convicted of offences such as theft while committing trespass, fraud in the field of social security or welfare or forced marriages. Another offence is qualified disruption of public transport, which under certain circumstances could apply when participating in a strike. The main difference with the SVP initiative is that the law provides for a hardship test, granting the judge discretion if the person concerned would otherwise be deported to his or her certain ruin. In addition, a clause stipulates account must be taken of the particular situation of foreigners who were born or grew up in Switzerland. How closely the establishment parties share in their xenophobia was demonstrated shortly after the vote on Sunday evening by Social Democratic Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga. She turned to SVP followers with the words: If you voted Yes because you are for harsh laws against criminal foreigners, then rest assured your concerns will be taken into account with the expulsion law that will now be put into effect. The SVP is demanding that the approximate 500 deportations per year at present be increased to 4,000. The justice minister is obviously willing to meet this demand. The SVP is already preparing its next xenophobic initiatives: An enforcement initiative regarding mass immigration and the national law before international law initiative. The latter could undermine essential principles of the Swiss constitution, international law and human rights. Latin America 48-hour strike by Peruvian brewery workers over work schedule The union for workers at Perus largest brewery, Backus y Johnston, called a 48-hour strike on February 26 to protest a work schedule change at its Matupe de Lambayaque plant in Chiclayo. Backus y Johnston, a part of the SABMiller international beer conglomerate, has six breweries in Peru. It also produces soft drinks and bottled water. The schedule for the plants has been six days of work with one day of rest, but Backus changed the schedule at the Matupe plant, where 130 union workers are employed, to 8-10 days of work followed by a day of rest. The union says the change is unconstitutional. Backus management maintains that the Labor Ministry had declared the strike inappropriate, claiming that the union really opposes the implementation of a third shift, which management claims is legal. Backus brought in scabs at Matupe to take up the slack. Nationwide one-day strike by Argentine state workers to protest firings State workers across Argentina struck February 24 to protest the sackings of thousands of public employees by the government of President Mauricio Macri. Two national unions, the 240,000-strong State Workers Association (ATE) and the Argentine Workers Central (CTA), organized the mobilization. Missing from the strike and protest was the General Workers Central, which has been involved in dealmaking with Macri. Since assuming office in December, Macri has spearheaded a drive to reduce the state workforce under the guise of getting rid of noquisthat is, employees who allegedly get paid but do not workas well as militants loyal to former president Cristina Kirchner. However, ATE leader Hugo Godoy told reporters, The storyline to get rid of noquis isnt even believed by the government. They are only reducing personnel. The government claim of only 6,200 sackings is contradicted by union claims of over 20,000. In the state capital, Buenos Aires, 40,000 protesters defied a newly-ordered government protocol to allow five minutes to clear streets of anyone demonstrating without permission, and marched to the Plaza de Mayo, coinciding with a visit by French president Francois Hollande. The protocol is one of several recent measures designed to criminalize workers protest actions. Panamanian refuse collection workers strike for wage raise and other demands Refuse collection workers and street sweepers employed by Panamas Urban and Home Cleaning Authority (AAUD) walked off the job February 24 to demand an increase in their wages. According to a spokesperson, workers with over thirty years of service only make between US$500 and $700 per month. The workers also complained of the lack of equipment and uniforms, poorly maintained trucks, unjustified firings and the risk of exposure to various diseases in Panama City. Trash collection was recently suspended by the Health Ministry in the face of the growth of cases of Zika, dengue and other diseases. Although AAUD promised new uniforms and trucks in December, they have not delivered. In addition, nearly 500 out of 3,000 workers were not included in a recent salary adjustment. Moreover, the workers demanded that contract workers with more than four years be given permanent status. On February 26, after meetings with AAUD Director Eladio Guardia, the workers representatives agreed to call them back to the job. According to telemetro.com, both sides agreed to meet inside of two weeks, when it is anticipated that the workers will receive the responses to their petitions. However, Guardia only said that he would continue to evaluate the salary issue and nonetheless he denied the firings of workers and said that on this issue it was the termination of contracts that were not renewed. He also claimed that the arrival of the uniforms and equipment was in process without giving an expected date of arrival. Strikes, protests continue against closure of Guyanese sugar factory February 23, Guyanas Republic Day, was marked by renewed strikes and protest actions against the projected closure of the Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD) Sugar Estate. About 80 percent of Wales Estate workers as well as those at another estate did not report for work, but another locale functioned at about 80 percent, while yet another, Uitvulgt, was fully operational, according to the Guyana Times. Uitvulgt, about twenty miles from Wales, will supposedly absorb some of the 1,600 workers who will be let go if the 2016 Budget and Action Plan proposed by the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) goes through. Negotiations between GuySuCo and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) over wages and production incentives have been deadlocked, and GuySuCo threatened that the strike actions would leave the Corporation with no alternative than to put a halt to the current crop. According to the Times, Many workers are yet to make a decision whether to transfer to Uitvulgt or to receive severance packages. Meanwhile workers have vowed to further intensify their strike and protest actions if the decision to close Wales is not rescinded. Residents fear that the closure of the plant will turn Wales into a ghost town. Trinidad teachers protest delays in salaries, promotions and working conditions Over 500 primary and secondary school teachers gathered in front of the Ministry of Education in Port of Spain, Trinidad to voice their anger over issues that have festered in some cases for years. The teachers held picket signs pointing out some of their complaints: waiting up to five years to be upgraded from assistant teacher to full teacher; delays in allowances for working teachers and in payment of increments; unfilled vacancies; unpaid pensions for retired teachers, in some cases for up to 18 months; crumbling infrastructure; lack of security at high-risk schools. The teachers are members of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA). At a recent general council meeting, the teachers voted to take the action. However, the protest only took place from 10 a.m. until about noon. The TTUTA and the ministry have been in several monthly meetings without any resolution of the issues. One TTUTA rep told guardian.co.tt, We would see more protests again if the ministry continues to nothing. We have had enough. Despite their use of phrases like enough is enough, empty promises and sending a powerful message, the TTUTA only recently acceded to the limited protest action, which had little impact on the school system. The United States United Continental mechanics demonstrate against concessions at airports across the country United Continental mechanics and maintenance workers held protest pickets at eight airports across the United States February 26. They are continuing their opposition to a concession proposal being pushed by management under conditions where the airlines registered a $7.2 billion profit in 2015 and while executives grabbed $3 billion in stock buybacks. Ten days previous, the 9,000 members of the Teamsters union voted by a 93 percent margin to reject the proposal, and, in a second vote, cast an overwhelming number of ballots to strike the airline. United Continental is demanding a lower tier wage scale for new hires that will pay half the wages and sharply curtail other benefits. Workers are also to be subjected to significant health care increases. Workers have gone without a raise for four years and are angry about the outsourcing of aircraft maintenance jobs. One of their goals is to recover their defined pension plan that was replaced by the inferior 401(k) retirement plan in 2002. The National Mediation Board, which has been mediating between the Teamsters and United management, has summoned the two sides to a conference on March 3. Canada Toronto outside workers accept concessions; work-to-rule continues inside Garbage collectors, parks-keepers and other outside workers voted to accept a tentative contract with the City of Toronto that includes wide-ranging concessions on job security and benefits and provides for a paltry 1.25 percent wage increase in each year of the four year pact. The 5,400 workers in Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 416 ratified the contract Thursday night after union officials had recommended it. Spokesmen for Local 416 had made it clear early on in negotiations that it would be reluctant to use the strike mandate given to them by the membership. Instead, they broke with 23,000 CUPE inside workers to negotiate an agreement that is now being used as a sledgehammer to force the inside workers to accept a similar concessions laden contract. The Local 416 agreement destroys job security protection for any worker who does not have 15 years seniority by 2019. The City had insisted on this provision to enable it to move forward with plans to further privatize garbage collection and other services by the end of the decade. In addition, sick benefits and pharmaceutical plans were also weakened. Union officials refused to announce the actual vote numbers. Many lower seniority workers strenuously opposed the deal. Meanwhile, 23,000 inside municipal workers in CUPE Local 79 began a work-to-rule last week as City negotiators and Mayor John Tory attempted to push through a contract similar to the outside workers. By Sunday, negotiations had broken down. Tory then ordered the citys final offer be placed on the municipalitys public website as a clear threat that its next step may be to unilaterally force the membership to vote on the deal. With a huge portion of the Local 79 workforce subject to precarious employment conditions (temporary work, seasonal employment, part-time hours, etc.), the issues of job security and stable scheduling have become paramount amongst the membership. It is estimated that, if accepted, 30 percent of the 23,000 inside workers would become vulnerable to layoff or privatization. The people of Malawi may soon have a significant increase in the electrical power they need, thanks to a new agreement between the United States Government and the Government of Malawi. Malawian Minister of Natural Resources, Energy, and Mining Bright Msaka, U.S. Ambassador to Malawi Virginia Palmer, and Power Africa Coordinator Andrew Herscowitz on February 26 signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Malawi regarding Malawis continued participation in the U.S. presidential initiative known as Power Africa. Power Africa is a U.S. Government-led initiative that helps bring critical power projects online and connects people to electricity by removing barriers, particularly the financial and regulatory roadblocks that have stood in the way of power delivery in sub-Saharan Africa. Power Africa represents the U.S. Governments commitment to supporting Malawi to achieve its electrification goals and improve the quality of life for thousands of Malawians, said Ambassador Palmer at the signing ceremony. In Malawi, Power Africa support will complement an existing $350 million grant from the US Government through the Millennium Challenge Corporation aimed at expanding access to electricity in Malawi. The United States is proud to partner with Malawi to help meet the countrys electricity needs for a better future for the people of Malawi and Africa. WASHINGTON - Donald Trump is mocking one of many protesters in Radford, Va. who interrupted the billionaire's rant about illegal immigration and Mexico. The protester shouted, and Trump said from the stage, "Are you from Mexico?" Several minutes of shouting and booing ensued. The protester was removed. Trump shouted, "Is it fun being at a Trump rally?" The crowd hooted and Trump briefly quieted them. Then he looked in front of the stage and asked a woman, "You have a problem? Get her out." That protester was removed, too. Trump added, "Believe it or not, we're going to unify this country." He again tried to deliver the punchline to a story but was interrupted. "You got another one over there? All right, get out." There are also two blogspot blogs which record what I think are my main recent articles here and here . Similar content can be more conveniently accessed via my subject-indexed list of short articles here or here (I rarely write long articles these days)(My frequent reads are starred)Email me here (Hotmail address).The archives provided by blogspot below are rather inconvenient. They break each month up into small bits. If you want to scan whole months at a time, the backup archives will suit better. See here or here A mob attacked a water meter reader at an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in Netanya on Monday, while four Jewish teenagers were indicted on Tuesday for attacking two Arab youth at the Netanya beach, raising concerns over the level of violence in the northern city. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Herzl Rokach, 68, was attacked on Monday by about 200 residents of the neighborhood of Kiryat Sanz, who thought him to be a burglar. "I went to Kiryat Sanz for work," said Rokach, who has been working as a water meter reader for the water supply corporation Mey Netanya for years. "At midday, I sat in my car to eat a sandwich. As I was eating it, a number of residents arrived and inquired as to what I was doing in the neighborhood. I introduced myself and they asked for my ID. I gave it to them and then dozens - and shortly thereafter hundreds - surrounded me. They said I came to break into their homes. I tried to explain to them that I only read water meters, but they started punching and kicking me. For a half hour, they hit me. I was unable to defend myself and they eventually picked me up and hurled me over a two-meter tall fence. I landed on my back and felt excruciating pain. Then they resumed hitting me." Herzl Rokah at Lanaido Hospital "They simply carried out a lynching," he added. "It does not matter to them that I wear a yarmulke on my head or that I am an older man. They also would not stop yelling, 'We are worse than Gaza.' I wanted to die already because I could not take the pain anymore. I told myself it would be better if I died." "I felt humiliated," he continued. "They treated me like a terrorist and I am a Jew who wears a yarmulke, just like them. They also damaged my car's windshield and mirrors and punctured its tires, and they robbed me. They stole my wallet, my cell phone, and a gold necklace that my wife gave me on one of our wedding anniversaries. The necklace reminds of her because she passed away two years ago." A passerby called the Netanya police, which arrived on the scene and rescued Rokach, and then took him to the Laniado Medical Center, where he was hospitalized in moderate condition. Police opened an investigation into the incident, but have yet to make any arrests. Mey Netanya said in a statement: "A contracted worker who reads water meters in Netanya was violently assaulted by Haredi residents. He was wounded and later treated a local hospital. This is a very serious incident. We wish the wounded worker a speedy recovery and hope the Israel Police brings the assailants to justice." Jewish teens attack Arab youth On Tuesday, four Jewish teenagers, aged 17, were charged with the assault and battery of two Arab youth at the beach in Netanya in a racially-motivated attack. According to the indictment, two weeks ago, the four Jewish teens were at the beach drinking alcohol when one of them noticed the two Arabs youth, prompting him to curse the Prophet Mohammed. The two Arabs ignored the attempted provocation and started heading away from the beach. At this point, one of the defendants threw a large rock at them, while the other three swore at them, calling out "Death to Arabs." The two Arabs tried to escape, but the group of attackers pursued them and kept hurling stones and empty glass bottles at them. Later, according to the indictment, the Jews beat up the Arabs and threw a bottle of beer at one of them, hitting his head. The two Arabs were able to escape into an elevator, but the defendants managed to drag one of them out. The defendants called out "terrorist" and hit the victim in all parts of his body, kicking his head, stepping on him and strangling him. The defendants later encouraged other people who were at the scene to hit the victim as well. The four Jewish teens left the victim bruised and lying on the ground and fled the scene. He tried to get up but collapsed and lost his consciousness, and was later taken to hospital for medical treatment. Attorney Miron Rosenthal, who represents one of the defendants, claimed that "the State Attorney and the police did everything they could for the motive in this case to be racism. I have no doubt this will be refuted and that it turns out to be a spontaneous fight between young guys over a romantic-related incident." Right-wing activist Yehuda Glick on Tuesday visited the Temple Mount for the first time since he was shot at the site in October 2014 by Islamic Jihad operative Muataz Hijazi. A court acquitted Glick last week of the allegations that he had broken the hand of a Muslim woman at the Temple Mount and removed his ban from the site. Glick had been banned from entering the compound before the shooting. A court ruled in May 2015 that Glick may visit the Temple Mount compound once a month but without carrying a camera or a smartphone. The NGO Fighters For Life is sending 25 IDF veterans to volunteer for two weeks in the city of Gondar in Ethiopia in memory of Golani infantryman Nissim Sean Carmeli , a lone soldier who was killed during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "Team Sean" will head to northern Ethiopia every year to teach English and music, as well as work on the refurbishment of orphanages. The late Nissim Sean Carmeli, 20 thousand people were at his funeral Fighters For Life, formed by three officers from the IDF's elite Duvdevan unit, operates several other teams of Israeli veterans in memory of fallen soldiers. Team Daniel heads to Mumbai, India every September in memory of Daniel Pomerantz, and every December, Team Oz heads to Argentina to honor the memory of Oz Mendelovich. Pomerantz and Mendelovich were also killed during Operation Protective Edge. "We don't plan to stop there," said Yair Attias, the deputy director of Fighters For Life. "The aim is to make Israel into a world power in humanitarian aid throughout the third world. Israel has already become a powerhouse in high-tech, science and agriculture, there is no reason it can't become a powerhouse in volunteerism and charity as well. This type of action is totally part of all of our Israeli-Jewish DNA. The team members who are going to Ethiopia Some 350 IDF veterans volunteered to go to Ethiopia, but only 25 were selected after undergoing five days of intensive interviews. The 25 backpackers will cover the cost of the flight to Ethiopia themselves, but all other costs during their stay will be covered by Fighters For Life. After their time volunteering comes to an end, the backpackers will each continue trekking in Ethiopia, which has recently become an attractive destination for Israelis. "Fighters For Life's work has an enormous significance for us as Jews, Israelis and most of all, for us as human beings," said Fighters For Life director, former Air Force commander Maj.-Gen. Eliezer Shkedi. Founder Gili Cohen said that "so far, the project has received international press coverage 19 times, and our goal is definitely to show the world a different side of Israel that is more beautiful and real." Yehuda Glick visited the Temple Mount on Tuesday for the first time since an attempt on his life in October 2014. The right-wing activist was acquitted last week of a charge that he attacked a Palestinian woman at the compound, thus cancelling the restraining order barring him from visiting the site. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The alleged incident took place two months before the assassination attempt. On August 31, 2014, Zoya Badarna, a 67-year-old resident of Araba, accused Glick of pushing her, knocking her down and breaking her arm at the Temple Mount. Police prosecutors filed an indictment against him, charging him with assault and he was expelled from the Temple Mount until the end of proceedings. Yehuda Glick this morning on the Temple Mount (Photo : Arnon Segal) Glick, represented by public defender Yitzhak Bam, denied the accusation and said the police chose to believe her story in order stop his controversial visits to the Temple Mount. Although the complex is full of security cameras, and his arrival on the scene that day was documented both by the police and by the Palestinians who were present, the prosecution could not present the court with any photographic evidence indicating that Glick had attacked the plaintiff. (Photo: Arnon Segal) Recently, after significant discrepancies were discovered in the woman's testimony, the police prosecution withdrew the indictment and the Jerusalem Magistrates Court acquitted Glick of all charges. Over his years of activity in favor of Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, Glick often encountered the government, police and the courts. The Jerusalem District Court ruled that Glick will not receive compensation from the police of half a million shekels he had been awarded because of the ban on him at the beginning of the decade to go on the Temple Mount. The judges accepted the appeal filed by the police and reversed the decision that was made at the Magistrates Court, but explained that the ban was obtained under reasonable circumstances and was not grounds for compensation. However, Glick himself may continue the proceedings and appeal to the High Court of Justice. A recent gathering of American Reform rabbis in Jerusalem was meant to celebrate the small gains the liberal Jewish movement has made in Israel in recent years. But a series of comments by Israeli officials denigrating the group marred the event, reflecting an awkward relationship that many fear is alienating the world's second-largest Jewish community from Israel. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The Reform Movement is the largest stream of Judaism in the United States, claiming to represent 1.5 million people, and its members provide a key source of financial support and political advocacy for Israel. But the movement is marginal in Israel, where religious affairs are dominated by the Orthodox rabbinical establishment. Israeli lawmakers, both secular and ultra-Orthodox, have repeatedly disparaged the group, questioning their Judaism and accusing them of promoting Jewish assimilation. "How do you ask Jews around the world to support Israel politically, economically, socially ... and at the same time you have these ministers who say to our people 'you're not really Jewish' or 'you don't have a place here in Israel?' That incongruity is a real problem for us," said Rabbi Steven Fox, the chief executive of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which held its septennial convention in Israel last week. The group represents 2,000 rabbis. Reform Rabbi Nicole Greninger, right, takes a picture of other American and Israeli Reform rabbis as they pray in the Western Wall In the US, Reform synagogues are commonplace, characterized by practices such as mixed-gender prayers, services led by female rabbis and members who drive to synagogue on the Sabbath -- customs that violate Orthodox norms. In Israel, Reform Judaism is at best seen as a curiosity and at worst, a threat. This in turn has placed obstacles in the way of the movement's effort to make inroads in Israel, beaten back by an Orthodox monopoly over Jewish rituals such as marriage, burials and conversions. Reform rabbis have made small gains in Israel, and in January, the movement was jubilant over perhaps its greatest victory -- Israel's announcement that it would create a special mixed-gender prayer area at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The wall, managed by an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who opposes having Reform customs at the site, is the holiest place where Jews can pray. The new area will also permit women to wear prayer shawls and skullcaps, a rite reserved for men under Orthodox custom. The announcement came after three years of painstaking negotiations between Israeli officials and the liberal streams of Judaism and appeared to mark a historic turning point in relations between Israel and diaspora Jews. American Reform Rabbi, Zachary Shapiro, center right, and other American and Israeli Reform rabbis pray in the Western Wall But right after the plan was approved, Israel's secular Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said the Reform movement was a "waning world." He accused it of tolerating intermarriage, encouraging assimilation and predicted the mixed-prayer area would become unnecessary within two or three generations. Under religious law, Jews cannot marry non-Jews. Even after Reform rabbis criticized him, Levin expressed no remorse. "It's very important that we'll be aware of the problem of assimilation and do our best efforts in order to solve it," he told The Associated Press. A chorus of other lawmakers, most of them Orthodox, have publicly lashed out at the Reform movement. As the rabbis' convention was kicking off, a legislator from an ultra-Orthodox party compared the movement to the "mentally ill." The rhetoric has put Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a tough spot. He met the visiting rabbis but, wary of antagonizing religious factions in his coalition, his office made no announcement of the meeting, as it typically does with nearly all visitors. Fox, the rabbi group's chief executive, said the encounter was "more positive" than past meetings with Netanyahu, though they were surprised by the absence of the public announcement. When asked by the AP, Netanyahu's office declined to comment on the meeting. "The ministers here paint us as if we're not really Jewish. And the ignorance they display makes my congregants ... think 'is Israel really that backward of a nation?' It reflects poorly on the state of Israel," said Rabbi Denise Eger, another leader of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. For decades, American Jewry -- the second largest Jewish community in the world after Israel -- has served as a bedrock of support for Israel. But there are signs of that support eroding, particularly among younger and more liberal Jews. Jay Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation, a Boston-based group that teaches Israeli leaders about the American Jewish community, said that at a time when Israel faces so many challenges, it makes no "strategic sense" for Israeli leaders to alienate American Jews. "A smart politician would say, 'These Jews are different than us, but they play a very important strategic role,'" he said. Beyond the Western Wall compromise, the Reform rabbis say they do see progress elsewhere as well. Israel's Supreme Court ruled last month that the country's ritual baths must accept all converts to Judaism, even those who have undergone non-Orthodox conversions outside the country. The rabbis also point to the movement's small but growing base in Israel and their invitation to a parliamentary committee during their convention last week, where lawmakers, mainly from centrist parties, showered them with gratitude and praise. "When I read statements by the Israeli tourism minister about Reform Judaism in the United States, it comes from a denial and a misunderstanding and an ignorance about the importance of the powerful contribution that you make to relations between the two countries," Nachman Shai, a lawmaker from the centrist Zionist Union, told the packed auditorium, where women and men wore rainbow-colored skullcaps and sang Hatikva, Israel's national anthem. Reform leaders told the meeting that the harsh reactions from some lawmakers were an unfortunate but expected response to the gains the movement has made."These are clearly changes that are long overdue," said Rabbi Richard Jacobs, the President of the Union for Reform Judaism. "The change signals to the ultra-Orthodox that there will no longer be a monopoly." WASHINGTON - The top NATO commander in Europe, US Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, said Tuesday that the daily refugee flow into Europe is "masking the movement" of terrorists, criminals and foreign fighters into the continent. In congressional testimony, Breedlove said the Islamic State extremist group is "spreading like a cancer" within this mix, taking advantage of paths of least resistance, threatening European nations and the United States with terrorist attacks. Breedlove told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the refugee flow has to be monitored carefully. He also noted that Russia's actions in Syria have "wildly exacerbated the problem," with Moscow and Syrian President Bashar Assad using migration as a weapon to break European resolve. A public discussion scheduled between a senior advisor to the Palestinian Authority and MK Ofer Shelah (Yesh Atid) at the Hebrew University was cancelled at the last minute on Tuesday afternoon amid reports that threats were made to the PA advisors life. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Dr. Mahmoud al-Habbash, a senior aide to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas who also serves as the Supreme Judge in the PA sharia courts, and MK Selah were to discuss a variety of political issues including the stalled peace process, the current security situation, and present barriers to peace at the event held at the Truman Institute for Peace. An hour before the event, however, a press release from the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace announced the decision to cancel it after receiving "notification from Palestinian Authority officials that their highest security echelons had received information about threats to Dr. al-Habbash's life," resulting in their prohibiting him from attending the meeting. Yesh Atid MK Ofer Shelah (Photo: Ofer Meir) Neither the Palestinian Authority nor the Hebrew University would specify who had issued the threats, but the official Palestinian news agency WAFA issued a statement in Arabic asserting that in light of extreme right wing incitement both within and without the university campus, al-Habbash decided to call off his participation. Truman Institute Director Prof. Menachem Blondheim claimed that the university had also received various threats and that members of the Jewish right-wing Im Tirzu organization had previously demonstrated against the event, they were not deemed severe enough to cancel the event. I am not surprised because we also received threats and they seemed to be from the Israeli side. But we live in a peaceful state and we believe that security forces can control an event when they say they can. They assured us that it would be ok, he said. Blondheim expressed disappointment in the cancellation of the event, particularly given the investment and effort involved. evertheless, he emphasized that peace remained the ultimate goal and that the university would continue to pursue efforts to create a climate of mutual understanding. In principle, nothing will change and our efforts to maintain a deeper understanding between the sides will continue. We are not going to stop and we are not scared. Peace is absolutely necessary. We were only worried for the safety of our guests, the speaker, and the audience, Blondheim told TPS. This has been a long time in the making, but in our continuing pursuit to bring only the best of firearms, 2nd Amendment and defence related news to our readers, we are very excited to announce the next step in our evolution as a company. As of 2020, Minuteman Review is now the proud owner and operator of Your Defence News, a website with a long history of breaking huge news stories and investigative journalism. We hope you are equally as excited as us. This means that now the teams of Minuteman can combine with the firepower of Your Defence News to stay at the absolute forefront for our readers. Keep an eye. Big things are coming soon. We couldn't be more excited. In the meanwhile, here are some of our most popular posts and categories to keep you busy. Happy shootin' my friends! Buying Guides: Firearms Firearm Accessories Ammunition Gun Safes Scopes & Optics Hunting Air Rifles Best AR-15 Best AR 15 Scope Best Hunting Rifle Best Gun Safe Best AK 47 Best AR 10 Best Glock Triggers Best Glock Best Home Defense Shotgun This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 18 years and 38,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going. Released yesterday, CoreLogics February Home Value Index has revealed that dwelling values in Australias capital cities rose by a combined 0.5% in February. In the three months to February, capital city values rose by a combined 1.4%, while they are up a combined 7.4% over the year. While Sydney still holds the highest median dwelling value of any capital city market, the New South Wales capital is the only market that saw a decline in value in the three months to February, down 0.2%. The median dwelling value rose 3.8% in Melbourne, 2% in Brisbane and 1.5% in Canberra. Median values in Darwin and Adelaide rose 0.3%, while Perth saw a 0.2% rise over the three-month period. In somewhat of a surprise, Hobart was easily the strongest performer over the quarter, with an 8.5% increase, while its 2.9% increase was also the strongest seen in the month of February. The Tasmanian capital also had the third highest rate of growth over the 12 months to February, with its 6.2% increase behind only that of Melbournes 11.1% and Sydneys 9.5%. Source: CoreLogic RP Data Tim Lawless, research head at CoreLogic, said that year-on-year growth is the strongest seen in Hobart since mid-2010 and is a prime illustration of how markets that have been underperforming in recent years are beginning to show signs of life. The trend in home value growth is showing signs of increasing in those markets that have previously underperformed. These include Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra, Lawless said. Affordability constraints arent as apparent in these cities and rental yields havent been compressed to the same extent as what they have in Melbourne or Sydney, he said. The strong recent performance of Hobart is of no surprise to Rob Zubin, managing director of My Property Hunter. Right now theres a pretty positive view of Hobart and its surrounds. Anywhere within a 20-minute walk of the CBD is really showing some good signs and proving to be pretty popular, Zubin said. Right now the level of economic activity in Hobart and Tasmania is stronger than Ive seen in anytime over the last 20 years. Right now weve got two or three major hotels going up, the university has a huge project going and so does the hospital, he said. Zubin said he expects activity to pick up even more in the next 12 18 months as those developments continue, while the states burgeoning tourism industry is also expected to continue to improve. Zubin said he believes prices in Hobart are currently fair value, and he said the city has recently seen investors taking a much closer look at it. The last 12 months weve seen investors start to take a bit more notice. From 2009-13 they really shied away from here, but now the affordability issues in Sydney and Melbourne have them looking for somewhere with a lower base. What people are finding is that the market has a lot to offer. For those that want to take a bit more of risk, they can pick up a house on the north side of town for $150,000 and chase the higher yields. In the inner city, which is pretty affordable at around $350,000, you can get a bit more of balance with yields at around 6% and capital growth of 3% or 4% over the year. According to the CoreLogic index, Hobart boasts rental yields of 5% for houses and 5.1% for units. Darwin, at 5.2% for houses and 5.3% for units, has the best yields in the country. Melbourne, at 2.9% for houses and 4% for units, is the worst market in terms of yields. 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... Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy Raipur: Maoists have killed at least ten persons in the Abhujmad area of Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Narayanpur district after suspecting them to be informers in the last few days, police said on Tuesday. "The incidents took place at various villages located inside the core area of Abhujmad under Narayanpur and Orchha police station limits during the past week," a senior police official told PTI. So far police had received specific information of killing of ten villagers by the ultras, he said, adding that security forces had been rushed to these villages. The forces have been directed to be extra cautious while moving in forests so as not to fall into any trap, he said. "We have reports of murder of four villagers in past two- three days in remote pockets of Abhujmad," Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena told PTI. There were similar reports from elsewhere too and police teams had been sent to verify them, he said. According to police sources, some senior Maoist leaders recently met in Abhujmad after the ultras suffered major setbacks in encounters with police in the region. "These killings are outcome of the frustration of their senior leaders with the increasing pressure of security forces in their so-called liberated zone," the SP said. On February 27 night, a local man called Sukhram Poyam was shot dead by rebels at village Kundla under Kurusnar police station limits, who suspected him to be a police informer. ELKO Engaging your child in a conversation about sex doesnt have to be difficult. Please join Family Resource Center staff Thursday at either 5:30 or 6 p.m. for a short presentation on learning how to talk to your children about healthy relationships, preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. Meghan Campbell, teen health educator at the Family Resource Center staff, says, We care about the health and well-being of youth and want to equip parents with the tools required to make it easier to talk with their children. We make it easy by offering free classes for youth ages 9 to 12. By enrolling your child in the class, parents find it opens up a family dialogue and presents the opportunity for the parent to have those difficult conversations and provides an opportunity to communicate family values. Vicki Sharp enrolled her daughter in the program, and said she had been worried about how to approach her 10-year-old. I would highly recommend this class to all parents. It is an environment where your child is comfortable and able to ask questions they may initially feel uncomfortable talking about, said Sharp. I thought she was just too young, so I found it difficult to approach the subject with her, but Meghan, at the Family Resource Center, was great with her. My daughter felt comfortable and I think she probably listened to her better than she might have with me. The class opened up a gateway so when my daughter had questions we could discuss it further without embarrassment, Sharp said. As hard as it may be, having the conversation early is important if we want to protect youth from unplanned pregnancy and disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control, each year about one-million teenage girls become pregnant in the United States. During a National Conference of State Legislators in 2013, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy reported that during 2011 there were 3,867 Nevada girls between the ages of 15 and 19 who became pregnant. The CDC also reports that every year three million teens in the United States contract a sexually transmitted disease. In 2011, young people aged 13-24 accounted for about 21 percent of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States. The Nevada Teen Health and Safety Coalition found that more than 11,000 chlamydia cases were reported in 2012 in Nevada, with 66.5 percent of those cases occurring in those younger than 25 years old. Another parent, Patty Hunt, said, This was a class about setting goals, and how the risks of unplanned pregnancy and STIs can affect achieving those goals. By framing my conversations with my daughters, ages 9 and 12, about goals and how to avoid unplanned pregnancy and STIs, it made the conversations less awkward and weird. My kids felt comfortable learning in a class with others their age and felt safe asking questions. I would recommend this class to all parents that want their kids to avoid unplanned pregnancies and STIs. Teaching your children about love, intimacy and sex is an important role all parents must play. Finding the right atmosphere is difficult, and some parents may avoid or postpone what can be an uncomfortable discussion. However, its important not to put it off. This special event at the Family Resource Center features refreshments and fun door prizes. Parents can learn more about the teen health classes, upcoming schedules, and talk with Campbell about the curriculum. Seating is limited, so please call 753-7352 to reserve a seat for the parent workshop. The class opened up a gateway so when my daughter had questions we could discuss it further without embarrassment. Vicki Sharp New Delhi: Two Delhi University students, belonging to the Left-affiliated AISA, said they were beaten up in their college on Tuesday when they attempted to paste posters for a students` march to parliament to condemn the "crackdown" on JNU. The two students who are All India Students` Association (AISA) members in Satyawati college (DU) said that the incident took place in the campus after some others students raised objection against the posters. "We were pasting the posters when some students came to us and tore them down and raised some objections. Some of the professors passing by advised them to approach the college administration if they had a problem with it (the poster). Instead they (the objecting students) came back with more people. About 15-20 people then attacked us," Dhanpal Singh, a third year BA (Honours) political science student, told IANS. According to Dhanpal, his colleague Raj Singh was severly beaten up by the "goons". However, he said that he cannot ascertain if the group belonged to any students organisation. They were later taken to Deepchand Bandhu hospital in north Delhi`s Ashok Vihar. The poster, issued by Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union, states students march to Parliament on Wednesday to condemn the crackdown on JNU students. Dhanpal also alleged that the incident took place in front of the police and college security staff who "stood silently" and were "mute spectators". The college administration, however, denied claims that the two were beaten up, saying that it was only a tussle between students. "An internal complaint committee will be looking into the matter," said a Satyawati college administrative official. Panaji: In a new chapter in Indo-Mauritian Defence co-operation, Goa government launched a Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV), 'MCGS Victory', designed and built in-house by Goa Shipyard Limited for Mauritius Coast Guard. Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, while addressing a gathering at the launch here on Monday, lauded the work being done in the shipyard. He said the awarding of Rs 32,000 crores MCMV (Mine Counter-Measures Vessel, also called as mine-sweepers) project is set to minimise the impact of mining restrictions, and will boost the state's economy by creating more job opportunities for the locals and setting up ancillary units. Parsekar also complimented GSL's work force for their skills and positive attitude. On the occasion, Mauritius High Commissioner J Goburdhan highlighted the important role of the vessels, being built at GSL, in safeguarding their vast maritime zone. He said that based on the high professional capability and track record of GSL, the Mauritius government is confident of getting these high-quality ships within contractual delivery time. GSL's Chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral (Retd) Shekhar Mital said, "Contract of the vessel was signed on May 17, 2014, while the keel of the vessel was laid on Dec 18, 2014." Launching of first of the series vessel within 14 months of keel laying is a record in itself, he said. He assured that the vessel, as per the track record of GSL, will be delivered ahead of the contractual schedule of September 2016. "This vessel is primarily designed for coastal patrolling, anti-piracy, anti-smuggling and anti-drug surveillance, anti-poaching, and search and rescue operations," he said. The vessel is fitted with 30 mm CRN-91 gun, 12.7 mm heavy machine guns and 7.62 mm medium machine guns, besides state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment. It is capable of achieving a high speed of 35 knots, as per a GSL release. GSL is the largest exporter of ships from Indian sub-continent and is presently executing export orders worth Rs 1,200 crore, the CMD said. Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida was also present among other prominent dignitaries, at the launch. New Delhi: The Congress Party on Tuesday slammed the status report filed by the Haryana Government refuting the mass gang-rapes in Murthal during the Jat agitation, and demanded the imposition of President`s Rule in the state. "I fully contradict the report of the DGP. There was no law and order. Three truck drivers have given statement that women were dragged into the field there. One victim has lodged an FIR that there was mass gang-rapes," Congress leader Pramod Tiwari told ANI. Asserting that the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government has failed to maintain law and order in the state, he insisted that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should enquire the matter and severe action should be taken against the guilty. "I think that the DGP and the Haryana Police cannot be believed. A severe action should be taken against the government which has failed to maintain the Constitution and President`s rule should be imposed and the CBI should enquire the matter," he said. Submitting a status report on the alleged Murthal gang-rapes, the Haryana Government had yesterday told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that no incidents were reported from Haryana`s Sonipat district during the recent Jat agitation. The preliminary status report was submitted following investigations into the matter by a three-member all-women special investigation team (SIT) constituted last week by the Haryana Government. The SIT report said that no woman had come forward to lodge a complaint of gang-rapes in Murthal on February 22. The court had taken suo moto cognizance of a report of mass gang-rape of women in Murthal near Sonepat on February 22, and had asked the government and the state police to submit a status report on the issue.Earlier, some locals, including truck drivers, had claimed they had seen women being dragged to the fields by the protesters. TV channels showed footage of garments worn by women strewn in some places. New Delhi: Terror outfit al Qaeda on Tuesday allegedly hacked a microsite of the Railnet page of the Indian Railway to show its sinister reach for the first time. It later left the page. The hacked page of Bhusawal division of Personnel Department of the Central Railway and part of a large intranet created for the department's administrative needs, was replaced by a message of Maulana Aasim Umar, al Qaeda chief in south Asia, for all Indian Muslims. "Why is there no storm in your ocean? A message for Muslims of India from Maulana Aasim Umar (May Allah protect him)," read the message. An attached 11-page document on the hacked page read: "Will the land of Delhi not give birth to a Shah Muhadith Delhvi who may once again teach the Muslims of India the forgotten lesson of Jihad and inspire them to take to the battlefields of Jihad?" "Is there no successor left of the group that drenched itself in blood at Balakot, who possesses the spirit of rising in rebellion against a system based on disbelief and offering one's life for Allah?," the message said. Through the message, the Muslims in India were encouraged to participate in 'jihad' and help defeat the United State and its allies. Umar was a resident of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh and was appointed chief of the Al Qaeda in the Indian sub-continent (AQIS) last year. Umar, also known as Sanaul Haq, allegedly joined the jihadist circle after the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992. Educated at the famous Dar-ul-Uloom seminary at Deoband, from where he graduated in 1991, Umar, investigators say, disappeared from Sambhal in 1995. Delhi: In what could escalate war of words between the Congress and the BJP, former under secretary, internal security, RVS Mani, has come forward and revealed certain details about Ishrat Jehan case. Mani's revelations have come close on the heels of comments on the controversial case by former home secretary GK Pillai. Mani told Times Now in an interview on Tuesday that he did not draft the second affidavit. "I was asked to go and file it, so I went and filed it. It was an order for me. The conduct rules for us is very clear that if I am ordered something, I have to go and execute it. Rule 3 of the CCS conduct rules is very clear about it. I cannot refuse," he told the news channel. Mani added, "I cannot say what the need for the affidavit was, you will have to ask people who ordered it." The former under secretary also said, "I believe in the input of the intelligence bureau. I have received the intelligence bureau's input, R&AW's input for five long years. Every time I found them to be precise, exact, accurate. In fact I have said so in the NK Ameen case in the Supreme Court, my affidavit captures about these intelligence inputs. They are doing a wonderful job." When asked as to who drafted the second affidavit, Mani said, "It was not drafted at my level. It was not drafted at my level, two immediate seniors did not draft it as far as I remember." And when queried as to whether it drafted at a political level, he maintained, "The home secretary is the highest serving officer in the home ministry. There is no officer senior to him in the ministry. So if, up to his level if it has not been drafted, then you can draw the conclusion that it was someone above him." He also claimed, Satish Verma was head of the unit of SIT and he was helped by two three cronies who were all engineering evidences. That's what I can say. "CBI said IB input is not believable. I refused to back what CBI said," he added. At the same time Mani revealed, "So many officers, people chased me. In June 2013, I was burnt with cigarettes." Reacting to the developments, BJP called an emergency media briefing late in the evening on Tuesday and accused Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram of misusing his office and trying to use the Ishrat case to frame Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Addressing the press at BJP headquarters, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications and Information Technology said, "Enough suspicious circumstances have arisen from the statements of the home secretary, confirmed by the then under secretary that the decision was taken by Mr Chidambaram by bypassing them by changing the complete complexion (of the case). On behalf of the BJP, I ask as to why the affidavit was changed, for what purpose it was changed and who was pressurizing whom?" He also said that perhaps Chidambaram was not acting on his own. "Chidambaram was not doing it on his own. He was following order of Congress party's top high command," Prasad said. "The former home minister must be probed but also other top Congress leaders must be probed. Did Congress party because of their political enmity compromise with the security of the nation? Did Congress party compromise with the national security due to its hate for Modi? I am talking on behalf of my party," he said. "Were you questioning NIA, IB and RAW just to lay a trap for Narendra Modi and Amit Shah?" he asked Chidambaram. "There was a consistent campaign against Mr Narendra Modi that he needs to be framed, Amit Shah needs to be framed by hook or by by crook. And the entire government machinery was abused. BJP demands that the government of India investigate this. We are demanding that a fair inquiry be done on the entire flip flop on the Ishrat Jahan case," he said. Asked if he wanted a judicial probe, Prasad said "we are not closing that option." The revelations by Mani has come after former home secretary Pillai claimed that Chidambaram had changed the second affidavit in the Ishrat case. Pillai has said that as home minister during UPA government, Chidambaram had recalled the file a month after the original affidavit, which described Ishrat and her slain aides as LeT operatives, was filed in Supreme Court. "Only after the affidavit was revised, as directed by the minister, did the file come to me," Pillai is quoted as saying by a media report. The then UPA government had submitted two affidavits - one that the four, who were killed in an alleged fake encounter, were terrorists and the second saying there was no conclusive evidence - within two months in 2009. Chidambaram had said yesterday that the second affidavit in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case was "absolutely correct" and as minister then "I accept the responsibility". Chidambaram had also expressed disappointment over Pillai distancing himself from the affidavit issue despite being "equally responsible". "Which part of the second affidavit is wrong? I accept the responsibility for this affidavit. It is disappointing that the home secretary, who is equally responsible, wants to distance himself from that," Chidambaram had said at a press conference. "It was brought to my notice that the first affidavit was filed without my approval and it was being misinterpreted. It was my duty to correct the first affidavit. So we filed a supplementary affidavit after consulting the home secretary, the director of Intelligence Bureau and other officers," he had added, as per ANI. Later refuting the Congress leader, Pillai told a news channel that Chidambaram had called a lower functionary in the Intelligence Bureau and totally rewrote the affidavit. He also said that Chidambaram shouldn't say that the IB and the home secretary were on board. Meanwhile, Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi today accused BJP of spreading a lie about American-Pakistani terrorist David Headley and said it was very unfortunate that the ruling party was resorting to false propaganda. "Congress has never supported or opposed the guilt issue of Ishrat Jahan if established in a court of law or any procedure known to law. If IB had intellignce inputs, Ishrat Jahan would have been prosecuted. Entire Congress stand was that irrespective of guilt, a guilty person cannot be assassinated or liquidated without due process of law which is what happened in Modi's autocratic rule in Gujarat," he said, as per PTI. Insisting that India was a proud democracy where Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab face full trial upto the Supreme Court, he said police did not kill the Parliament attack convict or the 26/11 perpetrator in a fake encounter. The point being made is that after an enquiry the matter went to the Ahmedabad metropoletan court during Modi's rule and the court's probe found that it was a fake encounter, he said. The then state government challenged it in High Court but in vain, Singhvi said. Singhvi said the affidavits only clarified that the guilt by IB was an input. "We have nothing to do with that. If guilty, she will be punished. But the fake encounter is not permitted." He wondered if all this was being done because the Modi governemnt wanted to stop the prosecution of guilty policemen. "Is it intervening to lead to their acquittal?" Singhvi asked. Ishrat, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an encounter with Gujarat Police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004. The city crime branch had then said that those killed in the encounters were LeT terrorists and had landed in Gujarat to kill the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. (With Agency inputs) New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar's fate will be decided on Wednesday by the Delhi High Court which is likely to pronounce its order on his bail plea in the sedition case. Justice Pratibha Rani had yesterday reserved the order after over three hours of hearing on the bail plea of Kanhaiya who is accused of raising anti-India slogans inside JNU campus during an event organised on February 9. During the hearing, while Kanhaiya's counsel had argued that the student leader had never raised any slogans against the nation, Delhi Police had maintained that there was evidence that he and others were shouting anti-India slogans and were holding Afzal Guru's posters. Police had claimed that Kanhaiya was "not cooperating" in the probe and even came out with "contradictory" statements in joint interrogation by Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Delhi Police. The defence lawyers including senior advocate Kapil Sibal had countered the allegations saying there were "some outsiders with covered faces who raised anti-India slogans and Kanhaiya was seen in CCTV footage asking them for their identity cards." The bench had also asked tough questions to the police on slapping sedition charge on the accused and asked it to show evidence against him of his "active role" in raising anti- India slogans. Kanhaiya had also distanced himself from Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, the two other accused arrested in the case. During the hearing, the Delhi government's counsel had urged the court to grant bail to Kanhaiya, who is currently in Tihar Jail under judicial custody. He was arrested on February 12 in the case which was registered under sections 124 A (sedition) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. According to the police, a group of students had on February 9 held an event in the campus and allegedly shouted slogans against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Guru. New York: Students from two US universities gathered here to express their solidarity with the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) who were arrested in a case of sedition and criminal conspiracy. Students, including Indian-Americans, from New York University (NYU) and Cooper Union college in New York gathered at Washington Square Park to support JNU Students Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar and other students who were arrested on sedition charges last month, Washington Square News newspaper reported on Monday. An Indian-American student said during the protest that the primary purpose of the event was to raise awareness about Kumar`s arrest. "[Kumar] was arrested for making these comments against the government, even though he was not actually saying anything against the government, he was just having this poetry reading," Anjana Sreedhar said. "We are protesting against the fact that he was arrested under the sedition law which is very antiquated and very outdated," Sreedhar added. Sreedhar, along with several other students read English transcripts of Kumar`s speech during the poetry reading and asked if his words warranted arrest. They also encouraged passersby and attendees to attend a forum discussion at Cooper Union next week. A student activist at the NYU Sumathy Kumar said she attended the rally because she wants to show her support to the JNU students who were "beaten and arrested and so much violence was being committed against them just for speaking out". "I am an activist, and I think we take it for granted sometimes that we have the right to dissent and that home where my parents are from and where I call my ancestors are from, they are not allowed to dissent," Kumar said. Anthropology professor Tejaswini Ganti said that she was glad students were voicing support for JNU`s students and that universities should be an open forum for all opinions - even those that dissent against the governing party. Mangalore: He is a small trader in Sullia near Mangalore of Karnataka. He was fed up with frequent power cuts. He decided to inform the state's power minister about the power woes. And, now he has been booked for criminal intimidation, intentional insult to provoke breach of peace and deterring public servants from doing their duty! Sai Giridhar Rai, a small time trader, has been booked in a criminal case after he rang up Karnataka Power Minister DK Shivakumar to complain about irregular supply of electricity, according to a report in CNN-IBN. Karnataka is currently a Congress-ruled state. Karnataka Power Minister DK Shivakumar received the cast last Sunday. Reportedly, the minister started abusing him and eventually the conversation led to a heated argument. Following the call, the Congress minister DK Shivakumar ordered the local power department to lodge a criminal case against Rai. The local police has booked a case of criminal intimidation, intentional insult to provoke breach of peace, and deterring public servants from doing their duty against Sai Giridhar Rai. However, DK Shivakumar says that Rai had abused him and that's why he informed the police. But, Rai claims that Shivakumar had abused him. Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's vision of a friendly neighbourhood has been the driving force for normalisation of relations with India, parliament was told on Tuesday. Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan made the remarks while responding to questions in the Senate, the Upper House of bicameral parliament. Pakistan wants to achieve the objective of friendly neighbourhood by resolution of all the outstanding issues, including Kashmir, with India, Radio Pakistan quoted the minister as saying. He said that the two countries had agreed to restart the comprehensive bilateral dialogue to address all the outstanding issues but the progress is stalled because of the Pathankot terror attack. To a supplementary question, he said Pakistan has objections to the design of Kishanganga project by India and efforts are being made to address the issue at the level of Indus Basin Commission. Khan told the House that the government is taking the issue of security of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) offices in abroad seriously and it has taken up the issue of attack on its offices in New Delhi with the Indian government. Responding to a call attention notice, he said response of the Indian government was positive and they have conveyed that security of PIA offices would be ensured. Washington: Pakistan on Tuesday said it may make JeM leader Masood Azhar, the mastermind of the Pathankot terror attack, available to Indian investigating agencies for questioning, but it will first investigate the case. Aziz also described as "outdated" Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's remarks that non-state actors operate in Pakistan with support of the establishment and said he needs to update this narrative. "First of all, we have to investigate ourselves and (find out) what it is... If he (Masood) does something (wrong) we would move against (him)," Sartaj Aziz, the Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Pakistan Prime Minister, told Defense Writers Group at a breakfast meeting today. Aziz was responding to a question if Pakistan would make Masood available for interrogation if the JeM leader is found guilty of the Pathankot terrorist attack. He was asked the question twice during an hour-long meeting with reporters over a breakfast. "Is he (Masood) going to be shared with India for interrogation?" he was asked by a journalist. "I think, (Pakistan's) response to (terrorist attack in) Pathankot has been very positive and prompt. Prime Minister (Nawaz Sharif) immediately called the Indian Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and said we are ready to co-operate," he said. "So whatever intelligence came from there (India), national security advisor, immediate action was taken to take under protective custody some of their leaders as well as sealed their facilities, set up a joint investigation team. The first information report which is a legal requirement for our investigations to begin has been filed," he said. Pakistan last week set up a five-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the terror attack on the Pathankot airbase, a week after it lodged an FIR over the assault without naming Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood who India has accused of having masterminded the strike. "I am hoping that the investigation team would now go (to India) in the next few days. Then you would be able to trace the phone calls, who all...The phone call (from India) came to one or two numbers but then their links and the identities of the four people who were killed in the attack are also got to be established yet, as we haven't got the right photographs or finger prints of those," Aziz said. "So once the process goes and considering the time that has elapsed, very good progress is being made and I hope that this would demonstrate to India that we are co-operating in this exercise and they would share the evidence that we require and whatever prosecution would require would take place," Aziz said in response to a question. Referring to the Parrikar's remarks on non-state actors, Aziz said, "I think; it is out of date. This is the old narrative which India has been following. The situation (in Pakistan) is now very different." The terror attack on Pathankot Airbase on January 2 was carried out by Pakistan's "non-state actors" who operate with support of the Pakistani establishment, Parrikar had said. In response, Aziz said, "Initially there were sympathies for certain groups, but after the December 2014 (army) school attack and the policy that there is no good and bad terrorist and we are going to move against all of them (things have changed)." "But obviously you can't move against all of them. (We would move against them) gradually and sequentially. So to that extent, I think the policy direction is very clear. And on the whole there was support for these groups within the local community, for example funding because many of them had a lot of welfare activities and under the cover of that they would raise funds. Now it is being monitored. You can't collect fund without any accounting," he said. "So I think, the suspicion (of Parrikar) refers to the old previous ones when the Afghan related...You do not forget that the Mujahedeen of Afghanistan were trained, funded and armed jointly by the US and Pakistan. Then it was a different kind of operation. At that time they were not terrorists. They were called holy warriors. Once 9/11 happened they all became terrorist," he said. "Our policy of not supporting them is very significant. Because we realised that supporting them is bad for all our security. That's why our relationship with Afghanistan started improving. The same is true with others. So I think, one has to update this narrative," Aziz said while responding to the question on the statement made by Parrikar. ELKO Few people plan on raising a second family but this is what is happening to an increasing number of grandparents who are now primary caretakers for their grandchildren. While many grandparents feel they have to go it alone, the Family Resource Center has programs and services available that can ease the burden of raising your grandchildren. Along with the demands of becoming a parent again, grandparent caregivers may face many other emotional, legal, social and financial challenges, says Yessi Gartman, program coordinator for the Family Resource Center grandparent respite program. Respite services are very important to grandparents because it gives them a break from the stress of raising their second family. The Family Resource Center offers up to $400 for childcare reimbursement for grandparents residing in Northern Nevada. To qualify they must be age 55 or older, and provide documentation of guardianship of a grandchild or other relative who is under the age of 18. The children cannot be legally adopted by the grandparent and the biological parents must not reside in the grandparents home. Gartman says respite is one form of family support most often needed, but most grandparents may not know there is help available. Although they may struggle with their parenting responsibilities, many are not involved with any social service agency or have an informal support network. Grandparents might also believe these services are only available to parents. If you are a grandparent raising grandchildren, or know of someone who is, enrollment in the program is easy and is not income based, says Gartman. While their friends may be looking forward to retirement, grandparent caregivers may be trying to balance work, childcare, parent-teacher conferences and all the other challenges of raising children. The Family Resource Center, 331 Seventh St. in Elko, can provide a network of support for grandfamilies. Call 753-7352 to learn more about the grandparent respite program and other services for families. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has constituted a five-member task force to rationalise central government staff and ensure their maximum optimisation. The task force will be headed by Establishment Officer and Additional Secretary in Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Rajiv Kumar and it will submit its report next month, officials said today. The Prime Minister has approved the proposal to constitute a task force to examine the issues of rationalisation and optimisation of human resource in various ministries to align them with financial resources and focus areas of the government, they said. Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said rationalisation of staff is of paramount importance for good governance. "This decision has been taken keeping in line with the Modi government's commitment of maximum governance and minimum government. We are also considering restructuring existing tribunals, autonomous bodies and central public sector undertakings to ensure better optimisation of human resource," he told PTI here. The task force has two joint secretaries from Cabinet Secretariat, one each from the DoPT and Department of Expenditure as members, the officials said. In his budget speech for 2016-17, Finance Ministry Arun Jaitley had said a task force has been constituted for rationalisation of human resources in various ministries. "A comprehensive review and rationalisation of autonomous bodies is also underway," he had said. As per its Terms of Reference (ToR), the task force will take stock and recommend measures to optimise senior positions in the Government of India, covering the posts in the secretariat and outside the secretariat including Chief Vigilance Officers - who act as a distant arm of Central Vigilance Commission to check corruption, various autonomous bodies, regulatory bodies, attached and subordinate offices. It will also review roles and requirements of these posts, including eligibility criteria and recommend measures to achieve synergy and convergence of purposes and resources, the ToR said. The task force will review the processes involved in filling these posts and recommend rationalisation and is required "to examine and incorporate global best practices in this regard", it said. There are about 50 lakh central government employees working in various ministries. New Delhi: NDA MPs are attending a parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday, which has been convened a day after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2016 in the Lok Sabha. The parliamentary meeting, which began around 9:30 am in the Parliament, is being attended by all NDA MPs including the Prime Minister. During the meeting, the NDA lawmakers are expected to discus the strategy to counter Opposition attack on various issues. Terming the Union Budget as "visionary and progressive", BJP on Monday said that it gives priority to farmers and weaker sections and will also lead to empowerment of the youth. "The budget is for everybody. Budget has been provided for infrastructure like ports, rail, airports. In the health sector, for poor people, upto Rs one lakh cost of hospitalisation will be borne by the government. This is a progressive and visionary budget," Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said. Similar views were echoed by other ministers of the ruling party with Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi calling it a "perfect, people-friendly and progressive budget". "India is a country where agriculture holds a prime place but it is after years that this has been reflected in a budget which gives priority to farmers as well as weaker sections. This budget is one which will also lead to empowerment of the youth," he said. Union Health Minister J P Nadda termed it as a "positive and balanced" budget and said that there were several initiatives for health and other social sectors which reflect Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas'. He said that farmers, artisans, women, unorganised workers, people living below the poverty line and the youth of the country will greatly benefit through this budget. Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, whose son Jayant Sinha is now Minister of State in the Finance Ministry, said it is good that the budget has focussed on real areas, noting that at the same time it also has many things for the corporates. The Opposition, however, slammed the Union Budget as a ''lost opportunity and direction less''. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and RJD supremo Lalu Yadav termed the document as disappointing and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said it did not address the concerns of the farmers and the middle class. Former Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari tweeted that the Budget is high on rhetoric, flawed on comparison, low on imagination, bereft of ideas, services oligarchs, constricts freedom of RBI. The Trinamul Congress dubbed the Budget hopeless, saying it does not offer any solution to the economic problems. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the Budget was full of hollow promises and will burden commoners who will feel the pinch of hike in indirect tax. BJD leader Baijayant Panda termed the Union Budget as a big step from a macro-economic perspective for its large allocation to infrastructure, especially in rural areas, and steps to cut red tape to ensure ease of doing business. Meanwhile, veteran BJP leader LK Advani termed the Budget as one of the best so far. Washington: Identifying the "strategic and conventional imbalance with India" as the topmost security threat to it, Pakistan on Tuesday rejected America's call to reduce or cap its nuclear weapons arsenal, believed to be the fastest growing in the world. "I think (Pakistan's top) security concern is strategic and conventional imbalance with India," the Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz told Defence Writers Group in a breakfast meeting this morning. Terrorism comes only after that, he said. "Terrorism is something our own domestic (concern). It is overflow of terrorism from Afghanistan that becomes the second (top security concern for Pakistan) within our borders, which hopefully we would be able to control it in the next few years," he said, responding to a question on what was Pakistan?s top security concern or threat. Aziz also ruled out America?s desire that Pakistan reduce or cap its fast expanding nuclear weapons arsenal and put the onus for it on India. "If India does (caps its nuclear weapons program) we would think about it," he said when asked at this point of time Pakistan is not thinking of capping or reducing its stockpile of nuclear weapons, as asked by the United States. "But if India does not, how can we cap?" Aziz asked. Citing the example of the US and Russia which are working to further reduce their nuclear arsenals, Secretary of State John Kerry had asked Pakistan yesterday to understand this reality and review its nuclear policy. "I think, it is important for Pakistan to really process that reality and put that front and center in its policy," he said in an apparent reference to the reports that Pakistan has the fastest growing stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. The nuclear and non-proliferation issue is among the six topics that was discussed during the sixth US-Pak Strategic Dialogue co-chaired by Kerry and Aziz here yesterday. "Our nuclear program is a deterrence. It is India which is expanding its nuclear arsenal at a much faster rate than we are," Aziz alleged. "The concept of deterrence is a dynamic one. Deterrence has to be effective and our deterrence is India centric. If India would not have started its nuclear program, we would have never done this," he said. "India is developing its nuclear stock. Its ability after the (civil nuclear) agreement with the United States to divert more stocks to it, more fissile materials to nuclear weapons has increased much more," he claimed. Aziz said the visiting Pakistani delegation had a very good interaction with the US. "They (US) broadly accept out need of an effective nuclear deterrence. I do not think; we have any major issues in this. We keep discussing these things," he said. "If India were to accept this importance of resolving disputes, improving relations, both of us would not need this. But unfortunately that is not happening. And so we have no option but to have what we call minimum effective deterrence." When referred to Kerry's remarks in this regard in which he cited the example of US and Russia wherein they reduced the number of nuclear weapon stock piles from 50,00 to now just 1500, Aziz pointed out that they improved their relationship. "When dialogue (between India and Pakistan) begins, we have a frank discussion on some of these things. Our ceasefire line or Line of Control we want to keep (it) quite, and an agreement to make sure that there is no firing or other thing. That?s why the importance of having a regular dialogue between the two countries so that things do not flare up," he said. "You can?t define like that," he said when asked how he would quantify minimum effective nuclear deterrence as Pakistan is estimated to have more than 100-120 nuclear weapons, according to some experts. "It is a dynamic concept. If you (India) keep expanding every month, every six month, obviously you can?t define at this particular point of time," Aziz said. Mumbai: Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant claimed his party was not invited to a meeting on Tuesday of NDA allies in New Delhi and conveyed its displeasure over the same to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu. Another Sena MP, Sanjay Raut, blamed "miscommunication" on part of BJP for his party not attending the meet where Finance Minister Arun Jaitley spoke about the Union Budget that was presented in Lok Sabha yesterday. "We were neither invited nor informed about the NDA meeting. We were naturally unhappy with this and conveyed our displeasure to Naidu. Since he (Naidu) accepted his mistake, we do not want to make a hue and cry over it," Sawant said. Raut said "Naidu has clarified that there was some miscommunication on their (BJP's) part". However, he declined to comment when asked about reports that Sena is opposing the budget proposal to tax Employees Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawal and contribution made by employers. Sena sources said the party has opposed the proposal. Another BJP ally in Maharashtra, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana, too, spoke against the proposal to tax EPF withdrawals. "It is the hard-earned money of employees. It should not be taxed. I will raise the issue in the House," said Sanghtana leader and Lok Sabha MP Raju Shetty. Chennai: Sindhu Sooryakumar, an anchor of a Malayalam TV news show, received more than 2,000 abusive calls on her cellphone after she moderated a discussion on Friday night on whether celebrating Mahishasur Jayanti could be considered an act of treason. According to The Indian Express, the calls were allegedly made by activists and sympathisers of a number of pro-Hindutva groups. The callers accused the Asianet News anchor of calling Goddess Durga a sex worker during the show. However, the daily alleged that a video of the programme shows BJP state secretary VV Rajesh uttering the words while quoting from pamphlets that he claimed were distributed on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus and later read by Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani in Parliament. The Kerala Police has arrested five people one from Thiruvananthapuram, three from Kannur - in this regard. The daily quoted G Sparjan Kumar, Commissioner of Police, Thiruvananthapuram city, as saying: All of those arrested are connected to BJP, RSS and Hindu groups, including Sri Rama Sena. Meanwhile, the journalist told The Indian Express: I have been getting a call every minute. The main allegation is that I abused Durga, calling her a sex worker. Most of the abusers called me a prostitute and abused me. Some threatened me while others didnt even know what the charge was. I got a call this morning from someone asking whether I was Durga. Another person called me sometime ago, saying I had posted something against Durga on Facebook, and that he wanted to abuse me for that, she said. In a Facebook post, BJPs Kerala chief Kummanam Rajasekharan wrote that his party has nothing to do with this issue. The Kerala Police is tracing the WhatsApp groups that circulated the personal number of Sindhu Sooryakumar. Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar has slammed Kerala State Secretary of CPI(M) and Polit bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan for reproducing a false report about a Keralite student being attacked over eating beef in Bengaluru. In a Facebook post, Kumar wrote, It was an unfortunate incident that 3 students from Kerala were attacked allegedly by some persons in Bengaluru, last Saturday. As per police, the accused were under the influence of alcohol. It was surprising that some media houses in Kerala had initially reported that the students were attacked for eating beef. Later they have realised that it was a rumour and corrected the news, quoting students and police. Here is the facebook post by former Kerala State Secretary of CPI(M) and Polit bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan, repeating the false news, that the students were attacked for eating beef. He has not corrected his FB post hitherto.I wish, responsible leaders like him should stay away from posting such things based on rumours which may instigate violence. Keralalites are safe here in Bengaluru. They all are our brothers and sisters only. We never misbehave to people on the basis of linguistic difference. Request CPI(M) leader Mr. Vijayan to correct his statement and apologize. Is it too much to expect from a communist leader? Or if Mr Pinarayi wants to use this LIE as an Election Propaganda material, that is another matter. Mumbai: In view of increasing cyber crime cases, CBI is mulling setting up a special branch here to probe such offences, its director Anil Sinha said on Tuesday. Sinha was in the city to inaugurate the newly constructed 13-storey office of CBI in suburban Bandra-Kurla Complex. All its branches like anti-corruption bureau, economic offences wing and special crime branch will now operate from the new office. "Over the last two years, the cyber world has witnessed a surge in activities. I am contemplating, provided we get cooperation from the state government, setting up a branch to probe cyber crime offences," Sinha said. "As of now, such a branch is only in the headquarters (Delhi), but now I think it's time a similar branch is opened here in Mumbai, too. Cyber crime is increasing and a separate team of officers including experts are required," the director said. He said CBI in Mumbai has unearthed several scams like the Harshad Mehta scam, Telgi fake stamp paper scam, Adarsh Housing society scam and so on. "Apart from such scams, CBI is also probing sensational murder cases of Sheena Bora and Narendra Dabholkar among others," Sinha said. "Recently, state governments and high courts have also been handing over several cases to CBI. Though CBI started as an anti-corruption bureau, its scope has increased to economic offences, serious frauds and sensational cases under IPC. It is now a federal investigating agency which can probe any kind of case," he said. "The corrupt are resorting to devious and ingenious means to outwit investigating agencies. We must, therefore, update our knowledge and reinvent our practices and methods to detect and bring these new methods of corruption within the ambit of substantive evidence," he said. Sinha said there is also a need to expand the definition of corruption as offenders are adopting new ways of indulging in graft. "We must now think beyond traps. Nobody these days accepts money in their hands directly. Hence, we must think of expanding the definition of corruption," he said. Mumbai: Shiv Sena party on Tuesday sacked an office-bearer of its youth wing for allegedly assaulted a shop assistant for refusing to provide free 'vada-pavs'. One of the sources close to Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray said today, "That person was sacked yesterday itself. The incident which took place in suburban Vile Parle (West) on Saturday was captured in a CCTV camera. The accused Shiv Sena member Sunil Mahadik is seen allegedly hitting 28-year-old Chetan Geveriya, who works as a staff at Trupti Sweer and Farsan Mart on DJ Road. In the clip, that was uploaded on Youtube and soon become viral, Madhik is seen thrashing Geveriya with a bamboo stick for resisting to give him 'vada-pavs' free of cost. The source said that Mahadik had sent a person to the shop demanding 100 vada pavs, a popular street-food here, free of cost. Geveriya told him that they didn't have so much stock, so the person left. Irked, Mahadik then went to the shop and hit Geveria with a bamboo stick and threatened to kill him, they had said. The incident was captured by the CCTV cameras in the shop and later a First Information Report (FIR) was registered with Juhu police. The footage was also aired by some local news channels. The incident comes in the wake of another in neighbouring Thane where a Shiv Sena worker was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman traffic constable three days ago. CCTV footage of the incident had gone viral. Meanwhile, Swabhiman Sanghatana leader Nitesh Rane said his organisation today held a "free vada pav" distribution event to protest the assault on the shopkeeper. "These people (Yuva Sena) are strong proponents of night life in Mumbai. This assault shows what will happen if what they call 'night life' is allowed," Rane, a legislator, said. Thane: The Maharashtra Police is looking for the motive behind the horrendous massacre of 14 members of a family here. In a shocking and gruesome incident, Hasnain Anwar Warekar, 32, the income tax consultant killed 14 members of his own family and later hanged himself. The police are waiting to record the statement of the sole survivor, Sabia Shoaib Bharmal, who is 21-year-old. Joint Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbare said investigations from all angles were underway. Even the suspected property dispute angle has not yet emerged in the probe yet. A report in the Hindustan Times suggested that the police are investigating a number of theories, which include human sacrifice, property or family dispute and mental illness as possible motives. Investigations point out that the deceased were either asleep or sedated when murdered. There are no signs of forced entry and the witness survivor, Sabia, has seen her brother killing. Looking at the way the throats were slit, it looks it was done by someone used to slaughtering. Weve gathered that Hasnain used to carry out animal sacrifices, said Dumbre. The police have found out that Hasnain was religious and used to offer prayers five times a day. We are seeking property details of t he family. Investigations have revealed that the family was involved in a property dispute, said Dumbre. Sabia was attacked along with other family members with a long knife by her elder brother Hasnain. Dumbare has denied there were any indications that the deeply religious Hasnain could have been influenced by some extremist ideology or was radicalised. Wielding a large knife, usually used for sacrificing goats during Bakr-i Eid, Hasnain butchered 14 members of his family at around 3 am on Sunday. Those slaughtered included his aged parents, his wife and two minor daughters, three sisters and six nieces and nephews. Tokyo: A late hitch to Foxconn`s takeover of Japan`s struggling Sharp Corp brought simmering distrust between the two close to boiling point, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The two companies have eyed each other warily since Foxconn founder and billionaire Terry Gou pulled out of a planned capital tie-up and strategic partnership with Sharp in 2012. Missteps in communication last week, when Sharp`s board met and announced a decision to sell a two-thirds stake to the Taiwanese group, ratcheted up tensions, upsetting Gou and causing embarrassment at Sharp. On the eve of that board meeting, Foxconn had asked Sharp to delay voting on a deal as it had just received "new material information" from Sharp that it hadn`t seen before and needed to clarify. "It seemed Sharp simply ignored Foxconn," said one individual familiar with Foxconn`s take on the matter. The information listed around 300 billion yen ($2.66 billion) in contingent liabilities at Sharp. The list was pulled together by working level officials at Sharp and forwarded, without top officials seeing it, to Foxconn as a goodwill gesture to make the buyer aware of worst-case scenario risks, sources said. They were not liabilities that required formal disclosure. It didn`t go down well on the Taiwan side. "They felt violated," said a person briefed on the issue. Another person said Gou shouted at his team for not having discovered these liabilities in the first place. By late Friday, the mood had calmed and the two companies` CEOs met in China to clear the air, sources said. Sharp and Foxconn have now agreed to extend a deadline for the takeover talks by a week or two, reflecting the importance of a deal, estimated to be worth nearly $6 billion, to both sides. Sharp would have a much-needed financial lifeline, while Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co <2317.TW>, would get control of technology it needs to strengthen its hand with major client Apple Inc . RUNNING DEEP The hitch revives lingering ill-will from four years ago, when Foxconn agreed to take a stake in Sharp at 550 yen a share as part of a broader partnership. Then, Sharp warned of losses, and Foxconn walked away. Sharp shares sank 74 percent over the next seven months. Gou, however, personally bought a stake in Sharp`s LCD TV panel plant in Osaka, and some at Sharp credit him with improving operations there. A turning point in the latest deal came when Gou wowed Sharp`s board, independent directors and creditors with his presentation of a takeover plan on Jan. 30, according to those briefed on the matter. "Terry`s a very convincing guy ... I`ve seen him use his magic," said a person familiar with how Gou operates. Another person familiar with Gou said: "Sharp`s blueprint, Terry is very clear about it and knows this stuff like the back of his hand." But there were still nagging doubts in Japan. "There are some doubts whether Hon Hai will really keep its promise," one official involved in the negotiations said on Feb. 4, when Sharp`s 13-member board decided to prioritise talks with Foxconn over a competing offer from state-backed Innovation Network Corp of Japan. INCJ had been seen as strong favourite to take over Sharp and keep Japan`s insular tech industry out of foreign hands. The next day, Gou flew his team to Sharp`s Osaka headquarters and emerged triumphantly waving a document, proclaiming Sharp had granted Foxconn preferred negotiation rights. Sharp officials said the document actually referred to Foxconn`s extension of a takeover offer for Sharp. "This made (Sharp CEO Kozo) Takahashi and other executives rethink how trustworthy Gou would be," said one of the sources familiar with thinking in the Sharp camp. That is now in the past. "From these negotiations and from experience, Terry (Gou) has told his team time and again to be more respectful of and have more understanding of Japan`s traditions and way of doing things," said one of the sources familiar with the thinking at Foxconn. "Through the communication of the last 2-3 days, from the top level to the team level, I hope (the cooperation) will improve," the person said. ELKO An Allegiant Airbus was diverted to Elko Monday afternoon when an electrical odor was detected in the plane. The jetliner landed safely at Elko Regional Airport shortly after 4 p.m. It was diverted as a precautionary measure after the pilots reported a general alarm with the aircraft, said Airport Director Mark Gibbs. Gibbs said Monday evening the passengers were deplaning in the airports sterile area, where they would remain until Allegiant Air brings in another rescue aircraft from Las Vegas to take them to their final destination. It was announced in the terminal that the auxiliary plane would be arriving at approximately 8:15 p.m., with food being provided to the passengers. According to Kim Schaefer of Allegiant Travel Company, Flight 170 was flying from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport to Bellingham International Airport in Washington. It departed at 2:58 p.m. Shortly into the flight, the plane was diverted to the Elko Regional Airport (EKO) due to an electrical odor in the cabin, Schaefer reported. The flight landed safely in Elko, Nevada at 4:14 p.m. local time. There were 147 passengers and 6 crew members on board. Schaefer said passengers were being offered $200 off vouchers for future travel on Allegiant. The Airbus A320 is about three times the size of an aircraft typically landing at the Elko airport, Gibbs said. The airport can handle that size, as it is designed to accommodate 700 through 800 series aircraft. At this time there was no incident, there were no injuries or accidents, Gibbs told the media. Very rarely do we get aircraft where the airline is not responsible at the particular station, but we were able to quickly mobilize and get the passengers off within 45 minutes of their original arrival, Gibbs said. Elko Police and Fire departments, the Transportation Security Administration, Delta Airlines in Elko, the Airport Authority and the County ambulance service responded to the incident. Rawalpindi: Tens of thousands of Islamist supporters of Mumtaz Qadri chanting provocative slogans on Tuesday attended his funeral, a day after the ex-police commando was executed for killing liberal Punjab governor Salman Taseer who sought reforms in Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law. "Qadri, your blood will bring the revolution" and "The punishment for a blasphemer is beheading" were heard as supporters of Qadri threw flowers at the casket and flocked the historic Liaquat Bagh ground in the heart of Rawalpindi, less than 20 kms from here. While a police official said that over 15,000 people were present inside the sprawling ground in the garrison city, private estimate put the number of those attending the funeral nearly 1,00,000. The roads to Liaquat Bagh were blocked off but thousands arrived on foot. Roads around government buildings, the Parliament and diplomatic compounds were also closed. The gathering was peaceful as the ambulance carrying the body inched through the sea of supporters to the burial site at Qadri's ancestral village near Bhara Kahu in suburbs of Islamabad. Pakistan remained on high alert as security personnel were deployed at all main junctions and sensitive areas in the capital and the adjacent Rawalpindi to avoid any untoward incident as some supporters were also seen carrying sticks. "Special measures have been taken to check any untoward incident," an Interior Ministry official said. Fearing violence by Qadri's supporters, most of the private schools in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been closed for a second day. Former police commando Qadri, who shot Taseer 28 times in broad daylight in an upmarket locality of Islamabad in 2011, was hanged in Adialia jail in Rawalpindi yesterday. His execution triggered protests by thousands of Islamists who called it a "black day". Within hours of the hanging, street protests broke out in several cities by the supporters of Qadri, who considered him as a hero for defending the faith. The supporters blocked roads and forced many shopkeepers to close down their stores. The biggest protest was held in Karachi with around 8,000 people taking to the streets. After the execution, Qadri's body was handed over to his family living in Sadiqabad area of Rawalpindi where hundreds of his supporters belonging to radical religious groups gathered to mourn his death. Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often triggering mob violence. The controversial law was introduced by former military dictator Zia-ul Haq in 1980s and so far hundreds of people have been charged under it. New Delhi: Huge suspicion, mistrust and tension between nuclear-powered India and Pakistan have been causing "devastating consequences" in South Asia, particularly halting its economic growth and exposing the region to the risk of a major conflict, former president of Sri Lanka Chandrika Kumaratunga said on Tuesday. In her address at the Raisina Dialogue, she said national security concerns should compel major players in the region to cooperate with each to effectively deal with challenge of terrorism and violent "politicised extremism". Pitching for economic integration among SAARC countries, Kumaratunga, who served as Sri Lankan President for around 11 years, said why cannot "we see Chinese economic power as an opportunity rather than a threat for South Asia." "Huge suspicion and continuing mistrust between the two large states of South Asia has caused devastating consequences to the entire region," she said speaking at the inaugural session of the three-day dialogue. She said India is the world's fastest growing economy and it will have much to gain from regional economic integration. In his address, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said terrorism is spreading in the region, threatening its stability. "We must not tolerate state entities supporting, harbouring, financing terrorist networks," he said. Calling India Afghanistan's best friend, Karzai, without naming Pakistan, said states harbouring militant elements was not at all acceptable and that regional organisations like Shanghai Cooperation Organisation can play an effective role in dealing with the menace. Karzai said he had visited Islamabad over 20 times during his 14 year tenure as Afghan President in an effort to improve ties but he did not succeed. He said Afghanistan's relationship with China is comprehensive and Kabul has an important role as a transit hub for regional economic integration. "Afghanistan wants best relations between India and China. There is a need for positive symmetry," he said, hoping China-Iran rail line would be extended to other countries. Karzai also talked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the Afghan Parliament in December last year and said India has been helping the country to a great extent in the last few years. Speaking at the conference, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said terror and lack of political will have impeded regional connectivity affecting economic growth of the region. Talking about Indo-Bangla ties, he said relations between the two countries are at their "best" now. In her address, Kumaratunga also said South Asia is today one of the two most violent regions of the world and cooperation was essential to ensuring regional security. She said the paradox of South Asia is that the "very cultures we have shared for millennia have succeeded in dividing us." "South Asian states expended time and effort in consolidating separate identities - causing inter-state tension," she said. Washington: US space agency NASA announced that it is planning to build a supersonic passenger jet which will be as quiet and efficient as possible, the media reported on Tuesday. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on Monday said that it has awarded a first contract, worth $20 million, to the US company Lockheed Martin to develop a preliminary design of an aircraft which surpasses the speed of sound, EFE news reported. Despite using a jet engine, which traditionally causes loud noise, the sound levels produced by the new aircraft would be minimal. The new design would also meet the requirements for reduction of pollution as it would optimize fuel consumption. "NASA is working hard to make flight greener, safer and quieter," said Bolden. The design and the construction of the new supersonic aircraft will take several years and NASA estimates that first flight tests would start around 2020. Commercial supersonic flights were cancelled when British Airways and Air France ceased their Concorde operations in 2003. The Concorde aircraft was capable of travelling at a maximum speed of 2.180 kph, more than twice the speed of sound. The safety and profitability of the aircraft, known as the "White Bird", became questionable following the crash of a Concorde in Paris in 2000, which killed all 113 people on board. Damascus: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has described the currently-holding truce in his country as a glimmer of hope, adding that his troops have refrained from retaliating to the rebels breaches. In an interview with German TV released on Tuesday, the president said, "We will do our part so that the whole thing works," adding that "we have refrained ourselves from retaliating in order to give (a) chance for the agreement to survive." The cessation of hostilities, which has been in place since the weekend, is still holding in its fourth day on Tuesday, Xinhua reported. Meanwhile, the president promised "full amnesty" to rebels who gave up their arms, amid reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor group that Syrian warplanes are dropping leaflets on rebel-held areas, urging the rebels to lay down their arms and embark on a reconciliation with the government. "That is what we can do, but at the end everything has a limit. It depends on the other side," Assad said, adding that "the terrorists have breached the deal from the first day. We as the Syrian army are refraining from responding in order to give a chance to sustain the agreement." The cessation of hostilities agreement was reached by Russia and the US. The Syrian government as well as nearly 100 opposition groups announced their agreement. New York: A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, on Monday rejected a U.S. Justice Department request to order Apple Inc to help law enforcement access data on a locked iPhone, in a ruling that bolsters the company`s arguments in a growing privacy fight with the government. The government sought access to the phone in October, months before a judge in California ordered Apple to give the government access to the phone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino, California, attacks. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein in Brooklyn ruled that he did not have the legal authority to order Apple to disable the security of an iPhone seized during a drug investigation. The Justice Department is "disappointed" in Orenstein`s ruling and plans to ask a higher judge within the same federal district to review the matter in coming days, a department representative said. Though the defendant in the case has already pleaded guilty, the Justice Department still believes the phone may contain evidence that "will assist us in an active criminal investigation," the official said. When fighting the government`s order to help extract data from the iPhone, Apple had argued that being forced to do so "could threaten the trust between Apple and its customers and substantially tarnish the Apple brand," according to court records. Orenstein said his ruling in Apples favour was not a decision on "whether the government should be able to force Apple to help it unlock a specific device; it is instead whether the All Writs Act resolves that issue and many others like it yet to come." The implications of the governments position are so far-reaching as to produce impermissibly broad results, he wrote. Prosecutors have said that since 2008, Apple has complied with 70 such court orders based on the All Writs Act, a 1789 statute that grants federal courts broad power to issue necessary or appropriate writs, without objection. The case before Brooklyn was, according to prosecutors, the first time Apple had objected to law enforcement efforts to utilize search warrants to get the tech company to provide assistance and unlock iPhones seized during investigations. But since October, when Apple first asked Orenstein to deny the government`s request, Apple has objected to helping law enforcement access at least 12 devices for which the U.S. Justice Department has sought its help, according to a letter from Apple to Orenstein that was unsealed earlier this month. Bangkok: Five Cambodian fishermen have confessed to raping and assaulting French tourists on an isolated Thai beach, Cambodia`s foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Thai police said four French tourists were attacked late on Saturday on Koh Kood, a remote island near Thailand`s maritime border with Cambodia known for its untamed jungle and pristine beaches. Thai police investigators said the attackers swam from their fishing boat to assault the group and raped two women at knifepoint. They were caught while trying to escape. Cambodia`s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement that the five fishermen confessed to Eat Sophea, Cambodian Ambassador to Thailand, that they raped and assaulted the tourists. "During the interview with the Cambodian ambassador the five fishermen confessed to have really been involved in the cases of rape and assault," the ministry said in a statement. "It happened while the five fishermen were in a drunk state." The five have been charged with rape and violent assault. It is the latest high-profile case to hit the popular holiday destination, raising serious questions about tourist safety in the Southeast Asian country. In December, two migrant workers from Myanmar were found guilty by a Thai court of killing two British tourists on a beach on the southern Thai holiday island of Koh Tao in 2014. Thailand remains a popular tourist destination, despite a slew of high-profile crimes against tourists last year and an August bomb attack at a popular Bangkok shrine that left 20 people dead, most of them foreigners. The government expects a record 32 million people to visit Thailand this year. Tourism remains one of the few bright spots in the Thai economy which has struggled since a 2014 coup by the military. London: Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei, US filmmaker Oliver Stone and British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood on called for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be allowed to walk free. The celebrities were among 500 signatories of a petition to Britain and Sweden, urging them to enforce a UN panel opinion from last month that said Assange was being "arbitrarily detained". "We urge Sweden and the United Kingdom to respect the binding nature of the human rights covenants on which the decision is based," read the petition, details of which were released by Assange's spokespeople. Signatories included former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron and Indian novelist Arundhati Roy, as well as Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winners Shirin Ebadi. Assange is wanted on a European arrest warrant for questioning in Sweden over a rape allegation. He has denied any wrongdoing and has said he fears extradition for prosecution in the United States after WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of secret military and diplomatic documents on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and US diplomatic activity. Assange exhausted all legal appeals against extradition from Britain in 2012 and fled to the embassy of Ecuador, which granted him asylum. He has lived since then in a cramped office in the embassy which he has turned into his living quarters. British police have said they will have to arrest him as soon as he sets foot out of the embassy building because of the arrest warrant out against him. In a phone interview with AFP last month, Assange said the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention should be respected. "I am confident that the decision will be enforced," he said, adding: "Ultimately there are a number of different enforcement mechanisms, up to sanctions." Washington: White House hopefuls Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are poised to pass a point of no return on Super Tuesday, if as expected they outrun their rivals on the biggest voting day of the primary season. With just hours to go before polls open, the Republican and Democratic frontrunners fended off rivals and appealed to supporters in a dozen states, a day before they head to polls. If they win big as the presidential nomination race broadens following a string of state-wide votes, it could spell doom for their challengers. Clinton was riding high after thrashing rival Bernie Sanders in South Carolina over the weekend, securing an astronomical 86 percent of the African-American vote. But she was leaving nothing to chance, traveling to multiple states to urge a strong turnout. "I need your help to go and vote tomorrow, to bring people to vote with you," she implored a crowd in Springfield, Massachusetts on Monday. She also took aim at the increasingly hostile campaign rhetoric on the Republican side led by the brash real estate mogul Trump."I really regret the language being used by Republicans. Scapegoating people, fingerpointing, blaming. That is not how we should behave toward one another," she told several hundred people at a university in Fairfax, Virginia. "We`re going to demonstrate starting tomorrow on Super Tuesday, there`s a different path that Americans ought to take." Trump, whose incendiary campaign has turned US politics on its head, has a political target on his back, with mainstream favorite Marco Rubio intensifying his personal attacks and stressing Trump would have serious weaknesses in a general election. The Florida senator warned supporters in Tennessee that US media and critics will jump on Trump "like the hounds of hell" if he wins the nomination. "They`ll shred him to pieces and then get Hillary Clinton elected," Rubio said, insisting that he is better positioned to defeat Clinton. But Trump is clearly in the driver`s seat. He is leading in polling in at least eight of the 11 Super Tuesday states. And a new CNN/ORC poll shows the billionaire expanding his lead nationally, earning a stunning 49 percent support compared to second place Rubio at 16 percent. Fellow first-term Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is third, at 15 percent, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 10 percent and Ohio Governor John Kasich at six percent. Trump hit back hard against Rubio, calling him "Little Marco," mocking him for sweating on the campaign trail and warning Rubio could not stand up to strong men like Russian President Vladimir Putin.Super Tuesday will unquestionably be a gut check for the Republican Party. It will also test whether Rubio`s newfound aggressiveness toward Trump -- the 44-year-old senator has attacked his rival`s business dealings, temperament, age, policy platforms and hairstyle in recent days -- will have an impact on voters. Trump is "the Bernie Madoff of American politics," Rubio told Fox News, referencing the former investment advisor jailed for life for committing the largest financial fraud in US history. Trump`s inflammatory rhetoric during the campaign, accusing Mexico of sending "rapists" and criminals across the border and urging a ban on Muslims entering the country, would have been the undoing of a normal candidate. But all signs show 2016 is far from normal, with a fiercely angry electorate keen to back an outsider who scornfully attacks the establishment. Trump has shrugged off the criticism, including Clinton`s. "Hillary says she doesn`t like my tone," Trump told a crowd of some 3,000 in southwester Virginia. "The world is a mean and evil place, we need a strong tone." In the latest controversy, Trump came under withering criticism from Republican and Democratic candidates alike for not immediately disavowing the support of David Duke, a white supremacist who once led the Ku Klux Klan. Rubio said Trump`s failure to immediately repudiate Duke, who has expressed support for Trump, makes him "unelectable." The party`s flagbearer in 2012, Mitt Romney, joined the chorus of outrage, tweeting that Trump`s "coddling of repugnant bigotry is not in the character of America." Trump sought to put the issue behind him, blaming it on a "very bad ear piece" that prevented him from accurately hearing the question about Duke, and repeating his prior disavowal of the white supremacist. If Trump sweeps the South, where many of the Super Tuesday races are taking place, it could be lights out for his Republican challengers. Like Rubio, rival Cruz warned that a vote for Trump was a vote for Clinton in November. "If Donald Trump is the nominee, Hillary in all likelihood wins," arch-conservative Cruz told a rally in his home state of Texas. The Lone Star State is the largest prize Tuesday, and Cruz is banking on winning there. But he trails in every other Super Tuesday state, except for Arkansas. Nearly 600 Republican delegates are up for grabs Tuesday, close to half of the 1,237 needed to secure the nomination. Some 865 Democratic delegates are at stake, about 36 percent of those needed to win. Brussels: European Union president Donald Tusk will visit Turkey this week for fresh talks on migration ahead of a crucial Brussels summit on the crisis, his office said Tuesday. In a fevered new round of diplomacy after visiting the Balkans earlier this week, Tusk will meet Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, it said. The trip will lay the ground for a summit on March 7 in Brussels where Davutoglu and the leaders of the 28 EU states will discuss the progress of last year`s EU-Turkey deal aimed at cutting the flow of migrants. Failure to make progress at the summit will spell "disaster" for the bloc, EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said last week, with its passport-free Schengen zone at risk. Under November`s deal Turkey agreed to tackle people smugglers and improve conditions for Syrian refugees in exchange for three billion euros ($3.2 billion) and a promise from Brussels to speed up Ankara`s EU membership bid. But alarm is growing in EU capitals that thousands of migrants are still crossing the Aegean Sea to the Greek islands from Turkey after more than one million made the perilous journey last year. Relations have been increasingly tense with Turkey, with Erdogan even threatening Tusk and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker when they visited Turkey in November that he would flood Europe with refugees if he did not get more help. Philippines: An influential Saudi Arabian preacher was shot and wounded in a southern Philippine city on Tuesday, police said, adding security forces killed the gunman. Sheikh Aaidh al-Qarni was in hospital following the shooting in Zamboanga city but did not have life threatening injuries, local police spokeswoman Senior Inspector Helen Galvez said. "He is out of danger," Galvez told AFP by phone. A police report said that Qarni was shot in the right shoulder, left arm and chest while his companion, a Saudi embassy attache, was wounded in his right thigh and left leg. However a Saudi embassy statement later said none of Qarni`s companions were wounded. The police said that Qarni had just delivered a university lecture when a man came out of the crowd and opened fire with a .45 calibre pistol. Police acting as security escorts shot the attacker dead. "We pinned down the gunman. He`s dead," Galvez said. She said the gunman was apparently a Filipino and that two other Filipino men, residents of Zamboanga, were later arrested after eyewitnesses said they were with the attacker. But Galvez did not immediately identify the gunman. "We still do not know what this group is or the motives of the gunman," she said. The Saudi embassy in Manila confirmed the incident, stating Qarni was hit in the arm when a man approached his car and shot him as he left a conference. He was visiting at the invitation of a local religious association, the embassy said. The preacher was later flown to Manila on a plane made available by the Saudi embassy, according to a statement. Saudi media outlets described Qarni as a senior Islamic scholar. He has more than 12 million followers on Twitter. In his book "Awakening Islam," the French academic Stephane Lacroix included Qarni among "the most famous" Saudi preachers. Qarni`s name was among those of a number of Saudi scholars listed by the Islamic State group in the latest issue of Dabiq, its monthly online magazine, in an article entitled "Kill the Imams of Kufr". It accused the scholars of apostasy, and called on "lone wolves" to act against them. Militants who launched who a deadly assault on a remote army outpost in the southern Philippines late last month waved black IS flags when they raided the detachment. The attack triggered a week of fighting that left at least 12 militants and five soldiers dead. Zamboanga is one of the largest cities in the southern Philippines, which has been home to a decades-long separatist rebellion by the mainly Catholic nation`s Muslim minority. Zamboanga has a mixed Christian and Muslim population, and has been a frequent target of attacks by local Muslim militant groups. One of the nation`s main Muslim rebel groups raided the city in 2013, triggering three weeks of clashes with security forces that left more than 200 people dead. ELKO Two men were arrested Monday after a high-speed chase across state lines, where the car was going in excess of 100 mph on U.S. Highway 93 and one of the occupants overdosed in an effort to get rid of drugs. The pursuit began just after 1:30 p.m. when an Idaho State Police trooper stopped a northbound car just north of Rogerson, Idaho, for speeding. The man driving the Toyota rental car with Idaho plates admitted there was a handgun in the car, ISP Lt. Robert Rausch said Tuesday. The driver and a male passenger were acting suspiciously, Rausch said, and gave the trooper fictitious names, which turned out to be names of felons from California. The trooper called for backup and requested a drug-sniffing dog. When a second patrol car pulled in five minutes later, the driver turned the car around and sped toward Jackpot with the ISP in pursuit, he said. During the chase, the men threw a large bag of marijuana out a window. The ISP notified Nevada authorities as the chase neared Jackpot and turned the chase over to them at the state line. After the car entered Nevada, deputies backed off to ensure the safety of all parties, but kept the vehicle in sight, said Elko County Undersheriff Clair Morris. The off-ramps to get to Wells were shut down in case the vehicle made its way there as a precaution. The four-way intersection at the entrance to the town was closed off, and northbound traffic was shut down. An initial set of spike strips was set out to slow down the vehicle, but it drove around. Another set of spike strips was placed at the deer crossing 12 miles north of Wells, and the vehicle drove off-road to avoid them but was eventually trapped in the mud, Morris said. Deputies found drugs, according to Morris. An estimated amount was not available as the occupants tried to get rid of it by way of the sunroof. Approximately half a pound of marijuana was recovered, as well as methamphetamine. Kenneth R. Franklin, 38, of Groveland, California, was arrested for speeding 31 mph or more over the posted limit, driving with a suspended drivers license, driver disobeying peace officer and endangering others, and possession of a controlled substance. His bail was listed at $11,125. The other occupant identified as Paul Overley, 31, of Billings, Montana tried to ingest heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and Ecstasy in an attempt to get rid of the drugs, Morris said. This caused him to stop breathing and he was transported to Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital. Overley is charged with possession of a controlled substance and a felony warrant out of California. His bail was listed at $10,000. The subjects also threw methamphetamine and a gun out the window before leaving Idaho, Morris said. He was not sure of the charges brought up in Idaho. However, the department is obtaining a search warrant for the vehicle because it was a rental. The Times-News contributed to this article. Sydney: Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell insisted he has the "full backing" of Pope Francis as he told an inquiry Tuesday that abuse claims against Australia`s most notorious paedophile priest were not "of much interest" to him. Pell was giving evidence from a hotel in Rome via video-link to Australia`s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Sydney for a second of three days. The inquiry is currently focused on the town of Ballarat in the state of Victoria, where Pell grew up and worked, and how the church dealt with complaints, many dating back to the 1970s, against the Catholic clergy. On the opening day he admitted the church "mucked up" in dealing with paedophile priests and vowed he would not "defend the indefensible". Australia`s highest-ranking Catholic, now head of the Vatican Treasury, met the pontiff after his initial grilling by the commission and told reporters before resuming his evidence on Tuesday: "I have the full backing of the Pope." The commission picked up where it left off with intense questioning about priest Gerald Ridsdale, convicted of more than 100 charges of sexual abuse against children, and the number of times he was moved between parishes around Victoria state in the 1970s and 80s. Pell, who once shared a home with Ridsdale in Ballarat, was probed about a police report that the priest was interfering with children while in nearby Inglewood. The commission suggested Ridsdale`s offending was common knowledge within the church, but Pell insisted it was never brought to his attention. "I couldn`t say that I ever knew that everyone knew," he said. "I didn`t know whether it was common knowledge or whether it wasn`t. It`s a sad story and it wasn`t of much interest to me." The admission of not being interested drew loud gasps of disbelief in the Sydney hearing room and Pell was asked to explain what he meant. "The suffering, of course, was real and I very much regret that but I had no reason to turn my mind to the extent of the evils that Ridsdale had perpetrated," he said. Former Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns has admitted he was aware of complaints against Ridsdale and shifted him between parishes, but Pell was adamant he knew nothing about it despite being an adviser to the bishop from 1977. He acknowledged attending a meeting in 1982 to discuss again moving Ridsdale, who is now in jail, but said there was never a mention about paedophilia and that Mulkearns` failure to tell him was "a gross deception". "I knew nothing about his paedophilia. I knew he was a somewhat difficult person and obviously he had been shifted about quite a bit," he said, adding that he first became aware of Ridsdale`s crimes when he was jailed in 1993. Pell suggested Mulkearns, now 85 and in a nursing home but who gave evidence to the commission last week, did not inform him because he "would realise that I didn`t know and he did not want me to share in his culpability". David Ridsdale, who was abused by his uncle Gerald Ridsdale, said Pell seemed to be accepting no responsibility, instead shifting blame onto others. "We feel like we have watched a performance rather than evidence," he said from Rome, where a group of Australian clergy abuse survivors have travelled to witness his testimony. "I think he just threw a whole bunch of people under a bus." Australia ordered the Royal Commission in 2012 after a decade of growing pressure to investigate allegations of paedophilia across the country. It has heard claims of child abuse involving churches, orphanages, community, sports and youth groups and schools. mp/mfc/jah Rome: A court in Rome has allowed a lesbian couple to adopt each other`s children, their lawyer said on Tuesday, less than a week after the Italian parliament threw out a bid to give gays limited adoption rights. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi had promised to open the way for stepchild adoption as part of a larger reform aimed at giving legal rights and protection to same-sex couples. Much to the anger of gay rights groups, he dropped the adoption clause following fierce opposition from within his centre-left coalition. However, Tuesday`s ruling highlights the fact that Italy`s courts are prepared to step into the breach in the absence of clear cut legislation. Each of the partners in the case had given birth to a daughter, and the court gave them parental status regarding both children, their lawyer Francesca Quarato said in a statement. "Now each child has a biological parent and a social parent, both with full and equal parental capacity and responsibility," she said. The names of the couple were not given. The statement did not say how the children were conceived and Reuters could not reach Quarato for details. Italian media reported the couple went to Denmark for artificial insemination -- a process reserved in Italy only for married couples. The ruling gives more limited rights than could have been given to a married couple and the girls will not legally be sisters, the president of the Rete Lenford association of gay rights lawyers said. However, they will share the same surname. Sergio Lo Giudice, a gay senator in Renzi`s ruling Democratic Party (PD) who has a son born to a surrogate mother, said in a statement the ruling showed up parliament`s failure. "The courts will continue to intervene to look after the all-important interest of the child to have the emotional link to their same-sex parents recognised," Lo Giudice said. Lo Giudice went to the United States to have his child, as surrogate parenting is illegal in Italy. Italy is the last major Western country not to give any legal recognition to gay couples and the debate over civil unions has split parliament along religious lines. A prominent minister said at the weekend that the government was now working on a new law to extend adoption rights to gay and single people, prompting immediate objections from politicians close to the Roman Catholic Church. Karachi: Pakistani Abdul Qadeer gave up trying to build a block of flats in Karachi four years ago, when gangsters demanding $20,000 in protection money shot him in the legs because he refused to pay. Now he is back, putting the finishing touches to one of several apartment complexes he is constructing, part of a property boom which he attributes to the security crackdown on Islamist insurgents and criminals launched in the city in 2013. "The terror in people has been eliminated. Business is good," he told Reuters, pointing to six scars left by the gunshot wounds. Qadeer`s experience was not uncommon for those trying to do business in Karachi, home to more than 20 million people and with a reputation as one of the world`s most dangerous cities. But with recorded crimes down sharply since paramilitary Rangers moved in to make its mean streets safer, property developers across the metropolis are looking to cash in on home buyers` new-found confidence. Karachi property prices jumped 23 percent last year to a record high, outpacing other large cities and the national average of 10 percent, data from property website Zameen.com showed. Activists have accused security forces of human rights abuses, while the MQM, Karachi`s dominant political party, says the crackdown is effectively a witch-hunt against it. In the narrow lanes of Qadeer`s working class Lyari area, the forces killed 200 people last year alone, said Zubair Habib, head of the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC). The police say they are often victims of attacks by armed criminals, and that the operation is working. The clampdown also has a growing number of supporters, not least among a business community long frustrated by Karachi`s reputation for high rates of crime. "In those areas where there was a law and order problem, people have started buying houses again," said Arif Habib, head of one of Pakistan`s largest conglomerates. Arif Habib Corporation is building a large housing scheme in Karachi, with enough land eventually to accommodate 30,000 units, and last year listed the country`s first real estate investment trust . "We have the population. There is a shortage of housing and a lot of backlog," Habib said. SUSTAINABLE BOOM OR A BUBBLE? Rising demand for property in Karachi may not reflect the Pakistani economy as a whole. It grew at 4.2 percent in the year to June 2015, against a central bank target of 5.1 percent and below the 6 percent-plus economists say is needed to absorb new entrants into a labour force from a growing population of 190 million people. The central bank said in December that the economy remained structurally weak, with low levels of tax collection, low capital investment and a struggling export sector all posing risks to growth. At least some of the money pouring into Karachi real estate is also likely to be illicit, property experts said, with some investors seeking to avoid paying tax. Official data on total property spending are not available, but land prices and project starts show a surge in demand. Developers launched 134 residential and commercial projects in Karachi last year, up from 106 in 2014 and 72 in 2013, according to Zameen.com. The 2015 total includes 40 projects stalled during the worst of the violence when rival ethnic groups, Taliban militants and powerful gang lords frightened builders away, despite a severe housing shortage. Recorded murders in Karachi fell to 650 last year, a 75 percent drop from 2013, while registered extortion was down 80 percent and kidnapping by nearly 90 percent, according to the CPLC, which collates official police data. Across the city from Lyari, billionaire Malik Riaz is constructing Pakistan`s tallest skyscraper, a 62-floor tower and complex of offices, luxury flats and malls with Arabian Sea views, scheduled to open next year. Project manager Sajid Usmani said 80 percent of the apartments had been bought, with prices of 30,000 rupees ($287) per square foot well above the average for high-end Karachi flats. Still, some developers fear the property boom might turn out to be a bubble. In Lyari, rubbish litters pot-holed streets and locals complain about a lack of water, electricity and jobs, signs of broader weaknesses in Pakistan`s economy. Crime rates could also climb again if the Rangers decide to wind down their lengthy operation. "If they leave, the same situation will occur," said Qadeer. "The criminals will come back." Monrovia: Police fired teargas and threw stones at a crowd which gathered near a courthouse in the Liberian capital Monrovia on Monday to demand the release of a political activist charged with sedition, a Reuters witness said. Street violence is rare in a country that has enjoyed stability and democracy since the end of a civil war in 2003 and the incident will be seen as a sign of increased political tension ahead of elections in October 2017. Dozens of protesters sought the release of Vandalark Patricks, believing the founder of youth advocacy group SURE-Liberiahe would be brought from prison to the Temple of Justice which houses the main courthouse after his arrest last week. In the event, he was not brought to court. Patricks was charged with sedition after making specific allegations of government involvement in a series of high-profile deaths over several years in the West African country. The body of a former head of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company Harry Greaves, who became a prominent government critic, washed up on a beach in Monrovia last month. Liberia`s government, headed by Noble peace prize winner Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has denied wrongdoing. Sirleaf will step down next year and politicians are jockeying for advantage ahead of the first poll since the end of the war without an incumbent. Patricks says he has no political ties but is widely viewed as an opponent of the government. Liberia is recovering after the war, but its economy was hurt in 2014 and last year by an Ebola epidemic that killed more than 4,800 people. Ramallah: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has voiced hope that a French initiative to hold an international Middle East peace conference could lead to a solution like breakthrough talks on Iran's nuclear deal. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in April 2014 and since then, the situation has deteriorated, with the prospects of fresh dialogue appearing more remote than ever. A wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October has killed 178 Palestinians as well as 28 Israelis, an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean, according to an AFP toll. In January, then French foreign minister Laurent Fabius announced plans by Paris to revive plans for an international conference to "bring about the two-state solution" to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Abbas said he hoped the proposal "would allow the creation of a mechanism for a political solution on the model of what happened between the Europeans, Americans and Iran". Last year Iran struck a historic deal with world powers, that agreed to provide Tehran relief from crippling sanctions in exchange for limits on its atomic programme. The July 15, 2015, accord concluded in Vienna ended 12 years of crisis and was reached after 21 months of protracted negotiations. Should efforts to breathe life into the moribund peace process fail, France would move to unilaterally recognise Palestine as a state, Fabius said in January. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed France's proposal, describing it as "mystifying" and counterproductive, arguing that it gives Palestinians no incentive to compromise. Idomeni: Hundreds of refugees Tuesday tried to break through a border fence into Macedonia from Greece, where more than 7,000 people are stranded, as anger mounts over barriers to entry imposed on migrants flooding into Europe. In a sign of deepening divisions within Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel lashed out at Austria and Balkan states for introducing tight limits on migrant entries, leaving Greece with a growing bottleneck as refugee boats continue to arrive from Turkey. And Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov warned that once Austria reaches its cap of a maximum 37,500 migrants transiting through this year, the refugee route through the Balkans will have to close. At Idomeni on the frontier, Macedonian police fired tear gas as some 300 migrants forced their way through a Greek police cordon and raced towards a railway track between the two countries. "Open the borders!" they shouted as a group of men used a metal signpost to bring down a section of barbed wire fencing, prompting police to fire volleys of tear gas and block them from crossing. At least 30 people, many of them children, requested first aid in the stampede that ensued, the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said. Authorities said a Macedonian policeman had also been hurt and had to be hospitalised. The protest occurred several hours after Macedonia allowed just 300 Syrians and Iraqis to cross. With Austria and Balkan states capping the numbers of migrants entering their soil, there has been a swift build-up along the Greece-Macedonia border with Athens warning that the number of people "trapped" could reach up to 70,000 in March. The UN's rights chief criticised a "rising roar of xenophobia" towards migrants. "To keep building higher walls against the flight of these desperate people is an act of cruelty and a delusion," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said. Amnesty International criticised the situation at Idomeni, branding it "the result of a shameful spate of discriminatory border closures". As the bottleneck showed little sign of easing, Merkel slammed the restrictions and pointed the finger at Austria, whose clampdown on February 19 triggered a domino effect in the Balkans. Greece must not be allowed to "plunge into chaos", she said. The spate of border closures was sparked by Austria's announcement it would accept no more than 80 asylum claims per day and that a maximum of 3,200 migrants would be allowed to transit daily. Moscow: The killer babysitter of a four-year-old girl revealed to the police on Tuesday that she beheaded the victim with a kitchen knife since was frustrated due to her husband's infidelity. She had also refused her husband's offer to accept that he had two wives. The accused reportedly went mad with anger after discovering that her husband in Uzbekistan had started a new family while she was away working in Russia. However, as per a second theory, the 38-year-old nanny, currently under police custody, was angered by a Tajik boyfriend whom she had met here, according to Daily Mail. And the reason behind the anger was that all of a sudden she found out that her boyfriend was actually married which was a shock for her. Escorted by armed police, handcuffed Gyulchekhra Bobokulova - herself a mother of three - showed officers the Moscow flat where she apparently strangled Nastya Meshcheryakova, who had learning difficulties, before cutting off her head with a kitchen knife. The little girls remains were left in her cot. Earlier in the day, she was brought to the apartment where the murder was committed. She pointed to the block, the entrance and the apartment by herself, the report said. The 38-year-old nanny further told the police that she was haunted by 'voices' on the day of the murder. In scenes that shocked the world yesterday, the Burkha clad woman was seen walking the streets of Moscow brandishing the head of the dead girl for an hour before she was detained by police. The macabre episode was caught on camera by passers-by, with footage showing the unnamed woman wandering around in the street holding an infant`s severed head high in the air. "I am a terrorist, I want your death," she can be heard screaming in heavily accented Russian in a rambling tirade in which she appears to criticise democracy and talk about the end of the world. Investigators added they thought the woman, who they said was from a Central Asian country, had been working as a nanny for a Moscow family and had murdered a child in her care before setting fire to the family`s flat and fleeing. (With Agency inputs) Washington: Pakistan is "anxiously waiting" for the Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level talks, a top aide of Pakistan Prime Minister said today and asked India not to give the non-state actors "a veto" over bilateral ties. Sartaj Aziz, the foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said that his government's policy direction with regard to fight against terrorism is "clear" but conceded that the "implementation is not very easy". He said a Special Investigative Team (SIT) is scheduled to visit India to investigate the Pathankot terrorist attack and collect samples and evidences. But the progress on the investigation depends on the co-operation from India, he said in response to a question at the Council on Foreign Relations a top US think-tank. "As our policy of peaceful neighbourhood, we have reached out to India. We are anxiously waiting for the dialogue to be resumed. The Pathankot incident disrupted the process of the two foreign secretaries' meetings," Aziz said. "Once we begin the dialogue, I am sure we would be able to deal with some issues even if we are not able to solve all the issues at dispute. Our main purpose is that Line of Control should be peaceful, normal relationship should start, sporting links should resume so that tension decreases. That prepares the ground for dealing with more difficult issues," Aziz said. Responding to a question on how Pakistan would manage the "ability of the spoilers" to take off track the peace efforts of the government in particular with that with India, he conceded that this is a tough task at their disposal. "The question is obviously people who want to disrupt these talks, non-state actors of course. No country has totally controlled them. So for somebody to orchestrate an incident, with people on both sides of the border, these kinds of incidents would always take place. We have been urging India not to give a veto to these non-state groups. "There is one incident and the whole relationship collapses," Aziz said. Observing that a great deal of the problem being faced by Pakistan today is the result of fighting other people's war, including the war against Russia by Afghan Mujahedeen and the US. "Should, we have done that in retrospect, I do not know. Look at the cost to us.. Both guns and drugs. We have destroyed our economic potential in last 20-25 years because of the one decision that we took," he said. Ironically military rulers of that time took such decisions to stay in power. "We have now decided enough to enough. We must look after our own borders, look after our own country, must develop our economy and not become part of anything that does not directly affect us," he noted. Hemeimeem: Dozens of Russian warplanes sat idle today on the tarmac at this Russian air base in Syria on the fourth day of a cease-fire brokered by Moscow and Washington. The apparent lull in action witnessed by the AP on a trip to the base, which was organized by the Russian defense and foreign ministries, contrasts with the hectic operation AP reporters saw here on a previous visit in January. The cease-fire that began at midnight Friday has brought a notable reduction in hostilities for the first time in the five-year war that has killed more than 250,000 people, displaced half of Syria's population and flooded Europe with refugees. But the truce has remained highly fragile with violations reported in many areas with the opposition and the Syrian government blaming each other. The Islamic State group and al-Qaida's branch in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, are excluded from the truce. The Russian military said Monday that its warplanes struck al-Nusra targets north of Aleppo. It said that groups that have declared their adherence to the cease-fire are not being targeted. During the five-month Russian air blitz that began on Sept.30, each jet flew several combat sorties on an average day, amounting to an impressive total of more than 6,000 missions. The Russian Defense Ministry said late Monday that the cease-fire was largely holding despite sporadic violations. Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko, who heads the cease-fire coordination center at the Russian base in Syria, voiced satisfaction with what he described as a good level of coordination with his US counterparts in Amman, Jordan. Russia and the US have agreed to exchange information about opposition groups abiding by the truce and jointly tackle any possible violations. For President Vladimir Putin, the cease-fire deal offers a chance to capitalize on a successful air campaign that has helped Syrian President Bashar Assad's military reverse the tide of war and make significant gains near Aleppo and in several other areas. The US-Russian-brokered truce agreement achieves Putin's key strategic goal of having Moscow appear as an equal partner of Washington in tackling the Syrian crisis. Seoul: Seoul will not shut the door to dialogue with North Korea, South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Tuesday, but warned that Pyongyang, facing new UN sanctions, would be subject to even greater pressure as long as it stuck to its nuclear programme. The UN Security Council is expected to vote soon on a resolution drafted by the United States and backed by China, the North`s main ally, aimed at punishing Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch. "The government will not shut the door on dialogue, but as long as the North doesn`t show the will to denuclearise and refuses to change, pressure from us and the international community will continue," Park said. The anticipated adoption of new tough sanctions by the Security Council shows there is broad international support to stop the North`s nuclear programme, Park said. Her comments came in a speech marking a movement in the 1900s to seek Korean independence from colonial ruler Japan. Park did not make a proposal for fresh dialogue with the North, which last took place in August last year, when the two sides agreed to make efforts to improve ties. In February, in a shift from her earlier focus on dialogue to engage the North, Park vowed tough action and suspended operations at a jointly run industrial park as punishment for the North`s recent moves. The North conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and launched a long-range rocket in February, which the Security Council condemned as a violation of existing resolutions that ban the isolated state from using ballistic missile technology. The proposed new resolution would require UN member states to inspect for illicit goods all cargo passing through their territory on its way to, or from, North Korea. Earlier, countries only had to do this if they had reasonable grounds to believe there was illicit cargo. Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, has sought more time to review the text of the resolution. Baghdad: Four Islamic State group suicide bombers infiltrated an army headquarters west of Baghdad, killing an Iraqi general and five other soldiers, army and police officers said on Tuesday. The bombers attacked a regimental headquarters in the Haditha area of Anbar province late on Monday, killing Staff Brigadier General Ali Aboud, Lieutenant Colonel Farhan Ibrahim and four others, the sources said. Major General Ali Ibrahim Daboun, the head of the Al-Jazeera Operations Command, said one suicide bomber blew himself up inside Aboud`s office, while the other three detonated explosives elsewhere inside the headquarters. Seven soldiers were also wounded in the attack, Daboun said. Colonel Faruq al-Jughaifi, the Haditha police chief, confirmed the attack, saying it took place near a major dam in the area, and that the bombers were dressed in military uniforms. IS overran swathes of Iraq, including large parts of Anbar, in a sweeping offensive launched in June 2014, but has largely been on the defensive in the province since the middle of last year. Iraqi tribesmen and security personnel defending Haditha, which lies near the country`s second largest dam, have held off IS for more than 18 months with the help of air strikes by a US-led coalition. Geneva: Peace talks aimed at ending the conflict in Syria will resume in Geneva on March 9, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura`s office said Tuesday, announcing a two-day postponement. "Intra-Syrian peace talks will resume in the afternoon of 9 March," de Mistura`s office said in a statement. "The 7th of March 2016 was initially set as the target date for the resumption of peace talks," but a short delay was needed "to allow adequate time to address logistical and practical matters." "Mr. de Mistura looks forward to Syrian participants` engagement in serious discussions," the statement added. A first round of talks which began early last month was cut short amid intensifying Russian airstrikes in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad`s forces. Warring parties, excluding the Islamic State group and al Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, have agreed to a truce brokered by the US and Russia, which the United Nations has said is broadly holding despite isolated incidents of fighting. The UN has said an extended commitment to the ceasefire by all sides would raise hope of the talks succeeding, after repeated diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have failed. Ankara: Turkey`s powerful Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan on Tuesday criticised the United States over its Syria strategy, charging that it was relying on Kurdish fighters he described as a "small terror organisation". In an exclusive interview with AFP, Akdogan also rejected suggestions Ankara is preparing any unilateral military intervention to end the five-year war in Syria. Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the People`s Protection Units (YPG) to be an affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers` Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state. The issue has caused major tensions between Turkey and its NATO ally the United States, which has been cooperating with the YPG as the most effective fighting force on the ground against Islamic State (IS) jihadists. Akdogan said the United States had to see that the PYD and YPG are "arm in arm" with Russia and the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad. "I don`t believe it is a very correct approach for giant America to be relying on and hoping for help from a small terrorist organisation and staking its entire Syria approach on this," he said. "YPG and PYD is part of the PKK. A change in the name does not change its nature. If you call an apple a pear, it is still an apple," he added. Alarmed by Kurdish militia forces` advance in northern Syria, Turkey last month shelled their positions in Syria, saying it was responding to incoming fire in line with its rules of engagement. Ankara fears Kurdish fighters` advance in Aleppo province is intended to connect Kurdish-held areas in northern and northeastern Syria, creating an autonomous Kurdish region along its southern border. "Turkey is in a position to protect its national security. Turkey`s national security does not start from its border gate," Akdogan told AFP in his offices in the Cankaya Palace in Ankara. Turkey has said a partial ceasefire in place in Syria since Friday midnight should have excluded the Syrian Kurdish militia force. "Turkey will activate its own rules of engagement and defend itself if a threat is directed against it," said Akdogan. Russia, Turkey`s arch foe in Syria since the shooting down of a Russian war plane by Turkish jets on November 24, has raised alarm that Ankara was preparing a ground invasion -- an idea rubbished by Akdogan. "Turkey will not launch a unilateral operation. Turkey is not a country to jump into an adventure. It is not a belligerent country." He said a "comprehensive" step was needed by all allies that would fight not just IS but also the regime of Assad, which Ankara vehemently opposes.But Akdogan acknowledged Turkey was seeking to create an eight- to 10-kilometre (five- to six-mile) "humanitarian aid belt" between its border gate and the Syrian flashpoint town of Azaz to house refugees. Turkey, now home to some 2.7 million Syrian refugees, has long pressed for a safe zone, backed up by a no-fly zone, to protect its borders and provide shelter for refugees on Syrian soil. Thousands of refugees massed along the Turkish border after the regime`s offensive last month in northern Syria backed by Russia`s airstrikes. Akdogan said Turkey`s "open-border" policy remained in place and an estimated 150,000 Syrians were housed in 10 camps on the Syrian side of the border. Akdogan said Turkey was left alone to deal with the refugee problem and added that it was a contradiction for the European Union to tell Turkey to keep open its southern border but to shut the western border. "We said if a new refugee wave emerges, it will also hit Europe," he said "Therefore it is essential that those people are sheltered on the other side of the border." But Akdogan warned if conflicts and bombings continued and if a security risk emerged, from 150,000 to 800,000 Syrians might flock to Turkey. Turkey last year concluded a deal with the EU to stem the flow of refugees in return for 3 billion euros but so far has yet to receive any of the money. Akdogan said Turkey had presented the EU`s rotating presidency the Netherlands with a project package for Brussels to deliver some part of the package "without delay". He said the issue would be discussed at an EU-Turkey summit meeting on Monday. "This needs to implemented urgently," he said. Washington: The UN Security Council will vote on Tuesday on a US-drafted resolution imposing a raft of new sanctions on North Korea following its nuclear test and rocket launch, diplomats said. The 15-member council will meet at 3:00 pm (2000 GMT) to decide on the package of measures that the United States says will impose the toughest sanctions yet on North Korea. The United States presented the draft resolution to the council last week after reaching agreement with China, Pyongyang`s sole ally, on the new sanctions. US Ambassador Samantha Power said that adoption of the resolution would send "an unambiguous and unyielding message to the DPRK regime: The world will not accept your proliferation. There will be consequences for your actions." She was using the acronym for North Korea`s formal name. The measure "would break new ground and represent the strongest set of sanctions imposed by the Security Council in more than two decades," Power said. The council decided to impose new measures on North Korea after it carried out its fourth nuclear test on January 6 and test-fired a rocket on February 7. Both tests were in violation of a series of resolutions barring North Korea from developing nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The draft resolution would require countries to take the unprecedented step of inspecting all cargo to and from North Korea, impose new trade restrictions and bar vessels suspected of carrying illegal goods for North Korea from ports. The measure provides for a ban on exports of coal, iron and iron ore from North Korea, except if that revenue is used for "livelihood purposes" and not to fund Pyongyang`s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The draft resolution would also ban sales of gold, titanium and rare earth minerals from North Korea and would prohibit the supply of aviation fuel including rocket fuel to the reclusive country. Banking restrictions would be tightened and governments would be required to ban flights of any plane suspected of carrying contraband destined for North Korea. The draft resolution adds 17 individuals and 12 entities to the UN sanctions blacklist including North Korea`s NADA space agency and its intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau. The United States, France and Britain had pushed for quick adoption of the draft text, but Russia said it needed time to analyse its content. The council has imposed four sets of sanctions on North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006. Rome: Central African Republic (CAR) faces a "dire" food crisis with over half the population suffering hunger following three years of conflict, two UN agencies warned on Tuesday. Overall crop production in 2015 remained 54 percent below average levels prior to a March 2013 coup which plunged the impoverished former French colony into chaos, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a report. Production was up 10 percent on 2014 but this was largely due to an increase in the cassava crop. Grain harvests were 70 percent down on pre-crisis levels. "The situation is dire. Half of the population faces hunger," said Bienvenu Djossa, WFP Country Director in CAR. The conflict in CAR has led to one million people being displaced from their homes in a country of less than five million where 75 percent depend on agriculture for their living. The conflict has reduced the number of cattle in the country by almost a half, and the number of of goats and sheep by more than half, the agencies said. Lake and river fishing has been disrupted, resulting in a 40 percent fall in the catch since the onset of the crisis and a 70 percent rise in prices. Other important sources of protein have also seen sharp price spikes with groundnut flour up 74 percent and beef nearly twice as expensive as pre-crisis. The FAO said it had provided 170,900 households with seeds and tools during 2015, benefiting an estimated 850,000 people. The WFP supported the operation by providing food rations to more than 65,000 farming families to prevent them from using their remaining seeds for food rather than planting. Separately, the WFP provided food through various activities including school meals and emergency food assistance to some 900,000 people. The two agencies said they would need more funding from donor states to continue their work in 2016. The FAO is seeking USD 86 million while the WFP said it requires $89 million to respond to urgent needs of 1.4 million people until the end of July in CAR and in neighbouring countries, about half of which it has secured so far. Washington: Ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit here, the US has asked Pakistan to reduce its nuclear weapons arsenal as a responsible nuclear power, while Islamabad has sought greater US understanding of its security concern. "It's important for Pakistan to really process that reality and put that front and centre in its policy," Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday, noting that the US and Russia were seeking to further reduce their nuclear warheads. Speaking at the inaugural session of the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue here, Pakistan Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz, however, sought greater US understanding of Pakistan's security concern and its desire to contribute actively to non-proliferation. "Our engagement on non-proliferation and strategic stability will continue, and Pakistan hopes to see greater US understanding of Pakistan's security concerns and its desire to contribute actively," Aziz said. As a mainstream nuclear power, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is looking forward to attending the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on March 31, he said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to attend the summit. Earlier, welcoming Aziz, Kerry said: "Non-proliferation, nuclear safety is of obvious concern to both our countries, and I expect that we will continue to discuss the obligations of being a responsible state with nuclear weapons in the coming year." He noted that once both the US and the then Soviet Union had 50,000 warheads pointing at each other, but today, Russia and the US are operating under a treaty that has about 1,500 or so nuclear warheads. "And we are seeking to reduce that. So we're moving in the other direction," he said. "And I think it's important for Pakistan to really process that reality and put that front and centre in its policy." Washington: Melania, wife of White House hopeful Donald Trump, in her second ever solo interview, said that although she does not agree with her husband on every issue but wants America to know that he in not 'racist, anti-immigrant' and 'wants to keep the nation safe'. While speaking with Anderson Cooper on Monday night, Melania Trump discussed in detail issues surrounding her husband's presidential campaign. When asked by Cooper about Trump's KK endorsement scandal and people accusing him of being racist with his take on immigration, Melania said, No, he's not. He's not racist. He's not anti-immigrant, as per Daily Mail. He (Donald Trump) wants to keep America safe. He wants to have illegal immigrants taken care of that they will not be in the country, that they don't pay taxes, that they are criminals, and that they are not good for America. He wants -- he was talking about the illegal immigration, not about everybody, she said. Melania also told Cooper she has to have a very thick skin and has to as the remaining GOP candidates' attacks become more vicious against her husband as the candidates fight to come out on top, as per the report. Americans began voting on Tuesday in the crucial Super primaries and caucuses, with front-runners Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump hoping to finish off their rivals in the US presidential election. Trump has expanded his lead over the diminished field to capture the support of nearly half of Republican voters, while Clinton tops Bernie Sanders by nearly 20 points on the Democrat votes, according to a CNN/ORC poll. If Trump wins the South, it could be lights out for his Republican challengers. Texas is the largest prize today. The 'Super Tuesday' is the biggest day of the 2016 US presidential primary primary season, with 12 states and one territory participating: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming and American Samoa. On the Democratic side, 68-year-old Clinton tops Bernie Sanders 55 percent to 38 percent in the new poll, a slightly wider margin than she held in late January before any primaries or caucuses were held, the report said. Some 865 Democratic delegates are at stake, 36 percent of those needed to win. The presidential election is scheduled for November 8. Washington: The US has deployed its elite counter-terrorism unit Delta Force for covert operations in Iraq to capture or kill high-ranking ISIS operatives and gather intelligence, according to a media report. Army's elite Delta Force operations to target, capture or kill top ISIS operatives have begun in Iraq, after several weeks of covert preparation, an official with direct knowledge of the force's activities was quoted as saying by CNN. The official said the group has spent the last several weeks preparing, including setting up safe houses, establishing informant networks and coordinating operations with Iraqi and Peshmerga units. It is the same strategy that Special Operations forces have used in previous deployments to combat zones. The Delta Force plans to replicate the strategy that Special Operations forces used for years in Iraq and Afghanistan, the report said. It said the plan is to gather enough intelligence to stage raids on terror compounds and hideouts. Then from intelligence gathered at those sites, such as laptops and cellphones, forces will try to learn more about ISIS networks and quickly attack additional related targets. It is a strategy that worked in May 2015, when Delta raided a compound in Syria, killing ISIS operative Abu Sayyaf and capturing his wife, the report said. The Expeditionary Targeting Force which numbers about 200 personnel -- has collected enough intelligence now about ISIS operations in Iraq in up to half a dozen locations that raids and field operations are ready inside Iraq, the report said. Several Pentagon and military officials have declined to discuss specifics of the so-called Expeditionary Targeting Force. But Defense Secretary Ash Carter seemed to confirm in comments made at the Pentagon yesterday that the Special Operations forces had begun missions. "The only thing I'll say is the (Expeditionary Targeting Force) is in position, it is having an effect and operating, and I expect it to be a very effective part of our acceleration campaign," he said during a press conference. According to Carter, the force will conduct raids, seize places and people, and free ISIS-held hostages and prisoners. Carter also said that the force would cause ISIS "to fear that anywhere, anytime, it may be struck." A US official said Carter's statement reflects that Delta operations have begun. While the ETF is not yet operating in Syria, a separate group of about 50 US special forces have greatly expanded their initial operations there in recent weeks after the Pentagon announced they were going to Syria. Washington: Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump Monday posted a quote on Instagram attributing it to Mahatma Gandhi, but the American media said there is no evidence that the Indian leader had ever used these words. "First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win - Mahatma Gandhi," Trump wrote on social networking site Instagram as part of his effort to rally supporters. The Instagram post included a picture of hordes of supporters rallying at a Trump campaign stop in Alabama. Soon, the anti-Trump lobby was up in flames on the social media. The Hill, a top US political website, said, "There's no record that Gandhi ever used the phrase, which has been widely attributed to him." The quotation appears to be similar to words used in a 1918 trade union address by socialist leader Nicholas Klein, it said. Christian Science Monitor has put this among the top 10 political misquotes. There was no immediate response from the Trump's campaign on the issue. "Gandhi did not say this," one Scott T Smith wrote on twitter. Trump sought to quote Gandhi a day after he was criticised for re-tweeting Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini early Sunday morning. "He got tired of quoting Mussolini and he's saving the Hitler quotes until he's really desperate," tweeted Brad Fraser. Several popular websites have attributed this quote -- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win - to Mahatma Gandhi. According to Wikiquotes, this is the quote which is often misattributed to Mahatma Gandhi. Hong Kong, China, Feb 29, 2016 - (ABN Newswire) - 99 Wuxian Ltd (ASX:NNW.AX - News) earned a profit of RMB 0.95 cents per share. The Company did not propose any dividend distribution or buy back during the period. Since the Company was established in May 2013, 99 Wuxian has positioned itself as the leading business to business to consumer ("B2B2C") Chinese mobile commerce company to take full advantage of the strong industry trends in Chinese m-commerce. During 2015, 99 Wuxian focused on implementing its strategy of increasing its registered users, increasing user engagement, expanding its platform across merchants, business partners and into new channels to market. 99 Wuxian achieved a number of significant operational and financial milestones in 2015. 99 Wuxian delivered FY2015 revenue of RMB 192.3 million up from revenue of RMB 154.2 million in FY2014 and net profit after tax of RMB 10.2 million in FY2015 up from net profit after tax of RMB 7.0 million in FY2014. 99 Wuxian's significant revenue and profit growth was underpinned by delivery of substantial operational performance and initiatives including the addition of more than 13 million registered users, addition of 11 new business partners thus enlarging the pool of underlying customer base, and launching several highly successful joint marketing campaigns. The Company continues to attract high value business partners and expand its reach in China. The platform has established relationships with 71 of China's leading financial institutions, telecommunications and insurance companies. During 2015, the Company added 11 new business partners reflecting the continued adoption and success of the platform. The Company is actively focussed on developing new channels to market while also continuing discussions with its existing business partners to on board them onto the reward redemption platform. For each of these partners the Company has developed tailored connections, via APPs, between them and their customers in a trusted and secure environment. Story continues Through the business partners on its platform the Company has access to the mobile user customer base of each partner. The Company has grown its user base to 54.51 million registered users as of 31 December 2015, up from 40.79 registered users as of 31 December 2014. In order to maintain its high business standards for product and service quality, the Company maintains a select universe of 155 top-tier merchants who offer virtual and physical goods for purchase through 99 Wuxian's platform. The Company continues to actively monitor and manage its product and merchant mix in response to evolving user demand including in 2015 with high quality additions headlines by leading merchants. In 2015 the company successfully enriched and optimised product and product mix such as petrol cards, healthcare products, virtual vouchers, etc. The Company has a strong pipeline of new products for release over the medium term and will continue to optimize its product mix in order to increase commission rates. To build the user base and to drive transactions, the Company has initiated a number of joint promotions with business partners and merchants offering exclusive opportunities for users to purchase goods and services. Joint promotions have been conducted with a number of business partners. The Company expects that the current portfolio of business partners will provide continued organic growth in registered users which is underpinned by the inexorable growth of the m-commerce market in China. In 2015, the Group has entered into a binding conditional agreement (the "Ofpay Agreement") to acquire 100% equity interests in Jiangsu Ofpay E-commerce Limited ("Ofpay"), a leading upstream wholesaler of online transaction services and product. The transaction allows 99 Wuxian to enhance online market channel visibility, increase virtual product supply continuity, increase virtual product diversity, increase competitive market positioning, and expand scale of operations in preparation of future partner engagement growth. In terms of the competitive landscape, 99 Wuxian holds a unique and dominant position in the B2B2C segment. A number of large B2C m-commerce businesses have well established brands in China which is why the Company has adopted a B2B2C strategy. In this space the barriers to entry are high and durable, given the difficulty for competitors to establish similar partnerships with banking and telecommunications companies, and there are few, if any, comparable businesses. With initial critical mass achieved, the Company is shifting its focus to extracting maximum value from the user base by increasing both the value and volume of transactions, thereby growing revenues. In addition to continuing to market to the user base through joint promotions with business partners and merchants, other initiatives are being undertaken to facilitate the growth in both volume and value of transactions through the marketplace. It is expected this will be bolstered by the macro trend of increasing propensity of users to transact via m-commerce, with larger values per transaction. A key strategic focus during the next phase of the company's growth is the ability to unlock the value of the Company's proprietary 'big data'. The scale and volume of transactions the Company has built together with Handpay has enabled the collection of significant amounts of data relating to consumer behaviour and transactions. This enables the Company to work with its business partners to deepen their relationships with their customers and provide offers tailored to specific needs. The Company is pleased with its progress to date, delivering significant revenue and profit growth in FY2015, executing its business strategy and building a critical mass of quality business partners, merchants and registered users that now enables it to focus on maximising the revenue potential of the 99 Wuxian platform. To view the report, please visit: http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-NNW-909771.pdf About 99 Wuxian Ltd: 99 Wuxian Ltd (ASX:NNW.AX - News) aggregates over 300 million high quality consumers and 155 leading merchants through a marketplace embedded within the mobile apps of China's leading banks, telecommunications and insurance companies. 99 Wuxian enables increased customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention for its business partners by offering consumers the lifestyle convenience of purchasing virtual and physical goods on a mobile device. Contact: 99 Wuxian Limited Mr Ross Benson T: +61-418-254-548 Fowlstone Communications Mr Geoff Fowlstone T: +61-413-746-949 Source: 99 Wuxian Ltd Copyright (C) 2016 ABN Newswire. All rights reserved. ELKO State Controller Ron Knecht is asking local businesses to help fight the states new commerce tax by getting registered voters to sign a referendum petition. Matt McCarty said the Elko Area Chamber board has not endorsed the petition, but he thought it was important that local businesses got to hear what Knecht had to say on the commerce tax. McCarty said he is planning on speaking to the Chambers board about the issue. Knecht gave a brief history lesson Monday on why Nevada businesses are facing a gross receipts tax this year. He said his standard for writing a budget is government in Nevada needs to grow slower than the economy. Instead, the state ignored his advice and passed the largest tax increase ever in Nevada history. Knecht said decades ago, half the states had gross receipts taxes, but there is a consensus among policy experts and academics that this type of tax is economically destructive. Today there are only three states that still have them and theyre retreating from them, he said. Despite 79 percent of Nevadans voting against the margins tax another version of a gross receipts tax two years ago, the Legislature decided to pass the increase. Knecht said they put in the commerce tax at the last minute. Previously gross receipts tax proposals would have hit all businesses with the same rate, he said. This time they devised 26 different rates for 26 different industries and business categories. He said the threshold for when a business pays the commerce tax is $4 million. However, there isnt anything in the law that forces the state to keep to that threshold. Knecht said many lawmakers want to lower the threshold. Assemblyman John Ellison who voted against the commerce tax said he has heard from other legislators that they want to lower the threshold to $500,000. Knecht said another really bad problem with the commerce tax is the filing. Every business will have to file, regardless of whether you owe a cent, he said. He said the filing wont be as simple as copying IRS documents over to the state. The commerce tax will be filed according to the states fiscal year, which is July to June. Since most businesses dont keep records from July to June, they will have to have another set of records, which will make it costlier for businesses. The new reporting is like five times worse than the IRS, mostly for small businesses, Ellison said. Knecht said if a person owns multiple businesses they will be taxed as a group, even if they are organized separately. He gave an example that if one person or group owns at least 50 percent of three businesses and each of those made $2 million in gross receipts, that owner would be taxed on the joint $6 million in gross receipts. Unlike the earlier margins tax, there are no exemptions for the commerce tax, Knecht said. Knecht said he wants to get the referendum on the ballot for two reasons. If people vote to repeal the commerce tax it goes away. If people vote to ratify the law, it means the Legislature cant touch the threshold or play with the rates without the OK of the people. If we lose, we still win, he said. Knecht said if people want this referendum on the ballot they need to get petitions signed. Anyone who wants to collect signatures must have all 26 pages of the petition for it to be legal. The petitions must be notarized and then filed in each county, so Elko County registered voters must sign an Elko County petition. However, people in Elko County can help distribute petitions for other counties. Knecht said they need to collect 55,234 signatures of registered voters, but he and volunteers are aiming for 80,000 signatures or 20,000 per congressional district. The deadline for turning in the completed petitions is June 21, but Knecht is aiming for June 15. Locally Debbie Pawelek, owner of Natural Nutrition at 1900 Idaho St., is leading the cause in Elko County. She said her business has collected about 800 signatures so far. I picture it like, what if 55 stores got a thousand signatures? Wed have it, Pawelek said. Were almost at a thousand, but were passionate. Knecht said he thinks they have about 10,000 signatures statewide. He said he is still working out the logistics on making sure each county has a location leading the charge. Anyone who wants to help collect signatures can download the petition from www.ripcommercetax.com. Knecht said those who collect signatures must print out all 26 pages for it to be legal and all the pages should be kept together. Just tell people the signatures start at page 22, he said. I've been told so many stories about why we have daylight savings in America, the stupid tradition is baffling. California is considering doing away with the odd, and annoying bi-annual clock shift. The Sacramento Bee shares some of the confused history of this questionable practice: By Daniel Bases NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sovereign debt settlement talks between the government of Argentina and holdout bondholders stemming from an historic default in 2002 made further progress on Wednesday, the court appointed mediator, Daniel Pollack, said in a statement. "Some progress was made today. Discussions will continue tomorrow," Pollack said. Thursday's discussions between Argentine Finance Secretary Luis Caputo and various holdout investors would mark the fourth straight day of meetings between the two sides in the dispute. In the U.S. courts there are $9 billion worth of claims against Argentina that remain to be settled, Pollack said in a statement at the start of this round of talks on Monday. Caputo, a former bond trader with Deutsche Bank, sits at the negotiating table with a market mindset that is different from the previous government's chief negotiator, former Economy Minister Axel Kicillof, an economist and academic. One source familiar with the discussions in New York said the talks could extend potentially through to Friday. A second source familiar with the talks characterized the discussions as "intense and highly complex" given different investor groups are now involved rather than just the main holdouts led by Elliott Management and Aurelius Capital Management. In November 2014, Pollack was given authority by presiding U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa to grant other holdout investors a seat at the negotiating table. Argentina appears to be working systematically to settle with those various holdout groups. On Tuesday, Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay, an ex-banker with JPMorgan Chase & Co, announced a settlement with Italian creditors who hold unpaid sovereign debt. Argentina will pay them $1.35 billion in cash. That represents a payment of 150 percent on the $900 million principal value of the defaulted bonds. Any deal the administration of newly elected President Mauricio Macri reaches with holdout bondholders is subject to approval in Argentina's congress where Macri does not hold a majority. While in New York Caputo has said on several occasions that he sees progress and has met with several different holdout investors. Press reports on Wednesday indicate he reiterated that talks remain informal and in confidence. However, it is still unclear whether or not Argentina has signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that Elliott and Aurelius demanded. The government has insisted that they have to operate with open and transparent discussions. The second source familiar with the negotiations says the government has not signed the NDA. (Reporting By Daniel Bases; Editing by Andrew Hay) TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - March 01, 2016) - On March 2, literacy will be the word of the night as Bay Street's best challenge their peers to a game of Scrabble at Frontier College's 12th annual Scrabble Corporate Challenge, presented by TMX Group. Hosted by Pat Bolland, the tournament attracts 250 senior executives from Canada's banks, investment, technology, accounting, and law firms for a one-night, no spellcheck Scrabble competition in support of Frontier College, Canada's original literacy organization. Frontier College provides literacy programs for Canadians through a network of thousands of volunteers from coast to coast to coast. "It's easy to take for granted the concepts of reading and literacy. A tournament based on a word game is the perfect event to bring awareness to the current low literacy rates in Canada," says Sarah Thompson, acting Co-CEO and Co-President, Frontier College. "Literacy is vital to the success of our economy, and low literacy skills are directly linked to poverty, poor health and high unemployment. With the support of TMX Group and corporate Canada, Frontier College can continue to train over 2,500 volunteers to delivery literacy and learning support to thousands of youth and adults in high-needs communities across Canada." One of the most recognized fundraising events on Bay Street, Frontier College's Scrabble Corporate Challenge sparks a fierce competitive atmosphere. Players will rack up triple word scores to vie for the coveted TMX Cup and the opportunity to open the Toronto Stock Exchange on March 14. CIBC Lexicologists will defend their 2015 TMX Cup title. "TMX Group looks forward to the Frontier College's Scrabble Corporate Challenge each year and are especially proud to be the title sponsor," says Lou Eccleston, CEO, TMX Group. "The work the College does in the community is important and we salute their dedication to improving literacy rates among children, youth and adults in communities across Canada." Story continues Since 2005, the Scrabble Corporate Challenge has raised $3 million dollars for Frontier College. About Frontier College Frontier College has been a leader in providing literacy programs since 1899. Literacy is an essential skill in today's world. We believe it's a fundamental right. Through a network of thousands of volunteers, Frontier College is helping Canadians to realize their potential and seize opportunities. For more information about Frontier College visit www.frontiercollege.ca About TMX Group (TSX-X) TMX Group's key subsidiaries operate cash and derivative markets and clearinghouses for multiple asset classes including equities, fixed income and energy. Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TSX Alpha Exchange, The Canadian Depository for Securities, Montreal Exchange, Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation, NGX, BOX Options Exchange, Shorcan, Shorcan Energy Brokers, AgriClear and other TMX Group companies provide listing markets, trading markets, clearing facilities, depository services, data products and other services to the global financial community. TMX Group is headquartered in Toronto and operates offices across Canada (Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver), in key U.S. markets (New York, Houston, Boston and Chicago) as well as in London, Beijing, Singapore and Sydney. For more information about TMX Group, visit our website at http://www.tmx.com. Follow TMX Group on Twitter: @TMXGroup. Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/2/27/11G084839/Images/scrabble-a319b9b6be5fa2a5a44a83293342a727.jpg TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - March 01, 2016) - As ecommerce sales continue to soar, Visa Canada is dedicating its annual Fraud Prevention Month campaign to educating online retailers about how to help prevent card-not-present (CNP) fraud. Together with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Visa Canada will offer a free merchant webinar on March 4, 2016, to help educate and inform retailers about the fraud prevention tools that are available. Information and registration details are available online at www.visasecuritysense.ca. Global ecommerce sales are projected to reach $3.5 trillion by 2019i, positioning online retailers for a lot of new business. However, the capacity for increased revenue comes with potential for increased fraud attempts. In Canada, card-not-present fraud -- fraud perpetrated online, over the phone or through the mail -- currently accounts for 80 per cent of total fraudii. To benefit from the surge in sales, and lower the risks of a CNP environment, online retailers should educate themselves on the tools and tactics available to help prevent fraud. "As ecommerce continues to grow to record levels, we want to help online retailers in Canada implement tools that mitigate the risk of card-not-present fraud," said Gord Jamieson, Head of Visa Canada Risk Services. "While no single fraud tool is the answer; Visa promotes adopting a multi-layered approach to help protect all the players in the payments system, whether they are shopping online in a store, from their computer or phone." As part of their fraud prevention mandate, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) continues to work directly with merchants and financial institutions to disrupt CNP Fraud. In 2015, participating merchants flagged 14,498 suspicious transactions to the CAFC for investigation. Of these, 86 per cent were identified as fraudulent cards, totaling $11,831,196.42 in attempted card-not-present fraud that was divertediii. "We are pleased to team up with Visa to help educate retailers about ways to prevent card not present fraud," said Sgt. Al Boulianne, Manager, CAFC. "It's important for both consumers and retailers to educate themselves and take steps to protect information and help prevent fraud." Story continues Visa offers three globally available services for validating the payment card and authenticating the cardholder: CVV2 (or the three digit code on the back of a card), Address Verification Service (AVS) and Verified by Visa (VbV). Every Visa transaction is processed through VisaNet, the technology backbone that supports the billions of transactions made on the global network. In a split second, Visa analyzes multiple data sets such as past transactions, whether the account has been involved in a data compromise, global fraud trends, and nearly 500 other pieces of data, helping identify criminal patterns and prevent fraud before it happens. For online retailers, Visa Canada offers the following fraud prevention 'red flags' to look out for when processing orders and payments: Larger-than-normal orders Multiple orders for the same product Orders for products readily convertible to cash (i.e. electronics) Orders made up of "big-ticket" items Customer requests "rush" or "overnight" delivery Single card used with multiple shipping addresses Billing address different than shipping address Orders have different names, addresses, and card numbers, but from a single IP address Multiple transactions on a single card over a short time period For cardholders, Visa's layered approach to fraud prevention includes EMV Chip, E-Promise, and Visa's Zero Liability policy. Information about Visa's multiple layers of security, including Visa's Zero Liability policy, are available on Visa's website, accessible at www.visa.ca. About Visa Inc. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world's most advanced processing networks -- VisaNet -- that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead of time with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit usa.visa.com, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNewsCA. i Source: eMarketer July 2015, includes online and mobile ecommerce ii Source TC40 client fraud reporting in nominal USD (as of 01/04/2016) iii 2015 Annual Report: Project Bad Card Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/2/29/11G085088/Images/infographic-9c127bb8c943a19d9658feb882a8ef36.jpg By Kshitiz Goliya (Reuters) - Chipmaker Marvell Technology Group Ltd said an investigation found no fraud in the way the company had booked revenues but pointed out that there was "significant pressure" from the management on sales teams to meet revenue targets. The audit committee also noted that internal controls were not fully followed and revenue was booked prematurely for some transactions. Marvell's shares rose as much as 4.2 percent after the six-month investigation found no evidence of fraud. However, the committee's findings raised questions about the management's operating style, an issue flagged by PriceWaterhouseCoopers in October, when it resigned as the company's auditor. Marvell's Chief Executive, Indonesia-born Sehat Sutardja, co-founded the chipmaker in 1995, along with his brother Pantas and wife Weili Dai, who is now the president of the company. "At the top there are some very strong figures and some of those figures need to be put in check and hopefully will be," FBR Capital Markets & Co analyst Christopher Rolland said. The committee also raised questions about a patent Sutardja had initially claimed as his before passing onto the company. The patent relates to a technology that substantially reduces the amount of a type of memory needed to run computers and smartphones. Sutardja personally holds 360 patents. The company said it was evaluating whether any of the findings were material to any previously reported financial period and that it would shift revenue forward one quarter if needed to rectify the issue. "It is a step forward but I wouldn't say they are totally out of the woods yet," FBR Capital Markets & Co analyst Christopher Rolland said. The committee said it intends to review certain matters that came to its attention during the investigation and has not determined whether those issues would be material. The company said in December it had been contacted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney's Office regarding the probe. Marvell's shares were up 2.4 percent at $9.78 on Tuesday morning. They had fallen 9.5 percent since company announced the accounting probe in September. (Reporting by Kshitiz Goliya in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Savio D'Souza) By Himank Sharma and Aradhana Aravindan MUMBAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - As Apple Inc resists the U.S. government in a high profile stand-off over privacy, rival device makers are, for now, keeping a low profile. Most are Asian companies - the region produces eight of every 10 smartphones sold around the world - and operate in a complex legal, political and security landscape. Only China's Huawei has publicly backed Apple CEO Tim Cook in his fight to resist demands to unlock an encrypted iPhone belonging to one of those who went on a shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California in December. "We put a lot of investment into privacy, and security protection is key. It is very important for the consumer," Richard Yu, chief executive of Huawei's consumer business group, told reporters at the Mobile World Congress earlier this week. But Yu stopped short of saying explicitly that Huawei would adopt the same stance. "Some things the government requires from vendors we cannot do," he said, citing an example of unlocking an encrypted Android device. "These are important things for the consumer, for privacy protection." Lenovo Group CEO Yang Yuanqing declined to say whether he backs the Apple position, saying the issue required time and consideration. "Today it happens to Apple, tomorrow it could happen to Lenovo mobile phones. So we must be very serious to consider. We need to take some time," Yang told Reuters. Samsung Electronics Co and Chinese device maker Xiaomi declined to comment, while ZTE Corp did not respond to requests for comments. South Korean mobile maker LG Electronics Inc said it takes personal privacy and security very seriously, but declined to say whether it had ever worked with any government to insert so-called "backdoors" into its products or whether it had ever been asked to unlock a smartphone. "Nobody wants to be seen as a roadblock to an investigation," said a spokesperson for Micromax, India's biggest local smartphone maker. "Nobody wants that kind of stigma. We have to take care of both customer security as well as (a) genuine threat to national security." REGULATORS TAKE INTEREST Many Asian countries don't have privacy laws that device makers can fall back on to resist demands from law enforcement authorities. "As part of the evidence gathering process provided for under the law, law enforcement agencies in Singapore may request information from persons or organizations," Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs Spokesperson told Reuters. An official at India's telecom regulator said authorities can ask for private user data from technology companies, as can those in Indonesia, said Ismail Cawidu, spokesman for Indonesia's Communication and Information Ministry. Eugene Tan, associate professor of law at the Singapore Management University, said he wouldn't be surprised if technology firms weren't being asked for access to their devices. "It's just that these are not made public. You can imagine for the technology companies, they are also concerned about the publicity - if they are seen to be caving in to law enforcement agencies, there is always a fear that people may not use their products and services," he said. Micromax said this was commonplace in India. "I can't say no to a law enforcement request, and every day there is one," the company's spokesperson said. "You have to comply with requests in the larger interest of national security." The Apple battle may even spur regulators in some markets to demand device makers grant them access. Thailand's telecoms regulator said it is studying the possibility of having separate agreements with handset makers and social media firms such as Facebook and Naver's LINE to help extract data from mobile phones. "There is political pressure" for regulating devices, said Rob Bratby, manager of Olswang Asia, a technology-focused law firm based in Singapore. He said there was no evidence of any such regulatory interest yet, but it was a matter of time. (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan and Jeremy Wagstaff in SINGAPORE, Himank Sharma in MUMBAI, Se Young Lee in SEOUL, Agustinus Beo da Costa in JAKARTA, Manunphattr Dhanananphorn in BANGKOK, Harro Ten Wolde in BARCELONA; Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) [@JustinTrudeau] With 25,000 Syrian refugees now on the ground in Canada, refugee advocates want to know what will happen to remaining Syrians and refugees from other countries. Immigration and Refugee Minister John McCallum has said that Canada may take in as many as 50,000 Syrians by the end of this year. Loly Rico, president of the Canadian Council for Refugees, lauds the federal government for meeting the promise of 25,000. But she says it remains to be seen whether the government will extend the measures that allowed them to do so, including waiving repayment of transportation costs for this first wave of Syrian refugees and putting in place additional resources to ensure speedy processing. We dont know what is going to happen to the Syrians coming after today, Rico tells Yahoo Canada News. And its not only Syrian refugees that are in crisis. Rico says her organization met with Immigration officials on Monday and brought these concerns. They were told that Canada will continue to resettle Syrians displaced by war in that country but its unclear whether the transportation fees will continue to be waived. That has to be in place for all refugees, Rico says. The federal government has reinstated a program to provide health care coverage for newly arrived refugees. But it can take years for refugees from other regions to have their applications processed by Canadian officials. The backlog of applications in most areas is up to a year and there is great need in countries like Sudan and Eritrea. The processing times could be faster if you have the resources to do it, she says. They said they are working to speed up the processing times. The federal government has promised to open a new visa office in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which will help clear the lengthy backlog in the visa office in Nairobi. A spokesman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says Syrian refugees will continue to be accepted as Canada moves toward its goal of 25,000 government-assisted refugees. The current cohort includes both government-assisted and privately-sponsored refugees. Story continues The governments commitment to resettling Syrian refugees to Canada will continue in 2016 as both government-supported and privately sponsored Syrian refugees will arrive on commercial flights in the months ahead, Remi Lariviere tells Yahoo Canada News in an email. Figures for the number of refugees that have arrived in Canada are only available until the end of September prior to the ramping up of the Syrian resettlement program. Some have expressed concern that refugees from other regions are being overlooked as Canada focuses on its high-profile commitment on Syria. But Lariviere says Canada has commitments to resettle 900 Colombians by the end of this year; 5,000 Iraqis and Iranians by the end of 2017; 2,500 Congolese by the end of 2017; and 4,000 Eritreans by the end of 2018. We recognize that there are many refugee populations who need Canadas protection which is why we continue to process applications for other refugee populations, according to existing processing standards and to the greatest extent possible, Lariviere says. Though Canada has been lauded internationally for its resettlement efforts, Canadians are divided, says one recent poll. The survey released this month by the Angus Reid Institute found that 44 per cent of those polled are opposed to the resettlement plan, while 42 per cent said Canada should stop taking in Syrian refugees immediately. Most opponents cited the short timeline as their primary concern, says the institute report. Support has increased slightly from surveys conducted during and immediately after the October federal election. But the growth in support for the resettlement effort hasnt alleviated fears about the speed of the process, the report says. Twenty-nine per cent of those polled in the most recent survey said 25,000 is enough and 29 per cent said Canada should accept more. By Edmund Blair ASMARA (Reuters) - Eritrea is not prepared to stop forcing its youth into lengthy stretches of work as soldiers and civil servants, a conscription policy that is driving waves of refugees to make the perilous trip across the Sahara desert and Mediterranean Sea to Europe. European nations say that the poor Horn of Africa nation is moving only slowly and cautiously to stabilize the economy to stem the tide of migrants which is aggravating the refugee crisis that is gripping the European Union. The Asmara government insists conscription is vital for national security saying that it fears attack by its far bigger neighbor Ethiopia with which it fought a bloody and expensive war that ended in June 2000. On paper, citizens between the ages of 18 and 40 must complete 18 months of service to the state but diplomats and those who have fled say this can stretch to a decade or more. The government reserves the right to extend length of service in periods of emergency. Eritrea is raising national service salaries, printing new local currency notes to deter people-traffickers and investing in mining and other sectors, but diplomats are not convinced it is doing enough to retain its young people. Western diplomats said the strategy, boosted by a new EU financial package, showed greater engagement and openness by one of Africa's poorest countries, which has championed "self reliance" and has long accused world powers of trying to push it into isolation with U.N. sanctions. But the diplomats, who all spoke on condition of anonymity, accused Eritrea of back-tracking on privately made commitments by some officials last year to fix national service at 18 months, a term stipulated four years after Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia in 1991. European nations say that as long as national service dragged past the time limit Eritrean youths would continue to leave the country, thereby losing valuable workers that are needed to prop up the domestic economy. Each month as many as 5,000 people flee Eritrea according to U.N. figures, estimates the Eritrean government disputes. The government puts the population at about 3.6 million, while other estimates suggest it could be almost double that. "The government is doing the utmost that it can do, under the circumstances," Information Minister Yemane Ghebremeskel told Reuters in Eritrea, saying salaries would rise but there were no plans to scrap or cut national service. "Demobilization is predicated on removal of the main threat," Yemane said in his office overlooking Asmara. "You are talking about prolongation of national service in response to ... continued belligerence by Ethiopia," he said referring to Eritrea's neighbor with a population of 97 million. ERITREA "ENGAGING MORE" Eritrea, which sits on the Red Sea coast next to one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, won independence after decades of conflict in which the death toll for both sides was tens of thousands dead. It also fought a border war in 1998 to 2000. It has complained that world powers failed to push Ethiopia to accept an arbitration ruling on demarcating their boundary. The government in Addis Ababa has said it wants talks on implementation, which Asmara rejects saying the ruling is clear. Diplomats want the Eritrean government to make creating more jobs in the state-dominated economy a priority to discourage young people from fleeing, but believe the government is acting cautiously. They are engaging more," one Western diplomat said. "You have to build their confidence. They dont move quickly." Eritreans in national service receive military training, but many move to civil service jobs after a few months, working as medical professionals, teachers, engineers or other jobs. For years, they have earned less than regular civil servants and often complain they are shunted into careers they didn't choose. "Some people come out after two to three years. Some serve more than 10," said another diplomat. "That makes it difficult for the young people to plan their life. That has been one of the main reasons why Eritreans get asylum so easily in Europe." Rights activists have described it as "forced labor" and accuse Eritrea of other rights abuses too, including holding political prisoners, allegations the government denies. Eritreans who have fled dismiss the idea of serious reforms to the national service system, run by President Isaias Afwerki since independence. However, others who have stayed said some national service conscripts were now being better paid. Abel Haile, a 21-year-old who fled this month to Ethiopia, told Reuters when he was drafted into the army in 2014 an army general told conscripts they would be in the military for just one year. He left 13 months later when he saw no end in sight. "It would mean sacrificing your whole life otherwise," he said in Enda Aba Guna, an Ethiopian town near the border. In Asmara, a 23-year-old who works at a ministry said she earned 500 nakfa - the equivalent of about $33 a month at the official rate but less on the black market. But she said she understood her earnings would rise under new rules. "We are waiting. Graduates pay is higher," she said, speaking while helping out in her family's small grocery shop. PUSH VS PULL FACTORS In a series of interviews, ministers accepted there were "push" factors like low pay driving people abroad, but mostly blamed "pull" factors enticing Eritreans away, saying migrants only needed to complain about what they said were injustices in national service to get asylum in Europe. Foreign Minister Osman Saleh Mohammed, who said ties with European Union states were deepening, also told Reuters that Western policies had "taken the young generation to Europe". The EU signed a 200-million-euro package of support last month with Eritrea, a nation that has in the past turned down some foreign aid when it believed it would create dependence not development. The EU package includes energy sector support. Generators from chronic power shortages often rumble in the capital, an elegant, low-rise city with buildings and street cafes from the early 20th century Italian colonial era. Most residents cannot afford the luxury of a private power supply, leaving shops in the dark as evening draws in. In rural areas, many are not connected to the national grid at all. Finance Minister Berhane Habtemariam said new mines - one commercial mine is in operation and three more are due to start by 2018 - would boost the economy, but he said the government also wanted investment in tourism, fisheries and other areas. He declined to give growth or other economic forecasts. "Every time we give figures, it is used by our enemies to attack us," he said, the kind of remark that fuels Eritrea's reputation as a reclusive nation, a description the government vehemently disagrees with saying it is open but faces threats. The African Development Bank estimates growth in 2015 was 2.1 percent up from 2.0 percent a year before. The minister said he did not know how the bank reached those figures, but said growth had been in double digits about five years ago when gold mining started and prices were higher. Berhane outlined some new national service pay scales, including for graduates who would receive 4,000 nakfa a month instead of 1,400 nakfa. Civil service pay across the board was under review and would help discourage migration, he said. SECRET PLAN, WORTHLESS NOTES Introducing new nakfa currency notes late last year was designed to rein in a black market and hit human traffickers abroad, such as those in Sudan who took cash from migrants in nakfa and had kept the old notes, the minister said. The new notes were issued in a six-week period - the timing of which had been kept "top secret" said one official - to ensure traffickers could not send their cash hoard back in time, leaving them holding now worthless old currency notes. "It might not stop (human trafficking) altogether, but I am sure it is going to have an impact," the finance minister said. While the official rate of around 15 nakfa to the U.S. dollar has stayed fixed, the black market rate has plunged to about 20-25 from 50-55 before the new notes were circulated. Western economic experts say floating the nafka currency would help scrub out the black market in a nation that relies heavily on remittances from Eritreans abroad. Government officials say it would simply hurt the economy. The government has instead limited circulation of the new notes and bank withdrawals to encourage more Eritreans to use cheques and bank transfers, trying to reduce the size of the cash economy that officials say allowed illegal trade to thrive. But this has created challenges for a country with just two commercial banks and 30 branches combined. A cash crunch has left shops and restaurants struggling to find customers, as few people have enough notes to spend on anything more than basics. "Demand is less than it was since the new exchange system," said Mohamed Nour, a 70-year-old clothes shopkeeper on one of Asmara's main commercial streets. "But we must have patience." (Additional reporting by Aaron Maasho in Ethiopia; Writing by Edmund Blair, editing by Peter Millership) First and foremost, I would like to take the time to thank and recognize Great Basin College donors for their generous and continued support. With your support, approximately $70,000 in scholarship awards were given to 41 students in the Spring 2016 semester. On average, each student received $1,700. Students who receive the support from the Foundation are some of GBCs most accomplished and dedicated, averaging a 3.18 GPA in the previous semester. I am very appreciative of donors who make this support possible for hardworking college students, who often balance school with part-time or full-time careers, internships and families. It should not go unnoticed that your donations are a vehicle in advancing GBCs mission to provide higher education to rural Nevada students. While the GBC mission is to provide student-centered post-secondary education to rural Nevada, GBC continues to do so, hoping graduates will go on to strengthen the resources and workforce in our communities and state. Since our founding almost 50 years ago, it is our hope that the community has seen and felt the positive impact of our graduates who have often entered the workforce in our backyards, including careers in technology, mining, business, entrepreneurship, education, healthcare and much more. Recently, the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents approved two new bachelor degree programs to begin being offered at GBC. It is in our vision GBC will begin to offer many more bachelor degrees, which prepare students to enter a competitive and knowledge-based job market, and are often obtained by students who wish to attend graduate school programs. We believe bachelor degrees better prepare students in multiple disciplines, building innovative and resourceful economies in the GBC service area, which covers 10 out of the 16 Nevada counties. GBC donors, like our students, reside across the State of Nevada. They represent professional organizations, families, and memorials. Many of our donors are passionate about a particular cause, or would like to see their scholarship be given to a student who resides in a particular region. Scholarship awards have been described by recipients as encouraging. On behalf of the Foundation and the rest of the GBC community, I can promise you that your gifts endure much longer after the initial award is given; students who are encouraged become motivated, hardworking community members. Encouragement not only exists in scholarships awards. I urge you to engage in conversations with young people in our communities and ask them if they have considered going to college, and what their aspirations are. If your current position allows you to be a mentor to a young person, I encourage you to take on the role. The value of a mentor is priceless, and there is often great gratification behind lending words of advice and being a role model. To those that have already taken on the responsibility, I thank you, too, for your support in fostering a positive future for rural Nevada and beyond. By Eric Auchard BARCELONA (Reuters) - Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Monday tried to extend an olive branch to mobile phone companies, on which the popular social network company increasingly relies, but which are also among his biggest critics. Speaking for the third straight year to an annual gathering of telecoms executives at the Mobile World Congress here, Zuckerberg sought to show his company could be a valuable, if truculent, ally to the wireless industry. He described a new project Facebook is working on with major telecom players, including Nokia , Deutsche Telekom , SK Telecom <017670.KS> and Intel to help rapidly build far faster mobile networks at lower costs. But while listing the various ways Facebook was prepared to help network operators contend with spiraling consumer appetites for data, he also criticized and made more demands on the industry. Zuckerberg challenged the priorities for next-generation 5G networks, which the industry is gearing up to deliver around 2020. He called them "faster connections for rich people" and said the companies should make more effort to "finish the job of making sure that everyone in the world gets Internet access." More than 4 billion people have no access to the Internet, he noted. Telecom operators complain that companies like Facebook and Google Inc that offer data-heavy mobile services are effectively free-loading on the big investments they must make to keep fixed-line and mobile networks from becoming overloaded. "Facebook has always had a love-hate relationship with carriers," Forrester Research analyst Thomas Husson said after Zuckerberg's comments. Further complicating his relationships with the telecom industry, Zuckerberg said video would be the next big driver for Facebook growth, putting more pressure on existing networks. Its users watch more than 100 million hours of video daily. While criticizing the industry for failing to do more to reach unconnected populations, Zuckerberg is a leading proponent of new virtual reality cameras that he said could be a killer app for 5G but which would place vast new demands on networks. He also defended Facebook's Free Basics program, through which the company works with operators in emerging markets to offer a pared-back free Internet service to reach consumers who cannot afford data plans. The Indian government introduced rules blocking Internet services from having different pricing policies for accessing different parts of the web, effectively shuttering the Free Basics program in that country, one of Facebook's most important emerging markets. Zuckerberg is kicking off a tour of Europe on Monday that includes a town hall meeting in Berlin on Thursday. Facebook has faced criticism in Germany in recent months from politicians and regulators over its privacy practices and a slow response to anti-immigrant postings by neo-Nazi sympathizers on the popular social network. (Additional reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb in San Francisco; Editing by Dan Grebler) By Tom Perry and Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah said on Tuesday that Lebanon had been pushed into a new phase of political conflict by Saudi Arabia but was not on the brink of civil war and its government of national unity should survive. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Iranian-backed group, also stepped up criticism of Saudi Arabia, accusing it of directing car bombings in Lebanon, an arena for sectarian-tinged Iranian-Saudi rivalry that is escalating across the Middle East. Saudi Arabia had no immediate response to the accusation. Relations between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia have been plunged into crisis since Riyadh halted $3 billion in aid to the Lebanese army - a response to the Beirut government's failure to condemn attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran. The row has raised concern for Lebanon's political and economic stability by exacerbating tensions between its Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims and prompting concerns about the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese expatriates the Gulf. Tensions spilled into the streets on Saturday night when a Saudi-owned TV station aired a show mocking Nasrallah that led the group's supporters to block roads with burning tires. "It is clear that since ... the announcement to halt grants and other Saudi measures we have entered a new phase of political and media struggle which Saudi Arabia has escalated," Nasrallah said. The aim of Saudi policy was to force Lebanese to confront Hezbollah to force it to retreat "even if this leads to strife in Lebanon, the collapse of the government in Lebanon, to a civil war in Lebanon", Nasrallah said. "Saudi doesn't care." "We see that the continuation of the government is a national interest and we do not intend to resign from it." Sunni-led Saudi Arabia wields big influence in Lebanon through its backing for Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri, a former prime minister who said on Tuesday that "riots, road blocking and tire burning" were attempts to provoke "chaos and discord". "We should not be dragged to any attempt of this sort," he said. Tension between Hezbollah and Hariri spilled into armed conflict as recently as 2008, when a political dispute fueled by Saudi-Iranian rivalry triggered a brief civil war. Nasrallah said there would be no repeat of that conflict. "We don't want to turn the table on anyone. We want this table to remain," he said in reference to dialogue between Hezbollah and Hariri's Future Movement. He said Hezbollah had nothing to do with recent street protests, telling his supporters there was "no need to go into the streets". "I ask you not to go out," he said. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have advised citizens against travel to Beirut. Riyadh last week blacklisted four companies and three Lebanese men for having links to Hezbollah. "REAL JIHAD" Yemen's Gulf-backed government has accused Hezbollah of training and fighting alongside Houthi forces in that country's war and of planning attacks in Saudi Arabia. Iran and Hezbollah deny accusations they have provided military aid to the Houthis. Even with regional upheaval, Lebanon has so far avoided the kind of all-out war under way in Yemen or Syria, where Hezbollah is fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad. But political conflict has paralyzed the Lebanese government and the country has been without a head of state for nearly two years. Underlining the depth of hostilities, Nasrallah described an anti-Saudi speech he gave last year after the start of its military intervention in Yemen as the "most honorable thing I have done in my life ... "I feel this is the real jihad," he said, calling it "greater than the July war" - a reference to Hezbollah's month-long conflict with Israel in 2006. He also accused Saudi Arabia of overseeing car bomb attacks in the predominantly Shi'ite southern suburbs of Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon. The last such attack in the southern suburbs was in November and claimed by Islamic State militants. (Additional reporting by Lisa Barrington; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Mark Heinrich) By Samia Nakhoul TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and reformist partners won a big vote of confidence in elections that could speed up Iran's emergence from isolation, and a key ally told long dominant hardliners to accept that voters wanted them to step aside. The polls for parliament and a leadership body were seen by analysts as a potential turning point for Iran, where nearly 60 percent of its 80 million population is under 30 and eager to engage with the world following the lifting of most sanctions. While advances by moderates and independents in Friday's polls were most evident in the capital, the scale of the gains in Tehran suggests a legislature more friendly to the pragmatist Rouhani is now a distinct possibility. Top Rouhani ally Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a shrewd political fixer and veteran pro-reform figure, urged hardliners not to stand in the way. "No one is able to resist against the will of the majority of the people and whoever the people don't want has to step aside," he said in a message on Twitter, referring to the contest for the 290-seat parliament and 88-member Assembly of Experts. A loosening of control by the anti-Western hardliners who currently dominate both bodies could strengthen Rouhani's hand to open Iran further to foreign trade and investment following last year's breakthrough nuclear deal. In his first comments since the elections, Iran's deeply anti-Western Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, praised the high turnout but made no direct comment on the results. However in a statement he appeared to set out the values he would like to see in the newly elected bodies, suggesting they should not be influenced by the West. "Advancement doesnt mean getting absorbed by global arrogance", he said, using a term for the United States. A more toughly worded comment came from hardline judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Emoli Larijani, who accused reformists of working with "American and English media outlets" to block hardliners from winning seats the experts assembly. "Is this type of coordination with foreigners in order to push out these figures from the Assembly of Experts in the interests of the regime?" he said in a statement. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a powerful hardline paramilitary organization close to Khamenei, issued a statement praising the turnout and implicitly accepting the results, but it too described the anti-U.S. stance it would like to see. "The election winners will do their best to protect Iran's dignity, power and independence; resolve the main issues for society and the people; and defeat the global arrogance by their awareness and wisdom," it said, referring to the United States. A reformist-backed list of candidates aligned with Rouhani was on course to win all 30 parliamentary seats in Tehran, initial results released on Sunday showed. Top conservative candidate Gholamali Haddad Adel was set to lose his seat, preliminary results showed. "The people showed their power once again and gave more credibility and strength to their elected government," Rouhani said, adding he would work with anyone who won election to build a future for the industrialized, oil-exporting country. Principlists, otherwise known as hardliners, hold 65 percent of the outgoing parliament and the rest is divided between reformists and independents who traditionally support Rouhani. "It is a very big victory," said analyst Saeed Leylaz who was an adviser to former reformist President Mohammad Khatami. "It is very good news for President Rouhani. We will have a very rational parliament, a less factional parliament, a more expert and technocrat parliament." Tens of millions crowded polling stations on Friday to vote for parliament and the experts assembly, which selects the country's highest authority, the supreme leader. Supporters of Rouhani, who promoted the nuclear deal, were pitted against hardliners close to Khamenei, who are wary of detente with Western countries. ACUMEN Rouhani and Rafsanjani led the race for the experts assembly with most votes counted, and appeared to be sure of winning seats, early results released on Saturday showed. The contest may prove crucial. Because of Khameneis health and age, 76, the new assembly members who serve eight-year terms are likely to choose his successor. The next leader could well be among those elected this week. Rafsanjani is among the founders of the Islamic Republic and a former president. Often at the center of Iran's intricate webs of power, he is famous for his pragmatism and political acumen. In backing such a dealmaker, the reformists hoped that in alliance with moderate conservatives and independents they would be able to block the three main ultra-conservative leaders - Ahmad Jannati, Mohammad Yazdi and Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi - from emerging as Khameneis successor. Early results suggested some of that goal was met. Just one prominent hardliner was on course to be elected in the experts assembly race in Tehran -- Jannati, in 15th place out of the 16 seats reserved for the capital's candidates. The assembly's current chairman, Mohammad Yazdi, in 17th, and the arch-conservative Mesbah-Yazdi, in 19th, appeared unlikely to win a seat, according to partial results. Mesbah-Yazdi is a fierce critic of reformists and has even advocated violence against its supporters. INFLUENCE A Reuters tally, based on official results published so far, suggested the pro-Rouhani camp and allied independents were leading in the parliamentary vote. Some moderate conservatives, including current speaker Ali Larijani, support Rouhani. Reformists had nearly 25 percent, independents 21 and principlists 36, according to calculations based on final results, excluding Tehran where results remain preliminary. Eighteen percent of candidates will have to go to run-offs in late April because nobody won the required 25 percent of votes cast. Over a dozen of the initial winners were women. Analysts say the large number of independents may be significant as they could cooperate across ideological lines with Rouhani's government. But whatever the outcome, Iran's political system places much power in the hands of the conservative Islamic establishment including the Guardian Council, which vets all laws passed by parliament. (Additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, Sam Wilkin and Parisa Hafezi; Editing by William Maclean and Anna Willard) On her Facebook page, Yeny Alfaro called marrying Jimmy Rivas-Magana "the best moment of my life." There's even a picture of the happy couple sharing wedding cake on March 1, 2013. By June of that year, the 26-year-old newlywed texted her spouse, "Going to stay with my parents for awhile. I think I want to separate." But the couple got back together again. Now Rivas-Magana, 28, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Alfaro's death. According to an agreed statement of facts, the couple got into a heated argument at their mobile home in southeast Edmonton on July 20, 2013. They were supposed to go to a family barbecue. Instead, sometime between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.that Saturday night, Rivas-Magana stabbed his wife five times. Four times in the chest; once in the back. The next day, police found Alfaro dead in her bedroom. She was lying on her back on the floor between the bed and wall with a 13-cm steak knife in her chest and a broken steak knife blade in her back. Alfaro's friends and family cried quietly in the courtroom as the details of the domestic violence were read out loud to the judge. The killer showed no reaction, even as the court heard 17 emotional victim-impact statements. Alfaro's sister, Patricia Millan, said, "I really do not understand why Jimmy had to do that. She gave him everything." Alfaro's close friend, Amanda Finlay, told the court she feels guilty because she helped the couple reconcile after they separated. "The hardest thing out of all this is not hating Jimmy", she said. "Yeny never hated anything. How can I say that I loved her if I hate the man that she loved so completely?" Rivas-Magana's lawyer told the court the killer suffers from "true remorse." After he murdered his wife, Rivas-Magana tried to slit his wrists. He bandaged himself with duct tape and later downed an entire bottle of nighttime Advil, and was surprised when he woke up the next morning. Story continues Still determined to end his life, Rivas-Magana drove his car 100 km/h off a small cliff into a ravine. The airbags deployed, the car was seriously damaged, but Rivas-Magana walked away from the crash. Later at the hospital, he told his father, "I want to kill myself. I want to die." But two-and-a-half years later, Rivas-Magana turned down a chance to say anything to the court. Lawyers for both sides agree a life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 years is the proper sentence. That's the statutory minimum for a second-degree murder conviction. "You've given me a lot to think about," said Justice John Gill. He is expected to hand down his sentence Tuesday afternoon. At Least 70 Killed By Baghdad Suicide Bombs At least 70 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in twin suicide bombings in Baghdad, officials said. The bombings in a Shi'ite district of the Iraqi capital - Sadr City - were claimed by Islamic State. Police said two suicide bombers riding motorcycles blew themselves up in a crowded mobile phone market. A Reuters witness saw pools of blood on the ground with slippers, shoes and mobile phones at the site of the blast. In a statement circulated online, Islamic State said the bombers had killed and wounded "hundreds of polytheist rejectionists", as the ultra-hardline Sunni group refers to Shi'ite Muslims. Earlier, IS militants attacked Iraqi security forces on the western outskirts of Baghdad, killing at least 17 people, officials said. Suicide bombers and gunmen in vehicles and on foot launched the attack on Abu Ghraib at dawn, seizing positions in a grain silo and a cemetery. Fighting was still raging at the silo site on Sunday evening, security officials said. Iraqi forces, backed by US-led coalition airstrikes, have driven IS back recently in western Anbar province. They are also preparing for an offensive to retake the northern city of Mosul. But the militants are still able to strike in Baghdad and other cities outside their main areas of control. Baghdad-based security analyst Jasim al-Bahadli said Sunday's attacks suggested it was premature to declare that IS was losing the initiative in Iraq. "Government forces must do a better job repelling attacks launched by Daesh," he said, using an Arabic acronym for the terror group. "What happened today could be a setback for the security forces." WINDHOEK (Reuters) - Namibia's economy is seen weakening further this year and government revenue falling due to a global slump in commodity prices and a drought, the finance minister said. Gross domestic product would slow to 4.3 percent in 2016 after a 4.5 percent expansion in 2015, Finance Minister Calle Schlettwein said in his budget speech. State revenues would be 4.6 percent lower than estimates made in October's budget, the minister said. "Mining output for some of the major commodities was weaker due to low prices and weak external demand which, together with the effects of the drought in the agricultural sector, resulted in the estimated reduction in output from the primary industries," said Schlettwein in a document released on Friday. Diamond and uranium mining, which contributed 13 percent to GDP in 2014, contracted 2.8 percent and 8.5 percent in 2015, the finance ministry said. Recovery in agriculture would stall if the rainy season disappointed, with water shortages in the capital Windhoek also hurting industries such as construction and manufacturing, the finance ministry said in a statement. Industrial output in the country was hard-hit by the worst drought to hit the southern African region in decades, as well as weak global demand for commodities as major importers like China grappled with slowing growth, said the finance ministry. ($1 = 15.5520 Namibian dollars) (Writing by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by James Macharia) The new leader of Nova Scotia's NDP, Gary Burrill, will lead the party's six member caucus, but unlike the elected members of his team he's not entitled to draw a taxpayer-funded salary or have his expenses covered by the province. That's because there is no allowance for compensating a leader without a seat in the Nova Scotia Legislature. It means he'll likely have to negotiate with the party for a salary, which is traditionally how unelected leaders cover their expenses. Under the House rules, party leaders are compensated over and above their MLA wages. All 51 members of the legislative assembly get a base salary of $89,234.90. The premier gets $112,791.20 on top of that. Cabinet ministers and the leader of the Official Opposition receives a $49,046.51 top up. And the leader of the third party gets half that, or $ 24,523.25 extra. But it's only for elected members. In this case, Burrill will have to name a leader in the House who will be entitled to the NDP leader's top up. Special arrangement The last time the NDP elected a leader who didn't have a seat was in July 2000. Former MLA Helen MacDonald took over leadership of the party a year after losing her seat in the legislature. Over nine months, John MacDonnell, who was appointed leader in the House, signed over most of his leader's top up to the party to help defray MacDonald's expenses. It was an unofficial arrangement that fell outside the House rules. MacDonald resigned as leader in April 2001 when a caucus revolt forced her out of the job. In the case of the Tories, PC Leader Jamie Baillie had the party pay his salary for just one month in 2010. That's because he won the Cumberland South seat he currently holds two months after he became leader. Liberal party paid In recent years, the Liberals have twice had to tap party resources to compensate leaders without seats. Francis MacKenzie, who led the Liberals between October 2004 and June 2006, got a salary from the Liberal Party. Story continues To send a signal of austerity, he took less money then he would receive if he was entitled to a taxpayer-funded leader's salary. He never did get into the Nova Scotia Legislature. He resigned after failing to win a seat in Bedford during the 2006 general election. The leader who preceded him, Danny Graham, also had the party pay his salary for the 16 months he was leader without a seat in the legislature. He received the amount equivalent to the full salary he eventually earned as leader of the third party after the 2003 general election. Public funds The NDP caucus and its leader's office each have plenty of money left in their budgets. According to the last quarterly report, each has under-spent in the first three quarters of 2015. Added together, the savings total $121,000. Much of that comes from the fact the caucus office has been operating without a chief of staff since last June when interim leader Maureen MacDonald and former chief of staff Nancy Sheppard agreed to part ways. But that money can only be used to defray the expenses or salaries of sitting MLAs or staff. Pakistan has hanged the convicted assassin of a former Punjab governor who was seeking reform of the country's strict blasphemy laws. Bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri shot Salman Taseer 28 times on 4 January, 2011, in broad daylight in Islamabad. His execution on Monday was announced in his local mosque and sparked protests outside his family home in the city of Rawalpindi, which was put on high alert. All roads leading to the jail where he was put to death were sealed off by riot police, and heavy security deployed in other sensitive townships. Throughout the case, Qadri maintained he did the right thing and it was his religious duty. In a 40-page statement to the court he wrote that the governor's support for Asia Bibi, a Christian woman charged with blasphemy, had provoked him to commit the murder. Shahbaz Bhatti, the only Christian minister in the federal government, was gunned down two weeks after Mr Taseer's death. He was also a critic of the blasphemy laws. In August 2011, Mr Taseer's son Shahbaz was kidnapped in Lahore and remains missing. Qadri's case had become a lightning rod in the already charged atmosphere on minority rights in Pakistan. The courts had found it difficult to find lawyers to represent the prosecution. Each time Qadri was brought to court, lawyers showered him with flower petals and celebrated him as a hero. Even a mosque has been named after him in the capital. An anti-terrorism court sentenced Qadri to death on two counts for murder and terrorism. In October last year the Supreme Court upheld the conviction and his mercy petition was rejected by President Mamnoon Hussain. Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws - which carry the death penalty - were introduced in 1860 to protect minority religions, and have since been expanded. In the 1980s, when the country was undergoing an Islamist movement, the law became rigid and was vastly used against minorities. Critics say the law has been often misused to suppress minorities and also settle personal scores. Nevada Wing is joining other units of Civil Air Patrol across the nation in observing the organizations anniversary. The year-long celebration began Feb. 25 at a 75th Anniversary kickoff reception in Washington, D.C. Activities are planned throughout the year for the occasion to bring awareness of Civil Air Patrol and our contributions to communities across Nevada, Northeastern California, and the Nation. Civil Air Patrol was founded Dec. 1, 1941, by a group of aviation enthusiasts and private pilots who wanted to donate their time and aircraft to protect the nations coastlines during World War II and to perform other critical civil defense missions. In December 1941, one week before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Civil Air Patrol was founded by citizens committed to using civilian aviation resources to help bolster the nations defense. Under the jurisdiction of the Office of Civilian Defense and later the Army Air Forces, CAP pilots flew more than 500,000 hours performing a wide variety of duties, including coastal patrol for submarine activity as well as ships and personnel in distress, forest and southern border patrols, target towing for the armed forces and courier flights. On July 1, 1946, President Harry Truman established Civil Air Patrol as a federally chartered nonprofit corporation, and Congress passed a law on May 26, 1948, designating CAP as the Air Force Auxiliary and giving CAP three primary missions emergency services, cadet programs and aerospace education. Today, CAP Serves as a strategic partner of the Air Force as a member of its Total Force and a national community service organization made up of professionally trained civilian volunteers. CAP has a modern, wellequipped fleet of aircraft, vehicles and equipment that is exercised and utilized daily to meet the needs of our Congressional authorized missions in the areas of Emergency Services, Cadet Programs, and Aerospace Education. Want to join the team? Contact your local unit www.nvwg.cap.gov. The under-budget Winnipeg Transit garage on Brandon Avenue may have cost more than originally thought, according to allegations made in court documents unsealed today and obtained by CBC News. The documents authorized the search of Caspian Construction's headquarters on McGillivray Boulevard. The RCMP is investigating the company and its owner Armik Babakhanians over allegations of fraud and forgery in connection with the construction of the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) headquarters building on Graham Avenue. "Invoices are said to have been improperly associated to the WPS building when in fact the work was either done at other city properties, private properties or was not done at all," RCMP Const. Marc Allard stated in the documents. One of the city properties was the new Winnipeg Transit garage. Caspian won the contract to build the 135,000-square-foot facility in 2012. Under budget On the day of its official opening in February 2014, the city issued a press release that noted the transit project came in $350,000 under its $22.6-million budget. Witnesses interviewed by RCMP alleged Caspian was billing expenses for the Winnipeg Transit garage in Fort Rouge to the Winnipeg police headquarters. These expenses included roofing work, insulation and metal stairs. In one case, altered documents were used, according to what a former employee told police in court documents. Police said Babakhanians and an office manager "did knowingly make a false document ... with intent that it be acted upon as genuine and did thereby commit forgery." The alleged forgeries were invoices for insulation. A former accounting assistant who worked at Caspian between between March and August 2013 said an office manager would place the Winnipeg police headquarters label on top of the transit garage invoice, photocopied it and "whited out the lines and photocopied it again to make it appear as an original invoice," according to court documents. Story continues Employees from the contractor that provided stairs and railings for both buildings told investigators $53,800 of an $253,000 invoice billed to police headquarters "was for work actually completed at the Winnipeg Transit garage," according to court documents. The former Caspian accounting assistant said the person checking invoices for the Winnipeg Transit garage would not approve costs that were over budget. "It was up to Caspian to come under budget or on budget" for the transit garage, she told investigators. "At Winnipeg police headquarters, it was not an issue because Caspian had a person in place to approve invoices." A senior accounting assistant who worked with Caspian for five years told investigators the transit garage contract was a "set price," but when it came to the police headquarters "Caspian can only make a certain percentage profit on the job. Caspian has to provide proof of cost to the City of Winnipeg to ensure they do not exceed the maximum percentage profit." She did admit that she had not seen the police headquarters contract in the court documents. This same assistant described "unusual invoicing" from a separate contracting company for work done on the Winnipeg police headquarters, which added up to millions of dollars. She said some of the "invoices were paid by Caspian Projects, and then in turn, some of Armik's [Babakhanians] companies not related to the Winnipeg police headquarters job have invoiced [the company] to get the money back." When contacted by CBC News, Babakhanians declined to comment and referred questions to his lawyer. The lawyer, Patrick Riley, has not responded to requests for comment. An RCMP spokesperson told CBC News charges have not been laid in the case and the investigation is ongoing. None of the allegations have been proven in court. By Li-mei Hoang LONDON (Reuters) - Repair and insurance firm Homeserve (HSV.L) is in early-stage talks with utility companies to introduce its services in more than 10 countries, as it looks to step up its international expansion. Chief Executive Richard Harpin told Reuters he was looking at 13 countries as candidates for potential entry and had hired a new member to his management team to help oversee approaches to large utilities, with which it aims to sign joint ventures. Harpin, who set up the company 23 years ago, said in an interview he planned to approach utility companies in China, Mexico, Brazil, India, Japan, Turkey, Chile, South Korea, Taiwan, Czech Republic, Poland, Australia and the Netherlands. Homeserve, which sells cover for household emergencies such as boiler breakdowns and burst water pipes, started its international expansion 15 years ago in France, with two-thirds of its customers now outside Britain. The company said it would look to Poland, Czech Republic and Australia as its first priority, where existing utility partners such as Enel (ENEI.MI), Veolia (VIE.PA) and Engie (ENGIE.PA) already operate. "We are having early stage dialogue with some of those people," said Giles Desforges, Homeserve CEO of Global Partnerships, who joined the company in December to lead its international expansion. The decision to ramp up its international activity was helped by looking back at the shareholder value it had created from its four existing international markets in the United States, France, Spain and Italy, Harpin said. "The biggest thing we learnt was that international adds real shareholder value because we built 700 million pounds of value at our four international businesses." The company said it planned invest 6 million pounds a year into its new markets, which includes its digital, innovation and smart home development businesses. The long term aim, added Harpin, was to triple the number of international markets Homeserve operates in to 15 countries. Story continues "I think we would be a highly successful business if we were getting 80 percent of our customers and profit from international," said Harpin. "That means in the long-term that we want to be in 15 markets which is the five that we are in today, plus another 10 of the 13," he added. (Reporting by Li-mei Hoang; Editing by Mark Potter) Foreign Exchange Headwinds Hit Philip Morris Hard in 4Q15 (Continued from Prior Part) 4Q15 revenue overview Philip Morris Internationals (PM) Asia regions net revenue fell 4.2% to $1.9 billion in 4Q15 compared to $2 billion in 4Q14. The fall was primarily due to an unfavorable currency impact of $0.3 billion. However, excluding the negative impact of currencies, net revenue rose by 8.3% in 4Q15. This was the highest fall among all segments. The regions rise in revenue excluding the adverse effect of currencies was primarily due to favorable pricing of $0.1 billion, mainly in Indonesia and the Philippines. In 4Q15, machine-made kretek brands delivered strong performance driven by Sampoerna and Dji Sam Soe Magnum in Indonesia. Operating income The Asia regions adjusted operating income, excluding unfavorable currency of $90 million, fell 5% in 4Q15. Reported operating income fell 18.8% to $0.5 billion in 4Q15 compared to $0.6 billion in 4Q14. The fall was primarily due to higher costs resulting in lower shipment volume in Korea and the Philippines. Cigarette shipment volume fell by 1.6% to 68.2 billion units in 4Q15. British American Tobaccos (BTI) Dunhill brands shipment volume fell in Korea and Malaysia. However, Japan Tobaccos (JAPAF) (JAPAY) Camel brands shipment volume rose by 12.2% to 13.2 billion units in Korea, the Czech Republic, and Turkey. Altria Group (MO) and Reynolds American (RAI) do not have presences outside of the United States and thus are not as affected by the stronger dollar. Injection of cash via rights issue On August 11, 2015, PM filed a registration statement with the Indonesian Financial Services Authority in connection with a potential rights issue by Sampoerna. Recently, Sampoerna announced shareholder approval for a rights issue at an exercise price of 77,000 Indonesian rupiahs per share. The proceeds from the rights issue amounted to ~$1.5 billion. This injection of cash will enhance Philip Morriss financial flexibility and will determine the long-term interest of shareholders. Story continues 7.5% of Sampoernas issued and outstanding shares will be publicly owned to ensure compliance with the Indonesian stock exchange rules after the completion of the transaction. PM has exposure to the iShares Global 100 ETF (IOO), with 1.7% of total weight in its portfolio. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: MINNEAPOLIS & OMAHA, Neb., Feb. 29, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Colon Cancer Coalition has received international and regional recognition for the *Don't Miss It campaign, a public service message about the importance of colon cancer screening. Created by Omaha-based advertising agency, OBI Creative, the *Don't Miss It campaign has been awarded a Gold in the 2015 International MarCom Awards for Public Service Campaigns and two Gold Nebraska AAF Addys for Integrated Media PSA campaign and landing page. The campaign also won three 2015 Nebraska PRSA awards; an Award of Excellence for Public Service Nonprofit campaign, an Award of Excellence for Public Service Announcement and an Award of Merit for the *Don't Miss It video. *Don't Miss It aims to connect with individuals on an emotional level and equip them with information needed to be proactive with their health. Using a simple asterisk above important life events, such as a wedding, family milestones, or the birth of a grandchild, *Don't Miss It shows in a brief, informative and emotionally impactful way that some terms and conditions may apply to life, unless you get screened. All print, digital and broadcast components of this campaign direct individuals to WhyGetScreened.org to learn more or find a screening provider in their area. The campaign debuted in Boston in May 2015, and has since been seen in New York City; Indianapolis, Ind.; and Watertown, S.D. In March 2016, Colon Cancer Awareness Month, this award-winning screening campaign will be featured in Allentown, Penn.; Houston, Texas; Janesville, Wis.; Kansas City, Mo.; Mobile, Ala.; Tulsa, Okla.; and Wichita, Kan. "The *Don't Miss It campaign gives us the opportunity to reach people at an emotional level about the realities of colorectal cancer," says Anne Carlson, executive director of the Colon Cancer Coalition. "By targeting messages at audiences in the traditional screening ages, as well as younger adults who may have family history or could be experiencing symptoms, we encourage all to understand their body, their risks, and their options." "We are thrilled that Colon Cancer Coalition and their important and impactful message is thriving and continuing to spread across the country - whether in campaigns hosted by cities and organizations or in an award ceremony where a room full of professionals also benefit from learning more about how they can continue taking care of themselves so they don't miss what's important in life," added Mary Ann O'Brien, CEO of OBI Creative and advocate for continued colon cancer awareness. Many common digestive ailments have similar symptoms, and symptoms don't always mean a serious condition exists; however, long term discomfort, recurring, or multiple symptoms should be checked by a trusted physician. Colon cancer symptoms include: Change in bowel habits Change in the color or shape of the stool Rectal bleeding or blood in the toilet after having a bowel movement Stomach discomfort or cramping, including a continual urge to have a bowel movement Unexplained fatigue, weakness or weight loss About the Colon Cancer Coalition The Colon Cancer Coalition is a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, dedicated to encouraging screening and raising awareness for colon cancer. The organization's signature Get Your Rear in Gear and Tour de Tush events are volunteer-driven in communities throughout the United States. Since 2004, millions of dollars have been granted by the Colon Cancer Coalition to local programs that promote early prevention, screening, and patient support services for this disease. By making the words colon, colorectal and colonoscopy a part of the everyday language, we believe we can overcome the fear and decrease deaths from this largely preventable cancer. For more information visit ColonCancerCoalition.org. About OBI Creative OBI Creative is a research-based, innovation-driven advertising agency and digital interactive group. Founded in 2001 by Mary Ann O'Brien, OBI Creative focuses on the customer to determine motivations, behaviors and key consideration drivers. Armed with that knowledge, the award-winning OBI team aligns those motivations, with our clients' products and services, to provide actionable, marketing strategies, which drive intended results. The O'Brien Voice of the Customer, or o.VoC, is the study of the experience or interaction between a company and its customers from the customer perspective and the foundation for subsequent strategic communications and creative approach. It is used by best in class brands throughout the globe to steer their strategic direction. Photos accompanying this release are available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=39194 http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=39195 English Finnish Espoo, 2016-03-01 15:00 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TRAINERS' HOUSE PLC, NOTICE TO THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 1 MARCH 2016 AT 16:00 Notice is given to the shareholders of Trainers' House Plc to the Annual General Meeting to be held on Wednesday 23 March 2016 at 12:00 at the office of the company, Innopoli 2 Tekniikantie 14, 02150 Espoo. The reception of persons who have registered for the meeting will commence at 11:45. A. Matters on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting At the Annual General Meeting, the following matters will be considered: 1. Opening of the Meeting 2. Calling the Meeting to order 3. Election of persons to scrutinise the minutes and to supervise the counting of votes 4. Recording the legality of the Meeting 5. Recording the attendance at the Meeting and adoption of the list of votes 6. Presentation of the annual accounts, the report of the Board of Directors and the auditor's report for year 2015 and review by the CEO 7. Adoption of the financial statements 8. Resolution on the use of the profit shown on the balance sheet and on decreasing the funds The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that no dividend will be paid from the financial year 2015 and that the profit of the financial year shown by the annual accounts of the parent company will be transferred to the company's profit and loss account. The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that in order to cover the losses of the company, the share premium reserve will be decreased by EUR 494,539.16 and the invested unrestricted equity fund will be decreased by EUR 36,461,365.15 in order to clarify the balance sheet of the company. After the decrease, both of the funds would be used in full. After all the proposed measures, the accumulated profit of the company would be EUR 1,512,503.58 added with the profit from the financial year 2015 EUR 604,019.85 i.e. a total of EUR 908,483.73. 9. Resolution on the discharge of the members of the Board of Directors and the CEO from liability 10. Resolution on the number of members of the Board of Directors Shareholders representing approximately 45.8 per cent of the votes of the company have informed that they will propose to the Annual General Meeting that the number of Board members is to be three (3). 11. Resolution on the remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors Shareholders representing approximately 45.8 per cent of the votes of the company have informed that they will propose to the Annual General Meeting that the remuneration payable to the members of the Board of Directors remain unchanged, and that the Chairman of the Board receives a fee of 3,500 euro and members 1,500 euro per month. 12. Election of members of the Board of Directors Shareholders representing approximately 45.8 per cent of the votes of the company have informed that they will propose to the Annual General Meeting that Aarne Aktan, Jari Sarasvuo, and Jarmo Hyokyvaara will be elected to the Board of Directors. 13. Resolution on the remuneration of the Auditor The Board of Directors proposes that the auditor be reimbursed according to a reasonable invoice from the auditor. 14. Election of Auditor The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that Ernst & Young Ltd. be re-elected as the company's auditor. 15. Proposal by the Board of Directors for authorization of the Board of Directors to decide on issuing of shares and issuing of other special rights The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting authorizes the Board of Directors to decide on issuing of shares and issuing of other special rights entitling to shares, in one or more tranches as follows: The authorization entitles the Board of Directors to decide upon the issuing of a maximum of 13,000,000 shares. The authorisation also includes the right to decide upon issuing of shares to the company itself, however so that after the issuance the maximum amount of the shares owned by the company itself can be 1/10 of all the shares of the company. The Board of Directors shall decide upon all of the terms regarding the issuing of shares and issuing of other special rights entitling to shares in accordance with Chapter 10 Section 1 of the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act. The issuing of shares and other special rights in accordance with Chapter 10 Section 1 of the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act can deviate from the shareholders pre-emptive rights (directed share issue). The authorization will reverse the previous authorisations regarding issuing of shares and other special rights entitling to shares. The authorisation will be valid until 30 June 2019. 16. Closing of the Meeting B. Documents of the Annual General Meeting The above mentioned proposals of the Board of Directors, the annual report of Trainers' House Plc, the report of the Board of Directors and the Auditor's report and this notice to the Annual General Meeting shall be available on the website of Trainers' House Plc, www.trainershouse.fi, three weeks prior to the Meeting at the latest. These documents and this notice shall be available also in the Annual General Meeting and copies of these documents and of this notice will be sent to shareholders upon request. The minutes of the Annual General Meeting shall be available on the aforementioned website from the 6 April 2016 at the latest. C. Instructions for the participants in the Annual General Meeting 1. The right to participate and registration Each shareholder, who is registered on the record date of the Annual General Meeting 11 March 2016 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 giving a prior notice of participation no later than 18 March 2016 at 16:00, the time at which the notice shall be at the company. Such notice can be given by mail to Trainers' House Plc, Arja Kokkarinen, Tekniikantie 14, 02150 Espoo or by telephone to +358 (0)400 911 388 or by e-mail to arja.kokkarinen@trainershouse.fi. Registration must include the shareholder's name, personal identification number, address, telephone number and the name of a possible assistant or proxy representative and the personal identification number of a proxy representative. Personal information given to Trainers' House Plc will only be used in connection with the Annual General Meeting and with the processing of related registrations. 2. Proxy representative and powers of attorney A shareholder may participate in the Annual 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 Annual General Meeting. When a shareholder participates in the Annual General Meeting by means of several proxy representatives representing the shareholder with shares at different securities accounts, the shares by which each proxy representative represents the shareholder shall be identified in connection with the registration for the Annual General Meeting. Possible proxy documents should be delivered to the above mentioned e-mail (e.g. as pdf attachment) or regular mail address before the last date for registration. 3. Holders of nominee registered shares A holder of nominee registered shares has the right to participate in the Annual General Meeting by virtue of such shares, based on which he/she on the record date of the Annual General Meeting i.e. 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 in the Annual General Meeting requires, in addition, that the shareholder on the basis of such shares has been temporarily registered in the shareholders' register held by Euroclear Finland Ltd, at the latest by 10:00 on 18 March 2016. As regards nominee registered shares this constitutes due registration for the Annual General Meeting. A holder of nominee registered shares is advised to request without delay necessary instructions regarding the registration in the temporary shareholders' register of the company, the issuing of proxy documents and registration for the Annual General Meeting from his/her custodian bank. The account management organization of the custodian bank will register a holder of nominee registered shares, who wants to participate in the Annual General Meeting, into the temporary shareholders' register of the company at the latest by the time stated above. 4. Other instructions and information A shareholder who is participating in the Annual General Meeting has the right to request information under Chapter 5, Section 25 of the Limited Liability Companies Act concerning matters dealt with in the Meeting. At the date of this notice the total number of shares and votes conveyed by the shares in Trainers House Plc is 106,737,062. The company has one (1) share class and each share carries one (1) vote. 1 March 2016 TRAINERS' HOUSE PLC THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 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 SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Utah lawmakers want the federal government to repay them for keeping the states national parks open when the federal government shut down in 2013. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the Utah House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass a bill than calls for Congress to reimburse the state for $1 million. The bill now heads to the Senate. Rep. Ken Ivory, a West Jordan Republican, says the state spent $1.6 million to keep the parks and monuments open during the budget fights. But he says only $600,000 was reimbursed and the federal government kept gate receipts. Ivory composed a list of 10 things he believes the government wasted money on instead of paying Utah back. Pedro Sanchez presides the meeting of the Socialist Party federal committee. Luis Sevillano Arribas The leader of the Socialist Party (PSOE), Pedro Sanchez, will today face the beginning of a nearly week-long investiture debate in Congress, at which he is far from assured of victory. The politician will defend his candidacy in Spains lower house with the support of the 90 deputies from his party, and 40 from center-right group Ciudadanos far short of the absolute majority he needs to be voted in as prime minister. Once he has the floor, he will call on Spains political forces to allow for a government of change, and so avoid a repeat of the December 20 general election, at which the incumbent Popular Party secured most votes, but fell short of a majority, leaving no winner. An appeal to the sense of responsibility of Spains political forces will be the common theme of Sanchezs speeches In a bid to win the support he needs, Sanchez on Monday sent proposals to, among others, anti-austerity party Podemos, with a view to negotiating either their votes in favor, or their abstentions. But the party and its territorial partners, along with smaller groups Compromis and United Left (IU), all rejected the overtures. Sanchez will use this weeks debate to try to convince them otherwise ahead of the last vote on Friday, and at which he only needs more votes in favor than against, rather than an absolute majority, to become prime minister. At 4.30pm today, the candidate chosen by King Felipe VI to try to form a government will lay out policies based on the common ground he has found with Ciudadanos and that last week led the two parties to sign a deal that would be the basis for a minority government. The content of these policies ought to be acceptable for a wide political spectrum, according to Sanchezs vision. An appeal to the sense of responsibility of Spains political forces will be the common theme of his speeches in Congress, during which he will argue that there is a foundation for a deal. He will also call for a government of change to avoid new elections, according to sources from the party. The policies he lays out will be punctuated continuously with adjectives such as progressive and reformist. But for now the political climate is not at all receptive to this request, as was clear on Monday, when Podemos rejected outright the proposal it had received from the PSOE. The PSOE has sent us a number of documents that are merely copied and pasted from their agreement with Ciudadanos, hiding the most shameful measures, party leader Pablo Iglesias wrote on his Twitter account. This is not serious. The PSOE has sent us a number of documents that are merely copied and pasted from their agreement with Ciudadanos, hiding the most shameful measures Sanchez replied to Iglesiass tweet saying: It is down to you whether these measures begin a government of change. It would not be serious for [Mariano] Rajoy to continue. This weeks investiture debate marks the conclusion of the negotiations that have been in motion since the December 20 general election, which marked the end of the dominance of the PP-PSOE two-party system that had been in place almost since Spain returned to democracy in the late 1970s. Incumbent Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, of the Popular Party, refused a request from the king to try to form a government on the basis that he lacked sufficient support from opposition parties. Instead it has fallen to Pedro Sanchez to try to find the votes needed, despite his party having garnered one of the worst results in its history at the 2015 polls. Both the PP and PSOE lost ground to Podemos and Ciudadanos, which have become the third and fourth biggest political forces in Spain, respectively. English version by Simon Hunter. The leader of the Basque radical left, known as the abertzale, was released from jail on Tuesday after serving a six-and-a-half year prison sentence for trying to reconstruct the banned party Batasuna according to orders from separatist terrorist group ETA. Around 200 people turned out to greet Arnaldo Otegi as he emerged from a penitentiary in Logrono, among them his wife, son and father. All of these cameras, he said, in reference to the large amount of press waiting for him, attest to the fact that there are political prisoners in the Spanish state. There arent so many cameras for social prisoners. Otegi came out with his fist in the air, first hugging his son Hodei, and then other family members Otegi was released from the jail just before 9am amid applause and shouts of independence, and Basque prisoners back on the streets from the assembled crowd. Otegi came out with his fist in the air, first hugging his son Hodei, and then other family members. The crowd which included members of Sortu, a legal abertzale party that rejects terrorist violence as a means to achieve independence for the Basque Country from Spain escorted him to a platform where the former Batasuna spokesman made a speech to the assembled crowd. Arnaldo Otegi has spent 2,331 days in prison after, according to a High Court ruling, trying to reform the banned Batasuna party on instructions from ETA. The Supreme Court later reduced his original sentence from 10 years to six-and-a-half. The top tribunal based this decision on the fact that Otegi was not acting as a party leader, but rather as a mere member. Otegi has left the prison as the general secretary of Sortu, a position to which he was elected by grass-roots members of the party despite his incarceration. Now we need to get the prisoners out of jail, and secure independence, he told the crowd in reference to former members of the terrorist group ETA who are still locked up. The Basque Country is due to hold regional elections toward the end of this year, and Otegi is likely to run as an abertzale candidate A High Court judge has ordered the authorities in the Basque Country to monitor his activities in case Otegi commits offenses of praising terrorism. The Basque Country is due to hold regional elections toward the end of this year, and Otegi is likely to seek to run as an abertzale candidate. The radical left is immersed in an internal debate as it attempts to tackle the rise of emerging anti-austerity group Podemos in the region. But Otegis possible election run could be halted in its tracks given that the High Court has banned him from any public position for a period of 10 years until 2021. I went in [to prison] as an Euskaldun [Basque speaker], and I left as an Euskaldun. I went in as a socialist and I left as a socialist. I went in as a supporter of independence, and Im leaving as a supporter of independence, he said outside the prison on Tuesday, during what constituted his first political act after his release. English version by Simon Hunter. Evo Morales at a press conference on Monday. REUTERS There has been a new installment in the real-life soap opera currently playing itself out in Bolivia. On Monday, the countrys president, Evo Morales, asked to meet a son that he allegedly fathered, a son he claims to have thought had died in 2007. I want to ask the relatives, his aunt, to introduce me, to bring me [the child]. If the family allows it, Id like to keep him, he said. According to the governments side of the story, the mother and the presidents ex-girlfriend, Gabriela Zapata, lied to him about the death of the infant. Zapata, a lobbyist for government contractors, has been accused of conspiring with the opposition. Itll be a joy for me. Its like a blessing if in the end he is alive although I ask myself why theyve lied to me President Morales Its not a problem for me. If he is alive, itll be a joy for me. Its like a blessing if in the end he is alive although I ask myself why theyve lied to me, why they kept me away, what interests are there, Morales told reporters at a press conference. The president stated that Zapata told him the boy had died of an illness in 2007. Gabriela Zapata is escorted from court on Sunday by police officers. Stringer (EFE) Whether the child in question exists or not was an important factor before the February 21 referendum, when Morales denied his existence because if he were alive, his relationship with Zapata, which he admitted to after it was revealed in the press, would not have officially ended. As such, government contracts with Chinese firms on which Zapata worked would have fallen under suspicion, given her relationship with the president. The opposition says Morales lied to protect himself during the plebiscite held to change the law so that he might run for president for the fourth time in 2019. In the end, he lost the referendum, partly because of this controversy. The family of Zapata announced the existence of the child after she was arrested on allegations of exchanging political favors and misappropriation of funds. Her detention, which was ordered by a government ministry and not the public prosecutor, was based on revelations about her once her relationship with the president became public. It emerged that she had sent letters to officials in charge of making decisions that affected the Chinese companies for which she worked. The family of Zapata announced the existence of the child after she was arrested on allegations of exchanging political favors and misappropriation of funds According to the judge, Zapata is being held in custody because she is a flight-risk. TV news coverage showed the 28-year-old crying while being escorted by police officers through a scrum of reporters and photographers as she entered and left the courthouse. Her relatives and lawyers say she is the victim of a political ploy to clear Morales of any wrongdoing and that, though Zapata has a lot to say about the relationship and their son, she is keeping quiet because she has received death threats. Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera defended Morales, saying that Zapatas brothers are militant opposition members, thus suggesting a possible conspiracy against the president. Other representatives of the administration blamed the United States Secret Service. Social media teemed with criticism of Morales, not so much for his alleged lies, but because if what he said was true, it would mean that he had a son with Zapata but did not meet him, take care of him during his illness, or even verify his death. This line of criticism is worse because Morales has three children by three different mothers, and it took him a long time to acknowledge one of them as his own. English version by Dyane Jean Francois. Heres an answer I just found on Google: "Here in America we tend to put a lot of faith in the protective power of plastic. One visit to a grocery store here in the States will illustrate that fact very clearly. Everything from candy to beef to tomatoes is sold shrink-wrapped in plastic. I've traveled enough to know that this isn't the case in the rest of the world. When it comes to archival storage, the fact that plastic doesn't breathe can actually cause more problems than it prevents.Now, don't get me wrong -- plastic is great for keeping bad things out like moisture and fingerprints.But... Photographs, film and tape are all made from materials that change over time. When these materials change, they can leach chemicals or give off gases that will loop back and inflict self damage if they are "sealed in their own juices" as my preservation instructor used to say." Maghaberry (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Seamus Daly, the only remaining suspect in Northern Ireland's 1998 Omagh bombing that killed 29 people and threatened a peace deal, walked free from prison Tuesday after a British court dropped all charges. Daly had been in Maghaberry high-security prison near Belfast for nearly two years awaiting trial after being charged over the atrocity committed by the Real IRA militant republicans -- a splinter group of the Provisional IRA (Irish Republican Army). The case against Daly, a 45-year-old bricklayer, collapsed as prosecutors withdrew all charges after inconsistent evidence by a key witness in preliminary pre-trial hearings. The car bombing, which also injured around 220 people, was the single worst atrocity of the sectarian conflict known as The Troubles in which around 3,500 people were killed over three decades. No-one has ever been convicted in a criminal court over the bombing, which tore through the market town of Omagh, testing the peace accords signed only months earlier to put an end to the conflict. In 2009, the Belfast High Court found that Daly and three other men were liable in a civil case brought by families of the victims and they were later ordered to pay more than A1.6 million (2.1 million euros, $2.2 million) in damages to the relatives. In civil cases, guilt can be proven on the "balance of probabilities" rather than criminal law's requirement of "beyond reasonable doubt". Daly has always denied involvement in the bombing. "It's very painful but on the evidence we've heard, I wouldn't want anyone to be convicted," Michael Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Aiden was one of those killed in the bombing, told the BBC after Tuesday's decision. "I feel that there has been a chance wasted here. There never was a political will to find the people responsible," he said. - Decision 'not taken lightly' - Acting on conflicting bomb warnings, police had moved shoppers and shop employees into a part of Omagh where a car packed with 500 pounds (225 kilogrammes) of explosives was parked, unwittingly putting them in close proximity to the huge blast. Story continues A fireball swept from the epicentre of the explosion and shop fronts were blown back on to shoppers inside. The blast was so powerful that some of the victims' bodies were never found. Among the dead were nine children and three generations of one family. The Real IRA -- which sees itself as the successor to the Irish Republican Army paramilitaries -- claimed responsibility for the attack. Daly faced murder charges along with causing the explosion and possessing the bomb, and two charges relating to another 1998 bomb plot. The decision by the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service (PPS) to drop the charges came in preliminary hearings before the case had even reached trial in the Crown Court, taking the decision of whether to proceed out of the hands of judge Peter King. "Under cross-examination a number of issues became apparent which impacted upon the reliability of the evidence that the witness was providing," said a PPS spokesman. "On behalf of the PPS, I extend our sympathy to the families affected by the Omagh bomb. We hope they are assured that this decision was not taken lightly," he added. - Ceasefire test - Judge King later said he "must discharge Mr Daly and order his release immediately." Daly was driven away by family members without making a comment. The Release Seamus Daly campaign group hit out at his long detention. "The case against Seamus Daly showed a total disregard for his human rights and liberty," it said in a statement. Colm Murphy, the only man ever jailed over the bombing, had his conviction overturned in 2005 following accusations of perjury against police and a new trial was ordered. Sean Hoey, an electrician from south Armagh, was found not guilty of the 29 murders in 2007 following a lengthy trial. Around 3,500 people died in three decades of violence between Protestants favouring continued union with Britain, and Catholics seeking a unified Ireland. The Omagh bombing was seen as a major test of the fragile peace established by the Good Friday agreements inked just four months earlier. Berlin (AFP) - The German FA is expected to hand out hefty fines to both clubs after a flare fired from the Wolfsburg's fan block hit the underside of the Hanover bench on Tuesday. The firework was one of several fired by visiting Wolfsburg fans from the away team's block at Hanover's HDI Arena before Tuesday's German league game, but initial reports suggest no one was hurt. This is not the first time the use of pyrotechnics has marred a Bundesliga match between the north German neighbours recently. In December 2014, Wolfsburg fans also fired four flares and set off a smoke bomb in the away section of Hanover's stadium. Both clubs were fined 6,000 euros ($6,500) at the time. Wolfsburg host Gent in the last 16, second-leg of the Champions League next Tuesday having won the first leg 3-2 in Belgium. Skopje (AFP) - Macedonia said Tuesday it was stepping up troop numbers at its frontier with Greece, a day after police fired tear gas at hundreds of migrants who tried to break through a border fence. The move came as Macedonia's foreign minister defended the police force for firing volleys of tear gas at migrants, including women and children, who tried to break through a barbed wire fence into the Balkan country on Monday. "Macedonia increased the number of army troops at its border with Greece as support to the Macedonian border police patrols," army spokesman Toni Janevski told AFP, without specifying on numbers. Police spokeswoman Natalija Spirova Kordic said the police presence had also been strengthened at the border as "a preventive measure after the events of yesterday". In a statement emailed to AFP, Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki said a few hundred young male migrants had "used violence in order to force entry into Macedonia from Greece" on Monday. "The gates they have dismantled are several metres inside Macedonian territory. Clearly, it should have not happened if (the) border regime was respected," Poposki said. He said the choice had been either that the police pulled out and let the migrants into Macedonia -- and on to western Europe -- without registering them, or "preventing illegal crossings by force and implementing EU Council conclusions". Decisions on what measures to take when faced with violence are "decided by trained policemen on the spot, not by a diplomat or journalist in an office 100 kilometres or 1,000 kilometres away", Poposki added. Thousands of migrants are stranded in Greece after Macedonia, along with other Balkan states including Serbia and EU members Slovenia and Croatia, imposed a daily limit on the number of migrants allowed to enter. In a separate interview with German business daily Handelsblatt, Poposki warned of potential conflict in the Balkans owing to the pressures of the crisis. Story continues "We have to be careful that it doesn't lead to conflict between neighbours. Slovenia sends back illegal migrants to Croatia, Croatia to Serbia, and Serbia to Macedonia et cetera," Poposki said. "I fear that such a scenario could become reality with a high number of refugees. If in addition, pressure grows from the south of the Balkan route, then there could be a serious conflict situation in the Balkans. We must aim to avoid such a situation." Macedonia, which is home to two million people and has seen tens of thousands of migrants pass through its territory, is a candidate to join the European Union. The EU however said it was "very concerned" about the crackdown at the Greek-Macedonian border, recalling that Skopje had "undertaken specific commitments" in October to work with EU states to ease Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II. Pedro Sanchez during Tuesdays investiture debate. J. J. Guillen (EFE) Socialist Party (PSOE) leader Pedro Sanchez made his much-anticipated investiture speech in the Spanish Congress on Tuesday afternoon, offering a government of change and of dialogue that would overcome the current political impasse, and that, above all, would rectify the consequences of four years of Popular Party (PP) government. During his nearly 90-minute address to the deputies in Spains lower house, the politician appealed for the support he will need from other parties if he is to be voted in as prime minister this week. The December 20 general election was won by the incumbent PP, but the party fell well short of the seats needed for a majority. Sanchez, who was invited to form a government by King Felipe VI, has closed a deal with emerging center-right group Ciudadanos, but will still need the support or abstention of other parties if his bid to lead Spain is to be successful. Eighteen million Spaniards are expecting a different government, one that will repair the consequences of the mistakes that have been made PSOE leader Pedro Sanchez Eighteen million espanoles and espanolas [Spanish men and women] voted for the current government to not continue, he said during his address. Eighteen million Spaniards are expecting a different government, one that will repair the consequences of the mistakes that have been made and clear the path for different, and better, policies. The most-repeated word during the speech was change, and the Socialist chief painted himself as the only option to pull Spain out of the situation created by the inconclusive general elections last year. Only the PSOE, he argued, can bring together a government of change in Spain. He once again ruled out the possibility of a major pact between his party and its traditional rival, the PP. The only option, he continued, would be a cross-party deal with the groups that want change. That idea was repeated by Sanchez as many as a dozen times. Do we want a government based on agreement? Yes or no? he asked the assembled deputies. Without mentioning them specifically, Sanchez launched an appeal to anti-austerity left-wing group Podemos Without mentioning them specifically, Sanchez launched an appeal to anti-austerity left-wing group Podemos, mentioning proposals such as an emergency plan for 750,000 families in need, among others. All of these proposals, he explained, could be put into place the very next week should Podemos make way for his investiture by abstaining during the vote. Spains political parties will not officially lay out their positions until Wednesday morning, but Podemos has already suggested it will vote against Sanchez. Even with the support of Ciudadanos, Sanchez can only count on 130 votes from the 176 needed for an absolute majority in Wednesday nights vote. On Friday night, when he simply needs more votes in favor than against, it will still not be enough to be successful in his bid to lead the government. Depending on the outcome of this weeks sessions in Congress, Spain could be looking at fresh elections later in the year. English version by Simon Hunter. By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - North Korea will boycott any session of the U.N. Human Rights Council that examines its record and will "never, ever" be bound by any such resolutions, its foreign minister said on Tuesday. The announcement signaled further isolation of North Korea whose leadership has been accused by U.N. investigators of committing crimes against humanity and is poised to be hit with fresh U.N. sanctions for its nuclear program. Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong also accused the United States, Japan and South Korea of sending agents into his country to recruit criminals to become "so-called North Korean defectors". "As a way out and in order to earn their living, they are compelled to continue to fabricate and sell groundless testimonies by trying to make them sound as shocking as possible," Ri said in a speech to the 47-member state forum. South Korea rejected the accusations, saying that "questioning the credibility of the defectors' testimony is nothing but a denial of truth". Japan urged Pyongyang to take concrete actions to improve human rights at home. "We shall no longer participate in international sessions singling out the human rights situation of the DPRK (North Korea) for mere political attack," Ri said. Any resolutions adopted against the DPRK "will be none of our business and we will never ever be bound by them", he said. Ri said the U.N. rights forum was marked by worsening "politicization, selectivity and double standards", and criticized gun-related violence in the United States and Europe's migrant crisis. Japan and South Korea are drafting a resolution for debate at the ongoing four-week session to renew the mandate of the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, currently Marzuki Darusman, and may seek further steps. Darusman, in a report last month, asked the United Nations to officially notify North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that he may be investigated for crimes against humanity, in line with the findings of a landmark 2014 U.N. report. The U.N. Security Council delayed until Wednesday a vote on a U.S.-Chinese drafted resolution that would dramatically expand U.N. sanctions on North Korea after Russia said it needed more time to review the text, diplomats said. The expanded sanctions, if adopted, would require inspections of all cargo going to and from North Korea and blacklisting of North Koreans active in Syria, Iran and Vietnam. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Richard Balmforth) The Science of Laboratory Safety A recent surge in FR lab coat usage has led to an increase in FR options for lab workers. Laboratories are home to a wide variety of flammable and combustible liquidsmaking fire, chemical, and thermal burns relatively common accidents in this environment. For instance, in 2008, a research assistant tragically lost her life as a result of the injuries she sustained during a lab accident in which a chemical she was working with ignited. During the incident, she was not wearing protective clothing. In 2010, a graduate researcher at Texas Tech University suffered from the loss of three fingers, severe injuries to his eye, and burns on multiple parts of his body after a compound he was working with detonated. He, also, was not wearing protective equipment. These injuries are a select few among many similar lab accidents, many of which could be prevented, or injuries minimized, through the use of the proper safety equipment. Conventional lab coats have been around for decades, but in the past they were typically made of cotton or polyester/cotton blends, both of which are flammable and will ignite when exposed to flames. While flame-resistant (FR) lab coats are also available, due to a lack of standardization in policies and safety standards related to personal protective equipment in lab settings they have not been widely used. However, with recent injuries and the subsequent increase in awareness about the importance of lab safety, there has also been a recent surge in FR lab coat usage. This has led to an increase in FR options for lab workers. These FR lab coat innovations have been made possible by fabric suppliers and safety apparel manufacturers that have been hard at work developing new products to better protect lab workers against short-duration thermal hazards with more comfortable, durable FR garments. In 2014, our company released its first line of FR lab coats. They were cut from an inherently FR fiber thats particularly well suited to the lab environment due to its ability to resist degradation from chemical contact. These lab coats offer advanced protection from short-term thermal hazards as well as a lightweight, breathable feel and ease of movement for lab workers. Unlike non-FR lab coats, lab coats made from FR fabrics do not ignite and continue to burn when exposed to flames, effectively reducing the amount and severity of burn injuries if such hazards occur. This article originally appeared in the March 2016 issue of Occupational Health & Safety. Safety From the Shadows: The Problem of Informal Social Power in Industrial Safety Safety is about good intentions. What nobler goal could there be than saving lives and keeping an entire company's workforce healthy? These good intentions often focus on power. After all, the safety industry is preoccupied with controlling and limiting hazardous energyliterally containing the power that is present in the workforce. But power comes in a number of different forms, and it would be a mistake to overlook how important social power is to industrial safety. The most obvious example of safety-related social power is the power dynamic between workers and management, in part because it's usually easy to see this relationship in action. Typically, power is exerted in a top-down manner, with rules, procedures, and safety initiatives. However, there are competing forms of social influence that can often be equally or more assertive than the power wielded by the safety professional. Let's call this safety from the shadowsand it represents an informal but solid social power structure that can undermine your safety efforts. At its head are the handful of difficult employees you can find in almost any workplace. Everyone has had to deal with at least a few troublesome employees. They're the folks who sit at the back of the room during safety training, make derisive comments in the break room, and otherwise undermine one initiative or another. At best, their presence is a nuisance. But if they are able to gather enough influence, then they can de facto govern your safety program by signaling which rules and procedures are worth following and which ones they consider pointless regulation. Whenever we talk about employee engagement and safety culture, what we're actually discussing is the informal networks of social power. And as every safety professional quickly learns, social power can have a potentially devastating corrosive influence. Identifying the problem is easy, but solving it is much more difficult. The landscape of social influence is constantly shifting, and there are no exact rules of engagement. However, one thing is for certainexerting more power from the top down will only make things worse. Consider the common objections to any safety protocol: A rule is stupid or ineffective, a new safety procedure is unnecessary, or management won't make the budget available to pay for actually useful safety equipment. There's also the insistence from employees that they're already safe enough, they know what they're doing, they're adults and they can take care of themselves. These are all signs of disenfranchisement. They stem from feeling neglected, marginalized, unlistened to, and powerless. And they're all symptoms of power being centralized. If this sounds like political talk, that's because it isthe original definition of politics is the relationship of influences between people. And at heart, that's what safety is all about: guiding people to behave in a way that improves their safety and reduces their risk of injury. The most effective way of minimizing the damage caused by employees governing safety from the shadows is to shine a spotlight on it. If you have a problem with your safety culture and employee engagementthat is, if informal networks are exerting negative social power on your safety programthen look for ways to give these informal networks more power, not less. Build a bigger and more inclusive safety institution at your company. Include employees in both formal and informal safety committees, discussions, and plans. As counter-intuitive as it seems, the reason giving them more power is so effective is that bringing oppositional employees into the fold makes it much harder for them to complain about the company's overall safety functionsbecause now they're part of it. Distribution of Authority If political history has taught us anything, it's that people want to have representation. People want agency. They want to feel involved. When people attempt to govern safety from the shadows, it shows that one way or another, some employees will always express their opinions on the company safety program. So give employees legitimate access to power in the form of sitting on committees or solicit their opinion and then act on it. Appointing them to positions of influence, even relatively limited influence such as organizing safety contests, will combat disenfranchisement caused by a perceived monopoly on power. It will also engage individual employees by making them responsible for new tasks. Rotation is essential, and authority should not only be distributed across job titles but across people, too. Representatives from throughout the company should sit on safety committees and, as in any good democratic system, the people acting as representatives should change on a regular basis. Finally, note that real authority should actually be provided. A steering committee for a safety initiative is obviously no use if they don't hold regular meetings or their decisions are not respected, and workers often have a finely tuned ear for when they're being paid lip service. Education and Resources Knowledge is power. The more employees are aware of why something is happening, the more respected they will feel. Employees already share information among themselves about why they think a safety initiative has been instituted, whether they think it's worthy of their attention, and so on. Engaging them while they're still forming an opinion will shut down the circulation of misinformation and improve employee buy-in. It will also leave employees feeling like stakeholders and not subjects. There are other forms of education that can also contribute to an overall sense of engagement. Skills training is the most obvious, though any training that workers need for their job is already usually provided. But other skills are less obvious but just as important. This includes practical safety skills such as focusing on the task at hand and staying mentally alert. Dealing with human factors like rushing, frustration, and fatigue through training has been proven to reduce injuries, and it demonstrates to employees that you care about their well-being. In the end, if you want employees more engaged in safety, you have to provide more education in safety. Of course, investing in training education requires resources, and there should always be a relatively equal access to equipment, training, and other important resources. There are few better ways to engender resentment than to play favorites among employees or withhold resources. A poor safety culture is frequently a byproduct of employees being excluded from the safety process. Social power structures can quickly form as a result of workers feeling marginalized, and soon enough these networks can begin to compete for control of the safety agenda. Fortunately, those same social structures can be used to further your own agenda. As I've outlined, and as difficult as it may seem, the solution to unwanted social influence is to embrace informal networks of power. The goal is to empower employees without decreasing your own authority. Doing so takes time and requires a more consensus-building approach than you may be used to, but you will end up dragging safety from the shadows and into the light. J Kevin Cobb is a senior SafeStart consultant and the author of "Quit Feeding the Monsters." He has delivered human factors training across North America, including the Arctic and the jungles of Mexico, and around the world. As he nears his second decade helping others improve their performance he spends much of his time sharing what hes learned through his writing. When not speaking at conferences or training you can find him at home in north Texas where he lives with his family. Learn more at safestart.com/kevin. REGISTER Below to view the FREE ONDemand Version This webinar occurred on: April 20, 2016 In the United States, workers are aging and becoming less healthy. Its not just bad for them, its bad for business: chronic medical conditions can become a safety hazard in the workplace. How can you track and follow-up on potential health concerns to ensure that workers are fit enough to perform their jobs safely? , M.D., M.P.H. Richard Lewis, M.D., M.P.H., is an occupational medicine physician in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Lewis has practiced occupational medicine for more 25 years, providing clinical services and medical expertise to companies, academic institutions and research organizations. His professional activities include the development of medical surveillance and fitness assessment programs for workers exposed to hazardous conditions and/or conducting safety-sensitive work. He also is interested in promoting workforce well-being through sustainable behavior change and lifestyle modifications. He currently serves as an associate medical director for Union Pacific Railroad and a member of the UL EHS Medical Advisory Board. His certifications include American Board of Preventive Medicine in occupational medicine and the American Board of Internal Medicine. (UL EHSS)UL EHS Sustainability is a division of Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the premier global independent safety science company that has championed progress for 120 years. UL EHS Sustainability empowers organizations to protect the well-being of workers, reduce risk, improve productivity, enhance compliance, and drive measurable business improvement through its EHS, occupational health, environmental, supply chain, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility platforms. More than 2,000 organizations in over 20 major industries including manufacturing, healthcare, and construction & energy, trust ULs tools to meet their expanding needs. Duration: 1 Hour Photo: JLL Property consultancy JLL has appointed Tay Huey Ying (pictured) as its new Head of Research for Singapore, effective immediately. She will be assisted by a team of analysts and will report to Dr Chua Yang Liang, Head of Research for Southeast Asia, who will be spending more time strengthening the firms research and consulting business across emerging Southeast Asian markets. Tay will also work closely with Ong Teck Hui, National Director, Research & Consultancy, to provide research support to local and regional clients, including the media. Ong will also act as strategic advisor to the Singapore research team, and will continue to be active on the residential market research front. The changes come amid JLLs significant growth in the region over the last few years. Huey Yings appointment comes at a crucial time as JLL continues to strengthen our research support to meet the growing needs of the businesses across Singapore and Southeast Asia. The search for another senior researcher in Singapore has long been on my agenda, and Huey Ying comes as the best candidate for this role, as well as the team, said Dr Chua. Tay has over 24 years of real estate experience in Singapore. She previously led the research team at Colliers International before assuming the role of a consultant at the firm, while at the same time serving as an academic at Ngee Ann Polytechnic since 2010. Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg More from PropertyGuru: Ascott scores JTC lease for one-north serviced residence Ascott to open serviced apartment in one-north Singapore prime office land prices up 6%: report Johor to become an economic powerhouse Johors Forest City given duty-free status A Thai tuna processing factory has agreed to pay staff $1.3 million compensation for a litany of labour abuses, an official said Tuesday, a rare victory for migrant workers in the scandal-hit seafood industry. Hundreds of Myanmar labourers at Golden Prize Tuna Canning, a processing plant in Samut Sakhon province east of Bangkok that sells fish worldwide, have spent months seeking compensation for exploitative working conditions. Thailand is the world's third-largest seafood exporter, but the industry is plagued with rights abuses and fuelled by trafficked labour from neighbouring Myanmar and Cambodia. The sector has come under heightened scrutiny from foreign governments over the past year, with the European Union currently considering an all-out ban on Thai fishing products. The United States also passed a bill last week outlawing goods produced by forced labour that could see Thailand targeted with import bans. Rights groups say Golden Prize workers had long been subject to unlawfully low salaries, supervisor abuse and a lack of compensation for machine accidents on the 25-acre processing sites. Following a strike last week by more than 1,000 workers, company representatives joined negotiations with military officers, government officials and migrant worker leaders, reaching an agreement late Monday. "The company began paying 1,100 workers last night involving money of 48 million baht ($1.3m)," Boonlue Sartpetch, the head of the province's labour department, told AFP Tuesday. He said 700 workers have been paid, with the rest expected to receive compensation Tuesday. Golden Prize Tuna Canning, whose 2,000 workers hail mostly from Myanmar, declined to comment. The junta that seized power in a 2014 coup has struggled to revive Thailand's flagging economy and is desperate to avoid any costly sanctions on the multi-billion dollar seafood sector. It remains to be seen how Washington will enforce its new legislation on slave-produced goods. Story continues But the US labour department currently lists Thai fish and shrimp as products the government has reason to believe are manufactured by slave labour. Thai officials say they have moved fast to clean up the industry, with new laws and crackdowns on traffickers and fish factories. Last month police said they arrested more than 100 people on trafficking charges linked to the fishing industry. Authorities have also registered nearly half of an estimated 200,000 undocumented foreign workers in the seafood sector, officials said. On Tuesday foreign ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee hailed the peaceful settlement between Golden Prize and its workers as a model for future disputes. "The government is committed to use this approach in order to eliminate labour exploitation and to uplift the quality of life of workers in Thailand," he said. Andy Hall, a British labour activist who has been helping the Myanmar workers at Golden Prize Tuna, said he suspects the spectre of costly trade bans was finally forcing the Thai government to act. "To get a dispute like this that involves so much money and actually have it settled is very unprecedented," he told AFP. But he accused both the tuna company and local labour department of dodging the workers' complaints for nearly a year. In the past some Thai factories have responded to rights abuse accusations with defamation lawsuits, which Hall is currently facing for highlighting alleged exploitation at a Thai fruit company. Due North CEO Kevin Blackwell and Hotland CEO Morio Sase shake hands at signing event for new joint venture called Pacific Restaurant Partners. They plan to open 1,000 restaurants through organic growth and acquisitions by the end of 2020.Click here for high-resolution version SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwired - March 01, 2016) - Due North Holdings is excited to announce a new dynamic partnership with Hotland Co., Ltd. The joint venture, named Pacific Restaurant Partners, will build, operate and franchise quick service restaurant brands in the mainland United States & Canada that are a combination of Hotland's concepts tailored for the US, and the Joint Venture's new brands developed internally and through acquisition. Pacific Restaurant Partners plans to open 1,000 restaurants through organic growth and acquisitions by the end of 2020. Kevin Blackwell, CEO of Due North Holdings, explains, "I am incredibly confident in the strength of the partnership we've created to reach the ambitious goal we've set. I have the utmost respect for Hotland's CEO, Morio Sase, and the impressive organization he has built. We share the same passion for quality food delivered by excellent customer service." Due North Holdings specializes in restaurant operations and franchising, retail service franchise offerings as well as consulting on brand and product expansion (domestic and international). Kevin Blackwell founded Kahala Corp., an international Franchisor of quick service restaurant brands. At the time he sold his interest in Kahala, the company had more than ten brands, including Cold Stone Creamery, Blimpie Subs, TacoTime, Samurai Sam's and others. Kahala grew to more than 3,000 units operating in 23 countries. "As a resident of Japan for nearly two years, I am excited about the opportunity to bring fresh and unique concepts from Asia to the United States as well as other international markets," adds Berekk Blackwell, President of Pacific Restaurant Partners. "Hotland is a great partner and we are thrilled to start this journey together." Hotland is a publicly traded Japan-based company, which operates quick service restaurants in Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Cambodia and is the Master Licensee of AZ-based Cold Stone Creamery, and CA-based Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf for Japan. Founded in 1988, Hotland now owns 8 brands in 669 locations in 7 countries. Story continues Morio Sase, Hotland CEO and Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year of Japan, states, "We are excited to have the opportunity to launch this joint venture with Mr. Blackwell [Kevin] who has had so many great achievements in the U.S. and beyond. We believe that we will be able to have a major impact on expanding Japanese food culture, which we've built, into the U.S. market together." For more information, please visit www.duenorthholdings.com or contact us at 602.717.1885. For downloadable images, please contact Summer Manning at 602.717.1885 or email: SManning@duenorth-llc.com. About Due North Holdings Due North Holdings, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, builds, operates and franchises retail brands across multiple industries. With numerous domestic and international brand acquisitions in the future, Due North plans to have 1,000 restaurant locations open by the end of 2020 under the Pacific Restaurant Partners joint venture. For more information, visit www.duenorthholdings.com. About Hotland Hotland Co., Ltd. operates quick service restaurants including Cold Stone Creamery and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Japan, and restaurants under the brands of Croissant Taiyaki, Gindaco, Gin'noan and Ogamaya, among others, in Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, and Cambodia. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. For more information, visit www.Hotland.co.jp. Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/2/25/11G084605/Images/Kevin_Sase_PRP_signing_event_high_res-d141af560f669e3db96b78f73753ce36.jpg By Julia Harte and Julia Edwards (Reuters) - A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, on Monday rejected a U.S. Justice Department request to order Apple Inc to help law enforcement access data on a locked iPhone, in a ruling that bolsters the company's arguments in a growing privacy fight with the government. The government sought access to the phone in October, months before a judge in California ordered Apple to give the government access to the phone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino, California, attacks. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein in Brooklyn ruled that he did not have the legal authority to order Apple to disable the security of an iPhone seized during a drug investigation. The Justice Department is "disappointed" in Orenstein's ruling and plans to ask a higher judge within the same federal district to review the matter in coming days, a department representative said. Though the defendant in the case has already pleaded guilty, the Justice Department still believes the phone may contain evidence that "will assist us in an active criminal investigation," the official said. When fighting the government's order to help extract data from the iPhone, Apple had argued that being forced to do so "could threaten the trust between Apple and its customers and substantially tarnish the Apple brand," according to court records. Orenstein said his ruling in Apples favour was not a decision on "whether the government should be able to force Apple to help it unlock a specific device; it is instead whether the All Writs Act resolves that issue and many others like it yet to come." The implications of the governments position are so far-reaching as to produce impermissibly broad results, he wrote. Prosecutors have said that since 2008, Apple has complied with 70 such court orders based on the All Writs Act, a 1789 statute that grants federal courts broad power to issue necessary or appropriate writs, without objection. The case before Brooklyn was, according to prosecutors, the first time Apple had objected to law enforcement efforts to utilize search warrants to get the tech company to provide assistance and unlock iPhones seized during investigations. But since October, when Apple first asked Orenstein to deny the government's request, Apple has objected to helping law enforcement access at least 12 devices for which the U.S. Justice Department has sought its help, according to a letter from Apple to Orenstein that was unsealed earlier this month. (Reporting by Julia Edwards and Julia Harte in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese and Lisa Shumaker) Demolition workers tore down more makeshift shelters in France's grim "Jungle" migrant camp Tuesday, as Greece pleaded for EU aid to help shelter thousands of refugees stuck in misery at its border. In the northern French port city of Calais, tensions were high as officials for a second day razed part of the Jungle camp, which has become a magnet for people hoping to reach Britain. Some sat on the roofs of their shacks, covered in blankets against the driving rain and freezing wind in a bid to stop their temporary homes from being pulled apart. Officials tried to convince inhabitants to leave voluntarily and move to better accommodation provided for them, but many refused, fearing it will take them further from their goal of reaching Britain. There was no repeat of the violent clashes that erupted on Monday, but some remained defiant in the face of the bulldozers. "We have already seen prison and torture, this doesn't scare us," a migrant told one of the teams. Officials say the demolition will affect between 800 and 1,000 people, although charities working there say there are more than 3,450 people in the southern half of the camp, including 300 unaccompanied children. One Sudanese migrant, Nureen, watched as the destruction moved gradually towards his makeshift home. He had been told to leave by Wednesday morning. "Unfortunately, we cannot fight the police," he said. "There is nothing for us to do. We will just be left in the cold winter." - Greek misery - The late winter freeze brought similar misery to Greece's border with Macedonia, the latest flashpoint in Europe's worst migration crisis since World War II, which many fear poses a threat to the very core of the European project. Athens said Tuesday it had requested nearly half a billion euros in emergency funds from the European Union to help shelter 100,000 refugees. More than 7,000 people have been stuck on the border after Balkan states imposed a tight daily limit on the number of migrants allowed to enter. Bleak scenes saw the refugees stranded in mud-soaked fields and fighting over food distributed from the back of a van. "We have been waiting for six days," said Farah, a 32-year-old Syrian, as a van distributing canned food and long-life milk was quickly mobbed and emptied in minutes. "The food is not enough, everyone is lying to us and we are desperate," she said. The grim situation has sparked growing criticism of countries that have capped the number of migrants they are willing to let in, under the strain of a flood of people fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East -- notably Syria. Top NATO General Philip Breedlove said the crisis was playing into the hands of Russia by destabilising Europe, accusing the Syrian regime and its ally Moscow of "deliberately weaponising migration in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve". The UN said over 131,000 migrants had crossed the Mediterranean to reach Europe so far this year, more than the total number for the first five months of 2015. - EU chief on crisis tour - The EU lashed out at Macedonian police for tear-gassing desperate refugees who tried to force their way across the border with Greece on Monday, saying it was "not our idea of managing the crisis". Despite the criticism, countries in the firing line were standing firm. "We cannot take in hundreds of thousands of people. We are not Germany's waiting room," Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann told the Heute newspaper. "It cannot be that people are just waved through Greece, Macedonia and Croatia and that Austria does the EU's job of sharing them around." Macedonia said it would stepping up troop numbers on the border In a bid to ease the deep divisions over the crisis, EU president Donald Tusk set off Tuesday on a tour taking him to Vienna and the Balkan states, as well as Turkey, the main departure point for refugees, where he will press for "a more intensive engagement" from the government. Germany, which registered 1.1 million migrants in 2015, said it had reached an agreement with Tunisia to speed up the repatriation of rejected asylum-seekers from the North African country, which it considers safe. And 308 migrants -- mostly from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria -- are being sent back to Turkey by Wednesday under a deal signed between the two countries in 2002, according to a source in the citizens' protection ministry. EU president Donald Tusk said Tuesday he would press Turkey this week for more "intensive" help in the migrant crisis, while urging EU states to coordinate better to restore trust. Tusk said in Vienna at the start of a tour ahead of a March 7 EU-Turkey summit that Europe can provide "substantial financial support" to neighbours of war-torn Syria such as Turkey. "But at the same time we expect a more intensive engagement from our partners as an absolute precondition to avoid a humanitarian disaster," Tusk told reporters after meeting Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann. After visiting Austria and Slovenia on Tuesday and Croatia and Macedonia on Wednesday, Tusk was expected in Athens and then Ankara on Thursday to meet Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The following day he will hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, Tusk's office said. The March 7 summit in Brussels will see Davutoglu and the leaders of the 28 EU states discuss the progress of last November's EU-Turkey deal aimed at cutting the flow of migrants. Under that deal, Turkey agreed to tackle people smugglers and improve conditions for Syrian refugees in exchange for three billion euros ($3.2 billion) and speeding up Ankara's EU membership bid. But alarm is growing in EU capitals as thousands of migrants are still reaching the Greek islands from Turkey after more than one million made the perilous journey last year. Failure to make progress at the summit will spell "disaster" for the bloc, EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said last week, with its passport-free Schengen zone at risk. Relations with Turkey have been increasingly tense, with Erdogan even threatening to flood Europe with refugees if Ankara did not get more help during a November visit by Tusk and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. - Supporting Athens - Speaking in Vienna, Tusk said EU members had to "fully apply" the Schengen border code and restore effective controls on the EU's external frontier in Greece. He said he was "opening a new chapter of our struggle with the migration crisis called 'Back to Schengen'." "It's not an easy decision but the truth is there is no alternative to (Schengen)," he said. "We must face together the humanitarian consequences of our decision. The country which we must support in particular is Greece," he said. "A test of our European-ness will be, on the one hand, going back to Schengen, and on the other (having) a readiness to stand by Athens during these hard times." But in reference to unilateral new measures by Austria and countries through the western Balkans to limit migrant numbers, Tusk called on EU members to "coordinate more and better". "It is natural that important decisions are taken in the capitals but we need to make sure that these decisions are coordinated so they are effective, reinforce each other instead of eroding trust further," Tusk said in Slovenia. The tightening of border restrictions has led to a bottleneck of migrants in Greece, with several thousand stranded on the border with non-EU Macedonia. On Monday Macedonian police fired tear gas at hundreds of migrants who tried to break through a border fence. (Reuters) - Global health officials are racing to better understand the Zika virus behind a major outbreak that began in Brazil last year and has since spread to many countries in the Americas. The following are some questions and answers about the virus and current outbreak: How do people become infected? Zika is transmitted to people through the bite of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same type 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? There is no treatment or vaccine for Zika infection. Companies and scientists are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine for Zika, but the World Health Organization (WHO) said it would take at least 18 months to start large-scale clinical trials of potential preventative shots. 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. It has also been associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the nervous system. How is Zika related to microcephaly? Much remains unknown about Zika, including whether the virus actually causes microcephaly in babies, a condition defined by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems. Research is under way in Brazil to confirm the suspected link to microcephaly, with initial findings expected within months, according to public health officials. Brazil said it has confirmed more than 580 cases of microcephaly, and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,100 suspected cases of microcephaly. Research in Brazil indicates the greatest microcephaly risk is associated with infection during the first trimester of pregnancy. Recent studies from other countries have shown evidence of Zika in amniotic fluid, placenta and fetal brain tissue. What are the symptoms of Zika infection? People infected with Zika may 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. and international 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? Active Zika outbreaks have been reported in at least 36 countries or territories, most of them in the Americas, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Brazil has been the country most affected. (http://1.usa.gov/1ovAJyh) Africa (1): Cape Verde Americas (31): Aruba, Barbados, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, 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, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, U.S. Virgin Islands and Venezuela Oceania/Pacific Islands (4): American Samoa, Marshall Islands, Samoa, and Tonga What is the history of the Zika virus? The Zika virus is found in tropical locales with large mosquito populations. Outbreaks of Zika 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 WHO. Can Zika be transmitted through sexual contact? On Feb. 26, the U.S. CDC reported six confirmed and probable cases of sexual transmission of the mosquito-borne Zika virus from male travellers to female non-travellers. On Feb. 23, the CDC had said it was investigating 14 new reports of possible transmission, in addition to a previous case in Texas. In two of the suspected cases, the infection was confirmed in women whose only known risk factor was sexual contact with an ill male partner who had recently travelled to a Zika outbreak area, the agency said. The reports suggest sexual transmission may be a more likely means of spreading Zika than previously considered, the CDC said. All cases involve possible transmission of the virus from men to their sex partners. On Feb. 27, France said it had detected its first sexually transmitted case of Zika in a woman whose partner had travelled to Brazil. British health officials reported Zika was found in a man's semen two months after he was infected, suggesting the virus may linger in semen long after infection symptoms fade. The WHO has advised women, particularly pregnant women, to use condoms. The PAHO said Zika can be transmitted through blood, but this is an infrequent transmission mechanism. There is no evidence Zika 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 2013-14 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 are 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. (Compiled by the Americas Desk) Allies of Iran's moderate President Hassan Rouhani are headed for sweeping gains against conservatives in parliament according to partial election results which Saturday strengthened their chances of a national victory. The grounds for a major breakthrough came in Tehran, where the List of Hope, a pro-Rouhani coalition of moderates and reformists, is ahead in all but one of the capital's 30 seats, with 44 percent of votes counted. The projected rout in Tehran, a key battleground, differed from earlier initial results across the country which had shown seats split between the main conservative list, supporters of the president and independent candidates. But should the pro-government reformists close out the capital when all votes are counted it would represent a stunning turnaround only weeks after many of its most prominent faces were barred from contesting the polls. Their near dominance in Tehran comes one month after sanctions were lifted under Iran's nuclear deal with world powers and the outcome of Friday's vote is being seen as a de-facto referendum on Rouhani's administration. The president joined forces with reformists to try and curtail conservative dominance of parliament, which has 290 MPs, and create space to pass social and political reforms on which he has so far been blocked. The head of the pro-Rouhani coalition, Mohammad Reza Aref, a former vice president, was in first place in voting in Tehran after 1,293,000 ballots out of 2,900,000 had been counted. The outspoken Ali Motahari, a conservative MP who switched sides and joined the slate headed by Aref, was in second spot. Only the head of the conservative list, Gholam-Ali Hadad Adel, a former parliament speaker, placed seventh, stood in the way of a whitewash. Earlier declarations published by the semi-official ISNA news agency, quoting electoral officials, indicated no one faction would win a majority in parliament. Out of 56 constituencies outside the capital, 19 went to the main list of conservatives, nine to the pro-Rouhani list, and 14 to independent candidates. Of the independents six had ties to conservatives, five to reformists and three were undeclared. None of the remaining 14 seats had a clear winner, meaning a second round of voting, not to take place until April or May, would be needed. - Reformists back at polls - But should the Tehran results be followed by major gains elsewhere Rouhani's allies will have achieved their goal of regaining a major influence in parliament. Turnout in the election was solid at 60 percent, but slightly less than the 64 percent of 2012. There was further good news for the president in preliminary results from the second election that took place on Friday, for the Assembly of Experts, a powerful committee of clerics that monitors the work of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Rouhani and his close ally Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former two-term president, held the first two places among the 28 clerics seeking one of the 16 places reserved on the assembly for Tehran. Fourteen of those on the Rouhani-Rafsanjani list for the assembly were in the top 16, with more than a third of votes counted. The assembly election is especially important because should Khamenei, who is 76, die during its eight-year term, its 88 members would pick his successor. Polling stations were kept open late Friday to allow millions of latecomers to participate. Even after all votes are counted by the interior ministry's officials, final results of both elections must be confirmed by the conservative-dominated Guardian Council -- and are not expected for several days. Khamenei was among the first to vote on Friday and he urged the entire electorate to follow suit, saying casting a ballot is "both a duty and a right". Many moderate voters stayed away in the last parliamentary polls in protest at the re-election three years earlier of hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But the domination of Tehran by the List of Hope suggested they turned out heavily on Friday. Known as the "diplomat sheikh" because of his clerical credentials and willingness to negotiate, Rouhani, elected in 2013, was the driving force behind the nuclear deal, which he delivered despite political pressure at home. The agreement with powers led by the United States, the Islamic republic's bete noire, has raised hopes of recovery in Iran. But although the economy exited a deep recession in 2014-2015, growth has stagnated in the past year. The run-up to polling day was largely overshadowed by controversies over who was allowed to stand. Thousands of candidates were excluded. Reformists said they were worst hit. North Korea must pay the price for its latest nuclear test and rocket launch, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye said on Tuesday, vowing to pressure Pyongyang into accepting denuclearisation as its only viable option for survival. In a televised speech to mark the anniversary of a key date in Korea's struggle against Japanese colonial rule, Park said failure to respond to the North's "reckless provocations" would only result in further nuclear tests. "If we leave them alone, they will continue," said the president, who has significantly toughened her stance against Pyongyang in the wake of the North's fourth nuclear test on January 6 and a long-range rocket launch last month that was widely condemned as a ballistic missile test. "North Korea must clearly understand... that they can no longer maintain their regime through nuclear weapons," Park said. Her comments came as the UN Security Council prepared to vote Tuesday on a new US-drafted resolution that would impose the toughest sanctions yet on North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme. US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said adoption of the resolution would send "an unambiguous and unyielding message to the DPRK regime: The world will not accept your proliferation. There will be consequences for your actions." The draft text would require countries to take the unprecedented step of inspecting all cargo to and from North Korea, impose new trade restrictions and bar North Korean vessels suspected of carrying illegal goods from ports. - 'Pay the price' - Park said the draft, which has secured the approval of North Korea's main ally China, showed the collective will of the international community to ensure that Pyongyang "pay the price" for its refusal to halt its nuclear weapons programme. "My government will leave the door for dialogue open, but until North Korea shows they are willing to change and to pursue denuclearisation, we and the international community will continue to pressure North Korea," she said. "The ball is now in North Korea's court," she added. The UN resolution currently under discussion at the Security Council, represents a compromise between the United States and China, who had been at odds over how to respond to North Korea's recent tests. China wants its reclusive neighbour to halt its nuclear weapons programme and return to six-party international talks, maintaining that dialogue -- rather than sanctions -- is the best way to curb Pyongyang's behaviour. Beijing fears too much pressure could trigger the collapse of leader Kim Jong-Un's pariah regime, creating chaos on its border. Already elevated tensions on the Korean peninsula are likely to rise further next week when South Korea and the United States kick off annual joint military drills. North Korea views the exercises as provocative rehearsals for invasion, and has repeatedly demanded their permanent cancellation. In an editorial to mark the 1919 independence movement anniversary, the North Korean ruling party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, urged the defeat of "foreign forces" massing against the country. "The US and South Korean hostile forces seeking to start a nuclear war against us are the root source of threat to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula," the editorial said. By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants attacked Iraqi security forces on the western outskirts of Baghdad on Sunday in their largest assault near the capital for months, while two suicide blasts in a mainly Shi'ite district killed 31 people. Suicide bombers and gunmen in vehicles and on foot launched the attack on Abu Ghraib at dawn, seizing positions in a grain silo and a cemetery, and killing at least 17 members of the security forces, officials said. Fighting was still raging at the silo site on Sunday evening, security officials said. Security officials blamed Islamic State, and a news agency that supports the group said it had launched a "wide attack" in Abu Ghraib, 25 km (15 miles) from the centre of Baghdad and next to the international airport. Iraqi forces backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes have driven Islamic State back recently in western Anbar province and are preparing for an offensive to retake the northern city of Mosul, but the militants are still able to strike in Baghdad and other cities outside their main areas of control. Later on Sunday, two suicide bombers riding motorcycles blew themselves up in a crowded mobile phone market in the Shi'ite Sadr City district, wounding more than 60 people in addition to the dead, police and medical sources said. A Reuters witness saw pools of blood on the ground with slippers, shoes and mobile phones at the site of the blast, which was sealed off to prevent further attacks. In a statement circulated online, Islamic State said two suicide bombers had carried out the attack, killing and wounding "hundreds of polytheist rejectionists", as the ultra-hardline Sunni group refers to Shi'ite Muslims. Baghdad-based security analyst Jasim al-Bahadli said Sunday's attacks suggested it was premature to declare that Islamic State was losing the initiative in Iraq. "Government forces must do a better job repelling attacks launched by Daesh. What happened today could be a setback for the security forces," he said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. COUNTER OFFENSIVE In Abu Ghraib, a curfew was imposed as a regiment of Iraq's elite counter-terrorism forces was mobilised to retake the silo and prevent the militants approaching the nearby airport, security officials said. Army and police sources said the militants had attacked from the nearby Islamic State-controlled areas of Garma and Falluja, driving Humvees and pickup trucks fixed with machine guns. The Amaq news agency said Iraqi forces had been forced to retreat from several locations. But the Iraqi security sources said the militants had been pushed out of a police station and several army positions and had dug in at the cemetery and the silo, part of which was set on fire. Iraqi army helicopters began bombarding Islamic State positions in the silo and the cemetery, a military statement said. Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan said at least 20 militants had been killed so far in the government's counter offensive. Fighters from the Hashid Shaabi, a coalition of mainly Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias, were mobilised to Abu Ghraib to reinforce regular government forces in the area, said Jawad al-Tulaibawi, a local Hashid commander. Powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr also called on fighters loyal to him to be on alert to protect Baghdad. Shi'ite militias like Sadr's 'Peace Brigades' were seen as a bulwark against Islamic State's sweeping advance in 2014 which threatened Iraq's capital and its most sacred Shi'ite shrines. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad and Ali Abdelaty in Cairo; Writing by Stephen Kalin and Isabel Coles; Editing by Ros Russell) Four Islamic State group suicide bombers infiltrated an army headquarters west of Baghdad, killing an Iraqi general and five other soldiers, army and police officers said on Tuesday. The bombers attacked a regimental headquarters in the Haditha area of Anbar province late on Monday, killing Staff Brigadier General Ali Aboud, Lieutenant Colonel Farhan Ibrahim and four others, the sources said. Major General Ali Ibrahim Daboun, the head of the Al-Jazeera Operations Command, said one suicide bomber blew himself up inside Aboud's office, while the other three detonated explosives elsewhere inside the headquarters. Seven soldiers were also wounded in the attack, Daboun said. Colonel Faruq al-Jughaifi, the Haditha police chief, confirmed the attack, saying it took place near a major dam in the area, and that the bombers were dressed in military uniforms. Jihadist group IS claimed the attack in a statement posted online but mentioned only two suicide bombers saying they were Syrian nationals. IS overran swathes of Iraq, including large parts of Anbar, in a sweeping offensive launched in June 2014, but has largely been on the defensive in the province since the middle of last year. Iraqi tribesmen and security personnel defending Haditha, which lies near the country's second largest dam, have held off IS for more than 18 months with the help of air strikes by a US-led coalition. The war with IS has taken a heavy toll on senior Iraqi officers in Anbar. Two heads of the Anbar Operations Command were wounded in 2015, while the commanders of a division and a brigade were killed in Anbar in April of that year. The province's governor was wounded in 2014. Senior army and police commanders have also been killed in other provinces. By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A twin suicide bombing claimed by Islamic State killed 70 people in a Shi'ite district of Baghdad on Sunday in the deadliest attack inside the capital this year, as militants launched an assault on its western outskirts. Police sources said the suicide bombers were riding motorcycles and blew themselves up in a crowded mobile phone market in Sadr City, wounding more than 100 people in addition to the dead. A Reuters witness saw pools of blood on the ground with slippers, shoes and mobile phones at the site of the blasts, which was sealed off to prevent further attacks. In a statement circulated online, Islamic State said it was responsible for the blasts: "Our swords will not cease to cut off the heads of the rejectionist polytheists, wherever they are," it said, using derogatory terms for Shi'ite Muslims. Iraqi forces backed by airstrikes from a U.S.-led coalition have driven Islamic State back in the western Anbar province recently and are preparing for an offensive to retake the northern city of Mosul. But the militants are still able to strike outside territory they control, often targeting members of Iraq's Shi'ite majority, most recently on Thursday when two Islamic State suicide bombers killed 15 people at a mosque in the capital. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the attacks were in response to Islamic State's recent defeats: "This gang targeted civilians after it lost the initiative and its dregs fled the battlefield before our proud fighters," he said on his official Facebook page. At dawn on Sunday, suicide bombers and gunmen attacked Iraqi security forces in Abu Ghraib, seizing positions in a grain silo and a cemetery, and killing at least 17 members of the security forces, officials said. Security officials blamed Islamic State, and a news agency that supports the group said it had launched a "wide attack" in Abu Ghraib, 25 km (15 miles) from the centre of Baghdad and next to the international airport. Footage circulated online by the Amaq news agency appeared to show Islamic State fighters crouching behind dirt berms and launching the attack with automatic rifles, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Reuters could not verify the video's authenticity. Security forces had mostly regained control by Sunday evening but officials said there were still clashes. Baghdad-based security analyst Jasim al-Bahadli said the assault suggested it was premature to declare that Islamic State was losing the initiative in Iraq. "Government forces must do a better job repelling attacks launched by Daesh. What happened today could be a setback for the security forces," he said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. COUNTER OFFENSIVE Army and police sources said the militants had attacked from the nearby Islamic State-controlled areas of Garma and Falluja, driving Humvees and pickup trucks fixed with machine guns. A curfew was imposed as a regiment of Iraq's elite counter-terrorism forces was mobilised to retake the silo in Abu Ghraib and prevent the militants approaching the nearby airport, security officials said. Iraqi army helicopters bombarded Islamic State positions in the and Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan said at least 20 militants had been killed in the government's counter offensive. Fighters from the Hashid Shaabi, a coalition of mainly Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias, were mobilised to Abu Ghraib to reinforce regular government forces in the area, said Jawad al-Tulaibawi, a local Hashid commander. Powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr also called on fighters loyal to him to be on alert to protect Baghdad. Shi'ite militias like Sadr's 'Peace Brigades' were seen as a bulwark against Islamic State's sweeping advance in 2014 which threatened Iraq's capital and its most sacred Shi'ite shrines. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad and Ali Abdelaty in Cairo; Writing by Stephen Kalin and Isabel Coles; Editing by Ros Russell) By My Pham HANOI (Reuters) - If it had been in business a decade ago, Nguyen Anh Thuan's restaurant would have been a target for late-night police raids to arrest lawbreakers and stamp out "social evils". But Comga Cafe, in the heart of Vietnam's capital, is no gambling den, after-hours bar or front for dealing drugs. It is an enterprise friendly to people of all sexual preferences in a one-party state where conservative values are strong. Yet Thuan is experiencing success instead of resistance. Prejudice is giving way to some liberalism, he says, in a country often labelled a human rights abuser but now one of Asia's most progressive on gay, lesbian and transgender issues. That has spawned a niche market of an estimated 1.6 million Vietnamese at a time of galloping growth, offering money-making opportunities to firms that provide services from travel and weddings to insurance and healthcare. "Our business benefits a lot from the LGBT community," said Thuan, who also advises businesses on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, which are often abbreviated as LGBT. "Many LGBT people hold high positions in big firms and don't have to hide themselves. Society is more open to them." While transgender, gay and lesbian people are persecuted and even jailed in many Asian countries, Vietnam has quietly become a trailblazer, with laws to decriminalise gay marriage and co-habitation and recognise sex changes on identity documents. "I see a lot more openness in Vietnam now," said Bach Linh, a lesbian. "Many LGBT people make lots of money and want to spend it. This will attract the attention of businessmen soon." Seminars and corporate-sponsored "Viet Pride" festivals get free rein, and state media discuss once-taboo issues of sex and gender preferences. It is unclear what prompted the relaxation by the government, which has never openly spelt out its policy. The Justice Ministry did not respond to questions from Reuters, and vice health minister Nguyen Viet Tien, who was once quoted speaking in support of gay marriage, told Reuters his ministry was not responsible for policy and declined to comment. Marketing firms are tracking consumer trends among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, including private healthcare providers such as Safe Living, which estimates such clients contributed about 30 percent of its 2015 profit. MB Market Makers, which specialises in development of what it calls "the uniquely lucrative LGBT market", aims to include Vietnam in its 2016 consumer research. It recently valued the Chinese market at $850 billion annually and the U.S. market at $950 billion, though there are no comparable figures for Vietnam. "RADICAL CHANGE" Budget airline VietJet Air is targeting the same audience, with a television advertisement featuring an in-flight lesbian wedding. "There's no law against it, so why not?" Managing Director Luu Duc Kanh told Reuters. Vietnamese transgender people have strutted the catwalk at a fashion event with rainbow bridal dresses and a gay wedding. "After the show, dozens of LGBT customers came to me for my advice and to use my designs," said organiser Caroll Tran. In 2014, USAID said attitudes had undergone a "radical change" from a decade ago, when gay activity was treated as a crime and a mental health issue. But family problems, workplace discrimination and violence in schools persisted, it added. Vietnamese academic Luong The Huy said the changes reflected political will and greater public discussion. Randy Berry, U.S. special envoy for human rights of LGBT persons, told Reuters that, whatever its reasons, Vietnam had actively engaged with an issue neighbours still consider taboo. Gay sex is illegal in Singapore and mainly Muslim Malaysia, where some states also outlaw cross-dressing. In Brunei, sharia religious law forbids sodomy, and activists in Muslim-majority Indonesia recently called growing hostility towards gays "a witch hunt". Thailand does not formally recognise same-sex unions or sex changes, but a new constitution is expected to include "third gender" provisions. "Progress in places like this shows it's completely possible to honour tradition and be embracing of diversity," Berry said. (Reporting by My Pham; Additional reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by John Chalmers and Clarence Fernandez) GENEVA (Reuters) - A rapid build-up of migrants at Greece's northern borders risks creating a humanitarian disaster, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday. The agency called for better planning and accommodation for at least 24,000 stuck in Greece, including 8,500 at Idomeni where hundreds of migrants stormed the border on Monday and Macedonian police fired teargas to disperse them. "Europe is on the cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis", the UN refugee agency's spokesman Adrian Edwards told a news briefing. "The crowded conditions are leading to shortages of food, shelter, water and sanitation. As we all saw yesterday, tensions have been building, fuelling violence and playing into the hands of people smugglers," he said. Migrants have become stranded in Greece country after Austria and countries along the Balkans migration route imposed restrictions on their borders, limiting the numbers able to cross. The UNHCR also urged all EU member states to reinforce their capacity to register and process asylum seekers through their national procedures as well as through the European relocation scheme. "Greece cannot manage this situation alone," Edwards said. Despite commitments to relocate 66,400 refugees from Greece, states have so far only pledged 1,539 spaces and only 325 people actually have been relocated, he added. Some 131,724 refugees have crossed the Mediterranean in January and February, slightly less than in the first half of 2015, it said. A further 410 have died at sea. (In final paragraph, UNHCR corrects refugee figure for first half of 2015, which is less than, not more than, the number so far this year) (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Writing by Hugh Lawson; Editing by Dominic Evans and John Stonestreet) Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has won a new role advising Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party. Mr Varoufakis quit the Greek government in July last year after refusing to accept the terms of a third bailout, which imposed further austerity measures on the debt-stricken country. Mr Corbyn says Mr Varoufakis has recently met shadow chancellor John McDonnell and will advise Labour in "some capacity". "Varoufakis is interesting because he has obviously been through all the negotiations (with the ECB, European Commission and International Monetary Fund)," he told his local newspaper the Islington Tribune. "I think the way Greece has been treated is terrible and we should reach out to them. "I realise we're not in the eurozone, but it's a question of understanding how we challenge the notion that you can cut your way to prosperity when, in reality, you have to grow your way to prosperity. "So all our emphasis and work and campaigning is about an expanding economy and investing in an expanding economy." Mr Varoufakis, who has described himself as an "erratic Marxist", was educated in the UK, with a degree and PhD from the University of Essex and a further degree from the University of Birmingham. While leading calls for Greece to reject the third economic bailout, he accused European leaders of "terrorism" towards Greece and said "austerity is like trying to extract milk from a sick cow by whipping it". By Tom Perry and Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah said on Tuesday that Lebanon had been pushed into a new phase of political conflict by Saudi Arabia but was not on the brink of civil war and its government of national unity should survive. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Iranian-backed group, also stepped up criticism of Saudi Arabia, accusing it of directing car bombings in Lebanon, an arena for sectarian-tinged Iranian-Saudi rivalry that is escalating across the Middle East. Saudi Arabia had no immediate response to the accusation. Relations between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia have been plunged into crisis since Riyadh halted $3 billion in aid to the Lebanese army - a response to the Beirut government's failure to condemn attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran. The row has raised concern for Lebanon's political and economic stability by exacerbating tensions between its Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims and prompting concerns about the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese expatriates the Gulf. Tensions spilled into the streets on Saturday night when a Saudi-owned TV station aired a show mocking Nasrallah that led the group's supporters to block roads with burning tyres. "It is clear that since ... the announcement to halt grants and other Saudi measures we have entered a new phase of political and media struggle which Saudi Arabia has escalated," Nasrallah said. The aim of Saudi policy was to force Lebanese to confront Hezbollah to force it to retreat "even if this leads to strife in Lebanon, the collapse of the government in Lebanon, to a civil war in Lebanon", Nasrallah said. "Saudi doesn't care." "We see that the continuation of the government is a national interest and we do not intend to resign from it." Sunni-led Saudi Arabia wields big influence in Lebanon through its backing for Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri, a former prime minister who said on Tuesday that "riots, road blocking and tyre burning" were attempts to provoke "chaos and discord". "We should not be dragged to any attempt of this sort," he said. Tension between Hezbollah and Hariri spilled into armed conflict as recently as 2008, when a political dispute fuelled by Saudi-Iranian rivalry triggered a brief civil war. Nasrallah said there would be no repeat of that conflict. "We don't want to turn the table on anyone. We want this table to remain," he said in reference to dialogue between Hezbollah and Hariri's Future Movement. He said Hezbollah had nothing to do with recent street protests, telling his supporters there was "no need to go into the streets". "I ask you not to go out," he said. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have advised citizens against travel to Beirut. Riyadh last week blacklisted four companies and three Lebanese men for having links to Hezbollah. "REAL JIHAD" Yemen's Gulf-backed government has accused Hezbollah of training and fighting alongside Houthi forces in that country's war and of planning attacks in Saudi Arabia. Iran and Hezbollah deny accusations they have provided military aid to the Houthis. Even with regional upheaval, Lebanon has so far avoided the kind of all-out war under way in Yemen or Syria, where Hezbollah is fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad. But political conflict has paralysed the Lebanese government and the country has been without a head of state for nearly two years. Underlining the depth of hostilities, Nasrallah described an anti-Saudi speech he gave last year after the start of its military intervention in Yemen as the "most honourable thing I have done in my life ... "I feel this is the real jihad," he said, calling it "greater than the July war" - a reference to Hezbollah's month-long conflict with Israel in 2006. He also accused Saudi Arabia of overseeing car bomb attacks in the predominantly Shi'ite southern suburbs of Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon. The last such attack in the southern suburbs was in November and claimed by Islamic State militants. (Additional reporting by Lisa Barrington; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Mark Heinrich) By Marton Dunai BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban condemned on Sunday the European Union's failure to get to grips with its migrant crisis and vowed to resist pressure to take in more migrants, saying they would bring crime, terrorism and other problems. Orban has long been known for his fiery right-wing rhetoric, but in his annual state of the nation address he struck a particularly harsh tone towards the refugees and Brussels over its attempts to impose migrant quotas on member states. "We cannot let it force upon us the sour fruits of their misguided immigration policy. We want to import no crime, terrorism, homophobia or anti-Semitism to Hungary," he said, adding the quota system could cause the EU's disintegration. Orban, who has been widely criticised for building a razor-wire fence along Hungary's southern border to keep migrants out, referred to growing social tensions in Europe, including attacks on refugee centres and alleged mass sexual harassment by migrants in Cologne and other German cities at New Year. "There will be no lawless districts in Hungarian cities. There will be no riots, no refugee camps set on fire and no gangs will hunt for our wives and daughters," he said, using characteristically blunt language. "In Hungary, we will nip in the bud and punish even the slightest attempts at such things," Orban said, adding that he wanted to fortify and possibly extend the border fence. More than a million migrants, many escaping war and poverty in Syria and elsewhere, have fled to Europe over the last year, many passing through Hungary en route for wealthier western European nations, especially Germany. Orban, 52, has often framed his approach to the migrant crisis as a defence of Europe's Christian culture and heritage against the tide of mostly Muslim migrants. "The migration wave can be stopped," he said. "Europe is a community of half a billion people, more than Russia and the United States combined. Europe has the technology, the strategic and economic might to defend itself," he said. Orban said he did not blame the migrants for only doing "what they think is best for them" by coming to Europe but European leaders for failing to devise coherent policies to stem and reverse the tide. (Reporting by Marton Dunai; Editing by Gareth Jones) (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania appeals court ordered a temporary halt to the sexual assault case against comedian Bill Cosby on Tuesday pending its ruling on whether defense lawyers' appeal of a decision moving the case to trial can be quashed. The order by the Pennsylvania Superior Court postpones a March 8 preliminary hearing in a suburban Philadelphia court where Cosby, 78, faces charges of sexually assaulting a woman more than a decade ago. Cosby's attorneys had appealed a ruling by Common Pleas Court Judge Steven O'Neill in Norristown that dismissed the entertainer's claims that he had been granted immunity from prosecution in the case. Prosecutors had sought to quash the appeal. Cosby's attorneys had asked the judge to toss 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, Andrea Constand, before a sexual encounter that he described as consensual. Constand, now 44, has said Cosby plied her with alcohol and drugs before raping her. More than 50 women have accused Cosby, 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. (Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington and Dan Kelley in Philadelphia; Editing by Dan Grebler) BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad said that the Syrian army has refrained from responding to truce violations in order to give the agreement a chance, state media quoted him telling German television in an interview to be aired on Tuesday. "The terrorists have breached the deal from the first day. We as the Syrian Army are refraining from responding in order to give a chance to sustain the agreement and that is what we can do. But in the end there are limits and it all depends on the other side." (Reporting by Mariam Karouny; Editing by Dominic Evans) By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces a challenging day of climate change talks on Thursday with leaders of the country's 10 provinces, one of whom opposes a key part of Ottawa's plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Trudeau, whose Liberals won power last year on the back of a promise to do more to fight global warming, initially said the meeting, in Vancouver, would produce a firm schedule for meeting Canada's international targets. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna reiterated on Monday that the deadline for coming up with a plan had been pushed back by six months, a move she said would allow for consultations with the provinces, which have significant responsibilities for the environment. "While everyone knows we need to reduce emissions, having a plan to get there requires work ... it's not about the federal government just telling everyone what to do," she said. The Liberals replaced the right-of-center Conservatives, who critics said favored the economy over the environment during their near decade in power. The Conservatives pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, a target that official figures show is out of reach in the absence of radical measures. Trudeau wants to impose a national price on carbon, which McKenna said on Monday was the most efficient way to cut emissions, as well as help the development of green technology. But Brad Wall, the right-leaning premier of the western energy-producing province of Saskatchewan, opposes the idea. "With the energy sector reeling in Canada, with the overall Canadian economy struggling, it's my view ... that the very last thing we need right now is another new tax," he told reporters on Monday. Greg Selinger, premier of neighboring Manitoba, told the Globe and Mail in an interview published on Monday that he did not back a carbon levy that affected consumers. Another issue for Trudeau is that most of the major provinces already have in place - or plan to introduce - programs that impose a price on carbon. McKenna, speaking in an interview last Thursday, said it was not yet clear how the new proposed national price would fit in with the provinces' efforts. Asked about the likelihood of Canada missing its 2030 target for cutting emissions, she said meeting the goal would be "challenging" but added this was the direction the world is going. (Reporting by David Ljunggren) By Phil Stewart and David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is waging cyber attacks against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and its newly deployed commandos are also carrying out secret missions on the ground, Pentagon leaders said on Monday, in the latest signs of quietly expanding U.S. activity. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the cyber attacks, particularly in Syria, were designed to prevent Islamic State from commanding its forces, and Washington was looking to accelerate the cyber war against the Sunni militant group. "The methods we're using are new. Some of them will be surprising," Carter told a Pentagon news conference. General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the cyber attacks were helping lay the groundwork for an eventual offensive operation to recapture the city of Mosul in Iraq from Islamic State. Carter and Dunford, the Pentagon's top civilian and uniformed officials, both suggested the attacks were aimed at overloading the militants' networks. They declined to delve into specifics. "We don't want the enemy to know when, where and how we're conducting cyber operations. We don't want them to have information that will allow them to adapt over time," Dunford said. Dunford suggested Islamic State might not know why its computer networks were proving unreliable. "They're going to experience some friction that's associated with us and some friction that's just associated with the normal course of events in dealing in the information age. And frankly, we don't want them to know the difference." U.S. COMMANDOS The United States disclosed in January that a new, roughly 200-strong U.S. continent of special operations forces was "in place" in Iraq, poised to carry out raids against Islamic State and other secret missions, both in Iraq and in Syria. Carter disclosed on Monday that the so-called "expeditionary targeting force," or ETF, was already operating on the ground. "The ETF is in position, it is having an effect and operating, and I expect it to be a very effective part of our acceleration campaign," he said, without elaborating. Its deployment represents increased U.S. military activity on the ground against Islamic State, exposing American forces to greater risk - something President Barack Obama has done only sparingly. The force follows another deployment last year of up to 50 U.S. special operations troops in Syria to coordinate on the ground with U.S.-backed forces battling Islamic State. The U.S. military disclosed last week that those U.S. forces helped opposition forces recapture the strategic Syrian town of al-Shadadi from Islamic State. The Pentagon said recapturing the town helped sever links between Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, the two major power centres in Islamic State's self-declared caliphate. More knowledge about the group's operations is expected to be discovered, Carter said. "As our partners take control of Shadadi, I believe we will learn a great deal more about ISIL's criminal networks, its criminal enterprise and what it does to sustain them," Carter said, using an acronym for the group. (Reporting by Phil Stewart and David Alexander; Editing by Susan Heavey and Richard Chang) KKR has agreed to buy into seeds provider Advanta Enterprises in a deal which values the business at about $2.25bn. Legal Help A settlement has been reached between HSBC and the office of the Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey for $4 million, ending allegations that HSBC took illegal commissions and kickbacks for forced-place insurance policies.Reportedly, thousands of borrowers were allegedly improperly charged force-placed insurance premiums, however, the affiliate did not perform the traditional functions of an insurance company. HSBC allegedly received compensation tied to force-placed insurance premiums until 2012, which the AG' office believes was a conflict of interest.The settlement will provide$2.67 million in restitution to affected Massachusetts homeowners, and $1.4 million to the state of Massachusetts.If you have a similar problem and would like to be contacted by a lawyer at no cost or obligation, please fill in our form. Raffi Hovannisian sends letter to Federica Mogherini 1 March 2016 HE Federica Mogherini High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Brussels and Yerevan Dear Ms. Mogherini: We welcome you to Armenia, one of the cradles of European civilization and values. In their defense we have over the centuries suffered and surmounted occupation and partition, genocide and national dispossession. And so our ancient nation turned new republic has, in the modern period, fully earned the right to a political and public life pursuant to those very values. Most unfortunately, and ever so ironically, the man with whom you meet todayand the regime he embodiesdo not legitimately represent the Armenian people, their rights and interests, or the benchmarks that we share. We trust that you possess persuasive evidence in this connection. There is no need, therefore, to detail the long-standing reality that your interlocutor and his administration constitute a neo-Bolshevik criminal compact which makes rhetorical reference to but in truth mocks European standards; which continues to usurp the citizenry's constitutional power by means of political and economic commingled monopolies, widespread violations of human rights and the systemic falsification of elections and referenda; and the means and ends of whose governance are endemic corruption and conflict of interest itself. Perhaps the most tragic of such episodes took place eight years ago today, when after fraudulent presidential elections the ruling regime, with Mr. Sargsyan then as prime minister, ordered and carried out the killings of at least ten citizens, the wounding of another 50, and the incarceration of hundreds. To this day neither the masterminds nor the executors have been brought to account, and from these sources of blood has evolved a state policy to cover up this crime and to reinforce the autocratic single-party rule of yesteryearall under a guileful veneer of seemingly democratic trappings that serve only to remove Armenia from its very own European domain. It is sad, but a fact nonetheless, that Europe was so taken in by Sargsyan's pledges for European association that it became complicit in turning a blind eye to his 2011 dissolution of the March 1 fact-finding group with the aim of obstructing justice, and has continued in the same vein to respond to false post-election promises by countenancingand even validatingthe Sargsyan-orchestrated fraudulence of process and result during both the presidential elections of 2013 and the constitutional referendum of 2015. A criminal and corrupt regime will never confess or punish itself of its own volition; from it there can be no such legitimate expectation. Hence, as the mission of the European community of values is the establishment of democracy and the protection of civil and human rights, we petition and insist, through you, that the European family of nations correct its own track record of accommodation: 1) by revealing, on a re-examination of the evidentiary bases uncovered by the March 1 fact-finding group and under the supervision of international specialists, the identities of all those who organized, carried out, and/or covered up the crime of March 1 and by accordingly imposing international sanctions upon each and all of them; 2) by ensuring that the relevant de facto authorities implement forthwith a) the demand of Human Rights Watch to release political prisoner Gevorg Safaryan and b) the demand of several other human rights defenders and associations to review the cases of, and then to release, all other citizens currently in prison for pursuit and publication of their political views; and 3) by working, together with the law-abiding citizens of the Republic of Armenia, to bring to justice, including via international sanctions, all those responsible for masterminding and realizing the crimes of systemic vote theft and falsification of the past presidential elections and, most recently, the constitutional referendum of 6 December 2015. It is at the intersection of these challengesand their resolutionthat the fate and future of EU-Armenia relations will be truly tested and, most hopefully, their potential finally unleashed. Sincerely yours, For the New Armenia Front Raffi K. Hovannisian First Minister of Foreign Affairs Chairman, Heritage Party Republic of Armenia SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS 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 Google Ad 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 It's the oldest land dispute in history: for centuries, both Jews and Arabs have claimed to be the rightful owners of the land of Israel. In this two-part special, Gordon Robertson examines the facts behind both the Jewish and Arab claims. Get the answers to the following questions: - Who are the Palestinians? Who are the Palestinians? - What are the so-called 1967 borders of Israel? What are the so-called 1967 borders of Israel? - Is the West Bank really occupied territory? Is the West Bank really occupied territory? - Do the Jews hold the legal right to the land of Israel? Whose Land Is It? features expert commentary from former Israeli Ambassador Danny Ayalon. DVD Bonus Feature: The Refugees of 1948 looks at the origin of the Palestinian refugee problem and why it remains unsolved almost 70 years later. Rally-march of 6 political forces ended (video) 20:00 March 1 rally-march reached the territory near Myasnikyan Statue. The participants of the march laid hundreds of gillyflowers and wreaths in memory of the innocent victims. The police officers also laid flowers together with their Deputy Chief of Yerevan Police Valeri Osipyan. Though the action was over, there were speeches at Myasnikyan Statue. From 6 political forces Armen Martirosyan, Andrias Ghukasyan made speeches. Heritage party Vice President Armen Martirosyan informed that they will continue to be consistent and will look for means of struggle. He informed that on March 18 at 18:00 a rally will be held at Liberty Square. 19:05 Civil Agreement party is also taking part in March 1 rally-march, We are here to pay tribute to the victims of March 1 events and we should be here, say member of the board Nikol Pashinyan, who gave the names of two persons guilty of March 1 events: Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan. He thinks that without political changes there will be no revelation. 18:45 The march of the opposition front kicks off. At present the participants are on Mashtots Avenue. As always they are being accompanied by many police officers, who this time were given the order to pay tribute to the March 1 victims. The police officers brought gillyflowers. 18:05 The Armenian National Congress (HAK), People's Party of Armenia, New Armenia public salvation front today are holding a joint rally-march from Liberty Square in memory of the victims of March 1, 2008 crime and as a protest against the state terrorist act. The march will proceed by Liberty Square, Mashtots Avenue, Grigor Lusavorich Street toward the territory near Myasnikyan Statue. Army distributed arms even to civilians (video) In the evening of February 29, 2008, Liberty Square has greater expectations from the spring than from Robert Kocharyans government. At the first dawn of the spring the police choose the option of attacking their own people taking into account neither the old, nor the women. The police assure that they had reasons for attacking the half-asleep people. What did the people gathered at Liberty Square want? They were demanding to cancel the falsified results of February 19, 2008 presidential elections, according to which prime minister Serzh Sargsyan had gained victory. The police quickly clean the square of protesters, detain even a 15-year-old child. At 10:00 in the morning the people start gathering at Myasnikyan Square. On the streets there are traces of blood of those people, who have been persecuted by the police. The police try to take control of the situation even here. Here the police fail. The leaders of the opposition except for Levon Ter-Petrosyan arrive at the square. People are the only power at the square. At 17:00 of the same day the army is in Yerevan. The army is distributing arms even to the people in civilian clothing. Heavy military vehicles are moving towards Yerevan. Mashtots Avenue is being filled with new soldiers. After 22:00 the troops start firing still only in the air for creating atmosphere of fear. At the same time new police forces are gathering at the end of Mashtots Avenue. Armed people wearing masks appear. In half an hour the first face to face shots are fired; news is received about first victims. After 8 victims registered in the morning, the dawns in the center of the event are quiet. Three days after March 1 in a state of emergency, the Constitutional Court upholds the decision of the Central Electoral Commission, according to which Serzh Sargsyan becomes a president. More on the video MetLife is the largest life insurance company in the United States. About 100 million consumers worldwide rely on it for life insurance, annuities, and other safety net products. But is it too big to fail? A federal judge says it isn't and yesterday struck down the U.S. government's determination that MetLife needs to build up its capital reserves and submit to tight regulation to ensure its financial well-being. "From the beginning, MetLife has said that its business model does not pose a threat to the financial stability of the United States," the company's chief executive, Steven Kandarian, said in a statement. The decision is seen as a victory for big business, and it was quickly followed by a report that General Electric, which owns Genworth, might be next in line to challenge its designation as "systemically important" to the U.S. economy. Wall Street is also pressing AIG and Prudential to respond. Dodd-Frank The "too big to fail" test was created by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. Instituted after the financial crisis of 2008, it was initially aimed at banks but was later extended to other major companies who were so important to the economy that their collapse could trigger another crisis. MetLife is one of the few financial powerhouses that did not receive any government assistance during the financial crisis. Kandarian has argued that life insurance companies don't carry the same risks as other financial institutions, since in most cases, funds are not subject to immediate withdrawal. Most life insurance policies, for example, pay out only when the policyholder dies. Kandarian also contends that insurance companies are adequately supervised at the state level. That argument may not sit well with consumer advocates, who just this week formed organizations in Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Ohio, and Virginia. They plan to pressure insurance commissioners, attorneys general, and state lawmakers to hold public hearings on the proposed mergers of health insurers, such as Aetna with Humana and Anthem with Cigna. A U.S. Treasury spokesman took issue with the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer, saying regulators had conducted "a rigorous analysis of MetLife, including extensive engagement with the company, and determined that material financial distress at MetLife could pose ... a threat to the financial system." Effect on consumers What does all this mean for the consumers who buy insurance? To hear Wall Street tell it, it means that MetLife will be able to price its products more competitively, since it will not be held to tighter capital rules. It would also be more easily able to return more money to shareholders and sell off parts of the company, according to analysts quoted by Insurance Journal. MetLife's Kandarian has indicated a desire to "separate" one or more retail units, most likely the variable annuity product line. Variable annuities are closely tied to stock market fluctuations and are thus more volatile. The issue came up at Wednesday's White House briefing, where spokesman Josh Earnest declined to respond to the specific ruling but said that "one core component of Wall Street reform legislation that was passed early in President Obamas presidency included giving regulators the tools that they need to regulate non-bank financial institutions." "This is one of the lessons that weve learned from the Great Recession that its not just banks on Wall Street that could potentially shake the foundation of our financial system if they make a bunch of risky bets that go bad without proper oversight. Worse yet, it could also put taxpayers on the hook for bailing them out," Earnest said. Credit union memberships are growing at more than three times the rate of U.S. population growth as more consumers recognize the credit union difference. Credit unions rank first among industries in the American Customer Satisfaction Index and reflect double the score of big banks on the Chicago Booth Kellogg School Financial Trust Index. More recently, credit unions received among the highest marks for service that Consumer Reports has ever given an industry in the magazines Bank & Credit Union Buying Guide. Banks are noticing, and theyre stepping up their anti-credit union rhetoric in response. New, sustained campaigns aimed at convincing policymakers that credit unions represent unfair competition are again the order of the day. As in the past, the solutions bankers are peddling include more regulation and changes to the credit union tax status. The NCUA announced Monday that it issued four prohibition orders in February banning individuals who have been convicted of crimes of dishonesty from participating in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution. Dorothy Stegall Barnes, a former employee of the $226 million Pantex Federal Credit Union in Borger, Texas, pleaded guilty to the charge of embezzlement. Barnes was sentenced to 30 months in prison and five years supervised release. She was ordered to pay $797,336.47 in restitution. As part of our Financial Digital Marketing Blueprint engagements, we perform an assessment of our clients websites based on certain criteria. The primary element of this assessment involves an in-depth review of their current website in which we evaluate various website components, including their homepage, key product pages, website content, calls-to-action, heatmaps, and overall website architecture. We compile our findings in a report and provide our clients recommendations detailing how they can fix and overcome their current websites shortcomings. And while our clients benefit from our recommendations, we find that it is sometimes more compelling for them to hear feedback directly from consumers. A key component of our website assessment includes performing live user testing of our clients current websites. These recorded sessions, in which we have a random sample of users complete various tasks, strip the rose-colored glasses so many of our clients view their current website through and provide an unfiltered perspective for our clients. With no previous exposure to our clients websites, these users in various demographic groups make blunt statements and honest judgments. The sessions are recorded and usually last for 20 minutes, but for the sake of sanity (hearing um every three seconds becomes very agitating after a while), we cut these sessions down to five-minute highlight reels for easier viewing consumption. And the results are typically brutal and squirm-inducing for many of the financial executives in the room. At the conclusion of our Financial Digital Marketing Blueprint recommendations, we always ask our clients, What was the most helpful takeaway of today? Undoubtedly, someone always mentions the live user recordings because of the unbiased insights they bring. Over the past 18 months, we have observed recurring patterns among the live user tests for the majority of bank and credit union websites. Below is an analysis of bank and credit union website homepages from the perspective of both current members and live user testing. A Digital Bulletin Board The most glaring issue we continue to find with credit union homepages is the overabundance of various messages. In fact, I explored this topic in great detail last year. In short, the average credit union website has nearly 28 different calls to action (CTAs) above the fold on their homepage. Thats like having 28 different doors on the outside of your branches. Theres a logical explanation for this occurrence, too. We have found the 80-90% of all of credit union website traffic goes directly into online banking. And to catch the attention of these online banking users, financial institutions use the homepage as a digital bulletin board for any and all announcements for their products and services. Have a new promotion? Put it on the homepage. Introducing a new product offering? Cram the announcement next to the rates table. What about the latest TV spot? Throw it up on the homepage. And how about that credit union rewards program? Yes, put that mandatory graphic up there as well. After all, its just one more thing. In essence, credit union homepages are used primarily as a communal dumping ground of various, and sometimes random, messages for current customers. And with the abundance of different messaging and visuals on credit union homepages directed at current customers, new visitors to these websites are subjected to cluttered and bloated homepages. Is Your Website Professional and Secure? Because this is the first time users have interacted with our clients websites, the first question we ask in our live user testers is, Do you trust this company? to assess the users initial thoughts and judgments about the homepages. This question is quickly followed by our second question, How does this website make you feel? While we have user tested numerous credit union websites, the two primary characteristics consumers identified as important when answering the question about trust were the following: Professionalism Security Subconsciously, user testers were asking and answering the following questions: Does this look like a professional website? Do you believe this is a safe and secure website? If the user testers could answer Yes to the above questions, confidence in the credit union website would therefore be established. And that confidence would translate into trust. What User Testers Have Said The user testing portion of our Financial Digital Marketing Blueprint engagements is always the unique variable of our delivery. While we can narrow down the field of potential users based on certain demographics, the inherent variety and scope of the internet ensures a colorful assortment of users will end up testing our clients websites. And the results are always insightful. Heres are a few quotes from a previous user testing sessions that specifically address this idea of trust: This website doesnt look very professional. Therere too many colors, and it looks a lot less professional than my current banks website. I dont feel 100% confident its that safest website. Theres a lock next to the login, which is reassuring. I dont see this page and initially think, Im going to find a loan. No, I dont trust this company. If youre a reliable company, youll have a better website than this. Do I trust this company? This is something Im going to look into because of the initial impression of all the colors. Yes, I sort of trust them, but I will need to research this company a bit more. There are numerous variables on a credit union website that can move a consumer one way or another, such as layout, color scheme, font selection, and dozens of other design elements. However, its necessary that your credit union begin to address these underlying concepts of professionalism and security for first-time visitors to ensure a memorable digital first impression. What would live user testing reveal about your homepage? Issue of Syrian Armenians also discussed with Federica Mogherini On March 1, Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of Armenia, met Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission. Welcoming the guest, Minister Nalbandian mentioned that this is her first visit to Armenia, which will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the development and deepening of Armenia-EU relations. Expressing gratitude for the invitation to visit Armenia and the warm reception, Federica Mogherini stressed that establishment of firmer cooperation between the EU and Armenia is beneficial not only for bilateral relations, but for the whole region. During the meeting, a wide range of issues of the development of Armenia-European Union cooperation, the process of negotiations on formation of new legal framework were thoroughly discussed. Foreign Minister Nalbandian reaffirmed Armenias commitment to strengthen and expand multi-dimensional cooperation in all areas of mutual interest. The sides touched upon joint efforts to be exerted for the further development of cooperation, i.e. political dialogue, mobility, human rights, economic reforms, Armenias participation in different sectoral projects of the EU. Edward Nalbandian mentioned that Armenia appreciates the EUs continued support and assistance over the years, which has been instrumental for the implementation of the reform process and institutional capacity building in Armenia. Minister Nalbandian expressed gratitude to the European Union for the important support to the Diplomatic School since its establishment. During the meeting, thoughts were exchanged over the situation in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, necessity of consolidation of efforts of the international community in the fight against terrorism. In this context, migration crisis and flow of refugee were touched upon. Edward Nalbandian stressed, that nearly 20 thousand refugees from Syria have been sheltered in Armenia, thus making our country the third largest recipient of Syrian refugees in Europe on per capita basis. The Foreign Minister of Armenia highlighted that the Armenian side highly values the possible assistance of the EU to Armenia on that matter. Implementation of the agreement on Iran nuclear program was on the agenda of the negotiations. Edward Nalbandian presented the latest developments in the negotiation process on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue within the Co-Chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group. Federica Mogherini reaffirmed EUs support to the efforts of the MG Co-Chairs in peaceful settlement of the issue. The sides shared the view that destructive steps leading to escalation of the situation, bellicose rhetoric are harmful and lead to the maintenance of the status quo. Minister Nalbandian reaffirmed that Armenia would continue its consistent efforts for exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Abolishing EU fertiliser import duties could save farmers about 780m and create more farming related jobs, says a study for the Irish Farmers Association (IFA). The IFA commissioned the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), based in Washington, US, to examine competition in Europes fertiliser industry as part of a bid to drive down input costs. Fertiliser prices remain stubbornly and excessively high, said the IFA, when farm incomes were under huge pressure. See also: Farm input prices fall.but not enough It is clear from the data collected that Europes market is not functioning as the duties and tariffs protect European manufacturers at the expense of farm families, said IFA national chairman Jer Bergin. The association wants an urgent investigation by the EU Commission on the evidence put forward by the report, which includes a projected net jobs gain of about 17,000. The European Commission should abolish duties and border taxes in the first instance as these only served to protect European fertiliser producers at the expense of farmers, said Mr Bergin. The report said that price fixing and cartels might be operating in the highly concentrated markets such as Western Europe, and called for the need to further examine pricing behaviour and potential market power exertion in the industry. It was presented to EU Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan today (Tuesday 1 March), by IFSA which also met with the trade and internal markets directorates of the commission. Fertiliser is the second biggest expenditure for Irish farmers with an annual spend of over 500m and the commission must take action as family farm incomes are on the floor, said Mr Bergin. The report looks at how the European fertiliser market functions and compares it to other major agricultural producing regions. The ongoing concentration of Europes fertiliser manufacturing industry, coupled with greater vertical integration of the sectors supply chain, has seen farmgate fertiliser prices increase at an unjustified rate relative to other input costs, said IFA inputs project team leader James McCarthy. The industry historically blamed the disparity on rising energy costs. However, the steep fall in energy prices over the last two years has not been reflected in retail fertiliser prices to the primary producer. Copa-Cogeca, which lobbies for farming and farm co-operative interests at a European level, is supporting the IFAs call for the market situation to be addressed. The significant drop in prices on the global energy markets, even allowing for the appreciation of the US dollar against the euro, has not resulted in a proportional decrease in the price of mineral fertilisers along the entire chain, from the blending stage, through distribution, right down to farm level, said Copa-Cogeca secretary-general Pekka Pesonen. Tools to manage risks on the mineral fertiliser market do exist, yet they are inappropriate and unavailable at farm level. We call on the EU Commission to temporarily set import duties at zero with immediate effect for the products listed in chapter 31 of the customs code and for ammonia (chapter 2814) and remove anti-dumping duties on ammonium nitrates from Russia, he added. A 70m innovation centre aims to bring together researchers and the industry to transform the productivity of the UK livestock sector. The Centre of Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIELivestock) will set up state-of-the-art facilities across the UK, providing the livestock sector with world-beating access to research. It will bring together the best in breeding, animal health, biotechnology, feeding and genomics with a goal to generate 12 for each 1 spent on research. The project is being backed by 31.7m in funding from the governments Department for Business Innovation and Skills. Additional funding is coming from the industry and research institutions. CIEL interim board chairman Nick Major said linking research for industry-led innovation with commercial farms on the ground would grow the profitability of the UK livestock sector. See also: How Agri-Tech can help the UK farming industry One aim is to provide the UK livestock sector with a research capability so the industry does not have to go abroad to do work or wait for overseas work to be translated for a UK market. It also aims to provide an uplift in livestock productivity and exports for the UK and speed up rates of innovation and discovery in livestock research and development. The centre is being backed by senior leaders across the UK livestock and food industries, including Andrew Caines, group technical director for Cranswick. I see CIEL as a fantastic opportunity to provide world class research facilities to the UK livestock and meat processing industries, he said. Converting innovative research into commercial reality would give the UK livestock supply chain a real point of difference, said Mr Caines. Kim Matthews, of AHDB Beef and Lamb, said investment in livestock research facilities in the UK would help bring new tools and techniques in animal science to farmers. Professor Martin Green is leading on the project for Nottingham university. He said: We have a team of dedicated academics with a wealth of experience in livestock research at Nottingham. We are all looking forward to working closely with colleagues in industry and academia, in order to find innovative solutions to the issues facing livestock producers and food manufacturers. Want to join Farmers Weeklys Machinery team? Fancy yourself as the Clarkson/May/Hammond of the agriculture world? Farmers Weekly, the UKs best-selling farming title, is looking for an enthusiastic, machinery-savvy writer to join its award-winning Machinery and Technology team. See also: 5 tractors go head to head This is a unique opportunity for someone with a passion for agricultural machinery and technology and the ability to write about it with insight and flair. You could be working in agriculture with a talent for writing, or an ambitious journalist with a background in farming and an interest in the equipment that powers it. If you join us you will be attending shows packed with the latest farming kit, conceiving and conducting tests of anything from top-end tractors and combines to hand-held tools and producing news, analysis, features, opinion pieces and product reviews. See also: Search more agricultural jobs in Farmers Weeklys jobs section This is an exciting time in the world of farm equipment, with technology transforming the way we grow crops and raise livestock. We are looking for someone who can help ensure Farmers Weekly remains the first choice for anyone who wants to keep abreast of these exciting new developments and understands what they mean for British farmers. Salary is about 30,000 depending on experience. Interested? Contact the editor Karl Schneider on karl.schneider@rbi.co.uk Techniques-fragmentation and propaganda-make serious violations of moral norms by the ruling elites morally and cognitively invisible to the population. With many examples, professor Mausfeld gives insight in the actual management of our democracy and how people are kept in apathy and in the illusion of being informed. WHY ARE THE LAMBS SILENT?Democracy, Psychology and Techniques of Opinion- and Outrage ManagementTechniques that make serious violations of moral norms by the ruling elites morally and cognitively invisible for the populationBy Rainer Mausfeld[This lecture at the University of Kiel, June 22, 2015 published on Free21.org is translated abridged from the German on the Internet. With many examples, Professor Mausfeld gives insight in the actual management of our democracy and how people are kept in apathy and in the illusion of being informed.]Violations of moral norms are morally invisible even when they are visible as facts. Embedding them in a context prevents moral unease or indignation in the population. The social and humanitarian consequences of the structural violence going along with the neoliberal economic system are one example. This violence is increasingly manifest in western industrial countries and in the so-called third world.Violations of moral norms are cognitively invisible even when they are visible as facts. Embedding them in a context prevents drawing conclusions from them. No connections are made to comparable cases that are judged according to completely different criteria by the respective elites. So-called targeted killings of persons regarded as security risks by a state are an example. Those murders represent a clear breach of international law and would not be accepted in a comparable way when carried out by states regarded by us as enemies.The visibility and invisibility of facts is essentially mediated by the mass media that besides the facts - usually communicate the desired interpretation context and political worldview. Thus the theme becomes part of our daily social routine and concerns all of us. The questions raised here are more fundamental and have a more elementary nature. To grapple with them, no expert knowledge is needed even if the ruling elites seek to limit discourse on these themes to groups of qualified experts. By nature we are outfitted with a natural ability of our spirit, a light of reason a lumen naturale, as it was called in the Enlightenment for themes that affect all of us as citoyens, as citizens who strive for community in the spirit of the Enlightenment. Thus we can deal with essential questions without a specialist education.You already know enough. So do I. We dont lack knowledge. What is missing is the courage to understand what we know and draw conclusions.Sven Lindquist (1992). Exterminate All the Brutes.The capability for questioning facts in the social-political realm and the categorizing, ordering and judging phenomena, is part of the natural wealth of our spirit. The neoliberal newspeak covering up and concealing what was really meant that could easily fill an Orwellian-Newspeak dictionary is a prominent example. Terms like structural reforms, will to reform, dismantling bureaucracy, deregulation, stabilization pact, austerity, euro-bailout umbrella, free market, sleek state, liberalization, harmonization, market-conforming democracy, without alternative, human capital, subcontracted labor, non-wage labor costs, social envy, achievers etc. could be included here. These terms transport ideological worldviews whose totalitarian character should be uncovered and identified.We must identify and become aware of the silent premises, prejudices and ideological components in which we speak about social-political phenomena so we do not succumb unconsciously and unintentionally to these ideological worldviews. We also do not need any expert knowledge for this activity. Here we are all equipped by nature through the natural wealth of our spirit that must be exercised and refined.Several silent premises and ideological components hidden in the concepts with which the ruling elites seek to stabilize their power in democratic societies should be identified. With a perception phenomenon, I would like to illustrate the problem of facts made invisible.We can see fragments of objects without recognizing the actual context of these fragments. Why is the context invisible? The answer given by cognitive psychology is that the perception system cannot apply its categories of meaning if the fragmentation cause is not recognized. We can easily complete what is hidden and recognize the context as soon as the cause is made visible through which objects are fragmented. A general psychic law appears here. A context of facts can be made invisible through a fragmented presentation. As a rule, we do not see more than a collection of isolated information fragments in reading a daily newspaper. But we have no problems in recognizing the connection of meaning as soon as the cause of fragmentation is recognized in the fragmentation of information.THE PARADOX OF DEMOCRACYWhy or how can facts be made invisible through fragmentation? This leads directly to the question: who makes facts invisible and for whom? To answer this question, we must begin with the problem of the relation of elites and the people which is often described as a paradox of democracy. The systematic analysis of this problem goes back to antiquity. In political discourse, the people are often compared with a herd inclined to irrational emotions and as a result controllable. Therefore interpreting the silence of the herd in the sense of their political action is important for the political leadership. In recent times, this theme became popular through Richard Nixon who interpreted the silence of the silent majority as approval of the Vietnam War.The Greek historian Thucydides (454-399 B.C.) was the first to analyze these questions in a systematic way Political leaders are guided by a `longing for power to satisfy their domineering and ambition. Thucydides emphasized that a society must take account of the weak spots of human natureAristotles (384-322 B.C.) represented a similar view. He regarded the timocracy, the rule of the respectable and owners as an ideal government. Democratic and oligarchic elements should be balanced so neither the multitude, the poor, the elites or the rich can gain superiority. Aristotles considered democracy a decayed or ruined form of timocracy because democracy includes the possibility that the poor as the majority could divide the wealth of the rich among themselves which Aristotles considered unjust.The same basic idea can also be found in the origins of the American constitution. Every government must protect the minority of the opulent against the majority, said James Madison (1751-1836), one of the founding fathers of the American constitution. Madisons solution for this tension between the people and elites was representative democracy a de facto form of oligarchy guaranteeing the self-interests of the minority of the rich.The whole western history of ideas is pervaded by a deep skepticism toward democracy and often hostility to democracy as these few examples illustrate. [1]Nevertheless the term democracy plays an ever-greater role in the political discourse and political rhetoric of the modern age. Democracy is the only form in which political power can be legitimated; it is not only one of the possible forms of rule. The ruling elites see democracy as a necessary illusion and strive to establish oligarchic structures to protect their own interests behind the rhetoric of democracy. They declare serious democratic achievements as excess of democracy and try to erode democratic structures in a way that is least visible to the population. This process is now accelerating in an alarming way. The legislative procedures of the EU, World Bank, IMF, TTIP and the Troika may be enough examples.Establishing oligarchic structures under a democratic cloak succeeded because western democracies actually have the character of oligarchies. This view is shared by the ruling elites themselves and is not only defended by critics of this de-democratization process. In a 1975 report titled The Crisis of Democracy, Samuel Huntington said the management of democracy was still relatively simple when President Truman governed the country with the cooperation of a relatively small number of Wall Street lawyers and bankers. Since then, the excess of democracy was corrected so the Washington Times could write on April 21, 2014: America is no longer a democracy never mind the democratic republic envisioned by the Founding Fathers. In an interview on July 28, 2015, former US president Jimmy Carter called the US an oligarchy with an unlimited political bribery. Thus the oligarchic character of the US represents an obvious fact for the elites Sixty percent of the population has no influence on political decisions. [2]This does not look any different in Europe. The Wall Street Journal is a good source for a halfway realistic picture of reality. In this media, one finds a relatively unspoilt view of reality because a view that is not too ideologically distorted is important for the financial elite and business leaders. Since this information media is directed as members of the elites, crude political rhetoric and propaganda that the mass media keeps ready for the population can be avoided. In a matter of fact way, the Wall Street Journal of February 28, 2013 admitted the neoliberal program cannot win democratic elections. [3] In Europe, the idea that voters determine the outcome of elections or influence system-relevant political decisions also proves to be an illusion.This is hardly surprising with questions of economic policy because neoliberalism and democracy are in fact incompatible. Milton Friedman (1912-2006), one of the founding fathers of neoliberalism, said this openly in 1990: A democratic society once established destroys a free economy (Newsletter of the Mont Pelerin Society). From the view of the elites, democracy should obviously be prevented. Thus democracy is only tolerable as long as the realm of the economy is spared democratic decision-making processes that is, as long as it is not a democracy. In this sense, neoliberalism is the greatest enemy of democracy worldwide. Democracy represents a business risk from the perspective of multinational corporations. Structural adjustment measures must be carried out in authoritarian ways if the population refuses to see economic practical necessities are inalienable and that wages and social benefits are never negative for increasing capital.Thus a truly democratically organized society is incompatible with the forms of society favoring the ruling elites. When democracy in political affairs is considered a necessary illusion, democracy assumes the form of a spectator democracy guided by qualified experts rather than a participative democracy. In a spectator democracy, the illusion of a democracy is maintained and the stability of political elites is guaranteed.The influential report The Crisis of Democracy was occupied with these problems. This 1975 report was commissioned by the so-called Trilateral Commission. Trilateral refers to the fact that members of this elite advisory commission came from the three big economic blocks North America, Europe and Japan. The Trilateral Commission has close ties to other elite networks, particularly to the Bilde4rberg conference and the Atlantic Bridge. Joseph Ackermann, Gerhard Schroeder and Theo Sommer are members of the German section.In The Crisis of Democracy report, the crisis of democracy caused by an excess in democracy can only be solved and democracy can only be managed (in the view of the elites) when some individuals and groups show a certain measure of apathy and non-involvement The spectator democracy desired by the ruling elites can only be attained when the population is largely de-politicized and struck down by political lethargy and moral apathy.This goal can only be reached when certain techniques are available, techniques of apathy-induction (through worries about financial livelihood, fear production, consumerism etc), techniques of opinion management and techniques of outrage management.DEMOCRACY AND PROPAGANDAIf the advantages and disadvantages of different forms of government are compared as the American political scientist Harold Lasswell (1902-1978) did in harmony with widespread ideas in the elite-democracy has the advantage when citizens agree with the political system and the decisions made by a specialized political class for them. This can only be guaranteed through techniques of propaganda. Thus propaganda is unavoidably part of the nature of a functioning democracy. Techniques of opinion management have the advantage over a dictators control techniques that they are cheaper than violence, bribery or other possible control techniques. In this sense, democracy when steered by opinion management could be regarded as an optimal form of government.This was expressed in an unusual openness by Edward Bernays (1891-1995). Edward Bernays was the most influential propagandist of propaganda whose foundations and techniques he worked out in his 1928 book Propaganda. Propaganda consists in all systematic attempts at undermining the natural human discernment and producing attitudes, convictions and opinions by which people can be misused to the advantage of the ruling elites (incapacitation, instrumentalization). [4]In his book Bernays writes: The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the attitudes and behavior of the masses is an essential element of democratic societies. Organizations that work in secret control social events. These organizations form an invisible government that is the true ruling power of our country. The situation described by Bernays was the present and not the goal. This situation has intensified considerably since then. Propaganda can be considered today a necessary part of the indoctrination system of all western societies. The invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country consists of nearly invisible networks of different elites. These control the course of social events. They guide political decisions and communicate them through the embedded journalists of the mass media of the public as an avoidable practical necessity for the well-being of the population. [5]How can this state of an invisible government and a population characterized by apathy desired by the elites be achieved? Obviously the mass media play a central role. Very clear insights about this function can be found in Paul Lazarsfeld, one of the most important communication researchers and one of the founders of modern empirical social research: Citizens must be covered with a flood of information so they have the illusion of being informed. A citizen has a politically clear conscience through this illusion of being informed. He imagines he is informed about everything essential and can quietly sleep at night. [6]For Lazarsfeld, the mass media is the most respectable and efficient of social narcotics. When citizens feel informed by the mass media, they are so overpowered by their feeling of being informed that the addict is kept from recognizing his own malady, Lazarsfeld diagnoses.The so-called educated classes are especially susceptible to the illusion of being informed. For obvious reasons, these sectors are indoctrinated by the dominant ideology. This was not different in National Socialism than today. Through their silent tolerance, this indoctrination of being informed is an important stabilizing element of the dominant ideologies.There are many examples of narcotization carried out in emotional ways.Techniques of fear production are also significant. A double strategy is used in the legitimation rhetoric for military interventions. The educated parts of the population can be easily won for offensive war under the banner of humanitarian interventions. The remaining part can be won most easily through fear-production of malicious and violent forces. The former US Secretary of State Colin Powell before the UN Security Council on February 5, 2003 with a powder-filled test tube in his hand gave a historically famous example with tremendous consequences. That clear evidence should demonstrate that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. This proof was directed above all to the American population and had the goal of increasing fears so they supported the long-planned US invasion of Iraq. This emotional manipulation was extremely effective and had the collateral effect that more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians were murdered as a consequence. The most momentous recent example of making hegemonial policy with fear production is the mass media reporting on Russia and the Ukraine. [8]Controlling opinions is more important than purely emotional control because opinions are usually more stable than emotions. Therefore a special importance comes to techniques that can control opinions. No special knowledge of psychology is needed for these simple techniques. They are the standard methods of the mass media:1. Declare facts to be opinions. Dealing with facts as though they are mere opinions is one of the most frightening aspects of totalitarian thought systems, Hannah Arendt explained.2. Fragment the presentation of connected facts so the context is lost.3. De-contextualize facts so they are removed from their real contexts and seem as isolated cases.4. Re-contextualize facts, embed them in a new context with positive accompaniments so they lose their original context and the possible potential of moral indignationHow can negative political facts be made cognitively and morally invisible?Instead of asking about the alleged or actual motives leading governments to commit these crimes, I would like to direct attention to the population or ourselves and ask about the reasons we did not react with a proper moral outrage or indignationThe following examples fulfill three criteria: (i) They refer to acts for which we are responsible, that is the political community to which we belong. (ii) They refer to clear violations of moral norms and crimes, acts to which we would have reacted immediately if our enemy committed them. (iii) They are undisputed, well-documented and even reported by the mass media (even if fragmented and re-contextualized).MAKING LITTLE FACTS INVISIBLE For years, human rights organizations condemned the human rights violations by the World Bank. On April 16, 2015, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported: Slums are partly flattened without advance warning in infrastructure projects in Africa financed by the World Bank. Residents are forcibly resettled or made homeless. In the last decade alone, 3.4 million persons in 900 World Bank projects lost their land or part of the life foundation. The population can be told about these momentous facts free of risk as long as the context necessary for their understanding remains largely invisible. These crimes do not especially interest or alarm the population.Concrete things like torture are different. In torture, there is a culprit. Our natural moral indignation and moral sensitivity are triggered when a concrete perpetrator can be identified and the cause of a crime is not abstract. However facts can be made morally invisible with fragmentation and de-contextualization.Uzbekistan is an example. Uzbekistan is one of the worst dictatorships of the world. Its regime systematically commits the worst human rights violations like mass murder, torture and child labor. However torture in Uzbekistan is tolerated according to German state logic since Germany has an air force base and strategic interests there. [10]MAKING MASSIVE FACTS INVISIBLEIt never happened. Nothing ever happens. Even when it happened, it did not happen. It played no role and interested no one. Harold PinterMagic can require an expensive and sophisticated machine. An opinion management, the machine that makes facts invisible, namely control of the mass media, is expensive but the necessary psychological techniques are not especially sophisticated.I will cite only one example of massive facts, namely the number of civilians killed in the interventions carried out by the US since the 2nd World War. We are jointly responsible since the US is Germanys closest ally and transatlantic relations are based on common shared values.If the civilian casualties of US interventions are added up, there were 10 to 15 million in the Vietnam/ Korea wars and another 9 to 14 million through belligerent acts of the US and its co-culprits (for examplein Afghanistan, Angola, Congo, East Timor, Guatemala, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sudan). Altogether the US is responsible for the deaths of 30 to 30 million persons through attacks on other countries since the 2nd World War according to official data or estimates of human rights organizations.These crimes were and are accompanied by a chorus of self-adulation of western politicians, eager journalists and intellectuals. For them, these acts are only expressions of the worlds greatest force for peace and freedom, democracy, security and prosperity, as former president Clinton said (on April 28, 1996).In the last 15 years alone, four million Muslims were killed by us, by the western value community to stamp out terrorism in the world. This is part of a long historical continuity of the western value community from European colonialism and its civilizing mission and the Vietnam War to humanitarian interventions and civilizing missions for democracy and human rights.A considerable fragmentation and a radical re-contextualization as a struggle for democracy and human rights are needed in the media presentation of these crimes so crimes of this order and their historical continuity become almost invisible for the public.All this hardly exists in public consciousness although it is all documented in detail.How many people must one kill before the titles mass murderer and war criminal are earned? Harold Pinter asked in his 2005 speech on the award of the Nobel Prize. He recalled the web of lies, the vast tapestry of lies upon which we feed. To maintain the power of the ruling elites, it is indispensable that people remain ignorant and live in ignorance of the truth, even the truth of their own lives. Making the above-named crimes invisible in the consciousness of the population is part of this vast tapestry of lies.They simply did not happen. It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even when it happened, it did not happen. It played no role and interested no one. The alarming question is raised how moral apathy could reach such an extent. What has happened to our moral sensibility? Did we ever have any? What do these words mean? The answer leads us to the magic art because producing such a moral apathy is a brilliant, clever and extremely successful act of hypnosis.The most important medium, for such collective hypnosis is obviously language. Whoever rules language, the terms and categories in which we reflect and speak about social-political phenomena, can easily rule us. Thinking can be kept in check with the help of language. [11]Massive facts can be made morally invisible through simple psychological techniques. These techniques are deeply anchore4d in the normal functioning of the mass media and even characterize the mass media and are hardly recognizable as consciously applied techniques. These manipulation techniques are merely expressions of the popular wisdom I sing the song of the one whose bread I eat and do not have to be implemented through a kind of central control. These techniques result almost automatically if one knows the song instructing the population.NECESSITY OF INDIGNATION MANAGEMENTFrom the view of the ruling elites, situations can be very dangerous for the stability of a system because they hide the potential of a chain reaction. Typically these situations are triggered by incidents that address the moral sensitivity of the population so fiercely they react with indignation. These situations can be quickly and effectively deactivated. Techniques aiming at a long-term control of opinions are often not enough and special techniques are necessary to control the outrage. The publication of the torture pictures from the US-operated Iraqi prison in Abu Ghraib [12] is a typical example of a situation in which the moral sensitivity of the population was addressed so sharply.From the view of the elites, stability-endangering indignation reactions of ones own population as in the case of torture or mass surveillance should be quickly contained or diverted to pseudo-goals.Indignation reactions of the population of a friendly country could also endanger stability as a rule of ones own hegemonial interests and must be controlled. This is particularly true when these reactions manifest in a collectively organized way. In this case, one speaks of fighting rebellion with the necessary control techniques. On the other hand, if indignation reactions of the population involve non pro-western states in which we strive for a system change, rebellions are obviously to be roused through techniques of indignation management and not combated. In these cases we speak of colored revolutions that are vital to control to promote democracy and human rights.COUNTER-INSURGENCYMethods of counter-insurgency as military operations below the war threshold (low intensity warfare represents the most important and comprehensive area of intervention methods and far surpass classical warfare in significance).These include all the methods that are regarded as terrorism according to official definitions of terrorism: illegitimate acts of violence to reach political or ideological goals through fear-producing. [13] In the case of counter-insurgency, this form of terrorism is called counter-terrorism. Thus anti-terrorism and terrorism are only different depending on whether acts of violence were committed by us or by our enemy. Thus the term terrorism is a term that is deeply soaked ideologically. This is also true for the term counter-insurgency. Uncovering its silent premises is important. The word rebellious always implies the perspective of the dominant system. Those who threaten the stability of our desired system are called rebels or insurgents while those who threaten the stability of a system not desired by us are described as freedom fightersPROVOKING REBELLION. Hidden system change has a higher acceptance than coops or putsches in the western public and in the international alliance of states. A regime that comes to power in a non-violent way and as an alleged expression of the popular will is already regarded as democratically legitimatedAll activities promoting hegemonial interests are accompanied by specialized global propaganda firms that call themselves PR-agencies. These firms are largely invisible for the public despite their great influence in the mass media for example Hill & Knowlton Strategies which gained a certain notoriety through the incubator lie of 1990. Barson-Marsteller and the Rendon Group have had considerable success in selling the politically desired reality to the public and not only wars.This political context of continuity over many decades is largely invisible for the public since the mass media fragment this continuity into isolated casesTHE ART OF DECEPTIONMore than public opinion, the indignation potential of the general public is a much too precious asset to be left to accident. Since we control moral sensitivities by our nature, the control of our moral indignation potential presupposes that a sufficient measure of political apathy is produced in the population. Techniques must be available with which all facts that could endanger this apathy can be made morally invisible. Serious and systematic human rights violations are included here because they can appeal to our natural moral sensitivities.Real-politics refers to democracy, human rights or moral norms as only rhetorical husks with which the population can be controlled. Techniques are needed through which the population can be deceived about the discrepancy of political rhetoric and reality and so guarantee the stability of the political order. Such deception succeeds all the more effectively, the more one considers the laws of the functioning of our spirit.In the last decades, psychology has won new and deeper insights in the laws of the functioning of our spirit. Many of these insights can be utilized for refining the techniques of propaganda and deception.Given historical experiences, it is hardly surprising that enough psychologists can be found who are ready to serve such an enterprise. As only one example, the American Psychological Association (APA), the largest organization of psychologists in the world, organized a 2003 Science of Deception Workshop together with the CIA. The goal of this workshop was to discuss the latest psychological findings so the population could be best deceived for this purpose of national security.Other secret services are also interested in findings of psychology for opening possibilities, refining techniques of deception and developing opinion manipulation. Through the Snowden documents, a manual of British intelligence Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) was made known [The Intercept, 2/25/2014] that was devoted to the possibilities of deceiving the population and making facts invisible. The manual was titled The Art of Deception and included the clown or charlatan picture from Hieronymus Busch.Can we protect ourselves from systematic manipulation of our attitudes, convictions and opinions?...Only when we recognize that we are in a manipulation context and then actively avoid the media with its manipulations do we have a chance of preserving a remnant of autonomy.However we fulfill all the prerequisites in an optimal way for successful manipulation techniques if we voluntarily expose ourselves to the manipulation context and are convinced that on the whole we can distinguish truth from deception in the news of the private or public mass media.The human spirit is constituted so there are many possibilities for its manipulation and thus for instrumentalizing people for the power needs of others. Nevertheless we have by nature a rich repertoire of intellectual possibilities for recognizing and actively avoiding manipulation contexts. We have a natural immune system against manipulations. We only need to resolve to use it.The motto of the Enlightenment was ja sapere aude, dare to know, dare to notice or in Kants words, dare to use your own intelligence. Only when we resolve to use our intelligence, only when we overcome our induced moral apathy, only when we are not satisfied with the illusion of being informed, the illusion of democracy and the illusion of freedom do we have a chance of escaping these manipulation techniques. This is not an easy challenge but we have no other choice. The decision is ours.RELATED LINKSRainer Mausfeld, Neoliberal Indoctrination, Jan 18, 2016,New Ebook Anthology Alternative Economics: Reversing Stagnation, 140 pp, translated by Marc Batko, Feb 28, 2016 Tuesday night will be the 34th Community Sleep Out with a web page at https://www.facebook.com/events/244215129245260/ Second-hand accounts suggest lead Freedom Sleeper Troubleshooter Toby Nixon has invited numerous street musicians and performers to join the Sleep-Out.It begins Tuesday afternoon and runs through a modest coffee breakfast on Wednesday morning. Activists and participants are invited, as ever, to quaff a second (and third) cup of coffee at the Sub Rosa Cafe at 11 AM while discussing other actions fighting homeless discrimination in Santa Cruz.ACTIVISTS INVITED TO WEIGH IN ON PROPOSED LAW CHANGES AS WELL AS PLAN FUTURE STRATEGYA proposed revision of the Camping Ordinance, eliminating sleeping as a crime, but maintaining a ban against laying out bedding (i.e. covering up with blankets or in a bag), has aroused skepticism and controversy among activists.Councilmember Don Lane's amendments are due to hit City Council on March 8th at the same time Freedom Sleepers celebrate their 35th week outside. Food Not Bombs activist Keith McHenry has promised to serve food at that event, braving a hostile City Council and city staff.HUff old-timer Robert Norse has arranged with CouncilmemberPosner to air concerns and suggest future actions 11 AM Thursday March 3 at City Hall (Councilmember's offices).Norse interviewed Posner for Free Radio last Sunday. It's archived at https://www.facebook.com/events/244215129245260/ Steve Pleich has written a defense of the proposed ordinance and general survey of surrounding activism at https://www.facebook.com/groups/CFABSC2/ ANTI-HOMELESS BIGOTRY RAGES UNABATEDCounty Supervipers will join the City Council homeless hate gang March 8 in a final reading of a County-wide anti-homeless RV measures: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/government-and-politics/20160223/santa-cruz-county-supervisors-ticket-rvs-parked-overnight The City Council passed its own "no RV parking at night law without a permit" (and homeless folks are not permitted to get permits even if Santa Cruz is their long-term home) last fall. Please pass on reports of harassment and ticketing to HUFF at 423-4833.ELSEWHERESan Francisco homeless continue to resist bigotry-based sweeps on their only housing--tents and bags. See http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2016/0226/Tent-city-evictions-highlight-San-Francisco-s-homelessness-problem-video There is no indication that Vancouver, WA, in spite of heavy negative criticism from the Oregonian has stepped back from its decision to allow nighttime camping, given the shelter emergency. (see http://www.oregonlive.com/homeless/2015/11/vancouver_tries_legal_camping.html#incart_2box PORTLAND, Ore., February 26, 2016 The latest count of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico found that the population which will migrate to the United States rebounded again this year. Monarch numbers increased to 150 million from 42 million last year, according to data collected by the World Wildlife Fund Mexico and announced today. Todays numbers show a substantial increase from the last two years (the two lowest years on record) but are still far below a number that most scientists consider sustainable. Scientists estimate the population size by counting the number of hectares of trees covered by monarchs, and found that 4.0 hectares were occupied this year. Researchers estimate that there are approximately 37.5 million monarchs per hectare. The population was expected to be up this winter due to good spring and summer weather conditions in the monarchs U.S. and Canadian breeding areas. Although the 150-million figure is very good news, the numbers of monarchs are still well below the 22-year average and the 5-year target of 225 million monarchs (6 hectares) set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.This is great news and give us some breathing room as we work to recover monarch numbers, said Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a conservation group leading rescue efforts. But there is still a long way to go to ensure that my grandchildren will be able to see monarchs every summer.Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) of North America are renowned for their long-distance seasonal migration and spectacular winter gatherings in Mexico and California. Most monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains migrate to sites in the oyamel fir forests north of Mexico City to spend the winter.Many monarchs west of the continental divide overwinter along the California coast, and new research has demonstrated that some western monarchs also go to Mexico to spend the winter. Populations of monarchs at California overwintering sites saw a modest increase this year.The monarch butterfly population has recently declined to dangerously low levels. In the 1990s, estimates of up to one billion monarchs made the epic flight each fall from the northern plains of the U.S. and Canada to sites in the oyamel fir forests north of Mexico City. By contrast this years estimate of 150 million monarchs is still well below the high numbers in the 1990s.Because the weather conditions in much of the southern and Midwestern U.S. for last two years were very good for monarchs, there is a concern that this population size is the largest that the habitat can currently support. Unfortunately, the loss of over 150 million acres of habitat to corn and soy production may limit the number of monarchs that can be produced on the habitat that remains. It is vital that we work to restore habitat across the breeding range to grow the population to a level that will not be impacted by winter storms. A single winter storm in 2002 killed an estimated 500 million monarchs, more than three times the size of the current population, even with this years boost.Federal and state agencies and many nonprofit organizations are working to protect and restore habitat for monarch butterflies. The Xerces Society has been leading efforts to implement habitat projects in all landscapes including farms, roadsides, wildlands and urban and suburban areas across the US.Many unresolved challenges exist to fully recovering this species. Much of the monarchs habitat is now dominated by corn and soybeans that are genetically modified to allow large scale herbicide use which eliminates milkweed themonarchs only host plant. Additionally, highly toxic, persistent insecticides like neonicotinoids are used everywhere and milkweed is often mown or sprayed because people perceive it as a weed. Logging at overwintering sites in Mexico also threatens monarchs.When you consider that in the mid-1990s the population reached nearly 700 million butterflies, this is still a pretty low number, said Sarina Jepsen, endangered species program director for the Xerces Society. Monarchs are still far from recovered. We will still need a focused effort to address the many threats that monarchs facefrom pesticide use and habitat loss to climate change and disease.All people can help monarchs by planting native milkweed and other native flowers and eliminating insecticide use.For More InformationRead more about Xerces Monarch Conservation Campaign, including efforts to conserve overwintering sites in California and restore breeding habitat in key regions of the United States at http://www.xerces.org/monarchs/ The Xerces Society for Invertebrate ConservationProtecting the Life that Sustains UsThe Xerces Society has the worlds largest pollinator conservation team, with several staff currently working on monarch conservation. Efforts include conservation and management of critical habitat across central and western U.S., habitat restoration throughout the country, milkweed production best practices, restoration of overwintering sites in California, and engagement of citizens in monarch research and protection. Our staff participates in the Federal Monarch Butterfly High Level Working Group, the USGS Monarch Science Partnership, and co-chair the Monarch Joint Venture. We collaborate with many federal and state agencies or contract and work closely with university researchers and other NGOs to advance the science and practice of monarch conservation.To learn more about our work, please visit http://www.xerces.org Photo: Monarchs in Pacific Grove, CA, credit: Carly Voight/The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. (The Monarch image in this article can be used by any media outlet. Please include a photo credit with any use.) Thank you to all the people who enter the stores and raise the consciousness of the consumers, because we are going to win this struggle together with you all. Maestra Gloria [ A customer enters a Whole Foods Market in Santa Cruz holding a flyer that says, "Don't Buy Driscoll's: Respect The Families Who Grow Your Food." ] Boycott Driscoll's Action at Whole Foods Market in Santa Cruz On the afternoon of Friday, February 26, demonstrators gathered at Whole Foods Market in Santa Cruz, California to protest Driscoll's, the largest berry distributor in the world with a history unjust labor practices and repression of union organizing. Founded in the Pajaro Valley in 1904, Driscoll's is a privately held company with headquarters in Watsonville, California. Production of Driscolls berries extends into 22 countries. Workers who grow, harvest, and pack Driscolls lucrative berries are struggling against the systematic abuses they are forced to endure, and the companies profiting from the exploitation of their collective labor. Demonstrators say they support the farmworkers, including the boycott they initiated against Driscoll's, and cite poor working and living conditions, as well as growers refusing to negotiate with the workers' unions: Familias Unidas por la Justicia (FUJ) [Families United for Justice] in Washington State and the Sindicato Independiente Nacional Democratico de Jornaleros Agricolas (SINDJA) [National Democratic Union of Independent Farmworkers] in Baja California. The union SINDJA is called La Alianza (The Alliance) for short. Tomas Madrigal explains, "In 2013 farmworkers at Sakuma Brothers Farms in Burlington, Washington launched a boycott against Sakuma. In response to the successful boycott against their brand, Sakuma Brothers shifted production in 2014 and began packing fresh market berries exclusively into Driscolls label cartons." As Driscolls continues to stand behind Sakuma Brothers Farms, workers in Washington State expanded their focus from Sakuma Brothers and towards the boycott of Driscolls. The call to boycott Driscoll's was internationalized after a farmworker rebellion in the San Quintin Valley of Baja California reached a boiling point in March 2015. On February 7, 2016, Maestra (Teacher) Gloria Gracida, the spokesperson of La Alianza met with Familias Unidas Por La Justicia in Washington State. Familias Unidas created a video for information and inspiration in which they, along with Maestra Gloria, express appreciation to the numerous boycott support committees throughout the United States. "Thank you to all the people who enter the stores and raise the consciousness of the consumers, because we are going to win this struggle together with you all." Maestra Gloria affirms. On February 12, 2016, a delegation of National Farm Worker Ministry board members and staff met with Danny Weeden, CEO of Sakuma Brothers and John Erb, VP of Supply and Operations of Driscolls, at The United Methodist Building in Washington, D.C. The meeting lasted almost two hours. National Farm Worker Ministry, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, is "a faith-based organization committed to justice for and empowerment of farm workers. NFWM educates, equips and mobilizes member organizations and other faith communities, groups and individuals to support farm worker led efforts to improve their living and working conditions." NFWM reports that "the meeting ended with no promises from Weeden or Erb to meet with the farm workers. And so we continue our support of the boycott." Boycott Driscolls Tour This March and April, Familias Unidas por la Justicia (Families United for Justice), in solidarity with la Alianza de San Quintin, is organizing a month long west coast tour "to strengthen the boycott of Driscolls berries all over the west coast of the United States and build connections and solidarity with other movement organizations fighting to change the food system." Familias Unidas announced their planned tour route and schedule, and are working to set up events in the following cities: March 18 - Portland, OR March 19 - Eugene, OR March 20 - Medford, OR March 21 and 22 Arcata, CA March 24 - Sacramento CA March 25 - Modesto CA March 26 to April 1 (Bay Area with events in Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco, San Jose, Watsonville, & Santa Cruz) Action in Watsonville on March 31 April 4 Santa Maria, CA April 5-7 Los Angeles, CA April 8-10 - San Diego, CA April 11 - Delano, CA April 12 - Fresno, CA April 13 - Bay Area On March 17, 2016, the first anniversary of the strike in San Quintin, a mega march and caravan will begin to make it's way through the Baja California towns of Maneadero, Ensenada, and Rosarito before arriving in Tijuana on March 19 for a reunion with organizations, activists, and unionists that support the struggle of farmworkers and their call to Boycott Driscoll's. The National Democratic Union of Independent Farmworkers in San Quintin states, "We will continue to struggle for the original demands we made. As of today none of them have been met. We continue to raise our voices." Outside of a Whole Foods Market in Santa Cruz, Michael Joseph urged customers, "Don't buy Driscoll's berries until the farmworkers get the basic human rights they deserve!" For more information, including an interview with Driscoll's Americas executive vice president Soren Bjorn, see: Bradley Allen is a reporter and photographer in the Monterey Bay Area, and a collective member of the San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center (Indybay). Follow him on Twitter: @BradleySA Indonesian Atrocities against Gays by Can we get a protest going? FYI: Indonesian Consulate General in San Francisco 1111 Columbus Avenue San Francisco, CA United States TELEPHONE: (415) 474.9571 FAX: (415) 441-4320 HEAD OF MISSION: Mr Asianto Sinambela, Consul General A few short weeks in Indonesia has seen a former communications minister make a call for the public to kill any gay people they find and the leading psychiatric body describe transgenderism as a mental disorder. BBC Indonesian's Rebecca Henschke and Ging Ginanjar went to find out about the insecurity of life on the receiving end of such threats and hostility. The swiftness and intensity of the attacks against Indonesia's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has taken its members by surprise. A hair salon run by transgenders in Jakarta is one place to get a sense of what it has been like. For Anggun, 23, who works there, it was enough of a struggle to accept who she really was. She is trying to stay safe by not attracting attention to herself. "We don't know why smart people are suddenly saying things like 'homosexuality is a virus that can spread'. Even uneducated people know that's not true," she says. Not every transgender in Indonesia has the chance to lead a legitimate life and career. As it is many are forced into sex work and already face violence. Homosexuality and gay sex are not illegal in Indonesia, and the world's largest Muslim country has a vibrant transgender culture and tradition, which broadly meets with tolerance from the Indonesian public. But something has happened in recent weeks and it is difficult to identify why it has snowballed. On the main street of Indonesian university town Yogyakarta last week 100 men could be found standing carrying signs that read "LGBT is a disease". Just a few hundred metres away a group of rights activists battled it out with the police: "Stop attacks on democracy and threats against minorities!" It came after the minister of research, technology and higher education, Muhammad Nasir, heard some LGBT support groups were offering counselling services at one of Indonesia's leading universities and declared they were corrupting the country's youth. The conservative media and the country's active social media users joined in the attacks. There followed a wave of critical statements from senior members of Indonesia's government. One of the most extreme views came from Defence Minister, Ryamizard Ryacudu who described the movement for gay rights in Indonesia as a form of a modern warfare - an attempt by Western nations to undermine the country's sovereignty. Then former communications minister Tifatul Sembiring made a call on Twitter, where he has more than one million followers, for the public to kill any gay people that they find. Even Indonesia's Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, called for funding to be cut to a United Nations programme that focuses on ending stigma, discrimination and violence towards LGBT people. "What is most worrying is that they want to fight for equal marriage rights," he said. Democrat Sheepdog Sanders has been well-portrayed as Dr. Strangelove riding a war machine to oblivion in a gorgeous photo. See photo & article at Bernie Sanders Loves This $1 Trillion War Machine by Tim Mak, 2/8/16 at http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/09/bernie-sanders-loves-this-1-trillion-war-machine.html . We cannot have guns and butter and contrary to Sheepdog Strangelove Sanders, the pope is not a socialist, and neither is Democrat Sheepdog Strangelove Sanders.For more on Democrat Sanders' pro-war record, see:1. Cindy Sheehan, a Peace & Freedom Party candidate in the past, has compiled the reactionary voting record of Sanders on 2/17/16, "Confessions of a Real Socialist" with lots of links at:2. Barry Bush has his own listing of reactionary Sanders votes at:We cannot have guns and butter. The Democratic Party always campaigns as promising to provide more money for domestic needs of the workingclass but once elected, they always, proudly carry out the same war agenda abroad and arming of the police state at home as the Republicans because they are both paid by the same capitalist corporations to promote the same war and fascism agenda as the greatest profits are in munitions and oil, maximization of profit being the primary goal of the bankrupt social order of this society, capitalism.Anyone who proclaims the pope is a socialist as Sheepdog Strangelove Sanders has done is obviously mentally ill and has contempt for socialists, who are by definition Marxists, opposed to the private profit fascist warmongering system in which we live, capitalism. See Democracy Now, 2/24/16 atThe Democrat-Republican presidential race is always STAGED, TO THE LAST DETAIL, complete with a Democratic Party sheepdog to herd disgruntled Democrats to vote Democrat instead of Red or Green. The only reason the Democratic Party exists is to make sure we never vote Red (socialist) or Green; there is no other reason for 2 capitalist parties with the same war and fascism agenda. The Republican Party always has lunatic phrases coming from its candidates so Democrats can claim they are voting for the lesser of 2 evils when in fact they always vote for the evil of 2 lesser, the same as the Republicans.It may be understandable for young people to be fooled by the Sanders Suckers Game, but everyone over age 30 has certainly seen this act enough to know the routine so this SHAMEFUL SUCKERS FOR SHEEPDOG SANDERS GAME has to end. In California, if Sanders has not dropped out, it ends June 7. It will certainly end at the Democrat's TV advertising show, the same as the Republicans' TV advertising show, July 25-28 2016 in Philadelphia, after the Republican convention, July 18-21, 2016 in Cleveland. You will notice that they are coordinated so as to not overlap to maximize the TV advertising profits. The superdelegates, the elected Democratic Party officials and the officials of the Democratic Party, are all for the multi-millionaire, openly fascist warmonger Clinton, as always in this staged show.If you are not interested in this suckers game, insist that your candidate be for peace and the workingclass at home and abroad, refuse to hurl anti-Communist epithets at the late Hugo Chavez of Venezuela as Sanders has done, know that the pope is not a socialist, change your voter registration today to Peace & Freedom or Green. You can register online at:For more information, see http://www.votepsl.org/ (Gloria LaRiva for President) (Be sure to read her serious socialist program.)and http://www.jill2016.com/ (Jill Stein for President) Depicting Warriors as the John Swetts High School is synonymous with the legacy JSUSD has created with the former John Swett High School Indian mascot. John Swett Unified School District, Our Children are WarriorsBy Angel Heart March 1, 2016On February 11, 2015, Sacred Sites Protection and Rights of Indigenous Tribes (SSPRIT), a Vallejo based organization, advocated in partnership with The Carquinez Coalition to Change the Mascot (CCCM) to remove the Indian mascot at John Swett High School located in Crockett, CA. After a unanimous vote, John Swett Unified School District (JSUSD) removed the nearly 90 year old mascot. On February 10, 2016, John Swett Unified School District replaced the Indian mascot with Warrior. Why has JSUSD, Board of Education decided to choose Warriors as a replacement after the removal of an Indian Mascot? Why is JSUSD subjecting young people to images, and ideas that promote, and support war, and violence in school?As a United States Army Veteran (Desert Shield/Desert Storm), trained in methods of war, I am disappointed that an institution of education would promote violence in connection with their schools. Personally, I would never want my daughter or grandchildren to glorify the horrors of violence, mutilation, and death promoted by war through a school mascot (or by any other means for that matter). The root of the word Warrior is War. A Warrior is someone who is engaged in conflict carried on by force of arms. War is a state, or period of armed hostility. War is active military operations, and is a method, or principle of waging armed conflict. War is the soldier's business, and involves being active in hostility, contention, and conflict. Weapons training, and tactical defense training are not to be taken lightly, as they are used for killing during war. Why then would JSUSD feel a mascot associated with violence is acceptable? Young people are especially vulnerable to the effects of exposure to violence. Young people are subjected to violence, and violent imagery in the home, the community, the media, and in schools. Whether the violence is real, based on real events, or fictional; the effects on youth include reduced sensitivity toward others, being more fearful, and behaving more aggressively. Some school districts across the United States have resolutions forbidding violent imagery in connection to their schools. Ironically, the JSUSD Board's resolution forbidding violent imagery within the school district, recognizes the ways that violence negatively impacts youth; yet the school board contradicted their own resolution when electing warriors as a mascot.JSUSD Board Member, Deborah Brandon has publicly defended the warrior mascot stating, Our children are warriors. Anyone can be a warrior. These statements were made by Deborah Brandon on more than one occasion during JSUSD board meetings in 2015. This is problematic because it goes against the districts resolution, and also contradicts the districts missions and beliefs. JSUSD Mission & Beliefs can be found on the districts website, and states John Swett Unified School District's dedicated professionals work for the good of all students, focusing on promoting higher student achievement by motivating, and challenging every student to strive enthusiastically toward academic, and personal success. All Students can, and must experience success in their own learning. Professional staff must put forth high quality effort, employ multiple teaching strategies, and work as a team to educate their students. Professional staff, and students are responsible for the quality of the educational experience, and all will be accountable for it. All people deserve to be treated with respect, and are expected to treat all others with respect. Partnerships among professional staff, students, parents, and community are most effective when positive attitudes are sought, encouraged, and shared.Replacing an Indian Mascot with Warrior is not an example of treating others with respect and is not an example of accountability; Warrior mascots are often associated or depicted as Native American. Depicting Warriors as the John Swetts High School is synonymous with the legacy JSUSD has created with the former John Swett High School Indian mascot. John Swett High School yearbooks, student newsletters, school team sporting events, cheerleading, scoreboards, and uniforms have all promoted, and upheld this legacy. JSUSD yearbooks over the decades have included the term Warrior in relation to their Indian Mascot, and is documented online. For this reason alone, JSUSD should abandon Warriors as a mascot. Sacred Sites Protection and Rights of Indigenous Tribes will continue to advocate for the removal of Native American mascots/Institutionalized racism, and mascots that promote violence in schools.For More Information please contact: Sacred Sites Protection Sites Protection and Rights of Indigenous Tribes at: sspandrit [at] gmail.com or visit http://www.facebook.com/save.sacredsites.1 Audio Recordings of JSUSD Board of Education meetings are available online. To listen, please visit JSUSDs Website: http://www.jsusd.org/site_res_view_folder.aspx?id=6820280a-a29e-493f-9548-a069f5b4367b The next JSUSD meeting is on March 9, 2016 at 6:30pm. (Please refer to the above link for the districts office location) SSPRIT will be in attendance, addressing the Warrior mascot. The public is welcome to attend. SSPRIT will be providing a teach-out prior to the board meeting. For more information about the teach-out, please email: sspandrit [at] gmail.com Stallion In Summation Quietly Doing a Great Job in Florida: A few years ago, the stallion Put It Back was considered one of the latest representative of the In Reality sire line and therefore Man o War sire line. Put It Back, a son of Honour and Glory out of Miss Shoplifter, by Exuberant, finished his career with a record of five consecutive wins out of seven starts. Put It Backs last race was the 2001 Riva Ridge Stakes over seven furlongs at Belmont Park. The horse set fast fractions of :21.98, :44.43, and 1:08.59 and stopped the clock in 1:21.76 to win by a neck. After that race, Put it Back was retired and entered stud in 2002 at Bridlewood Farm in Ocala and shuttled to South America, specifically to Brazil and Argentina. Put It Back had some success in Florida, siring Grade I stakes winner In Summation and Grade II stakes winner Smokey Stover, among others. Put It Backs success was highly translated to the Southern Hemisphere since he sired two-year-old champions Nitido, Sky Pilot, and Triple Crown winner Bal A Bali. When most people thought the In Reality Sire line was dying, Florida gave a boost to it with In Summation, who entered stud in 2010 at Ocala Stud Farm with a $4,000 stud fee. The first year, In Summation finished second on the first crop sire list, beaten only by Two Step Salsa who produced the ill-fated Dance With Fate. The next year (2014), In Summation was second again on the second crop sire list, this time $455,501 below Two Step Salsa; again, Dance With Fate made the difference. At this point the ability of In Summation as a regional sire was demonstrated. Finally, in 2015, In Summation led the third crop sire list, highlighted by Calculator, winner of the Sham Stakes (GIII), and the stakes-placed Summation Time. In Summation was also fifth on the general sire list in Florida. Currently, In Summation is fifth in the general list, represented especially well by R Girls a Charmer who conquered the Gasparilla Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in January but finished a distant fourth place in the Davona Dale Stakes (GII) won by Oaks prospect Cathryn Sophia last week. Interestingly, In Summation has demonstrated that his progeny not only win restricted races but are also able to win open races and graded stakes races, mostly in races below one mile. Calculator could be an exception, though. In Summations stud fee is still $2,500, a little low considering the achievements of the stallion lately. Sometimes stallions over the world are underestimated, and sometimes others are overhyped. In Summation is probably in the first group right now. He certainly deserves better opportunities in the near future. Kentucky Derby Top 10: Caseys Picks The Fountain of Youth just showed how much better Mohaymen was than these hype horses like Awesome Banner. Zulu ran a bang-up race and is thus out of the stable and back into my Top 10. He ran great and is aiming at running back in the Florida Derby against horses such as Mohaymen and Nyquist. Here is the updated Top 10 form yours truly! Mohaymen (Tapit Justwhistledixie, by Dixie Union) Mohaymen showed everyone that he is a top-notch contender for the roses, and he did so just as easily as ever. Zulu tried to go with him into the stretch at Gulfstream, but the grey colt was not having it. He won the race easily and was eased to a 2 length win over the Pletcher horse. He is headed to the Florida Derby and the Kentucky Derby as the likely favorite. Nyquist (Uncle Mo Seeking Gabrielle, by Forestry) Nyquist has moved up into second for the following reasons. One, his San Vicente was top-notch. He completed the race easily over a good horse in Exaggerator. Two, Mor Spirit was recently pulled up by Gary Stevens in a work, but the horse was vetted and all checked out okay. Baffert said the colt pulled himself up, apparently not wanting to work. For now, Nyquist remains undefeated and is now a second-place horse in my book. Mor Spirit (Eskendereya Im a Dixie Girl, by Dixie Union) Mor Spirit was recently pulled up from a work. According to trainer Bob Baffert, he simply pulled himself up as he did not want to work, but I am not convinced. The horse has never been insanely impressive in the mornings, but not wanting to work concerns me, especially since he is among those to potentially start in the San Felipe. He moves down a spot for now. Gun Runner (Candy Ride Quiet Giant, by Giants Causeway) There is no shortage of pedigree in this colts blood. He is sired by a top stallion and is out a half-sister to the ill-fated Saint Liam. Gun Runner was a horse to watch last fall, and finally having him on my list feels like such an accomplishment. I picked this colt out in his second start at Keeneland and have been waiting for him to break through since then. He is headed to the Rebel Stakes in March. He should be facing another tough race, but it could work in his favor! Exaggerator (Curlin Dawn Raid, by Vindication) Speculation has been made that this colt wont get the distance he needs for the Kentucky Derby, but he is sired by a Preakness winner and a second-place finisher in the Belmont, and his dam is sired by a son of a Triple Crown winner. Exaggerator has no shortage of back class in his bloodlines. He is headed to the San Felipe and most likely the Santa Anita Derby before heading to Louisville. Smokey Image (Southern Image Special Smoke, by Free House) Smokey Image has heads turning his way as he is getting attention from his impressive Cal Cup Derby score. His next test comes in the San Felipe, where he puts his perfect 6-for-6 record on the line in open company for the first time. Some are talking him up as the 2016 version of California Chrome. Could he be that good, or better? Brodys Cause (Giants Causeway Sweet Breanna, by Sahm) He has seven works under his belt since January 18, and we are still a bit less than a month away from seeing his three-year-old debut. He is coming onto the Road to the Kentucky Derby in the Tampa Bay Derby before heading north to the Lexington oval, Keeneland. There, he will hopefully hit the Blue Grass Stakes before the Kentucky Derby. Romans has a racehorse on his hands, but I hope he has a Derby horse as well. Suddenbreakingnews (Mineshaft Uchitel, by Afleet Alex) This gelding burst onto the Kentucky Derby contenders list when he stormed home in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn. He is bred for the Belmont, let alone the Kentucky Derby. His running style is pace dependent, so it worries me some headed into Louisville as the fast, sprinter types no longer make the Derby thanks to the points system. However, if he is good enough, he will get there. I like his chances. Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect Melodys Spirit, by Scat Daddy) Whitmore looked so good last out in the Southwest Stakes, only to be caught by Suddenbreakingnews in the final sixteenth. He is bred to do just fine at 9-10 furlongs. His sire won the 2003 Breeders Cup Classic and finished third the following year. Whitmore should have no problem. Even Scat Daddy won the nine-furlong Florida Derby before sustaining a career-ending injury in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. Whitmore is scheduled to start next in the Rebel Stakes. Zulu (Bernardini Temporada, by Summer Squall) Zulu put up a good fight in the Fountain of Youth but, understandably, could not keep up with Mohaymen. Zulu will start next in the Florida Derby, per Todd Pletcher. Zulu is 3-2-1-0 in his lifetime. He has a lot of time to improve and mature. His pedigree says he should be a superb three- and four-year-old. Look out for this one, whether it be in Hallendale Beach, Louisville, or the future. In the Stable Mo Tom (Uncle Mo Caroni, by Rubiano) He had to check sharply in the stretch of the Risen Star Stakes but still came flying to finish third behind Gun Runner and Forevermo. Many say he could have easily won the Risen Star without being cut off and checked. I still dont believe he can handle the Kentucky Derby distance, but he is likely to show up in the Louisiana Derby. Destin (Giants Causeway Dream of Summer, by Siberian Summer) This full brother to Creative Cause won the Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs in preparation for the Tampa Bay Derby. He looks like one who is beginning to improve, which is exactly the right time. He looks poised to win big again and head to Louisville following the Tampa Bay Derby. Even without a win, if he can finish on the board, he likely heads to Louisville. Greenpointcrusader (Bernardini Ava Knowsthecode, by Cryptoclereance) This full brother to Algorithms has a good record behind him. Providing one tosses out a bad trip in the Breeders Cup Juvenile, he has never finished worse than second. His next start will be his last before the Kentucky Derby. He is headed to the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds. I am not sure if they are trying to send him to a track that favors his running style a bit more or if they are ducking a strong cast in the Florida Derby. Either way, I dont like this plan, and I dont think this horse is as good as some may think. Los Angeles, CA The new year brought a resolution to right a wrong for one California plaintiff, who last month filed a The new year brought a resolution to right a wrong for one California plaintiff, who last month filed a California Labor Lawsuit alleging nonpayment of owed overtime pay, together with the lack of provision and allowance for uninterrupted meal breaks as required under California labor law and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The lawsuit was brought January 15 by Maria Chona Rodriguez, naming El Toro Medical Investors and Life Care Centers of America as defendants.According to the California labor lawsuit, the defendants are accused of failing to accurately record and pay Plaintiff and other California Class Members for the actual amount of time these employees worked, including overtime worked. California labor law holds that a non-exempt employee is paid for hours worked on an hourly basis and as such, is due overtime pay when those hours of work exceed 8 hours in any given day, or 40 hours in any given workweek.Additionally, employees are entitled to an uninterrupted meal period not less than a half hour in length and required to be taken before the non-exempt employee works for a period of five hours. That provision is mandated under California and labor law.And there is yet another aspect of this proposed class-action lawsuit: an allegation of failure to adequately disclose and obtain proper authorization for conducting background checks on their employees. The Fair Credit Report Act observes various rules and regulations with regard to conducting background checks and disclosure, and it is alleged in the California Labor Code lawsuit that this was not followed.California state labor laws exist to safeguard employees against employers who may seek to take advantage of their workers in an effort to either save dollars or increase their productivity allegedly on the backs of unsuspecting workers. Misclassification is often another ploy to skirt around the overtime pay issue, by classifying employees as exempt from overtime - classifying an employee as performing a management or administrative job, for example - only to have the employee performing menial tasks that would not otherwise be within the purview of an administrative or management function.The proposed California and labor law class action is intended to represent all those similarly situated who were employed by the defendants at their facilities located in the state.The California Labor Lawsuit isCase # 8:16-cv-00059, before Judge Josephine L. Staton in US District Court, Central District of California. New York, NY Following up on a report from 2015, the New York Times (2/29/16) has once again investigated the New York nail salon industry, and has found widespread The Times reports, are frequently underpaid and overworked, and at risk of serious illness linked to the chemicals they are exposed to on a daily basis. In May, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a multi-agency task force to combat wage theft and other workplace violations in New York nail salons. Following up on a report from 2015, the(2/29/16) has once again investigated the New York nail salon industry, and has found widespread wage and hour violations . Workers in the nail salon industry,reports, are frequently underpaid and overworked, and at risk of serious illness linked to the chemicals they are exposed to on a daily basis. In May, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a multi-agency task force to combat wage theft and other workplace violations in New York nail salons. According to theworkers at nail salons face low pay - as low as $30 per day for 10-hour shifts - no pay or are forced to pay salon owners a fee to work in the salons. One worker cited bypaid $100 per day for her first two weeks on the job, during which she worked more than 10 hours a day. Some salons did not keep proper payroll records, making it difficult for investigators to determine the extent of wage violations, and some owners allegedly retaliated against employees who spoke out.In 2015, Governor Cuomo announced a variety of actions to combat wage theft and other violations in the nail salon industry. Among those actions was a task force designed to enforce labor laws and recover wages stolen from workers. Governor Cuomo also announced training programs to ensure nail salon workers were aware of their rights, and protections to ensure workers were offered protective equipment to lessen the risk of illness from chemical exposure.Employee lawsuits have been filed against some nail salon owners, alleging workers were denied minimum wage and overtime pay. One lawsuit - case number 1:15-cv-03710, filed in US District Court, Southern District of New York - seeks class-action status on behalf of all employees of a salon who were paid an hourly or flat daily rate for work. Plaintiff Blanca Fernandez alleges she was paid a flat daily rate of $60 per day for 10.5 hours of work a day, which works out to well less than minimum wage, not counting overtime hours. Meanwhile, plaintiff Gloria Marca argues she was paid only $55 per day for more than 10 hours a day and was not given breaks.Many of the workers in New York Citys nail salons are reportedly vulnerable workers from Asia and Latin America, and some salon owners allegedly exploit that vulnerability by seizing tips, denying breaks and forcing new employees to pay them. CBRE Global Investors has sold the Megahertsi Shopping Centre in Herttoniemi, Helsinki to eQ Finnish Real Estate (AIF), a Special Investment Fund. Megahertsi is located in the established residential area in Herttoniemi, which is located six km east from the Helsinki centre, close to the Herttoniemi metro station. Megahertsi is [] Moldova Center, the class A office building developed by Gheorghe Iaciu in Iasi recently obtained the BREEAM Very Good sustainability certificate, thus becoming not only the first building to be accredited under the BREEAM regulations, but also the building with the highest sustainability ranking in the city. BuildGreen, a consultant [] Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has discontinued its tried-and-tested 1.3-litre diesel mill ahead of BS6-implementation. End of an era. Often regarded as The National Diesel Engine, the BS4-compliant 1.3-litre Fiat SDE MJD four-cylinder mill has finally reached the end of its production. Fiat shared its initial plans to phase out the popular engine ahead of mandatory BS6-implementation, back in September 2017. The decision came as a direct result of Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki (two of the main clients who employed the 1.3 MJD) developing their own diesel power plants. This gave a hard blow to Fiats revenue charts and the company found it best to discontinue the engine in due course. On 23rd January 2020, Fiat kept its word and the legendary engine saw its last unit #810829 roll out from FCAs manufacturing facility in Ranjangaon, Pune. Sameer Ajgaonkar who works at the plant shared on Facebook that the 1.3-litre MJD had directly and indirectly supported thousands of families and helped in creating many employment opportunities. Total production stood at 9,60,719. He also praised the engines excellent design which makes it easy to manufacture, fit and repair while boasting of excellent fuel efficiency and class-leading durability. The 1.3-litre MJD was effortlessly tunable and a good tuner or remap module could easily bring out amazing results without hindering the motors life. It is safe to say to that more than half the diesel engines running on Indian roads at present, employ the 1.3-litre SDE MJD. SDE MJD stands for Small Diesel Engine Multi-Jet Direct injection and comes under Fiats common-rail diesel range known as JTD (Jet Turbo Diesel). If you are not familiar with the nomenclature, SDE MJD, names such as Quadrajet (Tata Motors), Duratorq TDCi (Ford) and of course, DDiS (Maruti Suzuki) might ring a bell. For the last Fiat India products, the engine came as the Multijet II. Outside the Indian market, the engine was popular among the likes of Chevrolet, Citroen, Lancia, Opel, Suzuki and Peugeot. Of course, the base 1.3-litre SDE MJD was not a direct fitment into various products (especially hatchbacks and small sedans) from the brands mentioned above. Instead, manufacturers worked over the original design to create their own engine characteristics. The changes were done mostly to the pressure of the common-rail injection system, turbocharger, timing system, camshafts, etc. In its most popular 1,248cc DDiS avatar that has served in multiple Maruti Suzuki products over the years, the SDE MJD made around 74-90bhp and 190-200Nm of torque. The engine was usually seen coupled to a 5-speed manual, but a few torque-converter and AMT units were also employed alongside. Popular cars using this engine over the years are Maruti Swift, Baleno, Dzire, Ciaz, Ertiga, Brezza; Tata Bolt, Zest, Indica, Indigo; Fiat Punto, Linea and others. Toyota Raize is the newest sub 4 meter SUV from the company, to rival the likes of Ford EcoSport The Toyota Raize mini SUV which was introduced last year with a focus on Southeast Asian market has been modified to look like the Lamborghini Urus by Japan-based outfit Albermo. The modifier is quite popular in the local market for making custom bodykits to transform run-of-the-mill Toyota vehicles into Ferrari and Lamborghini lookalikes. The Raize sub-4m SUV which is based on the DNGA modular platform which is developed to cater to the Asian markets. The affordable mini crossover also has a Daihatsu derivative which goes by the name Rocky. The twins are pitted against compact crossovers like Ford EcoSport in their target markets. The modified Toyota Raize receives a completely overhauled front fascia which clearly derives heavy inspiration from the Lamborghini Urus, the Italian brands first SUV. The final outcome is rather cartoonish because the original super SUV is wide and low-slung while the Raize is narrow and is significantly taller. In addition to the new front bodykit, the Lambo imitator sports custom dual-tone alloy wheels with ultra-low profile tyres. There are no other modifications to the exterior or interior. The custom bodykit for Toyota Raize will also fit Daihatsu Rocky. The aftermarket parts are set to be launched soon in Japan by Albermo. With an overall length of 3,995 mm and a 1.0-liter turbocharged petrol engine, the Toyota Raize sounds like an attractive proposition for India. The three-cylinder motor is tuned to deliver 98 hp and 140 Nm of torque. The crossover employs a CVT and is available in both 2WD and 4WD configurations. However, Toyota Kirloskar Motor has decided to address the lucrative sub-4m SUV segment in India with a rebadged version of the Maruti Vitara Brezza. This approach will save the Japanese automaker a lot of time and money in bringing its mini SUV contender to the market. Not to mention the benefits of economies of scale since Maruti Vitara Brezza is a high volume product to begin with. On the contrary, if Toyota were to bring the Raize to our market, the DNGA platform needs to be heavily localized which would take and heavy investment. Toyotas first rebadging exercise with Maruti, the Glanza (Baleno), involves minimal restyling but we hope the Vitara Brezzas Toyota derivative will have a more pronounced visual difference. Design inspiration for the rebadged Brezza could come from the Raize which is characterized by angular headlamps and prominent inverted hexagonal grille. Would you rather like to see the Toyota Raize launched in India instead of a rebadged Vitara Brezza? 0-100 kmph acceleration time of Koenigsegg Gemera is just 1.9 seconds Koenigsegg Gemera, the worlds first Mega-GT is the manufacturers first four-seater. It was unveiled today, along with the Jesko Absolut. Gemera not only seats four adults but it also comes with luggage space, making the drive an experience that can be shared with close ones. The line of thought drifts from what folks are used to associating the idea of Koenigsegg with. Gemera is a portmanteau of two Swedish words ge (give) and mera (more) to give more. In living up to its name, Gemera adds features and functions in what Koenigsegg says is a new category of car. The mega-GT is limited to 300 units. Being a four-seater doesnt hold it back in anyway, and the company says, Gemera easily outperforms most two-seat megacars, both combustion and electric. Koenigsegg Gemera brings together comfort, style, safety and performance, but this time all of this can be shared with family and friends. Gemera goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 1.9 seconds, and to 400 km/h in under 20 seconds. The use of a lightweight 800V battery enables the mega-GT to go full electric for up to 50 kms. Gemera complements the TFG (Tiny Friendly Giant) engine with three electric motors. The companys patented single-gear Koenigsegg Direct Drive (KDD) transmission is in use. Total output is a combined 1700 bhp or 1.27 MW of power, and 3,500 Nm of torque. The 2.0L, 3-cylinder engine gets help from three electrical motors one for each rear wheel, and one on the engine crankshaft for combined output of 800 kW or 1100 bhp. The 2-litre 3-cylinder dry sumped twin-turbo Freevalve TFG engine adds another 450 kW or 600 bhp. Its electrification input makes Gemera cleaner than a long-range EV basis next-gen combustion tech designed for next-gen renewable liquid fuels, and the use of small battery plug-in electrification. With the right fuel input, Gemera makes for a CO2 neutral car. Until such 2nd-gen renewable fuel sources are more available and accessible, Gemera can be driven on E85, and normal petrol in the worst case scenario. Gemera can drive completely silent up to speed of 340 km/h. Wheelbase measures in at 3000 mm. Koenigsegg Gemera is built on a strong carbon fibre monocoque, and features six smart airbags, stability control, TC, ABS and ADAS 2.5. While new, theres a range of Koenigsegg traits that are easy to identify wrap-around jet fighter inspired windshield, the hidden A-pillars, short overhangs and large side air intakes. The front design is inspired from the Koenigsegg CC prototype from 1996. The giant full-length Koenigsegg Automated Twisted Synchrohelix Actuation Doors (KATSAD) open wide. SsangYongs upcoming Korando EV sports a 61.5kWh battery pack from LG Chem Last year, Mahindra-owned SsangYong Motors announced that its first pure electric vehicle will be introduced in 2021. A recent spotting of a partially disguised SsangYong Korando prototype suggests that the South Korean UV specialist is on track with its EV launch plans. While there are no obvious visual clues regarding the prototypes powertrain, the timing strongly points towards an electric variant. The latest-generation Korando with fresh styling and vast improvements made its world premiere at Geneva Motor Show 2019 (2020 edition was cancelled). It is set to become the brands first EV. The front and rear fascias of the vehicle are under heavy disguise, suggesting that the electric variant will receive specific styling revisions. We can expect a new grille and bumper design at the front with a futuristic touch while the rear fascia is expected to feature minor revisions. The SsangYong Korando EVs interiors could sport several variant-specific features, trims and colour themes. Likely to be called SsangYong Korando E100, the electric crossover will be powered by a 188hp (140kW) electric motor coupled to a 61.5kWh battery pack developed by LG Chem. To be part of Mahindras MESMA EV architecture which was showcased at Auto Expo 2020, the Korando E100s electric powertrain is claimed to have a range of over 400km as per NEDC. With more output than its IC-engined sibling, the SsangYong Korando E100 EV is expected to be significantly quicker. In fact, the automaker says that its upcoming electric crossover will have class-leading acceleration. The top speed is estimated to be around 150kmph. The Korando EV would have Europe and South Korea as its primary markets. The company would be working on more electric models in the foreseeable future. The popular Tivoli compact crossover is likely to receive the EV treatment as well. Speaking of Tivoli, its Indian cousin, the Mahindra XUV300 is all set to receive a pure electric powertrain. The eXUV300 or XUV300 Electric is slated to be introduced sometime in mid-2021 but the launch timeline may get extended by a few months due to the challenges posed by COVID-19. The sub-four-metre compact electric crossover will be pitted directly against the Tata Nexon EV. The SsangYong Korando E100 currently doesnt have a direct rival in the European market. The smaller Hyundai Kona EV and Kia e-Niro can be considered as compelling alternatives. With Europe ready to embrace stricter CO2 norms, having the Korando electric is imperative for Ssangyong. The Tata Hexa flagship SUV has been showcased in its production guise at 2016 Geneva Motor Show. The vehicle was unveiled as a near production concept at the previous edition of the show. The car on display is the Hexa Tuff, an accessorized variant, which was also on display at the 2016 Auto Expo last month. In terms of styling, the production-spec Hexa bears no significant change compared to concept. What was essentially the ARIA MPV has been reskinned to look like a SUV. The bold front and rear fascias certainly helped in achieving that. The Hexa Tuff gets smoked accents inside out, a HUD, tyre pressure monitoring system, navigation, etc. The interior too has been subjected to a comprehensive redesign. The Arias outdated dashboard has been replaced by a new one which has a signature multifunction steering wheel, a piano black centre console with touchscreen infotainment system and new color themes. The vehicle is offered with 2+2+3 seating configuration. Underpinned by a hyrdoformed ladder frame chassis, the Hexa SUV derives its power from the 2.2-litre VARICOR 400 diesel engine which pumps out 156 PS and 400 Nm of torque. A 6-speed manual transmission drives the rear wheels. Higher variants are equipped with a 44 system. The final variant lineup has not been discussed by the automaker yet but we expect the Tata Hexa to offer dual airbags and ABS with EBD standard fitments. The car will attempt to achieve what the Aria couldnt manage to give a tough time to the Mahindra XUV500. Tata Hexa Tuff Live Photos On 25 May 2014, a rain-on-snow-induced rock avalanche occurred in the West Salt Creek valley on the northern flank of Grand Mesa in western Colorado (United States). The avalanche mobilized from a preexisting rock slide in the Green River Formation and traveled 4.6 km down the confined valley, killing three people. The 54.5 million cubic meter slide traveled those 4.6 km in about 3.5 minutes, with average velocities ranging up to 36 meters per second. The mobility of the avalanche was likely enhanced by liquefied valley-floor sediment. This type and size of avalanche happens only rarely in the United States. To study the dynamics of the avalanche, Jeffrey A. Coe and colleagues from the U.S. Geological Survey used a novel combination of large-scale field mapping, unmanned aerial system (UAS) imagery, eyewitness accounts, and data from seismic stations located at distances up to 650 km away from the avalanche. Their research shows that the avalanche had a complex series of movement phases, starting with a cascade of landslide/debris flow beginning about 10 hours before the catastrophic rock slide-avalanche phases, and ending with rock slides and rock falls from an oversteepened headscarp. These rock slides and rock falls are ongoing. The results of this study can be applied to rock avalanche modeling and warning, monitoring of ongoing hazards at the site, and interpreting the emplacement velocity of paleo-landslide deposits. Today, it's a well-known fact that prescription drug abuse is a public health crisis across the country. With politicians now jumping into the fight with their personal ideas on how best to tackle the issue, what was once invisible is now a front page headline with more and more Americans being personally touched by the loss of family and friends. In Pennsylvania, few took notice to the silent epidemic before deaths from prescription drug abuse started making the front pages of newspapers across the state. And, in fact, there was no reason to believe opioids would create such a problem particularly when Purdue Pharma launched a campaign in 1996 informing patients and doctors that a new, safe drug was available to combat pain. But, there were some early warning signs and some did begin to take notice. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts at raising red flags, moving legislation was difficult if not impossible at the time. During the 2011-'12 legislative session, with 45 co-sponsors including prime sponsor Eugene DiGirolamo, Pennsylvania House Bill 1651 aimed to establish the "Pharmaceutical Accountability Monitoring System." This would give physicians a tool to better understand if the person sitting in their exam room had legitimate pain or was doctor shopping. Sadly, the bill never received a vote on the floor of the state house of representatives. "It was disappointing back then that no one would listen," says Scott Shapiro MD, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society. "Members were coming to us and indicating that doctor shopping seemed to be increasing. They suspected an increasing number of addictions. We knew something had to be done." With a new legislative session on the horizon, according to Dr. Shapiro, this time the medical society was determined to see legislation move and became considerably more vocal. advertisement "We knew that this silent epidemic was going to get worse before it got better, and we knew we had to be louder if we were going to be successful," Dr. Shapiro says, explaining leadership at the Pennsylvania Medical Society directed staff to launch a campaign just prior to the 2012-'13 legislative session to push for a controlled substance database. "That's how our 'Pills for Ills, Not Thrills' campaign got started," he says. "It was a complete push using all of our communications and government affairs tools available -- news releases, editorials, educational materials, and meetings with legislators." How Did This Epidemic Grow? York County in beautiful southcentral Pennsylvania is dealing with one of the larger number overdose deaths in the state. According to a DEA Intelligence Report, York County had 118 drug-related overdose deaths in 2014, nearly double any neighboring county. With stereotypes in mind, it's a county that many would not think of being among the worst in the state. Its unemployment rate is near the average for Pennsylvania and the graduation rate of nearly all high schools is above the state average. This rural county with 85 percent of its population being white wouldn't seem to be a hotbed of drug problems. advertisement Drug statistics say otherwise. In 2014, of the 118 deaths, 111 were white. And, combining all races, 48 of those who died were between the ages of 31 and 45. "Not too many people would think this is a rural health issue, but it happens here too," says Bradley Levin, M.D., FACC, FACS, FASAM, DABAM, CMRO of York County Medical Society. He is a member of the York County Heroin Task Force. Illicit drugs like heroin and marijuana are most often present in drug-related overdose deaths, but opioids are part of the picture 33 percent of the time. According to York County Coroner Pam Gay, 2015 is likely to be similar to 2014 with its end of year statistics of 65 heroin-related deaths out of 95 drug deaths overall (with a few still pending). But Gay points out repeatedly that without Law Enforcement administering Naloxone in York County in 2015 (from April to December 2015), and the subsequent 99 saves that resulted, there would likely have been dozens more heroin-related deaths in York County in 2015. So how did York County get to where it is at today? Dr. Levin says that this problem grew out of another issue -- managing pain. In mid-February 2016, Modern Healthcare took a closer look at the root of the problem and traces it back to 1996 when Purdue Pharma began promoting a new drug to fight pain -- OxyContin. Early on, the medication was billed as being safe because it would slowly release narcotic ingredients, making it unlikely to become addictive. "We were told that this new drug would be the answer to many issues related to pain, particularly since a year earlier pain became the fifth vital sign and the American Pain Society recommended it be added to the indicators that assess overall health," says Dr.Levin mentioning there was even a time when physicians would be penalized for not prescribing opioids. But Dr. Levin adds that problems were brewing. Nearly 10 years later in 2007 Purdue would plead guilty in federal court to criminal charges that they misled regulators, doctors, and patients about the drug's risk of addiction as well as its potential to be abused. "We know better today, but the beast was unleashed and as addictions grew so did doctor shopping and other illegal activities," says Dr. Levin. "Those seeking pills got really good at finding what they wanted and in some cases pushed the drug out onto the street." According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the most popular source for non-medically used prescription drugs are friends and relatives with 54.2 percent receiving them for free and another 16.6 percent either stealing or purchasing the drug. NIDA estimates that 6.1 million Americans are using prescription drugs for non-medical reasons every month. Gaining Momentum Dr. Todd Fijewski, President of the Pennsylvania College of Emergency Physicians, has had a front-row seat in this growing epidemic. He's seen his share of drug overdoses, infections secondary to drug use, and deaths. Addiction can affect anyone. It does not discriminate. "It's pretty safe to say that if you work in emergency medicine, you've seen more than enough overdose victims," says Dr. Fijewski. "It's a problem that impacts so many different types of people, whether you live in rural or urban settings." His organization too saw an urgent need for more tools to help physicians fight prescription drug abuse and like the Pennsylvania Medical Society was an active member of the choir calling for the state to pass legislation to give physicians access to a controlled substance database. He says, after the failure of HB 1651, clearly what was once a silent epidemic was becoming quite visible. "It was getting hard to ignore," Dr. Fijewski says. "There was suddenly a greater awareness of the issue and the media made it clear that Pennsylvania lagged behind other states in passing prescription drug monitoring legislation." Fortunately, the issue had more heroes stepping up in Harrisburg. Rep. Matt Baker teamed up with Rep. DiGirolamo and others to push House Bill 1694 to a successful 191-7 vote in October 2013. At about the same time, Sen. Pat Vance had Senate Bill 1180 introduced and moving as well. Her bill ultimately would be the bill to cross the finish line on October 27, 2014, when then-Governor Tom Corbett signed it into law. Prior to Gov. Corbett signature, SB 1180 passed the Senate 47-2 and the House 194-2. SB 1180 established the Achieving Better Care by Monitoring All Prescriptions Program (ABC-MAP) and was scheduled to be in place by mid-2015. More help, but still waiting Since October 2014, other in-state initiatives to address opioid abuse were developed. Medication drop boxes are available throughout the state. Pennsylvania Physician General Rachel Levine signed a statewide prescription for Naloxone, a life-saving drug that has the power to reverse an overdose. Physician education to correct pharmaceutical misinformation from years earlier also became important. Opioid prescribing guidelines were developed by groups like the Pennsylvania Medical Society, Pennsylvania College of Emergency Physicians, Pennsylvania Department of Health, and Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. And continuing medical education specific to opioid prescribing has been developed by multiple medical organizations. But, despite the success of SB 1180 in 2014 and the high awareness level of the state's opioid abuse crisis, Pennsylvania physicians continue to practice without that extra arrow in their quiver. To date, Pennsylvania's prescription drug monitoring tool has yet to go live. But progress is being made. During a mid-February meeting of the ABC-MAP Board, the Pennsylvania Department of Health introduced the project vendor -- Appriss, which manufactures the PMP AWARxE system. Currently 23 states utilize Appriss' PMP solution. Additionally, Appriss is the company that the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy used to create and manage their PMP InterConnect system, which facilitates interoperability and interstate data sharing between prescription monitoring programs. Sources inside the Pennsylvania Medical Society are hopeful for the system to be delivered to the state during the summer months and available for physician use shortly later. "When you factor in all that health care professionals and state officials are doing, there likely is no other public health issue in Pennsylvania getting as much attention," says Lawrence John, MD, president of the Allegheny County Medical Society and a family physician in Pittsburgh. "This crisis hit us like a tidal wave. It was the perfect storm of misunderstanding at a time when pain was being undermanaged. Time has shown us more now than we were able to see back then about the potential for misuse and abuse." Pennsylvania Medical Society's Dr. Shapiro agrees, and adds, "it's going to take some time to see the benefits of all these initiatives, but we are on the right path and we will see results." Education Minister Hekia Parata has met with the Estonian Education and Research Minister Jurgen Ligi and education experts in Tallinn to learn about the rapid progress Estonia has made in lifting educational achievement. New Zealands education system is recognised around the world as being one of the best, but theres more we can learn from other countries in order to systematically lift achievement, says Ms Parata. Estonia has one of the top-performing education systems in the OECD, ranking 11th in reading and maths and 6th in science among all PISA participating countries and regions. Estonia has successfully driven educational reform, and has seen significant progress in lifting educational achievement. My discussions with Estonias Minister of Education and Research, Jurgen Ligi, and other education leaders were focussed on the policies behind that, and how we can learn from them for New Zealands benefit. Its important to recognise that each countrys education system is unique to its own culture and society, however there are similarities between New Zealand and Estonia in terms of a small population and government approach, so Ive looked at how we can use whats relevant from Estonias experience for New Zealands context. Ms Parata will now travel to Berlin to attend the sixth annual International Summit on the Teaching Profession. Source: Office of Hekia Parata. Close to 500 combat engineers, soldiers, sailors and aircrew have now been deployed for the humanitarian aid operation in cyclone-ravaged Fiji. This makes it one of the New Zealand Defence Forces largest peacetime deployments to the Pacific. Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink. That was the dire situation facing a colony of former research chimps when the New York Blood Center (NYBC) decided to leave them on a cluster of islands near Liberia with no food or water. Jenny Desmond Finn, pictured above taking a ride on the back of his mother, Anita, is part of the newest generation of chimps in this colony. In 2005, NYBC left the chimps here once they were no longer needed in cruel research experiments. For the next several years, NYBC paid for their survival by arranging regular shipments of food and setting up systems to provide fresh water to the island, which otherwise only has drinkable water half the year. But in the spring of 2015, the center unapologetically pulled funding for the chimpanzees and effectively left them to fend for themselves. Many critics, including Dr. Jane Goodall, saw this decision as an act of cruelty against the colony, which depended entirely on human care for decades, and, in the case of many chimps like Finn, their entire lives. Dodo Shows Soulmates Dog Goes Everywhere In His Dad's Kangaroo Pouch Finn twists and plays in the water. | Jenny Desmond The shipments of food came to an abrupt stop. The water systems were left in disrepair. Against all odds, the chimps survived. Finn crouches and looks out toward the boat carrying food, water and supplies. | Jenny Desmond "The success in their survival with very little food, broken water systems and no one regularly visiting them on the islands during the months after NYBC pulled support is truly remarkable!" Jenny Desmond of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Harmony Fund told The Dodo. Along with her husband, Jim, and her trusty dog, Princess, Desmond has helped HSUS lead a coalition of animal welfare organizations that has provided emergency care for the chimps. When rescuers first arrived, they knew they had to fix the water systems, but first they needed to get water to the chimps the fastest way they could. As it turned out, that was serving them water by hand, as they did for Finn in the photo below. Above, a longtime caregiver assists Finn as he drinks a cup of fresh water. | Jenny Desmond Since then, the coalition has successfully installed functioning water systems and provided food on a daily basis for the abandoned chimpanzees. Now that they don't have to worry about basic survival, the chimps can go back to more rewarding activities, like spending time with their families and playing. For Desmond, that's meant getting to see Finn's personality grow into a lovable young chimpanzee. "He never fails to make us laugh," Desmond said. "Especially with his love of twirling around in the water, playing while the food is delivered." Finn twirls in the water. | Jenny Desmond "He is very good at snatching his favorite foods," she continued. "Even though at this age, he doesn't separate from Mom much, if he gets something really, really good I have noticed he will run with it and eat it hidden in a secret little spot to ensure he keeps it all to himself." Finn eyes the food in his mother's hands. | Jenny Desmond "Although he is getting quite big, he still insists on riding on Mom's back most of the time," said Desmond. Finn looks at the camera while riding on his mother's back. | Jenny Desmond

Facebook/PostojnaCave

They're some of the strangest animals in the world and soon there might be one more of them. The blind cave salamander known as the olm was first described over 300 years ago, when Central European villagers still believed the creatures to be baby dragons that had been washed from their mothers' dens, but eggs of the elusive amphibian have never been found in the wild. Facebook/PostojnaCave Dodo Shows Wild Hearts Guy And Wild Shark Have Been Best Friends For Decades Last month, however, a tour guide at Postojna Cave in Slovenia noticed that a female olm in the underground aquarium had laid an egg. That the olm was laying eggs at all was a surprise: The bizarre creatures are believed to have a lifespan of over 100 years and can live for up to a decade without eating, but only reproduce once every six or seven years. Facebook/PostojnaCave "It is very significant because there is not a lot of data [about] the reproduction of this group of animals," Croatian biologist Dusan Jelic told the BBC. "In the wild, we never find eggs or larvae. They are probably hidden within some very specific localities within the cave systems." Since then, the female olm has laid around 50 more eggs and several reportedly show signs of growth. Facebook/PostojnaCave Anyone who's ever found oneself talking to a cat may not need to worry about being totally insane after all. Cats are, it turns out, actually trying to talk to us. So it would be odd if we didn't respond. This browser does not support the video tag. Giphy Cats don't even really meow to communicate with each other ... which makes the finding even more bizarre. A series of experiments examined humans and cats to see how they were communicating with each other, and found that people were better at interpreting the meows from cats they lived with versus cats they didn't know. The study also concluded that the main purpose of meows is to "attract attention from humans." Dodo Shows Odd Couples Dog Is So Gentle And Patient With Her Foster Kittens Shutterstock "The latest research about when and why cats meow is really exciting, since until recently there has been very little research on domestic cats," Adi Hovav, senior feline behavior counselor at the ASPCA Adoption Center, told The Dodo. "It does seem to be the case, as any cat parent will tell you, that cats can be pretty chatty when they want something. In my experience as a feline behavior counselor, felines have their humans well-trained." This browser does not support the video tag. Giphy Hovav noted the interesting truth that cats don't meow to each other, further suggesting that "the meow is something felines have learned to do when training... I mean interacting with people." Recent findings on cats and communication have been making the news, too. A fascinating article and accompanying video by New York Magazine's the Science of Us blog sum up discoveries about cats and their amazing abilities to communicate with human beings - and help us interpret our sometimes inscrutable furry family members. Shutterstock But we humans aren't always as astute as cats hope we are. Scientists have also discovered that we might be misreading our cats' other vocalization: purring. It's more complicated than just being blissfully happy: Purring can simply mean that cats are feeling needy for one reason or another - they may even be feeling under the weather - and want you to stay close by. Though they'd probably never admit it. Watch the full video explaining this purrrrrfectly fascinating phenomenon here: In February 2015 I left the U.K. for what I thought would be the adventure of a lifetime - two weeks volunteering with lion cubs in South Africa. I was led to believe my trip would benefit lion conservation in Africa and that the cats I worked with would eventually be released into reserves. However I soon discovered I was just one of hundreds of volunteers being duped into spending thousands of dollars on a complete lie. Beth Jennings Beth Jennings I booked my trip through a U.K. agency aimed at young adults looking to work abroad with animals or "find themselves" in Thailand. I was immediately drawn to a trip called "Live with Lion Cubs," and in no time I had paid my deposit and started the countdown. The trip was sold to me as two weeks working on a lion reserve in South Africa, which I had to pay for, and I was reassured by the agency multiple times that the park, Ukutula Lion Park & Lodge, had absolutely no involvement with the hunting industry. I naively believed what I was told and couldn't wait to cuddle some cute cubs. Beth Jennings Dodo Shows Odd Couples Dog And Wild Dolphin Play Whenever They See Each Other Beth Jennings From the very beginning, I was completely besotted by the cubs and in awe of the adult lions. But it wasn't long before the penny dropped. Like many so-called conservation lodges, Ukutula breeds lion cubs excessively, and during my stay we were told we had to care for the 2-week-old cubs we handled because they were too "unruly" to stay with their mothers. At the time, the statement seemed convincing, but I have since realised it is utter nonsense. To say a lion cub is too "unruly" is like saying a cheetah "runs too much" - it's in their nature. This natural behaviour was the first thing we were taught to control. If a cub became too excitable or aggressive we had to smack them across the nose so they would learn it was unacceptable. The second warning sign came during my first evening when I had to lock five cubs, weighing up to 20 pounds each, in a single crate no bigger than one you'd keep your dog in. They were stuck there from 5 p.m. until 8 a.m. the next morning, with no access to food or water, simply because they had outgrown their enclosures. All five cubs were kept in the tiny cage visible in the background overnight. Beth Jennings All five cubs were kept in the tiny cage visible in the background overnight. | Beth Jennings I could hardly bear the guilt I felt while doing this, but I was in no position to change the rules or even question the park owners' decision. That was just the beginning, and I began to document everything that happened during my stay. One 12-day-old cub was taken from his mother to be "hand-reared;" in reality he was locked in a cage in reception overnight, and received little to no care during this time. Young cubs were also passed around to groups of 20-plus tourists, crying for their mothers the whole time. I also took photos of the cages where the lions were locked up, which were shabby with broken wires sticking out. Fortunately, I was in regular contact with a previous volunteer and members of the Campaign Against Canned Hunting. Through them, I learned that absolutely no facility that lets you touch, cuddle or walk with their lions is a true conservation effort - and I was being taken for a ride. Despite what I was told, there is absolutely no benefit to hand-rearing lions from a conservation point of view, as doing so renders them useless for releasing into the wild - releasing a hand-reared lion has never been done, and (most likely) never will. So why breed lions for tourists to raise if not for conservation purposes? The answer is simple: money. Beth Jennings Parks such as Ukutula can reportedly earn up to $48,000 a month from paying volunteers like myself, making lion breeding extremely attractive to people with more money than morals. Female lions are bred excessively all year round, producing more litters than they naturally would in the wild, ensuring there are endless cubs for naive tourists to cuddle. Once the lions become too big to be handled by volunteers they are used for "lion walks" - an activity that takes volunteers and tourists into the bush to supposedly witness the lions in their natural habitat. Ukutula's lion walks consisted of making the lions perform circus tricks on tree stumps in return for small lumps of chicken and little else. We were given sticks to defend ourselves, as the lions had been trained to understand what the sticks signified - punishment. Beth Jennings Beth Jennings But once these lions become too big for these walks the real question is raised: Where do the lions go next? Likely, canned hunting. The practice of canned hunting is entirely legal in South Africa and involves a captive-bred lion - like those I helped raise by hand - being placed within a fenced reserve with no means of escaping, only to be shot by a tourist who wants the thrill of a lion hunt without the effort. This utterly abhorrent practice means that there are cubs being bred across the country with the sole intention of shooting them when they are big enough and pretty enough to become a trophy on someone's wall. Ukutula has refused to provide me with evidence that their lions do not end up hunted, despite the fact that they have a partnership with a local hunting facility only a 40-minute drive away. I questioned the legitimacy behind such a partnership, but at the time I was assured the lions would be sold to responsible owners and eventually released into reserves, which I now know is bullshit. I also know that Ukutula's lions have previously ended up in American zoos - not my definition of conservation by any means - and have even vanished entirely, resulting in endless social media campaigns demanding answers. The reality is, hand-reared lions cannot be released into the wild and in fact are only good for making money. Beth Jennings Beth Jennings Many volunteers are completely unaware of the direct link between handling cubs and the lions that are shot in canned hunts, which is why I began a campaign to help volunteers like me avoid being tricked into supporting them. Had I known the truth before departing for South Africa, there is no way on Earth I would ever have touched a lion cub. Although it may be appealing to cuddle cubs and have your photo taken with a little Simba, it's so important to remember that doing so does not benefit lion conservation in any way. I totally understand how easy it is to be sucked in, and I so badly wanted to believe the trip would help the lions I worked with, but in reality I now have to live with the guilt of not knowing whether the animals I bonded with will be alive in a year - or if they even are today. Beth Jennings Beth Jennings

Photo supplied to the Wildlife Defence League

The wolf was caught in a painful foot trap that pierced his paw with a metal spike. He was tranquilized and fitted with a radio collar, then let loose to rejoin his pack. Several months later, a helicopter came, and the collared wolf watched as his pack members were gunned to the ground. The wolves slowly bled to death from multiple gun wounds, staining the snow with their blood. Only the wolf with the radio collar was left alive. This scenario is exactly what the British Columbian government in Canada is doing in an attempt to save the endangered mountain caribou, whose population has been declining at an alarming rate. Instagram/Sam Edmonds Dodo Shows Faith = Restored Couple Meets A Beach Dog In Mexico Who Changes Their Life The government believes that if it slaughters up to 200 wolves per year, the caribou population will rebound. As part of a five-year "caribou recovery plan," the government has hiredBighorn Helicopters to help kill wolves in the South Peace and South Selkirk Regions of British Columbia. Yet conservation groups like the Wildlife Defence League and Pacific Wild argue that it's actually deforestation, industrial development and other anthropocentric causes that are wiping out the caribou. Wolves, they say, are just being used as scapegoats for shoddy science and ill-informed government policies. When the Wildlife Defence League first started working on this issue, they heard rumors of a "Judas wolf" who was being fitted with a radio collar and used to track down and kill an entire wolf pack. Now the group has evidence from a source directly tied to the killings that this wolf actually exists. Instagram/Sam Edmonds In an audio recording obtained in the field, the source explains that the Judas wolf's collar reports his location to a satellite every four hours, making it easy for the killers to find the wolf and his pack. The source even bragged about how easy it was to tranquilize and collar a wolf: "They're a piece of cake to work on. I have a video of one I did. Its tail is wagging, just like a dog." But the most disturbing piece of evidence by far is that the Judas wolf is kept alive year after year so the government can track the wolf and kill any new pack members the Judas wolf buddies up with. "When we heard the individual in the recording disclose information about the Judas wolf, it was truly heartbreaking," Tommy Knowles of the Wildlife Defence League told The Dodo. "To think that this wolf had watched his entire pack slaughtered before his eyes, only to be left alive, is unimaginable. If watching your family killed year after year by snipers in helicopters is what this government considers a 'humane' cull, I shudder to imagine what they consider inhumane." Trail camera photo supplied to the Wildlife Defence League Trail camera photo supplied to the Wildlife Defence League According to Marc Bekoff's "The Emotional Lives of Animals," wolves experience deep and complex emotions the same way humans do. When wolves lose a pack member, they become depressed and despondent, hanging their heads and tails, and circling the dead bodies of their loved ones. Wolves have also been reported to howl in a long and mournful way when a pack member dies. For the Judas wolf, who is forced to watch his friends die time after time, the grief would be unbearable. Besides the audio evidence proving the existence of the Judas wolf, the Wildlife Defence League managed to get rare photographs of a wolf from a trail camera placed in the South Selkirk region. Based on the camera's location, Knowles explains that this particular wolf is probably one of the slain, or even the Judas wolf before he was collared: "It's absolutely tragic to think he may still be out there alone, after watching his entire pack get slaughtered. Whoever the wolf in the photograph may be, the cull now has a face." Trail camera photo supplied to the Wildlife Defence League Trail camera photo supplied to the Wildlife Defence League

Darwin Animal Doctors

When the dog was found on the beach in the Dominican Republic, he was skinny and furless, and his back left leg was festering with infection. Locals said a car had hit him, but with no veterinarians nearby, he couldn't get the help he needed. Graphic photo has been blurred. Darwin Animal Doctors Luckily, an animal rescue group arrived to set up a temporary spay and neuter clinic, and the locals took the dog to them. Even though this clinic wasn't equipped for complex surgery, the visiting veterinarians managed to amputate the dog's leg and save his life. The vets knew, however, that this dog needed ongoing care, and recommended he be moved to the U.S. "We'll take him!" Tod Emko remembers saying, along with friend and colleague Andrea Gordon, who was also volunteering on that trip to the Dominican Republic. "I looked at him and he looked at me, and I knew he was somebody. I knew we needed to save him." Emko and Gordon named the dog Piggy because he had less fur when he was rescued and looked more like a piglet than the border collie cross he would turn out to be. But not long after Piggy moved to New York City, he grew back his thick black and white coat and learned to get around on three legs. "Generally he just runs," Emko says. "He's faster than most four-legged dogs." Tod Emko / Darwin Animal Doctors Dodo Shows Comeback Kids Family Stops At Nothing To Help Their Great Dane Run Graphic photo has been blurred. | Darwin Animal Doctors Tod Emko / Darwin Animal Doctors Piggy has thrived in his forever home, which he shares with Emko's two rescued cats, Simon and Platty. Perhaps the most amazing part of this story is that Piggy has developed an uncanny ability to help people. "Soon after he came here, we realized he had the ability to detect when someone was suffering," Emko tells The Dodo. "We could be in the middle of Central Park, and the person could be out of eyeshot. But Piggy would perk up and run through the crowds. Then he'll crawl on his belly towards a person, and place one paw on them. And the person would often break into tears and say, 'How did you know I needed that?'" Emko realized that Piggy's ability wasn't just a gift - it was a superpower. This led Emko to ask artist Ethan Young to draw a cartoon of Piggy for Emko to use on humane education pamphlets. "He was a cartoon superhero dog holding a bag of dog food, telling kids to be a superhero for animals," Emko says. Tod Emko / Ethan Young Tod Emko / Ethan Young Feedback on the cartoon was so positive that Emko and Young ran a Kickstarter to develop a full comic book called "A Piggy's Tale." The first comic book in the series illustrated Piggy's rescue in the Dominican Republic, and showed Piggy flying around New York City to save kittens from cruelty, puppies from drowning and school kids from getting bullied. Tod Emko / Ethan Young Tod Emko / Ethan Young At first, Emko and Young only sold "A Piggy's Tale" at Comic-Cons, but when teachers started asking to use the comics in their classrooms, they realized they were onto something big. As Emko explains, "A Piggy's Tale" seems to particularly appeal to kids with disabilities: "We recently sent his comics to a bunch of kids at the Saint Catherine Centre for Children, which is a medical and a teaching centre for special needs kids. The children decided they wanted to overcome their disabilities so they could write thank-you letters to Piggy." Tod Emko / Darwin Animal Doctors Tod Emko / Darwin Animal Doctors Over 2,000 copies of "A Piggy's Tale" have now been printed and distributed to schools across the U.S. The comic book has also been translated into Spanish, and circulated in schools in Colombia, the Galapagos and other countries in Central and South America. Sometimes Piggy himself visits schools around the New York City area, and, as always, he knows how to comfort those who need it most. Piggy also inspired Emko and Gordon to found Darwin Animal Doctors, an organization that provides comprehensive veterinary care to wildlife and domestic animals in the Galapagos Islands. "Having an animal like this, who has had such a hard beginning, is truly inspiring," Emko says. "But there are thousands of animals in need of care, and it's important to remember that they all can be this amazing." Joanna Totolici / Toto Photo Joanna Totolici / Toto Photo We take your privacy seriously and only process your personal information to make your banking experience better. In accordance with NDPR, GDPR, and any applicable regulations, continuing to use this platform indicates your consent to the processing of your personal data by United Bank for Africa PLC, its subsidiaries and partners as detailed in our Privacy Policy RESTAURANTS Subway to ensure Footlongs measure up Subway customers can finally rest assured that their Footlong sandwiches will be as long as promised. A judge last week granted final approval to a settlement of a class-action suit filed against Subway after an Australian teenager in 2013 posted an image of his sandwich on Facebook showing the sub was only 11 inches long. The image garnered international media attention, with the New York Post writing that it found four out of seven Footlongs it purchased in New York measured only 11 or 11.5 inches. A judge gave preliminary approval in October to a settlement between Subways parent company Doctors Associates and plaintiffs attorneys. Final approval was granted on Thursday. Subway agreed to institute practices for at least four years to ensure its bread is at least 12 inches long. The judge approved $520,000 in attorney fees and $500 for each of the 10 individuals who were representatives of the class. Subway said in a statement that it was pleased the judge found no wrongdoing on its part. Associated Press LABOR Supreme Court wont hear pension case The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid by unions representing public employees to force the state of New Jersey to pay the full share of its annual public pension contribution. The court declined to hear the unions appeal, leaving in place a July 2015 ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court that allowed Republican Gov. Chris Christies administration to make only partial contributions to public pension funds. Were heartened by the U.S. Supreme Courts decision today, said Christie spokeswoman Joelle Farrell, who added that all parties need to come back to the table and find a solution that is fair for all taxpayers. Over several administrations, New Jersey has short-changed its public pensions, leaving them poorly funded. Under bipartisan 2011 reforms, the state promised to step up contributions over seven years until reaching the full amount that actuaries say is necessary to keep the funds healthy. In exchange, New Jersey teachers, state troopers and other government workers agreed to pay more. In 2014, Christie slashed the states contribution for two years, citing a severe revenue shortfall, and ultimately paid less than 30 percent of what was required under the reforms, according to the unions petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. Reuters Also in Business From news services Coming Today If cable TV is so terribly uncool, whats Vice Media doing here with a new channel called Viceland? The youth-focused, Brooklyn-based media and marketing empire launched Viceland on Monday, in partnership with the A&E family of networks, which includes Lifetime and History Channel. (Viceland replaces the channel formerly known as Historys H2.) Vice is different things to different consumers. Much of its video content, including an eponymous globe-trotting HBO news show, comes across as too self-conscious and earnestly hip, which gets in the way of the solid (if subjective) journalism it aims to produce. Vices house style is also easily and frequently mocked; one of my favorite video parodies of HBOs Vice, from the Onion, features a concerned hipster wandering across a shelled-out neighborhood in the West Bank, reporting a story about how Palestinians have been cut off from scoring drugs. You can tell no one here is high, the reporter says as he walks the streets. It sucks. Sampling a few of the new shows on Viceland might send a dubious viewer down that same path of ridicule. Every show, whether its about marijuana (Weediquette) or food or music (Noisey), isnt all so different from shows that already exist on Spike, Esquire, the Food Network, Travel Channel and elsewhere the difference is mostly style rather than substance. Some of what Viceland is attempting resembles earlier attempts by Pivot and Current and other seldom-seen channels that hoped to capture the attention of members of the millennial generation, who are about as likely to subscribe to cable TV as they are to answer a ringing phone. (Thus Viceland is available on multiple platforms and as an app.) The big feature here is Vicelands tone and sensibility, built on the stipulations that everyone under about age 35 is smarter by default; that all drugs should be legal; that there is no art form more perfect and meaningful than hip-hop; that beneath our skin colors and vast cultural differences, were all just bros. Or chicks although when visiting Viceland, there always seem to be a lot more bros. In an episode of a show called Balls Deep (premiering Wednesday at 11 p.m.), host Thomas Morton travels to Hot Springs, Ark., in the middle of a sweltering summer to help an elderly preacher stage an old-fashioned Pentecostal tent revival. With his nerd glasses and deadpan demeanor, Morton is more or less the ideal Viceland ambassador, down to his references to controlled substances. As the Pentecostals describe what its like to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, Morton observes that it sounds like the greatest drug rush ever. The premise of Balls Deep is that Morton will earnestly participate in whatever fringy, unusual lifestyle or belief hes reporting on. Even in its sincere moments, the episode feels uncomfortably voyeuristic the documentary equivalent of a selfie. Weediquette, which airs Tuesday nights at 11, is hosted by Krishna Andavolu and focuses on the many ways people everywhere are ingesting marijuana in the new pot paradigm. Listening to people talk at length about pot is always a boring way to spend time in any paradigm. In one episode, Andavolu travels to Oregon, where parents of cancer-stricken children give their offspring daily doses of highly concentrated THC in pill form, which seems to help fight the cancers spread. (Vice excels at finding doctors and experts to underscore any working thesis.) The pot pills these kids are taking are quite potent, which means they spend part of their days stoned, which can lead to some chattily philosophical playground conversations. This of course means Andavolu cant wait to pop one himself and wander around for his own extended trip. The vicarious experience for the viewer is lacking, to say the least. Vicelands shows adhere to the media companys reliance on naivete as both a means of reporting and narration. What seems like a healthy amount of curiosity often lapses into a self-absorbed journey into the contours of blithe ignorance. Authority is Vicelands antithesis, which means the hosts of the shows remain in a constant state of relaxed, friendly inquisitiveness that verges on arrogance. The world is theirs to discover, including all the places and people and facts that have already been discovered, if theyd bothered to look it up. Lesbian film actor Ellen Page (Juno) and her friend Ian Daniel star in Gaycation (premiering Wednesday at 10 p.m.), a dull but well-meaning travel show that takes them to other countries to see what other gays and lesbians are up to. Answer: not much, but Page and Daniel pretend theyve made real friends and found new experiences. If this meandering, millennial sense of awe gets on your nerves, Im guessing youre 45 or older and that Viceland might not be for you, even if youre the one paying the cable or satellite bill. Renaissance hipster and filmmaker Spike Jonze, practically geriatric at 46, serves as Vicelands creative director and muse, informing the networks casual core, but also lending it a more approachable and friendly documentary ethic that the HBO show often lacks. (Vice Media founder Shane Smith, who hosts HBOs Vice with a grating sense of self-importance, was nowhere to be seen in the several hours worth of Viceland content I screened for this review.) The best show in Vicelands initial batch is Noisey, a music show (airing Tuesdays) derived from a Vice documentary project that takes a slow and steady anthropological approach to the worlds various music scenes. In the first episode that premiered this week, correspondent Zach Goldbaum makes an extended visit to the city of Compton, in south-central Los Angeles County a.k.a. the Bompton of hip-hop star Kendrick Lamar and his community of Bloods. Much of the episode is filled with moments in which the white reporter tries too hard to play it cool among some of Bomptons toughest characters, hopping fences with them to examine sacred sites of graffiti and killings, going where they go, doing what they do. (I spilled the weed, Goldbaum confesses while sitting shotgun in a car thats spinning doughnuts in a parking lot.) What eventually emerges in the hour-long episode is a rather beautiful portrait of a deeply misunderstood cultural scene, one that is immersed in criminal behavior and permanent poverty. Noisey comes at this with an admirably empathetic attitude that runs counter to its title. In other words, it succeeds by being quiet and listening. Thats where the reliance on fearless naivete pays off. Beneath the posturing and self-regard in its shows, Vicelands strongest attribute is its good ear. Viceland launched Monday in place of Historys H2 channel. For information on where to locate Viceland on your cable or satellite provider or to watch the networks shows online, visit viceland.com ABC's "The Real O'Neals" stars Bebe Wood as Shannon, Matt Shively as Jimmy, Noah Galvin as Kenny, Jay R. Ferguson as Pat and Martha Plimpton as Eileen. (Bob D'Amico/Bob D'Amico/ABC) Somehow, ABCs new sitcom The Real ONeals manages to feel both overdue and right on time. Youd think wed have seen a show like this before. But its a perfect fit with the authenticity we demand from television now even in sitcom land. Were introduced to the ONeals at post-church brunch in a Chicago restaurant. Image-obsessed mom Eileen (Martha Plimpton) places orders for the entire family, including her husband, Pat (Jay R. Ferguson), a cop, who takes his salmon with a lemon wedge in stride: Cant have meat and potatoes for every meal, not till Im in heaven. My mom always told us to behave as if Jesus were watching, our narrator, 16-year-old Kenny (Noah Galvin), tells us. And just like that, a very chill Jesus appears, launching a series of amusing cameos by the man, er, deity. He says, Im gonna let her order for me, too, but then Im just gonna turn it into whatever I want. At the start of the pilot, which airs at 8:30 Wednesday, the ONeals are a nice Irish Catholic family. By the end, theyre a nice Irish Catholic family whose secrets have spilled out in spectacular fashion, over a loudspeaker at a bingo night for their parish. The biggest of these secrets needs no spoiler alert. Promo images for the show picture the ONeals with bright halos above their heads. Kennys halo looks a bit different its a rainbow, because hes gay, get it? and unlike his smiling relatives, he looks like a deer in headlights. Kenny spends much of the first episode trying to dissuade his girlfriend, Mimi, from initiating sex. (Father Phils here and hes wearing his collar.) After various unsuccessful attempts to thwart her advances including flushing an entire box of condoms down the toilet Kenny faces the truth of his sexuality. Kennys coming-out is central to the show, but the entire family has stuff to work through. Eileen and Pat are planning to divorce, daughter Shannon (Bebe Wood) has a penchant for lying and, in the flimsiest of plot points, eldest son Jimmy (Matt Shively), a high school wrestler, has an eating disorder that appears to resolve itself over pancakes. Galvin is fantastic in his role, delivering lines with the awkward self-assurance of a teenager who is just starting to figure everything out. Even throwaway exchanges become devilishly funny as a result. Eileen: Whats in that closet? Kenny: Not me anymore! The series is based on an idea by LGBT activist and advice columnist Dan Savage, whose involvement in the project has prompted some protests from groups that consider some statements by Savage to be anti-Catholic. (The Catholic League took out an ad in Mondays New York Times in which President Bill Donohue scolded ABC). Savage is listed as an executive producer, but coexecutive producer and director Todd Holland told the Seattle Times that Savages role has been limited. The protests are unwarranted. The Real ONeals has some fun with Catholicism, but faith isnt the butt of the joke in the show, which is ultimately an endearing story about a family that loves and supports one another. Go figure. The Real ONeals isnt the sexually explicit Savage Love, either this is network television, after all but it does take one admirable quality from Savages advice column, and thats honesty. Add in a quirky charm that results in imagined scenes like the one in which Kenny roller-skates down the hallway of his Catholic school in sequins (to make a point, I promise) and the show fits in well with ABCs lineup of shows (Black-ish, Modern Family, Fresh Off the Boat) that tell stories from the occasionally over-the-top perspectives of families that look, well, real. The Real ONeals (30 minutes) airs Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. on ABC, with a second episode at 9:30. Regular series premiere is Tuesday, March 8 at 8:30. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed a new cap on property taxes that would allow homeowners bills to increase by an average of $304 in Virginias largest jurisdiction. The 7-to-3 vote means that the board can increase the property tax rate by no more than 4 cents, to $1.13 per $100 of assessed value, when it adopts its fiscal 2017 budget in April. Four cents is the amount recommended by County Executive Edward L. Long Jr. last month. [Fairfax schools chief says county funding falls woefully short of needs] The board agreed to advertise that rate after a sometimes passionate debate over the merits of raising property taxes even higher to better meet the increasing demands of the county school system while preserving other services that have long made Fairfax County a magnet for upper-middle-class families. A motion to raise property taxes by as much as 5 cents failed in a 5-to-5 tie. Another motion for a cap that is 6 cents higher than the current rate of $1.09 per $100 of assessed value got little support. That motion carries, and that is unfortunate, Sharon Bulova (D), chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said about the 4-cent proposal. Bulova had supported a 5-cent hike. The debate about the tax rate in Fairfax pitted worries about declining schools and other services against the frustrations of homeowners who argue that living in Fairfax is becoming too expensive. School Superintendent Karen Garza argues that the quality of one of the nations top school systems is in jeopardy without extra funding, as more teachers leave for higher-paying districts and students crowd into classrooms with as many as 35 pupils. On Tuesday, Garza, who is seeking $68 million more than the $1.88 billion that county officials have proposed for next year, expressed her frustration with the 4-cent cap on the tax-rate increase. [Teachers can make $15,000 more by moving to district next door] Todays decision is discouraging for the thousands of community members who have reached out to the School Board and the Board of Supervisors this year to advocate for a voice in this very important conversation about values and priorities, Garza said in a statement posted on the school systems website. Other county officials warned that property taxes are already too high, particularly in areas such as Tysons Corner, where property owners pay an extra 6 cents per $100 of assessed value to cover the cost of services there. The folks in Tysons right now are not millionaires, for heavens sake, said Supervisor Linda Q. Smyth (D-Providence), who represents a portion of that area. Theyre really average working people, and theyre seeing their taxes and their assessments go up. After the vote Tuesday, frustration was palpable among some board members and the teachers in the audience. This advertised tax rate will not come close to adequately funding the needs of our county, said Kimberly Adams, head of one of the countys two teachers unions. Several supervisors agreed that the county needs to find new ways to fund schools and other services in the county. We need to think about not just this year but several years ahead and find something thats sustainable, said Supervisor John C. Cook (R-Braddock), who was advocating for budget cuts. Supervisor Catherine M. Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) proposed that the county revisit the idea of asking voters to approve a tax on restaurant meals, which restaurant owners have fiercely opposed in the past. The board passed a motion by Hudgins to study the idea. Students pass Rouss Hall and Robertson Hall, left, and Old Cabell Hall, right, at the University of Virginia. (Norm Shafer/For The Washington Post) The first conclusion to a four-year federal probe of sexual violence at the University of Virginia was issued in secret, and it stood for just four days. Among its findings was that U-Va. abdicated its legal responsibility to act on reports of sexual violence within the schools powerful Greek system and took a hands off approach, relying instead on fraternities to police their own membership in cases of alleged rape and other alleged sexual assaults. It also detailed numerous accounts of alleged sexual assault on the Charlottesville campus, tallied more than 150 cases of possible sexual harassment or sexual violence during a six-year period, and said the university failed to identify and address a sexually hostile environment. That stern criticism of Virginias flagship public university was part of a 39-page letter to U-Va. officials presenting the findings of a U.S. Education Department Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, investigation that began in June 2011. The Aug. 31, 2015, letter came amid weeks of feverish maneuvering behind the scenes, with Virginias governor and two U.S. senators lobbying on behalf of the school amid concern about the effects of a lashing from the federal agency. Then, the letter was buried. A senior education official withdrew it on Sept. 4, after the university said it was riddled with inaccuracies. It remained secret until The Washington Post recently obtained a copy through the federal Freedom of Information Act. [Read the original 39-page Education Department letter, obtained by The Post] What the public was shown Sept. 21 when the department and the university jointly announced a resolution was a shorter and milder letter of findings that became the final word on the investigation. Exactly why the changes were made, and what influence the pro-U-Va. lobbying had on the process, remains unclear. The end result was a verdict that faulted the universitys record on sexual violence but was less harsh than the first version. [Read the 26-page Education Department letter, issued Sept. 21] The university said the Aug. 31 letter included significant factual errors, but it declined to elaborate. A senior Education Department official said she pulled the letter back because she learned more documents were needed to substantiate its assertions. It was purely for accuracy reasons, said Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant education secretary for civil rights. The reason I withdrew it is I dont stand by it. . . . Im a neutral arbiter. I need to go where the facts lead me. A student passes the Harrison Institute and Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia. (Norm Shafer/For The Washington Post) Like the first letter of findings, the final version from OCR said that the university violated the anti-discrimination law known as Title IX and pointed out numerous flaws in the schools response to sexual-assault reports during a multiyear period. But the second letter 13 pages shorter did not include several accounts of possible sexual assault that had been listed earlier, significantly softened references to fraternities, hedged some criticism of U-Va. and put much less emphasis on total counts of reports of sexual violence at the elite public school. The first letter counted 158 reports of possible sexual harassment or sexual violence at U-Va. from 2008 through the fall of 2014, including rape and gang rape, and it faulted the handling of 41 percent of them. The letter highlighted this total in the summary and conclusion. The second letter narrowed the time frame, finding 50 informal reports of possible sexual harassment, including sexual violence, from fall 2008 through spring 2012. In 22 of those cases, all but one involving alleged sexual assault, the second letter found that the university failed to take appropriate action. It also noted government concerns about U-Va.s response in 29 of 87 informal reports of incidents from fall 2012 through December 2014. None of those numbers were included in the letters summary or conclusion. On fraternities, the Education Department originally charged that U-Va. abdicated its Title IX responsibilities with regard to reports of sexual harassment including sexual violence that were raised against students in the Greek system, instead relying on fraternities to investigate and sanction students themselves. It said that the university took a hands off approach to responding to complaints of sexual violence committed by fraternity members. The second letter was not as blunt. It said that in at least two instances in 2013 and 2014, the University did not promptly investigate information in cases that involved fraternities. The letter also noted that the files in those cases do not reflect the University evaluating steps necessary to protect [the] safety of the broader University community. The shift in language and tone is notable in part because fraternities form a powerful constituency at U-Va. and many other universities, on campus and among alumni, and they often are at the center of debates about how best to curtail sexual assaults on the nations campuses. Also among the differences: The original findings were packed with sobering data and anecdotes, including case studies of 13 informal student reports of possible sexual misconduct. Several involved alleged sexual assault or rape. Many details were redacted in the version that the federal government provided to The Post, but these narratives generally faulted U-Va.s response. One narrative, labeled Student Report #2, said: The University then took an entire year, with periods of three months and six months between contacts with the complainant, to determine that the University had an obligation to act, despite the complainants request for no action. To date, it is unclear whether the University took any action or had merely determined that it had an obligation to do so. The Sept. 21 letter omitted the 13 narratives. The first letter asserted that the chair of the universitys sexual-misconduct board, which adjudicates complaints against alleged attackers, had a conflict of interest because she had multiple roles on campus. An associate dean of students, she was often a first point of contact and support for students who were considering filing sexual-assault reports. Later, the government hedged this criticism, saying that the multiple roles created the appearance of a conflict of interest. In its summary, the first letter stated flatly, During the period of its investigation, OCR also found that the University failed to identify and address a sexually hostile environment. The second letters summary on this point was more nuanced. It found that a basis for a hostile environment existed for affected students at the University and that the University failed to eliminate a hostile environment and take steps to prevent its recurrence during academic years 2008-2009 through 2011-2012, as well as concerning a report filed by a student in 2013 and a report filed by a student in 2014. These letters and other documents The Post obtained provide a rare window inside the Obama administrations efforts to crack down on campus sexual assault. And they show the vehement efforts that U-Va. took to push back against enforcement methods and conclusions the school deemed unfair. Columbia University has released its report on Rolling Stones retracted story detailing an alleged rape at a University of Virginia fraternity. The Washington Posts T. Rees Shapiro, who first reported inconsistencies in the Rolling Stone article, explains the key findings in the report. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post) As the investigation was nearing completion, U-Va. was at the center of turmoil over college sexual assault. The school had been rocked in the fall of 2014, when Rolling Stone magazine published an account of an alleged gang rape at a U-Va. fraternity and depicted the university as indifferent to the issue, an accusation U-Va. officials strenuously denied. The gang-rape account unraveled after The Post revealed significant discrepancies in it. Although the magazine ultimately retracted the article, the episode took a toll on the universitys public image. [Rolling Stone retracts discredited U-Va. rape story.] Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) cited the Rolling Stone fiasco in an Aug. 14 letter to then-Education Secretary Arne Duncan, saying that he worried that information federal investigators gathered before the article was retracted, in April, could have been influenced by the atmosphere unfairly created on campus by that false article. Sens. Timothy M. Kaine and Mark R. Warner, both Virginia Democrats, also wrote Duncan on Aug. 25 to echo McAuliffes plea for fairness to U-Va. [U-Va. and allies waged intense fight to influence federal investigation] Lhamon, the assistant education secretary, denied that political pressure played any role in her decision to withdraw the first letter. The findings did not get watered down, she said. As Ive said in the past, the university did not want us to make the findings that we made. We made them in both letters. Lhamon said it was not the first time that the Office for Civil Rights has withdrawn a letter of findings. But she declined to say how often it happens. U-Va. officials declined to be interviewed about the newly obtained documents, including the Aug. 31 letter. This letter included significant factual errors and presented findings based on factual inaccuracies, the university said in a statement. We are profoundly disappointed that the Department of Education publicly released a factually inaccurate letter that it previously withdrew due to an incomplete review of available information. This letter does not represent the final outcome of the Office for Civil Rights compliance review. . . . The University remains focused on implementing substantive initiatives aimed at providing a safe learning and living environment for every member of its community. Across the country, OCR investigations have proliferated since the administration warned schools in April 2011 that they were responsible, under Title IX, for investigating and resolving sexual-violence reports. Evidence has mounted that the violence is widespread. A Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll last year found that 20 percent of young women who attended college during a four-year span said they had been sexually assaulted; surveys at prominent U.S. universities have found similar results. [One in 5 college women say they were violated] As of Feb. 26, federal investigations related to sexual violence were underway at 167 colleges and universities, according to the Education Department. The investigations can last years. In most cases, almost everything about them is confidential until the end, unless students involved in a related incident opt to go public. [Catholic U. student recounts struggles after reporting a sex assault] Closing a case often requires a letter of findings from the government and a signed resolution agreement in which the school pledges to take steps to prevent and address sexual assault. The U-Va. investigation had entered its fifth year when the government and the university hit an impasse last summer over how it would be resolved. U-Va. officials, based on their talks with federal investigators, worried about how their school would be portrayed, according to documents The Post obtained. They insisted on seeing a letter of findings before signing a resolution, but the government declined to provide an advance copy, according to the documents. On Aug. 20, U-Va. President Teresa A. Sullivan wrote Duncan to lament the impasse. [Read Sullivans letter to Duncan] Over the next week, 23,000 students will be returning to Charlottesville to begin a new academic year; the fact that we have not been given the courtesy of reviewing OCRs written findings makes it impossible for us to prepare our University community adequately for what lies ahead in our process with OCR, Sullivan wrote in a three-page letter. This predicament is uniquely damaging to us, as our community is still recovering from Rolling Stones reckless journalism and now-discredited story. Carrs Hill is the residence of the University of Virginia president, Teresa A. Sullivan. (Norm Shafer/For The Washington Post) U-Va. officials that day also sent Duncan, Lhamon and Undersecretary Ted Mitchell a 41-page memo strongly criticizing OCRs procedures and arguing against a possible finding that the school had a broad hostile environment regarding reports of sexual harassment or sexual violence. If there were concerns about the environment at the University, OCRs failure to share compliance concerns with the University during the review, and its radio silence for nearly one and a half years of that review, contributed to any such environment and allowed issues to persist unabated for a four-year period, under OCRs watch, the university wrote. [Read the universitys 41-page memo] Eleven days later, the government issued its blistering first conclusion, which was short-lived. Emails between the government and the university show the final 19-page resolution agreement was the product of extensive negotiation. One significant pledge that U-Va. made was to review its written agreements with fraternities and sororities to ensure they are aware the university is authorized to investigate reports of sexual violence made against their members and mete out appropriate punishment. The governments intent with this measure, read alongside the Aug. 31 letter, seems clear: There will be no abdication of university oversight of the Greek system in Charlottesville. A final round of negotiation occurred over a joint news release. The two sides exchanged drafts. One of OCRs last edits inserted the word fraternities into the news release in a line that noted instances in which the university did not promptly investigate information in cases that involved fraternities. U-Va.s preferred term had been student organizations. Lhamon explained her view in a Sept. 19 email to the U-Va. general counsel, Roscoe Roberts: We think it is important to reference fraternities, as distinct from student organizations, because it is fraternities about which we have concern. MARYLAND Ofcer is charged in domestic incident A Prince Georges County police officer was suspended over the weekend after he was charged with two counts of second-degree assault in a domestic-related incident, authorities said. Police were called to a home on Rose View Court in Upper Marlboro on Feb. 26, when the mother of Officer Bashua Olasehas 7-month-old son alleged that he tried to take the child from her home without permission, according to charging documents. Olaseha, who was off duty at the time, put the child in his car and tried to leave, charging documents state. Olaseha, 29, punched the woman in the stomach before she was able to remove the child from the car, court documents state. As the woman fled, carrying the boy in her arms, Olaseha pushed her, and the mother and child fell to the ground, police said. The woman was taken to the hospital for cuts and bruises and was later released. She had filed a protective order against Olaseha the day before. Lynh Bui VIRGINIA Man arrested on sex-assault charge A 19-year-old man has been arrested and charged in a sexual assault, and Arlington police say he may be involved in a series of assaults along a bike trail last summer. Santos Efrain Vasquez-Lopez of Arlington was charged with intent to defile and is being held without bond at the countys jail. He was taken into custody Feb. 24. He was arrested in connection with an Aug. 1 attack on North Pershing Drive that occurred when a 25-year-old woman was walking home at night. A man knocked her to the ground and covered her mouth as he tried to take off her shorts, according to police. She bit the attackers hand before he fled. A description from the witness and DNA tests led to Vasquez-Lopez, police said. He also is being investigated in connection with what police called a series of assaults along the bike trail in that area in the summer. Dana Hedgpeth Police dog is missing in Woodbridge area A black Labrador that works in a K-9 law enforcement unit was reported missing in the Woodbridge area of Prince William County. Police said in a Facebook post that Milo was last seen about 7:45 p.m. Sunday in the 14100 block of Rahill Court. The dog ran away from his handler, police said. Milo is described as trained to work . . . around people, though he is rather shy. He weighs about 50 pounds and has a small patch of white hair on his chest. He had on a choke collar with his service badge and a vaccination tag on it. He was also wearing a black nylon-strap harness that buckles across the top of his back, according to police. Anyone with information is asked to call 703-792-6500. Dana Hedgpeth McDonnell asks court to overturn conviction Former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his attorneys formally asked the Supreme Court on Monday to overturn his conviction on corruption charges, asserting that he never exchanged official acts for what were otherwise lawful gifts. The Supreme Court agreed in January to hear McDonnells appeal, and the brief was filed in advance of oral arguments. McDonnell and his wife were convicted in 2014, after being accused of intervening with state officials in exchange for $177,000 in loans, vacations and luxury goods. The brief said the governors acts were limited to the most routine political activities and argued that he was the first public official ever convicted despite never agreeing to put a thumb on the scales of any government decision. The prosecution theory made every public official vulnerable to prosecution, McDonnells brief contended. In gaining a conviction, the brief asserted, prosecutors persuaded lower courts to disregard every relevant constitutional principle, and stretch the corruption laws beyond recognition. Martin Weil Bomb threat shuts down McLean High A bomb threat forced school officials to evacuate classrooms and send students home from McLean High School in Fairfax County on Monday morning. Students at the school were evacuated and eventually sent home on buses, Fairfax County Public Schools spokesman John Torre said. T. Rees Shapiro The Maryland Senate on Tuesday delayed action on a bill that would clamp down on when public buses and trains can record the private conversations of their passengers. Sen. Robert A. Zirkin (D-Baltimore County), chair of the Senate Judicial Proceedings, which unanimously voted for the measure to move to the Senate floor, said he wanted the committee to address an amendment offered by some of those who are concerned about costs associated with the bill. The bill is likely to be considered by the Senate on Wednesday, he said. What [the Maryland Transit Administration] is doing is a mass surveillance, Zirkin said. I find it outrageous, he said. I dont want to overstate it, but this is the issue of our generation. As technology advances, it becomes easier and easier to encroach on peoples civil liberties. While Zirkin and other proponents argue that the technology, which has been in use since 2012, is an infringement on civil liberties, the bills opponents say the recordings are a necessary tool for homeland security. The bill, which would affect MTA buses in the Baltimore area, Ride On buses in Montgomery County and TheBus in Prince Georges County, creates guidelines for audio recordings and places limits on when they can be made. [On buses, cameras are watching and listening] MTA began using recording devices inside some of its buses in 2012, without seeking legislative approval. Nearly 500 of its fleet of 750 buses now have audio recording capabilities. Officials say the devices can capture important information in cases of driver error or an attack or altercation on a bus. Under the bill, recording devices would have to be installed near a bus or train operators seat. The devices would be controlled by the driver and could be activated only in the event of a public-safety incident. The legislation to limit the recordings came to the Senate floor last week, but a vote was delayed until Tuesday after several lawmakers raised questions about how much it would cost to retrofit or replace existing recording equipment to meet the bills requirements. Some lawmakers raised the issue of security. Several asked for the delay to allow time to draft amendments. I can make an argument to tape everybody, everywhere, everywhere they walk, everywhere they talk, and you can make the excuse for homeland security, Zirkin said. But that is not a valid reason to encroach this fundamentally on peoples privacy rights. This is the fourth time in four years that the bill to limit the recordings has been introduced. Previous pieces of legislation have never made it out of committee, but Zirkins committee unanimously approved it this year. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) indicated last week that he doesnt like the bill and would probably vote against it because he feels the limitations could compromise security, and he does not want to incur the cost of replacing existing equipment. The Judicial Proceedings Committee will hear testimony Tuesday afternoon on a bill that would change the way police officers in Maryland are trained and the process they go through when they are accused of misconduct. The legislation, which was heard in the House last week, was created after the springs riots in Baltimore and repeated calls from criminal justice advocates for police reform. Also on Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on a proposal to ban firearms at public colleges and universities in the state, including community colleges. Under existing law, schools can set their own gun policies, as long as they comply with Maryland statutes. Some schools prohibit firearms outright, while others allow them with permission from campus police. [Md. Democrats pushing to strengthen states already strict gun laws] The gun legislation, sponsored by Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery) and Del. Benjamin S. Barnes (D-Prince Georges), is partly a response to a wave of mass shootings across the nation in recent years. Schools that include Virginia Tech and Oregons Umpqua Community College have experienced such deadly shootings, and Washington College on the Eastern Shore was shut down for a week in the fall while authorities tried to track down a student who had allegedly displayed a gun on campus. House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) and Senate President Miller joined other Democratic lawmakers in announcing support for the gun ban last month. Josh Hicks contributed to this report. Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) is getting some much-needed support in her Senate campaign from the pro-choice Democratic womens group Emilys List. The group is launching a new six-figure ad campaign in Baltimore and the Washington D.C. suburbs backing Edwardss campaign. Polls show Edwards about even with Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), her rival for the Democratic nomination to succeed retiring Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.). But Van Hollen has far more money than Edwards, who has struggled with fundraising and has little support from the Democratic establishment. She has not been able to afford her own television ads. Instead, shes relied on a super PAC run by Emilys List, which aired $1 million in Baltimore ads for Edwards in December and January. Those ads appear to have had a profound effect. Before they went on the air, Van Hollen led in polls. In the latest independent survey, Edwards has a two-point lead, which was within the polls margin of error. The new ad, Taking, touts Edwards as a foe of Wall Street who understands personal struggle. As a single mom, she knows the challenges our families face, the narrator says. Shell be our voice. Tightening regulations on the big banks and fighting to keep dark money out of our politics. Van Hollens campaign, however, argues that the Emilys List super PAC is itself an example of that dark money. The group must disclose donors but can accept unlimited donations, including from entities that do not disclose their funding. "We are seeing something unprecedented here in Maryland an out-of-state Super PAC trying to buy a U.S. Senate seat, said Van Hollen spokeswoman Bridgett Frey. We're confident that our state won't fall for it. Van Hollens campaign has pushed back on the idea that compared to Edwards, he is cozy with Wall Street, noting that he has led several Democratic efforts to rein in big banks. Both candidates are forswearing money from political action committees run by banks, while both have taken money from individuals who work in the finance industry. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who completed an 18-week course of chemotherapy last fall for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, had a follow-up chemo treatment on Monday morning. Gubernatorial spokesman Matt Clark said the governor received the maintenance treatment at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore and returned to Annapolis around noon. [Gov. Hogans cancer is in remission, 30 days after he completed chemo] Clark said the governor announced that he would receive follow-up treatments when he disclosed in November that his cancer was in remission. Mondays hospital visit was one of those treatments, Clark said. He said he was not certain how many similar treatments the governor has had since November. This is run-of-the-mill routine, follow-up for the type of chemo he received, Clark said Monday. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) attends a pep rally at Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore before being admitted for his final round of chemotherapy last year. (Governors office) Hogan was diagnosed last June with stage 3 non-Hodgkins lymphoma after discovering a lump in his neck. Doctors found dozens of tumors throughout his body. The governor underwent five days of round-the-clock chemotherapy treatment every three weeks for 18 weeks. [Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan says he has advanced form of cancer] He announced in November that scans showed no signs of any cancer remaining in his body. He said he would continue to be monitored closely. Since completing chemotherapy, Hogans hair has started to grow back. He says his energy has returned to normal and he has resumed a full public schedule. Over the weekend, the governor spent three days touring Southern Maryland. Since being diagnosed with cancer, Hogan has become an outspoken advocate for other cancer patients. Six people were shot and wounded one of them critically in Southeast Washington on Monday afternoon and early Tuesday, according to D.C. police. Authorities said they are investigating, and it was not immediately clear if any of the shootings were related. The gunfire came in two waves between 3:15 and 4:20 p.m. on Monday and between midnight and 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday. No arrests were reported in any of the cases. The first shooting occurred about 3:15 p.m. in the 3100 block of Knox Terrace SE, just off Alabama Avenue and steps from the 7th District police station. Police reported a juvenile was shot in the legs. About one hour and one-half mile away, police said a man was shot in the Langston Terrace neighborhood. It occurred in the 2700 block of Langston Place SE. A D.C. police spokesman said homicide detectives had been ordered to the scene and that the victim was reported to be unconscious at the scene. Police said on Tuesday that he remained alive at an area hospital. [Deadly violence has become all too common in one D.C. neighborhood] Langston Terrace is a small neighborhood off Alabama Avenue where violence erupted last year, prompting D.C. police to flood its streets with dozens of officers for more than a week. About 4:40 p.m, D.C. police reported a third shooting in the 7th District patrol area this one in the 4300 block of Fourth Street SE, about 2.5 miles from the other shootings, just off I-295 and across from Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling. Police said a man who was shot in the third incident was conscious and breathing, but they had no further information. On Tuesday, police said a man was shot about 12:02 a.m. in the 4700 block of South Capital Street SE. About one half hour later, police said a man was shot at Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Howard Street, in Anacostia, and about the same time and one mile away, a woman was shot in the 2300 block of Green Street SE. Police said the three victims from Tuesday suffered what appear to be non-life threatening injuries. Fire investigators were working on Tuesday to determine a cause for a deadly fire in Southeast Washington, but authorities said the blaze does not appear to be suspicious. The person killed in Monday nights fire in the 4300 block of Massachusetts Avenue SE was a woman, police said. Lt. Sean Conboy, a D.C. police spokesman, said there were no suspicious circumstances. He would not elaborate until the investigation has been completed. Conboy said police have not positively identified the victim, and her name and age were not immediately released. The fire was first reported about 8 p.m. in a small house along the Maryland line and near Fort Davis Park. On Tuesday morning, D.C. firefighters responded to another dwelling fire in the 100 block of T Street NE, in Eckington where they rescued a person from a second floor. Timothy J. Wilson, a fire department spokesman, said the person was rushed to a hospital with serious injuries. That fire was first reported shortly before 11 a.m. and was put out in about one hour. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Rockville City Police are investigating the Tuesday shooting of a man who after hed been hit was driven to a parking lot of Montgomery College. The victim suffered a relatively minor injury to the leg, apparently from a small-caliber weapon, said Maj. Michael England, a Rockville police spokesman. Detectives are trying to piece together exactly what happened. After the man was shot, he was picked up along Hungerford Drive, also known as Route 355. He was then driven into the nearby campus, where someone called 911, officials said. The victim was taken to a hospital but is really not being very cooperative, England said. England said the man appears to be in his early to mid 20s. Marcus Rosano, a spokesman for Montgomery College, said there had been no danger to students. Rosano said he did not know if the victim is a student at the college. Sen. Charles Schumer, at a news conference Sunday in New York, wants to require the FAA to establish seat-size standards for commercial airlines. (Julie Walker/AP) In a nation of expanding belt lines and buttocks, airline seats are bucking the trend toward bigger bottoms by shrinking in size. Nowhere is the squeeze more passionately felt than on Capitol Hill, whose elected inhabitants jet home to their districts in far-flung states on a great many weekends. We have been squeezed long enough, said Rep. Steve Cohen, a Tennessee Democrat who flies home to Memphis. Cohen says his desire to end the squeeze has little to do with his own comfort or that of the 1.7 million Americans who fly within the United States each day. He says its all about safety. [Airline passenger complaints skyrocketed last year] There will be a crash, and there will be people who will not be able to get out of an airplane, he said at a recent House hearing. His attempt to amend a bill so that the Federal Aviation Administration could study whether tighter seats and narrowing distance between rows posed a risk died in committee, but the issue was revived this week when Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he would push for FAA action in the Senate. Schumer said passengers are packed in like sardines. Theres been constant shrinkage, he said. They shouldnt be cutting inches of legroom and seat width. Its time for the FAA to step up and stop this problem from continuing. The problem of the shrinking seat has been exacerbated by the nations other problem: People are getting bigger. Almost 79 million Americans are obese, 35 percent of the population, and the number is projected to reach 50 percent by 2030. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the average weight of a woman these days is equal to that of the average man in the 1960s: 166 pounds. The average man now weighs almost 196 pounds. [Justice Dept. investigating potential airline price collusion] Seat a row of average men in economy class on a Boeing 777, and youre looking at almost 1,800 pounds. The average seat belt is about 40 inches long, and the FAA requires flight attendants to discreetly offer a 24-inch seat belt extender to passengers whose girth demands one. As people have grown, airline seats have shrunk. In the 1970s, the average cheap seat was 18 inches wide. Now its about an inch and a half less. In the old days, there was almost a yard of distance between rows in the economy section. Today its about 31 inches. People who pay more for business or first class get more room to breathe. There is enough variation among airline seats that the website TripAdvisor provides a lengthy list of what fliers can expect. For the airlines, its all about competition. They went through a lean time after 9/11 and then the recession, but after bankruptcies and consolidation they have returned to profit. They think the FAA should focus on safety issues like whether a plane could be safely evacuated in an emergency but let discerning passengers decide whether theyre comfortable. If people feel too squeezed, they contend, theyll select another airline. [Passenger who used Knee Defender is pretty ashamed.] Jonathan Grella, executive vice president of the U.S. Travel Association, says its not so easy for passengers to be so selective. Its not just limited to seat size; its limited options, Grella said. Not only are we down to basically the big four [airlines], but essentially they have carved up the country, so its not like youre getting head-to-head options to get from point A to point B. Youre going to get a seat of a certain size, and thats about it. Cohens amendment to the House FAA bill failed, in part, because other committee members said a provision already in the bill required the FAA to study whether airplane evacuation plans were adequate. But his push for a more targeted study of whether shrinking seat size and distance between rows was a risk found plenty of sympathy from his colleagues. Boarding a plane has become a battle between passengers to secure space in the overhead compartments to avoid baggage fees, said Rep. Janice Hahn (D-Calif.), who co-sponsored Cohens amendment. People are getting into fights over use of products like the Knee Defender, a gadget that actually stops the seat in front of you from being able to recline. And, said Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.), it gets worse than that in close quarters. Ive witnessed some of those fights, he said. A guy trying to squeeze into a seat and he caught a hold of a womans hair in the seat in front, and shes screaming at him because he pulled her hair and hes screaming at her. Plus, Nolan said, while safety is a paramount concern, comfort also is an issue. Weve just gotten bigger as people. Were wider, were taller, he said. I sat in a seat on my last flight [next to] a big-shouldered guy and, for crying out loud, he had his knees up around his shoulders and half his body was in my seat, and it was just unbelievably uncomfortable. Laura Murphy of Fairfax County, Va., lobbied for legislation that would require teachers to warn parents about books containing sexually explicit material, including Toni Morrisons Beloved. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post) It wasnt easy to find 22 copies of Beloved and The Bluest Eye. But a government watchdog group said lawmakers should read the novels by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison before they vote on a bill that would allow parents to block their children from reading those and other books with sexual content in school. And so Anna Scholl, executive director of left-leaning Progress Virginia, had the books delivered to the Richmond offices of 21 Republican senators and one Democrat she said probably will favor the bill. I think senators should be educated on the subject theyre voting on, she said. Supporters of the measure say it gives parents control over their childrens exposure to mature themes. Opponents say it could lead to book banning. The full Senate was scheduled to vote on the bill Monday but postponed action. If successful it would be the first law of its kind in the country, according to the American Library Association, which tracks such legislation. [In classrooms, should parents block sexually explicit literature for their kids?] The bill would require K-12 teachers to identify classroom materials with sexually explicit content and notify parents, who would have the right to opt out their children and request alternative material. Sen. David R. Suetterlein (R-Roanoke), who graduated from a Fairfax County high school in 2003, said the bill amounts to a simple syllabus requirement. There are hundreds, probably thousands of books that are assigned to students each year across the commonwealth, said Suetterlein, who voted for the bill in committee. I wont have an opportunity to read every single book thats assigned, but I think it makes sense that parents know whats assigned. Six Republicans declined the novels from Scholl, citing a no-gifts policy. They include Sen. Stephen D. Newman (R-Lynchburg), chairman of the Education and Health Committee, which advanced the legislation last week and Sen. Charles W. Carrico Sr. (R-Grayson) who has said he had not read Beloved but based his opposition on explicit excerpts he has read, which he called evil. The legislation was prompted by a Fairfax County mother who objected to her son, then a high school senior, reading Beloved in his Advanced Placement English class. She cited Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and The Road by Cormac McCarthy as other examples of books that are inappropriate for students. The proposal was among a block of uncontested bills passed unanimously by the House last month without any debate an indication that lawmakers may have been unaware of the potential for controversy. A spokesman for Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has declined to say whether he would veto it. Del. R. Steven Landes (R-Augusta), chairman of the House Education Committee, sponsored the legislation at the request of House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford). The National Council of Teachers of English and National Coalition Against Censorship oppose the bill. There were Hillary Clinton supporters and establishment Republicans who voted for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to send a message to Donald Trump. There were Muslims terrified of both the billionaire and his supporters. And there were others many others, it seemed who said they were voting for Trump because they love what he has to say. Virginias open primary Tuesday delivered an emphatic win for Clinton and a narrower victory for Trump, who beat Rubio by a smaller margin than in any other contest this year. Regardless of whom they chose, many voters seemed driven by either enthusiasm or antipathy for Trump, the billionaire business mogul and Republican front-runner who has turned this presidential election season upside down. He says what its all about. Hes tired of the politicians, said George Kurutz, 69, who came out early to vote for Trump in Prince William County, a bellwether jurisdiction, and rail about the white-collar criminals that he believes make up Congress. Theyre all running for the next election, Kurutz said. [See full Super Tuesday results] In Norfolk, Neal and Karen Crawford cast their ballots for Rubio, saying that Trump lacks the temperament for the presidency. Heaven help us if Trump wins the primary, said Neal Crawford, a 53-year-old banker. The strong feelings about Trump appear to have fueled higher turnout in Northern Virginia, particularly in the Republican primary (Virginia voters do not register by party and can request either a Democratic or a Republican ballot on primary day). Across the Washington suburbs, where Rubios strength was greatest, election officials said that more voters cast Republican ballots in Tuesdays primary than had in 2008. Dennis Arndt, 54, made it to Holy Trinity Church in Leesburg just in time to vote for Rubio, a choice he said he made because he was disgusted by other candidates rhetoric. His message started to rise above it, Arndt said. In liberal Arlington, legal secretary Madelon Bloom said she thought she could best help Clinton win the general election by casting her ballot for Trump. I voted for Hillary by voting for Trump, Bloom said outside Glebe Elementary School. I think if Trump I call him Chump gets the nomination, people will be appalled, and the Republicans wont vote in November. [Why some liberals are voting in the Republican primary today] Among Democratic voters, many were enthusiastic about Clinton, who had showered the state with attention in recent days and was declared the winner moments after the polls closed. But there were also some who spoke passionately about Bernie Sanders, her Democratic rival. Among those who cast Republican ballots, there was a strong swell of support for Rubio and to a lesser degree Ohio Gov. John Kasich. 1 of 38 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Photos: What Super Tuesday looks like around the country View Photos Voters head to the polls and cast ballots. Caption Voters headed to the polls and cast ballots. Donald Trump speaks alongside New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during a campaign press event at the Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. Amanda Rohrer, 23, a financial analyst from Arlington and self-described Republican, said that as a gay woman, the only GOP candidate she could support was Kasich. Im having a hard time finding a moderate candidate who is electable. I cant vote for Cruz or Trump. Clinton supporter Gladys Johnson of Richmond said she was excited about the potential to elect the first female president. Our country is in bad shape, said Johnson, 83. Its just time we get a lady in the White House as president. And I think shell do a marvelous job. Maria Cardona, 57, a day-care worker from Herndon who immigrated from El Salvador, said that Clinton has a good heart, adding that the Democrats have a more human feeling than the Republicans for immigrants, whether they have papers or not. But some Clinton voters approached the polls with resignation, viewing the former secretary of state and first lady as merely the best of bad options. I dont really like anybody, said Nick Mohler, 53, of Loudoun County, who said he went with Clinton because he thinks that she has a better chance than Sanders at succeeding with a Republican-dominated Congress. Im holding my nose this election. [Clinton coasts in Virginia; Trump narrowly defeats Rubio] Several Democratic voters described Sanders as a likable but unrealistic candidate. Others saw him as a breath of fresh air. His ideas are to treat the common man well. And as a common man, I like that, said Don Rawlings, 57, also a Loudoun voter. Jaime Urteaga, 41, a real estate agent from Centreville who was born in Peru, took the plunge for Sanders. He usually considers himself a Republican but said he thinks the Republicans have gone crazy. He said he understands that some Americans feel that they are losing their country but commented that Trump represents something close to fascism. More than a few Democrats who expressed a similar fear of Trump said their concerns drove them to vote on the Republican ballot. Arlington resident Casey Stahl, 26, said he will support Clinton in the general election, reluctantly, but voted for Rubio on Tuesday in hopes of blocking Trump from the Republican nomination. There are plenty of candidates Id like to oppose, but choosing one Id like to support is harder, said Stahl, who works for a defense contractor. Norfolk city employee and Clinton supporter Jessica Dennis, 28, likewise cast her ballot for Rubio believing that by doing so, she could help stop Trump. He talks a lot and says a lot of words, but frequently, I dont think he knows what hes saying. Sherri Goldman, a Clinton supporter who also lives in Norfolk, said those kind of shenanigans were foolish. One thing Ive learned in my 60 years is you cant take one vote for granted. You really cant, she said. I lived in an area where seven votes separated the candidates for mayor. Goldman was one of several Clinton voters who said they were motivated by dread of a Trump presidency a concern echoed by many of the Muslim voters who turned out in force in Northern Virginia. [Dvorak: Trumps bigotry is driving Muslims to the polls] Mohammed Khan, a 49-year-old transport-service worker from Ashburn, said he was afraid that Trump would shut down all the mosques in America if he became president. Hassan Huruse, 42, a language instructor in Herndon who immigrated from Somalia, said he was worried that Trumps negative rhetoric about Muslims and other immigrants might unleash a wave of violence if he becomes president. The radical views of a leader can have a powerful effect on people who are already angry. We have seen it in history, Huruse said. Officials at several mosques in the region, especially the All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Sterling, said they set up phone banks last weekend and have spoken at community forums urging Muslims to vote and emphasizing that even this primary contest could be decisive. People are very excited now, said Syed Ashraf, a community engagement volunteer at the mosque. This is the first time many will vote in a primary, including me. Pamela Constable, Antonio Olivo, Fenit Nirappil, Jenna Portnoy, Patricia Sullivan and Laura Vozzella contributed to this report. PENNSYLVANIA Bishops helped to hide abuse, grand jury says Two Catholic bishops who led a small Pennsylvania diocese helped cover up the sexual abuse of hundreds of children by more than 50 priests and other religious leaders over a 40-year period, according to a grand jury report that portrays the church as holding such sway over law enforcement that it helped select a police chief. The 147-page report issued Tuesday on sexual abuse in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese, home to nearly 100,000 Roman Catholics, was based partly on evidence from a secret diocesan archive opened through a search warrant over the summer. In announcing the findings, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane said the dioceses two previous bishops placed their desire to avoid public scandal over the well-being of children. No criminal charges are being filed in the case because some abusers have died, the statute of limitations has expired, or victims are too traumatized to testify, she said. The report was especially critical of Bishops James Hogan and Joseph Adamec. Hogan, who headed the diocese from 1966 to 1986, died in 2005. Adamec, who succeeded him, retired in 2011. Adamec cited possible self-incrimination in refusing to testify before the grand jury. But in a court filing, his attorney said the accusations against the 80-year-old Adamec are unfounded. He required 14 priests accused under his watch to undergo psychiatric evaluation, the filing said. Nine of them were suspended or removed from ministry, and the five who were reinstated never re-offended, his attorney wrote. The current bishop, Mark Bartchak, is not accused of any wrongdoing. Associated Press NORTH CAROLINA Fatal police shooting being investigated Authorities in North Carolina said Tuesday they have launched dual investigations after a police officer shot and killed a man during a chase near downtown Raleigh. The shooting occurred shortly before city officials on Monday were set to discuss equipping city officers with body cameras. A large crowd gathered for a vigil Monday night as questions lingered about the shooting, with little information initially available about what took place that day near Bragg and East streets. Police offered few immediate details. The shooting took place shortly after noon as an officer was chasing someone wanted on a felony drug charge, Raleigh Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown told reporters at a briefing Monday afternoon. During the chase, the officer fatally shot the man, Deck-Brown said. She also said a gun was found within close proximity of the man. On Tuesday, the State Bureau of Investigation identified the man who was killed as Akiel Rakim Lakeith Denkins, 24, of Raleigh. The bureau, which is investigating the shooting, said its agents spoke with his mother, Rolanda Byrd, on Tuesday. Earlier Tuesday, Byrd spoke at a news conference called by the NAACP and said she had not seen her sons body, adding that she was turned away when she tried to go to the medical examiners office. Mark Berman MAINE Conviction after spats with lawyers is upheld The highest court in Maine on Tuesday upheld the robbery conviction of a man who was stripped of his right to a court-appointed attorney because he could not get along with five different lawyers. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled unanimously that Joshua Nisbet waived his right to counsel through his actions, which included a threat against one of his lawyers. It also found that Nisbet forfeited his right to counsel through intentional acts that were detrimental to justice. Nisbet, who is serving a seven-year sentence, may be the first criminal defendant in Maine forced to represent himself after being stripped of his constitutional right to an attorney. Nisbet always maintained that he wanted to be represented by an attorney. But he and his lawyers could not see eye to eye on strategy and clashed repeatedly. Associated Press California school district reverses order on anti-gay stickers: A California school district has reversed course and will now ask students wearing anti-gay stickers on their identification badges to remove them pending further investigation. The Desert Sun newspaper reported that the Desert Sands Unified School District sent a letter Monday to staffers saying it will ask a dozen students wearing the symbols to remove them while at school. Administrators had previously said they could not ask students at Shadow Hills High School near Palm Springs to stop wearing the image of a small rainbow inside a circle with a line through it, citing free-speech rights. Man pleads guilty to cyberattack leading to ATM fraud: A Turkish hacker who U.S. prosecutors say masterminded a series of cyberattacks that enabled $55 million to be siphoned from automated teller machines around the world pleaded guilty Tuesday. Ercan Findikoglu, 34, pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn to five counts. His guilty pleas included computer-intrusion conspiracy for leading a scheme that resulted in stolen debit-card data being distributed and used to make fraudulent ATM withdrawals worldwide. From news services Craig Windham, who delivered the news for two decades as a correspondent and anchor of NPRs hourly newscasts, the five-minute reports that punctuate the day for millions of listeners in their cars, at their desks and with earbuds in their ears, died Feb. 28 in Winston-Salem, N.C. He was 66. His death was announced by NPR. The cause was a pulmonary embolism, said his brother, Cris Windham, whom Mr. Windham was visiting when he died. Mr. Windham joined NPR in 1995 and became a mainstay of the newscasts that air every hour at the top of the hour, and more frequently on the highly rated programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered, on 780 stations across the United States. The newscasts have a weekly audience of 24 million, according to executive producer Robert Garcia. As anchor, Mr. Windham was the steady-voiced master of ceremonies, as Garcia described the role, of broadcasts that apprised listeners of the latest major news developments around the world. He contributed to the reports as a general assignment correspondent, gathering the information, writing the scripts and mixing the sound that he wove into spots or wraps, as they are known in radio parlance. In 2014, he covered a Memorial Day ceremony at which President Obama spoke at Arlington National Cemetery. In 41 seconds, listeners heard an excerpt of the presidents address, the music of a military band and an artillery salute. The shots reverberated over the hillsides that are covered with rows of white marble headstones, Mr. Windham reported, capturing what the microphone could not pick up. Robert Craig Windham was born in Washington on June 20, 1949. He grew up in Chevy Chase, Md., and was a 1967 graduate of St. Albans School in the District. He received a bachelors degree in government in 1971 from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., before beginning his radio work. In the early years of his career, Mr. Windham was a news director at WASH-FM in Washington and a correspondent for the RKO and Unistar radio networks, covering politics, national disasters and the 1991 Persian Gulf War. At NPR, he was an occasional host and reporter for weekend All Things Considered episodes. Mr. Windham was a Rockville, Md., resident and belonged to St. Francis Episcopal Church in Potomac, Md., where he led mission trips and did other volunteer work with youths. That experience inspired him to study counseling at George Washington University, his brother said. Mr. Windham received a masters degree in the field in 1998, followed by a doctorate in 2008, and did counseling work with adolescents. He was the author of Reggie Lewis: Quiet Grace (1995), a biography of the Boston Celtics athlete who had a heart condition and died in 1993 at 27. Mr. Windhams brother was his only immediate survivor. In 2012, Mr. Windham reported on the retirement of Discovery, the NASA space shuttle that made a flight over Washington after 39 trips to space. Recording live to tape, Mr. Windham recounted the spectacle of a space shuttle riding atop a 747 along the Potomac River. He went silent as the aircraft reached its loudest roar. In what Garcia said was an ad-libbed close, Mr. Windham described the thousands of people watching, looking skyward, taking pictures, saying farewell to Discovery as it makes its final journey into history. INDIANA Order targeting Syrian refugees is blocked A federal judge in Indianapolis on Monday blocked an order from Gov. Mike Pence (R) barring state agencies from helping Syrian refugees resettle in Indiana, saying the order was discriminatory. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt comes in response to a request for a preliminary injunction from the group Exodus Refugee Immigration, which helps resettle refugees. Pratt wrote in her 36-page opinion that the governors directive clearly discriminates against Syrian refugees based on their national origin. More than two dozen states, most with Republican governors, have taken similar action to suspend Syrian resettlement programs. Pence had cited concerns following the deadly Paris terrorist attacks when issuing the order in November. He noted that a passport found near one of the suicide bombers had been registered along the route asylum seekers from Syria are taking through Europe. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the lawsuit in November on behalf of Exodus Refugee Immigration, which said at the time that it expected to settle about 19 Syrians in the coming months who had been vetted by the U.S. government. The group said Pences order would hurt aid groups by withholding reimbursements for housing and medical care made by them to assist Syrian refugees. Associated Press KANSAS Woman linked to shooting posts bond A federal magistrate judge set a $10,000 bond Monday for the woman accused of providing the guns used in last weeks mass shooting at a Kansas lawn equipment factory. Prosecutors did not seek her detention, and court records show she later posted the bond. The 28-year-old Newton, Kans., woman is charged with knowingly transferring a firearm to a convicted felon. Prosecutors say she gave Cedric Ford an AK-47-type semiautomatic rifle and a .40-caliber handgun that he used in the attack at Excel Industries in Hesston. Four people, including Ford, were killed and 14 others were injured. Hopkins told investigators that she moved out of a home she shared with Ford in July 2015. Police officers the following month helped her retrieve the firearms, which she had purchased, according court documents. Hopkins said at the time that Ford was a convicted felon who could not lawfully possess them, the documents say. She told federal investigators after Thursdays shooting rampage that she gave the guns to Ford in August because he had threatened her, according to the probable-cause affidavit filed in the case. But the government contends that Hopkins, who bought the guns in 2014, had subsequently pawned them and redeemed the rifle this month months after she said shed given the guns to Ford. Ford was the father of Hopkinss 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son, according a Harvey County paternity case. Hopkinss next hearing is set for March 9. Associated Press NEW YORK Salt warnings on menus are put on hold New York Citys enforcement of its first-in-the-nation rule mandating salt warnings on some restaurant menus has been put on hold the day before it was to go into effect. An appellate judge issued a temporary stay Monday. The National Restaurant Association asked for the stay last week after another judge ruled that starting Tuesday, the city could levy fines of up to $600 against restaurants that did not comply with the labeling rule. The rule, enacted in December, calls for chain restaurants and fast-food places with more than 15 outlets nationwide to put triangle icons with salt-shaker images on menus next to items that exceed the recommended daily limit of sodium. Thats 2,300 milligrams, about a teaspoon. High salt intake can increase health risks, including high blood pressure and heart disease. A judge had ruled last week against the restaurant associations challenge of the rule. The association is appealing and filed for the stay of enforcement while the appeal is underway. Associated Press Guard jailed for prison smuggling A guard who unwittingly helped two killers escape from a northern New York prison by smuggling in pliers, a screwdriver and a hacksaw blade hidden in hamburger meat was sentenced Monday to six months in jail. Gene Palmer, 57, is the third person to be sentenced in the escape of Richard Matt and David Sweat, who cut their way out of the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora on June 6. A three-week manhunt ended with Matt killed and Sweat captured. Palmer pleaded guilty to a felony count of promoting prison contraband for bringing in needle-nose pliers and a screwdriver, a misdemeanor contraband count for the hamburger meat and a misdemeanor official misconduct count. A judge sentenced him to six months in jail and about $5,000 in fines. Palmer had previously admitted to supplying Sweat with needle-nose pliers and a screwdriver. Just before the escape, Palmer delivered to Matt a pound of frozen ground beef in a package left by fellow prison worker Joyce Mitchell. Mitchell is serving 21/ 3 to seven years in prison for helping the pair escape. Associated Press FLORIDA Students charged with spiking teachers soda Three 12-year-old girls in Florida are facing charges after they allegedly poured red pepper into a middle school teachers soft drink. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported that the girls were arrested Friday night. Volusia County sheriffs spokesman Gary Davidson said one of the girls was angry because teacher Jayne Morgan had disciplined her last Monday. The next day, she brought the crushed red pepper from home and grabbed Morgans open can of soda. Davidson said a second girl poured the pepper into the can while the third girl distracted Morgan. When Morgan took a drink, she began choking and experienced shortness of breath. She discovered the pepper flakes when she poured the soda into a clear cup. The girls are charged with tampering with a consumer product and poisoning. Associated Press South Texas's only abortion clinic, located in the border town of McAllen, has become a battleground for abortion activists on both sides. (Whitney Leaming/The Washington Post) South Texas's only abortion clinic, located in the border town of McAllen, has become a battleground for abortion activists on both sides. (Whitney Leaming/The Washington Post) The young woman lay on the exam table, waiting for her abortion. She expected pain. Tears. The grip of regret. But the dimly lit room smelled of lavender, and the nurse was asking about the butterfly tattoo on her right wrist. Its beautiful, the nurse said. Whats it mean? Its for my daughter, the woman replied. My butterfly. She was 28, a single mother of three, her youngest 10 months old. She lived with her parents and was studying to become a medical assistant. She could not afford this procedure; her Catholic grandmother had slipped her the $440. She didnt want to bring another child into poverty just as she was climbing out. That was how she wound up at Whole Womans Health of McAllen, an abortion clinic in this border town that opened as a physicians practice in 1971, two years before the Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide. Thousands of women had undergone the procedure in the brick shoe box of a building, the setting for about 60 abortions a week. 1 of 14 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad A Texas abortion clinic girds for battle before the Supreme Court View Photos The owner of the McAllen, Tex., provider challenges the states restrictive rules. Caption The owner of the McAllen, Tex., provider challenges the states restrictive rules. Feb. 27, 2016 Antiabortion demonstrators, who declined to give their names, pray outside Whole Womans Health of McAllen. The Texas clinics owner is challenging a state law that set requirements that the clinic cannot meet. Ilana Panich-Linsman/For The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. Both the clinic and the political landscape have changed radically since those early years. Most recently, a Texas law imposed strict new requirements that the clinic could not meet. So the owner filed suit, arguing the law illegally restricts womens right to an abortion. The case will be argued Wednesday before the U.S. Supreme Court, the most consequential abortion case to come before the court in a generation. The debate over abortion often involves sweeping abstractions. But what happens inside this clinic and just beyond its walls illustrates how abortion is lived in America, 43 years after Roe v. Wade. On one side are the clinics dedicated supporters, including its current owner, who are deeply engaged in an intensifying battle to push back against state restrictions. On the other are the protesters, the fiercest critics of abortion, who have flocked to this clinic as its profile has risen and other facilities around the state have been forced to close. One of few providers Opened by an Argentine immigrant, Peter Kowalyszyn, the clinic has long provided a range of family planning and health services for women in the rural Rio Grande Valley. At first, even some of Kowalyszyns closest colleagues did not know he also performed abortions. Over time, however, word got out, and the clinic began attracting protesters. Juan Campos, a family doctor with an office next door, stopped speaking to Kowalyszyn. He lobbied town officials to shut the clinic down. We dont let prostitution go around. Why are we allowing an abortion clinic? Campos said. But the city was afraid of lawsuits, so they didnt do anything. Kowalyszyn had seen patients with complications from illegal abortions, and he wanted women in this predominantly Hispanic city to have safer options. Eventually he came to focus primarily on birth control and abortion. In 1999, he changed the clinics name to Motherhood Choice. That year, Kowalyszyns wife, Ines, became general manager. With her husband aging, she sought a successor, eventually finding Amy Hagstrom Miller, a veteran abortion clinic administrator who had purchased an Austin clinic to keep it from going out of business. Miller, who owns eight clinics across the country as part of her company, Whole Womans Health, bought the McAllen clinic in 2004, out of concern, she said, that its closure would create a void for its clientele, many of whom lacked health insurance. Today, Miller said, patients come from across South Texas, as well as Mexico, many paying the $440 the clinic charges for the procedure out of pocket. Miller brought a modern sensibility to the clinic, updating equipment and putting a greater emphasis on counseling. She also inscribed the walls with quotes from famous women. Around that time, state officials in Austin began stepping up standards and inspections at abortion clinics. During the summer of 2011, Miller said, her Texas clinics were the subject of 13 unannounced state health inspections. In 2013, Texas passed a law that required abortion clinics to meet hospital-like standards and required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Antiabortion groups say the new regulations are critical to protecting womens health. Texas clinics went years without proper inspections or regulations, they say, leaving the door open to criminals such as Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortion doctor now serving a life sentence for killing babies born alive during late-term abortions. Abortion rights groups counter that the law has shuttered about half the states 40 abortion clinics and could force the closure of eight or nine more. The McAllen clinic was among the first to close. But it reopened a year later, after a federal judge granted it a temporary injunction as the only abortion clinic serving the Rio Grande Valley. Whether that reprieve continues depends on the Supreme Courts decision in Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt. The McAllen clinic does not meet either of the laws new standards. Antiabortion groups say that is a good reason to shut it down. We dont want any abortion facility to stay open that doesnt meet standards that are typical for any other procedure, said Melissa Conway, spokeswoman for Texas Right to Life. Why should women in those areas be penalized and subjected to a lack of good care? Andrea Ferrigno, corporate vice president of Whole Womans Health and a niece of the clinics original owners, acknowledged that the two doctors who perform abortions at the clinic do not have local admitting privileges. But, she said, that is because one drives 500 miles from Dallas and the other flies 350 miles from Houston, and hospitals in McAllen wont accept their applications. She argued that admitting privileges are unnecessary because hospitals would admit any patient in an emergency. Ferrigno started working at the clinics front desk when she was 19 and has seen the tone change among the antiabortion protesters who have long gathered on the downtown streets outside the clinic. She remembers a group of four who used to meet every Wednesday to silently pray the rosary. Today, dozens of louder protesters typically gather outside the clinic, forcing Whole Womans Health to erect a wooden fence patrolled by a security guard and two pink-vested escorts who guide the patients. An uneasy peace On a recent Friday, Yolanda Chapa, 73, was among the protesters. She watched two young women park in a church-owned lot next to the clinic. She walked up to the car and offered them directions to a nearby Crisis Pregnancy Center that encourages women to consider adoption. The clinics security guard snatched her fliers, she said, but I was able to throw one into the car window. Then she called police. Chapa has come here nearly every morning for eight years to practice what she calls her sidewalk ministry. She views abortion as murder and her vigil as a bid to save lives. Kristeena Banda, the clinics director, views Chapa as trespasser, which is exactly what she said when Officer Daniel Rodriguez showed up. Chapa stops right in the middle as someones trying to come in, and she does this staring game with the car, Banda said. Rodriguez tried to broker an uneasy peace. Its a very hot topic, he told Banda. Just make sure you guys stay on your property, and Im going to tell them to stay off your property. The next morning, 10 men stood in a circle, heads bowed, praying in Spanish. They call themselves the Caballeros De San Miguel, or the gentlemen of Saint Michael. They usually bring a basket of tiny plastic babies. Carlos Sanchez, 46, an X-ray technician, said he prays for the women and talks to them about Gods plan. There are other options. You never have to kill a baby, he said. Sanchez said he also works to educate men. This isnt all on women, he said. Men need to know if you do this, this will happen. You need to take responsibility. Inside the clinic, on the exam table, the young mother of three who requested anonymity because the sensitivity of the issue struggled to relax. The hurdles the state of Texas has placed in the path of any woman seeking an abortion nearly deterred her. Texas requires a 24-hour waiting period, so the woman scrambled to find two full days of child care one for the consultation, and one for the abortion. Other rules compelled her to view a sonogram of her 8-week-old embryo, which she worried would change her mind. She also was required to talk to a counselor who asked twice whether she was sure she wanted an abortion. Yes, she said both times. A shot of mild sedatives relaxed her. So did the classical music playing softly on the clinics sound system. Im going to try to enjoy it, she told the nurse. Enjoy it, girl. Enjoy it. Have you ever had a pap smear? asked a doctor in maroon scrubs. Yes, the woman said. It starts the same way. She fixed her eyes on the ceiling. She relaxed her feet in the stirrups. She thought of her 10-year-old daughter, who was in Dallas for a cheerleading competition. Her other children, a 5-year-old boy and a 10-month-old girl, were with a babysitter, probably watching Bobs Burgers. Relax, the doctor said. Do the best you can. The woman focused on her breathing. She heard a machine switch on. The clinic counselor had asked her if anyone a boyfriend, perhaps had pushed her into this decision. The woman said no. He wanted her to have the baby. But theyd been fighting long before that talk, and she knew she didnt want to raise another child without a father. Youre not judging me? she had asked the counselor. Who are we to pass judgment on you? the counselor had said. There are lots of reasons to do what you do. After five minutes, the machine switched off. The abortion was done. She thanked the doctor, got dressed and went to meet her boyfriend, who was waiting outside. BEFORE THE Supreme Court on Wednesday, Texas is set to argue that new regulations on abortion clinics in the state are designed to protect patient health. The justices should see through that pretext. Texass restrictions are an assault on abortion access dressed up as concern for pregnant women. Previous court rulings barred laws that place an undue burden on women seeking abortions. If this precedent has practical meaning, it should rule out what Texas is trying to do. In 2013, Texas imposed several rules on abortion providers. Licensed facilities would have to meet the same standards that ambulatory surgical centers do, and they would have to be staffed by doctors with admitting privileges at local hospitals. Neither rule sounds outrageous, but both are disproportionate to the small risks associated with abortion procedures. The data show that routine abortions particularly those performed before 16 weeks, which are at issue in this case are quick and safe, more so than other minor procedures that occur in officelike settings all the time, such as colonoscopies. Yet the state would require abortion providers to substantially rebuild their facilities to do things such as widen hallways and meet minimum square footage requirements, which would ramp up costs and close a large number of Texas abortion clinics. The proof that the rules are outrageous is that the restrictions apply even when abortion doctors do nothing more than hand women pills to take at home. The state responds that there is enough debate about the medical value of its regulations that the courts should steer clear of attempting to substitute its judgment about them for the legislatures. Then how about taking the judgment of medical experts? The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association declared in a brief last year that Texass requirements are contrary to accepted medical practice and are not based on scientific evidence. They fail to enhance the quality or safety of abortion-related medical care and, in fact, impede womens access to such care by imposing unjustified and medically unnecessary burdens on abortion providers. Texas also argues that the burdens would not be as severe as abortion providers insist, and they argue that abortion providers have not shown that likely consequences such as appointment wait times skyrocketing, more abortions happening later in pregnancy and more illegal abortions would occur. In fact, there would be a wave of clinic closures; it is hardly reassuring if, as the state maintains, most Texas women will live within 150 miles of an open abortion clinic. In 1992 in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court ruled that the state may not impose unnecessary health regulations that present a substantial obstacle to a woman seeking an abortion. It is hard to see how the court can take those words seriously and side with Texas this time around. A young Syrian woman and other migrants at the metal fence separating Macedonia and Greece on Feb. 28. More than 5,500 refugees and migrants were reportedly stuck at the border. (Petros Giannakouris/Associated Press) It is hard to watch the desperate, dignified families huddling around the phone-charging stations in the government shelter in this Balkan village as the clownish spectacle of a presidential campaign unfolds at home. Foot soldiers of misery, they tumble out of buses and their first request is not for water, food or diapers. They have been on the move for weeks, in some cases months, and they need to connect with relatives theyve left behind and may never see again, with comrades who can relay rumors on the dangers of the road ahead. They are escaping the wreckage of entire countries. A million have washed into Europe in the past year, and another million are on the threshold. The continents leaders see the mass migration as their starkest test since World War II. Far-right xenophobic parties are on the rise. Longtime commitments to free speech, tolerance and open borders are eroding. Many of the leaders despair at the absence of U.S. leadership and the rise of Russian meddling. Whatever your politics, you cannot fail to grasp that the problems are deadly serious, and any remedies complex and elusive. Meanwhile, the Republican presidential debates unfold like some grotesque game of playground taunting, with real problems, to the extent they are discussed at all, presented as amenable to easy solution. Donald Trump vows to knock out ISIS. His strategy? We will, believe me. We will. I tagged along to Adasevci with a congressional delegation led by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). The Serbian government was eager to show it is handling the migrants humanely. And it is for the moment. Migrants enter Serbia from Macedonia to the south, having walked, driven and sailed hundreds upon hundreds of miles. They ride an all-day bus northwest to this roadside motel converted into a shelter. Eventually they board a train nearby for Croatia and, they hope, points north. But as prosperous countries to the north grow less welcoming, the peaceful progression across borders will begin collapsing in on itself, like passenger cars on a crashing train. Sweden lowered the gate first, followed by Austria. Germany cannot be far behind. The basic question is, which country turns into a parking lot for refugees? Ivan Krastev, the head of a Bulgarian think tank, told the New York Times. Sensing Europes intended answer, the prime minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, vowed, We will not accept turning the country into a permanent warehouse of souls. As long as the Islamic State is rampaging, the Taliban is gaining ground, civil wars are consuming Iraq and Syria and Libya and Yemen, refugees will flow. Serbia cant fix the problems. The United States cant either, alone, but without U.S. leadership, they will metastasize. The American taste for quick and easy solutions didnt begin with this campaign cycle. President George W. Bush tried to divide the world into good and evil, with us or against us, and the world did not fall into line. President Obama acted as though pulling back from the arc of conflict would end the conflict. The tide of war is receding, he proclaimed as he announced the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq. Again the world failed to cooperate. Now Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz assures Americans that we can carpet-bomb the Islamic State into oblivion, while Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders promises to outsource the heavy lifting to a mythical coalition of Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia (deadly enemies, but never mind). In fact, there are no answers without patient, determined U.S. commitment, diplomatic and economic and military, through international institutions when possible and around them when necessary. Such efforts will succeed sometimes and fail sometimes, at which point the only option will be to regroup and try again. None of which makes for appetizing sound bites. In Adasevci, a 25-year-old woman told me she had walked across much of Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey with her husband, their 4-year-old daughter and other relatives. When I asked why she had left, she mimed the drawing of a veil across her face. The Taliban came back, she said through a translator. There is war, no food, no school. She said she hoped to go to Germany. We have heard there is a good life there, well-organized, no war, she said. But already she misses her homeland. When the war finishes, we would like to go back, she said. Read more from Fred Hiatts archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. Despite what youve heard, Americans dont want politicians who tell it like it is. We want politicians who tell it like it isnt. This election cycle, politicians promises have gotten bigger, bolder and less tethered to reality than those of previous presidential races. Voters appear to want candidates who will deliver nothing short of their wildest partisan dreams (and delusions), alongside the unconditional silence and submission of their ideological adversaries. If presidential candidates once promised the sun, moon and stars, this time around theyre promising multiple galaxies, plus the turtles all the way down. Candidates on both the left and right have pledged complete overhauls on nearly every issue voters care about (and some they dont). That includes health care, reproductive rights, the social safety net, immigration, the Constitution, even basic arithmetic. Donald Trump, whose most attractive quality is supposedly his unfiltered frankness, has built his campaign around the preposterous promise that Mexico will pay for a big, beautiful wall on the southern U.S. border, despite all evidence to the contrary including both common sense and loud, unequivocal refusals from Mexican leaders themselves. He also promises that he can get government to swiftly, cheaply and humanely round up and deport 11 million people living in the shadows. And his base which has, until now, long believed in government incompetence and inefficacy above almost any other political principle willingly suspends disbelief. Bernie Sanders likewise promises his base a single-payer Medicare for all health-care plan, despite the fact that Congress has voted more than 60 times to repeal the (comparatively modest) Affordable Care Act. How would either actually get their ambitious plans through? Why, political revolution and magical underpants gnomes, of course. On some issues, the candidates plans are quantifiably more grandiose than those of their predecessors. Take for example their tax proposals. Sure, huge tax cuts have been a staple of Republican presidential candidates for at least the past two decades. One (George W. Bush) even enacted those cuts. But the scale of the cuts that Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio propose would be unprecedented, according to calculations from Len Burman, director of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. Measured as a share of the economy, the three biggest tax cuts of the past six decades were enacted by Bush, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Of those, the largest was Reagans suite of tax changes, which cumulatively led to a revenue loss equaling 2.1 percent of gross domestic product. By contrast, over the next decade, Rubio would cut taxes by an estimated 2.6 percent of GDP, Cruz by 3.6 percent and Donald Trump by 4.0 percent. Bernie Sanders regularly calls for a "political revolution" in America, but what does that mean? (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) In other words, candidates are promising to out-Reagan Reagan. Perhaps, you might muse, politicians just propose especially fantastical cuts while theyre on the campaign trail. But by my own calculations, todays candidates are promising cuts that are also far larger than what was proposed by Mitt Romney in 2012, John McCain in 2008, Bush in 2000 and Bob Dole in 1996. The story on the left is not so different. Sanders would raise taxes by about 5.9 percent of GDP, based on revenue estimates from the business-backed Tax Foundation. This, too, is multiples higher than any tax increase enacted in the postwar era. The largest single tax overhaul of all time just like the largest deportation of all time, or the largest health-care reform initiative, or the most ambitious constitutional revisions seems especially improbable over the next four years, regardless of who secures the White House. We are already seeing unprecedented levels of obstructionism, gridlock and allergy to compromise. In 2015, the Senate confirmed the fewest civilian nominations including federal judges, ambassadors, regulatory officials and executive branch appointees for the first session of a Congress in three decades, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report. The Senate Banking Committee has not voted a single nominee out of its committee this session, the first time thats happened in at least 50 years. And yet some presidential candidates now promise theyll be even less cooperative, and concede even less territory to the other side, in the service of delivering the grand delusions theyve pledged their voters. Quoth Cruz on Meet the Press: This is how weve gotten in the mess were in now, is Republicans who cut deals with Democrats. In todays political climate, pragmatism and cooperation appear toxic; big, beautiful, uncompromising promises score votes. Of course, big, beautiful uncompromising promises are also impossible to keep. So what happens come 2017 when voters get disillusioned by another round of broken vows? What fantasies will an ever-angrier electorate have to be promised then? AT LEAST 14 police officers have been killed in the line of duty across the United States this year. Officer Ashley M. Guindon , of the Prince William County Police Department, who died Saturday, was the latest. All those deaths are tragedies for their departments, their communities, and their families and friends. Officer Guindon, 28, died just a day after shed been sworn in as a brand-new officer. She was the first female officer to be killed on the job this year, and without a doubt the least experienced; the other 13 had an average of more than 16 years in uniform. But no amount of experience would have immunized Officer Guindon from the gunfire that struck her down late Saturday, when she responded to a domestic-disturbance call along with two veteran officers. All three were shot as they approached or tried to gain entrance to a single-family house in Woodbridge. The alleged gunman, Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Williams Hamilton, who works at the Pentagon, apparently opened fire without warning and at close range. Inside the house, his wife, Crystal Hamilton, had already been shot to death, police said. The other two officers who were injured Jesse Hempen, 31, and David McKeown, 33 had been on the force for eight and 10 years, respectively. In all likelihood, they had responded to many such domestic calls. As police officers do everywhere, they had risked danger again and again in the course of their daily duties. They had come away unscathed, until Saturday. Many Americans have been demanding more accountability from law enforcement, especially since the shooting death of a young black man in Ferguson, Mo., in August 2014. They are well within their rights to do so, and police departments nationwide would do well to heed those demands. Americans would also do well to bear in mind the array of perils that officers manage and confront regularly and with professional competence and personal courage so much of the time. Counties, cities and neighborhoods rely on police for that expertise and proficiency, and rarely remark on it. It is an assumed necessity, a sine qua non of a civilized society. We take men and women in uniform, as well as the hazards they encounter, as givens. Thats a mistake, as Officer Guindons unwarranted death reminds us. Police and other law enforcement officers take an oath to serve and protect; implicit in that is that they willingly take risks, and often enormous ones, that the rest of us would be loath to face. Officer Guindon was young, eager, ambitious, passionate about police work, admired as a professors dream by one who taught her in college. The people in Prince William, as all of us, are poorer for her loss, and indebted to her and others who serve and protect. It is the great, democratic virtue of presidential campaigns that they subject candidates to every kind of stress, eventually revealing their core, their character. For Donald Trump, the test has been political success. After leading the Republican field for six months, and in some quarters receiving adulation nearly equal to his self-regard, how has Trump responded? Has he been sobered? Have his rhetoric and temperament matured? No. Decidedly, no. The realistic prospect of executive power has only increased Trumps swagger. He has threatened a Republican donor who opposes him. I hear the [Ricketts] family, he tweeted, who own the Chicago Cubs, are secretly spending $s against me. They better be careful, they have a lot to hide! Trump has threatened the media, promising to open up our libel laws so he can more easily sue outlets that differ in their view of the truth about him. I think the media is among the most dishonest groups of people that Ive ever met. Theyre terrible. he said recently. Referring specifically to The Post, he added: If I become president, oh, do they have problems. Theyre going to have such problems. Trump has attempted to smear and intimidate a district judge, Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over a lawsuit for fraud against Trump University, with its distinguished faculty of cardboard cutouts and allegedly bankrupt real estate investors. Trump accuses Curiel of hostility against him because Im very, very strong on the border. Another shrill pipe of the ethnic dog whistle. This is more than a personality disorder talking. Trump roots his intimidation in a worldview the need for the strong hand. It is the most consistent commitment of Trumpism. As early as 1990, Trump criticized Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for not having a firm enough hand. He cited Chinas butchers of Tiananmen Square as examples of his conception of power: They were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength. Our country is right now perceived as weak . . . as being spit on by the rest of the world. Following allegations last year that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had killed several high-profile journalists, Trump responded, Hes running his country and at least hes a leader, unlike what we have in this country. And Trumps supporters seem to welcome this aspect of his appeal. According to a Vox analysis of the South Carolina Republican primary vote, the best statistical predictor of Trump support is an inclination toward authoritarianism a belief in the need for aggressive leaders and policies. So Trump, if he wins the nomination and the presidency, will feel a mandate for his menace. There is a moment in the 1957 movie A Face in the Crowd when a TV personality turned power-mad sociopath, Larry Lonesome Rhodes, says, Im not just an entertainer. Im an influence, a wielder of opinion, a force . . . a force! On the evidence, Trump is reaching that point of intoxication. We have seen the lengths to which Trump will go to threaten and intimidate his enemies, armed mainly with social media. It seems reckless beyond reason reckless with the republic itself to arm him with the immense power of the executive branch. Consider the inherently threatening quality of the words Trumps military or Trumps FBI or Trumps IRS. The grant of vast influence to a leader of such vindictive temperament is utterly frightening. In a certain way, Trump may be excused for his adolescent view of strength the power of the tantrum, of the crude put-down, of the dirty trick. Trump has no evident knowledge of American history or of a conservative ideology. He lives only in the vivid present of his wants and needs. He is squandering an inheritance he does not value, that he does not even understand. But what excuse can be made for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie? His endorsement of Trump was evidently made out of pique and ambition. It is humiliating for the governor of a great state to make himself the subordinate of the junior partner to a cut-rate Mussolini. Christie has, in the past, shown leadership on entitlement reform and the fair treatment of Muslims. Now his enduring reputation will be a willingness to swallow any foolishness, any prejudice, to serve the cause of Christie. Trumps conception of leadership is to become large by making others small. In a reality television star, this is a job qualification. In a president, it would raise the prospect of serious damage to our democratic system. Read more from Michael Gersons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook . SOME READERS ask how Donald Trump can be a threat to democracy if he is putting himself forward as a candidate. If he ends up attracting a majority of American voters, what could be more democratic? First, you dont have to go back to historys most famous example, Adolf Hitler, to understand that authoritarian rulers can achieve power through the ballot box. In the world today, it has become almost commonplace for elected leaders to lock the door behind them once they achieve power. Vladimir Putin in Russia, Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Yoweri Museveni in Uganda, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey all found ways once in power to restrict opposition, muzzle the media and erode checks and balances. Mr. Trump gives ample reason to fear that he would not respect traditional limits on executive authority. He promotes actions that would be illegal, such as torture. He intimates that he would use government to attack those who displease him. They better be careful, they have a lot to hide, he said last week of a wealthy Chicago family that had donated to a super PAC that opposes him. He promises diktats impose a tariff, build a wall as if Congress is nothing but an inconvenience. His vow to round up and deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, while perhaps not requiring congressional action, would necessitate a kind of intrusive police power this country has never seen. As Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said before flip-flopping on the idea last week, such a roundup would require jackboots to knock on your door and every door in America. Early in his campaign, conventional wisdom held that Mr. Trump could never win the Republican nomination. Now many experts assure us that he could never win a general election. Even if he did win, are not American institutions too resilient, and our system of checks and balances too deeply rooted, to be threatened by a populist demagogue like Mr. Trump? We hope so. But even Mr. Trumps campaign is an assault on democratic values. Politics is never free of rough-and-tumble accusations, wild exaggerations and unrealistic promises. But when Mr. Trump cheers the assault on one protester at his rally and says of another, Id like to punch him in the face, that is something new and different. It is out of the ordinary when a candidate recycles demonstrably false Internet rumors that thousands of American Muslims celebrated the attacks of 9/11, for example and stands by them even when they are disproved. That he has difficulty repudiating the most odious white terrorist group in U.S. history; that he feels no need to explain, debate or defend his pie-in-the-sky proposals; that he degrades and disparages women, Mexicans, Jews, Muslims, people with disabilities these are challenges to the core functioning of any democracy. We would ask Mr. Trumps would-be supporters to think carefully about where he is leading the nation before they vote in the primaries in Virginia and 11 other states Tuesday. There is nothing intrinsically racist in worrying that undocumented immigrants are taking jobs from U.S. citizens. It is not hateful to wonder whether terrorists might smuggle themselves into this country disguised as Syrian refugees. Plenty of patriotic Americans are concerned about the countrys direction and are disgusted by phony, consultant-driven politicians. But Mr. Trump is pandering to those fears, not offering solutions. In so doing, he is insulting voters with genuine concerns. We continue to believe that Americans deserve better than that and are better than that. Regarding the Feb. 26 op-ed A bargain with Israel on settlements: I can understand the thesis behind Dennis Ross and David Makovskys op-ed, since they have been very much involved in trying to achieve peace between the Israelis and Palestinians for many years. However, I think that the conflict is not amenable to resolution at this time and trying to push a settlement may be counterproductive. The issue is not settlements. If it were, the withdrawal from Gaza would have demonstrated that. The issue, plain and simple, is that the Palestinians are opposed to a Jewish state within any borders, whether the pre-1967 lines with swaps or otherwise. We would like to believe that the Palestinians want the same things we do, but the reality is that Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and others have claimed one thing for Western consumption and said another in Arabic. Although the authors would have you believe that the responsibility is on Israel to do something, the truth is that the Palestinians must accept the end of the conflict, including recognition of Israel as a Jewish state (within borders that are secure and respected). I realize that the world wants to see an end to the conflict. And it will once the Palestinians stop demonizing Israel and murdering its people and accept the reality of the situation. Sheldon Dan, Memphis Authors Dennis Ross and David Makovsky propose a diplomatic initiative that involves the United States giving de facto acceptance of large settlement blocs in the West Bank and defending Israel from criticism of the settlements at the United Nations. But why it is a bargain for the United States to condone or defend the nearly 50-year-old military occupation of the West Bank by Israel is never specified. The United States rightly put the era of Jim Crow behind us, so why should it defend Israels policies on the West Bank, where Palestinians live under a separate set of laws from the Israeli settlers because of their ethnicity and religion and have no guarantee of basic civil rights? It is no bargain for the United States to subsidize and defend a system of segregation so antithetical to our own values. William F. Simonds, Potomac I agree the Israeli-Palestinian problem is not going away. Israels policies of military occupation and continued settlement expansion are huge obstacles to peace. The United States tried to help broker a solution and failed. Dennis Ross and David Makovsky suggested the Obama administration might offer Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu incentives to make peace, including a presidential promise to veto any resolution perceived to be anti-Israel in the U.N. Security Council. This is not only vague but also highly offensive. We are nobodys puppet regime. Such a scheme attempts to control the narrative, shut down the conversation and insulate Israel from the consequences of its actions. It is up to Israel to change its own policies of occupation and settlement expansion in other words, stop digging the hole. Elisabeth Eveleigh, McLean At a time when the Senate is refusing to even consider a Supreme Court nominee, President Obama is pressing forward with another plan that faces roadblocks in Congress: closing the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Obamas proposal to shutter the facility, announced last week, is a timely reminder of the grave issues at stake in 2016. Guantanamo is a monument to the worst abuses the George W. Bush administration committed in the name of safety and the war on terror. Its continued existence beyond the boundaries of the law makes a mockery of American values and weakens our standing in the world. This is about closing a chapter in our history, Obama said. It reflects the lessons that weve learned since 9/11 lessons that need to guide our nation moving forward. Leading Republicans, however, answered the presidents call with a predictable chorus of condemnation. The partys obstructionist in chief, Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), warned that Guantanamos closure would result in bringing dangerous terrorists to facilities in U.S. communities. Likely presidential nominee Donald Trump responded with typical bluster, promising to keep the prison open and load it up with some bad dudes. At the same time, some civil liberties advocates voiced frustration with Obamas latest effort. In a statement, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a longtime supporter of closing Guantanamo, bluntly stated: President Obamas proposed plan is too little, too late. CCR also argues that the centerpiece of the plan, moving detainees who have not been charged and never will be charged with any crime to a U.S. prison, does not close Guantanamo; it merely relocates it to a new Zip code. The infamy of Guantanamo has never been just its location, but rather its immoral and illegal regime of indefinite detention. The president should be commended for reviving the issue of Guantanamo, which has loomed over his presidency since he vowed to shut it down during his first week in office. But its also important to recognize, as CCR and other civil liberties and human rights groups remind us, that the protracted battle over Guantanamos fate has always been about more than the prison itself. Its also about the use of torture. In September 2002, The Post reported on the secret CIA interrogation center at Bagram air base in Afghanistan, where detainees were sometimes subject to what are known as stress and duress techniques. In March 2003, the Wall Street Journal interviewed an unnamed U.S. intelligence official who revealed that interrogators at Bagram and Guantanamo Bay were authorized to use a little bit of smacky-face when questioning terror suspects, explaining, Some al Qaeda just need some extra encouragement. But the CIA, we now know, did much worse. Interrogators employed a variety of brutal torture techniques, including waterboarding, sleep deprivation, mock executions and rectal rehydration. To justify its torture program, the CIA lied to Congress about its effectiveness. And when the Senate Intelligence Committee, then led by Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), long considered one of the CIAs most faithful supporters, threatened to expose the truth in a comprehensive report, the agency obstructed the release of the committees findings and even spied on staffers computers. The committees full 6,000-page report remains classified. But the executive summary, released in December 2014, stated its top finding in no uncertain terms: The CIAs use of its enhanced interrogation techniques was not an effective means of acquiring intelligence or gaining cooperation from detainees. The reports gruesome details were also a sobering reminder that, in addition to being ineffective, torture is an immoral affront to our core values. More than a year after the reports findings were released, the United States has failed to grapple with its grave implications. Today, copies of the full report sit untouched in vaults across Washington. The Intelligence Committee is now chaired by Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who called the report a footnote in history. Rivals for the Republican nomination seek to out-tough one another by signaling their intention to bring torture back. If we capture any of these ISIS killers alive, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has said, they are going to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and were going to find out everything they know. More explicitly, Trump has boasted that he would absolutely authorize something beyond waterboarding, while insisting wrongly that torture works. And as in the lead-up to the Iraq War, much of the media has contributed to the deception by failing to tell the American people the truth. Despite conclusive evidence that we tortured, journalists still rely on euphemistic phrases such as enhanced interrogation techniques. Despite conclusive evidence that torture did not work, torture apologists such as Dick Cheney still receive airtime. And despite conclusive evidence of the CIAs stonewalling and subversion, criticism of the agency such as Sen. Bernie Sanderss (I-Vt.) decades-old statement that it is a dangerous institution is still treated as ridiculous. In 2009, Obama justified his decision not to prosecute those responsible for torture during the Bush administration by saying that we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards. Closing Guantanamo is a moral imperative, but in order to close the ugly chapter it represents, its time for the United States to take a cold-eyed look at our recent past. The Obama administration should release the full Intelligence Committee report and appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the torture program. Congress should outlaw CIA prisons and ban the practice of indefinite detention without trial. And the media should recognize once and for all that torture is not a matter of serious debate: It is a war crime. Read more from Katrina vanden Heuvels archive or follow her on Twitter. The Fix's Aaron Blake sets up the stakes for Republican and Democratic presidential candidates on Super Tuesday. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) The Fix's Aaron Blake sets up the stakes for Republican and Democratic presidential candidates on Super Tuesday. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) The Republican presidential hopefuls darted throughout the South and New England on Monday on a frantic sprint before a fateful Super Tuesday, when voting in nearly a dozen states could help determine if anyone has a chance to stop Donald Trump as the runaway leader for the nomination. Ahead of the single biggest delegate haul yet, Ted Cruz pleaded with voters in his home state of Texas for their support banking on a primary victory here Tuesday to give him bragging rights and to jump-start his sputtering candidacy. Marco Rubio, meanwhile, sought to unite the GOPs anti-Trump forces under his own banner as he addressed swelling crowds in suburban areas. Both visibly fatigued from weeks of breakneck travel, Cruz and Rubio campaigned Monday as if they were cramming for an exam. The senators volleyed stinging character attacks at Trump, one after another, in a desperate move to halt the billionaire moguls momentum. But if the polls and roaring crowds that greeted Trump in Virginia and Georgia on Monday were any indication, he is steamrolling toward a triumphant showing Tuesday. Primaries or caucuses will take place in 11 states seven across the South, as well as Alaska, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Vermont and the only one Trump is not expected to win is Texas, where Cruz appears to be the favorite. [Spray tans, pants-wetting and little hands: The GOP race heads to the gutter] Cruz, who campaigned with Gov. Greg Abbott and former governor Rick Perry, laced into Trump at a fired-up afternoon rally in San Antonio, accusing him of lying to the voters by purportedly saying one thing about immigration behind closed doors and another in public, and tore into him over his real estate companys hiring of foreign workers. You dont get to abuse our immigration laws and take advantage of American workers, and suddenly call yourself a champion of working men and women, Cruz said. He added later: If you dont want to see Donald Trump as the nominee, if you dont want to see Hillary Clinton as the next president, then stand with us, tomorrow, on Super Tuesday. Rubio tried to deliver a similar message, but his voice was hoarse after several days of heavy campaigning. I will continue to speak out until I literally have no voice left, the senator from Florida told a rally of business people and other well-heeled Republicans in the ballroom of an upscale hotel in the Buckhead district of Atlanta. On this day, he relied on South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to deliver some of the caustic lines about Trump that have become Rubios stump staples recently. Chants of Marco! Marco! filled the ballroom as Haley, a favorite of the Republican establishment, took rhetorical uppercuts at the candidate viewed by party leaders as an uncouth cancer on conservatism. She compared Trump to an angry schoolyard bully. She ticked through his failed businesses, from Trump Vodka to Trump Mortgage. And she likened Trump to the Ku Klux Klan protesters who camped outside her office as she pushed to remove the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina Capitol grounds. We saw and looked at true hate in the eyes last year in Charleston, Haley said, referring to a massacre at a historic black church that led to the flags removal. I will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the KKK. That is not part of our party. That is not who we want as president. [The GOPs implosion over Trumps candidacy has arrived] Haleys appeal resonated with Ladonna Johnson, 36, a Web developer who has voted for Democrats in years past but plans to cast her ballot for Rubio. Its really about Donald Trump, said Johnson, who is black. Ive gone out there and looked for a candidate who I think can beat him, and this is it. . . . We may not have been here a few months ago for Rubio, but hes the best chance of stopping Trump, who is racist in my eyes. During a CNN interview Sunday, Trump repeatedly declined to disavow the support offered by former KKK grand wizard David Duke. Condemnation rained down on Trump from Democratic and Republican leaders alike, including 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, who wrote in a Twitter message that Trumps response to questions about Duke was disqualifying & disgusting. But Trump insisted Monday on NBC that he had failed to comprehend the questions from CNN anchor Jake Tapper. He said he had a very bad earpiece while taping the interview. Rubio scolded Trump, telling supporters at an airplane-hangar rally in Alcoa, Tenn., I dont care how bad the earpiece is, Ku Klux Klan comes through pretty clearly and he refuses to criticize it. And Cruz, speaking on The Hugh Hewitt Show on Monday, said: Either the Klan or Nazis, bad, bad, bad. And it seems somehow that Donald missed that briefing. Another controversy brewed Monday after BuzzFeed reported that Trump suggested in an off-the-record interview with the New York Times editorial board that his hard-line immigration position is more flexible than he lets on publicly. Cruz and Rubio called on Trump to ask the newspaper to release an audio recording of the meeting, but he has not done so. At a rowdy rally at Radford University in Virginia, Trump sold himself as the polling front-runner and as a more effective leader than either of the freshman senators. He repeatedly referred to them by demeaning nicknames Lying Ted Cruz and Little Marco Rubio and mocked the latter for his frequent sweating and sipping of water. Protesters interrupted the rally at several points, drawing swift rebukes from Trump, who asked one woman if she was Mexican after a commotion. After a disruption by black attendees, who chanted slogans including Black lives matter, Trump shouted, All lives matter. The crowd cheered its approval of the candidate. [Trumps rhetoric on Muslims plays well with fans but horrifies others] Trump also tried to signal that he was looking toward the general election, arguing that the early primary results show there is greater voter enthusiasm for him than for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. There is enthusiasm, Trump said of his campaign. Big, big, big enthusiasm. Advisers to Rubio and Cruz hoped for a clarifying verdict Tuesday that would winnow the nominating contest to two men: Trump and one of them. But both camps saw signs of trouble. Cruz has continued to find it difficult to unite a conservative coalition of evangelicals and self-described liberty voters. Kris Kobach, the secretary of state in Kansas and a high-profile opponent of illegal immigration, announced Monday that he was endorsing Trump, joining two fellow immigration crusaders, Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.) and former Arizona governor Jan Brewer, on the Trump bandwagon. Rubio has failed so far to coalesce support within the GOP establishment. He has more endorsements on Capitol Hill than any other candidate but has struggled to convince his colleagues that he is the best alternative to Trump. Dozens of fellow GOP senators are still on the sidelines. As Rubio and his team court more backers, their pitch is that even after Trumps expected delegate haul Tuesday, the businessman would be only about a third of the way toward the number required to lock up the nomination. And they focus on how Rubio performed well in the early contests with voters who made up their minds in the final week or so. [GOP senator: Third option needed if Trump is the nominee] Rubios aides have sought to roll out endorsements in specific Super Tuesday states, such as from Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who campaigned with Rubio there Monday. By contrast, Cruz has not received a single endorsement from the Senate; his derision of party leaders has left him with few friends in the chamber. Further crowding Rubios path is Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has turned his attention to picking up as many delegates as he can Tuesday he sees Massachusetts and Vermont as ripe territory and then going all-in for the March 8 Michigan primary and the March 15 winner-take-all primary in his home state. Im going to win Ohio, and its going to be a new day when I win Ohio, Kasich told reporters. At a campaign event in Castleton, Vt., Jon Wallace, 54, questioned Kasich about reports that Republican leaders could use party rules to foist a nominee at a brokered convention. Wallace said he thought Kasich was an acceptable candidate but Rubio was not. Hes playing a conservative, Wallace, who was wearing a pin with the Gadsden flag, the tea party symbol, said of Rubio. He should go to Hollywood, because theres a place in a movie for him. Kasich said he thought the nominee would be selected in the regular primary process, on the up and up. Then he bemoaned the tenor of the race. I have to tell you, what Im seeing, with the name-calling, the insulting this is no way to pick the president of the United States, Kasich said. Its taking us down the rathole. Costa reported from Atlanta. Jose A. DelReal in Nashville; Paul Kane in Washington; Fenit Nirappil in Radford, Va.; Ed OKeefe in Alcoa, Tenn.; and David Weigel in Castleton, Vt., contributed to this report. As results showed Donald Trump leading in at least six states on Super Tuesday, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) argued that nominating him would be bad for the Republican party. Here are key moments from their speeches following the March 1 races. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post) As results showed Donald Trump leading in at least six states on Super Tuesday, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) argued that nominating him would be bad for the Republican party. Here are key moments from their speeches following the March 1 races. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post) Donald Trump won GOP primaries in seven states and Sen. Ted Cruz took three in a Super Tuesday rebound, sparking renewed calls from some Republicans to unify around a single Trump rival as the billionaire tightened his hold on front-runner status. The contests in 11 states showcased Trumps dominance over a crowded GOP field. Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) was the winner in one state: Minnesota, his first victory of the 2016 primary season. [Live updates and results from across the U.S.] Trump won Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia, according to Edison Media Research. In several states, his lead was in double digits, and his share of the GOP vote neared 50 percent. With those wins, Trump has more than doubled his victory total in this GOP primary season. But even as Trump basked in his Super Tuesday romp, a well-funded super PAC was ramping up its effort to discredit the New York businessman with a new television advertisement that portrays him as a predatory huckster who scammed working- and middle-class Americans. The 60-second ad, which will begin airing Wednesday on stations across the country at a cost of more than $1 million, centers on Trump University, the billionaire moguls for-profit enterprise that promised to teach students the tricks of the real estate trade and is now defunct and the subject of a fraud suit. The attack echoes themes that Rubio, who is trying to unite the GOPs anti-Trump forces under his own banner, has advanced as he has addressed swelling crowds in suburban areas. Cruz won Alaska, Oklahoma and his home state of Texas just after 9 p.m. These are the second, third and fourth states Cruz has won in this race; he also won the Iowa caucuses, the first contest of all. The win in Texas, in particular, was vital: It saved Cruz from a humiliating home-state defeat and gave him part of the largest slate of delegates that was up for grabs Tuesday. [Live updates and results from across the U.S.] But this was not the Super Tuesday that Cruz had hoped for months ago. He had campaigned hard in Southern states, hoping to dominate among evangelicals and very conservative voters. Instead, in state after state, he saw those voters flock to Trump. For Rubio, the Minnesota win was a boost he sorely needed. Earlier in the night, Trump had mocked him for not winning any states so far. But overall, Tuesday was a disappointment for Rubio. He had attacked Trump sharply in the past few days and shifted some late-deciding voters into his camp. But outside of Minnesota, it wasnt enough. Ohio Gov. John Kasich came in a close second to Trump in Vermont. The worry among the party establishment which has put its last hopes on Rubio was strong and growing after Trumps Tuesday victories. Even Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), an outspoken critic of Cruz, said to CBSs Charlie Rose on Tuesday night, Well, I think were about ready to lose to the most dishonest politician in America, Hillary Clinton, and how could you do that? I made a joke about Ted, but we may be in a position to have to rally around Ted Cruz as the only way to stop Donald Trump, and Im not so sure that would work, he said, adding that when it came to that prospect,I cant believe I would say yes, but yes. [ Explore the full Super Tuesday results ] Cruz addressed his supporters at a venue called the Redneck Country Club in Stafford, Tex. He sought not so subtly to convince Rubio to drop out of the race, saying that a divided field was allowing Trump to succeed. So long as the field remains divided, Donald Trumps path to the nomination remains more likely. And that would be a disaster . . . for conservatives, and for the nation. And after tonight, we have seen that our campaign is the only campaign that has beaten, that can beat, and that will beat Donald Trump, Cruz said. He spoke to primary voters in future states: We must come together. Rubio, the establishment candidate who had sharply attacked Trump in the past few days, ran close to Trump in Virginia, boosted by support among college-educated voters and Republicans in the Washington, D.C., suburbs. But he fell short, with Trump piling up large margins in the states rural South and West. [No Republican nominee has ever won all the states Trump has] Still, exit polls showed some good news for Rubio: In several states, he did well among voters who decided late, according to media reports. That could be taken as proof that Rubios late attacks on Trump worked and it could encourage Rubio to continue them, hoping to win more primaries in the coming weeks. Just five days ago, we began to unmask the true nature of the front-runner so far in this race. Five days ago, we began to explain to the American people that Donald Trump is a con artist. And in just five days, we have seen the impact it is having all across the country, Rubio told supporters in Miami. We are seeing, in state after state, his numbers coming down. Our numbers going up. He looked ahead to the Republican primary in Florida on March 15, a winner-take-all contest that could vault Rubio back into contention or, if he loses, doom him. Rubios campaign has sought to position him as the top alternative to Trump: the one whod be waiting and ready when voters or delegates, at a fractious GOP convention finally turned on the front-runner. But Tuesdays results showed that isnt exactly true. In six of the nine states where polls have closed, in fact, Rubio was running third. Trump spoke to supporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., in an ornate ballroom. In his speech, he mocked Rubio, calling him the little senator and reminding his crowd that [Rubio] didnt win anything. He hasnt won anything, period. [Overshadowed by Trump and Rubio, Cruz sees Texas as his last stand ] Trump also called his campaign a movement, and sought to look ahead to a general election contest against Clinton, the former secretary of state. I am a unifier. When we get all of this finished, Im going to go after one person, Hillary Clinton, Trump said. He rejected suggestions that his comments about Mexican immigrants, mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and a ban on Muslim foreigners entering the country had divided his party. We are going to be a much finer party. Were going to be a unified party, Trump said. I mean, to be honest with you. And we are going to be a much bigger party. Our party is expanding. Later, Trump responded to a question by saying hed been watching all the big cable-TV news networks, and liked them all. See, Im becoming diplomatic, he said. In a wide-ranging news conference that followed Trumps speech, he issued a kind of threat to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who before Trump came on the scene had a claim to being the most popular figure in the GOP. Paul Ryan, I dont know him well, Trump said. Im sure Ill get along with him. And if I dont? Hell have to pay a big price. It seemed possible, given Tuesdays results, that Rubio, Cruz and Kasich could find a reason to remain in the race. So even where Trump lost Tuesday night, he may have won reaping the benefits of a crowded field of candidates and splitting the anti-Trump vote into pieces. [Winners and losers from Super Tuesday] Former pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who has failed to win a single primary or caucus so far, told supporters he was dismayed with the state of the nations political system and not prepared to quit the race yet. It is rotten; it is rotten to the core, Carson told a crowd of supporters in Baltimore. Im not ready to quit untangling it quite yet. Carson has called on the five remaining candidates to meet privately in Detroit in advance of Thursdays upcoming GOP Fox News Channel debate. He has asked them to take a pledge to talk about the many serious problems facing our country, instead of personally attacking each other. In the Democratic race, with nearly all the votes counted,Clinton won the Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia Democratic primaries as she looks to dramatically widen her lead in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders chalked up four victories: his home state of Vermont, as well as in Oklahoma, Minnesota and Colorado. At a polling place in Houston where Cruz cast his vote Tuesday, Francisco Valle, 74, held a sign depicting Trump with a Hitler-style mustache and his right hand raised; it read, absolutely no Mexicans. Valle also hung a sign with the letter T and word Trump in the shape of a swastika with STOP written beneath. I am here because I want to make awareness of a movement that is very dangerous to all the minorities, because Hitler started the same way, said Valle, who is Mexican American. He blamed the Jews for all the problems, and now Trump is blaming the Mexicans for the problems. Trump has suggested he is expanding the GOPs base of support by appealing to Democrats and independents, even though some say he is alienating some traditional Republican backers. We have tremendous numbers of people coming in, and the Republican Party is growing larger, he said. If it fails to do that, he added, its not going to win. Wagner reported from Burlington, Vt.; Eilperin from Washington. Katie Zezima in Houston; Patricia Sullivan in Arlington, Va.; Laura Vozzella in Richmond, Va.; Abby Phillip in Minneapolis, Minn.; Scott Clement, Anne Gearan and Paul Kane in Washington; Robert Costa in Atlanta; Jose A. DelReal in Nashville; Fenit Nirappil in Norfolk, Va.; Ed OKeefe in Alcoa, Tenn.; and David Weigel in Castleton, Vt., contributed to this report. Ted Cruz appears at a rally at the Shrine auditorium in San Antonio with his wife Heidi and their two children Catherine (held by Ted Cruz) and Caroline (right). (Lucian Perkins/for The Washington Post) After a stinging defeat in South Carolina, a drop in national polling and a fade to the background in news cycles, Ted Cruz came home to Texas this week and talked about his many battles. There was the 2013 fight against an immigration reform bill, which Cruz described in the words of Alamo commander William Barret Travis as a line in the sand. There was his crusade to defeat the Affordable Care Act. And now there is Super Tuesday. The presidential primary here on Tuesday is becoming a pitched battle for Cruz and, like the fight that occurred here in 1836, which Cruz has repeatedly referred to in recent days, it is one that could be his last stand. [Super Tuesday: Voters head to the polls, but not all are pleased by the choices] Cruz has staked much of his candidacy on winning the large number of southern states that vote Tuesday, including what he calls the crown jewel, his home state of Texas. Nine-year-old Ella Hubert of San Antonio sits with her family and show her support for Ted Cruz at a rally at the Shrine auditorium in San Antonio. (Lucian Perkins/for The Washington Post) Since its inception, Cruzs campaign has run a numbers- and data-heavy playbook focused on the delegate game, attempting to amass as many as possible and the series of 11 primaries and caucuses Tuesday, many in the South, is key. The campaign has long said the date will be an inflection point that will benefit it: Cruz once called the South a firewall filled with religious and conservative voters that could net him a bonanza of delegates and propel him to the nomination. But now Cruz must grapple with the ascendance of Donald Trump, who has dominated polls across the South and has been sucking up media attention in recent days as he and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida engage in a dirty battle of insults over spray tans and incontinence. His main ambition now is to win Texas a goal that has become do or die for his campaign. [Cruz: It would be an enormous mistake to nominate Trump] Cruz has blitzed across the region, hoping to shore up grass-roots support he has worked to build over the past 11 months and lock down as many delegates as possible to winnow the field to a numeric battle between Cruz and Trump. The campaign has been battered in recent weeks with accusations that it engaged in unsavory campaign tactics; last week Cruz fired his communications director, Rick Tyler, after Tyler disseminated a video purporting to show Rubio disparaging the Bible. Rubio and Trump have repeatedly branded Cruz a liar, an accusation that has stuck with some voters. In the wake of it all, some of Cruzs most prominent surrogates were publicly calling for the campaign to rethink its strategy and focus on knocking Trump rather than Rubio. Despite the turmoil, Cruz continues to press on. In recent days he has sharpened his attacks and devoted much of his stump speech to Trump, accusing him of refusing to release his tax returns because of possible ties to organized crime. Here in San Antonio, he called on Trump to release a purported tape of him telling the New York Times off the record that he wouldnt follow his own rhetoric on immigration if elected president. The Fix's Aaron Blake sets up the stakes for Republican and Democratic presidential candidates on Super Tuesday. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) Cruz is also infusing his speeches with populism and painting Trump as dangerous to low-income Americans looking for work, citing reports that Trump hired foreign workers over American ones. Let me try a little test here: How many people here have worked as a waiter or waitress? Cruz asked in Tulsa, as the crowd cheered and many hands shot up. Take a look at the hands. Donald says you all dont exist. [Shouts of liar are taking their toll on Ted Cruzs campaign] At a rally in Little Rock put on by a super PAC supporting Cruz on Saturday night, the candidate talked about how Trump hired undocumented workers to build Trump Tower. He put his name on it, Cruz said of Trump Tower. Maybe it should say underneath: built by illegal immigrants. Underscoring the weight of Tuesdays nominating contests, Cruz is telling crowds that Super Tuesday is the most important day of the campaign and that he winner of the Iowa caucuses is the only candidate who has beaten and can stop Trump. If you dont want to see Donald Trump as the nominee, if you dont want to see Hillary Clinton as the next president, then stand with us, tomorrow, on Super Tuesday, he said to an enthusiastic crowd in San Antonio that chanted, Cruz! Cruz! Cruz! But Cruz also concedes that Trump is the odds-on favorite something he and his surrogates are calling on voters to halt. If he continues with that momentum and powers through and wins everywhere on Super Tuesday, he could easily be unstoppable. And I think that would be a grave mistake both for the Republican Party and for the country, Cruz told a conference of religious broadcasters in Nashville. [Rubio, Cruz sprint to stop Trump on fateful Super Tuesday] Cruzs aides say he is sticking to his campaign playbook and is even more focused on racking up delegates, rather than wins, on Tuesday. And the candidate said he believes that the race will come down to him and Trump and that he is not preparing for a contested Republican National Convention in July a possibility highlighted by Rubios campaign. I will say a contested convention is the great hope of the Republican establishment. It is how they are drowning away their sorrows, he said in San Antonio. The campaign which once talked of tallying victories across the South now feels the most confident about notching a win in Cruzs home state of Texas, where he held rallies in Dallas, San Antonio and his home town of Houston on Monday. I think were going to have a very good night in the state of Texas, Cruz said here. Tuesday morning Cruz sent a message to Rubio, who is trailing Trump in his home state of Florida. But there is no doubt that any candidate who cannot win his home state has real problems, Cruz said. Texas is a delegate bonanza 155 are available, apportioned to winners of congressional districts and Cruz is expecting to vacuum up quite a few. He also benefits from the fact that Texans have been voting early. Ted Cruz has already won in Texas, said Steve Munisteri, the former head of the Texas Republican party. But he said Cruz needs to do more than that. The odds are if the only state he wins is Texas, I think he will begin a death spiral, Munisteri said. Kerwin Swint, a professor of political science at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, said Cruzs strategy is a good one but the Trump phenomenon has caused everything to go haywire. Cruzs strategy was sound for what they thought the race was going to look like and almost nobody saw the rise of Trump as being anything significant, Swint said. Its shaken everything, its turned it all upside down. Nonetheless, Cruz is planning for what he believes will be a victory rally at a place named the Redneck Country Club Tuesday night. Tomorrow, Super Tuesday, is, I believe, the most important day in this entire primary, he said. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) has a major say on whether President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court will get a hearing. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) When President Obama sought bipartisan cooperation on his first major legislative endeavor passing his signature health-care law he set his sights on one man: Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, then the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. Despite months of entreaties, Grassley never came around on the Affordable Care Act, which ended up passing in the Senate on a series of party-line votes. Now, six years later, Grassley again occupies a central role in what is possibly Obamas last big fight with Congress. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Grassley wields the power to hold hearings and advance Obamas promised Supreme Court nominee through the confirmation process. He is in lock step with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who declared in the hours after the Feb. 13 announcement of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalias death that the next president, not Obama, would name his successor. [Republicans vow no hearings and no votes for Obamas Supreme Court pick] But key Democrats think Grassley can be persuaded or, more precisely, shamed to take up an Obama nomination in the coming months, thus breaking the Republican blockade and opening the door to an eventual confirmation vote. Four cases that could re-shape the country will be heard when the Supreme Court meets this term without Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia consistently expressed conservative views when reviewing court cases. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) launched an opening salvo at Grassley last week, accusing him in a floor speech of having surrendered every pretense of independence and having allowed McConnell to annex the Judiciary Committee into a narrow, partisan mission of obstruction and gridlock. Is this the legacy he wants? Reid said. Is this how he wants his committee work remembered as a chairman who refused his duty and instead allowed the Republican leader to ride roughshod over the Judiciary Committees storied history? Grassley responded tersely the following day in a floor speech of his own: We all know that is how some people act when they dont get their own way, but childish tantrums are not appropriate for the Senate. Obama personally made his case for action Tuesday morning, when McConnell and Grassley visited the White House to discuss the Supreme Court vacancy. Vice President Biden and Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the senior Judiciary Committee Democrat, also attended the closed-door meeting. Grassley said after that he remained opposed to taking up Obamas nominee: Whether everybody in the meeting today wanted to admit it, we all know that considering a nomination in the middle of a heated presidential campaign is bad for the nominee, bad for the court, bad for the process and, ultimately, bad for the nation. Although Obama did not confront Grassley as directly as Reid has it was McConnell who did most of the talking Tuesday, a person familiar with the meeting said Democratic lawmakers and aides said they think that the 82-year-old sixth-term senator will be forced to relent. During the health-care battle, Obama tried to cajole Grassley into supporting the bill by making a series of changes. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times last month, Obama described working with an unnamed Republican on the sprawling legislation, having taken every idea that he had suggested. He just finally turned to me I was sitting in the Oval Office and he said, You know what, Mr. President, I got to admit theres no change that allows me to vote for this thing, Obama said. An individual familiar with the exchange who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations confirmed that Obama was speaking about Grassley. Where the White House previously tried to win Grassley over with carrots, the Supreme Court fight has Democrats turning to sticks arguing that the court blockade will undermine Grassleys legacy and his carefully tended just-folks image. Reid again targeted Grassley in floor remarks Monday, saying that history will not be kind to his tenure as chairman if the blockade continues. The chairman has turned the impartial reputation of the Judiciary Committee into an extension of the Trump campaign, Reid said, before noting Grassleys attendance at a January rally for Donald Trumps presidential bid in Pella, Iowa. [Harry Reid ties Senates Supreme Court battle to Donald Trump] He also took aim at Grassleys record streak of consecutive Senate votes cast more than 7,500 dating to July 1993 saying the Supreme Court blockade taints that distinction: What good are 7,500 consecutive votes if you simply sweep the votes you dont like to take under the rug? In a brief interview Monday, Grassley brushed off Reids remarks: I aint going to hold it against him. Its one of these things where today we disagree on something and tomorrow well agree on it. Thats just the collegiality of the Senate. Democrats have gotten some support in their efforts to paint Grassley as an obstructionist if not a hypocrite from voices in the six-term senators home state. At least a half-dozen Iowa newspapers have called on the Senate to consider Obamas Supreme Court nominee, including the states largest, the Des Moines Register. This was an opportunity for our senior senator to be less of a politician and more of a statesman, the paper wrote. [B]ut he chose instead to disregard his constitutional duty by rejecting a nominee who hasnt even been named. A particularly sharp editorial came from the Hawk Eye in Burlington, Iowa, a paper that heralded Grassleys record-breaking consecutive vote in January. Last week, citing Grassleys smug, partisan rhetoric, the paper declared, We take it back. Grassley said he was not concerned about the editorials or other feedback he has gotten from Iowans on the high-court vacancy. You cant worry about those things, so dont even ask me about whether or not Im worried about reelection, he said. Should the White House determine that Grassley is the most crucial figure in breaking the blockade, one particular nominee could bring special pressure to bear: Judge Jane L. Kelly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2013 after serving as a federal public defender in Iowa for the previous two decades. Kelly who graduated from Harvard Law School in 1991, the same year as Obama first applied for the 8th Circuit seat to then-Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), according to a questionnaire from her Senate confirmation hearing. But Grassley spoke highly of her at the hearing. Grassley read portions of a letter of support from former 8th Circuit judge David R. Hansen, for whom Kelly had clerked in the early 1990s. Every sentence of it speaks highly of your work, Grassley said. Democrats said they are confident that McConnell and Grassley will hold hearings. But several Republican senators said they expected Grassley would hold fast. Do you know Chuck Grassley? Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), a Judiciary Committee member, asked a reporter. When he gets on a principle, hes like a bulldog with a bone. Hes going to stay on that principle. Juliet Eilperin and Jerry Markon contributed to this report. Here are key moments from Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders's speeches, as results from Super Tuesday elections rolled in on March 1. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post) Here are key moments from Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders's speeches, as results from Super Tuesday elections rolled in on March 1. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post) MIAMI Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton racked up a string of wins across the south on Super Tuesday, as she widened her lead in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination over rival Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Clinton was projected to win in seven states--Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Virginia and Texas, where the largest number of delegates were at stake. The narrow win in Massachusetts was a particular prize as Sanders has run strongly in other New England contests. Speaking in Florida, Clinton signaled that she is already looking past the Democratic nominating process. With only a brief mention of Sanders, she instead targeted most of her remarks at the nights big Republican winner: Donald Trump. America never stopped being great. We have to make America whole, she said, referring to Trumps slogan, Make America Great Again. Its clear tonight that the stakes of this election have never been higher. And the rhetoric were hearing on the other side has never been lower. Sanders won his home state of Vermont, Oklahoma, Colorado and Minnesota. 1 of 38 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Photos: What Super Tuesday looks like around the country View Photos Voters head to the polls and cast ballots.. Caption Voters headed to the polls and cast ballots. Donald Trump speaks alongside New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during a campaign press event at the Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. [Live updates and results from across the U.S.] More Democratic delegates were up for grabs on Tuesday than on any other day of the nominating contest. The major contests came on the heels of Clintons trouncing of Sanders by nearly 50 percentage points in South Carolina on Saturday. That win revealed an overwhelming advantage for Clinton among African American voters, an advantage that she built on to sweep states with large minority populations on Tuesday. But in a speech in front of an adoring crowd in his home state of Vermont, Sanders vowed that he will press forward and remain in the Democratic race into the summer. We have come a very long way in 10 months, he said. At the end of tonight, 15 states will have voted. Thirty-five states remain. Let me assure you that we are going to take our fight for economic justice, for social justice, for environmental sanity, for a world of peace, to every one of those states. Exit poll data in one key state, Virginia, showed a dominating win for Clinton. Virginia is a swing state important to Democrats hopes of retaining the White House, where Clinton ally Terry McAuliffe serves as governor. The polling data showed she won in every region of the state, as well as among both men and women, whites and blacks and in every age group older than 30. As he has in previous contests, however, Sanders bested Clinton among young voters. [The Fix: Winners and losers from Super Tuesday] According to Edison Media Research, Democratic turnout was down from 2008 in the Super Tuesday primaries, while Republican turnout was up. Clintons recent wins in South Carolina and also the Nevada caucuses have allowed her to stabilize her campaign after her dramatic loss to Sanders in the New Hampshire primary. Sanders has mounted an unexpectedly tough challenge to Clinton and he continues to draw large crowds and rake in campaign contributions with an economic message that has promised to lift the middle class and close the gap between rich and poor. Still, after her recent victories, Clinton this week has begun to pivot to Trump. Taking questions from traveling reporters for the first time in months, Clinton said while campaigning in Minneapolis that Trump appears to be on the path to the GOP nomination. Im just speaking out against bigotry and bullying wherever I hear it, said Clinton, who was campaigning with Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D). And I hear a lot of it from the Republican candidates. Clinton is spending her election eve in Florida, hosting a campaign victory party in a state that will be politically important later in the month. Florida will award 214 delegates on March 15. Sanders, meanwhile, cast his vote early Tuesday at a polling station in Burlington, Vt., the city where he served as mayor in the 1980s. I will tell you: After a lot of thought, I voted for me for president, a smiling Sanders told one man after taking a selfie with him. Sanders vowed that he would soldier on, regardless of how many delegates he wins Tuesday. This is a campaign thats going to the Philadelphia convention in July, he said. Wagner reported from Essex Junction, Vt. and Helderman from Washington. Scott Clement and Juliette Eilperin in Washington; Katie Zezima in Houston; Patricia Sullivan in Arlington, Va.; Laura Vozzella in Richmond, Va. Abby Phillip in Minneapolis, Minn. and Miami; Anne Gearan and Paul Kane in Washington; Robert Costa in Atlanta; Jose A. DelReal in Nashville; Fenit Nirappil in Norfolk, Va.; Ed OKeefe in Alcoa, Tenn.; and David Weigel in Castleton, Vt., contributed to this report. Miners wait to enter a coal mine near Datong in northern China in November. China is the worlds largest coal producer. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images) The coal mines of Anyuan in southeastern China hold a special place in the history of the Chinese Communist Party. It was there, nearly a century ago, that Mao Zedong and other intellectuals leading the brand-new party made their first connection with ordinary workers, helping to unionize and mobilize them for what is known as the Great Strike of 1922. On Tuesday, though, hundreds of coal miners from Anyuan and nearby mines marched through the city of Pingxiang in a protest not on behalf of the Communist Party but against it. China announced Monday that it expects to slash 1.8 million jobs in its coal and steel sectors, about 15 percent of the total workforce, as it struggles to reduce overcapacity in its bloated mining and industrial enterprises amid a deepening economic slowdown. [Complacency, protectionism: Why China hasnt shut underused factories] A worker operates a furnace at a steel plant in Hefei, Anhui province in this 2013 photo. (Jianan Yu/Reuters) But the miners in Anyuan and other districts of Pingxiang are already hurting. The local state-owned mining company has scaled back production, laid off workers and told others to stay home with dramatically reduced pay of just 470 yuan ($70) a month. About 150 miners got together Monday morning to complain to the company, gathering at a crossroads and temporarily blocking traffic, according to the Communist Party propaganda department of the Pingxiang Mining Group. Up to 1,000 workers from three mines marched through the streets Tuesday with banners reading Workers want to survive, workers need to eat, according to social-media posts and witnesses. How do you survive on 470 yuan? said one 30-year-old worker contacted by telephone who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. My parents and grandparents worked at the mine. The workers built the mine with their hands. It is where Mao Zedong led the Great Strike, and thats how the Communist Party rose and now this? There has been a dramatic increase in strikes and worker protests across China in the past six months as the economic slowdown has started to bite. But the significance of those protests spreading to Anyuan will not be lost on anyone steeped in the Communist Partys founding stories and myths. [Strikes and workers protests multiply in China, testing party authority] In the years after the 1922 strike, Anyuan became the center of the partys labor mobilization and was known as Chinas Little Moscow for its revolutionary credentials. Workers unload coal at a storage site along a railway station in Hefei, Anhui province in this 2009 photo. China expects to lay off 1.8 million workers in the coal and steel sectors as part of its efforts to reduce industrial overcapacity, an official at the human resources and social security ministry said Monday. (Jianan Yu/Reuters) Former mine workers joined peasants from nearby rural areas in the 1927 Autumn Harvest Uprising, a short-lived insurrection led by Mao. A painting of a heroic-looking young Mao on his way to Anyuan became one of the most important images to be circulated during Chinas Cultural Revolution, with an estimated 900 million copies printed. Part of the reason the painting was so widely circulated may have been to discredit Liu Shaoqi, a former close associate of Maos who actually played a much larger role in organizing workers in Anyuan. Liu was purged during the early years of the Cultural Revolution and died soon afterward. In 2002, a large statue of a young Mao was erected outside the mine to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the five-day strike, which involved 10,000 miners and 4,000 to 5,000 railway workers. Miners contacted by telephone Tuesday said the mines had been in trouble for years. One said his salary was only a little over 1,000 yuan before the latest shutdown. Another said the company had told him to take three years leave to do some business of his own. But the situation came to a head when the Pingxiang Mining Group ordered the mines completely closed during the recent Spring Festival, workers said. The company also ordered production to remain shuttered at some mines in March, during a two-week period when top Communist Party officials gather in Beijing for twin plenary meetings known as the Two Sessions. Workers said the company had told them that the mines would remain closed because work safety requirements had been tightened during this period, and presumably it wanted to avoid any embarrassing headlines about mining accidents during such an important gathering. Chinas minister for human resources and social security, Yin Weimin, said at a news conference Monday that 1.3 million coal workers and 500,000 steelworkers could lose their jobs. The government has set aside 100 billion yuan ($15.3 billion) over two years to relocate these and other laid-off workers. The economy faces relatively big downward pressures, and some firms face difficulties in production and operation, which would lead to insufficient employment, Yin said. On Tuesday, mine workers in Pingxiang said the company had told them to wait 10 days for an answer to their complaints. Xu Yangjingjing contributed to this report. French authorities began dismantling the massive migrant camp in Calais on Feb. 29, 2016. Pro-migrant activists clashed with police, with at least three people being arrested. Thousands of migrants will be affected, although authorities have offered to relocate them. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post) French authorities began dismantling the massive migrant camp in Calais on Feb. 29, 2016. Pro-migrant activists clashed with police, with at least three people being arrested. Thousands of migrants will be affected, although authorities have offered to relocate them. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post) Police scuffled Tuesday with migrants protesting the demolition of a shantytown known as the Jungle as authorities moved ahead with plans to dismantle the camp in northern France that is often used as a staging ground to cross the English Channel to Britain. The French decision to raze the makeshift settlement in Calais reflects wider measures across Europe to tighten border controls and curb movements amid a historic wave of migrants fleeing war and poverty in North Africa and the Middle East. Greek police estimate that as many as 10,000 migrants and refugees are at the border with Macedonia, which has closed entry to its side for the past 24 hours. On Monday, Macedonias president, Gjorge Ivanov, warned that the entire Balkan corridor would shut down if Austria reached the migrant quota of 37,500 that it recently announced. But the crisis has extended beyond refugee camps and quotas, challenging the very idea of Europe itself. In response to the French governments proposed demolition of the Jungle encampment, for instance, Belgium suspended Schengen rules permitting passport-free travel across many internal European borders, a hallmark of the European Union since 1995. At a campaign rally on Tuesday night, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for continental solidarity across an increasingly insular European Union, demanding that the crisis be solved among the 28 members, so that some states dont have to take on a heavy burden while others brush the problem away. Although not Europes largest camp, the Jungle home to an estimated 4,000 people has become an emblem of the entire European migrant crisis: a mix of squalor, desperation and hope. The proximity of the camp to ferry docks and the Eurotunnel rail link with Britain has led to dangerous attempts to sneak across the English Channel by trying to stow away aboard trucks, trains and boats. Many migrants from Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and other places seek to reach Britain in hopes of finding work or joining relatives. A migrant sits on the roof of his makeshift shelter as police secure the migrant camp known as the Jungle as it is demolished in Calais, France, on March 1, 2016. (Yoan Valat/European Pressphoto Agency) [French court clears way for camp demolition] The British government has refused to take most of them. And France has now decided that they cannot remain in the camp and has promised to relocate them to nearby container units or to other refugee centers across the country. Even if receiving asylum in Britain remains an unlikely prospect, most migrants and refugees in the Jungle do not wish to apply for asylum in France. In an interview, Philippe Mignonet, the deputy mayor of Calais, explained that most migrants already know someone [in Britain] and can find a job on the black market. In France, he said, its 99 percent impossible to find a job on the black market. Most of them speak English, or a bit of English, he added. They could try to learn a bit of French, but they refused to do so. On Monday, authorities began destroying the Jungles southern section, its most densely populated area. Clashes flared through the night, with police firing tear gas and forcibly removing migrants trying to stand their ground. Fires were reported in several areas of the camp slated for demolition. Early Tuesday, a woman stood atop one of the shanties and cut her wrists as police moved in, the Associated Press reported. Her condition was not immediately known. A man accompanying her was beaten by baton-wielding police. According to a census conducted two weeks ago by the organization Help Refugees, an estimated 3,400 people live in the southern area of the camp, 305 of whom are unaccompanied children. Migrants look on as French police officers clear part of the Calais encampment known as the Jungle on Feb. 29, 2016. (Carl Court/Getty Images) [Diplomatic war over migrants escalates in Europe] The destruction of the camp authorized by a French judge last week has sparked outrage from aid groups and a legal challenge from about 200 migrants and eight nongovernmental organizations. Bernard Cazeneuve, Frances interior minister, promised Thursday that the camp would be taken down methodically. It has never been our intention to send in bulldozers to destroy the camp, he said. But bulldozers arrived early Monday along with a crew of about 20 workers who began tearing down homes and buildings. Clare Moseley, the founder of Care4Calais, one of the nongovernmental aid organizations working on behalf of the refugees, accused French officials of reneging on pledges for a slow-paced intervention in the camp. They said they were going to be doing this slowly and gently and with our cooperation, she said in an interview. Lets just say that has not happened. Authorities began demolishing tents and homes in the camp, in some cases giving migrants one hours notice, according to Moseley. Mignonet justified the use of force in clearing out the camp. Theres no alternative, he said. You cant negotiate, you cant talk, and you cant explain. Fabienne Buccio, a local prefect, insisted recently that a police presence was necessary because extremists might persuade migrants to reject the governments proposed alternatives. Activists, Mignonet added, manipulate the migrants and use them for political purposes. In fact, they dont care about the migrants, he said. If they did, they would help them accept what the state is offering. Arnaud, who would give only his first name, is an activist affiliated with the No Borders group. A lot of the houses arent empty they just force them out and tear them down, he said of the demolition of migrants homes. Its not true when the government says, Its not eviction, its not violent. Moseley said she and other volunteers were able to enter the camp but faced tear gas and pepper spray. I do not call that nonconfrontational or nonviolent, she said. Read more: Most of the refugees stuck in Greece are now women and children Migrants find doors slamming shut across Europe Spring could bring a fresh surge of refugees. But Europe isnt ready for them. Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world A Palestinian boy stands outside a market burned during clashes with Israeli forces in the Qalandiya refugee camp after two Israeli soldiers were led to the area by an apparent error with a GPS app. (Nasser Nasser/AP) A gun battle broke out in a Palestinian neighborhood late Monday after Israeli forces tried to rescue two soldiers who had mistakenly entered the area because of an error on a satellite navigation app, Israeli authorities said Tuesday. The clashes in the Qalandiya refugee camp outside Jerusalem left at least one Palestinian dead and 10 injured, one seriously. At least 10 Israeli soldiers also were wounded during the hour-long operation. According to initial Israeli reports, the two soldiers said they had been using Waze, a highly touted, Israeli-invented navigation app bought more than two years ago by Google. The smartphone app, which has a settings option to avoid dangerous areas, relies on crowdsourcing to give users the fastest traffic routes. [Martyrs? Crazy? Palestinians struggle to define Palestinians who attack Israelis] But in places where the app is not widely used such as the Palestinian villages surrounding Jerusalem and in the West Bank the service could face limitations. Agence France-Presse quoted a Waze official on Tuesday as saying that the setting to warn about areas dangerous or prohibited for Israelis to drive through had been switched off on the device the soldiers used. In this case, the setting was disabled, the official told the news agency. In addition, the driver deviated from the suggested route and, as a result, entered the prohibited area. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli army, said the two soldiers were from a noncombat unit and had been using the Waze system, which he said led them into the Palestinian refugee camp by mistake. It remained unclear how the soldiers could have stumbled into the middle of the camp, sandwiched between Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah. To reach Qalandiya, the soldiers would have had to pass by the separation barrier between the West Bank and Israel and through an Israeli checkpoint. In the camp, they were stormed by a mob of people with rocks and molotov cocktails, Lerner said. The troops vehicle was blocked from turning around and caught fire. The soldiers fled in separate directions. One of the soldiers had a cellphone and within 30 minutes was located by backup units of soldiers and Israeli police. The second soldier was found an hour later in the vicinity of an Israeli settlement. While the search operation was underway, a firefight broke out with armed Palestinians in the camp. Waze is a navigation app that uses user-collected data to calculate the quickest and safest routes to user's destinations. Here's what you need to know about the app. (Jhaan Elker/The Washington Post) During the rescue mission, troops initiated the Hannibal protocol, allowing soldiers to raise the level of alert, increase the number of forces in the area and carry out an extraction as fast as possible in order to end the incident, Lerner said. The protocol, which has often been criticized, allows for extraordinary military measures to prevent soldiers from being abducted. [Why some American police officers hate Waze] Palestinians reported that at least 10 Qalandiya residents were injured during the clashes and that Iyad Omar Sajadiyya, a 22-year-old student at al-Quds University, was killed. The Washington Posts West Bank correspondent, Sufian Taha, witnessed the battle. He described Qalandiya as a war zone. There was a lot traffic, and you could hear the shooting like rain falling. Bullets were coming from every direction, he said. Suddenly, a large number of soldiers arrived and about 20 armored jeeps entered the camp. In an interview on Israel Radio, a former military commander of the area, Gadi Shamni, said that the refugee camp is a symbol of Palestinian resistance and that it has become a no mans land where neither the Palestinian Authority nor Israeli authorities are in control. This vacuum attracts violent gangs and a lot of armed people, he said. There are incidents of shooting almost every evening in Qalandiya, certainly when the [Israeli military] enters. Tension between Israelis and Palestinians has been running high over the past five months, with almost daily stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks by Palestinians against Israelis. The violence has left at least 29 Israeli citizens and three foreign nationals dead. More than 165 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis, most while carrying out attacks and the rest during clashes with the military. Read more: A gay Iranian poet is seeking asylum in Israel Jerusalems ancient Damascus Gate is at the heart of a modern wave of violence Saudi women shop at a mall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The country is racing to attract more investment and overhaul its economy as low oil prices expose it to urgent domestic challenges. (Khalid Mohammed/AP) Mariam al-Harbi is Saudi, and she works at Starbucks. If you think a Saudi barista isnt a big deal, just ask Harbi. In fact, just ask any of the small but growing number of Saudi citizens who flip burgers at McDonalds, fold sweaters at Gap, or work any number of fast-food and retail jobs in this oil-rich kingdom. Theyll probably tell you how most of their compatriots have cushy government jobs. And theyll probably tell you how many, at least until recently, have sneered at employment in the private sector. We shouldnt be afraid to do these jobs, said Harbi, 30, a college graduate who works on the women-only level of the Kingdom Center mall here in the capital. She certainly isnt. Abdullah al-Awaji folds clothes at a Lacoste outlet in a mall in Riyadh while his Saudi colleague works a cash register in February 2016. (Hugh Naylor/TWP) On a recent day, Harbi hurried between the cash register and coffee maker to brew lattes and grab muffins and cookies. With laser focus, she took orders in rudimentary English and her native Arabic. Its relatively low-salary work, but Harbi beamed with enthusiasm, especially when it came to caramel macchiatos. Theyre so much fun to make! Its like art! she said. Such keenness for serviceindustry employment may be exactly what Saudi Arabia needs as its economy struggles with falling oil prices. [Saudi Arabia is reeling from falling oil prices] The governments overwhelming reliance on oil exports has recently forced it to adopt stinging austerity measures that threaten the countrys massive welfare programs and bloated public sector. As authorities cut subsidies and spending, they have imposed hiring freezes that have made it harder for Saudis to find relatively rigor-free, well-paid employment with the government. The change poses challenges for a conservative society in which two-thirds of the population of 28 million are younger than 30 and struggle with unemployment. But it could also be an opportunity for the countrys officials, who have long tried to get Saudis out of government work where more than 90 percent are employed and into the private sector. There just hasnt been a comprehensive and effective strategy in place for Saudis to feel comfortable and secure in the private sector, said Wahab Abu-Dahesh, an economist at Riyadhs Chamber of Commerce and Industry. [The young Saudi royal at the heart of the Middle Easts great power struggle] For now, Saudi Arabia has been forced to rely on foreigners to power the private sector. Millions of people from countries such as Pakistan, the Philippines and war-torn Syria deliver FedEx packages, take orders at Chilis and greet guests at hotel lobbies. The imbalance is even more pronounced in neighboring gulf Arab monarchies, where oil economies have produced spendthrift lifestyles of Range Rovers, Cartier watches and shopping excursions to Europe. Thanks to epic natural-gas exports, for instance, Qataris overwhelmingly work in government and government-backed entities, earning an average annual income close to $100,000. In Saudi Arabia, however, the welfare state has been stretched thin by rapid population growth. As a result, many Saudis are far too poor to afford Porsches or to vacation in Paris. In fact, many are focused on scratching out a living, which helps explain why a rising number are turning to private-sector employment, said Abu-Dahesh, who noted that the government lacks reliable statistics on the number of Saudis who work these jobs. [Concerns in Saudi Arabia over signs of more military involvement in Syria] Harbi said tight finances at home helped persuade her husband, a government-employed security guard, to allow her to work at the coffee shop, where she earns a little more than $1,000 a month. So, too, did the shops location on the malls women-only level. These men-free zones have been created to help religiously conservative women such as Harbi work without hassle or niqab, a face-concealing garment. Money problems also persuaded Abdullah al-Awaji to take a job at the malls Lacoste outlet two months ago, where he also earns a monthly wage of just over $1,000. The rail-thin 24-year-old has become the breadwinner for his sick father, eight sisters and six brothers. He had hoped for government work, but having only a high school education made it difficult to get a foot in the door. Awaji said his friend and now colleague at the clothing outlet, Ali, also a Saudi citizen, encouraged him to apply for a position. I have retirement and health benefits here, he said during a lunch break. Awaji also seemed to embrace his tasks, approaching customers wearing a light-blue polo shirt and a gleaming smile. How may I help you? he said in Arabic, greeting a man who was browsing for dress shirts. Sheikha Aldosary contributed to this report. Read more: Saudi court shifts sentence on jailed poet: 800 lashes instead of death Concerns in Saudi Arabia over signs of more military involvement in Syria Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world Documents released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence reveal more information about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. (Jason Aldag/The Washington Post) Documents released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence reveal more information about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. (Jason Aldag/The Washington Post) Osama bin Laden spent his final years engaged in a futile struggle to prevent his terror network from unraveling and embracing the brutal tactics that have since become signatures of the Islamic State, according to documents released Tuesday that were recovered from the compound where the al-Qaeda leader was killed in 2011. In letters to subordinates, bin Laden denounced almost every aspect of the Islamic State playbook. He warned against seizing more territory than would be possible to hold, against prematurely declaring the restoration of the Islamic caliphate, and even against publishing pictures of prisoners after they were beheaded. [Read the latest release of bin Laden documents] The admonishments were issued several years before al- Qaedas affiliate in Iraq severed ties and rebranded itself the Islamic State. But the documents reveal the extent to which the ideological dispute behind that rupture was becoming intractable even before bin Ladens demise. The origins of the disagreement between al-Qaeda and [its Iraq wing] all the guts are there, said a senior U.S. intelligence official involved in reviewing the bin Laden letters and other materials that were declassified for Tuesdays release. In this 2011 file photo, residents gather outside a house in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a raid the day before. U.S. intelligence agencies have released more than 100 documents and other materials that were seized in the raid. The materials were declassified and made public on Tuesday after a lengthy review by government agencies. (Anjum Naveed/AP) Bin Laden was essentially warning subordinates that if they pursued the Islamic State model, it will fail, the official said, adding that he and other counterterrorism analysts are now waiting to see if bin Laden was prescient. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the material. Although the Islamic State has experienced significant setbacks in recent months, the organization has eclipsed al-Qaeda as the dominant brand of Islamist militancy in the years since bin Laden wrote those messages and has replaced the parent group as the most feared sponsor of terrorist attacks against Europe and the United States. Bin Ladens struggle to contain internal disputes over the terrorist groups direction are traced in letters that are part of a broader collection of 112 documents released Tuesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The files are the latest to be declassified and presented to the public from a massive trove that was recovered from the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where bin Laden was killed in a helicopter raid by U.S. Navy SEALs. U.S. intelligence officials said a final release from the bin Laden trove is expected to take place later this year. The collection includes letters to subordinates in al-Qaeda, messages from followers willing to carry out suicide attacks, and screeds on issues including bin Ladens conviction that the United States and Iran were poised for an apocalyptic war. In one letter, bin Laden scolds one of his deputies for threatening attacks against Iran, saying, As you are aware, Iran is our main artery for funds, personnel and communication. Members of bin Ladens family were held in Iran for years in a murky state of house arrest, leading to speculation that al-Qaeda and Tehran had formed a wary partnership. But U.S. intelligence officials said they have found no evidence in the Abbottabad files of any formal arrangement along those lines. Other documents provide new details on the day-to-day existence for bin Laden in the walled Abbottabad compound and allude to the growing strain on the Pakistani brothers who served as his caretakers and couriers. At one point, bin Laden writes to a colleague that the eight-year arrangement had taken such a toll on Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti that the couriers health was deteriorating and that it is a must that we find new companions to replace them because, for a long time, they were asking us to be released. He then goes on to write a job description, saying the task is mainly to provide security cover and make trips to the market. We bake our own bread and the milk is delivered to the house, he wrote, adding that the children at the compound did not go to the doctor except . . . for broken bones. Bin Laden was increasingly anxious about security amid an escalating campaign of CIA drone strikes. He also frequently seemed clueless about how much his organization had been degraded, calling on deputies to mount operations and fill positions even as they pleaded that they lacked capable recruits. Most of the messages are believed to have been drafted between 2009 and 2011. But some of the documents were handwritten and predate the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Among them is a will that officials said was probably written in the mid-1990s in Sudan, before bin Laden relocated to Afghanistan. In scrawled Arabic writing, bin Laden says that he has $29 million in a bank account in Sudan, and he leaves detailed instructions that if he dies, he wants his followers to spend all the money I have left continuing the global terrorism campaign. The sum was part of bin Ladens share of a massive fortune his family built through contracts on construction projects for the Saudi royal family. U.S. officials said they do not know what became of the money in that Sudanese account. Read more: What do we know about Osama bin Ladens death? Quite a lot, actually. Pakistani leaders knew Osama bin Laden was in Pakistan, says former defense minister Ex-SEAL Robert ONeill reveals himself as shooter who killed Osama bin Laden Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch plans to say Tuesday that recently launched transatlantic talks to enable British access to wiretap data from U.S. firms would protect privacy and human rights. In remarks she was scheduled to deliver to a major cybersecurity conference in San Francisco, Lynch said that under any agreement, the British government would have to accept provisions designed to safeguard such rights. The negotiations are aimed at establishing a new framework that would permit British authorities to serve orders directly on U.S. companies for live intercepts and stored data in cases in which the investigation targets accounts not used by Americans or people in the United States. It would help one of our oldest and closest allies perform high-priority criminal investigations that keep its citizens safe, said Lynch, according to a copy of her prepared speech at the RSA Conference. The talks are the latest instance of an effort to reconcile the borderless nature of the Internet with sometimes conflicting laws created by sovereign states. The talks, which were first reported by The Washington Post, are also aimed at easing the plight of U.S. companies, which are increasingly under pressure from foreign governments such as Britains to comply with their orders for data in criminal and terrorism investigations. Such data might include online chats, for instance. Congress, however, has barred U.S. firms from providing intercepts to anyone except the U.S. government after law enforcement has obtained a court order. This clash of laws has put U.S. companies in a difficult position, Lynch noted. Either they comply with a foreign order, and risk a violation of American law or they refuse to comply, and risk a violation of foreign law, she said. To obtain stored emails from U.S. companies, a foreign government must rely on a mutual legal assistance treaty by which the country makes a formal diplomatic request for the data, and the Justice Department then seeks a court order on its behalf a process that can take many months. Officials at U.S. technology firms have voiced concerns that if no resolution is reached, foreign governments, including Britain, will force them to host their data in those countries. They also fear passage of laws requiring foreign firms to comply with surveillance orders. Britain has passed such a law, though it has not yet tried to enforce it against an U.S. firm. Privacy advocates, however, are worried that the agreement will fail to adequately protect British users privacy and human rights and permit U.S. firms to conduct wiretaps for foreign governments without the same legal standards based on probable cause that exist in the United States. In Britain, rather than a judge approving search and wiretap warrants, the home secretary, who oversees police and internal affairs, issues the warrant if that cabinet member finds that it is necessary for national security or to prevent serious crime and that it is proportionate to the intrusion. Lynch noted that the agreement would require action from Congress. That probably would mean amendments to laws such as the Wiretap Act. The pact is intended to be reciprocal, which, Lynch said, could help U.S. investigations in the future. If the agreement proves successful, she said, it might be replicated with other countries if and only if their laws adequately protect privacy and civil liberties. The negotiations are expected to take months. The White House gave the Justice and State departments the go-ahead to begin the talks in January. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the South Carolina Democratic primary Saturday by a huge margin, defeating Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders by 74 percent to 26 percent. Clinton won 39 delegates to the Democratic nominating convention, compared to 14 for Sanders. It was Clintons first substantial victory in the campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, following narrow wins in caucuses in Iowa and Nevada and a sizeable defeat in the first primary, in New Hampshire. She now leads in total elected delegates, 91 to 65, with some 2,500 required for nomination. Clinton ran up huge totals among African-American voters in the state, with an overall margin of 86 percent to 14 percent, including a 96 percent to 3 percent margin among black voters over 65. Sanders won only two demographic groups tracked in exit polls: white voters and voters under age 30. Clinton had the support of virtually all the states Democratic Party officeholders, including its only Democratic congressman, Jim Clyburn, the deputy minority whip, the third-ranking Democrat in the House, and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, which also endorsed Clinton. Voter turnout plunged in the South Carolina primary compared to 2008, when Clinton was badly beaten by Barack Obama. Clinton won fewer votes in the two-person contest with Sanders than Obama won in a three-way contest with Clinton and John Edwards eight years ago. The total vote in South Carolina primaries for both big business parties, held a week apart, was 978,000 in 2008 and 999,000 in 2016, but the balance between the Republicans and Democrats shifted dramatically. In 2008, 532,000 voted in the Democratic primary and 446,000 in the Republican. This year, only 361,000 voted in the Democratic primary while 738,000 voted in the Republican contest, won by billionaire demagogue Donald Trump. Sanders poured significant resources into the state, including 200 volunteers and nearly $2 million in campaign advertising, but effectively conceded the contest earlier this week as polls showed Clinton with an insuperable lead. The main focus of the Clinton campaign was to appeal to identity politics, based on Clintons gender and her past close ties with the black Democratic Party establishment, while claiming that Sanderss rhetorical attacks on Wall Street and economic inequality made his a single issue campaign. Sanders has attacked Clinton for her close ties to the major banks, demanding that she release the transcripts of speeches to audiences at Goldman Sachs and other financial institutions, for which she received six-figure fees. He told a campaign rally Thursday, I do not receive many millions of dollars from Wall Street or the pharmaceutical industry or other powerful, wealthy interests in this country, and have not given speeches for hundreds of thousands of dollars to Wall Street. But he has avoided any discussion of foreign policy, and particularly the aggressive preparation by the Obama administration for wider military action in the Middle East and provocative deployments against Russia and China, confining his criticism to Clintons vote 14 years ago for war in Iraq. There are 11 states with Democratic Party contests Tuesday. Clinton is heavily favored in polls taken in the six Southern states voting March 1Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginiawhich account for two-thirds of the delegates to be selected that day. Sanders has focused on the other five states, where he is in the lead or competitive: primaries in Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Vermont, and caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota. He addressed a series of large rallies this week, including 10,000 in Austin, Texas, 8,000 in Dallas and 7,000 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, finishing Saturday by speaking to supporters in Rochester, Minnesota. Because of proportional representation, Clinton would not be able to clinch the nomination even if she wins the vast majority of the states on Super Tuesday. Unlike the Republican contest, there is no winner-take-all provision at any stage in the Democratic primary process. In multiple appearances on Sunday morning television talk shows, Sanders dismissed suggestions that a poor showing on Super Tuesday would mark an end to his campaign, declaring that he had many states ahead for potential victories, including California, the most populous state and the last to hold a primary on June 7. Is it too late to stop Donald Trump? Ever since the tinsel-haired mogul clobbered Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz last Tuesday in Nevada, increasing his delegate tally to 82 nearly five times Rubios and Cruzs current totals every pundit, political junkie, and professional Republican in the country has been obsessing over the same question. Now Super Tuesday is upon us. It is the most consequential day on the GOP primary calendar. Eleven states will vote to commit another 595 delegates roughly a quarter of this years total. And Trump is poised to win more of them than anyone else. By Wednesday morning, a lot of people will stop asking whether its too late to stop Donald Trump. Instead, theyll think they know the answer: yes. Dont buy it at least not yet. The truth is, Marco Rubio could still stop Trump. Ted Cruz could stop him, too. Even Ohio Gov. John Kasich could (theoretically) do it. Blocking the Donald from winning the Republican nomination isnt impossible. But it will likely require one of his rivals to remain in the race until the GOP convention in July and to pull off an upset of historic proportions. To understand why Trump is in such a commanding position but also why its too early to declare him the winner you have to understand the byzantine delegate math that Republicans will be relying on to select this years nominee. The rules are remarkably convoluted. Theyre different in almost every state. And theyve changed considerably from four years ago. But in a nominating contest unlike any weve seen before, they will be critical going forward. Barring some sort of cataclysmic event that torpedoes the previously unsinkable Trump a murder charge, perhaps it appears that the Republican race can end only one of two ways at this point. Either (a) Trump wins the nomination or (b) one of his opponents snatches it away from him in Cleveland. Lets consider the likelier scenario first: a Trump victory. Story continues To be the nominee, a Republican needs to win a majority of delegates; this years magic number is 1,237. A scoreboard reads 2016 and 76 for the number of delegates the state of Georgia has as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga., Monday. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP) You may have heard that all of the delegates at stake before March 15 will be awarded proportionally and that most of the delegates at stake after March 15 will be awarded to the candidate who wins each state. This isnt quite correct. In reality, the GOP primary map is a patchwork quilt of different delegate-allocation procedures. Some states, such as Virginia, do award their delegates in a proportional manner; they basically just figure out what percentage of the popular vote each candidate won and give that candidate the same percentage of the total delegates. Other states, such as Florida and Ohio, really are winner take all: Whoever gets a plurality of the popular vote automatically wins all the delegates. But most states are somewhere in between, regardless of where they fall on the calendar. Some require a candidate to hit a threshold as high as 20 percent of the popular vote to win any delegates at all. Others are proportional until one candidate secures a majority of the popular vote, at which point they convert to winner take all. Others are winner take all by congressional district, which makes them more like winner take most at the statewide level. And still others, such as Colorado, will use their caucuses to choose delegates who are not immediately bound to any candidate in particular. Confused yet? Dont worry. It isnt necessary to memorize every states allocation formula. The most important thing to know about the GOPs wacky delegate rules is that they are biased toward winners. In other words, a Republican primary candidate can earn a fairly low percentage of the overall popular vote and still amass a majority of the delegates. He or she just needs to finish first in a lot of states. This is very good news for Trump. Through the first four contests Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada he has won 32.7 percent of the popular vote. Thats hardly a commanding plurality. Yet because Trump finished first in three of those contests, his vote totals have been enough to secure him 65.6 percent of the delegates awarded to date. Consider South Carolina. Trump didnt just win statewide; he won every congressional district. As a result, he picked up all 50 Palmetto State delegates. If Rubio, Cruz and, to a lesser extent, Kasich and Ben Carson remain in the race, splitting the other 60 or so percent of the popular vote among them, Trump could reach 1,237 delegates without ever persuading a majority of Republican primary voters to support him. In fact, according to one recent analysis, Trump would need only 39 percent of the popular vote in a three-way race with a second-place Rubio and a third-place Cruz or 36 percent in a three-way race with a second-place Cruz and a third-place Rubio to clear the 1,237 mark before the convention. That number sinks even lower if Kasich and Carson continue to campaign. Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz with his family at a rally in Dallas on Monday. (Photo: Stewart F. House/Getty Images) It isnt hard to see how Trump gets to 1,237. The race just has to keep going the way its gone so far. In Nevada the first contest with only three major contenders Trump won 45.9 percent of the vote. According to the forecasters at FiveThirtyEight, he currently has a 91 percent chance of winning Alabama on Super Tuesday; a 76 percent chance of winning Georgia; a 95 percent chance of winning Massachusetts; a 65 percent chance of winning Oklahoma; and a 72 percent chance of winning Virginia. He leads by nearly 20 percentage points in the latest Tennessee poll. Neuroscientist Sam Wang, who runs the respected Princeton Election Consortium, projects that Trump will win 31 percent of the popular vote on Super Tuesday enough for him to collect 48 percent of the delegates. Combined with early-state delegates, Trump would [then] have a cumulative total of 369 out of 695 delegates, or 53 percent, Wang writes. So there is a very good chance that Donald Trump will end up with over 50 percent of cumulative delegates at the end of Tuesday night. The next big primary day, March 15, looks rosy for Trump as well: He leads by 19.5 points in Florida, 15.5 points in Illinois, 5 points in Ohio, and 10.3 points in North Carolina. And it may get even rosier if he meets or exceeds expectations on Super Tuesday. In short: The less things change, the more Trump benefits. But what if things change? What if, for instance, one (or more) of Trumps rivals drop out? The easiest way for this to happen is a home-state humiliation. If Cruz loses Texas on Tuesday or if, two weeks later, Rubio loses Florida or Kasich loses Ohio it would be nearly impossible for them to continue their candidacies. In that case, whoever is still campaigning against Trump if anyone is still campaigning stands to pick up a bunch of non-Trump voters. The question then becomes whether the last man standing can attract enough non-Trump voters to reach the magic 1,237 mark. Say Cruz tanks in the Lone Star State Tuesday and suspends his campaign not likely, but certainly possible. According to the New York Times delegate calculator, Rubio would then need to win roughly 49 percent of the remaining popular vote to clinch the nomination (or 48 percent to stop from Trump from clinching it). Cruzs path is more challenging. Imagine Rubio chokes in Florida on March 15, then quits. Going forward, Cruz could pass Trump in the delegate count by winning 50 percent of the remaining popular vote. But even if he managed to boost that number to 60 percent, it wouldnt be enough to get him to 1,237 before the convention. As for Kasich, theres no way for him to earn a majority of delegates, either. Assuming that Rubio loses Florida and Cruz loses Texas, his best chance would be to defeat Trump in Ohio, then go on to win enough of the remaining popular vote about 49 percent to keep Trump from clinching the nod. If Trump hasnt secured 1,237 delegates before the first official ballot in Cleveland, the GOP will hold whats known as a brokered convention the first since 1952. All committed delegates will be released. The horse-trading will begin. Another 437 unpledged party regulars will be able to throw their support behind whomever they want. After many rounds of voting, the party will be pick its nominee on the floor of the Quicken Loans Arena. This isnt the likeliest scenario. But it isnt unthinkable, even if no one withdraws anytime soon. For instance: Its possible to imagine Rubio splitting the post-March 6 vote with Trump, 34 percent to 34 percent, while another 20 percent of Republicans hardcore conservatives and committed evangelicals, perhaps cling to Cruz. According to the Times calculator, these results would likely trigger a brokered convention. Right now, Trump is the heavy favorite to represent the GOP at the polls this November, and he is likely to become an even heavier favorite after Super Tuesday. But Trump hasnt clinched the 2016 Republican primary yet. And he isnt guaranteed to clinch it in the weeks and months ahead. Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio greets supporters during a campaign stop at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Va., on Sunday. (Photo: Carlos Barria/Reuters) In the end, Republicans may decide that they are more terrified of the rebellion that would erupt if Trump were denied the nod in Cleveland than they are terrified of Trump himself: his ideological apostasy, his political dilettantism, his naked opportunism, the damage he would likely inflict on down-ticket Republicans this fall. Or maybe not. Unless Trump arrives in Ohio with 1,237 delegates in tow, all bets are off. As Rubio himself put it on CBSs Face the Nation last weekend, The rules are what they are in the Republican Party. You have to have X number of delegates in order to be the nominee. And if you dont have those number of delegates, then theres a process in place. Here is what is never going to happen, Rubio continued. Theres never going to be a time where the Republican Party rallies around and says you have to get out or anyone has to get out for purposes of rallying around Donald Trump. And so were going to do whatever it takes. We will be in this race as long as it takes. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: AP) No one expects a breakthrough when Pres. Barack Obama hosts Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, on Tuesday to talk about the confrontation over filling the Supreme Court seat held by the late Antonin Scalia. McConnell said last week that hell repeat his objection to taking up any nominee Obama sends to the Senate, leaving the vacancy to the next president to fill. The president, meanwhile, will reiterate that nominating someone is his constitutional duty until he leaves office, and giving that person a fair hearing is the Senates job, according to White House press secretary Josh Earnest. Were talking about a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. The stakes are quite high, Earnest said Monday. The Constitution is quite clear about how we should proceed. The Constitution says that the president shall nominate someone to the Supreme Court, and thats exactly the constitutional responsibility that the president has embraced and will fulfill. Vice President Joe Biden, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and the top Democrat on the judiciary committee, Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., will also take part in the meeting, which is shaping up as a standoff, not a step forward. Im confident theyll have a discussion about what the president hopes the process looks like, Earnest said. But McConnells position makes it hard for him to engage constructively. Republicans pressed for the meeting to take place on so-called Super Tuesday, when Americans who follow politics will likely be more focused on the presidential primaries several sources said. Democrats predict McConnell will cave under pressure from Senate Republicans who are up for reelection this year in states that Obama carried in 2008 or 2012 and who are feeling the heat over his refusal to hold hearings. They point to editorial boards denouncing McConnells position, and public opinion polls showing robust opposition to his approach. And they note that some prominent Republican figures notably governors, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConnor and former attorney general Alberto Gonzales have broken with the Senate leader. Story continues The White House has been working to enlist outside groups to add to the pressure. Obama has assigned former reelection campaign spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter to be the point person where appropriate and where necessary, for the White House to coordinate with those outside groups, Earnest said. Republican congressional staffers, meanwhile, say that the White House is badly misreading their sides political climate. Even those vulnerable Republicans need the GOP base to turn out in November, they say. And the base is in no mood for compromise with the Obama White House. The meeting wont really test either premise. But what will undeniably alter the debate, officials on both sides say, will be the actual selection of a nominee. Once that nominee has been put forward, the ball will then move squarely into Congress court no pun intended, Earnest said Monday. And Congress will then have to determine whether or not theyre willing to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities, and ultimately this will be a choice for the Republican majority to make. Earnest hinted that some Republicans might find it hard to vote against Obamas choice, pointing to yes votes from a number of Republicans for Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, the presidents Supreme Court nominees in 2009 and 2010. Even though I dont know exactly who the presidents going to choose to fill this vacancy on the Supreme Court, Im confident the presidents going to put forward somebody who he believes can serve with honor and distinction on the Supreme Court, and therefore merit bipartisan support in the United States Senate, Earnest said. One aide to a vulnerable Senate Republican, who requested anonymity, jokingly suggested that there might be another, very different source of pressure as early as Tuesday night. Im not sure we want to be in the business of telling voters that wed rather risk having Donald Trump nominate the next Supreme Court justice, he said. By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department plans to hire private contractors to develop a $600-million-plus computer system for a new background check agency being set up after a security breach last year exposed the personal data of nearly 22 million people, a top official told Reuters. The Pentagon plans to meet interested companies and request proposals before Sept. 30, the end of fiscal year 2016, after finalizing requirements for a more flexible and adaptive replacement, said Richard Hale, the Pentagon's deputy chief information officer for cybersecurity. In an interview with Reuters given late last week, he said the Pentagon hoped to build the new system as quickly as possible, but its progress would be measured by testing and events rather than preset dates. Big arms makers like General Dynamics Corp, Raytheon Co, Lockheed Martin Corp and Northrop Grumman Corp are expected to bid for the work. The White House last month set up a new agency, the National Background Investigations Bureau, to replace the Office of Personnel Managements (OPM) Federal Investigative Services (FIS), which currently handles more than 2 million background checks for federal agencies and industry. Still reeling from the massive OPM hack, the White House has said the Pentagon would handle the new agency's information technology (IT) to ensure its security, but gave no details. The Pentagon's fiscal 2017 budget proposal includes $95 million in initial funding for the system, and foresees $520 million in additional spending through fiscal 2021, said Pentagon spokeswoman Army Lieutenant Colonel Valerie Henderson. Hale said the new system would be developed and built over time, with some parts in place by the start of fiscal 2018, or sooner if possible. Hale said the Pentagon was confident about working with contractors despite last year's breach. "We have quite a lot of faith in the cleared defense industry," he said. "We believe that we can develop this information technology with industry as safely as we could as if we were to do the development entirely in house." Hale said the new agency's IT structure would be designed to be flexible enough to support whatever new investigative process the government settled on for the new background check agency. The idea was to continuously evaluate information about people with security clearances, including "all kinds of sources" such as financial and travel records, he said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; editing by John Stonestreet) Photo: CPV The host said Vietnam treasures its strategic partnership with Germany, which was set up in October 2011 and has been thriving in areas such as politics, economics, culture and education-training. He described the SPD parliamentary groups visit as a very special occasion that would help intensify the two countries mutual understanding and cooperation. Germany has been Vietnams top EU trade partner for many years, with 19 percent of the Southeast Asian nations exports sent to this market. Their trade reached USD7.8 billion in 2014 and exceeded USD7.3 billion in the first ten months of last year. However, Nhan said, bilateral trade has accounted for only 3.8 percent of his countrys total trade. Meanwhile, Germanys investment in Vietnam remains modest, about USD1.5 billion or 0.5 percent of foreign investment here. He said he hopes that Oppermann, Chairman of the parliamentary group of the SPD one of the two biggest parties in Germany will help German parliamentarians and officials understand and support Vietnam at international forums, and encourage German investment in the country. Germany is also the biggest and most effective partner of Vietnam in education-training and science-technology, he said, deeming the Vietnam-Germany University project a prime example. The official asked the German government to provide more favorable conditions for Vietnamese students and postgraduates in the EU nation. For his part, Thomas Oppermann said visits to Vietnam by the two biggest parties in Germany within one year demonstrate his countrys great attention paid to the ASEAN nation. The strategic partnership will benefit both sides in spheres such as economics, politics and education-training, he noted. He added that one of his countrys economic development priorities is increasing overseas investment, including in Vietnam. Projects like Vietnam-Germany University and the to-be-formed Germany-Vietnam chamber of commerce and industry will enhance economic collaboration and German investment in Vietnam./. It was the highlight of a Vocational Education and Training capacity-building project that commenced in November 2014. Led by the Australian Government in partnership with industry organisations in Australia, a central aim of the project is to share Australias experience and expertise in building better linkages between the training system and industry, so that training matches industry needs. 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 SHIJIAZHUANG, Feb. 26, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on Feb. 25, 2016 shows a cluster of residential buildings for sale in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province. China's housing market continued to warm in January, with more than half of surveyed major cities reporting month-on-month rises in new home prices. Of 70 large and medium sized cities surveyed in January, new home prices climbed month on month in 38, compared with 39 the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday. (Xinhua/Zhu Xudong) BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- China and other world economies share weal and woe together amid global economic slowdown, and it is unreasonable to put all the blames on the world's second largest economy alone. With the annual sessions of China's top legislature and political advisory body approaching, the Chinese economy and the so-called spillover effects of its slowdown has become a hot topic again. As a matter of fact, the lackluster global economy comes along with a complicated process -- the profound economic restructuring of the United States and European countries, continuous de-leveraging, weak demand, and re-balancing of the global economy. In many areas, China is not an exporter of the economic crisis, but an absorber and bearer of multiple pressures. Facing the crisis stemming from Western nations, China and other economies, which stand together in the same global value chain, should jointly meet the test of transformation. Statistics can prove that the world economy is not dragged down by China, whose contribution to it currently accounted for up to 30 percent. Despite the slowdown in imports, the amount of China's imports of bulk commodities is not decreasing. In addition, Chinese tourists were still the major consumer group as they spent 1.2 trillion yuan (184 billion U.S. dollars) overseas last year, according to an estimate by Fortune Character, a luxury market consultancy. In the global value chain, China is transforming from a big importer of bulk commodities into a key player of consumer goods and services. The Asian giant is also in evolution from a world factory into a global end market. In the opinion of George Magnus, a researcher with the University of Oxford China Center and senior advisor to the United Bank of Switzerland, due to such factors as the enormous size of the Chinese economy and its structural reform, the country is exporting a "new dividend" to the global economy. He said that despite a slowdown in its economic growth, the country will not cause trouble to other economies. At a time of economic globalization and regional integration, China and the world economy has formed a community of common destiny long ago. In this context, all countries should cooperate and work out new measures in reform to tide over the difficulties, rather than pointing fingers at each other. As a matter of fact, the Chinese economy is in no way as pathetic as some described. Last year, consumption contributed up to 66.4 percent to the country's GDP growth, setting a new record since 2001. The tertiary sector accounted for 50.5 percent of China's GDP, 10 percent higher than that of the manufacturing industry. Against the backdrop of a 0.4 percent decrease in its growth rate, China managed to create 11 million jobs in 2015, 300,000 more than the previous year. Driven by the ongoing supply-side structural reform, China has witnessed the upgrading of its economic structure despite the slowdown, as well as the rise of new industries along with the vanishing of old, outdated industries, which led to the expansion of job creation. The purported signs of crash of the Chinese economy by some in a rush are, in effect, a strong proof of the economic transformation China has been pushing ahead with, according to John Edwards, a fellow of the Sydney-based Lowy Institute for International Policy. For global investors, China abounds with opportunities in the near future. In 2015, venture capitalists invested a record 37 billion dollars in China, more than doubled the previous year's tally, according to data from British consultancy Preqin Ltd.. The company held that China, with more focus on innovation and improving quality, has been emerging as a legitimate challenger to the United States for leadership of the technology industry. One basic fact that should be acknowledged is that China will by no means encounter overwhelming economic crisis nor recession, thanks to its huge economic aggregate, current market opening and social reform, people's lasting passion for innovation, as well as highly effective government controls. Just as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has put it, the Chinese economy has been growing amid challenges. It is advisable that some countries stop pointing fingers at China and abandon the notorious zero-sum mindset. It is wise for them to turn to focus on working with China, through global platforms such as the Group of 20, to enhance production capacity cooperation worldwide and inject greater impetus into the sluggish global economy. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] European Parliament's Need Assessment Mission on recommendations for Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada reforming Pat Cox has recommended the Verkhovna Rada to optimize its work and decrease a quorum necessary for voting. "There are 2,500 bills on the agenda of the parliament, and 200 of them were tabled by MPs, which is good, but a lot," Cox said presenting the report of his mission in Brussels. He said it was necessary to improve monthly schedule of parliamentary sittings, the parliament's control mechanisms over the executive power, as well as the structure of the parliamentary committees. Cox also noted that Rada had a high quorum for decision taking. "225 votes plus one that is sooner for the Constitution," Cox said. He advised to reduce it when adopting less important decisions. Besides, Cox pointed to the voting system in the Verkhovna Rada, saying that "opposition should win the voting from time to time" that would correspond to the democratic procedures in the parliament. As reported, the Ukraine Week (February 29-March 3) is being held in the European Parliament with Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada's Speaker Volodymyr Groysman partaking, Rada's heads of factions and committees, and MPs. The total sum of the claims filed by NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy against Russia's OAO Gazprom under a gas transit contract is $8.2 billion, Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolev said at Adam Smith Conferences' Ukrainian Energy Forum in Kyiv on Tuesday. "The total sum of the claims under the transit contract is $8.2 billion," he said. New tariffs for gas transportation, which were approved by the National Commission of Ukraine for Energy, Housing and Utilities Services Regulation (NCER), have already become effective, and Naftogaz expects it will be able to enforce the new tariff system on Gazprom either through talks or in court. "Should a compromise be found [with Gazprom], there might be additional payments for the period since the new tariffs became effective," he added. The fact that de jure the new tariffs are in effect already but de facto Gazprom doesn't apply them, Naftogaz has difficulties with payment of VAT on transportation, Kobolev said. "'We're jointly with the Finance Ministry looking for a solution to use the cash method of accounting," he added. The European Commission has proposed to hold trilateral gas negotiations involving Ukraine, the European Union and Russia at the end of the current heating season (in late March), Vice-President of the EU Commission for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic said. He said at the at Adam Smith Conferences' Ukrainian Energy Forum in Kyiv, on Tuesday, that he believed that the sides would meet at the end of the current heating season. The day of negotiations has yet to be chosen, Sefcovic said. The surplus of Ukraine's national budget in January 1, 2016 reached UAH 2.45 billion, including UAH 1.7 billion of surplus for the general fund of the budget, while in January 2015 the deficit was UAH 9.18 billion, including UAH 11.1 billion for the general fund. The State Treasury Service reported that revenue of the national budget in January grew by 32.6% year-over-year, to UAH 29.64 billion, including a rise of 43.9% for the general fund, to UAH 27.86 billion. Expenses of the national budget fell by 13.9%, to UAH 27.16 billion, including a decline of 14.1% for the general fund, to UAH 26.17 billion, which is linked to the absence of inter-budget transfers, being UAH 11.53 billion in January 2015. The authority said that the National Bank of Ukraine did not sent funds to the national budget in January 2016 and January 2015. As reported, the upper deficit limit of the 2016 national budget is set at UAH 83.69 billion, or 3.7% of GDP. The Finance Ministry of Ukraine starts preparing for the privatization of minority stakes in state-run banks. Deputy Finance Minister of Ukraine Artem Shevalev said at a roundtable devoted to the economic forecast at LIGABusinessInform on Tuesday that this concerns the privatization of minority stakes in state-run banks in the amount of at least 20% of the share capital. It is planned that international financial institutions (IFIs), first of all, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will buy the shares. Shevalev said that serious changes to Ukrainian legislation are required to privatize the minority stakes in state-run banks. The first phase of the privatization could finish in the middle of 2018. "We have time, but preparation discussions are being held and yesterday we had a meeting with the EBRD on the issue," he said. Public joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia is analyzing the possibility of an arrest of assets of Ukrainian railways by Russia to secure the claim on the $3 billion debt and the company is ready to do all possible to avoid this, Director for Reformation, Law and Asset Policy and Board Member of Ukrzaliznytsia Yevhen Kravtsov has said. "Weve raised the issue at Ukrzaliznytsia for the legal analysis. There could be potential risks, but we're doing everything not to have these sanctions applied to railway assets. Of course, we will make relevant operating decisions if it requires," he said after the sector control presentation of the Center for Transport Strategies in Kyiv on Tuesday. As reported, referring to Russian Deputy Finance Minister r Sergei Storchak, that Ukraine has until March 4 to respond to a Russian court claim for debt on eurobonds. "The key date is the first one, March 4, by when the Ukrainians are due to respond to our lawsuits. The court will then schedule hearings. We have filed the suit and they have to make at least some sort of counter-argument. It's the usual plaintiff-defendant procedure the plaintiff first and the defendant second," he said. Some experts and lawyers said that the decision on the claim could be potentially secured by an arrest of state-owned assets of Ukraine located abroad, which could be passenger cars that run on international routes. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk has offered to start work on a draft resolution on the synchronizing the energy systems of Ukraine and the European Union. "This will be right for Ukraine to synchronize its energy systems with those of the European Union. I have the required political will. I want Ukraine to become a part of Europe. We have signed the Association Agreement, and energy industry should be part of this solution," Yatseniuk said at a meeting with Vice President of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic in Kyiv on Tuesday. For his part, Sefcovic stressed that similar solutions were developed for the Baltic countries. And their experience could be used in this context, he said. The surplus of Ukraine's balance of payment in January 2016 reached $120 million, while a year ago its deficit was $890 million, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has reported on its official website. The central bank said that the deficit of the current account in January was $379 million ($288 million in January 2015). Exports fell more quickly than imports: the downward pace of exports grew to 32.1% (14.1% in December 2015), while the falling pace of imports fell to 22.9% (34%). Exports of goods decreased by 41.2% compared to December 2015 and imports by 22.5%. Exports of goods in January 2016 reached $1.8 billion. Exports of ferrous and non-ferrous metals fell by 46.8%, mineral products (including ores) by 44.4%, chemical products by 40.3%, engineering products by 32.4% and food by 19.8%. The central bank said that exports to Asia and Russia fell most of all almost halved. The share of Asia decreased to 32.7% (39.2% in January 2015), and the share of Russia was 6.6% (8.6%). Exports to the EU fell by 7.6%, and its share grew to 41.1% (30.2%). The NBU said that imports totaled $2.4 billion. Energy imports plunged by 52.4% (56.5% in December 2015), while non-energy imports declined only by 6.8% (26.1%). Imports of food decreased by 4.1% (42.5%), chemical products by 4.8% (25.7%), while imports of engineering products rose by 6.3% (11.4% down in December 2015). The central bank said that imports from Russia dropped by 60% year-over-year, and its share of total imports fell to 10.1% from 19.9%. Imports from the EU fell by 14.4%, while its share grew to 35.1% from 31.7%. Net foreign borrowing in January totaled $380 million ($288 million in January 2015). In January 2016, net inflow of funds to the financial account was $500 million, while in January 2015 outflow was $602 million. Additionally, the central bank assessed the increase in foreign direct investment by $23 million. In January, the net increase in foreign position of the banking system for transactions with portfolio and other investment was $54 million, which is linked to a rise in foreign assets. The NBU said that the credit debt grew by $265 million and off-bank cash fell by $298 million. Net inflow for private sector's transactions was $479 million, while outflow in January 2015 was s$584 million. The central bank said that the formation of the surplus of the balance of payment entailed a rise in forex reserves to $13.4 billion, which is enough to cover imports for 3.5 months. Traditional Ukrainian dairy products could be promising for exports to the European Union (EU) countries to satisfy demand of ethnic groups of population, economist of the technical cooperation department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO) Andriy Yarmak has said. "Today I helped to organize a meeting for Ukrainian processing companies with the largest distributor of ethnic food in the EU countries. They showed their interest to the concrete products of concrete companies which received permits [to export to the EU]," he said in Kyiv on Tuesday. He said that the number of clients of ethnic shops is around 10 million people. "However, if we compare income of these 10 million who visit these stores, this is comparable with 100 million Ukrainians. This is not a small market, and we speak about products for which there are no quotas," Yarmak said. Head of the group on consulting Ukraine in agrarian trade as part of the Ukraine-EU Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) Olha Trofimtseva said that organic dairy products could have prospects for exports. "The large potential of opening the European market for us is the high-quality niche products. Maybe, organic chees from goat milk or something like this would really have large chances," she said. As reported, 10 Ukrainian companies received permits to supply dairy products to the EU from January 10, 2016. NBU expects that debt on refinancing credits to fall by UAH 12.8 bln in 2016 The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) expects that the debt on refinancing credits in 2016 will be paid thanks to sale of assets used as collateral for credits that could be worth UAH 12.8 billion, Director of the risk management department Ihor Budnyk has said. According to the NBU, expected revenue from sale of property is UAH 1.7 billion, securities UAH 4 billion and rights to credits UAH 7.1 billion. Budnyk said that Delta Bank has the best collateral from the point of quality. The regulator said that revenues from expected payments on the portfolio of ownership rights of Delta Bank will be UAH 1.8 billion, and from the accumulated payments on the portfolio of ownership rights of Delta Bank UAH 2.6 billion. "I think that in April the Individuals' Deposit Guarantee Fund would send the money to us [Delta Bank's ownership rights' portfolio]," he said. Budnyk said that in 2015 the central bank received UAH 1.1 billion from the sale of collateral, including UAH 630 million from sale of securities, UAH 370 million ownership rights and credits and UAH 100 million from sale of property. One of the former private owners of nationalized Ukrgasbank and a former deputy chairman of the bank's board hacked the bank's database to withdraw property from collateral and removed restrictions on its sale, the SBU Security Service of Ukraine said. "The state-owned bank had two plots of land worth almost UAH 55 million in Kyiv put up as collateral. Acting by proxy from commercial structures owning the plots, the two criminals attempted to sell one plot and used the other to get a mortgage," the SBU's press center said. The SBU jointly with the prosecutors and police managed to prevent the deals, the property was returned to the bank. "The investigation is under way to bring the organizers of the deal with state-owned property to responsibility," the SBU said without giving more details. Co-owner of Ukrgasbank Vasyl Gorbal wrote on Facebook that the case concerns Oleksiy Omelyanenko and deputy chairman Valeriy Tkachenko and a building with 5,000 square meters on Staronavodnytska Street in Kyiv. Gorbal posted a copy of excerpted document No. 42015100010000360 from the criminal case, saying that the claim was filed early in November 2015 under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Omelyanenko in turn claims he knows nothing about any investigation by the SBU against him. He sent a letter to Interfax-Ukraine, pointing to the inconsistency of the information provided by the SBU and Gorbal. The SBU reported about two plots of land, while Gorbal mentions a building on Staronavodnytska, Omelyanenko said. He also writes that the documents provided by Gorbal mention plot No. 8000000000: 82: 034: 0005 according to the Ukrainian cadastre, while the cadastre has no plot of land or a building on Staronavodnytska Street under this number. "In addition, I'd like to note that we've been in long litigation with Vasyl Gorbal over the subject of our former business relations. I think that the author of the Facebook post Gorbal explicitly uses manipulative information to put pressure on me and promote himself," Omelyanenko said in the letter. Ukrgasbank was created in 1993. As of October 2015 the state had 94.9409% of its shares. Ukrgasbank ranked 11th among 123 operating banks in the country by total assets estimated at UAH 34.044 billion as of October 1, 2015, according to the National Bank of Ukraine. Leader of the Samopomich faction in the parliament Oleh Bereziuk has stressed that Ukraine faced with a quality of life crisis, not a political one. "It is not a political crisis [in the country], it's a crisis of salaries, quality of life; and the better the institution of state is, the better we will be able to cope with what we call crisis," Bereziuk said at a joint press conference with the leaders of other Ukrainian parliamentary factions during the Ukraine Week in Brussels on Monday. Bereziuk said it was necessary to reshuffle Ukraine's Cabinet, set up effective government, as well as to replace the prosecutor general. "We should change our Central Election Commission and fight against political corruption during elections. We should change the election rules and to make them transparent and progressive," Bereziuk added. Ukraine calls on international community to put pressure on Russia until Donbas and Crimea de-occupied Ukraine has called on the international community to put as much pressure as possible on Russian Federation and to reserve sanctions until Donbas and Crimea are de-occupied, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported. "Russia fulfilled none of its commitments in line with the Minsk Agreements. Russia and Russia-governed militants continue military provocations, also using weapons, which should be pulled out under control and monitoring of OSCE: multiple rocket launcher systems, self-propelled artillery, 82 mm and 120 mm mortars," reads a statement of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry released by its press service on Monday. The foreign ministry said that Russian troops in Donbas continue rotation, trainings and supplies via the non-controlled parts of the border, while OSCE SMM even now has no access to all the territories controlled by Russia and militants. "Russia and its puppets constantly hamper liberation of over 130 Ukrainian hostages keeping them in inhuman conditions, torturing and threatening with a death penalty in line with Criminal Code of USSR," reads a document. Besides, the diplomats reiterated about political prosecutions of citizens of Ukraine and Russia's unwillingness to liberate political prisoners Nadia Savchenko, Oleh Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko and others. Moreover, the ministry pointed out that Russia and militants block supplies of Ukrainian and international humanitarian aid to civil population and hamper work of the international humanitarian organizations, such as Red Cross. None of the Ukrainian servicemen deployed in the army operation zone in Donbas have been killed, yet three servicemen have suffered injuries over the past day, Ukrainian Presidential Administration spokesman for military issues, Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, said. "None of our servicemen were killed, but three were injured over the past day. One soldier suffered injuries in the explosion of the enemy's pull-action mine in Kamyanka, one was hurt in Krasnohorivka, and another one in Maryinka in shelling incidents," he said at a press briefing in Kyiv, on Tuesday. All was quiet in the Luhansk sector, Motuzyanyk said. The truce in the Zaitseve-Mayorsk sector of the Donetsk area was not breached for the first time in months. Yet a series of provocations were staged on the Svitlodarsk bulge, the Kyiv representative said. In his words, the militants used mortars seven times in Pisky and Krasnohorivka. In total, 35 armed provocations were observed in the Donetsk sector over the past day. The enemy breached the truce near Maryinka and Hnutove in the Mariupol area: 82mm mortars were used once, and snipers were active twice, Motuzyanyk said. In total, 19 militants' attacks were observed in that area, he added. Over 2,600 Ukrainian servicemen were killed and over 9,000 were wounded since the beginning of the Russian aggression in February 2014, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said. "On February 20, 2014, Russia launched its military aggression against Ukraine, having occupied the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. Today, this aggression continues in Donbas. Since the aggression occurred, over 2,600 Ukrainian servicemen have been killed and over 9,000 have been wounded. Only for the last two months of 2016 Ukrainian positions have been attacked over 2,500 times that resulted in killing of 12 servicemen and wounding 150 of them," Foreign Ministry said is a statement issued on Monday. The ministry stressed that Russia-formed, equipped and financed army in a number of 40,000 under the command of Russian officers during their aggression against Donbas. "This army has the most modern Russian weapons: heavy artillery and multiple rocket launchers, equipment for encrypted communication and surveillance, anti-aircraft missiles. At present this army has about 470 tanks, 870 armored vehicles, 450 artillery systems, 190 multiple rocket launchers. Russia also uses prohibited weapons such as cluster ammunition and anti-personnel mines," the statement said. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also noted that Russia had not fulfilled any of its commitments under the Minsk agreements. In particular, Russia and militants that it controls continue military provocations with the use of weapons, which should be withdrawn under the OSCE supervision and monitoring, namely multiple launch rocket systems, artillery, 82-mm and 120-mm mortars. Russian troops in Donbas also continue unimpeded rotation, training, and delivery through uncontrolled areas of the Ukrainian state border. Ukraine negotiates simplification of travel regime with more than 30 countries, Director of the Consular Service Department of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Andriy Sybiha has said. "The negotiations to simplify the travel regime for our citizens are held with more than 30 countries: in Latin America, the Persian Gulf, South and South-East Asia," Sybiha said while communicating with Facebook users on Monday. In particular, the country's leadership is considering the introduction of a visa-free regime for citizens of Australia and New Zealand. Talks on mutual simplification of a visa regime with Singapore are underway. Members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the European Parliament have endorsed the recommendations of the report of the needs assessment mission of the European Parliament, which contains a roadmap of the reform and transformation of the Ukrainian Parliament, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman and President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz said in a joint statement. Groysman and Schulz issued a joint statement on the results of a meeting of leaders of factions of the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday, March 1, the Ukrainian parliament's press service reported. "During today's unprecedented joint political group leaders' meeting of both parliaments, we endorsed the recommendations of the report of the Needs Assessment Mission led by former EP President Pat Cox, which provides an ambitious roadmap for the reform and the transformation of the Ukrainian parliament. The report contains concrete suggestions on improving the quality of its legislative process, its efficiency and transparency, and represents a joint ownership of all the factions and groups of the Verkhovna Rada," the joint statement reads. "We have also expressed our joint commitment for the implementation of systemic reforms in Ukraine, underlined our unwavering support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty and have stressed the importance of national unity and political consensus of all political forces in Ukraine in this difficult political period. We hope that the reform process of the Verkhovna Rada will unite the majority and the opposition for the common goal of increasing the credibility of the Parliament in the eyes of the society and turning it into a genuine backbone of Ukrainian democracy," the two officials said. Wang zheng, an orthopedist who has just returned from duty at Zhongshan, one of China's Antarctic research stations.(File photo) NANCHANG, Feb. 29 -- Growing vegetables in the South Pole may sound as crazy as attempting to grow potatoes on Mars, as recently seen in "The Martian." In one of China's Antarctic research stations, however, researchers have done just that. "In 'The Martian' Mark Watney is a botanist, but I am a surgeon. I am more comfortable with scalpels than spades," joked Wang Zheng, 41, an orthopedist who has just returned from duty at Zhongshan, one of China's Antarctic research stations. During his year of service, in addition to being the medic for the research team, Wang was tasked with exploring the feasibility of growing fresh vegetables. To grow plants in the Antarctic's extreme conditions, a specialized hydroponics system was developed by a Shanghai-based polar research center. "The system includes a nutrient-rich solution that helps us to germinate a lettuce seed in three days, and one month later fresh lettuce can be harvested once a week," said Wang. Previously, teams based at China's four Antarctic research stations -- Taishan, Great Wall, Zhongshan and Kunlun -- had to solely rely on food deliveries by China icebreaker "Xuelong," or Snow Dragon. A one-way trip takes 75 days and covers over 18,000 nautical miles. "Xuelong does the food-supply run once a year. While meat can be easily frozen, vegetables and fruit do not travel so well," said Yu Wanxian, who is a guest professor with the China Polar Research Center. Yu, who has worked with China's South Pole research programs for over a decade, said life in the stations was hard, and, previously, the only vegetables the teams could eat were dehydrated. "Living in an extreme environment at double-digit temperatures below zero, the desire for green vegetables is not just a physical instinct, but also spiritual," said Yu, who was the lead author of guidelines on nutrition and food supply for Antarctic expeditions, which was published in 2014. Yu said the vegetable nursery at Zhongshan Station had catapulted China to the forefront of polar research, as it ensures researchers can live a healthy lifestyle in the extreme environment. China has approved a budget of 10 million yuan (1.5 million U.S. dollars) to expand the nursery at Zhongshan to provide enough fruit and vegetables for researchers at all four Antarctic stations. Wang Zheng said he tried various plants during his tenure to see which would yield the best harvests. Lettuce, cucumber, tomato and Chinese cabbage all flourished. Chili, gombo and water melon were not so successful. "Despite my success, the supply is still limited. We often joked that the best gift in the South Pole is a fresh cucumber," said Wang. The fresh vegetables have proved popular, even with other researchers based in Antarctica. Foreign teams are always happy to accept an invitation to dinner at the Chinese station, he said. Premier Li Keqiang meets with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew in Beijing on Monday. FENGYONGBIN/ CHINA DAILY President Xi Jinping will meet with US President Barack Obama soon, it was disclosed on Monday. Premier Li Keqiang made the announcement after he received Jacob Lew, special representative of the United States president and the US treasury secretary, in Beijing. The meeting between the two presidents would help to improve relations between the two countries, Li said. An official announcement about the meeting has yet to be released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Lew was in Beijing after attending the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Shanghai late last week. At this meeting, finance officials from the member nations pledged efforts to prevent competitive devaluation of currencies and to facilitate global economic growth. The meeting between Xi and Obama will take place after the National People's Congress holds its annual session in Beijing, beginning on Saturday, to decide on the nation's development this year and, more important, its social and economic program for the next five years. The White House website said the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit will be held on March 31 and April 1 in Washington, DC. When meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week, Obama said he hoped Xi would attend the summit. Li, when meeting with Lew, said good Sino-US relations were very important for both countries, and China placed great emphasis on its economic and trade cooperation with the US, which Li described as an "accelerator" for the overall bilateral ties. Li said it was good to see that during the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors that major economies would enhance coordination on macro policies. Li also said the meeting went smoothly and had sent a stable message to international society. Wang Yusheng, a researcher at a government think tank in Beijing, said the Chinese and US leaders last met at the Paris Climate Summit in December. Their frequent meetings would be "most helpful" for bilateral ties, said Wang, executive director of the Strategy Research Center at the China International Studies Research Fund. "Every time a subtle situation seems to emerge in the bilateral relations, a face-to-face meeting between leaders of the two nations will help to sort things out," Wang said, adding that "there are still some uncomfortable areas in Sino-US ties". After Li's meeting with Lew, Zhu Guangyao, vice-minister of finance who also attended the meeting, said China was glad to see many of its policy proposals were included in the G20 meeting's final document. Xu Hongcai, a researcher of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, another government think tank, praised the Shanghai meeting for reaching a consensus among G20 finance officials to seek a balanced and sustainable way to boost the global economy. This satellite image shows the Yongshu Jiao of China's Nansha Islands. [Photo/Xinhua] China and Vietnam vowed on Monday to maintain peace at sea and to handle disputes well. The promise came after President Xi Jinping met with the first special envoy sent by Hanoi following a political reshuffle in the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam. Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with the envoy sent by the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the Great Hall of the People. The Vietnamese Party expects to maintain maritime peace and stability and advance the partnership between Hanoi and Beijing, Trong said in a message to Xi delivered by envoy Hoang Binh Quan, head of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committees Commission for External Relations. Trong said the two countries have many common fundamental interests, adding that a good and stable bilateral relationship is in line with the interests of both nations people. He also expects to strengthen Vietnamese cooperation with China in economic and other fields. Trong was re-elected to his position at the 12th CPV National Congress, which ended on Jan 28. The congress also appointed a new 19-member Politburo. Quan informed Xi of developments made at the congress. It is tradition for the heads of the CPC and CPV to send special envoys to notify or congratulate each other on key national or party decisions. On Jan 29, after the Vietnamese Congress session, Trong met with Song Tao, a special envoy sent by Xi and head of the CPC Central Committees International Department. On Monday, Xi told the Vietnamese envoy that sending envoys to each others country after the 12th CPV National Congress carries great significance in boosting political trust between the two parties and two nations. He used the term community of common destiny to describe relations between the two countries, adding that Beijing is willing to work with Hanoi to properly handle relevant divisions. Pham Nguyen Long, a senior researcher of international relations at the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences, said a key topic for Quans visit is the South China Sea issue, which has become increasingly complex. The trip is also aimed at curbing tensions over the South China Sea, he said. He said he believed that bilateral relations will continue to be good after the Vietnamese political reshuffle. Pan Jine, a researcher of Vietnamese studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the re-election of Trong would help with a smooth transition. We do not expect major changes in Vietnams China policies, Pan added. Contact the writer at [email protected] Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet attend the 88th Academy Awards in Hollywood on Sunday. DiCaprio won the Best Actor award for his role in The Revenant. CHRISTOPHER POLK / AFP Film fans in China were elated on Monday after Leonardo DiCaprio's first Oscar win for Best Actor at the coveted Academy Awards. While not many of them have seen The Revenant, which will be screened on the Chinese mainland on March 18, they had been rooting for "Little Li", an affectionate nickname for the star, since coverage of the Oscars became routine in the country. Chinese fans share with their peers from other countries their love and support for DiCaprio, but what sets them apart is their exclusive focus on him. Issues such as "white dominance"at the Oscars, and even the nominated movies, received little attention in China. DiCaprio's image as a teen heartthrob from the blockbuster movie Titanic has been indelibly etched on the minds of many fans. They saw his later movies that were nominated, which had much narrower exposure, as outright attempts to win Hollywood's biggest honor. This reached fever pitch when he was nominated for The Wolf of Wall Street, unleashing a barrage of appeals, both online and in mainstream media, for the Academy's recognition. The reason DiCaprio attracts tidal waves of sympathy is his star power. Titanic, released in 1998 in China, was the nation's box-office champion for many years, and even a rerelease in 3-D in 2012 earned 982 million yuan ($150 million), more than the latest Star Warsmovie. The red wristband DiCaprio wore at the awards ceremony was instantly copied and made available at online stores for 15 yuan apiece, supposedly "for turning around fortune". Before nominations were announced in January, all three Chinese-language submissions for Best Foreign Language Film failed to make the cut. The mainland submission, Wolf Totem, was a commercially successful but controversial choice. When the Academy turned it down, alleging that Chinese had too little artistic control as it had a French director and some non-Chinese behind-the-scenes talent, the news did not gain much attention in China. But the replacement, Go Away Mr. Tumor, had many scratching their heads. Both titles failed to make any top-10 lists on home territory, and their selections were widely considered not to represent the country's best achievement in the art of film. (File photo) China urges the U.S. to stop playing the role of international judge and pointing fingers in the South China Sea disputes, said a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday at a press conference. The spokesperson, Hong Lei, said that deployment of necessary and limited national defense measures in a countrys own territory has nothing to do with militarization; in this case it is merely China exercising its right to self-preservation and self-defenserights granted by international law to all sovereign states. Hong added that the deployment suits the environment of China's affected islands and reefs, as well as the threats they are facing. The new measures have nothing to do with militarization. China reiterates its non-acceptance of and non-participation in the South China Sea arbitration initiated by the Philippines, said Hong. Hong stated that the essence of the South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines is territorial and maritime demarcation disputes. China and the Philippines have already reached a consensus through bilateral channels, and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) initiative is also in place to resolve disputes by engaging in negotiations. "I would like to remind the U.S. side that they may be reluctant to join the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), but they are still obligated to respect the rights of its signatory parties," Hong said in response to the U.S.'s requirement that the ruling of the South China Sea arbitration be binding for both China and the Philippines, as they are parties under UNCLOS. Daniel Kritenbrink, senior director for Asian affairs at the U.S. National Security Council, said on Feb. 26 that it would be good if China's non-militarization pledge in the Nansha Islands would extend across the entire South China Sea. After three consecutive victories out of four races in February, now more than 80 percent of Republican voters believe that Trump will be their party's nominee, said a Rasmussen Report poll last weekend. U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reacts as he greets supporters following a campaign event in Radford, Virginia February 29, 2016. WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 -- For any Republicans determined to stop the seemingly unstoppable Donald Trump from becoming the party's standard-bearer, the upcoming Super Tuesday could be their best chance so far in this chaotic election cycle. The question is, can they grab the chance? According to polls, however, the cards are stacked against those Republicans who now seem to be receptive to any nominee as long as it is not Trump. After three consecutive victories out of four races in February, now more than 80 percent of Republican voters believe that Trump will be their party's nominee, said a Rasmussen Report poll last weekend. As the five Republican presidential candidates are barreling towards Super Tuesday on March 1, where 11 U.S. states will hold either Republican primaries or caucuses, a sweeping victories by Trump everywhere now seems increasingly possible. The long-time Republican front-runner now leads the latest poll in eight of the 11 states which will vote on Tuesday. Even Trump's major rival, Senator Ted Cruz from Texas, acknowledged that a strong showing by Trump on Super Tuesday means light out for all other candidates still struggling to survive under Trump's domination of the field. "There is no doubt that if Donald steamrolls through Super Tuesday, wins everywhere with big margins, that he may well be unstoppable," Cruz acknowledged on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday. Contrary to pundit belief, Trump so far has not lost any ground since Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush bowed out after defeat in South Carolina and thus vacated a once crowded Establishment Lane for mainstream candidate Senator Marco Rubio to amass campaign resources. According to a CNN/ORC international poll released on Monday, Trump now attracts 49 percent support among Republican voters, leading his nearest rival Rubio by a staggering 33-point lead. Despite his formidable polling numbers, however, Trump will not be able to end the nomination race on Tuesday no matter how strong his showing will be, since in this phase all delegates will be allotted proportionally. As many as 595 Republican delegates are at stake on Super Tuesday. To win the party's nomination, a candidate has to garner1,237 delegates. After Super Tuesday, a series of winner-take-all Republican primaries will be held across the country, among which the Florida primary on March 15 with 99 delegates at stake has already attracted enormous media attention. An ancient warrior will soon stand watch over a city - when builders add the finishing touches to his 190-foot frame. The world's largest bronze statue of China'a Marquis Guan Yu, which weighs an enormous 1,200 tonnes, is set to be unveiled later this year in Jinzhou. The warrior is known as the god of wealth, and he is often worshipped by business owners. The central China Henan province's figure will be the second heaviest model of the Chinese war hero ever created - weighing five times more than New York's Statue of Liberty. The world's largest bronze statue of Chinese Marquis Guan Yu, which weighs an enormous 1,200 tonnes, is set to be unveiled later this year in Jinzhou. The central China Henan province's figure will be the second heaviest model of the Chinese war hero ever created - weighing five times more than New York's Statue of Liberty. A 2,500 ton version of the red-faced and black bearded warrior was erected in Yuncheng City, in northern China's Shanxi Province in 2010. Created out of copper and steel, the foundation of the 2010 statue is 61 metres tall, to mark Guan's 61-year life. According to RT.com, China's fearsome war hero lived during a period known as the Three Kingdoms, and is celebrated for cutting down enemies using an enormous axe-like weapon called a Green Dragon crescent blade. Chinese Marquis Guan Yu is known as the god of wealth, and he is often worshipped by business owners in China. The warrior is celebrated for cutting down enemies using an enormous axe-like weapon called a Green Dragon crescent blade. The fourth annual session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature, will open on March 5 in Beijing. The fourth session of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top political advisory body, will open on March 3. The media center for the "two sessions" opens on Feb. 27 at the Media Center Hotel of Beijing. Journalists from China and abroad are being invited to cover two major Chinese political meetings this month. (Xinhua/Li xin) BEIJING, March 1 -- Members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee are headed to Beijing for the advisory body's annual session, slated for Thursday. Political advisors from northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region were the first to arrive on Tuesday. With only two days until the start of the two-most important weeks of the political calendar, advisors will submit proposals and insight on state affairs. The National People's Congress, China's top legislature, will begin its annual session on Saturday. Together dubbed the "two sessions," the meetings are the most important political events in China, where political and economic development measures are discussed and key policies adopted. CPPCC members are elected from various walks of life and ethnic groups. They are the think tank for the government, and the legislative and judicial organs. They put forward proposals for the major political and social issues in the world's most populous nation and second-largest economy. Ma Zongbao, head of Ningxia University's institute for Hui ethnic studies, told Xinhua that his proposal calls for better higher education in central and western parts of China as this will aid poverty alleviation in the region. "I hope the country can improve the competitiveness of colleges and universities in central and western China to help them pull themselves out of poverty," he said. China will stage its largest annual political and legislative eventsthe "two sessions"starting on March 3. China Daily takes a close look at a series of likely hot topics and catchphrases during the sessions. Today's catchphraseSkynet operation-refers to the major special action involving Chinese judicial authorities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the People's Bank of China to target fugitives, especially corrupt officials still at large abroad, and to confiscate their ill-gotten proceeds. Under the operation, launched in April last year, Chinese law enforcement officers sought to nab a large number of fugitives, confiscate their illegal passports and other such documents, and smash underground banks. During the eight-month-long operation, they also seized a large amount of illegal assets and persuaded many suspects to return to confess to their crimes. The Skynet operation combines the actions of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the People's Bank of China. It is intended to strengthen law enforcement cooperation with the countries involved, including the United States, Canada and Australia, and to boost measures to prevent fugitives from fleeing abroad to avoid prosecution and punishment. After months of effort from prosecutors, an economic fugitive was persuaded home from Canada and surrendered to authorities in the southern province of Guangdong.[File photo] Hunt for corrupt officials abroad is expected to be hot two sessions topic Chang Zheng, one of China's most-wanted fugitives, told police his life on the run in Canada was marked by emotional hardship. "While fleeing in Canada, I was so depressed that I couldn't look after my elderly parents or contact my relatives, and I wanted every day to come back," police quoted Zheng as saying after his return to China in mid-February. "I will cooperate with law enforcement officers to confess my crimes, then seek lenient punishment," he was quoted by police as saying. The 47-year-old Chang, a former deputy manager of Shenzhen Oil Equipment Import and Export Co in Guangdong province, was persuaded to return to plead guilty to bribery charges after spending five years on the run in Canada. He is the 24th fugitive brought back to face trial since Chinese judicial authorities launched a special operation code-named "Skynet" in April last year. The operation targeted 100 major officials suspected of corruption who are on the run and sought to confiscate their ill-gotten assets. In recent years, the United States, Canada and Australia have become popular destinations for corrupt Chinese officials due to legal differences and the lack of extradition treaties, according to the Ministry of Public Security. A file photo of Beijing Judge Ma Caiyun. [Photo: weibo.com] China's Supreme Court has strongly condemned the criminal act of slaying a Beijing judge that was committed last week. According to the Supreme People's Court, Judge Ma Caiyun was shot to death last Friday by two attackers. The court said one of the attackers was an individual whose post-divorce property settlement case was heard by Ma. Ma's husband was injured in the attack, while a man married to one of the attackers' ex-wives was also killed. The two attackers killed themselves later. Sun Jungong, spokesman for the Supreme People's Court, expressed condolences to judge Ma and other victims on Monday. "We were shocked. Ma Caiyun was an excellent judge. We are deeply saddened at Judge Ma Caiyun's death in the line of duty, we strongly condemn the criminal act of slaying the judge and we feel extremely indignant of it. We also send our sincere sympathy to Ma's family and relatives and other victims." The spokesman also vowed a resolute fight against this kind of criminal acts abiding by law. "The people's court will crack down on law-violating and criminal acts of attacking and injuring judges and their family members abiding by law, and severely punish the criminal acts of infringing on people's rights to life and health. We will take practical and effective measures to firmly safeguard the personal safety of judges and their family members, firmly safeguard the judges' lawful rights, firmly safeguard the integrity of rule of law and make a solid defense of the last line of guarding social equity and justice." It's also being reported that the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee will release a regulation to safeguard judicial staff and their families. The draft regulation vows punishments and charges for anyone who seeks revenge through slander, coercing or false testimony. It also stipulates that in high-risk cases, such as those that concern terrorism or organized crime, measures such as anonymity and court security guards, should be provided. Representatives attend the closing ceremony of the Johannesburg summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dec. 5, 2015. History tells us that Africas relations with China go way back to the Ming Dynasty. However, more recently, formal political relations were established in 1949 which coincided with Africa claiming its independence from its colonisers. China and Africa have solid relations with each having a common vision for a world that is prosperous and developed and where both can play a meaningful role in global political and economic governance. In the 21 century, relations between Africa and China have become deeper and more formal through the China-Africa Forum for Cooperation. The first Summit was hosted by China in 2006, and in 2015, South Africa has hosted the second Summit in Johannesburg. The African Union Commission Chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has described our relations succinctly when she said, the relationship between ourselves and China is founded on four basic principles: treating each other sincerely and equally; consolidating solidarity and mutual trust; jointly pursuing inclusive development; and promoting inventive practical cooperation between our countries. During FOCAC, relations between China and Africa were further strengthened with the adoption of the Declaration of the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation. Most importantly FOCAC ended with the finalisation of a Strategic Vision for Win-win Cooperation. The Declaration is based on the five major pillars that characterise relations between Africa and China: political equality and mutual trust, win-win economic cooperation, mutually enriching cultural exchanges, mutual assistance in security, and solidarity and coordination in international affairs. Both sides further agreed to leverage their social and political capital enhanced by their combined population of 2.3 billion people to advocate for the reformation of the global political and economic governance architecture. To achieve this successfully however, African countries and China must have the required levels of development of their own economies. The implementation of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation Johannesburg Action Plan 2016-2018 will go a long way towards ensuring growth and development of African countries with the support of China. The Action Plan includes targeted cooperation plans over the next three years in the areas of industrialisation, agricultural modernisation, infrastructure construction, financial services, green development, trade and investment facilitation, poverty reduction and public welfare, public health, people-to-people exchanges, and peace and security. The scope of the increased co-operation is included hereunder: China-Africa Industrialisation Plan: China will build or upgrade a number of industrial parks and set up regional vocational education centres and schools for capacity building. China will also train 200 000 technical personnel and provide 40 000 training opportunities for Africans in China. China-Africa Agriculture Modernisation: China will transfer readily applicable technologies to Africa and will encourage Chinese enterprises to engage in large-scale farming, animal husbandry as well as grain storage and processing in Africa to create jobs. China-Africa Infrastructure Plan: China will pursue mutually beneficial co-operation in infrastructure planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance, particularly in the sectors of railway, road, regional aviation, ports, electricity and telecommunications. China will also support the establishment of five transportation universities in Africa. China-Africa Green Development Plan: China will increase capacity for green, low-carbon and sustainable development in Africa which will include support in launching 100 projects to develop clean energy, protect wildlife and build smart cities. China-Africa Trade and Investment Facilitation Plan: China will undertake 50 trade programmes to improve Africas capacity for internal and external trade and investment and will negotiate free trade agreements with countries and regional organisations and increase the import of African products. China-Africa Poverty Reduction Plan: China will cancel outstanding debt in the form of zero-interest loans borrowed by least developed countries in Africa that mature at the end of 2015. China-Africa Public Health Plan: China will support the building of the African centre for disease control and increase co-operation between 20 Chinese and African hospitals. China-Africa Cultural and People-People Exchange: China will build five cultural centres in Africa and provide satellite reception to 10 000 African villages. China will also sponsor 2 000 educational opportunities with diplomas/degrees and 30 000 government scholarships. China-Africa Peace and Security Plan: China will provide grants worth US$60 million (R865.64m) to support the building and operation of the African Standby Force and the African capacity for the immediate response to crisis. China will provide additional funding support to the implementation of the above plans: US$5bn of grant and zero-interest loans, US$35bn of loans of concessional nature on more favourable terms and export credit line, an increase of US$5bn to the China-Africa Development Fund and the Special Loan for the development of African small and medium-sized enterprises, and the China-Africa Fund for Production Capacity Co-operation with the initial contribution of US$10bn. The implementation of these agreements will see the continent moving towards the vision of a prosperous, developed and integrated Africa as envisaged by Agenda 2063. My Favorite Quotes Recent Quotes Portfolio Summary Your most recently viewed tickers will automatically show up here if you type a ticker in the Get Quotes box on the top of the page. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: The UK fully supports the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) project, the country's ambassador to Turkey Richard Moore said, Turkish TGRT TV channel reported March 1. The diplomat noted that the SGC project will ensure the supply of the Azerbaijani gas to Europe and it is one of the major energy projects. The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe through Georgia and Turkey. At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage. As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 Trend: OSCE is expected to monitor the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops March 2, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend March 1. The monitoring will be held under the mandate of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative on the contact line in Azerbaijan's Aghdam 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 Hristo Hristov and Peter Svedberg. On the opposite side, the monitoring will be conducted by the field assistants of OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative Yevgeny Sharov and Jiri Aberle. 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. Edited by SI Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 Trend: Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has expressed condolences to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the casualties in Severnaya mine explosion. "I was deeply saddened by the news of a heavy loss of life in an explosion in the Severnaya mine in Vorkuta," said the president. "On behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I extend my deepest condolences to you, families, relatives of the dead and all the people of Russia, and wish those injured a swiftest possible recovery," President Aliyev added. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 Trend: Albania's former presidents Sali Berisha and Rexhep Meidani will attend the IV Global Baku Forum, Azerbaijan's State Committee on Work with Diaspora told Trend March 1. Both of the ex-presidents are members of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center and they participated in the previous forum. The IV Global Baku Forum, organized by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center and supported by the State Committee on Work with Diaspora, will be held March 10-11 in Baku. The forum will be titled "Towards a Multipolar World". A number of issues of global concern, as well as the role of interreligious dialogue in conflict prevention, issues of migration, multiculturalism and integration, prospects for energy and global governance and other important issues will be discussed at the forum, and an exchange of views on finding solutions to these problems will be held. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 Trend: Each country has a sovereign right to include such a sensitive issue as the violation of territorial integrity on the agenda of international organizations, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said March 1. He made the remarks during the meeting with PACE President Pedro Agramunt who is on an official visit to Baku. Changing the internationally recognized borders of states by using force is inadmissible, said Mammadyarov. OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and the whole international community have recognized the fact that maintaining the status quo in the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is unacceptable and in order to achieve progress in resolving the conflict, Armenian armed forces should withdraw from Azerbaijan's occupied territories as required by the resolutions of the UN Security Council, the foreign minister added. 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. Mammadyarov also urged international organizations to pay special attention to the violation of rights of over a million Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs. Pedro Agramunt, for his part, highlighted the prospects for developing the cooperation between PACE and Azerbaijan. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Chairman of Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Rashad Mahmood. Rashad Mahmood conveyed the greetings and best wishes of Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to the president. Hailing the ancient history of political, cultural and religious ties between the two countries, Mahmood noted that Azerbaijan and Pakistan have always supported each other in most difficult times. "Mr. President, we have always been willing to improve these relations, Azerbaijan is in our heart, and we always proved it," he said. Mahmood expressed confidence that his visit to the country would feature mutually beneficial contacts with his Azerbaijani counterparts. President Ilham Aliyev recalled with pleasure Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain's successful visit to Azerbaijan, and his recent meeting with Pakistani Premier Muhammad Nawaz Sharif in Davos. Hailing the current successful development of historical bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, the president stressed the importance of the two countries' constant support for each other within international organizations. President Aliyev said Azerbaijan was interested in developing bilateral relations with Pakistan in all areas, particularly in political, economic, cultural and military ones. The president said that discussions on the strengthening of the bilateral cooperation will be held during the visit of the delegation led by Rashad Mahmood, expressing his confidence that these discussions would be successful in terms of taking additional measures towards the expansion of the bilateral ties. President Ilham Aliyev thanked for the greetings of President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and asked Rashad Mahmood to communicate his greetings to the Pakistani president and prime minister. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 Trend: Kamal Abdullayev, Academician and State Counsellor for Intercultural, Multicultural and Religious Affairs met BHOS faculty and students and presented his book on literary and artistic sources of multiculturalism in Azerbaijan. The meeting started with the ceremony of laying wreath on the National Leader Heydar Aliyev's bust at the higher school. Welcoming the attendees, BHOS rector Elmar Gasimov underlined President Ilham Aliyev's decree on announcing the year 2016, as the Year of Multiculturalism, emphasising its significance, not only from national, but also from international perspective. Stating the fact of the Year 2016 being called as the Year of Multiculturalism as a call to the international community, the rector emphasized that various religious confessions represented in Azerbaijan had been coexisting freely and in mutual understanding for years, while being highly valued by Azerbaijani people in terms of their linguistic, religious and cultural affiliation. Saying that significant measures had been taking in this respect, Mr. Gasimov talked about relevant activities implemented at BHOS, underlying the events held in collaboration with Azerbaijan Knowledge Foundation, which would be continued in future. State Counsellor Mr. Abdullayev expressed his delight of being hosted by BHOS where a lot of young talents study. Speaking about the history and policy of multiculturalism he underlined its development perspectives in Azerbaijan. He emphasized the year 2016 being called the Year of Multiculturalism as an indicator demonstrating that multiculturalism became a public policy and a lifestyle, while tolerance became a national democratic value. Mr. Abdullayev also talked about an interdisciplinary policy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev directed to protection of the multicultural values in Azerbaijan, adding that this policy had become an inalienable part of our democratic development. Speaking about the National Leader Heydar Aliyev's role in this respect, Mr. Abdullayev said that due to Heydar Aliyev's support and initiatives, protection of the multicultural values had been envisaged in the national legal framework, including the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, underlying the notion of tolerance, a basic principle of the multiculturalism policy, to be clearly indicated in a number of the articles of the Constitution. The counsellor also spoke about the definition of multiculturalism, explaining it as the process of mutual coexistence among the people representing diverse cultures. Mr. Abdullayev also spoke about his book noting that the works by classic poets and writers were approached in a different perspective. He also noted that a multicultural approach to our literature was one of the foundation principles defining its power and urgency. He noted that the book as a kind of an attempt to investigate multiculturalism traditions. Academician Abdullayev said that the book explained various multicultural values with the help of artistic examples from medieval to contemporary times. Speaking about the multicultural elements envisaged in the works by Azerbaijani classic poets and writers, Mr. Abdullayev underlined that relevant examples were presented in the book. The speeches were followed by the Q&A session and Mr. Abdullayev presented his books to BHOS library and students. Rector Gasimov awarded an Honorary Guest Diploma to Mr. Abdullayev. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, March 1 By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend: Ten protocols of intention on joint business development were signed in Ashgabat following the visit of a delegation of Chinese businessmen, Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper wrote. Along with the expansion of trade ties, the documents envisage the establishment of modern facilities in Turkmenistan focused on import substitution and export, the information says. In particular, Qinghai cashmere industrial group together with the Turkmen Oguzabat company agreed to establish a cashmere production facility in Ashgabat by using Turkmen raw materials. The representatives of Pekin Sancuan Sencyuri Teknoloji Ko.Ltd together with Merdana Turkmen local company intend to establish the production and maintenance of the equipment for the oil and gas complex. Among the plans of other Chinese companies are the construction of the cellulose production enterprises, a plant producing filters for cars, trucks and agricultural machines. An agreement was also reached to establish a joint facility for the production of metal products, gas generators, granite and marble processing. The two countries have agreed to open joint shops and restaurants and exchange the trading houses. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 Trend: Onder Sonmez, new head of Nokia's office in Turkey, will be also responsible for business development in Azerbaijan, Turkish news website IT-network reported. Commenting on his appointment to this position, Sonmez said that increasing of the efficiency and strengthening of Nokia's position in the region will be his main goals. Sonmez has more than 20 year-experience in the ICT field. He led the sales and marketing department in Digital Equipment Kanada / Compaq Canada company. He held various positions in Microsoft, EMC companies. He served as a director general in Alcatel-Lucent company in Turkey. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 Trend: Azercell, dedicated to its tradition of taking an active part at job fairs every year in the country, joined the 4th job fair "Bridge between the talented and career opportunities" held on February 25 at ADA University. For the first time, Azercell introduced "Create your career brand" seminar in the framework of Student Programs. Company representatives met the students and supported them in making the valuable choice in life - development of personal brand. The representatives conducted seminars on the topics of professional preparation for interview, effective presentation techniques, identification of personal features, "what does recruitment specialist think about you" and other useful information on interview. Over 100 students attended the seminar. The event was aimed at providing students and graduates of ADA University with information about opportunities in labor market and requirements for young talents in developing industries in public and private sectors. Azercell Telecom continuously supports talented youth in building career and finding their places in labor market. With its own initiative, Azercell has organized Career Days on a regular basis. Talented young individuals striving to join the company involve in such events to meet with Azercell officials and get information about company activities. Under the Student Programs of the company, bright students of Azerbaijani universities get a great opportunity to receive special bursary from Azercell and take internship at various divisions of the company. Also, majority of social projects conducted by the company are related with the education. Azercell will continue to provide its support to talented youth in building successful career. Azercell Telecom LLC was founded in 1996 and since the first years sustains a leading position in the market. Azercell introduced number of technological innovations in Azerbaijan: GSM technology, advance payment mobile services, M2M,MobilBank, GPRS/EDGE (mobile internet), 24/7 Customer Care, full-time operating Azercell Express offices, mobile e-service "ASAN imza" (ASAN signature) and others. With 48,2% share of Azerbaijan's mobile market Azercell's network covers 99,8% of the country's population. In 2015, the number of Azercell's subscribers reached 4,5 million people. In 2011 Azercell deployed 3G and in 2012 the fourth generation network - LTE in Azerbaijan. The Company is the leader of Azerbaijan's mobile communication industry and the biggest investor in the non-oil sector. Azercell is a part of TeliaSonera Group of Companies serving 186 million subscribers in 17 countries worldwide with 27,000 employees. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 By Elena Kosolapova - Trend: European countries accounted for 45.5 percent of Kazakhstan's trade turnover in Jan.-Sept. 2015, said the website of the country's National Bank March 1. CIS and Asian countries accounted for 26.4 percent and 24.1 percent of Kazakhstan's trade turnover, respectively during the reporting period. This is while four percent of this volume accounted for other countries. The trade turnover with the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan) has dropped by 25.8 percent and stood at $12.1 billion. Kazakhstan's export to the Eurasian Economic Union members has decreased by 29.3 percent, while its import from these countries has dropped by 24.1 percent. Trade turnover with the members of the European Economic and Monetary Union has dropped by 41.5 percent, while the export and import from these countries has decreased by 45.8 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively. This is while the trade turnover with Russia has decreased by 25.6 percent and stood at $11.1 billion. Kazakhstan's export to Russia has dropped by 30.5 percent. Kazakhstan's foreign trade turnover dropped by 34.7 percent in Jan.-Sept. 2015, compared to the same period of 2014 and totaled $61.9 billion. Edited by SI --- Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, March 1 By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend: A meeting of heads of railway and maritime offices of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran and Georgia was held in Turkmenistan's Avaza national tourist zone, a message of the Turkmen government said March 1. The issues on development of the East-West multi-modal transport corridor and joint measures to increase transit traffic were on the meeting's agenda. The parties evaluated the potential and prospects of the development of transport systems of countries participating at the meeting, said the message. Proposals for joint action to attract transit cargoes and create a single logistics company for these five countries were made during the meeting. The issues on introducing unified tariffs and documentation, optimizing customs procedures were also discussed at the meeting. "The parties have undertaken a number of new obligations, including the further strengthening of economic, scientific and technical cooperation in this field, the formation of transnational networks with high efficiency of cargo transportation among these countries and regions of Eurasia, the choice of optimal routes and effective interaction among different modes of transport," said the message. It was reported earlier that the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in Dec. 2015 submitted by Turkmenistan on the establishment of transport and transit corridors, co-authors of which were 85 countries. Turkmenistan is ready to act as an active partner and participant of the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA), since the formation of the western transport corridor from Central Asia has great importance in the context of the Great Silk Road's revival, said the message. International relations director at the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) announced that Iran will start exporting gas to Iraq in spring, IRNA reported. 'Iran's gas to Baghdad to begin in coming months,' Azizollah Ramezani said. Iran and Iraq have finalized the development plan for construction of the gas pipeline to carry gas to the neighboring Arab country, and its contract is in final stage of being drafted, he said. "The Iraqi side has started the initial executive work too" Ramezani added. The pipeline will be fed by the massive offshore South Pars gas field in southern Iran which it shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf and is estimated to contain 14 trillion cubic meters of gas and 18 billion barrels of condensate. Iraq needs Iranian gas for power generation to solve a part of its load-shedding problem which is causing unrests in parts of the country during hot summer days. Besides the gas supply, Iran will also provide neighboring Iraq with training programs for its technical, financial and executive manpower. Baku, Azerbaijan, March. 1 By Khalid Kazimov - Trend: Romania's Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu has called for cooperation with Iran in economic and political grounds. Cooperation between Iran and Romania can contribute to the regional stability and security, Lazar Comanescu told reporters during a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran. "We need to make efforts in order to establish stability in the region," Comanescu added. The Romanian minister went on to speak about economic cooperation with Iran and vowed to lay the ground for holding a session of a joint economic commission of Iran and Romania in Bucharest. Earlier Iran and Romania announced their plan to organize a joint economic commission. The commission will be tasked with preparing a roadmap for the expansion of economic cooperation between the two countries. Saying that there are various fields for cooperation between Tehran and Bucharest, Comanescu added that Iran and Romania have agreed to cooperate in the fields of transport, agricultural, energy and tourism. He further said that the nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers has paved the way for cooperation and the expansion of bilateral ties. "We want to resume bilateral ties," Comanescu concluded. Over the past decade in a bid to curb Iran's nuclear program, the international community took measures against Tehran, including restrictions imposed on the country's financial system, as well as industry, which have had a catastrophic impact on Iranians' economic situation and life conditions. Following the long-awaited nuclear deal clinched between Tehran and the world major powers most of the international sanctions against Tehran were lifted on Jan. 16. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 By Farhad Daneshvar - Trend: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged for privatizing the country's auto making industry. "The auto making industry in Iran must be fully privatized," ILNA news agency quoted Rouhani as saying at a conference on the automotive industry in Tehran. He said that the policy for privatizing auto making industry is aimed at creating competition which will lead to lower prices and enhancing quality, ILNA news agency reported. "The way for the development of auto making industry has been opened in the country," he added. He criticized the country's policy over the past decades on imposing restrictions against importing foreign cars and urged all officials involved in car making industry to make efforts to satisfy people. "We cannot close the doors and make people buy home-made cars," Rouhani said. He further touched upon the environmental issues and urged for observing environmental standards in the car industry. President Rouhani called on international companies to cooperate with Iran to develop the country's auto making industry. He said Iran welcomes foreign carmakers to come, do research and produce. The president also went on to thank people for showing high-turnout in the recent elections for parliament and the Assembly of Experts and expressed his administration's readiness for cooperation with the new parliament. Iranians voted on Friday in elections for the 290-seat parliament and the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a powerful clerical body that appoints the country's supreme leader. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 By Farhad Daneshvar - Trend: Baku will extradite 21 Iranian inmates serving prison sentences in Azerbaijan, Iranian envoy to Baku has told Trend. Iran's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen said March 1 that the inmates will be extradited March 2 through the border city of Astara. Pak Ayeen added that the Iranian nationals were mostly convicted of drug-related offences in Azerbaijan. Earlier at a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijani Minister of Justice Fikrat Mammadov and Ambassador Pak Ayeen discussed the extradition of the inmates, Iranian embassy's press office said March 1. During the meeting, Pak Ayeen touched upon friendly ties between Iran and Azerbaijan, saying the recent visit paid by President Ilham Aliyev to Tehran has opened a new chapter in ties between the neighboring countries. In turn, Fikrat Mammadov also commented on President Aliyev's Tehran visit and added that the way for the expansion of ties between Iran and Azerbaijan has been paved. President Aliyev visited Iran on Feb. 23, where Tehran and Baku signed 11 documents to expand bilateral ties. Drug trafficking still remains as a serious issue in Iran, despite the efforts made by Iranian law enforcement bodies to stop it. Iranian officials say the fight against drugs annually costs the country about $1 billion. Baku, Azerbaijan, March. 1 By Khalid Kazimov - Trend: After establishing truce in Syria, there is better prospect of resolving crisis through political solutions, an Iranian official said. Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has called on international community to contribute for the continuation of the ceasefire in Syria and serious fight against terrorism, ILNA news agency reported. Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks at a meeting with Head of Middle East and North Africa Division of Switzerland Wolfgang Amadeus Bruelhart discussing the regional developments. He further touched upon crisis in Yemen and called for ending conflict and sending humanitarian aid to the Arab nation. Speaking about crisis in Yemen, Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran backs the idea of national dialogue aimed at ending the conflict in Yemen. In turn, Wolfgang Amadeus Bruelhart said his country is interested in cooperation with Iran in the regional issues. The first major cessation of hostilities in the five years of Syrian crisis was agreed in late February as part of a US-Russian plan. However, both pro-government and anti-government forces have reported several breaches of truce over the past week. More than 250,000 have been killed in the Syrian crisis with hundreds of thousands displaced. Tehran, Iran, March 1 By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend: A CIA agent, who was given a mission to infiltrate Iran, traveled to Tehran around June and visited all the universities in the city, Secretary of Iran's Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaee has claimed. "In the future, we will release many documents about him," said Rezaee, who formerly served as the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Tasnim news agency reported March 1. "That man is the first person who went to the USSR after the atmosphere eased there," Rezaee said, without making any further clarification. But Rezaee, despite claiming that the CIA agent visited Iran around June last year, further said the person came to the country following the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, aka nuclear deal) by Iran and the P5+1 (the US, the UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany), which took place on July 14, 2015. The JCPOA was backed by an IAEA report testifying to the peacefulness of Iran's nuclear program and was put into force on Jan. 16, 2016, ending long claims over Iran's nuclear ambitions by curbing its nuclear activities. "We are facing enemies who are ahead of us by 100 years in terms of science and technology. They don't have any problems with nuclear bombs... or missiles. They have problems with our scientific advancement," claimed Rezaee. Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been warning that "enemies" have special plans for infiltrating the country in the post-JCPOA era. A number of Iran's nuclear scientists have been assassinated in the past. Tehran accuses its "enemies" of having plotted the assassinations as a bid to hamper the country's progress. Baku, Azerbaijan, March. 1 By Khalid Kazimov - Trend: Iran and Romania are expected to form a joint economic commission in future, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Tehran and Bucharest have agreed to prepare a roadmap for economic cooperation, ILNA News Agency reported. The joint economic commission will be in charge of preparing the roadmap, Zarif said at a joint press conference with his visiting Romanian counterpart, Lazar Comanescu, in Tehran. Iran and Romania enjoy proper and traditional ties but the international sanctions had a negative impact on the ties between the two countries over the past several years, Iranian foreign minister added. "However, today the leaders of the both nations have political will for the expansion of ties," Zarif added. Pointing to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Iran and Romania on cooperation in the political, economic and cultural fields, Zarif said Tehran and Bucharest have agreed to hold regular political consultation sessions in deputy ministerial levels. The foreign minister also called for cooperation in maritime transport, energy sector, banking , industrial sector, automotive industry, agricultural and tourism. "I am sure that the minister's Tehran visit will lead to the resuming of close ties between Iran and Romania," Zarif concluded. In turn, the Romanian foreign minister also called for mutual cooperation particularly in industry, agricultural and tourism sectors. Over the past decade in a bid to curb Iran's nuclear program, the international community took measures against Tehran, including restrictions imposed on the country's financial system, as well as industry, which have had a catastrophic impact on Iranians' economic situation and life conditions. Following the long-awaited nuclear deal clinched between Tehran and the world major powers most of the international sanctions against Tehran were lifted on Jan. 16. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 By Umid Niayesh - Trend: Iran has intensified dialogue with certain Syrian opposition groups, Hossein Jaber Ansari, the Islamic Republic foreign ministry spokesman said, Iran's ILNA news agency reported March 1. Iran maintains contact with certain Syrian opposition groups from the beginning of the crisis, he said, adding that dialogue is underway with opposition groups on various levels. He did not elaborate. Ansari further said that Syrian opposition includes various social and political spectrums with different approaches and viewpoints. Interaction with the opposition adhered to peaceful approaches is on the Islamic Republic's foreign policy agenda, however the terrorist groups are Iran's redline, Ansari underlined. Tehran has always expressed support for the Syrian government since it views the Assad regime as its main strategic ally in the region and as part of an "axis of resistance" against Israel. Western countries accuse Iran of running military operations in Syria, but Tehran denies these accusations. Iranian officials have repeatedly stressed that they only provide military consultations to Syrian forces. Tehran, Iran, March 1 By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend: On March 2, Iran will launch Internet Protocol television (IPTV), a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as a LAN or the Internet. Officials from Apple, Microsoft, and Oracle will attend the inauguration ceremony as their companies have each contributed to the project, Tasnim news agency reported March 1. The service will operate under permission from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). The IRIB and its affiliates operate all the TV and radio channels in Iran. Mexican authorities were searching on Monday for a container of radioactive material used for industrial X-rays that was stolen along with a car in central Mexico this weekend, the latest in a series of such case in the country, Reuters reported. The small yellow container of Iridium 192 was inside a red Chevrolet pick-up stolen in the municipality of San Juan del Rio on Saturday morning, the ministry said in a statement. Provided it is kept in its covering, the material is not dangerous, but if found, a protective perimeter of 30 meters (33 yards) should be set up around the container, the ministry said. "It was classed as a Category 2 radioactive source," a spokesman from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, based in Vienna, said via e-mail. Category 2 means that if not managed properly, the material could be fatal to someone exposed for a period of hours to days. The IAEA has offered to aid Mexico upon request, the spokesman added, but Mexico has not asked for help. Following the theft, the ministry issued a warning over the material for the states of Queretaro, Hidalgo, the State of Mexico, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi and Michoacan. In December 2013 and April 2015 radioactive material was also reported stolen in Mexico. The vote on the UN Security Council draft resolution introducing tougher sanctions against North Korea has been postponed until Wednesday at the request of Russia, the US mission to the United Nations said in a statement Tuesday, according to Sputnik. On January 6, Pyongyang said it had successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test which triggered a wave of condemnation from the international community. On February 7, North Korea launched a Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite atop a long-range rocket, defying a UN Security Council resolution which bans Pyongyang from launching rockets that could be used as ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads. "Subsequent to the United States' request to place the draft sanctions resolution on DPRK into blue and to schedule a Council vote for this afternoon, Russia invoked a procedural 24-hour review of the resolution, so the vote will be on Wednesday," the statement read. Earlier in the day, US envoy to the UN Samantha Power said that the resolution introduces the strongest set of sanctions imposed by the United Nations for the last 20 years. Restrictions are slated to affect multiple sectors of North Korea's economy, make all cargo going to and from the country subject to inspection, ban conventional arms' sale and delivery of aviation and rocket fuel to Pyongyang, and restrict or prohibit the nation's export of coal, iron, gold, titanium, and rare natural minerals. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Turkey is strengthening coastguard to prevent Syrian refugees from entering Europe through its territory, the Turkish news agency IHA reported March 1. In particular, the Turkish coastguard staff will be increased from 5,700 to 17,000 people, according to the agency. Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala said Feb. 2 that a new structure combating illegal migration will be established under the Turkish interior ministry. He said that the interior ministry will appeal to Turkey's Cabinet of Ministers for approval of the new structure. Turkey also intends to toughen penalty for illegal migration, he said. At present, over 2 million Syrian refugees are in Turkey. The Syrian refugee camps in the country accommodate about 300,000 people. The rest of them are spread throughout the provinces and cities of Turkey. In Istanbul alone, there are currently 40,000 refugees from Syria. Turkey has spent over $10 billion to upkeep Syrian refugees. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, March 1 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Ankara and Athens will discuss the Syrian refugee problem during the visit of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to Izmir, Anadolu Agency reported March 1. Greece's prime minister will visit Turkey Match 8. During the visit, the sides are also expected to discuss the development of bilateral relations. At present, over 2 million Syrian refugees are in Turkey. The Syrian refugee camps in the country accommodate about 300,000 people. The rest of them are spread throughout the provinces and cities of Turkey. In Istanbul alone, there are currently 40,000 refugees from Syria. Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country has spent over $10 billion to upkeep Syrian refugees. Edited by SI --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu As the Turkish government escalates tensions across the Middle East, the Pentagon has authorized a multimillion dollar deal to sell smart bombs to Ankara, Sputnik reported. Last December, the Turkish government deployed a battalion of 25 tanks and roughly 1560 troops into northern Iraq. Acting without Baghdad's permission, the move was roundly condemned as a breach of sovereignty. Ankara has also been engaged its own internal war against Kurdish communities in the country's southeast, with the death toll reaching some 5,000 people. Now, with all parties honoring the Syrian ceasefire, Turkey is threatening to plunge its neighbor back into the five-year civil war. "[The Turkish government] view themselves as victims and losing parties in the Syrian war," Germany's Telepolis magazine noted. "For this reason they will resort to provocations until the ceasefire is shattered." Despite Turkey's destabilizing influence in the region, Washington has chosen to award a $682.9 million contract which will provide Ankara with an undisclosed number of smart bombs. "The deal came timely as we are deeply engaged in asymmetrical warfare and need smart bombs," one Turkish military official said, according to Defense News. The contract was granted to Ellwood National Forge and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, and includes the sale of of an unnamed number of BLU-109 bunker busters. These bombs contain roughly 550 pounds of a high explosive compound known as tritonal, and thanks to tail fuse delays, the bomb's detonation is stalled until it reaches its intended underground target. This is the first such sale to Turkey by US defense contractors, and Ankara expects the transaction to be completed by 2020. Despite its continuing aggression, Turkey is a key NATO ally, so Washington's complicity in Ankara's actions do not come as a surprise. The US has also played an active role in Saudi Arabia's Yemen campaign, providing the bombs used during Riyadh's air campaigns. "Saudi Arabia has engaged in war crimes, and the United States is aiding and abetting them by providing the Saudis with military assistance," Marjorie Cohn writes for teleSUR. "In November 2015, the US sold $1.29 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia. It included more than 10,000 bombs, munitions, and weapons parts manufactured by Raytheon and Boeing, as well as bunker busters, and laser-guided and 'general purpose' bombs." Mark Rylance accepts the Best Supporting Actor award for 'Bridge of Spies' from Patricia Arquette onstage during the 88th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. (Photo : Getty Images/Kevin Winter) While millions of people around the world in 200 countries are awaiting the live broadcast of the Oscars to see if Leonardo DiCaprio would win the Best Actor trophy for The Revenant, not for Chinese viewers. Global Times reported that iQiyi, an online streaming site, would no longer broadcast the 88th Academy Awards on early Monday. Prior to the announcement, there were speculations that the live Web broadcast would be cancelled, although the reason has not been stated. Advertisement iQiyi initially planned to air the awards night in a bilingual broadcast. However, it seems that the Chinas censor are again behind the broadcast cancellation, similar to the decision of China Central Television and Tencent not to air the awards night of the yearly Hong Kong Film Awards on April 3. The culprits are two movies that depicts China in a bad light, the same reason for the April 3 broadcast cancellation. In the case of the Hong Kong filmfest, it is the movie Ten Hours that looks at how the Special Administrative Region would be like if Beijing takes more active control in ruling the former Crown Colony. For the Oscars, what the Chinese censors did not like, according to a Sina Weibo user who claims being an ex-staff of mtie.com, a popular film review site, are two movies, the first dealing with Ukraine and the second with rare species. The Web user cited Winter on Fire: Ukraines Fight for Freedom and Racing Extinction. The movie on Ukraine, a nominee for the Best Documentary Feature, is about the Ukrainian revolution seen from the eyes of diverse groups of people. The second film, a nominee for Best Original Song, Manta Ray, is directed by Louie Psihoyos, known for another movie, The Cove, which is also about rare species. The Cove was given in 2010 the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. iQiyis withdrawal contrasts with the 2014 Oscars which was broadcast in China by several streaming video services, including iQiyi, Sina and Sohu. The Conversation highlighted the importance of the Oscars in Hollywood movies penetrating the Chinese film market, now the second-largest in the world and soon to be number one. Thats because China has opened its doors to foreign-made movies and local audience are wary of film awards in Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China. Chinese scientists working on gravitational waves. (Photo : Reuters) China is currently seeking more researchers from around the globe to help in new gravitational waves research it is spearheading. The Sun Yat-Sen University in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, is currently looking for experts in fields of research like gravity theory and precision measurement from different nations to contribute in its Tianqin Project. The project was launched by the university in July and is tasked with developing new technologies for use in detecting gravitational waves emanating from space, China Daily reported. Advertisement Scientists chosen for the project will reportedly receive as much as 1 million yuan ($135,000) yearly salary. According to Sun Yat-Sen President Luo Jun, the study of gravitational waves presents a variety of challenges and that the 15 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) project serves as a feasible plan to overcome these. Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of space-time that originate from violent astronomical events. The existence of the phenomenon is the last prediction made by Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. In February, researchers at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the United States announced the first direct observations of these waves coming from the merging of two black holes 1.3 billion light years away from Earth. The discovery is hailed as ushering in a new age of deep-space astronomy. Luo said that the Tianqin Project aims to launch several wave-detection satellites within the next 15 to 20 years. Researcher will also closely work with scientists from both the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ES) for the study. Meanwhile, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) also unveiled its own gravitational wave research proposal. Dubbed Taiji, the project proposed two different plans. The first is to also launch satellites for space-based gravitational wave studies, while the second is to join ESA's ongoing Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA) project. CAS is also spearheading another similar endeavor named "Ali" after the academy's Ali Observatory in Tibet. The Ali Project aims to detect primordial gravitational waves coming from the time of the Big Bang, Daily Galaxy reported. Demonstrators protest against police-inflicted violence in New York in April 2015. (Photo : REUTERS) Tens of thousands of Asian-Americans who joined the Feb. 20 protest for Peter Liang in New York City failed to consider history before taking action, Andy Gu said in his opinion article published in the Daily Trojan. Advertisement Gu called the protests "a misplaced argument of victimization at the expense of black lives," and if a response is needed, it should be one of healing and empathy with the Gurley family. He added that Liang's conviction should not be used to validate the actions of Asian-American police officers. Gu recalled the portrayal of Asian-Americans as victim in a New York Post article, comparing Liang to Vincent Chin, a Chinese man beaten to death by two American auto workers who accused him of stealing American jobs. Chin's death was carried out in cold blood by two racists who cared little about Asian Pacific lives. The article, however, said that Liang was himself a perpetrator of police violence, citing his multiple violations, ranging from having a finger on the trigger in a non-threatening scenario to his failure to provide Gurley basic medical aid that resulted in his death. Annie Tan, a niece of Vincent Chin, in a Medium article compared Chin to Gurley rather than to Liang. Gu said it is not enough to picture Asian-Americans as victims of mistreatment in American history since people impose prejudice in each of their own communities. He cited the death of Gurley, who was a victim of an infamous tactic in New York in which police officers patrol multiple floors of low-income housing projects occupied by primarily black and Latino residents. The article argued that few Asian-Americans encounter police brutality and widespread economic inequities, which black and Latino people face. He said few Asian-Americans have lost homeownership due to racism in urban mortgage markets. Gu believes that Liang may be a scapegoat for police accountability, but he surely is not a victim. He said that by advocating for Liang's acquittal, Asian-Americans failed to see the larger issues of systemic injustice in American police forces. Gu said in the article that these are the same excuses used to absolve white police officers from the murders of black youth like Eric Garner, Michael Brown and Sean Bell, who represent thousands of black Americans who never saw justice at the hands of the police. According to the article, the history of Asian-Americans in the United States cannot be separated from discussions about violence against all races. This can be seen in popular concepts of Asian-Americans as successful and hard-working in contrast with black people as problem populations. Looking at the historic levels of turnout for Asian-Americans during the protest, people must instead respond to the actual systemic causes and not just ask to be exempted from the historical context of Gurley's death, the article said. Birmingham Women's Hospital Offers Technological Advances In Its Care (Photo : Getty Images) A baby boy born on Wednesday, Feb. 24, made Chinese reproduction history by being the longest-preserved test tube baby in China. It is also a testament to the countrys frozen embryo transfer (FET) procedure. Born to Li, a 40-year-old woman in Shaanxi Province, the boy has the new two-child policy to thank for that he was thawed 12 years after he was frozen as an embryo. The mother had polycystic ovary syndrome and blocked fallopian tubes which affected her fertility and ability to become pregnant. Advertisement In 2003, the woman began to attempt to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization. Doctors harvested 12 of her eggs and created 12 embryos using the sperm of her husband. Two fresh embryos were implanted in her womb and the seven others, considered still viable, were frozen, reported Global Times. The following year, Li gave birth to a boy who is now 12 years old. Over those years, only three embryos which she paid the facility three yuan (or 50 cents) per day for storage survived the thawing process. In 2014, following the change of the one-child policy, Li had two embryos implanted in her womb, but only on survived. The creation of more than one embryo at a time is because the Tangdu Hospitals Reproductive Medicine Center has a more than 40 percent success rate of implanted thawed embryos, explained Wang Xiaohong, director of the center. When Li started to freeze her embryos in 2003, it was also when Tangdu Hospital started to freeze embryos. After 12 years, the center has frozen around 100,000 embryos, thawed over 27,000 and led to the birth of 4,293 test tube babies, including Lis second son. Outside China, success rates in IVF cycles using frozen and thawed embryos, like Lis second son, are equal to those who use fresh embryos of reproductive technology treatments in Australia and New Zealand, according to a report released in September 2015. It was the frozen embryo transfers that caught up with fresh embryos when it grew to 23 percent over the last five years up to 2013, while fresh embryo was steady at 23 percent for the same five-year period, reported Science Alert. Chinese consume 46 percent of the luxury goods sold worldwide. (Photo : Getty Images) Chinas luxury goods industry still holds big potential as it rides the momentum of double-digit growth despite two consecutive years of losses, according to consulting firm Bain & Co., China Daily reported. Advertisement Other experts seem to agree, as findings by the Fortune Character Institute back up Bain & Co.'s outlook. Of all the luxury goods consumed worldwide, 46 percent were account to Chinese consumers. Most of these goods were bought outside China. Chinese consumers are becoming discerning consumers as well, making apt decisions on high fashion and luxury goods. They are known to buy goods from the best existing luxury brands. Shandong RuyiGroup, one of the country's largest textile producers, is taking advantage of the newly awakened fashion consciousness among the Chinese by bidding for the French fashion group SMCP late January, according to a report by Bloomberg. Estimated to be worth over $1 billion, SMCP owns a slew of affordable luxury brands such as Sandro and Maje, two labels that are growing increasingly popular among Chinese middle-class consumers in recent years. Shandong RuyiGroup, one of the country's 500 leading textile companies, declined to give any comment regarding its plans to acquire SMCP. The company's consolidated annual revenue in 2013 hit an impressive 30 billion yuan ($4.7 billion). Such a move by a Chinese company is not uncommon, according to Zhou Ting, director of the Fortune Character Institute, even describing such acquisitions as "just a drop in the bucket" as more Chinese consumers are climbing the luxury industry ladder. "The (luxury) market remains one of the most lucrative for now and (shall remain so over) the next decade," Zhou said in an interview with China Daily. "This means, if Chinese companies and investors want a share, they should be more actively involved in every link of the supply chain, from designing and manufacturing to marketing and retailing." It's what several other Chinese companies have been doing as of late, such as VipshopHoldings and Secoo.com. President Xi Jinping is the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee. (Photo : Reuters) The Communist Party of China (CPC) is launching a one-year-long campaign to strengthen its most important values in its 88 million members, as a means of securing its interests and ensuring the fulfillment of its goals, as reported by the Xinhua News Agency. Advertisement The campaign will focus on the education and study of the Party Constitution as well as its rules. It will also tackle remarks made by President Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, according to a plan released to the public on Sunday by the CPC Central Committee's general office. In particular, the campaign plans to give extra attention to members of the Party whose confidence in communism and socialism with Chinese characteristics is waning. It will also target those who are advocating Western values, violating Party policies, behaving unethically or working inefficiently, according to the publicly released plan. Party committees have been asked by the CPC central authority to look at the campaign as "a major political task." According to the plan, party members must always think and act in accordance with the policies and guidelines of the CPC Central Committee. They should also strive to serve the people and contribute to the progress of society and the development of the economy. In June 2013, the CPC launched a "mass line" education campaign aimed at instilling Party discipline and bridging the gap between the Party and the public. The campaign lasted 15 months. Later on, the CPC initiated a campaign to improve the conduct of its members, focusing on what it has called the "three stricts and three honests." These refer to "being strict in morals, power and self-discipline" and "being honest in decisions, business and behavior." During the first two months of this year, the CPC has focused on tackling corruption among its members. Experts believe that this trend should encourage domestic companies to improve the quality of their products. (Photo : Getty Images) During the Spring Festival break, Chinese consumers spent billions of yuan in overseas products, particularly household goods such as rice cookers, toilet lids, and even toiletries such as toothpaste and shampoo, according to an article by China Daily. Advertisement Experts believe that this trend should encourage domestic companies to improve the quality of their products. A handful of people, however, believe that this predilection for foreign commodities can be pinpointed to the trend of Chinese people buying everything made in foreign countries. For Victor Chan, managing director of Daming United Rubber Products, Chinese products are as good as any commodities from foreign countries. Some Chinese consumers don't agree, such as 28-year-old Cai Jun, a bank clerk in Beijing. She traveled to Tokyo during the Spring Festival break, where she bought a rice cooker. "The rice cooker I bought enjoys a good reputation in China. Many of my friends told me Japanese rice cookers have a special technology," Cai said in an interview with China Caily. Wang Qing, another Chinese who makes the annual pilgrimage to Japan to buy products, echoed the same sentiments. "I'm not crazy about foreign brands," said Wang, who went to Kyoto for the Spring Festival, "but the quality of many Chinese products means they are just not worth the price. Also, toothpaste made in Japan is double or triple the price in a Chinese supermarket." "I stock up on necessities on my annual trip to Japan," Wang added. "It means I don't have to worry about product quality, while the price difference saves me the cost of a round-trip ticket." This demand for high-quality products have put small and medium-sized Chinese companies in a rut, while other manufacturers have risen to the occasion. A number of Chinese companies have started to place emphasis on customer experience in making one-of-a-kind, high-quality products. Meanwhile, Chinese innovation-oriented firms are also taking advantage of the demand for better quality products by using cutting-edge technology to create popular, high-quality ones. "We believe the growing appetite for better quality products will give Hongda a push," said Wang Xin, chairman of the Hongda Hi-tech Group, which makes fingerprint-activated locks. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani secured a more moderate parliament Monday after elections saw hardliners soundly trumped by reformists while conservatives lost seats and voters implicitly backed the government. Final results showed seats being shared three ways between Rouhani's reformist and moderate allies, conservatives and independents. No single group had a decisive share of parliament's 290 seats from Friday's voting, but tallies suggested the president would be able to muster support from key backers and create a working majority. The returns were shaping up as a strong signal of public support for last year's nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, an agreement steered by Rouhani which saw the lifting of crippling sanctions in January. Friday's second election -- for the clerical Assembly of Experts -- also produced symbolic gains for Rouhani. Two renowned hardline ayatollahs lost their seats on the 88-member assembly, a powerful committee that monitors supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's work and will pick the 76-year-old's successor if he dies during its eight-year term. In contrast, 15 of 16 members of the assembly's list in Tehran headed by Rouhani and his top ally Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a two-term former president, were elected. Rafsanjani came first and Rouhani third. A push by their supporters, largely on social media, helped eject current assembly chair Mohammad Yazdi and the ultraconservative Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, formerly a close adviser to ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The most dramatic change was the resurgence of the reformists, a political camp largely silenced after a disputed election in 2009 saw Ahmadinejad re-elected. That vote was followed by bloody street protests in which dozens of people were killed in what is widely considered the Islamic republic's darkest hour. Reformists swept the capital, and in an electoral first did so without requiring a second round of voting in any of the 30 seats they secured. After campaigning as the "List of Hope", a slate of reformist politicians who support the government will regain significant power in parliament and are likely to push for social, cultural and political reforms. Reformists stayed away from parliamentary elections four years ago in protest at Ahmadinejad's earlier victory, with defeated candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who remain under house arrest, alleging the vote was rigged. Results from other cities also had conservatives losing seats, but they continued to enjoy strong support in rural areas. The main conservative list secured 103 MPs, reformists and moderates from the List of Hope 95, and Independents 14. Some 69 constituencies had no clear winner, meaning a second round run-off will be needed in a field that has more conservatives than reformists and moderates. Many of those conservatives already elected are moderates who backed Rouhani on the nuclear deal and, acutely aware of the public's shifting mood and desire for more openness to the West, are likely to support the government. Such a spirit of cooperation came from Ali Larijani, a conservative and parliament's current speaker, who described the election as "eye-catching" and said it signalled that "a new page had been opened for the country". Larijani's political heft was crucial to the nuclear deal being approved by MPs as he had backed Rouhani at key moments in the more than two years of negotiations that led to the agreement. The results represent "a reaction against radicals" from the electorate, Amir Mohebbian, an analyst with close links to politicians of all political hues, told AFP. "But mistakes by the conservatives who supported radicals during the campaign were also to blame" for their losses, he said. The elections were seen as a crucial indicator of the future direction Iranians want for their country. From a population of almost 80 million, 62 percent of its 55 million electorate voted. Khamenei himself stressed their importance ahead of the elections, urging the electorate to participate in both polls. Although Rouhani secured the nuclear agreement last July, ending a 13-year standoff over Iran's atomic ambitions, and sanctions were lifted last month he has so far been unable to deliver significant domestic changes. Support from reformists in the next parliament should make that easier, but the resurgent group is also likely to pressure the president for change and concrete progress on long-avoided difficult issues such as demands to free political prisoners, which could lead to conflict with conservatives. Search Keywords: Short link: The government of Japan will issue annual scholarships for 2,500 Egyptian students and interns for five years in order to develop Egyptian human resources and enhance their skills, Egypt's presidency said in a statement on Monday amid an ongoing visit by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to Tokyo. In an interview with Japanese news outlet Asahi Shimbun published on Saturday, El-Sisi said that he aims to send 100,000 Egyptian students to study in Japan, saying that Tokyo's educational system "stresses discipline." El-Sisi, who is on a three-nation Asian tour, held talks on Sunday with senior Japanese officials including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Emperor Akihito, and gave a speech in front of the Japanese parliament on Monday. Egypt will sign three concessional loan agreements with Japan, including a $155 million loan to expand Egypt's Borg Al-Arab Airport, located about 50km southwest of Alexandria, a source from Egypts International Cooperation Ministry told Ahram Online on Sunday. Search Keywords: Short link: The signing of the joint military agreement comes during Cypriot defence minister Fokaides's visit to Cairo Egypt's defence minister Sedki Sobhi and his Cypriot counterpart Christophoros Fokaides signed a joint military cooperation agreement Monday in Cairo, an Egyptian army spokesman said. Sobhi and Fokaides, who is the first Cypriot defence minister to visit Egypt, also discussed previously signed memoranda of understanding for cooperation in defence, military trainings, and exchange of expertise, Brigadier General Mohamed Samir said in a statement. Fokaides and Sobhi tackled "marine and energy security and prospects for cooperation in the energy sector," according to a Cypriot press release, Cyprus News Agency (CNA) reported. The press release stipulated that a Joint Rescue Coordination Center delegation will visit Egypt in the coming weeks to sign an agreement about cooperation in Search and Rescue. Both defence ministers also discussed regional and international matters, including security challenges, the fight against terrorism, and the immigration crisis, according to CNA. Sedki Sobhi expressed his appreciation for the depth of relations between Egypt and Cyprus, based on coordination and matching positions on regional matters for the security and stability of both countries, Egypt's army spokesperson said. Fokaides talked about Egypt's regional importance and called for the support in its efforts in fighting regional terrorism, the Cypriot press release stated. Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended a tripartite summit in Athens last December with the Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades. Search Keywords: Short link: Ismailiya Misdemeanor Court sentenced Mohamed Magdy Ibrahim, an administrator of "Ismailia-2020" Facebook page, to five years in jail on Monday on charges of "inciting murder against police officers." In May 2015, Ibrahim was arrested along with seven others who were later acquitted, after an officer at an Ismailiya police station filed a report against him, accusing him of publishing threats to police officers and pictures of their families, inciting the page's followers to kill them. The sentence can still be appealed. The Facebook page is a pro-Muslim Brotherhood group which publishes news and has over 47,000 followers. On Monday, the page reported the arrest of the administrator of another group called "Live from Ismailiya." Search Keywords: Short link: The sentence can still be appealed Port Said Criminal Court cut on Tuesday a life prison sentence of a Mohamed Morsi supporter, which he got in absentia, to six months following a retrial. Ahmed Ibrahim Monsef was handed the jail term for storming Al-Arab police station in coastal city Port Said in August 2013. The hard-labour sentence can still be appealed. The prosecution accused Monsef of illegal assembly, violent threats, storming Al-Arab police station, murder, attempted murder, stealing arms from the police station and helping the detainees escape. Monsef is one of two people who were tried in absentia and sentenced to life in prison last December. A life sentence in Egypt stipulates 25 years in jail. Life sentences are usually given to defendants who are tried in absentia. A retrial then takes place if the defendant turns themselves in. In the same case, 17 supporters of Morsi were sentenced to three years in jail last December. In August, the Muslim Brotherhood's supreme leader Mohamed Badie, along with group leaders Safwat Hegazy and Mohamed El-Beltagi, received sentences of life in jail for inciting to storm the police station. Search Keywords: Short link: In early February, the ministry said in a press statement that 8,000 of the 9,000 doctors who graduate yearly are 'unqualified' Egypts doctors syndicate issued an official summon on Tuesday for Health Minister Ahmed Emad to be questioned by a disciplinary committee for statements insulting all Egyptian doctors. In early February, the health ministry said in a press statement that 8,000 of the 9,000 Egyptian doctors who graduate yearly are unqualified." A syndicate general assembly on 12 February voted to refer the minister to the disciplinary committee, demanding that he be fired from the syndicate. The doctors assembly, one of the largest to convene in recent years, also agreed on a number of scheduled escalatory measures, including nationwide-strikes to protest alleged police assaults on doctors. The minister previously described these escalatory measures, which include providing free services to patients in public hospitals, as inconsiderate to the state. The most well known of these incidents occurred on 28 January when policemen allegedly assaulted two doctors at Cairos Matariya Hospital after one doctor refused to fake a medical report for a policeman. Nine low-ranking policemen have since been charged with assaulting public officials and using violence in the Matariya Hospital incident. The policemen were released on bail pending trial shortly after their arrest. Search Keywords: Short link: The UN organisation had been suffering from a lack of funds that forced it cut to funds for Syria aid operations The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will fully reinstate its food assistance programme to Syria following funding pledges at Londons Supporting Syria and the Region Conference earlier in February, the WFP said in a press release on Monday. The funds pledged will support a comprehensive restoration of food assistance for refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt from March until the end of the year, the statement read. Syrians inside their country will also benefit from a full food basket beginning in April until October this year. The "record pledge" is worth around $675 million and will be used for school meals and other in-kind activities in order to help Syrian refugees. The funds for Syria-related operations pledged at the conference were mainly provided by Germany, with $623 million. On 1 December 2014, the WFP announced that a lack of funds made them stop providing food assistance to 1.7 million Syrian refugees in the region, saying food assistance for the month of December only would require $64 million, Reuters reported at the time. Eight days later, the food aid programme resumed its operation after it received $80 million. Eight months later, the WFP announced it had to drop the value of food vouchers in half in Lebanon and Jordan, according to a July 2015 press release. In August 2015, the WFP said it needed $163 million to continue supporting Syrian refugees in the region until October, according to an August press release. The organisation is funded by governments, companies and private individuals. On behalf of the Syrian people whose lives have been torn apart by the conflict, we thank those world leaders who stepped up in London. Their generosity means that we are able to fully meet the immediate basic food assistance needs of 1.8 million refugees in the region and 4.5 million Syrians inside the country who rely on WFP assistance every day, WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin said, according to Mondays press release. The UNs WFP fights hunger on a global level, mainly through food assistance for emergencies such as in Syria, Iraq, South Sudan and West African countries. Search Keywords: Short link: The protest started on Monday to call for proper medical care for at least four jailed journalists whose lives were reportedly 'in danger' A number of Egyptian journalists continued a sit-in on Tuesday at downtown Cairo's Journalists Syndicate for the second day in a row, despite the interior ministry assuring them that some of their demands will be met. The sit-in started on Monday to call for proper medical care for at least four jailed journalists Youssef Shaaban, Hani Salah El-Din, Hesham Gaafar, and Hossam El-Sayed whose lives were reportedly "in danger." The four journalists are imprisoned on a number of charges ranging from joining the banned Muslim Brotherhood to illegal protesting at the time when Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was in office. At least four other journalists are also reportedly in need of medical care, though their condition is not as critical. The interior ministry responded the same night by stating that the jailed journalists will receive the necessary treatment. However, journalist Mahmoud Kamel, a syndicate council member and one of the sit-in organisers, told Ahram Online that only two journalists were moved to a hospital outside prison and blood samples were drawn from the two other journalists, who were then returned to prison. He added that the sit-in is continuing so as to make sure that the interior ministry continues to provide the journalists with proper medical care even when not under pressure of a strike. The second day of the sit-in saw a number of public figures joining the journalists at the syndicate headquarters, most notably leading Doctors Syndicate figure Mona Mina. Though the sit-in mainly has "minimum demands of protecting the lives of [imprisoned] colleagues," according to Kamel, the journalists also have other, long-term demands, including allowing a syndicate delegation to visit those jailed as well as holding all imprisoned journalist in the same prison so as to facilitate delegation visits. These demands will be discussed, along with press freedom laws, during the syndicate's next general assembly meeting on 4 March. At least 30 journalists in the country are currently imprisoned or detained pending trial on various criminal and misdemeanour charges. The Egyptian government has repeatedly denied that journalists who are behind bars were arrested as a result of their journalistic work. The authorities have also denied what rights activists describe as systematic violations against inmates inside Egypt's prisons. Search Keywords: Short link: The justice ministers aide denied reports that the forensics authority told prosecutors that Regenis body showed signs of sporadic intervals of torture The Egyptian justice ministers aide for forensics said on Tuesday that media reports about the repeated torture of an Italian student prior to his murder in Cairo are lies. The aide, Shaaban El-Shamy, denied that forensics authority head Hisham Abdel-Hamid told prosecutors that the autopsy of 28-year-old Giulio Regeni showed that he was tortured in sporadic intervals spanning seven days prior to his death. The body of Regeni, a PhD student who was conducting research on independent trade union movements in Egypt, was found with signs of torture along a roadside on the outskirts of Cairo early in February. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Abdel-Hamid told the public prosecutor's office that the autopsy conducted in Cairo showed that Regeni was tortured for up to seven days before he was killed, according to two prosecution sources. El-Shamy added that Abdel-Hamid neither testified in front of the prosecution nor was he asked to. Reuters quoted an unnamed prosecution source saying that, according to Abdel-Hamid, the wounds on Regenis body were inflicted over intervals of between 10 to 14 hours, implying that whoever killed him was interrogating him for information. According to Reuters, Abdel-Hamid declined to comment when contacted by the news agency. The justice ministers aide warned of the danger of such misleading news that subjects its writers to legal questioning, asking the media to not issue reports from news outlets that intentionally twist facts and spread lies about Egypt for political aims. Last week, Egypt's interior ministry said that the culprits behind Regeni's murder had not been identified. The ministry suggested that criminal activity or revenge for personal reasons may have been the motive, saying that Regeni's various relationships during the course of his study indicate this as a possibility. The interior ministry also denied in an earlier statement that Regeni had been in custody before his death, describing the reports as completely false, adding that a team of Egyptian investigators is in complete cooperation with the Italian authorities to determine the circumstances of the killing. Search Keywords: Short link: The Egyptian workers were detained for not having the required visas The Egyptian consulate in Riyadh announced on Tuesday that it secured the release of 43 Egyptians detained for violating the Saudi labour law, MENA reported. The consulate announced that 13 of those detained arrived in Cairo last Saturday and that the remaining 30 will arrive on Wednesday 2 February. Officials at the consulate explained that the Egyptians were detained for not having the required visas. The workers obtained visas from offices in Cairo, where they were promised work opportunities upon arrival to Saudi Arabia. However, according to embassy officials, their visas were temporary and did not allow them to work. The Egyptian consulate in Riyadh warned Egyptians in the kingdom against obtaining illegitimate visas. Arabian Gulf states, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, are among the Middle East's most targeted destinations for migrant workers. Search Keywords: Short link: After four sessions, the Libyan parliament did not approve the national unity government that embodied the outcome of the Libyan Political Agreement that was signed in Skhirat last December. For the government to receive parliamentary approval it needs to fulfil the required quorum and secure over 50 per cent of the votes, though it is not only about giving support for a cabinet. The parliament which is temporarily based in the port city of Tobruk on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast should arguably reflect a state of political consensus. This is needed to end the state of political polarisation and pave the way for facing the growing threat of the Islamic State (IS) militant group in order to avoid a potential geographical split in the war-torn state. There has been clear parliamentary agreement since last January in rejecting the large number of ministerial portfolios in the government which reached 28 as the conditions of the country do not allow for such a situation to take place. The majority of parliamentarians have also revealed a need for an exceptional government that can deal with the ongoing civil war. However, Article 8 of the Skhirat agreement was an issue of debate inside the parliament as it stipulates that General Khalifa Haftar should be retired, an article that was recently freezed for an indefinite period of time. The UN-supported agreement was preceded by shuttling talks by Libyan political leaders and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya Martin Kobler to "save the deal from failure," especially since some MPs of the Tobruk-based parliament and the Tripoli-based parliament which is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood and the Dawn of Libya militants attempted to form a government outside the Skhirat framework. The latter sides argued that Libyans need an inter-Libyan dialogue in order to end the years of civil war, while pointing out that the Skhirat talks aimed at imposing a mandate on Libya that eventually seeks foreign military intervention based on claims of combating terrorism and extremist militant organisations. Such anti-Skhirat bloc held a number of meetings in Italy and Oman, but apparently did not achieve a success. In the meantime, a number of politico-military developments have taken place in Libya during the last two weeks. Firstly, most of Benghazi the second largest city in Libya was liberated by the troops of Haftar. Furthermore, the IS militants became trapped on the edges of the northeastern city of Derna. In fact, the support of the people in Benghazi played the biggest role in such a victory, as well as the domination of Derna by the Ansar Al-Sharia group, which protected it from falling into the hands of the IS. Secondly, the debates in the Tobruk-based parliament revealed that Haftar is not the only controversial figure in parliament. Although the parliament was supportive of the notion of the rule of law, disagreements among the diverse factions appeared to dominate the scene. The parliament was recently stormed by an anti-Skhirat deal bloc after 100 MPs which exceeds the constitutional quorum (93 MPs) required for approving the government announced they were backing the agreement. The 100 MPs afterwards signed a statement that condemns these events which occurred amid news of a military victory in Benghazi although this is not enough to grant the government constitutional legitimacy. These two developments raised questions on whether the parliamentary headquarters will be transferred to Benghazi, especially since the Libyans do politico-culturally believe that "who controls Benghazi controls the whole state." However, this is not by all means the key issue of discussion in the meantime. According to a well-informed Libyan politician speaking anonymously to Ahram Online, the main challenge involves the extent to which Haftar will be capable of protecting the parliament whether he agrees with its decisions or not, a situation that will reflect his readiness to act as a state official instead of a militia leader. The third development entails transferring the Libyan talks from Skhirat to Cairo, which hosted a number of officials including Kobler, parliament speaker Ageila Saleh, and Prime Minister-designate of Libya Fayez Serraj. Although the Libyan parties say that no talks have taken place in Cairo so far other than meetings with Egyptian officials and President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi well-informed Libyan sources say that talks do happen from time to time in an unofficial basis. The aim, the sources emphasised, is to avoid announcing the details of the talks "until a nationally-accepted outcome is reached." Believing it can represent the political equation in the post-Skhirat deal period, one Libyan political source draws attention to the IS group ambitions of taking control of the coastal city of Sirte, east of Tripoli, in a bid to move towards Tripoli itself. However, the source argued that this is unlikely to happen due to the limitations of IS group capabilities and the nature of jihadist-tribal alliances in these areas. The source added that a leaning towards the formation of a presidential council that includes a president, two vice presidents and a state minister is taking place in the ongoing negotiations. In such a case, the source says, Serraj would be the council's head, and his vice presidents would be Ibrahim Al-Godran as representative of the eastern areas and Saleh Azoz as representative of the southern ones. Omar Al-Aswad would be a state minister representing the western city of Zintan while Ahmed Mo'etiq would be the other state minister as a representative of coastal town of Misrata in northwest Libya. Concerning the defence portfolio, it will probably be given to the head of government as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, while Haftar will remain as the head of the military, though without a ministerial portfolio. Search Keywords: Short link: Thousands of Iraqi security personnel launched an operation on Tuesday aimed at retaking areas north of Baghdad from the Islamic State jihadist group, officials said. Counter-terrorism forces, soldiers, police and allied paramilitaries are taking part in the operation, which is backed by artillery and both Iraqi and US-led coalition aircraft, the Joint Operations Command announced. An Iraqi army colonel said that more than 7,000 security personnel would take part in the operation, which the operations command said aims to retake areas west of the city of Samarra. The targeted areas, which the colonel said extend from the city of Samarra up to the town of Baiji, are a corridor linking IS group-held territory around the northern city of Mosul, the jihadists' main hub in Iraq, with areas farther south. IS group launched a devastating offensive in June 2014 that overran swathes of territory north and west of Baghdad, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led strikes have succeeded in regaining significant ground from the militants. Iraqi forces retook Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, from the militants at the end of last year, and are now turning their attention to areas to the north through which IS group has moved supplies and fighters to the province. Search Keywords: Short link: Dutch intelligence services said Tuesday they were investigating reports that eight Dutch citizens have been executed in Syria by Islamic State group (IS) after they tried to quit the militants group. "We are investigating the signals from this open source to get further confirmation," a spokesperson for the Dutch AIVD intelligence sources told AFP, adding they had no further information. Syrian activists on Monday said via Twitter that "Daesh executed eight Dutch fighters on Friday in Maadan, Raqa province, after accusing them of attempting desertion and mutiny." Daesh is another name for IS group. The tweet was posted by Abu Mohammad, a member of the citizen journalist group Raqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), and has not been confirmed by any other source. The group said in a statement that the eight were "then buried... in the mountain in Aljerf area, after being accused of incitement against IS group." RBSS has been documenting since April 2014 abuses in Raqa, the group's de-facto capital in northern Syria. Tension has boiled in Raqa over the past month between 75 Dutch militants-- among them fighters of Moroccan origin -- and IS group intelligence operatives from Iraq, RBSS said. Three other Dutch militants were arrested by Iraqi IS group members who accused them of wanting to flee and one of the detainees was beaten to death during the interrogation, according to RBSS. According to past estimates by the Dutch secret services, 200 people from the Netherlands including 50 women have joined IS group in Syria and Iraq. Search Keywords: Short link: Tunisian troops killed four suspected militants in a counter-terrorism operation overnight, the interior ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. There were no security force casualties in the operation in the Ain Jaffel area on the border between the central provinces of Kasserine and Sidi Bouzid, Yasser Messbah told AFP. The operation, which ended at around 1100 GMT on Tuesday, also resulted in the seizure of "a Kalashnikov, ammunition, a large quantity of detonators" and a home-made grenade, a ministry statement said. Kasserine province, which neighbours Algeria, has seen repeated clashes between security forces and Islamist militants. Late last month, a suspected militant was killed in an exchange of fire in the Mount Mghila area of the province. It lies next to Mount Chaambi, which is considered to be the militants' main rear base and has been the target of repeated sweeps by the security forces since 2012. Islamist militants have killed dozens of police and soldiers since the 2011 revolution that ousted longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Several attacks have been claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. But last year, the Islamic State militant group claimed attacks on the national museum in Tunis and a popular resort hotel, killing a total of 59 tourists, and the suicide bombing of a bus that killed 12 presidential guards. The attacks, which have dealt a heavy blow to Tunisia's tourism-reliant economy, are believed to have been organised from neighbouring Libya, where US aircraft carried out a deadly strike on their suspected mastermind last month. Tunisia has built a 200-kilometre (125-mile) barrier that stretches about half the length of its border with Libya in an attempt to prevent militants from infiltrating. Britain announced on Monday it was sending a team of around 20 soldiers to Tunisia to train troops patrolling the border. Search Keywords: Short link: Saudi Arabia executed a Qatari and three of its own nationals on Tuesday, bringing to 68 the number of people it has put to death this year. The Qatari, Mohammed Jarboui, was executed in the eastern region of Al-Ahsa after his conviction for murdering a Saudi, the interior ministry said. Sliman and Ahmed Messoudi were put to death in the northern Tabuk region for trafficking amphetamines, the ministry said in a separate statement. Authorities also executed Kassadi Atoudi in the southern region of Jazan following his conviction for murder. The 68 executions so far this year include 47 death sentences for "terrorism" carried out in a single day on January 2. Most people sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia are beheaded with a sword. In 2015, Saudi Arabia executed 153 people, most of them for drug trafficking or murder, according to an AFP count. However, the tally was far behind those of China and Iran. Search Keywords: Short link: Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report on Monday calling on the Moroccan government to adopt laws that protect survivors of gender-based and domestic violence. The report was part of a series of interviews and stories by the watchdog organisation on survivors of domestic violence in Morocco. The latest story focuses on a 26-year-old female victim of domestic abuse who was interviewed by the US-based rights organisation, along with 19 other women and girls in Morocco in September 2015. The survivor recounted how she often went to the police to file a report, at times covered in blood or almost naked. She said that the police disregarded her reports on the grounds that they did not have the right to enter her house. They would tell her to go to a doctor to get a medical certificate, but she had no ID and no money. She explains that her husband would cover her nose and mouth until she lost consciousness. "He did this to shut me up when I cried or shouted so people could hear me. He wanted to kill me, she said. Earlier in February, HRW wrote a letter to Moroccan officials Minister for Solidarity, Women, Family and Social Development Bassima Hakkaoui, and Minister of Justice and Freedom Moustapha Ramid calling on them to consider domestic violence law reforms. HRW stated that the bills should specify police and prosecutor duties in handling any domestic violence case, in addition to the inclusion of marital rape as a crime in Moroccan law. "The bills should also require prevention measures, including awareness-raising, educational curricula, and sensitising the media about violence against women," the HRW letter said. In 2014, a bill to combat violence against women was announced and was considered a small but positive step to an issue that has been affecting Moroccan women for years. Beirut-based NGO Legal Agenda said that the bill guaranteed temporarily removing abusive husbands from their house, in addition to barring the husband from approaching the survivor, her home, workplace or educational institution. Search Keywords: Short link: Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had millions of dollars stashed in Sudan and wanted most of it to be used to fund jihad, according to a handwritten will released Tuesday. The document was among a tranche of newly declassified files that had been seized by Navy SEALs on May 2, 2011 when they descended on Bin Laden's hideout in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad and killed him. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released dozens of documents, including one they said was bin Laden's will that deals with monies in Sudan. Written in Arabic on a single piece of lined paper, the signed will states bin Laden had about $29 million in Sudan, and that much of it had come from his brother. "I received twelve million dollars from my brother Abu Bakir Muhammad Bin (Laden) on behalf of Bin Laden Company for Investment in Sudan," he wrote, according to the ODNI's translation of the document. "I hope, for my brothers, sisters, and maternal aunts, to obey my will and to spend all the money that I have left in Sudan on jihad, for the sake of Allah." Bin Laden sheltered in the Sudanese capital Khartoum for five years in the early 1990s. The ODNI did not immediately return a call seeking information on what happened to the purported hoard. The documents also show a growing schism between bin Laden's lieutenants and Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and said bin Laden was planning a worldwide media campaign for the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. In a letter to his father dated August 8, 2008 bin Laden wrote that he was worried about being assassinated. "If I am to be killed, pray for me a lot and give continuous charities in my name, as I will be in great need for support to reach the permanent home," bin Laden wrote. He also asks his dad for absolution, without saying what he might be regretting. "I would like you to forgive me, if I have done what you did not like," he wrote. A first tranche of documents released last May showed bin Laden was worried about drone strikes, and in which he laid out plans to groom a new cadre of leaders. Bin Laden also warned that conflict with regimes in the Middle East would distract the extremists from hitting hard at what as far as he was concerned is the real enemy -- America. Search Keywords: Short link: An influential Saudi Arabian preacher was shot and wounded in a southern Philippine city on Tuesday, police said, adding security forces killed the gunman. Sheikh Aaidh al-Qarni was in hospital following the shooting in Zamboanga city but did not have life threatening injuries, local police spokeswoman Senior Inspector Helen Galvez said. "He is out of danger," Galvez told AFP by phone. Galvez said another man travelling with Qarni was also wounded. She declined to give other details, such as where the shooting occurred, other than to say the assailant had been killed. "We pinned down the gunman. He's dead," she said. Saudi media outlets described Qarni as a senior Islamic scholar. He has more than 12 million followers on Twitter. In his book "Awakening Islam," the French academic Stephane Lacroix included Qarni among "the most famous" Saudi preachers. Zamboanga is one of the largest cities in the southern Philippines, which has been home to a decades-long separatist rebellion by the mainly Catholic nation's Muslim minority. Zamboanga has a mixed Christian and Muslim population, and has been a frequent target of attacks by local Muslim militant groups. One of the nation's main Muslim rebel groups raided the city in 2013, triggering three weeks of clashes with security forces that left more than 200 people dead. Search Keywords: Short link: A father has shot dead his daughter in the Pakistani city of Lahore in an apparent "honour killing", police said Tuesday, a day after a Pakistani director won an Oscar for a documentary on such murders. Investigators said Mohammad Rehmat, who is now on the run, killed his 18-year-old daughter Komal Bibi on Monday after she failed to tell him where she had been for about five hours. "The father fled after killing his daughter and police are searching for him," local police official Mohammad Yaqoob told AFP. "It appears to be a case of honour killing," he said. "A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness", a film telling the story of a rare survivor, won the Academy Award for best documentary short at the star-studded Hollywood ceremony on Sunday. Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif recently as speculation grew the film would win an Oscar, turning a global spotlight on honour killings in the conservative Muslim nation. Hundreds of women are murdered by their relatives in Pakistan each year on the grounds of defending family "honour". Under a controversial provision of Islamic law in force in Pakistan, men who kill female relatives escape punishment if they are "pardoned" by relatives following the payment of blood money. Sharif has vowed to eradicate the "evil" of honour killings in Pakistan. Separately, a court in Lahore Monday passed a death sentence on two brothers who murdered their sister and brother-in-law in 2009 because the couple married without family consent, defence lawyer Chaudhry Mohammad Imran told AFP. The convicts were also fined one million rupees ($9,550) each, he added. Search Keywords: Short link: Macedonia's foreign minister has defended his country's use of tear gas against hundreds of migrants who tried to break through a fence at the Greek border, also warning that the pressure on the Balkans could spark conflict. Macedonian police on Monday fired volleys of tear gas at migrants, including women and children, who forced their way past a Greek police cordon and tried to break through a barbed wire fence into Macedonia. "What we have seen is some 400 young male people trying forcibly to enter Macedonian territory from Greece," Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki told BBC Newsnight late Monday. "If you are part of the security forces and you are faced with a situation where you have a violent attempt from several hundred young male people to enter territory, without willing(ness) to register or to go to reception centres, I don't think that this is in line with what we have agreed at the European level." Thousands of migrants are stranded in Greece after Macedonia, along with other Balkan states including Serbia and EU members Slovenia and Croatia, imposed a daily limit on the number of migrants allowed to enter. In a separate interview with German business daily Handelsblatt, Poposki warned: "We have to be careful that it doesn't lead to conflict between neighbours. Slovenia sends back illegal migrants to Croatia, Croatia to Serbia, and Serbia to Macedonia et cetera," Poposki said. "I fear that such a scenario could become reality with a high number of refugees. If in addition, pressure grows from the south of the Balkan route, then there could be a serious conflict situation in the Balkans. We must aim to avoid such a situation." Poposki reiterated that Macedonia, which is home to two million people and has seen tens of thousands of migrants pass through its territory, was keen to join the European Union. He told the BBC that the easiest thing for the country to do was "to simply pull out and let all the migrants cross", but that EU members instead wanted a comprehensive system registering eligible asylum seekers. "Right now we have to have a system and the biggest problem is that this system doesn't seem to work. Therefore each one of us has to do his part of the responsibility on his own territory," he said. Search Keywords: Short link: Two local employees of the US consulate in the Pakistani city of Peshawar and some soldiers have been killed by an explosive device while on drug-eradication mission, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday. "Just this morning, I woke to the news that we had lost two local employees in Peshawar who worked with our consulate there who were going out on a effort to eradicate narcotics fields," Kerry told an event in Washington on countering violent extremism. "An IED exploded and several were lost; a few of the soldiers who were there to guard them also," Kerry said. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the incident occurred on Tuesday when the two Pakistani employees were traveling in a Pakistani government Anti-Narcotics Force convoy in Ambar tehsil, in the Mohmand Agency of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). "The US government strongly condemns the attack," Kirby said, adding that the United States was offering its assistance to Pakistan in investigating the incident and bringing the perpetrators to justice. Search Keywords: Short link: Japanese companies are set to take part in Egyptian projects worth about 2 trillion yen ($17.7 billion) in the electricity and other sectors, Reuters reported, quoting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as saying on Monday after meeting Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in Tokyo. Abe did not elaborate on the projects, but an official at Japan's foreign ministry said Japanese and Egyptian companies are scheduled to sign more than 10 memorandums of agreement on Wednesday. On Monday, Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr signed three concessional loan agreements with Japan International Cooperation Agency worth more than $450 million to finance projects in the energy and transport sectors. Abe and El-Sisi also announced that they agreed to hold a dialogue between their defence and foreign ministry officials periodically to strengthen security ties. El-Sisi's visit to Japan comes as part of his third tour to Asia. Earlier Tuesday he met with Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito in Tokyo. The Egyptian president also met with a number of Japanese CEOs, including the CEOs of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Toyota motors to discuss investments opportunities in Egypt. Search Keywords: Short link: The discussion will follow the screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens The Astronomy Club of the American University in Cairo will hold a screening of the lasts Star Wars episode, The Force Awakens, followed by a discussion on the science in the film. The talk will offer some scientific explanations of the sci-fi movie, and compare them with reality, and how close we are to realising their development in real life. Episode VII - The Force Awakens is a continuation of the epic space saga created by George Lucas, with the first of the seven films released in 1977. Set 30 years after Episode VI - The Return of The Jedi (1983) when the Galactic Empire was defeated, Han Solo and his allies face a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren and his army of Stormtroopers. The event is open to the public though registration is required for attendance through filling this form. Programme: Monday 11 April, 5pm Astronomy Club, American University in Cairo, New Campus, Road 90, New Cairo, Egypt (The event was originally scheduled for 14 March) For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture Search Keywords: Short link: The Hakawy International Arts Festival for Children will bring a variety of theatre performances to Hanager Arts Centre This year, the 6th edition of the Hakawy International Arts Festival for Children will take place between 4 and 14 March with performances staged at the Hanager Arts Centre, located at the Cairo Opera House grounds. Organised by AFCA for Arts and Culture, an institution founded and managed by Mohamed El-Ghawy, Hakawy festival is the only independent event of this scale targeting a young audience. It is also the largest project managed by AFCA. Throughout numerous performances, past editions of the festival told lots of stories and infused the childrens imagination with valuable art. From circus and clowns to percussion, classical theatrical settings to breaking the fourth wall, life size puppets to games with imaginary shapes, and from contemporary dance to experiments with paints International performers taking part in Hakawy have a unique power of grasping the young audience's attention, provoking laughter, enthusiasm, participation and inspiring long-lasting thoughts. Our main criteria is always the quality of the performances invited, El-Ghawy explained to Ahram Online. All the logistics are tailored around this core principle. El-Ghawys extensive travels, during which he attends many childrens theatres and plays of best quality, allowed him to set the bar high and make choices as to the festivals programming. Just like each other year, this time El-Ghawy has invited a number of international troupes. He tops the selection with local Egyptian artists. Egyptian artists will be highlighted in Jinan, a show that will fuse classical music performed by Awtar Quartet with storytelling, El-Ghawy explained. For their part, Awtar Quartet is known to have already approached children with music in several activities held throughout the past year. Their formula is always engaging for the children of all ages and cultural backgrounds. According to El-Ghawy, Jinan is an artistic development of an encounter which already took place between Awtar and AFCA several weeks ago, when the quartet participated in the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Swedish childrens book Pippi Longstocking. This time, Awtar Quartet will be part of the full mise-en-scene directed by Omar El Moataz Bellah with costumes and many more creative surprises, El-Ghawy clarified. The festival will also include performances from countries that were not hosted by Hakawy in previous editions. As such, Australia will be represented by the Bunk Puppets troupe performing Stick Stones Broken Bones, a play incorporating some circus components. El-Ghawy explained that the performance will present a new approach to shadow theatre, where the puppeteer stands in front of the screen on which shadows are projected and not behind it. A captivating and internationally acclaimed one-man show will arrive from Switzerland, as El-Ghawy brought Rigolo Swiss Nouveau Cirque performing Sanddorn Balance, an unimagined, outlandish sculpture of equilibrium, as the troupes website describes it. Germany will be a returning country, this time represented by Theatre o.N. performing Pling, Little Thing. The festival also re-invited Velo Theatre, a French troupe that performed in the 2012 edition of Hakawy. This year the troupe will stage a show titled Enveloppes et Debalages (Envelopes and unpacking). Among the festivals highlights however is the Theatre of Physical Comedy from the USA coming with Aga Boom circus. The performance is the only returning show to Hakawi in the festivals history and this is not without reason. Back in 2013, when Aga Boom was staged at Hanager Theatre, the show was received with unprecedented enthusiasm from the children and many of them recall the engaging clowns until this day. This was definitely one of those shows that created a huge impact, El-Ghawy agrees. Back in 2013, we brought Aga Booms fragment, a 45 minute show. This time we will present it in full, 75 minutes. Apart of the theatre performances, this year, the festival will also host an exhibition. We thought of shedding light on the young talented Egyptian sculptor Khadija El Dessouky. She will present her work done from wires and will explain the process of the creation, El-Ghawy comments. In this artistic atmosphere, where the shows target toddlers, older children as well as whole families, it is expected that following past years experience, once again, Hanager Arts Centre will be highly dynamic. Unlike previous editions of Hakawy, we launch the festival on Friday [4 March] which is the weekend. It is a new approach to kicking off and will give whole families an opportunity to enjoy the first shows, El-Ghawy commented. He also added that in previous years, the festival usually began in the middle of the week, creating strong word of mouth publicity which contributed to large audiences flocking to the theatre on the weekend. Yet, as per AFCAs regular practice, El-Ghawy invested a lot of time in promotional activities, as well as reaching out to schools which will bring their students to the performances. This year, for the first time, El-Ghawy made sure that apart from regular schools, students from the Academy of Arts -- conservatory, ballet institute etc -- will also make-up a large segment of the festivals audience. While the audiences await this years performances and El-Ghawy fine-tunes the final elements of the organisation, he underscores the unprecedented amount of help he received from several parties in making this festival possible. From the Egyptian side, I am very grateful to Khaled Galal, who apart from heading the Creativity Centre is also responsible for the cultural production sector within the Ministry of Culture. He has been backing this festival all the way through. El-Ghawy also mentions that as per the festival's regular practice, the low price of the tickets -- LE10 (1.2 USD) -- allows all interested children to attend. "We also encourage the attendees to buy additional tickets and leave them in the tickets' booth, as then they are distributed to children from the most financially underprivileged communities," El-Ghawy concluded. For the festival's complete programme click here. For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture Search Keywords: Short link: Doctors gained public sympathy following the Matariya Hospital incident, but the Ministry of Interior's handling of the case tarnished its image and dealt a serious blow to the Egyptian regime In an extraordinary meeting of the Doctors Syndicate General Assembly, an unprecedented 10,000 doctors gathered from all around the country to defend the dignity of medical professionals, which is synonymous with the dignity of Egypt. Behind them stood masses of Egyptians from different professional syndicates, along with average citizens, to express both their solidarity with the doctors and outrage at the Minister of Interior's hostility. It is a simple story. A policeman went to Matariya Hospital asking for a fabricated medical report. The doctor refused, so the policeman beat the physician, dragged him across the floor and stomped on him. Along with eight other policemen, he grabbed the doctor and another physician, put them in a police car and took them to Matariya Police Station. The policemen later forced the physician to withdraw the complaint he had filed. It is an open and shut case, with witnesses and video footage. However, police investigations which are known to be biased, inaccurate and dishonest claim it was a quarrel. The head of the hospital filed a complaint and the Chairman of the Doctors Syndicate filed another with the Prosecutor General. He referred the matter to prosecutors, who decided to release the policemen pending investigation. Everyone knows that the prosecution's decisions are based on documents and investigations presented by the police. All physicians in Egypt were deeply insulted and decided to go to Dar Al-Hikma (the headquarters of their syndicate) on Friday. They captured the sympathy of millions of Egyptians and the syndicate was packed--the balconies, halls and even the courtyard of the neighbouring syndicate. Mega screens broadcast the event and thousands poured into Qasr Al-Aini Street. The physicians were nevertheless still mindful of their patients. The syndicate made ten decisions, most notably to treat all patients at state hospitals for free, meaning that fees for x-rays, tests, surgeries, and treatment will not be collected. Patients will be happy and doctors will do their job, which is punishment for the state that is negligent in defending its citizens. Other observations and key decisions include: 1- I have never seen such a massive gathering in 50 years, which demonstrated the anger of all physicians towards the Ministry of Interior and the regime as a whole. 2- I have met many colleagues who are pro-Sisi, but were very angry with him and view him as personally responsible for not holding the policemen accountable. Their explanation is that he does not care about professionals or that he simply cannot confront the Ministry of Interior. 3- The overwhelming attendance and wise decisions by the syndicate led to sympathy of millions of Egyptians on this issue. Social media lit up with the event. On Facebook, the endless support for the police by figures associated with Mubaraks regime and hated by the people further fanned the flames. 4- I believe the actions of the Ministry of Interior, such as the attempts to cover up the crime and submit false investigations, have delivered a serious blow to the Egyptian regime. It clearly shows that thuggery wins and the police do not protect the people but instead beat them. Simliarly, the Ministry of Interior does not protect the regime, but forces it to defend a lost and outrageous cause. It is a catastrophe and Egypt is in danger. The cabinet lacks any political platform and fears the Ministry of Interior, which violates everyone and tramples on the laws and constitution. We want a police force, and we want it to protect us. We sympathise with it greatly because of its sacrifices in the face of terrorist attacks. We want to appreciate and respect it, but it has forced the people once again to chant the interior ministry are thugs." There must be a leadership that understands politics and defends Egypt in these difficult circumstances. Egypt must remain standing--strong and united. We will not allow it to fall. The writer is head of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party. Search Keywords: Short link: When asked about what her family did with their land back home, Xiao Ye, a migrant worker from the eastern province of Anhui who came to clean my house before this year's Spring Festival, told me that it has so little value that they do not want to keep it. I was surprised by what she said because it stands in stark contrast with the popular belief that the land migrant workers own back in their hometowns provides them with a sort of security in case they have to return. Our conversation got me thinking about how the government can make use of these land resources to help tens of millions of migrant worker families who have been torn between yearning for a better life in cities and struggling to fit in economically and socially in their new homes. Xiao Ye told me I was the third of four clients who booked her services that day, an indication that contributions from migrant workers are increasingly becoming an integral part of life in many cities like my hometown, the eastern city of Hangzhou. The woman and her husband, who works at a paint company in the city, have been living in Hangzhou for many years. Their only son graduated from college last year and works for an IT firm in the city. She said they have no plan to return to Anhui because they could never earn as much there as they do in Hangzhou. However, they still have to go back once or twice a year to check on the three-bed courtyard home and small parcel of farmland they left behind. Like Xiao Ye, most migrant workers do not know what to do with the properties because they are not worth much in their current form. Many of them let relatives or neighbors run the farms for little or no charge or just let the property sit idle. They do this even though they do not have enough money to settle in cities. Now that top authorities are seeking to bolster supply-side demand, we should formulate policies to tap into the needs of migrant workers. One way to do this is to develop a national land-ticket system under which migrant families like Xiao Ye's can trade their property for tickets that they can resell to the government in their adopted cities. Cities hosting a great number of migrant workers, such as Hangzhou, could then use the tickets to get approval from the central government for building more homes. More development could, in turn, help drive down home prices so they would be more affordable for migrant workers. The central government could then let lower-level governments use the land it receives to develop larger farms or contract plots out to other farmers, which would make agriculture more efficient. This would also help China ensure that it has enough grain to eat. Of course, pricing land and putting together the incentives needed to get everyone on board will be delicate. Host cities must be properly rewarded for accommodating more people. The governments in areas that see an outflow of migrant workers should be subsidized for efforts to make farming more efficient. The lots of migrant workers who sell their land in the ticket system must be improved. Urbanization is seen as a new engine for economic growth, but it will be problematic unless land issues involving millions of families are addressed. These issues will become even more urgent as economic growth slows. Zhuo Yongliang is a vice director of the Zhejiang Policy Reform Research Association (Beijing) An executive who oversaw a troubled 50 billion yuan lending program at a loan guarantee company has been detained by Communist Party graft busters, a person with knowledge of the probe says. Li Lingcheng was taken away by investigators from the party's graft buster, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, on February 17, the source said. Li was once president of Hebei Financing Investment Holding Group Co. Ltd. and later served as its party boss. The person with knowledge of the probe said that as president he oversaw a program by a subsidiary of the group called Hebei Financing Investment Guarantee to back loans extended by banks, asset management firms, trust companies, securities firms and peer-to-peer lending websites. The loans mostly went to companies in the northern province of Hebei. Hebei Financing Investment Guarantee once China's second-largest company of its type, with 4.2 billion yuan worth of assets registered with the government was legally allowed to guarantee about 42 billion yuan worth of loans, but exceeded that amount. Its parent is a state-run company that is wholly owned by Hebei's development and reform commission, a body responsible for economic planning matters. The source that spoke to Caixin said he did not know whether Li is the target of an inquiry or only helping investigators with their probe. People who answered Caixin's calls to the Hebei economic commission and the Hebei Financing Investment Holding Group said they would not comment. The problems with Hebei Financing Investment Guarantee came to light in early 2015, when investors in the financial institutions that did the lending heard companies in Hebei Province were having trouble repaying loans. The defaults started as early as July 2014. One angry investor stabbed the CEO of Global Wealth (Beijing) Investment Co. Ltd., one of the private asset management firms that extended loans, during a meeting in October. Global Wealth said that same month that all of the companies it lent to defaulted on their debt, meaning some 630 million yuan from 660 investors was gone. Li was removed as party secretary of Hebei Financing Investment Holding in May 2015, the source with knowledge of the investigation said. He went to work at the Hebei state assets management commission afterward. An executive from another financial institution that is affected by the defaults told Caixin that Li's detention will not provide much help in resolving the crisis, but "we believe that someone's got to be held responsible." The Hebei development and reform commission and Hebei Financing Investment Holding Group recently signed agreement with China Great Wall Asset Management Corp. to sort out the problem, the executive said, a sign the province is eager to address the problem. China Great Wall Asset is one of the four state-owned asset management firms the central government launched in the late 1990s to help handle bad loans at state-owned banks. (Rewritten by Li Rongde) He has been charged with committing a hostile act against the state, with the help of the United States. Otto Warmbier appeared before a group of domestic and foreign journalists Monday in the North Korean capital, accompanied by North Korean guards. The 21-year-old University of Virginia student, who was visiting North Korea with a tour group, was arrested last month before boarding a plane out of the country. Warmbier told reporters he removed a political slogan from a staff-only area of the hotel where the group was staying to give to a member of his church who wanted the banner to display as a "trophy." He said the church member offered him a used car worth $10,000. If he was caught and unable to return, the church member said Warmbier's mother would get $200,000. Pyongyang has not said what possible punishment Warmbier may face. A State Department spokesman later Monday said that as a general practice, North Korea arrests and imprisons people for actions that would not give rise to arrests, let alone imprisonment, in the United States. He added there's little doubt that North Korea uses detention as a tool for propaganda purposes. North Korea has often detained Americans and other foreign citizens on trumped up charges. The detainees are usually brought before foreign journalists to read statements confessing to crimes committed against the dictatorial regime. The statements are widely considered to have been coerced, and detainees often recant their confessions after their release. With Russian-Turkish tensions mounting, a recent poll finds that the Turkish people see Russia as their greatest threat. The annual survey on Turkish attitudes carried out by Istanbul's Kadir Has University shows Russia displacing Israel in the No. 1 spot. The findings are not surprising, says international relations expert Soli Ozel of Kadir Has, as Turkey's nationalist and pro-government media continue to target Moscow with accusations of conspiracies against Turkey -- the expulsion of a Turkish diplomat from Bulgaria just last month was blamed on Moscow. "This is a public that gets 85 percent of its news from TVs," Ozel said. "Given the fact that most TVs repeat the allegations, assertions and thoughts of the government, so long as the government does present the Russians as certainly very inimical to Turkey, and given the fact they did down a plane. Russia would probably take pride of place in terms of Turkey threats." Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter jet operating from a Syrian airbase in November plunged the two countries into crisis. Until then, there had been two decades of deepening relations in trade and tourism, as well as growing numbers of inter-marriages. North Korea says it will boycott the UN Human Rights Council and "never, ever be bound" by UN resolutions critical of its rights record. Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong told the council Tuesday in Geneva any resolutions against the reclusive Communist country will only be "proof of partiality and double standards." Ri said North Korea will no longer take part in international sessions that single out its human rights record "for mere political attack." He said the council was plagued by "politicization, selectivity and double standards." Former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is a potential contender while Penny Mordaunt has become the first official candidate. Theo ong Mai Anh Nhin - Pho Chu tich UBND tinh Kien Giang, hien nay cac tuyen kenh trong tinh bi xam nhap man lan sau vao 34 km noi ong. Rieng thang 6 - 7/2015 vua qua, tai TP Rach Gia thieu nuoc ngot sinh hoat nghiem trong keo dai gan 1 thang. #Navy plans Navy eyes creation of unmanned command in 2040s South Korea's Navy is seeking to create a new command running unmanned ships, submarines and aircraft in the 2040s, the armed service said Friday, in an effort to address a potenti... #SK data center fire SK C&C's data center raided over massive server outage Police on Friday raided regional offices of SK C&C, the host of the data center for Kakao Corp., in an investigation into a data center fire last week that caused massive servi... Charlie Cox says his return as Daredevil "still feels too good to be true" You may have heard talk on the interweb about this dream job going with Netflix, well here's how you can get it, and even better, it's not just one amazing job, it's three. The streaming service are looking for what they call "Grammasters" - what's that when it's at home? Well it will involve taking over Netflix's Instagram accounts for two weeks while you travel through Europe taking photographs. The selected three will receive a salary of 2,000 USD a week and will visit the sets of TV locations such as Sense8, The Crown and Suburra, as well as meeting some of the talent of these Netflix original shows, with all travel arrangements taken care of by Netflix. Sounds like a pretty amazing gig, 'ey? The Grammasters program has already been conducted successfully in the US with tens of thousand applicants and three lucky photographers who finally got the job. Check out how they got on in the video below; So if you want to nab this dream job, applicants from Europe and Middle East are called to tag their favourite three photos with #grammasters3. Deadline is 6 March, the selected Grammasters will start their job in April. For more information head here. Before Polands parliamentary elections in October last year, many liberal-thinking Poles had been worrying what the looming victory of Jaroslaw Kaczynskis far-right Law and Justice (PiS) could mean for their country. Few had imagined then that PiS victory would turn Poland, one of Europes few shining economic successes, into a troublemaker EU member accused of undermining democracy in just a few weeks. PiS comeback has been swift and focused on concentrating as much power in key institutions as possible. Prime Minister Beata Szydlo (although it is clear to everyone that the party is in fact steered by Jaroslaw Kaczynski) was quick to weaken the basic functions of the Constitutional Court, including its capacity to strike down legislation. The newly elected government moreover purged the management of public media and openly acknowledged that Hungarys controversial Prime Minister Viktor Orban was its role model. What is, however, even more striking is the fact that vulgarism and lack of manners can become a new political mainstream almost overnight, seemingly unnoticed by large parts of the population. Since Law and Justice party took over, its members and sympathizers have attacked virtually every aspect of what used to be the basis of Polands success its ties with Germany, its respected position in the European Union, its political stance towards Russia. In contrast, Mr Kaczynski actually shows off his eccentric anti-German foreign policy views and does not shun away from using hate speech when talking about migrants, saying, for example, they carry various diseases. It seems that no one has reminded the Poles, and especially the young ones, that their country is the biggest beneficiary of EU funding. In 2014-2020 funding window, Poland will receive 77.6 billion euros, which is the highest amount in the block. In 2013, for example, what Poland got from the EU was roughly three times more than its national contribution. Since its accession in 2004, the EU cash has helped the country to develop its countryside, help farmers use new technologies, build many airports or museums (such as Copernicus Science Center in Warsaw, which is the second most popular science museum in Europe). Apart from obvious money matters, there are many benefits that cannot be measured, such as peace, political stability, security and freedom to live, study and work anywhere in the EU. While many would take the first items on the list such as stability, peace and security for granted, the latest developments in the EU neighborhood only highlight the fact that these are not such obvious things, as some might be inclined think. Moreover, when it comes to free movement of people, the Poles have benefitted from the EU immensely, and no Polish government not even a far-right one should forget about it. It is estimated that since 2004, about 2 million Poles have left the country. In absolute terms, Poland is among top five sending countries for Erasmus programs. Every year, thousands of young Poles have a chance to study in another EU country. The latest political developments in Poland are, in my opinion, among the saddest things that have happened to Central Europe recently. This latest political mayhem unfolding in Poland has demonstrated that vulgarism, political incorrectness and illiberal and anti-democratic practices can spread basically overnight even in a country of almost 40 million. Lets not forget that Poland is the EUs sixth biggest economy that borders with Russia and that has a major say when it comes to such important issues as climate policy. What is worse, Polands course of action under this new right-wing regime has also demonstrated that the populist politics of fear and hatred in Hungary and a to a lesser extent in Slovakia can thrive also in a big and traditionally pro-Western country whose voice actually matters even in the Brussels corridors of power. Cruise industry headed for decade of growth in China Updated: 2016-03-01 09:11 By Wang Ying(China Daily) The total number of Chinese homeport cruise ship travelers reached 2.22 million passenger trips in 2015, and China's cruise industry is set to grow faster in the next decade, a report said. Throughout 2015, China's 10 cruise ports received a total of 539 homeporting cruise calls, representing year-on-year growth of 47 percent, according to the 2015 China Cruise Industry Development Report published on Monday. The annual report, also known as the white paper of China's cruise industry, has been issued since 2009, and is jointly published by the China Cruise & Yacht Industry Association, Hongkou District People's Government of Shanghai, as well as Shanghai International Shipping Institute. According to the report, total cruise ship passenger trips in China soared 44 percent from the previous year to 2.48 million in 2015, and the number of homeport passenger trips surged 50 percent to 2.22 million during the same period. In the past 10 years, China's cruise industry has developed significantly in policymaking, port construction, and the introduction of cruise ships, cruise trips and services. The report forecast China's cruise sector will enter a fast-developing period. Ex-World Bank official calls for national strategy on inclusive finance Updated: 2016-03-01 10:01 By Jiang Xueqing(China Daily) A former leading financial specialist at the World Bank said China urgently needs to develop a national strategy on inclusive finance. Inclusive finance refers to a system that offers timely, convenient and differentiated financial services to all individuals and businesses, especially to low-income house-holds, rural residents and micro and small businesses at affordable costs. Wang Jun, adjunct professor of finance at the China Europe International Business School, made the comments at a forum held by the Center for Microfinance Initiatives and Networks at Renmin University of China on Friday. "Only by launching such a strategy, could we clarify a few crucial questions about inclusive finance, including what we want to achieve through its development, which people we'd like to serve, what principles we should hold to satisfy their demands, what measures to take and how to set priorities," he said. Wang, who previously held the position of lead financial specialist for East Asia and the Pacific at the World Bank, said China needs to evaluate its current progress on inclusive finance to find out what has been achieved, what are the differences between China and other countries in this respect, and what problems still remain and why. The country also needs to build a reliable statistical indicator system revealing the actual situation of inclusive finance. "During the process of developing the national strategy, we should be cautious against overly politicizing inclusive finance so as not to hinder us from achieving our goals," he said. "The government should make greater efforts in offering basic public services such as road and network infrastructure construction, rather than devoting too much attention to the direct provision of financial services and products." The country has a severely imbalanced financial structure, according to the 2015 Green Paper of Financial Inclusion in China released by Renmin University. Private enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones, received only 30 percent of bank loans, although they contributed 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product and provided 80 percent of employment in cities and towns, the paper said. "The country should strive to develop inclusive finance, as it will guide the flow of financial resources to fill a gap between financial supply and demand caused by structural imbalance." Starting in the 1990s as small loan programs to fight poverty, the development of inclusive finance in China has accelerated since 2005, with the participation of new types of financial institutions such as small loan companies, Internet banks and peer-to-peer lending platforms. Statistics from the China Banking Regulatory Commission showed that the balance of agriculture-related loans of China's banking institutions, excluding notes financing, rose 11.7 percent year-on-year to 26.4 trillion yuan ($4 trillion) at the end of December. During the same period, the balance of loans for small and micro businesses reached 23.5 trillion yuan, up 13.3 percent year-on-year. Russian tourists rushing back to China Updated: 2016-03-01 11:34 By Su Zhou(China Daily) Two visitors from Russia taste local snacks in Rongshui, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua] After four years of decline, there was a huge increase in the number of Russian tourists visiting China in January, new figures show. In total, 144,200 Russians visited in the first month of 2016up 46.9 percent on the same period last year, according to a recent report released by the China Tourism Academy, a think tank under the China National Tourism Administration. Russia is the fifth-largest source market for China's tourism industry after the United States, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea, but over the past few years a weak ruble has dampened Russians' enthusiasm for travel abroad. Last year alone, the number of Russian tourists in China was down 22.7 percent year-on-year, according to the report Xu Xiaolei, a spokesman for China Youth Travel Service, said the growth in Russian tourists this winter was not surprising, but it was still too early to predict a trend for the rest of the year. "Many Russian tourists chose to spend the bitter winter in warm Hainan province. And to avoid the peak season of Chinese New Year, many booked their trips to China in January," Xu said. "Tourism watchdogs have also been tightening the regulation of Hainan's tourism products. Compared with the sky-high hotel prices last year, prices in Hainan are relatively low this year. This has also helped to attract more Russian tourists." Xu said he expected the overall inbound tourism industry to maintain its pace of growth this year, after the number of inbound visits in January increased by 1.7 percent year-on-year to 11.1 million, according to the China Tourism Academy report The China National Tourism Administration expects more than 137 million overseas tourists to visit China this year, an increase of 2.5 percent on the previous year. According to its development goal for 2016, as set at the annual work meeting on Jan 29, international tourism revenue is also forecast to increase by 6.5 percent, reaching $121 billion. If this happens, it will be the second consecutive year of growth for China's inbound tourism market following a period of decline from 2011 to 2014. Li Shihong, deputy head of the administration, said second- and third-tier cities and small towns would play a leading role in attracting overseas touristshighlighting Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, Yueyang, Hunan province and Tongli, Jiangsu province as examples. "Second- and third-tier cities and small towns have unique cultural symbols, beautiful landscapes and have preserved history" better than modern cities, Li said. "All these are attractive factors for frequent visitors to China." "Besides, the high-speed railway network has connected small towns and made them more accessible than ever before. It is a great time for them to develop their inbound tourism industry." SUGGESTED BY THE GRAVES OF TWO ENGLISH SOLDIERS ON CONCORD BATTLE-GROUND. Stanzas on Freedom if there breath on earth a slave, Are ye truly free and brave? If ye do not feel the chain, When it works a brother's pain, Are ye not base slaves indeed, Slaves unworthy to be freed? They are slaves who fear to speak For the fallen and the weak; They are slaves who will not choose Hatred,scoffing, and abuse, Rather than in silence shrink From the truth they needs must think; They are slaves who dare not be In the right with two or three. MEN! whose boast it is that ye Come of fathers brave and free, The link ABOVE contains one of the Reverend Martin Luther King's most profound but most overlooked speeches. This speech, in all probability, got him assassinated. In it he deviated from civil rights to anti-war. This anti-war stanch upset the Military Industrial Complex. (Of particular interest to me and relevance to this blog, is the inclusion of an excerpt from a James Russell Lowell poem that MLK so generously and warmly ended his powerful discourse with) Through Oct. 31, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Chatham Area Public Library 600 E. Spruce, Chatham Chatham Free Books & Authors The 4th Annual Library Crawl will take place in October. This is a fun time of visiting other public libraries and discovering their wonderful collections and buildings. Each library you visit will stamp your Passport. Visit 5 or more libraries other than your home library, turn in your Passport back at your home library, and youll be eligible for a cool prize drawing. Springfield Area Libraries participating are:* Athens Public Library*Auburn Public Library*Chatham Area Public Library*Divernon Public Library*Lincoln Library*Petersburg Public Library*Rochester Public Library Happy Crawling! 217-483-2713 Description Find out why Long Island is such a unique place with naturalist and author Lee McAllister. Mr. McAllister will discuss the many hiking opportunities available on the island, as well as the geology, history, flora, fauna and topographical features that make Long Island such an interesting place to hike during any season especially during the winter. All hiking opportunities in Nassau and Suffolk counties are encompassed in this discussion. Contact the library for additional information and registration. Testosterone Oxytocin Cortisol Leptin Thyroid Hormone Every person in the world has one thing in common is the need for fat loss. Unfortunately, this is a common scenario for many people. 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Leptin can help suppress that feeling and regulate your eating habits and diet plans for losing weight fast.T3 and T4 are the hormones that promote healthy metabolism, essential for burning more calories. The only drawback to these two hormones is that they require prescriptions like any other hormone supplement and from a specialist. So whenever you want to take thyroid hormone pills, you should always check with your doctor first if it is right for you or not. There is no point in risking your health just because you dont have enough money for prescription drugs.Eating less and working out more is not the only way to lose weight. You need to do it faster and easier if you want to see results in a short time. The five hormones listed above can help you burn calories faster than ever without any effort at all. 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. Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2016 02:02:17 -0800 Subject: GOOD NEWS From: lndwlkr05@gmail.com To: Dear Sir/Madam This is to confirm my receipt of instruction from the Authority towards your funds release last weekend on the account to verify the total cost of Re-Approval ,Verification &Clarification of the subject of the cost from the Office of the FMF Federal Ministry of Finance ,from the Office Contract Awarding Committee both in Lagos and Abuja Office Respectively. However, in the cause of my assignment which I began last week on this series,its was obviously confirmed that with the total sum plus an effective management with the advantage of me being an insider, I would be able to bring to conclusion within 10 working days from tomorrow being the Jan 2016. Meanwhile, One advise and suggestion which I would offer right now is that you carefully arrange the names and particulars of men and women that you had dealt with in the cause of this fund release ,so that I would make for you a formal report in our Executive Council Meeting .As this would enhance further investigation on this those Officers for the return of your funds previously sent to them in the cause of your work with them all.The Authority would endeavor to indite them for your refund. Most us got very astonished when cases of such arises ,I am very interested to really know who and who were involved ,so that I can exposed them to the Authority. Right now the next following step should be your visit to Nigerian Head Office ,But in the case you cannot afford to come down,then you would allow me and the Lawyer to continue in your behalf.Our Major Assignment to Abuja FCT is mainly to obtain the the actual Re-Approvals Form from the Federal Ministerial Departments to urgently enhances of this fund within the shortest possible time .Therefore Note that the mentioned amount would be concurrently sent down to me and the Lawyer as soon as the monies are being requested by from one Office to another. Please Sir/Madam, I advise that you carefully read and digest this mail immediately you confirms your receipt ,so that we commence immediately. Best Regards JAMES JACK Date: Sat, 16 Jan 2016 09:49:12 +0000 From: arabnationalnational@yahoo.com Subject: RE: GOOD NEWS This is to confirm the receipt of your email and the content therein, as a matter of urgency I intend to move your file to our Central Security System where your information will be documented into our database and a wire instruction insured to your receiving Bank for the immediate debiting of your account as applied. Base on this it important your reconfirm the following information to enable this office to do the needful base on our professional capacity . 1) Your Full Names 2) Your Direct telephone number 3) Your Bank coordinates 4) Your Contact Address 5) And a copy of your International Passport or Drivers License. These are to legitimize your transfer process form our system. I await your urgent response Regards James Jack Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2016 10:36:59 +0000 From: arabnationalnational@yahoo.com Subject: RE: GOOD NEWS Dear Sir, I will forward your information to the person in charge of the transfer. Thanks James Jack Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2016 15:43:13 +0000 From: arabnationalnational@yahoo.com Subject: RE: GOOD NEWS Dear Sir, The person in charges of the transfer said hat him have be call your telephone,him name is Mr Tony Obi his telephone number is +2348127443199, i will advise you to call he right now and ask him what is holding the transfer today. Thanks James Jack Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2016 09:58:17 +0000 From: arabnationalnational@yahoo.com Subject: RE: GOOD NEWS Dear Sir, I will advise you to get him on the telephone no; +2348127443199 because him said that the transfer have be made to your account. Him information is below; Mr. Tony Obi Telephone no; +2348127443199 Update me? Thanks James Jack Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2016 10:51:02 +0000 From: arabnationalnational@yahoo.com Subject: RE: GOOD NEWS Dear Sir, This is the email address of Mr. Tony Obi below; Email; arabnationalbankbank@yahoo.com Telephone no +2348127443199 Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2016 10:11:00 +0000 From: arabnationalbankbank@yahoo.com Subject: RE: GOOD NEWS Dear Sir, We have doing the transfer to your account but we are having some problem because of you don't have STAMP DUTY DOCUMENTS, that is the reason why the IMF don't want release this fund to your account. Please if you have this STAMP DUTY DOCUMENTS, i will advise you to send us the copy of it so that i can forward it to IMF on your behalf right now. I am waiting reply. Thanks Mr. Tony Obi > Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2016 13:50:07 +0000 > From: arabnationalbankbank@yahoo.com > Subject: RE: GOOD NEWS > > Dear Sir, > > As you said that you don't have it, you have to come to Nigeria By yourself so that you will get this documents to enable us release this fund on your account with 24hrs. > > But if you can not come to Nigeria, i will look for an lawyer who will help you get this STAMP DUTY DOCUMENTS on your behalf so that your fund will be transfer to you as soon as we make the transfer to your account the payment slip will be send to you for the confirmation of the transfer. > > Remember that the lawyer will ask you money before he will go to the Abuja and get this STAMP DUTY DOCUMENTS on your name which i will send you the copy of it to you. > > If you agree that you will pay for the lawyer, or you can come to Nigeria? > > > > Get back to us today? > > Thanks > Mr. Tony Obi > Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2016 12:10:08 +0000 > From: arabnationalnational@yahoo.com > Subject: RE: GOOD NEWS > > Dear Sir, > > I will forward you information to the person in charges of the transfer so that this fund will be release to your account, but you going to pay for the STAMP DUTY FEE to them before they can release this fund to you account with 72hrs. > > If you agree to pay the STAMP DUTY FEE , let me know so that i will tell they to start preparing the transfer to your account. > > Get back to me today. > > Thanks > James Frank Date: Fri, 26 Feb > 2016 16:37:30 +0000 > > From: arabnationalnational@yahoo.com > > Subject: GOOD NEWS > > > > Dear Sir, > > > > This is to inform you that your payment has be approved to pay in > USA? > > > > Get back to us so that i will give you the information of the Equity > Standard Trust > > > > I will advise you to call this number;+234 905-291-4920 > > > > Thanks > > James frank > Date: Tue, 1 Mar 2016 09:23:41 +0000 > From: arabnationalnational@yahoo.com > Subject: RE: GOOD NEWS > > Dear Sir, > > I have received your vital information and particulars to complete your online account setup and activation to give you access to login to begin utilizing your cash. In so doing kindly provide your Online Account Activation initial refundable deposit $1,999 only and payable directly to the ESTB Online Merchant in Los Angeles - California for casting of protocol and release access to login immediately to you. > > Therefore you are requested to contact the Equity Standard Trust Online Bank Headman and Online Analyst. > Contact Mr. Leonard J. Gibbs > Email: info@equitystandard-trusts.biz.st > Phone: +1(213) 545 6912 > > Activate and use your online account instant while I will forward your particulars to him for upgrading into their relevant computers in the United States to enable you to trigger your funds online. You are expected not to share the above information giving to you with anybody until you are sure to received your money to avoid any "HAD I KNOWN" that always comes at the last minutes. > > Please once you contacted the online merchants the ESTB remember to keep me posted. > > God is your strength > > Thank you > > James Frank 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.... TWEET ME DISCLAIMER *COMMENTS, LINKS, AND CUT AND PASTE ARTICLES, ARE NOT ALL ENDORSED BY THE PUBLISHER. THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed. MORE DISCLAIMERS This is a commercial free blog. Money is nice, but being able to speak my mind is better. "Real talk: Daniel Rubin has a great little piece up wherein he chats with The Field Negro, the Philly-based blogger who sharply ponders all things black on a daily basis. (Seriously, if youve never checked in with TFN, you should: Its author, Wayne Bennett, is a fantastic read who can cut through bullshit like a hot knife through butter, which is a far grosser analogy than I wanted to make, but there you have it.)" ~Philebrity~ "One of the most precocious and hilarious Black political minds on the net. Ive been a long-time fan!" ~Asad Malik~ "..While most of what he writes is tongue-in-cheek, his space is a safe house for candid discussions about race, especially in the comments section, where people of all colors meet." ~~Daniel Rubin, "The Philadelphia Inquirer"~~ "To white people, Bennett's musings are like kitchen-table talk from a kitchen they may otherwise never set foot in. To African Americans, he is part of a growing army of black Internet amateurs who have taken up the work once reserved for ministers and professional activists: the work of setting a black agenda, shaping black opinion and calling attention to the state of the nation's racial affairs." ~~Richard Fausset, "L.A. Times"~~~ ~Erik Hare, "The Twin Cities Daily Planet"~ "That's why I love the blog " Field Negro " so much. Field, as he's known to his fans, has the sense of reality that it takes to call out the ( CowPuckey ) of blame beating by those who are in positions of power and their lackeys. Because of his handle and his unabashed way of writing about racial issues, Field is often cited as a "Black blogger." What he is, however, is a first-class detector of blame deflection and an excellent student of history. If you want to write about the past and future of repression there's really no other perspective to take - which is why everyone should read Field."~Erik Hare, "The Twin Cities Daily Planet"~ 411 On The Field field negro Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Raised in the house, but field certified. Jamaica is the land of my birth, but I consider myself a citizen of the world. I currently practice law in the city of "brotherly love". View my complete profile "Half a century after Little Rock, the Montgomery bus boycott and the tumultuous dawn of the modern civil rights era, the new face of the movement is Facebook, MySpace and some 150 black blogs united in an Internet alliance they call the AfroSpear. Older, familiar leaders such as Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, are under challenge by a younger generation of bloggers known by such provocative screen names as Field Negro, thefreeslave and African American Political Pundit. And many of the newest struggles are being waged online." ~Howard Witt-The Chicago Tribune~ "I had no idea, for example, of the extent of the African-American blogging world out there and its collective powers of dissemination.But now, after reading thousands of anguished, thoughtful comments posted on these blogs reflecting on issues of persistent racial discrimination in the nation's schools and courtrooms, what's clear to me is that there's a new, "virtual" civil rights movement out there on the Internet that can reach more people in a few hours than all the protest marches, sit-ins and boycotts of the 1950s and 60s put together." ~Chicago Tribune Reporter, Howard Witt~ IF YOU ARE BRAVE ENOUGH TO FLAUNT IT. Come visit my store on CafePress! TAIPEI, TAIWAN--(Marketwired - Feb 29, 2016) - Taiwan's leading pop concert producer the Friendly Dog Entertainment Co. Ltd., for the first time, accepts sole sponsorship for its popular annual music event. It announced that the 2016 OPPO Camera Phone Taipei Spring Wave Music & Art Festival will be open on April 3-4 in the Dajia Riverside Park in Taipei to give fans a fiesta of dreams, glamour and fun. At the Feb.22 press conference, the Friendly Dog announced the list of performers and judges for the music competitions. It also introduced the debut of the "Spring Wave Sunset," in which artists of electronic music will showcase their latest creations for the "The First SpringWave Sunset DJ Remix PK Awards - 2016." Mc HotDog, Luantan Ascent, Lim Giong and aka DJ Xuan, four leading artists from different music genre, appeared at the press conference to join the organizer in unveiling the curtain of the Spring Wave's next gold decade. OPPO Taiwan's CEO Heaven He and Friendly Dog President Kuang-yuan Shen introduced the first wave of performers which include Sitar Tan and Escape Plan. Amid expectations of pop music fans for a "mysterious guest" to highlight the new music decade, the Spring Wave said rising star vocalist Leah Dou will be invited to stage her first public performance in Taiwan. The glamour of Leah's show is expected to attract over one hundred million views on the internet from Mandarin-speaking communities worldwide, the organizer said. Superstar Ayal Komod and Mc HotDog will also perform their latest works, tuning up with Spring Wave to compose enchanting melodies for the new era of Taiwan's pop music industry. Friendly Dog President Shen, Luantan Ascent and Ma Yu-fen will be judges of the Third Global Spring Wave Awards - 2016. Entertaining the fans will be 8 popular bands including Escape Plan, Monkey Pilot, For You, Next Door Band, Crispy, 30 Loud Who Chance, Soundboss Band, and Auntie Roxy as well as the winning groups from the final contests. Spring Wave invites you to share the dreams for a daily ticket fare of only NT$900. Please visit http://www.spring-wave.com for more information on the music event. Story continues OPPO Camera Phone is the proud sponsor of the 2016 Spring Wave Music & Art Festival. OPPO Taiwan's CEO Heaven He said: "The Spring Wave Music & Art Festival is a statement about musical taste, beauty, and craftsmanship. At OPPO we share these same ideals with our consumers by innovating ground-breaking technology and stunning aesthetic design. One of these technologies is our VOOC Flash Charging which gives you 2hrs call time from only a 5 minute charge. This could allow fans to broadcast the festival live via a phone call!" He said OPPO takes pride in its camera technology -- even in very low light the users can take amazingly clear, bright images. The CEO said this year OPPO is going to bring this festival right through 2016 with the most innovative technology fans can get their hands on! The Third Global Spring Wave Awards - 2016 invites to share dreams! Spring Wave's new brand contest - [The First SpringWave Sunset DJ Remix PK Awards - 2016] makes debut in March The Third Global Spring Wave Awards - 2016 invites you to share dreams, to keep on dreaming. The Awards starts taking submissions until March 11 (Friday), offering cash prizes totaling. NT$200,000. The top two winning teams will join 2 concerts of the Spring Wave's Asian tour. Please visit https://goo.gl/nXUQWt for more information. The long-anticipated "The First SpringWave Sunset DJ Remix PK Awards - 2016" will be the opening event of the 2016 music festivities. It marks the first local electronic music competition, providing the musicians a platform to demonstrate their dreams and talents. It gives them a chance to become superstar DJs at Spring Wave Sunset electronic music concert, the organizer said. Lim Giong and aka DJ Xuan, who will be the judges of the PK Awards, said the growing popularity of the electronic music is changing the fans' views on pop music. The PK Awards, organized by the powerful Spring Wave team, is the climax of SpringWave Sunset and prelude of SpringWave Sunset III to be launched on May 28. Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2971879 Highlights: - Agreement to initially acquire 60% of Unkur Copper-Silver Project in eastern Russia, with the ability to acquire the remaining 40% in the future - Project hosts a large, shallow sediment-hosted stratiform copper-silver deposit - Significant results from limited historical drilling include: -- 21.0m at 5.9% copper -- 20.0m at 4.2% copper -- 12.0m at 3.3% copper -- 12.0m at 2.3% copper -- 3.3m at 3.3% copper -- 3.2m at 3.3% copper - Composite samples from mineralized core duplicates contained silver at an average grade of 67.4g/t, with a low of 11.2g/t and a high of 164.6g/t (note:composite samples are selective samples and are not representative of the mineralization hosted on the property) - High exploration potential: -- Copper-silver bearing horizon has been identified >4,500 meters of strike -- Maximum historical drill hole intersection depth is -- Multiple drill-ready target -- Historical work leaves open the extent of the mineral bearing horizon both along strike and down dip -- Metallurgical recoveries up to approximately 96% for both copper and silver based on recent preliminary test work - Excellent location, access and infrastructure, including: -- Less than 400 kilometers to China-Russia borde -- Approximately 7 kilometers from railway and road -- High-voltage electrical substation within 25 kilometers and power line at license area -- C$2.0M fundraising, with C$1.5M committed under executed subscription agreements VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2016 / EUROPEAN URANIUM RESOURCES LTD. ("EUU" or the "Company") (EUU.V) has agreed to the terms to acquire an initial interest of 60% in the Unkur Copper-Silver Project located in eastern Russia (the "Unkur Acquisition"). In connection with the Unkur Acquisition, EUU intends to raise C$2.0 million through a private placement of common shares (the "Private Placement") and consolidate its shares on an up to 10:1 basis (the "Share Consolidation"). The Company has entered into subscription agreements with cornerstone investors for C$1.5 million of the planned Private Placement. Following the closing of the Unkur Acquisition and ancillary transactions, EUU intends to change its name to Azarga Metals Corp. Dorian (Dusty) Nicol, President and Chief Executive Officer stated: "This acquisition will allow the Company to proceed with exploration of an exciting new copper and silver project in a favourable location. We are preparing to conduct our first drilling program at Unkur in the fall of this year." He then went on to say: "With our low overhead cost and current low cost of drilling in Russia, we currently anticipate the fundraising to sustain active exploration at the project for a period in excess of two-years." UNKUR COPPER-SILVER PROJECT Sediment-hosted copper and silver mineralization has been identified across the 5,390 hectare Unkur Project license area, in outcrops, trenches and by diamond drilling over a strike length of approximately five kilometers. Diamond drilling was conducted at the Unkur Project in 1971 and 1978, with eight holes intersecting high-quality copper mineralization. The deepest mineralized intersection was at a relatively shallow down hole depth of 242.4 meters. Limited work has been undertaken on the Unkur Project since the late-1970s. The Unkur Project was successfully acquired through a Russian Government public tender by Azarga Metals Limited ("Azarga Metals") following extensive preparatory work by that organization including data collation and prospecting at the site over a period in excess of three years. The current mineral license for the Unkur Project covers mining of copper, silver and associated metals and is valid until the end 2039. Given extensive historical geophysics and some drilling, EUU management considers the Unkur Project a drill ready project that is highly prospective for the delineation of a shallow deposit of substantial copper mineralization with associated economically important grades of silver. The Company believes there is good potential to delineate a substantial economically viable copper-silver deposit at the Unkur Project. EUUs initial target is for the delineation of 20-40 million tonnes of mineralization at 0.6-0.9% copper and 60-80g/t silver. The geological style of this type of sediment hosted copper deposit around the world is known to have potential to host hundreds of millions of tonnes of mineralization. In line with this, management believes there is potential to discover a very large deposit within the Unkur Project license area. It should be noted with respect to the Companys initial target that the potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature, that there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and that it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource. Location and access The Unkur Project consists of one 5,390 hectare license that lies in the Kalarsky district of the Zabaikalsky administrative region of Russia, approximately 380 kilometers north of the China-Russia border and 15 kilometers to the east of Novaya Chara town. The Baikal-Amur Mainline ("BAM") railway passes within approximately seven kilometers of the Unkur Project and Novaya Chara is approximately 22 kilometers along the year-round natural road beside the railway. The town of Chara, where there is an operating commercial airport, is approximately 33 kilometers from the project area. Railway routes directly connected to the BAM railway provide access to China and also Russias far eastern ports on the Pacific coast. A power line crosses over the Unkur Project license area connecting to a high-voltage sub-station at Novaya Chara with a capacity of 200 megawatts. The Unkur Project sits in a broader district known for its copper and precious metals mineralization. It is within 20 kilometers of Udokan, which is reportedly one of the three largest undeveloped copper deposits in the world today. Zabaikalsky administrative region Click here to View Image Source: Azarga Metals Unkur, local geography and infrastructure Click here to View Image Source: Azarga Metals History Copper mineralization was first discovered at the Unkur Project in 1962. The vast majority of recorded exploration at the project occurred between 1969 and 1978. The work in this period included approximately 6,700 cumulative linear meters of diamond core drilling undertaken in 1971 and 1978, and almost 40,000 cumulative cubic meters of trenching. Eight drill holes intersected high-quality copper mineralization. The deepest mineralized intersection was at a relatively shallow down hole depth of 242.4 meters. Significant drilling results include: - 21.0m at 5.9% copper - 20.0m at 4.2% copper - 12.0m at 3.3% copper - 12.0m at 2.3% copper - 3.3m at 3.3% copper - 3.2m at 3.3% copper A total of 11 composite samples were made from mineralized core sample duplicates to determine grades of associated elements and these returned an average grade of 67.4g/t silver, with a minimum of 11.2g/t silver and a maximum of 164.6g/t. It should be noted that composite samples are selective samples and are not representative of the mineralization hosted on the property. Ground geophysical surveys were carried out in two major campaigns at the Unkur Project. Methods included electric logging (induced polarization, dipole electric profiling), time-variable natural magnetic field, magnetic and gravity survey. Data cross-referenced with outcrop samples and drill hole core determined that the geological unit under the copper-bearing horizon was highly pyritized and this became a geophysical marker for identifying the copper-bearing horizon. The survey data showed that zones of conductivity and high polarizability are confined to the horizons of copper-bearing sandstones. Historical exploration and location of copper bearing horizons Click here to View Image Source: Azarga Metals No meaningful exploration activity has taken place on the Unkur Project since 1978. However, in 2013, Azarga Metalss technical team confirmed the presence of copper-silver mineralization through five rock chip samples taken at the site, which tested 1.8% to 6.1% copper and 49g/t to 230g/t silver. Azarga Metals acquired the Unkur Project in mid-2014 and subsequently performed additional surface prospecting and a technical review. In early 2015 a 350 kilogram sample of near-surface oxidized ore was collected for metallurgical testing by SGS Vostock (a member of the SGS Group). Geology The Unkur Project is situated on the southern Siberian platform in the Kodar-Udokan structural zone. Locally, the geology is composed of Lower Proterozoic metamorphosed sediments of the Udokan Series, Lower Proterozoic granitoids of the Chuisko-Kodarsly complex, gabbroid massifs and dykes of Late Proterozoic gabbroids of the Chiney complex, and Quaternary alluvial and glacial cover. The sediments of the Udokan series were deposited in a shallow marine environment. In ascending stratigraphic order, the formations of the series are named as the Ikabyinskaya, Inyrskaya, Chitkandinskaya, Alexandrovskaya, Butunskaya, and Sakukanskaya. The overall thickness of the series is 5,350m. The copper-bearing horizon is confined to sediments of the Lower subformation of the Sakukanskaya formation. This subformation is a 500 meters thick package of alternating pinkish-grey medium-grained sandstones and grey to black siltstones. Regional geology Click here to View Image Source: Technical Report for the Unkur Copper-Silver Deposit, Kodar-Udokan Area, Russian Federation, SRK Consulting (Russia) Ltd., February 2015 The Unkur deposit is interpreted as a sediment-hosted stratiform copper deposit. The copper-bearing horizon was initially identified and traced in the south-western limb of a syncline known as the Unkur syncline. The position of the copper-bearing horizon is 80-100 meters above the base of the Sakukanskaya formation. The copper-bearing horizon has been traced along the strike for 4.6 kilometers, including a 3 kilometer length of drill hole and trench intersections. The maximum drill hole intersection depth is approximately 240 meters. The thickness of the horizon ranges from 12-50 meters. From geophysical methods, the copper-bearing horizon has been traced under moraine sediments for 4 kilometers and is characterized by high polarizability. Geophysical results and the presence of copper oxide minerals among deluvial sediments are a possible indicator of the location of the horizon on the northeast limb of the Unkur syncline where limited drilling and trenching has taken place. Primary copper minerals are chalcopyrite, pyrite, bornite, magnetite, hematite; accessory minerals are chalcocite and ilmenite. The oxide minerals present are malachite, brochantite and covellite. A hypogene zonation is noted in the distribution of the copper minerals: a chalcopyrite-pyrite-bornite association is found in the centre; either side of this there is a monomineral chalcopyrite association, and then a distal pyrite association at the edges of the mineralized zone. The oxidised zone is poorly developed, to a depth of 5-10 meters from surface. Copper oxide minerals are also observed at deeper levels in fractured zones. The mineralized zone is displaced by northeast-striking fault and breccia zones. The displacements are typically 20-70 meters, but for some faults displacements are as much as 150 meters. Below the copper-bearing horizon are pyritized calcareous sandstones and siltstones; above the horizon are sandstones and siltstones of the upper part of the Lower Sakukanskaya subformation. Metallurgy In early 2015 a 350 kilogram sample of near-surface copper oxide ore was collected from the Unkur Project for metallurgical test work and sent to SGS Vostok (a member of the SGS Group). The grade of the sample averaged 1.31% copper and 28.2g/t silver. Hydrometallurgical processing allowed copper recovery of 95.9-98.4% and recovery of silver into cyanide solution was 96%. Qualified Person The scientific and technical disclosure in this news release was reviewed and approved by Dorian (Dusty) Nicol, the Companys President and CEO and a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. UNKUR ACQUISITION TERMS On March 1, 2016, the Company and Azarga Metals executed a share purchase agreement whereby the six shareholders of Azarga Metals (the "Selling Shareholders") will immediately sell 60% of the issued shares of Azarga Metals to EUU in exchange for shares of EUU and deferred cash payments. Subject to terms and conditions, the Selling Shareholders have agreed to grant EUU the right to purchase the remaining 40% of the shares of Azarga Metals (the "Call") and EUU has granted the Azarga Metals Selling Shareholders the right to sell the remaining 40% of the shares of Azarga Metals to it (the "Put"). The fair value of that 40% interest will be negotiated at the time of exercise. Azarga Metals (BVI) owns 100% of the issued shares of Shilka Metals LLC (Cyprus) which in turn owns 100% of the issued capital of Tuva-Kobalt (Russia). Tuva-Kobalt was awarded the Unkur mineral exploration and exploitation license via a bidding process on August 26, 2014 and is valid through December 31, 2039. On closing EUU will issue the Selling Shareholders 15,776,181 common shares, which will be approximately 37% of the number of shares as constituted after closing the transaction, the Private Placement, the Debt Settlement and the Consolidation (the "Consideration Shares"). In exchange for the Consideration Shares, the Selling Shareholders will transfer 60% of the issued shares of Azarga Metals to EUU. The Consideration Shares will be restricted from trading for two years from issue date. EUU will be assigned existing loans made by the Selling Shareholders to Azarga Metals of up to US$800,000 that bear interest at the rate of 12% per annum, which can be capitalized or paid in cash (the "Debt"). The Debt must be paid within seven years from closing. The Selling Shareholders will retain a 5% net smelter return royalty ("NSR") and their combined 40% interest in Azarga Metals will be free carried to initial production and profitability subject to the Put/Call Options. EUU will have the right to buy back up to 2% of the NSR at a cost of US$5 million per percentage point so that upon paying US$10 million the NSR will be reduced to 3%. In addition EUU will make deferred cash payments to the Selling Shareholders of US$1,680,000 (the "Deferred Cash Payments") beginning with US$80,000 payable on 1 June 2017, with a payment on each annual anniversary that increases by US$80,000 a year so that the final payment of US$480,000 will be due on 1 June 2022. In the event of a change of control of EUU, the Debt and Deferred Cash Payments will become due and payable within five days. EUU has undertaken to spend a minimum of US$3,000,000 on exploration activities on the Unkur Project prior to 30 June 2019, and an additional US$6,000,000 between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2023. If at any time, a Resource (adding Measured, Indicated and Inferred of all combined deposits within the Unkur Project area) is estimated to contain copper and silver to the equivalent of 2 million tonnes or more of copper where Measured plus Indicated Resources comprise at least 70% of that estimate, taking the value of silver as copper equivalent (the "Bonus Payment Threshold"), an additional US$6,200,000 will be payable to the Selling Shareholders within 12-months notice that the Bonus Payment Threshold has been met. Three of the selling shareholders of Azarga Metals have agreed to loan EUU up to C$100,000 with a 12-month term and interest at the rate of 15% per annum to facilitate the various transactions. Closing the Unkur Acquisition is subject to closing the Private Placement and Share Consolidation. The Unkur Acquisition is arms length and there is no finders fee. The Unkur Acquisition has been classified as a fundamental acquisition under the rules of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"). To support the application for approval with the Exchange, the Company will provide an independently prepared Geological Report on the Unkur Project. It is expected that this report will recommend a first phase drill program at the Unkur Project with an estimated budget of US$450,000 to US$500,000. SHARE CONSOLIDATION AND NAME CHANGE The Board of Directors plan to change the name of the Company to Azarga Metals Corp. and to consolidate the Companys shares on a 1 new for up to 10 old basis. Management of the Company believes that the share consolidation is necessary and integral to implement its plans pursuant to the transactions outlined. There are currently 65,942,653 shares outstanding and if the consolidation of 1 new for 10 old is completed, there would be 6,594,265 common shares outstanding before closing of the Unkur Acquisition, the Private Placement and Debt Settlement common share issues. PRIVATE PLACEMENT To fund anticipated exploration, the Company will undertake a non-brokered Private Placement of a minimum of 20,000,000 post-consolidated shares at an issue price of C$0.10 per share. Subscription agreements have been executed for 15,000,000 shares and those funds will be received and held in escrow prior to closing. The Private Placement is conditional on completion of the successful completion of the Unkur Acquisition and Share Consolidation. The Private Placement is subject to compliance with applicable securities laws and to receipt of regulatory approval. The Company reserves the right to modify the type, nature and/or price of the Private Placement for any reason, subject to Exchange acceptance. The Company may pay finders fees within the allowable limits of the policies of the Exchange. SETTLEMENT OF EXISTING EUU DEBTS The Company has reached settlement agreements with certain current and past related parties to fully settle an aggregate of C$550,104 debt recorded in the books of the Company by a write-off of C$490,791 of those debts, approximately 89%, and the issue of an aggregate of 593,131 post-consolidated common shares at C$0.10 per share for the remainder of $59,313. POST-COMPLETION BOARD AND MANAGEMENT CHANGES On closing the Unkur Acquisition, Dorian (Dusty) Nicol will remain as a director and President and CEO to lead the Company into its next evolution and Michael Hopley will remain as a director. On 29 February 2016, Doris Meyer was appointed to the role of Chief Financial Officer in addition to her role as Corporate Secretary. She will remain in both roles on closing. However, two of EUUs current directors, David Montgomery and David (Sam) Hutchins, will resign to be replaced by two Azarga Metals nominees. Subject to Exchange approval, the two proposed new directors are: - Alexander Molyneux - Mr. Molyneux is an experienced Asia-based natural resources industry executive. He currently serves as CEO of the worlds second largest publicly listed uranium producer, Paladin Energy Limited (TSX: PDN / ASX: PDN). Mr. Molyneux is Co-Founder of Azarga Resources Group and Co-Founder and Chairman of Azarga Metals. He was previously President, CEO and Director of SouthGobi Resources (TSX: SGQ, HKEX: 1878) (2009 2012) and continues to serve as Non-Executive Director of Goldrock Mines Corp. (2012 present). Prior to joining SouthGobi, Mr. Molyneux had a 10-year career as a natural resources investment banker. Mr. Molyneux holds a Bachelor degree in Economics from Monash University in Australia. - Vladimir Pakhomov - Mr. Pakhomov is a Co-Founder and Director of Azarga Metals. He Co-Founded Olympia Capital, an asset management and merchant banking firm specializing in Russia and CIS country opportunities, in 2011 and continues as its Managing Partner. Prior to this, he was Director of Investments at Onexim Group (Russia), where he was responsible for a number of major investments and represented the Group on the Boards of Directors of Renaissance Capital, Quadra Generation, RBC InfoSystems and Soglasie Insurance. Prior to Onexim, Mr. Pakhomov held various roles at Aquila Capital and within Alfa Banks mergers and acquisitions group. Over his career Mr. Pakhomov was involved in various Russia and CIS country transactions worth more than US$10 billion. He graduated magna cum laude from Moscow Institute of International Relations and is a CFA Charterholder. It is anticipated Mr. Molyneux will be appointed Non-Executive Chairman of the Company. The Company wishes its departing directors all the best and thanks them for their many years of combined service. It also believes the management structure will combine the right mix of keeping overheads low whilst employing the expertise to succeed in Russia and with the Unkur Project specifically. KEY CONDITIONS TO CLOSING The parties obligations to complete the various transactions are subject to Exchange approval of all elements of these transactions on terms acceptable to the parties, and settlement of formal documentation: the closing of all of the transactions is each conditional on the closing of the other. KEY DATES March 1, 2016 Share Purchase Agreement executed April 30, 2016 Shareholder meeting if required May 9, 2016 Consolidation, Closing of Private Placement, Share Purchase Agreement and Debt Settlement PRO-FORMA SHARE STRUCTURE The following table sets out the indicative pro-forma share structure for the Company after all of the transactions are completed. EUROPEAN URANIUM RESOURCES LTD. "Dusty Nicol" Dorian L. (Dusty) Nicol, President and CEO For further information please contact: Doris Meyer, at (604) 536-2711 ext 6, or visit www.euresources.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. Cautionary Statement: This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Corporation's current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "suggest", "indicate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans to continue to be refined; possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing; and fluctuations in metal prices. There may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Corporation disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. SOURCE: European Uranium Resources Ltd. TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Mar 1, 2016) - Alabama Graphite Corp. ("AGC" or the "Corporation") (TSX VENTURE:ALP)(ABGPF)(1AG.F) announces the results of its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders ("AGM") held on February 26, 2016 in Toronto. The following four nominees were re-elected as Directors of the Corporation to serve until the next annual meeting of shareholders of the Corporation, or until their successors are elected or appointed. The results of the voting were as follows: Name of Nominee Percent Votes For Percent Votes Withheld Donald Baxter 97.17% 2.83% Jean Depatie 97.17% 2.83% Daniel Goffaux 97.33% 2.67% H. David Ramm 95.35% 4.65% Six percent of all issued and outstanding shares of the Corporation were represented at the meeting. Additionally, the following resolutions were passed: Approval of the appointment of DeVisser Gray LLP, Chartered Accountants, as auditors for the ensuing year at a remuneration to be fixed by the directors; Approval of the total number of Directors at four for the upcoming fiscal year; and Re-approval of the amended and restated stock option plan of the Corporation for 2016. Mr. Baxter stated, "I was impressed by the number of attendees and by the interest our shareholders expressed during the meeting. This is a testament to the outstanding work the AGC team has been doing. Our shareholder comments and observations were very astute and their unwavering support is greatly appreciated." On behalf of the Board of Directors Donald Baxter, President and Chief Executive Officer 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. Story continues 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. On November 30, 2015, Alabama Graphite Corp. announced the results of PEA for the Coosa Graphite Project, indicating a potentially low-cost project with potential positive economics. 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. Website / LinkedIn / Facebook / Twitter DailyFX.com - Talking Points: Chinese Manufacturing PMI drops to lowest level since November 2011 Service PMI misses analysts forecasts, drops to lowest level since 2008 Australian bond yields drop on RBA easing bets, Aussie reaction muted Chinese manufacturing PMI had its lowest reading today since November of 2011, coming in at 49.0 in February vs 49.4 expected, signaling even stronger negative growth pressures on Australias export demand. Non-manufacturing PMI came in at 52.7 versus 53.5 expected, also missing analysts forecasts and further fueling the negative reaction seen in the AUD/USD. The data spurred a drop in Australian bond yields of roughly 1.67%, and further perpetuated the markets expectation of at least one rate cut from the RBA over the next 12 months. The priced-in chance of two cuts is highly elevated at 94 percent, with traders leaning toward the May meeting as the likely start of the easing cycle. AUD/USD fell 0.18 percent to a low of 0.71092, before slowly returning back to the hourly open. The tepid reaction likely reflects traders reluctance to commit to a directional bias ahead of the incoming RBA rate decision. Despite the muted response however, the possible impact on the Australian economy is worth noting for the sake of forward monetary guidance. Since December of 2013, Australian exports to China have dropped from 8538.21 million dollars to 4979.47 million dollars in October of 2015. Todays data shows a continued decrease in Chinas manufacturing strength to levels not seen since 2011. As one of Chinas largest trading partners, Australia and its central bank take heavily into account the decreasing demand for Australias raw goods and resources, and thus market expectation for a rate cut increases. For these reasons the general direction of economic and fundamental data remains important. Find key turning points for the AUD/USD with DailyFX SSI AUD/USD Muted on Sharp China PMI Drop as RBA Looms original source DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets. Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts from FXCM. FERNANDINA BEACH, FL / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2016 / CBC National Bank (CBCO), headquartered in Fernandina Beach and with branches in Fernandina Beach, Beaufort and Port Royal, S.C., today announced the hiring of two highly experienced bankers in the bank's SBA lending division. Joining CBC's top-ranked Florida SBA operation is Kameron Knowlton, who brings 23 years of banking experience, most recently serving as vice president at BMO Harris, N.A., where she specialized in private banking. Prior to BMO, Knowlton held similar positions with both Bank United and TD Bank. During her career, she has earned achievement awards for production, portfolio growth, and profitability. Based in Jacksonville, she will focus on the Palm Beach and Jacksonville markets. Kameron Knowlton Joining CBC's growing Georgia SBA operation is Rebecca Grant, who has 30 years of banking experience, with over 20 in the SBA industry. Most recently, Grant served as vice president of business development with Ameris Bank. Prior to Ameris, she held the same positions with both Fidelity Bank and BLX Corporation. Throughout her banking career, she has consistently earned "top producer" awards while increasing her annual volume within the Atlanta metropolitan statistical area (MSA). Based in CBC's Alpharetta, Ga., campus, Grant will focus on meeting the SBA lending needs of companies in the Atlanta MSA. Rebecca Grant CBC National Bank continued to thrive in SBA lending in 2015, closing $48 million in SBA loans for the year. Once again, CBC was among the top two SBA lenders in dollar volume in Florida among community banks headquartered in the state. It has been either No. 1 or No. 2 for the past four years in a row in Florida. The bank launched a new Georgia SBA lending operation in October to serve the growing demand for SBA loans in the metropolitan Atlanta and Georgia markets. "We continue to bolster our already strong SBA lending franchise by adding these two exceptionally experienced and talented bankers," said Durand Childers, executive vice president and head of CBC's SBA lending division. "Rebecca Grant is a key hire for our growing Georgia SBA operation, which we continue to ramp up as it hits its stride in meeting companies' SBA lending needs across Atlanta and Georgia. Her deep Atlanta market knowledge will prove invaluable. And Kameron Knowlton will help CBC continue to exploit its leading position in SBA lending across major markets in Florida with her experience-driven focus on Jacksonville and Palm Beach." Story continues About CBC National Bank CBC National Bank, headquartered in Fernandina Beach, Fla., provides a full range of consumer and business banking services through full-service banking offices in Fernandina Beach, Beaufort and Port Royal, S.C. The company's residential mortgage banking division, headquartered in Atlanta, includes traditional retail and wholesale lending, as well as a National Retail Group that has lending offices in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. The company's government guaranteed lending division originates SBA loans primarily in Jacksonville, Ft. Myers, Tampa and Vero Beach, Fla., Greensboro, N.C., Atlanta and Beaufort. For more information, please visit CBC National Bank's website, www.cbcnationalbank.com. About Coastal Banking Company Inc. Coastal Banking Company Inc., headquartered in Beaufort, S.C., is the $438.7 million-asset bank holding company of CBC National Bank. The company's common stock is publicly traded on the OTCQX Markets under the symbol CBCO. For more information, please visit the company's website, www.coastalbanking.com. For More Information: Durand Childers Executive Vice President CBC National Bank (904) 491-9820 SOURCE: Coastal Banking Company Inc. TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2016 / DNI METALS INC. (DNI.V) (FSE:DG7N) is pleased to announce the discovery of an additional zone of graphite mineralisation on the Company's 100%-owned Vohitsara Graphite Project in Madagascar. The Maps below show the new zone and to the east; the main area, the focus of DNI's July 2015 trenching program. http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/674-super-jumbolarge-flake-including-253-super-jumbo-and-295-jumbo-flake-at-dni-metals-madagascar-graphite-property-531026771.html New Zone and Main Area To view an enhanced version of The New Zone and Main Area, please visit: http://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1803/19450_enhanced1.jpg Test results from Samples taken from the new zone during Management's trip to Madagascar in January 2016 are listed in the table below: Test Results from Samples To view an enhanced version of Test Results from Samples, please visit: http://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1803/19450_enhanced2.jpg With only a small portion of DNI's 43 square km graphite property explored, substantial future exploration is planned for the property. The potential for additional zones is considered very high. A 3,000 meter drill program is planned for the main mineralised trend that averages 300 metres width over a strike length of approximately 900 metres. This program is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2016. Compared to the majority of graphite projects in North America; which are generally hosted in hard rock; the weathered saprolitic material characteristic of DNI's Vohitsara project is comparatively easier to drill and extract. Outside of China, major graphite producing countries like Brazil and Madagascar produce from saprolitic ores. The capital and operating expenses for these type of deposits are materially cheaper than for their hard rock counterparts. DNI's Vohitsara Graphite Property is fully permitted as explained in a press release dated, July 22, 2015. http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/dni-metals-receives-full-mining-permits-for-its-graphite-project-in-madagascar-518104031.html. Story continues Assaying for graphitic carbon was performed at Agat Laboratories located in Ontario, Canada, using a modified infrared assay method. This method is preferable to other industry-accepted assay methods including varying forms of Loss on Ignition (LOI) testing. All representative samples were prepared and collected by or under supervision of DNI's Country Manager, Steven Goertz. Mr. Goertz is a Geologist and is a Qualified Person under NI43-101 regulations. Mr. Goertz has approved this Press release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. DNI - Canadian Securities Exchange DG7N - Frankfurt Issued: 31,386,204 For further information, contact: DNI Metals Inc. - Dan Weir, President & CEO 416-595-1195 DanWeir@dnimetals.com Katrin Tosine Capital Markets and Investor Relations Advisor kat@dnimetals.com 647.388.4984 email ir@dnimetals.com. Also visit www.dnimetals.com We seek Safe Harbour. This announcement includes forward looking statements. While these statements represent DNI's best current judgment, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary, including risk factors listed in DNI's Annual Information Form and its MD&As, all of which are available from SEDAR and on its website. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. 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 statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the anticipated benefits of the Transaction to the Company and shareholders of the Company; the pro forma shareholdings of the Company's shareholders in DNI; execution of the Definitive Agreement, the timing and receipt of the required shareholder, stock exchange and regulatory approvals for the Transaction; the anticipated timing for mailing the management information circular to the shareholders of the Company in respect of the Transaction; the closing of the Transaction; the length of the current market cycle and requirements for an issuer to survive in the current market cycle; future growth potential of DNI and its business; and future mine development plans. These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forwardlooking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: satisfaction or waiver of all applicable conditions to closing of the Transaction (including receipt of all necessary shareholder, stock exchange and regulatory approvals or consents, and the absence of material changes with respect to the parties and their respective businesses); the synergies expected from the Transaction not being realized; business integration risks; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets and the market price of the DNI Shares and the Company Shares; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of graphite or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties. In addition, the failure of a party to comply with the terms of the Definitive Agreement (assuming the Definitive Agreement is entered into) may result in that party being required to pay a non-completion or other fee to the other party, the result of which could have a material adverse effect on the paying party's financial position and results of operations and its ability to fund growth prospects and current operations. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law. SOURCE: DNI Metals Inc. MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Mar 1, 2016) - Dundee Sustainable Technologies Inc. ("DST" or the "Corporation") (CSE:DST) is proud to announce that it has successfully completed its piloting campaign ("Piloting") on gold concentrates (the "Concentrate") provided by Empresa Nacional de Mineria, Chile ("ENAMI"), using DST's proprietary technology. In September 2015, DST received 2 Tonnes of Concentrate from ENAMI to be used for Piloting (refer to September 23, 2015 press release). The Concentrate contained 121 g/T of gold, 9.2% copper and a mercury content of 787 g/T. Through controlled oxidation, DST removed 99.7% of the sulphide and 99.6% of the mercury content. The calcine material was then submitted to acid and water leaching where 99% of the copper was recovered as copper sulphate. DST's chlorination process that followed achieved a gold recovery of 98.8% and a final gold deposition over silica recovery of 99.8%. DST is pleased with the results of the piloting phase. This Piloting is part of a phased approach established between DST and ENAMI with the objective of implementing a processing facility, utilizing DST's patented technology, in Chile. DST and ENAMI will advance towards developing the technical and economic feasibility criteria for the implementation on a commercial scale of the DST process in Chile. About ENAMI, a Chilean state-owned company ENAMI's mission is to promote the small and medium size private mining sector in Chile, by supplying technical, financial, metallurgical, production and trading services to small and medium size miners. ENAMI's assets include one smelter, five processing plants and a network of technical support and facilities. ENAMI purchases ore and concentrate from producers in various purchasing agencies located throughout Chile. About Dundee Sustainable Technologies, a company controlled by Dundee Corporation The Corporation is engaged in the development of environment-friendly technologies for the treatment of materials in the mining industry. Through the development of patented, proprietary processes, DST extracts precious and base metals from ores, concentrates and tailing, while stabilizing contaminants such as arsenic, which could not otherwise be extracted or stabilized with conventional processes because of metallurgical issues or environmental considerations. Story continues At present, DST most advanced proprietary processes are associated to the extraction of precious metals using a chlorination process which provides a cyanide-free alternative for the exploitation of gold deposits. The primary benefits of this innovative technology are shorter processing times, a closed-loop operation eliminating the need for costly tailings pond, and a reduced environmental footprint related to the inert and stable characteristics of the cyanide free tailings. The chlorination process developed by DST is a recognized "green technology" for which it was awarded a $5 million grant by the Government of Canada for the construction and operation of a demonstration plant. The plant will serve as a demonstration platform for the chlorination process on an industrial scale and under continuous operating conditions. In addition to this chlorination process, DST completed the construction of a pilot plant designed to demonstrate its arsenic stabilization process which is designed for the sequestration of arsenic in a stable glass form. This process is becoming an attractive technique to segregate the arsenic and is therefore opening opportunities for materials considered to contain too much of this toxic material to be exploited or stabilized using conventional approaches. DST has filed, published and was granted patents for these processes in several countries. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains forward-looking statements that address future events and conditions, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, some of which may be beyond the Corporation's control. These factors include: general market and industry conditions, risks related to continuous operations and to commercialization of new technologies and other risks disclosed in the Corporation's filings with Canadian Securities Regulators. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Corporation's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Corporation 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 required by applicable law. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. BRUSSELS, March 1 (Reuters) - Euro zone banks should have limits set on the their exposure to sovereign bonds, the head of EU's new banking watchdog said on Tuesday. "There is no asset that is totally risk-free," the head of the Single Resolution Board Elke Koenig told EU lawmakers in the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday. "Putting in place limitations on exposure to any single counterparty, including sovereigns, makes perfect sense," she added, showing her support for a plan to break the link between banking and sovereign risks, which is under discussion at technical level in the European Union. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; editing by Philip Blenkinsop) GENEVA, March 1 (Reuters) - Ferrari expects to return to growing sales in China this year but only at a single digit rate, Enrico Galliera, senior vice president of its commercial division, said on Tuesday. Chairman Sergio Marchionne added that the carmaker would issue a planned bond soon as markets were conducive to doing so. Asked about the future of Chief Executive Amedeo Felisa, Marchionne said the 70-year-old executive would remain in his post for now, but did not answer when asked about his role once the current board expires in April. He only said that Felisa would remain with the company, but declined comment on what position he would hold. (Reporting by Agnieszka Flak) WALTHAM, MA--(Marketwired - Mar 1, 2016) - GET Group North America, a provider of high-assurance security solutions that enhance Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) operations, will be showcasing its latest identification and verification solutions at Connect: ID 2016 in booth 113. GET Group North America now offers a biometric live capture solution in the U.S. through its partnership with Speed Identity. Biometric identification technology using physiological characteristics for identity authentication and verification has increasingly been implemented by airports, government agencies, nuclear plants, and other organizations where security is paramount. As a leading-edge systems integrator, GET Group NA is providing a biometric capture solution featuring live enrollment capabilities so that all captured biometric data is collected at one time, ensuring data is securely tied to the applicant. This reduces the enrollment time down to just a few minutes; secures the process from application input to immediate ID document production output; and allows biometric data to be in compliance with the highest standards and regulations. "At GET Group North America, we pride ourselves on having the ability to align the best and most cutting-edge ICAM technologies from around the world with our advanced personalization capabilities and the expertise of a seasoned team expressly for the North American Market," said Alex Kambanis, Managing Director for GET Group NA. "Biometric identification is a significant advancement in the battle against identity fraud, and we are pleased to have this new biometric capture solution as part of our robust identity management technology portfolio." Additionally, GET Group NA will be showcasing its capabilities for other secure personal identification documents at Connect: ID 2016. The company delivers end-to-end solutions -- including hardware and software -- necessary for the registration and enrollment of individuals to issue secure documents such as driver's licenses, identification cards and passports. Connect: ID will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. from March 14-26, 2016. GET Group NA will be exhibiting in booth 113 and showcasing the cutting-edge identification and verification solutions from its technology partners from around the world. About GET Group NA GET Group North America is an experienced provider of high-assurance security solutions that enhance Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) operations. As a leading-edge systems integrator, GET Group NA and its partners design, manufacture, and implement secure ID solutions that enable government agencies, motor vehicle departments, municipalities and law enforcement organizations to implement the latest in identity management technologies. From photo ID cards to driver's licenses to passports, GET Group NA delivers advanced personalization capabilities that prevent identification fraud and accommodate diversified customer needs. GET Group NA has over 20 years of experience in identity management and is certified under CMMI Level 3 and ISO 27001. To learn more, visit www.getgroupna.com. By Krisztina Than BUDAPEST, March 1 (Reuters) - Hungary's ruling party on Tuesday pushed a bill through parliament limiting public access to financial data of companies owned by the National Bank, such as the Budapest Stock Exchange, ignoring critics who said it was violating the constitution. Since coming to power in 2010, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's rightwing Fidesz party has redrawn hundreds of laws, and taken control of state media and several public institutions, which critics said eroded democratic checks and balances. The central bank, run by Orban's ally, Governor Gyorgy Matolcsy, has set up six educational foundations, granting them about 245 billion forints ($856 million) in 2014. It also partly or wholly owns business units such as the Budapest Stock Exchange where it bought a majority stake last November. Using a strong majority in parliament, Fidesz passed a bill on Tuesday saying the foundations were now fully controlled by their curators, and so their assets no longer qualifed as public assets. The bill allows for the data of business units partially or wholly owned by the central bank to be classified for up to 10 years if releasing it is deemed to harm the bank's monetary or foreign exchange policy interests. Attila Peterfalvi, head of the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, in a letter to parliament on Tuesday criticised the central bank law amendment saying it conflicted with the constitution in several places. "The assets managed by foundations of the central bank qualify as public money," Peterfalvi said. He said the transparent operation of public bodies was "a cornerstone of democracy". "The bill does not detail ... access to which data can be restricted and which cannot," Peterfalvi said, referring to companies owned by the NBH. In a heated debate in parliament, opposition politicians accusing Orban's ruling party of trying to hide corruption by limiting public scrutiny. "It's clear what this is all about: you submit bills each week to parliament in order to avoid being held accountable in 2018 (when the next election is due)," said Andras Schiffer, leader of the small green liberal opposition party LMP. Story continues "These laws will go to the rubbish bin in 2018, and those who stole public money based on such laws will go to prison." The central bank did not reply to emailed Reuters questions. On Monday it said the modified law "would continue ensure the control of the bank's transparent operation." Fidesz said the new law was in line with the constitution. (Reporting by Krisztina Than; Editing by Richard Balmforth) Why the Iranian Election Has Crude Investors Worried Iran and crude oil investors The allies of Hassan Rouhani have won all 30 seats in Tehran, Iran. This indicates a second term for Rouhani in Iran. Iran has become stronger both economically and diplomatically under Rouhani. Irans comeback to the international oil market has already lowered crude oil prices. After the secondary sanctions on Iran were lifted, crude fell below its 12-year lows, near its psychological support zone of $26. After touching these lows, crude prices fluctuated between $26 and $33.87. Crude (USL) (SCO) went to $33.07 as of February 25, 2016, but closed at $32.78 on February 26. On a weekly basis, crude gained 4.1% compared to the previous days closing. Energy ETFs such as the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) have fallen 18.2% on a year-to-date basis. Energy and production companies such as Chevron (CVX) and ConocoPhillips (COP) have fallen 6.2% and 27%, respectively, on a year-to-date basis, whereas ExxonMobil (XOM) has risen 5%. This series will focus on the following points: Why crude could have more downside as Iran grows stronger How the reelection of Rouhani could be alarming for Saudi Arabia Moving averages and analysts estimates about how energy stocks are adjusting to lower crude and natural gas prices The graph above shows the performance of XLE since the start of the plunge in oil prices in June 2014. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Some 2.43 million foreigners came to Turkey in June, down 40.86 percent on June 2015, the tourism ministry said in its latest release (AFP Photo/) Istanbul (AFP) - Over 500 years old, surviving fire and earthquakes, it welcomes up to 400,000 people a day and takes pride in being the world's most visited destination -- more popular than the Eiffel Tower. So it's hardly surprising that Istanbul's venerable Grand Bazaar, built in the mid-15th century, has suffered some wear and tear over the years. The labyrinthine bazaar is now about to undergo a much needed renovation that will last a decade and cost tens of millions of dollars. But the revamp is not without controversy, especially among traditionalists who fear the spirit of the historic market will be lost. "It's the most visited destination in the world, so it's very important for us," said Mustafa Demir, the mayor of the Fatih district of Istanbul where the bazaar is located. "It's a very long project which is going to need a decade," he said. The cost is estimated at $33.5 million (30 million euros) which will be largely financed by the Turkish authorities. The Grand Bazaar ranked as the top destination anywhere in the world with over 90 million visitors in 2014, according to a Travel + Leisure listing. Construction of the bazaar began around 1455 under the reign of Sultan Mehmet II, the "Conquerer" who had finally seized the city then known as Constantinople from the Byzantines in 1453. With the city in need of a trade centre for goods coming in from all over the nascent Ottoman Empire, the Grand Bazaar expanded rapidly. By the 17th century it had taken on its current form, a covered market (giving the bazaar its Turkish name Kapalicarsi), which now has thousands of shops and dozens of streets. It has become one of Istanbul's most iconic sites, outstripping even the Hagia Sophia in terms of visitor numbers, and featured in a memorable sequence in the 2011 James Bond film "Skyfall". Visitors flock there to pick up souvenir trinkets or a carpet. Bargaining with the multilingual, friendly but famously hard-nosed shop-holders is all part of the experience. Story continues Locals also come in droves to pick more prosaic goods like clothes, furniture or shoes, or possibly jewellery for a special occasion. - 'Change is needed' - With the building's foundations showing their age, the absolute priority is to give the bazaar back its structural stability, the restoration's architects say. "The Grand Bazaar is built on a hill whose soil is permeated by water," said Okan Erhan Olfaz, the engineer in charge of the works. "The soil cannot sustain the building which is slipping down the slope towards the Golden Horn." One by one, trenches will be dug in the alleyways of the market. Engineers will build concrete tunnels through them to allow water, rain and discharges to pass and also to carry the electrical wiring which still hangs above from the bazaar's walls. "These galleries will solidify the edifice underground and stabilise the building's columns," said Olfaz. Meeting under the framework of their union, the owners of the more than 3,000 shops in the bazaar agreed to also contribute for the renovation, convinced that it was necessary. "It's too cold here in the winter and in summer it's too hot. And as soon as it rains there are leaks," said a vendor, Kenan, who sells leather. "There are lots of problems, I expect that will change soon." - 'Not a shopping centre' - But there are still dissenting voices, especially from among the small-scale traders who fear their rents could skyrocket. "That depends on our landlords but we are expecting an unpleasant surprise," said Mahmut, a clothes seller, in front of a pile of T-shirts. "If that is the case we will be obliged to leave, We won't be able to manage." With the government undertaking massive construction projects across the country that risk trampling on heritage, others fear atmosphere will be sacrificed to modernity. The project also foresees the construction of two hotels in caravanserais -- Ottoman-era guesthouses that were aimed at travelling merchants -- on the edge of the bazaar. "In Turkey, urban development takes place excluding the people," said Cemal Gokce, president of Istanbul's civil engineers chamber. "I do not think that the project is aimed at reinforcing the historical and cultural identity of this edifice. With its long history, it's wrong to make the Grand Bazaar simply a shopping centre." But Demir, a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, insisted that there was no alternative to the renovation. "We are in the 21st century, there is no question of freezing the Grand Bazaar in its past," said Demir. "We need to keep traditions going while responding to the needs of people today." A boy walks past a Mexican soldier as he stands guard outside a school during a security operation following a teacher's strike in Acapulco, Mexico on November 17, 2015 (AFP Photo/Pedro Pardo) (AFP/File) Mexico City (AFP) - Mexico's government will fire more than 3,300 teachers who skipped evaluations under a controversial education reform that has sparked protest in the country's poorest states, authorities said Monday. Education Minister Aurelio Nuno said 2.2 percent of the 153,000 teachers who had to take the test never showed up and will be sacked on Tuesday. Some 15 percent flunked the exam, but they will keep their jobs while receiving training to retake the test in the next 12 months, Nuno said. "No child will be left without a teacher," he said. In all, 51.5 percent of teachers either failed or got a "sufficient" grade that requires further training, while 48.5 percent got high marks that will allow them to apply for promotions or get raises. "There is a wide margin for improvements," Nuno said. But the results unveiled by the minister applied for 28 of the country's 32 federal entities, as rebellious teachers in four states have yet to take a second round of exams. Teachers in the southern states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Guerrero and Michoacan in the west have held sometimes violent protests against the reform, which President Enrique Pena Nieto has highlighted as one of the most important of his administration. Thousands of teachers protested again in Oaxaca on Monday, blocking roads and breaking the gate of the state education department's office with a Pemex oil company truck in the state's capital. Police used tear gas to repel the teachers, who protested to demand that they be paid for work days they have missed while holding demonstrations. Radical unions in the four states argue that the reform will destroy their labor rights and fails to take into account the challenge of teaching in poor, remote regions where children speak indigenous languages at home instead of Spanish. Pena Nieto's administration says the reform aims to improve the country's lackluster education system, which had been dominated by unions, and end the practice in which jobs were inherited or sold. Mexico foreign minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu The Mexican government issued its most strident official response to Donald Trumps incendiary comments about immigration and the border, with Mexicos top diplomat calling his remarks "ignorant and racist" this weekend. "When an apple's red, it is red. When you say ignorant things, you're ignorant," Mexican Foreign Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu said Saturday, according to The Washington Post. "It sounds ignorant and racist, because it is," she added. "We are pretty sure that's not the way most Americans feel." Ruiz Massieu is the latest government official to respond to Trumps repeated assertions, first made last summer, that Mexico was sending "rapists" and other criminals across the US border, "bringing drugs" and "bringing crime." Trump has also insisted he would force Mexico to fund a border wall to halt flows of people and purported economic losses. "I would do something very severe unless they contributed or gave us the money to build the wall," he said last June. Mexicos top diplomat singled out the proposed wall for criticism. "It is not a proposition we would even consider," Ruiz Massieu said. "It is impossible to think of a 2,000-mile border being walled off and trade between our two countries stopped frankly, it is not an intelligent thing to do." 'Im not going to pay for that f------ wall' Though Ruiz Massieus comments are the strongest yet from the current Mexican government, former Mexican officials have condemned Trump more forcefully. "Im not going to pay for that f------ wall," Vicente Fox, Mexicos president from 2000-2006, said in a Fusion interview last week. Vicente Fox George Bush Mexico US Story continues Republican voters "are hearing the prophet telling them that he is going to take them to the promised land," said Fox who, The Post noted, has long identified with the US' Republican Party. "But he is going to lead everybody into the desert to die of hunger and thirst. He is a false prophet," Fox said. "We wont pay a single cent for that stupid wall," Felipe Calderon, Mexicos president from 2006 to 2012, told The Washington Post in an interview last week. "Its pathetic Trump is completely demagogical, Calderon added. Fox also compared Trump to Hitler, a sentiment Calderon echoed. I think his logic of exalting white supremacy isnt even acting against immigration, Calderon said last week. "It is acting and speaking against immigrants who have a different skin color than him, which is frankly racist and is a bit like the exploitation of raw nerves that Hitler did in his day, Calderon continued, according to El Daily Post. Joe Biden Enrique Pena Nieto US Mexico Other leaders have been more measured. During a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto last week, Vice President Joe Biden said rhetoric about Mexico the US presidential campaign had been "dangerous, damaging and incredibly ill-advised," without referring to anyone by name. Pena Nieto's administration has called Trumps remarks "prejudiced and absurd." Though the Mexican president did not refer to Trump specifically last week, he did say that there "are those who have the vision to close themselves off ... build walls. "But this only means isolating oneself and ending up alone," he said, according to AFP. 'We love it' Trump's success has caused some in Mexico to believe that US border policy will become more severe and that the best outcome of his candidacy now is a "more polite nativism" in the US. Others in Mexico have jeered the Republican business mogul and beaten pinatas of his likeness in the streets. Donald Trump Mexico pinata racist None of these condemnations are likely to sway Trumps supporters in the US, who have lifted him to victory in three of the four Republican primaries so far. Nor does Trump himself seem chastened. At a rally in Huntsville, Alabama, on Sunday, Trump responded to Fox. "The wall just got 10 feet higher," he boomed, a reply that was met with cheers by the thousands in attendance. "We love it," Trump added. NOW WATCH: Heres why Donald Trump waited until now to run for president More From Business Insider While Apple (AAPL) and the FBI have been busy battling over a dead terrorist's passcode-locked iPhone in a case in California, a federal judge in New York on Monday ruled for Apple in a similar case over a locked iPhone belonging to an admitted drug dealer. In a 50-page ruling rejecting almost everything federal prosecutors had argued, Judge James Orenstein ruled that Apple could not be compelled to help get information off a locked iPhone used by methamphetamine dealer Jun Feng under the 1789 All Writs Act, the same law at issue in the California terrorism case. Orenstein acknowledged that the debate over encryption and the needs of law enforcement required balancing competing interests. But Congress, not the courts, should make that decision, he said. "That debate must happen today, and it must take place among legislators who are equipped to consider the technological and cultural realities of a world their predecessors could not begin to conceive," the judge wrote. "It would betray our constitutional heritage and our people's claim to democratic governance for a judge to pretend that our Founders already had that debate, and ended it, in 1789." Prosecutors had argued that Apple was connected closely enough to Feng's iPhone to be compelled to help, citing a 1977 Supreme Court ruling that the All Writs Act forced New York Telephone to assist in recording numbers dialed from a suspect's phone. They sought to have Apple bypass the phone's passcode security and extract Feng's personal data from the phone. But Orenstein rejected that logic. "To the extent that Feng used his iPhone in committing crimes, he used his own property, not Apple's," the judge wrote. "Unlike the telephone company in N.Y. Tel. Co., which owned the facility used for criminal communications, Apple has no ownership interest in anything that the record reveals Feng used to commit a crime." The ruling comes a day before FBI director James Comey and Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell are to face off at a Congressional hearing over the encryption issue. Comey and other law enforcers say Apple's increasingly strong security features are thwarting their ability to catch crooks and terrorists. Apple and other technology companies say that strong security is needed to protect the exploding amount of sensitive and personal information stored on phones by billions of users around the world. Story continues "This case is not specifically about encryption, not even about computers," says Lance Hoffman, a computer science professor at George Washington and founder of the Cyberspace Security Policy and Research Institute. "It's about how can any tool be used, about how the whole digital world should evolve." Exempted from helping In Monday's ruling, Judge Orenstein also concluded that lawmakers had rejected requiring companies like Apple to help with decrypting encoded information when Congress adopted the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act. The law requires telephone companies to assist in carrying out wiretap orders even if the companies had encrypted the communications. But the law also exempted other kinds of companies from having to assist in decryption. Apple's lawyer, Marc Zwillinger, pointed to the CALEA portion of the ruling as crucial. "Judge Orensteins ruling makes clear that the government was seeking legislative authority from the courts that Congress had chosen not to provide in CALEA," Zwillinger said. "Also, the ruling makes clear that the legal issues do not necessarily turn only on the burden that the order places on Apple. Instead, the found that the authority that the government seeks violates the constitution because it undermines the general protection against tyranny that the Founders believed required the careful separation of powers. Apple has made similar arguments in the higher-profile California case, where the FBI wants even more help from Apple to get information off an iPhone used by deceased San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. Farook's phone, running more recent Apple software, has even more of its data encrypted. In that case, the FBI wants Apple to write a special, new version of its iPhone software that weakens the phone's security so the agency can attempt to crack Farook's passcode. Orenstein's ruling in the New York case isn't binding over the Californai case, although Apple will likely cite his conclusions to bolster its arguments. Apple and government attorneys have disclosed a total of a dozen ongoing cases over encrypted iPhone data. Ultimately, the matter will probably end up before the Supreme Court if Congress doesn't clarify the situation with new legislation. Since the iPhone hit the market in 2007, Apple has agreed to help get information off the devices for law enforcement agencies in at least 70 prior cases. But Judge Orenstein stopped the run of cooperation last October when, of his own accord, he questioned whether the All Writs Act was sufficient justification to compel Apple's assistance. The case didn't get much attention until recently, when Apple resisted helping unlock the phone in the San Bernardino case. In a December 2 attack, Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people at a holiday party at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino. The couple destroyed two phones they had carried during the attacks, but authorities found Farook's work iPhone in the back of a car driven by his mother. Apple turned over to the FBI data from Farook's phone backed up on its iCloud servers, but has so far resisted writing the new software that the agency says it needs to crack Farook's passcode and see what additional information may reside only on the phone. By Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican leaders of the Senate on Tuesday rebuffed President Barack Obama's appeal for hearings and a vote on his U.S. Supreme Court nominee during a face-to-face meeting that failed to budge them from their vow to block any nominee he offers. Obama, planning to name a replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia in the coming weeks, huddled with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley in the White House Oval Office for less than an hour. "Senator Grassley and I made it clear that we don't intend to take up a nominee or to have a hearing," McConnell told reporters after the meeting. The meeting failed to produce any progress on how to proceed with finding a replacement for Scalia, a long-serving conservative justice who died on Feb. 13. McConnell and Grassley are insistent that Obama not pick a nominee and leave the decision to his successor, who takes office next January after the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. Obama is insistent that it is the Republican-led Senate's constitutional duty to act on his nominee. "They made clear in their meeting with the president that they're not going to change their mind just because the president says so," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said of the Republicans. Earnest said Obama still believes it was worthwhile to consult with the lawmakers before making his nomination. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said Obama stated during the meeting he would be willing to consider candidates for the Supreme Court proposed by the Republicans, but McConnell and Grassley offered no names. "We killed a lot of time talking about basketball and other stuff," said Reid, who attended along with the Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, Patrick Leahy. Under the Constitution, the president nominates Supreme Court justices and the Senate must confirm them. Without Scalia, the court has four conservative and four liberal justices, meaning any potential Obama nominee could tip the court to the left for the first time in decades. McConnell and Grassley have said allowing the next president to pick the new justice would let voters have a say in the selection when they elect a new president. "Whether everybody in the meeting today wanted to admit it, we all know that considering a nomination in the middle of a heated presidential campaign is bad for the nominee, bad for the court, bad for the process and ultimately bad for the nation," Grassley said in a statement. (Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton and Susan Cornwell; Editing by Will Dunham) By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil markets closed up as much as 2 percent on Tuesday, before giving back most of their gains in post-settlement trade after data suggesting a huge build in U.S. crude stockpiles already at record high levels. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said domestic crude inventories rose by 9.9 million barrels last week, way above a 3.6 million barrels increase expected by analysts in a Reuters poll. [API/S] [EIA/S] API's numbers often vary to official supply-demand figures for oil released each Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Even so, some traders braced for the possibility of the EIA reporting a large build as well in crude inventories for last week that could cut short the oil market rebound of the past two weeks. Crude prices rose in eight of the last 13 sessions, gaining 22 percent in all. "This is a big build that surprised even me," said Tariq Zahir, an oil bear who has bet on weaker U.S. crude oil prices for more than a year now. "If the EIA has equally bearish numbers tomorrow, we can really see pressure come on to this oil rally." U.S. crude (CLc1) was up 14 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $33.89 a barrel by 5:17 p.m. EST (2217 GMT). It had settled up 65 cents, or 2 percent, at $34.40 a barrel. Brent (LCOc1), the global benchmark for crude, was up 4 cents at $36.61, after trading in the negative earlier. It had settled up 24 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $36.81. Oil rose during the session after being buoyed by a rally on Wall Street. Equity markets and oil have mostly traded in tandem for weeks and Wall Street's key index for U.S. stocks, the S&P 500 (.SPX) rose more than 2 percent on Tuesday. Crude prices were also supported by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak's remarks that oil firms in the country support a pledge to average production this year at January's levels. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke of "more radical" measures to balance the global oil market, on top of a production freeze plan jointly pursued by Moscow with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela. Crude prices have trended higher since hitting 12-year lows under $30 a barrel between late January and mid-February. Despite the rebound, the market is still down about two-thirds from highs above $100 in mid-2014. (Additional reporting by Karolin Schaps in London; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Chris Reese) RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA) has cancelled an agreement to sell to a local oil firm its 20 percent stake in two offshore oil fields it operates with Shell, the state-led oil company said in a securities filing on Monday. Petrobras gave no reason for the cancellation of the sale of the stake in the Bijupira and Salema fields in the Campos basin to PetroRio (PRIO3.SA). Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L), which owns 80 percent of the two fields, announced two weeks ago it was cancelling a planned sale of its share to PetroRio, then known as HRT, and gave no explanation for the move. Shell also cancelled the sale to PetroRio of the FPSO Fluminense, the tanker used as a floating drill, storage and offloading platform. Petrobras, the most indebted oil company in the world, has embarked on a divestment programme that aims to sell $14 billion in assets this year. Shell, Europe's largest oil company which gained approval last month to take over BG Group (BG.L), had agreed in January 2015 to sell its stake in the fields in a deal estimated to be worth $150 million. The period for conclusion of the transaction ended this month and Shell opted not to renew negotiations. The Bijupira and Salema fields 150 miles (250 km) east of Rio de Janeiro were the first offshore fields to be operated by a foreign company. The fields are in decline and need investment to pump up output. They produce nearly 31,000 barrels of crude oil per day, nearly half the planed production when the field started in 2003, and about 474,000 cubic meters of natural gas, Brazil's oil regulator ANP said in early February. (Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Andrew Hay) (Recasts, adds comment from officials) By Can Sezer ISTANBUL, March 1 (Reuters) - A protest by workers over job cuts disrupted production at a Turkish plant owned by the local unit of French automaker Renault on Tuesday, company and union officials told Reuters. Workers protested after some of their colleagues were fired at the Oyak Renault plant in the northwestern city of Bursa, officials said. CNN Turk showed footage of police trying to break up the protests and said pepper spray was being used on the protesters. "Production at the plant was stopped from Sunday until 8:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) today due to a technical issue. The plant is partially working today, with some operators protesting layoffs due to disciplinary penalties," a spokesman for Oyak Renault said. The company is a joint venture between Renault and the Turkish army pension fund. Ozkan Atar, general secretary of the labour union at the plant, said the protest started after 10 union members were fired on Monday. Police have detained 15 protesting workers, Atar said. A week-long protest over wages and working conditions at Oyak Renault last year hampered production for a week. That protest spread to other plants, including the local operations of Ford and Fiat Chrysler. Bursa, where the factories are located, is home to much of Turkey's auto industry. (Additional reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley; writing by David Dolan; editing by Jason Neely) Russian President Vladimir Putin says the legislative elections are in accordance with the Syrian constitution (AFP Photo/Alexei Nikolsky) (Sputnik/AFP) Moscow (AFP) - Russian oil groups have agreed to freeze production levels as proposed last month by Moscow and Saudi Arabia to curb a near-record slump in prices, President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday. Opening a meeting with oil group chiefs, he said Energy Minister Alexander Novak had led discussions on forging an agreement between producer countries to maintain their output. "As the minister reported to me, you all agree with this proposal," Putin told them in comments released by the Kremlin, adding: "There are even more radical proposals but you don't all agree." He said the idea was to "fix Russia's 2016 production level at that of January," which was a post-Soviet record of 10.8 million barrels per day on average. Saudi Arabia and Russia -- two of the world's biggest oil producers -- proposed after a February 16 meeting with Qatar and Venezuela that all producer countries freeze their output at January levels to support prices, provided that other major producers followed suit. The news sparked hopes the market would stabilise after sinking to near 13-year lows last week on the stubborn supply glut -- but disappointed those looking for an output cut. Despite Iran's refusal to play ball, oil prices have significantly recovered since, supported by the announcement of a new meeting in mid-March between Russia and OPEC members Qatar, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. After Tuesday's meeting led by Putin, Novak confirmed that Russia's oil groups had agreed to "support" a freeze which "should reduce volatility" in markets. Nevertheless, "our companies are not proposing a cut in production, even less so because that is impossible in the current geopolitical conditions," he said, cited by the Interfax news agency. On Tuesday the United Arab Emirates said that a freeze in oil production would push prices up from their lowest levels in 13 years. The collapse has plunged Russia, which is already subject to Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine conflict, into a recession which is extending into a second year. Iran, which has the world's second-largest crude reserves, has increased production since a deal with Western powers ended sanctions over its controversial nuclear programme. Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh described the output freeze deal as "a joke", adding that "there is room for discussion" but that it "won't relinquish" market share. By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM, March 1 (Reuters) - Fizzy drinks maker SodaStream has raised the prospect of moving work back to the West Bank after the Israeli government refused to extend work permits for its remaining 74 Palestinian workers. SodaStream, which had promoted the idea of workplace co-existence between Israelis and Palestinians, moved its plant from the Israeli-occupied West Bank to Lehavim, a town in Israel's south, in late 2014. It made that move after heavy pressure from the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, which is opposed to Israel's policies towards the Palestinians including its occupation of the West Bank. SodaStream said the BDS campaign had been counter-productive because of the Palestinian jobs lost. Israel contends that the BDS advocates the destruction of the Jewish state. About 500 Palestinians out of nearly 1,200 workers lost their jobs in the move but SodaStream lobbied to keep on 74 Palestinians, many of them senior people. However, their permits expired at the end of February. "If the administration does not solve this very quickly and doesn't allow Palestinians to get to their jobs we will bring the jobs to the Palestinians ... and we will not have to ask permission from any minister in the Israeli government," SodaStream Chief Executive Daniel Birnbaum said. "If the Israeli government doesn't want to help then at least don't get in the way." Birnbaum blamed Israeli government bureaucracy for the lack of renewal. He told reporters on Tuesday that he was informed by various ministries it was a matter of quotas. "I find that difficult to believe," he said, noting that more than 100,000 Palestinians from the West Bank work in Israel every day. "Half have permits and half come in and work and the authorities turn a blind eye." An official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said: "The policy of the government is to give priority to the employment of Israeli workers." Nabil Basharat, 42, a father of seven from Jaba Village, said he has been working for SodaStream for six years and become a department manager. "I used to make $2,000 a month or more and today I have nothing," he said, lamenting the permit problem. (Editing by Keith Weir) Damascus (AFP) - Key players in Syria's war traded accusations over violations of the first major ceasefire in the five-year conflict, but the truce remained largely intact on its second day. Aid groups hope to use the lull in fighting that has claimed 270,000 lives and displaced more than half the population to deliver desperately-needed supplies. A successful truce would also create a more favourable backdrop for peace talks that collapsed in acrimony in early February as a Russia-backed regime offensive in northern Syria caused tens of thousands to flee. The main opposition grouping Sunday described the ceasefire as "positive" but lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations and foreign governments about first day breaches. "We have violations here and there, but in general it is a lot better than before and people are comfortable," said Salem al-Meslet, spokesman for the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee. Meslet said the opposition would like to see the truce "last for ever" and that it was the "responsibility of the United States to stop any violations". An HNC letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon accused Syria's regime and its allies of committing "24 violations with artillery shelling and five ground operations... in 26 areas held by the moderate opposition". The letter, signed by HNC head Riad Hijab, also attacked Russia for conducting "26 air strikes on areas falling within the ceasefire". Hijab said the breaches had killed 29 people and wounded dozens. He also warned it would be "impossible to restart the negotiations process in such coercive conditions". The HNC has said it did not receive any maps of areas included in the ceasefire or documents explaining the monitoring mechanism. Syria's Al-Watan newspaper, which is close to the government, said Sunday that those maps were still being "kept secret". The ceasefire does not apply to territory held by the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front. Story continues The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said regime forces and the Islamic State group were locked in clashes around the town of Khanasser in Aleppo province on Sunday. The fighting left at least 26 pro-government fighters and 14 IS jihadists dead, the monitor said. - 'Strange silence' - Saudi Arabia, a staunch opponent of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, also accused Russia of flouting the ceasefire and targeting "moderate opposition" groups. "Things will become clearer in the coming days on whether the regime and Russia are serious or not about the ceasefire," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said. Russia, which has waged a five-month bombing campaign to support Assad, blamed "moderate" rebels and jihadists for nine ceasefire violations, including from Turkish territory. But "on the whole, the ceasefire regime in Syria is being implemented," Lieutenant General Sergei Kuralenko, head of Moscow's coordination centre in Syria, was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. In Damascus, student Mehdi al-Ani spent Sunday at his university's cafe with friends. "Yesterday, we only heard two or three shells -- but I pretended like I didn't hear anything. The ceasefire will continue, God willing," he said. In Syria's second city Aleppo, children strolled to school without hugging walls for fear of rocket attacks, an AFP correspondent said. "There's something strange in this silence. We used to go to sleep and wake up with the sound of raids and artillery," said Abu Omar, 45, who runs a bakery in rebel-held east Aleppo. Yacoub El Hillo, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Syria, said the ceasefire would allow aid to be delivered to an extra 154,000 people living in besieged areas over the next five days. "It is the best opportunity that the Syrian people have had over the last five years for lasting peace and stability," he added. - 'Inevitable' setbacks - The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported air strikes -- believed to be either Syrian or Russian -- on seven villages in Hama and Aleppo provinces. It was unclear if the raids hit areas covered by the ceasefire. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said only one of the villages, Kafr Hamra in Aleppo, is controlled by Al-Nusra and the others are held by non-jihadist rebels. As recriminations flew, Washington urged patience. "Setbacks are inevitable," a senior US administration official said. "Even under the best of circumstances, we don't expect the violence to end immediately. In fact, we are certain that there will continue to be fighting, in part because of organisations like ISIL (Islamic State) and Al-Nusra." UN envoy Staffan de Mistura aims to relaunch peace talks on March 7 if the ceasefire lasts and more aid is delivered. Israel welcomed the ceasefire but warned it would not accept Iranian "aggression" or the supply of advanced weapons to Hezbollah, the pro-regime Lebanese Shiite militia. "It's important it remains clear any agreement in Syria must include an end to Iranian aggression aimed at Israel from Syria's territory," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. * Japan wants to offer Australia package of industrial deals * Toshiba eyes military, commercial sales of lithium batteries * South Australia expects to benefit from battery tech, facilities * Australia to pick submarine design this year By Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo TOKYO, March 1 (Reuters) - Japan has enlisted electronics firm Toshiba Corp to help it try to win Asia's biggest defence contract, a A$50 billion ($36 billion) deal to build a dozen submarines for Australia, three sources said. Toshiba is considering building a factory in Australia to make lithium-ion batteries to power the vessels, said the sources who are familiar with the plan but not authorised to talk to the media. The potential investment, which is contingent on Canberra picking the Japanese design, is part of an incentive package promising commercial and defence sector work beyond the submarine program, aimed at winning over politicians who want jobs in Australia. The proposed plant, which could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, will also fabricate industrial scale power packs for commercial customers around the world, said the sources. Such an investment could be an attractive proposition for Australia, which is seeking other avenues of growth as it grapples with plunging commodity prices. "Australia's prime minister (Malcolm Turnbull) is promoting innovation, and that is something Japan can do," said one of the sources. Australia's submarine industry is based in South Australia but the sources did not say where Toshiba was considering building a factory. Toshiba denied it was mulling a new Australian battery plant. "There is no such a fact, no such a plan," a spokesman said. BOOST FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA, TOSHIBA Without commenting on Toshiba's potential involvement, South Australia's Minister for Defence Industries Martin Hamilton-Smith said he expected new facilities associated with battery technology would be based in the state as part of any domestic build option, regardless of who won the tender. Story continues "This is an example of the impact the Future Submarines project would have across other industry sectors," he told Reuters in an emailed response. "It also underlines the economic effects of a local build and why such effects should be taken into account when the Federal government considers where the submarines will be built." Australia's Department of Defence did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The choice of Toshiba to supply the Australian submarine batteries would be a boost for the struggling Japanese industrial conglomerate as it braces for a net loss of 710 billion yen ($6.3 billion) this year following a major accounting scandal. It was not immediately clear if the plant would build lithium ion battery cells from scratch or be a cheaper, simpler assembly operation, offering fewer jobs and economic benefits. Toshiba's batteries were picked for the Australian submarine project over those made by GS Yuasa Corp because they are easier to maintain, two of the sources said. GS Yuasa declined to comment, while Japan's Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. JAPAN'S STRENGTHS Japan is offering Australia a variant of its 4,000 ton diesel-electric Soryu submarine built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, with a lithium-ion underwater propulsion system. It is up against France's state-owned builder DCNS, which plans to make a conventional version of its 5,000-tonne Barracuda nuclear-powered submarine, and Germany's ThyssenKrupp (TKMS), which is proposing to scale up its 2,000-ton Type 214 class vessel. Domestic political considerations, particularly jobs for Australian workers, will also weigh on the final choice. Japan was initially slow to commit to build all vessels at South Australian shipyards. But sources told Reuters in January the competition is narrowing to a race between Japan and France as TKMS loses ground over concerns about the technical challenges of scaling up the size of its sub. To win over Australia, Japan's government is also pushing the strategic value of its design over one from Europe. The two U.S. allies in Asia are deepening security ties as Washington pushes its defense partners to work more closely together to balance China's rising regional power. Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida stressed that strategic significance when he met his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop in Tokyo last month. Defense officials in Tokyo, however, worry their bid is undermined by a dearth of experience managing overseas military projects and a lack of industrial ties in Australia it will need to complete the complex vessels, the sources said. Until Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ended a decades-old ban on arms exports in 2014, Japanese military equipment makers had only ever sold kit to domestically. Australia's government has said it will make its submarine pick this year. ($1 = 1.3845 Australian dollars) ($1 = 112.5700 yen) (Additional reporting by Colin Packham in Sydney; Editing by Lincoln Feast) CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - March 01, 2016) - Trustwave today announced the appointment of security industry veteran Rick Miller as Chief Operations Officer, a newly created role that leads the company's portfolio of professional, delivery and managed services. Miller is responsible for Trustwave Managed Security Services, the global network of Trustwave Security Operations Centers, the Trustwave SpiderLabs services team, the company's global compliance and risk services organization and customer support. Trustwave Chief Executive Officer and President Robert J. McCullen, said, "This new executive leadership position supports the company's record growth and global expansion plans in cybersecurity and managed security services. Rick's breadth of experience and knowledge in managed security services, professional services and customer support bring a new level of leadership to the Trustwave team. With Rick at the helm, customers can expect operational and support improvements that help make them more successful in fighting cybercrime, protecting data and reducing risk." Before joining Trustwave, Miller was Vice President of Managed Security Services and Service Optimization at Hewlett Packard (HP) Enterprise. Before HP, he was IBM's Director of Security Consulting after joining the company as Head of Managed Security Services following IBM's acquisition of Internet Security Systems. Miller received a master's degree in information systems from Oakland University and a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Michigan. Trustwave Chief Operations Officer Rick Miller, said, "Trustwave has shown, and received recognition for, incredible commitment and innovation in the cybersecurity industry through significant enhancements to existing offerings, expansion into new global markets and powerful managed services for both security and compliance. I'm looking forward to helping amplify the rising Trustwave presence in the industry by providing the highest quality of services, support and continued innovation to our global customers." About Trustwave Trustwave helps businesses fight cybercrime, protect data and reduce security risk. With cloud and managed security services, integrated technologies and a team of security experts, ethical hackers and researchers, Trustwave enables businesses to transform the way they manage their information security and compliance programs. More than three million businesses are enrolled in the Trustwave TrustKeeper cloud platform, through which Trustwave delivers automated, efficient and cost-effective threat, vulnerability and compliance management. Trustwave is headquartered in Chicago, with customers in 96 countries. For more information about Trustwave, visit https://www.trustwave.com. All trademarks used herein remain the property of their respective owners. Their use does not indicate or imply a relationship between Trustwave and the owners of such trademarks. ISTANBUL, March 1 (Reuters) - Turkey has extended the "solution process" for troubled Islamic lender Bank Asya by three months, the deposit insurance fund that owns the bank said on Tuesday, adding it would be liquidated if a buyer were not found by the deadline. The bank was taken over by Turkish authorities last year, becoming a high-profile casualty in a feud between President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose followers founded the bank. The bank is now controlled by Turkey's Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), which made the announcement in a statement on Tuesday, echoing comments made by its chairman last week. The fund also said the bank could not be returned to its original shareholders. Last year the government seized the assets of Bank Asya, saying its financial structure and management presented a threat to the financial system. (Reporting by Behiye Selin Taner and Can Sezer; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Nick Tattersall) (Adds detail, background, fund comment) ISTANBUL, March 1 (Reuters) - Turkey's Bank Asya will not be returned to its original shareholders after being seized by the government last year, the deposit insurance fund that now owns the bank said, adding that it would pursue liquidation if a buyer is not found within three months. The government seized the assets of the Islamic lender last May, saying its financial structure and management presented a threat to the financial system. Founded by followers of United States-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, Bank Asya is one of more than 20 Gulen-related companies, including some opposition media outlets, that have been hit in a government crackdown. President Tayyip Erdogan has accused Gulen, a former ally, of trying to overthrow the government by building a network of supporters in the judiciary, police and media. Gulen, whose adherents run schools, broadcasters and newspapers, denies the charges. The cleric has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States for more than a decade. "Within the framework of the existing legal situation, the return of the bank to its (shareholders) is not possible," the Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) said on Tuesday, adding that it had given the bank a three-month deadline from Feb. 29 to find a buyer or be merged. "If this is not possible, its liquidation will come on to the agenda," the TMSF said. Last week the chairman of the TMSF told reporters it was in talks to sell the bank. The campaign against Bank Asya started almost two years ago when its depositors, including state-owned companies and institutions and foreign fund managers, withdrew 4 billion lira ($1.36 billion), amounting to about 20 percent of its deposits, eroding its earnings and capital base. (Reporting by Behiye Selin Taner, Can Sezer and Daren Butler; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Nick Tattersall and David Goodman) Members of the Presidential Guard patrol outside the Oguzkhan Presidential Palace in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski) (POOL/AFP/File) Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) (AFP) - Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has sacked his administration chief, complaining of corruption and mismanagement, state television said Saturday, as economic troubles begin to mount in the isolated Central Asian state. Berdymukhamedov indicated "a weakening of discipline in the trade sector, the identification of cases of bribery among managers... a lack of attention to training and non-compliance with instructions provided" as justifications for sacking Palvan Taganov, 37, state media said. He had served in the post for more than two years. A former mayor of the capital Ashgabat, Shamukhammet Durdylyev, 53, will replace him as administration head. The head of the presidential administration serves as the deputy chairman of the cabinet of ministers, which is chaired by the president. The position of head of presidential administration is the third most senior in the isolated state after the president and speaker of parliament, although there are few checks on Berdymukhamedov's all-pervading powers in practice. Last month Turkmenistan further tightened restrictions on the exchange of foreign currencies as pressure grows on the ex-Soviet republic's manat currency roiled by low hydrocarbon prices. Berdymukhamedov took charge of the country with the world's fourth largest gas reserves in 2006, after the death of his eccentric predecessor Saparmurat Niyazov. Niyazov, who styled himself "Father of the Turkmen," was famous for haranguing his ministers in televised government meetings widely likened to soap operas. Both the current and former presidents are honoured with golden statues in Ashgabat, a city with the world's highest density of buildings made from white marble, according to Guinness World Records. The logo of car-sharing service app Uber on a smartphone over a reserved lane for taxis in a street is seen in this photo illustration taken in Madrid on December 10, 2014. REUTERS/Sergio Perez By Heather Somerville SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber's [UBER.UL] new Oakland headquarters is nearly 70 percent bigger than Internet radio service Pandora Media's (P.N) office nearby and will house about five times the number of employees that ride-hailing competitor Lyft has at its headquarters. The on-demand ride service paid $123.5 million for Oakland's historic Sears building last year and so far has filed building permits to complete at least $2 million in renovations, according to BuildZoom, a startup that compiles construction and remodeling contractor data for homeowners. Across the bay in San Francisco, Uber has so far initiated $130 million in construction on a bigger office in the Mission Bay neighborhood, BuildZoom's data shows. The new building permit data from BuildZoom, provided exclusively to Reuters, underscores the mammoth growth in Uber's real estate footprint and associated costs, overshadowing most other tech startups in San Francisco and Oakland. Remodeling on the old Sears building will take another year, and the Mission Bay campus is still two or three years out, so construction costs will rise. Uber said it was also repairing damage on the Oakland building caused by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Uber is the most highly valued venture-backed tech firm and has raised more than $7.4 billion from investors, a war chest that can help fund real estate purchases. But its costly expansion in Oakland and San Francisco comes as the venture capital investing climate cools, with more investors wary that highly valued startups may not grow into their stratospheric valuation. The iconic Oakland building, which opened in 1929 as a department store, will house between 2,000 and 3,000 Uber employees across 380,000 square feet (35,303 sq. m.). By comparison, Ask.com, an Oakland-based search engine founded in the dot-com boom, has 200 employees in a 79,000-square-foot (7,339-sq.-m.) office it shares with other companies owned by parent IAC Publishing, spokeswoman Suraya Akbarzad said. Story continues Sungevity, a solar design company that has raised close to $900 million from investors, occupies approximately 68,000 square feet (6,317 sq. m.) in Oakland, spokesman John Ordona said. In San Francisco, Uber partnered with a real estate firm to purchase land for $125 million and develop a 423,000-square-foot (39,298-sq.-m.) campus that will house between 3,000 and 4,000 employees. That space is in addition to Uber's 500,000-square-foot (46,452-sq.-m.) headquarters in downtown San Francisco, according to BuildZoom. Other highly valued, fast-growing tech companies don't come close. Lyft said it has 66,000 square feet (6,132 sq m.)while online accommodations company Airbnb said it occupies 169,000 square feet (15,700 sq m.) in San Francisco. (This version of the story corrects size of Uber office in relation to Pandora in first sentence) (Reporting by Heather Somerville; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Bill Trott) Tax evasion charges yet again strike Swiss banking giant UBS Group AG UBS as Belgian authorities have intensified investigation to ascertain whether the bank has helped clients evade taxes. On Friday, the Brussels state prosecutors office stated that UBS is suspected of having directly approached Belgian customers (without going through its Belgian subsidiary) with the goal of encouraging them to sign up to tax-evasion structure. The probe includes laundering, exercising illegally the profession of financial intermediary in Belgium, and serious and organized tax fraud. Following the probe, which is currently underway, the investigating judge is expected to put forward his findings to prosecutors. UBS has acknowledged the launch of the formal investigation. However, a company spokesperson noted, UBS will continue to defend itself against any unfounded allegations. Any discussion of potential charges at this stage is premature. Notably, in 2014, Marcel Bruehwiler, former chief executive of UBS Belgium unit was charged by the Belgian authorities with money laundering following raids at the bank, at his residence as well as a clients residence. UBS sold its Belgian private-banking business to Brussels-based Puilaetco Dewaay Private Bankers later that year. The Brussels prosecutors office also noted that the charges against UBS were a result of excellent co-operation with the French authorities. The latter had conducted probe into UBS on potential charges of illegally soliciting clients in France to open Swiss accounts for hiding undisclosed wealth in the period between 2004 and 2012. With the end of the probe, the prosecutors office will file its comments in the next few months, following which the investigating judges will take a decision whether the bank will face a trial. Amid international pressure on Switzerlands secrecy laws, Swiss banks have been under investigation regarding their transactions with wealthy clients and hidden offshore accounts. Regulatory authorities have claimed billions as settlements and fines from several banks. Notably, in 2009, UBS paid $780 million to regulators as a settlement to a U.S. criminal and civil investigation and admitted that it had helped clients evade taxes. In May 2014, another Swiss banking behemoth Credit Suisse Group AG CS pleaded guilty to criminal charges of assisting its U.S. clients to evade taxes and shelled out $2.8 billion as settlement charges to the U.S. authorities. UBS has been under the scrutiny of other European countries regulators for its foreign operations. While nothing can be concluded with certainty about the latest probe, any potential legal charge stemming from the investigation will only add to UBS' legal burden and expose its financials to risks as well. UBS currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). A couple of better-ranked foreign banks include Banco Macro S.A. BMA and Nordea Bank AB (publ) NRBAY, both carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CREDIT SUISSE (CS): Free Stock Analysis Report UBS GROUP AG (UBS): Free Stock Analysis Report BANCO MACRO-ADR (BMA): Free Stock Analysis Report NORDEA BANK AB (NRBAY): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said on Tuesday that the Treasury would publish an analysis of the costs and benefits of the country's membership of the European Union before an in-out referendum on June 23. Osborne was speaking in parliament after returning to London from Shanghai where he attended a meeting of top finance officials from the Group of 20 economies. The G20 included the risk of Britain leaving the EU on their list of dangers to the world economy. (Reporting by Andy Bruce and Ana Nicolaci da Costa, Writing by William Schomberg, Editing by Kylie MacLellan) IMG_2959 One of the fixtures of the UN press corps spent the first three days of this week reporting out of a public park. On a rainy Wednesday morning, Matthew Lee of Inner City Press had set up a laptop and smartphone-based wifi hotspot on a row of benches under a construction scaffold in Ralph Bunche Park. Lee sat with his laptop just feet away from a towering metal sculpture and a broad flight of stairs named after the Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky and across the street from the UN's Manhattan headquarters. That day, Lee wasn't allowed in the complex sprawling across the other side of 1st Avenue without someone signing him in as a guest. The park was the closest he could get to the UN. "It's so different doing it this way," Lee, who had his UN resident correspondent credentials abruptly stripped from him last Friday, told Business Insider. People were occasionally bringing him files, but Lee said running his phone as a wifi hotspot limited his ability to contact sources. He was also hampered by his distance from the center of the action after being cast out of the institution he covered for nearly a decade. "Today the Security Council voted on Yemen sanctions," Lee told Business Insider. "People are tweeting at me asking, what does it mean?" The UN headquarters towered over the opposite side of 1st Avenue, the neatly set tables of the delegates' dining visible through 4th-story window, and the front gates opening for the occasional black SUV. When Business Insider met Lee on Wednesday morning, he had just finished watching a briefing on the humanitarian situation in Syria on his laptop. But for the first time since 2006, the work of the United Nations significant and scandalous at times but usually just as plodding and routinized as that of any other large organization was continuing without him. Story continues On the afternoon of February 19, UN security presented Lee with a letter, signed by UN Under-Secretary-General for Communication and Public Information Cristina Gallach informing him he had until 5 p.m. to clean out his office. According to Lee, the letter said his pass was revoked as the result of a January 29 incident, in which he watched, recorded, and live-tweeted a meeting of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) from an interpreter's booth in the UN press briefing room. Although Lee was not invited to the meetup, he claimed no closed meetings could be held in the briefing room and that he was within his rights to cover the event. Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, told Business Insider that Lee had violated the UN correspondents' accepted standards of behavior in entering an interpreter's booth to observe what was considered to be a closed meeting and then refusing to leave the briefing room. "You have more than 150 resident corespondents here, and nothing physically stops them from poking along on different floors and going places they shouldnt go," Dujarric told Business Insider. "If over 99% of the people behave when theres somebody who clearly breaks the rules there has to be a little bit of consequences. Otherwise it doesnt work." A United Nations logo is seen on a glass door in the Assembly Building at the United Nations headquarters in New York City September 18, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar Lee has reported extensively on alleged corruption within the UN system, a beat he claims his press corps colleagues have ignored. He's had a contentious relationship with UNCA he actually served as a vice president of the organization but quit in 2012 to found the Free UN Coalition for Access and has been generally critical of the UN press corps. He believes the UN-based press is passive, deferential, and generally incurious about the organization they're supposed to be covering. "A number of people have said to me look, just write about the UN. Dont write about the journalists at the UN. I didn't come here to do that, but Ive concluded that that's part of the story," Lee told Business Insider. "The place is legally protected," Lee says, in reference to the UN's immunity under the US law, the result of the US' 1970 accession to the Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. "But its also journalistically protected." Lee says that February 19, he was marched out of UN headquarters by UN security guards, who Lee claims had physically ripped his press badge off of him. He claims that he was removed from the UN "without the most basic due-process," and says he was never questioned over the details of the January 29 incident the details of which are still in dispute. When contacted for comment, the Office of the Undersecretary General for Communications and Public Information did not deny that Lee had never been questioned over the incident before his pass was revoked. "In conducting its investigation into the incident on 29 January, [Department of Public Information] reviewed several videos of what happened, including footage that was taken by Mr. Lee and posted on his website," a representative of the office wrote in an email to Business Insider. "DPI also spoke at length with the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General and officers from the UN Department of Safety and Security who were in attendance on 29 January. These steps were sufficient to determine that Mr. Lee's actions clearly infringed the guidelines that apply to all correspondents at the United Nations." Lee thinks he was summarily ejected from the UN press corps. "The UN cannot be throwing journalists into the street," says Lee. "More fundamentally, the UN cannot do a supposed investigation of an incident for three weeks without talking to the defendant once. Not once." united nations inside Still, on Wednesday, Lee said he had everything he needed to cover the UN from across the street, even if his situation was far from ideal. Since Monday, he had been emailed documents from contacts in Burundi, and one of his sources had handed him a draft version of a Security Council resolution, which he scanned at a nearby FedEx store. He had written a story on press freedom in South Sudan that morning. And he had discovered a way to save himself from having to hunt for a power outlet at a nearby coffee shop: A line of lights running across the ceiling of the construction scaffold had an electrical socket. And while the socket hovers awkwardly from a ceiling roughly 6 feet off the ground, the day before, a man who Lee says he had seen frequently in the park a Haitian immigrant who claimed to be a former journalist, and who would often talk to Lee about affairs in his country of origin promised to find him an extension chord. Sure enough, he brought one in a black plastic bag, which was sitting on a park bench next Lee's laptop. The scaffold was enough to keep his computer dry amid a persistent rain, although cold raindrops flecked the outer edges of his computer screen. A wireless mouse sat on top of a damp packet of papers. Lee was exhibiting remarkable durability amid a punishing February downpour. "As you see, were perfectly dry here," he said, although that wasn't entirely true. IMG_2957.JPG Thanks to the UN's immunity under US law, the world body is practically a state unto itself, and Lee has little recourse outside of the UN system. Lee realizes he can't sue his way back into resident correspondent status. He could start building political pressure Lee is an American citizen, and the US is the UN's largest budgetary contributor. But he says he's "queasy about saying no no, wait a second, this is the UN, Ive got the US behind me." Lee had a potential ticket out of Ralph Bunche park, though. During Monday's noon press briefing, Dujarric, the UN spokesman, confirmed the world body had offered him a "non-resident correspondent" pass on a four-month trial basis. As a result of his new status, Lee claims he would have to vacate his office, work out of a reporters' bullpen, and leave UN headquarters by 6 p.m. each day (Dujarric confirmed to Business Insider that Lee would have vacate his office under his new status). On Wednesday Lee told Business Insider he won't accept reduced access, even though he's willing to acknowledge wrongdoing as part of some full restoration of his earlier status. "You say we had a misunderstanding, you did something we dont like, we overreacted, why dont you clean my garage and we move on. Thats how I view it. Thats not how they view it. They view it as like, no, we didn't make a mistake, you made a mistake." As Lee notes, the UN is notably unwilling to admit wrongdoing. "They didnt apologize for killing 10,000 people in Haiti," Lee says, in reference to the UN's role in that country's cholera epidemic, "so I dont expect them to apologize for pushing me into the street." The UN was a vague curtain of blue-tinted windows hovering across a damp 1st Avenue. Although behind a security cordon and a high black fence, it was a place that Lee had come to know intimately over a decade of coverage. It was a place he didn't want to return to on anything less than his own terms. "If I took this deal Im hurting my readers, viewers, and the entire profession of journalism because Im sending a message that if you ask hard questions they can screw you and you take it because you're desperate," Lee said. "And I am desperate. I want to be there. But Im not so desperate that Im going to sell out, you know?" United Nations Security Council Chamber NYC By Thursday, he had changed his mind. Dujarric told Business Insider that Lee actually had picked up his green pass, and was back in the building working even though he would still have to clean out of his office. I asked Lee by email why he had opted for a course that he had described as capitulation just a day earlier. "Thought about it a lot," he wrote, noting that he was "working on lawyer's letter demanding no touching of office or files until this is resolved." Then he listed nearly a half-dozen events unfolding inside Turtle Bay topics that would be obscure even to some international news junkies. "Needed to cover today's North Korea, and tomorrow's Syria, UNSC meetings wanted to ask the UN, in the noon briefing, about Ban Ki-moon covering up or over the problems in Burundi, including of press freedom (only two of five radio stations re-opened, with agreements on what they can say -- like UN is trying) and about Western Sahara, Darfur repatriation scoop I wrote yesterday in park," and allegations of corruption within the UN system "which I came back in and asked about. So here I am." NOW WATCH: These are the world's most powerful leaders More From Business Insider Iditarod For the first time in the history of the event, organizers of the Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska will have to ship in snow due to unseasonably warm weather. The traditional start to the famous, 1,000 mile race from Anchorage to Nome begins with a ceremonial trot through downtown Anchorage but this year race officials will have to improvise to make it work. The organizers will import 300 cubic yards of snow from Fairbanks which is 350 miles to the north via the Alaska Railroad to be distributed prior to the event on Saturday. According to Tim Sullivan, the spokesperson for the Alaska Railroad and a resident of Anchorage, the company has been in conversation with Iditarod officials all season. "It's been a warm and snow-free winter," Sullivan said. "It's been in the 40s all week." The railroad will attach seven cars full of snow collected in their Fairbanks rail yard to a southbound freight train later this week, with no charge to the race, Sullivan said. Anchorage is so snow-starved it has to haul snow in by train for Iditarod start https://t.co/YqeiA7wqFE pic.twitter.com/c7hv7RjVUe Alaska Dispatch News (@adndotcom) March 1, 2016 This is the third warm year in a row for Anchorage, which recently broke a local record for its most consecutive days without snowfall. NOW WATCH: A Dieselgate protester stormed the stage during a Volkswagen press conference More From Business Insider The roughly 70% drop in oil prices in less than two years has claimed many victims. The economies of entire countries such as Nigeria and Venezuela have been devastated. Shale oil boom towns like Fargo, N.D., have gone bust. Shares of many energy companies have been decimated -- some even to the point where it is probably too late to short them. For instance, stocks like Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) and Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL) have lost more than 90% of their value since oil's peak and now trade in the low single digits. However, one group has only recently begun to feel the heat from the plunge in crude: Canadian banks, which have significant exposure to oil and gas. Of the six major banks in Canada, the one that looks the most vulnerable is The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS). Commonly known as Scotiabank, it is the third largest bank in Canada, with assets of C$856 billion ($639 billion USD) at the end of fiscal 2015 (Oct. 31). The bank provides financial services to 23 million customers in more than 50 countries. Last year, Canadian banking accounted for 50% of earnings, while international banking contributed 27% and corporate and investment banking contributed 23%. According to Moody's, Scotiabank will be one of Canada's hardest hit lenders if the already prolonged energy downturn continues. One reason is that the Bank of Nova Scotia has a 21% share of the consumer loan market in Canada's oil-producing provinces. Declining oil prices have forced energy companies to lay off a significant number of workers, who in turn may have trouble meeting their loan commitments. [More from StreetAuthority.com: Small Cap's Breakout Could Be The Start Of A Huge Run] Scotiabank also has one of the most vulnerable loan portfolios of the Canadian banks. In a prolonged oil price decline, like the one taking place now, the bank is likely to face both loan defaults and a loss of investment revenue from such sources as underwriting. In a "moderate" case, Moody's projects Scotiabank could see regulatory capital losses of 41 basis points, while a "severe case" could lead to a 100-basis-point drop, or C$3.52 billion. Story continues If the worst comes to pass, the bank could be forced to preserve capital and dilute its share base by raising equity and cutting dividends. In this sense, Scotiabank is almost as vulnerable to continued low oil prices as energy companies. Warning signs can already be seen in the bank's fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year (ended in October) earnings report. Impaired loans to the oil and gas industry rose to C$165 million in Q4, up from C$96 million in the third quarter and C$44 million a year earlier. Provisions for credit losses in the oil and gas sector were C$24 million compared with none a year earlier. Plus, Scotiabank's global banking and markets division recorded a 14% decline in net income. Revenue and earnings growth is also slowing. Revenues for fiscal 2015 rose less than 2%, down from nearly 11% growth in fiscal 2014. Earnings were just 0.2% higher in FY 2015 versus 10.8% growth in the previous year. And while Scotiabank increased its dividend 6.3% in 2015, the hike did not keep pace with slowing earnings growth. As a result, the payout ratio climbed 3 percentage points to 48%. First-quarter earnings are due out March 1 and could bring more bad news. Analysts estimate the company will earn C$1.03 per share, down 6.4% from a year ago. Just three months ago, analysts were expecting a slight expansion in earnings. [More from StreetAuthority.com: The No. 1 Travel Stock To Buy Now] Turning to the chart, the picture for BNS only grows darker. BNS Stock Chart After bottoming in the fall of 2011, the stock made a series of higher highs and high lows before peaking in the summer of 2014, along with oil prices. The uptrend officially ended in late 2014, as shares broke down through the major trendline, and a sharp retreat ensued. The major downtrend line drawn from the 2014 peak currently intersects the chart just above $42.50. We'll set our stop-loss slightly above that at $43.05. With very little support on the chart other than the $35 spike low, BNS could easily fall to the low $30s. Recommended Trade Setup: [More from StreetAuthority.com: It's Not Too Late To Buy This Stock's Major Uptrend] -- Sell BNS short at the market price -- Set stop-loss at $43.05 -- Set price target at $33.05 for a potential 15% gain by Q3 2016 Note: If you're interested in making quick downside profits, so far this year one trading expert has recommended bearish trades that returned: -- 62% in nine days -- 36% in seven days -- 18% in six days -- 16% in six days And with each of these trades, he had less than $1,000 at risk. To learn more or get on the list to receive his next trade, follow this link. This article was originally published on Profitable Trading: Warning: Sell Oil's Next Victim Now Related Articles WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and the city's Office of the People's Counsel both said that they would oppose changes that the city's Public Service Commission made to a pact that would allow Exelon Corp's deal to buy Pepco Holdings Inc, dealing a tough blow to the gigantic deal. Exelon and Pepco have won agreement from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission but Washington DC has thus far declined to approve it. The D.C. Public Service Commission had rejected the deal in August 2015 but agreed to reconsider it after Bowser and others negotiated $78 million payment for Washington, including ratepayer assistance and other guarantees. On Friday, Washington's PSC rejected that proposal but offered its own revisions. Bowser and People's Counsel Sandra Mattavous-Frye rejected the proposed changes on Tuesday. Mattavous-Frye said she was perturbed at a part of the revision that removed a guarantee of no rate increases for residents until March 2019. "The commission has taken a principal benefit of the merger away from residential electricity customers," she said in a statement. Bowser agreed, saying: "The PSC's counterproposal guts much needed protections against rate increases for DC residents and assistance for low-income DC rate payers. That is not a deal that I can support." Exelon said that talks were continuing. "We continue to have conversations with the DC government and other settling parties about the commission's order and the new provisions," spokesman Paul Elsberg said in an email statement. "We will provide an update at the appropriate time." Pepco does not generate electricity but delivers it to about 2 million customers in the mid-Atlantic region. Chicago-based Exelon is the largest nuclear power operator in the United States, according to its website. The Public Service Commission was established in 1913 and regulates power, gas and telecommunication companies in the District of Columbia. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by David Gregorio) Why the Iranian Election Has Crude Investors Worried (Continued from Prior Part) Hassan Rouhani may be dearer for Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is engaged in a proxy war in Syria against the Assad regime. The kingdom has also waged war against Houthis in Yemen. Experts feel that on both fronts, Saudi Arabia is fighting Iran for its regional leadership status. The closeness of Iran with European nations could be a problem for Saudi Arabias interest in the region. Recently, European Parliament called for an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia for the purchase of weapons from the European Union. As Iran becomes stronger under the economic agenda of Hassan Rouhani, Saudi Arabia will face the more difficult situation of addressing its issues in the international forum. The above situation can be attributed to a price war in crude exports between the two extreme countries of the Middle East. The effect could have a long-term impact on crude oils price, as reformist governments in Tehran promise continue the supply of crude oil to the international market without any political disturbance. Again, Europe (EZU) (HEDJ) and India are important markets for Iranian oil, where Saudi Arabia is already facing competition with Russia. The graph above shows the performance of the United States Oil ETF (USO) since the secondary sanctions on Iran were lifted. In the next part, well discuss moving averages and analysts estimates for upstream companies such as Cabot Oil & Gas (COG), Hess (HES), and Devon Energy (DVN). Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: We are excited to announce that international playwright and master storyteller FINEGAN KRUCKEMEYER will visit First Stage next week. Finegan will give an extended talk back immediately following the 3:30 p.m. performance of THE SNOW onThis opportunity is included with your ticket to THE SNOW - no special reservations are needed.During his visit Finegan will also take part in a writing workshop as part of First Stage's Academy Writers Group (open to students in grades 4-12 who have an interest in writing) on the evening of March 8. About Finegan Kruckemeyer Finegan has had 77 commissioned plays performed on five continents and translated into six languages. His work has enjoyed seasons in: over 100 international festivals, eight US national tours, and at the Sydney Opera House (six works), DCs Kennedy Center (two works), NYs Lincoln Center, Dublins Abbey Theatre, Shanghais Malan Flower Theatre, and at theatres throughout Germany. He and his work have received 36 national and international awards over the past 13 years, including the inaugural Sidney Myer Fellowship, 2015 David Williamson Prize for Excellence in Australian Playwrighting, and four Australian Writers Guild Awards. He was Keynote Speaker at the 2015 Lincoln Center Summer Forum, and has spoken at conferences in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Denmark, England, Indonesia, Scotland, Sweden and the US, with essays published and works studied at several international universities. 2000 - 2022 24 .- . focus-news.net, () . 24 . 24 . . 24 . We value your privacy. Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy. Christopher L. Hodapp is the author of Freemasons For Dummies, the worldwide, best-selling introduction to the Masonic fraternity; Solomon's Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington D.C. ; and Deciphering the Lost Symbol. His most recent book, Heritage Endures, was published in January 2018. Since 2009 he has been on the Board of the Masonic Library & Museum of Indiana, and serves as its Associate Director and Treasurer. In 2021, Chris was named as Public Relations and Marketing Director for the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of the State of Indiana. Chris is also the co-author with Alice Von Kannon of The Templar Code For Dummies and Conspiracy Theories And Secret Societies For Dummies. As a Freemason, Chris is a Past Master of Broad Ripple Lodge No. 643 and of Lodge Vitruvian No. 767 under the Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana; he is a member of Indiana's Schofield Lodge 1818 U.D.; and of Internet Lodge No. 9659 in the Province of East Lancashire of the United Grand Lodge of England. Most recently, he was named the Worshipful Master of the Dwight L. Smith Lodge of Research U.D. in Indiana for 2019-21. In 2018 he was awarded the Caleb B. Smith Medal of Honor by the Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana for his "distinguished service to Freemasonry in Indiana and worldwide." Chris is a 33 Mason in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite (NMJ), Indianapolis Valley. He is a Past Sovereign Master of Imhotep Council No. 434 of the Allied Masonic Degrees. He is a founding member of Levant Preceptory, a medieval Knights Templar period recreation degree team in the York Rite, and he is an officer of the Indiana College of the Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis. He belongs to numerous other Masonic appendant organizations. As a Masonic author, in 2012 he was named as Friar No. 101 in the Society of Blue Friars. Chris is a Founding Fellow of The Masonic Society, and was the founding Editor in Chief of The Journal of The Masonic Society. He remains a regular contributor today, and its Editor Emeritus. He was the editor and a contributor in 2004-5 to "Laudable Pursuit: A 21st Century Response to Dwight Smith" by the Knights of the North, a Masonic leadership think-tank focusing on modern lodge solutions. He has written for Indianapolis Monthly, Heredom, Masonic Magazine, Templar History, the Scottish Rite Journal, the Knight Templar Magazine, the Indiana Freemason , the Phylaxis, and numerous other publications. Chris was a commercial filmmaker for twenty-three years with Dean Crow Productions in Indianapolis. Hodapp and Alice Von Kannon developed scripts for the History Channel program, Brad Meltzer's Decoded in 2010, and contributed material on conspiracies and secret societies for TruTV and the American Heroes Channel. They have both appeared on National Public Radio, the History Channel, Discovery, National Geographic, Smithsonian, and the American Heroes Channel - most recently in 2017 on America: Facts vs Fiction. Chris and Alice live in Indianapolis with Sophie the Flying Poodle who has them both answering to basic commands. However, they can frequently be found alarming the wildlife and dazzling the rustics in their Airstream trailer as they crisscross the country. Appropriately, their newest book together is RVs and Campers For Dummies, released in June 2021. STORMY MARKLAND 1957-2016 Stormy Markland age 58 of Weeping Water, NE born May 29, 1957, died February 26, 2016 Stormy is survived by her husband: Floyd, daughter: Amanda Codr, son: Dustyn Gandara, stepsons: Matt and Steven Markland, grandchildren: Paige Codr & Katrina Dill and Stormys brothers and sisters. She is preceded in death by her parents. She never met a stranger, she loved bartending. Memorial Services were held Thursday, March 3, 2016 at 2:00 P.M. at First Christian Church, 304 Main Street, Louisville, Nebraska. Family suggests memorials to the families choice. Visitation was held Wednesday, March 2nd from 1:00 P.M. until 9:00 P.M. with the family greeting from 5:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M. at the funeral home. Condolences to www.fusselmanallenharvey.com Arrangements by Fusselman Allen Harvey Funeral Home, 413 Elm St., Louisville, NE, 402-234-3985 Last weekend was busy for me as I attended several events in Plattsmouth. Each event, in one way or many ways, showed that while Plattsmouth may not be the biggest city in the United States, it just may have one of the biggest hearts in the country when it comes to helping others. My first stop was Plattsmouth Public Library where staff had organized a job fair. It was a first for the library, and like many new events, people werent crowding to get into the auditorium door. Before I entered, I asked Karen Mier, the library director, how the job fair was going. She replied, and later reiterated, that if one person resulted in getting a job, it was successful. There is very little more disheartening than being out of work, especially if you dont have a vehicle to get around o place to apply or paychecks to sustain you in the meantime. The job fair has a potential to grow over the years and employers may find some people to fill positions. Just about a half hour after I left the library, I walked over to D.C.s Waterhole where they were having the Eighth Annual Soup Cook-off as a fund-raiser for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Patrons were invited to taste any or all of 18 different soups entered in the contest. After generous testing portions, each taster was asked to vote on the top three. I have to admit a beautiful array of soups were in the contest. They ranged from the tried-and-true beef stew to minestrone to corn crab chowder. I liked them all but my favorite, which didnt place, was the Cheesy Chicken Fajitas Chili, entered by Sean Pohlmeier. I tested it three times. With a love for chicken fajitas and cheese, that soup just couldnt go wrong for me. Soup makers and their entries were Jenny Jensen, Roses Red Alarm Chili; Denise Covert, Pea Gravy Soup; Paul Lucas, Mississippi Gumbo; Allison Hall, second-place, Creamy Chicken Tortellini; Rich McFeely, Taco Soup; Connie Hoschar, Oxtail Soup; Laura Pohlmeier, Chicken Noodle; Tanya Johnson, first place, Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Soup; Vicki Wiles, third place, Crab Corn Chowder; Sean Pohlmeier, Cheesy Chicken Fajita Chili; Nancy Martin, Lasagna Soup and Zesty Chicken Tortellini; Jayne Montgomery, Cheesy Cheeseburger, Vaughan Chappell, Spaghetti and Meatball; Deb Montgomery, Meatball Surprise; Mike and Wendy Montgomery, Minestrone; Amy Schuette, Loaded Baked Potato; and Viki Halagarda, Vegetable Beef. In addition to the wonderful soup was the caring way Denise and Jenny treat their customers. They hold babies, give hugs of comfort to people in need and greet everyone coming in like they hadnt seen him or her in years. The funds raised through the cook-off go to Terris Terrors, a group of local people who participate in the Walk MS, scheduled April 9 this year. The team is headed by Wendy Montgomery, whose mother passed away in 2011 after battling multiple sclerosis for many years. MSS uses funds to pay for research, advocate for patients with MS, provide education and offer programs and services that help people suffering from the disease. At 5 p.m., following the cook-off, I attended Rev it UP for Joe at St. John the Baptist gymnasium. It was a fund-raiser for the family of Joe Bryant, who died in 2015 after a long struggle with cancer. Deb Walton organized the event and I couldnt begin to count the number of volunteers who helped serve, call out raffle numbers, cook, clean or anything else needing accomplished. The fare was spaghetti with bread sticks and a wide variety of desserts. Yum. There were also baskets filled with goodies to take chances on winning. When the evening was done, $14, 000 was raised to help the family deal with medical bills and other expenses. That is a lot of money for a small town to raise. The next morning, the Mynard Liberty Methodist church was trying to get the word out about the McClellan family, who recently moved to Plattsmouth and rented the home a fire gutted on Feb. 22. The family of seven-plus needs everything including another house to rent. They need clothes, housewares, toiletries, furniture and toys. The children have no toys to play with. Church members treated the family to a potluck lunch with everything from shrimp to roast beef and all the fixings. The church board plans to meet and discuss how they can best help the family. Any donations to the cause will be appreciated. While I was at the church, Bob Heckman, a Plattsmouth firefighter and member of the church, talked with me about the familys needs. I stole a sentence from him for this column. We dont have the biggest Congregation, Bob said, but of all the churches in the state of Nebraska, we have the biggest hearts. I have seen such generosity throughout Cass County. Although its not the largest county in the state or nation, its residents just may have the biggest hearts when it comes to helping others. Arianne Gesell is one of 171 students from Northwestern College who will travel across the United States and overseas for the colleges annual Spring Service Projects (SSP) March 514. This years teams will serve at 12 sites. International destinations include the Netherlands, Haiti and Nicaragua. In Amsterdam, students will live and work at two Christian youth hostels, sharing their faith with guests from around the world. The team in Haiti will teach children and provide manual labor, while those in Nicaragua will do construction work, distribute food and help lead a vacation Bible school in the impoverished area of Bluefields. Teams in the U.S. will travel to Minnesota, California and throughout the South. In Minnesota, one group will join Urban Ventures in Minneapolis, where they will participate in work projects, serve as tutors, and help with a street patrol ministry and youth events. Another team will travel to the Grand Portage Indian Reservation, where they will facilitate a day of learning for local youth that will focus on leadership development. In California, students will partner with Emmanuel Reformed Church in Paramount to paint homes, provide manual labor and build relationships in a nearby gang-ridden community. Additional U.S. service opportunities include tutoring and recreational programs in Jonesboro, Ark.; after-school programs and construction projects in New Orleans; and construction, tutoring and community cleanup in Opelousas, La. Still other Northwestern students will assist with after-school programs, home visits and a thrift store in Cary, Miss.; volunteer in local schools and after-school programs in Jacksonville, Fla.; and serve with a ministry to ex-prisoners in Lindale, Texas. Gesell is a senior biology health professions major at Northwestern College. She will serve with Urban Ventures in Minneapolis, Minn. Gesell is the daughter of Gregory and Jodean Gesell of Fremont. Have you put the 2016 Friends of the Keene Memorial Library Annual Book Sale on your calendar yet? April 7, 8, 9 and 10 are highlighted on my calendar and I am excited to see what has been donated to this years sale. Speaking of this years donations, you have exactly one week to get busy and gather your contributions. The Friends are accepting donations until Monday, March 7. In preparation for this event, I have been clearing volumes off my bookshelves I know I wont read again and gathering those books to donate to the sale. As I box them up, I am also making room for those volumes I expect I will bring home in April. It is important to realize that not all reading material is appropriate for donation. Last October, the Friends of the Library revised the list of what they will accept. As you clean keep in mind the guidelines they have issued. Im sure that list is based on what they know will sell and what is left on the tables when they clean up after the last day. When it comes to magazines, the Friends would love to accept your home decorating, home repair, cooking and special interest subject publications. They will not accept Readers Digest, National Geographic, news magazines, weeklies or any magazine older than 2 years. They will gladly take encyclopedias that are 10 years old or less, but they cant seem to sell your old textbooks. They will gladly accept your CDs and DVDs, but ask that you find another place to donate your VHS and cassette tapes. Of course they will accept cookbooks and Im glad they do. Last year I found a gem on the cookbook table. I am from South Sioux City and therefore very familiar with the Palmer Candy Company of Sioux City. Their products were part of my growing up years. Cherry Bings are made by Palmer and were a favorite for my family because they were always so fresh coming from a facility just across the river. So when I saw a cookbook from the Palmer Candy Company, I had to see what recipes there might be from my old stomping grounds. Palmers Candies, A Collection of Favorite Recipes was published in 2010 and contains a wonderful selection of recipes. It is worth so much more than the little bit of money I paid for it. While I didnt know any of the contributors to this relatively current book, I did find some wonderful recipes to enjoy. Here are several I have enjoyed since last years sale. Hawaiian Lemonade 1 can (6-ounce) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed 1 can (12-ounce) apricot nectar 1 can (12-ounce) unsweetened pineapple juice 2 cups ginger ale Ice cubes 6 ounces water Add lemonade concentrate and 6 ounces water to a large pitcher. Mix in fruit juices and ginger ale. Stir in ice and serve. You can add more ginger ale if you like. German Slaw 1 small head red cabbage 1 small head green cabbage 1 medium red onion 1 medium white onion 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup cider vinegar 1 teaspoon dry mustard 2 tablespoon sugar 3/4 cup vegetable oil Thinly slice cabbage and onions; separate onion rings. Layer cabbage and onions in large bowl, liberally salting each layer. Pour 1 cup sugar on top of layers and let stand for 30 minutes. Simmer 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon dry mustard, 2 tablespoons sugar and three-fourths cup vegetable oil for a few minutes and pour over slaw. Chill, covered, 24 hours in refrigerator. Drain liquid before serving and toss vegetables. Saucy Glazed Chicken 1/3 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce 1/3 cup Dijon mustard 1/3 cup honey 3 pounds chicken parts Combine hot sauce, mustard and honey in well greased 3-quart baking dish. Dip chicken pieces in mixture, arrange skin-side up in a single layer. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 45 minutes, basting occasionally. Serve chicken with sauce from pan. Recipe Note: I really enjoy the sweet heat of this recipe. It is so good. Strawberry Margarita Cake 3/4 cup strawberry-flavored non-alcoholic margarita drink mix 1 box white cake mix Vegetable oil called for on cake mix ingredient list Egg whites called for on cake mix ingredient list 1 teaspoon grated lime peel 1 carton (8-ounce) frozen whipped topping, thawed Strawberries Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of a 13-inch-by-9-inch-by-2-inch cake pan. Add enough water to drink mix to measure 1 and one-fourth cups. In a large bowl, beat cake mix, drink mix, oil and egg whites on low for 2 minutes. Pour into pan. Bake and cool as directed on box. Stir lime peel into whipped topping. Spread over cake. Garnish with strawberries. Store covered in refrigerator. Quote of the Week Throughout the history of Palmer Candy, one thing has never changed. Thats the companys dedication to creating excellent quality and value in Palmer confectionery products. -- Introduction to Palmers Candies, A Collection of Favorite Recipes I-WIN (Informed Women In Nebraska) will be meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Midland University, Ninth and Pebble streets, in Fremont. The guest speaker will be Vicki Hahn. She has a broad background as a corporate vice president, owner/manager of her own private business, professional association president and a volunteer at the Assure Womens Center in Omaha, counseling women in need since 2004. In 2012, Hahn co-founded two Omaha organizations. Omaha Liberty Ladies educates women politically, as well as providing monthly speakers on specific topics of interest, while advocating for conservative causes with state and federal representatives. As a leader of ACT for America (a grass-roots organization focusing on terrorism in America), in 2012 Hahn also co-founded Global Faith Institute, an Omaha-based non-profit dedicated to public awareness of Islams influence in Omaha and throughout the world. Reservations are $6 per person and are due by Friday. Reservations can be made by calling 402-721-9530 or 402-727-5992, or by emailing IWIN.Nebraska@gmail.com. Honoring your reservations is necessary as the group is charged for all reservations made. A local construction business suffered thousands of dollars of loss after falling victim to a burglary late Sunday evening or early Monday morning, Fremont Police reported. Officers were dispatched at 10:30 a.m. Monday to a business located in the 300 block of East Washington Street where it was determined that an unknown person or persons entered multiple buildings and a trailer, removing pieces of property. The total loss is estimated to be as much as $6,000. The investigation is ongoing. Anybody with information regarding this crime is being asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 402-727-4002. Women, men and children in more than 170 countries and regions will celebrate World Day of Prayer on Friday. This year, the women of the WDP Committee of Cuba calls everyone into worship considering the words Receive children, receive me. Everyone is invited to learn about Cubas history and rich cultural diversity. Swiss International Hotels and Resorts enter Rwanda with Villa Portofino hotel in Kigali. As from March 1, the hotel will undergo re-branding and training initiatives for a period of 3 months. The new name of the hotel will be: Swiss International Villa Portofino Kigali. Swiss International Villa Portofino Kigali is a 51 room upscale hotel located in the upscale Nyarutarama area of Kigali. The area is known for its proximity to all relevant Government offices, Diplomatic Missions NGO offices as well as residents of Gacuriro, Kagugu and Kibagabaga and also in close proximity of the new Convention Center of Kigali. The Swiss International will offer besides the 51 oversized rooms and suites, a Swiss Cafe Restaurant & Lounge, a TED & Co Bar & Lounge, a large Eventives center for meetings and events and an Inspirations Pool & Gym. On the premises the hotel also offers a Spa for body treatments, sauna and massages. TF-GAY is the name of WOW airs newest Airbus A330-300 aircraft. In a show of support to the LGBT community, Icelands ultra-low-cost transatlantic airline will fly from Reykjavik (KEF) to San Francisco (SFO) with TF-GAY. The airline begins flights on 9 June. WOW air is known for taking a humorous approach to their aircraft registrations and its founder and CEO Skuli Mogensen says the naming of TF-GAY in support of the LGBT community is in keeping with the companys ethos. WOW air is an airline for the people and one of our most important goals is to lower fares in order to enable everybody to travel the world and get to know different cultures. We wholeheartedly support queer peoples fight for rights. Just as we support equal rights for everybody, no matter their gender, religion, ethnicity or culture. When we announced we were going to start flying to San Francisco, one of our pilots approached me and suggested the TF-GAY registry. I immediately thought it was a great idea and fitted with our approach to using words relating to family members in the spirit of inclusiveness. Furthermore the name fits perfectly into this concept of ours to create a modern family out of our air planes from the names we give them, he points out, referring to the companys tradition of giving its planes names that represent family members; that is TF-MOM, TF-DAD, TF-SIS, TF-BRO, TF-SON and TF-KID. WOW is basically MOM upside down and everybody loves their mom! Since day one, weve emphasised joy and friendliness in our services because we want everybody to feel welcome in the WOW family. And we think TF-GAY fits right in with our modern family concept. WOW airs route to San Francisco is the first of two new Californian services this year with flights to Los Angeles (LAX) to begin a week later on 15 June, both currently available to book from just 245 one way. Flights currently depart for Reykjavik (KEF) from London Gatwick with routes to be added from Bristol in May and from Edinburgh in July. From the airlines Icelandic hub, the Californian routes will then be serviced by the new, wide-bodied A330s - the largest aircraft to be used by an Icelandic airline with a single-class configuration that can carry 340 passengers. ICCA -the International Congress and Convention Association- announces a new annual event, where ICCA members and international association executives will learn from each other and from a top faculty of experts about key aspects of bidding and decision-making, organising, promoting, and designing international association meetings. The Association Meetings Programme (AMP), ICCAs new annual event, is replacing the old Research, Sales and Marketing Programme (RSMP), which was open to ICCA members only. ICCAs Board of Directors chose Stavanger, Norway out of three shortlisted bids at Meetings Africa last week. Mr. Per Morten Haarr, Convention Director of the Stavanger Convention Bureau: Were thrilled that ICCA has chosen Stavanger to host the first ever AMP! This will also be the first global ICCA event to be held in Scandinavia since the 2002 Congress, and we know that our ICCA friends from across the region and beyond will be eager to participate. Stavanger has built an excellent reputation in the international association meetings sector over the past 20 years, and we plan to use that experience and expertise to deliver a programme that the participating international association executives and ICCA members will remember for many years to come! ICCA CEO Martin Sirk on why ICCA created this new event: Success in tomorrows meetings industry will increasingly depend on an ability to partner and collaborate with clients and with other suppliers. To avoid becoming caught up in a commoditised marketplace where low cost and standardised services are the norm, ICCA members need to learn new skills and adopt new business concepts. Likewise, to reach the often ambitious objectives of their meetings and deliver ROI to their delegates, international association executives need to learn how to build more constructive relationships with destination marketers, venues, PCOs, and airlines. AMP aims to bridge this gap: to build mutual understanding of objectives and business cultures; to identify practical new ways to work together; to generate ideas for improving the effectiveness and value of the meetings themselves. The AMP is not a new meeting concept, Martin Sirk continues. For many years we have been running an event linked to IMEX in Frankfurt called the ICCA Association Expert Seminar (AES). Enormously popular and always with a waiting list, this event brings together 20 association executives and 40 ICCA members, for a structured series of discussions on issues of mutual interest. AMP could be described as an AES on steroids! There will be a larger faculty; more in-depth education sessions; tougher group exercises; more opportunities for private consultations and advice; extensive guidance on using all of ICCAs research tools and business services; and inspirational meeting design concepts. Its important to note that this is not a workshop or hard-sales event: the emphasis is strongly on education, mutual understanding and relationship building. The inaugural edition of the AMP aims to attract 150 participants: 120 members; 20 associations (hosted by the host destination) and 10 faculty members. These small numbers enable the delivery of highly personalised sessions and advice to every attendee. AMP will take place from 5-7 July for ICCA members, while associations will start a day earlier (4-7 July). ICCA members and associations can soon register on www.amp2016.iccaworld.org. The 14th annual IMEX Politicians Forum will takes place at Hotel Villa Kennedy Frankfurt on Tuesday 19 April. This unique high-level event will once again bring together up to 40 politicians, including national and regional government ministers, and political influencers with around 80 industry leaders. They will exchange knowledge and best practice on how governments, regions and cities can make the most of the wide-ranging benefits that investment in conferences and meetings can bring, from income and employment to inward investment, education and scientific advancement. This year the keynote speaker will be Hon Minister Stuart Ayres, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events for New South Wales, Australia. In a speech entitled: How Meetings and Events Can Fulfil Political Optimism, he will focus on several key areas including the importance of matching business events with trade, investment and export policies. Minister Ayres said: Im excited to address the Politicians Forum at IMEX in Frankfurt on the major issues affecting our industry. Business events are key drivers for our State stimulating the knowledge economy; supporting trade and investment; talent acquisition and retention; and fostering sustainable future growth. The event is a full day programme with an exclusive VIP guided tour of the IMEX trade show and visits to delegates own national or regional stands before and after attending the Opening Ceremony. The afternoon Forum will open with a Global Exchange of Best Practice at national and regional levels. The Hon Minister Ragnheidur Elin Arnadottir, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Iceland will chair the national level meeting while John Greenway, former Member of Parliament in the UK will lead the regional discussions. All the delegates will then join together for the main Forum, a Global Exchange of Future Practice, moderated by Michael Hirst OBE, in which all the politicians, government officials and industry leaders will discuss how destinations are preparing for the challenges over the next 15 years and sharing new ideas and thinking. The IMEX Politicians Forum has over the years proved to be a major catalyst in advancing the understanding of the critical role that the meetings industry plays in many aspects of national and regional development. As Hon Ragnheidur Elin Arnadottir, Minister of Industry and Commerce for Iceland commented after taking part in the IMEX Politicians Forum 2015. There is tremendous economic value and intellectual capital gain associated with a strong meetings and conference industry. Therefore it is crucial for governments to respond with a focused strategy to make the most of these business opportunities to benefit their destination. The IMEX Politicians Forum provides a unique platform for governments wishing to improve their competitiveness. Carina Bauer, CEO of The IMEX Group said: The many senior politicians and government officials from across the globe attending the Politicians Forum this year are testament to the increasing recognition of the important role that the meetings and incentive travel industry plays in driving economic development particularly in knowledge economies. We are pleased with the strong programme that is set to develop further understanding and relationships between the industry and governments around the world. A new edition of the Global Game Jam has come to an end. The event, which took place between the 29th and the 31st of January, is considered one of the largest in the world within the video game industry. And this year, not only did it break attendance records, but it also increased the number of sites and games made, and the food consumed almost reached the Guinness Record! In 2009, the first Global counted on the participation of 23 countries and 370 games were made. Fortunately, the number of games presented during the last edition grew to 6857 in 48 hours by 93 countries. In average, there were 73 games presented this year Not bad if we compare this number with the 16 games made in 2009 by each country! It is true that quantity does not mean quality and surely many of the productions do not reach the qualifying of "good". But remember that the spirit of this event is not about making the best game in the world, but about meeting new people in the business to work on a proposal. If this team work is successfully achieved, the participation and the project will definitely worth. But this article is not about the spirit and meaning of the GGJ, so lets discus some numbers obtained. To begin with Although according to the organizers the number of participants was of 93 countries, the data shown in the official web page said 95. What it may have happened is that the remaining two were not able to formalize the creation of their own site and, therefore, did not enter in the final count. So, 93 countries against 78 who participated in the 2015 is a significant growth of 19%. I would also like to highlight the first time participation of Paraguay (1 site, 6 games and 56 registered jammers) among other South American countries that took part of the event. Grouping the countries by continent numbers are as follows: Europe: 37 countries; Asia: 24; South and Central America with 18; Africa with 10 and last Oceania and North America each of them with 2. This time I'd like to focus South and Central America because it is the region I feel closer to with Puro Games, a TV program I produce and lead with news updates about Latin American video games, and I'm also interested in observing the development in this part of the world. It's not bad that the number of games of Latin American countries in the last edition of the Global Game Jam represents the 13.38% of total games (113 games less than Asia, who had six more countries). But if we consider that the total percentage of games provided by Latin America in 2015 was of 13.49% of all games, with the absence of 3 countries, there wasnt actually a significant growth. There were more countries, more sites, more participants, more games (+25%) and also an increased in the participation of Latin American countries compared to previous years; and still then, the "quota" provided was reduced an 0.11%. If we look at the results thrown since 2009, we can see that the highest point of contribution of games was in 2014 with 14.25%. We are talking about a reduction of 0.87% since that year. The number of games made in the GGJ 2016 by country in Latin America is as follows: There were also 3 Latin American countries who managed to settle in the TOP 20 games production: Brazil (3rd), Mexico (11th) and Argentina (15th). The following Latin American country on the list is Chile, ranked 30th. The TOP 10 is composed of six European countries, two American, one from Oceania and one from Latin America. Where do we come from and where do we go In Latin America there were 184 games more than 2015 and 23 sites were joined. The country that joined more sites was Mexico (8), followed by Brazil (7) and Colombia (3). In comparison to 2015, the country that showed the highest growth in production was Colombia, which went from 13 games made in 2015 to 35 in the last edition, showing an increase of 169%. The other country that also had a marked growth in this area was Chile, who moved from 19 games in 2015 to 41 games in 2016, raising their production a 115%. Another protagonist that stood out is Mexico, which went from producing and presenting 114 games in 2015 to 158 games in 2016 (an increase of 38.5% in their creations) and ousted Argentina from the second place obtained in 2015, which produced only 8 more games this year. Unfortunately, we have to say that the lowest performance in this Jam in Latin America was Costa Ricas, which reduced considerably its production during 2015. Its participants made 8 games in 2 locations, while last year the numbers were 15 and 3. Jamaica and Peru also reduced their game production numbers. Worldwide speaking, the country where no games were produced was Cambodia, having only one site with one participant. The average of games made by site in Latin American was 8.58. Compared to 8.74 in 2015 it gives us a minimum downward trend, but we should not worry about these decimals, especially considering that since 2009 this number has been suffering from some strange variations. Another interesting fact that emerges from the Global Game Jam refers to games development according to the number of the population. In the first place, and far away from the second, is Finland ranking with 40.81 sets per number of inhabitants (5,439,000). The second place is occupied Lithuania 31.79 (2,956,000) and complete the podium Netherlands with 27.22 sets per number of inhabitants (6,318,000). The first Latin American country that appears is Uruguay, ranked 27th, with an average of 3.52 games for its 3,407,000 inhabitants. Latin American ranking is composed as follows: To sum up There is many more data that could be presented based on what has been already collected, and interesting trends could be predicted by comparing the 2016 edition of the event with previous years. This research does not intend to be alarmist regarding the downward trends noted in some graphics but quite the opposite: it is undeniable the impetus that Latin America participation has in this event. Regardless of small ups and downs, we can see that the majority of the data shows a stable and promising trend, with participation growing little by little but knowing that every new contribution helps strengthening the role played by the Latin American community in each new edition of the Global Game Jam. The incorporation of new countries and the higher number of sites within already existing participants prove the continuously growing interest in game development. This trend inevitably affects the private sectors, which incorporate new professionals to the industry and strengthen ties between countries. In this regard, I would like to highlight the outstanding evolution of Latin American countries, which is shown in the Global and the participation in the world industry. Nowadays it is no surprise to find out that a recognized game was made in Mexico, Chile, Argentina or Uruguay, and it does not seem unusual either to find names of Latin American game companies competing head to head with various international studies. We are tired of listening that the Latin American industry is in growing process never reaching its state of "maturity". In fact, there is probably a long journey ahead. But considering the statistics presented above Im convinced about the fact that we are closer than ever to the place that the global industry has for us. It's just a matter of time. (*All data were extracted from the official website of Global Game Jam. Graphics were done by the author) Going to GDC 2016? You could qualify for on-site job interviews with major companies attending the show! Qualified job seekers using Gamasutras industry-leading job board now have the chance to get their job board profiles and resumes in front of high-profile game companies exhibiting at GDC 2016. To apply, simply follow the link below: (A free Gamasutra job seeker account is required.*) If you do qualify, employers will contact you directly with meeting information. Meetings will be on-site in San Francisco at GDC 2016, which takes place March 14-18, 2016. Further questions can be answered by emailing [email protected]. Applicants who meet the job requirements and qualifications of employers will be contacted for an interview. Not everyone who registers will land an interview -- employers will be considering resumes based on discipline, location (or ability to re-locate), and experience. All candidates must have at least three years of experience. Recruiters who are interested in connecting with Gamasutra job board users can find more information here. *If you do not have a job seeker account, get started here. Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech. Quotes We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true. - Robert Wilensky It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong - Richard Feynman The general root of superstition is that men observe when things hit, and not when they miss, and commit to memory the one, and pass over the other. - Sir Francis Bacon When a whole nation is roaring Patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and purity of its heart. - Ralph Waldo Emerson Speculation is perfectly all right, but if you stay there you've only founded a superstition. If you test it, you've started a science. - Hal Clement No matter how many times a theory meets its tests successfully, there can be no certainty that it will not be overthrown by the next observation. This, then, is a cornerstone of modern natural philosophy. It makes no claim of attaining ultimate truth. In fact, the phrase "ultimate truth" becomes meaningless, because there is no way in which enough observations can be made to make truth certain and, therefore, "ultimate". - Isaac Asimov The government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion. - Treaty of Tripoli, passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate and signed by President John Adams (1797) I don't doubt the sincerity of dowsers, but even after we've demonstrated that they can't produce results that are any better than chance they'll still go away believing in their abilities... It is like the mother whose son is caught shoplifting on tape. She wonders why someone would want to frame her child by producing a fake video. - James Randi During many ages there were witches. The Bible said so. The Bible commanded that they should not be allowed to live. Therefore the Church ... imprisoned, tortured, hanged, and burned whole hordes and armies of witches, and washed the Christian world clean with their foul blood. Then it was discovered that there was no such thing as witches, and never had been. One does not know whether to laugh or to cry. - Mark Twain Aristotle maintained that women have fewer teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occurred to him to verify this statement by examining his wives' mouths. - Bertrand Russell A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything. - Friedrich Nietzsche I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends... that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them. - Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr. This is not about proof. Science does not use proof. We favor evidence, and the work consists largely of the slow accumulation of evidence in support of ideas, not magically potent proofs that establish an idea as unassailable. - PZ Myers No, people don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. - President Barack Obama The formula was very simple: build this really flexible, really open economy, tolerate creative destruction so dead capital is quickly redeployed to better ideas and companies, pour into it the most diverse, smart and energetic immigrants from every corner of the world and then stir and repeat, stir and repeat, stir and repeat, stir and repeat. - Shekhar Gupta We are prodding, challenging, seeking contradictions or small, persistent residual errors, proposing alternative explanations, encouraging heresy. We give our highest rewards to those who convincingly disprove established beliefs. - Carl Sagan We are all atheists about most of the gods that societies have ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further. - Richard Dawkins 120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. - Sam Harris To kill a man is not to defend a doctrine, but to kill a man. - Michael Servetus, burned at the stake in 1553 Democracy is not about majority rule; it is about minority rights. If there is no culture of not simply tolerating minorities, but actually treating them with equal rights, real democracy can't take root. - Thomas L. Friedman We cannot absolutely prove that those are in error who tell us that society has reached a turning point, that we have seen our best days. But so said all who came before us and with just as much apparent reason. - Thomas Macauley, 1830 It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important. - Martin Luther King, Jr. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven into an age of unreason if we dig deep into our history and remember we are not descended from fearful men. - Edward R. Murrow The deepest sin against the human mind is to believe things without evidence. Science is simply common sense at its best - that is, rigidly accurate in observation, and merciless to fallacy in logic. - Thomas Huxley There is no absurdity so obvious that it cannot be firmly planted in the human head if you only begin to impose it before the age of five, by constantly repeating it with an air of great solemnity. - Arthur Schopenhauer Because religious belief, or non-belief, is such an important part of every person's life, freedom of religion affects every individual. ... Erecting the "wall of separation between church and state," therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society. - President Thomas Jefferson To be elected in America, no matter from what party, the candidates have no choice but to year after year pledge to lower taxes further and further. We have become the nation of Ken and Barbie, looking good but very poor at the math. - Rack Jite Invisible Pink Unicorns are beings of great spiritual power. We know this because they are capable of being invisible and pink at the same time. Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them. - Steve Eley We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics. - President Franklin D. Roosevelt I have been attacked by Rush Limbaugh on the air, an experience somewhat akin to being gummed by a newt. It doesn't actually hurt, but it leaves you with slimy stuff on your ankle. - Molly Ivins In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican. - H. L. Mencken Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. - Winston Churchill About me I am a (Roman Catholic) priest of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. The views on this blog are my own, and do not represent the official views/position of the Archbishop of Atlanta or the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors to Christ! -- Pope John Paul II, homily for the inauguration of his Pontificate, October 22, 1978. Followers Gashwin? Gashwin Gomes is a pseudonymn. Way back, when I was seriously considering becoming Roman Catholic, some friends decided that I needed a proper "Mac" name ("Makapao" a somewhat derogatory term for a Goan Christian). Thus was born Gashwin Gomes. After linking the blog to my Google+ profile, I've started using my real name on here. Profile Fr. Gaurav Shroff Im a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Atlanta View my complete profile At midday on Friday 5 February, 2016 Julian Assange, John Jones QC, Melinda Taylor, Jennifer Robinson and Baltasar Garzon will be speaking at a press conference at the Frontline Club on the decision made by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on the Assange case. SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 29, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following the U.S. Air Force selection of AR1 for a Rocket Propulsion System award, Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD), named Dynetics of Huntsville, Alabama, as a key team member for the AR1 engine development. The AR1 engine is designed as a replacement for the Russian-built RD-180 engine, currently being used to launch Americas defense and national security assets on the Atlas V launch vehicle. AR1 is a 500,000 lbf thrust-class liquid oxygen/kerosene booster engine incorporating the latest technology, processes and materials. This engine is adaptable to current and future launch vehicles in development. The AR1 engine is the right catalyst for moving our nation away from Russian reliance and returning Americas preeminence as a propulsion leader, said Jim Simpson, senior vice president of Strategy and Business Development at Aerojet Rocketdyne. Our collaboration with Dynetics in developing key AR1 components is an essential element to having a certified engine in 2019. Dynetics has been an integral member of the AR1 development team over the last 18 months and, with this award, that cooperation will increase. Under a Teaming Agreement, Dynetics will supply elements of the AR1 engines main propulsion system, the ignition system and ground support equipment, as well as provide analysis support to critical engine designs. We are proud to be able to use Dynetics proven hardware fabrication capabilities and engineering expertise to join Aerojet Rocketdyne in this important endeavor, said Steve Cook, vice president for Corporate Development at Dynetics. Our large-scale manufacturing capabilities and extensive aerospace systems expertise, combined with Aerojet Rocketdyne's leading rocket engine technology, offer a fast and low risk way to end U.S. reliance on Russian space launch propulsion systems. Aerojet Rocketdyne and Dynetics have been collaborating on large engine programs for the past three years. Most recently, the companies performed testing of additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, for a key component of a one million pound thrust booster engine as part of the Space Launch System (SLS) Advanced Booster Engineering Demonstration and/or Risk Reduction (ABEDRR) contract. About Aerojet Rocketdyne Aerojet Rocketdyne is an innovative company delivering solutions that create value for its customers in the aerospace and defense markets. The company is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader that provides propulsion and energetics to the space, missile defense and strategic systems, tactical systems and armaments areas, in support of domestic and international markets. Additional information about Aerojet Rocketdyne can be obtained by visiting our websites at www.Rocket.com and www.AerojetRocketdyne.com. About Dynetics Dynetics provides responsive, cost-effective engineering, scientific and IT solutions to the national security, cybersecurity, satellite, launch, automotive and critical infrastructure sectors. Our portfolio features highly specialized technical services and a range of software and hardware products, including components, subsystems and complex end-to-end systems. The company of 1,500+ employee/owners is based in Huntsville, Alabama, and has offices throughout the U.S. For more information, visit www.dynetics.com. NEW YORK, Feb. 29, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Guggenheim Investments, the investment management division of Guggenheim Partners, today announced that the following Guggenheim exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have declared distributions. The table below summarizes the distribution for each ETF. Distributions Schedule Ticker Exchange Traded Fund Name Ex-Date Record Date Payable Date Total Rate Per Share BSCG Guggenheim BulletShares 2016 Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0188 BSCH Guggenheim BulletShares 2017 Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0258 BSCI Guggenheim BulletShares 2018 Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0288 BSCJ Guggenheim BulletShares 2019 Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0349 BSCK Guggenheim BulletShares 2020 Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0422 BSCL Guggenheim BulletShares 2021 Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0454 BSCM Guggenheim BulletShares 2022 Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0524 BSCN Guggenheim BulletShares 2023 Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0430 BSCO Guggenheim BulletShares 2024 Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0477 BSCP Guggenheim BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0438 Distributions Schedule Ticker Exchange Traded Fund Name Ex-Date Record Date Payable Date Total Rate Per Share BSJG Guggenheim BulletShares 2016 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0694 BSJH Guggenheim BulletShares 2017 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0847 BSJI Guggenheim BulletShares 2018 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0971 BSJJ Guggenheim BulletShares 2019 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.1019 BSJK Guggenheim BulletShares 2020 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.1065 BSJL Guggenheim BulletShares 2021 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.1091 BSJM Guggenheim BulletShares 2022 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0971 BSJN Guggenheim BulletShares 2023 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0800 GSY Guggenheim Enhanced Short Duration ETF1 03/01/16 03/03/16 03/07/16 $ 0.0497 1On September 30, 2013, Guggenheim Enhanced Short Duration Bond ETF changed its name to Guggenheim Enhanced Short Duration ETF. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. To the extent any portion of the distribution is estimated to be sourced from something other than income, such as return of capital, the source would be disclosed on a Section 19(a)-1 letter located on the Funds website under the Literature tab. Distributions may be comprised of sources other than income, which may not reflect actual fund performance. For more information, please visit http://www.guggenheiminvestments.com/products/etf. About Guggenheim Investments Guggenheim Investments is the global asset management and investment advisory division of Guggenheim Partners, with $198 billion1 in total assets across fixed income, equity, and alternative strategies. We focus on the return and risk needs of insurance companies, corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, consultants, wealth managers, and high-net-worth investors. Our 275+ investment professionals perform rigorous research to understand market trends and identify undervalued opportunities in areas that are often complex and underfollowed. This approach to investment management has enabled us to deliver innovative strategies providing diversification and attractive long-term results. Read a funds prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) carefully before investing. It contains the funds investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information, which should be considered carefully before investing. Obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus (if available) at http://guggenheiminvestments.com or call 800.820.0888. The referenced funds are distributed by Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC. Guggenheim Investments represents the investment management businesses of Guggenheim Partners, LLC (Guggenheim), which includes Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC ("GFIA") and Guggenheim Partners Investment Management (GPIM), the investment advisors to the referenced funds. Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC, is affiliated with Guggenheim, GFIA and GPIM. 1 Guggenheim Investments total asset figure is as of 12.31.2015. The assets include leverage of $11.976bn for assets under management and $0.487bn for assets for which we provide administrative services. Guggenheim Investments represents the following affiliated investment management businesses: Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC, Security Investors, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC, Guggenheim Real Estate, LLC, Transparent Value Advisors, LLC, GS GAMMA Advisors, LLC, Guggenheim Partners Europe Limited and Guggenheim Partners India Management. Question about undergrad issues.. [ #permalink So this is a bit of an odd question and I haven't been able to find any similar questions about this. I graduated nearly 4 years ago from UG and want to apply to some MBA programs next year. In my last 2 years of UG though I was sanctioned twice due to "academic misconduct". Really what happened both times is that someone copied parts of my code for assignments and submitted it as their own resulting in both of us getting sanctioned. In both cases I believe nothing was noted on my transcript and would be noted in my "academic record". Now I'm wondering how much would this have an effect on my applications, if at all? I'm planning on applying to the MBA program of the school I did UG in. I don't know if adcoms of the same school have access to any academic records aside from transcripts. This nearly slipped my mind as it's been over 4 years since it happened. I just realized it's something to consider when I apply and I don't want these mistakes to ruin any chances I may have. Edit: I graduated from one a top Canadian university and looking to apply to Canadian programs primarily (Western/UToronto/York). I've heard of US schools requiring disclosures and even doing background checks, but not sure about Canada. BANG BANG CHICKEN AND SHRIMP IN YOUR FACE!!!! Yes, it's true, Cheesecake Factory finally looked at the rich culinary options in New York City and realized that their brand of hundreds of menu itemsaccentuated by a section devoted entirely to cheese-based dessertswas exactly what was missing from the landscape. Praise be. The hokily-decorated restaurant will be making its NYC debut inside the Elmhursts Queens Center mall, reports QNS.com, with a proposed 180 seats inside plus 48 more outside. If the chain's notorious wait times are a problem in places like Boca Raton, Florida, just imagine what it'll be like here. The mallification of NYC asidehey, at least this is opening in a mall, right?Cheesecake Factory is the bomb. Their salads are enormous, their pastas are delicious and that warm bread they serve before the meal? Shut the front door. If we're going to be invaded by corporate restaurants, at least it's this one, where the food is (shockingly) really fucking good. Evictions are down to their lowest rate in a decade after two years of increased funding for free tenant attorneys, according to the tenant rights group Housing Court Answers [pdf]. Last year, 21,988 households were evicted, down from 26,857 the years prior, and close to the 21,945 of 2005. That's still 60 evictions a day, but it is substantially lower than the 28,849 in 2013, Michael Bloomberg's last year in office. The change follows the city committing $46 million to tenant legal services, providing lawyers to some but not nearly all tenants coming through housing court. "The money the city put in for lawyers is working," Judge Fern Fisher told the New York Times. Mayor de Blasio has made rental vouchers, emergency rent subsidies for tenants at risk of eviction, and attorneys to combat tenant harassment cornerstones of his efforts to staunch the flow of New Yorkers into homelessness. "Some combination of things is working," de Blasio told reporters at a press conference yesterday. For some background, 42 percent of New York renters are considered "rent-burdened," meaning they put more than 30 percent of their income towards rent [pdf]. Of those, half are "severely rent-burdened," paying more than half of their income. Landlord attorneys typically bring eviction cases over alleged nonpayment, and tenants, who may be withholding rent because of exploding electrical sockets or roach infestations, or whose rent checks the management company may not be cashing, face an uphill battle in trying to advocate for themselves, as people in civil court do not have the right to an attorney. This can push the full financial burden of housing the at-risk families onto city taxpayers, whose homeless shelters are at a record population of nearly 60,000. As the New Yorker wrote recently in its wide-angle look at eviction: When tenants have legal representation, their chances of keeping their homes increase dramatically. A program that ran in the South Bronx from 2005 to 2008, for example, provided legal assistance to more than thirteen hundred families and prevented eviction in more than eighty-five per cent of the cases, saving New York City hundreds of thousands of dollars in estimated shelter costs. Several legal services organizations provide free legal help to tenants, and they've been able to dramatically up their headcount with the mayor's additional funding. A Legal Services NYC manager said that his organization alone has added 90 housing staffers since de Blasio took office, most of them attorneys. The lawyers are able to help develop back rent payment plans, dispute overcharges, and fight back in instances of neglected maintenance and harassment. A lawyer for the rent-stabilized landlord lobbying group the Rent Stabilization Association claimed that eviction is not the goal of filing eviction papers, getting paid rent money is. The lawyer, Mitchell Posilikin, told the Times that the decrease in evictions is "only a movement in the right direction if it means that owners are receiving the rent they need to operate their buildings." The city's health department has indefinitely shut down all of the pools at the Korean mega-spa Spa Castle in College Point, Queens, concluding a special investigation launched earlier this month after a six-year-old girl's hair became stuck in a pool vent, nearly causing her to drown. Health officials said they acquired surveillance footage of the incident on Monday, which shows inadequate resuscitation efforts by spa staff. The department also found that the pool vents drew "excessive" suctionstrong enough to pull the victim under water and hold her thereand that both spa pools had been altered without approvals. Witnesses told ABC that the girl's hair got stuck in an underwater vent on the afternoon of February 19th, and that she was blue when she was pulled out of the water. Another spa patron reportedly performed CPR on her, although Spa Castle said later that day that three employees present today were certified in CPR. "The Health Department has ordered the closure of all pools at Spa Castle in Queens after an ongoing investigation found the facility was not following safety standards," said DOH spokesman Chris Miller in a statement. "The facility's pools will remain closed until a revised safety plan has been put into place, and the Health Department is satisfied that Spa Castle is compliant." EMS responded to the scene at 1:43 p.m. on February 19th, according to the FDNY. Upon arrival, they encountered the six-year-old girl already removed from the water. She was transported to New York-Presbyterian Queens in serious condition. Spa Castle has been slapped with numerous health and safety violations in the past, for failing to maintain an up-to-date safety plan and falling below the required number of pool supervisors. In December 2014, after an elderly man was discovered face down in a hot tub at Spa Castle in Queens and later diedfirst responders said he likely suffered a heart attackwitnesses said that no one immediately noticed when he went under, and spa staff had to go get a booklet with instructions on how to perform CPR. Spa Castle spokesperson Stephanie Chon stated after that incident that "safety precautions are clearly posted in our facilities and the staff in the area is CPR certified." Spa Castle's slightly pricier midtown location, Premier 57, was shut down last January only a month after it opened, when the health department found it to be operating without a permit. It took about six months for the operation to get its act together. Unlike the Queen's location, Premier 57 does not allow children under the age of 10 in its facilities. Spa Castle did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its emergency response and CPR protocols, or its plans for updating its pools and safety plan. [UPDATE 3:30 p.m.]: A spokeswoman for Spa Castle said this afternoon that the child was pulled from the jet pool by another patron, and added that the pool was a posted no-swimming zone. "The pools at Spa Castle College Point will be closed until a third party analysis is complete," said the spokeswoman in a statement. "Spa Castle remains in compliance with all applicable laws.... Our staff is trained to follow safety protocol and patron safety precautions are clearly posted in our facilities. When our facility has received a citation, the issue has been swiftly and purposefully corrected." Our latest installment of Quick Bites brings us to a 9-seat soon-to-be hot spot in Nolita. THE VIBE The most important thing to know about the set-up here at Mr. Donahue's is that the place is tiny. There's a bar with five fixed, backless stools (one of which is awkwardly placed around the counter's corner, semi-smooshed against the wall) and a single four top in the corner, outfitted with those same style stools because real chairs would wind up blocking the way to the bathroom. That adds up to NINE people who can eat here at once. Which, considering this brand new "diner" is run by Ann Redding and Matt Danzer of the always-mobbed, Michelin-starred, Thai-food spot Uncle Boon's, you can count on considerable wait times once word gets out. As at Uncle Boon's, the space is charmingly tchotchked, with both odd eBay finds from the 1940s and '50s (love the wicker gibbon) as well as personal family mementos from the real-life Mr. Donahue, who was an NYC cab driver, an NYPD detective, and Danzer's grandfather. The music is retro Americana, ranging from big band stuff to doo-wop. The paper placemats look lacy, the china is from your grandmother's cabinet, and the service is friendly and professional. In a neighborhood overrun with sceney, screamy spots, one can only hope the pleasant, conversation-friendly atmosphere of Mr. Donahue's can remain exactly that. (Scott Lynch/Gothamist) THE BITES The menu takes its structure from the classic "meat-and-three" meals of the South, though the dishes themselves are all over the culinary map. Your first assignment is to choose your main, and it's a tough one, because all four that I tried (and there are only five) were terrific. The Rotisserie Chicken main is a half bird, the meat rich and remarkably juicy (even the breast!), the skin lightly browned and pleasantly crisp. If you're in the mood for red meat, the thick slab of Roast Beef totally satisfies: served medium, the tender meat is surrounded by a ring of charred fat and salty crust. I don't usually care for "Chicken Fried" preparations because the breading tends to overwhelm (and hide) lifeless meat, but Danzer's gamey, sweet Pork Cheeks are delicious, the pig face more than holding its own within the crunchy coating. My neighbor at the bar offered me one of her Swedish American Meatballs, so of course I accepted, and was glad I did. This is what I'll be getting next time. Admission price to all of the above includes your choice of sauce, a tactic which can be a cop out, but in Danzer's kitchen these are welcome complements rather than coverups. The Spicy Avocado does indeed pack heat, and goes well with the chicken; the Steak Sauce has a nice horseradish bite and thus is the obvious choice for the beef; and the Honey Mustard Seed avoids this concoction's usual too-sugary mess and makes a great dip for the fried cheeks. And then there are the sides! You get one with the cost of your main, and additional sides (you'll want at least one more) are $6 each. I ate most of this section, and there were no duds. The rich and genuinely fiery Spicy Crab Imperial, served in a little tinfoil shell with a trio of saltines, has an appetizer feel to it, as does the lively Egg Drop Soup, which is almost too intense with tumeric and ginger. As far as the rest goes, the vegetables tend to be more interesting than the starches. Among the standouts are the "Reds" salad of chewy rice, quinoa and pickled cabbage; the Jerk Mushrooms, meaty and redolent with the West Indian staple; and the Veg Medley, with a shout out especially to the sweet Rainbow Chard. Beer, wine, coffee, tea, and a single boozy dessert round out Mr. Donahue's menu. (Scott Lynch/Gothamist) THE VERDICT Locals will be able to enjoy take-out and delivery soonthe restaurant's still in soft-open modebut destination diners should definitely get here for Danzer's first-rate meat-and-three's in the near future. With food this good, those nine seats are not going to be there for the taking for long. Mr. Donahue's is located at 203 Mott Street between Spring and Kenmare, and is open daily for dinner from 5:00 to 11:00 p.m. NO CASH. Credit or Debit cards only. (646-850-9480; mrdonahues.com) We rely on your support to make local news available to all Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images(NEW YORK) For years after 9/11, top American officials proclaimed Osama bin Laden a man on the run and incapable of overseeing al Qaeda. But newly declassified files taken from his compound in Pakistan and obtained by ABC News show he was a "hands on" boss until the end, firing off hundreds of memos, letters and video messages containing explicit and detailed orders for his lieutenants, along with personal, security-obsessed missives for his family members. "Bin Laden was very hands on with al Qaeda's day-to-day operations," a senior intelligence official familiar with the documents said on Monday, "but he seemed somewhat out of touch." The al Qaeda leader, who had a $27 million bounty on his head, did it all using a network of trusted couriers carrying tiny, easily concealable cell phone computer chips to carry his communications back and forth from his hideout in Abbottabad to relatives held in Iran, media outlets and his lieutenants in Somalia, Afghanistan, North Africa, Iraq and many other places. Bin Laden himself explained how it worked in letters such as one in early 2011 to one of his wives, seeking her advice on how to exploit the news media to hype the triumph of the upcoming tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. "I will ask the brother with you to buy you a computer and accessories. I am enclosing to you everything on my computer in terms of statements or ideas. I hope that you review them and give me your impressions. I will also ask for the brother to buy SIM cards that you can use to communicate with me and your messages. What you write and tell me in terms of ideas, I will include in the statements," bin Laden told her. "Of course you know how important they are and how we need to exploit [9/11] in the media as the embodiment of the victories of Muslims. He often inquired about his children and what they were being taught in school, gave advice on avoiding security surveillance once fearing his wife may have been bugged without her knowledge and made arrangements to move his relatives discreetly between countries and regions. The letters indicate his wife Khairiah was able to send her responses back to her husband. For years, former President George W. Bush and his advisers spoke of bin Laden as "hiding in a cave" and dodging missiles from CIA drones. One senior Bush administration official said in a 2004 speech that bin Laden "spends most of his time trying to figure out how they're going to come for me and is this going to be the day? But by the time bin Laden settled in the Abbottabad house maintained by two Kuwaiti brothers around 2006 or 2007, the documents show he was operating more like a Fortune 500 chief executive. While most of the tranche of files bagged and seized by U.S. Navy SEALs who killed in 2011 him have not yet been cleared for public release, officials said most of the massive archive from hard drives and hard copies curiously are dated after 2009. The newly declassified files include directions to an al-Shabab leader in Somalia to attack French targets if American targets are not available, and to execute French hostages right before a national election to affect the political outcome. "If [French President Nicolas Sarkozy] continues to refuse to negotiate, then one week before the French presidential elections we will kill one of the men (hostages), the one with the lowest rank and position in the company," bin Laden wrote. At some point the plan changed and the hostages in question were released in 2013, two years after bin Ladens death. The subject of the Iranian regime, which has held some al Qaeda figures under house arrest while allowing other officials in the Sunni terror group to operate more freely since 2001, was raised often in al Qaeda's internal discussions and mentioned in 28 of the 113 documents reviewed by ABC News Monday. A 2007 letter by Bin Laden told his lieutenants that "pressure should be applied gradually" on the Iranian regime to release his family members and key al Qaeda leaders such as Abu Hafs al-Masri, a top figure who eventually was purportedly freed last fall from house arrest in Iran. "When you can, please let me know the reasons why the brothers coming from Iran were detained, God release them. I stress that anyone coming from there should take the necessary security precautions," Bin Laden wrote. A 2011 message released by the U.S. intelligence community in a batch last May from bin Laden to his wife Khairah asked her about dental work she received while under house arrest in Iran, appearing paranoid in his questioning about possible micro bugging or tracking devices being installed unknowingly in her teeth using a syringe. Bin Laden repeatedly stated he wanted her to join him but he worried she could be tailed. Several newly declassified letters appear to include follow-up correspondence with his wife, in which he explains to her that he and his men "horribly fear the filling you were given," because computer chips used to track people can be planted "under the skin." "I ask you to report to me in detail anything you find suspicious from any doctor in Iran, like if the syringe is the usual volume and its head has a slightly larger diameter than normal," bin Laden wrote in the January 2011 letter. Another dated only three months before SEAL Team Six operators shot the al Qaeda leader Abbottabad continued to ask his wife about her medical procedures, suggesting she get an x-ray or ultrasound to see if any tracking devices had been placed inside her body. He apologized for quizzing her, begging her to "please excuse me if I have worn you out with some of these details." In other letters, the mujahid-turned-hermit appears whiny, pleading with his loyalists to help all of his family members "under house arrest" in Iran. "We asked several times that they be let go so that they could go to Pakistan. Tehran did not respond to that, so maybe you could attempt to work on releasing them to the Waziristan area of Pakistan, where we can make sure they are all right there with these tribes," bin Laden wrote in an undated letter. Among the few documents pre-dating 2009 recovered from the house was Bin Laden's handwritten last will and testament. The 1990s-era will said he had "about $29 million" in the Sudan remaining of his personal wealth, presumably inheritance from his wealthy father's Saudi construction firm. Bin Laden lived in the Sudan and funded well-publicized road projects in the country until 1996, when he relocated back to Jalalabad, Afghanistan, now under Taliban rule. He envisioned carving up his then-fortune which was later likely confiscated by Sudanese authorities after his return to Afghanistan among his family members and giving $1 million each to two loyal lieutenants, Abu Hafs al-Mauritani and Abu Ibrahim al-Iraqi Saad Jarwar. "The bulk of it was to go into the pot ...for jihad," explained a senior intelligence official, who spent years studying the cache of al Qaeda documents. Bin Laden himself explained that he had "received twelve million dollars from my brother Abu Bakir Muhammad Bin (Laden) on behalf of Bin Laden Company for Investment in Sudan. I hope, for my brothers, sisters, and maternal aunts, to obey my will and to spend all the money that I have left in Sudan on Jihad, for the sake of Allah." After 9/11, his siblings went to great pains to distance themselves from their infamous brother Osama, with some even changing the English spelling of their English surname to "Binladin." The al Qaeda leader also singled out two of his many children for payments in the event of his death, including his heir apparent Saad Bin Laden. But Saad met his maker before his father did, perishing in a CIA drone strike inside Pakistan in 2009 after being released by Iranian officials from house arrest there. The documents also reveal that as far back as the mid-2000s there were fears from some in al Qaeda that some in the groups Iraq franchise were attempting to split from the core organization based in Pakistan. Years later, those concerns would prove prescient as al Qaeda-Iraq (AQI) evolved into ISIS and publicly turned on its parent group. Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. News Woman claims losing Dhs542000 due to relationship in Abu Dhabi The woman said she knew the appellee for a long time and trusted in him, so she lent him Dhs542,000, which he asked to pay off his financial obligations, as he claimed. MISSOULA -- One of his first tastes of freedom was pizza. Best I ever had in my life, Richard Raugust recalled of his familys stop at MacKenzie River Pizza in Missoula on Dec. 4. And it was good on its own. It wasnt just because I hadnt had pizza in a long time. He was on his way that day from the Sanders County Courthouse in Thompson Falls to a new life in Missoula after District Judge James Wheelis released Raugust from prison on his own recognizance. A few weeks earlier, Wheelis overturned Raugusts conviction and granted him a new trial for the murder of his best friend in July 1997. Raugust, who protested his innocence from the start, was sentenced to life plus 10 years for shooting Joe Tash in the head as he slept in Raugust's camper in the woods a few miles from Trout Creek. His release pending a new trial came after he spent, by his lawyers count, 18 years, four months and 11 days in state prisons at Deer Lodge, Shelby and Glendive. Nearly three months into his new life, Raugust is slowly coming to grips with cellphones and email. He filed an electronic application with the Poverello Center on Jan. 18 for a job at the Valor House. They still havent got back with me, so it could have slipped through the cracks, he said. Then again, I might not have even got it there. Raugust turned 50 on Feb. 1 and got married at the Missoula County Courthouse on Feb. 19. His brides name is Maria, and Raugust joked as he sat down for an interview three days later that he was technically on his honeymoon. He and Maria share a ground-floor apartment in the Rattlesnake that the Montana Innocence Project helped set him up with. We met a couple months ago on ChristianMingle(.com), of all places, he said. I found a really good lady to spend the rest of my life with. Brett Schandelson said hes happy with what hes seen of Raugusts progress on the outside. Hes assimilated back into society very well, he has a solid living situation, and hes got a lot of irons in the fire. Hes an extremely optimistic kind of guy, said Schandelson, of the Missoula law firm Tipp and Buley, who saw Raugusts case through pro bono for the Montana Innocence Project. Raugust drops in at the Montana Innocence Project offices at the University of Montanas School of Law a couple of days a week to help screen potential cases like his own. His was the first overturned verdict engineered by the nonprofit that was formed in 2008. Most often, his task is helping to read through the three or four letters the organization receives each week from people who want them to look at their cases, said Joe Bischof, executive director of the Innocence Project. For each letter, volunteers read through the information provided and then send back a questionnaire seeking more specific details about the case. Years behind bars Clad in flannel shirt, blue jeans and sandals, Raugust turned down the volume on a small television tuned to a classic rock music channel and spoke freely of his years in prison, his legal situation and his adaptation to life outside. He lives in Missoula under court restrictions while the legal scenarios play out. On the day he was released, the Montana Attorney Generals Office filed notice of appeal of Wheelis decision to overturn Raugusts conviction that the judge based, in part, on a Brady violation. He determined Raugust had been denied his right to due process because evidence, including the testimony of a sheriffs deputy, was withheld during his trial. The state disagreed and was recently granted an extension until March 13 by the Montana Supreme Court to file its opening brief. It could well take the rest of 2016 for the state court to receive and rule on the appeal. No trial date in district court can be set until the Supreme Court decides on the matter. Right now, were in limbo, Raugust said. They may file the appeal, they may not. And then I dont know if they kick it back to district court to go through a trial or not. We dont know. We dont care. Were ready to go right now. In the 1998 trial, prosecutors relied heavily on testimony of Rory Ross, who was also with Tash on the night he was murdered. The Montana Innocence Project maintains Ross told a self-serving lie and that he has admitted to killing Tash multiple times since the trial. Contacted at his Sanders County home Thursday, Ross said he was tired of being slandered. I really dont want to say nothing, he said. Sanders County Attorney Bob Zimmerman didnt respond to requests for comment. Poetry as passion I dont have a car yet, Raugust said. As soon as I get a job, somebodys going to co-sign for me, and Im going to get something to drive around. I dont want to get in debt too much. He said hes mentoring Maria in poetry, one of the passions he found, studied and nurtured in prison. The two are in the early stages of collaborating on a book of poems. Surprisingly enough, shes about a 90 percent world-class poet already, said Raugust. His own poetry book is among many things that consume his time in Missoula. A former Army infantry soldier, Raugust wrote Fishers of Trout and Men: Protectors of the Realm while in prison. The 230-page manuscript contains 52 long poems and 517 four-line haiku-isms. It's geared for not only military readers but for lovers of adventure and the great outdoors. There is a slightly heavy mystical-otherworldly tone to many of these pieces, a result of cosmic battles hard to fathom, he wrote in an authors note in 2013. Raugust has found a publisher, Tactical 16 of Colorado, which he said specializes in the areas of military, law enforcement and emergency services. Threshold Media Group of Lolo is working on pre-publication book cover ideas. In 90 days, Ill be on Amazon.com and Ill have a website, he said. Its a real nice mixture, and its going to be one bad-ass book. It should sell a million copies, no problem. Poetry is a great way to focus his time, energy and talents to really be able to do something for himself and give back to society as a whole, noted Bischof. Raugust asked if a poem he wrote in memory of Spencer Veysey could be included intact in a Missoulian feature story. As the Innocence Projects lone staff investigator, Veysey was instrumental in Raugusts case before he died last summer at age 26 while hiking in Colorados Rocky Mountain National Park. In a poem he called The Natural, Raugust wrote: We should all be thankful For the presence he bestowed. Who would have thought He was not immortal? Don't blame Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, Senate Majority Leader Jeff Essmann (R-Billings) or Billings businessman Steve Zabawa for their enthusiasm for victimizing chronic pain sufferers -- our neighbors, parents and children -- all throughout Montana. In their vendetta against medical marijuana, they are themselves victims -- victims of a hoax devised 80-some years ago by Harry Anslinger, a Swiss-born barber-turned-bureaucrat, in a desperate (and successful) attempt to justify his powerful position as a prohibitionist. Johann Hari's "Why is marijuana banned? The real reasons are worse than you think" is 10 times more mind-blowing than anything that ever wafted from a hookah. When alcohol prohibition was in the process of failing, Anslinger found himself in charge of a huge government department -- the Department of Prohibition -- now even more devoid of purpose than most. Since he needed something else to ban, he turned to cannabis. And he did so even though he knew "Indian hemp" didn't harm people. Anslinger became commissioner of the Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics, and the myth of reefer madness was born. According to Hari, Anslinger warned the public about what to expect from marijuana use: "First, you will fall into 'a delirious rage.' Then you will be gripped by 'dreams... of an erotic character.' Then you will 'lose the power of connected thought.' Finally, you will reach the inevitable end-point: 'Insanity.'" He fixated on the case of a boy in Florida, Victor Licata, who'd hacked his family to death with an ax. This, he said, is what happens when you smoke "demon weed," terrifying American parents. To support his claim, he wrote to 30 leading scientists asking if cannabis was dangerous. When 29 said no, he turned the lone dissenter loose upon the unsuspecting world, a panic ensued and marijuana was banned. Hari sums up: "Today, most of the world is still living with the ban on cannabis that Harry Anslinger introduced, in the nationwide panic that followed Victor Licata's killing spree." And we are doing so even though investigation into Licata's psychiatric files years later revealed no evidence that he ever used marijuana, but rather showed that mental illness ran strong in Licata's family. Flash forward to February 2016. Almost half the adults in America admit to having at least tried marijuana -- without, presumably going all Lizzie Borden on Mom and Pop. Instances of murder by ax have not skyrocketed in Colorado, where recreational use is allowed. Many citizens there may have gone postal on a bag of potato chips, but that's about the extent of it. And yet here in the enlightened state of Montana, medical weed was virtually banned once again Thursday, and people are going to suffer more and more in the weeks to come because of it. Why, knowing what we now know, is Fox still wasting the Supreme Court's precious time and the state's precious resources fighting to undo the will of the 62 percent of Montana voters -- both red and blue -- who supported legalized medical cannabis 62 to 38 percent in 2004? What was behind Essmann's disrespectful virtual repeal (Senate Bill 423 in 2011) in the first place? And why is Zabawa campaigning for another ballot initiative to ban cannabis completely even as I write? Are they dupes? If not, who's pulling their strings? Maybe the liquor lobby or the opioid lobby. Or maybe they own stock in Alka-Seltzer or their uncle works on the Missouri River Drug Task Force. If enough registered voters sign the petition, those of us willing to give up our addiction to Anslinger's hoax will be able to approve ballot measure CI-155, which would give adults "the right to purchase, consume, and possess marijuana, subject to age limitations set by the Legislature or through ballot initiative." And while we're at the polls in November, we can make sure to elect candidates who are forward-looking enough to see beyond an 80-year-old lie. *** Leah Gilman just read that GOP front-runner Donald Trump recently told Bill O'Reilly that he is "a hundred percent" in favor of medical marijuana. BILLINGS -- Gov. Steve Bullock says Montanas diversified economy will help the state weather difficult times for agriculture and energy. Both economic sectors have been suffering from low commodity prices. Speaking to the Downtown Rotary in Billings on Monday, Bullock said he doesnt envy the challenges facing Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead and North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple. Both neighboring states have seen state tax revenues plunge in the wake of steep declines in prices for oil, gas and coal. Taxes on resources account for about 70 percent of the money that goes into Wyomings general fund, Bullock said. Likewise, North Dakotas Dalrymple is facing significant budget cuts as the states oil production has declined. Well see some dip in revenue, Bullock said. But, were also seeing gas at $1.60 a gallon. Itll take some time to figure out how that all balances out. Bullock said his administration will continue to emphasize economic responsibility. He mentioned that he vetoed some $150 million worth of spending following the 2013 Legislature in order to maintain a $300 million ending fund balance, sometimes called a rainy day fund. The cash cushion helps protect against an economic downturn. Prices for wheat and cattle plunged at the second half of 2015. On a positive note, Montana leads the nation in the production of pulse crops -- peas, beans and lentils -- which account for a sizable portion of the states exports, Bullock said. Theres incredible demand across the world for Montana ag products, and thats something we need to continue to build on, Bullock said. Oil prices are about two-thirds lower than they were two years ago, and the nations coal industry is in the midst of a severe downturn because of the potential for federally-mandated emissions reductions and competition from natural gas-generated electricity. Despite these headwinds, coal will continue to be an important energy source well into the future, Bullock said. Bullock, a Democrat, also filed for re-election Monday afternoon. While in Billings, he touted the Main Street Montana Project, which aims to train workers, attract new businesses to the state, boost existing ones and market Montana. He said Yellowstone Countys low unemployment rate -- it was 3.3 percent in December of 2015 -- provides challenges for employers seeking to fill jobs. Bullock said the state and local economic development officials continue to await for word from managers of GE Capital, which has an operations center that employs about 200 people. Last year, GE announced that its selling its GE Capital assets to Wells Fargo. Bullock said the Billings operation will likely look different after the sale is completed. But well continue to make sure that as that occurs, we want to keep as many jobs as possible in Montana, he said. Steve Arveschoug, executive director of Big Sky Economic Development, said he will soon meet with officials from a third party that has expressed an interest in operating the Billings operations center. Montana is putting more people in prison than it releases -- not necessarily because there are more criminals, but largely because the state keeps arresting the same people over and over. Thats according to a long-awaited report from the Council of State Governments Justice Center, a national nonprofit organization contracted by state legislators to help figure out how to reduce prison spending and jail crowding. The report, presented Tuesday to lawmakers and others appointed to Montanas Commission on Sentencing, found a 12 percent rise in arrests between 2009 and 2015, despite an 18 percent decline in property and violent crimes between 2000 and 2014. It also found Native Americans represent a disproportionate share of those totals, accounting for nearly one in five arrests while making up only 7 percent of the states population. Native Americans represented an even greater share, more than one-quarter, of those cuffed for parole violations and failure to appear in court -- offenses that combined to account for nearly half of the statewide spike in arrests. None of that should qualify as news to state officials, said Jim Taylor, legal director at the ACLU of Montana. Taylor said the Montana Department of Corrections has more than three decades of data illustrating Native Americans lopsided share of Montanas arrest total. What state leaders dont seem to know is why, or how they plan to change it. "Theres literally been no interest in drilling down and really seeing whats going on," Taylor told the commission. "We think there needs to be more study done by the state and more training throughout the system on cultural differences and the effects of historical trauma." LeAnn Montes, an attorney with the Chippewa Cree tribe, recommended a similar review of causes underlying Native arrest totals. She went on to call for beefed-up sentences to help prosecute repeat offenders, along with licensed prosecutors and public defenders to try tribal cases. Attorney and commission member Majel Russell said many Native offenders simply can't comply with the terms of their probation. She encouraged tweaks to streamline those requirements, including efforts to defray the offender-paid cost of drug tests, mental health evaluations and often lengthy drives some have to make to meet with a parole or probation officer. Tribal Police Chief Allen Primeau said he wanted to brainstorm solutions with Utah Rep. Eric Hutchings, who earlier told the commission his state managed to shed 700 prisoners through efforts to distinguish between hardcore, repeat lawbreakers and certain people who are not really criminals, theyve just done criminal things. Hutchings said Utah reduced hundreds of penalties down to misdemeanors and adopted new programs to better address parolees mental health and substance abuse needs, instead of just throwing parole violators back in jail. He expects those programs -- total cost: $14.5 million -- will pay for themselves by the end of next year. Hutchings offered to simply give Montana sentencing and supervision guidelines Utah used to achieve those savings. Commission members didn't exactly fall over themselves to take up the offer, though Department of Corrections Director Mike Batista said he sort of liked the concept behind other prison diversion efforts recently undertaken in Seattle and Santa Fe, New Mexico, where cops are increasingly tasked with on-the-spot drug interventions, as opposed to arrests. Sentencing commission members plan to reconvene for meetings in June and September, before passing along final recommendations to state lawmakers in December. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Clear skies. Low around 60F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low around 60F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. On March 2, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission will conduct a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan in the Askeran direction. From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring will be conducted by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk and his Field Assistants Jiri Aberle (Czech Republic) and Yevgeny Sharov (Ukraine), as well as by Personal Assistant to the Personal Representative of the CiO Simon Tiller (Great Britain). The NKR authorities have expressed their readiness to assist in conducting the monitoring and to ensure the security of the OSCE Mission members. On March 1, Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of Armenia, met Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission. Welcoming the guest, Minister Nalbandian mentioned that this is her first visit to Armenia, which will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the development and deepening of Armenia-EU relations. Expressing gratitude for the invitation to visit Armenia and the warm reception, Federica Mogherini stressed that establishment of firmer cooperation between the EU and Armenia is beneficial not only for bilateral relations, but for the whole region. During the meeting, a wide range of issues of the development of Armenia-European Union cooperation, the process of negotiations on formation of new legal framework were thoroughly discussed. Foreign Minister Nalbandian reaffirmed Armenias commitment to strengthen and expand multi-dimensional cooperation in all areas of mutual interest. The sides touched upon joint efforts to be exerted for the further development of cooperation, i.e. political dialogue, mobility, human rights, economic reforms, Armenias participation in different sectoral projects of the EU. Edward Nalbandian mentioned that Armenia appreciates the EUs continued support and assistance over the years, which has been instrumental for the implementation of the reform process and institutional capacity building in Armenia. Minister Nalbandian expressed gratitude to the European Union for the important support to the Diplomatic School since its establishment. During the meeting, thoughts were exchanged over the situation in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, necessity of consolidation of efforts of the international community in the fight against terrorism. In this context, migration crisis and flow of refugee were touched upon. Edward Nalbandian stressed, that nearly 20 thousand refugees from Syria have been sheltered in Armenia, thus making our country the third largest recipient of Syrian refugees in Europe on per capita basis. The Foreign Minister of Armenia highlighted that the Armenian side highly values the possible assistance of the EU to Armenia on that matter. Implementation of the agreement on Iran nuclear program was on the agenda of the negotiations. Edward Nalbandian presented the latest developments in the negotiation process on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue within the Co-Chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group. Federica Mogherini reaffirmed EUs support to the efforts of the MG Co-Chairs in peaceful settlement of the issue. The sides shared the view that destructive steps leading to escalation of the situation, bellicose rhetoric are harmful and lead to the maintenance of the status quo. Minister Nalbandian reaffirmed that Armenia would continue its consistent efforts for exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Rolandas Paksas, a former president of Lithuania who was impeached in 2004, was questioned Monday by Lithuanias Special Investigation Service (STT) in connection with a bribery case. The anti-corruption agency has already filed corruption charges against Gedvydas Vainauskas, one of the owners of the Lietuvos Rytas media group. Paksas has special witness status in Lithuania, similar to the person of interest designation in Western countries. Special witnesses are suspected of breaking the law, but lack of evidence or some other circumstance prevents law enforcement from filing charges. As a member of the European Parliament, Paksa is immune from prosecution, according to the STT. Paksas told the media the STT had asked him about his relationship with Vainauskas and the Norfa retail chain, which is being probed for alleged corruption. Dainius Dundulis, one of Norfas stakeholders, said Monday that he had been questioned by the STT as well. Paksas said he believes the investigation is politically motivated and aimed at his Order and Justice party, a member of the parliamentary coalition. However, after being questioned by the STT on Monday, Paksas met Vainauskas for lunch in central Vilnius. Immediately afterwards, STT agents took Vainauskas in for questioning. In a statement released Monday, the STT claims it is investigating two separate episodes of alleged corruption. Paksas said he believes Norfa is the probes target. The STT claims Vainauskas, asked Paksas to pressure members of his party who control the Ministry of Environment to expedite permits needed to open a new Norfa supermarket in Prienai, a small town with population of approximately 11,000. Norfa denies the allegations. However, the State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment says it is reviewing its decisions related to the new Norfa store in Prienai. Also, a separate episode has been made public by the STT. Allegedly, the people acting in that episode were trying to stop law enforcement officers from investigating a large-scale fraud, and sought Vainauskas help. The probe also involves Antanas Zabulis, now a public advisor to Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius. Zabulis was also charged Monday, and promptly fired by the prime minister. On Monday morning, Butkevicius denied any knowledge of the probe. Paksas said that, after his lunch with Vainauskas, he went to meet Butkevicius. In an interview with 15min.lt, Paksas said he urged the prime minister to strengthen parliamentary control of law enforcement and Butkevicius allegedly promised his support. Paksas was impeached in 2004 after using his power to grant citizenship to a dodgy Russian businessman. Recently, his party had run-ins with law enforcement in several corruption-related cases. Late in 2015, the STT charged the party with corruption and money laundering. By Dovydas Pancerovas, Sarunas Cerniauskas, Liepa Zelniene occrp.org WRITTEN BY DANIEL BOJIN, PAUL RADU, HANS STRANDBERG (DAGENS ARBETE) The retail giant IKEA is one of the worlds largest furniture makers, using one percent of the global wood supply each year to make about 100 million pieces of inexpensive, smartly designed furniture sold through its international network of stores. Harvard University is the symbol of American intellectual and political power producing eight US presidents and many of the leaders of American industry. But for the past year, Harvard have been sitting in Romanian courts trying to keep control of national forest they bought. The state says Harvard bought some of its land from a group of figures that are under investigation for cheating the state. Subsequently IKEA bought the same forests from offshores controlled by Harvards investment fund. To say these two global brands may have been duped may not be accurate. Unlike IKEAs furniture, these deals are turning out to be neither smartly designed nor inexpensive for either organization. Starting in 2004, Harvard bought more than about 33,000 hectares (83,000 acres) of forest land in hundreds of small tracts through local intermediaries that Romanian prosecutors have since charged with corruption and organized crime activities or who are under investigation. The deal between Harvard and IKEA also followed an unusually complex route and was facilitated by another group of Swedish- and Luxembourg- based companies connected to, or controlled by, the American university. Romanian authorities are challenging some of the transactions on the grounds that state-owned forests were illegally reclassified as private property through a restitution program designed to return nationalized land to its former owners. A Romanian judge has already invalidated one property deed in Harvard's portfolio, ruling that the forest was not acquired in good faith. Because the same group of suspected fraudsters bought much of Harvards land, its possible that many more tracts may end up being returned to the state. And that is a problem for IKEA, which bought the land from Harvard and may lose some or much of its newly acquired Romanian woods as well. Toxic Woods Romanias forest restitution program has been riddled with corruption and major scandals almost since it started. High-profile politicians, controversial businessmen and even a member of Romanias royal family have been arrested and charged with corruption and money laundering in connection to the deals. Forest restitutions grew out of Romania's turbulent history in the last century, when the Communist regime nationalized private property nationwide and many people lost land that had been in their family for decades. After 1989, new laws in the post-Communist Romania allowed former owners and their relatives to seek restitution for their lost properties. Unfortunately, these same laws created opportunities for fraud. Crooked businessmen and dirty politicians seized the moment, forging documents and claiming forests that had never belonged to them or to their ancestors. In many cases, fake relatives armed with piles of forged paperwork claimed some of the last standing old-growth forests in Europe and quickly sold them to foreign companies who poured tens of millions of dollars into such deals hoping for great returns. Harvard University, through its investment arm, became a major buyer of Romanian forests starting in 2004, eventually purchasing some 33,600 hectares (83,000 acres) of forest land despite longstanding rumors of corruption in the restitution program. Then, at the end of June 2015, Harvard University abruptly sold most of the land to IKEA. The deal was done through a series of steps that started in 2014 when Harvard first sold the land to a Romanian company owned by offshore companies controlled by Harvard, and then IKEA took over ownership of the Romanian company. IKEA paid more than 56 million (US$ 62.6 million or $73 an acre) for about 98 percent of Harvards forest, the biggest investment in raw forests for the Swedish giant. The forests owned now by IKEA are scattered all over the country with the biggest concentration in the northeast. Harvard, which had paid more than $100 million for the properties, sold them for two-thirds of what they had paid in cash, along with an agreement that IKEA assume an unknown amount of debt that Harvard had incurred. By the time Harvard and IKEA shook hands over the forest deal in 2015, the Romanian government was already challenging some of Harvards acquisitions in court. Those properties, regarded as toxic assets, included just a few hundred hectares of their overall purchases, and were not included in the deal with IKEA. Harvard, however, knew something else that was important. Three months prior to the deal, the Romanian citizen who had been purchasing forests on Harvards behalf was sentenced to jail for corruption related to these forest acquisitions. The hundreds of hectares in contention may be the tip of the iceberg. IKEA, despite an audit conducted by its lawyers that said the land was mostly clear of problems, had more disputed forests on its hands. A Long Process While large tracts of land may have been stolen, the government must go through a tedious series of legal steps to regain the forests. The first step in the process is to go to court to invalidate the property deeds. Then the state needs to file suit against the current owners of the forests. The legal process, never quick to begin with in Romanias overburdened courts, becomes more cumbersome when the new ownership is buried under layers of nested companies as in the Harvard-IKEA deals. Its not clear why Harvard set up such a complex system of layered companies which started with the university selling the forests to itself, and Harvard would not answer questions from OCCRP citing pending litigation. According to documents obtained by OCCRP, in May of 2015, three months before the deal was concluded, IKEA instructed its lawyers from the law firm of Wolf Theiss Rechtsanwalte GmbH to investigate the Harvard forests. The lawyers filed a request under the Romanian Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with the Romanian Forest Agency, Romsilva. They asked a local branch of Romsilva in the county of Vrancea for information regarding existing litigation involving the forests owned by Harvard. The Vrancea forest officials answered that the requested information did not fall under FOIA and that they couldnt answer anyway as the request described the location and size of the properties using a different system than the one stipulated by the agencys own indexes. More than 13,500 hectares (34,000 acres) of IKEA's Romanian forests are located in the county of Vrancea. This is also the place where IKEA ran into the most trouble. The furniture and design company claims in an answer sent to OCCRP that it checked out the properties carefully: We have made a full legal due diligence on the properties we have acquired. This due diligence is more extensive than only performing (a) check in the registry or checking the local municipality for potential issues. It involves a detailed review (of) the historic ownership chain. A contract obtained by OCCRP between the state forestry company Directia Silvica Vrancea and IKEA to safeguard the land labelled more than 491 hectares (1,200 acres) as being in litigation. In an answer to OCCRP questions, IKEA acknowledged the situation: Directia Silvica Vrancea has added the word litigation as a comment to seven areas. However, in our due diligence, which was completed in June 2015, these areas were not identified as disputed. The Swedish company added: We are not content with the situation and because of this, we decided not to progress with any activities in the specified areas until the matter has been officially clarified. A week later IKEA came back saying that, according to authorities, 400 hectares (990 acres) were in contention and the company planned to cooperate with any investigation. An Enigmatic Entity At the heart of the problem is how the forests were purchased. Harvard initially acquired many of its forests from a controversial group of Romanian businessmen and politicians that police nicknamed the Enigma group after a restaurant where members sometimes met. Members of the group are under investigation in other forest-fraud related cases. OCCRP reporters viewed a Romsilva document in which the state agency claims that 400 hectares now in IKEAs possession were initially illegally acquired by the Enigma group. Romanian prosecutors, in answer to an OCCRP FOIA request, said that 500 hectares (1,400 acres) of forest sold by the Enigma group to Harvard-controlled companies in Vrancea County are under criminal investigation for corruption related to the restitution process. The 500 hectares include the 400 hectares of IKEA forests described above. The Enigma group is also being sued by local authorities in the neighboring county of Buzau, in order to cancel a property deed for another 226 hectares of forest in Gura Teghii, a commune in Buzau. A Bad Business Design By Harvard Harvards Romanian forest ventures began on Oct. 21, 2004, in a house in Sohodol, a village only a few kilometers away from the picturesque 14th century Bran Castle in the mountains of Transylvania in central Romania often referred to as Draculas castle. The house was owned by Dragos Lipan, a Romanian citizen who would become the main buyer of Romanian forest for Harvard and who would later being sentenced for corruption related to the deals. Harvard, through its investment company Phemus Corporation, established a limited liability company that day named Scolopax SRL. Lipans former wife spoke with OCCRP reporters in the Sohodol house and confirmed the meetings and that the firm was established there. That same day, another commercial company named Oriolus Limited was established in the Sohodol house by a Swedish citizen, Jonas Jacobsson, and three fellow Swedes. Jacobsson was also one of Scolopaxs appointed managers and would become a key person in the Harvard-IKEA Romanian forest deal more than a decade later. Oriolus later managed some of Harvards forests in Vrancea County. The first decision of Scolopaxs board was to give Lipan power-of-attorney in the companys interactions with banks, courts, local authorities and private persons. Lipan became the designated business representative of Harvards investment company in Romania. Nine days later, on Nov. 25th, Jacobsson, on behalf of Scolopax, gave Lipan the authority to buy forest areas of up to 500 hectares for up to 500,000 (US$ 558,600) or about US $1,200 a hectare (US$ 450 an acre). A year later, in January 2006, Lipan received 15 percent of Oriolus, the other company where Jacobsson was already a significant shareholder with 40 percent. By 2010, Harvard became the largest private forest owner in Romania controlling more than US$ 100 million worth of Romanian investments, most of it forests, through Phemus Corporation, a US tax-exempt 501(c3) organization founded in Boston. Lipan became the go-to person for forest owners. The massive amount of money that Harvard was pouring in the countrys forests was unprecedented, and within just a few years Lipan was taking advantage of his privileged position to benefit himself. In 2007, Lipan entered an agreement with another Romanian, Robert Eler, to buy 2,500 hectares of forest at an inflated price under the condition that Eler would return 30 percent of the profits to Lipan. The problem was that Eler owned no forests, so he started looking for forests for sale to be able to conclude the deal with Scolopax and Lipan. Scolopax started buying from Eler and soon Lipan had 1 million (US$ 1.1 million) in his bank account. But these deals may have violated Romanian law. According to the Romanian law, the state has pre-emptive buying rights or the first right to buy forests on sale by private owners at the asking price. The sellers need to inform the state about the sale and wait for 30 days before they can sell to other interested parties. Failure to do so could invalidate the deal. But most purchases were done quickly after Eler and his associates obtained deeds for the freshly acquired forest. The scheme worked until the relationship between Eler and Lipan soured and Eler and his associates turned on Lipan, denouncing him to the Romanian prosecution. Lipan said he stopped working with Scolopax in 2013. However, by this time, he had bought tens of thousands of hectares of forest, most of it from Eler or the Enigma group whose members are now being investigated for forest corruption. Read more " " Teenage girls and women scream during a Beatles visit to Toronto in the 1960s. Mass hysteria comes in many forms. Fox Photos/Getty Images For two weeks in 1956, people who lived near Taipei, Taiwan, were terrified of a mysterious slasher roaming the streets. The fiendish character would surreptitiously slice people as he slipped through crowds or brushed past them. About two dozen folks, most of whom were poor women and children, reported being slashed [source: Bartholomew and Goode]. But then something even stranger happened. After police spoke with the victims, it became clear that there was no mass slasher. Spurred by hysterical news reports, people thought that regular minor cuts on their bodies were the work of a crazed killer. In one case, the "slash" was an old injury which the person had scratched and re-opened. Advertisement Such mass hysterias, or collective delusions, are actually quite common. They happen often in places where small, tight-knit groups of people are gathered together and may be under stress like schools, convents and factories. Young women are the most likely victims. The hysterias generally spread rapidly but are relatively short-lived [sources: Bartholomew and Goode, Dominus]. In medical terms, mass hysteria occurs when people become afflicted with conversion disorder,also called functional neurological symptom disorder. When this happens, a bad scare or stress something mental or emotional transforms into a medical issue. There are two types of conversion disorders: anxiety hysteria and motor hysteria. In the former, people develop symptoms such as headaches, dizziness and nausea, typically after perceiving something threatening, such as a foul odor or unusual stain. Hundreds of these cases occur annually in the U.S. Motor hysteria involves everything from twitching and stuttering to catatonic states and melodramatic outbursts. This is rarer and is often found in restrictive social settings, such as discipline-heavy boarding schools or prisons [sources: Bartholomew and Goode, Dominus, Mayo Clinic]. Mass hysterias have occurred across cultures and throughout time. Here's a chronological look at 10 of the stranger ones. " " What grade would your kitchen receive if a health department inspector suddenly showed up at the door? MIXA/ Thinkstock As far as local evening news broadcasts go, few segments are as popular (and shocking) as the one in which an intrepid reporter reveals the health department inspection results of area restaurants. That Chinese restaurant down the street where your family eats at least once a month? Mold in the dishwasher and chicken stored at unsafe temperatures. Your favorite Mexican joint? Yep, vermin infestation. Most people, understandably, gasp in horror at these reports and turn up their noses at any low-scoring establishment. But perhaps even more troubling is this thought: What grade would your kitchen receive if a health department inspector suddenly showed up at the door? You might not be serving crowds of people every day and have the responsibility of public health, but the cleanliness and safety of your kitchen do greatly affect your family's well-being. Advertisement You might think your kitchen is perfectly clean, but good kitchen sanitation is about more than appearances. Bacteria just love to live in room-temperature food, so you have to be extremely vigilant about food storage and refrigeration. And speaking of your fridge, do you know what temperature it is -- and what it should be? How often do you clear out not-so-fresh food? Do you know what cross-contamination is and how to avoid it? Yes, this is a lot to think about -- and it can be a little overwhelming. It's a big responsibility to have your family's health on your hands. But we've made it easy for you. It's really just a matter of concentrating on three things: storage, preparation and cleaning. And even though you'll never be exposed on the evening news for having an unclean kitchen, at least now you'll be able to rest easy if the health department ever does come calling. Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders shake hands Feb. 4 before their presidential primary debate hosted by MSNBC at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. PHOTO BY DAVID GOLDMAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS Its not surprising that Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist, is gaining strong support in Wisconsin. Socialists ran Milwaukee for decades over the last century and built a reputation for both good governing and fiscal responsibility. In 1936 Time magazine called Milwaukee the best-governed city in the United States. Selected editorials from Oregon newspapers. The (Eugene) Register-Guard, Feb. 24, on changing the gray wolf's endangered listing Some state legislators are attempting an end run around a legal challenge to the removal of the gray wolf from Oregon's endangered species list. Late last year, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission removed the gray wolf from Oregon's endangered species list, threatening the recovery of a species that had been hunted to extinction here in the early 1900s. Three environmental groups promptly sued, saying it was premature to remove the wolf from the protection afforded by the list. But House Bill 4040, being carried in the Legislature by Rep. Greg Barreto, R-La Grande, would make the commission's decision to de-list the wolf a law, effectively cutting off judicial review. The bill which was drafted before the legislative session began passed the House by a vote of 33 to 23, with 10 Democrats and 23 Republicans voting in favor and 23 Democrats opposed. (Two Democrats and two Republicans did not vote.) Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio has sent a blistering letter to his fellow Democrats in the state Senate, urging them to vote against the bill. DeFazio said it is undermining his fight to keep protections for the gray wolf in place at the federal level. He described it as an attempt to block a judicial review of the decision to de-list the wolf and called it "an extreme precedent-setting measure that should not be taken lightly... or used as a political bargaining chip." There are currently about 100 gray wolves in Oregon, or about 7 percent of what studies show the state could support. The species' still-fragile recovery has occurred while wolves were under both state and federal protection. But wolves in Eastern Oregon are now off the federal endangered species list they were removed four years ago and federal officials are proposing that wolves in Western Oregon also be removed. In addition, Oregon's wolf plan is coming up for review soon, which could mean the removal of additional protections. The main proponents for removing protection for wolves, including taking them off endangered species lists, are ranchers, especially in Eastern Oregon. Despite ranchers' antipathy, wolves account for very few livestock deaths, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics. In Oregon, by far the largest cause of cattle deaths is illness, including respiratory and digestive ailments, according to the USDA. The USDA suggested that, if ranchers want to reduce losses, they should prevent the introduction and spread of disease; improve preventive health and nutrition, and provide timely assistance to cows during calving season. Of the 3 percent of cattle that were lost to predators, the main culprit was coyotes, according to the USDA. Wolves are coyotes' natural enemies. In areas where wolf populations have flourished under government protection, including the northern Rocky Mountains, there has not been a corresponding increase in cattle deaths, according to studies by the International Wolf Center, which notes that wolves prefer natural prey such as deer and elk. The bill now making its way through the Legislature is an ill-advised attempt to circumvent judicial review of an equally ill-advised decision to dismantle protection for an animal that is an integral part of the Oregon ecosystem. ___ The (Albany) Democrat-Herald, Feb. 26, on fifth-year programs for students You might be thinking that there's little chance that this short and bitter legislative session will produce anything else of substance in its final days, especially with minority Republicans doing everything they can (and not without justification) to gum up the works. And it's true that prospects seem bleak at this point for bills that have attracted some measure of controversy. But bills that have benefited from ample work well before the short session began and which enjoy relatively wide support still have a shot at passing and it's worth remembering that just because these measures are not particularly controversial doesn't mean they won't make a real difference. In that light, we were delighted to hear that a bill from Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, preserving at least some parts of the so-called fifth-year programs in place at many mid-valley high schools, passed the Senate on a 28-0 vote and now is headed to the House. (It helped that the bill's short length it's only four pages long made for relatively short reading, especially since Republicans are insisting that every bill be read aloud before any vote is taken; that requirement is in the state Constitution, but it's usually waived by both the Senate and the House. Not so this year.) Gelser's bill, Senate Bill 1537, carves out a path forward for the fifth-year programs that have been pioneered by mid-valley schools. Under these programs, students who have met all the requirements for graduation opt to remain enrolled in their school districts for a fifth year while attending community college; using state school fund money, those districts cover all or some of their tuition and fees. The programs have scored some early success, particularly in helping those students (in many cases, often the first members of their families to attend college) get a head start on their postsecondary education. Other lawmakers called foul, arguing that it was unfair to use money intended for K-12 education to help pay for a 13th year for some students. And they said the program financially wasn't sustainable, especially if it were to be adopted statewide. Gelser's bill essentially attaches sideboards to the fifth-year programs, which now are dubbed "Post-Graduate Scholar Programs." Under terms of the bill, districts that want to set up the programs must designate staff members to help support students and have must have policies and strategies in place to improve graduation rates. To qualify for the programs, students must first apply for the Oregon Promise tuition assistance program, which helps high school graduates and GED recipients pay for community college. They must also complete the federal form known as FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The idea is to control the costs of the programs and, in fact, state school money received by the districts with the programs will be reduced over the next few years. The bill calls for the state to report back on participation rates and costs of the programs and says that the 2019 Legislature will take another look at the programs. As we've noted before, the bill isn't perfect for example, the Post-Graduate Scholar Programs won't necessarily offer the same level of help to participating students that the fifth-year programs often offered but it's a considerably better deal than we thought Gelser would be able to wrest from her skeptical colleagues. And it's worth noting that many mid-valley educators assisted Gelser in making the case to the Legislature. It's a case that senators obviously found persuasive; let's hope the House of Representatives feels the same way ___ The (Bend) Bulletin, Feb. 27, on PERS payments Welcome to Oregon, where public employee retirement benefits are guaranteed to be insulated from the economy. Here in Oregon, it doesn't matter how the earnings on the Public Employees Retirement System were doing. The fund only earned 2.1 percent in 2015 and the assumed rate of return was 7.75 percent. Taxpayers must pick up the tab. Here in Deschutes County, we're going to feel the impact. Deschutes County has saved up $11 million. It is going to spend that on public safety, roads or public health? No, no, no. The county has been saving that money for a decade because people have known for at least that long that PERS is a sinkhole. Remember how county Finance Director Wayne Lowry put it recently: Paying for PERS obligations "could be the greatest fiscal challenge that an organization like ours has faced." Schools are going to feel it, too. The Bend-La Pine Schools anticipates the increasing costs of PERS are going to cost the district $39.5 million between 2008 and 2021. City governments get hit. The city of Bend set aside $2.7 million to deal with rising PERS costs. That's about the same amount of money the city is hoping to raise in a year with a fuel tax on the March ballot. And what did the Legislature do about PERS this session? It sent the only significant bill aimed at tackling the PERS costs which was sponsored by state Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend into oblivion. It did send along a bill aimed at expanding the people eligible to join PERS. Public employees certainly deserve a good retirement plan. But the unfunded liability of the system is hitting $20 billion. Welcome to Oregon, where political reform is passing on billions in liabilities to the next generation. ___ The (Medford) Mail-Tribune, Feb. 25, on increasing the state lodging tax A bill to increase the state's lodging tax to help Eugene host a world track championship in five years has passed the House after it was scaled back a bit. In general it seems a reasonable move that will benefit the entire state, but it should be scaled back further. TrackTown USA, a nonprofit corporation formed to bid on and host the 2021 world event, asked the state for $25 million to help cover costs. The University of Oregon and Nike have advocated for state support for some time. The benefits to Oregon are considerable. The world championship event will bring thousands of international visitors to Oregon, which can only benefit Oregon's tourism industry in the long run. The original bill called for doubling the state hotel/motel tax from 1 percent to 2 percent the state tax on a $100-a-night room would go from $1 to $2. That's an amount travelers likely would barely notice, but it would generate $27.4 million in the next biennium. As amended, House Bill 4146 would increase the tax to 1.8 percent rather than 2 percent. Lodging taxes are the best of all possible revenue sources: other people's money. More than three-quarters of the proceeds come from out-of-state visitors, hence the temptation to see an increase as benign. That's part of the reason HB 4146 makes the increase permanent rather than temporary. The other reason is, the bill would generate more than the TrackTown request, meaning more money for tourism programs across the state. Under the measure, the state would parcel out money to regional tourism agencies, which could use it for any purpose benefiting tourism, including events and facilities. That's a change from existing state law, which says 80 percent of the tax money must be spent on marketing. The bill is not universally popular around the state. In particular, officials in Portland are concerned an increase could hurt that city's ability to compete for conventions because state and local lodging taxes already add up to 13.5 percent, the highest rate in the state. We don't have a great deal of sympathy, considering Portland officials are the ones who approved those local add-ons. It's not clear why the proposed increase must be permanent; the TrackTown request is a one-time expenditure, after which the tax could return to its previous level. We understand the need to attract the necessary three-fifths majority vote in the Legislature by offering money to all parts of the state, but we also know Oregon residents will see this for what it is: another one-time investment that becomes a permanent revenue source. The bill moves to the Senate, where additional tweaking may occur. The bill deserves to pass if contains a sunset clause. ___ The (Corvallis) Gazette-Times, Feb. 24, on the minimum wage Allow us to return at least one more time to the topic of the Oregon minimum wage and the various legislative machinations that still are in play around it, because there's an important point to be made. This whole business, which includes new developments in Salem this week, offers yet another example of why complex measures like this just aren't good fits in legislative short sessions. It's possible that you haven't been tracking the new developments, so let us summarize: A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Tuesday announced a plan that would have overhauled the minimum wage increase that carried the Legislature last week and now awaits Gov. Kate Brown's signature. As Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz of Ontario outlined the plan, it would have set a floor of $13.50 an hour for the Portland area, but would have given local officials there the ability to set the wage higher. The plan would have raised wages in rural Oregon to $12.50 the same level as in the bill the Legislature passed last week. (The plan would have kept wages in so-called urban counties such as Benton at $13.50, the same level as in the bill passed last week.) But the alternative plan would have given sizable tax breaks to farmers, loggers and other industries, in the form of tax credits to nonprofits, businesses with fewer than 50 employers and certain manufacturers. "It's dramatically better" than the bill the Legislature approved last week, Bentz said. "It protects my area from economic devastation." But by the end of Wednesday, lawmakers already had dropped their plans to fine-tune the Portland-area minimum wage, and were concentrating instead on the tax breaks for businesses. Brown said she'd be willing to take a hard look at the tax breaks if they passed the Legislature and suggested that such breaks had been part and parcel of the negotiations she held before the session to help craft her wage proposal. We know what happened to that proposal after she submitted it to legislators: it got ripped into pieces and refashioned into the three-tiered system the Legislature passed last week. The tax breaks and the revised minimum wage for the Portland area are ideas worthy of greater exploration. And they would have received that exploration in a longer session, in which ideas have the time and space to jostle and compete and bounce off each other and where all the parties to legislation, including the public, can examine them. Instead, we've seen this session pushing through at least two pieces of major legislation, using the reasoning that the Legislature needed to act now to forestall dangerous ballot measures. In other words: We legislators need to push through bad policy in a hurried, rushed manner in order to stop even worse policy from being enacted by the voters at the ballot. That is not an argument designed to encourage confidence in voters. As Donald Trump barrels toward the GOP presidential nomination, Wisconsins top Republican officials are divided over whether to support him if he succeeds and represents the party in the general election. On Monday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Oshkosh declined to rule out a future break with his partys presidential front-runner, a shift from his past statements that he would back whoever the GOP nominates. Its depressing to see how this is devolving, Johnson said. Meanwhile, Gov. Scott Walker made clear that he would prefer Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida or Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas over the New York real estate mogul and reality TV celebrity. But the former presidential candidate steered clear of joining the emerging #nevertrump movement fanned by conservative activists on social media. I signed a pledge and Im a person of my word, Walker said. I wasnt going to run against someone else and I wasnt going to support someone other than the nominee. Walker last fall dropped his presidential bid and called on others in the huge field to do the same in an effort for an alternative to Trump to emerge. Two of the top three Republicans in the state Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke of Kaukauna and Joint Finance Committee co-chairman John Nygren of Marinette, both of whom support Rubio say they wont support Trump and would consider voting for a conservative third-party candidate in the general election if hes the nominee. This is a defining moment for our party and our country, Steineke said. He would forever ruin the Republican brand. In a meeting with the Racine Journal Times editorial board, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester didnt rule out supporting Trump but questioned his conservative credentials. I know quite a few conservatives who have said, Im not going to vote for somebody who isnt a conservative. Because on certain things, Im not sure he is, Vos, a Rubio supporter, said of Trump. Nevertheless, he said, My assumption is I will support the Republican nominee, whoever it is. Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, co-chairwoman of the Joint Finance Committee, said shell support whoever the nominee is, including Trump, to avoid a situation like 1992, when Democrat Bill Clintons election benefited from the third-party candidacy of Texas billionaire Ross Perot. Darling hasnt endorsed a candidate, but is disappointed former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is out of the race. People are questioning who Donald Trump really is and what he really stands for, Darling said, but she added supporting a third-party candidate would be a huge mistake. We know what happened with Perot. No Wisconsin lawmakers so far have endorsed Trump, though he leads the Republican field in the state with 30 percent support, according to the latest Marquette Law School Poll. Poll director Charles Franklin said he doesnt recall ever seeing a phenomenon where party leaders said they wouldnt support the frontrunner for their partys nomination. They are in a rather last-minute panic about this, Franklin said. Thats partly driven by the effect Trump could have on down-ballot contests in November, a concern Vos cited while discussing a Trump nomination. In a hypothetical head-to-head match-up with Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, Trump loses by 11 points in Wisconsin, the Marquette poll found. In a Rubio-Clinton match-up its Clinton 44-43. Those 10 points matter, Franklin said. Johnson whos locked in a tough re-election battle in which he faces the prospect of sharing a GOP ticket with the controversial Trump told WTMJ radio hes praying for leaders who wont be divisive. Without naming Trump, Johnson said hes demoralized by the current state of the presidential race. Trump was asked Sunday about the support he has received from David Duke, a former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Pressed three times in a CNN interview on whether he would distance himself from Duke or the Klan, Trump declined to do so. He later said he does disavow Duke and blamed the exchange on a faulty earpiece. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., became the first Senate Republican to publicly split with Trump late Sunday, posting to Facebook that he will not support Trump for president. Asked by radio host Charlie Sykes in Mondays interview if hell do the same, Johnson said: Lets see how the process plays out. I dont like demagoguery on any side of the political spectrum, and we have it across the political spectrum, Johnson said. The possibility of GOP U.S. senators publicly breaking en masse from Trump was floated publicly over the weekend in a widely circulated report by The New York Times. It reported Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has laid out a plan behind closed doors for lawmakers to break explicitly with Trump in a general election, should he claim the Republican nomination. McConnell reportedly said of Trump: Well drop him like a hot rock and even assured Republican senators they could air ads attacking Trump in order to distance themselves, the Times reported. Conservatives in Wisconsin are also contemplating a full-on assault of Trumps thin conservative record and policy positions, according to Republican strategist Brian Fraley. If Wisconsin matters there will be a strong anti-Trump effort here because Wisconsin conservatives are more organized and more educated on the importance of free market economics and liberty, Fraley said, adding that the opposition might emerge even if Trump locks up the nomination before the April 5 primary. The possibility of Trump being the GOP nominee has grown in recent weeks as he racked up primary and caucus wins in the early presidential states of New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Tuesdays multiple contests, mostly in Southern states, are not expected to serve as a breaker for the Trump surge. Congressman Reid Ribble, R-Sherwood, one of the first GOP office-holders to publicly denounce Trump, has heightened his social media criticism of Trump in the wake of his most recent comments. For the record, condemning the KKK isnt something you should have to think twice about. #nevertrump Ribble posted to his Twitter account late Sunday. The other four Republicans in the Congressional caucus Speaker Paul Ryan, Sean Duffy, Glenn Grothman and Jim Sensenbrenner didnt respond to a request for comment Monday. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald also didnt respond. Steineke, the Assembly majority leader who has been bashing Trump publicly on Twitter for weeks, said one reason more Republicans arent coming out against Trump is because they worry popular opposition to elected officials will cause their criticism of Trump to backfire. Franklin, the poll director, said another possibility is Republicans are worried about alienating a large swath of their own voters. Asked whether Trump represents the Republican Party he sought to represent last year, Walker said a number of his views and positions are different than mine. Even if we dont agree with every choice that certain candidates make or articulate, then the bottom line is you have to respect the voters and the process, Walker said. Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-03-01 Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Athens News Agency at CONTENTS [01] Gov't seeks fruitful dialogue with political party leaders [02] Review must close as soon as possible, says Econ Minister Stathakis [03] Main opposition leader Mitsotakis lashes out at PM Tsipras [04] We are facing the worst humanitarian crisis since WWII, UN High Commissioner for Refugees tells ANA-MPA [05] Eurobank completes acquisition of Alpha Bank's branch in Bulgaria [06] Greece must be ready for the worst scenario, Shipping Min. Dritsas says [01] Gov't seeks fruitful dialogue with political party leaders The government seeks a fruitful and honest dialogue with the political party leaders, government spokesman Olga Gerovassili said on Tuesday. Gerovassili said that the government is looking into the positions it will present at the EU summit. In any case the government is willing to use whatever diplomatic tool for the fair allocation of the refugees and the rapid implementation of the refugees' relocation so that unilateral actions are prevented. The cabinet will convene on Thursday and then Tsipras will meet with European Council President Donald Tusk. The meeting will focus on the management of the refugees crisis. Referring to the negotiations with the institutions, Gerovassili said that IMF must explain why it insists on positions not included in the last summer's agreement, especially now that the economic figures on which the agreement was based are much better. [02] Review must close as soon as possible, says Econ Minister Stathakis The program review needs to close as soon as possible, Economy Minister George Stathakis said on Tuesday to realFM. "We do not have the luxury the review to be extended, it must be completed as soon as possible and that is the government's aim. I believe that it is the other side's aim as well." At a question if he agrees with Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos' position that it will be disastrous if it delays until May or June, he said: "I totally agree. The review must close; it is highly imperative for the economy and there is no reason why it should not close." Moreover, the minister announced that the government will table the development law in March. "The law is ready. We have sent it to the European Commission and we received their comments, which were positive in general, three months ago. The only thing that is pending is the institutions' evaluation because it has fiscal cost and it will be tabled in parliament." [03] Main opposition leader Mitsotakis lashes out at PM Tsipras Main opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaking at the party's parliamentary group on Tuesday lashed out at Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. "The refugee issue is out of control, the situation is even more tragic, the economy is sustained technically, the society is boiling, nothing progresses, the country is close to zero point," he said and added: "The only one who sees the things differently is the person who led the country to that situation. Tsipras' interview on Monday was revealing and worrying. Mr Tsipras has lost control when the country needs to be governed." He also said he is in favour of the political leaders meeting so that a national policy that will reduce the harm on the country is drafted. "We are working with all our strength to restore the prestige of the country. The government needs to get serious and agree on Friday on an efficient action plan to address the crisis," he added. [04] We are facing the worst humanitarian crisis since WWII, UN High Commissioner for Refugees tells ANA-MPA "What Greece is faced with is not fair," the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Melissa Fleming on Tuesday said in an interview with ANA-MPA. Regarding the new restrictions some countries imposed on refugee flows, she said that that "they are particularly isolationist and are not consistent with the spirit of unity and European values." "This is not fair for Greece. It is not a problem that should be a problem of only one country due to its geographical location. This is a problem of the entire European Union; it must fight it and show solidarity to all those that bear the main burden," she underlined. She reassured that the UNHCR "does its best to help Greece and will do even more," but she admitted that "it will be a very difficult situation." "The issue is that we have proposed a lot of solutions to relieve Greece and there are also European proposals, but some countries decided to act unilaterally and they did not wait for the substantial and efficient proposals," she stated. Fleming admitted that "we are facing the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II." Moreover, she said she is moved by the stance of the Greek government and the Greek people. "It is a very human and humanitarian approach (of the government), but the Greek people are also amazing. Of course, there are some right wing movements, as we have seen in all European countries, and this worries us a lot. Of course, this kind of chaotic situations, with huge groups of people, can be used in a very negative way to generate fear and xenophobia with the sole purpose of gathering votes. We hope, however, that the compassion of the Greek people will prevail." When asked if they would ever be an end to all this tragedy, she admitted that the situation will not change overnight. "There could be an end if the global forces could think of a way to stop the war. But this would be too idealistic. However, we hope that there will be a renewed peace process and that hostilities will cease - as we now have truce. All the Syrians I know want to return home," she concluded. [05] Eurobank completes acquisition of Alpha Bank's branch in Bulgaria Eurobank and Alpha Bank on Tuesday announced the completion of an acquisition of Alpha Bank's branch in Bulgaria by Eurobank's subsidiary in the country, Eurobank Bulgaria AD (Postbank). Following the completion of the acquisition, Postbank becomes the fourth largest bank in Bulgaria, based on deposits and loans and was looking forward to further enhance its position in the Bulgarian market and to expand its customer base in the retail banking and corporate banking sectors. [06] Greece must be ready for the worst scenario, Shipping Min. Dritsas says Greece must be prepared for the worst scenario, Shipping Minister Thodoris Dritsas stated on Tuesday, adding that the government does not want to create permanent and large camps because "it is very difficult for someone to handle areas hosting 10,000 people." Speaking to private TV MEGA, Dritsas said that the hotspots have a transitive and pre-departure role adding that the state can construct permanent hosting facilities for the migrants and the refugees but "we mustn't do something like that now". Dritsas estimated that the fact that the refugees do not want to stay here (in Greece) is a safeguard for us adding that "in case of a fair allocation of refugees to all the European countries then we will have our share of refugees that will remain in Greece". Finally, Dritsas said that Greece has asked for emergency financing from the European Union for the refugees as well as for the people that will finally stay in Greece. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-03-01 Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Athens News Agency at CONTENTS [01] Greek unemployment eases to 24.6% in Nov 2015, Eurostat [02] ND's Mitsotakis: Refugee crisis in Greece out of control [03] Greece turns down invitation to participate in police chiefs meeting in Belgrade on borders issue [01] Greek unemployment eases to 24.6% in Nov 2015, Eurostat Greek unemployment rate eased to 24.6 pct of the workforce in November 2015, slightly from 24.7 pct in October, Eurostat announced on Tuesday. In a report released in Brussels, the EU executive's statistic service said the unemployment rate in the Eurozone was 10.3 pct in January 2016, from 10.4 pct in December, the lowest level since August 2011. In the EU-28, the unemployment rate was 8.9 pct, down from 9.0 pct in December, the lowest level since May 2009. The unemployment rate was 11.3 pct in the Eurozone and 9.8 pct in the EU in January 2016. There were 21.78 million people unemployed in the EU and 16.64 million unemployed in the Eurozone in January. Greece (24.6 pct) and Spain (20.5 pct) recorded the highest unemployment rates in the EU, while Germany and Czech Republic (4.5 pct), Malta and the UK (5.1 pct) the lowest unemployment rates. There were 1.18 million unemployed people in Greece. The unemployment rate among young people was 48 pct in Greece, down from 48.3 pct in October. Spain (45 pct), Croatia (44.1 pct) and Italy (39.3 pct) also recorded high unemployment rates among young people. [02] ND's Mitsotakis: Refugee crisis in Greece out of control Main opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking at the party's parliamentary group on Tuesday, lashed out at Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. "The refugee issue is out of control, the situation is even more tragic, the economy is sustained with external means, society is boiling, nothing is moving forward, the country is close to zero," he said, adding: "The only one who sees things differently is the person who led the country to that situation. Tsipras' interview on Monday was revealing and worrying. Mr Tsipras has lost control when the country needs to be governed." He also said he is in favour of the political leaders' meeting so that a national policy to reduce the harm being done on the country is drafted. "We are working with all our strength to restore the prestige of the country. The government needs to get serious and agree on Friday on an efficient action plan to address the crisis," he added. [03] Greece turns down invitation to participate in police chiefs meeting in Belgrade on borders issue Greece did not accept the invitation to participate in the second meeting of police chiefs of the five Balkan countries, Fyrom, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria, that is held on Tuesday at Belgrade on the issue borders issue. The first meeting was held in Zagreb on February 18. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias had condemned this initiative as unilateral and outside the institutions, clarifying that its decisions violated the agreement at the recent European Summit on the borders issue. Greece clearly turned down the invitation which could indirectly 'make legal' the previous meeting in Zagreb. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article I have learned the hard way not to put my personal life on the Internet. But suffice it to say that, God willing, things should be pretty much back to norm... 1 week ago Our telegram headlines today*: # EU BUDGET 2018 Presentation of the Guidelines for the 2018 EU budget - Committee on Budgets # EFSI EP Report - Investing in jobs and growth - maximising the contribution of European Structural and Investment Funds: an evaluation of the report under Article 16(3) of the CPR - A8-0385/2016 - Committee on Regional Development Synergies between European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) & Research and Innovation Funding: The Stairway to Excellence (S2E) # HORIZON 2020 European Info Day and Brokerage Event - Horizon 2020 Secure Societies Events - Horizon 2020 conference on Research and Innovation and presentation of the Erasmus + programme - 6-7 February 2017, Salle Sirius, Hotel Labourdonnais, Mauritius Events - 2nd World Congress on Polymer Science and Engineering - 8-9 May 2017, Barcelona, Spain Events - ITSSOIN concluding conference - 20 February 2017, Brussels, Belgium Events - E Tech4Cities Brokerage Event 2017 - Find y Officials in the Thornton Township are impressed with how the Charleston, South Carolina community responded so much differently than residents of Baltimore, Maryland and Ferguson, Missouri did when shooting tragedies occurred in their cities. THORNTON TOWNSHIP - Just south of Chicago is a community where the most recent data shows the median annual household income is $47,812, 11.7 percent below the poverty level and 57.3 percent of the 180,082 residents are black. "In some other city, an incident of such hatred and racist horror might have sparked an outpouring of anger, violence and divisiveness driving crowds into the streets in clashes with each other and police," an online petition being sponsored by the township says. "Instead, something unexpected happened an outpouring of unity and forgiveness." In order to find out more about what led to Charleston's unique reaction when nine blacks were killed during a prayer service at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the township paid $46,000 for a taxpayer-funded trip for Supervisor Frank Zuccarelli and 14 other delegates this past September, the Daily Southtown found. After the trip, the township just south of Chicago launched a $106,000 campaign urging residents to sign the township's petition calling for the South Carolina community to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace. The Daily Southtown found: The township bought radio ads from WVON for $15,750, WVAZ for $9,600, WGCI for $11,140, WYCA for $2,304, and WGRB for $4,440, a January invoice shows. Thornton also spent $57,877 on full page ads in the Chicago Defender, Citizen newspaper, Crusader newspaper, and Standard newspaper, a different January invoice shows. The rest of the $106,257 figure mostly includes smaller, related costs. Supervisor Zuccarelli said in a statement that the effort was "directly related" to an "overall township initiative" to "facilitate a law enforcement-community collaboration to help establish the level of mutual trust and respect so necessary to avoid violence and promote peace in our communities." "What we learned, basically, is that the more familiar people are with each other, the easier it is to deal with individual crises as they occur," Zuccarelli said. "It's actually more of a trust factor than anything else." The township held one conference to share their findings, and plans another this summer for younger community members. CHICAGO - An effort to toss presidential candidate U.S. Senator Ted Cruz off Illinois' March 15th GOP primary ballot failed Tuesday before a Cook County judge. The plaintiff had failed to do paperwork required by the State Board of Elections, forcing the judge to set aside his objection. Attorney Lawrence Joyce, a Ben Carson supporter, was unable to argue that Senator Cruz was not a natural born citizen as required by the U.S. Constitution to run for president. Cruz attorney Sharee Langenstein of Murphysboro said Joyce's complaints were "misguided." WASHINGTON DC - Illinois is one of the six "big' states in which more than 20 percent of each partys pledged delegates will be allocated during the March 2016 primaries. In those states - Georgia, Texas, Michigan, Florida, Ohio and Illinois - the American Enterprise Institute did a review of exit polls from the 2008 and 2012 primaries. Illinois voters will choose 69 bound Republican and 156 pledged Democrat delegates on March 15th. While the Illinois Republican Party doesn't emphasize this tidbit in their statewide candidate choices or among the IL GOP leadership, 2008 and 2012 exit polling showed that six-in-ten GOP voters described themselves as "somewhat" or "very" conservative. Among Democrats in Illinois, 48% describe themselves as "somewhat" or "very" liberal. More Illinois men than women vote in GOP primaries, and more women than men vote in Democrat primaries and in both parties, the majority of voters are in the 55 to 64 age bracket than any other. Company's domestic sales however increased during the month to 1,08,115 units as against 1,07,892 units in February 2015. MSI said sales of its compact sedan Dzire Tour increased 38 per cent during the month under review at 3,522 units as against 2,552 units in February 2015. By Press Trust of India: Country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Tuesday reported a marginal decline in total sales in February at 1,17,451 units as against 1,18,551 units in the same month last year. Company's domestic sales however increased during the month to 1,08,115 units as against 1,07,892 units in February 2015. ALSO READ: Maruti Suzuki to showcase Baleno at Geneva Motor Show advertisement "During the month, the reservation agitation had disrupted component supplies, causing a temporary suspension of production by the company. Total production loss due to this was over 10,000 units. Despite that, the company was able to achieve marginal growth in domestic sales," MSI said. Sales of mini segment cars, including Alto and WagonR, declined 11.2 per cent to 35,495 units as compared to 39,988 units in the year-ago month, MSI said in a statement. Sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz, Dzire and Baleno increased marginally to 42,970 units in February this year as against 42,778 units in the year-ago period. ALSO READ: Maruti starts export of 'Make in India' Baleno to Europe MSI said sales of its compact sedan Dzire Tour increased 38 per cent during the month under review at 3,522 units as against 2,552 units in February 2015. The sales of company's mid-sized sedans Ciaz stood at 5,162 units, down 4.6 per cent as against 5,410 units in February last year. There was no sale of premium sedan Kizashi during the month. Sales of utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara, Ertiga and S-Cross rose 44.7 per cent at 8,484 units in February this year from 5,863 units in the corresponding month last year. ALSO READ: Maruti Suzuki Baleno vs Honda Jazz vs Hyundai i20 vs Volkswagen PoloGT Diesel Sales of Omni and Eeco vans rose 10.5 per cent to 12,482 units in February this year as compared to 11301 units in the same period of previous year. Exports during the month declined 12.4 per cent to 9,336 units as compared to 10,659 units in February last year, MSI said. --- ENDS --- The 1,100 odd candidates who had arrived in Muzaffarpur, in Bihar were in for a shock when they were first and foremost asked to take their clothes off, including their vests. By India Today Web Desk: The 1,100 odd candidates who had arrived in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, were in for a shock when they were first and foremost asked to take their clothes off, including their vests. The young men proceeded to take the army recruitment examination for clerical posts in their underwear. According to an Indian Express report, the move was made to save the time needed to frisk so many people. Officials had decided this to be the best procedure to eradicate any instances of cheating using scraps of papers hidden in clothes, in a state renowned for the act. advertisement Recently, Bihar had come in the news in a case of mass cheating, involving even the guardians and invigilators, in the class 12 examinations of the Bihar School Examination Board. Besides, last year, in yet another mass cheating case involving class 10 students, guardians and relatives were even seen to be scaling the exam centre wall in order to pass their wards chits of paper to cheat from. "We conduct thorough frisking and ensure that candidates carry minimum external things to the exam centre," said Army Regional Office director Colonel V. S. Godhara to the newspaper. When asked whether such an arrangement for the examination was specific to the state, Col Godhara said, "Nothing is state-specific". The written test conducted on Sunday, February 28, in which 1,159 candidates appeared. Of them, 775 candidates were in the general duty category, while 173 were from the technical category. The physical and medical tests had already been conducted from February 4 to February 12. The one-hour test took place amidst complaints of feeling cold, with candidates sitting cross-legged on the ground in their briefs and using their thighs as tables. Pictures depicting this scenario drew attention of the Patna High Court, which has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). The case will be heard at the court, today. Though locals have attributed this kind of examination arrangement as having been conducted for the second time, the procedure has been termed by a senior official as an "administrative lapse". The Army officer, requesting anonymity, said, "There is no question of the Army conducting a written test in this manner. It is only during physical tests and medical exams that candidates are asked to remove their clothes. The written test is a test of the mental faculty anyway, and making candidates appear for that in their underwear amounts to an administrative lapse". Before the commencement of the Board examinations, strict steps had been taken in order to curb cheating in the state, including setting up CCTV cameras in some classrooms, along with live streaming in certain examination centres. (Read: Bihar steps against exam cheating: Extra security, CCTV cameras arranged) Check out the video here: Check: Union budget 2016: Highlights for Education sector advertisement Click here to get more education news. Get latest updates on exam notifications and scholarships across India and abroadhere. --- ENDS --- President Pranab Mukherjee declares Kerala as the first digital state of the country. President Pranab Mukherjee has launched a digital empowerment campaign in the state of Kerala. At a event held in Kozhikode, Mukherjee declared Kerala as the first digital state in India. The campaign aims to develop better digital communication across the state by 2020. The overall digital growth in the southern state is remarkable. Here are some points you must know: Kerala has achieved 100 per cent mobile connectivity and 75 per cent Internet literacy in the past few years The state has the highest record of digital banking, bank accounts linked to Aadhar card and e-governance Broadband connectivity has been distributed in the Panchayat level as well Kerala is the first state to successfully link its villages with broadband connectivity under the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) programme Apart from the NOFN programme, the state government had also started two digital projects -- Akshaya and IT@School -- in 2002 There are more than 2,500 Akshaya centres in rural and urban areas in the state, which help to generate awareness about e-governance and digital connectivity Over 600 e-governance applications cover almost all departments of the state Kerala has a mobile coverage of 95 percent and Internet access to over 60 percent of its total population - the highest among all the 29 states. advertisement Interested in General Knowledge and Current Affairs? Click here to stay informed and know what is happening around the world with our G.K. and Current Affairs section. To get more updates on Current Affairs, send in your query by mail to education.intoday@gmail.com --- ENDS --- At least 40 people were killed by a suicide bomber at a funeral in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala while a suicide blast at a security checkpoint in Baghdad's western outskirts killed eight members of the security forces. By Reuters: At least 40 people were killed by a suicide bomber at a funeral in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala while a suicide blast at a security checkpoint in Baghdad's western outskirts killed eight members of the security forces, police said on Monday. The larger attack in Muqdadiya, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Baghdad, killed six local commanders of the Hashid Shaabi umbrella group of Shi'ite militias who were attending the funeral of a commander's relative, security officials and police in Diyala said. A further 58 people were wounded, the sources said. advertisement Islamic State, an ultra-hardline Sunni group that controls large parts of northern and western Iraq, claimed responsibility for the blast, according to a statement posted on the SITE monitoring group's Twitter account. The killing of the commanders, four of whom were from the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia and two from the Badr Organisation, is likely to inflame sectarian tensions in the mixed province. Security officials and witnesses said the situation inside Muqdadiya was tense, with dozens of Shi'ite militia members out on the streets but few security forces. The town's police chief was wounded in clashes with militia fighters who had tried to seize suspected Islamic State militants from a prison in Muqdadiya, police sources said. Militia elements have been accused of attacking Sunni Muslim mosques and residents in Diyala following similar bombings in January, but the groups have denied the allegations and blamed Islamic State. Iraqi officials declared victory over the Sunni insurgents in Diyala a year ago. While it no longer controls significant territory in the eastern province bordering Iran, Islamic State has remained active there. A separate attack in the western Baghdad outskirts of Abu Ghraib followed an offensive by Islamic State militants on army and police positions in the same area on Sunday which left 24 people dead but was eventually repelled by counter-terrorism forces and army attack helicopters. Monday's blasts follow the deadliest bombing inside the capital so far this year, which killed 78 people in a Shi'ite district on Sunday. ALSO READ: IS claims responsibility for Baghdad mall attack Over $500 million ISIS cash reserves destroyed by US airstrikes, reports say --- ENDS --- The Agra police has registered a case against three persons for "hurting religious sentiments" and "inciting communal tension" during a Sangh Parivar meeting following the murder of a VHP leader in the city. By India Today Web Desk: The Agra police has registered a case against three persons for "hurting religious sentiments" and "inciting communal tension" during a Sangh Parivar meeting following the murder of a VHP leader in the city. Among the BJP and Hindu leaders who gave speeches laced with communal poison were the Agra MP and Union Minister of State for HRD Ram Shankar Katheria, Agra (Rural) MP Babulal, Sadhvi Prachi and several other local BJP leaders. advertisement Sadhvi Prachi said that the Samajwadi Party was plotting to turn the entire UP into another Kashmir from where Hindus were systematically being ethnically eliminated. She said that in Mantola alone, 250 Hindu families have left the locality and settled elsewhere. MoS HRD Ram Shankar Katheria said that if the cow murderers were not brought under the thumb of law, it was certain that every locality of the city will be holding such condolence meetings soon, grieving for the "Arun Mahores" of their area who died protecting the cows. Agra (Rural) MP Babulal said that the Hindus were ready to fight the decisive battle with Muslims in the interest of the community. If the administration does not listen to the demands of the grieving community, the BJP will take this movement to the roads. He said that the extent of partiality in the Samajwadi Party government as clear where Akhlaq gets Rs. 45 lakhs as compensation whereas Arun Mahore gets only 15 lakhs when both died in communal incidents. The BJP's decision to politicize this murder has created communal tension in the city with the Muslim leaders now meeting in secret to develop a strategy to counter any moves against the community by Hindu outfits. If not controlled soon, this simmering tension could blow up into a full-scale communal incident pretty soon. The three named in the complaint include Ashok Lavanya, Kundika Sharma and Prashant Chaudhary. They have been booked under sections 153A and 295A of the Indian Penal Code, IG (Law & Order) Bhagwan Swaroop said today. Minister of State for Human Resources RS Katheria and Agra MP Babulal, who attended the meeting and also made hate speeches, have not been named in the complaint. There was anger in Parliament today over Katheria's speech, with the Congress moving both houses for a discussion on the inflammatory remarks. According to reports, Katheria, along with BJP MP from Fatehpur Sikri Babu Lal, had recently attended a condolence meeting held for VHP worker Arun Mahaur, who was reportedly killed by a Muslim youth, in Agra. During the meeting, several speakers threatened Muslims of revenge. One of the speakers also reportedly asked the gathering to "corner Muslims and destroy the rakshas (demons). Katheria today denied his statements. "The article that is published in the Indian Express is completely untrue. Therefore, it is a matter of concern that Ram Gopal Yadav, without even seeing the CD, has made such statement. I would like to appeal to him to get the complete CD from his administration and listen to the whole address," he said. advertisement Also Read Ruckus in Parliament over minister Ram Shankar Katheria's hate speech --- ENDS --- By Manogya Loiwal : The Union budget 2016 has received mixed responses from different sectors, including business and the social sector. Commenting on the Union Budget 2016-17, Mr. Harshavardhan Neotia, President, FICCI said, "Overall the budget proposals are in line with the development priorities of the nation. The Finance Minister has made a concerted effort to pump money into the rural economy and the infrastructure sector. This will yield dividends which will in turn lead to greater demand and employment generation over time. The agriculture sector needed this attention". advertisement "Additionally, we see a lot of emphasis on affordable housing which will also result in forward and backward linkages hence propelling growth", added Neotia. Leading Exporter and MD of Parton Group Sanjay Budhia welcomed the Budget as the 'Achchey Din Budget' "This is growth oriented Practical, Pragmatic and Progressive Budget outlining well-defined, clear-cut path for the economy. This is not a "Big Bang - Make or Break Budget" but a Visionary Budget that will put India firmly in the growth trajectory", Budhia said. Manoj Jain, Aura Reader, Astrologer and Numerologist feels this is just the beginning. "The impact of Moon and it's Lunar forces is extremely high in the aura of the world, giving an emotional touch to everything. But numerically speaking this Budget will have a long term impact.Once Mars comes into play around August, there will be positivity in the economy as well as the political frame work beginning the third semester of next financial year. " The Social sector is foreseeing an impetus at a higher level. Achyuta Samanta, Founder of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences explains, "Development of any nation depends upon education.So education should be given more importance. As we have to grow more in the field of research, development and innovation, especially to motivate youths and students in the above field, we have to give importance to education budget. We are happy that government's focus on educational institution would help students and teachers." The Healthcare sector gave a mild response to Jaitley's third Union budget. ''India is going through series of radical changes, yet has managed to break the trend of significant game changer economies succumbing to structural pressures. China's major slowdown and consistent oil price fall have a deeper impact. India has a lot to gain from sustained performance.In reform process, 2016 budget has taken few stances like, exemptions on housing loan, interest for first time home buyers and affordable housing which would cheer the over stressed residential sectors. ''The nine pillars of the budget - agriculture and farmers' welfare, rural sector, social sector including healthcare, education, skills and job creation, infrastructure, financial sector reforms, ease of doing business, fiscal discipline, tax reforms to reduce compliance burden are built with balance.'' opines Dr Abhijit Paul, MD, Dr. Paul's Clinic Chain. advertisement Women in the urban region are elated with the boost to Make in India region along with a focus on the rural economy. Rachna Prasad expresses, "In Make in India project, young entrepreneurs have got the exemption of 3 to 5 years. It will give them lot of boost. In infrastructure department also the large and medium size houses which cater to the mediocre class people will be at great help. In rural pockets women can get LPG connection on their own.I would say that it is a very progressive budget. With regard to infrastructure, Rs 18 crore have been spent on infrastructure including railways. It is a very big step and I am very happy about the budget. In rural India government is paying a lot of attention on women. Women overall will be benefited." Appreciating the government to have efficiently covered sectors like agriculture and irrigation, Shiv Siddhant Kaul, President of Indian Chamber of Commerce said, "There has been a great debate on previously established fiscal norms and disciplines. The philosophy of what was promised will be continued and there should be a long term prospective. The areas like the agricultural sectors, agricultural and promotional activities which government is in, has been clearly spelled out. I would look at this budget speech more as an expression of the philosophy of the government rather than an announcement. In taxation area the positive one is the encouragement which has been given to the fordable housing. Hopefully this fiscal space will give enough room for improvement, combined with the formidable house initiative. It will allow consumers to have extra money in their pocket. In this way the original demand can be fulfilled. But I feel that there is a long term foundation to push the economy on a sustainable path. So I would say that the budget focus on a long term growth and sustained growth." advertisement Shashwat Goenka, Vice President of Indian Chamber of Commerce exhibited confidence in the positivity of budget. He said, "I think overall it is a very positive budget. Finance minister is stuck to fiscal consolidation, with the support from bank. It will help to boost the agriculture and infrastructure department. And talking about the establishment Acts, different state government take action on a voluntary basis." A dismal focus on the housing sector de-barred of variety benefits as compared to expectations that has left the leading Construction Sector brands worried.Rameswar Prasad, Director of Prasad Group points out, "FM in this budget focused specially on agriculture and infrastructure. But no initiatives/ measures have been taken towards housing /real estate sector which is presently in bad shape. Moreover such small allocation of Rs 25000 crore towards reviving of public sector banks was not justified, further no changes in Income tax slab, no increase in tax exemptions on investment of fund. Budget is not as per my expectations, govt could have taken more steps to boost all sector of business and industries." advertisement --- ENDS --- An Islamic studies teacher of Bangladeshi-origin found guilty of raping a 14-year-old pupil has been jailed for 19 years by a court here. By Press Trust of India: An Islamic studies teacher of Bangladeshi-origin found guilty of raping a 14-year-old pupil has been jailed for 19 years by a court here. Mohammed Islam, 31, started molesting the girl when she was just nine years old in 2010 before he raped her and made her pregnant in July last year, Snaresbrook Crown Court in north-east London was told yesterday. advertisement The girl went to a community centre in London to study the Quran from Islam when the incidents started. Last year when she fell pregnant she decided to delay her abortion long enough to prove Islam was the father of the child through a DNA test. "A profile was obtained that was identical to this defendant.. He was clearly the father of that foetus," said Prosecuting lawyer Robert Brown. Islam pleaded guilty to rape and sexual activity with a child after initially claiming his victim had proposed sex. He admitted to the charges on the first day of the trial when she turned up to testify against him, the 'Sun' reported. "What Mohammed has done to my daughter has broken me. In our religion she is no longer considered a virgin and is therefore unable or unlikely to get married to have a family," the girl's father said in a statement. "I am devastated. I am so angry," he said. Islam, from Bethnal Green in east London, admitted rape, four counts of sexually assaulting a child and two of sexual activity with a child. He was handed a 19-year jail sentence along with two concurrent sentences of five and two and a half years for four counts of sexual assault and sexual activity with a child. Islam was also put on the sex offenders' register and given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and notification. "You were respected as a religious man teaching young children the Quran.. I only hope and pray for her that this abuse will not have a long term effect on her," Judge Sarah Paneth told Islam. "I do not accept that a nine-year old child could possibly have instigated any sexual activity with you. I do not accept that she could in any sense encourage you," the judge said. --- ENDS --- The Supreme Court is expected to hear petition that says case against Gujarat cops should be dropped after US national and Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Headley's testimony. A file photo of Ishrat Jahan who was killed in an alleged fake encounter in 2004 in Gujarat. By India Today Web Desk: A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of criminal cases against Gujarat policemen in the alleged encounter killing of Ishrat Jahan, who, the plea claims, was a terrorist plotting to kill the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. The petition in the top court follows a recent testimony by US national and Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Coleman Headley, who said Jahan was a member of the Pakistan-based terror group. advertisement Since the "killing of a terrorist is not an offence under the Indian law", the petition filed by advocate ML Sharma asks the Supreme Court to drop charges against policemen accused of staging a fake encounter outside Ahmedabad in 2004. Four people, including Ishrat, were killed in the encounter. Meanwhile, the Home Ministry is all set to examine files relating to the controversial case after former Home Secretary GK Pillai said ex-Home Minister P Chidambaram had changed an affidavit, which originally described Ishrat and her slain aides as LeT operatives. "We are trying to locate files relating to Ishrat Jahan case. We are yet to get all files as some of these are yet to be traced," a senior Home Ministry official said. The official said the re-look into the Ishrat Jahan files was necessitated following the statement of the former Home Secretary. "We are looking at the files keeping in view that new facts have come to light," he said. Pillai on Sunday claimed that as Home Minister during the UPA government, Chidambaram had recalled the file a month after the original affidavit, which described Ishrat and her slain aides as LeT operatives, was filed in Supreme Court. "Only after the affidavit was revised, as directed by the minister, did the file come to me," Pillai is quoted as saying by a media report. The then UPA government had submitted two affidavits - one that the four, who were killed in an alleged fake encounter, were terrorists and the second saying there was no conclusive evidence - within two months in 2009. ALSO READ | This is what has happened in Ishrat Jahan case since 2004 Ishrat Jahan was a Lashkar operative, says David Headley --- ENDS --- Ridiculing allegations of having received "foreign funding", the students charged with sedition in connection with a controversial event on JNU campus against hanging of Afzal Guru claimed that it takes only "Rs 100" to organise any programme at the varsity. By Press Trust of India: Ridiculing allegations of having received "foreign funding", the students charged with sedition in connection with a controversial event on JNU campus against hanging of Afzal Guru claimed that it takes only "Rs 100" to organise any programme at the varsity. "Various theories are being applied to probe our 'terror links' and allegations are being made that we had received foreign funding and planned meticulously for the so called anti-national event. advertisement "The truth is that those who know the JNU culture are aware of the fact that it takes just Rs 100 to organise any event here and the same can be done without planning within an hour," said Anant Prakash Narayan, former JNUSU vice-president, who is among those charged with sedition. Ashutosh Kumar, former JNUSU president said, "Our names are being taken in court rooms and news studios. They are being screamed in Parliament. The entire country is looking at us as terrorists. But do they even know how things function in JNU and how routinely these affairs are handled." "We do not need any funding from any terror group to have a debate on Afzal Guru. Any university needs that? We are students, we just wish to debate, question and express. The way the government and police have blown things out of proportion is an example of the intolerance in the country," he added. Anant and Ashutosh, both PhD students at the varsity, are among the six students identified by the police for their alleged role in the February 9 during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. While the students union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on February 12, the duo along with three others - Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and Rama Naga - had gone in hiding fearing "mob-lynching". They resurfaced back on campus 10 days later. While Umar and Anirban surrendered before the police, the remaining three refused to do so but maintained that they are open to questioning by police as and when needed. They are now leading the movement along with JNUSU vice-president Shehla Rashid Shora against the alleged branding of university as "anti-national". The six students were also academically debarred by the university administration after a preliminary inquiry report by the high-level committee found their involvement in the incident. However, they have been allowed to stay in the university hostels as guests. Also Read Police registered my statement forcefully, says Kanhaiya in a letter to NHRC JNU row: Rahul, Kejriwal, Yechury among 9 booked for sedition JNU row: Court extends police custody of Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya by one day --- ENDS --- advertisement The murder of VHP leader Arun Kumar Mahore in Agra even though it has been solved has refused to die down, and now controversial statements by BJP and other right-wing organisations are only stoking further controversy. By India Today Web Desk: The murder of VHP leader Arun Kumar Mahore in Agra even though it has been solved has refused to die down, and now controversial statements by BJP and other right-wing organisations are only stoking further controversy. In his show News Today, Rajdeep Sardesai posed several question to his panelists: When will such hate speeches be condemned and people be made accountable and brought to book? The questions that arise in this context are - why do union ministers dish out hate speeches and why is there not enough done to rein in the motor mouths? Why are such ministers, who in many ways violate the law of the land allowed to continue and are they not spoiling the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. The panelists included Zafar Islam of the BJP, Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress, Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM and senior lawyer Dushyant Dave. advertisement Isolating the party from the statements made by Katheria, Zafar Islam said that the BJP has already clarified its stand and a report has been sought from the minister. "Any member who does cross the line has been and will always be reprimanded by the party. Unfortunately, when Imran Masood passed derogatory language against the Prime Minister, Rahul Gandhi not only did not condemn the act, but also went ahead and campaigned for him," said Islam. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, however, slammed the government for trying to communalise the entire situation and said that Katheria's speech was a rabid, provocative and divisive speech. "This is a union minister we are talking about, and this is not an isolated case, this is just a continuation of the template set by Sadhvi Maharaj and Sakshi Jyoti, and his met by eloquent silence by the Prime Minister," said the Congress spokesperson Singhvi. Responding to the question on Imran Masood, Singhvi said, "Two wrongs do not make a right. Masood was ostracized. The campaign which Rahul Gandhi went for was held much later, and we condemned the statement." Asaduddin Owaisi questioned the government and asked, "Where was this anger for Hindu Samaj when Hindus were murdered and women were molested in Haryana?" Senior Lawyer Dushyant Dave said, "PM and BJP should introspect and stop the kind of statement which was made by a Member of State, but unfortunately we are a majoritarian state where majority escapes and minority is caught." Watch the full discussion here: Also read: Agra hate speech: 3 booked, Katheria's name missing from police complaint --- ENDS --- The Haryana Police on Monday went into a denial mode as it filed its status report on the alleged rapes at Murthal in Sonipat district during the Jat agitation, saying no such incident took place. By Ajay Kumar: The Haryana Police on Monday went into a denial mode as it filed its status report on the alleged rapes at Murthal in Sonipat district during the Jat agitation, saying no such incident took place. The status report was filed before a division bench of justices SK Mittal and HS Sidhu. The status report filed by police denied the charges of molestation and gangrape during the intervening night of February 22/23 at Murthal in Sonipat district. The division bench adjourned the case to March 14. advertisement The High Court had taken suo motu note of the matter after a report in a local daily on the alleged rapes. The bench had appointed senior advocate Anupam Gupta as amicus curiae to assist the court in this matter. During the course of the hearing, ADGP Law and Order Mohd Akil and Head of the three-member women police officers probing the allegations DIG Rajshree Singh were also present. Days after allegations of rape and molestation by Jat quota agitators near Haryana's Murthal, a woman on Sunday came forward and registered a case of gangrape against seven persons, including her brother-in-law, in connection with the incident. "An FIR has been lodged against seven people in connection with a gangrape on the basis of a complaint filed by a Narelabased woman," Haryana Police, DIG, Rajshree Singh had said. She said the victim had alleged she was raped on the intervening night of February 22-23 and the perpetrators included her brother-in-law. The officer, who heads a three-member team of women police officers constituted by the Haryana government to go into alleged incidents of rape and molestation of several women by Jat protesters, however, said a family dispute could be the reason behind the woman filing the complaint. The officer said the victim was not sure about the exact scene of the crime but claimed she was raped in a building near Murthal when she was on way to Narela in Delhi from Hardwar in a van. Referring to the statement of three eyewitnesses - Om Singh, Zile Singh and Hari Krishna - who's named figured in a local daily report, on February 23, some reporters came to Sukhdev Dhaba and they told them that some passengers, including women, had come to the Dhaba and they had arranged tea and water for them and provided them cots at the dhaba. As per these statements, the news published in the newspaper was false and baseless, the report said. ALSO READ: Three-member SIT to probe Murthal rape case Murthal gangrapes: Women were dragged to fields and raped, confirm truck drivers --- ENDS --- In less than 48 hours NASA astronaut Scott Kelly will be blazing through the Earth's atmosphere after spending nearly a year aboard on the International Space Station. By India Today Web Desk: One year ago Scott Kelly lifted aboard a Russian space capsule named Soyuz and embarked on a challenging journey. He has spent nearly a year orbiting our planet in it. Scott Kelly along with his Russian counterpart Mikhail Kornienko and cosmonaut Sergey Volkov will touch down in the Kazakhstan desert around 11:27 pm ET today. advertisement Scott Kelly's space mission stands out as this is the first 'twin study' in space exploration. He and his identical-except-for-the-mustache twin, retired astronaut Mark Kelly were the subjects of the twin space experiments. Doctors will tally the varied effects that things like micro gravity, increased radiation and other space problems have had on the Kelly twins separately. For the first time, scientists focused their experiments on the physical effects of such a long-term spaceflight. One of the record-breaking space expeditions was set by a Russian cosmonaut in the 1990s and it lasted for over 438 days, but this current spaceflight has been the longest stint (340 days) ever taken on the International Space Station. Over a year in space, Scott Kelly has made a brilliant effort at staying connected with the world by posting some mind-blowing pictures of the Earth, giving regular updates on incredible experiments achieved on the ISS and posting some fun videos. Scott Kelly said if he get a chance he would spend another year in space. But he was longing to see his family and yearning on returning to a life with gravity, showers and contact "with folks on the ground that you care for and love and want to spend time with." Here are some of the highlights of the 340 days in orbit: He showed us how thanksgiving is celebrated in the ISS. The crew posted a video showing how an the elaborate holiday meal was cooked in NASA's Space Food System Laboratory. Also Read: WATCH: How American astronauts celebrated Thanksgiving in style at zero gravity Picture of the sizzling orange zinnia, the first space flower, mesmerized the world. advertisement Also read: NASA astronaut Scott Kelly posts picture of first flower grown in space On Nov. 6, 2015, NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren spent 7 hours and 48 minutes working outside the International Space Station on the 190th spacewalk in support of station assembly and maintenance. Scott Kelly also posted some spectacular pictures of our planet. The pictures showcased the diversity in the Earth's geography, all of which left people awestruck. Last but not the least, is the quirky space guerrilla that went viral when Kelly donned the suit and chased a fellow astronaut down a space station hallway. Um, @StationCDRKelly, I thought you said you had things under control up there on @Space_Station? #ApeInSpace pic.twitter.com/wYu1auoA6W Mark Kelly (@ShuttleCDRKelly) February 23, 2016 --- ENDS --- Former Home Secretary GK Pillai on Sunday said that his boss and former Home Minister P Chidambaram had changed an affidavit which described Ishrat Jahan and her aides as LeT operatives. By India Today Web Desk: Former Home Secretary GK Pillai on Sunday said that his boss and former Home Minister P Chidambaram had changed an affidavit which described Ishrat Jahan and her aides as LeT operatives. Pillai claimed that Congress leader Chidambaram had recalled the file a month after the original affidavit was filed in Supreme Court. "Only after the affidavit was revised, as directed by the minister, did the file come to me," Pillai is quoted as saying by a media report. advertisement In 2009, UPA government had submitted two affidavits within two months- one that the four, who were killed in an alleged fake encounter, were terrorists and the second saying there was no conclusive evidence of terror links. P Chidambaram on Monday took the responsibility of the second affidavit. "As a minister I accept full responsibility for the affidavit and it is disappointing that the former home secretary who is equally responsible wants to distance himself from that now," he said. Ishrat Jehan was a young college girl who was killed along with three others in 2004 near Ahmedabad by police officers who claimed that she was part of a plot to assassinate then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Now the BJP is blaming the Congress and the Gandhi family for changing the affidavit for political reasons. India Today's Gaurav Sawant spoke to former Special Director of Intelligence Bureau, Sudhir Kumar, who generated the intel input in Ishrat Jahan case. Here is what Kumar said: What did he say From 2002 onwards, various groups from Pakistan and Nepal were trying to cause violence in India. Intelligence input on Ishrat Jahan's LeT connection was genuine. Intelligence input passed on to Gujarat. One might claim that Ishrat Jahan was misled, but she was an active part of the group. Politically motivated inquiry has adversely impacted morale of IB field officers. Top leadership of IB and Govt let down officers combating terror. We did not need Headley to confirm Ishrat's terror links, knew from multiple sources. Ishrat Jahan and LeT module was monitored both in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Politics over terror has weakened terror fighting machinery. Rajinder Kumar (then Joint Director IB) and other IB officers did a good job but we're unfairly targeted. Also Read Ishrat Jahan case: Ravi Shankar Prasad questions Chidambaram's actions Ishrat Jahan case: Plea in Supreme Court seeks quashing of murder charges against Gujarat cops --- ENDS --- iStock/Thinkstock(MELBOURNE, Australia) -- A young boy from Australia had to spend his vacation in a vending machine. According to BBC, 4-year-old Leo saw a vending machine in the lobby of the hotel his family was staying at in Melbourne, and reportedly tried to reach in to grab a bag of cookies. Leo became stuck due to the machine's anti-theft mechanisms and starting screaming, witnesses said. To rescue Leo, authorities had to sedate him and use smartphones to distract him so they could cut open the machine with angle grinders, according to BBC. Leo's father Aaron Shorthouse told local media he didn't think his son had ever seen a vending machine before because they live in a remote far north part of Australia. Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. In a secret operation, Pakistan on monday hanged Mumtaz Qadri, a police commando who gunned down Salman Taseer, then governor of Pakistani Punjab province in 2011. By Kaswar Klasra: In a secret operation, Pakistan on monday hanged Mumtaz Qadri , a police commando who gunned down Salman Taseer, then governor of Pakistani Punjab province in 2011. According to Pakistani officials, Mumtaz Qadri was hanged at 4:30 am in infamous Adiala jail situated in garrission city of Rawalpindi at a distance of a few kilometers from General headquarter of Pakistan's military. advertisement "Mumtaz Qadri has been executed this morning," senior official of Adiala jail told reporters on Monday. Officials said his family were summoned to the prison on Sunday night under the pretext that Qadri was feeling unwell. Meeting lasted for several hours. Authorities in Pakistan took five years to bring Salman's murderer to justice. Qadri shot Taseer 28 times in broad daylight in Islamabad's Kohsar Market on January 4, 2011. Months before his murder, Taseer had sparked anger among Pakistan's religious conservatives by taking up the cause of Asia Bibi, a poor Christian woman who had been sentenced to death for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad. Qadri confessed before the court he killed Taseer over what he called Salman Taseer's vocal opposition to blasphemy laws of the country. On October 1, 2011, an Anti-terrorism court sentenced Qadri to death for assassinating Salman Taseer. On March 9, 2015, the Islamabad High Court upheld the conviction of Mumtaz Qadri, under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code. On December 13, 2015, Pakistan's SC rejected a review petition against the death sentence. Earlier this year in February, his mercy appeal was rejected by President Mamnoon Hussain paving the way for his hanging. --- ENDS --- Prime Minister Narendra Modi today tweeted birthday wishes for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, wishing him a long and happy life. By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today greeted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on his birthday. "Birthday wishes to Bihar CM @NitishKumar ji. May he be blessed with a long and healthy life," PM Modi tweeted. Birthday wishes to Bihar CM @NitishKumar ji. May he be blessed with a long and healthy life.&; Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 1, 2016 advertisement Nitish Kumar was born on March 1, 1951 in Bihar;s Bakhtiarpur. He is the 22nd Chief Minister of Bihar. On Monday, Nitish Kumar described Union Budget 2016 as 'disappointing' and said that Prime Minister Modi had failed in the "examination". He also said that the budget promises 'achche din' (good days) only for those having black money. --- ENDS --- Preity Zinta has finally put all speculations to rest as the actor married her boyfriend Gene Goodenough in Los Angeles. According to a report published in Filmfare, the two got hitched in a private ceremony on February 29. The report further states that the presence of Preity's close friends, Sussanne Khan and Surily Goel, in LA has cemented the rumours. By India Today Web Desk: Preity Zinta has finally put the speculations to rest, as the actor has married her boyfriend Gene Goodenough in Los Angeles. According to a report published in Filmfare, the two got hitched in a private ceremony on February 29. ALSO READ: Preity Zinta and Gene Goodenough tying the knot end of this month? ALSO READ: This is Preity Zinta's brilliant answer for all those marriage questions advertisement The report further states that the presence of Preity's close friends, Sussanne Khan and Surily Goel, in LA has cemented the rumours. The magazine also reveals that Preity has plans to have a big fat Indian wedding in April, before the next season of IPL kicks off. Preity's friend Kabir Bedi took to Twitter to confirm as well as congratulate the actor. HUGE CONGRATS my friend @realpreityzinta on your marriage to Gene in Los Angeles, City of Angels. Blessings! pic.twitter.com/NLBEIY6fS7 KABIR BEDI (@iKabirBedi) March 1, 2016 It's been a few months since the rumours of Preity Zinta's marriage started doing the rounds. Last year, there were reports that the Kal Ho Na Ho actor will be tying the knot with her rumoured American beau Gene Goodenough in January, and later the rumours suggested that the actor will be getting hitched on Valentine's Day. But the actor, time and again, took to Twitter to rubbish the "manufactured news" and also warned people to stop speculating about her personal life and leave her marriage announcement to her. Preity has been in a relationship with Gene for more than a year now. In fact, he also was present at a few IPL matches along with the Ishkq in Paris actor. Well, with the marriage news, it seems Preity has finally found her happy ending! --- ENDS --- Smriti Irani's deputy Ram Shankar Katheria is in trouble over his hate speech in Agra. Both Houses of the Parliament witnessed repeated disruptions over Katheria's remarks as proceedings began today, a day after the Budget. By India Today Web Desk: Smriti Irani's deputy Ram Shankar Katheria is in trouble over his hate speech in Agra. Both Houses of the Parliament witnessed repeated disruptions over Katheria's remarks as proceedings began today, a day after the Budget. Minister of State for Human Resource and Development Ram Shankar Katheria has, however, claimed that reports about him making an inflammatory speech in Agra were completely untrue. advertisement "The article that is published in the Indian Express is completely untrue. Therefore, it is a matter of concern that Ram Gopal Yadav, without even seeing the CD, has made such statement. I would like to appeal to him to get the complete CD from his administration and listen to the whole address," Katheria said. According to reports, Katheria, along with BJP MP from Fatehpur Sikri Babu Lal, had recently attended a condolence meeting held for VHP worker Arun Mahaur, who was reportedly killed by a Muslim youth, in Agra. During the meeting, several speakers threatened Muslims of revenge. One of the speakers also reportedly asked the gathering to "corner Muslims and destroy the rakshas (demons). Congress leader Anand Sharma has given the adjournment motion in the Rajya Sabha. Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav had yesterday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack Katheria from the cabinet for his inflammatory remarks. --- ENDS --- Russia said on Tuesday there was a growing threat from Islamic State militants waging chemical warfare in the Middle East and called for global negotiations on a new pact to combat what he called "a grave reality of our time". By Reuters: Russia said on Tuesday there was a growing threat from Islamic State militants waging chemical warfare in the Middle East and called for global negotiations on a new pact to combat what he called "a grave reality of our time". Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the appeal in a speech to the U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, a now largely moribund forum which clinched a major pact banning chemical weapons in the 1990s. advertisement "However, we still face significant gaps related, in particular, to the use of chemicals for terrorist purposes," Lavrov told the 65-member-state forum. "This threat is getting extremely urgent in the light of newly revealed facts of repeated use of not only industrial toxic chemicals but also of full-fledged chemical warfare agents by ISIL (Islamic State) and other terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq," he said. Islamic State militants are believed to be responsible for sulfur mustard gas attacks in Syria and Iraq last year, the United States said last month. A confidential report by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) concluded that at least two people were exposed to sulfur mustard in Marea, north of Aleppo, in August. "It does not leave any doubt that chemical terrorism is emerging not as an abstract threat, but a grave reality of our time which could and should be addressed," Lavrov said. "There is a growing danger of similar crimes being committed on the territory of Libya and Yemen," he said. Lavrov said there were reports of militant groups gaining access to scientific and technical documentation on the production of chemical weapons, seizing chemical plants and "engaging foreign specialists to help synthesise chemical warfare agents", without giving details. He said launching negotiations would revive the Conference on Disarmament, whose members include U.N. Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, but which has not been able to clinch any disarmament agreements since "the last decade of the 20th Century". --- ENDS --- Both Houses of the Parliament were adjourned minutes after proceedings began today morning as the Opposition moved a privilege motion against Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani. The Opposition claimed that the minister has misled the country over Rohith Vemula suicide and JNU crackdown issues. By India Today Web Desk: Both Houses of the Parliament were adjourned minutes after proceedings began today morning as the Opposition moved a privilege motion against Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani. The Opposition claimed that the minister has misled the country over Rohith Vemula suicide and JNU crackdown issues. Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya has given a privilege motion against Congress's Jyotiraditya Scindia. advertisement Congress leader Anand Sharma has given adjournment motion in Rajya Sabha over Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Ram Shankar Katheria for his hate speech in Agra. We have often seen proceedings in both the Houses - Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha - being paralysed over privilege or adjournment motions moved by either of the two sides. Here's a brief guide about the two motions: Privilege motion Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha states that a Member of Parliament can raise a question involving a breach of privilege either of a member or of the Council or of a Committee with the consent of the Speaker. The right to raise a question of privilege are governed by the following conditions: Not more than one question shall be raised at the same sitting. The question shall be restricted to a specific matter of recent occurrence. The matter requires the intervention of the House. The Speaker may admit the notice if he/she feels that the issue raised by the member is of public importance. Parliamentary privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by MPs. A breach of privilege is punishable under Parliament's law. Adjournment motion The main objective of an adjournment motion is to draw the attention of the House to a recent matter of public importance. When the motion is being discussed, the Speaker has no power to adjourn the House for the day. Once the debate on adjournment motion starts, it has to be concluded and decision arrived at without interruption of the House. Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha states that "an adjournment motion involves an element of censure against the Government. In the event of an adjournment motion being adopted, the House automatically stands adjourned." Also Read Budget over, Opposition prepares to corner Smriti Irani in Parliament Ruckus in Parliament over minister Ram Shankar Katheria's hate speech --- ENDS --- With the Budget allocation to the Home Ministry increasing by 25 per cent and the capital expenditure for the three forces - Army, Air Force and Navy - coming down, the broad observation could be that India's internal security is a concern and the paramilitary forces will need more revenue for strengthening these forces. By Mail Today: With the Budget allocation to the Home Ministry increasing by 25 per cent and the capital expenditure for the three forces - Army, Air Force and Navy - coming down, the broad observation could be that India's internal security is a concern and the paramilitary forces will need more revenue for strengthening these forces. Since the Ministry of Home Affairs needs to increase the strength of these forces to bolster manpower, greater revenue would be required here. Paramilitary forces carry out various internal security duties across the country, including conflict zones, and need to be strengthened. advertisement As far as the Ministry of Defence is concerned, there is a drop of `13,000 crore in the capital component. In the revised estimate for 2015-16, the capital was `85,112 crore whereas what has been budgeted is `98,175 crore. So, it was allocated but not spent last year. The proposed figure in the current estimate has come down to `89,208 crore, which is much less than what was budgeted in the last fiscal year. This shows a trend that the Budget is shrinking for the armed forces. This can have an adverse impact on the capacity building of the military machinery in the country, which includes all the three forces and the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO). A comparison will clearly demonstrate that India is not prioritising its internal security needs to fund paramilitary forces like Central Reserve Police Force who are fighting the Maoists, the Border Security Force guarding borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh or for that matter the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and forces like the Central Industrial Security Force responsible for security of airports. Perhaps, keeping in mind the recent infiltrations from across the border when Pakistani terrorists carried out terror attacks, `2,490 crore has been allocated for the erection of barbed wire fencing, construction of roads and induction of Hi-tech surveillance on the Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Pak borders. Also Read: Budget 2016: SUVs, cigarettes to cost more Budget 2016: Higher education financing agency amid row over JNU Government allocates Rs 9,000 crore for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Highlights og Budget 2016 Union Budget 2016: Arun Jaitley's 9 pillars to transform India Budget 2016: Government to launch scheme for digital literacy in rural areas Budget 2016: Why agriculture topped Arun Jaitley's 9-point plan to change IndiaBudget 2016: Govt to develop 160 non-functional airports --- ENDS --- Priyanka Chopra's Oscars 2016 stint won the hearts of her fans all over the world. While Indians couldn't stop praising Desi Girl's appearance on the Oscars' red carpet and stage, it is probably the Academy who should be happy they chose Chopra as a presenter this year. By Ananya Bhattacharya: Oscars 2016 is over, but for us Indians, the hangover is likely to last a few days more. The reason? Priyanka Chopra on the red carpet, Priyanka Chopra on the Oscars stage, Priyanka Chopra among Hollywood biggies, Priyanka Chopra at the after-party... In a nutshell, Priyanka Chopra. Priyanka Chopra's presence at the 88th Annual Academy Awards made netizens go berserk. And no, this isn't just a statement for the sake of it. Google Oscar searches from all over the world had Priyanka Chopra ranking a close second - just behind (who else) Leonardo DiCaprio. advertisement Priyanka Chopra's breakthrough in the international market happened with ABC's TV series Quantico, where the actor was roped in to play the lead. If that had PC taking over America, Oscars had her conquering it. Her appearance on the red carpet was loved by most people; Twitter, Facebook and Instagram all had people singing paeans to Priyanka. On the red carpet, when asked whether she was nervous before walking to the stage and presenting an award, Chopra's response was, "I just don't want to screw up someone's name, you know." And had she practised speaking all those names? "Yes, I did. Thank God yesterday I had to pre-record the names of the nominees..." Priyanka Chopra at Oscars 2016. Photo: Reuters In addition to discussing her dress and Quantico with news channels, Priyanka taught how to pose on the red carpet, she also answered one of those questions that had been plaguing the Academy ever since the Oscars 2016 nominees were announced this year: (Lack of) Diversity. "I just think that art shouldn't be defined by the colour of your skin," was Priyanka's curt, nail-on-the-head answer. And indeed, Priyanka's appearance on the Oscars 2016 stage did manage to act as a face-saver of sorts for the Academy, given the storm it has been the centre of for more than a month now. #OscarsSoWhite the hashtag read since the nominees were announced. People of colour boycotted the event, but host Chris Rock did his best by saving the Academy and tackling the so-white issue. Priyanka Chopra's presence at the 88th Academy Awards led to the actor being the second most-searched celebrity in Oscar searches on Google. Photo: Reuters On the stage, Kerry Washington pointed out how TV in America "had done better with inclusion," read the New York Times review of Oscars 2016. Another NYT piece also said how critique was built into the production of the show. "Most of the nonwhite presenters are on ABC television shows (Kerry Washington, Sofia Vergara, Priyanka Chopra) or from other countries where, in the cases of Ms Chopra and Lee Byung-hun, who presented the foreign-language Oscar with Ms Vergara, they are actual movie stars." advertisement As far as Priyanka Chopra is concerned then, the actor perhaps did more good to the Academy with her presence on the stage than the other way round. And as an icing on the cake (or the entire cake, if you will), Priyanka planted Bollywood - and by extension, India - at the Oscars. For probably never has a Bollywood star commanded such interest in her (or him) at the Oscars. Say what you might, one cannot take that away from this Desi Girl. ALSO SEE: OSCARS 2016 FULL COVERAGE ALSO SEE: OSCARS 2016 COMPLETE WINNERS' LIST --- ENDS --- Android N will likely have a revamped homescreen if a new Google Maps video is an indicator of things to come. By Sahil Mohan Gupta : Android N will likely have a revamped homescreen if a new Google Maps video is an indicator of things to come. As seen in the video, Google might be adopting a single interface layer and forgoing the app drawer altogether. In the video, there is a Google Nexus 6P smartphone which showcases features of the new Google Maps app, but the homescreen has a missing app drawer button and only has icons for Google Search, Chrome, Maps, Photos, Hangouts, the dialler, contacts and camera apps. advertisement Previous leaks have suggested that Android N could bring forth a hamburger menu for jumping within apps just like iOS. All these changes come at a time when Apple is overly adding Android like features to iOS. This also means that Android is becoming like iOS and sort of convergence of interface paradigms is happening. Recently, even Microsoft adopted the hamburger menu for Windows Phone 10. In Android N, Google is also expected to add split-view multitasking capabilities for tablets. Other user interface refinements are also expected in the operating system and Google could push to further refine the Android experience. Google is likely to launch Android N as a preview in May, when it host its annual Google I/O developer conference. Google's CEO Sundar Pichai has already hinted that he would be open to having a poll for the naming of Android N. At MWC we saw multiple phones including the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the LG G5 which had new Android skins, which also eliminated the app drawer. That being said, Samsung by default used an app drawer but had a hidden mode which eliminated it. Considering most Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Lenovo and Huawei for long haven't used the app drawer, this could be a precursor of things to come for the next version of Android. --- ENDS --- By Sahil Mohan Gupta : Update: First unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, this year, Lenovo's latest offering K5 Plus will be launched in India today. Chinese tech giant Lenovo is all set to launch its new K5 Plus smartphone in India on March15. The company has sent out press invites for the launch event which is slated to happen in New Delhi. Late last month, the company had globally unveiled the phone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain. advertisement The company also tweeted, "The phone that was a #KnockOut at MWC 2016 will reach India soon. How excited are you? #LenovoMWC." The tweet was accompanied with an image of the phone. The phone was launched alongside the K5 at MWC, and is only differentiated by the size of the screen and the processor, which powers it. Also read: Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus quick review: This could be best Rs 10,000 phone The phone, which is fully clad in metal, has a 5.5-inch full-HD resolution and is powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 octa-core processor. It is coupled with Adreno 405 graphics processor and 2GB RAM. The device also has a 13-megapixel camera on the back. On the front, it has a 5-megapixel camera, which is rather standard for a selfie camera. Many standard features can be found on the device, which include support for Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, a microUSB 2.0 connector and a 2,750mAh battery. The phone runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop. Also read: Lenovo unveils Vibe K5, K5 Plus budget phones at MWC The phone will have stiff competition at launch. On March 3, Xiaomi is going to launch the Redmi Note 3, which is likely to have a price of less than Rs 15,000. While the Lenovo K5 Plus does come with things like dual-SIM connectivity and support for 4G networks, its hardware isn't outright impressive, which can cause the phone difficulties. The phone could be sold in 'flash-sale' format, something that Lenovo has been known to do in the last few years. Lenovo is also the owner of Motorola and in 2016 the company plans on phasing out the Motorola brand and transition to 'Moto by Lenovo'- a brand dedicated for high-end smartphones. According to IDC Lenovo combined with Motorola is the fourth largest smartphone maker in the world. It is only eclipsed by Samsung, Apple and Huawei. It is closely followed by Chinese upstart Xiaomi. --- ENDS --- Investigative reporting from the inner city to Wall Street to the United Nations This is the blogspot version InnerCityPress.com APA petitions are one more tool we use to protect public lands or threatened wildlife by engaging federal agencies and pushing them to do better for the ... Time to reveal my first investment in a truly Japanese company (that is bought with Yen and only listed in Japan). What really triggered me to pull the gun... Merpel is getting ready for the promise of a new season of IP blogging With Spring fast approaching [yay!] the IPKat is also embracing the impending season of renewal and growth with exciting announcements on this season's IPKat blog team. PermaKats Annsley "the AmeriKat" Ward has relocated her Kat basket from Liverpool Street to Blackfriars, finding a cozy nook in the offices of elite IP practice, Bristows LLP. When she is not clawing apart opposing counsels' cases in life sciences and TMT patent litigation, Annsley will be padding around for the latest IP stories to share with the Kat's ever voracious readers. Readers can also expect her to continue to bat around her favorite (if a bit over-loved) Kat toy - the Unified Patent Court. The Kats all wish Annsley well in her new position in which, they know, she will excel. Starting today, long-time Kat friend and contributor is welcomed as a permanent Kat bringing the team count to seven. Alberto will continue to delight us with his analysis of topical IP developments, with particular focus on information technology, copyright, trade marks, and data protection. GuestKats Emma Perot The IPKat team also welcomes our new Guest Kats who, over the next six months, will contribute insightful and witty pieces to the blog. They are Emma Perot, Nedim Malovic, and Mike Mireles: Emma Perot (right) is a first year PhD student at King's College London, researching image protection in the UK. B efore beginning her PhD, she obtained her LLB at the University of Kent, LLM in IP at UCL, and passed the bar as a proud member of Lincoln's Inn. She is from Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad to be specific) and despite strident efforts cannot seem to acclimatise to the English weather. *** The NCRI, which both predicted and advocated for widespread boycott of the sham elections, was also quick to dispute the international medias characterization of the elections as a victory for moderate and reformist candidates affiliated with President Hassan Rouhani. That is not to say that the announced results of the voting are in doubt, but rather that there is some disagreement about the degree of difference between the reformist and conservative camps. On one hand, Reuters that Irans judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Emoli Larijani responded somewhat angrily to the results, accusing American and English media outlets of influencing the results of the race for the Assembly of Experts, from which at least leading hardline clerics have now been excluded, according to the international press. But the same Reuters report also quoted Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as reacting to the results in a way that seemed to imply persistent confidence in his hardline factions control over Iranian affairs. Khamenei had encouraged the high levels of turnout that were expected to favor moderate and reformist candidates, and he praised that supposed turnout after the fact. But he also urged the Islamic Republic to limit its cooperation with Western powers, thus repeating the sentiment he had expressed in the immediate aftermath of Rouhanis negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program. Those negotiations ended with Iranian commitments to the diminished nuclear enrichment activities in exchange for sanctions relief that were potentially life-saving for the Iranian regime. This has contributed to considerable differences of opinion regarding whether Rouhanis openings to the West were aimed at genuine reform or were deliberately limited to those domains that would allow the regime to preserve its status quo as a result of diminished Western pressure. Naturally, these questions will carry over to those affiliates of the the Iranian president who were voted in during Fridays elections as part of a List of Hope that was also endorsed by prominent figures like former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. According to figures presented by Agence-France Presse on Monday, the list had generated 95 of the winners in the races for seats in parliament. But this is compared to 103 winners from the traditional conservative faction, meaning that that representation remains stacked against the reformists. Several reports have indicated that this discrepancy could be made up by cooperation with reformists by the 14 independent candidates who also won seats, but their loyalties and voting patterns will be much more in question than those of the candidates who were explicitly described as reformists. Whats more, those so-called reformists were drawn from lists that included both reformist and conservative candidates, a factor that led to a great deal of criticism from other reformists who felt that their political faction was giving up its identity for the sake of political expediency. Notably, some candidates appeared on both the List of Hope and the conservative lists, raising even more doubts about their reformist credentials. According to Reuters, this includes several of the 15 supposedly reformist candidates who won the leading seats on the Assembly of Experts. At the same time that doubts remain unresolved about the actual political positions of so-called reformist candidates, it also remains to be seen what the final balance of reformist versus conservative candidates will be. That is, 69 slots will not be filled until April runoff elections, in which candidates will have a chance to secure the required minimum percentage of the vote. And according to AFP, conservatives have a clear advantage in these remaining contests. Nevertheless, the final vote tallies are unlikely to change the apparently dominant international narrative that is presenting these elections as a step toward moderation for the Islamic Republic as a whole. Those claims are buttressed not only by the figures for the number of technically reformist candidates who won, but also the number of women who will serve in the incoming parliament. That figure is set to more than double from nine to about 20, and more than that, The Guardian featured an interview with one of the newly victorious candidates, who was uncharacteristically outspoken about womens rights issues, even advocating for the taboo topic of removing the legally requirement for women to wear Islamic veils. However, outspoken statements at the time of the election do not necessarily signify follow-through, as evidenced by the number of Iranians who abandoned support for President Rouhani after he failed to follow through on any major promises of domestic reform. Furthermore, those female members of parliament who have served in the past have done so by avoiding controversial topics of womens rights, and even if their positions were to reverse with the new parliament, a female delegation of 20 will not be able to make any moves within a total parliamentary population of 290. Serious reformist bills, especially regarding womens rights, have never made any progress through that parliament even when they have been introduced. And as Reuters pointed out alongside its quotations from Khamenei and Larijani, the legislative structure of the Islamic Republic is set up to forestall serious reforms regardless of the composition of the parliament. The Guardian Council, a body of 12 members appointed directly and indirectly by the supreme leader, still has the authority to vet all legislation and single-handedly obstruct anything that appears to threaten the regimes status quo. By Michael Tsai on 28 February 2016 for the Star Advertiser - Image above: Still frame of Tulsi Gabbard after resigning from DNC and endorsing Bernie Sanders for president. From video below. Video above: Tulsi Gabbard explains her decision to quit DNC. From ( https://youtu.be/2UM8F4EuUbw ). . SUBHEAD: Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard quits Democratic National Committee and endorses Bernie Sanders.U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard resigned her post as a vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee today, allowing her to formally endorse Bernie Sanders for president.Gabbard made the announcement on the NBC political talk show Meet the Press.As a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, Im required to remain neutral in Democratic primaries, but I cannot remain neutral any longer, Gabbard later explained in a video statement. The stakes are just too high.Gabbard cited her experience as a veteran of two military deployments in arguing that Sanders has the judgment necessary to make sound military decisions.We need a commander in chief who has foresight, who exercises good judgment, and who understands the need for a robust foreign policy which defends the safety and security of the American people and who will not waste precious lives and money on interventionist wars of regime change, Gabbard said. Such counterproductive wars undermine our national security and economic prosperity.Gabbards statements were as much an indictment of Democratic front-runner and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as an endorsement of Sanders, a senator from Vermont.In fact, Gabbards announcement coincided with the publication of a New York Times investigative series focusing on Clintons involvement in the 2011 military intervention in Libya, an action that led to the toppling of leader Muammar Gaddafi and the continued destabilization of the country.Gabbard said this evening the timing of her announcement was a complete coincidence with respect to the Times stories.However, she noted that Clintons advocacy for military intervention in Libya was further example of the former secretary of states flawed judgment in matters of international crisis.You can tell what a person will do in the future based on what theyve done in the past, Gabbard stated in an email to the Star-Advertiser. Hillary Clinton was not only the leading Democratic voice for the war in Iraq, she was the head cheerleader and architect of the war to overthrow the Libyan government of Gaddafi which has resulted in chaos, a failed state, and a stronghold for ISIS and Al-Qaeda.Hillary was and continues to be the loudest voice for the disastrous war to overthrow the Syrian government of Assad.These wars of regime change have cost trillions of dollars, thousands of American lives, and the lives of hundreds of thousands of children, women, and men in the Middle East, Gabbard continued. And Al-Qaeda and ISIS are stronger than ever.Gabbard reiterated her belief that Sanders would have avoided such costly decisions.This is precisely why we need a Commander in Chief who has sound judgment and foresight the ability to look ahead to the potential consequences of our actions before we take those actions, Gabbard said. How might other actors in the region react to our actions? What will we then do in response?And you continue to look down the line soyou can anticipate any unintended consequences and base a decision on that foresight. This is what is called a military mindset a mindset that is absolutely critical in a commander-in-chief.Shortly after Gabbards announcement on Meet the Press, the Sanders camp expressed appreciation on Sanders Twitter account: As a veteran of the Iraq War, Rep. @TulsiGabbard understands the cost of war. I am honored to have her endorsement.DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz accepted Gabbards resignation, stating, The Democratic National Committee is grateful for her service. As one of the first female combat veterans to serve in Congress and the first American Samoan and Hindu member of Congress,Congresswoman Gabbard is a role model who embodies theAmerican ideal that anyone can dream big and make a difference. She is also a colleague in Congress and a friend, and I look forward to continuing to work alongside her when our Party unites behind whoever emerges as our nominee.Gabbard and Wasserman Schultz were at apparent odds last October, when Gabbard claimed that she was disinvited from a Democratic presidential debate in Nevada after publicly arguing for a more extensive debate schedule.Gabbards endorsement also represents a high-profile break with the local Democratic establishment, which has thrown its collective weight behind Clinton.In fact, her announcement came just two hours before the official opening of the Hillary for Hawaii campaign office on North King Street, an event attended by former U.S.Sen. Daniel Akaka and former Hawaii Govs. George Ariyoshi, John Waihee and Ben Cayetano.The rest of the Hawaii congressional delegation U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono and Rep. Mark Takai have already pledged their support to Clinton. I WRITE NEWS ABOUT AND PUT NEWS ARTICLES ABOUT ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM PERTAINING TO BIBLE PROPHESY HAPPENINGS.JOEL 3:20 But Judah (ISRAEL) shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.(THATS ISRAEL-JERUSALEM WILL NEVER BE DESTROYED AGAIN)-WE CHRISTIANS ARE ALL WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE TO OCCUR.SO WE CAN GO TO JESUS AND GET OUR NEVER DYING BODIES.SO WE CAN RULE OVER CITIES OURSELVES.WHILE JESUS RULES FROM DAVIDS THRONE FOREVER IN JERUSALEM. Has this happened to You? Youre oil and gas wealth seeker. And you want to make a living doing oil and gas business in Tanzania. But no capital at all, no contacts. So you wonder how you can start a business and make a success of it? people (Include me ) tells you hundreds of dollars are made regularly in the oil and gas business. And you want to swell your bank account every day with huge cash. But limited capital makes you feel too down to profit from the oil and gas sector. Sadly, people might led you to believe that oil and gas business is only for BIG BOYS with huge financial muscle. But in reality, it doesnt work that way. I know the feeling, Many people face the same struggle.Capital and know how are the popular obstacles many Tanzanians face starting a business in the oil and gas sector. But what if told you can start oil and gas business with almost nothing? What if I confidently tell you theres smart way to profit with our new found resources and become part of the natural gas boom? All you need to do so is Idea, concept, material, technology or procedure that fix the specific problem in the oil and gas market. Sounds impossible, right? Lets dig little deeper. Oil and gas organizations struggle with stiff competitions. They compete with each other. Oil companies need to make the operation run more smoothly and safer. Theyre keen to attract new clients, They want to cut costs. Obviously, theyre eager to get a job done better and faster with solid return However, they know that many average people outside there, have a brilliant ideas or new material or new procedures that help them to improve and address competition. And you know what? Theyve groups that travel the world over to look for anyone,entrepreneurs, and start-up with ideas or material to sponsor for business. And they invest billions of dollars in your ideas or concept And the best part? Oil firms give you money. They give you research. Needless to say, training and scientists to help your business or idea grow. Imagine for a moment. You run a small business. Or an entrepreneur or you just have an idea. And multinational oil and gas company realize your idea could impact their business. So they enter into partnership with you. And funds you millions of dollars to develop it. Sounds good? Yes, you move from zero to hero sometimes overnight. List of oil companies that are willing to invest in you. Herere the oil and gas firms that invest in your idea, capabilities even technology: 1. Shell- its group called Shell technology venture 2. Halliburton Its group called Technology R&D Group 3. Baker Hughesits group called centers for technology and innovation 4. Chevron- its group called Chevron venture capital 5. Exxon Mobil its group called: Exxon Research and Development and Exxons capital investment You Want to tap these opportunities? Herere all you have to do If youve ideas that will improve existing product or services in oil firms? Or you bring new process and technology in the market. Its worthwhile to get in touch with one of these companies. And the best way to go about this is to do the quick search on google and tell them what youll offer. What's stopping You? So what are you waiting for? Youre just leaving money on the table, you can start at zero and grow big in oil and gas sector in Tanzania. Im ready are You? Id love to know your thought, Good luck and let me know Hussein Boffu Graduate in Petroleum Geoscience Hussein.Boffu@Tanzaniapetroleum.com [March 01, 2016] BT And Intel Security Collaborate To Develop Next Generation Security Services SAN FRANCISCO, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- RSA CONFERENCE 2016 -- BT and Intel Security today announced a strategic agreement to create new solutions to help organizations improve security and prevent cyber-attacks. The companies will also work together in a joint cyber partnership to further develop their common vision of creating next generation security services. RSA Conference attendees can visit BT Security booth 707 for a demo at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Calif. These new solutions will bring together key elements of both companies' technology platforms and address current shortcomings of traditional point security products by avoiding the operational silos that widen the gap between detection and response. They are designed to simplify management and support, close many of the expertise gaps in the market and improve speed of response. In the face of an ever-evolving cyber threat landscape, organizations need continuous innovation to help them protect their critical data and applications wherever they choose to host them; on their premises, in the cloud or a hybrid of both. BT and Intel Security are focused on integrated, open security systems with cloud-first technology designed to empower organizations to resolve threats faster and with fewer resources. Together, BT and Intel Security will work to address these threats with a single ecosystem that can handle multiple security controls. This means that the controls within both companies' platforms will talk and interact with each other. This may provide considerable cost benefits for customers as the same controls can be delivered often with less hardware, less configuration and less management overhead. Mark Hughes, CEO of BT Security, said: "At BT, we are determined to stay ahead of the security game. We are collaborating with Intel to bring together BT's security intelligence with Intel's advanced security tools in real time. We believe that our combined proposition will be an industry first in terms of the scope and ambition. Intel's cutting edge security technology and our knowhow in service design and delivery can help make our customers safer." Raj Samani, EMEA chief technology officer, Intel Security, said: "Our goal is to enable businesses around the globe to more aggressively and effectively defend against data security incidents and targted attacks. Together with BT, we plan to close the gaps between detection and remediation by creating and managing a security ecosystem designed to enable real-time communication, intelligence exchange and response across security tools." About Intel Security McAfee is now part of Intel Security. With its Security Connected strategy, innovative approach to hardware-enhanced security, and unique McAfee Global Threat Intelligence, Intel Security is intensely focused on developing proactive, proven security solutions and services that protect systems, networks, and mobile devices for business and personal use around the world. Intel Security is combining the experience and expertise of McAfee with the innovation and proven performance of Intel to make security an essential ingredient in every architecture and on every computing platform. The mission of Intel Security is to give everyone the confidence to live and work safely and securely in the digital world. www.intelsecurity.com. Note: Intel, the Intel logo, McAfee and the McAfee logo are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. No computer system can be absolutely secure. Profitability scenarios described are intended as examples of how a given enhancement under certain circumstances, may affect future margins and increase profits. Circumstances will vary. Intel Security does not guarantee any increases in profits. 2016 Intel Corporation BT Security BT Security is building on 70 years' experience of helping organizations around the globe and across all sectors get ahead of the threat curve and reduce the uncertainty and complexity of security. We provide an end-to-end capability to help organizations enjoy higher levels of security at a time when security budgets are not keeping pace with the threat landscape. The sophistication of our security operations means that we think about the assets, the people, and the processes, and combine these with both network and security intelligence to help our customers stay ahead of the security risks. BT Security protects both BT and its customers. These customers are advised by a global team of 2,000 security practitioners and professional services consultants. To find out more about BT Security, visit www.bt.com/security . About BT BT's purpose is to use the power of communications to make a better world. It is one of the world's leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed-mobile products and services. Following the acquisition of EE on 29 January 2016, BT consists principally of six customer-facing lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Business, BT Consumer, EE, BT Wholesale and Openreach. For the year ended 31 March 2015, BT Group's reported revenue was 17,979m with reported profit before taxation of 2,645m. British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. For more information, visit www.btplc.com. Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150923/269766LOGO Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160229/338944LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bt-and-intel-security-collaborate-to-develop-next-generation-security-services-300228279.html SOURCE BT [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2016] Powis Announces PopUp ViewR(SM) BERKELEY, Calif., March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Powis Parker, Inc., creator of virtual reality (VR) viewers based on Google Cardboard technology, announced the availability of its PopUp ViewRSM-- a compact, high-quality viewer aggressively priced for bringing VR experiences to marketing campaigns, large events, trade shows/conferences, sporting events, concerts, and other applications. To use, people simply place their smartphone into the PopUp ViewR to engage with VR content; accessible via smartphone apps, websites, YouTube, and more. "Google Cardboard has fundamentally changed the VR market," says Powis founder Kevin Parker. "Now, for a fraction of the cost of typical head-mounted devices (HMDs), companies can deliver compelling VR experiences to all kinds of audiences." "VR is a democratizing technology," said Mahmoud Mattan, Director of Business Development for Powis. "It givs people the opportunity to experience moments that were previously reserved for the wealthy, daring or famous; like watching the Super Bowl from the first row of the 50 yard line or traveling to the Eiffel Tower. We created our VR viewers to enable organizations and marketing agencies to bring these experiences to everyone." Customizable PopUp ViewRs can be custom 'skinned' with any type of branding, graphics or messaging to support an event or activity. Leveraging Powis' 30 years of experience in high-quality paper lamination and fabrication, PopUp ViewRs are produced in its 50,000 square foot factory in Berkeley, California -- enabling the company to rapidly customize viewers to the specific needs of brands and events across the world. Once the PopUp ViewR's design is determined, Powis can rapidly fabricate whatever number of units customers need. Availability and Pricing The PopUp ViewR virtual reality viewer is available immediately at www.powisvr.com. Single viewers are priced at $14.99 MSRP and under $9/viewer for large customized orders. Product Features Powis' PopUp ViewR works with any Android and iOS smartphone (4 - 6.5 inches). In its compressed form (which facilitates easy mailing and/or end-user distribution), it measures 8.2" (wide) x 1.3" (deep) x 3.25" (tall). Expanded for use, it measures 8" (wide) x 2.9" (deep) x 9.65" (tall). About Powis Parker Powis Parker, Inc. is a leading provider of high performance binding and quality paper-laminated solutions. Inspired by the centuries-old craft of bookbinding, founder/inventor Kevin Parker created Powis in 1983 to manufacture and market a revolutionary system that brings professional print finishing capabilities to the office environment. Today, leveraging its expertise in high-speed printing and case making, Powis has developed a broad range of high-quality consumer and office products with an exceptional look-and-feel rarely found elsewhere. Stunning off-the-shelf versions of Powis VR viewers are currently sold at PowisVR.com. For more information, visit PowisVR.com or call 510-529-2415 Note: Google Cardboard is the trademark of Alphabet, Inc. (formerly called Google, Inc.) ViewR and PopUp ViewR are the service marks of Powis Parker, Inc. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160229/338758 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/powis-announces-popup-viewrsm-300228122.html SOURCE Powis Parker, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2016] SecurityScorecard Breaks Cybersecurity Industry Record by Monitoring Security Posture for More Than 100k Companies NEW YORK, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SecurityScorecard, a leading security risk benchmarking company, today announced the company has broken a significant cybersecurity industry record by monitoring the pre-calculated security posture ratings for more than 100,000 companies within their platform. The ratings were determined based on 10 security categories and hundreds of thousands of unique data points -- 70 percent of which is proprietary and not available from any other provider. SecurityScorecard's platform draws its data from ThreatMarket, which contains the cybersecurity vulnerabilities of every company around the world. Only SecurityScorecard discovers and computes security ratings based on end-of-life products, patching cadence, hacker chatter, dorking, social engineering, cubit score, malware and other critical factors to provide the most accurate risk assessment on the market. The platform also provides continuous, non-intrusive monitoring for any organization including third and fourth parties utilizing AVD (automatic vendor detection). In the process, a broad range of risk categories are observed such as application security, IP reputation, patching cadence, network security and passwords exposed. "Actively monitoring the security posture of more than 100,000 companies within a single platform is a major milestone and development within the cybersecurity and vendor risk management industry," said Paul Poh, CTO of SecurityScorecard. "Pre-calculated ratngs enable the instant adding and monitoring of an organization to your SecurityScorecard portfolio." Newly added organizations automatically map existing vulnerabilities from ThreatMarket, providing a cybersecurity risk score within just a few hours. No other company in the security ratings space has more vendors and partners being actively followed and monitored for their cybersecurity risk posture than SecurityScorecard. In fact, SecurityScorecard tracks 250 percent more cybersecurity ratings than any competitor in this space, enabling immediate security posture availability. Today's milestone builds upon the SecurityScorecard platform's already invaluable offering for Security Officers, Vendor Risk Managers and Cyber Insurance companies. Users can now gain faster insight into their third and fourth party's security posture and better identify where the potential vulnerabilities lie. SecurityScorecard is providing private demonstrations of its platform and advanced briefings on its newest offering, ThreatMarket at the RSA 2016 Conference from its suite at the Ritz Carlton Club. To schedule a briefing, email [email protected] expressing interest and availability. About SecurityScorecard SecurityScorecard provides the most accurate benchmark of security risk across the entire business ecosystem. The cloud platform helps enterprises gain operational command of the security posture for themselves and across all their partners and vendors. It offers a breadth and depth of critical risk factors not available from any other service provider and in a completely self-service and automated tool. It's based on the ThreatMarket data engine which collects over 30 million daily security risk signals from the entire Internet. SecurityScorecard was founded in 2013 by two former Chief Information Security Officers, Dr. Aleksandr Yampolskiy and Sam Kassoumeh. It is made up of veteran security researchers, cryptographers, data scientists, and software engineers. The company is privately held with headquarters in New York City. Security Scorecard investors include Sequoia Capital, Evolution Equity Partners, Boldstart Ventures, and others. For further information, please visit www.securityscorecard.com or call 800-682-1707. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/securityscorecard-breaks-cybersecurity-industry-record-by-monitoring-security-posture-for-more-than-100k-companies-300228648.html SOURCE SecurityScorecard [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2016] Cryptsoft Releases KMIP C Server SDK Modules for Audit, Analytics and Compliance at RSA Conference 2016 BRISBANE, Australia, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cryptsoft today announced it will release new advanced Audit, Analytics and Compliance modules for its industry leading Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) and Cryptographic interface (PKCS#11) Server Software Development Kits (SDKs) at the RSA Conference 2016. "Cryptsoft is proud to be extending our industry leading KMIP and PKCS#11 server software development kits," said Greg Scott, CEO of Cryptsoft. "Cryptsoft has worked closely with our data storage, infrastructure & security and cloud platform customers to deliver Audit, Analytics and Compliance functionality for interoperable open standards based secure applications." Cryptsoft applies its expertise in cryptographic, enterprise key management and authentication technologies, helping to drive several industry standards initiatives, including the OASIS Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) Technical Committee and the OASIS Public-Key Cryptography Standard #11 (PKCS#11) Technical Committee. "Cryptsoft has worked with a number of our customers who have requirements for Audit, Anlytics and Compliance features in the applications they deliver. The challenge of managing multiple key objects, encryption algorithms, interface protocols and security interfaces is now easier and quicker through these features," said Tim Hudson, CTO and Technical Director at Cryptsoft. "Our industry leading KMIP C server and PKCS#11 SDKs now capture information about all operations of the KMIP server and deliver this using the Audit, Analytics and Compliance modules to allow enterprise key management while still conforming to open standards and delivering interoperable and verifiable secure applications for the modern enterprise." Cryptsoft will be available at booth 3030 in the Moscone North exhibition hall. More information: Cryptsoft Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) Products About Cryptsoft Pty Ltd: Cryptsoft is a privately-held Australian company with 20 years' experience in the cryptographic and security markets. Cryptsoft's Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) and PKCS#11 software development kits (SDKs) for Server and Client empower vendors to provide the secure, simplified, and vendor-agnostic interoperable enterprise key management solutions the global market is demanding. Cryptsoft is an OASIS Foundational Sponsor, SNIA and SSIF Voting Member. http://www.cryptsoft.com PRLog ID: www.prlog.org/12537779 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cryptsoft-releases-kmip-c-server-sdk-modules-for-audit-analytics-and-compliance-at-rsa-conference-2016-300228737.html SOURCE Cryptsoft [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 01, 2016] Global Cloud Solution Provider, bodHOST, today announces it has selected Olympus.io as its File Sharing partner LOS GATOS, Calif., March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- bodHOST today announces it has chosen Olympus.io as its file sharing partner. The partnership will allow bodHOST to deliver both public and managed private cloud file sharing to its customers. Now customers will no longer have to relinquish control of their sensitive corporate data in order to enjoy the benefits and ease of use of popular file sharing applications. Additionally, customers will have the unique opportunity to brand and resell the service as they wish. The simplicity of the platform allows customers to implement their own private cloud within the data center of their choice, either locally on premises or in any cloud combination. Probal DasGupta, CEO of BodHOST, commented; "bodHOST selected Olympus.io to offer our enterprise customers a file sharing solution that goes beyond public cloud offerings. Olympus.io offers detailed customization features that leverage the unique features of our cloud and give customers the ability to deploy in a private, hybrid or public implementation. It is the best of both worlds to combine the ease of a consumer offering but with the data protection of a private cloud." "We are extremely proud to announce a highly demanded file sharing offering with bodHOST, a leading service provider to corporate customers throughout the world," said Victoria Coniglio McKinney, CEO of Olympus.io. "This new file sharing service will combine bodHOST's unique features for granular control of cloud resources with file sharing flexibility- a solution that has been unavailable in the market. CIOs can save significant costs with bodHOST's cloud resource management console and employees can enjoy the ease of use of consumer file sharing." BodHOST, with Cloud Hosting companies in the United States, the United Kingdom and India, serves over 35,000 customers and employs more than 300 employees in 10 geographical locations. Representative customers include the United Nations (UNESCO), Los Alamos National Laboratory (U.S. government), Honeywell Corporation, Warner Brothers, U.K. Transpor Department (U.K. government), Oxford City Council, Commonwealth Games (India 2010), the Ministry of Foreign Trade (Dubai, UAE), and other high profile organizations. BodHOST was launched in the early 1999 as a hosting company to address the needs of the then booming web hosting world. Since then, bodHOST has been at the forefront of the hosting industry. The ever-changing dimensions and requirements of the hosting world have necessitated numerous changes & advancements. bodHOST has been able to incorporate all these successfully. Today, operating out of New Jersey, with data centers in Chicago and Montreal, bodHOST is focused on Cloud Computing, while continuing to address the Dedicated Server and Web Hosting markets as well. Located just 25 miles south of Manhattan, and in the heart of the USA's pharmaceutical & biotech corridor, bodHOST also offers SAP hosting to Corporate America, and is in the process of getting SAP certified as a provider of hosted SAP solutions. Olympus.io, the industry's leading wholesale file sharing solution, offers white label file sharing software to service providers and application owners alike on a private, hybrid or public cloud basis. Today's enterprises and cloud providers realize there are significant gaps in the enterprise versions of popular file sharing products with respect to data sovereignty and control, as well as the migration from one cloud environment to another. Olympus.io addresses these problems by never requiring the customer to relinquish their data. And as the "race to zero cost" in public cloud continues, Olympus.io gives customers the ability to take advantage of these savings by not being tethered to a specific cloud provided by a file sharing vendor; customers have freedom to place their workloads anywhere and even more importantly, move their workloads easily from one cloud to another to take advantage of the best market prices and ride the cloud economics cost curve. About bodHOST: Website URL: http://www.bodHOST.com Headquarters: Edison, NJ, USA bodHOST, established in 1999, is one of the pioneers in web hosting industry in the U.S., managing almost 2 million domains worldwide, and offering a wide range of hosting solutions, both Cloud based (eNlight, VMware, and Hyper-V platforms), as well as Traditional Hosting. BodHOST continuously innovates in technology, and its eNlight Cloud provides auto-scaling for true pay-per-consume model. The company's latest foray is in the South American market with the establishment of a presence in Santiago, Chile. About Olympus.io: Website URL: http://www.olympus.io Headquarters: Los Gatos, CA, USA For media enquiries please contact [email protected] or call +1 800 928 7560. Olympus.io launched in 2013 with the vision of incorporating the best of content collaboration with a simple user experience, branded by anyone and sold at wholesale. Its mission is to transform the market for file sharing and collaboration for service providers and application owners alike. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, CA, and with offices in Austin, TX and India, Olympus.io develops modular software that can be rapidly deployed either as SaaS or on premise solution. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-cloud-solution-provider-bodhost-today-announces-it-has-selected-olympusio-as-its-file-sharing-partner-300228796.html SOURCE Olympus.io [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] proxima La Universidad de Tel Aviv y los Amigos de la Universidad en Argentina organizan la Semana de la Innovacion TAU Anything i Think about,i Pen it down.plainly,modestly and after much thought..Anythin' Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy Blog Archive Search This Blog Our Cultures Social Essays Study Guide Study Guide Our Folktales After spending nearly three decades apart, Dave and Phil Alvin are together again, playing the roots music that they love in venues across the country and making acclaimed albums including a disc that got a Grammy nomination. Thursday, the Alvin brothers will play the Zoo Bar, where Dave has been a regular for decades and one of top draws for ZooFest, the clubs annual outdoor festival. Wednesday, Dave Alvin talked about his reunion with his brother and the music theyre making from Tampa, Fla. where they were set to play that night. So, whats going on with the Alvins? Were just having fun is what it is, Dave Alvin said. As the last album title implies, were trying to make up for lost time. Thats about it. Lost Time, was released last year, the second album that the brothers have done since their 2014 rapprochement. The pair had acrimoniously split in the mid-80s when Dave left The Blasters, the rock n roll band that he and Phil founded in 1979. So, how did you get back together? My brother was on tour in Spain -- its a long story -- but he died, Alvin said. I got a phone call in California saying your brother is dead. Thats when it started. They revived him in 10, 15 minutes. But I didnt hear from them for an hour. In that hour, I thought how we should have made more records together. Thats what it was, to get him going again. Im real proud of them. My goal was, one, to not have any fights and two to get his voice onto tape singing those songs. Most of the ones hes singing are songs he sang when he was a kid. So how did kids growing up in Downey, California, in the 60s end up singing songs by Big Joe Turner, Leadbelly, Willie Dixon and James Brown? Well, Alvin explained, it started with three cousins. One was a folkie who played guitar and banjo and was into artists like Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and Ramblin Jack Elliott, one a girl teenager of the 50s who passed along her Turner and Ray Charles records and the third, a country fan who introduced the brothers to hillbilly music. Ive always said were an amalgam of our cousins taste in music, Alvin said. By the time I was 12-13, I considered myself kind of hep. Id seen Jimi Hendrix twice by the time I was 12. ... Discovering old music became a hobby, a passion for us, Alvin said. Those days, music was hard to find. You couldnt go to Spotify and click on Charley Patton. The Alvin Brothers didnt just troll record stores. They got themselves into clubs where the rhythm and blues and bluesmen they admired were performing. Most notably, they hit The Ashgrove, the L.A. blues club that provided the name for one of Daves solo albums. Somebody told Phil there was this place where you could go and see these people, Alvin said. It was 20, 24 miles from our place (in Downey). Wed go there to see everybody. But Big Joe Turner, T-Bone Walker and some others lived and played locally. Wed go to the neighborhood bars, it wasnt just the Ashgrove. There were all these strange clubs, strange in that kids could sneak in there if you behaved yourself. We followed Big Joe from gig to gig. He was at the tail end of his prime. It was an amazing thing to see in person. He noticed Phil and his vocal prowess and took him under his wing. Thats why there are four Big Joe songs on the new album. Its a tribute to him. In 1979, the Alvin brothers formed The Blasters, with Dave on guitar and writing songs like American Music, Marie Marie and Trouble Bound for his brother to sing. Part of the L.A.scene that included Los Lobos and X, The Blasters put out a handful of great records in the early '80s and toured extensively before Dave left the band in 1986 to briefly join X, then pursue a solo career. Phil continued to front the Blasters while also teaching mathematics at Cal State Long Beach. Then came the 2012 reunion after Phils near death experience and the recording of Common Ground: Dave and Phil Alvin The Songs of Big Bill Broonzy, a collection of a dozen songs by the bluesman that was one of Phils primary inspiration. Lost Time has a wider range of source material, with some R&B and gospel but Its all blues, the way I see it, Alvin said. Songs from Common Ground and Lost Time will be in the set when Dave and Phil play the Zoo Bar Thursday, their first Lincoln appearance together since an early 80s Blasters show at the Royal Grove -- I remember that gig, Alvin said. But the show will include much more than just songs from the last two records. When I play, its always a mix of things, Alvin said. We do some Blasters songs. We dont do a lot of them because my brother still has a band called The Blasters and I dont people to think theyre going a Blasters show. We do some stuff from my solo records, some from the new records. Its all over the place. The Alvins are touring with The Guilty Ones, Daves backing band of the last few years -- drummer Lisa Pankratz and her husband, bassist Brad Fordham and guitarist Chris Miller. Its a great band, maybe the best Ive ever had excluding the Skeletons, Alvin said. The Skeletons, the great Springfield, Mo. barroom rock n roll band was a Zoo Bar favorite in the 80s. It was led by Lou Whitney, who passed away in 2014. In honor of Lou, I tell a couple of his jokes on stage, Alvin said. So it sound like things are going great for you? No ones killed each other, Alvin said with a laugh.. My brother and I are different people than we were way back then. The brotherly antagonism has settled down. Weve matured. I value my brother, now. Hes not as stubborn now and Im not as stupid. Or the other way around. I think theres a mutual respect now that there wasnt way back when. Well see you next week. Its been a long time since Ive played inside the Zoo, Alvin said. Im looking forward to it. This website is intended for U.S. visitors only. On Monday, a few hours before White Rabbit opened for happy hour, Brady Reckling knocked on the front door of the cocktail lounge with a part of his hand that wasnt holding up a box filled with Korean cuisine -- barbecued beef (bulgogi), short ribs (kalbi), rice cakes (tteokbokki) -- hed made that morning. Since rebranding last year, at what was formerly Marz Bar, White Rabbit has hosted several food-and-drink pairing events, like last months scotch and chocolate tasting. That brought a Glenmoranie rep together with Sweet Minous chocolatier, Rebecca Ankenbrand, whose bean-to-bar business is housed a few miles down the road at Cultiva Labs. On March 4, beginning at 7 p.m. White Rabbit, 1140 O St., will offer a different kind of pairing, one of art and food. And this time, the foods going to be made at White Rabbit by a guest chef, Reckling. The cocktail lounge is experimenting with a pop-up kitchen, general manager Lilith Baier said. Though its located there, White Rabbits kitchen space will be turned over to chefs who will do whatever they want with it. Its an opportunity for Reckling, who was Chef de Cuisine at Sebastians Table and now assistant general manager at Honest Abes Burgers and Freedom, to try out a personal project. That Reckling is making traditional Korean dishes that Baier grew up with -- her mom is Korean -- is a pleasant bonus, she said. I think that the most interesting part is how much he loves it, said Reckling's friend, Zach Blume. He'll be showing photographs and video he took during a recent trip to Vietnam on Friday night. The guy has cooked in some of the best kitchens in town for years and still has the passion to perfect his Korean cuisine in his spare time. It's a real testament to the love this really talented dude has for what he does. You can tell he really loves the culture. I mean food is culture, bottom line. It's always great to see somebody push themselves and succeed. Lucky for us the pursuit that consumes him results in all of us enjoying delicious dishes from the other side of the world. Reckling first discovered it about a decade ago, during a trip to Malaysia, Bali and South Korea. He'd gone to visit his girlfriend, who was living there. He was in a state of reverence about the trip before he even got off the plane -- his buddy, Jeramie Beahm, had paid for his ticket at a time when Reckling was broke. He had his first meal, bibimbap, in a little corner cafe where everyone was staring at the same TV. I fell in love with the food from South Korea, it being the best food Id ever eaten, he said. When he came back, he started trying to cook what he first tried there for a simple, selfish reason. I wanted to get it to taste like that, he said. So I can eat it. On Friday, hell share what hes figured out so far, serving two main proteins, the bulgogi and kalbi, in baskets alongside tteokbokki, fermented radishes and cucumbers (kimchi), steamed rice, dollops of Gochujang, a hot pepper paste condiment made from red chilli, sticky rice, salt and fermented soybean thats as ubiquitous on dinner tables as ketchup is here and maybe a few more traditional offerings. I didnt get too weird at all, Reckling said. Which is great, Baier added, because Korean food is delicious. Reckling said he didn't have any plans for selling Korean fare beyond this event at White Rabbit. He said he hoped that his effort would go well enough for other chefs to inquire about the pop-up kitchen project there. And he offers this bulgogi marinade recipe, an amalgamation of several he sampled over the years, for anyone to try at home. Bulgogi Marinade Recipe Makes enough liquid to marinate 2 pounds of thinly slice meat of your choice. cup Korean pear juice 6 tablespoons onion juice (a home juicer can be used for the pear and onion juices) 2 tablespoons garlic water (or) 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1.5 teaspoons grated ginger cup soy sauce 2 tablespoons brown sugar teaspoon ground black pepper 2 tablespoons sesame seed oil 2 tablespoons shiitake mushroom powder (mushroom powder can be made by buying dried shiitake mushrooms and grinding in a spice/coffee grinder) teaspoon Korean hot pepper powder 1 teaspoon salt Combine all ingredients well. Marinate meat overnight. Cook over very high heat to desired doneness. A Lincoln Fire and Rescue captain has sued the city and the fire department's top brass alleging they retaliated against him for reporting harassment of recruits in 2011 and that he continues to get passed up for promotions because of it. Lincoln's city attorney said Monday the department has been taking steps for more than a year to address issues brought out in an internal investigation into Capt. Troy Hurd's allegations, including efforts to make discipline more consistent and to train supervisors on what retaliation is and how to avoid it. In the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court, Hurd alleges the retaliation continued as recently as Nov. 30, when he was passed up for a promotion to battalion chief. He said the retaliation is rooted in a conversation he overheard in September 2011, when a fellow trainer cursed at a Kurdish, female firefighter recruit from Iraq and learning that another of the trainers asked her if she needed "a f-ing interpreter." Hurd, who has been with the fire department since Nov. 1, 2000, believed the two were harassing the recruit based on her gender and national origin and told his supervisor, Roger Bonin, the chief of training. In the complaint, Gretna attorney Kelly Brandon said Bonin told Battalion Chief Leo Benes, who removed Hurd from his training position. A month later, Brandon said, a male recruit in the class told Hurd things had gotten worse and asked him to do something. Hurd went back to Bonin, who arranged a meeting with Assistant Fire Chief Pat Borer and retired Deputy Chief Rich Furasek. Brandon said Hurd was put in charge of the recruit class for two weeks in November 2011, until the trainer he had complained about falsely accused him of sending obscene texts to his wife. In January 2012, the Iraqi recruit was fired. She went on to become a Lincoln police officer. That same month, Hurd had a meeting with Bonin and now-retired Battalion Chief Jeanne Pashalek during which he said he had been subject to retaliation for making the earlier report. That led to another meeting, during which Pashalek told Hurd she had found no basis for his claims. After an hour and a half, Hurd said he was done with the meeting, apologized to everyone there and was told to leave, Brandon said in the suit. Hurd later was reprimanded for leaving the meeting, and the investigation into his complaint was dropped. In summer 2012, Hurd completed an official workplace harassment form after failing to get the reprimand removed from his file. In August, he filed an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint with the city and, a month later, a charge of discrimination with the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission. Brandon said an investigation into Hurd's complaints lasted until Dec. 17, 2014. In a report to Mayor Chris Beutler that October, Kim Taylor-Riley, the city's director of equity and diversity, found that at least three chiefs disciplined Hurd four times over the course of two years and that now-retired Chief John Huff blocked him from a temporary promotion that came with a 10 percent pay bump. Taylor-Riley said the reasons the chiefs gave to justify their actions were a pretext to cover retaliatory motives. The report led the mayor to remove all disciplinary actions against Hurd from his file. He also approved Public Safety Director Tom Casadys plan to address issues at LFR including retaliation and inconsistent discipline. In the lawsuit, Brandon said Hurd has been scheduled to work nearly double the medic unit hours of other captain paramedics, like him, and he continues to be passed up for promotions despite high test scores. That led him to file a second charge of discrimination with the NEOC last September. Now, Hurd is suing Casady, Huff, Borer, Bonin, Pashalek and Benes. He accuses them of retaliation and fostering an illegal, retaliatory hostile work environment by treating people who complain about discrimination differently and retaliating against those who refuse to accept a hostile work environment. Hurd seeks unspecified damages and is asking for punitive damages to punish the defendants and deter others from doing the same. Asked about the lawsuit Monday, City Attorney Jeff Kirkpatrick said the lawsuit in some ways was unexpected, given that Hurd's complaints have been investigated several times already. He said even though the NEOC found no discrimination or retaliation, the mayor directed a number of steps be taken as the result of an internal investigation. The city addressed concerns including consistency in discipline by giving supervisors the ability to see what action other supervisors have given in similar situations, Kirkpatrick said. And, he said, it has addressed concerns about the Training Academy by having Casady work with a committee of professionals outside of LFR on improvements. And finally, battalion chiefs now must go through training on what retaliation is and how to avoid it. Kirkpatrick said the internal investigation pointed out a number of ways LFR fell short and needs to do better, and city leaders are using it as a learning experience. And, he said, Hurd wasn't passed up for a promotion; there simply was someone within the department more qualified. He said city attorneys will continue to work on both the most recent of Hurd's NEOC complaints and the new lawsuit. "But we're pretty confident that we've responded to anything that needs to be fixed," Kirkpatrick said. A key deadline for Nebraska Democrats to weigh in on their party's presidential nominee left some would-be voters scrambling Tuesday. That's when absentee preference cards were due at the state party headquarters for people who can't participate in Saturday's live caucus events. Several people complained that while they had requested absentee ballots before a separate Feb. 24 deadline set by the Nebraska Democratic Party, they didn't get them in time to return them by Tuesday. "I think I'm out of luck, and I'm very disappointed. Very disappointed," said Marilyn Humphrey, a 68-year-old Hillary Clinton supporter from west Omaha who had yet to receive her preference card in the mail Tuesday afternoon. "I'd like to know who dropped the ball." State Democratic Party officials agreed Tuesday evening to adjust the deadline to accept cards that were postmarked by March 1 but not necessarily delivered to the party office. Clinton's campaign had requested the absentee deadline be extended to Thursday. A state official for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders OK'd the March 1 postmark compromise. Thousands of Nebraska voters had received and returned their absentee cards in time, according to a post on the state party's website. Yet Nebraska Democratic Chairman Vince Powers acknowledged that some of the 1,400 preference cards the party mailed Thursday didn't arrive in peoples' mailboxes until Monday or later, particularly in the state's largely rural 3rd Congressional District. "Unfortunately we are at the mercy of the United States mail," Powers said. Still, he credited Nebraska Democrats with creating another way for people to participate if they can't attend the caucus, an option that isn't available in neighboring Iowa or in many other caucus states. Former Lt. Gov. Kim Robak, who introduced Chelsea Clinton at a campaign event for her mother in Lincoln on Monday, had suggested early Tuesday that the state party should consider counting preference cards that arrive late but were postmarked by Tuesday's deadline. "The mail is unpredictable," she said. "That seems to be a reasonable solution." That wouldn't help people like Humphrey who still hadn't received their ballots Tuesday. Nor would it allow Haley Eck, a 20-year-old Clinton supporter from Omaha who attends Southern Oregon University, to engage in her home state's nominating process. After initially seeking a ballot from Douglas County election officials, Eck realized her mistake too late to mail her request for a preference card to the state Democratic Party in time for the Feb. 24 deadline. Requests were only accepted in person or by mail, not online or via fax. "The system is supposed to work for someone like me and it still doesn't," Eck said. Robak said while she doesn't want anyone excluded from the process, the amount of discussion surrounding the absentee card issue illustrates the level of interest in Saturday's caucus. "The fact is, people want to vote." A stormwater bond issue, minus the $2 million to deal with the initial assault of the emerald ash borer, will be on the May 10 primary ballot. The Republican majority on the Lincoln City Council Monday night reduced the proposed stormwater bond issue to $6.3 million, primarily by removing $2 million earmarked for cutting down 2,000 ash trees and replacing them. The smaller bond issue would save taxpayers about $2 a year in property taxes over the package recommended by the mayor's office. Councilwoman Cyndi Lamm, who recommended limiting the bond issue to the highest-priority projects, was backed by fellow Republicans Jon Camp, Roy Christensen and Trent Fellers. Mayor Chris Beutler is expected to accept the council's slimmed down bond issue since Tuesday is the deadline for getting on the May 10 ballot. Democrats argued that council members should rely on city staff to determine what projects should be part of the bond issues that have traditionally been used to pay for city stormwater system improvements. I am concerned about what we are doing to ourselves and this community. We have a department of experts who have been looking at this situation for much longer than Cyndi (Lamm) has, said Councilman Carl Eskridge, a Democrat. The city and the Lower Platte Natural Resources District often share the costs of the projects and address issues that are real, he said. The citys consistent work on stormwater issues, which include flooding and water quality, helps it maintain a rating that reduces flood insurance by 25 percent for homes and businesses in the flood plain, he pointed out. About 5,000 Lincoln property owners carry flood insurance, according to Ben Higgins, who handles the city's water management projects. Lincoln citizens have consistently supported storm water bond issues because we care about the maintenance of our infrastructure. We have always been a forward thinking community, said Councilwoman Jane Raybould, a Democrat. I think we are missing a wonderful opportunity to take this out to the voters." Raybould did get Lamm to agree to include in the bond issue work on the channel through Irvingdale, Rudge and Stransky parks, part of Rayboulds district. Lamm also included language in her version of the bond proposal that limited bond money to the specific projects named in the document. Traditionally the city has named projects but put in language allowing substitutions when there are emergencies or a named project falls through. One major project named in the 2012 bond issue -- near 56th and Fletcher -- was delayed because the city did not get the federal funds staff was expecting. The money was instead spent on other flood control projects and the 56th Street project put back on the list for this bond issue. Lamm said she wanted to make sure that people get exactly the projects they expect and money left over should be used to repay the bond. Limiting the bond to specific projects only ties the hands of staff when so many things can go wrong and there are so many other high-priority projects on the waiting list, Higgins said. Republicans ultimately agreed to provide some flexibility through language supplied by the citys bond counsel. The City Council would have to approve any substitutions to the specific project list. The $2 million tied to the emerald ash borer disease would have allowed the city to remove and replace around 2,000 ash trees in the next two to three years, even before the ash borer was discovered in Lincoln. The head start would have allowed the city to cut down healthy trees, a less-expensive process than removing dead trees, said Lynn Johnson, Parks and Recreation director. Though the beetle that kills the ash tree hasnt yet been found in Lincoln, several people told the council Lincolns 65,000 public and private ash trees are doomed. It is absolutely inevitable. It will arrive in Lincoln and could be here already, said Scott Josiah, state forester and director of Nebraska Forest Service. Being proactive will save the city money, he said. The Lincoln Independent Business Association recommended the council wait until after the summer budget decisions before asking voters to raise taxes with a bond issue. Coby Mach, LIBA president, also suggested the city find another way to fund the ash tree removal through the regular budget, not with the stormwater bond. Brittany Maynard is the human face of the proposition that Americans who are threatened by a terminal illness should have more freedom to choose the time, place and manner of their own deaths. In April 2014, Maynard was diagnosed with grade 4 glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, and given only six months to live. With no hope for a cure, she began to prepare to die. By October, she announced that she had checked off the last item on her bucket list, a visit to the Grand Canyon. Death by brain cancer is often a prolonged, painful and undignified experience, so Maynard moved, with her family, from California to Oregon, one of three states with death with dignity laws that permit a physician to assist a terminal patient end her life. Which is what Maynard did, on Nov. 1, 2014. In her final Facebook post, Maynard said goodbye to family and friends and then: Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me but would have taken so much more. Maynards story is a sad one. She was young only 29 and she appears to have been the type of person who would have made the best of her life. But she was nearly out of choices. So she made the best choice in her mind that she could, sparing herself and her family a prolonged, painful death. Not everyone agrees, and laws that permit physician-assisted suicide are still a very hard sell in the United States. This is understandable. Brittany Maynards story strongly supports more choice in dying, but what about the case of Jeffrey Spector? Last May, Spector, 54, travelled from his home in Britain to Zurich, where he had a last meal with his family, and then checked into the clinic of an organization called Dignitas and had himself put to death, against the wishes of his wife and three young daughters. Spector wasnt terminally ill, but he had lived for six years with an inoperable tumor that had wrapped itself around his spinal cord and threatened him at any time with quadriplegia, a state of helplessness that this active man believed would have been insufferable. Instead, he chose to die. Euthanasias slippery slope gets treacherous quickly. Last week HBOs Vice reported on the liberal assisted-suicide laws in the Netherlands, which dont require a terminal diagnosis. Thus we find ourselves inside the cozy, bookshelf-lined home of a pleasant, cheerful Dutch woman in her 60s, on the day before her death. She was not physically ill, but, contrary to appearances, she had suffered from irresolvable depression for decades. Her children are grown and on their own. She simply no longer wanted to live. The next day, the laws of the Netherlands accommodated her. It can get even more complicated: Last week, Charles Lane, writing in the Washington Post, reported on the case of a Dutch psychiatric patient known as 2014-77. As a child he suffered from neglect and abuse and by age 10 had been diagnosed with autism. His life was miserable for two decades and he attempted suicide repeatedly. More treatment was attempted, but finally doctors complied with his request to end his life. Perhaps we can distill some principles out of all this complexity: (1) The clarity and humanity of a case like Brittany Maynards shouldnt obscure the moral and ethical dangers of assisted suicide. (2) Europeans deserve credit for attempting to deal realistically with the hopelessness, helplessness and desperation that many feel at the end of life. (3) Society has an obligation to spend resources to mitigate the psychological and physical distress that causes nearly 120 Americans to commit suicide every day. (4) Physical illness is not the only condition that makes life seem no longer worth living. And (5) while others have a stake in our choices, a dearly held right should be the privilege of deciding not only how we live, but how we die. Hillary Clinton is the best choice to represent Nebraska Democrats in the 2016 presidential election. She has the Journal Star editorial boards endorsement on that side of the ticket. The Journal Stars endorsement in the GOP race will be made closer to the May 10 primary, when the states Republicans will choose their favorite. (Democratic presidential candidates will also be on the ballot, but the vote will not binding.) So far the presidential campaign has been wilder and more unpredictable than anyone could have imagined. A few months ago did anyone foresee that a candidate who describes himself as a democratic socialist would have generated enough appeal to draw hundreds of people to 12th and Q streets? But there they were on an unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon, cheering for Sen. Bernie Sanders, some wearing Feel the Bern T-shirts. Or that it would seem like ordinary political rhetoric when Sen. Marco Rubio claimed that the leading GOP candidate doesnt sweat because his pores are clogged from the spray-tan that he uses. Donald is not going to make America great; he is going to make America orange." The chief criterion for the editorial boards selection of Clinton is that she is the most electable candidate in the Democratic field. To be sure, she has considerable baggage. The FBI is continuing its probe into her use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State, and Republican-driven investigations continue on several fronts. Nonetheless, her years in the U.S. Senate and as secretary of state give Clinton a breadth of experience that would be invaluable if Americans send her to the White House in November. Clinton has a creditable record in support of the war on terror. Notably she was in the cabinet and even in the room watching when the Seal team raided Osama Bin Ladens compound. Clintons experience also bolsters confidence that she would avoid risky experimentation with Americas economic system. Its impossible to predict at this point who Clinton might face if she were the Democratic nominee. The Republic race is still wide open. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has talked of a third-party bid. Donald Trump has suggested he might run as an independent if Republicans deny him the nomination. In this chaotic political environment it would be reassuring to have a tested, experienced leader in the field. The editorial board hopes that Nebraskas Democrats agree. Republican Sen. Ben Sasse said Monday he will not support Donald Trump if he wins the GOP presidential nomination and would instead "look for a third party option." Sasse told CNN's Jake Tapper that he "believe(s) there will be more candidates that enter the race if the only choices are two dishonest New York liberals" in November. Neither Hillary Clinton, who is leading the Democratic race, nor Trump could win his vote, Nebraska's freshman senator said. Sasse's remarks came on the heels of a Facebook posting and a series of tweets in which he signaled that in the event of a Clinton-Trump matchup in the general election, he would look for "a conservative option, a constitutionalist" as an alternative. That prompted RedState, a leading conservative blog, to identify Sasse as the first prominent elected Republican officeholder to declare that he would not support Trump if he is his party's nominee. RedState described Sasse as a "conservative, rock star senator." In his Facebook posting, Sasse said: "Mr. Trump's relentless focus is on dividing Americans and on tearing down rather than building back up this glorious nation." In America's constitutional form of government, Sasse said, there are checks and balances within three separate, but co-equal, branches. "The law is king and the people are boss," Sasse wrote. "But have you noticed how Mr. Trump uses the word 'reign' like he thinks he's running for king? "It's creepy, actually. Nebraskans are not looking for a king. We yearn instead for the recovery of a constitutional republic." Sasse told Tapper: "I took an oath to protect, defend the Constitution." Sasse and Trump engaged briefly in a Twitter battle a few weeks ago and Sasse went to Iowa to campaign against Trump in advance of the Iowa Republican caucus. Also on Monday, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said Trump's comments over the weekend declining an opportunity to condemn the Ku Klux Klan were "very concerning." However, Ricketts said, he has made no decision yet on who he may support for his party's presidential nomination or whether he might endorse a candidate. STURTEVANT Grapes 2 Glass, the wine store at 10351 Washington Ave., has closed after a little less than six years in operation. Michele Bachmann of Racine opened the wine store in April 2010 in the small strip center along the northern edge of the Marcus Renaissance Cinema property. On Friday, the business sent out a message to customers which stated in part: As you know, we are going out of business. We are very sad about this but have no choices. We were not prepared for the landlords to raise our rent and still have lots of stock left. The business phone was not being answered Monday, and neither Bachmann nor the property owner, Exel Development LLC of Chicago, could be reached for comment. Exel bought the strip center in February 2015 for $775,000. Before opening Grapes 2 Glass, Bachmann had been a wine consultant for Lionstone International Direct Wines, then based in Lake Forest, Ill. After a British company bought Lionstone, it went solely to Internet sales and moved its Chicago office east. So Bachmann used her 401(k) retirement account to open her wine store. She said at the time that Grapes 2 Glass would carry about 300 wines from the U.S. Midwest and West Coast and numerous foreign countries. In 2013 Bachmann, who also had restaurant experience, expanded her stores floor space, added tapas and greatly increased her selection of microbrewed beers. Recently, Grapes 2 Glass started announcing its imminent closing on Facebook. Fridays email to customers said We need to sell everything and promoted a sale that was scheduled for this past Saturday. RACINE Ascension and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare announced Tuesday the signing of an agreement making Wheatons southeastern Wisconsin operations and related corporate services part of Ascension Wisconsin, effective immediately. The merger was announced in October. The process to bring Ascension and Wheaton together began nearly two years ago, when the Wheaton Franciscan Sisters engaged in a discernment process to ensure that their mission would endure in each community served. Wheaton leadership determined Ascension to be the best fit because the mission and values of both organizations align, including their common commitment to deliver high-quality patient care with special emphasis on serving those who are poor and vulnerable. We are pleased to become part of Ascension Wisconsin. This relationship will support our efforts in delivering high-quality, compassionate and personalized care in the communities we serve, Wheaton Franciscan President and CEO John Oliverio stated. Ascension and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare share a common goal of serving all with special attention to those living in poverty and those most vulnerable, Ascension President and CEO Anthony Tersigni stated. We share a commitment to promoting community and the common good, and advocating for a compassionate and just society through actions and words. This step is part of an ongoing effort to strengthen Catholic healthcare in the U.S. The merger agreement includes Wheatons southeastern Wisconsin region with eight hospital campuses, 330 medical group physicians, outpatient centers, transitional and long-term care facilities, home health and hospice, and nearly 11,000 associates as well as the related corporate services. Wheaton Franciscan is a Catholic, nonprofit health care organization that was started more than 140 years ago and formally incorporated in 1983. Its hospitals in southeastern Wisconsin include Wheaton Franciscan-All Saints hospital, 3801 Spring St., Racine, and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-Franklin, 10101 S. 27th St. Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization, the largest nonprofit health system in the United States and the worlds largest Catholic health system. Ascension is committed to giving special attention to people living in poverty and those most vulnerable. In its last fiscal year, Ascension provided nearly $2 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. Approximately 160,000 associates and 36,000 aligned providers serve in 2,000 sites of care, including 137 hospitals and more than 30 senior living facilities, in 24 states and the District of Columbia. RACINE COUNTY Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant police worked together to arrest an armed man who had allegedly threatened to shoot a woman and himself Tuesday morning. Percy Hayes, 30, of Milwaukee, reportedly pulled a gun on a woman he was having an argument with and threatened to shoot her and himself while they were driving down Highway 20 in Mount Pleasant Tuesday at about 8 a.m., Mount Pleasant Police Chief Tim Zarzecki said. According to Zarzecki, the woman pulled the vehicle over and ran into Aurora Health Center located at 8348 Washington Ave. She locked herself in a bathroom in the building, Zarzecki said. Zarzecki said Hayes left the vehicle and headed toward West Lawn Memorial Park, 9000 Washington Ave. A Sturtevant police officer, who was patrolling the area, spotted Hayes entering the cemetery, engaged in a brief foot chase with him, and arrested him, finding a gun and a knife on him, according to Zarzecki. Were very grateful that the situation was brought under control very quickly and that no one was hurt, Zarzecki said. Many thanks to the Sturtevant officer who was right there when needed. Sturtevant Police Chief Sean Marschke praised the efforts of the officers involved. I am happy the incident was resolved without any injury to the officers or suspect due to the cooperative efforts of both our agencies, he said. Zarzecki added that Hayes did not resist once the Sturtevant officer apprehended him. Hayes is being held at the Racine County Jail, according to jail records. Zarzecki anticipates that Hayes will face charges of disorderly conduct while armed and reckless use of a weapon for Hayes, although formal charges have not yet been filed. RACINE A Racine man faces nine felony drug charges for allegedly making three drug deals in the past 11 days. James E. Harris 54, of the 4500 block of Byrd Avenue, appeared in Racine County Circuit Court Monday in connection with 10 charges nine felonies for allegedly selling cocaine and Adderall in three separate sales in February, according to court records. Harris, who was convicted of dealing drugs in 2013, is charged with three counts of manufacturing or delivering cocaine, two counts of distributing a controlled substance, two counts of possession with intent to deliver, and running a drug house, court records show. If convicted on all felony counts, Harris could face 19 years in prison. According to the criminal complaint, Racine Police said Harris sold cocaine and pills on Feb. 19, Feb. 22 and Feb. 23. Police executed a search warrant at Harris residence on Feb. 26 and found pills, marijuana, cash and a crack pipe, the complaint said. During the search, Harris allegedly turned over 4 grams of cocaine he had in plastic bags stashed between his buttocks, the complaint said. Harris was in the Racine County Jail Monday night, according to jail records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 9, court records indicate. RACINE A Kenosha teen was sentenced on Monday to four years in prison for his role in the robbery of a TCF Bank in Racine in 2014. Marquez C. Vines also was sentenced to three years on extended supervision in the Nov. 10, 2014, robbery of TCF Bank, at 3935 Douglas Ave. Racine County Circuit Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz also ordered Vines, 17, not to have any contact with the co-defendants or members of Chicago-area gangs. Vines pleaded no contest on Nov. 17 to the charges of being a party to the crime of robbery of a financial institution and felony bail jumping. Prosecutors also charged Cantrell B. Hunter Jr., 19, of Irma; and Antoine S. Cook, 22, and Charles E. Donnell Jr., 20, both of Kenosha. Hunter and Vines were charged as adults. Two bank employees were inside at about 6:17 p.m. that day in 2014 when Hunter walked into the bank with a demand note before walking out with the cash, according to investigators. Hunter left the bank with $534, according to the criminal complaints. All of the cash was later recovered, police said. Officers chased a green Pontiac after the bank robbery, reaching speeds of up to 70 mph, as Cook allegedly drove the getaway car, criminal complaints state. Hunter, Cook and Donnell reportedly ran from the car, but were caught by police. Vines remained inside and was arrested, the complaints state. In August, charges against Donnell were dismissed, court records show. Gasiorkiewicz sentenced Hunter on Jan. 7 to seven years in prison plus five years on extended supervision. Cooks trial is scheduled for March 8. RACINE Count Assembly Speaker Robin Vos among those who fear a Donald Trump presidential nomination hurting Republicans in other races this fall. In a meeting Monday afternoon with The Journal Times Editorial Board, Vos said many conservatives may sit out the election if the New York billionaire appears at the top of the ballot, potentially costing other GOP candidates votes. I know quite a few conservatives who have said, Im not going to vote for somebody who isnt a conservative. Because on certain things, Im not sure he is, Vos, R-Rochester, said of Trump. If a big chunk of folks decide to stay home but theyre disproportionately Republican, all the way down the ticket from state Legislature to county treasurer to U.S. Senate we could have less people voting for us. Vos, who is state co-chairman of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubios Wisconsin campaign, said he is cautiously optimistic somebody like Marco Rubio will eventually be the nominee. If not, Vos didnt rule out voting for Trump, saying my assumption is I will support the Republican nominee, whoever it is. State Rep. Thomas Weatherston, R-Caledonia, who also met with the JT Editorial Board on Monday, said he would prefer if Rubio or, better yet, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, gets the nomination. But if Trump is the only name on the ticket, I guess Ill have to vote for him, he said. In play on Nov. 8 Wisconsin features a slate of races Nov. 8, including a U.S. Senate seat, half of the state Senate and all state Assembly and U.S. House seats. A Trump candidacy would come as Republicans enjoy majorities in the state Assembly and Senate and are trying to hold onto U.S. Sen. Ron Johnsons seat, with early polls showing him trailing former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold. The speakers comments came a day before Super Tuesday, which features 10 states holding nominating contests for both Republicans and Democrats. The night could play a huge role in each partys nomination. 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Hodge, Jr. of the Sandra Day OConnor College of Law, Arizona State University (ASU), John L. Hick of the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Dan Hanfling of the UPMC Center for Health Security and Sarah Wetter of the Sandra Day OConnor College of Law, ASU, discuss the intersection of medical and legal decisions in response to the Zika virus outbreak On the heels of the 2014 Ebola outbreak (with just a few remaining cases in Sierra Leone), the world faces its next major threat from an emerging infectious agentZika virus (ZIKV). Originally discovered in Uganda in 1947, ZIKV, like Ebola, was largely dormant for decades. Limited outbreaks among smaller populations in the Yap Islands (2007) and French Polynesian Islands (2013) raised some public health flags. However, ZIKVs emergence in South and Latin Americas in 2015 through global migration of mosquitoes and human travel patterns escalates this threat to emergency levels. On February 1, 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spread of ZIKV a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). Multiple countries, including Brazil, Honduras and Mexico, have made similar declarations. The US National Security Council has directed federal agencies to plan for the emerging virus. President Obama presented a supplemental budget to Congress recently focused on improving diagnosis, developing medical countermeasures and coordinating preparedness and response strategies. On February 8, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) placed its emergency operations center on its highest Level 1. Governors of Florida (2/3), Puerto Rico (2/5) [Spanish], and Hawaii (2/12) [PDF] have declared their own states of emergency with the impending approach of ZIKV in the US. ZIKV is projected to infect multiple millions globally before this current wave crests. As with Ebola, ZIKV requires public health officials, medical practitioners, and policymakers to make critical, real-time decisions with inexact or incomplete data on the morbidity and risks of the condition itself. While Ebola virus disease (EVD) imperiled patients, medical providers, and those immediately around them, impacts of ZIKV are thought currently to extend mostly to vulnerable infants and pregnant women. As discussed below, difficult choices at the intersection of public health, medical and legal triage must be made amidst present and future uncertainties about the trajectory and morbidity of ZIKV among specific populations. Public Health and Medical Triage In Response to ZIKV ZIKV is yet another example of an emerging infectious disease with public health consequences exceeding the normal provision of medical care. Unlike with EVD, ZIKV is spread primarily via the Aedes species of mosquitos. Other lesser routes of ZIKV transmission include through infected humansmosquitoesother humans, sexual transmission, blood transfusions and potentially even through other bodily fluids (e.g., saliva, urine). None of these other routes is known presently to be the source of major, or even minor, outbreaks. Still, Brazilian authorities recommended that people avoid kissing to prevent infection during the February 2016 Carnival. As well, sexual transmission of the virus from male to female partners for undefined periods of time after the partners infection implicates additional medical and societal issues. Risks. Public health challenges of ZIKV extend from risks primarily to unborn children. Most ZIKV infections occur with minimal or no symptoms to the host (only about 20 percent of infected persons are symptomatic). Its transfer to fetuses through pregnant women, however, can have catastrophic consequences. Microcephaly, in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and brains, has been associated with corresponding increases in rates of fetal demise and moderate to severe developmental delays in the offspring of women infected with ZIKV. When and how often infection in the course of pregnancy may lead to such disabilities are uncertain. A spectrum of less severe brain damage among infants may also be correlated with ZIKV, but these conditions can only be detected well after birth when cognitive testing can be conducted. Vision and hearing problems among newborns have also emerged as potential ZIKV complications. Some reports in Colombia and elsewhere suggest adults infected with ZIKV develop Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which can cause temporary or permanent paralysis. Testing. Several companies are working to develop rapid, easy and accurate tests for ZIKV as existing blood tests are problematic. A PCR test applied during a patients symptomatic phase can only be conducted at a handful of specialized laboratories. Patients recovering from ZIKV can also be tested for IgM antibodies [PDF]. Interpretation of the IgM results is confounded by cross-reactivity with other diseases such as Dengue fever and Yellow fever vaccine, commonly recommended for travelers to areas where ZIKV is currently endemic. Currently CDC recommends testing pregnant women who have traveled to endemic countries, whether or not they experience symptoms of ZIKV. Testing recommendations are problematic. False positive tests [PDF] (where a test inaccurately suggests ZIKV infection) may lead a woman to decide to terminate an otherwise normal, healthy pregnancy. False negative tests (where a test fails to accurately detect infection) are rarer, but may lead to missed diagnoses. Subsequent failures to perform appropriately-timed ultrasounds during pregnancy may result in undetected cases of microcephaly. Finally, while domestic testing demands are being met now, rapidly and accurately testing thousands of at risk pregnant women will be difficult if ZIKV transmission spreads across southern states later this spring. Preparedness. Public health and medical limitations are compounded by a potential lack of preparedness, as seen with initial cases of EVD in the US. Front line medical providers likely to see cases of ZIKV include specialists in obstetrics/maternal-fetal medicine, primary care, neonatology and neurology. Most of these practitioners have limited experience with preparing for public health emergencies, implementing crisis standards of care and reporting ZIKV cases. Consequently, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, CDC, other federal authorities and specialty societies (e.g., American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology) are working extensively to raise awareness of ZIKV, its symptoms and morbidity among the clinical community. Treatments and Vaccines. There is no specific treatment for ZIKV. Addressing typical symptoms (e.g., fevers, joint/muscle pain, conjunctivitis) may assuage discomforts, but does not rid the body of the virus nor make one less infectious. Current efforts focused on development of a vaccine are still months from fruition, and thus of little consequence to tens of millions currently at risk of infection. Since ZIKV is clinically benign for most patients, any future vaccines side-effects must be extremely minimal for it to offer reasonable risk-benefits. The unknowns of ZIKV transmission, treatment and prevention lend to multiple, challenging questions on the medical and public health impacts including: How many resources should be expended to test asymptomatic travelers and those living in endemic areas when current data are insufficient to accurately assess risk to a pregnancy from the disease? Even if a safe vaccine can be developed, initial supplies will be limited. Who gets available vaccines first? At-risk women of child-bearing years may be at the front of the line now, but might this change as epidemiologic findings on GBS or other conditions materialize? Are suggested restrictions on pregnancy in El Salvador, Colombia, Ecuador and Jamaica warranted given their significant impacts on reproductive rights, economic interests and social status? Should females of child-bearing age (or their partners) avoid travelling to endemic countries given the risks, or should travel recommendations be dispensed altogether in lieu of prudent use of contraception and/or screening for pregnancy? Are enhanced domestic public health responses, including aggressive mosquito control efforts, warranted despite potential risks from public exposure to vector control agents? Legal Triage In Response to ZIKV Just as medical and public health practitioners are working to address key determinants regarding testing, screening, treatment, vaccination and prevention of ZIKV, law and policy-makers are assessing emerging legal issues. Legal triage entails prioritization of these issues in real-time to facilitate legitimate public health and medical responses by: (1) identifying enabling and disabling issues; (2) gauging changing legal and ethical norms; (3) crafting and explaining innovative solutions; and (4) consistently revisiting the utility and efficacy of legal guidance. Initial answers via legal triage can change immediately via declared states of emergency, disaster, or public health emergency, as in Florida, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. With conditions like ZIKV, where medical and public health findings are constantly evolving, the practice of medical and legal triage intersect, as illustrated below. Testing and Screening. Public health legal powers to test and screen individuals and populations vary. They include purely voluntary recommendations, mandatory measures that set conditions on testing, and compulsory interventions. What is legally authorized depends on what is justified from a public health or medical perspective. For example, government recommendations for voluntary ZIKV testing of adult pregnant women are lawful even if test results are somewhat unreliable. So long as the testing is truly voluntary a patient may choose whether to participate or not via informed consent. Still, even voluntary testing can implicate difficult policy choices. Recently, federal legislators objected to the potential for federal ZIKV preparedness funds to support women who may choose abortions if faced with positive ZIKV test results. Profound reproductive rights issues surround access and use of contraception and abortion, especially among pregnant minors. Many of the nations experiencing widespread ZIKV infections have religious foundations and related laws that deeply conflict with these services. In countries like Colombia, El Salvador and Ecuador, where government recommendations to avoid pregnancy have emerged, lawful access to safe abortions is minimal, if non-existent. Contrast a voluntary approach to mandatory testing of infants. Mandatory newborn screening for a multiple condition is common practice in the US. Adding ZIKV to the list of newborn conditions tested may seem pragmatic, but could still lead to legal questions. Until ZIKV threatens a greater portion of pregnant women domestically, screening recommendations may apply only to at-risk groups like infants born to mothers with prior or current exposures to endemic regions. Potential for discrimination arises as mothers (e.g., migrants from Mexico) are targeted for screening. Furthermore, mandatorily screening infants for ZIKV at birth may be questionable if there are no proven interventions to address their potential medical complications. Conversely, if efficacious treatments for ZIKV infections among infants become a part of the standard of care, failures to screen at risk infants may lead to liability later if their disabilities could have been prevented. Allocation of Vaccines/Treatment. One of the most difficult issues in the context of emerging infectious disease outbreak is how to allocate available limited resources, particularly medical countermeasures. The Institute of Medicine noted in its 2012 Crisis Standards of Care report that the actual crisis in disease outbreaks is often the lack of essential resources and not the condition itself. How limited resources are distributed is ethically perplexing, especially given intersecting shifts in medical data and legal responsibilities. As noted above, if a safe, efficacious ZIKV vaccine was available now, females of child-bearing years at risk of exposure may be first in line for access. This sort of allocation seems legally non-controversial. That is, until suggestions about the potential adverse effects of the vaccine arise, whether based in fact or fiction. Pervasive mistruths about current childhood vaccine safety continue to hamper vaccination rates in specific subpopulations in the US. In 2015, California legislated away existing vaccine exceptions for religious and philosophical exemptions. The mere specter of adverse events related to ZIKV vaccines may obviate their use, changing the nature of how they are allocated. Travel Limitations. The 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil and continued mosquito migrations to North America heighten the potential for rapid global spread of ZIKV. While infections directly through mosquitos are by far the surest path to contracting ZIKV, other transmission routes (discussed above) may lend to international or national travel restrictions of questionable legality. Concerned about discrimination and trade, WHO has expressed disdain for any national travel bans or restrictions. CDC has issued voluntary travel warnings for pregnant women and others in affected countries. As seen in response to EVD and SARS, other nations may impose restrictive travel policies on their citizens or attempt to keep out or screen persons arriving from hot zones. To be lawful, travel-based limits or screening protocols must be efficacious based on known risks of transmission of ZIKV. So long as the spread of ZIKV continues to be dominated by mosquitos, and not people, travel restrictions or bans lack utility, carry significant economic impacts and potentially infringe human rights. Mosquito Abatement. Controlling mosquitos to prevent disease is a consummate goal of public health authorities. The rapid spread of West Nile virus [PDF] domestically in the early 2000s prompted state and local governments to implement or enhance mosquito abatement programs, often through mosquito control districts. Yet, transmission of ZIKV via the cockroach of mosquitoes presents unique challenges. Finding and killing Aedes mosquitoes are not easy. They can breed in small amounts of water (think bottle caps and birdbaths, not ponds) and tend to fly no more than 100 meters from their source. Typical fumigation of communities may not fully address their spread. As a result, community education on mosquito source reduction is integral. Hawaii launched its Fight the Bite [PDF] campaign in January 2016 to provide information and resources for eliminating breeding grounds from homes and properties. CDC recommends source reduction and larvicide treatments early in the breeding season, and adulticide treatments only after local ZIKV cases are detected. Widespread pesticide application, however, may invoke public and private opposition given potential harms to the environment (e.g., plants, animals, water supply), private property (e.g., vehicular paint damage) and the publics health. Compliance with legal pesticide requirements, use of integrated pest management and proper training of pesticide applicators can minimize risks and liabilities. State and federal water laws may require spray permits or environmental impact assessments, subject to waiver under appropriate emergency declarations. Use of genetically modified mosquitos and mosquito-killing bacteria, currently under consideration internationally, may raise public concerns and implicate new legal requirements in the US. Not everyone may be able or willing to assist in mosquito abatement efforts. In such cases, laws in many jurisdictions allow public health officials to classify private property as a public health nuisance to require mosquito abatement actions by owners. Still, owners may object through right-of-entry claims or simply fail to comply with public health orders, hindering abatement efforts. Zika may not generate the same fears as Ebola, but it does present other, complex social challenges. Some issues will be clarified as public health authorities and medical providers learn more. As new data arise, key decisions in medical and legal triage for the management of this emerging infectious threat must be made in unison based on best medical and legal practices leading to improved health outcomes. James G. Hodge, Jr., JD, LLM, is a Professor of Public Health Law and Ethics, and Director, Public Health Law and Policy Program at Sandra Day OConnor College of Law, Arizona State University (ASU). John L. Hick, MD, is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine and an Emergency Physician at Hennepin County Medical Center. Dan Hanfling, MD, is a Contributing Scholar at the UPMC Center for Health Security and Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine, George Washington University School of Medicine. Sarah Wetter, JD candidate (2017), is a Senior Legal Researcher, Public Health Law and Policy Program at Sandra Day OConnor College of Law, ASU. Suggested citation: James G. Hodge et al. Zika Virus and the Intersection of Medical and Legal Triage, JURIST Academic/Commentary, Feb. 18, 2016, http://jurist.org/forum/2016/02/james-hodge-zika-virus.php. [JURIST] Pakistani authorities on Monday prepared for civil unrest after the execution of Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri in a high-security prison in Rawalpindi. Qadri is the killer of a former Pakistani governor of the Punjab province, Salmaan Taseer, who campaigned for changes to the blasphemy laws in Pakistan, which Taseer alleged were used to persecute religious minorities [NYT report]. Last March Pakistans Islamabad High court affirmed Qadris death sentence [JURIST report] for the murder of Taseer in 2011. Qadri had served as Taseers bodyguard at the time of the murder. Qadri later claimed it was his religious duty to kill the former governor who publicly criticized the Pakistani blasphemy laws and supported liberal reforms. Authorities feared protests and potential violence after the execution because Qadri had gained the status of a political hero for some Islamist groups who believe that the mere suggestion of political reform should amount to a capital crime. After Qadris execution, security forces were put on high alert [BBC report] and there were riot police present around Qadris residence. Pakistan has faced international scrutiny in recent years for its enforcement of blasphemy laws [JURIST news archive]. The blasphemy laws were introduced in 1986 as a way of protecting Muslim beliefs from insults. In response to repeated calls for repeal, Pakistani Federal Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti has said that the laws may be amended to prevent misuse, but they will not be repealed. Advocacy groups such as Human Rights Watch [JURIST report], as well as Pakistani advocate Saroop Ijaz have argued the laws should be repealed [JURIST op-ed]. [JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] heard oral arguments [day call, PDF] Monday on the recklessness standard of domestic violence misdemeanors that can federally ban someone from the ability to possess a firearm and judicial recusal in capital punishment cases. In Voisine v. United States [transcript, PDF], the two petitioners pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence charges in Maine. Both were later found to be in possession of a firearm, which is a federal offense for anyone with a domestic violence record. The petitioners argue that because the Maine domestic assault statute broadly allows conviction for reckless assaults, but their federal indictment is unclear as to whether a reckless mens rea meets the federal definition of misdemeanor domestic violence. Justice Clarence Thomas expressed concern that the constitutional right to possess a firearm may be suspended under this law under a mere recklessness standard. The petitioners hold the position that such a suspensions of rights violates due process, and that federal statute is broad enough that it may be interpreted according to the rule of lenity. Williams v. Pennsylvania [transcript, PDF] asks the court to determine whether a prosecutor who approved a death penalty charge may later preside over an appeal regarding misconduct of the prosecutors office. In this case, Williams was convicted of first degree murder in Philadelphia and sentenced to death. Ronald Castillo was the district attorney in Philadelphia during the trial, and was subsequently elected to serve on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court [official website]. Williams then appealed his death sentence to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, arguing misconduct on the part of the Philadelphia prosecutors office when Castillo was serving as the district attorney. Castillo did not recuse himself from the case on appeal, claiming that he was not improperly biased. The Pennsylvania court unanimously denied Williams appeal, then denied his motion for reconsideration after Castillo retired from the bench. Williams now argues to the Supreme Court that the failure to recuse created a due process violation and asks for de novo appellate review. [JURIST] The Court of Justice of the European Union [official website] ruled [judgment] Tuesday that Germany may place residence conditions on refugees. The case was brought by a Syrian couple who, upon arriving in Germany, were made aware that as refugees they were only allowed to reside in certain places. They argued that such restrictions violated their right of free movement. However, the court held [DW report] that the nation could restrict the areas in which those under subsidiary protection could live if they determined it was better for integration into society. 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. Last week the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said Tuesday that new measures put in place by many European countries are too restrictive and place undue hardships [JURIST report] on refugees and asylum-seekers. Also last week Amnesty International warned Austria that they are violating human rights through their daily cap on asylum applications [JURIST report]. The country had previously received a warning from an EU official not to go ahead with these plans, stating that any such move would be unlawful [JURIST report]. Earlier last month the German Cabinet approved new asylum laws [JURIST report] in response to the hundreds of thousands of refugees that have entered the country since the beginning of 2015. The bill will speed up asylum procedures and related legal appeals and will bar entry into the country for some asylum seekers families for a period of two years. In January Danish lawmakers approved a controversial bill that will allow Danish authorities to seize assets [JURIST report] from immigrants seeking asylum in order to cover their expenses. In December the EU opened an infringement case [JURIST report] against Hungarys new asylum law and the countrys response to the refugee situation. [JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana [official website] on Monday blocked [order, PDF] Governor Mike Pences order keeping Syrian refugees from settling in Indiana. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] on behalf of Exodus Refugee Immigration [advocacy website] in November after Pence announced his plans to suspend resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state as well as assistance from state agencies. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt granted a preliminary injunction against Pences order on Monday, finding it discriminatory: The States conduct clearly constitutes national origin discrimination. Although the State says it has a compelling reason for doing sothe safety of Indiana residentsthe withholding of federal funds from Exodus that it would use to provide social services (such as cultural integration training, job skills training and adult English language training) to Syrian refugees in no way furthers the States asserted interest in the safety of Indiana residents. In balancing the competing claims of injury, it is clear that Exodus and its refugee clients will be harmed by the States directive. When this is weighed against the near complete absence of harm to the State, it is clear that equity demands a preliminary injunction to issue. Exodus Refugee Immigration is a non-profit organization that assists refugees after they have been federally approved and screened. The organization said in November that was expecting to receive 19 Syrians who had already been approved by the federal government for resettlement in Indiana. 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. Last month a federal judge in Texas rejected a Texas lawsuit [JURIST report] seeking to halt the federal resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state. The judge ruled that Texas officials had failed to show a substantial threat of irreparable injury in their request for an injunction to stop further Syrian refugee resettlement. Refugee resettlement is also controversial in Europe. Last week the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that new measures put in place by many European countries are too restrictive and place undue hardships [JURIST reports] on refugees and asylum-seekers A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York [official website] on Monday denied [opinion, PDF] a Department of Justice (DOJ) request to order Apple to disable the security of an iPhone that was seized during a drug investigation. Federal Magistrate Judge James Orenstein concluded that the DOJ failed to establish that the All Writs Act (AWA) [text] permits the relief it sought. The judge concluded that the question to be answered in this case was not whether the government should be able to force Apple to help it unlock a specific device, but whether the AWA resolves the issue. The ruling could influence cases across the country where law enforcement is requesting [NYT report] that Apple help unlock iPhones. At the end of February, Apple filed [JURIST report] a brief in the US District Court for the Central District of California in opposition of the US governments request for the company to unlock the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter, Syed Rizwan Farook. Counsel for Apple called the case unprecedented after the DOJ filed [JURIST report] a motion to compel Apple to unlock the encrypted iPhone. In response to the legal conflict, Apple Inc. asked [JURIST report] the US government to create a panel of experts to discuss issues of security versus privacy. These developments came after Apple refused the initial court order to assist the government in unlocking the iPhone from one of the San Bernardino shooters. The court order required [JURIST report] Apple to supply software to the FBI to disable a self-destruct feature that erases phone data after 10 failed attempts to enter the phones password. A federal lawsuit [complaint, PDF] was filed on Monday against the governor of Mississippi challenging the state flag, the last one in the country that bears the Confederate battle emblem. Carlos Moore, the Mississippi native and civil rights lawyer that filed the claim [WP report], alleges that the imagery is tantamount to hateful government speech that both has a discriminatory intent and disparate impact. The lawsuit goes on to state a fear for personal safety and the safety of African-Americans because of the state sanctioned hate speech and seeks the removal of the flag from all government buildings. A spokesman for Governor Dewey Phil Bryant [personal website] responded by expressing a desire to leave the decision to the political system and stating that the suit is a frivolous attempt to use the federal court system to usurp the will of the people. Moore was hoping the state legislature would make a change to the state flag, but attempts have continuously been stalled. Ole Miss [academic website] removed the state flag from campus [WP report] Monday morning, and serious debate has already been sparked. Debate has intensified in the past year over the acceptability of confederate symbols in everyday life. In August a judge in Texas denied a request for a temporary restraining order to halt the University of Texas at Austin [official website] from relocating a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis [JURIST report]. In July it came to light that Dylann Roof, who is charged with the murder of nine black church members in South Carolina [JURIST report], prominently posed [NYT report] with the confederate flag. Also in July South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from the state house [JURIST report]. Although the Charleston shooting led to renewed focus on the use of the Confederate flag, controversy over the flag has persisted for years. In June the US Supreme Court [official website] ruled that state governments can restrict [JURIST report] the kinds of messages printed on specialty license plates after the Sons of Confederate Veterans argued that the Texas governments refusal to issue specialty license plates including an image of the confederate flag violated the First Amendment [Cornell LII backgrounder]. In June 2012 a federal judge in Virginia dismissed a lawsuit [JURIST report] which challenged the constitutionality of the city of Lexingtons ordinance banning the Confederate flag from being flown on city poles. In 2008 a federal court affirmed [JURIST report] a district courts grant of summary judgment to a Tennessee public high school in a lawsuit brought by three students who claimed the schools ban on wearing the Confederate flag was unconstitutional. [JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] 6-2 on Tuesday in Lockhart v. US [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] that the 10-year mandatory minimum sentence for child pornography possession applies when the offender has been previously convicted of sexual abuse that did not involve a minor. In this case, Avondale Lockhart pleaded guilty to charges of possession of child pornography on his computer and had previously been convicted of sexually assaulting his adult girlfriend, resulting in the mandatory minimum sentence. The arguments on both sides were largely textual, with Lockhart believing the statutory phrase in 18 USC 2252(b) [text], relating to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor or ward means that all three listed crimes must involve a minor to trigger the mandatory minimum. In holding that the mandatory minimum sentence applies to his previous offense that did not involve a minor, the court stated that the rule of last antecedent applies, meaning a limiting clause or phrase should ordinarily be read as modifying only the noun or phrase that it immediately follows. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the majority: Applied here, the last antecedent principle suggests that the phrase involving a minor or ward modifies only the phrase that it immediately follows: abusive sexual conduct. As a corollary, it also suggests that the phrases aggravated sexual abuse and sexual abuse are not so constrained. The court also disregarded the petitioners arguments regarding administrability concerns and application of the rule of lenity. The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case in November after granting certiorari [JURIST reports] in May. This ruling affirmed the decision [opinion, PDF] of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website]. This opinion is the first issued by the court after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. During oral argument, Scalia indicated [transcript, PDF] that he would have sided with Lockhart, stating that since the canons of statutory construction appear evenly matched, the rule of lenity should be applied to the petitioner. [JURIST] A UN human rights body was urged [press release] Monday to place more of a focus on women in disaster reduction and relief measures. Speaking to a special convention on the relationship between gender and disaster reduction and climate change, Robert Glasser, head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, told the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women [official websites] that women are disproportionately affected by disasters, as they typically bear the brunt of climate change and hazards such as storms and floods. Glasser noted that the Sendai Framework [text, PDF], a 15-year plan for increasing disaster reduction, places significant importance on human rights, gender equality and climate change adaptation. Because of various factors, men and women have different experiences when disaster strikes, as women are more prone to face gender-based violence, loss of livelihood and loss of life. Glasser expressed hope that this plan will help women gain greater disaster resilience. In January 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 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. The head of the UN mission in Kosovo said Monday that Kosovo is set to face complex challenges this year and should shift focus towards more fundamental issues [statement, DOC] such as the intrinsic links between post-conflict development, enforcement of the rule of law, and human rights, rather than politics. Zahir Tanin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) [official website], stated that support for the rule of law needs to be furthered in a more coordinated effort: Building respect for the rule of law, and ensuring adequate enforcement, are great challenges in many parts of the world. In Kosovo, these crucial goals are not always being kept high on the agenda where they belong. A strong legislative framework is already in place, including several key laws enacted during just this past year. However, the application of this framework remains inconsistent, the administration of justice unacceptably slow, and instances of political interference common. Corruption at many levels increases public frustration, harms the daily lives of all persons in Kosovo by reducing economic development and opportunity, and undermines faith in the political system. Steadily improving the coordination of support for the rule of law should, I believe, remain a central objective this year. It is also one in which the United Nations remains ready to play a part, within available resources and our mandate. Tanin also said the nexus between peacebuilding and development must be handled in a way that decreases political tensions, human rights laws need to see better implementation, and the response to mass refugee and migrant flows as well as radicalization is something that needs to be properly planned. Kosovo has seen continuing issues since the Kosovo War and declaring independence from Serbia. War crimes committed during the Kosovo War have been prosecuted in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website], but the establishment of a Kosovan war crimes court in The Hague was announced in January [JURIST report]. However, relations between Serbia and Kosovo remain strained. In February the Basic Court of Pec, a region in western Kosovo, issued an indictment charging 14 Serbians in the region with committing war crimes in 1999 [JURIST report]. In January Oliver Ivanovic, a Serbian politician in Kosovo, was sentenced to nine years in prison after being arrested [JURIST reports] in January 2014 for the murder and torture of Albanian civilians during the 1999 war where Kosovo fought for its independence from Serbia [BBC backgrounders]. In response to the widespread commission of war crimes during the conflict in Kosovo, the EUs justice mission in Kosovo (EULEX) [official website] was created in 2008 [JURIST report] to assist in the effort of bringing perpetrators to justice. A EULEX prosecutor in the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office filed an indictment [JURIST report] against 15 defendants in November 2014 in the EULEX Mitrovica Basic Court. The individuals were accused of war crimes against civilians that occurred at a Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) detention center in Likovac in 1998. Fatmir Limaj, an ally of Prime Minister Hashim Thaci was acquitted [JURIST report] by EULEX in September 2014 for the third time after his retrial began [JURIST report] in April. Kosovo officially seceded [JURIST report] from Serbia in 2008. Canada announces reconstruction aid President of Canadas International Development Research Centre, Jean Lebel, and Nadir Patel, High Commissioner for Canada to India announced a new initiative to help Nepali communities rebuild Courting cash The state has not been able to utilise the inflow of remittance productively Off-shore transaction of Ncell shares: Govt agencies still not sure whether to levy tax Authorities concerned are still not sure whether the government should levy capital gain tax on the proposed acquisition of Ncell by Malaysia-based Axiata. Govt urged to introduce policy to streamline homestays Homestay Association Nepal on Monday urged the government to draft appropriate policy to streamline the fastest- growing hospitality segments. NC likely to squander opportunity to evolve When the Nepali Congress, the largest party in Parliament, holds its 13th General Convention from Thursday, it will go down in history as the first party to hold the convention after the promulgation of the constitution that established Nepal as a federal democratic republic. Nepal rejects UN suggestions on TJ-related cases Nepal has rejected all the 29 recommendations on human rights that were made during the 23rd Universal Periodic Review in Geneva including the conventions directly related to transitional justice. NRA fails to set up regional offices The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has failed to establish its sub-regional offices due to a human resource crunch, triggering fears of further delays in post-earthquake reconstruction. Pakistan Salman Taseer murder: Mumtaz Qadri funeral to be held Pakistan is bracing for further protests at the funeral of the former bodyguard who killed Punjab's governor, in a case that shocked the country. US lifts travel warning for Nepal The United States has cancelled warnings issued to its citizens from travelling to Nepal. 1. Yes. Its important to cast my votes early and avoid the lines on Election Day. 2. Yes. With nearly two weeks of early voting, its a more convenient way to take part. 3. No. Its better to wait until Election Day, in case any last-minute information surfaces. 4. No. Im not planning to vote early or on Election Day. It isnt worth my time. 5. Unsure. It depends on how the campaigns are shaping up. Ill play it by ear. Vote View Results INCASI RAYA Group Kami perusahaan swasta nasional dengan areal 250.000 ha dengan alamat kantor pusat di Jl. Raya By Pass Km 6 Lubuk Begal... Ben Higgins breaks from 'Bachelor' tradition, tells TWO women he loves them Guys, get a fantasy suite, would you? (Photo: Screenshot via Twitter @BachelorABC) <!--iframe--> Ben and Caila <!--iframe--> <!--iframe--> Ben and Lauren B. <!--iframe--> <!--iframe--> Ben and JoJo <!--iframe--> <!--iframe--> <!--iframe--> The Rose Ceremony <!--iframe--> In 20 seasons, many women have told a Bachelor that they love him, but rarely does he say it back.Fresh from their hometown dates , JoJo, Caila, Lauren B. and Bachelor Ben Higgins headed to sunny Jamaica for their fantasy suite dates.In Ben's slightly awkward quasi-commercial for Jamaica, he admitted that he could fall in love in such a beautiful place. "Jamaica is gorgeous," he said. "Plush jungles. The water's blue. The air is fresh. The people are friendly. Jamaica just has, like, a freedom to it. You can just take that deep breath and soak in life. Honestly, I think Jamaica could be a really great place to fall in love."Yeah, he could fall in love all right, with not one, but TWO women.But first, Ben admitted that he had reservations about each of the three remaining women. He was worried that Caila might not be capable of loving someone. He was also concerned that Lauren B., the girl he said he practically fell in love with at first sight, might be too good for him. Rest easy Ben, when we say this could never, EVER be the case with ANY woman. Lastly, he was scared that JoJo's family might not accept him. *Cough, cough.* He's talking about her brothers. *Cough.*Before going on his date with Caila, Ben said their relationship was the deepest. Wonder if he felt that way after their awkward boat ride filled with uncomfortable silence?Wonder how that rower felt?Caila said that even she was surprised that she felt so anxious."All that's on my mind is that there are two other women here and that they're possibly falling in love with him, like I am," she said. "And that hurts. And, I don't want that to ruin my day, but it's on my mind."When the two pulled off the river for food, Ben tried to get Caila to talk about her feelings, but she couldn't verbalize them.At dinner, she really opened up and told Ben that she was in love with him. And though Ben didn't say it back, he kissed her and told the cameras that he was relieved to know how Caila was feeling. Then, he handed her the fantasy suite card, which Caila thought they should take full advantage of. And then there were fireworks. Literal ones in the sky, because Bachelor.Ben and Caila woke up together, and she said that she could wake up next to him for the rest of her life. She also told Ben again that she loved him. Caila thought that Ben loved her too, but that he just wasn't allowed to tell her. Girl, if you are reading this recap, read NO FURTHER!On their date, Ben and Lauren B. released baby turtles into the ocean, and they were so cute!!! Lauren B. said that she felt like the luckiest girl in the world, and Ben literally thanked God that they were able to share this moment together.On the beach, Ben told Lauren B. that he cried when he talked to her sister about his feelings for her."You're too good for me," Ben said. "You're beautiful, and you're smart, and you're sweet, and you're sensitive."Lauren B. said that she felt the same way and worried that what she and Ben have might be too good to be true. STILL she didn't say that she loved him.After turtle time, Ben and Lauren B. went to listen to some music, and Lauren B. wore a really cute pink cropped top with a matching skirt that had a high slit. She told Ben that she really struggled this past week and that his relationships with other women weighed heavily on her mind. She also told him that he was the man of her dreams.When the two went to the fantasy suite, Lauren B. FINALLY told Ben that she loved him!And Ben said it back!Just like that, common Bachelor protocol was shattered! Hey, we told you Lauren B.'s outfit was cute! The next day, Ben brought Lauren B. breakfast in bed. Awwwww!For their date, Ben and JoJo took a helicopter to a waterfall. After jumping in the water together, the two found a rock where they could talk.JoJo said that there was not a doubt in her mind that she could see a future with Ben, and then she told him that she loved him. And Ben said, "JoJo, I love you too."Because she knows common Bachelor practice, she was caught incredibly off guard!And Ben was pretty surprised as well."After telling two women that I'm in love with them, I'm in a state of shock because my heart's leading me in two directions," he said. "I'm scared because I don't know what I'm going to do."Ben said that even though he was in love with JoJo, he was scared that he wouldn't have the support of her family. At dinner, JoJo explained that her brothers were just being defensive, and after they talked things through, Ben brought out the fantasy suite card.JoJo and Ben enjoyed their personal hot tub and pool, and JoJo talked A LOT about a future with Ben, which would make us really sad/uncomfortable if she isn't Ben's final choice in the end.The next day on the beach, Ben did some thinking aloud about the one girl he didn't say I love you to. He said that even though he didn't want to say goodbye to Caila, he just couldn't say that he was in love with her. Meanwhile, Caila hopped in a car and booked it to Ben's because she missed "the man that she's in love with." Oh, boy!While Ben was practicing his best pensive Joey Donner, Caila came up behind him.Ben was surprised to see her, but since she was already there, and his mind was made up, he decided to let her go."I also realized that I am in love with two women here, and I just couldn't say it back to you, and I don't know why," Ben said. "And I don't know how because, as I think through things every day, all day, you are literally what I described at the beginning of this as my perfect wife."Ben indicated that he was falling in love with Caila and said that it would be hard to say goodbye to her, but Caila said she thought that was just a line. Ouch!Caila decided that she was going to leave, so she hopped in the car. But while it was pulling away, Caila stopped the vehicle and jumped out of the car to hold Ben accountable for some closure.Caila wanted to know how long Ben knew that he was going to let her go. Ben said it wasn't until he had gone on all three dates that he knew what he was going to do. Caila eventually got back in the car and shed some tears over Ben.Though Caila was gone, Ben still held the rose ceremony, and at the end, he brought his remaining women in for the real thing. to JoJo for saying what we were all thinking.Next week, Ben will come face-to-face with the contestants that he let go (and some who left voluntarily) on The Bachelor: The Women Tell All. Good luck, Ben! OWN A HOUSE AND PAY MONTHLY WE'VE GOT YOU COVERED: EMPOWERMENT TIME Blog Archive Blog Archive February (1) December (1) November (1) October (2) August (4) July (5) February (3) January (3) October (1) September (6) August (1) June (29) May (57) April (23) March (77) February (69) January (85) December (99) November (19) October (138) September (244) August (327) July (219) June (367) May (169) April (204) March (197) February (189) January (35) December (42) November (30) October (6) March (3) February (1) October (1) Photos: Debate between Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and challenger Deidre DeJear Incumbent Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, and her Democratic challenger Deidre DeJear met Monday, Oct. 17, 2022, for a debate on Iowa PBS. I get homesick for a time and place that no longer exists" The election of the western youth representative in parliament has sparked a fight between generals. Lieutenant General Henry Tumukunde one of the people who got injured in the fracas during vote counting in the Western youth MP elections in Fort Portal is accusing the Chief of Defence Forces Gen Katumba Wamala of ordering his shooting. Tumukunde together with his guard were allegedly injured by bullets fired by the military police. It all started when Lt Gen Tumukunde reportedly got into an argument with one of the military police officers deployed at the tally centre at Kagote SDA hall. His son, Amanya Tumukunde one of the contestants had just moved out of the hall in frustration as vote counting started before gun shots were fired. However, the army spokesperson Lt Col Paddy Ankunda has refuted the claims saying it was not appropriate for Gen. Tumukunde to be there in the first place. Some youth delegates had complained that Lt Gen Tumukunde is not a delegate and said his presence would interfere with the elections. Some of the youths also alleged that he had sacks of money to bribe voters. Rwenzori Police spokesperson Lydia Tumusabe says they have not received any election related complaints, but would need time to establish the facts. The results from the Youth elections showed that Ruling NRM party had clinched all the three youth parliamentary seats in Northern, Central and Eastern Uganda. Elections held yesterday saw Oscar Omwony and Mpaka Mwine declared winners of the Northern and Western youth parliamentary seats respectively, while Sarah Babirye took the central region slot. According to the electoral commission, elections for Eastern are still pending, due to a Court injunction. Story By Benjamin Jumbe Members of Parliament have asked police to refrain from attacking journalists who covering unfolding events at former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential flag bearer Dr. Kiiza Besigyes home in Kasangati. On Monday 9 journalists were arrested in two separate events at State House Nakasero and Kasangati. Speaking to KFM, Dr. Lulume Bayiga a member of the Parliamentary Forum in Media said that such anguish was unnecessary and was targeted at the wrong people. Meanwhile NBS Television journalist Remmy Bahati became the latest Journalist to be arrested by police for covering events unfolding at the home of FDCs Dr. Kiiza Besigye on Tuesday afternoon. This comes just a day after the police spokesperson Fred Enanga accused Journalists of deviated from media ethics and taking sides with some opposition figures. Story By Benjamin Jumbe This world-wide quarantine has been hard on everyone. Some more than others. And we've been finding other ways to see people like on soc... 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. We live in a world in which an authoritarian state, $-freeloader narcissistic U.S., controls the digital infrastructure, enjoys the dominant position in the world's technology platforms, controls the means of production for critical technologies, and harnesses a new wave of general purpose technologies, like biotech and new energy technologies, to transform the world society, economy and military, to continue feeding U.S.' parasitic needs. However, the really funny thing is that US smears China for exactly what US itself is. Why didn't NATO (US) stop the real genocide and grave Human Rights violations (since 2014) in Ukraine?! And when Russia did, the NATO (US) attacked Russia. And what about the islamofascist Saudi dictator family's atrocities in Yemen - just to mention one from the Saudi pile?! China is now not only outperforming the West technologically but also the capitalist country that has come the furthest in balancing greed for the good of the people. In contrast to communist dictatorships such as the Soviets, Mao's China, North Korea and others, modern China is more democratic than most Western countries. This is because, via a meritocratic system, political career is built from the bottom up, i.e. local politicians must show results in order to move forward, while together they later form a political communication link between Beijing and the people, which means that unlike dictatorships, it is the top that is most sensitive to grassroots dissatisfaction. And this is proven in several Western research projects which unilaterally show a popular support that is sky-high above, for example, the US. Peter Klevius art analysis: When kings possessed antidemocratic total power (as the Saudi islamofascist murderer and terrorist war criminal "king" still today), they could deliberately show off their personhood. However, when kingdom became art - not to say sign post - then a "good" king or queen became someone who like Elizabeth had to shut up and instead be filled with the content of "the eye of the beholder" - just like art, which is always excluded from its artist. My guess is that she could only really trust her husband - 'husband' is Swedish meaning 'hus' (house) and 'band' means ties like in 'bond'. However, her son Charles has an extremely poor record at that - which may be entertaining, especially for republicans. US should be the "enemy" rather than modern China And when will Liz Truss declare the islamofascist "custodians of islam", the Saudi dictator family - who has murdered, tortured, terrorized and committed war crimes - an enemy? With the U.S. dollar as the world's main reserve currency - since 1971 criminally disconnected from its promised gold connection - and with the U.S. controlling global financial and monetary flow U.S. has raised massive debt while printing money - not "out of thin air" but out of the world. The U.S. economy hence rests on financial colonialism and imperialism, i.e. forcibly robbing its value from other countries. And when excess liquidity drives up global inflation, and the Fed raises interest rates and tightens monetary policy, it also widens its interest rate gap with other countries, while attracting international capital to the otherwise empty (and doomed) U.S. dollar. The Brits should blame US, the militant financial $-freeloader (since 1971) - not modern China, the peaceful tech and wealth building rescuer at home and around the world! Bank of England is a helpless pawn against the feds. At the very moment when especially UK but also the rest of the world needs China the most, then dangerous and militant (CIA steered?) Liz Truss declares China an "enemy". Hello! It's US that 2014 ignited the low scale Ukrainian civil war to a fullblown deadly genocide against Russians, and 2022 to a real proxy war via NATO threatening Russia for the ultimate purpose of attacking China. And it is the US' antidemokratic (decoupled from democratic institutions) Federal Reserve that is behind inflation and the fall of the pound and other financial problems outside US. US is the only country in the world that can survive heavy deficit by counterfeiting money. It's US that is the root of high inflation, energy costs, supply shortages etc. (because of modern China). The feds has since 1913 been the factual dictator of US, and when US became bankrupt after a costly Vietnam war and space (incl. military) program it 1971 unscrupulously cheated with the promised dollar connection to gold. US hence started a fullblown robbing of the world with the dollar as the world currency and now culminating in an untenable money printing that together with China's economic and tech rise threatens US criminal $-freeloading. US is a theocracy if measured by how much "in god we trust" is involved in policy and politics, and that the Supreme Court is 100% religious, in stark contrast to the huge number of Atheist people in US. This has also led to US using islamists against China. How come that this US patriot shares Peter Klevius view on US? Why trust Peter Klevius instead of BBC and other trolls? Because 1. Peter Klevius has a much higher IQ (beware of IQ-phobia) than most professors or world leaders 2. Peter Klevius has a long and clean life record when it comes to women, children, crimes, drugs etc. 3. Peter Klevius has no finacial or career ties to anything he writes about 3) Peter Klevius doesn't (sadly) know (20220326) a single Russian or Chinese, and has never visited the countries nor having any other connections 4) Peter Klevius groundbreaking scientific achievements (e.g. about evolution, consciousness, sex segregation, sociology, psychoanalysis etc.) can all be dated to publications, theses (and after 1998 also on the web) or correspondence with professors considered top of their game. Possibly all of them may also qualify as first of its kind - or at the very least certainly not copied from others - as others seem to do with Peter Klevius' works, without even giving him credit. 5. Peter Klevius had the most unprivileged start of life and adulthood - but also the most privileged when it comes to brain power, dopamin-serotonin balance and psychological stability - to an extent that he can't possibly believe in the psychological non sense excuse that "we're all a little mad". US rape of the Maid of Finland Peter Klevius to Boris Johnson: It was only half of the Brits who voted Brexit, and it was only half of the Ukrainians who voted for Ukrexit. However, in Ukraine it ended with civil war instigated by UK's ally $-freeloader rogue state US. You should really have kept your peaceful Huawei instead of being pushed to the militant F35! US has already sunk below the surface but abuses the "West" as its snorkel. What most people don't realize is that by following US you step downwards in future development compared to China. Little Japan already showed the world how to beat the West in technology. China is more than ten times bigger. And when people - sooner or later - realize the difference, the backlash will be harsh. Peter Klevius asks: Which war (post WW2) has NOT been instigated by rogue state $-freeloader US? Korea, Vietnam, Serbia, Iraq, Georgia, Ukraine, Libya, Yemen, Syria etc.. US, which has also used nukes, biological wepons, and torture, tops by far the list of war criminals - and US allies are gravely complicit! We're constantly told "not to incite hatred against muslims" when we're just criticizing sharia islam for its lack of Human Rights. However, when US/CIA not only incites hatred but also weaponizes it, no one in the West seems to care. Why?! How many more should suffer and die because of US senseless behavior when facing a future where its $-freeloading is coming home to roost because of China's success? 20220221: BBC main news hour at 13:00 today for the first time didn't mention Ukraine and Putin at all - while the worst shelling against Russian populated parts of Ukraine significantly escalated, leading to a peak of over 50,000 refugees fleeing to Russia to escape the genocide the $-freeloader (and now desperate because of China's growth and success) US iniitiated, agitated and assisted with weapons (together with its coerced, or just stupid/evil Western puppets) - while continuing spitting on Putin/Russia. World economies (CIA World Factbook 2022): 1 China 2/3 US, EU 4 India 5 Japan 6 Germmany 7 Russia 8 Brazil 9 France 10 UK Dear reader, stop supporting/aiding dangerous rogue state US! Otherwise US $-desperation (i.e. that it will lose its financial stealing hegemony because of China's growth) will lead to it deliberately starting a WW3. Except for human suffering and lower standard, it would be the great reset for $-freeloader US to stand in the ruins and continue being a stealing and ruling world dictator. No other country poses a similar threat. Religion is segregation. Judaism: We are the chosen people! Christianity: Christ will forgive, you sinner! Islam: Everyone is born muslim, you infidel! Human Right is de-segregation, you human! Peter Klevius wonders if you can spot the difference between the People's republic of China, the Congress' republic of US, and the Parliament's/government's "democracy" of UK. Hint, the clue is in the word 'people' and the fact that Chinese are more satisfied with their democracy than US and UK people. Moreover, can you spot the difference between modern China and Stalin's, Mao's, Castro's, Pol Pot's etc. Communist countries? And when it comes to unjust sentencing, spying, surveilling, detaining/torturing/killing people, US is definitely worse than China. Not to mention US global meddling, militarism and dictatorial fiat $-freeloading. A US that can't manufacture its own chips but tries to hinder China from it. And if you aren't on US sponsored IS-Uyghurs side - why spit on China?! And if you aren't on US sponsored IS-Uyghurs side - why spit on China?! Why is US calling anti-islamism "human rights violation"?! And when will US stop dealing with Saudi, NATO (e.g. Turkey) etc. Human Rights violators?!Btw, Peter Klevius suggests buying Chinese property stocks now. After all, there are more rural Chinese than the entire US population, waiting for getting urban after this temporary slow down. Why doesn't Peter Klevius publish his groundbreaking science in Nature? Because he has no peers! Peer review, according to Google, is the evaluation of work by people with similar competence. Peter Klevius healthy mind and total lack of institutional/financial/political/career bias combined with extra high intelligence is unique in science - and it's precisely therefore his best scientific achievments can't be evaluated by peer-biased people but need a blog to be presented because 1) they would never be peer approved in Nature 2) they would never be produced in a "proper" form with painstaking efforts to squeeze in citations/references etc. that contribute nothing. Whom should Peter Klevius quote about EMAH/consciousness out-of SE Asia , or about hetersosexual attraction and sex segregation ? When I made my phd on sex segregated resistance against female football I was asked to quote feminists. I did, and after every quote I had to negate it. Alternatively it would have silenced the women's voices in my in-depth interviews re. thair experience about resistance. After all, it was feminists behind the 1921 ban against women's football in England, and it was the most powerful feminists in Sweden who for a decade opposed girls and women playing football after the Swedish FA had included it. So instead of me testing Nature, you test me - before "anti-feminism", "anti-out-of-Africa" and "anti-religion" are criminalized as "hate speech"! - In anthropology fossils usually get all kinds of nicknames before scientifically "baptized". However, precisely because Homo floresiensis (the definite proof that humans evolved in SE Asia) was the "missing link" that afropologists wanted to find in Africa (how could an allround mover and allround eater ever evolve on a continent?!) they needed to dismiss it at every level incl. continue calling it a "hobbit". And when it comes to EMAH/consciousness it's extremely simple - yet not "simplistic" at all. However, the culprit is what humans are most proud about, i.e. language. By giving something one doesn't comprehend but wants to put in a package, a name, will continue to contain its blurred definition. This is why EMAH only deals with 'now' and the body of past this now lands on. Of course this leads to everything having "consciousness". A brick "remembers" a stain of paint as long as it's there - and with some "therapeutical" investgation in a laboratory perhaps even longer. And a stain of paint on your skin is exactly the same. However, unlike the the brick you've also got a brain that may also be affected by the stain. This could be compared with a hollow brick where the paint has vanished from the outside but submerged so that when cutting the brick it "remembers" it and tells the cutting blade about it. And for more "sophistication" just add millions of differect colors unevenly spread. Our brain is no different from the rest of the body. If Frankenstein with tomorrow's tech had created an adult human body, then that body wouldn't be able to walk or talk etc. because it lacked the body program we've been programmed with by living. The US-led climate hoax against China : $-freeloader US uses its hegemony to cover up the worst global threat, i.e. itself. And targets China which challenges its hegemony. A sustained and coordinated campaign aimed at undermining the credibility of China. China is already way more democratic than US - especially when considering that its infrastructure today is already where it inevitably will be tomorrow in a technologically lagging US. In other words, technology itself puts ever more distinction on our behavior - compare e.g. the shift from unmarked cash to marked card/online payments. And as an extra bonus China has extremely low criminality, better privacy law, and incredible record of improving poverty and welfare both home and abroad compared to US. Just consider how US has painted itself into a corner by the 1971 cheating that disconnected the dollar from US' own means, hence creating a situation with no other return than lowering its standard (i.e. stopping printing dollar that the rest of the world have had to pay for due to US' global financial empire tentacles) or a new war (which US is already brewing). Where US uses CIA meddling, sanctions and militarism, China has risen with honest manufacturing and trade. Peter Klevius: Do note that my klevius.info is an experimental webmuseum made 2003 and deliberately hasn't been touched upon since 2007. 20211103: Why is BBC 4 news so silent about CIA's murder plot and ongoing extradition request against Julian Assange, but instead has plenty of news time to repeatedly tell listeners about some cricket player (muslim?) who 'was allegedly hurt' because of 'verbal abuse'? $-freeloader US is the main driver of dangerous global militarism and state terror. It's also a many times bigger per capita polluter than China. Why is BBC repeating the lie that "China is the biggest polluter" when in fact it's one of the smallest?! And the only reason to not use per capita would be that China, unlike e.g. similar size Africa, has a single government. But even then China shines as the by far best led country. China is the technological future that we all have to walk - not led by the Chinese, but by technology. And because of US's desperation as its dollar-thieving (since 1971) is now threatened by China irresistibly passing them technologically and economically, China actually serves as a protected "soft landing model" for the future AI world (China's new privacy law, tech crackdown etc.) is exactly what most people want), while aggressive U.S. is a threat to peace and prosperity. Google is precisely the state link Chinese companies are accused of being, and US's "alliance" with "colored" and muslims is basically Sinophobia, i.e. the fear of losing control of those whom it has abused - it simply divides the world into good colored/religious and evil Chinese/Atheists (and evil whites who disagree). US-led "anti-communism" is not about communism or any belief that China would attack the rest of the world (as the US has done, after all). Almost everyone understands that today's China has nothing in common with Cuba, the Soviet Union, Pol Pot, and Mao's China. Peter Klevius has collected US Google News China headlines for years and never seen them (algorithms) so extremely anti-China as now. US' (+its puppets) Taiwan lies in perspective: UN Resolution 2758 which was approved on October 25, 1971 states that "The representatives of the Government of the People's Republic of China are the only lawful representatives of China to the United Nations" and "decides to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek (i.e. Taiwan) from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it." Again, U.S.-linked disinformation campaign against China is made up as it goes along. So how much of US' "anti-Communism" rant is actually Sinophobia spized with greed and fear of losing its parasitic world sucking position? Btw, the worst polluters on measure of culpability as weighted annual per capita greenhouse gas pollution taking relative per capita income into account include the Anglosphere countries US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland. Isn't it shameful that these hypocrites point finger at China?! And why is BBC so silent about the volcanic catastrophe on La Palma that not only keeps continuing but also is getting more vicious by the day?! Volcanos can at any moment start an abrupt iceage - and we are anyway already overdue to the next statistical iceage. 20210926 UK became even more a totalitarian right wing militaristic one party state when Labour cut off its left wing. And unlike China, UK has no meritocracy demand on MPs, nor has it any people's democracy even close to that of China (just consider how the Western, US steered, media told you Xi ordered less gaming for kids when in fact it was a broad demand from parent). And China forces its companies to use less energy - and the Sinophobic West of course spits on this environmental effort when some energy companies break the limits and can't deliver. The West, not China, is the biggest emitter of pollution. What's not to like about China?! Best privacy law: least crimes: best high tech: best tech control: best poverty extermination: best manufacturer: best meritocratic democracy happiness: best trust in leadership, applauded by OIC for treatment of muslims, etc. And badly behaving $-freeloader and financial (and militaristic) global dictator U.S. jailed Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in a foreign country for her normal business in an other foreign country (whose prsidential candidate was murdered by US in a third foreign country) that US didn't happen to like as it didn't like the success of Chinese Huawei. How $-freeloader US has robbed the world since 1971 China hating bigoted and hypocritical West (i.e. US+puppets) - which strangly calls itself "the international community" - worries about Taliban sharia while West's close ally, the islamofascist Saudi dictator family (behind 9/11 and most other islamic terror) has the most medieval form of sharia of any muslim country! Btw, most feminists are sharia muslims - and feminism ticks most fascism boxes . Peter Klevius to his readers: Never forget that fascism emerged in the very midst of what is now in anti-China rhetoric called "the international community" or the West. And the roots of Western fascism has never been treated but live on. Ask yourself, what if China had behaved like the murderous terror rogue state $-freeloader U.S.?! Islamism wants islamic "human rights". Feminism wants women's "human rights". Peter Klevius wants Human Rights. Together with their close ally Saudi Arabia, US and its puppet UK have among the worst Human Rights records - yet they blame China and Russia instead. Fact correcting BBC's lies: Rogue state $-freeloader U.S. is also the by far much worse per capita greenhouse gas polluter than China. Peter Klevius serious questions to you "out of Africa" believer! Ask yourself: How come that the oldest primates came from outside Africa; that the oldest great ape divergence happened outside Africa; that the oldest bi-pedals are from outside Africa; that the only australopithecines with a Homo skull lived as far from Africa you can get; that the oldest truly modern looking skull is from eastern China (and to Chris Stringer - its slightly archaic bun fits a very old age); that the oldest Africans are mongoloid; that the latest genetic mix that shaped the modern human happened in northern Asia and is traced to SE Asia; that the earliest sophisticated art (e.g. a drilled and polished perfect shiny stone bracelet from Siberia, perfect paintings and figurines) and tools (e.g. a perfect sewing needle, flutes etc) are found from Iberia to Sulawesi - but not in Africa so far; that the oldest round skulled Homo sapiens in sub-Saharan Africa is much younger than similar skulls in Eurasia; that we lack ancient enough DNA from Africa to use as evidence (although afropologists happily do), etc. etc.? Peter Klevius theory answers all these questions - and more. Peter Klevius (the only serious anthropologist?!) to afropologists: If you honestly and with simple words would explain the essence of the out-of-Africa myth/hoax to a child s/he wouldn't believe a word of your story: A cold adapted (mongoloid phenotype) population P1 (Homo sapiens), which eats everything and has almost infinite time and skills to move anywhere on land - lives all over a southern "island" (Africa) that has an easily accessible bridge (Sinai) to an other "island" (Eurasia), but somehow cannot get out for hundreds of thousands of years. And when they tried they couldn't survive on places where their primitive relatives (Homo erectus) for 2 million years had thrived all over the places from the tropics to the northern cold. Then the kid would probably ask why you keep telling things that make no sense. And when you answer by saying that this now living population P2 on the warm island - but with features seen in all cold adapted populations P3 far north of the bridge - has the oldest DNA, then the kid would probably ask you if you have ever considered the possibility that those genes were aquired in the cold north far on the other side of the bridge. And your last resort to convince the child concists of some bone fragments that fit in a shoe box together with a decent pair of shoes - and there is no agreement about what they really are - and are the only thing we have between the chimp-like Lucy and the human-like erectus. And what would you answer when the kid then asks how a tiny Lucy-like (poor bipedalism) population A4 could possibly make it out of Africa all the way over the Wallace line to Flores as well as to the Philippines, long before Homo sapiens managed to do so? Peter Klevius suggests you and your kids learn from the best: Peter Klevius theory Speciation needs isolation over time and the best evolutionary lab has been SE Asian archipelago. Like all primates, carnivores, ungulates etc. we also came out of SE Asia with a new brain setup (due to island shrinking and mainland enlargement of this new brain setup), got coldadapted in the north and then spread all over the world while mixing with other Homo sapiens in a pattern easily recognizable. Peter Klevius evolution formula. U.S. main brain asset is East Asians - same with China... East-Asians (mostly Chinese) also took most gold medals in Tokyo Olympics. China won shared gold in the gold-medal race (39 golds - why are some excluding Hong Kong's gold). Peter Klevius suggests taking the knee for Human Rights instead of for certain "races" based on skin color, religion - or sex. The main threat against Taiwan is U.S. starting a war. But China just has to wait until the Taiwanese anyway want to rejoin because of Cnina's fast growing superior R&D, high tech, infrastructure, privacy law, economy etc.. For U.S. it's just the opposite. And West's hollow rant about "liberty" and "party-democracy" echoes back against China's democracy where the Chinese vote for truly merited individuals and against corruption. And Chinese hightech will, after some political delay come near you anyway - while in the meantime being called "assertive threat from CCP". And there's no more "Communism" in China's progress than there is Christianity in U.S' militaristic war mongering, criminal sanctions, $-freeloading, extrajudicial murders, unfair justice, torture, spying on everyone, use of islamists etc.. U.S. "Americans"! Payback time! When Peter Klevius bought his Japan made Citizen Eco Drive chronograph watch it cost ~ $240 in US and ~ $340 in EU. Those ~ $100 is what "American" (i.e. U.S. people - not all Americans) $-freeloaders owe to the rest of the world because of benefitting locally by money printing and pricing the main global reserve currency - but the end is near. $100 trillions - or more?! Apoorva Mandavilli (New York Times): "Someday we will stop talking about the lab leak theory and maybe even admit its racist roots. But alas, that day is not yet here." Peter Klevius wonders what made her later delete it?! Fiat-money-world-$-freeloader-US' intention is not at all to clarify anything but instead to keep up hate against China. Would Fiat-money-world-$-freeloader-US and its UK puppet let Chinese inspect Fort Detrick and over 200 US bio-labs all over the world and UK's notorious military research at Porton Down, Salisbury. So while Chinese and "Chinese" looking people now are the most harrassed, BBC gives it no real attention while filling its news with BLM and "worries about islamophobia". Btw, if you poke any s.c. "free speech debate" you'll always find islamic efforts for "blasphemy" laws - and never laws against real blasphemy against basic negative Human Rights of 1948. When should islam pay for 1400 years of genocides? The West has abandoned Human Rights for the sake of sharia islam and is again becoming what it fought against - itself. Communistphobia (an "autoimmune" reaction now boosted by US' collapse and due aggression) led to Fascism, Nazism and WW2. Why do the worst (per capita and consumption) militant polluters and hypocrites (Fiat $-freeloader US, UK, Australia etc.) lie about China. the world's best source for cleaner tech?! Fiat $-freeloader US' influence behind Sinophobic attacks against China, the world's by far largest economy and future of tech, privacy law and Human Rights, and with less assaults, rapes and murders etc. than e.g. US and EU, while the "democratic West" turns sharia theocratic and militant. And why is islamism called "religion" and Confuzianism "propaganda"?! Peter Klevius: Why would religious precepts and Human Rights denial be more worthy of protection than political ones? After all, Human Rights are there to guide legislators and the Chinese trust their politicians much more than Westerners trust theirs. So there's a case to be made against anti-China hate propaganda which harmfully affects Chinese and "Chinese" looking people. The senseless flaw of monotheism: The pompous self-delusion of oneself as "god's" chosen individual while projecting one's "beliefs" on "god's" chosen "community" - which in turn projects a collectivist "belief" on its individuals. Freedom of thought doesn't mean freedom from law - and freedom of religion doesn't mean freedom from Human Rights. The only "ideology" that flawlessly fits negative Human Rights is Atheism (not believeing in any supremacist "god"). Lod/Lydda in Israel should be a warning that convinces anyone about the necessity to abandon racist and sexist monotheist religions and instead support the basic negative Human Rights of 1948 to guide legislation and behavior for a positive human future for all. https://negativehumanrights.blogspot.com/2021/05/negative-human-rights-for-positive.html US declares Turkish murder and islamization of more than a million Armenians a genocide while UK declares China's de-islamization and education of backward Chinese Uyghurs a "genocide". Joe Biden: "China will not become the leading country in the world, the wealthiest country in the world, and the most powerful country in the world on my watch! And history proves US is the dangerous one that wants to dictate and bully the world to keep its $-freeloader hegemony. Xi Jinping: "China will never seek hegemony, no matter how strong it becomes." And he has the longest civilization to back it up with. Peter Klevius warns the Brits about the danger posed by spy master Jeremy Fleming's delusional, dangerous and Sinophobic China "analysis" which, if followed, may lead to stagnation and even US initiated war. It's all about UK either chosing a dangerous puppet status under US decline and stagnation by supported US' populist riding on pre-existing anti-Chinese (and anti-mongoloid racism, compare e.g. footballer Son Heung-Min and BBC lacking to report hate crimes against Chinese etc) sentiments - or simply benefitting from China's success through cooperation. The "danger" of new Chibese surveillance tech becomes ok later on in the West. However, China has now better privacy protection than the West, and China's meritocratic political representation combined with the world's toughest anti-corruption, makes West look bleak in comparison. And unlike UK, China has a real written constituion that gives women the same rights as men without exeption - someting US is still lacking, as are UK's sharia courts. 20210416: US' puppet sidekick UK cowardly runs away when it cannot hide in the master's shadow anymore - leaving Afghanistan's women without protection against islamic evil. Don't respect islam as long as islam doesn't respect Human Rights! And if you don't trust Peter Klevius (2001-) on this, then trust Council of Europe's (2019) basically similar criticism of islam's main worldly (except Gabriel) representative, Saudi based and steered OIC's Human Rights violating sharia declaration CDHRI! Moreover, the most pious muslims seem to be the ones furthest distancing themselves from Human Rights. Peter Klevius to the women of Greenham Common: Aren't the Saudi allied and posturing "in cheat and global nUKes we trust" right wing Sinophobic Brexiters a bigger threat than Iran? BBC is the world's main spreader of anti-Sinoist hate speech and populist Sinophobic propaganda on an industrial scale and therefore guilty of inciting crimes against humanity! First spitting on China and then using China's reaction as an excuse for more spitting. The original (negative) Human Rights (1948) means the individual is not to be imposed an action of another individual, group, government, religion etc. Negative Human Rights hence function as the guidance and guardian against unneccessarily restricting legislation. Sharia islam, i.e. in praxis Saudi based and steered OIC's notorious* sharia declaration, is the very opposite. However, UK and BBC seem to approve of islam's Human Rights violations while calling China's efforts to stifle them "human rights abuse". The original (negative) Human Rights (1948) means the individual is not to be imposed an action of another individual, group, government, religion etc. Negative Human Rights hence function as the guidance and guardian against unneccessarily restricting legislation. Sharia islam, i.e. in praxis Saudi based and steered OIC's notorious* sharia declaration, is the very opposite. However, UK and BBC seem to approve of islam's Human Rights violations while calling China's efforts to stifle them "human rights abuse". * Similarly criticized by Peter Klevius and the Council of Europe. Are both "islamophobes"?! Global China for peace and wealth vs. "global UK" for more hate incitement, lies, threats, nukes, warmonger and miltarism under the shield of the militaristic world dictator and $-freeloader US. Compare this to UN's Resident Coordinator in China, Siddharth Chatterjee, who says "we stand in a unique position to cooperate with the Government of China and apply its successes of lifting hundreds of million people out of poverty globally. China has shown its firm belief in the principles of multilateralism. As I witnessed in Kenya, China's donations of personal protective equipment and other supplies played a critical role during the disruption in global supply chains in March 2020. And every day I am in China, I am inspired by what I see around me, what China has achieved and can achieve as a country." But US/UK do their utmost to stop "assertive Chinese influence". And a Sinophobic parliament shouts "genocide" when China protects women's Human Rights. Without a fair reason UK declares Chinese a "threat" while Brits and other "infidels" are constantly threatened by Human Rights violating islamism. 20210320: The world's master fake news troll farm BBC today still uses conspiracy theorist, warmonger and China hater Pompeo to smear China and spread anti-Sinoism - but nothing about islamist Human Rights violating atrocities (e.g. 50 children beheaded by islamists in Mocambique etc.), !? Btw, UK abducts proportionally many more children than China - and expose them to islamist child abuse. Peter Klevius feels truly ashamed of looking like a Westerner. Btw, how can you excuse US criminal behavior: First benefitting from monopolizing global web tech and then using this monopoly as a weapon against competitors?! $-freeloader US and its UK puppet don't care about the wellbeing of Chinese but want only to damage China's success. Sinophobic UK parliament should just shut up talking about China and democracy. People living legally in their own state EU were robbed of their democracy by UK! And even UK nationals are just subjects, not citizens. BBC, the world's worst war mongering and hate spreading propaganda troll farm, uses Chinese "Guantanamo"* prisoner fotage out of context as "evidence" of how "truthful" BBC is! * US detained muslim terrorist suspects outside US! BBC stereotypes whatever to fit "genocide" in China but doesn't mind US-UK-Australian torture and murder of civilians. Where China stands for tech and wealth development $-freeloader US + UK-Australia stand for spreadinng lies and militarist tensions. And why so silent about UK torture of Assange while declaring an Iranian spy suspect as "innocent" simply because she says so (Iran, like US, doesn't approve of double citizenship). Uncritical democracy with islam inevitably means the death of Human Rights. Peter Klevius probably has some half of muslims on his side in saying so. BBC welcomes Jo Johnson when he now says "China is authoritarian, almost neo-totalitarian regime". Peter Klevius wonders how that fits with a country which leadership is much more approved of than Western ones?! Even an idiot (but not BBC) can see that China's modern Communism has nothing to do with Maoism or Soviet Communism. The only criticism left the West can come up with is name calling. The welfare, progress and out of poverty success for Chinese people has nothing in common with "conventional Communism". On the contrary, it delivers exactly where s.c. "democracies" (one might even argue that China is closer to democracy than the West) often fail. "Democracies" are anyway one party states supported by at the most some half of the population compared to China's qualified majority. So China's "authoritarian" Communist "dictatorship" is as far you can get from the West's beloved Sunni islamist theocracy, steered by the murderous and war crimes committing Saudi dictator family. So why is China declared an enemy while Saudi is an ally! Moreover, China's new privacy law will protect the individual much better than any similar laws in in the West. Why? Because China's leadership thinks the individual's privacy is too important to fiddle with (read the draft). Something the West has given up (to US). And who was it that started smearing, lying, spreading rumours and conspiracy theories, military threats etc. against China in the forst place? Sinophobic racism from the West for the purpose of aiding the US $-freeloader. Peter Klevius: Every muslim is responsible for muslims racism and sexism. So stop shouting "you're not a muslim" to a muslim who believes and knows the Koran by heart! Immigration is ok - if you criminalize anti-Human Rights sharia muslims (and their accompllices)! In cheat we trust: UK decreases aid to Yemen while increasing weapons sale to the muslim Saudi dictator family and spending more on militarism. And BBC is more concerned about Uyghurs than Yemenites. And worries more about Buddhists who don't like to be attacked, raped, murdered etc. than about their radicalized muslim attackers. Lord Palmerston, UK PM who supported the Confederacy in the US civil war, hoping a dissolution of the Union would weaken the US: "The Chinese are uncivilized and the British must attack China to show up their superiority as well as to demonstrate what a civilized nation could do." US is now the worst global threat that only cooperating with China could mitigate - instead of being US' puppets. Peter Klevius: Why is US ordering 600 new nukes - i.e. the double of China's total? Why is China the only NPT state to give an unqualified negative security assurance with its "no first use"? Why isn't UK's parliament more interested in the real genocide in Yemen than the made up "genocide" in Xinjiang?! Why is UK applauding the conviction of Syrian soldiers while UK soldiers go free from similar crimes against humanity. Why isn't the real genocide that muslim Uyghurs have committed against non-muslim Uyghurs talked about?! When Dominic Raab visited Saudi Arabia he failed to raise the question of Saudi Human Rights abuses.However, in UN he lied about "China's industrial scale Human Rights abuses". He deliberately conflated unchecked BBC "reports" by East Turkestan jihadis with China's out of poverty and de-radicalization programs. And of course forgot to say sterilization was offered after three (3) children and with economical and educational incentives for muslim women tied at home by sharia. The militant $-freeloader US' spread of misinfo about China has made Chinese the most hated ethnicity while sharia muslims are the most protected - and US' puppet UK's Dominic Raab keeps spitting Sinophobia while supporting anti-Human Rights islamism. UK, which illegally still colonizes Chagos (but complains about China), in a secret ballot 'arranged' (helped by OIC) a sharia islamist to become leader of the International Criminal Court - i.e. someone who doesn't respect basic Human Rights! Should ICC now change to ICT (In Cheat we Trust)? Peter Klevius (like e.g. most really intelligent Jews is an Atheist, not confined with "faith", politics, career, finance etc.): While the West accepts OIC's Human Rights violating sharia islamism, China defends Human Rights against islamism. And unlike US' constitution, China's constitution is fully aligned with women's rights in the 1948 Human Rights declaration. So to avoid the West turning into a full muslim theocracy (OIC sharia) fractioned in infighting, we better become Sinophils instead of Sinophobes! "Anti-democratic ommunism" is now the only (empty - the only difference is that MPs in China are under harder scrutiny) argument the West still swings. Peter Klevius: SE Asia was the evolutionary laboratory that made human evolution possible. Africa doesn't tick a single box 20210127, BBC (fake) News: "We are memorizing 6 million Jews in Holocaust." Peter Klevius: So why not include the more than 6 million non-Jews?! See BBC's diabolically wild lies about Uighurs! Many Afgan women's dream is to be treated like Uighur women in China. However, the criminal militaristic war mongering rogue state U.S. abandons them and instead declares islamist Uighur terrorists not terrorists anymore and accuses China's emancipation efforts for "genocide" and "human rights violation". However, the criminal militaristic war mongering rogue state U.S. abandons them and instead declares islamist Uighur terrorists not terrorists anymore and accuses China's emancipation efforts for "genocide" and "human rights violation". The biggest scandal in anthropology: Afropologist John Hawks and faith creationists dismiss the hereto most important "missing link" in human evolution. How many have they brainwashed and kept misinformed?! 1990 islam officially and globally (via UN) rejected Human Rights (the Saudi based and steered OIC's sharia declaration witch gravely violates the most basic of Human Rights)! If Atheist Chinese had reproduced like muslims, there'd be more s.c. "Mongoloids" than the whole world population today. BBC is the world's biggest lying and faking propaganda troll - BBC's agenda has absolutely nothing to do with journalistic principles but is a mix of US pressure spiced with the worst of "Britishness" (UK cuts foreign aid from 0.7-0.5% and adds the same money to militarism) meeting in Saudi/OIC islamofascist sharia against basic Human Rights. BBC: UK has to aid Saudi war crimes and genocides cause else Russia and China would do it. UK's future is as a militaristic puppet for US (compare BBC's campaign against Johnson and Corbyn). Peter Klevius to BBC's Sinophobic muslim presenters in their ivory minaret: How many muslim women are detained in UK's sharia camps? US secretary of state, Pompeo declares Islamic State Uighur jihadi not terrorists - so they can attack China and get support from US (as in Syria). It's an irony that China now seems to offer the only defense of those very Human Rights it's accused of not following - while the West supports islamism that violates those Human Rights (compare Saudi based and steered OIC's global sharia declaration against Human Rights). Moreover, apostasy (i.e. leaving islam, which is the worst crime in islam) and the fact that the muslim man determines the faith for the children no matter who is the mother, together have to be added to any estimation of muslim population growth. US' and its puppets' Sinophobia campaign rooted in UK's appalling opium wars against Chinese people Why do Sinophobic BBC and UK parliament call it "deradicalization" in UK, US and Saudi Arabia, but "genocide" in China?! And why wasn't one-child policy against Atheist Han Chinese called "genocide" while Uighur muslims were allowed to have many children?! Btw, e.g. Sweden abducts many more children than China does in Xinjiang - and for extremely questionable reasons (read Peter Klevius' thesis Pathological Symbiosis and ask yourself why Sweden gets away with its Human Rights violations). Answer: It's all about U.S. being a lousy loser and therefore behaving appalingly badly with smear, threats, illegal sanctions, militaristic aggression etc! Btw, China is already number one in economy and most technology - and accelerating compared to US. So you stupid US puppets - take note! Shame on everyone who blinks Saudi based and steered OIC's anti-human rights sharia for all the world's muslims while spitting on China! Should BBC and some politicians be put on a Nurenberg trial after this relentless and demonizing Sinophobia campaign and deliberate lies? US is rottening fast and should therefore go for peace and cooperation! Despite using $-freeloading, sanctions, breaking treaties, murdering officials and politicians in other countries during state visits etc., hindering the use of tech previously used to monopolize US companies globally etc., US now wants to destroy Huawei and other Chinese companies, not for security but because US is inevitably losing the tech race. And no, it isn't the Chinese state support any more than US uses state support for force-feeding Apple, Google etc. and backed up by US state militaristic interventions, spying, interference, threats etc. globally. And China was the first to recognize the danger of Covid-19 - not "delaying" anything" but quite the contrary (see below)! BBC News' deliberately misleading and dangerous anti-China rant 20200706: "China ought to be our enemy! We can't do any business with China because of Hong Kong, and the sterilization of Uyghur muslims which some people (BBC and its cherry picked guests?!) think amounts to genocide". Peter Kleius: That Chinese muslims should follow the same laws as other Chinese, and that China uses similar deradicalization programmes proposed in the West, BBC thinks is "suppression". And volontary sterilization in the West BBC calls "genocide" in China. And Hong Kong's security law is similar to those in the West - and not as bad as US - and are definitely neccessary to keep "one nation" together under the immense pressure from US and its puppet regimes. 2020 4th of July: Peter Klevius wonders when US women will get the same rights as Chinese women - ERA is still lacking from US constitution? Article 2, Chinese constitution: Women shall enjoy equal rights with men in all aspects of political, economic, cultural, social and family life. Peter Klevius also wonders why aggressive and assertive US attacks peaceful China (every schism has US fingerprints) while siding with the war crimes committing murdeous islamofascist Saudi dictator family whose OIC sharia clearly denies eqaulity for women?! China is doing more good to more people than any other country today. Is this the reason?! 20200618: Why is the most cemtral witness, Inge Morelius (later aka Marelius) in the Swedish PM Palme's murder case, deleted by Google's search engine from deleted by Google's search engine from Peter Klevius revealing murder analysis ?! 20200616: When China discovers Covid-19 with a European DNA profile on a cutting board for Norwegian salmon, the BBC thinks it's the communist party. Why is BBC so quiet about Churchill's secret (until 2018) pact with Stalin in 1939 which would have divided Scandinavia between Russia and UK?! And US' NATO puppet Jens Stoltenberg repeats like a parrot his master's voice against China - while a civil war is going on inside NATO between Greece and Turkey. African Pygmy lives matter! Colonized and enslaved for more than 3,500 years by the Eurasian Bantu etc. intruders we now call Africans. It's a senseless irony that "Africans" (Bantus etc. newcomers) who enslaved and mixed with original Africans (Khoisan and especially Pygmies from whom they got their phenotype) and later were enslaved by muslim Arabs and their "African" collaborators now get a brain drop at the West African ports where islam exported slaves. Any old African genes come from Khoisan and Pygmies - and ultimately out of Asia - not Africa. "Out-of-Africa" and BLM are created by white idiots and only feed supremacism. Read "out-of-Africa" more dangerous than the Piltdown hoax Peter Klevius 20200604: What if Floyd had been white or Chinese?! And the officers members of Nation of Islam? And how do we even know that any racism was involved? And what about a fair trial? 20200603: UK's Sinophobic right wing anti-EU migration Brexiters now want to import 3 million Chinese from Hong Kong!? 20200529: In its everyday Sinophobia rant BBC today managed in one sentence to accuse Chinese, China and Xi separately - and even missing the stock smear, i.e. the "communist party". However in a very near future China will develop and export a world leading ecosystem of non-US software, hardware, fintech, social media, telecom infrastructure etc. that everyone will long for. Stubborn and dumb stiff lipped Sinophobes will become Neanderthals in no time. Sadly few politicians understand how powerful Chinese tech development is. Japan did the same but wasn't hampered by Maoist communism and was ten times smaller. High IQ and an Atheist culture they both have in common. The pro-Saudi and anti-China "party-within" UK's governing party is committing long term criminal harm to UK. China is the future and US is rottening with accelerating speed (the desperate sanctions against China tell it all). Only tech cooperation with China will benefit Brits and Americans. So why are UK politicians and BBC so eager to shoot their own PM and the Brits in the foot by being dictated by Pompeo, Trump and the Saudi dictator family, and boosted by a general Sinophobia racism? The "communist" scare mongering has no relevance because in practice China behaves in no way different than US - but is under constant smear and subversion attacks. And China's surveillance has actually developed less fast than that of US. US is a rogue state that murders and surveils in other countries (e.g. murdered top politician in Iran and surveilled Merkel - and you). And who likes ISIS and al-Qaeda etc. Uyghur jihadi terrorists anyway? Pompeo, Erdogan and Saudi steered islamofascists. 20200522: BBC and some right wing MPs call it a "draconian move" when China wants to stop foreign interference and people using Molotov cocktails. Really! So what about in UK?! 20200518: BBC again repeated the anti-China lie about "a silenced doctor" by inviting the former right wing and pro-Saudi (anti-)EU Research Group - now (anti-)China Research Group. How bad a journalist isn't Sarah Montague then when she didn't even try to question it - or is she muffled?! Eye dr. Li Wenliang wrongly spread out it could be SARS. It wasn't and just one hour later - and long before any police etc. had contacted him - he corrected his mistake (see fact check below). $-freeloader US provoking China with war ships while simultaneously "leaking" "classified" rumours. Why?! Its Sinophobia is all about trying to stop China's success as the foremost spreader of wealth and high tech both in China and the world. It's not the leadership but China's success that US can't stand. BBC sides with whoever Sinophobes - and would probably even have used Goebbels against China if he was still around. UK universities etc. are littered with dangerous Saudi (OIC) anti-Human Rights sharia jihad propaganda (incl. supprt of IS Utghur jihadi) - yet China has always been aggressively smeared all the way since UK's opium war attacks on China when it was declared "inferior" and "uncivilized". Today the problem seems to be that China is too superior and too civilized - but thankfully they have a "communist" party to blame, although the leadership has behaved better than most in the West. And when BBC talks about the "West" against China it actually means US spy organization Five Eyes (with the puppet states Australia, UK, Canada and NZ) and whoever other Sinophobes it can find elsewhere - like the Israel supporting and anti-muslim right wing Axel Springer, Europe's largest media (practically a monpoly) which is accused of e.g. censorship and interference in other countries (just like state media BBC). Should China sue BBC and UK (not to mention US) and the far-right, anti-China and anti-muslim UK "think tank" the Jackson Society (with associated Sinophobic MPs and lords) - whose Sinophobia (disguised as "against communism" etc.) complements leftist and pro-sharia jihad muslims BBC which now so eagerly gives it a platform, as well as the closely connected US spy organization Five Eyes which has demonized China for years long before Huawei or Covid-19? The lies about China they have spread are indistinguishable from those of Pompeo and Trump. Is this baseless (compared to US/UK) hate mongering really conducive to the welfare of UK? And when China reacts to this massive Sinophobia campaign then BBC calls it "aggressive Chinese propaganda". US "warns" about China "stealing" vaccine info because US knows that China now produces much better research than US. BBC anti-China fake 20200506: "Hundreds if not thousands of people were likely to have been infected in Wuhan, at a time when Chinese officials said there were only a few dozen cases." Peter Klevius fact check: BBC deliberately conflates real time confirmed knowledge with calculations in retrospect. US has made all the mistakes it accuses China for. Here's one from the top of the iceberg: Whistleblower Dr. Rick Bright, the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, pressed for urgent access to funding, personnel and clinical specimens, including viruses, which he emphasized were all critically necessary to begin development of lifesaving medicines needed in the likely event that the virus spread outside of SE Asia. He was then cut out of critical meetings for raising early alarm about the virus and ousted from his position. Chinese 5G much more reliable than US' Five Eyes, the world's most dangerous misinfo and conspiracy spreading US spy and smear organization (together with its puppet states UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) which "leaked" a 15-page dossier alleging "probing the possibility" the virus came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. As Peter Klevius has said before, it didn't come from bats to humans but from some other host animal. Fake news and anti-China propaganda videos are making false and unfounded claims about "delays" and "late" human to human transmission report. Again, it was only in retrospect anyone could have known the nature of early cases. Many weren't even connectded to the wet market and many weren't affected at all despite intimate contact. Moreover, the wrong early SARS diagnosis was corrected the very same day but spread by a "whistleblower" eye doctor (see fact check below). And despite being first affected China acted better than US etc. countries. 5eyes equals Nazi Goebbels in propaganda misinfo. Every single accusation so far has built on deliberate distortion of facts. And possble improvements in retrospect would have been exactly the same in even the best of Western countroes. Peter Klevius to Chinese people: I'm not a racist - although I certainly look like one. Origin of Sinophobia: The 19th century Opium Wars were triggered by UK's imposition of the opium trade upon China. Lord Palmerston regarded the Chinese as uncivilized and suggested that the British must attack China to show up their superiority as well as to demonstrate what a "civilized" nation could do. The resulting concession of Hong Kong compromised China's territorial sovereignty. There's also the background to South China Sea. "God", "Allah", or whichever "monotheistic" idol is a pathetic fallacy and "monotheism" is a ridiculous and dangerous self-delusion because your "god" is used to defend the undefendable. There are equally many "gods" as there are individuals - and the collective "god" only functions as cherry picked confirmation of the individual's "god". However, the collective "god" may combine individual evil - never individual good, because that can only be achieved by (negative) Human Rights. After all, as Peter Klevius always has said, the only way of being fully human is to allow others full humanhood (what else could possibly unite all humans) - without religious impositions/exclusions. Pentagon, islam - and China?! Also check out Peter Klevius theory (1992) on "consciousness"/Thalamus - the only one that fits empirical evidence. And don't miss And don't miss Anthropologist Peter Klevius vs. Afropologist John Hawks - and how the British Piltdown hoax moved to Africa . Peter Klevius asks for an independent international inquiry on BBC's racist Sinophobia and its support of sharia islamism - incl. how many victims and suffering it has caused because of its worldwide propaganda influence. In the early 1990's US accused Japan of selling superior cars in US without buying crappy cars from US. And a congress woman warned for tech theft if selling US planes to Japan - but was told that those planes wouldn't even fly without Japanese high tech. At the same time EU was created to build a trade wall against Japanese products. However, Japan is more than ten times smaller than China - and isn't at the hotbed of different coronaviruses in SE Asia. Dear reader, if you think Peter Klevius has a problem with self-assertion you're very wrong. Apart from it being connected to Peter Klevius criticism of citation cartels (see Demand for Resources, 1992:40-44) Peter Klevius main problem is your self-assertion. Is this MP a clown? Sinophobic BBC working hard for a Coup d'etat together with Saudi loving and China hating MPs against PM Boris Johnson. Peter Klevius wonders why Sinophobic state media BBC (with Tom Tugendhat etc.) goes against the state (PM, MI6 etc.) in being so extremely worried about unfounded claims about China while having no problem with the threats posed by the worst of the worst, the islamofascist Saudi dictator family's influence over UK - and BBC?! goes against the state (PM, MI6 etc.) in being so extremely worried about unfounded claims about China while having no problem with the threats posed by the worst of the worst, the islamofascist Saudi dictator family's influence over UK - and BBC?! 20200417: BBC's Sinophobic muslim Razia Iqbal together with Tom Tugendhat arrange a pathetic propaganda theatre of BBC's 22:00 news hour for the most senseless and even childish smearing of China. And how can this clown (just listen to his laughter etc.!) be a leader of UK's foreign affairs committee?! Moreover, Razia Iqbal even uses Trump as an expert! Desperate...! arrange a pathetic propaganda theatre of BBC's 22:00 news hour for the most senseless and even childish smearing of China. And how can this clown (just listen to his laughter etc.!) be a leader of UK's foreign affairs committee?! Moreover, Razia Iqbal even uses Trump as an expert! Desperate... 20200416: State media BBC's Sinophobic Uganda rooted muslim Razia Iqbal lies about Chinese "racism" against Ugandans without telling that it was a local matter that was caused by some Africans linked to a cluster of cases in the Nigerian community in Guangzhou at a time when China had already curbed Covid-19. At least eight people diagnosed with the illness had spent time in the city's Yuexiu district, known as "Little Africa". Five were Nigerian nationals who faced widespread anger - not for being Africans but because of reports that they had broken a mandatory quarantine and been to eight restaurants and other public places instead of staying home. As a result, nearly 2,000 people they came into contact with had to be tested for Covid-19 or undergo quarantine. Guangzhou had confirmed 114 imported coronavirus cases 16 of which were Africans. The rest were returning Chinese nationals. 20200407a.m.: UK's best PM, Boris Johnson, is much shorter (same as Einstein and Klevius dad) than Trump - but also much more intelligent. It's OK to say so when Trump is white - and loves to play on height, right? 20200412: The reason the Chinese government wanted extra control of DNA results was the previous failed report (see below) which wrongly indicated SARS. However, British media (BBC etc.) blatantly lie about it and first accused Shi Zhengli's lab for spreading infected bats, while some weeks later making her a hero and accusing the government. And no, it didn't spread from bats - but possibly from civet cats. Suspected animals are now forbidden from the market. Anthropologist Peter Klevius vs. Afropologist John Hawks - and how the British Piltdown hoax moved to Africa. And why would antelopes evolve in the very opposite direction to humans - at the same time? UK/Matt Hancock (20200402): "We will work (against Covid19) with our friends and allies." Peter Klevius: That excludes the best, i.e. China, which you, on order from US, have declared an "unfriendly enemy"! SINOPHOBIA RACISM. US tries to pull you away from Chinese high tech superiority so US can keep feeding you with its outdated tech and influence - just as it used to do with cars and wars. Your pick: US militarism with Saudi led islamofascism - or highspeed Chinatech towards Chinese democracy and global wealth. China is the very opposite to Cuba - and already, in practise, almost identical to Western governments. Excluding China only prolongs the democratic process - and even speeds up China's high tech inside its 1.4 billion market. Peter Klevius fact check: "COVID-19 has a natural origin and there is no evidence that the virus was made in a laboratory or otherwise engineered" (Nature). China swiftly sequenced and shared the genome worldwide. China's remarkable response on all stages was praised by WHO (but not BBC) and is in line with its superior tech advances (Mao's China would never have made it). There isn't a trace of an alleged (by BBC etc. fakes) Chinese Covid19 reporting "delay" that wouldn't have been bigger in the West. And the reason is that for China good reputation is all that matters - now when it has already won the tech competition. China's defense against West's smear campaign is called "propaganda" - in the West. Dear US, it's time to behave! You lost the tech war to little Japan long ago. Now you've lost it against big China. Get over it. So Peter Klevius advises: Do as Wall Street, shake hands instead of producing unfounded Sinophobic smear propaganda! Covid19 timeline " (Nature). China swiftly sequenced and shared the genome worldwide. China's remarkable response on all stages was praised by WHO (but not BBC) and is in line with its superior tech advances (Mao's China would never have made it). There isn't a trace of an alleged (by BBC etc. fakes) Chinese Covid19 reporting "delay" that wouldn't have been bigger in the West. And the reason is thatfor China good reputation is all that matters - now when it has already won the tech competition. China's defense against West's smear campaign is called "propaganda" - in the West. Dear US, it's time to behave! You lost the tech war to little Japan long ago. Now you've lost it against big China. Get over it. So Peter Klevius advises: Do as Wall Street, shake hands instead of producing unfounded Sinophobic smear propaganda! 17 November 2019: A retrospectively confirmed case. 1 December 2019: The first known patient started experiencing symptoms but had not been to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. No epidemiological link could be found between this case and later cases. 818 December 2019: Seven cases later diagnosed as COVID19 were documented; only two of them were linked with the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. 18-29 December 2019: Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) that will eventually be used for viral genome sequencing is collected from patients. 25 December 2019: Wuhan Fifth Hospital gastroenterology director Lu Xiaohong reported suspected infection by hospital staff. 26 December 2019: Zhang Jixian identified a CT scan that showed a different pattern from other viral pneumonia. 27 December 2019: She reported to Jianghan district CCDC with four cases. During the following two days, the hospital received three similar cases, who all came from Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. The hospital reported to the provincial and city CDC directly which initiated a field investigation with a retrospective search for pneumonia patients potentially linked to the market. They found additional such patients and on 30 December, health authorities from Hubei Province reported this cluster to CCDC who immediately sent experts to Wuhan to support the investigation. Samples from these patients were obtained for laboratory analyses. 30 December 2019: Wuhan Municipal Health Committee informed WHO, Weibo etc. about an "urgent notice on the treatment of pneumonia of unknown cause". There had been "a successive series of patients with unexplained pneumonia recently." However, a DNA report inaccurately indicated SARS on one patient. Late same day (17:43) ophthalmologist Li Wenliang WeChatted "There were 7 confirmed cases of SARS at Huanan Seafood Market." He included a patient's CT scan. At 18:42, he admitted that it wasn't proven SARS. 31 December 2019: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were alerted by China of an unexplained "cluster of 27 cases of pneumonia in Wuhan. US worst nightmare is a democratic China - which wouldn't change China but make it even more like one-party "democracies" in the West - because that would mean losing US only argument. US deliberately seeks Sinophobic confrontational aggression against China - which hampers the development and peace of the world. US island puppets against China and EU. US, who used to treat Japan as it now treats China, is now parasitizing on former enemy Japan in an (in vane) effort to keep China high tech down, and on the much tinier UK ally to trouble EU. Something sinister is behind when Sinophobic far right extremist politicians so desperately risk future development in UK with false accusations of "possible risks in the future", skewed presentations, and unfounded demonization of Chinese high tech. And while Klevius is posting this, all in his machine is spied on and sent to US. And why is BBC constantly only hosting Sinophobic guests who also happen to be supporters of the islamofascist Saudi dictator family and happy to allow US spying on you via US companies? The only risk Huawei poses is that the Chinese state gets fed up and makes it illegal to sell Chinese top tech to UK. China is the future of high tech, so stepping off the bus means retardation. Btw, the two main accusations against China could easily be made against US/UK as well. China wants to trade and therefore doesn't want to risk reputation. US doesn't bother about its reputation. And when it comes to clean up muslim "communities" from islamofascist extremists there's really no other difference than in numbers. Moreover, NATO/Turkey uses extremist Uyghurs against civilians in e.g. Idlib - and hypocritically accuse China when these jihadi return. Klevius to women: NATO makes a deal with the Taliban to continue sharia oppression of women, and NATO+IS=true because NATO is the main culprit behind the suffering in Idlib. Without the support from NATO the worst muslim terrorist group would never have survived. Like IS, NATO ally Hayat Tahrir al-Sham wants to create an islamic state. Turkey/NATO backs SNA well knowing that it's together with HTS. I.e. a NATO member state invades its neighbor, sides with terrorists and gets full support from NATO when its soldiers get killed while helping the terrorists. And what about Yemen?! It's truly pathetic that muslims seem more worried about islamofascism than the West! Peter Klevius to climatists: Sinophobia is a threat to the environment, because China has the slowest population growth and is the the least per capita polluter of main economies (see table below) and the main producer of alternative and conventional super high tech! Moreover, China lacks the same proportion of natural resources as e.g. Sweden, Norway etc. (e.g. hydropower) but instead has to deal with the dust smog blowing from the Gobi desert and the extreme cold from the north. And China bears the manufacturing pollution for products other countries then consume and profit on. NATO (Turkey supported by US/UK) is siding with the worst muslim terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (some 10,000 IS jihadi) against the people of Idlib while BBC News spreads misinfo propaganda against Syria, Russia and Iran - and nothing about the Saudi dictator family. BBC (20200217) wants to stop Chinese tech because China opposes islamofascist Uyghurs. Klevius suggests the world should stop dealing with US/UK because of involvement in war crimes and genoscides against Shia muslims. Why is Wikipedia allowed to spread polemical, tendentious and deliberately misleading info about islam? And not a word about islam's original supremacist enslavement, booty and humiliation ideology?! This misinfo is the most harmful of all! From a true (negative) Human Rights, as well as from a historical perspective, original islam may rather be seen as original fascism. The oldest Koranic texts and the historically verified beginning of islam both emphasize supremacism as the main tenet (blamed/excused on "Allah"). Islam conserves racism, sexism and supremacism as pointed out by true muslims (aka "fundamentalists") reinforced through sharia (e.g. by Saudi based and steered OIC's world sharia which is heavily criticized both by Klevius and the Council of Europe etc.). Islamic (and therefore muslim) supremacism is easily distinguished as it doesn't approve of Human Rights equality. And why does Wikipedia deliberately conflate the history of islam with the fairy tales of believers in islam?! Sinophobia is racism but "islamophobia" is criticism of an ideology. "Islamophobia" shouters are directly responsible for islamic hate crimes based on Koranic texts and hitting children of "infidels". The Saudi-US-UK axis of evil Chinese eyes less intrusive than Five Eyes (US and its puppets) - because China prioritizes trade and reputation while US prioritizes global spying, meddling and military control. The Saudi loving US puppets Duncan Smith, Davis, Paterson, Green, Ellwood and Seely etc. produce baseless "security" arguments for Sinophobic MPs. U.S. flu this season Feb. 2020: 19 million illnesses, 180,000 hospitalizations, and over 10,000 deaths (China has a third less common flu than US). 2019-nCoV, 6 Feb. 2020 (estim. total death rate 0.1-0.2%, i.e. same as common flu): 28,018 cases (not illnesses) and 563 deaths. Did the eye doctors SARS rant on social media delay response in China? It wasn't SARS but much closer to common flu - but without vaccine. Instead of assisting, US/UK/BBC did the utmost to smear China with it! Klevius warning to Finland (and the rest of the world): Don't be useful idiots in US' export of militarism! It will create tension and pull fire on you in a conflict. Four balancing power blocs is safer than one or two. Moreover, China will become the world's first true democracy thanks to AI. Don't let Sinophobia blind you. US is going down unless it starts cooperating instead of trying to rule the world. Non 5G iPhone sells well - in US - where there's no true 5G. BBC's bigoted and hypocritical Pakistan rooted, Saudi raised and Cambridge schooled "muslim" (no veil, no Ramadan fasting, but yes to alcohol etc.) presenter Mishal Husain, like many Saudi/OIC supporters, represents the "security risk" between islam's "core" (OIC sharia) and "periphery" (e.g. "Euro-islam", "cultural islam" etc.). Peter Klevius suggests cooperation instead of unfounded incl. religious) hate! Klevius is ashamed over hateful, racist Western Sinophobia - and support of hateful sharia jihad. BBC's sharia supporting (?) muslim Mishal Husain now eagerly sides with Sinophobic extreme right wing politicians who support Saudi islamofascism but demonize China and Chinese (except if critcical of China). Sinophobes would treat China exactly the same if it copied US "democracy". BBC today (20200129) forgot to tell about China already having isolated the virus for vaccine (and helped Australians to do so). However, BBC repeatedly lied that the death rate is 20%. Common flu and the new corona virus deaths (~2%) are extremely rare outside very vulnerable groups - who don't travel much. BBC, who otherwise don't hesitate to spit on Trump, has no problem using his advisor when it comes to racist Sinophobia against Huawei. US is blackmailing UK so to hinder China's tech success and the "security issue" is actually US itself. Niklas Arnberg, Swedish professor in virology: "Considerably higher mortality than ordinary flu." BBC: "Death toll rises as disease spreads from China." Peter Klevius: Both are faking! Arnberg used overall death numbers although most (all?!) of these deaths have been people who could have died from ordinary flu as well. And do you really think BBC would ever have written similarly about the deadly camel flu from Saudi Arabia?! Why is BBC spending so much more time on a 2019 flu from China than on the much deadlier 2019 camel flu from Saudi Arabia?! Why is BBC only talking about Jewish victims - and why is BBC silent about the fact that most "anti-semites" (i.e. anti-Jews) are muslims? Holocaust: 6 million Jews and 11 million "others" were murdered by the German government for various discriminatory practices due to their ethnicity, Atheism, or LGBT+. Hitler: "All character training must be derived from faith." Himmler: ""We believe in a God Almighty who stands above us; he has created the earth, the Fatherland, and he has sent us the Fuhrer. Any human being who does not believe in God should be considered arrogant, megalomaniacal, and stupid." Klevius (the Atheist "other"): That's a description of me by most Americans and muslims. Btw, why are muslim sex predators (compare Koran and sex slaves) from Pakistan called "Asians"?! And why have they been protected while Klevius has been muffled?! Islam trumps LGBT rights in English schools - and hateful sexist and racist muslim supremacism defending BBC is silent as usual (e.g. about Parkfield Community School 2020). Klevius: Do you really support US/UK/BBC's disgusting racist Sinophobia madness - and their support and use of anti-Human Rights muslim islamism?! Wikipedia: In the Xinjiang riots Turkic speaking Uyghur muslims shouted/posted "kill the Han (Chinese) and Hui (Chinese speaking muslims)"! Why is BBC so silent about Iran Air Flight 655 that was recklessly shot down by US over Iran territory killing 290 incl. 66 children?! Is it the new US puppet empire agenda? Did US aggression also cause the latest plane crash? When BBC announces "the threats of 2020" the murders, terrorism and war crimes committing Saudi dictator family isn't included. As isn't US/UK militaristic meddling and proxy wars in Syria, Yemen, Iraq etc. However, China's peaceful trade and high tech manufacturing is!? Saudi based and steered Human Rights violator OIC is the main legal guidance for the world's sharia muslims. BBC eagerly supports it by neglecting to criticize it while spitting on those who do. OIC's Cairo Declaration on "Human Rights" in Islam (CDHRI) is against freedom of religion - but abuses real Human Rights for the promotion of anti-Human Rights sharia islam. The CDHRI concludes in Articles 24 and 25 that all rights and freedoms mentioned are subject to the Islamic sharia, which is the declaration's sole source. OIC hence keeps the gate open for continued islamofascism in the "muslim world" - and as a convenient tool for meddling in "hostile states". You believer in "islamophobia"! Doesn't it scare you that if Peter Klevius is right about islam but wouldn't say anything, then who would when you're doomed on the market if you do? If Marx had been called a "messenger" then Marxism would have been protected by freedom of religion, and critics called "Marxophobes". All "monotheist" religions make excuses not to fully accept Human Rights equality, but islam is by far the worst - not the least due to its origin and the fact that it's protected, unlike other threats to Human Rights. Whereas totalitarian Marxism used to be the enemy of the West, today US is on the totalitarian islamofascist side using it for Saudi gains against declared "enemies". It's truly a grim irony when BBC protects islamofascist terrorist groups by telling you that the suffering in Syria is due to the Syrian government and Russia. US could stop the muslim terrorist groups at any time - but doesn't because it wants the war and suffering to continue. Peter Klevius fact/fake check: Why does Google (and BBC) lie and fake straight up your face about China ?! When searching for 'world's biggest per capita polluters' China comes up with extra big letters despite being When searching for 'world's biggest per capita polluters' China comes up with extra big letters despite being one of the least polluting of major economies (47th on a reliable polluters list). Moreover, China is not only the world leader for alternative technologies, but its pollution number also includes the biggest production of products exported and consumed all over the world outside China. Source: EDGAR and incl. all human activities leading to climate relevant emissions, except biomass/biofuel combustion (short-cycle carbon). US/UK (NATO) don't accept muslims like Uighur islamists (other than as proxy soldiers) - but demand China to accept them. NATO's Sinophobia is a threat to world peace, environment and prosperity. NATO is all about US monopolizing space for its own militarism and to block China's success? In 1990s Russia was proposed as a member of NATO but is now demonized by US/UK (and BBC) as the "main enemy" together with "the challenge from China" (sic). But NATO members are guilty of offensive wars, occupations, annexations, use of chemical weapons, use of islamist terrorists, foreign interventions, extrajudicial murderings in other countries - and use of similar muslim "re-education" camps as China (why not just criminalize original evil islam?!). NATO (US) threatens the free flow of tech and wealth, and provokes hate and defensive attitudes among Chinese - hence forcing China (world leader in tech) using its financial muscles more for defense (China can't be starved like USSR in 1980s) than environment. Btw, Chinese per capita GDP is 1/3 of US, and total GDP much bigger than US - and faster growing. A fraction of the effort given to demonize "islamophobic" islam criticim, would do wonders to reduce Sinophobic racism against Chinese. And stop using the "Communist threat". China is now a capitalist country similar to Western powers - except technologically much better (and the West copies everything China does in surveillance). Do you really think much would change if China would be fully democratic - except chaos caused by NATO? NATO (US/UK) would be equally Sinophobic. In fact, what is called "democracy" in the West functions quite similarly as the leadership in China. Media propaganda, lying politicians and empty promises combined with silencing the real issues (compare BBC's fake "news") - and therefore a truly democratic vote. Moreover, the only reason capitalist China has a non-democratic leadership for the moment is precisely its justified fear for leaving it vulnerable for what happened in the past when UK and US meddled and attacked with great suffering for the Chinese people. NATO should turn against the real evil, the islamofascist Saudi dictator family. Peter Klevius Christmas greeting to BBC and Tesco: Ever thought about the possibility that muslim islamists don't like making Christmas cards but are encouraged by US/UK/BBC etc. to smear China. "We are foreign prisoners (muslims?) in Shanghai Qingpu prison China. Forced to work against our will (islamic Christophobia?). Please help us and notify human rights (ultimate bigotry if sharia muslims ask for HR) organisation (Saudi based and steered OIC?!)." "British" nationalist hypocrisy: Get back control - and meddle, influence, intervene, spy and control all over the world. More than half of muslims in UK are "islamophobes" (against sharia) - just like Peter Klevius, Council of Europe etc. - but opposite to BBC and many UK politicians (source: A survey of UKs muslim communities by Martyn Frampton, David Goodhart and Khalid Mahmood MP). (source: A survey of UKs muslim communities by Martyn Frampton, David Goodhart and Khalid Mahmood MP). BBC awards a white man who plays an odd sport few are interested in the title of "sports personality of the year 2019". Why?! Because cricket is a "british" colonial sports and also fits BBC's special interest in "asians" - but couldn't find a "british asian" good enough. England voted (for the second time) against Merkels islam import from Turkey. Can islam be rehabilitated from its evil origin and deeds - and can unrehabilitated islam be allowed in public and private spheres? Why is Saudi based and steered OIC's Islamic State of Gambia accusing Aung San Suu Kyi for the consequences of islamofascism OIC's sharia protects - and why isn't the murderous islamofascist war criminal and genocide committing Saudi dictator "prince" accused of anything? And why is BBC's leading muslim extremist propaganda presenter Mishal Husain allowed to "present" an absolutely one-sided pro islamist picture for BBC's compulsory fee paying listeners? Peter Klevius fact/fake check: Why does Google lie and fake straight up your face?! When searching for 'world's biggest per capita polluters' China comes up with extra big letters despite being one of the least polluting of major economies (47th on a reliable polluters list). Moreover, China is not only the world leader for alternative technologies, but its pollution number also includes the biggest production of products exported and consumed all over the world outside China. Source: EDGAR and incl. all human activities leading to climate relevant emissions, except biomass/biofuel combustion (short-cycle carbon). US/UK (NATO) don't accept muslims like Uighur islamists (other than as proxy soldiers) - but demand China to accept them. NATO's Sinophobia is a threat to world peace, environment and prosperity. NATO is all about US monopolizing space for its own militarism and to block China's success? In 1990s Russia was proposed as a member of NATO but is now demonized by US/UK (and BBC) as the "main enemy" together with "the challenge from China" (sic). But NATO members are guilty of offensive wars, occupations, annexations, use of chemical weapons, use of islamist terrorists, foreign interventions, extrajudicial murderings in other countries - and use of similar muslim "re-education" camps as China (why not just criminalize original evil islam?!). NATO (US) threatens the free flow of tech and wealth, and provokes hate and defensive attitudes among Chinese - hence forcing China (world leader in tech) using its financial muscles more for defense (China can't be starved like USSR in 1980s) than environment. Btw, Chinese per capita GDP is 1/3 of US, and total GDP much bigger than US - and faster growing. A fraction of the effort given to demonize "islamophobic" islam criticim, would do wonders to reduce Sinophobic racism against Chinese. And stop using the "Communist threat". China is now a capitalist country similar to Western powers - except technologically much better (and the West copies everything China does in surveillance). Do you really think much would change if China would be fully democratic - except chaos caused by NATO? NATO (US/UK) would be equally Sinophobic. In fact, what is called "democracy" in the West functions quite similarly as the leadership in China. Media propaganda, lying politicians and empty promises combined with silencing the real issues (compare BBC's fake "news") - and therefore a truly democratic vote. Moreover, the only reason capitalist China has a non-democratic leadership for the moment is precisely its justified fear for leaving it vulnerable for what happened in the past when UK and US meddled and attacked with great suffering for the Chinese people. NATO should turn against the real evil, the islamofascist Saudi dictator family. DEMOCRACY DENIED: WARNING TO UK VOTERS ABOUT BBC's HUMANRIGHTSPHOBIA! WHO's RIGHT ON ISLAM - BBC OR THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE? BBC undermines your most basic Human Rights. BBC's "islamophobia" propaganda machine (incl. Sayeeda Warsi) boosts OIC islam while neglecting Council of Europe's sharp ("islamophobic") criticism of OIC's world sharia (Cairo declaration). SO HOW COME THAT BBC IS ALLOWED TO MEDDLE IN THE VOTING PROCESS BY ATTACKING AND SMEARING THOSE CANDIDATES WHO SHARE THE VIEW OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE - not to mention the anti-fascist Universal Human Rights declaration of 1948?! And how come that racism against e.g. Polish people in UK is of no interest for BBC while the "problem" of "islamophobia" fills all BBC "news"? Is BBC killing UK democracy and paving the way for islamofascism?BBC undermines your most basic Human Rights. BBC's "islamophobia" propaganda machine (incl. Sayeeda Warsi) boosts OIC islam while neglecting Council of Europe's sharp ("islamophobic") criticism of OIC's world sharia (Cairo declaration). SO HOW COME THAT BBC IS ALLOWED TO MEDDLE IN THE VOTING PROCESS BY ATTACKING AND SMEARING THOSE CANDIDATES WHO SHARE THE VIEW OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE - not to mention the anti-fascist Universal Human Rights declaration of 1948?! And how come that racism against e.g. Polish people in UK is of no interest for BBC while the "problem" of "islamophobia" fills all BBC "news"? How Merkel paved the way for Brexit (Erdogan deal) and aided jihad in EU. NATO (US) with former fascist state Germany now sides with islamofascism - especially Erdogan's Ottoman aspirations - and supports Uyghur jihadism in hope of placing NATO (i.e. US) nukes between Russia and China. Peter Klevius wonders whether this ill-directed jihad propaganda will promote peace and safety? The world bully U.S. thinks it owns and rules the world after having colonized it via dollar manipulation, infiltration, spying, meddling, sanctions and the unscrupulous use of militants and militarism. Thanks to the global dollar scam, Americans have been freeloaders on the rest of the world, the biggest per capita polluters and the U.S. by far the biggest threat to world peace via weapons built with money it stole from the world. Said by Peter Klevius who has been an anti-socialist all his life. Btw. the world's industrial revolution didn's start in England but in Sweden already in the late 17th century by inventor Christopher Polhem and capitalist Gabriel Stierncrona. Without Polhem's automation to get the rich Swedish iron ore from the mains, England had no chance to start real industrial production. A nun's gear doesn't sign other women as "whores". However, what about a woman in an islamic "chastity" gear? K.S. Lal (a giant among historians): Mahmud of Ghazni had marched into Hindustan again and again to wage jihad and spread the Muhammadan religion, to lay hold of its wealth, to destroy its temples, to enslave its people, sell them abroad and thereby earn profit, and to add to muslim numbers by converting the captives. Is BBC 100% steered by muslims? Not only can you ever hear anything critical about islam and muslims - but all main channels are also occupied by sharia (OIC) supporting (i.e. against basic Human Rights equality) muslims. Nazir Afzal ('Moral maze', news, culture etc.), Mishal Husain (news, culture etc.), Samira Ahmed (news, culture etc.), Razia Iqbal (news, culture etc.). And they all keep cheating the public about it and instead pointing finger to "dumb and hateful xenophobes". Not a word about e.g. Council of Europe's harsh critcism (see below) of muslims biggest sharia organization, the Saudi based and steered OIC. Foreigners isn't the peoblem - sharia islam is! BBC's muslims and their PC supporters also meddle in UK election by demonizing "islamophobia", i.e. trying to stop critcs of islamofascism. Muslim child/youth fascism induced by an islam interpretation from family and strengthened by PC media, politicians etc. Peter Klevius: Everyone - incl. every muslim who respects Human Rights - ought to make sure to vote for an "islamophobe"! BBC and Sayeeda Warsi will make their utmost to stop critics of islamofascism in the election. Don't be robbed of your democratic right. And of course you know that the only real problem with migration is islamofascism. BBC's "man in Hong Kong" asked street terror leader Joshua Wong if they could possibly escalate violence. And they could. One day later they put a Chinese on fire in a murder attempt. While US/UK aim for militarism and war, China aims for health and wealth. One Atheism and three "monotheisms" The Saudi Aramco and OIC scams Peter Klevius: The Saudi Aramco sale is the biggest ripoff in the world. If there's any future in oil and you don't care about environment, then why buy what's at its peak when Venezuela's PDVSA is bigger and as low it can get?! Are you an "islamophobe" if you don't like islamist Human Rights violations? Islam has (via OIC's sharia declaration) abandoned the most basic anti-fascist Human Rights from 1948. Islam is hence the only religion in doing so - not even the Catholics have needed to replace Human Rights with "Catholic human rights". The seed for world fascism is dormant in Saudi based and steered OIC's world sharia - opposed by ECHR and Peter Klevius, but supported by Sayeeda Warsi. Breakit instead of Brexit because what's the point of leaving one EU while still staying in an other called UK? England voted leave. However, unfortunately BBC demonizes China on behalf of UK's relying on militarist meddling, weapons sales and islamofascist sharia finance. So you see the solution: Cut off sharia etc. islamofascist ties and open up for prospering with China - not the over-selfish game of spying and dying of US. BBC boosts stupid nationalist "Britishness" with peculiar "sports" like cricket and rugby because the world has already "colonized" football and the English language is a global property. Nigel Farage is like BBC against "islamophobia" and pro-Saudi - but Boris Johnson doesn't like letter boxes and was criticized by Theresa May for being critical against the Saudis while serving as her foreign minister. However, unfortunately BBC demonizes China on behalf of UK's relying on militarist meddling, weapons sales and islamofascist sharia finance. So you see the solution: Cut off sharia etc. islamofascist ties and open up for prospering with China - not the over-selfish game of spying and dying of US.BBC boosts stupid nationalist "Britishness" with peculiar "sports" like cricket and rugby because the world has already "colonized" football and the English language is a global property.Nigel Farage is like BBC against "islamophobia" and pro-Saudi - but Boris Johnson doesn't like letter boxes and was criticized by Theresa May for being critical against the Saudis while serving as her foreign minister. China (laws against sharia islamofascism) and EU (Human Rights against sharia islamofascism) are now the only ones protecting basic (negative*) Human Rights. * Religious people and socialists don't like negative Human Rights simply because they prefer collectives ("communities") rather than individuals. That's why the web is full of misinfo about these rights. Read Peter Klevius definition instead if you want a deep view - or listen to Lauren Chen starting from 7:11 if you want it light The Saudi "custodian of islam" has some 1.5 billion "citizens" in the muslim world Ummah nation - and demands the world to bow them no matter what (as long they aren't Shia or so, of course). China, on the other hand, keeps its citizens and laws within its own borders. IS islam IS fascism and islam (even the archbishop agrees). So why is sharia fascism not separated from an "islam" that submits to basic Human Rights? As it stands now Saudi based and steered OIC's sharia (the 1990 Cairo declaration) still stands as the basic Human Rights violation via sharia muslims all over the world. And whereas China actively tries to erase sharia islamofascism, EU keeps promoting import of it while judicially telling us it's not right, yet doing nothing to stop it. Unlike the West, China hasn't aggressively meddled militaristically in other countries around the world, but rather being the world's foremost spreader of new technology and wealth. And whereas the West has eagerly supported Mohammed's totalitarian aims, China has, in practise, implemented in law most of the Human Rights advices that The Council of Europe has directed against OIC. Against this background West's Saudi backing and China smearing is deeply bigoted and hypocritical. John le Carre: I'm depressed and ashamed of British nationalism. Nationalism needs enemies but today we really have no identifiable enemies except among ourselves. North Atlantic (sic) Treaty Organization invades a country in Mideast and attacks (with chemical weapons) a people without a country. UK's Brexit business model: Sharia finance, weapons sale and militaristic meddling?UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (sic) and Global Neo-Imperialist and Militarist Meddling, Jeremy Hunt, 15 Oct. 2019: It's wrong to accuse Donald Trump - it's Americans isolationism because American taxpayers don't want to pay between 1/2 and 2/3 of the defense of Europe. And Turkey is very skilled at finding wedges and gaps between allies. UK should be EU's bridge to US. Peter Klevius: No, EU should take care of its own defense - against whom? The Saudi dictator family who is the world's no 1 spender on weapons and islamic terror incitement and who hates EU's anti-sharia legislation? And UK taxpayers should not have to pay more for dangerous militarism. Militaristic meddling is a bad and dangerous business idea. Read K.S. Lal (free online) on islam's evil spread! A Google (i.e. U.S. web monopoly) search (20191006) reports 'islamists Hong Kong' "missing". Really! No islamists in Hong Kong? Peter Klevius also wonders if EU citizens in UK are UKongers and can peacefully demand the same rights as Joshua Wong violently demands (and eagerly broadcasted by BBC) for Hong Kongers? Really! No islamists in Hong Kong? Peter Klevius also wonders if EU citizens in UK are UKongers and can peacefully demand the same rights as Joshua Wong violently demands (and eagerly broadcasted by BBC) for Hong Kongers? Peter Klevius cong r atulates Savid Javid for abandoning the islamofascist "islamophobia" smear. BBC s bigoted hypocrite Mishal Husain and others ought to follow! BBC's Mark Mardell couldn't get a visa to China because of his extreme and hateful Sinophobia - but that didn't stop him/BBC from producing a fake anti-China program series while pretending to be there. Is Sinophobia really better than cooperation? Are EU citizens in UK included in Tom Tugenhadt's "British people"? Sinophobe Tom Tugendhat, chair of UK's Foreign Affairs Committee (who has studied islam and Arabic in Mideast) suggests that English speaking universities should consider banning Chinese students because "they might be used as leverage like Huawei". Peter Klevius wonders if one could be any more racist than this, and if he doesn't see any islamofascist sharia supremacist "leverage" at all? Btw, there are more than 50,000 Chinese muslims in Hong Kong. Peter Klevius wonders how many of them are "radical" ones and participate in BBC's lengthy anti-China propaganda "news" - while the world doesn't suffer from Chinese but from muslim violence and Human Rights violations? US/UK destroyed the lives of millions of Chinese during some hundred years of evil militaristic meddling. BBC is now busy smearing China all the time while supporting Saudi islamofascism and violent Hong Kong demonstrators - but neglecting the mass of peaceful pro-China demonstrators. BBC also "worries" about Chinese "surveillance state" while the truth is China's technological superiority. US is much more insidious in its surveillance policies but lacks the techno - can't even produce a working 5G so far. US/UK follow exactly China but utilize the meantime to smear it. And who is really behind the Hong Kong riots? Someone who can't take China's success? But the Syria tactics won't work. US (and its UK puppet) wants to be able to meddle militarily near China - therefore its interest in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Tibet, Myanmar, Uyghur extremist muslims etc. As Greta Thunberg is allegedly reported to the Swedish social authorities, Peter Klevius suggests that her parents read his thesis Pathological Symbiosis in LVU, Relevance, and Sex Segregated Emergence. Keeping in mind that Peter Klevius daughter was only 15 when she entered university and at 16 made her graduate paper about women in ancient times, it shouldn't be considered too sensitive for Greta either. Also read the attached email correspondence which clearly shows how democracy is manipulated. And why not consider Keeping in mind that Peter Klevius daughter was only 15 when she entered university and at 16 made her graduate paper about women in ancient times, it shouldn't be considered too sensitive for Greta either. Also read the attached email correspondence which clearly shows how democracy is manipulated. And why not consider Angels of Antichrist, the Social State vs the People (P. Klevius 1996) . And last but not least, Peter Klevius 1981/1992 Demand for Resources (original titel Resursbegar) Peter Klevius and the Council of Europe share exactly the same "islamophobia". Council of Europe. Resolution 2253 (2019), Sharia, Saudi based and steered OIC's Cairo Declaration and the European Convention on Human Rights: Human Rights protect the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion as enshrined in Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The right to manifest ones religion, however, is a qualified right whose exercise, under Article 17 of the Convention, may not aim at the destruction of other Convention rights or freedoms. Human Rights protect the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion as enshrined in Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. People in UK-land (especially women) will loose their Human Rights after Brexit - while sharia prevails in UK, and UK citizens in EU are protected by the European Court of Human Rights. Brexit was meant to protect UK from muslim invasion via Turkey's proposed visa free deal with Merkel. Even the possibility of temporary membership in ECHR (in case of a deal) isn't enough - especially considering UK will be out of reach of the European Court of Justice. US loosing the tech war - and starting a real one? A muslim wants to criminalize Peter Klevius islamophobia. Really! West's indulgence of islamofascism (sharia) has made its boasting against China about "democratic values" empty. The risk of you being stabbed, raped etc. by a hateful jihadi is created by your political leaders, BBC etc. - who also have arranged so it's not even called a hate crime. Peter Klevius stands for these "stops" and due huge implications - all shame on him if you can prove him wrong (click links if you need to educate yourself before saying something stupid): Stop using Stop using the misleading 'gender' instead of sex (sociology)! Stop islam's abuse of Human Rights (jurisprudence)! Stop saying humans came "out of Africa" (anthropology)! Stop talking about "consciousness" when you don't know what you're talking about (philosophy/ai). Peter Klevius: BBC supports the islamofascist Saudi dictator family's strategic use of supremacist islam which has spred muslim hate all over the world's streets, institutions etc. (and usually not correctly, if at all, reported by BBC which instead doesn't hesitate to give long coverage of "alternative news" that better suits its propaganda) - while muslim terrorist organizations keep it within muslim territories. So if true Salafists became the "gurdians of islam's holy places" then that would mean less muslim terror elsewhere. And less to cover up for BBC. How big a contributor to the suffering of islamic supremacist hate crimes has BBC's fake (and lack of) info been? Will we in the future see BBC in an international court accused of crimes against humanity? As it stands now the spill over effect of BBC's cynical support of proxy evil is stained in blood and rape etc. over innocent p No Yes, a light case Yes, two or more light cases One serious case Two or more serious bouts Vote View Results PLYMOUTH (AP) A northern Indiana sheriff was indicted Monday on 10 felony counts, including bribery and official misconduct, alleging he accepted $40,000 to allow special privileges for a jail inmate and a visitor. Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine is accused of allowing unrecorded and unsupervised visitations and phone calls between the inmate and the visitor. Rovenstine did so with the intent to hinder the punishment of the inmate, the indictment stated. The indictment also stated that Rovenstine threatened a law enforcement officer. Rovenstine did not respond to an email and two phone messages from The Associated Press requesting comment Monday. Court records do not indicate whether he has hired an attorney. Rovenstine, 56, is charged with three counts of bribery, one count of intimidation, one count of assisting a criminal and five counts of official misconduct. An Elkhart County Jail spokeswoman said Rovenstine was taken into custody shortly before noon Monday and released on $10,000 surety bond. The indictment alleges the misconduct started in March 2011 and continued into August 2015. The indictment alleges Rovenstine took the bribes from Kevin Bronson while he was an inmate at the Kosciusko County Jail. Bronson is charged with three felony charges of corrupt business influence and seven felony charges of intimidation. Also charged is Mark Soto, a professor at Grace College in Winona Lake, who faces three felony charges of corrupt business influence and three felony charges of intimidation. The Warsaw Times-Union reported Soto served as a spiritual mentor and counselor to Bronson. Soto and Bronson are accused of intimidating multiple men, including threats to beat or kill the victims and their families. Marshall County Prosecutor E. Nelson Chipman Jr., who has been appointed as special prosecutor in the case, said at a news conference Monday that Soto has been arrested and that Bronson remains in custody after being arrested 14 months ago for possession of cocaine with intent to deal and criminal gang activity. One victim was allegedly told Bronson would break his legs unless he gave Bronson money, and another man was forced to provide free medical services to Bronson under threat of a beating, the indictment states. Bronson and Soto are also accused of threatening to beat or kill another man and his family unless the man provided legal services without payment to help them secure a movie or book contract, the indictment states. A message was left Monday evening at the office of Sotos attorney, David Kolbe. Warsaw is about 40 miles northwest of Fort Wayne. INDIANAPOLIS The Indiana State Department of Agricultures Indiana Grown initiative today unveiled the Indiana Grown Homegrown By Heroes program, which gives Hoosiers a new, tangible way to support local veterans with agriculture businesses. The Indiana Grown Homegrown By Heroes program gives local producers who have served in the military the opportunity to use an exclusively designed logo on their business signage and/or product labels. This will help consumers who wish to show their support easily identify products made by Hoosier veterans. Indiana Grown is proud of have members of the military as part of the program, and we welcome others to join, said Mike McKinney, director of the Department of Agriculture. With this new distinction, we are giving back and supporting those who have served our country, and continue to serve by providing quality agricultural products to Hoosiers. Homegrown By Heroes is a national program administered by the Farmer Veteran Coalition and has grown to include more than 250 members in 43 states, including Indiana. The program not only supports members of the military while working to address the veteran unemployment rate, which continues to exceed the national average, but also uplifts the agriculture industry. Im thrilled to be in my home state launching a new chapter of Homegrown By Heroes and celebrating the program partnership with Indiana Grown, said Sara Creech, owner of Blue Yonder Organic Farm. As a veteran and local agriculture business owner, I see great value in the Homegrown By Heroes program and look forward to seeing its impact on my fellow veterans and Indiana Grown members. To be eligible for the Indiana Grown Homegrown By Heroes logo, the producer must meet all Indiana Grown membership criteria, as well as: nave veteran, active duty, National Guard or Reserve member of the U.S. Armed Forces status, without regard to age or era of duty; provide a copy of a Department of Defense Form 214 or equivalent; have characterization of service of Honorable or General (under Honorable conditions); provide a letter of support from a commanding officer or designated representative attesting to their service under honorable conditions if they are an active duty member; and maintain 50 percent or greater veteran ownership of their business or operation and 50 percent or greater veteran management control. For more information on Indiana Grown and the Indiana Grown Homegrown By Heroes program, or to apply for membership, people may visit IndianaGrown.org. ALBION For the second time in less than four months, a Brimfield man is facing a charge of fleeing police on a motorcycle. Tony J. Skaggs, 25, of the 7100 block of North Main Street, was booked into the Noble County Jail on Oct. 8 after allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase. He has been charged with resisting law enforcement with a motor vehicle, a Level 6 felony, driving while suspended with a prior conviction for that offense, possession of paraphernalia and operating without a motorcycle endorsement on his license. According to Noble County Sheriffs Department Deputy Shafter Baker, he had pulled over a vehicle for a traffic stop on S.R. 9 near C.R. 400N. After that stop was completed, Baker waited until a line of westbound traffic had passed by before making a U-turn to resume his patrol responsibilities. The last vehicle in the line of traffic that had passed was a motorcycle. According to Baker, the driver of the motorcycle allegedly began to drive erratically, passing vehicles and driving at an excessive speed. Baker attempted to initiate a traffic stop at approximately 12:30 p.m., but the motorcycle continued westbound on U.S. 6, with speeds approaching 100 mph, according to court documents. The pursuit continued northbound on Rochester Boulevard in Ligonier, then westbound on Union Street. The motorcycle traveled through a field in the area of Townline Road before coming to a stop at a home in the 1000 block of West Third Street. Skaggs was taken into custody at that point, with the Ligonier and Albion police assisting. His next court appearance has been scheduled for Dec. 1. On Sept. 29, Skaggs had pleaded guilty to a charge of operating while intoxicated with a prior conviction for that offense, a Level 6 felony. According to terms of a plea, Skaggs was sentenced to six months on Noble County Community Corrections. He was fined $450 and the court found him to be a habitual traffic law violator. The deal pertained to Skaggs arrest on June 20 after he led police on a pursuit that was initiated by Rome City police. He was later taken into custody by officers from Rome City, the Noble County Sheriffs Department and the Indiana State Police. MADISON -- Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson refused Monday to promise he will back whoever is the GOP nominee for president, instead saying that he is praying whoever gets it is a "person of integrity, intelligence, ideas, and courage." Johnson for months, and as recently as last week, said he would support Donald Trump or whoever is the nominee. But he wouldn't go that far on Monday when asked about Trump not immediately disavowing the support of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. "I'm praying, let's see how the process plays out," Johnson said on WTMJ radio. "We have such enormous problems facing this nation. I don't like demagoguery on any side of the political spectrum and we have it across the political spectrum." Gov. Scott Walker, meanwhile, said he stood by a pledge he signed when he was still in the presidential race to back whoever is the eventual nominee. Republicans in Wisconsin and across the country were being forced to respond to Trump's latest comments related to the support of Duke and other white supremacists. Trump told NBC's "Today" on Monday that he did not hear or understand the question Sunday on CNN when he was asked about Duke's support, blaming a "very bad earpiece." He did eventually disavow Duke's comments on social media. Late Sunday, Nebraska's Ben Sasse became the first Republican senator to say explicitly that he won't back Trump if he wins the nomination. Johnson is locked in a tough re-election fight with Democrat Russ Feingold. Johnson's campaign spokesman referred to the comments Johnson made on WTMJ when asked whether he still planned to support whoever is the nominee. "I go to bed every night praying that our nominee is a person of integrity, intelligence, ideas, and courage," Johnson said in the radio interview. "This nation hungers for someone who can lead this nation, not be divisive." Both Johnson and Walker denounced white supremacists. Walker, who dropped out of the GOP presidential race in September and urged others to do the same so Trump could be defeated, recommitted Monday to supporting the nominee no matter who it is. "I signed a pledge - and I'm a person of my word - that I wasn't going to run against someone else and I wasn't going to support someone other than the nominee," Walker told reporters in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. Walker was referring to a pledge he, Trump, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and the other Republican candidates signed in September not to run a third-party campaign and to back the GOP nominee. Walker said he "probably" won't endorse anyone until just before Wisconsin's April 5 primary but "it's something we're watching." Compared to Trump, Walker said his views are more aligned with Rubio and Cruz. "While Trump is ahead, it certainly is not out of the reach of Rubio or Cruz, for that matter," Walker said. "A lot will depend on who stays in the race." Johnson's Democratic opponent, Russ Feingold, told reporters Monday that it was "shameful" that Trump didn't immediately repudiate Duke's supportive comments. Feingold has not endorsed Hillary Clinton or Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential race. He said Monday that either will be a "good candidate." VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) On the eve of Super Tuesdays crucial primaries, a sharp new divide erupted between Republicans who pledge to fall in line behind Donald Trump if he wins their partys nomination and others who insist they can never back the bombastic billionaire. The fissure could have major implications beyond the primaries, exposing the looming challenges in uniting the party after the election, no matter who wins. Nebraskas Ben Sasse, a rising star among conservatives, became the first current senator to publicly raise the prospect of backing a third party option if Trump clinches the nomination. In a letter posted on Facebook late Sunday, Sasse urged Republicans to consider whether a party led by Trump would still represent their interests. If our party is no longer working for the things we believe in like defending the sanctity of life, stopping Obamacare, protecting the Second Amendment, etc. then people of good conscience should stop supporting that party until it is reformed, he wrote. The Associated Press asked Republican senators and governors across the country if they would support Trump if he secured the nomination. Just under half of those who responded would not commit to backing him, foreshadowing a potentially extraordinary break this fall. I am increasingly concerned by Donald Trumps statements and behavior, and I have serious concerns about his ability to win the general election and provide presidential leadership, Indiana Sen. Dan Coats said in a statement to AP. The concern among Republican leaders appeared to grow in light of Trumps refusal to immediately disavow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Dukes support. Mitt Romney, the partys 2012 nominee, called that disqualifying. And South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, campaigning in Atlanta alongside Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, said she would not stop fighting a man who refuses to disavow the KKK. Trump said he had not understood the interviewer who first raised the question about Duke, and he did later repudiate him. How many times do I have to continue to disavow people? he said. Several high-profile Republicans and conservative writers have embraced an anti-Trump social media campaign, using the Twitter hashtag NeverTrump. Trump has won three of four early primary contests, roiling a party that had assumed his populist appeal with voters would fizzle. Instead, hes only grown stronger and appears to be in commanding position heading into Super Tuesday, the biggest single-day delegate haul of the year. Tensions boiled over during Trumps rally Monday in Radford, Virginia, where he was repeatedly disrupted by demonstrators, including 20 or more chanting Black lives matter. At another point, he asked a protester, Are you from Mexico? after he was interrupted during remarks about immigration. He ordered several people to be removed, then cast himself as a unifying political force. Believe it or not, were going to unify this country, he said. If Trump sweeps most of the states up for grabs Tuesday, he could amass a delegate lead that would be difficult for any rival to overcome. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is banking on a win in his home state to keep him in the race, while Rubio wants to stay close in the delegate count until the primary hits his home state of Florida on March 15. Meanwhile, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is solidifying her lead. Like Trump, Clinton could begin putting her partys nomination out of reach for rival Bernie Sanders with a strong showing on Super Tuesday. As Trump has rolled through the early voting states, hes received enthusiastic endorsements from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and from Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, one of the most vocal opponents of immigration -law changes on Capitol Hill. Several other party officials have said they would back the real estate mogul if he does become the nominee, though some say their support would be reluctant. Im a Republican and I will support the nominee, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said Monday. I do not think he is our best nominee, but I will support the nominee. Party leaders are particularly worried about the ripple effect of a Trump nomination on other races. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson urged Republicans to remember that their White House pick also impacts the Senate and whether were going to continue to elect Republican governors across the country. A new commercial released Monday by Arizona Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, who is challenging John McCain for his Senate seat, served as a likely preview of how Democrats would seek to link GOP candidates to Trump. The 60-second spot highlighted several of Trumps more incendiary statements and questioned how McCain could say he would support him in the general election. Some Republicans said Senate candidates and others would have to forgo party unity in order to save themselves. Its not going to be a team effort. Its going to be every man for himself, said Matt Mackowiak, a GOP strategist who is unaffiliated in the 2016 race. The city of Arcadia has submitted a scaled-back plan to move nearly half a mile of creek in an effort to protect the city from flooding. The project, which would fill part of Myers Valley Creek and create a new channel, is part of an effort to prevent floods like one that caused an estimated $11 million in damage in 2010. The goal is to eliminate a potential clog where the creek passes under a low bridge. With a population of just 2,925, Arcadia is home to multiple international corporations employing more than 5,000 people. In previously circulated documents, the flooding risk was said to threaten thousands of jobs and an entire regional economy. The new flood control plan is estimated to cost about $2.1 million. It is less costly than a proposal floated last year, which would have included a $6 million contribution from Ashley Furniture, which was tied to an expansion of the companys headquarters. Were getting the best option we can for the price and still making Arcadia to hopefully be a little less flood prone, said Mayor Robert Reichwein, who added that Ashley is a very large employer that wed like to keep not just in this city but in the area. In an application submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the city proposes filling about 1,750 linear feet of the existing stream and rerouting it to avoid the bridge. The project would affect about 2,200 feet of the stream and ultimately shorten it by about 150 feet. As part of the proposed project, Ashley would allow the creek to be routed through a truck parking lot; in exchange, the city would fill about 2.7 acres of wetlands along the abandoned stream bed. Arcadia proposes to offset the wetland losses with the purchase of 3.14 acres from the Foggy Acres Mitigation Bank in Chippewa County. The Corps of Engineers is accepting public comments on the application through March 31. The project will also require approval of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, which is awaiting additional information before accepting public comments. The city began discussing ways to remove or relocate the bridge in 2002 and has been focused on moving the creek since 2010. In May, Ashley decided not to pursue $6 million in state tax credits, a move that former Arcadia Mayor John Kimmel called potentially devastating to the citys downtown. Those tax credits, approved by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., were connected to plans for a $35 million expansion of Ashleys Arcadia headquarters and a controversial provision that would have allowed the company to cut its state workforce in half. An Ashley spokesman declined to comment on whether the company would contribute to the current project or whether the company plans to expand in Arcadia. The city is doing their best to lead this thing. Its their project, said Jason Lockington. Theres a lot of things that depend on how this project unfolds. We cant really disclose anything until then. In 2005, Ashley expanded its headquarters into wetlands after year of wrangling to get the required environmental approval and spending $1 million to create new wetlands nearby. An Ashley spokeswoman told the State Journal in 2010 that if the permit had not been granted, the company would have moved its headquarters and about 2,000 jobs to another state. When it comes down to it, family planning sometimes ends up in the hands of babes just ask Tara and Jason Etrheim of Onalaska, whose new daughter, Rowan Amelia, pushed the envelope to arrive a month early, on Leap Day. This definitely caught us by surprise, Jason said during an interview Monday, when Rowan was a smidge over 7 hours old and sleeping comfortably in mommys arms in her room at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse. Rowan, weighing a mere 6 pounds, 11 ounces and stretching the tape at 19 inches, also pulled a fast one on her paternal grandparents, Mark and Dorie, also of Onalaska, who are in Ecuador on a trip scheduled specifically around the due date of March 25. Shes very sad right now, Tara said of Dorie, who quickly volunteered to take the next flight home until Tara and Jason encouraged her just to wait until their scheduled return on Wednesday. Dorie wasnt the only one chomping at the bit to see Rowan. Big sister Sloan, whose third birthday was Feb. 22, got to see pictures of Rowan and was telling other children at preschool when her dad dropped her off Monday morning, After school, I get to see my sister, Jason said. Before Rowan made her early appearance, she was in the breech position, so Tara had an appointment for 11 a.m. Monday for a doctor to try to get her pointed in the right direction, Tara said. My water broke at 1:20, Tara said. I stood there in shock, wondering what to do. After she opted to wake up Jason, his initial assumption was I thought something was wrong with our other daughter, he said, until Tara told him Rowan appeared to be resetting the delivery clock. Indeed she did, being born via cesarean section at 4:19 a.m. Tara, who had delivered Sloan vaginally, said, They were two very different experiences. Asked how they felt about having a Leap Day baby, Jason and Tara said that hadnt sunk in yet. Were still in shock that we have a baby, Tara said. They agreed, though, that they probably will celebrate Rowans birthday on March 1, in part so that Sloan will have her own birth month. The couple, both 32, had decided on Rowans name on Thursday, just in time, Tara said. As for Sloan, she has been able to observe the big sister/little sister phenomenon recently with family friends who had had a baby, so the Etrheims were anticipating a peaceful greeting for her sibling instead of the rivalry that sometimes ensues. Hopefully, she will understand, because shes been the only child, and the only grandchild, Tara said. Tara wont have any trouble finagling maternity leave, as she works part-time at MasterCraft Homes in La Crosse, which Jason co-owns with his parents. Jasons mom already told me to stay home as long as I want, because theyre only little once, said Tara, who also is a professional photographer. When the Etrheims decide Rowan is ready, Mom will take her to work with her, as she did Sloan. Rowans surprise arrival did not catch her parents totally off guard in preparing her room outside the womb. The nice thing about a second girl is the clothes Jason said, with Tara ending his sentence with a practical point that probably is more important from the female perspective: and theyre in the same season. Teaching positions will be lost next year as the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse braces for more cuts. Despite strong freshman enrollment numbers, projections call for total enrollment to continue a 150-student decline next year, UW-L Chancellor Joe Gow said Monday. That leaves a budget gap of $600,000 that the university will have to fill with more cuts. Last fall, the university froze 14 instructional positions to account for a $1 million shortfall, and Gow said more will need to be cut to make up the new deficit. In the past, the university has worked to avoid layoffs in its cuts, and Gow said the university would continue to try and cut vacant positions, but layoffs could be possible. "There are just not a lot of tools at our disposal," he said. During fall semester, the university increased and hit a target of 2,050 first-year students and projections call for hitting that target again next year. But the university's four-year graduation rate continues to climb, Gow said, resulting in the enrollment shortfall; if that grows faster than projections or the university fails its recruitment targets, the deficit could be even higher than $600,000. Gow said administrators considered increasing first-year enrollment targets again for next year, but they were worried about the impacts of lowering admission standards and the effect of a larger freshman class on already stressed residence hall space. International student recruitment has also suffered in recent years and Gow said he hoped two newly-hired recruiters will begin turning that trend around by the fall of 2017. The positions university administrators are looking to cut for fall won't come from tenure-track faculty positions or from faculty already under a contract. Mostly they will be lecturers or other adjunct positions, faculty senate Chair Brad Seebach said, and the cuts will come from positions under the university's Growth, Quality and Access program. Approved by the UW System seven years ago, the program raised tuition by $1,000 in order to lower the student-to-faculty ratio. At its highest, Gow said there were 24 students per instructor at UW-L, and by using Growth, Quality and Access to hire an additional 140 teachers, the university lowered that ratio to 18:1. With fewer teaching positions, that ratio will start to creep back up. It is a trend that both Gow and Seebach said would not benefit students. "I am very disappointed to go in a direction where the ratio is rising," Seebach said. "It was part of the reason why the university was reluctant last year to cut teaching positions." The new round of cuts continues the fallout from last year's $250 million two-year cut in funding for the UW System by the Legislature, both said. As the state funds a smaller and smaller portion of the university's costs, the effects of enrollment and tuition dollars on the budgets become more and more important. In a note sent to the campus community by email Monday morning, Gow said he was not hopeful for the next biennial state budget. Planning committees at the university will have to start planning for future budget cuts to the university, and administrators plan on holding an open forum on the upcoming year's budget later this month. "When I came here nine years ago, the state paid about half the cost of academic instruction," Gow said. "Now it is down under a quarter. If the people of the state don't value higher education, I don't know how we will build a bright future for Wisconsin." The UW-L Hall of Nations is hosting a special program for International Womens Day from 5 to 7 p.m. March 10 at 1300 Centennial Hall. The 2016 theme is Pledge for Parity. Women who grew up in the Congo, Malaysia, Myanmar and Sweden, and currently residing in La Crosse, will talk about Womens Rights in their country of origin, and what they experienced coming to the United States. Appetizers will be served at 5 p.m., and the program will begin at 5:30 p.m. WEST SALEM When Sara Venzke was diagnosed with cancer just more than a year ago, she wasnt about to let it change who she was or how she lived. For her strength, Venzke was picked as this years honorary chairwoman of the 2016 Relay for Life in West Salem to be held in April. Venzke was introduced to Relay for Life last year, during the last leg of her cancer treatment. A close family friend had invited her to the event, where she discovered people were walking in her honor. From that point on, Venzke said she knew she would be a lifelong supporter of the Relay for Life program, an annual fundraiser for the American Cancer Society and a celebration of those who have survived cancer, as well as a salute to those who didnt. In November 2014, Venzke consulted an ear, nose and throat doctor for swollen lymph nodes. She was given some antibiotics and told to get some rest. Ordinarily, the antibiotics would have done their job and her lymph nodes would have returned to normal, only they didnt. Something wasnt quite right, and the antibiotic regimen failed to reduce the swelling. She returned to the doctor, who recommended removing one of her lymph nodes. At this point Venzke, a registered nurse, began to worry about her condition. She decided the best action would be to have her lymph node removed, but further tests before the procedure revealed the true reason for her ailment. She was diagnosed with metastatic squamous cell carcinoma, a deadly and incurable form of cancer, caused by a strain of HPV . Doctors had only discovered the cancer after it had already spread to her lymph nodes, and simply removing them wasnt going to help now. Her prognosis was grim. Shortly after the diagnosis her doctors recommended she get her affairs in order. She had been diagnosed with no idea where it had come from, and her doctors were at a loss for where it had started from. The nurse in her had hunkered down. She knew what to expect and it wasnt pretty. The disease had already begun to spread, leaving a nasty course of chemotherapy drugs the only possibility for fighting off the cancer actively working to kill her. Venzkes nursing background was what ended up saving her. She knew what to expect and knew how slim her chances were, and she knew there wasnt much she could do about it. Even through the extensive course of chemotherapy drugs, she kept strong, unwilling to let the cancer take anything from her. She was mostly successful. She continued to work through her treatment. Venzke worked for Mayo for nearly 15 years, and she wasnt about to stop because shed gotten sick. As the drugs ran their course, her hair began to fall out. I was really bald, she said. She said one of the hardest parts of her diagnosis was seeing everyone elses reaction, and losing her hair didnt help. She said as a nurse she is used to being the caregiver, not the patient, and so she started talking about it. My new normal was to talk a lot about cancer, Venzke said. It was just a new topic of conversation. Venzke finished her last chemotherapy treatment in April. The cancer had disappeared for the time being. She said the potential is always there for the cancer to come back. There is a very high likelihood that it will. Late last fall, she had her first scare. Her symptoms had returned. She feared the worst, but to her relief the tests came back negative. No cancer yet. Her doctors will be keeping a watchful eye for the return of her cancer, testing her every three months for the rest of her life. Why is it that good ideas proliferate and bad ideas disappear in virtually every industry except for education? Think of Apples reinvention of handheld phones, Ubers redefinition of personal transportation, or Airbnbs transformation of hospitality. Encouraging entrepreneurship in educationfrom opening creative new schools, to developing inventive curriculum, and promoting innovative teaching methodswould greatly enhance the availability of high-quality education in America. Competition and choice promotes excellence in education in exactly the same way that it promotes excellence in other products and services like mobile telephones, taxicabs or hotels. According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the number of schools opting into the statewide voucher program has increased by 67 percent for the 2016-17 school year. The entrance of these schools into the program demonstrates how schools are willing and able to meet the demands of parents for increased school choice in the Badger State. Unfortunately, a lack of political will prevents state and local leaders from doing more to foster entrepreneurship and innovation in our education system. Entrepreneurs like Steve Jobsa longtime supporter of charter schoolsare celebrated for their vision, ingenuity and innovation. But those same qualities are discouraged, and even criticized, in education. Entrepreneurs who seek a return from their investment in education are viewed with suspicion; but if taxpayers seek to increase the quality and availability of good education, they must demand that entrepreneurs be allowed to benefit from adding value to the educational services industry. If America wants great schools we must encourage competition by incentivizing entrepreneurs to enter into all aspects of the educational field whether it is opening a new school, becoming a teacher or providing grants and other resources. Research by Dr. James Tooley of the Newcastle University in the United Kingdom showed that low-cost private schools, run by entrepreneurs, provide high-quality education to students in some of the most impoverished areas in India, China and Africa. Parents in these underprivileged communities use the few resources in their possession to send their children to private schoolseven when there was a public school option available for free. His research simultaneously reveals the low quality of the free public schools and the high quality of the private schools. Innovative education markets that run parallel to public school systems flourish in developing nations where the state is not sufficiently developed to impose regulations on education service provision. This market in America continues to be plagued by cumbersome regulations and a lack of political will. Opponents of entrepreneurship in education fear that competition from choice schools will drain public schools of their brightest students, leaving the public school students worse off. A recent report from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty uses global evidence to show that the critics are wrong; the Netherlands, for example, has had a robust voucher-like school choice system since 1917. The Dutch system provides public funding for religious and private schools of all kinds. Yet there are still many high-quality public schools. Public funding of private schools did not result in the collapse of public education as critics fear. To the contrary, competition allows strong public schools to flourish and expand. Sweden, like the Netherlands, has publicly funded private schools. Research on voucher schools in Sweden shows that the more private schools there are, the higher the average test results were overall in that area. Competition and choice promote quality in education in the same way that it promotes quality in other products and services like mobile telephones, taxicabs or hotels. In light of these examples of the positive impacts of competition through entrepreneurship in education, it should be the goal of every community to attract the best performing and highest quality educational entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, they do just the opposite. Too many cities, including Milwaukee, lack the political will to make education a more appealing investment for entrepreneurs. Besides supporting politicians, school board members and administrators who see the value of fostering entrepreneurship in education, the most important efforts parents can make to foster competition are to use choice programs that existsuch as the Milwaukee or Racine Choice program at a city level. Parents should demand eligibility increases for Wisconsins statewide choice program, which is arbitrarily limited to only 1 percent of students in the Badger State. A judge disagreeing with the Public Service Commission may not be the David-and-Goliath-moment that restores faith in our system. But, its a beginning. Last week, a judge determined a communitys challenge regarding need and routing of the Badger-Coulee transmission line was filed on time, despite PSC contention it was not. The tiny town of Holland, and a group of individuals whose principles would not let them give up, were behind the challenge. A similar challenge to the CapX2020 power line also found the PSC arguing an administrative technicality in its attempt to block court review of its approval. The PSC won, and that decision has not been officially scrutinized by anyone but those who made the contested decision. Today, the massive CapX2020 project is nearing completion. Once Badger-Coulee plugs into CapX2020, the pathway opens to spend billions more of ratepayer money on thousands more miles of new transmission. Badger-Coulee construction began, despite not having secured all federal permits. Worse, the PSC lifted requirements that permits be in place prior to construction, because utilities asked the PSC to do so. Also today, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers are considering the required incidental-kill and wetland-fill permits. Their review process presumes that project need and less damaging alternatives were appropriately considered in PSC approval. With these issues at the core of Hollands legal challenge, the situation is gray and sticky ethically if not legally and not one where a good-faith permit can be issued. First, permittees cannot presume the PSC decision will hold. Second, the DNR, as co-author of the Environmental Impact Statement, has higher requirements than the PSC in assessing need, impacts and alternatives. The DNR is legally charged with setting an example in meeting the spirit and intent of the Wisconsin Environmental Protection Act, and for ensuring consideration of reasonably available alternatives to achieve the same or altered purpose of the proposed project. The Holland challenge, and testimony in the Badger-Coulee hearing, demonstrate that less costly and less invasive alternatives were given lip-service rather than due consideration. The DNR also is required to consider cumulative impacts of past, current and likely future transmission expansion. However, the total economic and environmental impacts of the expansion plan, of which Badger-Coulee and CapX2020 are mere parts, have not been publicly (if ever) fully assessed. With the courts considering whether the PSC approved an unnecessary line, and the DNR delinquent in its role, allowing further construction, permitting and irreversible financial and environmental costs is not only bad policy but ethically wrong. Whether it is attempts to privatize Wisconsins water supply or ease the way for new nuclear generation by not requiring all costs be considered or that a disposal solution for waste be in place, it appears that Wisconsin policymakers are waging war on citizens and the environment. Before Wisconsin becomes a Flint, Mich., on a statewide level, we must demand that citizen and community interests be protected and placed ahead of corporate profits and a monopolistic business model. To Wisconsins great harm, Wisconsin policymakers have put in place statutes that say continue on. Yet there are also ways to interpret these statutes that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that good-faith permitting cannot be done, and construction should be paused. To proceed with either would be a further violation of public trust. I applaud the victory of the town of Holland. Rather than allow it to be a hollow victory, it is time for our collective voice to remind Wisconsin legislators and government agencies that it is we the people they are meant to serve. Challenging policies that allow Badger-Coulee construction and permitting to proceed while the courts are reviewing its approval is a good place to start. Asking legislators to sponsor an injunction would be even better. The state Department of Natural Resources has stopped placing persistent members of the public on a do not respond list, a spokesman said. The people listed were viewed as being abusive or asking too many questions, but the DNR never failed to respond lawfully to requests for public records, said department spokesman George Althoff Althoff provided a copy of the list, which is marked confidential, to the Wisconsin State Journal late Friday in response to a Feb. 5 request under the law. On Saturday he issued a statement from DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp. Upon discovery of the list, I made it clear to my staff that lists of this type will not be created or used, Stepp said. During my tenure we have worked hard to be responsive and transparent. I do not believe these type of lists are appropriate. We have been and will continue to be responsive to our constituents. But one listed person, Nancy Utesch, noted that the document indicates her name was referred by the DNR Secretarys Office, so she was skeptical of Stepps statement. Utesch, an activist in Kewaunee County, said she was unable to prepare fully for a public hearing Thursday on a large dairy farms permit request because the DNR for months failed to respond to her request, first made last summer, for access to public records. Utesch and others were eager to testify because they say lax state regulation of manure from 16 large-scale dairy operations in Kewaunee County has harmed water quality. Thirty percent of private wells tested in the county are tainted by E. coli, nitrates and other pollutants. DNR officials recently apologized for confusion over Uteschs records request. She said the DNR left her with only days to read and analyze hundreds of pages of technical material. The notion that someone would use open records requests in a repetitive or abusive way is ridiculous, Utesch said Monday. Its very time-consuming. The DNR do not respond list includes the names of 19 people, the DNR offices that referred them for listing, and the topics of their telephone calls or emails. Topics included controversial areas such as regulation of high-capacity wells, which have been associated with lowered water levels on lakes and streams; permitting of very large dairy farms, which have been linked to tainted drinking water; frac sand mining, which conservationists say pollutes air and water; and wildlife management, including the handling of chronic wasting disease. Althoff said most people on the list received responses to questions. DNR prides itself on being responsive to customer inquiries and encouraging feedback on issues of importance to our customers, Althoff said. Our goal is to be as helpful as possible in responding to inquiries from our customers and hold ourselves accountable in the process. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on the list in an article about delays in providing public records the department considered sensitive including those involving politicians or pollution so political appointees could give them extra attention. The article quoted a 2015 email from a top DNR executive, who has since taken another state job, telling staff to provide a minimal response to a man on the list because of the sheer volume of contacts and correspondence from him about declining numbers of yellow perch in Lake Michigan. The DNR faces two lawsuits from conservation groups alleging the DNR violated the state law by taking up to 10 months to provide public documents. The law says the government must provide records as soon as practicable and without delay. The lawsuits came on the heels of criticism over Gov. Scott Walkers administrations handling of public records and an abortive attempt by lawmakers last year to eliminate public access to most records produced by the Legislature. ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Presidential candidates hoping to sew up support in the upper Midwest will be looking to the caucuses in Minnesota, one of 12 states that make up the Super Tuesday nominating contests. Heres a rundown of what a caucus is and whats at stake. How does it work? It starts simply enough: Voters from each party gather at schools, community centers and gymnasiums across the state to make their pitches for their favored candidate, then cast secret ballots. The results are used to determine how many delegates each candidate gets in their quest for the presidential nomination. Thats where it starts to get complicated, starting with differences between Republicans and Democrats because caucuses are run by the parties, not the state. Democratic voters will determine how 77 delegates are doled out, while Republicans are wrestling for 38. (For both parties, thats less than 1 percent of total delegates nationally). Candidates are awarded delegates based on their performance in each of Minnesotas eight congressional districts, as well as the statewide results. And its not a winner-take-all affair. Even losers will score some points due to proportional awarding of delegates. For example, if Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders beats former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by a 52-48 margin, hed walk away with 14 of the 27 delegates that follow statewide results. Clinton would get the remaining 13. On the Democratic side, there are 50 total delegates up for grabs in the congressional districts, including nine in DFL strongholds such as the Minneapolis-centric 5th District. More Republican-leaning districts have as few as five delegates. Republicans caucus rules are slightly different. Candidates split delegates based on their share of votes statewide and in each district. But there are just three delegates in each district. And in the unlikely event that a candidate reaches 85 percent of the vote statewide or in a district that candidate sweeps up all those delegates. Democrats are also vying for the attention of 16 so-called superdelegates, who are elected officials and party bigwigs who can do whatever they want at the national convention regardless of what happens on Super Tuesday. Most of those have already locked in for Clinton but could change allegiance down the line. How does Minnesota fit in? Minnesota is one of 12 states hosting preference polls on Super Tuesday, a day that could cement candidates paths to the nomination or send them back to their day jobs. Just how much weight Minnesota will hold is unclear. For Sanders, contests in Minnesota and Colorado may be his last best chance since they are in a caucus format that plays to his advantage by attracting the most fervent political supporters. Though he lost previous caucuses in Iowa and Nevada, the more progressive and predominantly white voting bases this time around could give him a boost. Sanders Minneapolis rally on Monday was his third Minnesota stop in the past few weeks, and he has battled Clinton on the airwaves with a barrage of TV ads. Clinton hasnt visited since a speech in early February, but she dispatched an army of surrogates to make her pitch here. Republicans havent paid as much attention to Minnesota. Florida Sen. Marco Rubios planned visit on Super Tuesday itself was to be his third this year, but no other candidates touched down. What to watch for? Turnout. Minnesotas Republican party is bracing for record numbers, citing high turnout in Iowa and other states driven by Donald Trumps appeal to nontraditional voters and the large field of candidates. The party expects it will easily pass previous caucus records set in 2008. Democratic party officials are hoping that putting the date of their caucus in the Super Tuesday mix generates higher turnout, too. But dont expect a record-setting year like 2008, when the choice between nominating the first black president and the first female candidate resulted in a caucus surge. Appeals court upholds designation of polar bear habitat -- ANCHORAGE, Alaska The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service followed the law when it designated more than 187,000 square miles an area larger than California as critical habitat for threatened polar bears in Alaska marine waters and its northern coast, an appeals court ruled Monday. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeal reversed a 2013 lower court decision that the designation was too extensive and not specific. A spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity, which petitioned to designate polar bears as a threatened species, called it a victory for the marine mammal. "The polar bear gets the full protection of critical habitat to which it's entitled, it deserves and it truly needs," Brendan Cummings said. Mount St. Mary's University president resigns amid furor -- EMMITSBURG, MD. Mount St. Mary's University says its president has resigned amid a furor that arose after he likened struggling freshmen to bunnies that should be drowned. Board of Trustees Chairman John Coyne announced Simon Newman's departure from the Catholic college in Emmitsburg, Md., effective immediately Monday night. Coyne said in a statement that Karl Einolf, dean of the university's business school, has been named acting president. Newman was in his first year as president. The former financial industry executive was widely scorned by academic leaders after the student newspaper reported his comments in a story about a student-retention plan. The aftermath included the firing and reinstatement of two faculty members and a faculty demand for Newman's resignation. Family of man fatally shot by police near home seeks answers -- MONTGOMERY, Ala. A family is seeking answers after an Alabama police officer last week shot and killed a man yards from his own front door. Greg Gunn, 58, of Montgomery, died early Thursday morning after a police officer on patrol spotted him walking in a residential neighborhood a little before 3:20 a.m. Authorities on Monday identified the police officer as A.C. Smith, who joined the force in 2012. Police Chief Ernest Finley said Smith deemed Gunn "suspicious," left his car and approached Gunn on foot. A struggle ensued before Smith fatally shot Gunn, Finley said. Finley confirmed Smith is white. Gunn was black. At a Monday news conference, Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said he couldn't specify why Smith deemed Gunn suspicious but said all patrol officers were aware of a rash of burglaries in the area lately. University leader refused to stop for deputy -- IOWA CITY, Iowa The University of Iowa's interim campus police leader interfered with an investigation into a hit-and-run drunk driving accident by his stepson after the two left an Iowa City bar, driving away before officers could interview him, according to records obtained by The Associated Press. Investigative documents withheld from the public for months show that David Visin refused an officer's requests by phone to pull over on June 25 so police could speak with him and his passenger, his stepson Sean Crane. Officers were searching for Crane, 33, because his truck had smashed into two cars minutes earlier in a parking lot outside the bar. Instead of stopping, Visin dropped Crane at a gas station a few miles away and left before officers arrived. Apple has been under siege by the far-reaching tentacles of the Department of Justice, criticized by political hacks and demonized in the court of popular opinion, for its defiance to resist a court order to unlock an iPhone that would aid law enforcement, via a backdoor avenue, in accessing information pertinent to the San Bernadino terrorist attack. Apples outright refusal to obey this court order has been deemed unpatriotic, revolting and repulsive by the vast majority of political and media pundits, as well as the uninformed, uneducated and apathetic masses. The founding fathers created safeguards within the Constitution that provide protection from backdoor governmental intrusion, as in this case, into the personal lives of the citizenry. This matter is most certainly headed to the Supreme Court. In the event that the Supreme Court rules in favor of the government, the effects will be far reaching and detrimental to personal privacy matters, thus creating a slippery and very dangerous slope, which may lead to the erosion, decay and dismantling of the Constitution. I, for one, applaud and support Apples actions. Benjamin Franklin famously stated, They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. How true. You have the power to keep local news strong for the coming months. Your financial support today keeps our reporters ready to meet the needs of our city. Thank you for investing in your community. Stories like these are only possible with your help! Start your day with LAist Sign up for How To LA, delivered weekday mornings. Subscribe Metro is opening a new express bus line from North Hollywood to Pasadena, filling a gap in their transit map.The new line is called Line 501 and will connect Metro Red and Orange lines in North Hollywood to the Metro Gold Line in Pasadena, according to the agency. "Instead of taking the Red Line into downtown Los Angeles and then connecting with the Gold Line back out to Pasadena, they can now get on an express bus at North Hollywood and go directly to Pasadena," Metro Dave Sotero told KPCC. It will operate every day from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the weekends, running every 15 minutes at peak times and every 30 minutes otherwise. The bus will mostly use the 134 freeway, and Metro officials predict it will take about 34 to 50 minutes to get from NoHo to Pasadena, depending on the time, day and direction. There are six stops, beginning at the NoHo Station, then going to Hollywood Way and Olive Ave. in Burbank, Buena Vista St. and Alameda Ave. in Burbank, Goode Ave. and Brand (westbound) and Sancez and Brand (eastbound) in Glendale, and the Memorial Park and Del Mar Gold Line Stations in Pasadena. The fare will be $2.50, and transfers will cost an additional 75 cents. You can see a full map and schedule here. On Saturday at noon, Metro will open the Gold Line Extension that expands the Gold Line from Pasadena to Azusa, according to Metro's The Source. The Gold Line will be free from noon until midnight on Saturday. 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We are not alarmists but the situation is really bad, so we need to do something right now. View my complete profile Translate Blog Archive Monday, February 29, 2016 The Court today heard oral arguments in Williams v. Pennsylvania on issues of due process and the Eighth Amendment revolving around the court's decision in a death penalty case and judicial ethics. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has been especially rocked by scandals - - - with one Justice resigning because of corruption and another because of sexually explicit emails and another Justice being subject to disciplinary proceedings over the explicit emails - - - but this controversy involves a different Justice, former Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Ronald Castille. Castille, who retired from the court when he reached the state mandatory retirement age, was elected in 1993, and retained in elections in 2003 and 2013. Importantly, before his election to the bench, Castille worked in the district attorney's office for over 20 years, including being twice elected to the District Attorney position; he reportedly claimed to have "sent 45 people to death row." One of those people on death row is Terrance Williams, convicted at age 18 and whose story has attracted much interest. Williams claims that it was a violation of due process and the Eighth Amendment for Justice Castille to deny the motion to recuse himself from consideration of Williams' petition for post conviction relief. Williams contends that Castille, as a prosecutor, was personally involved in the case and the decision to seek the death penalty. Williams' post-conviction claim, moreover, is based on prosecutorial misconduct. The central case in today's oral argument was Caperton v. Massey (2009) regarding judicial bias. Unlike the situation of Justice Benjamin in Caperton, Castille did not cast a "deciding vote" on the court. [Nevertheless, Castille's concurring opinion is worth reading for its defensiveness]. The problem is how - - - or even whether - - - to apply the 5-4 decision in Caperton, which involved judicial bias resulting from campaign contributions. Stuart Lev, arguing for Williams, faced an almost-immediate question from Chief Justice Roberts, who dissented in Caperton, asking whether the nature of the decision of the former-prosecutor now-Justice should matter - - - was it mere policy or something more individualized? Justice Alito, who also dissented in Caperton, was wary of constitutionalizing the matters of recusal without clear lines. On the other hand, Ronald Eisenberg, arguing for Pennsylvania, seemed to admit that there could be cases in which recusal was necessary, but stressed the long time involved here - - - 30 years - - - which at one point prompted Justice Kennedy to ask "So the fact that he spent 30 years in solitary confinement actually helps the State?" (Eisenberg noted that this wasn't "exactly" the situation). Justice Sotomayor stressed that what was important was that Castille was prosecutor and judge in the "same case." For both sides, much of the wrangling was over what any "rule" should be - - - with the background of the Caperton rule being fluid rather than rigid. The fact that Castille was only one of the Justices was important, but perhaps less so than it would be for another court. The idea that a judge simply "votes" for a result was looked on with disfavor. As Justice Kennedy stated: But if - - - if we say that, then we say that being a judge on a 15 judge court doesn't really make much difference. You - - - you don't have a duty, and you don't have can't persuade your colleagues. It's very hard for us to write that kind of decision. Earlier in the argument, there was some discussion of the remedy - - - and the "unsatisfying" remedy (as Justice Kagan phrased it) of sending the case back to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to (re)consider the recusal motion. Lev, arguing for Williams, noted that this was the remedy in Caperton and also that the "Pennsylvania Supreme Court is constituted differently," now than it was then. "There were three new justices elected this last November and took office in January." But what rule should the Court instruct the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to apply? This is likely to divide the Court just as it did in Caperton. But there does seem to be a belief among a majority of Justices that the judicial ethical rules alone are not protecting due process. https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/conlaw/2016/02/supreme-court-hears-oral-arguments-on-pennsylvania-supreme-court-judges-recusal.html Good Morning!!! As much as I'd like to be able to say we are fully funded & set to go financially...I can't quite say that yet.... A Japanese government study reports almost one-third of women say they have been sexually harassed at work. The women said they had suffered from unwanted physical contact, insulting comments and other harassment. It is the first government study of the sexual harassment of Japanese women at work. It was released Tuesday. Researchers said more than 9,600 women employees answered questions by mail or online. They said 18 percent of the women who were asked to take part in the study agreed to do so. 29 percent of those who answered said they suffered sexual harassment at work. 54 percent of that group said their face, body or age was discussed. 40 percent said they suffered unwanted touching. 38 percent were asked sexually related questions. 27 percent were asked to eat a meal together or go on a date. Researchers said they also reported receiving many complaints from pregnant women who said they were bullied into quitting their jobs. In many Japanese companies, women and men are treated differently. Gender roles remain traditional in Japan, observers say. Im Jonathan Evans. Associated Press business writer Yuri Kageyama reported on this story from Tokyo. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for VOA 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 harassment n. the annoying or bothering (of someone) in a constant or repeated way date n. an occasion when two people who have or might have a romantic relationship do an activity together bully v. to cause (someone) to do something by making threats or insults or by using force (usually + into) gender n. the state of being male or female It could become clear this week who the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees will be. Twelve states will hold primary elections or caucuses Tuesday, called Super Tuesday. In most of those states, public opinion studies show Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton have much more support than other candidates. Last week, Trump said people are so tired of these politicians -- all talk, no action. We are going to make America great again. We are going to win, win, win. Republican candidates said they will try to stop or at least slow Trumps campaign. Senator Marco Rubio said Trump will never be the Republican nominee. We are not going to let the conservative movement, and the party of Ronald Reagan and the party of Abraham Lincoln be taken over by a first-rate con artist. Trump answered that Rubio has not won any caucuses or primary elections. He said Rubio is hated in his home state of Florida. Clinton has also criticized Trump. After she defeated Senator Bernie Sanders in the South Carolina primary Saturday by almost 50 points, she said, we do not need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great. But we do need to make America whole again. Instead of building walls, we need to be tearing down barriers. Senator Sanders says his campaign against Hillary Clinton is not over. He said the middle class of this country has been shrinking and almost all new income and wealth has been going to the top one percent. Im Mario Ritter. VOA Washington Correspondent Michael Bowman reported this story from Washington. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the story for VOA 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 movement n. a series of organized activities in which many people work together to do or achieve something con artist n. a person who tricks other people in order to get their money primary n. an election in which members of the same political party run against each other for the chance to be in a larger and more important election caucus n. a meeting of members of a political party for the purpose of choosing candidates for an election If you count the delegates won by Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, the race is close. Clinton, after a big primary win Saturday in South Carolina, had 90 elected delegates, compared to 65 for Sanders, according to RealClearPolitics.com. But when you count other delegates, Clintons lead is much larger 543-85, the political website said. The reason: superdelegates. They are unlike other delegates in that they are not elected in primaries or caucuses, don't represent a particular candidate, can endorse whomever they wish, and are not bound on the first ballot or any subsequent ballot, said Norm Ornstein. He is a government and politics expert at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute. Superdelegates are party leaders who make up 15 percent of the 4,763 Democratic delegates. A majority of the 4,763 delegates is needed to win the Democratic presidential nomination at the partys convention this summer in Philadelphia. Clinton, former U.S. secretary of state, and Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, are the two remaining Democratic presidential candidates. Most delegates to the Democratic and Republican conventions are elected in primaries and caucuses. Superdelegates are not elected. They are governors, mayors, members of Congress and other party leaders who automatically become delegates. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are among the Democratic super delegates. The Republicans have 2,472 delegates to select their presidential nominee. About 7 percent are superdelegates. The Republican National Committee says the party adopted a rule in 2012 that requires its superdelegates to vote based on the choices made by voters in their home states. That means they play much less of a role than Democratic superdelegates. Superdelegates have made a big difference for Clinton. After the first four Democratic contests, in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, Clinton had a 90-65 elected delegate advantage over Sanders. But a large lead in super delegates 453 for Clinton and only 20 for Sanders -- puts her in a big lead for the Democratic presidential nomination. The lead among superdelegates reflects the view of some party leaders that Clinton is more electable than Sanders, Ornstein said. But their support has angered some, especially among young voters, who have packed Sanders rallies, he said. Said Ornstein: They (superdelegates) are controversial now on the Democratic Party side because the overwhelming majority have endorsed Hillary Clinton, while the activist outsiders who support Bernie Sanders see this as a kind of a cabal to block the popular will. Isabel Framer of Ohio, a superdelegate for Clinton, told Reuters she has made some voters angry. On one voice mail left for Framer, a caller says he does not think it is fair: you get to vote whoever way you want. Ill be watching your vote. But she said such criticism has not changed her mind and she still plans to vote for Clinton at the Democratic National Convention. After four Republican primaries and caucuses, Donald Trump, the billionaire businessman, has 82 delegates, according to RealClearPolitics.com. Tied for second place are Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, with 17 delegates each. Brian Brox, a Tulane University political scientist, said from the mid-19th century through the early 1970s, Republican and Democratic officials chose presidential candidates. The switch to voting by rank and file party members came after the 1968 Democratic convention. That was the Chicago convention that drew thousands of protestors opposing the nomination of Hubert Humphrey because he supported the Vietnam War. Today, even though some party officials have voting power at the conventions at which nominations are decided, the vast majority of delegates to those nominating conventions are selected in primaries and caucuses at which registered voters are free to participate, Brox said. In November, Americans will vote for president by choosing between the Republican and Democratic nominees, as well as any independent candidates who run. The winning candidate in each state will get Electoral College delegates, with wins in larger states worth the most. Usually, the candidate who gets the most votes wins, but there are exceptions. In 2000, Democrat Al Gore won more votes than Republican George W. Bush, but Bush won the presidency because he got more Electoral College votes. The Council on Foreign Relations describes the election process for U.S. presidents as one of the most complex, lengthy and expensive in the world. I'm Bruce Alpert. Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or share your views on our Facebook Page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story super adj. special primary n. an election in which members of the same political party run against each other for the chance to be in a larger and more important election caucus n. a meeting of members of a political party for the purpose of choosing candidates for an election endorse v. to publicly or officially say that you support a candidate subsequent -- adj. happening or coming after something else controversial adj. relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement, or argument outsider n. a person who does not belong to or is not accepted as part of a particular group or organization cabal n. a small group of people who work together secretly A ceasefire in Syria is underway, but frail. The calm in Syria was broken Sunday when six villages were hit by air strikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based human rights organization. The identity of the jets was not known. It was unclear if the raids hit areas covered by the truce. Militants from the Islamic State and al-Qaida-linked forces in Syria are not part of the ceasefire. Russia blamed Turkey for nine violations, according to the French news agency AFP. The Syrian state media claimed terrorist groups fired mortars close to the Turkish border. A senior Saudi Arabian official alleged Syrian and Russian forces have committed violations in Syria. The United States and its partners targeted the Islamic State terror group Saturday and Sunday. U.S. President Barack Obama said the Islamic States territory in Syria is shrinking. He said the number of Islamic State fighters in the field is decreasing. The reduced numbers, the president said, are because the jihadists are having problems recruiting to refill the fighting ranks. The temporary truce went into effect Friday. Members of the United Nations Security council endorsed the deal. One United Nations diplomat called the weekend ceasefire reassuring. Im Jonathan Evans. The staff at VOA News wrote this story for VOANews.com. 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 underway adv. happening now frail adj. - easily damaged or destroyed mortar n. a military weapon used to fire shells high into the air at a low speed alleged adj. accused of having done something wrong or illegal but not yet proven guilty air strike n. an attack in which military airplanes drop bombs jets n. a fast airplane that has one or more jet engines recruit v. to find suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization or the armed forces endorse v. to publicly or officially say that you support or approve of something reassuring adj. making someone feel less afraid, upset or doubtful United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas shocked everyone during a court session on Monday. He asked several questions for the first time in 10 years. The Associated Press reported that the sound of Thomas voice drew gasps from some lawyers watching the Monday session. The case was an appeal by two men who say their guilty pleas for hitting their partners should not bar them from owning a gun. With about 10 minutes left in an hour-long hearing, U.S. Justice Department attorney Ilana Eisenstein was about to sit down. She noted there did not seem to be any further questions from the Supreme Court Justices. Ms. Eisenstein, one question, Thomas said. Justice Thomas then asked if a misdemeanor violation of domestic conduct should result in a life-time ban on the right to own a gun. Eisenstein responded that Congress moved in 1996 to ban people who attack their partners from having a gun because they pose a greater risk of killing, by a gun, their family member. But Thomas questioned if that made sense when the conduct at issue in the case before the Supreme Court did not involve a gun. Thomas last asked a question on February 22, 2006, in a death penalty case. In a speech to Harvard University in 2013, Thomas said he does not think asking questions is helpful. I think we should listen to lawyers who are arguing their cases, and I think we should allow the advocates to advocate, he said. Michael Fletcher, who co-wrote a 2008 biography on Thomas, said the recent death of his conservative court ally, Antonin Scalia, might have prompted him to ask questions. Scalia tended to ask more questions than any other justice. The timing of his questions leads one to believe that it has something to do with Justice Scalias death, Fletcher told VOA Learning English. But at the same time it is hard to sustain the idea that he is trying to fill some void. Unlike Scalia, Fletcher said, Thomas does not seem to enjoy confrontations with his ideological opposites. Fletchers book on Thomas was called, Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas. Steve Wermiel, a law professor at American Universitys Washington College of Law, said one reason Thomas may have spoken Monday is because the issue was on gun rights. Thomas, he said, has long been a strong believer in the Second Amendment. The amendment permits Americans to own guns. Second, he often suggested that there was already too much questioning by the Justices and not enough time for the lawyers to make their arguments, Wermiel told Voice of America. With Justice Scalia gone, he may feel that there is more room for questions, but especially about a subject about which he cares deeply. Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or share your views on our Facebook Page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story misdemeanor n. a crime that is less serious than a felony domestic adj. relating to or involving someone's home or family tend v. what often happens sustain v. to provide what is needed for (something or someone) to exist, continue void n. something missing confrontation n. a situation in which people, groups, etc., fight, oppose, or challenge each other in an angry way ideological adj. set of ideas and beliefs of a person or a group discomfort n uncomfortable feeling This is Whats Trending Today Happy Leap Day everyone! That seemed to be on the minds of Twitter, Facebook and Google users everywhere on Monday, February 29. The hashtag #LeapDay was the top trending topic on Twitter Monday morning with almost 150,000 mentions. Google is known for greeting users on its search engine page with something called a Google Doodle. It celebrated Leap Day with an animation of a rabbit leaping between two other sleeping rabbits. One was marked 1, for March 1. The other was marked 28, for February 28. People all over the world clearly enjoyed posting photos to Twitter and Facebook of different things known for their leaping ability. Frogs, squirrels, cats and other animals jumped all day long. But here are some creative leaping things that caught our eye. First, the Juventus soccer team from Italy made a video of their star goalie Gianluigi Buffon leaping to prevent shots from making it into the goal. The American Ballet Theatre posted a photo of a pair of ballerinas in mid-flight. Major League Baseball got in the act with some of the amazing catches its players made last season. Even NASA posted a photo explaining why Leap Year is a necessity. If you did not know, it is because it takes 365.25 days for the earth to circle the sun. So every four years the calendar has an extra day to make up for the difference. But perhaps the most fun Leap Day message came in relation to Leonardo DiCaprios Oscar win on Sunday night. After multiple nominations over the years, DiCaprio won his first Oscar for his role in the movie The Revenant. The Huffington Post said that he had to wait for a Leap Year to win, so he could have an extra day to celebrate. And thats Whats Trending Today. Im Dan Friedell. Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. What did you to do celebrate Leap Day? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story ballerina n. a woman dancer who performs at a ballet amazing adj. causing great surprise or wonder : causing amazement doodle n. a kind of drawing that is made without much thought or preparation animation n. a way of making a movie by using a series of drawings, computer graphics, or photographs of objects (such as puppets or models) that are slightly different from one another and that when viewed quickly one after another create the appearance of movement LEBANON A machine used to make battery separators apparently malfunctioned and ignited plastic materials Monday afternoon at Entek, 250 Hansard Ave., causing heavy smoke and the evacuation of a building at the manufacturing plant. Lebanon Fire Marshal Mark Wilson said that he believed two workers suffered minor smoke inhalation and were taken by private vehicle to Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital for precautionary reasons. The fire was reported to 9-1-1 at 12:47 p.m., and more than 25 firefighters from Albany and Lebanon responded. Wilson said 13 public safety vehicles were on the scene. It looked worse than it was, Wilson added. There was a lot of smoke coming out that was trapped in the building, and their fire suppression methods worked really well. The operator of the machine that caught on fire used a dry chemical suppressant to combat the flames, and automated sprinklers also activated. No loss value was immediately available from the blaze. According to plant officials there, they were very happy the damage was minimal, Wilson said. Wilson said he believed the workers who were taken to the hospital worked in a different division of the structure and didnt get the notice to evacuate. The company noticed the workers were missing during a head count, and they came out of the building at about the same time fire personnel was going to start to search for them, Wilson said I dont know what their procedures are there, but I know they are going to review those to see why that happened, he added. Theater reviews for Massachusetts and Rhode Island by an award winning critic, actor, playwright and director Jodhpur: The prosecution on Tuesday told the Rajasthan High Court bench in Jodhpur that Bollywood actor Salman Khan had the firearms with him during and before the 1998 poaching of chinkaras for which he was sentenced to one-year in jail, citing the statements of other witnesses. The defence counsel had argued in the court that Khan was in possession of just airguns which could not be used for hunting an animal and the fire arms had been brought by an aide of Khan on demand of the forest department. Replying to this argument, the prosecution cited the statement of a police office Satyamani Tiwari, who on complaint of missing revolver by Khan, had searched his hotel room and found the revolver in the room itself besides one rifle and an airgun. "This statement of Tiwari confirms that Khan was in possession of the fire arms which had been used by Khan for poaching and he was lying that he had called these arms only on requisition of the forest department officials," argued Additional Advocate General KL Thakur before Justice Nirmaljit Kaur. The HC is hearing an appeal by Khan against his one-year sentence. For corroborating the statements of Harish Dulani, chief prosecution witness and the driver of Khans vehicle then, the prosecution also cited the statements of some prosecution witnesses as the evidence recovery witnesses and signatory of the memos of these recoveries. "Since there was no material evidence, we are trying to corroborate the allegations on Khan with the help of correlating the statements of the witnesses with a view to proving that there were the arms and there were the blood stains both in the vehicle and the hotel where the animals had been taken for cleaning and cooking," said the government counsel Mahipal Bishnoi. Khan was sentenced to one year imprisonment by the lower court in 2006 for poaching of two chinkaras in village Bhawad on 27-28 September, 1998 during the film shooting of Hum Saath Saath Hain. Khan had appealed in the session court against this judgment, which was later on transferred to the high court. PTI New Delhi: Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia clarified today that "Only interest accrued on 60 per cent contribution to EPF after April 1, 2016 will be taxed; principal amount to remain tax exempt". Also " PPF contributions will continue to be tax exempt; no tax on withdrawal and small salaried employees with up to Rs 15,000/month income will be kept out of purview of proposed taxation of EPF" he said. Yesterday while announcing the Budget, to bring about parity in New Pension Scheme and other retirement schemes, the government decided to impose tax at the time of withdrawal on 60 per cent of the contributions made after 1 April, 2016, to EPF and other schemes. The proposal has come as an unexpected shocker for the salaried class. At present, social security schemes run by retirement fund body EPFO are tax free EEE scheme. That means deposits, accrual of interest and withdrawals are tax free under the scheme. In order to bring greater parity in tax treatment of different types of pension plans, it is proposed that the contributions made on or after April 1, 2016 by an employee participating in a recognised provident fund and superannuation fund, up to 40 per cent of the accumulated balance attributable to such contributions on withdrawal shall be exempt from tax, said Budget Memorandum. It is proposed to provide that any payment in commutation of an annuity purchased out of contributions made on or after April 1, 2016, which exceeds 40 per cent of the annuity, shall be chargeable to tax. Under the existing provisions of section 80CCD, any payment from National Pension System Trust to an employee on account of closure or his opting out of the pension scheme is chargeable to tax. Announcing measures for moving towards a pensioned society, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, "Pension schemes offer financial protection to senior citizens. I believe that the tax treatment should be uniform for defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans." He said, "I propose to make withdrawal up to 40 per cent of the corpus at the time of retirement tax exempt in the case of National Pension Scheme. In case of superannuation funds and recognised provident funds, including EPF, the same norm of 40 per cent of corpus to be tax free will apply in respect of corpus created out of contributions made after April 1, 2016." The minister also said that the annuity fund which goes to the legal heir after the death of pensioner will not be taxable in all three cases. He proposed a monetary limit for contribution of employer in recognised Provident and Superannuation Fund of Rs 1.5 lakh per annum for taking tax benefit. The minister also proposed to exempt from service tax the Annuity services provided by the National Pension System (NPS) and Services provided by EPFO to employees. The government has also proposed that 14 per cent service tax on services provided by Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to employees, being exempted, with effect April, 2016. The budget has also proposed to increase the threshold for deducting tax deducted at source (TDS) on payment of accumulated balance due to an employee in EPF Rs 50,000 from existing Rs 30,000. Last year budget had provided that the members of private provident fund trusts will not have to pay tax on pre-mature withdrawals provided the amount is either less than Rs 30,000 or their tax liability is nil even after including the withdrawn sum to their income. Not surprisingly, the government's decision on EPF met with strong reactions on social media: Why only tax the only social security, paying decent safe returns to fall back on for rainy day for working class? Take the whole away! #EPF AnanD (@aThakkali) March 1, 2016 Trade unions have also reacted strongly yo the proposal. G Sanjeeva Reddy, president, INTUC, also a member of the EPFO's Central Board of Trustees has been quoted as saying in a report in The Indian Express that the proposal will have to be rolled back. "If they dont roll it back, we will hold a nationwide strike, he has threatened. Interestingly, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a BJP arm is not favour too, the IE report said. A report in The Times of India noted that it is the younger tax payers who will be more affected than those who have only a few years to retire. With the concerns over EPF heightening, minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha was forced to tweet that the government will come out with an FAQ: 1/ We have noted concerns about changes in tax treatment for EPF/PPF/NPS. Full clarification with FAQs will be issued shortly. @adhia03 Jayant Sinha (@jayantsinha) February 29, 2016 With inputs from PTI New Delhi: The day after the Budget, when some of the dust is settling down, there is a lot of anger on social media against at least one proposal of the finance minister. Yes, the proposed tax on Employee Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawal. Well, some relief may be on its way. Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said on Tuesday that the Finance Minister has received representations against this new provision in the Budget and he will take a call, adding "obviously there is room for review". Das was speaking at the CNBC-TV18 Mint Budget verdict programme. The event saw MoS Finance Jayant Sinha with the secretaries of Departments of Revenue, Economic Affairs and Disinvestment giving out several headlines during this interaction. Besides raising hopes on resolving the EPF mess, the panel also explained that an RBI circular, which has been issued at 5 pm this evening, has provisions which would allow an additional Rs 25,000 crore infusion into public sector banks' tier I capital. This is over and above the Rs 25,000 recapitalisation proposed in the Budget and means that the amount made available to ailing PSBs is doubled. There were several other clarifications, some harsh explanations about new levies and some light hearted banter from the panel about provisions in the 2016-17 Budget which have worried the aam aadmi, corporate honchos and businesses alike. One basic theme seems to have pushed the finance minister's hand in administering so many bitter pills to Indians this time: the paucity of funds with the Centre, specially after it was forced to give more share of revenue to states. Pushed into a corner, he has resorted to cesses and new levies to raise resources. Here are some important clarifications which came through today: 1) EPF: Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia explained the rationale behind levying this new tax on EPF withdrawals thus: "Instead of people withdrawing complete corpus of their PF savings, we want them to buy annuity products to save. There is no question of taking away their flexibility, we just want to make this move towards a pension society. This is using taxation as an incentive to move towards a pension society. Anyone can withdraw the entire corpus after paying tax, where are we taking away flexibility?" To a question on why should everyone be forced to keep this corpus till retirement, where again the age has been advanced to 58 years, Adhia merely said 55 years was no age to retire from work. As of now, only 40 percent of the total corpus withdrawn at the time of retirement will be tax exempt. Das said over the years, this facility (no tax on EPF withdrawal ) was being used by people earning over Rs 15,000 a month. 2) Bank recpitalisation: The finance minister provided only Rs 25,000 crore for this in 2016-17 Budget when the market and industry experts had expected much more. But MoS Sinha said RBI has now allowed several provisions to banks and this single decision will infuse another Rs 25,000 crore into PSBs' tier I capital next fiscal. He also said the government is committed to infusing more cash in banks if needed, outside of the Rs 25,000 crore committed in the Budget. The MoS also said that the idea of setting up a 'Bad Bank' had been junked after extensive consultations with IMF officials and other experts. Instead the Bank Board Bureau which is being set up will help in PSB consolidation. He also said various options are available when asked about FM's reference to bringing down some of the government's equity in the RBI to recapitalise PSBs. Sinha admitted that the plan to infuse a total of Rs 70,000 crore equity into PSBs while letting them raise another Rs 1.1 lakh crore from the market may not be all that sound, specially the latter bit. 3) Retro tax: The indomitable Rahul Bajaj wanted to know why the government was forcing Vodafone to pay the principal amount in the retro tax dispute (it has said interest and penalty will be waived) when the company had won a reprieve from the courts. Adhia acknowledged this but pointed out that though the NDA government has merely re-stated its position in the Budget on not having any retro taxes in the future, Vodafone would do well to avail of this window and clear out its dues. 4) Cesses: When being rebuked for imposing new cesses in the Budget, Adhia admitted that the Centre "is left with very little funds" after the Finance Commission mandated increased devolution to states. He said the new cess levies are a short term measure to raise funds to invest in necessities like education, infrastructure etc. They will anyway be subsumed into the Goods and Services Tax (GST) once it becomes applicable. 5) On GST, the unanimous view was that even if the Constitutional Amendment for bringing in GST gets the Parliament nod in the Budget session (which in itself is an optimistic view), GST should only be implemented from 1 April 2017. The panel said it takes 5-6 months after Parliament approval for the tax reform to become functional. 6) ATF: SpiceJet's Ajay Singh wanted to know why has the government raised excise duty on jet fuel to 14 percent from 8 percent, when already India taxes ATF the highest in the world. Specially when the stated objective of the Civil Aviation Policy has been to encourage flying and make it affordable. Adhia explained this away by comparing taxes on petrol, diesel with those on ATF. He said diesel costs Rs 45 a litre in Delhi of which Rs 20 is taxation so he did not see a reason to not tax ATF higher. But he clarified that ATF excise will stay at 8 percent for airports which are under the Regional Connectivity Plan of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. 7) Disinvestment: Niti Aayog will be coming out with a list of Central PSUs in which strategic sale of government's equity can be done within a fortnight. And norms for this strategic sale will be out within a month. The government has set itself a disinvestment target of Rs 56,000 crore for next fiscal of which Rs 25,000 crore are to raised via strategic sale in CPSEs. 8) Spectrum: The government has set a target of raising Rs 98,000 crore through spectrum proceeds, which many have found to be a stretched target. Das explained that of this, Rs 20,000 crore will come from license fees (which is a recurring payment by telcos). Another Rs 15-20,000 is expected from payments by telcos for spectrum arrears. Which leaves Rs 55,000 crore from a fresh sale of spectrum next fiscal - this seems achievable since the TRAI has estimated earnings of Rs 5 lakh crore from the fresh sale of spectrum of which 25% should accrue to the government in the first year, 2016-17. New Delhi: Terror outfit Al-Qaeda on Tuesday allegedly hacked a microsite of the Railnet page of the Indian Railway to show its sinister reach for the first time. It later left the page. The hacked page of Bhusawal division of Personnel Department of the Central Railway and part of a large intranet created for the department's administrative needs, was replaced by a message of Maulana Aasim Umar, Al-Qaeda chief in south Asia, for all Indian Muslims. "Why is there no storm in your ocean? A message for Muslims of India from Maulana Aasim Umar (May Allah protect him)," read the message. An attached 11-page document on the hacked page read: "Will the land of Delhi not give birth to a Shah Muhadith Delhvi who may once again teach the Muslims of India the forgotten lesson of Jihad and inspire them to take to the battlefields of Jihad?" "Is there no successor left of the group that drenched itself in blood at Balakot, who possesses the spirit of rising in rebellion against a system based on disbelief and offering one's life for Allah?," the message said. Through the message, Muslims in India were encouraged to participate in 'jihad' and help defeat the United State and its allies. Umar was a resident of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh and was appointed chief of the Al-Qaeda in the Indian sub-continent (AQIS) last year. Umar, also known as Sanaul Haq, allegedly joined the jihadist circle after the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992. Educated at the famous Dar-ul-Uloom seminary at Deoband, from where he graduated in 1991, Umar, investigators say, disappeared from Sambhal in 1995. IANS The budget shows Narendra Modi's government is UPA plus Kanhaiya Kumar. With its mid-term course correction and pro-farmer tilt, the Modi government has indicated it will now aggressively pursue the rural voter by spending more on social security schemes and farmers and taxing the urban voter. In principle, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's economics is smart politics. Like Marie Antoinette who wanted people to eat cakes, the BJP is convinced that urban voters and the middle class will be content with slogans, news hour debates and nationalism certificates. So, it is shifting the focus to India's villages, where the noise from TV debates may not be enough to win elections. The rural economy is in a mess. Figures from the latest economic survey show that the average annual income of the median farmer net of production costs is less than Rs 20,000 in 17 states. This means, they live on just Rs 1,500 per month. As per the survey, only 34 percent of the total cropped area in India is irrigated, implying dependence on the Monsoon and financial distress when rains fail. So, the government now wants to spend aggressively on irrigation schemes and crop insurance to shield farmers from the vagaries of weather. Since the promised investment will take years to show results, the government has fallen back on MNREGA, allocating Rs 38,000 crore to the scheme, after ridiculing it as a symbol of the UPA's failure. The Prime Minister is hoping that income of the farmers will double in five years because of his government's rural tilt. Even if it goes up from Rs 20,000 per annum for farmers in 17 states to Rs 40,000 in five years, it would not have a significant impact on their lives. Yet, any beginning is laudable. Writing for thewire.in, former media advisor to Manmohan Singh argues, whatever the views of the governments critics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen to tread the middle path like any Congress-led or Third Front government would. It should now be clear that on economic policy and foreign policy there is no major difference between Modi and his predecessors. At the end of the day, the difference between the BJP and its critics is essentially on social and cultural issues. So, Rahul Gandhi should be happy that 'suit-boot ki sarkar' is trying to become a dhoti-chappal ki sarkar. The middle class, obviously, will have to suffer the consequences of the government's policy of robbing Peter to pay Paul. For spending money on its rural schemes, the government has to perforce pick the pocket of the middle class. So, the crorepatis will have to pay additional 3 percent surcharge on tax and for everyone else there is a 0.5 percent cess on service tax for Krishi Kalyan. Jaitley's refusal to change the tax slabs is a painful reminder of his advocacy of exempting income up to Rs 5 lakh. Many in the middle class had also been swayed by Baba Ramdev's trial balloon of scrapping Income Tax and replacing it with a banking transaction tax. Instead of asking for rebates, the middle class will be happy if the government roll backs the tax it has introduced on PF withdrawals. The middle class has every reason to ask the government what it is getting in return for paying Income Tax, service tax, tolls, excise duties, VAT and the surcharges and cesses that are added to the list every election. A back of the hand calculation would reveal that people who are in the 30 percent tax bracket, end up paying more than 50 percent of their income to the government as taxes. So, every tax payer has the right to ask how would the government help him if tomorrow they a) lose their job, b) fall sick or c) need social security. Finding innovative ways to squeeze more money out of the middle class instead of thinking of taxing rich farmers is a ploy no government has been able to resist. Modi's isn't the first. But, as long as people are busy debating food habits, sedition laws and the national flag, every government can keep taking the support of this section for granted. Who wants more money in hand when the government is giving us Kanhaiya? In a startling revelation, RVS Mani, former under secretary in the home ministry on Tuesday told Times Now that he was coerced to file the second affidavit in the Ishrat Jahan case. The second affidavit is the one in which the references to the alleged links of Ishrat Jahan, Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) were removed. When he was asked whether he filed the second affidavit, Mani told Times Now, "No...I was given an order to file it. That was the order of the government. So, I went and signed it." Mani also hinted that the second affidavit had actually been filed on the directions of then home minister P Chidambaram. "It was not drafted at my level," he said. "If the home secretary did not file the affidavit, it is clear who filed it. The home secretary is the senior-most bureaucrat in the MHA. The conclusion is easily drawn," he added. On being asked whether it was correct to believe that there political interference in the Ishrat Jahan case, Mani said it was "perfectly okay" to believe that. An even more disturbing claim which Mani made was that he was tortured by Satish Verma, the Indian Police Service officer who served as lead investigator in the Ishrat Jahan case. "What Satish Verma did to me was unprecedented...On 21 June 2013, Satish Verma burnt me with cigarettes," he told Times Now. "He was not collecting evidence, but engineering evidence," he further said. "I was chased by so many officers and people," he added. "At one point of time, I thought I won't be able to continue (as Under Secretary). Baseless cases were opened against me," he said. He also alleged that a lady officer of the CBI had chased him once. This is not the first time Mani has spoken out against Satish Verma. In 2013, he had alleged that Verma sought to coerce him into signing a statement unsupported by evidence, according to this Firstpost report. Mani's shocking claims come just a few days after former home secretary GK Pillai on Thursday had revealed that someone at the political level did not want the real picture to come out in the Ishrat Jahan case. Pillai had mentioned that two affidavits submitted by the home ministry in relation to the case were contradictory to each other. The former home secretary had said there was no doubt that those killed in the alleged fake encounter in Gujarat had links with Lashkar-e-Taiba. "They were LeT activists. She (Ishrat) knew that something was wrong. Otherwise an unmarried young Muslim woman would not have gone with some other men," he had said. Ishrat Jahan was one among four people killed in an alleged fake encounter case in 2004. Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai besides two Pakistani nationals Amjad Ali and Jishan Johar Abdul Ghani, all alleged LeT terrorists, were also killed in the encounter. The case had been a major point of controversy. With inputs from PTI Even as sedition charges fly thick and fast in the national capital, the Delhi police found itself under scrutiny from the Delhi High Court, which questioned whether the charge could be made against the president of the JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar. The Delhi HC has questioned why the case against him was not lodged on 9 February, when the protest had taken place. "The presence at the spot is different from participation in the anti-national slogans," Justice Rani said and wanted to know "Whether he played any active role in raising anti-India slogans." "Whether the mobile recording, done at your (police's) instance, showed that Kanhaiya had raised any such slogans," the bench asked the police during the hearing of his bail plea which was witnessed by his father, uncle and an elder brother and the cops assuring that the arrested students leader would "not be victimised" if it was found that he has no role. The Delhi High Court's questioning indicates that despite the nationalist rhetoric and strongly-worded condemnations of the alleged protests by JNU students, securing a conviction may not be an easy task for the police. On the whole, prosecuting authorities have found it difficult to convince courts of people's involvement in cases of sedition. During the year 2014, only one person was convicted of sedition in India, while three were acquitted. As many as 411 people were undergoing trial for sedition during the year, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). In a hearing in September last year, the Bombay High Court, too, had made a clear distinction between criticism of the government and 'anti-national' activities, while staying a police circular which was interpreted to have a vague definition of sedition. "This (the circular) implies that everybody in the opposition can be put behind bars," the court had remarked, as per a report in The Times of India. In its questioning of the police's stand, the Delhi HC, too, appears to be making a distinction between mere presence at an event and active participation in 'seditious' activities. During the hearing of the JNUSU president's case, Justice Rani, who reserved the verdict on Kanhaiya's bail plea for 2 March, sought clarification from investigators as to how the accused was leading the group shouting slogans when other political group of the students were also present. "As per you (Delhi police) there were two (ABVP and AISF) groups. Explain how petitioner (Kanhaiya) was leading the group and shouted anti-India slogans," the judge asked and added "do the police have video evidence that Kanhaiya was raising anti-national slogans?" Delhi Police, represented through Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta, told the bench that they do not have any video in this regard but there was evidence that the JNUSU President was raising slogans and "the speech (by him) was more than political." The ASG also said Kanhaiya denied his role even during his joint interrogation by the IB and Delhi Police. "During the joint interrogation carried by the IB and the Delhi Police it has been found that he has raised anti-India slogans. He is not cooperating in the investigations and giving contradictory statements. He is also denying his role," Mehta said. He said "there were statements of witnesses including security incharge of campus, a student who is not associated with any of the groups and others, and they have identified Kanhaiya and others raising anti-India slogans along with Afzal Guru's poster in their hand. He submitted the joint interrogation by the IB and Delhi police establishes Kanhaiya's presence during the incident. At this moment, the court asked several questions to the ASG as the submissions were not backed by video evidence. The bench also asked why police officials who were present in plain clothes there did not take any action when the ASG himself had argued that such statements by the accused did not "sound good in taste". "When your (Delhi) men were present on the spot there in the campus in civil dress why didn't they take cognizance when anti-India slogans were raised? Why they did not video record it? Why you waited for a TV news channel video?" it asked. The bench asked if there was an independent video of the incident, why the same was not sent for forensic test. The row over the protests at JNU has also seen a political fallout, with the BJP-led central government and the AAP government in Delhi taking contrary position. Even as several senior BJP leaders, including home minister Rajnath Singh, called for taking action against those making 'anti-national' statements, the AAP government has claimed that the JNUSU president is innocent. "There is no clear CCTV footage. He is innocent. He is a man who stands by the Constitution. He is a student leader and so he was present there during the event," the AAP government counsel said. With inputs from PTI New York: Students from two eminent universities in New York demonstrated in support of students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, following the arrest of its student leader on charges of sedition, asserting that voicing dissent is a right and not a crime in a thriving democracy. The students of New York University and Cooper Union conducted a sit-in on 27 February in solidarity with JNU students. "In a thriving democracy, voicing dissent is a right and not a crime," the universities said in a message on their Facebook page of the event 'Stand with JNU'. JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested last month by Delhi police on charges of sedition after "anti-India" slogans were allegedly raised at the university during a protest meeting in memory of Afzal Guru, hanged in 2013 after his conviction in the Parliament attack case. A report in Washington Square News, NYU's independent student newspapers, quoted student Anjana Sreedhar as saying that one of the primary purposes of the event was to raise awareness about Kumar's arrest, especially among local students of South Asian descent. "We are protesting against the fact that he was arrested under the sedition law which is very very antiquated and very outdated," Sreedhar said. Anthropology professor Tejaswini Ganti said in the report that even if one disagrees with certain views of the government, the "reaction" is not to clampdown and arrest or resort to violence, which is what has been happening in India, but to actually be able to have an open exchange of ideas. In a separate message posted online, community, student and legal activists in the US said they join to send strong messages of solidarity to all students, workers, communities and human rights defenders throughout India struggling against an "increasingly repressive right-wing nationalist and neoliberal regime." "We salute Rohith Vemula, the Dalit scholar and poetic writer whose brave act ignited new and important waves of protest throughout India. We stand in solidarity with student leader Kanhaiya Kumar... We applaud every student, lawyer and journalist who have supported Kanhaiya in the face of attacks," the online post, endorsed by several organisations said. PTI Mumbai: Shiv Sena on Tuesday said it has sacked an office-bearer of its youth wing who allegedly assaulted a shop assistant for refusing to provide free vada pavs. "That person was sacked yesterday itself," a source close to Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray told PTI. The incident took place in suburban Vile Parle (West) on Saturday. The accused, Sunil Mahadik, allegedly hit Chetan Geveriya (28), who works at Trupti Sweet and Farsan Mart on DJ Road, with a bamboo stick, police had said on Monday/ Mahadik had sent a person to the shop demanding 100 vada pavs, a popular street-food here, free of cost. Chetan told him that they didn't have so much stock, so the person left. Irked, Mahadik then went to the shop and hit Geveria with a bamboo stick and threatened to kill him, they had said. The incident was captured by the CCTV cameras in the shop and later an FIR was registered with Juhu police. The footage was also aired by some local news channels. The incident comes in the wake of another in neighbouring Thane where a Shiv Sena worker was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman traffic constable three days ago. CCTV footage of the incident had gone viral. Meanwhile, Swabhiman Sanghatana leader Nitesh Rane said his organisation on Tuesday held a "free vada pav" distribution event to protest the assault on the shopkeeper. "These people (Yuva Sena) are strong proponents of night life in Mumbai. This assault shows what will happen if what they call 'night life' is allowed," Nitesh, an MLA, said. PTI This is a lighthearted attempt at a rebuttal to Ramachandra Guhas piece. Like most of you, my news feed was also flooded with links to Ramachandra Guha's essay contesting the notion of today's situation being Emergency or Nazi Germany-like. Intervening as the historian in this debate (in opposition to Sitaram Yechury and Supreme Court advocate Kamini Jaiswal), he argued that a comparison to other authoritarian moments distracts us from the 'real problems'. Some of us also noticed the unnatural turn of condemning the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty for perhaps the first time. His main argument rests on the fact that during the Emergency, the Congress was in power in most states, while the Modi government right now, isn't. The narrative, we see, at times borders on soft-legitimisation. Even more importantly, the essay came out on the same day that the government booked Rahul Gandhi, Yechury and Arvind Kejriwal among others for sedition, if irony itself were not seditious. For the case of Nazi Germany, he asserts that the Nazis sought extermination of minorities including homosexuals and gypsies, while the Sangh to the best of my knowledge, does not. In addition, he argues that the Nazis were territorially expansionist while the Sangh has no such plans. By highlighting the differences between the two, there is a covert dismissal of the actual use of state power in recent times in ways that many argue border on overreach. The point is whether there is a use of authoritarian power and how much not whether two moments in history were identical twins. What is at stake is more than mere academic exercise. There are a few things that many of us history students at JNU found or learned, through our research or our teachers, that he very conveniently ignores, to consequentially acquit the Modi government of the charge of authoritarianism: 1. The Congress mainly used goons and the police during the Emergency. The current administration uses both, in addition to the largest private army in the country the Sangh itself and in addition to manufacturing the angry mob rule and public hostility towards targets of the state, with nearly the entire mainstream media on its side. This is far more than just the arms of the state. It took the media three entire days to look at the constitution and see whether accusations of sedition in JNU were valid or not and to telecast those doubts. 2. The Congress government during the Emergency was controlled by the Parliamentary head of a parliamentary party. The current government is controlled by a fascist organisation that is not only conservative but also militantly anti-democracy, beyond the pale of public accountability. Like in Germany, where the Sturmabteilung (SA) was larger than the army, you know there is a problem. 3. Nationalism was not used as a fascistic stick to beat liberalism out of the country as it is now. In fact, Jayaprakash Narayan before and during the Emergency quite successfully appropriated patriotism and used it against the state, a model that the Anna Hazare movement also attempted by heavily featuring the Indian flag. If tomorrow the kanwarias choose to take up the Indian flag, would it make them more patriotic than devout? 4. The ultimate goal of exertion of authoritarian power during the Emergency was, fortunately, not the creation of a Hindu Rashtra, as has been the goal of saffron forces for decades now. 5. The utilisation of the troop-traitor binary, where the so-called anti-national forces dont care for the armed forces protecting our nation, was used in 1962 against the Left (during the China war). It has been put to play to scapegoat Muslims all over the country, as well as tribals. The tendency to talk from the officer's armchair to justify the pathetic conditions of jawans and blame it on "anti-nationals" is rapidly devouring all other discourses, in a way it did not during the Emergency. 6. To deal with the comparison with Nazi Germany, students would like to inform Mr Guha that a cursory look at Organiser or Panchajanya issues of 1947-50 would yield evidence contrary to his claims. There were claims to a greater Hindusthan involving Indonesia, Malaysia and Indo-China or to reconquerPakisthan, not to mention Sardar Patels own dreams of India acquiring more territory than it inherited, in South Asia (Ceylon, Bhutan, etc). Fascist nations usually turn imperialistic after their homogenisation drive is complete, not before unless colonies are involved (WWI). Debates over imperialism distract from the discussion over the use of domestic authority. And to say that minorities, including Christians, LGBT, Muslims, tribals (perhaps Indias equivalent of Guhas German gypsies) have not been repeatedly scapegoated, often with violent consequences, by the BJP is to dismiss the potential of exclusionary nationalism. 7. The regimes in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy had intellectual classes backing it, often covertly within the bureaucratic state machinery even before the fascist advent. With the BJP lacking even a substantial support among intellectuals, we are witnessing the cooptation and the replacement of institutional authority in universities and social science groups all over the country and the import of individuals from the Sanghs parallel schooling system of the shakhas and the shishumandirs. 8. The very fact that Ramachandra Guha is trying to intervene in the debate, also implies that this time there is a full-scale attack on secularism, liberal values and diversity by a socio-political moral police. Fortunately, the mantle of liberalism has already passed onto the hands of those defending the battleground of civil liberties and political dissent JNU. For it is no longer those such as Amartya Sen, Aamir Khan, Raghuram Rajan and Guha, centrists who make the occasional statements about intolerance, who are the mainstream faces of (often Nehruvian) liberalism it is the politicised, educated youth of this country in some of the finest universities and colleges FTII, TISS, Ambedkar University, HCU, Jamia Millia Islamia, JNU, Jadavpur University and Presidency real, tangible individuals who have the most urgent stake in the future of this country: namely the large remainder of their lives and aspirations. Todays situation is a threat to liberalism and democracy because ideological and electoral support for the BJP/RSS is based on the social conservatism of millions of family members. As long as social conservatism and authoritarianism exist in the Indian family (where in caste, gender or economic matters), and as long as undemocratic structures are sustained in the Indian workplace in the form of exploitation and informalisation, there will always be a base for conservative and often communal regimes that exercise authority under the garb of Hindu nationalism. This social base will hang like an albatross around our neck a stagnant mass movement, ready to be awakened at a crisis notice. Social liberalism must penetrate to the bottom of the pyramid of society the family, for there to be an end to the threat of obscurantist rule. Nationalism emboldens those in power to reach for the sky, being an enabler towards authority far worse. The years between the two World Wars in Europe most clearly demonstrate that. How in the world can an academic dismiss a comparison of the two in such a way? More importantly, why is RamachandraGuha turning into ChetanBhagat?! Mr Guha says worry about the environment and public education instead. In addition, some of us wonder why JNU was attacked in the first place if not for objective and quite democratic critiques of the Modi government. We must not wait for the endgame, to first declare it. Someone, anyone, help! Saib Bilaval is a research scholar in Modern and Contemporary History at Centre For Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Tuesday decided to table the 'Prohibition of Social boycott bill' in the ensuing budget session of state Legislature, beginning on March 9. "The bill aims to root out evil, outdated and unconstitutional practices of Caste Panchayats, Gavki, Community Panchayats, etc," Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said after the Cabinet meeting here. "Strict punishment provisions have been made in this bill to end this harassment and gives the right to live life with dignity," the CM tweeted. The development assumes significance as the practice of social boycott of a person or group of persons, and their family members, still continues in various parts of the state and the existing laws have not proved effective in tackling the issue. Social boycott is practiced at the behest of a 'Caste Panchayat' at the community level that regulates its various practices, personal or social behaviour of the members and resolves disputes by issuing written or oral dictums, an official said. As per the draft bill, "Community" means a group, the members of which are connected together by reason or the fact that by birth, conversion or the performance of any religious rites or ceremonies, they belong to the same religion or religious creed, and includes a caste or sub-caste, he said. The Cabinet also approved transferring of 143 acre of land for IIM in Nagpur at a concessional rent. It also approved transferring of 150 acre of land for AIIMS in Nagpur at concessional rent. PTI New Delhi: AIADMK members on Tuesday created a ruckus in the Rajya Sabha demanding action against former finance minister P. Chidambaram's son Karthi Chidambaram. AIADMK members trooped near the chairman's podium soon after the house met at 11 a.m., raising slogans and demanding action. The members were shouting slogans in Tamil and English saying -- "Take action against Chidambaram". Amid the ruckus Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien adjourned the house for 10 minutes. When the house reassembled, Kurien announced that a notice by AIADMK has been rejected as it was not in order. While the AIADMK members kept raising slogans, a few zero hour mentions were read out by members. Kurien also told the protesting members that it was not in his hands to take action. "This is an issue the chair has nothing to do with. If you want action against a private individual you can approach the government. Why do you trouble me?" Kurien said. However, as the din continued, the house was adjourned till 12 noon. IANS By Shreerupa Mitra-Jha Around 500 of the worlds leading human rights experts, authors, academics, including Nobel Prize winners, have called on the governments of Sweden and the UK to ensure the right of freedom of movement of Julian Assange and warned that the two governments are setting a dangerous precedent by undermining the UN Human Rights system. The governments of Sweden and the UK are setting a dangerous precedent that undermines the UN Human Rights system as a whole, a statement said. We therefore call on the governments of Sweden and the UK to comply without further delay with the [UN] Working Groups findings and 'ensure the right of free movement of Mr. Assange and accord him an enforceable right to compensation, in accordance with article 9(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,' the statement added. The statement was circulated as the UN Human Rights Council is commemorating today the 50th anniversary of the International Human Rights Covenants, that includes the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The signatories include names like Nobel prize laureate Adolfo Perez-Esquivel, artist Ai Weiwei, author Arundhati Roy, actor John Cusack, Nobel prize laureate Mairead Maguire, Nobel prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, Pulitzer Prize winner Laura Poitras, artist of Pussy Riot Nadya Tolokonnikova, academic Noam Chomsky, academic Saskia Sassen, academic Slavoj Zizek, writer Tariq Ali, academic Mahmoud Mamdani, Nobel prize laureate Tawakkol Karman, senior advocate and former UN special rapporteur Anand Grover and former Greek finance minster Yanis Varoufakis. Also, included among the signatories are Axel Kicillof, former Argentinian finance minister, Brita Sundberg-Weitman, former chief judge of Sweden, Daniel Ellsberg, former US military analyst and source of Pentagon Papers, Human Rights Law Network, Indian organization, Hedvig Ekerwald, professor at Uppsala University, Craig Murray, former UK ambassador, apart from many former UN special rapporteurs like, Maina Kiai, Tomas, Ojea, Quintana, Osman El-Hajje and Mads Adenas who is a former special rapporteur on arbitrary detention. A UN panel on 5 February ruled that WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has been arbitrarily detained at the Ecuador Embassy in London and urged the governments of UK and Sweden to ensure his freedom of movement. The panel also ruled that Assange should be accorded an enforceable right to compensation. The UK vehemently rejected the ruling that the 44-year-old Australian has been arbitrarily detained and said the UN opinion changes nothing. The UK maintains that Assange will be arrested by the Metropolitan Police if he leaves the premises of the Ecuadorean embassy. Assange is wanted in Sweden for questioning over rape and sexual assault allegations, which he has denied. Britains defiance of the opinion of the UN investigation into the Julian Assange case sets a dangerous precedent for upholding international law, Prof Mads Adenas, former chair of the WGAD on arbitrary detention had said. In an interview with The Guardian, Adenas, said, The UK may lobby for some support when the matter is reported to the UN Human Rights Council, but the UK will certainly be criticised by other states for its response, and clearly deserve that. The damage done to the UK in the UN and its moral authority in human rights issues is another matter, but there is no doubt about the damage done to the authority of the UK. BAGHDAD Islamic State's deadliest attacks for months in and around Baghdad could be a sign that Iraqi forces are stretched thin after recent advances to reclaim territory from the group, according to some military commanders and a provincial official. Iraqi forces backed by air strikes from a U.S.-led coalition retook the northern city of Baiji in October and then Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, at the end of last year. But the government's determination to move on the militant stronghold of Mosul in the far north this year has prevented the military from consolidating gains on the northern and eastern outskirts of Ramadi, said the commanders. They said this has allowed Islamic State fighters to regroup and continue sending weapons from deep inside the "caliphate" to Falluja and Garma - areas just west of Baghdad where security officials said Sunday's attacks were launched from. A twin suicide bombing in the Sadr City district of Baghdad killed 78 people. Islamic State also said it was behind an assault on police and army positions in the western outskirts of Abu Ghraib, which killed 24 security forces and gave the insurgents control of the country's largest grain silo for most of the day. Iraqi officials and a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said the Baghdad attacks were aimed primarily at boosting the militants' morale after losing ground in Ramadi two months ago. But the attacks have raised questions about security in the capital, home to four million people, and the government's ability to move on Mosul this year without letting other reclaimed areas fall back under the group's control. The closest Islamic State position to Baghdad - which has never been under the group's control - is Falluja, 50 km to the west, which Iraqi forces have been encircling for months. Sunday's attackers were able to breach the military's defences there and in the adjacent area of Garma, officials said. Two Iraqi army officers stationed near Ramadi told Reuters that a shortage of troops had slowed the military's advance to a crawl in the city's northern and eastern outskirts. Most of the elite counter-terrorism forces that spearheaded the city's capture have been redeployed elsewhere and replaced by less effective army and police units. "After the seizure of Ramadi, military operations have abated. That was a tactical mistake as Daesh fighters were given the chance to take a breath and regroup," said a colonel from the ninth division, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. "We need more reinforcements to fill the gap left by the counter-terrorism forces if we want to keep the momentum high." The colonel also criticised the government's decision to mobilise hundreds of troops this month to Makhmour, a base south of Mosul. "Every single soldier is needed to drive the remaining pockets of Daesh from rural areas around Ramadi," he said by phone. "This is what I call blundering army tactics." Fadhil Abu Ragheef, a Baghdad-based security analyst, said a nine-month offensive in Garma by Iraqi forces "had not achieved any victory worth mentioning", leaving Islamic State militants there the space to launch the Abu Ghraib attack. PROTECTING BAGHDAD Iraqi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Rasool said Iraq had sufficient forces for operations on multiple fronts. "We won't neglect anything," he told Reuters. "Everything is planned. There is the joint operations command and a planning committee that includes highly competent senior officers and we are working on the plans." Yet according to Falih al-Essawi, deputy head of the provincial council of Anbar where Ramadi and Falluja are located, the Abu Ghraib attack should be a "red flag" to the government to review security in the capital. "When Daesh fighters control an area that is a 15-minute drive from Baghdad, that means there are serious security flaws that need to be addressed," he said. Islamic State threatened to overrun Baghdad 20 months ago during its advance through northern and western areas after crossing the Syrian border but the capital has since seen relative calm. The authorities said this month they were reorganising checkpoints and closing gaps in the perimeter around Baghdad in a bid to prevent further militant attacks. In the Abu Ghraib attack, the militants infiltrated the city from Garma and Falluja using all-terrain vehicles so they could use dirt roads to evade detection by Iraqi forces, security officials said. Security forces mostly regained control of Abu Ghraib by Sunday evening, including a grain silo and a cemetery where Islamic State had dug in for hours. Essawi and a trade ministry official suggested the attack was partly motivated by Islamic State's desire to seize wheat stored in the silo to feed residents in the encircled areas of Falluja and Garma, but said the militants had not managed to take the supplies before fleeing. SLEEPER CELLS Army Lieutenant Colonel Fadhil al-Mohammadawi said the military was still pursuing militants on Monday in rural areas of Abu Ghraib and checking for sleeper cells suspected of participating in the attacks. Two witnesses said on Monday that Islamic State paraded the bodies of 12 Iraqi soldiers through the streets of Garma in the back of a pickup truck. Images distributed online by Islamic State supporters showed several bodies clad in military uniforms in the back of a muddy white pickup truck, along with Humvees and army trucks allegedly seized in Sunday's attacks. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the photos or the witness accounts. Coalition spokesman U.S. Army Colonel Christopher Garver said local commanders were right to be concerned about holding territory recently recovered from Islamic State but added that planning already takes such concerns into consideration. The coalition has so far trained about 2,000 Anbar police to be the main holding force in Ramadi, he added. Graver said the formation that attacked Abu Ghraib was not "particularly large" and showed that the coalition and the Iraqis were succeeding in preventing Islamic State from conducting major resupply and manoeuvring. "You'll never be able to get the noose so tight that a well-trained person can't move in and out of the area," he said, but the Iraqi military "now stands its ground and even if they were to tactically fall back as we've seen a couple times, they retake the ground". Graver said it was up to the Iraqi government to decide how best to mobilise its limited resources to advance towards Mosul. "You don't want to just pick up and move everything because you don't want to give back the ground that you just took, and so far we haven't seen that." (Additional reporting by Kareem Raheem and Stephen Kalin; Writing by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Pravin Char) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Calais: Clashes broke out between French riot police and migrants on Monday as authorities began destroying makeshift shelters in the grim shantytown on the edge of Calais known as the "Jungle". Police lobbed tear gas cannisters at migrants who protested as around 20 workers moved in to start pulling down the shacks by hand, initially under blue skies as an icy wind blew. As night fell some 150 migrants threw rocks and struck vehicles heading for England on a port road which runs next to the sprawling camp, staying there for an hour or so, some wielding iron bars, an AFP reporter said. Police responded with tear gas. Several trucks and cars were blocked by migrants on the stretch of road overlooking a piece of ground which had previously been part of the Jungle. Earlier, migrants and members of the British "No Borders" activist group, who launched projectiles at the police, set fire to about 20 shelters at the camp, as running clashes continued through the afternoon. By 1845 GMT police had back control of the port road, which remained strewn with debris. Three members of No Borders and one migrant were arrested, according to local government officials. 'Infinitely sad' The demolition of the southern half of the camp began after a court petition by charities to stop it was rejected last week. "It's infinitely sad to see the waste of so much work that we've done in the past months," said Maya Konforti of the Auberge des Migrants (Migrants' Hostel) charity. Volunteers and aid workers have spent months trying to improve conditions in the camp, built on a former toxic waste dump on the outskirts of Calais. Local authorities, who have promised that no one will be evacuated by force, say 3,700 people live in the camp, and that between 800 and 1,000 will be affected by the eviction. But charities say a recent census they conducted counted at least 3,450 people in the southern part alone, including 300 unaccompanied children. The evicted migrants have been offered heated accommodation in refitted containers set up next door to the camp, but many are reluctant to move there because they lack communal spaces and movement is restricted. They have also been offered places in some 100 reception centres dotted around France. But the migrants do not want to give up their hopes of Britain, which they try to reach daily by sneaking aboard lorries and ferries crossing the Channel. "These people want to reach Britain and won't leave. They will end up in even more hardship, particularly in winter," Konforti said. Under pressure The demolition of the Jungle comes ahead of talks on Thursday between French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron. Britain has put substantial pressure on France to stem the flow of migrants getting across the Channel, and has funded a huge increase in security measures around the port and tunnel in Calais. The Jungle has played into fraught discussions about Britain's possible exit from the European Union (EU). Some opponents of "Brexit" say that if Britain were to leave the EU, the British government would lose the ability to call on France to stop the refugees from trying to make their way across the Channel. "We are carrying out our orders so that the migrants leave the camp and we will continue this work this morning... so that the destruction work can continue calmly and that the migrants are not under pressure from the No Borders activists," said local authority head Fabienne Buccio on Monday. The migrants in Calais make up a tiny fraction of those fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. They try to climb on to lorries boarding ferries for Britain, which they are drawn to by family or community ties, because of a shared language, or because they think they have a greater chance of finding work there. AFP Islamabad: Pakistan on Sunday executed former police commando Mumtaz Qadri, who brutally assassinated former liberal Punjab governor Salman Taseer for seeking reforms in the country's controversial blasphemy laws, triggering nation-wide protests by Islamists who called it a "black day". Qadri, who shot Taseer 28 times in 2011 in broad daylight in an upmarket locality of Islamabad for criticising the blasphemy laws, was hanged in Adialia jail of Rawalpindi city at around 4:30 am, officials said. Within hours of the hanging, street protests broke out in several cities by the supporters of Qadri, who considered him as a hero for defending the faith, and had threatened violence if he was executed. Rangers and riot police were deployed outside Qadri's home in Rawalpindi where hundreds of supporters had gathered and also in nearby Islamabad. Activists of Sunni groups, who had given a hero-like status to Qadri, blocked main intersections in Rawalpindi, cutting off the main link with capital Islamabad. Police and paramilitary security personnel were patrolling the roads. A senior police official said that high-alert had been issued in Rawalpindi and rest of Punjab province to tackle any untoward situation. "Security forces were on high alert and extra police were being deployed to clear the roads," a police officials said. After assassinating Taseer in January 2011, Qadri admitted the killing and said he objected to the governor's calls to reform the blasphemy laws. Taseer, who died aged 66, had come out it in support of a Christian woman charged with blasphemy and termed the regulations as "black laws" drawing the ire of extremists. An Anti-Terrorism Court had convicted and condemned Qadri to death in the same year, a ruling also upheld by the Islamabad High Court and the Supreme Court. A review petition of Qadri was also turned down by the top court on 14 December last year, leaving him with the last option of to file a clemency appeal to President Mamnoon Hussain. His mercy appeal was also rejected by the President. Radical religious groups had been demanding that Qadri should be forgiven as he killed a "blasphemer". Sunni Tehreek chief Sarwat Ijaz Qadri condemned the hanging. "It is black day in the history of the country. Those who executed Qadri have only spoiled their chances of success hereafter," he said. The funeral prayer of Qadri will be held tomorrow in Rawalpindi. Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often triggering mob violence. The controversial law was introduced by former military dictator Zia-ul Haq in 1980s and so far hundreds of people have been charged under them. PTI Calais, France: Makeshift huts went up in flames on Monday in an angry backlash as workers, guarded by scores of French police, began pulling down tents and shelters in the sprawling migrant camp in Calais. Police lobbed tear gas in a brief clash with pro-migrant activists and others throwing projectiles at officers forming a security cordon to protect the tear-down operation. There were no reports of injuries. At least three people were arrested, said authorities. As tension mounted, the fragile structures in a southern part of the camp came down one by one and heavy equipment was moved in to scoop up the rubble and junk left behind by weary migrants dreaming of a new life in Britain. Three makeshift homes went up in flames, the fires set either by upset migrants or pro-migrant activists, according to Gilles Debove of the Unite SGP Police FO union, who acts as a police spokesman. A second larger fire, apparently spread by wind, destroyed a mass of shelters. At least three people described as pro-migrant activists from the No Borders group were arrested, said Debove. The prefecture said the arrests were made for pelting police with stones and setting fires. The No Borders group, which wants all borders removed, is often blamed by authorities for fanning tensions. A flashpoint on the edge of the Channel, the camp sprang up less than a year ago in the port city, which has both ferries and the Eurotunnel rail route to Britain. It has grown explosively in past months amid Europe's migrant crisis, fueling far-right sentiment in both Britain and France. About 4,000 people are estimated to live in the camp down from 6,000 in December. Calais has lived with migrants in its midst for years, but the current camp on the city's edge sprang up around a day center opened last April by the state and after small camps inside the city were bulldozed. The dismantling of the dense southern portion of the current camp would be the largest such operation the city has known. Authorities say 800-1,000 migrants are concerned by the evictions. Humanitarian groups contend more than 3,000 are affected. French authorities are offering to relocate uprooted migrants into heated containers installed last month nearby, or at centers around France where they can decide whether to apply for asylum. Many have resisted the move, fearing it will hurt their chances of reaching Britain, and migrant advocates say there isn't enough space in the new area. Two buses carrying 43 migrants left on Friday for Bordeaux and Montpellier, the prefecture said. Scores of riot police stood guard, keeping journalists and volunteers out as helmeted workers tackled the shelters one by one. Prefect Fabienne Buccio, who had ordered the camp evacuated and dismantled earlier this month, showed up as the operation began. Her office decried "intimidation" tactics by some activists who she said were manipulating migrants into refusing to accept government offers of shelter. "Really three houses out of four I mean three huts out of four, or three tents out of four were already totally abandoned with a lot of garbage inside," she said. Migrants, she said, "had the time necessary to gather their belongings. The rest was good enough to throw away." However, cameras zooming into huts captured scenes of daily life fully intact. The start of what is expected to be a weeks-long operation came four days after a court ruled that shelters could come down but not common areas like houses of worship, a school, a women's center and library, much of it built with the help of French and British volunteers appalled by conditions in the makeshift camp. Humanitarian groups and migrants who had contested the state decision to level the most populous sector of the camp appealed the ruling on Friday with the Council of State, but any decision is likely to take weeks or months, long after the camp is gone. AP Moscow: Russian police wrestled to the ground a woman in a hijab brandishing the severed head of a child outside a Moscow metro station on Monday and charged her with murder, in an incident that stirred fears of an Islamist terrorist attack. The macabre episode was caught on camera by passers-by, with footage showing the unnamed woman in a black hijab wandering around in the street holding an infant's severed head high in the air. "I am a terrorist, I want your death," she can be heard screaming in heavily accented Russian in a rambling tirade in which she appears to criticise democracy and talk about the end of the world. Investigators said they thought the woman had been working as a nanny for a Moscow family and had murdered a child in her care before setting fire to the family's flat and fleeing. The child was three or four years old, they said. "Given the clearly deranged behaviour of the detainee, investigators swiftly ordered her to undergo psychiatric tests to establish whether she is capable of understanding the significance of her actions," Moscow's investigative committee said in a statement. News agencies cited an unnamed police source as saying the woman appeared to have been under the influence of psychotropic drugs. Immigration authorities told media the woman was from the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan and had been working in Moscow illegally. Terror fears With frequent warnings from government officials about the danger that Islamic State militants pose to Russia and a long history of terrorist attacks in Moscow, some onlookers thought they were witnessing an act of terror. One eyewitness, a reporter from the RBC.ru news portal, said she heard the woman screaming "Allahu Akbar" (Islamic phrase meaning God is Great or Allah is Greater). "I was on my way to the metro station from home," Polina Nikolskaya, the reporter, told Reuters. "She was standing near the metro entrance and caught my attention because she was screaming Allahu Akbar. I saw that she had a bloodied head in her arms, but I thought it was not real. People in the crowd said it was real." Lifenews.ru, an online news portal with close contacts to the police, said a policeman had first approached the woman to check her documents near the Oktyabrskoye Pole metro station in the north-west of the Russian capital. The woman had responded by removing the child's head from a bag and shouting that she had killed the infant, it said, saying she had also threatened to blow herself up. Footage of the incident showed a policeman wrestling the woman to the ground before a group of colleagues helped restrain her. Some rights activists warned of a possible backlash against migrant workers from Central Asia who have in the past been targeted for beatings by far-right groups. Security services are on high alert for a possible terrorist attack after a Russian passenger plane was blown out of the sky above Egypt in October, killing all 224 people onboard. Islamic State said it was responsible and had acted to avenge the Kremlin's decision to launch air strikes in Syria. WASHINGTON A Sikh Army captain filed suit against the U.S. military on Monday after being ordered to undergo "extraordinary, targeted, repetitive testing" before receiving permanent permission to wear a beard and long hair for his religion, court papers said. Captain Simratpal Singh, a member of the 349th Engineer Battalion who was awarded the Bronze Star for his work clearing explosives from roads in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, was granted a temporary accommodation last year allowing him to dress according to his religious beliefs, the court filing said. But Assistant Army Secretary Debra Wada recently ordered additional tests before she would grant him a permanent exemption, saying she wanted to be certain he could safely wear a helmet and gas mask if he had a turban, uncut hair and a beard, the lawsuit said. "Defendants abruptly informed Captain Singh that, because of his Sikh religion, he must immediately undergo extraordinary, targeted, repetitive testing ostensibly to ensure he can properly wear a combat helmet and safety mask," the suit said. "This discriminatory treatment is unfounded and violates the Army's own regulations," the suit said, adding that other soldiers had not been subjected to testing beyond what is given to most troops. Singh recently passed the standard gas mask testing with the rest of his unit, his supporters said. Air Force Major Ben Sakrisson, a Pentagon spokesman, said the department did not comment on ongoing litigation. But he said the military worked to "the maximum extent possible" to enable the free exercise of religion by all troops. The U.S. military took steps in early 2014 to give individual troops greater latitude to wear turbans, head scarves, yarmulkes and tattoos if required by their religion. The policy shift was mainly expected to affect Sikhs, Muslims, Jews and members of other groups that wear beards or articles of clothing for religious purposes. It also affected Wiccans and others who obtain tattoos for religious reasons. Only three Sikhs have been granted permission by the U.S. military to wear turbans, beards and uncut hair over the past six years, court filings said. Singh and two other Sikhs are awaiting decisions on their requests for a waiver. Singh is unusual among Sikhs seeking accommodations because in 2006 he attended West Point, where he gave in to pressure to cut his hair and beard. But after a decade of service, including completing Army Ranger School, he obtained a temporary accommodation last year to enable him to follow the grooming traditions of his religion. (Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Dan Grebler) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Seoul: North Korea must pay the price for its latest nuclear test and rocket launch, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye said Tuesday, vowing to pressure Pyongyang into accepting de-nuclearisation as its only viable option for survival. In a televised speech to mark the anniversary of a key date in Korea's struggle against Japanese colonial rule, Park said failure to respond to the North's "reckless provocations" would only result in further nuclear tests. "If we leave them alone, they will continue," said the president, who has significantly toughened her stance against Pyongyang in the wake of the North's fourth nuclear test on January 6 and a long-range rocket launch last month that was widely condemned as a ballistic missile test. "North Korea must clearly understand... that they can no longer maintain their regime through nuclear weapons," Park said Her comments came as the UN Security Council heads toward a vote on a new US-drafted resolution that would impose the toughest sanctions yet on North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme. The draft text would require countries to take the unprecedented step of inspecting all cargo to and from North Korea, impose new trade restrictions and bar North Korean vessels suspected of carrying illegal goods from ports. Park said the draft, which has secured the approval of North Korea's main ally China, showed the collective will of the international community to ensure that Pyongyang "pay the price" for its refusal to halt its nuclear weapons programme. "My government will leave the door for dialogue open, but until North Korea shows they are willing to change and to pursue denuclearisation, we and the international community will continue to pressure North Korea," she said. "The ball is now in North Korea's court," she added. The UN resolution currently under discussion at the Security Council, represents a compromise between the United States and China, who had been at odds over how to respond to North Korea's recent tests. China wants its reclusive neighbour to halt its nuclear weapons program and return to six-party international talks, maintaining that dialogue -- rather than sanctions -- is the best way to curb Pyongyang's behaviour. Beijing fears too much pressure could trigger the collapse of leader Kim Jong-Un's pariah regime, creating chaos on its border. Already elevated tensions on the Korean peninsula are likely to rise further next week when South Korea and the United States kick off annual joint military drills. North Korea views the exercises as provocative rehearsals for invasion, and has repeatedly demanded their permanent cancellation. In an editorial to mark the 1919 independence movement anniversary, the North Korean ruling party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, urged the defeat of "foreign forces" massing against the country. "The US and South Korean hostile forces seeking to start a nuclear war against us are the root source of threat to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula," the editorial said. AFP NEW YORK The use of the #NeverTrump hashtag grew on Twitter on Monday as detractors of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump fretted over his momentum on the eve of Super Tuesday election contests. On Twitter, the top influencer, or person who received the most engagement on their #NeverTrump tweets, was Trump rival Marco Rubio, according to online research firm Hashtagify.me. The U.S. senator from Florida and real estate billionaire Trump are engaged in an increasingly personal battle of insults on social media before voters in more than a dozen states select their party's nominee to run for the White House in November. Rubio began using the tag on Friday, tweeting: "Donald Trump is a con artist - and he cannot be our nominee. #NeverTrump." The tweet received more than 8,000 "likes" and 5,100 retweets. He repeated the tag in three more tweets over the weekend, with each one getting several thousand likes or retweets. A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign did not immediately return calls for comment. Another major influencer on the tag was conservative commentator Glenn Beck (@glennbeck), even though he has used it just once, on Sunday. Beck supports U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas in the campaign. Still, Beck's post - "Praying for this great country. Praying for a true constitutionalist! God bless (an emblem for the American flag). #NeverTrump #CruzCrew" - proved influential, getting retweeted nearly 1,000 times and liked nearly 2,000 times. Traffic on the hashtag was dominated by users who identify as conservative or Republican, most expressing vexation with the front-runner. Many tweets focused on Trump's CNN interview on Sunday, when he declined to repudiate an endorsement from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Trump later said he did not hear the question properly because of a defective ear piece. Whitney Westerfield (@KyWhitney), a Republican state senator from Kentucky, tweeted on Monday, "Wow. Trump blaming his failure to repudiate the hatred & extremism of the KKK on a #BadEarpiece. #NeverTrump." "No, the white supremacist/David Duke/KKK question isn't hard. Reject their support & denounce their hate. Again & again & again. #nevertrump," said Stephen Hayes (@stephenhayes), a writer for the Weekly Standard, a weekly conservative magazine. Trump supporters have countered with their own hashtag: #AlwaysTrump. "We must continue to fight on social media, the Peoples Revolution, the strongest tool right now! #TRUMP2016 #AlwaysTrump," wrote Trump supporter Linda Alexander (@noopdoggy). Still, the #NeverTrump hashtag was winning the trending battle, seeing roughly twice the traffic as #AlwaysTrump on Monday, according to social media analytics firm Zoomph. (Reporting by Gina Cherelus; Editing by Dan Burns and Grant McCool) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. 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. ANZ Banking Group has hired the head of Google's Australian operations, Maile Carnegie, to help it catch up to rivals in the multibillion-dollar technology arms race between banks. In a surprise move, Ms Carnegie, who has been the managing director of Google in Australia since 2013, was appointed to the newly created position of group executive for digital banking. Ms Carnegie's decision to leave one of the world's most prominent and successful companies is a sign that Australian banks are throwing more resources at technology as customers embrace online banking and technology-based rivals eye the industry's high profits. Some investors view ANZ's technology as being behind the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Ms Carnegie's brief will be to deliver a "superior digital experience" to the bank's eight million consumer, business and institutional customers. A mother is being hailed a hero after a split second-decision saved her son from bearing the brunt of a horrific crash in Sydney's west on Monday night. Angela Goldthorpe was driving her nine-year-old son to his judo lesson along Eastern Road in Doonside just after 6pm when she was run off the road by a driver in a stolen car. The stolen Alfa Romeo clipped the back of Ms Goldthorpe's car and sent it careering towards the footpath, police said. Unable to stop, Ms Goldthorpe maneuvered her Suzuki Swift so the driver's side took the impact as it slammed into a tree. A Sydney courier suspected of being at the centre of a group of dangerous radicals has been arrested after he accessed extremist material online. Ahmad Saiyer Naizmand, 21, was subjected to a terrorism control order last year after his home was raided during Operation Appleby in 2014 and he was convicted of using his brother's passport to travel to the Middle East. Ahmed Saiyer Naizmand is taken away from Burwood Local Court on March 1 Credit:Peter Rae The order was due to expire on Sunday, one year after it was implemented. He was charged on Monday night with breaching the terms of the order at least five times between January 11 and February 24 by accessing extremist material online, including propaganda or promotional material for Islamic State and electronic media depicting beheadings, explosives, suicide attacks or bombings. When drought and pests decimated their farm in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region, 10-year-old Eseye Tiruneh and her family boarded a bus, fleeing the starvation all around them. It was 1985 and Ethiopia was in the grip of its worst famine, which killed around one million people. Ethiopia's communist regime resettled Eseye's family in Wollega, over 1,000 km (620 miles) southwest, as part of an ambitious plan to move more than a million people from the drought-affected north, where it was fighting a rebellion, to the fertile west. But they did not escape death. Eseye's mother, grandmother and two siblings died in an epidemic of malaria and diarrhea that killed about a dozen people each day in the resettlement village. "It was only my father and I who survived," said Eseye, now aged 40, wearing a black headscarf, dusty maroon dress and faded beige shawl, her eyes fixed on her feet. "The main work of the farmers was to bury people." While no one is predicting famine in Amhara this year, drought is once again casting a shadow over farmers eking out a living on these rocky hillsides. Precarious Under a burning sun, hundreds of men and women squatted in the dust outside a warehouse, waiting to fill their plastic bottles with cooking oil and their white sacks with wheat and yellow split peas. Life is always precarious for families in these densely-populated highlands, who plough narrow terraces cut into steep mountainsides. The poorest 10 percent receive food aid from the government from January to June every year, in exchange for digging ponds or planting trees. It started distributing emergency food aid in October after the strongest El Nino on record triggered a drought which left wheat shoots to wither in the fields. The government and aid agencies have asked for $1.4 billion to feed 10.2 million people the third-largest appeal globally after Syria and Yemen. All of the farmers at the food distribution center who remembered the 1984-85 famine said the current drought is worse, particularly as it came on the back of a poor harvest in 2014. "We are hungry, the children are hungry," said Ayalew Berihun, 51, a blue headscarf wound round his head and a plastic sack stuffed into the pocket of his faded turquoise jacket. "On good days, we usually eat in the morning and evening. But now it is difficult to even eat once a day." His family of eight did not harvest anything in 2015 from their half hectare plot. Every few days, they make a three-hour round trip to fetch water from a spring with their donkey. Up to 30 people can be in the line ahead of them, quickly washing their faces before filling their jerrycans with water that will be reserved for drinking and cooking at home. But help is at hand this time, unlike in 1984, when the government hid the hunger crisis until it had celebrated its 10th anniversary in power, bombed markets in rebel-held territory and blocked relief to areas controlled by insurgents. Children drop out of school Yet with soaring rates of malnutrition, children are dropping out of school and into menial jobs to survive, robbing parents like Eseye and Ayalew of hope for the future. "I wish God would give us rain so that I can educate my children properly and they could get government jobs, live a better life and support me," said Eseye, who has a cross tattooed on her forehead and a picture of the Virgin Mary on a black string around her neck. Chances of that are slim. Eseye's daughter quit school at 16 to work in a nearby town so she can send a couple of dollars home to her mother each month. Eseye's 12-year-old son is still in school, but his attention is waning as his body grows thinner. "He is getting weak and tired," she said. "He doesn't follow his lessons properly and he doesn't study." Some 1.3 million schoolchildren have been affected by the drought, the government says, either too hungry to concentrate or dropping out to search for food or water. In Eseye's village, children aged 12 and above have left home to work as shepherds, housemaids, dish washers and porters while the younger ones are sick with coughs and diarrhea. "They try to help their younger siblings not die from hunger by sending some money back home," she said. Then and now Hunger has not yet brought death in the farming highlands, people said, unlike in 1984 when Derg junta forces and rebels battled on the spectacular mountain paths. Hundreds of thousands walked along hairpin bend roads from rebel-held Sekota to government-controlled Korem to get help. "We called it the road of death," said John Graham, country director for Save the Children, who was a young aid worker at the time. "It could have been 100,000 people or more who died just along that road." Today, Korem is a bustling town, surrounded by fields that turned green after a few days of unseasonal rain in December. Blue and white tuk tuks vied with donkeys for space on its busy roads, lined with buildings under construction. "I can't stress enough the difference in the situation between 1985 and 2015," said Graham. "It was already a full-blown disaster by the time Michael Buerk [of the BBC] got to a Save the Children feeding camp in Korem and announced to the world that this thing was happening." In contrast, the current government which ousted the Derg in 1991 and took power has been quick to acknowledge the crisis and has put $380 million of its own money into the emergency response since July. "Twenty years ago, we had no such capacity," said Mitiku Kassa, head of Ethiopia's National Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Committee. "It has come through the economic development that we registered for the last 12 years." Vision Double-digit growth over the last decade has helped Ethiopia to achieve many of the Millennium Development Goals, slashing poverty, hunger and child mortality rates. It has a strong, if authoritarian, vision and is keen to dispel the proud nation's image as a poster child for famine. There is a well-established health system with staff in each local clinic routinely screening children for malnutrition. Moderate cases receive a fortified porridge and severe ones get therapeutic food, with admission to a stabilization center if there are complications. "This is not some independent, international relief effort," said Paul Handley, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Ethiopia. "This is being done not just together with but actually through government systems." But eight out of 10 Ethiopians are still dependent on rain-fed agriculture, leaving Africa's second most populous nation vulnerable to drought. "If the rain doesn't come and this support doesn't come regularly, what is going to happen to us?" asked Ayalew. "I am scared for our lives." Primaries and caucuses in at least 11 states and one U.S. territory Tuesday helped the two parties' front-runners extend their leads in presidential nominating contests. Billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump dominated the Republican field and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did the same in the Democratic contests. Trump won in seven states across the country: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. Clinton also claimed victory, primarily in Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Her competitor for the Democratic nomination, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, won in his home state and three others: Colorado, Minnesota and Oklahoma. Trump's Republican challengers fended him off in several states. Texas U.S. Senator Ted Cruz won his home state and neighboring Oklahoma as well as Alaska. Marco Rubio, the U.S. senator from Florida, took Minnesota, his first primary win so far. Super Tuesday states: Alabama Republican: Donald Trump Democrat: Hillary Clinton Alaska : Republican: Ted Cruz Arkansas Republican: Donald Trump Democrat: Hillary Clinton Colorado Democrat: Bernie Sanders Georgia Republican: Donald Trump Democrat: Hillary Clinton Massachusetts Republican: Donald Trump Democrat: Hillary Clinton Minnesota Republican: Marco Rubio Democrat: Bernie Sanders Oklahoma Republican: Ted Cruz Democrat: Bernie Sanders Tennessee Republican: Donald Trump Democrat: Hillary Clinton Texas Republican: Ted Cruz Democrat: Hillary Clinton Vermont Republican: Donald Trump Democrat: Bernie Sanders Virginia Republican: Donald Trump Democrat: Hillary Clinton American Samoa Democrat: Hillary Clinton * Democrats abroad also voted Tuesday. With tensions high and the United States and South Korea ready to hold their massive annual war games next week, which North Korea sees as a dress rehearsal for invasion, Pyongyang is warning it will respond to any violations of its territory with merciless retaliation, including strikes on Seoul and the U.S. mainland. Military First is the national motto of North Korea, which is ever wary of threats to its ruling regime and still technically at war with Washington and Seoul. Nuclear-armed and boasting the worlds fourth-largest military, it is persistently seen as the biggest challenge to the security status quo in East Asia, an image it loves to promote and showcased in an elaborate military parade last October. The joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises are to begin March 7 and last more than a month. Tensions always go up when they do. Pyongyang has poured huge resources into developing its nuclear and missile arsenals and maintaining its conventional forces. About 5 percent of its 24 million people are on active military duty, and another 25-30 percent are in paramilitary or reserve units, ready for mobilization. But just how strong is Kim Jong Uns army? Heres a review, based on what AP reporters and photographers have seen on the ground and the latest report to the U.S. Congress by the Office of the Secretary of Defense. ON THE GROUND BY THE NUMBERS: 950,000 troops, 4,200 tanks, 2,200 armored vehicles, 8,600 pieces of field artillery, 5,500 multiple rocket launchers. BEHIND THE NUMBERS: This is, and always has been, North Koreas real ace in the hole. While its threat to launch a nuclear attack on the U.S. mainland appears to be well beyond its current capabilities, turning the South Korean capital into a sea of fire is not. The ground forces of the Korean Peoples Army form the largest segment of the military, by far. Seventy percent of them are forward-positioned around the Demilitarized Zone for quick mobilization in a contingency with South Korea; they are extremely well dug-in with several thousand fortified underground facilities. Their arms are mostly legacy equipment, produced or based on Chinese and Russian designs dating back as far as the 1950s. But they have in recent years unveiled new tanks, artillery and infantry weapons. In the October parade, the KPA displayed a new 240 mm multiple rocket launcher with eight tubes on a wheeled chassis. Kim Jong Un was recently shown by state media observing a new, longer-range anti-tank weapon. Despite resource shortages and aging equipment, North Koreas large, forward-positioned military can initiate an attack on the ROK (South Korea) with little or no warning, the U.S. report concluded. The military retains the capability to inflict significant damage on the ROK, especially in the region from the DMZ to Seoul. AT SEA BY THE NUMBERS: 60,000 sailors, 430 patrol combatant ships, 260 amphibious landing craft, 20 mine warfare vessels, about 70 submarines, 40 support ships. BEHIND THE NUMBERS: Divided into east and west fleets with about a dozen main bases, the navy is the smallest branch of the North Korean military. But it has some significant strengths, including hovercraft for amphibious landings and one of the largest submarine forces in the world. An estimated 70 attack, coastal or midget-type subs provide stealth and strongly bolster coastal defenses and possible special operations. It has no blue water or long-range naval forces and relies heavily on a large but aging armada of small coastal patrol craft. But it, too, is upgrading some of its surface ships and has made a show of its efforts to domestically develop a submarine capable of launching a ballistic missile. IN THE AIR BY THE NUMBERS: 110,000 troops, over 800 combat aircraft, 300 helicopters, more than 300 transport planes. BEHIND THE NUMBERS: Heres where the legacy aspect of the North Korean military really kicks in. North Korea hasnt acquired any new fighter aircraft for decades. Its best fighters are 1980s-era MiG-29s bought from the Soviet Union, the MiG-23 and SU-25 ground attack aircraft. They all suffer chronic fuel shortages and pilots get little training time in the air. Its air-defense systems are aging and it continues to maintain lots of 1940s-era An-2 COLT aircraft, a single-engine, 10-passenger biplane, which would probably be most useful for the insertion of special forces troops behind enemy lines. Interestingly enough, it also has some U.S.-made MD-500 helicopters, which it is believed to have acquired by bypassing international sanctions. They were shown off during a parade in 2013. SPECIAL FORCES BY THE NUMBERS: Not specified in report to Congress. Somewhere around 180,000 troops. Estimates vary. BEHIND THE NUMBERS: North Korea is fully aware that it is outgunned, technologically inferior and logistically light years behind its adversaries. But it also knows how to shift the equation through asymmetric tactics that involve stealth, surprise and focusing on cheap and achievable measures with an outsized impact. Special forces operations are among them and the Norths special forces are the most highly trained, well-equipped, best-fed and highly motivated units in the KPA. Commandos can be inserted into the South by air or sea, and possibly on foot through tunnels across the DMZ. The North is working hard on its cyberwarfare capabilities, another key asymmetric military tactic. It is believed to have a growing number of drones. NUKES AND MISSILES BY THE NUMBERS: Number of nuclear weapons not specified in report to Congress. Possibly more than a dozen, outside sources estimate. 50 ballistic missiles with 800-mile range, six KN08 missiles with a range of 3,400-plus miles, unknown number of Taepodong-2 missiles with roughly same or longer range. Possibly one submarine-launched ballistic missile. Various shorter-range ballistic missiles. BEHIND THE NUMBERS: North Korea claims to have tested its first hydrogen bomb on Jan. 6, the day after the Department of Defense report came out. That claim has been disputed, but there is no doubt it has nuclear weapons and its technicians are hard at work boosting their quantity and quality. Major caveat here: The operational readiness of its nuclear weapons and many of its ballistic missiles is debatable. Pyongyangs main hurdles are making nuclear warheads small enough to fit on its missiles, testing re-entry vehicles required to deliver them to their targets on an intercontinental ballistic missile and improving and testing the arsenal for reliability and accuracy. Its Taepodong-2 ballistic missile is the militarized version of the rocket it launched on Feb. 8 with a satellite payload. North Korea has yet to demonstrate that it has a functioning ICBM, generally defined as having a range of over 3,418 miles. CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL This one is a question mark. The U.S. Defense Department claims Pyongyang is continuing research and development into both, and could use them, but offered no details on biologicals in its recent assessment. It said Pyongyang likely has a stockpile of nerve, blister, blood and choking agents that could be delivered by artillery shells or ballistic missiles. The North is not a signatory of the Chemical Weapons Convention and its troops train to fight in a contaminated environment. Eric Talmadge, Tokyo, AP The New Macau Association (ANM) sent a letter to the president of the First Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly this week, calling for the removal of a rule that would force pet owners to muzzle their dogs in public places at all times. The rule has been proposed as part of the Animal Protection Bill, which is seeking to provide greater security for animals and impose harsher penalties on those found guilty of animal cruelty. In the absence of a significant number of cases of dog aggression in Macau, compulsory dog muzzling will defeat the original purpose of the bill, to protect animals, reads ANMs letter. The association added that after initial research into muzzling laws in other countries, they discovered no precedent in jurisdictions in the developed world echoing that requirement. In places where regulations over muzzling dogs do exist, the requirement usually applies to particular aggressive breeds or individual dogs with a history of aggression toward humans. DB Macaus new bishop Stephen Lee struck out at mainland China last week, accusing the Central Government of fearing the propagation of Catholic education. His comments, made during a TDM interview, were in response to the Central Governments recent refusal of a request from the University of Saint Joseph (USJ). The university had asked for at least 60 mainland students as part of its plans to grow its current student body of 1300, with the available facilities in its new Ilha Verde campus set to open next year. Bishop Lee said that fear was the only reason he could fathom behind the decision. He added that the refusal saddened him, since the Churchs relationship with mainland authorities had generally been improving. Fear that we educate some Catholics and clash against the government, he reasoned. I dont know; thats the only reason I can see. [We have always] tried to be friendly to every country, especially to the motherland, China. So I dont see any reason why it [the request] should have been rejected. Its quite unfair to us and thats why Im quite sad to hear that, said Lee. Bishop Lee, who has now been in his new role for around a month, took over office from the former bishop, Jose Lai, who resigned for health reasons. Lees appointment has caused some to speculate that the Hong Kong-born priest could bring to Macau a dose of the neighboring SARs political activism. Although at the ceremony marking his installation as bishop of Macau, Lee reminded his congregation that it was imperative to have unity with God, unity with the Pope, unity with the city of Macau, and unity of China, his outspoken comments last week are in stark contrast with Lais more cautious standpoint. The new bishop also stressed last week that ties between the Church and mainland authorities are stronger today than they have been for a long time, which makes the rejection more surprising. Lee told TDM, the relationship with China has been getting on so well. But now, suddenly, [they] rejected our request. We have to abide by the One Country, Two Systems. Our role is quite passive in the sense that we can help if they want us to help, said Bishop Lee, adding that the Church is capable of helping China by offering spiritual and financial assistance. DB Chinese police are investigating a detained Hong Kong bookseller for allegedly selling books by mail illegally in mainland China, an official Chinese newspaper said yesterday, the latest twist in a case that has raised concerns over erosion of civil rights in Hong Kong. The Communist Party newspaper Global Times said that Gui Minhai had admitted to selling more than 4,000 books by mail despite knowing they had not been approved by Chinas publications authority. Gui, who holds Swedish citizenship, was one of four people connected with Hong Kongs Mighty Current publishing house who went missing in October. He resurfaced in January, making a tearful appearance on Chinese state TV to say he surrendered for fleeing the country in violation of the terms of his suspended sentence over a 12-year-old fatal drunken driving case. Chinese authorities say three others connected with Mighty Current and its retail outlet, Causeway Bay Bookshop, have been detained for an investigation into unspecified criminal activity. The three others Lui Por, Cheung Chi Ping and Lam Wing Kee are shareholders or employees of the company. Gui disappeared from his vacation home in Pattaya, Thailand, while the three others went missing in mainland China. Hong Kong police also said they received a handwritten letter from a fifth missing person, editor Lee Bo, in which he purportedly rejected a request to meet with them. Lee, a British citizen, disappeared on Dec. 30, and many suspect he was abducted by mainland Chinese security agents operating in Hong Kong, which would be a breach of the one country, two systems principle Beijing agreed to when it took control of the city from Britain in 1997. The European Parliament has called for the five to be immediately released, joining British, American and Swedish officials who have raised concern about the case. Mighty Currents books on political scandals and intrigue involving Chinas communist leaders are popular with mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong, despite their being banned on the mainland. AP China has been involved in urban development in Angola, particularly in Luanda, and its experience in this field may help the economic diversification of Angola, with more investment in real estate, thus overcoming current economic difficulties. In the article Opportunities for new urbanism of Angola after the collapse of the oil economy, published by the NGO Development Workshop (dw.angonet.org), researcher Allan Cain emphasizes that in post-socialist countries conversion of land held by state monopolies for urban use is a unique opportunity and can trigger a wave of investment. Applying some of the long awaited reforms in housing credit, participatory planning and fiscal decentralization for municipalities can encourage housing owners themselves and the private sector to invest in urban development and housing opportunities, [] stimulating foreign investment in real estate said Cain. Angola is committed to finding new ways to diversify and grow its economy in the new climate of low prices of raw materials. The Chinese experience of urban development, if shared, could prove to be as valuable as their loans, he said. For the rapid urban and economic growth of China from 1980, he said, municipalization and decentralization of governance was central, together with the greater financial autonomy of local authorities, who made use of the value of their land by leasing it or selling building rights to private investors. Revenues captured by the local authorities were then used to finance social housing and urban infrastructure, increasing real estate value and generating greater wealth and urban growth. As in China, the origins of wealth that grows and sustains these cities are the savings of home buyers and investors in the private sector, these resources are yet to be made use of in Angola, said Cain. By capturing the value of private investment for public benefit, he said, municipalities can use the revenues to improve infrastructure and provide social housing, promote a virtuous cycle and increase the values that accompany urban transformation. One of the reasons for investor reluctance so far has been the lack of a functional land market in Angola, and the resolution of issues related to property that are the first step to stimulating private sector involvement in financing the housing projects that the country needs. Luanda received Chinas largest housing development in Africa, the Kilamba project comprising 20,000 apartments, with similar projects planned for the remaining 18 provinces, providing 150,000 housing units. The recently released Operational plan for Chinas credit line to Angola, prepared by the Angolan government with the work to be carried out by Chinese companies, provides for the connection of 480,000 homes to the power grid, the construction and rehabilitation of more than 2,200 kilometers of roads and the construction of 39 water supply systems. With approximately 155 projects in the sectors of Health, Education, Transport, Agriculture, Industry, and other sectors, the Plan has an estimated cost of USD5.2 billion. MDT/Macahub Macau International Airport Company Limited (CAM) has entered into a five-year sub-concession contract with 7-Eleven for the operation of convenience store services after an open tender procedure, according to a press release. A 7-Eleven shop at the south side of the Departure Hall commenced business last month, aiming to provide passengers and airport staff with a one-stop convenience store service on a daily basis. Services on offer include in-store Hot Shot cooked food to provide customers with fast food and refreshments on the go.. hong kong jewelry show begins Organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show opened yesterday and will run until Saturday at the AsiaWorld-Expo. According to a statement from the HKTDC, the show is now in its third year and will have a Sea Sparkle theme. More than 1,880 exhibitors from 42 countries and regions will showcase raw jewelry materials such as quality diamonds, precious gems, semi-precious stones and pearls. The 33rd HKTDC Hong Kong International Jewelry Show will also commence its five-day run tomorrow at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), and will offer opportunities to source a diverse range of jewelry. The show will feature a series of activities to provide industry players with market insights and the latest jewelry production techniques. The HKTDC has also organized more than 110 buying missions, comprising more than 9,300 buyers from 75 countries and regions, to offer exhibitors more business opportunities. bnu co-organizes luncheon to mark secretary of state visit BNU and four other organizations hosted a luncheon with Mr Joao Vasconcelos, the Portuguese Secretary of State of Industry, for his visit to Macau. The event was co-organized with the Consulate General of Portugal in Hong Kong and Macau, the Macau European Chamber of Commerce, the Portuguese-Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry and AICEP. According to a BNU press release, around forty guests attended the event, including business leaders, entrepreneurs and professionals. In his welcome speech, Mr Vasconcelos highlighted the relationship between Portugal and China, particularly with Macau SAR, and how it is a strategic priority for Portugal. This could be reflected in the growing trend of Portuguese exports to Macau, he said. Mr Vasconcelos added that Macau represents a special platform for co-operation between the European and Asian markets, similar to Portugals function as a bridge between Europe and the Portuguese-speaking countries. Guangdongs provincial government may lift home-purchase restrictions (HPR) in eligible cities for buyers from Hong Kong and Macau, as part of its plan to clear the provinces stock of unsold flats. A document covering ten measures was released on Monday night, stating that Hong Kong and Macau buyers will be entitled to the same benefits as locals in eligible cities. Though it did not identify the cities, South China Morning Post reported that industry experts believe Guangzhou is likely to be included as its house prices have been down recently, compared to other cities. Guangzhou posted a year-on-year decline of 1.38 percent in January, according to China Real Estate Index System reports. Conversely, new home prices in Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai rose by 53 percent, 15 percent and 9 percent, respectively, over the past 12 months. I think it is possible that Guangzhou will lift home-purchasing restrictions, especially in new districts where inventory is high, said Alan Jin, a property analyst at Mizuho Securities. Jin added that the current restrictions cover all of Guangzhou, with the exception of two fringe districts, Zengcheng and Conghua. One of the ten measures mentions the need for Guangzhou to adjust effective administrative boundaries for its obsolete home-purchasing restrictions. Jin believes that after the adjustment, the restrictions may be applied to outlying districts of Guangzhou, except for Haizhu and the Pearl River New Town Area, which are the centers of the city. Guangzhou is the only possibility among tier-one cities that may see the lifting of HPRs, he noted. Shenzhen and Shanghai are not likely, given the frantic increases in housing prices. Beijing has huge population inflow pressure already. Guangdongs new policy aims to reduce the amount of unsold units by 12.5 percent come 2018. At the end of 2015, the province had unsold stock of 160 million square meters, of which 22.48 million square meters were located in Guangzhou. Staff reporter Macaus total import of merchandise has decreased 18.5 percent year-on-year to MOP6.96 billion, while the merchandise trade deficit now amounts to MOP5.98 billion, according to the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). In January there was a year-on-year decrease of 21.4 percent and 15.4 percent on merchandise imported from mainland China (MOP2.71 billion) and the European Union (MOP1.63 billion), respectively. The latest available data indicates that merchandise exports amounted to MOP973 million in January, up by 1.5 percent year-on-year. The value of re-exports grew by 8.4 percent to MOP834 million, while the value of domestic exports dropped 26.2 percent to MOP139 million, with that of tobacco (MOP27 million) falling by 49.9 percent. External trade in merchandise reached MOP7.93 billion in January, down by 16.5 percent compared to MOP9.49 billion a year earlier. EU marks Womens Day with seminar The European Union Academic Program in Macau (EUAP-M) will celebrate International Womens Day, March 8, with a seminar on Women and Gender Politics: The Contemporary Situations in Europe and Macau. The session will commence at the University of Macaus Tai Fung Lecture Hall with speakers from the university. EUAP-M, established in 2012, is a partnership between UM and the Institute of European Studies of Macau (IEEM), co-financed by the European Union. It aims to raise awareness of the EU among the general public of Macau and students of all levels. Struck by a sudden inspiration for a business plan while cooped up in a room at a southern China detention center, entrepreneur Liu Minghui turned to the only people nearby for feedback his jailer and 11 cell mates. Even during Lius yearlong detention on what turned out to be false allegations of embezzlement, the founder and executive chairman of China Gas Holdings Ltd. couldnt wait to remake the company after his eventual release. The jail-house idea? Dispatch the companys tens of thousands of gas-meter readers to knock on the doors of its 20 million customers and sell them a range of other services everything from insurance to food delivery. While the jailer and his cell mates couldnt fully grasp the plans value, Liu was convinced company profits would soar once he re-purposed its army of meter readers into a network of door-to-door sales people. I was afraid, Liu said in an interview almost five years after he was detained in December 2010. I was frightened and thought about the possibility that I may never get out of jail, but at the end of the day you have to find a way to keep your head up. Otherwise the experience of staying in jail alone may ruin you. Liu, 52, did so by sustaining a laser-like focus on the blueprint to transform his company, and the nimble strategic changes by private-sector China Gas positioned it to benefit from reforms sweeping Chinas state-owned enterprises sector. Now more changes are coming: Delegates at this years National Peoples Congress in Beijing, which starts March 5, will debate new reforms of state-owned enterprises. Those reforms pose risks for executives like Liu who test the waters. As China pries the economy away from its dependence on bulky state-owned firms, its leaders have displayed an ambivalence toward the entrepreneurs it depends on to build a new economy. Their allegiance regularly comes under suspicion because they advocate the power of markets. Lius transformation from an against-the-grain entrepreneur to established executive to criminal suspect and back again is a cautionary tale that may offer lessons for others. A native of the northern province of Hebei, Lius early career was spent as a government official responsible for luring foreign investment to the area. He witnessed the shrinking of state-owned enterprises that would result in millions of furloughs in the 1990s as Chinas leaders including Deng Xiaoping and former Premier Zhu Rongji allowed market forces and private businesses a greater role in the economy. You have to trust the market, Liu said, a refrain he would repeat multiple times. Imbued with the belief that markets reflect peoples natural instincts to improve their lives, Liu left his government job to form a company aimed at making state-owned firms competitive. It was a struggle. While Lius company found investors for a number of different state-owned enterprises, executives lost interest in proposed changes after the money was transferred. They wanted our money, not our principles, Liu said. As a result, the projects were mostly unsuccessful. By 2000, Liu changed strategy and began looking for opportunities to invest in businesses that state-owned enterprises didnt want. Thats when he found natural gas and started buying money-losing gas distribution businesses. Liu and his business partners responded quickly to an earlier series of reforms aimed at discarding SOEs unprofitable businesses. Having bought a Hong Kong-listed company and renaming it China Gas Holdings in 2002, they collected money-losing operations from city governments and built the company into Chinas biggest natural gas distributor by 2016 with a market capitalization of USD6.6 billion. In most countries, a success story like that would be inspiring. Even in the bustling southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, however, Lius success offered no protection from accusations that he had embezzled company funds. We never dismissed one worker in the process of building the company, Liu recalled. In fact, most of the employees liked the change because it made them more money while bringing out a better performance from their old selves. The change of system changed peoples mindsets. That outlook may be what China needs as companies look to deliver on President Xi Jinpings economic reforms. In the latest round affecting the energy industry, private capital will be allowed to invest in areas dominated by state-owned firms. A betting person might have wagered against China Gas at the start. Armed with little more than a vision, Liu set out across the country to buy the so-called last mile gas piping operations from city governments, the link from natural gas depots to homes and businesses. Local authorities were keen to unload these money-losing assets. Lius method of remaking old-style distributors was simple. He kept a couple administrators in the office and sent everyone else out in search of business. He discarded iron rice bowl protections typical at state-owned firms and gave employees clear sales targets. Liu bet he could make these operations profitable. To encourage workers, Liu recalls telling them that municipalities would be eager to sell these assets now but might regret it later. Then China embarked on a campaign of rapid urbanization, with each new building connected to a gas pipe, making his collection of assets suddenly valuable. Profits increased and word spread that Liu could turn things around. Were going to make this business so profitable that theyll try to take it all away from us, he told his employees. Those comments proved prescient, but first the company would suffer an unexpected blow. In December 2010, as Liu met with colleagues at the companys 18th floor headquarters in Shenzhen, authorities arrived unannounced. They said they wanted to take him into custody as part of a state secrets probe, he recalled. They led him away and held him in a room at a detention center in Shenzhen for months without contact with his family or lawyers. Liu had no idea how long hed be detained. At one point, he dreamed that his father had died. Only after he was released did he learn it was true. There is nothing worse than being thrown into jail, and losing freedom can change a persons perspective on life, Liu said. Suddenly so many things that you took for granted every single day become a luxury. After a year in detention, officials finally told Liu his incarceration was a mistake and released him. He had little time to celebrate, however, before facing a hostile takeover bid. His detention had sparked a dramatic sell-off of China Gas shares and within weeks of his release, the giant state-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. bid to take over the company. To keep control, Liu had to convince his shareholders he was a better bet to generate profits. In either life or business, there are so many things you dont have control over at all, Liu said. Although he acknowledged past turmoil, Liu is now focused on the future, eagerly demonstrating how to use the companys latest initiative a mobile phone app to place ongoing service orders that the company will roll out in March. We are the Alibaba of the gas distribution business, and I see China Gas as a public service company that caters everything our customers may need, Liu said. Natural gas is just one of our services but definitely wont be the main part of what we do. We want to be that service boy who knocks on every door of our customers, asking what can we do for you. Today, China Gas Holdings management faces new challenges. Executives discuss whether the company can survive the countrys slowest economic growth in a quarter century. Every time our management met, I asked the question, can we stay alive in the business tomorrow and what may kill us or save us? Liu said. Although the companys stock is down nearly 25 percent from last years peak, it has fared better than the broader market. Twelve of 18 analysts rate it a buy, with five recommending hold and one a sell. Shares rose 4.3 percent to close at HKD10.80 yesterday. Its a smart and strategic move for China Gas to enter the retail business through its existing network, as there are not a lot of companies that can legitimately open doors simply by knocking and saying who they are, Shi Yan, a Shanghai-based analyst at UOB Kayhian Investment Co., said of Lius plan. Risks are low, she said, since China Gas wont lose its existing income even as it tests the waters with new services. In 2014, the company started selling gas-related electric appliances and tools, and more recently added phone cards, rice and fruit. In the new competitive landscape, Liu sees China Gas as a much different company than when it was founded. To some extent, China Gas is the undervalued meter reader. We can knock on doors and sell our customers everything they may need, Liu said. China Gas is not a utility. We are a service provider that sells everything that our 20 million customers may ever need. Thats the future of China Gas. Aibing Guo, Bloomberg The Philippines asked China yesterday to respect an upcoming decision by an international arbitration tribunal on Beijings claim to most of the South China Sea to show it does not regard itself as above the law. Reacting to criticism by his Chinese counterpart, Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said Beijing should foster a world order based on international law by heeding the expected decision this year. The Philippines asked the tribunal in The Hague in early 2013 to rule on the validity of Chinas vast claims in the South China Sea based on the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea and to define whether certain disputed reefs and atolls mostly controlled by China give it the right to territorial waters. China has refused to take part in the arbitration and is expected to ignore any decision. The five-member tribunal decided last October that it has the authority to hear and rule on the case this year. Last week, Wang accused the Philippines of shutting the door to bilateral negotiations over the dispute and called Manilas move a political provocation. He said the decision by the Philippine government was irresponsible to the Filipino people and the future of the Philippines. Wang said China wanted to contribute to the economic development of the Philippines. Del Rosario said the Philippines had countless meetings with China to try to address the issue between the two of us to no avail. The Philippines also tried unsuccessfully to invite China to join the arbitration, he said. As we presume to be responsible states, the Philippines, as well as the international community, are asking China to respect the forthcoming ruling, del Rosario said in a statement. If China does not heed our collective call, does it mean that China considers itself above the law? The long-raging territorial disputes, which also involve Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei, escalated in recent years when China used large amounts of sand to transform seven disputed reefs into islands, where it is now constructing buildings, radar facilities and runways, alarming rival claimants as well as the United States. AP A report on organized crime in Macau has been released in the British Journal of Criminology, detailing the changes that the triad underworld has undergone since the handover in 1999, and concluding that VIP rooms remain to this day dominated by triads. The report, entitled Triad Organized Crime in Macau Casinos: Extra-legal governance and entrepreneurship, asserts that the Chinese criminal underworld is simultaneously developing as traditional territory-based gangs and dynamic businesses produced by entrepreneurs. New forms of betting and crime have emerged to meet the needs of high-end gamblers, thus resulting in the formation of a triad-enterprise hybrid that comprises territoriality and reputation of violence commonly found in extra-legal governance and the dynamic entrepreneurship of small firms, reads the article. Macau-based gangs have readjusted their traditional use of violence and intimidation and instead adopted market-based business strategies to continue their extra- legal activities. [Triads] continue to treat the VIP rooms as their economic territories and provide extra-legal governance, the article concludes. They monopolize the VIP rooms, treat them as their territories and ensure that rivals would not steal their whales [high rollers]. They punish cheats and frauds that occur in their territories, where occasional use of violence is seen. Gaming-related crimes continue to account for a significant portion of reported crime in Macau. The Times reported last week that gaming-related cases surged 38 percent to 1,553 cases last year, which law enforcement agencies accredit to heightened police attentiveness to gaming operators as the industry undergoes an adjustment period. The article was written by two academics at City University of Hong Kong from the Department of Applied Social Sciences, T. Wing Lo, and Sharon Ingrid Kwok. According to Lusa, the study was developed over 30 months between 2012 and 2015 and included interviews with 17 members of triads, VIP hall operators, local officials, and visits to a VIP room of a casino not identified in the report. Daniel Beitler dicj says it knows of no triads in vip rooms The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) has said that it has no knowledge of the existence of triads in VIP rooms of Macau casinos, as per the study released in the British Journal of Criminology. So far, we have not verified any triad selected by casinos or working with junket VIP gaming promoters, the bureau stated, cited by Lusa. However, they promised to take appropriate measures should irregularities be detected and said they would continue monitoring the fulfillment of their [operators] legal, statutory and contractual obligations, and other responsibilities stipulated in the legislation. The Court of Final Appeal (TUI) has rejected a habeas corpus claim (a request to determine if a persons imprisonment or detention is lawful) by former Public Prosecutor General, Ho Chio Meng. A collective of judges of the regions top court, presided over by Song Man Lei and assisted by Sam Hou Fai and Lai Kin Hong, met yesterday afternoon to analyze Hos request. If accepted, Ho would be granted immediate release from prison. TUIs dismissal suggests that habeas corpus may not apply to this case, and that Hos defense would have done better to appeal against the preventive custody measures. TUI said its measures were justified based on Ho Chio Mengs risk of escape, stating also that other measures were not considered to be sufficient, and that the preventive custody measures were taken after strong evidence against him was presented. According to several sources contacted by the Times, the defense led by lawyer Leong Weng Pun based its request on Article 33 of Law 10/1999 (Statutes of Judiciary Magistrates), which states that magistrates cannot be arrested or subjected to preventive custody before being formally accused or having the day of their hearing appointed. Exceptions can only be made in cases where the accused magistrates are arrested in blazing offence for crimes punishable by a maximum prison sentence of more than three years. TUIs decision yesterday also addressed the topic of Article 33 of Law 10/1999, stating that, since February of 2015, the suspect was appointed as the coordinator of the Committee on Criminal and Legal Studies, ceasing to be a magistrate. This condition raises doubts for Hos defense, who believes that the former Prosecutor General retains his position as a magistrate. After the court hearing at TUI, Leong refrained from commenting on the case, saying, I still do not have the verdict, so I need the verdict first [in order] to read it and study it. My team and I need to study it first. Asked for comment by the Times, lawyer Jorge Menezes explained that contrary to the civil law, it is not appropriate for criminal law to be open to interpretation because it is subject to more restrictive rules. In this sense, he thinks that TUIs preventive measures would have been carefully analyzed by the magistrates. Im certain that they all know well their own statutes, he said. The lawyer also thinks that habeas corpus might not be justified in this particular case, since there are only three reasons to lodge that kind of request: incompetence from the authority that decided the arrest; violation of the legal deadlines for the application of these measures; and because the arrest had been made based on facts that the law does not allow to result in the application of preventive custody, and none of these reasons are relevant here. Menezes added, It is precisely TUIs implementation of the preventive custody measures that creates a problem (already seen before during the case of former Secretary Ao Man Long). After TUI there is no hierarchically superior court to appeal to. As a result, all appeals will be analyzed by the very same people that made the decision in the first place. In his opinion, the situation leaves people in this position with [] diminished rights. Since the Ao Man Long case, many studies and publications have addressed the supposed flaws in a legal system that does not allow effective appeal for another instance. Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton are eyeing an opportunity to pull away from their rivals today [Macau time] in multiple state contests across the country that could accelerate their march toward the general election. Voters from Vermont to Colorado, Alaska to American Samoa and numerous states in between were heading to polling places and caucus sites on what is known as Super Tuesday, the busiest day of the 2016 primary campaign. The contests come at a turbulent moment for Republicans as they grapple with the prospect of Trump becoming the partys nominee. His main rivals, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, are engaged in a frantic effort to stop the billionaire real estate magnate with Rubio in particular lobbing surprisingly personal attacks but it was unclear whether they had made their move too late. Tensions boiled over during Trumps rally yesterday in Radford, Virginia, where he was repeatedly disrupted by demonstrators, including 20 or more chanting Black lives matter. At another point, he asked a protester, Are you from Mexico? after he was interrupted during remarks about immigration. He ordered several people to be removed, then cast himself as a unifying political force. Believe it or not, were going to unify this country, he said. Like Trump, Clinton has won three of the four early voting contests, including a thrashing of rival Bernie Sanders in South Carolina on Saturday. Her victory there was due to overwhelming support from black voters, putting her in position for a strong showing in several Southern states with large African-American electorates that vote today. Clinton has shed nearly all references to her Democratic opponent in recent days, choosing instead to focus on Trump. She is casting herself as a civil alternative to the insults and bullying that have consumed the Republican race. What we cant let happen is the scapegoating, the flaming, the finger pointing that is going on the Republican side, she told voters gathered yesterday in Springfield, Massachusetts. It really undermines our fabric as a nation. So, I want to do everything I can in this campaign to set us on a different course. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who has energized young voters with his call for a political revolution, was seeking to stay close to Clinton in the South and pick up victories in states including Minnesota and his home state of Vermont. But Sanders faces tough questions about whether he can rally minorities that are core Democratic voters. Still, Sanders has the resources to remain in the race through the last primaries in June, with his campaign announcing it had raised more than USD41 million in February alone. Democrats will vote in 11 states and American Samoa on Super Tuesday, with 865 delegates up for grabs. It will take 1,237 delegates to secure the nomination at the partys national convention in July in Philadelphia. Republicans will vote in 11 states, with 595 delegates at stake nearly half the 1,237 delegates needed to gain the nomination at the partys convention, also in July, in Cleveland. Trump was seeking to sweep the South, which would be a massive blow for Cruz. The Texas senator, a favorite of the regions social conservatives and evangelical Christians, expected the South to be his firewall, but now is simply hoping to emerge with a victory in his home state. Rubios goal on Super Tuesday is even more modest. Hes seeking to stay competitive in the delegate count and hopes to pull off a win in his home state of Florida on March 15. The Florida senator has cast himself as Republicans best chance to win in a general election and has received a flood of endorsements from party officials after other more mainstream candidates dropped out. But hes failed to win a state so far, raising questions about his strategy for topping Trump. Republicans spent months largely letting Trump go unchallenged, wrongly assuming that his populist appeal with voters would fizzle. Now party leaders are divided between those who pledge to fall in line behind Trump if he wins their partys nomination and others who insist they can never back him. An Associated Press survey of Republican senators and governors across the country showed just under half of respondents would not commit to backing Trump if hes the nominee. Their reluctance foreshadowed a potentially extraordinary split in the party this fall. The worries among Republicans appeared to grow after Trump briefly refused to disavow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke during a television interview. Trump said he had not understood the interviewer who first raised the question about Duke and other white supremacists, and he did later repudiate him. Julie Pace & Jill Colvin, Washington, AP CHINA Struck by a sudden inspiration for a business plan while cooped up in a room at a southern China detention center, entrepreneur Liu Minghui turned to the only people nearby for feedback his jailer and 11 cell mates. It worked. NORTH KOREA With tensions high and the United States and South Korea ready to hold their massive annual war games next week, which North Korea sees as a dress rehearsal for invasion, Pyongyang is warning it will respond to any violations of its territory with merciless retaliation, including strikes on Seoul and the U.S. mainland. GREECE-MACEDONIA More than 7,000 refugees and other migrants are camped on Greeces northern border with Macedonia, waiting for authorities to allow them to continue their long trek north to seek asylum in wealthier European countries. THE HAGUE An accused al-Qaida-linked Islamic radical, Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi (pictured), appeared yesterday at the International Criminal Court for a hearing to establish whether evidence is strong enough to try him for his alleged involvement in the destruction of historic mausoleums in the Malian city of Timbuktu. The case involves the destruction of irreplaceable historical monuments. GERMANYs unemployment rate dipped to 6.6 percent last month thanks to sustained growth in Europes biggest economy and relatively mild winter weather. The Federal Labor Agency said that 2.911 million people were registered as jobless in February, down 9,000 from the previous month and some 111,000 from a year earlier. SPAINs Socialist party leader is hoping to persuade a majority of parliamentary deputies to back his bid to form a new government, but the lack of support from other parties suggests he wont be successful. Pedro Sanchezs presentation speech will be followed by debate and a vote today. USA Just before the crucial multi-state primaries, a sharp new divide erupted between Republicans who pledge to fall in line behind Donald Trump if he wins their partys nomination and others who insist they can never back the bombastic billionaire. USA George Kennedy, the hulking, tough-guy character actor who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a savage chain-gang convict in the 1960s classic Cool Hand Luke, has died. His grandson Cory Schenkel says Kennedy died on Sunday morning of old age in Boise, Idaho. He was 91. Really people?? Are you seriously thinking about voting for a billionaire, blowhard, bully to buy the position of representing our wonderful country? We as taxpaying citizens are hiring police officers, as we speak, to deter a bullying epidemic in our schools. Surely you do not think electing a bully, for ow children and grandchildren to look up to and emulate, will improve that situation? Donald Trump is your typical bully. Bullies use their size and mouth to belittle others. It makes them feel bigger and better; it certainly does not make them bigger, or better. Almost everyone has had a bullying experience in their lifetime, your self, a child, a grandchild, a great-grandchild, niece, nephew, friend, etc. etc. Not a fun experience! Sadly, Idaho has a really large number of young people committing suicide, due to bullying. Donald Trump's outrageous claims of how to run this country are even remotely sounding good to you, I beg you to stop and think about the overall repercussions. We as a nation cannot "fire" the leader of France, make fun of the Queen of England, torture prisoners, use our youth for unnecessary wars, build a silly wall (ever heard of ladders?), and keep our dignity and good standing with the world or, more importantly, with ourselves. Think before you vote. Loudest is not always best. Sue Harr Buhl Malabar naval exercises ( Image credits- Wikimedia commons/ United States Navy) Author- Abhijit Singh The South China Sea (SCS) is witnessing a dramatic rise in maritime tensions. Last week, China landed two fighter jets on Woody island a subset of the Paracel group of islands just days after the PLA placed surface-to-air missiles at the same location. With a range of about 200 kilometers, the new HQ-9 missiles can target aircraft approaching Chinas claimed spaces in the South China Sea. To add to regional worries, the latest satellite images of several of the Spratly Islands showed probable radar infrastructure, suggesting that the PLA may already have established full radar coverage over the SCS. Needless to say, there has been much speculation over Chinas strategic intentions in the South China Sea. The act of placing missiles on disputed territory has been widely interpreted as a hardening of Beijings maritime posture not just on account of the direct threat the missiles pose to foreign air-operations in the South China Sea, but also because the new armament complements the PLAs existing air warfare capability on Woody Islands. While India isnt party to the South China Sea dispute, four aspects of the recent developments might interest New Delhi. First, irrespective of the claims and counter-claims by the United States and China, it is clear that Beijing operates from a position of strength in the South China Sea, wherein it has physical control over critical islands in the region. China has shown the U.S. and its allies that what matters in a maritime territorial dispute is the actual possession of the islands, and as long as the PLA exercises military control over the features, it will exploit their location to support broader territorial claims. For New Delhi, which has been concerned about the security of its trade-flows and energy interests in the South China Sea, however, Beijings placement of missiles points to a sober reality. As the disputed islands are militarized, it could imperil freedom of navigation, making Beijing the main arbiter of the accepted range of legitimate operations in the South China Sea. Second, Chinas exertion of authority over areas of maritime interest is mostly through indirect means. In the immediate aftermath of the new radar installations in the Spratlys and deployment of missiles on Woody Island, it looks increasingly likely that Beijing would impose an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea, ensuring the PLAs dominance over the surrounding air-space and seas. At present, the likelihood of Chinese aggression occurring outside the disputed maritime spaces in Southeast Asia looks remote. Yet, there is no discounting Chinese maritime assertion in other areas where Beijing might have strategic interests including critical spaces in the Indian Ocean. For Indian observers, it is useful to extrapolate known Chinese positions in the IOR, to assess Beijings likely strategic behavior after the PLA has established a foothold in critical Indian Ocean states. Could the PLA, for instance, play a role in assisting Sri Lanka, Pakistan or Maldives in securing vital sea and air pockets in the Indian Ocean? What could the implications of such a move be for India? As a key security provider in the Indian Ocean, New Delhi appreciates the need for greater stability in the region. Will India, however, accept an expanded Chinese role in securing important spaces in its primary area of interest? Chinese Maritime Tactics Here, Indian analysts must take note of Chinese maritime tactics in the South China Sea. Notwithstanding its military deployments on disputed islands, Chinas real implements of aggression are the maritime militias in the South China Sea. Earlier this month, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, lamented Chinas use of paramilitary agencies in territorial disputes, complicating U.S. attempts to avoid violence in disputed areas. According to U.S. naval sources, the presence of Chinese non-military vessels, including its coast guard and fisheries fleets, have jeopardized naval operations in the region, because such vessels are not governed by agreements like the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES). While China depicts its non-military bodies as law-enforcement agencies, these centrally controlled militias often work together to achieve strategic goals. Their regular employment in dominating maritime spaces is an instructive pointer for Indian watchers. With the expansion of Chinese activities in the Indian Ocean, the presence of non-grey hulls in the Indian Ocean Region is likely to rise. Admittedly, this wouldnt be to the same degree as witnessed in Southeast Asia. But even a relative increase in presence in the Indian Ocean could complicate the security situation in littoral South Asia. Already, Chinas distant water fishing fleet is now the worlds largest and is heavily subsidized. Many, however, see Chinas rise as a fishing power as indicative of its geopolitical aspirations. Indeed, just as the U.S. is now calling for a new Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) to include state-aligned maritime assets, India might need a fresh set of rules of engagement to deal with increased Chinese non-military presence in the IOR. Third, Chinas maritime behavior is independent of multilateral attempts to lower temperatures in the region and aimed at establishing the image of a dominant power player in the Pacific. The timing of the missile placement at Woody Island coincided with U.S. President Barack Obamas meeting with ASEAN leaders at California, where the participants sought to evolve a consensus for a peaceful solution to the disputes in the South China Sea, and the need for common norms and rules of behavior. Beijings actions, U.S. analysts point out, are in reality driven by the need to normalize the idea of Chinese military presence in contested territories. For New Delhi, recent events underscore the contested nature of maritime politics in the Pacific. China and the U.S. play the ritual of cooperation and conflict at sea with a practiced ease that is hard to overlook. Just days after the passage of the Curtis Wilbur for the second FONOPS, the U.S. Chief of Naval Operations consulted with his Chinese counterpart about unplanned encounters at sea. Both naval chiefs appeared satisfied with the implementation of the code. Yet, only a few days later, China had placed missiles on the Woody, and Admiral Harry Harris, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command, announced that the security situation had worsened to a point where the USN was contemplating intensifying the FONOPS. Lastly, the recent developments emphasize the need for India to strike a balance between maritime security imperatives in the Indian Ocean, and its legal stance on freedoms enjoyed by user states in territorial waters. New Delhis real dilemma is that while it opposes Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, it also disagrees with Washingtons interpretation of maritime law and the freedoms enjoyed by foreign warships in littoral spaces. In particular, India does not concur with U.S. attempts at claiming a right to uninterrupted passage in coastal waters without the prior permission of the subject state especially in areas that are deemed to be within a nations territorial waters. New Delhis view on the subject, in fact, broadly corresponds with Beijings particularly on the need for prior notification by foreign warships before entering a coastal states territorial waters or EEZ claiming innocent passage. Viewed through an Indian prism, unannounced forays through territorial waters and EEZs under the rubric of innocent passage or absolute freedom of navigation are a challenging proposition. Even though the UNCLOS permits continuous and expeditious passage necessitated by the requirements of navigation New Delhi does not concur with the practice of conducting maritime operations to score political points. New Delhi know it cannot support a U.S. maneuver, whose logic could be used to justify greater Chinese maritime activism near the Andaman Islands. For this reason alone, it is unlikely that U.S. and India will conduct joint patrols any time in the near future, even though New Delhi broadly supports the U.S. position on the territorial disputes. About the author - Abhijit Singh is a research scholar at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and looks at Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean. He is co-author of the book Indian Ocean Challenges A Quest for Cooperative Solutions. THE DIPLOMAT ( ALL RIGHTS RESERVED) The New Republic is a liberal American magazine of commentary on politics and the arts published since 1914, with major influence on American political and cultural thinking. The news last week was that The New Republic had been sold. After the magazine's turbulent tenure under Facebook mogul Chris Hughes, it was purchased by Win McCormack, an Oregon resident. At first glance this seems like a good fit. McCormack co-founded Mother Jones, another liberal publication, and has a lot of experience both in publishing and Democratic activism. He also aided and abetted serial child-rape. Good ol' Win, just going along to get along. Here's the backstory: In the 1970s, Portland, Oregon, mayor Neil Goldschmidt started sleeping with his kids' babysitter. She was 14 when it started. It didn't become public, but it also wasn't a well-guarded secret. Goldschmidt took her to parties with other power brokers in the state, but no one said anything. As Multnomah County Sheriff Bernie Giusto put it, "You could argue that I had an ethical responsibility to do something." Goldschmidt went on to be Carter's secretary of transportation and was elected governor of Oregon in 1986. In 1990, Goldschmidt stunned Oregon when he announced that he wasn't running for a second term. That Goldschmidt raped a babysitter didn't become public until 14 years later later in the wake of a scandal involving Goldschmidt and his lobbying clients, as well as some dogged Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting from Willamette Week that brought it to light. They were referred to as the "light rail mafia" because Goldschmidt was exploiting all of the transportation rules and development restrictions that he himself had put in place when he was in office. The story was that Goldschmidt's victim had threatened to go public and one of the conditions of the settlement was that he would leave public life. So he became the state's top lobbyist, not that the move would necessarily prevent him from doing less political damage. Let's call it like it was: Neil wasn't "sleeping with" the kid, as that implies something that might have been rather inoffensive. What he was doing was extremely offensive, but he managed to keep it covered up until the statute of limitations that was in effect at the time expired. And good ol' Win knew all about it. But he didn't do anything, because he "didn't want to destroy" Neil. And he doesn't care. The girl Neil raped for years was expendable, but to Neil's supporters (like former Portland mayor Vera Katz and many others), Neil was a "great man". Nope, as Win was all too happy to explain, it's the Republicans who are evil: In 2008, a few years after admitting he didn't go public with his knowledge that Oregon's Democratic governor was a rapist, McCormack wrote a book a called You Don't Know Me: A Citizen's Guide to Republican Family Values. According to the cover blurb from Arianna Huffington, "Win McCormack reveals the true hypocrisy and depravity of those who love to quote the bible but act like Caligula." But when it comes to hypocrisy and depravity, there has never been any equal to Neil, Win McCormack, Vera, and their fellow Democratics in Oregon. Subscribe to A Plein Air Painter's Blog for Tips, Tricks and Techniques Subscribe The blog is devoted to the multiple issues of the security culture. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Monday announced a $17.7 billion business project of Japanese companies in Egypt, funds that will weigh heavily into the Egyptian crumbling economy in need of foreign reserve and cash. Abe who made the announcement after talks with visiting Egyptian President Abdelfattah El-Sisi did not disclose the type of projects to be developed in Egypt, but some press reports hinted the funds will be injected among others in electricity and the railway system. Besides economic cooperation, the two leaders also agreed to develop security cooperation to counter terrorism and insurgency in the Middle East. Weve reached an agreement to bolster our cooperation to eradicate terrorism and extremism, which have transcended particular regions or national borders and have come to pose a threat to peace and security of the international community, Sisi said at the joint news conference with Abe. Two Japanese nationalized were beheaded last year by IS fighters after Tokyo failed to meet demands of the extremist group. The two countries also agreed to develop an education partnership under which Japan will receive 2,500 Egyptian students over the next five years. Before the Egyptian President leaves Japan on Wednesday, Japanese and Egyptian companies are scheduled to sign several agreements. A team of 20 British troops is on its way to Tunisia to help counter illegal cross-border movement from Libya especially extremist militants according to U.K Defense Minister Michael Fallon. The British forces are invited to the country by the Tunisian government as it continues its crackdown on terrorism. Fallon told the House of Commons that the move affirms Britains commitment to peace and security in the region because it is extremely concerned about the proliferation of Daesh with its militants determined to target civilians wherever they can. U.K became more concerned about terrorism in Tunisia after the Sousse attack left 30 of its citizens dead. Tunisia shares a 285mile border with Libya and attackers are reportedly trained there. The British troops from the 4th Infantry Brigade will train Tunisians for two months on effectively guarding their border. The Wall Street Journal reported that up to 7,000 Tunisians have left to fight for IS while another 15,000 was barred from travelling outside the country due to concerns that they will be joining the extremist group. High unemployment has raised concerns that the countrys youth are at a risk of being radicalized and the World Bank has stepped in to minimize the risk by approving a $70million project that would help to curb unemployment. World Bank country manager for Tunisia, Eileen Murray, said the project will promote closer relationship between the universities and the labor market which would form the foundation of Tunisias new economic model and will be essential for meeting the needs of Tunisian youths. Ongoing reforms in the universities and modernization efforts will be supported by the project as university enrollment continues to rise since 2011 with unemployment among graduates reaching 30%. A daily journal of our lives (begun in October, 2010), in photos (many taken by my wife, Evie) and words, mostly from our home on Chautauqua Lake, in Western New York, where my wife Evie and I live, after my having retired from teaching English for forty five years in Hawaii, Istanbul, Turkey, and Ohio. We have three children and seven grandchildren, as you will notice if you follow my blog since we often travel to visit them. Evie's Dahlias, Summer, 2022 Malawi will import 80,000 tons of the staple maize from neighboring countries, including Tanzania, to avert hunger, officials said on Monday. 2.8 million People in Malawi, or 17 per cent of the population, are facing food shortage, according to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP.) According the principal secretary of Malawi ministry of agriculture, Erica Maganga, the country is expecting 50,000 tons of maize from neighboring countries. With the 30,000 tons coming in from Zambia, we expect to add on another 50,000 tons from Tanzania that we have authorized the state-owned grain marketing company ADMARC to import, Erica Maganga said. Drought and floods have hit the maize crop, exposing the fragility of gains which had seen Malawis rates of malnutrition slashed in the past two decades. The Japanese Government through the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) last week has come to the rescue of Malawian hunger situation and Malnutrition by donating US$7.3million. This support enables WFP to continue providing the most food-insecure people with a range of assistance including maize, pulses and Super Cereal. While the Government of Japan and other donors have been generous in their support, WFP still urgently requires US$35 million to continue full food and cash assistance through to the end of April. The International Criminal Courts (ICC) pre-trial chamber will on Tuesday hold a confirmation of charges hearing for Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, an alleged al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militant accused of ordering the destruction of treasured monuments in Malis fabled city of Timbuktu. During the hearing on Tuesday, the prosecution will determine whether there is sufficient evidence that Al Faqi committed the war crimes for which he has been charged. Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi appeared at an initial hearing at the tribunal last year. Prosecutors allege that Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi led a squad of morality police that destroyed nine mausoleums and a mosque in Timbuktu when the ancient city was occupied by Islamist militias in 2012. He is accused of being a member of Ansar Dine, a group with connections to terror group Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. As head of the Hesbah morality police, he was allegedly responsible for carrying out the rulings of the so-called Islamic Court of Timbuktu, which imposed a hard line version of Sharia law. During their occupation of the city, Islamists destroyed mosques, mausoleums, and torched ancient manuscripts. The mausoleums were shrines to the citys founders. The Islamists regarded their worship as sacrilege. The city, which is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, was a major trading hub and center of Islamic learning between the 13th and 17th centuries. Gambian President Yahya Jammeh on Sunday said he will run for a fifth term in office when the country holds presidential elections in December 2017. In a report broadcast by the West African nations state television, Jammeh who has been in power for a little over two decades said his candidacy was approved by the ruling party, Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction. Presidential election will take place in Gambia on December 1 and will be followed by general elections on April 6, 2017. Jammeh, 50, has been president of the tiny West African country since 1994. The former British colonys government has been regularly criticized by Britain and other Western powers for human rights abuses. Jammeh, an animated orator who has earned the reputation for making surprise declarations over the course of his 22-year presidency, pulled the Gambia out of the Commonwealth in 2013, calling it neo-colonial. In 2007 he claimed to have found an herbal cure for Aids. The European Union temporarily withheld aid money in 2014 over the countrys poor human rights record. The Gambia, whose main industries are agriculture and tourism, ranks 165 out of 187 countries on the UN development index. A Hausa language correspondent for Radio France International (RFI) appeared before a military court in Cameroon for the first time on Monday. Abba, who is a local Hausa-language reporter for RFI, was arrested on July 30 in the northern city of Maroua, where he was working. After 15 days in police custody, he was transferred to Yaounde, where he has been held incommunicado. He faces charges of complicity in terrorism and failing to denounce acts of terror, according to the charge sheet read in the court in Yaounde. Abba is accused of acting as an accomplice to two members of Boko Haram group, which is based in Nigeria but active in northern Cameroon, where the government says it has killed 1,200 people since 2013. Local media reported that the journalist denies the charges and his lawyers want the trial scrapped, arguing that the detention is arbitrary and illegal. Abbas lawyer Charles Tchoungang claimed that his client was locked up and chained as were Guantanamo detainees. Cameroon adopted in December 2014 a controversial anti-terrorism law, which permits the death penalty as a sentence for perpetrators or accomplices of terrorist acts. Comment Policy Advance Indiana allows you to post comments via this blog subject to the guidelines set forth herein. You understand that any comments you post are your own and are not those of Advance Indiana. You further understand that Advance Indiana is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced in your comments. Unlawful, harassing, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harmful, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive, or otherwise objectionable comments are not acceptable. If you think any content posted or otherwise included in Advance Indiana violates the guidelines set forth herein, then please alert Advance Indiana. Advance Indiana reserves the right to pre-screen, edit, and remove any post as it deems appropriate. You specifically acknowledge that Advance Indiana has no obligation to display any post submitted or otherwise provided via Advance Indiana. Iran can supply gas to Georgia in swap scheme The supply of Iranian gas to Georgia - on which discussions are currently being conducted - is hardly possible, said Gela Vasadze, a Georgian political analyst and chief editor of the Black Sea Press agency.In fact, there will be no supply of any Iranian gas. Formally and financially [if the agreement on such supply is reached] it will be Iranian gas, but it will actually be Russian, said Vasadze.The expert stated that Russia supplies gas to Armenia through Georgia via the existent infrastructure, which the Georgian authorities formerly refused to sell to Gazprom.Armenias gas transport system, through which Iranian gas theoretically may be transported through Armenia to Georgia, is owned by Gazprom, added Vasadze.It is illogical to physically supply Iranian gas, said the expert, adding that Why should Gazprom have to supply gas through Georgian territory to Armenia, and gas from Iran through Armenia to Georgia?Vasadze said that if such a scheme is applied, Iranian gas will be supplied to Armenia, while the Russian gas which was earlier supplied to Armenia will remain in Georgia.Regarding the transportation of Iranian gas via Azerbaijan, the expert claimed that this also makes no sense, as Azerbaijan itself can supply Georgia's gas. In addition, this would involve transporting the gas over a greater distance than by simply importing the gas from Azerbaijan, and consequently transportation costs will be higher, according to Vasadze.He said that the best option for Georgia is to completely meet the countrys needs by buying supplies from Azerbaijan.Azerbaijan is our strategic partner, which helped us a lot at the time when Georgia was in an energy blockade, the expert said. The current Georgian authorities talk about diversification, but they cannot state a single argument in favor of purchasing Russian or Iranian gas and refusing from supplies from Azerbaijan.Vasadze said that the idea of using Iranian gas supplies is a workaround to avoid offending Russia, which wants to participate in Georgia's energy supply and at the same time avoid substantial resistance in the Georgian society, which is against Gazproms reintroduction into the Georgian energy market.Currently, Azerbaijan is the main supplier of gas to Georgia.Russian gas is supplied to Georgia only in the form of payment for its transit to Armenia. The country obtains 10 percent of the total supply volume.Earlier, Alireza Kamali, the Director General of the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC), said that Tehran and Tbilisi are negotiating for the supply of 200 mcm of Iranian gas to Georgia. Later, Georgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Kakha Kaladze said that Iran will be able to supply its gas to Georgia via Azerbaijan or Armenia. PM: Its our duty to transport and bury our dead compatriots in Georgia By Messenger Staff The Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili says it is a matter of honour for the Government to cover the transportation expenses of those Georgians who have died abroad.Kvirikashvili thanked the Minister of Georgia for Diaspora issues Gela Dumbadze for proposing the initiative, and tasked the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia to settle transportation procedures in a timely manner.The PM said there were a number of cases when the transportation of bodies had lingered on for months, as the families of the deceased lacked the financial recourse to pay for the repatriation themselves.The state is obliged to care about its citizens and such incidents must not take place again, Kvirikashvili said.The PM added there were situations wherein the families of a person who died abroad addressed the Government for help in transporting the body, but the process was slow and beset with bureaucracy.Now, based on the changes, the Foreign Ministry would solve such issues timely, without additional unnecessary procedures.This has been a problem for many years, and the Government should have taken steps to settle the issue long ago.Hundreds of thousands of Georgians are living abroad in order to feed their families here in Georgia.Many of them hoped that after some time, living conditions in Georgia would improve and they would return to their homeland, but many of them die abroad and their bodies remain there for months, as their families here in Georgia do not have enough to cover the high expenses of transportation.It is good that the Government has finally decided to take responsibility in this regard. The News in Brief Traffic to fully resume at Baratashvili Bridge on March 15 Traffic will completely resume on the Baratashvili Bridge on March 15. Tbilisi Mayor Davit Narmania visited the bridge and saw the repairs together with other heads of Tbilisi City Hall. The NCC Company has been carrying out the repair work. The Mayor ordered the company leadership to conclude its operation by March 15. As reported by Tbilisi City Hall the repairs have cost 1,970 million GEL. (IPN) Ivanishvili sues Credit Suisse, claims 100 million francs vanished Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili is suing Credit Suisse for losing 100 million Swiss francs, according to reports in the Swiss media. Ivanishvili has filed a lawsuit in a Geneva court against the financial manager of Credit Suisse Group AG for embezzling his shares. Swiss newspaper Le Tempt writes that Ivanishvilis private banker took about 100 million Swiss francs from funds owned by Ivanishvili in order to cover losses suffered by other clients. According to Wall Street Journal, Ivanishvilis private banker Patrice Lescaudron is now in police custody, and Credis Suisse has sued him for fraud. Two other Russian clients also lost millions. Their identities have not been revealed, but according to Swiss media they are connected to Gazprom. (df watch) Tskhinvali Mulls Referendum on Constitutional Changes Related to Joining Russia The leader of Georgias breakaway region of South Ossetia, Leonid Tibilov, has proposed a referendum on a constitutional change that would allow the de-facto president to request that Moscow fully incorporate South Ossetia into the Russian Federation. Addressing the breakaway regions parliament on February 19, Tibilov suggested that it would be a more flexible form of achieving South Ossetias dream of joining Russia than holding a referendum directly on whether to become or not part of Russia. He indicated that this special form of the referendum will give Tskhinvali a constitutional basis to initiate the accession process whenever appropriate. Calls for joining Russia were frequently heard from Tskhinvali before the August war of 2008, and have been repeatedly vocalised since. In October 2015 Tibilov announced his intention to hold a referendum on joining Russia, but the Kremlin said that the issue was not a topic of discussion with Tskhinvali. Senior Russian lawmakers said that it was not the best time for such a decision, mostly due to international ramifications, and there were simply not enough benefits for Moscow. We cannot but be concerned with more and more frequently voiced demands from Western leaders for Russia to reverse its decision on the recognition of our republic. We are also concerned about the overall sharp deterioration of the international situation; developments in Ukraine, Syria and the Middle East, NATO creeping closer to Russian borders, as well as the continued bellicose anti-Russian and anti-Ossetian rhetoric in our southern neighbor, Tibilov told the breakaway regions parliament on February 19. In these conditions we feel the need even more acutely for materializing our long-standing dream of joining Greater Russia and solving the problem of divided Ossetian people. It is obvious that it is the only way through which we can gain long-term guarantees of security and peaceful development, he said. Thats why we are going to continue consultations this year with the Russian side about holding the referendum. We understand the complexity and delicate nature of this issue and we are not going to create any complications for our strategic partner [Russia] on the international arena, and so I believe that the referendum should be held in a special format, Tibilov said. Thats why it is being considered to put in the referendum a question of adding a clause to the constitution allowing the President to appeal to the Russian Federation with a proposal to accept South Ossetia as part of the Russian Federation. It will give us a firm constitutional basis for initiating the issue of joining Russia, and at the same time we will not be obligating the Russian side to react immediately on the results of our referendum. Then, in agreement with the Russian side, we will have a possibility to put forth without delay the initiative over joining Russia, he said. (Civil.ge) Luke Coffey: NATO should confirm it has serious intentions towards Georgias membership Luke Coffey, Director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation, has declared that NATO should confirm its serious intentions towards Georgias membership to the alliance. As he has told the Voice of America's Georgian office, NATO should send a clear and loud signal to Georgia remarking the country is on the right path. NATO should care for the self-defence of its member states according to the 1949 Washington Agreement. It is not necessary for the alliance to do everything everywhere but to defend its members by means of armies and technical means. But NATO should maintain an open-door policy for the countries that want to integrate in NATO, such as Georgia. It should be finally admitted to the alliance, he said. According to him, NATO's policies towards Montenegro were prudent, and the alliance should now confirm that it has serious intentions in terms of Georgias integration. (IPN) The News in Brief Tskhinvali Mulls Referendum on Constitutional Changes Related to Joining Russia The leader of Georgias breakaway region of South Ossetia, Leonid Tibilov, has proposed a referendum on a constitutional change that would allow the de facto president to request Moscow to formally include South Ossetia in the Russian Federation. Addressing the breakaway regions parliament on February 19, Tibilov suggested that it would be a more flexible form of achieving South Ossetias dream of joining Russia than holding a referendum directly on whether to become or not part of Russia. He indicated that this special form of referendum will give Tskhinvali a constitutional basis to initiate with prior agreement with Moscow accession process whenever appropriate. Calls for joining Russia were frequently heard from Tskhinvali before the August, 2008 war and the issue was emerging time after time since then as well. In October, 2015 Tibilov announced about the intention of holding the referendum on joining Russia, but the Kremlin said at the time that the issue was not a topic of discussion with Tskhinvali. At the time some senior Russian lawmakers said that it was not the best time for such a decision, including because of international context, and there were more cons than pros for Moscow in South Ossetias accession to Russia. We cannot but be concerned with more and more frequently voiced demands from the western leaders for Russia to reverse its decision on recognition of our republic. We are also concerned about overall sharp deterioration of international situation, developments in Ukraine, Syria and Middle East, getting of NATO closer to the Russian borders, continued bellicose anti-Russian and anti-Ossetian rhetoric in our southern neighbor, Tibilov told the breakaway regions parliament on February 19. In these conditions we feel the need even more acutely for materializing our long-standing dream of joining Greater Russia and solving the problem of the divided Ossetian people. It is obvious that it is the only way through which we can gain long-term guarantees of security and peaceful development, he said. Thats why we are going to continue consultations this year with the Russian side about holding the referendum. We understand the complexity and delicate nature of this issue and we are not going to create any complications for our strategic partner [Russia] on the international arena, and so I believe that the referendum should be held in a special format, Tibilov said. Thats why it is being considered to put in the referendum a question of adding a clause to the constitution allowing the President to appeal to the Russian Federation with a proposal to accept South Ossetia as part of the Russian Federation. It will give us a firm constitutional basis for initiating the issue of joining Russia, and at the same time we will not be obligating the Russian side to react immediately on the results of our referendum. Then, in agreement with the Russian side, we will have a possibility to put forth without delay the initiative over joining Russia, he said. (Civil.ge) Tkibuli coal miners continue strike Coal miners in Tkibuli in western Georgia are continuing their strike, which began more than a week ago. They are demanding an increase in wages and better working conditions, particularly warm working clothes for the winter period. Mindeli and Dzidziguri mines are affected by the strike. The workers say they approached the company that owns the mines Saknakhshiri - several months ago, explaining their problems, but their requests were ignored, which was why they decided to go on strike. The miners say that in 2016, Tkibuli was taken off a government list of mountainous settlements, which means that they no longer enjoy favorable terms that are offered to villages and towns in mountainous areas. As a result, they have to pay 20 percent income tax instead of 10 percent. On Friday, workers met with the head of municipality, the gamgebeli, to explain their problems. Some time earlier, a majoritarian member of parliament from Tkibuli, Eliso Chapidze, met with the miners. She also met with the Director General of Sakhnakhshiri GIG, Vakhtang Chkheidze, to discuss the problems the miners are facing, but no consensus was reached. The Director called on the miners to return to work, because the strike has harmed both the company and the community. However, the miners say they will not give up until their demands have been met. (DF watch) Traffic banned at Gudauri-Kobi road section According to the Roads Department of Georgia, traffic is currently banned at the Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi road (Gudaruri-Kobi section) due to the possible threat of avalanche. Heavy vehicles and those with a capacity of more than 30 people are not allowed at the Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi road (Aragvispiri-Gudauri-Larsi section) due to snow and frost. All other kinds of traffic are allowed to pass, providing snow chains have been equipped. (IPN) WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DEMOCRAT PARTY? I can no longer remain in todays Demo Party that is now under the control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoke anti-white racism, actively undermine our freedoms, are hostile to people of faith, demonize the police and protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans, believe in open borders, weaponize the national security state to go after opponents.TULSI GABBARD Late Monday, lawmakers released the additional payments some hospitals will receive in next years state budget. The plan, released at 9:30 p.m. Monday, is among the most anxiously-awaited parts of the states health care budget, as it included more than $1 billion in supplemental money for hospitals. Across the board, hospitals took hits owing to a $400 million reduction in the Low Income Pool, a pot of state and federal money that pays for uncompensated charity care. Among the hardest hit by the drop in LIP: the states safety net hospitals, which include public hospitals, specialty childrens hospitals and teaching hospitals. We werent given a lot of latitude, said Rep. Matt Hudson, R-Naples, the Houses health budget chairman. At the end of the day, theres going to be winners and losers. Lawmakers say their hands were tied by the federal governments decision to cut LIP. And while they tried to shore up some hospitals using other programs, as well as a $75 million budget item for childrens hospitals, local facilities are still likely to be hurt. Were working in an environment where we have $400 million less and next year we might not have anything, said Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, the Senates health care budget chairman. This was the best we could do with the federal guidelines. Under the plan, there are four tiers for LIP, with the hospitals that see the most charity patients receiving larger sums of money. Whats more, lawmakers were able to ensure that the hospitals whose communities contribute the most tax dollars to the LIP program would receive their investment back at the very minimum. Heres the impact on safety net hospitals in South Florida, after taking into account tax dollars they contributed: * Jackson Memorial Hospital, $187.5 million, a 29 percent drop from the current fiscal year * Broward Health system, $82.1 million, a 24 percent drop * Memorial Healthcare System, $82 million, a 24 percent drop * Nicklaus Childrens Hospital, $53.6 million, a 7 percent drop * Mt. Sinai Medical Center, $12.7 million, a 33 percent drop Former State Sen. Rod Smith is aiming for a return to the Florida Senate. Smith on Tuesday officially filed to run for Senate District 8, a newly redrawn North Florida district that includes all of his home county of Alachua County, plus all of Putnam County and part of Marion County. I have chosen to re-enter public service because, while political leaders now running Tallahassee keep assuring us that everything is just fine, we here in North Central Florida know better," Smith said in a press release announcing his candidacy. Smith, who was the running mate for Alex Sink during her 2010 campaign against Gov. Rick Scott, is one of the state Democrats biggest hopes to pick up a seat in the Florida Senate that is dominated by Republicans now. Republicans currently have a 26-14 advantage in the Senate. Before the latest round of redistricting, Alachua, Putnam and Marion were split into three different districts, all of which are held by Republicans now. The courts forced all of the state's 40 senate districts to be redrawn for this year's elections because it ruled the Legislature has violated the state constitution's provision barring them from drawing districts to favor candidates or political parties. State Rep. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, has announced he is also running for the seat. The new District 8 is a district President Barack Obama won in 2012 by just over 1 percent over Republican Mitt Romney. Smith served in the Florida Senate from 2000 to 2006, when he left to run for governor. He lost in a primary to Democrat Jim Davis, who in turn lost to then-Republican Charlie Crist. A protest that was supposed to demand Donald Trump's campaign chairman in Florida resign from his Florida State University position never got off the ground on Tuesday. Just a few students showed up to the rally that had been billed as a movement to demand the resignation of Joe Gruters, a member of the FSU board of trustees who is also one of Trump's top campaign officials in the state. The rally had been advertised as a response to Trump's slow reaction to condemning support from David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan during a television interview with CNN's Jake Tapper. Flyers promoting the event did not name any students or organizations backing the protest. "He is in direct violation of University Policy by acting by acting as a surrogate for a candidate who repeatedly puts people down based on race, religion, etc," a flying promoting the rally. FSU sophomore Jane Reid, from Sarasota, was one of the few to show up with sign in hand demanding Gruters be fired. She said Gruters impartiality is in question by serving as FSU trustee and Trump's campaign chairman. Gruters, of Sarasota, said he is not surprised that the rally was a dud. He said Trump's condemnation of the KKK is "a none issue that is being fabricated by the establishment," which is trying to beat him in the GOP primary. "He disavowed it," Gruters said in defending Trump. "He didn't understand what he was being asked. Once he did, he completely disavowed it. This guy doesn't have a racist bone in his body." On Sunday, Trump drew fire after he was asked by Tapper whether he would disavow support from Duke and other white supremacist groups that are supporting his campaign. "Just so you understand, I don't know anything about David Duke, OK?" Trump answered during the interview. Trump was asked three times about whether he'd distance himself from the Ku Klux Klan -- but never did. Trump on Monday said he had a bad earpiece during the interview and simply could not hear Tapper's question. "I could hardly hear what he's saying," Trump said in a television interview with NBC on Monday. Gruters said he suspects one of the rival campaigns thought they could fire up students on the issue. Gruters has been member of the FSU board of trustees since May 2011, after Gov. Rick Scott appointed him to replace former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks. In October, Trump picked Gruters, the current Sarasota County Republican Party chairman, and Susan Wiles, Scott's 2010 campaign manager, to be his co-chairman of his Florida campaign team. Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, says he personally delivered the unpleasant news to Gov. Rick Scott last Friday that Enterprise Florida will have no new money next year for incentives to attract jobs. "He was disappointed, and rightfully so," Gardiner said in an interview in his Capitol office, recalling their conversation. "I said, 'Governor, there comes a point where the Senate backed you on the incentives, we did everything we could, but now we have to start thinking about how we bring this thing in for a landing.' And with no movement from the House, we really were in a situation where we needed to move on." Gardiner said Enterprise Florida, the public-private partnership that recruits companies to the state, now needs to develop a strategy to "survive" without taxpayer support. The Senate backed Scott's call for a record $250 million for a new "enterprise fund" over three years, which Scott and EFI said they needed for Florida to compete with other states for jobs, mostly through a program known as the Quick Action Closing Fund. But the next cadre of House leaders, led by House Appropriations Chairman Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, vehemently opposes subsidizing corporate America, even though the House supported $43 million for the same programs a year ago. House sources say Scott's top aides never seriously tried to negotiate for a smaller pot of money, a strategy that proved disastrous. The Senate's decision to capitulate to Corcoran surprised House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, but Gardiner said Senate leaders faced the reality that the House firmly opposed the idea. "You don't necessarily agree with it, but you have to accept it and move on," Gardiner said. "If you want to get out of here on time, you've got to make some tough decisions. That was one of those." @ByKristenMClark Self-declaring as the "clear front-runners" in Florida's contentious U.S. Senate race, Democrat Alan Grayson and Republican David Jolly say they have agreed to a series of head-to-head debates between this month and the November election. The congressmen's joint announcement capitalizes on the latest Public Policy Polling poll, released earlier today, which found Jolly and Grayson each with more than 25 percent of likely voters' support and with double-digit leads in their respective party primaries. Grayson told the Herald/Times that none of the other contenders -- Democrat Patrick Murphy and Republicans Ron DeSantis, Carlos Lopez-Cantera, Carlos Beruff and Todd Wilcox -- was invited because, he said, "nobody else is really in contention." "We're both polling with double-digit leads and that's been consistent," Grayson said. However, the PPP poll was far from a decisive declaration of the race. In both the Republican and Democratic contests, almost half of voters polled remain "undecided" -- a consistent theme in other polls on the race for Marco Rubio's open U.S. Senate seat. The crowded field has meant all of the candidates, particularly on the Republican side, have struggled to stand out. Grayson said he invited Jolly to do the debates; he said the congressman from Indian Shores "well and ably represents the Republican point of view." They want the match-ups to be "genuine debates on the major issues of the day" akin to the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Grayson said. Jolly said the debates will provide the opportunity "to contrast our differing views for the future of Florida and the country." via @TMarreroTimes Gov. Rick Scott is keeping the door shut on an endorsement of his lieutenant governor, who is running in a crowded U.S. Senate race that got a little more crowded this week with the addition of another key ally of the governors. Carlos Beruff, a wealthy Manatee County developer with Miami roots who served on Scotts transition team and chaired his Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding, officially announced his candidacy Monday. Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera has been in the race since July. Tuesday, Scott said he has no plans to make an endorsement in a contest that also includes U.S. Reps. David Jolly and Ron DeSantis. I am not endorsing in the Senate race, Scott told reporters after a reporter asked if he would consider endorsing Beruff. Theres a lot of good candidates running. My lieutenant governors in that race. Carlos Beruff, I think, entered just in the last couple of days. He was the chairman of my hospital and health care commission and did a good job. My lieutenant governors done a great job. Scott made the comments after a medal ceremony for veterans in Pinellas Park. Public Policy Pollings latest survey found that Lopez-Cantera is trailing both Jolly and DeSantis. via @TMarreroTimes: As a presidential race of epic proportions continued to rage and voters in 13 states went to the polls for Super Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott seems content to sit on the sidelines, at least for now. Exactly two weeks before Floridas March 15 primary, Scott has yet to endorse a candidate in the Republican race. On Tuesday, Scott said he hasn't made a decision and is not sure if he will. Here are portions of an exchange with reporters after Scott awarded the Governors Service Medal to several dozen veterans during a ceremony at the C.W. Bill Young Armed Forces Reserve Center in Pinellas Park. Reporter: Youve been rumored to be a possible nominee to run with (frontrunner Donald) Trump. Can you talk a little bit about that? Scott: Ive got three years left on this job. By the way, this is a great job. Ive worked hard to make sure everybody can get a job in our state. Weve added a million jobs. Ive got three years left. My goal at the end of this time as governor is people are going to say, "I have to live in Florida because I can get a job, I have to live in Florida because my kids can get a great education and I have to live in Florida because I know I can be safe. Reporter: Would you consider endorsing Trump for president? Scott: I havent endorsed anyone in the presidential race to date. Im not sure if I will. My focus, as you know, is on jobs. Weve added a million jobs. Im looking for the best jobs plan. Somebody thats going to cut our federal debt. Somebody thats going to cut taxes. Somebodys thats going to reduce federal regulation. Somebody thats going to figure out how to destroy Isis. Reporter: Have you made a decision that you will endorse, or are you still on the fence about whether you will? If you do, do you have a time frame on when you would? Scott: I havent made a decision on it. Scott has made known his admiration for Trump, however. In early January, penned a glowing op/ed for USA Today that seemed to all but endorse Trump. As for Scott getting picked as Trumps running mate, check out what Tampa Bay Times political editor Adam Smith had to say on that. @MichaelAuslen This morning could be the end of the road for Dr. John Armstrongs confirmation. After an Ethics and Elections Committee hearing at 8:30, the state surgeon general could be headed to a floor vote in the Senate, or Gov. Rick Scott could be faced with replacing his hand-picked appointee to run the Department of Health. The surgeon general, who has faced harsh criticism and tough questions through the session as senators repeatedly delayed his confirmation, says he is looking forward to the Ethics and Elections Committee hearing. I think I have an opportunity to share some thoughts about where this department is with Ethics and Elections and answer questions, and I remain grateful for the opportunity, Armstrong said in an interview with the Times/Herald on Monday. Since last week, when a vote on Armstrongs confirmation was most recently postponed because there wasnt enough support in the committee, Scotts office has been lobbying hard to confirm the governors appointee. In a rare move for a confirmation battle, Scotts office and the state Department of Health, which Armstrong runs, sent letters of support from various health care groups. On Monday, Scott and Armstrong sat down in the Capitol with lobbyists from some of those groups, including the Florida Medical Association, the Cancer Action Network and the Florida Public Health Association. The meetings purpose was for Armstrong to highlight his work as surgeon general since Scott first appointed him in 2012. The agenda involved looking at where we are now with health in the state and thinking about next steps, Armstrong said. They talked about cancer, Armstrongs signature healthy weight initiative and making healthy choices. And, he said, we talked about our progress in working to eliminate HIV disease in the state. Michael-in-Norfolk disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, completeness, legality, reliability, operability, or availability of information or material displayed on this site and does not claim credit for any images or articles featured on this site, unless otherwise noted. All visual content is copyrighted to it's respectful owners. Information on this site may contain errors or inaccuracies, and Michael-in-Norfolk does not make warranty as to the correctness or reliability of the site's content. 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Let us know here , we're looking for contributors! With spring break just around the corner, many people will go on vacation to exotic locations. Planning a trip and packing can be extremely hectic, and can be even more stressful if you take medications. Here a few tips to remember when traveling with medications: Make sure you have enough medication to get through the entire trip. You may even consider taking a few extra days worth in case your return is delayed. Keep your medications in the original child-resistant bottles. Baggies and pillboxes can be easily accessed by young children. Never combine different medications in the same bottle. Many people think they can tell the medications apart by the shape and color, but this may increase the chance of taking the wrong medication. Pack your medications in a cool, dry place and out of direct sunlight. If youre flying, always pack your medications in your carry-on luggage and bring it on the plane with you. Your daily routine will be different while you are away from home, and it may be hard to remember to take your medications. It may be helpful to set an alarm to remind you when to take them. If you are going to be in another time zone, make sure to have a plan ahead of time. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist to see if your medication schedule needs to be adjusted or if you can develop your on schedule while on vacation. If traveling somewhere warm, remember that some medications make you sunburn more easily. Some patches may release medication more quickly if exposed to extreme heat while sunbathing or sitting in hot tubs. Make sure to talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your medications to see if you are taking any medications that may cause these reactions. In 2012, an American man traveling in Serbia ran out of his blood pressure medication diltiazem. In the United States, diltiazem is known by many brand names, including Dilacor XR. The man went to a local Serbian pharmacy to fill enough medication to get him through the rest of his trip. The pharmacist filled the prescription with the Serbian brand-name medication Dilacor. In Serbia, however, Dilacor is the brand name for digoxin which is used to lower the heart rate. The man began taking the digoxin, which brought down his heart rate and made him feel tired. Because he felt so bad, he took extra doses thinking his blood pressure was too high. By the time he returned home to the United States, the man had to be admitted to the hospital to be treated for digoxin toxicity. This story highlights the importance of always carrying a list of your current medications that includes both the generic and brand names along with the dose, how often you take it, and the reason for taking it. Brand-name products may contain different active ingredients in different countries, so make sure the correct medication has been dispensed if you have to fill a temporary supply while in another country. Your list should also include important phone numbers, including your doctor and pharmacy, as well as your medical conditions and allergies you may have. Keep the list somewhere safe and make sure those travelling with you know where to find it. Safe travels! *** This Nurse's Notes column was written by Amanda Patel, a medication safety coordinator at Providence St. Patrick Hospital. THREE MILE When Colleen Schmiedeke swings open the door of the Three Mile Fire Departments newest ambulance, you can feel her sense of pride in this small community that cares about its own. Our board doesnt buy used, she said. Its all new equipment thats as fine as anything you would find in an ambulance elsewhere in the county. Its been a quarter-century since the Three Mile Fire District decided it needed to own its ambulance to service the community on the east of the valley between Florence and Stevensville. Back then, Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital didnt have sustainable ambulance service operating in the area. They might not have known what they were getting into, Schmiedeke said. But they knew it was the right thing to do. Today, the district owns and operates two ambulances, including a brand-new vehicle purchased just last year. Our fire district has always been on board, Schmiedeke said. Today, about 80 percent of our calls are medical. The board makes sure that all the equipment is kept up-to-date. Like other Ravalli County ambulances, the Three Mile District also took advantage of an American Heart Association Mission:Lifeline Montana grant to acquire an EKG machine capable of transmitting real time heart monitoring information to local hospitals. The grant was made possible by a $4.5 million gift from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. In September, the equipment helped save the life of a local man who requested the ambulance after feeling chest pain when he finished a ride on his exercise bike. The Three Mile Fire District volunteers transmitted an EKG to the hospital within two minutes after they arrived on the scene. A ST-elevated myocardial infarction of STEMI heart was diagnosed and physicians at a cath lab in Missoula were notified. In just 39 minutes from that first medical contact by the Three Mile volunteers, the man was fitted with the stint that may have saved his life. In June, Schmiedeke said the district will obtain a Lucas chest compression system that will further improve their operation in addressing heart attacks. The Three Mile Fire District ambulance crews have worked closely with Missoula Emergency Services for almost 20 years. Most of their patients want to be transported into Missoula, she said. The Missoula Emergency Services ambulance crews will often meet them halfway. We have had a really good working relationship with them, she said. When people want to go to Marcus Daly, we take them there. Everyone who works on the Three Mile crew is a volunteer. During the daytime, we basically only have three people doing this, she said. Everyone else is working in Missoula or elsewhere. Of the 21 volunteers on the Three Mile Fire District, eight are certified as EMTs. Its very difficult anymore to get people to volunteer, Schmiedeke said. Were always looking for new people. They do have to be willing to respond when the call comes, no matter what the time. The volunteers we have are very dedicated. There are people who live in the Three Mile Fire District who really dont understand just what they have. What I pay every year for fire protection is something like $50, she said. When you think about the equipment the district has invested in and the volunteers who are ready to go at all times of the day, its not much. We are just really fortunate to have always had a fire district board that is proactive when it comes to community service, Schmiedeke said. And the district has always had a really good relationship with the community. Thats the way its supposed to work. LIBBY The Oscars may have gone to the films star, director and cinematographer Sunday night, but the latest news about The Revenant was coming out of a motel in Libby on Monday. Yvonne Hill, who owns the Sandman Motel where The Revenant stunt crew spent much of last July while some filming for the movie was completed on the Kootenai River, said a stunt double for Academy Award-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio was twice injured while going over Kootenai Falls. The first time I think a helicopter blew him off course and he missed the six-foot window he had, and after he went over the falls he hit so hard it crushed his heel, Hill said. The movie people asked him if he could do another take, and he said yes. The second time he went over he shattered his leg. Nobody else has ever gone over Kootenai Falls and lived to tell about it, Hill added. Alex Krimm, the stuntman, was taken by ambulance to Kalispell Regional Medical Center after the second mishap, according to Hill, and has undergone four surgeries in the months since. Hes probably got 27 pins in it, Hill said, adding that Krimms name was then left off the films credits. Four months after Krimm was hurt, director Alejandro G. Inarritu named best director on Sunday for the second year in a row was still denying rumors that The Revenant had been dogged by hellish working conditions, crew defections and injuries on the set. The facts speak for themselves, Inarritu told Jeremy Kay of Screen International magazine in a story published on Screendaily.com in December. There were no injuries in all of the film, at all. No actor, nobody got injured. *** Hill said she and her family enjoyed hosting the stunt crew during its time in Libby, and became good friends with Krimm, who has worked on more than 20 films as a stuntman, stunt double, diver and on water safety crews, including the "Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Hills son Cameron, a University of Montana graduate, was hired as a production assistant on The Revenant, responsible for everything from the crews time sheets to their walkie-talkies while filming was done on Kootenai Falls. In fact, Cameron is on his way down there now to spend a couple of weeks with Alex, Hill said. They became good friends. She said when their family went to see The Revenant, they were shocked that Krimms name didnt appear in the closing credits but when she continued to see stories where the filmmakers denied there had been injuries, figured that was probably why. Now, its all hush-hush, theyre keeping it quiet so they can still say nobody got hurt making this movie, Hill said. Krimm did not immediately return an email request for a phone interview Monday. *** The Revenant has more ties to Montana than the relatively brief screen time that came from the Kootenai Falls shoot. It is based on a novel about a real-life American frontiersman, Hugh Glass, and his extraordinary experiences in what are now South Dakota and Montana. Injured by a grizzly bear, Glass was betrayed by another member the crew of trappers he was traveling with, and left to die. He didnt, and pursued the man who betrayed him. Michael Punke, who lived in Missoula from 2003-09, wrote The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge, which was published in 2002. Punke now somewhat famously is not allowed to talk about his book or the film because he is the United States ambassador to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. The job prevents him from speaking publicly and generating publicity for the novel or the movie. Several Montanans were employed on the Libby crew, according to Deny Staggs, commissioner of the Montana Film Office. They included people from the Whitewater Rescue Institute in Missoula. We were happy to get a little bit of the film made here in Montana, since a lot of it took place here, Staggs said. Its a small part of the movie, but a beautifully epic part. Most of The Revenant was filmed in Alberta. *** The scene where Glass goes over the waterfall is the stuff of movie magic. The Revenant is set in winter, but Krimm and the other stuntmen and doubles filmed their scenes on hot July days under bright blue Montana skies. Staggs said the filmmakers also went to Argentina to shoot snow-covered footage of a river and mountains, and the plate shots were layered over the Montana scenes to turn Kootenai Falls into a winter wonderland. Then they went back to L.A. and built a river tank with a giant green screen behind it, and filled the tank with warm water, Staggs said. Thats when DiCaprio was filmed in the Kootenai River. The Revenant is far from Libbys debut on the big screen. Its not even the first time the Kootenai River has been featured. Steven Spielberg came to Lincoln County in the 1980s to make one of his lesser-known movies, Always, with Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter and John Goodman. In 1994, Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon and the Kootenai River starred in The River Wild. In 2002, Tara Reid starred in a straight-to-video thriller called Devils Pond that was filmed in the Libby area. It was exciting getting to know the stunt crew that stayed at the Sandman last summer, Hill said. Other crew members stayed at other lodgings in Libby, she added. She and her husband Shane were invited to watch the last day of filming, when she says Krimm was injured. Krimm, wearing a helmet and flotation devices, went over the falls three times, Hill said. One was successful, one he injured a heel, and the third time, when he broke his leg, he was draped in a bear skin she believes may have contributed to things not going as planned. Shes happy DiCaprio, Inarritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki won Oscars on Sunday night, but Hill said shes disappointed Krimm didnt even make the credits after being injured. I thought, Are you kidding me? Hill said. He should get an Academy Award for what he went through. The Missoula County Sheriffs Office will add a pair of K-9 units to the force this spring, and the office is choosing handlers who will be paired with the dogs. Lt. Jeremy Meeder said it will be the department's first K-9 unit in 15 years. Although reviving the program has been discussed for the past decade, Meeder said there was always a reason, usually money or personnel, that kept it from happening. When Sheriff (T.J.) McDermott came in, we talked about priorities and he felt it was very important, Meeder said. After researching its options and talking with other law enforcement agencies, Meeder said the sheriffs office chose to use South Police Canine Inc. in North Carolina as the source for its dogs and training. The Missoula sheriffs K-9 units will be certified in both narcotics and patrol duty, which includes everything from locating missing people to aiding in the apprehension of dangerous suspects. As an example, when a building is broken into, its very dangerous for officers because the person could be inside waiting for them, Meeder said. Sometimes, just having the dog there as a potential use of force can be a deterrent. Meeder said the University of Montana already has a pair of K-9 units with certification in sniffing out explosives, and the sheriff's office felt it would be redundant to have its dogs specialize in that area as well. Also, with explosives and narcotics training, they dont like to mix the two, he said. The sheriffs office is in the process of choosing who its handlers will be. Meeder said eight officers applied for the positions, and this week he is conducting home inspections to ensure they have adequate space for a kennel and to talk to the families. Its a 365-day, 24-hour responsibility, Meeder said. The officers will also go through a formal interview before the handlers are chosen in mid-March. In April, the handlers will travel to North Carolina, where staff at Southern Police Canine will match them with a dog based on personality. They will then go through six weeks of training before the unit is certified and returns to Missoula. Meeder said the K-9 units will be required to go through annual re-certification, which will likely be done in Great Falls, whose police department brings trainers from SPCI to Montana every year. K-9 units from Helena also use that opportunity for re-certification. The K-9 units will also have 16 hours of required training in Missoula each month. The cost for each K-9 unit is $25,000, Meeder said. That includes not only the dog, initial training and tools, but annual re-certification by SPCI. It also includes a retrofit of the patrol cars to add a kennel inside. Meeder said the vehicles will undergo some changes to ensure the dogs safety. There are sensors inside, and if the temperature reaches a certain threshold, the windows go down, the fan starts and it sends an alert to the officer, Meeder said. The handler also will be alerted if the vehicle is turned off for a period of time with the dog inside and the sensors detect movement. The money for the K-9 units will come from a reserve fund built up by the sheriffs office, Meeder said. Medical marijuana providers in Missoula have taken a somber but defiant stand in the wake of last Thursdays 6-1 ruling by the Montana Supreme Court that severely restricts their ability to do business. The courts ruling upheld several provisions of a 2011 law that reined in providers. The decision means each cannabis dispensary would be able to supply the plant to only three patients starting March 11. Physicians who approve more than 25 people for medical marijuana will also face review from the state Board of Medical Examiners. For Missoula medical marijuana dispensary owner Jason Rusch of Montana Buds, the ruling will mean he has to immediately cut off customers who depend on him. Were going to tell the governor he can write the letters to patients telling them we cant see them, Rusch said. He can tell the three lucky ones they won the lottery. We have right around 360 patients. That will be 357 sad folks, and its just the most difficult thing weve ever had to go through. Were trying to comfort them the best we can. Its the craziest thing weve ever seen. Rusch said attorney Jim Goetz of Bozeman was preparing to file an appeal sometime after March 11. Goetz did not return a call seeking comment. Montana voters approved the use of marijuana for medical reasons back in 2004. When the U.S. Department of Justice announced in 2009 that it wouldnt interfere with medical marijuana users who comply with state law, the industry ballooned. By 2011, there were seven times more patients 30,000 and three times as many providers 4,400 registered with the state. Also in 2011, the state Legislature enacted a bill that imposed tighter restrictions on the booming industry. A Helena judge later blocked portions of the 2011 restrictions, and the state appealed that ruling. In 2015, Goetz filed a response to the states appeal and it went before the Montana Supreme Court. As of January, there were 13,640 people enrolled in the Montana Marijuana Program with the Department of Health and Human Services. There were 471 providers and 206 physicians associated with marijuana patients. Missoula County has 1,190 patients and 58 providers. Gallatin County has 2,826 patients and 120 providers, while Flathead County has 1,567 patients and 65 providers. *** Chris Fanuzzi, the founder and CEO of Lionheart Caregiving, a medical marijuana dispensary in Missoula, said hes going to fight to stay open. He said his business has nearly 800 patients and is one of the largest providers in the state. We went through this once before in 2011, he said. I lost all my patients and had to destroy my product. It could be devastating to many peoples jobs. Its possible that we might have to restructure to remain in compliance with the law. But I do want to keep my doors open and continue to provide service to patients. Im vowing to do everything in my power to do that. Fanuzzi said the state will lose the tax revenue generated by employers like him. In 2011, the state lost a tremendous amount of tax benefits, he said. This is a killer of our community. When people move out of the state, that affects businesses. When people stop paying taxes, that affects businesses. Its ludicrous to discriminate against people because they use cannabis. People are going to suffer. This is a de facto prohibition, basically. Fanuzzi said cannabis is used by many people as an alternative to dangerous opioids to manage pain. This seems unreasonable and unfair, he said. I had a lady who was a patient who died. In 2011, she was denied safe access, so she decided to go back on prescription pain medication. Just a few days later, she died from an overdose of prescription drugs and alcohol. At the time, I was thinking to myself that she would be alive if the law was intact. He said the Montana Supreme Court is pushing back against the will of the people. This is clearly going against what people wanted, he said. Patients put their identities on the line and submitted to background checks. They are paying the expensive fees to their doctor and to the state. They expect a reciprocal commitment. Thousands of people followed protocol on the basis that they would have safe and legal access to cannabis." Anthony Varriano, a Billings-based marijuana advocate, is organizing more than 150 signature gatherers across the state to put a measure on the November ballot that would legalize, regulate and tax the sale of marijuana. They have to collect 24,178 signatures, and Varriano estimates theyve gotten between 5,000 and 8,000 so far. MISSOULA On Feb. 24, 2016, Joyce Jacobson, our beloved wife, mother and Gram, passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Joyce was a welcoming, caring and beautiful person inside and out. She showed love to everyone she met. Joyce was one of eight children born to Ernest and Grace Sykes in Cross Creek, Florida, on Nov. 19, 1936. She loved to tell of her antics and fond memories of growing up with her siblings in central Florida. She loved Montana and lived here for the past 57 years, but always held Florida close to her heart. During her nurses training in Chattahoochee, Florida, she met Jerry Jacobson, the love of her life, on a beach in Panama City, Florida, in 1957. After graduating from nursing school in 1957, she worked at a V.A. hospital in Texas. Not long after she transferred to Wichita, Kansas, where she and Jerry were married in 1959. They moved to Jerrys hometown of Missoula, with Joyce working at St. Patrick Hospital before deciding to stay home and raise her three children. Their first son, Ron, was born in 1961, followed by daughter Cathy in 1964 and the youngest son, Greg, in 1970. Her life revolved around her three children. She was a fun-loving mother who would play with her children from card games to massive water fights. As much as she loved being a mother, she found great joy in being a grandmother. She loved spending time with each of her grandchildren and was happiest when she had them all with her. Her grandchildren were perfect in her eyes and could do no wrong. She loved to brag about them to her friends and other family members. She supported them by attending their sporting events, concerts and plays, no matter where they were held. She was an active member of Immanuel Lutheran Church. She spent countless hours over the years volunteering her time to many ministries of the church. Joyce was active in the Missoula community including Meals on Wheels. She delivered hundreds of meals for the homebound and coordinated the program for many years. Joyce had many interests including sewing, carving wooden Santa figures, beading and traveling. One of her greatest adventures was to the Holy Land with her best friend, Nancy Stoverud. She was a woman of a deep and abiding faith and to travel to the Holy Land was a dream come true for her. Joyce was preceded in death by her father, Ernest Sykes; her mother, Grace Sykes; brothers, Owen Sykes, Esmond Sykes and Gary Sykes; sister, Sandra Sykes; sister-in-law, Jackie Scoville; and granddaughter, Cara Jacobson. Survivors include husband, Jerry; son Ron (Shelly) Jacobson; daughter Cathy (Bill) Rankin; son Greg (Cheryl) Jacobson; and her beloved grandchildren, Raimey Burgess, Kaila Jacobson, Colton Jacobson, Elissa Rankin, Julia Rankin and Emma Jacobson. She is survived by sisters, Alice Martin and Jan (Ed) Curren; brother Hugh Sykes; as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. A celebration of Joyces life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 9, at Immanuel Lutheran Church. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Immanuel Lutheran Church Accessibility Fund in her name. John McCutcheon studies bacteria that live inside cicadas. Orion Berryman uses a snazzy diffractometer to look at molecule structures. The University of Montana faculty members just won the 2016 Oscars for researchers. This year, the National Science Foundation awarded McCutcheon and Berryman each a prestigious CAREER Grant, bringing more than $1.4 million to the campus in all. The grants are slated to be paid over the course of five years. The federal agency with a mission to promote science gives out 300 to 400 such awards each year to junior faculty integrating research and education, UM said. On its website, the foundation said its awards account for "about 20 percent of federal support to academic institutions for basic research." "The fact the University of Montana received two awards is rare and a testament to the quality of the researchers being recruited to campus," Scott Whittenburg, vice president for research and creative scholarship, said in a statement from UM. Berryman, assistant professor of chemistry, said UM has the only diffractometer in the Rocky Mountain Northwest. It's a $515,000 piece of equipment installed in February 2014 and was purchased with an earlier NSF grant. UM has used it to help its own labs as well as to assist other institutions, such as the University of Idaho, Carroll College and Montana State University, in getting preliminary results for grants and applications. Berrymans lab uses the machine to create an exact map of what a molecule looks like, such as catalysts for sulfur compounds. Once researchers have a solid picture of the structure of a molecule, they can adjust its properties to see how it reacts. The goal of his current grant? To make catalysts, or speed up reactions. "If we can find new ways to catalyze reactions, it could have potential impacts in a whole host of different areas," said Berryman, at UM since 2012. In the future, for instance, a scientist may be able to create a more effective prescription drug using the road map provided by Berryman and the diffractometer. "So the new process that we are developing will allow you to make new things, as well as save time and money," Berryman said. The National Science Foundation awarded Berryman $675,000 for expenses related to his research and to be paid over the next five years. In his other work, Berryman uses 3-D printing as a way to inspire students into STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math education. He'd like people to contact him if they have a use for 3-D printing that might complement the work at UM. Reach Berryman by email at orion.berryman@umontana.edu. *** McCutcheon, in the Division of Biological Sciences, studies bacteria that live inside cicadas, and his work earned a grant of $746,301 from the foundation. In his field, researchers do a lot of work looking at the way bacteria in the gut affect human health, he said. But bacteria are plentiful in the human system, and McCutcheon had a different focus in mind. "I wanted to work on a simple system," he said. In Tucson, Arizona, he did some research on a local species of cicada on a whim, and he figured it'd be a one-time experiment. "It turned out to be super interesting, and not in the way that I expected," McCutcheon said. "These bacteria are really weird. They just have really small genomes that don't have very many genes on them." In fact, the bacteria that live inside that noisy bug are surprisingly similar to parts of plant and animal cells, he said. And the processes underway in the cicada offer insights into human cell biology. "So what I've done since working at UM is look for those similarities," McCutcheon said. "You see a lot more than you would have expected." According to a news release from UM, the work involves extensive computing, and the assistant professor will teach programming to students as part of the grant. "A major goal of the project is to increase the competitiveness of UM students by giving them the computational tools they need to handle diverse, complex and large sets of data," UM stated in the news release. UM first nabbed two CAREER awards in the same year in 2008, and in 2009, it earned three of the grants, according to a news release. (See chart for more details on past awards.) Dr. Ira Byock reaffirmed his opposition to "death with dignity" during his presentation, "The Future of Whole Person Care" at St. Patrick Hospital on Jan. 26. Death with dignity allows a physician to write a prescription so properly qualified and terminally ill patients may end their life when they choose. Byock's reason is that there's so much work left to be done to transform palliative and hospice care to better attend to the "spiritual and emotional needs" of dying patients that death with dignity will be a way to avoid doing that work, "an excuse to stop trying." Byock asserts that death with dignity must wait until the rest of the health care system is fixed to deliver proper end-of-life care first! However, Byock himself illustrated why requiring such a total fixing might never be reasonable. For even here in Missoula, Community Medical Center and St. Patrick Hospital recently adopted incompatible electronic medical records software "an insanity the community should never have allowed" Byock claimed, because of the barrier created to the "continuity of care" Byock's vision requires. Byock's demand is unreasonable as well in that it's like requiring that no one can fly anywhere until all the country's roads are fixed first. But flying and driving serve different needs that people have (just as does death with dignity versus "natural death"), depending upon how people want to get somewhere (including how someone wants to get to death). Most people will choose the long "road trip," hanging on to the very end. But some will decide that once the effort to stay alive, doomed anyhow, could become horrificincluding not only the disease process, but "endless" treatments, treatments to correct the side effects of those treatments and ultimately sedation until deaththat such a life is not worth living, no matter how much Byock tries to convince them otherwise. And it's Byock's insistence that patients die his way that illustrates the contradiction of Byock's stand. Here's a doctor who says he wants to make a dying patient's end about them, yet even this doctor won't listen to patients who don't want to die his way. This is a tragic, cruel and hypocritical twist. Byock brought up Brittany Maynard's death as an example of his being against death with dignity. Maynard was a 29-year-old married woman in California, dying of glioblastoma multiform, the deadliest type of brain cancer. Maynard had excellent family and friend support and medical care, but faced a horrific dying process of nausea, vomiting, weakness, excruciating headaches, worsening seizures, blindness, paralyzation and loss of the ability to speak (meaning that she ends up isolated within her own body). "Natural death" requires one to go through all of this, and palliative care can only do so much to alleviate it. Ultimately, patients who don't die sooner end up sedated and unable to eat or drinktheir only allowed way to speed up death. Brittany Maynard saw all that, and to her it was a life not worth living. Maynard so much preferred a shorter life with quality over an extended but increasingly compromised and miserable one, that after surgery failed to stop her cancer, she refused chemotherapy and radiation. Instead, Maynard moved to Oregon, where she could enjoy her life as long as possible, but which also allows death with dignity. And after her downward trajectory really began to overtake her, Brittany Maynard, surrounded by family and friends, peacefully ended her life. (And Californians, realizing the injustice and cruelty of requiring that a citizen move from California to use death with dignity, passed their own law allowing it.) Byock never stops insisting that he could devise palliative care that people like Brittany Maynard would accept, although there's no evidence of that. Byock simply deems himself privileged to dictate the process through which the sick must diewhen the biggest help that Byock could be to people like Brittany Maynard would be to stop holding them hostage to his own agenda. Instead, and ironically, he becomes another doctor refusing to listen to patients. Dear U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke: Thank you for your detailed letter describing the new parliamentary procedure being used to vet the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Water Compact. We had hope in the original procedure, because it would have vetted every component of the water compact thoroughly with concern for Montana citizens and members of the tribes. In fact, there was no environmental impact statement for the water compact, because our U.S. Congress was expected to study and evaluate the water compact based on its effect on our ranchers and farmers on and off the Flathead Indian Reservation tribal and non-tribal members. We have no hope in the new rules introduced by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop in Februrary 2015. Rep. Zinke, your letter of Jan. 29 states: The process governing how water compacts move through Congress has significantly changed. New parliamentary procedure requires just the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior to work together with the Tribe to settle any extenuating claims or come to final terms. Once this process happens, the approved deal goes to Congress. However, at this point, the Chair of the Natural Resources Committee, and only the Chair, may choose to introduce the legislation to his Committee. If the bill passes Committee it then receives consideration on the House Floor. No other Member of Congress, including the Congressman from the home state of the Tribe, may introduce the legislation. As the Tribe works with the government on settling its claims, please know I will keep your thoughts and concerns in mind. My concern, as co-chair of the Advocates for Our Republic, is that if the U.S. Congress passes the CSKT Water Compact, the Secretary of the Interior will have jurisdiction over state water and irrigation, not the state of Montana as guaranteed by the Montana Constitution, the state water statutes, the Montana Water Court and the Montana Environmental Policy Act. If the water compact is passed by Congress, all these protections will be replaced by a five-member Water Board consisting of two people representing tribal Leadership, two people representing the state, and one person selected by the four. Experts on federal and tribal relations convinced the state House Judiciary Committee that tribal government sovereignty is the primary tool used by the federal government, through its multiple federal agencies, to convert state water into a tribal sovereign asset, which is not required by law to serve the publics interests. In 1998 a memorandum of understanding was signed by federal and tribal officials. Then came the 2001 proposal for negotiations, which culminated in the CSKT Water Compact 14 years later. The House Judiciary Committee defeated the water compact knowing, as we do, that state authority over state water should never be lost to the federal government and tribal leadership. The new procedure is objectionable to the Advocates for Our Republic, and we expect you to protect Montanans and tribal members by strongly opposing the procedure, which will unjustly expedite the passage of the CSKT Water Compact, and allow state water to be taken over by the federal government. A new study shows that many teachers aren't aware of the strong consensus on human-caused climate change and instead overstate material from a thoroughly discredited minority. They dont realize that 97 percent of climate scientists those who qualify as experts capable of testifying in court on the issue conclude from their many studies that humans are causing the earth to warm. Knowledgeable teachers will clarify that 809 scientists who helped review 9,200 scientific publications for the fifth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report confirmed human-caused global warming! The National Academies of Science from 80 countries along with 18 American scientific organizations (including the American Meteorological Society and American Geophysical Union) have made formal policy statements recognizing humans cause global warming. Teachers are urged to explain that scientists could not reproduce findings in 38 publications which those denying human caused climate change quote most often. Professor Katherine Heyhoe (wife of an evangelical pastor) wrote about the review: Every single one of the 38 studies we examined had at least one error; an error that, if it was fixed, would bring the results of the study straight into line with the thousands of other studies that find that climate is changing and humans are responsible. So, failure to teach accurately about the clear consensus view may be one reason the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, which surveyed 13,000 persons older than 25 from 2008-2014, indicated 60 percent of Montanans think global warming is happening. However, only 46 percent of those Montanans indicated they thought global warming is caused mostly by human activities. Gallups March 2015 poll found 55 percent of U.S. citizens thought increases in the earths temperature over the last century were due to human causes. Only 41 percent believed natural causes brought about increased warming. Percentages acknowledging human causation likely would be higher than 55 percent if the electorate correctly perceived the overwhelming scientific consensus behind the human-caused global warming conclusion. However, in the Yale study, only 37 percent of Montanans answered that most scientists believe that global warming is happening. That perception simply does not reflect the facts. The Yale Project also found 57 percent percent of Montanans thought 20 percent of their electricity should come from renewable resources like the wind and the sun; 25 percent is already being achieved in Iowa and South Dakota. More than 20 percent of the 80,000 megawatts of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas capacity now comes from wind. Texas wind turbines dont always produce 20 percent of the needed electricity. However, they accounted for more than 45 percent of ERCOTs overall load on Feb. 18. And Texas is adding 5,000 megawatts of wind power. The proposed Initiative 180 ballot initiative (which we support) would give Montanans (57 percent) what they want. It requires NorthWestern Energy and Montana Dakota Utilities (investor-owned utilities, or IOUs) to produce by 2019, 22 percent of their electricity from renewable resources that have been installed after 2005. By reaching 50 percent renewables in 2030, I-180 also will facilitate IOU compliance with Americas Clean Power Plan. And by requiring 80 percent renewables by 2050, I-180 will be well on the way to accomplishing what we must do to prevent overheating our earth. So, please help. Say youll sign to put I-180 on Montanas November ballot by emailing your contact information to gather@mtcares.org so a signature gatherer can contact you. If youre like me, youve seen the same things I have in recent weeks, including an uptick in angry and threatening rhetoric against refugees, immigrants in our community, Muslims, and the citizens and elected officials who support them. Thats why Im inviting you to to join us for a march and rally today, as we stand together for values of inclusion, welcome and nonviolent civil discourse. We know that our community cant thrive on anger and fear. We know that we are at our best when were motivated by tolerance, compassion and mutual respect. That's why we're joining with Montanans in Billings, Bozeman, Helena and Kalispell today to hold rallies and stand together. Here in Missoula, well meet at the XXXXs at 5 p.m., then march peacefully to Caras Park for a 5:30 rally featuring civic and faith leaders and more. At 6 p.m., a community photograph will be taken from the Higgins Bridge. Bring your family. Bring your friends. Join together with us and two dozen other co-hosting non-profits, faith organizations and civic groups who represent the collective wisdom and power of social justice in our community. Lets gather to affirm the strength of our values and refocus the conversation on what matters most. Let's represent the best of Montana. And when you come, remember that this rally is in the spirit of warmth, so please dont inflame or argue with our opponents, many of whom raise concerns that deserve to be heard and respected. We look forward to seeing you there! Jenny Montgomery, Soft Landing Missoula HELENA Gov. Steve Bullock made his re-election campaign official Monday afternoon, walking the hallway from his office to Secretary of State Linda McCulloch's to file the paperwork. Bullock made the trip with his wife and three children, along with Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney. "At the end of the day, this isn't really about me or Mike," Bullock said. "It's about what kind of state we can continue to create for our kids and grandkids and to make sure that Montana provides all those opportunities." The governor said his campaign will focus on job creation, wage growth and ensuring Montana remains a fiscally prudent state, issues that have been the centerpiece of what he hopes will be his second term in office. He also laid out differences between himself and Republican opponent Greg Gianforte, who announced his candidacy in January but has yet to officially file. "I think that there's a lot at stake this election for certain." Bullock cast Gianforte as the candidate who wants to gut Montana's tax structure and raid the state's rainy-day fund, a hallmark of Bullock's administration. "There's a fundamental difference of values and viewpoint of what the office of governor is between Greg Gianforte and I," he said. "He's a guy who can make his $10 million and bring it here and make hundreds of millions of dollars more, that reflects good on what Montana is." Bullock has required the state to maintain a $300 million rainy-day fund, something Gianforte has said could be tapped to help address the states infrastructure woes. In a news release Monday, Gianforte, 54, said it's time for a change. Aside from being at the bottom of the nation in wages, we are entering even more challenging times. Grain prices are down. Miners, railroaders, timber community families and the Bakken have seen some painful layoffs, and there are more threats on the horizon. Its time for new leadership. Montanans are looking for a high-wage job creator who can bring business experience to Helena. Bullock, 49, was elected governor in 2013, when he beat former Republican U.S. Rep. Rick Hill. Bullock's running mate is Cooney, 61, who was named lieutenant governor Dec. 30 after former Lt. Gov. Angela McLean announced she was leaving for a job in the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education. *** The 2016 governors race is shaping up to be one of the most expensive in Montanas history. Bullock has raised $1.2 million in donations since 2014; Gianforte has brought in $570,000 since forming an exploratory committee last summer. Gianforte, a wealthy businessman, has issued a pledge not to accept money from political action committees, calling on Bullock to not accept any such money either and return any hes already received. So far, Bullock has received $68,214 from PACs. His campaign has called the pledge silly, and pointed out Gianforte has a large amount of personal funds he can tap. Based on tax records, Gianforte reported income of $220.5 million between 2005 and 2014. In 2001, he sold his Bozeman tech firm RightNow Technologies to Oracle for $1.8 billion. Montana Republican Party Chairman Jeff Essmann said Bullock's record on protecting jobs in the state's natural resource industry is weak. Bullock had formed a committee to look at how the state can adapt to the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan, though that work stopped after a U.S. Supreme Court decision delayed implementation of the plan. Bullock has objected to the plan, which would require Montana to drastically cut its carbon dioxide emissions and could threaten parts of the Colstrip power plant, but believes in reducing emissions over time and has said Montana should work to meet the goals anyway. "Gov. Steve Bullock has continued to abandon Montana workers and families by siding with President (Barack) Obamas job-killing energy agenda. In the last year alone, our natural resource industry lost nearly 700 jobs, and thousands of Montana jobs are at risk if we dont stop this radical job-killing energy agenda in November. I feel confident Montanans will elect a Republican governor who will always defend and protect all Montana jobs. At the end of the day, Montanans cant count on Bullock to put them first." In a statement, Jim Larson, chair of the Montana Democratic Party, touted Bullock's leadership and cast Gianforte as a wealthy out-of-stater. "Gov. Steve Bullock is doing an outstanding job leading Montana and will continue to responsibly manage our finances and bring Montanans together to get things done. ... "But the stakes in this election are too high if we want to continue this economic growth and responsible financial management. New Jersey multimillionaire Greg Gianforte would turn Montana's budget surplus into a deficit, he supports job-killing discrimination laws, and would raise taxes on Montana families just to give himself and other millionaires a tax break." *** Cooney has a long history in Montana politics, most recently as deputy director of the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. He was first elected in 1976 to the Montana House of Representatives and served through 1980. He then served three terms as secretary of state, from 1989 through 2000. Cooney was a state senator from 2003 to 2010, and was elected Senate president in 2007. From 2001 to 2006, Cooney served as director of Montana Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies. He also served as the interim head of the Montana Historical Society. Cooney was named lieutenant governor at the end of last year after McLean quit to work as the director of American Indian and minority achievement and K-12 partnerships. Emails between Bullock and McLean showed a rocky relationship between Bullock's administration and the former lieutenant governor, who said she was frozen out of her initiatives. Bullock said the fit wasn't right and she seemed "frustrated with the role of lieutenant governor, and that was disruptive to our work for Montana." Bullock ran for attorney general in 2000, losing in the Democratic primary to Mike McGrath, who is now chief justice of the Montana Supreme Court Bullock was then elected attorney general in 2008 after a three-way Democratic primary. In the general election, he defeated Republican Tim Fox, who is the current attorney general and running for re-election, with with 52.6 percent of the vote. Bullock grew up in Helena and earned a law degree from Columbia University. He and his wife Lisa have three children, Caroline, Alexandria and Cameron. HAMILTON Hunters in the Bitterroot Valley better take note of looming permit application deadlines. There are a few changes to hunting regulations this year that could impact the upcoming season for those who dont act soon. The most important is for hunters hoping to fill their freezer with a cow elk from Hunting District 270. They will need to apply for an antlerless permit in the next couple of weeks. Thats a change from the past few years when hunters were required to obtain a B license that had a June deadline. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Bitterroot Valley-based biologist Rebecca Mowry said the hope is the change in the regulations will take some of the pressure off the bull population in the popular hunting area. Under the new format, hunters who draw an antlerless permit will not be able to hunt bull elk in HD 270. They will still be able to use their general elk license to hunt bull elk elsewhere in the state. There will be a total of 450 antlerless permits divided in three areas included in HD 270. Half of those will be reserved for youth hunters. Hunters who want to focus their energies on hunting bull elk in the district will once again be required to put in for one of the unlimited bull permits. They will have to choose what they want to hunt this year, Mowry said. Youth hunters will still be able to hunt bull elk in HD 270 with their general license, but if the youth hunter has an antlerless permit, that option to shoot a bull elk goes away. If they get a cow permit, thats what they are going to have to hunt, Mowry said. Like last year, hunters wanting to hunt mule deer in the Bitterroot will need to apply for a permit. The number of permits vary by hunting district, including some districts that dont have a limit on the number of permits allowed. Elk hunters interested in trying their luck in HD 250 in the West Fork of the Bitterroot will need to apply for one of the 35 permits available this year. There are also a small number of mule deer doe permits available for HD 261 in the East Bitterroot for hunting on private lands only. There used to be no opportunity to hunt mule deer does there, Mowry said. There are a lot of does on private land. March 15 is the deadline to apply for deer and elk permits. *** Once hunters navigate the permit application process, the next round gets considerably more complicated when it comes to deciphering the myriad options to hunt whitetail does on private land in the valley. Thats something we are seeing across the region, said wildlife manager Mike Thompson. Its a reflection of wildlife numbers being a lot higher on private lands. Were trying to make licenses readily available to anyone who can get permission to hunt on private land. Bitterroot hunters will have an opportunity to extend their season if they obtain one of the 400 special deer B licenses that run between Dec. 1 and Jan. 1 for antlerless white-tailed deer on private lands in hunting districts 204, 240, 261 and 270. Under the special license, hunters are limited to archery, shotgun, traditional handgun, muzzleloader or crossbow. Hunters successful in the June 1 drawing can purchase up to two additional licenses. We are seeing a lot of game damage on private lands from white-tailed deer, Mowry said. There are additional opportunities for people to hunt white-tailed deer on private lands in nearly every hunting district in the Bitterroot during the general hunting season. All of those require a B license that must be applied for by June 1. There are a lot of changes here in the Bitterroot and in the state, said Tony Jones of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association. I stay up with all of this as much as anyone and Im confused about some of them. Jones said the club supported all the regulation changes that occurred in the Bitterroot and understands the challenges the state faces in managing ever-growing numbers of deer and elk on private land. There is getting to be so much urban wildlife anymore, Jones said. How do you manage that? You have to micromanage it, and that leads to even more confusing regulations. Mowry said its really all about trying to maximize hunter opportunity. For those hunters just wanting to shoot a bull elk or white-tailed buck, theres not much of a change, Mowry said. Where it gets complicated are in areas where we attempted to get the most opportunity possible for hunters in places that could support some additional pressure. It would be hard to imagine a more glaring judicial conflict of interest than the one the Supreme Court considered in a case out of Pennsylvania on Monday. In 1986, Terrance Williams was convicted of killing a man named Amos Norwood with a tire iron when he was 18. Prosecutors in the Philadelphia district attorneys office sought the death penalty, and got it. At the trial, Mr. Williams denied knowing Mr. Norwood. But years later, Mr. Williamss co-defendant admitted that he had told prosecutors that the reason for the murder was not robbery, as he had testified at trial, but Mr. Norwoods sexual abuse of Mr. Williams and other underage boys. Using that admission, Mr. Williams challenged his death sentence on the grounds that prosecutors knew he had been sexually abused but had told the trial judge there was no evidence Mr. Norwood had abused anybody. A state court found that the prosecutors had lied, and vacated Mr. Williamss sentence. But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously reversed that ruling. The courts chief justice at the time, Ronald Castille, wrote a concurring opinion criticizing the lower courts ruling for condemning the prosecutors. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Two Pakistani employees of the United States Consulate in Peshawar were killed Tuesday by a roadside bomb in northwestern Pakistan, officials said. Jamaat-e-Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack, said a spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan. The two employees, Faisal Khan, an anti-narcotics official, and Abid Shah, a driver employed by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, were killed when the bomb detonated as their convoy was traveling in the Mohmand tribal region. Four other people, including two Pakistani security officials, were wounded. The anti-narcotics team had been reviewing poppy eradication efforts in the area. We extend our condolences and the U.S. government condemns the attack, said the United States Embassy public affairs officer, Moulik Berkana. We offer our assistance to the government of Pakistan in investigating the incident and bringing perpetrators to justice. ON THE THIRD DAY of the trip, I headed with my family to my fathers hometown of Tirunelveli about three hours east to visit my grandmother. Due to the language barrier (she doesnt speak English), our phone calls basically consist of the same exchange every few months: Amma: Hello! Me: Hi Amma! How are you? Amma: Ahhh . . . Nalla irukkiren. Niinga eppadi irukkireenga? [Im good. How are you?] Me: Im good! Im good! [pause] Okay . . . well . . . Ill put my dad back on! Now at the age of 89, she still lives in the small home where my father was raised, and which was built by her husband my grandfather in the 1970s. In honor of our visit, several aunts and uncles and their kids joined us. I relate to my cousins in wildly different ways. We all get along well, but its easier to connect with some more than with others. Three of them grew up in the States; four were born in India, but later moved to New Zealand; and the rest grew up in India and stayed. Im closest with the American ones, not just because weve spent the most time together but because we share a specific set of cultural issues having grown up as Indians in America rather than Indians in India. They know the embarrassment of inviting friends over while your dad wanders around in a lungi, a garment that looks like a dress. They also know the challenge of trying to tell your parents, who likely had an arranged marriage, that you are dating someone and the equally dicey situation of explaining to your partner why it took so long to share the news. My cousins in India cant relate to any of this everyone there is rocking a lungi, and several of them have had their own arranged marriages. They, of course, are dealing with problems that are entirely foreign to me. Manlai Baatar Damdinsuren with two of his adjutants. Damdinsuren was Mongolian patriot and nationalist who took part in revival of Mongolian... Motoring-Malaysia.blogspot.my is an award winning Malaysian motoring / automotive / car news & reviews website or auto blog. It is where we rant and rave about cars, trucks, buses, motoring, motor vehicles and any interesting automotive industry related stuff. Unswayed in our point of view and darn proud of it! It's not about the numbers...it's about passion. Since 2006 and going strong. WASHINGTON President Hillary Clinton, making good on her 2008 threat to totally obliterate Iran, celebrated her first week in office by ordering a nuclear strike on Irans capital city of Tehran. As a squadron of F-35s streaked through the sky toward the Mideast metropolis of over eight million, President Clinton outlined her foreign policy to a bevy of reporters at a White House press conference. Im not here to bake cookies, people, the President announced. Women CEOs have to be twice as good as the boys. Which is why I went nuclear. You get the entire job done in an hour and a half. Funny you macho sexist creeps didnt think of this. Amid a hushed assemblage of media representatives, CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour was the first to speak, asking the president just why she had done this. Theres nothing in your Distrust and Verify plan that should apply here, Madam President, Ms. Amanpour said. The Iranian government has not bombed Israel; neither has Iran been caught with nuclear material. And just to play devils advocate why can Israel have nuclear weapons, while Iran cant? You know, Christiane, smiled the president evenly, as she pressed a little button on the podium to summon the Secret Service, my friend, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, once said, Theres a special place in hell for women who dont help each other. . .' As Ms. Amanpour disappeared behind a posse of black-suited agents, the president called on CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer. Not that I have any real problem with this, began Mr. Blitzer cautiously, but shouldnt Congress have approved this strike? Eyes flashing defiance, fists methodically clenching then unclenching, President Clinton announced that she was fed up with male media bias. Ever since aerial bombardment was invented, white male American presidents have launched missile strikes without congressional approval, the President shot back. My stars, look at Nixon; look at Reagan. Look at Obama paving the way for presidents of color to bomb Syria and Iraq without permission even pioneering unauthorized drone strikes. Call this equal-opportunity Armageddon, but if Harry S. Truman can drop the big one without congressional approval, so can I. Although some its-time-for-a-woman presidential campaigners say they feel betrayed by the presidents nuclear strike, it does, in fact, square with decades of Hillary Clintons military policy. This includes Mrs. Clintons support for massive government aid and commercial arms sales to rightwing countries, including Israel and Saudi Arabia; her 2002 vote in the Senate for the war in Iraq; and, as Secretary of State, her military intervention in Libya. Interviewed on CBS News about the 2011 ouster of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, Mrs. Clinton quipped, We came, we saw, he died. Recently, former Republican Florida Representative Joe Scarborough remarked, Hillary is the neocons neocon. . . . Theres hardly been a military engagement that Hillary hasnt been for in the past 20 years. Indeed, there is some indication that, among neocons of note, Hillary Clintons presence in the White House may actually have advanced the cause of feminism. Reached by phone, former presidential candidate and Hillary-hater Donald Trump expressed total support for President Clintons bombing, admitting that, because of it, he has realized he is a sexist pig. I used to think feminists wanted to tear down our military/industrialist complex and make it all sissy-socialist. But if feminists can help us get rid of the towel-head menace, theyre OK by me. You also got to admire how the little lady never really responded to those Black Lives Matter activists who kept interrupting her campaign proving conclusively that they dont matter. And if feminism had anything to do with how Hillary has not lifted a finger to change the drug laws or sentencing guidelines that she and her hubby devised in the 1990s to overflow the prisons with super-predators, I got to say, All Hail Hillary. Adding that he regrets all the sexist things he has ever done or said in his life, Mr. Trump announced that he now believes menstruation is neat. To atone for his sexism, Mr. Trump stated, he would sign an open letter being circulated by a group of renowned misogynists, including Lawrence Summers and Mel Gibson, apologizing for male chauvinism and promoting the global equality of all the sexes, providing they are of the Caucasian gender. Meanwhile, in Iran, reports are that the mushroom cloud over Tehran is dissipating, while fireballs, shockwaves, and radiation are beginning to encircle the Earth, causing nuclear winter and the probable extinction of life as we know it. Back at the White House press conference, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly speaks up. Madam President, I say with all humility that I am in awe of how you overcame your weepy, liberal female concern for millions of supposedly defenseless Iranians. Bravo. How did you do it? Assertiveness workshops, answers President Clinton. I also channeled the powerful women in history, like Catherine the Great and Golda Meir. They helped me to see my strike was a sort of bomb for a people in a country without a bomb. Besides, what did any of those Iranian women ever do to get me elected? Laughing joyfully, the two women rushed across the pressroom, threw their arms around one another, and hugged, like sisters. Susie Day is a writer. Her book Snidelines: Talking Trash to Power is available from Abdingdon Square Publishing: . When Brad and Robin Cockhill received a call from New York telling them that their Butte restaurant Matts Place had won an award from the James Beard Foundation, their first thought was that the call was a scam. She asked me if I had ever heard of the James Beard Foundation, and I had not, said Robin. I thought it was somebody wanting money. Kind of like the Whos Who. However, slowly but surely it began to dawn on the local couple that the call was real and that Matts Place which has been mainstay in the Mining City since the 1930s had just won the foundations 2016 American Classics Award. Each year the award is given to five restaurants that have timeless appeal and are known for quality food that reflects the character of its community, the James Beard Foundation said in a new release. As one of the recipients, the Cockhills will attend the James Beard Awards Gala in Chicago, where the foundation will hand out awards in a range of categories. In case youre not privy to the culinary arts scene, winning an award from the James Beard Foundation is kind of a big deal. At least thats what Seattle pastry chef and former Montana State University student Christina Kim Mathis says. Mathis attended New Yorks International Culinary Center and later opened Blue Box Bakery in Seattle. She said that whenever the gala was hosted in New York, students from her school clamored to volunteer to cook for the event. There, she said, they got to rub shoulders with esteemed chefs. Any famous chef you can think of has attended or been nominated, said Mathis Even just cooking for (the gala) is exciting. Mathis added that James Beard Awards typically go to restaurants in large cities so having a recipient in a small community like Butte makes winning all the more special. New Mexico restaurateur Rob Connoley agrees. Connoleys restaurant the Curious Kumquat, Silver City, a town of about 10,000 was a semifinalist for the American Classics Award in 2014. The award is the single highest award in the culinary industry, said Connoley, who joked that when he dies James Beard semifinalist will be the first phrase in his obituary. TIMELESS APPEAL So how does Matts exemplify a timeless appeal, and food that reflects the character of its community? While one can only speculate about who nominated Matts Place and why, its safe to say that Matts with its old-school soda fountain, vintage Coke icebox and rickety push-button cash register has a classic appeal thats hard to miss. Reminiscent of the carhops of the 1930s and 1940s, Matts offers roadside service in addition to a traditional counter service (though Robin Cockhill said few patrons take them up on their carhop). Menu highlights include milkshakes made from home-made cream, a variety of hamburgers (including the egg burger, which features a fried egg on top, and the nut burger, which boasts a hamburger patty topped with mayonnaise and mixed nuts) and assorted sandwiches. The Cockhills also pride themselves on using local vendors and cooking with fresh ingredients. We peel our own French fries, said Robin Cockhill. Theres no frozen anything. When asked what makes a great burger, Brad said keeping things simple is the key. He said Matts uses lean Montana beef, and that each patty is cooked on an old-fashioned cast iron grill, which he believes adds something special to Matts classic burgers. The Cockhills said that not much has changed since Matts Place first opened its doors in the 1930s, adding that even their nut burger touted by the foundation as a masterpiece whose nut topping melds with sliced pickles, tomatoes and onions righteously was on the original menu. Matts Place opened in 1930 when its first owner Matt Korn became inspired by the carhops of California. Korn decided to bring the concept to Butte and opened Matts Place at 2339 Placer St., close to the railroad tracks. Robins mother Mae Laurence began her career at the restaurant in the mid-1930s as a waitress and bookkeeper. When Mae married her husband Louis in 1943, Korn sold the restaurant to the newlyweds. There the Laurences worked for the rest of their lives, managing the restaurant downstairs and raising their daughter Robin in their private residence above. Robin said that growing up above a roadside diner was not as romantic as one might think. When I was probably about 5 years old my dad made me the trainer of the girls, said Robin Hed say, OK now, show them how to set up a tray and how to hang the tray on the car. But Robin said there were fun parts, too. When I was younger, I would come down here and would make friends with all of the waitresses, said Robin. Other highlights include frequent visits by Evel Knievel and serving railroad crews especially one particular engineer who was known for ordering a hamburger with a melted Hershey bar on top. Robins father died in 1962, but her mother lived to the ripe-old age of 100. She was a popular figure in the community and was even the grand marshal of the 2007 Fourth of July Parade. When she died in 2013, Brad Cockhill (who has been the manager at Matts for 30 years) and Robin became the restaurants owners. As for Brad, he said hes a bit nervous about giving an acceptance speech in front of 2,000 people at the awards gala. Lets just say Im a small-town boy. He said hes going to let his wife do the talking. CHARACTERISTIC RESILIENCE If Matts Place really does embody the character of its community, then perhaps that character is resilience. Its no secret that Butte has had its ups and downs since the mines closed in the 1980s, yet the town has continued to persist. But Mae and Louis faced challenging circumstances even before the mine closures as they struggled to keep their restaurant open after the Great Depression and during World War II. My mom and dad had to borrow stamps from people to get enough meat coming in, said Robin. My dad would travel to Three Forks and Whitehall and all these places to try to get enough meat to keep them going. Mae Laurence faced even more struggles in 1962 when her husband died. Distraught at having lost her life partner and unsure whether she could continue running the restaurant herself, Mae thought her days of owning Matts Place were over. But friends and family members encouraged Mae to keep it going. Robin says the decision to keep the restaurant helped her mother find a renewed sense of purpose. She loved working, said Robin, who pointed out that her mother kept working into her 90s. She treated all of her customers like they were her family. And that was it. This was her life Authorities are seeking the publics help in locating family or friends of a homeless man whose frozen body was discovered near the Butte Civic Center on Saturday. Ernest Ernie Surles, 55, was reported missing in mid-January by a woman police believe was a girlfriend or common-law wife. He was last seen on Christmas Eve at the Butte Rescue Mission or St. James Healthcare. Butte-Silver Bow County Coroner Lee LaBreche said Tuesday that he and law enforcement are looking for Surles girlfriend, Janice Whiteman, with the hope of finding family members. LaBreche said Surles was found fully clothed on a metal grate in a culvert about 8 feet down a gradual slope near a railroad bed. The coroner added that the grate may have been a sewer drain. He was as peaceful as he could be, LaBreche said. Undersheriff George Skuletich said walkers in the area just northeast of the Civic Center found Surles shortly before 10 a.m. Although snow covered the body earlier in the winter, the recent warm temperatures had led to significant melting. The undersheriff said there was no sign of foul play or trauma. The body was transported to the Montana Crime Lab in Missoula to determine the cause and manner of death. Police had been searching for Surles since late December, patrolling the walking trails and areas he frequented in Butte. Skuletich said the transient man had lived in the city the past two years and had been arrested several times for alcohol-related incidents, none of which was violent. It was our hope that he did have relatives in the Billings area and that he may have went back to Billings to be with them, said Skuletich. Cold Montana winters, he said, are a huge problem for the homeless. Many are able to find some sort shelter during the coldest months; however, if police come upon a homeless person needing shelter, a spot in the countys detention center is offered for meals and warmth. Anyone with information on Janice Whiteman and Surles family members is asked to contact Lee LaBreche at 406-490-8023. Attorneys for a 51-year-old transient woman who was convicted in the killing of a Butte man at a southwest Montana campground are seeking a new trial. Sandra Lee Ann Cantrell was found guilty in January of felony deliberate homicide, felony assault with a weapon, felony tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, and misdemeanor theft. Cantrell admitted under oath during her trial to stabbing Mark Robert Mullen in August 2014. Christopher Lee Stiles, her common-law husband, pleaded guilty to the beating death of Mullen and is serving 50 years at the Montana State Prison. In a motion filed Monday in Dillon district court, attorney Christopher C. Petaja wrote that Montanas statutes governing criminal procedure do not provide for a judge to overturn a jury verdict even if it was reached incorrectly. Instead, state law permits a defendant to move for a new trial after a guilty verdict and permits the district court to modify or change the verdict by finding the defendant guilty of a lesser included offense or finding the defendant not guilty, the motion states. Petaja's motion states that evidence in the case does not support a guilty verdict for deliberate homicide by felony murder. As an alternative to ordering a new trial, the motion asks Judge Loren Tucker to modify the verdict, throwing out the felony murder conviction but allowing the lesser charges to stand. Beaverhead County Attorney Jed C. Fitch said Monday the facts in the case were clear about what happened at the Bryant Creek Campground near Wise River. The man is dead and those two did it, he said. Montana Standard calling all Sullivans For decades, the most popular surname in Butte was Sullivan, topping even one of the most common last names, Smith. Looking back at old Butte city directories, you will find pages and pages of Sullivans, the majority of who emigrated from County Cork. To honor their legacy and contribution to the Mining Citys Irish history, and in celebration of St. Patricks Day, The Montana Standard is calling all Sullivans and their descendants to gather at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 12, at the Mountain Con Mine pavilion for a group photograph. The photo will be used in a story the Standard is writing on all the Butte Sullivans. If you can attend, contact Tracy Thornton, 406-496-5552 or email her at tracy.thornton@mtstandard.com. Montana Tech hosts volunteer fair Montana Tech Career Services will sponsor the fifth annual Montana Tech Spring Volunteer Fair from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, March 3, in the Montana Tech Student Union Building lobby. This will be an opportunity for local nonprofit organizations to network with Tech students and one another. This free event is for nonprofit organizations, community volunteers, students, and campus and community members. Organizations can register by calling 406-496-4140. Also, people can reach to Tech students online regarding any opportunities within your organization. Post these opportunities as volunteer jobs through DIGGERecruiting. Contact Career Services at careerservices@mtech.edu. Free yoga class offered March 5 Montana Dance Works invites residents to a free community yoga class from 9 to 10:15 a.m. Saturday, March 5, at 3105 Harrison Ave. All levels and abilities welcome. Donations will be accepted for the Montana Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited life-threatening disorder that damages the lungs and digestive system. Details: 406-299-2381. Doctoral candidate is speaker at Tech Montana Techs Public Lecture Series presents Grace BullTail, Ph.D. candidate in biological and environmental engineering at Cornell University, at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 3, in Tech's Engineering Laboratory Classroom Building, Room 202. BullTail will speak on Managing Water Resources and Water Quality: A Tribal Perspective. BullTail will present her doctoral research work and discuss professional engineering experiences that have influenced her research interests. She is a member of the Crow tribe of Montana and descendant of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold, North Dakota. Lenten fish fry Friday in Dillon DILLON The Dillon Knights of Columbus (Father Kellehar Council No. 4069) will prepare and serve a community lenten fish fry buffet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 4, at the St. Rose Family Center. At 5:15 pm, the community is invited to the Way of the Cross stations in the St. Rose of Lima Church. The meal includes baked and fried pollock, baked potatoes, potato salad, baked beans, coleslaw, fruit salad and beverages. Prices for families are $25, $8/adult, $6/children 12 and under, and free for children 6 and under. The last fish fry buffet will be Friday, March 18. Anaconda KC hosts spring breakfast ANACONDA Anaconda Knights of Columbus will have their annual spring pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon Sunday, March 6, at the Anaconda Catholic Community Social Center, 217 W. Pennsylvania, Anaconda. The cost is $6 for adults; children, $3; and ages 6 and under are free. The menu includes pancakes, ham, scrambled eggs, juice and coffee. Snowmobile run planned in Wise River WISE RIVER The Wise River Club is hosting the annual Shriners snowmobile run Saturday, March 5. It is a free event but any donations made or money made from prize drawings will go toward Shriners Hospital. Sign up is from 9 to 11 a.m., and food and prize drawings will be at 3 p.m. at the Wise River Club. Details: Tom Davis at 406-832-3258. Spring bazaar set for Saturday ANACONDA The Knights of Columbus is having a bazaar from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 5, in the AOH hall, Oak and Commercial, Anaconda. The bazaar, which benefits KC charities, will include crafts, jewelry, photos and fun items for St. Patrick's Day and Easter. Details: Mary Lou, 406-560-3373. Star Party at Cottontail Observatory TWIN BRIDGES The Cottontail Observatory, 280 Wet Georgia Road, Twin Bridges, will have a star party at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 5. The event includes a tour of the night sky, pointing out constellations, asterisms and naked eye astronomical objects. This is followed by stargazing through telescopes. If the weather makes viewing impossible, a presentation will be given. Details: 406-842-7722. Considering how the first two American Security Rally of Montana events turned out, its probably safe to say this is not the best way for participants to bring credence to their ideas. We first heard about the Helena event from someone who said attendees would call for careful, intelligent analysis of all options before admitting refugees to this or any country in an attempt to determine whether the afflicted could be better-served closer to home. And while its clear to us that some of the protesters had that goal in mind, their message was overshadowed by those screaming at flag burners to come and get it or calling for a religious jihad against Islam in the name of Jesus Christ. A similar scene played out at the Missoula event earlier this month, where some of the protesters carried signs that read these guys R racist. Plain and simple, They rape, kill, destroy and They hate Christians, Jews, women, gays. As staunch proponents of the First Amendment, we fully support the free-speech rights of anyone who wants to spout off these kinds of generalizations and hateful rhetoric. If thats your objective, nobodys going to stand in your way. But we believe most people are intelligent enough to recognize that spreading hate isnt going to accomplish anything, and we encourage those who are truly interested in finding meaningful ways of dealing with the refugee crisis to distance themselves from those who do it. One of the Helena protesters said she has no problem with peace-loving refugees who are properly vetted and arrive here legally. A participant in Missoula also explained that she was not against legal and legitimate refugees. That message is drastically different than what some of their comrades at the rallies had to say. In fact, it sounds a lot like the rhetoric coming from groups actively advocating for safe haven in Montana for refugees. In recent letters to the editor, the vice president of Helena-based WorldMontana's board of directors explored the idea of welcoming refugees who have gone through a rigorous vetting process. Soft Landing Missoula has also brought attention to the security screenings that take place before refugees are admitted. Instead of participating in events where activists condemn an entire group of people, we encourage those associated with the American Security Rally of Montana to reach out to refugee-friendly groups like WorldMontana and Soft Landing Missoula to see what common ground they can find. There may be more than a lot of people realize. -- Helena Independent Record The Montana Tech auditorium was humming with excitement. The crowd that filled it to the brim was also spilling outside. It was refreshingly diverse: young and not as young, students and faculty, members of the community, believers and unbelievers. It gave the kind of sensation you expect before games or highly anticipated concerts. But this was a very different occasion: a Veritas Forum on Faith and Science with MIT plasma physicist Ian Hutchinson. There is something electric about the exchange of ideas. The free flow of original and deep thoughts is the ferment that is at the Genesis of the wonder of Greek philosophy. Cultivating it is one of the most meaningful missions of Academia. Ideas have power. That they scare us so much is an eloquent testament to it. We spend so much time eluding them by avoiding conversation, silencing voices and compelling the proverbial preacher to stick rigorously to his or her choir. The explicit purpose of the Forum was dialogue. Professor John Ray is an internationally respected Hegel scholar, a likable gentleman blessed with a sharp and brilliant wit, and a member of my congregation. Invariably, I enjoy reading his columns. His perception of the Forum was so different than mine, that it confirmed, beyond a reasonable doubt, the legendary frustration that detectives and attorneys experience with diverging eyewitness accounts. Psychologists call this phenomenon cognitive bias. POINTS RAISED IN OP-ED During the Forum and in a subsequent opinion piece, in the Standard 02/08/16, Ray raised interesting points. I would like to offer a different perspective on some of them. He writes: Religion tends to promote a dogmatic and authoritarian view as to how truth is discovered I have been familiar with this opinion all my life. It was the one held by many of my public school teachers in Europe. However, since high school, I found it to conflict with my reading of the history of science and my observations of society at large. It appears stuck in a time period vaguely surrounding the French revolution during which its purpose was essentially political. Doctrines have prodigiously long shelf lives. The truth about the relationship between faith and science is substantially different, much more complex, and infinitely more interesting. In considering the history of it, it is critical to include the variety of ultra-secular experiments when faith was forcefully removed from the equation. This approach was conceived during the French Revolution. Stalinism introduced it systematically; Nazism practiced it ruthlessly; and the Chinese Cultural Revolution elevated it to a murderous climax. Studying the scientific practices, frequently sadistic, of these atheistic regimes offers a very sobering balance to those concerned primarily about the influence of faith on science. Freedom of conscience has always made dictators compulsively uncomfortable. Rabelais (1494-1553), an iconoclastic and irreverent Renaissance humanist and precursor of the age of Enlightenment, prophetically warned that Science without conscience can only bring ruin to the soul of humanity. It is undeniable that Faith and Science have had a turbulent relationship. It is the nature of the human condition that over time all relationships endure stormy episodes. It is an historical fact that churches attempted, at times, to control science. But as the superb historian David Lindberg wrote: Many of the most important developments in Science have been produced by people committed not to autonomous science but to science at the service of some ideology, social program or practical end. For most of its history, the question has not been whether science functions as a servant but which master it serves. A recent and fascinating illustration of this, is the extensive role of corporate ambitions in the competitive race of the Human Genome Project. Independence of science is largely a myth. Although it played no part in the Forum, Ray, in his column, pivots to Politics: Similar problems have occurred when religion attempts to control democratic politics. AUTHORITY QUESTIONED Secular democracies are not exempt from ethical requisites. A majority opinion may have power, but it is not necessarily just. Public polling can never replace a moral evaluation. Moral principles come from philosophy and from religion. Their role is to inform opinion, question authority and challenge power. To subject morality to public opinion effectively deprives it of its autonomy and reduces it to just another subjective feature in the political landscape. In our country, we are now actually allowing party politics to form our thinking on fundamental ethical questions, clearly not a recipe for wisdom. As a result, we risk giving even more power to people not well morally equipped to exercise it. Dogma has never been the monopoly of religions. I share with John Ray a devotion to the notion of tolerance. But I see no evidence, at all, for his optimism that the removal of faith from the democratic process enhances it. First because excluding faith entirely is itself intolerant. Then, the hate that overloads the Internet political opinion sites justifies the exact opposite impression. The vitriolic acrimony with which disagreements are expressed shows that political statements are no longer intended to persuade but rather to intimidate -- a universe apart from the Socratic ideal of discovering truth through dialogue. Montana Tech, Veritas, MIT Professor Hutchinson, Professor Ray, the moderator Evan Barrett and all Forum participants deserve credit for making possible an enlightening evening. The exchange of ideas took place with respect and tolerance. An environment outside of which the future of neither Academic Freedom nor Democracy appears particularly promising. -- Father Patrick Beretta serves the Butte Catholic community. Jackson lived as a quadriplegic after the attack. She had a variety of medical complications due to her condition. She died October 5, 2012, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. The medical examiner later determined that because she died of complications from her original injuries that her death was a homicide, according to the press release. Serrano was charged with Jackson's murder in February 2013. "This was a very unusual case from the very beginning. It is uncommon for the victim of an assault to die from the injuries almost 22 years later. Evidence and court records had been lost and witness memories had faded. Thankfully the Iowa Attorney General's office was able to locate their copy of the original trial transcript. This allowed us to start the process to build the case to charge Mr. Serrano again," Muscatine County Attorney Alan Ostergren stated in the press release. "It was important to me to achieve a result which held him accountable for Theresa's death but also took into account that Mr. Serrano has lived a crime-free life since his release from prison. This case presents in a very unusual way the conflict between punishment and rehabilitation. It is my hope that this outcome achieves what we always want: justice for all concerned." Ostergren thanked the Muscatine Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation for their work on this case. Serrano will be sentenced 1:30 p.m. April 21 in Muscatine County District Court. In accordance with Iowa law, the Court revoked his bond after the guilty plea. He will remain in custody until sentencing. PURCELLVILLE, Virginia With Super Tuesday arrived and make-or-break contests coming up March 15, we have entered the most intense and emotional two-week period of the Republican presidential campaign so far. Crowds are bigger, applause is louder, feelings run deeper. Just consider the events of the last few days. A wild debate in Houston. The emergence of Marco Rubio, the insult comic candidate. The Christie endorsement. And then, on Sunday, Trump's refusal to disavow either David Duke or the Ku Klux Klan, setting off what could become an epic wave of rancor inside the GOP. It was all very ... intense. And at Rubio's well-attended rally here at the conservative Patrick Henry College on Sunday afternoon, there were hints the campaign can be too overwhelming for some well-meaning voters trying to make a decision. Scott and Stephanie Sloan, of Purcellville, told me they came to the rally undecided, but decided after hearing Rubio that they would vote for him. I asked who were the candidates they were considering when they arrived, and they said Trump and Rubio. When we talked, they hadn't heard about Trump's Duke-KKK exchange on the morning shows; they had been in church. But even so, Trump had become too much for them. "I think it's just the circus that surrounds Trump is just a little bit over the top," Scott told me. "He's a little too much crass, and not enough class, I guess," added Stephanie. "He's just a bit of a loose cannon." I asked what they liked about Trump to begin with. "I think a lot of people are intrigued by him because he's not a part of the establishment," Stephanie said. "He's an outsider, and he's like, hey, I can do everything differently." But the Trump circus was too much; he faded from consideration. Then the Sloans saw that Rubio would be appearing nearby on Sunday. They liked what they heard. "He reminds me of my parents and my parents' parents," Stephanie told me. "Someone who came from parents who had to work for everything they had. That resonates with me." So here's the theory, not just from Scott and Stephanie but also from talks with voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina who were receptive to Trump but couldn't quite commit: Everyone has a certain tolerance level for uncertainty, disorder, and controversy. If a candidate's campaign stays below that level, all is fine. If it climbs above that level, a voter may begin to think a candidate is more trouble than he's worth. The voter sees the campaign as an taxing experience it's just one thing after another and looks for an alternative choice. The problem is, Trump has an apparently infinite tolerance for uncertainty, disorder, and controversy. He can be comfortable and prosper in a campaign that just wears some of his voters out. By Sunday, the Sloans had hit that point and that was before they heard what Trump said on the morning shows. Other Rubio supporters in Purcellville were in a strongly #NeverTrump mood. "I cannot vote for Donald Trump," Sara Brady, of Vienna, said. "I may have to vote for Hillary, if Rubio doesn't get the nomination. Donald Trump is a lunatic." Brady was dismayed at the "bathroom humor" Rubio has adopted against Trump, but said Rubio was forced to do it. "If you're attacked, you have to fight back." "He's a disaster," said Cheryl Buford, of Vienna. "He's a con man. I think Marco nailed it." "I could live with Cruz, quite frankly, but Rubio is the only candidate who inspires us," said Bill Cullo, of Alexandria, there with wife Tracy. Both have worked in politics in the past. Trump? "She sees Trump as the End of Days," said Bill, nodding toward his wife. "Oh, my God," said Tracy. Over the course of the campaign, Trump has been compared to any number of dictators and strongmen. Carlos Chaves, of Dumfries, said he saw something familiar in Trump. "I lived in Venezuela for two years," Chaves told me. "The way (Trump) speaks and the way he expresses himself are very similar to how Hugo Chavez expressed himself to the people. So I don't want to make the mistake of electing someone who is like that." There haven't been a lot of polls in Virginia. Only one, from CBS-YouGov, measured voter sentiment after last Thursday's debate. (It found Trump up by 13 points.) Before that, Monmouth had Trump up by 14. The Purcellville rally was in Northern Virginia, an hour outside Washington. It isn't Trump country, and there was a lot of enthusiasm for Rubio in the room. But the question is whether enough Virginians will come down with Trump Fatigue to prove the polls wrong. Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner. (Weapons and Warfare) The Iran-Iraq War was one of the longest and deadliest in recent histories. Iran full of zeal after its revolution... Les emplois a Rennes sont abondants et varies. Il y a quelque chose pour tout le monde. Que vous soyez a la recherche dun emploi [] Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes [] We bourght you this news and a peek at the beers already, but this from New Belgium: Ft. Collins, Colo., March 1, 2016 New Belgium Brewing celebrates its 25th anniversary with the release of five collaboration beers reinterpreting the brewers flagship, Fat Tire Amber Ale. Fat Tire was first conceived on a bike ride through Belgium and came to life as a homebrew in the late 1980s. Spurred on by accolades from friends and a grip of homebrewing awards, New Belgium co-founders Kim Jordan and Jeff Lebesch took the beer commercial in 1991. Since then, the 100% employee-owned company has become the nations 4th-largest craft brewery with distribution in 41 states and a second brewery just opening in Asheville, NC. New Belgium brewers teamed up with brewing friends at Allagash Brewing Company (Portland, ME), Avery Brewing (Boulder, Colo.), Firestone Walker (Paso Robles, CA), Hopworks Urban Brewery (Portland, OR) and Rhinegeist Brewery (Cincinnati, OH) for the project. In the early days we used to say that if we could just sell 60 cases of beer a week wed be a success, said co-founder, Kim Jordan. Its a different landscape these days yet the things that make our work meaningful - community, camaraderie, creativity are still alive and well. Working with so many great friends and talented brewers while reimagining Fat Tire is the perfect way to celebrate all the things we love most about our craft. New Belgium reached out to collaboration partners who were long time friends and innovative brewers. For the mixed 12-pack, Allagash is producing a version of Fat Tire using a Belgian yeast sourced from the Poperinge region and a touch of the Allagash house Brettanomyces expect notes of stone fruit, sweet tart and peppercorn; Avery will focus on a fruitier hop bill also with a dose of brett evoking notes of apricot and pineapple; Firestone Walker is creating a west coast interpretation of Fat Tire with an assertive hop profile and a light lager yeast; Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) is creating a tart Fat Tire bringing in apple and lactobacillus to help highlight that beautiful green apple snap inherent to the original Fat Tire; and Rhinegeist has transformed Fat Tire into a Belgian XPA, combining a fruity Belgian yeast strain with bready-sweet European and Colorado malts for a beer to please hopheads and wine drinkers alike. Mixed 12-packs will feature two New Belgium original Fat Tire Amber Ales plus two of each interpretation beer. The beer will release mid-June, prior to New Belgiums 25th anniversary, officially on June 28th. A party at New Belgiums new brewery in Asheville on August 27th will celebrate that facilitys grand opening as well as 25 years of brewing innovation and good times. About MyBeer Buzz Founder, owner, author, graphic designer, CEO, CFO, webmaster, president, mechanic and janitor for mybeerbuzz.com. Producer and Co-host of the WILK Friday BeerBuzz live weekly craft beer radio show. Small craft-brewer of the craft beer news sites and one-man-band with way too many instruments to play........Copyright 2007-2022 mybeerbuzz.com All Rights Reserved: Use of this content on ANY site without written permission is not allowed. If you love music, and want to know about Polish Jews during the war, THis is a wonderful video. It is more than an hour long... Eight young men believed to be part of a cartel that has been feeding Naivasha residents with donkey meat have been arrested by police and are awaiting questioning over their inhumane act. The eight were arrested when police busted them Monday morning in Kaimbogo village. Charles Mburu, a businessman and member of community policing in the area said that they tipped off policemen after noticing suspicious movement in and out of the compound where the donkeys were being slaughtered in. Inside the homestead, carcasses of 19 slaughtered donkeys were found and another 40 were still grazing awaiting the day they would face the knife. The policemen are now said to be hunting for the cartels responsible for transportation of the meat to Nairobi. Heres the shocking revelation Naivasha police unearthed on Monday. President Uhuru Kenyatta last week walked straight into a diplomatic dispute between Israel and Palestine. On Thursday last week, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary General, Dr. Saeb Erekat released a press statement expressing concern over Kenyan presidents visit to occupied East Jerusalem and to an illegal Israeli settlement in the Jordan Valley. Palestinians consider East Jerusalem as the part of the city that will be the future capital of the state of Palestine. PLO said that Uhuru visited Israel without arranging any visit to the occupied Palestinian territories or meeting with any of the Palestinian National Authority (PA) officials. This visit breached Kenyas obligations not to recognize as lawful a situation created through the illegal use of force and other violations of peremptory norms under international law. The State of Palestine will raise this issue within the context of the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The statement read. No one has the right to visit in these territories without an in-advance coordination with the Palestinian leadership. Palestine emphasizes that international treaties consider the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967 as part of the state of Palestine territories. The PLO statement further stated,such behaviors boost the Israeli occupation and create a position of collusion between Kenya and the Israeli occupation. Hanan Ashrawi, a senior PLO official, called for the Arab League and the AU to declare their rejection to such behaviors and take measures to correct this situation. Advertise Here Be seen advertise here. Contact us. Coffee talk with new Francis House owner The Sharpsteen Museum is having a coffee talk on Thursday, March 3, at 10 a.m. for members and the community. The guest speaker will be Richard Dwyer, who is in the process of remodeling the Francis House, also known as the Old Hospital, and building a new B&B. The museum is located at 1311 Washington St. Annual Crab Feed in Calistoga An All-You-Can-Eat Crab Feed with wine and auction, presented by Soroptimist International of Calistoga, will be held at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at the Tubbs Building, Napa County Fairgrounds, 1435 N. Oak St. in Calistoga. No-host cocktails and a silent auction are at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 7 p.m. The live auction begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $75 and available at sicalistoga.org. Music of Australia The Calistoga Junior-Senior High School Music Departments Calistoga High School Band, and Calistoga Junior-Senior High School Choir will perform a free concert starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 9, in the CJSHS Multipurpose Room. Music Director Nina Pedersen will direct the band and choir in music from Down Under, and maybe even some didgeridoo. St. Patricks Day Dinner The Mens Club at OLPH Catholic Church, in honor of St. Patrick, hosts an Irish-style dinner in the parish hall, 901 Washington St. Doors open at 6 p.m. Fine local wines are included with dinner. Live music. Seating is limited. Tickets are $30, available after most Masses, or at the rectory, 942-6894, or call Don Williams at 479-8660. Kid Shapers seminar at Highlands Christian Highlands Christian Preschool will be presenting a Kid Shapers seminar titled Raising Children and Living to Tell About It on Friday, March 18, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Highland Christian Church at 970 Petrified Forest Road, Calistoga. The speaker will be Teena Ingram from Kid Shapers. Registration is free. (No childcare services will be available at the seminar.) Bring Your Own Bottle The St. Helena Historical Society will present Bring Your Own Bottle, a glimpse into the world of antique bottle collecting, at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at the St. Helena Public Library. Local collectors Lou Lambert and Dan Martin will give a brief introduction to bottle collecting, and attendees will be able to discuss and show off their own bottles. Lambert is a historian who has studied 19th-century Napa County history, architecture and bottles. Martin has lived in Napa since 1977 and has spent the last three years acquiring one of the largest Napa Soda collections, as well as other local mineral water bottles. Admission is free. For more details go to SHPL.org or call 963-5244. CabFest Napa Valley kickoff concert Nashvilles Mat Kearney performs at the CabFest Napa Valley Kickoff Concert at the Napa Valley Performing Arts Center, 100 California Drive, Yountville, on Saturday, March 5, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35-$55. Info, lincolntheater.com. Orchids show and sale Napa Valley Orchid Society hosts its 23rd annual show and sale on Saturday, March 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Napa Senior Center, 1500 Jefferson St., Napa. Learn about re-potting orchids and how to get them to re-bloom at home. Free admission. For information call 251-1630. Riverboat Captains and Mansions walking tour Napa County Landmarks hosts the annual Riverboat Captains and Mansions Walking Tour on Saturday, March 5, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The group meets at the Hatt Building, 500 Main St., Napa. The tour includes 12 houses in walking distance. Admission is $5-$10. Info, NapaCountyLandmarks.org; or call 255-1836. Napa Homebrewers Classic Rotary Club of North Napa hosts the 2016 Napa Homebrewers Classic at Chardonnay Hall at Napa Valley Expo, 575 Third St., Napa, on Saturday, March 5, from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets are $25. Proceeds benefit Napa Emergency Womens Services. Info, northnaparotary.org/napa_homebrewers_classic; or email mjriddle1@comcast.net. Notorious Napa: A History of Crime In Napa Valley Napa Police Department detective Todd Shulman, author of Murder and Mayhem in the Napa Valley, discusses the tangled history of lawlessness, depravity and frontier justice of early Napa on Saturday, March 5, from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Napa County Library, 580 Coombs St., Napa. Free admission. Info, NapaLibrary.org; or call 299-1481. Decisive Battles of the Civil War St. Helenas Jay Greene will present a new lecture series on Four Battles That Shaped the Outcome of Americas Civil War, starting with the First Battle of Bull Run at 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, at the St. Helena Public Library. During the four fiercely fought years of the war, the outcome remained in doubt. In this series of talks, Greene will describe how four battles critically shaped the course of the war, and how the Unions victory over the Confederacy changed the course of U.S. history. Greene graduated from Dartmouth College with honors in history. The series continues with lectures on Antietam (March 22), Gettysburg (April 12) and The Last Campaign (April 26). The series is sponsored by the Friends & Foundation, St. Helena Public Library. Anyone traveling on the citys east side cant miss Napa Marble & Granite Works. Perched on a triangle-shaped lot overlooking a busy five-way intersection bisected by Silverado Trail, the business, which makes headstones and monuments, has been owned by the Simich family since 1946. For the past 70 years the family managed to carve out a business helping Napans remember their loved ones in a very permanent way. Napa Marble & Granite Works is actually much older than 70 years. According to Stephen Simich, the current co-owner, James Newman started the business 138 years ago, in 1878. The second owner was A.V. (Albert Vernon) Smith, who eventually sold the company to Myron and Marjorie Simich, Stephens parents. The shop has been located at 9 Coombsville Road for about 90 years, they believe. Simichs father, Myron Simich, a granite cutter and artist, immigrated to the U.S. from Yugoslavia in the early 1900s, recalled Stephen Simich. We all grew up working here, sweeping the shop, pushing the broom, he said. Around 1980, Stephen Simich and his brother David took over the business. His father passed away in 1985 and his mother in 2013. David Simich recently retired. To this day, only family members work at the business. Communication, understanding and patience are the secret to working together, said Margaret Simich, Stephens wife. Each person makes a contribution. Stephen Simich produces the monuments and headstones. Margaret Simich helps customers choose and design monuments and manages the office. Son Nick, 22, attends Napa Valley College and does some computer work for the business as well as sandblasting and installations. Daughter Audrey, 19, also attends Napa Valley College and helps her father install the monuments, as well as moving the stones around the open-air workshop with a forklift and sandblasting the designs. A monumental decision Margaret Simich said customers who need a headstone or monument usually start by picking the color of the stone, then the source country, the size and shape, and finally wording and graphics. Inside and outside display areas provide examples of the granite, marble and limestone. The stone comes from U.S. quarries in California, South Dakota, Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri and Texas, as well as India, China, Canada and Norway. The spectrum of colors includes blues, reds, grays and even greens. Long ago, monument makers like Myron Simich cut the images and words on monuments and tombstones by hand. It was time-consuming, said Stephen Simich. I dont know how he did it. Today, templates are created via computerized plotting machine. The machine cuts the outline of the text and design work onto adhesive-backed templates. Those templates are then pressed onto the stone. Next the letters and images are peeled off. The stone is then sandblasted. After removing the template, only the words and images remain etched into the stone. If his father could see how efficient the process is today, I think hed be very impressed by it, said Stephen Simich. However, from an artists standpoint, I think hed say youre losing the personality of the person whos carving the stone. Simich said each carver from that earlier era had his own style. He recognizes stones his own father made. I know his lettering. He was old school. He wanted to do something that was one-of-a-kind, his son said. Many stones come from the quarries partially cut or finished, but some of the cutting and polishing is still done as it has been for years, under an open-sided workshop with a view of the busy intersection below. Even though computers shape the lettering and designs they produce today, that doesnt mean that Napa Marble & Granite Works produces cookie-cutter work. Each stone or monument is personally designed and finished at the shop. I try to find a story about the person and transfer it to stone, said Margaret Simich. A monument is one of the last things you get on earth. Customers want it to reflect the life of their loved one. At the heart of the city During a recent tour, Simich showed the diamond-tipped cutting blades used to cut the stones, along with a modern sandblasting machine. Nearby stacks of monument stones awaited inscribing, along with other projects ready for delivery. Pieces of metal salvaged from old advertising signs are still used as templates to shape the edges of some stones. A remnant of an old blacksmith shop with a forge and anvil has been preserved. Simich also does repair work. Several old tombstones dating back to the 1800s that had broken into pieces had been glued back together using epoxy. Leftover stone pieces from former projects have been cemented into place to form a retaining wall along one side of the property. The family grew up in one of three houses located behind the business shop. Today, tenants occupy the homes. The 3-acre parcel backs up to Tulocay cemetery. The Simiches believe thats probably why the previous owner chose that location. Stephen Simich estimated that about 90 percent of the headstones and stone monuments at the cemetery were created by the business. The amount of work at Napa Marble & Granite Works varies month by month but Simich estimated the company produces about 200 monuments a year. Not all are for grave sites, he said. They also make house number signs, benches and items such as historical markers. In the 90s, the company also cut pieces of granite and limestone for the exterior of the General Services Agency administration building in Oakland plus other buildings in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. Today, prices for a monument or headstone range widely from several hundred dollars to several thousand. Most people spend anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 on a monument, said Margaret Simich. The couple said they attributed their success to sticking with what they know and do well. They considered expanding at one point, but decided against it. Youd get spread too thin, said Stephen Simich. When asked if she planned to keep the business going after her parents eventually retire, Audrey Simich said, Its definitely something Ive thought about. I think itd be cool to keep it in the family. Its very exciting to have reached such a 70-year milestone, said Stephen Simich. Im very proud of what Steve has done and what his family started, his wife said. Regardless of what happens in the future, the family already has one thing planned their own headstones. We have a plot in St. Helena, Stephen Simich explained. It features a 6-foot-long family monument in the shape of a tablet surrounded by a short granite wall. Each grave-site marker is a smaller piece of black granite, quite understated, especially since they come from a monument maker. We wanted to keep it simple, he said. A proposed state conservancy could provide money to protect natural, recreational, cultural and other resources in the Lake Berryessa area of eastern Napa County. State Sen. Lois Wolk and Assemblyman Bill Dodd have introduced legislation to create the Northern Inner Coast Range Conservancy. This conservancy would serve portions of 13 counties, including Napa. A Wolk news release said the proposed conservancy would build on President Barack Obamas decision last year to create Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. The monument covers 330,780 acres of public land, including some of the public lands in eastern Napa County. The Northern Inner Coast Range Conservancy could bring money to lands outside of the national monument. Establishing a state conservancy gives us a strong voice and will help the region compete for funding to protect and enhance these resources for future generations and promote regional economic development, Wolk, D-Davis, said in her news release. California has 10 conservancies, including the State Coastal Conservancy, the California Tahoe Conservancy, the San Diego River Conservancy and the Baldwin Hills Conservancy. Conservancies are a great way to distribute state bond money to local agencies, Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District General Manager John Woodbury said. He noted that Napa County is already part of the state Coastal Conservancy. We already have one avenue, Woodbury said. Whether being part of another conservancy would be a benefit, its hard to say it would be of some benefit, but it wouldnt be a huge shift for Napa County. The Coastal Conservancy has steered a total of $18 million to 45 Napa County projects over more than three decades. Among the projects were adding the 12,500-acre Lauffs Ranch to the states Knoxville Wildlife Area in the inner coastal range and helping to remove invasive plants at the north end of Lake Berryessa. Senate Bill 1396 describes Northern Inner Coast Range Conservancy boundaries as being the mountains extending from Solano County northward through Napa Countys Lake Berryessa region through Lake County to Del Norte and Siskiyou counties. The version posted on the state Legislature website doesnt include a map. Among the proposed conservancys goals are providing more recreational opportunities, protecting and restoring physical, cultural, historical and archaeological resources, preserving working landscapes and protecting and improving water supply and quality. The conservancy would not have eminent domain powers. Participation in the conservancy would be optional. Each eligible county would decide for itself whether to join. An 11-member board would govern the conservancy. It would have members appointed by state officials, along with a county supervisor from each of four subregions. Napa County would be in the south subregion, along with Lake, Yolo and Solano counties. Dodd, D-Napa, made the case for creating the conservancy. Its critical that we leave California a better place for future generations and establishing this conservancy will allow our region to better compete for needed restoration and conservation projects, Dodd said in a news release. What to say about the great Peter Mondavi? Would that we could all enjoy 101 years of good cheer, good fortune, goodwill toward others, and great vino. Thanks for everything, Peter. *** Calling all aspiring filmmakers: The city of St. Helena is participating in the countywide Every Drop Counts public service announcement contest for high school students. Film a 30-second PSA on the importance of water conservation, and submit it by April 5. The top three finishers will win cash prizes, with the big winner getting $500 and the thrill of having his or her video shown on the big screen at the Cameo Cinema and Century Napa Valley. For details go to napawatersheds.org/psacontest or email Anais Hall at ahall@ci.calistoga.ca.us. *** Fresh off his series on political revolutions, historian Jay Greene is returning to the topic of the Civil War with a series of free lectures at the St. Helena Public Library from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on March 8 (Bull Run), March 22 (Antietam), April 12 (Gettysburg) and April 25 (The Last Campaign). May the spirit of the great Civil War chronicler Shelby Foote abide with you, Jay. And huzzahs to the Friends & Foundation, St. Helena Public Library for sponsoring the series. *** A few resourceful staff members at St. Helena High School have arranged for New York Times columnist Frank Bruni to discuss his recent book about the college admission process at 3-5 p.m. Sunday, March 20, at the Cameo Cinema. Where You Go Is Not Who Youll Be urges young people and their parents to step back from the high-stress college admissions mania and remember that a diligent student can get a world-class education without attending a competitive, savings account-draining Ivy League college. Tickets are free, but undoubtedly going fast, so reserve a seat by emailing Cathy Buck at cathy@cameocinema.com. Copies of Brunis book are available for sale through Copperfields, and Bruni will be happy to sign them. Credit Susan Swan, library media specialist, and Terri Linder, academic counselor, for contacting Brunis representatives and arranging the visit. And a doff of the cap to the St. Helena Public Schools Foundation for underwriting his speaking fee, the Cameo for hosting the event, and Meadowood Napa Valley for giving Bruni the royal treatment. *** Plastic shopping bags are long gone from St. Helena, but the battle isnt over at the state level. In November, voters will weigh in on a referendum on the statewide ban that was passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2014. Lisa Page will discuss the matter during the next meeting of the Upper Napa Valley Republican Women Federation at 11:30 a.m. Monday, March 14, at Cindys Backstreet Kitchen. Page is a public relations consultant and former chief deputy press secretary for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Lunch is $27. Reserve a spot by March 9 by calling Bev Borges at 963-3148. You can also look for the clubs Facebook page. *** Lets hear it for DVRs, which on Monday morning enabled me to fast-forward through Chris Rocks tedious racial humor and go straight to the awards presentations. (Lets also hear it for the big winner, Spotlight, for showing the importance of old-fashioned print journalism.) For those living in a much faster lane than me, the highlight of the Oscars might be the many pre- and post-event parties. I hear that Stephanie Honig of Honig Vineyard & Winery, along with sales representative Kim Villanueva, participated in one of those whoop-de-doos at Kari Feinsteins Style Lounge in Los Angeles on Feb. 25-26. They poured Honig wines for the likes of Jamie Foxx and Spotlight co-star Brian dArcy James. The next time you see Stephanie and Kim around town, be sure to ask them for some good stories of Hollywood glamour. *** In closing, my condolences to the family of longtime St. Helenan Marjorie Preston. Reading her obituary in last weeks Star reminded me of her community service as a member of the library board, her leadership of the Republican Women, and most of all her boundless love for America. As passionate as she was about politics at the local and national levels, Marge never let partisanship get in the way of her innate good humor and kindness. An inspiring lesson for us all. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg praised the bravery of Iraqi security forces and highlighted NATO support during an official visit to Iraq on 1 March 2016. Meeting with Prime Minister Al-Abadi, Mr. Stoltenberg commended the success of Iraqi forces in pushing ISIL back and retaking territory in Ramadi and elsewhere. He welcomed the governments ongoing efforts to build confidence across Iraqs different communities, which is vital for the countrys long-term stability. Mr. Stoltenberg also underlined NATOs commitment to an enduring partnership with Iraq. For over a decade, NATO and Iraq have worked together, enhancing security dialogue and promoting the development of Iraqi Security Forces through capacity building, education and training. This month, NATO will begin training Iraqi officers in Jordan, as part of NATOs Defence Capacity Building Package for Iraq, the Secretary General said. Iraqi officers will receive training in key priority fields, including countering Improvised Explosive Devices, military medicine and civil-military planning. NATO experts will also provide advice for Iraqs ongoing security sector reform efforts. The Secretary General also met with President Fouad Massoum and Defence Minister Khaled al-Obaidi, underscoring NATOs commitment to high-level political dialogue with Iraq. In his bilateral meetings, Mr. Stoltenberg highlighted NATOs efforts to step up support for the Global Coalition to counter ISIL. Last month, NATO Defence Ministers agreed in principle to use NATO AWACS surveillance planes to backfill national AWACS capabilities, increasing the coalitions ability to degrade and destroy ISIL. The Secretary General stressed that by working more closely together, NATO and Iraq can enhance stability in the Middle East region. Question -- What is the goal of this website? Why do we share different sources of information that sometimes conflicts or might even be considered disinformation? Answer -- The primary goal of Nesaranews is to help all people become better truth-seekers in a real-time boots-on-the-ground fashion. This is for the purpose of learning to think critically, discovering the truth from withinnot just believing things blindly because it came from an "authority" or credible source. Instead of telling you what the truth is, we share information from many sources so that you can discern it for yourself. We focus on teaching you the tools to become your own authority on the truth, gaining self-mastery, sovereignty, and freedom in the process. We want each of you to become your own leaders and masters of personal discernment, and as such, all information should be vetted, analyzed and discerned at a personal level. We also encourage you to discuss your thoughts in the comments section of this site to engage in a group discernment process. "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle 11 Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. Through promotion of free debate on our website, New Age Islam encourages people to rethink Islam. Tony Adamo will be in New York in early April rehearsing withand, of Wolff & Clark Expedition. New York photographer Fran Kaufman is scheduled to do the photo shoot. Clark has been Adamos music producer on two previous releases, Miles of Blu (2013) and Tony Adamo & The New York Crew (2015), and the newest unreleased CD, Tony Adamo and The NYC Commission. Wolff has previously written songs and arrangements for Adamo's music releases. This rehearsal is in preparation for Adamos live show. If you are interested in booking Tony Adamo Digs Mark Murphy And Beyond , along with Mike Clark and Michael Wolff, contact Tony Adamo via email Wolff & Clark Expedition 2, is listed in the Downbeat Readers' Poll, 2015 as one of the Best Albums" of the year!" Click here to read the interview with Michael Wolff & Mike Clark talk about their latest Expedition."Now let's get this out at Bar One: Tony Adamo, like Beluga caviar, is indeed and indeed an acquired taste. The prophet and proponent of hipspokenword," his is a unique oral gumbo of supremely involving lyric, funky jazz talk, historical tilt, cultural commentary, and no-jive lingo. And on this effort (Tony Adamo & The New York Crew), it is all infectiously served up over a bed of meticulously played white-hot jazz. As hip and talented as Adamo is, the supporting ensemble is as muscular and swinging as its leader. Drummer Mike Clark, he of Headhunters fame, pushes this group rhythmically to extremes. Pianist Michael Wolff stretches out neatly at every corner and bassist Richie Goods drives things like a mad trainman. The front line horns of saxophonist Donald Harrison and trumpeter Tim Ouimette (who wrote the music and horn charts) are as swinging, funky and free as the Big Apple itself ("Buddhist Blues" To Bop or Not to Be"). They cook hotter and with more intensity than a roomful of Cul-school white hats". Nicholas F. Mondello , All About Jazz. ( read entire review The killinist thing about Tony Adamo & the New York Crew is that everybody in the band, especially the dope rhyme sayer, has got big ears all the way back to New Orleans and ancient-forward into the ever-evolving Multi-New Thing" ( read more Japan and U.S. will hold joint military exercises France withdraws from Energy Charter Treaty CNN: White House is in talks with Elon Musk to create satellite Internet service Starlink in Iran Baku outraged by Iran's statements and frightened by IRGC military exercises Who are main beneficiaries of 'Zangezur' corridor?: Another anonymous article by 'Haykakan Zhamanak' newspaper Ankara decides to stand up for Riyadh amid deteriorating relations between Saudi Arabia and U.S. French Foreign Minister considers it vital to keep lines of communication with Russia open Pentagon refuses to give details of conversation between Austin and Shoigu Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin: Head of Caucasus Muslims Department again made slanderous and false statements Erdogan denies using chemical weapons against Kurds and threatens those who dare to talk about it Saudi Arabia and China will strengthen their ties in energy sector Governor of Gegharkunik province receives representatives of OSCE fact-finding mission Penny Mordaunt runs for Prime Minister of Great Britain Sweden expects ratification of NATO membership application by Hungary and Turkey to be completed soon European Union will allocate 1.5 billion euros per month to Kiev in 2023 An Israeli-built flight school opened in Greece Russian Railways is negotiating with Azerbaijan and Iran to launch the Rasht-Astara route Overchuk: Construction of road through Meghri, whose sovereignty is not in question, depends on Armenia's position Armenian Defense Minister's working visit to India is over Hungary will not agree to limit prices for imported gas Iranian Foreign Minister: Iran considers Armenia one of most important transit countries Naribekyan participates in meeting of secretaries general of PACE parliaments Delegation from United Arab Emirates visits Armenia at invitation of head of MONKS: Two agreements signed Dollar, euro drop in Armenia Iran consul general in Armenias Kapan: We do not accept any change of borders Baza: Mobile military registration and enlistment offices will be removed on Russian-Georgian border Iranian Consul: Countries of region do not need presence of foreign armed forces Armenia FM: Iran consulate general in Kapan will be important for regional security Iranian Consul General advises Kapan residents not to worry anymore: Iran is here for Armenian people FM reaffirms Armenia plan to open consulate general in Irans Tabriz Turkey to open consulate in occupied Armenian Shushi city of Artsakh Turkish Ministry of Finance: Ankara can buy Russian oil without Western funding Armenia Security Council chief briefs European Parliament rapporteur on recent Azerbaijan military aggression British bookmakers name favorite for post of prime minister Erdogan: Armenia-Azerbaijan relations progress will contribute to Armenia-Turkey relations normalization Iranian Consulate General opens in Kapan Erdogan: Turkey is looking for alternative to American F-16 fighters Iran consul general: We are here for Armenian people Turkey FM slams OSCE decision to send needs assessment mission to Armenia Peskov reacts to Erdogan's words about Putin's softening on Ukraine negotiations European Parliament rapporteur on Armenia visits Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan European Parliament rapporteur on Armenia to legislature speaker: Attack was from Azerbaijan, naturally Armenia President to EEU PMs: We will manage to take another confident step by respecting mutual interests EUSR Toivo Klaars exclusive interview with NEWS.am on EU Monitoring mission,Nagorno Karabakh future and violence videos Explosions rock Ukraines Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia President meets with newly formed Artsakh Public Council members Armenia PM: We need understanding in price horizon, at least in medium term Lawyer: 20 of fallen solders parents detained from Yerevan military pantheon are recognized as injured party PM: Armenia trade with other EEU countries increased by 74% France region to provide 300,000 to Armenias Syunik Province affected by Azerbaijan military aggression Eurasian Intergovernmental Council extended meeting underway in Yerevan MOD: Armenia did not fire at Azerbaijan positions, vehicle MPs in Strasbourg, present threatening dangers: Armenia has powerful support in European Parliament Years first snow falls in Armenias Shirak Province World oil prices on the rise Newspaper: Russia dismisses Armenia PM's news on Karabakh Russia PM in Yerevan, to discuss with EEU colleagues single oil, natural gas markets formation Newspaper: Why is Iran in hurry to open consulate in Armenias Syunik Province? France, Spain, Portugal agree to build Barcelona-Marseille natural gas pipeline Admiral: U.S. should now prepare for Chinese 'invasion' of Taiwan Harutyunyan: I cannot imagine Artsakh's future without presence of Russia Harutyunyan: Without questioning path of our independence, we must meet with Baku Prime Minister of Finland does not think that Hungary and Turkey will block country's application for NATO membership Iranian FM: U.S. made hasty statements in connection with protests Former Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim involved in car accident in Karabakh Arayik Harutyunyan: Artsakh people's right to self-determination is non-negotiable Iranian MFA calls it important to form platform with Armenia and India on North-South corridor Details of EU monitoring mission in Armenia are known Foreign Ministry: It seems Ankara is more interested in opening corridor through Armenia than Azerbaijan Mirzoyan: Unexpected third countries support Azerbaijani interpretation of road to Nakhchivan Foreign Ministry: Armenia, Iran and Bulgaria initial agreement on creation of Persian Gulf-Black Sea corridor Israeli Defense Minister to visit Ankara Armenian Foreign Minister names main obstacle to solving problems with Azerbaijan 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 Armenias opposition Heritage Party Chairman and former FM Raffi Hovannisian on Tuesday issued a letter to High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini, who has arrived in Armenia. Most unfortunately, and ever so ironically, the man with whom you meet todayand the regime he embodiesdo not legitimately represent the Armenian people, their rights and interests, or the benchmarks that we share. We trust that you possess persuasive evidence in this connection. There is no need, therefore, to detail the long-standing reality that your interlocutor and his administration constitute a neo-Bolshevik criminal compact which makes rhetorical reference to but in truth mocks European standards; which continues to usurp the citizenry's constitutional power by means of political and economic commingled monopolies, widespread violations of human rights and the systemic falsification of elections and referenda; and the means and ends of whose governance are endemic corruption and conflict of interest itself. Perhaps the most tragic of such episodes took place eight years ago today, when after fraudulent presidential elections the ruling regime, with Mr. Sargsyan then as prime minister, ordered and carried out the killings of at least ten citizens, the wounding of another 50, and the incarceration of hundreds. To this day neither the masterminds nor the executors have been brought to account, and from these sources of blood has evolved a state policy to cover up this crime and to reinforce the autocratic single-party rule of yesteryearall under a guileful veneer of seemingly democratic trappings that serve only to remove Armenia from its very own European domain. A criminal and corrupt regime will never confess or punish itself of its own volition; from it there can be no such legitimate expectation. Hence, as the mission of the European community of values is the establishment of democracy and the protection of civil and human rights, we petition and insist, through you, that the European family of nations correct its own track record of accommodation: 1) by revealing, on a re-examination of the evidentiary bases uncovered by the March 1 fact-finding group and under the supervision of international specialists, the identities of all those who organized, carried out, and/or covered up the crime of March 1 and by accordingly imposing international sanctions upon each and all of them; 2) by ensuring that the relevant de facto authorities implement forthwith a) the demand of Human Rights Watch to release political prisoner Gevorg Safaryan and b) the demand of several other human rights defenders and associations to review the cases of, and then to release, all other citizens currently in prison for pursuit and publication of their political views; and 3) by working, together with the law-abiding citizens of the Republic of Armenia, to bring to justice, including via international sanctions, all those responsible for masterminding and realizing the crimes of systemic vote theft and falsification of the past presidential elections and, most recently, the constitutional referendum of 6 December 2015, Hovannisians letter specifically reads. Emory community stakeholders gathered at a Racial Justice Retreat on Friday, Feb. 26, a culmination of community-wide dialogue to share ideas and solidify action steps intended to address demands raised last fall by the Black Students at Emory (BSE) movement. Dividing into a series of working groups, about 100 students, staff and faculty members met for six hours in Winship Ballroom to collectively examine proposed action steps in response to the student demands, which were brought to Emory administrators last November. Rising from student activism surrounding racial justice that emerged on several U.S. college campuses last year, the BSE demands focused upon issues that include bias reporting; academic support; faculty recruitment and retention; counseling and psychological support; conduct policies and student organization funding; and student involvement in university-wide diversity initiatives, among others. The goal of the retreat and meetings leading up to it was to produce action steps, timelines and accountability measures to help move student concerns from demands to dialogue to action, according to Ajay Nair, vice president and dean of Campus Life, who framed the event as "an opportunity to further enhance our community of practice by articulating our shared concerns, passions and values."" The intent was "to do the right thing for all of our students and the university," Nair said. "To seriously and diligently address systemic racial and social justice issues." "Our goal is nothing less than to reimagine and co-create a racially just campus community," he said. Constructive activism In opening remarks, President James Wagner expressed appreciation for the "constructive activism" of student leaders who had pressed for dialogue and change, adding that the retreat presented an opportunity to "listen and learn from one another." Through BSE demands and support echoed from others at Emory, "we have been given a call, a mandate," Wagner noted. Earlier work through Emory's Transforming Community Project already helped to provide "a vocabulary so that we can have difficult conversations," as well as programs intended to help support campus diversity, he said. But despite efforts "to face squarely the shortcomings of our institution and the way we treat each other and to plan strategies for progress," Wagner said there will be no progress "if as an institution and if individually, personally, we fail first to acknowledge our perpetuations of these circumstances and to seek reconciliation for our past and continuing wrongs." 'To be a better Emory' Explaining how the process would work, retreat moderator James Roland, senior director of the Barkley Forum debate program, stressed that the ultimate goal of the event was "to create systems that will allow us to be able to sustain efforts to be a better Emory." Roland predicted that the retreat would only be a first step to subsequent conversation and action. "This won't be one event," he said. "All of you in the room are expected to be change agents." The bulk of the retreat, which was originally scheduled for January but postponed when the University closed due to the threat of a winter storm, was devoted to translating student issues and concerns into a process to promote change. Each demand had earlier been assigned to a working group, which made individual presentations, breaking down student demands into discreet issues and offering initial suggestions for action. Topics were as specific as examining funding for campus student organizations, the diversity of student conduct hearing panels, and how faculty can foster a sense of community in the classroom to finding ways to weave awareness of race and difference into academic settings throughout campus. Through the Emory Campus Life Dialoguewebsite a new initiative that features information and resources and a forum for campus concerns draft reports from each working group are posted online for community feedback. A step in the right direction In closing remarks, Emory undergraduate and BSE member Casidy Campbell, a senior majoring in sociology and African-American studies, expressed appreciation for the hard work that had gone into a difficult conversation. As the University seeks to select a new president and create a new strategic plan, Campbell said she hopes that ideas arising from the retreat would become embedded in both endeavors. "What we are asking for right now will actually benefit the whole, entire University," she said. "It's not just black students it benefits Latino students, it benefits Asian students, and it benefits white students." Wagner noted how the University has evolved over the years into a much more diverse student population more diverse today than most first-year students experienced at their high schools. After observing how the Emory community could come together in a determined effort to move beyond history, institutional racism and personal bias, he expressed confidence that change is possible. "We have the tools, we can do this," Wagner said. Working groups will continue finalizing recommendations for action steps, which Campbell said in an interview after the retreat that she is eager to see. "I think this was definitely a step in the right direction," she said. Posted by Mark Williams | March 1, 2016 Although the first two months are typically some of the slowest sales months of the year, February 2016 is shaping up to be one of the best Februarys in 10 years for some truckmakers. Some analysts predicted that because of winter storms that hit much of the country in January, February could be a strong month because of pent-up demand. Others predicted the up-and-down volatility of the stock market might make buyers take a pause from dealer lots, but that prediction did not turn out to be accurate. With the exception of Chevrolet, GMC and Honda, all the other truck brands had a good month. Additionally, the fact that fuel prices remain low for most of the country seems to be helping pickup sales as well. The big winner for February is Ram with an almost 25 percent gain over last year at this time and double-digit gains so far this year. Ford also had a solid sales result, beating the combined total of Chevy and GMC's full-size truck lineup. It's also worth noting that Nissan is gaining traction with the all-new full-size Titan XD turbo-diesel as it gets into more dealerships, posting yearly and monthly gains of more than 25 percent with momentum building. Chevy is the biggest question mark on the chart, with February sales percentages well behind the industry average, although it should be noted it did have a strong February 2015. Conversely, the Colorado had a strong sales month, outselling its arch rival, the Frontier, by more than 500 units. GMC sales were flat. Tacoma sales continue to be strong, up double digits for the year and almost 15 percent for the month. Since the Tacoma and Tundra are built in the same production facility, if Toyota determines it needs more of one model than the other, then production of one truck goes up while production of the other goes down. And that's what we're seeing as Tundra sales aren't keeping up with the 2015 pace. We're guessing that trend will continue through the summer. March tends to be the beginning of the strongest part of the pickup-selling season for full-size pickups (summer through fall), but much is likely to depend on continued market instability and/or fuel-price changes; then again, a contentious presidential election and predicting how new-vehicle buyers might react make sales predictions anyone's guess. Editor's note: The Honda Ridgeline monthly sales numbers were updated on March 1 to correct information from the manufacturer. Manufacturer image LONDON: The social networking website Facebook can be used to track people's sleeping habits by building up a database of when your friends were seen last online busy chatting or "liking" posts on Facebook, a media report said. "Many people visit Facebook as the first thing in the morning and the last thing before going to bed. It is, therefore, possible to get a good impression of their sleeping habits," said San Francisco-based software engineer Soren Louv-Jansen in a Mail Online report. For the study, Louv-Jansen used "time stamps" from Facebook's Messenger service to see when his friends were asleep. He was curious to see where the "last seen" data was coming from and after doing some research, he found a list of his Facebook friends' user IDs and last activity "time stamps". This, he added, is embedded in the initial mark-up of Messenger.com and can be viewed by simply visiting the website and clicking "View Source" to see for yourself. "By creating a simple service that checks Facebook every 10 minutes, I'm able to get an accurate picture of my friends' Facebook usage," said Louv-Jansen, who published the programme's source code onto GitHub. GitHub is used by many developers and hackers to put large amounts of information for developer communities to see and take advantage of, the report said. Read Also: Facebook Launches Canvas To Bring Life Into Mobile Ads Mobile App To Report Dirty Tourist Places Launched Review of Simon institute polls set for March 8 by Pete Rosenbery CARBONDALE, Ill. -- An in-depth review of the latest polls from Southern Illinois University Carbondales Paul Simon Public Policy Institute will be March 8. The institute will present recent poll results for upcoming Illinois primary battles for president and the U.S. Senate, along with opinions on the direction of the nation and state, state government and taxes, government reform, treatment of veterans, and other social issues. David Yepsen, institute director, and John Jackson, visiting professor, will offer their insight into the Simon Polls. This is a chance for people to visit with us about our polling, Yepsen said. We will make a presentation of our most recent findings and save time for plenty of questions. The institute has done polling for years and we are proud of the quality of the work. We are assembling data that will be of value to students, faculty and others in the future as we chart the changes in public opinion and in Southern Illinois, he said. The program begins at 7 p.m. at the Varsity Center for the Arts, 418. S. Illinois Ave., Carbondale. Doors open at 6 p.m., with light refreshments and hors doeuvres available. The event is free and the public is encouraged to attend, but registration is required by noon, Friday, March 4, to Leslie Brock, at 618/536-7751 or online at http://paulsimoninstitute.siu.edu/poll-presentation/index.php. Stanford engineers test autonomous car algorithms in quest for safer driving Video by Bjorn Carey, Kurt Hickman, Aaron Kehoe By testing the physical limits of speeding cars, Stanford engineers hope to develop safer autonomous driving systems. When Stanford's autonomous car Shelley nears speeds of 120 mph as it tears around a racetrack without a driver, observers' natural inclinations are to exchange high-fives or simply mouth, "wow." Chris Gerdes and his students, however, flip open laptops and begin dissecting the car's performance. How many g-forces did Shelley pull through turns 14 and 15? How did it navigate the twisty chicane? What did the braking forces look like through the tight turn 5? For the past several years, Gerdes and his students have been testing their autonomous driving algorithms with Shelley, a custom-rigged Audi TTS, on the 3-mile track at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, California. Although the speedometer needle sometimes flies past 110 mph, the car spends a good deal of the course maneuvering at speeds of 50 to 75 mph. This is closer to the speed at which most car collisions occur, Gerdes said, and understanding how the car adjusts its throttle, brakes and makes use of all the friction of its tires in these situations could inform the development of automatic collision avoidance software. "A race car driver can use all of a car's functionality to drive fast," said Gerdes, a professor of mechanical engineering. "We want to access that same functionality to make driving safer." Through careful iteration, the car is almost as fast around the track as an experienced racer. Several graduates from Gerdes' lab have landed innovative careers in the auto industry. He prioritizes student-inspired research on track days and grants his students significant autonomy to manage their research, which touches on a broad range of subject areas. For instance, graduate student Nitin Kapania combines learning control and artificial intelligence to help the car improve its performance over time, particularly related to how it steers through different corners. Another graduate student, John Kegelman, works to find ways to convert the skilled controlled behaviors of drivers into computer algorithms. Recent PhD graduate Joseph Funke analyzed Shelley's maneuverability on the track under normal conditions to develop emergency lane-change algorithms. "The students organize themselves like a race team for our test days. They figure out tasks and schedule the time allotted for different tests together," Gerdes said. "But once you get to the track, things can go differently than you expect. So it's an excellent lesson of advanced planning, but also how to come together as a team and deal with changing priorities." MEDIA CONTACT: Bjorn Carey, Stanford News Service, (650) 725-1944, bccarey@stanford.edu Stanford cryptography pioneers Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman win ACM 2015 A.M. Turing Award The groundbreaking algorithm from Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman enabled a secure Internet and sparked a clash with the NSA that foreshadowed current privacy battles between government agencies and Silicon Valley companies. Chuck Painter/Stanford News Service Stanford's Martin Hellman, left, and Whitfield Diffie, shown in 1977, were awarded the 2015 A.M. Turing Award this week. Stanford cyber-security innovators Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman, who brought cryptography from the shadowy realm of classified espionage into the public space and created a major breakthrough that enabled modern e-commerce and secure communications over the Internet, are being honored with the Association for Computing Machinery's 2015 A.M. Turing Award. The award is often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of computing" and comes with a $1 million prize funded by Google. The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) made the official announcement Tuesday morning at the RSA conference in San Francisco one of the largest gatherings of cryptographers working on Internet security. Diffie and Hellman's 1976 paper, "New Directions in Cryptography," stunned the academic and intelligence communities by providing a blueprint for a revolutionary new technique that would allow people to communicate over an open channel, with no prearrangement, but keep their information secret from any potential eavesdroppers. They called it public-key cryptography. They also showed how, by reversing the order of operations, it was possible to create a "digital signature." Like a written signature, this has to be easy for the legitimate signer to create and for everyone else to verify. But it has to be difficult preferably impossible for anyone else to sign new messages. Unlike a written signature, which looks the same even if it's taken from a $1 check and forged onto a $1,000,000 check, a digital signature can only be used with the specific message that was signed. Digital signatures and the "digital certificates" or "certs" they can produce are critical components in the modern security architecture. They allow your browser to know that your bank is really who it claims to be, and they allow iPhones to only run software signed by Apple. "Their 1976 invention is widely viewed as the birth of modern cryptography," said Dan Boneh, Stanford professor of computer science and electrical engineering and co-director of the Stanford Cyber Initiative. "Simply put, without their work, the Internet could not have become what it is today," Boneh said. "Billions of people all over the planet use the Diffie-Hellman protocol on a daily basis to establish secure connections to their banks, e-commerce sites, e-mail servers, and the cloud." Threat of jail time It was a feat made even more impressive by the fact that little serious academic scholarship on cryptography existed at the time of their invention outside the realm of classified research conducted under the purview of secretive government agencies such as the National Security Agency. Hellman said academic colleagues had tried to discourage him from pursuing his interest in cryptography early in his career because of the NSA's virtual monopoly on the subject. "They said, 'You're wasting your time working on cryptography because the NSA has such a huge budget and a several-decades head start," said Hellman, Stanford professor emeritus of electrical engineering. "How are you going to come up with something they don't already know? And if you come up with something good, they'll classify it.'" Diffie and Hellman clashed with the NSA over their publications, including one that claimed that the agency had pressured IBM to weaken the National Bureau of Standards' Data Encryption Standard (DES) by limiting the key size to 56 bits instead of a stronger option of 64 bits or higher. After the publication of "New Directions in Cryptography" and another paper on the DES key size, the conflict intensified as the NSA waged a concerted campaign to limit the distribution of Diffie and Hellman's research. An NSA employee even sent a letter to the publishers warning that the authors could be subject to prison time for violating U.S. laws restricting export of military weapons. These skirmishes became known as the first of the "crypto wars." Ultimately, the NSA failed to limit the spread of their ideas, and public key cryptography became the backbone of modern Internet security. "Cryptography is the one indispensable security technique," said Diffie, who was a part-time researcher at Stanford at the time he and Hellman invented public-key cryptography. "There are lots of other things needed, but if the government had succeeded in blocking people from having strong cryptographic systems it would have meant you could not have had security on the Internet." Cryptography's starring role Diffie and Hellman said the U.S. government's recent demands that Silicon Valley companies build so-called back doors into their products so law enforcement and intelligence agencies could access encrypted messages reminded them of the first crypto war. As then, the government did not have a workable proposal for how to create those back doors without undermining the security of those products. Diffie and Hellman both said they sided with Apple in the current legal standoff over the FBI's request that Apple provide access to an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino terrorists by writing software to bypass some of its security features. "All the computer security experts that I talk with I don't think there's been one who believes that we should do what the government wants," Hellman said. "While in this one case it might not do much harm, it establishes a dangerous precedent where Apple is then likely to be inundated with thousands upon thousands of requests that they'll have to either fight or comply with at great risk to the security of the iPhone system." Diffie said giving in to the FBI's request would also make it harder for Apple to resist similar requests from foreign governments who want to spy on their citizens and crush internal dissent. "We do not wish to support the ability of totalitarian regimes to do this kind of thing when they are persecuting people for their free speech," Diffie said. Diffie and Hellman are both currently affiliated with Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), where they regularly attend seminars on a diverse range of national security issues and mentor young pre- and postdoctoral fellows on issues of cyber security. "What's great about both Whit Diffie and Marty Hellman is the way in which they contribute to the ongoing intellectual discourse of the Center," said CISAC co-director David Relman. "Both of them think broadly and deeply far outside the bounds of their formal training and the areas of accomplishment for which they are now being recognized by this prize." Persis Drell, dean of Stanford's School of Engineering, said the award, and the work behind it, exemplified the caliber and tone of research for which the school's faculty are noted. "Engineers want to have a positive impact on our world, and we are enormously proud to have Marty Hellman as an emeritus member of the Stanford Engineering faculty," Drell said. Boneh, whose main area of research is applied cryptography, said Diffie and Hellman's work continued to inspire a new generation of cryptographers. "Beyond the practical implications of the work, their groundbreaking 1976 paper 'New Directions in Cryptography' introduced new concepts and opened up new directions that were previously thought to be impossible," Boneh said. "It introduced number theory into the realm of cryptography and launched an entire academic discipline to further develop the area of public-key cryptography. By now there are thousands of researchers and tens of thousands of research papers building on their work. The field of cryptography would be a pale image of what it is today without the work of Diffie and Hellman." Media Contact Tom Abate, Stanford Engineering: (650) 736-2245, tabate@stanford.edu HRD Minister Smriti Irani's controversial comments on Durga and Mahishasur appear to ignore the varied folk traditions in which the latter is adulated as a king and an ancestor, experts say. The minister sparked a fierce row when she read out in parliament last week contents of a pamphlet purportedly printed by the "SC, ST and Minority Students" of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to mark the Mahishasur Martyrdom Day. "May my God forgive me for even reading this out," she said in opening remarks. Irani was explaining the rationale behind the police crackdown at the JNU after "anti-national slogans" were allegedly raised on the campus. Dalit scholars and experts on tribal lifestyle say Irani's comments may have originated from the dominant Hindu understanding of Goddess Durga which views Mahishasur as a demon. Dalit politics apart, tribal communities spread in at least five states, including West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand, revere Mahishasur as a great king and some like the Asur tribe believe they are his descendents. In traditional Hindu scriptures, the word Asur is used almost synonymously with demon. Some anthropologists say Asurs were among the proto-Australoid groups inhabiting areas like Jharkhand and the western part of West Bengal. The Asur tribe is now found in Gumla, Latehar, Lohardaga and Palamu districts of Jharkhand and in north Bengal's Alipurduar districts. Asurs believe they are descendants of 'Hudur-Durga' -- the Santhal name for Mahishasur. Sections of Dalit and tribal communities have been asserting these alternative narratives of their belief systems while refusing to subscribe to mainstream versions. "Mahishasur is revered in Asur and Santhal rituals. The Korku tribe of Madhya Pradesh also worships Mahishasur. The folk songs of Santhal tribes of Jharkhand are about Mahishasur. In Purulia (West Bengal), a big fair is organised to mark the worship of Mahishasur," said Vandana Tete, who has studied the practices of the Asur tribe. Nityananda Hembram, the head of the Bharat Jakat Majhi Madowa, a Santhal organisation, told IANS that his community was long opposed to the mainstream representation of Mahishasur. The Madowa has a presence across West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Chhattisgarh. "Mahishasur has been revered as a hero traditionally by Santhals in West Bengal. We have been opposing the way Mahishasur is portrayed in Durga Puja where he is shown kneeling before Durga who kills him. It is unfortunate Mahishasur is considered a demon and a mythological character when he was a hero who fought valiantly against invaders Aryans," Hembram told IANS. While Santhals have for long revered him, for the past 12 years they have been conducting a public puja much like others perform Durga Puja. "One such puja is organised in Kashipur village in Purulia district on Navami (ninth day of celebrations of Durga Puja)," Hembram told IANS. The mainstream narrative of Hinduism considers Durga one of the major deities who bestow protection. As per Vedic literature, Durga was created by the joint forces of divinity, including the holy trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh to slay Asur king Mahishasura, who, empowered by a boon from Brahma, was on a rampage. The Devi Mahatmya relates the story of Durga, mounted atop a lion, fighting a pitched battle with Mahishasur who scoffed at her for being a mere woman. In the final stages of the fight with Durga, the Asur king is said to have changed his form to that of a buffalo (Mahish in Sanskrit) -- hence the name Mahishasur. "Asur tribes in Jharkhand believe they are descendents of Mahishasura and consider him their kulguru (clan teacher). At present, Mahishasura is not worshipped in Jharkhand but considered Kulguru (by Asurs)," Vasvi, a Jharkhand-based social worker, told IANS. The worship of Mahishasur is not limited to tribal communities. The name of Mysuru in Karnataka is said to be derived from Mahishasurana Ooru (Mahishasur's country). After Irani's speech in parliament, photographs of the Mahishasur statue in Chamundi temple circulated on social media. In West Bengal, where Durga Puja is the biggest festival, it is not uncommon for 'pushpanjali' (flowers) to be offered to Mahishasur along with the Goddess and her lion before the idols are immersed in water. The Goddess is believed to descend on earth every year in autumn to visit her maternal home. She is shown spearing the chest of Mahishasur who is half buffalo and half Asur. --Indo-Asian News Service and-ns-anu/mr/sd ( 733 Words) 2016-03-01-12:53:36 (IANS) The Rajya Sabha today witnessed an uproar by the AIADMK members who were demanding action against former Finance Minister P Chidambaram's son Karthi in acquisition of wealth disproportionate to his sources of income. The AIADMK uproar forced adjournment of the House twice -- first till 1116 hrs and then till 1200 hrs. As soon as the House met for the day, the AIADMK members, led by V Maitreyan, were in the well waiving newspapers clippings and demanding action against Karthi. Amid uproar, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien called for laying of papers. As uproar continued and the pleas by the Chair to AIADMK members to allow proceedings fell on deaf ears, he adjourned the House till 1116 hrs.When the House re-assembled, the AIADMK members were again in the well, demanding action against Karthi and calling for his arrest. When din prevailed, the Deputy Chairman said, ''The Chair has nothing to do with the issue. You can approach the government for action in the matter. I am not the government.'' As ruckus continued, the Chair adjourned the House till 1200 hrs.The Enforcement Directorate and investigation wing of the Income Tax Department have unearthed huge wealth acquired by Karthi. The reports said Karti has allegedly made investments in real estate assets and other businesses in many countries, including England, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, British Virgin Island, France, US, Switzerland, Greece and Spain.UNI AR SW -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0092-615284.Xml Hinting at Pakistan authorities inside support to the attackers of Pathankot airbase, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said the terrorists operating from across the border could not function without inside support. Responding to supplementaries during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Parrikar said, "Non-state actors carried out Pathankot attack but they cannot function without state support." Asked what steps were being planned to prevent such strikes in future, he said a committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of a former Vice-Chief of Army Staff to inter-alia suggest measures to strengthen security at various military establishments across the country. He said the investigation into the attack by the National Investigating Agency was yet to be completed. A group of heavily armed terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammad, who believed to had cross over from Pakistan, attacked the Pathankot airbase in the intervening night of January 1 and 2, killing seven security personnel, before being gunned down in an operation that continued for next three days. Mr Parrikar's statement assumes significance as team of Pakistani investigators is likely to visit the airbase to probe the incident. UNI MK SW -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0090-615362.Xml As many as 150 municipal employees were arrested when they attempted to picket the legislative assembly here today. The agitation was to protest the alleged backdoor appointment by the N R Congress government here. The employees who gathered at the Kamban Kalai Arangam here later taken out a procession through the main thoroughfares of the town to the assembly. As they reached the Immaculate Conception Cathedral here, police prevented the employees and arrested them.UNI PAB CS 1352 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-615457.Xml Japanese scientists have introduced the latest aeration device developed by them at a shrimp farm in Thailand. The feature of the new developed aeration device is to feed oxygen bubbles in the form of foams. The device generates fine bubbles, which is called micro-nano bubbles. The small buoyancy of the micro-nano bubbles drift in the water for a long time which effects easily to dissolve oxygen into the water. "The oxygen concentration rate of the fish farms and shrimp farms falls down in the evening. When the phytoplankton consumes more and more oxygen in the night, then fish or shrimp becomes suffocated. If we can help somehow with this issue, the survival rate and growth rate will increase. We have developed this aeration device as a very innovative device for the aquaculture industry which can improve the production efficiency," said Hiroaki Tsutsumi, Phd scholar of Prefectural University of Kumamoto. Shrimp farming requires larger facility area compared to fish farming. While developing aeration device, it was required to treat large volume of water at low power consumption. Inquiry about this device is coming not only from Thailand, but also Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. Professor Tsutsumi wishes to introduce the technology in Southeast Asia. "Asia, especially in the tropical regions have large food production base. Once we can improve the production efficiency by using the Japanese technology, it can increase the production and also helps people in Asia. It will be beneficial to both farmers and consumers. Vegetables, especially fruits contain a lot of moisture. Since 95 percent or more are the moisture contents, it needs to absorb more and more water when it comes to increase the production volume. But overdo of the water can damage the crops. But, the crop will grow active when we use high oxygen concentration water, because oxygen is absorbed together with water. I think this method is especially good for hydroponics," said Hiroaki Tsutsumi, Phd scholar of Prefectural University of Kumamoto. The micro-nano bubble generating device also can make a healthy hydrogen water by mixing hydrogen gas to the apparatus. "Unifood Corporation has been making frozen vegetables for seventeen years since we started this business. We don't have a factory in Japan. We import vegetables from abroad," said Saburo Kuroda, president Unifoods Corporation. The company doesn't grow vegetables in Japan. Instead, they ask for partners in Vietnam to grow different kinds of vegetables. The vegetables are cooked there and send to Japan. "Japanese vegetables are tasty. But they are expensive and seasonal. Our clients such as restaurant want reasonable vegetables all year. That's why frozen vegetables are needed. And if we make frozen vegetables we have to make a profit. So we started making them abroad. Besides Vietnam is very good because the climate is suitable to make tasty vegetables all year," added Kuroda. Their clients are not only restaurants but also care facilities. The needs from them are increasing these days in Japan. "I'm working for feeding service in an elderly facility. We usually use frozen vegetables. Those are not so tasty. But I felt these vegetables here are different and tasty. Usually, frozen vegetables are watery. But these are almost same as fresh vegetables," said a visitor. (ANI) A 34-year-old-man from Kashimira of the district has been arrested by the district rural police on the alleged charges of raping a minor the district police said today. API GB Borade of the Kashimira police station under the Bhayander division of the district rural police said that both, victim and accused, were residents of the same locality in the township in Thane talukas Bhayander. The accused, Vineet Dhawade, a factory worker wooed the child aged three-and-a-half-year old to his house offering her chocolate and raped her on Friday. The child, who gave a scanty information about the sexual abuse, was taken into confidence by her parents who later on Monday rushed to the police station and lodged a complaint, police said. The accused has been charged under sections 376(i), of the IPC and also sections 4,8 and 12 of the POCSO Act of 2012 the police added.UNI XR NV PS RK1425 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-615281.Xml Police said it was a property dispute which drove the accused to beat his brother to death at the shanty in the farm at 0700 hrs in village Somta yesterday , the police said. The arrested has been identified as Chandar Raghu Lahange (45) and the victim as Sakharam Raghu Lahange (55). The body of the victim has been sent to the government hospital at Kasa for a post-mortem, police said. An offence under section 302 of the IPC has been registered against the accused, police said.UNI XR NV PS AS1414 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-615289.Xml Reacting on the budget proposal here today he said the Indian economy has been hobbled by poor infrastructure for decades. This makes our cost of doing business high, particularly for small and medium enterprises. On an average a truck travels 250-300 km per day in India, compared to 600-800 km in China. Our ports turnaround shipments in 84 hours, whereas the number is seven hrs in Singapore. As a poor country, we simply cannot afford this waste. The Railway Budget has announced that existing terminals and sheds will be given access to for container traffic. Railside logistics parks will be developed. The Finance Minister has announced a total investment of Rs 97,000 crore in roads in 2016-17. Additionally, a further 50,000 km of roads will be converted into national highways. These investments will dramatically improve transit timing and reduce the per km cost of transportation. The railway logistics and time tabled freight container trains will give new options for logistics managers to lower costs and improve responsiveness. All we need now is for the GST Bill to get passed, he added. UNI ST NV AE CS1535 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-615509.Xml President Pranab Mukherjee attended the 40th Anniversary Celebrations of Indian Civil Accounts Service today in New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, the President said that he was pleased at the significant reforms and initiatives that have been ushered in since the departmentalization of accounts and creation of the Indian Civil Accounts Service. He extended his felicitations to the Controller General of Accounts and the officers and staff of the Indian Civil Accounts Service for effectively and efficiently discharging their responsibilities in the service of the nation. He said that he was happy to note that during the last forty years the office of the Controller General of Accounts has made substantive investments in automation and training of human resource in Information Technology. Consequently, there have been overall improvements in both the payment and accounting functions of the Union Government, in addition to providing decision makers with high quality, timely reports and analysis of the monthly and annual status of expenditures and revenues. "Government places the highest importance towards the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode of payments as the preferred mode for reaching out to financially disadvantaged and excluded segments of our population. This mode of direct transfer of funds to beneficiary bank accounts ensures transparency, eliminates delays and brings about a perceptible drop in corruption levels," said President Mukherjee. He expressed confidence that Government would on- board more welfare schemes on the PFMS portal in future. "We must continue to harness and leverage our e-governance capabilities for improving the lives of the poor and needy, and to transform India into a more equitable and financially inclusive society," he stated. Addressing the officers of the Civil Accounts Service, the President said that the foremost challenge for their organisation was timely and credible financial reporting of public finances, which was the backbone of an efficient and sound financial management system. "The other pressing need was to strengthen oversight mechanisms in the implementation of projects and schemes by line Ministries. The internal audit function today remains largely confined to compliance audit. This needs to change- internal audit has to aid management in the effective implementation of programs and help reduce cost and time overruns. Moreover, the focus has to change from compliance to risk management, mitigation and control. He said that the Controller General of Accounts had taken several steps towards this end. This process needs to continue," said the President. Arun Jaitely, Finance Minister released a book on the history of Civil Accounts Organization and presented its first copy to the President on the occasion. Among the other dignitaries present were Shashi Kant Sharma, Comptroller and Auditor General of India; Ratan P Watal, Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Shri MJ Joseph, Controller General of Accounts. (ANI) Two persons were arrested for selling fake Continuous Discharge Certificate (passport for seaman), the Dongri police said. After three months, investigation, police could arrest main accused Abdul Razak. A printing press and over 51,579 fake documents-prominent among them being the CDCs have been seized yesterday. The bulk of theseizures are official international travel documents like CDCs and certificates corresponding to them. The probe had begun after an unemployed youth from Tamil Nadu had lodged a complaint to police alleging that they were duped by the accused persons who had promised them a job on ship. Following this, the staff of Dongri police was monitoring the accused. Later on Razak was arrested along with his associate Zohair Shaikh and several documents were sized. Police have also confiscated Indian duplicate CDCs and a few foreign CDCs from Liberia, Panama, Bahamas and the Marshall Islands. In the police custody, Razak has confessed that he would charge anything between Rs 500 to Rs 50,000 for a document. The crime is significant as these are the only documents of identity for a sailor when he travels on board. In situations when a ship is hijacked or in case of accidents, if these are found to be fake, then thegovernment cannot take any measures for the sailor's safety. "The CDC is issued to people after they go through a 6 month training regime in a government certified institution, this course costs about Rs 1 lakh. ''However, the fake CDCs were being sold at Rs 50,000-60,000 making them an attractive option for sailors," said Ambadas Pote ACP Pydhoni Division adding, "The documents for procuring CDCs werealso being made available. This shows the magnitude of crime." Both the accused were later produce in the court which had remanded them into police custody for a week. UNI AAA NV AJ AS1630 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-615452.Xml The restrictions were issued last year on October 8 in the wake of the Nepal earthquake, unrest in the Terai region over the new constitution and country-wide fuel shortages. The Embassy of the United States in Kathmandu on Tuesday issued a statement mentioning the travel warning has been cancelled effective from February 29, 2016 because the conditions had changed. The U.S. Department of State publishes travel alert and warnings based on a country's local conditions to avoid risking its travelers.(ANI) We didn't see anything for Jammu and Kashmir in the General Budget. We were hoping for progress and development for Jammu and Kashmir. Some good things are there for the rural areas and the farmers," Abdullah told the media here. Presenting his third successive Budget in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley listed nine thrust areas of tax proposals to transform India. To provide relief to small tax payers, he proposed to raise the ceiling of tax rebate under section 87A from Rs. 2,000 to five thousand for income not exceeding Rs. 5 lakh. Two crore tax payers will get a relief of Rs. 3,000. Additional deduction of Rs. 36,000 a year is proposed for those who do not own any house or get any house rent allowance. They will get an exemption up to Rs 60,000 now. Presumptive taxation extended to professionals with gross receipts up to Rs. 50 lakh. (ANI) : Diamond studded Wrist Watch worn by KarnatakaChief Minister Siddaramaiah rocked both the Houses of the StateLegislature with Opposition BJP staging dharna in the Well of therespective Houses demanding a detailed inquiry on the issue. Taking strong exception to Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa rejecting adjournment motion moved earlier by Opposition leader JagadishShettar, BJP members thronged into the Well of the House, accusingthe ruling Congress of trying to cover up the issue and protect theChief Minister. Mr Shettar said that Mr Siddaramaiah has violated the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act(FERA) rulesby not declaring the gift he received from some person, whom he claims to be his friend and residing in Dubai. He demanded that the Chief Minister should disclose details of Dr Giridar Verma who gave the gift. As per norms, the Chief Minister or any other Minister, who receive gift above Rs 5000 should declare and hand-overto the government and it should not used by them in the public life, since they are people representatives and holding highest office. Mr Shettar said that for a person like Mr Siddaramaiah, who came froma social background and follower of Lohia principles, accepting sucha costly gift and wearing it is not befitting to the position he isholding. However, the Chief Minister termed that there is no violation ofFERA and will be declaring in the Income Tax Return in March andAnnual Assets and Liablity statement to Lokayukta by June. Whenever, BJP members made remarks against the Chief Minister,the treasury bench members were countering it by mentioning names offormer Karnataka Chief Ministers D V Sadananda Gowda, now UnionMinister of Law and B S Yeddyurappa, now BJP National Vice President. The Speaker adjourned the House for the day, even as OppositionBJP members were sitting in the Well of the House.MORE UNI MSP KVV ADB 1825 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-616067.Xml The New office complex of NCC Group Chandigarh was inaugurated by Prof Kaptan Singh Solanki, Governor of Punjab, Haryana and Administrator Chandigarh at Sector 31D, Chandigarh today. Prof Solanki while addressing the cadets in an impressive ceremony lauded the role of NCC in guiding youth to become responsible citizens. He complemented the cadets for their dedication and involvement in social service activities under taken round the year. He appreciated the performance of NCC in Chandigarh which has won many laurels at National level in recent past. It may be recollected that the NCC Directorate Chandigarh had bagged Prime Ministers trophy successively for the second time this year. Amongst many laurels, Chandigarh NCC contributed 13 NCC cadets for undergoing Army training to be commissioned as officers. Its Cadet RigzenDolker has been selected to scale Mt Everest this year and the shooting team has won numerous medals at national level. NCC organisation Chandigarh which was raised in the year 1965 was housed in temporary accommodation since its raising and was presently functioning from CCET Hostel at Sector 26, Chandigarh. In the year 2009 UT administration had allotted an area of 2.07 acres of land for its construction and had subsequently sanctioned a budget of 23.61 crore for same. This state-of-art building will house all the units of NCC Chandigarh and will have training facilities which will enable the NCC Group to provide high quality training to approximately 5050 NCC cadets of Chandigarh. This building is unique initiative of UT administration and is one of its kind in the country. Maj Gen G S Chima, ADG NCC Punjab, Haryana, HP and Chandigarh Directorate, expressed his gratitude towards the UT administration for their whole hearted support and cooperation in providing such state-of-art building for NCC Chandigarh.UNI XC JS DJK SB RAI1829 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-615907.Xml Mr Sathyaprakash said thet Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government has implemented the MUDRA scheme to help the unemployed people, but in Kannur, the Congress-led UDF and CPI(M)-led LDF were trying to sabotage the scheme by denying the loans, citing technical reasons. The BJP leader said the party will resist the move by some employees in the bank to sabotage the scheme in this district. Ajay Kumar Menot, former Planning Commission member described the Mudra scheme and BJP national committee member P K Velayudhan, Kozhikode-zone General secretary A P Gangadharan, were among others, who addressed the gathering before the Kannur branch of Syndicate Bank. UNI AK KVV ADB 1950 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0324-615941.Xml : Former Governor of West Bengal and Bihar, Gopalakrishna Gandhi today said that average Indian's is not interested in religious or caste polarisation and Kerala is an example for prosperous state, as the people reside peacefully and with amity in a congenial atmosphere.. Mr Gopalakrishna Gandhi, who is also the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, said Kerala will became the Indian culture tomorrow, while delivering 13th A K Kaderkutty memorial oration 'on India today India Tomorrow', jointly organised by The Western Indian Ply woods Limited and the Departments of Management studies,Kannur University at Sadhoo auditorium here today. He also said, "The government should go to critical scrutiny and cannot consider the person, who criticise the government as dissident. He said if a person has right or duty to dissent and demand an explansation from the elected government on any relevant issue and it is the government duty to address such issues, bearing the public opinion in mind.. Mr Gandhi said the government have structure and the opposition have credibility and vice-versa. Once these two things functions like a well-oiled machine, the democracy would remain in balance, or else, it will pale into insignificance. He said, three things, Taj Mahal, Mahathma Gandhi and Parliamentary Democracy are famous among the world, as beauty is interlinked with master-craft, apart from adoring Mahatma Gandhi as an asset in the world and the lasting freedom of people in India. Kannur University Vice Chancellor Dr M K Abdul Khader presided over the function.UNI AK KVV ADB 1940 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0324-616084.Xml Outspoken Congress Legislator Ramesh Kumartoday demanded the Karnataka government to put shackles on privateschools in the state that were fleecing the parents in the guise ofrunning 'reputed' schools. Speaking on the floor of the Assembly, paying tribute to late H GGovinde Gowda, who advocated free and quality education in theschools, Mr Kumar, said the private school managements have been'let loose' and the fee structure, even in such primary schools, hadsurpassed even post-graduate studies. ''What the governments in this state have not done, to bring anycurbs on Private schools in Karnataka, and the parents in bothcities and small towns paying hefty fees to these schoolmanagements, who have remained free from government regulation,'' he said. Private schools in cities and subarban areas charge Rs 2000 ormore for students studying from primary schools and high schools,while in the so called 'international' schools the fee structure ismuch more than Private Engineering colleges. Mr Kumar, a former Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly,said the least the state government could do to pay tribute to lateMr Gowda, was to reign in such private schools, that were seen 'everywhere'. ''We have seen, in the guise of promoting quality education andpromoting private institutions, nearly bringing to 'death' thegovernment schools in Karnataka. All political parties in this stateshould take the blame for this social problem. ''We should see that even religious institutions are resorting tobring up such schools that are out of bounds for the poor, or themiddle class parents spend most of their incomes on education ofchildren in these schools promoted by religious institutions,'' he said. The Congress leader challenged the house, whether anyone of themwere to admit their children or grandchildren in a government Schoolor send to Army. Mr Kumar said the present day politicians were more interested inprojecing their children as future politicians, while the childrenfrom common families were left in the lurch. ''We have to reflect why young from the common class has no chanceto enter the politics, as elections have been corrupted,'' he added.UNI RS MSP KVV ADB1925 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-616335.Xml The Vajra Corps of the Indian Army today celebrated its 67th raising day. Lt Gen JS Cheema, General Officer Commanding Vajra Corps paid homage at the Vajra Shaurya Sthal to the martyrs of Vajra Corps. All ranks of the Vajra Corps participated in the event.held at the Vajra headquarters at Jalandhar cantonment. Vajra Corps, the Defenders of Punjab, was the first Corps raised in India after independence in 1950 by Lt Gen Kulwant Singh at Ambala. The Vajra Corps HQ was relocated at Jalandhar in 1951. The Vajra savior-faire is epitomized in victorious battles of past wars on the Western Front and the Corps is proudly identified as the Defenders of Punjab. Since its inception, the Corps has a proud heritage and glorious history earned through blood and honour and sustained by military dignity and martial pride. The Vajra Corps proved its mettle on the strategic Western Front and achieved its objectives with determination and vigour. The Corps witnessed some of the fiercest battles in history during the 1965 War. From the graveyard of Patton Nagar to the ruins of Barki and Dograi, numerous acts of individual and collective bravery, gallant sacrifices and inspiring leadership ensured that Vajra Corps played a pivotal role in shaping the history of the Nation. A proud Nation conferred numerous gallantry awards on the valiant men of the Vajra Corps. The Vajra Corps was also bestowed with the Theatre Honour of Punjab and Battle Honours of Sehjra and Dera Baba Nanak.UNI XC JS DJK SB RAI1956 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-616308.Xml Non-state actors from Pakistan were involved in the Pathankot terror attack but they could not function smoothly without state support, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. "All details will come out in the National Investigation Agency probe. In this (attack), non-state actors from Pakistan are certainly involved; that is (for) sure... And any non-state (actor) can't function smoothly without state support," Parrikar said in reply to Shiv Sena member Sanjay Raut's queries. "Does the government believe it was just a terror attack or done with the help of the Pakistan Army?" Raut asked. The January 2 terrorist attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab left seven security personnel dead. Six terrorists, who attacked the base, were also killed in the gun battle lasting almost three days. Asked by a parliamentarian whether important defence force bases like in Pathankot should be shifted far from the border areas, Parrikar said: "There are bases strategically located within the country. Pathankot is equally important because it is closer to border and there is a lot of investment which has been carried out in Pathankot. It will be costly to shift (from) Pathankot." He informed the house that intelligence on the possibility of an attack on the airbase was received in advance. "We have now done a security audit in addition to the normal security. We are in the process of ensuring all installations are properly secured," the minister said. On a query on the Pathankot terror attack in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said that Pakistan had decided to send a team to India and details of the proposed visit are being chalked out. "India has handed over all the collected evidence to Pakistan in relation to the Pathankot attack. They have registered a case and decided to send a team to India. For the first time, Pakistan has initiated action after evidence was handed over by India," Rijiju said. He, however, said that Pakistan has not yet given details such as the date or the size of its team. "We are waiting for the details. India is ready to cooperate," he said, responding to a query from Bharatiya Janata Party member Ashwini Kumar. In response to another question, Rijiju said the government was taking all measures to stop infiltration from the border areas of Punjab. "After Pathankot and Dinanagar terror attacks, we are taking all the measures to stop infiltration from the border areas of Punjab. There is no fencing around 12 km of the border area. With the help of the BSF (Border Security Force), we are trying to make these areas more safe," he said. Parrikar said the central government is in touch with Punjab Police and all efforts are underway to stop infiltration. --Indo-Asian News Service ps/tsb/vt ( 484 Words) 2016-03-01-20:31:55 (IANS) Labour Minister Bangaru Dattatreya today submitted notice forbreach of privilege against Congress Member Jyotiraditya Scindia for allegedly defaminghim in the matter of suicide by Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula. Taking up the issue during Question Hour, BJP whip Arjun Ram Meghwal said whileparticipating in the debate in the House over JNU row and case of Rohith Vemula suicide on February 24, Mr Scindia had charged Mr Dattatreya with branding Vemula as casteist,extemist and anti national. Mr Meghwal said the Labour Minister had only forwarded a letter to HRD Ministry,hence the Chair should allow the breach of privilege move against the Congress Memberwhose false statement defamed Mr Dattatreya. The Minister also pressed upon his notice and said, "I never did refer Vemula in my letter, Rohith belonged to a poor family and I have always worked for Dalit strata".Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said the notices of breach of privilege moved by Mr Dattatreyaand others were under her consideration.The Congress has also given notice of breach of privilege against HRD Minister Smriti Iranifor allegedly misleading the House over the issue of Vemula.UNI SS RSA 2026 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0089-616526.Xml The National Institute of Fashion technology (NIFT) is organising 'Fashion Spectrum' apart from annual Sports, cultural and Literary programmes from March 4 to 6 at Dharmasala. Talking to newspersons, NIFT Director, Rajeev Pant said this year theme is FLAW-SOME and Specturum is organised as an inter-College event, by inviting the leading fashion and other colleges from Kochi, Kozhikode, Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram and Trichy. Mr Pant said the Inter-College festival named 'Tarang' among the leading fashion colleges of Kerala under 13 events would be held between March 5 to 6 at Dharmasala. Around 120 students from other colleges would participate in 13 events.. The District Collector P Balakiran would be the Chief Guest. Mr Pant said the students enrolment from Kerala has increased to 38 per cent out of the total 600 students at present, while in 2008, it was only six per cent. The NIFT Director also said 92 per cent of successful students from Kannur NIFT are employed with decent salary. Mr Pant said Kannur NIFT is also providing education to the artisans of Kannur and Kozhikode in spinning and weaving of dhotis and khadi products.UNI AK KVV ADB 2020 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-616088.Xml The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court (HC) has stayed the operation of a show cause notice as well as suspension order issued by Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU) in Tirunelveli district against a Muslim research scholar, holding that the action was taken only on suspicion grounds. Justice D.Hariparanthaman while passing interim orders on a writ petition filed by the research scholar Mohamed Khan, observed that the action by the varsity went against the governments push for inclusiveness of Minorities and Dalits in Higher education. Both the suspension order and the show-cause notice are solely based on the First Information Report (FIR) and hence I am of the view that they are liable to be stayed, the Judge said. He said the order passed by the Registrar of MSU on October 1, last year directing the petitioner to abstain from attending research and other related activities and restricting his presence on the campus was against the Centres aim of providing higher education opportunities to minorities. The Judge said the petitioner, a Senior Research Fellow pursuing his Doctorate in the Department of Criminology of MSU, had claimed to have made applications under the Right to Information Act, 2005 to the varsity seeking details of fund transactions of a particular organisation and alleged absorption of Assistant Professors in MSU. The petitioner also supported a group of women students who levelled sexual harassment charges against an Assistant Professor. As an aftermath, another teaching faculty member of the university lodged a police complaint on September 25, accusing the petitioner of having threatened him on September one and this turned out to be the reason for the suspension of the research scholar. The Judge wondered why the complainant waited for 25 days to approach the police and pointing out that a lawyers notice issued by the complainant to the petitioner, prior to registration of FIR, does not state anything about the alleged incident that took place on September one. The Judge further said for all the aforesaid reasons, he was of the view that the FIR registered by Pettai policestation in Tirunelveli itself has to be viewed with suspicion and stayed the operation of show cause notice and suspension order issued against the research scholar. UNI GSM KVV ADB2016 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-616543.Xml Uttar Pradesh government today issued directions to UP State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC) to present a proposal within next three days for 100 acre land for establishing a State University and 20 acre land for a modern library after the name of Late Janeshwar Mishra at Allahabad. State chief secretary Alok Ranjan in a directive here said that announcements made by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav must be complied with priority. He said that till the new building is constructed, Divisional Commissioner, Allahabad should arrange an appropriate building for commencement of State university classes from next academic session.The Chief Secretary was chairing a meeting in this concern and asked to ensure timely payment at proper rate of the 120 acre land identified by UPSIDC under Saraswati Hitech City at Naini, Allahabad. He directed the Higher Education department to put up a proposal for allocation of Rs 50 crore to Finance department for infrastructure development at State University to be set up at Allahabad.In order to operationalise the university soon, Mr Ranjan also directed for arrangement of personnel, furniture and computers, under the jurisdiction of Allahabad State University. The Chief Secretary directed UPSIDC to make available land on priority for establishment of Sainik School in Amethi district. Among others, the meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Higher Education Jitendra Kumar, Secretary, Industrial Development Alakhnanda Dayal along with other officials.MORE UNI MB DJK SB SB1956 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-616334.Xml All business and commercial establishment remained closed and the town expressed its anguish over the acts of violence during agitation on quota stir. Thousands of protesters carrying placards marched on town roads and reached local mini secretariat and submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief minister, to City Magistrate Naveen Ahuja. Earlier people from all walks of life assembled at Ram Leela ground in Chandana gate area. Social worker Shiv Shanker Pahwa was asked to lead protest . Prominent people gathered there stressed upon the need to maintain peace and harmony in the town. Mr Pahwa said during the agitation, members of sections of society were targeted and their shops and commercial establishments were damaged, looted and set on fire. "The violence, arson and lootings reminded the people about the situation created during partition in 1947. Why the protesters attacked the victims who had no role to play for fulfilling the demand of Jats," he added. The police did not take effective and timely action against the hooligans who held the whole system to ransom and challenged the rule of law. Only handful persons had been arrested for wide spread violence affecting large section of people, he added. The speakers also took the authorities to task for their failure to curtail the activities of anti social elements who went berserk and looted shops and damaged property worth crores. They demanded a strong and fast action against the culprits and at the same time demanded adequate compensation with in shortest possible time to those who suffered huge losses. The air vented with slogans 'Bharat Maata ki Jai' and 'Ab aur Julm Nahin Sahenge'. After passing through main town roads, the procession culminated at mini secretariat and a memorandum was submitted to the administration.UNI XC DB RSA BL2000 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-616227.Xml The probe should look into the manner in which the Centre's affidavit in the case was changed and under whose "pressure" it was done, BJP leader and union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a press conference at the party headquarters here. He alleged that the home ministry affidavit was changed at the "political level". "On behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party, we demand that (in) the entire flip-flop in the Ishrat Jahan case, a fair inquiry be done," said Prasad. Former home secretary G.K. Pillai in a recent TV interview alleged that the then home minister P. Chidambaram bypassed him and rewrote the affidavit submitted to the Gujarat High Court on the alleged gunfight of Ishrat Jahan, a 19-year-old Mumbra student, and three others on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in 2004. In August 2009, the home ministry under Chidambaram submitted an affidavit in the Gujarat High Court that referred to Ishrat Jahan's alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba links. In the second affidavit filed in September 2009, however, references to Ishrat's alleged terror links were not there. In a recent video-conferenced deposition before a Special court in Mumbai, Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Coleman Headley from the US jail said he had heard of Ishrat Jahan being a suicide bomber of LeT. --Indo-Asian News Service rup-ps/tsb/vt ( 259 Words) 2016-03-01-21:33:32 (IANS) While BJP and all supporting parties are hailing the 2016 budget, the stake holders of Andaman Tourism are fearing that 2016 budget may hit Andamans Tourism Industry hard as per the experts to Airfare is expected to go up because this budget. Andaman Tourism industry is badly hit because of high airfare, which sometime soar upto Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 one way, which is more than a complete three day package to some South East Asian Countries. As per the experts Airfares are set to get costlier with higher excise duty of 14 per cent proposed on jet fuel in the Union Budget and many believe that if this happen Tourism Industry of Andaman many suffer another major blow. In November 2015, it was observed that there was a marginal decline in arrival of tourists although Andaman and Nicobar Administration was expecting arrival of more tourists in 2015-2016 and many believe that the reason behind this was high airfare. Tour operators in Andaman fear that further hike in airfare may bring the numbers further down as people from Mainland India will prefer to visit South East Asian Country than Andaman. Talking to media Sheikh Farooq Alam, the Spokesperson of Andamans congress unit today said that this budget is disappointing. For people who are in tourism industry and also for people of these Islands, the Budget 2016 is disappointing. This budget may hit Tourism Industry of these Islands badly, Meanwhile, the BJP and the Andaman Chamber of Commerce and Industry have hailed the 2016 Budget.UNI SKR BM CJ BL2143 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-616513.Xml A minor girl had lodged an FIR at women police station in Bihar-Sharif on February 9, alleging that she was raped by Mr Yadav in a building under Giriak police station area in Nalanda district on February 6, which prompted the local court to issue property attachment order following failure of the MLA to surrender in the case. A police team reached today at private residence of RJD MLA in Anisabad locality in Patna and attached his property but failed to get any clue about him from the persons residing there. A seizure list has been prepared which would be placed in the court. Meanwhile, Sub-Divisional Police Officer(SDPO) Saifurrahman told media persons in Bihar-Sharif that property attachment process of absconding MLA was completed at his native village Pathra English in Nawada district. The attachment process was initiated in Nawada three days back. Anticipatory bail petition of Mr Yadav was rejected by a local court of Bihar-sharif following which he had approached Patna High Court to get the relief. A woman who had allegedly taken the minor girl to the place where she was raped by MLA on February 6, was arrested along with other accomplices but the MLA is still at large.UNI KKS BM RSA BL2212 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-616547.Xml The boys, both aged 14, were found unaccompanied on Platform number one at the railway station by Railway Protection Force personnel late on Monday. They ran away from their homes as their parents abused them for poor academic performance. The children were kept in safe custody with the RPF and handed over to their parents, who arrived from Kerala earlier on Tuesday. --Indo-Asian News Service maya/tsb/vt ( 105 Words) 2016-03-01-22:53:34 (IANS) A case was registered against an Uttar Pradesh-resident businessman having links with an influential family for blackmailing and raping a 29-year-old physician employed at a private hospital in Madhya Pradeshs commercial capital, police said. The victim complained yesterday to Deputy Inspector General of Police Santosh Singh. She became acquainted and, shortly thereafter, fell in love with Ankur Ashok Dixit while she was studying in the 12th standard in Kannauj District. The relationship included a sexual component and the trader took some objectionable photographs and created a few video clips. In 2009, Dixit married another woman and his paramour shifted here. The doctor alleged that the accused found out her address through the medium of an online social networking service, came here on February 4, showed her the snaps and videos, blackmailed her into accompanying him to an Ujjain-based hotel and raped her.UNI XC-AC RSA BL2250 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-616638.Xml He further said the government is also investigating into the killing of a six year old girl after alleged rape. Meanwhile, Chandel District Kuki Teachers Welfare Association (CDTWA) has condemned the killing of Thongkhogin Haokip Hindi Teacher of Molnom Junior High School. The organisation suspects that the teacher was killed by suspected militant. The association urged the government to help in arrested the perpetrators. The School Management and Development Committee (SMDC) of Molnom Junior High School has also condemned the killing of Haokip. It alleged that the teacher was abducted and brutally beaten up at Aimol Satu Village.UNI NS BM RSA BL2311 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-616502.Xml Acting on a tip-off, police arrested three outlaws -Ram Pravesh Bhuiya, Mahavir Yadav and Vinod Paswan near Sohra Bigha roundabout under Barun police station area in the district while they were conspiring to execute an unlawful act. Firearms, some cartridges and other incriminating objects were recovered from them. Police Superintendent Babu Ram said here that on the basis of their confession, police unearthed the mini gun factory operating from the residence of a villager Sudama Vishwakarma at Satuahi village under Jamhor police station area in the district. Two country made revolvers, half finished pistols, cartridges and arms manufacturing equipments were recovered from the mini gun factory. The outlaw, Sudama managed to escape from the spot.UNI XC DH BM RSA BL2253 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-616531.Xml The Philippines today urged China, as a responsible member of the international community, to respect a forthcoming ruling by an arbitration court in the Hague on a territorial dispute in the South China Sea.China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims on the waters, through which about 5 trillion dollars in trade is shipped every year.China refuses to recognise the case lodged by the Philippines with the tribunal and says all disputes should be resolved through bilateral talks.Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario's comments came after China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, on a visit to the United States, accused the Philippines of "political provocation" in seeking arbitration to resolve the dispute."The Philippines, as well as the international community, is asking China to respect the forthcoming ruling of the arbitral tribunal and together advance an international rules-based regime," del Rosario said in a statement in Manila."If China does not heed our collective call, does it mean that China considers itself above the law?"The tribunal's ruling is expected before May, said del Rosario, who leaves office on March 7 for health reasons. Manila and Beijing had met several times to discuss maritime disputes but nothing had been resolved, he added.Wang held talks last week with his counterpart, US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said China was rapidly militarising the waterway after building artificial islands and deploying fighters and missiles.Wang defended China's actions as self-defence but said it would remain open for two-way talks with countries claiming the South China Sea. REUTERS PS AN1337 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0421-613616.Xml - Ireland's second largest party on Monday called for a cross-party agreement to reform parliament before any talks begin on the formation of a new government following inconclusive elections last week.Fianna Fail, which secured 24.3 percent of the vote, is the only party with enough seats to form a majority with Prime Minister Enda Kenny's Fine Gael, on 25.5 percent. But senior figures in both parties have expressed opposition to a coalition.Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said in a statement that all parties should be given two weeks to agree reforms before any talks on a possible new coalition began. He did not broach the possibility of a Fianna Fail-Fine Gael coalition.The statement called for curbs on the power of the government and greater oversight of new legislation and budgetsREUTERS CJ RAI2315 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-615012.Xml Buddhist luminaries from across the world will gather in Thailand on Tuesday evening to deliberate on how faith-based organisations can help the international comity of nations to achieve the globe's sustainable development goals (SDG) The opening ceremony of the three-day meeting (March 1 to 3) will commence at 4.45 p.m. local time at the Wat Maha That, or the "Temple of the Great Relics", in Ayutthaya city. The event is being jointly organised by three institutions-the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), the Thammasat University and the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB). The Governor of Ayutthaya, Prayoon Rattanasenee, will be the guest of honour. The keynote address will be delivered by the United Nations Representative in Thailand Luc Stevens. Luminaries of the Buddhist world who will be in attendance include Her Royal Highness Ashi Kesang Wangmo Wangchuk, Princess of Bhutan, Rev. Khamba Lama Gabju Choijamts Demberel, Supreme Head of Mongolian Buddhists, His Holiness Sanghanayaka Suddhananda Mahathero, Supreme Patriarch of Buddhists in Bangladesh, Ven. Banagala Upathissa, President, Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka, Chief Sangha Nayaka of Japan, Ambassador Lalit Mansingh, former Foreign Secretary of India, His Eminence Telo Tulku Rinpoche, Shadjin Lama, Kalmyk Republic, Russian Federation and Ven. Banagala Upathissa, President, Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka. Apart from high ranking Buddhist monks from around the world, scholars, opinion-makers, special invitees (from 24 countries) and members of various Buddhist organizations will also attend the meeting. They include Buddhist members from Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Jamaica, Germany, France, Argentina, Japan, Mongolia, Australia to name a few, besides South Asia, South East Asia and the Far East, with diverse and interesting perspectives on complex global issues. The International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) is a global umbrella Buddhist body headquartered in New Delhi. Founded in 2012, it has a current membership of over 320 Buddhist organizations, both monastic and lay, spread over 39 countries and representing every Buddhist tradition worldwide. The Supreme Patriarchs and the highest ranking monks of all Buddhist countries, including Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, South Korea and Mongolia are among its Council of Patrons that include His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Other high ranking monks and nuns and leading opinion makers of the Buddhist world are also a part of IBC as members of its Supreme Dhamma Council, Presidium and Governing Council. The motto of the organization is "Collective Wisdom, United Voice", in other words giving a united voice to the collective wisdom of all Buddhist traditions to ensure that Buddhist values and principles become an important part of the contemporary global social and political discourse on important issues, including conflict and environment. Some of the pointers that could be taken up for discussion are as follows: 1. IBC Stands for Conflict avoidance instead of conflict resolution. 2. With the growing influence of the Buddhist way of life around the world, delegates from Mexican, African and Latin American offer very diverse experiences. 3. Heritage preservation and development 4. Environment and conservation 5. Gender issues and women's ordination 6. Inter-faith dialogue and understanding: a key challenge to religious intolerance 7. Young leadership 8. Art, Culture and Media (ANI) Defence ministers from the US-led coalition against the Islamic State militant group discussed the possibility of a Syrian ground incursion two weeks ago but they have not made a decision, an aide to Saudi Arabia's defence minister said."It was discussed two weeks ago in Brussels," Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said in a telephone interview from Riyadh. "It was discussed at the political level but it wasn't discussed as a military mission," he said."Once this is organized, and decided how many troops and how they will go and where they will go, we will participate in that," he said. "We need to discuss at the military level very extensively with the military experts to make sure that we have a plan."Asseri also said the kingdom was now ready to strike Islamic State from Turkey's southern Incirlik air base, where four Saudi fighter jets arrived last week. The jets have not yet participated in any attacks, he added.The US State Department said the Saudis had previously talked about the possibility of introducing ground forces in Syria to fight Islamic State, but there were many issues that needed to be discussed about a potential incursion.Deploying ground forces would be a major escalation for the 66-member US-led coalition against Islamic State, which has so far relied mainly on air strikes and arming and equipping moderate Syrian opposition groups.State Department spokesman John Kirby said at a news briefing in Washington that the Saudis had talked about "the potential of an introduction of some sort of ground force element in Syria" and that the United States would welcome such a contribution in the fight against Islamic State."But there's a lot that needs to be discussed in terms of what they would do, what their makeup would be, how they would need to be supported by the coalition going forward. So there's a lot of homework that needs to be done," Kirby said.A US defence official said supporting indigenous anti-Islamic State forces on the ground was a key component of the US strategy against the group."We will continue to provide equipment packages to vetted leaders and their units so that over time they can make a concerted push into territory still controlled" by Islamic State, the official said."As a matter of policy, we won't comment or speculate on potential future operations," the official added. REUTERS DS PR 0421 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0137-615076.Xml Australian Cardinal George Pell, the highest-ranking Vatican official to testify on systemic sexual abuse of children by clergy in the Roman Catholic Church, said that he has the full backing of Pope Francis.Pell on Sunday told Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse that the church made "enormous mistakes" and "catastrophic" choices by attempting to cover up abuses in the 1970s.Pell's testimony has received global coverage. Because of his high position in the Vatican, the Australian inquiry into sexual abuse cases that occurred decades ago has taken on wider implications about the accountability of church leaders.Pell, 74, has become the focal point for victims' frustration over what they say has been an inadequate response from church leaders. Pell himself is not accused of sexual abuse and has twice apologised for the Church's slow response."I have the full backing of the pope," Pell told reporters as he arrived at Rome's Hotel Quirinale to give evidence in front of former abuse victims who travelled to Italy for the late night sessions.In his position as Vatican treasurer, Pell met with Pope Francis for a routine meeting earlier yesterday, after telling the inquiry he was "not here to defend the indefensible."He said was aware of rumours and complaints against paedophile clergy when he was a young priest in the 1970s, but that Church superiors tended to give priests the benefit of the doubt, something he acknowledged was wrong.Pell said children were often not believed, abusive priests were shuffled from parish to parish and the Church was over-reliant on the use of counselling of priests to prevent further abuses.The strong language was welcomed by former victims, but Pell's failing memory on specifics angered witnesses in Rome and Sydney. He repeatedly said he could not recall specific incidents when he was asked about them.Special prosecutor Gail Furness quizzed Pell via video link from Sydney yesterday. There were audible gasps as the Cardinal said he was deceived by Church leaders who did not inform him about claims against Father Gerald Ridsdale among others.Ridsdale, who was repeatedly moved from parish to parish, was later convicted of 138 offences against 53 victims.Ridsdale's nephew, David Ridsdale, was among 15 abuse victims and supporters who travelled to Rome on the back of a crowd-funding campaign to see Pell give evidence after he said he was unable to travel to his native Australia because of heart problems.SPOTLIGHT WINLast year, Pell denied accusations made at Commission hearings that he had tried to bribe a victim to remain quiet, that he ignored another complaint and that he was complicit in the transfer of a paedophile priest.Church sexual abuse broke into the open in 2002, when it was discovered that US bishops in the Boston area moved abusers from parish to parish instead of defrocking them. Similar scandals have since been discovered around the world and tens of millions of dollars have been paid in compensation.The hearing started on the same night that Spotlight, a film about newspaper reporters who uncovered systemic paedophilia in the Church in Boston, won the Academy Award for best picture.The Vatican newspaper dedicated two articles to the win, saying Spotlight was not an anti-Catholic film as some have claimed."The ogres were not exclusively men in cassocks. Paedophilia does not necessarily derive from a vow of chastity," the newspaper said. "But it is by now clear that there were too many people in the Church who were more worried about the image of the institution than the gravity of the act."REUTERS DS PR 0433 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0137-615081.Xml US Secretary of State John Kerry said he had agreed with his Russian counterpart not to discuss alleged violations of a cessation of hostilities plan in Syria and intensify work on a mechanism to ensure any strikes in Syria solely target Islamic State or al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front.Speaking at a news conference with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Kerry said he had talked with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and agreed not to "litigate ... in a public fashion" the reports of violations on both sides.Teams in Geneva and Amman will look into the reports, he said. "We are going to track down each alleged violation and work even more now to put in place a construct which will help us to guarantee that missions are indeed missions against Nusra or missions against Daesh," Kerry said yesterday, using an alternative name for Islamic State.The two militant groups are not part of the cessation of hostilities deal led by the United States and Russia that has halted much of the fighting in Syria since Saturday.REUTERS DS PR 0531 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0137-615093.Xml A senior official from Syria's main opposition group said that a fragile international attempt to halt nearly five years of fighting was in danger of collapse because of attacks by government forces.The cessation of hostilities drawn up by Washington and Moscow faced "complete nullification" because Syrian government attacks were violating the agreement, the official of the Saudi-backed opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said.France said there were reports of attacks on opposition forces in breach of the deal, which came into force on Saturday, and countries backing the Syrian peace process met to try to clarify the situation.UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the pause in the fighting was largely holding, despite some incidents that he hoped would be contained. The Kremlin said the process was under way, although it had always been clear it would not be easy.US Secretary of State John Kerry said efforts were being made to track down alleged violations but that there was currently no evidence to suggest it would destabilize the fragile peace.The cessation deal does not include jihadist groups such as Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and Russia, which is backing the Syrian government with air power, has made clear it intends to keep bombing those groups.Kerry said at a news conference in Washington that he agreed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to intensify work on a mechanism to ensure any strikes in Syria solely target Islamic State or Nusra Front.An aide to Saudi Arabia's defence minister said on Monday, that defence ministers from the US-led coalition against Islamic State had discussed the possibility of a Syrian ground incursion two weeks ago in Brussels."It was discussed at the political level but it wasn't discussed as a military mission," Saudi Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri told Reuters. "Once this is organised, and decided how many troops and how they will go and where they will go, we will participate in that."The cessation of hostilities agreement, the first of its kind since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, is a less formal arrangement than a ceasefire. It is meant to allow peace talks to resume and aid to reach besieged communities.The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was largely holding, with casualties greatly reduced compared with before the agreement took effect.But Syrian forces made some gains. The Observatory reported they had taken territory near Damascus on Monday after a battle with the Nusra Front and other Islamist rebels.Syrian government forces also regained control of a road to the northern city of Aleppo after making advances against Islamic State fighters.Aid trucks carrying non-food items such as blankets on Monday entered Mouadamiya, a suburb of Damascus under siege by government forces, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent said.The United Nations and other agencies hope to deliver aid to more than 150,000 people in besieged areas over the next five days.Kerry said he was concerned by reports the Syrian government was creating obstacles for the delivery of humanitarian aid and hoped it would stop its officials and troops from taking medicine or other supplies from the shipments.GLOOMY ASSESSMENTAsaad al-Zoubi, head of the HNC's delegation to the peace talks, gave a gloomy assessment of the truce. "We are not facing a violation of the truce ... we are facing a complete nullification," he said on Al Arabiya al Hadath TV."I believe the international community has totally failed in all its experiments, and must take real, practical measures towards the (Syrian) regime," Zoubi said, without elaborating.He said there were no signs of any preparations for peace talks, which the United Nations wants to reconvene on March 7.Talks in Geneva in early February collapsed before they started, with rebels saying they could not negotiate while they were being bombed.HNC spokesman Salim al-Muslat said the truce was a step in the right direction, but a mechanism was needed to stop such violations and encourage negotiations."There has to be a power that really stops what Russia and what the regime is doing," Muslat said in a television interview with Reuters in Riyadh. "Today there about 10 Russian air strikes, about 16 air strikes done by the regime."Syrian officials could not immediately be reached for comment on allegations that government forces were violating the cessation. The government has said it is abiding by the agreement.But a Syrian Foreign Ministry official accused Saudi Arabia of trying to undermine the cessation of hostilities agreement by saying there would be a "Plan B" if it failed. He did not give details of the plan, which is believed to include military action.Russia on Monday also rejected any suggestion of a Plan B, which has been alluded to by Kerry.Countries belonging to the "International Syria Support Group" (ISSG), led by the United States and Russia, met in Geneva on Monday. They are supposed to monitor compliance with the deal and act rapidly to end any flare-ups."We have received indications that attacks, including by air, have been continuing against zones controlled by the moderate opposition," French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in Geneva. "All this needs to be verified."AIR STRIKES ARE HEAVYThe HNC said the cessation of hostilities was broken by the Syrian government 15 times on the first day, and that there were further violations by Russia and Hezbollah, both allies of President Bashar al-Assad.On the ground, rebels said the violence was below pre-ceasefire levels in some places and little changed in others.Colonel Fares al-Bayoush, head of a Free Syrian Army group called the Northern Division, told Reuters: "The air strikes are heavy today, especially by Russian planes."Abu al-Baraa al-Hamawi, a fighter with the Ajnad al-Sham group in northwestern Syria, said the government had shelled a number of villages. "It is regular bombardment, no change. The regime after the truce is as it was before."The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war through a network of contacts on the ground, said the number of people dying each day had gone down substantially since the cessation started.REUTERS PS PM0847 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0421-615119.Xml The prime minister made the announcement on Monday after he received Jacob Lew, special representative of the US president and the US treasury secretary, in Beijing, the China Daily reported. The meeting between the two presidents would help improve relations between the two countries, Li said. The meeting between Xi and Obama will take place after the National People's Congress holds its annual session in Beijing, beginning on Saturday, to decide on the nation's development this year and, more important, its social and economic programme for the next five years. Wang Yusheng, a researcher at a government think tank in Beijing, said frequent meetings between the leaders would be "most helpful" for bilateral ties. "Every time a subtle situation seems to emerge in the bilateral relations, a face-to-face meeting between leaders of the two nations will help to sort things out," Wang said, adding that "there are still some uncomfortable areas in Sino-US ties". Obama and Xi last met at the Paris Climate Summit in December 2015. --Indo-Asian News Service ksk/bg ( 207 Words) 2016-03-01-12:35:33 (IANS) The United States of America must not go ahead with the sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, nor should it continue with or justify the need to extend arms-related or non-security assistance to the latter due to its irrefutable history of supporting terrorist groups on its soil and in the neighbourhood, says the Mumbai-based prominent foreign policy think tank Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations. In a recent article jointly authored by well-known academics Christine Fair and Sumit Ganguly, which has been published by Gateway House, both maintain that Washington's justification for this generous transfer of weapons, security and non-security assistance (USD 30 to 31 billion since 2002 alone) is fundamentally and logically flawed, and they opine that time has come for the United States to reassess its relationship with Pakistan and seriously consider changing course. This view assumes greater significance in the wake of a stubborn and determined the Obama administration insisting that it will go ahead with its decision to sell eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, which it sees as critical in assisting Pakistan's counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations. Historically also, the argument put forward by Washington has been that if it does not deliver this security and non-security support, it could lead to the collapse of the Pakistan state and weakening of the will and striking capacity of its armed forces. The Gateway House article goes so far as to describe Pakistan as an "unworthy ally" that uses Washington's generous assistance to "foster a sense of insecurity concerning its nuclear arsenal and expanding ranks of jihadists". Fair and Ganguly further state that Pakistan has a strategic compulsion to use militants on its soil and non-state actors of a similar ilk in the neighbourhood to work against India and Afghanistan, suggest that its goals go beyond its acknowledged Islamist ideological objectives. A careful assessment of statistics appears to back their view. Professor Fair, in another article, reveals that since 2002, the U.S. has provided Pakistan 7.6 billion dollars in security-related assistance; 13 billion dollars in lucrative reimbursements under "dubiously named" Coalition Support Program (CSP) and another 10.5 billion dollars in economic assistance. What Pakistan has done in return for this largesse is that it has persistently supported the Afghan Taliban which has been responsible for the deaths of 2,356 American and 677 other NATO military personnel, the deaths of thousands of civilian contractors, more than 21,000 Afghan civilians and more than 20,000 Afghan police and army personnel. The article also trashes Islamabad's contention that Washington has been a "perfidious ally" in that it has never come to its assistance despite there being a bilateral defence pact in place between the two nations for the last 62 years. Pakistan has always believed that the U.S. should have provided help to it during its wars with India in 1965 and 1971, and should not have withheld supply of F-16 combat aircraft because of sanctions imposed in 1990. The Gateway House article, however, turns this argument on its head, and accuses Pakistan of practicing "distortion of reality" and even goes to the extent of describing it as "outright fiction". It maintains that Washington was never legally obliged to help Islamabad in 1965, as the premise of the 1954 defence pact was that it would come to the latter's assistance if it was under threat or attacked. In the case of the 1971 conflict, then President Richard Nixon bent U.S. law to authorize military aid even as it was well known that Islamabad was carrying out a genocidal mission in its eastern Bengali-dominant half. The cases relating to the last minute non-supply of F-16 aircraft and Islamabad's claim that the United States drew it into the fight against jihadists in Afghanistan also has a disputable history of its own, and according to the article, is equally flawed in terms of contention. Both Fair and Ganguly are of the view that it is a given that Pakistan has little reason to change its behaviour or its strategies, and therefore, Washington should, as a best and realistic option, initiate a strategy of containment while continuing to maintain its diplomatic ties; it should stop supplying strategic weapons systems and prevent Pakistan from going in for replacements and repair of equipment already in its possession; it should interact, support and engage with that part of Pakistan civil society that is most aligned to its interests and should effectively work towards acquiring improved social intelligence on Pakistan, as the strategic dynamics of South Asia has undergone a marked change since the Cold War era. (ANI) Britain is to send troops to Tunisia to help prevent Islamic State fighters from moving into the country from Libya, the British defence minister has said."A training team of some 20 troops from the 4th Infantry Brigade is now moving to Tunisia to help to counter illegal cross-border movement from Libya in support of the Tunisian authorities," Michael Fallon told Parliament yesterday.The move comes after growing Western concern that Islamic State (IS) is seeking to use Libya as a base to plan and carry out attacks. Last June, 30 British holidaymakers were killed when an Islamist gunman attacked a beach at a hotel on Tunisia's Mediterranean coast."I ... am extremely concerned about the proliferation of Daesh (IS) along the Libyan coastline, which is why we have been urgently assisting the formation of a new Libyan government," Fallon said.Jihadist groups have taken advantage of political chaos to expand their presence in Libya, and fighters loyal to Islamic State have taken control of the coastal city of Sirte.Western officials say they are discussing air strikes and special forces operations in Libya against the group that is seeking to set up a cross-border Islamic caliphate and has already seized large areas of Syria and neighbouring Iraq.Fallon said Britain was not currently planning to deploy ground troops to Libya in a combat role."Before taking any military action in Libya, we would seek an invitation from the new Libyan Government," he said.REUTERS PS NS1334 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0421-615408.Xml A senior Iraqi army officer and seven others were killed overnight when Islamic State militants attacked a military headquarters near Haditha, a military commander said today.Haditha and its nearby dam, which the command is charged with protecting, are in one of the few parts of the Sunni Muslim province of Anbar still under the control of Iraq's Shi'ite-led government forces and local police backed by tribal fighters. The area is about 190 km northwest of Baghdad.Brigadier Ali Abboud, the command's chief of staff, was killed when four suicide bombers attacked an entrance to the base and clashed with soldiers, said Major General Ali Daboun, the commander of Jazeera and Badiya operations in charge of the western desert bordering Syria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan."Four terrorists attacked the entrance to the command headquarters and our soldiers managed to kill them. Regrettably Brigadier Ali Abboud was martyred in the attacks," Daboun said by phone.Seven other police and army personnel were killed, including a second army officer, two police sources said.Initial investigations showed the militants managed to reach the base by dressing in army uniforms, security officials said.The last major attack on Haditha in January by about 200 Islamic State militants was repelled with the help of US-led coalition air strikes. A coalition spokesman said that offensive was in response to the group's losses in the provincial capital of Ramadi, which Iraqi forces recaptured in December.Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a string of attacks in recent days in and around Baghdad and in the eastern province of Diyala which have killed more than 100 people. REUTERS PY VP1621 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-615744.Xml Two suicide bombers wearing explosive vests triggered blasts at the headquarters during a clash between the soldiers and Islamic State militants, Xinhua news agency reported. Among those killed was a senior general and a provincial security official. Iraqi security forces have been fighting for months to retake control of key cities and towns in Anbar from IS militants, who had previously seized a major part of Anbar. --Indo Asian News Service mg/py/vt ( 106 Words) 2016-03-01-17:49:37 (IANS) Tens of thousands of supporters today cheered and threw flowers at the casket of a bodyguard executed for killing the governor of Pakistan's most populous province over his call to reform a strict blasphemy law.Security was tight at the funeral for Mumtaz Qadri, whom supporters consider a hero for killing popular Punjab governor Salman Taseer in 2011 who criticised the law that mandates the death penalty for insulting Islam or the Prophet Mohammad.Police blocked off roads to Liaquat Bagh park in the city of Rawalpindi but thousands arrived on foot."He lives! Qadri lives!" supporters chanted, surrounding the coffin and throwing flowers. "From your blood, the revolution will come!"Hard-line religious groups in Pakistan say Taseer deserved to die because he himself committed blasphemy by criticising the law and supporting a Christian woman he said was unjustly charged with the crime.But Qadri's execution on Monday showed the Pakistani government's willingness to risk the wrath of hard-line religious groups, who wield considerable power.A Pakistani Taliban attack on a military-run school in Peshawar in 2014 that killed 134 children is seen as having hardened Pakistan's resolve to fight militants and check the influence of religious groups.Pro-Qadri demonstrations first broke out on Monday after word spread that he had been executed."Mumtaz Qadri is a hero of Islam. He sent to hell a person who showed disrespect for the holy Prophet," Tahir Iqbal Chistie of the hard-line Sunni Tehreek movement said at one of yesterday's protests.Stick-wielding Sunni Tehreek activists were maintaining security at today's funeral.Most participants at the funeral were religious and political workers of the Barelvi branch of Sunni Islam - identifiable by their distinctive green turbans - and members of Islamist parties.The influential leader of the conservative Council of Islamic Ideology declined to endorse Qadri's action."No one is above the law," Mohammad Sherani told journalists, according to the Express Tribune newspaper. "I respect Qadri's religious sentiments but I respect Pakistan's constitution more."Controversy over the blasphemy law has exposed the growing gap between hard-line religious conservatives and liberals in Pakistan.More than 100 people are charged with blasphemy and jailed each year in predominantly Muslim Pakistan, many of them Christians and other minorities. Critics say the law is often invoked in cases of personal disputes.No one has yet been executed, but at least 65 people have been murdered in connection with blasphemy allegations since 1990, according to the Centre for Research and Security Studies and a Reuters tally.REUTERS PY AS1800 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-616122.Xml The US-led coalition conducted 27 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Monday in its latest round of daily attacks, according to the Combined Joint Task Force leading the operations.Fifteen strikes in Iraq targeted the militant group near eight cities, including Falluja, Mosul and Ramadi, the task force said today. Altogether, the strikes hit two Islamic State tactical units as well as several of its vehicles and mortar positions, it added.In Syria, 12 strikes near five cities hit six Islamic State tactical units and eight buildings, among other targets.REUTERS PY VP1830 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-616206.Xml Two local employees of the US consulate in the Pakistani city of Peshawar have been killed by an explosive device along with some soldiers while on drug-eradication mission, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday."Just this morning, I woke to the news that we had lost two local employees in Peshawar who worked with our consulate there who were going out on a effort to eradicate narcotics fields," Kerry told an event in Washington on countering violent extremism."An IED exploded and several were lost; a few of the soldiers who were there to guard them also," Kerry said. He gave no other details of the incident.State Department spokesmen did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS CJ BL2039 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-616558.Xml -A gunman shot and wounded a prominent Saudi Arabian cleric who was on an Islamic State hit list after he gave a speech to fellow Muslim preachers in a city in southern Philippines on Tuesday evening, local police said.Ayed al-Qarni, a pro-government cleric with over 12 million followers on Twitter, was shot as he left an Islamic forum in a school auditorium at around 8.30 p.m. by a man who had attended the speech, police spokeswoman Inspector Helen Galvez said.An official from the Saudi embassy in the Philippines was also wounded, she said.The gunman, who was not immediately identified, was then shot dead by Qarni's security escort, she added. Qarni is in a stable condition in Zamboanga City hospital, she said."We are still investigating the motive for the attack," she said.Islamic State regards Saudi Arabia's ruling Al Saud family as apostates because of their close ties with Western countries and what the militant group describes as corruption and a failure to enforce a strict enough interpretation of Islam.Riyadh has decreed long prison terms for anybody who backs the group, has detained hundreds of people for involvement with it and sent its warplanes to join U.S.-led strikes against its fighters in Syria.It has also mobilised state clergy to issue fatwas and other statements condemning the group as heretical, a move that has inspired Islamic State preachers to brand Saudi clerics "the imams of disbelief" and call for their death.Although Qarni is not employed by the state, he supports the government and enjoys credibility as an "independent" cleric who once backed an Islamist opposition movement against the Al Saud that led him to be banned from preaching in the early 1990s.In a measure of his prominent position in Saudi Arabia, its government has sent a plane to transfer Qarni to Manila for further treatment, the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya news channel reported.REUTERS CJ BL2314 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-616670.Xml In a meeting with President Barack Obama today, Republican leaders from the US Senate said that they would not hold hearings to consider Obama's pick for a Supreme Court vacancy, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid told reporters."They were willing to meet with the president. It looks like they could at least meet with the president's nominee, which should be coming very quickly," Reid said after the Oval Office meeting."But they were adamant. They said, 'No, we're not going to do this at all,'" Reid said. REUTERS CJ RAI2328 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-616674.Xml The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or graduate school search. Between writing essays, getting letters of recommendation and taking admissions exams, applying to an online MBA program can be a tiring process, especially for prospective students also juggling family and work responsibilities. [Learn tips for applying to online MBA programs.] Fortunately for applicants, that hard work is likely to pay off. Among the 177 online MBA programs that submitted data to U.S. News in an annual survey, the average acceptance rate was 75 percent for the 2014-2015 academic year. However, some programs are much more selective. Twenty-six online MBA programs reported accepting less than half of their applicants, including Concordia University Chicago, which had the lowest acceptance rate at 33.5 percent. The 10 schools with the lowest acceptance rates had an average rate of 38 percent. Of those schools, Liberty University had by far the greatest number of applicants for 2014-2015 at 4,974. It accepted 2,036, or nearly 41 percent, of them. [Discover why online MBA programs may offer an easier admissions path.] In contrast, 15 of the programs that submitted admissions data to U.S. News -- including Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts and Columbus State University in Georgia -- accepted 100 percent of applicants. Below is a list of the 10 online MBA programs with the lowest acceptance rates for the 2014-2015 academic year. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report. * RNP denotes an institution that is ranked in the bottom one-fourth of its ranking category. U.S. News calculates a rank for the school but has decided not to publish it. Story continues School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights. U.S. News surveyed 228 public, private and for-profit schools for our 2016 Best Online MBA Programs rankings. Schools reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News' data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of these survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Online MBA Programs rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. These data are specific to schools' online MBA program offerings and have no influence over U.S. News' Best Business Schools rankings assessing traditional business programs. The admissions data above are correct as of March 1, 2016. Jordan Friedman is an online education editor at U.S. News. You can follow him on Twitter or email him at jfriedman@usnews.com. If youre planning on using an online site to file your taxes this year, be wary. A new audit from the Internet security nonprofit Online Trust Alliance found that nearly half of the 13 tax software websites approved by the Internal Revenue Service are failing to provide adequate security and privacy for consumers. The OTA evaluated the sites using both its own criteria and security and privacy mandated standards that the IRS maintains. Related: Got an Email from the IRS? Youre Being Scammed Given that the tax data is extremely sensitive with a high risk for victimization, the failure rate of over one-third should concern customers and the IRS, OTA Executive Director and President Craig Spiezle said in a statement. Consumer use and IRS approval of such services should be carefully reconsidered. The firms in question are part of the IRSs Free File Alliance, which allows anyone who made less than $62,000 in 2015 file taxes for free. Seventy percent of American taxpayers are eligible to participate in the program, though the findings are relevant for all customers of the firms examined, according to the OTA. The Free File Alliance says that all members must meet our rigorous standards of security and privacy. Tax Sites Audit Results Source: Online Tax Alliance The sites were graded on the basis of three main categories: consumer protection, site security and privacy. The ones that made the honor roll scored at least an 80 percent in each section, while the other six sites received a failing grade in one or more of the categories. Although the report didnt specify how each firm performed in each of the categories, it did disclose that three of the failing sites lacked adequate security against vulnerabilities that cybercriminals have previously exploited. Five failed for not taking steps to protect consumers from malicious and fraudulent email. Related: 3 Costly and Common Tax Scams to Avoid In response to the report, an IRS spokesman told CNBC that the agency is committed to working with its partners to improve security protections for tax payers and combating stolen identity and refund fraud. As the report rightly notes, the areas of security and privacy are evolving daily. Story continues The audit comes as tax scams are on the rise, with the IRS reporting that tax-related phishing and malware incidents have soared this year by around 400 percent. Tax-related fraud cases skyrocketed 154 percent from 2014 to 2015 and show no signs of tapering off. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas voiced hope Tuesday that a French initiative to hold an international Middle East peace conference could lead to a solution like breakthrough talks on Iran's nuclear deal. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in April 2014 and since then, the situation has deteriorated, with the prospects of fresh dialogue appearing more remote than ever. A wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October has killed 178 Palestinians as well as 28 Israelis, an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean, according to an AFP toll. In January, then French foreign minister Laurent Fabius announced plans by Paris to revive plans for an international conference to "bring about the two-state solution" to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Abbas said he hoped the proposal "would allow the creation of a mechanism for a political solution on the model of what happened between the Europeans, Americans and Iran". Last year Iran struck a historic deal with world powers, that agreed to provide Tehran relief from crippling sanctions in exchange for limits on its atomic programme. The July 15, 2015, accord concluded in Vienna ended 12 years of crisis and was reached after 21 months of protracted negotiations. Should efforts to breathe life into the moribund peace process fail, France would move to unilaterally recognise Palestine as a state, Fabius said in January. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed France's proposal, describing it as "mystifying" and counterproductive, arguing that it gives Palestinians no incentive to compromise. By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc is on track to complete development of its AR1 rocket engine by 2019 as a replacement for the Russian-built RD-180 engine after receiving a funding "booster shot" from the U.S. Air Force, Chief Executive Officer Eileen Drake told Reuters on Tuesday. Drake said the Air Force's $115 million contract for work on the AR1 prototype, along with options that could increase the government's investment to $501 million in coming years, moved the U.S. military a step closer to ending its reliance on Russian engines for national space launches. The contract was awarded on Monday. Drake said Aerojet was focused on winning a competition with Blue Origin, a Kent, Washington-based startup run by Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos, to develop an engine for a new rocket being developed by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co. The Air Force on Monday also awarded a $46.6-million contract to a partnership of ULA and Blue Origin. "We remain laser-focused on completing the AR1 program and maximizing our competitive posture and increasing shareholder value," Drake said in a telephone interview. She said the company's 70-year rocket engine history made its engine project less risky and more likely to be completed on time than the competing one, despite ULA's expressed skepticism. Aerojet completed a successful preliminary design review of the AR1 engine in December and is slated for another major design review at the end of 2016, Drake said. "We definitely know that our timetable is doable," she said. "We know how to do this." She said the company's overall health was strong, with a record $4.1 billion backlog and its recent win of a $1.1 billion contract from NASA helping to offset ULA's surprise decision last year to switch a large solid rocket motor contract to Orbital ATK Inc. Drake said Aerojet was continuing to implement a "competitive improvement plan" aimed at cutting $145 million in costs by 2019, but was also looking for possible acquisitions to expand its portfolio, and increase its vertical or horizontal integration. "We don't take our foot off the gas pedal on either one of them," she said. Drake declined comment on the status of the company's unsuccessful merger talks with ULA last year. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Paul Simao) By Josh Smith KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan women and girls accused of so-called moral crimes are often forced to endure invasive and scientifically questionable "virginity tests" by government doctors, according to human rights advocates. Improving the lives and rights of women remains a major challenge in Afghanistan nearly 15 years after a U.S.-backed military campaign ousted the Taliban's hardline Islamist regime. Of 53 woman and girls interviewed in a dozen provinces across Afghanistan, 48 said they had been subject to compulsory gynecological exams by government officials after being accused of adultery or escaping from home, investigators for Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commision found in a study conducted last year. The study's findings were publicized by Human Rights Watch on Monday. "Since gynecological tests are conducted without consent of the victim, it can be considered sexual harassment and human rights violation," the commission concluded, noting that the tests violate the spirit of the Afghan constitution as well as international principles. In most cases the tests, which can include invasive genital as well as anal exams, are carried out in the presence of male guards and others, and often amount to "torture" with "horrible effects and consequences," the report found. The tests claim to verify whether a woman has been sexually active outside of marriage, but the veracity of the exams has been widely debunked by scientists. The report said the tests lacked a scientific basis. Girls as young as 13 were among those who reported being forced to endure the tests, and a number of the women were accused merely of leaving their homes without permission, which is not a crime under Afghan law. More than a third of the women reported being examined more than once. In a conservative culture where great value is attached to a woman's virginity, the "aggressive" exams can damage a woman's personal dignity, emotional health, and social status, the report warned. In some cases, women unable to prove they were virgins on their wedding day have faced violence, and some have been killed, the commission said. "The continued use of degrading and unscientific 'virginity exams' by the Afghan government is part of a broader pattern of abuses in which women and girls in Afghanistan are jailed on spurious 'moral crimes' accusations," Human Rights Watch senior researcher Heather Barr said in a statement. She joined the Human Rights Commission in calling for the government to explicitly ban such tests and to end arrests of women accused of trying to leave their homes. (Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) By Joe Brock VICTORIA FALLS, Zambia (Reuters) - Tourists staring in wonder at the full force of the Zambezi River cascading over Victoria Falls struggle to believe the region is suffering one of its worst ever droughts, but local guide Patrick Sakala knows all is not well. Flows have dropped to 30-year lows at the waterfall straddling Zambia and Zimbabwe's shared border, as poor rains and soaring temperatures take their toll across southern Africa. "At this time of year you usually wouldn't be able to hear me over the thunderous roar," Sakala told Reuters, pointing at rocks piercing through a vast sheet of water dropping 100 meters, twice the height of Niagara Falls. "You wouldn't see those rocks. You might not see anything because of the smoke all around you," he added, referring to the clouds of mist thrown up from the swells in the chasm beneath the falls, known locally as "The Smoke That Thunders". Downstream, Kariba Lake - the world's largest manmade reservoir - is only 12 percent full, compared with 53 percent at the same time last year, according to the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA). Kariba is the water source for a hydro plant which provides Zimbabwe and Zambia with much of their electricity and power cuts have become a daily occurrence this year. POWER CUTS The plant could stop producing power completely in six months if water levels continue to fall, deepening economic pain and increasing poverty, an official said last month. "It's been terrible," said Gloria Masheka, who runs a guesthouse in nearby Livingstone. "The price of everything has gone up, we don't have electricity for sometimes eight hours a day. All people talk about is how the don't have power and can't afford food." Southern Africa's drought has been blamed on a severe El Nino weather pattern unsettling climates across the world. On the continent, it is expected to hit 49 million people from Malawi to Namibia, South Africa and Botswana, leaving about 14 million going hungry, the U.N. World Food Program says. African governments are requesting billions of dollars in aid as the unusually dry period ruins farmland, kills cattle and cuts off water supplies. South Africa, home to Africa's most developed economy and a key source of food for the wider region, is suffering its worst drought in a century, likely to push 50,000 people below the poverty line, the World Bank estimates. South Africa's dams have dropped 16 percent since October and are expected to take three years to recover. The dry, hot conditions risk hurting the region's vital tourism industry as lush safari parks are scorched brown, mighty rivers like the Zambezi are diminished and even Victoria Falls loses some of its marvel. "It's still spectacular," said Rory, an American tourist peering off the 'knife-edge' bridge which sways high above a winding river gorge under the waterfall. "It's sad what the drought has done here. I hope people still come to see this beautiful country." (Editing by Andrew Heavens) Washington (AFP) - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday took a thinly veiled shot at Donald Trump, decrying the "politics of fear" in the US presidential campaign. "Building walls is a very bad idea - no matter who pays for them," Steinmeier told university students during a visit to Washington. Trump has vowed to build a giant wall on the country's southern border to keep migrants from illegally crossing into the United States and has promised that he will make Mexico pay for it. As millions of Americans headed to the polls in primaries and caucuses in a dozen states on Super Tuesday, the billionaire real estate mogul was leading the race for the Republican nomination where immigration is a hot-button issue. Steinmeier warned that the rise of populist parties and politicians in Europe and the United States could undermine "effective foreign policy in our Western democracies." "In Germany and in Europe, something is gaining momentum in our domestic politics and to be honest, I am also seeing it here in the United States during the primary campaigns: It's the politics of fear," he said. "Let's guard against those politics of fear - they are dangerous for Europe and the US. They are bad for the world and, in the end, they will also be bad for our transatlantic relations." In Germany, anger over the arrival of some 1.1 million refugees last year has buoyed the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) and sparked a surge in racist hate crimes. Speaking at George Washington University, Steinmeier defended Germany's refugee policy as a "humanitarian duty" and said he was confident that his country could cope with the influx. On Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry reassured Steinmeier of US support, calling the exodus of Middle Eastern refugees to Europe a "global challenge" and a "test for all of us." Two blocks from the red carpet, where celebrities posed for photos ahead of the Academy Awards, Rev. Al Sharpton stood in a strip-mall stairwell and raised into the air a miniature Oscar statuette painted white. When you give out the Oscars tonight, you should give out white Oscars, he said, directing his comments toward the Academy, because thats who decided who was going to win tonight. It was just after 2 p.m. on Sunday, and Sharpton had commanded dozens of protesters to send a message of disapproval on Hollywoods biggest night of the year. Singing, dancing, and marching in a parking lot on Sunset Boulevard, the activists carried signs bearing slogans such as Shame on you, Studios must greenlight diversity, and We demand opportunity. The rally, organized through Sharptons civil rights organization, National Action Network, was part of a series of protests held that day in seven cities across the country in response to the Academy Awards acting nominations, all of which went to white actors for the second year in a row. The controversy prompted Oscars host Chris Rock and Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs to address the issue of diversity in Hollywood during the awards show Sunday night. We want opportunity, Rock said during his opening monologue. We want the black actors to get the same opportunities as white actors. Thats it. But ahead of the ceremony, Sharpton warned that it would be the last night of an all-white Oscars. He named a number of movies that starred black actors last year, including Straight Outta Compton, Beasts of No Nation, and Concussion. Of those movies, only Straight Outta Compton was nominated in any Oscars categoryfor an original screenplay penned by white writers. Were not saying who must win, but if youve been locked out of the process, then you are dealing with a systemic problem of exclusion, Sharpton said. Molly Bell, a community activist based in Compton, California, who introduced herself to the crowd as being straight outta Compton, said shed come to the protest to agitate the industry and demand that black actors be recognized. First of all, since we pay, then we need to have a say, dont you agree? she told the group, suggesting that the minorities who purchase movie tickets help create profits for the industry, yet their stories still arent reflected on the big screen. We want you to know that we are more than just the ticket buyers, she said. Story continues She also acknowledged that the issue of diversity in cinema may seem minor when compared with the issue of police violence or lead poisoning in the black community, for example. People say, Well, what about Flint? We havent forgotten about Flint. What about Black Lives Matter? We havent forgotten about Black Lives Matter, she said. We havent forgotten about that, but we are here today. Sharpton said his coalition will continue to expand and mobilize nationwide and that if the problem continues next year, they will specifically target the advertisers who spend money on commercials during the Oscars broadcast. Tonight, weve come to send you your eviction notice, he said. The marshals will be coming. TakeParts parent company, Participant Media, is a partner on Beasts of No Nation, as well as on Oscar-nominated films Spotlight, Bridge of Spies, and The Look of Silence. Related stories on TakePart: Women Have Never Been Nominated in One of the Most Important Oscar Categories Think Television Is Diverse? Researchers Say Its Just as Bad as Film The SAG Awards Just Set an Example for Oscars Diversity Original article from TakePart Oran (Algeria) (AFP) - An Algerian prosecutor on Tuesday demanded a six-month jail term for a radical Muslim preacher who called for the public execution of an award-winning author he accused of apostasy. Abdelfatah Hamadache Ziraoui in December 2014 urged the North African country's authorities to put to death Kamel Daoud, in a statement posted on his Facebook page. Hamadache Ziraoui accused Daoud of "apostasy" after the author and journalist criticised the relationship Muslims have with Islam during an appearance on a French television show. The radical Sunni Salafist preacher, who campaigns against alcohol and swimwear, charged that Daoud's remarks were tantamount to "a war against Allah, his prophet, the Koran and the sacred values of Islam". A verdict is expected on March 8. Daoud, a columnist with the Quotidien d'Oran newspaper based in the western Algerian city of Oran where he lives, was once attracted by Islamist ideology but turned his back on it. Last year, he won the prestigious French Prix Goncourt for a debut novel -- "The Meursault Investigation", a retelling of Albert Camus's classic "The Stranger". In an interview last year with the Los Angeles Review of Books, Daoud said he was "confronted by an absurd world that kills in the name of the sun or Allah". Last month, Daoud said in a letter published by the French newspaper Le Monde that he was giving up public debate and journalism, after a group of university professors accused him of "fanning the fantasies of Islamophobes". The professors were reacting to an op-ed Daoud had published in Le Monde after crimes committed on New Year's Eve in Cologne when hundreds of women reported being sexually assaulted or robbed by a mob of mostly North African and Arab men. In the opinion piece headlined "The Sexual Misery of the Arab World", Daoud wrote that "...one of the great miseries plaguing much of the so-called Arab world, and the Muslim world more generally, is its sick relationship with women". "People in the West are discovering, with anxiety and fear, that sex in the Muslim world is sick, and that the disease is spreading to their own lands." WASHINGTON -- Six days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush visited a District of Columbia mosque to address the nation's attitude toward Muslim-Americans. Close to 3,000 people had just lost their lives in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania -- in an attack orchestrated mostly by citizens of Saudi Arabia. The country was in shock, still bleeding from a wound that would become a scar on the American psyche. It was a moment when a certain kind of U.S. politician might have been drawn toward Islamaphobic rhetoric, but Bush didn't budge. "The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam," he told the crowd in the Islamic Center of Washington, flanked by imams. "That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace." Fast forward 15 years, to the 2016 presidential race, and the rules have changed. Republican front-runner Donald Trump has called for a "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the United States," and insinuated that thousands of Muslim-Americans celebrated the fall of the twin towers. Presidential candidate Ben Carson has said he wouldn't support a Muslim being president. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, opposes refugees from ISIS-held territory, where he has called for "carpet bombing," generally understood to cause widespread civilian casualties. Why all the tough talk about Muslims in 2015, and not in 2001, after the largest terrorist attack in U.S. history? It depends on who you ask. But the evolving political discourse is probably a result of a combination of factors, including political personalities, national security concerns, immigration and election-year politics. The use of what some would call Islamophobic rhetoric in politics is not unique to the United States. Throughout Europe, conservative movements with anti-immigrant platforms and concerns about Islamization have been gaining strength in countries like Poland, Denmark and Sweden. In recent months, the German group PEGIDA, or Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, has been drawing crowds of thousands and opening chapters in France, the United Kingdom and beyond. Story continues [READ: Terror attacks test the resolve of the French] But the anti-Islam sentiment in the U.S. may not run as deep as it does in Europe, experts say, in part because it has different roots. From a historical perspective, it's worth considering Bush's relationships with Muslims in the years leading up to 9/11, experts say. Coming from the Texas oil industry, Bush had close personal ties to the Saudi elite. During the 2000 campaign, he, like other politicians, saw Arab Americans as a swing state constituency. Bush met with Muslim Americans several times throughout the campaign and won the endorsement of an umbrella group of Muslim organizations. On the day of the 9/11 attack, he had an afternoon meeting with a delegation of American Muslim leaders. Throughout the naughts, public opinion about Islam and its relationship to terrorism began to change, and political rhetoric began to change with it. While there was an undercurrent of anti-Muslim sentiment in American society throughout the 20th century, most national politicians didn't start using Islamophobic rhetoric in its current form until the midterm elections of 2006, says Erik Love, assistant professor of sociology at Dickinson College. At that point, Republicans began using "terrorism as a wedge issue to try to encourage Republicans who might stay home to get out and vote," says Love, who is writing a book about Muslim-Americans and civil liberties. Around that time, Bush and others started using the term Islamo-fascists and other words clearly designed "to drive the fear vote to the polls." That trend continued during the 2010 midterm elections -- a time of "great anger" among Republicans -- and during the 2012 presidential race when Herman Cain expressed reservations about appointing Muslims to his potential Cabinet, says Corey Saylor, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Further fanning the flames, he says, is a media that increasingly focuses on negative stories about Muslims and a growing group of organizations determined to promote Islamophobia. In 2013, the group put out a report in which it named 37 groups whose primary purpose it found to be promoting prejudice against or hatred of Islam and Muslims. Whatever the reason, it's clear that Americans are living in a climate of fear. In the years since 9/11, Islamic militants have launched a series of successful smaller assaults -- inspiring terror in Madrid, London, Mumbai, Fort Hood, Benghazi, and most recently in San Bernardino and Paris. All of those attacks have cumulatively left many with the impression that national security threats are just as great -- if not greater -- than after 9/11. In the wake of the most recent attacks in Paris and California, U.S. concerns about terrorism surged and approval of the government's handling of terrorism reached the lowest point since 9/11, according to a December poll from the Pew Research Center. Views of Muslims are also changing, particularly among Republicans. In 2002, 47 percent of Republicans and those who leaned Republican believed either "most" or "some" Muslims were "anti-American," according to Pew. In 2016, the figure is 63 percent. The flow of refugees outside of Syria is also adding to concerns. In poll after poll, most Americans say they oppose President Barack Obama's plans for the U.S. to accept at least 10,000 people fleeing the Syrian conflict. And news reports of exit polling from the South Carolina primary showed 74 percent of Republicans supported temporarily barring Muslims who are not citizens from entering the United States -- a policy Trump backs. [READ: The young face of Europe's refugee crisis] "After 9/11, the country wasn't being flooded with immigrants -- it was a just a question of the Muslim community already in the United States and what could be a trickle of potential terrorists coming over," says Robert Y. Shapiro, professor of political science at Columbia University. The Syrian refugee crisis is coming at a time when many Americans are not only worried about national security concerns, but also about their economic prosperity in an era of globalization where many jobs seem to have dried up and moved overseas. Many believe the country is in crisis. And in times of perceived crisis, historians say, they tend to look on immigrants with disdain. "Most people have very little familiarity with Muslims," says David Greenberg, professor of history and journalism and media studies at Rutgers University. "They have not been talked about and thought about as part of the American fabric in the way that Catholics and Jews have been for many generations now. The demography of the country is changing. We have more people of different races and skin colors, and there has always been a portion of Americans who react to those kinds of changes with fierce nativism." The potential influx of refugees, plus concerns about future terror attacks, have contributed to a political discourse that's new in recent time, says Shapiro with Columbia. "The key words are threat and fear." Other key words include "the current election." About 65 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents want the next president to "speak bluntly about extremism even if it means being critical of Islam," according to a recent poll by Pew. Presidential candidates see polls that touch on these kinds of issues and move their rhetoric further to the right to capture votes, says Kent Syler, an instructor at Middle Tennessee State University and previous chief of staff to former U.S. Congressman Bart Gordon, D-Tenn. The media doesn't help the situation, he says, by covering inflammatory remarks that will lead to more views and clicks. "The 9/11 attacks happened far outside the political season," says Syler. "Public opinion has changed, and politicians are mirroring public opinion. Rhetoric has grown from a war on a small group of terrorists to basically blaming all Muslims -- and creating fear that any Muslim entering the country could well be a terrorist." What is unclear is whether the current hostile discourse will be short-lived or find the kind of sustained support it has enjoyed in Europe, where "some people have very developed critiques of Islam," says Matthew Goodwin, professor of politics and international relations at the University of Kent and a fellow at the London think tank Chatham House. "All of them are framed around the need to defend women's rights, the rights of gays, the rights of sexual minorities. I think many in the European radical right would consider Trump to be fairly simplistic." For the most part, historians see today's headline-grabbing comments about Muslims as a predictable fad that will soon pass. While there's a strong nativist strain in American history, it tends to be dominated by a more welcoming strand that eventually moves toward acceptance, says Joseph Ellis, professor of history at Mount Holyoke College. "We are better at this than other nation states. We are a nation of immigrants," he says. When it comes to nativism, he says, "It's like a virus and you can't kill it with antibiotics, but eventually it goes away. The health of the body politic eventually recovers." Devon Haynie is news editor, international for U.S. News. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at dhaynie@usnews.com. By Julia Harte and Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - FBI Director James Comey told a congressional panel on Tuesday that a final court ruling forcing Apple Inc to give the FBI data from an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters would be potentially precedential in other cases where the agency might request similar cooperation from technology companies. The remarks were a slight change to Comey's statement last week that ordering Apple to unlock the phone was "unlikely to be a trailblazer" for setting a precedent for other cases. Tuesday's testimony from Comey and remarks before the same U.S. House Judiciary Committee by Apple's general counsel, Bruce Sewell, brought to Congress a public fight between Apple and the government over the dueling interests of privacy and security that has so far only been heard in the courts. On Feb. 16, a federal court in California instructed Apple to write special software to unlock the iPhone 5c used by gunman Rizwan Farook, an order the company is contesting. Sewell and Comey's remarks also clarified some areas where the two sides fundamentally disagree. Comey said the tool created for Farook's iPhone would not work on other models. But Sewell said the tool that Apple was being asked to create would work on any iPhone. "This is not about the San Bernardino case. This is about the safety and security of every iPhone that is in use today," Sewell said. Committee members seized on Comey's statement that the case could set a legal precedent allowing the agency access to any encrypted device. "Given... that Congress has explicitly denied you that authority so far, can you appreciate our frustration that this case appears to be little more than an end run around this committee?" asked the panel's ranking minority member, Michigan Representative John Conyers. Comey responded that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was not asking to expand the governments surveillance authority, but rather to maintain its ability to obtain electronic information under legal authorities that Congress has already provided. He also acknowledged that it was a "mistake" for the FBI to have asked San Bernardino County officials to reset the phone's cloud storage account after it was seized. The decision prevented the device, which was owned by the county, Farook's employer, from backing up information that the FBI could have read. Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, shot and killed 14 people and wounded 22 others last Dec. 2 before they were themselves killed in a shootout with police. The government has said the attack was inspired by Islamist militants and the FBI wants to read the phone's data to investigate any links with militant groups. Comey told a congressional panel last Thursday that the phone could have "locator services" that would help the agency fill in a gap in its knowledge of the route the couple traveled as they fled. "We're missing 19 minutes before they were finally killed by law enforcement," Comey said. "The answer to that might be on the device." A federal judge handed Apple a victory in another phone unlocking case in Brooklyn on Monday, ruling that he did not have the legal authority to order Apple to disable the security of an iPhone that was seized during a drug investigation. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Tuesday at the RSA Cybersecurity conference in San Francisco that she was "disappointed" by the Brooklyn ruling, and rebuffed Apple's claim that its Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination was being violated. The Justice Department is "not alleging that [Apple has] done anything wrong, Lynch said, but is treating the company as a third party holding data valuable to an ongoing investigation. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance testified in support of the FBI on Tuesday, arguing that default device encryption "severely harms" criminal prosecutions at the state level, including in cases in his district involving at least 175 iPhones. (Reporting by Julia Edwards and Julia Harte; Editing by Bill Rigby and Grant McCool) Apple (AAPL) general counsel Bruce Sewell plans to tell Congress on Tuesday that strong encryption in iPhones protects users from terrorist and hacker attacks while rejecting calls from the FBI to weaken the popular phone's security protections. "We feel strongly that our customers, their families, their friends and their neighbors will be better protected from thieves and terrorists if we can offer the very best protections for their data," Sewell said in a copy of his opening statement released by the House Judiciary Committee on Monday. "And at the same time, the freedoms and liberties we all cherish will be more secure." Sewell is scheduled to speak on a panel with with New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance and Worcester Polytechnic Institute professor Susan Landau before the committee at a hearing starting at 1 p.m. The three speakers will be proceeded by FBI director James Comey, who will address the committee first and by himself. The hearing comes as Apple and law enforcement agencies remain locked in a bitter dispute over the security measures the company added to the iPhone in recent years. Two weeks ago, a U.S. magistrate judge in California ordered Apple to create new software at the behest of the the FBI to weaken the security on a phone used by deceased San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook so the agency could try to guess Farook's passcode more easily. The FBI says it can't get access to data on the phone, which may provide evidence of further terrorist activities, without Apple's help. Apple is appealing the order, arguing that the new software it has been ordered to create could also be used by other governments and hackers, thus weakening the security of hundreds of millions of iPhone users around the world. Comey has defended the FBI request in testimony at other Congressional hearings last week and in a blog post. The Judiciary Committee did not provide an advance copy of Comey's expected remarks, however. "We simply want the chance, with a search warrant, to try to guess the terrorist's passcode without the phone essentially self-destructing and without it taking a decade to guess correctly," Comey wrote in a short blog post on Feb 21. "That's it. We don't want to break anyone's encryption or set a master key loose on the land." Story continues Vance plans to tell the committee that Apple's 2014 decision to encrypt most of the data stored on iPhones in a way that the company can't crack "severely harms" many criminal cases around the country. "Smartphone encryption has real-life consequences for public safety, for crime victims and their families," Vance's prepared remarks noted. WPI professor Landau, an expert on cybersecurity, plans to warn the committee that the FBI's views are outdated and inconsistent with recent technological developments. "Instead of embracing the communications and device security we so badly need for securing US public and private data, law enforcement continues to press hard to undermine security in the misguided desire to preserve simple, but outdated, investigative techniques," she said in her prepared testimony. As the security dispute moves from the courtroom to the policy arena, Apple's lawyer also plans to mention several recent government efforts backing strong encryption, including a 2013 report requested by President Obama in the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations. That may be to counter a remark by Obama press secretary Josh Earnest on Feb. 17. "Obviously, the Department of Justice and the FBI can count on the full support of the White House as they conduct an investigation to learn as much as they possibly can about this particular incident," Earnest said when asked about the Apple-FBI legal dispute. But, a section of the 2013 report by the Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies that Sewell plans to reference, concluded that the government should make clear it will not "in any way subvert, undermine, weaken, or make vulnerable generally available commercial encryption." A federal judge in New York ruled Monday that the government cant use a 227-year-old law to compel Apple to unlock an iPhone that may contain information useful to a criminal investigation. The 1789 law, the All Writs Act, is also the cornerstone of the governments argument in a related case in San Bernardino, California, where the FBI and Apple have faced off in an uncharacteristically public manner. The Monday decision came from James Orenstein, a magistrate judge in Brooklyn, who had previously expressed doubt that the All Writs Act sanctions the governments request of Apple. In his opinion, Orenstein pointed to two reasons why he rejected the governments reasoning. Orenstein said that Congress already considered legislation that would grant the government the power to ask for the assistance it seeksbut did not end up adopting it. Hes referring here a proposed extension to CALEA, a 1994 law that requires telecommunications companies to provide certain information and assistance to law enforcement. Congress debated expanding CALEA to include companies like Apple, but ultimately didnt do so. Recommended: Can Googles Driverless Car Project Survive a Fatal Accident? Second, he rejected the request because it didnt meet a test established by a 1977 Supreme Court case. That precedent requires a judge to consider three specific factors when deciding whether or not to issue an order under the All Writs Act. The factors are: the closeness of Apple's relationship to the underlying criminal conduct and government investigation; the burden the requested order would impose on Apple; and the necessity of imposing such a burden on Apple. Orenstein found the governments case wanting on all three factors. The timing of Orensteins order is conspicuous. After considering the governments request for months, he released his decision the very week that dozens of organizations and individuals plan to file briefs supporting either Apple or the FBI in the parallel case in California. Story continues The help that the government asked from Apple in New York is not the same as what its asking in California. In New York, the government wanted Apple to extract data from an iPhone running an older operating system; in California, the government asked Apple to create new software that would help the FBI break into an encrypted iPhone. Apple makes a persuasive case that the governments ask in California is more burdensome. One of the points that Orenstein made in his orderthat CALEA essentially exempts Apple from being subject to an order under the All Writs Actis the exact same one Apple lawyers made in the San Bernardino case last week. While Sheri Pym, the magistrate judge in the San Bernardino case, will arrive at her own, independent decision there, Apples win in New York wont go unnoticed. Recommended: Live Coverage of the Super Tuesday Primary Elections A senior Apple executive praised the judges conclusion in a call with reporters Monday, and noted that it is precisely on point in the San Bernardino case. This is not a binding precedent, the executive said, on condition of anonymity. But this is the first time that a court has looked specifically at this issue. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that hes willing to take the San Bernardino case all the way to the Supreme Court, so Orensteins words may later end up being scrutinized by a panel of justices that is itself in turmoil. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Closing the achievement gap between the United States disadvantaged students and the rest of our students has been the major focus of federal education policy since 1965, when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed. Compared to the countries with more successful education systems in the world, how is the U.S. doing? The answer is not very well. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development just released a very revealing report on low-performing students in the countries that participate in the Programme for International Student Assessment survey. In places like Hong Kong, Shanghai, South Korea, and Vietnam, fewer than 5 percent of 15-year-old students performed below the basic-proficiency level in reading, mathematics and science. But, in the United States, 12 percenthalf a million studentsfell below the same level in all three subjects. The performance of the average student in the U.S. falls below the OECD average for all 64 countries in its survey, and far below the average for the major industrial countries. The proportion of our students who score below the OECD basic score is also well above the average for the major industrial countries. Equally troubling, the proportion of our students who score in the upper ranges of the OECD spectrum is also well below the average. Some argue that the U.S.s lagging behind has nothing to do with our schools: The U.S. has a much higher proportion of disadvantaged poor and minority students than higher-performing countries. But the data show that 37 countries outperform the U.S. in the degree to which socioeconomic status predicts low achievement. Both Vietnam and Latvia have far smaller percentages of low-performing students than the U.S. If it is poverty that accounts for the U.S.s high proportion of low-performing students, it is hard to explain how these two countries are doing better than the United States. Vietnams average income, adjusted for purchasing power, stands at just one-tenth of the U.S. average, Latvias at less than one half. Story continues Recommended: Is the GRE Even Worth Students' Time? The OECD also tracks the proportion of low-income and minority students who score at high levels on their assessment. This metric shows that the U.S. has a smaller proportion of low-income high achievers than all but a few of the countries studied. It turns out that a number of East Asian countries, which account for the majority of nations with high-average performance, also have the lowest percentage of low-performing students. Indeed, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea all rank in the global top ten in terms of achievement as measured by OECDs PISA, and each of these jurisdictions has less than 10 percent of its students scoring at the lowest levels. That makes it clear that improving the performance of the low performers does not require a country to sacrifice the performance of the average or top performers. What are these countries doing to cope with this dynamic that we are not? The answer begins with the observation that, in the American system, as students start to fall behind, they find it harder and harder to comprehend what is going on in class and fall even farther behind as they go through the years. Their morale sinks, their embarrassment rises, they stop coming to school, and then they drop out. The East Asian countries essentially deal with this downward spiral by stopping it before it gains momentum. They are able to do this because they start from a commitment to the idea that all students can and will meet high standards as they progress through the years. This is not a slogan. It is the basis of their policy and practice. The policy makers and educators in these countries whom the researchers in my organization have talked with seem to understand that if students are allowed to fall behind, failure will feed on itself. The East Asian countries essentially deal with this downward spiral by stopping it before it gains momentum. In Singapore, students undergo a thorough literacy and mathematics assessment when they enter first grade. Those whose diagnosis indicates they need extra help get it. They get more teachers and teachers who specialize in students who are behind. In other countries, these students not only get more teachers, but also the best teachers. The teachers understand that they are expected to do whatever is necessary to get students who start behind back up to speed as soon as possible. If that means coming into school earlier in the day, staying longer, or coming in on Saturday, then that is what they do. Hong Kong has a special six-month program for immigrant children before they enter the regular schools and provides resources to schools that can be used for supplementary lessons, extracurricular activities, and to organize orientation sessions. In Shanghai, city schools are paired with rural schools serving low-income students. The city schools help the rural schools with curriculum, instructional strategies, and management systems. The career ladder for principals and teachers is structured so that city teachers and school administrators cannot climb the ladder without providing this kind of help to schools serving large numbers of disadvantaged students. Japan subsidizes voluntary activities undertaken by university students to help families that need it, assisting low-performing students with their homework, tutoring them, and helping parents interact with the school system. Recommended: How the Coding Craze Could Lead to Technical Ghettos Ability grouping is largely avoided in the top-performing countries, and, if utilized, is for the minimum time necessary. Schools with high concentrations of low-performers get more teachers and are often asked to partner with high-performing schools. The teachers in schools with high concentrations of low-income students make the same amount of money as teachers in schools serving students in wealthy communities, unlike the United States, where they typically make less. Teachers as a whole are also more likely to make more money relative to the high status professions than is the case in the United States. But the expectation and insistence that all students will meet high standards is the single most important explanation of the success of these Asian countries with students of every description, including disadvantaged students. But it is realistic only in countries in which the progression of topics as a student goes through school is fully specified and agreed on through the whole state or country. In countries like the U.S., where there is often no such agreement at the state level, students may enter a classroom having widely different knowledge in any given topic. A teacher who, in general, gears her lessons to the average student will necessarily leave students who have never studied the topic behind. In places that spell out clearly what topics are supposed to be studied in what order as the student moves from one year to the next, the teacher knows which topics have been studied by all the students and can count on all the students having mastered those topics. This does not require the state to mandate a full curriculum. Teachers are still expected to develop their lesson plans. But all teachers are expected to get their students through the same topics at about the same point in their development. Recommended: Students of Color Are Much More Likely to Attend Schools Where Most of Their Peers Are Poor If the key advantage enjoyed by disadvantaged students in these Asian countries is the conviction that all students can perform at high levels, then the main obstacle faced by disadvantaged students in the United States is the high degree to which different expectations for students from different educational backgrounds are embedded in our culture. Larger and larger shares of our future workforce are coming from students whose background would predict low academic performance. If we continue to expect little from them, we can confidently expect to get little. The experience of the East Asian countries shows what can happen if policy is based on the assumption that all children can learn at high levels. And it shows, in detail, how policy has to change to make that possible. The high proportion of low performers in the United States is not a function of poverty. It is a function of our inability to act as if we actually believed the slogan we have long embraced in theory but not in practice: the idea that all children can learn. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. By Vincent West LOGRONO, Spain (Reuters) - The former leader of the banned Basque separatist party Batasuna left prison on Tuesday after serving a six-and-a-half year sentence for trying to reform the illegal party, the political wing of armed militants ETA. Arnaldo Otegi, a key figure in the separatist movement of the north-eastern Spanish region, walked smiling from the prison gates where a crowd of supporters gathered waving the Basque regional flag and shouting "Independence". While Otegi has served his sentence, ETA has been severely weakened by the arrests of hundreds of its members and seizures of its weapons during government crack downs in both Spain and neighboring France. ETA, which the Spanish government says has killed more than 800 people, aims to establish an independent Basque state in northern Spain and southern France. It called a unilateral ceasefire in 2011 and pledged to turn in its weapons. Otegi, formerly Batasuna's chief spokesman, is forbidden from holding any public role until 2021 by a court ruling but he holds an internal role at nationalist party Sortu, according to El Pais newspaper. The Basque region, home to around 2 million people and a strong contributor to Spain's economy given its heavy industry focused on manufacturing, holds local elections this year. Leftist newcomer Podemos made strong inroads in the region in a December general election, overtaking left-wing nationalist parties to take the biggest chunk of the vote in the Basque Country. (Writing by Sonya Dowsett Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) Madrid (AFP) - A Basque leader and former member of the armed separatist group ETA who is credited with helping end violence in the northern Spanish region will be released from jail on Tuesday. While some hail Arnaldo Otegi as a hero, for others, especially relatives of ETA victims, he remains a hate figure. Otegi, 57, is set to be released from a prison in the northern city of Logrono on Tuesday after serving a six-and-a-half year sentence for trying to resurrect Basque separatist party Batasuna. He will then head to his hometown of Elgoibar about 150 kilometres (90 miles) to the north, where his supporters will hold celebrations to mark his return. Batasuna has been banned since 2003 for being the "political wing" of ETA, which is blamed for over 820 killings in its campaign of bombings and shootings to create an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwestern France. Batasuna re-emerged as a legal pro-independence party, Sortu, which advocates for independence through democratic means. Otegi was elected its secretary general in 2013 while in jail. "The sentence was unjust and disproportionate, even jurists said so, as he had for a long time advocated for peace and the end of violence," journalist and Basque specialist Gorka Landaburu, who lost the sight of one eye due to an ETA letter bomb in 2002, told AFP. Spain's former crusading judge Baltasar Garzon, who ordered Otegi's arrest in 2009, backed his release. "He can do much more outside than inside jail for peace," Garzon said last year. Catalan journalist Antoni Batista, who covered the Basque Country for 25 years and recently published a biography of Otegi, describes him as a "European Nelson Mandela". "Otegi is the man who has contributed the most to put an end to ETA violence," he told AFP. - A Basque Gerry Adams - An active member of ETA since the age of 19, Otegi has spent a total of 15 years behind bars. Story continues In the 1990s he became one of the first ETA members to call for disarmament, earning him comparisons to Northern Ireland's Gerry Adams, the former head of the political wing of the Irish republican Army (IRA). In 2006-2007, Otegi was one of the main architects of peace negotiations between ETA and the Spanish government. The talks broke down, largely because a bombing at Madrid airport in December 2006 that left two dead. The attack was carried out by ETA militants who opposed disarmament. Dozens of people with links to ETA were arrested, including Otegi. In October 2011 ETA declared a "definitive end to armed activity" but it has yet to formally disband or disarm. Some of Otegi's opponents see him as an imposter. "Otegi is not a man of peace," centre-right daily newspaper El Mundo wrote Monday in an editorial. "He is a defender of extortion, kidnapping and assassination." In 2012 Otegi presented his "most sincere apology" for having contributed to the "pain" and "humiliation" of ETA victims. Both his supporters and detractors predict he will play an important role, especially in regional elections slated for year-end in the Basque Country. He will not be eligible to run for office until 2022, although he can contest this restriction in court. When you picture a millionaires lifestyle, does townhouse living or budgeting only $40,000 a year come to mind? Probably not. But its that type of frugal living that helped four everyday people to amass their seven-figure net worth and, along with it, financial security. More than 10 million U.S. households have a net worth of $1 million or more, a record high representing nearly 9 percent of all households in the country. While that seems like a small percentage, its still one in 11 households, which means a millionaire could be tucked away in your neighborhood rather than leading an extravagant life peppered with luxuries and indulgences. TFT interviewed four everyday millionaires, including Darrow Kirkpatrick, 55, of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Julie Rains, 55, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Jeremy Jacobson, 41, world resident; and Jeff Johnson, 37, of Somerset County, New Jersey. Through disciplined saving and savvy, yet simple investing, they grew their wealth enough to travel the world, retire years earlier than the norm and enjoy peace of mind. Related: The 25 Richest People in the US These millionaires next door dont have lavish lifestyles, says Farnoosh Torabi a personal finance expert and financial education partner with Chase Slate. She also interviewed these everyday millionaires on her daily So Money podcast. But they enjoy their lives. They are very conscious how they want to design their lives to get a lot of financial security. So how did they do it? Some of the commonalities among the four include hyper-saving, smart and consistent investing and thoughtful spending when it comes to homes, cars, vacations and small treats. They also benefited from earning higher salaries during their working years versus the median income along with other blessings when it came to covering education expenses and health care costs. Here are their secrets. Saveand Then Save Some More Americans on average save 5.5 percent of their after-tax income, according to the latest data available, while conventional wisdom is to put 10 percent away. But these everyday millionaires are socking away a whole lot more. They are super savers, says Torabi. They cut it out of their budget and live with what they have left. Story continues Jeff Johnson, who works in pharma marketing and sales, says that he and his family live on less than half of his take-home pay and save the rest. That may not seem like a lot to live on, but its enough to allow his wife to stay home to care for their three-year-old son. Whenever we had an opportunity like a bonus or promotion, we never increased our lifestyle, says Johnson, who estimates his net worth at $2.5 million, not including his home. Jeremy Jacobson and his wife, Winniewhose net worth is well north of $1 millionput away more than 70 percent of their income for over 10 years before retiring more than three years ago to travel the world with their baby son. Jacobson said when he first met his wife in Beijing on a business trip, she was already saving half of her income. They worked up to the 70 percentit didnt happen all at onceby making small changes in their lifestyle along the way. Related: 6 Traits of an Emerging Millionaire: Are You One? If youre looking at after-tax income and youre saving 10 percent, after about nine years, you roughly have enough money to take one year off, Jacobson says. But if youre saving 90 percent of income, you can take nine years off after saving just one year. Invest Wisely A large part of these everyday millionaires success was investing their savings for the long term. That meant first maxing out contributions to 401(k)s, IRAs and ROTH retirement plans and getting the full company match on employer-sponsored plans, if one existed. After that, the majority of these millionaires kept their investing strategy simple. Darrow Kirkpatrick, who has a net worth between $1 million and $2 million, has only seven holdings for his money. They are mostly mutual funds, index or very low-cost managed funds with about 50/50 stock and bond, he says. Thats pretty much how its been since the early 2000s. Jacobsen and Johnson also use mostly index funds. Interestingly, all three swear by Vanguards funds, which are low cost. Julie Rains, who said her net worth is in the millions but didnt disclose an amount, prefers mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and individual stocks. It does take some time to pick those stocks, but I do like that the best, she says. What I like to look for is a solid performer that is well-priced. Reduce Large Expenses Kirkpatrick says one of the keys to his success was not overspending on real estate. He and his family owned a modest home in Tennessee for 17 years and only renovated before selling it. We werent house-swapping. We also didnt dump a lot of money into the house, says Kirkpatrick, who retired in 2011. Its clear that people put huge amounts into their homes and that has huge costs for their financial freedom. Now, he and his wife rent their two-bedroom condo in Santa Fe for $1,500 a month. Related: Asia About to Blow Past U.S. as Worlds Wealthiest Region Similarly, Rains has lived in the same home for decades and when she bought it, she didnt stretch. Both Kirkpatrick and Rains dont borrow to buy carsKirkpatrick and his wife share only one. They buy recent, used models and keep them for as long as they can. If youre making a car loan payment, youre not investing that money, says Rains. Jacobson and his wife didnt buy a home and dont have a car. They chose rentals in Seattle that were located in a walkable neighborhood, close to the bus line and as cheap as they could find. Jacobson also biked to work to save on commuting costs. Cut Out Frivolous Line Items Even when Jacobson and his wife went on vacationwhich werent lavishthey did it with saving in mind. We would sign up for a credit card reward program to get free flights and hotel, he says. Our honeymoon was 10 days hiking around Mt. Rainier in Seattle. It basically cost us nothing. Johnsonwho lives with his family in the townhouse he bought in 2004carefully monitors their spending. Its a practice he started as a senior in high school, which made him realize how much money he spent simply buying lunch. I still bring my lunch to work, he says. Is it worth spending $2,000 a year on lunch? To get around the urge to eat out, Jacobsons wife spent a lot of time becoming a serious cook. Ninety percent of our food comes out of our kitchen, and her cooking is better than most any restaurant we could go to, he says. The sacrifices paid off. They now are globetrotting around the world, spending a few months in different countriesnow in Malaysia, Europe in the springwith a $40,000-a-year budget. They have found they can live like kings on that budget in many low-cost countries. Possibility Starts With a Good-Paying Job To be sure, these everyday millionaires were blessed with a few advantages that helped catapult their net worth. For starters, each had jobs that on average make more than the median income. Johnson works in pharma sales and marketing and, his wife, before staying home to care for their child, worked at a university as a department psychologist. Jacobson was an engineer at Microsoft and his wife was a project manager at Dell. Kirkpatrick was a software engineer. He also has affordable health insurance in retirement because his wife, who was a public school teacher, was allowed to buy into her health insurance. Rains husband still works as a logistics manager, working toward a full pension, and provides medical insurance through his work. Before, they profited from his companys stock program that did very well, says Rains, who previously worked for a regional bank and now is a part-time freelance writer. As for college expenses, Rains had one son go to in-state university with affordable tuition that was covered by savings. Kirkpatricks son ended up getting a full scholarship to a public university, while Johnson himself got a scholarship for his schooling. (His wife, though, ended up with undergraduate and graduate school debt. Both Jacobson and his wife were saddled with huge student loans they paid off.) Manage the Bumps in the Road The journey toward a seven-figure net worth wasnt always smooth. I did some dumb things in the beginning, fortunately with small sums of money, says Kirkpatrick. One of his most memorable mistakes was getting involved in the dot-com mania. I invested a few thousand dollars, quadrupled my money and then watched it go back down to the price I bought it at, he recalls. Jacobson tried and failed at real estate investing and picking individual stocks. He ended up settling on index investing. Its easy, even if at first it feels like you arent getting any traction, he says. Rains found that she hadnt saved enough for her youngest sons college education. He went to an out-of-state school, which cost more. I definitely would have set aside money in a 529 more quickly when they got popular, she says. I would have also taken my child to visit more in-state schools during high school. Johnson fell for his weakness for cars, but not too hard. He bought a BMW five years ago with all cash. If I take a step back, I could have saved $5,000 or $10,000 buying another car. Was it the smartest thing? he says. You got to live, too, and enjoy life. You cant always save. I still enjoy driving that car. Slideshow: The 25 Richest People in the U.S. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: By Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden wrote a letter calling on the American people to help President Barack Obama fight "catastrophic" climate change and "save humanity", in the latest evidence of his worries about environmental issues, newly released documents show The letter was among materials that were seized in the May 2, 2011, U.S. raid on bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan that killed the al Qaeda chief and which were released on Tuesday by the Obama administration. The undated, unsigned letter "to the American people," which U.S. intelligence officials attributed to bin Laden, appeared to have been written shortly after Obama began his first term in 2009, based on the letter's references to events. Bin Laden's preoccupation with climate change also emerged as a theme in the first tranche of documents from the raid that was declassified in May 2015, as well as in an audio recording released via the al Jazeera network in January 2010. In the rambling letter made public Tuesday, bin Laden blamed the 2007-8 U.S. financial crisis on corporate control of capital and corporate lobbyists, and the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He called on Americans to launch "a great revolution for freedom" to liberate the U.S. president from those influences. That would enable Obama to make "a rational decision to save humanity from the harmful gases that threaten its destiny," bin Laden continued. In a separate letter, bin Laden urged a close aide to launch a media campaign for the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that included a call for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Bin Laden contended that the world would be better off fighting climate change than waging what he claimed was a war against Islam. "...the world should put its efforts into attempting to reduce the release of gases," said the undated, unsigned letter to someone identified as Shaykh Mahmud that U.S. intelligence officials said they believed was written by bin Laden. "This is a struggle between two of the largest cultures on Earth, and it is in the shadow of catastrophic climate conditions." (Reporting by Jonathan Landay; editing by Stuart Grudgings) Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had millions of dollars stashed in Sudan and wanted most of it to be used to fund jihad, according to a handwritten will released Tuesday. The late 1990s document was among a tranche of newly declassified letters and files that were seized by Navy SEALs on May 2, 2011 when they descended on Bin Laden's hideout in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad and killed him. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released dozens of documents, including one they said was bin Laden's will that deals with monies in Sudan. Written in Arabic on a single piece of lined paper, the signed will states bin Laden had about $29 million in Sudan, and that much of it had come from his brother. "I received twelve million dollars from my brother Abu Bakir Muhammad Bin (Laden) on behalf of Bin Laden Company for Investment in Sudan," he wrote, according to the ODNI's translation of the document. "I hope, for my brothers, sisters, and maternal aunts, to obey my will and to spend all the money that I have left in Sudan on jihad, for the sake of Allah." Bin Laden sheltered in the Sudanese capital Khartoum for five years in the early 1990s. The ODNI would not comment on what happened to the purported hoard, and it was not immediately clear if bin Laden had written other, more up-to-date wills. The documents also show a growing schism between bin Laden's lieutenants and Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and said bin Laden was planning a worldwide media campaign for the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. - Tiny tracking chips - In a letter to his father dated August 8, 2008 bin Laden wrote he was worried about being assassinated. "If I am to be killed, pray for me a lot and give continuous charities in my name, as I will be in great need for support to reach the permanent home," bin Laden wrote. He also asks his dad for absolution, without saying what he might be regretting. Story continues "I would like you to forgive me, if I have done what you did not like," he wrote. A letter from bin Laden to his "dear wife" provides a glimpse into the mindset of the most hunted man on the planet. The wife had recently visited a dentist in Iran, and bin Laden asks her if she is sure the physician didn't insert a tiny tracking device into a filling. "Please let me know in detail about anything that bothers you about any hospital in Iran or any suspicions that any of the brothers may have about chips planted in any way," he wrote in a letter signed Abu Abdallah, bin Laden's nom de guerre. "The size of the chip is about the length of a grain of wheat and the width of a fine piece of vermicelli." A first tranche of documents released last May showed bin Laden was worried about drone strikes, and in which he laid out plans to groom a new cadre of leaders. Bin Laden also warned that conflict with regimes in the Middle East would distract the extremists from hitting hard at what as far as he was concerned is the real enemy -- America. GABORONE (Reuters) - Botswana could sell its troubled 600 megawatt (MW) Chinese-built power station, the energy minister said on Tuesday, after it suffered constant technical hitches since its launch in 2012. Botswana's Morupule B power station, built by the China National Electric Equipment Corporation (CNEEC) at a cost of $970 million has often broken down, leading to a reliance on diesel generators and imports from South Africa. Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources Kitso Mokaila said there had been enquiries from two or three interested buyers, but no deal had been reached. "We could fix the power station ourselves or task the contractor to fix it. We also have an option of asking someone else who is not the contractor to fix it and lastly we could sell it," Mokaila said. Only one of the four 150 MW units is currently running, leaving Botswana with a deficit, which is partly being met by 195 MW from diesel generators and the remainder by imports from South Africa. ($1 = 11.3636 pulas) (Writing by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by James Macharia) By Brad Haynes SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian police arrested a senior Facebook Inc executive on Tuesday as a dispute escalated over a court's demand that the company provide data from its WhatsApp messaging service to help in a secretive drug-trafficking investigation. Court officials in Sergipe state confirmed that a judge had ordered the jailing of Facebook Vice President for Latin America Diego Dzodan. Federal police in Sao Paulo state said he was being held there for questioning. Law enforcement officials withheld further information about the nature of their request to the messaging service that Facebook Inc acquired in 2014, saying that doing so could compromise an ongoing criminal investigation. The arrest, which Facebook called an "extreme and disproportionate measure," came as social media and Internet companies face mounting pressure from governments around the world to help them eavesdrop on users and filter content. Arrests of officials from social media companies are extremely rare, though not unprecedented, because the companies typically comply with local court orders, especially from countries where they have branch offices. "Precisely because these large global Internet companies have staff in many countries who are vulnerable to legal action including arrest and criminal charges, they generally do comply with legally binding requests from authorities for user data or to remove or block content in those countries where they have 'boots on the ground,'" said Internet freedom activist Rebecca MacKinnon. Prior to its acquisition by Facebook, California-based WhatsApp had less skin in the game in disputes with governments outside the United States because, unlike Facebook, it did not have staff scattered around the globe. "WhatsApp is a company that was started very focused on U.S. laws," said Internet law attorney Marcia Hoffmann. "Now that it's owned by a company with people and resources in other countries, there is more leverage for those governments to put pressure in new and in different ways. Arresting executives is one of them." While details of the case remain murky, court officials said the judge in Brazil resorted to the arrest after issuing a fine of 1 million reais ($250,000) to compel Facebook to help investigators access WhatsApp messages relevant to their drug-trafficking investigation. That is likely impossible because WhatsApp began using end-to-end encryption technology in 2014 that prevents the company from monitoring messages that travel across its network, said Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist with the American Civil Liberties Union. "They are using technology to try to take themselves out of the surveillance business," Soghoian said. The arrest surfaced as Apple Inc finds itself at odds with the United States government on similar grounds. U.S. prosecutors want the company to build a software tool to help investigators unlock the iPhone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino, California, attacks. Apple has refused, saying it would set a dangerous precedent that would make its customers vulnerable to spying. Privacy concerns have previously put Facebook at odds with Brazilian law enforcement seeking evidence in criminal cases, although the confrontations rarely rise to the prominence of Apple's current standoff with the U.S. authorities. In December, a judge suspended Facebook's popular WhatsApp phone-messaging service in Brazil for about 12 hours after it failed to comply with two court orders to share information in a criminal case. Brazil passed an Internet law two years ago aimed at streamlining thorny legal issues, but lower courts still have vast discretionary powers according to legal expert Ronaldo Lemos, a chief architect of that 2014 law. "The court of appeals tends to be more sensitive in these cases, but the lower courts are still tough, as today's decision shows," said Lemos. (Reporting by Brad Haynes; Additional reporting by Jim Finkle, Jonathan Weber, Cesar Bianconi and Maria Pia Palermo; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Tom Brown) By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - A woman who claimed that New York financier Jeffrey Epstein trafficked her for sex when she was a teenager may pursue a lawsuit accusing British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell of defamation for calling her allegations lies, a U.S. judge ruled. In a decision on Monday night, U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet in Manhattan denied Maxwell's request to dismiss Virginia Giuffre's lawsuit. Maxwell had argued that she was simply defending herself against allegations that she helped set up the encounters. But the judge said that to suggest Giuffre lied about being sexually assaulted as a minor "alleges something deeply disturbing about the character of an individual willing to be publicly dishonest about such a reprehensible crime." Lawyers for Maxwell and Giuffre did not immediately respond on Tuesday to requests for comment. Epstein spent a year in jail after pleading guilty in 2008 to procuring an underage girl for prostitution. He is not a defendant in Giuffre's lawsuit. His lawyer declined to comment. Giuffre, now in her 30s, claimed that Maxwell recruited her into Epstein's circle, where she said Epstein forced her to have sex with him and friends like Britain's Prince Andrew. A lawyer for Epstein has called the trafficking allegations old and discredited. Prince Andrew has denied the allegations concerning him. Giuffre sued over statements in January 2015 by Maxwell's agent, and later referred to by Maxwell, that said her allegations "against Ghislaine Maxwell are untrue" and have been "shown to be untrue," and that her "claims are obvious lies." Sweet said such statements could support a defamation claim if Giuffre could prove it. "Society takes accusations of pedophilia and sexual abuse sufficiently seriously that it is plausible to allege that to claim an individual has made false accusations of underage sex abuse would expose that individual to public contempt, ridicule, aversion, and disgrace in the minds of right-thinking persons," the judge wrote. Story continues Sweet distinguished the case from the Jan. 21 dismissal of a defamation lawsuit by Renita Hill against comedian Bill Cosby and his representatives after she accused him of sexual assault. The judge said Hill's case differed because the statements in question were that the sexual assault allegations were merely unsubstantiated. He called the difference "slight but significant," because both true and false allegations could be described accurately as "unsubstantiated." The case is Giuffre v. Maxwell, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-07433. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and David Ingram; Editing by Bill Rigby) A new television thriller called Undercover is making history in Britain for casting black actors in all of its lead roles. The show focuses on an attorney, played by Sophie Okonedo of Hotel Rwanda fame, who's set to become the first black director of public prosecutions while a black man, played by Dennis Haysbert (24), sits on death row wrongly accused of murder. Other actors include Daniel Ezra, Adrian Lester and Tamara Lawrence. The series, produced by the BBC, will also air on BBC America and is currently being filmed in Louisiana and the United Kingdom, according to Deadline. There's been plenty of talk about diversity in show business. At Sunday night's Oscars, host Chris Rock let loose a rambling monologue that was at times incisive, and at other times offensive, about Hollywood's lack of diversity. "Is Hollywood racist?" Rock asked. "Hell yeah, Hollywood is sorority racist." Rock was responding to the deluge of criticism aimed at the Oscars that was summed up by the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, which led to several black actors opting out of attending the awards ceremony. The news about Undercover comes just weeks after Idris Elba, one of Britain's most well-known black stars, spoke before British lawmakers about how difficult it was for him to find work in the U.K. "People in the TV world often aren't the same as people in the real world," Elba said, according to the Guardian. "And there's an even bigger gap between people who make TV, and people who watch TV. I should know, I live in the TV world. And although there's a lot of reality TV, TV hasn't caught up with reality. Change is coming, but it's taking its sweet time." Elba's comments showed that the problem wasn't limited to the United States. And he's right that change is happening, albeit slowly. Fox's Empire quickly captured the world's attention after it debuted in 2015, earning record ratings with a predominantly black cast. One of the biggest lessons from the show's tremendously successful first season, wrote Josef Adalian at Vulture, was that, "White viewers will watch a series boasting a mostly minority cast." British casting directors seem to have taken note. TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian police have arrested two men and are seeking two others for exporting controlled goods and technologies intended for space satellite use to China in violation of export and defense laws. Three of the men are linked to Waterloo, Ontario-based Teledyne DALSA Inc, while the fourth works for one of the Chinese companies involved in the transaction, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said late on Monday. "These contracts involved a state-owned corporation and a Chinese-based company founded by two of the accused to create microelectronics destined to enhance space satellite camera technology," the RCMP said in a statement. The charges came two years after the Canadian government asked police to investigate controlled goods being shipped between Canada and China in violation of Canada's trade laws, which restrict the export of sensitive defense and security-related technologies. Ottawa requested the investigation after receiving a complaint from Teledyne DALSA. According to its website, the company is a manufacturer of digital imaging products and semiconductors, specializing in "integrated circuit and electronics technology, software, and highly engineered semiconductor wafer processing." The RCMP said it had charged Arthur Xin Pang and his company, Global Precision Inc, and Binqiao Li with theft and fraud, among other charges, and Nick Tasker and his company, 3D Microelectronics Inc, and Hugh Ciao with fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud, among other charges. Pang and Li, who are Canadian residents, have been arrested, while arrest warrants have been issued for Tasker, a British resident, and Ciao, a U.S. resident, the police said. (Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; Editing by Paul Simao) The fashion circus hits Paris Tuesday as the women's autumn-winter ready-to-wear shows come to town, with the industry deeply divided over the catwalk calendar and three major houses still without designers. As a storm gathers over whether labels should ditch a century of tradition and show collections as they go on sale in the shops, all eyes will be on the young Georgian designer Demna Gvasalia's first collection for Balenciaga. Many are curious to see how the 34-year-old one-time refugee, who made his name with gritty oversized streetwear, will shake up the venerable label, once a favourite with Jackie Kennedy and European royalty. His own edgy Paris-based label Vetements staged its last show in a Chinese restaurant in Belleville, one of the French capital's grittily hip quarters. Three of France's major labels are still without artistic directors after a string of shock departures at the end of 2015 that saw Raf Simons leave Dior for "personal reasons" and Alber Elbaz pushed out at Lanvin. The young Franco-Chinese designer Yiqing Yin, who left Leonard to concentrate on her own label, has also yet to be replaced. In the meantime the studios of all three houses have been putting together their collections, with Dior boss Sidney Toledano telling AFP that he would not be rushed into finding a replacement for Simons for one of fashion's most sought-after jobs. "It's not like presidential elections where they are deadlines," he said. - Showdown - But there appears to be no avoiding the looming showdown between some of the biggest names in US fashion and the industry's traditional European giants over whether collections should go on sale as soon as they hit the catwalks. Traditionally, the public has had to wait between four and six months before they could buy the clothes featured in each season's shows. The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) claims the "system is broken" and completely out of step with an era of instant gratification. Instead of the autumn-winter shows taking place in the spring as happens now, it wants them to be staged at the beginning of each autumn, with spring-summer collections following suit. However both the French and Italian federations have come out strongly against a switch to so-called "see now, buy now" system. Fashion mogul Francois-Henri Pinault, whose Kering group owns Gucci, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga, told reporters the whole idea went against the "dream and desire" that drives the industry. But US designer Tommy Hilfiger -- who in September will offer his customers the chance to buy straight from the catwalk -- is adamant that change is coming. "The younger customer does not want to wait any longer, they want to see it and wear it that day or the next day. So we're going to change the rules," he told AFP. Fellow big hitters Tom Ford, Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Diane von Furstenberg and British luxury brand Burberry are set to follow suit with Rebecca Minkoff already offering 70 percent of her collection for immediate sale. But Paris, which jealously guards its status as fashion's creative capital, said the change was purely commercially driven, with the French Couture Federation claiming that young designers would suffer. Thousands of fashionistas are descending on the French capital for the more than 90 catwalk shows of the twice yearly Women's Fashion Week, which now extends over nine days. Charter Communications CEO Tom Rutledge sees more room for pay TV subscriber growth and expects the regulatory review of the company's planned acquisition of Time Warner Cable to wrap up around May, he told the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday. Charter, in which John Malone's Liberty Media's Liberty Broadband owns a big stake, last year struck a deal to acquire Time Warner Cable after Comcast abandoned its takeover plan amid regulators' opposition. Shareholders of both companies approved the proposed deal in late September. When the two companies announced the deal in late May, they said it was valued at $78.7 billion, including debt. Charter will pay upwards of $55 billion in cash and stock. With Malone setting up Charter as a consolidator in the cable industry, the company also previously agreed to acquire Bright House, the cable operator run by Advance/Newhouse, for $10.4 billion. Read More: Why Cable Companies Are Actually Expecting Subscriber Increases This Year Regulators have been reviewing the deals, and many analysts expect them to approve them with conditions. The FCC could rule in March, based on its informal 180-day-review shot clock, which it has halted several times, according to observers. "I do think that the FCC is working in their shot clock and working to be consistent with their shot clock," which runs for roughly another three weeks, Rutledge told conference participants Tuesday. "We are working with them to pick some of the benefits of the transaction and turn those into favorable social outcomes." He said the company was "reasonably comfortable" to continue that work with federal and state regulators and come to a deal close soon after California ends its review, which is expected to happen in May after a recent decision to possibly accelerate the process. An administrative law judge with the California Public Utilities Commission recently granted a Charter request to forgo a planned hearing and set a final decision target date of May 12. Before that, the timetable had called for a June 10 decision. Story continues The enlarged Charter will be the second-largest U.S. cable operator and the largest in Southern California. It will be the third-largest pay TV company in the U.S. behind Comcast and AT&T-DirecTV. "Fundamentally, we believe in the cable business," Rutledge said in describing the opportunity for the enlarged company. "And we have the opportunity to grow.... Growing customers is the key to our future." Charter recently reported its first full-year pay TV subscriber gain in more than a decade. TW Cable also posted a video sub gain for 2015 after years of declines. "It's been a long process of losing video customers to satellite [which] had a superior digital infrastructure," but the company has focused on improving service and offering better products after deploying a better two-way digital infrastructure, he said. "The results of that...began to manifest in '15 and we expect that will continue on through '16." With about 50 percent of pay TV subs being cable users and the other half having satellite TV in Charter and TW Cable markets, "we have an opportunity to grow" even if the whole market doesn't grow by having a "superior" platform, he said. He added that "we are doing fine at Charter" cable systems and "we think it will continue to accelerate," while the company expects to "be able to get the new assets doing the same thing." With TW Cable infrastructure in particular in good shape, the company expects to be able to put the Charter playbook into action there quickly, Rutledge also said. Asked about the traditional pay TV bundle, Rutledge said there is a "real issue" focused on affordability. He said he would like to package content to offer people most of what they want at reasonable prices. For content companies, it is the key to push all networks into pay TV carriage deals though, so it is harder for them to adjust to such consumer needs, he said. "I don't think the whole thing is going to come apart" in the near future, he said. Discussing Charter's plans for its cash, Rutledge said more acquisitions aren't in focus for him for now, quipping that this was partly due to exhaustion from working toward closing the current two deals. Read More: Charter CEO: John Malone Content Holdings Shouldn't Affect Time Warner Cable Deal Review BEIJING (Reuters) - A court in southern China has jailed 24 people for fraudulently raising nearly 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in one of the country's biggest financial scams, the official Xinhua news agency said. The group was convicted of illegally raising funds during the decade to 2012 from more than 230,000 investors, mainly senior citizens who put in their life savings, it said, citing the court. Guangdong Bangjia Leasing Co set up four firms in the southern province and many branches and subsidiaries across China, luring retail investors to buy memberships and fund nonexistent loans by promising returns of as much as 47 percent. The case spotlights growing risks in a loosely regulated wealth management products industry, which lures millions of unsophisticated retail investors to high-yield products offered by opaque online finance firms and privately run exchanges. In February, authorities arrested 21 officials of Ezubao, once China's biggest peer-to-peer lending platform, which collected $7.6 billion in less than two years from more than 900,000 investors. Ezubao used savvy marketing, authorities said, to fund "a complete Ponzi scheme", that used investor funds to support a lavish lifestyle for company executives. Last year, hundreds of angry investors also hit the streets in Beijing and Shanghai after losing $6 billion from the Fanya Metals Exchange, which offered investment products promising an annual return of up to 14 percent. The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court on Monday sentenced the main suspect in the Guangdong fraud, Jiang Hongwei, to life in prison, while the others received terms ranging from 3 years to 14 years, Xinhua said. The court has frozen and seized their assets, including 127 vehicles and 43 villas, but prosecutors said few victims might get their money back, since Jiang had squandered millions on luxuries, the agency added. Some older investors who lost money in the Guangdong fraud said they were attracted by its fancy branding. "Their grand exhibition occupied six halls," Xinhua quoted one elderly woman from Jiangsu province as saying. "After attending it, I felt assured and decided to invest 700,000 yuan," she added. "It was all the savings my husband and I had." ($1=6.5397 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Shu Zhang and Matthew Miller; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Can China's Economy Navigate Today's Troubled Waters? Why is China important to global markets? With a rapid wave of economic expansion, China emerged as a worlds second-largest economy in 2010 behind the US, after being the fifth largest in 2002. In the last decade, Chinas gross domestic product grew by 10.6%. China became the second-largest importer of goods and services in the world with Thailand, Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil, Japan, the Eurozone, the United Kingdom, and the United States being its main trading partners. According to a report by Oleg Melentyev of Deutsche Bank, 70% of all smartphone sales comes from outside of North America and Europe, while 45% of smartphones are sold in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries. This directly impacts the revenues of tech majors such as Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Alphabet (GOOG). Moreover, social media companies like Facebook (FB) and Twitter (TWTR) generate large advertisement revenues from emerging market countries. Plus, 62% of all international students in the US are coming from China. Most of these goods and services sold internationally do not register as exports from the US as they are assembled, provided, delivered, and booked by non-US subsidiaries of multinational corporations. After the Great Recession Since the Great Recession of 2008, the Chinese economy has been headed south. In 2015, Chinas GDP came in at 6.9%, the lowest in the past decade. Tom Orlik, the author of Understanding Chinas Economic Indicators, wrote in the Wall Street Journal, Chinas GDP data is haunted by controversy, with widespread doubts about its accuracy. The IMF (International Monetary Fund), in its January 2016 update to the World Economic Outlook, has cut its global growth forecast and reported that the world economy would grow at 3.4% in 2016 and 3.6% in 2017, mainly due to Chinese slowdown and falling oil prices. Meanwhile, the IMF forecast Chinas economic growth at 6.3% in 2016 and 6.0% in 2017, which represent sharp slowdowns from 2015. Story continues Stock market volatility The surge in Chinese stocks looks to be driven more by sentiments than by fundamentals. Share valuations are not based on market forces, and margin trading is high. The memories of the stock market crash in June and August 2015 are still fresh in the minds of the investors, which led to the freefall of other major stock markets across the globe. However, Chinas financial market regulators did their part to curb the rout by imposing a ban on initial public offerings (IPOs), restrictions on margin trading, allowing government-managed pension funds to invest in stock markets to inject capital into the market, and banning large shareholders from selling. But these measures proved to be of little help to curb the volatility in stock market. Thus, China-focused mutual funds were adversely impacted, and the Templeton China World Fund Class A (TCWAX) and the Clough China Fund Class A (CHNAX) posted negative returns in 2015. In the next article, we will look at some of the Chinas macroeconomic indicators and how they impact Chinese economy. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: BEIJING (Reuters) - China and Vietnam share a "common destiny", Chinese President Xi Jinping told a visiting Vietnamese envoy, as the two continue to repair ties damaged by their competing claims in the disputed South China Sea. The two communist-led states claims in the South China Sea came to a head in 2014 when Beijing parked an oil rig in waters off the Vietnamese coast, leading to anti-China riots. Since then they have exchanged high-level visits, including a trip by Xi to Hanoi last year. "China and Vietnam share a common destiny, so do the Communist Party of China and the Communist Party of Vietnam," Xi told Hoang Binh Quan, a special envoy of Vietnam's communist party chief Nguyen Phu Trong, state news agency Xinhua said late on Monday. "Developing bilateral ties conforms to the fundamental interests of the two countries and their people," Xi added. Last month, tensions heightened between the two nations over territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea after Taiwan and U.S. officials said Beijing had placed surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island, part of the Paracel archipelago which China controls. Vietnam called China's actions a serious infringement of its sovereignty over the Paracels. Xi also called for the proper handling of differences between the two nations in order for their "comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to develop in a sustained, healthy and steady way". Xi added that China was willing to work with Vietnam to maintain the frequency of high-level visits and to carry on the two countries' important tradition of the party chiefs sending special envoys to communicate with each other. (Reporting by Jessica Macy Yu; Editing by Ben Blanchard and Joseph Radford) Chinese Communist officials will impose "severe" penalties on a property tycoon who criticised overbearing state control of the media to his tens of millions of online followers, the official Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday. Ren Zhiqiang, nicknamed "the Cannon", developed a huge audience -- he had 37 million followers on Sina Weibo alone -- with his provocative opinions and blunt defences of economic inequality. But he has been subjected to a barrage of condemnation in state-run outlets since he questioned whether public money should be spent on party propaganda following visits by President Xi Jinping to three major official media outlets. Ren is himself a member of the ruling party but his Chinese social media accounts have been closed and Xinhua cited a circular from a Beijing party committee as saying he will be strictly punished and receive severe internal penalties. The tycoon "has been releasing illegal information and making inappropriate comments online", Xinhua quoted the document as saying, "resulting in a vile influence and damage to the party image". The announcement followed Beijing's closure of Ren's Sina and Tencent microblog accounts for "spreading illegal information". The Cyberspace Administration of China said that its actions followed reports that the accounts had exerted a "vile influence". China has criminalised certain types of online comments, including those that contain "rumours", a broad term that could include criticism of the ruling party. Last week, Ren was the target of twin columns in the state-affiliated news portal Qianlong. One of the Qianlong articles -- headlined "Who gave Ren the confidence to oppose the Party" -- accused the businessman of making capitalist arguments and pursuing Western constitutionalism. The other castigated him for failing to defend the interests of the party of which he is a member. Story continues "When did the people's government change into the party's government?" Qianlong quoted Ren's since-deleted post as saying. "Is their money the party's? ... Don't use taxpayers' money for things that don't provide them with services." China's Communist party tolerates no opposition to its rule and newspapers, websites, and broadcast media are strictly controlled. An army of censors patrols social media and many Western news websites are blocked. Ren has previously drawn flak for calling state-run broadcaster CCTV "the dumbest pig on earth" and for his blunt statements defending the high prices of real estate, once angering an audience member so much that they threw a shoe at him. He retired from his Beijing-based property company in 2014. Its always risky to speak with too much certainty about former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons prospects for the Democratic presidential nomination, but her devastating defeat of Sen. Bernie Sanders in South Carolina last weekend appears to have put her on track for a near sweep of Tuesdays dozen Democratic primary contests throughout the country. Her dominance over the Vermont democratic socialist among black, female, middle-aged and older voters in the Palmetto State points to a repeat performance in a handful of Southern and Southwestern states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Texas the cherry on top of the electoral sundae, with 222 delegates at stake. Related: After Shellacking in South Carolina, Sanders Looks to Pick up the Pieces Sanders may pick up important support from Hispanics, especially younger people and college students enamored of his talk of political and economic revolution and promise of free college tuition and Medicare for all. But Clintons campaign insists that the former senator and first lady did better among Hispanics in Nevada than network entrance polls suggest. And if she can come close to replicating her five-to-one margin of victory among African Americans in South Carolina, many of the southern races will be a blow out for Clinton on Tuesday. Sanders, the darling of progressive Democrats who put a scare into Clintons campaign with narrow losses to her in Iowa and Nevada and a big win in New Hampshire, has lost momentum. He is now struggling to slow Clintons march to the magic number of 2,382 delegates needed to lock up the nomination. Not surprisingly, he holds a huge lead over Clinton going into the primary in his home state of Vermont. But it is a surprise that he is trailing her in Massachusetts, where he was expected to do very well, by eight percentage points in the latest poll. And Clinton leads in Minnesota, which at one time was thought to be another Sanders stronghold. Story continues Clinton and Sanders will be competing in 12 contests 11 states and American Samoa -- with 865 delegates up for grabs, or roughly 20 percent of the total. A candidate needs to amass at least 2,382 of the 4,763 delegates to the national convention in Philadelphia this summer to claim the nomination. Related: Clinton Is Under Mounting Pressure to Release Her Wall Street Speeches Currently, Clinton leads Sanders 544 to 85 in the unofficial delegate count, although Clinton has far more super-delegates or party officials currently backing her. Martin Matishak contribute to this report. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: This is the first UK company to launch a period policy offering women time off when theyre suffering from bad cramps. [Photo: SWNS] All women know how awful it is being at work when crippled with excruciating period pains. But in a first, one UK company is road-testing a new initiative that could make those few days each month a little more bearable. The company, a social media community group called Coexist, will create period leave for women who really suffer during that time of the month. Although, how director Bex Baxter will decide who is actually in pain and who just fancies a few days off binge-watching The Good Wife has not been confirmed. And how the seven men in the company of 31 staff feel about it could be another issue. Baxter says the idea behind the leave is to change the stigma around womens issues. And she hopes it will improve workplace productivity. I have managed many female members of staff over the years and I have seen women at work who are bent over double because of the pain caused by their periods, says Baxter. Despite this, they feel they cannot go home because they do not class themselves as unwell. And this is unfair. At Coexist we are very understanding. If someone is in pain - no matter what kind - they are encouraged to go home. But, for us, we wanted a policy in place which recognises and allows women to take time for their bodys natural cycle without putting this under the label of illness. Is it fair on men to offer women time off when theyre suffering from period pains? [Photo: SWNS] Its a cause close to Baxters heart, as the 40-year-old suffers bad cramps herself each month. There is a misconception that taking time off makes a business unproductive - actually it is about synchronising work with the natural cycles of the body, she explains. For women, one of these is their menstrual cycles. Naturally, when women are having their periods they are in a winter state, when they need to regroup, keep warm and nourish their bodies. The spring section of the cycle, immediately after a period is a time when women are actually three times as productive as usual. Story continues This may be the first time a UK company has tried out period leave, but its not a new thing. Women in Japan have been having time off when theyre on their period for over 50 years and other countries including South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia also have laws in place allowing women time off work when theyre due. Most recently, the Chinese province Anhui has agreed to give women paid monthly leave if they produce a doctors letter. And sportswear giant Nike is thought to be the only worldwide company to officially include menstrual leave as part of their Code of Conduct. Picture Of A Mum Breastfeeding At A Wedding Goes Viral Mum Blogger Pens Brutally Honest Post About Realities Of Breastfeeding In the days after the attacks of Sept. 11, law enforcement and national security agencies brought Congress a lengthy list of new surveillance powers they wanted. Most ended up quickly becoming law as part of the Patriot Act. But a request to ban strong computer codes, or encryption technology, was left out completely. It was hardly the first time -- or the last -- that Congress shot down legislation to ban or regulate encryption. And that's likely why Apple (AAPL) has been fighting to shift its court battles with the FBI and federal prosecutors to the broader legislative arena in Congress. While presidents and the executive branch often side with law enforcers, courts have been less predictable -- and more importantly, Congress has continuously and repeatedly sided with tech companies. On Tuesday, Apple's top lawyer faces off against FBI Director James Comey before the House Judiciary Committee. The hearing is likely to get a lot more attention than a similar one last April, or the dozens and dozens in various House and Senate committees on encryption over the past two decades. But the outcome will still likely be the same -- no new restrictions. The reason is that laws to weaken encryption so the FBI can crack criminals' hidden data also put at risk the digital data and online transactions of hundreds of millions of ordinary citizens. And many industries -- from technology equipment and telecommunications carriers to banking and retailing -- deeply rely on strong encryption. That has created a formidable array of lobbyists and campaigners to make the case that strong encryption is a source of economic strength. And as Tuesday's hearing unfolded, the FBI director faced hostile questioning from most of the members who spoke, a rare show of unity among Democrats and Republicans on a commitee that is usually deeply split on partisan issues. In the case of deceased San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook, the FBI is demanding that Apple write a special, new version of its software to remove several security features from an iPhone used by Farook. That would allow the FBI to guess Farook's passcode and unlock the phone. The FBI said it only wanted the software for that one iPhone but Apple protested that the software, once created, could be requested again and again and eventually even mimicked by hackers. It was quickly revealed that federal prosecutors were seeking to have more iPhones unlocked and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who is also testifying at Tuesday's hearing, said he had 175 phones he wanted unlocked if the new software is created. Managing the spread of encryption Still, no one has yet come up with a scheme to give access to encrypted data just to law enforcers in a way that doesn't compromise security for all, says Chris Calabrese, vice president for policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology, a nonprofit advocacy group in Washington, D.C. "Our economy runs on encryption," says Calabrese. "Anything that attacks that is really an attack on the entire Internet economy, which is really an attack on the entire American economy." Apple's general counsel, Bruce Sewell, plans to make a similar point in his testimony on Tuesday. "Every day, over a trillion transactions occur safely over the Internet as a result of encrypted communications," the Apple lawyer said in his opening remarks at the hearing. "These range from online banking and credit card transactions to the exchange of healthcare records, ideas that will change the world for the better, and communications between loved ones." The current debate echoes numerous previous disputes over the spread of encryption, starting with the Clinton administration's 1993 plan for the Clipper Chip, an encryption system that could go in every phone or computer with a special backdoor "key" that the government could use to decode all communications. The scheme was quickly attacked by a wide variety of industries and civil liberties proponents and eventually dropped. In 1994, Congress did pass the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which required telephone companies to assist in legal wiretapping by decoding communications. But lawmakers rejected requests to extend the decrypting obligation to other kinds of companies and other kinds of communications, going so far as to carve out an exemption barring the government from requiring backdoors in computer equipment. On multiple occasions over the ensuing years, law enforcement agencies tried to convince lawmakers to modify CALEA to encompass smartphones, computers and other tools of communication in the Internet age. But each time, Congress refused to budge. That lack of action on Monday helped Apple earn its first win in court battle against the FBI. Judge James Orenstein ruled that Apple could not be compelled to extract data from the iPhone of an admitted drug dealer, in part because Congress had added the exemption to CALEA in 1994 and then repeatedly declined to change its mind. Noting that Congress had considered multiple times whether to "confer or withhold the kind of authority at issue here to compel private actors to assist the government in technologically complex investigations," Orenstein concluded that "what the government seeks here is to have the court give it authority that Congress chose not to confer." Read more: New York judge rules in favor of Apple in earlier locked iPhone case Apple could lock governments out of future iPhones Do all Republican presidential contenders hate Apple? Some prominent movement conservatives have declared that they wont support Donald Trump even if he wins the Republican nomination. The law professor and talk-radio host Hugh Hewitt, though, says he will support the populist businessman if he makes it to the general election. In doing so, he has become one of the most prominent right-leaning intellectuals to formulate a case that conservatives should prefer Trump to Hillary Clinton. And the case that he makes is strikingly, tellingly weak. If Trump is the nominee, Hewitt declared Monday, I will support him for six reasons.As it turns out, the first three of those six reasons are judicial appointments: The first three are the existing and probable two additional Supreme Court nominations he will get to make. Judges Diane Sykes and Bill Pryor are two fine judges that Trump has mentioned as possible nominees and he made the right commitment on religious liberty to me on stage Thursday night. He wont screw these up. More precisely, it is a lock that Clinton would screw them up and at least a fighting chance he wouldnt. Here are the other three reasons Hewitt offers: Fourth, Trumps an honest-to-God builder and he will rebuild the Navy, which must be done. Soon. Fifth, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will at least think twice before crossing him. And, finally, sixth: Donalds daughter and Svengali Ivanka is a smart, smart, smart lady with an extraordinary intellect and influence on her father. We get the GOPs own Valerie Jarrett, only this one with a sense of Americas role in the world and the same resolve to succeed as Jarrett possesses. Nick Gillespie of Reason writes, These strike me as incredibly piss-poor reasons to support anyone for any office, much less Trump for president. On the whole, I'd call most of Hewitts case laughable, and I cant imagine that it will persuade many conservatives, whether or not they end up voting for the Republican nominee in 2016. Story continues Recommended: Live Coverage of the Super Tuesday Primary Elections Lets consider the arguments in reverse order. From what little I can gather from TV, I think well of Ivanka Trump. But the notion that she is among the four-best arguments for electing her father is a testament to his unsuitability. Having a child who seems sensible is not a qualification for the presidency. Implicit in the notion that shell exercise influence on her father is the assumption that his instincts are so flawed he needs a counterweight. And every candidate will have access to advisors who are more knowledgeable, experienced, and tested than Ivanka in every area pertaining to the office. The notion that Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will think twice before crossing Trump is nonsense too. Foreign dictators do not see a man firing Latoya Jackson on NBC or calling Jeb Bush low-energy and think to themselves, Oh, this man is tough. They see a media-hound national-security novice who never served in the military, settled fights with lawsuits rather than fists, knows relatively little about geopolitics, is regularly blinded by his own ego, and has a strange affinity for strongmen. Trump is an unknown quantity whom theyll be incentivized to test for weaknesses. The assertion that Trump is an honest-to-God builder and he will rebuild the Navy is a sound bite, not an argument. It elides the fact that Trump sells his name to builders more than he builds, and that we have no idea whether what he has built is of high quality. And why would a background as a commercial builder help Trump to have more success than a former senator and secretary of state getting Navy ships through the appropriations, procurement, and delivery processes? I like to imagine Trump in the Oval Office suggesting to a horrified Chairman of the Joint Chiefs that the new aircraft carrier be outfitted with marble decks. Were going to have the classiest NavyVladimir isnt going to believe the quality. Recommended: Clarence Thomas Breaks His Silence That leaves the matter of judges. I agree that Hewitt is unlikely to support any Democratic presidents judicial appointments. But I am skeptical that Trump will appoint judges who advance conservative ends. At the Volokh Conspiracy, Ilya Somin points out that Donald Trump has almost no record on most constitutional issues, but he does have an extensive and consistent record on two important constitutional issues: freedom of speech and property rights. Somin calls that record deeply troubling. Somins skepticism is well-founded. Recommended: Why Liberals Should Vote for Marco Rubio Donald Trump has no attachment to any conservative or libertarian judicial principles. And after his divorces, bankruptcies, flip-flops, and documented lies, its absurd for Hewitt to cite a debate stage answer as evidence of Trumps commitment on religious liberty. Does Hewitt think Trump is a man who honors his commitments? On religious liberty, Trumps rhetoric suggests that he is more likely to set precedents violating it with Muslims as his target than to protect it for all religious people. Overall, Trump would choose jurists who serve his own interests. That may mean appointing people who take the broadest possible view of executive authority, in keeping with a candidate who praises Vladimir Putin and the approach taken by Chinas leaders in Tiananmen Square. Trump may pick a judge who is regarded as tough on immigration to solidify his credibility on that issue with his base of supporters. He may use his nominations as a bargaining chip to get domestic legislation passed, perhaps giving Democrats a pro-choice nominee. And its impossible to believe hell adhere to the originalism that movement conservatives purport to want when he has never in his life seemed to care at all about it. All we can know for sure is how poorly Trump seems to understand the judiciary. At Red State, Leon Wolf expressed alarm at the candidates apparent belief that judges sign bills. Here's what he said in a recent debate: Now, Teds been very critical, I have a sister, who is a brilliant, [crosstalk] excuse me, shes a brilliant judge. Hes been criticizing hes been criticizing my sister for signing a certain bill. You know who else signed that bill? Justice Samuel Alito, a very conservative member of the Supreme Court, with my sister signed that bill. So, I think that maybe we should get a little bit of an apology from Ted, what do you think? Heres what he said after that debate when asked how he would avoid nominating another jurist like John Roberts, who Trump regards as a terrible mistake: I would wanna see scholars, but I think more than my asking, I would go on references of other people that I respect. Because that is not necessarily my world. Im very much into the world of legal and legality. But, that is not my world, so I would go to people that I have great respect for and say, Who do you recommend? Theres no telling what Trump would doand he could nominate someone totally unqualified, especially when one considers federal judicial appointments as a whole. Do we really want to risk him giving his cronies a bunch of lifetime appointments? Hewitt is a smart man. In most circumstances, given his beliefs, he should absolutely vote against Hillary Clinton. The fact that the case he makes is so laughably weak when he tries to justify voting Trump over Clinton bodes ill for Trump and his supporters. Any movement conservative who joins them has a lot of intellectual embarrassment ahead, for there is no credible way to reconcile Trump with conservative policy, principles, values, or temperament. Related Videos Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. ZAGREB (Reuters) - Croatia might deploy its armed forces to help police control migrant flows in response to the refugee crisis, Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic said on Tuesday. "If it becomes necessary to use the army, we will activate that option. It would be an assistance in easing procedure," Oreskovic told a news conference in Berlin after meeting German chancellor Angela Merkel. Neighbouring Slovenia approved such a move last month after amending existing laws [nL8N1614MA]. Croatia would have to follow a similar process to do likewise. Oreskovic said Croatia favoured a European Union-wide solution to the migrant crisis. Since last September more than 650,000 migrants have passed through Croatia towards western Europe, primarily Germany, but border restrictions imposed by countries along the Balkan route have led to a build-up of new arrivals in Greece. (Reporting by Igor Ilic; editing by John Stonestreet) ZAGREB (Reuters) - Croatia might deploy its armed forces to help police control migrant flows in response to the refugee crisis, Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic said on Tuesday. "If it becomes necessary to use the army, we will activate that option. It would be an assistance in easing procedure," Oreskovic told a news conference in Berlin after meeting German chancellor Angela Merkel. Neighboring Slovenia approved such a move last month after amending existing laws. Croatia would have to follow a similar process to do likewise. Oreskovic said Croatia favored a European Union-wide solution to the migrant crisis. Since last September more than 650,000 migrants have passed through Croatia towards western Europe, primarily Germany, but border restrictions imposed by countries along the Balkan route have led to a build-up of new arrivals in Greece. (Reporting by Igor Ilic; editing by John Stonestreet) On this day in 1781, the Articles of Confederation, our first constitution, became the official law of the land. It didnt last a decade, for some obvious reasons. Back on November 15, 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the document, after a year of debates. The British capture of Philadelphia also forced the issue. The Articles formed a war-time confederation of states, with an extremely limited central government. The document made official some of the procedures used by the Congress to conduct business, but many of the delegates realized the Articles had limitations. Two days later, Congress submitted the Articles to the states for immediate consideration. It took until March 1, 1781, for this immediate consideration to become final. Here is a quick list of the problems that occurred, and how these issues led to our current Constitution. 1. The states didnt act immediately. It took until February 1779 for 12 states to approve the document. Maryland held out until March 1781, after it settled a land argument with Virginia. 2. The central government was designed to be very, very weak. The Articles established the United States of America was a perpetual union formed to defend the states as a group, but it provided few central powers beyond that. But it didnt have an executive official or judicial branch. 3. The Articles Congress only had one chamber and each state had one vote. This reinforced the power of the states to operate independently from the central government, even when that wasnt in the nations best interests. 4. Congress needed 9 of 13 states to pass any laws. Requiring this high supermajority made it very difficult to pass any legislation that would affect all 13 states. 5. The document was practically impossible to amend. The Articles required unanimous consent to any amendment, so all 13 states would need to agree on a change. Given the rivalries between the states, that rule made the Articles impossible to adapt after the war ended with Britain in 1783. Story continues 6. The central government couldnt collect taxes to fund its operations. The Confederation relied of the voluntary efforts of the states to send tax money to the central government. Lacking funds, the central government couldnt maintain an effective military or back its own paper currency. 7. States were able to conduct their own foreign policies. Technically, that role fell to the central government, but the Confederation government didnt have the physical ability to enforce that power, since it lacked domestic and international powers and standing. 8. States had their own money systems. There wasnt a common currency in the Confederation era. The central government and the states each had separate money, which made trade between the states, and other countries, extremely difficult. 9. The Confederation government couldnt help settle Revolutionary War-era debts. The central government and the states owed huge debts to European countries and investors. Without the power to tax, and with no power to make trade between the states and other countries viable, the United States was in an economic mess by 1787. 10. Shays rebellion the final straw. A tax protest by western Massachusetts farmers in 1786 and 1787 showed the central government couldnt put down an internal rebellion. It had to rely on a state militia sponsored by private Boston business people. With no money, the central government couldnt act to protect the perpetual union. These events alarmed Founders like George Washington, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton to the point where delegates from five states met at Annapolis, Maryland in September 1786 to discuss changing the Articles of Confederation. The group included Madison, Hamilton and John Dickinson, and it recommended that a meeting of all 13 states be held the following May in Philadelphia. The Confederation Congress agreed and the Constitutional Convention of 1787 effectively ended the era of the Articles of Confederation. By Jonathan Landay and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the months before he was killed in a U.S. raid, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden made plans for a major media blitz to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The planning was revealed in documents seized in the May 2, 2011, assault on bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan and reviewed by Reuters. In the documents released on Tuesday, bin Laden and other senior al Qaeda leaders discussed names of media outlets, including al Jazeera, CBS and British and Arabic journalists, that could be offered material. "It is obvious to you that the coming anniversary of the two Manhattan attacks is the tenth anniversary and this event has great importance," read an unsigned, undated letter that U.S. intelligence officials believe bin Laden authored. "Therefore care must be given to it and preparation should be given to it." Al Qaeda shouldn't rely on a single media source "to benefit from that event" and to "deliver our message to Muslims...and incite their souls," the author continued in the letter to an adviser, Atiyah Abdul Rahman. A senior U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the document and other materials as examples of bin Laden "thinking out loud. He did a lot of that." In the letter, bin Laden recommended that al Jazeera, the Qatar-based news network, be told that al Qaeda was "ready to cooperate with them in the area of coverage for the tenth anniversary of September 11." "We look for an American channel that is close to neutrality and professionalism, such as CBS, for example," he continued, adding that the network be sent material "that we want delivered to the American people." He also urged that contact be made with Robert Fisk, a correspondent with Britain's Independent newspaper, and Abdul Bari Atwan, then the editor of the London-based newspaper, Al Quds Al Arabi, who interviewed bin Laden in 1996 in Afghanistan. Story continues "Tell them that the 10th anniversary of September 11 is near and that it is the summation of ten years of severe warfare between the mujahidin and the United States," bin Laden wrote. "As they are hoisting the banner of opposing opinions, this is an opportunity for us to explain our motivations for the continuation of this war." The two journalists should be informed that al Qaeda had a plan for them to "prepare a documentary on the tenth anniversary and we will provide them with written, audio and video information," bin Laden said. It was unclear if al Qaeda ever followed through with elements of its plan. Atwan told Reuters he was surprised to learn he was mentioned in the documents and was unsure of their authenticity. CBS and Al Jazeera did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fisk could not immediately be reached for comment. Another, unsigned document suggested that bin Laden kept an eye on his organization's media material. Writing to an associate named Hajj Uthman, the author -- who U.S. intelligence officials also believe was bin Laden -- made recommendations for the production of the network's "media products," including not publishing "pictures of prisoners after they were beheaded." Al Qaeda commanders should improve their selection of verbiage, media producers should avoid exaggerations, pictures shouldn't be doctored and no materials should mention suicide bombers who balked after arriving at their targets, he added. (Additional reporting by Idrees Ali; editing by Stuart Grudgings) Lima (AFP) - Fresh off his Oscar win, Leonardo DiCaprio on Monday took to social media to press Peru's authorities over oil spills sullying indigenous towns in the Amazon basin region. "3,000 barrels of oil spilled in the Amazon! Act now for indigenous communities & our climate," DiCaprio tweeted, the day after winning best actor honors for his role in survival epic "The Revenant." The tweet linked to a statement from the nonprofit organization Amazon Watch, which said: "At least two devastating oil spills have occurred in the Peruvian Amazon in the last month spilling thousands of barrels of oil into Amazonian rivers. "Peru's national oil company is responsible, yet has been unconscionably slow in responding to the disaster and providing clean water, food, and necessary health services to affected indigenous communities." The spills are serious concerns because most communities drink from the river, and fish in it. The statement from Amazon Watch calls for a campaign to demand action from the Peruvian government. Lima had declared a state of emergency in 16 Amazon rainforest communities on Sunday due to oil spills in the northeastern Loreto region. The measure, announced in the official gazette, lasts for 60 days and comes more than a month after a spill was reported in Imaza district, which has a population of 23,000. A second spill was reported on February 3 in Morona district, home to 9,000 people. Residents of both districts are overwhelmingly indigenous people. The spills were on sections of the Northern Peruvian Oil Pipeline, which moves crude from the jungle over the Andes mountains to refineries through a lengthy route on the northern Peruvian coast. Built in the 1970s, the pipeline is operated by state oil concern PetroPeru. In early February, President Ollanta Humala's government declared a health emergency in the region because the oil had polluted the rivers that provide drinking water to the affected districts. They say game recognize game, so perhaps its no surprise that bigots are coming out of the woodwork to praise Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. Just days after notorious former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke called on his radio audience to support Donald Trump out of duty to the white race, the billionaire got a shout-out from somebody on the other end of the spectrum: Nation of Islam leader and notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan. Farrakhan said during his annual Saviours Day sermon on Feb. 28: Have you noticed that theres civil war brewing in the Republican Party? They dont want Trump at all. Let me just say why I think theyre all on Mr. Trump. They have decided he must never become president. Why? What has he done? Well, one of the things that hes done is told them Im a billionaire. And hes only man probably in the last 100 years that stood in front of some of the members of the Jewish community and told them to their face, I dont want your money. Any time a man can say to those who control the politics of America, I dont want your money, that means if I dont take your money, you cant control me. And they cannot afford to give up control of the presidents of the United States. Related: If Trump Prevails, Conservatives Could Rip the GOP Apart Farrakhan, however, stopped short of an explicit endorsement of the billionaire, saying, Not that Im for Mr. Trump, but I like what Im looking at. While Trump has had some awkward moments with members of the Jewish faith, suggesting that he shares Dukes and Farrakhans hatred for Jews seems a bit of a stretch. For example, his daughter Ivanka married an Orthodox Jew, converted to the faith herself and is raising Trumps grandchildren as Jewish. Trump also regularly praises his Jewish son-in-law, Jared Kushner, for his intelligence and business acumen. Still, the former reality television star ignited a firestorm on Sunday when he declined to disavow Duke and the KKK, whose anti-Semitism rivals Farrakhans, in a CNN interview. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Marcus Rashford's astonishing start in senior football has given Manchester United a significant lift at a key stage of a trying season, ahead of Watford's visit on Wednesday. The 18-year-old striker has impressed in United's junior sides this season, scoring three times at Under-19 level and also finding the net regularly for the Under-21 team. His breakthrough into the senior side, though, has surprised even the most optimistic of United supporters, with four goals in his first two games. Having struck twice in a Europa League win over FC Midtjylland last Thursday, Rashford followed that up with two more in Sunday's 3-2 Premier League victory over Arsenal. Manager Louis van Gaal is wary of asking the Manchester-born forward to take on too much responsibility too soon, but leaving him out against Watford may well prove impossible. Even so, Van Gaal is urging caution. "We have to wait and see with Marcus," he said. "He has only played two matches. It is about consistency. He has to show it in the third and the fourth and the fifth game. "But what he has shown in the second match is already an improvement on the first and that is special." Rashford is not the only young player to break into the United side in recent weeks. Defenders Donald Love, Regan Poole and Timothy Fosu-Mensah have also been given debuts since the beginning of February, as have midfielders James Weir and Joe Riley. To a certain degree, Van Gaal's hand has been forced by a long injury list. Rashford was only given a chance because of a hamstring injury to Anthony Martial, with United short of options in attack as Wayne Rooney recovers from the knee injury that is set to keep him out until April. - 'Inside the manager's head' - Fosu-Mensah, meanwhile, was thrown on against Arsenal after Marcos Rojo injured his ankle, joining a casualty list that includes Matteo Darmian, Ashley Young, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Marouane Fellaini, among others. Story continues The emergence of so many youngsters, though, has cheered up United supporters who have had little else to shout about this season. It perhaps helps that they have come through at a time when their team has started winning again. The victory over Arsenal was their third in a row in all competitions and has reignited hopes of qualification for next season's Champions League. United lie fifth, three points behind fourth-place Manchester City. Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores is hoping to take advantage of United's gruelling schedule of six games in 19 days, as well as the club's lengthy injury list. "Sometimes when we plan for the match it's like we always need to be inside of the manager's head on the other team," he said. "I don't know exactly how Van Gaal is thinking about the next match or what his focus will be. They have a lot of targets in this moment and play a lot of matches. For us it is an opportunity to have points. "We know we are very competitive and we can go every single step to win. Now we have 37 points and we are happy." The weekend 0-0 draw with Bournemouth left Watford comfortable in 10th place and effectively ended any lingering fears that they may get dragged down the table. Flores may take advantage by resting Etienne Capoue after the midfielder was withdrawn against Bournemouth. "Capoue is a very important player for us," the Spaniard said. "He has played a lot of minutes this season. I felt he might be a bit tired. I felt he was not clear in the mind, he was not normal, but it is possible when a player plays a lot he is a bit tired." Washington (AFP) - NATO's top commander General Philip Breedlove warned Tuesday of a dramatic uptick in attacks along the frontlines of eastern Ukraine, including sniper activity and shelling. Breedlove, who also heads the US military's Europe Command, spoke to lawmakers and reporters in Washington to warn of the increase in violence in Ukraine's Donbass region and of Russia's generally aggressive stance. "In the last week, (there were) over 450 attacks along the line of contact," Breedlove said after speaking to the US ambassador in Ukraine. "There are several disturbing trends in those attacks, and that is that some of them are now happening in places that were heretofore quiet ... and also that the type and style of the attacks reflect the weapons that were (previously) banned." The four-star general added that Russia had put "well above" 1,000 pieces of military hardware into Ukraine in the past year including armored personnel carriers and artillery. Breedlove's remarks came the same day as three Ukrainian soldiers were reported killed and two wounded when their car hit a mine in the former Soviet republic's pro-Russian separatist east. A military spokesman in Kiev said another three government troops were wounded in separate exchanges of fire near the front separating rebel-run parts of the industrial Lugansk and Donetsk regions from the rest of Ukraine. By Ehab Farouk CAIRO (Reuters) - Pioneers Holding, one of Egypt's largest financial services firms, expects to complete a 2 billion Egyptian pound ($255 million) initial share offering of property developer Rooya Group in the second half of this year. "We will depend on foreign and Arab investors," Pioneers Chief Executive Walid Zaki told Reuters in an interview, adding requests from abroad had already started coming in. Pioneers, which also invests in real estate, industry and financial services, acquired 60 percent of Rooya's shares in March 2015 for 1.2 billion pounds. Rooya has a real estate portfolio of about 9 million square metres, with 6 million of that currently under development. Zaki said Pioneers was looking into the acquisition of two other companies in the real estate and food sectors worth around 1 billion pounds combined. The company posted a 97.5 percent jump in profit in the first nine months of 2015 to 400 million pounds. The total value of the company's acquisitions since 2011 will reach 4.5 billion Egyptian pounds in March, Zaki said. Despite the strong results, Pioneers has not distributed cash dividends to its shareholders in recent years. "We will discuss dividends with the shareholders after we complete the Rooya listing and the deals planned for this year," said Zaki. ($1 = 7.8300 Egyptian pounds) (Writing by Amina Ismail; Editing by Ahmed Aboulenein and Mark Potter) BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Some migrants can be told where they must live in the European Union as long as the reason is to help them integrate into society, the EU's top court ruled on Tuesday. The ruling applied to migrants granted so-called subsidiary protection - not qualifying as refugees but in need of international protection - and may as a result apply more broadly to all those granted asylum. The European Court of Justice said that in general migrants with protected status should be allowed to move freely and choose their place of residence. The local authorities could not, as some had sought, set a residence condition in order to ensure a balanced distribution of the costs of social benefits. But the court said EU law did not prevent a residence condition for the purpose of promoting integration, even if that condition does not apply to other non-EU citizens. The case was brought by a German court looking into disputes between two local authorities in northern Germany and two Syrian nationals who arrived in Germany in 1998 and 2001. Both were granted protected status, received social security benefits and were issued with a residence permit subject to the condition that they lived in a particular place, a condition the two challenged. The EU court said it was for the German court to determine whether people faced greater difficulties integrating than other non-EU citizens residents receiving social benefits. In 2015, the EU's 28 countries granted asylum in 252,230 cases, of which nearly three-quarters were deemed to be refugees and the remainder given humanitarian or subsidiary protection status, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. Refugees are those fleeing persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Others fleeing conflict in general or natural catastrophes may also qualify for protection while not considered as refugees. (Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) By Stephanie Nebehay and Gabriela Baczynska GENEVA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The build-up of thousands of migrants and refugees on Greece's northern borders is fast turning into a humanitarian disaster, the United Nations said on Tuesday as the European Union prepared to offer more financial aid. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said clashes at Greece's border with Macedonia on Monday - when migrants battered down a gate and were tear-gassed - simply underlined the urgency with which the EU needed to act on the crisis. But Austria - which last month limited the number of migrants it lets through to 3,200 a day - stuck to its position that it did not want to become an overcrowded waiting room for thousands wanting to make it further north. Croatia, which is also on what is now the well-trodden migrants route northwards from Greece, said it might deploy its armed forces to help police control flows. But near Idomeni, on the Greek-Macedonian border itself, a tent city mushroomed, prompting some despair among those trapped there. "Macedonian police put us here, the Greeks don't want us back," Yase Qued, a 16-year-old from Afghanistan, told Reuters. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) called for better planning and accommodation for at least 24,000 it said were stuck in Greece, including 8,500 at Idomeni. "Europe is on the cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis," U.N. refugee agency spokesman Adrian Edwards told a news briefing. "The crowded conditions are leading to shortages of food, shelter, water and sanitation. As we all saw yesterday, tensions have been building, fuelling violence and playing into the hands of people smugglers," he said. Migrants have become stranded in Greece since Austria and other countries along the Balkans migration corridor imposed restrictions on their borders, limiting the numbers able to cross. Police chiefs from Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia, meeting in Belgrade, agreed to improve the system of joint registration of refugees to unblock gridlocks in Greece. The burgeoning crisis adds to last year's chaos when more than a million migrants and refugees arrived in the EU, many fleeing the war in Syria and walking from Turkey northwards. Around 131,000 have reached the continent so far in 2016. CRISIS AID The European Commission, the EU executive, said it would float a plan on Wednesday to offer emergency financial aid for humanitarian crises inside the 28-nation bloc - comparable with operations it has launched elsewhere in the world. Officials said the Commission plan would allocate 300 million euros ($325 million) this year to helping any EU state, not only Greece, deal with such crises, and 700 million in all over the three years to the end of 2018. The Greek government said it had asked the Commission for 480 million euros worth of assistance, including ambulances, blankets and personnel to help with 100,000 asylum seekers. Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker spoke to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and European Council President Donald Tusk was on a visit to Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey. Tusk's tour comes ahead of a special European Union summit on the crisis next Monday. Germany's Merkel said television pictures of migrants desperate to make their way into western Europe via the Balkans drove home the urgency of the summit. "The pictures show us clearly every day that there is a need for talks," she said after meeting Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic in Berlin. "We also naturally need to deal with the very difficult situation in Greece and see how we can fulfil what the (European) Commission demanded from us, namely to end the politics of waving people through and to return to the Schengen system as soon as possible and to the greatest possible extent." The difficulty of reaching agreement on an issue which goes to the heart of public fears for security and safety in many countries was underlined by Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, who honed in on comments from German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere that suggested he thought Austria might wave through too many migrants. "What is not acceptable is to say that they should definitely come and then the interior minister says he is against waving people through (to Germany)," Faymann told a news conference after a weekly cabinet meeting. "Then how should they go to Germany?" The UNHCR, meanwhile, urged all EU member states to reinforce their capacity to register and process asylum seekers through their national procedures as well as through an EU relocation scheme. "Greece cannot manage this situation alone," Edwards said. Despite commitments to relocate 66,400 refugees from Greece, EU member states have so far pledged just 1,539 spaces and only 325 people actually have been relocated, he added. (Additional reporting by Lefteris Papadimas in Idomeni, Francois Murphy in Vienna, Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade, Paul Carrel in Berlin and Alastair Macdonald in Brussels; Writing by Jeremy Gaunt; Editing by Mark Heinrich) TBILISI (Reuters) - The Council of Europe told Georgia on Tuesday to improve its anti-discrimination policies and legislation, saying it was worried by an increase in cases of hate speech and violence against religious and sexual minority groups. The criticism from the pan-European human rights body comes at a sensitive time for Georgia as it seeks to move closer to NATO and the European Union following Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. "Despite certain progress achieved by Georgia on anti-discrimination policies and legislation, hate speech and violence against some ethnic and religious minorities, as well as LGBT persons have increased over the past years, and the authorities' response has not been sufficient," Christian Ahlund of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance said in a report. The ECRI welcomed positive developments such as amendments to the criminal code making racist motivation an aggravating circumstance, the passage of a law on eliminating all forms of discrimination and the adoption of a national human rights strategy. "However, not all sorts of manifestations of and support for racism are criminalised in Georgia, and there is no legislation to suppress the public financing of, or to ban or dissolve, racist political parties or organisations," the report said. "The authorities' response has not been adequate and there is not an effective system for monitoring hate speech." According to the report there is "a general homo- and transphobic climate in Georgian society and LGBT groups were attacked repeatedly". Authorities have also failed to enforce the law to safeguard the rights of religious minorities in several cases, it said. The Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, France, promotes human rights and democracy in Europe and has 47 member states. (Reporting by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Hugh Lawson) Paris (AFP) - Former Guantanamo prison chief Geoffrey Miller failed to appear Tuesday before a French court despite a summons over accusations of torture by two ex-detainees, lawyers said. Nizar Sassi and Mourad Benchellali, both French citizens, were arrested by US forces in Afghanistan before being transferred to the notorious prison set up in Guantanamo Bay to hold terror suspects after the 9/11 attacks. They were held there from the end of 2001 until 2004 and 2005 respectively, before being sent home. A French probe into their case began after they filed a complaint in court. Miller's no-show is "a dual act of contempt against the French judiciary; he both refused to appear and to provide any explanation about his role and that of the US administration," the detainees' lawyer William Bourdon said. "There is practically no hope of any real legal proceedings taking place in France -- that is with American military officers present," said Philippe Meilhac, lawyer of ex-Guantanamo detainee Khaled Ben Mustapha. Despite promises by US President Barack Obama to close the prison, which is located in Cuba's Guantanamo Bay -- an area on the east of the island under US control since a treaty signed in 1903 -- it remains open and still houses detainees without charge. In an expert report submitted to a French judge last year, lawyers for Sassi and Benchellali accused Miller of "an authorised and systematic plan of torture and ill-treatment on persons deprived of their freedom without any charge and without the basic rights of any detainee." Miller, who was commander of the prison from 2002 to 2004 and is now retired, "bears individual criminal responsibility for the war crimes and acts of torture inflicted on detainees in US custody at Guantanamo," according to the report. ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's former minister of interior pleaded not guilty on Monday to fraud and money laundering charges worth 677 million naira ($3.4 million) relating to a fraudulent recruitment drive that triggered a stampede in which 20 people were killed. Abba Moro, who served under former president Goodluck Jonathan, is accused of conspiring with three ex-civil servants and the company that oversaw the recruitment process, to defraud nearly 7,000 job applicants. He is the latest minister who served under Jonathan to face corruption charges since President Muhammadu Buhari took office in May last year after winning an election on a campaign promise to crackdown on corruption. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said 676,675 Nigerian job applicants had each paid 1,000 naira ($5.03) "under the false pretence that the money represents payment for their online recruitment exercise". Thousands of job applicants descended on Nigeria's national stadium in March 2014 as part of the immigration service recruitment drive, leading to a stampede that left 20 dead. It highlighted the desperation for jobs in Africa's biggest economy and most populous nation, where oil wealth has enriched a small elite but failed to create employment. The EFCC alleges that proceeds from the recruitment exercise were used to refurbish a house in an upmarket district of the capital, Abuja. The charges levelled against Moro and the other defendants were read out at the federal high court in Abuja. All of the defendants pleaded not guilty. Moro was remanded in custody until his bail application hearing on Wednesday. Former defence and finance ministers, as well as the ex-National Security Adviser, have been charged in the last few months. And the office of the former vice president was raided by the EFCC earlier this month.[nL8N15H3DJ] ($1 = 199.0000 naira) (Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram) By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations will begin the next round of Syria peace talks on March 9, U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura told Reuters on Tuesday. We are delaying it to the afternoon of the 9th for logistical and technical reasons and also for the ceasefire to better settle down," de Mistura said. "I will not delay it further." Since an agreement to halt nearly five years of fighting came into force on Saturday, the Syrian government and the opposition have accused each other of violating the deal although international observers have reported a decline in violence. De Mistura said earlier that he could slightly delay the start of the Geneva talks, which had been penciled in for Monday, March 7, depending on the situation on the ground. "We don't want discussions in Geneva to become a discussion about infringements or not of the ceasefire, we want them to actually address the core of everything," he said in an interview. The United Nations hopes that the cessation of hostilities will allow humanitarian aid to be sent into besieged areas and provide an opportunity to revive the peace talks, which collapsed before they even started a month ago. MAPS AND DRONES It was up to the United States and Russia, who drew up the cessation of hostilities agreement, to share information and police the truce because the United Nations was not involved in that process, de Mistura said in an interview at the United Nations in Geneva. This would require both sides to share common maps of the battlefield and monitor the situation with drones and satellites as it would not be possible to deploy thousands of observers on the ground. The United Nations only had general maps of the situation before the ceasefire, he said. De Mistura said he expected to see attempts to disrupt the ceasefire, and these needed to be contained to avoid them spreading and undermining the credibility of the truce. After an abortive first round of the Geneva peace talks, which ended on Feb. 3, de Mistura wants the Syrian sides to focus on constitutional reform, governance, and elections to be held in 18 months. Prisoner releases would also be "very much up front on the agenda", he said. The war has created more than five million refugees, who must have the chance to vote in any future election, de Mistura said. He already had reports from Damascus that many who were thinking of leaving were rethinking that decision because of the cessation of hostilities, "as fragile and delicate as it is". "The moment we have, God willing, a real cessation of hostilities, humanitarian access, and implementation of these three points new governance, constitution and elections - I can bet that many of them not only will not leave but will return, especially if we have a massive 'Marshall Plan' to rebuild Syria," de Mistura said. (Reporting by Tom Miles; Writing by Giles Elgood, editing by Peter Millership) Fairfax (United States) (AFP) - Americans vote Tuesday in what is deemed the most pivotal day in the presidential nominating process, with frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump hoping to finish off their challengers. Voters in a dozen states will take part in "Super Tuesday" -- a series of primaries and caucuses in a dozen states ranging from Alaska to Virginia. If Democrat Clinton and Republican Trump -- an outspoken billionaire political neophyte who has unexpectedly tapped into a reservoir of conservative rage at conventional politics -- win big, it could spell doom for their challengers. With just hours to go before polls open, the duo made last-ditch appeals to supporters ahead of a day like few others on the calendar leading to the November election for the White House. Trump's Republican rivals, Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, were trying frantically to halt the real estate magnate's march toward the nomination, seeking to unite the party against the man they see as a non-conservative political interloper. Clinton meanwhile was riding high after thrashing rival Bernie Sanders in South Carolina over the weekend, securing an astronomical 86 percent of the African-American vote in her third win in four contests. Should she win black voters by similar margins in places like Alabama, Georgia and Virginia, she should dominate there to become once again the inevitable candidate. That was her status at the start of the campaign -- before the rise of Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist. She was leaving nothing to chance, traveling to multiple states Monday to urge a strong turnout. Clinton also took aim at the increasingly hostile campaign rhetoric on the Republican side led by the brash real estate mogul Trump. - Scapegoating, fingerpointing - "I really regret the language being used by Republicans. Scapegoating people, fingerpointing, blaming. That is not how we should behave toward one another," she told hundreds at a university in Fairfax, Virginia. Story continues "We're going to demonstrate, starting tomorrow on Super Tuesday, there's a different path that Americans ought to take." Trump's incendiary campaign has infuriated Republican rivals, including mainstream favorite Rubio who has intensified his personal attacks and stressed Trump would have trouble in a general election. The Florida senator warned supporters in Tennessee that US media and Democratic groups will jump on Trump "like the hounds of hell" if he wins the nomination. But Trump is clearly in the driver's seat. He is leading in polling in at least eight of the 11 Super Tuesday states. And a new CNN/ORC poll shows the billionaire expanding his lead nationally, earning a stunning 49 percent support compared to second place Rubio at 16 percent. Cruz of Texas is third, at 15 percent, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 10 percent and Ohio Governor John Kasich at six percent. Trump punched back against Rubio, calling him "Little Marco," mocking him for sweating on the campaign trail and warning that Rubio could not stand up to strong men like Russian President Vladimir Putin. - 'Party of Lincoln' - Trump's inflammatory rhetoric, including accusing Mexico of sending rapists across the border, mocking women and the disabled and urging a ban on Muslims entering the country, would have been the undoing of a normal candidate. But the 2016 cycle has been anything but normal, with a furious electorate keen to back an outsider who scorns the political establishment. "I'm representing a lot of anger out there," Trump told CNN. "We're not angry people, but we're angry at the way this country's being run." In the latest controversy, Trump came under withering criticism for not immediately disavowing the support of David Duke, who once led the Ku Klux Klan. Rubio said Trump's failure to promptly repudiate Duke, who has expressed support for Trump, makes him "unelectable." Some conservatives have said they will shun Trump if he is the nominee. "This is the party of Abraham Lincoln," said Senator Ben Sasse, accusing Trump of being a non-conservative plotting a "hostile takeover" of the party. Trump supporters, Sasse told MSNBC, "need to recognize that there are a whole bunch of other people who say, if this becomes the David Duke/Donald Trump party, there are a lot of us who are out." If Trump sweeps the South, where many of the Super Tuesday races are taking place, it could be lights out for his Republican challengers. Texas is the largest prize Tuesday, and Cruz is banking on winning his home state. He trails in nearly all other Super Tuesday states. Almost 600 Republican delegates are up for grabs Tuesday, nearly half the 1,237 needed to secure the nomination. Some 865 Democratic delegates are at stake, 36 percent of those needed to win. By Natalie Grover (Reuters) - Bayer AG's Essure birth control implant should carry the strongest safety warning label, U.S. regulators said on Monday, following thousands of complaints about the device. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also asked the German drugmaker to conduct a post-market study of the device. Essure, acquired by Bayer in 2013, has been the target of complaints and calls for its withdrawal since it was approved for sale in the United States in 2002. FDA said it intends to require the product to carry a "black box" label warning of serious risks such as perforation of the uterus or fallopian tubes and severe allergic reaction. It is asking the public to submit comments on the language to be included in the label warning. The device, promoted as an alternative to tubal ligation for permanent birth control, consists of two small nickel-titanium coils inserted into the fallopian tubes. Scar tissue that forms around the device is meant to prevent pregnancy. Complaints have included reports of the device breaking, moving and causing side effects ranging from chronic pain and bleeding to autoimmune disorders such as psoriasis and lupus. The agency also issued a checklist for doctors to use in discussing the risks with patients and instructed Bayer to conduct a clinical study to further assess the product's safety and effectiveness. "The agency continues to believe the product should remain available to women who are informed of the risks," Dr. William Maisel, deputy director for science in the FDAs center for devices and radiological health, told reporters on a call. The post-market study will enroll more than 2,000 women who will be followed for a minimum of three years and will compare the Essure implant to tubal ligation, Maisel said. Bayer said it would work with the FDA, while reiterating the positive benefit-risk profile of Essure. Many members of a 27,000-member Facebook group "Essure Problems" expressed disappointment at the FDA's announcement. The group, as well as consumer watchdog Public Citizen, has been pushing for a ban on the device. "The FDA unacceptably puts patients at risk by allowing the device to continue to be marketed as this surveillance study proceeds," Sarah Sorscher, an attorney for Public Citizen, said in an email. Bayer estimates there are about 750,000 women using Essure worldwide, about 70 percent of them in the United States. More than 5,000 adverse events involving Essure have been reported, according to the FDA's website, although the role of the device is not always clear. (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Susan Kelly in Chicago; Editing by Savio D'Souza, Ted Kerr and David Gregorio) (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp said on Tuesday former Chief Operating Officer Troy Alstead would not return from his extended unpaid leave. The world's largest coffee chain said in January last year that Alstead was taking leave to spend more time with his family. Alstead had resigned from his position effective Feb. 29, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. (http://bit.ly/1T6ApTi) Alstead, who helped lead Stabucks' extensive restructuring a few years ago, had been with the company for more than two decades. The company named director Kevin Johnson chief operating officer in January last year. (Reporting by Abhijith G in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila) Apples iPhone encryption woes are far from over, though the company did score a significant victory against the FBI the other day in a similar case. Its not just the U.S. that wants special backdoor access to encrypted iPhones, as other countries have similar criminal investigations that might depend on information obtained from encrypted devices and services. France is apparently studying ways to convince Apple, Google and other tech companies to comply with similar orders. One proposal includes fines of up to 1 million ($1.08 million) per incident each time one of these companies refuses to aide in an investigation. DONT MISS: Watch Googles robot dog play with a real dog According to The Local, France Socialist MP Yann Galut proposed an amendment to France law that would see U.S. companies punished for refusing to cooperate with French authorities looking for backdoor access like the FBI is currently seeking. We are faced with a legal vacuum when it comes to data encryption, and its blocking judicial investigations, Galut told Le Parisien. Only money will force these extremely powerful companies like Apple and Google to comply, he said. Le Parisien says there were eight recovered phones related to terror attacks that were inaccessible to police. Galut called out tech companies for operating under total bad faith. They are hiding behind a supposed privacy protection, but theyre quick to make commercial use of personal data that theyre collecting, he said. The encryption fight is primarily led by Apple and Tim Cook, though other companies have stepped up to defend the need for strong protections built into mobile devices. Google, Microsoft and Facebook are among the tech giants defending Apples stance against the FBI in the controversial San Bernardino case. In addition to France, the U.K. also proposed a law a few months ago that would give its intelligence agencies more power when it comes to data collection, and which could potentially affect the way tech companies conduct their business in the country. Initially looking to seek a ban on encryption, the proposed law would only require Apple and other companies to provide customer data regarding communications where predictable, according to the Daily Mail. Story continues The Bill clarifies the Governments position on encryption, putting beyond doubt that companies can only be asked to remove encryption that they themselves have applied, and only where it is practicable for them to do so, a Home Office source told the British news site. This will make clear that the Government is not asking companies to weaken their security by undermining encryption. Meanwhile, Apples battle with the FBI will play out in Congress, where witnesses representing the two parties are scheduled to testify, including the FBI director James Comey and Apples senior vice president and general counsel Bruce Sewell. Testimony has already begun and you can watch it live right here. Related stories All the reasons Trump's plan to force Apple to make iPhones in the U.S. will fail Rando is a hilarious free iPhone app that starts conversation with random pics or GIFs Godfather of encryption explains why Apple should help the FBI hack the terrorist's iPhone More from BGR: New Tesla Model 3 details revealed one month before its big unveiling This article was originally published on BGR.com There are plenty of mysteries that are still unsolved in Game of Thrones but one of the biggest has to be the mystery surrounding Jon Snows mother. For years, Winterfell patriarch Ned Stark told the world that Snow was his own bastard child whom hed conceived with an unidentified mistress that he met while fighting in the rebellion against the Targaryens. However, a theory thats known on the web as R + L = J posits that Ned Stark wasnt telling the truth about Jon Snows origins. In fact, Snow may not even be Ned Starks child at all. FROM EARLIER: Watch Googles robot dog play with a real dog So heres the basic story: Prior to the rebellion against the Targaryen family, Ned Starks sister Lyanna was allegedly abducted by Rhaegar Targaryen, who was the eldest son of King Aerys II Targaryen. During the fight to depose Aerys from the Iron Throne, Rhaegar was killed in combat by Ned Starks friend Robert Baratheon. Ned, meanwhile, found his sister holed away in a tower guarded by Rhaegars most loyal men. She was apparently dying when Ned found her, although the causes of her death remain unclear. The theory here is that Lyanna died giving birth to a baby boy whom shed conceived with Rhaegar. Because this boy would have been the legitimate heir to the Iron Throne, its quite likely that Robert Baratheon would have had him killed. Thus, Ned made up a story about how hed conceived the boy with another woman while at war and brought him back to Winterfell where he could be raised safely as the bastard son of House Stark. This would mean that Jon Snow could legitimately become the king of Westeros in the future presuming, of course, that he actually survived the brutal stabbing he endured at the end of season 5 Screen Rant has posted an even more detailed summary of this theory check out its full video below. Related stories 'Game of Thrones' just released behind-the-scenes footage from season 6 See the new Game of Thrones season 6 posters that will haunt your dreams Story continues Hilarious video shows Trump would be a YUGE winner in 'Game of Thrones' More from BGR: New Tesla Model 3 details revealed one month before its big unveiling This article was originally published on BGR.com Frankfurt (AFP) - German unemployment remained at current historic lows in February despite a massive influx of refugees, as the recovery in Europe's biggest economy remains on track, data showed on Tuesday. The unemployment rate -- which measures the jobless total against the working population as a whole -- stood at 6.2 percent in February, unchanged from January. In numerical terms, the number of people registered as unemployed in Germany declined by a seasonally adjusted 10,000 to 2.723 million, the Federal Labour Office said in a statement. That was in line with analysts' expectations. At current levels, unemployment now stands at the lowest level since West and East Germany reunited in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall the previous year. In raw, or unadjusted, terms, the jobless total also decreased, falling by 9,250 to 2.91 million. The unemployment rate eased fractionally to 6.6 percent in February from 6.7 percent in January, the office said. "The German economy was characterised by a moderate uptrend in 2015," the office said. While the most recent economic indicators suggested that outlook is starting to cloud over, "this is not a sign of a serious downturn," it continued. "The labour market is continuing to develop positively." Labour Minister Andrea Nahles welcomed the data, which she said "provided a good basis for meeting the challenges ahead." Analysts were also cheered by the renewed drop in the jobless total. "It seems that the relatively mild winter weather has supported the labour market," said ING DiBa economist Carsten Brzeski. "Interestingly, there does not seem to any noticeable impact from the refugee crisis on the labour market, yet." "All in all, the German labour market will remain an important growth driver this year and beyond," Brzeski said, but warned of big challenges ahead. "Overall, labour market conditions remain healthier in Germany than in most other countries in Europe," said IHS Global Insight analyst Timo Klein. Story continues He said that the massive increase in the refugee influx in recent months could push up the jobless numbers in the months to come "due to a combination of the sheer numbers of refugees and the need to raise their qualification levels first." But given the administrative lags involved, the data "will only reflect this factor in a significant manner from roughly mid-2016 onwards," he said. "Overall, underlying German economic growth will remain robust during 2016 despite lingering eurozone stability concerns, various geopolitical crises with associated risks of enhanced terrorist activity, and economic problems in many emerging market countries," Klein predicted. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The credibility of the Minsk peace deal for eastern Ukraine will come under threat unless both sides in the conflict make faster progress in implementing the agreement, Germany's foreign minister said on Monday. Speaking at a news conference in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Frank-Walter Steinmeier conceded that the readiness of the government in Kiev and pro-Russian separatists to move forward with Minsk was "very limited". "Implementation must continue. The credibility of the whole process rests on this," Steinmeier said. Kerry said "both sides need to perform", and that Russia must ensure that the separatists do their part. Kiev's struggles to get an election law for eastern Ukraine through parliament and an increase in ceasefire violations in the region have raised fears that the deal, sealed one year ago in the Belarus capital, could collapse, sparking a new wave of fighting. European countries have tied the removal of sanctions against Russia to the implementation of Minsk. Germany and its allies worry that if Ukraine does not implement its side of the agreement, pressure could rise to ease those sanctions when they expire in July. Earlier on Monday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned the European Union against extending the sanctions automatically when they lapse, urging instead a "serious debate" on the matter. Steinmeier said he hoped that a meeting of the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine scheduled to take place on Thursday in Paris would lead to progress on planned elections in eastern Ukraine. "If elections take place, and everyone says this, then we need two things: first an election law and second security conditions which allow an election to be held," he said. "I hope that we make a small step forward on Thursday." (Reporting by Noah Barkin) Karlsruhe (Germany) (AFP) - Germany's highest court on Tuesday began hearing a landmark request to ban a neo-Nazi fringe party that openly rails against migrants, more than a decade after a first attempt failed. The case comes at a time when a record influx of refugees and migrants has polarised German society, and as the number of racist hate crimes has surged. The case before the Federal Constitutional Court argues that the far-right and anti-immigrant National Democratic Party (NPD) is a threat to the country's liberal democratic order. Constitutional court chief justice Andreas Vosskuhle opened the hearing by pointing to the dilemma of banning a political party, something Germany last did almost 60 years ago. A party prohibition "is a sharp and double-edged sword that must be used with great caution," he told the packed courtroom. "It limits freedom in order to preserve freedom." The bid to ban the party, seize its funds and prohibit successor organisations will require a majority of six out of the panel's eight judges, who were set to initially sit for three days and later issue their verdict. Chancellor Angela Merkel's government supports the case, although the executive has not formally joined the high-stakes legal gamble, launched by the Bundesrat upper house of parliament which represents Germany's 16 states. The states must convince judges that, under the definition of Germany's Basic Law, or constitution, the NPD spells an active threat to the democratic order and holds an "aggressive and combative attitude." They will also seek to prove the Bundesrat's contention that it is creating a "climate of fear" and "shares essential characteristics" with the Nazis. Bundesrat president Stanislaw Tillich charged that "the NPD is a racist, anti-Semitic, revisionist and anti-democratic party". "The past two years especially have shown the NPD's ability to draw crowds and incite hatred," Tillich, premier of the far-right hotbed state of Saxony, told the court. Story continues "Violence against people and property and arson attacks on asylum shelters are a consequence of their racist ideology." Critics charge the proceedings will give the NPD, a party with only about 5,200 members, a national stage and that a ban could turn its leaders into martyrs for their racist cause. - Rising xenophobia - The party, founded in 1964 as a successor to the neo-fascist German Reich Party, scored just 1.3 percent in 2013 federal elections and has never crossed the five percent hurdle for entry into the national parliament. However, it is represented in one state assembly and many town councils in the former communist East. It also has one seat in the European Parliament, held by former party chief Udo Voigt who once labelled Adolf Hitler "a great statesman". While NPD activists have sought to exploit rising xenophobia, they have failed to make gains at the ballot box. The right-wing populist Alternative for Germany has meanwhile entered five state parliaments and is polling nationally around 10 percent less than two weeks before elections in another three states. - 'Undercover informants' - Post-war Germany has banned only two political parties -- the far-right SPR in 1952, and the German Communist Party four years later. A 2003 attempt to ban the NPD failed because the presence of undercover state informants within party ranks was seen as sullying the evidence. Tillich told the court that security services had since late 2012 pulled all undercover sources from senior party ranks. NPD lawyer Peter Richter cast doubt on this and suggested his party may still be watched by Germany's domestic and military secret services as well as foreign intelligence agencies. He also accused two judges who were previously politicians and had attacked the NPD of being biased and asked them to recuse themselves. However, Vosskuhle said that judges are not in principle barred from making political statements, especially if they did so before they assumed their posts on the bench. Richter further charged that the claimants sought to "turn a state based on the rule of law into an ideologically-based state". Some have criticised the high-profile case against the NPD, arguing that it won't stop other far-right groups, including the Islamophobic PEGIDA movement. Others say a prohibition would send a strong signal against xenophobes. Justice Minister Heiko Maas cautioned that "even if the NPD is banned, that unfortunately doesn't mean there is no more right-wing extremism in Germany". ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will evaluate Canadian Eldorado Gold's permits by the end of March, its Energy Minister Panos Skourletis said on Tuesday. The Vancouver-based miner has been developing a mine construction in northern Greece, seen as the biggest foreign investment in the overindebted country. Eldorado said in January it was suspending construction at its Skouries project and warned that it would do the same at its Olympias project if it did not receive a premit by the end of March. "The company has submitted (for approval) specific studies," Skourletis told Greek state television ERT. "They will be reviewd by the end of March." (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou) By Anastasia Moloney BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A group of Guatemalan women used as sex slaves by two former military officers during the country's civil war are seeking $3 million in compensation following a historic trial, their lawyers said. On Feb. 26, a Guatemalan court convicted a retired army officer and a former paramilitary for holding 11 indigenous women as sex slaves at a military base, murder and forced disappearances dating back to the early 1980s. The defendants -- Esteelmer Reyes Giron, a lieutenant colonel and former commander of the Sepur Zarco base and Heriberto Valdez Asij, a civilian with links to the army -- were sentenced to a total of 360 years in prison. Both deny wrongdoing and will appeal, their lawyers said. The verdict marks the first time that sexual slavery perpetrated during a conflict has been prosecuted in the country where the crimes took place as opposed to an international tribunal, legal experts said. "(It) is the first time a national court has recognized and established state troops were responsible for subjecting women, the majority indigenous women in this case, to sexual slavery and exploitation and that sexual violence was used as a weapon of war," said Paula Barrios, a Guatemalan lawyer involved in bringing the case to court. "This ruling sets a very important example and precedent for criminal proceedings and convictions involving sexual violence in conflict that's not only relevant for Guatemala but other countries like Colombia in armed conflict," Barrios, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview. HARROWING TESTIMONY As many as 250,000 people were killed in a bloody civil war lasting from 1960 to 1996 in the Central American country. Up to 45,000 people disappeared in the conflict between state security forces and Marxist guerrillas. During the trial, prosecutors told the court that in 1982 soldiers killed, captured and were responsible for the disappearances of more than a dozen men in Sepur Zarco village. Many of the victims had been campaigning for land rights and were accused by the army of sympathizing with the rebels. Some of their wives were forced into slavery at the military base. The court heard recorded and live testimony from the 11 surviving Mayan women, many in their seventies and eighties, who said they were raped at the base and forced to cook, clean and wash for the soldiers. One woman, Rosario Xoc, told the court she was gang raped by soldiers near a river where she would wash clothes. "My young son was screaming when he saw what they were doing to me but nobody helped me," she said through a Q'eqchi Mayan language interpreter. REPARATIONS The women's lawyers will seek around $3 million in damages, access to health care, a school and land titles for the victims during a hearing on reparations on March 2. A United Nations-backed Truth Commission set up under a 1996 peace deal concluded that the military was responsible for more than 85 percent of abuses committed during the war. But until now no members of Guatemala's armed forces had been convicted of wartime rape in the country. Rigoberta Menchu, Guatemala's Mayan Nobel laureate and a leading rights activist said the trial had set a precedent that would likely pave the way for more women to come forward. "The bravery of these Mayan women has allowed the silence and impunity surrounding sexual violence to be broken after more than 30 years," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Barrios said around 1,500 testimonies had already been collected from other women who suffered wartime rape and that the Guatemalan authorities were investigating more cases. (Reporting by Anastasia Moloney, Editing by Katie Nguyen.; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org) By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress condemned white supremacist groups on Tuesday after their party's front-runner in the presidential contest, Donald Trump, failed to disavow support for an ex-Ku Klux Klan leader, but the leaders declined further comment on Trump's controversial White House bid. The comments from the two top Republicans in the U.S. Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, came as many of the party's lawmakers struggle to come to terms with the growing possibility that Trump will be their nominee. Trump's policies are often at odds with those of conservatives, and his comments on the campaign trail have often been both incendiary and crude. He has racked up victories in three of the four states that have already held their nominating contests. The comments from Ryan and McConnell coincided with "Super Tuesday," the biggest voting day in the race to pick the 2016 presidential nominees for the November election. Ryan said any Republican nominee must reject any group "built on bigotry" while McConnell said Senate Republicans condemned groups such as the Klan and "everything they stand for." The Klan, whose roots reach back to the Civil War, is known for its segregationist, racist views. In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Trump did not immediately repudiate support from David Duke, a former Klan leader who is also a former Louisiana state representative. Trump later said he had not heard the questions well because of a bad earpiece. Both Ryan and McConnell said they did not want to weigh in further on the presidential race, something they have declined to do for months. Ryan, a former vice presidential candidate who will chair the Republicans' national convention in July, reiterated on Tuesday he would support whomever is his party's nominee. A number of Southern states are among the 11 states holding Republican nominating contests on Tuesday, including Virginia, and opinion polls show Trump is likely to consolidate his status as the favorite to win the nomination. REID: "TALK IS CHEAP" Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid scoffed at Ryan's remark a few hours later. Reid said Republicans were afraid to withdraw their support publicly because the Trump "millions" might turn on them. Republicans say theyll support a man who refuses to denounce the Ku Klux Klan. So until they withdraw their support, talk is really cheap," Reid said. McConnell sidestepped a question on whether it was true, as reported over the weekend by The New York Times, that he had told fellow Republicans in private that they could drop Trump "like a hot rock" if he becomes the party's presidential nominee. McConnell said he did not recall saying anything like that to reporters. In recent days other lawmakers on Capitol Hill have become more outspoken on Trump. A handful of lawmakers have endorsed him, including Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, a conservative. On Sunday evening, Senator Ben Sasse, a conservative Republican from Nebraska, announced on Facebook that he could not support Trump because his "relentless focus is on dividing Americans and on tearing down rather than building back up this glorious nation. "If Donald Trump ends up as the GOP nominee, conservatives will need to find a third option," Sasse wrote. But in the halls of Congress on Tuesday, there appeared to be few lawmakers prepared to distance themselves from Trump who had not done so already. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who gave up his own presidential quest in December, said, "The partys been burned and the countrys going to get burned by Trump. To avoid this, he said, the party should consolidate around an opponent to Trump instead of diffusing the opposition among so many candidates. Trump is now one of five remaining Republican contenders. The others are Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Ohio Governor John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who had endorsed Jeb Bush before he dropped out, said lawmakers have not shied away from criticizing Trump. "That has happened continually. Many of us did it when he made comments about John McCain many months ago," she said, referring to how Trump had mocked the military record of McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona. As a Navy pilot, McCain was shot down over Vietnam. Trump said he liked people who weren't captured. (Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and David Morgan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Leslie Adler) By Fiona Ortiz CHICAGO (Reuters) - An Illinois voter's lawsuit challenging Ted Cruz's eligibility to run for president of the United States because he was born in Canada was dismissed on a technicality on Tuesday by a state judge. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Maureen Ward Kirby in Chicago ruled that she did not have jurisdiction in the lawsuit - which had sought to have Cruz removed from the state's primary election ballot - because it had not been properly served on the state Board of Elections. She found that the plaintiff, Lawrence Joyce, had not properly filed his petition for judicial review. Joyce, a lawyer and a pharmacist from the Chicago suburb of Poplar Grove who supports Cruz rival Ben Carson, initially filed a complaint in January with the elections board. When the board rejected the complaint, he filed the lawsuit seeking judicial review in Cook County. Kirby's ruling came as voters in 12 other states were taking part in the Super Tuesday Republican and Democratic nominating contests, a milestone in the selection of candidates for the Nov. 8 election. Illinois' primary is on March 15, but early voting has already begun. Republican front-runner Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned Cruz's eligibility because of his Canadian birth. Joyce's lawsuit argued that Cruz cannot run for president under the U.S. Constitution because the U.S. senator from Texas is not a "natural-born" citizen. Cruz gained citizenship at birth because his mother was an American citizen, but Joyce contends that was a form of naturalization. Cruz's father is from Cuba. Cruz, himself an attorney, has maintained he is a natural-born American due to his mother's citizenship. Kirby ruled that Joyce should have served the complaint directly to Cruz and the election board members, not to their lawyers, citing requirements in the Illinois election code. "I recognize that election decisions are of great importance to the public," the judge said. "But it's a matter of strict compliance." She said she could not look at the issues presented in the case because it was not properly before her. Story continues Joyce said he has not yet decided whether he will appeal the ruling. He said it depended on whether Trump, as expected, dominates in the Super Tuesday contests and becomes the most likely Republican nominee. "My main concern all along has been keeping Senator Cruz from being the nominee of the party. Depending on what happens today on Super Tuesday, that whole point might become a moot point," Joyce told reporters. Joyce said he did not want Cruz to win the nomination because he believes Democrats would then seek to have the Texan disqualified because he was born abroad. An attorney who represented Cruz in court, Sharee Langenstein, called the lawsuit "a misguided attempt to distract the voters away from the most qualified candidate we have for president, and that's Senator Ted Cruz." "There's no issue here," she said. "It's very clear that Senator Cruz is a natural-born citizen." Voters in New York, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Texas have also filed legal challenges to Cruz's eligibility. Some legal experts do not expect any court to invalidate a presidential candidate on the issue. (Reporting by Fiona Ortiz; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Mary Wisniewski) Dhaka (AFP) - In-form batsman Virat Kohli made an unbeaten half-century as India eased to a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka to qualify for the Asia Cup final in Dhaka on Tuesday. Kohli, who played a brilliant innings of 49 under pressure against Pakistan on Saturday, hit 56 off 47 balls to guide India to 142-5 after their medium pacers restricted Sri Lanka to 138-9. Replying to the modest score, India were in danger early on when Nuwan Kulasekara removed both the openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma for just 16 runs. Dhawan returned to the starting line-up after an injury break against Pakistan but survived just three balls before edging Kulasekara to Dinesh Chandimal for one. Sharma fell in Kulasekara's next over offering a catch to Chamara Kapugedera at slip for 15. Kohli, who hit seven fours, added 54 runs with Suresh Raina for the third wicket to put India firmly in control. "Touch wood, it's coming out nicely now. Another crunch situation, 16 for 2. It's nice to challenge yourself," Kohli said after the match. "Kulasekara and Angie were bowling well. I knew I'm striking the ball well, so I have to take the pressure off the other batsman by hitting the odd boundary." Dasun Shanaka broke the partnership as Raina miscued a catch to Kulasekara at mid-off after making 25 runs. Yuvraj Singh ensured it did not affect India's run-flow, hitting left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for two sixes off successive balls in the next over to make 35 off 18 balls. India captain MS Dhoni praised Singh for his effort. "Yuvraj Singh's innings was crucial, not just for this match but for the team as well," said Dhoni. "Good to see him get into some good form." Put into bat first by Dhoni, Sri Lanka's Kapugedera scored the team's highest of 30 off 32 balls, but the islanders needed a strong effort from lower order batsmen Milinda Siriwardana and Kulasekara. Siriwardana made 22 off 17 balls while Kulasekara added 17 after facing just six balls to provide a late impetus. Story continues Indian medium pacers controlled the innings making regular in-roads from the start. Ashish Nehra removed Chandimal early after he added six runs to his 50 and 37 runs in the previous two matches. Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah then claimed two wickets each to finish with 2-26 and 2-27 respectively before the lower-order gave the Sri Lankan innings some respectability. Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said dew that had fallen on the ground in the evening was partly responsible for their defeat. "With the dew coming in, it felt like we were 20-25 runs short, but the Indians batted well, as always, and Virat was outstanding," he said. "If the wicket was like the previous one, it would have been a fighting total, but the dew came in and the ball started sliding through." Bangladesh will face Pakistan in the tournament on Wednesday. NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Security forces killed eight suspected Maoist militants, including five women, in a raid on a rebel training camp in central India on Tuesday, police said, breaking a six-month-long lull in violence linked to an insurgency that has raged for years. Operating across a vast swath of eastern and central India, the guerrillas say they are fighting for the rights of peasants and landless. Police raided the camp in the forests of Sukna, 250 miles from Raipur, the state capital of Chhattisgarh. The guerrillas opened fire and eight of them were killed in the ensuing two-hour gunbattle, police officer Santosh Singh told Reuters. A rebel leader with a 500,000 rupee ($7,300) bounty on his head was among those killed. The militant leader was wanted for planting explosive devices in schools and government buildings, police said. There were no police casualties. Over 500 policemen have been killed in the last five years in guerrilla attacks, government data shows. (Reporting by Rupam Jain, Jatindra Das; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Simon Cameron-Moore) Tehran (AFP) - Iran boosted oil exports by 30 percent last month, Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said, after Tehran dismissed an output freeze despite historic low prices. Zangeneh told the Shana news agency that exports increased to 1.75 million barrels per day during the Iranian month of Bahman, which runs from January 21 to February 19. "This represents an increase of 400,000 barrels per day compared to the same period last year," he said on Monday. The production also included gas condensates. Iran, which has the world's second largest crude reserves, currently produces about 2.8 million bpd, but output during Bahman rose off the additional exports to 3.2 million bpd. Tehran has come under pressure from OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar as well as Russia to follow their lead by freezing output at January levels as crude prices plumbed 13-year lows. Zanganeh said after the deal that Tehran would "support any measure that can stabilise the market and increase prices" but stopped short of committing Iran to any curbs. Hampered by years of economic sanctions related to its atomic programme, Iran announced after a landmark nuclear deal with world powers was implemented in January that it was increasing production by 500,000 bpd immediately, to be followed by a further 500,000 bpd by the end of 2016. BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces and Shi'ite militia began an operation on Tuesday to dislodge Islamic State militants from desert areas northwest of Baghdad and cut their supply routes between western Anbar province and the northern city of Mosul. Efforts by the Iraqi government and the U.S.-led coalition backing it to break jihadist control of large swathes of Iraq have shifted towards Mosul, the largest city under Islamic State control. Government forces retook the key cities of Tikrit, Baiji and Ramadi last year. The new operation, called al-Jazeera Security in reference to the desert area, was launched from west of the northern cities of Tikrit and Samarra, Iraqi security officials said. "These operations will play a significant role in cutting all the supply routes in areas still under the terrorists' control," Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, an Iraqi military spokesman, told state television. The offensive is intended to drive the militants from open desert used to transport supplies and launch regular attacks on the government-controlled cities of Tikrit and Samarra, the officials said. It seeks to prevent insurgents from moving from the western areas of Falluja and Thirthar towards Tirkit and Mosul in the north, said Colonel Mohammed al-Asadi, a military spokesman in Salahuddin province, where Tikrit is located. "Iraqi army, federal police, counter-terrorism forces and Hashid Shaabi are participating in the military campaign and were deployed on the fronts with air support from the Iraqi and coalition air force," Asadi said. The Hashid Shaabi is a coalition of mainly Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias mobilized to combat Islamic State. Militants attempted three car bomb attacks against the advancing Iraqi armed forces west of Tikrit, but they were intercepted by air strikes, Asadi said. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement distributed online by supporters. (Reporting by Saif Hameed, editing by Larry King) Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli prosecutors pressed charges Tuesday against four 17-year-old Jews suspected of a "racially motivated" assault on two Arab men in the coastal city of Netanya, the justice ministry said. A ministry statement said the four had been drinking alcohol at a beach on February 17, when they saw the two Arabs heading towards a lift. They allegedly began following them and insulted the Prophet Mohammed before throwing stones and empty bottles at the pair who fled to the lift, only to be trapped inside it where the attack continued. One Arab was pulled from the lift and branded a "terrorist". He was beaten and choked until he lost his consciousness and was eventually taken to hospital. The four were being charged with "racially motivated aggravated assault", the ministry's statement read. Tensions between Jews and Arabs have risen during a five-month wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories which has cost the lives of 178 Palestinians, 28 Israelis, an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean, according to an AFP toll. Most of the Palestinians who died in the violence were killed by Israeli forces while carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, the Israeli authorities say. A number of Israelis have carried out revenge attacks on Arabs. ROME (Reuters) - A court in Rome has allowed a lesbian couple to adopt each other's children, their lawyer said on Tuesday, less than a week after the Italian parliament threw out a bid to give gays limited adoption rights. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi had promised to open the way for stepchild adoption as part of a larger reform aimed at giving legal rights and protection to same-sex couples. Much to the anger of gay rights groups, he dropped the adoption clause following fierce opposition from within his center-left coalition. However, Tuesday's ruling highlights the fact that Italy's courts are prepared to step into the breach in the absence of clear cut legislation. Each of the partners in the case had given birth to a daughter, and the court gave them parental status regarding both children, their lawyer Francesca Quarato said in a statement. "Now each child has a biological parent and a social parent, both with full and equal parental capacity and responsibility," she said. The names of the couple were not given. The statement did not say how the children were conceived and Reuters could not reach Quarato for details. Italian media reported the couple went to Denmark for artificial insemination -- a process reserved in Italy only for married couples. The ruling gives more limited rights than could have been given to a married couple and the girls will not legally be sisters, the president of the Rete Lenford association of gay rights lawyers said. However, they will share the same surname. Sergio Lo Giudice, a gay senator in Renzi's ruling Democratic Party (PD) who has a son born to a surrogate mother, said in a statement the ruling showed up parliament's failure. "The courts will continue to intervene to look after the all-important interest of the child to have the emotional link to their same-sex parents recognized," Lo Giudice said. Lo Giudice went to the United States to have his child, as surrogate parenting is illegal in Italy. Italy is the last major Western country not to give any legal recognition to gay couples and the debate over civil unions has split parliament along religious lines. A prominent minister said at the weekend that the government was now working on a new law to extend adoption rights to gay and single people, prompting immediate objections from politicians close to the Roman Catholic Church. (Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Gareth Jones) KINGSTON (Reuters) - A final vote count showed Jamaica's opposition won last week's general election with a one seat margin, electoral authorities said on Tuesday, ending days of uncertainty over the outcome of the close race fought in the shadow of a tough austerity plan. The electoral commission said the Jamaican Labour Party won 32 of 63 seats, just enough to end Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller's bid for a second term and clearing the way for JLP leader Andrew Holness to be sworn in as the heavily indebted nation's next prime minister, as soon as Thursday. The JLP won on promises of tax cuts and job creation, but is set to take the reins of a nation saddled with a debt to GDP ratio of around 125 percent, high unemployment and a sluggish economy. The ruling People's National Party (PNP), which lost some seats by just a handful of votes, had been credited with improving the island's economic prospects under a strict IMF approved austerity program that included severe spending cuts. Critics have argued that the JLP's promised tax cuts will not be possible under its IMF obligations, but the party said on Monday that is will respect the program. The top three global ratings agencies, all of which have upgraded Jamaica's sovereign debt in recent months in recognition of its adherence to stringent fiscal targets, also predicted the JLP would not deviate much from the agreement with the IMF. "There is a pretty broad consensus around the need to reduce government debt, and the IMF program is an anchor for that," said Charles Seville, Senior Director at Fitch Ratings, North America Sovereign Ratings. S&P and Moody's expressed similar sentiments. (Reporting by Rebekah Kebede; editing by Frank Jack Daniel and David Gregorio) Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli religious hardliner Yehuda Glick visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound Tuesday for the first time since a Palestinian tried to kill him over his campaign to boost the Jewish presence at the highly sensitive site. The site in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem is the third-holiest in Islam, but is also revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and considered their holiest. Clashes there last year were a precursor to the current five-month wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories, and there were warnings that the visit by Glick, who has previously been banned from the site, could set off further tensions. Glick has been an outspoken advocate of Jewish rights to the holy site, which Muslims and Palestinians consider a provocation. He has also guided visits there. The 50-year-old US-born rabbi carried out "a legal visit to the Temple Mount that took place without incident," a police spokeswoman told AFP. A spokesman for the Waqf, the Muslim trust which administers the site, said Glick's "actions and statements are provocations against Palestinians. The visit bodes ill." Glick was on October 29, 2014 shot four times by a masked gunman in Jerusalem. A day later, police shot and killed his suspected attacker, Muataz Hijazi, a Palestinian from east Jerusalem. The rabbi is also a thorn in the side of the mainstream Israeli Jewish religious establishment, which recognises the Temple Mount as the site of the biblical temples and Judaism's holiest, but says Jews should not pray or even visit there at this time. Current rules governing the site allow Jews to visit during set hours but not pray there to avoid provoking tensions. A court recently exonerated Glick of a charge of assaulting a Palestinian woman, and removed the police ban on him visiting the holy site. Glick, who is a member of the ruling Likud party and next in line to enter parliament, had also been barred from the site between 2011-2013 for praying there. Story continues Speaking to AFP, Glick said that while there were no restrictions on his visits beyond those that apply to other non-Muslims, he had coordinated Tuesday's visit with the police. He said it felt like "returning home" after the long absence. Glick said tensions at the site had been dramatically lowered since Israel's September ban on the Murabitat and Murabitun, funded by the Islamic Movement in Israel and acting as self-appointed sentinels who harassed Jewish visitors. A wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October has killed 178 Palestinians as well as 28 Israelis, an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean. Most of the Palestinians who died in the violence were killed by Israeli forces while carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities. Clashes erupted at the Al-Aqsa compound during a series of Jewish religious holidays in September amid fears among Muslims that Israel was planning to change rules governing the site. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said repeatedly there are no such plans. Date: 10 Feb 2016 14:28 Subject: Hi To: Cc: Hello dear, My name is miss Jemima, i saw your profile today and became interested in you, i will also like to know you more, and i want your reply so i can give you my pictures for identify myself for you to know whom i am, I believe we can move from here, Remember distance or color does not matter but love matters a lot in life. Thanks Jemima. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . From: " Jemima Ahmed" < jemimahmed@hotmail.com Date: 10 Feb 2016 14:28Subject: HiTo:Cc:Hello dear,My name is miss Jemima, i saw your profile today and became interested in you, i will also like to know you more, and i want your reply so i can give you my pictures for identify myself for you to know whom i am, I believe we can move from here, Remember distance or color does not matter but love matters a lot in life.ThanksJemima.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .. Date: 11 Feb 2016 14:52 Subject: With Love And Great Trust. Cc: My Dearest, How are you today, hope you are fine, you have given me hope by returning my message and i will also like to meet you in person as we continue to know more about ourselves and i guess you are the right person i am looking forward to spend the rest of my life with, i am not going to shear myself to any other person if only you will love me and take me the way i do, so needless of looking for another person because you are the first person that i have contacted and i am trusting that you will not betray my confidence in you. My dear, to tell you more about my self, i am Miss Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi, i am a 25 years old girl from Somalia but presently residing here in Senegal, the only daughter of Late Dr. Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel, the former education minister of Somalia who died on a suicide bomb attack in Shamo Hotel in Mogadishu on the 3rd December, 2009 in which many innocent souls were killed and injured. Unfortunately, my father was among the dead and life has not been the same again for me ranging from starvation due to the severe famine in my country to insecurity of my life because of war and constant terrorist attacks which forced me to escape and take asylum in the United Nations Refugee Camp in Dakar-Senegal in order to save my life and reclaim my inherited fund which my late father left for me in a Senegal Bank so that i can use the fund to relocate to a peaceful country and reestablish my shattered life. My late father left huge amount of fund in his bank account in Senegal and please i have not told anyone except you and our Reverend priest about the existence of this fund and i will like you to please keep it secret and confidential to other people because since it is (MONEY) all eyes will be on it and my security also will continue to be at risk as some people may want to eliminate me and claim my inheritance when they get to know about my worth and this is why i am pleading with you to keep the transaction in utmost confidential and only between the us. Remember i trust you and that is why i am giving you all this information. I want to give my love to you and you alone as i wrote earlier, you are the first person in my life. Moreover, i will like to hear your voice please, you can just call me with this telephone number( 00221765439206 ) It is our Reverend priest' s telephone. His name is Reverend Paul Boris and his e-mail address is ( revpaul_boris@yahoo.com ). If you call him please tell him that you want to speak with Miss Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi in the female hostel of the refugee camp and he will send for me to answer your call because i have just told him about you and the man of God gave his blessings and support to us. I have already informed the Senegal bank about my plans to reclaim my inherited fund and the manager of the bank advised me to look for a foreign partner who will stand on my behalf in the transfer of the fund due to my present refugee status which forbids me to partake in any kind of monetary transaction be it locally or internationally. You will have 15% of the total fund for helping me and the remaining amount will be my investment capital which will be managed by you in any business of your choice while i go back to university to complete my studies as i was only in my 2nd year in the university when the crisis started in my country. In this regards i will give you my father`s bank contact details immediately with some information upon your acceptance to help me in reclaiming the fund. My late father has Six Million, Seven Hundred Thousand USD ($6.700,000.00) deposit which i am the next of kin. So all i need from you is your confirmation of willingness to represent me in the transfer and your full assurance not to betray me after my inherited fund has been transferred to your own account in your country. My dear, i am glad that God has brought you to see me out from this terrible situation that i am presently into and i promise to be kind and will equally need you in every area of my life including investing this fund since i do not yet have any experience in investment management and that is why i want to return to the university and complete my education as soon as the transfer is completed. This refugee camp is just like a prison and my prayers is to move out from here as soon as possible. Immediately after the bank transfers my inherited fund to your account in your country, i can then inform you of how much you will have to send for me to prepare my traveling documents to join you in your country. I will send more of my pictures to you later when i have known your response towards my proposal to you. Awaiting to hear from you soonest. Yours sincerely, Jemima Ahmed. From: " Jemi baby" < jemimahmed@hotmail.com Date: 11 Feb 2016 14:52Subject: With Love And Great Trust.Cc: Date: 11 Feb 2016 17:58 Subject: Awaiting To Hear From You Again Soon Cc: Hello my dearest, I received your reply and i hope that mine will find you well and healthy, after going through your mail i see that you really understand what i need from you, i am convinced that you are well able to handle the claim of this my inherited fund and also manage it well in an investment. And i want you to know that i also lost my mother to untimely death when i was only 6 years old, she died during child-delivery and i am the only child of my late dear parents. I want to relocate out from this Senegal because i am presently living in severe difficulties and in sorrows here in the refugee camp and my dear, my inherited fund that i am talking about is still in my late father' s personal account, but i contacted the bank as i entered this country and informed them of my father' s death, from there i spoke with the bank' s director, and he made me to understand that i will present someone to stand on my behalf and claim my inheritance from their bank since i am forbidden by the law of this country to partake in any kind of monetary transaction due to my present status as a refugee, So the director advice that i should use the full contact information of whoever that i nominate to write official letter to their bank for them to recognize him, now what i need from you is two things: 1. To assure me that you will not betray me in this transfer, mostly when this fund enter to your position. 2. For you to take me as your sister , daughter, girlfriend or wife as i am still single and welcome me into your family as i do not have anybody in this whole world anymore. With the assurance given after going through this mail, then you send me your personal details. Your Full Names . . . . . . .Your Home Address. . . . . . . . Your Occupation . . . . . . . . . . . . Your Office Address . . . . . . . . . Phone Number. . . . . . . . . Your Age. . . . . . . . . Your Home Country . . . . . . . . Your Resident Country . . . . . . . . . I will then use them and write the official letter to the bank, i will give you the contact of the finance bank and the account details of my late father so that you will as well contact them directly in regard of the transfer. Thank you for your acceptance to represent me in the transfer of my inherited fund and, i am waiting desperately to meet you in person in your country immediately after the completion of the transfer so that i can start resting in your arms and feel safe from the cruelties of this life. Await your reply, Yours sincerely, Jemima Ahmed From: " Jemi baby" < jemimahmed@hotmail.com Date: 11 Feb 2016 17:58Subject: Awaiting To Hear From You Again SoonCc: Date: 12 Feb 2016 18:51 Subject: Confirm To Me As Soon As You Contact The Bank Today Cc: My love , I feel a bit revived with your considerations to help me out of this prison called refugee camp because my stay here has never been a thing of joy to me and you are really gradually bringing back hope to my almost hopeless life and i will continue to pray that God will guide you so that you can assist me to successfully complete the transfer so that i can join you in your country and regain my freedom and normal life and also complete my studies as i was only in my second year in the university before the attack which killed my dear father and the crisis in my country which led to my escape from my country and my subsequent asylum in the refugee camp to secure my life and also be close to the bank where my late father deposited the fund for me. Moreover, i want to join you very soon in your country as soon as the transfer of my inherited fund is completed to your bank account in your country on my behalf because every minute that i spend here in the refugee camp is a waste in my life and life here in the refugee camp is difficult and sorrowful and my status now as a refugee makes me to weep so much because each time that i remember how my life suddenly crumbled from grace to grass and from being like a princess in my father' s house to an ordinary refugee, i weep uncontrollable because i never expected this in my life and that is why i am praying for God to use you to rescue me out from here. I am now going to give you the contact of the bank where my late father deposited the fund with me as the next of kin and also my late father' s bank account details but i want to plead with you to help and represent me in the bank with all sincerity because i do not want you to hurt or destroy my only hope to live a normal life again because the fund is the only thing that i have left in this life. Below is the bank contact address with my late father' s bank account details; Bank Name: Attijariwafa Bank of Senegal-BST(Dakar-Senegal) Bank Address: Caisse 36 XOF Yoff, Dakar-Senegal. Tel Nos: +221780192440/ +221765929809 Fax: +221338920073 Email Addresses: atijariwafabanque@fastservice.com OR atijariwafabank@financier.com Details of my late father' s bank account; Name of Depositor: (Dr.) Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel Next of kin: Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel Amount : $6.700,000 Account Number: A/C NO.510153001 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Send the letter below to the bank. Contact Person = Mr. Nigel Foster Dear Sir, I would like to state that my name is . I am the foreign beneficiary trustee to Miss Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel, I apply officially as it was directed by Miss Jemima in respect to her late father' s deposit, Late Dr. Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel in A/C NO.510153001 in your bank institution under your management . Being the co-beneficiary to the deposited fund in your Bank, May I pleased know what is required of me and from Miss Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel in order that the said deposit will be transferred into my Bank Account Number as desired by Miss Jemima. Let me know as soon as possible . Respectfully submit . Yours truly, = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = You have to kindly send the letter to the Attijariwafa bank of Senegal through the bank' s above email addresses and keep me informed as soon as you send the letter to the Attijariwafa bank and also keep me updated with every development from the bank so that i can know when the transfer will be completed and also advise or direct you if there is any need to ensure the successful completion of the transfer. Confirm to me as soon as you receive this email. Yours sincerely, Jemima Ahmed From: " Jemi baby" < jemimahmed@hotmail.com Date: 12 Feb 2016 18:51Subject: Confirm To Me As Soon As You Contact The Bank TodayCc: Date: 13 Feb 2016 13:21 Subject: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT/PROCEDURE OF TRANSFER(B.S.T) For the attention of REF: YOUR APPLICATION FOR CLAIMS/TRANSFER OF US$6,700,000.00(SIX MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND USD ONLY) BELONGING TO LATE DR. AHMED ABDULLAHI WAYEL. I hereby confirm receipt of your application for claims. Actually we have received notification from Miss Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel who is the heir to late Dr. Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel stating that she has appointed/nominated you to be her trustee, investor and manager for the purpose of releasing the sum mentioned above on her behalf. The letter further states that the fund should therefore be released to you on request on the status of next of kin to her late father. Meanwhile, before we can proceed on this transfer as contained in your application, Senegal Banking Procedures/Policies demand that you provide us with below stated documents for our records. The documents are to authenticate, legalize and confirm your status as next of kin to late Dr. Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel which Miss Jemima accepted to nominate you to be. 1) You will provide to us the Statement of account issued by this bank to our late customer Dr. Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel. 2) Present a copy of death certificate confirming his death. 3. Scanned copy of your partner' s birth certificate to proof that she is indeed late Dr. Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel' s daughter. 4) Affidavit in support of your claim from any Magistrate court here in Senegal. 5) A Power of attorney from a Senegalese resident attorney who must be a registered member of Senegal Bar Association (SBA). This document should present you as the next of kin to late Dr. Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel and give you legal powers to make this claim/transfer. The document must also be signed, stamped and sealed in any magistrate court in Senegal and signed by Miss Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel in the presence of the chief Magistrate. 6) Scan copy of any valid identification of yours (Driver's license, International passport, National identity card, voter' s registration card, work' s identity card) 7) Your receiving bank account coordinates with which you wish to receive the funds. Finally as the new beneficiary and next of kin to Miss Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel to her late father' s deposit with this bank, the fund would be transferred within hours after the receipt of the above requirements. Feel free to contact me back if you have any question. Giving you excellent services is our priority. Be informed accordingly, Yours faithfully, Mr. Nigel Foster (Foreign Operations/International Remittance Director) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient or delegate is strictly prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the Attijariwafa Bank plc and delete the material from any computer. The integrity and security of this message cannot by guaranteed on the Internet. The sender accepts no liability for the content of this e-mail or for the consequences of any actions taken on basis of the information provided. The recipient should check this e-mail and any attachments for the presence of virus. Attijariwafa Bank plc accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this e-mail. This disclaimer is the property of Attijariwafa Bank plc Senegal and must not be altered or circumvented in any manner. From: " Attijariwafa Bank Of Senegal" < atijariwafabanque@fastservice.com Date: 13 Feb 2016 13:21Subject: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT/PROCEDURE OF TRANSFER(B.S.T) BANKING & FINANCE HEAD OFFICE: CAISSE 36 XOF YOFF DAKAR SENEGAL Email Address: atijariwafabanque@fastservice.com Email Address: atijariwafabank@financier.com Tel: +221780192440 +221765929809 Fax: +221338920073 Our Ref: BST/SEN/053/16 Your Ref: ... Date: 13-02-2016 For the attention of Mr. , REF: YOUR APPLICATION FOR CLAIMS/TRANSFER OF US$6,700,000.00(SIX MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND USD ONLY) BELONGING TO LATE DR. AHMED ABDULLAHI WAYEL. I hereby confirm receipt of your application for claims. Actually we have received notification from Miss Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel who is the heir to late Dr. Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel stating that she has appointed/nominated you to be her trustee, investor and manager for the purpose of releasing the sum mentioned above on her behalf. The letter further states that the fund should therefore be released to you on request on the status of next of kin to her late father. Meanwhile, before we can proceed on this transfer as contained in your application, Senegal Banking Procedures/Policies demand that you provide us with below stated documents for our records. The documents are to authenticate, legalize and confirm your status as next of kin to late Dr. Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel which Miss Jemima accepted to nominate you to be. 1) You will provide to us the Statement of account issued by this bank to our late customer Dr. Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel. 2) Present a copy of death certificate confirming his death. 3. Scanned copy of your partner's birth certificate to proof that she is indeed late Dr. Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel's daughter. 4) Affidavit in support of your claim from any Magistrate court here in Senegal. 5) A Power of attorney from a Senegalese resident attorney who must be a registered member of Senegal Bar Association (SBA). This document should present you as the next of kin to late Dr. Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel and give you legal powers to make this claim/transfer. The document must also be signed, stamped and sealed in any magistrate court in Senegal and signed by Miss Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel in the presence of the chief Magistrate. 6) Scan copy of any valid identification of yours (Drivers license, International passport, National identity card, voter's registration card, work's identity card) 7) Your receiving bank account coordinates with which you wish to receive the funds. Finally as the new beneficiary and next of kin to Miss Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel to her late father's deposit with this bank, the fund would be transferred within hours after the receipt of the above requirements. Feel free to contact me back if you have any question. Giving you excellent services is our priority. Be informed accordingly, Yours faithfully, Mr. Nigel Foster (Foreign Operations/International Remittance Director) --------- The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient or delegate is strictly prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the Attijariwafa Bank plc and delete the material from any computer. The integrity and security of this message cannot by guaranteed on the Internet. The sender accepts no liability for the content of this e-mail or for the consequences of any actions taken on basis of the information provided. The recipient should check this e-mail and any attachments for the presence of virus. Attijariwafa Bank plc accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this e-mail. This disclaimer is the property of Attijariwafa Bank plc Senegal and must not be altered or circumvented in any manner. Date: 13 Feb 2016 17:49 Subject: I Shall Inform You As Soon As I Find A Lawyer Cc: My love , I so much appreciate your willingness to help me reclaim my inheritance from the bank. I am happy that the bank has agreed to transfer the my inherited fund to your account on my behalf. Hearing from the bank is a major step further in this transfer, Hopefully we will have everything completed soon. My love, the bank said that we must provide my late father' s statement of account, my late father' s death certificate, my birth certificate, power of attorney and affidavit of oath from a Senegalese resident lawyer. My love, i have with me here my late father' s last statement of the account and death certificate and my birth certificate which i have attached with this mail, so you have to send it to the bank and inform the bank managements that we will provide the remaining documents within some few days. Furthermore, we must need a lawyer who will help us in getting the power of attorney and affidavit of oath. My love i do not know any lawyer here but I will try to tell my Reverend Father about it and i am sure he will help us to find a good Senegalese lawyer that will help us to process the legal documents. As Soon as i get one, I will email you with his information so that you can contact him. Please what ever it takes to have this documents prepared by the lawyer, kindly do it for the love and feeling sake. You know i love you a lot and will do anything for you. Do this to me as well because you are all i have for my life restoration. I will let you know when i find the lawyer that can help in getting the remaining documents. Please make sure you add effort to see that this transfer is completed within the shortest possible time so that i can travel and join you in your country to regain my freedom and normal life. I will stop here for now and i hope to hear from you soon. Please take very good care of yourself for me and do not worry, God is with us. Yours sincerely, Jemima Ahmed From: " Jemi baby" < jemimahmed@hotmail.com Date: 13 Feb 2016 17:49Subject: I Shall Inform You As Soon As I Find A LawyerCc: Date: 16 Feb 2016 00:45 Subject: Please Contact This Lawyer For The Remaining Documents Cc: My love , Good day to you and i hope you are feeling alright today, I am pleased with the way you are using your position to help me recover my inheritance, God will guide, protect and strengthen you and your family for coming to the rescue of an orphan. For me i will forever leave to remember you. My love, as the bank said that we need power of attorney and affidavit of oath in order to transfer my inherited fund to your bank account in your country on my behalf. My love, i find it difficult because it was not easy for me to get a lawyer who will help us because of my refugee situation but i have use the influence of the Reverend priest to get this good lawyer, he is a famous human right lawyer, he has helped a lot of refugees in the past and i am confident our own will not be a different case . He promise to help us but insist we must follow with his instructions as that is the only way he can help us in getting those legal documents. Please try to do all he says as he has warned me that on no account will he attend to us unless we meet with his law firm requirements. I told him everything about you and he has promised to assist us, so please try and contact him on both telephone and e-mail, inform him that you are my foreign partner that you need his legal services to get a power of an attorney and affidavit of oath that will allow you to transfer my inherited fund from a BANK IN SENEGAL into your account. THE LAWYER INFORMATION ARE BELOW . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = TIJANI LAW FIRM . SOLICITORS AND ASSOCIATES . ADDRESS : RUE CZP 19 PK SULE LANE DAKAR-SENEGAL. PRIVATE TELEPHONE = 00221761369808 NAME: BARRISTER TIJANI ISLAM. E-MAIL: tijanii.chamber@lawyer.com E-MAIL: tijani.chambers@activist.com GOOD DAY SIR, I am Mr _ _ _ _ _ _, i will like you to help me and Miss Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel to get some of the documents the bank needs for the transfer of fund of the father of the little girl now late in the name Dr. Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel, she is the next of kin and my partner, i contacted the bank and they have agreed to make the transfer as soon as i can bring the documents they want from me which are the affidavit of oath from a high court in Senegal and the power of attorney from Senegal too. Sir, they asked me to do this with a Senegal based lawyer since the next of kin is living in Senegal, and here are my data, my name is Mr _ _ _ _ _ and my nationality is _ _ _ _ _ _, for the time being my mobile number is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ So i will be waiting to hear from you, how you can help me and Miss Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel to obtain those documents the bank needs from me to make this transfer, for now they are waiting for me to provide all those document they ask from me so it will be my pleasure if you tell me what i can do to get those legal documents. Thanks sir bye _ _ _ _ _ _ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Please my love, kindly let me know as soon as you contact the lawyer because i am hoping that my inherited fund will be transferred to your bank account in few days time so that i will start making arrangement on how i will be coming to join you in your country because my situation here is very sorrowful and difficult. Please try as much as you can to contact the lawyer today. Please you have to also send the statement of account, my father' s death certificate and my birth certificate to the bank' s email and tell them that you will provide the remaining documents within some few days. Thanks so much for all your efforts so far to help me out of my present difficult condition, i am forever indebted to you. Take care and have a wonderful day. Yours sincerely, Jemima Ahmed From: " Jemi baby" < jemimahmed@hotmail.com Date: 16 Feb 2016 00:45Subject: Please Contact This Lawyer For The Remaining DocumentsCc: Date: 17 Feb 2016 14:12 Subject: Tijani Law Firm Cc: Attn: The President of Tijani Law Firm has acknowledged the receipt of your e-mail inquiries on the issue of processing the Affidavit Of Support and Letter of Authorization for the transferring of the fund of your foreign partner, Miss Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel to any nominated account of your choice. Open the attachment of this message for your detail acknowledgment. Thanks. Barr. Tijani Islam (Esq.) (Principal Attorney-Islam Associates) Tel: +221761369808 From: " Barr.Tijani Islam" < tijanii.chamber@lawyer.com Date: 17 Feb 2016 14:12Subject: Tijani Law FirmCc: OUR REF: CSS/LMU/S/16 DATE: 17 th Feb. 2016 With due respect sir, SUBJECT: LEGAL SERVICES FOR PROCUREMENT OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS FOR THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS. I write to acknowledge the receipt of your message dated Tuesday 16th February, 2016 requesting for my chamber's legal services in respect to the above subject matter. It may interest you to know that your partner, Miss Jemima Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel contacted my office and gave me the detail explanation of the documents which the bank requested from you. I write to inform you that my law chamber has accepted to render this legal service which you seek from us. Our acceptance is in line with our operational procedures when it concerns to fund related cases. In view of the above, we have also concluded inquiries from other concerned Senegal authorities regarding the needful to secure the two documents required by Attijariwafa Bank of Senegal for your claim/transfer of the fund on status of next kin to the original depositor. Below is the detail explanation of the documents required by the bank. 1) Affidavit of oath and support: This document is to give you legal authority to represent your partner and receive the transfer of the fund; it would be signed, stamped and sealed in the Supreme Court of Senegal. 2) Letter of authorization/power of attorney: is also to be issued in your name on my chambers' letter headed paper. This is a legal document that will completely transfer ownership of this fund to you before the transfer. It costs a total of non-negotiable fee of ($750.00) Seven Hundred and Fifty USD to sign, stamp and seal (2) documents above in any magistrate court here in Senegal. This amount is to be paid to Senegal's Ministry of Justice. You should therefore arrange and get ready with this fee. My chamber's legal services fees is ($220.00) Two Hundred and Twenty USD totaling ($970.00) Nine Hundred and Seventy USD. These fees should be paid to my chambers before we commence duties. The above fees must be send via western union money transfer or money-gram with the below information to enable me secure and pay for all the signatory as mandated by the ministry of justice in the probate section of the Supreme Court of Dakar-Senegal as you have requested . Send the fees through western union money transfer or money-gram with my secretary name below: 1) Receiver's Name: Lomana Mazuwa Yenga 2) Address: Rue czp 19 pk Sule Lane Dakar, 3) Country: Senegal. Send us the following information's after the money is sent to help us facilitate the confirmation of the receipt through our e-mail as stated below: 1) Senders name and address 2) Control numbers of the payment 3) Text question and answer to the text 4) Amount Sent Meanwhile you are expected to send the following information to me (1) Your full name (2) Your correct residential address (3) Your phone or fax numbers respectively because it is essential in preparing the legal documents. Note that we give the extent of 2 days in every service and once the charges fee is sent, the legal documents will be ready before 10.00 am in the next two days, and the copies will be forwarded to you via email attachment or by fax immediately. Yours in service. Barr. Tijani Islam (Esq.) (Principal Attorney-Islam Associates) Tel: +221761369808 Jemi baby jemimahmed@hotmail.com > Date: 2016-02-17 18:44 GMT+04:00 Subject: Please Help Me Out To Pay The Lawyer My love, Good day to you and i hope that you are in good and perfect health condition. I want to first of all thank you again for your total love to me and thank you also for all your efforts to help me reclaim my inheritance from the bank and i pray that almighty God will touch your heart so that you can help me finish the transfer to your account on my behalf so that i can join you in your country and regain my freedom and live a normal and convenient life once again because i am almost dying here in the refugee camp and my life is now in your hands because you are now my only hope of my life restoration. Meanwhile, i have read through the letter from the lawyer that you forwarded to me and i have discussed with the lawyer through our Reverend father' s telephone and, as you can see the bank' s managements are ready to complete the transfer as soon as we provide all the transfer requirements and the lawyer says he is only waiting to receive the payment of his charges fee so that he will process the legal documents from the supreme court of Senegal to enable the bank to complete the transfer of my inherited fund to your bank account on my behalf and without any further delay. However, i want to plead with you to help me pay the lawyer so that the lawyer can assist us process those legal documents so that the bank can go ahead and complete the transfer without any further delay and then, you can recover your expenses to the lawyer and my reward of 15% of the total fund to you as i promised you in the beginning while the reminder of the amount will be my investment capital which you will also help me to manage since i do not yet have vast experience to manage huge amount of fund. Moreover, our Reverend priest who could have helped me is not in the financial position to help us as he explained to me that he is only into charity duties and does not work for salary because he dedicated his life to the services of God and humanity upon his confirmation as a Reverend Priest and the little amount that he receives from donations, he uses to take care of all the refugees here because he is like a father to us all and he, himself is so sad as he is not in the position to help us financially but he assured that he will always continue to be with us in prayers until we actualize our pursuance. Please, help me to pay the lawyer so that he can get the legal documents for us since he promised to get them within 2 working days after receiving his charges fee from you and the bank' s managements are now waiting for these remaining documents in order to complete the transfer. Please help me because i can no longer sleep at nights, i am always thinking and the camp authorities are now feeding us with only bread and water which is not good for human consumption, i have starved for the past 2 days and i am very hungry even as i write this mail to you without knowing when i can have something to eat. I am so scared because i do not want to die here in the refugee camp and this is why i am crying to you to help me pay the lawyer because you are the only person that i can cry to for help because you are now the only person that i have in this whole world. I will stop here for now and i hope to read a good news from you tomorrow when i access my mailbox again that you have paid the lawyer, i attached my refugee ID Card with some pictures of my late father' s burial to show you that my father who would have helped me is no more alive and you are my only hope of my life restoration. Please take very good care of yourself for me and may God bless you for coming to the rescue of an orphan like me. I am forever indebted to you. Yours sincerely, Jemima Ahmed From:Date: 2016-02-17 18:44 GMT+04:00Subject: Please Help Me Out To Pay The Lawyer Date: 18 Feb 2016 17:17 Subject: You Are My Only Hope Of My Life Restoration Cc: My love, Good day to you and i hope that you are in good health condition. First of all, i want to thank you for all your efforts so far to see that the transfer is completed successfully, to me you are in a God-sent and i pray the God will use you to rescue me out from my sorrowful and difficult living condition in this prison called refugee camp and i want to remind you that i will dedicate the rest of my life to you if only you can help me out from here. Moreover, i feel so worried because i just called the lawyer through our Reverend father' s telephone to plead with him to help us get the legal documents required for the transfer, and after the transfer, we can then pay him even double of his charges fee but unfortunately, the lawyer explained to me that he must have to first pay in the fees at the Supreme court of Senegal before the chief magistrate of the court can process, sign, seal, stamp and issue the documents to him. Meanwhile, you know my condition here in the refugee camp, i do not have any sources of income, i even starve here because most of the days, the camp authorities do not feed us and all my hope of life restoration is on the money that my late father left for me which i am pleading with you to help me reclaim from the bank so that i can use the money to take care of my life and as well compensate you adequately for your help to me. Moreover, i do not have any other person to cry to for help accept you and you have to please help me and i promise you that you will recover the expenses immediately after the transfer even if it means adding interest to you. Please, help me to pay the lawyer so that he can get the documents ready for us since he has promised to get the documents ready within 2 days after receiving the fees. Moreover, you know that the 2 documents are the only reason for the delay in the transfer as the bank is ready to transfer the money without any further delay as soon as we provide the documents to them. I understand your financial condition and i have strong believe that God is about to do a great thing in our lives. You know how much we are going to have after the transfer, so please do not allow me to loose this opportunity to reclaim my inheritance from the bank and live a normal life again because i am scared that the bank may cancel the transfer if we fail to provide these remaining documents and you can even re-contact the lawyer and tell him of how much you have at hand, maybe the lawyer can start with the processing of the legal documents with a part or advance payment and will receive his balance payment afterward. I will stop here for and i hope to hear from you soon with a good news that the lawyer has started processing the documents then, i will start preparing for my relocation to join you in your country. Take care and have a wonderful day. Yours sincerely, Jemima Ahmed From: " Jemi baby" < jemimahmed@hotmail.com Date: 18 Feb 2016 17:17Subject: You Are My Only Hope Of My Life RestorationCc: 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.... Washington (AFP) - Senator John McCain, a Republican Party elder who ran against Barack Obama in 2008, decried Tuesday the contest for his party's presidential nomination that at times has devolved into childish taunts. McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said it was "disturbing" that candidates are trading personal insults instead of discussing matters of substance. His comments came after General Philip Breedlove, NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe, gave a sobering assessment of Russian aggression and the spiraling Syrian migrant crisis. "I wish that every American could have heard your testimony today. Maybe we would have a presidential campaign that doesn't focus on the size of people's ears and whether they sweat or not," McCain said. He was referring to some of the latest personal barbs traded between Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, after Trump said Rubio had "really large ears" and mocked him for sweating. For his part, Rubio has insinuated that Trump might have wet himself during a debate, and drawn attention to the billionaire's "small hands" and his seemingly fake tan. "It's disturbing," McCain said. "I wish every American could hear your assessment of the situation and maybe we would focus on some of these issues." Americans were voting Tuesday in a pivotal day of nomination contests. Trump is leading the Republicans and Hillary Clinton is the Democratic frontrunner. By Joseph Akwiri MOMBASA (Reuters) - Container traffic through Kenya's biggest port grew by 7.5 percent in 2015 after new cargo-handling infrastructure was built, shortening the turnaround time for ships, port management said on Tuesday. The Indian Ocean port of Mombasa, the biggest in east Africa and the region's trade gateway, handles imports of fuel and consumer goods and exports of tea and coffee from landlocked neighbours, such as Uganda and South Sudan. Its traffic considered a measure for economic activity in east Africa. Acting managing director Catherine Muturi told a news conference in Mombasa that the port handled 26.7 million tonnes of cargo between January and December 2015, compared with 24.88 million tonnes handled during a similar period in 2014. Container traffic increased by 6.3 percent to 1,076,118 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2015 from 1,012,002 TEUs registered in 2014. "Although this performance falls short of our target of 1.1 million TEUs for last year, it is a manifestation that the port traffic is growing at a fast rate," Muturi said. Imports totalled 22.68 million tonnes, an increase of 9.2 percent from the 20.77 million tonnes handled in 2014. Exports also increased by 5 percent to 3.53 million tonnes from 3.37 million tonnes in 2014. But the volume of goods headed to neighbouring countries decreased by 28.4 percent, from 731,912 tonnes in 2014 to 523,993 in 2015, a trend Muturi attributed to the introduction of a new cargo-clearing system. Uganda remained the biggest transit market, with its cargo growing by 8.2 percent to 5.98 million tonnes in 2015, from 5.52 million tonnes in 2014. "This year we project to handle at least 1,142,837 TEUs of cargo, which will be a remarkable growth," said Muturi. On Monday, the port officially got a second container terminal that had been under construction, which Muturi said would provide additional cargo-handling capacity of 550,000 TEUs per year. (Editing by Edith Honan, Larry King) North Korea must pay the price for its latest nuclear test and rocket launch, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye said on Tuesday, vowing to pressure Pyongyang into accepting denuclearisation as its only viable option for survival. In a televised speech to mark the anniversary of a key date in Korea's struggle against Japanese colonial rule, Park said failure to respond to the North's "reckless provocations" would only result in further nuclear tests. "If we leave them alone, they will continue," said the president, who has significantly toughened her stance against Pyongyang in the wake of the North's fourth nuclear test on January 6 and a long-range rocket launch last month that was widely condemned as a ballistic missile test. "North Korea must clearly understand... that they can no longer maintain their regime through nuclear weapons," Park said. Her comments came as the UN Security Council prepared to vote Tuesday on a new US-drafted resolution that would impose the toughest sanctions yet on North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme. US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said adoption of the resolution would send "an unambiguous and unyielding message to the DPRK regime: The world will not accept your proliferation. There will be consequences for your actions." The draft text would require countries to take the unprecedented step of inspecting all cargo to and from North Korea, impose new trade restrictions and bar North Korean vessels suspected of carrying illegal goods from ports. - 'Pay the price' - Park said the draft, which has secured the approval of North Korea's main ally China, showed the collective will of the international community to ensure that Pyongyang "pay the price" for its refusal to halt its nuclear weapons programme. "My government will leave the door for dialogue open, but until North Korea shows they are willing to change and to pursue denuclearisation, we and the international community will continue to pressure North Korea," she said. Story continues "The ball is now in North Korea's court," she added. The UN resolution currently under discussion at the Security Council, represents a compromise between the United States and China, who had been at odds over how to respond to North Korea's recent tests. China wants its reclusive neighbour to halt its nuclear weapons programme and return to six-party international talks, maintaining that dialogue -- rather than sanctions -- is the best way to curb Pyongyang's behaviour. Beijing fears too much pressure could trigger the collapse of leader Kim Jong-Un's pariah regime, creating chaos on its border. Already elevated tensions on the Korean peninsula are likely to rise further next week when South Korea and the United States kick off annual joint military drills. North Korea views the exercises as provocative rehearsals for invasion, and has repeatedly demanded their permanent cancellation. In an editorial to mark the 1919 independence movement anniversary, the North Korean ruling party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, urged the defeat of "foreign forces" massing against the country. "The US and South Korean hostile forces seeking to start a nuclear war against us are the root source of threat to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula," the editorial said. Moscow (AFP) - The Kremlin on Tuesday defended a controversial media blackout on the grisly murder of a toddler allegedly killed and decapitated by her nanny who then paraded the bloodied head on a Moscow street. The death of the girl named Nastya, said by investigators to be just three or four years old, has shocked usually hardened Muscovites. City residents turned out to lay flowers at the metro station where the black-clad nanny was spotted pacing up and down on Monday, waving the severed head of a child and threatening to "blow everyone up". The suspect -- dubbed "the bloody nanny" in the media -- was detained on suspicion of butchering the girl, who had suffered from learning disabilities and epilepsy, at the family's apartment in northwestern Moscow, before setting fire to the home and fleeing. The agitated woman, who was reportedly also shouting "Allahu Akbar", has been sent for psychiatric examinations, investigators said. The suspect, identified as mother of three Gyulchekhra Bobokulova from Muslim-majority Uzbekistan, was set to appear in a court on Wednesday, with a judge expected to place her under official arrest. Many questioned the professionalism of police after she was allowed to pace up and down outside the metro station with the head for about 20 minutes. A spokeswoman for the Office of the General Prosecutor said a probe would be launched into the matter. The mass-circulation Moskovsky Komsomolets, citing Uzbek police, said the woman, aged in her 30s, had suffered from schizophrenia for 15 years. Komsomolskaya Pravda, citing a close family friend, said the live-in nanny had recently become very religious, spent a lot of time online and had brought home a prayer mat. - 'Too monstrous to show' - While footage of the shocking incident was released by several small television stations, national broadcasters did not report the murder. President Vladimir Putin's spokesman denied the state-controlled channels had received a gag order from the Kremlin but said the presidential administration approved of their decision. Story continues "As far as we know, the channels indeed have taken a decision not to show this horrible tragedy," said Dmitry Peskov. "And it seems to me, one can only express solidarity with this decision of the channels because this is probably too monstrous to be shown on television." He said the move was in line with international practice and was the channels' "civil stance." The tragedy jolted a usually dispassionate Moscow and by Tuesday evening mourners had laid heaps of flowers, toys, chocolate bars and balloons at the entrance to the Oktyabrskoe Pole metro station. Some people at the scene made the sign of the cross, while Muslims prayed. A call was made on social media for a memorial rally later Tuesday to support the family. - 'Parallel reality' - Critics derided the media blackout, charging that national television would provide blanket coverage of a similar tragedy were it to happen in the West. Others noted that nothing had prevented state-controlled Channel One from airing a false report claiming the Ukrainian army had nailed a three-year-old boy to a board in the east of the country in 2014. "One simply needs to understand that federal media tell stories not about life in Russia but about a parallel reality in Ukraine, Europe, and Syria," wrote Sergei Medvedev, a professor at the Higher School of Economics. Some experts said the Kremlin did not want to inflame anti-immigrant or nationalist sentiments. Channel One's deputy general director Kirill Kleimyonov said the gruesome footage could not be shown "under any circumstances". By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday there was a growing threat from Islamic State militants waging chemical warfare in the Middle East and called for global negotiations on a new pact to combat what he called "a grave reality of our time". Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the appeal in a speech to the U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, a now largely moribund forum which clinched a major pact banning chemical weapons in the 1990s. "However, we still face significant gaps related, in particular, to the use of chemicals for terrorist purposes," Lavrov told the 65-member-state forum. "This threat is getting extremely urgent in the light of newly revealed facts of repeated use of not only industrial toxic chemicals but also of full-fledged chemical warfare agents by ISIL (Islamic State) and other terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq," he said. Islamic State militants are believed to be responsible for sulfur mustard gas attacks in Syria and Iraq last year, the United States said last month. A confidential report by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) concluded that at least two people were exposed to sulfur mustard in Marea, north of Aleppo, in August. "It does not leave any doubt that chemical terrorism is emerging not as an abstract threat, but a grave reality of our time which could and should be addressed," Lavrov said. "There is a growing danger of similar crimes being committed on the territory of Libya and Yemen," he said. Lavrov said there were reports of militant groups gaining access to scientific and technical documentation on the production of chemical weapons, seizing chemical plants and "engaging foreign specialists to help synthesize chemical warfare agents", without giving details. He said launching negotiations would revive the Conference on Disarmament, whose members include U.N. Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, but which has not been able to clinch any disarmament agreements since "the last decade of the 20th Century". (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Janet Lawrence) By Lefteris Papadimas ATHENS (Reuters) - Mohammed Asif and his family have no food, no shelter and no security. "Home", for now, is a thin green blanket spread over a piece of plastic on a pavement in a grimy neighborhood of the Greek capital. Asif, who though 43 looks at least 20 years older, is one of thousands of Afghans trapped in Greece, their hopes of reaching sanctuary in northern Europe dashed by a cascade of border shutdowns from Austria to Macedonia. "We are desperate. We left Afghanistan because we are Hazaras and the Taliban threatened to kill us, my entire family," he told Reuters. "What will we do now?" Most of the 400 Afghans vying for limited pavement space in Athens' Victoria Square are Hazaras, an ethnic minority who have long suffered discrimination and persecution back home, with thousands massacred by Taliban militias in the 1990s. Asif, his wife and their two children, aged 10 and 13, have been sleeping rough for three days. The Greek state, inundated by an influx of trapped refugees which was at the last count at least 22,000, is clearly absent from Victoria, a once upmarket area of Athens that has now sunk into disrepute. Drug dealing and prostitution are rampant. There are no public facilities and soiled nappies are strewn on a sidewalk next to bins brimming with rubbish. A Christian charity distributes biscuits and orange juice, and the occasional local turns up with a saucepan of food. "A BETTER FUTURE" Further down, young mothers with month-old babies sat on the sidewalk. A man held a child aged about 10 in his arms, looking stonily ahead. "I'll stay here until Macedonia opens its borders," said Ali Khan Ranjbar, 28, from Ghazni, a city in central Afghanistan and a Hazara like Asif. As of Feb. 20, crossings of Afghans to Macedonia have ceased, with witnesses reporting migrants being forcibly removed from border outposts and sent by buses back to Athens. On Monday Macedonian police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of migrants who stormed the border from Greece as a deeply divided Europe traded barbs over how to tackle its biggest humanitarian crisis in decades. According to United Nations data, about a quarter of the one million refugees and migrants who fled their homes to head to Europe last year were Afghans. "I don't have any more money. I paid $10,000 to get to Europe ... I want to go to Germany or Sweden or Austria for my kids to have a better future," said Asif. But German Chancellor Angela Merkel is under heavy pressure at home to end her open-door policy towards migrants. Sweden is rethinking its asylum policy and Austria last week capped the number of asylum claims at 80 per day. (Writing By Michele Kambas; Editing by Gareth Jones) The office of Malaysia's scandal-plagued prime minister on Tuesday denounced a Wall Street Journal report which alleged that he accepted hundreds of millions of dollars that originated from a state firm he established. The Wall Street Journal report, citing investigators in foreign countries and other anonymous sources with knowledge of the money movements, also said the sums received by Najib Razak may have topped $1 billion -- far more than previously thought. The fund transfers to Najib -- first revealed by the Journal last July -- and allegations of huge sums pilfered from the state company have rocked Malaysian politics, prompting calls for Najib's ousting. Najib, 62, and the company -- 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), an investment vehicle founded in 2009 -- have consistently denied wrongdoing but critics have accused both of failing to provide convincing proof. Najib's office released a statement saying the newspaper had become a "willing vehicle" for those plotting to oust him. It did not specify who was behind the alleged plot, but former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has led calls for Najib to be removed. "They (the newspaper) keep repeating the same old allegations without providing evidence; they keep relying solely on anonymous sources that might not even exist; and they keep choosing to omit key known facts," the statement said. The statement did not directly refute the key allegations in the story. It also repeated a Malaysian government claim that the money Najib received was a gift from the Saudi government. No details have been given about the reason for the Saudi "personal donation", which has not been confirmed by the Saudi government and is widely derided in Malaysia. 1MDB also released a statement repeating its assertion that it had never given money to Najib. The donations to Najib's personal bank account were made in 2013 just before a general election. The longtime ruling party squeaked through with its worst showing ever amid growing opposition to the government. Story continues The donations were initially put at $681 million. But the Wall Street Journal report said its investigations indicated they may have reached $1 billion. It said much of this originated from 1MDB and moved through a complex web of overseas financial entities, aided by officials in Abu Dhabi. Malaysia's attorney general has said $620 million out of the $681 million was returned to the Saudis, without explaining why. Since the scandals emerged last year Najib has purged critics in his government, detained whistleblowers, and clamped down on media reporting of the affair. But US authorities are reportedly looking into 1MDB-related overseas fund flows, while Swiss, British, Singaporean and Hong Kong authorities have acknowledged scrutinising the affair. Swiss authorities said recently they believe up to $4 billion may have been stolen from Malaysian state firms and have frozen millions in accounts linked to 1MDB, saying they were investigating possible fraud and money-laundering. By Thomas Escritt AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - An Islamist fighter caused irreparable damage to Africa's cultural heritage by destroying religious sites in the ancient city of Timbuktu during the 2012 conflict in Mali, international prosecutors said on Tuesday. Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, a former trainee teacher, had led and personally taken part in the attacks on nine mausoleums and mosques in the city with pick-axes and crowbars, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) said. Al-Mahdi -- an ethnic Tuareg who prosecutors say belonged to the Ansar Dine militant group, an ally of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb -- is the first person to be charged with destroying cultural artifacts by the court. "This crime affects the soul and spirit of the people," said prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, comparing the attacks on the ancient seat of learning to the destruction wrought by Islamic State militants on Palmyra in Syria and the Taliban's 2001 defacement of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in Afghanistan. "These were sites dedicated to religion and historic monuments and did not constitute military objectives," she said, adding their destruction hit "the deepest and most intimate part of a human being, their faith." At the hearing, prosecutors must convince judges, led by Kenya's Joyce Aluoch, that they have marshaled sufficient evidence to justify a full trial. The ICC has been examining events in Mali since 2012, when Tuareg rebels seized part of the north, imposing a strict interpretation of Islamic law. French and Malian troops pushed them back the following year. Known as the "City of 333 Saints", Timbuktu was a trading hub and spiritual center by the 14th century, playing a key role in the spread of Islam across the continent. The mausoleums of those scholars remain important pilgrimage sites. Al-Mahdi, who was wearing a frilled white shirt and rimless spectacles and rose to confirm he understood the charges, cut a very different figure from the warlords and political leaders who have previously appeared before the international court accused of killings and human rights abuses. Bensouda said Al-Mahdi, known to his followers as a religious scholar, had helped plan and lead the attacks, implementing rulings of the Islamic Tribunal set up by the rebels occupying Mali. Most of the associates with whom he had planned the attacks were now dead, she said. (Reporting By Thomas Escritt; Editing by Janet Lawrence) The Hague (AFP) - Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday accused a Malian jihadist of war crimes for "a callous" 2012 attack on the centuries-old world heritage site of Timbuktu. "We must stand up to the destruction and defacing of our common heritage," said chief ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda as she unveiled a single war crimes charge against Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi. "Humanity's collective consciousness was shocked by the destruction of these sites. Such an attack must not go unpunished," she insisted at the tribunal, set up in 2002 to try the world's worst crimes. Faqi is the first jihadist to appear before the Hague-based ICC and the first person to face a single war crimes charge for an attack on a global historic and cultural monument. The case comes amid a global outcry over the razing by the so-called Islamic State group of other irreplacable cultural and religious sites in Iraq and Syria which bear testament to the world's collective history. A member of an Islamic court set up by the Malian jihadists to enforce strict sharia law, Faqi is said to have jointly ordered or carried out the destruction of nine mausoleums and Timbuktu's famous Sidi Yahia mosque, dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries. Bensouda called the attacks a "callous assault on the dignity of an entire population and their cultural identity." Founded between the 11th and 12th centuries by Tuareg tribes, Timbuktu was dubbed "the city of 333 saints" and added to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites in 1988. Despite having been a centre of Islamic learning during its golden age in the 15th and 16th centuries, it was considered idolatrous by the jihadists. - 'Contempt for history' - ICC prosecutors say Faqi was a leader of Ansar Dine, a mainly Tuareg group, which held sway over Mali's northern desert together with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and a third local group from early 2012 until being routed in a French-led intervention in January 2013. Story continues Dressed in a simple collarless white shirt and his mass of curly black hair held back by headphones, Faqi listened intently, occasionally raising an eyebrow, as Bensouda accused him and his co-perpetrators of showing "their contempt" for Timbuktu's earthen shrines. "I've understood the charge well," Faqi told presiding judge Joyce Aluoch, speaking in Arabic. In what is an unprecedented case, Faqi is also the first person to appear at the ICC on charges arising out of the violence which rocked the western African nation of Mali, where stretches of the remote north still remain out of government control. Prosecutors are seeking to persuade the three judges that there is enough evidence to proceed to a trial with Faqi in the dock. "Let us be clear. What is at stake here is not just walls and stones. The destroyed mausoleums were important from a religious point of view, from a historical point of view and from an identity point of view," said Bensouda. Faqi was arrested in Niger and transferred to the ICC in September 2015. A trial will "set a precedent for trying individuals for this crime at a time when attacks on historic and cultural monuments as well as other cultural crimes have gained prevalence and attention in Syria and elsewhere," said Jonathan Birchall, a spokesman for the NGO Open Society. Despite the significance of the case, some rights groups however have called for the charges against Faqi to be broadened notably to include rape and sexual slavery. "Given his role in the Islamic police and the 'manners (anti-vice) squad' in Timbuktu he should face charges for other international crimes, such as sexual violence," said the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). UNESCO has meanwhile restored the 14 mausoleums that were destroyed in Timbuktu, which is about 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the capital, Bamako. By Ian Simpson (Reuters) - The embattled president of Mount St. Mary's University has resigned, the college said on Monday, after an outcry over his comparison of struggling freshmen to bunnies who should be drowned or shot to boost the college's academic standing. Simon Newman, a Los Angeles private equity executive who had headed the small Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland since December 2014, said controversy over his administration had become too great a distraction for the school. "I believe it is the right course of action for the Mount at this time, he said in a statement. Newman had sought to tighten retention rates and boost Mount St. Mary's academic standing by setting a policy to weed out students seen as likely to fail within the first weeks of the 2015-2016 school year. Newman drew fire in January after the Mountain Echo student newspaper quoted him as telling a faculty member opposed to the plan, "This is hard for you because you think of the students as cuddly bunnies, but you cant. You just have to drown the bunnies ... put a Glock to their heads. He apologized and said his comments were taken out of context. The newspaper did not provide the full quote. The plan would have used a survey to identify for dismissal 20 to 25 freshmen at the 2,300-student school by a Sept. 25, 2015 deadline. The students who left would be eligible for a full tuition refund. Newman's plan was thwarted since no names were provided by an extended Oct. 2 deadline, the Mountain Echo reported. Newman also attracted criticism after he fired two faculty members and demoted the provost amid the growing controversy. He later reinstated the professors. The board of trustees named Karl Einolf, the dean of the school's Richard J. Bolte Sr School of Business, to be acting president. Mount St. Mary's is the second-oldest Catholic university in the United States. (Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Andrew Hay) (Reuters) - The chief executive officer of an international metallurgical company has been arrested on charges of illegally exporting aerospace-grade metals to Iran, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday. Erdal Kuyumcu, 44, of Woodside, New York, was to make his initial court appearance in New York on Tuesday afternoon, the Justice Department said in a news release. The complaint alleges that Kuyumcu, a U.S. citizen and the CEO of Global Metallurgy LLC, twice exported a cobalt-nickel powder used in aerospace, missile production and nuclear applications. Exporting the metallic powder to Iran without a license from the U.S. Treasury Department is illegal, the news release said. (Reporting by Eric Beech in Washington; Editing by Mohammad Zargham) KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Deposits into Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's bank accounts ran to hundreds of millions of dollars more than previously identified by probes into state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Citing two unnamed people familiar with flows into Najib's accounts and a person familiar with one overseas investigation, the report said that more than $1 billion was deposited from 2011 to 2013, far more than the $681 million earlier identified. The paper said global investigators believe much of the $1 billion originated with the state fund, known as 1MDB, but did not specify where the extra money came from or what happened to it. The report contradicts a conclusion reached recently by Malaysia's chief law officer. Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib in January of any corruption or criminal offences, saying the $681 million transferred into Najib's account was a gift from a member of Saudi Arabia's royal family and that most of it was returned. A government spokesman said Malaysian authorities had gone to Saudi Arabia to "examine documentation" and interviewed members of the royal family and officials who handled the donations. "As stated by the attorney-general of Malaysia, the funds received were a donation from Saudi Arabia," the spokesman said in a statement in response to the latest report. Najib has been buffeted for months by allegations of graft and financial mismanagement at debt-burdened 1MDB and in particular by revelations of the transfer of around $681 million into his account in 2013. He has denied wrongdoing, saying the funds were a legal political donation and he did not take any money for personal gain. The Wall Street Journal report said money beyond the $681 million arrived in Najib's account in 2011 and 2012. It said investigators in two countries believed funds originated from 1MDB and moved through a complex web of transactions. Najib is chairman of the board of advisors to IMDB, a fund set up in 2009, when he came to office, to invest in projects of national importance. In response to the WSJ report, 1MDB said it has consistently maintained that it has not paid any funds to the personal accounts of the Prime Minister. "This has been reiterated by multiple lawful authorities including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Malaysian Attorney General, and various reputable international publications, who have confirmed that these funds came from Saudi Arabia," it said in an email response. Probes into the fund's finances have been opened in Malaysia, the United States, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Abu Dhabi, the Wall Street Journal said. (Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by John Chalmers and Alex Richardson) Idomeni (Greece) (AFP) - Desperate and freezing, migrants scramble over each other to grab food thrown out from the back of a van. It has been a long, cold night on the Greek-Macedonian border. In mud-soaked fields nearby, a chilly March daybreak reveals a bleak scene, after an overnight downpour left hundreds of tents drenched and children coughing miserably. "We have been waiting for six days," said Farah, a 32-year-old Iraqi woman from Baghdad, as the van distributing canned food and long-life milk was quickly mobbed and emptied in minutes. "The food is not enough, everyone is lying to us and we are desperate," added Farah, among some 7,000 people -- many stranded near the Idomeni border crossing for days -- who awoke under wet canvas among sodden wheat fields. Fayez, a 27-year-old computer technician from Syria, agreed. "We have to queue for over three hours, for not enough food," he said. "We've been here four days. We want to go to Sweden but our money is running out." The grim weather has already taken a harrowing toll on the travellers' health: many children can be heard coughing and crying among the tents. Zineb Hosseini, a Syrian mother of five, said her family was "freezing". "And now the wait begins anew," she added. The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity that is helping to run one of the area's two camps has reported widespread colds and several cases of gastroenteritis, whilst warning that tent and food supplies are running low. "The situation here is quite chaotic. (People) are coming with taxis, on foot, with whatever means they can find," MSF representative Vicky Markolefa said. - 'A second war' - Yousef Karajakes, a 30-year-old pharmacist from the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, said he fled the civil war only to find himself in another conflict. "We are Syrian and Iraqi, we come here from the war just to find another war. They told us come, come, come here, come here and now we come and found a second war," said Karajakes, who lost his wife and child in a bombing. Story continues With Austria and Balkan states capping the numbers of migrants entering their territory, there has been a swift build-up along the Greece-Macedonia border with Athens warning that the number of people "trapped" could reach up to 70,000 by next month. There are currently some 25,000 refugees and migrants on Greek soil and around 1,000 continue to arrive on a typical day, government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili told reporters. Athens on Tuesday said it was asking the EU for half a billion euros in emergency funds to help shelter 100,000 refugees, warning that the influx was threatening to overwhelm its crisis-hit resources. "We cannot bear the strain of all the refugees coming here," Gerovassili said. Angered by ongoing border closures, hundreds of desperate migrants tried to break through the border on Monday, with Macedonian police firing tear gas into a crowd that included children. The closures have sharpened divisions in the EU with Germany accusing Austria of triggered a domino effect by saying it would cap asylum requests at 80 per day and allow only 3,200 migrants to cross its territory daily. The UN refugee agency warned that Greece could not cope with the crisis on its own, and other European countries needed to take in more refugees. "For us, there is no Plan B. Greece needs a safety valve. Countries have to wake up," said Vincent Cochetel, the UNHCR coordinator for the refugee crisis in Europe. - Austria in 'state of panic' - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday blamed Vienna's stance on domestic political considerations, saying Austrian Chancellor Werner Feymann was "in a state of political panic". "The far-right is rising above 30 percent ahead of presidential elections and this has led to spasmodic moves," he told Star TV. Back on the mud-caked border, Karajakes welled up as he recalled what led him to flee his home country, leaving him in his current plight. "I lose everything there, I lose my wife and I lose my daughter. They are dead, in a bomb, in the war," he said, suddenly overcome, emotion catching in his throat. "I don't have anyone here. I'm alone in this life." Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwean former vice president Joice Mujuru launched a new political party Tuesday in a direct challenge to veteran President Robert Mugabe's all-powerful ZANU-PF, as speculation increases over his succession. "Today is a historic day," said Mujuru as she officially unveiled her Zimbabwe People First party at a press conference in the capital, Harare. Mugabe, who recently turned 92, has ruled since independence in 1980 during an era marked by vote-rigging, mass emigration, accusations of human rights abuses and economic decline. He is expected to stand again for election in 2018, though jockeying over who will take over after him has intensified due to his advanced age and speculation about his health. At the press conference, Mujuru refused to criticise Mugabe, saying he "has been my boss for a long time and I don't want to be dragged into discussing persons". Analysts said Mujuru faces a huge challenge to become a contender for power. "Having been with ZANU-PF for more than 30 years, she is still largely seen as part of the establishment," Rashweat Mukundu of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute think-tank told AFP. "My projection is that come 2018, ZANU-PF will have the same result as in the 2013 elections. They control the state machinery and have all the advantages while the opposition is fragmented." A former ZANU-PF stalwart, Mujuru served in several cabinets under Mugabe and was seen for many years as his favoured choice of successor. She was a guerrilla fighter during Zimbabwe's 1970s liberation war before rising to become vice president in 2004. - Rival to Mugabe's wife? - Mujuru, 60, was fired from Mugabe's government and ZANU-PF in 2014 after a campaign by the president's wife Grace denigrating her and accusing her of fomenting party division and plotting to topple Mugabe. On Tuesday, Mujuru responded to questions about Grace's accusations by saying: "I am now swearing before you that I am neither a witch nor an assassin." Story continues She signalled her intention to form a rival party last year by releasing a manifesto that opposed Mugabe's key policies including indigenisation laws that compel foreign firms to cede majority stakes to locals. "The scourge of corruption needs to be totally uprooted," she said at the party launch. "We urge all our war veterans, police, army and intelligence services to defend the constitution." She was joined at the event by former ZANU-PF ministers Dzikamai Mavhaire and Didymus Mutasa among others. "We do not want violence in this country. Mujuru is a person who builds. I do not engage in quarrelsome activities with people," she told about 100 cheering supporters after the launch as anti-riot police looked on. ZANU-PF has been riven by factional fights over Mugabe's succession although party figures have sought to downplay any splits. Emmerson Mnangagwa, who replaced Mujuru as vice president, is now viewed as the likely next president, with Grace Mugabe, 50, also a possible candidate. The president turned 92 on February 21 and held a lavish birthday party last Saturday that was criticised as the country endures a severe drought and a moribund economy. "We should remain united and use proper channels to solve our differences," he told the crowd, accusing Britain and the United States of funding "individuals both within and outside the party to cause factionalism". Mujuru's husband Solomon Mujuru, Zimbabwe's first post-independence army general, died in a mysterious house fire in 2011. In the 2013 presidential election, Mugabe won 61 percent of the vote against 34.9 percent recorded by Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The MDC has since declined in influence after splitting several times. By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar will announce presidential nominations on March 10, the speaker of its upper house of parliament said on Tuesday, advancing the original date by a week, as a lengthy political transition in the Southeast Asian nation enters its last stages. The news follows three meetings on the transition between military chief Min Aung Hlaing and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy will dominate the incoming government after having won the Nov. 8 election. The meetings sparked speculation that a deal would be struck to allow Suu Kyi to become president, despite a constitutional bar, and even though the military showed no wavering in its view that there should be no rapid amendment to remove the hurdle. "The date for holding the meetings of the three presidential electoral colleges has been put forward by one week, to March 10," said Mahn Win Khaing Than, the speaker of the upper house of parliament. The NLD swept some 80 percent of elected seats in November, enough to push through its president, but Suu Kyi is blocked from holding the country's highest office because her two sons are not Myanmar citizens, nor was her late husband. The NLD has no number two after Suu Kyi, who has said she will control the government from "above the president," and rumors have swirled over who might fill the top post. Myanmar's lengthy transition process meant the NLD-dominated parliament sat for the first time on February 1. On March 10, each of the two chambers will nominate its vice-presidential candidate, while the military MPs, who are guaranteed a quarter of the seats, nominate the third. Once the candidates are in place, a joint-chamber session picks the president for a five-year term. The two losing candidates become vice-presidents. Candidates do not need to be elected members of the legislature. The president then picks the cabinet, which will take over from President Thein Sein's outgoing government on April 1. It is unclear if the presidential vote will take place on the same day as the nominations are announced. One analyst saw the advanced process as a sign that talks between the military and the NLD for its leader, Suu Kyi, to become president had made no headway. "Setting the vote on the presidency so close to the deadline for the handover of power was part of the NLDs pressure strategy," said Romain Caillaud, of FTI Consulting in Singapore. "That the vote has been moved forward is an acknowledgment this strategy has failed." (Writing by Timothy Mclaughlin; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) The problem with breaking the sound barrier is the jarring sonic boom that an aircraft creates as it accelerates faster than the speed of sound (about 768 miles per hour). So NASA wants engineers to figure out a way to build a quiet supersonic aircraft capable of carrying passengers. NASA awarded a contract Monday to a team led by Lockheed Martin engineers. The project is called Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) and the idea is to create a plane that will only have a supersonic "heartbeat," or a soft thump instead of a loud sonic boom. "NASA is working hard to make flight greener, safer and quieter all while developing that travel faster, and building an aviation system that operates more efficiently," NASA administrator Charles Bolden said Monday during a press conference. "To that end, it's worth noting that it's been almost 70 years since Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 as part of our predecessor agency's high speed research. Now we're continuing that supersonic X-plane legacy with this preliminary design award for a quieter supersonic jet with an aim toward passenger flight." When an aircraft passes through the air, it creates a trail of waves in front of it and behind it. As the plane's speed increases, the waves are forced together and compressed into a cone-shaped shock wave, according to NASA. The sharp release of pressure from the cone as the plane passes through it creates a continuous sonic boom that people on the ground can hear. What a plane looks like when it breaks the sound barrier The Federal Aviation Administration has banned supersonic flight over land because of the loud noise that comes with it. That's one of the biggest barriers to offering supersonic flight to paying customers. So NASA wants to figure out a way to get to supersonic speeds without the boom. "Developing, building and flight testing a quiet supersonic X-plane is the next logical step in our path to enabling the industry's decision to open supersonic travel for the flying public," Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator for NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission, said at the conference. This quiet supersonic plane is part of a NASA program called New Aviation Horizons charged with designing more fuel-efficient aircraft that produce fewer emissions. Media group News Corp. has agreed to pay $280 million to settle accusations brought by consumer packaged goods companies that it has a monopoly on in-store advertising in the United States. The settlement ended a trial in the class action lawsuit that began the same day in a New York courtroom. News America Marketing, a News Corp subsidiary, has faced accusations since 2012 from companies such as Dial Corp and Kraft Foods -- now Kraft Heinz -- that it abused its dominant position for in-store advertising that includes coupon dispensers and electronic signs. In a statement, News Corp said News America Marketing has "consistently denied any wrongdoing in this case," which involves allegations that date back to 1997. It said the settlement was "in the best interests of our company and our stockholders." News Corp settled a similar case in 2010 for $500 million involving competitor Valassis. The direct marketing and newspaper coupon company has since been acquired by MacAndrews and Forbes Holdings. Brussels (AFP) - NATO vessels deployed in the Aegean Sea to help stop the flow of migrants into Europe have not yet started operating in Turkish waters and are waiting for the go-ahead from alliance member Ankara, diplomats told AFP Tuesday. Despite requests by the NATO operation's German command, "the Turks refused" this weekend to allow the vessels to enter into Turkish waters, a diplomatic source told AFP. Another diplomat confirmed the report. The unprecedented mission, which seeks to tackle migrant smugglers, was launched earlier this month and aims to help the European Union cope with its worst migration crisis since World War II. The plan is for the NATO force to conduct reconnaissance, monitoring and surveillance to provide information to Greece, Turkey and the EU's border agency Frontex so that they -- not the alliance -- can deal with the traffickers. Longstanding disputes between Athens and Ankara over Aegean airspace and territorial waters have however held up agreement on the operational details. Turkish authorities have now asked Rear Admiral Jorg Klein, the German commander of the NATO operation, "to go to Ankara to determine the area where (NATO) might deploy", the diplomatic source said. "That is now being discussed between the Germans and the Turks," the source added. Turkey meanwhile "is showing little to no interest" in taking back migrants picked up by the NATO vessels at sea as they attempt to make the perilous crossing to Greece, the source said. Plans for the mission were first laid out in a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara on February 8. Three days later, defence ministers from NATO's member states gave their go-ahead to start preparing the operation, and to the immediate deployment of three vessels in the Aegean. More than a million migrants fleeing war in Syria and upheaval across the Middle East, Asia and Africa landed in the European Union last year, the bulk of them making the perilous journey across the Aegean from Turkey to Greece. By Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - The number of nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize surged to a new record for 2016, a guardian of the award said on Tuesday, with contenders ranging from peace negotiators in Colombia to U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. "It came as a pleasant surprise," Olav Njoelstad, director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, told Reuters of the leap in the number of nominees to 376 from a previous high of 278 in 2014. Thousands of people, from members of every parliament worldwide to all former winners, are eligible to make nominations. Nomination does not imply Nobel endorsement. Norwegian Nobel experts who track publicly announced nominations reckon those with a chance include former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden and Colombia's government and FARC rebel group - if they succeed in peace talks to end five decades of war. Trump, frontrunner in the U.S. Republican presidential primaries, had little if any chance of success. Njoelstad said there was no clear pattern to explain the surge in nominations from around the world. The deadline for nominations was Feb. 1 and the winner of the prize, worth $930,000, will be announced in October. "There are of course a number of very serious conflicts and troublespots and problems like the refugee crisis which, it's easy to imagine, will prompt more nominations," Njoelstad said. The secretive five-member committee had its first meeting of 2016 on Monday. Greek islanders helping Syrian refugees crossing the Mediterranean were also among those proposed. Last year's award was a surprise, to a coalition of Tunisian democracy campaigners, the National Dialogue Quartet. (Editing by Ralph Boulton) By Karen Brooks (Reuters) - A Raleigh, North Carolina, police officer on Monday killed a man who was fleeing arrest, authorities said, and a local TV station reported protesters chanting "black lives matter" gathered at the scene. Raleigh police did not give the race of either the officer or the dead man. But a black woman who identified herself as the victim's mother told local television the officer was white and that her son was shot in the back as he ran away. Raleigh Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown told reporters that the suspect was running from an officer who sought to arrest him for a drug offense. He was shot near a convenience store just after 12 p.m. A gun was found near the body. The deaths of African-Americans, many of them unarmed, at the hands of police over the past few years have sparked a debate around the United States and on the presidential campaign trail. The Black Lives Matter movement sprang up following deaths in Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere. A crowd gathered at the scene of the shooting in Raleigh, North Carolina's capital, and chanted "black lives matter," according to WTVD-TV in Raleigh. The American Civil Liberties Union's North Carolina chapter posted on Twitter that a vigil would be held for the victim. Police did not release the name of the officer nor of the man who was killed and have not released further details about the incident. The woman who identified herself as the dead man's mother, Rolanda Byrd, told local media that she had heard from "four or five people" that her son, Akiel Denkins, was "shot seven times by a white officer with a bald head." Deck-Brown said the State Bureau of Investigation and the police department will investigate and send a report to the City Council within five business days. "I ask for your prayers for the families, for our police department and, most of all, for our community," said Deck-Brown, who is black. Story continues The Raleigh City Council was scheduled on Monday to discuss whether to start requiring police officers to wear body cameras, but the issue was removed from the agenda after the shooting, the ACLU said. "...Far too many people of color are victims of wrongful targeting and excessive use of force by law enforcement officers across the country, and North Carolina is not immune to that reality," said Sarah Preston, the group's acting executive director. (Reporting by Karen Brooks in Fort Worth, Texas; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) Geneva (AFP) - North Korea will boycott the UN Human Rights Council, Foreign Minister Ri Su-Yong said Tuesday, deploring the "politicisation" of the body. "We shall no longer participate in international sessions singling out the human rights situation of (North Korea) for mere political attack," Ri told the council, charging it was plagued by "politicisation, selectivity and double standards." The UN's top rights body has repeatedly slammed the situation in North Korea, with a massive 2014 report charging the country and its leadership were guilty of a wide range of crimes against humanity. But Ri insisted Tuesday that the United States and others who have long yearned for the "elimination of the DPRK" (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) were using false allegations of human rights abuses to boost their cause. He charged they were driving a "human rights racket" against the country. They were offering more than $5,000 (4,600 euros) to "so-called North Korean defectors" to get them to "fabricate" shocking testimony about the situation in the country, Ri said. He also claimed that Pyongyang's enemies were dangling promises of economic aid to entice UN member countries to adopt resolutions on human rights in North Korea. "In other words, the voting process at the international human rights mechanisms is being commercialised," Ri said. North Korea would no longer take part in the process, he said, stressing that from now on, "whether or not such resolutions are to be put to a vote will be none of our business and we will never be bound by them." Later Tuesday, the UN Security Council in New York is due to vote on a US-drafted resolution imposing a raft of new sanctions on North Korea following its recent nuclear test and rocket launch. By Ian Graham BELFAST (Reuters) - Prosecutors in Northern Ireland withdrew their case on Tuesday against a man they believed was responsible for 29 murders in the 1998 Omagh bombing - the worst attack in decades of violence in the province. On August 15, 1998, a car bomb exploded on a busy shopping street in the town just months after a peace deal to end sectarian violence, provoking domestic and international outrage. The 29 dead included a woman pregnant with twins, and more than 200 people were wounded in the blast. No one has been convicted for the bombing in a criminal court and Tuesday's decision angered the victims' families. The Public Prosecution Service announced in court that charges against Seamus Daly, a 45 year-old man from the Irish Republic, were being withdrawn after a preliminary hearing. Daly has always denied involvement in the bombing but authorities believed they could connect him to it through a mobile phone used by the Real IRA - the dissident republican grouping responsible for the bombing. The case collapsed after a key witness in the preliminary hearing, much of which was held under reporting restrictions, contradicted his previous evidence in court last week. "There is a sense of deep disappointment among the families that we have again been let down by the criminal justice system," said Michael Gallagher, whose son died in the bombing. "This was the last chance for the families to see justice, we have again been denied the truth," he told Reuters. The 1998 "Good Friday" peace agreement largely ended more than three decades of violence in which more than 3,600 people died in fighting between mainly Catholic Irish nationalists, seeking union with Ireland, and predominantly Protestant unionists who want to remain part of the United Kingdom. Daly was one of four men found to have been responsible for the bombing by a civil hearing in Belfast High Court and ordered to pay 1.6 million pounds compensation to the families of those killed. The case against Daly and one other was upheld at a subsequent appeal. No money has ever been paid. In 2007 the only other man charged with the 29 murders, South Armagh electrician Sean Hoey, then 38, was found not guilty after a lengthy non-jury trial. Daly was not at the court to hear the decision and will be released from Northern Ireland's top security Maghaberry Prison later in the day. His lawyer welcomed the decision saying the prosecution had been built "on a house of straw". (Reporting by Ian Graham; editing by William James and Gareth Jones) Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam. (Photo: Reuters) Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam gave his first public comments on the death of Benjamin Lim, outlining in Parliament on Tuesday (1 March) that police procedures were properly followed in the case of the 14-year-old student. Shanmugam began his ministerial statement with the facts of the case, which began when a police report was filed on 25 January against the boy for alleged molestation of an 11-year-old girl. The minister followed up with a detailed account of the police protocol for interviewing a young person and criticisms of the falsehoods that have blemished the police. Benjamin was found dead on 26 January at the foot of his HDB block, hours after he was interviewed by the police over the allegation. His father later wrote an open letter castigating school authorities and the police for the way his son was treated. There is nothing so far to suggest that Benjamin was mistreated by the police, said Shanmugam. At this stage, we cannot say, based on the facts which are currently available, that the interview was the specific reason for the suicide. Shanmugam, who is also Law Minister, said among other things, the police had retrieved CCTV footage showing both Benjamin and the alleged victim of molestation after the report was filed. Subsequently, five officers who were not in police uniform went to Northview Secondary School, Benjamins school, in unmarked cars. Three, who had ground knowledge of the local area, were from the Yishun North Neighbourhood Police Centre, while the other two were divisional officers. Only one officer spoke to Benjamin about the incident at the school, said Shanmugam. The student was brought back to Ang Mo Kio Police Station by three of the officers, one of whom alighted along the way. Shanmugam later responded to a question asked by Bukit Timah GRC MP Christopher de Souza as to why five officers had gone to the school. Story continues Lets focus with what happened with the boy, not saying one is the right number. Point is, he must be interviewed in a way conducive for fair neutral approach to obtain the facts, the minister replied. Shanmugam showed the House a photo and a floor plan of the open office cubicle where Benjamin was interviewed by an officer at the Ang Mo Kio Police Station. Benjamin was co-operative throughout the police interview, and afterwards, he had been offered food and drink, which he declined, Shanmugam said. He had not been handcuffed at any time, the minister added. Based on the evidence available, Shanmugam said, it was likely that Benjamin would have received not more than a warning, and it was unlikely he would have been charged in court. [Related: Ng Chee Meng: Not a practice to allow teachers in police car with a student] The minister also slammed the deliberate falsehoods that were put out by The Online Citizen (TOC) to tar the police unfairly. It (TOC) has gone on a planned, orchestrated campaign, using falsehoods and has published about 20 articles or so as part of its campaign, Shanmugam said. The impression conveyed by the various TOC articles was that the police were lying for saying that the officers went to the school in plain clothes, that the police had intimidated the boy, and that they put pressure on him to admit guilt, he added. The allegations in the TOC articles implied that they were among the reasons why Benjamin probably committed suicide, Shanmugam said. These allegations may possibly infringe the principles of Sub Judice before the Coroners Inquiry is concluded, he added. Shanmugam also criticised Law Society president Thio Shen Yi for making some comments which should not have been made. Thio had said that five police officers spoke to Benjamin, which was false, Shanmugam stated. Thios statements effectively imply that Benjamin killed himself because of police intimidation, the minister added. Writing in the societys Singapore Law Gazette for February, Thio questioned the manner of the boys arrest at school. He believed that early access to counsel is a necessity in ensuring sustainable confidence in our criminal justice system. Shanmugam said he refrained from speaking out on the case until today for two reasons. Firstly, he had done so out of respect for Benjamins family and to give them time and space to grieve. Secondly, the Coroners Inquiry is the right forum for relevant facts to be dealt with. He said the police could have rebutted the familys statement in an open letter by setting out their version of events, releasing CCTV footage and the statements taken. But is that the right thing to do? To have a public trial by media, at this stage? Rebut the family in public? And add to the familys grief? The answer is clearly no, said the minister. He said Benjamins father told the police that the family felt pressured by the public and media attention, with photographers and reporters loitering around their house. His father requested the police to tell the media that the family did not want their identity and pictures published. The family had also requested for the coroners inquiry proceedings to be held in private, which Shanmugam said would be up to the court to decide. Given the current circumstances, which included repeated assertions which go to the integrity of the Police Force and the filing of parliamentary questions by MPs, the minister said he had chosen to speak out now because it was in the public interest to do so. Shanmugam reiterated that he had asked the Ministry to review the protocol for interviewing minors. Among the suggestions being considered include conducting video interviews and extending the Appropriate Adult Scheme, which is to help suspects with mental and intellectual disabilities communicate more effectively with the police, to all minors. My Ministry has the responsibility for this protocol that is in place. And ultimately, responsibility is with me, as the Minister If there are issues with the protocol, the responsibility is mine. Lets not attack the police officers, who cannot defend themselves. They are doing their job, every day, in difficult circumstances, he said. Stay updated. Follow us on Facebook. By Suzannah Gonzales (Reuters) - The 14-year-old suspect in a shooting at a southwestern Ohio high school that left four students wounded denied the charges against him on Tuesday, according to a juvenile court official. James Austin Hancock appeared in court with a lawyer for an arraignment hearing and entered a "not true" plea, equivalent to a not guilty plea, to two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault and one count each of inducing panic and making terroristic threats, Butler County Juvenile Justice Center Director Rob Clevenger said. Hancock was ordered to return to a juvenile detention center, where he has been held since Monday, when he was arrested after the incident in Middletown, about 38 miles (61 km) north of Cincinnati, officials said. A pretrial hearing was set for April 5. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said Hancock entered the cafeteria at Madison Jr/Sr High School at about 11:30 a.m. EST on Monday and began shooting. Hancock, who was a student at the school, then threw the gun away and ran but was later caught, officials said. They declined to release a motive for the shooting. The weapon appeared to be a .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun, Jones said. Two students were shot and taken to the hospital, school district and sheriff's officials said. The victims - Cameron Smith, 15, and Cooper Caffery, 14 - were in stable condition, Jones had said. "Both boys who were hospitalized are doing very well and are in very high spirits," the school district said on Facebook on Monday night. Brant Murray, 15, and Katherine Doucette, 14, suffered minor injuries, possibly from shrapnel, law enforcement officials said. Hancock's lawyer, Charlie Rittgers, said the teen's family was very upset. "I can tell you that the family is sorry about the incident," he said. "They wish all the victims a speedy recovery." The school district will be closed on Tuesday. School buildings will be open on Tuesday night, however, to offer parents and students reassurance ahead of a planned reopening on Wednesday, when additional staff members and crisis counselors will be on hand. (Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Washington (AFP) - The US unit of Japan's camera and hospital equipment maker Olympus agreed to pay $646 million Tuesday to settle charges it gave hospitals and doctors kickbacks to buy its endoscopes. To boost its sales, Olympus Corp. of the Americas gave free trips to Japan to doctors who got their hospital to buy Olympus equipment; it gave a financial grant to another hospital in exchange for a sale; and it blocked a grant to another hospital until it agreed to buy Olympus equipment, the US Justice Department said. A unit of OCA engaged in similar behavior in Latin America as well, the department said. It said the kickback practices between 2006 and 2011 helped the company obtain more than $600 million in sales and $230 million in profits. The company was charged in a criminal complaint Tuesday with violating anti-kickback laws and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). But prosecution on the charges was deferred as the company cooperated in the investigation and agreed to the fines and remedial actions. The fines included a $312.4 million criminal penalty and $310.8 million to settle civil claims. An additional $22.8 million fine addresses the FCPA charges. "The Department of Justice has longstanding concerns about improper financial relationships between medical device manufacturers and the health care providers who prescribe or use their products," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Mizer in a statement. "Such relationships can improperly influence a provider's judgment about a patient's health care needs, result in the use of inferior or overpriced equipment, and drive up health care costs for everybody." In a statement OCA said it "acknowledges the Company's responsibility for the past conduct, which does not represent the values of Olympus or its employees." "Olympus is committed to complying with all laws and regulations and to adhering to our own rigorous Code of Conduct." Vatican City (AFP) - "Spotlight," the Oscar-winning film about sex abuse in the Catholic Church, faithfully portrays how the Church tried to defend itself despite a "horrible reality," but is not anti-Catholic as such, the Vatican paper said Monday. "Predators do not necessarily wear ecclesiastical vestments, and paedophilia does not necessarily stem from the vow of chastity. But it is now clear that, in the Church, too many people concerned themselves more with the image of the institution than the gravity of the act," wrote an editorial in the Osservatore Romano. "All of this cannot justify the very serious fault of whoever, as a representative of God, uses this authority to abuse innocents: it is well told in this film," opined editorial-writer Lucetta Scaraffia, in the first official Vatican comment on the film's Best Picture Oscar win Sunday night. "The film is convincing by its narrative. And it's not an anti-Catholic film," she wrote. But she did regret that the "long and tenacious fight" against paedophilia launched within the Church by Joseph Ratzinger, first as Dean of the College of Cardinals and then as Pope Benedict XVI, was not mentioned. The call on Pope Francis launched during the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles "must be seen as a positive signal: there is still trust in the institution and in a pope who is pressing ahead with the cleaning up begun by his predecessor," said the editorial. "Spotlight," which chronicles The Boston Globe's investigation into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and institutional efforts to cover up the crimes, landed the Oscar for best picture Sunday -- a surprise win. The journalism drama, which boasts a star-studded cast including Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams, is based on a series of stories by the real "Spotlight" team that earned the paper a Pulitzer Prize in 2003. "This film gave a voice to survivors. And this Oscar amplifies that voice, which we hope will become a choir that will resonate all the way to the Vatican," co-producer Michael Sugar told the Oscars ceremony. "Pope Francis, it's time to protect the children and restore the faith," he told the audience at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. By Sue Horton LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - They were supposed to free up Oscar recipients to say something profound during their 45 allotted seconds on stage. But the thank-you scrolls that ran at the bottom of the screen for the first time at the 88th Academy Awards on Sunday didn't noticeably curtail the winners' shout-outs from the dais. Nor did they lead to an over-abundance of eloquent messages. The scroll was a river of names flowing swiftly across the bottom of the screen, moving too fast for any but the most motivated readers to follow. Some nominees used only first names, others added surnames, too. On Twitter, viewers were largely critical of the scroll, with some likening it to a school closure ticker or an emergency warning system, while others called it a distraction. Comedian Paula Poundstone tweeted: "I hate the scroll at the bottom of the screen. It has no soul." Only one Oscar winner drew widespread social media raves for his scroll: Pete Docter, co-winner of the Oscar for animated feature film. He closed his list of thank-yous with a note to his children: "Nick & Elie - okay yes, let's get a dog." When Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin won the award for makeup and hairstyling for their work on "Mad Max: Fury Road," their list of acknowledgments concluded with a nod to cosmetics and skin care brands, including MAC, Cosmesis and Bluebird. The scroll of Gabriel Osorio and Pato Escala, winners of the best animated short film, included thanks to the Chilean government and Brooks Brothers. But even when they'd thanked numerous people in their scrolls, the winners felt a need to thank their colleagues, spouses, children, parents, agents, studios and others from the stage as well. As in other years, the show had its share of issue-oriented acceptance speeches. "Spotlight" producer Michael Sugar, whose film about abuse in the Catholic Church won best picture, expressed hope that it would produce a choir of victims' voices "that will resonate all the way to the Vatican." On receiving the best actor award for his work in "The Revenant," Leonardo DiCaprio spoke of the need to address climate change, while Alejandro Inarritu, who won the directing award for the same movie spoke out against prejudice. DiCaprio was among the few who opted out of a scroll. The scroll innovation appeared to have no effect on the length of the show, which as usual clocked in at about three and a half hours. (Additional Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Sara Catania and Mary Milliken) Geneva (AFP) - More than 131,000 migrants and refugees have reached Europe via the Mediterranean this year, more than the total in the first five months of 2015, the United Nations said Tuesday. Out of a total of 131,724 people who have arrived on Europe's shores this year, 122,637 landed in Greece and most were fleeing the conflict in Syria, the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) said. The agency said an estimated 24,000 migrants in Greece were in need of accommodation as of Monday night. Huge blockages of people have built up in the country after European nations including neighbouring Macedonia set tight limits on migrants entries. "Europe is on the cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis," the agency warned, accusing EU governments of fuelling the chaos and suffering by resorting to "inconsistent practices" in response to the migrant crisis. Washington (AFP) - At least two local employees of the US consulate in the Pakistani city of Peshawar have been killed in an explosion while out on an anti-narcotics mission, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday. The top American diplomat said several Pakistani soldiers also died in the blast involving an improvised explosive device (IED). "Just this morning I woke to the news that we have lost two local employees in Peshawar who worked with our consulate there who were going out on an effort to eradicate narcotics fields," Kerry said at an event. "An IED exploded and several were lost. A few of the soldiers who were there to guard them also," he added, without going into more specifics. The State Department subsequently said the two Pakistani employees of the US Mission in Pakistan were killed earlier Tuesday in an attack on a Pakistani government anti-narcotics force convoy in an area of the country's vast tribal zones that border Afghanistan. "The US government strongly condemns the attack," spokesman John Kirby said. "Pakistan has suffered greatly at the hands of terrorists and violent extremists," he added. "The United States stands in solidarity with the people of Pakistan and all who fight the scourge of terrorism." News of the deaths comes after Kerry welcomed Pakistani Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz to the State Department Monday for talks on the "strategic" partnership between their two countries centered around cooperation in the anti-terror fight. Peshawar, located in northwest Pakistan, made somber global headlines in December 2014 when the Taliban attacked a school there, massacring some 150 people, mostly children, prompting the country's army to intensify its offensive against Islamist militants. Tens of thousands of supporters chanted and threw rose petals Tuesday at an ambulance bearing the body of a Pakistani Islamist executed for killing a liberal governor, as schools closed and police guarded flashpoints. Crowds flooded into a park in the garrison city of Rawalpindi for funeral prayers for Mumtaz Qadri, chanting slogans such as "Qadri, your blood will bring revolution". An AFP estimate put the number of people at up to 100,000. Main junctions and sensitive buildings in Rawalpindi and the nearby capital Islamabad were guarded by thousands of police and paramilitary Rangers, while schools were shut. Security forces kept a careful distance from the crowd at Liaqat Bagh park, and some of the supporters dispersed after the prayers. But around 5,000 continued to march behind the flower-strewn ambulance as it inched its way through a sea of supporters towards the site where Qadri was buried Tuesday evening. Qadri, a police bodyguard to Salman Taseer, shot the liberal Punjab governor 28 times at an Islamabad market in 2011. He said he was angry at the politician's calls to reform the blasphemy law. Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in the Islamic republic, and Qadri, who was hanged early Monday, was hailed as a hero by many conservatives eager to drown out calls to soften the legislation. Critics say the law -- which carries the death penalty -- is largely misused, with hundreds languishing in jails under false charges. But those who lynch alleged blasphemers largely escape punishment. Earlier, a few hundred Qadri supporters carrying sticks were seen among the crowd in Rawalpindi as they shouted slogans including: "The punishment for a blasphemer is beheading!" - Key moment - Analyst Amir Rana said Qadri's execution marked a key moment for Pakistan in its fight against religious extremism, which has lasted more than a decade. "I think it is a very critical moment in the political history of Pakistan. It is the first time the political government has made such a decision (to carry out the execution)," Rana said. Story continues "The resolve is on the rule of law and they will not allow space for extremism in Pakistan." But Rana said the move might backfire by making Qadri a martyr. Several supporters took turns to denounce and threaten the government before the funeral. "The chief justice, the army chief and the president should fear the day when every single individual of the country will become Mumtaz Qadri and grab them on the streets of the country," said Khadim Hussain. Mourners travelled from distant cities, including Karachi and Lahore as well as Pakistani-held Kashmir, while small demonstrations were held in cities such as Peshawar. The media maintained a near-blackout on the news for the second day running, a move that analysts said has helped limit fallout from the execution. A United Nations official said Tuesday all its staff had been sent home from various workplaces in the capital due to security fears, including from the tightly guarded diplomatic enclave. Many schools and universities remained closed for the day after shutting early Monday. Thousands had protested across Pakistan Monday after authorities announced the hanging had taken place early that morning. But with security stepped up across the country of some 200 million, most dispersed peacefully. Pakistan has never officially executed anyone for blasphemy. But anyone convicted, or even just accused, of insulting Islam risks a violent and bloody death at the hands of vigilantes. Taseer had been vocal in his support of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who has been on death row since 2010 after being found guilty of insulting the Prophet Mohammed. Her case has been championed by the Pope. On Tuesday some Qadri supporters attending funeral prayers chanted: "Death to Asia Bibi!". Koror (Palau) (AFP) - The tiny Pacific nation of Palau has welcomed a pledge from Japanese charities to supply a large patrol boat to help stamp out illegal fishing. Palau last year created a vast marine sanctuary the size of Spain but has only one long-range patrol boat to enforce the 500,000 square kilometre (193,000 square mile) no-fishing zone. President Tommy Remengesau said two Japanese non-government organisations -- Nippon Foundation and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation -- had agreed to help out. He said they would supply a 40-metre (130-foot) patrol boat, as well as covering fuel and maintenance costs, in a project expected to cost more than US$30 million. "With this assistance... I believe that we are well on the way to developing one of the largest and the best protected marine sanctuaries on our planet," Remengesau said at a recent ceremony in Koror. He said the boat was expected to be handed over by the end of next year. Palau's sanctuary will be phased in over five years, eventually leaving only a relatively small area of its waters open to fishing by locals but not the foreign trawlers that dominate the Pacific industry. The no-fishing plan prioritises tourism -- which contributes about US$160 million or 50 percent of gross domestic product annually -- over the tuna industry, which contributes around US$5.5 million a year. It is not the first time Palau, which has a population of just 18,000, has led the world on maritime conservation. It created the world's first shark sanctuary in 2009 and about one-third of countries have now followed suit, changing attitudes to the predator and helping curb demand for shark fin soup. Geneva (AFP) - From ultra-luxury sports cars to 4x4 urban conquerors, the Geneva International Motor Show opens Tuesday as gas guzzlers see their popularity rebound during the oil price slide. More than 120 new models from manufacturers across the world will be introduced at the 86th edition of Europe's flagship auto show, with industry leaders boasting of a positive mood after the financial crisis of 2008-2013 fades for some consumers. That optimism comes despite the ongoing fallout from the Volkswagen pollution scandal. The show opens to the public on March 3, but offered a tantalising peek at what would be on view with a ceremony awarding Opel/Vauxhall the coveted Europe's Car of the Year title for its 2016 Astra. It beat off six challengers, including the Audi A4, the BMW Series 7 limousine, the Jaguar XE, Maza MX-5 roadster, the Skoda Superb and a Volvo 4x4, the XC90. It was the third time Opel has taken the big prize at the Geneva show, winning with a hatchback the 58-member jury of motoring journalists deemed "good value for money", combining a compact frame with a roomy interior, a statement said. While more practical, even modestly priced cars often win the top award, the Geneva show is synonomous with luxury and performance and the 2016 edition is unlikely to disappoint. Bugatti is set to unveil the Chiron -- successor to the Veyron -- which aims to take its place among the most powerful and fastest cars in the world. At an estimated price of two million euros ($2.2 million) it is also one of the most expensive. Appealing to a broader market, the Geneva show includes a full line-up of 4x4s, or SUVs -- a segment that now accounts for around 22 percent of overall European sales. With oil prices plummeting from more than $100 in 2014 to below $35 a barrel on Monday, analysts said cheap fuel is making hybrid cars less of a priority for some buyers. - Volkswagen dampens mood - Last year's Car of the Year winner was Volkswagen's Passat, but the company is expected to keep a low profile this year after the scandal that followed revelations its diesel engine cars were secretly outfitted with devices to cheat US emissions tests. Story continues Analysts said the plight of the German car giant, which controls nearly 25 percent of the European market, will dampen the mood in Geneva. "Volkswagen will be more modest than usual. The company is trying to appear more open, more transparent and we should see this new culture in Geneva," said German car expert Stefan Braztel. Volkswagen faces potentially huge damages as a result of the scandal, after about 200 owners of VW, Audi and Porsche diesel vehicles filed a class-action lawsuit in San Francisco earlier this week. The suit accuses Volkswagen of major damage to the environment and to owners of more than a half million of the cars sold in the United States. In Geneva, the biggest European show since the scandal broke, Volkswagen will seek to change the gloomy narrative surrounding the brand. Organisers expect 650,000 to 700,000 visitors at the show which runs until March 13, with 200 exhibitors from more than 30 countries. Geneva (AFP) - Leading French automobile manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroen published Tuesday "real-world" fuel consumption figures for three of its diesel cars, seeking to win over wary customers after the Volkswagen pollution cheating scandal. Peugeot Citroen said the initiative was a world first, launched in the aftermath of German rival Volkswagen's admission last year that it had fitted 11 million diesel engines worldwide with devices that fool official pollution tests. "We were obviously shocked by what happened with Volkswagen-gate and in some way, like the profession, the whole automobile industry, we were affected by the situation and deeply upset," Carlos Tavares, chairman of the group's managing board, said on the sidelines of the Geneva International Motor Show. "It was important to safeguard our customers' trust in relation to knowing their automobiles' consumption," he told a conference. The French car maker said the results were based on tests designed by two environmental groups, Transport & Environment and France Nature Environment. The cars were driven on public roads in town, outside town and on motorways near Paris in "real-life" driving conditions with passengers, luggage, roads with hills and the air conditioning switched on, Peugeot Citroen said in a statement. "Peugeot Citroen is the first car maker to adopt such an approach," the company said. Peugeot Citroen promised to reveal the real-world fuel consumption results for 30 models "before summer 2016". - 'Learn from past mistakes' - As expected, all the "real-world" fuel consumption figures exceeded the results of the existing official laboratory-style New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) tests, which were thrown into question by the Volkswagen scandal. The "real world" tests showed: - A medium-sized sedan Peugeot 308 consumed 5.0 litres for 100 kilometres, compared to just 3.2 litres in the NEDC tests; Story continues - A Citroen C4 Picasso people carrier drank 5.6 litres for 100 km, compared to 4.0 litres in the NEDC tests; - And the premium subcompact DS 3 used 4.9 litres over 100 km, compared to 3.6 litres in the NEDC tests. All three cars were equipped with 1.6-litre, 120-horsepower engines with manual gearboxes. New official tests called the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedures, aimed at better measuring real-world fuel or energy consumption and pollution emissions are being defined for introduction in 2017. For now, the official NEDC tests are the only recognised thermometer for car performance in Europe, said Gilles Le Borgne, head of research and development at Peugeot Citroen. "If others want to join our initiative we would be delighted," he said, adding however that no other manufacturer had shown interest in doing so. Peugeot Citroen first announced the real-world testing initiative in November last year, two months after the Volkswagen cheating scandal broke. Volkswagen admitted the existence of the illegal cheat software on diesel engines which limits the output of toxic nitrogen oxides during emissions tests by regulators. But when the vehicles are in actual use, the software allows them to spew poisonous gases far above permitted levels. Volkswagen chief Matthias Mueller called in Geneva on Monday for his company to "learn from past mistakes". In 2015, VW's own-brand sales fell five percent to 5.82 million vehicles worldwide, the first decline in 11 years, the company has revealed. On top of lost earnings, VW is facing a barrage of legal complaints related to the scandal. Washington (AFP) - An award-winning photographer covering a Donald Trump rally on Monday was thrown to the ground during an altercation with a Secret Service agent. The incident took place as black protesters waving their fists and chanting marched through the arena at Virginia's Radford University, while Trump supporters responded with boos. According to a video posted on Twitter, the security officer told Time magazine photographer Christopher Morris to "get in the pen," referring to the designated area for photographers. Morris responded with a curse. The security agent grabbed him by the neck and slammed him to the ground in a choke hold. The photographer kicked at the agent from the ground, then got up and momentarily grabbed the agent's neck with one hand before the two were separated. "I stepped 18 inches (46 centimeters) out of the pen and he grabbed me by the neck and started choking me and then he slammed me into the ground," Morris told CNN. Another video posted on YouTube showed Morris being led outside by uniformed police. "The Secret Service is aware of an incident involving an employee of the Secret Service that occurred earlier today in Radford, VA," the agency said in a statement. "At this time, our local field office is working with their law enforcement partners to determine the exact circumstances that led up to this incident." Time said it has expressed concern to the Secret Service about "the level and nature of the agent's response," and that Morris "expressed remorse for his part in escalating the confrontation." "We are relieved that Chris is feeling OK, and we expect him to be back at work soon," an unnamed Time spokesperson said. Trump's campaign requires reporters and photographers to stay inside a gated area, a sharp contrast to his rivals who usually allow the press to move about freely at events. Trump, like other major presidential candidates, is protected by the Secret Service. They serve as bodyguards but also supervise local police who provide security at the candidates' events. Morris, a veteran Time photographer, has won various awards for his work and is a founding member of the VII photojournalist agency. Miami (AFP) - A police officer in Raleigh, North Carolina fatally shot a man wanted on a drug charge on Monday, prompting protests amid accusations that the victim was shot in the back. The officer was chasing the suspect -- wanted for a felony drug charge -- on foot, Raleigh police chief Cassandra Deck-Brown told reporters. "During the course of the pursuit, the suspect was shot and killed by the officer," she said. "Initially, it is known that a firearm was located within close proximity to the deceased suspect," she added without elaborating. Deck-Brown asked for patience while the authorities investigate the incident. Police did not identify the officer or the suspect. However, local media reported a woman at the scene as saying a cousin had told her a police officer had shot and killed her 24-year-old son. Rolanda Byrd said her son, Akiel Denkins, was unarmed and had been shot in the back, the paper reported. She said witnesses told her Denkins, an African-American, was "shot seven times by a white officer with a bald head," the News and Observer newspaper reported. More than a hundred people protested at the scene near downtown Raleigh. A series of killings of African-Americans by white police officers -- most caught on video -- have roiled racial tensions and prompted a protest movement under the banner "Black Lives Matter." Gun violence claims the lives of about 30,000 Americans every year and mass shootings -- rare in most countries -- have been on the rise in the United States. According to the tracking website gunviolencearchive.org, there were 330 mass shootings in the United States in 2015, up from 281 in 2014. They affected nearly every part of the country, reaching into both big cities and small towns. The Oscars red carpet might be an unlikely place to bond with an interviewer, but that was exactly what happened to Bollywood superstar Priyanka Chopra and Taiwanese-American host Janet Hsieh. Hsieh uttered a few words in Hindi while asking Chopra some questions on behalf of HBO Asia, impressing the Indian beauty despite her limited knowledge of the language. After Hsieh mentioned that she spent a little bit of time at Jamshedpur, Chopra replied excitedly that it was also the city that she was born in. And both ladies shared the love for the town that they both spent some time in. Marveling at their newly discovered connection, Hsieh, who is married to Singapore-based actor and host George Young, exclaimed, Oh my god, this is too crazy! Even Chopra could not believe the coincidence as she smiled and added, This is amazing. By Makiko Yamazaki and J.R. Wu TOKYO/TAIPEI (Reuters) - A late hitch to Foxconn's takeover of Japan's struggling Sharp Corp <6753.T> brought simmering distrust between the two close to boiling point, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The two companies have eyed each other warily since Foxconn founder and billionaire Terry Gou pulled out of a planned capital tie-up and strategic partnership with Sharp in 2012. Missteps in communication last week, when Sharp's board met and announced a decision to sell a two-thirds stake to the Taiwanese group, ratcheted up tensions, upsetting Gou and causing embarrassment at Sharp. On the eve of that board meeting, Foxconn had asked Sharp to delay voting on a deal as it had just received "new material information" from Sharp that it hadn't seen before and needed to clarify. "It seemed Sharp simply ignored Foxconn," said one individual familiar with Foxconn's take on the matter. The information listed around 300 billion yen ($2.66 billion) in contingent liabilities at Sharp. The list was pulled together by working level officials at Sharp and forwarded, without top officials seeing it, to Foxconn as a goodwill gesture to make the buyer aware of worst-case scenario risks, sources said. They were not liabilities that required formal disclosure. It didn't go down well on the Taiwan side. "They felt violated," said a person briefed on the issue. Another person said Gou shouted at his team for not having discovered these liabilities in the first place. By late Friday, the mood had calmed and the two companies' CEOs met in China to clear the air, sources said. Sharp and Foxconn have now agreed to extend a deadline for the takeover talks by a week or two, reflecting the importance of a deal, estimated to be worth nearly $6 billion, to both sides. Sharp would have a much-needed financial lifeline, while Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co <2317.TW>, would get control of technology it needs to strengthen its hand with major client Apple Inc . Story continues RUNNING DEEP The hitch revives lingering ill-will from four years ago, when Foxconn agreed to take a stake in Sharp at 550 yen a share as part of a broader partnership. Then, Sharp warned of losses, and Foxconn walked away. Sharp shares sank 74 percent over the next seven months. Gou, however, personally bought a stake in Sharp's LCD TV panel plant in Osaka, and some at Sharp credit him with improving operations there. A turning point in the latest deal came when Gou wowed Sharp's board, independent directors and creditors with his presentation of a takeover plan on Jan. 30, according to those briefed on the matter. "Terry's a very convincing guy ... I've seen him use his magic," said a person familiar with how Gou operates. Another person familiar with Gou said: "Sharp's blueprint, Terry is very clear about it and knows this stuff like the back of his hand." But there were still nagging doubts in Japan. "There are some doubts whether Hon Hai will really keep its promise," one official involved in the negotiations said on Feb. 4, when Sharp's 13-member board decided to prioritize talks with Foxconn over a competing offer from state-backed Innovation Network Corp of Japan. INCJ had been seen as strong favorite to take over Sharp and keep Japan's insular tech industry out of foreign hands. The next day, Gou flew his team to Sharp's Osaka headquarters and emerged triumphantly waving a document, proclaiming Sharp had granted Foxconn preferred negotiation rights. Sharp officials said the document actually referred to Foxconn's extension of a takeover offer for Sharp. "This made (Sharp CEO Kozo) Takahashi and other executives rethink how trustworthy Gou would be," said one of the sources familiar with thinking in the Sharp camp. That is now in the past. "From these negotiations and from experience, Terry (Gou) has told his team time and again to be more respectful of and have more understanding of Japan's traditions and way of doing things," said one of the sources familiar with the thinking at Foxconn. "Through the communication of the last 2-3 days, from the top level to the team level, I hope (the cooperation) will improve," the person said. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and J.R. Wu, with additional reporting by Taro Fuse; Writing by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Ian Geoghegan) New York (AFP) - A New York court on Monday temporarily stopped the city from issuing fines to chain restaurants that don't specifically label very salty items on their menus. New York is the first US city to adopt salt warnings on restaurant menus for food containing more than the daily recommended limit of 2.3 grams of sodium -- about a teaspoon's worth -- in a bid to fight heart disease. The rule applies to restaurants with at least 15 locations in the United States. However, the National Restaurant Association has fought the measure, praising the court decision and calling the sodium labeling regulation "unlawful and unprecedented." An appeals court granted the association's request to temporarily stop the city from giving $200 fines starting Tuesday to restaurants that haven't printed a salt shaker in a black triangle on the menu next to salty dishes. The court order will remain in place until a review by a full panel of appellate judges. The city's health department said it was "confident" courts would ultimately uphold the sodium regulation, which was passed unanimously by the city health board in September. Sodium, which is found in high levels in processed foods, is associated with hypertension and a higher risk of heart disease and stroke when consumed in large amounts, according to the World Health Organization. New York has for years been at the forefront of the fight against junk food in the United States. In 2006, the city banned trans fats at restaurants, bakeries and other food outlets. Two years later, it became the first US city to force chain restaurants to include calorie counts on menus -- which will now become federal law from December 1. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried, but failed, to ban sodas larger than 16 ounces (0.5 liters). By Nelson Acosta HAVANA (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones will perform a free outdoor concert in Havana on March 25, the band announced on Tuesday, a milestone event in a country where the communist government once banned the group's music as an "ideological deviation." The band added the Concert for Amity show - likely to be the biggest rock concert ever staged in Cuba - to a Latin American tour that had been due to end on March 17 in Mexico City. The performance will come three days after U.S. President Barack Obama is due to conclude a visit to Cuba, the first by an American president since 1928. Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced in December 2014 they would seek to normalize relations after more than half a century of Cold War animosity. The concert, which will be filmed, is set to take place on fields surrounding Havana's Ciudad Deportiva, a 26-hectare (64-acre) sports complex. It will mark the first open-air concert in Cuba by a British rock band, the group said. "We have performed in many special places during our long career but this show in Havana is going to be a landmark event for us and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba too," the band said in a statement accompanied by an image of its four current members - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood. After the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro, Raul's brother, to power the Caribbean nation censured the group formed in London in 1962, as well as the Beatles and Elvis Presley. Fidel Castro ultimately lamented the music censorship and attended the unveiling of a statue of late former Beatle John Lennon in a Havana park on the 20th anniversary of his death on Dec. 8, 2000. "I very much regret not having known you before," Castro said during the ceremony. At the statue on Tuesday, tour guide Julio Garcia reacted with joy to the news of the Stones' visit, which was filtering out slowly on the island. "Los Rolling in Cuba? Wow!" he said. "We have been waiting for them here for many years." Armando Gonzalez, 57, drove up in a blue and white Chevrolet built in 1954, before either the revolution or the Rolling Stones had tasted success. "Their music has no borders," he said. "Now there is an opening and we will be able to enjoy them fully." (Reporting by Nelson Acosta; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Trott) British rock legends The Rolling Stones will play a free concert in Havana, Cuba on March 25, the band confirmed on their official website, after music publication Billboard reported that the show had been mentioned in Cuban media. The free show will take place at the Ciudad Deportiva de la Habana. It will be the first open air concert by a British rock band in the country. The event will take place after the band's current America Latina Ole tour' wraps up in Mexico on March 17. The Rolling Stones have also organized a musician-to-musician initiative to bring instruments and equipment to Cuban musicians through donations. Donors include The Gibson Foundation, Vic Firth, RS Berkeley, Pearl, Zildjian, Gretsch, Latin Percussion, Roland and BOSS with additional assistance from the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation. For more information on The Rolling Stones tour, concerts and initiative see: http://www.rollingstones.com/2016/03/01/the-rolling-stones-announce-free-concert-in-cuba/ DUBAI (Reuters) - President Hassan Rouhani and his allies won 15 out of the 16 Tehran seats in the Assembly of Experts, final election results published on Monday showed, ousting two prominent hardliners including the speaker of the powerful clerical body. The results, carried on state news agency IRNA, suggest conservatives may lose their dominance of the 88-member body, which is tasked with choosing the the next supreme leader, the country's most powerful position. The Friday elections for the assembly and the parliament were the first since Rouhani signed a deal with world powers last July to limit Iran's nuclear activities in return for an easing of economic sanctions. The twin polls were seen by analysts as a potential turning point for Iran and a vote of confidence in Rouhani's government and his detente policy with the West. Rouhani's allies were also due to take all 30 parliamentary seats in the Tehran constituency, according to preliminary results. But their gains outside the capital were more limited, with conservatives keeping hold of many seats in both bodies. The hardline chairman of the Assembly of Experts, Mohammad Yazdi, lost his seat. So did Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, an arch-conservative who was widely seen as the spiritual mentor to former conservative president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The only hardliner to make the cut was Ahmad Jannati, who squeezed in at 16th place. Jannati is also the chairman of the Guardian Council, a cleric vetting body that disqualified the majority of reformist candidates from running for the elections. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, Editing by Sam Wilkin and William Maclean) Tehran (AFP) - Iranian voters chose "the right and proper path for the country", moderate President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday after final election results showed his allies had made significant gains. Friday's twin elections -- to parliament and to top clerical committee, the Assembly of Experts -- were crucial for the president and a de-facto referendum on his administration after its nuclear deal with world powers. In the parliamentary election, hardliners who vocally opposed Rouhani's diplomacy with the West and his moves to open Iran up to foreign investment were soundly beaten by reformists. Conservatives also lost seats. "The owners of this country are the people... they determine the path and direction of this country," the president said. "I thank our intelligent and brave people who have taken a step forward," he said at an auto industry conference in Tehran. Buoyed by new backing from reformists supportive of the government, the president urged a spirit of cooperation among MPs from across Iran's political spectrum. "If there are still some who think that the country must be in confrontation with others, they still haven't got the message of 2013," he said, alluding to his landslide presidential election victory on a pledge to end years of standoff over Iran's nuclear programme and crippling sanctions. No single group won a decisive share of parliament's 290 seats, but tallies suggested the pragmatic Rouhani would be able to forge a working majority. The main conservative list secured 103 MPs, reformists and moderates 95, and independents 14, while five seats went to minorities and four to candidates with no single affiliation. While conservatives were wiped out by reformists in Tehran, they retained some seats in other cities and enjoyed strong support in rural areas. Some 69 constituencies had no clear winner, meaning a second round runoff in April in a field that has more conservatives than reformists and moderates. Story continues The outcome signalled strong public support for the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, an agreement steered by the president which saw the lifting of sanctions in January. "Cooperation should be everyone's concern. Today the era of confrontation is over," Rouhani added. Friday's second election for the Assembly of Experts also produced high-profile gains for Rouhani and his closest allies. Two renowned hardline ayatollahs lost their seats on the 88-member assembly, which monitors supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's work and will pick the 76-year-old's successor if he dies during its eight-year term. By contrast, 15 of the 16 candidates running in Tehran on the list headed by Rouhani and his veteran political backer, former president Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, were resoundingly voted in. GENEVA (Reuters) - Russia has not violated the cessation of hostilities in Syria, and it has not had any complaints from its contacts in the Syrian opposition, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Reuters on Tuesday. "We are not violating anything. We have stopped bombing anyone since the beginning of the ceasefire," he said. Russian bombing had continued but "not on the opposition positions", he said. Russia hoped the cessation of hostilities - which excludes Islamic State and Nusra Front fighters - would hold, he said. (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Dominic Evans) MOSCOW (Reuters) - Four journalists from China, Canada, Bulgaria and Russia were wounded along the Syria-Turkey border as a result of heavy artillery fire, Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Moscow's defense ministry as saying on Tuesday. RIA Novosti said the ministry reported the journalists were injured in the village of Kinsibba by shelling coming from the town of Bidama and elsewhere along Syria's border with Turkey. The ministry described the conditions of the wounded journalists as fair, according to the news agency. Shortly before, Syria's state news agency said several members of a group of foreign journalists were wounded by mortars fired from the Turkish side of the border and that the area targeted had recently been seized from rebel forces. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Washington (AFP) - Top NATO General Philip Breedlove warned US lawmakers Tuesday that Russia is helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad turn the refugee crisis into a "weapon" against the West. The supreme allied commander in Europe for the 28-member military alliance said the massive flow of migrants from war-torn Syria has had a destabilizing effect on European countries where they found refuge, and that worked to Moscow's advantage. "Together, Russia and the Assad regime are deliberately weaponizing migration in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve," Breedlove told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Speaking of Russia's six-month air campaign in support of Assad, and the Syrian leader's use of barrel bombs in civilian areas, Breedlove said Moscow and Damascus are deliberately fueling the mass displacement of Syrians. Breedlove, who also heads the US military's European Command, suggested this creates a distraction for Western powers as they grapple with the crisis and are forced to take their eye off its root cause. "These indiscriminate weapons used by both Bashar al-Assad, and the non-precision use of weapons by the Russian forces, I can't find any other reason for them other than to cause refugees to be on the move and make them someone else's problem," Breedlove said. Further complicating the refugee crisis, he added, is that increasing numbers of foreigners who have fought in Syria are heading home again, bringing battlefield skills and sometimes extremist ideologies. "What we have seen growing in the past months and year is that in that flow of refugees we see criminality, terrorism and foreign fighters," he said. NATO last month launched an unprecedented naval mission in the Aegean Sea to tackle people smugglers taking refugees and migrants from Turkey to Greece. Germany, Greece and Turkey had called for help dealing with Europe's biggest migrant crisis since World War II. Story continues - European reassurance - Breedlove was in Washington partly to drum up support for a proposed sharp increase in money available to US forces in Europe. The coming year's budget includes $3.4 billion -- quadruple last year's amount -- for the so-called European Reassurance Initiative. The four-star general also accused Russia of posing a growing threat to the United States itself. "Russia has chosen to be an adversary and poses a long-term existential threat to the United States and to our European allies and partners," Breedlove said. "Russia is eager to exert unquestioned influence over its neighboring states in its buffer zone... so has used military force to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, Georgia and others, like Moldova." He said in the last week, the US ambassador in Ukraine had gotten reports of 450 attacks along the frontlines in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels oppose Kiev's pro-Western leadership. "The report from the ambassador is there are several disturbing trends in those attacks and that is that some of them are now happening in places that were heretofore quiet," Breedlove said. More than 9,000 people have died during the Ukrainian government's 22-month war against pro-Russian insurgents in the former Soviet state's industrial east. In a briefing with Pentagon reporters, Breedlove blasted Russia for its "irresponsible" attitude to nuclear weapons. "I see (Russia) as a real threat and I would just point to the fact that this is a nation that holds thousands of nuclear weapons and they talk all the time about using those nuclear weapons," he said. Geneva (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Tuesday for the closure of Syria's border with Turkey to cut off outside supplies to "terrorists", including through humanitarian convoys. "Of course, neither in ceasefire agreements, nor in the process of political settlement is there a place for terrorists and extremists," Lavrov told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. "A very special task is to cut the terrorists' supply from the outside. For this purpose it is important to close the Syrian-Turkish border, since across this border those gangs receive arms, including with humanitarian convoys," Lavrov said, according to an official transcript in English of his remarks. He insisted that a "landslide defeat of (the Islamic State group)... al-Nusra and those of their kind is a necessary precondition for securing the rights of long-suffering peoples of Syria" and the rest of the region. His comments came after aid workers on Monday made the first delivery of desperately needed assistance since the start of Syria's fragile ceasefire four days ago. Moscow and Washington drafted the UN-backed cessation of hostilities deal, and the two countries are co-chairing an international task force evaluating how the ceasefire is holding. At an earlier meeting in Geneva, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon thanked Lavrov for "his significant role in achieving recent progress on Syria," a UN statement said. "They agreed on the importance of urgently moving forward simultaneously on implementing the cessation of hostilities agreement, providing vital humanitarian assistance to civilians, and returning to political negotiations," the statement further said. The deal does not apply to the vast swathes of territory held by the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front. It is hoped that the flow of much-needed assistance could create a more favourable backdrop for peace talks that collapsed in acrimony in early February. UN envoy Steffan de Mistura aims to relaunch negotiations on March 7 if the ceasefire lasts and more aid is delivered. Telemundo is getting into business with long-time Sabado Gigante host Don Francisco. Telemundo and Francisco, whose real name is Mario Kreutzberger, will jointly develop and produce original content for the U.S. and international Hispanic market. The tie-up follows Univision ending Sabado Gigante in September after a more-than-53-year run. Combining variety, music, skits and scantily clad starlets, Sabado Gigante was a top-rated show on Univision, the Spanish-language television network in the U.S, for years, and Francisco had been its animator since its humble beginnings. The show aired its last episode in September 2015. Part of the multiyear agreement with Univision rival Telemundo involves Francisco joining Telemundo Network News as a special senior news correspondent, including doing high-profile interviews. Read More: Univision to End 'Sabado Gigante' After 53 Years "Mario is the most recognized face of Spanish-language media around the world, said Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and NBCUniversal International Group, in a statement Tuesday. We are extremely proud that he has chosen to join the Telemundo family," he added. Incidentally, Conde also worked for Univision. Francisco launched Sabado Gigante in 1962 on Chiles Canal 13, and the show was eventually broadcast into 42 countries. "I am extremely happy with this opportunity NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises is giving me. Telemundo network has experienced tremendous growth thanks to its clear vision and steadfast commitment to the Hispanic community," Francisco said in a statement. Telemundo is part of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal. Read More: 'Sabado Gigante' Ends 53-Year Run With Emotional, Star-Studded Finale What would a Spike Jonze short film about a late-night talk-show host look like? Viewers of CBS' Late Show With Stephen Colbert found out on Monday night as the program debuted a special Leap Day opening, directed by the filmmaker behind Being John Malkovich and Her. After a brief opening caption that indicated they would be doing things a bit differently for the once-every-four-years holiday, Colbert was shown waking up alone in Central Park, wearing an army green-colored winter jacket over his suit. The host then sadly walked through the streets of New York, alone and disconnected, even sinking down onto the sidewalk at one point, where kids point and laugh at him. But there he spots a furry friend. Specifically, Sesame Street's Grover, reading a newspaper, goes over to him, reaches out his hand and the two walk through New York with Colbert talking and Grover appearing to comfort him. Read More: Vice's Shane Smith Asks, "You Think I Could Hoodwink Bob Iger, Jeff Bewkes and Rupert Murdoch?" They get to the Ed Sullivan Theater and, despite being nervous, Colbert gets the courage to go through the door and he smiles after receiving an enthusiastic reception from the audience. The two-and-a-half-minute intro was accompanied by a slower, twinkly version of the Late Show theme song. When Jonze joined Colbert to talk about his role on Vice's new TV channel Viceland, which launched Monday, the director revealed more about the Late Show intro. They shot that on Friday, Jonze said, and while Colbert said he loved it and suggested, "Let's do it every four years," Jonze was thinking of a more frequent collaboration. "I thought you were going to say every Friday," said Jonze. Colbert: "Oh, are you available?" Read More: Warning! This Shane Smith Interview Has 52 F-Bombs: "If I Can Come Up With the New Algorithm, Then I Win" During their chat, Colbert revealed that it was quite cold when they filmed that, "so it was not hard for me to act miserable. Story continues "Every time I shoot outside with a real director with a single camera, that sort of thing, I'm so happy that I work indoors and know where I'm going every day," Colbert added. "Someplace where there's heating and fresh water." Jonze also at one point asked Colbert to walk out in the middle of the street, in between rounds of traffic, and the host almost got run over by a school bus. Beirut (AFP) - Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday called on Saudi Arabia not to collectively punish Lebanon's people just because Riyadh disagreed with the Shiite movement's policies. In a televised address on his group's Al-Manar network, Nasrallah said Saudi Arabia does not have "the right to sanction the Lebanese people because one particular party took a certain position". Last week, Riyadh halted a $3 billion programme funding equipment for Lebanese security forces and urged Saudi citizens to leave Lebanon in response to "hostile" positions linked to Hezbollah. The withdrawal of Saudi Arabia's financial aid has sparked a war of words between opponents and supporters of Hezbollah in Lebanon. "If there's a criminal, I'm the criminal, Hezbollah is the criminal," Nasrallah said Tuesday. "If you have a problem with us, you can continue doing so -- but what does the rest of the country have to do with it," he asked. Nasrallah also accused Saudi Arabia of trying to spark "sedition between Sunni and Shiite Muslims" when it executed Shiite Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on January 2. Saudi had been carrying out "crimes" in Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain "for the past 10 years, for the past 100 years, since the regime came into power," Nasrallah said. "They can start wars and commit massacres... but no one can say anything for fear of sparking Saudi wrath," he said. Nasrallah pledged Hezbollah would continue to speak out against what it saw as Saudi aggression in the region. Riyadh backs the five-year uprising in Syria against President Bashar al-Assad, while Hezbollah has intervened militarily on Assad's behalf. "We are happy with the truce and God willing it will persist and lead to a political solution," said Nasrallah. Nasrallah said anyone who wanted to come visit Lebanon should feel reassured that "there is no security problem in the country". On April 2, a new series of radar scans will be performed on King Tutankhamun's tomb to search for hidden chambers that may contain an undiscovered royal burial, Egypt's antiquities ministry has announced. The announcement comes after stories were published in numerous media outlets last week claiming that Egypt's tourism minister, Hisham Zazou, had told the Spanish news outlet ABC that the chambers had been proven to exist and contain numerous treasures. "The Ministry of Antiquities has not issued any statement concerning the results that have been reached so far," the ministry said in a statement released to Live Science. "Further radar examinations will be performed on April 2, and a press conference will be held afterwards to announce the results of the scan." [See Photos of King Tut's Mummy & His Burial] Last year, University of Arizona Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves published findings suggesting that there are hidden chambers behind a wall in Tutankhamun's tomb. These chambers, he believes, hold the burial of Queen Nefertiti, the wife of Akhenaten, a pharaoh who was Tutankhamun's father. "We could be faced, for the first time in recent history, with the intact burial of an Egyptian pharaoh in the Valley of the Kings," Reeves told Live Science last year. Scans performed by Factum Arte, a company commissioned to scan Tutankhamun's tomb, show unusual lines and abnormalities in the plaster of the tomb, Reeves said, adding that these features indicate that a wall was built over a doorway in ancient times. Some of the artifacts in Tutankhamun's tomb were originally made for Nefertiti but were buried with Tutankhamun after the boy king's death, Reeves found. Radar scans performed on the tomb last year suggest that a void could exist behind the wall. Egypt's former antiquities minister, Zahi Hawass, urged that the claims be viewed cautiously. He noted that the geology of the Valley of the Kings can lead radar to produce false positives showing a tomb when, in fact, there is only a natural feature. Story continues Reeves did not immediately respond to Live Science's requests for comment on the latest developments. Tourism disaster Tourism has long been a major industry in Egypt. Since the revolution that toppled former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, Egypt's tourism industry has struggled, archaeologists have told Live Science. The political instability over the past five years has meant that the number of visitors to Egypt has yet to return to its prerevolution levels. Additionally, recent terrorist attacks including the bombing of a Russian plane in the Sinai Desert, an attack carried out by the Islamic State group, or ISIS have made it difficult for the Egyptian government to convince tourists that the country is safe to visit, according to these archaeologists. Egyptian officials hope that, if a hidden tomb is discovered, it will spur tourists to return to Egypt, bringing badly needed revenue and jobs to the country. 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. From 2000 to 2013, the leading cause of death among local jail inmates in the U.S. was the same every year: suicide. In August, 2015, the Bureau of Justice Statistics released sobering data on mortality in U.S. local jails and state prisons from 2000 to 2013. Suicide claimed a staggering 34% of local jail deaths in 2013 and the rates are on the rise. Self-harm is a serious mental health problem in the U.S., with an estimated 2 million Americans intentionally injuring themselves in some way, according to Mental Health America. Today, on Self-Injury Awareness Day, we're talking about a large population of self-harm victims that doesn't get enough attention. Self-harm rates are growing among jail and prison inmates, both in the U.S. and around the world and corrections facilities aren't necessarily equipped to handle it. Why so many suicides in local jails? According to John Snook, executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, those facilities "typically won't have the opportunity to really screen someone, and so you don't know what's going on with the person." That can be a problem if a recent arrestee has severe mental health issues. "That's what we find is the most dangerous time that initial period when you're first placed in jail," Snook told Mic. "That's where we see suicides happening those periods where we don't have an understanding of a person's likelihood of committing suicide." Solitary confinement is another major predictor of self-harm among incarcerated populations, research has shown. In 2014, a disturbing study found that prisoners placed in solitary confinement are nearly seven times more likely to commit acts of self-harm. The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, analyzed 244,699 incarcerations in the New York City jail system from Jan. 1, 2010, to Jan. 31, 2013. Inmates committed 2,182 acts of self-harm, 103 of them potentially fatal. Only 7.3% of inmates were ever placed in solitary confinement, the researchers found and yet that group was responsible for 53.3% of the self-harm incidents. Story continues "One patient with relatively mild mental illness inserted a deodorant canister into his rectum, requiring surgical removal, all in an attempt to be taken out of his cell," the researchers wrote. "Others set fire to their cells or smear their own feces." In other instances, inmates cut their skin with plastic utensils, banged their heads against the wall, ingested harmful toxins and tied things around their necks, according to CBS News. Part of the problem is that correctional facilities aren't equipped to handle inmates with mental illnesses, according to Snook. "A jail or a prison is the worst possible place for someone with a severe mental illness to get treatment," he told Mic. Inmates with mental illnesses are often abused or attacked by other inmates. Prison guards may think they're protecting them by placing them in solitary confinement but they're wrong. "If you have a mental illness, being locked in without human contact is the worst thing you could do to a person," Snook said. Other times, solitary confinement is used as a disciplinary tool for inmates with mental illness who act out. For Bradley Brockmann, executive director of the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights at the Miriam Hospital, this form of discipline too often leads to self-injury and it needs to end. "They're not getting the treatment they should," Brockmann told Mic. "As a result, they can't cope, so they self-mutilate. They react however they can." "They need treatment to deal with the cause of acting out," Brockmann continued, "instead of putting them in a solitary room the size of a bathroom with no windows, no natural light maybe a toilet and a sink and lights that could be on all the time." Inmates with mental illnesses don't have enough access to psychiatrists and clinical social workers, Snook said. "You're in a stressful situation, and you're having mental illness issues," he said. "There are programs and promising best practices of how it's done, but until we have more psychiatrists in jails and prisons, people simply aren't getting the care they need." "These are institutions that are built to deal with security issues you know, having people in custody and control," Brockmann said. "These are not therapeutic institutions." When inmates do meet with psychiatrists, they may not receive an adequate level of care. "It's more or less a discussion of, 'What medications are you on? What side effects are you seeing?'" Snook said. "That's about it. Your not going to get into anything more than that, at the end of the day." It's not just in the U.S. In recent years, troubling stories of self-harm have emerged from corrections facilities in Canada and the U.K. In Canada, the number of female inmates who engage in self-harm increased from 61 in 2004-2005 to 608 in 2014 an 896% spike, according to CBC News. "The most common methods of self-harm are cutting or slashing, burning, banging heads, self-strangulation or ingesting objects," according to CBC. Howard Sapers, Canada's Correctional Investigator, attributed the troubling increase to "overcrowded conditions, limited programming and mental health problems." A Guardian investigation in 2014 revealed that in England and Wales, an average of more than six inmates were killing themselves per month findings that prompted the British government to launch an "urgent inquiry." "If you have a mental illness, being locked in without human contact is the worst thing you could do to a person," Snook said. What's being done to reduce self-harm in prisons? For Snook, "the biggest piece to this is reducing the percentage of people with a mental illness that are in jails and prisons in the first place," he said. The Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015, currently in the Senate, proposes establishing a pilot program to see whether it's effective to send certain eligible offenders to special courts for people with drug or mental health problems, instead of subjecting them to the standard judicial and correctional processes. The act also proposes the Department of Justice should be able to award grants for programs related to mental health, law enforcement and corrections. Ideally, Snook said, some people with mental illness wouldn't even be arrested in the first place. "Let's cut the arrest part out entirely, and get people treatment before they're meeting with a cop on the street," he said. "It's a bad way to do things." BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A senior Iraqi army officer and seven others were killed overnight when Islamic State militants attacked a military headquarters near the town of Haditha, security officials said on Tuesday. Haditha and its nearby dam, which the command is charged with protecting, are in one of the few parts of the Sunni Muslim province of Anbar still controlled by Iraq's Shi'ite-led government forces and local police backed by tribal fighters. The area is about 190 km (120 miles) northwest of Baghdad. Brigadier Ali Abboud, the command's chief of staff, was killed when four suicide bombers attacked an entrance to the base and clashed with soldiers, said Major General Ali Daboun, the commander of Jazeera and Badiya operations in charge of the western desert bordering Syria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. "Four terrorists attacked the entrance to the command headquarters and our soldiers managed to kill them. Regrettably Brigadier Ali Abboud was martyred in the attacks," Daboun said by phone. A news flash on state television confirmed Abboud's death. Seven other police and army personnel were killed, including a second army officer, two police sources said. Initial investigations showed the militants managed to reach the base by dressing in army uniforms, security officials said. Islamic State said in an online statement that two of its fighters had infiltrated a police headquarters near Haditha dam and attacked soldiers stationed there with light weapons and hand grenades before detonating their explosive vests. The statement named Abboud and several other security officers it said were also killed. The last major attack on Haditha in January by about 200 Islamic State militants was repelled with the help of U.S.-led coalition air strikes. A coalition spokesman said at the time that offensive was in response to the group's losses in the provincial capital of Ramadi, which Iraqi forces recaptured in December. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a string of attacks in recent days in and around Baghdad and in the eastern province of Diyala which have killed more than 100 people. (Reporting by Saif Hameed; Additional reporting by Ali Abdelaty in Cairo; Writing by Ahmed Rasheed and Stephen Kalin; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Gareth Jones) In a modern-day tale of two cities, in virtually every major U.S. metropolitan area students of color are much more likely than whites to attend public schools shaped by high concentrations of poverty, an analysis of federal data has found. In all but five of the 95 largest cities by population for which data is available, more minority than white students attend public schools where most of their classmates qualify as poor or low-income, according to the analysis of data from the National Equity Atlas. In a full three-fourths of cities, the share of minority students attending mostly poor or low-income schools is at least 20 percentage points greater than the share of white students. In 29 of the cities, the gap is at least 40 percentage points. Across a wide range of cities, the numbers point to a massive racial imbalance in exposure to concentrated poverty. In St. Louis, 92 percent of black, but only 27 percent of white, students attend schools where most of their classmates qualify as poor or low-income. In Dallas, 38 percent of white, compared to 95 percent of black and 97 percent of Latino students, attend mostly low-income schools. In Los Angeles, the numbers are 49 percent for whites, 85 percent for African Americans, and 96 percent for Latinos. Recommended: Is the GRE Even Worth Students' Time? Even in the cities experiencing the fastest economic growth since the recession, students of color predominantly remain trapped in low-income schools. Austin, Texas, is one of the fastest-growing economically vibrant communities in America, but 75 percent of black and 77 percent of Latino students there attend majority-poor schools, compared to just 12 percent of whites. And in Seattle, where the tech sector is driving the economic boom, only 15 percent of white students, and about two-thirds of black (69 percent) and Latinos (66 percent), attend a majority-poor school. In Denver, 41 percent of whites attend a majority-poverty school, though those numbers more than double for the share of black (83 percent) and Latino students (93 percent). Story continues Here we are, 60 years after Brown v. Board of Education and our schools are woefully separate and unequal, and in many cases we're actually going backward from where we were, said Brad Lander, a member of the New York City Council. I think we've been painfully blind to the problem. The contrast between the levels of economic segregation facing white and minority studentsa well-established problemre-emerges from the analysis of data provided by the National Equity Atlas, a joint project of PolicyLink and the University of Southern California's Program for Environmental and Regional Equity, or PERE. One reason fewer whites attend schools with mostly low-income classmates is that low-income whites are less likely than non-whites at the same income to live in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty, according to research by Sean F. Reardon, a graduate professor of education at Stanford University, and his colleagues Joseph Townsend and Lindsay Fox. But persistent racial segregation of both neighborhoods and schools remains a key factor in the disparity as well. A little over half the 20 cities with the largest gap in the share of white and non-white students attending majority low-income schools also rank among the most residentially segregated cities in the country, according to National Equity Atlas data. The Atlas uses the so-called multigroup entropy index to define segregation, which measures a citys demographic evenness, or the extent to which a citys residential areas reflect its whole population. Recommended: How the Coding Craze Could Lead to Technical Ghettos The cities experiencing the highest levels of both racial and economic segregation in schools include New Orleans and Dallas in the south, Los Angeles in the west, Chicago in the midwest, and Philadelphia and New York City on the east coast. Almost all have at least a 50-percentage-point gap between the share of white and the share of nonwhite students attending high-poverty schools where at least three-quarters of students are eligible for free- and reduced-price lunch. Reardons work has found that the single best predictor of racial gaps in student achievement is the extent to which students attend schools with mostly low-income classmates. But he said in practice it is difficult to disentangle the effects of economic isolation from those of racial segregation. Its really hard to separate racial exposure to poverty from racial exposure to segregation, he said. The two are so inextricably intertwined in American society that it is virtually impossible to undo the differences in exposure to poverty without substantially changing racial segregation at the same time. Its not that race doesnt matter. Its that race and class [are] highly intertwined. It was in part a study from UCLAs Civil Rights Project, which highlighted New York as the city with the nations most segregated school system, that compelled the city council there to explore options to address school poverty, Lander said. Just one-quarter of white students and more than three-quarters of black and Latino students attend high-poverty schools in New York City, according to Atlas data. It's much harder for those schools to provide an excellent education for their kids even when resources are equal, which they often aren't, especially when you factor in PTA contributions, Lander said. Its not impossible, obviously there are schools that succeed brilliantly in doing it, but it is so unfair to expect that schools with highly concentrated poverty can deliver the same level of educational support. Its really hard to separate racial exposure to poverty from racial exposure to segregation. It is indeed rare for a school serving mostly poor students to provide an environment where they can excel. Research shows, for instance, that only six of 102 high-poverty public schools in Allegheny County (the county surrounding Pittsburgh) can also be considered high-performingscoring better than the state average on reading and math in one of two state exams in both 2013 and 2014. Those six schools have overcome the barriers of poverty by providing the right support from the right teaching and the right culture, said Rachel Amankulor, the deputy director of policy at PennCAN, an education advocacy organization that published the report. Pittsburgh is also one of the countrys most highly segregated cities, according to Atlas data. As with other cities, its schools show major gaps between the shares of white and non-white students attending mostly low-income schools. A 56-point gap separates the share of all students of color and the share of white students attending a school where at least half of their peers are poor. That gap is even widera full 67 percentage pointsbetween white and black students. Ninety-two percent of black students in Pittsburgh attend a majority-poverty school. Recommended: Live Coverage of the Super Tuesday Primary Elections Even when high-performing schools are more integrated by income, they dont necessarily educate all students equally, especially without adjusting teaching strategies to better serve the needs of low-income students, Amankulor said. Weve created a system that doesn't serve poor people well. Instead of looking at our system and saying, What is our system doing wrong? were blaming poverty, she said. There are only five exceptions where fewer minorities than whites attend majority low-income schools, whites are a small fraction of the overall school system: In Detroit, Newark, and San Bernardino, California, whites equal less than 10 percent of the total student population. The remaining two cities, Irvine and Fremont in California, have predominantly Asian student bodies; whites comprise 33 percent of students in the former, and 15 percent in the latter. The very largest gaps between whites and all students of color attending majority low-income schools are found in Santa Ana, California, and Birmingham, Alabama, as well as Atlanta; St. Louis; Dallas; Austin, Texas; Rochester, New York; Pittsburgh; and Fort Worth and Houston in Texas. Four of the 10 cities with the widest gaps are in Texas. Looking specifically at the gaps between the share of white and black students attending mostly poor schools, Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta; Pittsburgh; St. Louis; Austin, Texas; and Rochester, New York top the list. The white-Latino gap is largest in Santa Ana, California; Austin, Texas; Dallas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Omaha, Nebraska; and Anaheim and San Diego in California. Experts say these high levels of concentrated poverty in schools are symptomatic of broader issues with segregation, housing, and transportation in each city. For that reason, city and education leaders say it will take a joint effort among school and government officials to tackle poverty and create more opportunity in several policy areas. We're talking about housing patterns, transportation patterns, commercial development. There's lots of stuff that ultimately influences where people choose to or can live, said Kent McGuire, the president of the Southern Education Foundation, and the former assistant secretary of the Department of Education during the Clinton Administration. The idea that education policy all by itself can mitigate the effects of poverty, the answer is no. We don't think so. Additional reporting for this article was contributed by Ronald Brownstein. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Madrid (AFP) - Spain's Socialist chief Pedro Sanchez ventured into hostile parliamentary territory Tuesday to plead with lawmakers to vote him through as prime minister and allow the country to finally get a government, knowing his chances are slim. The parliamentary session is a key step towards trying to end nearly 11 weeks of political stalemate since December's elections produced a parliament split between four main parties -- none of them with enough seats to govern alone. Designated by the king as prime ministerial candidate after conservative acting leader Mariano Rajoy pulled out, Sanchez has raced to put together a coalition government before the session, which will spill into Wednesday when the vote of confidence takes place. "We have before us the possibility to create a government of change," he said as he pleaded for lawmakers' support. He then outlined a series of progressive measures a Socialist-led government would enact, such as a minimum wage hike and a gender wage gap law. "Why not start enacting all of this beginning next week?" he asked the chamber. To become prime minister Sanchez needs to win an absolute majority in the first round of voting in the 350-strong lower house of parliament. But barring any unexpected changes of heart, he only has the support of centrist upstart party Ciudadanos and the tiny regional Canaries' Coalition, giving him just 131 votes -- not enough to see him through. Sanchez, a 44-year-old career politician dubbed "El Guapo" ("Mr. Handsome") for his good looks, has another chance on Friday in a vote in which he would only need more votes in favour than against. If he fails in both votes, Spain will be plunged into uncharted territory. It would be the first time since the country returned to democracy following the death of dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975 that the candidate designated by the king did not get enough backing from parliament to form a government. Story continues A two-month countdown will then start from the beginning of the week, during which the wildly diverging parties will try once again to come to an agreement to govern Spain. Failing that, new elections will be called, most likely on June 26. - End to two-party system - Unions and business figures have urged political leaders to reach a deal for a stable government quickly as Spain emerges from a severe economic crisis, and also faces an independence threat in the northeastern region of Catalonia. But that is easier said than done. The December 20 elections saw the ruling, conservative Popular Party (PP) lose its absolute majority, and two upstarts -- Ciudadanos and anti-austerity Podemos -- put an end to Spain's long-running two-party system. Hailed as a major step forward for democracy, the initial euphoria quickly evaporated when it became apparent that parties with differing agendas -- and unused to compromise -- were going to struggle to work together for a coalition government. Rajoy gave up attempts to form a government after he failed to get support from other groupings fed up with years of crisis-sparked austerity and corruption scandals plaguing his grouping. So King Felipe VI asked runner-up Sanchez, whose Socialists scored their worst result in history with just 90 seats out of 350, to form a government. - Podemos voters divided - After weeks of negotiations and ping-pong televised statements, he sealed a deal last week with Ciudadanos, which came fourth in the elections with 40 seats. But Podemos, which with its 65 seats would be a valuable partner for Sanchez, immediately suspended talks with the Socialists over the agreement, which it considered too liberal. The PP meanwhile has said it will vote against any government it does not lead this week. Sanchez could still go through if Podemos and other smaller groupings abstain from casting their ballot -- a move they have so far rejected. Podemos voters "are divided on this issue", sociologist Jose Pablo Ferrandiz of polling firm Metroscopia told AFP. But after Sanchez's address to parliament, Podemos's number two Inigo Errejon said the party's position had not changed. "Only Ciudadanos will support Sanchez," he said. By Wendell Roelf CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma survived his second no-confidence vote in a year on Tuesday, over what the main opposition Democratic Alliance party called his reckless handling of the economy. Zuma had the support of the African National Congress (ANC), which controls almost two-thirds of the assembly. He won with 225 lawmakers voting against the no-confidence motion. Ninety-nine voted in favor and 22 abstained, a result that mirrored his victory last March. Zuma did not attend the proceedings. Protests have been growing outside parliament, particularly after the sudden firing of Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister in December that triggered a market sell-off. "President Jacob Zuma has become a one-man wrecking ball who will stop at nothing in order to survive, including wrecking the economy and wrecking South Africa," David Maynier, the Democratic Alliance's (DA) shadow minister of finance, told parliament during the nationally televised debate. Mmusi Maimane, the leader of the DA party, said South Africans wanted Zuma taken to task for his "reckless" handling of the economy and sending the country into financial crisis. "Let's not forget the 8.2 million who are unemployed," Maimane said "Let's remove President Zuma." The unemployment rate stands at close to 25 percent, and the Treasury forecasts the economy may expand just 0.9 percent in 2016, the lowest rate since South Africa emerged from recession in 2009. The ANC dismissed what it called "the frivolous antics of the DA cloaked as democracy" in a message on its Twitter feed. Lindiwe Zulu, a minister in Zuma's cabinet, told parliament that the international community had confidence in Zuma. "You can shout on top of your voices, you will not change that," she said in the debate that lasted about three hours. Credit rating agencies say South Africa risks a downgrade that could take it below investment grade. "What the opposition parties are hoping to do is, firstly to weaken Zuma's position through generating anti-Zuma publicity in the public domain. And second of all, contributing to prizing open further the cracks in the ANC," Daryl Glaser, political analyst at Wits University. (Writing by James Macharia, editing by Larry King) By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - South Dakota Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would have made his the first U.S. state to dictate what bathrooms transgender students are allowed to use in public schools. The bill now returns to the legislature, where a two-thirds vote in both chambers would be required for it to pass. The state house approved the bill beyond that threshold in January, but the state Senate did not when it approved in February. The proposed law would require transgender pupils to use restrooms and locker rooms in public schools that correspond to their gender at birth and not the gender that fits their current identity. "This bill broadly regulates in a manner that invites conflict and litigation, diverting energy and resources from the education of the children of this state," Daugaard said in a statement. The bill would require schools to provide "reasonable" accommodations for transgender students. Those accommodations include a single-occupancy restroom, a unisex restroom, or the controlled use of a restroom, locker room or shower room. "His decision shows that discrimination against transgender students is not welcome in South Dakota," said Matt McTighe, executive director of Freedom for All Americans, an organization that supports LBGT issues. Civil rights groups have said the law would expose schools to legal challenges over access to restrooms and say it violates Title IX, a federal rule regarding discrimination in public schools. In December, a suburban Chicago school district reached an accord with the U.S. government over locker room access for a transgender student after the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights found the district discriminated against the student in violation of Title IX. Daugaard's veto comes about a month after a U.S. appeals court heard arguments over whether a high school in Virginia should be ordered to allow a transgender male student to use the boys' bathroom. Last week, local lawmakers in Charlotte, North Carolina, voted to allow transgender people to use public bathrooms matching their gender identity. State House of Representatives Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican, said he would consider legislation to block the measure. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; editing by Fiona Ortiz and Dan Grebler) SEOUL (Reuters) - Seoul will not shut the door to dialogue with North Korea, South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Tuesday, but warned that Pyongyang, facing new U.N. sanctions, would be subject to even greater pressure as long as it stuck to its nuclear program. The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote soon on a resolution drafted by the United States and backed by China, the North's main ally, aimed at punishing Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch. "The government will not shut the door on dialogue, but as long as the North doesn't show the will to denuclearize and refuses to change, pressure from us and the international community will continue," Park said. The anticipated adoption of new tough sanctions by the Security Council shows there is broad international support to stop the North's nuclear program, Park said. Her comments came in a speech marking a movement in the 1900s to seek Korean independence from colonial ruler Japan. Park did not make a proposal for fresh dialogue with the North, which last took place in August last year, when the two sides agreed to make efforts to improve ties. In February, in a shift from her earlier focus on dialogue to engage the North, Park vowed tough action and suspended operations at a jointly run industrial park as punishment for the North's recent moves. The North conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and launched a long-range rocket in February, which the Security Council condemned as a violation of existing resolutions that ban the isolated state from using ballistic missile technology. The proposed new resolution would require U.N. member states to inspect for illicit goods all cargo passing through their territory on its way to, or from, North Korea. Earlier, countries only had to do this if they had reasonable grounds to believe there was illicit cargo. Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, has sought more time to review the text of the resolution. (Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) London (AFP) - Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri has moved to take the pressure off his shock Premier League leaders by tipping Tottenham as title favourites. Ranieri's side are two points clear of second placed Tottenham and host West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday with Mauricio Pochettino's men facing West Ham on Wednesday. Tottenham's 2-1 win over Swansea on Sunday kept the pressure on Leicester, who beat Norwich 1-0 on Saturday, but, in a transparent attempt to ease the burden on his own players, Ranieri insisted the north Londoners are frontrunners. "Tottenham, in my opinion, are favourites then Arsenal, Manchester City," he told reporters. "Tottenham are strong in every situation. When they defend and when they attack they know what they want. Everyone is speaking about Leicester but nobody is speaking about Tottenham. "We are the surprise, that is fantastic, a good energy, but if we are realistic the real competitors are City, Arsenal and Tottenham. "Our job is done, we wanted to be safe and now there is something new. You can achieve something new if you think match-by-match. "Now we are focused on West Brom, we know we can win, lose or draw but it's not important what the other teams do." Baghdad (AFP) - Four Islamic State group suicide bombers infiltrated an army headquarters west of Baghdad, killing an Iraqi general and five other soldiers, army and police officers said on Tuesday. The bombers attacked a regimental headquarters in the Haditha area of Anbar province late on Monday, killing Staff Brigadier General Ali Aboud, Lieutenant Colonel Farhan Ibrahim and four others, the sources said. Major General Ali Ibrahim Daboun, the head of the Al-Jazeera Operations Command, said one suicide bomber blew himself up inside Aboud's office, while the other three detonated explosives elsewhere inside the headquarters. Seven soldiers were also wounded in the attack, Daboun said. Colonel Faruq al-Jughaifi, the Haditha police chief, confirmed the attack, saying it took place near a major dam in the area, and that the bombers were dressed in military uniforms. Jihadist group IS claimed the attack in a statement posted online but mentioned only two suicide bombers saying they were Syrian nationals. IS overran swathes of Iraq, including large parts of Anbar, in a sweeping offensive launched in June 2014, but has largely been on the defensive in the province since the middle of last year. Iraqi tribesmen and security personnel defending Haditha, which lies near the country's second largest dam, have held off IS for more than 18 months with the help of air strikes by a US-led coalition. The war with IS has taken a heavy toll on senior Iraqi officers in Anbar. Two heads of the Anbar Operations Command were wounded in 2015, while the commanders of a division and a brigade were killed in Anbar in April of that year. The province's governor was wounded in 2014. Senior army and police commanders have also been killed in other provinces. By Richard Cowan and David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans' refusal to consider any Supreme Court nominee by President Barack Obama this year could jeopardize the party's control of the Senate, as Democrats use the standoff to challenge vulnerable opponents in an election year. Congressional leaders met with Obama at the White House on Tuesday about replacing recently deceased Justice Antonin Scalia, and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell's stance opposing any nomination by Obama. Neither side gave ground. The showdown over the issue is already being used by Democrats to target Republican senators in states including Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, even though elections are not until November. The Democrats have two goals. One is opening a new line of attack on Republicans in states that tend to vote Democratic in presidential election years. The other is chipping away at McConnell's position, which may be hard to maintain over time. The Democrats' strategy will not work, said Republicans, who maintain the Supreme Court showdown actually helps them in some races and that other issues are much more important. Voters worry more about economic and national security issues than the Supreme Court, Tom Ridge, former Republican governor of Pennsylvania, said in an interview. The court fight "may have an impact, but at best, I think it's marginal." The issue has a long way to play out. Obama has yet to name a nominee. Also, the Supreme Court has not yet deadlocked 4-4 since Scalia's death on a high-profile issue, so there has been no stalemate to test the public's reaction. But by haranguing vulnerable incumbents, such as Illinois Republican Mark Kirk, Democrats hope to convince swing voters that stone-walling on any Obama nominee is a dereliction of duty. Faced with this attack, Kirk last week broke ranks with McConnell and said hearings should be held on a nominee. His possible general election opponent, Democratic Representative Tammy Duckworth, told Reuters she has hammered away at Kirk on the Senate confirmation process. "He would not have said anything if I had not pushed so hard," she said. In Ohio and Pennsylvania, three-quarters of those polled said the Senate should at least see whom Obama nominates before deciding whether or not to confirm the nominee, according to Public Policy Polling surveys conducted Feb. 19-21. TOOMEY'S STANCE STUDIED Former Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Ed Rendell told Reuters the Supreme Court battle will be trouble for Republicans. "This will bring into dramatic focus, with crystal clarity, the importance of the presidential election concerning the Supreme Court," Rendell said. Liberal activist group Moveon.org last week sponsored a 30-second cable television spot urging Senate Republicans to "Do your job" and consider an Obama appointee. At the same time, conservative group Judicial Crisis Network launched a 30-second video thanking Senator Patrick Toomey, who supports McConnell's position, for "letting the people decide" on replacing Scalia. Republicans must defend 24 Senate seats in November. Democrats have only 10 to defend. Senator Rob Portman, a first-term Republican who faces a tough re-election in Ohio, has also sided with McConnell. Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who was swept into office in 2010 by the Tea Party movement, is running 11 points behind Democrat Russ Feingold, the former senator he beat six years ago, a Marquette Law School Poll last week showed. To win, analysts said, Johnson must garner support from a different, presidential-year electorate that is likely to be younger, racially more diverse and with a potentially greater interest in moving forward with a Supreme Court nominee. So far the court debate has helped Johnson solidify support among Republicans, two-thirds of whom support McConnell's stand. (Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell; editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Richard Chang) Geneva (AFP) - Peace talks aimed at ending the conflict in Syria will resume in Geneva on March 9, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura's office said Tuesday, announcing a two-day postponement. "Intra-Syrian peace talks will resume in the afternoon of 9 March," de Mistura's office said in a statement. "The 7th of March 2016 was initially set as the target date for the resumption of peace talks," but a short delay was needed "to allow adequate time to address logistical and practical matters." "Mr. de Mistura looks forward to Syrian participants engagement in serious discussions," the statement added. A first round of talks which began early last month was cut short amid intensifying Russian airstrikes in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Warring parties, excluding the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, have agreed to a truce brokered by the US and Russia, which the United Nations has said is broadly holding despite isolated incidents of fighting. The UN has said an extended commitment to the ceasefire by all sides would raise hope of the talks succeeding, after repeated diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have failed. By John Davison and John Irish BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - A senior official from Syria's main opposition group said on Monday that a fragile international attempt to halt nearly five years of fighting was in danger of collapse because of attacks by government forces. The cessation of hostilities drawn up by Washington and Moscow faced "complete nullification" because Syrian government attacks were violating the agreement, the official of the Saudi-backed opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said. France said there were reports of attacks on opposition forces in breach of the deal, which came into force on Saturday, and countries backing the Syrian peace process met to try to clarify the situation. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the pause in the fighting was largely holding, despite some incidents that he hoped would be contained. The Kremlin said the process was under way, although it had always been clear it would not be easy. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said efforts were being made to track down alleged violations but that there was currently no evidence to suggest it would destabilize the fragile peace. The cessation deal does not include jihadist groups such as Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and Russia, which is backing the Syrian government with air power, has made clear it intends to keep bombing those groups. Kerry said at a news conference in Washington that he agreed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to intensify work on a mechanism to ensure any strikes in Syria solely target Islamic State or Nusra Front. An aide to Saudi Arabia's defense minister said on Monday, that defense ministers from the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State had discussed the possibility of a Syrian ground incursion two weeks ago in Brussels. "It was discussed at the political level but it wasn't discussed as a military mission," Saudi Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri told Reuters. "Once this is organized, and decided how many troops and how they will go and where they will go, we will participate in that." The cessation of hostilities agreement, the first of its kind since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, is a less formal arrangement than a ceasefire. It is meant to allow peace talks to resume and aid to reach besieged communities. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was largely holding, with casualties greatly reduced compared with before the agreement took effect. But Syrian forces made some gains. The Observatory reported they had taken territory near Damascus on Monday after a battle with the Nusra Front and other Islamist rebels. Syrian government forces also regained control of a road to the northern city of Aleppo after making advances against Islamic State fighters. Aid trucks carrying non-food items such as blankets on Monday entered Mouadamiya, a suburb of Damascus under siege by government forces, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent said. The United Nations and other agencies hope to deliver aid to more than 150,000 people in besieged areas over the next five days. Kerry said he was concerned by reports the Syrian government was creating obstacles for the delivery of humanitarian aid and hoped it would stop its officials and troops from taking medicine or other supplies from the shipments. GLOOMY ASSESSMENT Asaad al-Zoubi, head of the HNC's delegation to the peace talks, gave a gloomy assessment of the truce. "We are not facing a violation of the truce ... we are facing a complete nullification," he said on Al Arabiya al Hadath TV. "I believe the international community has totally failed in all its experiments, and must take real, practical measures towards the (Syrian) regime," Zoubi said, without elaborating. He said there were no signs of any preparations for peace talks, which the United Nations wants to reconvene on March 7. Talks in Geneva in early February collapsed before they started, with rebels saying they could not negotiate while they were being bombed. HNC spokesman Salim al-Muslat said the truce was a step in the right direction, but a mechanism was needed to stop such violations and encourage negotiations. "There has to be a power that really stops what Russia and what the regime is doing," Muslat said in a television interview with Reuters in Riyadh. "Today there [were] about 10 Russian air strikes, about 16 air strikes done by the regime." Syrian officials could not immediately be reached for comment on allegations that government forces were violating the cessation. The government has said it is abiding by the agreement. But a Syrian Foreign Ministry official accused Saudi Arabia of trying to undermine the cessation of hostilities agreement by saying there would be a "Plan B" if it failed. He did not give details of the plan, which is believed to include military action. Russia on Monday also rejected any suggestion of a Plan B, which has been alluded to by Kerry. Countries belonging to the "International Syria Support Group" (ISSG), led by the United States and Russia, met in Geneva on Monday. They are supposed to monitor compliance with the deal and act rapidly to end any flare-ups. "We have received indications that attacks, including by air, have been continuing against zones controlled by the moderate opposition," French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in Geneva. "All this needs to be verified." AIR STRIKES ARE HEAVY The HNC said the cessation of hostilities was broken by the Syrian government 15 times on the first day, and that there were further violations by Russia and Hezbollah, both allies of President Bashar al-Assad. On the ground, rebels said the violence was below pre-ceasefire levels in some places and little changed in others. Colonel Fares al-Bayoush, head of a Free Syrian Army group called the Northern Division, told Reuters: "The air strikes are heavy today, especially by Russian planes." Abu al-Baraa al-Hamawi, a fighter with the Ajnad al-Sham group in northwestern Syria, said the government had shelled a number of villages. "It is regular bombardment, no change. The regime after the truce is as it was before." The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war through a network of contacts on the ground, said the number of people dying each day had gone down substantially since the cessation started. (Additional reporting by John Davison, Mariam Karouny, Tom Perry, Lisa Barrington, Ali Abdelatti, Stephanie Nebehay, Ayesha Rascoe, Susan Heavey, Ece Toksabay, Idrees Ali and Mohammad Zargham; Writing by Giles Elgood and Peter Cooney; Editing by Peter Millership, David Stamp, Pravin Char and Lisa Shumaker) BERLIN (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the cessation of hostilities in force since Saturday was a "glimmer of hope," in an interview with German television to be aired on Tuesday. "We will play our part to make the whole thing work," he was quoted as saying in an extract of a 25-minute interview with broadcaster ARD's Weltspiegel Extra program to be aired in full later. The interview was conducted in English but ARD released his quotes in German. The cessation of hostilities agreement, the first of its kind since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, is a less formal arrangement than a ceasefire and is meant to allow peace talks to resume and aid to reach besieged communities. According to ARD, Assad offered opposition fighters an amnesty and a possible "return to normal civilian life" provided they give up their weapons. He said people living in Syria were suffering a "humanitarian disaster". ARD said Assad disputed that his troops would cut off areas run by the opposition from receiving food and medicine and said the Syrian army was being attacked from these areas. "How are we supposed to cut off these areas from deliveries of food if we can't stop the procurement of weapons," ARD quoted him as saying. He acknowledged that the country was no longer "completely sovereign". That is why Syria needed military help from Russia, Iran and Lebanon, ARD reported him as saying. "They came not to defend us but to defend themselves" Assad was quoted as saying. Assad was reported as welcoming Germany's policy of accepting refugees but raised the question as to whether it would not be smarter and "less costly" to help Syrians live in their own country. But Western countries would have to decide to fight against terrorism and not against his country, ARD reported him as saying. Syrian state media quoted Assad as telling ARD the Syrian army had refrained from responding to truce violations in order to give the cessation of hostilities agreement a chance. "The terrorists have breached the deal from the first day. We as the Syrian army are refraining from responding in order to give a chance to sustain the agreement and that is what we can do. But in the end there are limits and it all depends on the other side." (Reporting by Madeline Chambers, Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny; Editing by Paul Carrel and Janet Lawrence) Volkswagen is using this year's Geneva Motor Show to start an aggressive move into the SUV market but also to commit to greener, cleaner forms of energy. And it all starts with the T-Cross Breeze, a convertible crossover that although a concept will soon morph into a real-world "Affordable, cheeky cabriolet," said VW Group's chairman, Dr Herbert Diess. Based on the platform that will underpin the next VW Polo, the concept has a 2.565-meter wheelbase and uses an economical turbocharged 1-liter gas engine. It delivers 108bhp that is sent to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual clutch transmission for a 0-100km/h time of 10.3 seconds and a 188km/h top speed. Performance is not quick, but fuel efficiency is remarkable -- 5l/100km and 115g of CO2 per km. "The T-Cross Breeze reflects the new start of our brand," said Klaus Bischoff, Head of Design for the Volkswagen Brand. "We want to stir enthusiasm for New Volkswagen'." But as well as fun off-roaders that showcase what car interiors will look like when switchgear has been usurped by touch screens, hand gestures and voice controls, Volkswagen is also using this year's show to address its issues regarding dieslegate. "2016 is the year when we intend to solve the problem with our diesel engines for our customers," said CEO Matthias Muller. And, crucially to set an ambitious target -- to become the world's preeminent electric car manufacturer and to be at the vanguard of autonomous driving and of mobility services through the development of software. "I am firmly convinced we will become a leading mobility provider by 2025," said Johann Jungwirth, VW Group's Chief Digital Officer. "We have already perfectly mastered the hardware -- in other words, how to build cars." Volkswagen has nine models on sale that are either hybirds or plug-in electric and this number will grow to 20 by 2020. "All-electric ranges of over 500 km are feasible by the end of the decade. Charging will only take as long as a coffee break. And in the long term an electric car will cost less than a car with an internal combustion engine," Muller said. However, battery innovation is nothing without a charging infrastructure. And that is why in the short term focus is on innovations within traditional internal combustion powerplants. "Our experts have developed fascinating technologies: from 3- to 16-cylinder engines, from natural gas to efficient diesel drives. And here, too, we can and will get even better," Muller said. This ability to eke out greater and greater efficiencies from existing powertrains is also why the compnay's showcar has been given a 1-liter gas engine rather than a battry pack and set of electric motors. By Joan Biskupic and Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Clarence Thomas ended a decade of silence from the bench during Supreme Court arguments on Monday when the conservative justice unexpectedly posed questions during a gun rights case from Maine. His comments, which surprised courtroom observers and then held them rapt, focused on Thomas' concern that people convicted of domestic-violence misdemeanors could permanently lose the right to own a firearm. Thomas has been a consistent vote on the court for robust gun rights under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment. Thomas, 67, had not asked a question during oral arguments since Feb. 22, 2006, when he made queries during a South Carolina death penalty case. His words came just over two weeks after the death of fellow conservative Antonin Scalia, who had been one of the most outspoken justices during arguments as well as a strong advocate for gun rights. Thomas' questions were directed at Ilana Eisenstein, an assistant U.S. solicitor general who was defending a federal firearms statute. At issue was when a prior state misdemeanor domestic assault conviction based on "recklessness" may lead to a person being barred from ever owning a gun again under federal law. His first words were, "Ms. Eisenstein, one question." "Can you give me another area where a misdemeanor violation suspends a constitutional right?" Thomas asked. Eisenstein stressed that Congress was concerned about future harm by individuals convicted "of battering their family members." She said lawmakers particularly wanted to prevent gun violence. Thomas asked whether either of the defendants involved in Monday's cases had used a weapon against a family member. Eisenstein said no. "So ... the suspension is not directly related to the use of the weapon," Thomas said. "It's just a family member's involved in a misdemeanor violation; therefore a constitutional right is suspended." Thomas, the court's only black justice, in the past has attributed his reluctance to ask questions to a few factors, some personal. He told a group of students in 2000 that his reluctance to speak during arguments arose from a shyness tracing to his birth in Pin Point, Georgia, and his childhood with his grandparents in nearby Savannah: I had grown up speaking a kind of dialect. In part to avoid the ridicule of classmates, Thomas said, "I just started developing the habit of listening. ... I didn't ask questions in college or law school. I could learn better just listening." Thomas has also said he thinks his colleagues interrupt the lawyers too much and that the lawyers should be able to explain their positions. (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday is set to hear a legal challenge by abortion providers to a Texas law requiring physicians performing the procedure to have "admitting privileges" at local hospitals and clinics to meet a series of hospital-grade standards. Following is a timeline of that challenge. July 2013 - The Republican-led Texas legislature passes and Republican Governor Rick Perry signs the law known as H.B. 2, putting new requirements on abortion providers. State officials say the law is intended to ensure the health and safety of women. September 2013 Before the law is enforced, Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers challenge the measure, asserting that certain provisions, including the one related to doctors' admitting privileges, were aimed at decreasing the availability of abortion in the state. October 2013 A U.S. district judge sides largely with the challengers, blocking the admitting privileges provision. March 2014 - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit reverses the lower court and permits much of the law to take effect. April 2014 Whole Woman's Health and other abortion providers bring a new complaint against Texas, citing the effect of the law's implementation and the number of clinics that have closed. The challengers focus on the admitting-privileges requirement and clinic standards. August 2014 A U.S. district court judge declares the admitting privileges and clinic requirements an unconstitutional burden on women's access to abortion. October 2014 - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit intervenes to allow implementation of both new regulations, but the U.S. Supreme Court blocks part of the order so that the mandate that clinics meet hospital-grade standards for surgeries does not go into effect. June 2015 - After considering the full merits of the challenge, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit reverses the district judge's decision, finding the judge should have deferred to the legislature's stated health and safety goals. The appeals court also says most of the lawsuit should have been barred because the legal issues it raised already were addressed in the case filed by Planned Parenthood. June 2015 - The U.S. Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote puts a temporary hold on the 5th Circuit's ruling while the justices consider whether to hear the challengers' appeal. That action blocks the clinic regulation regarding hospital-grade standards from taking effect. September 2015 - The abortion providers challenging the Texas restrictions ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their appeal of the 5th Circuit's ruling. November 2015 - The U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear the challenge by abortion providers to the Texas restrictions. March 2016 - Oral arguments are set before the Supreme Court for March 2 in the case, known as Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt. A ruling was expected by the end of June. (Compiled by Joan Biskupic in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham) Hillary Clinton laughs as U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez endorses her during a campaign stop in Sioux City, Iowa, Dec. 4, 2015. (Photo: Nati Harnik/AP) U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez likes to bring up the exact number of days left to take action in Barack Obamas presidency. Perez even keeps a countdown calendar on his desk identifying Jan. 20, 2017 the next presidents first day in office as the day his weekend begins. But Perez might have to wait for his weekend, as theres growing buzz he could be an ideal vice presidential pick for Hillary Clinton if she wins the Democratic presidential primary. Clinton is still in the midst of a tough fight against Sen. Bernie Sanders. While her campaign remains focused on that race, her huge victory in South Carolinas Democratic primary on Saturday vaulted Clinton back into frontrunner status and polls indicate shes set to widen that lead on Super Tuesday this week. So now Democrats are beginning to speculate about who she might tap as a running mate. Perez, according to some in the party, could singularly help Clinton appeal to progressives energized by Sanders campaign and help unify the party once he bows out. Most of the early Clinton veepstakes chatter has focused on another member of Obamas Cabinet, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has also generated considerable vice presidential speculation, as has Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., both of whom have been campaigning for her. Yahoo News has heard three other names when inquiries were made about who might be in the mix: Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, and Perez. Of these men, it is Perez who seems to have the most potential to appeal to the left flank of the party that has rallied around Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Already, one influential liberal Democratic senator was heard speaking privately on the Senate floor about what a great pick Perez would be for Clinton, according to two Democratic sources familiar with the conversation. A longtime Democratic Hill aide described Perez as a choice that would satisfy the Warren wing of the party. Story continues Perez has emerged as a high profile and active surrogate for Clinton. Since endorsing her last December, Perez traveled to all four early-voting states to campaign for Clinton. He also hit the spin room for Clinton after the Democratic debate in Wisconsin on Feb. 11. Both Perezs office and the Clinton campaign declined to comment on this story. The son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Perez grew up in Buffalo, New York. His father passed away when he was 12 years old, and Perez later put himself through Brown University by working in the schools dining hall, at a warehouse, and as a garbage collector. From there he went on to Harvard University, where he obtained graduate degrees in law and public policy. President Obama listens as Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, right, speaks during a conversation at the White House Summit on Worker Voice in 2015. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP) Perez began his career working as a prosecutor in the Department of Justices civil rights division. In the 1990s, he served as the principal adviser to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy on civil rights issues. Perez also served in the administration of Pres. Bill Clinton, as director of the Office for Civil Rights at the United States Department of Health and Human Services. After a stint teaching law during the administration of Pres. George W. Bush, Perez got involved in Maryland politics and served on the Montgomery County council. He went on to lead Marylands Department of Labor licensing and regulation before returning to the DOJ in 2009 as the assistant attorney general heading up the civil rights division. Obama nominated Perez to become labor secretary in 2013, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a bipartisan 72-22 vote. Picking Perez would have great value for Clinton, one former Obama adviser told Yahoo News. The adviser, who requested anonymity to candidly discuss the strengths and weaknesses of various potential picks, cited Perezs inspirational biography, Latino heritage, Spanish fluency, and relative youth. Perez is 54 years old, while Clinton is 68. Hes got a great personal story. I think he certainly was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, the adviser said. In addition to being a bridge to the Latino community, I think hes seen as a true progressive kind of a new generation of rising Democratic stars. The former Obama adviser met Perez late last year and came away impressed. I was prepared to think that he would be a standard-issue Cabinet secretary, kind of message points and very careful and cautious, and I found him to be unbelievably genuine and shooting from the hip, the adviser said. Leading progressive lobbyist Robert Raben has known Perez for over 20 years, having met him during Perezs time as a senate aide. While Raben said he would be excited to see a Latino on the ticket, he described Perezs experience working on civil rights and labor issues as the most important thing he would bring to the table. Raben described these areas of expertise as an ideal complement to Clintons foreign policy experience. I think hes, on the merits, an awesome, awesome pick, Raben said of Perez. Perez has spent his career working on issues that have exploded into the national conversation in recent years and are now among the top domestic issues this election. While leading the DOJs Civil Rights Division, Perez increased focus on prosecuting hate crimes. Under Perez, the division also did more work investigating police misconduct and voting rights issues than at any other time in its history. Perezs work on civil rights issues also included obtaining some of the first convictions for hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. All of which would sit well with Clintons focus on breaking barriers and tackling systemic racism. U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez greets head cashier Christinia White at an Ace Hardware store in Washington, D.C., 2014. Perez visited the store to push for the raising of the federal minimum wage. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images) Bakari Sellers, a Clinton supporter, CNN commentator, and former legislator in South Carolina, told Yahoo News hes a big Perez fan. As a young black millennial, Sellers said he finds the prospect of Perez joining a ticket with Clinton invigorating, particularly due to Perezs expertise on civil rights. I havent met anybody thats nearly as smart or nearly as articulate that can speak to the issues so prevalently on civil rights and civil justice, and speak directly to the hearts of many persons of color in this country, Sellers said. Perez, who is the first Cabinet member of Dominican descent, also emerged as a strong advocate for Latinos during his time at the DOJ. He investigated Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., a high profile opponent of immigration reform and now a supporter of Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, for discrimination against Latinos. The DOJ filed suit against Arpaios office for allegedly declining to cooperate with the administration in 2012. Last July, the county voted to settle as Arpaios office agreed to change its policies. Perez also fought Arizonas SB1070 immigration law, the most sweeping and tough anti-illegal immigration that received nationwide attention when it was signed in 2010. Perez had the DOJ file a legal challenge to the law that went all the way to the Supreme Court in 2012 and resulted in some portions of the law being struck down. And perhaps most importantly to the so-called Warren wing of the Democratic Party, Perez has strong liberal credentials on economic issues. At the Department of Labor, Perez has pushed for workers rights including minimum wage increases, union organization, and paid sick leave. National labor leaders have praised Perezs performance and suggested he enjoys strong support among their membership. Perez has also worked directly with Warren to push a conflict of interest rule that would mandate financial advisers working on retirement accounts sign a legally binding agreement that requires them to act in clients best interests and make greater disclosures of any third party commissions they receive. This so-called fiduciary rule has been a bete noire of the Wall Street lobby. Raben, the lobbyist, said that, in spite of having developed a reputation for being an aggressive defender of workers rights and Wall Street regulation, Perez has figured out how to be a progressive candidate and get along with people who disagree with him. What makes him very compelling to me because Im sort of in the business of public policy, Im not in the business of banging my shoe on the table and hoping that my friends are excited by my leadership he gets along really, really well with conservatives and with businesspeople, said Raben. He learned that from Senator Kennedy. Well, it may be natural but thats how Senator Kennedy trained people. While Raben didnt reject the idea that Perez could help Clinton win over Sanders supporters and the Warren wing, he suggested thats not the main reason he thinks Perez would be a fantastic candidate. Pi Pizzeria kitchen manager Freddie Melgar, left, shows U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez how they make pizzas during a tour of the kitchen, Miami Beach, 2015. (Photo: Wilfredo Lee/AP) I know and I understand that narrative and I dont quibble with it. I think everything is relative, and when Mrs. Clinton is paired up against the Republican nominee, whether its Cruz, Rubio, or Trump, her progressive bona fides will be unflinching, Raben said. Im just not in the business of saying she needs to do that because she needs to lock up a progressive wing. I dont think Mrs. Clinton needs to do anything. I think hes a great choice. He may well do that and be very, very attractive but hed also be really, really attractive to Latino conservatives. You know, hes a religious guy. While he may attract other constituencies, Perezs appeal to progressives an appeal that has largely eluded Clinton in the primary is evident. The former Obama adviser said having Perez on the ticket would be a big plus for Clinton. I think he does represent the future and hes not going to back down on his progressive principles, the adviser said. Sometimes there are progressives who might get picked kind of early and say, like, Well, s***, now Im on the fast track, so Ill do whatever I have to do. I dont think Perez would be like that. UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner and Chair of the Tongji University Council Yang Xianjin sign the MoU in UNEP headquarters in Nairobi. [Photo by Hou Liqiang/chinadaily.com.cn] United Nations Environment Program and China's prestigious Tongji University extended a 2012 Memorandum of Understanding on Monday in Nairobi, pledging to continue collaboration of the two sides. The updated MoU, signed by Executive Director Achim Steiner and Chair of the Tongji University Council Yang Xianjin in UNEP headquarter, extends the partnership of the two sides to 2020. The MoU vows to make more efforts to develop UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD) into a globally recognized institute for environmental and sustainable development education and research, and South-South and triangular cooperation. The original Letter of Agreement to establish the UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development was signed by the two sides in on May 9, 2002. According to UNEP, more than 300 students from various programs have graduated from the institute, with 70% from outside of China and many from developing countries. The renewed partnership will also strengthen efforts to make the institute a globally recognized center of excellence and think tank for sustainable development. Steiner said: "The IESD represents more than a decade of close collaboration between UNEP and Tongji University and is a center of sustainable development research. Tongji University has a proud tradition of leading academic research in technology, urbanization, energy and transport. Our unique and longstanding partnership is an opportunity to bring these areas of expertise to bear on UNEP's vision of an inclusive green economy and the 2030 Agenda of sustainable development for all." "Research into sustainable development is a priority for Tongji University," said Yang, "Our partnership with UNEP has been long and fruitful and supports these efforts immeasurably. Expanding our partnership is an opportunity to advance sustainable development in China and build on Tongji University's expertise to become a global center for environmental science research." TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's government backs a plan for German forces to come to the country to train troops from neighboring Libya for the fight against Islamic State militants, the Tunisian defense minister said on Tuesday. The Islamic State militants have taken advantage of political chaos and a security vacuum in Libya to expand their presence there, taking control of the city of Sirte and staging frequent attacks. Western officials are discussing ways to counter the group, including through the use of air strikes and special forces operations, though plans for outside assistance have been hampered by the failure of a United Nations-backed unity government in Libya to win wide approval in the country. Last week a German delegation visited Tunisia to discuss a training program for Libyan forces. "We agree on the principle of the project," Tunisian Defence Minister Farhat Harchani said in an interview with the TAP state news agency. He gave no details on the nature of the training or when it might happen, but said Tunisian forces would also take part. "We will participate in the formation of the nucleus of the Libyan army and security forces in Tunisia. This is our duty and we will help Libya to get it done," he said. Tunisia has been struggling to contain its own militant threat, and thousands of Tunisians have gone to fight in Iraq, Syria and Libya. Authorities say gunmen who killed dozens of tourists at a museum and a beach resort in Tunisia last year trained in Libya before returning home. Tunisia recently completed a 200-km (125 mile) barrier consisting of an earth wall and trenches along its frontier with Libya, aimed at stopping militants from crossing the border. European and U.S. military trainers are to instruct Tunisian forces on improving electronic surveillance there. Britain said on Monday it had sent a team of 20 military personnel to Tunisia to provide mobile patrolling and surveillance training on the border. It said a similar training mission had been conducted at the end of last year. Last month the United States carried out an air strike on a suspected Islamic State training camp in the western Libyan city of Sabratha, killing more than 40 people, many of them believed to be Tunisians. (Reporting By Tarek Amara; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Gareth Jones) Diyarbakir (Turkey) (AFP) - The Turkish authorities Tuesday announced the partial lifting of a curfew in a town in the country's Kurdish-dominated southeast, in force since December as part of a major crackdown on rebels. The army and police closed access to the town of Cizre, near the border with Syria and Iraq, in mid-December as a military offensive was launched against rebels from the banned Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK). "The curfew will be lifted each day from 5:00 am (0300 GMT) to 7:30 pm and will be in force from 7:30 pm to 5:00 am," the governor's office in Sirnak province said in a statement. The change will take effect from Wednesday. Turkish authorities imposed curfews in Cizre and other towns in the southeast in a bid to root out PKK rebels from urban centres where they had erected barricades and dug trenches. The military said Friday that 666 "terrorists" had been "neutralised" in Cizre during the offensive, which officially ended last month. Dozens of police and soldiers have also been killed. The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey said last week that at least 178 civilians had been killed in the clashes, while the leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) accused the government of a "massacre" in the city -- firmly rejected by Ankara. The army and special police units have carried out similar operations in Silopi, near Cizre, and in the hstoric Sur district of Diyarbakir, the main city of the southeast. On Tuesday Diyabakir provincial governor Huseyin Aksoy said "98 percent" of six neighbourhoods in Sur still under curfew had been "cleaned". Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan told AFP the government had "done what was necessary to restore public order" and operations had been carried out "within the law and with maximum sensitivity to avoid putting the population in danger". The PKK has killed dozens of members of the Turkish security forces in bomb and gunfire attacks since a two-and-a-half-year truce collapsed in July. Over 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK took up arms in 1984 demanding an independent state for Kurds. Since then the group has narrowed its demands to greater autonomy and cultural rights. ACCRA (Reuters) - Turkey stands ready to help fight the growing threat of terrorism in west Africa under a new strategic partnership that aims to boost trade and other ties with the continent, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday. Addressing members of Ghana's parliament during a two-day visit to Accra, Erdogan said Turkey was well placed to help African countries combat terrorism, an allusion to its decades-long fight against Kurdish separatist rebels as well as other groups including Islamist militants. "Turkey has a vast experience in combating terrorism and we understand those countries suffering at the hands of terrorism best," he said, citing recent attacks by Islamic militants in Mali and Burkina Faso. At least 28 people from 12 countries were killed in January when Islamist jihadists attacked a hotel and a restaurant in the Burkina Faso capital, Ouagadougou. The attacks followed a similar raid on a luxury hotel in Mali's capital Bamako in November which left 20 dead. Erdogan said developing countries, including in Africa, needed to push harder for reforms of the United Nations Security Council to make it more responsive to their needs in times of crisis, adding that the body as currently constituted only served the interests of a few "elite" countries. The Security Council's five permanent members are the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France. "The Security Council of the United Nations is not active in Syria, in northern Africa, or northern Iraq ... and its failure to interfere in troubled countries should be of concern to all and that's why we need to push for reforms in the Council," he said. Erdogan, accompanied by some 150 Turkish businesspeople, is keen to open up new markets for his country's exporters, to seek new investment opportunities in fast-growing African economies and boost Ankara's diplomatic profile on the global stage. Turkey is set to significantly expand its trade with Africa, Erdogan said, though he gave no figures. His tour of west Africa also includes Ivory Coast, Guinea and Nigeria. (Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Editing by Gareth Jones) By Gulsen Solaker ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's top judge asserted his court's independence on Tuesday after President Tayyip Erdogan and the justice minister both criticized a ruling that the detention of two prominent journalists had violated their rights. Erdogan said on Sunday he neither recognized nor respected Thursday's ruling by the constitutional court that led to the release of Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper, and its Ankara bureau chief. Their arrest last November, after Cumhuriyet published video footage purporting to show the state intelligence agency helping to send weapons to Syria, drew international condemnation and concerns about media freedom in Turkey, which aspires to join the European Union membership. "Decisions taken by the constitutional court using its authority, are binding for everyone and every institution," court chairman Zuhtu Arslan told a legal conference in Ankara. "We are doing our job. We do not look at who is making the application. We are not on anybody's side or against anyone." Arslan's predecessor, Hasim Kilic, clashed with Erdogan several times, warning last year that the judiciary could become an "instrument of revenge" for politicians after government-backed candidates strengthened their grip on key courts, heightening concern about judicial independence. Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag echoed Erdogan's criticism of the court ruling on Tuesday, telling parliament the ruling was a "clear violation of the constitution and law", according to the state-run Anadolu news agency. The Cumhuriyet newspaper infuriated Erdogan last May when it published photos, videos and a report that it said showed Turkish intelligence officials transporting arms to Syria in trucks in 2014. The two Cumhuriyet journalists were charged with intentionally aiding an armed terrorist organization and publishing material in violation of state security. Erdogan, who has cast the newspaper's coverage as part of an attempt to undermine Turkey's global standing, has said he will not forgive such reporting. "This has nothing to do with press freedom. This is a case of spying," he said on Sunday. Despite their release, the two journalists are still facing possible life sentences at a trial due to start on March 25 and they are banned from leaving the country. (Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Gareth Jones) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force on Monday awarded contracts worth more than $160 million to two separate firms involved in the development of new rocket engines to help end U.S. reliance on Russian-made rocket motors for national space launches. The Air Force awarded a $115-million contract to Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc for development of its AR1 rocket propulsion system prototype. The contract marked a victory for the company after a big setback last year, when one of its key customers, United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, announced a surprise switch to solid rocket boosters made by Orbital ATK after 2018. It also awarded a $46.6-million contract to a partnership of United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, and Blue Origin, a Kent, Washington-based startup owned by Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos, for development of Blue Origins BE-4 rocket engine. The Air Force awarded two similar contracts worth up to $108 million to Orbital ATK and privately-held Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) last month. ULA has said it intends to replace the Russian-made engines on its workhorse Atlas 5 launcher with Blue Origins BE-4 motors. However, ULA also is keeping open its options to use Aerojets engine instead. Congress banned the import of Russian engines for rockets flying U.S. military missions as part of trade sanctions to punish Russia for annexing Ukraines Crimea peninsula in 2014. Development of the BE-4 engine, which runs on liquid oxygen and methane, has been fully funded by Blue Origin, with investment by ULA. "Development is on schedule to achieve qualification for flight in 2017," ULA said in a statement. The company intends to use the BE-4 in its new Vulcan rockets as early as 2019. The Air Forces agreement with Aerojet, which also is working in partnership with ULA, could be worth up to $804 million, with two-thirds of the money coming from the Air Force, Aerojet said in a statement. Story continues A Pentagon statement said the two contracts implement a 2015 law requiring the development of a next-generation rocket propulsion system to end the U.S. military's dependence on the Russian-supplied RD-180 rocket engine. SpaceX is working to break ULAs monopoly on flying U.S. military and national security missions with its American-made Falcon rockets. The company is poised to win its first contract to launch a U.S. Air Force Global Positioning Satellite later this year, after ULA decided to skip the competition. (Reporting by David Alexander in Washington, Irene Klotz in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and Andrea Shalal in San Francisco; Editing by Alan Crosby and Matthew Lewis) SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Tuesday her Justice Department's court battle to force Apple Inc to unlock an iPhone linked to one of the San Bernardino shooters ran the risk of becoming "all about Apple" and that the company should not be able to decide the broader encryption debate alone. Speaking at the RSA cyber security conference in San Francisco, Lynch repeatedly urged cooperation and open dialogue between Silicon Valley and Washington on how to resolve the problems facing law enforcement due to the increased use of strongly encrypted devices. (Reporting by Dustin Volz; Editing by Bill Rigby) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two local employees of the U.S. consulate in the Pakistani city of Peshawar and some soldiers were killed by an explosive device while on drug-eradication mission, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday. "Just this morning, I woke to the news that we had lost two local employees in Peshawar who worked with our consulate there who were going out on a effort to eradicate narcotics fields," Kerry told an event in Washington on countering violent extremism. "An IED exploded and several were lost; a few of the soldiers who were there to guard them also," Kerry said. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the incident occurred on Tuesday when the two Pakistani employees were traveling in a Pakistani government Anti-Narcotics Force convoy in Ambar tehsil, in the Mohmand Agency of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). "The U.S. government strongly condemns the attack," Kirby said, adding that the United States was offering its assistance to Pakistan in investigating the incident and bringing the perpetrators to justice. Kirby said he said not know whether the consulate employees were the targets of the attack, which came during a visit to the United States by Pakistan's national security adviser Sartaj Aziz. "Nobody has claimed responsibility at this point," Kirby told a regular news briefing. "We don't know how premeditated or planned this was, and we certainly don't have additional information about the specific targets, we're going to have just keep working at this." (Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Susan Heavey and Alan Crosby) By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that while efforts were being made to track down alleged violations of the cessation of hostilities in Syria, there was currently no evidence to suggest it would destabilize the fragile peace. "We are digging in through the process we set up to find out if in fact a violation did take place or was it in fact a legitimate engagement against Nusra only or Daesh only," Kerry said in a news conference with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The Nusra front is an al Qaeda-linked group while Daesh is an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Kerry said that while there were reports of violations, the vast majority in Syria had seen a decrease in violence. "So we call on all the parties not to be looking for a way to get out from under the responsibility of the cessation of hostilities, but rather to help the process to hold itself accountable," Kerry added. On Monday a senior official from the Saudi-backed opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said the cessation of hostilities faced "complete nullification" because Syrian government attacks were violating the agreement. The cessation of hostilities agreement, the first of its kind since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, is a less formal arrangement than a ceasefire. It is meant to allow peace talks to resume and aid to reach besieged communities. The cessation deal does not include jihadist groups such as Islamic State and the Nusra Front. Russia, which is backing the Syrian government with air power, has made clear it intends to keep bombing these groups. Kerry said he agreed with his Russian counterpart to intensify work on a mechanism to ensure any strikes in Syria solely target Islamic State or Nusra Front. He added that he was concerned by reports that the Syrian government was creating obstacles for the delivery of humanitarian aid and hoped it would stop its officials and troops from taking medicines or other supplies from the shipments. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Eric Walsh and Lisa Shumaker) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.-led coalition conducted 27 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Monday in its latest round of daily attacks, according to the Combined Joint Task Force leading the operations. Fifteen strikes in Iraq targeted the militant group near eight cities, including Falluja, Mosul and Ramadi, the task force said on Tuesday. Altogether, the strikes hit two Islamic State tactical units as well as several of its vehicles and mortar positions, it added. In Syria, 12 strikes near five cities hit six Islamic State tactical units and eight buildings, among other targets. (Reporting by Washington newsroom) LONDON (Reuters) - The British government said on Tuesday it had not been granted access to a Hong Kong bookseller and British passport holder who disappeared last year. In a television interview with China's Phoenix Television late on Monday, Lee Bo, a dual British and Hong Kong citizen, said he had returned to China voluntarily and would renounce his British citizenship. Lee and four associates went missing over the past half year, sparking fears that Chinese authorities had abducted some of the men and taken them back to China. "Despite formal requests, we have not been granted consular access to Mr Lee," a British government spokesman said in a statement. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan, Editing by Elizabeth Piper) LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is to send troops to Tunisia to help prevent Islamic State fighters from moving into the country from Libya, the British defense minister has said. "A training team of some 20 troops from the 4th Infantry Brigade is now moving to Tunisia to help to counter illegal cross-border movement from Libya in support of the Tunisian authorities," Michael Fallon told Parliament on Monday. The move comes after growing Western concern that Islamic State (IS) is seeking to use Libya as a base to plan and carry out attacks. Last June, 30 British holidaymakers were killed when an Islamist gunman attacked a beach at a hotel on Tunisia's Mediterranean coast. "I ... am extremely concerned about the proliferation of Daesh (IS) along the Libyan coastline, which is why we have been urgently assisting the formation of a new Libyan government," Fallon said. Jihadist groups have taken advantage of political chaos to expand their presence in Libya, and fighters loyal to Islamic State have taken control of the coastal city of Sirte. Western officials say they are discussing air strikes and special forces operations in Libya against the group that is seeking to set up a cross-border Islamic caliphate and has already seized large areas of Syria and neighboring Iraq. Fallon said Britain was not currently planning to deploy ground troops to Libya in a combat role. "Before taking any military action in Libya, we would seek an invitation from the new Libyan Government," he said. (Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Kate Holton) By Alessandra Prentice KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine banned government officials on Tuesday from publicly criticizing the work of state institutions and their colleagues, after damaging disclosures last month that highlighted slow progress in fighting corruption. The move immediately drew criticism from some civil servants who saw it as a blow to freedom of speech at odds with the embattled government's Western-backed reform drive. The rule on "loyalty" is one of several outlined in a new ethics code that civil servants must follow or face disciplinary action, according to a decree posted on the government website. "The government has decided to introduce standards of ethical conduct for civil servants to restore public faith in the work of the state bodies and officials," the decree said. Government employees should "avoid any public criticisms of the work of state institutions and their officials," the code stipulates, alongside rules on the need for transparency and integrity. The shock resignations in February of Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius and a top prosecutor shone a spotlight on the failure of the Kiev leadership to follow through on promises to eliminate the influence of vested interests on policymaking. In a Facebook post about the new ethics code, Olena Minitch, a department head in the economy ministry, said the new rules appeared to have been "created hastily and adopted quickly" in the wake of Abromavicius's allegations about corrupt state practices. "The little document ... is in the best traditions of the Communist period, more precisely in the traditions of Stalin and Beria," Minitch said, referring to repressive Soviet leader Josef Stalin and his security chief, Lavrenty Beria. Others appeared to poke fun at the state's call for officials to toe the party line. "I'm a loyal public servant. I'm thrilled with the work of state bodies (and) their officials," Ukraine's Ambassador-at-Large Dmytro Kuleba tweeted, linking to an article about the ban. The future of the government itself is in doubt unless Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk can shore up the coalition and avoid snap elections, having barely survived a no-confidence motion in parliament in February. Yatseniuk's approval ratings have plummeted to less than 1 percent since he came to office in 2014 after protests ousted the previous pro-Russian government. The economy has tanked and a conflict with separatist rebels has no end in sight. The political turbulence has further delayed the disbursement of critical financial aid from the International Monetary Fund and raised doubts about Yatseniuk's ability to win parliamentary support for promised reforms. (Additional reporting by Margarita Chornokondratenko and Natalia Zinets; Editing by Richard Balmforth) The UN Security Council will vote Tuesday on a US-drafted resolution imposing a raft of new sanctions on North Korea following its nuclear test and rocket launch, US diplomats said. The 15-member council will meet at 3:00 pm (2000 GMT) to decide on the package of measures that the United States says will impose the toughest sanctions yet on North Korea. The United States presented the draft resolution to the council last week after reaching agreement with China, Pyongyang's sole ally, on the new sanctions. US Ambassador Samantha Power said that adoption of the resolution would send "an unambiguous and unyielding message to the DPRK regime: The world will not accept your proliferation. There will be consequences for your actions." She was using the acronym for North Korea's formal name. The measure "would break new ground and represent the strongest set of sanctions imposed by the Security Council in more than two decades," Power said. The council decided to impose new measures on North Korea after it carried out its fourth nuclear test on January 6 and test-fired a rocket on February 7. Both tests were in violation of a series of resolutions barring North Korea from developing nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The draft resolution would require countries to take the unprecedented step of inspecting all cargo to and from North Korea, impose new trade restrictions and bar vessels suspected of carrying illegal goods for North Korea from ports. The measure provides for a ban on exports of coal, iron and iron ore from North Korea, except if that revenue is used for "livelihood purposes" and not to fund Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The draft resolution would also ban sales of gold, titanium and rare earth minerals from North Korea and would prohibit the supply of aviation fuel including rocket fuel to the reclusive country. Banking restrictions would be tightened and governments would be required to ban flights of any plane suspected of carrying contraband destined for North Korea. Story continues The draft resolution adds 17 individuals and 12 entities to the UN sanctions blacklist including North Korea's NADA space agency and its intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau. The United States, France and Britain had pushed for quick adoption of the draft text, but Russia said it needed time to analyse its content. The council has imposed four sets of sanctions on North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006. Christie and Trump arrive for a campaign rally in Millington, Tenn., on Saturday. (Photo: Karen Pulfer Focht/Reuters) In a stunning admission rarely seen in the media world, New Hampshires Union Leader says it was wrong to endorse Chris Christie. Back in November, Union Leader publisher Joseph W. McQuaid explained why the newspaper was endorsing the New Jersey governor for president. Gov. Christie is right for these dangerous times, McQuaid wrote in a Nov. 28 editorial. He has prosecuted terrorists and dealt admirably with major disasters. But the one reason he may be best-suited to lead during these times is because he tells it like it is and isnt shy about it. Other candidates have gained public and media attention by speaking bluntly. But its important when you are telling it like it is to actually know what you are talking about. Christie finished a distant sixth in the New Hampshire Republican primary and suspended his campaign. That didnt bother McQuaid. But Christies surprise endorsement of GOP frontrunner Donald Trump did. Boy, were we wrong, McQuaid wrote in a follow-up editorial that was published Tuesday. Watching Christie kiss the Donalds ring this weekend and make excuses for the man Christie himself had said was unfit for the presidency demonstrated how wrong we were. Rather than standing up to the bully, Christie bent his knee. In doing so, he rejected the very principles of his campaign that attracted our support. McQuaid continued: Voters here apparently knew better than we. Most rejected Christie but divided their votes among several others, leaving Trump to claim victory. And now, despite specifically telling us that he would never endorse him, Christie is backing Trump. If nothing else, that might wake up some Trump fans. We will look for that, just as soon as we get the egg off our face. The stinging editorial extends a streak of humiliating turns for Christie. On Saturday, after Christie introduced Trump at a campaign rally at an airport in Arkansas, the billionaire mogul could be heard on a hot mic telling the New Jersey governor to go home, pointing to a plane waiting for him on the tarmac. Story continues On Sunday, Hewlett-Packard chief executive Meg Whitman, who served as the national finance co-chairman for Christies failed presidential campaign, called his endorsement of Trump an astonishing display of political opportunism. Donald Trump is unfit to be president, Whitman said in a statement. He is a dishonest demagogue who plays to our worst fears. Trump would take America on a dangerous journey. Christie knows all that and indicated as much many times publicly, she continued. The governor is mistaken if he believes he can now count on my support, and I call on Christies donors and supporters to reject the governor and Donald Trump outright. I believe they will. For some of us, principle and country still matter. In an interview with ABCs This Week the same day, Christie struggled to explain how he could support Donald Trump after criticizing his policies on the campaign trail. Chris Christie is now ruined, the Washington Posts Jennifer Rubin wrote in an op-ed. If it had not been obvious to him before this weekend, his political career is essentially over. Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal said on Tuesday he will have no problem keeping Marcus Rashford's feet on the ground after his remarkable start to life at the club. The 18-year-old has made headlines after scoring four goals in his first two senior games for the club, with successive braces against FC Midtjylland and Arsenal. It means that Van Gaal, whose side host Watford in the Premier League on Wednesday, will have a tough job leaving the teenager out, even as Anthony Martial nears a return to fitness after a recent hamstring injury. United's manager is concerned about the level of media attention that Rashford is facing, but is adamant that the striker is level-headed enough to deal with it. "First, I think that the media have to let him in peace and rest," Van Gaal told his pre-game press conference at United's Carrington training base. "You are in front of his house and that kind of stuff. I don't think that is beneficial for a boy of 18. Give him time to be 18. We shall guide him in that way. "I think he's a very modest guy so I don't think that will be a problem. When you have so much media attention, it can go another way, but I feel he can keep his feet on the ground." United have had a troubled season, but are on the up again after three successive victories across three competitions, and looking to revitalise their challenge for a Champions League place. Van Gaal's touchline antics have attracted as much attention as their recent improvement. The Dutchman theatrically dived to the floor in front of fourth official Mike Dean when a decision went against his side during their 3-2 win over Arsenal on Sunday. - 'I'm not a clown' - It harked back to his early managerial career, when he performed a flying kung fu-style kick on the touchline after his Ajax team were denied a penalty during the 1995 Champions League final against AC Milan. Story continues At that time, Van Gaal was furious that Milan midfielder Marcel Desailly had escaped unpunished after a head-high tackle on Ajax striker Jari Litmanen. The manager has adopted a more measured approach on the touchline in recent years, and has occasionally been criticised for lacking passion. He insists that he does care, but has no plans to continue being demonstrative on the touchline, because he does not wish to be branded a "clown". "It's not a part of my philosophy," he said. "I am not a clown. I am Louis van Gaal. I am a human being and a manager. "My players have to think on the pitch. I help them more to train what I have said (so) that they see the solutions on the pitch. That's why I'm not doing that. "I have done this also in the Champions League final. I was jumping like that also when there was a defender who was putting his foot at that height against Jari Litmanen. "That was my way of saying it, but it was too emotional. You have to deal with the fourth official and the authority of the referee. "I have to control my emotion and that is why I have apologised. But I don't feel sorry for it, because it's me. I think I was right." In addition to Martial, defenders Chris Smalling and Matteo Darmian could also return against Watford, with Van Gaal saying the trio "may be ready" to play. Caracas (AFP) - Venezuela's Supreme Court stripped the opposition-dominated legislature of key oversight powers Tuesday in a ruling aimed at thwarting moves to change the makeup of the high court. The opposition, which is seeking a legal means to oust President Nicolas Maduro, accuses him of packing the court with allies to bolster his embattled leftist government. The Supreme Court ruling took away the National Assembly's power to remove justices, and declared unconstitutional a parliamentary review of the lame duck appointments of 34 judges to the Supreme Court. Pro-government legislators approved the mass appointments in December days before relinquishing control of the assembly to the opposition, which won legislative elections by a landslide earlier that month. The Supreme Court's constitutional panel ruled that the National Assembly's oversight role is limited to the executive, and does not extend to the courts or the country's electoral bodies. Political control "extends fundamentally to the national executive power and not to the rest of the public powers," the ruling said. The National Assembly had been scheduled to open debate Tuesday on a committee report calling for the newly-appointed judges' removal. By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) - Doctors are increasingly marrying other well-educated people with careers, and that may be exacerbating the shortage of doctors in already underserved rural areas of the U.S., suggests new research. More than half of U.S. doctors are now married to other highly educated people, and those marriages are tied to a 38 percent reduced odds of the doctors working in rural underserved areas, researchers report in JAMA. Its making it increasingly difficult for rural areas to attract physicians, said lead author Douglas O. Staiger of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The researchers used Census and survey records to study one percent of all employed physicians age 25 to 70 working in the U.S. every decade from 1960 to 2000 - totaling almost 20,000 doctors, and every year from 2005 to 2011 - totaling more than 55,000 doctors. From the data, the researchers determined if a doctors spouse had six or more years of college before 1990 or a masters degree or higher from 1990 to 2011. They sorted rural Census blocks into primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas. Doctors with highly educated spouses increased from 9 percent in 1960 to 54 percent in 2010, and one third of highly educated spouses were also doctors consistently over time. In 1960, 4 percent of married physicians were women, but that number rose to 31 percent in 2010. They were more likely than men to be married to a spouse with a graduate degree. Between 2005 and 2011, about 11 percent of the U.S. population lived in Health Professional Shortage Areas, while only about 5 percent of doctors worked in these areas. About 4 percent of married doctors with a highly educated spouse worked in underserved areas, compared to about 7 percent of married doctors without highly educated spouses. Single, young, female, black and Hispanic doctors were also less likely to work in underserved areas, compared to married doctors without highly educated spouses. People have focused on lots of the other reasons for the physician shortage, and we were just trying to emphasize that an increasingly important barrier is this joint location issue for married couples who both have careers, Staiger said. Cities offer more general amenities, higher average incomes and more opportunities for professional development, he said. People who havent grown up in rural areas are unlikely to locate there, and fewer and fewer people have grown up in rural areas, he said. But rural areas still need doctors, particularly primary care and urgent care doctors, he said. These areas try to attract doctors by offering more money. Other ways to address the problem may include training nurse practitioners or other health professionals to act as primary care providers, or to use telemedicine to connect urban doctors to rural patients, Staiger said. A lot of research for decades has shown that the two most powerful factors are having grown up in a rural area and being committed to particular specialties that fit in a rural area, like family practice, said Dr. Howard Rabinowitz of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. The first way people approach it is to try and preferentially admit to medical school students who are likely to go rural, said Rabinowitz, who was not part of the new study. Some rural practices will pay off a doctors student loans to attract them to the job, he told Reuters Health. Identifying people who actually want to go rural and support them has been the most effective way to address the shortage so far, he said. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1OM72Ov JAMA, March 1, 2016. Ottawa (AFP) - An African white lion was shot dead after escaping from its enclosure at a small private zoo near Ottawa over the weekend, the facility's owner announced Monday. The big male cat had gotten out of its pen Sunday afternoon. Although the zoo on the outskirts of Wendover, Ontario is closed to the public over the winter, for safety reasons staff "made the decision to euthanize the lion," Papanack Park Zoo owner Kerri Bayford said in a statement. "The risk to the public of trying to sedate the lion was simply too high as the sedative takes too long to kick in and this would have put everyone at risk," Bayford said. Zoo officials blamed "human error" for the lion's escape. They are conducting an internal investigation into the incident. Animals from the zoo have been featured in a popular Canadian children's television show and another African lion had reportedly been a model for production sketches for the main character in the animated film "The Lion King." New owners took over two years ago after a former staffer accused the facility of keeping animals in substandard conditions. By Marice Richter FORT WORTH, Texas (Reuters) - The widow of a slain Navy SEAL whose story was turned into the hit movie "American Sniper" has become a prominent figure in Fort Worth Republican politics even though her name does not appear on Tuesdays primary ballot. Taya Kyle, the wife of Chris Kyle, is campaign treasurer for a Republican opponent of longtime Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson, the lawman seen as the face of the manhunt for affluenza teen Ethan Couch. Kyle is also in a dispute with her late husbands former business partner Bo French, who is running as a Republican for a Texas House of Representatives seat from the same county. Lawyers for Kyle sent a cease-and-desist letter to the French camp last week calling on it to stop using her husband's name and likeness in campaign materials. Bo (is) abusing the name of my late husband, a beloved Son of Texas, and a hero to the nation, in an attempt to manipulate voters, Kyle said in a statement on social media. She did not respond to requests to speak about her political activism. "Her experience with public exposure and scrutiny has taught her not to let her guard down," said Republican political strategist Bill Miller. "She's become a very formidable woman." Chris and Taya Kyle have become stars of the state's Republican establishment, with Governor Greg Abbott setting up a day to honor the memory of Chris Kyle, who was killed in 2013 by a troubled veteran he was trying to mentor. Taya Kyle last year endorsed former Governor Rick Perry in his unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination. She now endorses U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. In the sheriff's race, she may be the difference in the campaign of Bill Waybourn, a former suburban Fort Worth police chief, analysts said. Waybourn, backed by the conservative Tea Party movement, is challenging Anderson, a fellow Republican, who gained national attention in calling for the apprehension of Couch. The teen, whose lawyer said his wealth distorted his moral compass, fled to Mexico in December apparently to avoid apprehension for violating the probation deal that kept him out of jail for a drunken driving wreck in 2013 that killed four people. Kyle, 41, has not indicated any intention to seek elective office, but analysts said that should not be ruled out. "Once someone gets involved and gets their hands wet in politics, its hard to get out," Miller said. (Reporting by Marice Richter; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Peter Cooney) By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Visitors to Yosemite National Park were greeted with an unfamiliar name for the park's most iconic hotel on Tuesday as a bitter legal battle over its trademarked name raged on, while thieves made off with a sign for the famed Ahwahnee before it could be changed. The Ahwahnee Hotel, which was built in 1927, and other popular sites such as Curry Village were stripped of the monikers they held for decades after the park's longtime concessionaire, Delaware North Company, lost the lucrative contract to operate hotels and other commercial sites in the park to competitor Aramark. Delaware North sued the National Park Service in September, claiming that it owned the trademarks. Aramark formally took over the park's concession on Tuesday. Temporary banners, in some cases made of tape or canvas and plastered over the original signs, identified the Ahwahnee by its new name, the Majestic Yosemite Hotel. Curry Village is now called Half Dome Village, and the Wawona Hotel, built in 1876 and like the Ahwahnee a National Historic Landmark, is known as Big Trees Lodge. The name changes were not reflected on official websites as of Tuesday afternoon. "The signs are temporary because we do want to retain the (historic) names, but with the new contract starting and a compressed time frame we just wanted to get those up," Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said. The National Park Service on Friday filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office challenging the trademarks now that Delaware North no longer has an association with Yosemite, Gediman said. Attorneys for the Park Service have claimed in court papers that Delaware North quietly trademarked the names without telling the government and called the move part of a business strategy by the company. If the court battle rages on for months, as expected, the temporary signs will be replaced with more permanent markers, Gediman said. Story continues Delaware North says it was required to buy Yosemite's so-called intellectual property when it was first awarded the concessions contract in 1993 and trademarked the names as a routine business practice. Meanwhile, park rangers were investigating the apparent theft over the weekend of a small round sign for the Ahwahnee Hotel, formerly fastened to a stone pillar on the entrance to the lodge. Gediman said the sign disappeared late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, though it was not yet clear if the crime was related to the name-change controversy. The thieves would faces federal charges, he said. Last month three members of the California Assembly introduced legislation barring the state from awarding concessions to any company seeking such trademarks. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Leslie Adler) Paris (AFP) - Scientists on Tuesday said they had confirmed that the Zika virus sweeping Latin America and blamed for severe birth defects can also trigger a dangerous neurological disorder. In a study published in the medical journal The Lancet, a team probed Zika's suspected role in a 2013-2014 outbreak in French Polynesia of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) -- a rare condition in which the body's immune system attacks a part of the nervous system that controls muscle strength. Research into patients who fell ill with GBS, supported by blood tests, proved that the mosquito-borne virus was the culprit, they said. "This is the first evidence for Zika virus causing Guillain-Barre syndrome," the study said. The syndrome -- which can also be caused by bacterial infections as well as the dengue and chikungunya viruses -- provokes muscle weakness in the legs and arms. In rich nations, GBS is lethal in about five percent of cases, and another five percent suffer lasting disabilities. More than a quarter of patients require intensive care. With 1.5 million cases of Zika infection already recorded in Brazil, and tens of thousands in neighbouring countries, researchers warn that an outbreak of Guillain-Barre could strain healthcare facilities, especially outside of big cities. "In areas that will be hit by the Zika epidemic, we need to think about reinforcing intensive care capacity," said Arnaud Fontanet, a co-author of the study and a professor at the Emerging Diseases Epidemiology Unit of the Institut Pasteur in Paris. "We know that a certain number of those patients are going to develop GBS, and 30 percent of them are going to need intensive care, especially for assisted breathing," he told AFP. By itself, Zika is no more threatening than a bad cold or a mild case of the flu. Sometimes there are no symptoms at all. But the rapidly expanding virus -- present in nearly four dozen countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) -- is suspected to be the cause a sudden increase in cases of neonatal microcephaly, a severe deformation of the brain and skull among newborns. Story continues Brazil reported last week 583 confirmed cases of babies with the irreversible birth defect since October 2015, four times the previous annual average. Zika is spread among humans by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is found in 130 nations. But recent evidence suggests that it can also be sexually transmitted by men carrying the virus. In the study, two dozen researchers identified 42 cases of Guillain-Barre in French Polynesia in the aftermath of a Zika epidemic that infected some 200,000 people. For Fontanet, there was no doubt that the virus caused the upsurge in GBS cases. "The links are as strong as they would be for saying that tobacco causes lung cancer," he told AFP. Three kinds of evidence supported this conclusion, he said. The first was a 20-fold increase in the number of GBS cases during the Zika epidemic. The second was that 90 percent the patients struck with the debilitating syndrome had been infected the week before by the mosquito-borne virus. - Taken by surprise - Both epidemiological findings were supported by blood analysis. "We found traces of the recent presence of Zika in 100 percent of the GBS patients," including antibodies built up to fight the virus, said Fontanet. The researchers were also able to exclude previous infection with the dengue virus -- also common in French Polynesia -- as a cause. They did acknowledge, however, the biological mechanism by which Zika triggers the muscle-depleting syndrome has yet to be identified. Some experts who did not participate in the research agreed that it was a breakthrough. "This study provides the most compelling evidence to date of a causative link between Zika virus infection and the serious neurological condition Guillain-Barre syndrome," said Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust in Britain. "The scale of the crisis unfolding in Latin America has taken us all by surprise, and we should be prepared for further unforeseen complications... in the coming weeks and months." Others, though, cautioned that the findings were not conclusive, and may not apply directly to other affected regions. "A significant amount of work has still to be undertaken before the same conclusions can be extended to the Zika outbreak in South America," said Peter Barlow, spokesman for the British Society for Immunology. On February 1, the WHO declared a public health emergency due to rising cases of microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome, even though the link to Zika remained circumstantial. HARARE (Reuters) - A Zimbabwean court has allowed the largest diamond mine in the Marange fields to return and assume control of all assets after challenging government's decision to stop mining operations. Zimbabwe's mines minister on Feb. 22 ordered all nine companies operating in the diamond fields in the east of the southern African country near Mozambique to stop mining and leave because their license had expired. Mbada Diamonds, a 50/50 venture between the government and Mauritius-registered Grandwell Holdings, on Monday won a reprieve from the High Court, which ruled that Mbada should have full control of its assets. In the interim judgment seen by Reuters on Tuesday, the ministry of mines was ordered to let Mbada's security personnel have access to the company's mining site in Marange. "As a contingency plan pending the hearing of this matter ... (minister of mines) shall allow such security personnel full access to all the relevant premises thereat, including residential premises, full access to all the equipment, diamond ore and any other assets," Judge Joseph Mafusire said. A full hearing on whether Mbada can resume mining will be held on Wednesday. Mines Minister Walter Chidhakwa told Reuters that the government, through the Attorney General, would launch an appeal on Tuesday, which would automatically suspend Monday's ruling. "We believe in the original position that we took and we stand by that decision. The Attorney General will launch an appeal this morning," said Chidhakwa. Mbada wants the court to remove the ministry of mines from its concession and force the government to renew its license. Analysts say the latest move by President Robert Mugabe's government could further tarnish the country's image as a risky investment destination, with investors already unnerved by Mugabe's drive to force foreign-owned firms to sell majority shares to locals. (Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by James Macharia) By MacDonald Dzirutwe HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's former vice president Joice Mujuru launched a new party to challenge her ally-turned-adversary Robert Mugabe, promising to revive the economy and repair strained relations with the West. Mujuru was Mugabe's deputy for a decade and seen as the veteran president's likely successor until he fired her in 2014, accusing her of leading a plot to oust him. In her first public address since then, she told reporters on Tuesday the new Zimbabwe People First party would bring jobs and review the ruling ZANU-PF party's divisive black economic empowerment laws, which critics say have scared off investors. She said she was open to alliances with other opposition groups before 2018 presidential elections. There is no independent estimate on the size of her support. Other parties have previously said they would be open to talks with Mujuru. "Today we confirm our existence as a viable, inclusive home-grown political party," Mujuru, 60, said to cheers and ululation from supporters. "We are not fighting one man but a system, that system which is unjust," she told an audience including reporters, Western diplomats and four former cabinet ministers fired by Mugabe. ZANU-PF national commissar and cabinet minister Savior Kasukuwere described Mujuru's party as a "gathering of losers". "We will defeat them anytime. We are ready for them. What is it that they want to tell us that they couldn't do for 34 years when they were with us in the (ZANU-PF) party?" said Kasukuwere. Zimbabwe is struggling to emerge from a deep recession that shrank its economy by nearly half during the decade to 2008. It is also facing its worst drought in years. Zimbabwe has had particularly strained relations with former colonial ruler Britain and the West since 2000, when Western powers imposed sanctions on Mugabe's government accusing him of election violence, rigging and rights abuses. Mugabe, 92, denies the charges and says Britain lobbied its allies to punish Zimbabwe for taking commercial farms from white farmers, in an often-violent land seizure drive. Mujuru, like Mugabe, took part in Zimbabwe's 1970s independence war, and her aides say she still enjoys support from some of her comrades who hold senior positions in the politically powerful military. "She had deep roots in ZANU-PF and her appeal was national so she may be able to take some supporters to her new political home but it will not be plain sailing," Eldred Masunungure, a political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe said. Mujuru said an interim management team would run Zimbabwe People First until it elects leaders at a convention this year. (Editing by James Macharia and Alison Williams) Job loss should be last resort Sagewan-Alli made this call in light of the retrenchment of over 200 Central Trinidad Steel Limited (CENTRIN) workers last week and news from the Labour Minister of over 1,000 job losses since last September. In response to whether or not businesses can resort to the economic principle of normal profit where a business total revenue equals its total cost, an approach that could allow them to weather the economic recession, for some time and stave off retrenchment, Sagewan-Alli said there was no simple answer. However, given the necessity of protecting employment during a recession, as an increase in unemployment would only serve to deepen the recession, as there is no money being channelled into the economy, it is critical that employers preserve jobs as much as they can. If you are unable to protect employment, then we are unable to maintain consumption spending. If you have a fall in spending, which is a fall in demand, then that leads to a contraction in supply and it worsens the economic crisis you are in. So as far as possible, from a pure economic perspective, you want to try to maintain employment so you can maintain economic spending, she said. She alluded to a social fallout too, from mass retrenchment, as standards of living will fall, people will not be able to meet their financial obligations and there will be a struggle to put food on the table. That said, businesses will obviously look at their own internal operating costs. One would expect the first thing they would seek to do is cut costs as far as they can to bring cost of production down. But it can get to a point, where there is nothing else they can cut. When it reaches this boiling point, Sagewan- Alli said, when there is nothing else businessmen can cut, jobs will be in jeopardy, because remember, if a company is paying rent, you can renegotiate with the landlord. But if the landlord is not flexible, then that is the fixed cost, even if theyre using the facility at full capacity, or ten percent...that is a fixed cost. As a result, most employers cut their workforce, because it is a lot easier. Lost jobs are a characteristic of recessions, the economist pointed out. Sagewan- Alli noted too, that the next sector in which TT will see a lot of laying off is the public sector, as this is one of the largest costs to Government. She noted that the government relies on whatever money has been allocated in the budget, and while there is also the option of borrowing, eventually, this will no longer be an option. In a situation where that (budget funds) is now declining at an accelerated rate, how is government going to maintain its economics, she asked rhetorically. Sagewan-Alli summed up her call to employers saying they should exhaust all available options in reducing cost of operating before laying off workers. It may be necessary to realize that operating according to a normal profit or break-even profit might be the best way to go, she said. Murder accused hurt in accident The vehicle was on its way to the Maximum Security Prison, Arouca after leaving the Mayaro Magistrates Court just before noon yesterday . Azmon appeared in that court earlier charged with escaping lawful custody in 2014. Alexanders attorney, Fareed Ali said that based on the information he received, his client was taken to the prison infirmary to be treated. He said his client suffered head, chest and facial injuries . Alexander has others matters before various magistrates courts including the charge of murder arising out of the kidnapping of a Brasso Seco family in October 2014. Irma Rampersad, 49, her daughters Janelle and Felicia, Janelles baby Shania Amoroso and their 52-year-old next door neighbour Felix Martinez went missing on October 26. Their bodies were found a week later Why fumble? His name is Kevan Sinanan and his product is called YFumble. The name YFumble was first inspired by his mom Sucilla Sinanan and was almost discounted for the risk of sounding corny, but soon caught on and now has a catchy ring to it based on his international research. When Sinanan is not making waves in the industry and pioneering new products, he assists SMEs with software development through web-based, custom-built software to automate their paper- based processes such as receipts, invoices and rostering into an electronic system. This is all done through Internet Explorer without the installation of software. The 32-year-old computer and electrical engineering graduate of the University of the West Indies (UWI), was a finalist for the Prime Ministers award from NIHERST for Scientific Ingenuity in August, 2015. Also a graduate of CARIRIs Business Hatchery programme, he was advised about licensing his idea as well as other essential information. He reveals_how the idea was borne explaining that he only has two keys on his key ring, but thought there must be a better way with the advancement of technology, I just refuse to mark my keys with a marker or coloured key ring. Technology keeps getting smaller and more user friendly, I was sure I could design something to vibrate and make a sound. YFumble is a device the user attaches to the keys and to the locks, when the user approaches the lock the corresponding key will begin to blink letting the user know which key to open the lock. The device will also vibrate to help the visually impaired. YFumble is totally wireless with no key ring or conductor. The end product has even more functionality whereby you can programme your mobile phone to enhance use. After a few Google searches, he discovered that there was nothing else like this on the global market. He approached a US law firm which specialises in patents and their searches confirmed that his idea is one of kind. Sinanan began to build the first prototype, but sought further technical assistance so he took his ideas online to sites such as elance which soon sparked interest overseas. In 2013 he was one of the winners of the i2i (Idea 2 Innovation) competition and received a grant from the Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development. He was later able to outsource technical support from people in Australia and India who built the second prototype. This worked for a while and he began to network and do research in Trinidad. He found a local team of three people (a start-up called FAS OVE) which was headed by one of his former UWI colleagues, Jeevan Persad. They worked magic as Sinanan describes it and built the third prototype. At some point, you have to step back and let the experts work, he says with a humble smile as he recalls the thrilling discovery of finding someone in Trinidad to do this. FAS OVE built the bread board which he explains is a developers kit that allows engineers and other techies to experiment with circuits. It allows for trial and error much like a template. The team was able to make the prototype work with one battery based on what survey respondents wanted, trying several different concepts such as Bluetooth technology. Sinanan is currently seeking investors at this stage to provide angel capital to make the device into a consumer product. Anyone interested in YFumble can visit his website for more information as well as to pre-order. Its all about making life easier for those most in need: women, janitors, the elderly, the blind or their caregivers. Its about that feeling of accomplishment for having made a difference, Sinanan beams. For more visit: www. yfumble.com, email: kevan.sinanan@gmail. com. The benefits of YFumble are listed below: * Convenient, easier and quicker to identify your keys with your locks * Works in the dark or a poorly lit environment * Increases your safety as it could reduce the time taken to identify keys. * Assists visually impaired and the elderly * Can be retrofitted onto existing locks and keys; there is no need to change over existing systems * Works with any lock * Little installation time is required * Utilises very low power consumption compared to existing home automated solutions * Utilises one battery source regardless of the amount of keys and locks inspirationescape@ gmail.com Schoolgirls reported missing Ali was reported missing by her mother Charmain Sookdeo at 5.40 pm on February 28. Sookdeo said she last saw her daughter at 9 am on February 27, when she left home to go shopping at Pennywise, San Fernando. Marlena was reported missing by her mother Jacklin Henry on Sunday who said her daughter left home at 5.30 pm on Saturday and has not since returned. Anyone with information can call police at 555-999 or 911. Leap year day babies in abundance com which tabulates such odds of being born on a leap year day) and were born yesterday at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH). The first baby, a girl, leaped into the world at 2.52 am to Gasparillo resident Ayanna Joseph, 32, who confessed she was not expecting her baby until later this week. Speaking to reporters yesterday, an elated Joseph, who has two other children, said she did not have any special plans to celebrate her babys birthday except wanting to take her home. No special plansI would like to go home, Joseph said, adding, But there would be a grand celebration every four years. The second leap year day baby was also a girl born to Shelly Backarali, 20, of Orange Field, Couva. Asked whether she too was expecting a leap year day baby, Backarali said, no not really, she came after time, I was expecting her to be on time with my birthday which is the 22 of February. And regarding birthday celebrations, she said her first born baby, whom she named Sheline, would be celebrated on alternate days from year to year. I guess it could be like the March 1 one year and then the 28 February the next year, or on both days, she said. The first baby boy was born at 4.57am to Rosetta Mohammed, 37 of Couva who named her son Cristiano saying his birthday would be celebrated on March 1 each year. You cannot go backward, you have to go forward, she said in delight while cradling her new born baby boy. Meanwhile, two prominent southern gynaecologists, Dr Lackram Bodoe as well as Dr Jehan Ali, both agreed that there was no scientific evidence regarding an increase of birth rates during a leap year. In Port-of-Spain, Elisha Franklin, 27, gave birth at 2.14 am, one of four babies yesterday. The Diego Martin first time mom, named her daughter Pethahiah, which means, Gods Opening Gate. Describing her labour as intense, Franklin delivered her daughter via Caesarian-section. The pain was bad, I was in pain since Friday and the doctors had to induce labour because my waterbag did not burst, so the pain just got worse, Franklin recalled. However, now the pain is just a forgotten thing of the past as the proud mother gazed at her tiny daughter in awe. Raimond Yaeali soon followed Franklin as she gave birth at 2.29 am to her third child and first daughter, whom she named Selena, while Natalie Thomas gave birth to her baby at 8.06 am. Jerven Beckles may have had a harder time delivering her second son, but it was all worth as the tiny babe peered through the plastic bassinet at his mother. He has been a good baby so far, he just gave a little cry just now, she said. The babys father, who did want to give his name, said he was a bit concerned about his son being born on February 29, but said that he was happy that both mother and baby were healthy and doing fine. Baby Kadmiel (Presence of God) Mathias was born at 12.11 pm. The findings are the strongest indication yet that Mr Regeni was killed by Egypt's security forces and point to torture methods including burning the body with cigarettes over several days, which human rights groups describe as a hallmark of the security services Contestants have killed themselves after appearing on hit US shows like The Bachelor and Kitchen Nightmares The death of the girl, named Nastya and said by investigators to be three or four years old, has shocked Muscovites. City residents turned out to lay flowers at the metro station where the nanny was spotted pacing up and down on Monday waving the severed head and allegedly threatening to blow everyone up. The Kremlin has defended a media blackout on the death of a toddler allegedly killed and decapitated by her nanny who then paraded the bloodied head on a Moscow street. Child was allegedly killed and decapitated by her nanny who paraded the bloodied head on a Moscow street FBI Director James B . Comey will insist that federal officials care about privacy and civil liberties, but say that critical evidence in criminal cases is increasingly found on phones, computers and digital records that are protected by strong ... But the al Qaeda leader was also defiant and apparently believed right up to ... Osama bin Laden was highly paranoid during the years leading up to his capture in 2011 at one point expressing fear that Iranian dentists had planted a tiny tracking device in his wife's tooth filling. Russias entry into the fight in Syria has changed the dynamic in the air and on the ground, despite public statements to the contrary, Breedlove said. He added that Russia has done little to counter the Islamic State militant group, but has greatly bolstered the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and his allies. To that end Russia is using what some call unconventional or hybrid warfare, Breedlove said. Russia is using diplomatic, economic and informational tools in addition to military pressure to shake and influence nations, while trying to remain below triggering a military response, he said. Russia is using snap exercises to mask and desensitize real military deployment, he added. Russia seeks to re-establish a leading role on the world stage. Russia does not just want to challenge the agreed rules of the international order, it wants to re-write them. Russia sees the U.S. and NATO as threats to its objectives and as constraints on its aspirations. So, Russia seeks to fraction our unity and challenge our resolve. Russia recognizes strength and sees weakness as opportunity, he said. FILE - New Russian Armata tanks roll during the Victory Parade marking the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, in Red Square in Moscow, May 9, 2015. FILE - New Russian Armata tanks roll during the Victory Parade marking the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, in Red Square in Moscow, May 9, 2015. Breedlove told senators Russia has also undertaken a massive military deployment in Russia's Kaliningrad province, the Black Sea and, most recently, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and western Syria, sharply constraining the alliances access to those areas. Breedlove said Tuesday that NATO has recently observed an increase in violence along the line of contact in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and a number of diplomatic, economic and propaganda efforts on Moscows part to keep Ukraine from moving closer to the West. Russia has used military force to violate the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Georgia and others like Moldova. In Ukraine specifically, Russia continues to use all elements of national power to hinder Kyiv, he said. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove said that Russia is eager to exert unquestioned influence over neighboring countries. NATO's military commander has told the U.S. lawmakers that Russia poses a long-term threat to the United States and to its European allies and partners. Joy Karega, an assistant professor of rhetoric and composition at Oberlin College let loose on Facebook with several unhinged posts about Israel and ISIS. She is unapologetic about her rampant anti-Semitism, claiming that Israel was responsible for the ... No Balkan country is free of political turbulence but the turmoil in Pristina is particularly worrying Crowds filled the streets of Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on March 1 during the funeral of former police officer Mumtaz Qadri, who was executed for assassinating a governor in 2011. Qadri was considered a hero by some Islamists. (RFE/RL)Originally published at - http://www.rferl.org/media/video/pakistan-qadri-funeral/27583298.html MOSCOW (Reuters) - Leonid Mikhelson, chief executive and co-owner of Novatek, has become Russia's richest men with wealth estimated at $14.4 billion, overtaking Vladimir Potanin, according to the latest rating from U.S. magazine Forbes. The German chancellor has seen her approval rating increase from a four-year-low of 46 per cent to 54 per cent Former CIA Director Michael Hayden says if a president Donald Trump follows through with some of the things he's said on the campaign trail, the military would refuse to act. In an appearance this week on HBO's Real Time ... The letter was included in a batch of more than a 100 documents released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday. They were seized in May 2011 during the raid on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that killed bin Laden. The size of the chip is about the length of a grain of wheat and the width of a fine piece of vermicelli, wrote bin Laden, who ended the letter with the instruction, Please destroy this letter after reading it. Writing under the pseudonym Abu Abdallah, bin Laden worried over his wifes trip to the dentist in Iran, Reuters reports. He feared that a tracking chip was implanted in her dental filling. A Swedish appeals court has sentenced an Uzbek man to life in prison for the 2012 attempted murder of an imam who was critical of the regime in Uzbekistan. He was angry at Washington lobbyists, worried about climate change and blamed corporate interests. BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces and Shi'ite militia began an operation on Tuesday to dislodge Islamic State militants from desert areas northwest of Baghdad and cut their supply routes between western Anbar province and the northern city of Mosul. Osama Bin Laden's will shows he left a personal wealth of around $29m (21m), which he wanted to be used "on jihad". The top U.S. commander in Europe testified on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir's forces are deliberately bombing civilians in Syria to uproot them from their homes and turn them into weapons against Europe. Kaspersky has cooperated with Russian security services in seeking out cyber criminals, NPR said. Critics have pointed out that while Kaspersky Lab has exposed malware from Western governments, it has not pursued Russian government hacking efforts with the same vigor. National Public Radio reported in August that Kaspersky worked for a few years in a Soviet military research institute but left for the private sector in 1991. We are very good friends with the cyber police and the agencies responsible for cyber security, he said. But we stay away from the intelligence services and the espionage agencies; we keep our distance from them and from the politicians. We are a security company so we must stay independent and neutral. It is not possible to be linked to any political party, for instance. It would be a conflict of interest. We are working with governments in many nations in Europe, in Asia, in the Middle East, in Russia, he said in an interview with the Dubai-based GulfBusiness.com. Kaspersky Lab founder Eugene Kaspersky was asked earlier this month what involvement, if any, he and his company have with the Russian government and security services. We need to patch the Windows infrastructure because its defendable but we shouldnt waste resources patching systems internal to the ICS that arent remotely accessible because its very, very costly in an operational environment with very little return on investment, the former official said. Securing industrial control networks will require producing more secure hardware and software and increasing the monitoring of current networks, many of which run Windows operating software. The biggest problem is that most of the software is made insecure by default. Thats what we have to address. There are some serious vulnerabilities, the former official said, including remote access capabilities. You have to watch those because in an ICS once you gain access, you have everything, there is no root on the [programmable logic controller], you have it by default. However, the former official said that industrial control systems remain vulnerable to cyber attacks because the architecture of the systems allow intruders to gain access to multiple devices once inside a network. Kaspersky wanted to do it and still is developing something but its never going to be public and they know that, the former official said, adding that NSA has overreacted to the threat. A former intelligence official said threats to industrial control systems from Kaspersky software has been an NSA myth for years. The disclosed in 2014 that Russian hackers were suspected of using malware, including BlackEnergy, to map U.S. industrial control systems since 2011. Unknown Russian actors successfully compromised the product supply chains of at least three [industrial control system] vendors so that customers downloaded malicious software designed to facilitate exploitation directly from the vendors websites along with legitimate software updates, Clapper stated in Sept. 10 testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Clapper disclosed that Russian cyber warfare specialists are developing the capability to remotely access industrial control systems used in managing critical infrastructure. Russia was linked to SCADA attacks by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in congressional testimony last September. We recognize the risks associated with attacks on critical infrastructure [industrial control systems] and we are engaging with the secretary of defense to actively combat these risks, the statement added. The eight-star letter from Adms. Harris and Gortney demonstrates our combatant commands commitment to defend against emerging threats against DoD critical infrastructure ICS, said a joint statement from the two commands. Asked about the letter, a Northcom spokeswoman said in a statement that the Pentagons Industrial Control Systems, or ICS, cyber security is vital to command preparedness and our ability to execute assigned missions. Havex malware has been linked to cyber attacks on industrial control systems, and Shodan is a search engine that is believed to have helped foreign hackers map remote industrial control networks for possible attacks. Shamoon was linked to the 2012 cyber attack against the state-run Saudi Aramco oil company that damaged 30,000 computers and was believed to have been carried out by Iran. BlackEnergy is malware that researchers have linked to Russian government hacking. BlackEnergy malware was detected during investigations of recent cyber attacks against Ukraines electrical grid that were believed to be carried out by Russian hackers. As geographic combatant commanders with homeland defense responsibilities and much at stake in this new cyber connected world, we request your support, they added. The letter was first disclosed by FCW.com on Feb. 25. Many nefarious cyber payloads, e.g., Shamoon, Shodan, Havex and BlackEnergy, and emerging ones, have the potential to debilitate our installations mission critical infrastructure, the admirals said. The letter said the Department of Homeland Security had detected a seven-fold increase in cyber attacks between 2010 and 2015 on critical infrastructure. The attacks were carried out against what the Pentagon calls platform information technologycritical national security hardware and software, including industrial controls and SCADA. Once that is accomplished, we should be able to track progress for establishing acceptable cyber security for our infrastructure [industrial control systems, they added. We must establish clear ownership policies at all levels of the department, and invest in detection tools and processes to baseline normal network behavior from abnormal behavior, the four-star admirals said. Gortney and Harris, the military commanders, stated in their letter that the threat to U.S. industrial control systems is serious and should be included on the Pentagons automated cyber scorecardan electronic system being developed to outline key vulnerabilities of defense computer networks to cyber attack. The statement said Kaspersky Lab has no political ties to any government. The company said it is proud to work with governments around the world to protect their infrastructure and networks, and also to collaborate with the authorities of many countries and international law enforcement agencies in fighting cybercrime. The systems controlling important operations involving electricity, water and manufacturing have been widely publicized as being extremely vulnerable to cyber threats, and our solution will help manufacturers and critical infrastructure operators, including those in the U.S, to prevent a crippling cyber attack against these sensitive systems that we rely upon every day, the statement said. Kaspersky Lab plans to release what it describes as a complete security solution later this year designed to help protect industrial control systems and networks around the world from cyber attacks. We are not developing any offensive techniques and have never helped, or will help, any government in the world in their offensive efforts in cyberspace. The alleged claims are meritless as Kaspersky Labs products and solutions are designed to protect against cybercriminals and malicious threat actors, not enable attacks against any organization or entity, the statement said. U.S. officials have said hackers from both Russia and China have been detected conducting cyber reconnaissance of industrial control networks in apparent preparation for future cyber attacks during a conflict. The agency said the software could permit Russian government hackers, considered among the most advanced nation-state cyber spies, to gain access to industrial control software, specifically remote-controlled SCADA programs that run the electrical grid, oil and gas networks, water pipelines and dams, and wastewater systems. On the potential Russian government exploitation of security software, defense officials familiar with the DIA report said the agency fears U.S. electrical and water utilities, as well as other critical industrial sectors, will purchase and use the Kaspersky security software. We respectfully request your assistance in providing focus and visibility on an emerging threat that we believe will have serious consequences on our ability to execute assigned missions if not addressed cyber security of [Defense Department] critical infrastructure Industrial Control Systems, Northern Commands Adm. William Gortney and Pacific Commands Adm. Harry Harris stated in a Feb. 11 letter to Carter. In a related development, two U.S. military commanders urged Defense Secretary Ash Carter earlier this month to do more to defend critical infrastructure from cyber attacks against industrial control systems. Kaspersky Lab, in a statement, denied its security products could be used against U.S. infrastructure. The agency stated in a recent notice circulated within the Pentagon that security software being developed by Kaspersky Lab, a Russian-origin company, will create vulnerabilities for U.S. industrial control systems and so-called supervisory control and data acquisition software, or SCADA, systems, if purchased and deployed by American utilities. The Defense Intelligence Agency warned this month that Russian government hackers could penetrate U.S. industrial control networks using commercial security software. Members of the House Judiciary Committee are considering filing a 'friend of the court' brief in Apple Inc's encryption dispute with the U.S. government... Federal authorities argued that CALEA isn't relevant to either iPhone case. But Apple and its supporters are likely to cite CALEA in the San Bernardino case, said Alex Abdo, an ACLU attorney who is helping draft a "friend-of-the-court" brief on Apple's ... Can the FBI force a company to break into its own products? According to the report , a senior Apple executive told reporters that the Judge's decision is a good sign for the company in the more notable San Bernardino case where the government's demands, which include compelling Apple to alter its operating ... Commentary: What is At Stake in the Apple Government Fight Reuters reports that both Republican and Democratic party members of the House Judiciary Committee support Apple's view that Congress, not the courts, should decide the FBI case and plan to file a legal brief to say so. Police in India Tuesday charged the former head of the United Nations climate change panel with sexual harassment following a complaint by a woman he worked with at an environmental research institution. The 75-year-old Rajendra Pachauri is also accused of stalking and criminal intimidation of the woman, a former colleague at The Energy and Resources Institute, or TERI, based in New Delhi. Pachauri denies the allegations. Last year, however, he resigned from both the U.N.'s... HAVANA (AP) -- The Rolling Stones say they will play a free concert in Havana on March 25, becoming the biggest act to play Cuba since its 1959 revolution.... Every day, Kenesh Shorukov wakes up before dawn and rides his horse across the rugged terrain of northern Kyrgyzstan. His goal: to get to class on time and set a positive example for his students. (RFE/RL's Current Time TV)Originally published at - http://www.rferl.org/media/video/kyrgyzstan-teacher/27583125.html Major components of the Davids Sling Weapon System are being delivered to the Israel Air Force The United Nations refugee agency warns Europe is on the verge of an explosive self-induced humanitarian crisis, which could spiral out of control and result in widespread violence. The agency reports the number of refugees and migrants in Greece in need of shelter has soared to 24,000. This, it says, includes around 8,500 people stranded near the border with Macedonia. It says the crowded conditions are leading to shortages of food, shelter, water and sanitation. Vincent Cochetel is... Russian President Vladimir Putin says the country is close to an international deal to cap oil output and that any agreement will have the backing of Russias oil sector. MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin says the country is close to an international deal to cap oil output and that any agreement will have the backing of Russia's oil sector. Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela and Qatar floated a production cap last ... Turkey's top judge asserted his court's independence on Tuesday after President Tayyip Erdogan and the justice minister both criticized a ruling that the detention of two prominent journalists had violated their rights. Erdogan said on Sunday he neither recognized nor respected Thursday's ruling by the constitutional court that led to the release of Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper, and its Ankara bureau chief. Their arrest last November,... Osama bin Laden, who ordered the 2001 al-Qaida attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people, claimed in his last will to have about $29 million in personal wealth, most of which he wanted spent "on jihad, for the sake of Allah." The United States released the will Tuesday, part of a cache of 113 documents seized at bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, when U.S. commandos killed him in a raid nearly five years ago. The documents, written in Arabic... An appeals court in the Swedish town of Sundsval has sentenced an Uzbek citizen to life in prison, increasing his initial sentence of 18 years for an assassination attempt on an imam. Russia Threat to US, Its Allies and Partners mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. WASHINGTON NATO's military commander has told the U.S. lawmakers that Russia poses a long-term threat to the United States and to its European allies and partners. In testimony bef... Osama bin Laden document dump: His will shows he wanted to use $29M for jihad mikenova shared this story from www.washingtontimes.com stories: Security. Osama bin Laden was highly paranoid during the years leading up to his capture in 2011 at one point expressing fear that Iranian dentists had planted a ti... FBI, Apple bringing fight over encryption to Capitol Hill - Washington Post mikenova shared this story from james b. comey - Google News. Washington Post FBI, Apple bringing fight over encryption to Capitol Hill Washington Post FBI Director James B . Comey will insist that federal officials care about privacy an... Kremlin defends TV channels' blackout on toddler's death mikenova shared this story from Russia | The Guardian. Child was allegedly killed and decapitated by her nanny who paraded the bloodied head on a Moscow street The Kremlin has defended a media blackout on the death of a toddler allegedly... At least 21 reality television stars have taken their own lives in the past decade mikenova shared this story from World news. Contestants have killed themselves after appearing on hit US shows like The Bachelor and Kitchen Nightmares Forensic experts say murdered Italian student 'was tortured for seven days' mikenova shared this story from World news. The findings are the strongest indication yet that Mr Regeni was killed by Egypt's security forces and point to torture methods including burning the body with cigarettes over several days, whi... Angela Merkel stages a remarkable comeback among German citizens mikenova shared this story from World news. The German chancellor has seen her approval rating increase from a four-year-low of 46 per cent to 54 per cent Billionaire Mikhelson becomes Russia's richest man: Forbes mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Leonid Mikhelson, chief executive and co-owner of Novatek, has become Russia's richest men with wealth estimated at $14.4 billion, overtaking Vladimir Potanin, accor... Thousands Of Pakistanis Gather For Funeral Of Executed Assassin mikenova shared this story from rferlonline's YouTube Videos. From: rferlonline Duration: 00:42 Crowds filled the streets of Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on March 1 during the funeral of former police officer Mumtaz Qadri, who was executed ... Ethnic strife edges Kosovo towards anarchy mikenova shared this story from Europe News. No Balkan country is free of political turbulence but the turmoil in Pristina is particularly worrying Russian Foreign Minister Calls for New Chemical Weapons Accord mikenova shared this story from NYT > Russia. Sergey V. Lavrov said the existing treaty was insufficient to address the rising use of those arms by terrorist groups. Oberlin professor claims ISIS a 'CIA and Mossad operation' - American Thinker (blog) mikenova shared this story from cia - Google News. Oberlin professor claims ISIS a ' CIA and Mossad operation' American Thinker (blog) Joy Karega, an assistant professor of rhetoric and composition at Oberlin College let loose on Faceboo... Bin Laden left $29m fortune for jihad mikenova shared this story from BBC News - World. Osama Bin Laden's will shows he left a personal wealth of around $29m (21m), which he wanted to be used "on jihad". Iraqi forces try to cut Islamic State supply lines in western desert mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces and Shi'ite militia began an operation on Tuesday to dislodge Islamic State militants from desert areas northwest of Baghdad and cut their sup... Osama bin Laden almost sounds like a U.S. presidential candidate in this secret letter mikenova shared this story from World. He was angry at Washington lobbyists, worried about climate change and blamed corporate interests. Swedish court hands life sentence to Uzbek man who shot imam mikenova shared this story from World. A Swedish appeals court has sentenced an Uzbek man to life in prison for the 2012 attempted murder of an imam who was critical of the regime in Uzbekistan. Osama Bin Laden Worried That Wife Had Tracking Chip in Tooth mikenova shared this story from World TIME. Osama bin Laden was paranoid that his wife had a tracking device implanted in her tooth , according to a newly released batch of documents found in the al Qaeda leaders compound . Writ... Former CIA director: Armed forces may refuse Trump's orders ... mikenova shared this story from cia - Google Blog Search. Former CIA Director Michael Hayden says if a president Donald Trump follows through with some of the things he's said on the campaign trail, the military would refuse to act. In a... House Judiciary Committee members may file legal brief to back ... mikenova shared this story from house judiciary committee - Google Blog Search. Reuters reports that both Republican and Democratic party members of the House Judiciary Committee support Apple's view that Congress, not the courts, should... Commentary: What is At Stake in the Apple Government Fight - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis (subscription) mikenova shared this story from fbi aclu report - Google News. Commentary: What is At Stake in the Apple Government Fight The Peoples Vanguard of Davis (subscription) According to the report , a senior Apple executive told reporters t... Can the FBI force a company to break into its own products? - MLive.com mikenova shared this story from fbi aclu report - Google News. MLive.com Can the FBI force a company to break into its own products? MLive.com Federal authorities argued that CALEA isn't relevant to either iPhone case. But Apple and its ... House Judiciary Committee members consider legal brief in support ... mikenova shared this story from house judiciary committee - Google Blog Search. Members of the House Judiciary Committee are considering filing a 'friend of the court' brief in Apple Inc's encryption dispute with the U.S. government... DIA: Russian Software Could Threaten U.S. Industrial Control Systems mikenova shared this story from Washington Free Beacon. The Defense Intelligence Agency warned this month that Russian government hackers could penetrate U.S. industrial control networks using commercial security software. The agency sta... Russia trying to make Syrians weapons against Europe, top U.S. general warns mikenova shared this story from www.washingtontimes.com stories: Security. The top U.S. commander in Europe testified on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir's forces are deliberately bombing civilians in Syria to uproot them from the... US, Israel Start Delivering Davids Sling System to Israel Air Force mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. Major components of the Davids Sling Weapon System are being delivered to the Israel Air Force A Ruling in Apples Favor mikenova shared this story from NYT > Federal Bureau of Investigation. The ruling on Monday gives Apple a little legal momentum. A Snowy Trek On Horseback To Teach School mikenova shared this story from rferlonline's YouTube Videos. From: rferlonline Duration: 02:01 Every day, Kenesh Shorukov wakes up before dawn and rides his horse across the rugged terrain of northern Kyrgyzstan. His goal: to get to... Rolling Stones to play March 25 show in Havana mikenova shared this story from AP Top News at 11:25 a.m. EST. HAVANA (AP) -- The Rolling Stones say they will play a free concert in Havana on March 25, becoming the biggest act to play Cuba since its 1959 revolution.... Former UN Climate Chief Charged with Sexual Harassment mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Police in India Tuesday charged the former head of the United Nations climate change panel with sexual harassment following a complaint by a woman he worked with at an environmental resea... Gluten Tester Goes Out to Eat With You mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. None Sweden Jails Man For Life For Shooting Uzbek Imam mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. An appeals court in the Swedish town of Sundsval has sentenced an Uzbek citizen to life in prison, increasing his initial sentence of 18 years for an assassination attemp... Bin Laden Wanted $29 Million Estate Spent on Jihad mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Osama bin Laden, who ordered the 2001 al-Qaida attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people, claimed in his last will to have about $29 million in personal wealth, most of... Turkey's Top Judge Defends Court Independence After Erdogan Criticism mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Turkey's top judge asserted his court's independence on Tuesday after President Tayyip Erdogan and the justice minister both criticized a ruling that the detention of two prominent journa... Russia's Putin says global deal to cap oil output is close - Washington Post mikenova shared this story from World - Google News. Washington Post Russia's Putin says global deal to cap oil output is close Washington Post MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin says the country is close to an international deal ... Russias Putin says global deal to cap oil output is close mikenova shared this story from World. Russian President Vladimir Putin says the country is close to an international deal to cap oil output and that any agreement will have the backing of Russias oil sector. UN: Refugee Crisis in Europe Could Explode into Violence mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The United Nations refugee agency warns Europe is on the verge of an explosive self-induced humanitarian crisis, which could spiral out of control and result in widespread violence. The a... Leader of Eta's political wing leaves jail to head Basque independence drive mikenova shared this story from World news. Arnaldo Otegi vows to use the right to self-determination to transform the movement into a new state in Europe More Osama bin Laden Raid Materials Released mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. The papers were taken by SEAL Team 6 members in their 2011 raid on Bin Ladens hideout in Pakistan, where the top Qaeda leader was killed. Bin Laden's will shows that he left 20m for global jihad - and worried about CIA tracker chips in his wife's teeth mikenova shared this story from World news. Declassified documents show the al-Qaeda leader was also still planning grand terror schemes Exclusive: U.N. may delay Syria talks, says U.S., Russia must guarantee truce mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States and Russia must make Syria's cessation of hostilities work or else it may become necessary to delay the resumption of peace talks, U.N. Syria envoy... Egyptian Lawmaker Throws Shoe At Colleague Who Invited Israeli Ambassador to Dinner mikenova shared this story from Washington Free Beacon. JERUSALEMAn Egyptian lawmaker who upset his colleagues and much of the Egyptian public by inviting the Israeli ambassador in Cairo to dinner at his home last week was struck Sunday... Calm down, FBI there's little danger of the web 'going dark' | John ... mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google Blog Search. The idea that cyberspace is growing invisible to law enforcement isn't borne out by the facts. Military Would Revolt Against Trump, Former CIA Director Says ... mikenova shared this story from cia - Google Blog Search. I would be incredibly concerned if a President Trump governed in a way that was consistent with the language that candidate Trump expressed during the campaign, Former CIA direc... Gerald Roberts, Jr. Named Special Agent in Charge of the Intelligence Division of the Washington Field Office mikenova shared this story from Current. Washington, D.C. FBI claims it has no records of its decision to delete its ... - Boing Boing mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google Blog Search. Techdirt's Mike Masnick filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FBI to find out how it decided to change its recommendation. The FBI scoured every corner -- it took mo... Saddam Husseins Bath Party mikenova shared this story from Intelligence Analysis and Reporting. Title: Saddam Husseins Bath Party Author: Joseph Sassoon Sassoon, Joseph (2011). Saddam Husseins Bath Party: Inside An Authorit... Former CIA Director Now Saying Military Won't Follow Trump's ... mikenova shared this story from cia - Google Blog Search. Former CIA director Michael Hayden is claiming the U.S. military might disobey President Donald Trump. First, Bill Maher says that the election is basically hinging on a terrorist... Carter Heads to Silicon Valley as ISIS Cyberwar Expands mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is heading to Silicon Valley this week to meet with leaders from the tech sector. Commentary: Putins Options for Cyber Escalation Over Ukraine mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. Part of the Ukrainian power grid was recently taken down by a cyber attack, almost certainly by Russian hackers with ties to the Kremlin, the first time there has been such a determine... Apple takes its FBI fight to Congress -- read the company's powerful ... mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google Blog Search. As you know, the FBI wants Apple to help unlock an iPhone linked to one of the San Bernardino shooters. Apple is resisting the request, and tomorrow will testify at a Congressiona... NY judge: US cannot make Apple provide iPhone data mikenova shared this story from In Homeland Security. The U.S. Justice Department cannot force Apple to provide the FBI with access to locked iPhone data in a routine Brooklyn drug case, a federal judge ruled Monday. Apple Wins Ruling in New York iPhone Hacking Order mikenova shared this story from NYT > Federal Bureau of Investigation. A federal judge denied the use of the All Writs Act, a law that federal authorities have cited in insisting on Apples help breaking into iPhones. After Gains Against ISIS, Pentagon Focuses on Mosul mikenova shared this story from NYT > Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The United States military The Pentagon is laying groundwork for a fight to retake Iraqs second-largest city, moving to isolate it from the Islamic States... Russian warplanes sit idle on Syria base during cease-fire mikenova shared this story from www.washingtontimes.com stories: Security. HEMEIMEEM AIR BASE, Syria (AP) - Dozens of Russian warplanes sat idle Tuesday on the tarmac at this Russian air base in Syria on the fourth day of a cease-fire br... Don't Trust the FBI's Ability to Keep an iPhone Back Door to Itself - Reason mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. Reason Don't Trust the FBI's Ability to Keep an iPhone Back Door to Itself Reason Credit: Robert Scoble / photo on flickrRepresenting Apple in its ongoing battle with the FBI , former Ge... SPECIAL OPERATIONS: NATO Helps Rebuild Ukrainian Spetsnaz mikenova shared this story from StrategyPage.com. None What Apple's Standoff With the FBI Says About Leadership - Fortune mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. Fortune What Apple's Standoff With the FBI Says About Leadership Fortune It's not about whether Tim Cook is right or wrong. Apple Inc.'s standoff against the U.S. government's mounting p... US lawmaker claims Pentagon is resisting probe into tweaked ISIS analysis mikenova shared this story from intelNews.org. The leading lawmaker in the United States Congressional intelligence committee has accused the Department of Defense of resisting his efforts to investigate claims that intelligence products... George Soros Had White House Meeting With Obamas ISIS Czar mikenova shared this story from Washington Free Beacon. Liberal billionaire George Soros was at the White House late last year to meet with President Obamas controversial top adviser on ISIS, according to the White House visitor log . S... Classified Clinton Emails Detailed U.S. Meetings With 15 Foreign Governments mikenova shared this story from Washington Free Beacon. Hillary Clintons private email server contained now-classified information about high-level State Department meetings with leaders of more than a dozen countries, emails released l... 'Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War,' by Fred Kaplan - New York Times mikenova shared this story from Cyber Warfare - Google News. 'Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War,' by Fred Kaplan New York Times There is widespread uncertainty not just about how a cyberwar should be fought, but also over t... The FBI would be able to monitor everybody's entire lives if Apple is forced to unlock terrorist's iPhone, judge says - The Independent mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. The Independent The FBI would be able to monitor everybody's entire lives if Apple is forced to unlock terrorist's iPhone, judge says The Independent Apple is currently locked in a publi... The fight between Apple and the FBI moves to Capitol Hill - Los Angeles Times mikenova shared this story from james b. comey - Google News. Los Angeles Times The fight between Apple and the FBI moves to Capitol Hill Los Angeles Times The heated dispute over whether Apple should be forced to help the FBI unlock an ... House Judiciary Committee members may file legal brief to back Apple's view that Congress should decide FBI case - 9 to 5 Mac mikenova shared this story from house judiciary committee - Google News. 9 to 5 Mac House Judiciary Committee members may file legal brief to back Apple's view that Congress should decide FBI case 9 to 5 Mac Reuters reports that both Rep... 'Unlocking cellphone is trivial, FBI should stop deceiving public & tell truth' John McAfee - RT mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. RT 'Unlocking cellphone is trivial, FBI should stop deceiving public & tell truth' John McAfee RT Let me try to make this issue simple for the American public and for the FBI , who... The Latest: Russia cites repeated cease-fire violations mikenova shared this story from www.washingtontimes.com stories: Security. BEIRUT (AP) - The Latest on the Syrian conflict as a fragile cease-fire enters its fourth day (all times local): 2:30 p.m. Russia's Defense Ministry says the ongo... The Early Edition: March 1, 2016 mikenova shared this story from Just Security. Nadia O'Mara Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Heres todays news. *** Correction: Yesterdays Ea... Osama bin Laden wanted much of his fortune used 'on jihad' mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. In his handwritten will, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden claimed he had about $29 million in personal wealth the bulk of which he wanted to be used "on jihad, for the sake of Allah." The Latest: Merkel, Hollande to meet ahead of Turkey summit mikenova shared this story from www.washingtontimes.com stories: Security. IDOMENI, Greece (AP) - The Latest on Europe's migration crisis (all times local): 4:40 p.m. The German government says Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet French P... Russian Business Is Unwilling to Invest in Development mikenova shared this story from Home - Institute of Modern Russia. Sergey Aleksashenko, nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank, comments on recent key developments im... February 29, 2016 mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. A look at the best news photos from around the world. Mikhail Gorbachev releases book of his life mikenova shared this story from Russia | The Guardian. Soviet Unions last leader presents 700-page collection of memoirs, letters and articles as he approaches his 85th birthday Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, ha... Gorbachev Presents New Book mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has presented a new book about his life ahead of his 85th birthday. Pentagon: U.S. Stepping Up Cyberattacks Against Islamic State mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Top Pentagon officials say the United States is stepping up cyberattacks against the Islamic State (IS) network in Syria and Iraq, and U.S. special forces unit are finall... Russian Warplane Crashes On Training Exercise, Pilot Dies mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Russia says one of its warplanes has crashed while on a training exercise in the southern region of Stavropol and the pilot was killed. Apple: 'Dangerous Precedent' to Unlock Phone in Terrorism Probe mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Technology giant Apple plans to tell a U.S. congressional panel Tuesday that a demand by law enforcement authorities to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino, California Cali... Russia's Growing and Dangerous Influence - Fox Business mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Fox Business Russia's Growing and Dangerous Influence Fox Business Last year a Turkish air force jet shot down a Russian bomber flying missions over Syria after the bomber crossed int... The Power Vertical Podcast: The Nemtsov Legacy mikenova shared this story from The Interpreter. The Power Vertical Podcast: The Nemtsov Legacy He was a young pathbreaking provincial governor in the heady days following the Soviet collapse. He was a reformist deputy prime minister, an... U.N. Humanitarian Aid Reaches Damascus Suburb mikenova shared this story from WSJ.com: World News. The United Nations delivered humanitarian aid to a suburb of the Syrian capital on Monday as it takes advantage of an internationally backed cease-fire despite accusations of breaches ... Libya Will Need American Help to Defeat ISIS, U.S. General Says mikenova shared this story from WSJ.com: World News. Senior U.S. commander says Islamic State has become too strong in the divided country to be rolled back without U.S. help. U.S. Cyberattacks Could Disrupt ISIS Technology mikenova shared this story from World TIME. WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. cyberattacks to disrupt ISIS communications and overload their networks could force the militant group to use older technologies that are easier for the U... New Documents Reveal How Osama Bin Laden Wanted to Spend His Fortune mikenova shared this story from World TIME. (WASHINGTON) In his handwritten will, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden claimed he had about $29 million in personal wealth the bulk of which he wanted to be used on jih... Life after Ukraine: the 'invisible' Russian fighters struggling to return ... mikenova shared this story from world news - Google Blog Search. I went to the Donbass in July 2014 to defend our Russian world from attacks by the west. It was necessary to meet ... Starting in July 2014, I saw frequent news on TV about... First test for Syrian truce after breaches reported on both sides ... mikenova shared this story from world news - Google Blog Search. But Lt Gen Sergei Kuralenko, head of Moscow's coordination centre in Syria, was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying that on the whole, the ceasefire was holding. The ... Super Tuesday: Donald Trump looks stronger than ever as opponents launch toxic attacks mikenova shared this story from World news. In a national poll from CNN, the billionaire has 49 per cent of Republican support just 24 hours before the crucial vote in 11 states US Army aims to arm soldiers with lasers in 2023 mikenova shared this story from World news. Service says it is "very close" to developing the technology while the Air Force pushes ahead with further trials Moscow nanny shows police where she beheaded four-year-old girl mikenova shared this story from World news. Gyulcherkhra Bobokulova, a citizen of Uzbekistan, was found pacing around a western Moscow suburb carrying the head of a four-year old child and claiming to be a terrorist on Monday morning Bin Laden documents outline inheritance wishes, division of funds - Reuters mikenova shared this story from World - Google News. The Nation Bin Laden documents outline inheritance wishes, division of funds Reuters WASHINGTON Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden outlined in letters and other documents how at least $29... Russia Seeks Scapegoats After Nanny Arrested With Childs Severed Head mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The reactions in Russia to the apparent beheading of a child in Moscow by an Uzbek nanny were varied and kneejerk, with authorities calling for a clampdown on nannies and... Hamas Commander, Accused of Theft and Gay Sex, Is Killed by His Own mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. The death of Mahmoud Ishtiwi, who was accused of homosexuality, Mahmoud Ishtiwis death had all the trappings of a soap opera: telenovela: sex, torture and embezzlement, in the armed wing o... New bin Laden documents show a suspicious, pressured al Qaeda mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's leaders were increasingly worried about spies in their midst, drones in the air and secret tracking devices reporting their movements as the U.S.-led ... GOP badly split as Trump, Clinton seek Super Tuesday wins mikenova shared this story from AP Top News at 8:57 a.m. EST. VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) -- On the eve of Super Tuesday's crucial primaries, a sharp new divide erupted between Republicans who pledge to fall in line behind Donald Trump i... Last Batch of Hillary Clintons Emails Is Released mikenova shared this story . WASHINGTON The State Department on Monday released the last set of emails from the 30,000 messages on Hillary Clinton s private computer server, including an email about North Korea that remain... Puerto Rico governor calls for legalizing marijuana | Fox News mikenova shared this story . Puerto Rico governor calls for legalizing marijuana Associated Press Facebook 288 Twitter 0 Email Print SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico's governor has called for the legalization of marijuana... The Right Solution for Puerto Rico mikenova shared this story from The Daily Signal. Finally, support from Congress for something other than a federal bailout for Puerto Rico or letting the commonwealth break its contracts and constitutional obligations. The Republican St... Puerto Rico governor calls for legalizing marijuana mikenova shared this story from World. Puerto Ricos governor has called for the legalization of marijuana during his last public address as leader of the U.S. territory. The Broken System of Classifying Government Documents mikenova shared this story . EVERY few years, a news event demonstrates how dysfunctional, arbitrary and counterproductive the countrys system of classifying information really is. Sometimes its an article or book about gov... Tim Cook could be jailed over refusal to cooperate with FBI (but ... mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google Blog Search. In an interesting summary of the possible outcomes of the Apple vs FBI standoff, Quartz notes that some experts believe that CEO Tim Cook could be held personally liable for defyi... How Obama Transformed America - WSJ mikenova shared this story . How did Barack Obama join Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan to become one of the three most transformative presidents in the past century? He was greatly aided by the financial crisis that erupted during t... Obama Has Transformed Our Political System mikenova shared this story . The Three Shocks to the Political System (Politics & Ideas, Feb. 10) described by William Galston all are attributable to an American transformation that President Obama promised, nurtured... As the West prevaricates, Putin builds a new order mikenova shared this story . What might plans for a Russian sovereign bond issue, being circulated now among international banks, have to do with events in Syria? The Russian economy is reeling from the effects of sanctions imposed by th... Today's Headlines and Commentary mikenova shared this story from Lawfare - Hard National Security Choices. Yesterday, Apple filed a motion to vacate a court order compelling the tech company to assist the U.S. government in unlocking an iPhone belonging to one of the Sa... Sen. Jeff Sessions Changes the Trajectory of American Politics mikenova shared this story from Breitbart News Network. Sen. Jeff Sessions Changes the Trajectory of American Politics and Perhaps American History To the catchy riff from Sweet Home Alabama, Senator Jeff Sessions took the podium in Ma... Washington Post: Donald Trump Is mikenova shared this story from Breitbart News Network. Washington Post: Donald Trump Is GOPs Frankenstein Monster, Strong Enough to Destroy Party Robert Kagan of the Brookings Institution clutches his pearls over Donald Trumps bigo... Turkish military hits Islamic State positions inside Syria: broadcaster NTV mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Turkish military has struck Islamic State positions inside Syria with artillery, Turkish broadcaster NTV reported on Monday. The Life Cycles of Cyber Threats mikenova shared this story from Latest From the Wilson Center. Technology isnt human, but it has stages of life. The period after the conception of a new piece of technology is often marked by significant investments of time and resourc... Syrian opposition says government wrecking truce deal - Reuters mikenova shared this story from World - Google News. Reuters Syrian opposition says government wrecking truce deal Reuters BEIRUT/GENEVA A senior official from Syria's main opposition group said on Monday that the first major attempt to ... Cruise Ship Rescues 16 Cuban Migrants In Gulf mikenova shared this story from World News - Breaking international news and headlines | Sky News. Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison photographs the moment the 16 migrants are rescued from a makeshift raft. Lech Walesa may sue state body over alleged collaboration mikenova shared this story from World. Polands democracy champion and Solidarity founder Lech Walesa says he might sue a history institute to court over documents it released that purport he was a communist-era paid informant. Mahathir Mohamad Quits Malaysias Governing Party, Citing Corruption mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. The former prime minister said he was embarrassed by the role of the United Malays National Organization in protecting the countrys current leader from accusations of graft. Ex-Malaysian Leader Mahathir Quits Ruling Party in Protest mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad has quit the ruling Malay party, saying Monday it has been hijacked by embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak to protect his own interests. Najib ... How States Drive the Diffusion of Cyber Capabilities mikenova shared this story from Latest From the Wilson Center. Amid the raging debate on cryptography, Apple CEO Tim Cook insisted , You cant have a backdoor thats only for the good guys. In other words, security sometimes means den... The Guardian view on the US and Russia in Syria: rivals who need each other - The Guardian mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. The Guardian The Guardian view on the US and Russia in Syria: rivals who need each other The Guardian It has to be immediately added that the cessation deal is very much on Russia's t... mikenova shared this story from RSS. , , , 2020 , , - . Life after Ukraine: the invisible Russian fighters struggling to return to normal mikenova shared this story from Russia | The Guardian. Volunteers say theyve been left to cope with the physical and psychological scars without any state support. Meduza reports Russian volunteers returning home after fighting alongsid... - mikenova shared this story from Google. . . ... Russia Resumes Air Strikes in Syria mikenova shared this story from The Moscow Times Top Stories. A series of salvos ruptured Syria's partial cease-fire on Sunday, with Russia reportedly resuming its air strikes on rebel territories, news reports said. Russian woman holding severed head of child outside Moscow metro station detained by police mikenova shared this story from The Independent - Europe. In the video, she can be heard shouting 'I am a terrorist' A woman has been arrested after she brandished a child's severed head outside a metro station in Moscow. Woman reportedly beheads child, threatens Moscow travelers - CBS News mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. CBS News Woman reportedly beheads child, threatens Moscow travelers CBS News Russian media reported Monday that a woman working as a nanny in Moscow had decapitated a four-year-old bo... Russia: Moscow nanny shouting Islamic slogans takes decapitated child's head to Metro station - International Business Times UK mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. International Business Times UK Russia : Moscow nanny shouting Islamic slogans takes decapitated child's head to Metro station International Business Times UK Police in Russia have ar... Russia Welcomes Syria Ceasefire As Proof Of Great Power Status - International Business Times mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. International Business Times Russia Welcomes Syria Ceasefire As Proof Of Great Power Status International Business Times Correction, Monday, 7:50 a.m. EDT: A previous version of this ... Pentagon chief to appeal to Silicon Valley for help with cybersecurity - Los Angeles Times mikenova shared this story from james b. comey - Google News. Los Angeles Times Pentagon chief to appeal to Silicon Valley for help with cybersecurity Los Angeles Times Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will visit a crucial front this week... Woman Brandishes Child's Severed Head In Moscow mikenova shared this story from World News - Breaking international news and headlines | Sky News. The body of a child aged three or four is found with "signs of violent death" as a woman is detained for psychiatric tests. Syrian war: UN to expand aid amid partial truce - BBC News mikenova shared this story from World - Google News. BBC News Syrian war: UN to expand aid amid partial truce BBC News The UN is poised to begin delivering aid to people living in besieged areas of Syria, making use of a truce brokered b... Chinas President Sets All Party Members Homework to Read Old Report by Chairman Mao mikenova shared this story from World TIME. On Monday, the Shanghai stock exchange recorded its lowest ebb since 2014. Earlier this month, disappointing data was missing from state statistical reports, presumably to prevent a further b... The War Against Mosquitoes mikenova shared this story from World TIME. A tale from the front lines BY ALEXANDRA SIFFERLIN /piracicaba, brazil If youre waging a war, it helps to infiltrate the enemy. At 7:00 a.m. on an early February morning, a large gray van cr... Macedonian Police Clash With Refugees at Greek Border mikenova shared this story from World TIME. IDOMENI, Greece Macedonian police fired tear gas and stun guns Monday as several hundred Iraqi and Syrian refugees, frustrated at days of delays in crossing the Greek-Macedonian border, bro... Syrias Cease-Fire Holds in Face of Reported Violations mikenova shared this story from World TIME. A fragile cease-fire remained intact for a third day in parts of Syria on Monday, even as monitoring groups reported renewed Russian airstrikes on areas held by opponents of the regime of Bas... Boy Gets Stuck In First Vending Machine Hes Ever Seen mikenova shared this story from World TIME. An Australian boy had his arm stuck in a vending machine for nearly six hours before he was sedated and freed. The 4-year-old boy named Leo was on vacation with his family in Melbourne on Sun... Death toll rises from "cowardly" Baghdad bombings - CBS News mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. CBS News Death toll rises from "cowardly" Baghdad bombings CBS News BAGHDAD -- In Iraq, the death toll from devastating back-to-back market bombings carried out by the ... The Secret Jewish History of Leap Year - Forward mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. Forward The Secret Jewish History of Leap Year Forward This year is Leap Year in both the secular Gregorian calendar the one most of the world goes by and in the Hebrew calen... Moscow 'Nanny' Detained After Waving Child's Severed Head At Metro Station: Reports - Newsweek mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. Newsweek Moscow 'Nanny' Detained After Waving Child's Severed Head At Metro Station: Reports Newsweek Russia Islam Moscow Metro A general view shows the entrance to Chistye Prudy... The Daily Vertical: Putin Vs Frankenstein (Transcript) mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The Daily Vertical is a video primer for Russia-watchers that appears Monday through Friday. Moscow Police Arrest Uzbek Woman With Child's Severed Head mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Russia police have detained a woman who was seen carrying a childs severed head outside Moscows Oktyabrskoye Pole metro station. The Briefing: Kadyrov's Power Play mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Is the Kremlin easing Kadyrov out? Or is Kadyrov blackmailing the Kremlin? Listen to The Power Vertical Briefing. The Daily Vertical: Putin Vs Frankenstein mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The Daily Vertical is a video primer for Russia-watchers that appears Monday through Friday. Op-Ed Columnist: Trump's Il Duce Routine mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. Europe knows that democracies can collapse. It watches Trump with memories of when the sky darkened. Op-Ed Contributor: Once I Saw Light in Iran. Now Its Mostly Shadows. mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. Iranians casting their votes on Friday at the Ershad Mosque in Tehran in elections for Parliament and the Assembly of Experts. Moscow woman 'held child's severed head' mikenova shared this story from BBC News - World. Woman arrested in Moscow after reportedly being seen outside metro station with severed child's head. Trump's career: Plenty for fans and foes to love, hate mikenova shared this story from AP Top News at 8:06 a.m. EST. NEW YORK (AP) -- To his supporters, the business career of Donald Trump is proof he's got the decisiveness and smarts required to lead the country. To critics, his ex... US Presidential Candidates Make Final Pitches Before Super Tuesday mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The U.S. presidential candidates are using Monday to make a last push for support before voters in 11 states have their say in who should be the nominees for the Democratic and Republican... Chilean attacked in Poland after being mistaken for Arab mikenova shared this story from World. A top Polish human rights official is encouraging people to attend a concert in support of a Chilean pianist who was recently beaten by skinheads who mistook him for an Arab, an incident that comes ... The Latest: French begin dismantling migrant slum in Calais mikenova shared this story from World. The Latest on Europes migration crisis (all times local): Russian industry workers squeezed but scared of speaking out mikenova shared this story from World. Once intended as a Soviet rival to the capitalist symbol of Detroit, Russias auto-making hub of Togliatti is sliding into economic depression. And blue collar workers are taking the brunt of the pa... Reports: Russian police arrest woman waving childs head mikenova shared this story from World. Russian news agencies are reporting that police have arrested a woman who was waving the severed head of a small child outside a Moscow subway station. wrongful FBI hair conviction cases - Google Search mikenova shared this story . Judge orders DC to pay $13.2 million in wrongful FBI hair conviction ... Washington Post - 16 hours ago At trial, an FBI examiner testified that the hairs microscopically ... have proposed capping damages in ... Judge orders D.C. to pay $13.2 million in wrongful FBI hair conviction case mikenova shared this story . The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and well e-mail you free updates as theyre published. Youll receive free... Debate rages in courts over 'high-sensitivity' DNA analysis mikenova shared this story from AP Top News at 3:20 a.m. EST. NEW YORK (AP) -- One New York judge ruled the DNA evidence was scientifically sound. Another, just miles away, tossed it out as unreliable.... Facing the Taliban and His Past, an Afghan Leader Aims for a Different Ending mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. Abdul Jabar Qahraman, who surrendered Lashkar Gah to rebels two decades ago, has returned as President Ashraf Ghanis representative and tried to negotiate, rather than fight, with todays ... Netanyahu Welcomes Cease-Fire in Syria, but Adds a Warning mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. Israeli soldiers in the Golan Heights this month. Israel has repeatedly stated that it does not take sides in the Syrian civil war, but over the last few years numerous airstrikes in Syria ... When gods were hauled into Indian courts mikenova shared this story from BBC News - World. When gods were hauled into Indian courts Russia's Lavrov, U.S. Kerry discuss Syria ceasefire plan mikenova shared this story from Reuters: World News. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke on the phone on Sunday about closer cooperation between their countries' militari... Here's Why the FBI Went After Apple When It Did - Fortune mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. Fortune Here's Why the FBI Went After Apple When It Did Fortune J. Edgar Hoover was a master at this game. The legendary FBI director would latch on to the latest boogeymanthe Lindbergh... Pentagon says employee is suspect in killings mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. An Army staff sergeant assigned to the Pentagon was arrested on murder and other charges in the death of a police officer and another person, authorities said Sunday. First Russian air strikes in 48 hours of Syrian truce mikenova shared this story from DEBKAFile. February 28, 2016, 10:38 PM (IDT) Following day-long reports that the Syrian truce was more or less holding on its second day Sunday, It turned out that Russian forces had carried out air and ar... Judge orders DC to pay $13.2 million in wrongful FBI hair conviction case - Washington Post mikenova shared this story from fbi - Google News. Washington Post Judge orders DC to pay $13.2 million in wrongful FBI hair conviction case Washington Post They were convicted at trial through exaggerated claims about the reliability of... Defense News TV: NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander mikenova shared this story from Defense News - Home. Defense News TV: NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander ISIS Baghdad strikes kill 87 Iraqi security officers, Shiites mikenova shared this story from DEBKAFile. February 28, 2016, 7:37 PM (IDT) In its worst Baghdad assaults for months, ISIS forces Sunday seized Iraqi military positions in Abu Ghraib on the western outskirts of Baghdad, killing at least ... Russia using Syria as testing ground for new weapons mikenova shared this story from www.washingtontimes.com stories: Security. Russia has been using the Syrian civil war to test some of its new weapons, as the West accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of indiscriminate aerial bombardm... Two Bombings Kill Dozens at a Baghdad Market mikenova shared this story from NYT > Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Sunday for two attacks at a market in the Sadr City district that killed at least 42 people. Slowly, Relentlessly, Chinas Military Expands Its Global Reach - Daily Beast mikenova shared this story from Cyber Warfare - Google News. Daily Beast Slowly, Relentlessly, Chinas Military Expands Its Global Reach Daily Beast China's new base in Djibouti can be seen as part of its policy in Africa and the Middle E... Same-sex couple share traditional Canadian Naval 'first kiss' for the first time mikenova shared this story from itnnews's YouTube Videos. From: itnnews Duration: 01:01 The Canadian Navy selected the first same-sex couple to share the traditional welcome home 'first kiss'. Report by Lydia Batham. - mikenova shared this story from Google. , , ... Chechnya leader Kadyrov says he will quit at end of term mikenova shared this story from Russia | The Guardian. Surprise announcement met with scepticism, with analysts saying the move is an attempt to be reappointed by Vladimir Putin Chechnyas leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, has vowed to stand down ... Syria's cease-fire frays as Russia resumes airstrikes - Washington Post mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Washington Post Syria's cease-fire frays as Russia resumes airstrikes Washington Post GAZIANTEP, Turkey Syria's hard-won truce began to fray Sunday, with Russian warplanes resuming ... - .RU mikenova shared this story from Google. .RU .RU - , ... Rescue Workers and Miners Are Killed in Russia Accident mikenova shared this story from NYT > Russia. Six rescue workers were killed on Sunday in a failed attempt to reach 26 stranded miners at a coal mine in Russia. The trapped miners were also declared dead. Putins Regime Under Pressure But Far from Doomed Atlantic Sentinel mikenova shared this story from Atlantic Sentinel. Alexander J. Motyl, an historian of Ukraine and the former Soviet Union, recently argued in Foreign Affairs magazine that Vladimir Putins regime is on the brink of collapse. He se... Russian power struggle: Could Putin lose his leverage over Moscow elite? - World mikenova shared this story . What crisis? When the going gets tough in Russia, the superwealthy go shopping. Moscows Rolls Royce dealership had its best year ever in 2014, helped by a sprint of sales in the last two wee... russian elites power struggle - Google Search mikenova shared this story . Stratfor: Cracks appear in Putin's Kremlin as the stress on Russia ... Fabius Maximus website (blog) - 6 hours ago The name Kremlin literally means fortress inside a city, a potent metaphor for ... Stratfor: Cracks appear in Putins Kremlin as the stress on Russia grows mikenova shared this story from Fabius Maximus website. ADVERTISEMENT Summary: We tend to see the complex politics of America but assume Putin rules a simple autocracy. Here Stratfor describes the fragile Russian state, under incredible ... Clinton Overwhelms Sanders in South Carolina Primary mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton won a major victory Saturday over rival Bernie Sanders in the South Carolina primary, solidifying her status as the Democratic Party frontru... - mikenova shared this story from Google. , ... Clash in Russian Military Unit in Chechnya Involves Russians, Chechens and Daghestanis mikenova shared this story from Window on Eurasia -- New Series. Paul Goble Staunton, February 27 Although Russian and Chechen officials insist that there was no ethnic... Virginia Police Officer Shot, Killed on First Day on Duty mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. A police officer in the Eastern eastern U.S. state of Virginia was shot and killed Saturday afternoon during her first full day in uniform. Officer Ashley Guindon and two other officers w... IS Militants Hit Northern Iraq with Chemical Weapons: Kurdish Officials mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Kurdish officials are working with the U.S.-led coalition to verify if Islamic State militants hit Kurdish peshmerga fighters with chemical weapons in the northern area of Sinjar. Dozens ... Syrian Cease-Fire in Effect, Some Violence Reported mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The cease-fire in Syria that began Saturday has mostly held, but there have been some incidents of violence. 3 Stabbed in Clash Between KKK, Protesters in California mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. Three people were stabbed and 13 people arrested when members of a white separatist group clashed with a larger group of counter-demonstrators outside of Los Angeles Saturday, police said... : " " mikenova shared this story from SvobodaRadio's YouTube Videos. From: SvobodaRadio Duration: 08:04 . 27 ... - mikenova shared this story from SvobodaRadio's YouTube Videos. From: SvobodaRadio Duration: 05:02 - - http://www.svoboda.org/media/video/27578686.html Guns mostly fall silent on first day of Syrian ceasefire mikenova shared this story from Russia | The Guardian. Russian air raids stop and the truce seems to be holding for the most part across the country Guns mostly fell silent in Syria and Russian air raids stopped the first day of a cessat... Fragile Syria ceasefire enters second day mikenova shared this story from Russia | The Guardian. Airstrikes reported in Aleppo and Hama but partial cessation of hostilities appears broadly intact Syrias fragile ceasefire has entered its second day with reports of scattered airs... Guns fall silent in Syria - Reuters mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Reuters Guns fall silent in Syria Reuters Under the U.S.- Russian accord accepted by President Bashar al-Assad's government and many of his foes, fighting should cease so aid can reac... Here's What Happened in Russia on the First Anniversary of the Killing of Boris Nemtsov - VICE News mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. VICE News Here's What Happened in Russia on the First Anniversary of the Killing of Boris Nemtsov VICE News Exactly one year ago, Russian opposition leader and former deputy prime min... 'Global sherpa': Russia rooting for Hillary - WND.com mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. WND.com 'Global sherpa': Russia rooting for Hillary WND.com NEW YORK Russia's Vladimir Putin wants Donald Trump to lose the 2016 presidential race because he believes Russia would h... Syrian war: Russia reports nine truce violations - BBC News mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. BBC News Syrian war: Russia reports nine truce violations BBC News The truce in Syria has been violated nine times in the past 24 hours, says Russia , but is otherwise holding. A temp... Prawit: Russia, Belarus visits tighten cooperation - Bangkok Post mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Prawit: Russia , Belarus visits tighten cooperation Bangkok Post Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said his visits to Russia and Belarus have tightened cooperation between Thaila... Coal mine blast in Russia kills 5 rescuers, no survivors among 26 miners trapped underground - RT mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. RT Coal mine blast in Russia kills 5 rescuers, no survivors among 26 miners trapped underground RT Another explosion has rocked a coal mine in Vorkuta, Russia , killing five people an... 'As long as Russia is our neighbor': Latvia wants to host NATO tanks ready for battle - RT mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. RT 'As long as Russia is our neighbor': Latvia wants to host NATO tanks ready for battle RT The suggestion appears to be against the spirit if not the letter of NATO's agreement with ... Russia's Batmobile: Putin inspects latest in cutting-edge combat vehicles (VIDEO) - RT mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. RT Russia's Batmobile: Putin inspects latest in cutting-edge combat vehicles (VIDEO) RT The latest addition to the Russian security services' arsenal comes in the form of a Batmobile.... Russia ends search for dozens of miners trapped in Arctic - Deutsche Welle mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Deutsche Welle Russia ends search for dozens of miners trapped in Arctic Deutsche Welle After days of search, however, Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov proclaimed that th... Assassination of Putin Critic Remembered in Moscow mikenova shared this story from NYT > Europe. Tens of thousands of people joined a solemn march on Saturday to commemorate the first anniversary of the assassination of Boris Y. Nemtsov, a Russian opposition leader. mikenova shared this story from RSS. , . Putin can cash in on Syria gains with cease-fire - Stars and Stripes mikenova shared this story from Putin - Google News. Stars and Stripes Putin can cash in on Syria gains with cease-fire Stars and Stripes MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin has a chance to cash in on his gains in Syria by scaling ... Putin's Plans Beyond Ukraine into Syria - U.S. News & World Report mikenova shared this story from Putin - Google News. U.S. News & World Report Putin's Plans Beyond Ukraine into Syria U.S. News & World Report On the eve of a ceasefire agreement, U.S. news spoke with Agnia Grigas, author of "Bey... Russians march to preserve opposition in Vladimir Putin's stronghold - The Globe and Mail mikenova shared this story from Putin - Google News. The Globe and Mail Russians march to preserve opposition in Vladimir Putin's stronghold The Globe and Mail The guarding of the bridge reflects the defensive position Russia's beleaguer... Thousands march in Moscow to honor slain Kremlin critic Nemtsov - YouTube mikenova shared this story . Published on Feb 27, 2016 Thousands of Russians marched through Moscow to honor slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov on Saturday, the first anniversary of his death. Nathan Frandino reports. Subscribe: http://s... Thousands march in Moscow to honor slain Kremlin critic Nemtsov mikenova shared this story from ReutersVideo's YouTube Videos. From: ReutersVideo Duration: 01:28 Thousands of Russians marched through Moscow to honor slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov on Saturday, the first anniversary of his deat... Thousands join anti-nuclear weapons march in London mikenova shared this story from AFP's YouTube Videos. From: AFP Duration: 00:19 Thousands of people protest in central London against the renewal of Britain's nuclear weapons system Trident. Kansas community in mourning after shooting rampage mikenova shared this story from ReutersVideo's YouTube Videos. From: ReutersVideo Duration: 01:16 Hundreds attend a candlelight vigil in Hesston, Kansas, after a gunman killed three people and wounded 14 others in shooting spree. Jil... Kurds clash with police in southeast Turkey mikenova shared this story from ReutersVideo's YouTube Videos. From: ReutersVideo Duration: 01:02 Thousands of protesters clash with police in Turkey's southeast province of Diyarbakir as they denounce round-the-clock curfews in hist... Hillary is "single best change maker": Bill Clinton mikenova shared this story from ReutersVideo's YouTube Videos. From: ReutersVideo Duration: 01:12 Former president Bill Clinton encourages a crowd in Oklahoma to vote for his wife, Hillary, "because she's the single best change-maker... Enforcing Iran sanctions in the U.S. has harsh consequences mikenova shared this story from PBSNewsHour's YouTube Videos. From: PBSNewsHour Duration: 09:47 The U.S. has imposed hundreds of sanctions against Iran for more than 30 years to temper the country's nuclear ambitions. And even though... March In Moscow Honors Murdered Kremlin Critic Boris Nemtsov mikenova shared this story from rferlonline's YouTube Videos. From: rferlonline Duration: 01:05 Thousands of people marched in Moscow in honor of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov on the first anniversary of his murder. Marchers ch... Latvia wants greater NATO presence to offset Russia - USA TODAY mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. USA TODAY Latvia wants greater NATO presence to offset Russia USA TODAY WASHINGTON Latvia wants NATO to increase its security along Europe's eastern front to counter what it sees as... Russia Analysis mikenova shared this story from The Interpreter. Russia Analysis How Boris Nemtsov Was Murdered: Novaya Gazetas Investigation A number of different scenarios for how opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was assassinated on February 27, 2015 ... Gay Russian man sends powerful message to homophobes after beating mikenova shared this story from The Independent - Europe. A gay Russian man has sent a powerful messages to homophobes after being attacked for his sexuality - mikenova shared this story from SvobodaRadio's YouTube Videos. From: SvobodaRadio Duration: 07:04 1000 , . ... : mikenova shared this story from SvobodaRadio's YouTube Videos. From: SvobodaRadio Duration: 01:48 . ... Russian Expats Resent Overbearing Approach of Russian Embassies Abroad mikenova shared this story from Window on Eurasia -- New Series. Paul Goble Staunton, February 27 -- Many in the West view ethnic Russian diasporas as working hand in glo... Violence in Syria Abates on Day 1 of Cease-Fire mikenova shared this story from NYT > Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Fighting decreased significantly in the country following a truce brokered by the United States and Russia, despite reports of scattered violations. Puerto Rico braces for wave of mosquito-borne Zika virus mikenova shared this story from World. Leilani Dominicci has all the typical worries of pregnant women plus a new one spreading across Puerto Rico: the fear she will become infected with the Zika virus and put her baby at risk. Russia stops airstrikes in Syria ceasefire areas mikenova shared this story from World. A top military official says Russia has halted all airstrikes in areas of Syria where armed groups, including government forces, said they would abide by a cease-fire. UN: Syria talks to resume March 7 if truce largely holds mikenova shared this story from World. The United Nations special envoy for Syria said Friday he plans to resume peace talks on March 7 if a cessation of hostilities negotiated by the United States and Russia that began at midnight local... Guatemala convicts army officer in sexual abuse case mikenova shared this story from World. In a historic ruling, a Guatemalan court has convicted a former army officer and a former military commissioner for the sexual enslavement of women during the countrys civil war. It sentenced the m... Suicide Bombings in Afghanistan Kill at Least 26 mikenova shared this story . KABUL, Afghanistan Two separate suicide bombings in Afghanistan on Saturday left at least 26 people dead and nearly 50 injured, officials said, days ahead of expected talks between the government and ... Russia grounds its warplanes in Syria mikenova shared this story . Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press February 27, 2016 Updated: February 27, 2016 3:18am Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko, AP Lt.-Gen. Sergei Rudskoy of the Russian Military General Staff, speaks to the media... Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 11 in Afghanistan mikenova shared this story from World TIME. ASADABAD, AfghanistanA suicide bomber killed an Afghan militia commander and at least 10 others in the eastern province of Kunar near the border with Pakistan on Saturday, officials sa... Russians Mark One Year Since Nemtsov's Murder mikenova shared this story from World News - Breaking international news and headlines | Sky News. A portrait of Kremlin critic Nemtsov and flowers are pictured at the site where he was killed on February 27, with St. Basil's Cathedral s... Syria Deal Has Little Chance Of Success mikenova shared this story from World News - Breaking international news and headlines | Sky News. For many Syrians the cessation is a rare glimmer of hope - even if they don't think it will last, at least it's something for now. Kosovo Parliament elects Hashim Thaci as new president - Daily Herald mikenova shared this story from World - Google News. Daily Herald Kosovo Parliament elects Hashim Thaci as new president Daily Herald Opposition lawmakers cover their eyes as smoke fills the auditorium of the Kosovo assembly after they r... UN Security Council Endorses Truce Deal for Syria - New York Times mikenova shared this story from World - Google News. New York Times UN Security Council Endorses Truce Deal for Syria New York Times UNITED NATIONS Against the backdrop of relentless airstrikes on rebel-held positions inside Syria, the... US Will Keep Warthog Flying to Combat Islamic State mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The U.S. has put off the retirement of a 1970s era fighter plane, citing its effectiveness in the fight against the Islamic State military group among the reasons for keeping the jets fly... Ukraine Pressured by Corruption, Renewed Fighting mikenova shared this story from VOAvideo's YouTube Videos. From: VOAvideo Duration: 02:47 Two years ago, Ukraine's Maidan Revolution sought to do away with a corrupt oligarchy and put the country on the path toward a Western-style de... Truce halts most Syria fighting; Russia stops flights - Reuters mikenova shared this story from Top Stories - Google News. Reuters Truce halts most Syria fighting; Russia stops flights Reuters BEIRUT Fighting mostly stopped across western and northern Syria on Saturday and Russia halted its air raids... News Analysis: Syria Truce Comes With Price, but Not for Assad mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. A Syrian boy in a hospital bed on Friday. He was injured in Syrian government airstrikes on the rebel-held area of Douma, east of Damascus. A cease-fire went into effect at midnight. Suicide Bombing in Eastern Afghanistan Kills at Least 12 mikenova shared this story from NYT > World. The target of the attack Saturday in Kunar Province appeared to be a tribal elder who had orchestrated a local uprising against the Taliban. Russias opposition is still looking for who killed its leader mikenova shared this story from Europe. A year later, Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsovs contract killing remains unsolved. US military officials snub Russian Embassy - CNN mikenova shared this story from Cyber Warfare - Google News. CNN US military officials snub Russian Embassy CNN "They had a room set aside with photos of all their newest military equipment -- all kinds of their latest and greatest stuff... US: Sophisticated attackers hacked Ukrainian electric grid mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes News. An attack such as this one has long been a nightmare scenario for top U.S. officials. National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command chief Adm. Michael Rogers has previously warned... Attorney: Sailor charged with attempted murder found not guilty by 'lack of mental responsibility' mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes News. A sailor charged with attempted murder in the 2014 stabbing of another sailor at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center was found not guilty Friday by lack of mental responsibility, acco... Cyber hack got access to over 700,000 IRS accounts mikenova shared this story from Stars and Stripes. A 2015 cyber hack of the IRS potentially gained access to personal data from more than 700,000 taxpayer accounts, more than double the total previously estimated, the tax agency said Fri... Thousands of Russians Mark Anniversary of Opposition Leaders Murder mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. More than 20,000 Russians marched through central Moscow Saturday to honor the memory of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, who was killed in the shadow of the Kremlin one year ago. Som... Relative calm in Syria despite numerous cease-fire breaches mikenova shared this story . The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and well e-mail you free updates as theyre published. Youll receive free... Trump being advised by ex-U.S. Lieutenant General who favors closer Russia ties mikenova shared this story . WASHINGTON Donald Trump is receiving foreign policy advice from a former U.S. military intelligence chief who wants the United States to work more closely with Russia to resolve global security issues, accord... U.S. military officials snub Russian Embassy mikenova shared this story . In a departure from tradition, representatives from both the U.S. military and NATO were no-shows. "They had a room set aside with photos of all their newest military equipment -- all kinds of their latest an... Nemtsovs Murder Anniversary, the Effects of Propaganda, and Putins "Useful Idiots" mikenova shared this story from Home - Institute of Modern Russia. In this weeks Western media highlights, Alina Polyakova explains in Foreign Policy why Vladimir Putins influence in Europe should neither be blamed on the EU nor taken ... Regime seeks Russia's backing - Bangkok Post mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Bangkok Post Regime seeks Russia's backing Bangkok Post Analysts believe with Russia's support, Thailand stands to gain more diplomatic leverage with the West led by the United States... The Russia-Armenia alliance is threatening Turkey, a critical US ally - Washington Post mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Washington Post The Russia -Armenia alliance is threatening Turkey, a critical US ally Washington Post The Feb. 21 front-page article For Turkey, high stakes as troubles intensify h... Trump being advised by ex-US Lieutenant General who favors closer Russia ties - Reuters mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Reuters Trump being advised by ex-US Lieutenant General who favors closer Russia ties Reuters The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment about Flynn. Flynn declined t... US, Russia-brokered cease-fire goes into effect across Syria - Washington Post mikenova shared this story from Russia - Google News. Washington Post US, Russia -brokered cease-fire goes into effect across Syria Washington Post BEIRUT A cease-fire brokered by the United States and Russia went into effect across Sy... Nemtsovs Murder Anniversary, the Effects of Propaganda, and Putin mikenova shared this story from Institute of Modern Russia. Nemtsovs Murder Anniversary, the Effects of Propaganda, and Putins "Useful Idiots" 2026 February 26 February 2016 In this weeks Western media highlights, Alina Polyakova exp... . mikenova shared this story from SvobodaRadio's YouTube Videos. From: SvobodaRadio Duration: 02:59 . , - Pussy Riot. ... Deadly New Trend Developing in African Migration to Europe mikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The International Organization for Migration reports a sharp increase in the number of sub-Saharan Africans making the dangerous sea journey from Libya to Italy. But the organization says... Kadyrov Says It's Time For Him To Step Down mikenova shared this story from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Kremlin-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has said he is ready to resign and that his "time has passed." , - mikenova shared this story from Google. , , 27 . //. , ... The impressive American high schooler who turned out to be a 23-year-old Ukrainian man mikenova shared this story . The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and well e-mail you free updates as theyre published. Youll receive free... / , mikenova shared this story from Latest Articles. 27 , | ... Temporary Syria truce nears, but fighting continues - CNN mikenova shared this story from World - Google News. CNN Temporary Syria Syria temporary truce nears, but fighting continues CNN (CNN) A main Syrian opposition group says it will respect a two-week truce that is due to start in the war-t... WASHINGTON The State Department on Monday released the last set of emails from the 30,000 messages on Hillary Clinton s private computer server, including an email about North Korea that remains a point of dispute between the department and one of the nations spy agencies over the secrecy of information that passed through the server. That email written on July 3, 2009, after a North Korean ballistic missile test was one of four that prompted intensified scrutiny of the emails for classified information and a referral last year to the F.B.I. for a review of the handling of classified information by Mrs. Clinton, her aides and other State Department officials while she was secretary of state. It was released as part of a chain of five replies and forwards on Monday with portions blocked out on the grounds that they contained information now classified secret, though not top secret, the higher classification that the spy agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, had cited last summer. The State Department released this email that was sent to Hillary Clinton's private computer server from one of her top aides while she was secretary of state. The email, now classified, is at the center of a dispute over the handling of government data on her server. OPEN Document The original assessment was not correct, and the document does not contain top secret information, a State Department spokesman, John Kirby, said. He added that the department had agreed to classify some of it provisionally pending further review, an indication that the dispute over the contents had not yet been resolved. A spokesman for Mrs. Clintons presidential campaign, Brian Fallon, said the ongoing disagreement about the North Korean test means that the intelligence communitys inspector general was wrong in his belief that this email was top secret. Mrs. Clinton and her aides have said that the intelligence agencies are overzealously classifying information, and in this case the State Department agreed. The designation of secret nevertheless added to the list of emails that the department has released only after removing information that is now considered sensitive on national security grounds. Among the final 1,723 emails released on Monday were 23 that the department upgraded to secret, bringing the total classified as such to 65. Another 2,028 have had portions blocked out, or redacted, because the information is now confidential. Of the four emails that prompted the referral to the F.B.I., only one has now been classified as top secret. It was among 22 emails that the State Department at the demand of the C.I.A. said it would not disclose, even in part, because they contained some of the nations most closely guarded secrets. In addition to the email involving North Koreas missile test, another was released last fall in full, while the third was released with portions blocked out as confidential, the lowest level of classification. Officials have declined to specify those. In all, less than 10 percent of the emails that passed through Mrs. Clintons server contained confidential or secret information. That was enough to prompt reviews by the inspectors general of the State Department and the intelligence agencies, and by Congress and the F.B.I., over the mishandling of classified information. The focus of those reviews, officials have said, has been on the advisers privy to her personal email address and on diplomats who sent messages that were forwarded by those aides, like Huma Abedin and Jake Sullivan, who served as a deputy chief of staff during Mrs. Clintons term. None of the emails were marked as classified at the time they were sent. And while the State Department has said that the upgrades do not reflect any judgment of their sensitivity at the time, the designations nonetheless suggested that at least some of the information should not have been sent over an unsecured system like hers, officials have said. Mr. Kirby also announced that one more email between Mrs. Clinton and President Obama would not be released, adding to 18 that the State Department said in January it would not release, citing longstanding precedent that the White House controls presidential communications. Another email was being withheld, Mr. Kirby said, at the request of a law enforcement agency, presumably because it was related to a continuing investigation. An email sent to Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state from one of her top aides, Huma Abedin, encouraged her to follow up on an issue concerning North Korea using a secure line, showing at least some intent on the part of her staff to follow classification protocols. OPEN Document Mr. Kirby declined to discuss either email, except to say that both were unclassified. The end of the departments releases of the 30,068 emails, which came in 14 batches, including four in February, did not mean the end of the legal and political controversy over Mrs. Clintons use of the private server. In the case of the email about North Korea, the State Department also disputed the initial effort to assert that it contained classified information. The assertion came through the inspector general for the intelligence agencies, I. Charles McCullough III. The email in question was written by a senior watch officer in the departments operations center, Shelby Smith-Wilson, and sent to Mrs. Clintons executive staff. Although that portion was entirely redacted, one government official familiar with the contents said it described a conference call among senior officials, including Mrs. Clinton, about the ballistic missile test that North Korea conducted that day in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. The email chain was forwarded with additional comments and the unofficial translation of a statement by the Japanese Foreign Ministry to Mrs. Clintons closest aides, including Ms. Abedin, Mr. Sullivan and Cheryl D. Mills, her chief of staff. In another email later marked as classified, Mr. Sullivan forwarded Mrs. Clinton a news article about a likely move by the Obama administration to shift some decisions on drone strikes to the White House from the Pentagon. What Panetta is raising, Mr. Sullivan wrote in the May 2011 note, referring to Leon E. Panetta, then the head of the C.I.A. What you need to know about the Octagon Art Festival on Sunday in Ames news Budget 2016 is an ideal budget liked by the economists - Javadekar New Delhi, Tue, 01 Mar 2016 NI Wire Budget 2016 is an ideal budget liked by the economists and the common man, only opposition politicians can criticise it - Javadekar New Delhi, 1st March: Union Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar has said that the Union Budget 2016-17 is dedicated to the ideal of Antyodaya of Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay, realises the dreams of every BJP worker that there should be such Budget of country which ensures development of the last man in the queue. Budget 2016 is an ideal budget liked by the economists and the common man, only opposition politicians can criticise it. The Government has tried to make Indian economy independent and free, protected from the fluctuations of global market and put India on the path of complete development. The Government has increased investment in the power sector and roads because of their contribution in the development of the country. Prime Minister Shri Narender Modi is of the view that strong infrastructure will help in creating wealth in the country and Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley has followed this principle. Pradesh President Shri Satish Upadhyay welcomed Union Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar and in his address to the persons present on this occasion said that the Union Budget 2016-17 is such Budget which has touched every class of society without giving anyone opportunity of complaint. It is really a Kisan Hitaye, Garib Sukhaye budget which ensures benefits to the farmers and provides relief to the middle class in the form of deduction of house rent allowance without imposing any new tax. Wishing success to the students appearing at Board Exams Pradesh President Shri Satish Upadhyay said that the students should avoid mental stress while appearing at the exams. BJP National Secretaries Shri Maheish Girri and Sardar R.P. Singh, Organisational General Secretary Shri Siddharthan, MP Shri Ramesh Bidhuri and Shri Pravesh Verma, LOP Shri Vijender Gupta, most of the Pradesh Office bearers, Media Spokespersons, District Presidents and General Secretaries and President of the various Morchas were present. Addressing the prominent workers in the meeting organised in the Pradesh BJP Office Shri Prakash Javadekar said that on the one hand the Union Budget 2016-17 presented by Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley realises the commitment of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas and on the other it takes care of the interest of farmers besides connecting every poor citizen with the Government. Providing economic security to the farmers, it connects the agricultural produce to the global market and it will prove to be a life saving for the farmers. He has requested the workers to listen to the programme Mann Ki Baat of the Prime Minister every month and said that it will keep them relevant and aware. Shri Javadekar also congratulated the Pradesh President for the organising debates on the relevant subjects at the BJP Delhi Pradesh. Shri Javadekar said that on the hand this Budget seems to be dedicated to the villages and on the other it has made provisions for the start-ups in industry and encouraged housing sector. If the Government has made small increase in the taxes for additional resources, it has also tried to keep it at the minimal. Mentioning about his Environment Ministry he said that the pollution from the diesel vehicles is a matter of concern for the country and imposition of additional tax on SUVs will not only discourage the use of such vehicles but also cut pollution. Committed to curbing pollution, Modi Government has decided that in the year 1919-20 all the vehicles in India will follow the Euro VI Standards and the Government will invest additional 60,000 crore rupees for improving the quality of oil production and the Government will also invest for the expansion of forest area in the country. Share Tweet Visitors to the Next Generation Communications Community are aware of the unique valuable insights Nokia (News - Alert) provides using their network monitoring capabilities to look at security threats from a network-centric perspective. It is why their periodic reports on what they see have become a staple of valuable insights. And, with the annual RSA (News - Alert) conference now underway in San Francisco, Nokia Security Center Berlin, powered by Nokia Threat Intelligence Lab, is taking advantage of this major gathering of industry security professionals to release its latest findings about malware on mobile networks covering the last half of 2105. For those not familiar, between 2012 and 2015 this report was created by Alcatel-Lucents (News - Alert) Motive Security Labs. Now called the Nokia Threat Intelligence Lab, the focus is on the behavior of malware network communications. The objective is the development of detection rules that identify malware infections based on the command and control communication and other network behavior. As Nokia points out, this unique approach, which for the recent report involved monitoring of over 100 million devices, enables the detection of malware in the service providers network and the detection rules developed are the foundation of Nokias network based malware detection product suite. As a spoiler alert, the findings in the Nokia Threat Intelligence Report for 2H 2015 are a bit disturbing. The report covers not just mobile networks but residential fixed networks as well, with a level of granularity about threats that makes it a very useful resource for IT security pros. That said, dont be misled by the high level finding in the first bullet below that the overall infection rate is down. It maybe but it is transforming in very alarming ways. Indeed, drawing an analogy to the movies, the findings may not deserve and X rating but an R is certainly justified and parental guidance advised. Beware the Smartphones Below are the major highlights from the Nokia Threat Intelligence Report: The good news is that the overall infection rate in mobile networks declined from 0.75 percent to 0.49 percent in the second half of 2015. However, this was due to a decrease in adware activity software that automatically displays or downloads advertising material (often unwanted) when a user is online on Windows-based PCs connected to the Internet via the mobile network. This adware is annoying but mostly benign from a security posture perspective. The bad news was that in the same time period, smartphone infection rates increased and now account for 60 percent of infections detected in the mobile network. Android (News - Alert) continues to be the main mobile platform targeted. For first time since the report began iOS-based malware including XcodeGhost and FlexiSpy is on the top 20 list. In October 2015 alone, iPhone malware represented six percent of total infections. The XcodeGhost malware was injected into apps through a compromised software development kit that was used by Chinese developers to create legitimate apps distributed via the Apple (News - Alert) App Store. Apple has removed these apps from the Apple Store, but some malware remains active. - Alert) App Store. Apple has removed these apps from the Apple Store, but some malware remains active. Ransomware - malware that effectively holds a device hostage by encrypting data and then locking it - like CryptoLocker has been around for a while on Windows PCs, but 2015 saw several varieties attacking Android, as well. Recovery can only be achieved by paying the attacker a ransom fee via a prepaid cash voucher or with bitcoins. Mobile malware is becoming more sophisticated in the techniques it uses to persist on the device. It is becoming very difficult to uninstall and can even survive a factory reset. It is hard to underestimate the fact that our smartphones are now seen as the dominant device of opportunity for bad actors to create havoc. While not surprising, given that our mobile devices have become not only our preferred means for communicating but also gateways for infections that can create contagions, the trends are reason for concern. As Nokia points out in the release, smartphones are the perfect platform for corporate and personal espionage, information theft, denial of service attacks on businesses and governments, and banking and advertising scams. Nokia in the repost also provides some context worth pondering: In December of 2015, 0.3% of smartphones were infected by malware. To put that in perspective, close to one out of every 300 smartphones has a malware infection. Some people are surprised to find that Windows/PCs are responsible for a large portion of the malware infections we detect by looking at mobile network traffic. These Windows/PCs are connected to the mobile network via USB dongles and mobile Wi-Fi devices or simply tethered through smartphones. They are responsible for 40% of the malware infections observed. This is because these devices are still the favorite platform of professional cybercriminals who have a huge investment in the Windows malware ecosystem. As the mobile network becomes the access network of choice for many users of Windows/PCs, the malware traffic moves to the mobile network, causing unwanted usage of spectrum and signaling traffic capacity for the mobile network operators. In fixed residential networks, where Windows/PCs are the most common platform, the monthly infection rate is 11%. Indeed, this is not just a challenge for network operators. For enterprise IT professionals, the sophistication and frequency of attacks, which can leak in from anywhere, create imposing problems. As we have just seen in just the past week with a hospital held captive in California, the growth of ransomeware, poses what can be catastrophic threats. In addition, in what is somewhat ironic, malware on Apple IOS devices for the first time have made Nokias top 20 list. And, in an increasingly BYOD world, the last point about the inability to get rid of malware is kind of the flip side of Apples contention that it cannot/will not decrypt the locking of its phones and the associated data wiping after 10 failed attempts. Many, if not most of us, now have a great deal of our lives literally and figuratively locked up on those devices. We want and need it protected, yet accessible in what we or someone else considers dire circumstances. Hence, the combination of wiping our phones clean (whether intentionally by concerned IT department, or because of human forgetfulness) and/or not being able to get rid of malware, is disconcerting. But, so is the prospect of those with malicious intent getting unauthorized access to that data. It is a nightmare not just for us. As is now playing out, it is a nightmare of great significance for the entire value chain that includes enterprise IT departments, network operators, device manufacturers and lawmakers. Kevin McNamee, Director of the Nokia Threat Intelligence Lab, in comments about the release of the report findings said: Security is a very real concern for any device with an IP address, be it Android, iPhone or even a Windows PC connected to the mobile network. While Android infections continue to rise and become more sophisticated, the 2H2015 Nokia Threat Intelligence Report was the first time we saw iOS malware make the top 20 list, with XcodeGhost being the fourth most prevalent malware detected. We also saw a rise in a variety of ransomware apps that try to extort money by claiming to have encrypted the phones data. Nokias security approach reaches into the network to stop malware before getting to the device itself and before damage can occur. The last point about stopping malware before it gets to the device is, pardon the expression, key. Yes, our smartphones have become targets of opportunity for the bad guys to create havoc not just for us as individuals but also for the places we work. Therefore, as part of a holistic approach to risk mitigation, preventing bad things from getting our device needs to be an important tool going forward. Having the visibility required to do so and the tools to not just ward off current attacks but also be able to be proactive about new ones is why it takes a community to best see and deter bad actors from wreaking their havoc. Edited by Stefania Viscusi China General Nuclear Power (CGN) and China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) plan to build four more indigenous nuclear reactors on the mainland of China. CGN plans to use the Hualong One design for the fifth and sixth reactors at the Ningde plant in Fujian province, while CNNC plans to use the reactor in the first two reactors of a planned project in Zhejiang province, according to South China Morning Post. CGN and CNNC jointly designed the Hualong One reactor. Construction of the first two Hualong One reactors began in May and December 2015 at the Fuqing plant. Site preparation for one Hualong One reactor is underway in Fangchenggang, with trial operation set for 2020. Hualong One was developed by CGN and CNNC based on generation 3 technologies from foreign firms. CGN has upgraded French firm Arevas 3G technology, while CNNC has made improvements on American firm Westinghouses 3G technology. Both have claimed intellectual property rights on the improvements. CGN and CNNC both came up with their own versions of 3G products in late 2011, but the National Energy Administration, which regulates the sector, ordered them to merge their designs into what is now known as Hualong One to pool resources and avoid direct competition in overseas markets. Mao said the targeted construction cost of Hualong One was $2.5m per megawatt of installed capacity when production was scaled up. CGN vice-president Zheng Dongshan said the cost would be competitive in the global 3G reactor market. CGN started site preparation for one Hualong One reactor in Fangchenggang, Guangxi, in December, with trial operation scheduled to start in 2020. CNNC began construction of two Hualong One reactors last year, one in May and the other in December. Both firms are also pursuing export opportunities. CGN is seeking to build Hualong One reactors in Britain, Thailand and Kenya, while CNNC is pursuing Hualong One projects in Pakistan and Argentina. Meanwhile, CGN has loaded eight lead fuel assemblies of its own design at unit 1 of Phase II of the Ling Ao NPP (also known as Ling Ao 3) in Guangdong province, a statement said. The assemblies included four each of two different designs, both being loaded for the first time in a commercial reactor, CGN said. The four STEP-12 fuel assemblies and four CZ zirconium alloy tube assemblies were loaded into the reactor on 14 February. The assemblies will now undergo irradiation tests to validate their performance. The loading of the assemblies is a breakthrough for CGN in nuclear technology self-reliance, the company said. Ling Ao 3 is a Chinese CPR-1000 pressurised water reactor which began commercial operation in September 2010. When doctors told 90-year-old Norma that she had a large, cancerous mass on her uterus just two days after her husband of 67 years had died, she decided she could either be down in the dumps or take the high road and choose happiness and adventure - and hit the road is just what she did. Now seeing the sights in Florida, Norma is travelling in a motor home with her son Tim, daughter-in-law Ramie and their pet poodle Ringo. Since then Norma and her family have traveled to Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Park, which Norma really enjoyed. IPL 2016: Rahul Dravid named Delhi Daredevils mentor I've worked with some very fine people there and there are a lot of fond memories I hold during my tenure there. The team began its training, to be on till Friday, for the 2016 season at the TERI ground in Gurgaon on Monday. The trio posts regular updates of their travels on their Driving Miss Norma Facebook page. "We couldn't imagine leaving her in a nursing home, especially after walking down the long halls of the local Tender Care to visit Leo in the last room on the right, reserved by Hospice, for the dying". Her doctor says every day he sees what cancer treatment does to patients. Adam Scott wins Honda Classic with new short putter Scott opened with a 10-foot birdie that settled him and led by no more than two shots until back-to-back bogeys around the turn. His margin of victory was a stroke over Sergio Garcia , with whom he was tied entering the final round. Norma's son Tim and his family are RVers. According to Mashable, she has already made new friends, driven a boat, explored the beach and fulfilled her lifelong dream of riding in a hot air balloon. She's breathing fresh air and getting to see new things all the time. The nomadic family has traveled over 6,000 miles since August and they don't plan on stopping anytime soon. LVG praises 'unbelievable' Rashford as United see off Arsenal We can show on Wednesday night that we have great character and mental response and that's what we want to do. I do not want to comment on that because afterwards you will say I'm a bitter loser. "Everyone has different ideas about how they want the end of their life to work", Ramie told 9 News. Norma is not into the edges part of this adventure. 'As a planet, we need to have this conversation'. How's that for cancer treatment? 90 years old woman named Norma is living her life to the fullest on a road trip across the United States. It looks like Norma is making some incredible trips that many will remember for many years. Not Found The requested URL was not found on this server. Apache Server Port 80 Mr Lee had previously made similar entreaties in letters to colleagues and in communications with Hong Kong officials. In an investigation, at least 1 of the men now faces criminal charges for selling and distributing books critical of China's Communist Party leaders that are banned in China. "After what happened to Mighty Current, I wanted to secretly go to the mainland to resolve whatever issues there were with the company and then secretly go back to Hong Kong", Lee said in an interview on Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television. Mr Lam, along with Lui Por and Cheung Chi-ping - who is also known as Zhang Zhiping - were also understood to have been detained in October when they visited the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Dongguan. In a four-minute report that involved exclusive interviews with the four, they confessed to selling "unauthorised" books in China via an online platform and evading customs inspections to deliver some 4000 books to 380 customers since Oct 2014. Raleigh police officer kills fleeing drug suspect Tamekia Richardson said she saw a male police officer chasing a man into the backyard of one of the street's modest homes. The State Bureau of Investigation and the Raleigh police internal affairs unit will conduct separate investigations. Gui said he'd altered and obscured the covers of the Hong Kong-printed books with nylon bags to "evade" customs security checks and was singled out by the others as the mastermind. The group had also opened a bank account in China to make payments. There is more than one reason for the gloomy trend of tourism in Hong Kong, and while it is easy to say economic factors are to blame, the truth is the violent riots which have plagued the city during the Lunar New Year period, have affected Hong Kong not only inwardly, but also its global reputation, discouraging in-bound Chinese tourists, in particular. "I didn't want anyone to know, and I didn't want to leave any immigration records", he said. They were downloaded from the Internet and were pieced together from magazines", said Lam. "They have generated lots of rumors in society and brought a bad influence... "I deeply reflect on my mistakes and am willing to receive punishment". The disappearances have prompted fears that mainland Chinese authorities may be using shadowy tactics that erode the "one country, two systems" formula under which Hong Kong has been governed since its return to China from British rule in 1997. Lee told them he returned to China "by his own means voluntarily" and was not abducted, but refused to give further details, police said in a statement. Presidential candidates coming to WMass for Super Tuesday Ted Cruz, R-Texas, by 18 points at 40 percent to 22 percent in Tennessee, according to the poll. Rubio can't afford to lose everything on Tuesday, because he's weak in the Midwest. "Because some people have used the question of my right to abode in the United Kingdom to engage in speculation, it has allowed things to become more complicated, and I have chose to renounce my right to abode", he said, adding that he had already informed the UK. The interviews with the men, which aired Sunday night, were the latest development in a saga that has raised concerns among Hong Kong politicians, activists and foreign governments who believe the arrests threaten the city's autonomy from China and violate norms of due process. Two officers from the Hong Kong police crime unit and an immigration official traveled to a location outside Guangdong provoince. Such confessions are more usually paraded on state television - Phoenix is a private channel which broadcasts both in Hong Kong and in mainland China. Gui, however, was expected to remain in detention. Eye-catching Toyota C-HR hybrid unveiled at Geneva The rear door handles sit up high as these have been integrated within the C pillar as a way to create the illusion of a coupe. There is also a 2.0 litre naturally aspirated petrol engine for the C-HR, but that's not going to be on offer in the UK. Polls open as Alabama voters make primary picks The only later contest is the District of Columbia's June 14 primary. "Let everybody see them", Sanders said in Oklahoma City. Bentley went on the say, whoever becomes the republican nominee he will support that person. Oscars 2016: Chris Rock tears into racism debate in scathing opening monologue So, I thought about quitting. "We were too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won best cinematography ". It's also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for 'Wild Wild West , ' OK?" he added. Trump, Rubio bring their fight to Macomb County In the Republican presidential race, there are 595 delegates on offer - almost half of the 1,237 needed for the nomination. What do you get if you win Super Tuesday? Sanders beat Trump in three different 4-day polling periods. NY court says fraud suit over Trump University can continue Lawyers for Trump and his now-defunct school had argued that the status of limitations had expired, according to the Daily News. The lower trial court, called that Supreme Court, had previously granted the attorney general's motion for a summary judgement. Safety over sexy: Airport stops woman with gun-shaped heels TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein says the stilettos had heels in the shape of handguns and faux bullets around the sole. TSA A woman was stopped by the TSA at BWI because she was carrying these shoes in her carry-on. South African ruling party defeats vote against president The DA leader said the motion was not about party politics, but rather about putting the country first. Maimane was frequently interrupted by MPs and was loudly jeered. Will Google drop the App drawer from Android N? The upcoming Android operating system that Google is now working on, will be named "N" and it will have version 7.0. In the list, every item likewise incorporates a line with the app that delivered the notification. Cruz campaign, supporters prepared for tough Super Tuesday contests Mark Magallanez, 28, called Trump "just a reality star" and anxious about the negative implications a Trump presidency would have on the Mexican-American community. Cruz predicts split with Trump in Texas Analysts predict Ted Cruz to be under 50 percent of the total vote, so the delegates will be split up between several candidates. Cruz said that the paper claims the exchange was an off-the-record interview. Guide to Minnesota Caucuses Minnesotans will get a chance to weigh in on the presidential race at caucuses held around the state Tuesday. Marco Rubio made a stop in Minneapolis last week and was expected to host a caucus-day rally in the suburbs. U.N. to hold next round of Syria talks on March 9 Reporters were walking across the village and talking to locals when the first shell struck a hillside a few hundred metres away. No casualties were reported. "But in the end there are limits and it all depends on the other side", Assad said. Google self-driving car hits public bus near company headquarters DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez said the agency hoped to speak with Google on Monday about what went wrong . Up to this point, however, Google says its autonomous vehicles have never been at fault in any of them. Google self-driving vehicle hits public bus Google has previously said that its autonomous vehicles have never been at fault in any crashes. Google has said it will learn from an accident between one of its self-driving cars and a bus. Aston Martin unveils new DB11 Of course, the new body has been aerodynamically optimized without compromising that luxurious look Astons are so famous for. Entry to the cabin is made easier thanks to wider door openings and, once inside, there's plenty more space. Even as Senate Republicans vow to block President Barack Obama's Supreme Court pick until after the election, GOP leaders are quietly maneuvering to approve lower-level judicial nominees in the Senate pipeline, including several from conservative states who were recommended by Republican lawmakers. "It is time to move away from advise and obstruct and get back to advise and consent". Harry Reid of Nev., Vice President Joe Biden, the president, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, the New York Times reported. I bet to the vast majority of people listening, that sounds like an extremely fair, bipartisan solution. And I'd be willing to bet they'd agree with me. All Republican members of that committee have now agreed that no nominee of President Obama will receive a hearing, let alone a vote. The president can nominate or leave the decision to his successor. In the presidential campaign this past week, Democrat Hillary Clinton called on Black women at an Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority alumnae event in SC to "see if we can't find a handful of Republicans who understand and will do their duty, who believe they are called by the Constitution to do just that". Buffett says owning IBM shares could prove a mistake You can bet anyone participating in Buffett's office pool will be spending some of their working hours thinking about their picks. Berkshire prefers to own a non-controlling but sizeable stake of "a wonderful company" rather than 100% of "a so-so business". The article quoted Cornyn arguing, "I don't think the situation with regard to Justice Scalia's vacancy is going to have any impact on those other appointments". Indeed, one reason why Donald Trump and the other anti-Establishment Republican candidates have swept the Party is that conservative voters feel DC Republicans have done precisely this over and over. And it's why we have robust public debates ahead of those elections to determine who best can lead our country and make lasting decisions like nominating Supreme Court justices. The White House said Monday that President Obama will press hard throughout the spring and into the summer for confirmation of his Supreme Court nominee, despite steep odds against getting Senate approval. Cespedes, Syndergaard arrive at Mets camp on horses It's been an interesting offseason for Cespedes, who was one of the last big-name hitters to sign with a team. But dressing up as a cowboy and buying a hog at a fair takes the cake. Meanwhile, Obama continues to consider possible nominees. The Senate's refusal to meet with Obama was never ultimately based on avoiding a liberal appointee, but rather on a thoroughgoing commitment to discerning the will of the people. Keeping in mind the current political makeup of the court, the man or woman who will replace Justice Scalia has the potential to hold incredible influence over the ideological direction of the court for generations to come. Americans seek politics that feed our hopes of engaging together through democratic discourse in a spirit of willingness to put our common interests and the interests of future generations ahead of short-term expediency. With Scalia no longer able to fight with businesses against these multiparty lawsuits, businesses may be less likely to take their chances in a split Supreme Court. "Leonardo DiCaprio's win for Best Actor generated more than 440,000 Tweets per minute, the most-Tweeted minute of an Oscars telecast ever, beating out the previous record of 255,000 Tweets per minute, set when [Ellen DeGeneres tweeted her] star-studded selfie", Twitter reported on their blog. Because after all that acceptance speech making, talking to the press and posing for many, many photos clutching that little gold statuette, he still had to have his name engraved on it. The 41-year-old "Revenant" star got his first Oscar nod in 1994 at the age of 19 for his supporting role in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape". Parliament faces adjournments over demand of action against Chidambaram AIADMK members disrupted proceedings in both Houses demanding action on Karti over the Aircel-Maxis issue. Amid the din, the Speaker tried to conduct the Question Hour but the AIADMK members were not relenting. "To Mr. Alejandro Inarritu, as the history of cinema unfolds, you have forged your way into history in these past two years; what an unbelievable talent you are..." "I wouldn't know", the actor jokes because he's never won before. "Climate change is real, it is the most urgent threat facing our species", he explained. "I do not take tonight for granted". No headgear rule for male boxers cleared for Rio Olympics The IOC said AIBA had presented medical research that showed concussions were less likely to occur without headgear than with. Boxers have been wearing headguards since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The only thing that made us happier than Leonardo DiCaprio finally winning his well-deserved Oscar was Kate Winslet tearfully reacting to it, then coming onstage to hug him in congratulations. The actress's emotional reaction was caught on camera as her longtime friend accepted the Best Actor prize for The Revenant. A strategy is a set of moves that takes into account the likely moves of various other players. One of the hallmarks of a bad strategist is that they fail to realize how an opponent will respond to their moves. Alejandro Hope has already pointed out how a Drumpf Administration would adversely affect Mexican security. Now, he lays out some Mexican countermoves to mitigate those impacts: Reinforced security measures in border communities: Deploy more personnel to border communities; Provide additional funding to local and state law enforcement agencies; Focus on particularly violent gangs. Enhanced orderly repatriation programs: The worst possible scenario for Mexico would be to have a large population of returnees stranded along the border. To prevent it in the face of massive deportation, it will be necessary to increase the financial and human resources of existing orderly repatriation programs (i.e., assistance to returning migrants to get back to their home communities) and probably support other similar initiatives. Focused subsidies to selected communities: Some localities, either along the border or inland, could be overwhelmed by a large influx of returning migrants. There might be a need for temporary and targeted assistance for those communities, including everything from housing to jobs programs. Otherwise, they could turn into a recruitment fair for criminal gangs. Strengthened agency-to-agency ties: Cooperation between US and Mexican security agencies will not stop, even under a Trump presidency. But it could become far more contingent on personal relationships and ad hoc arrangements. Those ties should be fostered beforehand, even if that means getting rid of the so-called single window policy (i.e., the practice whereby all security-related dealings between US and Mexican agencies have to go through the Interior Secretariat). These are good measures, but there is a problem. (1) has been tried before; its results were questionable. (2) and (3) will require money that the Mexican government may not have, especially if oil prices remain low. And (4) requires some important flexibility on the Mexican side. I have some doubts that the first three measures will accomplish much. And Hope realizes this! As he writes, If Donald Trump really means what he is saying, a containment policy would not be enough. In a scenario of mass deportation, trade war, and a tightening border, the resources of the Mexican government would be overwhelmed rather quickly. That is why Mexico would need to play offense. And what would playing offense consist of? Watch this space. But before we discuss Hopes ideas, your suggestions are welcome! How should Mexico respond to Donald Tru ... Drumpf? An Algerian, allegedly linked to the November 13 attacks in Paris has been arrested and placed in detention at Akbou, near Bejaia. The man appeared before Akbou court after he was summoned by the judge who put him in detention on February 23. According to Algerian local daily Le Soir dAlgerie, the suspect is Zouhir Mehdaoui, 29, whose image went around the world as a suspect on the run, linked to the Paris attacks. Algerian judicial authorities accused him of his alleged involvement in terrorist activities as well as participation in the Paris November terrorist attacks which killed 130 people. The 29-year old man is an Algerian who left the country in 2012 to Turkey. He is also described as being linked to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the ringleader of the attacks. Mehdaoui is currently living in Belgium where he got married to a Belgian woman in 2014. According to Le Soir dAlgerie, the defendant will remain in custody till the end of the investigation. Members of Mehdaouis Tamokra village had reported to security forces his links with Abaaoud. In another development, the Ministry of Defense indicated Sunday that a unit of the Algerian National Army discovered a cache of weapons and a sizeable quantity of ammunitions of various calibers at Tamanrasset, in the South of the country. The unit discovered part of the arsenal four machine-guns, three kalachnikov machine pistols, a sniper rifle and a large quantity of ammunitions. Former French Prime Minister and front runner in leading UMP opposition partys nomination for the 2017 presidential elections, Alain Juppe, Monday called on young Tunisians to believe in themselves and have faith in their country which is confronted with several challenges prompting many youth to join terrorist groups. Be confident in yourselves, have faith in Tunisia, get through, he told youths. Juppe was speaking during a lecture at the Graduate Institute of Business Studies in Carthage (IHEC) on Mediterranean: Challenges to Meet Together on the last day of his two-day visit to Tunisia. Juppe who dubbed himself as the candidate of youth told the dozens of young attendees that despite the difficulties Tunisia can still look forward and overcome economic challenges that have smashed the hopes of millions of young Tunisians who believed the 2011 revolution would bring a solution to the social and economic challenges. Despite the multiple challenges, democracy in Tunisia is today strong enough, he said, referring to the transition from autocratic regime to democratic path embraced by millions of Tunisian despite permanent Islamist threats. For him, Tunisia is a country resolutely oriented toward the future, as well as a generous and welcoming country that will patiently meet the challenges it faces and manage to preserve its identity, its characteristics and its excellence. The French ex-Premier insisted that the future of young democracies hinges on good governance and efforts by authorities to involve citizens in the future choices of their country. Juppe who visited Tunis to canvass support for his candidacy indicated that the 30,000 French living in Tunisia and the 600,000 Tunisians living in France, among whom 420,000 with dual nationality, constitute a bridge between Tunisia and France. Touching on French Governments controversial plan to revoke French nationality from citizens with dual nationality, he assured that the plan only concerns French citizens involved in terrorist crimes against France. The French politician who also indicated he understood the concerns of Tunisians about the security situation in Libya which has become a launch pad of terrorist attacks in Tunisia, said that a military intervention in Libya will not be the solution and that the solution has to be discussed with regional countries in conjunction with western allies. UK defense minister Michael Fallon has said that his country would send 20 soldiers to Tunisia to stop Islamic State fighters from entering the North African country from neighboring war-torn Libya, which has plunged into chaos following the fall of Colonel Gadafi. A training team of some 20 troops from the 4th Infantry Brigade is now moving to Tunisia to help to counter illegal cross-border movement from Libya in support of the Tunisian authorities, Fallon told Parliament on Monday. I am extremely concerned about the proliferation of Daesh along the Libyan coastline, which is why we have been urgently assisting the formation of a new Libyan government, added the defense minister. The British military advisors will provide mobile patrolling and surveillance training in Tunisia. They will teach local military personnel how to spot barbaric militants and how to prevent them coming across the border and destabilizing the region. The move comes after growing concern that ISIS is seeking to use Libya as a base to plan and carry out attacks. Last June, 30 British holidaymakers were killed when an Islamist gunman trained in Libya attacked a beach at a hotel on Tunisias Mediterranean coast. Tunisia has extended lately the state of emergency once again by another month to March 22 as the North African country faces growing terrorist threats and popular anger over deteriorating economic and social situation. A 30-day state of emergency was declared following the beach terror attacks perpetrated last July in Sousse killing 38 foreign tourists, including 30 Britons. Five months later, another terrorist blast hit a bus packed with Tunisian presidential guards in the capital Tunis, killing at least 12 people, pushing president Essebsi to impose again a one-month state of emergency. The North African country, which has been targeted by the Islamic State group, is believed to be the biggest exporter of jihadists, with the authorities saying at least 3,000 Tunisian nationals are fighting in Iraq and Syria. Travel operator Thomas Cook has cancelled all British bookings to Tunisia until 31st of October as security fears grow following a wave of violent protests across the North African country. The Secret to Happiness is the Joy of the Lord; and the joy of the Lord is His manifest presence in your life. It is our Privilege and Responsibility to Glorify God; and we glorify God by manifesting His character every moment and in every situation. Humility and Pride You can tell a humble man that he has a problem with pride and he will agree with you; but if you tell a proud man that he has a problem with pride, he becomes your enemy. This one thing I know for sure, that whenever there is a problem with my relationship with the Lord, it is not His fault. Some people are just plain lazy; some people are just overly sensitive to gravity; others are simply economical with their energy. It's not enough to preach the Gospel; you must be the Gospel. If you can describe your life in a nutshell, there's a good probability that you're a nut. As a good Canadian, I'd like to apologize in advance for anything I might say that offends you; sometimes my mouth hits high gear while my brain is still in low. Never allow the thought, "I am of no use where I am"; because you certainly can be of no use where you are not. Oswald Chambers We cannot even begin to approach the Truth until we are willing to go wherever the Truth leads us. The newest object of idol worship is 'my opinion'! Suffering is the only experience we have in common with every other human who ever lived. By Emily Stephenson SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Donald Trump's rivals for the Republican presidential nomination urged him on Monday to ask the New York Times to release a recording of his recent interview with its editorial board, following a report he told it he was not serious about his immigration proposals. News website BuzzFeed reported on Monday that Trump had suggested to the Times' editorial board in an off-the-record briefing that he would likely not stand by his immigration proposals if elected president. Trump, the Republican front-runner, has called for deporting all illegal immigrants and has said he would get the Mexican government to pay for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. "Donald Trump should ask The New York Times to release the audio of his interview with him so we can see exactly what it is he truly believes about this issue that he has made the cornerstone of his campaign," U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said in a statement. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas called on Trump to do so before this week's Super Tuesday, the biggest single day of state-by-state presidential nominating contests for the Nov. 8 presidential election. "There's one of two instances: It is either false ... (or) he actually now is telling the New York Times editorial board: 'Pay no attention to what I'm saying on immigration because I, Donald Trump don't intend to do anything I'm saying,'" Cruz said at a campaign rally in San Antonio. BuzzFeed quoted New York Times editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal as saying he would not comment "on what was off the record at our meeting with him." "If (Trump) wants to call up and ask us to release this transcript, hes free to do that and then we can decide what we would do," BuzzFeed quoted Rosenthal as saying. New York Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said the newspaper was "not commenting beyond what our editorial page editor told BuzzFeed." A Trump official was not immediately available to comment. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson in San Antonio; Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Peter Cooney) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production. Confira o preco do seguro para o Chevrolet Onix Saiba quando voce gastaria com o seguro do carro mais vendido do Brasil "What I tell you three times is true." By John Whitesides and Steve Holland By John Whitesides and Steve Holland (Reuters) - Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson signaled on Wednesday he was quitting the Republican presidential race, leaving three candidates facing Donald Trump as the party establishment struggled to find a way to halt the outspoken businessman. Carson, a conservative who briefly led opinion polls among Republicans earlier in the campaign, said he did not "see a political path forward" after performing poorly in this week's Super Tuesday nominating contests. He said he would not participate in a Republican debate on Thursday. Despite a push by some mainstream Republicans to try to block Trump from winning the nomination, the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers will not deploy their $400 million political arsenal to attack him in the presidential primary campaign. As a conservative black Republican, Carson, 64, stood out in the mostly white Republican Party, but his campaign foundered amid staff infighting and questions about Carsons familiarity with foreign policy. His departure is unlikely to have a major impact on the fight among Republicans to become the party's candidate in the Nov. 8 election to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama. Reuters/Ipsos polling last month showed Carson supporters would mostly likely be split if he dropped out between Trump and U.S. Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas. Trump consolidated his lead in the Republican race with a string of victories on Tuesday that moved him closer to becoming the nominee. The 69-year-old New York real estate tycoon won seven states from Massachusetts to the conservative Deep South. His victories compounded the problem for a party whose leaders are critical of many of Trump's positions and values and skeptical he can defeat the likely Democratic nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Trump has showered insults on rivals and is facing strong party disapproval over his ideas to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, deport 11 million illegal immigrants and temporarily bar Muslims from entering the country. ROMNEY TO REBUKE TRUMP The 2012 Republican nominee, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, plans to deliver a rebuke of Trump on Thursday in a speech in Utah, sources familiar with his thinking said. It will be a high-profile display of establishment Republican unease. Romney's speech comes on the same day that Trump and his remaining rivals, Rubio, Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich share a debate stage in Detroit, hosted by Fox News. The Koch brothers, the most powerful conservative mega donors in the United States, "have no plans to get involved" in the Republican primary process, James Davis, spokesman for Freedom Partners, the brothers political umbrella group, told Reuters. Donors and media reports have speculated that the brothers would launch a "Trump Intervention," a strategy that would involve deploying the Kochs vast political network to target Trump in hopes of removing him from the race. Trump has reached out to House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, the most senior Republican in Congress. The Trump campaign contacted Ryan's office late on Monday, a day before the speaker publicly admonished Trump over his failure to repudiate the backing of his candidacy by a white supremacist group. Trump responded with a warning to Ryan. Among Trump's rivals, Cruz, 45, won three states on Tuesday, bolstering the conservative senator's argument that he has the best chance of stopping former reality TV star Trump. The Republican establishment's favored 2016 candidate, Rubio, only won one Super Tuesday state, taking Minnesota. SEEKING A STRATEGY Anti-Trump Republicans have yet to coalesce around a single strategy to halt him, but the conservative group Club for Growth claimed credit for slowing Trump in some primary states by running attack ads. It said it would air a new advertisement in Florida as part of a $1.5 million ad buy. Some party donors - including hedge-fund manager Paul Singer and Meg Whitman, the Hewlett-Packard Enterprise chief executive - organized a phone call on Tuesday to get funding for an anti-Trump effort, The New York Times reported. But one of Trump's former rivals in the 2016 race, Mike Huckabee, admonished Republicans for not respecting the will of the voters. "The establishment Republicans are all bed-wetting over this and they dont seem to understand that we have an election," the former Arkansas governor said on Fox News. "Lets remember that we have an election process, not a selection process." Trump responded to the furor against him, saying in a tweet on Wednesday: "The special interests and people who control our politicians (puppets) are spending $25 million on misleading and fraudulent T.V. ads on me." Trump later unveiled proposals for reforming U.S. healthcare that included repealing Obamacare, allowing prescription drugs to be imported, and turning the Medicaid program for the poor into block grants to states. Democrats pounced on the Republican campaign infighting. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid called Trump a "monster" the Republicans spawned with their years of rancorous opposition to all major Obama administration initiatives. "Republicans created him by spending seven years appealing to some of the darkest forces in America," Reid said on the Senate floor. In the Democratic race, Clinton, 68, took big steps on Tuesday toward securing her party's nomination, the 2016 campaign's biggest day of state-by-state nominating contests. Clinton's rival, U.S Senator Bernie Sanders, 74, won his home state of Vermont along with Colorado, Minnesota and Oklahoma. (Reporting by John Whitesides in Washington and Steve Holland in Detroit; Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson, Richard Cowan, Doina Chiacu, Megan Cassella and Eric Walsh in Washington and Michelle Conlin in New York; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Alistair Bell; Editing by Frances Kerry and Peter Cooney) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production. JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ By Emily Stephenson HOUSTON (Reuters) - Republican Ted Cruz's hopes of a sweeping nominating victory in his home state of Texas are being eroded as Donald Trump taps into conservative anger over immigration. Polls show Cruz, the U.S. senator from Texas, is poised to win the state's nominating contest on Tuesday - the biggest voting day so far in the 2016 race - a result seen as essential to keeping alive his chance of winning his party's nomination. But he could be stopped short of thresholds required to sweep its 155 delegates to the Republican convention if national front-runner Trump and other rivals win enough of the vote. Cruz needs as resounding a victory as possible to stay competitive on a day when Trump is expected to put in a dominant performance in other states voting on "Super Tuesday". Interviews with more than two dozen voters in Texas suggest that Trump's anti-immigration platform - which includes building a Mexico-funded border wall and deporting millions of illegal immigrants - could present Cruz's biggest weakness against the real estate mogul. The senator proposes similarly tough policies to prevent illegal immigration, but many Texans credit Trump with vaulting it to a top issue in the election, largely because of his tough, outraged tone rather than policy differences. Trump has been honest enough to say what were all thinking but were all scared to say, said Sharon Neil, 68, of Fort Worth, who is voting for Trump. Republicans in Texas, home to about 1.5 million undocumented immigrants, rank immigration the third most important problem facing the country, compared to seventh overall nationwide, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. And fans of Trump were twice as likely nationwide as Cruz supporters to say immigration was a top issue. Scott Ragno, 39, another Trump supporter from Fort Worth, said Trump's tone on immigration was attractive. "Is building a fence the right answer? I dont know about that. But I definitely think hed do something to curb the problem." Cruz has a strong base of support among Texas's grassroots Tea Party activists, high-profile endorsements including the states governor Greg Abbott, and a lead in most recent polls in Texas. He got 42 percent of support in a CBS News poll released on Sunday, compared to 31 percent for Trump. And Cruz led by 39 percent to Trump's 26 percent in an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll the same day. DELEGATE COUNT Cruz's lead over Trump in Texas has, however, shown signs of decline, according to polls aggregated by Huffington Post since the two launched their campaigns in June. (http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2016-texas-republican-presidential-primary#!selected=Cruz,Trump ) Winning a majority of votes in a Texas district allows a candidate to sweep all of the district's delegates. A candidate gets to sweep an additional category of 47 delegates if he wins a majority of the vote statewide - an outcome that is unlikely for Cruz.(http://interactives.dallasnews.com/2016/texas-delegates/) Trump has vented over immigration from the get-go, calling Mexican immigrants rapists and drug dealers at his campaign launch in June. At his rallies, he recounts incidents where Americans were killed by illegal immigrants. Cruz has pledged to build a wall too. During a Republican debate on Thursday, he criticized Trump for giving money to politicians who tried to overhaul immigration laws, including by offering new protections to people in the country illegally. Cruz has argued Trump has been inconsistent, criticizing him for hiring foreign workers instead of Americans to work at his Florida hotel. It is a fact that for four decades Donald Trump has supported open-borders Democrats, Cruz said Monday in San Antonio. Nobody who supports open-border Democrats for 40 years can care about securing the borders. Trump, who held a rally in Fort Worth on Friday and packed a convention center hall with raucous supporters, has hit back by saying Cruz has toughened his stance on immigration lately mainly because of him. Voters in the Houston and Fort Worth areas described concerns about immigration ranging from overcrowded schools to more crime to cultural change. "It's not that we don't want (immigrants) here," said Neil, the Trump supporter. But she said she felt immigrants were taking a toll on the public school system - an issue close to her heart because her daughter-in-law is a teacher and her son is studying education. (Additional reporting by Chris Kahn; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Stuart Grudgings) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production. Photo: Robin Schmitt/CC/flickr Its been an awful winter of subway slashings in New York, and Monday a Queens man allegedly joined the list of the attacked after waking a sleeping man on a G train platform. Anthony Purdie, 54, of Brooklyn, was asleep on a bench in the Classon Avenue station when Ricardo Medina, 33, attempted to wake him up shortly before 3 a.m. An argument ensued, according to the Posts sources, and Purdie, who once served 14 years for stabbing someone to death with an ice pick, allegedly slashed Medina across the nose with a box cutter. Purdie fled after the alleged attack and ran to the 88th Precinct, where he told police that someone had tried to rob him. Minutes later, Medina (who, the Post notes, has been arrested more than a dozen times himself for robbery, assault, and burglary) walked into the station and accused Purdie of slashing him, telling cops that hed shaken Purdie to make sure he was all right. Purdie was arrested and charged with assault and menacing. Clinton set up for big March 1 victory, but Sanders will have opportunities to exceed expectations. Photo: Getty Images For Republicans, there are several possible Super Tuesday outcomes to consider, but on the Democratic side, Bernie Sanderss survival is the only big question remaining. The most frequently discussed takeaway from Hillary Clintons massive landslide victory in South Carolina over the weekend is that it portended a boffo performance in the Southern primaries that make up over half of the 11 Super Tuesday contests. That certainly seems likely to be the case in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia all states where African-Americans, whom Clinton has been winning at a 3-1 clip or more, are a sizable share of the Democratic primary vote, and all states where Clinton has led recent polls by a minimum of 15 points, and usually a lot more. Related Stories 4 Big Questions About the Republican Race on Super Tuesday But March 1 also features Sanderss home state of Vermont, which hes sure to win by a huge margin; neighboring Massachusetts, where polls have been very close; and two caucus contests in states with a lot of white liberals: Colorado and Minnesota. So he could win four states without much of a stretch. And then theres Oklahoma, a state where a late Monmouth survey gave Sanders a 48/43 lead (an earlier but fairly recent PPP survey had the candidates in a statistical tie in the state). Aside from the delegates and bragging rights at stake in Oklahoma, it will offer another test of the hypothesis that Sanders has a good chance to win wherever African-Americans are a relatively small part of the primary electorate (they are just over 10 percent in Oklahoma), even in conservative states. That was called into question by Clintons narrow but still unprecedented win among white voters in South Carolina. If Sanders can win all five of his winnable states tomorrow, it might offer him a bridge to March 5, where Kansas and Nebraska look good for him; March 6, where Maine should be in the bag for Bernie; and then March 8 and March 15, where big labor-oriented states plus Florida offer a very different kind of challenge. Sanderss safe haven doesnt arrive until March 26, when he should be favored in caucuses in Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington. But assuming his financial situation continues to look good, theres no reason for panic unless hes limited to a Vermont win on March 1. As in so many other respects, however, Clinton is on a path to the nomination that mainly depends on stockpiling delegates which she should do tomorrow with her expected large margins in the South and knocking holes in any plausible scenario for a Sanders nomination. You should watch the results in Texas for a possible example of this last Clinton opportunity: If she wins Hispanic voters as handily as polls have shown, and wins black voters as shes done everywhere else, and wins or comes close with white voters, the psychological impact will be even bigger than her likely delegate harvest. If Sanders cannot count on winning outside New England anywhere other than states with dominant white-liberal participation and/or caucuses, the end will come soon enough. Polls will close in Georgia, Vermont, and Virginia at 7:00 p.m. EST. An hour later polls will close in bellwethers Massachusetts and Oklahoma, and in the Big Bertha delegate-wise, Texas. Well know a lot soon after that hour. The most likely outcome on the vast battleground of March 1 contests is a spin war over who really won. Photo: Getty Images A major moment of truth has arrived for the GOP, with 11 states holding primaries or caucuses on March 1 associated with the Republican presidential-nominating contests. Together, they constitute a wide battleground ranging from Vermont to Alaska and the biggest day yet in the selection process. Donald Trump has led in the most recent polling in eight of these states (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia) and by double digits in six of them (all but Oklahoma and Arkansas). Small leads by Ted Cruz in Arkansas and Marco Rubio in Minnesota are based on relatively old surveys. Only in Texas, a state Cruz must carry to survive, has the most recent polling shown Trump trailing. (Colorado and Wyoming are also technically Super Tuesday states, but because of arcane processes for awarding delegates neither will report a meaningful public result on Tuesday.) Related Stories Can Bernie Sanders Bounce Back on Super Tuesday? How many delegates will Trump win? While theres little doubt Trump will win the most states, its not clear how big his margin will be when it comes to delegates. Certainly he will get the most, but proportional allocation of delegates the rule for Republicans until March 15 and the likelihood of a Cruz win in Texas, the days biggest prize, mean that Trump may fall short of a majority of delegates awarded. His best bet for getting more than 50 percent of them is if either Cruz or Rubio misses minimum thresholds (most often 20 percent of the vote), resulting in a top-heavy delegate distribution. That scenario, though, could also pose a greater long-term risk for Trump, potentially vaulting the second-strongest overall finisher into the long-awaited and much-coveted one-on-one contest with Trump going forward. Whos looking stronger, Rubio or Cruz? Theres a lot of buzz ab0ut a Rubio Surge in some of the Southern states where Trump and Cruz were thought to be in a tight competition. Politicos Kyle Cheney thinks Rubio could finish second in Alabama (where Cruz recently suffered the setback of Senator Jeff Sessions sort of the Steve King of the Senate, a leading opponent of any sort of immigration reform endorsing Trump). The Floridian has received last-minute endorsements in Tennessee from Governor Bill Haslam, Senator Lamar Alexander, and former Senator Bill Frist. He could benefit from a closed-primary system in Oklahoma that denies Trump independent voters. And hes spending heavily in metro areas like Atlanta and Washington, D.C., adjacent to multiple high-population suburban and exurban congressional districts. Unless theres a dramatic shift in one direction or the other, you can expect Wednesday to be characterized by a high-volume spin war, particularly between the Cruz and Rubio camps. One plausible scenario is that Cruz edges Rubio overall based on a strong performance in delegate-rich Texas, but Rubio finishes second in more states. And Trump will very likely do better in percentage of states won than percentage of delegates won. You can certainly see the results setting things up for the Rubio-mad mainstream media to claim Trump underperformed and is fading, and that Cruz finished third (by some if not all metrics) and needs to get out of the race before breakfast. Is it worth keeping an eye on Kasich? John Kasich goes into March 1 with very limited expectations. He likely wont be shut out in delegates, since two of the states he is targeting have very low (Massachusetts) or no (Virginia) minimum thresholds for winning a proportional share of statewide delegates. It should be just enough to keep Kasich going until March 8, where he almost has to win or place second in Michigan, and then March 15, with its winner-take-all primary in his home state of Ohio. Ben Carson could also pick up a few delegates in low- or no-threshold states, but there is no safe haven for him on the horizon. Whats worth watching for when the returns start coming in Tuesday evening? Polls will close in Georgia, Vermont, and Virginia at 7 p.m. EST. Trump should be leading in and/or is projected to win all three. If hes not, there could be trouble ahead for the Donald. Rubio should finish second in Vermont and Virginia, and if hes also beating Cruz in Georgia, expect the mainstream media to start calling him the real winner of Super Tuesday. The fact remains that Rubios ultimate test comes in two weeks, when he absolutely must defeat Trump in his home states winner-take-all primary. And by then, the spin wars will begin to subside and the actual delegate-counting will take over. But its also important to remember that there will be two more candidate debates before March 15: one on Thursday in Detroit and one a week later in Miami. Given the insane toxicity of the last debate in Houston, its possible someone will be driven weeping to his knees before its all over. the real estate The Only Reason We Got It Was That I Lied The Only Reason We Got It Was That I Lied Alex Wagner. Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for GLAMOUR Melissa Harris-Perrys exit from MSNBC stirred concerns about diversity at the network, and now theres more fodder for the accusations that sparked the social-media hashtag #MSNBCSoWhite. CNNMoney reports that Alex Wagner, whose daytime show was canceled last summer, will not be getting a weekend program as planned. Sources say NBC News chairman Andrew Lack made the call earlier this year, but the network declined to comment. Its unclear if Wagner, who is Burmese-American, will remain with the network. Earlier on Monday, Politico noted that weekday-morning anchor Jose Diaz-Balarts role at the network has been diminished in recent weeks. Like Harris-Perry, his show has been preempted for campaign coverage in recent weeks. While he is based in Miami, Diaz-Balarts name does not appear on the networks schedule for Florida primary coverage. In September, rumors about Diaz-Balarts uncertain future at the network sparked complaints from Latino organizations. Diaz-Balart, who also anchors daily and weekend broadcasts on Telemundo, told Twitter fans that he hopes to return to MSNBC soon: Hope to be back soon! Thank you! https://t.co/SA98PLR97e jose diaz-balart (@jdbalart) February 29, 2016 But the Washington Post reports that he may be reassigned to make space for another hour of Morning Joerelated programming. Following years of low ratings, last summer MSNBC began phasing out its liberal-opinion shows in favor of breaking-news coverage. An anonymous employee told the Post that many people are frustrated by the changes, saying, When you look at the number of people of color who have disappeared, it definitely gets your attention. Many minorities have had their roles reduced as the cable network pulled in more NBC News talent, but MSNBC has also canceled a number of shows anchored by white journalists, including Ronan Farrow, Ed Schultz, and Abby Huntsman. The network insists that the accusations of racism are untrue. MSNBC has been a leader when it comes to diversity, Griffin told the Post. Were in transition now, but that doesnt mean our commitment has changed. Were rebuilding, but our principles are unwavering. Things got heated at a Donald Trump rally at Radford University in Virginia when a member of the United States Secret Service detail grabbed Time photographer Christopher Morris by the neck and threw him to the ground, CNN reports. According to Morris, he stepped 18 inches outside the press pen to a get a better shot, which didnt sit well with the agent, who told him to back up. Morris replied, fuck you, and thats when things got physical. Morris says he didnt touch the agent until the very end, while the agent holds that Morris put his hands on him, making him permitted to do the takedown. At the time of the incident Morris was surrounded by fellow members of the media, so the whole thing was captured on video. Secret Service agent choke slams reporter pic.twitter.com/jdsHOlylSB Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) February 29, 2016 An Instagram video, which has now been removed, shows the guard throttling Morris in the bottom half of the screen, although its unclear who touched who first. (Mashable created a GIF from the video.) According to the Washington Examiner, the whole mess began when Black Lives Matter protesters interrupted Trumps speech. Dozens of African-American students reportedly stood up and began heckling Trump, at which point Morris moved sideways to get a better view. Chris Morris gets thrown out after pushing a member of security to fight for positioning to take a photo. pic.twitter.com/EnoAiOYQ4H Bryan Anderson (@bryanranderson) February 29, 2016 Here's moments prior. The reporter says "f*ck you" that's when it got physical pic.twitter.com/h9K2wIbEWQ Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) February 29, 2016 Morris, whos been covering the campaign for Time for months, later gave his account of exactly what happened. He says he put his hand on the agents throat toward the end of their encounter in order to demonstrate what was done to him. Just talked to @time magazine report Chris Morris. He says he was originally arrested but just detained. @ABC13News pic.twitter.com/QknmuAbifG Annie Andersen (@Annie_Andersen) February 29, 2016 Time photog Chris Morris tells me how he was grabbed and taken down at Trump rally pic.twitter.com/XKDJarpXda Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 29, 2016 The Trump campaign released a statement clarifying that it was a United States Secret Service member, and not a member of Trumps security unit, who was involved. The Secret Service also issued a statement saying its aware of the incident and that its local field office is working with their law enforcement partners to determine the exact circumstances that led up to this incident. The Secret Service will provide further details as warranted once additional facts surrounding the situation are known. Trump campaign statement on altercation between photographer and Secret Service agent in press pen at event in VA. pic.twitter.com/oiG3vw8EhL Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) February 29, 2016 For its part, Time magazine released a statement saying it has contacted the U.S. Secret Service to express concerns about the level and nature of the agents response. and that Morris has also expressed remorse for his part in escalating the confrontation. According to the Magazine, Morris is expected to return to work soon. Are we having a good time? Trump reportedly asked his audience after Morris had been escorted out. That depends on whom you ask, Mr. Trump. This post has been updated throughout. Canadian candidate Cruz. Photo: J Pat Carter/Getty Images The mostly but perhaps not entirely dismissible case against Ted Cruzs eligibility to run for president will begin to unfold on Tuesday in front of New York State Supreme Court Justice David Weinstein. Hell be hearing arguments in a lawsuit filed by two New Yorkers who claim that the junior senator from Texas, born in Calgary to an American mother and Cuban father, is not a natural-born U.S. citizen, and thus is constitutionally disallowed from becoming president of the United States. Similar suits contesting Cruzs eligibility have been filed in Illinois, Indiana, and New Hampshire, as have federal suits in Alabama, Arkansas, Utah, and Texas. Donald Trump has openly questioned Cruzs eligibility (as he did Barack Obamas) and personally threatened to sue. The New York suit, filed in February by Barry Korman and William Gallo, is against not Cruz but the Board of Elections, which plans to put Cruz on the ballot for the April 19 New York primary. They claim, and others agree, that naturalized at birth by virtue of his mothers citizenship does not equate to natural-born, and that Cruzs name should be struck from the ballot. Most legal scholars have said that Cruzs mothers citizenship settles the question; there have been a few dissenters, though, notably Harvard Law Schools Laurence Tribe has argued that Cruz is now arguing against his own strict reading of the Constitution. Ultimately, owing to another constitutional clause, Congress and not the courts will get the final say in his eligibility and for what its worth, the Congressional Research Service, in a report published after the 2008 hullabaloo over both Obamas and McCains citizenship, stated that one is eligible to run for president if he or she is a citizen at birth, regardless of the soil on which the candidate was born. A bin Laden always pays his debts. Photo: STR/Corbis When Navy SEALs raided Osama bin Ladens compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011, they also seized things like bin Ladens diary, his handwritten notes and letters, dozens of flash drives, and his porn collection. U.S. intelligence has been combing through these documents for clues as to how Al Qaeda operated under bin Laden, and Tuesday at least two of a cache of 113 documents have been declassified. One is a letter reportedly composed in the late 1990s that outlines how bin Laden would like the remainder of his fortune $29 million to be distributed in the event of his death, according to Reuters. In it bin Laden makes certain provisions for his family but asks that his relatives spend all the money that I have left in Sudan on jihad, for the sake of Allah. He also wants to make sure his debts are paid; he requests that one percent of the $29 million (so $290,000) be given to Mahfouz Ould al-Walid, better known as Abu Hafs al-Mauritani, a senior Al Qaeda militant. The letter notes that al-Mauritani has already received $20-30,000, and that bin Laden promised him that I would reward him if he took it out of the Sudani government. He also asks that Abu Ibrahim al-Iraqi Saad receive his own one percent as a reward for his hard work in the Wadi al-Aqiq Company, a holdings company bin Laden founded while he was based in Sudan he lived there as an official guest until the government kicked him out in 1996, per the United States request. Never one to skimp on details, bin Laden asks for specific amounts, in Saudi riyals, to go to his uncle, sisters, daughter, son, and his sons mother, and that his maternal aunts be given two pounds of gold for each male relative and one pound for each female relative. The conversation about the money in Sudan is over, he writes. In a separate letter to his father, which was also released Tuesday, bin Laden asks that his father look after his wife and children in the event that he should die first. They are from me and I am from you, and they are your sons, too, he writes. He goes on: I would like you to forgive me, if I have done what you did not like, and convey my greetings to all our family. I ask God almighty to give you victory over his enemies, and to establish the Islamic state at the hands of the Mujahideen, sooner or later. Even after bin Ladens death, the myth persisted that he was a financial pillar of Al Qaeda, when in fact the organization was financed primarily by fund-raising, according to a report by the 9/11 Commission published in 2004. [Bin Laden] does not support al Qaeda through a personal fortune or a network of businesses, the Commission wrote. [He] did not have large sums of inherited money or extensive business resources. Rather, it appears that al Qaeda lived essentially hand to mouth. Funding an international terrorist organization, as ISIS has learned, is no easy task. Trump addresses the rest of the crowd at Valdosta State. Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images The Trump campaign may seem impervious to controversy, but no candidate wants to spend the day before Super Tuesday answering questions about why they failed to denounce the KKK and about the Secret Service agent who took down a photographer during a Black Lives Matter protest at their event. The controversy only deepened on Monday night after the Des Moines Register reported that a group of about 30 black Valdosta State University students were ejected from a Trump rally on the Georgia campus, though they werent being disruptive. At the earlier event, students at Radford University in Virginia were escorted out by Secret Service agents after they began chanting, No more hate! No more hate! Lets be equal, lets be great! The Valdosta students say they were standing silently at the top of the bleachers when they were approached by Secret Service agents, who said Trump had asked that they be removed before he took the stage. More from Valdosta's Kiebbler Carter, as crowd watches black students in silent protest being led out of Trump rally pic.twitter.com/xeX1ePFLJO Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) March 1, 2016 We didnt plan to do anything, said Tahjila Davis, 19. They said, This is Trumps property; its a private event. But I paid my tuition to be here. The students exited quietly, then argued with police officers who explained that they could not attend the Trump event. VSU TRUMP RALLY #BlackLivesMatter And this is the school we attend... pic.twitter.com/sWfX4RksFd Mikey (@Mikey_Spiffy) February 29, 2016 BREAKING: About 30 Valdosta students kicked out of Trump rally. They say they were standing silently in bleachers. pic.twitter.com/VDeWpICIAr Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) February 29, 2016 To get kicked out because were a group of black people shows you how racist our own school is, Davis added. Trump campaign spokesperson Hope Hicks said of the claims that the request came from the candidate, There is no truth to this whatsoever. On the books. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty images Al Jazeera reports that China has become the latest country to criminalize domestic violence. The government-sponsored All Chinas Women Federation estimates that nearly 25 percent of Chinese married women have experienced some form of abuse, and the true figure especially in rural areas is probably higher than that, because marital attacks are almost surely underreported. Chinas 2005 Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women made some progress on the issue, but enforcement has been uneven, and many Chinese women still tend to regard domestic violence as a private matter, especially when the abuser is a spouse. If you are surprised to hear that its taken till now, consider that laws specifically turning domestic abuse into a criminal act are relatively new in the West as well. The United States passed the Violence Against Women Act only in 1994, and the Council of Europe took until 2011 to propose a convention combating violence against women. Russia still has no domestic-abuse laws, and neither do many other countries around the world. Starting Tuesday, victims will be able to get restraining orders against their abusers, sometimes forcing them out of the home. A judge will be required to rule on these cases within 72 hours. The new law applies to both married and cohabitating couples. Critics have said that the new law doesnt go far enough because it neither outlaws marital rape nor provides health or social services for victims. Make America Hate Again. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images Donald Trump has assembled a rainbow coalition of bigots. Days after a former KKK grand wizard said that white voters who oppose Trump are betraying their heritage, Nation of Islam founder Louis Farrakhan praised the Donalds efforts to get Jewish money out of politics. Donald Trump is the only member who has stood in front of Jewish community, and said I dont want your money, Farrakhan said in a Sunday sermon, the Anti-Defamation League reports. Any time a man can say to those who control the politics of America, I dont want your money, that means you cant control me. And they cannot afford to give up control of the presidents of the United States. Farrakhan seemed to be referring to Trumps appearance before the Republican Jewish Coalition last December, when the mogul told the gathered Jewry, I dont want money, so, therefore, youre not going to support me because, stupidly, you want to give money You want to control your own politician. Despite Trumps rebuke of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Farrakhan is withholding his endorsement for now, telling his congregation, Not that Im for Mr. Trump, but I like what Im looking at. Its no secret that Farrakhan isnt a big fan of the Jewish people. But the fact that the civil-rights leader likes the look of Trump a right-wing demagogue who has disparaged the Black Lives Matter movement and proposed banning Muslims from the country suggests that Farrakhan may actually be more anti-Semitic than he is pro-Islam. Most pundits argue that Trump has too little crossover appeal to compete in a general election. But Farrakhans pseudo-endorsement suggests that the GOP front-runner might be able to bring together a cross-racial coalition of the hateful. As MSNBCs Chris Hayes suggested Monday, this might be a good time to get familiar with the term kakistocracy. Alexander Solzhenitsyn on Lying Ayn Rand Francisco, whats the most depraved type of human being? The man without a purpose. Ronald Reagan "We need a government that is confident not of what it can do, but of what the people can do." The People are the Sovereign Power "The People are the government, administering it by their agents; They are the government, the sovereign power." Andrew Jackson Tyranny Exercised for the Good of its Victims Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be cured against one's will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals. C. S. Lewis Mignon: Bust of Rose Beuret by Rodin Legitimate Government A government that serves as a palladium for the many and broad rights of the sovereign individual is legitimate. Unequal things are not equal Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand In any hour and issue of your life, you are free to think or to evade that effort. But you are not free to escape from your nature, from the fact that reason is your means of survivalso that for you, who are a human being, the question to be or not to be is the question to think or not to think. Ayn Rand The basic need of the creator is independence. The reasoning mind cannot work under any form of compulsion. It cannot be curbed, sacrificed, or subordinated to any consideration whatsoever. It demands total independence in function and in motive. Alexander Solzhenitsyn on Socialist Liars We know they are lying. They know they are lying. They know that we know they are lying. We know that they know that we know they are lying. And still they continue to lie. Freedom and Safety Ben Franklin: "Those that give up their freedom for safety deserve neither." Joe Biden: "This is not about freedom, this is for your safety." Sam Zell "I simply don't buy into many of the made-up rules of social convention. The bottom line is: If you're really good at what you do, you have the freedom to be who you are." Ayn Rand Quote Albert Einstein "Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom." Patrick Henry H.L. Mencken Both Catastrophic Man-Made Global Warming and Covid-19 have become such false fronts. "The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." Constitution and Chris Cuomo Thomas Sowell on Racism Eisenhower on Party Legitimacy Ayn Rand Search This Blog Howard Roark The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand "Independence is the only gauge of human virtue and value .... There is no substitute for personal dignity." Robert Bidinotto ... the *main* target of individualists' moral proselytizing ought to be the Zero-Sum Narrative, i.e., the belief in inherent conflicts of interest among people -- and not altruism per se, which is mainly an emotionally driven *reaction* to the zero-sum worldview. We need to teach people that economic relationships in a free society are "win/win," not "win/lose." We need to teach what 19th-century thinker Frederic Bastiat labeled "Economic Harmonies." Ralph Waldo Emerson "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind." G. K. Chesterton "Even the tyrant never rules by force alone; but mostly by fairy tales." Ayn Rand "Serenity comes from the ability to say 'Yes' to existence. Courage comes from the ability to say 'No' to the wrong choices of others." The Atlas Society "You were born an original. Don't die a copy." "Your life is your story. Write well. Edit often." John Wooden "Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out." Seneca "It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult." Peter Diamandis "The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself." Howard Roark - The Fountainhead Democracy is Tyranny Thomas Paine: "A democracy is the vilest form of Government there is." John Adams: "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." John Adams: "You have rights antecedent to all earthy governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws;...." This is why our government is a Republic and not a democracy. James Madison: In a pure democracy "there is nothing to check the inducement to sacrifice the weaker party or the obnoxious individual." Mikhail Baryshnikov Cronyism and Socialism Advocates of Equality Ayn Rand "Power-lust is a weed that grows only in the vacant lots of an abandoned mind." David Kelley "It is the act of creating value that reflects the best within us, and is the center of a happy life." Calvin Coolidge "It is much more important to kill bad bills, than to pass good ones." The Welfare State Becomes the Totalitarian State Rights are not a Gift of Government Thomas Jefferson, 1774 "A free people claim their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate." The Creative Man "A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others." Ayn Rand To Fill the World with Fools "The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools." Herbert Spencer Ben Franklin "Democracy ... is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty ... is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." From Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Francisco speaking to Dagny -"...there's nothing of any importance in life - except how well you do your work. Nothing. Only that. Whatever else you are, will come from that. It's the only measure of human value. All the codes of ethics They'll try to ram down your throat are just so much paper money put out by swindlers to fleece people of their virtues. The code of competence is the only system of morality that's on a gold standard. " Charles R. Anderson Wishing that the provision of a good or service were free is not an idea of great merit. If the good or service can be made free without harming others, then it has negligible value. If it has value, then the harm done to others by making it "free" will be substantial. Is not harm a cost in itself? So can there be a free good or service of any value? Clearly no. Ayn Rand on Collectivism Milton Friedman "A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither. A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both." Once Surrendering His Reason "Man, once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without a rudder, is the sport of every wind. With such persons, gullibility, which they call faith, takes the helm from the hand of reason and the mind becomes a wreck." Thomas Jefferson (1822) Winston Churchill Governments create nothing, but what they give they have first taken away you may put money in the pockets of Englishmen, but it will be money taken from the pockets of another set of Englishman, and the greater part will be spilled on the way. Speech 11 November 1903 [HT Tom Anderson] Name-Calling is Indicative of a Weak Argument Isabel Paterson "Poverty can be brought about by law; it cannot be forbidden by law." Reagan on Government's Place John Stuart Mill "The only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it." Anderson Materials Evaluation, Inc. Frederick Douglass "To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker." Brutality is not Idealistic "Do not ever consider Collectivists as 'sincere but deluded idealists.' The proposal to enslave some men for the sake of others is not an ideal; brutality is not 'idealistic,' no matter what its purpose." Ayn Rand, textbook of americanism.com Work is an Act of Creating "Whether it's a symphony or a coal mine, all work is an act of creating and comes from the same source: from an inviolate capacity to see through one's own eyes." Ayn Rand Charles R. Anderson "Government is legitimate only to the extent that it protects the exercise of everyone's broad, many, and sovereign individual rights. Such limited-purpose government, often called Capitalism, is the only government system which allows individuals to make their own moral choices and live their lives in accordance with their choices. Capitalism minimizes the use of force and maximizes the freedom of cooperation and association within a society. It is in such a society that a rational man chooses to live and produce." George Washington "Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force. It is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." Thomas Jefferson "A wise and frugal government which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry -- this is the sum of good government." Ayn Rand "Your life belongs to you and the good is to live it." "He who speaks of sacrifice speaks of slaves and masters. And intends to be the master." "He who speaks of sacrifice speaks of slaves and masters. And intends to be the master." Ayn Rand on Theft, Murder, and Collectivism "Many men now believe that it is evil to rob, murder and torture for one's own sake, but virtuous to do so for the sake of others. You may not indulge in brutality for your own gain, they say, but go right ahead if its for the gain of others. Perhaps the most revolting statement one can ever hear is: "Sure Stalin has butchered millions, but its justifiable, since it's for the benefit of the masses." Collectivism is the last stand of savagery in men's minds." from Textbook of Americanism Thomas Paine "It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry." Dr. Thomas Sowell "I have never understood why it is greed to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take someone else's money." Calvin Coolidge "Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong." Thomas Jefferson "I have never been able to conceive how any rational being could propose happiness to himself from the exercise of power over others." David Kelley "If we are right, we have nothing to fear; if we are wrong, we have something to learn." Anderson Materials Evaluation, Inc. Eric Hoffer "Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength." E-mail Address Charles.R.Anderson@gmail.com Private correspondence is welcome from interested, rational individualists. There are few enough of us that we should highly value one another and any friendships that might grow from contact. Blog Archive Ayn Rand on Morality "The purpose of morality is to teach you, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live." Anthem by Ayn Rand Man the individualist, not men the collectivists. "For the battle they lost can never be lost. For that which they died to save can never perish. Through all the darkness, through all the shame of which men are capable, the spirit of man will remain alive on this earth. It may sleep, but it will awaken. It may wear chains, but it will break through. And man will go on. Man, not men." Dr. Edwin Lewis, A First Book in Writing English "To gain new words and new ideas, the student must compel himself to read slowly. Impatient to hurry on and learn how the tale or poem ends, many a youth is accustomed to read so rapidly as to miss the best part of what the author is trying to say. Thoughts cannot be read so rapidly as words. To get at the thoughts and really to retain the valuable expressions, the student must scrutinize and ponder as he reads. Each word must be thoroughly understood; its exact value in the given sentence must be grasped." A high school textbook for freshmen and sophomores used around 1900. James Madison "Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people, by gradual and silent ancroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations: but, on a candid examination of history, we shall find that turbulence, violence, and abuse of power, by the majority trampling on the rights of the minority have produced factions and commotions, which, in republics, have more frequently than any other cause, produced despotism." General George S. Patton "If everyone is thinking alike, then someone isn't thinking." H. L. Mencken "The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false face to rule it." George Orwell "The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history." National Park Scientist David Graber People have become "a cancer ... a plague upon the Earth. Until such time as Homo sapiens should decide to rejoin nature, some of us can only hope for the right virus to come along." H. L. Mencken "If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would promise them missionaries for dinner." Thomas H. Huxley "The improver of natural knowledge absolutely refuses to acknowledge authority as such. For him, scepticism is the highest of duties; blind faith the one unpardonable sin." Thomas Jefferson on Democracy "A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine." Prince Philip of the United Kingdom I bet he would like to concentrate his human eradication efforts on the Deplorables and not on the Aristocracy or the Progressive Elitists. "In the event that I am reincarnated, I would like to return as a deadly virus, to contribute something to solving overpopulation." Henry Ford "Genius is seldom recognized for what it is: a great capacity for hard work." Thomas Jefferson on Truth Truth is great and will prevail if left to herself; that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate; errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them." " Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear." Niccolo Machiavelli "One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived." Sherlock Holmes "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts." Or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle if you prefer. Mary McCarthy "Bureaucracy, the rule of no one, has become the modern form of despotism." Sen. Tim Wirth, Democrat, Colorado "We've got to ride the global warming issue. Even if the theory is wrong, we will be doing the right thing." Bismarck "Fools learn by experience, the wise man learns by the experience of others." Albert Einstein As Albert Einstein once said about the book "One Hundred Authors Against Einstein": Why one hundred? If I were wrong, one would be enough. Governments are Never Sovereign Only individuals are sovereign. Governments are either legitimate or illegitimate. They are legitimate only to the extent that they protect the exercise of every individual's right to life; liberty; the ownership of their own mind, body, and labor; their property; their freedom of conscience and association, and the pursuit of their own happiness. No government on Earth is highly legitimate. Most are highly illegitimate. So sayeth Charles R. Anderson. Dr. Thomas Sowell is Retiring "The real minimum wage is zero." "The most basic question is not what is best, but who shall decide what is best." "People who have time on their hands will inevitably waste the time of people who have work to do." "The welfare state is not really about the welfare of the masses, it is about the egos of the elites." "If you are not prepared to use force to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarism." "Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it." Prof. Walter E. Williams on Democracy "... one of the primary dangers of majority rule is that it confers an aura of legitimacy and respectability to acts that would otherwise be deemed tyrannical." Ayn Rand on Minorities "The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights, cannot claim to be defenders of minorities." Hillary Clinton on Job Creation Socialists never want anyone to credit individuals with a productive purpose as the source of their jobs. When the government piles on such heavy taxes and regulations as to prevent job formation, they are always trying to misdirect the people's attention. Hillary has been vigorous in promising more taxes and more major regulations which will make the Obama record of 0.5% annual increases in real per capita GDP look good in comparison. "Don't let anybody tell you that, you know, its corporations and businesses that create jobs." Frederic Bastiat "It's impossible to introduce into society a greater evil than this, the conversion of Law into an instrument of PLUNDER." Ayn Rand "The number of its adherents is irrelevant to the truth or falsehood of an idea. A majority is as fallible as a minority or as an individual man. A majority vote is not an epistemological validation of an idea." ... "it is important to note the epistemological significance of a free society. In a free society, the pursuit of truth is protected by the free access of any individual to any field of endeavor he may choose to enter." ... "This prevents the formation of any coercive "elite" in any profession -- it prevents the legalized enforcement of a "monopoly on truth" by any gang of power seekers -- it protects the free market place of ideas -- it keeps all doors open to man's inquiring mind." The catastrophic man-made global warming hypothesis is no exception to these general truths about the right of every individual to examine and evaluate any idea. significance of a free society. In a free society, the pursuit of truth is protected by the free access of any individual to any field of endeavor he may choose to enter." ... "This prevents the formation of any coercive "elite" in any profession -- it prevents the legalized enforcement of a "monopoly on truth" by any gang of power seekers -- it protects the free market place of ideas -- it keeps all doors open to man's inquiring mind." Charles at Naval Surface Warfare Center Do Not Subordinate Your Mind to the Mind of Another The vilest form of self-abasement and self-destruction is the subordination of your mind to the mind of another, the acceptance of an authority over your brain, the acceptance of his assertions as facts, his say-so as truth, his edicts as middle-man between your consciousness and your existence. John Galt in Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand UN Agenda 21, Principle 15 The real operating principle: Neither shall total lack of scientific certainty delay taking action with catastrophic economic effects if one can imagine some environmental degradation. "In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation." Dr. Thomas Sowell "What 'multiculturalism' boils down to is that you can praise any culture in the world except Western culture -- and you cannot blame any culture in the world except Western culture." "It is so easy to be wrong -- and to persist in being wrong -- when the costs of being wrong are paid by others." "Intellectuals have trouble remembering that they are not God." "If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten you labeled a radical 60 years ago, a liberal 30 years ago and a racist today." Saul Alinsky It is good to understand what the nihilists think, especially since such politicians as Obama and Hillary admire this man and use his principles for damaging the private sector and Capitalism. "To say that corrupt means corrupt the ends is to believe in the immaculate conception of ends and principles. The real arena is corrupt and bloody. Life is a corrupting process from the time a child learns to play his mother off against his father in the politics of when to go to bed; he who fears corruption fears life." Ronald Reagan A democratic society that needs a much-controlling government to manage the affairs of its People has a People so lacking in character and ability that there is no hope the People can democratically elect leaders of good character and adequate capability. That society is doomed by a self-contradiction. The escape from doom is the development in the People of such character and ability that they shun a much-controlling government. "If no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?" Aesop "We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." Examples: Obama, both Clintons, Kerry, Sanders, Biden, Reid, and Pelosi. Christine Stewart, Canadian Minister of the Environment What a sad thing is attempted justice without truth. "No matter if the science of global warming is all phony.... climate change provides the greatest opportunity to bring about justice and equality in the world." Aldous Huxley "Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." Ayn Rand "'There are no evil thoughts, Mr. Rearden,' Francisco said softly, 'except one: the refusal to think.'" Francisco D'Anconia to Hank Rearden in Atlas Shrugged Frederic Bastiat on the Law "It has been used to destroy its own objective. It has been applied to annihilating the justice that it was supposed to maintain; to limiting and destroying rights which its real purpose was to respect. The law has placed the collective force at the disposal of the unscrupulous who wish, without risk, to exploit the person, liberty, and property of others. It has converted plunder into a right, in order to protect plunder. And it has converted lawful defense into a crime, in order to punish lawful defense. Louis L'Amour in High Lonesome "Nor were they free of the images their own minds held of themselves. The man on horseback, the lone-riding man, the lone-thinking man, possessed an image of himself that was in part his own, in part a piece of all the dime novels he had read, for no man is free of the image his literature imposes on him. And the dime novel made the western hero a knight-errant, a man on horseback rescuing the weak and helpless." "Folks talk a lot about the maternal feeling in women, but they say nothing about man's need to protect and care for someone; yet the one feeling is as basic as the other." Dr. Thomas Sowell "Even liberal professors can be adversely affected by the narrow groupthink that prevails. Without an opposition to keep them on their toes, they can develop sloppy habits of dismissing or even demonizing differing viewpoints, instead of practicing and teaching their students how to come to grips with opposing beliefs." From Dry Rot in Academia "Today one can literally go from kindergarten to becoming a graduate student seeking a Ph.D., without ever hearing a vision of the world that conflicts with the vision of the left." John Stuart Mill "In this age, the mere example of nonconformity, the mere refusal to bend the knee to custom, is itself a service. Precisely because the tyranny of opinion is such as to make eccentricity a reproach, it is desirable, in order to break through that tyranny, that people should be eccentric. Eccentricity has always abounded when and where strength of character was abounded; and the amount of eccentricity in a society has generally been proportional to the amount of genius, mental vigour, and moral courage which it contained. That so few now dare to be eccentric, marks the chief danger of the time." Josepth Stalin "We don't let them have ideas. Why would we let them have guns?" Robert Tracinski "The way we view the naked human body reflects our view of human nature itself. We portray our bodies in ways that are crude or refined depending on whether we view our souls as crude or refined. And we do the same with the sensuality and the sexual capacity of our bodies. We can view sex and the nude body as a dangerous temptation that draws us away from higher ideals and down into the muckor we can make it part of those higher ideals. We can make it an expression of a wider lust for life, an expression of the same spirit of aspiration that drives all of our other achievements." The Three Graces by Antonio Canova David by Michelangelo Frederic Bastiat "When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it." "But how is this legal plunder to be to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime." Ayn Rand on Excellence "If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing." Ayn Rand "The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see." Patrick Henry "No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles." H. L. Mencken "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed and hence clamorous to be led to safety by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." Catastrophic man-made global warming is a great example of such alarmism to justify more power for the politicians and bureaucrats. Thomas Jefferson "Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add, `within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrants will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual." Ayn Rand "Serenity comes from the ability to say 'Yes' to existence. Courage comes from the ability to say 'No' to the wrong choices made by others." Galileo Galilei "In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." "By denying scientific principles, one may maintain any paradox." Henry Ford "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Samuel Adams "The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending against all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks." The Constitution itself remains a strong defense of our individual rights, but those who want power over our lives have long claimed ridiculous interpretations of the powers it grants to the federal government which they have cemented in irrational precedents. Time after time, the fact that our individual rights are broad and must allow each of us to manage our own lives while we pursue our own chosen values, so long as we do not violate the equal rights of others, is a context ignored. Thomas Jefferson, 1816 "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." When the government controls the education system, you can be sure the education system will guarantee the ignorance of the people so they may be ruled without the impediment of the people demanding their individual rights. John C. Goodman "Closing Off Consumption Opportunities. Just as low-income individuals in their role as producers are increasing[ly] regulated out of income earning opportunities, in their role as consumers they are increasingly regulated out of the market for essential services. In addition to education and housing, they have been regulated out of the market for medical care, transportation and even police protection. For all these essential services, the wealthy turn to the private marketplace. They even employ police officers as off-duty, private guards for their gated communities. The poor are left with public housing, public schools, public transportation, government-provided health care, etc. The well-off get all the benefits of capitalism. The poor are left with socialism." Averroes "An army of philosophers would not be sufficient to change the nature of error and to make it truth." An army of scientist mercenaries at the service of All-Controlling Government is not sufficient to make the catastrophic man-made global warming hypothesis true either. Ayn Rand on the Creative Man "A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others." Lawrence W. Reed "It constantly amazes me that defenders of the free market are expected to offer certainty and perfection while government has only to make promises and express good intentions." Patrick Henry "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government lest it come to dominate our lives and our interests." Prof. Walter E. Williams "That initial premise is that each of us owns himself. Stated another way: I am my private property and you are yours. The institution of private property is the right held by the owner of property to keep, acquire, dispose, and exclude from use. The premise of self-ownership determines which human acts are moral or immoral and consistent with that premise. For example, rape, murder, slavery, fraud, and theft are immoral because they violate private property." Thomas Jefferson The "sum of good government" is one "which shall restrain men from injuring one another" and "shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement." The presumption is maximum liberty limited not by the welfare of others, but only by the injunction to do no harm to others. H. L. Mencken "The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." Madison Versus Hitler "(The Constitution preserves) the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation... (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." James Madison "The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so." Adolf Hitler Frederic Bastiat "The most urgent necessity is, not that the State should teach, but that it should allow education. All monopolies are detestable, but the worst of all is the monopoly of education." Mark Twain "It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled." This certainly applies to those who believe in the catastrophic man-made global warming alarmists, minimum wage laws, ObamaCare, the ethanol in gasoline mandate, and tying solar and wind power in high percentages to the electric grid. Prof. Walter E. Williams on White Privilege "The concept of white privilege, along with diversity and multiculturalism, is part of today's campus craze. ..... The bottom line to this campus nonsense is that "privilege" has become the new word for "personal achievement." .... Are those who work hard, take risks, make life better for others and become wealthy in the process the people who should be held up to ridicule and scorn? And should we make mascots out of social parasites?" Albert Einstein "A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth." Prof. John Christy, Climate Scientist If its not economically sustainable, its not sustainable. Ayn Rand on Human Progress "Man's ego is the fountainhead of human progress." George Orwell "The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it." Abbot of Arbroath, Chancellor of Robert the Bruce "For so long as one hundred of us shall remain alive we shall never in any wise consent to submit to the rule of the English. For it is not for glory we fight, for riches, or for honours, but for freedom alone, which no good man loses but with his life." April 1320, Six years after the Battle of Bannockburn Jean-Jacques Rousseau "whoever refuses to obey the general will will be forced to do so by the entire body; this means merely that he will be forced to be free." If one is told " 'it is expedient for the state that you should die,' he should die." From The Social Contract, a most emphatic statement of authoritarian collectivism by a profound misanthropist. Patrick Henry "The Constitution is NOT an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the PEOPLE to restrain the government -- lest it come to dominate our lives and interest." Dwight D. Eisenhower "If all that Americans want is security, they can go to prison. They'll have enough to eat, a bed and a roof over their heads. But if an American wants to preserve his dignity and his equality as a human being, he must not bow his neck to any dictatorial government." Alexander Hamilton "The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." "If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is no recourse left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government." Milton Friedman A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that it ... gives people what they want instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. John Quincy Adams "Muhammad declared undistinguishing and exterminating war, as a part of his religion, against all the rest of mankind... The precept of the Koran is, perpetual war against all who deny, that Muhammad is the prophet of God." Justice Robert H. Jackson "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein." This applies to the government-run education system, as well as every other act of government, including its procurements. Ellsworth Toohey in The Fountainhead "Don't bother to examine a folly, ask only what it accomplishes." Ayn Rand's villain giving us insight into the beliefs of the Progressive Elitists and others with beliefs too divorced from reality to be creditable, yet widely believed or propagated. Thomas Jefferson "let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the constitution." Of course this belief implies those great constraints on democracy imposed by the Constitution. Robert Tracinski "The real minimum wage is zero. Actually, its less than zero: the real minimum wage is going into debt just to have a shot at doing the work you love." I went hugely into debt to set up my materials analysis laboratory and paid myself only $10,000 in the first year and even less in the Obama Recession years of 2010 - 2016. Obama When what youre doing doesnt work for 50 years, its time to try something new. 2015 State of the Union Address So, we should ditch Big Government, government health care, The War on Poverty, The War on Drugs, Social Security, the Federal Reserve, government-run education, the Davis-Bacon Act, the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (the Jones Act), and all expansionist interpretations of the Interstate Commerce and the Taxation Clauses of the Constitution upon this Obama Principle of Failure. Louis L'Amour "If he starts anything with me I'll just cloud up and rain all over him." Conagher "You better ride out of here, Staples. An' leave that gun alone. You ain't fit to handle one. And don't you cross my trail again. I don't like bein' braced by no tin-horn." Conagher "To be a man was to be responsible. It was as simple as that. To be a man was to build something, to try to make the world about him a bit easier to live in for himself and those who followed." Conagher "it was the man who planted a tree, dug a well, or graded a road who mattered." "Conagher had worked too hard too many times to like a thief or a vandal who would steal or destroy the efforts of other men." "when in doubt, sit down and think. It is only the mind of man that has lifted him above the animals." Evie's Dad"If he starts anything with me I'll just cloud up and rain all over him." Conagher"You better ride out of here, Staples. An' leave that gun alone. You ain't fit to handle one. And don't you cross my trail again. I don't like bein' braced by no tin-horn." Conagher"To be a man was to be responsible. It was as simple as that. To be a man was to build something, to try to make the world about him a bit easier to live in for himself and those who followed." Conagher"it was the man who planted a tree, dug a well, or graded a road who mattered.""Conagher had worked too hard too many times to like a thief or a vandal who would steal or destroy the efforts of other men." Big Bill Knudsen on Progress "Progress is only made when fear is overcome by curiosity. If you are curious enough, you will not have any fear." William S. Knudsen Elbert Hubbard "Prison is a Socialist's Paradise, where equality prevails, everything is supplied, and competition is eliminated." Charles R. Anderson "Every law mandates more guns. Most laws now outlaw individual value choices and more voluntary cooperation among individuals." Bad Deeds by Robert Bidinotto Charles Anderson on Hope ".... hope is contingent upon having the freedom to make your own value choices and make their achievement your personal dream. Without the dream, there is no hope. Without the value choice, there is no dream." A Collapsing Predation, a Plea for Salvation "These are just plain, ordinary people, Mr. Galt, " said Chick Morrison in a tone intended to project their abject humility. "They can't tell you what to do. They wouldn't know. They're merely begging you. They may be weak, helpless, blind, ignorant. But you, who are so intelligent and strong, can't you take pity on them? Can't you help them?" "By dropping my intelligence and following their blindness?" "They may be wrong, but they don't know any better!" "But I, who do, should obey them?" From Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Sen. Tom Coburn Addressing the Senate "Your whole goal is to protect the United States of America, its Constitution and its liberties. It's not to provide benefits for your state. That's where we differ -- that's where my conflict with my colleagues has come. It's nice to be able to do things for your state, but that isn't our charge. Our charge is to protect the future of our country by upholding the Constitution." December 2014 James Madison on Laws "It will be of little avail to the people ... if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood." Yet this is exactly the sorry state of law in America today. Even the legislators whose full-time job is to make laws cannot read them before voting on them. How can it even be imagined that a small businessman can know the law and the voluminous regulations applied most especially and most vigorously to commercial endeavors? It cannot be so imagined, which makes it clear that the intent is to make every businessman a criminal precariously dependent upon the goodwill of those with power in the government. Charles R. Anderson on Argument "Observe which side resorts to the most vociferous name-calling and you are likely to have identified the side with the weaker argument and they know it." From my statement in the Senate Minority Report of 2008 on Man-Made Global Warming Claims. Ben Franklin " Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." Ayn Rand on Force and Morality From Atlas Shrugged "Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins." The Neverending Battle for Freedom Winston Churchill "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy." Ludwig von Mises "A society that chooses between capitalism and socialism does not choose between two social systems; it chooses between social cooperation and the disintegration of society. Socialism is not an alternative to capitalism; it is an alternative to any system under which men can live as human beings." Ayn Rand on Truth Seeking "The truth is not for all men, but only for those who seek it." Charles R. Anderson, Ph.D. Benno Schmidt, President of Yale, March 1991 "The most serious problems of freedom of expression in our society today exist on our campuses ... The assumption seems to be that the purpose of education is to induce correct opinion rather than to search for wisdom and to liberate the mind." Tacitus, 56 - 120 A.D. "The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws. " The more numerous the laws, the more corrupt the state. The more numerous the laws, the more corrupt the state. George Eliot "The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular -- but one must take it because it's right." Is that not all times? Public Servant Tyrants "The people must remain ever vigilant against tyrants masquerading as public servants." George Washington Aristotle on Inequality "The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal." Claiming unequal things equal in mathematics is obviously wrong, but so is claiming the equality of an individual with good character to an individual of bad character fraught with deleterious consequences. Mencken on Public Education "The aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all: It is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality." Henry Louis Mencken (1880 - 1956) Thomas Edison "From his neck down, a man is worth a couple of dollars a day; from his neck up, he is worth anything his brain can invent." Ayn Rand on Self-Assurance "But why should you care what people will say? All you have to do is please yourself." From The Fountainhead Frederick Douglass A mans rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box. William S. Knudsen "A conference is a gathering of guys that singly can do nothing and together decide nothing can be done." Big Bill Knudsen was the manufacturing genius from the automotive industry who decided that U.S. WWII warfare production should be performed in the private sector with as little government interference as possible. U.S. production overwhelmed that of the Axis Powers as a result and the transition back to peace-time production was vastly eased. He is a little-recognized American Hero. Margaret Thatcher "Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy." Pajama Boy for ObamaCare Ayn Rand on Lack of Self-Direction "The man who lets a leader prescribe his course is a wreck being towed to the scrap heap." From The Fountainhead Bastiat on Socialism "Now, legal plunder can be committed in an infinite number of ways. Thus we have an infinite number of plans for organizing it: tariffs, protection, benefits, subsidies, encouragements, progressive taxation, public schools, guaranteed jobs, guaranteed profits, minimum wages, a right to relief, a right to the tools of labor, free credit, and so on, and so on. All these plans as a wholewith their common aim of legal plunderconstitute socialism." Frederic Bastiat, 1801-1850 James Madison Property is "every thing to which a man may attach a value and have a right; and which leaves to every one else the like advantage." "He has a property very dear to him in the safety and liberty of his person. He has equal property in the free use of his faculties and free choice of the objects on which to employ them." "Government is instituted to protect property of every sort; as well that which lies in the various rights of individuals, as that which the term particularly expresses. This being the end of government, that alone is a just government, which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own." "That is not a just government, nor is property secure under it, where arbitrary restrictions, exemptions, and monopolies deny to part of its citizens that free use of their faculties, and free choice of their occupations, which not only constitute their property in the general sense of the word; but are the means of acquiring property so called." "If there be a government then which prides itself in maintaining the inviolability of property: which provides that none shall be taken directly even for public use without indemnification to the owner, and yet directly violates the property which individuals have in their opinions, their religion, their persons, and their faculties; nay more, which indirectly violates their property, in their actual possessions, in the labor that acquires their daily subsistence, and in the hallowed remnant of time which ought to relieve their fatigues and soothe their cares, ... such a government is not a pattern for the United States." [Yet such a property violating government we now have.] Obama According to Ron Pisaturo "My opponents dont have a plan for the economy, for education, for training, for retirement, for health care, for energy, for jobs, for wages, for investments, for diets. What kind of dictators are they?" Ron Pisaturo's paraphrase of Obama's State of the Union Address in January 2014. Starve the Kleptocracy and Tyranny John Galt on the Battle John Galt says in Galt's Speech in Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand: Fight for the value of your person. Fight for the virtue of your pride. Fight for the essence of that which is man: for his sovereign rational mind. Fight with the radiant certainty and the absolute rectitude of knowing that yours is the Morality of Life and that yours is the battle for any achievement, any value, any grandeur, any goodness, any joy that has ever existed on this earth. Groucho Marx "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies." Charles in Pensacola, FL Andrew Jackson "Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth can not be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society -- the farmers, mechanics, and laborers -- who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their Government .... If it would confine itself to equal protection, and, as Heaven does its rains, shower its favors alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, [government] would be an unqualified blessing." Jay Leno "The White House admitted President Obamas chief of staff had advance warning that the IRS was targeting conservative groups. President Obama says the first time he heard about the IRS and AP scandals was from the media. See, thats why President Obama holds press conferences. Its not to explain whats going on. Its to find out whats going on." Government is too big to be well-managed even by a competent manager. It is now apparent what happens when the chief executive is incompetent, but is convinced he is the chief Progressive Elitist. Thomas Jefferson "The democracy will cease when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." "I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." James I, King of Great Britain "The state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth, for kings are not only God's lieutenants upon earth and sit upon God's throne, but even by God himself they are called gods." There is historical precedent for the level of hubris of the Progressive Elitist rulers of our time. Just as James I tried to rule independently of Parliament with a claim of god-like knowledge, so does Obama rule independently of our Congress, secure in the belief that he too has a god-like knowledge of what is best for the People. 2nd Amendment Right Calvin Coolidge Reduced top income tax rate to 25%. Reduced the national debt. Balanced and reduced the budget. Vetoed 50 bills. "I am for economy, and after that I am for more economy. It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones. A Novel by Gen LaGreca Jean Jacques Burlamaqui "Natural liberty is the right, which nature gives to all mankind, of disposing of their persons and property, after the manner they judge most convenient to their happiness, on condition of their acting within the limits of the law of nature, and their not abusing it to the prejudice of their fellow men. To this right of liberty there is a reciprocal obligation corresponding, by which the law of nature binds all mankind to respect the liberty of other men, and not to disturb them in the use they make of it, so long as they do not abuse it." Frederick Douglass Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave. Pamela Geller In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel, Defeat Jihad Roger Scruton, 2006 The English law existed not to control the individual but to free him. Laurence J. Peter Against logic there is no armor like ignorance. Ben Franklin - 2nd Amendment This is why every individual has the right to defend himself, as recognized in the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights. "Democracy... Is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty... Is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." John Milton "Where there is much desire to learn, here of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making." Cato's Letters "the power which every Man has over his own Actions, and his Right to enjoy the Fruits of his own Labour, Art, and Industry, as far as by it he hurts not the Society, or any Members of it, by taking from any Member, or by hindering him from enjoying what he himself enjoys." They Would Rule the People Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged, Part II Democracy -- The Suicide "Remember democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide." John Adams, letter to John Taylor, April 15, 1814 Thomas Jefferson "My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Praise the Constitution Ayn Rand: Philosophical Detection Alan MacFarlane, 1978 The majority of ordinary people in England from at least the thirteenth century were rampant individualists, highly mobile both geographically and socially, economically rational, market-oriented and acquisitive, ego-centered in kinship and social life. Perhaps this is no surprise, for it makes them very like their descendants. On Error and Judgment by Ayn Rand An error made on your own is safer than ten truths accepted on faith, because the first leaves you the means to correct it, but the second destroys your capacity to distinguish truth from error. Howard Roark at his trial: "I came here to say that I do not recognize anyone's right to one minute of my life. Nor to any part of my energy. Nor to any achievement of mine. No matter who makes the claim, how large their number or how great their need." ..... "I wished to come and say that the integrity of a man's creative work is of greater importance than any charitable endeavor. Those of you who do not understand this are the men who're destroying the world." ... "I recognize no obligations toward men except one: to respect their freedom and to take no part in a slave society." Thomas Jefferson "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." Support Science, Reason Atlas Shrugged Part I - The Movie Thomas Paine on Reason California Venus George Bernard Shaw "A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." Paul's immorality is soon characteristic of the entire society, contributing evermore to strife and conflict and the discouragement of productive labor. Fight Big Government Thomas Paine on Principle "A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice." Limited Government Capitalism is the only system that allows Individuals to make their own moral choices and to act upon them. Without individual moral choice, there is no morality and society is mean, brutal, envious, and depressing. The Homage of Reason "Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear." Thomas Jefferson Tocqueville a mans admiration for absolute government is proportionate to the contempt he feels for those around him. First ObamaCare Stole Your Body In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved his title. Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it's yours. But to win it requires your total dedication and a total break with the world of your past, with the doctrine that man is a sacrificial animal who exists for the pleasure of others. Fight for the value of your person. Fight for the virtue of your pride. Fight for the essence of that which is man: for his sovereign rational mind. Fight with the radiant certainty and the absolute rectitude of knowing that yours is the Morality of Life and that yours is the battle for any achievement, any value, and grandeur, any goodness, any joy that has ever existed on this earth. John Galt in Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Hunter -- A Thriller by Robert Bidinotto Socialized Medicine Immoral Government Health Care Barack Hussein Obama A Compass that almost always points to the South Pole. Consensus Consensus means that everyone agrees to say collectively what no one believes individually"- Abba Eban Obama's Socialism Rose Robbins - Singer/Songwriter Who is John Galt? From John Galt's Speech to Americans in Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand: "I am the man who loves his life. I am the man who does not sacrifice his love or his values." "Man's mind is his basic tool of survival. Life is given to him, survival is not. His body is given to him, its sustenance is not. His mind is given to him, its content is not. To remain alive, he must act, and before he can act, he must know the nature and purpose of his action." "But to think is an act of choice." ..... "In any hour and issue of your life, you are free to think or to evade that effort. But you are not free to escape from your nature, from the fact that reason is your means of survival -- so that for you , who are a human being, the question 'to be or not to be" is the question 'to think or not to think.' "A being of volitional consciousness has no automatic course of behavior. He needs a code of values to guide his actions. 'Value' is that which one acts to gain and keep, 'virtue' is the action by which one gains and keeps it. 'Value' presupposes an answer to the question: of value to whom and for what? 'Value' presupposes a standard, a purpose and the necessity of action in the face of an alternative. Where there are no alternatives, no values are possible." "There is only one fundamental alternative in the universe: existence or non-existence -- and it pertains to a single class of entities: to living organisms." "Man has been called a rational being, but rationality is a matter of choice -- and the alternative his nature offers is: rational being or suicidal animal. Man has to be man -- by choice; he has to hold his life as a value -- by choice; he has to learn to sustain it -- by choice; he has to discover the values it requires and practice his virtues -- by choice." "A code of values accepted by choice is a code of morality." "Man's life is the standard of morality, but your own life is its purpose . If existence on earth is your goal, you must choose your actions and values by the standard of that which is proper to man -- for the purpose of preserving, fulfilling and enjoying the irreplaceable value which is your life." "Happiness is the successful state of life, pain is an agent of death. Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one's values. A morality that dares to tell you to find happiness in the renunciation of your happiness -- to value the failure of your values -- is an insolent negation of morality. A doctrine that gives you, as an ideal, the role of sacrificial animal seeking slaughter on the altar of others, is giving you death as your standard. By the grace of reality and the nature of life, man -- every man -- is an end in himself, he exists for his own sake, and the achievement of his own happiness is his highest moral purpose." Thus said John Galt, or shall we say Ayn Rand, the great novelist, philosopher, moralist, and Capitalism's greatest moral defender. The quoted sections above are an abridgment of John Galt's speech in the novel Atlas Shrugged . Between the quotes, no changes were made. A Call to the Sons of Liberty John Paul Jones Charles R. Anderson, Ph. D. The First Known Use of the Concept Freedom The Rational Mind Seeks Truth in the critical observation and understanding of reality. Reality is primary, not man's wishes and whims. Followers Elizabeth Zanzinger Total Pageviews she's sooo beautiful. i was obsessed with her in high school, i even ran a daisy fansite lmao Reply Thread Link I am so jealous of her body tbh. She's so hot. Reply Thread Link she's so beautiful Reply Thread Link Oh gosh when I was in middle school I thought she was the most gorgeous person ever but now she looks so basic to me :-/ idgi... Reply Thread Link It's crazy to me that she's considered a plus sized model. Reply Thread Link She has a great boobs tbh. I remember her Playboy shoot. Reply Thread Link YAY OP you're posting about Daisy, I've missed your posts Daisy is still so pretty, but much prettier when she smiles. and that couch she's on, I want it. Reply Thread Link aw lol Reply Parent Thread Link Why still? Lol Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Her triumph pics are....a triumph! She's so gorgeous. Reply Thread Link She looks really pretty but I can't get with the granny panties trend, I just don't like the way it feels being all trapped in there lol Reply Thread Link at least these are kinda cute. i've seen an uptick in those giant white cotton granny knickers lately and i'm like like "wha....????" Reply Parent Thread Link I mean aside from being ugly who wants all that fabric going on under your clothes? Reply Parent Thread Link i like being all tucked in under clothes and accentuating my waist tbh Reply Parent Thread Link scrolled kinda fast and thought that said "campaigns for trump" phew Reply Thread Link oh god I thought I saw 'trump' too Reply Parent Thread Link Always & forever <3 Reply Thread Link i used to love this video lmao Reply Parent Thread Link She's so gorgeous. Reply Thread Link Have we had a post about how she's dating Peaches Geldof's husband? Kind of awkward Reply Thread Link OMG OP HIII mademoiselle looking HAWT as per usual Reply Thread Link It is one hundred and twelve years after the birth of Glenn Miller, and while the oil market was in the mood for an overnight rally, it is now swinging lower. Here are ten energy-related points to consider on this (pinch! punch!) first day of the month: 1) A new month means a new onslaught of economic data releases, and specifically, manufacturing data. China has opened the floodgates overnight, and a bearish wave of numbers has flooded in. Both the official Chinese manufacturing number and the Caixin print were unanimous in being both below-consensus and showing a quickening pace of contraction to boot; the official PMI reached its lowest level since December 2011. 2) Weve also had a bucketload of European economic data to consider today. The Eurozone manufacturing PMI index was a wee bit above consensus, showing expansion led by Germany, but kept in check by Spain, Italy and France. Eurozone unemployment was also positive, reaching a four-year low at 10.3 percent, while German unemployment remained at a record low of 6.2 percent. Related: Electric Vehicles Could Soon Reduce Oil Demand By 13 Million Barrels Per Day 3) Onto the Americas, and Brazil saw manufacturing come in well below expectations at 44.5 (versus 46.5 expected). Canadian economic growth for Q4 was much better than expected, up +0.8 percent annualized, while official U.S. manufacturing index was also decent, coming in better than expected at 51.3 (versus 51 expected). 4) The chart below from the EIA highlights how Iraq showed the second-largest increase in oil production last year, behind the U.S. Production averaged 4.0 million bpd last year, almost 700,000 bpd higher than the volume seen in 2014. This increase meant it accounted for ~75 percent of total OPEC output growth in 2015. In third place, Saudi was no slouch last year, adding over 300,000 bpd: 5) Pemex is making some serious spending cuts this year, according to Pemex director Jose Antonio Gonzalez. The Mexican state-run oil company is halting a number of exploration and production projects, including deep-water exploration, in an effort to cut its budget by ~$5.5 billion. Pemex says production is set to be dented by 100,000 bpd, finishing the year at 2.13 mn bpd. Related: Oil Giant Cuts Budget By 80 Percent And Suspends Fracking 6) Driven by the threat of losing exploration rights on 142 offshore blocks, companies such as Total and BP are said to be in the market for drilling rigs, helicopters and support vessels to start projects at deepwater Brazilian fields, as permits which were bought up in 2013 (think: $100 oil) are about to expire. The companies have the option to either drill or abandon permits, which would mean they would face fines and the loss of exploration rights. Hence, despite the unfavorable price environment, the lesser evil for these producers is to be proactive with production to start as early as next year. (Click to enlarge) 7) Yesterday we highlighted how Petrobras has signed a deal with the Chinese Development Bank to obtain $10 billion in loans in exchange for supplying crude to Chinese companies. The chart below shows how Chinas appetite for crude imports is expected to continue to grow considerably in the coming years; the IEA projects imports to rise by 2.6 mn bpd by 2021. (Click to enlarge) 8) Nonetheless, Brazil accounts for a minimal share of Chinas crude imports. According to our ClipperData, China received an average of 176,000 bpd of crude from Brazil last year (some 3 percent of waterborne volumes, 2 percent of total imports). While volume may grow in light of this deal, it will be a drop in the bucket compared to the extra 2.6 mn bpd needed by 2021 the equivalent of Brazils current total output. All the while, our February figures show Saudi Arabia accounted for over 20 percent of Chinese waterborne imports last month, the highest share since 2014 (think: Saudi turning the screws on Iran). Related: Oil Price And Its Effect On Production 9) The EIA has released its latest set of monthly oil data, and while U.S. production continues to hold up well, coming in at 9.262 bpd in December, it was the first time that monthly production was lower on a year-on-year basis since September 2011. 10) Not only is it the birthday of the mighty Harry Belafonte, but also Kesha and Justin Bieber. A super Tuesday indeed By Matt Smith More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: John Oliver takes down Donald Trump Now, "super Tuesday" primary elections scheduled for March 1st, will likely be a sweep for Trump's campaign. He'll march to the Republican national convention and the could eventually (unbelievably) be the party's presidential nominee! Unless, of course, he's stopped. Maybe. the onslaught of bad Trump publicity will miraculously block the Southern "super Tuesday" extremists from voting for a candidate who is supported by the previous Ku Klux Klan racist leader, David Duke. What took the Republican so long to wake up? John Oliver devoted his entire 30-minute show on Sunday to , comparing the GOP presidential frontrunner to a mole that can no longer be ignored. Oliver criticized Trump's portrayal of himself as a successful businessman while argued the Republican is thin-skinned, a liar and inconsistent with his public positions. "I get that the character of Donald Trump is entertaining, and that he says things that people want to hear," Oliver said. "And I know that his very name is powerful." But Oliver argued that Trump isn't what he seems. Here are some of the qualities many supporters have listed about Trump and Oliver's counterpoints: "He tells it like it is": "Does he? Because the website PolitiFact checked 77 of his statements, and rated 76 percent of them as varying degrees of false." "He is truly independent and not beholden to anyone": "While it is true that he hasn't taken corporate money, the implication that he has personally spent $20 to $25 million is a bit of a stretch, because what he's actually done is loaned his own campaign $17.5 million and has just personally given just $250,000. And that's important, because up until the convention he can pay himself back for the loan with campaign funds." "He's tough": "For a tough guy, he has incredibly thin skin. Back in 1988, Spy magazine called him a short-fingered vulgarian. And ever since, the editor Graydon Carter says he receives envelopes from Trump, always with a photo on which he circled his hand to highlight the length of his fingers, usually with a note reading, 'See, not so short!'" "His success": "While yes, he has made more money than most of us will make in a lifetime, not only did he get a multimillion-dollar inheritance from his father, but he's also lost a huge amount." Oliver then played a clip of Trump's daughter saying, "I remember once my father and I were walking down Fifth Avenue and there was a homeless person sitting right outside of Trump Tower. And I remember my father pointing to him and saying, 'You know, that guy has $8 billion more than me.' Because he was in such extreme debt at that point." Oliver also noted one other issue with Trump: He's wildly inconsistent. "He's been pro-choice and pro-life, for and against assault weapon bans, in favor of both bringing in Syrian refugees and deporting them out of the country." Or take Trump's inconsistent statements on former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke's endorsement of Trump. To CNN, Trump said, "I don't know anything about David Duke. Okay? I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists." Oliver was not having it, pointing to Trump's Oliver concluded that the best way to take down Trump is to uncouple him from his brand his name. And it turns out that the Trump family's name was once Drumpf. Oliver explained how this could work: ": "While yes, he has made more money than most of us will make in a lifetime, not only did he get a multimillion-dollar inheritance from his father, but he's also lost a huge amount."Oliver then played a clip of Trump's daughter saying, "I remember once my father and I were walking down Fifth Avenue and there was a homeless person sitting right outside of Trump Tower. And I remember my father pointing to him and saying, 'You know, that guy has $8 billion more than me.' Because he was in such extreme debt at that point."Oliver also noted one other issue with Trump: He's wildly inconsistent. "He's been pro-choice and pro-life, for and against assault weapon bans, in favor of both bringing in Syrian refugees and deporting them out of the country."Or take Trump's inconsistent statements on former. To CNN, Trump said, "I don't know anything about David Duke. Okay? I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists."pointing to Trump's past remarks to journalists : "Really? That's your best answer there? Because you definitely know who he is partly because you called him 'a bigot' and 'a racist' in the past."Oliver concluded that the best way to take down Trump is to uncouple him from his brand his name. And it turns out that the Trump family's name was once. Oliver explained how this could work: "That is why tonight I am asking America to make Donald Drumpf again," Oliver added. Oliver then announced the launch of the #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain and the website Drumpf . "We cannot keep getting blinded by the magic of his name," Oliver said. "So please, don't think of him as Donald Trump. Think of him as something else." As a matter of fact, Maine Writer has thought of Donald Trump as a "Chump," for a long long time. It's impossible for me to think of the racist, extremist, egotist, narcissistic Drumpf as the leader of the free world. If you are thinking of voting for Donald Trump, the charismatic guy promising to make America great again, stop and take a moment to imagine how you would feel if you just met a guy named Donald Drumpf, a litigious serial liar with a string of broken business ventures and the support of a former Klan leader who he can't decide whether or not to condemn. Would you think he would make a good president, or is the spell now somewhat broken?"That is why tonight I am asking America to make Donald Drumpf again," Oliver added.Oliver then announced the launch of the #and the website DonaldJDrumpf.com , where anyone can download a browser extension that replaces Trump's name with"We cannot keep getting blinded by the magic of his name," Oliver said. "So please, don't think of him as Donald Trump. Think of him as something else."As a matter of fact, Maine Writer has thought of Donald Trump as a "Chump," for a long long time. It's impossible for me to think of the racist, extremist, egotist, narcissistic Drumpf as the leader of the free world. Labels: David Duke, John Oliver Get ready to soak up more bar articles, imbibable stories and cocktailing content, brought to by Miller Lite. For more of our Bar stories click here ! Milwaukee is and always has been a city of taverns. We like good beer and cocktails, and we like good company while we drink it. Here are postcard views of eight Brew City bars that have disappeared from the landscape. 1. Greg Logan's Cocktail Lounge In 1958, the Milwaukee Sentinel wrote of this gorgeous-looking place, "Logan ... has been operating a first class cocktail lounge on upper 3rd St. for a quarter century. In examining a menu he was using back in 1934 an interesting price observation came to light. While a summer sausage sandwich sold for a dime and cocktails went for a quarter, the "zombie" still commanded a dollar a throw. 'Our flaming Blue Blazer cocktails has since replaced the zombie,' said Greg. 'It's a drink that renders the hot water bottle obsolete.'" I want one. 2. Red Room Bar The narrow little Red Room Bar sat alongside the considerably more spacious Green Room Restaurant in the Plankinton Arcade, now part of The Shops of Grand Avenue mall. Liberace used to play piano in the Red Room Bar under the pseudonym Walter Busterkeys. Nuff said. 3. Scenic Lounge Check out this place which lived up to its name with its square stools, row of banquettes, curved bar and that incredible exterior and sign. It was located at 730 N. 5th St., between Wisconsin and Wells. 4. Smally's Tavern This place was an arm of Smally's liquor "The House That Service Built," as its ads boasted at 1835 W. Vliet St. In fact, the tavern run by Edward Smally looks like it's actually in the store in this photo. A full-page 1938 Smally's ad boasts of wine by the truckload and a fifth of gin for 84 cents. The ad also notes that Smally's was open daily until 1 a.m. 5. Tic Toc Club Located across from the Milwaukee Hilton at 634 N. 5th St., the building was later home to other clubs, too, including The Starship. Read more here. 6. Volpano's In 1960, publican and restaurateur Lou Volpano passed away, prompting the Milwaukee Sentinel to lament that he, "has left a void in the hearts of his many friends and patrons. His loss is also a blow to the restaurant industry, as Volpano did a great deal to promote Milwaukee's reputation as a great dine-out city. He left his mark behind him at 2483 W. Capitol Dr." 7. Westward Ho Larry and Buddy Beeks ran this place near the corner of Beloit Road (that may later have been named solely for owner Buddy Beeks), which was known for hosting live music, including the likes of organist Bob Krause in 1954 and around the same time, jazz pianist Tony King. 8. Goodwin's Cocktail Lounge This place, seen here in a 1950s shot, with its padded leather door, checkerboard floor and gorgeous bar was located at 1352 W. Lloyd St. It is now long gone, having left nary a trace, and the site is part of the schoolyard at Lloyd Street School. The opinions expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the opinions of OnMilwaukee.com, its advertisers or editorial staff. Last week, State Rep. Kathy Bernier, a western Wisconsin Republican, stormed out of a "breakfast with legislators" meeting with school officials from the Eau Claire area. Her rapid exit was prompted by, as she put it in news reports, "vile" comments during the meeting. Except she wasn't being called names or anything. Rather, one Eau Claire school board member told Bernier that "Minnesota is beating us," and complained that Wisconsin's school funding formula is "broken." Apparently the truth hurts Minnesota is increasing school funding, and we are not so Bernier took her ball and went home. I think this makes it a good time to talk about school finance. Wait; don't click the red X on your browser just yet! I know school finance is about the most mind-numbingly dull subject you could imagine, but I promise to try to make it interesting. I'll start with good news. February saw the release of a working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research about school finance, checking to see whether specific kinds of changes to state school funding formulas had an effect on student achievement. The answer is yes, more funding leads to better student achievement in high-poverty districts. The NBER paper considers states that have changed their funding formulas after lawsuits over whether funding is "adequate." Where courts have ruled that funding is inadequate, a total of 27 states, they find that the subsequent increase in funding helps students. In particular, they found states raised state spending for all districts, but progressively so poorer districts got a bigger boost than wealthier ones. Students in the poor districts benefited significantly, according to achievement test data. Wisconsin is not one of the states in the study, even though there was a change in the funding formula in the 1990s. That change was not prompted by a lawsuit over adequacy, though; it was, rather, Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson's anti-tax attitude. But more on that in a minute. Starting in 1990, the NBER paper explains, courts moved away from rulings over "equality" in funding between wealthy and poor districts toward, instead, considering whether funding was "adequate" in districts with poor achievement: Was the state's funding formula in part to blame for the low scores in low-income districts? There was in fact a big Wisconsin school funding case, the alliteratively named Vincent v. Voight, decided in 2000, right in the middle of the paper's timeline of 1990 to the present. We don't make the study, though, because in Vincent v. Voight, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court majority opinion, authored by the recently late N. Patrick Crooks, explicitly declined to adopt the adequacy standard. Instead, the court stuck by a standard it had previously used in a pre-1990 equality-era case. Crooks wrote that what the Wisconsin constitution demands, and what the legislature at the time defined as their school-funding standard, is "an equal opportunity for a sound basic education." The court majority created a simple test for whether such a "sound basic education" exists. Because even Wisconsin's poor school districts had funding enough to offer these basics, the court said, no change in the funding formula was needed. Advanced Placement classes canceled? Foreign languages cut? Vocational education decimated? Too bad, Crooks and company said; you still have the three Rs, so suck it up (I'm paraphrasing, but not by much). As is her wont, then-Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson wrote a scathing dissent, and the late Justice William Bablitch added his own. Both of them enumerated problems in low-income districts all over the state, from Milwaukee and Beloit to Wausau and beyond. Abrahamson further added that because the Supreme Court had only just in that ruling set out the test for what a "sound basic education" meant, there was no true hearing on whether Wisconsin was really offering it. And Bablitch wrote, "Despite the historic and commendable efforts by the Governor and the legislature to support public education, after reading this record one is left with the overwhelming realization that, for too many of our children, those efforts have not satisfied even a minimal constitutional guarantee of an equal opportunity for an adequate education." Ouch! But Bablitch's words went unheeded, of course, because Crooks rejected the adequacy standard. What if he had not? What if, in 2000, the state Supreme Court had instead found Abrahamson and Bablitch in the majority, forcing the legislature to boost funding to low-income districts? "Our results thus show that money can and does matter in education," the authors of the NBER paper conclude. "Courts and legislatures can evidently force improvements in school quality for students in low-income districts." The improvements in student achievement cited by this study, as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, "the nation's report card"), were big. After the boosts in funding, "relative test scores rose ... to a 0.09 standard deviation impact in the tenth year after the reform event that if anything continued to grow thereafter." The stats-speak in that sentence is strong, but what it means is that the increase in funding alone for poor districts in the states they studied is enough to move hundreds of thousands of students closer to or beyond proficiency. The results, they say, are cumulative and sustained after funding formulas change. Slate's Jordan Weissmann last week noted this NBER study and a similar one; the other study looked at the same states and found improvements as well in graduation rates and adult poverty rates. NBER's research says that the investment of extra funding has an estimated rate of return of 140 per cent Wisconsin's economy will get back what we spend to help low-income districts and then some. They write that "additional spending yields increased earnings of $4,815 per pupil" once students from these poorer districts hit adulthood and get jobs. In other words, because the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2000 rejected the "adequacy" standard for school funding, bucking the trend set by 27 other states, we have surrendered 15 years of possible gains in student achievement in our low-income school districts, including perhaps, especially Milwaukee. We're now into our second generation of students denied improved economic opportunity in addition to better educational outcomes. Since 2000, thousands of Wisconsin children graduated late or not at all who did not have to; millions of dollars in potential annual earnings evaporated. The blame for all that lies squarely with Crooks and Thompson. What is in place in Wisconsin today is a funding formula that serves wealthy school districts well, sure, but primarily benefits the Wisconsin taxpayer. When Thompson and his legislative allies changed school funding in 1993, they did so not with a promise to bolster the fortunes of Wisconsin's children but with a sop to the anti-tax crowd. The reforms then had three pieces: the "Qualified Economic Offer" rule, which gave districts wide latitude to depress raises in teacher pay; a promise for the state to pay 2/3 of the cost of public K-12 education, which left a lot of funding decisions to a legislature that over the years has been spending-averse; and a revenue limit restricting how much districts could raise through local property taxes to make up for whatever the state didn't provide. That is the mess that Crooks said was hunky-dory in Vincent v. Voight. You can understand, then, why school officials laid into Kathy Bernier with the "vile" thought that Wisconsin's school funding is broken. The QEO and the 2/3 promise are now gone, though. What remains of that is only the revenue cap, and that was cut sharply in 2011. It has not returned to pre-recession levels. Districts are holding referenda left and right to exceed the caps. But realistically, even if low-income districts pass referenda, there is only so much blood to squeeze from the low property-value stones within its own borders. The state has to be the one to change. So I think the time is right for another swing at a school-funding lawsuit. It is not that I believe the current court April election pending is so very different today, or that even if they did rule for more adequate funding, the current legislature has much interest in suddenly sending its love to districts like the Milwaukee Public Schools. It's not even that I think we should follow Abrahamson's advice from her Vincent v. Voight dissent and really apply the test for a "sound basic education" that didn't get a hearing in 2000. Rather, I think the evidence is much more clear now that school funding must be thought of through the lens of adequacy. The NBER authors put it bluntly that "after school desegregation, school finance reform is perhaps the most important education policy change in the United States in the last half century." Funding schools as we do now simply hurts children, there is no question. It is as much a moral imperative to change that as it was to desegregate. In addition, it's clear there's no longer a rational economic argument against reform for adequacy given how well the investment returns economic benefits in addition to educational ones. It wouldn't be hard at all to find some students, parents and even taxpayers ready to sign on claiming they have been hurt educationally or economically by the current formula, ready to submit evidence that "a basic sound education" isn't sufficient anymore. The other side might sputter and stammer the way poor Kathy Bernier did on her way out the door in Eau Claire that the current state of affairs is good enough. She's wrong, and now is the time to prove it in court. Reprinted from The Nation As pundits rush to declare the race over, Robert Reich, Tulsi Gabbard, and Alan Grayson say, "Not so fast." Bernie Sanders (Image by Gage Skidmore) Details DMCA Even before Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders by a wide margin in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary, the political and media elites that police American democracy were busy writing Sanders out of the running. This is what happens in American politics. From the earliest stages of the primary process, pundits and political operatives try to wrap things up in tidy little boxes of conventional wisdom. Again and again, the message is delivered: Everything is finished but the final counting up of delegates, despite the fact that the vast majority of states have not voted. The pressure to conclude the competition disempowers voters and damages the discourse, and candidates have every right and reason to resist the rush to shut the competition down before it has really begun. But resistance is futile if a candidate gets no encouragement to challenge the emerging narrative. That is one of the reasons why a once-crowded Republican presidential race is a whole lot less crowded these days. Something has upset the rush to write off Sanders, however. It seems that a good many Democrats, including several prominent partisans who just endorsed the insurgent, are disinclined to embrace the conventional wisdom. Clinton had a very good Saturday in South Carolina--The March primary schedule offers her plenty of openings to solidify that status, and this had headline writers declaring: "Sanders supporters may soon have to choose between Clinton and Trump." Sanders says he can go the distance. And his supporters signaled that they are ready for the long run. Immediately before and after South Carolina's primary voting, Sanders spoke to huge crowds in Dallas and Kansas City and Tulsa and Oklahoma City, communities where few would have predicted even a year ago that a democratic socialist would attract thousands of cheering supporters. At the same time, the senator won two of the highest-profile endorsements of his run. Click Here to Read Whole Article Image Deleted Because Wiki Page Empty or Removed Image As I write this column, the polls haven't yet opened for "Super Tuesday." By the time you read it, polling predicts that Donald Trump will have carried at least 12 of the 13 Republican primary and caucus states, the possible exception being Texas (which may go for Ted Cruz), and that Hillary Clinton will have won 10 of 12 Democratic contests (Bernie Sanders is expected to carry Vermont and Colorado). If the polls are right, Trump and Clinton are, at this point, essentially unstoppable in pursuit of their parties' presidential nominations. Over the years I've become desensitized to the constant talk about how this or that election is "the most consequential of our lifetimes." It's usually just not true, because the "major party" candidates are usually as alike as peas in a pod. But it may be true this year, precisely because the two candidates are as alike as Juan and Evita Peron. Over the years I've also become desensitized to the constant talk about this being the year a "third party" finally breaks out, because as much as I'd like to believe that (I'm a long-time Libertarian Party activist), it's also usually just not true. But it may be true this year, because we seem to have hit bottom in our long slide into banana republicanism -- the culmination of, among other things, George W. Bush's "unitary executive" claims and Barack Obama's "pen and phone" posturing. The first step, as Alcoholics Anonymous points out, is admitting you have a problem. There's certainly no denying that at this point. We seem to be at the point where America has two choices: Up, or out. We can pull ourselves up from our authoritarian funk, or we can finally tip ourselves over into the dustbin of history. I'm not placing any bets on which way things will go in the here and now, although my money is on the dustbin option for the long term (I always bet with the odds). It seems to me, however, that if there is ever going to be a libertarian moment in American politics, it has to come soon, and that this year is its best chance. Since 1972, the Libertarian Party has consistently offered American voters their best shot at national resurgence and a new birth of freedom. We've been right on economics. We've been right on foreign policy. We've been right on immigration. We've been right on all the burning social issues. But being right has never been enough. While hundreds of Libertarians have served and continue to serve in public office, we've never worked our way higher up the elective political ladder than state legislative seats. It's always been easier for voters to just go with the flow, kick the can down the road, etc. So, how's that working out for you? The polls say not so well. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton? If that's not the bottom of the barrel, the barrel has no bottom. Time to vote Libertarian. Or to quit pretending you care about your country. Reprinted from Huffington Post Hillary Clinton refuses to make public the transcripts of her speeches to big banks, three of which were worth a total of $675,000 to Goldman Sachs. She says she would release the transcripts "if everybody does it, and that includes Republicans." After all, she complained, "Why is there one standard for me, and not for everybody else?" As the New York Times editorial board pointed out, "The only different standard here is the one Mrs. Clinton set for herself, by personally earning $11 million in 2014 and the first quarter of 2015 for 51 speeches to banks and other groups and industries." Hillary is not running in the primaries against Republicans, who, the Times noted, "make no bones about their commitment to Wall Street deregulation and tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans." She is running against Bernie Sanders, "a decades-long critic of Wall Street excess who is hardly a hot ticket on the industry speaking circuit," according to the Times. Why do voters need to know what Hillary told the banks? Because it was Wall Street that was responsible for the 2008 recession, making life worse for most Americans. We need to know what, if anything, she promised these behemoths. I Scratch Your Back, You Scratch Mine Hillary has several super PACs, which have recently donated $25 million to her campaign, $15 million of which came from Wall Street. Big banks and large contributors don't give their money away for nothing. They expect that their interests will be well served by those to whom they donate. Hillary recently attended an expensive fundraiser at Franklin Square Capital, a hedge fund that gives big bucks to the fracking industry. Two weeks later, Hillary's campaign announced her continuing support for the production of natural gas, which comes from fracking. Bernie opposes fracking. He said, "Just as I believe you can't take on Wall Street while taking their money, I don't believe you can take on climate change effectively while taking money from those who would profit off the destruction of the planet." Bernie's "Political Revolution" Bernie has no super PACs. His campaign has received four million individual contributions, that average $27 each. Perhaps Rupert Murdoch multiplied that amount by $100 in setting $2,700 a head as the entrance fee for Hillary's latest campaign gala? Bernie has called for a "political revolution" that "takes on the fossil fuel billionaires, accelerates our transition to clean energy, and finally puts people before the profits of polluters." He would retrain workers in the fossil fuel industries for clean energy jobs. Bernie reminds us that the top one-tenth of 1% owns nearly as much wealth as the bottom 90%, and 99% of all new income goes to the top 1%. Unlike Hillary, he says healthcare is a right -- not a privilege -- and college and university tuition should be free. Bernie and Congressman John Conyers introduced legislation to allocate $5.5 billion to states and communities to create employment programs for African-American youth. They say, "instead of putting military style equipment into police departments ... we [should] start investing in jobs for the young people there who desperately need them." How will we pay for all that? "If we cut military spending and corporate welfare, we would have more than enough money to meet America's needs," Bernie wrote in his 1997 book, Outsider in the House. "This nation currently spends $260 billion a year on defense, even though the Cold War is over," not counting "$30 billion spent annually on intelligence or the $20 billion in defense-related expenditures hidden away in our federal spending on energy," he added. Today, with all the wars our government is prosecuting, that figure is nearly $600 billion. With Bernie Sanders, we have a unique opportunity to reverse long-standing priorities that favor the few at the expense of the many. Let us seize the time. 2/28/16: 12:25 AM Folks, Bernie Sanders lost by a large margin last night in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary. Sanders' "concession" speech will likely be followed by many more. However, I trust that his message is something he will not concede until he has lost his final contest, hopefully many years from now when he ends up in a far better place than Washington D.C. Unfortunately, that message may be lost to the American people as soon as a Donald Trump or even Hillary Clinton steps into the White House. The problems about which Mr. Sanders continues to rail, need to be addressed by a sitting president, directly to the voters via the bully pulpit. It is something that Mr. Obama has repeatedly avoided, apparently due to his own party members' objections, and it is the very reason that Sanders has remained an independent for so many years. Unfortunately, the passionate but mild-mannered Sanders lacks the biting sarcasm along with the specific if shocking solutions that would resonate among both middle-class Democrats and Republicans. Last night, he rightfully pointed out that it is not reasonable to expect a retiree to live on one thousand to twelve hundred dollars a month. Meanwhile, the Social Security trust fund is supposed to be in financial jeopardy. The junior Bush administration raided the trust fund, transferring trillions of dollars to the general fund, leaving worthless I.O.U.s behind in some drawer in the Treasury building. Most of the money was wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan on some one hundred eighty thousand of the administration's favorite carpetbagger friends, including Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, and scores of defense contractors. The rest of it was reserved for the killing of thousands of our best young men and women and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, mostly civilians. I believe that two trillion dollars divided by sixty million Medicare-Social Security (non welfare) recipients comes out to over $33,000 per recipient, does it not? Now I realize that my sophist law professor friends will say that it is legal for the Citizens United-infected Congress to forgive the I.O.U.s languishing in the Treasury, but I have a better idea--Mr. Sanders. Since the money was essentially stolen for the purpose of padding the general tax fund, now suggest your tax on Wall Street transactions as a way to pay back the Social Security trust fund. That's where the blood money should have come from to begin with. After all, Wall Street and Big Business ended up with most of that money anyway. What did you say, Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton, Republicans, even Mr. Trump? In truth, you owe those seniors a thousand dollars more a month for the next thirty-three years! I realize that some of Bernie Sanders' ideas are naively extravagant. Some, like completely free state college tuition, can easily be compromised to cheap guaranteed loans without many students complaining. A single-payer healthcare system, properly regulated, government or privately owned, out of the control of the lobbies, could cut healthcare costs virtually in half! Even Donald Trump knows this. If healthcare were paid for with a graduated healthcare tax, then companies could be made to pay higher wages and to increase employment opportunities within our borders in exchange for not having to pay for employee healthcare and in exchange for lower corporate taxes. Corporate taxes represent "dead' money, given to the government and buried in someone's pocket. Money paid in wages is spent and respent many times and generates far more tax receipts for the government. I don't hear anyone suggesting any other reasonable alternatives. Are they afraid that someone might actually agree with some of these ideas and then they would have to actually do something of value without huge campaign "thank yous" from their extremist friends? Bernie might as well "let it all hang out" and finally talk about "Justice" Clarence Thomas and the shocking absence of a special prosecutor investigating him for violation of the Honest Services Statute. Bernie, you're not going to win this thing anyway, but you can contribute more to "law and order" than anyone has in decades by simply addressing the issue. Thomas' lobbyist wife makes hundreds of thousands of dollars influencing the very decisions that her amoral husband makes. Even the most cowardly and shiftless officers of the American Bar Association realize this but are afraid to threaten disbarment. The equally guilty Congress has no intention of impeaching their most dependable ally and accomplice in the war against voting. The current "Justice" Department, after some fifteen years of Presidents Clinton and Obama's corrupt relative, Eric Holder, and another eight years of the Bush political inquisition have rarely prosecuted anyone who is guilty of a crime or defended anyone who is innocent in twenty-three years. I think it may be time for someone to finally speak up, don't you? P.S. When is the only responsible adult candidate in the Republican kindergarten class finally going to raise his voice and admonish the "Three Stooges" to start acting like presidential candidates? (No insult intended to the actual Moe, Larry, and Curly.) When will he finally awaken from his nap and accuse the children of insulting each other to avoid the issues because they can't tell their butts from a hole in the ground? Mr. Kasich: it's time for you to speak up too! Have a nice day, folks and don't forget to vote. Al Finkelstein, 2/28/16 1MDB has said it has not paid any funds into the personal accounts of the prime minister. A spokesperson for 1MDB declined to comment on the latest report when contacted by Reuters. Citing two unnamed people familiar with flows into Najibs accounts and a person familiar with one overseas investigation, the report said more than $1bn was deposited from 2011 to 2013, far more than the $681m earlier identified The paper said global investigators believe much of the $1bn originated with the state fund, known as 1MDB, but did not specify where the extra money came from or what happened to it.The report contradicts a conclusion reached recently by Malaysias chief law officer.Attorney general Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib in January of any corruption or criminal offences, saying the $681m transferred into Najibs account was a gift from a member of Saudi Arabias royal family and that most of it was returned.The prime ministers office had no immediate comment, a spokesman said when contacted by Reuters.Najib has been buffeted for months by allegations of graft and financial mismanagement at debt-burdened 1MDB and in particular by revelations of the transfer of around $681m into his account in 2013. He has denied wrongdoing , saying the funds were a legal political donation and he did not take any money for personal gain.The Wall Street Journal report said money beyond the $681m arrived in Najibs account in 2011 and 2012.It said investigators in two countries believed funds originated from 1MDB and moved through a complex web of transactions. Najib is chairman of the board of advisors to IMDB, a fund set up in 2009, when he came to office, to invest in projects of national importance. Probes into the funds finances have been opened in Malaysia, the United States, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Abu Dhabi, the Wall Street Journal said.The report came hours after former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad quit the ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno) party, saying it is being seen as supporting corruption under Najibs leadership.Mahathir, Malaysias longest-serving leader, remains an influential figure and has become the fiercest critic of Najib I wont call it Umno anymore, this is Najibs party. I feel embarrassed that I am associated with a party that is seen as supporting corruption it had caused me to feel ashamed, Mahathir told reporters.Communications minister Salleh Said Keruak said in a blog that if Mahathir wanted to continue to attack Umno then he should do so outside Umno.Ibrahim Suffian from Merdeka Center, an independent opinion polling firm, said Mahathirs exit will have limited short-term impact on Umno. But in the longer term, he may create problems by taking his stage to the larger Malaysian electorate, he said.The 90-year-old Mahathir, premier from 1981 to 2003, said he would not set up a new party or join another party.But he said he would set up a core group to work on removing the prime minister, adding that with opposition parties, we only agree on one thing that is to get rid of Najib.Najib has been tightening his grip over Umno, amid growing calls by detractors in the party, and the opposition, for him to step down over allegations of graft at 1MDB and revelations of transfers into his bank account.Supporters of Najib forced Mahathirs son Mukhriz to step down as chief minister of Kedah state and Umno last week suspended its deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin, seen as a Mahathir ally, for criticising Najib.This is the second time Mahathir has quit Umno. He resigned after the ruling coalition lost its two-thirds majority in parliament in the 2008 elections. In 2009, prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was replaced by Najib, prompting Mahathir to rejoin.Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/01/more-than-1bn-deposited-malaysian-prime-minister-account-najib-razak US would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Pakistan: John Kerry WASHINGTON US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that the US would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Pakistan in its brave fight against terrorism. He said while appreciating Islamabad's support for efforts to promote reconciliation with Afghanistan. The US Secretary made these remarks at the start of the 6th Ministerial Review of Pak-US Strategic Dialogue Process to discuss a broad range of issues including economy, investment, education and energy cooperation. Kerry said that the dialogue is a chance to reaffirm mutual commitment to a very strong bilateral, enduring relationship based on mutual respect and mutual interest. Referring to the last month's attack at the Bacha Khan University, he said that the United States condemns such heinous act and will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Pakistan and its people in their brave fight against violent extremism. The US secretary observed that the terrorists were targeting educational institutions and students because they wanted to halt Pakistan's future and deprive the young people of the knowledge they need to compete in a global economy and build a strong and prosperous and free society. He said that the Pakistani people have made it clear they will not be intimidated or denied the right to build a future of their own design. In that effort, they can absolutely count on the continued friendship and support of the United States, he added. Kerry said that during nearly seven decades of friendship, bilateral ties have sometimes been strained but both nations always recovered as people of the two countries share a fundamental desire of stability, the hope for peace, and support for regional and global economic development. On regional security, he said that the two countries were going to continue efforts to promote stability and defeat those who foment extremism and violence.In this connection, the United States appreciates Pakistan's support for efforts to promote reconciliation with Afghanistan. From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As... General Job @ Section 8, Petaling JayaThe job scope is assisting in preparing report in power point format.Preferable those who could come in with a regular schedule for long term and familiar with basic Power Point.Training will be provided.Interested applicants are welcome to apply online via email with a details resume to [email protected] Skills: Assist in posting data into Power PointsLocation: Section 8, Petaling JayaState: SelangorOnsite: YesSalary: RM 10 / HourWorking Hour: 10am-6pmStart Date: 2016-Mar-01Duration: 3 monthsContact: Cora WongPhone: 016-3327422 By Paul Shalala Dr. Grace Mukupa She grew up in a poor family in Mwanamangala Village in what is now Shibuyunji District of Central Zambia... The mathematical (and other) thoughts of a (now retired) math teacher, See the all-new STEVE PIECZENIK TALKS at StevePieczenik.com Economic development, current events, travel, sustainable living, and fatherhood, all from an agrarian perspective We would like to extend our greetings to everyone of our readers. Your donation is very much helpful for us to continue serving you top information. Thank You -pinoyfavs- Welcome Welcome to Conservative Musings. The purpose of this blog is to discuss with everyone (conservatives, moderates, independents and progressives) the issues of the day in an intelligent discussion. We believe that discussion can lead to agreement or an agreement to disagree but it must be held in a mutually respectful environment. We learn nothing from name calling or argument for argument's sake therefore we will not allow that to happen here. We will post our point of view and want a spirited discussion of the issues. Please express your opinions, hopefully we all can learn. GLENS FALLS Four consecutive quarterly tests in 2015, the most recent on Dec. 22, detected no presence of the chemical PFOA in Glens Falls drinking water, said City Engineer Steve Gurzler. PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid, is the potentially cancer-causing chemical that contaminated the municipal drinking water supply in Hoosick Falls, and has been found in five private wells in North Bennington, Vermont. We were unable to detect it in our water supply using the specified test, Gurzler said. Gurzler said the quarterly tests were conducted as part of a federal Environmental Protection Agency process for regulating new contaminants, not because of any suspected PFOA contamination of Glens Falls drinking water. Periodically, every couple of years, they come out with a new list of things they want us to sample for to see if they need to regulate them, he said. Gurzler was responding to a report by Albany Times Union freelance columnist Fred LeBrun on Sunday that mentioned sites of PFOA contamination or possible contamination. So now we play hopscotch with PFOA contamination as if the state is just now discovering there may be other sites. Petersburgh, the Little Hoosick, nearby Bennington, and, Im told, Glens Falls could show up on that radar as well. Gurzler said the report is not accurate, and suggested LeBrun may have confused Glens Falls with some other community with a similar sounding name. Nobody from the Health Department has talked to us about requesting any additional monitoring, he said. Glens Falls Mayor Jack Diamond also disputed LeBruns report. We have done some testing, and theres no traces at all in our city water, he said. LeBrun, contacted by The Post-Star, defended his report. He said a Glens Falls company used PFOA in its manufacturing process from 1997 to 2002. LeBrun said he learned of it from an engineer who was associated with the company, W.F. Lake Corp. That plant is located in the Warren-Washington Counties Industrial Park, which straddles the Queensbury-Kingsbury town line and is not in the city of Glens Falls. It comes from somebody who was intimately involved with creating the process, LeBrun said. A Post-Star call to W.F. Lake on Monday was not returned. PFOA is a material used in the manufacture of products, such as Teflon, to coat metal to prevent sticking or coat fabrics to resist stains. Tests have shown the chemical to cause cancer in animals, but not necessarily in humans, according to the American Cancer Society. The state Health Department is not currently involved in activities related to the Queensbury company, said JP OHare, a Health Department spokesman. OHare referred questions about Glens Falls drinking water to city officials. Queensbury Supervisor John Strough said even if the company had used PFOAs in its manufacturing process, it is very unlikely the chemical would have contaminated either the Queensbury or Glens Falls water supply because of the proximity of the industrial park to the section of the Hudson River where Queensbury draws its drinking water or the reservoirs in Queensbury where Glens Falls draws its drinking water. I dont think that groundwater flows toward the Hudson. Thats part of the Lake Champlain Basin groundwater, he said, referring to groundwater from the industrial park. Gurzler, the city engineer, said there are no industrial plants in close proximity to the citys reservoirs. Its not likely that our (Glens Falls) water supply, which is surrounded by residential land or forest land, would have any PFOA in it, he said. In Hoosick Falls, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, the factory believed to be responsible for the contamination in that village, is located close to municipal wells, said Peter Iwanowicz, executive director of Environmental Advocates, an advocacy group in Albany. In instances where it was not directly into a water discharge or was away from wells, hopefully that wont be showing up, he said. QUEENSBURY Democratic congressional candidate Mike Derrick supports closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center, so long as there is a deliberate process to determine where remaining detainees should be moved. I think it is high time to close Guantanamo, Derrick said, responding to a question from the audience at a campaign event in Queensbury. Obama has proposed closing the detention center for terrorists, which is located in Cuba, and moving about 30 detainees to other countries and about 60 detainees to the United States. Current law prohibits detainees from being moved to the United States. Its a very, very complicated issue, but it has been something outside our military judicial system and something outside our national judicial system for now 15 years, Derrick said at the event on Saturday. It just doesnt fit either into the civil code or the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Derrick clarified he does not think the detention center should be closed immediately. I dont want people to think that I am in favor of a bold stroke here to just suddenly close it and then find some other way to address these people. Its a matter of timing, he said. Derrick said Congress would have to approve moving detainees to the United States. It cant be done by the President without the cooperation and the consideration of the Congress, he said Tuesday. This is where we as a nation are poorly served in that relationship between our Congress and our president because they are not working on these national security issues together, he said. Derrick, a retired Army colonel, is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, in November. Matt Funiciello, the Green Party candidate in 2014, is laying groundwork to run again. Stefanik opposes moving detainees to the United States, and voted along with 369 House colleagues on the law to prohibit it, said Tom Flanagin, the congresswomans spokesman. Derrick, on Saturday, also said the process should move forward to nominate a new U.S. Supreme Court justice to replace Antonin Scalia, who died recently. When it comes to the appointment of a new member of the Supreme Court, we have a system which is in place. And theres nothing in the Constitution that says that if it happens in the last year of a presidency we suspend the process to wait for the next elected chief executive, he said. So the president should nominate someone, and then the Senate, specifically, should consider that nomination. Stefanik has said she does not have a position on the nomination process. The timeline for Justice Scalias replacement will be determined between the president and the U.S. Senate, and Congresswoman Stefanik respects this constitutional process, Flanagin said Tuesday. About 45 people attended the campaign event on Saturday at the home of Harrison and Tricia Freer. Mike brings a wealth of experience and practical knowledge, and a very measured voice, said Warren County Democratic Chairwoman Lynne Boecher. Derrick criticized Stefaniks score of 9, out of a possible 100 points, on the recent League of Conservation Voters 2015 National Environmental Scorecard, the second-lowest score in New Yorks congressional delegation. Stefanik voted in line with the environmental groups positions on just two of 35 bills and amendments the group used as the basis of its scorecard, on which Democrats typically scored significantly higher than Republicans. She was second to last. And yet she represents what is the most important ecological environmental zone of New York state, which is the Adirondacks, Derrick said. I would take very different votes in that regard. Flanagin, the Stefanik spokesman, said The Nature Conservancy, a separate national conservation group, awarded Stefanik a Supporter of Nature award in October. Flanagin said Stefanik supported legislation to extend tax credits for wind and solar power, ban synthetic microbeads, and extend the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and she was an original co-sponsor of a resolution recognizing climate change. Congresswoman Stefanik is proud of her work on behalf of North Country constituents and continues to work in a bipartisan fashion in Congress, he said. Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, with a 46, had the highest score of any Republican in the New York congressional delegation. QUEENSBURY Donnie Dean says he just wants to find quiet tenants for his rental properties in West Glens Falls. The property owner found himself at the center of a controversy two years ago when he spraypainted drug-related phrases on a Rhode Island Avenue home he owns out of frustration over an inability to promptly evict a drug dealer. Now Dean faces criminal charges for a dispute with more troublesome tenants at a different location. Dean faces a misdemeanor criminal contempt charge in Town Court for going to a Main Street apartment building he supervises in violation of an order of protection issued on behalf of one of his tenants after he had argued with the tenant over rent. Dean said the tenants threw beer and spit at him on July 13 when he went to the 88 Main St. building to inquire about rent that hadnt been paid in months. He responded by throwing a cup of coffee at them, he said. Dean was charged with harassment later that evening, and an order of protection was issued, barring him from the building. Nearly five months later, he was driving on Main Street when his pickup truck broke down in front of the building. He said he has the towing bill to prove the truck had to be removed from the scene, but a tenant who spotted him there called police. Officers arrested Dean three days later, charging him with violating the order of protection. The protection order barred him from the property he managed for a friend. The tenants have since been evicted. For six months I couldnt go to my house, he said. Dean made headlines in 2014 when he spraypainted the words crackhouse, heroin and meth on the home at 24 Rhode Island Ave. that he managed for his late mothers estate. The spraypainting was done out of frustration over drug activity at the home and the slow pace of the eviction process, he said. One of the tenants was later sent to state prison for a felony drug conviction. One of the tenants involved in the recent drama on Main Street had been a tenant of the Rhode Island Avenue home as well. Ironically, one of the tenants involved also had an order of protection against the person she was living with, but no action was taken based on apparent violations of that order, Dean said. Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan said her office was not asking for a jail term in the case, but believed that Dean should plead guilty to misdemeanor criminal contempt under the circumstances. Dean, though, said he believes he would be committing perjury by pleading guilty to something I didnt do. He is free, pending prosecution in Queensbury Town Court. HEBRON For Hebron, and parts of several others in eastern Washington County, 2016 is looking to be the year of high-speed Internet expansion. Hebron Supervisor Brian Campbell posted in his supervisors blog last week that Vermont Telephone now has an Internet dish on the AT&T tower on McKnight Hill. Service is now available in parts of East Hebron, West Hebron, North Hebron, Slateville and Belcher. The system being used requires residents to be within line of sight of the tower. A second Internet project, which like the first is funded by state grants, will see Hudson Valley Wireless, which has been serving parts of Hartford, complete a tower on Shine Hill. The Albany-based company will also be placing transmission equipment on the county-owned tower on Big Burch Hill. It is very possible that because of our terrain that some people will not have availability right away, but some people might have a choice of which one they want, but line of sight is going to be the issue, Campbell said in his post. If you can see either tower from your residence, you have a great chance. Initial estimates say between 700 and 800 residents will have access to the high-speed Internet right away and more as the expansion goes on. First New York tower Michel Guite, CEO of VTEL, said his company is in the process of putting up 150 towers in Vermont, but at this point just has the one in New York. It simply could not have been made easier by the state and the regulators, Guite said Tuesday. It was so far different from our experience in Vermont, where it was much harder. We couldnt believe it. Guite said the companys immediate focus will be on getting all of its towers working, then reaching out to customers. I think it will be cheap, and I think it will be very fast, he said of the companys service. Other expansions Jason Guzzo, general manager of Hudson Valley Wireless, said he expects his company service to extend into Hebron and North Hebron soon. Granville Supervisor Matt Hicks is also reaching out to Hudson Valley Wireless. We have been in contact with Hudson Valley Wireless about expanding in Granville but it is at the very early stages as their technology is line of sight and they have to build out through Hartford toward Granville, Hicks said. Guzzo said the work being done on Burch Hill will likely bring service to North Granville. We should be able to work up Route 40 as far as routes 22 and 17 throughout Connect New York grant, Guzzo said, adding that more engineering will be needed to connect to Middle Granville. The expansion will also serve more homes and businesses in Hartford. Guzzo said his company is also using small-cell deployments, using access on telephone poles to spread the service. He said the favorable weather may allow things to move forward more quickly than expected, both in completing the new tower and getting the equipment on the Big Burch tower. The equipment is in for the Big Burch tower, we have the link coming in from Glens Falls, and we have the FCC approval, Guzzo said. We are ready to hang within the next week or so and start servicing people. Trains will continue to run on Warren Countys rail line for at least the next five years. The county and the town of Corinth, owners of a rail line from Greenfield to North Creek, have reached an agreement to renew their five-year contract with Iowa Pacific Holdings LLC, operators of Saratoga & North Creek Railway. The contract language is unchanged from the prior agreement, said Matt Simpson, Horicon supervisor and chairman of the county Public Works Committee. The committee voted 8-1 to enter into the contract. Corinth Supervisor Richard Lucia was in attendance at the meeting, and said later that his Town Board would vote on the contract after Warren County's full board takes it up March 18. Ed Ellis, president of Iowa Pacific, attended the committee meeting Monday, telling supervisors the railroad has not needed any public subsidy, has paid more than $6 million in salary to local workers, bought $13 million in local goods and services and generated $150 million in economic impact through its tourist and freight trains. We strongly believe in the future of the railroad in Warren County, he said. He said his company does see improvements that can be made to utilize improved stations along the line and better market itself in Saratoga County. Ellis also revealed that his company had offered to buy the rail line from the county, an offer the county did not accept. No details of the proposal were released. Simpson said the contract was unchanged from the 2011 agreement that brought the company, which operates nine railroads around the country, to upstate New York. It guarantees the county at least $81,000 in revenue annually, and requires that all track maintenance costs be handled by SNCRR. The county gets 6 percent of the revenue Iowa Pacific brings in, with a guaranteed revenue floor. Ellis said the company has paid nearly a million dollars to the county over the length of the contract, with $206,000 coming to the county for 2015 alone as of mid-November last year. Lucia said the town of Corinth would likely endorse an additional five years as well. "We've worked hard and long to get them here and we'd sure like to keep it going," he said. Not everyone was enthused by the contract renewal, however. Thurman Supervisor Evelyn Wood voted against it, while Glens Falls 3rd Ward Supervisor Claudia Braymer said she did not believe the company lived up to its end of the agreement and did not properly advise the county in writing of its wish to renew the deal. The company has discontinued a number of special train trips it had run, including the ski train and Thomas the Tank Engine outings. Lake George Supervisor Dennis Dickinson asked Ellis if the ski train would be revived. Ellis said the company found that more tourist train passengers were going to Gore Mountain to ride the lifts in the summer than winter. He also pointed out that the company is expanding its dinner train service with new trains and additional trips. Chester resident Curt Austin, who has proposed turning the tracks into a bike path, also said he did not believe the company lived up to the contract, and questioned the short notice given for a vote on it. Austin said he felt railroaded by the lack of mention before Mondays meeting that the contract would be the subject of a vote. GLENS FALLS Glens Falls Rotary is part of a collaborative of clubs that received the first grant under a new model for Rotary Foundation grants. The Glens Falls club in collaboration with the Petion-ville, Haiti Rotary, and other contributing Rotary organizations, will receive a $151,000 grant for a water filtration and hygiene initiative in Trianon, Haiti. Pure Water for the World, a Rutland, Vermont-based charity, will distribute bio-sand water filters to 930 families in Haiti and teach the families how to use them and maintain hygiene. Pure Water for the World is expected to begin the project in the spring. The Glens Falls club has raised money for about 10 years for Pure Water for the World projects in Central America. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, major contributors to Rotary Foundation, urged the foundation to adopt a new grant model to increase accountability and insure the long-range impact of projects. For international grants, at least two clubs must collaborate, one of which is in the country where the project is undertaken. Projects must fit in at least one of seven categories, one of which is water and sanitation. The Rotary Foundation matches contributions from Rotary clubs and individuals two-to-one, and matches contributions from Rotary district organizations equally. Eighteen Rotary clubs and four Rotary districts in the United States from New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Arizona and Texas contributed funds, which the Rotary Foundation grant matched. The Elk Rapids, Michigan Rotary asked the Glens Falls Rotary to take the lead on the grant, because the Glens Falls club had experience seeking grants, said Robert Rosoff, who wrote the grant application. Szukana fraza: Branza: Wszystkie kategorie Administracja biurowa Administracja Panstwowa Agencje doradztwa personalnego Analiza Architektura Badania i rozwoj Budownictwo/Geodezja Doradztwo/Konsulting Energetyka/Elektronika Farmaceutyka/Biotechnologia Finanse / Typowe stanowiska Finanse/Ekonomia Franczyza Gastronomia/Catering Geologia/Hydrologia/Tektonika Grafika/Kreacja artystyczna/Fotografia Hotelarstwo/Turystyka/Katering Human Resources Informatyka/Administracja Informatyka/Programowanie Inne Instalacja/Utrzymanie/Serwis Internet/E-Commerce Inzynieria/Konstrukcje/Technologia Kadra zarzadzajaca Kontrola jakosci Kosmetyka/Pielegnacja Ksiegowosc/Audyt/Podatki Lekarz/Farmaceuta/Weterynarz Logistyka/Spedycja/Dystrybucja Marketing/Reklama/Public Relations Media/Sztuka/Rozrywka Motoryzacja Nieruchomosci/Budownictwo Obsuga klienta/Call Center Organizacje pozarzadowe/Wolontariat Praca fizyczna Pracownik ochrony Praktyki Prawo Produkcja Projektowanie/Wdrazanie Rolnictwo/Ochrona srodowiska Suzba zdrowia Sport/Rekreacja Sprzedaz Staze Szkolenia/Edukacja Telekomunikacja Tumaczenia Ubezpieczenia Zakupy Region: Oferty ze wszystkich regionow Caa Polska dolnoslaskie kujawsko-pomorskie lubelskie lubuskie odzkie maopolskie mazowieckie opolskie podkarpackie podlaskie pomorskie slaskie swietokrzyskie warminsko-mazurskie wielkopolskie zachodniopomorskie zagranica Wszystkie oferty 24h 7 dni WYSZUKAJ Aktualna liczba ofert: 19 289 "for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." "...the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone." - "When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves." "As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We need not wait to see what others do. Mahatma Gandhi "We are all prisoners but some of us are in cells with windows and some without." - "What you have as heritage, take now as task; for thus you will make it your own." "When it is dark enough, you can see the stars." - "You were sick, but now you're well, and there's work to do." - "If leaders are unable to slough off yesterday, to abandon yesterday, they simply will not be able to create tomorrow." - Peter Drucker I knew that I would have to be brave. Not foolhardy, not in love with risk and danger, not making ridiculous exhibitions of myself to prove that I wasn't terrified--really genuinely brave. Brave enough to be quiet when quiet was called for, brave enough to observe before flinging myself into something, brave enough to not abandon my true self when someone else wanted to seduce or force me in a direction I didn't want to go, brave enough to stand my ground quietly. - "Everything will turn out alright in the end, and if it's not alright, then it's not the end." "...and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." "We cannot run society for the privileged and allow a significant portion of the population to be marginalized. It impacts the quality of life for all of us if we have 'throw-away' people. A justice system which tolerates injustice is doomed to collapse." - Leonard Noisette "Hear this, young men and women everywhere, and proclaim it far and wide. The earth is yours and the fullness thereof. Be kind, but be fierce. You are needed now more than ever before. Take up the mantle of change. For this is your time." - Winston Churchill "No amount of falls will really undo of us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes are in the airing cupboard.... It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present to us: it is the very sign of his presence ." - C.S. Lewis "Without community, there is no liberation...but community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist." - Audre Lourde Do you see the consequences of the way we have chosen to think about success? Because we so profoundly personalize success, we miss opportunities to lift others onto the top rung...We are too much in awe of those who succeed and far too dismissive of those who fail. And most of all, we become much too passive. We overlook just how large a role we all playand by we I mean societyin determining who makes it and who doesnt. - Malcolm Gladwell "Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." - Martin Luther King, Jr. "As long as one people sit on another and are deaf to their cry, so long will understanding and peace elude all of us."- Chinua Achebe The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. - Nelson Mandela A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the racial realities of our time. Any racial justice movement, to be successful, must vigorously challenge the public consensus that underlies the prevailing system of control. Nooses, racial slurs, and overt bigotry are widely condemned by people across the political spectrum; they are understood to be remnants of the past, no longer reflective of the prevailing public consensus about race. Challenging these forms of racism is certainly necessary, as we must always remain vigilant, but it will do little to shake the foundations of the current system of control. The new caste system, unlike its predecessors, is officially colorblind. We must deal with it on its own terms. - Michelle Alexander For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. - Nelson Mandela "In my country we go to prison first and then become President." -Nelson Mandela "Where there is no vision, people perish..." - Proverbs 29.18"Remember those in prison as though you were in prison with them." - Hebrews 13:3"Money is in some respects life's fire: it is an excellent servant, but a terrible master." - P.T. Barnum"A man is at his strongest when he is willing to be vulnerable." - Paulo CoelhoBroad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all ones lifetime. Mark Twain"I thanked him much for telling me the way he got his wealth, but chiefly for his wish that he might drink my noble health." - Lewis CarrollMy response to this stumbling is another test and I refuse to fail it. I will not waste this crisis...I will not wallow in self-pity nor will I beat myself up over something that is behind me and I've been forgiven for doing." - Brian Jorgenson"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett ANOTHER BLOG FROM NEVILLE STEPHENS ON BIBLICAL ESCHATOLOGY. Speaking at a sustainable fisheries reporters' workshop in Ghana, The World Bank director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Henry Kerali, said globally, over 300 million livelihoods are estimated to depend on ocean fishing, aquaculture, and tourism, with 97 percent of livelihoods directly dependent on fisheries and aquaculture occurring in developing countries, mostly in small-scale operations in Asia. Africa accounts for a small share around 5 per cent of the global fisheries and aquaculture, producing just above 9 million tons annually but the fast increase in population and per-capita income, demand for fish and seafood in the region is expected to increase by 30% by 2030, he said. But, through Africa there are too many boats and too many fishers chasing too few fish. The consequence has been biological degradation of fish resources and substantial economic losses. Globally, the economic loss from poor fisheries governance and management amounts to $50-100 billion each year. Across Africa, there are over 12 million people engaged in the fisheries sector, including inland fishing, fish farming and marine capture fisheries. While much of the world relies on the ocean for livelihood, it is under threat, Kerali said, with 20 percent of sea grass lost since 1970, and 20 per cent of mangrove habitats since 1980. Coral reefs have globally declined by 38 percent since 1980, and the ocean is becoming more polluted. He quoted a recent report by the World Economic Forum that said 2050 plastics will outweigh fish in the oceans. Further, climate change is is putting additional pressure on coastal natural resources. The effects include increased weather-related disasters, accentuated coastal erosion, which affects coastal communities the most. In the next decade, millions more people will be less resilient against shocks in coastal zones in Africa. In West Africa, coastal erosion is as much as 10 meters per year in some areas, he said. He said the World Bank was committed to investing in fisheries as a pathway out of poverty and into prosperity for millions of families across Africa, while generating a steady stream of revenues for countries. As the industry expands, the World Bank was calling for policies to guide it and prevent further resource degradation, rehabilitate overexploited stocks, and manage overall fishing effort levels, he said. With commitment to improve fisheries governance and management, and to develop sustainable aquaculture, the sector can become highly profitable economic enterprise, he said. Addressing what he termed as the 'Real State of the Nation' yesterday at the Physician and Surgeon College in Accra in the Greater Accra region, Nana Addo said: "My priority will be to reduce the cost of doing business to help small and medium-scale enterprises grow, and to make the Ghanaian economy become globally competitive." "We will provide tax incentives for increasing productivity. We are opposed to NDC measures that cripple businesses and cause unemployment. My intention is to reduce corporate tax rate, abolish VAT on Financial Services, remove duties on the importation of raw materials and manufacturing equipment, amongst other fiscal incentives, to stimulate growth of the private sector." According to him, "an enhanced employment Tax Credit Scheme to provide incentives for companies employing fresh graduates will be instituted." READ MORE Nana Addo also said when he is voted for, his administration will institute fiscal reforms, including formalising the economy. On fiscal reforms, he said "The passage and enforcement of a Fiscal Responsibility Act that has bite will be important in this regard. It will require governments to declare and commit to a fiscal policy that can be monitored. It will include fiscal rules, including rules governing election year spending, provisions for transparency and sanctions, including sanctions on the Executive." He said formalisation of the economy will be pursued as a matter of strategy to expand the tax net. The elements of this formalization process that will be completed as a matter of priority, he said are: i. National ID cards which this government has been unable to issue in 7 years after starving the National Identification Authority of funds will be issued in the first year. ii. Financial inclusion Goal is to have 70% of the bankable population having bank accounts. iii. The movement from a cash based economy to an electronic payments based economy. iv. Complete the street address and post code system The Teacher Unions, including the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) earlier this year served notice of a strike on February 29, 2016 if government failed to pay them their outstanding arrears by the end of February. The Ghana Education Service had subsequently accused the teacher unions of submitting documents that were backdated and found to be fraudulent. However, government after meeting with the teacher unions on Wednesday ordered the release of an amount of GHS 1,579,078.20 to settle 2012 salary arrears of teachers across the country. Deputy Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson has however indicated that payment can only be made if teachers would assist the auditors in verifying the authenticity of the 36,000 claims which are currently being validated. He said teachers can only access the money after the validation process is completed. The Auditor Generals Department has meanwhile rejected about 6,000 documents submitted by teachers for the validation and processing of their salary arrears after the said documents were found to be duplicates. Mr Forson said those documents would be examined and teachers found culpable would be punished. The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), David Ofori Acheampong, said even though they are yet to receive full payment of their salary arrears from government, they will hold on to the strike following the validation process that has begun by the Controller and Account Generals Department, CAGD and the Audit Department. "We have taken this course of action because we want our members who have been victims of this policy to have their forms validated and their salary arrears paid. "We therefore call on our members to remain calm and continue with our core mandate. We also entreat all District Directors of Education to make sure that all such application forms in their custody are forwarded to the Ghana Education Service Headquarters for onward submission to the validators immediately," the General Secretary of GNAT added. The validation of documents is currently ongoing to pave way for the teachers to be paid their arrears. The Auditor Generals Department has meanwhile rejected about 6,000 documents submitted by teachers for the validation and processing of their salary arrears after the said documents were found to be duplicates. Vice President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbonu has told Pulse.com.gh that the situation should be blamed on theIntegrated Personnel and Payroll Database (IPPD) system who worked on those documents. "Obviously this process will not end without any blemish. Definitely there will be some few issues that may not be palatable to anybody. But that should not punish majority of the people who are being selected for the process," he added. Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa assured the teachers that government will not relent in its commitment to the process of validation in making sure that the arrears are settled. Teachers across the country earlier this year served notice of a strike on February 29, 2016 if government failed to pay them their outstanding arrears by the end of February. Government had subsequently met the various teacher unions on two different occasions to try and reach an agreement for the teachers to rescind their strike decision. However, government on the third meeting with the teacher unions on Wednesday ordered the release of an amount of GHS 1,579,078.20 to settle 2012 salary arrears of teachers across the country. A communique signed by the various stakeholders at the meeting said arrears for 2013 and 2014 will, however, not be paid, until authorities validate some payment processes which will begin on Thursday. The woman has been identified Gyulchehra Bobokulova, an Uzbek national believed to be in her late 30s. Bystanders said Bobokulova was clad in all black when she was seen holding a small package, yelling Allahu Akbar and threatening to blow herself up. Then Bobokulova pulled the head of 4-year-old girl from the package and began waving it around. I hate democracy! Im a terrorist! she yelled before being tackled by police, according to TV Rain. The whole incident lasted about 15 minutes, Rain TV reports, adding that despite her threat, no explosives were recovered. Earlier in the day, a fire had torn through the apartment of the girls family. When first responders arrived, they reportedly found the girls headless body. Bobokulova had worked for the little girls family for three years, with no complaints about her from the parents. Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets reported that the mother indicated the girl had a serious developmental disability, and that the parents were preparing to take her to Germany for surgery Read more:Man kills lover during sex while using cucumber as sex toy Authorities have scheduled psychiatric evaluation for the woman, to determine whether she understood the gravity of her actions. One law enforcement source suggested to the agency that the nanny might be under the influence of psychoactive drugs. Read more: Woman raped hours after giving birth via caesarean In response to the incident, Russias child protection ombudsman called for parents to get psychiatric evaluations for nannies before hiring them. Russian federal migration service spokeswoman Olga Kirillova told Interfax that Bobokulova was working as a nanny illegally, without a workers permit, though she had registered with a migration office and was in the country legally. Sources told interfax that they are looking into whether Mondays events might have been precipitated by Bobokulovas trip home to Uzbekistan around Jan. 1. Russian special forces are collaborating with their Uzbek counterparts to piece together details of her travels, the agency reports. Read more: Unmarried women banned from using mobile phones Read More: Jay Foley apologises to Abraham Attah for mocking him In Leilas Facebook post titled LOOKING FORWARD TO GHANA AT THE OSCARS ONE DAY., she also cried for the boy who won Best actor award last Saturday at the Independent Spirit Awards. She continued to list factors she thinks Ghanaian movie-makers should follow in order to also get to the Oscars. Below is an unedited post Leila Djansi posted on Facebook. "LOOKING FORWARD TO GHANA AT THE OSCARS ONE DAY. Here I go again. Anyone ready to make any videos? 3-2-1 I am so happy for Abraham Attah. I am also sad for him at the same time. Because, unfortunately, unless Cary and co make that smart decision to relocate Abraham Attah to the US, his career cannot be sustained in Ghana. Its Monday yall. Award season is OVER. DONE. Roles for him are few and far between in Hollywood if he is not visible. Its hard for child stars. Its exciting to see Ghanaians all excited and staying up to watch the Oscars and its kinda sad to see them make these sacrifices knowing the people theyre watching have never seen nor heard of them. Instead of standing in the bleachers and screaming fan based shoutouts, ask for a place at the table. Yep, Leila is too known. Someone has to put her in her place. Leila has to conform to Ghana standards, where is Stella Den-something when you need her; blah blah blah. But when you stand outside the crowd and you see the HUGE opportunity to advance that theyre missing, you weep. I would LOVE to be in Ghana and make movies from there and be close to my family instead of here in America where you dont know when some trigger happy cop is going to off you cos youre black. But the way some of us make films, Ghana cannot sustain us. I cannot hire a crew of 50 people, a cast of 100+ and not be able to make any money back or have them good/skilled enough for a smooth flow production. You want to see Ghana films travel? how about telling ourselves the truth and stop throwing tantrums when someone does? 1. Lets make better movies. Enough of the vanity, love and fashion movies. We have so many stories to tell. Azumah Nelson, Yaa Asantewa, Kwame Nkrumah, Rawlings, Nana Konadu It should not take 3 white kids to come to Ghana and make Nakom before a film shot in Ghana will make it to a major festival. Let us be honest. We make terrible films. (I do too). Let us learn how to tell stories and tell them well. Let us tell honest stories. Not forced ones, but stories that hit close to home. Look at films from Francophone Africa. Honest stories have legs. 2. UNITY. Can we hold hands and sing Peace like a river please? The industry is too individualized. Everyone is serving their own self. Opera Square got it right when they created a foundation to sustain the kind of movies they make. But, there are different people in the mix. Since a group of people stopped the film bill from traveling any further and the industry is stuck under opera square, so be it. But its kinda like having a phone that is not Facebook capable when you need one that is Facebook capable. Opera square is great for a certain style of filmmaking. It cannot accommodate the new ways so it has to evolve to sustain everyone. If someone makes a movie on 50,000 dollars why should he sell it for 5ghc? But if another makes a movie 0n 5000 dollars and sells it for 5ghc, he can break even. Lets create an industry that supports everyone, or set up tiers. 3. EDUCATION and TRAINING. I will never stop saying this because I have never seen anything like it When an AD asks permission to go take a nap whiles were shooting, or when an AD spends all his time taking pictures even when talent is on setyou know something is wrong. We need well trained crew. Crew who understand the ETHICS of their departments. Not the glory of posing beside the camera, but the getting the work done and done right type of crew. 4. This is what I said and the calvary got galvanized. Globalization has taken over African filming. Its no longer relegated to Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya or SA. We are making movies that cross borders. How about we create a faction? Because you cannot carry everyone along. Not everyone wants to change. Like minded people could form a coalition, brand that coalition. advertise it, start with the festivals, send the coalition to panels, create strategies to sell our films far and wide. Make it visible. Show the world Africa is more than war and HIV Give the power to the producer, not the distributor who holds your film for 5 years and pays you peanuts. The coalition has rules, you want a members film, these are our rules The Academy is changing its rules and going for diversity and inclusion. Africa deserves a place at the table. Not at the fashion and party table with the kids, but at the grown up table. But we are going to have to put in the work. The Oscars are closer than you think. Ask Abraham and Lupita." Gospel musician Sonnie Badu also shared a similar view Leila Djansi. The Gospel musician in an Instagram post early Tuesday morning, March 1, said he supports the movie-maker for his comments on Facebook on Monday which suggested that Cary Fukunaga should relocate the Dansoman boy to America. Sonnie Badu in his post said the pull him down syndrome in the country will hinder the progress of the actor should he stay in Ghana. "I agree with this lady .. #RelocateAbrahamAttah otherwise they will . With their PHD pull him down.. Now how can you sit on radio and say he has done nothing and that he cant speak good English ? Well let me tell you , one of the major reasons why they picked him was because of that very accent , the day he looses that , he will be out of job.. My to my fellow Ghanaians lets learn to celebrate our heroes , I will tell oh this for free Nigerians will never sit on the radio and condemn someone who has made it to the oscars and as such brought honor to the country they will actually award him .. God has blessed Ghana so much but hmmmm our people will celebrate others and leave their own .. but dont worry we are the change !!" Those arrested were between the ages of 19 and 38, including a man who was around the area allegedly patronising the activities of the suspected sex workers. The acting Cantonments Divisional Police Commander, Superintendent of Police Ms Gladys Mpere told the Daily Graphic that the unannounced operation was conducted due to complaints from residents that the activities of the commercial sex workers were causing a nuisance. She added that police have also gathered intelligence that some of the suspected sex workers were also involved in other robbery activities that have become common in the area. According to her, some of the sex workers sometimes connive with armed robbers to rob valuables of the clients of sex workers in their homes. Areas around the Kwame Nkrumah circle, Adabraka and Accra Mall witnessed heavy floods as the rains swept through what might have been considered welcome rains due to the recent spike in temperatures, a major concern over the readiness of the capital to deal with the rainy season. In his place, the Deputy Director-General, Mrs Francisca Ashietey-Odunton, is acting as the Director-General. A statement from the NMC on Monday said Major-Don-Chebe would not return to the corporation after the expiry of his contract in May this year. Workers of the state broadcaster have been agitating for the non-renewal of the contract of their boss. But the NMC, in its statement, said there was no controversy over his tenure because he had not sought an extension of his contract and the commission was, therefore, not considering any such extension. The commission wishes to explain that the Director-Generals contract expires in May 2016. Until then, he remains the substantive Director-General of the corporation. As part of his contract, Major Don-Chebe is entitled to 30 working days leave for each year served, the statement, signed by the NMC Chairman, Mr Kwesi Gyan-Apenteng, said. Meeting It said the NMC met with the board of the GBC and concluded that the issues at GBC could be resolved amicably to the satisfaction of all parties. The commission, therefore, calls for the restoration of calm at GBC. It believes that GBC would develop better in an atmosphere of peace and industrial harmony, it said Advice The commission advised any persons or group that had any grievance at GBC to use laid down procedures to make its complaint to the relevant authority for redress. Don-Chebe, whose term expires in May 16, 2016, was appointed the Director-General of GBC for a three-year term in May 14, 2013. Some workers of the corporation are opposing purported moves to extend the tenure of Major Albert Don-Chebe. A statement signed by the NMC stated that it has not received any request from Major Don-Chebe for an extension of his tenure. As far as the Commission is concerned, there is no controversy about the tenure of the Director-General. The Director-General, Major Albert Don-Chebe has not sought an extension of his contract and the Commission is therefore not considering any such extension. "The Commission wishes to explain that the Director-Generals contract expires in May 2016. Until then, he remains the substantive Director-General of the Corporation". Meanwhile, the Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Mrs. Francisca Ashietey-Odunton, is now acting as the Director-General. See also: GBC suspends collection of TV License Below is the full statement by the NMC The National Media Commission has taken note of recent agitations at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) by a section of workers, citing various grievances. The Commission has met with the Board of the Corporation and concluded that the issues at GBC can be resolved amicably to the satisfaction of all parties. The Commission therefore calls for the restoration of calm at GBC. The Commission believes that GBC would develop better in an atmosphere of peace and industrial harmony. As far as the Commission is concerned, there is no controversy about the tenure of the Director-General. The Director-General, Major Albert Don-Chebe has not sought an extension of his contract and the Commission is therefore not considering any such extension. More here: As part of his contract, Major Albert Don-Chebe is entitled to 30 working days leave for each year served. He has therefore taken his outstanding leave for the past two years. In the meantime, the Deputy Director-General, Mrs. Francisca Ashietey-Odunton acts as the Director-General. The Commission enjoins any person or group who has any grievance at GBC to use laid down procedures to make their complaints to the relevant authority for redress. The Commission directs the Acting Director-General to take steps to ensure that there is harmony at the Corporation. According to the lawyer, Augustine Obour who appeared for the first time in court after a short conference with Daniel Asiedu today, Tuesday, March 1, 2016, was of the view that his client be referred to the psychiatric hospital for proper examination. Augustine Obour did not tell the court his reasons for the request but indicated a report of the mental health of the suspect would help in the trial of the case. Daniel Asiedu who is facing charges of murder was arraigned after he was arrested and confessed to the stabbing of the late MP in residence which lead to his death. The request was dismissed by the court after a brief interaction with Daniel Asiedu about his background by judge Steven Owusu. Two suspected robbers, Abaliku Sannie, 35 and Oko Quaicoo, 30 on Saturday, January 9, 2016, shot a worker of Cantonment branch of Koala Shopping Mall, after she had left the company. The taxi driver, who witnessed the incident, rammed his taxi into the motorbike the suspected robbers were using to escape leaving his taxi severely damaged. The Police subsequently promised to reward the taxi driver for his bravery. The presentation, the police said is in fulfillment of their promise to replace the car the taxi driver's car that got damaged. She had seen a number of her Nigerian counterparts practice medicine in Ghana and together with thirty other medical students from Nigeria she thought it was not going to be so difficult to practice medicine in the country they trained as medical doctors. But it has been almost a year since she finished her house-job a mandatory two year service after medical school- and she is considering going back home after several efforts to get a license to practice medicine in Ghana have been unsuccessful. She said the doctors were meant to get their temporary licenses, but The Medical and Dental Council have now said it was no longer giving them, only permanent ones. We just feel that if we have applied for it last year by now we should get it. All our Ghanaian colleagues have gotten theirs, Funke says almost at the point of tears, why are being treated like this? Everything they told us to do we have done. She has now taken up a job with a news website which doesnt pay enough for her upkeep. She says the stance of the Medical and Dental Council is frustrating and some of us have no other option than to leave . This is after they have sworn a statutory declaration a requirement from the Council to prove that they intend to practice in Ghana and nowhere else. An intervention by the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana and the Ghana Medical Association has all not yielded any results. There have been many calls for more doctors needed in Ghana. Last month the Executive Director of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG), Peter Kwame Yeboah advocated more doctors to bridge the doctor to patient gap especially in the Northern part of the country. Statistics from the Ghana Health Service revealed in 2013 the doctor to patient ration was 1 doctor to 10,000 patients. Doctors have also on several occasions lamented how overwhelming their job is as they have to be on call due to their small numbers. According to her, PUMA acquired the shares of oil marketing company - UBI. In a blogpost, PUMA Energy said "Ghana has become one of Africas leading oil and gas producers, currently exporting 110,000 barrels a day. It is also one of our key midstream locations." "Our offshore mooring capabilities put us at the heart of the Ghanaian oil import business. We have constructed two offshore mooring systems, which we continue to operate and maintain along with their associated pipelines and all ancillary facilities for the unloading and transportation of crude and refined petroleum products." "Our operations in Ghana are managed through two wholly-owned subsidiaries. Kpone Marine Services Limited (KMSL) provides maintenance and operational services, managing vessels and buoy connections. It owns and operates a dedicated storage and pumping terminal at Kpone." The Chief Operating Officer Christophe Zyde said through the UBI acquisition the company has got some 18 fuel stations, with an additional two, to start with, The Business and Financial Times reported. Two weeks ago, we received approval from the NPA to change the name UBI to Puma Energy; and that, of course, will go hand in hand with rebranding the fuel stations. You will now see the Puma Energy brand coming up in Ghana, Christophe Zyde said. Isaac Osei Ampadu a businessman polled 104 votes whiles Kyei Brobbey a former Headmaster of Ofori Panin Secondary School polled 27 votes. The by-election was held in accordance with Article 112 (5) of the Constitution following the death of the Member of Parliament for the Abuakwa North constituency Joseph Boakye Danquah Adu, on February 9, 2016. Earlier, two aspirants, Professor Emeritus Samuel Amoako a University Professor in USA and a former MP for the area and Osei Twum-Ampofo pulled out of the race and declared support for the three remaining aspirants. Mr JB Danquah was stabbed at his Shiashie residence in Accra, prompting the police to launch an investigation leading to the arrest of one suspect. The Electoral Commission has set March 29 for the by-election for the Abuakwa North constituency. The two, Professor Emeritus Samuel Amoako a University Professor in USA and a former MP for the area and Kyei Brobbey former Headmaster of Ofori Panin Secondary school in the Eastern region have sent their withdrawal letters to the regional executives and declared support for the three remaining aspirants. Read more: Five declare to contest Abuakwa North NPP primary The three aspirants are Isaac Ampadu a Businessman, Osei Twum Ampofo and Gifty Twum-Ampofo a Tutor at the Akosombo International School . The by-election will be held in accordance with Article 112 (5) of the Constitution as amended following the sudden death of the Member of Parliament for the Abuakwa North constituency Joseph Boakye Danquah Adu, on February 9, 2016. Mr JB Danquah was stabbed at his Shiashie residence in Accra, prompting the police to launch an investigation leading to the arrest of one suspect. A total of 375 members of the NPP from 64 polling stations are expected to vote a candidate for the by-elections on March 29, 2016. According to the General Secretary of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, "yesterday's event purported to give a true state of the nation as against that of president Mahama by the flagbearer of the NPP Nana Akuffo Addo showed that opposition had lost touch with the developments on the grounds and were only seeking to score empty political points." Addressing the media in Accra on Tuesday, March 1, 2016, he said the NPP failed to point out credible and measurable alternatives to areas they challenged. Nana Akufo-Addo presenting what he termed the Real State of the Nation to counter President John Mahama's address, Nana Addo among others said Ghana is a nation in crisis, discrediting Mahama's assertions that the West African country has undergone massive transformation. Nana Addo also accused the Mahama administration of systematically "plundering the public purse," thereby turning "our country into devastated economic landscape." But Asiedu Nketia disagreed with Nana Addo stating that the NDC government had improved the country in all sectors and will continue to deliver on their promise transformational agenda and continue to change live of all Ghanains. This could boost Apple's resistance to the US government's similar effort in the case of the San Bernardino killers, according to analysts. US Drug Enforcement Authority seized Feng's IPhone 5 but could not access it even after consultation with the FBI. The government then filed a suit against Apple seeking a court motion to order "Apple to assist" the investigation under the authority of the All Writs Act by helping the government bypass the passcode security." Apple objected, saying that there were nine other cases currently pending in which the government was seeking a similar order. Department of Justice officials expressed disappointment, saying they will ask a judge in a superior post to Orenstein to review his ruling in coming days, the LA Times said. "I just spoke to him yesterday it don't seem like he have problems. I just feel like Kanye West is a genius, and all the moves he do is calculated, so everything he says makes headlines. There's a method to his madness," the Moroccan rapper (and ex-boyfriend of West's sister-in-law Khloe Kardashian) said. READ MORE: Kanye West says he did not diss Taylor Swift West made headlines in the past month for his bizarre Twitter rants and resurrecting his dead beef with Swift causing some fans to question his mental health. "I haven't felt personally concerned about his well-being ... Every time I talk with him which is almost every day he's extremely good-natured, [and] in a great mood " a longtime friend told people magazine. READ MORE: Kim Kardashian demands Kanye West go for therapy Regarding West's latest bad blood with Swift, which stemmed from the rapper calling her a "bitch" and taking credit for her fame in his new song, Montana, 30, pled the fifth. "Sometimes [calling someone a bitch] is [complimentary]; sometimes it's not. I think he means it in a good sense," Montana said, adding Swift's incensed Grammys speech proved West's place in the industry: "He's so powerful that you felt his impact in that building without him even being there." READ MORE: Kris Jenner fears Kanye West is damaging the Kardashian brand According to information revealed by one of his media aides, the endorsement has set the Fuji musician a step higher than his contemporaries. It was further gathered that the actor signed the dotted lines days after his return from the United Arab Emirates, where he had performed to fans. Malaika, an actor and musician, is known to have collaborated with top Nigerian acts that include YBNL boss, Olamide. However, there are no words from the management of Tecno mobile as regards the details of the endorsement deal. But according to his manager, Adeyemi Oladeinde, "Malaika just signed a partnership agreement with @tecnomobile, at their ikeja, Lagos office just before he jetted out to Canada today, March 1, 2016." He also bought jewelry from in New York and showed off dollar bills alongside his jeweler It was during this period also that he claimed that his two watches are worth over thirty million Naira. An opinion article was written about Davido's extravagant display of wealth on February 25, 2016. At the end of the article a poll was carried out to find out from readers if they think it's time for Davido to be mature. The poll results are out now, and an overwhelming majority of 86.6% believe that it is time for Davido to start acting like man. Only a tiny of majority of 13.4% think otherwrise. This mean a lot of people still think that Davido is acting like a child. Late December 2015/January 2016 Davido was entangled in a baby napping mess with his baby mama SophieMomodu. Davido's baby mama Sophie Momodu and her uncle media entrepreneur Chief Dele Momodu revealed how Davido and his family snatched her baby away from her, labelled her an irresponsible mother and tried to take her baby out of the country without her consent. Davido later fired back with a detailed press release that stated that Sophie Momodu affected the health of his daughter by smoking cannabis. The scandal saw Davido name dropping his baby mama and Dele Momodu on the remix of Humblesmith's hit song 'Osinachi'. Undisturbed by the whole drama Davido has continued to live his life according to his own rules. In January he signed a deal with Sony Worldwide. Before arriving Nigeria last weekend Davido spent $20,000 while shopping in Atlanta. He posted his bill on his Snapchat. Davido is currently working on a collaboration with U.S rapper Young Thug. This collaboration is the third U.S input on ''Baddest'' album after Davido earlier recorded with Trey Songz and Meek Mill. The single with Meek Mill 'Fans Mi' was released in 2015. Indigo Arya has partnered with Heritage Place, the first environmentally certified commercial building in the city. The iconic design, prestigious address and bar-raising specification sets a new standard for Nigeria's architectural landscape. The entire top floor (1805sqm) will be converted into fantastic exhibition and performance area. The event will showcase Nigerian Photographers, illustrators, installation artists, painters and videographers. 17 artists have been selected by Indigo Arya to be featured in the show; Andrew Esiebo, August Udoh, Tom Sateer, Obi Somto, Tolani Alli, Emmanuel Ogabi, Aham Ibeleme, Moses Oghagbon, Damilola Opedun, Dipo Doherty, Tuni Barlow, Elizabeth Ofili , Collyde Prime, Osa7, Femi Arongundade, Ada Umeofia and Addie Mak. Mydrim gallery, located at 74B Norman Williams Street S.W Ikoyi, will also be curating a section of the exhibition with works from their collection of younger artists. There will be inspirational speakers talking about the future of the creative arts in Nigeria including Mr. Segun Adejumo, the president of the Guild of Professional Fine Artists of Nigeria (GFA). There will also be artist corners where the artists will discuss their work and their journeys to date. Indigo Arya is a Creative Consultancy company that specialize in branding, visual communication and creative problem solving. The Indigo Arya team are passionate about creating unique brands that tell engaging stories. With the "Lagos:Living and Working" project, The Indigo Arya team is determined to create a platform for artists in the city to reach a new audience in a new way. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! The police prosecutor, Inspector Richard Odigie, told the court that the men who were arraigned on a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing, committed the offences on January 25, at about 4am when they conspired to steal the N500,000 from the tithe box belonging to Ascension Anglican Church at Alasia bus stop, Badore Road, Eti-Osa, Lagos. They were guards employed to secure the church. The first and second accused persons were on night duty while the third and fourth were on morning duty, Odigie told the court. The prosecutor said that the offences contravened sections 309 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. For more than 15 years, mom kept us away from dad and practically poisoned our hearts towards him and we grew up with resentment for him. The feeling must have been mutual because until two years ago, dad never cared to look for us and even when his family members forced him to take us back, he was reluctant. By the time he came for us, I had spent over six years at home after I finished from secondary school as my mother who not remarried, could not afford to send me to a tertiary institution. All those years, I survived through menial jobs and I lived with a lot of hatred for my father. But after he took us to live with him, he has tried to be a good father, doing everything possible to fill the void but all he has done seem not to even scratch the surface of my heart. He has explained what led to him divorcing our mother but what she went through to raise us with him not being there still hurts and I don't think I can get over the past. My sister has moved on and they have formed a great father-daughter bond but something still keeps me aloof and wary of dad's efforts to make us happy. How do I get to forgive my father and come to accept him? Folarin." Read her letter here: "My name is Gloria and I have been married for eight years without a fruit of the womb, something that has placed my husband's family at war path with me. When I got married to my husband, Jonathan, who is an only child, we were the perfect match and we had hoped to have a house filled with children but after the first two years and I had not gotten pregnant, I became apprehensive but Jonathan told me not to worry, that the children will come at the right time. But tried as much as we did, the story became the same and by the fourth year, I knew I was in trouble especially with his parents going overboard with the demand for grandchildren. I panicked and started going from pillar to post all in a bid to get a child. I did several tests and doctors kept assuring me that everything was fine with me and that I just had to stop worrying about the situation. From orthodox medicine, I started visiting churches, spiritual homes and graduated to native doctors, all to no avail. Now, I am in my eighth year of marriage and my parents-in-law are brimming with fire. They have given me an ultimatum to either give them a grandchild this year or I would have to leave their son's home so he can get a woman who would do what I could not do. But there seem to be a glimmer of hope in a spiritualist a friend introduced me to. The man has told me that I am going to have my own child this year but that he will be the man to impregnate me. My friend has urged me to go ahead and sleep with the man so as to have the child but I am scared about what lis in the future. What should I do about this dilemma? Gloria." The teaser for the day was: How Nigeria voted: 40% - Yes, I will do anything possible to have my own child 60% - No, I will not do any of such as God time is the best The ladies, Franca Akhimen, 25, and Ehinon Onofua, 23, both from Edo State, according to them, were deceived with the promise of good jobs by an unidentified female trafficker at Ekpoma, in th state, promising to help the ladies seek greener pastures as workers in a restaurant in Ivory Coast but ended up in Togo where they were forced to work as prostitutes. Speaking to Encomium Magazine, Akhimen and Onofua said they were unaware of the woman's true intentions being that they would be traded for prostitution after being made to swear to an oath that the would be paying the woman known simply as 'Madam Excellent,' the sum of 800,000 cefas. But the ladies who saw what they did not bargain for, summoned courage and managed to escape to Ghana from where they were helped by the Nigerian community to get back home. The girls shared their touching ordeal in the hands of 'Madam Excellent.' First to speak was Akhimen: "It was in Ekpoma in Edo state where I met one lady. I was actually going to church when I met her and she approached me and said she was looking for girls that can work in her restaurant in Ivory Coast. So, when I got home I told Ehinon and we arranged to meet her and she told us what the plan was and when we will be leaving Nigeria for Ivory Coast. So, on February 2, we left Edo for Lagos, had a stop at Mile 2, and she told us that was where the car that will take us to Ivory Coast will pick us. So, at exactly 9.30pm, the car came for us and we all boarded that evening. When we got to Togo, I noticed that we were not going to proceed with our journey, so I asked the woman 'why are we here, you said we were going to Ivory Coast not Togo'. She told me to keep quiet, that whatever she asked me to do, I should just do it without complaining. Later, she went out to buy clothes and came back with some skimpy and short dresses and gave them to us to wear. I asked why such dresses, because they dont look like clothes that are worn by a waitress or a person selling food. Again, she told me to keep quiet and just do whatever she asked me to do, adding that we were brought to Togo for prostitution and in return, we get to pay her 800,000 cefas each. According to the police prosecutor, Inspector Clifford Ogu, the accused who resides on Lawal Street, Abule Oki in Iyana Ipaja, a suburb of the state, committed the offence on February 24, at Iyana Ipaja Motor Park, where they are both traders. Ogu told the court that a fight broke out between the accused and Ogunsola, and in the process, Olaiya bit the victim on the breast. A fight ensued between the two of them and the accused bit the woman on her breast," Ogu told the court, adding that the offence contravened Section 243 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. Professor Nok while giving explanation said the nurse and the medical doctor contracted the disease after administering medication on the pregnant woman at Saint Loius Hospital, Zonkwa in Zangon Kataf Local government area of the state. Pulse gathered that the doctor, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member serving in Zonkwa, alongside the nurse and the pregnant woman all died of the disease, according to a result of their blood test conducted in Jos, Plateau State. The doctor who was identified as Kelechi Ogboji, Ebony State University (EBSU) trained medical doctor and a 2015 Batch A corps doctor, was serving at St. Louis Hospital Zonkwa, and was scheduled to pass out on the 24th of March, 2016 before the incident. According to residents the pregnant woman was admitted at the hospital on Tuesday 16th February, 2016 and later died. Dr Kelechi died on Friday 19th, 2016 while the nurse died a day before him, February 18th. Badeh told the court, through his lawyer, that he recently had surgery on his spine and was also suffering from a kidney condition, Punch reports. There is no reason for, or any likelihood that the applicant will jump bail, escape from Justice, interfere with witnesses or investigation if same is still ongoing, or the course of justice upon being granted bail, Badehs lawyer, Samuel Zibiri (SAN) said. The applicants health condition is bad and he recently had surgery on his spine which requires constant post-operative follow-up by his physician as well as renal condition, which he is currently undergoing treatment for, he added. Badeh was arrested and is being held by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on charges of money laundering. The former CDS is one of the senior military officers who have been linked with the $2.1 billion arms deal fraud. ------------------------------------------ The suspect, who is alleged to have participated in a 2011 bombing, was paraded by the army on February 29, 2016, in Bauchi, Daily Trust reports. He was identified as Victor Moses from Benue State and was arrested in the Alkaleri area of the state. Our troops on duty in Alkaleri arrested Victor Moses after receiving a report from people in the area that the suspect had been loitering around the mosque claiming he was a Christian and wanted to convert to Islam but because he is not from the area, they suspected him and reported to our men, Brigadier General Abraham Luka Dusu said while parading the suspect. Victor Moses confessed to conducting surveillance for Boko Haram when in a shop belonging to Abubakar Shetima Bama in Jos while Salisu Mohammed Bello and Umar Madaki are based in Gombe, he added. Moses was arrested along with three other suspects: Abubakar Shetima Bama, Salisu Mohammed Bello and Umar Madaki. ---------------------------------------------- Speaking to State House correspondents today, Monday, February 29, the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, said the current budget before the National Assembly only makes provision for N5,000 monthly for extremely poor people. The budget for 2016 which has been submitted to the National Assembly has made an allocation of half a trillion naira, the first time in the history of this countrys budget where you have that huge chunk of money allocated for social investment," Akande said. In that N500bn which is half a trillion naira, close to about 20 per cent of the entire budget, there are six social safety net programmes. One of them is the Conditional Cash Transfer where government is going to pay N5,000 monthly to the vulnerable and extremely poor Nigerians. That promise stands. The President never promised to pay unemployed graduates N5,000; the President never made that promise and the government never made that claim that it will pay N5,000 to unemployed graduates. The programme for unemployed graduates is the direct creation of half a million teaching jobs so that they will be trained; 500,000 unemployed graduates will be trained to teach and they will be deployed to teach, while they are looking for their career paths or jobs. That still stands! In addition to that, there is also a scheme to train 370, 000 non-graduate youths for skill acquisition and vocational training. During the time of that training, they will also be paid," he said. Ahead of the 2015 Presidential election, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had promised to the electorate that if Buhari emerged president, unemployed youth would get N5,000 monthly stipend. According to the group, the government of Norway is set to repatriate the detainedleader of pro Biafra agitators in Norway, Lotachukwu Okolie, and his counterpart Onyedikachi Ani, also detained and said to be married to a Norwegian and has a child with her. In a statement by Mr. Uchenna Madu, MASSOB leader, he said "the government of Norway is supposed to exhibit diplomatic and International maturity in protecting the persecuted Biafrans or allow them seek asylum in other countries instead of wickedly aligning with Nigeria to eliminate innocent Biafrans." Norway and Nigeria have already perfected plans of deporting them through chartered cargo airplane from Belgium, to transport them to Lagos on March 9, 2016. The information we have is that the Norwegian Government have struck a deal with Nigerian Immigrations Service, in Lagos to accept all the deportees by bypassing the embassy which knows about their pro Biafra activities that are not illegal, but cooked up lies against them and consider them threat to Nigeria security, which means they will be eliminated on arrival. They want to deport them by force irrespective of their correct papers, against danger warnings, even without papers from the embassy, and dump them as they have been doing at the Cargo section of Murtala Muhammed international Airport, where no eyes will see them. We continue to insist that Biafrans are not Nigerians, so under international law, they should not be sent by force back to Nigeria to be tortured and killed like many other Biafra agitators in Nigeria and those they deported from outside Nigeria, he said. Punch reports that a statement issued by the Presidents Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Agriculture and solid minerals will mobilise youths for gainful employment. We have the capacity not to need to import food at all. But we need to also tackle infrastructure deficit in power, transportation, rail, road and in other areas. Mr. President said Nobody invests without first knowing how secure a country is. That is why we have placed high premium on securing the country, because you cannot effectively manage a country you have not secured. We campaigned on zero corruption, promising that we would run an accountable government and we are keeping our promises. The comments were made by the sects spokesperson, Ibrahim Musa on Monday, February 29, 2016, PM News reports. We asked the government, why should they detain someone for over 70 days without any charge and without giving access to his lawyers? Musa said. President (Muhammadu) Buhari is not following the rule of law. In our own case, all the rules concerning arrest, detention, have been broken, he added. Zakzaky has been in detention since a battle between the Shiites and the Nigerian Army in December 2015 following an alleged assassination attempt on Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai. ---------------------------------------------- Punch reports that Sanusi said I ordered her repatriation since September 2015 through the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 1. But to my surprise, the issue is still in between the Sharia Commission, Hisbah (religious police) and the Police. The matter is worrisome, to the extent that two people phoned me in the morning today from South Africa over the matter. I told them clearly that I had directed for her repatriation since the last six month. The monarch also said I can also remember that I ordered the District head of Kura, The Sharia Commission and Hisbah to investigate the allegation she (Ese) raised that her mother wanted to kill her. The duo confirmed to me that the allegation raised by Ese is true. I requested police intervention just to get her a cover to take her back home. I think it is the Police authorities that caused the delay. I have done my best for her and even directed for action. Its unfortunate that the police delayed this matter which has embarrassed us. Ese is under aged and she cant be married off as an under aged. Every Muslim also knows that marriage cant be without guidance. She must be taken back to her parents; she can only marry when she reaches the age of 18 years, Sanusi said I thank them a million times and all Nigerians for their prayers and support. I pray that what happened to my daughter will not happen to any of their children. Punch reports that Ese's parents did not believe the news of their daughter's release because in their words, they have been promised so many times. Charles, Eses father said I went to see the Commissioner of Police in Bayelsa today, and he said my daughter would be released this week. He said when the Emir of Kano returned from his travel, they would release my daughter to the Inspector-General of Police. I was happy, but skeptical because they have said the same thing before, and they did not free my daughter. I wont believe anything until I see my daughter, Ese, in person. For now, it is still a probability. He also dismissed reports that their daughter is 18 years, saying They are all lies. My daughter is 14. They know that Nigerians are now against them and they want to do everything to cover up their crime and make us look like fools. My daughter will never say a thing like that. Ganduje also advised the people to be security conscious and report any suspicious persons in their domains to the relevant security agencies. Security is a collective responsibility and should not be left in the hands of security agencies alone, he said. The governor commended the Commissioner of Police in the state, Muhammad Katsina, for his efforts at curtailing insecurity in the state. The Chairman of PCRC in the state, Alhaji Bala Borodo, said their visit was to brief the governor on the achievements of the committee. The claim was contained in a statement released by IPOB Media and Publicity Officer, Emma Powerful. It reads: The IPOB bombarded Pope Francis with 5,500 calls and the Pope answered the calls and gave his word to make sure he talks about Biafra and its restoration and yesterday, about 35,000 Biafra agitators in Europe, Asia and America visited the Pope at Vatican City and the Pope and other Catholic leaders addressed them as Biafrans and prayed for them. That was the first time a world leader at that level addressed us and called us by the name Biafrans and prayed for us. We are therefore calling on other church leaders to condemn the evil of killing innocent protesters and agitators and detention of an innocent man who did not do anything to break the law of a country we are not part of, a country that we are demanding for our freedom they have forcefully taken and upon that, they are killing us for demanding for our freedom. This evil must be condemned by the world leaders and religious leaders, whom we want to pray for us. We urge the Christian leaders, Archbishop of Canterbury, Anglicans worldwide, World Christian Society, WCS, American Christians to pray for Biafra actualization and freedom. This is the time to stand up for the truth because the Boko Haram members who are killing people on daily basis have not been visited with the type of extrajudicial killings with which this APC government has visited us. Punch reports that Akande said The budget for 2016 which has been submitted to the National Assembly has made an allocation of half a trillion naira, the first time in the history of this countrys budget where you have that huge chunk of money allocated for social investment. In that N500bn which is half a trillion naira, close to about 20 per cent of the entire budget, there are six social safety net programmes. One of them is the Conditional Cash Transfer where government is going to pay N5,000 monthly to the vulnerable and extremely poor Nigerians. That promise stands. He also said The President never promised to pay unemployed graduates N5,000; the President never made that promise and the government never made that claim that it will pay N5,000 to unemployed graduates. The programme for unemployed graduates is the direct creation of half a million teaching jobs so that they will be trained; 500, 000 unemployed graduates will be trained to teach and they will be deployed to teach, while they are looking for their career paths or jobs. That still stands. Adding that In addition to that, there is also a scheme to train 370, 000 non-graduate youths for skill acquisition and vocational training. During the time of that training, they will also be paid." You will recall that on November 4, 2015, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalong said the Payment of N5000 to unemployed Nigerians would start in 2016. Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, the South-West Chairman of NUPENG, gave the advice in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos. The chairman said there was enough fuel in the country to ease scarcity, but most of the private depots were dispensing at high ex-depot price. According to him, most independent marketers could not buy because of the high price at private depots. "The current scarcity will continue despite the corporations effort to increase supply to Lagos depots because the issue of unofficial pricing at the depots needed to be addressed. "Many of private depots in Lagos sell to marketers between N92 and N100 per litre; how much do you expect independent marketers to sell in their filling stations. "Consequently, majority of the independent marketers in Lagos have decided to shut their filling stations because they cannot buy at N95 and sell at N86:50 per litre. "It is easy for marketers in other states to come to Lagos and buy at any price and sell at any price outside Lagos, but it is not easy for us in Lagos. "It is only when independent marketers get product at NNPC depot that we can sell at the official price, but for now, NNPC is short of supply," he said. Korodo urged the government to direct the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and other relevant agencies to monitor distribution of fuel at the private depots. He assured that if private depots would sell at official ex-depot price, the current scarcity of petroleum products would come to an end before the weekend. The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Mr Ohi Alegbe, said more petroleum product vessels had berthed at Lagos ports, adding that the current scarcity would ease soon NAN reports that on Feb.29, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, warned depot owners against selling petrol above the approved ex-depot price of N77 per litre. The minister said the warning came against the backdrop of repeated complaints by marketers of sharp practices at the depots. Find out what is making headlines all over the country from the covers of The Punch, Vanguard, The Guardian and more. For today, Monday, February 29 2016: VANGUARD NEWSPAPER 166.91m litres of fuel stuck in depots as marketers blame NNPC for scarcityLAGOS About 166.91 million litres of premium motor spirit, PMS, also known as petrol, are stuck in various depots in Lagos, a situation that gave rise to the resurgence of long queues at filling stations in Lagos metropolis and other parts of the countryREAD MORE Alleged N676m job scam: Ex-Interior Minister, Moro, others docked, remanded in prisonABUJAThe Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, remanded erstwhile Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro, and a former Deputy Director in the ministry, Mr. F. O Alayebami, in prison custody over their alleged complicity in a N676 million job scam. READ MORE Sagay, Tsav, others flay Senates purchase of 2 exotic carsLAGOSThe determination of the Senate to forge ahead with the purchase of foreign branded exotic vehicles at the cost of N4.7 billion was, yesterday, being flayed by a cross section of Nigerians who levelled allegations ranging from irresponsibility to hypocrisy on the lawmakers. READ MORE__________________________________________ THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER Emir of Kano orders release of Bayelsa girlAmid growing outrage, the Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammadu Sanusi, yesterday ordered that 14-year-old Ese Oruru who was kidnapped to Kano State from Bayelsa State as a child-bride be returned to her parents READ MORE Petrol sells at N300 a litre as scarcity lingersAS many filling stations remained shut, the scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, bit harder yesterday. READ MORE Nigerians say No to high charges, shun banks todayNIGERIANS are boycotting banking activities today to protest against what they termed exorbitant deductions by banks, among other reasons. READ MORE__________________________________________ THE NATION NEWSPAPER ESE ORURUS ABDUCTIONTHE road to freedom for the abducted 14-year-old Ese Rita Oruru began yesterday. It is believed that she will be reunited with her parents today, six months after her forceful abduction from Bayelsa State to Kano State. READ MORE Immigration jobs scandal: Court sends Moro to prisonFormer Minister of Interior Abba Moro and a Deputy Director in the ministry, F. O Alayebami were yesterday remanded in Kuje prison, Abuja. READ MORE Judge renews order barring electricity tariff hikeJustice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday renewed the order barring the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) from increasing electricity tariff. READ MORE__________________________________________ BUSINESS DAY NEWSPAPER Multinationals say Nigerias dollar crunch is hurting businessMultinational groups say a dollar shortage in Nigeria, driven by the oil price crash is forcing local suppliers to buy hard currency at a black market premium, pushing up their operating costs and prices, and obstructing business in Africas biggest economy, the Financial Times reports. The naira has been under pressure since the start of READ MORE Embarrassing fuel queues fail to respond to government solutionsTwo weeks of what is now turning into a huge embarrassment to Nigeria, long fuel queues across the countrys petrol stations are proving that the situation is defying solutions being profered by government. Nigeria, Africas largest economy by GDP, has experienced recurring fuel shortages over several years, with its refineries comatose and having to rely READ MORE The EFCC made the allegation on Monday, February 29, 2016, in a bid to discourage Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos from allowing the lawyer tender a fresh affidavit. The accusation was contained in a counter-affidavit sworn to by EFCC agent, Moses Awolusi. It reads: I know as a fact that the applicant, in his extr-ajudicial statement to the 1st respondent upon his arrest, falsely stated that his age was 43 years in the document marked Exhibit 1 to the counter-affidavit of the 1st respondent dated 18th February, 2016, whereas the true age of the applicant, as stated in the compendium published for all Senior Advocates of Nigeria referred to, is 54 years old. In response however, Tarfas lawyer, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN) claimed that his client made a mistake due to the treatment he was subjected to by the EFCC. In such a situation, I would put my age at 25 because I will be under shock, Ayorinde said according to Punch. Tarfa is accusing the EFCC of unlawfully arresting him and is seeking damages of N2.5 billion. ------------------------------------------ This is contained in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the president of the Senate, Mr Sanni Onogu in Abuja on Monday. Saraki, according to the statement, gave the assurance when a team of consultants from the Department for International Development (DFID) paid him a courtesy visit. The statement noted that the experts had informed Saraki that 54 of the country's existing laws should either be amended or repealed to attract investors and become business friendly. He said the National Assembly was collaborating with the private sector, development partners, professional groups and the academia to review laws affecting business in the country. He added that when concluded, the review would give birth to a new business environment that would boost revenue generation, solve the problem of unemployment, curb social vices and restore national values. He said the present economic challenge confronting was an opportunity for leaders to become resourceful. He added that the drop in oil price was a wakeup call for leaders, the private sector and other stakeholders to put measures in place for a post-oil era, while government provided the enabling environment. He said that the legislature believed in the ingenuity, creativity, entrepreneurship of Nigerians. The leader of the team of experts from DFID, Prof. Paul Idornigie, said they had examined 54 laws and carried out a comprehensive analysis of 50 bills pending before the two chambers of the National Assembly. Speaking at a press Conference in Kaduna, a spokesman of the group, AbdulHamid Bello, said it is on record that the leader was shot several times and his wife was shot severally by members of the Nigerian military in what he described as a premeditated action aimed at eliminating him. Prior to this, the Nigerian Military and other security agencies have made attempts to wipe off the entire members of the family of the leader of the Movement. Unfortunately, we underestimated the resolve of the enemies of the movement but it is very clear to us that they are quite vicious and will go to any length to conclude their genocidal designs against the movement. It is rather unfortunate that the Nigerian Military and other security agencies have refused to obey the Nigerian Constitution and the laws of the land. It is incongruous that we the members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria and the Nigerian people have no idea whatsoever of the state of health of the leader of the Islamic Movement and his wife AbdulHamid Bello said during the conference. According to the Producer, the movie will hit Nigeria cinemas on March 18, 2016. Produced by Uru Eke, 'Remember Me' stars Femi Jacobs, OC Ukeje, Rich Tanksley, Enyinna Nwigwe, Victor Olaotan, Anthony Manjaro, Chigul (Chioma Omeruah) and is directed by Izu Ojukwu. ALSO READ: has a gift which makes her extra-ordinary and changes her life forever. In the wake of mysterious events taking place in her life, her fiance who works with one of the nations biggest organizations stumbles on some incriminating evidence on one of the companys projects involving an illegal land lease deal on the boarders of Cameroon. Against insurmountable pressure from top officials to drop the case, Davids goal is to expose those involved and bring them to justice in the bid to fight corruption. As David threatens to go to the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) with his findings, all hell lets loose and the inevitable takes place. Haridas gift is tested as she risks her own life to continue Davids fight. Ganduje made the comment during a recent interview with Vanguard. I dont like to engage in crossfire but I will like to tell you it is the normal utterances of those who will want to impress his followers but I believe it is an empty threat, he said. Looking at the history of the chairman himself, I think he is a cross-carpeter, he is always on the move, changing from one party to another. Even when he was in ANPP for 8 years he was working for PDP and even the APC started with him and then he went back with PDP and in the long run he will work for us, he added. Meanwhile, Sheriff has said that he will snatch power from the APC in 2019. ----------------------------------------------- Sheriff made the observation when he received a delegation of PDP in Benue State led by its Chairman, Mr Agbo Emmanuel in Abuja on Monday. He said by the time the party reconciles with its aggrieved members, it would make the desire attainable. "Winning rerun election at this time in Benue state is very important to us in PDP because we always say that Benue State is for PDP. "It is our in house problem that created what made us to lose election and we are putting our house in order. "I have promised to talk with everybody to come back to enable us to rebuild the party so that we can work as a team, Sheriff said. He commended the leadership and members of the party in Benue over the re-election of Senator David Mark in the Benue South Senatorial rerun election. "The victory of Mark is a clear demonstration that Benue is for PDP. He also commended them for not taking the laws into their hands on the ongoing attack in some parts of the state. He said he would present their matter to the Inspector General of Police and other security agencies for appropriate action. "As a party, we will be law abiding but our rights should not be taken for granted; for us leaders here, we will follow it up to make sure that none of our members are intimidated for nothing. He said by the time the party reconciled with its aggrieved members, it would make the desire attainable. "Winning rerun election at this time in Benue state is very important to us in PDP because we always say that Benue State is for PDP. "It is our in house problem that created what made us to lose election and we are putting our house in order. "I have promised to talk with everybody to come back to enable us to rebuild the party so that we can work as a team," Sheriff said. He commended the leadership and members of the party in Benue over the re-election of Sen. David Mark in the Benue South Senatorial rerun election. The victory of Mark is a clear demonstration that Benue is for PDP. He also commended them for not taking the laws into their hands on the ongoing attack in some parts of the state. He said he would present their matter to the Inspector General of Police and other security agencies for appropriate action. "As a party, we will be law abiding but our rights should not be taken for granted; for us leaders here, we will follow it up to make sure that none of our members are intimidated for nothing. Earlier, Emmanuel said the delegation was at the party headquarters to brief Sheriff on the state of PDP in Benue state. Sheriff said this while addressing a delegation of PDP mambers led by Alhaji Tukur Ganza, who paid him a solidarity visit in Abuja on Tuesday. ''We lost the election not because PDP was not strong in Jigawa, but it was the movement at that time that caused it. "Now, we have learnt from our mistakes. So, it is a matter of time. All the people who left our party in Jigawa will come back. "The leadership of the PDP today will ensure that no one is lagging behind", Sheriff said. Earlier, Ganza said the groups visit was to support the emergence of Sheriff as PDP national chairman. It reads: Everything Buhari and his party promised Nigerians when they were looking for votes, they have denied and it wont be a surprise if one day, Buhari comes out to even deny that he was elected on the platform of the APC. They have not fulfilled any of the promises they made to Nigerians. In fact, they have even told us that they never made any promise. It is close to one year that Buhari assumed office; no single job has been created. Instead of the three million jobs per year that they promised, what we have been witnessing is job losses, economic hardship and budget padding. Nigerians have now realised that they are inside a One Chance Bus because Buhari and his APC have disowned their entire campaign promises by disowning their campaign document titled; My Covenant with Nigerians. This document that they disowned in August, last year contained everything they promised Nigerians and if today, President Buhari chose faraway Qatar to announce that he wont pay the N5, 000 promised unemployed youths and Lai Mohammed is here in Nigeria saying no job was promised, no one should be surprised. Rather, Nigerians can only begin to pray that God, who rescued Daniel from den of lions will rescue us from this Buhari/APC one chance bus that we have entered. The governor made the remarks on February 29, 2016, while inaugurating members of the Ekiti State Judicial Service Commission, (ESJSC), Daily Post reports. Ekiti State is my project and its interest comes first. There is no ill-feeling between me and the Chief Judge. We are both passionate about Ekiti as our project, Fayose said. Those going round town with the rumour that there is a cold war between us are only mischievous. Let them know that they are disappointed already. Members of the commission were carefully chosen and they are men of integrity and that was why it took me some time to select them. These are people who will not pervert justice because whoever perverts justice perverts eternity for himself. The judiciary and those working there are managing a critical aspect of life. My criticizing Buhari is to help the people have dividends of democracy. If nobody is talking because they are afraid, you will have a dictator in every leader. It is to keep people on their toes for the love of everybody, he added. While addressing party members at the PDPs secretariat in Lagos ahead of the partys forthcoming congresses and national convention, he insisted that he won the election. Some members were annoyed because those monies meant for the elections were not given to them to prosecute the last polls. I am angry too because the PDP won the last election in the state but was denied victory. I finish election, na gbese, I carry for head, Agbaje said. Also speaking at the programme, a former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George, blamed Senator Musiliu Obanikoro for the party's loss in the election. He said one of the major problems of the party is indiscipline, warning that it will not be tolerated moving forward. Our victory was scuttled by evil characters who preferred the narrow position of the ministerial office than the collective esteem and honour of winning the governorship election in Lagos State," George said. We were defeated by the agent provocateurs within our ranks. We were defeated by political renegades who merely invested in their own greedy and selfish interests. This cannot continue. Nobody is above the constitution of the party. We must either strictly adhere to the normative pattern of the party rules or we ship out. There will be no exemptions. The party is supreme; enough of all these so-called groupings. It is unhealthy. It is divisive. It does not build a healthy and strong national party. It is parochial and destructive, he added. I am open to you if it has to do with the issues relating to national interest and development. But, I will not, when it has to do with any interest that is not open or having national interest as focus, Obasanjo said when the group asked him for his assistance on political matters. The sentences for the pastor, Bao Guohua, and his wife, Xing Wenxiang, were among the harshest imposed recently on clergy members and their associates in China. The court had sentenced an additional 10 people who were members of Mr. Baos church or a Christian group in the same city, Jinhua, in Zhejiang Province, but details were not provided for those sentences. Chinese media said Bao Guohua had been found guilty of embezzling money from his congregation in Zhejiang province. Bao and Xing were detained in July last year after they spoke out against forced cross removals in Zhejiang. Planning officials there have removed more than 1,000 crosses from churches over the past two years. The authorities have justified the tearing down of crosses by saying they break planning rules. Vanguard reports that the Pope, during his Angelus address, from his balcony at the Apostolic Palace, publicly welcomed and greeted the IPOB members. Speaking more on the event, the IPOB Media and Publicity Officer, Mr. Emma Powerful said The IPOB bombarded Pope Francis with 5,500 calls and the Pope answered the calls and gave his word to make sure he talks about Biafra and its restoration and yesterday, about 35,000 Biafra agitators in Europe, Asia and America visited the Pope at Vatican City and the Pope and other Catholic leaders addressed them as Biafrans and prayed for them." That was the first time a world leader at that level addressed us and called us by the name Biafrans and prayed for us," he added. The IPOB spokesman also said We urge the Christian leaders, Archbishop of Canterbury, Anglicans worldwide, World Christian Society, WCS, American Christians to pray for Biafra actualization and freedom. This is the time to stand up for the truth because the Boko Haram members who are killing people on daily basis have not been visited with the type of extrajudicial killings with which this APC government has visited us. According to Punch reports, the gunmen stormed the school at about 8.30 pm on Monday, February 29, and seized the children. The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Fatai Owoseni, and an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, B. Hassan, confirmed the incident and are holding a closed-door meeting with the parents of the abducted students. Punch also reported that senior police officers are currently investigating the incident and inspecting the school premises. The abductors reportedly got access into the school through a broken fence. A helicopter search of the school vicinity is also being conducted in the hopes of finding the kidnapped students. Although, official reports revealed that 3 students were taken, it has been rumoured that the number of victims could be more than that. Reacting to the tragic incident, parents of school students have stormed the school premises as they lament the abduction. One of the parents, Mrs Atolagbe, said, "There has been nothing of sort in the school in the past. The devil is a liar. We shall triumph. Middlebury College will ban the sale of all energy drinks from 7 March, MetroUK reports. There are more important things for them to address, fourth-year student Arnav Adhikari, who works at the college cafe, told NBC. And what do energy drinks have to do with sexual activity? It was also revealed that Middlebury may actually have some grounds for their ban. A 2014 study into sexual risk-taking found risky sex was more common among those who regularly consumed energy drinks. Another study suggested that those who mixed booze and energy drinks were more likely to have casual sex. And in any case, the powers that be at the college have no intention of reversing the ban. The opposition has in turn accused the Syrian government of breaching the fragile truce by repeatedly attacking its positions, which the government denies. International observers have acknowledged violations of the agreement while stressing that the level of violence has decreased considerably. "We will play our part to make the whole thing work," Assad was quoted as saying in an extract of an interview with Germany's ARD television network. The president said the Syrian army had not reacted to truce violations in order to give the agr0eement a chance. "The terrorists have breached the deal from the first day. We as the Syrian Army are refraining from responding in order to give a chance to sustain the agreement. But in the end there are limits and it all depends on the other side," Assad said. He also said people in Syria were suffering from a "humanitarian disaster". The war has killed at least 250,000 people and forced millions to flee their homes. The United Nations hopes the cessation of hostilities will allow it to deliver aid to more than 150,000 people in besieged areas of Syria. The cessation of hostilities agreement, drawn up by the United States and Russia, is also seen by the United Nations as an opportunity to revive peace talks, which collapsed before they had even started a month ago in Geneva. NEGOTIATING TABLE U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was an urgent need to implement the agreement and for the warring parties to return to the negotiating table, a U.N. statement said. "They agreed on the importance of urgently moving forward simultaneously on implementing the cessation of hostilities agreement, providing vital humanitarian assistance to civilians, and returning to political negotiations," the statement said. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that while efforts were being made to track down alleged violations of the cessation of hostilities, there was currently no evidence to suggest they would destabilise the fragile peace. The agreement does not include Islamic State and the Nusra Front, and Assad and his Russian backers have made clear they intend to keep attacking the jihadist groups. The Saudi-backed "moderate" opposition says that because some of their fighters are located in areas alongside Nusra, they fear being targeted too. The Russian Defence Ministry said it was refraining from striking areas in Syria where the "moderate opposition" was respecting the ceasefire agreement, Interfax news agency reported. A total of 15 ceasefire violations have been registered in Syria in the past 24 hours, Interfax quoted the Russian military as saying. The Syrian military denied it was responsible for any violations and said "terrorist groups", the term it uses to describe its enemies, were to blame. Operations against Islamic State and the Nusra Front were going ahead. Malian citizen Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi is the first person to be accused of destroying cultural artefacts by prosecutors at the court, which has previously focused on human rights abuses. Prosecutors say al-Mahdi, an ethnic Tuareg, helped lead a "morality squad" linked to the Islamic Court of Timbuktu. It damaged nine mausoleums and the ancient Sidi Yahia mosque, which dates from the 15th century, when Timbuktu was a trading hub and seat of learning. Al-Mahdi, a goateed college graduate with a shock of tightly curled black hair behind rimless spectacles, cut a very different figure in the courtroom from the politicians and warlords who have stood trial there until now. The court has divided opinion since it was established 13 years ago. Critics say it has often targeted the politically weak and its conviction rate is low, while supporters say the sentences it has handed out have served as deterrents. "The conviction of (Congolese warlord) Thomas Lubanga arguably had a deterrent effect on the use of child soldiers," said Bill Schabas, professor at Britain's Middlesex University. "Maybe this will do the same for cultural monument destruction." At Tuesday's confirmation of charges hearing, prosecutors must convince ICC judges that they have marshalled enough evidence to warrant a full trial on charges of directing the partial destruction of the buildings. Prosecutors also accuse him of belonging to the Ansar Dine militant group, an ally of Al Qaeda in the Maghreb. Al-Mahdi, who at his first appearance at the ICC in September described himself as a graduate of Timbuktu teachers institute, denies the charges. While trials at international tribunals generally concern massacres and genocide, the destruction of cultural heritage has often shocked global public opinion. The ICC has been urged to charge Islamic State fighters for destroying the remains of the ancient city of Palmyra, but it is unable to do so because Syria is not a member of the court. The Taliban's destruction of the 1,500-year old Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan in 2001 also attracted condemnation. Citing two unnamed people familiar with flows into Najib's accounts and a person familiar with one overseas investigation, the report said that more than $1 billion was deposited from 2011 to 2013, far more than the $681 million earlier identified. The report contradicts a conclusion reached recently by Malaysia's chief law officer. Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib in January of any corruption or criminal offences, saying the $681 million transferred into Najib's account was a gift from a member of Saudi Arabia's royal family and that most of it was returned. The prime minister's office had no immediate comment, a spokesman said when contacted by Reuters. Najib has been buffeted for months by allegations of graft and financial mismanagement at debt-burdened 1MDB and in particular by revelations of the transfer of around $681 million into his account in 2013. He has denied wrongdoing, saying the funds were a legal political donation and he did not take any money for personal gain. The Wall Street Journal report said money beyond the $681 million arrived in Najib's account in 2011 and 2012. It said investigators in two countries believed funds originated from 1MDB and moved through a complex web of transactions. Najib is chairman of the board of advisors to IMDB, a fund set up in 2009, when he came to office, to invest in projects of national importance. In response to the WSJ report, 1MDB said it has consistently maintained that it has not paid any funds to the personal accounts of the Prime Minister. "This has been reiterated by multiple lawful authorities including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Malaysian Attorney General, and various reputable international publications, who have confirmed that these funds came from Saudi Arabia," it said in an email response. As I write this column, the polls havent yet opened for Super Tuesday. By the time you read it, polling predicts that Donald Trump will have carried at least 12 of the 13 Republican primary and caucus states, the possible exception being Texas (which may go for Ted Cruz), and that Hillary Clinton will have won 10 of 12 Democratic contests (Bernie Sanders is expected to carry Vermont and Colorado). As I write this column, the polls havent yet opened for Super Tuesday. By the time you read it, polling predicts that Donald Trump will have carried at least 12 of the 13 Republican primary and caucus states, the possible exception being Texas (which may go for Ted Cruz), and that Hillary Clinton will have won 10 of 12 Democratic contests (Bernie Sanders is expected to carry Vermont and Colorado). If the polls are right, Trump and Clinton are, at this point, essentially unstoppable in pursuit of their parties presidential nominations. Over the years Ive become desensitized to the constant talk about how this or that election is the most consequential of our lifetimes. Its usually just not true, because the major party candidates are usually as alike as peas in a pod. But it may be true this year, precisely because the two candidates are as alike as Juan and Evita Peron. Over the years Ive also become desensitized to the constant talk about this being the year a third party finally breaks out, because as much as Id like to believe that (Im a long-time Libertarian Party activist), its also usually just not true. But it may be true this year, because we seem to have hit bottom in our long slide into banana republicanism the culmination of, among other things, George W. Bushs unitary executive claims and Barack Obamas pen and phone posturing. The first step, as Alcoholics Anonymous points out, is admitting you have a problem. Theres certainly no denying that at this point. We seem to be at the point where America has two choices: Up, or out. We can pull ourselves up from our authoritarian funk, or we can finally tip ourselves over into the dustbin of history. Im not placing any bets on which way things will go in the here and now, although my money is on the dustbin option for the long term (I always bet with the odds). It seems to me, however, that if there is ever going to be a libertarian moment in American politics, it has to come soon, and that this year is its best chance. Since 1972, the Libertarian Party has consistently offered American voters their best shot at national resurgence and a new birth of freedom. Weve been right on economics. Weve been right on foreign policy. Weve been right on immigration. Weve been right on all the burning social issues. But being right has never been enough. While hundreds of Libertarians have served and continue to serve in public office, weve never worked our way higher up the elective political ladder than state legislative seats. Its always been easier for voters to just go with the flow, kick the can down the road, etc. So, hows that working out for you? The polls say not so well. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton? If thats not the bottom of the barrel, the barrel has no bottom. Time to vote Libertarian. Or to quit pretending you care about your country. Thomas L. Knapp (Twitter: @thomaslknapp) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida. Our system of government was designed to be of the people, by the people and for the people. To protect the God-given natural rights of each citizen and preserve our liberty, the U.S. Constitution was specifically designed to limit governmental power. Thats why we have checks and balances to keep any one of the co-equal branches from overreaching. Its why we have elections. And its why we have robust public debates ahead of those elections to determine who best can lead our country and make lasting decisions like nominating Supreme Court justices. Iowans have a special appreciation for these debates. We just completed another edition of our unique, first-in-the-nation caucuses, where citizens come together to openly debate and discuss the best direction for the future of our nation. This year, Iowans and the entire country have a unique opportunity to expand that debate to include the role of the Supreme Court and the direction it will take for an entire generation. For the first time in decades, this debate has palpable relevance and lasting consequences. Americans have a chance to deliberate the characteristics we want in a Supreme Court justice and which presidential candidate shares our vision for the role of the court. Do we want someone who will decide cases based on the law, as the late Justice Scalia did? Or do we want a justice who believes the truly difficult cases should be decided based on what is in the judges heart as then-Sen. Obama famously said? During my regular meetings with constituents in Iowa, I often hear expressions of concern and frustration about justices legislating from the bench, essentially issuing rulings that create new law, rather than simply interpreting the law. Others worry that justices allow their own political views to cloud their judgment. These are legitimate issues that should be debated as a nation. And now is the perfect time for that debate, as voters prepare to choose our next president, Democrat or Republican. So, as Americans already have begun casting votes for the next president, my Republican colleagues and I will exercise our constitutional authority to withhold consent on a Supreme Court nominee. Our decision is based on the principle that in our American system of representative government the people should be empowered to weigh in on such a consequential decision, the direction of the Supreme Court. Our nation is divided, our government is divided, and our high court hangs in the balance. In 2014, voters signaled they wanted a departure from President Obamas policies when they revoked the Democrats Senate majority and expanded Republican ranks in the House of Representatives. As the Senate fulfills its advice and consent responsibility, we must consider the will of the people. As Senators, thats our job. The president certainly has the constitutional authority to nominate a justice in an election year, and he intends to use it, even though other presidents, like Abraham Lincoln, chose restraint. In the Senate, we have the equal constitutional authority to consent or withhold consent. This is not a new or even partisan idea. For example, then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Biden, lectured in 1992 that the Senate Judiciary Committee should seriously consider not scheduling confirmation hearings on the nomination until after the political campaign season is over. In 2005, then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, stated, Nowhere in that document [the Constitution] does it say the Senate has a duty to give presidential nominees a vote. In 2007, a year and a half before the end of George W. Bushs tenure as president, Sen. Chuck Schumer, heir apparent as Senate Democratic Leader, proclaimed the Senate should not confirm a Supreme Court nominee except in extraordinary circumstances. History supports this practice. Not since 1888 has an election year nominee been confirmed during a divided government to fill a vacancy occurring in the same year. We are at a rare crossroad in American history, with much at stake. In a government of the people, by the people and for the people, it is the people who should have a say in this debate. As voters continue to cast ballots during this election, they will know that their vote will not only help to determine who gets the keys to the White House for the next four years, but also who will select our next lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. I know Iowans are up to the task. SPRINGFIELD Illinois lawmakers are considering two proposals that would allow retirees to cash out of state pension systems. The House Personnel and Pensions Committee held its first hearing Monday on proposals from Republican state Reps. Mike Fortner of West Chicago and Mark Batinick of Plainfield. Both plans would allow workers to choose at retirement whether they want to take their money out of one of the state pension systems with the goal of giving them more control over their money while helping cut down on the state's $111 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. It's "a win-win scenario," Batinick said, one that will pass constitutional muster. The Illinois Supreme Court voided the state's previous attempt at pension reform, which would have given workers a choice between options that would have ultimately reduced benefits, because it violated the state Constitution's pension protection clause. Batinick said his plan would give workers a new choice for their money. At retirement, a worker would be able to take 75 percent of the "net present value" of his or her pension, not just amount he or she put in. Currently, the average value is $700,000, Batinick said. The retiree would then be out of the state pension plan, thus reducing the unfunded liability in the system. Retirees would benefit from having more control over how their money is invested and taxed, and they would be able to will it to their families, which isn't possible with pensions, Batinick said. They also would be able to withdraw only a portion of their money from the pension fund. The payouts could be funded either through general state revenue or by borrowing money at an interest rate lower than what the state currently pays on its pension debt. Fortner's bill is based on the latter idea. He proposes that the state contract with an outside company to front the money for the lump-sum payments to retirees. The vendor also would be able to retain a portion of the payout. "That would be between the vendor and the retiree, subject to the terms (the Department of Central Management Services) has put into the contract," Fortner said. The vendor would need to offer a deal good enough to attract retirees to take advantage of it, he said. The state would repay the vendor over the long term, and the vendor would be required to provide financial planning services to retirees before they could take their payouts. Rep. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, said he wants to be sure there are protections included in any plan to prevent employees, especially those not eligible for Social Security, from taking out money out and squandering it. "Otherwise, I think this is a good idea and something for us to definitely consider," Martwick said, noting that he prefers Batinick's approach because it doesn't involve a third party. Representatives of the State Employees' Retirement System, the Teachers' Retirement System and the State Universities Retirement System who attended the hearing all expressed openness to the idea. Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, the committee's chairwoman, said the hearing provided "a lot of food for thought." "Let's keep chewing on it," she said. DES MOINES Iowa senators launched an effort Tuesday to require more government oversight of private companies the state has contracted effective April 1 to manage care provided to 560,000 Iowans who rely on Medicaid for their health services. The intent of this legislation is to safeguard the interests of Medicaid members, encourage the participation of Medicaid providers and protect Iowa taxpayers, said Sen. Amanda Ragan, D-Mason City, at the start of floor debate in the Iowa Senate on Senate File 2213. The measure, which cleared committee with bipartisan support, seeks to enhance the role and responsibilities of the Health Policy Oversight Committee, execute a comprehensive review of program integrity and create a special fund to finance system improvements and support for recipients, Ragan said in her opening remarks. Other provisions of the bill would assign duties and authority to the managed care ombudsman program, expand and enhance the Medical Assistance Advisory Council, and direct state officials to improve consumer protections, monitor rates and payments, and collect data as part of the evaluation and oversight process, she said. Floor debate was deferred after Ragans opening remarks to give minority Republicans time to review changes made to the original legislation and allow time to have amendments drafted for consideration when senators return to the topic on Wednesday. There are too many unanswered questions about who will provide oversight and how and where individuals will get services, said Ragan, who noted that federal regulators twice delayed Gov. Terry Branstads implementation of Medicaid privatization that initially was to begin Jan. 1. It is undeniable that Gov. Branstad took a too much, too fast approach to Medicaid privatization, Ragan added. This Medicaid privatization program is destined to harm the very people it was supposed to help. Apparently, it was designed by those who know the cost of everything but understand the value of nothing. Branstad has questioned the need for oversight that he sees onerous and duplicative beyond new duties of the three private managed care organizations, or MCOs, and the authority that his administration and the Legislature already has to monitor Medicaid as it moves from a fee-for-service model to a system that encourages health outcomes and rewards providers for improvements. The whole idea of managed care companies is indeed to provide oversight over the providers to see that were moving in that direction, the governor told reporters earlier this week. So, were looking at more people that oversee the overseers basically to manage the managers, Branstad said of the Senates proposed oversight expansion. How much of that duplication do we want and how much will it cost? Those are the kinds of things you have to balance in determining whether this is good public policy. The six-term GOP governor said the state insurance commissioner already is in place to oversee the MCOs and the state has ombudsmen to advocate for Medicaid participants who have questions or problems. He said he was open to adding more ombudsman positions if needed, but he was reserving judgment on legislation calling for more oversight. In other action, senators voted 49-0 to lower the age to 17 that Iowans can register to vote in primary and general elections. Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, said Senate File 2142 was another step in an effort to make Iowas election process more secure, efficient, accurate and voter friendly. With this bill, we will expand the enterprise of democracy, hopefully deepening the meaning of freedom by broadening our definition of universal suffrage, he said. Were not moving heaven and earth, but we do believe that allowing Iowans who are 17 to begin that process so that when they are 18 on Election Day that they have had the full benefit of participating in who those candidates would be in particular primaries and other research that they would want to do. Senators also voted 49-0 to expand options for outpatient treatment of a person with a serious mental impairment who fails to comply with a court order including the ability to provide the choice of an injectable medication to address bipolar of schizophrenic conditions. Also Tuesday, senators voted 24-25 to defeat a bill designed to give prescription-writing authority to certain psychologists. Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, switched his vote to make it possible for him to file a motion to reconsider Senate File 2188 to keep the measure eligible for possible changes or further work this session. Three GOP senators voted with 21 Democrats to support the measure, while four majority Democrats opposed the bill in its current form. As it celebrates its first 100 years of operation, the National Park Service (NPS) is making a concerted effort to address the impact of climate change on the areas under its care. In Maine, the NPS maintains two parks, Acadia National Park and St. Croix Island International Historic Site, both of which are already being affected as a direct result of the shifting climate. While it remains a controversial issue in some circles, the effects are difficult to deny based on historical observations. In 2013, NPS Director John Jarvis stated in a memo to park superintendents that parks face "no greater challenge than climate change." In St. Croix Island's case, park ranger Meg Scheid explains that the island is among the top candidates for soil erosion concerns. For years, scientists have been monitoring the erosion along the island's sandy banks, a process that has been steadily increasing as a result of storm surges, rains and waters that have risen eight inches in the past century. "Now we're doing the [erosion] measurements in metric tons," Scheid says. For Scheid and other park managers, it prompts the question: "What happens if critical cultural resources are exposed?" It's not an easy question to answer. Throughout its history, the NPS has sought to avoid interfering with natural processes such as erosion. As a result, "Some parks are facing the loss of the very reason they were created," Abe MillerRushing, science coordinator for Acadia National Park, says. "Joshua Tree National Park may no longer have Joshua trees, Glacier National Park may no longer have glaciers and the archeological remains of St. Croix Island may erode away." Interdisciplinary workshops have been planned for parks that are most at risk, including one for St. Croix Island scheduled for this coming summer. The workshop will include experts across multiple fields, including coastal adaptation specialists, tribal historians, coastal engineers and geologists, all of whom will be coordinating to outline protocols and identify what, if any, actions should be taken. The parks aren't the only parts of the environment that are being impacted by the changing climate, as MillerRushing explains. Over the past 100 years, Maine's growing season has increased by two full months, and ice out in lakes has happened earlier and earlier. "We already have species in Acadia that wouldn't have been able to survive here a hundred years ago," he says. The recent rise in the deer tick population and the associated increase in Lyme disease have occurred in part because of the warmer climate. While warmer weather is perhaps the best known facet of climate change, there are multiple factors at work. The ocean itself is warming, particularly in the Gulf of Maine, which is heating up 99% faster than other areas of the ocean due to its unique features and the influence of the fresher and warmer Labrador current, MillerRushing says. As the ocean warms, the water expands, causing sea levels to rise. Based on a scenario planning workshop at Acadia, MillerRushing and his colleagues anticipate seas could rise as much as three feet within 100 years, or between four inches and one foot by 2040. As carbon dioxide dissolves into the atmosphere, the acidity of the ocean is increasing as well. "The pH [acidity] of the ocean is changing faster than it has in 300 million years," he says. "This affects you in the ocean if you have a shell or a bone, or if you like to eat anything that has either of those features." The numerous changes are dramatically affecting sea life. Lobsters are moving northward, while some native birds are struggling to maintain their populations. As an example, MillerRushing says that herring, the preferred fish of puffins, are no longer around at the right time, leading puffin parents to try to feed their chicks butterfish. Butterfish, however, are too big for the chicks to eat, causing them to starve to death even while surrounded by potential food. The increased temperatures and higher sea levels have destabilized weather currents in general, leading to a greater number of storms. "What used to be very rare occurrences -- happening every 10 years or so -- are now annual events," MillerRushing says. As a result, "What used to be considered extreme is now considered the norm." However, not every year is sequentially warmer and wetter, making it more difficult for people to realize the impact of climate change, as MillerRushing notes. "Even though our winters are getting warmer, last year we broke records for cold temperatures," he says. Once the effects of climate change are recognized, it's easy for people to feel hopeless, MillerRushing says. The worst thing people can do is ignore the problem. "Our world is changing. The way we can affect it is by having a voice." He urges residents to raise their concerns to local lawmakers and to vote on relevant policies. "Change your light bulbs. Use less fossil fuels. Every little bit helps." Burning wood from a managed tree lot where trees are being replanted helps to reduce the carbon footprint by enhancing the forest's ability to reabsorb carbon. "If we can move to a world where we're recapturing the carbon we released, that will slow the warming." U.S. court rules Apple cant be forced to provide locked iPhone data - report MOSCOW, March 1 (RAPSI) A judge from a New York court ruled on Monday that Apple cant be forced to assist FBI by providing an access to data stored on a locked iPhone, Associated Press has reported. According to Associated Press, this ruling was made regarding a routine Brooklyn drug case. On February 16, a California magistrate judge ordered Apple to create special software that would allow authorities to crack into iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter, Associated Press has reported. The U.S. Justice Department and Apple came to a clash during investigation of San Bernardino shooting case. Authorities demand Apple to assist with the recovery of stored information from an iPhone of the shooter while the company believes that this may create an incident for consumer rights breach. Since then several similar requests to help with providing of iPhone information were dismissed by Apple. Two banks demand $36 mln from JFC ex-CEO Kekhman in bankruptcy case MOSCOW, March 1 (RAPSI) Promsvyazbank and UniCreditBank have filed applications with the Commercial Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region seeking more than 2.7 billion rubles ($36 million) from former executive of JFC company Vladimir Kekhman in bankruptcy case, according to court records. Promsvyazbank asked to enter 1.7 billion rubles ($22 million) in debt into the list of creditors, UniCreditBank demanded in the motion to collect 1 billion rubles ($14 million) from Kekhman. Applications will be considered on April 21. Kekhman earlier filed an appeal with the Thirteenth Commercial Court of Appeals against a court ruling to introduce a procedure of debt restructuring against him on the claim of Sberbank. The Commercial Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region included a claim by the bank for more than 4.3 billion rubles ($57 million) on the creditors list. Bankruptcy hearing has been scheduled for May 19. Interestingly, London's High Court ruled that Kekhman was bankrupt in October 2012. By the time he presented a debtor's petition seeking a bankruptcy order his assets consisted of 200,000 in cash, land in St Petersburg valued at 4.3 million, a Mercedes-Benz in Russia and a Bentley in France. He had 19 unsecured creditors totaling about 316 million located in Russia and 23 bank accounts, three of which were arrested. Kekhman is currently leading Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater and is holding a position of the St. Petersburgs Mikhailovsky Theatre's artistic director. Established in St. Petersburg in 1997, JFC Group comprises fruit production, procurement, storage, distribution, and sales companies. Its ultimate holding company is JFC (BVI) Limited, which operates through companies in Russia, the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Luxembourg and Panama. JFC Group filed for bankruptcy in March 2012 and consequently entered a period of supervision. By that time its debt claims amounted to a total of 18 billion rubles ($237 million). Googles lawsuit over Mobile App distribution set for March 10 MOSCOW, March 1 (RAPSI) The Moscow Commercial Court will hear on March 10 a lawsuit filed by Google against Russias Federal Antimonopoly Services (FAS) order on distribution of Google Play mobile application, RAPSI learnt in the court on Tuesday. The case is considered behind closed doors because most of documents are confidential. The Moscow Commercial Court earlier brought Yandex as a third party into the case. Yandex has filed a motion to join the case. FAS supported the claim. Google resisted the motion stating that Yandex, the companys rival, would get access to its classified information. In February 2015, the watchdog opened a case against Google, which stands accused of using Android mobile operating system for promotion of its own services. The case was opened at the request of Yandex, one of the largest internet companies in Europe, operating Russia's most popular search engine and a website. Yandex claims that manufacturers have to abide by terms established by Google to gain access to key elements of OS, including Google Play, which is Google's official store for Android apps, games and other content. As a result, Google which has developed OS can set any restrictions, including a ban on collaboration with competing services, Yandex said in a statement. In September, the FAS found Google guilty of violating the Federal Law on Protection of Competition and charged the company with abuse of dominant market position. The watchdog also ordered Google to remedy detected violations until December 18. Google denies the allegations and claims it does not restrict people from installing other companies applications, including Yandex, onto Android phones. Moscow court returns criminal case against nationalist Martsinkevich to prosecutors MOSCOW, March 1 (RAPSI) The Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow has returned the criminal case against prominent Russian nationalist Maxim Martsinkevich to prosecutors, according to press-secretary of the court Ekaterina Syrchina. Investigators believe that Martsinkevich, a.k.a. Tesak (Hatchet), and his supporters attacked people in 2012-2014 in Moscow using electro shockers, gas sprayers and metallic pipes, leaving several people traumatized and one person dead. These attacks were allegedly connected to a movement Occupy-Narcofilay organized by Martsinkevich against synthetic cannabis (a.k.a. spice) dealers. Martisnkevich and nine other people are accused of extremism, inflicting grave harm androbbery. Reasons for the return of this case were not specified. Martsinkevich, one of the more well-known Russia nationalists, has a history of clashes with the law. In 2014 he was sentenced to five years in prison for publishing extremist content in the Internet. WEST GLACIER If youre worried about how crowded Glacier National Park has become, heres one way to look at it that doesnt make it seem so bad. The people who visited the park last year accounted for less than eight-tenths of 1 percent of the total number who visited the public lands overseen by the National Park Service. The agency this week certified its visitation numbers for 2015 at more than 307 million people 307,247,252, to be exact. Thats a record, and almost a 5 percent increase over the previous mark of 292.8 million established in 2014. Glacier hosted 2,366,056 of them, setting it's own second straight visitation record, even though wildfires closed one of its two main entrances and shut down a significant chunk of its most popular attraction, Going-to-the-Sun Road, for 2 1/2 weeks. In breaking its record, Glacier once again proved to be one of the top 10 most popular national parks in America. Great Smoky Mountains National Park was, as usual, first, with almost 11 million visitors twice that of No. 2 Grand Canyon National Park. Glacier was 10th, about 445,000 visitors behind No. 9 Acadia National Park in Maine. Yellowstone, the national park Montana shares with Wyoming and Idaho, welcomed more than 4 million people for the first time ever last year, good for fifth place. *** A National Park Service audit bumped the previously announced total visitation number up from 305 million to 307 million. With NPS celebrating and promoting its 100th birthday in 2016, the record may again be short-lived. In addition to their top-10 finishes, Glacier and Yellowstone were two of five national parks singled out for milestone moments in 2015 Yellowstone for surpassing the 4 million-attendance mark for the first time ever, and Glacier for welcoming the 100 millionth visitor in the parks 105-year history. Becky Janssen of Bakersfield, California, who was spending the summer in Whitefish with her two children, was chosen out of a line of cars at the West Entrance of the park by Superintendent Jeff Mow on the morning of June 11 to represent visitor No. 100 million. While the park celebrated the milestone, the number also highlighted the pressures that growing numbers of visitors are placing on Glacier and other national parks. It took 79 years since its establishment in 1910 for Glacier to reach 50 million visitors, and just 26 years for it to get 50 million more. *** The 307 million visitors is for all the places overseen by the National Park Service, not just its 59 national parks. That includes national monuments, national battlefields, national recreation areas, national parkways and more. With them, the list of sites grows to 410 - and only two of the top 10 most-visited national parks make the top 10 list for all NPS units. The most-visited place in the National Park System last year was the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina, with more than 15 million people. Grand Canyon, No. 2 on the national parks-only list, drops to No. 10 when visitation at all NPS units are figured in. In addition to Glacier and Yellowstones milestones, Grand Canyon National Park surpassed 5 million visitors for the first time, Rocky Mountain National Park went over 4 million for the first time, and Joshua Tree National Park surpassed 2 million for the first time. Of the 371 NPS units reporting visitors in 2015, 57 broke records. Eleven had more than 5 million recreation visits. The National Park Service also said tent camping in campgrounds rose 13 percent in 2015, RV camping was up 10 percent and backcountry overnights were up 7 percent. HELENA Before speaking in Helena on Thursday, Greg Gianforte walked into the office of Gov. Steve Bullock, who he hopes to unseat in this fall's election, and hand-delivered a folder that contained a letter to his opponent and a pledge to not accept any money from political action committees. "I refuse to accept any campaign contributions from special-interest PACs, state and federal," read the first line of the pledge, released by Gianforte's campaign just a day after the Bozeman businessman formally announced he would seek the Republican nomination for governor and as he completed a two-day rally tour. "I will tear up and/or return any special-interest PAC donations previously sent to my campaign. Montana voters deserve a clean campaign focused on the issues." John Malia, who works in the Citizens' Advocate Office, was at the reception desk outside Bullock's office when Gianforte arrived, saying simply that he was dropping it off for the governor. Malia said he gave the folder to Tracy Stone-Manning, Bullock's chief of staff. Meanwhile, Bullock was in Billings, talking with students at City College at Montana State University-Billings about workforce development, joined by John Cech, deputy commissioner for academic and student affairs for the Montana University System and Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Pam Bucy. "It's news to me," Bullock told a reporter there. "I'll take a look ... and respond at that point." *** On Thursday evening, Bullock affirmed his commitment to election transparency in a statement on the sixth anniversary of "the disastrous Citizens United decision" by the U.S. Supreme Court, which eliminated some restrictions on how corporations spend money in elections. "I will continue to fight for fair, transparent and accessible elections because I, along with all Montanans, believe that our elections should be decided by 'we the people' not by a small number of wealthy people who seek to hide their money and motivations," he said in the statement. The incumbent governor's campaign manager, Eric Hyers, did not say whether Bullock would sign the pledge and described it as an empty gesture from Gianforte, who donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to groups that fought against a 2015 bill that expanded campaign disclosure requirements. "Look, for Gianforte to be taken seriously, why doesn't he start by pledging he won't spend or funnel more than $1,300 of his own fortune into this campaign?" Hyers said in a written statement. "Here's a guy that's dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into groups who lobbied against Montana's DISCLOSE Act. And a guy that has a Koch brothers' PAC, Aegis PAC, soliciting funds on his behalf on this very day." Aaron Flint, Gianforte's campaign spokesman, fired back. "It's a pretty simple pledge for the governor to sign or not to sign," he said. "Particularly as the governor has been out there gallivanting all across the state using taxpayer dollars. It seems Bullock is trying to buy this race with taxpayer dollars because he's having a little trouble raising money." Gianforte co-founded RightNow Technologies with his wife, Susan, and became a multimillionaire when Oracle purchased the company in 2012 for $1.8 billion. He has previously said they controlled about a quarter of the stock at the time of the sale, worth more than $300 million. *** Montana Democrats have shadowed Gianforte's campaign stops throughout the state this week with their own news conferences about the businessman's candidacy. In Helena, Democratic Party Director Nancy Keenan downplayed Gianforte's pledge, one she said the multimillionaire was well-positioned to make. "He's a self-funder, he can write the check," Keenan said. "So it's pretty easy for him to say, 'Oh, we're not going to take any money' when he can write the check for millions and millions of dollars." In his letter to the governor, Gianforte took a congenial, serious tone, sending Bullock "warm greetings" and hopes for "a positive, spirited race." "I am committed to rejecting any special interest PAC money," he wrote. "I simply won't cash their checks. Any checks sent my direction have already been returned, or torn up. ... I'd ask that you join me in this effort." Gianforte has not ruled out personally donating to outside political groups. If he did, Flint said Gianforte would "not directly" benefit from those contributions. Campaign finance reports through the end of 2015 do not list any contributions to Gianforte from political action committees and all the refunds listed in his expenditures appear to be to individuals. He brought in $162,771 between Aug. 17 and Sept. 30, and another $221,677 through the end of 2015, according to his reports. Of that, $12,814 were in-kind contributions from Gianforte himself. Additionally, several members of his family have donated the maximum contribution of $650 each. On Bullock's most recent campaign finance report covering Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, he reported receiving $12,140 from 20 PACs and $216,042 in total donations during that time. On his prior filing covering July 1 through Sept. 30, he reported receiving $9,806 from 18 PACs and $283,779 total. *** Gianforte started Thursday in a Hoven Equipment warehouse in Great Falls, where the lectern and 24 folding chairs were set up next to towering farm implements. Supporters talked over coffee and maple bars as they waited. When Gianforte began to speak, his remarks were interrupted by applause, cheers and, at mention of the family's old Ford Bronco, a quip from the audience that elicited a chuckle from the candidate. To the supporters gathered in Great Falls, his remarks were fresh even though Gianforte had given largely the same speech in Billings, Sidney, Lewistown and Kalispell a day earlier. He vowed to remove "job-killing" business regulations, eliminate the business equipment tax, support gun rights, develop the state's natural resource industries and focus more on customer service than enforcement, in part, by placing "someone from industry" or business at the helm of state agencies such as the Department of Environmental Quality. "I'm here to tell you very definitively, Montana can prosper again," he said to applause. Gianforte declined to answer media questions, saying: "We're going to have time to sit down. Today, I'm here for my supporters." The candidate also made stops in Missoula, at Advanced Technology Group downtown, and Bozeman on Thursday. *** Holly Michels and James DeHaven contributed to this report. BUTTE Greg Gianforte, Republican candidate for governor, wants somebody from industry running the state's Department of Environmental Quality. We have people running state agencies today who have never walked in the shoes of the people theyre trying to serve, he said in an interview this week. DEQ cant seem to say yes or no to permit applications. I dont think the answer to every application should be yes, but I do believe the DEQ should be able to say yes or no a lot quicker. Asked about DEQs commitment to remove the Parrot tailings in Butte, for example, as something that might not have happened if the agency were run by someone from industry, Gianforte said, In Butte, for a long time we didnt have enough environmental oversight. Its a continuum. ... I think the pendulum has swung too far the other way. He added, DEQ just doesnt know how to issue a permit any more. Last Friday was the deadline for permitting the Montanore mine near Libby. DEQ says it needs more time. Its been 11 years. Isnt that long enough? He also cited the Otter Creek mine situation as a prime example. The state took $86 million from Arch Coal to mine the coal deposits on state land. Then they never gave them a permit to dig the coal out of the ground. How is that fair? Environmental groups pushed back hard on Thursday. Jim Jensen, executive director of the Montana Environmental Information Center, said, First of all, Montana DEQ is a regulatory agency. It isnt the Montana Department of Commerce, the purpose of which is to promote industry. DEQs job is to regulate polluting industries to protect the public health and natural environment of Montana. He added, Putting an industry representative in charge of the regulatory agency would destroy the credibility of that agency. The result, of which Mr. Gianforte is yet to be informed, would be that EPA would simply take away Montanas primacy. ... The state is delegated to have clean air and water programs within the requirements of federal law. EPA would then be in charge rather than the state. Regarding the Otter Creek project, Jensen said, All that Arch Coal bought was the right to apply for a permit to mine those coal reserves. They didnt buy a permit they bought a right to apply for a permit. If they could comply with Montana law and federal law they could get a permit. Instead, what the company has done is ask DEQ and the governor to change water quality standards in the Tongue River and Otter Creek. The EPA recently stepped in and said, The standards you are proposing are not legal under federal law. Nick Gevock, conservation director for the Montana Wildlife Federation, said Thursday, Government has a regulatory role, and theres just a fundamental conflict with people from industry regulating the industry they came from. Its been shown time and time again particularly with the environment. Its just a bad idea. *** The Legislature has previously considered bills to mandate a quicker turnaround time for permitting although the Montana time frames are quicker than many states. But the legislative efforts have failed after both industry and state representatives warned that permits that are rushed through are much more vulnerable to lawsuit and ultimately revocation. Karen Knudsen, executive director of the Clark Fork Coalition, said Thursday that a call for someone from industry to run the agency sets off a few alarm bells, for sure. As Montanans know, industry has often occurred at the expense of nature, leaving toxic messes behind for taxpayers to clean up. That said, it really doesnt matter what sector DEQs director comes from. What matters is that he or she leads DEQ responsibly, with an eye toward a sustainable future, and in a way that upholds our constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment. Regarding the Montanore mine, a DEQ spokesperson said the agency will soon publish its record of decision, which would include permitting for the mine expansion. DEQ and Kootenai National Forest are co-lead agencies on the current EIS, the spokesperson said. The Environmental Protection Agency, Bonneville Power Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are among the agencies that have permitting authority. ... DEQ entered into this combined process at the companys request. DEQ is deferring to the federal process, which dictates the overall time frames. Regarding Otter Creek, the agency said, We are waiting on deficiency responses from (from Arch Creek Coal) on the coal permit and their surface water discharge permit. (They have a draft air quality permit.) Until we receive those responses from the company we cannot move forward. If we receive those deficiency responses, we cant stop processing their permit simply because they are in bankruptcy. However, we will not be able to move forward on the EIS until their bill is brought current and we have assurances from them that they will be able to pay for future EIS work. They will have to pay all permit fees and will be required to post a bond before they can receive their final permit. We have met all our statutory deadlines. The company has no deadlines associated with their submittals. It might be a convenient political line to take, to say were going to put industry in charge of Montana, MEICs Jensen said. One of the reasons it wont work is weve already lived that nightmare when industry really did run Montana. When the Anaconda Copper Co., Montana Power and others controlled the Legislature, the governor, the Supreme Court and the Public Service Commission. In large part, because of that, we have the 1972 Constitution. If you want to see how it works when industry is in control, look at Libby. As far back as the 50s the state knew the dust from the mine was toxic, but they had a confidentiality agreement with the industry and their inspection reports were kept secret. No one, myself foremost, is suggesting we get rid of every regulation, Gianforte said. Lets bring competency, common sense and balance to ensure a clean environment and make sure we dont extinguish livelihoods in pursuit of that. We need more high-wage jobs. HELENA When describing the kind of governor he would be, Greg Gianforte often turns to anecdotes about how, without any outside capital, he and his wife grew a software startup out of his Bozeman basement into a company that sold for $1.8 billion in 2012. To his supporters, it is evidence that the Republican, although a political newcomer, has the skills to grow Montanas economy and would act to get government out of the way of business. We have prospered in Montana, said Gianforte, whose tax returns over 10 years show about $220 million total income. And thats the issue Montana has. We need more prosperity. Im an advocate for prosperity. Democrats, however, target Gianfortes wealth as a reason for concern. "Montana has not seen a candidate like Greg Gianforte since the days of copper kings, said Eric Hyers, campaign manager for Gov. Steve Bullock, the incumbent Democrat. His taxes and donations raise all sorts of questions about his real agenda, and Montanans deserve answers. It has been more than a century since rival copper industrialists Williams Clark, Marcus Daly and Augustus Heinze wielded their fortunes to control newspapers and shape elections in the state, but the extent of their influence marked by the copper patina of the capitols dome ultimately led Montanans to enact through initiative one of the nations first and strongest campaign finance laws. The 2016 gubernatorial race featuring Bullock and Republicans Gianforte and former Secretary of State Brad Johnson bears little resemblance to the decades-long feud between Clark, Daly and Heinze, who each spent the modern equivalent of billions to outmaneuver each other in politics and business. Yet the influence of money in elections is again at the forefront of national political dialogue and is likely to be a persistent topic of debate in Montana. Last week, Gianforte announced he would not accept contributions from special-interest political action committees and wrote a letter to Bullock challenging him to take the same pledge. Too often, the greater good is being ignored because the greater voice is given to the special interests in Helena and Washington, D.C., Gianforte wrote. Political action committees, which raise money to influence elections, first formed in 1944 to collect voluntary donations from union members to get around federal rules banning contributions from union treasuries. The U.S. Supreme Courts 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission removed limits on how much corporations and unions could spend in elections. And after another 2010 court ruling, a variation of the committees emerged, called super PACs. They do not donate to campaigns and cannot coordinate with them, but can gather limit-free contributions to make independent expenditures, such as television advertising, that aid candidates or causes. All political action committees are subject to federal disclosure rules about who contributed and how much. But theres a loophole. Many wealthy political influencers also have created one of two types of nonprofit foundations 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) that do not have to disclose their donors, which then contribute nearly all of those collections to super PACs, so it is difficult or impossible to tell the original source of the dark money. Nonprofits of the most familiar kind, 501(c)(3), are not allowed to engage in partisan politics with funding or through endorsements. This web of disclosure rules and the sometimes hidden flow of funds have already become part of Montanas gubernatorial bids. *** While Gianforte supporters cheered at Thursday rallies when he announced his promise not to accept contributions from political action committees, analysts say losing such funding likely wont hurt his campaign. It comes off as a gimmick, University of Montana political science professor Robert Saldin said. Hes trying to assert and take some moral high ground, but hes put absolutely nothing at risk. Because of his wealth, hes able to self-finance his campaign. Hyers and leaders of the Montana Democratic Party said Bullock wouldnt dignify Gianfortes no-PAC pledge with consideration until he made a promise of real consequence, such as limiting personal support of his campaign to the maximum combined primary and general election contribution limit of $1,300 for all individual donors. Responding to calls from Gianfortes campaign, Hyers said Bullock would be happy to release his taxes soon, presumably after he formalizes his campaign by filing with the secretary of state. Gianforte said in a Friday interview with Lee Newspapers that he was disappointed the governor did not appear interested in accepting his no-PAC pledge. Hes dependent on special-interest money and I think Montanans are sick of it, he said. According to two finance disclosure reports filed between July and the end of 2015, Bullocks campaign received $499,821 in total donations, including $22,847 from 27 PACs. Johnsons campaign reported $1,357 in contributions, all from individuals. Over the same period, disclosure forms from Gianfortes campaign reported $384,448 in contributions, none of which came from political action committees. Of that, $12,814 were in-kind contributions from Gianforte himself. Additionally, several members of his family have donated the maximum contributions of $650 each for the primary and $650 for the general election. Gianforte defended the likelihood that he would additionally support his own campaign. Were committing our time. Were also committing our reputation and we will contribute resources, he said. We havent made a decision as to what that is, but were all in because we love Montana and we want to see better outcomes for it. As proof of his interest in serving the state, Gianforte pointed to the $113.9 million he says he donated since 2005 to charitable causes, from the Gallatin County YMCA and groups working with African orphans to conservative nonprofits like the Family Research Council and the Heritage Foundation. About half of that amount was listed on tax returns he released to the media, saying he did not list the rest because it would not have resulted in additional tax benefits. He said it all went to the Gianforte Family Foundation, which is barred from making political contributions because it is a 501(c)(3). *** Retired UM political science professor James Lopach said parallels might be drawn to the presidential bid of Donald Trump and the resulting retorts that wealthy candidates already share the sentiments of wealthy would-be donors even if they dont solicit their contributions. Saldin said Gianfortes ability to fund his own campaign as needed frees him to do other kinds of election work: forming policies and meeting with voters. Most candidates have to be constantly, obsessively raising money at this point in the process, he said. It can become a real distraction. Gianforte likely will continue to collect individual contributions, at least because they often are used by political analysts to gauge whether the candidate has credible voter support. He said Thursday that his no-PAC pledge was only a promise not to accept contributions and did not rule out the possibility he would donate to committees this election cycle. That might include groups making independent expenditures against Bullock, but campaign spokesman Aaron Flint later clarified that if Gianforte did donate to political action committees, he would not directly benefit. Lopach said the pledge nonetheless would help bolster campaign claims that Gianforte is not beholden to special-interest groups. Bullock has probably straight-armed this argument by being a highly visible opponent of the big money allowed by Citizens United, he said. As attorney general, Bullock gained national attention for leading the fight against the implementation of the Citizens United decision, which unraveled parts of the states long-standing campaign finance law that banned corporate contributions. Last year, he championed a bill through the Legislature that required 501(c)(4) dark money groups to disclose their donors. Democratic operatives have criticized Gianforte, noting that he donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to groups that opposed the bill, including the Montana Family Foundation and Montana Policy Institute, both 501(c)(3)s. The groups said the bill could have a chilling effect on free speech and worried it gave too much authority to the commissioner of political practices, a political appointee, to draft rules. On Friday, Gianforte declined to say whether he supported the Disclose Act, noting he was not in a position in which he had to make a decision. When asked if he encouraged the groups he funded to oppose the bill, or if that had been part of his reason for donating to them, he twice said, I am in favor of transparent elections. BOZEMAN Greg Gianforte celebrates his status as a political outsider. In an eight-city, two-day tour last week, the 54-year technology entrepreneur from Bozeman announced that he would seek the Republican gubernatorial nomination after traveling the state for months as an exploratory candidate. In a Friday interview with the Missoulian State Bureau, Gianforte outlined some of his policy priorities and shrugged off criticism about his personal wealth and faith-driven donations. Montanans want someone that has this pragmatic business experience, he said. (My opponents) are grasping at straws, attacking me for our Christianity, attacking me for our charitable giving. At the end of the day Im focused exclusively on creating jobs so that my kids and other Montana families kids stay and thrive here in this state. Gianforte must defeat former secretary of state Brad Johnson in the primary this June, but his campaign has largely ignored his Republican opponent to take aim at incumbent Democrat Gov. Steve Bullock, who is seeking a second term. Prior to his candidacy, Gianforte and his wife, Susan, were best known for co-founding RightNow Technologies, a Bozeman-based company that created cloud-based customer service software. When global technology giant Oracle purchased RightNow for $1.8 billion in 2012, the Gianfortes have said they controlled about a quarter of the companys stock, which was worth more than $300 million. Gianforte also helped create the Montana High Tech Business Alliance and contributed to several Republican legislative campaigns in recent years. Primarily through the nonprofit Gianforte Family Foundation, he has donated more than $110 million to a handful of prominent conservative advocacy groups, such as the Montana Family Foundation. He has never before run for office or worked in government. Should he win, Gianforte would be the states first Republican to take the states top post since one-term governor Judy Martz, who chose not to run for re-election in 2004. That year Republican Bob Brown was defeated by Democrat Brian Schweitzer. Unburdened by major scandal and bolstered by agenda successes such as passing Medicaid expansion through a Republican-held Legislature, Bullock enters the early campaign season with a favorability rating of about 50 percent, said political scientist and professor Robert Saldin, referencing months-old telephone polls. Thats a good place to be starting from if youre Steve Bullock, Saldin said. Just the basic fact hes an incumbent is huge. Incumbents usually win. Gianforte is undeterred, zeroing in on flaws in Bullocks policy that he says have slowed the states economic growth. Picking up traditional Republican themes, Gianforte has promised to reduce personal and business taxes in an effort to stimulate growth, reorient state agencies to focus on customer service more than enforcement by appointing someone from industry or business to lead them, and to take a stronger stance against increasing federal regulations that he thinks could be unconstitutional. *** In coming weeks, his campaign will travel the state to wrangle up job-killing regulations that he promised to put out to pasture should he be elected governor. With less government in the way, Gianforte said Montanas top industries natural resources, agriculture, manufacturing and high-tech could prosper. To make sure those employers have the skilled workers they need, Gianforte said he would work to realign higher education to have a stronger job-training focus, perhaps offering tax credits to businesses that sponsored apprenticeships. In addition to supporting school choice and voucher initiatives that have faced stiff opposition from Democrats in the Legislature, Gianforte proposed investing in additional science and math training for K-12 teachers and an expansion of the states Digital Academy so more students could pursue advanced coursework. As one way to bring more computer science courses to schools, he proposed making them an alternative to fulfill foreign language credit requirements. In stump speeches from Sidney to Missoula, Gianforte dinged Bullock for refusing to sign tax code simplifications into law, delaying natural resource development through his leadership of state permitting agencies and cowing to federal overreach, including the EPAs Clean Power Plan to reduce coal emissions. Bullocks campaign manager, Eric Hyers, dismissed Gianfortes criticisms, noting that wages have grown and unemployment has shrunk since the Democrat took office. What Mr. Gianforte has been saying is completely not true, Hyers said. And the governor has been clear that he supports the courts taking a look at (the Clean Power Plan).... But look, it would be irresponsible to just sit back and hope the court does the right thing. We can have the feds come to Montana and write a plan for us, or we can do what hes doing and put together a commission of Montanans to come up with a Montana solution. Gianforte said he would do more to negotiate with federal officials to reduce the 47 percent emission reduction goal set in the plan, while partnering with Attorney General Tim Fox and neighboring states to fight for the reversal of the regulations. He said he is not ready to concede that the rules would be implemented as is and did not have ideas about how to help the coal industry thrive should that happen. I dont even want to think yet about what those steps would be, Gianforte said. There would be next steps. But its an outrageous overreach. *** He also suggested two ways the state could take over management of federal lands, but opposed efforts to transfer ownership that he said could not win congressional approval. I personally dont like to be engaged in battles where you cant be victorious, he said. He said he would work to leverage a health and safety provision of the Farm Bill to allow state management of some forests, noting federally controlled timber land north of Whitefish that provides water for the town. He also supports proposals to contract with federal authorities to allow for state management of public forests. He wants to make this campaign about growing the Montana economy, creating jobs, Saldin said. Democrats clearly want to focus on something else with regard to Gianforte, and thats his apparent social conservatism. *** The Montana Democratic Party latched onto a Buzzfeed article published the day of Gainfortes official announcement to condemn his outside the mainstream opposition to a Bozeman nondiscrimination ordinance that would have provided protections for lesbian, gay and transgender people. Two days earlier, Bullock used an executive action to expand prohibitions of discrimination based on pregnancy and related medical conditions, gender expression and military service to state jobs and contracts. Gianforte refused to say whether he would repeal Bullocks executive action upon taking office or to comment on a bill that could expand such protections statewide, saying he would need to see the details first. Im focused exclusively on creating jobs in the state and creating better outcomes for people, he said. Ive been very clear that discrimination is wrong. We didnt discriminate in our business and I dont think we should do it at the state, but I dont think we need more regulations to increase the costs of business. Saldin said the donations questioned by Democrats are not surprising for a conservative Republican and nondenominational Christian. It does suggest hes a real social conservative and hes put a lot of money behind those causes, he said. Hes not been very eager to talk about that publicly. How he deals with that over the course of the campaign will be interesting. James Lopach, a retired University of Montana political science professor, expects the months ahead to be heated as Gianforte works to grow his name recognition and chip away at Bullock, seen by many as a common-sense politician. It will be hard to dislodge him from the Capitol unless personal scandal or economic catastrophe provide the leverage, he said. There's no doubt that as a Republican (Gianforte) can be elected governor. In this bipartisan-competitive state, that has happened frequently in the past and will again in the future. As things stand now his goal seems difficult but not impossible. HELENA With the economy expected to be a central focus of Montana's governor's race, Gov. Steve Bullock on Thursday laid the groundwork for his re-election by declaring the state's economy strong. Republican challenger Greg Gianforte has made Montana's low wages his campaign's central theme. Gianforte has hammered the incumbent Democrat for not doing enough to produce high-wage jobs to keep Montana's youth from fleeing the state for better economic opportunities elsewhere. During a news conference in the Capitol, Bullock cited the state's 4 percent unemployment rate as a key indicator of Montana's glowing economy. Montana's jobless rate is one point below the national rate. "Our economy is strong," the governor said. "The state's ability to work collaboratively with the private sector has never been better. There is a lot to be excited about." The governor's report, compiled by his economic advisers, cast a mostly rosy light on the state's economy. Bullock's administration cited rankings placing Montana in the Top 10 in the country on various measures, including job growth, the business climate and income growth. "The sky isn't falling," the governor said. Despite Bullock's depiction of the state economy as solid, Gianforte's campaign has nevertheless faulted the governor on his economic record. "I don't know what kind of bubble the governor and his staff are living in," Aaron Flint, Gianforte's campaign spokesman, said in an email. "They need to drive down to Whitehall and talk to the laid off miners. They need to drive over to Deer Lodge and talk with folks who've been put out of work." Gianforte, who officially launched his campaign for governor during a two-day tour of the state last week, has blamed the governor for Montana's status as having among the country's lowest wages. Gianforte says that Montana ranks 49th in the nation. Gianforte's statement is based on an analysis by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which reviewed 2013 tax return data for each state. The study reported Montanans earn an average of $33,180 annually. The U.S. Census Bureau, however, said 17 states in 2014 had lower median household incomes than Montana's $51,102. Patrick Barkey, the director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana, said it was understandable the governor would paint a glowing picture of the economy. "Our general conclusion was that 2015 was a pretty good year. I think he did a very good job of finding some really good things to say about our state," Barkey said. But he said Gianforte raises legitimate concerns. "Is the governor's report a fair read on the economy? I would say absolutely. Did he spend enough time talking about the challenges? That wasn't the aim of the report. But just because it was a good year for the economy doesn't mean all is right," Barkey said. You just cant make this stuff up. Congress recently wrapped itself around the axle debating whether to rein in the mass spying on all American citizens by the National Security Agency and its fellow intelligence agencies. But in December, as revealed last week, foreign hackers broke into the computers of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and basically got all the personal information on every government employee and perhaps a lot more. The Obama administration, which ironically tries to portray itself as the most transparent in history, is trying to downplay the enormity of the breach. But J. David Cox, president of the American Federation of Government Employees representing more than 670,000 members, told reporters: We believe that the Central Personnel Data File was the targeted database, and that the hackers are now in possession of all personnel data for every federal employee, every federal retiree, and up to one million former federal employees." According to OPM, the data was on non-military, non-intelligence federal employees and could include Social Security numbers and birth dates. But the union head disagrees and, according to an article by the Associated Press, called the breach "an abysmal failure on the part of the agency to guard data that has been entrusted to it by the federal workforce, and says the hackers also got military records and information on veterans, including addresses, dates of birth, job and pay histories, health and life insurance info, age, gender and race as well as pension data. In a case of supreme irony, when AP reporters asked the federal agency for more specific information on what was stolen by the hackers they were told for security reasons, we will not discuss specifics of the information that might have been compromised. Uh, right. The information is now in the hands of the foreign hackers, but our own federal agency cant tell the American people the extent of their personal information stolen for security reasons. Considering the AP reported the central personnel data file contains up to 780 separate pieces of information about an employee, it is ludicrous for OPM to even attempt to cover up the extent of the breach under the phony excuse of security. According to the eight lawmakers who were briefed on the issue last week, they believe it was pulled off by Chinese hackers, which Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, announced on the Senate floor. But officially the government is not yet laying blame. Due to the lack of transparency by the Obama administration, theres a possibility that the breach may be far larger than they have so far admitted. OPMs databases also contain what the AP called extremely sensitive information assembled through background investigations of employees and contractors who hold security clearances. OPM says theres no evidence of that, but unless objective third parties or the press are allowed to review the extent and details of the agencys internal investigation, theres no way to confirm that data wasnt stolen. Thats making federal contractors more than a little nervous, which is only exacerbated by similar doubts coming from federal intelligence agency employees. In its usual dysfunctional way, the Senate debated but failed to approve a hastily drawn cybersecurity measure to be tacked on to the pending defense appropriations bill after the breach was announced. One might wonder why Congress has to pass a law telling federal agencies how to secure the personal information on hundreds of millions of American citizens. Perhaps if our security agencies werent so busy spying on our every phone call, email, text or website visit they might find the time to actually secure the existing data on American citizens from foreign hackers. Bottom line is that Congress cannot propose a fix unless it knows the full details of whats been stolen. To that end, the onus now lies fully in the lap of the Obama administration to come clean with the American public on the extent of the December data breach, as well as any others it might be trying to sweep under the rug. By law, the federal government compels American citizens to submit an incredible amount of personal information, including Social Security numbers, bank account numbers to which Social Security checks are sent, census data, income tax returns and, of course, the extensive personal health data now required by Obamacare. We have every right to expect that confidential information will be kept secure not lost to foreign hackers by Homeland Insecurity. This will be a short post, and if these three conditions are not met, it may be my last post at least for a while. (*Upon receiving Reader Comments I h... 3 months ago Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next. 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. From a castle in Italy, to the art of "correct" beret wearing in Bilbao, to a bluegrass music festival in Kentucky, Morelle paints a picture for her readers of all the various locations with a poet's eye for detail....... Jim Ronayne, musician An outstanding book by poet and travel writer Morelle Smith, whose every book is both poetic and different. This one is to my mind her best. The book is in memory of her close companion John Renbourn the musician...... Sally Evans, Editor of Poetry Scotland This record collection is too good not to talk about! If you have Irish ancestry be sure out the new Irish Catholic Parish Registers from FindMyPast . They're FREE! And they're going to stay that way! In addition, to celebrate the release of this essential collection, Findmypast is also making its entire archive of over 110 million Irish records, the largest available anywhere online, FREE from 9am Tuesday 1st March to 9am on Tuesday 8th March. Here's the release from FindMyPast Dublin, 1 March 2016 Leading family history site, Findmypast , has announced today the online release of over 10 million Irish Catholic Parish Registers as part of their ongoing commitment to making Irish family history easier and more accessible than ever before. Fully indexed for the first time, the registers form one of the most important record collections for Irish family history and are free to search forever. Spanning over 200 years of Irelands history from 1671-1900, the Irish Catholic Parish Registers contain over 40 million names from over 1,000 parishes and cover 97% of the entire island of Ireland, both Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. This is the first time that National Library of Irelands collection of Irish Catholic Registers has been fully indexed with images to the original documents linked online. The records can now be searched by name, year and place, allowing relatives and historians the opportunity to make all important links between generations with the baptism records and between families with the marriage registers. The indexing of these important documents also allows researchers to witness the devastating effects of the Great Famine (1845-1852) first hand. Using the records to examine baptism rates in pre and post Famine Ireland has revealed that the number of children baptised across the whole of Ireland dropped by more 50% in the decade that followed. Across all 32 counties, 2,408,694 baptisms were recorded from 1835-1844, while 1,109,062 baptisms were recorded between 1851 and 1860, a difference of more than 1,299,000 baptisms. The records also reveal the worst affected regions, with counties Limerick, Wexford, Roscommon and Kilkenny seeing the most dramatic drops in baptism rates. To celebrate the release of this essential collection, Findmypast is also making its entire archive of over 110 million Irish records, the largest available anywhere online, FREE from 9am Tuesday 1st March to 9am on Tuesday 8th March. Findmypast is home to the most comprehensive online collection of Irish family history records with millions of exclusive records, published in partnership with The National Archives of Ireland, The National Archives UK, and a host of other local, county and national archives. Brian Donovan, Irish records expert at Findmypast said: UN Secretary-General calls for inquiry into air raid on market northeast of Sana'a NEW YORK, Feb. 29 (Saba) - The Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon has called for an urgent and impartial investigation into an airstrike targeted on Saturday a market in Yemen and resulted in the death of 32 civilians and wounding dozens. A spokesman for the UN Secretary-General in a statement issued in his name last night said Ban Ki-moon "strongly condemns the airstrike on Khalaqa market in northeast of Sana'a, which recorded a death toll that is among the highest for the number of victims killed by a single bombing since September 2015". The statement added: "The Secretary-General is concerned about the intense and ongoing air strikes and the ground fighting in Yemen despite his repeated calls for cessation of hostilities." BA Saba Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp Telegram Telegram Email Email Print Print [29/February/2016] JNU Studentsa Union has called for a March to Parliament and International Protest Day with three main demands: Removal of sedition and other charges from all JNU students and release the arrested students. Scrapping of sedition law (Sec 124A IPC). Enactment of a aRohith Acta for ending caste-based discrimination in educational institutions. (Rohith was the name of a Dalit student in HCU who was forced to commit suicide after being hounded by the University administration at the behest of, again the ABVP, the MHRD and one of the BJP MPs who is also the Union Labour Minister. Rohith and his friends were partially suspended from the university, resulting in a virtual social boycott, as they couldnat access public spaces. What is happening in JNU is very similar. In HCU, the attack was on Ambedkarite activists, whereas in JNU, the attack is on Left activists, a majority of them belonging to deprived backgrounds. The enactment of a aRohith Acta seeks to provide institutional mechanisms to end caste-based discrimination in universities and other educational institutions.) JNUSU appeals you to join the March to Parliament [in New Delhi] on 2nd March, 2016 from Mandi House to Parliament at 12 noon, if you are in Delhi. If not in Delhi, we appeal to you to hold parallel events in your city/country in support of our demands. We also appeal to everyone to use the hash tag #StandWithJNU to post live updates and support. Lets try to trend #StandWithJNU globally. You may consider presenting a memorandum of demands to the local authorities as well or holding a press conference in order to publicize the demands of this movement. 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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. 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If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE). Start spreading the prison closing news | Main | UK getting serious about GPS through microchip implants January 13, 2008 Are Scooter Libby and Martha Stewart and millions of others not among the Constitution's "people"? Here, in full, is the text of the Second Amendment: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." The meaning and application of this provision comes before the Supreme Court this year in the Heller case, and I think the case may result in a number of surprising outcomes. One such outcome that surprises me comes from the US government's brief filed late last week. As detailed in this SCOTUSblog post, through the filing of this amicus brief, the "Bush Administration urged the Supreme Court Friday night to rule that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to have a gun for private use." Though this amicus brief is full of interesting points, I was taken aback by this assertion: "the Second Amendment, properly construed, ... does not provide any protections to certain individuals, such as convicted felons, who have never been understood to be within the Amendments coverage." In other words, it seems that the US government is arguing that "the people" referenced in the Second Amendment's text does not include any of the millions of Americans with a felony conviction. Notably, the Bill of Rights uses the phrase "the people" in four other Amendments (the First, Fourth, Ninth and Tenth). I have never before heard a claim that all convicted felons are categorically denied the individual rights protected by all these Amendments. The Fourth Amendment, notably, speaks of the "right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." The Supreme Court has never suggested that individuals, once convicted of a felony, thereafter cannot assert Fourth Amendment rights. (The Supreme Court has held that searches of prisoners and paroles can be reasonable even without any individualized suspicion; but such rulings are a far cry from suggesting that all convicted felons are no longer among "the people" who have rights under the Fourth Amendment.) I find notable and telling the US government's need to take such a blunderbuss approach (pun intended) when seeking to limit the reach of Second Amendment rights. The government's brief confirms my instinct that, if an individual-right genie emerges from Heller, it may prove quite hard to get Second Amendment rights back into the regulatory bottle. January 13, 2008 at 08:55 PM | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451574769e200e54ff189068834 Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Are Scooter Libby and Martha Stewart and millions of others not among the Constitution's "people"?: Comments Doug, thanks to your post several weeks ago about North Carolinian Gary Holt, I am representing Mr. Holt in his quest to regain his ability to hunt, following his conviction twenty years ago for possession of marijuana. I'll let you know if we are successful. Bruce Posted by: bruce cunningham | Jan 13, 2008 10:32:59 PM Doug, I represent two people who are very interested in Heller. Mr. Holt and another person who is charged with Possession of Firearm by Felon for having his grandfather's shotguns in a guncase in his bedroom, following a drug conviction in 1989. What about a claim under the Ninth Amendment, which does apply to the States, that Mr. Holt has an unenumerated right secured by the Ninth Amend to hunt and the other man has a right to possess a shotgun to protect his home? Last week I had a conversation about guns with a person who said that had it not been for his shooting squirrels and rabbits as a boy his mother would not have had any food to put on the table. As I recall, didn't the Magna Carta include a right to fish? What about an unalienable right, secured by the "catch-all" amendment, to put food on the table? As far as the other case, my recollection from a college philosophy class is that the right to self defense is the only absolute right. No one has to voluntarily die. So, a Ninth Amendment right to possess a long gun solely within the confines of his home and solely for the purpose of protection? I don't see these possible arguments being too big a stretch. Isn't this what the Ninth amendment was all about- the founders acknowledged that they couldn't name all the rights so they specifically included the amendment to say just because it wasn't named doesn't mean that "the people" didn't have it. After all, as Scalia said in Blakely, we are a country of reserved power to the people and I think the people didn't intend to convey to the government control over their right to put food on the table and protect themselves. I would contend that the government can regulate those two actions but not impose a blanket prohibition. bruce cunningham Posted by: bruce cunningham | Jan 13, 2008 11:01:29 PM When I read that passage in the SG's brief, it startled me, too. However, I took it to be a contention not that convicted felons are excluded from being counted among "the people," as used in the Constitution, but that convicted felons were not among those considered part of the militia (which basically consisted of all free males, or something like that). Would that be a historically valid contention? Posted by: Peter G | Jan 13, 2008 11:36:37 PM Whatever history shows about convicted felons in the militia, Peter, it cannot be the case that the historical understanding of who could serve in the militia at the Founding still could/would/should limit who gets Second Amendment rights. Whether convicted felons were allowed in the militia, I assume women, people over a certain age and blacks were not considered militia-eligible at the Founding. I am sure the SG won't argue that these historical militia exclusions now help define the modern scope of Second Amendment rights. Posted by: Doug B. | Jan 14, 2008 6:49:45 AM I guess the Bush admin. has never heard of 18 U.S.C. 921 (a) (20) which congress passed to allow certain felons to own guns. It defines what a felony conviction is for the purpose of 922 (g)(1). A Supreme Court decision will not void the federal statute. Certain felons will still be able to buy guns and rightfully so under the law. Especially in states like Louisiana that restore firearm rights to felons after 10 ten years and in some non-enumerated crimes, emediatley upon completing their sentence. Louisiana also has the first offender pardon and the Louisiana constitution which restores full rights of citizenship upon completing a sentence. The 5th circuit court of appeals held that this restoration satisfies 921 (a) (20) in United States V. Dupaquier. Posted by: Paul | Jan 14, 2008 9:57:51 AM Paul, do you know of any studies in Louisiana on those felons using guns to commit crimes after their rights are restored? My guess is that kind of recidivism wouldn't be any higher than it would be in states that do not restore gun rights, and the recidivism rate might even be lower (due to a fuller reintegration), but that is just a hunch. Posted by: George | Jan 14, 2008 10:54:32 AM 1. Doug, if you could elaborate your last sentence--about the regulatory bottle. The DC law said that a person cannot even have a gun in his/her own home. 2. The comment Doug, about women, Blacks, over a certain age persons, not being admitted into the militia at the time of the founding. Hmmm. I believe that all three fought in the Revolutionary War. The Founding as we know it is the time of the Founding document. The Constitution which came well after the shots heard round the world in 1776. 3. 14th Amendment Rights. Scholars help us out on this one here. Within the text of the Freedman's statutes following the 13th and 14th and 15th Amendments after the (un)civil war, was there not statutory provision for right to bear arms granted to freedmen, and was this not specified as part of the right and duty of Congress to pass laws to enforce both the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments (each amendment having a specific provision at the end)? I ran across a book on this subject at the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Library in St. Louis, but alas that library is 1060 miles to the west of where I live. 4. Ninth Amendment. Mr. Cunningham's comment on the Ninth Amendment seems spot on. A lot of pro lifers (and jerks like Fred Thompson when he is playing D.A. on his cop show) like to ridicule the "penumbras" and so forth. But the "unenumerated rights" need to have their day. The right "to be let alone" in the woods with one's squirrel gun seems what the Founders would have contemplated in 1789. I know that the English redcoat would have preferred that the women, the blacks, the old and the lame be excluded from the American militia, but our needs were compelling. Many of us believe that the first Ten Amendments need to be read together. Those who believe that only "enummerated rights" find protection and enforcement by the courts must then accept that the Founders did not enumerate exceptions to what "people" meant in the Second Amdt. Is there a Ninth Amendment blog out there? 5. My gun instinct says that the Supreme Court took this case up because there is a majority that will strke down the DC law and give some degree of vitality to the Second Amendment. 6. My gun instinct says that if I was in the woods and had a choice of sharing some hunting terrain with Scooter Libby or Dick Cheney (and had my back to both of them) that I would choose the felon as the safer option. Thank you for bringing this case to the Blog. Posted by: M.P. Bastian | Jan 14, 2008 11:04:11 AM Paul, do you know of any studies in Louisiana on those felons using guns to commit crimes after their rights are restored? My guess is that kind of recidivism wouldn't be any higher than it would be in states that do not restore gun rights, and the recidivism rate might even be lower (due to a fuller reintegration), but that is just a hunch. I don't know of any studies done or if they even keep statistics on this but I see like this: Ten years is a long time to go with out commiting other crimes which of course would interupt the statute of limitation and the overwhelming majority of felons who offend will keep on offending. So there aren't too many felons who actually go long enough for the ten year cleansing period to restore their firearm rights. As for nonenumerated offenses, there are very few that are not outlined in RS 14:95.1 so I don't think that recidivism of felons with restored gun rights is too much of a problem. Of course Gary Dupaquier did make the 10 years but he did reoffend and was ultimate charged with drug crimes and a 922 (g) (1) charge which the 5th circuit reversed. Posted by: Paul | Jan 14, 2008 11:13:19 AM M.P.Bastian, I'll share my favorite story about the Ninth Amendment and the distinction between the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights. I was giving the Constitution Day address to the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and I was trying to make the point that the Magna Carta contains rights given to the lords by the king but in America all rights are reserved to the people except those given by the people to the government. I asked the question of why the Framers might have been reluctant to write down a list of rights, heading toward the notion that some folks were concerned the list would become exclusive. A nice lady in the back raised her hand and said, "Since all the Framers were men, they were probably afraid that if they made a list of the rights, they would lose the list!" In my opinion, the Ninth Amendment is the most important of all because more than any other it describes the balance of power between the people and the government. bruce cunningham Posted by: bruce cunningham | Jan 14, 2008 2:36:35 PM Maybe, just maybe, the Bush Admin's point(s) in putting the qualification about felons into its brief was not, as many may suspect, to preserve the existing gun control statutes (prohibiting felons in possession and such) against constitutional attack, but rather to have the Supreme Court, by a constitutional decision (one not really impugnable by statute) circumscribe the constitutional definition of "The People" to "The people not already convicted of a felony" from "everyone". Redefining "The People" thusly would make all those nice cases about felons' rights to 4th Amendment protection and such kinda moot, no? And, before everyone jumps on the bandwagon of beating up on my analysis, don't forget that, for example, Brady is well-settled law, and in destroying the CIA interrogation/torture tapes and covering it up from the District Courts trying terrorism suspects (who may have been entitled to at least have the tapes at least reviewed by the District Court to see whether those tapes contained Brady material), the Administration merely brushed aside the fundamental Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights protected by Brady. Posted by: scribe | Jan 14, 2008 5:29:46 PM After the story ran several weeks ago about me trying to obtain a pardon from Governor Easley in North Carolina I received a phone call telling me that I could own a firearm. The man went on to explain to me that it would be perfectly legal if i had a firearm that was manufactured before January 1,1899. He then explained it was legal because the firearm would be considered an antique. If this is indeed true this law seems really weird. Why would the law say a felon cannot own this firearm but he/she can own this firearm. Posted by: Gary Holt | Jan 14, 2008 6:01:53 PM After the story ran several weeks ago about me trying to obtain a pardon from Governor Easley in North Carolina I received a phone call telling me that I could own a firearm. The man went on to explain to me that it would be perfectly legal if i had a firearm that was manufactured before January 1,1899. He then explained it was legal because the firearm would be considered an antique. If this is indeed true this law seems really weird. Why would the law say a felon cannot own this firearm but he/she can own this firearm. Careful here! It's my understanding that those guns and modern replicas can't be firearms that use cartrige type ammo no matter how old. You should read the federal statutes which I believe is refering to black powder muzzle loading firearms. Also this is a federal statutory provision so if you are prohibited by your state you still could be prohibited by the state from possessing even these type of firearms. Best consult a lawyer. Posted by: Paul | Jan 14, 2008 7:13:06 PM Mr. Holt, there's more to it than just predating the 20th Century. This is the statute (which only provides an exception from certain provisions of the federal Firearms Act. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sec_26_00005845----000-.html See the surrounding provisions for the significance of the "antique" exception. And this is a recent case in which a man was prosecuted for having a 19th-Century shotgun and won a partial reversal from the Third Circuit on appeal. http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/054088p.pdf I'm just some random guy on the internet, though, so talk to your lawyer before you make any real decisions about whether to go out and buy a gun. Posted by: | Jan 14, 2008 11:32:50 PM Thanks Paul for the information. I do not plan on obtaining any firearm until the law clearly states that I may have one. I sure as heck do not want to go to jail for felon possessing a firearm. Posted by: Gary Holt | Jan 15, 2008 7:38:47 AM I'm have no legal experience, and I could easily be wrong, but when I read about this it seemed to me that the Bush Administration can't be serious. Whoever wrote the brief probably did not even understand that they were, in effect advocating an entirely new interpretation of the constitution; they were merely showing their ignorance. It seems like they merely assumed that felons are not covered by constitutional protections, and that this is already accepted law. After all, Congress may make laws abridging the freedom of speech, religion and assembly for members of the military. If the first amendment doesn't apply to the military, it might seem reasonable to some ideologically limited minds for felons to lose their second amendment rights. Posted by: Peter Pitchford | Jan 16, 2008 11:31:12 PM i was woundering since i have a felony conviction for aggrivated flight from an officer if i can still own a gun Posted by: jeff denby | Jan 28, 2008 12:50:57 PM I have had no desire to ever own a handgun, or any firearm for that matter. But just knowing that NC is so tough on felons (I am a felon too!)what type of message does that send the person who makes a mistake? Once you screw up in NC you have screwed up for life. Did you know it is a felony to steal a chicken? Or any livestock for that matter. There was a bill in NC legislature in 2007 that was introduced (and killed by the AOC) that would have allowed expungement of felonies of non violent crimes if the offender was clean for at least 10 years, and no other priors. SB1081 NC It passed the NC Senate, but got pigeon holed in the House Finance Committee by some AOC administrator that did not want his folks to 'get extra work'. The proposed bill would have cost the applicant $300.00 and actually brought revenue into NC. Once a felon, always a felon in NC. Posted by: Scoobydo | Mar 17, 2008 1:35:26 PM i am an avid target shooter who had his right to possess/buy/firearms for the past 17 years because of felony convictions of ccw, trafficing in drugs and a plea bargained deal to domestic violence to have 3 other felonine dropped. i have not been in trouble since i was released from prison and have acquired 2 college degrees, an associate in paralegal studies and a bachelor degree in criminal justice. how can i get my right restored as i would like to, not only get back to target shooting but to protect my home and loved ones from someone trying to enter my home. thank you Posted by: charles jetter | Apr 28, 2008 6:57:28 AM I am a convicted felon in the state of TN. On the 13 of this month I was on my own land (Private Property) and my neighbor called the cops on me for shooting outside at a barrel. The officer that came out there had a predispossed position that I was indeed a convicted felon because my neighbor told him so. Do I have any recourse for a defense against this case? Posted by: Russe Hall | Mar 27, 2009 11:30:04 AM Do you know if you can own a firearm in louisiana if you were granted Article 893. My brother and I are avid hunters, for a first ever arrest he received probation in drug court. He will graduate right on time with no infractions. He is worried about being able to hunt again. Posted by: Rob | May 26, 2009 3:33:31 PM Post a comment First Circuit affirms sentence of "87-month term of immurement" | Main | New ACS brief urging a new approach to drug policy March 17, 2009 "Why Cant Martha Stewart Have a Gun?" The title of this post is the title of a new article by C. Kevin Marshall that will appear the Spring 2009 issue of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. A helpful reader sent me a copy of the article, perhaps after noticing this post I wrote way back in January 2008 questioning the justification for asserting that Martha Stewart and Scooter Libby and other non-violent felons are completely and forever excluded from the Second Amendment's protection. I have secured permission to post this new article, which starts this way: In 2004, domestic diva Martha Stewart was convicted of obstruction of justice, making false statements, and two counts of conspiracy in connection with dubious stock transactions. Although sentenced to only five months in jail plus a period of supervised release, she risked a much harsher punishment. Because she was convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in prison, federal law bans her from having any gun. Her ban is for life, unless the Attorney General lifts the disability a because Congress regularly bars the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives from spending any money to review petitions to lift firearms disabilities. Is the public safer now that Martha Stewart is completely and permanently disarmed? More to the point, how could such a ban be constitutional, now that the Supreme Court, in District of Columbia v. Heller, not only has confirmed that the Second Amendment secures a personal right to keep and bear arms, but also has emphasized its historical tie to the right of self-defense? Here is how Mr. Marshall concludes his exploration of this interesting and important post-Heller topic: Research and analysis need to replace dicta and assertions on this topic. Especially after Heller, there is much room for further thinking and discussion. Yet wherever the constitutional line may be, it is difficult to see the justification for the complete lifetime ban for all felons that federal law has imposed only since 1968. And among the various lines that the Second Amendment might draw, it is at least curious how Martha Stewart could merit anyones concern. Download Marshall article on 2A and felon gun possession Some related Second Amendment posts: March 17, 2009 at 04:41 PM | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451574769e201127972682228a4 Listed below are links to weblogs that reference "Why Cant Martha Stewart Have a Gun?": Comments I can't say that I think barring felons from having guns is a bad idea, because even a non-violent felony suggests some sort of defect in moral reasoning. And you would expect that folks who have defects in some areas may frequently have defects in others, even if for whatever reason they haven't come to light in the criminal justice system. Posted by: anonymous | Mar 2, 2016 2:46:49 PM Do you really think, anonymous, that Martha Stewart has a "defect in moral reasoning." Posted by: Doug B. | Mar 2, 2016 6:13:55 PM "Defect in moral reasoning?" Our criminal justice system is PLAGUED with men and women whose lives have been destroyed by prosecutorial misconduct, wrongful convictions and disparate sentencing for underrepresented portions of the population. These men and women, get up with dignity and grace, dust themselves off and continue to move forward. In many instances the convictions are decades old and you think that it is sound reasoning to suggest that THEY have the defect in moral reasoning? Ha! Posted by: Dawn McCloud | May 30, 2018 8:45:26 AM Post a comment Federal prosecutors again found to have committed severe misconduct | Main | Plenty of blame to go around in high-profile failure of "supervised parole" August 29, 2009 North Carolina Supreme Court finds state constitutional right for some felons to bear arms Thanks to this post at The Volokh Conspiracy, which is titled "Felons and the Right To Bear Arms," I discovered that late yesterday the North Carolina Supreme Court ruling in Britt v. State, No. 488A07 (NC Aug. 28, 2009) (available here), that at least North Carolina felons have a state constitutional right to bear arms under the North Carolina Constitution. Here are a few key passages from the notable (and very important?) ruling: Article I, Section 30 of the North Carolina Constitution provides, in pertinent part: A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. This Court has held that regulation of the right to bear arms is a proper exercise of the General Assemblys police power, but that any regulation must be at least reasonable and not prohibitive, and must bear a fair relation to the preservation of the public peace and safety.... Plaintiff pleaded guilty to one felony count of possession with intent to sell and deliver a controlled substance in 1979. The State does not argue that any aspect of plaintiffs crime involved violence or the threat of violence. Plaintiff completed his sentence without incident in 1982. Plaintiffs right to possess firearms was restored in 1987. No evidence has been presented which would indicate that plaintiff is dangerous or has ever misused firearms, either before his crime or in the seventeen years between restoration of his rights and adoption of N.C.G.S. 14-415.1s complete ban on any possession of a firearm by him.... Plaintiff, through his uncontested lifelong nonviolence towards other citizens, his thirty years of lawabiding conduct since his crime, his seventeen years of responsible, lawful firearm possession between 1987 and 2004, and his assiduous and proactive compliance with the 2004 amendment, has affirmatively demonstrated that he is not among the class of citizens who pose a threat to public peace and safety.... Based on the facts of plaintiffs crime, his long post-conviction history of respect for the law, the absence of any evidence of violence by plaintiff, and the lack of any exception or possible relief from the statutes operation, as applied to plaintiff, the 2004 version of N.C.G.S. 14-451.1 is an unreasonable regulation, not fairly related to the preservation of public peace and safety. In particular, it is unreasonable to assert that a nonviolent citizen who has responsibly, safely, and legally owned and used firearms for seventeen years is in reality so dangerous that any possession at all of a firearm would pose a significant threat to public safety. We conclude that N.C.G.S. 14-415.1 is an unconstitutional violation of Article I, Section 30 of the North Carolina Constitution as applied to this plaintiff. As discussed above, pursuant to N.C.G.S. 14-415.1, the State unreasonably divested plaintiff of his right to own a firearm. Such action violates plaintiffs right to keep and bear arms under Article I, Section 30 of the North Carolina Constitution. Though this ruling is based only on state constitutional law, it raises a host of very interesting questions in the wake of Heller (especially given that the language of the NC constitution is parallel to the language of the Second Amendment). Let me do just a little issue spotting: 1. Does this ruling automatically extend to all other NC felons who can show a "history of respect for the law [and] the absence of any evidence of violence" in their lives? My guess is that a lot of drug and drunk driving felons might reasonably make such a claim; but do they need to go to court to get a formal ruling that they are like Britt? 2. Because Britt had his civil rights restored under state law, he is no longer prohibited under federal statutory law from possessing a firearm. But can this ruling help NC felons who don't have their civil rights restored if and when they get charged in federal court with felon-in-possession under federal law? 3. Will any lower federal courts be moved by the bold and clear assertion in Britt that the NC blanket ban on felon gun possession is "an unreasonable regulation, not fairly related to the preservation of public peace and safety"? August 29, 2009 at 10:59 AM | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451574769e20120a585e2be970c Listed below are links to weblogs that reference North Carolina Supreme Court finds state constitutional right for some felons to bear arms: Comments I will take a partial stab at No. 2. As you say, the Supreme Court made it clear in Beecham v. United States, 511 U.S. 368 (1994), that the restoration of firearms rights for purposes of the federal felon-in-possession statute, like the classification of the offense as a "felony," is governed by the law of the convicting jurisdiction. Understandably, the decision is silent about what counts under any particular state law regime as a restoration of rights. But we know that it isn't limited to statutory mechanisms, since in most states a full and unconditional gubernatorial pardon restores firearms rights as well. Thus, if NC develops a body of caselaw delineating when a state offender has a right to possess firearms under the state constitution's version of the Second Amendment, notwithstanding a felony conviction, I see no good reason why the Supreme Court would refuse to give it effect. With respect to your first question, I think the inexorable answer is yes. Britt's situation is surely not so uncommon that the decision doesn't likely extend to lots of other state offenders. On my quick read, nothing in the opinion suggests otherwise. My prediction is that we will see these two questions come together (fairly soon?) when one of the US Attorneys in NC decides to test the reach of the decision by indicting a state felon under the federal statute. Posted by: Sam | Aug 29, 2009 11:42:23 AM Doug, Britt makes Justice Scalia's opinion in Heller look stingy. There is no reference to context (the home) purpose (self-defense) or type of weapon (must be in existence at the founding.) The focus is on the character of the person and his demonstrated responsibility over time. A major decision. bruce cunningham Posted by: bruce cunningham | Aug 29, 2009 1:15:57 PM Doug - It seems clear that if a state felony offender has all civil rights restored, and is not expressly prohibited from possessing at least some guns under state law, federal felon-in-possession law does not apply. See Caron v. United States, 524 U.S. 308 (1998). Clearly Mr. Britt is home free under federal law. However, it is far from clear whether and to what extent the NC Supreme Court ruling applies to other NC felony offenders, even those in exactly the same position under the NC firearms laws as Britt himself, since the majority's decision on the reasonableness of the prohibition relies heavily on the sympathetic facts of Britt's case, and gives little guidance as to how one might determine what reasonable regulation is in other cases. To the extent it matters whether Britt's firearms rights were previously restored or not lost at all (and that is far from clear from the majority's opinion), there are several other classes of offenders who can claim its benefit since NC has amended its felony firearms laws twice since Britt's rights were restored in 1987, each time imposing further restrictions. Indeed, long guns were not barred at all until 2004. I imagine that the federal courts are not going to feel very comfortable applying such a subjective standard in FIP cases. Posted by: margy love | Aug 29, 2009 3:22:43 PM Interesting. We're slowly moving towards a jurisprudence where laws restricting felons from owning guns are constitutionally suspect, but laws restricting felons from voting are permissible. If you've broken the law we exile you from the democratic polity, but not from your ability to do violence. Posted by: dm | Aug 29, 2009 6:42:36 PM Margy -- Maybe I am missing something, but the fact that Britt's firearms rights had previously been restored is not especially relevant, except perhaps that it underscores the fact that he is not a genuine threat to public safety. But the state surely has the authority to retroactively impose a firearms prohibition on convicted felons, because it is not punishment for constitutional purposes. What the state gives, it can take away, at least in the absence of a full and unconditional pardon, which would constitute an independent basis for relief from the disability. So, if Britt is home free under federal law, and I agree that he is, it is only because he now has a right under the NC constitution to possess firearms. I also agree that the right seems to turn on a fact-specific inquiry about the extent to which a person has been rehabilitated and thus presents a present threat (or not) to public safety. But if someone is "in exactly the same position" then, at least in principle, he is also home free, isn't he? How is that factual inquiry any more difficult than lots of other sorts of inquiries that court's routinely undertake? Posted by: Sam | Aug 29, 2009 7:14:48 PM In previous comments on the Second Amendment (and I do not say Hller issues) I pointed out that there is the 14th Amdt. incorporation of the Second and there is also the unenermerated rights protected by the 9th Amdt. This NC decision seems to affirm the rights of the person affected by the prosecution. Usually the courts will aim at the goal of government to deny gun rights. Once we get courts to focus on rights of persons vs goals of government then we trend toward America and not Germany in 1936 when the suspended their civil laws and constitution. So, Doug, when you do your seminar on the 2nd Amdt might you mention the 'unenumerated rights' guaranteed by the 9th amdt and also the fact taht the 14th amdt incorporated the 2nd amdt. Posted by: mpb | Aug 29, 2009 7:15:32 PM Doug, one of the encouraging things to me, as a NC practitioner, about Britt is that it adopts a subjective standard of analysis, not a knee-jerk, one size fits all. In other words, in NC, a person convicted of Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Going Armed to the Terror of the People, both misdemeanors, are not prohibited from possessing a gun, but someone convicted of Felonious Littering or Failure to Appear in Court for a Felony, or Submitting False Affidavit for a Driver's License, all felonies, can be barred. In my opinion, in this modern era of grid sentencing the felony/misdemeanor distinction should be relegated to the trash pile. Laudably, Britt focussed on the "nonviolent" nature of the def's record and his seventeen years of responsible and safe gun use. Since you are teaching a 2nd amendment seminar this fall, if you would like I can keep you in the loop on what the legislative response to Britt should be and would welcome your students' input. I have some nascent ideas of what I think the new statute should look like in response to Britt. bruce Posted by: bruce cunningham | Aug 29, 2009 9:24:07 PM "...in this modern era of grid sentencing the felony/misdemeanor distinction should be relegated to the trash pile." Amen. Especially in the federal system where so many crimes seem to have been designated felonies to tacitly justify the time and efforts of the deified bureaucrats (agents and prosecutors) who work the cases. Posted by: John K | Aug 30, 2009 6:34:25 PM The constitutions of 44 states guarantee the "right to bear arms." I would not be surprised to see a spate of lawsuits in state courts by people who remain under a state (and therefore federal) firearms disability. Also people charged/convicted under 18 USC 922(g) may defend based on state constitutional rights. I am wondering how the federal courts will decide these state/federal law issues. If they use the subjective case-by-case approach of the NC court, it could get really wild out there! Does anyone know of a current reliable compilation of state laws governing firearms privileges for people with a felony conviction? (My Relief book is not complete for firearms, the FAMM/NACDL lodging in the Logan case is similarly incomplete, and the 1996 Pardon Attorney survey is by now quite out-of-date.) Margy Posted by: margy love | Aug 30, 2009 6:38:53 PM One additional note, in response to Sam's first post. For a state felony conviction to be excluded as a predicate for federal FIP prosecution, it is not enough that state firearms rights are restored (or not lost in the first place). 18 USC 921(a)(20) requires in addition that all civil rights (vote, jury, office) must be restored, or that the conviction be pardoned, expunged or set-aside. There are 23 states and the District of Columbia that restore all three civil rights automatically (either after release from prison or after completion of sentence), 19 of which have a "right to bear arms" provision in their state constitution. In addition to North Carolina, those states are: Alaska, Arizona (first offenders only), Colorado, Conncticut, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington. Another 10 states with a "right to bear arms" clause in their constitution (or, in the case of New York, in a statute) provide for restoration of all civil rights through a reasonably accessible restoration procedure. But in 15 states with a "right to bear arms" clause, at least one of the major civil rights (generally jury right) can be regained only through a governor's pardon. So any mischief caused by the Britt approach is likely to be confined to 2/3 of the states (!). Posted by: margy love | Aug 30, 2009 10:17:07 PM Margy, as we've discussed off-line (I post this for the benefit of Doug's readers), our comments aren't inconsistent, since my point was confined to North Carolina. As you correctly point out, North Carolina is one of those states in which all major civil rights are restored automatically under state law. In 2004, the state retroactively imposed a total ban on felons' possession of firearms. I pointed out that is a permissible exercise of the police power, because civil disabilities of this sort aren't punishment, in the strict constitutional sense. See Lewis v. United States, 445 U.S. 55, 65-67 (1980). I also note that the NC Court of Appeals rejected Britt's claim that the 2004 ban was an ex post facto law or a bill of attainder, which the NC Supreme Court did not address. Thus, the fact that his firearms rights previously had been restored is irrelevant. The upshot is that felons in NC are under a statutory firearms disability, which, as applied to Britt, is unconstitutional under the state constitution, because he doesn't pose a genuine threat to public safety. Thus, the only basis for saying that his firearms rights have been restored, and hence his defense to a federal FIP prosecution, is his state constitutional right to bear arms. We can expect every similarly situated state offender in NC to make the same argument, which will have to be hashed out on a case-by-case basis. If the NC legislature wants to preempt that result, it can make the restoration of a felon's other civil rights dependent on some other restoration mechanism. We can also expect that any similarly situated defendant -- one with all civil rights except firearms rights -- in a state with a "right to bear arms" clause in their state constitution to cite Britt as well. Whether Britt gets any traction outside NC I have no idea, but it looks likely to keep lawyers busy for some time. Posted by: Sam | Aug 31, 2009 3:51:45 PM Sam - Would you apply your reasoning to persons with federal or out-of-state convictions who reside in North Carolina? The Supreme Court in Beecham v. U.S., 511 U.S. 368 (1994), held that federal offenders who had had their civil rights restored under state law could not avail themselves of the "rights restored" defense in 18 USC 921(a)(20). But I have always thought that both the factual underpinning and reasoning of Justice O'Connor's opinion were questionable, and I don't see how the decision can survive Heller. (I dont know if out-of-state offenders have been required to seek restoration in the jurisdiction of their conviction to avail themselves of 921(a)(20)'s safe harbor.) The fact is that Congress wanted restoration under the FFA to be controlled by state rather than federal law, and I can think of no sensible reason the North Carolina courts would treat their residents differently for purposes of state firearms law simply because of the jurisdiction in which their conviction happened to be obtained, as long as they fit the profile of the rehabilitated offender in Britt. Indeed, if they did so it might raise equal protection issues. So might federal 922(g) prosecutions in North Carolina that were directed only at out-of-state and federal offenders. It is true that there are a handful of states in which federal and out-of-state offenders may not avail themselves of the same full civil rights restoration that is available to in-state offenders (those states that require a gubernatorial pardon to restore the right to sit on a jury or, in one case, hold office). Perhaps in those jurisdictions convicted persons would be required to obtain restoration in the jurisdiction where they were convicted. But at least in states like North Carolina whose restoration laws apply even-handedly to all convicted persons no matter the jurisdiction of conviction, I think there is a strong argument that a North Carolina resident's right to bear arms should not depend upon the fortuity of the jurisdiction of her conviction. If the success of such an argument requires reconsideration of Beecham for federal offenders, I say it's high time. Margy Posted by: margy love | Aug 31, 2009 5:11:06 PM How does this effect Federal felons in NC after Bean, and the failure to fund ATF to give back gun rights? Posted by: tim oates | Sep 1, 2009 3:03:56 PM For a detailed account of the legislative history of the Felony Firearms Act (written before the latest Britt decision), check this out: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1386182 . The paper exposes the bizarre and entirely non-compelling manner in which the 2004 amendments to the Act came to pass. Posted by: Matthew Cochran | Sep 24, 2009 9:13:46 PM can i get my 2nd ammendment rights restored?IT HAS BEEN ALMOST 20 YEARS AGO?im from north carolina and i havent been in any trouble since my last conviction.Ihave applied for an unconditional pardon trying to get it reviewed from the governors office of clemency.check out this site felons fighting back,learnaboutguns.com,,,,,james g. Posted by: james a ,gibbs | Oct 17, 2009 8:48:11 PM a passenger in a suv , cops stop the suv routine check driver jump out and run passenger stays gets arrested guns found in back seat behind passenger. passenger charged with possession of weapons.not passenger car drivers girlfriend car, no finger prints of passenger on anything but front seat.why was passenger charged. NC Posted by: MALIK | Jan 31, 2010 12:07:52 PM I have been denied a CCW permit because of the mental health dept in catawaba county NC wants me to pay them $118. for a substance abuse evaluation. I have never failed a drug test, and I have no DWI's. I am 50 years old and use to drink beer, and had smoked pot as a young man. I no longer drink; peroid.I am currently in college. I last worked upholstering furniture, in NC. I strongly feel my 2nd, 5th, and 14th, amendment rights have been violated by the mental health dept. The burden of proof is on the state. I do not have to prove that I am not a alcoholic! It is the states job to do that. The substance abuse evaluation is a violation of the 5th amendment; Against self incrimination. Also, My right to due process of the law has been violated. I have never been charged with anything. One Quack doctor has denied my rights with out any charges, That is Corruption! Posted by: David | Mar 2, 2010 3:59:35 PM I'm from N.C.in 1988 I was military was convicted for receiving stolen property at Ft. Bragg did 6mo at Ft.Riley, labled as a felon.I now live in Va I'm trying to get my rights back so which state should I try to get my rights back? Posted by: sam | Mar 3, 2010 3:42:10 AM I thought I would find this much earlier considering how good the information is. Posted by: tiffany charm bracelet | May 30, 2011 5:16:29 AM Hello, I was convicted of a Felony in 1999. Me and some fraternity brothers forged a bunch of Credit Card checks that were sent to on of our addresses, I couldn't afford an attorney, and got convicted of a Forgery Felony. I have been a Hunter all my life, have a wife and 2 kids, I am a national sales executive, and cannot currently own a gun. I was told by my probation officer in 99, that I would be able to have my gun rights restored? It seems as though things have changed. What steps can I take to have my gun rights restored in NC? Thank you for your help! Posted by: shane | Dec 13, 2011 2:31:02 PM Hello, I have been serching my brains out seeking someone that can please help me! No one seems to want to either get back to me or have time to help or deal with me at all. I am a first time non-violent offender. My crime took place back in 1989. We were raided for trafficing with the intent to sell cocain. The charges were dropped by the state on North Carolina for illegal search and sizure. They had a warrent for appartment "C" we were in appartment "E" so the State of NC threw it out. In 1991 the feds came back with a reindictment and pretty much said they did not care, they got what they got so we were going to prison! I know we done wrong, thats a given! And Im not complaining about that, I take responsibility for my actions. I was a kid "21 yrs old" I was really stupid for even being around that kind of mess! I didnt use drugs and I still dont use drugs nor do I drink, never have! I was sentenced as a first time non-violent offender to 6 and a half year in a high security prison and 3 years of supervised probation. My whole time in prison i did not get not one infraction nor did I when i was on supervised probation. I maintained being a model inmate and completed all the programs that were offered to me. I am 45 years old now and still not been in any trouble since that one time in my life I made one bad mistake. I have maintained honest work, raised one of my daughters by myself, buying a house and a new car. I am well respected by everyone who knows me. I am asking someone "anyone" if they can help me or help guild me in the right direaction to please help me get my rights back to bare arms and all the rights back as a free american citizine. I have paid deeply for my one mistake, Please someone tell me I dont have to pay for the rest of my life for the one mistake I made in 1989 Is there any help for me? Yianni P.S. Please forgive any misspelled words! not the best speller! :) Posted by: Yianni A, Drakakidis | Jun 28, 2012 10:55:36 PM I'm not living in NC, and have never has residence there. I live in Illinois and have 2 felonies. Burglary 1985 and theft 1989. In Illinois I may petition the Court to grant an FOID Card and for Restoration of Rights if the Illinois State Police denies my application for the FOID Card. The Statute 430 ILCS 65/10 states that the court will determine if substantial justice has been done, or find that substantial justice has not been done. I found this page searching for understanding of the term, substantial justice. While I will have a lawyer representing me and the Petition, I like to get a better understanding of the processes. From my understanding, the state has jurisdiction over the restoration of rights petition because, restoration of rights can no longer be obtained on a federal level. As for fairness, I completed my terms of probation successfully and paid all the restitution required by the the court. And by using my freedom properly for the 23 years since the most recent conviction, I have shown that I am not a threat to the community not to society as a whole. I fully understand a restoration of rights is not a pardon, nor does it expunge the criminal convictions from the public record. Nor will I be able to answer the question, "have you ever been convicted of a felony", truthfully by answering "no". The restoration of rights will only allow me to be granted an FOID Card. I am currently not under any immediate threat to my safety. Granting a FOID Card is part of the rebuilding process from a lifetime of being labeled a criminal. If anyone has some clarification of the term substantial justice I am interested in obtaining a better understanding. Posted by: William Roberson | Jul 24, 2012 5:36:39 AM My name is Michael Farrow. My farther which name is Michael Farrow Case was compared to Britt barney. My dad is the black Britt barney my dad argued the same case to the courts he was under u,s.c 921.after serving prison from 1990 to 1992 cocain possession . He rights were restored, not knowing once your free your right are restored under the 1791 bill of rights as well as no.1 sec30. Under nc. Constitution. Ten years later the cops searched the vechical found shot guns and a hand gun.Were in the south who doesn't like hunting. non violent offender. The system did not work for my farther he has been in prison for 13years. for what? My family is happy for.Mr.Britt were using this case for inspiration to help my dad released from the slavery he is in. Posted by: michael | May 3, 2015 4:45:24 PM Post a comment SCOTUS health care litigation, federalism, freedom, and constitutional limits of federal criminal justice | Main | Noticing and noting racial skew of recent Texas death sentencing in Harris County November 14, 2011 Might restoration of felon gun rights actually reduce recidivism? As first blogged here, today's New York Times has a lengthy front-page article on state restoration of gun rights to former felons. The piece is (misleadingly?) headlined "Felons Finding It Easy to Get Gun Rights Reinstated," and the suggestion throughout the article is that the public should be very concerned and quite fearful that some states now make it too easy for some felons to get their gun rights restored after having completed their sentence. But, because recidivism rates for many offenders are often very high, some of the statistics appearing in the Times piece led me to wonder whether resoration of felon gun rights might actually reduce recidivism and enhance public safety. The Times article rightly noted that sound data on these matters are had to assemble and assess, but the Times was able to run some notable numbers for Washington state. Here is some of what the Times found and reported: That [crime] question whether the restorations pose a risk to public safety has received little study, in part because data can be hard to come by. The Times analyzed data from Washington State.... Since 1995, more than 3,300 felons and people convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors have regained their gun rights in the state 430 in 2010 alone according to the analysis of data provided by the state police and the court system. Of that number, more than 400 about 13 percent have subsequently committed new crimes, the analysis found. More than 200 committed felonies, including murder, assault in the first and second degree, child rape and drive-by shooting.... The Timess analysis found that among the more than 400 people who committed crimes after winning back their gun rights under the new law, more than 70 committed Class A or B felonies. Over all, more than 80 were convicted of some sort of assault and more than 100 of drug offenses. So the Times here reports a 13% recidvism rate for Washington state offenders with restored gun rights, but apparenently the recidivism rate is this high only due to counting of minor (i.e., misdemeanor) crimes. As I understand these numbers, the Times found that only about 200 of the 3,300 prior offenders with restored gun rights since 1995 went on to commit a felony roughly a 6% felony recidivism rate and only 70 went on to commit Class A of B felonies roughly a 2% serious felony recidivism rate. That strikes me as an impressively low felony and serious felony recidivism rate for these offenders, especially given that states often report that half or more persons with a felony record end up committing a future offense. Seeking general recidivism data for comparison purposes, I found this April 2008 report from the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission, titled "Recidivism of Adult Felons, 2007," which reports that in Washington state the "overall rate of recidivism for men was 65.9% compared to 53.6% among women." (I think it is fair to assume that the majority of felons seeking restoration of gun rights are men.) Based on this data, is it fair to suggest that offenders with restored gun rights in Washington state are roughly than five times less likely to recidivate that other offenders? (I also found this January 2011 report from the Washington State Institute for Public Policy which reports that "recidivism rates have declined" in Washington in the period from 1990 to 2006 and that "the largest reductions have been for higher risk offenders.") This comparative data would seem to at least support a plausible working hypothesis that restoring gun rights to felons might actually reduce recidivism and enhance public safety. Of course, there is a huge apples/oranges problem in trying to compare these recidivism rates. I certainly hope and expect that Washington aspires to restore gun rights to former felons who appear to pose the least risk to public safety, and thus we should hope and expect recidivism rates to be generally lower for these folks than for others with a felony record. Still, given that recidivism rates are appear to be so much lower for those who get their gun rights restored, there is a reasonable basis for at least speculating that the process and grant of restoration of rights works to provide additional encouragement for these former felons to stay crime-free in the future. Some related Second Amendment and gun policy posts: November 14, 2011 at 01:47 PM | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451574769e20153930d3021970b Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Might restoration of felon gun rights actually reduce recidivism?: Comments You are jumping to conclusions that it was the restoration of gun rights that had the effect. Let's ask first what were the crimes committed by those who subsequently asked to have their gun rights back - were they as serious and/or are they representative of the larger group that had 66% recidivism? Second, is there something specific about the group asking to have their rights restored that stands out as the reason for their lower recidivism rate? Do they all have a job and thus income ot buy a gun, ammunition, etc. Is there something else about the group that explains both why they are asking to have their gun rights and explains their lower recidivism? Third, what is the plausible theory that getting your gun rights back keeps you out trouble? Posted by: Paul | Nov 14, 2011 2:42:49 PM Question for Professor Berman: I assume that States can ONLY restore gun rights for felons who have committed State offenses. Can a State restore gun rights for a felon who has a Federal felony conviction? I would think not, but I could be wrong. Posted by: mike | Nov 14, 2011 2:53:22 PM personaly i think the whole thing is a wash. IF it's a RIGHT then you have it! you can limit it while under a COURT ordered punishement. AFTER that NOTHING! otheriwse it's NOT A RIGHT! Posted by: rodsmith | Nov 14, 2011 3:34:50 PM When was 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g)(1) repealed? State firearms rights restoration does not provide a defense to federal felon-in-possession charges. Or has the Obama administration chosen to allocate its enforcement resources elsewhere? A. Bentley Practitioner Posted by: Allen Bentley | Nov 14, 2011 4:18:56 PM Rodsmith, traditionally, felons were deprived of certain rights, including voting and gun rights, and could have them deprived after they served their punishment behind bars. "Rights" still are rights if they have certain conditions. Gun and voting rights in particular traditionally had certain conditions. Some argue that voting rights encourages an ex-convict to have a reason to be part of society and reduces crime. Gun rights perhaps might as well, particularly as a type of carrot to good conduct -- don't get in trouble, and we will give you your gun rights back. The good conduct will bring too returns. Posted by: Joe | Nov 14, 2011 4:31:30 PM Thank you Mr. Bentley. I thought the same thing, although the Times piece seems to imply otherwise. As to correlation/causation, I think the most likely explanation is that those ex-cons who have the organization and motivation to go through the rights-restoration process are a self-selecting group of "high achievers." Further, there is presumably at least some screening process (?), so the least suitable applicants (and conversely, those most likely to recidivate) may be screened out as well. I think you'd find the same is true of those seeking/receiving voting rights, etc. Posted by: Anon | Nov 14, 2011 4:51:21 PM being from a rural area, I'm pretty sure that the firearm prohibition for felony convictions does help deter crime among people aware of it. For many people, a lifetime ban on having guns is way worse punishment than a potential prison sentence. Posted by: virginia | Nov 14, 2011 5:41:17 PM mike, Mr. Bentley and Anon: federal law expressly provides in 18 USC 921(a)(20)(B) that a state restoration of rights means one no longer is subject to the felon-in-possession prohibitions of 922(g). So that's what the NYT is talking about. And Paul, I am just raising the possibility that restoration or right might be a cause of reduced recidivism, though I suspect the numbers I have in the main post reflect correlation more than causation. Nevertheless, Joe articulate the plausible theory here: once a former felon goes through the process of rights restoration, he/she may come to feel/know that he/she has even more to lose from a repeat offense and thus may be distinctly likely to try to avoid another tangle with the law. In the end, I think proving causation here one way or another will be very hard --- and this is one reason that the NYT article seems pernicious for seeming to suggest that restoring gun rights might make former felons MORE likely to commit another crime. Posted by: Doug B. | Nov 14, 2011 6:01:20 PM One of the State's sentencing objectives is to control the offenders risk of committing another crime. Another is to reduce that risk to an acceptable level. Recidivism is a poor measure of success or failure in meeting these objectives because the decision to return an offender to confinement may be influenced by many other considerations. Posted by: Tom McGee | Nov 14, 2011 6:14:39 PM I personally hope they do give convicted felons their gun rights back. We're going to need them in the fight against this corrupt government. There again, when it comes to the upcoming revolution, who needs a "right" to fight against tyranny with gun. You just do it! Posted by: Book38 | Nov 14, 2011 7:03:38 PM Part of the problem is the non-sequitur that a felony conviction in and of itself makes it more dangerous for someone to possess a firearm. Would anyone really care if Martha Stewart keeps a handgun in her house? Or the college student who grew marijuana for himself and his friends? Or the single mother who transported a few illegal aliens to pay a few bills? Plus, it doesn't even makes sense as applied. Some crimes that may be a felony in one state may not be in another, so the federal prohibition applies in one state but not the other. Some states treat simple possession of cocaine as a felony, so a possession conviction will result in a federal firearm prohibition, even though simple possession of cocaine is not even a felony under federal law. Finally, federal jurisdiction over firearms possession is premised on the notion that a firearm that has crossed a state line at some point in the past means that the firearm is "in or affecting" interstate commerce, even if a felon obtained the gun in his own state and never took it out of the state. Because of this flimsy jurisdictional hook, the simple cocaine possessor who gets a gun manufactured in a different state is going to the federal pen, while a convicted murderer who obtains a gun that was manufactured in his own state isn't prohibited under federal law. Anyway, I'm not opposed to a reasonable period of prohibition following completion of a sentence, but the restoration of rights should be automatic after that period for all but truly violent felons, or where a court makes a specific finding that a defendant should be required to apply for restoration of rights. Posted by: C.E. | Nov 14, 2011 10:40:17 PM To all the above: The Law is an Ass! Why do you continue to pay homage (and taxes) to Baal? It must be for employment reasons. The second amendment is absolute! It is not what nine men in robes think. Those intelligent enough to understand know when they are being taken for a mental ride. Taking away voting rights and gun rights after someone has served their just sentence, and current sex-offender laws (POSAWA) are for those who don't care that their nation is headed downward and the only employment is for a more aggressive LE! Yes, there are some felons who should not have the right to firearms and some who should be listed as sex-offenders, but current law is JUST PLAIN STUPID no matter how many CFR citations you sight! Posted by: albeed | Nov 14, 2011 11:04:25 PM The good news is the someone is picking apart the mumbo-jumbo pretzel logic and revealing it for what it is: propaganda. For that, I cannot thank our host enough. Could it be that more and more people will dissect a news story before jumping on the reply bandwagon? Could this be the start a trend? Posted by: George | Nov 14, 2011 11:39:05 PM hmm "Rodsmith, traditionally, felons were deprived of certain rights, including voting and gun rights, and could have them deprived after they served their punishment behind bars. "Rights" still are rights if they have certain conditions. Gun and voting rights in particular traditionally had certain conditions." Horsh shit....UNLESS by traditionally your talking about the last 50 years or so! till the JFK stupidity it NOT tradional or even LEGAL! to remove EITHER however last time i looked the RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS is part of the U.S. CONSTUITION! hell even those idiots on the USSC just recently stated ALL american had a right a handgun for self defence in the home..but choaked when some govt stooge mentioned ex felons! Posted by: rodsmith | Nov 15, 2011 12:07:02 AM If you read the NYT report closely, they highlighted instances in which judges had no choice in restoring gun rights to felons, and also stated that judges were given little information about the applicants' previous offenses. Many of the respondents here are cherry-picking facts to support their personal positions. To posit that felons with restored gun rights might actually increase public safety is just preposterous. The felons featured in the article were violent offenders who should never have regained gun rights--especially given the mental health factors and previous violent offenses. Gun rights and voting rights are not even close to being the same thing. It's hard to harm another person with a ballot. No felon who has physically victimized another human being, or seriously threatened to, should be permitted to own firearms. I thought punishment was supposed to be just that--consequences for your unlawful behavior. As for the attempt to correlate lower recidivism among this small cohort by saying they have an awareness of how their actions might affect their restored gun rights, where was the felon's awareness of the consequences of his/her actions when he/she committed the original felony? Pretty weak thinking, folks. Apparently, it is acceptable to those who are posting here that several of the people in the article murdered or severely injured others after restoration. What a shameful testimony to how out of place our priorities have become when it comes to guns. Posted by: Lori O'Neill | Nov 15, 2011 10:27:35 AM well lori in those cases where someone has comitted a crime espeicaly a real as aaposed to statuary violent crime and then goes to prison and then when released does it again. Well that's what a bullet to the brain is for! i have never had a problem with giving anyone a 2nd chance...but a 3rd one NOT A CHANCE! as for your statement about "cherry picking" sorry i don't consider the U.S. CONSTUTION a CHERRY! not to mention 200 years of history. up till the crazy time after the JFK killing you could walk out of prison and be handed everything you had at the time...including the gun! then walk across the street to vote if they were having one! Posted by: rodsmith | Nov 15, 2011 12:55:34 PM I didn't notice this question being asked. How many of those who went on to commit another crime used a gun in the commission of the crime? I'd think that would be a huge deal. If 200 [out of the 3,300] committed a crime, not involving a fire arm, then the point of the article if it is against felons getting their gun rights back is mute. Isn't it? Posted by: Huh? | Nov 15, 2011 5:40:21 PM LOL Huh? that question is right up there with the one about sex offender reoffense rates....the govt DOESN'T WANT TO KNOW! don't want to let a few facts mess up a great fear campaign! Posted by: rodsmith | Nov 15, 2011 9:46:07 PM rodsmith: 'LOL Huh? that question is right up there with the one about sex offender reoffense rates....the govt DOESN'T WANT TO KNOW!" So the DOJ BJS reports, that you have cited, don't count? :-p Posted by: Huh? | Nov 15, 2011 10:01:33 PM LOL there is a big diff between the GOVT i.e politicians and the hourly flunkys who create the reports that the govt then either buries or ignores! we have 1,000's of reports covering almost a MILLION subjects that say just about every law passed in the last decade concering sex crimes is not only USELESS and ILLEGAL. but COUNTER PRODECTIVE and are MAKING THE PROBLEM WORSE! that's what i'm talking about when i say THEY DON'T WANT TO KNOW! Posted by: rodsmith | Nov 16, 2011 1:32:45 PM i was convicted of a felony at the age of 19 for picking up a dog in the woods in ky. that has been 20 years ago and it has made my life harder than it should have been i was young and dumb and needed to be punished but not for the rest of my life so because of being a felon i have been unable to get the good jobs i have worked most of my life in fast food or gas stations im not asking for a hand out just a chance so please follow this link and sign this petition so that people like me at least get a voice thank you. http://wh.gov/P9tI Posted by: Ronnie Rose | Jan 10, 2013 1:02:58 PM I know that most of the public call someone with a felony a scumbag or a degenerate. They should look into their own past. Everyone has committed some type of crime in their life. You just have to be willing to be honest with yourself. we are divided by those caught and punished and those who got away with what they've committed. Those who have gotten away with their crimes pretend they are somehow better than those who were punished. I can't count how many girls and boys have admitted to being molested but never told someone about it. These molesters have gotten away with a far worse crime than mine. I was convicted in 1996 of drug charges. I was 21. I received a 20 month sentence. I'm still being punished today. I had dreams, as everyone does, and had them crushed by my addition. I needed help not punishment. It's been 18 years-nearly half my life. I have had my dreams crushed, grants for college denied, jobs denied, and I have lost friends when they found out I was a convicted felon(even though that person admitted to growing pot in his twenties), and my outlook on life diminished. I can't protect myself or my family with a firearm, I can't vote in some states-even though I pay the elected officials' salaries, and I can't pursue my dreams. I know it's my fault. I had problems in my life that led me to be a alcoholic and then an addict. I haven't touched drugs or alcohol in 18 years. I cleaned up my life. How about politicians? Look up their records. Had President Obama been caught, with the cocaine he wrote about using in his books, he would not be president. How about President Bush? How many crimes did he get away with? Too long to list. Ted Kennedy, Charlie Rangel, Newt Gigrich-the list goes on and on. So many Americans are willing to cast stones at someone like me. If you are one of those people, take a good, hard look at your own past. What have you done? My life is an open book to anyone with a computer. I've done far more good in my life than bad, but the good is not tallied. It's enough to make me want to move to a real, free country. Non-violent felons should get their rights back upon completion of their sentence. I'll say this; I look forward to death. I see it as a doorway to true forgiveness. Society has become my hell, and the people who run are Satan's council. Also the non-convicted, stone-throwing population are the demons. To receive a second chance the President has got to sign off on a pardon I've had in the pipeline for the last 8 years. It takes 10 years just to be seen by the CIA for an interview. I've been punished enough, again, nearly half my life. I would have rather spent 10 additional years in prison if it meant a real second chance when I got out. Society is that bad and judgmental. I am now 39 and I want my rights back-all of them. Posted by: Jason V | Sep 27, 2014 1:34:30 AM I'm the author of the above comment. If anyone wishes to contact me on this matter my email is: handoftool@hotmail.com I don't hide. Posted by: Jason V | Sep 27, 2014 1:37:58 AM Post a comment Gov O'Malley explains his reasons for seeking Maryland's death penalty repeal | Main | Notable new player (making notable comments) in Florida debate over medical marijuana March 18, 2013 Should NRA care more about gun rights for non-violent felons or those accused of domestic violence? [I]n one of a handful of states, the protection order would have forced [an abusive husband] to relinquish his firearms. But that is not the case in Washington and most of the country, in large part because of the influence of the National Rifle Association and its allies. Advocates for domestic violence victims have long called for stricter laws governing firearms and protective orders. Their argument is rooted in a grim statistic: when women die at the hand of an intimate partner, that hand is more often than not holding a gun. In these most volatile of human dramas, they contend, the right to bear arms must give ground to the need to protect a womans life. In statehouses across the country, though, the N.R.A. and other gun-rights groups have beaten back legislation mandating the surrender of firearms in domestic violence situations. They argue that gun ownership, as a fundamental constitutional right, should not be stripped away for anything less serious than a felony conviction and certainly not, as an N.R.A. lobbyist in Washington State put it to legislators, for the mere issuance of court orders. That resistance is being tested anew in the wake of the massacre in Newtown, Conn., as proposals on the mandatory surrender of firearms are included in gun control legislation being debated in several states. Among them is Washington, where current law gives judges issuing civil protection orders the discretion to require the surrender of firearms if, for example, they find a serious and imminent threat to public health. But records and interviews show that they rarely do so, making the state a useful laboratory for examining the consequences, as well as the politics, of this standoff over the limits of Second Amendment rights. By analyzing a number of Washington databases, The New York Times identified scores of gun-related crimes committed by people subject to recently issued civil protection orders, including murder, attempted murder and kidnapping. In at least five instances over the last decade, women were shot to death less than a month after obtaining protection orders. In at least a half-dozen other killings, the victim was not the person being protected but someone else. There were dozens of gun-related assaults like the one Ms. Holten endured. The analysis which crosschecked protective orders against arrest and conviction data, along with fatality lists compiled by the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence represents at best a partial accounting of such situations because of limitations in the data. The databases were missing some orders that have expired or been terminated. They also did not flag the use of firearms in specific crimes, so identifying cases required combing through court records.... In some instances, of course, laws mandating the surrender of firearms might have done nothing to prevent an attack. Sometimes the gun used was not the one cited in the petition. In other cases, no mention of guns was ever made. But in many cases, upon close scrutiny, stricter laws governing protective orders and firearms might very well have made a difference. The question in the title of this post is prompted by this lengthy new front-page New York Times article headlined "Ruled a Threat to Family, but Allowed to Keep Guns." Here is an excerpts from the first part of the article: As long-time readers know, I find puzzling and troubling that the NRA or others are quick to assert or assume that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, if it really is about protecting a truly fundamental constitutional right, that it can be permanently stripped away for any and every felony conviction, even very-long-ago, indisputably non-violent drug possession or white-collar offenses. This new article reinforces my sense that the NRA's advocacy policies, as well as existing gun laws and practices, are crude and problematic tools now often used to deny gun rights to persons who are not obviously dangerous while sometimes preserving gun rights for persons who are obviously dangerous. Some related Second Amendment and gun policy posts: March 18, 2013 at 10:52 AM | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451574769e2017ee97d30df970d Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Should NRA care more about gun rights for non-violent felons or those accused of domestic violence?: Comments "Should NRA care more about gun rights for non-violent felons or those accused of domestic violence?" Should liberals care more about gun rights for non-violent felons or guns rights for everyone, which their contingent in Congress is trying to whittle away? Or, to put it another way, should we care more about gun rights for bad actors of one sort or another or for the average Joe? Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 18, 2013 11:55:47 AM U.S. v. Emerson is relevant to this discussion. Here is one analysis (fyi ... it is not meant to be an endorsement ... etc.) http://www.burger.com/gunemera.htm Since fundamental rights are being removed in a broad sense, some due process must be followed in this context. Protective orders burden various rights -- e.g., freedom to travel -- but total removal in this sense can be more broad than, e.g., limiting the right to travel or association. But, I think there is a way to balance things here without blocking things as broadly as noted in the article. The OP also provides a comment as to the NRA's troublesome views from a libertarian perspective. As a believer in the RKBA, the NRA does not seem to be the best advocate. They are doing the movement much favors with some of their current rhetoric either. Various gun owners, some NRA members, have been turned off by such things. BTW, I'm all for supporting the average Joe. Posted by: Joe | Mar 18, 2013 12:24:22 PM Very funny, Joe. I'll rephrase and see if you'll answer. Should we care more about gun rights for bad actors or for the average person? The reason I ask is that there has been a concerted campaign on this blog to get gun rights for felons -- a campaign run, with stunning hypocrisy, by preciesly those who think Heller was wrongly decided, and wanted (or still want, I strongly suspect (see, e.g., Mayor Bloomberg)) to restrict gun rights for EVERYONE. But, now that, over their objections, we have the Heller decision, only felons get spoken up for. Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 18, 2013 12:47:15 PM I think Heller was rightly decided though would have gone about it somewhat differently. We can call this the Levinson/Amar/Tribe/Balkin approach. My comment really was an answer. Seriously, the average Joe should get the most respect. Everyone has rights, but you know, "bad actors" tend to have less in some fashion at the end of the day. Devil in the details. I don't know much about the felon campaign. Doug Berman has shown some concern over the matter. "Felon" in this day and age covers so much that it seems overinclusive. Don't want that. But, the average Joe does matter more to me. As to the bills up in Congress, most seem to be acceptable under Heller -- the typical background checks, funding measures and so forth. The problematic one would be the 'assault weapon' ban, realistically not likely to pass. Heller allows bans on some types of 'dangerous and usual' weapons but what that means is debatable. The bill very well might be over-inclusive, but again, not likely to pass anyway. OTOH, e.g., by junior senator with a Republican supports a gun trafficking bill that appears to be constitutionally acceptable though there might be some debate on details. Posted by: Joe | Mar 18, 2013 1:05:05 PM Try again bill! stop the lies! "The reason I ask is that there has been a concerted campaign on this blog to get gun rights for felons" That should be EX felons! You know American Citizens who have paid thier court ordered debt to society and are now according to the Constitution Still an American Citizens just as much as you are! I will have you know that in situations like this is talking about "protection orders" i have no problem allowed the temporary removal of any weapons from BOTH parties till it can all be sorted out with the requirement that once the order is removed ALL weapons must be returned to both parties with a statutary punishment in place that can be used against the removing agency if said weapons are not both returned and in the same condition as when taken. But you will alwasy lose the part about ex felons at least till you can rewrite the constitution and add a new amendment that automatically strips citizenship for any felony conviction. Posted by: rodsmith | Mar 18, 2013 2:56:57 PM rodsmith -- Your beef is with liberals, not me. I want more gun rights than they do or did -- and I wanted them before Heller, not just afterward. P.S. As I'm using the word (which I believe is standard usage) a "felon" is simply a person who committed a felony. Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 18, 2013 4:00:54 PM It was fear of felons that won Heller, not fear of the government. So the NRA needs felons to justify its guns and cannot back down on that now. If domestic violence was a felony, what then? It's the take-their-rights-not-mine syndrome that is all-too-pervasive nowadays. I've argued for years that the NRA was painting itself into a corner and there it is. By the publication of concealed carry permit names we also learned the majority are law enforcement linked, so what is boils down to is law enforcement wants to be able to commit domestic violence and still keep his/her gun and job. What about the victims? Is his/her gun rights more important than the victims'? "Criminals have all the rights and victims have none." What that boils down to is that the patriarchal society at the founding was too stupid to know about crime victims and the proper balance of rights. Posted by: George | Mar 18, 2013 4:03:37 PM George -- "It was fear of felons that won Heller, not fear of the government." Actually it was an analysis of the historical context of the Second Amendment. Both Scalia and Stevens argued from that perspective. Scalia just got one more vote. If a point be made of it, however, people are well advised to fear felons. I wish, for example, that Dr. Petit had had a gun and used it on the felons who invaded his house and raped and killed his daughters (and wife). I also wish some teacher at Sandy Hook had had a gun and blown Adam Lanze into the next world before he killed as many kiddies as he did. Don't you? Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 18, 2013 4:23:51 PM Mr. Bill, you me got too scared to type an answer. I must look out my window to see if they are there laying in wait. Or maybe I'll go to the library now. Posted by: George | Mar 18, 2013 4:30:28 PM Bill, what makes you think I think Heller was wrongly decided? I can/will readily assert that I want felons --- especially after they have served their time and seek to re-enter society --- to have all the civil rights that non-felons have (subject to reasonable restrictions). That is why I support the right of felons to vote, and to go to church, and to write op-eds, and to have a lawyer in their defense, and to not have property taken without due process or just compensation, and so on. What seems wrong to me about Heller/McDonald is the curious effort to assert that gun rights are fundamental and/or tied to a natural right to self defense, but then to say Martha Stewart or Scooter Libby could be sent to federal prison for a decade for exercising these rights. As I have said before and will say again, what makes "rights" different than a privilege is that even people we do not like get to have them. I am still trying to figure out whether the NRA or others really sees gun rights as fundamental in these terms. Posted by: Doug B. | Mar 18, 2013 4:30:36 PM George -- Do you really think you're doing yourself any good by being so dismissive of the Petit and Sandy Hook atrocities? P.S. There are thousands of murders each year. If you want to blame people for wanting to protect themselves, feel free. I will not be joining you. Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 18, 2013 5:00:57 PM Doug -- I don't think I said that you thought Heller was wrongly decided. I said liberals (by-and-large) do. You tend to be more open minded than most liberals, in my experience anyway. But just look at what's going on in Congress to see who wants to cut back on, and who wants to preserve, gun rights. As to substance: I'm afraid you're outvoted on the Supreme Court. The five Justice majority went along with (what has turned out to be) the controlling dicta, and the four Justice minority would not even have allowed gun rights to non-felons, much less to felons. In other words, I can't spot a single vote on the Court to support your legal position. Certainly all four of the liberal appointees are more hostile to it than I am. Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 18, 2013 5:10:48 PM Mr. Bill, I do not equate your straw men with atrocities. They are not the same thing at all. I am merely pointing out that for the NRA to be consistent it would have to support gun regulation in the name of public safety. For one example, guns kill far more children every year than sex offenders do. I happen to think the #1 purpose of government is the protection the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. That is what the oath to office always is. While public safety is important from a social contract perspective, the NRA thinks its public safety should trump other constitutional rights. Inconsistent. I know nothing about the Petit case and ask you to imagine going into that Sandy Hook classroom. Imagine the bullet holes in those little kid's eyes and faces and arms and bodies and thick blood all over the floor. Imagine having to walk in there. I couldn't even do it. It is not rhetorical blood. On the other hand, Michele Moore wants to release and publish the photos of that crime scene. You seem to agree, and I would agree that would pretty much end the debate. But then I think one purpose of law enforcement is to serve as a buffer between victims and the public to help prevent us from destroying our own rights out of revulsion. Posted by: George | Mar 18, 2013 6:50:01 PM Bill, I was not in this post asking about SCOTUS views, but the NRA's. And, especially because you wrote an op-ed concerning Scooter Libby's sentencing, I wonder if you share my disappointment that the NRA seems more interested in the gun rights of violent wife-beaters than of Libby or other non-violent offenders who have a felony conviction but seem far less likely than wife-beaters to use a gun for ill. The reason I focus so much on this issue is because, at least for me, it serves as a good test of the commitment of gun RIGHTS advocates. So many folks want to assert that gun ownership is a right, not a privilege, but then they treat it so much more like a privilege in this context. If you or others are prepared to say that we are really just dealing here with an important privilege rather than a fundamental right, then I see no problem. But I continue to find curious the ways in which this supposedly fundamental right gets compromised for mere expedience (which, to sound like a broken record, makes it seem as though this is not really a true right --- and really not at all like the other rights s in the Bill of Rights, none of which are forever lost upon any felony conviction). Posted by: Doug B. | Mar 18, 2013 10:03:20 PM George, "Mr. Bill" is a play doh character on the show Saturday Night Live. "Bill Otis" a character too, but of a different kind. The average "liberal" these days supports gun rights. Bloomberg like Stevens, Souter and (Chief Justice) Burger is either a Republican, or someone who helped them out a lot. There is a left leaning minority that oppose Heller, but one thing about Heller is that the basic core of it is fairly uncontroversial though you might get some complaints when dealing with handguns in certain urban areas, areas in the past thought to be regulated in that fashion. See, e.g., certain Westerns (acts of fiction, but a signal of our understanding of the past, not too much different than some law office history) where guns are collected outside of town. As to Doug's concerns, sadly, the law has long been that felons lose rights, even once they leave prison, and might be more appropriately deemed "ex-felons." Liberals often were the ones really concerned about that sort of thing, conservatives at times less so. I agree Heller draws too abrupt of a line there though "subject to reasonable restrictions" suggests even Mr. Berman accepts some degree of differentiation, even if RIGHTS are involved. Posted by: Joe | Mar 18, 2013 11:32:57 PM Doug -- Let me preface this by saying that I am not a member of or contributor to the NRA, nor do I own or wish to own a gun. Thus, for one thing, I think I have no business telling the NRA, a private organization, what they should believe or whether they should emphasize one part of their agenda over other parts. I also don't give advice to the NACDL or the National Lawyers Guild. To your question: Second Amendment rights are both fundamental and personal, in my opinion. I thus disagree on this issue with the liberal bloc on SCOTUS, and with the majority of liberals throughout the country, who were, to coin a phrase, against gun rights before they were for them (at least for felons). But that's not the end of the story. I also believe that First Amendment rights are fundamental, but I have no problem putting people in jail for perjury (pure speech), or including, in some corrupt union boss's sentence, that he is to have no associaton with mob figures, ever (freedom of association). I believe that the Sixth Amendment is also a fundamental right, but I don't believe a defendant has the right to a lawyer not licensed to practice in his jurisdiction, or one who has been kicked out of the bar for faking evidence (see Charles Daum). In other words, I believe, as almost every sensate person does, that fundamental Constitutional rights are subject to qualification. If I am correct about that, then the only question is where the line should be drawn. The law now draws the line for Second Amendment rights at a felony conviction. That is a broad brush, to be sure, but is sufficiently related to a compelling state interest to stand up, as it uniformly has in post-Heller cases. If I were to give the NRA advice, which as noted I am not, I would say that the better position is to oppose gun rights for BOTH felons and adjudicated violent people (I am not wedded just to wife beaters). I also oppose gun rights for children and the insane, although the Constitution reads the same way for them as to the rest of us. As to Scooter Libby: I thought that his sentence should not include prison time. I never said that he should be pardoned. I never said the fine should be rescinded, and I never said beans about civil rights restoration. He was convicted on sufficient evidence of lying to a grand jury. People who do that (and commit similar offenses of deceit, like Martha Stewart) bring it on themselves. The courts and Congress have correctly, in my view, refused to re-arrange the law for people who assumed a known risk when they broke it. P. S. There may be children mature enough to be trusted with firearms (indeed there are almost certainly tens of thousands of them), and there may be insane people whose particular defect would not make them untrustworthy with firearms either. But Congress has never been required to draw a line that fine in this area. Same deal with felons. Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 18, 2013 11:48:38 PM I believe there are a few misconceptions/red herrings/false premises at work in this thread. @ George-You seem to be under the false impression that the backbone of gun support from gun owners and the NRA is "self-defense." You are grossly incorrect. Even if we lived in a country with absolutely zero crime and no need for self-defense, the NRA would exist as long as liberals wanted to take away guns. @ Professor Berman-I will not entirely argue against your claim regarding the inconsistency behind the NRA's position with felons. However, as a gun owner and NRA member, I do not believe its stated position is its first choice. Personally, I believe anyone not currently incarcerated or under current sanction (probation/parole)for a felony should be able to exercise their right. In other words, commit any crime and go to jail or on probation, lose your gun until you are off sanction. Once you are released, get your guns back. I believe this is how the founders would have seen this issue as well. But for the liberal fascination with "incarceration nation", I believe this would be the NRA position as well. If you are too dangerous to own a gun, you should be in prison. (This is why I do not support sex offender registries either. If they are dangerous enough to be registered, keep them in prison). Unfortunately, we live in a society where liberals rule with false compassion and dangerous people will be in public. This creates a need for a fallback position for the NRA. @ Bill No guns for kids? They share equally in the right to own a firearm, with the permission of their parents of course. My 7 year old owns a compound bow and will be getting a .22/20 gauge over/under this summer. With adequate supervision, there is absolutely no reason why he should not be able to exercise his rights as his father and mother do. Posted by: TarlsQtr1 | Mar 19, 2013 9:45:47 AM i'm with TarlsQtr1 here especially on this! "However, as a gun owner and NRA member, I do not believe its stated position is its first choice. Personally, I believe anyone not currently incarcerated or under current sanction (probation/parole)for a felony should be able to exercise their right. In other words, commit any crime and go to jail or on probation, lose your gun until you are off sanction. Once you are released, get your guns back. I believe this is how the founders would have seen this issue as well." Since that was pretty much the law of the land till the mid 1960's and and JFK killing. So for pretty much 200 years THAT WAS THE LAW. Funny i don't remember any Constutitional Amendment after that covering guns! So as far as i'm concerned no matter what those fucktards on the High Court say. It is legally STILL the law! Posted by: rodsmith | Mar 19, 2013 3:34:48 PM Prof. Berman is concerned about the rights of "felons" and some note the problem of "liberals" wanting to take guns away. The "felon" line is found in the majority of Heller. Not a "liberal" among the majority though Kennedy is a honorary member on certain issues. But, "liberals" and "Democrats" are a concern of some here and apparently the NRA would exist just because they are so scary. Meanwhile, the President Pro Tempore (D) has a gun range in his front yard. The "Martha" article cited above notes that federal law set forth a "crime of violence" line in the 1930s. If there be a line, and even there, it should at best be temporary generally speaking, that makes more sense. This would incorporate non-felon domestic violence. Overall, this suggests the value of full review of such questions, instead of the advisory opinion character of Heller on various exceptions. The ruling should imho have remanded the handgun issue itself, instead of its quickie paragraph or two on that. But, "the law" is not what I think it means, but what the justices have held, even if we want to call them bad names. And, five conservatives clouded the issue in a ruling that focused on self-defense. Others, however, might wish to make this a partisan issue while many of the Dems clean their guns or hunt or whatever while Warren Burger turns over in his grave given the result of Heller. Posted by: Joe | Mar 19, 2013 5:56:32 PM Joe -- Yup, enough Senate Dems had the sense to side with the Republicans that Sen. Feinstein put up the white flag today. But you can't possibly be denying that the decided majority of Congressional Dems favor more gun control, and the decided majority of Congressional Republicans opposed it. Are you denying that? Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 19, 2013 6:17:18 PM TarlsQtr1 -- I support the main platform of the NRA, which was to win Heller and make that win stick despite the efforts of Mayor Emanuel and other anti-gun Dems to turn it into a dead letter. The liberals that Joe coos over have all manner of glowing respect for the civil liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights -- except, that is, for the civil liberties protected by the Second Amendment, which get to sit in the back of The Liberal Bus along with such other troglodyte ideas like self-reliance, national solvency and executing child killers. Children are not emancipated and thus do not enjoy the same rights at law that adults do. Children can't drive, drink, smoke or enter into contracts. They can be subject to truancy and curfew laws that cannot apply to adults. In the end, though, you and I would probably disagree only about the age at which children can be trusted with guns. I would say that, for a four year-old, the answer is never. The older you get, the closer the question becomes. As for your son, I agree that he should receive firearms training now, so that he'll be more familiar with weaponry when he becomes CIC after the '44 election. Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 19, 2013 6:31:28 PM ahh but your wrong here Joe! "But, "the law" is not what I think it means, but what the justices have held, even if we want to call them bad names." Sorry but i don't remember God coming down out of the moutains to appoint them...therefore they are just as liable to be wrong and fuckup as anyone else. As far as i'm concerned they went to the head of the total fuckups and ignore list in 2002 when they managed to "creatively" interpet "NO expost" to SURE! So as far as i'm concerned nobody has to listen to shit they have to say and no decision they make is even close to legal! Posted by: rodsmith | Mar 19, 2013 11:28:20 PM joe: "And, five conservatives clouded the issue in a ruling that focused on self-defense" me: it wasn't a cloud of the issue at all - finding a pre-Constitutional right to self defense was the only way they could reach the result they wanted to. Which would be a perfectly reasonable if they based Heller upon the 9th Amendment (which they ultimately did in finding a preexisting right to engage in self defense). But for obvious (birth control) political (abortion) reasons (sodomy) they couldn't acknowlege a personal right to have handguns for self defense under the 9th Amendment because some enterprising person would point out the obvious inconsistency between their ruling there and their ruling in other 9th Amendment based cases (specifically the right to be left alone by the government in one's intimate sexual activities). Thus they had to claim that the Second Amendment protected an individual right despite the fact that the plain language (which Scalia in every other case believes is controlling for better or worse) as well as the bulk of the historical evidence of the Second Amendment makes it clear that it was intended to protect the state militias. If there was a pre-Constitutional right to self defense which was so self evident that it doesn't need to be written down then the 9th Amendment would protect it and the 2nd Amendment protection of the right would be unnecessary. Of course, the Supreme Court didn't explicitly find a 9th Amendment right to self defense which includes a private ownership right of guns. Instead they created a historical and linguistically dubious claim of a 2nd Amendment right while denying that they were in fact finding a 9th Amendment right. Probably to keep people from asking "and how is this is different from Roe v. Wade?" Although more appropriately it should be how is this different from Griswold v. Connecticut a case which many on the right think was wrongly decided even if they really cannot go against the result (birth control for married couples being way less controversial than abortion). From my perspective, Heller was probably the right decision for what was definitely the wrong reason. The right reason for the Heller decision was to base the case on the right to privacy based cases (which is to say Griswold, Roe v. Wade, and the Texas Sodomy case) - both the right to self defense and the right to privacy are clearly protected by the 9th Amendment being clearly pre-Constitutional rights which are so obvious as to not require enumeration. Ironically as a 9th Amendment right, the right to own guns for self defense is probably stronger than an individual right under the Second Amendment because the Second Amendment specifically calls for regulation of the "militia" - that seems to give the government a lot more leeway in regulation than a 9th Amendment right to self defense would have. Probably an additional reason why they took the twists and turns to fit an individual right on the Second Amendment where it was never intended to go. That way gave the green light for "regulation" of the individual "right to bare arms" such as banning even non-violent felons from having guns. While a 9th Amendment right to self defense may not be so limited. Hence the historical abomination that is Heller is likely as much based on the Supreme Court finding a way to keep the guns out of the hands of those scary felons as much as getting guns in the hands of a nice trusted government employee like Dick Heller. Erika :) Posted by: Erika | Mar 20, 2013 9:30:01 AM Erika -- Do you think Congress can, consistently with the Constitution, designate classes of people (felons, the mentally disturbed, what have you) who can be barred from possessing guns? Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 20, 2013 9:38:54 AM Hate to break it to you Erika! But there was no such thing as a "state militia" recruited and equiped by the state at that time. The militia as you call it was made up of citizen volunteers who brought their own guns from HOME! That fact and the fact that our future new government was an experiment is why the 2nd amendment exists! Posted by: rodsmith | Mar 20, 2013 11:13:38 AM Bill of course i do - personally i believe that we would be better off as a society if all handguns were turned into plowshares and that dogs, burglar alarms, and exterior lighting are better for personal protection at home than guns :) i don't think there is any question that regardless of what Constitutional theory you use (and obviously if you believe that there is no individual right to possess firearms Congress can even pass a total ban (obviously politically unrealistic) for everyone) that Congress and the states have the power to pass a bar on owning or possessing firearms by dangerous persons - and clearly those convicted of violent felonies (non-violent felonies is a much closer issue), domestic violence, under protective orders, and found to be a danger to self and others due to mental illness would qualify Posted by: Erika | Mar 20, 2013 11:22:11 AM Erika -- OK, fair enough. Thank you for your response. Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 20, 2013 11:32:59 AM Interesting that in the arguments given, either, for, against, or anything in between, not fundamental argument was given for the main focal point behind the reason for the 2nd Amendment. That reason was for citizens to repel its own government if the government failed to cede its authority to the constitution. A "well-regulated militia" was not just about national defense of external enemies, but internal ones as well. Obviously, in the 230+ years we have evolved to a point where a "well-regulated militia" cannot realistically defend itself against the government being that nukes, tanks, and stealth bombers aren't available at local gun shows. But nevertheless, the point is that the 2nd Amendment was created as a guarantor of the 1st Amendment; without either, the entire Constitution would be vapid. Posted by: Eric Knight | Mar 21, 2013 5:07:59 AM BINGO! Eric you hit it right on the head. Those who want to limit the 2nd refuse to admit the only reason that documetn and the other 9 plus the original constitution was even written was all those citizens had their own damn guns and were willing to use them on a govt that had went rogue! pity current american citizens don't have the same balls! Posted by: rodsmith | Mar 21, 2013 11:31:07 AM Post a comment Federal courts and defenders get a few extra shekels in budget deal | Main | Is it too early want the new Senator from NJ to get going on sentencing reform? October 17, 2013 "Is the Supreme Court only willing to work at the fringes of the Second Amendment?" The Constitutions Second Amendment, the Supreme Court ruled five years ago, protects an individuals personal right to have a gun for self-defense. It has returned to the Second Amendment only once since then, in a decision three years ago extending that personal right across the nation, so that it can be used to challenge state and local gun control laws as well as such laws at the federal level. Since then, more than a half-dozen test cases on the issue have been filed at the court, and each one has been bypassed. It appears that no one on the court is pushing to return to the issue; it takes four votes on the bench to grant review, and there is no reliable indication that any case has drawn even one vote.... Although lower courts have issued an array of differing and sometimes conflicting decisions (the pattern that usually draws in the Supreme Court), the scope of the Second Amendment right is still in a kind of constitutional limbo. It remained there on Tuesday, when the Justices turned aside an appeal by a Maryland man, Raymond Woollard, who lives near Baltimore. He once had a permit to have a gun that he could carry outside his home, because he had shown he faced a potential threat from a son-in-law who had shown violent tendencies. But when he tried to get the permit renewed, he was turned down, on the premise that he had not proved that he still faced a threat to his safety. The courts refusal to hear his appeal came quickly, after the Justices first fleeting look at the case. That has been the pattern for the past several years.... The message that the Supreme Court has seemed to be sending at least up until now is that it is in no hurry to resolve open questions about how far constitutional gun rights extend. It has not even agreed to spell out in a final way the constitutional test that it will apply to judge the validity of any specific gun control law. As this trend continues, it tends to put an exaggerated emphasis on each new case that reaches the Supreme Court: Will this be the one that will finally get the Justices attention; if not, what will it take? Since the Supreme Court is the sole entity to determine the scope of the Second Amendment right (aside from the legislatures that can put together a clarifying constitutional amendment), judges and legislators across the country have to wonder when they will get new constitutional guidance. The question in the title of this post is the main headline of this notable and effective new commentary by Lyle Denniston at the blog of the National Constitution Center. (Hat tip: How Appealing .) Here are excerpts: Especially because the Supreme Court left so much unclear about the scope and application of the Second Amendment in Heller, and particularly now that these issues have been "percolating" in lower courts for a half-decade, I think it is getting to be past time for the Justices to take up some "Heller application" cases. In this setting, the SCOTUS is starting to seem a bit like too many others decision-makers inside the Beltway: apparently unwilling or unable to make hard decisions about how competing priorities ought to be balanced in the development of Second Amendment jurisprudence, the Justices so far are avoiding making any decisions at all. October 17, 2013 at 01:30 PM | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451574769e2019b0019568b970d Listed below are links to weblogs that reference "Is the Supreme Court only willing to work at the fringes of the Second Amendment?": Comments I wonder if Scalia carries a gun. He is in DC. Does he think he is sainted because he is a Justice? I would bet that he has a gun in his car, home and boat if he has a boat. Posted by: Liberty1st | Oct 17, 2013 5:46:52 PM I agree it might be time to clarify the 2A, probably something to do with somewhat conflicting lower court rulings on carrying guns outside the gun, but do think they decided to much in Heller. They should have simply ruled it involved an individual right and sent it back for the factual determination regarding its application to the handgun and the specific provisions. Instead, it provides a short discussion on why those provisions of the law was illegitimate. Posted by: Joe | Oct 17, 2013 7:55:31 PM edit: "outside the home" Posted by: Joe | Oct 17, 2013 7:56:24 PM Post a comment Illinois commission advocates against putting all juve sex offenders on registry | Main | "Cooperative Federalism and Marijuana Regulation" March 26, 2014 Without much to say about the Second Amendment, SCOTUS gives broad reading to federal firearm possession crime In a unanimous ruling (with two separate concurrences), the Supreme Court this morning interpreted broadly in US v. Castleman, No. 121371 (S. Ct. Mar. 26, 2014) (available here) the federal crime set forth in, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9), prohibiting anyone who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from ever possessing a gun. Here is how the main opinion in Castleman, authored by Justice Sotomayor, gets started and its final two paragraphs: Recognizing that [f]irearms and domestic strife are a potentially deadly combination, United States v. Hayes, 555 U. S. 415, 427 (2009), Congress forbade the possession of firearms by anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. 18 U. S. C. 922(g)(9). The respondent, James Alvin Castleman, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor offense of having intentionally or knowingly cause[d] bodily injury to the mother of his child. App. 27. The question before us is whether this conviction qualifies as a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. We hold that it does.... Finally, Castleman suggests in a single paragraph that we should read 922(g)(9) narrowly because it implicates his constitutional right to keep and bear arms. But Castleman has not challenged the constitutionality of 922(g)(9), either on its face or as applied to him, and the meaning of the statute is sufficiently clear that we need not indulge Castlemans cursory nod to constitutional avoidance concerns. Castlemans conviction for having intentionally or knowingly cause[d] bodily injury to the mother of his child qualifies as a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is therefore reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Notably, there are separate concurrences by Justice Scalia (author of the landmark Heller Second Amendment ruling) and Justice Alito (author of the follow-up McDonald ruling describing gun possession as a fundamental right). But neither Justice seems even a bit concerned by a broadened interpretation of a federal statute that makes forever criminal the possession of a firearm by millions of persons who have been convicted of only a certain type of misdemeanor. For many of the reasons set forth in the various Castleman opinions (which I need to read carefully before commenting further), I think the Justices are on solid ground with statutory interpretation in this case. But what I think makes the case truly interesting and telling is what short shrift is given to the supposedly fundamental rights protected by the Second Amendment even by all five Justices who have previous spoke grandly about these rights in Heller and McDonald. March 26, 2014 at 10:36 AM | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451574769e201a3fcdf60d9970b Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Without much to say about the Second Amendment, SCOTUS gives broad reading to federal firearm possession crime: Comments From the getgo, it was a losing argument that the Heller dictum (noting that states could still properly prohibit previously convicted criminals from owning guns) was going to run afoul of the Second Amendment. (And yes, that means you, too, Martha Stewart). But for those who still had flickering hope that this argument would sell, today's unanimous opinion is the end of the line. Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 26, 2014 10:53:21 AM So, Bill, especially in light of Castleman, do you think Congress could constitutionally make it a federal felony for anyone convicted of any state misdemeanor (including, say, speeding or texting while driving or running a red light camera) to ever possess a gun? Posted by: Doug B. | Mar 26, 2014 11:08:08 AM Doug -- I don't think speeding or running a red light camera is a misdemeanor; certainly they didn't count as misdemeanors when I did them! I think they're just infractions. I don't know about texting while driving. The question here is about line-drawing, as it often is in law. The question you pose is a vintage law school question out of that mold, i.e., "Would you get the same result if we went just a little bit farther...?" The Court has now said pretty clearly that it's OK for states to forbid gun ownership to felons and some other offenses that society, over the last few years, has come to take more seriously than it used to. Wife beating, which is the common name for "domestic violence," is one of those offenses. I have no problem with that. Why should I? For people who don't want a firearms disability, the answer ain't that hard: Don't beat your wife. Or your girlfriend. Or your kid. Grow up and control your temper. If you won't, you'll not be owning a gun (legally). As I say, I have no problem with that, and neither do any of the nine Justices. Finally, as often happens with law school hypotheticals, it explores territory that's not there. No one is going to impose a firearms disability for speeding, as I'm sure you know. This decision is welcome, not least because it shows judicial deference to the decision by the political branches as to where, among several plausible places, the line is to be drawn. In that sense (not to bring up a sore point or anything like that), it conforms to the equally welcome judicial discipline in allowing the political branches rather than the judiciary to decide what charge to bring, whether or not the charge carries a MM sentence. In a country founded on the central idea of democratic rule, allowing the political branches to make decisions like this, rather than have them all sliced-and-diced by the Robed Aristocracy, is a healthy thing. Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 26, 2014 11:42:27 AM Well, Bill, federal law now already imposes a firearm disability for state DUI if/when that form of dangerous driving leads to a felony conviction. In addition, as a recent article about a well-know celebrity shows, in New York (and I think other states) it is possible to get a felony conviction for speeding: http://www.inquisitr.com/1187732/flavor-flav-speeding-case-postponed-but-other-legal-troubles-loom/ I agree that this is a classic law school question about line drawing, and that is why I am asking it. You seem to be a fan of the Second Amendment (as I am), but also believe that there can be broad restrictions on that right based on relatively minor (i.e., misdemeanor) past involvement in the criminal justice system. Because no other fundamental right is so easily lost permanently, I worry about these limits on the Second Amendment. But you apparently do not, and thus I am wondering what line would need to be crossed before you would begin to worry about this. I suspect that whatever line you would draw is similar to the line likely to be drawn by the Heller majority. I also suspect the "gun grabbers" I keep being told about also what to know how far you think they can go with criminal prohibition on who can possess a gun or ammunition. Posted by: Doug B. | Mar 26, 2014 12:06:33 PM "But you apparently do not, and thus I am wondering what line would need to be crossed before you would begin to worry about this. I suspect that whatever line you would draw is similar to the line likely to be drawn by the Heller majority." Yes, probably. Of course that would be more generous toward gun rights than any Justice in the liberal bloc, all of whom wanted to cut way back on gun ownership for people with NO criminal conviction. "I also suspect the 'gun grabbers' I keep being told about also what to know how far you think they can go with criminal prohibition on who can possess a gun or ammunition." What's a "gun grabber"? I'll be interested in the answer to that, but, whatever it is, I will continue to believe that the correct outlook on this issue is not to keep going after the Heller dictum and its progeny -- which should be accepted as settled law at this point -- and look to a cultural rather than a legal solution. To be specific: The problem is not today's unanimous SCOTUS. The problem is men who think it's OK to hit women and children. P.S. I am not aware of a single state in which speeding per se is a felony. There are states in which grossly excessive speeding becomes reckless driving, which (I think) can be either a felony or a high class of misdemeanor (I don't know state law that well). Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 26, 2014 12:26:59 PM The reach of the exception to the RKBA might be troubling to some extent but the opinion avoids the question by noting the claim was tacked on and that it was not a close question for avoidance purposes. I wouldn't read much into it for 2A purposes. Posted by: Joe | Mar 26, 2014 1:50:17 PM Joe -- Liberals never want to "read too much" into cases they lose, even if they lose them without getting a single vote. On the other hand, they're happy to proclaim the Next Coming of Miranda when they win a 5-4 case like Laffler. That one, decided two years and two weeks ago, was supposed to revolutionize criminal procedure in the defendant's favor. So far as I can tell from talking with people in the field, it has had next to no impact and has all but disappeared. Maybe the defense bar "read too much" into it. Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 26, 2014 3:36:36 PM Conservatives also don't want to "read too much" regarding cases they lose and if anything RKBA is more their concern ... though there is bipartisan support for it. But, hey, don't let me stop your selective targeting ... it's fairly safe when done w/o bullets. Posted by: Joe | Mar 26, 2014 4:24:53 PM Joe -- So could you tell me again how Laffler has been the big revolution it was heralded as being? I missed that in your post. Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 26, 2014 4:46:45 PM The Constitutional avoidance argument was essentially a way to backdoor a Constitutional argument that had been forfeited. Had it been raised directly, the Court probably would have said just that (that it was forfeited) and there would be even less of a comment on the merits of the issue. I don't think this case should be seen as commenting on the constitutional issue. I think their refusal to grant cert in 2nd Amendment cases should be seen as a comment that lower courts will be able to decide this issue for themselves, but I don't think this opinion should be read as standing for much in that debate. On the merits, it's an extremely broad interpretation. That being said, it's a common definition. It's more reasonable to believe Congress wanted to include offensive touchings (which is included in a substantial number of state statutes without being divisible) than only wanting to address the rare situation where there is a serious violent attack in a domestic context but is, for some reason, classified as a misdemeanor. As a matter of statutory interpretation, it's clear. Let someone else challenge the Constitutionality of the law if they wish and we can debate whether a state can bar a person from owning a gun if they were speeding 55 in a 35 (Class 1 Misdemeanor in Virginia). Posted by: Erik M | Mar 26, 2014 7:52:04 PM so another illegal decision from the 9 traitors in the USSC. loved this! misdemeanor crime of domestic violence wonder what invisible page in the constitution they found this line of bullshit. or is this what you lawyers call more "creative" interpretation of the Constitution of the United States? sorry like most of their decisions the last few decades. they are talking out their asses. Just hope I'm still here when it all falls in the pot and suddenly those twofaced traitors are faced with a few real Americans fixing to exercise their constitution given right to remove traitors from office perminently. Posted by: rodsmith | Mar 26, 2014 8:16:26 PM If in time it becomes necessary to form a militia to throw out a tyrannical regime, we will need an armed citizenry. The more who can bear arms gives us more of a chance to throw out the Redcoats. We may need to throw them out of our homes, bedrooms, closets and computer clouds as well. The sequence of the Second and Third Amendment had rhyme and reason. The fact that they follow the First Amendment seems to have further coherence to the threats to our liberties and why they created standards and mechanisms for protecting them. Things have not changed all that much. Some will argue that the Framers were dyslectic and meant to create a right to arm bears. I for one do not buy that. I do not think that the Court should have upheld any gun regulation Power of the state or feds here in this case. States don't have "rights"-- they have "powers". People have rights. Gun ownership, possession and the right to "bear arms" means the right to have a gun on the streets and not just squirreled away in the bedroom safe. This Supreme Court is not strong on the Second Amendment or any of the Amendments. Posted by: Liberty1stl | Mar 26, 2014 9:34:46 PM For what it's worth, the amendments were not ordered out of importance, but in the order of the parts of the Constitution they were intending to amend. The two amendments that never passed were the original first and second amendments. The current first amendment, iirc, would amend Article I section 9. I believe the current third amendment would amend Article II, but I could be wrong. The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth amendments would amend Article III. Here, they're procedurally in chronological order. The Eighth Amendment was going to go earlier because of the Bail provision, but the sentencing and fines part made sense too so they stuck it after. Posted by: Erik M | Mar 26, 2014 11:22:49 PM rodsmith: I have to laugh at the self-deception of those commenters who say that only liberal monkeys in black pajamas are capable of "judicial activism', however that term is bast-rd-zed". It is the whole rotten system! Posted by: albeed | Mar 27, 2014 8:56:36 AM With the Supreme Court discussing the secret service first amendment case and Justice Scalia wanting to apply a Whren-like analysis for First Amendment claims (i.e., even if the intent is to discriminate based on the content of speech, the Secret Service is fine if the actions could be objectively justified as protecting the President), I do wonder if the Court could very well apply an Atwater v. Lago Vista approach to the Second Amendment. In other words, we're not going to look at the content of what the crime is, just that it's a criminal conviction and the legislature deemed it as requiring a loss of right to carry a firearm. If we do that, the right would be ridiculously watered down since even a seatbelt violation could result in forfeiture of Second Amendment rights. I certainly don't like that idea, but I'm curious where they'd find a better line. Posted by: Erik M | Mar 27, 2014 12:25:37 PM I don't know what "Laffler" has to do with what I said. I also don't really understand rodsmith's comment. Again, if you think the rule accepted in Heller dicta violates the 2A, okay, but the ruling didn't substantively decide the question. As to the seatbelt comment, since a substantive liberty interest is at issue here, not just a "reasonable" search or seizure, there will have to be some outer limits. But, with over 40 states with RKBA provisions in their state constitution, etc., I don't know where that level of prohibition will arise. Heller dicta said "felony" and cases like this suggest some sort of violent crime and other concerns would be included even if they amount to misdemeanors. But, seatbelts? As is, there are a range of pretty petty "felonies" out there for that to be a good rule for denial of a fundamental right. Be it voting or gun ownership. Posted by: Joe | Mar 27, 2014 1:31:56 PM Well, I mentioned Whren and the current Supreme Court case where the substantive liberty interest of Free Speech is at issue, but Justice Scalia argued it was irrelevant. That's why I wondered where else the Fourth Amendment jurisprudence could be expanded to. Posted by: Erik M | Mar 27, 2014 4:37:22 PM my comment is simple joe. the criminals on the USSC have since the mid 1960's have been using every bullshit excuse to strip American citizens of their legal constitutional right to keep and bear arms. None of the illegal shit they have used like the above is even close to constitutional based on the 2nd. sorry that was placed in the constitution by our founds to specifically tell the govt you can't touch the guns. the only reason the damn document was even written was WE ALL HAD GUNS and were willing to use them to run the English out. we didn't need the constitution to give us permission to have them. we already did. it was to tell the gove to leave them the fuck alone. because the founders were not sure the new experimental govt we were creating wouldn't need to be controlled with them down the road for one reason and we had just went thought a war with a govt that needed to be cut down to size. as for "outer limits" this is one of those basic amendments. absent you committing a crime with the gun there are no limits. Posted by: rodsmith | Mar 28, 2014 5:08:23 PM Is the real argument here whether it's the type of crime, "domestic violence", or the classification of the crime, a "misdemeanor"? A felon cannot possess a firearm; NOW one convicted of a misdemeanor, a specific type misdemeanor, cannot possess a firearm. Domestic violence is unacceptable; yet one might ask the question, what other forms/types of misdemeanors might the government determine, at some future date, are egregious enough that one who commits one can be denied possession/ownership of a firearm? For those who would argue the government would not be so ridiculous as to include any other form of misdemeanor as a basis to deny possession of a firearm, think twice. If such an avenue could benefit the gun grabbers, they will have no hesitation to attempt to do so. So one day, in the far flung future just pissing on your neighbors bushes, a misdemeanor, could deny you gun ownership; after-all, for doing that you are a threat and a danger to society, and government must naturally do something about you. Liberty is lost a little bit at a time; once lost it is never to be regained. Posted by: Rick | Posted by: Rick | Mar 29, 2014 2:52:28 PM very very good rick! especially this part! "So one day, in the far flung future just pissing on your neighbors bushes, a misdemeanor, could deny you gun ownership;" after all this is already getting individuals illegal LIFE on the Registry Posted by: rodsmith | Mar 29, 2014 5:30:51 PM One issue not addressed above that I think is crucial is the relative informality of misdemeanor proceedings. Very often, incarceration is not on the table, meaning there may not even be a right to counsel. Even if the defendant is represented, the level of representation varies wildly. And often everyone involved (ADA, defense lawyer, defendant, judge) is under the impression that not too much is at stake. Any time you are talking about lifetime-long, after-the-fact consequences arising from misdemeanors, I get worried, because it is really not unusual for someone to plead to a misdemeanor just because they think they can pay court costs and get their entanglement with the courts over (so they think), or because going to trial would cost too much, or they are in jail and can't make bail and the plea offer is time served, etc. That doesn't mean there aren't serious "wife beaters" and abusers convicted of misdemeanors too. It's just that I think the category is likely to be *way* over inclusive. And it only makes things worse that police, under a lot of pressure to take d/v seriously, sometimes follow a "mandatory arrest/complaint" policy whenever they are called out for a domestic dispute, even if there is no evidence of more than yelling or slamming around pots and pans... Indeed, police sometimes also follow an "arrest both parties and let the DA figure it out" policy, which combined with the informality/low stakes concerns above, can actually lead to the *victim* taking a plea to a d/v misdemeanor. I'd like there to at least be a 10 year time limit or something. Combining the unreliability of the category with the lifetime extent is too much. Posted by: anon | Apr 2, 2014 1:59:28 PM This really helped me for my civics class and I felt that in McDonald v. City of Chicago the court made the right decision, however i guess that some reasons why we sometimes forfeigt this amendment is to ensure the safety of others. ~ AJ 8th grade Posted by: AJ | Nov 11, 2014 8:51:02 AM Post a comment Highlighting the enduring lack of transparency about pleas and the work of prosecutors ... and the problems this may create | Main | SCOTUS appears troubled by state judge's failure to recuse in capital case after past history as prosecutor in case February 29, 2016 "Can you think of another constitutional right that can be suspended based upon a misdemeanor violation of a State law?" The question in the title of this post is the question I have been asking again and again since the US Supreme Court decided in Heller and McDonald that the Second Amendment secured an individual right to keep and bare arms that was to be enforced in a manner comparable to other rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights. It also happened to be the question that Justice Clarence Thomas asked the federal government during oral argument today in Voisine v. United States. As highlighted by a whole bunch of press coverage spotlighted here at How Appealing, it is notable simply that Justice Thomas spoke up at oral argument after having been silent in that setting for a decade. But I trust regular readers will not be surprised to hear that I am excited that Justice Thomas decided he had to speak up to ask what I think is the very hard question about the meaning and reach of the Second Amendment that lacks a very good answer if Heller and McDonald are serious about the need to treat the Second Amendment seriously like all other rights enumerated in the US Constitution's Bill of Rights. Not only did Justice Thomas ask this important question toward the tail end of oral argument in Voisine, he followed up with a First Amendment analogy that I find pretty compelling: JUSTICE THOMAS: [L]et's say that a publisher is reckless about the use of children, and what could be considered indecent [placement in an ad] and that that triggers a violation of, say, a hypothetical law against the use of children in these ads, and let's say it's a misdemeanor violation. Could you suspend that publisher's right to ever publish again? MS. EISENSTEIN: Your Honor, I don't think you could suspend the right to ever publish again, but I think that you could limit, for example, the manner and means by which publisher... JUSTICE THOMAS: So how is that different from suspending your Second Amendment right? Critically, even though I do not believe the government here had any satisfactory answers for Justice Thomas's tough Second Amendment questions, the Justice was not even making his arguments as forcefully as he could have in the context of the federal criminal prosecution at issue in Voisine. Critically, Voisine is not a case in which someone previously convicted of a state "reckless" misdemeanor is now seeking a legal declaration that he has Second Amendment rights. Rather, Stephen Voisine is a schnook who was subject to a federal felony prosecution (and as much as 10 years in federal prison) simply for possessing a rifle (while apparently hunting a bald eagle!?!?) because a number of years earlier he pleaded guilty to a Maine domestic violence misdemeanor. For the record, I am not a big fan of Maine schnooks who in the past were involved in a domestic incident and years later go out hunting bald eagles. But I am even less of a fan of the creation of new jurisprudential doctrines that would allow the federal government to bring a felony prosecution of an individual engaged in what might be otherwise constitutionally protected activity simply based on a long-ago misdemeanor violation of a State law. That is the reality of what is going on in Voisine, and even folks not supportive of Second Amendment rights should be concerned that a case like Voisine could end up casting poor light on other constitutional protections if his conviction gets upheld in this case. Some prior related posts: February 29, 2016 at 03:43 PM | Permalink Comments For lots of reasons - so glad he finally spoke. Silence is power, but really, youth wants to know. Posted by: beth | Feb 29, 2016 4:39:57 PM A schnook is a "fool," someone easily duped. Why are you using the word here? Your concerns are valid as a whole especially since you are consistent about them (e.g., voting rights matter to you too as does 1A rights for sex offenders) so why a word that trivializes? The guy here didn't just commit some trivial offense akin to someone who had some pot or something. The person here was "convicted in 2002 and 2008 of assaulting his wife in violation of Maine's misdemeanor assault statutes" going by the opinion below. Twenty-nine months after his last conviction, again going by the opinion below, "six firearms and ammunition" were found during a search (4A rights are limited upon conviction). For whatever reason, he was found guilty for only one. But, just because he didn't have the gun to harm some other woman (guys who abuse guns that way generally don't) doesn't erase that -- and not in the distant past -- this "schnook" was a two timer domestic violence offender. I'm concerned with lines here too but okay? The federal crime concern sounds like a federalism issue. Also, assault, especially twice, easily can be a felony. If anything, too often, abusers don't get enough of a punishment. Finally, 2A are special in that unlike belief, speech etc. there would -- at some point -- be a limit for violent offenders. cf. Alito dissenting from denial of cert in a RFRA case IN PRISON. Still, convictions do burden other rights, even misdemeanors I gather. Do only felonious sex offenders have their travel and associational rights restricted? Posted by: Joe | Feb 29, 2016 4:42:07 PM I mean "schnook" in terms of a stupid person, Joe.... and I think you are looking at the record of William Armstong, not the record of Stephen Voisine. Voisine's case involved two misdemeanor cases involving his girlfriend (in 2003 and 2005), following by getting arrested for killing a bald eagle with a rifle. (Notably, it seems killing a bald eagle is a federal misdemeanor, but the possession of a rifle by someone who had the wrong kind of long-ago misdemeanor prior made this a felony case and now has it up before SCOTUS.) Someone too stupid to know it was a bad idea to kill a bald eagle and also not to realize that just having a gun risked a felony prosecution strikes me, Joe, as a classic "schnook" as I tend to use the term. That all said, Joe, you are right that "assault, especially twice, easily can be a felony." So these defendants should have been charged with a felony if society thought it important that they lose a lot of rights. But they are only guilty of a misdemeanor, and I really fear a constitutional jurisprudence where misdemeanor convictions (which often may not include right to counsel or all the traditional jury rights and related procedural protections) can be the basis for greatly reducing rights. (There are, roughly speaking, more than 10 million misdemeanor cases filed each year, and modern laws are so expansive that all of us likely could be charged with one each week based just on our behavior driving around town.) Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 29, 2016 5:31:57 PM Should a person's 2nd Amendments rights be taken away for a non-violent felony? What if I plead to a forged check case and get probation but a felony conviction. Why should I be prevented from possessing a gun to protect my family? Posted by: Don't Ask | Feb 29, 2016 5:59:03 PM Just remember everyone: two legs good, four legs bad and some constitutional amendments are more equal than others. Posted by: Daniel | Feb 29, 2016 6:00:03 PM While I think the question is a good one and is one that should be asked (and probably will be another day), I feel it is not relevant to the question presented. Here, the statute precludes one convicted of domestic battery from owning a firearm. Further, that statute promulgates the requisite intent that a state domestic battery law must contain in order to be convicted of the federal felony possession of a firearm. The federal statute requires knowingly/intentionally mens rea. The Maine statute at issue also states that one may also be convicted of a domestic battery recklessly. As a result, Maine's domestic battery law does not fall under the bailiwick of the federal statute, thus the petitioner/defendant could not be convicted under the statute. However, I'm not exactly sure what role the jury's finding of fact plays here. He may have been found to be reckless, he may have committed the battery knowing/intentionally. Or the jury instruction might have stated either/or to convict. Posted by: Mike | Feb 29, 2016 7:09:23 PM Prof. Berman, I agree with that. I think there's an easier argument to make that some violent misdemeanors are better candidates for Second Amendment restrictions than non-violent felonies. Once you recognize that a declaration of what a felony is is entirely decided by the legislature, the term "felony" loses a lot of force in this argument (compared to a traditionally narrow group of felonies). An even easier example than the one you used is one in Virginia. If you don't pay your fines and court costs (or child support as another example), your license is suspended. It used to be, if you drove with a suspended license three times, you'd be declared a Habitual Offender. While people are no longer declared Habitual Offenders, people previously declared still hold that status. If you drive twice as one, it's a felony. So, in Virginia, you could be denied your second amendment rights for driving five times to work to pay outstanding fines. Posted by: Erik M | Feb 29, 2016 8:42:22 PM I used the SCOTUSBlog page on the case to read the opinion below, but yes, it did involve Armstrong as well. Duly noted. So, let me focus on Voisine. http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/voisine-v-united-states/ "Voisine's case involved two misdemeanor cases involving his girlfriend." I realize you are concerned with the breadth of a misdemeanor rule and didn't deny there is a concern there as a general matter. My concern is the use of "schnook" and this case specifically. Your phrasing here does the same darn thing. WHAT sort of "case" matters, especially when drawing appropriate lines. In prison, people have the right to practice religion and very well (though only two states allow it) might warrant even the right to vote, but it's a bit trickier to give them the right to bear arms. We aren't dealing with Martha Stewart here. "Voisine was convicted in 2003 and 2005 of assaulting a woman" which is something a tad harsher than "schnook" would do(do murderers, e.g., get called that for being foolish? no; it is usually tossed to trivial offenders, almost as a term of endearment). Anyway, as noted by the SCOTUSBlog recap at the end, Thomas' questions do have answers, so the 2A isn't unique there. But, the guy didn't merely lose his gun rights for violating bald eagle laws, even if that was how he was caught in the end. The "schnook" was twice convicted of domestic abuse, a violent crime. This provides a much more reasonable link, the sort of thing important here when drawing lines for a constitutional right that is treated differently as noted than others and for good reason, to the limit at issue here. Posted by: Joe | Mar 1, 2016 1:23:35 PM ETA: "in prison" regarding voting rights means those convicted of felonies ... not sure about misdemeanors in each state and the rules for those not convicted are also mixed. Posted by: Joe | Mar 1, 2016 1:25:06 PM "So these defendants should have been charged with a felony if society thought it important that they lose a lot of rights" That's two-edged sword. First, domestic violence is probably something not treated harshly enough, in part because of the sensitive nature of using intimates as witnesses and dealing with children etc. So, harsher punishments here in various cases likely warranted. But, felonies will also result in more jail time and other harsh results. This is something you have written that you are concerned about. It seems to me perhaps better to target things more narrowly here, including less jail time and so forth but more concern about specific matters -- e.g., two time offenders access to dangerous arms [especially outside of self-defense/the home] or access to the victims [which can have certain travel or other rights being affected, rights deemed fundamental as well]. Concern for procedural protections also is duly noted though not sure if they were not provided here (did the people plea down? in various cases, lawyers etc. are given for lesser offenses). The importance of the right can be factored in there as they should be when constitutional rights are burdened for sex offenders, including for "civil" offenses. Posted by: Joe | Mar 1, 2016 1:37:46 PM @joe What I hear you saying is that you support the "vulnerable victims" exception to the Constitution? Is that correct? Posted by: Daniel | Mar 1, 2016 1:43:11 PM Post a comment "Can you think of another constitutional right that can be suspended based upon a misdemeanor violation of a State law?" | Main | Former AG Mukasey delivers "clear" message to GOP on SRCA: "Law enforcement asks you to pass this bill." February 29, 2016 SCOTUS appears troubled by state judge's failure to recuse in capital case after past history as prosecutor in case This AP report, headlined "Justices hear judicial-bias claim in death-row case," reports on today's SCOTUS oral argument in the Williams case involving Eighth Amendment and Due Process claims arising from a jurist's failure to recuse himself in a Pennsylvania capital case. Here are the basics: The Supreme Court on Monday appeared likely to rule that a Philadelphia district attorney-turned-state high court judge should not have taken part in the case of a prison inmate whose death-penalty prosecution he had personally approved nearly 30 years earlier. The justices indicated that inmate Terrance "Terry" Williams should get a new hearing in Pennsylvania's Supreme Court because then-Chief Justice Ronald Castille voted to reinstate Williams' death sentence in 2014. A lower court judge had thrown out the sentence because prosecutors working for Castille had hidden evidence that might have helped the defense in Williams' 1986 murder trial. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was among several justices who focused on Castille's actions in 1986, when he was the Philadelphia district attorney. "The judge here actually signed his name to the review of the facts and the decision to seek the death penalty," Sotomayor said. When Philadelphia Deputy District Attorney Ronald Eisenberg told the justices that the passage of time had lessened concerns about bias, Justice Anthony Kennedy was almost incredulous. "So the fact that he spent 30 years in solitary confinement actually helps the state?" Kennedy said. The conditions of Williams' confinement could be an issue in the outcome of his case. Pennsylvania has not executed anyone since 1999, and Gov. Tom Wolf has declared a moratorium on executions. But even if the chance of Williams' being put to death is small, he continues to be held in isolation along with other death row inmates in Pennsylvania. The court also confronted whether Castille's participation in the case made a difference on a court that ruled unanimously against Williams. The full SCOUS oral transcript in Williams v. Pennsylvania is now available at this link. As always, I would be grateful for help from readers to identify any especially noteworthy (i.e., blog-worthy) interchanges from the argument. February 29, 2016 at 05:42 PM | Permalink Comments While I think the solitary confinement is a big deal for Justice Kennedy, I suspect others will probably prefer to focus on the Judicial bias issue. I could see Chief Justice Roberts even joining an opinion for that. Posted by: Erik M | Feb 29, 2016 8:32:59 PM It seemed to me the justices were struggling to find a limiting principle. How to cabin a ruling in favor of Williams. To draw an analogy to traditional notions of ineffective assistance of counsel, which is usually dealt with by Strickland v Washington, what happened in Williams v Penn could be compared to the very small category of cases that come under the Cronic standard. That is, it constitutes a breakdown of the justice system in a structural way. The Court wants to rule for Williams, but are concerned about the fallout in the context of disqualifying judges. Kennedy particularly said he wasn't as worried about this case but the next ones. bruce Posted by: bruce cunningham | Mar 1, 2016 7:12:10 AM Whatever the limiting principle, this case must be reversed. Outrageous the the prosecutor is the judge of his own cause. Posted by: observer | Mar 2, 2016 9:04:49 AM Post a comment SCOTUS appears troubled by state judge's failure to recuse in capital case after past history as prosecutor in case | Main | Via 6-2 vote, SCOTUS upholds broader interpretation of child-porn mandatory minimum provision The Hill has now published this notable new op-ed authored by Michael Mukasey and Ronal Serpas under the headline "Federal sentencing reform will aid law enforcement." Here are excerpts: The Senate is back in session amid recent warnings from Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) that federal sentencing reform would jeopardize public safety. They say the country cannot risk reform. As a former attorney general under President George W. Bush who has overseen thousands of prosecutions, and a police chief with three decades of experience, we have dedicated our lives to the safety of this country. We can firmly say that sentencing reform done right will not harm public safety. In fact, it will enhance it. We were some of the original supporters of the 1990s tough on crime laws. After decades of enforcing them, we and our colleagues police chiefs and U.S. attorneys now recognize many provisions, like overly harsh sentencing, went too far. Much has been learned in the last 25 years about who should be locked up and for how long. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act recalibrates sentencing policy to meet the needs of the 21st century. Lowering mandatory minimum sentences for low-level crimes will reduce unnecessary incarceration. This will allow us to better direct law enforcement resources to arresting, prosecuting, and punishing the most serious and violent criminals. Thats why we and 130 of our law enforcement colleagues wrote to congressional leadership urging them to pass the act. Those standing with us include two former U.S. attorneys general, two directors of the FBI, 21 sitting police chiefs and 68 former U.S. attorneys. Our message to Republican leadership is clear: Law enforcement asks you to pass this bill. Targeted and appropriate sentencing is a superior approach to controlling crime.... The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act offers a better path forward. It would reduce mandatory minimum sentences for repeat nonviolent drug offenders. And it would allow judges more discretion to depart from mandatory minimums for low-level offenders if after hearing specific circumstances of the crime they feel it is appropriate. Contrary to what opponents have claimed, the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act will not swing open the prison doors and release thousands of hardcore violent criminals onto the streets. Every single prisoner eligible for early release will be carefully scrutinized by judges. And only if the judges feel its appropriate will they release them. This judicial check ensures the worst criminals will remain where they belong in prison while those who pose little threat can get off the taxpayers tab and begin productively contributing to society. The bill would also expand the use of mandatory minimums for offenders with previous convictions for violent crimes, and it creates new mandatory minimums for terrorism-related crimes, giving federal law enforcement additional mechanisms to keep those most dangerous behind bars. Now is the time for Congress to act. Reducing the population of our overcrowded prisons is one of the few goals on which those on the left and right agree. We want to make it clear where law enforcement stands: Not only is passing federal legislation to reform mandatory minimum sentences necessary to reduce incarceration, it will also help us keep crime at its historic low. With Fort Funston in the news recently as one of the many parks to possibly restrict dogs under proposed new National Park Service rules, it is important to remember that the prime dog-walking spot can also be a dangerous one. We were reminded of that fact this past weekend, when the San Francisco Fire Department was called to the park in response to a dog stranded on the steep cliff. According to SFFD's Facebook page, this all went down Sunday at around 12:35 p.m. The dog, pictured above, was apparently stuck about thirty feet down the side of the cliff. Firefighters were able to rescue the dog, after apparently staking in several points (pictured below) off which to rappel. It is unclear whether or not the dog was injured. As the debate continues to rage as to whether or not certain areas of Fort Funston should switch from off-leash to on-leash, or become entirely dog free altogether, it is perhaps import to remember that regardless of the official rules, sometimes it is simply the best move to keep your furry friend close. Related: Fort Funston, Ocean Beach To Partially Ban Dogs Under Proposed Rule Change That threat video ostensibly posted by ISIS/ISIL last week which made direct mention of Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg as well as Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey doesn't concern Zuck too much. As he said in a wide-ranging interview with German publication Die Welt am Sonntag (as translated via CNN Money), "There have been worse threats." But, he says, he is "very concerned, but not because of the video." He goes on to say, "I think the bigger issue is that what Facebook stands for in the world is giving people a voice and spreading ideas and rationalism," and he adds, "Our North Star is that we want to give the most voice possible to the most people." He clarifies again that Facebook has limits to free speech, and that the company "work[s] closely with governments and local organizations to be certain we are applying [Community Standards] appropriately for local conditions and to identify and remove hateful or threatening content." In the threat video, a slide in the video addressed the social network's practice of shutting down accounts that support ISIS, saying, "You announce daily that you suspended many of our accounts. And to you we say: Is that all you can do?" Previously: ISIS Threatens Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey A federal trial in the civil rights lawsuit against the City of San Francisco regarding the March 2014 shooting death of 28-year-old Alejandro Nieto is set to begin today, as the Examiner reports, at the Phillip Burton Federal Building, and protesters are set to rally there as Nieto's family seeks some long-awaited justice. As KRON 4 reports: After having two claims dismissed in pretrial proceedings, the lawsuit now contains three claims: use of excessive force and denial of the parents right to a familial relationship in violation of the U.S. Constitution, and wrongful death under California law. Attorneys for the family will argue that Officers Jason Sawyer, Roger Morse, Richard Schiff, and Nathan Chew caused the wrongful death of the unarmed Nieto on Bernal Hill when they open fired on him, though the SFPD has long contended that Nieto pulled out a Taser gun that appeared to be a real weapon. In January, though, we learned that the family has a witness from the scene who claims that Nieto's hands never left his jacket pockets, and he was shot four times and fell to the ground before he even had time to pull his hands out. The circumstances of the confrontation remain strange, but what we understand is that a passerby in the dog park that evening decided that Nieto seemed suspicious and appeared armed, and called the cops. Nieto, who carried a stun gun because he was on his way to work as a bouncer at a Mission club and liked to come to the park to his eat his dinner before hand, was then confused by the confrontation with police a few minutes later. At least one other witness has said that Nieto appeared non-threatening. The official account from police, however, claimed that Nieto was acting erratically and seemed perhaps mentally ill at the time. They also say he refused multiple requests to show his hands. A Medical Examiner's report said Nieto had a history of both aggressive behavior and auditory hallucinations, and was noncompliant in taking his anti-psychotic medications, which were not found in his system in an autopsy. Trace cannabinoids were, however, but those can remain in the body long after smoking marijuana. Following the deaths of Mario Woods and Amilcar Perez Lopez at the hands of SF police, the Nieto case is sure to draw even more attention now. All previous coverage of Alex Nieto's shooting on SFist. In what will come as a surprise to no one, we learn today of a new report that ranks San Francisco as having the highest quality of life of any U.S. city. To which we say: Well, yeah, of course. (And also: That's why it's so expensive and everyone wants to be here.) A study conducted by Mercer, a global human resources consulting company, seeks to determine which cities are awesome and which are not. The idea being that this information will help companies appropriately compensate employees who are placed somewhere by their employer. San Francisco is ranked as the top city in the States, well above both New York City and Los Angeles. Mercer ranked 230 cities around the globe, looking at 39 different factors that include recreation, economic environment, and public services and transportation. Following San Francisco in the list of U.S. cities is Boston, Honolulu, Chicago, followed by New York City. However, lest we get too cocky, it is perhaps important to note that not a single United States city landed in the top 25 (San Francisco is number 28). The number one spot on the list goes to Vienna, whereas the bottom spot on the list is reserved for Baghdad. Anyway, perhaps keep these finding in mind the next time someone publishes one of those "why I'm leaving San Francisco" open letters. Also, London is ranked number 39, so take that Benedict Evans. Related: 'GQ' Declares S.F. 20th Worst-Dressed U.S. City Nearly a year ago, Pubic Defender Jeff Adachi alleged that San Francisco sheriff's deputies were systematically forcing county jail inmates to fight one another while they gambled on the outcomes of the brawls. That's been under investigation by local and federal authorities ever since, and today the Chronicle has word that District Attorney George Gascon will announce criminal charges against the deputies believed to be responsible. The president of the deputies' union, who denounced the whole situation as political and overblown, confirmed that deputies Scott Neu, Clifford Chiba, and Eugene Jones will face charges. Ricardo Palikiko Garcia and Stanley Harris, two inmates, blew the whistle on the fights and blamed Neu in particular, alleging that they were threatened with violence or denied food if they were unwilling to do combat. Harris claims Neu would cruelly train him, forcing him to do excessive exercise as many as 200 pushups in an hour. Neu, who had previously been accused of three instances of sexual assault on inmates, was fired in April, a month after the allegations surfaced. Its hard to imagine a place where you would be more vulnerable, when youre behind bars and you have no choice when you are essentially assaulted and enslaved by state actors, Adachi said of the incidents. It is my hope that this will bring in a new era of reform in San Francisco County jails." These are serious crimes that damage the moral authority of law enforcement, District Attorney Gascon added in a press release. Subjecting inmates who are in the care and custody of the state to degrading and inhumane treatment makes a mockery of our justice system and undermines any efforts towards rehabilitation. New allegations also state that Deputy Neu forced inmates to gamble for food and clean clothing. He faces more than 10 years in prison on four felony counts of Assault by Officer under Color of Authority, four felony counts of Criminal Threats, and misdemeanor counts of Inhumanity to Prisoner and Cruel and Unusual Punishment of Prisoner. Eugene Jones faces two Felony Counts of Assault by Officer under Color of Authority and misdemeanor counts of Cruel and Unusual Punishment of Prisoner and Willful Omission to Perform Official Duty for a total of five years imprisonment. Clifford Chiba faces misdemeanor counts of Cruel and Unusual Punishment of Prisoner and Willful Omission to Perform Official Duty for a potential sentence of one-and-a-half years in County Jail if convicted. Previously: Public Defender: SF Jail Inmates Are Made To Fight While Sheriff's Deputies Bet On Them Viewers can double their pleasure when two of Wisconsins oldest art organizations (Wisconsin Visual Artists and Wisconsin Designer Crafts Council) exhibit their works at the Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) in West Bend, now through March 27. It takes a heap of dedication to build art organizations that produce quality works, if only because the definition of quality is often unclear. The Biennial is, as one would expect, wildly varied with 52 works culled from 640 possibilities. Many areas of Wisconsin are represented (Green Bay has the most contributors) and the sense of history emerging from the exhibition is worth considering. Leslie Loomis Vansen, a longtime UW-Milwaukee teacher, scores with skeins of color snaking across her energetic painting, Clathrate. Three of her former students are also in the exhibition and Vansen is pleased to note all three have pursued differing styles. Fred Stonehouse, another artist/educator, recently completed a solo smash at MOWA, and two of his students were juried in for this 2016 Biennial, suggesting that the acorn doesnt fall far from the tree. Hog Butcher for the World, a bodacious woodblock print by S. V. Medaris (Mount Horeb), earned chops (plus a major monetary award) for craftsmanship, Bethann Morans (Fort Atkinson) beautifully brushey painting of Brussels sprouts in a winter scape is superb, and the ghost of Aaron Bohrod haunts Jacob A. Pfeiffers Shadow Box (oil on panel), a knockout of realism. A strong thread runs through the exhibition, leading us to spring, which Phil the groundhog says will be early. Outside of the floor two Hyde Gallery, on the west facing balcony, a trio of vertical forms, (Mop Sculpture by Melissa Dorn Richards), point upward as if to explore space. Downstairs, view the progress of a bridge linking MOWA with a charming park beyond and enjoy the Wisconsin crafts, too. Stay on top of the news of the day Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays. SIGN UP Through March 27 at Museum of Wisconsin Art, 205 Veterans Ave., West Bend. For more information, visit wisconsinart.org. This blog is about the political struggle I am engaging in Singapore. The title "Singapore Alternatives" is chosen because my only political dream is to build a true alternative in Singapore. Alternative to PAP government, of course. As the Alternative, the political party must be able to have the visions and policy insights to lead Singapore. I will write on various policy views and personal beliefs that I think is crucial in building up the Alternative. All constructive comments are welcome. HINTON, Iowa | A tubing course and campground along the Floyd River in rural Plymouth County will likely be shut down this summer due to a decision Monday by a county regulatory board. On Monday, the Plymouth County Board of Adjustment voted 4-0 to deny a conditional-use permit for Pipe Dream Camping and Tubing. In an interview after the vote, board chair Nancy Anderson cited a series of public complaints about the facility, located about two miles north of Hinton, just off U.S. Highway on Jasmine Road. Pipe Dream owner Brandon Bradshaw said he was still trying to understand the board's decision. "We've never had an incident down here as far as safety concerns go," Bradshaw said. "We've always been family friendly." The rustic recreational area along the tree-lined river opened in 2009. Anderson said Bradshaw's five-year permit expires in May. The facility was scheduled to reopen on May 22. "We will not be able to open this year," Bradshaw said. Anderson said the adjustment board asked Bradshaw to design a plan to address alleged public safety issues at the facility. She added he could also appeal the board's decision in Plymouth County District Court. As of Monday afternoon, a post on Pipe Dream's Facebook page had garnered numerous comments supporting the business. WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump's distinctive rhetorical style -- think of a drunk with a bullhorn reading aloud James Joyce's "Finnegans Wake" under water -- poses an almost insuperable challenge to people whose painful duty is to try to extract clarity from his effusions. For example, last week, during a long stream of semi-consciousness in Fort Worth, this man who as president would nominate members of the federal judiciary vowed to "open up" libel laws to make it easier to sue -- to intimidate and punish -- people who write "negative" things. Well. Trump, the thin-skinned tough guy, resembles a campus crybaby who has wandered out of his "safe space." It is not news that he has neither respect for nor knowledge of the Constitution, and he probably is unaware that he would have to "open up" many Supreme Court First Amendment rulings in order to achieve his aim. His obvious aim is to chill free speech, for the comfort of the political class, of which he is now a gaudy ornament. But at least Trump has, at last, found one thing to admire from the era of America's Founding. Unfortunately, but predictably, it is one of the worst things done then -- the Sedition Act of 1798. The act made it a crime to "write, print, utter or publish, or cause it to be done, or assist in it, any false, scandalous, and malicious writing against the government of the United States, or either House of Congress, or the President, with intent to defame, or bring either into contempt or disrepute, or to excite against either the hatred of the people." Now, 215 years after the Sedition Act expired in 1801, Trump vows to use litigiousness to improve the accuracy and decorousness of public discourse. The night before his promise to make America great again through censorship, Trump, during the Houston debate, said that his sister, a federal judge, "[signed] a certain bill" and that [Supreme Court] Justice Samuel Alito also "signed that bill." So, the leading Republican candidate, the breadth of whose ignorance is the eighth wonder of the world, actually thinks that judges "sign bills." Trump is a presidential aspirant who would flunk an eighth-grade civics exam. More than anything Marco Rubio said about Trump in Houston, it was Rubio's laughter at Trump that galled the perhaps bogus billionaire. Like all bullies, Trump is a coward, and like all those who feel the need to boast about being strong and tough, he is neither. Unfortunately, Rubio recognized reality and found his voice 254 days after Trump's scabrous announcement of his candidacy to rescue America from Mexican rapists. And 222 days after Trump disparaged John McCain's war service ("I like people that weren't captured"). And 95 days after Trump said that maybe a protestor at his rally "should have been roughed up." And 95 days after Trump re-tweeted that 81 percent of white murder victims are killed by blacks. (Eighty-two percent are killed by whites.) And 94 days after Trump said he supports torture "even if it doesn't work." And 79 days after Trump said he might have approved the internment of Japanese-Americans during World II the Second World War. And 72 days after Trump proved that he does not know the nuclear triad from the Nutcracker ballet. And 70 days after Trump, having been praised by Vladimir Putin, reciprocated by praising the Russian murderer and dictator. And so on. Rubio's epiphany -- announcing the obvious with a sense of triumphant discovery -- about Trump being a "con man" and a "clown act" is better eight months late than never. If, however, it is too late to rescue Rubio from a Trump nomination, this will be condign punishment for him and the rest of the Republican Party's coalition of the timid. "Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,/In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side." So begins James Russell Lowell's 1845 poem protesting America's war with Mexico. The Republicans' moment is here. We are about to learn much about Republican officeholders who are now deciding whether to come to terms with Trump, and with the shattering of their party as a vessel of conservatism. Trump's collaborators, like the remarkably plastic Chris Christie ("I don't think [Trump's] temperament is suited for [the presidency]"), will find that nothing will redeem the reputations they will ruin by placing their opportunism in the service of his demagogic cynicism and anti-constitutional authoritarianism. Ringing chastisement of mandatory prison sentences for nonviolent crimes from the federal bench may have become a new and welcome -- Nebraska tradition. Members of Congress should pay heed. Only they can rectify this situation; they created it. The United States has about five percent of the worlds population. But about 20 percent of the people in prison around the world are behind bars in America. Overly harsh sentences required under federal law are the major reason why. Recently U.S. District Judge John Gerrard told a recovering meth user that the 10-year sentence he was required to impose was "ridiculous." It didnt fit the crime. The only reason Im imposing the sentence I am imposing today is because I have to, Gerrard said. Thats what Congress mandates." Last June Gerrard told another recovering meth user and mother of two that she was a poster child for the unfairness of mandatory 10-year sentences. In both cases Gerrard said that a short prison sentence would have been appropriate, but not one that lasted an entire decade. Gerrards castigation of the federal sentencing requirements echoed that delivered back in the 1990s by U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf of Omaha, who railed against the longer sentences mandated by Congress for cocaine that was in the form of crack instead of power. Quoting a line from Oliver Twist, Kopf said, In this case the law is an ass. Congress reduced the disparity on sentences for the two forms of cocaine in 2010, but more reform is needed. It shouldnt be this hard. There is bipartisan support for reducing the mandatory minimum sentences. The high-profile conservative Charles G. Koch wrote in an op-ed column published in the Sunday Lincoln Journal Star that families and entire communities are being ripped apart by laws that unjustly destroy the lives of low-level and nonviolent offenders. To some fanfare the bipartisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 was unveiled last year by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, a Republican, and Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, a Democrat. A similar bill is pending in the House. At the time there was optimism that the bill would make it through Congress. It was voted out of committee in October. Now its prospects seem uncertain, as Congress has become more preoccupied with the upcoming election. One would think the Republican-controlled legislative chambers would have plenty of time on their hands to approve worthwhile legislation, given Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells determination to not even allow hearings or a vote on any U.S. Supreme Court nominee named by President Barack Obama. The descriptions that sitting federal judges have given to mandatory sentences for nonviolent crimes are appropriate. As long as federal lawmakers continue to dither on reform, the adjectives apply equally as well to Congress. Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star I have a friend who has cancer and she says shes going through chemotherapy. But what is chemotherapy and how does it act? She says she gets sick from it. Chemotherapy is a generic term to describe any drug used to treat cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, there are more than 100 chemotherapy drugs used today. The specific chemotherapy drugs that are utilized on an individual basis are selected based on the type of cancer and how much cancer is in the body. Chemotherapy can be used for many different reasons related to cancer including: keeping the cancer from spreading, slowing the cancers growth, killing cancer cells that may spread to other parts of the body, relieving symptoms such as pain or blockages caused by cancer and curing cancer. Chemotherapy acts by killing cancer cells. Specifically, chemotherapy drugs target and kill any cell thats growing fast, even if its not a cancer cell. Therefore, some normal healthy cells that grow quickly such as hair, skin, and cells in the stomach and intestines can be damaged, which can cause side effects. However, most normal non-cancerous cells can repair themselves over time. Because chemotherapy drugs are very strong and affect fast-growing cells as mentioned above, they can and often do cause side effects including but not limited to: nausea (feeling sick to your stomach), vomiting, hair loss, bone marrow changes, mouth and skin changes, memory changes, and emotional changes. Many of these side effects can be treated, so I recommend talking with your doctor about strategies for minimizing any side effects if present. How worried do we need to be about touching things like railings, doorknobs, tables and menus? Are people too skittish or should we be carrying wipes everywhere? Indeed, there are countless bacteria, viruses, and other germs that occur naturally in the environment all around us including on common surfaces we touch every day. Because some of these germs can be spread from person-to-person by touching various surfaces and then interacting with other people, the most important thing we can all do is to wash our hands appropriately throughout the day and especially after doing certain activities or when around individuals who are more prone to infection such as the elderly, infants and children, and those in the nursing home or hospital. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are recommendations for when and how to wash your hands to prevent spreading germs. You should wash your hands before, during and after preparing food; before eating food; before and after caring for someone who is sick; before and after treating a cut or wound; after using the toilet; after changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet; after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing; after touching an animal, animal feed or animal waste; after handling pet food or pet treats; and after touching garbage. The process of washing your hands should including wetting your hands first with clean running water, then lather your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails and scrub for at least 20 seconds, then rinse with clean running water. If water or soap are not available, the next best thing to use is hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer is not as effective as hand washing when hands are visibly dirty or greasy but is better than no hand hygiene. Are probiotics good for you? Do they work? Probiotics are bacteria that naturally live in the body and help it work well. Some people call probiotics good or friendly bacteria. In their natural form in the body, probiotics work by helping defend the body from infections caused by other bacteria or germs by keeping the growth and spread of other bacteria at bay. Probiotics get into your body on their own, so you can get benefits without doing or taking anything extra. However, some people take probiotics in pill form as a marketed supplement. Current evidence suggests that probiotics in their natural form in the body does help the body but there is no good evidence that taking probiotics in pill form does any good or has any added benefit. Therefore, the general recommendation is that you should not take probiotics as a supplement unless you talk to your doctor first about whether or not they may benefit you as an individual. Probiotic supplements, like all supplements, are not regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the way standard medicines are, which means the companies that make these supplements dont have to prove that the ingredients listed on the label are actually in the bottle. Moreover, there is a small chance probiotic supplements could do harm. In particular, people with weak immune systems (for example, people on chemotherapy for cancer treatment) should be extra careful because taking probiotic supplements could put them at risk for developing an infection. Is there really a drug that lengthens your eyelashes? Will that harm you in some way? Indeed, there is a medication in the form of an eye drop currently on the market for treatment of hypotrichosis of the eyelashes, which is defined as a loss or reduction of growth of the eyelashes. Interestingly, this medication was initially used for the treatment of glaucoma (increased pressure inside the eye) and as a side effect, some individuals noticed their eyelashes had increased growth. This reported side effect led to further studies to document the effectiveness of this medication for treating eyelash hypotrichosis. The majority of randomized studies done over a 16-week period showed no benefit of this medication for eyelash hypotrichosis. However, a non-randomized, prospective study of 44 individuals did report benefit of this medication for eyelash hypotrichosis with a longer course of therapy showing that after being treated for two years, complete or moderate eyelash regrowth occurred in about 25 percent of individuals and no growth was seen in the 10 patients not using the medication. Side effects with use of this medication for eyelash hypotrichosis can include eyelid reddening and discoloration, discoloration of the skin around the eye, and other eye-related symptoms such as dry-eye, eye irritation, and others. This medication should not be prescribed for individuals without eyelash hypotrichosis who simply desire an increase in the length of their eyelashes as all medications do have potential side effects that could result in the medication causing more overall harm than good. Thanks to Jim for the link! The U.S. Army's elite Delta Force operations to target, capture or kill top ISIS operatives have begun in Iraq, after several weeks of covert preparation, an administration official with direct knowledge of the force's activities told CNN. The official said the group has spent the last several weeks preparing, including setting up safe houses, establishing informant networks and coordinating operations with Iraqi and Peshmerga units. It's the same strategy that Special Operations forces have used in previous deployments to combat zones. Several Pentagon and military officials declined to discuss specifics of the so-called Expeditionary Targeting Force with CNN. But Defense Secretary Ash Carter seemed to confirm in comments made at the Pentagon on Monday that the Special Operations forces had begun missions. "The only thing I'll say is the (Expeditionary Targeting Force) is in position, it is having an effect and operating, and I expect it to be a very effective part of our acceleration campaign," he said during a press conference. According to Carter, the force will conduct raids, seize places and people, and free ISIS-held hostages and prisoners. Carter also told reporters that the force would cause ISIS "to fear that anywhere, anytime, it may be struck." Interesting. So Carter decided that it was appropriate to inform the public that Delta was on the ground operating in Iraq? Additionally he stated that they have been setting up safe houses and establishing an informer network?Just plain fucking wow.Mark my words. Our people will die because of this leak. Imagine if you were a member of ISIS..especially leadership. What would you do after this?Personally I'd be out hunting Delta with a force equipped with at least gun trucks and if I could spare them from the fight in Syria, probably tanks and APCs too.The idea wouldn't be to kill Delta or a member of the Expeditionary Targeting Force, the goal would be to capture a couple of them. I'd do my best to penetrate this informer network and put on a well laid trap. I'd bait it with something too irresistible to pass up and then I'd wait. And if I was some scum sucking ISIS bastard I'd capture that US troop and then I'd terrorize the US by posting vids of his horrific torture and death.Informants both real and imagined will be killed. Unfortunately so will one of our Special Ops personnel. You heard it here first. Carter decided to bump his gums and someone down range is gonna pay the price in blood.The only real question is why? Are they so eager to make it appear that they're doing something about the ISIS threat that they would talk in the clear about secret operations? Is this about the Obama Administration's legacy?If it is then Carter deserves a special place in hell...oh and I noticed Dunford was there too. He should know better so again...WHAT THE FUCK! 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. The biggest private company running asylum accommodations is owned by Bert Karlsson (left). In 2015, his company billed Swedish taxpayers $23.9 million. His homes require asylum seekers to buy their own toilet paper, apparently despite having agreed with the Migration Agency to provide asylum seekers with toilet paper, sanitary napkins and diapers. Wafa Issa (right) is head of the Migration Agency for the Stockholm region. She also runs a private company that is paid to provide foster homes to unaccompanied refugee children. Nima Gholam Ali Pour is a member of the board of education in the Swedish city of Malmo and is engaged in several Swedish think tanks concerned with the Middle East. He is also editor for the social conservative website Situation Malmo. When you talk to journalists from the U.S. or the UK, they often seem to think that Sweden is a humanitarian superpower that has received refugees because the Swedish government is following some ideology based on doing good deeds.That Sweden is a humanitarian superpower, eager to lead by example, is a myth that needs exposing once and for all. The recent migration wave to Sweden has made some people poor and others very, very rich.Every day one reads news in Sweden about the winners and the losers in the migration industry. One of the winners in Sweden's migration industry is ICA Bank. In November 2015, it invoiced the Swedish Migration Agency $8 million for providing asylum seekers prepaid cards. For every cash withdrawal, ICA Bank takes a $2 fee, and for every prepaid card activated, it takes $21. ICA Bank won the contract without any competition; its contract with the Migration Agency extends to March 2017.Many asylum accommodations in Sweden are run by private operators and are making huge profits. In 2015, the 30 largest companies that run the asylum accommodations invoiced the Swedish Migration Agency an estimated $109 million. The losers, on the other hand, were the Swedish taxpayers who had to finance these decisions.In November 2015, it was reported that Sweden's Migration Agency had paid $174 million during an 11-month period to private sector property owners for asylum seekers' accommodation.Many of the companies running the asylum accommodations have a profit margin of over 50%.has a profit margin of 68%.has a profit margin of 58%.has a profit margin of 50%.The biggest private company running asylum accommodations, Jokarjo AB, is owned by Bert Karlsson, known in Sweden primarily as director of a record label. In the early 1990s, Mr. Karlsson was the leader and founder of a political party, New Democracy, that advocated reducing immigration to Sweden. Between 1991 to 1994, as a representative of his party, he sat in the Swedish parliament. In 2015, his company billed the Swedish Migration Agency $23.9 million. Mr. Karlsson explained his business plan for running a home for asylum seekers in a simple sentence: "My idea is to make it cheaper and better than anyone else."One method he used to make his business more profitable is that asylum seekers have to buy their own toilet paper, apparently despite having agreed with the Migration Agency to provide asylum seekers with toilet paper, sanitary napkins and diapers. In December 2015, the Swedish media revealed that asylum seekers have to buy all these products themselves.One can only imagine the situation for asylum accommodations run by minor private operators.This is what the Swedish "humanitarian superpower" is actually about. It is all about money, and it is about winners and losers.The companies running the asylum accommodations are becoming rich at the Swedish taxpayers' expense; at the same time, asylum accommodations are not managed properly.Here are a few of the violent incidents that happen every day:On January 25, 2016, the police arrived at an asylum accommodation in Annerstad, southern Sweden, after hearing of a brawl there between Syrians and Afghans. When the police arrived, according to their report, no one -- not even the people working there -- could speak Swedish.In January 2016, there were reports that a ten-year old boy at an asylum accommodation in Vasteras had been raped repeatedly. In February 2016, there were reports that a boy at an asylum accommodation in Maglarp, in southern Sweden, had been raped by two other boys at the same asylum accommodation.If liberal journalists outside Sweden believe that rape is humanitarian, then Sweden has a humanitarian migration policy.What is actually happening in Sweden, however, is that private companies are making millions of dollars at taxpayer expense, while the newly arrived migrants are living a horrible existence in which rape and other abuses are a part of daily life. This is what other European countries will experience if they follow Sweden's liberal migration policy.Children who come to Sweden without parents (" unaccompanied refugee children ") must, according to the Swedish law, be assigned a legal guardian. The guardian, instead of the parents, is responsible for the child's personal relationships and managing daily affairs. In December 2015, it was reported that there are guardians responsible for up to 29 unaccompanied refugee children, and who earn more than $7,000 a month. It is not, of course, possible for one guardian to take care of 29 unaccompanied refugee children. The migration industry in Sweden has created opportunities for people with no conscience to become wealthy. Meanwhile, thousands of unaccompanied refugee children are disappearing and no one knows where they are.Another part of the migration industry that has grown of late are foster homes for unaccompanied refugee children. In February, reports surfaced that one of the heads of the Swedish Migration Agency also runs the private company,: a business that provides foster homes to unaccompanied refugee children. It is not only people in the private sector are making money from the migration industry, but also people working inside the state apparatus who want to do well.One of the losers is the Swedish police. They have reported that they can no longer cope with their jobs because they cannot handle the hundreds of young men in Sweden right now from Morocco and other countries in North Africa.When you talk with journalists from Britain or the United States who think that Sweden's migration policy is a role model, you have to think of those journalists who once saw the Soviet Union as a model. Communism did not work; Sweden's migration policy does not work. That Sweden is a "humanitarian superpower" is truthfully nothing but marketing: the Green Party and some Social Democrats want to export Sweden's liberal migration policy to the rest of Europe.Although a small clique in Sweden have become millionaires because of the migration industry, the schools, police, social services and taxpayers in Sweden have lost a lot and have a difficult and uncertain future. There will be major conflicts in Sweden. There is nothing "noble" in Sweden's migration policy. The Swedish migration model, far from being a good example of how a migration policy should function, is an embarrassment and a disaster, and its final result is chaos, conflict, and corruption. PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: http://so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at http://so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at http://so.md/expungeme. (Feb. 29, 2016)The Calvert County Sheriff's Office today released the following incident and arrest reports.WEEKLY SUMMARY: During the week of February 22 through February 28, deputies responded to 1,569 calls for service throughout the community.BURGLARY CASE #16-11319: On February 27, 2016, Deputy A. Woodford responded to Clyde Jones Road, in Owings, for a report of a burglary. The complainant reported that between 1:00pm on February 26 - 1:00pm on February 27, someone entered their shed. Nothing appears to be missing.BURGLARY CASE #16-10435: On February 23, 2016, Deputy A. Ostazeski was dispatched to San Jose Lane, in Lusby, for a report of a home burglary. The victims stated their locked door was forced open and a box with medication was stolen.BURGLARY CASE #16-10235: On February 22, 2016, Deputy A. Woodford responded to Decoy Drive, in Owings, for the report of an attempted burglary. Upon his arrival he made contact with the complainant who advised it appeared someone had tried to gain access to their house within the last couple of days. Entry to the home was not made but a basement window was broken.DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY CASE #16-10786: On February 25, 2016, Deputy T. Holt responded to the Southern Maryland Community Center on Appeal Lane, Lusby, for the report of a destruction of property. Between 8:30am and 9:45am that morning, someone broke the passenger side window of a car parked in the lot. Nothing appears to be stolen at this time.DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY CASE #16-10408: On February 23, 2016, Deputy G. Gott responded to South Solomons Island Road, in Solomons, for the report of property damage. The complainant reported his car, which was parked along the street, had a bullet hole through the window by an unknown type of gun, possibly a bb gun. This took place between 1:30pm - 2:00pm.CDS VIOLATION CASE #16-11215: On February 26, 2016, Deputy S. Esposito attempted to conduct a patrol check on a vehicle driving unsafely, when the driver of the vehicle then accelerated to speeds in excess of 100 mph, attempting to elude Deputy Esposito. The fleeing vehicle finally came to a stop on Field Road, in Lusby. The driver, Tristao Commodore, 38, of Prince Frederick, was found to be disoriented and in possession of PCP. He was transported to the Detention Center and charged with possession of a non-narcotic drug (PCP) and multiple traffic violations.CDS VIOLATION CASE #16-11208: On February 26, 2016, Deputy C. Ward conducted a patrol check on a vehicle at Route 260/Cox Road, Chesapeake Beach. He discovered the driver, Amber Stoneman, 19, of Owings, to be in possession of heroin and CDS paraphernalia (cut straw). She was arrested and transported to the Detention Center.CDS VIOLATION CASE #16-10863: On February 25, 2016, Deputy D. Naughton conducted a patrol check on a vehicle he observed traveling with multiple violations. He determined the driver, Amanda Lankford, 27, of Lusby, to be in possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Tramadol) and CDS Paraphernalia (plastic container). Lankford was arrested and transported to the Detention Center.CDS VIOLATION CASE #16-10582: On February 24, 2016, Deputy J. Denton conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle traveling on S. Solomons Island Road/Broomes Island Road, in Port Republic, with a damaged taillight. He discovered the driver, James Plater, 62, of Lusby, to be in possession of illegal paraphernalia (pipe) and was driving with a suspended license. Plater was arrested and transported to the Detention Center.CDS VIOLATION CASE #16-10300: On February 23, 2016, Deputy D. Clark responded to the County Detention Center for the report of a CDS violation. He was notified that an inmate, Raymond Robinson, 26, of Owings, who returned from work release, had brought marijuana into the Detention Center. He was charged with possession of CDS while confined.THEFT CASE #16- 11606: On February 28, 2016, Deputy C. Ward was dispatched to Lorins Drive, in Huntingtown, for the report of damaged to a mailbox. It was determined that multiple mailbox flags have been stolen from mailboxes (21) in the area over a period of several months. If anyone has witnessed suspicious activity in this area, they are asked to contact the Sheriff's Office.THEFT CASE #16-11408: On February 25, 2016, Deputy K. Williamson was dispatched to Calvert High School for the report of a stolen Samsung Galaxy S4 cell phone. The student inadvertently left their phone behind in a classroom and upon returning to retrieve it, discovered it stolen.THEFT CASE #16-10792: On February 25, 2016, Deputy P. Aurich responded to the Dunkirk Walmart for the report of a shoplifting in progress. A male suspect attempted to hide videos in a large container; and upon being challenged by store security, released the items and fled the store.THEFT CASE #16-10404: On February 23, 2016, Deputy J. Hardesty responded to Queensberry Drive, in Huntingtown, for the report of a theft. The complainant realized that a delivered UPS package was stolen the day it was delivered, February 12. The theft took place between 1:30pm - 2:30pm.THEFT CASE #16-10256: On February 22, 2016, Deputy J. Migliaccio arrived at Towne Center Blvd., in Dunkirk, for the report of a theft. While the victim was shopping at a local business, someone shattered their car window and stole the victim's purse laying on the front seat.THEFT CASE #16-10254: On February 22, 2016, Deputy J. Migliaccio arrived at Oxford Way, in Huntingtown, in response to a theft from auto complaint. He was advised that sometime overnight someone has entered several unlocked vehicles in the driveway and stole a purse, credit cards, identification, money and cables.THEFT CASE #16-10250: On February 22, 2016, Deputy J. Migliaccio arrived at Hoile Lane, Huntingtown, in response to a theft from auto complaint. Sometime overnight an unknown suspect(s) stole items (a white and blue electric guitar and money) out of two (2) unlocked vehicles in the driveway.THEFT CASE #16-10231: On February 22, 2016, Deputy J. Hardesty took a report for a theft from an unlocked vehicle parked on Mayberry Avenue, in Huntingtown. A Garmin Nuvi GPS and money were stolen some time overnight.THEFT CASE #16-10196: On February 22, 2016, Deputy J. Hardesty took a report for a theft from an unlocked vehicle parked on Marigold's Way, in Huntingtown. The victim left his vehicle unlocked and suspect(s) stole a GPS, Apple Iphone charger and two (2) flashlights.WEAPONS VIOLATION CASE #16- 11238: On February 26, 2016, Deputy C. Fox conducted a patrol check on two (2) vehicles parked at the Bayfront Park parking lot after hours. He discovered Jackson Clay, 19, of Deale, to be in possession of an illegal amount of marijuana (12+ grams) and in possession of a handgun. He was transported to the Detention Center and charged accordingly.WEAPONS VIOLATION CASE #16-10312: On February 23, 2016, Deputy J. Buck conducted a patrol check on a vehicle parked in the woods near Grays Road, in Port Republic. He discovered one of the occupants, Justin Weaver, 19, of Chesapeake Beach, to be in possession of a weapon. He was charged with concealing a deadly weapon and transported to the Detention Center. LEONARDTOWN, Md. Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: http://so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at http://so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at http://so.md/expungeme. (March 1, 2016)The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office today released the following incident and arrest reports.02-02-2016 POSSESSION: Deputy First Class Schultz responded to the 12000 block of Clarkes Landing Road in Hollywood referencing a vehicle blocking a driveway. Upon arrival, Deputy Schultz observed the operator of the vehicle slumped over the steering wheel. Deputy Schultz opened the driver's side door and observed suspected heroin on the floor board. A probable cause search revealed a hypodermic needle, a lunch box containing prescription medications, and suboxone strips.was placed under arrest and transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center. He was charged with Four Counts of CDS Possession: Not Marijuana and Two Counts of Paraphernalia.02-17-2016 ASSAULT: Deputy J. Bare responded to the 25000 block of Maddox Road (Chaptico Market) in Chaptico for a disturbance. The victim alleged the suspect,, attempted to steal items by hiding them in her purse. When approached about the theft, Copsey became furious. The victim alleges Copsey pushed and punched the victim several times and then fled from the area. Copsey was located at her residence and placed under arrest. She was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and charged with Theft Under $100 and Second Degree Assault. CASE# 8529-16.02-17-2016 POSSESSION: Deputy J. Bare responded to the St. Mary's County Detention Center for the report of possession of contraband. Corrections Officers found suspected tobacco wrapped in toilet paper underneath a door during an unscheduled search. The suspect,, was observed attempting to conceal the suspected tobacco with his foot. Dickens was charged with Possession of Contraband in a Place of Confinement. CASE# 8551-16.02-19-2016 THEFT: Corporal E. O'Connor responded to Wildewood Pastry Shop in California for the report of theft. The suspect,, was observed concealing merchandise and leaving the store without paying. Alston was located walking behind Cheeseburger and Paradise and placed under arrest. She was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and charged with Theft Under $100. CASE# 8922-16.02-20-2016 ASSAULT: Corporal D. Snyder responded to the 22000 block of Upland Drive in Bushwood for the report of an assault. The victim alleged the suspect,, entered the victim's residence against an active protective order. The victim alleges Brown pushed the victim against a wall during an argument. Brown was placed under arrest and transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center. He was charged with Second Degree Assault and Violation of a Protective Order. CASE# 9222-16.02-21-2016 TRESPASSING: The suspect,, was observed leaving ABC Liquors in California by Corporal D. Corcoran. Cpl. Corcoran made a vehicle stop and confirmed Berry was previously served a notice not to trespass the establishment. He was placed under arrest and transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center. He was charged with Trespassing. CASE# 9239-16.02-23-2016 ASSAULT: Deputy G. Mushchette responded to the 21000 block of Liberty Street in Lexington Park for the report of a domestic assault. The victim alleged the suspect,, punched the victim in the face several times with a closed fist. Dennis was placed under arrest and transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center. She was charged with Second Degree Assault. CASE# 9783-16.VANDALISM: During the overnight hours, unknown suspect(s) damaged a mailbox and fence at two residences on Bishop Road in Loveville. CASE# 10279-16, 10283-16.THEFT: On 2/22/2016, unknown suspect(s) removed property from a wooded area on the 21000 block of Olen Mattingly Road in Avenue. CASE# 10312-16.VANDALISM: Unknown suspect(s) damaged property at the Car Wash on Callaway Village Way in Callaway. CASE# 10281-16.BREAKING AND ENTERING TO A MOTOR VEHICLE: Sometime during the overnight hours, unknown suspect(s) entered multiple vehicles on the 39000 block of Hiawatha Circle in Mechanicsville. CASE# 10290-16.BREAKING AND ENTERING TO A MOTOR VEHICLE: Between 2/22/2016 and 2/25/2016, unknown suspect(s) entered a motor vehicle and stole property on the 21000 block of Joe Baker Court in Lexington Park. CASE# 10300-16.BREAKING AND ENTERING TO A MOTOR VEHICLE: During the overnight hours of 2/27 and 2/28, unknown suspect(s) entered a motor vehicle and stole property on the 21000 block of Liberty Street in Lexington Park. CASE# 10787-16. In Texas, Ive become the DJ for socialites. Thats how it seems to Lady Bunny, who was the DJ on Halloween at Hotel Zaza and at the Fresh Arts benefit, both in Houston. In Dallas, shes DJd an event at the Rachofsky home known for its art collection and for a Dallas Theater Center fundraiser, as well as at a wedding held on marriage equality night at the W Hotel. Bunny admits that shes not the greatest mixer, and that she doesnt have a lot in common politically with many of the people who attended those Texas fundraisers. But I know music and I know what theyll like, she declares. And after all, thats what counts, right? Bunny says she knows how to please a crowd and has a wide variety of experience as a DJ. When you DJ from Pride to Fashion Week in Paris to gay weddings to bar mitzvahs, you find out what a crowd likes, she says. And knowing what the crowd likes shouldnt be too difficult for Bunny when shes next in Dallas, because shell be spinning for a crowd thats much closer to her on the political spectrum: Shell be the star attraction at Resource Centers 18th annual Toast to Life fundraiser on March 5 at The Empire Room. Surprisingly, Bunny has also made a name for herself in the fashion world since a fashion publication called Visionaire hired her as their in-house DJ. That started my DJ career outside New York, she says. Her first party in Paris, on the Eiffel Tower, attracted fashion model Iman and designer Karl Lagerfeld as guests. From there, shes done Toyko, Milan, Bangkok, Beijing, Seoul and London. That gave me credibility as a DJ, she says. It became OK to hire this drag queen. Bunny says it was her years of working in clubs that helped her be successful as a DJ. I remember what songs turned the party out, she says. In every decade. It also doesnt hurt that she breaks the ice by getting into the music and cutting up. You get a DJ and a clown for the price of one, she says. Currently, Bunny is on a DJ tour promoting the upcoming eighth season of Drag Race. Before coming to Dallas next week, she hits Phoenix and Kalamazoo. From here, she heads overseas to London, Manchester and Milan. But that doesnt mean shes carrying a lot of luggage around. I shock people how light I travel, she says. For this tour, Bunny needs seven dresses. So she just packs fewer mens clothes. What about all of her wigs? Theyre big, she says, not teased out. So they stack and she combs them out. Bunny says even when shes in mens clothes with no make up, she gets called maam, especially when they hear her voice. Its not rude, she adds; at least theyre calling her maam, not something derogatory. But shes had a number of funny experiences with that. A mens room attendant in Mexico told me I went into the wrong restroom, she recalls. When she explained she was a man, he propositioned her. As passionate as Bunny is with her music and entertaining, shes equally as hot about her politics. First, she rips fellow New Yorker Donald Trump. I was in L.A. and Walgreens had a life-sized cutout of Donald Trump, she says of an experience that happened before Trump launched his presidential bid. Do they know no one in New York even likes Donald Trump? Hes regarded as a joke. Bunny says she doesnt think Trump is even seriously running. Shes still expecting him to drop out and turn his run into a reality show about how to prank the press. He is, she says, a jerk spouting nonsense. But the anger Trump has tapped into is real, she adds: People are angry. Were told the recession is over but people are still working two jobs and are still on food stamps. After eight years of Bush and eight years of Obama, she says, most of the wealth is going to the 1 percent. She criticizes Hillary Clinton for voting for the Iraq War, something Bunny believes was a disaster. Im a drag queen and she has access to secret dossiers, Bunny said. She has the foreign policy of a Republican. Bunny says she has a 75-year-old Republican aunt who lives in the south whos voting for Bernie because the Republicans are clowns and she doesnt trust Hillary. Bunnys advice? Get involved. Oh, and support Resource Center by coming to Toast to Life. Bunny promises itll be a blast. Editor's Note: This is a profile on politician Julian Castro, who is thought to be on the short-list for Hillary Clinton's VP picks. Sept. 5, 2013 was a long day for San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. His citys comprehensive nondiscrimination ordinance had passed by an 8-3 vote. The crowd there to debate the ordinance was loud, and the opposition rowdy. Yet after hours of testimony, it had passed. But despite their defeat in Alamo City, conservative and religious groups would regroup and use San Antonio as a playbook for future battles against municipal nondiscrimination ordinances. Opponents of equality would lose some, like in Dallas and Plano, and they would win some, most notably in Houston, where the nondiscrimination ordinance known as HERO was repealed last November. A year later, in 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Castro to serve as the next secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He was swiftly confirmed by the Senate at the beginning of July and began his term later that month. But while Castro may live in Washington, D.C., he said on a recent trip to the DFW Metroplex that San Antonio is still his home. Castros mother was a Chicana activist who instilled a sense of civic responsibility in him and his twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro. His mother, he said, would have guilted him for not fighting for equal rights. (She unsuccessfully ran for city council in the 1970s.) [My mother] pushed for equality and fair treatment for everyone, Castro said. So my concern is to help people gain full equality to ensure everyone has equal rights. I believe we should not have any second-class citizens. Castro, a Harvard Law graduate, secured his place in San Antonio political history when he was elected to the city council in 2002. Councilman Castro then ran for mayor twice, waging his first unsuccessful bid in 2005. Then he was elected mayor in 2009 and re-elected in 2011. I was determined to do everything I could in city government to turn things around there, Castro. While he was mayor, the city extended partner benefits to employees, appointed an LGBT liaison, and worked on various initiatives targeting homeless LGBT youth. He wanted San Antonio to be a home for everyone who lives there. Thats why, despite the opposition, passing the nondiscrimination ordinance was a priority for him. Joining the Cabinet HUD secretary is a Cabinet-level position, reporting to the president, that oversees programs providing affordable housing and community development assistance. It also ensures people are free to rent or own homes without discrimination. In his capacity as secretary, Castro has winnowed out a number of disparities facing LGBT homeowners and renters. Were at the beginning of looking at what executive action we can take to extend protections to the LGBT community in the Fair Housing Act. This is something that could be very impactful, Castro said during his recent visit to the Metroplex. Weve proposed a rule that would require folks who run emergency shelters to accommodate transgender individuals based on how they identify, he noted. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, one in five transgender individuals have experienced homelessness. The proposed HUD rule would prevent homeless shelters from denying shelter to transgender people based on their gender identity. A lot of folks seek homeless shelters, but they dont feel comfortable, Castro said. They think theyll be harassed or bullied or even worse than that. So this pilot project should teach us a lot going forward so we can incentivize providers to adopt these practices. The second project is expected to have a big impact when it comes to future research regarding LGBT youth homelessness. And its taking root in Texas. The LGBTQ Youth Homelessness Prevention Initiative is a pilot project organized by HUD with other federal agencies, including the Departments of Education and Labor in collaboration with the True Colors Fund, an LGBT homeless youth organization founded by entertainer Cyndi Lauper. Pilot projects are currently under way in the Cincinnati, Ohio and Houston metropolitan areas. We want to know what are the types of things we can do with families to prevent LGBT youth homelessness and to address concerns LGBT youth have, to serve them better so they feel more comfortable, for instance, at shelters, Castro said. Jama Shelton, deputy executive director of the True Colors Fund, said the project also looks at community networks that may prevent LGBT youth homelessness. The focus has historically been reactive, like providing shelter for the youth, Shelton said. That is important, but if we know the primary issues we can work toward prevention. Strategies include providing data, training and resources with various community stakeholders, such as clergy, law enforcement and youth workers. Research currently under way includes identifying LGBT young people who are at the highest risk of homelessness. There is a clear understanding that homeless youth who are LGBT have been kicked out by their families because they do not accept or understand their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, Shelton said. Without community support, youth may jump from shelter to shelter. Harris County is doing, in Sheltons words a lot. Efforts include the formation of an LGBT competence committee, revising assessment questions to include sexual orientation and gender identity, working towards requiring all staff to be trained on working with LGBT in an inclusive and affirming manner and providing information about LGBT acceptance on their parent portal. Organizers are also identifying community members who would have an impact but not realize it, like a local chamber of commerce or small business. LGBT youth need careers, so why not establish an apprentice program? Shelton suggested. Greater things? Castro was seen as a possible vice presidential candidate even before he was named HUD secretary. And, if former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination for president, pundits are predicting he will surely make the VP short list. Whether or not he is tapped by Clinton, who is locked in a tight race with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for the nomination, Castro wants to make something clear: He is not returning to San Antonio and to run against anti-gay Mayor Ivy Taylor. Taylor was one of the three council members who voted against the nondiscrimination ordinance. She stepped in as interim mayor when Castro moved up to HUD and is now serving her first full term as mayor. I can guarantee I will not [run for mayor], Castro declared. I look forward to getting back to San Antonio, but not in any capacity as an elected official. Whether or not Castro is the next vice president, he is committed to leaving a lasting legacy. Im trying to continue my legacy at HUD, Castro said. Theres a sense it is past time to protect LGBT people. In this last year of Obama we want to make most of our opportunity to extend equal rights. Expanding protections in the housing industry for the LGBT community is one of the things we want to get done. Astronaut Scott Kelly (right foreground) hands over command of the International Space Station to astronaut Tim Kopra (left foreground) with their crewmates in the background. Credit: NASA. NASA At 3:15 p.m. EST, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra assumed command of the International Space Station from astronaut Scott Kelly of NASA in a traditional Change of Command ceremony. Expedition 47 will officially begin under Kopras command when the Soyuz spacecraft carrying Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov undocks from the space station on March 1. Kelly and Kornienko launched to the space station on March 27, 2015, for their one-year mission. The pairs return on March 1 will mark the end of 340 days aboard the space station. Volkov arrived at the station on September 4. On-Orbit Status Report Change of Command Ceremony: Today, the ISS Crew participated in a Change of Command Ceremony. During this ceremony Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly handed over command of the ISS to Expedition 47 Commander Tim Kopra. Kelly, Volkov, and Kornienko will be returning to earth tomorrow evening onboard Soyuz 44. Integrated Resistance and Aerobic Training Study (Sprint) Volume of Oxygen Utilized (VO2) Max: For his Flight Day 75 Sprint VO2 Max session, Kopra attached Electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes to himself, set up and donned Heart Rate Monitor hardware, performed Portable Pulmonary Function System calibrations, and then completed the VO2 protocol. The Sprint VO2 investigation evaluates the use of high intensity, low volume exercise to minimize loss of muscle, bone, and cardiovascular function in ISS crewmembers while reducing total exercise time during long-duration space missions. Multi-Purpose Small Payload Rack 2 (MSPR2) Microgravity Measurement Apparatus (MMA) Installation: To prepare for upcoming operations for the JAXA Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF), Peake installed the MMA Remote Sensor Units and MMA Triaxial Acceleration Assembly in the MSPR2 rack. Habitability: Today Peake recorded a video of his walk-through of an area or activity and provided insights related to human factors and habitability. The Habitability investigation results will be used to assess the relationship between crew members and their environment in order to better prepare for future long-duration spaceflights to destinations, such as near earth asteroids and Mars. Observations recorded during 6 month and 1 year missions can help spacecraft designers determine how much habitable volume is required, and whether a missions duration impacts how much space crew members need. Twins Study: In support of the Twins Study, Kelly continued his series of week-long return minus 14 day saliva and blood collections. This investigation is an integrated compilation of ten different studies led by multiple investigators. The studies take advantage of a unique opportunity to look at the effects of space travel on identical twins, with one of them experiencing space travel for a year while the other remains earth-bound for that same year. The study looks at changes in the human body that are important in the fields of genetics, psychology, physiology, microbiology, and immunology. Fine Motor Skills: Kelly, Kopra, Peake and Kornienko each completed a session of the Fine Motor Skills experiment today. They performed a series of interactive tasks on a touchscreen tablet. This investigation is the first fine motor skills study to measure long-term microgravity exposure, different phases of microgravity adaptation, and sensorimotor recovery after returning to Earth gravity. Ras Labs-CASIS-ISS Project for Synthetic Muscle: Resistance to Radiation (Synthetic Muscle): Kopra obtained a set of historical photos of the synthetic muscle samples. The purpose of this investigation is to measure the effects of radiation on proprietary synthetic muscle materials in space and earth environments. Robots made of these materials could provide assistance to humans in space, enhance survivability of robots during deep space travel, and provide support in extreme radiation environments on Earth. Russian Treadmill (??-2) Repair ??-2 experienced a failure in the vibration isolation system, late in the crew day Friday. Upon evalution, it was determined that the left rear torsion bracket had failed. Over the weekend, the crew replaced the bracket. The right front and right rear brackets had been replaced in October 2015. ??-2 is go for nominal usage. Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Stowage Frame Installation Part 2: Peake continued the assembly and installation of the JEM Stowage Frame. Once fully installed, the frame will increase JEM stowage capability by 12 Cargo Transfer Bag Equivalents (CTBE). Emergency Roles and Responsibilities Review: Kopra and Peake reviewed and discussed priorities in the event of an emergency and how to achieve safety of the crew as well as safe configuration of the ISS. Topics which were covered included crew actions during emergency retreat to the Soyuz, ISS Commander responsibilities, and communication and coordination among crew members and with ground teams. Crew Quarters (CQ) Cleaning: Over the weekend, Kornienko cleaned his Overhead CQ and Kelly cleaned his Port CQ today. The activity included cleaning of the intake and exhaust ducts, fans and airflow sensors. Todays Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. TWIN sample drying SLEEP questionnaire fill-out Fine Motor Skills pre-test reminder PARODONT-2. Sampling using Microbe Control and Gingival Liquid sets / r/g 1559 HRF sampling HRF sample insertion into MELFI Fine Motor Skills examination Signing of ROS crew handover statement / r/g 1561 SPRINT hardware activation and warm-up init FINEMOTR science ops setup Progress 429 RODNIK tank connection flushing / r/g 1563 MO science ops bag prep Soyuz 718 Samsung tablet PC charging init / ??? item 5.4 step 6,7 pages 5-34, 5-35 (94, 95) MSPR2- hardware installation into the rack to perform the science ops Soyuz 718 RGS comm check and comm pass / ????????? ? ????? item ?.1.4.2 (exc.step 1) pages 26, 27 Fine Motor Skills examination Medical equipment stowage Fine Motor Skills science ops run SPRINT camcorder installation and setup EPO Micro SD Card data copy for downlink Soyuz 719 Samsung tablet PC charging init / ??? item 5.4 step 6,7 pages 5-34, 5-35 (94, 95) MRM2 [???-?] hatch and Soyuz 718 hatch cover sealing mechanism maintenance / ?? ??? item 4.5 page 4-7 (82) Port crew cabin cleanup EPO hardware power-off following automatic monitoring Sanitary and epidemiological status check / ?? vol. 2 item 16 page 16-1 (166)+ r/g 1549 ??? maintenance / ??? item 4.4 step 1 page 4-27 (99) JAXA cargo stowage frame installation On MCC Go Remove [??251?1?] ([???1?1]) and [???] from Soyuz 718 living compartment. Stow (??1??_3_314_1, bag 353-8 (00037141R). Update the IMS / ??????????? ????? item 13.6 page 100 Soyuz 719 Samsung tablet PC charging term / ??? item 5.4 step 6,7 pages 5-34, 5-35 (94, 95) [???] laptop antivirus signature base update / r/g 8247 steps 1, 2 Soyuz 718 Samsung tablet PC charging term / ??? item 5.4 step 6,7 pages 5-34, 5-35 (94, 95) Preparation for return SPRINT hardware power-off and cleanup Columbus radio ham session Environment microecosphere monitoring / r/g 1548 JEM terminal laptop reboot MSPR2 coupling adjustment FSL hardware checkout Return preparation Remove and stow the dosimeters into Soyuz 718 BAKTERIOFAG. BIOEKOLOGIYA case removal and transfer into Soyuz 718 / r/g 1558 BAKTERIOFAG. Take pictures of BIOEKOLOGIYA case during its removal No.10-2 from panel 328 / r/g 1560 Stow returnable items into Soyuz 718 (payload container) / r/g 1444nu MATRYOSHKA-R. Photography during PADLE detector handover / r/g 1557 MATRYOSHKA-R. PADLE detectors handover prior to stowage and return with Soyuz 718 / r/g 1556 SYN_MUSCL photographic documentation HABIT instructional video review Emergency role and responsibility procedure review HRF Ambient blood sampling prep BIOSIGNAL. Hardware transfer into Soyuz 718 / r/g 1555 Shift handover conference ALGOMETRIYA. Science Ops run. / r/g 1007 PMC (Ku+S-band) CIR operations Report on the completion of payload stowage into Soyuz 718 (S-band) / r/g 1444nu Use transparent tape to cover NEPTUN ME systems [?? ??] fuses in Soyuz 718 / r/g 1562 steps 1,2 Downlink exercise data via ??? / ?? vol. 3 item 2.4 pages 2-17, 2-18 (28, 29) VZAIMODEYSTVIYE-2. Science ops run / r/g 1554 SPRINT closeout ops Crew handover Lay audio cable in the crew cabin Soyuz 718 pre-undock cooling / r/g 1562 step 3 Prepare for ??? laptop anti-virus scans / r/g 8247 step 3 Completed Task List Items ESA Med Ops Crew Protection Socks Feedback Questionnaire [Completed on Sunday] ESA PAO Recorded Message [Completed on Sunday] Ground Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. Nominal System Commanding Three-Day Look Ahead: Tuesday, 03/01: 44S Undock and Landing Wednesday, 03/02: Crew Off Duty Thursday, 03/03: MPEP / SAM install on JEM Airlock Slide Table, Robonaut CPCI Fault Troubleshooting QUICK ISS Status Environmental Control Group: Component Status Elektron On Vozdukh Manual [???] 1 SM Air Conditioner System (SKV1) On [???] 2 SM Air Conditioner System (SKV2) Off Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab Override Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 Operate Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab Idle Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 Operate Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) Process Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) Standby Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab Off Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 Full Up ESA parabolic flight ESA ESA Education is inviting university student teams to submit proposals related to designing, building and flying their experiment in a parabolic flight campaign, which is tentatively scheduled to take place in autumn 2017. STATUS: OPEN. ESA Education is currently accepting proposals. DEADLINE: 16 May 2016 23:59pm CET. Teams interested in participating in the Fly your Thesis! 2017 programme should submit an accurately completed Experiment Proposal document detailing the description of the experiments that they intend to perform. Experiments are required to be a key part of master or PhD theses, and the subject of the experiments investigations must require availability of microgravity conditions. ESA will select up to 15 teams to proceed through to the next round. The selection will be solely based on eligibility criteria of the teams, the microgravity relevance, the quality of the proposal, the educational return (based i.a., on the number of students involved,on the relevance of the experiment for Master or PhD graduation theses of one or more team members, as well as on the scientific merit detailed in the Experiment Proposal). The minimum number of students to be actively involved in each student team is 4, however an active involvement of more students is desirable. The proposals shall also clarify how the student teams intend to cope with a possible turn-over, in order to replace team members who might decide to leave the project. The shortlisted teams will be given a few weeks to complete a first draft of their Experiment Safety Data Package (ESDP, a technical document required from all teams that participate in ESA Parabolic Flight Campaigns), and will then be invited to a selection workshop at ESA/ESTEC to present their experiment proposals to a Review Board composed of ESA Education representatives, ESAs Human and Robotic Exploration Directorate representatives, Novespace staff and members of the European Low Gravity Research Association (ELGRA). After this workshop, the Review Board will select up to four teams candidate to fly on a parabolic flight campaign tentatively scheduled in late 2017. It should be noted that, at the present time, the opportunity for student teams to access the parabolic flight campaign is not yet confirmed, and this Call for Proposals is released in anticipation of the confirmation on the execution of the campaign. The aim is to complete the selection of the student experiments by the time the parabolic flight campaign is confirmed. Typically, in order to execute the experiments on board parabolic flight campaigns, the students accompany their set-ups on three flights of 30 parabolas each. During each parabola, they will experience about 20 seconds of microgravity. Normally the flights are performed by a specially equipped Airbus A310 Zero-G aircraft operated by Novespace. All selected teams will be supported by the ESA Education Office, ESA and Novespace microgravity experts. The teams will also be offered mentoring by a member of the European Low Gravity Research Association (ELGRA) to help further develop their investigations. The ESA Education Office will provide financial support to cover part of the cost of the experiment hardware, necessary travel and accommodation. Interested teams should carefully read all the information given on this website prior to registering on ESA Education Offices Projects Portal. Slovak companies compete locally but also with foreign firms. With an improving economy, the labour market is reviving, posing new challenges for employers. Font size: A - | A + The lack of qualified labour force on one hand, and the growing requirements on the part of potential employees on the other create unique challenges. The Slovak Spectator spoke about these and other issues that HR experts currently face with Lubos Sirota, president of board and general director of McROY Group; Miroslav Garaj, country manager at Grafton Recruitment Slovakia; Pavol Strapac, country finance manager at Adecco; Martin Krekac, chairman and owner Jenewein Group and senior partner of Amrop; Igor Sulik, managing partner of Amrop; and Mario Fondati, partner of Amrop. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The Slovak Spectator (TSS): What are the new trends on the labour market over the past year? Have there been any significant changes? Lubos Sirota (LS): Although theres been no sudden change on the market, the ongoing economic growth and the subsequent increasing demand for employees resulted in the offer of qualified labour force being exhausted. Companies thus face challenges they had faced before the outburst of the economic crisis in 2008: despite a high unemployment rate they have problems to fill all the vacancies with appropriate people. The requirements for candidates have decreased (often the willingness to work is enough), while many companies try to search for workers abroad (mainly Romania and Bulgaria, but also the number of Czechs and Moravians working in Slovakia has increased). Miroslav Garaj (MG): The year 2015 was turbulent due to the global situation and trends, the IT sector expanded and the demand for production workers increased. Due to new investments and new emerging projects, the labour market automatically responded to the current trends and needs of employers, not only in the capital, but also in other regions of Slovakia. In the Trencin Region, we registered a higher interest in specialists for technical positions with focus on quality, engineering, project management, production, logistics and lean management. In the Bratislava region the demand was mainly for administrative workers with good language skills. In the production sector, mainly experienced engineers in automotive production were in demand. Martin Krekac (MK): After several years of stagnation last year was a year of growth. Optimism has begun to return into the economy, companies started to invest more and that has positively impacted the labour market. Another big change for the common market in the European Union is linked to over a million new potential workers that will eventually enter the labour market, for which neither Slovakia, nor the EU is ready. Pavol Strapac (PS): Just like in all spheres of life, also on the labour market new, innovative forms of searching for work as well as searching for people emerge. New technologies are becoming ever more important. In the past people sought work only through the web and specialised websites, nowadays they use also mobile applications like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Employees are not interested only in the salary; they also want to know about the work conditions in general, the benefits, offices, air conditioning, and the location of the factory or the offices. TSS: Which alternative forms of work are most widely used in Slovakia and how interested are employees in part-time jobs, home-based work, or shared work positions? LS: Employees, for instance mothers of young children, students, pensioners, show interest in part-time jobs, but the availability of this kind of work is significantly lower than demand and Slovakia in this respect significantly lags behind western European countries. Its similar with work from home. Home office is becoming one of the most demanded employee benefits (together with additional holidays), but the offer of this type of work still lags, despite its significant increase. As for shared positions, both offer and demand are rather low. The reason is that it is demanding in terms of administration and processes. The most often used alternative form of work remain limited time work agreements (na dohodu), which to a large extent take the place of part-time jobs. Also there has been a decrease in the past, due to the stricter legislation and this trend remained also in 2015. MG: The most frequent alternative is part-time work. Employees often show interest in working from home or shared working position, but the character of most jobs on the market doesnt allow for that. Igor Sulik (IS): Part-time jobs and home-based work have been on a rise. More and more younger people are interested in jobs that do not limit them about when they work and where they work as long as they can balance work and life. Having a considerable portion of shared service centres (SSCs) in our country, people working there have to be flexible to work at the time when their counterparts are working in any region of the world and if they can do it from home, the companies have a tendency to allow it. PS: In Slovakia people are still not completely familiar with alternative forms of work, but also in this area trends are positive, people are interested in alternative forms, mainly in working from home or part-time jobs that are interesting mainly for mothers on maternal leave. These forms of employment are used increasingly mainly because there are many opportunities to make money and secure ones family, not just with one job, but a combination of jobs. These forms of employment then allow people to combine the job they like doing with a job that is necessary for their survival due to the salary. TSS: Slovakia is facing the paradox that the unemployment rate remains rather high in some regions, but some businesses in the country have problems finding skilled labour for the positions they need to fill. Which sectors are most affected by this problem and what are the solutions you see as plausible? LS: Slovakias labour market stops functioning at an unemployment rate around 9 percent. Its approximately double the rate that is common in more advanced economies. The reason is the poor structure of Slovakias unemployed (for example about 100,000 of them have completed primary education only), in combination with low mobility of the work force. Companies in the most industrially advanced regions of Slovakia Bratislava, Trnava, Trencin, Zilina, Kosice are the most affected by this situation. Its mainly industrial companies in the area of automotive and machine industry. IT companies too have problems with people in the long run, but there the main reason is the inappropriate structure of the Slovak university education, which produces too many graduates in sectors like social work or pedagogy, while technicians are missing. MG: It is most visible in the production sector, mainly at qualified positions where certain knowledge or skills are required. One of the problems is that generally secondary schools and universities do not prepare their graduates for real work life, but are limited to theory. Another problem is the big unwillingness of Slovaks to travel for work. A well-functioning system of connections between schools and companies, and a bigger support for commuting for work on the part of employers and the state could help. Mario Fondati (MF): There are many people among the unemployed who lack almost any working skills and are therefore almost unemployable. Based on the structure of industry, companies lack qualified labour in many production areas. SSCs are also operating on a highly competitive market for qualified labour. Many companies therefore have to hire people who need a lot of additional training, or try to attract people from abroad. And we should not forget that there is still a lack of IT specialists. PS: This paradox exists in Slovakia perhaps even more than in other countries of our region, due to archaic methods of schooling, untargeted education in sectors that have no application in Slovakia. On the other hand, as a country where the automotive and machine industries are expanding, we are unable to secure education and a sufficient number of engineers. This problem is also seen in IT, where we are also unable to fill the gap, while in humanities weve got too many people who cannot find a job. The solution would not just be declared, but really close cooperation between the real market and schools. Something has started last year but thats too little. TSS: What are the expectations of job applicants and how have they changed during the years of crisis? LS: Expectations are gradually growing. While during the crisis they have dropped significantly, at the moment theyre back to pre-crisis level. The pressure on raising salaries increases, as does unwillingness to work overtime. Benefits like flexible working time, additional holidays and home office are required. Work-life balance gets ever more important mainly for young people. Generation Y that starts dominating the market doesnt want to live to work, but work to be able to live well. These are the people whose parents often did not have time for them when they were children, and they dont want to treat their kids equally. That is why working time is often more important for them than money. MG: Expectations change based on age and sector. Younger candidates expect the company to invest time and money into them and push them forward in their career, but they show less loyalty towards the company. People with 10 and more years of experience rather seek a more stable environment and expect that they will have a chance to pass their experiences on. Compared with the crisis time, people put more focus on remuneration. They realise the economy is in good shape and therefore they demand higher pay for their work. IS: People active on the labour market are slowly becoming more flexible. Although still not completely common, they are becoming more open to relocate for a good job. They have continuously become aware that the benefit system has shrunk and is not so important for them to make a decision to join a company. It is a common notion that people are willing to work more for even less for the time being. PS: Young people have incredible requirements and compared with the past they are only slightly willing to sacrifice something for their requirements that are often financially overdone. As a result, you have a self-confident person (which is a positive change compared with the past when people had low self-confidence) sitting in front of you at the job interview, but their self-confidence is often not justified because their skills are disproportionally lower. This is a big change compared to the past when we would meet people willing to work for a few euros long and intensively with the aim to work their way up. Today its vice versa, expectations are high but the offer, that is the willingness to sacrifice oneself for the work, is low. TSS: What are the main challenges HR managers are facing nowadays? LS: Its the lack of labour force in combination with talent competition. Companies face not just a lack of workers as such, but the value of those really talented, engaged, and creative people increases too. HR issues need to be approached creatively. Additionally, local companies must compete for people not just among each other, but also with competitors from abroad. MG: The growth of the Slovak economy brings new types of positions in great numbers to our labour market, therefore the biggest problem and challenge is to find good-quality people. It is a great challenge to keep ones employees as long as possible and be competitive with new attractive employers who are arriving to the market. MF: HR departments are still confronted with the same task to achieve more results with limited resources. Additionally, often they have to solve the acute lack of experts for some positions, like in industry and IT, since the offer of university graduates is small and does not keep up with demand. At the same time, HR managers in many areas become strategic partners of top management, and are thus required to understand not only human resources but also the nature of the business and its needs. PS: Today the position of an HR manager is perceived in a much more complex manner than in the past. An HR manager is expected to be an equal partner for a CEO and CFO. Effective and good-quality selection of people and a sensibly set up internal processes in personnel management very intensively influence the whole company. Therefore HR managers are invited to influence key decisions. The triangle CEO-CFO-HR is becoming key in the life of many companies. You can read all about device management here To continue reading this article on this device/browser, please edit the list of registered devices in your profile settings here: Your active subscription only allows a limited number of browsers to access locked content. The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk Subscribe now for full access I already have subscription - Sign in Lawyers critical of rules that kicked in at turn of year. Font size: A - | A + PROTESTS from entrepreneurs and experts against the low fixed penalties for tax defaulters enticed the government to amend the Act on Tax Administration, but lawyers are critical of the changes. It is not a systematic amendment that fundamentally changes the behaviour and motivation of tax dodgers, Andrej Leontiev, partner with the law firm TaylorWessing, told The Slovak Spectator, who profit from delinquency thanks to the rare inspections and very cheap solutions in the case of discovery. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The amendment also factors in the length of time a payment is overdue, setting different rates and penalties. The basic tariff remains 10 percent of the back duty for each day late. In case the taxpayer submits an additional tax return before announcement of the initiation of a tax audit, the penalty will be lower, at 3 percent, according to the Finance Ministry. A new option is to submit the additional tax return within 15 days from the audit initiation which means a 7 percent penalty of the back duty. The maximum sanction equals to the amount of the back duty imposed, Finance Ministry spokeswoman Alexandra Gogova told The Slovak Spectator. Another provision only penalises a violator for their worst transgression even in cases overlapping deliquencies by the same person. It shall apply in the case of imposition of sanctions for administrative delinquencies provided for by the tax law as well as by the specific Code and accounting regulations, Gogova said. Conditions given by legislation The previous law distinguished between tax inspectors or debtors revealing tax arrears, however, only one tariff of 5 percent was set up if the debtor reported the delay himself. The rules generated penalties of 1.57 million in the 3,740 decisions in 2014, according to Financial Directorate data. The Finance Ministry declined to estimate how much revenue the new law might generate. It is not possible to assume the back duty either after the audit or on the basis of additional tax returns, Gogova said. However, Leontiev stressed that amendment can create more space to ease penalties on willful defaulters. So far, the entity risked maximum penalty when they stated a lower tax liability, Leontiev said, but after the amendment it can anticipate the audit and thus submit the tax return and pay the lower penalty rate. Leontiev called this another anomaly of the current Slovak legal order. It provides fraudsters who have committed a criminal offence of non-payment of taxes the possibility to avoid the criminal sanction, for example imprisonment, if they pay the due tax, and also the fine, by the end of the investigation, said Leontiev. Despite the experts criticism the statute still remains in force. A thorn in the side Tax dodgers with a total due tax exceeding of 17,000, for a natural entity, or more than 170,000, for a legal entity are visible on a Financial Directorate list. But the amendment also includes plans to make more frequent monthly updates and include those with arrears from 170 starting in May. Experts consider the list as ineffective. During two years the VAT ledger statement has been in use no big fish have been caught, Radovan Durana, an analyst at the Institute for Economic and Social Studies (INESS), told The Slovak Spectator, On the contrary, there is a desire to identify defaulters with the minimum arrears as a result of disputes about the due date and the contents of the invoice or a plain typing error in accounting. Durana pointed to services verifying the solvency of companies that formerly existed on the market. There is no reason for their replacement by a tool with limited explanatory power which can be abused, he said. More efforts should be devoted to identifying unauthorised VAT deductions, Durana said. Leontiev agreed that changes will affect mainly those who make mistakes rather than those intentionally dodging taxes. We suppose that more frequent update of the list will not markedly affect the efficiency of the tax collection, Leontiev said. Follow-up actions Around 50 measures against tax evasion have been introduced into practice within the action plan framework since 2012. The Finance Ministry considers plan as successful. The fight against tax evasion in the period 2013 to 2015 brought into the [state] budget by more than 2 billion as if we stayed at the level of efficiency from the 2012, Gogova said. The ministry together with other government departments wants to continue implementing its action plan. Gradually there will be measures to ensure the simplification of the conditions for faster VAT refunds, settle the basic stock of a limited company in a preliminary bank account, a reduction of court fees in registration of entities in the commercial registry, VAT reimbursement after the receipt of payment from the buyer and other changes. The Financial Administration has registered a rapid move into more sophisticated forms of scams within the VAT ledger statement, Gogova said, such as the transition from excess deductions to tax optimisation. International context Tax evasion is also dealt with at the international level. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) approved the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project in October 2015 with the recommendations targeting the distortion of tax bases and transfer of profits across borders. The project includes a push to avoid double taxation treaties, neutralise disharmony between tax systems, strengthen rules on the protection of tax base, adjustments in transfer pricing, resolve cross-border disputes as well as offering tax solutions to challenges in the digital economy. Gogova said that BEPS is a response to the tax strategies of transnational corporations exploiting loopholes in the current system. COUNTRIES have joined forces in fighting against tax evasion. Font size: A - | A + Slovakia, together with 31 other countries, signed a multi-lateral agreement in late January, intensifying the mutual cooperation in discovering tax evasion. By signing the agreement, the country has made another step towards making this fight more effective, the Slovak Finance Ministry informed the TASR newswire. The country thus also acknowledged the implementation of BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting), the project focused on preventing erosion of the tax base and shifting of profits abroad. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement I consider this step another one in the fight against tax evasion, Finance Minister Peter Kazimir said. Within international collaboration, a swift exchange of information is inevitable, which contributes to discovering the evasions. Signing of the agreement should lead to deepening of the transparency of multinational companies. Automatic exchange of reports country-by-country will enable tax administrators to get information on selected tax indices of multinational companies, including their profits, or tax paid in individual countries. Thus, tax administrators will receive further information that will help them find out whether these companies do, or do not, artificially reduce the tax base by moving profits to other countries. HISTORY-seeking visitors to the Slovak capital were disappointed until recently, as such exhibitions had been lacking. Font size: A - | A + However, in mid-February, the first part of History of Slovakia was unveiled at the Bratislava Castle, covering the earliest periods of the territorys history up to the times of Great Morava (9th-10th centuries). Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The (at least partially) permanent exhibition comprises about 1,500 exhibits on 600 to 700 square metres. Most of them are items found on Slovak territory, be it originals or replicas, but there are also models and visualisations of buildings, some of which have not been preserved or just minor parts, not offering a complex image. From the earliest prehistoric times, from about half a million years ago when the first evidence of ancestors of Homo Sapiens was found here to the first appearance of farmers, the late Stone Age, Bronze Age, through Celtic settlement, Roman times, the turbulent migration period when several tribes arrived here, some of them to remain, and the settlement of Slavs, to the Great-Moravian times. The presentation includes tools, dishes, cult and religious items, jewels (notably, with militant Pannonian Avars mostly men decorated themselves), but also weapons, bones and means of payment. Two museum directors falling under the Slovak National Museum, the Historical Museum (residing at the castle) Branislav Panis, and of the Archaeological Museum, Juraj Bartik, explained the exhibition for media, saying it can aptly document some historical facts: the prevailing items can reveal the lifestyle of individual tribes or cultures. While nomadic ethnic tribes did not create big items, nor very lasting ones; farmers who had already settled made bigger and more elaborate dishes and decorative items; and fighting nations mostly left behind various kinds of weapons. (The Celts, considered to be very peaceful, also had handcuffs, shown among other things exhibited at the castle.) Combining an exhibition It was difficult to choose exhibits from remnants, Bartik said, adding that apart from strictly scientific criteria, also aesthetics were included in the selection process. Asked about specialties and unique findings presented, he named the Venus from Moravany (made of mammoth tusk ivory and dated to 22,800 BC), Roman-times golden bracelet from Zohor (whose value is unique in central Europe from an art-craft viewpoint), golden appliques from Tibava (around 4,000 BC), complete set of dishes from Ockov burial mound (around 1,200 BC), golden treasure from Barca (around 1,600 BC); or, from later times of Great Morava, the mighty sword probably of a prince, the remnant of which is displayed alongside a replica. The territory of Slovakia saw quite turbulent times, thanks to its geographical location and its importance within Europe. During Roman times, the Danube river formed a natural border between the Roman Empire (to the south of it) and areas inhabited by barbaric Germanic tribes; forming thus a divide between two whole civilisations. So it happened that e.g. the Gerulata was a Roman military camp near Rusovce (currently a borough of the capital), while only a few kilometres away, Germanic settlements existed. Later, the Pannonian Basin repeatedly became the site where nomadic tribes from Asia arrived and, finding a huge opposition and literally a wall that stopped them, having nowhere to continue were forced either to extinction or to settle and assimilate. This happened also after the end of Great Morava which imploded in itself, according to Bartik, and left the scene to the early Hungarian kingdom. The next parts of the History of Slovakia, to cover the Middle Ages and modern history of the country, will be gradually opened later, hopefully by the 100th anniversary of the creation of Czechoslovakia in 2018, Panis said. When complete, the exhibition will cover one full floor of the Bratislava Castle. The descriptions of exhibits are also in English and there is also a bilingual concertina book available. Later, a catalogue will also be added. Slovak police officers will assist in coping with the migration crisis. Font size: A - | A + Slovak police officers, 19 men and one woman, departed from Bratislavas M. R. Stefanik Airport on February en route to Greece in order to assist in coping with the migration crisis, and were seen off by Interior Minister Robert Kalinak. The police officers will be deployed in Greece with Poseidon part of the European Unions Frontex border guard operation. Its tasks will mainly involve registering and fingerprinting migrants. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Their mission will last a month and will be followed by a rotation, as is the case with other missions, said Kalinak as cited by the TASR newswire. Its another contribution of Slovakia and a sign of solidarity for the addressing of the biggest migration crisis to afflict Europe since May 2015. Kalinak said that more than 110,000 illegal migrants have entered Europe this year, which is the same number which entered Europe within the first four months of 2015, implying that this year will be more difficult. Slovak police officers are currently assisting with protection of borders in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Slovenia, and they have also been on duty in Hungary. According to Kalinak, countries of the Visegrad Four (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) have called for all illegal migrants meaning those who do not enter the asylum procedure to be detained and sent back to Turkey if they entered from there, as that is the basis of an agreement between Turkey and the European Union. When this starts working then we can say that we will handle the illegal migration better than last year, said Kalinak. According to the police officers, they are also interested in cooperation with colleagues from other EU countries. We are 20 police officers that have gone through a selection process that also featured knowledge of English, said Rastislav Fedorko, one of the police officers headed for Greece. It motivated me to try something new, to enhance my work experience. Cabinet to discuss allocation of investment aid on Wednesday. Representative of Midia Agro Norman Patrick Turner, MP Robert Fico and Agriculture Minister Lubomir Jahnatek, from left, touch glasses of milk after signing the memorandum. (Source: TASR) Font size: A - | A + The plans of British company Midia Agro to build a new plant for milk processing near Nitra may save Slovak primary milk producers and the stock of dairy cows in the country. With these words Margita Stefanikova, the chair of the Slovak Association of Primary Milk Producers (SZPM) commented on signing of a memorandum of understanding. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Prime Minister Robert Fico and Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Lubomir Jahnatek signed on February 29 a memorandum of understanding with Midia Agro concerning an investment worth 98 million. The investment should create 320 new jobs in an industrial park near the village of Cab (Nitra region), the TASR newswire wrote. Stefanikova noted that the investment is coming at a time when Slovak and European primary milk producers are experiencing an escalating milk crisis as prices have plummetted. SZPM chairman Alexander Pastorek pointed out that the milk crisis resembles a similar crisis from 2009, with certain dairies terminating contracts with milk suppliers. A new stable customer provides prospects for milk producers that they need not shut down production, said Pastorek. Midia Agro plans to process as much as 25 percent of the milk produced in Slovakia. The Slovak cabinet will discuss during its final session of its term on March 2 investment aid of 18.5 million, of which 16.5 million will be support for tangible assets and 2 million will be in tax relief, Prime Minister Robert Fico elaborated. The total stock of Slovak dairy cows currently stands at 135,000, down by 70,000 from five years ago. The decline was caused by the aforementioned milk crisis of 2009. Nevertheless, Pastorek believes that farmers will react to the presence of a new milk-processing company by again increasing the stock of dairy cows. Midia Agro will produce milk-based childrens products intended for the Asian market. Production is to be launched in the first quarter of 2018. According to Midia Agro representative Norman Patrick Turner, who signed the memorandum, the company has begun discussions in China, where it is expected to supply five various clients. JUST a few days before the parliamentary elections it is clear that economy-related issues, whether domestic or international, are not a topic of heated pre-election discussion. Font size: A - | A + SLOVAKIA is heading towards the March 5 parliamentary election amid sound macroeconomic conditions. And even though analysts, economists and others keep calling for the need to increase the competitiveness of Slovakias economy there are few economic issues with urgency. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The Slovak economy grew by 3.6 percent year on year in 2015 when its growth accelerated to 4.2 percent y/y during the final quarter of 2015. The growth was one of the factors behind the upgrade of the prognosis for collection of taxes and levies for 2015-2019, increasing revenues by about 400 million for each year. The jobless rate continues to fall too, and Slovakia closed 2015 with an average registered unemployment rate of 11.5 percent 1.29 percentage points less than in 2014. Real wages are rising and the Finance Ministry estimates they will increase by 3.1 percent in 2016. Amidst these positive economic indicators, the development of Slovakias small and open economy remains highly dependent on outside factors and developments in the economies of its main trade partners. Economic analysts and representatives of employers calling for reforms to increase competitiveness of the country point out that the Robert Fico government has failed to carry them out. While they praise the consolidation of public finances, they are critical that it has largely been done by boosting revenues and not cutting spending. While the ruling Smer party is expected to win the next parliamentary election, some public opinion polls indicate that it would need a coalition partner to form the cabinet. This may be a reason why opposition parties in their election programmes have been vague. Smer held a programme conference just 21 days before the elections, a reaction to falling poll numbers, analysts say. Smers election programme Prime Minister Robert Fico said the party was waiting to unveil its plans so that they could base them on the latest economic indicators. We wanted to know where we are [before elections] and whether we can make clear pledges that we want to adopt, said Fico at the conference as cited by the TASR newswire. At the conference held in Banska Bystrica on February 13, Smer extended its original five election priorities that fit on a single sheet of paper, into three pages with four main goals. They promised to increase the minimum wage, now at 405 per month, to 500, continue in reduction of levies, create 100,000 jobs, reduce the unemployment rate to below 10 percent, extend the 10 percent VAT on more basic foods and reduce regional disparities. It also wants to increase the standards of living of Slovaks in order it achieves 85 percent of the average of the EU in 2020 and that the Slovak economy becomes the best performing among V4 countries (the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia) by 2020. Smer did not elaborate on how to achieve these goals. Smer voiced its plan to create the government with one of the standard political parties, where it listed the opposition Christian-Democratic Movement (KDH) and Most-Hid; as well as its former coalition partner, the Slovak National Party (SNS) as meeting this criterion, with newcomer Siet a possibility too. Analysts do not perceive results of Smers programme conference as a real election programme. Primarily I miss in this programme focus on reforms or changes by which it wants to achieve these goals, Martin Reguli, analyst from the F. A. Hayek Foundation, told The Slovak Spectator. Reguli does not evaluate the goals themselves positively, especially the increase of the minimum wage or social packages. Social packages are non-systemic measures on the side of expenditures without planned reforms or recovery of public finances, said Reguli. Martin Vlachynsky, analyst of the Institute for Economic and Social Studies (INESS) think tank pointed out for The Slovak Spectator that the goals set by Smer are things that no cabinet can secure directly. The cabinet cannot directly create jobs, neither can it increase labour productivity and thus wages, said Vlachynsky. But it can help this by improving the business environment via lower taxes, simpler regulations, more flexible labour code, removal of various surcharges that make the final price of electricity more expensive and so on. In this term Vlachynsky highlights that there is not even a mention about the business environment in the election programme of Smer; rather contrary to this, the proclaimed increase of the minimum wage has the potential to continue to create a burden on employment of long-term unemployed and low-qualified people, especially in poor regions. Fiscal policy The Fico government consolidated public finances during its term when it reduced the general government deficit from 4.2 percent of GDP in 2012 to the forecast 2.5 percent in 2015. In terms of consolidating state finances the cabinet chose fruits hanging low, Radovan Durana of INESS told The Slovak Spectator. It increased payroll taxes of the self-employed, reduced net incomes of those working on temporary employment agreements (na dohodu), reduced the second pillar and increased taxes for companies. This way it achieved reduction of the deficit, but at the detriment of economic growth, while the structure of expenditures and extensive waste has remained in most places untouched. We assess negatively the unwillingness to reduce expenditures; hundreds of millions of euros are still spent ineffectively. Reguli evaluates positively consolidation of the deficit and a general improvement of the development of Slovakias debt while he shared the opinion that the cabinet achieved this via increase of revenues in the form of scrapping of the flat tax, increase of levies, introduction of tax licences and others. It has not conducted any reform of public expenditures in education, health care and social affairs, Reguli told The Slovak Spectator. Contrary to this it has brought in many non-systemic measures that will be difficult to cancel in the future. Social packages are a very good example of these measures. In this case certain groups of citizens are supported by money from the rest of society. 2016-2020 priorities in fiscal policy The cabinet has set fiscal goals in a way that it relies upon the growth of tax revenues and reduces the deficit this way, according to INESS. But this is not sustainable in the long term, said Durana. During the time of economic slowdown and decline of tax revenues the cabinet would again get into huge problems as it happened in 2009 and 2010. During this time Slovakias debt doubled and now represents a risk that allows neither the minister nor taxpayers to sleep calmly. When looking at election programmes of political parties in terms of whether they address the above challenges, Durana said that efforts to curb corruption or waste are found in programmes of all parties except for Smer. But efforts must be materialised in willingness to curb ineffective generousness of the social system, lay-off of employees who carry out useless activities or cancel the ministerial approach to management of the public administration, said Durana. Here only deeds will show how seriously they mean their promises and [proposed] measures. According to Reguli, the new government should endeavour to reduce expenditures via reforms of social benefits, health care and education, where it is necessary to increase wages of teachers, but there exists space for modernisation and increase of effectiveness. Business environment worsened While economic analysts and employers see some positive measures improving the Slovak business sector, in general they evaluate the Fico cabinet and steps it has taken over the last four years negatively. Among the negative measures they list revision to the Labour Code making the labour market less flexible, increased payroll taxes and the failure to improve law enforcement. Among the positive features they list some reduction of red tape and mitigation of some regulations. A quality environment (i.e. a position somewhere up to the 20th ranking in the Doing Business, while in the edition for 2016 Slovakia was 29th), is still an unreachable Atlantis for Slovak business people, Vlachynsky told The Slovak Spectator. He added that apart from the increase of taxes (and also levies for the self-employed) and introduction of new taxes, the cabinet significantly worsened administration of taxes, tightened accounting rules, made the Labour Code tougher, made employment via job agencies more difficult, and significantly increased costs of employing of low qualified labour through a higher minimum wage and the obligation to pay payroll taxes also by those working na dohodu. The chance to improve recovering of receivables and make restructuring process more effective has also been ignored, said Vlachynsky. Vlachynsky also pointed out that Slovak companies pay one of highest end electricity prices east of Berlin. Among positive measures Vlachynsky listed willingness to withdraw from some regulatory measures, for example cancelation of the duty to deposit the basic capital at a bank account or preparation of the so-called 1 company. He also pointed to automation of some administrative operations what will make the life of a business person easier, but Vlachynsky says the slow pace of these changes also make it a weakness. Reguli of the F. A. Hayek Foundation cited the use of investment stimuli in an inconsistent manner as another negative. The National Union of Employers (RUZ), the Federation of Employers Associations (AZZZ) and the Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS) praised the revision to the law on education implementing elements of dual education, tax support for companies investing into R&D, ban of shell companies with unknown owners in public procurement, reduction of VAT evasion, introduction of reverse charge in the construction sector, introduction of virtual cash desks, the concept to support startups and the launch of the electronic market. Priorities for the business sector While Slovakia suffers from overinflated bureaucracy and a large group of the long-term low-qualified unemployed, these two fields should be goals of the new cabinet regardless of its ideological inclination, according to Vlachynsky. Concrete measures do not require fundamental fiscal sacrifices, only political will and readiness for action, said Vlachynsky. The new cabinet should not resign itself either to the difficult fight with low law enforceability in Slovakia because this is a cornerstone of every healthy economy. In terms of individual political parties, Vlachynsky pointed out that the current ruling party Smer does not bring any election programme while several other parties with sound chances to become parliamentary parties offer functional individual measures, but in many cases a sheltering scheme is missing. Reguli believes that quality of the business environment may be increased via reduction of income and payroll taxes and gradual reduction of the regulatory burden. In terms of priorities he pointed out problems cited in various international rankings, for example indices of competitiveness, economic freedom and so on that list the labour market and lack of reforms in governmental expenditures as the main problems. Reguli believes that if the cabinet conducts reforms in the labour market, cuts government spending and business regulations, the business environment would improve. If the next cabinet conducted these three main reforms, it would win great support also of the business sector and might move Slovakia into position when foreign investments would be arriving as well as local companies being created, said Reguli. PAS lists priorities for the education sector and contends that technical education lags behind demands of a modern economy. Other issues to be addressed include the health care, corruption, clientelism, cronyism, nepotism in the public administration and tax fraud. PAS also calls for a real digitalisation of the public administration and support for creation of new jobs, especially via innovation, services, digital economy, Industry 4.0, reduction of the red tape and too often changes in legislation. RUZ would like to see the next cabinet to focus on a policy of competitiveness. The policy of competitiveness must be an absolute priority as this is basically the only tool the current cabinet has in hands that could create conditions for a higher economic growth, Martin Hostak, secretary of RUZ, told The Slovak Spectator, adding that Slovakia lost its monetary tools in 2009 and possibilities to stimulate the economy by fiscal policy are limited. In this respect RUZ considers the need to reform labour-related legislation as inevitable, more reform of education as necessary, and need to be more active in combating of corruption. When looking at programmes of individual parties, Reguli does not see any party courageous enough to run with distinct priorities in the abovementioned fields since the current Fico cabinet effectively defends its measures, for example social packages, and by this rolls back the opposition into situation when, by rejecting these measures they can be isolated. Reguli does not expect that Smer to have any fundamental priorities in above mentioned fields. In case of opposition parties, but none of them offer unambiguous promises in these fields. This is also because there is no principally liberal party, though some promises of reforms can be found in Most-Hid. Reguli also pointed out that in Slovakia voters do not put any significant stress on the election programmes of political parties and that in Slovakia campaigns as well as billboards are primarily about faces. The parties are more about personalities and concrete slogans, said Reguli, adding that it may be also that current political parties by setting concrete promises do not want to ruin their chances to become a future partner of Smer in the next cabinet. PAS, when looking on the programmes of individual parties sees that some of its priorities have made it to parties programmes and hopes that these will be addressed. We recently published Decalogue of Requirements of Entrepreneurs from Political Parties, Peter Kremsky, executive director of PAS told The Slovak Spectator, adding that they are now analysing the election programmes and whether they meet with their requirements and that they will release a comparison shortly. The Decalogue includes, among others, requirements to reduce income and payroll taxes, reduce red tape, make doing business easier, revive public finances, improve education, support competition and open the joint EU market. The AZZZ has also formulated 10 priorities that the next cabinet should realise in order it wants to be successful and beneficial for Slovakia. These priorities include stable political environment and consolidated public finances, reduction of income and payroll taxes, a clear orientation towards the European agenda, continuation of judicial reforms, improved law enforceability and increase quality of the legislative process, proper social dialogue, more effective drawing of EU funds, bigger support for R&D and equal conditions for support of domestic and foreign investors. What business people need the most is especially a stable political environment, Rastislav Machunka of AZZZ told The Slovak Spectator. They need a cabinet for bad weather that will offer expertise instead of populism; it will be able not only write down a quality programme [for the four-year term] but it will also stick to it and fulfil it. Neither AZZZ nor RUZ assess programmes of individual parties. For us it will be important to communicate with the new cabinet, regardless of its composition, said Hostak. The priority is that the cabinet cooperates with employers and reflects their requirements. Machunka added: AZZZ does not interfere into election fight of political parties and thus it will not comment on any concrete election promises. As social partners we are interested in participation of creation of the programme manifesto of the new cabinet. Member of the European Parliament Ivan Stefanec (ex-Slovak Democratic and Christian Union-SDKU) can thank also Smer voters for his chair. If fewer people had gone to the ballot boxes two years ago, Jan Hudacky of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) would have gone to Strasbourg. Font size: A - | A + How is this possible? Political analyst of the Presov University, Vladimir Dancisin, explained the election mathematics for the Sme daily. Sme: Can a single vote influence whether the party gets into parliament, or whether it gets another mandate? Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement VD: Theoretically, it can. One vote has the potential to impact the election results. But if we look at it realistically, this is extremely improbable in national elections. SME: How many votes can, in our conditions, decide whether a party gets one more mandate? VD: For example, the 2012 election results would not change even if any party lost 5,000 votes. No party would get a mandate, either, even if it gained 5,000 more votes. SME: Did a party receive a parliamentary mandate by a close margin? VD: Since one constituency was introduced in 1998, SDKU had the closest margin in 2010. Absence of 1,491 voters would then have robbed it of one mandate. And Most-Hid was closest to one more mandate in the 2010 elections; a mere 1,257 votes would have sufficed. Sme: How are the votes converted into mandates in Slovakia? VD: The total number of valid votes for each party is divided by the national election number [the number of votes received by all parties that made it to parliament, divided by 151 and rounded off to a whole number]. The political party gets as many mandates as how many times the national election number is contained in the grand total of valid votes for that party. The remaining mandates are divided gradually among those parties which have the highest remainder of the division. We can compare it to a situation when three buyers strive to buy five wines. They have at their disposal 10, 7 and 6. The seller sets the price at four euros. The first one buys two bottles of wine, the second and third buyer one each. Then the merchant decides to sell also the last bottle. The one who has most money left gets it. In our case, the second buyer would have the most leftover; thus, the last wine would be sold for three euros. All wines were sold, and the first and the second buyer have two euros left, each. Sme: This seems quite fair. VD: But in the election process, this is not quite a fair system. The main problem is that unlike our example, the party cannot keep the unused votes for the next election. What it cannot use, will get lost. The election system knows, though, even before the re-dividing, how many votes parties received and how mandates must be divided. The national election number, i.e. the value of one mandate, should be set in a way to re-divide all mandates in a single mathematical operation. The wine merchant should have set the price at 3.50 form the very beginning. He knows how much money clients have, and he wants to sell all five bottles. Thus, he can sell all the wine without any need to reduce the price for the unsold bottle. Based on this principle, the most used method of re-dividing votes is based DHondts method. Sme: So the way in which votes are translated into mandates in Slovakia is not a just one? VD: In the US, expert committees with top mathematicians were established like John von Neumann or Marston Morse who evaluated individual methods. These scientists did not even admit the possibility of using a method as we have in Slovakia. It was absolutely unacceptable for them. They only considered methods which do not cause election paradoxes. Sme: In 2014, MPs debated a change in re-dividing mandates. Why did it never materialise? VD: In 2014, I prepared two proposals for opposition politicians from Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) for how this problem could be solved. One of the proposals counted on a method neutral towards political parties: the conversion of votes puts at disadvantage neither bigger, nor smaller parties. The political right liked this method, due to the voters support. The second proposal stemmed form a very popular, and widely used elsewhere, method which, however, puts bigger parties at advantage. This was preferred, on the other hand, by Smer representatives. But rightist politicians felt it to be a problem, as they did not want it to help Smer easily obtain another mandate. Finally, the proposal was not passed and Smer planned to table its own solution; but this never happened. Sme: You write on your blog that a voter can indirectly support another party. How? VD: This is a problem caused by poor setting of the re-division of mandates. A good example is the European Parliament election: if we look at the results from 2014, we can see that a potential absence of 20,000 Smer voters would not harm it. However, SDKU would lose because of the absence of Smer voters one mandate. KDH, on the contrary, would be better off. In 2009, a reverse situation occurred. Thus, our election system includes the risk that voters can support through their attendance a party they do not prefer. Sme: How is this possible? VD: This is caused by the fact that we use the method of election quota (the national election number) combined with the method of biggest remainders. By changing the number of votes received, also the national election number changes, and thus also the comprising of the election number by individual parties changes. In the elections, KDH and SDKU managed to comprise the election number 2.36-times and 1.38-times respectively. By subtracting 20,000 votes of Smer, the national election number shrinks. In this case, KDH would be able to comprise the quota 2.47-times; and SDKU only 1.45-times. KDH would have a bigger remainder, which would allow it to get one mandate more. Such a setting of an election system is not good. It should be absolutely excluded. A voter opting for Most-Hid or SaS should never have the feeling that by his participation in the election, he can help Smer or the Slovak National Party (SNS) to more mandates. Sme: Thus. in some cases, the MP can thank voters of other parties for being elected? VD: Basically, yes. One can say, for example, that SDKU MEP Ivan Stefanec was elected in 2014 also thanks to Smer voters. If several thousand less of them had gone to the ballot boxes, Jan Hudacky of KDH would have been elected. Sme: So it means that me as a voter can both help and harm the party I am going to elect? VD: Today, nobody can guarantee that a voters vote will not have a negative impact; which can cause a specific party losing one mandate by his voting for it. A vote can help the party, harm it, or help any other party. And this is certainly not a good setting of an election system. Sme: What is an election paradox? VD: An election paradox can be considered the result of the Slovak Communist Party (KSS) in 2002. The party received 11 mandates. If only 148 mandates were re-divided, however, it would have gained 12 mandates. And this does not make sense. Many similar paradoxes can be found in election results. For example, in 2012, KDH would have been better off, had other parties been a bit more successful. In that case, it could have lost several votes; but it would get one mandate more, anyway. Thus, the election paradox is an unexpected, surprising, often shocking result which defies our intuitive idea about how things should be. Sme: And what about votes for parties which do not make it into parliament? Are they lost? Whom do they help? VD: They are not taken into consideration at all. This election system ignores such votes. Non-voters and voters of parties which did not get chairs in parliament ultimately help all parties which have exceeded the election quorum. The more non-voters or lost votes, the more parliamentary parties improve their result relatively to the number of votes received. Thus, the bigger a party, the more it wishes as many votes lost as possible. If a voter does not go to the ballot boxes, the election system supposes he has the same opinion as those who elected parties that made it to parliament. Sme: Which of the neighbouring countries has a more just system of re-dividing the votes? VD: Most European states use other methods of re-dividing mandates. For example voters in Poland, Austria or the Netherlands have a hundred-percent guarantee that they will not harm their party, and that they will not help a non-preferred party even indirectly. Methods used by these countries are monotonous. They guarantee that a vote helps only the preferred party. Sme: How should the system be set to prevent election paradoxes? VD: It would be enough if the law stipulated that if not all mandates have been divided by this method, the state committee will distribute them gradually to those political parties which have the biggest average of votes. This average would be calculated in the way that the total number of valid votes for parties would be divided by the number of mandates already allocated plus one. Sme: What effect do the ballots have that are wilfully destroyed by dissatisfied voters and then cast in the boxes? VD: The election system cannot meaningfully use such information from a voter. It will influence election results in no way, whether there are ten, or one million invalid votes. THREE Catholic priests, several Christian activists and also the historian of the Nations Memory Institute have signed a call supporting far-right Peoples Party Our Slovakia (LSNS). Font size: A - | A + The Conference of Bishops in Slovakia (KBS) is careful regarding its comments on this support, the Sme daily reported. Among the signatories of the document, calling on people to vote for the party led by Banska Bystrica Governor Marian Kotleba, is Catholic priest from Trnava Jan Kosiar, pastor from Dlha pri Trnave Ignac Jurus and his brother Gabriel Jurus from the Slovak community living in Montreal, Canada. All of them have already occurred in some controversial cases, while Ignac Jurus has been nominated by the Slovak National Party (SNS) to head the Nations Memory Institute (UPN) in the past, Sme reminds. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Though Kotleba has criticised Slovak bishops for inviting Iraqi refugees in Slovakia, the KBS is restrained when talking about his supporters among priests. KBS does not have the power to dictate to a Catholic priest or believers their political opinions, KBS spokesperson Martin Kramara told Sme, adding that priests are answerable to their own bishop. Meanwhile, Trnava Archbishop Jan Orosch has not punished the priests from the Trnava archdiocese who signed the call. He even did not answer the question of Sme whether he considers the support of a politician who incites hatred against everything not Slovak to be compatible with the position of a priest. Orosch himself was a member of Slovak cultural institution Matica Slovenska until 2013, Sme reminds. The call was also signed by activists and catechists, as well as Catholic poet and editor-in-chief of Kultura (Culture) magazine Teodor Krizka, who has written several poems praising president of the Nazi-allied Slovak state Jozef Tiso. Another signatory is UPN historian Martin Lacko, who has been supporting Kotleba for years, as reported by Sme. UPN spokesperson Tibor Ujlacky considers Lackos behaviour schizophrenic, as the main role of the institution is to promote the ideas of freedom and democracy. UPN distances itself from any expressions that are at odds with its mission, Ujlacky told Sme. SEVERAL travel lists published by world media recommend Slovak regions as ideal holiday destinations. Font size: A - | A + Listing Slovak tourist destinations on travel lists in prestigious world media is a perfect way to lure more tourists to Slovakia, said head of the Slovak Tourist Board (SACR) Marta Kucerova, as quoted in the press release. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement As for winter holidays, websites usually endorse the ski conditions in the Tatras, particularly in Tatranska Lomnica in the High Tatras and Jasna in the Low Tatras. British daily The Guardian invites readers for an adventurous trip in the Tatras, while Danish MXmeteoexpress informs that Slovak ski resorts are an interesting alternative to resorts in Italy or Austria, SACR wrote in the press release. Moreover, several Hungarian media outlets recommend not only a ski holiday in the mountains, but also visits to Bratislava and Kosice. Finnish magazine for caravan owners Camper recommends hiking in the Tatras accompanied with good services, nice views and acceptable prices. Japanese association of travel agencies, for example, also praises the Slovak culture. It recommends a visit to Vlkolinec (Zilina Region), which is inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Mexican reporters from Excelsior magazine endorse Banska Stiavnica (Banska Bystrica Region), while several bloggers recommend visiting Bratislava. Slovenian blogger Nina Kogej, for example, recommends 12 things people can experience when visiting the city. The Kongres Magazine lists Bratislava as among the 10 most interesting places to hold a congress or seminar, SACR informs. In addition, British newspaper The Telegraph lists the Danube among the 14 nicest European rivers and introduces Bratislava as an ideal place to start a trip in the Carpathians. Slovakia has made itself known in several world media outlets also in the past. The LA Times published tips for trips in the High Tatras, while The Times invited its readers to a ski holiday in Slovakia. Also travel portals of CNN, BBC, The Economist, TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet have recommended holidays in Slovakia, SACR informed. SIX MONTHS after the dual education scheme was launched the feedback is good, and more companies are expected to join next year. Font size: A - | A + This stems from the evaluation of the Slovak-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DSIHK). The chamber, however, still sees room for improvement. SNOPK evaluates the acquisition of students as the biggest challenge and believes that schools should get higher financial stimuli to set up such classes, while companies should pay lower taxes and contributions. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement We have very good experience and very good feedback from firms for the first six months after dual education was launched, DSIHKs vocational education section head Zeljka Senkovic said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. She considers the initial results very encouraging as there is high demand on the part of firms that want to join it as of next year. The list of companies contacting us in this connection doesnt include only firms engaged in the automotive and engineering industries, Senkovic continued. There are other sectors, as well, such as trade, services, the footwear industry and logistics. She described the law on vocational education as a step in the right direction, although she sees several flaws in it. The chamber believes that the ongoing education of teachers should improve and that the tax and contributions burden of companies involved in it should be lowered. Therefore, it plans to carry out a survey among firms after the general election on March 5 and then approach the new government with specific conditions. The hardest nut to crack is to acquire students for dual education, i.e. to persuade parents of the advantages of this system, stated Senkovic. Therefore, the chamber has developed the DUALpro quality brand, which should guarantee high-quality education in line with German standards. Footwear-maker Gabor based in Banovce nad Bebravou (Trencin Region) will join the system as of the 2016-201717 school year. We want to resume, boost and maintain the shoe-making tradition, which is impossible without qualified workers, companys authorised representative Juraj Vodicka said, as quoted by TASR. Our employees are mostly approaching retirement age, and so its a must for us to find replacements if we want to maintain our position. Slovakias largest carmaker Volkswagen Slovakia will join the programme as of September with its Dual Academy, which will be set up on the premises of the Secondary Automotive Vocational School in the Bratislava borough of Devinska Nova Ves and will instruct 100 students. Practical education will make up 70 percent of the curriculum. The company plans to invest 9 million into the project, TASR reported. Privacy statement: This blog does not share personal information with third parties nor do we store any information about your visit to this blog other than to analyze and optimize your content and reading experience through the use of cookies. You can turn off the use of cookies at anytime by changing your specific browser settings. We are not responsible for republished content from this blog on other blogs or websites without our permission. This privacy policy is subject to change without notice and was last updated on January 1, 2017. If you have any questions feel free to contact Springfield Vermont News directly here: ed44vt@gmail.com Coffee roasting in Vienna dates back centuries. In fact, it dates all the way back to 1683, when the first coffeehouse opened in Austria, after the Battle of Vienna where the Turks were defeated and their loot was imbibed for its caffeinating pleasure. It is also true that they added milk and sugar at this point, so not everything was perfect back then. A century ago, Vienna had hundreds of roasters in the city center, but industrialization closed most of them down and supermarkets with prepackaged goods became the norm. A movement has emerged to take a step back. We wanted to bring back tradition and tell people that coffee roasting is a wonderful craft, and the result can really taste like coffee instead of burned coal plus rancid oils, says Werner Savernik, co-owner of CoffeePirates along with partner Evelyn Priesch. We now try to bring back the coffee in the mind of the customer, show them differences in flavor by different origin countries, varieties, and roasting profiles. What started in 2012 as Viennas first specialty coffee shop with an in-shop roastery, near the university campus in Vienna and the old courts of the Altes AKH in the Ninth District, has doubled in size and now also offers a second location on Wahringerstrae, near the touristic first district of the ancient city. But the initial thought of planning a roaster started somewhere on a world travel extravaganzaanywhere between New Zealand and Colombia says Savernik. The great adoration of the profession and the idea that there are a thousand ways to love a coffee drink are what inspires Savernik to expand his current offerwith a new shop in the works, a Kees van der Westen Spirit coffee machine in construction, and a separate, bigger roastery opening soon. It might sound epic, but thats because it is, says Savernik reverently of the coffee world. The city, after all, is the fountainhead of Wiener Kaffeehaus for better or for worse. So fittingly so that Viennese Coffee House Culture is categorized under the rubric of Intangible Cultural Heritage with UNESCO. And so Savernik romances this very notionAustrians dont rush in, take an espresso, and walk out of a cafe as they do in Italy. We sit for hours and enjoy the atmosphere, read a newspaper, and chat with friends. CoffeePirates takes this essence into the 21st century with coffee as the base, in a relaxed atmosphere, and adds homemade food, a little bit of shopping, and Wi-Fi to complete the offering. But Austrians still order the lackluster Melange as a variation of the cappuccino, or a Kleiner Brauner which is between an espresso macchiato and a cortado. Its moving in direction of flat whites and more and more to the double shot espressi from specialty coffees, Savernik confirms. But the interest in filter coffee in the city is also unfurling. We always serve at least two different beans for V60, Kalita, AeroPress, and Chemex. And since last year, we also offer cold drip coffee out of a Coffeega Ridge 3.2, says Savernik. Its fantastic to see how this coffee hits the taste buds of our guests. Savernik is committed to finding the best beans available, of coursewhether direct-traded or using specialty importers like Nordic Approach and Mercanta. We [have] visited a lot of the farms and cooperatives where our coffees are coming from. Its always a great inspiration to visit the farmers in the origin countries and see what a hard work it is to produce excellent coffees, shares Savernik. For this little wooden hideout in the Imperial City, its a statement against the big players in the industry, made from the golden heart of coffee Vienna. We are the good and friendly ones fighting against bad coffee. Our philosophy is to only serve great cups of coffee of best qualities to our guestsprepared with love. CoffeePirates has multiple locations. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram Daniel Scheffler is an international freelance journalist whose work has appeared in T Magazine, Travel And Leisure, Monocle, Playboy, New York Magazine, The New York Times, and Butt. Read more Daniel Scheffler on Sprudge. With additional photos courtesy Werner Savernik. Yuri Okamoto meets me in front of a quiet old building in the Sotokanda neighborhood of Tokyo. The streets are quiet, and sun filters through the space between buildings. The city was waking. Okamoto leads me up a narrow set of stairs and unlocks the door to her studio and retail space, Khohi. I usually open two or three times a week, she says. Its best to call up and see if Im here before making the trip. All the regulars do that. She makes some tea as I look around, regarding her handiwork. Racks line the walls, each filled with her Kissaco bagssimple combinations of leather and burlap, formerly coffee sack. Though their basic design is similar, no two bags are alike. Each tells a unique story: Swiss Water, Antigua Coffee, Ogawa Coffeeold names reborn on the fronts of her bags. It was traveling in Asia that sparked Okamotos desire for a job she could do anywhere, and craftwork appealed to her personality. For a time she worked at a publishing company by day while she learned bag-making by night. One day her father found a burlap sack on a business trip to a roastery, and when he showed it to his daughter, it created a spark. Okamoto designed the first bags with simplicity in mind. Over time she fine-tuned them, talking with customers to make improvements: smoother textures, more comfort, more durability. Maintaining this direct connection to her customers is why Okamoto hasnt gone the mass-production route. Ive had people tell me I should make this into a bigger enterprise, she says. And you could mass-produce the bags and send them all over the world. But if I were to do that, the quality would drop, and I wouldnt be able to talk with each customer anymore. I didnt want that. I wanted my own store, where I could talk to people and learn what they wantedbecause I could [respond to] that, and make each customer even happier the next time they came. Okamoto had another revelation on a trip to Bali in 2015, when she saw the silk-screening process for the first time. She watched a small group work together coloring and creating a single burlap sack. She says it was heartbreaking to her that such effort and craftsmanship would ultimately go unappreciated, which is why Okamoto tries to make her own craftwork subtle, invisible, and understatedif shes done her job well, its the coffee bag that catches your eye first. Its only later that you notice the quality she put into its construction. Burlap isnt the only reclaimed/repurposed aspect to Kissaco: the machinery Okamoto uses is bought on the cheap from retiring craftspeople, as are the thread and leatherOkamoto says if she didnt use them for her bags, the materials would simply be thrown away. I dont really buy new things. Theres a lot [of material] that companies simply wont use anymore, so I take it off their hands. Ive built up a network like that. Basically, I accept what others are getting rid of, and use what can still be used. The upcycled synergy that comes from applying a craft to something produced by the hard work of othersin such a way that someone else might come to cherish itis at the heart of Kissaco and Khohi (which means love, written kohi in Japanese). I want to collect all the things that spark that feeling of love, and have them here. The glassware [here at Khohi] is from overseas, and there are things my friends made; I want to display what I like and love, so I named my studio after that idea. Khohi is about wanting to live by doing what I love. Hengtee Lim (@Hent03) is a Sprudge.com staff writer based in Tokyo. Read more Hengtee Lim on Sprudge. The regional issues of mutual interest such as the situation in Syria and Libya will be discussed as well, ambassador added. March 20 will mark the 60th anniversary of Tunisian independence and the establishment of Russia-Tunisia diplomatic ties. Following the anniversary, on March 30-April 2, Russian and Tunisian officials will meet in Moscow for the sixth intergovernmental commission. Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid appointed Jhinaoui at the helm of the countrys foreign ministry on January 7. Russia, Tunisia to Discuss Use of Ruble in Bilateral Trade Russian officials will discuss the use of the ruble in bilateral trade with their Tunisian counterparts at a session of an intergovernmental commission, the Tunisian Ambassador to Russia told Sputnik. Russian and Tunisian officials are expected to meet for the sixth intergovernmental commission that will take place in Moscow on March 30-April 2. "The main agenda of this consultation is our political relations and our economic cooperation: ways and means of strengthening our economic and trade ties, specifically at this stage, because right now where is a place for the Tunisian products on the Russian market We will be looking for a solution to use ruble instead of dollar in our trade exchanges," Goutali said. He added that there was a need to increase Tunisian export of agricultural products and textiles. BEIJING (Sputnik) A "Russian street" a free trade area for Russian businesses will be created in the Chinese border city of Suifenhe by the end of 2016 to attract companies from Russia, an official from the city administrations Office of Market Surveillance, Yang Tintin, told Sputnik Tuesday. "Since Suifenhe borders the Primorsky Territory of Russia, it was decided to create such a street here. The aim is to attract Russian businesses to trade in traditional goods, which will create a kind of a Russian cluster here. This, in turn, will enhance the international status of the city, will help to attract more foreign visitors and will enhance the city's economic and social development," Yang said. The location of the "cluster" has already been determined, the official said. Bars and cafes as well as a bakery are planned to be built in the area. In October, the Hellenic Banks Association stated that the controls could be lifted by late 2015, while in late December, the president of the association said that capital controls could be lifted in the first half of 2016 following the recapitalization of Greek banks. Since then, Greek banks received some 14 billion euros in funding from international creditors, according to the European Central Bank. There is no more risk of a "haircut" tax on deposits, Tsipras said, adding that Greece has fully complied with conditions demanded by international creditors in return for the third bailout loan. The International Monetary Fund is yet to be convinced of the fulfilled demands, while the eurozone creditors will return for assessment before March 10, following the Eurogroup meeting of eurozone's financial ministers, according to the prime minister. The Tsipras government has been carrying out economic reforms since August, when European finance ministers and the IMF approved an 86-billion-euro ($93 billion) bailout package aimed at rebuilding Greece's economy. Under the deal, the international lenders secured the Greek government's agreement to reform labor markets, privatize state assets and recapitalize banks. In light of this information, the Bulgarian security forces have started a large-scale inspection of gas stations throughout the country, the publication said. Over 50 facilities are being monitored, although the link to Daesh has not yet been officially confirmed, the paper reported, citing sources in the authorities. According to information provided by the outlet's source, the smuggled oil products are of relatively low quality, deviating from EU standards by 20-40 percent for gasoline and 35-70 percent for diesel fuel. Daesh, which is outlawed in Russia and many other countries, controls large swaths of land in oil-rich Syria and Iraq. In late 2015, the Russian Defense Ministry presented evidence showing that the jihadist group has been smuggling oil across the Syrian-Turkish border in large volumes. According to Russian envoy to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin, illicit exports of Daesh oil, primary via Turkey, allows it on average to generate approximately $1.5 million in revenue every day. In Maasen's opinion, Germany is like no other country in the European Union affected by the wave of migration and this trend is likely to continue this year. About 1.1 million people from Middle Eastern and North African countries immigrated to Germany in 2015, raising criticism and security concerns among the local population and German politicians. "[] the refugee issue determines not only the media coverage and the social and political debate on the federal and local level. It is also increasingly gaining importance in the agitation and activities of extremist actors," Maassen said. According to him, the new situation has led to the rise of right-wing extremism and increased the possibility of an Islamist or a right-wing attack in the country. Moreover, there are concerns that about 260 of 800 young people who travelled to Syria to wage jihad and then came back to Germany could commit terrorist attacks on the German soil. "Every day we receive between two four warnings about possible attacks in Germany," Maasen said. He also added that refugees often become subject to radical indoctrination by extremist groups. "There are currently about 300 indications about direct contacts of Islamists to asylum seekers. These occur mainly at or near the refugee centers," the official said. The decision has led to friction between some of Vienna's allies, while it has resulted in a greater sense of urgency for the EU to come to an agreement over the migration crisis. Europe is facing major challenges due to the #RefugeeCrisis: Closed borders, deaths in the Mediterranean and intolerance Alexis Tsipras (@tsipras_eu) February 26, 2016 Austria's actions, which were mirrored by Balkan states Slovenia, Serbia and Macedonia, have triggered fears Greece may be ostracized from the rest of Europe and turning into a 'parking lot' for refugees and migrants. "We need a political decision now. Soon it will be too late. The Austrian ceiling of 37,000 will be reached," Ivanov said, arguing that Macedonia was merely following developments further up the Balkans route. "Such decisions are made between police authorities along the Balkans route," he said. "Whenever a country to the north closes its borders, we follow suit You must understand that the situation changes not just by the day, but by the hour." Brussels Burned Over Migration Inaction While officials in Brussels and Berlin have called for Balkan countries to open their borders, Ivanov returned fire and criticized the EU's inaction over the migration issue. "We can't wait until Brussels makes a decision. We have made our own decisions. In times of crisis, every country must find its own solutions If we had waited for EU guidelines, Macedonia would have been flooded with refugees." Increasing the pressure on EU member states to find a common solution to the migration crisis, Ivanov warned the current impasse, which has triggered the stricter border controls, would also play into the hands of people smugglers and criminal syndicates. "No-one wants to stay in Greece, Macedonia and Serbia," he said. "The goal of the refugees is Germany. They will find a path there. A dangerous path." In the petition A Movement of Enlightenment Against Reaction the authors warned against attempts to turn Turkey into an Islamic state and called on the people to stand up for their constitutional rights and freedoms. In an interview with Sputnik, Kemal Okuyan, a senior member of the Turkish Communist Party and Huseyin Aygun, a lawyer, complained about societys failure to resist the governments attempts to turn the country into a religious state. The official demand for mandatory Friday prayers in mosques flies in the face of people leading a secular way of life, both Alawites and Christians. However, none of our political parties have complained about this, Kemal Okuyan said. We calling on people to stand up for their rights and resist provocations by Erdogans administration which is chummy with al-Nusra terrorists, Huseyin Aygun added. He also blamed the recent blasts in downtown Ankara on President Erdogan who has spent the past five years supplying arms to each and every terrorist group in Syria and training their fighters. Kemal Okuyan pointed to the support Erdogans policies enjoyed among serious local and international players. The Justice and Development Party would have never managed to stay in power for so long without the support its been getting from Big Business representatives both in and out of the country. There is a direct link between reactionary policies, the Islamization of the country and the domination of these international monopolies, Kemal Okuyan emphasized. When asked to comment on Alexander Zakharchenkos alternative option of a confederative treaty which, if implemented in good faith by both sides with due regard for the legitimate interests of the people of Donbass, would effectively end the war, Doubrava said that it had already been turned down by [President Petro] Poroshenko. This leaves Donbass no option other than demarcate the border of the de-facto independent Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples Republics, Jaroslav Doubrava stated. He added that the DPR and LPR would be better off as independent republics than as part of their Ukrainian stepmother, because people always take better care for what is their own. When asked about the prospects of a peaceful divorce ever happening, Jaroslav said that the Kiev authorities who came to power as a result of a coup, ought to get back to the negotiatiing table. There is no way they can resolved this conflict by force. They need to repent for the crimes they committed in Donetsk and only then discuss a divorce. But I fear that Kiev and Donbass will be able to do this the way the Czechs and Slovaks once did after all the blood that has been spilled there, Jaroslav Doubrava said. Fallon said Daesh was "on the back foot in Iraq" but that "that is not happening yet in Syria and I am extremely concerned about the proliferation of Daesh along the Libyan coastline." UK: Kurdish Cooperation With Damascus 'Disturbing' Fallon's comments echo the sentiment of British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond, who last week attracted criticism when he said there was "very disturbing evidence" of cooperation between armed Kurdish groups, the Syrian government and Russian forces in northern Syria. "What we have seen over the last weeks is very disturbing evidence of coordination between Syrian Kurdish forces, the Syrian regime and the Russian air force which are making us distinctly uneasy about the Kurds' role in all of this," Hammond said. Hammond was heavily criticized for his comments, with critics pointing out that the Kurds have been one of the West's most effective and valuable allies on the ground in Syria and Iraq, who have worked alongside the US-led international coalition, as well as Russian and Syrian government forces. In recent months, Europe has faced an enormous influx of migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. EU border agency Frontex recorded over 1.83 million illegal border crossings into the European Union in 2015. The Slovak prime minister pointed out that Austria's decision to close its borders may seriously affect neighboring countries. "Austria after its at first refugee welcoming policy today is closing the borders and intends to keep doing it. Therefore, it is very likely that migrants will move to the north, using the route through Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to reach Germany. In this case we have prepared the corresponding measures," Fico said. In February, Austria placed daily limits on a number of people entering their territory and number of asylum applications. In recent months, Europe has faced an enormous influx of migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. EU border agency Frontex recorded over 1.83 million illegal border crossings into the European Union in 2015. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The recently announced decision by the US government to lease new areas for offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico may be politically motivated by the 2016 presidential elections to attract votes for a Democratic nominee, Fearn Oil Vice President Michael Moore told Sputnik. In February, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced that the US administration intends to offer about 45 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas development during two lease sales in March. "It would be interesting what their intentions are; Im not sure what they are thinking. Maybe its an attempt to try to look like they are doing the right thing in front of the elections so they can help their fellow Democrats," Moore said. The $4.65 billion is planned to be repaid in cash, with the difference to be made up by placing bonds valued at around $750 million. Argentine lawmakers are expected to approve the holdout deal next week, where President Mauricio Macri is scheduled to send the draft bill. Argentina went through three major debt crises in 1982, 1988 and 2001, with the latest default declared the largest in the South American country's history. Buenos Aires restructured 93 percent of its debt, but the creditors holding the rest 7 percent of the bonds did not accept Argentinas proposal and filed a lawsuit, demanding full payment. A New York court has earlier ruled that Argentina had to pay $1.33 billion to its 2001 bond holders who did not agree with restructuring deal. The US court had also blocked the transfer of the sum that Buenos Aires forwarded to cover its restructured debt, forcing the country to start negotiations with the bond creditors who refused the restructuring deal. Argentina attempted to reach an agreement on extension of the payment deadline but no accord was signed after negotiations in New York. Last summer, US District Judge Thomas Griesa ruled that Argentina must pay $5.4 billion to its bondholders in addition to the $1.33 billion it owed. Meanwhile, government troops, backed by the Republican Guard and the National Defense Forces, scored more military gains in other key provinces across the country, killing a number of militants and inflicting major damage to their military hardware. Russian fighter jets, in a fresh round of combat missions on Sunday, bombed several concentration centers of the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front in the eastern part of Aleppo province, inflicting major losses on the terrorists. In the coastal province of Latakia, Syrian Army commandos pushed the militant groups back from their positions and won back a strategic height overlooking Turkey. The terrorists left behind scores of dead and wounded members and fled their strongholds in the northern part of the province after coming under heavy attacks by the Syrian Army and National Defense Forces. The Syrian Army's anti-terrorism operation in the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor near the border with Iraq left at least 20 Daesh fighters dead and their military grid severely damaged. On Sunday Daesh pulled its fighters back from a key town in the north of Raqqa province on the border with Turkey under heavy attacks by the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Goutali said that his country had already seen three terrorist attacks and was very concerned about terrorist activity. Tunisia is on security alert after a series of attacks last year. President Beji Caid Essebsi said last year that Tunisia was at war with terrorism. The number of Tunisian nationals joining the ranks of Daesh has declined in the course of 2015, he added. "Since the last parliamentary and presidential elections over the last year, a number of Tunisians who joined the IS has decreased. A number of those who joined during the previous so called 'Troika government' was higher because at that time, the state was weak and no bold measures were taken to curtail this trend," Goutali emphasized. The mosques were taken over by extremists amid a very difficult economic situation and a high unemployment rate among young people, he added. "[Currently] there is a control of those mosques, a scheme has been in place to reduce unemployment and give young people hope," the diplomat noted. ANKARA (Sputnik) The authorities of the Turkish province of Sirnak on Tuesday announced the cancellation of a round-the-clock curfew in the town of Cizre and reduced the duration of the curfew in the town of Silopi, where a military operation against members of the outlawed in Turkey Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) had been conducted. On February 11, Turkey's Interior Minister Efkan Ala said that Turkish security forces had finalized the anti-terrorist operation in the mainly Kurdish towns of Cizre and Silopi. "Starting March 2, the 24-hour curfew will be canceled in Cizre, it will instead operate from 7.30 p.m. to 5.00 a.m. The same regime will operate in Silopi, where the duration of the curfew will be shortened by one hour," a statement on the Sirnak province administration website said. The guys are doing their job as they should but just now it is calm. No one is lazy here though, joked the representative. Even before the cessation of hostilities came into force, a center for reconciliation of the warring parties was established. According to the correspondent the phone number of this center is broadcasted daily to all public television channels. It is also distributed by the government forces in the areas where the ceasefire is not yet valid. In addition, all residents of the country receive regular messages calling for dialogue. In just a few days of its work the center employees have received nearly 70 applications. As the Ministry of Defense reported earlier, at this moment the representatives of almost fifty settlements in the provinces of Hama, Homs, Deraa and Damascus have declared their readiness to sign documents of the truce. The Syrian opposition is committed to protecting the territory under its control from terrorist threats. After appealing to the center, the representatives of the opposition factions or groups are able to organize negotiations with the authorities. As a rule, negotiations take place in several rounds. These meetings end with success, and in some cases as it was in the province of Aleppo the opposition not only agrees to reconciliation, but also fights radicals side by side with the government forces. As the correspondent noted, the residents of Syria optimistically notice the beginning of the long-awaited reconciliation of the authorities and armed opposition groups. "The ceasefire [in Syria] appears to be holding, and it's a tribute to diplomacy," he observed. "It's impossible to say if it will hold, but the longer it does, the more time all sides have to negotiate something permanent." The Islamic State, also known as Daesh which is outlawed in Russia, would certainly try to undermine the ceasefire or hope that Washington and Moscow would come into conflict over maintaining it, Kiriakou cautioned. "This is certainly a bad thing for [Daesh] because it allows the other two sides to regroup and to focus on a united front against the terrorists," he stated. "It's too early to say if this portends a more lasting peace." Kiriakou gained international recognition as the only person ever sent to prison for the Bush administration's torture program: not because he engaged in torture but because he exposed it to the world. Kiriakou, an expert on Middle East terrorism, was jailed for two years for passing information to a reporter while a CIA officer. He now serves as an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. Kuralenko confirmed the deployment of reinforcements, including armed vehicles by Turkey on the Syrian border, and he too expressed concern that such moves could lead to the derailment of the fragile three-day-old truce in Syria. Macgregor agreed that the ceasefire could still be derailed or sabotaged. "I am not sure this arrangement is more than a temporary respite from the fighting," he said. Wider conflicts in the region such as Turkeys continuing feud with its more than 20-million-strong Kurdish minority, or the growing enmity between Sunni and Shia Muslim states and communities in the region, posed long-term, structural threats to the Syrian peace deal, he noted. "We are at the beginning, not the end of the fighting in the Levant and Mesopotamia," Macgregor cautioned. Doug Macgregor holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the US Military Academy at West Point and in addition to his practical experience he is also a military historian. He commanded the US armored forces in the Battle of 73 Easting in the 1991 Gulf War, the largest US tank victory since World War II. "The Syria ceasefire initiative has been made possible by Russia's influence in the country. Moscow has given the Assad government tangible military support via the air campaign against its enemies. This has shifted the balance of forces on the ground," he explained. Assad had become more flexible and more open to compromise because of the recent Russian successes, Schirach pointed out. "Before the Russians came to his rescue, Assad was in serious danger. But now he should be reasonably reassured that Moscow will continue to protect him. He will not become a casualty of any future peace negotiation: Hence his agreement to a cease fire," he said. The suffering in Syria still had to be addressed, but the ceasefire at last offered a realistic path to peace, Schirach predicted. "While Syria remains a horrible quagmire with untold suffering for millions of displaced civilians, Russia has firmly established itself as a legitimate player in the country, and as a key broker in any deal that may lead to the end of the conflict," he stated. Meanwhile, experts express their concerns regarding the fact that there are scores of groups on the ground in Syria whose affiliations and sponsorship are murky. There is a lot of controversy over which of them are terrorists and which are so-called "moderate rebels." Could anti-Assad forces on the ground and their Western backers use this vagueness to their advantage and thus set a trap for Russia and Damascus? What should Russia and Bashar al-Assad do to avoid such a trap? "They already avoided it," The Saker underscored. "The way this latest agreement was framed is simple: all those who decide to participate in it are henceforth "good moderates". All others are "bad terrorists". Which, in practice, will translate into this: those who cease fighting are integrated into the political progress; all others are designated for annihilation. That's it. Instead of getting caught into endless discussions about "good terrorists" and "moderate head-choppers" Russia forced the USA into a binary setup: all opposed to this process are to be wiped-off. Simple and very, very effective. There is no vagueness left," the military analyst explained. What are the potential prospects of the Syrian ceasefire? Will it prove efficient, like the 2013 US-Russian deal over Syria's chemical weapons, or will we face a Donbass-style stalemate? "Neither. It won't be a solid deal like the US-Russian deal on Syrian chemical weapons, but it will not be a Donbass-style stalemate either simply because the agreement and the UNSC Resolution specifically call for the complete elimination/destruction of the various terrorist organizations in Syria," The Saker elaborated. "So what I see are two options: either Turkey and the Saudis reignite this all and create total chaos or the Takfiris will have to move back to Iraq and Libya. Since both processes can take a lot of time, this war is far from over," the military analyst emphasized. He calls attention to the fact that Erdogan had long been engaged in personal diplomacy with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. However, when then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed that "Assad must go," the Turkish leader immediately changed his stance and ganged up with the Saudis against the Syrian President. Given the fact that the "Assad must go policy" has ultimately failed, it is time to retreat. But since the West took part in stirring Syria up, the Western political establishment is especially interested in retreating quietly so that its glaring misdeeds have never come to light. "By failing to cooperate and making a spectacle of defying Obama, Turkey raises the risk of a more detailed examination of this entire sordid affair the real cause of the loss of 250,000 lives in Syria; the real cause of the refugee crisis (there was none prior to the attack on Syria); the strong support, direct or indirect, by all parties of jihadist extremists who gloried in the killing of Christians, Druze, and other minorities in Syria," Collins notes. In this context there is the possibility that Erdogan would have to bear the burden of responsibility and that means his days as President of Turkey will soon be over, the researcher stresses. Interestingly enough, the similar stance has been recently shared by US journalist Mike Whitney and American researcher and risk strategic consultant F. William Engdahl. Turkey's assertive foreign policies may seriously erode Erdogan's grip on power, Whitney wrote in his article for Counterpunch.org, adding that the US could exploit it to its advantage. "The ultimate objective would be to foment sufficient social unrest to incite a color-coded revolution that would dispose of the troublemaking Erdogan in a Washington-orchestrated coup, much like the one the CIA executed in Kiev," the US journalist stressed. Given all of that, is it time to say good-bye to Recep Erdogan? "One week after Chinese President Xi Jinping's historic visit to post-sanctions Iran, where the two countries signed major trade agreements including bringing Iran fully into the emerging strategic New Economic Silk Road and Maritime Road blueprint, China launched a new maritime shipping route to Iran. Two days before that, the first freight train departed China for the Islamic Republic," the researcher continues. Beijing and Tehran envisage the construction of the new high-speed rail infrastructure that will break Iran's economic isolation, paving the way for the upcoming Eurasian economic boom, Engdahl underscores. In addition, Iran is likely to be invited to full membership status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) later this year. Remarkably, the six full members of the SCO occupy territory that accounts for 60 percent of the Eurasian continent and a quarter of the world's population. "During [Sino-Iranian] talks in Tehran on January 26 Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, told Xi Jinping that Iran will continue its policy of bolstering ties with the 'East,' lauding China's 'independent' stance in global issues," the researcher points out. Furthermore, Ayatollah Khamenei added that the Western political establishment has failed to win hearts and minds of the Iranian people. "Westerners have never obtained the trust of the Iranian nation. The government and nation of Iran have always sought expanding relations with independent and trustful countries like China," Iran's Supreme leader stressed, as quoted by the researcher. . If you do not agree with the blocking, please use the Access to the chat has been blocked for violating the rules . You will be able to participate again through:. If you do not agree with the blocking, please use the feedback form The discussion is closed. You can participate in the discussion within 24 hours after the publication of the article. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russian military theorists plan to respond to hybrid warfare with similar methods and prepare to develop soft power concepts, Russias Kommersant daily reported Tuesday, citing a senior military officials report. The daily cited Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimovs report at the Academy of Military Science meeting held over the weekend. Gerasimov described so-called color revolutions, cyberattacks and soft power activities as integral parts of hybrid warfare. "Since color revolutions that the Ministry of Defense in fact deems state coups are one form of hybrid warfare, responding to them using conventional troops is impossible: they can only be counteracted with the same hybrid methods," his report was quoted as saying. pic.twitter.com/OU60LyOjeo 24 (@infomoscow24) March 1, 2016 The baby's mother was taken by an ambulance to the hospital in an unconscious state. " ". . pic.twitter.com/z0X2pcOc0W (@VadimKovalev) 1 2016 . The body of the child was found in a Moscow apartment where a fire was reported earlier Monday. Preliminary reports say that Bobokulova had spent the past year working for the family. The motive for the attack is still unknown. The nanny reportedly waited for the parents and an older child to leave and killed the 4-year-old baby before setting the apartment on fire. https://t.co/pPJXEMdMtZ pic.twitter.com/9QT80rqvUN (@mreporter_ru) March 1, 2016 The tragedy with the child murdered by her nanny is not what should be reported in mass media, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. This is probably too grotesque to show over the television and you know that mass media all around the world avoid showing videos of such tragic and monstrous occurrences and there are plenty of examples of this and this is how mass media show their civil position, Peskov told journalists when asked why central Russian televisions decided not to fully cover the tragedy using video cuts. Early this month, a video went viral of a brave woman chasing down a Miami-Dade police officer for speeding, and, after lecturing him, letting him go with just a warning. Soon after, she found herself being retaliated against by none other than the head of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police. The reverse traffic stop was posted in a series of videos taken by Claudia Castillo at the end of January, after Castillo saw a cop speed by her at over 90 MPH without emergency lights. The officer claimed he was unaware that he was speeding and was not on his way to an emergency, but was instead on his way to work. The reason I pulled you over today, the woman said to the officer after he walked up to her vehicle in the video, is because I saw you, since Miller Drive, when you were first jumping onto the Palmetto, and you were pushing 90 miles an hour. Clintons rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, is expected to turn out a better showing in the north, where he has a slight lead in some Massachusetts polls and an average 75 point spread over Clinton in his home state of Vermont. The Democratic race appeared to shift in favor of Hillary Clinton following a major victory in the South Carolina primary. Clinton has now shored up 544 delegates to Sanders 85. The Democratic candidate will need 2,382 delegates to gain the partys nomination. WHEN TO WATCH The polls in most of the eastern states will close at 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. EST, though some results will still be coming in early on Wednesday. Further west, Texas, Colorado, and Minnesota are scheduled to begin caucusing at 9 p.m. EST. Alaska Republicans and Wyoming voters will caucus at 12 a.m. EST. The field of presidential contenders has been culled significantly since campaigning started in earnest during 2015, leaving two Democrats and five Republicans. Many analysts anticipate that of the remaining Republicans, Trump, Cruz, Rubio, John Kasich, and Ben Carson, another candidate or two will drop out of the Republican race following Super Tuesday. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders raised more than $6 million in a single day after he asked voters to donate $4 million by the end of the day on February 29 to have a better chance against his main rival Hillary Clinton on Super Tuesday, the Sanders campaign announced in a statement. Lifted by more than 1.4 million contributions averaging $30 a piece, Bernie Sanders presidential campaign on Tuesday announced it raised more than $42 million in the month of February. The total is the most raised in a single month by any candidate running for president in 2016, the statement said. The Vermont senators campaign added that on Monday, Sanders hauled in more than $6 million on the final day of the month alone, nearly matching the amount he raised in the 24 hours after a 22-point victory in the New Hampshire primary. Replacing an executive director of a racing commission is never an easy task, especially when he/she was known for being focused on enforcing regulations. Michael Smith has said that he is going to be vigilant when it comes to dealing with wrongdoers, as well. "I promise you I won't be soft on illegal drugs," Smith, the Indiana Horse Racing Commission new executive director, recently told the Indianapolis Business Journal. "If someone breaks the rules, they will pay the penalty. That's the way it has to be." Last fall, the IHRC voted to remove its former executive director, Joe Gorajec. According to an article, the commissioners decision was based, at least in part, because Gorajec was too focused on enforcing regulations. The IHRC announced in early February that it had landed Smith who had recently retired from a 13-year run as CEO of a casino lobbying organization as Gorajecs replacement. Under Smiths watch, the IHRC has stated that it will give more focus to social media and promotional campaigns, but Smith wants to make sure that the industry knows he is not turning a blind eye to critical aspects of regulation. "You have to have the integrity piece. People have to be comfortable with the product," he said. (With files from the Indianapolis Business Journal) Armed with international industry stakeholder support, Sam StathisFounder and Chairman of Stathis Enterprises and the World Chariot Racing Federationis on a mission to save harness racing in Florida before it is too late. The recently proposed decoupling legislation has a chance to pass and Stathis explained This decision could cause a ripple effect with millions of dollars lost in business, agricultural and tax revenues plus thousands of lost jobs and countless number of horses being slaughtered. Not to mention the long term effects to tracks in other states where the same will happen. This could prove to be devastating to the worlds horse racing industry in the process. I am completely disappointed that the United States Trotting Association approved $250,000 for market studies and social media and only $10,000 to help save harness racing in Florida. Stathis added, If decoupling passes in Florida, it would likely spread across all race horse tracks in the USA like wildfire. Im putting my money where my mouth is and donating a minimum of $11,000 in cash and $100,000 in services to stop decoupling. Stathis said. When asked about the decoupling legislations impact on the horse racing economy, 2014 State of Florida CFO candidate William Rankin says, I am opposed to any legislation that may cause a negative economic, social or environmental impact on the people in the state of Florida. Furthermore, I believe this decision may have unintended consequences that should be analyzed and all involved parties should have a chance to play a part in the ultimate solution. Stathis is calling upon all opponents of the legislation to meet at Pompano Park on Tuesday night. I am not asking for a donation. Come bet on me, enjoy the races, and lets discuss how we can work together to stop this legislation. Stathis, who is a licensed owner, driver, trainer, will have his work cut out for him Tuesday at Pompano Park. The morning line has both his horses at odds of 12-1. Celebrity Lambo will start from Post 1 in Race 1 and Celebrity Artemis will start from Post 4 in Race 7. With a little luck, I hope to see everyone for a win photo after my races. Stathis added. I want this story to reach at least one million supporters and to get the legislature to realize what they are doing to Florida is wrong. (World Chariot Racing Federation) Stephen A. Oliwa Jr., 56, of Cape Coral Fla., passed away peacefully at his home on Thursday, February 25, surrounded by his family, after a long battle with cancer. The lifelong trainer/driver of Standardbred racehorses ended his career with 1,085 wins and over $4 million in purses. His best years were 1991 when he had 169 wins and 1999 when his charges earned $500,000. His easy-going demeanour always made him extremely popular with his peers. Later in life, he was the owner of A&A Prompt Removal, a demolition and service company. Oliwa is survived by his longtime true love and companion, Christine Stabile, and their daughter, Julia, of Cape Coral, Fla., and son, Stephen III, of Upper Saddle River, NJ. Also, sister Evelyn Burchardt (Jeff) of Annandale, NJ; brother, Robert Oliwa (Deborah), of Manalapan, NJ, and many nieces and nephews. Donations in his memory can be made to the Standardbred Retirement Fund. Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Stephen Oliwa Jr. (USTA) A total of 15 trotters have been nominated for the inaugural Elitlopp Playoff at the New Meadowlands Racetrack. The list of horses nominated reads like a whos who of North American trotters with combined earnings of well over $19 million, with 13 of the 15 having records under 1:52. With an estimated purse of $150,000, the Elitlopp Playoff is a collaborative effort between executives at Solvalla Racetrack in Sweden and the Meadowlands. The race will highlight a special afternoon Mothers Day card at the Meadowlands on Sunday, May 8. The winner will receive an automatic invitation to compete in the Elitlopp at Solvalla on Sunday, May 29. In accordance with Swedish rules, horses in the Elitlopp Playoff will not be permitted to race with the medication Lasix or with trotting hopples. We are very excited to host the Elitlopp Playoff race and look forward to welcoming our guests from Sweden coming over that weekend for the event, said Meadowlands Chairman Jeff Gural. With all the fans and all the interest, the Elitlopp reminds me of our Little Brown Jug, which is my favourite racing event to go to every year. Heres is the complete list of Elitlopp Playoff nominees: Bee A Magician (M) 2015 Older Trotting Mare of the Year in Canada and the U.S. - $3.7 million; 1:51 Crazy Wow one of two four-year-olds nominated - $1.2 million; 1:51.1 Creatine 2015 Breeders Crown champion - $2.1 million; 1:51.2 DWs NY Yank - $972,000; 1:51.3 Flanagan Memory 2015 Cashman champion - $896,000; 1:51.4 Gural Hanover - $716,000; 1:51.3 Homicide Hunter four-year-old Indiana star won 16 of 18 races last year - $562,000; 1:53.4 JL Cruze Dan Patch champion - $660,000; 1:49.4 Natural Herbie - $902,000; 1:51.4 Obrigado - $747,000; 1:51.3 Opulent Yankee - $221,000; 1:51.4 Perfectly Enough won Swedish Breeders Crown at age three; has earned over $2.4 million SEK in Europe, never raced in North America and is mounting a comeback for trainer Marcus Melander Resolve TVG Trot champion, 2015 Older Trotting Horse of the Year in Canada - $915,000; 1:50.4 Shake It Cerry (M) multiple Dan Patch Champion - $2.4 million; 1:51.2 Wind Of The North 2015 Elitlopp starter - $470,000; 1:51 The Eltilopp Playoff will be contested at a distance of one mile if ten horses or less enter. The race will be at a mile-and-an-eighth if 11 or 12 horses enter. If 13 or more horses enter, the 12 highest money earners will start. Horses not nominated to the Elitlopp Playoff can be supplemented to the race at time of entry for a supplemental fee of $15,000. (with files from Meadowlands Racetrack; photo credits, clockwise from top left: Bee A Magician, Creatine, Resolve -- New Image Media; JL Cruze -- Jason Lisa/Lisa Photo) Evelyn Sabraw of Acme, Alberta, is the Heart of Harness Racings Calendar photographer for March. Sabraw captured this great image of Southwind Jaden and Outlaw Turn N Burn battling it out at Century Downs, near Calgary, Alberta last season. It was a great day, sunny and warm with great light, and a very exciting race! I was just lucky to capture the competitive spirit and eagerness of the horses with my camera. Sabraw, who works full time as a Warranty Analyst at Greatwest Kenworth in Calgary, is fairly new to the racing industry but not to horses. Growing up in Switzerland, she rode show jumpers from the age of seven. In 2007, she was introduced to Standardbreds when she purchased Truce as a trail horse. She currently owns four non-racing Standardbreds and enjoys helping at the track -- Century Downs -- on weekends as a groom. According to Sabraw, shes had some pretty amazing tutors throughout her life in all kinds of horse disciplines, but if referring to the racetrack, she enjoys spending time with Connie Kolthammer, who Sabraw considers a very accomplished horse woman with a wealth of knowledge and a great sense of humour! Shes very modest with respect to her ability as a photographer. Im just a hobby photographer who's always trying to look at things from a different angle. I just recently got a decent camera and took some courses to improve my skills. Horses are definitely my favourite subject and I look forward to the new racing season to hopefully capture more exciting moments with my camera. I would love to have my own horse on the track one day! For now I'm watching, learning and enjoying the industry from the back seat -- the barn -- as a groom. Ambulance Transports Patient from Texas Abortion Facility as SCOTUS Readies to Hear Pivotal Abortion Safety Case Contact: Troy Newman , President, 316-841-1700; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Vice President, 316-516-3034, both with Operation Rescue DALLAS, March 1, 2016 / Standard Newswire / -- Less than 48 hours before the U. S. Supreme Court will hear a pivotal Texas abortion case focused on women's safety, an ambulance transported a woman from Southwestern Women's Surgery Center, an abortion clinic in Dallas, Texas.The ambulance was photographed by a pro-life activist at Southwestern Surgery Center on Monday, February 29, 2016, at about 1:06 p.m."This latest medical emergency at a Texas abortion facility only emphasizes abortion risks and how important it is for abortionists to maintain minimum safety standards and hospital privileges within 30 miles of their abortion facilities," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.Southwestern Women's Surgery Center is one of a handful of Texas abortion facilities that have been able to comply with ambulatory surgical center licensing requirements, which include the hospital privilege requirement that is being challenged by another Texas abortion business, Whole Women's Health.But even licensing as an ambulatory surgical center has not diminished the risk of complications to abortion that frequently send women to hospital emergency rooms for treatment that abortion facilities are not equipped to provide.Operation Rescue was able to deduce from court records that about 1,000 Texas women suffering abortion complications were hospitalized each year prior to the closing of about half of Texas' abortion facilities in 2014 due to the safety law now before the Supreme Court.The Liberty Counsel submitted an amici curiae brief on behalf of Operation Rescue in the Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstadt case, which is set for oral arguments before the nation's highest court on Wednesday. That brief relied on documentation provided by Operation Rescue to show that medical emergencies at abortion facilities are routine, and that without hospital privileges, women facing life-threatening abortion complications face further harm due to a failure of abortion facilities to provide continuity of care. This can delay emergency treatment in cases where minutes might mean the difference between life and death.Operation Rescue discovered widespread abortion abuses in Texas during a 2011 investigation that resulted in heavy fines against two Whole Women's Health abortion facilities for the illegal dumping of recognizable aborted baby remains in a public dumpster.In addition, Operation Rescue reported two Whole Women's Health abortionists, Alan H. Molson and Robert E. Hanson , for violations discovered during that same investigation, resulting in thousands of dollars in fines Troy Newman will attend a prayer vigil outside the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on March 2 while oral arguments are in progress.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. We would like to share some troubling information with you that comes from those who sincerely desire to help Ukraine to become a prosperous and democratic country. Several institutions in Canada have welcomed in the past few days a person who is known as one of the founders of the modern (Neo-Nazi) far-right party in Ukraine. Canada does no favour to Ukraine by such actions. We are talking about, the former Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and the current First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament. He was invited to speak on February 22 at the Munk School of Global Affairs in Toronto. The next day, he visited the Canadian Parliament. Parubiys political curriculum vitae looked impeccable on the Munk Schools website However, there was not a word about Parubiys active participation in the Ukrainian extreme right movement since the early 1990s. The official doctrine of this party was social nationalism, apparently inspired by German National Socialism (Nazism). The party proclaimed its program as revolutionary and ultra-nationalist. It blamed Russia for all of the Ukraines misfortunes. The official symbol of SNPU is Wolfsangel, a slightly modified Wolfs Hook ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social-National_Party_of_Ukraine ), used by the German SS division Das Reich which is recognized as a war criminal organization. The same symbol is now placed on the flag of the infamous ultra-nationalist Azov Battalion, a far-right paramilitary battalion which together with other similar formations has committed war crimes during the nearly two-year civil war conflict in eastern Ukraine. This has been recognized by international organizations such as Amnesty International The founder of this battalion, Andriy Biletsky, is the disciple of Andriy Parubiy. Oleh Tyahnybok, the leader of the far-right (neo-nazi) nationalist party Svoboda. In 2004, Tyahnybok was excluded from the Our Ukraine faction in the Ukrainian parliament after giving a speech at the grave of the commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). UPA was a World War II ultra-nationalist paramilitary partisan army that fought against the Soviet army, Canadas ally in WWII. Parubiy is a close political ally of, the leader of the far-right (neo-nazi) nationalist party Svoboda. In 2004, Tyahnybok was excluded from the Our Ukraine faction in the Ukrainian parliament after giving a speech at the grave of the commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). UPA was a World War II ultra-nationalist paramilitary partisan army that fought against the Soviet army, Canadas ally in WWII. The UPA carried out ethnic cleansing of Poles, Jews and pro-Soviet Ukrainians. Tyahnybok stated in that speech: They [UPA fighters] were not afraid and we should not be afraid. They took their automatic guns on their necks and went into the woods, and fought against the Muscovites, Germans, Jews and other scum who wanted to take away our Ukrainian stateYou [UPA veterans and their followers in modern Ukraine] are the ones that the Moscow-Jewish mafia ruling Ukraine fears most. In 2004, Parubiy began to create a more moderate image of himself as a public figure, but his ultra-nationalist views have not changed. In 2010, he protested against the European Parliament resolution regarding the decision of the then President of Ukraine to declare Stepan Bandera a National Hero of Ukraine (Bandera was the head of the OUN-UPA, a far-right nationalist organization which collaborated with the Nazis during WWII and was involved in carrying out acts of genocide against Poles, Jews, Russians, Ukrainians and others). The resolution of the European Parliament reads: [The European Parliament] deeply deplores the decision by the outgoing President of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, posthumously to award Stepan Bandera, a leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) which collaborated with Nazi Germany, the title of National Hero of Ukraine; hopes, in this regard, that the new Ukrainian leadership will reconsider such decisions and will maintain its commitment to European values. During the Euromaidan movement of late 2013 early 2014, Parubiy was the commander of various paramilitary units. They took oaths of allegiance to him as commander. Thus, the ultra-nationalist paramilitary groups, which had joined together under the umbrella of the Right Sector (Pravyi Sektor), were operating under Parubiys authority. Allegedly, Parubiy was directly involved in the Maidan sniper shootings which claimed the lives of dozens of Maidan protesters and police. Although, the official version of events by the Ukrainian authorities which replaced the overthrown government of President Victor Yanukovych, was that the Berkut special police fired at the protesters, University of Ottawa researcher Ivan Katchanovski has conducted thorough investigations, showing that bullets were fired from the Hotel Ukraina which at the time was under the control of the Maidan paramilitary forces. The investigation of the Maidan sniper massacre has been criticized in Ukraine and abroad for procrastination and lack of results (see, for instance, the European Council report). As the then secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Andriy Parubiy played a key role in launching the so-called Anti-Terrorist Operation against the people of Donbas in the spring of 2014. This quickly became a civil war, imposed on the people of Donbas, because they rejected the overthrow of President Yanukovych in late February 2014 and they did not approve of the Ukrainian ultra-nationalism expressed by the Euromaidan movement and the new governing authorities in Kyiv. You can find more on the genesis of the conflict in Donbas in the article here The current conflict in eastern Ukraine exploded precisely because a large part of southeastern Ukraine rejects the ethnic nationalism and ultra-right wing politics represented by such figures as Andriy Parubiy. Canada, by extending an official welcome or support to persons like him, grants legitimacy to Ukrainian politicians who are destroying Ukraine by actively imposing their ultra-nationalist ideology on the Ukrainian population. Ukraine is not an ethnic nationalist enclave. It is a multi-ethnic country where Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, Poles, Hungarians, Romanians, Greeks, Tatars, and other nationalities lived peacefully, side by side, during the 25 years of post-Soviet Union independence. Ukrainian-Russian bilingualism is a distinctive feature of this society in all its richness. Imposing a mono-ethnic and monolingual version of democracy, as championed by Andriy Parubiy, is essentially destroying Ukraine. As Canadians of Ukrainian and Russian origin who respect Canadas multicultural values, it saddens us to see how Canada has been blindly supporting this initiative. We strongly believe that Canada can do much better by helping Ukraine to elaborate a form of political arrangement in Ukraine that would accommodate diversity, not its destruction. We hope this letter will inspire you to reflect more on Canadas involvement in Ukraine. Belarus, Russias western neighbor and only ally in East Europe, is ordering at least a dozen new Su-30SM fighter-bombers to replace 37 elderly (1980s vintage) MiG-29 fighters. Belarus tried upgrading the MiG-29s in 2004 but the 13 aircraft that were refurbished demonstrated that it was not worth the effort. Meanwhile in 2013 Belarus decided to retire its Su-27 fighters. It wanted sell them, but there were no buyers. Belarus did not have the cash to refurbish the Su-27s and was not sure that would work any better than it did on the MiG-29s. These Su-27s entered service in the 1980s and not built to fly more than 3,000 hours. This is low for modern jet fighters but typical of Russian combat aircraft. The Belarus Su-27s were worn out. Russia is selling the Su-30SMs to Belarus on very attractive terms. In fact this deal may end up with Belarus actually paying nothing. Belarus is a loyal ally of Russia but very corrupt and going broke. Russia has already donated new anti-aircraft systems to Belarus and based some modern fighters there as well. The problems with Belarus stem from the fact that current leader Alexander Lukashenko has been in charge since 1994, when he consolidated power in the wake of the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union. This led to the creation of Belarus. Lukashenko is a Soviet era official, who runs Belarus like the Soviet Union still existed. Belarus is a police state, where elections, and everything else, are manipulated to keep the politicians in power. It's a tricky business, but so far Lukashenko has kept the security forces up to snuff and on his side. He bribes or bullies key officials to keep the country running. Lukashenko has maintained good relations with Russia, getting him cheap fuel supplies and other aid. Lukashenko initially won clean elections as a reformer and clean-government candidate. But he slowly went bad and now is very dependent on Russia. The armed forces of Belarus are still largely armed with Cold War era equipment and that stuff was not built to last. This is especially true for combat aircraft. For example, in 2012 the first 18 Su-30s India received from Russia were retired after a decade of service and a service life of only 4,000 flight hours. In many respects, the Indian made Su-30s, the Su-30MKI, is the most capable version available, due to its Israeli and European electronics and the well trained Indian pilots. The Su-30SM is similar to the Su-30MKI but with all Russian components. The 38 ton SU-30MKI is most similar to the two seat American F-15E fighter-bomber. Even though equipped with Western electronics the aircraft cost less than $40 million each, about half what an equivalent F-15 costs. The Su-30MKI can carry more than 8 tons of bombs and hit targets over 1,500 kilometers away. But like all Russian combat aircraft, they are not designed and built to last for decades, like Western aircraft. That is slowly changing and the latest version of the original Su-27; the Su-35S, is good for 6,000 flight hours. Only about 700 Su-27s were produced (mostly between 1984, when it entered service, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991), adding Su-30 production (an Su-27 updated) and you have over 1,000 aircraft (including license built ones in China and India). The MiG-29 entered Russian service in 1983. Some 1,600 MiG-29s have been produced so far, with about 900 of them exported. The 22 ton aircraft is roughly comparable to the F-16 but it depends a lot on which version of either aircraft you are talking about. Russia is making a lot of money upgrading MiG-29s. Not just adding new electronics but also making the airframe more robust. The MiG-29 was originally rated at 2,500 total flight hours. At that time (early 80s), Russia expected MiG-29s to fly about a hundred or so hours a year. Didnt work out that way. India, for example, flew them at nearly twice that rate, as did Malaysia. So now Russia is offering to spiff up the airframe so that the aircraft can fly up to 4,000 hours, with more life extension upgrades promised. This won't be easy, as the MiG-29 has a history of unreliability and premature breakdowns (both mechanical and electronic). Western warplanes are built to last longer. The F-16C was originally designed for a service life of 4,000 hours in the air. But advances in engineering, materials, and maintenance techniques have extended that to over 8,000 hours. Because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, F-16s sent to these areas will fly over a thousand hours a year more than what they would fly in peacetime. The current planned refurbishment program will extend F-16C flight hours to 10,000 (10K) or more. The U.S. Air Force will refurbish several hundred of its 22 ton F-16 fighters, because their replacement, the 31 ton F-35, is not arriving in time. Its F-16s are old, and by 2016, many will be too old to operate. The average age of existing F-16s is over 20 years, and the average aircraft has over 5,000 flight hours on it. In 2009 the first Block 40 F-16 passed 7,000 hours. In 2008 the first of the earliest model (a Block 25) F-16s passed 7,000 hours. While older F-16s and F-15s are being retired for age, they tend to have at least twice as many flight hours as their Russian counterparts. The violence continues in the north largely because of ancient animosities that are exploited by Islamic terrorist groups. About a third of the population are Bambara but the majority belong to dozens of other tribes, the most prominent being Dogon, Fulani, Malinke, Sarakole, Senufo, ethnic Arabs and Tuareg. Ancient feuds and rivalries are revived using calls to protect Islam from attack or to replace corrupt national leaders. The problem in Africa is that in a multiethnic nation corruption is expected if one tribe takes care of itself at the expense of other tribes. For centuries religion has been used periodically to unite normally antagonistic tribes but that unity never lasts, as was seen in Mali after the 2012 rebellion in the began falling apart within months because blood (ethnic loyalty) was thicker than religion. All this creates a perpetual unrest as ambitious tribal leaders are always ready to use force to unseat the dominant national leaders, or force them to share more of the loot. Arbitration and negotiation works pretty well within a tribe but there are none of those cultural and family connections with other tribes that help make non-violent solutions work. The Islamic terrorist groups are not making a comeback but they are trying to stay visible. Most of the active Islamic terrorists are from AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb), the local Ansar Dine and several new (and quite small) Islamic terror groups in central and southern Mali. In addition to trying to stay in the news the Islamic terrorists are less visibly busy raising cash and seeking recruits to organize and carry out many more large scale attacks, especially in the more populous, and more hostile south. While only three percent of the population is Christian Islamic terrorists seek out and threaten or attack Christians. Islamic terrorists believe Islamic scripture compels them to convert, kill or expel all non-Moslems they can reach. This has led to most Christians in north driven from their homes. Extending this form of terror to the south is more difficult because the Christians down there have more powerful allies in the form of family or tribesmen who are Moslem and tolerant. While the tribal and religious violence up north gets most of the headlines, overall Mali is at peace and that has led to economic growth. Food and raw materials production is way up and the GDP is expected to grow by six percent in 2016. That is up from 4.9 percent in 2015 but down from 7.2 percent in 2014. Nearly all that growth is in the south. The thinly populated northern two-thirds of the country has a population of less than two million, out of 16 million for all of Mali. The north was very poor in the best of times, and over a year of Islamic terrorist government halted tourism (a major source of income, especially in the three major cities) and the movement of many goods. The south has always prospered while the north scraped by. But because of the 2012 uprising the north is surviving on charity and continued envy of and anger at the wealthier (and ethnically different) south. February 19, 2016: In the northeast (Menaka) an army checkpoint near the Niger border was attacked. Two soldiers were killed, one was wounded and two are missing. A car was also stolen. Islamic terrorists are suspected. February 12, 2016: In the north (outside Timbuktu) Islamic terrorists attacked a checkpoint killing three soldiers. Elsewhere in the north (near Kidal) AQIM Islamic terrorists attacked a military base killing six peacekeepers. This attack involved a suicide truck bomb, rockets and gunmen. ...they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Acts 17:11 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. Isaiah 8:20 "Whatever it is, I'm against it. No matter what it is or who commenced it, I'm against it." Groucho Marx, from Horse Feathers The ceremony of "Crossing the Line" has a storied history, spanning cultures, navies and tradition.In the U.S. Navy, when a ship crosses the equator a time-honored ceremony takes place. This is a Navy tradition and an event no sailor ever forgets. With few exceptions, those who have been inducted into the "mysteries of the deep" by Neptunus Rex and his Royal court, count the experience as a highlight of their naval career. Members of Neptunus Rex's party usually include Davy Jones, Neptune's first assistant, Her Highness Amphitrite, the Royal Scribe, the Royal Doctor, the Royal Dentist, the Royal Baby, the Royal Navigator, the Royal Chaplain, the Royal Judge, Attorneys, Barbers and other names that suit the party.Officially recognized by service record entries indicating date, time, latitude and longitude, the crossing of the equator involves elaborate preparation by the "shellbacks" (those who have crossed the equator before) to ensure the "pollywogs" (those who are about to cross the equator for the first time) are properly indoctrinated. All pollywogs, even the Commanding Officer if he has not crossed before, must participate.Join Field Trip along with our boat full of 'pollywogs', as we cross the equator and initiate a new batch of 'shellbacks' on our sail from Panama to the Galapagos islands. The Sea Hawks use a strong serve and balanced attack for a commanding win in the opening round of the Division 2 playoffs. WASHINGTON It is the great, democratic virtue of presidential campaigns that they subject candidates to every kind of stress, eventually revealing their core, their character. For Donald Trump, the test has been political success. After leading the Republican field for six months, and in some quarters receiving adulation nearly equal to his self-regard, how has Trump responded? Has he been sobered? Has his rhetoric and temperament matured? No. Decidedly, no. The realistic prospect of executive power has only increased Trumps swagger. He has threatened a Republican donor who opposes him. I hear the [Ricketts] family, he tweeted, who own the Chicago Cubs, are secretly spending $s against me. They better be careful, they have a lot to hide! Trump has threatened the media, promising to "open up the libel laws" so he can more easily sue outlets that differ in their view of the truth about him. "I think the media is among the most dishonest groups of people that Ive ever met. Theyre terrible." he said recently. Referring specifically to The Washington Post, he added: "If I become president, oh, do they have problems. Theyre going to have such problems." Trump has attempted to smear and intimidate a district judge, Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over a lawsuit for fraud against Trump University, with its distinguished faculty of cardboard cutouts and allegedly bankrupt real estate investors. Trump accuses Curiel of hostility against him because Im very, very strong on the border. Another shrill pipe of the ethnic dog whistle. This is more than the personality disorder talking. Trump roots his intimidation in a worldview the need for the strong hand. It is the most consistent commitment of Trumpism. As early as 1990, Trump criticized Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for not having a firm enough hand. He cited Chinas butchers of Tiananmen Square as examples of his conception of power: They were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength. Our country is right now perceived as weak ... as being spit on by the rest of the world. Following allegations last year that Vladimir Putin had killed several high-profile journalists, Trump responded, Hes running his country and at least hes a leader, unlike what we have in this country. And Trumps supporters seem to welcome this aspect of his appeal. According to a Vox analysis of the South Carolina Republican primary vote, the best statistical predictor of Trump support is an inclination toward authoritarianism a belief in the need for aggressive leaders and policies. So Trump, if he wins the nomination and the presidency, will feel a mandate for his menace. There is a moment in the 1957 movie A Face in the Crowd when the TV personality turned power-mad sociopath, Lonesome Rhodes, says, Im not just an entertainer. Im an influence, a wielder of opinion, a force ... a force. On the evidence, Trump is reaching that point of intoxication. We have seen the lengths to which Trump will go to threaten and intimidate his enemies, armed mainly with social media. It seems reckless beyond reason reckless with the republic itself to arm him with the immense power of the executive branch. Consider the inherently threatening quality of the words: Trumps military or Trumps FBI or Trumps IRS. The grant of vast influence to a leader of such vindictive temperament is utterly frightening. In a certain way, Trump may be excused for his adolescent view of strength the power of the tantrum, of the crude putdown, of the dirty trick. Trump has no evident knowledge of American history or of a conservative ideology. He lives only in the vivid present of his wants and needs. He is squandering an inheritance he does not value, that he does not even understand. But what excuse can be made for Gov. Chris Christie? His endorsement of Trump was evidently made out of pique and ambition. It is humiliating for the governor of a great state to make himself the subordinate of the junior partner to a cut-rate Mussolini. Christie has, in the past, shown leadership on entitlement reform and the fair treatment of Muslims. Now his enduring reputation will be a willingness to swallow any foolishness, any prejudice, to serve the cause of Christie. Trumps conception of leadership is to become large by making others small. In a reality television star, this is a job qualification. In a president, it would raise the prospect of serious damage to our democratic system. Naina Khedekar Those who find it tedious to keep a tab on paper bills, here's a Bangalore-based startup that has a solution for just that. EveryBill is an app to create, capture and communicate bills, and has been built for consumers as well as merchants, co-founder Chanchal Chakrachhattri, an alumnus of IIM Kashipur, tells us. The startup is managed by a trio Chakrachhattri looks after the business part, Sujeet Kumar Mehta, who quit his job as Senior Software Development Engineer at CommonFloor to build EveryBill looks after the product and execution and Diwakar, a computer engineer from Delhi University with previous stints with Amazon, Microsoft and CommonFloor looks after tech. The startup now plans to expand the team. The company provides merchants with a Bluetooth barcode scanner that is connected to a smartphone equipped with the EveryBill app. The merchant can easily scan the barcode and generate an online bill. Everybill is currently working with 5000 merchants across 30 cities. 50 percent of users are form Jaipur, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad. The app has undergone several changes, depending upon user feedback since its launch last year, and the company now has some new features up its sleeves. Chakrachhattri tells us that EveryBill plans to help hyper local stores such as Big Bazaar with a self checkout system, reducing the queue time taken for billing. The company is already in talks with some stores and will soon start with its pilot. "So, people can go and buy products, scan them using barcode and checkout via online payments," he adds. Consumers will also be able to track bills, exchange and guarantee. However, it will still need some manual monitoring to ensure consumers pay for and take home the right products. Chakrachhatri tells us the sales monitoring will still be quicker, but doesn't disclose the process they plan to use. "For small stores, the seller can simply scan the products barcode and scan the customers barcode to share the bill. The customer would be intimated with a pop up message asking whether to pay the bill online or by cash. The merchant as well as the customer gets a copy of the bill which they can save forever. Customer can use it in product exchange, company claims etc.," Chakrachhattri explains. Currently, Everybill offers a subscription-based revenue model for merchants with varying packages. The EveryBill app is free to down on Android, but the company plans to build a premium version that would ask for a nominal fee after a specific period of usage. The company also plans to build an iOS app later this year. The startup hasn't been incubated and is actively looking for funding. tech2 News Staff Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has recently voiced about the threat made to him and Twitter CEO by an ISIS supporter group who published a 25-minute video threatening to take down Facebook and Twitter, as well as their leaders. "I am very concerned but not because of the video," he told Mathias Dopfner, the CEO of German media giant Axel Springer. "There have been worse threats," CNN reported. According to the report, Mark Zuckerberg met with Dopfner while he was in Berlin and their wide-ranging interview was published in Die Welt am Sonntag respectively. He added, "I think the bigger issue is that what Facebook stands for in the world is giving people a voice and spreading ideas and rationalism." In the video, the Islamic State claims they are fighting back against efforts by the social media giants to wipe their platforms of accounts promoting terrorism. The video includes a direct threat to the tech entrepreneurs, branding them allies of the American Crusader government. Pictures of Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Dorsey can be seen being blasted with a hail of bullets in the amateur footage which emerged. "Our North Star is that we want to give the most voice possible to the most people," Zuckerberg stated during the interview. "We work closely with governments and local organizations to be certain we are applying [Community Standards] appropriately for local conditions and to identify and remove hateful or threatening content." Karrishma Modhy Almost everyone in Silicon Valley has Apples back. Several major tech companies including Google, Facebook and Microsoft are siding with Apple which is currently in a unique battle with the FBI as the government agency wants to create a backdoor entry into iOS, so it could gain access to information when needed from any user, for situations such as a terrorist attack. A report by Wall Street Journal had stated that these companies plan to file a joint motion supporting Apple. In its court fight against the Justice Department over unlocking an alleged terrorists iPhone, according to people familiar with the companies plans. Twitter will also be seen supporting Apple in motion though it is unclear if it will join the combined filing. Microsofts legal chief, Brad Smith also stated that the company plans to file an amicus brief in support of Apples resistance to helping the FBI hack the phone. In addition, Facebook is also expected to throw in their legal support behind Apple. To everyones surprise, Verizon Wireless, a mobile carrier in the United States has stood up in support of Apple in its legal showdown with the FBI too! Motion to Vacate Brief and Supporting Declarations This move has clearly come to light after the San Bernardino, California shooting which took place in December. The county-owned iPhone was used by Rizwan Farook, who along with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, shot and killed 14 people and wounded 22 others at a holiday party in San Bernardino in December. The other phones, which were seized in a variety of criminal investigations, are involved in cases where prosecutors are compelling the company to help them bypass the pass code security feature of phones that may hold evidence. Apple has filed a motion where the government requested, "Just this once" and "Just this phone." But the government knows those statements are not true; indeed the government has filed multiple other applications for similar orders, some of which are pending in other courts. Apple's Tim Cook says that the iPhone encryption debate should shift the debate over national security and privacy to Capitol Hill. This case has drawn worldwide attention and the result might decide as to how the government could peep into our privacy and security, forever. But, what made these cold-war rivals unite? Apples iOS is in a constant war with Googles Android. Microsofts Windows OS tries to compete with the other two. Apple, Twitter and Facebook battle it out in a war for content online. So what makes this case so special, that it brought together the biggest and the most powerful companies in the world? Panic! Whats in it for Facebook, Microsoft and others? Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg said at the Mobile World Congress that, Were sympathetic with Apple. We believe in encryption we think that thats an important tool. Even though he believes that Facebook has a pretty big responsibility to help prevent terrorist attacks, giving the government access to information could backfire heavily against it. In 2015, 3.2 million users used Facebook. Thats a huge number of population flocking to the giants website every day, with new users added by the minute. If users feel that their data is at risk, the number of visitors would decrease which in turn, would create losses for the company. Just as the others, Facebook too wants to keep the law and order at bay, and also, reassure its users that it is not willing to share any private information online. Facebook-owned WhatsApp shares similar thoughts too. WhatsApp chief Jan Koum stated via a Facebook post that, We must not allow this dangerous precedent to be set. Today our freedom and our liberty is at stake." The widely popular messaging app which is used by billions, where conversions go into trillions, cannot be at the risk of exposure. Its a matter of utmost security. He added, It is important for these other applications to make statements. ... If people are worried about their privacy, they might stand behind those apps more. Similarly, Twitter and Square chief Jack Dorsey has also thrown in its support with Apple against the battle with the FBI. https://twitter.com/jack/status/700457149227360256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw It is evident that at a time where the company is struggling itself in the race to be on top, it would not like to lose out on any customers for sure. A social platform which survives only on words and comments shared online, having access to information on Twitter would lead to less and less users sharing their outrageous thoughts via the platform. The last thing the company needs to worry about is people exiting the service due to privacy issues. And now, we come to Google. Googles stand with Apple might be the most significant one because; the company could have itself been in Apples shoes. Sundar Pichai, Googles chief executive officer, tweeted asking companies to create a way to hack into peoples devices and data would set a troubling precedent. Being a part of the same tech space, Google supporting Apple is more important rather than the government. Who would want to hack their own devices and share information with the US government. How does it end? Although this is a battle between Apple and the FBI, at a broader level, it's actually the beginning of something horrendous. As Cook said, 'it's about the future.' As Apple pointed out, the government's request, "Just this once" and "Just this phone", wouldn't end with the San Bernandino case. Online social networking platforms thrive on user privacy, which is critical for users as well. If a law enabling government access to user information is eventually passed, it could potentially trigger the downfall of such massive digital services as Facebook, Twitter, and myriad others. Naina Khedekar Apple's big standoff with the FBI over unlocking an iPhone belonging to a terrorist has been hitting headlines for sometime now. For those living under the rock, Apple chief Tim Cook has refused a court order that wants the company to break into the iPhone owned by San Bernardino shooter, Syed Farook. Farook, along with his wife Tashfeen Malik, were responsible for killing 14 people on December 2 last year. So, doesn't Apple want to help nab a terrorist by opening a 'single' requested iPhone? Well, it does want to help, but opening one unit means creating a backdoor for future requests that may follow and eventually compromising on user privacy, believes Cook. Now, the question is how tech companies will comply criminal investigation whilst upholding their customers' secure data. Yes, that pretty much sums up what's the fight about. But there has a lot of mud-slinging over the last one week. Here's a quick timeline showing how it all started. February 16 Tim Cook wrote a long letter to its customers initiating a public discussion over court's orders that the company had decided not to comply with. He wrote how Apple has done everything possible in its power to help the FBI tackle the case. "Up to this point, we have done everything that is both within our power and within the law to help them. But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone. Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation," Cook wrote. "In the wrong hands, this software which does not exist today would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someones physical possession," he further explained. Read the complete letter here. February 17 While Apple was firm at its decision, the company saw support from arch-rival Google. Google chief Sundar Pichai said directed his followers to Apple Chief Executive Tim Cooks open letter arguing that helping the FBI try to get into the phone would sabotage the security of tens of millions of American citizen". February 19 By now, there were debates and discussions and people had started taking sides. Users supporting and opposing Apples position flooded Twitter with rival hashtags #thankyouapple and #boycottapple and Facebook users wrote lengthy posts on the move. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook were also among the firsts who voiced their support for Cook along with Google chief Sundar Pichai. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) slamed back at Apple saying the company's refusal was nothing but brand marketing strategy. The Obama administration also told a US magistrate judge that it would be willing to allow Apple to retain possession of and later destroy specialized software it has been ordered to design to help the FBI hack into the said encrypted iPhone. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called on to boycott Apple products until it agreed to help the US government unlock the phone of the killers. Boycott Apple until such time as they give that information, Trump said. February 20 Tim Cook wrote an early morning email to employees, thanking them for their support, and urging the government to withdraw the demand that Apple help the FBI hack the locked iPhone. February 22 Reports pouring in from all quarters spoke about worldwide protests planned by Internet rights groups. Other companies came forward supporting Apple's stance including Huawei and Microsoft. February 23 Apple asked the US government for the creation of a government commission or panel of experts to discuss the implications of the demand on issues such as national security and personal freedoms, taking the case to public opinion. February 24 In an interview with the ABC News, Cook explained how unlocking San Bernardino iPhone would be bad for America. Meanwhile, prosecutors took unusual steps in enlisting victims of the San Bernardino attack in the governments heated battle with Apple. Family members of at least two victims will join a legal brief to be filed next week urging Apple to help the government unlock the phone. Here comes something that was worrying Apple. The US Justice Department started looking at court orders forcing Apple to help investigators extract data from iPhones in about a dozen undisclosed cases across the country, which were seized in a variety of criminal investigations. These cases also involve wherein prosecutors are compelling the company to help them bypass the passcode security feature, reports said. February 25 By now, Apple was reported to have started taking precautionary measures. It was developing security measures to make it even harder for the government to break into iPhones. The FBI had attempted to crack the pass code but failed as Apple systems are designed in a way that automatically erases the access key and renders the phone permanently inaccessible after 10 failed attempts, adds the report. Meanwhile, activists conitnued protesting against the FBIs attempt to install software with backdoors in all of Apples iPhones. February 26 Refuting Cook's claim of a dangerous precedent, the FBI chief said that it's quite unlikely to be a trailblazer for setting a precedent for other cases. And Apple continued to fire back at the US government in the encryption standoff asking the court to dismiss the order. No court has ever authorized what the government now seeks, no law supports such unlimited and sweeping use of the judicial process, and the constitution forbids it, Apples lawyers wrote in the motion filed in California federal court. Several major tech companies including Google, Facebook and Microsoft plan to file a joint motion supporting Apple. February 26 was said to be the last day for Apple to file its response to the motion filed by the Justice Department. February 27 Meanwhile, some rivals backed Apple's stance, and many others, mostly Asian companies, chose to stay tight lipped and maintain a low profile. February 29 In another case, a New York drug case, a federal judge in Brooklyn said the US government cannot force Apple to unlock an iPhone. In fact, a report hinted at that Members of the US House Judiciary Committee are considering filing a friend of the court brief in Apples encryption dispute with the US government to argue that the case should be decided by Congress and not the courts March 1 White House soon said that the New York ruling won't affect San Bernardino case. FBI Director James Comey told a congressional panel that forcing Apple to give the data of the shooter would be potentially precedential in other cases where the agency may require similar cooperation from tech companies. As you see, the statement seems contradictory to what he said last week about it is unlikely to be a trailblazer for setting a precedent for other cases. He also acknowledged that it was a mistake to ask San Bernardino County officials to reset the phones cloud storage account. This decision prevented the device from backing up information that the FBI could have read. By March 3, anyone outside the case can submit their remarks, which will be considered by the judge. On March 10, the government plans to respond to Apple and by March 15, Apple can submit its final reply to government's response. On March 22 a District Court will listen to both sides and take a call on the decision accordingly. tech2 News Staff The U.S. government cannot force Apple Inc to unlock an iPhone in a New York drug case, a federal judge in Brooklyn said on Monday, a ruling that bolsters the company's arguments in its landmark legal showdown with the Justice Department over encryption and privacy. The government sought access to the phone in the Brooklyn case in October, months before a judge in California ordered Apple to take special measures to give the government access to the phone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino, California, attacks. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein in Brooklyn ruled that he did not have the legal authority to order Apple to disable the security of an iPhone that was seized during a drug investigation. His ruling echoed many of the arguments that Apple has made in the San Bernardino case, particularly his finding that a 1789 law called the All Writs Act cannot be used to force Apple to open the phone. Orenstein also found that Apple was largely exempt from complying with such requests by a 1994 law that updated wiretapping laws. A senior Apple executive, who spoke on condition he not be named, said during a call with reporters that Orenstein's decision would bode well for the company in the San Bernardino case, which has touched off a fierce national debate about the balance between fighting crime and preserving privacy in the digital age. He said that the government's demands in the San Bernardino case, which include compelling Apple to alter its operating system, were even more far-reaching than in the NY case. Although U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym, the judge in the San Bernardino case, will not be bound by Orenstein's decision, the senior Apple executive said it will likely be influential. In both cases, the government relies on the All Writs Act, a broad 1789 law which enables judges to require actions necessary to enforce their own orders. The Justice Department is "disappointed" in Orenstein's ruling and plans to ask a higher judge within the same federal district to review the matter in coming days, a department representative said. Though the defendant in the drug case has already pleaded guilty, the Justice Department still believes the phone may contain evidence that "will assist us in an active criminal investigation," the official said. When fighting the government's order to help extract data from the iPhone, Apple had argued that being forced to do so "could threaten the trust between Apple and its customers and substantially tarnish the Apple brand," according to court records. Orenstein said his ruling in Apples favour was not a decision on "whether the government should be able to force Apple to help it unlock a specific device; it is instead whether the All Writs Act (AWA) resolves that issue and many others like it yet to come." Orenstein concluded that "the government posits a reading of the latter phrase so expansive and in particular, in such tension with the doctrine of separation of powers as to cast doubt on the AWA's constitutionality if adopted." He also wrote: "The implications of the government's position are so far-reaching both in terms of what it would allow today and what it implies about Congressional intent in 1789 as to produce impermissibly absurd results." Orenstein also found that Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, passed in 1994, exempted Apple from this sort of request. The iPhone 5s at issue in the case was seized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency during a 2014 search of the Queens, New York, residence of Jun Feng, who authorities suspected of being involved in drug trafficking. Authorities sought to access the phone in 2015 while the case was pending. Feng later pleaded guilty in October while Orenstein was weighing the request, but both Apple and the Justice Department said they still wanted a ruling. Prosecutors have said that since 2008, Apple has complied with 70 such court orders based on the All Writs Act without objection. Many of those cases appear to have involved earlier iPhone models that did not require customised software to unlock. The case before Brooklyn was, according to prosecutors, the first time Apple had objected to law enforcement efforts to utilise search warrants to get the tech company to provide assistance and unlock iPhones seized during investigations. But since October, when Apple first asked Orenstein to deny the government's request, Apple has objected to helping law enforcement access at least 12 devices for which the U.S. Justice Department has sought its help, according to a letter from Apple to Orenstein that was unsealed earlier this month. The senior Apple executive said the company has never made a new piece of software in response to a government request. While it seems like things might be in Apple's favour after a long time, there seems to be trouble once again, this time coming from New York's top prosecutor. Cyrus Vance a Manhattan District Attorney has written in a testimony that "Apple's encryption policy frustrates the ability of law enforcement to prevent, investigate, and prosecute criminals, including the very hackers that Apple claims it wants to protect users against,". The same testimony will be presented to a House Judiciary Committee hearing on 1 March. Vance said that Apple encryption policy "cripples even the most basic steps of a criminal investigation," preventing the law from exonerating innocent people suspected of crimes, according to a report from CNN Money. The same DA had more to add to his plea. He stated that Apple encrypting its iPhones as a default since 2014 has resulted in about 175 iPhones and or one quarter of 670 Apple devices that are currently cannot be tapped into, even though his office had a valid search warrant for the same. In what has already exploded into a big issue with tech companies backing Apple, Vance says that he believes in encryption and privacy, but also argued that when needed, prosecutors should be allowed access. With inputs from Reuters tech2 News Staff The ED (Enforcement Directorate) had received complaints against Ringing Bells, the startup which created the apparent cheapest smartphone, Freedom 251, and had reportedly summoned company founder Mohit Goel to record his statement at the ED headquarters. Now, a report by IBN Live states that the ED has issued directives to companies holding the money on behalf of Ringing Bells, not to release the funds until phones reach the customers. This probe is regarding the feasibility of worlds cheapest smartphone which is priced at a mere Rs 251. According to the report, the company has reportedly collected Rs 1.66 crores in one account and Rs 75 lakhs in another account from the consumers. It is being said that the directives under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) has been issued to Pay U Money and CC Avenues India Ltd. Last week, a report had stated that the Enforcement Directorate would be writing to Ringing Bells payment gateway PayU for details on the companys bank account. The officials reportedly suspected that the company may just run away with the money, in case it is unable to ship the devices on time. Even Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a statement that the Ministry has inquired into how the company is able to manufacture a smartphone at such a low price. The smartphone priced at Rs 251 has been flooded controversy since its announcement. While many found it hard to believe that such a smartphone exists, many others doubted on the companys practices and sourcing methods to build the worlds cheapest smartphone. However, Ringing Bells has reportedly claimed to have paid back the money it generated from the first 30,000 pre-booking orders on the first day of the sale this month. Mohit Goel had claimed that the money of all 30,000 customers has been refunded and the company will now accept cash on delivery only. Goel had also claimed that the company would make Rs 31 profit on each unit sold. Ringing Bells had received 30,000 orders on the first day and the rest of the customers would have be selected on first-come-first-serve basis as the company had received a mammoth over seven crore registrations. Earlier, Ringing Bells President Ashok Chadha had also announced that the Rs 251 (less than $4) Freedom 251 smartphone customers will be required to make payment only when the smartphone is delivered to them. tech2 News Staff The makers of Kerala's Mango phone, a brand that was set to launch its new mPhone line-up in India, were arrested today at the launch event. Police charged the makers with "duping a leading bank", claiming that the Bank of Baroda had lodged a complaint against the brand's promoters. The brand, Mango phone, has been in the making for a while now and apparently involves Rs 3,500 crores in investment as well as a research and development centre in Korea. Two of the company's directors, Anto Augustine and Josekutty Augustine, were arrested on the day of the launch. The two brothers were involved in the promotion of the brand. They allegedly duped the Bank of Baroda and State Bank of India, among others, of crores of rupees by forging documents related to a plot of land that was "already pledged for Rs 11.57 crore", reports The New Indian Express. They had also been absconding for a year, allegedly. It's been revealed that the police were tipped off by bank authorities following a sighting on Facebook. The police, under Chief Inspector Martin C J, apprehended the accused at the hotel where the launch even was being organised. The arrested brothers are said to own the company and another sibling, Rojy Augustine, is the chairman. The latter was quoted as saying, We have no knowledge about the complaint lodged by Bank of Baroda. The police neither probed the matter nor did they ever seek our explanation. The police were acting under pressure from someone who wants to sabotage the company. The company was all set to launch with quite a bang, offering a complete range of mPhone branded mobiles and accessories. The line-up includes the mPhone 5s, the mPhone 11s, an MWC wireless charger, an M2 smartwatch, bluetooth headsets and many more. The pricing so far also appears to be quite varied, with phones available from Rs 4,000 to over 39,000, depending on the model. hidden Facebook has learned from Germany to include migrants as a class of people that needed to be protected from "hate speech" online, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on the second day of a visit to Berlin. A perceived slowness to remove anti-migrant postings by neo-Nazi sympathizers has increased antipathy to Facebook in Germany at a time of raised tensions and outbreaks of violence against record numbers of migrants arriving in the country. Facebook already has the cultural obstacle of privacy to deal with in Germany, a country reunited after the Cold War only 25 years ago where memories of spying were reawakened by Edward Snowden's 2013 revelations of prying by the state. The world's biggest social network rarely breaks down users by country but says it has about 21 million daily users in Germany or about a quarter of the population, fewer than the 24 million it had in less populous Britain more than two years ago. "I just think there's an incredibly rich history here, in this city and in this country that shapes the culture and really makes Germans in a lot of ways the leaders in the world when it comes to pushing for privacy," Zuckerberg said. "That's one of the important things about coming here," the 31-year-old entrepreneur told an audience of more than 1,000 young people, mostly students, who had been invited through their universities or signed up on Facebook to ask a question. Zuckerberg, who spent his first day in Berlin jogging in the snow, meeting Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff, talking about technology and receiving an award, engaged on Friday with the issues that dog the company in Germany. Journalists were not permitted to ask questions during the town hall meeting nor on any other part of Zuckerberg's visit. Asked why he was not doing more to remove "hate speech" from Facebook in Germany, Zuckerberg talked about an initiative with local partners to counter that and the 200 people the social network had hired in Germany to help police the site. He said Facebook had not previously considered migrants as a class of people who needed protection, akin to racial minorities or other underrepresented groups that Facebook looks out for. "Learning more about German culture and German law has led us to change our approach on that," he said. "This is always a work in progress. I'm not going to claim up here today that we're perfect, we're definitely not." Nineteen-year-old Jonas Umland, an IT student who posed the question on "hate speech", expressed a degree of satisfaction with Zuckerberg's answer. "I found it good that Mark said there was room for improvement. On the other hand, he didn't mention any specific measures Facebook would take," he told Reuters after the event. "He came across very well, also at times spontaneous," he said. "I found him very likeable." Reuters tech2 News Staff In a blog post published a few days ago, WhatsApp revealed that they will be withdrawing support for BlackBerry devices (BB10 included), Symbian 40, Symbian 60, Android 2.1 and 2.2 devices and Windows Phone 7.1 sometime this year. WhatsApp wrote that the market right now comprises of 99% Android, iOS and Windows Phone 8 and above devices. They said that the decision was "not an easy one to make" and that the market has evolved. While other platforms will suffer, there is some respite for BB10 users as their devices are capable of running Android apps within the OS. They will, of course, lose out on Hub integration, but if they really want WhatsApp, that might be the only way. "While these mobile devices have been an important part of our story, they don't offer the kind of capabilities we need to expand our app's features in the future.", say WhatsApp. Finally, they add that, "This was a tough decision for us to make, but the right one in order to give people better ways to keep in touch with friends, family, and loved ones using WhatsApp. If you use one of these affected mobile devices, we recommend upgrading to a newer Android, iPhone, or Windows Phone before the end of 2016 to continue using WhatsApp." Switching to another platform might be a hard pill to swallow for lovers of BlackBerry and other mobile operating systems. But they will not be left with any other option. This Page has moved to a new address: Sorry for the inconvenience Redirection provided by Blogger to WordPress Migration Service Volleyball results from Thursday Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, 8:34 a.m. -- LAPEER COUNTY -- The Almont varsity volleyball team beat Madison Heights Lamphere and New Lothrop in a triple header at Almont Thursday. Dryden beat Bay City All Saints... Golf and tennis regional results Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, 5:41 p.m. -- LAPEER COUNTY -- Boys' high school tennis regionals and girls' golf regionals took place yesterday. Lapeer girls' golf placed 11th at the Div. 1 regional hosted by Oxford... Friday night football scores Friday, September 30, 2022 10:15 p.m. LAPEER COUNTY Lapeer beat Grand Blanc 39-17 at Lapeer to remain undefeated at 6-0. Almont upset Croswell-Lexington 37-26 North Branch routed Richmond 62-10 Imlay City/Dryden fell to Yale... Summer sports camps/clinics Wednesday, June 15, 2022, 4:40 p.m. -- LAPEER COUNTY -- Below is a list of the summer sports camps and clinics that will take place through early Aug. The regular sports update posting of high... Victory of moderates in Iran`s election MODERATES and reformists have dealt another blow to Iran's hardliners, winning all but one of the seats for Tehran in the Assembly of Experts. President Hassan Rouhani and his allies won 15 out of the capital's 16 seats on the clerical body, which may choose the country's next supreme leader.Two leading hardline clerics, Assembly Chairman Mohammad Yazdi and Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, lost their seats. The only hardliner to make the cut in Friday's polls was Ahmad Jannati. The vote for the 88-member Assembly of Experts was held on the same day as the country's parliamentary elections, in which moderates and reformists won all 30 of Tehran's seats.Partial results from elsewhere in the country are mixed, with hardliners so far winning 153 seats in the 290-seat parliament and moderates and reformists 111. The final results of that vote are expected later on Monday.More than 30 million Iranians voted in Friday's polls, the first since the implementation of a landmark nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran that saw it curb sensitive nuclear activities in return for the lifting of sanctions. The deal was opposed by many hardliners but backed by moderates and reformists, who for the first time formed combined electoral lists and asked their supporters to vote tactically in an effort to increase their shares of the seats in Parliament for the next four years and in the Assembly of Experts for the next eight.This unexpected election result will make a difference in Iran's engagement with the world. President Rouhani's hand has been strengthened in Parliament to help open his country to greater trade and investment. That will help him, and others in his reformist camp, to deepen the dialogue with the West, which began with negotiations on a landmark nuclear deal. Much of this opening will continue to be with Europe, rather than the US. Iran's relationship with America is still complex and controversial. But Iran wants to be regarded as an equal partner, able to sit at the world's top tables to work on common threats like Islamic State. President Rouhani's team may now feel empowered to engage a bit more, more often. One goal they set was to unseat the three leading hardliners on the clerical council.In the end, only Ayatollah Jannati - who is also the leader of the Guardian Council, an unelected body which disqualified thousands of reformist candidates from standing on Friday - managed to win re-election in Tehran. On Sunday, as it became clear that Ayatollah Yazdi and Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi were going to lose their seats, the head of the judiciary complained of foreign interference. But of course it was not foreign interference but the will of the Iranian people, and their clear mandate for change was reflected in the results. Migrants clash with police near French border A group of anti-riot police officers apprehend a man protesting his eviction from the \'Jungle\' on top of a dwelling inside the campsite. Internet photo Reuters, CALAIS, France :Clashes with police broke out on Monday as work got underway to clear part of the shanty town outside Calais in northern France where migrants are trying to reach Britain.Police fired tear gas around midday, about 150-200 migrants and activists threw stones, and three makeshift shelters were set ablaze, according to a Reuters photographer at the site.Earlier, one person was arrested for trying to stop a group of about 20 workers under heavy police protection from clearing the site, where about 3,000 people are staying."The migrants are just going to run and hide in the woods and the police are going to have to go after them," said activist Francois Guennoc of the Auberge des Migrants migrant support group.Regional Prefect Fabienne Buccio had said the police presence was needed because "extremists" could try to intimidate migrants into turning down housing offers or buses to reception centers.Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said last week that authorities would work with humanitarian organizations to relocate the migrants to a nearby park of converted shipping containers or other reception centers around France. On Thursday, a judge upheld a government order to evict migrants living in the southern part of the camp, although a few makeshift buildings of social importance such as a school and a theater are to remain untouched.Thousands of migrants fleeing war and poverty, from Afghanistan to Syria, have converged on the northern port over the past year.Many attempt to climb illegally onto trains using the Channel Tunnel or into lorries heading to Britain where they hope to settle. Their presence has led to tension with some of the local population and to a permanent police deployment. Earlier on Monday at another European migrant crisis flashpoint, Macedonian police also fired tear gas to disperse hundreds who stormed the border from Greece. The migrants had torn down a gate as frustrations boiled over at restrictions imposed on people moving through the Balkans. JMB man confesses involvement UNB, Panchagarh :Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) member Alamgir Hossain, who was arrested in connection with the murder of a Hindu priest in Debiganj upazila, made his confessional statement before a court on Tuesday.Senior Judicial Magistrate Hakim Marzia Khatun recorded the statement under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc). On February 25, police arrested three alleged member of banned militant outfit JMB including Alamgir. On February 27, they were put on 18-day remand.Earlier, a group of unidentified miscreants attacked Hindu priest Jogeswar Dasadhikari in front of Sri Sri Sonto Gaurio temple at Sonapota village in Dibiganj upazila around 6:30am. They hacked him indiscriminately, chased him into a house behind the temple and slit his throat there, leaving him dead on the spot.The attackers fled the scene firing gunshots and exploding bombs that left two devotees - Gopal Chandra Roy, 35, and Nitai Das - injured. Six people have been arrested so far in connection with the killing. Legal notice served on DMP to stop the move Ehsanul Haque Jasim : The move of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) to collect personal details of house owners and tenants in the city created confusion and panic among the people. City dwellers said that the move had raised eyebrows among them. Talking to The New Nation, some of the city residents on Tuesday said that they fear that their personal information could be used to harass them. They want end of the move. They said that they are baffled by this step. Experts and lawyers said, collecting of such information is violation of rights to privacy as per the Constitution. Police could misuse the information of the house owners and the tenants, they added. They also said, the move is not desirable. Police, however, said that their move is for curbing crime. Police already provided personal identification form in different areas. DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah on Monday said that they had been collecting information of house owners and tenants since November last. He asked all to submit the forms to respective police stations by March 15. He said that it is part of an effort to create a central database of city residents and their service staff and the move is intended to curb crime. The city residents, however, termed the forms dubious and said that they have been baffled by the step. Many of them are unwilling to fill in the forms. But they are being forced by police to fill in the forms. Bablu Ahmed of House No. E-115, Road No. 9/2 of South Banasree said that police members have been going door to door, providing forms and collecting information. He told the tenants of House No. E-115 to submit the forms to him along with copies of photograph and national ID card, as police will come to take the forms from him. In this situation, a Supreme Court lawyer on Tuesday served a legal notice seeking a halt to the move of the DMP. Law Secretary, Home Secretary, Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the DMP commissioner have been made respondents to the legal notice. Jyotirmoy Barua, the lawyer, in his legal notice said that the DMP's move is a violation of rights to privacy. As per the country's Constitution, there is no legal basis of collecting such information of the house owners and the tenants. The information can be misused by the police. The lawyer said he would take legal steps if the initiative is not stopped within 24 hours. According to requires of the form, the information of all inmates along with the tenant's domestic aides, guards and drivers has to be furnished in the form. The tenant's NID No and the Passport No has also to be included. Abu Bakar, a tenant of city's Arambag area, said that the move is unnecessary and time-wasting, as basic information of the citizens were already furnished in the national identity (NID) card database. He, however, said that they are doubt whether the personal details would remain safe in police hands. "Even after having the NID card, why police need a personal details for second time? It is highly sensitive," he said. DMP's spokesperson Maruf Hossain Sardar said that the effort was taken for the sake of security, awareness and caution. About the legal notice, he said that would take next step in this regard after receiving the legal notice. Referring to recent raids at different parts of the city, a DMP official said that the suspects took cover in the city in disguise of tenants and attempted to commit subversive activities. Advocate Abed Raza, a Supreme Court lawyer, said that the move to create a database is unwanted and doubtful. "The terrorists or the militants don't engage in terrorism and militancy by providing data. So the move won't bring any benefit in stopping crime. This database will only increase public concern," he said. He also said that the law already requires citizens to help the police in the conduct of their investigations. Creating a database will not add anything to the police's ability to carry out investigations. Regional coop to save tigers stressed UNB, Dhaka : Environment and Forests Minister Anwar Hossain Manju has stressed the need for strengthening regional cooperation to save tigers in the Sundarbans. "We need more collaboration with India and Nepal in protecting tigers. If we do so, outsiders (neighbouring countries) will know the problems we are facing in tiger conservation and we will also know their problems," he told a national dialogue in the capital on Tuesday. Bangladesh Forest Department and WildTeam jointly organised the 'National Dialogue for the Protection of the Tigers in the Sundarbans' at Sonargaon Hotel. Saving tigers is a difficult task as population pressure on the mangrove forest is growing day by day, putting the wildlife at risk, the minister said. "Population is increasing there and that is why tigers should be protected," he added. Chief Conservator of Forests M Yunus Ali said many departments have intelligence force working with them, but the Forest Department has no intelligence in protecting forest and biodiversity from destruction. He said, Bangladesh Coastguard, which is sometimes deployed to patrol wildlife in the Sundarbans, lacks adequate logistics and arms to check wildlife poaching in the forest. Criticising the role of police, the chief forest conservator said there are 17 police stations near the Sundarbans, but police show little intention to enter into the forest to monitor illegal activities in the forest. He urged the local politicians to come forward with their strong commitment to protect the Sundarbans as well as its biodiversity. WildTeam chief executive Prof Anwarul Islam said there is no option now to compensate the forest guards deployed in the forest amid various risks. "It is time to introduce risk allowance for the forest guards" he said, adding that a massive scientific monitoring is required in the world's largest mangrove forest to save its biodiversity, including tigers. Dr Atiq Rahman, executive director of Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies (BCAS), Farhad Ghaussy, the director of the Office of Economic Growth, USAID Bangladesh, and Kathy Wachala, deputy chief of party, USAID's Bagh Activity, among others, also spoke at the dialogue. One to die for killing college girl in Narsingdi Narsingdi Correspondent : District and Sessions Judge of Narsingdi yesterday (Tuesday) sentenced a young man to death for killing a college girl. Judge Fatema Nazib convicted Alamin (22), son of Miar Uddin, after examining charge sheet and statements of 13 witnesses, Court sources said. The case history in brief is that Syeda Rimbee Aktar Dipa (22), a student of first year BBA of Korotia Degree College, rejected the love offer of Alamin, a petty businessman, son of Miar Uddin of village Kazir Tek under Belabo Upazila, which made Alamin furious. On the 7th May, 2015, in the evening when Dipa was walking alone by the side of her house, then Alamin chopped her from behind and injured seriously. Dipa was sent critically to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries at 10 pm on that day. Atiquzzaman, brother of Dipa, filed a case with Belabo Thana under Section-302. Police submitted charge sheet accusing the convict Alamin. After examining the evidence and hearing the statement of the witnesses, the Judge delivered the verdict. Safety of Saudi aircrafts Dhaka Embassy sends letter to FM Sagar Biswas : The Bangladesh government has taken precautionary measures after Saudi Arabian Embassy in Dhaka urged the concerned authorities to ensure safety of Saudi Airlines aircraft in the wake of terror threat issued by a militant group allegedly based in Iran. "They [Saudi Embassy] sent a letter in this regardlast week. It is not for Bangladesh only. So far as we know, Saudi Arabian government has sent such letters to different countries where their planes land. Especially, they are afraid of some Asian countries, particularly Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia," AHM Ziaul Hoque, Joint Secretary of Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, told The New Nation on Tuesday. Officials of Bangladesh Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry said that they have taken adequate safety measures in and around all the airports, including Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, after getting formal request from the Saudi Embassy. Apparently, the request of Saudi Arabia came soon after the authorities of Philippines foiled a bid to hijack a Saudi Arabian Airlines plane at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport on February 24. According to a Manila-based newspaper, the authorities thwarted the plan and seized secret documents that confirm the plot. The paper said a team of 10 conspirators left Iran recently on separate flights and arrived in several countries in Southeast Asia through Turkey. They were plotting to execute their plan in Malaysia, Indonesia, or the Philippines. The newspaper further said, the Saudi Embassy in Manila had asked the airport authorities in that country to install screening devices to tighten security procedures for passengers travelling on the Saudi aircraft. Accordingly, the request was submitted to the competent authorities in the Philippines. In this backdrop, State Minister for Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam yesterday said that his Ministry has been giving high importance to the 'request' of Saudi Embassy in Dhaka. "We have already informed the matter to the concerned Ministries and asked them to increase vigilance. Besides, the Foreign Ministry is also dealing with the matter seriously. Bangladesh is determined to resist terrorism. So, the government will not give chance to anybody to create a plot of such terrorism," the Minister said. Sources close to the Foreign Ministry said that the Saudi Embassy's letter which was sent to Ministry had apprehended that the Revolutionary Guard of Iran planned to hijack and bomb Saudi aircraft. The letter also said Saudi Arabian government has identified six persons out of ten who are Yemeni nationals and also the members of a gang deployed by Iranian authority to hijack or bomb Saudi planes. In fact, the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran ignited again when protesters set fire to the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and attacked its consulate in another Iranian city in response to the Kingdom's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric on January 2. The protests prompted Saudi Arabia to cut diplomatic ties with Iran, escalating tensions between the longtime regional rivals. "We are in constant contact with all stakeholders to ensure the safety of our aircraft and its passengers .. Aircraft security is an international responsibility. Aviation Security Departments at Saudia are working with other agencies to boost security," Abdulrahman Al-Fahad, a spokesman for Saudi Arabian Airlines, recently said. On February 22, the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Manila notified the Department of Foreign Affairs [DFA] that the Saudi government received from concerned authorities that the "Iranian Revolutionary Guards" are allegedly initiating and supervising a plan to hijack or bomb a Saudi Arabian airplane. As the names of suspected attackers have been withheld from media, immigration officials are asked to remain alert to their entry into the country, official sources said. 50 persons, firms involved: 4 identified Staff Reporter : At least 50 individuals and business firms have been involved with the recent ATM card scam, Police said. "The German citizen, Piotr Szczepan Mazurek, who was arrested in connection with the recent ATM card fraud, has disclosed the names of 50 individuals and institutions," Monirul Islam, Chief of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) told journalists. Earlier, Police arrested German citizen Piotr Szczepan Mazurek and three other officials of City Bank Maksed Al alias Maksud, Rezaul Karim alias Shaheen and Refaz Ahmed alias Roni. "We are now verifying the names he (Piotr) revealed during quizzing. We have already identified four persons in this connection," the Police official said while briefing reporters on the update of police investigation at DMP media centre. The fraudsters reportedly swindled out about Tk 20 lakh from ATM booths in Dhaka. Monirul Islam, also Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, said the arrested persons revealed the names of local hotels, restaurants, some musicians and a big organized crime group comprising officials of different local banks and financial institutions. Apart from banks and financial institutions, using point-of-sale (POS) terminal, a computerised replacement for a cash register, they have looted huge amount of taka from different super shops, he said. He added using ultra-modern technology; these organised crime syndicate looted crores of taka from different banks and financial institutions over the years. "We have obtained some vital secret information about how and in what way these organised gangs used to withdraw money from the banks and the financial institutions," the Police official claimed. He said Piotr also confessed that an international gang was involved in the debit card forgery and the gang is active in Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Poland in East Europe. DB sources said, the gang looted huge amount of money from the ATM booths of UCBL (United Commercial Bank Limited), City Bank, and Eastern Bank on January 7 and 8. 26 bodies found in two days Alarming rise in abduction Joynal Abedin Khan :Al least bodies of 26 persons, who went missiong from their residences or work places, were recovered from different parts of the country in last two days, police and local sources said.The alarmingly rise of missing cases and subsequently recovery of bodies has created a deep concen among the people, the sources said, adding that abduction and killing for ransom or over enmities are continuing unabated across the country. According to police, at least 309 people were murdered in February while the number was 267 in January of the current year. In the latest incident, police recovered the body of a college student from Dhanmondi Lake in the capital on Tuesday morning, two days after he went missing.The deaceased has been identified as Sudipta Dutta, an HSC examinee of Bir Shreshtha Noor Mohammad Public School and College, said Noor-e-Azam, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Dhanmondi Police Station.In Jhenaidah, a local Jamaat-e-Islami leader was found dead on the Jessore- Jhenidah Road in Churamankathi Beltala area of Jessore district town on Monday night over a month after he had been picked up by 'plainclothes policemen'. The deceased was identified as Abu Huraira, 55, a resident of Ashwathali village of sadar upazila and also a rokon of the district unit of Jamaat, said Ilias Hossain, OC of Kotwali Police Station.In Rajshahi, the body of a businessman was recovered on Tuesday after four days of his missing from Baghmara upazila in the district. The victim was identified as Anwar Hossain, 38.In Tangail, police recovered the body a house wife in Mirzapur upazila on Tuesaday morning. The victim was identified as Shohida Begum Farzana, 25.In Comilla, a nine-year old boy was found dead in a market in Monoharganj upazila on Tuesday morning. The victim is Riyad, son of Mohammad Khokon, went missing since Monday night, said Monoharganj Police Station OC Bipul Chandra Bhakta. In Satkhira, police have recovered an unidentified body in Ashashuni Upazila of Satkhira on Tuesday morning. He went missing four days ago. In the city, a housewife's body was recovered from a house in the city's Hazipara on Monday. The deceased was identified as Hena Akter Dolan, 27, wife of Jahid Hossain, a Bangladeshi expatriate in United Arab Emirates. In Mymensingh, a body of housewife was recovered on the Alia Madrasah Road area of the district town. The deceased was identified as Nipa, wife of Arefin. In Habiganj, police recovered the body of a local leader of Jatiya Jubo Sanghati, the youth front of Jatiya Party, at Baro Aulia in Bahubal upazila on Sunday morning, nearly 12 hours into his going missing. The victim is Rafiqul Islam, 35, son of Abdur Rahman.In Natore, a farmer was found dead in a pond at Sohagbari village in Singra upazila in the district on Monday morning. The deceased was identified as Jonab Ali, resident of the village.In Chittagong, police recovered three bodies from port city's Halishahar area, and Boalia and Potia upazilas on Tuesday. One of them was identified as M Hasem, 28, who went missing two days ago. In Gazipur, a hanging body was found on mango-tree in Gopalpur area in Tongi of the district on Tuesday. The deceased was identified as sujan Das.In Munsiganj, body of a pregnant woman was found in Harpara area of Sreenagar upazila in the district on Tuesday. The victim was identified as Pali Biswas, 23.In Nilphamari, a body of scholl girl was recovered from the Kishamatpara vllage in sadar upazila on Monday. The victim was identified as Ripa Akter, 15, daughter of Abdur Rashid. Meanwhile, a body of a rickshaw-puller was recovered from Duhuli of Sadar Upazila early Monday. The victim was identified as Nanjurul Alam, 35.In Bogra, a house wife's body was recovered from Rainagar village of Shibganj upazila on Tuesday. The victim was identified as Aduri Begum, 23. Earlier on Monday, the body of an youth was recovered from Sankapur Char area of sariakandi upazila after he went missing 18 days ago. The victim was identified as Saidur Rahman 33.In Moulovibazar, the hanging body of a housewife was recovered from Dashertila village of Rajnagar upazila in the disrtrict on Tuesday. The victim is raina Begum, 30.In Rajshahi, body of a businessman was recovered from a brick field in Kalapara area of Baghmara upazila on Tuesday after four days of his missing. The victim is anwar Hossain, 38.In Dhaka, police recovered a body from Aminbazar area of Savar upazila on Tuesday morning. The victim was idfentified as Sagar Sahah, 24, a truck driver. In Rangpur, a body of Swechhasebak League was recovered from Rashidpur village in Mithapukur upazila early Monday. The victim was identified as Masud Rana. In chadpur, the hanging body of a youth was recovered from a tree in Matainpara of Haziganj upazila on Monday. The victim has been identified as Kamrul, 30.In Sirajganj, three bodies were recovered from different spots of Sadar upazila on Tuesday. Of them, one was identified as Halima Khatun, 30.Contacted, Nazrul Islam, Depury Inspector General (Media) of Police Headqueters, said that law enforcers are trying to decrease the crimes across the country. The Elites Want Genocide This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a ... The Gay Courier has been established to provide news, information and info on, from and about the gay community, and other social events and happenings from around the world, from all sorts of sources, to all who are interested in this news, information and info! The postings are as is, and all copyrights and or ownerships are and remain with the original copyright-holder and or owner! If you are looking for the new Immoral Minority posts, you should know that they can be found here at our new home Please stop by to get caught up on politics, join the conversations, or simply check out the new digs. Tough-talking Crime Stoppers spokesman says he can't abide by Sheriff Guidroz's "current orders" and could not "work within the parameters that I have been commanded." Clay Higgins has resigned the St. Landry Parish sheriff's office after coming under fire for this controversial video (click image to view). The Cajun John Wayne is no more. Capt. Clay Higgins has resigned from the St. Landry Parish sheriffs office. Donning a cowboy hat on the steps of the parish courthouse Monday morning, the tough-talking Crime Stoppers spokesman and public information officer made the announcement, saying he could not abide by Sheriff Bobby Guidroz's "current orders," nor can he "work within the parameters that I have been commanded." "I don't do well reined in," Higgins said, while also noting his love and respect for the sheriff. Higgins was not specific about the "current orders." Higgins has been under fire from the ACLU and other community groups over the harsh words he used in a mid-February video targeting a St. Landry Parish gang, the Gremlins. Decked out in SWAT gear and holding an assault weapon, Higgins was joined by several dozen law enforcement officials from agencies across the state (and what appears to be area clergymen) to produce the spot, which included images of the alleged gang members, whom Higgins referred to as animals, thugs and heathens and promised to hunt down. As you might imagine, the video went viral. A draft copy of the script, inadvertently published by KATC-TV3 (which helped produce the spot) and other media outlets, had Higgins saying there would be a bounty on their heads, prompting a quick response from the ACLU: While we support legal law enforcement and certainly are as concerned as anyone about violence in our neighborhoods, law enforcement officers must be aware of the implications of their public statements. Assuming that what is reported is true, Mr. Higgins has suggested that those he seeks to arrest are subject to execution before trial. The statement that there is a bounty on their heads harks back to lawlessness, when people were killed first and questions asked later. That is not the way we operate in a free society, and regardless of Mr. Higgins opinions about the guilt of those he seeks to arrest, it is a felony to execute someone simply because you dont like them. He refers to those he seeks to arrest as heathens. Heathen is a religious term, and unless Mr. Higgins has specific information about the religious beliefs of those individuals, it is both inappropriate and incorrect. And even if its true that these individuals, or some of them, are religiously heathen, that is of no consequence to their status as criminal suspects. Unless Mr. Higgins believes that all law-abiding people share his personal religious faith - and if he does believe that, he should not be an officer of the law - to call someone a heathen and equate that to criminal is simply insulting, wrong, and potentially a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. We live in a system of laws, and there are legal rights that apply to everyone. It is the job of law enforcement to protect those rights while also keeping our communities safe. Nothing that Mr. Higgins said will make his community safer, but there is much to suggest violations of fundamental rights of all. Acting on valid arrest warrants in a legal manner is Mr. Higgins job. I hope he can do that job well. In doing so he must honor the laws of this country, or he is unfit to serve. Sheriff Bobby Guidroz told local media he had not reviewed the script prior to the video. I think the initial message was good, Guidroz told The Daily World after the video came under fire. But I think weve gotten away from the initial message of Crime Stoppers. On the steps of the St. Landry Parish Courthouse Monday morning, Higgins said he was not forced to resign. I will not kneel to violent street gangs. I will not kneel to murderers or the parents that raised them. I will not kneel to a discredited, wanna-be, black activist that doesnt really have the best interest of his people in mind, who just wants to make a profit. I will not kneel to bureaucrats in Baton Rouge, Washington or anywhere else who have forgotten why they wear a badge and who have forgotten who they serve. ... I would die rather than sacrifice my principles. I would leave my wife without a husband, my children without a daddy, rather than kneel to the very forces of evil that I have so long stood against. Higgins said he will continue to serve as a constable and has already had a number of job offers, noting that he has speaking engagements booked through next March. First, however, he said he would disappear for about a week so that he and his wife can pray for guidance about his next move. According to KATC, Guidroz made the following statement later Monday: My orders to Higgins was to, tone down his unprofessional comments on our weekly Crime Stoppers messages and had nothing to do with the Gremlins video that appeared on the networks. I agree with the Gremlins video. First of all; I repeatedly told him to stop saying things like, you have no brain cells, or making comments that were totally disrespectful and demeaning. Second; Clay Higgins appeared on the cover of a local magazine in full dress uniform without my approval and permission. That too is something he didnt like me controlling. As Sheriff, it is my duty and responsibility that the message going out to the public be professional, on point and truthful. The public needs to remember the department public information officer is a spokesperson for the sheriff and represents the sheriffs words, thoughts and message. If Clay Higgins cannot agree with my words, thoughts and message, then he is correct in resigning his position. Donning a cowboy hat, Higgins said Monday he already has a number of job offers. Watch the full video of the resignation announcement here. Academics are a peculiar lot. They spend their early years, when most others are starting to work, getting married and having children, pursuing dreams that seem odd and obscure to most people. In the publics imagination, professors are dedicated and single-minded a view reflected in the 1950s Disney movie The Absent-Minded Professor. Fred McMurry wasnt really absent-minded; he was just absorbed in his work to a laughable degree. For many academics like Fred, work is not the main thing; its the only thing. Academics wake up in the middle of the night thinking about how to solve a problem, how to reconfigure an equation, how to work around a dilemma. They exalt in the smallest progress, and despair when they are blocked. Their work often comes before family, friends and, occasionally, eating. Not only are they peculiar, most are obsessed. One result of this obsession is that academics experience difficulty separating who they are from what they do. They think what they do is important, useful, necessary and (probably) valuable to the world as a whole. For example, think of those researchers at LIGO who recently discovered gravitational waves rippling across the universe, verifying a part of Einsteins theory of general relativity that had waited since 1916 for resolution. You can bet they think their discovery (and the money spent to pay their salaries and create their research facility) was important. However, most people dont know or care about Einsteins theory, as research into fundamental science isnt something they think about much. And, if they did think about it, most people would say such research is a waste of money. This popular attitude is something that all academics face: Most people dont believe in the fundamental worth of what they do, be it particle physics, forensic anthropology or literary analysis. Nowhere is this made clearer than in Louisiana. According to recent comments made by Joseph Rallo, Louisianas commissioner of higher education, state colleges and universities will be asked to cut their budgets by a minimum of $70 million in this current fiscal year while cuts could rise as high as $242 million. Next year, its likely to be worse. Given that 80-85 percent of the money in higher education goes to salaries, cuts of this size require firing professors, putting people on furloughs and eliminating majors and classes. LSU, for example, has let go nearly 2,000 employees, including 360 faculty members, since the cuts started in 2008. These wrenching readjustments belie most of the assumptions we make about professors. For example, Forbes Magazine recently listed university professor as the third least stressful job. Really? Not in Louisiana where higher education funding has been cut in half over the last eight years from $1.5 billion to $750 million (general fund dollars). Along with these cuts comes a great deal of self-examination. Universities have been asked to justify what they do, rate programs that are less important, or less productive, essentially planning for their own down-sizing. What effect has this had on those academics in the trenches, supposedly enjoying the happy cycle of research, teaching and service? I recently spoke to a few of these academics, and heres what they said. I love my job, I believe Im good at what I do and I truly feel like my mission or calling is teaching. [Yet] the consistent lack of acknowledgment, recognition or tangible gratitude and reward from the state of Louisiana for my efforts and success is increasingly demoralizing career-wise on me and other faculty. Another said Louisiana is suspicious of education, especially higher education, which, to this professor, seems odd in a state that seems to have a hard time understanding that the only way up is through a real investment in education. Another said if the cuts to higher education were actually to take effect, Louisiana would be confirming the worst stereotypes that are held by those who warned me not to move here in the first place. And, finally, another said he finds it hard to encourage anyone to apply for a job in this state. If anything is clear, its that this state is not terribly interested in education, higher or otherwise. These higher-education budget cuts affect more than just programs; they cut to the very heart of who academics are as people, damaging how they think about themselves, undermining their sense of worth. This is not to say that academics are fragile beings who flourish only in hothouse surroundings, protected from the real world. Popular images to the contrary, getting a Ph.D. requires grit, determination and self-reliance. Only the toughest make it through the 8.2 years (on average) of toil, setbacks, poverty and health challenges to receive a degree. In fact, according to the Ph.D. Completion Project that examined 10-year matriculation rates among students pursuing doctoral degrees in five broad fields (engineering, life sciences, math and physical sciences, humanities and social sciences), only 55 percent of women and 58 percent of men receive the Ph.D. degree at the end of their studies. Compare this to the 91.3 percent five-year matriculation rate for medical school. What this means is that those admitted to M.D. programs are almost twice as likely to finish as those accepted to Ph.D. programs. In Ph.D. programs, only the strong survive. But even the strong have limits. In Louisiana, those limits are being tested. Pearson Cross is an associate professor in the Political Science Department at UL Lafayette. He holds a Ph.D. from Brandeis University (1997), and his principal areas of teaching are state and local politics, and Southern politics. Cross interviews local politicians and newsmakers on his radio show, Bayou to the Beltway, which airs on KRVS 88.7 FM at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays. Contact him at [email protected]. Dr. Bradley Chastant of Acadian ENT, a board-certified facial plastic surgeon with a speciality in otolaryngology, his son Dr. Bradley Chastant II of Lafayette General Internal Medicine Physicians, his father Dr. Harold Chastant, an internist and cardiologist now practicing with Hospice and his son Dr. Ryan Chastant also of Acadian ENT. Photo by Robin May Dr. Harold Chastant cant stop practicing medicine. Hes still reading the journals, and hes still giving advice to his son and two grandsons all practicing doctors in Lafayette. Clearly he continues to be moved by a love for his work that makes it seem work might be the wrong word. This month, Chastant (known to most as Popa Doc) will turn 93 years old. Hes as passionate as ever about exactly how to treat patients and is still making house calls. I love medicine, he says simply when asked why his retirement in 1991 doesnt look much like retirement. Also, I have no other talent. Chastant left his private solo practice in the early 90s and has been working with Hospice since. From what we can find, hes the oldest practicing doctor around these parts. Rather than sit at home and enjoy his golden years, hes still arriving at patients homes and bettering their lives. For many, its as their own lives are ending. And hes steadily guiding the three doctors who carry his family name Ryan Chastant, Bradley Chastant and Bradley Chastant II. Harold began his journey into medicine at an age most kids are looking at their first car 16. Thats how old he was when he went to college, graduating three years later to pursue medicine. Sure, he was young, but this is a man who started working at his fathers local feed store Chastant Bros. in the wee hours before school began ahead of getting a real job at 10 years old at Kellers Bakery. I made a dollar a week, he says. In 1945 he finished med school as a general practitioner and interned at Charity Hospital in New Orleans before returning to Acadiana to start his own practice. He had an office in Broussard and one in Youngsville at a time when the roads were unpaved and gravel lined. He was paid in everything from clothing and horses to veggies. People had very little. He treated them anyway. He made house calls. He never took a break. He had the revolution of penicillin and little else. Chastant was young and on the verge of a breakdown, he says. He returned to education and specialized in internal medicine and cardiology, becoming the first heart doc in the area and ushering in a new era of medicine as diagnostic tools advanced, pharmacology boomed and procedures once revolutionary became common place. When we sit down to talk and I share that Harolds grandson is my doctor, hes quick to ask if he put me on the table and talked and physically examined me. I say yes, and his pride is clear. He taught us that you sit down, you put them on the table and you listen to the patient, Bradley II says. If you spend enough time with a patient, theyll tell you whats wrong with them. You have to be a good clinician. Not a technician. Bradley II practices at Lafayette General Medical Center as an internist. Just across the street, his father Bradley and brother Ryan are at the helm of Acadian ENT. He gave us a philosophy of how you approach patients, Ryan says. Ryan is the most recent to join the Lafayette fold of Chastant doctors after finishing a fellowship in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery last year in New York. Bradley has been watching his father in action since he was a young boy going on house calls and sticking by Harolds side even at the hospital. Back then there were not a lot of doctors in town. Those were the formative years of medicine. He opened the first ICU unit and helped develop it. That was at Lourdes. Its an era of medicine thats forgotten, Bradley says. While many have forgotten a time when meds were little more than sulfur and penicillin or open heart surgery was unheard of, Harold recalls them all with sharp clarity. He is moved by medicine, by his family and his beloved late wife Evelyn (who was a nurse) and a lifetime of doing the only thing, he says, he was ever any good at. I love to make house calls. I get to know the whole family. I speak French to the ones who enjoy that, and I sit in the bed with them, Harold says. The Lord has been good to me, and I love what Im doing. Photo by Robin May When building a mobile history museum, there is no better thing than an Airstream, says Dr. John Troutman of the UL Lafayette History Department. Troutman and some of the graduate students at UL created a mobile museum, Museum on the Move, out of a 1954 Airstream trailer. The Airstream is a classic symbol of American exploration, making it a perfect medium for Museum on the Moves purpose: traveling to local schools or public events to bring history to the people. This years exhibit, Drill, Baby, Drill? Oil in Louisiana, focuses on the oil and gas industry in Louisiana using oral histories about the industry; some stories even come from the families of the grad students. For more information on the Museum on the Move program, or to schedule a visit by the Airstream, contact Troutman at [email protected] or visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/museumonthemove. Photo by Robin May 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. By AM Tuesday, March 1, 2016 Share Tweet Share Share Email lambasts the war on terror as a scam.is a long time resident of Troy, NY, USA, and former head of Clan na Gael in same city, and area.The infamous "Oded Yinon Plan" for a greater Zionist Israel, which is an expansionist idea proposed a number of years ago[1982], serves as the hidden agenda of the current far right wing Likud Party[Netanyahu's party] who now control Israel.The neoconservatives of the PNAC[Project for the New American Century], now known as The Foreign Policy Initiative, famously called for, in September 2000, a New Pearl Harbor that would act as the galvanizing event to reinvigorate the US and its military/industrial/intelligence complex. To name but a few of these traitors to America, there is Dick Cheney, Douglas J. Feith and Paul Wolfowitz, all of whom played key parts to the lead up to 9/11, being all pro-Israel and part of the deep state, though of course not being so secret about it.The unabashed and unapologetic Zionists in both Israel and in Uncle Sam's backyard are cunning and mischievous to an extreme, so it is not at all surprising that the cheering Israelis seen near the World Trade Center, while they were burning on 9/11, turned out to be part of a MOSSAD espionage network here in the United States.The current Syrian conflict is in part a part of the conquer and divide strategy of both Israel and the neocons of the US, keeping the Muslims at each other's throats rather than joining together to fight Israel, and it is part of a plan to destabilize the Shia land bridge, that runs from Iran to Lebanon, along Shia population lines. There had been a deal between Syria, Iraq and Iran for a pipe line going from Iran's South Pars gas field to Europe via Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea, which now is in jeopardy from the expansion of the Syrian conflict, and the Daesh/ISIS/ISIL caliphate. Turkey, which has been the crossroad for oil coming from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the other Gulf states, were understandably upset at this proposed plan, so it is not surprising that both Saudi Arabia and Turkey have served as the West's proxy supporters of Daesh/ISIS/ISIL, who have served to nip this in the bud, besides destabilizing Syria, and the whole Middle Eastern region.After the US led destabilization of Libya in which Daesh/ISIS/ISIL played a role, it thought that it could role right on into doing the same thing to Syria, but thankfully it has turned out to be more difficult given both the resilience of al-Assad's military, and the complex ethnic and religious makeup of the country. Most of the Daesh/ISIS/ISIL fighters are mercenaries from foreign countries, coupled with former Al Qaeda fighters from eastern Iraq, and are a wholly manufactured lot, who secretly are serving the agenda of the United States, its Gulf proxies, and Israel. Saudi Arabian intelligence, or Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah, under Prince Bandar Bush have supplied weaponry and munitions to Daesh/ISIS/ISIL, while Turkey has helped the latter sell their black market oil. Israel has an interest in nixing the proposed Iran/Iraq/Syria pipeline since it has discovered its own gas field called the Leviathan gas field off its coast, and Qatar too has an interest in nipping in the bud the proposed pipeline so its own natural gas can instead be one of the primary sources of energy to the world.So as one can see, it is an all too complicated situation in the Syrian conflict, with both geopolitical ambitions being conjoined with monetary interests, both serving to be the real causes of the literal mess it is now. The much ballyhooed chemical weapons attack on Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, on August 21, 2013, turned out to be from Salafist jihadists who were supplied with chemical weapons by Prince Bandar Bush.This was a hoped for false flag that was meant to be blamed upon the al-Assad government, which was than to be the instigation for foreign intervention. All of the attacks since, like in Paris's two attacks in 2015, no doubt had deeper objectives as the false flag attempt in Damascus did in 2013, yet none of this pertinent information has been covered in the dinosaur corporate mainstream press.With the intervention by Russia in Syria, the power blocs angling for supremacy in the region are complete, with the West on one side, and Russia, China and Iran on the other. Not so ironically the perpetual War on Terror has seen Uncle Sam creating more terrorists who thirst for American and European blood, even while these jihadists are simultaneously serving the geopolitical desires of the West. Uncle Sam is responsible for over a million dead Iraqis, besides the puppet Iraq government death squads who have killed Sunnis indiscriminately. One need look no further for the cause of the orchestrated "Arab Spring," the Libyan debacle, and Syrian conflict, then to the dirty hands of the West, and its proxies like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel.There is a special place in Hell for these nimrods, and if we are drawn into a global conflict, or third world war, one need not look far for those responsible. Upon reflection, 9/11 was funded mainly by Saudi Arabian money, as per the 28 pages redacted from the 9/11 Commission report, and likely factions of MOSSAD and Saudi Intelligence, with a faction of the CIA, and Pentagon brass, were part of the 9/11 attacks, as per an exhaustive investigation by ALT news reporters and researchers.These are the reasons why the American public ought to rise up to overthrow this corporate owned and run farce that passes itself off as the legitimate government of the United States. Our current presidential primary and campaign season is laughable in the extreme considering all the above information, so one must ask in reflection why the American public puts up with such an illegitimate system of governance.Perhaps not enough people have awakened to the truth about 9/11, the continuance of Bush's regime embodied in the Obama administration, and the continued farce that is the War on Terror. If one desires to end the War on Terror, and terrorism in general, all we need do is withdraw our military forces back to the homeland, concentrating all our resources on building back up the declining American economy. By changing our bully like foreign policy to being a friendly and more responsible policy, we can build back up the reputation that we once may have had prior to our meddling in the sovereign affairs of the Middle East, and Far East. By forcing the Pentagon and CIA to admit their parts in building up terrorism, we can realize a future where the people of America decide their own future instead of it being decided for them by a bunch of goof neoconservatives.Manufactured terrorism is what we have had from 9/11 on down the line to this very day, and it must be stopped by whatever means are necessary. If that means a military coup d'etat by an inspired and loyal to the US Constitution faction, than so be it. However it is done, we the people must take back what has been stolen from us, and must repair the damage done to our image all over the world. Don't continue to feed an illegitimate system that enslaves you, monitors you and decides for you what it is that we stand for.Be a part of the solution, stand up, fight the good fight to turn around the massive scam that actually is the manufactured War on Terror. To do otherwise is to spell your own doom, and cause a bleak future for your children and grand children. As always it is up to you. 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. Editor's Note: Monthly, SBJ's "The Question" asks two different people in the business community to answer the same question. This month's question was "How have green initiatives affected your business?" We received only one response this month. Nothing has been less of a secret than President Barack Obamas desire to demolish his countrys coal industry. Way back in 2008 candidate Obama promised to bankrupt the coal industry and even acknowledged that electricity rates will skyrocket. But his eagerness to do so wasnt always so blatant. Early in his presidency he began by taking potshots at us here vetoing a mining permit, there cooking up new water quality standards to protect big flies that reproduce in West Virginia ponds. When bugs are more important than coal miners, its time to write your congressman. Back then the presidents men were still talking about supporting clean coal and the all-of-the-above energy portfolio that his Natural Resources Defense Council appointees were reluctantly supporting. It was too soon in his presidency to start making enemies. Later, impatient with this piecemeal approach, this death by a thousand cuts, the White House reached for heavier weapons against coal, taking the leash off EPA and its NRDC handlers and sticking coal power plants with a mercury and air toxics rule that will end up shutting down about 20 percent of the coal fleet. The damage wasnt from the mercury standard itself, but from the air toxics limits that were hastily added to the rule in the 12th hour, despite the absence of any discernible benefit from them. The mercury rule was followed by the New Source Performance Standards for power plants. Recall these were technology standards for new construction that set CO2 emissions so low for coal combustion they ruled out the use of any low-emissions technology but carefully protected combined cycle gas. By this time, the White House had dropped any mention of coal from the comprehensive list of energy sources it pledged to support. With new coal plants out of the way, it remained to destroy existing ones remaining from the mercury rule. Meet the Clean Power Plan, the presidents gift to the global environmental industry gathering at the UN Climate Conference in Paris. With the connivance of the states, the administration hopes the CPP will finish off what the mercury rule started. Hes not done yet. So far, the fight against coal communities has largely been carried out by EPA. No longer. Not to be outdone by its sister agency, the Department of the Interior has now joined the coal killing frenzy. First it released the Office of Surface Minings Stream Protection Rule, a 2,200-page behemoth that would keep more than 60 percent of the nations coal reserves in the ground and according to one study more than 100,000 unemployed. Then came Interiors attack on the federal coal leasing program with the announcement of a three-year moratorium on coal leases (spoiler alert: read permanent moratorium). So accepted is this two front assault on coal that few even blinked when the administration quietly withdrew its support for FutureGen, an initiative first proposed by President Bush in 2003. Mattoon, Illinois was picked as the site for this project to build a zero emissions coal burning power plant. After years of the Obama Administration giving lip service support for clean coal technology, the project is dead. Instead of showing the world how technological innovation can make affordable fossil energy cleaner and its jobs safer, the president chose to show how he can test the limits of executive authority to eliminate both coal and coal miners. The administrations war on coal is bigger than its war on terror and arguably more effective. Coal has been stopped in its tracks while global terrorism metastasizes. Of course, the casualties in the war on coal are the good guys, and the impacts in Illinois are real and being felt now. In 2015 our coal industry lost 727 direct mining jobs, or 16 percent of the workforce, and the near future looks bleak. Announcements in 2016 to close mines or cutbacks in production have been made by coal operators American Coal, Peabody, Alliance and Foresight that will result in another 600 direct jobs lost. This will certainly have a negative impact on the Southern Illinois economy. These miners and their families, and the tens of thousands of others who rely on coal, are all victims of friendly fire from their own government. At the UN climate conference, the president boasted of his plans to shut down his coal industry. Mr. Obama may have a climate change legacy, but hell certainly be recalled for having destroyed more blue-collar, high-wage employment opportunities than any president in history. State of the world, Year Eight of Barack Obama: (1) In the South China Sea, on a speck of land of disputed sovereignty far from its borders, China has just installed anti-aircraft batteries and stationed fighter jets. This after China landed planes on an artificial island it created on another disputed island chain (the Spratlys, claimed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam). These facilities now function as forward bases for Beijing to challenge seven decades of American naval dominance of the Pacific Rim. "China is clearly militarizing the South China Sea," the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command told Congress on Tuesday. Its goal? "Hegemony in East Asia." (2) Syria. Russian intervention has turned the tide of war. Having rescued the Bashar al-Assad regime from collapse, relentless Russian bombing is destroying the rebel stronghold of Aleppo, Syria's largest city, creating a massive new wave of refugees and demonstrating to the entire Middle East what a Great Power can achieve when it acts seriously. The U.S. response? Repeated pathetic attempts by Secretary of State John Kerry to propitiate Russia (and its ally, Iran) in one collapsed peace conference after another. On Sunday, he stepped out to announce yet another "provisional agreement in principle" on "a cessation of hostilities" that the CIA director, the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs deem little more than a ruse. (3) Ukraine. Having swallowed Crimea so thoroughly that no one even talks about it anymore, Russia continues to trample with impunity on the Minsk cease-fire agreements. Vladimir Putin is now again stirring the pot, intensifying the fighting, advancing his remorseless campaign to fracture and subordinate the Ukrainian state. Meanwhile, Obama still refuses to send the Ukrainians even defensive weapons. (4) Iran. Last Thursday, Iran received its first shipment of S-300 anti-aircraft batteries from Russia, a major advance in developing immunity to any attack on its nuclear facilities. And it is negotiating an $8 billion arms deal with Russia that includes sophisticated combat aircraft. Like its ballistic missile tests, this conventional weapons shopping spree is a blatant violation of U.N. Security Council prohibitions. It was also a predictable -- and predicted -- consequence of the Iran nuclear deal that granted Iran $100 billion and normalized its relations with the world. The U.S. response? Words. Unlike gravitational waves, today's strategic situation is not hard to discern. Three major have-not powers are seeking to overturn the post-Cold War status quo: Russia in Eastern Europe, China in East Asia, Iran in the Middle East. All are on the march. To say nothing of the Islamic State, now extending its reach from Afghanistan to West Africa. The international order built over decades by the United States is crumbling. In the face of which, what does Obama do? Go to Cuba. Yes, Cuba. A supreme strategic irrelevance so dear to Obama's anti-anti-communist heart. Is he at least going to celebrate progress in human rights and democracy -- which Obama established last year as a precondition for any presidential visit? Of course not. When has Obama ever held to a red line? Indeed, since Obama began his "historic" normalization with Cuba, the repression has gotten worse. Last month, the regime arrested 1,414 political dissidents, the second-most ever recorded. No matter. Amid global disarray and American decline, Obama sticks to his cherished concerns: Cuba, Guantanamo (about which he gave a rare televised address this week) and, of course, climate change. Obama could not bestir himself to go to Paris in response to the various jihadi atrocities -- sending Kerry instead "to share a big hug with Paris" (as Kerry explained) with James Taylor singing "You've Got a Friend" -- but he did make an ostentatious three-day visit there for climate change. So why not go to Havana? Sure, the barbarians are at the gates and pushing hard knowing they will enjoy but 11 more months of minimal American resistance. But our passive president genuinely believes that such advances don't really matter -- that these disruptors are so on the wrong side of history, that their reaches for territory, power, victory are so 20th century. Of course, it mattered greatly to the quarter-million slaughtered in Syria and the millions more exiled. It feels all quite real to a dissolving Europe, an expanding China, a rising Iran, a metastasizing jihadism. Not to the visionary Obama, however. He sees far beyond such ephemera. He knows what really matters: climate change, Gitmo and Cuba. With time running out, he wants these to be his legacy. Indeed, they will be. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Beyond Bananaland Old Banana Railway, Moin, Costa Rica Im troubled by the macro complaints of the Pope, the Dalai Lama, celebrities, and the countless other pontificators in their denunciation of world poverty. WaitI know your first thought my be that I am somehow discounting their gripes; I am most certainly not! It took a research expedition to Central and South America recently to gain a little perspective on the matter. The trip was almost everything I expected. Almost. That is, until the perceived-from-a-distance view blew up in my face. Please allow me to explain SPOLIER ALERT? Im currently researching locations for two upcoming novels. On-the-ground info is sparse for certain Latin American locations, hence the voyage. A slow ship into the southern Caribbean. Why hurry? Might as well enjoy it. I wont go into the research details for obvious reasons, but I can share some of the locations. We were guided through the insane city streets of Cartagena, Colombia, through the Gatun locks of the Panama Canal, into the Panamanian countryside in throughout Captain Morgans plunders of Old Panama City. We also traversed the mountains, jungles and plantations of eastern Costa Rica, proximate to the town of Estrada. The word dichotomy repeatedly materialized in my thoughts. There is a constant contrast between rich and poor in each location. The middle class is missing. The poor are dirt poor, that is. Its awful to witness so many people suffer. Yes, suffer. Banana boats leaving New Puerto Limon, Costa Rica My stomach turned at the sight of so many banana-laden cargo ships headed to global ports. Its an ignorant bliss thing, now ruined. Previously, I didnt think twice of the pennies we pay for each pound of the fruit. Bananas are cheap. I realize now that they are inexpensive because the plantation managersDole, Del Monte, Chiquita, etc. who produce them on the backs of thousands of manual laborers who each receive maybe a couple hundred dollars each month. Now this is the part Pope Francis et al have right. Its a shame. Shouldnt we pay more for those bananas, or would those greedy corporations just stick it in their coffers? We cant be naive in response. We know. Deep down, we know. Its been this way since the beginning of mankind. Greed. Empires. Familial wealth and power. Dynasties. And yet, somehow, the United States of America, many European countries, Australia, and now other emerging economies, eked out a middle class through revolt and regulation. For certain, we still have dirt poor in our rich countries, but nothing on the scale of the labor regionsChina, Latin America, Africa and much of the Middle-East. Its awful. Limon, Costa Rica So, yes, the Dalai Lama, Pope, etc. have a valid point. There is a reason for the poverty, certainly, and its oh so simple to spot and treat. Look at those shacks! Look, they have exposed or no plumbing! Look at the dirty clothes and bad teeth! Look at all the trash in the streets! Yes, its easy to spot. That is, until you notice that almost every one of those tiny, decrepit tin shacks has satellite dish from Claro on the roof. Eyes roll, and then that poor little kid chasing your railcar with his grungy puppy suddenly whips out a cell phone from his back pocket to snap a few parting shots. Panama City, Panama - The other side of it. What just happened? Thats the problem; theyre poor and misguided. Basics necessities, values, and dignity have been supplanted by electronic pacifiers. Unreal. Vomitus. What is to be done about that? Here are more photos. Tell me what you think! Panama City, Panama - you can't quite cover it up with billboards Cartagena, Colombia (a nicer part). Expensive gasoline means motorcycles everywhere. A trucker's digs outside Estrada, Costa Rica A common nest of power lines in Cartagena. Not the most outrageous observed example. European Union is interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in the energy, regional security fields, said High Representative of the EU, Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini in the press conference with the country`s Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov. Federia Mogherini said there were common interests in developing Azerbaijani-EU relations. Our aim is to achieve the comprehensive and wide cooperation, the High Representative of the EU added. On strategic partnership between the country and the EU, Federica Mogherini said Azerbaijan played an importance role in diversifying the energy resources and transport corridors. Energy field is an important issue for the EU. The second Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council has been held. This, will deep our political, economic and social relations, she added. On the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Federica Mogherini said the European Union supports Azerbaijans territorial integrity and sovereignty. Minister Elmar Mammadyarov highlighted the strategic cooperation agreement presented by Azerbaijan to the European Union, saying they exchanged views on the steps to be taken in this regard. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and High Representative of the EU, Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini have held an expanded meeting. The head of state said Federica Mogherini`s visit created a good opportunity for looking through the important issues of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU. President Ilham Aliyev thanked Federica Mogherini for attending the closing ceremony of the second Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council in Baku. The head of state said Azerbaijan-EU cooperation was at an important stage now, stressing the importance of defining future plans of this collaboration. The head of state said there was mutual interest in increasing the level of partnership and expanding ties, pointing to the existence of mutual understanding in this regard. President Ilham Aliyev noted the significance of President of the European Council Donald Tusk`s visit to the country last year. The head of state also emphasized the importance of his discussions on future cooperation plans with EU Commissioner for the European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn when they recently met in Munich. President Ilham Aliyev expressed his hope that Azerbaijan and the EU would elaborate a cooperation format for establishing long-term and fruitful partnership that would cover various fields. Touching upon Federica Mogherini`s speech at the second Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council, the head of state emphasized the importance of conflict resolution, political reforms, economic cooperation, energy security, especially financial security in the region. High Representative of the EU, Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini expressed gratitude for high-level organization of the Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council. Federica Mogherini described this as a good indicator of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU. She said cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU would be continued in a new format, adding there was a firm legal base for this. Federica Mogherini said Azerbaijan was situated in a complex region, underlining the significance of elevating the partnership between the country and the EU to a strategic level to ensure the interests of both sides. They also discussed the current state and prospects of negotiations to solve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and exchanged views on other issues of cooperation. The meeting then continued in a one-on-one format. OSCE is expected to monitor the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops March 2, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend March 1. The monitoring will be held under the mandate of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative on the contact line in Azerbaijans Aghdam 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 Hristo Hristov and Peter Svedberg. On the opposite side, the monitoring will be conducted by the field assistants of OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative Yevgeny Sharov and Jiri Aberle. 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. /By Azernews/ By Nazrin Gadimova A peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in accordance with the international law, remains a top EU priority. Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy made the remarks during the meeting with Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku on February 29, stressing that the European Union supports Azerbaijans territorial integrity and sovereignty. The OSCE Minsk Group is a format accepted by all sides, and endorsed by the UN Security Council, she said, addressing the meeting. Negotiations within the Minsk Group are aimed at reaching an agreement on practical steps that should be taken for a comprehensive settlement of 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. The EU, which is not directly involved in the conflict resolution, has repeatedly stated that the status quo is unacceptable and supports diplomatic settlement of the conflict within the framework of the Minsk Group. The peace talks have been largely fruitless so far despite the efforts of the MG co-chair countries over 20 years. Federica Mogherini said that the co-chairs have launched new mediation efforts and EUs support to this process, including through the EU Special Representative Herbert Salber, has been, and will continue to be, unwavering. The EU will continue to support all actions aimed at peace building and the establishment of direct contacts between people separated as a result of the conflict, Mogherini said. She further added that there will no contradiction between these activities and the efforts of the Minsk Group; both are important for long-term reconciliation. Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, in turn, emphasized Azerbaijans aspiration for the soonest settlement of the long-lasting Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. We do not believe that this conflict is frozen. The EU, together with the Minsk Group should also give an impetus to get this conflict moving, he stressed. The Azerbaijani officials have repeatedly expressed concern over the delayed conflict resolution process, with some of them proposing to make substantial changes in the format of the mediating Minsk Group. However, despite the concerns and efforts of foreign governments and international organizations Armenia doesn't give up its non-constructive position. Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four binding resolutions on its pullout from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions. Mogherini, in an exclusive interview to Trend, said that a central part of the talks within the Minsk Group is to find agreement on practical steps towards a comprehensive settlement of the conflict. Only a few months ago, in December 2015, both President Aliyev and President Sargsyan confirmed they will keep engaging on current proposals. This is vital: ultimately, it is up to your countries' leaders to show courage and move towards peace, Mogherini believes. It is no secret that the current status quo is unsustainable. Over the past year we have witnessed an escalation of violence along the line of contact: no one can afford to keep going down this path, she added. Mogherini went on to add that everyone has a duty to refrain from provocative statements and to work to de-escalate the situation on the ground. Over the past year heavy weapons were used, civilians were targeted. The current instability has huge costs for both sides. Peace, on the other hand, would allow for the opening of borders, facilitate trade and communications. Peace could make your region a prosperous gateway between Europe and Asia, she concluded. Baku will extradite 21 Iranian inmates serving prison sentences in Azerbaijan, Iranian envoy to Baku has told Trend. Irans Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen said March 1 that the inmates will be extradited March 2 through the border city of Astara. Pak Ayeen added that the Iranian nationals were mostly convicted of drug-related offences in Azerbaijan. Earlier at a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijani Minister of Justice Fikrat Mammadov and Ambassador Pak Ayeen discussed the extradition of the inmates, Iranian embassys press office said March 1. During the meeting, Pak Ayeen touched upon friendly ties between Iran and Azerbaijan, saying the recent visit paid by President Ilham Aliyev to Tehran has opened a new chapter in ties between the neighboring countries. In turn, Fikrat Mammadov also commented on President Aliyevs Tehran visit and added that the way for the expansion of ties between Iran and Azerbaijan has been paved. President Aliyev visited Iran on Feb. 23, where Tehran and Baku signed 11 documents to expand bilateral ties. Drug trafficking still remains as a serious issue in Iran, despite the efforts made by Iranian law enforcement bodies to stop it. Iranian officials say the fight against drugs annually costs the country about $1 billion. Albanias former presidents Sali Berisha and Rexhep Meidani will attend the IV Global Baku Forum, Azerbaijans State Committee on Work with Diaspora told Trend March 1. Both of the ex-presidents are members of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center and they participated in the previous forum. The IV Global Baku Forum, organized by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center and supported by the State Committee on Work with Diaspora, will be held March 10-11 in Baku. The forum will be titled Towards a Multipolar World. A number of issues of global concern, as well as the role of interreligious dialogue in conflict prevention, issues of migration, multiculturalism and integration, prospects for energy and global governance and other important issues will be discussed at the forum, and an exchange of views on finding solutions to these problems will be held. Ankara and Athens will discuss the Syrian refugee problem during the visit of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to Izmir, Anadolu Agency reported March 1. Greeces prime minister will visit Turkey Match 8. During the visit, the sides are also expected to discuss the development of bilateral relations. At present, over 2 million Syrian refugees are in Turkey. The Syrian refugee camps in the country accommodate about 300,000 people. The rest of them are spread throughout the provinces and cities of Turkey. In Istanbul alone, there are currently 40,000 refugees from Syria. Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country has spent over $10 billion to upkeep Syrian refugees. /By Trend/ Ashgabat hosted a trilateral meeting at the level of ministers of railway transport of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy JSC (Kazakhstan railways) and railways of Iran, the Turkmen government said March 1. Issues of attracting additional cargo flows, namely from Russia and several European countries to the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway line have been worked out in detail within the framework of the meeting. In addition, organization of container traffic from China to Iran through the territories of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan was one of the issues on the agenda. /By Azernews/ By Amina Nazarli The first youth scientific-practical conference entitled "The creative potential of young people in aviation issues" was held in Baku on February 29. Organized by Azerbaijan Airlines, Azerbaijan Engineering Academy and Azercosmos the event is aimed at enhancing the role of youth in aviation. The two-day conference will organize seminars and workshops on various subjects. The first day of the conference started with the exhibition called Aircraft modeling as well as NanoArt and Tessellation by famous physicist Imameddin Amiraslanov. Greeting the participants at the plenary session, Rector of the National Aviation Academy, Academician Arif Pashayev highlighted the importance of the conference. He said that the lectures and workshops organized in the framework of the conference will further enhance the role of young people in aviation issues. Speaking about the activity of the Academy, Pashayev noted that here, young professionals learn the secrets of this sphere based on the latest technologies. Addressing the meeting, Rector of Moscow State Technical University named after Bauman, Anatoly Alexandrov and others also spoke about the importance of the conference. Azerbaijan, the South Caucasus's most developed economy, is keen on developing civil aviation. AZAL has invested about $15 billion in developing the aviation sector over the last 10 years. The company also has a very modern aviation training center, AZAL Training, which was founded in 2010, and equipped with advanced teaching aids and sophisticated aviation training simulators to ensure comprehensive training at all advancement levels for AZALs personnel. The total route network of AZAL, one of the aviation community leaders in the CIS area, includes 40 destinations in 19 countries. Last June, the airline received a prestigious "4 Stars" from the leader in air transport research, the world-famous British consulting company Skytrax for its services. Egypt's Ministry of Housing has begun awarding new residential projects to contractors under its ambitious Tahya Masr social housing scheme which will see the construction of 200,000 new homes in the coming years, said a report. The housing project was announced by President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi earlier in February. Tahya Masr (Long Live Egypt) is a donation-based fund that was launched by the president in June 2014. Several businessmen and banks have made notable donations to the fund which is aimed at assisting development projects including financing micro-enterprises, infrastructure projects, small projects for the youth demographic and the development of the informal housing sector. The government has allocated E1 billion ($127.3 million) for building additional units in the social housing project. Al Sisi indicated that the Tahya Masr housing project is to be finished in a year, reported the Daily News Egypt. The ministry, represented by the New Urban Communities Authority (Nuca), is planning to assign 146,948 units in 10 new cities across the country, it stated. Around 91,536 units will be constructed in 6th of October city while 22,620 will be constructed in 10th of Ramadan City. Over 7,584 units will be constructed in 15th of May City. The remaining units will be constructed in New Cairo and Al-Shorouk City, the report added. Architectural Digest, a leading authority on design, architecture and living, is celebrating its first year anniversary in the Middle East with the launch of a charitable design exhibition under the theme One of a Kind. The anniversary event will be held under the patronage of Sheikha Latifa Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum with the backing from leading real estate company Wasl Properties, luxury watch brand Audemars Piguet and high end furniture company Ethan Allen. For the event, Ethan Allen has worked in collaboration with leading artists Dima Ayad, Anjali Srinivasan and Marwan Shakarchi, creating beautiful objects by using unfinished best sellers from the American brand. The charitable exhibition will be held under the theme One of a Kind, featuring the work of some of the leading product designers and artists from the Middle East, including the UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon, Iran and Jordan. The other artists whose work will be featured at the exhibition include: Sheikha Lateefa Bint Maktoum; Abdulla Al Awadi; Etqaan; Jafar Dajani; Khalid El Mays; Khalid Shafar; Latifa Saeed; Marwan Sahmarani; Vick Vanlian and Taher Asad-Bakhtiari. Editor-in-chief Manuel Arnaut said: "We are marking the event with a charitable design exhibition mainly to give back to the great community that has embraced Architectural Digest since its first issue." Lauding the designers and artists, Arnaut said: "These pieces will be sold through a silent auction that aims to support Dubai Cares." Architectural Digest is part of the APP Group, a premium content only publisher with brands including Conde Nast Traveller ME, Hello! ME, Stylist, Shortlist, Hello! Arabia, The Rake, Revolution, Hello! Indo-Arabia, Architectural Digest, Villa 88 and the Arab Woman Awards. APP is the the GCCs publishing partner for Conde Nast International, Revolution Press, Shortlist Media Ltd and the Hello! Group.-TradeArabia News Service Engagement and satisfaction levels of UAE workers are significantly above global averages, with 20 per cent of the workers being highly engaged and highly satisfied, according to a new report. High workplace satisfaction positively correlates with high employee engagement and employees who have greater control over their work experiences are some of the most highly engaged in the world, added the report entitled Engagement and the Global Workplace from Steelcase, a top provider of architecture, furniture and technology products. According to the study, one-third of workers in 17 of the worlds most important economies are disengaged. Steelcase set out to understand if the physical workplace could be used as a strategic asset to help improve employee engagement and what changes could make the largest impact. The report found diverse workplace experiences throughout the world and identified the factors impacting engagement, including the cultural context in which employees work. As we analyzed this data, it was interesting to us how consistently the most engaged workers were those who had more control over their work experience, including the ability to concentrate easily and work in teams without being interrupted, said Christine Congdon, director of Research Communications, Steelcase. Workers who have the ability to choose where they wish to work in the office based on the task they have to do are much more engaged in the work they do. Other key findings from the global report include: Employee engagement positively correlates with workplace satisfaction. The data shows that workers who are highly satisfied with various aspects of their workplace also demonstrate higher levels of engagement. Yet, only 13 per cent of global workers are highly engaged and highly satisfied with their workplace. The inverse is true as well: 11 per cent of employees are highly dissatisfied with their offices and are also highly disengaged. Ranking third in the study, engagement and satisfaction levels of UAE workers are significantly above global averages, with 20 per cent of the workers being highly engaged and highly satisfied, and only five per cent being highly disengaged and highly dissatisfied. Engaged employees have more control over their experiences at work. A distinguishing characteristic of engaged employees is that they have a greater degree of control over where and how they work, including access to privacy when they need it. They are empowered, both by organizational decisions and the spaces made available to them within their workplace, to make choices about where and how they work. This means they can manage their need for privacy so they can concentrate easily and work with teams without disruptions. Though scoring high on engagement and satisfaction levels, UAE workers report below average satisfaction levels on workspace size, office furniture, and ambient noise level, and below average access to shared spaces such as meeting rooms and social hubs. Fixed technology exceeds mobile by 2:1. Despite the high global adoption of mobile devices for personal use, the vast majority of study participants report that their organizations provide twice as much fixed technology versus mobile options for work. The vast majority of workers report that they are equipped with land-line telephones (86 per cent) and desktop computers (80 per cent). Far fewer employees have laptops (39 per cent), mobile phones (40 per cent) or tablet computers (13 per cent) available to them at work. In the UAE, the prevalence of mobile phones (34 per cent) and laptops (29 per cent) lags global averages, but tablet use (22 per cent) is high. Traditional work styles persist. Across the globe, the most common workplace design features a combination of open spaces and private offices, but more than three quarters of global employees say they work in either individual or shared private offices. The greatest contrast in open environments and private or shared offices can be seen in Europe, particularly in the UK, where nearly half (49 per cent) of all office layouts are entirely open, and Germany, where 54 per cent of overall physical workplaces consist entirely of individual or shared private offices. Offices in the UAE are primarily traditional. The majority of the employees work either in a private or a shared private office (52 per cent) compared to the global norm of 37 per cent for shared private office space. Entirely open-plan offices are also relatively uncommon 11 per cent, compared to the global average of 23 per cent. Cultural context influences engagement levels. The most highly engaged employees hail from emerging economies, where people have different expectations of their work environments than those in established economies. Workers from developing countries such as India and Mexico are some of the most highly satisfied and engaged, while people in France, Belgium and Spain are less engaged. Analysis of the data identified a pattern indicating that the country where employees live, its culture and the resulting expectations have an impact on how highly engaged and satisfied they are with their workplace. UAE data reports high engagement and satisfaction rates, but also exposes contrasts, an observation that can partially be attributed to the fact that the UAE, one of the leading emerging markets, is home to over 200 nationalities. For organizations on the path toward global integration, its important to challenge assumptions and look broadly at the diverse factors that influence employee engagement, continued Congdon. Well-designed workplaces can communicate a companys strategy, brand and culture and encourage the employee behaviours leaders want in their organization all fostering higher engagement levels. With the UAE government encouraging investment in human capital to achieve sustainable growth in the post oil economy, the study provides some key takeaways for leaders looking to maximize the potential of their employees, said Andy Morris, Head of Sales, Middle East, Steelcase. By addressing the most basic needs of individuals physical, cognitive and emotional leaders can show that they care about their employees wellbeing, and increase profitability, productivity and employee retention in the process. TradeArabia News Service The Masjed Soleyman petrochemical project, located in southwestern Iran, has received financial support from China, a report said. The project has shown a physical progress of 14 per cent, and is expected to go on stream by 2018, Yousef Davoudi, managing director of Masjed Soleyman Petrochemical Plant, was quoted as saying in an Iran Daily report, citing Shana. He added that Chinese developers have begun assessment of the project and are expected to work on the underground section of the project by April. Two European firms have provided licenses and designs for the project. The Chinese developer has so far completed 64 urea and ammoniac projects in the world, added the report. UAE-based aluminium major Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has announced receiving the accreditation of its laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 in the field of metallurgical testing. ISO/IEC 17025:2005 is a quality system that is recognised internationally, and contributes directly to quality control of EGAs products. It enhances the reliability of testing and measurement systems, processes and results as it requires adherence to demanding technical requirements. The certificates were presented last month to Abdulla Kalban, managing director and CEO of EGA, by Amina Ahmed Mohammed, director of Dubai Accreditation Centre (DAC), in the presence of EGA senior management and core implementation team members. Kalban said: Currently, the standardisation of best practices is one of the key elements that brings measurable value to EGAs operations. It reflects our company as a strong brand by delivering consistency in quality of the products manufactured at both our operational sites, in Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah respectively. This accreditation is an important milestone for the companys metallurgical testing activities, as it attests to our competency levels, it added. DACs Mohammed further noted that EGA demonstrated effective teamwork in achieving this stringent and renowned accreditation. The accreditation enhances the confidence of EGAs customers as it is one of the specifications indicated in automotive standard ISO/TS 16949 and further strengthens EGAs quality management systems. Currently EGAs Laboratories are in the process of evaluating the optical emission analysis test for the final product. Future plans include extending the scope of accreditation to include other fields of testing such as raw materials, process materials, water, and oil, it added. TradeArabia News Service Denmark-based Grundfos, a leading pump manufacturer, was recently recognised for its high performance during the 2015 Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) supplier annual evaluation. The company was presented with the Certificate of Appreciation which highlights its efficiency and effectiveness within Dewas partnership framework, which assesses the transparency of the relationships with its partners. The award underscores the companys dedication to sustainable and energy-efficient practices in the UAE. The pump manufacturer considers a focus on developing innovative, environmentally-friendly solutions as an integral element in its operations. Henning Sandager Andersen, area managing director of Grundfos Middle East and Turkey, said: We all have a responsibility to address the continued high growth and use of energy, which is one of the factors impacting climate change. Pumps is a vital part of the infrastructure which provides society with clean drinking water, chilled and heated water for air-conditioning, the removal of waste water and fire protection systems, consumes 10 per cent of total global electricity. If all the pumps in the world were replaced with the latest technology overnight, 4 per cent of the planets electrical energy could be saved. By rectifying many pumps which are wrongly selected or designed for the applications they serve, and with the addition of smart technologies such as optimised controls, sensors and monitoring devices, consumption could be further reduced by up to 60 per cent. We are dedicated to developing technological improvements which will make a difference to both our clients and our planet, added Andersen. We aim to create awareness about what is possible to support Dubai and the UAE in achieving this ambitious but important target. We are engaging with different public and private stakeholders to provide our expertise and knowledge on what is actually possible to do today. We are compiling data that can provide incentive programs or legislation, for example, dealing with minimum requirements of pump or motor technology, he concluded. An energy-conscious agenda and sustainability will be a major driver in the manufacturers long-term strategy, both regionally and internationally. Grundfos investment and development in this field will support the UAEs commitment to efficiency and change pump manufacturings global impact, it added. TradeArabia News Service Al Qaeda's leaders were increasingly worried about spies in their midst, drones in the air and secret tracking devices, documents seized in the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's Pakistani hideout and reviewed by Reuters reveal. Al Qaeda's leaders were increasingly worried about spies in their midst, drones in the air and secret tracking devices reporting their movements as the US-led war against them ground on, documents seized in the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's Pakistani hideout and reviewed by Reuters reveal. The cache of 113 documents, translated and declassified by US intelligence agencies, are mostly dated between 2009 and 2011, intelligence officials said. The documents - the second tranche from the raid to have been declassified since May 2015 - depict an al Qaeda that was unwavering in its commitment to global jihad, but with its core leadership in Pakistan and Afghanistan under pressure on multiple fronts. US President Barack Obama has said drone strikes and other counter-terrorism operations depleted al Qaeda's original leadership, culminating in bin Laden's killing by US Navy SEALs on May 2, 2011. In the years since, the organization has proved resilient from Afghanistan to North Africa, and its ideological rival, Islamic State, has grown and spread. In one document, bin Laden issues instructions to al Qaeda members holding an Afghan hostage to be wary of possible tracking technology attached to the ransom payment. "It is important to get rid of the suitcase in which the funds are delivered, due to the possibility of it having a tracking chip in it," bin Laden states in a letter to an aide identified only as "Shaykh Mahmud." In an apparent reference to armed US drones patrolling the skies, bin Laden says his negotiators should not leave their rented house in the Pakistani city of Peshawar "except on a cloudy overcast day." While the document is undated, the hostage, Afghan diplomat Abdul Khaliq Farahi, was held from September 2008 to late 2010. Another, fragmentary document acknowledges that al Qaeda executed four would-be volunteers on suspicion of spying, only to discover they were probably innocent, according to senior US intelligence officials authorized to discuss the materials in advance of their public release. "I did not mention this to justify what has happened," wrote the undated letter's unidentified author, adding, "we are in an intelligence battle and humans are humans and no one is infallible." In a May 11, 2010 letter to his then second-in-command, Atiyah Abd al Rahman, bin Laden urged caution in arranging an interview with al Jazeera journalist Ahmad Zaidan, asserting that the United States could be tracking his movements through devices implanted in his equipment, or by satellite. "You must keep in mind the possibility, however, slight, that journalists can be under surveillance that neither we nor they can perceive, either on the ground or via satellite," he wrote. GROWING PRESSURE Even as al Qaeda came under growing pressure, bin Laden and his aides planned a media campaign to mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, the documents show. They plotted diplomatic strategy and opined on climate change and the US financial collapse. In a undated letter "To the American people," the al Qaeda chief chides Obama for failing to end the war in Afghanistan; and accurately predicts that the US president's plan for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will fail. On April 28, 2011, just four days before his death, bin Laden was editing a document he had written on the Arab Spring revolutions. Al Qaeda's leaders also urged further attacks on the United States. "We need to extend and develop our operations in America and not keep it limited to blowing up airplanes," says a letter, apparently written by bin Laden, to Nasir al-Wuhayshi, head of al Qaeda's Yemen branch. Bin Laden "was still sort of thinking in very kind of grand schemes, and still ... trying to reclaim that 9/11 'victory'," said one of the senior intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. But he was "somewhat out of touch with the (actual) capabilities of his organization," the official said. The documents show the strains of managing al Qaeda's external networks, including identifying capable leaders and finding resources to fund operations abroad. One associate, who signed his 2009 note simply as "Your beloved "Atiyah," acknowledged troubles replacing an ineffective leader for external operations, saying some of the best candidates were dead. "There are new brothers, perhaps some would be suitable in the future, but not now," he wrote. Suspicion of tracking devices pops up again and again in the group's writings. The concern may have been merited - the United States conducts extensive electronic surveillance on al Qaeda and other Islamic militant groups. Abu Abdallah al-Halabi - who the US Treasury has identified as a name used by bin Laden's son-in law Muhammad Abdallah Hasan Abu-Al-Khayr - writes in a letter to "my esteemed brother Khalid" about intercepting messages of "spies" in Pakistan, who he said would facilitate air strikes on al Qaeda operatives by marking cars with infrared streaks that can be seen with night vision equipment. In another, bin Laden, writing under the pseudonym Abu Abdallah, expresses alarm over his wife's visit to a dentist while in Iran, worrying that a tracking chip could have been implanted with her dental filling. "The size of the chip is about the length of a grain of wheat and the width of a fine piece of vermicelli," he wrote. The letter ended with this instruction: "Please destroy this letter after reading it." Reuters Al-Sayegh Group has introduced popular Stefan Hafner Jewellery to the UAE at its new store in Nation Galleria, Abu Dhabi. The Italian luxury brand is a tribute to the nation's heritage with its extravagant designs and breathtaking use of precious and semi precious stones. The opulence captured by Stefan Hafner can now be experienced by the discerning customers at the new store, which is today celebrating its grand opening. Stefan Hafner creates a journey with every piece. Each design has a story to tell and it is so exciting for us to bring this to the UAE where people are as passionate about jewellery as the Italians, said Al Sayegh Group chairman Abdullah Ali Al Sayegh. Stefan Hafner representative Ruggero Paolillo will be attending the store inauguration, sharing his experience and interacting with guests and customers. The jewellery moguls invite all persons to join them for the opening to appreciate and share the beauty that is Stefan Hafner jewellery, exclusively available at Al Sayeghs store, Abu Dhabi. Al Sayegh adds: This collaboration is one of a kind, as Stefan Hafners vision is in line with ours at Al-Sayegh. Both brands enjoy bringing fantasy into reality with our intricate work of art and infinite doses of glamour. - TradeArabia News Service CB&I, a major energy infrastructure focused company in the world, said it has been awarded a $60-million contract by Zakum Development Company (Zadco) for the refurbishment of two crude oil storage tanks on Zirku Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE. With 125 years of experience and the expertise of 42,000 employees, CB&I provides reliable solutions while maintaining a relentless focus on safety and an uncompromising standard of quality. "CB&I is pleased to be selected again by Zadco to refurbish storage tanks on Zirku Island," remarked Luke Scorsone, the president of CB&I's fabrication services operating group. "This award builds on our long-standing relationship with Zadco and underlines CB&I's expertise in storage solutions," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Bahrain returns to Arabian Travel Market (ATM) this year to showcase its expanding hotel and tourism infrastructure with an active hotel pipeline of 13 properties, 3,000 hotel rooms and tourism expected to contribute $1 billion by 2020. The increase in rooms, which are split between the luxury and four-star brackets, is set against a backdrop of occupancy levels above 52 per cent as per CB Richard Ellis data, and average rates are in line with similar market movement in other regional hubs. According to the country's Economic Development Board, its tourism sector was expected to have grown further in 2015, after recording visitor numbers of 10 million in 2014, an 11 per cent increase over the previous year. US-headquartered chain, Wyndham Hotel Group, has four properties under development and due to open within the next 12-18 months while Emaar Hospitality Group has announced plans to launch four hotels under its Address and Vida brands, by 2018. Luxury Asia-based brand, Anantara, will also open on Durrat Al Bahrain in 2018. "Bahrain is making significant investment into its tourism-related infrastructure, including a much-needed $1.1 billion airport expansion, and also has plans to expand its current exhibition centre to accommodate large-scale events across all categories; so this year's ATM will provide an excellent platform for the kingdom's tourism and hospitality community to highlight their future vision for the country," said Nadege Noblet-Segers, exhibition manager, Arabian Travel Market. ATM, the region's largest international travel and tourism event, will be held in Dubai from April 25 to 28. In addition, a new $3 billion road and rail crossing is being planned for completion in 2018, to reduce the congestion on the existing King Fahd causeway which is used by 10 million vehicles a year. The new causeway and bridge, would undoubtedly increase family travel from all states connected to the proposed GCC rail network, offering Bahrain access to a broader range of mid-market travellers. According to the Q3 2015 YouGov Travel Oracle insight report, one-third (36 per cent) of surveyed leisure travellers choose budget hotels when travelling for pleasure, with Asian expats the most likely to opt for low cost accommodation (52 per cent) and 35 per cent of all respondents stating that reasonable cost is one of the most important elements when considering a leisure destination. Overall, 41 per cent of travellers interviewed had a per person trip budget of $1,000 or less, thus putting cost high on the priority list. "This clearly demonstrates the growing appetite of travellers for a wide array of accommodation options, and in offering mid-market options this frees up additional visitor spend for other tourism activities," said Noblet-Segers. The YouGov report also looked at business travel with 15 per cent of total respondents reporting a decrease in corporate travel budget over the last 12 months, which is accordingly highlighting an opportunity for mid-level brands to target the newly budget-conscious corporate traveller. "Bahrain is an all-round destination as either an ideal short break location for GCC residents, especially those from Saudi Arabia, or for Europeans in search of summer sun, as well as for business travellers and conference delegates," added Noblet-Segers. Bahrain-based companies confirmed to participate at ATM 2016 include the Kingdom of Bahrain Ministry of Culture Tourism Sector, Ramee Grand Hotel & Spa, 24x7rooms.com, Gulf Hotel and Sabre. One of the largest travel trade shows in the region, the 23rd edition of Arabian Travel Market will showcase more than 2,800 products and destinations from around the world to over 26,000 buyers and travel trade visitors across from April 25 to 28 at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC). TradeArabia News Service Assembly of Saudi Arabian Airlines first A330 Regional is well under way at the Airbus final assembly line (FAL) in Toulouse, France. The aircraft is the first of 20 A330-300 Regional that will join the airlines fleet, making Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) the first carrier in the world to operate the new Airbus A330-300 Regional. The airplane is now in the initial fuselage section joining phase and will move to the next assembly station for wing junction, start of cabin installation and first power-on, said a statement. The A330-300 Regional is optimised to seat up to 400 passengers on missions up to 3,000 nm and offers significant cost savings through a reduced operational weight of around 200 tonnes. The reduction in fuel burn per seat and maintenance costs will result in an overall cost reduction by up to 26 per cent compared with todays long-range A330-300, it said. In addition, the A330 Regional benefits from the latest A350 XWB and A380 technologies. Specially designed for regional and domestic operations, the A330 Regional will boost capacity on several of Saudi Arabian Airlines most in-demand routes, enabling the airline to generate additional efficiencies while offering its passengers unprecedented comfort with the widest regional cabin in the sky, said the statement. In addition to the 20 A330-300 Regional, Saudi Arabian Airlines will add 30 A320ceo to its fast growing fleet. - TradeArabia News Service Jet Airways today launched its sixth daily flight from Dubai to Indias financial capital Mumbai. With the launch of the new flight, Jet Airways now operates a total of 10 daily flights between India and Dubai. The departure of flight 9W557 was marked with a ceremony where the first passengers to check-in, toddler Aaditri Vasu and her parents Lalit Vasu and Kirti Vasu cut a ribbon at Jet Airways check-in counters at Dubai International Airport and were presented with a gift hamper by the airline. - TradeArabia New Service Meet award-winning artisans and buy their products at Kerala Arts and Crafts Village RAWLINS The Carbon County Coroner has been eager to get evidence from state investigators connected to a woman who died when she caught fire inside her bar, but the Rawlins police chief says it's not surprising it's taking so long. Chief Troy Palmer says that the Wyoming State Crime Lab typically takes about six months to process evidence. Rawlins investigators submitted evidence connected to the death of Denise King Martinez to the crime lab in November. Coroner Paul Zamora initially said he expected results back in December, at which time he would complete an inquest. Palmer says because there is no suspect and no trial schedule for the Martinez case there is no deadline for the evidence to be returned. "Papa" was born in Nogales, AZ, as the youngest of eight children. His family moved to Tucson when he was still in grade school. Before he could finish high school though, World War II broke out and he volunteered to join the Army Air Forces where he served with a B-25 squadron in the Pacific Theater, leapfrogging across New Guinea, up through the Philippines, and finally to Ie Shima Island, Japan. After the war, he returned to Tucson, completed high school and then enrolled at the University of Arizona where he studied Astronomy, Chemistry, and Agriculture. Before completing his studies, he took a job as a lab assistant in Trona, California, for the potash mine. After several years he returned to Tucson and in 1954, married the former Yolanda Serrano of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, who precedes him in death by 19 years. Soon he went to work as a chemist for the Portland Cement Company where he worked for nearly ten years. Afterward, wanting to be his own boss, he operated the Chevron Gas Station and Garage at the corner of 22nd and Kolb, which he owned for over 20 years before retiring. In the following years, he remained active as an Usher for the weekly Spanish Mass at St. Cyril's Catholic Church. He also was an avid reader and even authored a book that was published "The Mother Stars." His last six years were spent living with his eldest daughter and her husband here in Tucson, loving on the family's standard poodles, cooking his favorite dishes as well as going out to eat, watching NCIS and WWE, doing his daily crossword puzzles, and enjoying the backyard views of the Catalina and Rincon mountains. He is survived by two daughters, Yolanda Dyche of Tucson (David, Col, USAF-Ret), and Julie Kogan of Winter Park, Florida (Waldemar), as well as five grandchildren, Dane, Robert, Alex, Kayla and Naomi and one great-granddaughter, Lexy. We will all miss you "Papa!" A Viewing will be held on Tuesday evening, March 1, 2016 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at the ADAIR FUNERAL HOME on Dodge Blvd. Mass will be held on Wednesday, March 2, 2016, beginning at noon at St. Cyril's Catholic Church (Swan and Pima) followed by interment at Holy Hope Cemetery (Oracle Rd.) In lieu of flowers, donations to the Air Force Aid Society in memoriam of Sgt. George B. Davison are appreciated greatly. a native of Tucson with a career in health care administration, died February 26, 2016 after a lengthy illness. She was 67. Leslie was the daughter of the late Marvin Bliss Price and Claire Price. She was born in 1949 and graduated in 1967 from Catalina High School. Years later, she served on the board of directors for the high school's foundation. Leslie was graduated from Northern Arizona University with a degree in health care administration. She was among the original organizers of AHCCCS, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. She met her husband, Tom, in Tucson, and they moved to California, Wisconsin and West Virginia due to his newspaper career. Their twin daughters were born in Monterey County, California. While raising her daughters, Leslie worked in programs aimed at helping parents become better parents. Before retiring in 2013, Leslie worked as a program coordinator at the University of Arizona Human Subjects Protection Program. Wherever they lived, Leslie was active in the local Episcopal Church. In Tucson, she was a member of St. Alban's Episcopal Church, where she served on the altar guild. Survivors include her husband, Tom, of the home; daughters, Dana of Tucson and Tessa of San Diego; sisters, Janice Seward of Tucson and Harla Young of Las Vegas and numerous nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that honorariums in Leslie's name be made to Amyloidosis Support Groups, 232 Orchard Drive, Wood Dale, IL, 60191. See www.amyloidosissupport.orgFollowing cremation, a Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, March 4, 2016 at St. Alban's Episcopal Church, 3738 N. Old Sabino Canyon Road, Tucson. ADAIR FUNERAL HOMES, Dodge Chapel, is handling arrangements. Passed away February 24, 2016. She was born February 11, 1943, to Elaine and David Green of Phoenix. Graduated from Rincon High, Tucson. Legal Secretary to several judges in Tucson. Devoted volunteer with Camp Fire Girls; ST. Mary's Auxiliary; ESL education, El Concilio Manzo; PTA president; Elder and Clerk of the Session at Southside Presbyterian Church; acknowledged for work with the Sanctuary Movement. She was known as "the baby whisperer" at Casa de los Ninos. She calmed even the crankiest baby. She loved friends, cousins, music and good books. Survived by daughter, Cindy Gotowski; son, Nick Parrott; two grandchildren and one great-grandson. Funeral on Thursday, March 3, 2016, 11:00 a.m. at Southside Presbyterian Church. Interment to follow at St. Francis Cemetery, Phoenix. The deaths of the Rev. William Dougherty and the Rev. Gerald Cote have deprived the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson of two priests in just a few days. On Wednesday, Feb. 24, Dougherty, once the pastor of St. Cyril of Alexandria Church, died at the age of 85. Then on Saturday, Feb. 27, Cote, 87, also died. Cote served in parishes throughout Southern Arizona and Phoenix for about 60 years, including as pastor at Holy Family Catholic Church, according to the diocese. In this week's "Monday Memo" newsletter, Bishop Gerald Kicanas mentioned the death of both men, writing that "Father Bill spent his ministry working on behalf of others, even long into his retirement." Dougherty, a member of the Paulist Fathers, was the last of that order in the Tucson diocese, which he joined in 1986. Most recently, Dougherty served at St. Pius X Catholic Church for more than 10 years. "His interpretation of the Gospel and his preaching were of the highest degree of spirituality, and yet down to earth and made an impact on people's lives..." said the Rev. Harry Ledwith, the pastor at St. Pius X. "He was like a stand-up comedian. He brought laughter and was hospitable and was just a treasury of jokes." Dougherty's service will be held at St. Pius X, 1800 N. Camino Pio Decimo, 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 2. Of Cote, Kicanas wrote of the priest's joyful acceptance of death and his service in the diocese. Cote "spoke of how his favorite work had been at a poor parish, Holy Family, in downtown Tucson where he and the congregation worked together to bring worship and song together in Mass times he called the happiest parts of his ministry," Kicanas wrote. "He played the accordion and the harmonica, even several harmonicas at once. His music brought many into the church." Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick has released her first campaign ad, attacking Senator John McCain, airing a 60-second ad statewide. The Democratic candidate for Senate attacks McCain for not distancing himself from Presidential candidate Donald Trump, highlighting recent news articles citing various Republicans who are trying to derail his campaign. Kirkpatrick says McCain is putting politics before the good of the nation. Trump has insulted women, Latinos, even McCain himself! But despite all that, McCain has decided to let party loyalty Trump what is best for Arizona," she said in a prepared release. McCain spokesperson Lorna Romero dismissed the ad, calling Kirkpatrick a "rubber stamp for the Obama administration." "Congresswoman Kirkpatrick needs to come out of hiding and talk to the people of Arizona to explain her longstanding support for Obama's radical, liberal agenda," she said. The ad is running on digital media services statewide, including on YouTube. Text of the ad: (Narrator) Donald Trump is dangerous for America. (Donald Trump, speaking) I could stand in the middle of fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldnt lose any voters, OK? (Trump) I would bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding. (Narrator) But no matter what Donald Trump says, John McCain would support him for President. (Unidentified reporter, partially off-camera) Including Donald Trump? You would support him? (John McCain) Oh yeah. Oh yeah. (Trump) She said he's a pussy. (Trump) Id like to punch him in the face Ill tell you. (Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett) Donald Trump? (McCain) Yep. Yep. (Trump) You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever. (Narrator) Even Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is Distancing himself from Donald Trump. (Text on screen) THE NEW YORK TIMES INSIDE THE REPUBLICAN PARTYS DESPERATE MISSION TO STOP DONALD TRUMP FEB. 27, 2016 (Narrator) Not John McCain. (Text on screen) SLATE: DONALD TRUMP CANT DISAVOW THE KKK BECAUSE IT MIGHT DEMORALIZE HIS BASE FEB. 28, 2016 (Narrator) Even after Trump said (Trump) He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured. OK? I hate to tell you. (Narrator) McCain repeated. (McCain) I vote for the Republican nominee, obviously. I am a loyal republican. (Narrator) There was a time when country mattered more than his political party but 30 years in Washington has changed John McCain. We need leaders to stand up to Donald Trump. (Ann Kirkpatrick, speaking) Im Ann Kirkpatrick and I approve the message. Saguaro National Park is holding a celebration at the parks east district today to mark the parks 83rd birthday. There will be cake, says an announcement from the park. The daylong event at the east district visitor center, 3693 S. Old Spanish Trail, will also celebrate this years centennial of the National Park Service and the 100th birthday of a so-called Centennial Saguaro growing at the visitor center. Sunny the Saguaro, the new mascot for Saguaro Park, will make an appearance from noon to about 1 p.m., said park spokeswoman Andy Fisher. Cake cutting will be at 12:30 p.m. Fisher said other planned events include planting of saguaro seeds and presentations at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. focusing on the history of the National Park Service. OPINION: "Pima Community College belongs to the entire Tucson community. The governing board is the communitys way to hold the college accountable and to steer the institution toward best serving the greatest number of people. Help secure the brightest future for our community college and join us in supporting Theresa Riel for the District 2 seat on the PCC Governing Board," writes Makyla Hays, president of the Pima Community College Education Association. For most of her life, Edie Loesche never sang a note. Not to her three kids at bedtime, not when her second husband, who played several instruments, sat down at the organ in their house. I never sang in the shower, Loesche says. She sure sings now at the weekly nondenominational chapel she also oversees and the monthly birthday celebrations at the senior retirement community where she lives. Its my life, says the 92-year-old, whos called The Country Club of La Cholla home for more than two decades. Loesche discovered her gift, quite by accident, at age 70. While making small talk one day with a professional pianist, the woman asked if Loesche sang. She had, but only with her high school choir in Illinois. With some coaxing, Loesche belted out the two songs she knew from back then: Embraceable You and Ave Maria, in Latin. The woman was stunned. She said, My gosh, where have you been? Loesche recalls. And so Loesche whod been a stay-at-home mom except for a stint in her 40s as a dog walker began her true calling. I didnt even know I could sing, Loesche says with a shrug. But Marna McKinney, that piano player, sure did. She mentored Loesche until she died in 2000. I didnt know anything about music, Loesche says. I really was stupid about music. It didnt take me long to catch on. I learned an old lady learned. People and that includes her accompanist of 17 years, Bob Wrenn hear her and automatically assume shes a professional, with her strong breath control and ability to hold a note. At the end of the song, she loves to hold that note for a long time, says Wrenn, 82, a jazz musician and retired psychology professor. Everybody just goes Oh and ah and claps because she has an amazing strength. She can hold a note quite a long time. Dont ask Loesche how she does it. I just do it, she says. It just comes naturally. Loesche considers her voice a gift. God has been so good to me. Of all the sadness Ive had, he was getting me ready to have my good life. She figures this is her reward for a tough childhood and the pain of outliving two of her three children as well as her second husband, Irving, who passed away in 2002 after nearly 50 years of marriage. She cant be anything but happy when she sings. Loesche and Wrenn figure theyve probably performed more than 400 songs at the birthday celebrations, mostly Big Band tunes and songs from 20s-40s, although occasionally someone will throw a curveball and ask for John Denver or Elvis Presley. Loesche gets the list of monthly birthdays and calls all the residents, taking down their requests. In the early days, she and Wrenn would practice, sometimes even over the phone, but these days, theyve got it down. The two recorded a CD together in 2003 and have had paid gigs in the past, but Loesche prefers to stick to volunteering at home. Help India! By TCN Staff Reporter Delhi: In his Budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was at his eloquent best while allocating Rs 500 crore for scheduled caste, scheduled tribes and women entrepreneurs under the Stand up India scheme. Support TwoCircles We are celebrating the 125th birth anniversary of Shri B Ambedkar. This must become the year of the economic empowerment for SC/ST entrepreneurs It is proposed to constitute a national SC/ST hub in the MSME Ministry in partnership with industry associations, he said. On the face of it, this sounds like a great and laudable step. But while this was one scheme, if we look at the budgetary allocation to Special Component Plan (SCP) for Scheduled Caste and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) for Scheduled Tribes, it is pretty clear that the NDA government has, once again, fooled the marginalised communities. As per the Supreme Court guidelines, budgetary allocation should be proportionate to the SC and ST population. According to the guidelines for budgetary allocations, 16.6% for SCP and 8.6%for TSP from the plan outlay should have been made available for these schemes. However, just like the previous years budget, this years budget also falls short of meeting those requirements. This year, the total plan outlay was Rs 5.5 lakh crore, of which Rs 38,833 crore have been allocated to SCP (7.6%) while Rs 24,005 crore was allocated to TSP (4.36). As per the guidelines, the numbers should have been Rs 91,301 crore for SCP and Rs 47,300 crore for TSP. Thus, it is clear that the two sections have been denied a total of Rs 75,764 crore. Now, a scheme of Rs 500 crore doesnt seem much, does it? This was the reason why a number of people joined hands at Jantar Mantar to protest against the apathy of the government. CPM leader Brinda Karat, who addressed the protesters, said her party would ensure that the issue is raised in Parliament. The government must be held responsible for its anti-Dalit, anti-Tribal stance, said Karat. Further, activists of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) say that the funds rarely reach the targeted population and are used to provide benefits to everyone, and also questioned the previous Budgets allocations to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In 2011/12, after the Jadhav Committee recommendations, government directed 26 Ministries/Departments regarding SCP and TSP to strictly allocate towards development of these communities, in proportion to their numbers in the population, both in physical and financial terms. Data analysis of Budget numbers from the last five years show that fund allocation to these sub-plans were on an average 50% less than what is due, said Paul Divakar of NCDHR. He pointed out that during the last budget (2015-16), Rs 77,236 crore was allocated to Scheduled Castes and Rs 40,014 crore to Tribals. However, a pre-budget memorandum submitted to the Finance Ministry this year by National Coalition on SCP and TSP Legislation, a Delhi-based rights groups that tracks budgetary provision for backward classes, showed that only Rs 30,851 crore was allocated to SCP and Rs 20,000 crore to TSP as per revised estimates. Even out of this, only Rs 8,793 crore was directed specifically towards the development of SCP, as per the guidelines of the Planning Commission, while Rs 7,399 crores was directed to TSP. Moreover, 60% of the funds for TSP were under general allocation while in the case of SCP, it was 65% for the fiscal year of 2015-16. General allocation is meant for the entire country and not just for SC/ST population. The report found that 28% of SCP and 37% of TSP allocation are targeted allocation, which benefits SC/ST directly. NCDHR also pointed out that while the ministries are supposed to allocate funds for TSP and SCP, only a handful do. As expected, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs allocated 100% fund to Scheduled Tribes under TSP and 12 departments/ministries allocated 6-11% funds in 2015-16. But other important ministries/departments, such as the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Ministry of Power, Department of Telecom, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and Ministry of Mines made no allocations under TSP. It is a similar story with the SCP. Out of the 108 ministries and departments, only 23 made allocations to SC under SCP. Again, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment allocated the highest (79%) while the lowest allocation was from the Department of Electronics & Information Technology (2%). The Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, and Department of AIDS Control had no allocations under SCP in 2015-16. Hot on the heels of an adaptation of Henrik Ibsens fine work The Master Builder starring Ralph Fiennes, The Old Vic turns its noted production values to a limited run of a classic Harold Pinter play next. Their production of The Caretaker will feature a star-studded cast including Timothy Spall, Daniel Mays and George MacKay at the iconic London theatre venue. Psychological study Pinters three act work provides a psychological focus on the heady combination of allegiance, innocence and corruption, as a power struggle develops between two brothers and an elderly homeless man. Since its premiere on the West End in 1960, it has become one of his most often produced plays and was made into a 1964 film starring Alan Bates, Donald Pleasence and Robert Shaw. The new production - directed by Matthew Warchus - features Mays as the slightly disturbed handyman Aston who invites a tramp (Spall as an irascible guest) into his London flat. Seemingly intent on utilising the opportunity to his advantage, Davies then meets the other brother, Mick (MacKay) and the play begins to take on a more menacing but slightly surprisingly comic edge. How do the current cast measure up? Spall has certainly developed into a fine character actor since his early days in the business playing Barry Taylor in the 80s hit series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. His versatility has kept the 59-year-old Battersea-born actor in demand for much of the time since. The critically acclaimed Mike Leigh drama Secrets & Lies ensured a BAFTA nomination for the likeable thespian in the mid- 90s. Subsequently, there have been frequent supporting actor roles in the likes of The Last Samurai (alongside Hollywood heartthrob Tom Cruise), The Kings Speech and famously as Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter films. Mays will be familiar to many Sharing the stage for The Caretaker will be a strong ensemble cast with the face of Mays no doubt being particularly familiar to many film fans. Appearances in popular titles such as Joe Wrights romantic war film Atonement and as part of the gang in the British crime drama The Bank Job have kept him gainfully employed. Besides frequently popping up on popular TV programmes such as EastEnders, Ashes to Ashes, Mrs Biggs and even Doctor Who, his obvious talents have also been enjoyed previously on the stage as a common contributor at Londons Royal Court Theatre. From child prodigy to adult star MacKay is developing from a child prodigy into a fine adult actor. After gaining his big break in the 2003 film version of Peter Pan, he went on to star as Riccio in an adaptation of the best-selling childrens novel The Thief Lord. Frequent television and film roles in the aftermath have indicated MacKays appeal. His theatre skills should also have been neatly honed from the lead part in last years production of Eugene ONeills play Ah Wilderness! at The Young Vic. Limited run of the play The Caretaker is scheduled to run from 26th March to 14th May, after which The Old Vic will Show its diversity by staging a brief run of the McOnie Companys Jekyll and Hyde. Malcolm Boyd Has Died Good Friday Collection Controversy Diocese of Newcastle in Australia Fed Up with Actions by Diocese of Sydney Ecumenical Hawaiian Group Takes on Frank Graham And Still More Fallout from the Primate's Gathering The Episcopal Church has lost one of its most well-known priests, Malcolm Boyd. Boyd, was 91. He turned from a successful career in Los Angeles to enter seminary and was ordained in 1955. He was active in racial justice from the beginning of his ministry, and in 1976 came out as gay. Author of more than 24 books, he constantly reached out to those that were marginalized and could explain Christianity in ways that challenged Episcopalians and reached out to the unchurched. The L.A. Times published a complete run-down on Boyd's career.Presiding Bishop Michael Curry issued a letter reminding Episcopal clergy that traditionally their good Friday offerings went to provide support for the four Anglican dioceses in the Middle East and northern Africa. Archbishop Mouneer Anis, the bishop of Egypt with Northern Africa and the Horn of Africa, responded that his diocese had refused all funds from TEC since 2003 because of TEC actions inclusive of LGBTQ people. Because Anis also serves as the Archbishop for the four dioceses, discussion on a Facebook page for those interested in matters that come before the General Convention focused on whether he was rejecting funds for the whole Anglican province or just his diocese.The Bishop of Newcastle has finally had enough of attempts by the neighboring Diocese of Sydney to force its conservative agenda on others in Australia. After Sydney circulated a letter to all dioceses demanding that they sign protocols that opposed homosexuality or Sydney won't attend province meetings, the Newcastle bishop snapped back, saying he won't attend the upcoming bishop's meeting and demanding that Sydney follow protocols in the Australian Church governing documents that forbid border-crossing. The Newcastle bishop was especially concerned about formation of Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans groups in his diocese by Sydney people. The most complete article is from the Newcastle Herald . The Episcopal Cafe also has an article. When Frank Graham showed up in Hawaii for a rally where he was expected to call on people to elect all evangelicals to office and follow his version of Biblical teachings, he got a surprise. A local Episcopal priest, working through an ecumenical organization organized a group to picket the rally with signs stressing Christian love, tolerance and acceptance. Those demonstrating wanted to make sure that people knew there was another version of Christianity other than Graham's.This week, Presiding Bishop Curry used his opening statement to Executive Council to briefly comment on his health and then turned to his version of what happened at the Canterbury meeting. Curry noted that the statement issued by the primates only affected primates and had no impact on the Anglican Consultative Council. Meanwhile the Archbishop of Uganda announced that his province would not be attending the ACC since the Episcopal Church had not repented or been disciplined. It is interesting to compare what Archbishop Ngtali of Uganda said happened at a primates meeting in 2003 with the actual final document from that meeting. In a decision possibly related to the "consequences" for the Episcopal Church announced by the 2016 primates gathering, it became clear that measures intended to bring forward resolutions supporting marriage equality at the synod of the Anglican Church of Canada would fall short of the 2/3 vote of support required in the House of Bishops. It is not clear what the next step will be for the church there. Calming troubled seas with claimant parties Updated: 2016-03-01 09:18 (China Daily) This satellite image shows the Yongshu Jiao of China's Nansha Islands. [Photo/Xinhua] Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his colleagues spare no effort, miss no opportunity, to clarify and defend the country's stance regarding the South China Sea. But mostly they have to argue with Washington, a remotely relevant third party. The quarrel with Washington is largely fruitless, and will hardly be fruitful, because it is centered on a US pretext that is inherently false. Disputes over maritime rights and interests do exist in the East and South China Seas. But they are neither with the United States, nor about freedom of navigation, as it claims. The war of words with Washington at least helps to reveal the feebleness of the latter's argument. Wang and his colleagues can avail themselves of the exchanges to clarify China's historical claims in the East and South China seas, and debunk accusations that this is a stronger, "assertive" China bullying its neighbors and challenging the US. At the end of the day, deescalating tensions can't be accomplished without negotiations between the true stakeholders in the neighborhood. That is why two concurrent diplomatic developments on Monday deserve more of the limelight than the Beijing-Washington squabbles. In Tokyo, vice-minister-level talks between Chinese and Japanese diplomats focused on pushing ahead political dialogue, which has been suspended at higher levels thanks to bickering over the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. While in Beijing, top leader Xi Jinping received a special envoy of the just-reelected general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party. Together they reiterated a shared commitment to properly handle their disagreements, and to make sure they do not get in the way of the traditional friendship between the two countries. Political distrust between Beijing and Tokyo may be too deep and pervasive to dissolve swiftly. But the two have got along quite well for decades. The territorial disputes between China and Vietnam may be too convoluted to quickly straighten out. But they have demarcated land boundaries to both sides' satisfaction. Although immediate solutions may be unachievable, as long as the disputing parties are willing to sit down and talk, there will always be a way out. But with more characters being dragged into the "freedom of navigation" farce in the South China Sea, things will inevitably become more complicated, and inflammable. Ultimately the keys to peaceful solutions are in the hands of the claimant countries themselves, not those of third parties. The troubles in the East and South China seas are equal parts competing for territorial claims and the deficiency of mutual distrust. One-on-one negotiations are thus essential to calm the increasingly muddy waters of the West Pacific. Onus on Tsai to maintain good cross-Straits ties Updated: 2016-03-01 10:25 By LI ZHENGUANG(China Daily) Democratic progessive party leader Tsai Ing-wen attends to the talent competition of children with mental disabilities in Taiwan. [Photo/IC] The number of mainland tourists visiting Taiwan has declined sharply before and after the island's leadership election in January, which Democratic Progressive Party leader Tsai Ing-wen has won. About half of the sightseeing buses on the island have not been booked during the past two months or so. Also, popular local scenic spots such as the Sun Moon Lake and Ali Mountain seem to have lost their magic in attracting more visitors from the other side of the Taiwan Straits. No wonder some observers are worried about Taiwan's tourism being dealt a blowespecially to hotels, restaurants and airlinesbecause of the possible changes in future cross-Straits relations. After all, the number of mainland visitors serves as a major barometer for Taiwan's tourism sector. Peaceful cross-Straits relations and the island's opening-up policies, as incumbent Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou said on Feb 19, are important for the fast growth of the tourism sector. Mainland visitors accounted for about 40 percent of total number of tourists in Taiwan last year. In real terms, about 4.18 million mainland tourists visited Taiwan in 2015. The fact that the DPP, which challenges the 1992 Consensus on one China, will come to power in Taiwan in May has discouraged some mainland tourists from visiting the island. To aggravate matters further, a DPP lawmaker recently suggested removing the portraits of Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of modern China, from all government office buildings and public schools. An Fengshan, spokesman for the mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, has condemned the motion to remove Sun Yat-sen's portraits, calling it an "open trick" and appealing to compatriots across the Straits to oppose such moves. Sun Yat-sen has been revered on both sides of the Straits for his leading role in the 1911 Revolution, which overthrew the imperial Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and put an end to more than 2,000 years of feudal rule. Appointment shows desire for more effective communication Updated: 2016-03-01 10:25 By ED ZHANG(China Daily) Wang Bao'an, director of the National Bureau of Statistics [Photo/IC] Appointing Ning Jizhe, a well-known government think-tank economist, to be the new head of National Bureau of Statistics is a welcome move. The 60 year-old Ning has a PhD in economics from Renmin University of China and has been one of the deputy chiefs of the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planning body, since August 2015. He will hold the two positions concurrently. His predecessor at the NBS was Wang Bao'an, who was in office for no more than 10 months before being removed when he was investigated for corruption in late January. Wang was formerly head of the administrative staff of the Ministry of Finance, and he was allegedly involved in some suspicious connections and deals there. Ning's appointment was officially announced on Friday. Filling the NBS director's vacancy swiftly with a professional economist in the run-up of the annual session of the National People's Congress, which is scheduled to open on March 5, shows how seriously the State Council, China's Cabinet, views the position and the organization's role. The NBS, as the government office responsible for releasing the latest, and supposedly most authentic, updates of China's economic data, has a huge responsibility to help the world understand the nation's complex and, at times, difficult transition in its course of development. Ning's job is not just to report the statistics; much less a PR job. The head of NBS is, above all, a representative of the Chinese economy and speaks to all economists and business people around the world. It is an especially important task when many new things are happening in Chinasector by sector, province by province, and industry by industry. His task is also to explain what old patterns are fading away and what new ones are emerging, and why. It is a task that can only be fulfilled by someone who has a good grasp of modern economics and rich experience in the practice of the country's reform and development. Ning has long been a researcher in China's regional planning and industrial and environmental policies, and has been one of the drafters of many national development programs. At times, overseas commentators hold different views about the Chinese economy from the official presentation. But there is no gainsaying that the NBS' data has been the most consistent, and in recent years, some survey methods have been improved in such a way as to be more comprehensive and more reflective of the country's changing realities. Assigning a senior economist to lead the NBS shows China's openness and willingness to share its economic data more effectively with the world. The author is editor-at-large of China Daily. edzhang@chinadaily.com.cn Luo Ping (left), founder of Able2Shine, an NGO aimed at preparing Asian-American children to succeed in the US, helps Gracie Li show her drawing of the Silk Road at the Feb 27 opening ceremony of the ongoing Silk Road - a New Look, an exhibition of pictures taken by Chinese photographers along the route from Xi'an, Shaanxi province, to Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Chang Jun / China Daily China still has a long way to go before its proposals for world peace and development are fully heard and understood worldwide. Happily, the country has stepped up its efforts to send messengers of good will abroad to help cut through the misunderstandings and confusion. During a talk on Feb 17, Martin Jacques, a British scholar and author of the best-seller When China Rules the World, repeatedly used the term "overreaching" to describe China's stance on certain international and domestic issues. I wish I could have invited him to attend the opening on Feb 27 of Silk Road - a New Look, an exhibition of pictures taken by Chinese photographers along the route from Xi'an, Shaanxi province, to Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. More than 2,000 years ago, smart and courageous people of Eurasia explored and opened up several land and sea routes that linked the major civilizations of Asia, Europe and Africa, which were collectively part of what was called the "Silk Road" by later generations. For thousands of years, the Silk Road Spirit - peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit - has passed down from generation to generation. The exhibition displays the new look of areas in China along the ancient Silk Road and their people going about their everyday lives. It is a portrait of inclusiveness, openness and harmony. "We'd like our audience to learn more about the scenic beauty, the traditional richness of China's landscape along the Silk Road, as well as the vigor and strength of our people, the peaceful co-existence of our Han people with ethnic minorities," said Wu Junkai, president of the San Francisco International Art Center, an exhibition sponsor. Wu invited a group of American-born Chinese children and their parents to walk through the exhibit and discuss the importance of the Silk Road. Dressed in traditional Chinese silk and satin costumes, 8-year-old Arian He and his partner Terry demonstrated how ancient Chinese merchants carried China-made merchandise such as tea, porcelain and fine fabrics on treks through deserts and wilderness, and finally arrived in the Middle East and Mediterranean, where they were warmly received. "It only took us parents and children two days to come up with this mini-drama idea and rehearse it," said Luo Ping, Arian's mother and an organizer with Able2Shine, a non-profit aimed at preparing Asian-American children to succeed in the US. "I'm so proud of China's history and being Chinese," said Luo. "I hope my child will inherit this profound pride and retell the wonderful story whenever he gets a chance." Like a beautiful ribbon, the Silk Road closely linked the civilizations of East and West, playing a key role in advancing globalization and the development of human cultures. In the 21st century, multi-polarization and economic globalization are further developing, and the interdependence between all countries keeps growing, said Ren Faqiang, deputy consul-general at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco, who attended the opening ceremony. "Therefore, it's more important and valuable than ever to inherit and carry forward the spirit of the Silk Road," he said. China has proposed an initiative to jointly build a Silk Road Economic Belt (or the Belt), and a 21st century Maritime Silk Road (or the Road), which will give a contemporary connotation to the ancient Silk Road. With the aim of promoting connectivity between the Asian, European and African continents and their adjacent seas, the initiative will set up networks and help realize balanced and sustainable development in those countries. "The joint effort of building the Belt and Road is in the best interest of the world community and reflects the common ideas and pursuits of human society," said Ren. Contact the writer at junechang@chinadailyusa.com. Yee sentence sparks debate Updated: 2016-03-01 12:05 By Lia Zhu in San Francisco(China Daily USA) The sentencing of Leland Yee, former California state senator, has sparked a debate over the general image of Chinese-American elected officials and the Chinese community's participation in political affairs. Yee was sentenced to five years in prison on Feb 24 in San Francisco on racketeering and conspiracy charges. He was running for secretary of state when he was arrested in March 2014 and pleaded guilty in July 2015. "There will be a negative impact on Chinese officials," said Kansen Chu, a California State Assembly member, who is also Chinese American. He recalled that his adversary used Yee's case to attack him when he was running for office in 2014. "It's unfortunate that unscrupulous methods are employed to defame a rival during a campaign, but chances are that this case may be used again to 'uglify' Chinese-American candidates," he said. Yee was also found to be involved in a Chinatown gang headed by Raymond Chow, "Shrimp Boy", who was the subject of an undercover FBI investigation at that time. "The case would certainly impair Chinese-American officials' image and another result might be that Chinese Americans are afraid of participating in political affairs or running for office because everything you do will be subjected to scrutiny," said Albert Wang, national chair of Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs. Yee is not the first Chinese-American elected official who has been convicted of corruption. Former San Francisco Supervisor Ed Jew pleaded guilty in 2008 to extorting $84,000 from the owners of a chain of tapioca drink stores in his district. He served a total of five years in prison. "I think the Chinese are purposely targeted in those cases," Wang said. "We all know the politics in San Francisco is very dark, but few politicians of other ethnic backgrounds were investigated." In both Yee's and Jew's cases, some members from the Chinese community accused the FBI of "entrapment". "Even if it's a snare, it's your fault for taking it (the bribe)," said Chu. "As an elected official, you should be especially cautious of any temptation." But Shuisheng Xie, an activist whose WeChat blog "Civil Rights" has thousands of followers in the US, has a different view on the case. "Undoubtedly, Yee did something wrong. But I think the lack of political donations from the Chinese community should be to blame, too," Xie said. He explained that Yee and Jew could leverage their influence in exchange for only a few thousand dollars because the Chinese don't realize the importance of giving financial support to their representatives. "The Chinese community should seriously examine themselves through this case," said Xie. liazhu@chinadailyusa.com Hungary's PM dismisses threats of losing EU funds Updated: 2016-03-01 09:54 (Xinhua) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban addresses the annual meeting of Hungarian ambassadors in Budapest, Feb 29, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] BUDAPEST - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday rejected warnings that his policies could lead to cuts in European Union funding, calling the threat of withholding funds "unacceptable". Addressing the annual meeting of Hungarian ambassadors in Budapest, Orban argued that while he was not opposed to receiving such funds, it was the businesses of other countries with facilities in Hungary that were making money on the EU grants. "We're even," he said. "Neither of us owes the other anything." He stressed that the threats of withdrawing funds was unacceptable. The prime minister's remarks were in response to his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi, who said last week that the EU should cut funding for eastern European members unwilling to accept migrants, warning that Italy will take action in the upcoming talks on the 2020-26 EU budget. On Monday's meeting, Orban also said Hungary's foreign policy is "calm and balanced" thanks to a calm and balanced country in general. He praised the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and assured the ambassadors of government support. He noted the Hungarian economy is quite stable as one of the best performers in terms of national debt cut. Regarding Ukraine, Orban said it's hard to tell when the country could be governed by the rule of law or operate in the western pattern of economic growth. However, he said it was in Hungary's interests not to share a common border with Russia. The prime minister also mentioned the recent anti-Hungary statements made by Austrian officials, adding that he would not respond because that would be impolite to the Austrian people. Vanke, US partners plan NY condo conversion Updated: 2016-03-01 10:24 By AMY HE in New York(chinadaily.com.cn) China's Vanke is spending $116 million along with two other US real estate investors in a redevelopment deal in New York City. China's real estate developer Vanke and its US partners will convert the building at 45 Rivington Street in Manhattans Lower East Side into a luxury condos. LONG YIFAN/ FOR CHINA DAILY The US arm of Vanke, Vanke Holdings USA, will be converting an 118-year-old building on Manhattan's Lower East Side into luxury condos with Slate Property Group and Adam America Real Estate, according to The Wall Street Journal. The building at 45 Rivington Street is owned by Allure Group, a nursing-care provider, and was formerly a school building. Kai-yan Lee, managing director of Vanke Holdings USA, told China Daily that the deal fit three criteria that the company looks for when investing in projects the macroeconomic conditions are good, the project is doable, and the project partners have long-term collaboration potential. In addition, the Lower East Side neighborhood where the building is has plenty of opportunity for growth and is in a transitional phase, Lee said. "You see a lot of younger people moving into the neighborhood, generally improving the living conditions of the neighborhoods with more amenities like hip restaurants, artisan-type stores," he said. Furthermore, the project is a renovation upgrade and not a ground-up development deal, so the project "makes sense," he said, and aligns "very well" with the company's goals in the US. "When we decided to come to the US, we always envisioned ourselves as a local player. We make decisions like any other local companies here in the US make decisions," he said. "At the group level, we came here with a long-term perspective we want to continue to expand our exposure in the US. We see the potential of the US market as well as the value the US market provides for us as a diversification strategy," Lee said. Vanke, China's largest residential developer, has been active in the US, with projects in San Francisco and several others in New York. It is developing a 61-story condo tower at 610 Lexington Avenue and has three other deals with Slate Property Group and Adam America Real Estate, according to the Journal. The development deal comes at a time when Chinese developers are diversifying their portfolios abroad and, in particular, investing more in US real estate because of higher returns. "We're looking at the trends these days for money that is coming into the US from China, typically into deals that are generating more returns than what they're able to do at home," said Edward Mermelstein, partner at Rheem Bell and Mermelstein LLP, which works with Chinese clients on real estate deals. "This is very much a diversification play, similar to the situation we were seeing in the US in 2009 or 2010, where major US corporations were investing in China and Western Europe because they couldn't generate these types of returns internally," he said. A spokesman with real estate firm CBRE said that the company is continuing to see interest from Chinese investors for American real estate projects. "We're seeing investors and meeting with them. There's interest in New York to see what [deals] are out there," said Robert McGrath. "That diversification, broadly, has been a theme and continues to be a theme from 2015 into 2016," he said. In December, CBRE represented The Related Companies and TIAA-CREF in a $260.8 million sale of One MiMA Tower to Chinese developers SCG America, the US arm of Shanghai Construction Group, and Kuafu Properties, an investment company. State of the Blog I'm not keeping up the blog like I used to. Posts will be here and there, as the mood strikes. Most of what I have to say is in my book. Thank you for reading. This winter's stops on the ALEPH / Jewish Renewal Listening Tour have been at conferences. In January we held one focus group for ALEPH ordination program students, followed by two open mike sessions at the OHALAH conference of Jewish Renewal clergy. In February we took advantage of spending a few days with our Rabbis Without Borders colleagues, and had some great conversations about ALEPH, Jewish Renewal, and the Jewish future while we were at Pearlstone. Now we're preparing for our two March stops, both of which will take us across the border to the north: we're Canada-bound! Our Montreal Shabbaton on March 12 will be co-sponsored by B'nai Or Montreal Community Shul, Mile End Chavurah, and our colleagues at ALEPH Canada. (Here's the Facebook event page.) The plan calls for a morning / early afternoon program at the JCC/YM-YWHA, 5400 Westbury Avenue. We'll begin with a Shabbat morning service (in which Rabbi David and I will participate -- he's going to chant Torah, as Pekudei was his bar mitzvah portion!), a kiddush and vegetarian potluck lunch, and an open mike after lunch where we'll curate a conversation about hopes and dreams for the renewal of Judaism. Our executive director Shoshanna Schechter-Shaffin will be with us, as will Rabbi Evan Krame (a member of the ALEPH Board) and Rabbi Shalom Schachter (son of Reb Zalman z"l), both of whom will also participate in the morning's service. (And we're always grateful when Board and staff are able to join us in our spiritual practice of receptive listening -- whether in person as we travel around the continent as life permits, or in the many listening tour sessions we've held via zoom videoconferencing. Alas, we're not able to visit everyone in person, so we are grateful for long-distance ways of listening.) That evening we'll reconvene at Le Depanneur Cafe, 206 Rue Bernard West, for havdalah. Then there will be a community cabaret, which promises to be terrific, though R' David and I will be quietly slipping out after havdalah and before the cabaret. (We've evolved a custom of spending Listening Tour Saturday nights post-havdalah together processing what we've learned and heard -- and also recording as much as we can remember of what was said, since we don't take notes on Shabbat.) Sunday morning we'll hold some meetings and conversations before we out-of-town guests hit the road to head home again. If you are in or near Montreal, or are able to get there to join us, please do. We'd love to hear your thoughts, hopes, and dreams about ALEPH and Jewish Renewal's past, present, and future. (And if you're in or near Vancouver, stay tuned -- we'll be bringing the Listening Tour to Or Shalom over the weekend of March 26.) Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Loading... Checking your browser before accessing the website. This process is automatic. Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly. Please wait a few seconds. In the Spirit of open-text, collaboration, communication and Good Anthropology... This blog is for educational purposes only; as such it is a capitalist-free zone. The views, images and opinions expressed here are those of the author only, unless otherwise noted. The author does not necessarily share or endorse any of the views or contents of linked sites. All responsibility for "Visual Anthropology of Japan" lies with the author and not any institution he may be affiliated with. Peace. 06:22 James Harron takes home his second win at The Everest The Everest 2022 Slot Holder James Harron has now won The Everest for the second time. Im still sort of pinching myself: Giga Kick wins The Everest 08:02 The Everest winner Giga Kicks trainer Clayton Douglas says Im still sort of pinching myself after taking home the win at The Everest... Queensland inundated with heavy rain 00:36 A blanket of rain has drenched large parts of Queensland including the far northern parts of the Sunshine Coast which were inundated with more... Lidia Thorpe denies bikie links Senator Thorpe maintained she never attended a clubroom while dating ex-Rebels bikie boss Dean Martin and that he no longer had ties to the outlaw motorcycle gang when they met. CHARLES CITY -- Police in Charles City have asked the public to stop discussing criminal investigations, including a recent sexual assault investigation, on social media platforms. "We know that it is easy to comment on different social media sites but we encourage the public to refrain from this activity as it could hinder the on-going investigation and also prosecution at a later date," according to a Charles City Police Department statement. An alleged sexual assault believed to have occurred late Friday appears to be an isolated incident and is currently under investigation, said Charles City Police Chief Hugh Anderson. He would not say where the alleged assault occurred, citing the pending investigation. However, he said the incident is not believed to be connected to any other crimes. Also prompted by social media discussion, Charles City Community Schools released a statement on Monday. The district was aware of many stories circulating on Facebook and wanted parents to know nothing happened on school property, said Superintendent Dan Cox. "We put out a statement in order to provide information for our parents knowing that many of them have access to personal Facebook and could be getting information that is somewhat or completely inaccurate," he said. "And, we just wanted to be able to say here is what we are doing and, to clarify, the police are working on some investigations of things that took place off of school grounds and we wanted to clarify that for people as well." Anyone with information about the case can contact Charles City police at (641) 228-3366. DES MOINES Single-family homes and multi-residential dwellings would be required to have carbon monoxide alarms by July 2018 under a bill approved by the Iowa Senate on Monday. The bill would put carbon monoxide detectors on the same level as smoke detectors, said Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, and would provide an opportunity to save lives. Danielson is a Cedar Falls firefighter. The measure would cover existing structures and new construction. It passed by a 37-11 margin. Over the past five years, Danielson said, carbon monoxide poisoning has resulted in about 20 deaths annually, with 250 to 300 emergency room visits in Iowa resulting from residential carbon monoxide poisoning requiring up to 40 hospitalizations. We think its time to at least make an attempt to save of some of those lives, also save the costs of emergency room visits and hospitalizations, said Danielson. The bill goes to the House for consideration. Also Monday, senators voted 26-22 along party lines to authorize Iowa pharmacists to prescribe or dispense self-administered oral hormonal contraceptives in an initial three-month supply that could range up to one year if the patient had no adverse effects. Sen. Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, said she was reluctant eliminate doctors from the process of dispensing medication that can have painful side effects if not taken properly. Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, said he opposed the change that carried no age limitation or parental involvement provisions. Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, said the bill would expand family-planning options. The bill now goes to the GOP-led Iowa House for consideration. In other action, senators voted 48-0 to: Send Gov. Terry Branstad a House-passed bill that would boost the criminal penalty to a class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison for identity theft crimes exceeding $10,000. Approve upgrades to Iowas jury-selection system to remove bias in the states criminal justice process. Exempt hair-braiding from state cosmetology licensure if a practitioner passes health and sanitation examinations and registers with the state Board of Cosmetology. Amend Iowas competitive bidding process to restrict companies from contracting with the state that had criminal or civil violations or other questionable business practices in other states in recent years. WAUCOMA Two people have been arrested on following a drug investigation in Fayette County. Deputies with the Fayette County Sheriffs Office arrested Isaac Elias Nieto, 24 of Waucoma, and Jesse Alberto Reyes, 27 of Hawkeye, on charges of possession of cocaine with the intent to deliver, unlawful possession of prescription drug, possession of drug paraphernalia and a drug tax stamp violation. They were also cited for having open alcohol containers. Both were detained outside Hawkeye with almost 90 grams of cocaine, cash and other drugs, deputies said. They were taken to the Fayette County Jail. Authorities also searched homes and vehicles in connection with the investigation, with included officers from the Winneshiek County Sheriffs Office, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Department of Correctional Services for the First Judicial District. Also a search of Nietos residence near Jackson Junction was conducted by Winneshiek County deputies, and more charges could be filed later this week. Fayette County deputies also conducted a search of a residence in Hawkeye were they have filed charges on Ashley Lyn Rochford, 31, of Hawkeye, for misdemeanor possession of cocaine and methamphetamine second offense and possession of drug paraphernalia. According to the Fayette County Sheriffs Office, Reyes has warrants for aparole violation, possession of firearms as a felon and theft in Georgia. Police investigate store robbery WATERLOO Police are investigating a robbery at a Waterloo business. A masked man brandishing a gun entered Asian Day Spa, 1930 Hawthorne Ave., at about 7:25 p.m. Friday and demanded money. The female employee handed over cash, and the robber fled on foot east down Hawthorne, police said. No injuries were reported, and no arrests have been made in the case. Sunday gunfire strikes house WATERLOO Police found bullet holes in a home and spent shell casings after gunfire rang out in a Waterloo neighborhood Sunday night. No injuries were reported, and the no one was home at the house that was hit, according to police. Neighbors called police at about 4:10 p.m. Sunday in the area of Adams Street. Witnesses said a people in a red vehicle and people in a black vehicle had been exchanging gunfire police said. Officers found a number of spent .40-caliber shell casings in the street and three holes at 415 Adam St., police said. Woman hurt in Waterloo crash WATERLOO One woman was taken to the hospital following a two-vehicle accident on Washington Street/U.S. Highway 218 Monday afternoon. The womans identity and condition werent immediately available, but authorities said she was conscious at the scene. Paramedics with Waterloo Fire Rescue took her to a nearby hospital. The crash happened at about 1:45 p.m. Monday at the intersection of West 11th and Washington streets when a pickup truck and a minivan collided. The minivan entered the median where it came to a rest. Woman charged in car crash FREDERIKA A Fredericksburg woman was charged with drunken driving following a two-vehicle crash Sunday east of Frederika. The crash was reported about 12:30 a.m. in the 1400 block of Piedmont Avenue. Bremer County sheriffs deputies said that a southbound vehicle driven by Ranae Carey, 42, of Fredericksburg, crossed the center line striking a vehicle traveling northbound driven by Loren Sommerfelt, 71, of Sumner. Both vehicles came to rest in the east ditch and had substantial damage. Carey was charged for operating while intoxicated, failure to maintain control and open container. Des Moines man hurt in crash IOWA FALLS A Des Moines man was transported to Hansen Family Hospital in Iowa Falls following a crash Saturday on U.S. Highway 20. Mark Anthony Davon Sayles, 24, was eastbound on Highway 20 about 3:05 p.m. when he lost control of his vehicle, according to the Iowa State Patrol. The vehicle rolled several times, landing in the middle of the roadway, blocking traffic. The crash was reported near mile marker 161. The crash remains under investigation. The Founding Fathers and those who fought in the Continental Army were our original Western Heroes, guided by the thinkers of the Enlightenment and following in the footsteps of great warriors like Jan Sobieski and Charles Martel. Advertisement By Chris Skates Feb. 29, 2016 | PADUCAH, KY By Chris Skates Feb. 29, 2016 | 11:48 AM | PADUCAH, KY I have said that the people of this country, if ever they lose their liberties, will do it by sacrificing some great principle of government to temporary passion. There are certain great principles, which if they be not held inviolate, at all seasons, our liberty is gone. John Randolph 1813. If you are an evangelical Christian reading this, you base your life on principles. Your guiding principles come from the Bible, which you believe to be the living Word of God. Yet though the Bible ALWAYS speaks truly, it does not attempt to speak comprehensively on all matters. It does not speak comprehensively for example on all matters relating to government. For those we need an outside or auxiliary set of principles (based on the Judeo-Christian ethic to be sure). In the US those principles are outlined in our founding documents, most notably in the Constitution. The core reason that the US has a culture in the midst of rot, our foreign policy is a haphazard shambles, and our economy is as weak as its been in decades (mythical recovery notwithstanding) is because the people we have sent to Washington, not only do not respect founding principles and the constitution, they literally have no familiarity with them or the hard and fast truths they contain. And then there is Ted Cruz. Cruzs father Rafael escaped torture at the hands of Fidel Castro, came to America to wash dishes at minimum wage, and over a period of years built a successful business. Rafael (as only an immigrant who has seen the extreme left up close can) drilled into his son one truthonly in America. Only in America could a poor immigrant, within a couple of decades, build a successful business, become a citizen, and raise a family. Copies of both the Constitution and the Bible were constantly out on the familys kitchen table. In high school Ted participated in speaking competitions for scholarship money with the Free Enterprise Institute. These efforts required Cruz to spend Saturdays delving deeply into free market principles and the Constitution. By the time he was nineteen Cruz had the Constitution memorized. By then he had given some 80 speeches on constitutional principles to Kiwanis, Rotary Clubs, and other civic gatherings. From this experience he determined he wanted to serve in government. He pursued an Ivy League education by working two jobs and receiving academic scholarships. His father Rafaels greatest concern was that Ted would lose his conservative roots and be pulled far toward a far left ideology by these institutions. Instead Ted respectfully debated with his liberal professors throughout his education even winning the respect of the formidable (and very liberal) Alan Dershowitz. You may know the rest. Cruz went on to become an honor graduate from Princeton and Harvard Law, clerked for Chief Justice Rehnquist, became Solicitor General for Texas where he argued nine landmark cases before the US Supreme Court (winning five) and filed some eighty briefs with SCOTUS. One unfair criticism I hear of Cruz is that he is a politician. In turn I am told that primary voters are tired of politicians and want an outsider. Does a single term as a US Senator wherein Cruz has thrown one uppercut after another at what he rightly calls the Washington Cartel (including members in, and the leadership of, his own party) make him by some perversion of the term an insider? Upon what basis will Trump make decisions as President that will make America great again? As Cruz has already pointed out, Trump has no idea what made America great in the first place. Trump has said it himself repeatedly; he can agree with either side and has donated to either side. What good does that do a nation in crisis when one side (the liberal Democrat) is dead wrong on almost every issue? Trump is highly malleable precisely because of his ignorance of founding principles. The waters we are in are roiling. The next President will need a strong anchor chain tied to principles that have withstood the test of time. He will need not only a passing familiarity with these principles but a deep and abiding knowledge of them. He will need to have based his life upon them. Conservatives have not had such a choice in decades. Now they have Ted Cruz. I pray that more voters will resist the siren call of a so-called tough guy who bases his decisions on his own temporary passions at any particular moment. Because they are by now second nature to him, Ted Cruz is a leader who can readily draw on the highly educated lessons of our forebears. By this unprincipled facility of changing the state as often, and as much, and in as many ways as there are floating fancies or fashions, the whole chain and continuity of the commonwealth would be broken. No one generation could link with the other. Men would become little better than the flies of summer. Edmund Burke. Chris Skates is Supervisor of Lab Services at a Midwest utility; he has 27 years of experience in both fossil fueled and nuclear power generation. He is an Adjunct Scholar with The Cornwall Alliance for The Stewardship of Creation. Chris is also the author of dozens of nationally published articles in a diverse collection of publications including magazines like, Turkey Call, Electric Light and Power, American Coal, and Southern Writers. He has extensive public speaking experience on energy, political, and social issues and has presented multiple lectures around the country and has published three novels. DC Comics By their very nature, comic books are rife with conflict, often between adversarial forces of good and evil. While the genre has published its fair share of quiet, character-driven dramas that develop arcs over the span of months, or in some cases years, even these stories have a tendency to culminate in a showdown: a clash of super-powered titans that is used to resolve the conflict in the favor of either the hero (usually) or the villain (rarely). Still, even with an abundance of good versus evil stories to choose from, there are a number of battles or fights that stand out from the rest of the pack for their iconography and influence on the industry. Because of how absolutely epic these battles are, they are frequently referenced in other comic book stories, or have been adapted for film and television. In some cases, because a decisive winner was not decided (or because the story was so well-received by readers the first time around), creators have revisited these showdowns two, three, four and five times over. These battles have also had a lasting impact on the status quo for their respective series and universes. Significant characters have been killed off, or relationships between hero and villain, or hero and hero have been forever changed by the circumstances surrounding the confrontation. So get set to revisit 12 of the biggest, most important battles in comic book history. Now listen, Mississippi. No one is saying wed like to forget that you were racist secessionists who fought for the losing side! Hell, we want to remember that pretty much always and forever, to be honest. Were just saying that maybe celebrating that you were racist secessionists who fought for the losing side is a suboptimal thing to put on your flag, particularly given you have the largest percentage of African-Americans of any state in the country. If youre all worried about making sure that your flag honors some long-distant part of your past, you could have always gone with one of the 12 bills that proposed you return to the magnolia flag, which, while it existed during the War of Northern Aggression, is not quite as aggressive a piece of racist fuckwittery as your love affair with the Confederate flag. http://whatwouldjackdo.net/images/Only-confederate-flag-racism.jpg No matter how much progress may be made toward a better future, there are always those mired in a past far better in their own minds than it ever was in reality. They live in the memory of a time that never was, and dream of a sense of virtue and moral probity that lives on only in their imperfect and highly selective memory. It seems that some folks, no matter how much overwhelming evidence to the contrary may assail them, cling to that nonexistent past. They neither recognize nor acknowledge that we now live in the 21st century, and that Tara is a plantation that only existed in Gone With The Wind. It was a world in which virtue triumphed over evil, Negroes knew their place, and never was heard a discouraging word. Fast forward to the 21st century, and we find ourselves living in a world in which even South Carolina, that bastion of (not) Liberalism and (in)tolerance, has acknowledged the offensive nature of the Confederate flag and taken it down. Ah, but it would appear the good, God-fearing White folks of Mississippi arent so sanguine about giving up the symbol of the failed state and social system that got its ass kicked in the (not so very) Civil War. It seems theyre pretty attached to the soft, warm embrace of a flag that to African-Americans represents slavery and oppression. So theyre just going to stick with that rebel battle flag, thank you very much. Then again, what else could one reasonably expect from a state whose Governor just declared April to be Confederate History Month?. Stay classy, Mississippi!! > From: WREELE DOUGLAS > Subject: Your Lottery Golden Metal Trunk Box has now arrived in Baltimore International Airport > To: "Recipients" > Date: Monday, February 29, 2016, 11:37 PM > My Name is Wreele Douglas. An FBI > Agent. I am a contract staff currently attached to the > verification department of the Camelot Group of the Online > National Lottery mainly for non UK citizens. Your winning > check of $4,306,515 (Four Million, three hundred and six > thousand, five hundred and fifteen United States Dollars > only) was about to expire due to your inability to travel to > our office in London as the Lottery rules and regulations > demanded. However, I managed to convert the check to cash in > a Golden Metal Trunk Box because it was the only way to > circumvent you from losing your life time opportunity. > > To avoid multiple taxations and the bank charges as overdue > and unclaimed lottery fund, I have successfully dispatched > your golden metal box with Reg# UK8100DA through cargo and > the golden metal box has arrived BaltimoreaWashington > International Airport cargo unit, and has passed through > custom checks. > > The golden metal box is now at the airport storage facility > at the cost of $25 dollars daily. Every documentation and > process is legitimate because it is a lottery winning fund. > Please kindly make sure you contact Mr. George Ellis on > (410) 824-4742 and email (info.cargounitbwi91@list.ru). > I have done everything to make sure you receive your > winning. Please call the officer's number below for a > verification and QUICK process. > > I will also forward to you > > 1 . The picture of the golden metal box > > 2 . The certificate of deposit > > 3 . The golden metal box code > > Within the next 24 hours for your view > > Cargo Unit > BaltimoreaWashington International Airport > Baltimore, MD 21240, > United States > Email: (info.cargounitbwi@bk.ru) > Tel: 1-(410) 824-4742 > > Contact person Mr. George Ellis > > The lottery details: > Winning no: ....................... > Serial no: ....................... > Ticket no: ....................... > Amount won: ....................... > > Please reconfirm these information's to Mr. George Ellis > 1. Your Full Name: ....................... > 2. Your current address: ................. > 3. Your phone number: .................... > 4. Nearest airport to your location: ..... > 5. Your Occupation: ...................... > > Note: Do not disclose the content of the Golden Metal Box > to Mr. George Ellis or to anyone for security reasons. > > Best regards, > > WREELE DOUGLAS > THE NATIONAL LOTTERY, > CAMELOT GROUP, > VERIFICATION AND PROCESSING DEPARTMENT, > UNITED KINGDOM. If you received a similar email, you should go to the homepage to read more about 419 fraud. In a blistering Citing the deaths of alleged abusers, expired statutes of limitations on the living and instances of "deeply traumatized victims being unable to testify in a court of law," no charges could be filed, but Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane stressed that the investigation remains ongoing. Even now, however, today's filing asserts that "the grand jury is concerned the purge of predators is taking too long," likewise seeing fit to blast the diocese's "Allegation Review Board" normally known as a "Lay Review Board," the diocesan body mandated by the Charter as ineffective, terming its mandate only "as real as any bishop may want it to be" and adding that the group's practices reflect a mission of "fact-finding for litigation, not a victim-service function." (Emphasis original.) All of 36 hours after the breaking of abuse and coverup in Boston won the Oscar for Best Picture and as the Vatican's all-powerful CFO, Cardinal George Pell, testifies from Rome to a national inquiry probing the church's response in his native Australia Catholicism's long, horrid road of scandal has erupted anew in the US, in a development likely to invite fresh scrutiny across the map.In a blistering 147-page report released this morning, a two-year long Pennsylvania grand jury detailed a sweeping investigation of allegations and neglect over four decades in the diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, which covers eight counties in the state's central-southern tier. Among other findings, the panel disclosed evidence of the abuse of "hundreds" of minors by "at least 50 priests" during the cited period, alleging that, even into recent times, multiple clerics with known allegations remained in some form of public ministry for years after the Dallas Charter 's zero-tolerance provisions became church law including one as recently as October 2015 while the largely rural, 95,000-member diocese's previous two bishops "wrote their legacy in the tears of children" over years of willingness to squelch public knowledge or consequences on the reported crimes.Citing the deaths of alleged abusers, expired statutes of limitations on the living and instances of "deeply traumatized victims being unable to testify in a court of law," no charges could be filed, but Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane stressed that the investigation remains ongoing. Even now, however, today's filing asserts that "the grand jury is concerned the purge of predators is taking too long," likewise seeing fit to blast the diocese's "Allegation Review Board" normally known as a "Lay Review Board," the diocesan body mandated by the Charter as ineffective, terming its mandate only "as real as any bishop may want it to be" and adding that the group's practices reflect a mission of "fact-finding for litigation,a victim-service function." (Emphasis original.) Under Hogan (who died in 2005), one of the diocese's senior priests testified that "[he] would pick" appointees for leading posts in local government including the principal judge and a police chief in the diocese's twin hubs who, in turn, would discreetly refer any allegations they received to the Chancery for its handling, including one case where diocesan officials intercepted knowledge of a recording device intended to collect evidence on an accused priest. In every cited case, the allegations were left for the church to quietly resolve through its own means. (Said by another witness to have been so influential as to make local politicians "afraid" in his dual roles as cathedral rector and editor of the diocesan newspaper, said testifying cleric, Msgr Phillip Saylor, was reportedly the target of an attempt by the diocese For Adamec's part, meanwhile, an anonymous victim himself a priest recounted to the grand jury that, when he moved to file his own abuse suit dating to his high school days during the crisis' national outbreak, he was summoned to a meeting with the bishop, at which an official read out "the penalties for suing the diocese... up to and including excommunication." "I think [Adamec] just did it to scare the crap out of me," the witness said, "so that I would drop it all. But I was under the impression that I was excommunicated and I was sitting in the chair in shock." According to the findings, that priest-witness "was accused in 2003 of improper contact with a child himself and" a year after the promulgation of the Dallas Norms as particular law in the United States "transferred to another parish." While the cited misconduct went unspecified, "he is currently suspended." Built upon a catalogue of the allegations against 34 diocesan priests a trove collected from testimony and a 2015 state raid of the diocese's personnel files beyond the graphic accounts of assaults committed by men the report repeatedly terms "monsters," the grand jury depicts the late Bishop James Hogan (who led the diocese from 1966-86) and his now-retired successor, Bishop Joseph Adamec (1986-2010), as brazenly driven to avert civil accountability when reports of clerical misconduct would arise.Under Hogan (who died in 2005), one of the diocese's senior priests testified that "[he] would pick" appointees for leading posts in local government including the principal judge and a police chief in the diocese's twin hubs who, in turn, would discreetly refer any allegations they received to the Chancery for its handling, including one case where diocesan officials intercepted knowledge of a recording device intended to collect evidence on an accused priest. In every cited case, the allegations were left for the church to quietly resolve through its own means. (Said by another witness to have been so influential as to make local politicians "afraid" in his dual roles as cathedral rector and editor of the diocesan newspaper, said testifying cleric, Msgr Phillip Saylor, was reportedly the target of an attempt by the diocese to block his appearance on the stand in a 2002 case.)For Adamec's part, meanwhile, an anonymous victim himself a priest recounted to the grand jury that, when he moved to file his own abuse suit dating to his high school days during the crisis' national outbreak, he was summoned to a meeting with the bishop, at which an official read out "the penalties for suing the diocese... up to and including excommunication.""I think [Adamec] just did it to scare the crap out of me," the witness said, "so that I would drop it all. But I was under the impression that I was excommunicated and I was sitting in the chair in shock."According to the findings, that priest-witness "was accused in 2003 of improper contact with a child himself and" "transferred to another parish." While the cited misconduct went unspecified, "he is currently suspended." As the bishop began to respond, "Yes, I ", the report says Adamec's lawyer intervened, at which point the prelate "exercised his right to refuse to answer questions on the grounds of incriminating himself." No further testimony is recorded. In conclusion, the report states the grand jury's finding that "both Bishops Hogan and Adamec endangered the public." (Albeit from behind, Adamec is seen above in an undated photo with Altoona-Johnstown's most prominent Catholic since As of press time, a response has yet to emerge from the diocese's current head, Bishop Amid a narrative that prosecutors sometimes needlessly sought to dramatize at the expense of its shattering content, while today's report sought to "commend" Bartchak for his "positive steps" in suspending four priests with allegations that turned up in the probe, the panel starkly noted that only in September 2015 did the bishop replace the vicar-general he inherited from his predecessor, Msgr Michael Servinsky, who held the diocese's second-in-command post since 1992. "Given the opportunity to explain his role to the grand jury" in December as today's report put it, like his longtime boss, Servinsky "elected to exercise his right against providing testimony which may be incriminating." Incendiary as the filing is, its guiding champion is facing significant legal issues of her own her law license suspended and awaiting her own trial on charges of leaking grand jury information to the press to undermine internal enemies, Attorney General Kane announced last month that she wouldn't seek reelection for a second term, days after barely surviving a motion for her removal from office in the Pennsylvania Senate. While the grand jury's report closes with just the latest call for the legislature to pass a "window" law suspending the civil statute of limitations to allow lawsuits to proceed, given the fallout of the Sandusky case and the institution that covered up the coach's abuse, any push to that end would hit an iron wall against the clout of Pennsylvania's most influential fold: the Penn State faithful, who long ago replaced Catholics as the Commonwealth's most numerous and fervent religious body a reality exponentially reflected in Harrisburg. SVILUPPO: Just before 6pm local time, the Altoona-Johnstown Chancery in Hollisdaysburg released the following as a "media advisory": Upon Adamec's own appearance before the grand jury last November, he was initially asked if he was "now or ever have been a bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown?"As the bishop began to respond, "Yes, I ", the report says Adamec's lawyer intervened, at which point the prelate "exercised his right to refuse to answer questions on the grounds of incriminating himself."No further testimony is recorded. In conclusion, the report states the grand jury's finding that "both Bishops Hogan and Adamec endangered the public."(Albeit from behind, Adamec is seen above in an undated photo with Altoona-Johnstown's most prominent Catholic since Gallitzin : the legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, whose own pristine reputation irrevocably collapsed after a 2011 state grand jury uncovered gross negligence by the university's academic and athletic brass in response to the serial abuse of young boys by Paterno's defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, who went on to be jailed for a minimum 60 years after his 2012 conviction on 45 of 48 counts. Located in the diocese's largest population center, Penn State's Catholic ministry center bears the Paterno name given the coach's generosity to it over his 45-year tenure.)As of press time, a response has yet to emerge from the diocese's current head, Bishop Mark Bartchak a former president of the Canon Law Society of America, who was named to Altoona-Johnstown on Adamec's 2010 retirement.Amid a narrative that prosecutors sometimes needlessly sought to dramatize at the expense of its shattering content, while today's report sought to "commend" Bartchak for his "positive steps" in suspending four priests with allegations that turned up in the probe, the panel starkly noted that only in September 2015 did the bishop replace the vicar-general he inherited from his predecessor, Msgr Michael Servinsky, who held the diocese's second-in-command post since 1992."Given the opportunity to explain his role to the grand jury" in December as today's report put it, like his longtime boss, Servinsky "elected to exercise his right against providing testimony which may be incriminating."Incendiary as the filing is, its guiding champion is facing significant legal issues of her own her law license suspended and awaiting her own trial on charges of leaking grand jury information to the press to undermine internal enemies, Attorney General Kane announced last month that she wouldn't seek reelection for a second term, days after barely surviving a motion for her removal from office in the Pennsylvania Senate.While the grand jury's report closes with just the latest call for the legislature to pass a "window" law suspending the civil statute of limitations to allow lawsuits to proceed, given the fallout of the Sandusky case and the institution that covered up the coach's abuse, any push to that end would hit an iron wall against the clout of Pennsylvania's most influential fold: the Penn State faithful, who long ago replaced Catholics as the Commonwealth's most numerous and fervent religious body a reality exponentially reflected in Harrisburg.Just before 6pm local time, the Altoona-Johnstown Chancery in Hollisdaysburg released the following as a "media advisory": The Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown has received the report issued today by the Thirty-Seventh Statewide Investigating Grand Jury. As noted in the report, the Diocese cooperated fully with authorities throughout the investigation, and will continue to do so as part of our commitment to the safety of all children. At this time, the Diocese is reviewing the report. The Dioceses youth protection policy, which calls for mandatory reporting of all abuse allegations to civil authorities as well as criminal background checks and education for clergy, employees, and volunteers who work with children, may be found at www.dioceseaj.org/childprotection . Suspected child abuse should be reported directly to civil authorities. The Diocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator, Jean Johnstone, may be contacted at (814) 944-9388 for additional support. This is a painful and difficult time in our Diocesan Church, said the Most Rev. Mark L. Bartchak, Bishop of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. I deeply regret any harm that has come to children, and I urge the faithful to join me in praying for all victims of abuse. In light of the gravity of the findings, a statement from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops is expected to emerge shortly. 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One is by creating... 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. Do they offer games from different software providers? Some casinos just use one software provider and limit your selection. This is fine if you like playing those types of games but you may want to check other casinos as well. What does their payout percentage look like? The payout rate refers to how much money you can expect to win after every bet. A high payout rate means youll be able to play more often without having to worry about losing all your money. Its also important to know the minimum and maximum bets allowed on each game. If youre going to play roulette, for example, then you probably dont want a casino with a minimum bet of less than $2.50 or even lower than that. 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. How many games do they offer? There are lots of different types of games to choose from. Roulette, blackjack and poker are some of the most popular options, but you might find slots, video pokers, video bingo and others as well. You can usually filter these games down to only show the ones that interest you best, so make sure that your list isnt too long! Is there a bonus offer? Many online casinos offer free bonuses as part of their welcome package which includes new players being awarded 100% up to $10 instantly, for example. These offers are great but not everyone has access to them all the time (and some require you to deposit real money). If youd prefer to avoid paying a fee, some casinos offer no-deposit bonuses where you can get a certain amount of funds before you need to put any actual money into the account. These are usually offered alongside welcome bonuses, so make sure you read both parts of the terms and conditions carefully before signing up. Does it offer live dealer games? Live dealers are much preferred by many over regular virtual versions, so it pays to check this option out too. Most online casinos now offer live dealer games in addition to their regular offerings, allowing you to experience the thrill of the real thing without needing to leave home. Now that youve got an idea of what to look for when choosing an online casino, heres some tips for making the right choice It really comes down to personal preference. No two people are exactly alike, so everyone has an opinion on what they like and dislike about each casino. That said, here are some things to consider in order to narrow down your choices Popularity. Check out reviews, forums and Facebook pages to see what other people think of the casino. Also, ask around at work or friends houses who they would recommend to you. You could always take a look at the casinos website too, to see what kind of information they provide about themselves. Reputation. Find out what the general public thinks about the casino. Check out any customer reviews on sites like Trustpilot, Amazon and Google Play to find out more. As far as gaming goes, you can also check out the Better Business Bureau to see whether there have been any complaints against the casino. Security. Make sure the casino uses SSL encryption to secure its transactions, meaning that your private data stays safe during transactions. Other than that, look for security seals on the site itself and verify that theyre legitimate. You can also check out the casinos privacy policy to see how they handle confidential information. Payment methods. Its good to have multiple payment options available, especially if you plan to play frequently. Its also nice to find a casino that accepts cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. If youre worried about safety, you can always opt for a credit card or PayPal instead. With all those criteria in mind, heres our top picks Betway: Betway is a relatively new UK casino offering online gambling to residents of the United Kingdom and European Union. They offer hundreds of games across both land based and digital platforms, with plenty of top software providers like Net Entertainment, Microgaming and Yggdrasil Gaming Network. With a generous welcome offer that gives players 100% up to 100, you really cant go wrong with Betway. Coral Casino: Coral Casino is operated by the same company that runs the famous Caribbean casino, Grand Reef. Like many casinos, Coral Casino offers a wide variety of games, including plenty of video slots and table games. New players can benefit from a huge 100% match bonus up to 1000, while existing customers enjoy 25% cash back on deposits made within 48 hours of opening an account. Ladbrokes Casino: Ladbrokes Casino is owned by the same company as the famous bookmaker that started life in 1921. With more than 500 games from leading software providers such as Amaya, NetEnt and Microgaming, you wont be disappointed by the quality of the games here. New players get a 200% match bonus up to 500, while existing customers can claim 35% cashback on their first three deposits. Paddy Power Casino: Paddy Power is another Irish-owned casino that operates throughout Europe. Not only does Paddy Power Casino offer traditional casino games like blackjack, roulette and slots, but it also provides a full range of sports betting, including football, tennis, boxing and horse racing. New players can receive a massive 100% match bonus up to 200, while existing customers can claim 35% cashback on their first three deposits. William Hill Casino: William Hill Casino is one of the biggest names in the industry, operating in Europe, Asia and North America. Founded in 1984, this online casino has more than 400 games to choose from, including slots and table games, with a wide array of software providers like WagerLogic, Big Time Gaming and Rival. Bonus: 100% Match Bonus up to 100 Register Now Betway: 100% Match Bonus up to 100 Claim Now Coral Casino: 25% Cash Back on Deposits Claim Now Ladbrokes Casino: 35% Cash Back on First 3 Deposits Claim Now Paddy Power Casino: 100% Match Bonus up to 200 Claim Now William Hill Casino: 100% Match Bonus up to 200 Claim Now If youre interested in trying out an online casino but arent quite ready to commit to one, why not try out one of the many no deposit casinos weve reviewed? You can test drive various casinos completely risk-free, so you can feel confident about your choice before you make a single penny deposit. Canl Bahis siteleri sektoru son derece onu ack ve farkl ozelliklere sahip bir sektordur. Elbette bahis secenekleri arasnda yuksek kazanc getiren alan kuskusuz canl bahistir. Peki, canl bahis nedir? Canl Bahis Nedir? Canl bahis adndan da anlaslacag gibi devam eden musabakaya bahis yapmaktr. Bu bahis musabaka devam ederken de yaplabilir olmasdr. Basta futbol olmak uzere voleybol, tenis, hentbol, basketbol, buz hokeyi ve masa tenisi gibi spor organizasyonlarna canl bahisler yaplabilmektedir. Canl bahis siteleri bu oyunlarn hepsine yuksek oranlara bahis yapmanza imkan tanr. En fazla tercih edilen futbol canl bahisleri diger alanlara gore daha fazla on plandadr. Siteden siteye degisen sartlar ve uygulama esaslar soz konusu olsa da kurallar sabittir. Canl bahisi populer klan ve heyecan katan en onemli ozellikle musabakann basladg ana dek bahis yapabilmedir. Canl bahis icerisinde yer alan secenekler kazanma sansnz da dogrudan arttrmaktadr. Ilk korneri kim kullanr, ilk tac, gol, sar kart, krmz kart gibi futbol musabakas icerisinde olabilecek hemen hemen her seye bahis yaplabilmektedir. Normal bahisegore de son derece yuksek oranda olmas avantajl yonlerini ortaya koymaktadr. Nitekim dogru secenek ksa surede kazancl ckmanza etki edecektir. Strateji ve dogru analizle 90 dakika gibi bir surede anaparanzkatlayabilirsiniz. Tabi bunu basarabilmek icin mutlaka musabakaya dair ayrntlar iyi degerlendirmek gerekir. Soz konusu musabakann detaylarn inceleyip, cezal, sakat oyuncu veya performans dusen takm oyunu gibi detaylar bilmek canl bahiste kazanc belirleyen onemli unsurdur. Guvenilir Canl bahis hem heyecanl zaman gecirmeyi hem de musabakalar takip ederken para kazanmay saglamaktadr. Canl Bahis Nasl Oynanr? Bahislerinizi guvenilir sitelerden gerceklestirdiginiz zaman herhangi bir sekilde para cekme de sorun yasamazsnz. Guvenilir bahis siteleri tespit edip sonrasnda da uyelik islemlerini tamamlamanz gerekmektedir. Belirlenen uyelik sartlarn yerine getirip hesabnza da paray aktardktan sonra bahis islemlerini sorunsuz yapabilirsiniz. Peki, canl bahis nasl oynanr? Oncelikle bahis konusunda mutlaka dogru site arastrmas yapmalsnz. Yapacagnz arastrma neticesinde buldugunuz site uzerinden canl bahisislemlerini gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Bunun icin uye olup, hesaba para atp, canl bahis bolumune girmelisiniz. Sonrasnda dahil olmak istediginiz musabakann saatini ogrenip, gerekli analizleri yapmalsnz. Tahminlerinizi belirledikten sonra karsnza ckacak olan bahis sayfasndan istediginiz hamleyi yapmalsnz. Bahis tutarn belirledikten sonra musabaka baslayacaktr. Canl bahis diger normal bahis esaslarna gore farkllklar icermektedir. Bunlardan en onemlisi musabakann gidisatna gore islem yapabilir olmaktr.Ayrca musabakann 2. Yarsna gore hamle yapp ayr bir bahisin soz konusu olmas da ciddi avantajdr. Dogru hamle ile sizde istediginiz bahisi yapp kazanc elde edebilirsiniz. Nitekim canl olarak yapacagnz bahis icin mac oncesi raporlara gore hareket etmek onemlidir. Cunku takmlarn durumlarn analiz etmek tahmin gucunu arttracaktr. Misal tamnn en iyi oyuncusu sakat ya da kart cezals ise takmn performansnda dusus yasanacaktr. Buna ek olarak takmn deplasman performans ile evinde ki performans ayr olacaktr. Burada da takmn musabakay nerede yaptgna bakmak gerekir. Bu ayrntlar da iyice analiz ettikten sonra bahsinizi yapp kazanmann keyfini yasayabilirsiniz. Canl Bahis Siteleri Son derece yuksek getiriye sahip bahis sektoru uzun zamandr faaliyet gostermektedir. Cok ciddi rakamlarn soz konusu oldugu bu sektor zamanla sanal ortamlara donusmustur. Elbette guvenli ve bir o kadar da avantajl olan bu siteler cok yonlu frsatlar sunmaktadrlar. Canl iddaa siteleri gerek yeni uyelere gerekse de hali hazrdaki uyelerine bolca bonus frsatlar vermektedir. Yatracagnz tutara gore belirlenen bonuslar site icerisinde rahat hareket etmenizi de saglayacaktr. Canl bahis sitelerini kullanmadan once mutlaka guvenli olup olmadgna goz atmalsnz. Zira baz kullanclar guvenli olmayan sitelerden yaptklar islemlerden dolay magdur olmaktadrlar. Nitekim guvenli ve sorunsuz hizmet sunan yurt ds site tercih etmek en dogru secenektir. Sektorde uzun yllar faaliyet gosteren siteleri tercih edebilirsiniz. Bu alanda yer alan yabanc siteler musteri memnuniyetine onem vermektedir. Oncelik site kullanclarn sorunsuz sekilde bahislerini yapabilir olmasn saglamaktr. Bahis sitelerinde amac hem daha fazla kullancya hizmet vermek hem de sektorde emin admlarla ilerlemek onceliklidir. Dogru site tercihi ile sizde canl bahislerinizi sorun yasamadan gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Sizler icin hazrlams oldugumuz canl bahis siteleri listesi su sekildedir; Mobilbahis Tempobet Bets10 Bahigo 1xbahis Betboo Youwin Superbahis Sralams oldugumuz bu siteler sektorde basarl islere imza atms sitelerdedir. Canl bahis konusunda beklentileri karslayacak olan bu siteler sizlere kolaylk sunmaktadrlar. Bol bonuslu secenekle de sizlere farkl bahis yonlerini sunacaklardr. Sistemsel etki icerisinde her zaman etkin sonuc alabilmek icin surekli olarak faaliyet icerisindedirler. Canl Bahis Taktikleri Bahis sektorunun en fazla dikkat edilmesi gereken hususu dogru taktik ve dogru tahmindir. Elbette dogru tahmini yapabilmek icin analizi cok iyi yapmak gerekir. Canl bahis taktikleri arasnda ilk sra analiz gelmektedir. Analiz yapamadgnz zaman basarl tahminlerde bulunmanz pek de mumkun degildir. Cunku bahiste onemli olan konu musabakann analizini cok iyi yaplmas gerektigidir. Canl bahisin ozelliklerini iyi bilmek ve nasl bir hamle yapacagnz bilmek gerekir. Ozellikle riskli maclarda yaplacak degerlendirmeler cok daha onemlidir. Canl bahis yapacaklarn takip edecegi degerler takmlarn durumlar ile alakal olmaldr. Performans uzerine kurulu bahis sisteminde takm degerlendirmesine iyi bakmak gerekir. Iki takmn son 5 macta nasl bir sonuc ortaya koyduguna bakarak hareket etmek onemlidir. Ayrca hangi takm evinde daha iyi performans sergiliyor diye de ayrca bakmak gerekir. Analizlerle alakal puan durumlarna da goz atmak cok onemlidir. Puan degerlendirmesinde oncelikle takmlarn ihtiyaclar ile dogru orantl hareket etmek gerekir. Cunku olusturulan performans takmn da durumunu ortaya koymaktadr. Nitekim istenilen sonucu elde edebilmek icin tum ayrntlar bilmek gerekir. Takm ici duzenden tutunda da takmn son durumuna kadar her ayrnt onemlidir. Iki takmn birbirleri arasnda ki sonuclar da incelemek gerekir. Burada dikkat edilecek detaylarn basnda maclarda kac gol oldugu ve gollerin hangi dakikalarda atldgdr. Cekismeli gecen musabakalarda bazen goller ilk yarda daha fazla olurken baz maclarda da ikinci yarda daha cok gol olmustur. Iki takm arasnda ki maclarda gollerin cogunlugu ilk yarda geliyorsa buna gore bahis yapabilirsiniz. Canl Bahis Siteleri Bonuslar ve Kampanyalar Bahis yapanlar veya yapmay dusununler sitelerin sunmus olduklar frsatlar merak etmektedirler. Cunku siteler daha fazla kullancya erismek icin her donem kampanyalar duzenleyerek kullanc odakl hamleler yapmaktadrlar. Canl bahis bonuslar ve kampanyalar oldukca populer olup, siteler bu konuda adeta birbirleri ile yarsmaktadrlar. Birbirinden farkl ozelliklere sahip olan kampanyalar size frsatlar sunmaktadr. Daha cok kazanma ihtimalinizi arttran bu bonuslar daha cesur olmanza da dogrudan etki edecektir. Nitekim bonuslar sitelerin cekiciligini ve avantajlarn arttrmaktadr. En cok kazandran canl bahis siteleri bedava bonuslar ve kampanyalar icin http://www.milano2018.com/canli-bahis-siteleri-2022/ linkinden yardm alabilirsiniz. Hos geldin bonusu ile baslayan ve sonrasnda para yatrdkca bonus veren cok sayda site bulunmaktadr. Canl bahis bonusu veren siteler yeni uyelere sunduklar frsatlar farkl kampanyalarla mevcut uyelerine de sunmaktadrlar. Hali hazrda siteyi kullananlarn da bonus frsatlarndan yararlanmalar icin donemsel kampanyalar olusturmaktadrlar. Boylece baska sitelere gidisler olmayacag gibi site de daha keyifli zaman gecirmek mumkun klnmaktadr. Bu tur eklentiler yapan sitelerde musteri memnuniyeti daha fazladr. Bahis siteleri ozellik ve uygulama bakmndan farkllklar bunyelerinde bulundurmaktadrlar. Verilen bonuslarn olusturulmas ve kullanclar aktarlmasnda yatrlan para miktarlar belirleyici olmaktadr. 1.000 TL yatran bir kullanc yuzde 20 bonus frsat olan bir kampanyadan 200 TL bonus kazanabilmektedir. Yatracag tutar 10.000 TL oldugunda bu bonustutar 2.000 TL olabilmektedir. Gerceklesen ve uygulanan esaslar tamamen donemsel olarak yaplan kampanyalarla alakaldr. Iyi Canl bahis siteleri bonuslar ve kampanyalar icin sitelerin vermis oldugu oranlar takip edebilirsiniz. Canl Bahis Siteleri Para Yatrma Online Canl bahis yapacaklarn merak ettigi konulardan bir digeri de para yatrma islemleridir. Oldukca onemli olan bu konuda hata yapmamak cok onemlidir. Canl bahis sitelerine para yatrma islemi sanlann aksine son derece basittir. Oldukca basit ve uygulama esas dogru etki olusturan bu yapda sizde islemi rahatca tamamlayabilirsiniz. Para yatrma konusunda su yolu izleyebilirsiniz. Guvendiginiz ve herhangi bir sekilde aklnzda soru isareti kalmayan bahis sitesine uye olmanz gerekmektedir. Uyelik islemini sorunsuz sekilde tamamladktan sonra para yatrma islemine gecebilirsiniz. Kullanacagnz siteye uye olduktan sonra karsnza kullanc ad ve sifresini gireceginiz yer gelecektir. Buraya giris yaptktan sonra site icerisine islemlere devam edebilirsiniz. Sitede yer alan para yatrma sekmesine tklayp sonrasnda karsnza gelen sayfay inceleyebilirsiniz. Para yatrma bolumunde yer alan ksma ne kadar para yatracagnz yazp devam tusuna basmalsnz. Yatrmak istediginiz tutar girip sonrasnda da devam tusuna bastktan sonra karsnza kart bilgilerinizi gireceginiz sayfa gelecektir. Kredi kart kullanarak para gondermek isteyenlerin tercih ettigi bu sayfa tum bilgiler girilip islem onaylanmaldr. Canl bahis sitelerine para yatrma islemini gerceklestirmek icin hesaba havale secenegini de kullanabilirsiniz. Site icerisinde musteri hizmetleri ile iletisime gecerek banka hesap numaralarn ogrenebilirsiniz. Belirtilen IBAN numarasna istediginiz tutar havale edebilirsiniz. Havale ederken acklama ksmna yazlacak bilgilere dikkat etmelisiniz. Kredi kart veya banka havalesi ile gerceklesen para yatrma islemi sonucunda site hesabnzdan bakiyenize bakabilirsiniz. Bakiyenize gore dilediginiz sekilde bahislerinizi gerceklestirebilirsiniz. Canl Bahis Siteleri Para Cekme Canl bahiste dogru hamleler ve dogru tahminler sonucunda kazandgnz bedeli geri almak isteyebilirsiniz. Kazanclarnz istediginiz banka hesabnza cekebilmek icin uymanz gereken kurallar soz konusudur. Oncelikle bahis sitelerinden para cekebilmeniz icin uye olurken dogru bilgi paylasmnda bulunmanz gerektigidir. Cunku canl bahis sitelerinden para cekme islemi icin kullanc hesab ile talep edilen banka hesap bilgilerinin ortusmesi gerekir. Yani uye olurken verilen bilgi ile banka hesab kime ait ise o bilgiler ayn olmaldr. Bu uygulama sitenin hem kullancsn hem de kendisini guvene alma politikasdr. Ayrca frsatclarn onune gecerek yeni bir uye olusumunun da onune gecmek amac gutmektedir. Uye olan kisi farkl para cekilme talebi verilen hesap farkl oldugunda para cekme islemi gerceklesmeyecektir. Bahisleriniz sonucunda kazanc elde edebilir ve bu kazancnz da hakknz olarak almak isteyebilirsiniz. Burada son derece basit uygulama soz konusu olurken siteler aras farkl gorunumler soz konusu olabilir. Fakat yine de tum sitelerde uyenin site icerisinde para cekme bolumune girmesi yeterlidir. Burada cekilecek olan tutarn belirlenmesi ve hesap numarasnn girilmesi ile birlikte islem onay gerekecektir. Para cekme taleplerinde sizden gerekli bilgiler istenmekte ve havale islemi istenilen bilgiler esliginde yurutulmektedir. Dogru bilgi paylasmak sorunsuz para cekebilmeniz en onemli kuraldr. Istenilen bilgiler girildikten sonra site sorumlular gerekli kontrolleri yapp herhangi bir sorun yoksa ksa surede hesabnza gerekli paray aktaracaklardr. Canl Bahis Sitelerinden Para Cekmek Icin Istenen Belgeler Bahis sitelerine uye olduktan sonra baz kullanclar para cekme taleplerinin karslanmadg konusunda sikayetlerde bulunmuslardr. Bu sikayetlersektorde uzun zamandr bulunan guvenilir bahis siteleri de yer almaktadr. Fakat sikayetlerin dayanaklarna bakldgnda ise islerin tamamen farkl oldugu gorulmektedir. Yasanan bu durum kullanclarn hatal bilgi girmesi ve uyelik bilgileri ile banka bilgilerinin uyusmamas ile dogru orantldr. Birde canl bahis para cekmek icin istenen belgeler eksik ya da hatal olarak sunulmus olabilir. Ortaya ckan karsklar neticesinde para cekme talebinde bulunan kisi istedigini alamadg icin sikayetci olmaktadr. Oysa ki istenilen bilgiler dogru ve istenilen evraklar eksiksiz sunulsa para cekme islemi sorunsuz olacak. Sitelerin para cekme konusunda dikkatli hareket etmesi hilelerin ve illegal faaliyetlerin onune gecmek adnadr. Cunku baz kullanclar farkl bilgiler vererek ikinci hesap acabilmektedirler. Bazen de bilincsizce hatal bilgi girilebilmektedir. Hatal islemlerin cozumu konusunda islem yaptgnz sitenin musteri temsilcileri ile gorusebilirsiniz. Talepleriniz dogrultusunda para cekme islemlerinde ki sorunlar giderilecektir. Canl bahis para cekmek icin istenen belgeler listesi su sekildedir; Kullanc bilgileri ile banka bilgilerini karslastrmak icin kimlik fotokopisi Banka hesap bilgileri Ikametgah ve kisiye ait herhangi bir fatura. Kacak Iddaa Turkiyede dogrudan bahis yapmak icin resmi kanallar kullanlabilmektedir. Fakat tercih edilen ve oran olarak cok daha fazla frsatlar sunan kacar iddaasiteleri bulunmaktadr. Bu siteler kanunlara aykr sekilde yaplmakta olup, yasal bir dayanag yoktur. Elbette bu sitelerin kurulus merkezi Turkiye olmayp, ds ulkelerdedir ve faaliyetler belirlenen siteler uzerinden yaplmaktadr. Kacak Iddaa oldukca riskli olup, cok dikkatli olunmas gerekir. Kacak Bahis Kanunlar cercevesinde istediginiz gibi bahis yapamayabilirsiniz. Bahis yapabilmek icin ya kanuni olarak sorun olmayan ulke dsnda ki kumarhanelere gitmeniz veya kacak bahis sitelerinden islem yapabilirsiniz. Zira bu durum tehlikeli olsa da cok sayda site guvenli sekilde bu alanda hizmet vermektedir. Kacak bahiste oldukca fazla secenek bulunurken yuksek oranda kazanc sunuyor olmas da ragbeti arttryor. Illegal Bahis Bahisin bircok alanda yasak oldugu Turkiyede bu alanda cok sayda yabanc merkezli siteler hizmet vermektedir. Illegal bahis sektorunde faaliyet gosteren siteler guvenli hizmet anlays ile kullanclarna frsatlar sunmaktadr. Yurt ds merkezli bu siteler sorunsuz sekilde hizmetlerini surdururken bulunduklar ulkelerde kanunlara uygun sekildedir. Elbette faaliyet noktasnda bulunduklar ulkelerde sorun teskil etmese de Turkiyede faaliyet gostermeleri kanunin yasaklanmstr. Yasads Bahis Gerek olusturulan etkenler gerekse de ortaya konulan riskler yasads bahis de oldukca tehlikelidir. Kanunlarn mudahil olduklar bu alanlar da hem kullanclar hem de populer bahis yaptranlar tum riskleri goze almaktadrlar. Fakat yasaklardan uzak sekilde guvenli hizmet sunan siteler de bulunmaktadr. Takipler neticesinde kapatlan sitelerin muhakkak alternatifleri kurularak yollarna devam etmektedirler. Canl Iddaa Siteleri Nelerdir? Dunya genelinde kabul gormus cok sayda guvenli hizmet veren populer bahis siteleri bulunmaktadr. Elbette bu siteler dunyann bircok ulkesinde faaliyet gosterse de Turkiyede yasaktr. Sektorde yer alan cok sayda legal iddaa siteleri bulunmaktadr. Herhangi bir kanunsuzlugun olmadg bu sitelerden hzl ve guvenli islem yaplabilmektedir. Tabi bu sitelerde uygulanan oranlar yasal olmayan sitelere gore daha dusuktur. Illegal sitelerin tercih edilme sebeplerinin en onemli etkeni de olusturulan oranlardr. Peki, Iddaa siteleri nelerdir? Faaliyetleri ve uygulama esaslar nelerdir? Turkiyede faaliyet gosteren yasal iddaa siteleri listesi su sekildedir; Iddaa Bilyoner Tuttur Birebin Oley Nesine Misli Iddaa 2004 ylnda hizmet vermeye baslayan Iddaa Spor toto tarafndan kurulmus olup, ilk etapta bayilik seklinde calsmaya baslamstr. Elbette zamanla gelisen teknolojiye ayak uydurarak internet uzerinde de populer bahis severlerin hizmetine sunulmustur. Kuruldugu donemde devletin resmi kurumu olarak faaliyet gosterirken gelinen yeni donemde ozellestirilmistir. Bilyoner Turkiyede faaliyetine 2006 ylnda baslayan Bilyoner ilk ozel yasal bahis sitesi olma ozelligine sahiptir. Guvenilir bahis siteleri Turkiyede bunlardr. Ksa surede populer olan site halen faaliyetlerini sorunsuz sekilde surdurmektedir. Tuttur Ksa surede adndan bahsettirmeyi basaran Tuttur 2009 ylnda faaliyetlere baslamstr. Guvenilir bahis siteleri arasnda yerini almstr. Gunumuze dek bircok alanda populer bahis yapanlara frsatlar sunarken avantajlar ile de begeni toplamstr. Birebin Kullanc odakl calsmalar surdurse de 2011 ylnda sektore giren Birebindiger sitelere gore daha az ragbet gormektedir. Bahis oynamak ise bu sitede oldukca kolaydr. Elbette farkl yaklasmlara sahip olmasndan dolay ilerleyen sureclerde adndan sklkla bahsettirecek gibi gorunuyor. Oley 2009 ylnda Dogus yayn gruplarnn istiraki olarak kurulmus olup yasal olarak herhangi bir sorunu olmayan sitelerdendir. Bahis siteleri arasnda hzl cks yapms bir sitedir. Oley yapms oldugu yenilikler ile kullanclarn da dikkatini ksa surede cekmeyi basarmstr. Nesine Birbirini takip eden surecte Nesine de yine 2006 ylnda hizmet vermeye baslamstr. Yasal bahis siteleri arasnda yerini almay basaran firma ksa surede sevilen ve ragbet goren bir site olmustur. Misli 2009 ylnda sektore cok hzl giris yapan Misli cok sayda reklam filmi ile on plana ckmay basarmstr. Internet uzerinden hem yasal hem de sorunsuz hizmet veren bahis sitelerinden bir tanesi olmustur. Canl Bahis Siteleri Kayt ve Uyelik Islemleri Her zaman populerligini koruyan ve surekli gelisim gosteren canl bahis gun gectikce daha da gucleniyor. Bahis oynamak icin ise sitelere uye olunmas gerekir. Yuksek getirisi ve begeni toplayan faaliyetleri ile cok sayda site bu alanda faaliyet gostermektedir. Elbette sorunsuz sekilde uye olmanz ve faaliyetler gostermeniz de oldukca kolaydr. Canl bahis siteleri kayt ve uyelik islemleri dakikalar icerisinde gerceklestirilecek yapya sahiptir. Uye olacagnz siteyi belirledikten sonra siteye girmeniz gerekmektedir. Girdiginiz sitenin ana sayfasnda uye ol ya da kayt ol bolumu bulunacaktr. Siteler arasnda degiskenlik gosteren bu alanda temel unsurlar bulunmaktadr. Elbette farkllklar olsa da temelinde benzer bilgiler uye olmak isteyen kisilerden talep edilmektedir. Uye ol bolumune tkladktan sonra karsnza uyelik bilgi formu ckacaktr. Bu formda sizin kim oldugunuzu ogrenmek ve sitenin guvenligini saglamak adna islemler yaplmaktadr. Uyelik formunda yer alan ad soyad bolumunu eksiksiz ve dogru sekilde doldurmalsnz. Sizden bu formda istenen bilgilerin tamamn girmeniz istenecektir. Istenen bilgiler mutlaka dogru ve eksiksiz sekilde olmaldr. Eksik veya hatal bilgi uyelik islemlerinde sorun teskil edebilir. Yine de yanls bilgi girisine ragmen uyelik islemleri tamamlanabilir. Fakat boyle bir yol izleyenler sonrasnda buyuk skntlarla karslasabilirler. Bu skntlarn basnda da para cekme islemlerinde yasanan sorunlardr. Uyelik islemleri dikkatli ve ozenle doldurulmas gereken yapdadr. Canl bahis siteleri kayt ve uyelik islemleri gerceklestirilirken verilen bilgiler site yonetimi tarafndan muhafaza edilmektedir. Herhangi bir sekilde 3. Sahslarla paylaslmas gibi bir durum soz konusu degildir. Bu faaliyetleri surduren sitelerin guven unsurlar arasnda bu nokta onceliklidir. Bahis sitelerine uye olurken hatal bilgi paylasmnda bulunmak size faydadan cok zarar verecektir. Diyelim ki bilgileri hatal girdiniz ve uyelik onayland. Uyelik tamamlandktan sonra siteye para yatrdnz ve kazanc elde ettiniz. Kazancnz sonrasnda hesabnza almak istediginizde karsnza banka bilgileri bolumu gelecektir. Para cekme talebi gerceklestikten sonra site uyelik bilgileri ile banka hesap bilgileri ortusmez ise paranz alamazsnz. Boyle bir durumla karslasmamak adna bu hususa ayrca dikkat etmelisiniz. Mar 1, 2016 | By Kira Just one month after announcing its first industrial SLA 3D printer, the Riverbase500, Chinas Zuhai CTC Electronic has secured a record-size order from UK-based Greenwich Planet Co. Ltd, which has requested 30 of these new industrial machines for its professional creative and design services. The Riverside500, which was released just before the Chinese New Year, is a large-format SLA 3D printer that integrates CTC Electronics proprietary RIVERSIDE operation system, which delivers printing speeds of up to 21 meters per second. It also features an advanced support system with excellent post-processing capacities for meeting the demands of high-efficiency among industry-grade customers. According to the company, with a printing volume of 500 x 400 x 400mm, the Riverside500 is an ideal choice for model making and proofing. Apparently, Greenwich Planet thoroughly agrees, as evidenced by their order of 30 brand new machines. The order also represented an opportunity for the UK company, headquarter in London, to initiate a closer bond with the Chinese company, which has proven to be one of the fastest-growing 3D printer manufactures on the market. We are delighted in having established a closer relationship with China's CTC. Given the growth in desktop distribution of the beta test version of the Riverbase500 over the past two and a half years, the device is considered the best product on the market, said Raphe J Junea, Greenwich Planet CEO. The fact that our home-grown printer has been selected by a customer well outside of our home market represents a recognition of CTC's technology and overall ability, as well as a milestone in the entry of China's advanced products into international markets, added Yang Xioating, CTCs operations manager. The Riverside500 industrial SLA 3D printer is currently price at 690,000 yuan (roughly US$105,400). In addition to its new entry to the industrial 3D printer market, CTC Electronic is also widely recognized within the industry for manufacturing the affordable Riverside desktop SLA 3D printer, as well as the follow-up Riverside 2 3D printer, and RiverOS 1.0 operating system. CTC Electronic is also the operator of the largest 3D printer factory in China, which opened in 2014. While this record-size order is no doubt the best possible way to start off the New Year, Greenwich Planets request also took CTC Electronic by surprise. Mr. Yang said that the unexpected order has surpassed the companys current capacity, and will only be delivered in three months time at the earliest. Despite the unfortunate timeline, todays news marks a very important and promising step for the Chinese 3D printer manufacturer, and no doubt signals a successful year to come. Posted in 3D Printer Company Maybe you also like: Mar 1, 2016 | By Alec Few industries have been pushing the 3D printing envelope as much as the aerospace sector, but its by no means restricted to NASA and SpaceX though they are achieving much. Back in September 2015, a partially 3D printed Chinese satellite was successfully launched, and now a student-made Russian satellite called the Tomsk-TPU-120 is about to follow. As the Tomsk Polytechnic University revealed, the first Russian-made 3D printed nano-satellite (based on the CubeSat) will be sent up to the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of March, from which it will be launched during a spacewalk. This is the first time a Russian-made 3D printed satellite will be taken into operation. According to the information services of the Tomsk Polytechnic University, it is mostly a test subject. The Tomsk-TPU-120 satellite has been made with a number of new materials, and of course a new manufacturing process, and will be used to test research models for the Universitys Institute of Strength Physics and Materials Science. Packed with sensors, it will record the temperature fluctuations on board the satellite and track exactly how the batteries, parts and electronics function. All that data is to be sent to earth in real time, enabling scientists to learn more about spacecraft manufacturing and help the students optimize small satellite design. It will even, they say, be used to decide on small spacecraft manufacturing plans for the future. To realize these ambitious plans, the Tomsk-TPU-120 satellite is to be launched on 31 March, and will be in operation in space for about six months. ISS astronauts will unleash it during a spacewalk, after which the satellite will start to orbit at around 400 kilometers. This is the first 3D printed satellite shell, showing that 3D printing technology has created a breakthrough for manufacturing small satellites, making them more massive and convenient, they said. The final preparations for the 3D printed satellite are currently taking place, before it will be shipped to the Baikonur launch site in the deserts of Kazakhstan. Designed through a collaboration with various Russian institutes that are working on small robotized aircrafts (weighing anywhere from 1.5 to 20 kg), twenty students have been working on this important satellite since 2014. This little satellite is just 300 x 100 x 100 mm in size. Based on standardized CubeSat, it cant contain any detachable parts, explosives or pressured tanks its just slightly larger than a CubeSat. Those changes allowed us to place in the satellite a new motor-flywheel, which was developed in TSU. Moreover, in cooperation with the Tomsk Institute of High Current Electronics the guys [solved] the problem of implantation of ion-plasma engine, which will allow us to give it motion impulses not only in orbit, but also in space, into CubeSat, said Valeriy Borisov, head of TPUs Department of Precise Instrument Engineering. The inside of the 3D printed cube is basically a thick sandwich of electronic board layers, and is filled with batteries and sensors, and also featuring solar batteries. The basic orientation of the device is performed by the magnetic field of the Earth and we have two additional elements the motor-flywheel and the ion-plasma engine, explains TPU student Evgeniy Tarakanets. In other words, we use an active orientation system, which is usually used in large spacecraft, and we can direct our satellite remotely to the necessary point. Two important elements of this futuristic satellite have been 3D printed: the lightweight plastic container and the ceramic battery packs, revealed Alexey Yakovlev, the director of the High Tech Physics Institute. The team had to meet several conditions in terms of strength, density and more, and reportedly met all of them with the help of 3D printing. An important role was played by the ceramic layer, which not only protects the battery pack but also shields it from the suns damaging heat while absorbing enough to maintain a constant temperature when in the shadow side of the earth. Incidentally, theres also another, festive, reason for this launch. In May 2016, Tomsk Polytechnic University will celebrate its 120th anniversary, while it will have been 55 years since the first manned flight into space took place To coincide with those events, the university students have programmed the satellite to transmit greetings to the planets inhabitants in ten different languages: Russian, English, German, French, Chinese, Arabic, Tatar, Indian, Kazakh and Portuguese. According to the university, the message will celebrate that technological and aerospace history, and wish peace and happiness to all the people of the world. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: Today we are welcoming Jacqui Saldana to the blog! Jacquis story is so heartfelt and inspiring. Before her son, Ryan, tragically passed away two years ago, she created her blog Baby Boy Bakery to share stories of motherhood and kid-friendly recipes that she made with him. Since then, Jacqui has dedicated her blog to the special times she had with Ryan in many ways, like creating monthly recipe kits that you can use to teach your children how to cook while making special memories. Her daughter, Mila, was born last month (congratulations!!), and were so excited to share her nursery tour with you. Bookcase/The Land of Nod Doll/Hazel Village I worked with The Land Of Nod to create the perfect space where my little girl, Mila, and I could spend time and grow within. When I started the design process with The Land of Nod design team, I started with thoughts of hope for Mila rather than colors or furniture pieces. I wanted what I hoped and imagined for my baby and her future to guide me in the process of creating her space. I began with how I imagine my daughterunique, soft and subtle with bright streams of wild running through her. From there I decided on bright pops of color set on a backdrop of light and neutral color with wild gold highlights throughout. To carry out the unique element, I settled on this fun green colored crib first and the rest of the furniture fell into place around it. Another gorgeous focal point in the nursery is this fantastic watercolor print. I thought the pink artwork went well alongside the green crib. We had it framed without glass since it was being placed above the crib. The artwork to me is beautifully soft but still makes a fiercely strong statement. Two things I hope my daughter portrays in the future. Pop Up Greens brought in a tall fiddle leaf fig tree and small succulent in a hand painted moon pot. I also added a snake plant I planted in a basket last year and a tiny cactus I bought at a craft fair. We have definitely accumulated a bunch of beautiful little lady clothes. One thing I like to do is display a few special baby clothes. In Ryans nursery, I displayed the outfit he came home from the hospital in. In baby girls nursery, I decided to display deliciously girly green dress by Little Minis and comfy cute sweater by Geo Fox Apparel. Baby shoes/Zuzii Even though Mila wont be able to play inside her teepee just yet, I thought it would be a perfectly fun element to add to her nursery. This beautiful lace teepee with colorful pom pom garland adds a touch of whimsy and I cant wait to see how she plays amongst it. Right now it sits pretty with a mini gold lounge chair and a handmade dolly waiting to be played with. I also added tiny lights inside for fun nighttime story reading. Frames/The Land of Nod The most important thing for me was to find ways to incorporate my son, Ryan, into his little sisters nursery. We decided on a gallery wall displaying a few of his art pieces. There are three art pieces Ryan created in the last months he was at preschoola purple jellyfish made from his small handprint, a bright yellow flying bird and a joyous basket of flowers. The large framed piece is a compilation of artwork Ryan and I did together usually during our craft times on the weekend or before dinner. Now that they are hung, I sometimes go into the nursery and just sit and look at his artwork. I like to think of his tiny hands hard at work creating. I like to think he knew who he was creating these art pieces for. He definitely knew, those flowers were for his little sister. My son Ryan and I spent a lot of time at Disneyland. It was a our favorite place. I decided to subtly display Ryans Micky Mouse ears in the bookcase underneath the window. On Ryans 5th birthday last year, I was about 6 months pregnant. We went to Disneyland to celebrate, and while there, we decided to get Little Sister Micky Mouse ears. They are now displayed on the white and gold shelves above the changing table. I hope to share memorable moments at Disneyland with this little miss soon. You can see how I displayed my hopes for my daughter and our future together with the pieces in her nursery. In my Milas nursery, everything tells a story of what was or what will be. I am thrilled to bring her inside and tell her stories of the past and dream together for her future. Thanks for sharing this special room with us! You can find more of Jacqui on her blog Baby Boy Bakery and Instagram. xo. Credits // Author: Jacqui Saldana. Photography: Megan Welker. Triton Minerals Limited (ASX:TON) is an ASX listed, responsible mineral explorer and resource management company headquartered in Perth, Australia. Led by a highly experienced management team, Triton Minerals' vision is to grow shareholder's value through discovery or development of base metal, gold and other precious metal deposits. Triton has made excellent progress with its three Graphite projects located in the Cabo Delgado Province in Mozambique, with the program successfully identifying a number of graphitic exposures. It is the Company's belief that the Mozambique, Balama North Project could host multiple and very substantial world class graphite deposits. Half Yearly Report and Accounts Perth, Feb 29, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Over the half year period to 31 December 2015, Yonder & Beyond Group Ltd ( ASX:YNB )continued to increase its involvement within its portfolio companies and identify and introduce synergies across the group, resulting in increased sales, revenue and customer acquisition, when compared to the previous 6 month period and the same period in 2014. Cash Receipts On 31 December YNB announced that CEO Shashi Fernando had committed a further $1m in funds via issue of a draw down convertible note to the company. Partnerships Partnerships have, and will continue to be, a key element of the portfolio companies marketing and growth strategies. During the period the following key partnerships were established: Gophr x Beats: In December, Gophr partnered with renowned music brand, Beats by Dr Dre to be their official delivery provider. Boppl x Epos Now: With over 10,000 venues in the UK, Epos Now is a leader in cloud POS technology. This partnership allows for Boppl to be available in every Epos Now venue. MeU mobile x Student Edge: Australia's largest student member organisation with over 750,000 members. MeU has partnered with Student Edge to provide exclusive deals to members. Asset Valuations As YNB is the controlling entity for a number of its investee companies, Accounting Standards require that the company consolidate the income and expenditure of the businesses, and take up the assets and liabilities in the accounts of the parent as if they were their own. While investee companies have developed leading technology platforms, deployed their products, begun generating revenue and increased their customer numbers, which in the opinion of the directors demonstrates an increase in the value of the business. Accounting standards prohibit the recognition of internally generated goodwill in the financial statements, so any such increase in the valuation of the businesses cannot be recognized in the accounts. Outlook and Opportunities During the period the Company also brought in-house key capabilities and resources enabling it to develop its own bespoke technology based products and solutions for portfolio companies and others. This agency resource will design, develop and deploy client's technology products and services and is expected to be revenue generative in the coming period. The company's outlook continues to be positive, with a number of assets operating in fast growing sectors continuing to develop and gain ground on a daily basis. 2016 will see YNB's assets continue to focus on growing their market share and growing their revenue base. Full commentary on the results for the reporting period can be found in the Director's Report and the consolidated financial statements for the half-year ended 31 December 2015. To view the report, please visit: http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-YNB-754584.pdf About Yonder & Beyond Group Ltd Yonder & Beyond Group Ltd (Y&B) (ASX:YNB) is a portfolio of synergistic technology assets with a focus on mobile businesses. These include Gophr, Boppl, Prism Digital, PlayMeet and MeU Mobile. Yonder & Beyond's strategy is to identify and develop disruptive applications with high commercialisation and scalability potential. Yonder & Beyond equip startups with vital capabilities beyond capital. Our philosophy is to invest in people, as well as invest in their business, so they can both grow and succeed. We are dedicated to contributing to the development of businesses through our resources, experience and relationships. Distribution of company announcements to the professional platforms, finance portals and syndication of important corporate news to a wide variety of news aggregators and financial news systems. Appendix 4D and Half Year Accounts Sydney, Feb 29, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - KBL Mining Ltd ( ASX:KBL ) present their report, together with the financial statements, on the consolidated entity consisting of KBL Mining Limited (referred to hereafter as the 'company' or 'KBL') and the entities it controlled for the half-year ended 31 December 2015. Principal activities During the half-year the principal continuing activities of the consolidated entity consisted of mineral exploration, resource development and mining in Australia. Review of operations The loss for the consolidated entity after providing for income tax amounted to $10,186,613 (31 December 2014: loss of $5,378,006). There were a number of highs and lows for KBL in the half year. The highs were; 1. The development and commencement of mining of the Pearse orebody 2. The construction of the CIL plant neared completion The lows were; 1. Underground production did not meet grade targets due to low levels of advance drilling and development resulting in poor mining practices 2. The CIL plant was over budget and delayed As a result of the above the company was in a difficult financial position at period end. This was made even more challenging as the CIL plants initial performance was significantly lower than planned. As a result of these challenges subsequent to period end the board has made management changes as well as entering into arrangements with key suppliers to delay repayment of amounts outstanding. This delay will assist in being able to settle amounts outstanding to suppliers with smaller amounts outstanding in a shorter period of time. Also subsequent to the end of the period, the company has arranged the installation of a greater capacity filter to increase production through the floatation circuit as well as completion of the installation of a carbon regeneration kiln which will improve recovery from the CIL circuit. Despite these improvements, production is not expected to fully reach targeted performance levels; however the company believes it will still generate a very healthy return from the high grade Pearse orebody. It is anticipated that this projected return will enable the repayment of outstanding suppliers as well as generating cash to continue to explore for further high-grade surface deposits (such as the recently announced Pearse North zone) and further exploring and developing the large Mineral Hill underground resource. To view the report, please visit: http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-KBL-754622.pdf About KBL Mining Ltd KBL Mining Ltd (ASX:KBL) is an Australian resource Company listed on the ASX with a focus on producing precious and base metals. KBL's main assets include the Mineral Hill copper-gold-silver-lead-zinc mine near Condobolin in New South Wales and Sorby Hills lead-silver-zinc project in Western Australia. The Company has been operating the refurbished processing plant at Mineral Hill since October 2011 to produce copper-gold concentrates and in 2013 commenced producing a separate lead-silver concentrate. Sorby Hills (KBL holds 75% with Henan Yuguang Gold & Lead Co. Ltd (HYG&L) holding 25%) is a large near surface undeveloped silver-lead deposit close to port infrastructure and a short distance from Asian markets. To Accelerate its Focus on Becoming a Graphite Concentrate Producer Perth, Mar 1, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Triton Minerals Ltd ( ASX:TON ) (Triton or the Company) will look to accelerate its focus on becoming a graphite concentrate producer of global significance over the next 12 months, underpinned by its world-class graphite assets in Mozambique. During 2016 Triton will aim to progress the Ancuabe Project (Ancuabe) toward early stage mining as an economically robust operation. Based on exploration programs undertaken to date, Ancuabe is expected to offer a reliable and sustainable source of premium flake graphite and has the added benefit of attracting high basket price margins and low capital expenditure, complemented by the availability of nearby infrastructure. Initial flotation test work of Ancuabe material has returned some of the highest concentrations of jumbo and super jumbo flake graphite ever recorded from East Africa, with more than 72% of flake size >300 micron (m) and 43% in the category of >500m, at grades of more than 98% Total Graphitic Carbon (TGC). Triton CEO and Managing Director, Garth Higgo, stated "Although only around 10% of the Ancuabe tenements have been explored so far, the initial drilling results and metallurgical test work results are extremely positive. The significance of these results indicates that Ancuabe has the potential, subject to additional work, to clearly differentiate Triton from all other graphite development projects. In comparison with other East African graphite projects with deposits in the jumbo and super jumbo graphite flake category, and given the premium prices that high purity super jumbo can attract, the investment and development opportunity for Ancuabe is compelling." Due to its close proximity to the natural deep water port at the city of Pemba, along with its operating container shipping facility, Triton believes Ancuabe is well placed for a rapid progression to a mining viable operation. Mr Higgo, said: "Triton is currently assessing potential options to support the necessary test work and drilling prior to committing to a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS). The management team's solid project development experience in Africa along with targeted exploration positions Triton well, and the team has already developed detailed budgets and deliverables for the 2016 exploration programs. After further resource definition work, Triton aims to publish an initial JORC resource as soon as possible. Triton intends that this will be followed with a Scoping Study to fast track the development of a scalable mining operation." Status of the Balama North Project In addition to Ancuabe, Triton is in the fortunate position of holding the world class Balama North Project (Balama North), which is located approximately 150km west from Ancuabe. Balama North encompasses the Nicanda Hill and Nicanda West flake graphite deposits. The discovery of the Nicanda West jumbo flake deposit in 2015 has led to a revised and expanded DFS. The Company has commissioned an independent technical review of the asset and the assessment of the Balama North development options, taking into account the growing potential of Ancuabe, which will continue through 2016. Mr Higgo, commented on the need for a fully independent review of Balama North, stating: "The independent technical review of the Balama North assets provides Triton with an opportunity to assess the in-situ value of the assets and development potential and options available to the Company going forward." Strategic Outlook Industry commentators on projected flake graphite value, forecast a rapid and growing increase in the sales price of jumbo and super jumbo flake sizes. Triton's strategic vision for its core business is to initially target the high margin jumbo and super jumbo market. The results of Ancuabe graphite test work indicate that the majority of flake exceeds 300 at flotation grades of >98%TGC and recoveries of more than 90%. As such Ancuabe is demonstrating the potential to become Triton's prime entry-level graphite operation that can be underpinned by the strong economics afforded by the premium nature of the graphite concentrate. Mr Higgo said Triton's graphite assets at Balama North and Ancuabe are world-class and that in 2016 the focus would primarily be on Ancuabe. "The quality of these assets and their prime location in Mozambique is what attracted me to join Triton. Mozambique is host to some of the world's best quality graphite mineralisation and is fast becoming an investment destination-of-choice for miners looking for early stage projects, as the Government and regulations are mining friendly and supportive. A lot has been achieved on Balama North and the Company is seeking to complete the DFS during 2016. I'm also very encouraged by the initial results coming from the drilling program at Ancuabe and considering the Company only started drilling on Ancuabe in mid-2015, I believe we have a winner here. As with all new mining ventures, the existing infrastructure support and logistics chain is vital to the viability of a mining operation. We are very fortunate in that Ancuabe is only 50km west of the Pemba deep-water port meaning that, based on location and available infrastructure, this project has obvious economic advantages to become a very low cost producer. Further planning and project selection is required regarding Ancuabe and in this regard the management team is already determining the next steps to advance to early mining as soon as possible. With the new senior management appointments, Triton now has access to very experienced mining executives who have designed, built and operated many mining operations in Africa from start-ups to major global mining multi-commodity operations. We are currently assessing all the risks and reviewing all options to move the Company forward in the most cost effective and time efficient manner." Grafex Limitada Joint Venture (Grafex) Triton currently owns 80% of Grafex in Mozambique, which holds the title to Triton's exploration tenements and has expended some US$5.2 million toward earning up to 90% of Grafex. Triton is currently in discussions with the remaining minority shareholder of Grafex concerning the timing and structure of the final US$1 million payment to move to full 90% ownership. Furthermore, terms are currently being discussed to move to 100% ownership of Grafex in the near future. Yichang Xincheng Graphite Co Ltd (YXGC) Joint Venture Subject to terms and conditions, Triton has two separate arrangements with YXGC, the first is a 100,000 tonne per annum concentrate offtake and the other for the co-funding and establishment of graphite processing facilities in China and Mozambique. In contrast to many other graphite concentrate offtake agreements which supply to traders, who then have to locate a suitable buyer and seek discounted terms, Triton's agreement contemplates delivery directly to YXGC, who are an end-user and a major manufacturer of high value expandable graphite products in China. The concentrate offtake agreement would be serviced from Triton mining developments and this, along with other offtake arrangements, would underpin the initial development phases. These offtakes will assist the market in understanding the quality of Triton graphite and are anticipated to form a base for Triton to establish its own well regarded brand of products. Mr Higgo, said: "Given the Company's decision to focus on moving Ancuabe toward mining as soon as possible, Triton has opened discussions with YXGC with a view to replacing the arrangements to establish a graphite manufacturing facility in China and Mozambique and is now seeking early technical and commissioning support from YXGC as well as potential Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) support of Triton's future scalable concentrate processing plant in Mozambique." AMG Graphit Kropfmuhl (AMG GK) Strategic Alliance The strategic alliance with AMG GK, a global leader in graphite manufacturing, has been very successful to-date and the two companies are working well together at both the project level and on corporate matters. There has been good cooperation in quantifying and qualifying the graphite occurrences within the Ancuabe area by joint geological work and the alliance is generating good results. AMG GK have intimate knowledge of the end markets and the quality of graphite sought by the various graphite manufacturers. The next phase of the strategic alliance is focused on seeking to negotiate a joint venture focused on mining development at Ancuabe, cooperation in processing, offtake and marketing. Mr Higgo, added: "The strategic alliance with AMG GK remains very important to Triton. In addition to being neighbours in the Ancuabe region, the importance of cooperating on regional infrastructure, labour markets, and the skills required to produce the correct grades of graphite concentrate for the end markets, should result in this being a company-making alliance for Triton." "I'm very encouraged by the level of cooperation between both company's project management teams and this good relationship extends to both company's CEO's. With Triton looking at accelerating its activities at Ancuabe, the close working relationship with AMG GK will be essential and we believe moving to the next phase of the strategic alliance and developing our JV arrangements will be an important next step." Growth Focus With a new and clearly defined growth and development strategy and key management appointments, Triton is well poised to advance the Company's projects towards production as soon as possible. The overriding focus is to attract long-term stakeholders that share Trion's vision of supplying raw materials into current and future markets and technologies that are reliant on premium quality flake graphite. To view figures, please visit: http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-TON-754724.pdf About Triton Minerals Ltd Triton Minerals Limited (ASX:TON) is an ASX listed, responsible mineral explorer and resource management company headquartered in Perth, Australia. Led by a highly experienced management team, Triton Minerals' vision is to grow shareholder's value through discovery or development of base metal, gold and other precious metal deposits. Triton has made excellent progress with its three Graphite projects located in the Cabo Delgado Province in Mozambique, with the program successfully identifying a number of graphitic exposures. It is the Company's belief that the Mozambique, Balama North Project could host multiple and very substantial world class graphite deposits. Small business hiring increased in February, according to payroll giant Paychex, following a gain in January. The Paychex | IHS Small Business Jobs Index, which Paychex releases every month with the research firm IHS, stood at 100.75. The Mountain region remains the top-performing part of the country in the index, while Washington retains the top spot among states for the second consecutive month. Dallas maintained its top ranking among metropolitan areas, while Seattle holds second place with another strong month. Other Services (except Public Administration), as defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ranked as the top industry sector, followed by construction, which had the best one-month growth rate among the various industry sectors. Weve seen a pretty good increase the past two months, and over the last three months the index is up 0.33 percent, said Paychex president and CEO Martin Mucci. That basically wipes out all of the decrease we saw in the job growth rate during the last part of 2015. Seven out of nine regions of the U.S. showed positive job gains over the past month, he noted, and in 16 out of 20 states, the improvements were broad based among industries. The Mountain region continues to hold the lead among regions, with an index level of 101.94, up 0.79 percent year-over-year. Following the Mountain region, the top-ranked regions are all three southern regions and the Pacific, consistent with the strong general job growth in 2015-2016 in the Sun Belt. With strong gains in recent months, the South Atlantic region is up 0.58 percent from November, the fastest three-month growth rate since 2012. The West North Central is now the lowest ranked region at 99.93, and also had the lowest one-month and 12-month growth rates, probably due to declining oil prices. Texas gained 0.21 percent from January to February on the index, yet still managed to drop two spots to fourth place among states due to strong gains in Tennessee and Florida. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Tennessee and Florida ended 2015 with very strong gains in terms of total jobs. At 103.52, Washington experienced a one-month increase of 0.36 percent in February and remains the top-ranked state index. After falling below 99 in November 2015, Virginia has shown positive growth for four straight months and is back over 100 for the first time since June 2015. While a majority of states started 2016 with positive growth rates, employment gains in Massachusetts slowed further in February as its index fell below 100. Washington State is very strong, and were seeing the best improvement in the southern corner of the country, said Mucci. The state of Florida moved up as well as Tennessee, and youre seeing places like Miami and Tampa Bay be strong. Seattle had a one-month gain of 0.50 percent in February and remains in second place among metropolitan areas at 103.58. Still the top-ranked metro area, Dallas increased just 0.09 percent to 105.77 after the steep drop-off in January. Miami hit a new record pace of small business employment growth as its index increased 0.40 percent from the previous month to 102.21. New York City is up 1.25 percent during the past year and moved up to the 10th ranked metro area in February. The construction industry saw more employment gains in February, the fifth in the last six months, moving up 0.37 percent from January to 102.49. The education and health services sector ranks third among industries as its index climbed above 101 for the first time in two years. Other Services (except Public Administration) hit another new record high in February at 104.85 as small business employment growth continues to outpace other sectors. Manufacturing employment slowed 0.48 percent from the previous month as its index level fell to 98.99, the lowest among industries. Construction is up, particularly in the South, said Mucci. The values are coming back in housing. Leisure and hospitality is also up. Probably most of that is part-time work. Thats where were seeing the biggest increase, over 3 percent, over the last two years for the part-timers. Among the issues facing accountants and their small business clients are proposed increases in the minimum wage and regulations governing paid sick leave. For accountants, regulatory compliance continues to be a big issue that they can assist their small businesses with, said Mucci. A big bump in the minimum wage is being proposed in a number of cities and states and the federal government. Paid sick leave is a big issue that seems to be very hot right now. Accountants could help small businesses prepare for what it looks like if you hire now and the minimum wage goes up in your area, and what if you had to offer paid sick leave. These things seem to be gaining a lot of momentum. [IMGCAP(1)] Havas Media Group India has won the integrated media mandate of Brick Eagle Group,Indias leading financial services platform for the affordable housing. The account will be handled from the Havas Media Mumbai office. The expected size of the business is upwards of INR 20Cr. Speaking on the appointment, Rajesh Krishnan, Managing Director and CEO of Brick Eagle, said, India needs over 5 million affordable homes every year. We are investing in the affordable housing ecosystem and gearing up to deliver housing at scale. In this ambitious endeavour, we found Havas Media to be in sync with our vision and they charted an impressive strategic brand map. Their knowledge on the sector, passion and integrated media strengths have convinced us that we are with the best partners for growth. Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media Group, India and South Asia, said, We are very happy to add another innovative client to our kitty. The Brick Eagle team is poised to make a huge mark on the Indian business landscape as well as positively impact citizen lives. This is very much in line with our Meaningful Brands philosophy. We are delighted and privileged this is a great win for Havas Media and further strengthens our Mumbai operations. Mohit Joshi, Managing Director, Havas Media Group, India, explained, Our digital at the core and Meaningful Connections Planning philosophy has always impressed the client. This further consolidates our position in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Affordable housing is the need of the hour and we look forward to partnering with Brick Eagle to make a positive difference in peoples lives. Jet Airways Chief Financial Officer, Amit Agarwal is taking on the responsibility as Acting Chief Executive Officer effective March 1, 2016. He will function as Acting Chief Executive Officer in addition to his responsibilities as CFO of the Company, till the appointment of a new CEO. Mr. Agarwal joined Jet Airways in December 2015 and has more than 24 years of experience having held leadership positions in India, Europe and North America. Mr. Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways said: Amit will spearhead the Executive Management Committee of Jet Airways in delivering our strategic objectives. Jet Airways has made demonstrable progress towards achieving long-term sustainable profitability, having recorded three consecutive profitable quarters. Our business performance clearly demonstrates that our efforts are showing positive results. Earlier this month, Jet Airways announced record profits of INR 467 crores for the third quarter ending December 31, 2015, providing further evidence of the growing momentum of its turnaround programme. APAC's leading digital media technology brand Komli Media, now a part of India's SVG Media Group, today announced that it has renewed its partnership agreement with Twitter for India till March 2017. Komli signed this partnership for the first time with Twitter in 2012. Under the renewed agreement, Komli will continue to help Twitter expand its Promoted Products suite of advertising products and emphasise on the company's monetisation efforts. Komli would be reaching out to the huge Indian mid-market segment and help them target potential customers on Twitter giving them high life time value per customer and eventual return on investment. Manish Vij, Founder & CEO, SVG Media, said "These are exciting times for us to be in the digital and mobile marketing industry. The Indian market is growing and fast emerging as a significant opportunity distinct from the developed markets in the U.S and other geographies. Komli has delivered amazing results in past few years and we are absolutely confident about our success in the coming year too". Komli Media is driving Twitter advertisement campaigns for some of the biggest Indian brands including Levi's, Cathay Pacific, Zoomcar, Swiggy and Adani to count a few. Speaking about the development, Akshay Mathur, Senior Vice President, Komli Media said, "We are delighted to extend our partnership with Twitter, particularly at a time when social media usage in India is exploding and an unprecedented number of brands are investing in Twitter to reach out to their audiences. Through this partnership we are looking forward to delivering again on our commitment to create a long term value for Twitter in this region. This partnership also makes us the only player with a complete digital and mobile marketing portfolio and the partner of choice for marketers operating in this region." Aliza Knox, Vice President, Online Sales, Asia Pacific and Latin America, Twitter, said, "India is one of the fastest growing markets for Twitter worldwide and we are excited to announce the extension of our strategic business partnership with Komli locally. The partnership will provide additional on-ground support to Twitter's clients and prospects in India, working in parallel with our direct sales team, to strengthen Twitter's presence in the market." Twitter is betting big on revenue potential of a rapidly developing economy like India. As per a study undertaken by Ernst & Young dated 15th Feb 2016 on Social Media Marketing in India; 90% of the companies surveyed spent up to 15% of their annual marketing budgets exclusively on social media. Ashutosh Harbola, Head of Marketing, Blogmint, articulated, "It has almost been a year since I have been working with Team Komli, and I must admit they are the most professional lot of people I have ever come across. Right from the time when we were setting up our first campaign for Blogmint till we drove the necessary ROI, their effort has been remarkable. I wish the team loads of luck. I continue to nurture this relation with Komli (SVG Media) in my future journey as a marketer." (This feature is part of the "Through Airmen's Eyes" series. These stories focus on individual Airmen, highlighting their Air Force story.)From an early age, Airman 1st Class Shelby Bowling, a 350th Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, had an idea of what she wanted to do when she grew up."My dad is former Air Force, and I always wanted to be in the military at some point," Bowling said.It wasn't until midway through her time in college that life provided her an opportunity to take a chance."I was about halfway done with (my degree) and the school I was attending raised its tuition," said the Fairbanks, Alaska native. "I couldn't put myself into debt, so I took a couple months off."During her time off, Bowling revisited her childhood dream of joining the military and decided that it was either now or never. Her dad encouraged her to look into flying jobs as either a boom operator or a loadmaster."I knew what I wanted to do immediately," Bowling said. "I told the recruiter that I wanted to be a boom, and I got the job three weeks later."After basic military training, Bowling stayed at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, where she began her yearlong journey to become a boom operator in a flight fundamentals course. It was during this time she also found out she would be assigned to the KC-135 Stratotanker.Bowling received KC-135 specific training on the ins and outs of the aircraft down to the hydraulic and electric systems during the next several months after her flight fundamentals course.While she wasn't studying in the classroom, Bowling said she was busy in the simulator getting the hang of all the controls and learning how to refuel various aircraft in different conditions.After spending numerous hours practicing in the simulator, her instructors felt she was ready to try out her new in-flight refueling skills with real aircraft."It's mind-blowing, everything was going super fast," she said. "Now it's easy, and it's like second nature, but that first ride you're just blown away at everything that you have to do. I just remember being overwhelmed."Since then, this boom operator said she has come to love the entire aspect of aerial refueling and the adrenaline rush that comes with it. The excitement and motivation to do her job well has carried her through multiple deployments and TDYs in support of various contingencies around the world."It's the mobility," she said. "(Some aircraft) can't make it even half way across the country without us. You get to drag planes all across the world. Expanding our reach, I think is the most important."Her work ethic both in the office and on the aircraft doesn't go unnoticed."Bowling is a highly motivated, good attitude, hard-working boom operator and Airman," said Senior Airman Josh Garrett, a 350th ARS boom operator. "The Air Force needs more Airmen like her."Although her hard work may not always get her in the spotlight, Bowling said this might actually be the coolest aspect of her job."When people ask me what I do and I tell them that I refuel planes in the air, (a lot) of people don't know that exists," Bowling said. "I think that's the coolest part, doing a job that isn't really known or commonly talked about. It's exciting. There's no other job that I would want to do in the military." (This feature is part of the " Through Airmen's Eyes " series. These stories focus on individual Airmen, highlighting their Air Force story.)It was 1944 and the U.S. was in the midst of two battles -- a war on two sides of the world and the onslaught of cultural changes on the homefront.Meanwhile, a young African-American Soldier picked up trash on the white sandy beaches at Keesler Field, Mississippi. He had been briefed that although he was in the service and evidently may fight and die for his country, he could neither walk on this beach unless he was working nor could he swim here because it was for whites only.Now retired Maj. George Boyd, a 28-year combat veteran and Tuskegee Airman, will never forget the hypocrisy of that order. Boyd, now a resident of Wichita, Kansas, was part of the service during the transition from the Army Air Corps to the Air Force.Boyd served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He witnessed the roots of social equality shift within his country and his service; from the integration of the armed forces by President Harry S. Truman in 1948, to the Civil Rights movements of the 1960s.He recalled the era of segregation; from being refused service at local restaurants to witnessing police brutality in the streets outside the gates of his duty station."Most of the time you stayed in the culture that you knew because it was safe," Boyd explained. "It was easiest to operate within those limitations. You lived in a cultural fear. You were afraid of doing something that would get you harmed even though you aren't breaking the law."Boyd described some of these problems he and many other service members faced, such as not being promoted because they were African-American."They gave you a job, and you'd do the job, but instead of giving you the rating they gave everybody else, they'd give you just a (lower) rating," Boyd said. "Well you're not going to get promoted if they do that to you, especially if they have everybody else walking on water."Despite setbacks, the successes of African-Americans in service, like that exhibited by the Tuskegee Airmen, brought a positive light to the social struggles that inspired a push to utilize everyone's talents regardless of race."The greatest strength of our Airmen is their diversity," said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh. "Each of them comes from a different background, a different family experience and a different social experience. Each brings a different set of skills and a unique perspective to the team."The Air Force developed programs and policies to ensure equality within the service, such as equal opportunity, with the mission of breaking down social or institutional barriers within the workplace.As the government and the military put in place specific policies to prevent discrimination, society began to adjust and social changes happened gradually throughout the years."It's a whole lot better now because I think they are realizing people's potential," Boyd said. "That's a learning process and it takes some time. Cultural change takes place at your dinner table, in your home. The things you teach your children -- that's culture, that's where the change takes place."Boyd served for nearly three decades as both an enlisted Airman and a commissioned officer fulfilling in a variety of positions, including detachment and squadron commander, combat management engineer and all-weather jet fighter radar intercept officer."I went into the service with two years of high school and came out with two Ph.D.s," said Boyd in regards to education. "The Air Force has a lot of opportunities. I think it's so important."Boyd continues to share his knowledge with the community. He is currently a colonel in the U.S. Civil Air Patrol and recently retired command of the unit in Wichita. He spent many years promoting the importance of education and contributing to the development of youth within the local community.Fast forward 60 years after he cleaned that segregated beach in Mississippi, Boyd is standing in a luxury hotel near what is now Keesler Air Force Base. He is standing at the window, his gaze set upon a familiar beach.A young man once forbidden from even walking on this stretch of land because of his skin color, can now freely stroll the sandy beach in peace. He heads down to the water and takes pictures with his wife. A smile crosses his face as he realizes how far the country has progressed."This is the best country in the world, because in no other country do changes take place like they take place here," Boyd said . "I have a view on life that says we can do better, and we are doing better. Try your best, do your best and be the best you can be -- aim high." Exercise Alamo Shield provides life-saving training Airmen from the 433rd Airlift Wing conducted an eight-day training exercise to hone their skills and prepare in case they are called into action in a deployed environment. Alamo Sheild, held here and Camp Bullis Training Annex Feb. 22-29 is a comprehensive training exercise designed to deploy and exercise an aeromedical evacuation system in an initial urgent response scenario. This wartime, initial contingency mission centered on the fictitious country Biloxistan, where war has broken out by a rising insurgent power and the U.S. Military has been sent to assist the country. Camp Bullis' airfield served as the country of Biloxistan with different regions surrounding the flightline that simulated multiple locations down range. Members of the 433rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, 433rd Airlift Control Flight, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron and the 433rd Aerospace Medicine Squadron's Critical Care Air Transport Team worked together to provide the logistics and execution of evacuating injured patients out of the danger zone. Two aeromedical evacuation liaison teams were spread out on different sides of the "country" and served as the first step in the process to evacuate patients out. "We are imbedded down range with specific Army, Navy, Marine Corps or Air Force units and serve as the liaison between that unit and the aeromedical system," said Capt. Charlie South, 433rd AELT member. "We work with our communication personnel to relay the necessary information required to evacuate the patients out of the region. This exercise gives us the opportunity to truly refine our skills and make sure we have our processes as perfect as they can be." The AELT members, consisting of a flight nurse, a Medical Service Corps officer and two communication personnel, provide clinical expertise in knowing exactly what the patients need regarding aircraft specific requirements, equipment requirements, clinical implications of altitude and stresses of flight while preparing the patients for the flight. With the AELT's coordination, the rest of the aeromedical evacuation teams know what they will need to do to complete the mission. The Aeromedical Evacuation Operations Teams downrange receive the instruction from the AELTs and begin their role. The AEOTs coordinate the air crews and provide operational and mission management support by coordinating the proper equipment necessary for the mission, directs AE ground support activities like mission launch and recovery, aircraft set up and configuration, and manages medical equipment and supplies. "We are responsible for managing the crews for our AE missions," said Lt. Col. Deborah Deja, 433rd AES flight nurse and overseeing operations for one of the two AEOT units during the exercise. "During the exercise we are only managing two crews, but we have the capability to manage up to 10 crews and launch and recover up to six missions in a 24-hour period." During the exercise, the AEOTs ensured all the necessary equipment was ready to load onto the incoming C-130 Hercules assigned to the 908th Airlift Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. With the exercise being simulated in an active war zone, the engines for the aircraft were continuously running, which helped maintain a high sense of urgency. As soon as the arriving aircraft came to a complete stop, the AEOT members and aircrew began loading and setting up the aircraft in the arrangement necessary to keep the patients stable. After the equipment was loaded, patients were taken from the En-route Patient Staging System and boarded onto the aircraft. ERPSS is a staging facility that provides temporary holding capability for up to six hours for patients transiting the Air Evacuation System. While inflight, AE crews continue care of the non-critical patients while Critical Care Air Transport Teams worked on the critical patients. CCATT teams consist of one critical care physician, a critical care nurse and a respiratory technician to ensure the best care possible is provided to those patients who need it most. This training couldn't have come at a better time for many of the exercise participants. Some are just keeping their skills up-to-date, but many are preparing for a deployment in the upcoming months. "I am about to deploy for the first time and this exercise couldn't have come at a better time," said Senior Airman Sarah Clark, 433rd AES medical technician. "This is an opportunity for me to learn from my mistakes so when I'm in the field, I will be sharper, quicker and more on point." Hurricane Hunters fly research missions into atmospheric rivers The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Hurricane Hunters spent Feb. 11-24 flying through "atmospheric rivers" in the Pacific Ocean stretching from Hawaii to the U.S. West Coast in efforts to improve storm predictions. The squadron teamed up with NOAA, National Weather Service, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and California, Oregon and Washington emergency management offices for the research mission aimed at improving forecaster's ability to predict where these atmospheric river storms will make landfall. Atmospheric rivers, a corridor of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere, can lead to flooding, mudslides and damaging winds, and El Nino events contribute to warmer ocean waters which fuel these rivers with moisture. The organizations are taking advantage of one of the strongest El Nino seasons in the past 60 years to view the evolution of storms. "We are tasked to fly during these specific events within the El Nino period in certain areas over the Pacific Ocean to collect information such as water vapor and temperature. This will allow meteorologists to forecast the amount of rain that is going hit California," said Lt. Col. Jonathan Talbot, 53rd WRS senior meteorologist. Two Air Force Reserve WC-130J aircraft completed three missions with both crews flying 2,300 mile treks simultaneously within the atmospheric rivers. For two missions one crew flew out of Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, and the other crew from McChord AFB, Washington. The last mission moved a crew to Travis AFB, California, to fly a mission from that location. To collect weather data, crews release a dropsonde, which is a parachute-borne cylindrical device that gathers weather data not available through satellite imagery. The dropsondes collect air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, and wind speed and direction as it drops toward the surface of the water. An aircraft typically releases about 10-20 dropsondes; however, for these missions crews dropped anywhere from 40-60 dropsondes per flight across the width of the atmospheric river, said 1st Lt. Leesa Froelich, 53rd WRS aerial weather reconnaissance officer. This data was sent real-time by satellite to the National Center for Environmental Prediction to create a multidimensional view of the rivers. "This mission represents a new chapter in West Coast weather prediction by bringing capabilities of the Air Force's weather reconnaissance squadron and their impressive C-130J aircraft to beat on the challenges of West Coast atmospheric river landfall predictions," said Marty Ralph, Center for Western Weather director and Water Extremes University of California San Diego/Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Knowing the amount of rain California will receive during one of these events is vital, said Ralph. The last El Nino event in the 1990s produced more rain than the California reservoir infrastructure could handle. To alleviate strain on the reservoirs, the water managers opened the dams and let the water out. The big problem occurred when the rains stopped and too much water was let out and then it didn't rain again for years, he said. The data collected from the WC-130J Hurricane Hunter missions will allow scientists to determine how much water needs to be drained, said Ralph. "Better forecasts of landfalling atmospheric rivers can help with precipitation and river predictions in ways that support water managers in California," said Jay Jasperse, Sonoma County Water Agency chief engineer, which oversees operations for a key reservoir that helps supply water to 600,000 people. "The data collected during this study will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of improving the computer model forecasts of heavy rainfall during these winter time events by providing high resolution information within these rivers of moisture that flow from the tropical Pacific into areas along the West Coast," said Talbot. "The missions were an absolute 100 percent success," he added. "All sorties flew and collected in the areas needed, helped to paint the full picture for forecasts." Hill's F-35s drop first weapons Airmen from the 388th and 419th fighter wings dropped laser-guided bombs at the Utah Test and Training Range the week of Feb. 25, marking the first time an F-35 Lightning II combat unit has deployed weapons from the F-35A. Lt. Col. George Watkins, the 34th Fighter Squadron commander, said dropping weapons from the F-35 allows pilots to more fully engage the aircraft and confirm that everything works as planned. This is significant because were building the confidence of our pilots by actually dropping something off the airplane instead of simulating weapon employment, Watkins said. Air Force F-35s have dropped weapons in test environments, but this is the first time its been done on jets designed to deploy once the Air Force declares initial operational capability, which it plans to do between August and December. IOC will be announced when the Air Force deems the F-35 combat capable. Lt. Col. Darrin Dronoff, the director of Hills F-35 Program Integration Office, said that while this achievement is a significant step toward Air Force IOC, the milestone goes beyond that mark. The pilots and weapons loaders in the 388th and 419th fighter wings are perfecting their skills not only to prove aircraft capabilities, but theyll also be the Airmen called upon to take the F-35 to combat, whenever that call may come, he said. Hills F-35 pilots will begin flying the F-35 in four-ship formations, which is the standard configuration flown in contested combat scenarios, as early as March. Political analysts are asking whether the cabinets drought tour will provide any relief to distressed farmers. After the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented pro-farmer budget, the entire cabinet of Fadnavis government will undertake a tour of drought hit areas in Maharashtra from 4 to 6 March. The state government had organised ambitious Make in India programme for attracting investors but it received flak for ignoring the interests of farmers. Earlier, the opposition had questioned the governments intention to organise this event at a time when farmers were committing suicide due to crop failure. Modi government had introduced a farmer friendly budget to lure voters in the hinterland ahead of assembly election in states like West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Assam. Taking a leaf out of the central governments move the state government too is keen to reach out to the farming community. However, political analysts are asking whether the governments drought tour will provide any relief to distressed farmers. According to them, such tours are politically motivated and are considered as PR exercise to improve the image of the state government as no results are visible on ground. Last year too the cabinet had undertaken a tour of the drought hit states. They also submitted a report to the state government about the steps to be taken to address the problems faced by farmers but no action has been taken yet. Even Shiv Sena had undertaken a tour of drought hit regions of the state last year. It had attacked the BJP for its inability to provide financial assistance to farmers. Even though the state government had announced relief package for farmers but many of them did not derive any benefit from it. Last year more than 1,100 farmer suicides have been reported in Maharashtra and this year already 139 farmers have ended their lives within two months. A spokesperson from Fadnavis government said, Several parts of the Maharashtra is witnessing severe drought and Marathwada region is the worst affected. The region has seen three successive droughts from 2013 onwards. Therefore the entire cabinet will visit this region for taking stock of the drought situation. A senior bureaucrat said the entire cabinet is touring the Marathwada region for understanding the problems faced by distressed farmers and reasons behind why they end their lives. The ministers would be accompanied by officials from various relevant departments such as agriculture, water resources, revenue, disaster management, health and education. More than 14, 700 villages has been declared drought hit in October 2015 by the state government. The state has allocated more than Rs.8,000 crore and the centre has sanctioned drought relief of a little more than Rs.3,000 crore, though the state had sought Rs.4,000 crore. On the other hand, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil has left for a five day tour in the drought hit districts of Osmanabad, Latur, Beed, Dhule, Jalgaon, Akola and Washim. He will take stock of the situation prevailing in these areas like farmers suicide, irrigation facilities, fodder stock. He also said that the government has failed to offer loan waiver to farmers. Responding to a PIL alleging illegal construction at the Maharashtra BJPs headquarters at Nariman Point, the party told the Bombay High Court that it was ready to reduce the constructed space to 1,200 sq feet, as sanctioned originally. The PIL alleges that the office occupies 4,000 sq feet of area, and not all of it is authorised. After BJPs lawyer S U Kamdar stated the party was ready to reduce the space to 1,200 sq feet, the bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka said it would pass an order on Wednesday. BJP is currently heading the coalition government in Maharashtra. Spelling out the governments stand, Advocate General Srihari Aney had said illegal construction, if any, must be removed by the civic body. Anything not permissible under the law must go, Aney had said, while maintaining that allotment of the land to the party was lawful and the entire office could not be said to be illegal. Petitioner Nariman Point Churchgate Citizens Welfare Trust alleges that there exists no sanctioned plan of the office building, which was supposed to be a temporary structure but was turned into a permanent one. Reacting on the reports that defence aspirants have been asked to write exams in only underwear at Muzaffarpur in Bihar which gone viral on social media, the Defence Ministry seeks explanation from the Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhaag on this stripping. The defence ministry has also been asked for an explanation by the Patna High Court. On Sunday, candidates writing the army recruitment examination in were asked to do so in their underwear, to prevent any cheating. Over 1,150 candidates aspiring to join the Army, force to write exam sitting on an open ground in underwear. These included candidates hoping to make it as soldiers on general duty, clerical and technical roles. The candidates, which included around 775 candidates appearing for the general duty category, 211 candidates in clerical and 173 candidates in technical category, were not even provided with a desk to write the hour-long exam. The army officers on duty had taken this step to save time on frisking the candidates. However, candidates didnt find it dignified and appeared hurt by Indian armys decision to undress them for examination. As we entered Chakkar Maidan, the venue, we were asked to remove all clothes except underwear. We had no option but to comply with the instructions even though it felt odd. The gap between candidates was about eight feet in all directions. We do not expect to appear for such largescale examinations in halls, but telling us to remove our clothes was not dignified, said one candidate. Bihar is famous for its notorious activities employed to cheat in examinations. Last year, the mass cheating spree in the state caught attention of the international media. A picture of friends and family members, who had climbed up walls of the examination centres to pass notes to the examinees, went viral over social media. Under attack over his speech, Minister of State for HRD in Narendra Modi government Ram Shankar Katheria claimed that he did not target any community in his speech. He is in trouble over his hate speech in Agra. Both Houses of the Parliament witnessed repeated disruptions over Katherias remarks as proceedings began on Tuesday, a day after the Budget. Katheria has, however, claimed that reports about him making an inflammatory speech in Agra were completely untrue. Katheria, along with BJP MP from Fatehpur Sikri Babu Lal, had recently attended a condolence meeting held for VHP worker Arun Mahaur. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its offshoot Vishwa Hindu Parishad too condoled and protested against the murder of Arun Kumar Mahaur, Dalit VHP leader, who was shot dead by five men in Mandola area of Agra. Mahaur, the VHPs district vice-president, was returning to his furniture shop after offering prayers at a temple near Meer Hussaini crossing when he was shot around 10.30 am. VHP leaders have alleged that local Muslims were behind Mahaurs murder because he was running a relentless campaign against cow slaughtering. The victims brother had accused Shahrukh, Raja, Dilshad, Imtiyaz and Abid all belonging to the same area for the killing. Following the incident, hundreds of VHP, Bajrang Dal and BJP workers had staged a dharna demanding that the accused be arrested without delay. Meanwhile, the state government had announced a financial assistance of Rs. 10 lakh for Mahaurs family. Akhilesh Yadav government was warned to take a serious note of the incident. During the meeting, several speakers threatened Muslims of revenge. One of the speakers also reportedly asked the gathering to corner Muslims and destroy the rakshas (demons). This was termed as the emotional outburst of leaders. They think that this is the conspiracy being hatched against the Hindu community. The hate speakers had told people gathered there to be alert and recognise your strength to show them. Reacting to Katherias remarks, Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said, BJP speak whenever elections are nearing. They talk about dividing the country and not uniting. If they continue to speak like this, there will be repercussions across the country. Today, we are raising this issue because Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh are silent on the issue. Meanwhile, there are elections in UP, earlier ahead of elections a Muslim man was killed in Dadri and the entire thing went against BJP in Bihar elections. This time, it was Hindu who was killed by Muslim. So, the politicians might be taking advantage to their benefit. BJP demeaned that the five accused in the murder of VHP leader Arun Mahaur should also be booked under the National Security Act. BJP leader also reiterated the demand of other right wing Hindus parties for Dadri victim-like compensation for the slain leaders family. He said if the administration fails to meet their demand, they would further intensify their agitation and take their battle to streets for justice to Mahaur. The minister also condemned the lathi-charge on BJP workers at the Collectorate and demanded the withdrawal of the FIR registered against district president Ashok Rana and General Secretary Shyam Bhaduria. He also demanded that action should be taken against police officials who had ordered the lathi-charge on BJP workers while they were peacefully protesting Mahaurs murder. Communal, Regional & Caste politics bringing disrepute to India across the globe, we are refusing to move beyond Hindu-Muslim hatred. Adding to injury is the biased police, cumbersome grievance redressed system coupled with conservative judiciary left law abiding citizens disappointed. Where we are leading, only god knows? It is very unfortunate that BJP lawmakers are inciting people for violence. The minorities have been brainwashed by the Congress for several decades that Hindus are fascists and communalists. Anybody with common sense can easily understand that this was being done only to perpetuate their corrupt rule. Hindus are being brainwashed that if there is no Modi or RSS then their religion will not exist. Even some media is also playing villainous role by conveying their personal prejudices. There was no highlights or the news on the murder of the VHP man and did not condemn his killing. This is what bothered right-wingers and whatever was spoken was out of anger. I am not advocating the wrong, but refuse to fall under the trap of religious conditioning and make every issue a random debate and waste peoples time, money by playing with their emotions. (Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com) Web Toolbar by Wibiya Web Toolbar by Wibiya Date: February, 2016. Place: Miramichi, Canada. Located in the east of Canada, and bounded by the cold North Atlantic Ocean waters, the province of New Brunswick is one of the four founding provinces of the Canadian Confederation. Its surface is mainly covered by forests, which has allowed the development of a thriving wood industry. However, in spite of this, the province still remains scantily populated (its biggest city, Saint John, only has 70,000 inhabitants). As one might think, such an enchanting land can be the scenario for any kind of magical or unexplained phenomena. And, effectively, the 26th of February a quite strange event took place in the small town of Miramichi, situated in the north of this sylvan territory. According to an anonymous testimony reported on specialised UFO web page MUFON.com, at approximately 3 a.m. on one of the dark roads of Miramichi surrounding areas at what seemed about 500-1000 ft. maybe less, there was an object with very bright lights on each end that suddenly appeared and didnt seem to move. These lights were allegedly scanning around like search lights; and soon after they pointed upwards and blinked out. The report does not offer many details but it deserves to be thoroughly investigated, in order to determine if this incident was caused by human activity or which is a real possibility- by extraterrestrial activity. In any case, draw your own conclusions For further information: http://mufoncms.com/cgi-bin/report_handler.pl?req=view_long_desc&id=74769&rnd= Long Description of Sighting Report At approximately 3am today I saw the strangest thing over a dark stretch of highway at what seemed about 500-1000 ft maybe less, there was an object with very bright lights on each end that suddenly appeared and didnt seem to move, the lights were scanning around like search lights then pointed upwards and blinked out..totally gone, there were no strobes or any blinking navigation lights..looked about 20-30ft distance between the lights on whatever it was. Web Toolbar by Wibiya WINNIPEGManitoba Hydro International (MHI), a wholly-owned international subsidiary of Manitoba Hydro, is taking part in a controversial deal to ultimately privatize Nigerias publicly-owned power utility. MHI will manage the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) for a period of three years under a management contract with the government of Nigeria and the Bureau of Public Enterprises. MHI was offered the contract in September 2012. Under the contract MHI will restructure the transmission company and prepare it for eventual privatization. Manitoba Hydro International expects to make $23.7 million from the deal. The process of privatization of the power sector in Nigeria began in 2006 under the administration of former president Olusegun Obasanjo. The Nigerian government has since split up the Power Holding Company of Nigeria into six generation firms and eleven distribution firms, the TCN being one of them. Kola Ibrahim, a labour activist based in Nigeria, doesnt have high hopes for private management. Privatization has failed Nigeria woefully, Ibrahim told The Dominion in a telephone interview.Even the vice-president of the country has come out and said that 80 per cent of private companies in Nigeria have failed, which shows that privatization itself is not an attempt to improve the situation but to feed on the rottenness. MHI project manager Nigel Wills claims that with private sector investment, efficiencies will be introduced into the current system creating greater access to electricity for Nigerians, especially those in rural areas. At the end of the day, we make a financial contribution to Manitoba Hydros bottom line as well, which means that that money goes towards keeping the ratepayers' payments here in Manitoba a little bit lower, Wills told The Dominion. Even though its underway, the agreement with MHIhas been mired in controversy for the past several months. The Nigerian government is currently reviewing the contract with MHI due to concerns that the company can't deliver on its mandate and that MHI has taken unilateral and undemocratic decisions in the management of TCN. The review comes amidst the resignation of the chairman of the supervisory board of the TCN, engineer Hamman Tukur. In an interview with the Daily Trust, Tukur states that MHI was allowed make the unilateral decision to appoint the company's chief executive officer, which should be the responsibility of the president of TCN. In another infraction, according to Tukur, MHI assumed sole control of TCN bank accounts and day-to-day running of the company without supervisory oversight. While it may seem bizarre to Manitobans that a subsidiary of Manitoba Hydro is helping to privatize services elsewhere, the phenomenon is nothing new. MHl has been involved in over 70 different countries, the majority of which are in the global south. Its not unusual for us to be in developing countries and certainly not unusual for those countries to be in sub-Saharan Africa, says Wills, adding that MHI is also currently managing the Liberia Electricity Corporation, has completed work in Sierra Leone and has an ongoing project in Uganda. MHIs role around the world is to provide training, consulting and management services to governments, Wills told The Dominion. MHI does not own or invest in any infrastructure in these countries. David McDonald, professor of International Development at Queen's University told The Dominion that the issue is in fact very widespread. Its not just limited to Manitoba Hydro in Canada. Hydro-Quebec, for example, has been involved since the late '70s all over the world in these kinds of operations. Whats interesting is when you read the local news, people protesting against privatization, they dont differentiate between so-called public companies coming in to run their service from a private company. They are perceived of and operate as any other private multinational corporation when they are outside of their country. And yet, they will sometimes quite coyly celebrate their publicness at home and one has to really question what the motivations are behind it, said McDonald. The ultimate results for people in Nigeria have yet to be seen and will play out in the next years. Here at home, one has to wonder if the Manitobans who support a public power utility would object to their low rates being subsidized by the kinds of projects they would resist at home. Scott Price is a volunteer at CKUW 95.9 FM and a graduate of the University of Winnipeg. Scott tweets as @PriceScott91. Read more OXON HILL, Md., Feb. 29, 2016 A top scientist at USDA, a Monsanto executive and other experts agreed Monday that improving on existing biotechnology and developing new agriculture practices are vital to meeting increased global food demand by mid-century but they didnt say itll be easy. Catherine Woteki, under secretary and chief scientist at USDAs Office of Research, Education and Economics, told attendees at the Energy Departments Innovation Summit near Washington Monday that ag researchers are diligently looking for ways to develop row crops that yield more, with fewer inputs. Thats because by 2050, the worlds population is expected to grow to 9.1 billion people, from about 7 billion now; and with it will come a 70 percent increase in demand for food production, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. By 2100, current research suggests that number will jump to 11.5 billion. To meet those demands, Woteki says producers will have to use less land to grow more food and thats where more efficient crops come in. Another way to meet that objective, according to David Fischhoff, special projects lead for Monsanto, is to invest in precision and digital agriculture, as well as biotech. Youll not be surprised to hear that I think a large part of meeting that (2050) challenge is the discovery and development and implementation of new technologies, Fischhoff said during the panel discussion. Thats what gives me reason for optimism. Daphne Preuss, CEO of Chromatin, a global sorghum seed company, said biotech and innovative thinking can make the difference between very low crop production and a thriving farm. The farmers we work with in Africa were often having yields that are one-tenth to one-hundredth of what we see (in the U.S.) with the very same crop, Preuss said. The difference is that they dont have access to quality genetics. With superior genetics and well-prepared seed, Preuss said these subsistence farmers, who hand plant their seed with sticks, are seeing 10 times the yields they were before without the high-quality seed. Steve Long, a professor of crop sciences and plant biology at the University of Illinois, sounded a note of caution, however. Its going to take 20 years at least for a new innovation in the lab to actually have any presence in a farmers field. So we have to prepare for an uncertain future, he said. Watching for stories about biotechnology? Sign up for an Agri-Pulse four-week free trial subscription to stay on top of this and other ag, rural policy and energy issues. Woteki suggested greater efforts at limiting food waste, both in developing countries where food can be contaminated or destroyed by rodents, other pests, and disease and in developed countries, where food is more often thrown out by consumers would be a feasible interim step to make sure more food thats ready to eat, is eaten. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, 40 percent of food in the U.S. is never eaten, amounting to $165 billion a year in waste. Worldwide, between 30 and 40 percent of food produced worth about $1 trillion is never eaten, says the World Resources Institute. Getting food to where it needs to go can also be difficult because of political or physical barriers, but that needs to change, too, Woteki added. Preuss and Fischhoff suggested ag data and technology sharing might be a good way to either break down those barriers, or to teach subsistence and small-scale farmers in developing countries how best to use their resources and maximize yields. #30 For more news, go to: www.Agri-Pulse.com WASHINGTON, March 1, 2016 - The Agricultural Research Service did not violate USDAs Scientific Integrity Policy (SIP), as asserted by an entomologist who has published papers on the risks of neonicotinoids to monarch butterflies, a USDA-assembled panel has found. A three-member Scientific Integrity Review Panel said ARSs Jonathan Lundgren did not provide credible and verifiable evidence to support his contention that his research was impeded and that he was restrained from communicating with the media and interacting with the broader scientific community. The report, which USDA intended to remain confidential, was released by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), which represents government employees. PEER noted that the panel was directed not to consider any of Lundgrens allegations of retaliation for publishing and speaking about his research. Lundgrens whistleblower complaint against ARS before the Merit Systems Protection Board is proceeding. USDAs Inspector General told a House subcommittee recently that she was opening an investigation into allegations of censorship of USDA scientists after receiving a significant volume of complaints. Lundgren said ARS superiors told him that his planned presentation for a European Food Safety Authority workshop pertained to "a very sensitive research topic and that (he) was not allowed to express any opinions on the matter just data. But USDAs Scientific Integrity Policy, the panel said, states that "communications (of scientific findings) should remain within the bounds of (a USDA scientist's) scientific findings." The panel said ARS allowed Lundgren to participate in media interviews and submit manuscripts for publication after late March/early April of 2014, when Lundgren says he was told to refrain from talking to the press and subjected to professional interference in violation of the USDA SIP. In addition, from March 2014 to November 2015, the panel said that Lundgren received approval to submit manuscripts on his research, and was allowed to submit an abstract for, and attend a meeting pertaining to RNAi-based genetically modified plants. The panel said ARS withheld approval for two of Lundgrens manuscripts after concerns were expressed by his research leader and a reviewer. In his SIP complaint, Lundgren says he was subjected to cumulative low-level harassment after giving interviews to the press and serving as a reviewer for a Center for Food Safety study. Read about other USDA news such as this. Sign up for a four-week free trial Agri-Pulse subscription for the latest ag and rural policy news. In one instance, ARS asked Lundgren to take his name off a paper on corn production that suggested that a maximum percentage of the corn crop (rather than a mandated fixed ethanol production level) be devoted to ethanol production." The SIP, however, says USDA scientists should refrain from making statements that could be construed as being judgements of or recommendations on USDA or any other federal government policy, either intentionally or inadvertently," the panel said. The panel members were Mary Coffey Alonzo of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, Greg Pompelli of the Economic Research Service, and Carlos Rodriguez-Franco of the Forest Service. The memo transmitting the report also was signed by Doug Bannerman, Departmental Scientific Integrity Officer (DSIO) in USDAs Office of the Chief Scientist, and William Hoffman, former acting DSIO, National Institute of Food and Agriculture. #30 For more news, go to: www.Agri-Pulse.com WASHINGTON, March 1, 2016 - The Senate Agriculture Committee approved a bill to preempt state GMO labeling laws, and there were signs there may eventually be enough Democratic support to get a version of the legislation enacted. Three Democrats on the committee voted to support the bill, and three others, led by ranking member Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, expressed optimism that they could support a compromise measure on the floor. At least six Democratic votes would be needed to overcome a filibuster of the bill, if all 54 Republicans supported the legislation. I feel pretty strongly that were running out of time to at least getting a bill moving to the floor that we can improve, said Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, one of the three committee Democrats who supported the bill. The others were Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Donnelly of Indiana. Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., called the panels 14-6 approval of the bill an important first step and said he would continue negotiating with Stabenow on a compromise version. The key sticking point remains whether companies would be required to disclose the presence of biotech ingredients. Stabenow, who pledged to continue negotiating with Roberts, said there needed to be a path to nationwide, mandatory disclosure. We have to show consumers there will be mandatory disclosure, she said. Donnelly has drafted an amendment that would eventually require mandatory disclosure unless at least 85 percent of food products are covered by a voluntary program. Committee members indicated his proposal would be the focus of further discussions. Roberts didnt close the door on a compromise on the issue, although he noted to reporters that the food industry opposes mandatory disclosure. Well work it out, he said. In addition to Stabenow, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Michael Bennet of Colorado also voted against the bill but indicated they were eager to see a compromise bill enacted. Other Democrats seen as potential supporters of the bill when it reaches the floor include Al Franken of Minnesota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. The industry was buoyed by the improving prospects for a preemption measure. "We see no major road bumps that will slow the momentum at our backs, said Claire Parker, spokesperson for the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food. The House and Senate Agriculture Committees, as well as the full House of Representatives, have now supported a uniform, national labeling standard in bipartisan fashion. We have every reason to believe the full Senate will soon do so as well and a bill will be on the Presidents desk within weeks. Casey said he voted against the bill in committee "because I know we can come to a better compromise... Its within our reach." Bennet said he stands ready to help find a compromise. We cannot allow for discrimination" against agricultural biotechnology, he said. Despite voting for the bill, Heitkamp warned her colleagues that Congress' preempting GMO laws was a tough sell in a political climate where the public already doesnt trust the federal government. We need to be sensitive to those realities as we move forward. The seven-page bill would block a first-in-the-nation labeling requirement set to take effect in Vermont in July, allowing the food industry to move forward with a voluntary, smartphone-based system called SmartLabel for disclosing biotech ingredients as well as allergens and other product characteristics. While USDA would be required to set disclosure standards for bioengineered ingredients, the bill would define bioengineering relatively narrowly as involving recombinant DNA techniques that make modifications that could not otherwise be obtained through conventional breeding or found in nature. Are you following food labeling issues? Agri-Pulse is the place for the latest news on the topic. Sign up for a four-week free trial subscription. In addition, USDA and the Health and Human Services Department would be required to survey consumer knowledge about agricultural biotechnology to determine whether consumers have access to information. Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group said the bill would rob Americans of their right to know whats in their food. Nine out of 10 Americans want the same rights as consumers in Russia, China and more than 60 other nations that require mandatory GMO labeling. "We remain hopeful that the Senate will craft a national, mandatory GMO labeling system that provides consumers with basic factual information about their food." #30 Air Cargo Community Frankfurt has held a pharma-focused event at Europes top airfreight hub for BVL International, the German Logistics Association in the Rhein-Main region. There were 80 participants at the visit FRA pharma event who received an update on current trends and developments in logistics, including the transport of pharmaceutical products. Speakers included Andreas Gmur from Camelot Management Consultants and Andreas Seitz, managing director of DoKaSch Temperature Solutions. Dominik Misskampf, as head of the competence team pharma, presented how Frankfurt airports freight community is committed to the shipment of pharma products and what special products and services are available to consignors. Joachim von Winning, executive director of the Air Cargo Community Frankfurt, said: "The pharmaceutical industry has the most demanding requirements for airfreight. Many shipments are of very high value and extremely temperature sensitive and they often have to get to their destination quickly. "Frankfurt has an innovative world-class service offer that stands for speed, safety and reliability. This is what we want to make better known with visit FRA pharma". During the second part of the visit, visitors experienced live operations at the Lufthansa Cargo Cool Center and the Perishable Center Frankfurt. Added von Winning: "Frankfurt Airport is Europes number one in airfreight naturally as well with pharmaceuticals with more than 100,000 tons annually. We, as a community, are instrumental in securing and expanding this position in Frankfurt long-term, especially in regard to pharmaceutical companies and shippers." Pictured L-R: Dominik Misskampf (Fraport and Air Cargo Community Frankfurt), Andreas Seitz (DoKaSch), Joachim von Winning (Air Cargo Community Frankfurt) and Andreas Gmur (Camelot Management Consultants). Share this story February 29, 2016 Wash, rinse, repeat. If youre a politician in Iran running for election or re-election, your best bet is to have the endorsement of Khatami. Mohammad Khatami, that is. In another era, Khatami was twice elected president, but today he is banned from leaving the country and his name and face are banned from the domestic media. No matter, his hands suffice these days: Election posters for the Reform and moderate list of candidates running for parliament last week showed only them, recognizable from the ring on his finger. People knew what that meant. Simultaneously, a reminder that he was backing the candidates and a bilakh (the finger) by the Reformists to those who insist he is so dangerous that his very features must remain hidden from the public. Iranians are good at giving the finger: They collectively raised it almost three years ago, too. The same Khatami, only days before the 2013 presidential election enough time for a message to register, but not enough time for hard-liners to counter it endorsed the lesser-known Hassan Rouhani and urged the electorate to make their voices heard. They followed, if only to give the finger to those, inside and outside Iran, who claim Iranian elections dont matter. This time, he endorsed a long list of candidates whose names would have to be handwritten on ballots by voters via video on the popular messaging app Telegram. To be safe, the video was also uploaded to YouTube, which is censored in Iran but available to those who want to access it via VPN. Wash, rinse, repeat. There was always something unclean (haram) about certain members of parliament. Members who Iranians and outsiders alike call hard-liners, some who even threatened Rouhanis Cabinet members not with censure for making a nuclear deal with the West, but with death, buried in concrete, as one member of parliament, perhaps channeling Tony Soprano, suggested, and not in jest. As of this writing and where the vote count stands, parliament appears to have been washed and rinsed of that particular stain. Representing Tehran province, which has 30 seats in the parliament, the hard-liners have all but disappeared. There will be quite a few left in the body, of course, but they are somewhat defanged, if not fully declawed. And as with any bad stain, repeated washing and rinsing will eventually fade even the most stubborn. That is what voters seem to want, judging by how they also approached voting for the other state body the Assembly of Experts. Despite the somewhat Orwellian nomenclature, the assembly is realistically powerful and important on only one occasion: the death of a supreme leader. The assembly is then tasked with choosing a new leader something that has happened only once in the 37-year history of the Islamic Republic. Its other task, actual supervision of that leader, is only a formality at best. Much was written in the past few weeks about how this vote was going to be important because the current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is 76 years old and the next assembly, which convenes for eight-year terms, would likely elect his successor. I doubt that that was the reason most Iranians came out in force to eject the most hard-line members of the body, for ayatollahs are not known to die young and, besides, young Iranians who make up the majority of voters (as well as the majority of the population) tend not to be keen observers of the clerical scene. They do, however, know the most famous of the assembly well; particularly the crocodile Ayatollah Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, much despised by Reformists and not just for his suggestion that voters opinions dont count in an Islamic system, but also for his mentoring of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his rejection of almost any idea that could conceivably be thought of as enlightened. Their opinions counted this time, much to his presumed chagrin and delight of not just Khatami, whom he accused of sedition in the wake of the protests in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential elections, but also of Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the shark who easily won re-election and who is a strong supporter if not of liberals then of pragmatic Iranians who recognize that the most hard line of hard-liners have brought nothing but unenviable repute and attendant consequences that include unwanted isolation to their country. When the final tally is official, there will be many conservatives in the Assembly of Experts, including the other well-known hard-liner, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, but the collective finger given by voters to the likes of Mesbah Yazdi will not be easily forgotten by them. Wash, rinse and repeat. Armchair Iran experts, mostly sitting in the United States or in Europe, will dissect the election results ad nauseam over the next few days. Already there are those some who either claimed the elections didnt matter or that conservatives would continue to dominate who insist that Iran hasnt changed or that, more importantly for us in the West, its foreign policy wont change. But its hard to argue that Iran hasnt changed since the last round of washing. In 2013, Secretary of State John Kerry and President Barack Obama, despite what the Republican candidates this year will tell you, would hardly have been successful in making a nuclear deal if it hadnt. And in 2016, Iranians stood in long lines, sat down and handwrote the names of candidates on ballots because they believed that it would make a difference in their lives. There are many things that havent changed in Iran, as some observers will rightly point out. And not just because so many Reformists were disqualified from running for office this time, resulting in a strategic decision by the leadership to back anyone not in the hardest of hard-line camp rather than call for a boycott of the vote, an act that would simply deliver victory to those on the radical right. There also remains, for now, a stultifying security atmosphere in Iran, a judiciary often at odds with the administrative branch, and social and political freedoms many voters hoped for in 2013 that have not yet materialized. If some Western observers hope that Reformists (still not a majority in the government) even those too liberal to even qualify to run for election, those under house arrest or those languishing in prison are looking to normalize relations with Israel, drop support of Hezbollah or the Palestinians, and join the Western bloc in demanding that Bashar al-Assad must go from Syria, then they are delusional. If they believe that Iranians on the whole wish for those things, they are perhaps also delusional. Yes, Iranians want change. They want a betterment of their lives, they want peace with their neighbors, they want radical extremists such as the Islamic State to be defeated, they want to be part of the world community, they want to be respected, they want technology (especially a fast Internet), they want jobs and they want their kids to be more successful than they are. What they dont want is to be told that their vote doesnt count, or that it doesnt matter. February 29, 2016 The Islamic Republics 10th parliamentary elections have yielded a significant victory not only for Reformists, but also for women pushing for change in Iranian society. While the final nationwide results are not expected until March 1; early numbers show twice the number of female members as in the previous parliament. Though ballots from many districts are still uncounted, it is clear that the number of women will reach at least 22. Thus far, 15 women have won seats in Parliament, and 14 of them are Reformists. These include all eight women on the Reformist-moderate List of Hope in Tehran, where the results are set to be finalized on Feb. 29. This election is significant because it represents the first time womens rights activists from across the political spectrum inside and outside Iran came together to push for more women to run and fill seats in the [parliament], Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, a parliament member who famously stood up to hard-liners, said in an interview with Al-Monitor. Living in exile in Boston today after resigning in protest in 2004, Haghighatjoo, herself among the youngest lawmakers when she was elected in 2000. She said, The young generation in Iran is the biggest segment of society, and it is important to have women sitting in parliament to bring their issues to the fore. The youngest new parliament member is a 30-year old Reformist from Tehran. Seyedeh Fatemeh Hosseini, a PhD candidate in finance at the University of Tehran, ran on a platform of advancing the voices of her generation and advocating their issues to decision-makers. Crucially, in a campaign speech to students at her alma mater, Amir Kabir University, Hosseini spoke about the securitized atmosphere on university campuses since the suppression of the 2009 Green Movement, saying, Students want a safe university space, not a securitized one. I fully believe what President [Hassan] Rouhani says: The best place to criticize power is in the university. Along with others on the List of Hope, Hosseini campaigned for economic progress and to further foreign investment following the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. To address womens rights, she plans to focus on employment opportunities for her generation, saying, Today, 45% of young women between the ages of 20-24 are unemployed. This shows the inequality of opportunity for employment that exists for young women, and this must be changed. World Bank data suggests that unemployment among young Iranian men is less than half that of young women. The push to change the gender makeup of parliament began last November, when various womens rights groups initiated campaigns to increase the number of female parliament members to 100. These social media campaigns by a plethora of womens groups aimed to elect women who advance gender equality to 30% of Parliaments 290 seats. As a result, a record number of women registered as candidates for parliament: 1,234 out of the total of 12,123 hopefuls. Out of the over 6,200 registered candidates who were approved by the Guardian Council, 586 were women. In the Assembly of Experts elections, which were held in parallel with the parliamentary vote, 16 women registered to run. However, all of them were disqualified by the Guardian Council. Tayyebeh Siavoshi, one of the eight women elected from the Reformist-moderate List of Hope in Tehran, credited these campaigns for her candidacy. I wasnt even considering a run until these campaigns started, she said prior to the vote. When I saw womens rights activists encouraging women to register, I decided to do my part and I registered like thousands of others. It was only after so many people were unjustly disqualified from the elections that I decided to continue the candidacy. Siavoshi, who has worked in the Foreign Ministry and led efforts to get women involved in international organizations, has been a civil society activist for years, focusing on women and childrens rights. Another new Reformist parliament member from Tehran, Parvaneh Salahshouri, expressed great hope for the incoming parliament in a video interview circulated on social media. She said that the elections represent a good step toward working for womens issues in the country. In the previous parliament, there were nine women MPs out of a total of 290 lawmakers. In this election alone, the List of Hope from Tehran had eight [female] candidates. Asked whether the new women parliamentarians will make a difference for womens rights in the country, Salahshouri responded, Of course! The conservative women in parliament think completely differently from us. They are against women. Their language and policies are all pro-men. She went on to say that she and her new female colleagues will work to change the divorce laws in the country, as well as turn the parliaments attention to violence against women. Haghighatjoo finds it significant that the women who have won election come from a variety of academic backgrounds. This, she believes, will mean that these women can serve on a variety of committees in parliament specifically the Planning and Budget Committee, which has never had a woman member. Haghighatjoo told Al-Monitor, In order to get [legislation] related to women, youth, and children passed, we need to make sure they are included in the countrys annual budget, and this year, I believe we have a chance to get women appointed to that committee. Haghighatjoo had some advice for the largest cohort of Reformist women elected to parliament since the days she herself led Reformists in the Iranian legislature: I think they should start working together now and not wait to be sworn in in May. They need to strategize how they can support each other and womens rights in parliament. They need to build alliances with other MPs and work to see how they can ensure funding for womens issues in next years budget. February 29, 2016 You fought or you died, explained Ashraf al-Meer, who in March 2011 joined the revolutionary fight against the 42-year rule of Moammar Gadhafi to protect his family. At the age of 28, after two weeks of military training and armed with a Kalashnikov, he would fight for the next eight months for the liberation of his country. Following Gadhafis fall, Meer joined the military, but suddenly decided to hand in his weapon in 2012. Thanks to the organization the Libyan Program for Reintegration and Development (LPRD), which offers training for ex-combatants, he realized that fighting wasnt the only way to rebuild the future of his country. We needed to move the youth from arms in a peaceful way, explained LPRDs founder Mustafa El Sagezli from Benghazi. The youth need to be given a chance to build the future of Libya, he said. Like Meer and a majority of Libyans, Sagezli took up arms against Gadhafi back in 2011. He joined the first revolutionary brigade in Benghazi on Feb. 27, 2011, and witnessed firsthand thousands of young people being trained and armed. A vast majority were men younger than 35 years old. As the struggle dragged on in 2011, Sagezli kept wondering: How will we disarm and integrate these youths after the war? At the end of October 2011, after Gadhafi had been toppled and killed, Sagezli put his career as a computer engineer to the side and founded the Warriors Affairs Commission, which would later become LPRD. With governmental funding and support from international organizations, its aim is to disarm and reintegrate Libyans who had become militarized back into society through rehabilitation and training. Sagezli and his co-workers interviewed around 162,000 ex-fighters about their backgrounds, interests and aspirations and customized training plans that offered ways for them to start businesses or join the state's military or police force. The program opened academic opportunities through, for example, scholarships to study abroad. With this support, Meer was able to build a new career and is now working as a security manager at the Libyan Embassy in London. Most people were keen to get an opportunity, even the commanders of militias, explained Sagezli. He learned that it's better to offer people opportunities than to try to disarm them by force. There are limitations, however. At the moment, the private sector is not developed enough to be able to provide opportunities for this population. At the same time, there isn't enough space even in the enormous public sector to reintegrate all of them, said Abdulrahman al-Ageli of the Libyan Youth Forum. Libya has one of the largest public sectors in the world, employing up to 70% of the countrys workforce. Its a result of Gadhafis policy to create a social contract built on dependency, Ageli told Al-Monitor. Since 2012 the situation has grown increasingly more complicated, admitted Sagezli. One of those reasons is the spread of the Islamic State (IS) on Libyan soil. Today, most actors consider the group the biggest concern for the already war-torn country. According to the Pentagon, there are currently about 6,000 IS fighters in Libya, where the group continues to take advantage of the power vacuum. A recent report examining IS in Syria and Iraq shows the groups proportionally large number of young members, where children fight alongside adults. A recent UN Security Council report on IS raised concerns about the recruitment of children and the reported emergence of youth training camps. To what extent the trend is present in Libya is unclear. But Sagezli is concerned that if the plight of young people is not addressed, groups like IS can take advantage of the situation. Some of them are as young as 15-18 years old, he said. The majority of these groups are victims of neglect and exclusion. Sagezli would like to see the implementation of a decentralized national program for dialogue run by local communities. According to Ageli, IS can offer young people exactly what the Arab countries cant: empowerment. That is why disarmament is difficult at this stage. Carrying weapons, he argued, makes them an empowered member of society. According to Ageli, taking the weapons away without any alternative means of empowerment is a recipe for disaster. Disarmament remains a key obstacle. Many of Meers friends back in Libya still have not given up their weapons. They feel they need to continue to protect the revolution, he said. Many will ask, 'Sure, I will disarm but then what?' Disarmament can only come through agreements and dialogue, he said. Libya needs a holistic plan. Now the UN-backed Government of National Accord will need to begin inviting all parties to a comprehensive dialogue, argued Sagezli. If the government does not show commitment to speak to all parties, then how are they supposed to unite Libya if they cant even unite themselves? Sagezli is a firm believer in full inclusion. The military and the security sector need reformation. In order to disarm, all the people who became militarized during the past few years and who carry weapons need to be included, and the militias need to be reintegrated. But reintegration is not easy. It is a long process that takes many years and involves multiple aspects, Timothy Reid, a former UN worker in Libya told Al-Monitor. The longer the conflict goes on, the more difficult it is. Reid is concerned that if the root causes of the conflict are not addressed and the rule of law is not built up, reintegration is unlikely to work. According to Ageli, IS is not the main threat to Libyan youth. The biggest problems are the economic situation, social grievances and the breakdown of social cohesion. Today, most of the suicide bombers in Libya are foreign, Ageli said, adding that the day we start seeing Libyan suicide attacks will be the indicator that Libyan youth have grown truly desperate. February 29, 2016 Saudi Arabia is playing a high-stakes game in Lebanon, seeking to punish and weaken Hezbollah and Iran. It's not clear if the Saudis have an achievable end goal in mind. Lebanon did not join an Arab League consensus in condemning Iran for the attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran in early January. In response, Riyadh suspended indefinitely a $3 billion program to purchase French weapons for the Lebanese military and canceled a $1 billion project to assist the Lebanese internal security service. Then it announced a travel warning discouraging tourists and others from visiting Lebanon. Several Hezbollah-connected companies have been blacklisted by Riyadh. The Saudis Gulf allies quickly followed suit and issued travel bans. Saudi and Emirati banks are said to be leaving Beirut. Next, the kingdom and its allies may start sending Lebanese expatriate workers home something that would be a major hit to Lebanon's economy given that half a million Lebanese citizens work in the Gulf. The Saudi-Iranian rivalry in Lebanon is decades old. This current round got started last summer when Saudi spies captured Ahmed Ibrahim al-Mughassil at the Beirut airport, arriving from Tehran. Mughassil is a Saudi Shiite who has worked with Iranian intelligence for a quarter century. He was the mastermind of the deadly 1996 attack on a US Air Force barracks in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, that killed 19 Americans. Snatching Mughassil out of Lebanon was an embarrassment for Hezbollah and Iran. His subsequent debriefing probably also dealt a blow to their covert apparatus in the Gulf states. The Russian and Iranian intervention in Syria this past fall also increased Saudi anger at Hezbollah, which provides many of the boots on the ground to attack the Sunni opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Riyadh's goal in Syria is to get rid of the Iranian hand there, and Hezbollah is the center of the Iranian hand. So frustration with Beirut grew steadily in the kingdom this fall as a consequence of frustration with events in Syria. Some of the Saudi moves are more symbolic than damaging. The Lebanese army was unprepared to effectively absorb the promised French arms, and the French arms industry will probably be hurt more than Lebanon by the deal's suspension. Halting tourists and cutting remittances are serious actions, however, and will damage the fragile Lebanese economy. Saudi Arabia's allies in Lebanon, the March 14 movement, have urged Riyadh to reconsider the aid suspension and have apologized for the government's failure to condemn Iran. The Hezbollah-dominated March 8 group has defended Iran and urged tilting toward Iran in the regional balance. But even the Saudi's friends caution that Hezbollah is too powerful in Lebanon to be challenged directly. Since the accession of King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud last year, Saudi national security policy has become much more aggressive and risk-prone than it was under his predecessor, King Abdullah. The war in Yemen, also intended to weaken and humiliate a pro-Iranian militia, is the best example of Riyadh's new assertiveness. It's also an excellent example for the proposition that it's easy to start a war and hard to end one. Hezbollah has longstanding ties to the Houthi rebels in Yemen and has provided advisers to their forces. The Houthis are not Iranian proxies, however, and retain far more independence from Tehran than Hezbollah. For its part, Hezbollah is now calling for the Lebanese government to accept Iranian aid to fill the gap left by the Saudis. Evicting Iran from Lebanon is a bridge too far for Saudi diplomacy. So is defeating Hezbollah, as Israel has proven more than once. Lebanon is a fragile political entity. Its civil war in the 1980s was the role model for Syria today: Extreme sectarian violence begat foreign intervention on a massive scale. A quarter million Lebanese died between 1976 and 1990. Saudi Arabia is right to make Iran and its proxy pay for their acts of terrorism and for failing to protect embassies and diplomats. Iran has yet to demonstrate it respects diplomatic immunity, a cornerstone of global order. But Riyadh needs to have a realistic goal in mind. The Middle East does not need yet another broken state. Editor's note: This article has been updated since its initial publication. February 29, 2016 It was July 6, 2005. The location was Kusadasi, Turkey, a prominent tourism center on the Aegean coast full of locals and foreigners. A loud explosion wrecked the serenity of the summer holiday, leaving five dead, 14 wounded and the unanswered question of who did it. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was suspected, but it denounced the attack. A short time later the bombing was claimed by an organization few had heard of before: the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, or Teyrenbazen Azadiya Kurdistan (TAK). Eleven years later, on Feb. 17, Ankara was shaken by a massive blast. A suicide bomber had set off an explosives-laden vehicle near military shuttle buses in a sensitive area, killing 29 people and wounding many others. The question was the same. Who did it? This time there were several suspects. Although the style of the bombing pointed to the Islamic State (IS), Turkish officials accused the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), a PKK affiliate. But three days later, the TAK surprised everyone by claiming responsibility, posting on its website a photo of Abdulbaki Somer, one of its militants who had carried out the bombing. Although the statement did not convince Turkish officials, DNA tests confirmed the TAKs claim. Some believe the TAK is a wing of the PKK; to others, it is a separate organization. The public by and large believes the TAK equals the PKK. But the TAK defines itself differently. On its website, which can't be accessed in Turkey, the TAK says, For a period, we were inside the PKK and fought the enemy together. We then decided the methods of struggle of Kongra-Gel [the Kurdistan People's Congress] and the HPG [the PKKs military wing, the Peoples Defense Forces], which pay attention to political considerations, were too feeble. That is why we left the organization ... and set up the TAK. The TAK's first public operation was in 2005. Then in April 2006, it attacked the police headquarters in Malatya. In June 2010, the TAK killed four military personnel and a civilian in an Istanbul suburb using a roadside bomb. Other notable operations included a mortar attack the TAK launched Dec. 23, 2015, that killed one worker at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport, and of course the Ankara attack Feb. 17. As the TAK is an extremely secretive organization, it is hard to know even the number of its members. To find out more about it, Al-Monitor asked people close to the PKK. Zanyar, an alias for a man who served a long time in the PKKs armed wing, narrated the TAKs background to Al-Monitor. After the arrest of PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan in 1999, the group saw an influx of recruits from urban areas. When the PKK realized in the early 2000s that its struggle in rural areas was not yielding results, it shifted its operations to cities. Many of the new recruits were schooled in military ideology and received technical training. "The military council sent these city-born and grown-up youngsters back to their hometowns with orders to sever all contacts with the organization and its legal and illegal wings," Zanyar said. "They were to have no contact whatsoever with the organization. They were instructed to follow Ocalan and the organization from the news media and act accordingly. They were given unlimited freedom in taking the initiative. Initially, about 150 new militants were given explosives training and sent back to Turkey and 150 were kept at the PKK camps. Although some of those who had gone back to their hometowns were caught, most of them succeeded in infiltrating. They began recruiting people in the places they were posted. According to Zanyar, the TAK inside Turkey is organized in cells of two to three people who have no contact with other cells. They are not subordinate to anyone in the organization. They were told to not attract attention, and to become normal citizens, even get married, settle down and manage their own financing. Zanyar doesnt believe the TAK takes orders from HPG leader Murat Karayilan. To Zanyar, the TAK exists on its own. According to Huseyin Turhalli, who worked with the PKK for many years and served in the group's administration, when the PKK was listed as a terror organization, its leaders began searching for alternatives. Turhalli told Al-Monitor, After 1994, they started debating whether to set up separate front organizations or tolerate efforts by others to do it. I am aware of opinions that were being widely discussed. For example, they advocated disproportional responses to the states cruelty and violence, but without implicating the PKK hence the need for separate structures. Many of the teams sent to cities for actions were apprehended before reaching their destinations, hence the need for autonomous bodies. Such an organization had to be ideologically attached to the organization, but independent politically and militarily." Turhalli believes the TAK is the outcome of all these stipulations. To me, the TAK is not a PKK wing or independent. It is a structure that has adopted the PKKs ideology and philosophy, but diverges from it in actions. In other words, if the PKK agrees to cease hostilities, the TAK will follow that line. I dont think the TAK is an organization that is commanded by the PKK. I think of it as a structure that is guided by the PKKs general course of action. In a nutshell, the TAK may be different things to different people, but to Turkey, it is the PKK. March 1, 2016 In the US Republican primaries, nothing exemplifies the nature of the Israeli connection to American political discourse better than Sen. Marco Rubio's tempest-in-a-teapot over leading Republican candidate Donald Trump saying that he intends to try to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians. And if that werent enough, in the Feb. 18 debate, Trump dared to say that it's not efficacious for a mediator in negotiations to declare unswerving support for one of the sides. This sentence made Trump an unfair mediator in Rubios eyes, and he swore not to be neutral, saying, I will be on Israels side every single day, because they are the only pro-American, free enterprise democracy in the entire Middle East. Several days earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warmly welcomed former US Secretary of State George Shultz, who visited Jerusalem. In a speech in the Israel Democracy Institute, Netanyahu complimented the retired diplomat on his vision and integrity and ended with lofty words about Israel and the Jewish people never having a better friend. Yet according to the "Rubio index," Shultz friendship is questionable. Al-Monitor has discovered that the 95-year-old diplomat has recently consolidated a group of Israeli, Palestinian and American experts to discuss alternatives to the two-state solution, according to the Oslo Accord model. In the discussions, he has not concealed his disappointment in the policies of Israels right-wing government. In terms of commitment to peace, Shultz is a visionary and also a real friend of Israel. Almost 30 years ago, he tried to promote a peace initiative crafted by Shimon Peres, then foreign minister in a unity government with the Likud, and Jordan's King Hussein bin Talal. The initiative, known as the London Agreement, was supposed to commence with an international convention, after which the sides would begin negotiations for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict on the basis of UN Resolutions 242 and 338. Despite US President Ronald Reagans pleas, Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir sabotaged the initiative. He wrote to Shultz on May 15 of that year that parts of the plan were not consistent with our national interests. As far as Shamir was concerned, Shultz was too neutral a mediator. At the end of 1988, Shultz settled his account with Shamir. Shultz encouraged PLO head Yasser Arafat to pass a resolution in the Palestine National Council to adopt UN Resolutions 242 and 338 and abandon the armed struggle. Thus the path was paved for opening an official dialogue between the Reagan administration and the PLO leadership. This took place in the lame-duck transition period between presidential elections and the arrival of successor George H. Bush to the White House. Shultz never managed to reap the fruits of his efforts. The Bush administration used them (and the attainments of the First Gulf War) to drag Shamir and Deputy Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the international Madrid Peace Conference in 1991. But alas, no progress emerged from that conference. Uri Savir wrote this week that according to a high-placed source who visits the region frequently, the US administration wants to consolidate a diplomatic platform for the two-state solution with an eye toward the post-President Barack Obama era. Will the Obama administration take advantage of this transitional lame-duck period, free of electoral considerations, to pave the way for a diplomatic initiative for the coming administration, on this 25th anniversary of the Madrid Peace Conference? Elie Podeh, a professor with the Department of Islamic and Middle East Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, recently published the book "Chances for Peace: Missed Opportunities in the Arab-Israeli Conflict." He told Al-Monitor just this week that his research shows that a peace initiative introduced at the beginning of an American presidents term of office has higher chances of success than one that emerges later on. One of the examples cited by Podeh is that of former President Jimmy Carter, who opened a diplomatic dialogue with Israel and Egypt in his first year of office that led to the signing of a peace agreement within two years. By contrast, the Bill Clinton Parameters and talks between Syria and Israel, both of which took place at the end of his administration, ended in bitter disappointment. Therefore, Podeh advises the coming president to adopt a diplomatic initiative immediately after entering the White House. Podeh, a senior research fellow at the Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace, noted that all the peace agreements those with Egypt and Jordan along with the Oslo Accord would never have seen the light of day if not for the drive and resolve of the local players. However, since the odds are low that Israel will come out with a peace initiative, the only way to try to jump-start the process is via an American initiative, he added. According to Podeh, there is an opportunity for peace in the juncture between historical turning points such as wars, revolutions or the rise of new governments and the existence of an attractive proposal on the table. The election of a new president who will come out with a new initiative creates a new opportunity for the sides, Podeh said. If we connect that to elements of the Arab Peace Initiative and incentives offered by the European Union, it is possible to create such a proposal. In summary, it is important to remind ourselves that all the American presidents from Richard Nixon to Obama, Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives alike have tried their hands at ending the Israeli-Arab conflict. Their efforts have no connection to the flattering, hypocritical words fed to right-wing ears of Israelis and Jews in television debates. By Adam Ganucheau This story appears in Birmingham magazine's February 2016 Issue. Subscribe today! When four young girls were killed at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on Sept. 15, 1963, Andrea Taylor was a teenager in West Virginia. She vividly remembers the morning when those girls, close to her age then, lost their lives. And in the years since, Taylor has been on her own path towards Birmingham - even if she didn't suspect it. Today, Taylor sees the church every morning from the window of her office, where she serves as the new president and CEO of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Birmingham was never a direct part of Taylor's life, and her connection to the city--beyond watching the dramatic events of Birmingham's civil rights era unfold in the national media--isn't obvious. She had only visited a handful of times before moving her life here a few months ago. And her long, accomplished resume contains no glaring hints that she would be suited for the position she filled. It isn't until she talks about her upbringing and the life experiences she carries with her daily that her being here in this vital role begins to make more sense. Taylor grew up in the 1950s and '60s in a family of educators and activists. She participated in the March on Washington on August 28, 1963 and was on the National Mall that day when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "I Have a Dream...". She well remembers watching Birmingham's role in the civil rights movement, in real time--the Ku Klux Klan, the children's marches, the dogs, the hoses, Bull Connor, George Wallace... "It was clear that something pretty horrific was happening to people in this region, and it wasn't clear how it would all be resolved," Taylor says, during a reflective moment one day last December. "And that felt very terrifying to a young person." That child's fear and those memories--ironically now including the bombing of the church--are perhaps the reason she is in Birmingham today, charged with reviving and re-branding an iconic institution during yet another time of racial and cultural tensions in America. "Everybody couldn't be in the South," she says. "Everybody couldn't be a crusader or foot soldier. But everybody who was paying attention, even young people, had to see the challenge and the inequity. And in their own way, they had to figure out how to give back and move the ball forward. And that's been the story of my career." The path to Birmingham Before taking the reign at the BCRI in September, Taylor could have handpicked any career she wanted. Her resume is loaded with a broad range of experience and industries--from education to media to philanthropy to community work. She was director of citizenship and public affairs at Microsoft. She founded the Ford Foundation Media Fund, and was president of the Benton Foundation. She founded a media technology firm, taught at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, and she is a trustee of Boston University, her alma mater. And oh, yes: She has served as a delegate to four different United Nations global summits. Taylor had zero museum management experience, but her collective experiences, particularly in roles in which she focused on philanthropy, outreach, diversity, and empowerment, made her a great fit for this job, says Bobbie Knight, chair of the Institute's board. "To be honest with you, I would've hired her for anything," Knight says. "When we were looking at the future of the Institute, we knew we needed someone who can make the argument that what the Institute offers is absolutely relevant today, maybe even more than it was 25 years ago. It requires someone with the depth and breadth of Andrea Taylor. Hiring her was a no-brainer." The search committee was blown away by Taylor's background, Knight adds, specifically her proven leadership skills. Included in the information given to the committee by the search firm were many recommendation letters. But one, Knight says, stood out--from a Microsoft executive, touting Taylor's vast network of connections worldwide. "I think of myself in a lot of ways as a change agent, as someone who's made resources available to help people in various settings bring about change," Taylor says. Taylor clearly didn't need the gigantic task of bringing the Institute back to prominence. So why? "I came to a point of my career that I could have pulled back, done less, or nothing at all [retire]," she says. "I thought this could be a remarkable opportunity for someone to help shape the dialogue moving forward in this country about civil and human rights, but also to help shape an institution as it moves to the next phase." Getting there won't be easy. She oversees the museum's operations, but her challenge is much greater than that. She is now the very public face of the Institute and indeed the face of the history of a city that is often forced to remember its violent and hateful past as it strives to move beyond it. Taylor is charged with not only tightening everyday operations and sprucing up aging exhibits but inspiring people to care about the Institute and its human-rights mission once again. "At this point, in the encore phase of my career, to come here and connect with this history in a direct way, and in a time that we're still grappling with a lot of the same issues, it is so important to me," Taylor says. "The civil rights movement that is really at the core of the Institute happened now 50 plus years ago. It's still very relevant and a powerful example of change, social change, and transformation of a community and nation, and much of our purpose is to contextualize that for the present and future." Her vision for BCRI Taylor and her team hit the ground running, planning and negotiating the Institute's future. Now, there is a clear, bold roadmap they hope will ensure that the Institute, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2017, continues to be a vital and relevant public resource to not just the city of Birmingham, but to the entire country and even the world. One main focus will be to broaden the Institute's audience, leveraging Taylor's extensive background in diversity. "As I look around visually and anecdotally, it appears there is such a diverse group of people [in Birmingham] from all over the world coming for economic opportunities," Taylor says. "So with that, there's an opportunity to broaden and deepen the reach of the Institute and to make diverse communities feel welcome and at home here." One key will be attracting younger generations to the museum. In today's world, Taylor says, young people tend to feel distant and ignored, like their voices are not being heard, though they are clear stakeholders in the world and its future. Teaching young people the importance of the past, Taylor believes, will better equip them to create a better future. "When you think about the transformation that occurred in this nation and this community, it was young people who were at the core of that," she says. "There's something really empowering when you can give that exposure to young people, who may begin to rethink their own options, opportunities or responsibilities. We would help to encourage them to fulfill their dreams and change the world." The Institute welcomes an average of 150,000 visitors a year. Taylor wants to boost that number to 250,000. "People are very mobile in this country," she says. "We know we have a good product. It's just a matter of getting them here--how we reach out and market and brand and promote so they will come." Membership is another component of her vision. The BCRI is a membership organization--a fact few people realize, Taylor says. (BCRI membership offers free admission year-round, gift store discount, special event invites, and one guest pass.) Today, BCRI's member role is sparse, barely more than 400. Taylor's goal: 25,000 members in the next three to five years. To reach that lofty goal, Taylor says the Institute is considering creating community-based membership levels, so groups like churches may obtain memberships for their members. Corporate membership plans are also still under consideration. To make membership and visiting more attractive, the Institute will increase the quality of programs and events it hosts, as well as visitor experience. When city leaders developed the concept for the Institute in the 1980s and 90s, they hoped it would serve as a brick and mortar gathering place where the city's violent history could be adequately and fully taught. But more importantly, Taylor says, they wanted the BCRI to be a place where people could further dialogue about modern human rights issues and drive the inquiry in order to help people rationalize and contextualize the present and future. "If you can't do that, you can't move forward," Taylor says Elevating the visitor experience will almost certainly include a technology upgrade; it was last updated in 2009. "We want to make sure the visitor experience is all it can be," Taylor says. "Whether you're a fifth grader from New York; an elderly couple from New Hampshire, whom I met the other day; or a couple from Sydney, Australia, they all wanted to come here. We want to do all we can for them." Is there a fit amidst Birmingham's rebranding efforts? Birmingham's civic and business leaders have initiated a clear rebranding strategy for the city. A drive downtown today comes complete with construction detours on nearly every block, and cranes have become mainstays in the city's skyline. "Clearly, Birmingham has a vision for itself," Taylor says. "It's in the process of transformation from its historic identity to a new identity in the 21st century. We absolutely have a role to play in terms of helping the city reinvent itself." For many visitors, the Institute is a place to learn and reflect on lessons from the past in order to forge a plan for today and tomorrow. Taylor is adamant that the city's leaders do not overlook this vital role as they speed forward in trying to alter perceptions about the city. "The first thoughts of a lot of people outside the region when they think of Birmingham might go back to what happened at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in 1963," she says. "They can't get out of that mode. They're stuck there. They only have the residue of a horrific experience like the bombing of the church. It's not rational, particularly, but that's what people know. "By creating this institution and saying we want to remember and learn and move forward from this place of 50 years ago, it then becomes part of the identity of this city, even as they talk about rebranding. If we don't do that, it would be a denial of a reality that would fester and still undermine all the other good things the city is trying to do." Putting the plan into action Taylor says she is fitting in Birmingham well. She bikes to work most days from her downtown home and talks to as many of the museum's visitors as she can. She has already taken visible steps to accomplishing some of her goals. Last November, at the Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award banquet hosted by the Institute, Taylor offered each attendee of the event a membership. "We want to attract and grow members from all across the community," Taylor says. "It's a program that exists for everybody, but that whole event really marked the beginning of thinking about the upcoming 25th anniversary." Taylor acknowledges that her vision for the BCRI is lofty, but she believes it can become real, and that the Institute will grow and serve the city and its visitors for decades to come. "We think we can do it, and we think we're the right place to do it with the support of the entire community," Taylor says. "And with the continued good will of the donors and friends that we have, we think this growth is possible. So here we go." Visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Tours and Gift Shop are open Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and Sunday 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. 520 Sixteenth Street North, Birmingham, AL 35203 205.328.9696, ext. 203 As much as I hate to admit this, we millennials can sometimes be very shortsighted when it comes to career tracks. We claim we want six-figure salaries, but we do everything in our power to obtain useless college degrees in underwater basket weaving. Despite persistent belief and constant media attention, these underwater basket weaving degrees don't lead to and shouldn't lead to six-figure salaries. Luckily, there are numerous six-figure salary careers right in front of us in an industry that we almost always overlook: quick service restaurant management. To get this point across, we will highlight a few quick service restaurant chains that have multiple physical locations here in Alabama. Each of these restaurants generally provides good opportunities for hourly employees, but these restaurants really shine when it comes to benefits for salaried employees. Without further ado, let's begin. Waffle House Division Manager ($91,700 to $117,000, profit-sharing, company car) District Manager ($65,800 to $96,700, profit-sharing) Unit Manager ($45,900 to $59,800, profit-sharing) If you like working with a great team, Waffle House is where you need to be. No prior restaurant experience is required to enter Waffle House's Manager Trainee program. If you perform well in this rigorous yet rewarding program, you can go from trainee to division manager in less than three years. In addition, all employees have access to medical, dental, and life insurance benefits after 30 days of employment. And to make things even better, employees get three weeks of paid vacation per year. Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurateur Level 2-4 ($133,000 average, bonuses, stock privileges , company car) Restaurateur Level 1 ($125,000 average, bonuses, stock privileges, company car) General Manager ($67,000 average, bonuses) Everyone at Chipotle starts off as a crew member, but even crew members have an average yearly wage of $28,000. In addition, all employees receive free meals and have access to $4,725 in yearly tuition reimbursements if attending a college or university. If you are able to become a management apprentice, then the world is your oyster when it comes to upward mobility. Chipotle is no slouch on upper-level perks either. For example, after 10 years of service, all salaried employees get two months of paid sabbatical in addition to their regular vacation allotment. Chick-fil-A Owner/Operator ($100,000 est., profit-sharing, specific salaries undisclosed) Managers ($40,000 to $50,000 est., specific salaries undisclosed) Chick-fil-A is a little tricky to gage since much of its specific salary information in not public knowledge. However, Chick-Fil-A is the number one restaurant on QSR Magazine's Top 50 quick service restaurants in terms of annual sales per restaurant with $3 million per restaurant. When compared with McDonald's restaurants, Chick-fil-A restaurants make $500,000 more per restaurant even while being closed on Sundays. Chick-fil-A also has an added benefit that many other restaurants do not have: inexpensive franchising. The current franchise fee to open a Chick-fil-A is a low $5,000 -- a far cry from the $1 million needed to open a McDonald's. Assuming that you meet Chick-fil-A's cultural and lifestyle requirements, Chick-fil-A Corporation will pay for land, construction and equipment for your restaurant, then rent it to you for 15 percent of sales plus 50 percent of remaining pretax profit. That's still an incredible deal if you remember that you did not invest a lot of your own money in the first place. These are just few examples of the high salary opportunities all around us. The next time that you hear friends or family members complaining about their degree or their low pay, recommend one of these restaurants and others like them as a viable remedy for their financial woes. Ben Baxter is a Tuscaloosa dweller, a Dothan native, an experienced engineer, and a regular contributor for personal finance and career development topics. Peanut depot by Linda Stelter.JPG (FILE PHOTO/Birmingham News file/Linda Stelter) The Peanut Depot opens in a new location Tuesday after more than a century on Morris Avenue. The Depot will open in a temporary pop-up shop at 1509 3rd Ave. S. until their new location is ready. The permanent location - 1539 3rd Ave. S. - won't be ready available until mid-summer, owner Lex Legate said. "We just moved to a more vibrant neighborhood, across from the park, two blocks from the ball park, new apartments, the Negro Leagues Museum, just a lot more activities in this area," Legate said. The Depot officially moved Monday and will reopen in a new space Tuesday with normal hours, Legate said. Legate said he's sad to leave the historic Morris Avenue building, which was originally built in 1885, but it made sense for two reasons: Legate likes the new location, and he can use the space for both the Depot and another business. He currently leases a warehouse in Pelham, and the new location will allow him to operate both businesses out of the same spot. "There was a decision to leave Morris Avenue, but at the same time, there was a bigger decision to stay in the city," Legate said. The Peanut Depot was founded in 1907 and sells fresh, roasted, salted and Cajun varieties of peanuts. Alabama Department of Labor Alabama Department of Labor. (Contributed by Alabama Department of Labor) The state of Alabama recently prosecuted 10 residents for knowingly defrauding the system to obtain unemployment funds illegally. The state Department of Labor, which works with local District Attorney offices to identify suspects, has revealed the names of 10 Alabamians who violated the Alabama Unemployment Compensation Law by making false statements in claims for benefits. The following individuals were charged with first-degree theft: Herman Braggs, of Mobile Willie C. Cobbs, of Mobile Felicia R. Dailey, of Mobile Brandon L. Dempster, of Mobile Anthony Nathaniel Jordan, of Mobile Samuel J. Marston, of Mobile Kingston B. Osborne, of Mobile The following individuals were charged with second-degree theft: Walter C. Dennis, of Mobile Jamie Lorane George, of Mobile The following individual was charged with third-degree theft: Roosevelt Morris, of Huntsville To report unemployment compensation fraud, call ADOL at 1-800-392-8019. Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com New on Netflix: March 2016 Here are some newly released movies and television shows you can and should definitely stream on Netflix during the month of March, including the Al Pacino gangster classic "Scarface." (Universal) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Are You Here? (2014) "Mad Man" creator Matthew Weiner's barely seen feature film stars Owen Wilson, Zach Galifianakis and Amy Poehler. It tells the story of two childhood best friends, one a superficial womanizer and the other a barely functioning bipolar, who embark on a road trip back to their hometown after one of them learns his estranged father has died. (March 16) (Millennium Entertainment) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Becoming Jane (2007) This romantic drama depicts the early life of the English author Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) and her lasting love for Thomas Langlois Lefroy (James McAvoy). (Now available) (Miramax) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Blade Runner (1982) Ridley Scott's gorgeously designed neo-noir science fiction flick stars Harrison Ford as a detective tasked with hunting down defiant replicants in a dystopian Los Angeles. Based on Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", this has a huge cult following and serves as one of Ridley Scott's greatest works. This is the theatrical version. (Now available) (Warner Bros.) Don't Edit Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Cats & Dogs (2001) This family comedy focuses on the relationships between cats and dogs, depicting the relationship as an intense rivalry in which both sides use organizations and tactics that mirror those used in human espionage. It features a fun voice performance from Sean Hayes as the maniacal cat Mr. Tinkles. (Now available) (Warner Bros.) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Charlie St. Cloud (2010) Based on Ben Sherwood's 2004 best-selling novel "The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud," this supernatural drama stars Zac Efron as a young man's choice between keeping a promise he made to his brother, who died in a car accident, or going after the girl he loves. (March 16) (Universal) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Contact (1997) In Robert Zemeckis' now-underrated follow-up to his Oscar-winner "Forrest Gump," Jodie Foster plays a SETI scientist who finds strong evidence of extraterrestrial life and is chosen to make first contact. It also stars Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, William Fichtner, John Hurt, Angela Bassett, Jake Busey and David Morse. (Now available) (Warner Bros.) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Corpse Bride (2005) Tim Burton and Mike Johnson directed this Victorian era-set stop-motion animation comedy starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. (Now available) (Warner Bros.) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Don Verdean (2015) A devout biblical archaeologist (Sam Rockwell) treads down a less-than-righteous path when he begins to receive financial support from an evangelical preacher in this barely seen Jared Hess movie. It's a shame when guy who directed "Nacho Libre" and "Napoleon Dynamite" can't get movies released to his legion of fans, but at least we can watch it now (and see why). (Now available) (Lionsgate) Don't Edit Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Daredevil, season 2 The popular Netflix series based on the Marvel comic returns for another season, this time featuring a more prominent role for Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, here played by Jon Bernthal ("The Wolf of Wall Street"). (March 18) (Netflix) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Eraser (1996) Perhaps Arnold Schwarzenegger's last true-to-form action flick, he plays an agent who "disappears" people into the Witness Protection Program. Arnold delivers the action and the cheesy lines with support from James Caan, James Coburn and Vanessa Williams. (Now available) (Warner Bros.) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com The Exorcist (1973) William Friedkin's classic horror flick was so good, the Oscars couldn't ignoring, becoming one of the few in the genre to ever earn a best picture nomination. A huge hit upon release, the film depicts the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl and her mother's attempts to win back her child through an exorcism conducted by two priests. Watch it, if you dare. (Now available) (Warner Bros.) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Finders Keepers (2015) This bizarre documentary about a guy who goes to bid on a storage unit, gets a grill, opens it up and there's a human leg inside screened at last year's Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham. The guy whose leg it is wants it back appears, and the other guy doesn't want to give it back. They go to Judge Mathis to see who gets the leg. Sounds like a hoot. (March 15) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Flight of the Intruder (1991) During the air war over Vietnam, a US Navy A-6 Intruder tactical bomber pilot schemes with a hardened veteran to make an unauthorized air strike on Hanoi. Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe and Brad Johnson star in this John Milius-directed military thriller. (Now available) (Paramount) Don't Edit Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) Jackie Chan and Jet Li in the same movie?! Sure, it sounds good on paper, but this film finally paired the two past their respective primes, but it still sees the martial arts movie masters in fine form, even if it wasn't in their heyday. (March 24) (Lionsgate) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Good Burger (1997) Surely this fits the "cult classic" bill for some hardcore fans of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy show "All That." How "Good Burger" got its own movie still baffles me, but Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell rode the momentum to the big screen, pleasing the show's young fans. (Now available) (Paramount) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Gridiron Gang (2006) Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars in this sports drama loosely based on the true story of the Kilpatrick Mustangs during the 1990 season. Riding the success of MTV's "Pimp My Ride," rapper Xzibit co-stars. (March 16) (Columbia) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Groundhog Day (1993) Bill Murray's best movie? This delightful Harold Ramis-directed fantasy about a curmudgeonly weatherman reliving the same freezing but eventful day over and over drew an enormous audience on home video and remains a comedy classic in the eyes of most. (Now available) (Columbia) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Happy Valley, season 2 Sarah Lancashire plays Catherine Cawood, the sergeant on duty when flustered and nervous accountant Kevin Weatherill came into her West Yorkshire station to report a crime during season one. Now the exciting BBC One show returns for season two. (March 16) (Netlfix) Don't Edit Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Hateship Loveship (2014) A wild teenage girl orchestrates a romance between her nanny and her father, who is a recovering addic, in this comedy starring Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Nick Nolte. (March 10) (IFC Films) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Heaven Knows What (2015 Josh and Benny Safdie's drama based on Arielle Holmes' unpublished memoir of her life as a homeless heroin addict living on the streets of New York City. (Now available) (Weinstein Company) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com House of Cards, season four The Netflix hit returns for a fourth go-around with the Frank and Claire Underwood and the power couple's ascension to the top of the Washington D.C. hierarchy. Try not to binge it all at once. Let the nastiness really sink in. (March 4) (Netflix) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Larry Crowne (2011) Tom Hanks surprised many when he directed and starred in this small comedy about a middle aged man who unexpectedly loses his job and returns to education. Julia Roberts co-stars as his community college teacher. (March 16) (Universal) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com The Look of Silence (2015) Joshua Oppenheimer's companion piece to his own documentary "The Act of Killing" focuses on a family that survives the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers. It earned an Oscar nomination for best documentary feature. (Now available) (Drafthouse Films) Don't Edit Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Louie, season five Louis C.K.'s brilliant FX series keeps getting weirder and better, as the comedian and filmmaker broaches new storytelling territory always blending real life and fantasy in this New York-set series. (March 4) (FX) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Must Love Dogs (2005) This romantic comedy starring Diane Lane and John Cusack focuses on a woman's struggle with divorce and meeting new people afterward, as she resorts to online dating to find love. (Now available) (Warner Bros.) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com The Panic in Needle Park (1971) In his second film appearance, Al Pacino stars in this story about life among a group of heroin addicts who hang out in "Needle Park," the nickname of Sherman Square on New York City's Upper West Side near 72nd Street and Broadway. Kitty Winn also stars as a young woman who falls for a charismatic addict and hustler (Pacino). (Now available) (20th Century Fox) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016) Paul Reubens returns as Pee-wee Herman in this Netflx original film. A fateful meeting with a mysterious stranger inspires Pee-wee to take his first-ever holiday in this epic story of friendship and destiny. Perhaps they'll harken back to the "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" days that made fans love the character. (March 18) (Netflix) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Primal Fear (1996) Richard Gere plays a lawyer defending a murder suspect with split personalities, played by then-newcomer Edward Norton, who earned an Oscar nomination and permanent A-list status from that point on. A riveting courtroom thriller, thanks mostly to Norton's often frightening work. (Now available) (Paramount) Don't Edit Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Promised Land (2012) Gus Van Sant directed this well-meaning but heavy-handed drama about fracking, starring Matt Damon as a company stooge who visits a rural town in an attempt to buy drilling rights from the local residents and John Krasinski as the townie who intends to stop him. (March 16) (Focus Features) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) This wildly entertaining retelling of the classic Robin Hood story boasts a fun cast led by Kevin Costner in the lead role, along with Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and the late great Alan Rickman in one of his best performances. Sure, Costner's "British" accent goes a bit wonky and the movie gets a bit corny at times, but it's a ton of fun. (Now available) (Waner Bros.) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Running Scared (2006) The late Paul Walker plays a low-level mob hood on the run from the big guns when he witnesses a drug deal gone wronng involving crooked cops in this fun thriller co-starring Vera Farmiga and Chazz Palminteri. (Now available) (New Line Cinema) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Scarface (1983) Brian De Palma's bloody and silly gangster epic starring Al Pacino as the maniacal Tony Montana has an extraordinary cult following, so you should watch just to see what the fuss is about and perhap to understand why so many college kids put its poster on their walls. (Now available) (Universal) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com The Seven-Year Itch (1955) Billy Wilder's romantic comedy most famous for being the movie featuring Marilyn Monroe standing on a subway grate as her white dress is blown by a passing train. The story follows a man who, when his family goes away for the summer, is tempted by a beautiful neighbor. (Now available) (20th Century Fox) Don't Edit Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) Based on the novel of the same name by Ann Brashares, this story follows four best girlfriends who hatch a plan to stay connected with one another as their lives start off in different directions, as they pass around a pair of secondhand jeans that fits each of their bodies perfectly. It stars Blake Lively, Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel and America Ferrera. (Now available) (Warner Bros.) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Sphere (1998) A spaceship is discovered under three hundred years' worth of coral growth at the bottom of the ocean in this Barry Levinson-directed science fiction thriller based on Michael Crichton's novel. It stars Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Coyote and Liev Schreiber. (Now available) (Warner Bros.) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Spy Game (2001) Robert Redford plays a retiring CIA agent who recalls his training of a young agent (Brad Pitt) while working against agency politics to free him from his Chinese captors in this Tony Scott-directed thriller. (Now available) (Universal) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Gene Roddenberry's beloved science fiction television series finally hit the big screen, launching a long term film franchise as relevant today as ever. Set in the 23rd century, a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud known as V'Ger approaches Earth, destroying everything in its path. Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the Enterprise crew must stop it. (Now available) (Paramount) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) Considered by many "Star Trek" fans the best film of the franchise, this film finds Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the starship USS Enterprise facing off against the genetically-engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban), a character who first appeared in the 1967 Star Trek television series episode "Space Seed". Very good, even if you don't worship "Star Trek." (Now available) (Paramount) Don't Edit Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Taxi (2015) Filmmaker Jafar Panahi is banned from making movies by the Iranian government, so he poses as a taxi driver and makes a movie about social challenges in Iran. A critical favorite in 2015, this piece of docufiction arrives just in time for us to finish up the films we missed from last year. (Now available) (Jafar Panahi Film Productions) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Underworld: Evolution (2006) The second film in the "Underworld" franchise starring Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman, this entry finds Selene and Michael fighting to protect the future of the Corvinus bloodline from its hidden past. (Now available) (Screen Gems) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com Unforgiven (1992) Clint Eastwood's dreary western (or as many call it, an "anti-western") about a retired killer who takes on one more job years after he had turned to farming. Arguably Eastwood's finest work as a director and actor, in which he plays the conflicted and aged outlaw William Munny, who thought he'd left behind a life of murder before it found him in his later years. Beautifully shot, it features terrific supporting performances from Gene Hackman (who also won an Oscar), Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris. I'm not sure a movie like this could or would win best picture these days, which should sadden film fans. (Now available) (Warner Bros.) Don't Edit Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com And much more! March 1 Adult Beginners (2015) Ahora o Nunca (2015) Aldnoah.Zero: Season 2 American Pie Presents: Beta House (2007) American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile (2006) Before We Go (2015) Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland (2016) El Desconocido (2015) Fresh Meat: Series 2 Frog Kingdom (2013) Hot Sugar's Cold World (2015) Midsomer Murders: Series 17 Narcopolis (2015) Road Trip: Beer Pong (2009) Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) The Young Kieslowski (2014) March 2 For Grace (2015) March 4 Lab Rats: Season 4 LEGO Friends: The Power of Friendship (2016) LEGO: Bionicle: The Journey to One: Season 1 (2016) March 5 Hell & Back (2015) March 7 Cuckoo: Seasons 1-2 Halo: The Fall of Reach (2015) Sin Filtro (2016) March 8 Digimon Fusion: Season 2 March 9 The Returned: Season 1 March 10 Comedy Bang! Bang!: Season 4, part 3 March 11 Dinotrux: Season 2 Flaked: Season 1 Netflix Presents: The Characters: Season 1 Popples: Season 2 March 12 Shelter (2015) March 15 10,000 Saints (2015) 4GOT10 (2015) The Falling (2015) Final Girl (2015) Power Rangers Dino Charge: Season 1, part 2 War Pigs (2015) March 18 He Never Died (2015) Jimmy Carr: Funny Business (2016) The Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show: Season 2 My Beautiful Broken Brain (2016) March 22 The Art of Organized Noize (2016) The Ouija Experiment 2: Theatre of Death (2015) March 24 A Promise (2013) March 25 VeggieTales in the House: Season 3 March 28 Trailer Park Boys: Season 10 March 31 Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation (2007) Fright Night 2 (2013) Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Murders (2015) Sunshine Superman (2015) Yu-Gi-Oh! Bonds Beyond Time (2011) Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal: Seasons 1-2 Panel capture.PNG From left to right, the Rev. Rick Lance, the Rev. Joe Godfrey and the Rev. Russell Moore take part in a panel discussion at the Church and Sexuality Conference, Feb. 29, 2016, at First Baptist Church of Montgomery. (Photo by Doug Rogers/Alabama State Board of Missions) (Doug Rogers) The Rev. Russell Moore, center, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, shakes hands with people during a break at The Church and Sexuality Conference, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, at First Baptist Church of Montgomery. In their first conference on The Church and Sexuality in Montgomery, Alabama Baptist and Southern Baptist leaders offered advice today on issues such as preaching in favor of traditional marriage, against same-sex marriage and gender identity confusion. The Rev. Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, urged pastors not to perform wedding ceremonies for non-Christians, even if their parents are members of their churches. "You cannot marry anyone except believers and people under the authority of Jesus Christ," Moore said. "Unbelievers, you cannot hold accountable to their vows." Moore said many pastors feel pressured by church members to perform weddings they know they shouldn't. "It takes courage not to do weddings, to say, 'I'm not going to do that,'" he said. If a deacon in the church wants his pastor to perform a wedding for his daughter who is living in sin outside marriage, the pastor should refuse, he said. That can create a problem, he said. "You've got a crisis," Moore said. "Think about what's at stake. You have to have courage to do that (take a stand)." The Rev. Joe Godfrey, who took part in a panel discussion with Moore, said when he was a pastor he once got a complaint from a female church member that a prominent married man in the congregation had made sexual advances towards her. Godfrey said he confronted the man, who then went and apologized to the woman. "For the pastor to know what's going on in the church is scary to some," Godfrey said. "We've got to be able to lovingly challenge our church members." More than 500 people attended the Church and Sexuality Conference at First Baptist Church of Montgomery. "Stay focused on teaching the word of God," Godfrey said. "There's got to be that rock-solid Bible teaching. There's got to be that continual reliance on the word of God." Breakout groups discussed such issues as "helping believers respond when someone in their life comes out," "helping people overcome pornography" and "keeping the home fires burning: sexuality within marriage." In a keynote sermon, Moore preached on Jesus speaking to the woman at the well about sexual immorality. "If we are a gospel people, that means our interpretation of a Christian sexual ethic is not a matter of our choosing," Moore said. "It's a mandate that he has given to us. If we are able to discard a Christian sexual ethic, then that means we invented it, which means we should not only discard the sexual ethic, we should discard the Christianity." Christians need to apply the Bible's teachings on sexuality, he said. "The texts of the Christian scripture are very clear," Moore said. "Marriage is designed to be a gospel tract. It is designed to point beyond itself to the union of God and his church." Marriage should be a model for sexual expression in the church, he said. "Why are we opposed to premarital sexuality? It's announcing something about the gospel that is not true," Moore said. "Adulterous unions preach a different gospel, that Christ is not faithful to his bride. That male-female, lifelong permanent union in marriage, all these relationships are intended to point to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are to train us to recognize the gospel when we see it." God's design for marriage is for a man and a woman to be faithful to one another for life and there's a purpose in that plan, Moore said. "God's good design is resilient," Moore said. "There are going to be a lot of refugees from the sexual revolution, because the sexual revolution cannot keep its promises." Moore said churches must condemn adultery and all sin, not just homosexuality. "There is no sin, no matter how respectable, that is not deserving of the full measure of the judgment of God," Moore said. "There is no sin that cannot be atoned for at the foot of the cross. Our response to sinners should not be one of disgust or condemnation. Jesus came not to condemn the world, but that through him the world might be saved." Committed Christians are under the same pressures of immorality that the rest of the culture faces, he said. "They assume that what we're offering is a freedom from temptation," Moore said. "The gospel never promises anyone freedom from temptation. The normal Christian life is not tranquility and freedom from temptation and struggling." Churches should be supportive of people struggling with sexual temptations and family troubles, Moore said. "Every family in the Bible has a prodigal," he said. "The response to prodigal children is to bear with one another, to love one another, stand with one another, pray for one another." The Rev. Jason Dees, pastor of Valleydale Church in Birmingham, said it is not unusual for couples who are co-habitating and engaging in premarital sex come to him to officiate their weddings. He said he will not perform the ceremony unless they stop the behavior and repent. "They are starting their marriage off in humility," he told a breakout group that included more than 20 Baptist pastors. "If you're not willing to pastor this, then don't bother to preach about it." A Gadsden woman has been arrested after she gave birth to a child which is now being treated for complications because of the mother's opiate use. A Boaz woman was also arrested in an unrelated case for using methamphetamine while pregnant. Sheriff Todd Entrekin said Emma Yvonne Weeks, 21, of Gadsden was arrested Feb. 26 and charged with chemical endangerment of a child. Entrekin said Weeks admitted to illegally using Subutex without a prescription throughout her pregnancy. After a premature delivery, the newborn tested positive for opiates and is now in a Birmingham hospital due to complications, he said. Alexandria Sullivan In the other case, Entrekin said Alexandria Michelle Sullivan, 23, of Boaz, was arrested Feb. 25, and is charged with chemical endangerment of exposing a child to an environment in which controlled substances are ingested, produced or distributed. Entrekin said Sullivan admitted to illegally using methamphetamine two days before her baby was born. After delivery, the newborn tested positive for amphetamine. Both women are currently being detained in the Etowah County Detention Center on a $10,000 cash bond. As a condition of the bond, they must successfully complete a treatment program upon release and will be supervised by Etowah County Community Corrections. The cases of four of the five University of Alabama fraternity members arrested last fall on charges of hazing on Monday became confidential, a sign that they may have been granted youthful offender status. Charges against the fifth student were dismissed Tuesday afternoon under a plea agreement with prosecutors. Under the deal the student agreed to pay certain court costs and had undergone treatment by March 1. A bench trial had been set Tuesday before Tuscaloosa District Court Judge Joel R. Chandler for the five students, who were members of Phi Gamma Delta when they were each charged in September with multiple counts of hazing. Early Monday the cases of the five students were accessible on the state's online court system, Alacourt. But by late Monday four of the cases were listed as "confidential," with notes explaining juvenile court rules. The cases that now have confidential notes are those of students: John Patrick Buckley, 21, Houston, Tx.; Hunter Lee Wagner, 20, Huntsville; Richard E. Markwalter, 20, Huntsville; and Mark Allen Powers, 20, Athens. Powers, according to previous reports was charged with one count of hazing and the others were each charged with three counts of hazing. Because the cases are now confidential, it is unclear whether they still have to appear in court Tuesday. Colter Koch Anderson, 22, was the only one whose case remaine open and had been set for a bench trial this afternoon. Anderson also had a disorderly conduct charge. In orders this afternoon, however, Judge Chandler dismissed all the against Anderson at the request of prosecutors. The disorderly conduct charge was also dismissed after some costs "and completion of treatment prior to March 1, 2016, with prejudice." The order did not say what kind of treatment. Anderson's attorney declined comment after leaving the judge's office. Anderson was not at the courthouse. Attorneys for all five of the students had not responded to emails requesting comment regarding today's scheduled hearing prior to publication of this story. Under Alabama law, defendants charged with crimes that happened before they turned 21 are eligible to apply for youthful offender status. After an investigation by a probation officer a judge can grant the status after considering factor such as past criminal activity, age, maturity, seriousness of the crime, and school attendance. If granted youthful offender status, the most the defendant can be incarcerated in the Alabama Department of Corrections is three years or probation up to three years. Records in the case are also sealed, disposition of the case is not public and does not go on the defendant's adult record. Background The fraternity members reportedly made pledges stand in buckets of ice and salt, a combination which led to burns on the pledges' feet. University officials didn't confirm those specifics, or the time of arrests. The arrests followed a joint investigation by the University of Alabama Police Department and the UA Office of Student Conduct. University officials said after the arrests that Alabama will not tolerate hazing, takes allegations and incidents of hazing very seriously, and asked students to report such incidents. UA, together with Phi Gamma Delta International Fraternity, placed interim sanctions on the chapter. Pledges were told to bring a cooler from the Phi Delta Gamma fraternity house band room, fill it with ice and carry it to a second floor bathroom. The students -- two 19-year-olds and a 20-year-old -- were then told to take off their socks and shoes, court records state. Court documents detail how the three pledges came to suffer second and third degree burns that sent them to UAB Hospital and five active members of The University of Alabama fraternity chapter to jail. The pledges were told to stand in the cooler of ice for 15-20 minutes each, the records state. Someone poured salt into the ice, but none of the members admitted to being the one who did it, the records state. "After a few minutes, fraternity members and the pledges realized (the three) received injuries to their feet from the cold ice and were told to get medical attention," a deposition states. They were treated locally but eventually went to UAB's burn unit. Sometimes called the "salt and ice and challenge," the chemical combination of salt, ice can cause severe, permanent skin damage. Updated 2:15 p.m. March 1, 2016 with dismissal of charges against Anderson In a strange twist on election day, a spokeswoman for Birmingham Mayor William Bell said Tuesday that inquiries have been made regarding his possible place on a short-list of vice presidential candidates if Hillary Clinton were nominated. Bell has no comment on the situation, spokeswoman April Odom said in a news release. Birmingham Mayor William Bell "While it would be an honor for both the Mayor and Birmingham to have such an incredible vote of confidence, the Mayor is focused on the needs of the city that he loves and has dedicated his life to serving," the statement reads. "He will continue to look out for the needs of the City in every decision he makes. This is a critical time for our country and we encourage everyone to get out and vote today." Attempts to reach Clinton campaign officials for comment were unsuccessful. After a candidate wins his or her party's nomination for president, a running mate is typically announced in July or August of an election year. In recent months, speculation has ramped up over who could become Clinton's running mate if she gets the Democratic nomination. Bell has not been noted publicly as a potential candidate. A few names have come to the forefront: Cory Booker: A senator in New Jersey Julian Castro Tim Kaine Martin O'Malley: Former Maryland governor who dropped out of the 2016 presidential race Tom Perez Elizabeth Warren: A senator in Massachusetts (though In October, Bell joined more than 50 African-American mayors in endorsing Clinton for president and serves as a member of her Alabama Leadership Council. "Mayors are on the front lines of many of our country's toughest battles," Clinton said at the time. "They're fighting to create jobs, rebuild our infrastructure, stop gun violence, and eliminate the inequities that tear communities apart. From the biggest cities to the smallest towns, what happens at the local level often leads to national change. Mayors make that happen." Birmingham has solidified its reputation as a Democratic city in a GOP-dominated state. In 2014, Birmingham lost its bid to host the Democratic National Convention. National observers had described the city as a long shot, and the short-list included Columbus, Ohio, New York and Philadelphia, which ultimately won out. Ladarius Watts.png Ladarius Watts (Shelby County Jail) A Birmingham man is jailed in Shelby County, accused of profiting from taking a woman to a Pelham home for the purpose of sexual or labor servitude. Ladarius Jamar Watts, 28, is charged with human trafficking. The incident happened June 27, 2015. According to an arrest warrant, Watts "knowingly benefitted, financially or by anything of value, from participating in a venture or engagement for the purpose of sexual or labor servitude...or knowingly recruited, enticed, solicited, induced, harbored, held, transported, restrained, provided, maintained, subjected or obtained by any means another person for the purpose of labor or sexual servitude." The warrant says Watts took a woman to a home on Bishop Circle in Pelham for the purpose of a paid sex act. Watts was arrested Monday. He remains in the Shelby County Jail with bond set at $15,000. Court records show he pleaded guilty to third-degree robbery in 2008 and received a suspended 10-year sentence. A 36-year-old state employee has been charged with the sex abuse of a young girl. Nicholas "Nick" Ketter, who lives in Montgomery, was arrested today and booked into the Jefferson County Jail. He has since been released after posting $36,000 bond. The alleged incident happened in Hoover in 2014 and involved a juvenile girl. Hoover police spokesman Capt. Gregg Rector said this evening that police first received information about the allegations six weeks ago. The victim was under the age of 16, Rector said. Ketter was taken into custody about 10 a.m. today at a business in the 2700 block of Gunter Park West in Montgomery. Records show that is Ketter's ABC Board office. Ketter is charged with second-degree sex abuse and second-degree sodomy. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has been the product general manager at the ABC Board for the past seven months. He has worked for the agency since 2012, and previously was a product dealer. A spokesman for the ABC Board declined comment, citing the case as a personnel matter. More information will be released as it becomes available. Jerica Frazier 2.jpg Jerica Frazier of Paint Rock is recovering at Huntsville Hospital following a Feb. 18 car crash in Jackson County in which she lost a leg. (Facebook) A Jackson County college student is recovering at Huntsville Hospital following a car crash earlier this month that cost her a leg. Jerica Frazier of Paint Rock was on her way to school at Northeast Community College on Feb. 18 when she was involved in a collision on U.S. 72, about five miles north of Grant. Photos of the scene show that Frazier's car was crushed beyond recognition by a mostly-intact SUV; Chuck Ellis, an Alabama trooper who worked the scene, posted on his Facebook page that the Jaws of Life were needed to get her out of the wreckage. This picture was taken Thursday morning about 11 AM; 5 miles North of Grant just inside Jackson County on US-72. The man... Posted by Chuck Ellis on Friday, February 19, 2016 A Facebook page dedicated to spreading information about Frazier's recovery, Jerica's Journey, reports that Frazier has already required multiple surgeries to fix broken bones and other injuries, but that she is out of the intensive care unit and healing well. Several pictures posted to the page show her smiling from her hospital bed. Family friends have set up a bank account at People's Bank in Gurley, as well as a GoFundMe account on her behalf, to accept donations to help with her medical expenses. As of Monday, the GoFundMe account had raised nearly $4,400. "Jerica is one of the sweetest, most caring young ladies with a smile big enough to light up any room," the GoFundMe page reads. "Her story of survival has been told numerous times and pictures of her car are worth a thousand words. Jerica is truly a miracle to be alive and she needs our help in this healing time." The young woman has garnered immense support, including from members of the Scottsboro Fire Department, who posted over the weekend about her crash. Though the department doesn't ordinarily post about incidents it responds to, the author of the post said Frazier has been an inspiration to first responders. "Many times these incidents don't have a positive outcome, and the responders often carry some of that burden. This time, watching her progress on Jerica's Journey FB page has been a blessing," the post reads. "Thank you Jerica for smiling in the face of adversity, and for being an inspiration to first responders and everyone that experiences a tough time. We ask that everyone keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers as she continues to heal." Decatur has a new police chief. Interim Chief Nadis Carlisle (Decatur PD) Nadis E. Carlisle II, a captain who headed the department's Criminal Investigation Division, was sworn in Monday to replace retiring Chief Ed Taylor. The Decatur Daily reports that Carlisle, 51, was named in the interim while the city council vets the approximately two dozen viable candidates who have applied for the permanent position. Taylor is retiring after more than 42 years in the department, the past five as chief, the newspaper reports. Carlisle, who has been a police officer for about 25 years, made history as the first black officer to achieve the ranks of lieutenant and captain in the Decatur Police Department. A second student has been arrested in connection to an unauthorized website that provided personal information of Jacksonville State University students and faculty. University police confirmed the arrest on Monday. The unidentified student is accused of stealing computer data from JSU for the website. The investigation ongoing. More arrests may be possible, police say. The unauthorized website came to light last week. It allowed users to access for students' photographs, addresses birth dates, phone numbers, student ID numbers, fraternity and sorority affiliation and other information. It also provided information on some former students, faculty and other staff. Authorities soon learned the data was stolen internally and not from external hacking. In a statement JSU officials said that "a peripheral system with limited information was accessed on campus and placed online." Christopher Noland Rogers Christopher Noland Rogers (Lee County Coroner's Office) Authorities have identified a man found dead on a roadway southwest Auburn this weekend. The case has been ruled a homicide. The victim has been identified as Christopher Noland Rogers, 54, of Headland. Rogers was found Saturday afternoon in the roadway of an abandoned trailer park on Lee Road 2177 near the intersection of Lee Road 2179. Lee County Coroner Bill Harris pronounced him dead at 4:50 p.m. Auburn detectives and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency's Identification Bureau Latent Prints Unit confirmed his identity through his fingerprints. The cause of death has not yet been released. Police could not release more information, citing the early stages of the ongoing homicide investigation. Anyone with information on Rogers' whereabouts prior to Saturday's discovery or with information about the case in general is asked to call the Auburn Police Department at 334-501-3140 or the anonymous tip line at 334-246-1391. Sometime around 3:30 a.m. last Thursday, an incident occurred in the 3200 block of McElvey Street in west Montgomery. A police officer encountered a man named Gregory Gunn during this incident. Greg Gunn What happened next hasn't been confirmed, but it was confirmed the officer shot and killed Gunn at the scene. Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange gave an update during a press conference on Monday. He said the Montgomery Police Department has no immediate knowledge of what led up to the shooting. All evidence, including body camera footage, was turned over to the State Bureau of Investigation without review by Montgomery police. "As we stand here today, we do not know the circumstances that led to the tragedy that happened on Feb. 25," Strange said. "We too are seeking answers as well." "We, the city, all of the entities of our city, will cooperate fully. And we encourage all of our citizens who have information to cooperate fully as well. Because only through that cooperation will the light of the truth shine on this particular situation, he said. "Nothing more should be said about the instances that night until the SBI finishes their investigation." The only new information released was the identity of the police officer involved to be officer A.C. Smith. Strange said the city has asked SBI to expedite the investigation it could be several weeks before any answers are revealed. "I just want to again express our deepest sympathy and regret for this tragedy. And I pledge to you, we pledge to you, that we and any other people that had anything to do with will do their best that the full truth and nothing but the truth comes out. And wherever that truth leads us, whatever factually situation that it presents, we will in fact act strongly and judiciously as we must," he said. Emotions ran high during the conference as several citizens, including Gunn's brother, Franklin Gunn, loudly demanded answers that were not given that day. He pleaded for a five minutes of silence for his brother, saying that was the amount of time police didn't give him that night. People have reported Gunn was in an altercation with Smith and called out to his mother and neighbor for help when he was shot. A police representative could not comment, saying all aspects of the investigation are now being handled by SBI. SBI could not comment or say if the body camera footage will be available at a later date. The following statement was offered. "Consistent with agency policy, ALEA does not comment on ongoing investigations." capitol mug 2 dec 1.jpg (Mike Cason/mcason@al.com) Retirement plans for future judges, district attorneys and circuit clerks will change if voters approve Amendment One in Tuesday's primary. State officials are encouraging voters to approve the amendment, saying it will save taxpayer money by requiring more in employee contributions and setting minimum retirement ages. State Treasurer Young Boozer estimated the plan would save about $130 million over the next 30 years by reforming the retirement benefits. "Current law allows some elected officials to retire after a defined number of years of service regardless of age, entitling some to draw sizable pensions for a very long time," Boozer said in a news release. "Voting yes on this amendment would save millions of taxpayer dollars by implementing mandatory employee contributions and establishing a minimum retirement age." Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, who sponsored the legislation, said estimated savings on judge's retirements would be about $140 million over 30 years. Total savings, he said, could be about $200 million. Currently, district attorneys and circuit clerks receive retirement through the supernumerary system. They do not pay into the system and receive a pension of 75 percent of their salary upon retirement. Amendment One would create a defined benefit retirement plan under the Judicial Retirement Fund, which is part of the Retirement Systems of Alabama. District attorneys and circuit clerks would contribute 8.5 percent of their salary to the fund. They would be eligible to retire at age 62 with at least 10 years of service. The changes would apply only to district attorneys and circuit clerks appointed or elected after Nov. 8. The amendment would also change the retirement plan for judges elected after Nov. 8. Currently, judges contribute 8.5 percent of their salaries to the fund. They are eligible to retire at any age with at least 25 years of service, at 60 with at least 17 years, at 62 with at least 15 years, at 65 with at least 12 years, and at 70 with at least 10 years. Upon retirement, judges draw 75 percent of their ending salary. If the amendment passes, judges elected after Nov. 8 would not automatically receive 75 percent upon retirement, but would receive 4 percent for each year of service. The benefit would be capped at 75 percent. They would be eligible to retire at age 62 with at least 10 years of service. Judges would continue to contribute 8.5 percent. FGM: girl-children of Dawoodi Bohra sect are the only Muslim women in India systematically and forcefully mutilated. The organisation Sahiyo completed a study to determine the prevalence of cutting among the Bohra community. The article has been updated to include this information. Mumbai, India About 40 years ago at the age of seven, Masooma Ranalvi was lured to a dark alley in a decrepit-looking building by her grandmas promise of ice-cream. It is a day that she will never forget. I remember it so clearly. I was told to lie down, my legs were held and I was cut with a razor. It was a sharp piercing pain. It was so scary and I couldnt stop crying, Ranalvi told Al Jazeera English. After the procedure, black powder was put on the wound and for the next 10 days Ranalvi suffered silently in pain. It happened in such a primitive way but we were in the throbbing metropolis of Mumbai. Even to date, what happened was never spoken about. Ranalvi, who grew up in Mumbai but has since moved to the countrys capital, is one of the estimated 200 million girls and women alive today that have suffered female genital mutilation (FGM), according to the latest worldwide figures by UNICEF. But while FGM has been well-documented in countries including Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia, it has been shrouded in secrecy in India, where it is practised among the Dawoodi Bohra community, a Shia Muslim sect with origins linked to Africa and which is thought to number more than one million. While Muslims make up about 14 percent of Indias population, FGM only occurs within this specific sect. It was not until Ranalvi was in her late 20s that she read about the practice in Africa and drew parallels with what had happened to her. When I realised I was shattered. It was horrifying to realise that part of my clitoris was ripped out. Speak out on FGM While little was known about female genital mutilation in India, that is all changing thanks to Ranalvi and a group of women who have come together under the forum Speak out on FGM to tell of their experiences and to encourage other women to speak out too. Last month a petition was launched by 17 Bohra women calling for a law banning FGM in India. A lot of Bohra women contacted me wanting to speak out and talk about what happened to them, Ranalvi said. I needed to do something about it. All of us are scarred in some way. We were cheated in a clandestine way. Although it is not mentioned in the Quran, the Bohras consider Khatna their name for female genital mutilation to be a religious obligation. The Syedna, the religious head of the sect, who is based in Mumbai, supports the practice. Ranalvi said that the response of the religious head has been one of silence. He has decided to keep quiet and the practice continues unabated, she said. Dr Zeenat Shaukat Ali, a professor of Islamic Studies at St Xaviers College, in Mumbai, told Al Jazeera that the practice had nothing to do with religion. Nowhere is it mentioned in the Quran, it is a tradition. It has nothing to do with religion. We always have this tendency to confuse religion and culture, she said. The idea is to suppress women, to dominate them. The practice is not acceptable for other Muslims in India except the Bohra sect. It is really not acceptable. Ali added that she was proud of the women who were taking a stand against it. FGM a form of abuse Tasneem, who didnt want to disclose her full name for fear of retribution in the community, was also cut at the age of seven. She too was lured by the promise of ice-cream. I realised that Khatna is not in the Quran. Why put girls through torture in the name of religion? We need to break the myth that its compulsory. If something is advocated in the name of religion, it doesnt mean that its right, she told Al Jazeera. She, and other Bohra women, believe that religion is used as an excuse to justify the practice which is done to prevent promiscuity. Others in the community label it female circumcision as a means of justification just as baby boys in the community have it done for health reasons. God has made us the way we are. So what, sex shouldnt be for pleasure for women? We are meant to work in the house and act like robots? Holding back tears, Tasneem spoke of her regret at having her 15-year-old daughter also cut at the age of seven. I told her how sorry I am. If I was aware I would have fought against it. Every woman feels like theyve been cheated, she said. A revolution has to come and end this practice. Ultimately its a form of abuse. Al Jazeera repeatedly called a Mumbai-based doctor who is well known for performing the procedure, only to be told several times that the wrong number had been reached. Stop the cutting For young Mumbai-based journalist, Aarefa Johari, speaking out against FGM was an obvious course of action. She said that the psychological impacts on women are vast, ranging from intimacy issues to marriage troubles and social anxiety. They dont have the right to control womens sexuality. There is a complete lack of consent. More than a year ago, Johari and four other Bohra women began a group called Sahiyo which aims to create a safe space for women to speak about their experiences. The final goal is to empower Dawoodi Bohra and other Asian communities to end cutting. Sahiyo conducted a study to determine the prevalence of cutting among the community. The organisation study the incidence to be about 80 percent of girls, including other Bohra women who live outside India in countries including the US, UK and Australia. More and more doctors are doing this, Johari said. But while Johari wants a law banning the practice, she admits it will be tough to achieve. Weve had no response from the clergy, she said. If were able to convince the leaders, maybe itll be possible. We just need to build enough momentum and try and engage as many people as possible and then there will be a chance of legislation being effective. Ranalvi shares the same concerns. Even if a law is passed, the practice is so secret itll go underground. We need a change in hearts, minds and understanding. We have a long battle ahead and it wont happen easily, she said. But even if one woman is stopped from getting her daughter cut, its a big victory for us. That will make me happy. READ MORE: A witness to FGM a photographer documented the horror of one girl in Kenya As the US heads into Super Tuesday, the family-run Hillary boutiques are a symbol of Kosovar support for Clinton. Pristina, Kosovo Tucked away inside Kosovos largest Communist-era housing and shopping complex, one store stands out. Behind mannequins in trouser suits and shiny gowns sits a framed photograph of Hillary Clinton with a beaming young woman. The store is called Hillary 2. The woman in the photograph, Elda Morina, 33, and her brother, Besian, 31, help to run the womens clothing boutiques started by their father, Feim. Analysis: Drawing parallels in Ukraine, Kosovo and Georgia In 2002, when the Morinas opened their first store, Feim, 69, decided it would be fitting to call it Hillary. He had always admired Clintons taste in fashion as First Lady and wanted to also thank her and America in a way for everything that they have done for us. The first boutique opened for business a few years after the brutal war in Kosovo ended in June 1999 when 78 days of NATO air strikes drove out Slobodan Milosevics security forces from the tiny province that was then part of Serbia and mostly inhabited by ethnic Albanians. US President Bill Clinton launched the strikes to prevent another genocide from unfolding in the Balkans, as had happened in Bosnia a few years earlier. The Hillary boutique, located on Bill Clinton Boulevard, has changed premises since it first opened but remains on the same street. Fourteen years after the Morinas started their family business, Hillary remains the go-to place for women, mostly working professionals in their mid-20s to 40s, seeking the latest styles from Istanbul. We have customers who come from all over Kosovo; they like the name and the styles, said Besian Morina, who runs Hillary while his sister manages Hillary 2. Regular Hillary customer Merita, who did not want to give her surname, a blonde, curly-haired woman with oversized black sunglasses, described Clintons style as elegant, citing it as one of the reasons why she visits the shop at least three times a week. I believe that its an inspiration to all women, she said of Clintons style. As it is in the US, 2016 is a presidential election year in Kosovo. In 2011 the young country elected its first female president, Atifete Jahjaga, whose term ends in April. Morina and his family are closely watching the US elections, and it remains clear that they, like many Kosovars, would like to see the Clinton legacy live on. We have a big sympathy for that family. We think she is a woman with a big vision for [Americas] future. We think she deserves to win, Elda said. She greeted Hillary Clinton in 2010 when the secretary of state paid a surprise visit to the Hillary store, as captured in the framed photograph which sits in both stores. Kosovos unilateral independence is still not recognised by all of the international community, including key UN member states such as Russia and China and five European Union countries. Elda says Clintons unwavering support for Kosovo has helped put the country on the international map. Hillary and Hillary 2 are now among the tourist attractions in the capital of Europes youngest nation, particularly Hillary as its only a few steps away from a 3.5m statue of a waving Bill Clinton, another landmark in the city, unveiled in 2009. Curious visitors from around the world, from China, Russia, Albania, the US including American soldiers stationed here as part of the ongoing NATO peacekeeping operation and even Serbia, often stop by the boutique on a nondescript street, nestled between an optics store and a closed-down pinball cafe, to take a peek inside or pose for a photo in front of the store. Post-war Kosovo saw a rise in shopping malls and womens stores selling clothes imported from China and Turkey at discounted prices. But none seemed to match the more upmarket styles sold at Hillary particularly the famous trouser and skirt suits which Elda Morina considers to be the style that most exemplifies Clinton and which has made the store famous for fashion-conscious women seeking professional clothing. Inside the boutique, an array of tomato red, dark navy and cobalt blue trouser and skirt suits hang on racks, reminiscent of the 1990s when Clinton was the First Lady. Weve always had a section dedicated to Hillary, said Besian Morina, referring to the trouser and skirt suits, which cost between 80 and 100 euros ($87-$108). Apart from the suit ensembles, Morina also sells plush winter coats, floor-length sequined dresses and halter-necked evening gowns in a separate room inside the store. Morina and his sister travel monthly to Istanbul to place clothing orders. Selvije Haliti, 51, a nurse from Pristina with a neatly coiffed bob and a brightly coloured scarf, has been visiting the boutique since it opened in 2002. She has been following the US election campaign and hopes that Clinton will become the Democratic presidential candidate. We are proud that we know the name of Hillary Clinton as a nation, and for as long as live we will always be thankful to her and her life, said Haliti, during a visit to check out a red skirt suit. But even for those who may never set foot inside the store, Clinton remains a popular candidate for the next US president. I know that the wife of Bill Clinton was for Kosovo, they saved us and we will never forget that, said Dula Jashari, 76, a former policeman. If it hadnt been for America, there wouldnt have been a single Albanian in Kosovo. Back at Hillary, Besian Morina says he wants to expand the family business. My dream is to have my own [clothing] brand, which is the Hillary brand. As Texas prepares to play a key role on Super Tuesday, we meet those going against the states conservative grain. Canyon, Texas Super Tuesday is the busiest day of the United States primary season, when more delegates to the US presidential nominating convention can be won than on any other single day in the primary calendar. And of all the states holding primaries on this day, Texas pot is the largest with 155 Republican and 252 Democratic delegates up for grabs. At Canyons West Texas A&M (WTAMU) University, students are getting ready for what should be a big day. Matthew Vertefeuille, a 27-year-old student from nearby Amarillo, is supporting the Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. My number one issue is the same as Bernies, he explains. I think big money in politics is ruining the political process in the US. America is a socialist state This is the northernmost region of Texas, known as the Panhandle and according to some estimates it is not just the most conservative part of the state, but the most conservative part of the nation. The city of Hereford, 30 miles southwest of here, has been designated the most right-wing US city by nonpartisan group Crowdpac. Some of the students joke about the fact that WTAMU has nine scholarships for students in rodeos, the classic cowboy sport. Vertefeuille says that supporting Sanders in the Panhandle has seen him accused of being a socialist by more conservative friends. I ask them if they even know what a socialist is. America is a socialist nation. Social security and Medicare, these are all socialist programmes. People just dont realise it. If you dont think racism is a problem, youve never been to the Panhandle Benjamin Miller, a 29-year-old from Amarillo, says he is an independent because he doesnt subscribe to one political ideology. Im very conservative on some things, and liberal on others, he explains. Miller is currently supporting John Kasich, Republican contender and governor of Ohio, who isnt faring well in the polls. Theres no way hell win, but to me he seems like the most decent candidate. Its sad that thats my main concern for who gets my political support, he adds. Kasich is an establishment Republican, but Miller doesnt view that as a bad thing. He says the rightward drift of the Republican party since the 1990s troubles him, and hes particularly pained by the rise of Donald Trump, the current Republican frontrunner. As far as policy is concerned, Miller says he is afraid for the future of the US. Interventionist wars have left him frustrated. I dont want to explain to my two children why America has invaded Syria, or any other country, with no good reason. Im all for attacking ISIL [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant], but I cant find them on a map. Both Miller and Vertefeuille are white Americans who admit that they cant relate to the experiences of minorities in the US. Ive been given every opportunity to succeed at anything I want, and I know that, Miller says. But I recognise there is still racism in this country. If you dont think racism is a problem, youve never been to the Texas Panhandle. Bringing undocumented workers out of the shadows In the Democratic contest, minority support is crucial. Hillary Clinton swept South Carolinas primary, a state whose population is 27.8 percent black, with 73.5 percent of the vote. In Texas, the question of Hispanic support comes into play. The state is 12.5 percent black and 38.6 percent Hispanic. Sanders campaign director for North Texas is David Sanchez. For him, the deciding factor was Sanders support for a $15-an-hour minimum wage and comprehensive immigration reform. When you look at things like $15-an-hour, it goes a long way. It gives 60 percent of Latinos in the workforce a raise. This is a group that only controls 2.9 percent of the wealth in the US, Sanchez says. When a parent is working 60 to 80 hours a week to support their family, they dont have time to see their family. Sanders has also promised to take executive action to provide a plan for the 11 million undocumented workers in the US. He wants to bring people out of the shadows. These are family-first policies, and thats really important to me, Sanchez says. The Iranian-American suppporting Sanders Maral Khaghani, a 25-year-old Iranian-American, attended a Sanders rally in Dallas on Saturday. She tells Al Jazeera that while she doesnt dislike Clinton, she is excited by the Vermont senators campaign. Concerning the US role in the Middle East, the first-generation American says she appreciates that Sanders has always stated that he would choose diplomacy over war. If you remember back in 2007, Clinton called then Senator Obama naive for wanting to sit down with Iran and have a diplomatic conversation [concerning its nuclear programme], Khaghani says. [S]he has stated multiple times that military action is an option [in dealing with Iran]. Khaghani doesnt want the US to enter another never-ending war in the Middle East. Khaghani is a youth voter, a demographic in which Sanders trumps Clinton. She thinks that is because he understands that the younger generation is sick and tired of the old political ways. Education is also on Khaghanis mind. I dont know anyone who isnt drowning in student debt, she explains, and Sanders has a plan to make sure every person, no matter your colour, no matter how rich your parents are, no matter your religion, has the opportunity to attend college. Will superdelegates sway the race? Another issue that has irked Sanders supporters is the Democratic partys use of superdelegates to choose their nominee. These are longtime party members who can pledge support for whichever candidate they please. Eighty-five percent of delegates are chosen by voters, and determine the partys nominee, but 15 percent are allocated by party officials. Use of superdelegates began in the 1980s, after repeated Democratic losses in presidential elections. It was absolutely a conscience decision that the party members made to award more say to the long-term members and party faithfuls, explains Melinda Jackson, an associate professor of political science and research director for the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University. In order to win the nomination, 2,383 delegates are needed. Currently, Sanders has 85, with 18 being superdelegates. Clinton has 544 delegates, about 450 of whom are superdelegates. Polls show Clinton leading in all Super Tuesday states. Jackson says that it is conceivable that superdelegates could sway the race, but she predicts that Clinton will start to pull away from Sanders and lock up the nomination within the next month. Texas will be a big part of that, she adds. However, with the success of Trump, who recently retweeted a quote from World War II-era Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini, Jackson says that all of the conventional wisdom on this years election has been thrown out the window. Follow Creede on Twitter: @creedenewton Calais, France In the heart of Europe, near the French city of Calais, thousands of refugees live in a self-managed, makeshift camp built on a former toxic waste dump. Close to the sea and a few kilometres from the port of the city, the camp, also known as the Jungle, houses more than 3,700 refugees, mostly from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Kurdistan, Sudan and Eritrea. For more than 15 years now, Calais has become one of the points of arrival for thousands of refugees and migrants trying to enter the United Kingdom. Since last year, due to the biggest refugee crisis since World War II, the Jungle has grown significantly. In recent days the plight of its residents worsened after a French court gave the green light to dismantle a substantial part of the camp over the next three weeks. About 1,500 people will be reallocated to the container town which authorities built adjacent to the camp and to other cities across the country. Although living conditions have been described as an affront to human dignity by the humanitarian organisations working there, the muddy camp now features internal streets, makeshift bars and restaurants and barber shops. Afkaar, like many other Afghan boys got Italian asylum but could not find work. Now he lives in the Jungle. Italy is beautiful, but there is no work. I was free but I had no money for a rental house. What could I do? I decided to come here. READ MORE: France clears part of Calais Jungle Latin Americas longest-running civil war has left some quarter of a million people dead and millions more displaced. Recently on Twitter, Alvaro Uribe, the Colombian President until 2010, took it upon himself to tweet the following line in English: In Colombia human rights is an exclusive privilege of leftist people. Never mind that the thousands of leftist and other kinds of people summarily executed on Uribes watch were not in possession of a detectable abundance of human rights. A pillar of Uribes deplorable legacy, the so-called false positives scandal, saw the Colombian military murder an untold number of civilians and dress the corpses up as guerrillas belonging to the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Latin Americas longest-running civil war has left some quarter of a million people dead and displaced millions more. Its not clear what precise incident prompted Uribes Twitter rumination, but a common tactic of the right-wing Colombian elite and their international allies has been to accuse opponents of invoking the human rights discourse to get away with terrorism. Such allegations naturally obscure the role the Colombian state itself has played in terrorising the population. A 2014 Al Jazeera documentary features testimony by a former female paramilitary commander who describes collaborative village massacres by the army and paramilitary units the purpose of the latter being to partially conceal government involvement in mass slaughter: We killed 15-year-olds and 16, 20 and 50-year-olds. One big peace community As part of a hitchhiking trip through Colombia in 2009, a friend and I visited the peace community of San Jose de Apartado in the northwestern Colombian department of Antioquia, an area brimming with coveted resources. Founded in 1997, the community has renounced the use of weapons and refused to cooperate with any armed actor military, paramilitary, and FARC alike. Pacifist orientation notwithstanding, members continue to suffer deadly attacks from all sides. Although current Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is allegedly endeavouring to convert the whole country into one big peace community, not everyone is on board. by Maria Brigida Gonzalez, a co-founder of the community, told us of the 2005 murder of her 15-year-old daughter Elisena by the Colombian armys 17th Brigade, which contended the girl was a FARC combatant. Such are the perils, apparently, of inhabiting resource-rich territory where war has traditionally been more profitable than peace. And although current Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is allegedly endeavouring to convert the whole country into one big peace community, as it were via ongoing peace talks in Havana with the FARC not everyone is on board. Santos, incidentally, was Uribes defence minister during one stretch of the false positives era, when Colombia reiterated its position as the worst human rights violator in the hemisphere. As Latin America analyst Keane Bhatt explained to me in an email, the president is currently incurring the fanatical wrath of his former boss as he lays the groundwork for internal peace after half a century of conflict exhibiting pragmatism in pursuit of a legacy of having brokered a historic peace agreement. Uribe, meanwhile, has appealed to the United States to both rethink its support for the Havana peace talks and to continue insisting on the extradition of FARC members to the US on drug trafficking charges. In light of Uribes continued hysterics vis-a-vis the narco-terrorist menace, it is worth mentioning that a declassified 1991 US Defense Intelligence Agency report lists none other than Uribe himself as one of the more important Colombian narco-traffickers contracted by the Colombian narcotic cartels. Uribe, the report claims, was dedicated to collaboration with the Medellin cartel at high government levels. A cause for celebration? Despite these allegations, of course, Uribe went on to serve eight years as president of Colombia, after which he was not extradited but rather cordially invited to perform a stint as Distinguished Scholar in the Practice of Global Leadership at Washington DCs prestigious Georgetown University. Leftist people, it seems, arent the only ones with exclusive privileges. OPINION: Renewed hope for justice in Colombia I asked Dr Adrienne Pine, an American University anthropologist, to comment on another absurdity emanating from Washington: the White Houses recent announcement that Plan Colombia would be replaced with Peace Colombia. The former initiative, launched in 2000, entailed large quantities of military aid and other money and resources flung at Colombia under the guise of fighting a war on drugs and terrorists in reality, a war for increased US military and corporate domination of the hemisphere. The new initiative will entail even larger quantities of money. Classifying Peace Colombia as an Orwellian obfuscation, Pine noted that its predecessor had itself directly contributed to the false positives affair, among many other devastating effects of half a century of wrong-headed US foreign policy aimed at preventing another Cuban revolution. In Pines view, terrorised and destroyed Colombian communities deserve real justice and reparations from the US, including regional demilitarisation and an end to economic imperialism. Other people, of course, promote a more conformist outlook: on February 4, The New York Times reported that Santos had been welcomed to the White House for a buoyant celebration of the $10bn, 15-year American effort to help Colombia vanquish its violent drug cartels and end its festering guerrilla war. But if Plan Colombia is deemed cause for celebration, one cant help but worry about the impending peace. Belen Fernandez is the author of The Imperial Messenger: Thomas Friedman at Work, published by Verso. She is a contributing editor at Jacobin magazine. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. Beirut My Name is Adam, the latest novel by Elias Khoury, a novelist, playwright, critic, cultural journalist and public intellectual, is set in the Palestinian town of Lydda in 1948. It explores life for the Palestinians who remained in what Israelis dubbed the ghetto. Khoury has also written about Lebanons civil war and spoken publicly about the wave of revolutions that washed over the Arab world in 2011, which he calls a big step whose ramifications are still unfolding. Khoury spoke with Al Jazeera about how his novels help to mark the difference between past and present, about the ongoing violence in Israel, and about the Arab Spring five years on. Al Jazeera: You have said that you dont consider your novels to be historical, because when you write about the Lebanese Civil War or the Palestinian Nakba, you are writing about the present. Can you elaborate on that? Elias Khoury: My first novel about the civil war, Little Mountain, was published in 1977, so it was written in 1975 and 1976, during the war. My idea was that we have to write what we are living, because this separation between writing and living, between spoken and written, must be destroyed. Speaking about something that happened 10 years ago is not the past, its present otherwise everything is past. Ten minutes ago is the past. It becomes an absurdity. Im telling stories, Im not teaching lessons in history or philosophy. Im just telling stories love stories, life stories. I love these characters and I find them interesting, and through them I discover different aspects of reality. The revolutions happened because it was the end of an era and people couldnt take any more of this type of regime. Al Jazeera: Is your new novel, My Name is Adam, the long-awaited follow-up to Gate of the Sun [a previous book that chronicled the Palestinian saga]? Khoury: Its set in Palestine and this book is the first volume. Its supposed to be a trilogy, but every book is independent. It is a continuation of Gate of the Sun in the sense that it chronicles the Nakba and the aftermath. It begins in the city of Lydda, and it tells a story which is not known at all. The biggest massacre of 1948 happened in Lydda, but this is not the issue. The issue is that the people who stayed in Lydda were quite a small number. From 50,000, something like 500 or 600 people stayed. The Israelis let them live for a year and two months in an enclosed area, surrounded by razor wire. There was one door and they couldnt leave, and the Israelis called it the ghetto. This novel is entitled My Name is Adam because the narrators name is Adam. He was born in 1948, so he was the first baby born in the ghetto. Hes telling the memories of his mother and the people with whom he lives in this first year in the ghetto, which was a terrible year, because the Palestinians who stayed were obliged to do forced labour and the labour was terrible, because the major part of it was to collect the corpses from the streets of the city. READ MORE: The terrible illusions of the Arab Spring Al Jazeera: How did you research the historical background? Khoury: There are some testimonies which were written about Lydda, but very few, and I collected a lot of oral testimonies. It was very difficult because I could not go there. For Gate of the Sun, it was easier because I was working in the camps here in Lebanon. This time I had to collect information by Skype and phone and WhatsApp and Viber actually, I learned to use this technology because of this. There were also many people who I met, in New York and also in Jordan. Al Jazeera: What do you make of the renewed wave of violence in the occupied Palestinian territories in recent months? Khoury: I think in the Arab East, we are going through something new. My feeling is that we are entering a new phase, and maybe its the toughest phase of our contemporary history. If we take the Palestinian cause, what we feel is that there is no political option. The Palestinians have no options at all. In the Oslo Accords, which came as a result of the first intifada, the Palestinians surrendered. The Oslo Agreement is a total surrender by a people who accepted losing 78 percent of their homeland. The condition of surrender is that if you surrender, you have to survive. The Israelis have proved that they refused the Palestinians surrender. They are continuing the occupation and its becoming unimaginable now to think about the Israelis agreeing to the two-state plan. I think its impossible for the Israelis to agree to it now; it would lead to a civil war in Israel. They have created a situation thats irreversible. What does this mean? It means that the Palestinians have to accept to be stateless. Its an apartheid system without recognition of the Palestinians as citizens. In a sense, weve gone back to the origin of things, where survival is resistance. My reading of the resistance thats taking place now is that its not led by anybody and it cannot be stopped by anybody. These are the first signs of a new type of resistance, which is resistance against an apartheid system. Al Jazeera: You gave a keynote speech about the Arab Spring back in 2012, in which you spoke of the revolutions as a positive force for change. Do you still feel this way? Khoury: Positive or negative, history decides. We are living it and we cannot see what will happen and how things will unfold, but I think what happened in the Arab states is a big step and nothing can go back to the status that was before. Look at Egypt, where they tried to bring back the status quo with Sisi; its undoable. That system is over. But on the other hand, the failure of the secular political groups is terrible. We are going through a very tough period. I dont see any end for the civil wars in Syria and Iraq. And, of course, one of the terrible outcomes of this is the collapse of society. I dont think its the revolutions that are responsible for this catastrophe. The revolutions happened because it was the end of an era and people couldnt take any more of this type of regime. But the savagery of the despotic apparatus led a revolution towards a sectarian civil war. We are in a very terrible moment, and I dont think we can rethink the destiny of the states one by one. We have to rethink the destiny of the region. Its all related. I think this is the last struggle of the ancient despotic ways of governing and thinking. They are fighting their last battles and they will be very bloody and they will defend themselves to the end, but there is nothing that can save them. This is the end of an era. Afghan commission questions legitimacy of exam for women accused of adultery, as HRW describes tests as sexual abuse. The Independent Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan has voiced concern over virginity tests carried out on women or girls accused of sex outside marriage. The commission, known as the AIHRC, said females were forcibly subjected to the invasive vaginal and rectal tests after being accused of moral crimes by judiciary institutions. The results of the examinations were then used as evidence in the defendants trials. The national institution interviewed 53 women and girls some as young as 13, who had been accused of having sex outside marriage, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison in the country. A large majority of them said they were forced into virginity tests by government doctors. Twenty of them were examined more than once. WATCH: Afghanistan No country for women The AIHRC also questioned the legitimacy of the methods used in the tests, saying they were being conducted without considering scientific inaccuracies and misinterpretations, as well as corruption in government institutions, and technical insufficiency that could affect the exams results. Bogus tests Heather Barr, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watchs womens rights division, criticised the exams as unscientific and bogus. Many people mistakenly believe that virginity can be determined because the hymen is always broken when a woman or girl has sexual intercourse for the first time. This is simply not true. Some girls are born without a hymen; hymens often break during daily non-sexual activities, and some hymens remain intact after sexual intercourse, Barr said. Purported virginity examinations are so unreliable that the World Health Organization has said that they have no scientific validity and health workers should never conduct them. She also noted that spurious charges of sex outside marriage are often a form of punishment for women who fled forced marriages or domestic violence and called on the government to ban the virginity tests. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani could abolish these exams through an executive order. Recognising everyones inherent dignity, respecting human rights, and appreciating real science over pseudo-science all demand he do so. Moussa Tchantchiung granted bail after arrest in Bangladesh for suspicious activities and criminal breach of trust. Bangladesh has released a French aid worker months after he was arrested for allegedly helping Myanmars Rohingya refugees. Moussa Tchantchuing, also known as Moussa Ibn Yacoub, was released on Tuesday after being granted bail by the high court, the AFP news agency reported. French embassy press attache Shakhawat Hossain said that he was freed after 70 days in jail on condition that he cannot leave Bangladesh territory without the prior permission of the judge. On December 19 last year, Tchantchuing was arrested on charges of suspicious activities. He was later also accused of a criminal breach of trust, cheating by personation and abetment. Tchantchuing came to Bangladesh and neighbouring Myanmar to help the Rohingyas, according to the non-governmental organsiation he worked for, BarakaCity. READ MORE: The case of a French aid worker arrested in Bangladesh The Rohingyas are a mostly Muslim minority in Bhuddist majority Myanmar. In recent years, they have fled violence and persecution in Myanmars Rakhine province for Bangladeshs south eastern district Coxs Bazar and other South East Asian nations. Amnesty describes the Rohingyas as the most persecuted refugees in the world. BarakaCity confirmed the release of Tchantchuing on Twitter and the move came after a petition was launched demanding he be set free. Earlier in January, Tchantchuing was granted bail but his release was stopped after authorities found that he was using a name different to the one registered in his passport. Bangladesh shares a long border with Myanmar, and has discouraged local and international charities from aiding hundreds of thousands of unregistered Rohingya who have taken refuge in the countrys south eastern resort district of Coxs Bazar. In August 2012, the French aid agencies Doctors Without Borders and Action Against Hunger and the British agency Muslim Aid were told to stop aid to the Rohingya people. The French charities were later allowed to carry on their work. Bangladesh recognises some 30,000 Rohingya as refugees, but the total number of those who have crossed the border is estimated at around 300,000. Critics say legislation does not go far enough in country where violence at home is widely regarded a private matter. A new law that makes domestic abuse a crime has come into effect in China. It is hoped the legislation will encourage more victims to take their abusers to court in a country where violence at home is still widely regarded as a private matter. The All-China Womens Federation estimates that nearly 25 percent of married women in China have experienced domestic violence. But the real figure is probably much higher, because reporting abuse is still rare especially in the countryside. From today victims of domestic abuse will be able to go to court to seek a restraining order that could force the abuser to move out of the home. A judge will have 72 hours to make a ruling, Al Jazeeras China correspondent Adrian Brown reported. But critics say the legislation still doesnt go far enough, since it fails to outlaw marital rape and doesnt place enough emphasis on health and social services. READ MORE: Rewriting the role of Chinese women The new law prohibits all forms of domestic violence, which it defines as: Physical, psychological and other harm inflicted by family members, including beating, restraint, injury or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, recurring verbal threats and abuse, according to Chinese state media. The police are now required to intervene immediately when abuse is reported, to stop it at once and collect related evidence. Officers must also help victims obtain treatment and medical reports. The legislation covers both married and co-habiting couples. Need to see results Lawyer Zhu Wencai, who has been dealing with domestic violence cases for more than 20 years, said the new law would help but worried there was too much onus on the police to respond. I think this new law will definitely play an very important role in reducing the number of domestic violence cases. But more important is how to enforce the law. We need to see results soon, Zhu told Al Jazeera. Xia Ling, a former domestic violence victim, told Al Jazeera how her ex-husband was careful not to mark her face, focusing his kicks and punches on her arms, legs and back. She said she went to hospital twice, and gave up on getting help from the police after officers told her the beatings were a family issue. They said they could not intervene in a family issue. So they didnt take any action, she said. After she filed for divorce, her husband and mother came and took her son away. She has not seen him for two years. Before the new law on domestic violence was approved, there were no specific laws related to abuse within the family. But the issue was included in laws such as the Marriage Law and the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women. High arrivals, tighter borders and pressure on Greece where many are stranded prompt warnings of a looming crisis. The number of refugees flowing into Europe has soared in the first two months of the year amid tighter borders and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, prompting warnings from agencies and rights groups of a looming humanitarian crisis. On Tuesday, the UNs refugee agency, the UNHCR, said that 131,724 people made the journey across the Mediterranean during January and February, with 122,637 refugees landing in Greece. This is approaching the total for the first half of 2015, [when] 147,209 [arrived], said UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards. READ MORE: Why is Europe closing its borders to Afghans? At least 418 refugees died on their way to Europe in the first two months of the year, compared with 428 in the same period last year, the International Organization for Migration said. The IOM estimated that of the 321 who died on the Eastern Mediterranean route, which ends in Greece, 77 were children an average exceeding one child death per day. Many predicted that the number of refugees would rise to a new record in 2016. In 2015, more than one million refugees fled to Europe by sea. The IOM said: With 10 months [of 2016] left, it now appears likely that last years total will be surpassed, possibly before the end of the summer. Restricted borders Last Wednesday, in a bid to stem the flow, Austria and nine Balkan states agreed to grant entry only to those in proved need of protection a move which sharply reduced the intake and effectively excluded refugees from Afghanistan, a country where civilian casualties reached a record 11,000 in 2015. The decision triggered desperate scenes in Greece as refugees trying to move on to other European countries were faced with tighter controls. Up to 25,000 refugees are stranded in Greece, and Immigration Minister Yannis Mouzalas says that number could rise to 70,000 in March. Europe is on the cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis, UNHCRs Edwards added. This is in light of a rapid build-up of people in an already struggling Greece, with governments not working together despite having already reached agreements in a number of areas, and country after country imposing new border restrictions. Inconsistent practices are causing unnecessary suffering and risk being at variance with EU and international law standards. Most refugees arrive from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. In Greece, many are sleeping rough and have to queue for hours for food. On Monday at the Greece-Macedonia border, Macedonian police fired tear gas at refugees who tried to break through a razor wire fence to continue their journey. The increase in arrivals is the result of conflicts that are still raging in Syria and Iraq, Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty Internationals deputy director for Europe and Central Asia, told Al Jazeera. Were also seeing an increasingly difficult situation for refugees in host countries. Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon have so many refugees that the numbers are becoming increasingly difficult to manage. Looming humanitarian disaster Turkey is the worlds biggest host of refugees; more than 2.2 million Syrians have sought their escape there since the civil war erupted six years ago. Theres a looming humanitarian disaster in Greece, van Gulik added. Its likely that were going to see an increase in arrivals, compared with last year. People are desperate; they are leaving the most horrible conflict situations, places where even hospitals are being bombed. She added that the closure of land borders means that more would take to the sea, a far riskier route that has caused almost all deaths of refugees. With 3,771 deaths, 2015 was the deadliest year on record for migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe, according to the IOM. By comparison 3,279 deaths were recorded in the Mediterranean in 2014. READ MORE: Deadliest January on record for refugees raises alarm Gerry Simpson, senior refugee researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera that the European Union which includes Greece should work together to solve the refugee crisis. The EU has to act as a union, he said, adding that it cannot hang individual countries out to dry. [The EU] can absolutely cope with one million people per year. It can screen claims, it can deport people whose claims fail. It has the capacity. It is a political decision not to do that. Commenting on the clamping down of European borders, Simpson said: Unless new restrictions are lifted, then its no longer Europes refugee crisis. Then its Greeces refugee crisis. Greeces asylum system has long been dismissed as ineffective and unfair, and people should not be returned to Greece. Adding hundreds of thousands of people to an asylum queue would completely paralyse the system, and people would end up without legal status. Follow Anealla Safdar on Twitter: @anealla Malian member of al-Qaeda-linked group Ansar al-Dine is accused of being involved in destroying historic Timbuktu sites. A Malian man has attended a hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to assess if evidence against him is strong enough to merit making him stand trial for his involvement in destroying historic sites in Timbuktu. Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi is the first person to appear in front of the prosecutors at the ICC for planning, directing and participating in attacks against religious monuments in the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu in the summer of 2012. ICC prosecutors are building the case against Mahdi on Article 8 of the Rome Statute, which states that the destruction of historic buildings without reason is a war crime. If enough evidence is established, Mahdi will stand trial for his alleged involvement in the attack on the centuries-old world heritage site of Timbuktu. The case will be the first by the ICC to consider destruction of cultural heritage a war crime. Mahdi was arrested in Niger and handed over to the court last year. Prosecutors say Mahdi belonged to Ansar al-Dine, an armed group with ties to al-Qaeda. During their occupation of the city, nine mausoleums and the famous Sidi Yahi Mosque were destroyed. We must stand up to the destruction and defacing of our common heritage, said chief ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda as she unveiled the charges against Mahdi. Exemplary case Willem van Genugten, a specialist in international law focusing on cultural heritage at the Tilburg University in the Netherlands, said the hearing was an an exemplary case. Van Genugten said the precedent would pave the way for future cases, referring to the current destruction of heritage sites by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in Syria and Iraq. This case is not about the bloodshed of civilians but about wiping out historical importance, Van Genugten said. Its about tribes and religion and the history of mankind and about not acknowledging other peoples right to history and religion.. Finding proof of the demolition would not be difficult, but charging individual offenders would be more complicated, Van Genugten said. Who was responsible for the orders and who carried it out? Archaeologist and cultural heritage specialist Joris Kila from the University of Vienna said he hoped the trial would raise awareness about the threat to heritage sites. Kila, who travelled to Timbuktu in 2014 to map out the destruction of the mausoleums and manuscripts, said the case would put pressure on individuals responsible for the destruction of heritage in Syria, Iraq and Libya, with future trials likely. ISIL published video footage showing the destruction of images in the museum of Mosul. On the basis of such images you could be able to identify and find the perpetrators and sue them based on individual criminal responsibility as generated by several laws, treaties and conventions, Kila said. Eight people, including five women, killed in police raid close to Maoist stronghold in central India. At least eight suspected rebels including five women have been killed in a gun battle with police in central India, local officers said. Police said the encounter between suspected Maoists and security forces took place in a forest near the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border on Tuesday morning. The gun battle lasted six hours. Forces today killed at least eight Maoists in Sakler forest, Santosh Singh, a senior police officer, said in Sukma district, some 390km from the Chhattisgarh state capital, Raipur. Among those killed were five female and three male Maoists, Singh told the AFP news agency, adding that six assault rifles were found with the rebels. READ MORE: Indian villagers crushed between militia and Maoists Sukma police chief D Sravan Kumar said elite anti-Maoist police squads conducted a raid in a joint state operation after receiving a tip-off about rebel movements in the forest. The rebels, described by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as Indias most serious internal security threat, say they are fighting authorities for land, jobs and other rights for poor tribal groups. The rebels operate in at least 20 Indian states but are most active in the forested and resource-rich areas of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. Government critics say attempts to end the revolt through tough security offensives are doomed to fail, and the real solution is better governance and development of the region. Warning is issued after Iraqi officials play down risk of a dam collapse, which the US says could cause deadly flooding. The United States has warned its citizens to be ready to leave Iraq in the event of what it has said could be a catastrophic collapse of the countrys largest hydro-electric dam near Mosul. Iraqi officials have sought to play down the risk but Washington urged its citizens to make contingency plans now. A US security message cited estimates that Mosul, which is northern Iraqs largest city and under control of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters, could be inundated by as much as 21 metres of water within hours of the breach. Cities downstream on the Tigris River such as Tikrit, Samarra and the Iraqi capital Baghdad could be inundated with smaller, but still significant levels within 24 to 72 hours. We have no specific information that indicates when a breach might occur, but out of an abundance of caution, we would like to underscore that prompt evacuation offers the most effective tool to save lives of the hundreds of thousands of people, the security message said. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Sunday that precautions were being taken, but described the likelihood of such a scenario as extremely small. ISIL seized the dam in August 2014, raising fears that they might blow it up and unleash a wall of water on Mosul and Baghdad that could kill hundreds of thousands. The dam was recaptured two weeks later by Iraqi government forces backed by air strikes from a US-led coalition, but the disruption of maintenance operations has increased the likelihood of a breach. An Italian company has been awarded a contract to make urgent repairs to the dam, which has suffered from structural flaws since its was built in the 1980s and requires constant grouting to maintain structural integrity. Hussein Hamad, the chief engineer of the Mosul dam maintenance department, told Al Jazeera last month the dam is not 100 percent secure . During the 1980s, foreign companies used to maintain the dam through drilling and [by] reinforcing the dam. That process was handed over to us afterwards, Hamad said. We are given cement and a number of excavators, but we need spare parts for the machines we are using for the ongoing maintenance process. Iraqs minister of water resources said earlier this month that there was only a one in a thousand chance the dam would collapse, and that the solution was to build a new dam or install a deep concrete support wall. At least 25 soldiers and a general killed as violence swells, while Iraqi troops launch push to dislodge ISIL fighters. Dozens of Iraqi soldiers and a general have been killed in separate suicide bombing attacks in Baghdad and Fallujah. Two consecutive suicide bombers from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group killed at least 25 Iraqi soldiers and Popular Mobilisation Force fighters when they targeted their convoy in the village of Jumailah in northern Fallujah, military sources told Al Jazeera. Tuesdays bombings came a day after four ISIL suicide bombers infiltrated an army headquarters west of Baghdad, detonating their explosives and killing an Iraqi general and five soldiers, according to police and army officials. ISIL kills scores in bloody day of attacks across Iraq Late on Monday night, those bombers struck a regimental headquarters in the Haditha area of Anbar province, killing Staff Brigadier General Ali Aboud, Lieutenant Colonel Farhan Ibrahim and four others, the sources said. Funeral blast Suicide bombings and other attacks against Iraqi forces and other groups have become increasingly common in Iraq in recent months. Earlier on Monday, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a funeral in Miqdadiyah, a town northeast of Baghdad in the province of Diyala, killing at least 38 people and injuring scores more. Later on Monday, at least eight security force personnel were killed in attacks targeting a checkpoint in the western Baghdad suburb of Abu Ghraib, police sources said. OPINION: ISIL and the misuse of the imagination Muthanna al-Tamimi, Diyalas governor, said: Miqdadiyah will not fall into the trap of sectarian strife promoted by some politicians. ISIL, which has seized territory both in Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility in an online statement, saying a suicide bomber who detonated an explosive belt targeted a gathering of militia members. The statement listed the names of some who were allegedly killed. The attack in Miqdadiyah happened just hours after 16 Iraqi army soldiers and tribal fighters were killed in a village south of Fallujah, in Anbar, after shelling of their barracks. Amid the rise in violence, Iraqi troops on Tuesday backed by paramilitary forces and aerial support launched a new push to retake a key area north of the capital, Baghdad, and dislodge ISIL fighters from there, officials said. According to a statement by the Joint Operations Command, the new offensive began at dawn in an agricultural area northwest of the city of Samarra, 95 kilometres north of Baghdad, with the aim to cut ISIL supply lines and to tighten the grip around the ISIL-held northern city of Mosul. The command says paramilitary forces, mostly Shia groups, and the Iraqi air force were backing the push on the area, called Jazerat Samarra. The statement did not say if the US-led international coalition was involved in the operation. At least 10 Palestinians injured by live fire in clashes with Israeli army in occupied West Bank refugee camp. Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian and injured several more by live ammunition during an incursion into a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Eyad Omar Sajadiya, 22, was shot dead, while at least 10 others were injured by live fire during Tuesday mornings clashes with Israeli troops in the Qalandiya refugee camp, according to Palestinian medical sources. The armed clashes broke out after an army Jeep entered the camp situated between occupied East Jerusalem and the central West Bank city of Ramallah by mistake, an Israeli police spokesperson told the AFP news agency. Palestinian protests against Israels occupation have increased and tensions have soared in the occupied territories and Israel since October, as anger gave way to violence. A wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October has killed 178 Palestinians as well as 28 Israelis, an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean, according to an AFP toll. Arrests Before dawn on Monday morning, Israeli forces carried out raids in cities and towns across the West Bank, arresting at least 27 Palestinians. Later in the day, Israeli troops arrested two Palestinians who allegedly carried out shooting attacks in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, a focal point during the recent unrest. In a statement, the Israeli army said the two men Nazar Badi, 23, and Akram Badi, 23 both confessed to carrying out at least five shooting attacks targeting Israeli settlers in Hebrons Old City between November and January, according to the Palestinian Maan News Agency. Hebron is divided into three spheres of control including full Palestinian Authority administration, joint administration between Israeli military forces and PA police, and full Israeli control. Amid the 37,000 Palestinians that live there, thousands of soldiers are stationed in the H2 area of the city under full Israeli military control to protect the 600-strong Jewish settler population. Dozens of Israeli military checkpoints severely restrict Palestinian movement into, out of and within Hebron. Upwards of half-a-million Israelis live in more than 150 Jewish-only settlements across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli rights group BTselem. Jamaican Labour Party initially declared winner of general election, but further counting has seen contest tighten. Jamaican reservist soldiers have reinforced security at electoral offices after a final count of votes cast in last weeks general election narrowed the winning partys majority to one seat in the heavily indebted Caribbean nation. The opposition Jamaican Labour Party (JLP) was declared the victor of Thursdays closely fought election but after a second count authorities stripped it of one seat, reducing it to 32 of 63 seats. One more constituency remains to be recounted. The tight election reflects division about Jamaicas economy, with the winners promising low taxes and jobs after years of austerity under an IMF programme. The ruling Peoples National Party was credited by many with restoring economic order. The Electoral Commission said on Monday the earliest it could determine the winner was Wednesday. JLP leader Andrew Holness had been due to be sworn in as prime minister on Tuesday, local media said. The JLP spokeswoman said on Monday that the party would call for a magisterial review of the results in the constituency of South East St Mary, where its victory was overturned. The final count there showed the party losing by just nine votes, after 74 votes were rejected. Such a review would lead to more delays. The countrys military, the Jamaican Defence Force (JDF), called out to ensure security during the election, will now stay on the streets throughout this week, with additional help from its reservist force. The JDF is acutely aware of the current political situation. Like all law-abiding citizens, we want a speedy, safe, and peaceful resolution, said spokesman Major Basil Jarrett. A JLP win could signal a move away from the ruling partys wage freezes and spending cuts. The JLP has instead promised jobs and sharply lower taxes. On Monday, the partys spokeswoman said that it had told the IMF of its reservations about the austerity programme, which includes a target of a 7 percent of GDP primary surplus. The relationship is quite positive and one which we expect to continue, JLP spokeswoman Kamina Johnson-Smith said, but she added that the party had communicated its concerns to the IMF. Joice Mujuru, fired in 2014 for conspiring to topple President Mugabe, says new party aims to tackle unjust system. Zimbabwean former vice president Joice Mujuru has launched a new political party in a direct challenge to veteran President Robert Mugabes ZANU-PF, as speculation increases over his succession. Mujuru was Mugabes longtime deputy and was seen as a likely successor to the 92-year-old ruler before she was fired in 2014. She was removed from the ruling ZANU-PF party on charges that she led a treacherous cabal to oust Mugabe from power. Today is a historic day, said Mujuru announcing the launch of her Zimbabwe People First party at a press conference on Tuesday. This is a day of significance in our countrys political history. Mugabe has ruled since independence in 1980 during an era marked by vote-rigging, mass emigration, accusations of human rights abuses and economic decline. We are not fighting one man but a system, that system which is unjust, said Mujuru. At least four former cabinet ministers who were fired by Mugabe were at the launch of Mujurus party, which was also attended by Western diplomats, Reuters news agency reported. It is not yet clear how big Mujurus support is and whether it would be enough to loosen Mugabes tight grip on power. After being fired from her party and government posts, Mujuru was rarely seen in public, resorting to issuing newspaper statements that hinted at a future challenge to Mugabe. Crucially for Mujuru, she still enjoys support from some of her comrades who hold senior positions in the military, according to her close aides. The military has provided the muscle to Mugabes 36-year rule. When firing Mujuru in 2014, Mugabe made the point that some of his top security chiefs were no longer giving him crucial security briefs; instead they were reporting to Mujuru. Palestinian suspicions fall on Israel after mysterious death of Omar Nayef Zayed at embassy in Bulgarian capital. Ramallah, West Bank Almost a week after he was found dead in the Palestinian embassy in Bulgaria, Omar Nayef Zayeds case continues to grip the occupied Palestinian territories. On Tuesday, a few dozen Palestinians protested outside the Bulgarian Representative office in Ramallah amid a heavy security presence. The protesters held a banner threatening that the crime of assassinating Al Nayef (Zayed) wont go unpunished, raising posters of the 51-year-old found in a pool of blood outside the building in Sofia. The protesters held the Bulgarian authorities responsible and demanded the truth about his death be revealed. We came here to deliver a clear message to the Bulgarian representative; that they are responsible for this heinous crime, Ahmad Zayed, Omars brother told Al Jazeera. They should have provided protection for Omar and the Palestinian embassy, but they didnt. A Palestinian native from the West Bank city of Jenin, Zayed was sentenced by an Israeli court to life in prison after being charged with killing a yeshiva student in occupied East Jerusalem in 1986. Four years into his sentence, he managed to escape Israeli custody during a hospital visit. He ended up in Sofia in 1994, and was granted residency, starting a family. Zayeds quiet life running a grocery store with his wife and three children turned upside down a couple of months ago, when the Israeli embassy in Sofia requested that the Bulgarian government extradite him on December 15. He sought refuge in the Palestinian embassy only to be found covered in a pool of his blood last Friday. His family, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) of which Zayed was a member, as well as other factions and several Palestinian officials have all pinned his death on Israel. It is only natural to accuse Israel as being the number one culprit in this crime. If there were no occupation, there would not be this situation, Ahmad al-Madbouh, the Palestinian ambassador to Bulgaria said. Issa Qaraqe, the head of the Palestinian Commission for Prisoners Affairs, said he believed the Israeli security forces were behind the attack. Israeli denial Other Palestinian prisoners support groups warned of the gravity of the assassination on the fate of released prisoners. Israel has distanced itself from the allegations saying that it would not get entangled with an assassination after filing an official request for extradition, and not while the Bulgarian prime minister was visiting the country on a work trip. An Israeli foreign minister spokesman said that it was not an Israeli issue, but would not comment further. Neither Zayeds family, nor the PFLP, spared the Palestinian Authority from blame. Besides failing to save his life, they claim Omar was under pressure from within the Palestinian embassy to leave its premises. At the embassy, they used to tell him Israel has all the keys, Omars wife, Rania, told Al Jazeera in a recent interview. Although youre in the embassy, we cant protect you. They used to threaten him to leave the embassy, she said. Several versions about what could have happened on Thursday or Friday remain uncertain and somewhat contradictory. The place, status and circumstances in which the body was found have raised lots of questions. It is unclear whether he committed suicide or was pushed by someone. No information has been made available on how long his body lay there before discovery, or whether Zayed had died somewhere else and his body moved to the scene later. Zayeds family and supporters have pointed to the fact that no surveillance cameras were placed inside the building despite its political sensitivity. Investigation committee Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas formed an investigation committee that includes the deputy Palestinian foreign minister, a security official and a PLO representative. The committee, which Zayeds eldest brother joined later, arrived to Bulgaria on Sunday. Were waiting for developments, but we fear that there is a conflict of interest because a member of the committee is a representative of the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, Ahmad Zayed said. The Bulgarian authorities have made their position clear: there will be no joint investigation between Bulgaria and the Palestinian delegation, because it does not consist of prosecutors and investigators, the Bulgarian Prosecutor-General reportedly said on Tuesday. If they want information, they could get it via the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, he added. Autopsy results are expected to be released within the next two days and Bulgarian prosecutors are questioning witnesses and Omars family trying to seek answers. Muqtada al-Sadr has grand ambitions for Iraq, and self-confidence to match. But he has yet to show how he will deliver. As Iraq remains gripped by violence and political turmoil, Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr is once again mobilising Iraqis against the government on a scale that is unprecedented in Iraqs recent protest movement. Considered one of the most influential people in the country, Sadr leads a populist movement, controls one of the biggest political blocs in parliament and commands a powerful militia. The 42-year-old is also viewed as a champion of Iraqi nationalism, enthusiastically working with a cross section of Iraqi intellectuals to help forge a national unity platform to reform Iraqs fundamentally flawed governance. Sadr, however, remains a controversial figure. Soon after he launched his Sadrist Movement, following the US occupation of Iraq in 2003, Sadr was accused of being a destabilising force and a divisive figure who stoked sectarian tension. Even after Sadr transformed himself into a statesman, many believed that he became part of the Shia oligarchy whose political factions were part of the corrupt and inept establishment that has put Iraq into a dire state. Still, Sadrs power is undeniable, with his grassroot party that expands working-class neighbourhoods across Iraqs Shia-populated cities and its al-Salam Brigades paramilitary force, he is the most powerful Shia leader by far. READ MORE: Iraqs popular demobilisation On Friday, Sadr led one of the biggest protest rallies in Iraqs modern history. Tens of thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad to demonstrate against corruption and the governments backtracking on reform plans, as called by al-Sadr. Fixing Iraqs broken politics requires more than a change of government. It needs first and foremost abandoning of the political system forged by the US occupation authority which has strengthened the hands of a sectarian and ethnic oligarchy. The protesters, who gathered in Baghdads central Tahrir Square, waved Iraqi flags and chorused that they would fight corruption and corrupts in the government. Speaking on a stage, Sadr told the crowd that they should be prepared to continue their protest movement until Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met demands to implement fundamental reforms. The rally ended with a warning that the protesters would storm the Green Zone, the fortified area in Baghdad which is host to government headquarters including Abadis offices, if the prime minister failed to carry out the required reforms. The march was a working portrait rich with evidence of what kind of a political leader Sadr might be, and especially of his expansive and muscle-flexing approach to Iraqs lingering crisis. There are two main reasons behind Sadrs new confrontational rhetoric which explain his strategy to consolidate his power base among Shia while adopting a strategy that transcends sectarian interests. First is a Shia power struggle. In recent weeks, Shia factions have been bickering over competing claims and ambitions to run the government. The row grew out of the reforms that Abadi has pledged to carry out in response to widespread protests that have taken place since August against rampant government corruption and poor services and in favour of calls for change. The conflict intensified after Abadi declared that he wants to replace politically appointed members of his cabinet with professionals and technocrats in an effort to push his reform programme. Shia political elites who dominate the government and the parliament have resisted Abadis reforms, though too meagre to matter.The Shia National Alliance has insisted that the present quota-sharing system that distributes seats in the government according to sectarian and ethnic quotas should remain in place. Sadrs populist drive is clearly aimed at Abadi and his Dawa Party. He believes that Abadis plans for a government reshuffle that will exclude politically affiliated ministers will only benefit his rival Dawa Party as it will keep Abadi at the helm of the government. The second reason behind the resurgence of Sadrs anti-government fervour is the rise of the Shia militias. Sadr, who rose to prominence during the US occupation of Iraq, has capitalised on patriotism to launch his Jaish Al-Mahdi (Al-Mahdi Army) militia to oust the Americans. The surge of dozens of Shia militias following the advances of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in summer 2014 has made Sadr felt threatened by the muscle-bound rivals who have entered the ring. Sadrs main worry is that with the resurging militias and their jaw-dropping performance in the war against ISIL, his Sadrist Movement with its armed wing will no longer be the only truly player on Iraqs Shia stage. OPINION: Endless battle fighting systemic corruption in Iraq Last month Sadrs followers clashed with members of Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), one of the key groups comprising the Shia-dominated popular mobilisation forces fighting alongside the Iraqi army, in several Baghdads neighbourboods and other towns. AAH supporters tore down Sadr pictures after he called for militias, including his own, to be absorbed into the Iraqi army. But Sadrs main concern is that these militias may fight him over influence and authority in his traditional constituency; the poor and disfranchised Shia following their successes in the war against the Islamic State. Sadrs worst nightmare is that these militias will obtain enough votes in the next election to rival the power and influence of his al-Ahrar bloc in parliament that enjoys 34 seats. As the massive rally on Friday has underlined, Sadrs status remains fundamentally vigorous when compared with other Shia factions that are blamed for Iraqs broken political system and its failing state. In order to place his movement on a more solid footing for the future, Sadr has taken some shrewd tactical steps to pose as the nations savior. By moving to Baghdad from his stronghold in the Shia holy city of Najaf and resorting to active street politics, Sadr is adjusting actions to energise his movement and to stay close to popular discontent with the government. One of his first moves in Baghdad was to form a committee of secular, Shia, Sunni and Kurdish intellectuals and academic entrusted with the task of suggesting government reforms. His aim is to reach out to all of Iraqs divided communities by presenting an alternative vision about the countrys key political, security and economic challenges. This week Sadr instructed al-Salam Brigades, his militia, to be ready for deployment to protect Baghdad after a major ISIL assault on the outskirts of the capital. He also ordered two of his ministers and a former deputy prime minister to surrender to the judiciary after they have faced corruption charges. On Monday he urged supporters to show up at the Green Zones gates next Friday to make your voices heard to demand implementing his proposed fundamental reforms. Sadr probably thinks his movement could emerge unscathed from the governments crisis and he emerges as Iraqs strongest Shia leader. Yet the plain fact remains that the Shia religious factions, that came to power following the US invasion in 2003 that ousted Saddam Husseins secular regime, have been largely responsible for turning Iraq into a broken country, a dysfunctional state and one of the most wretched places on the planet. Fixing Iraqs broken politics requires more than a change of government. It needs first and foremost abandoning of the political system forged by the US occupation authority that has strengthened the hands of a sectarian and ethnic oligarchy at the expense of creating a true and genuine secular democracy, free of ethnic and religious strife. French police fire tear gas canisters at protesters as demolition workers pull down shacks in makeshift refugee camp. Clashes erupted between French riot police and refugees and migrants as authorities began destroying makeshift shelters in the makeshift camp on the edge of Calais known as the Jungle. On Monday night, police lobbed tear gas canisters at residents of the camp who protested against the raid as about 20 demolition workers moved in to start pulling down the shacks by hand. As night fell about 150 of the camps inhabitants threw rocks and struck vehicles heading for England on a port road which runs next to the sprawling camp, while some wielded iron bars, an AFP news agency reporter said. Police fired tear gas in clashes with activists who had formed a security cordon to protect the camp clearance operation. While there were no reports of injuries, authorities said at least three people were arrested. READ MORE: From Calais refugee to millionaire one mans story Earlier, about 20 makeshift huts went up in flames in an angry backlash as workers, guarded by scores of French police, began pulling down tents and shelters, while clashes continued throughout the afternoon. You can see that the protesters didnt hesitate to set fire to tents and shelters or to throw stones at police, Etienne Desplanques, a regional government cabinet director, told Al Jazeera. Its not acceptable, and its normal that were going to restore security, Desplanques said. Several lorries and cars were blocked by the camps residents on the stretch of road overlooking a piece of ground which had previously been part of the camp. Infinitely sad The demolition of the southern half of the camp began after a court petition by charities to stop it was rejected last week. Its infinitely sad to see the waste of so much work that weve done in the past months, said Maya Konforti, of the Auberge des Migrants (Migrants Hostel) charity. Volunteers and aid workers have spent months trying to improve conditions in the camp, built on a former toxic waste dump on the outskirts of Calais. Local authorities, who have promised that no one will be evacuated by force, say 3,700 people live in the camp, and that between 800 and 1,000 will be affected by the eviction. Child refugees stranded in French city of Calais But charities say a recent census they conducted counted at least 3,450 people in the southern part alone, including an estimated 300 unaccompanied children. There are hundreds of children living here who are unaccompanied, Ginny Howells, of Save The Children, told Al Jazeera, explaining that there is concern the children may end up in worse camps or go missing after the eviction. The evicted refugees and migrants have been offered heated accommodation in refitted containers set up next door to the camp, but many are reluctant to move there because they lack communal spaces and movement is restricted. They have also been offered places in some 100 reception centres dotted around France. READ MORE: Calais Life in the Jungle But the refugees and migrants do not want to give up their hopes of Britain. Many of them try to reach Britain daily by sneaking aboard lorries and ferries crossing the Channel. These people want to reach Britain and wont leave. They will end up in even more hardship, particularly in winter, Konforti said. EU discussions The demolition of the camp comes before talks on Thursday between French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron. Britain has put substantial pressure on France to stem the flow of refugees and migrants getting across the Channel, and has funded a huge increase in security measures around the port and tunnel in Calais. The Jungle has played into fraught discussions about Britains possible exit from the European Union. Some opponents of Brexit say that if Britain were to leave the EU, the British government would lose the ability to call on France to stop the refugees from trying to make their way across the Channel. President Jacob Zuma defeats motion launched by opposition over reckless handling of economy. South African President Jacob Zuma has survived a second no-confidence motion against him in less than a year, held over what the opposition deemed his reckless handling of the economy. The vote on Tuesday was won on the support of ruling African National Congress politicians, who control almost two thirds of the assembly. The no-confidence vote was set up by South Africas opposition party, Democratic Alliance (DA), which blames Zuma for the countrys economic failures after he fired Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene in December. Before the vote, Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane said on the party website: South Africans demand that Jacob Zuma be taken to task for his reckless handling of our economy, and his sending South Africa into financial crisis. In parliament on Tuesday, Mabine Seabe, spokesman for Maimane, said: The biggest sell-out in our country is none other than the president himself. However, the ruling ANC dismissed the protest on its Twitter account calling it, the frivolous antics of the DA cloaked as democracy. Economic fallout In December, Zuma sacked two finance ministers within days, a move which resulted in a market sell-out. The DAs Seabe said that around 8.2 million people are jobless in South Africa, with the unemployment rate at 25 percent. READ MORE: South Africa police probe Zuma for corruption Treasury forecasts last week suggested that the economy may expand by only 0.9 percent in 2016, the lowest rate since South Africa emerged from recession in 2009. The opposition is also calling for the reinstatement of corruption charges against Zuma, which were dropped in 2009 shortly before he became president. Seabe mentioned some of his most notorious corruption scandals during his speech on Tuesday. Jacob Zuma sold out when, as deputy president, he took a R500,000 ($32,000) bribe from Schabir Shaik, Seabe said in parliament. The DA alleges that the corruption cases were dropped due to Zumas interefence with the judiciary. Jacob Zuma sold out when he manipulated the National Prosecuting Authority to drop charges on 783 counts of corruption, bribery, money laundering and racketeering against him, Seabe said. The first vote of no confidence was held in March 2015. Zuma will complete the second term in 2019 and is not eligible to run for president again. However, if the opposition continues to press for corruption charges to be reinstated, the party could replace him before the vote. Researchers say evidence links Zika virus to spike in cases of severe neurological disorder characterised by paralysis. A new study has provided the first evidence that the Zika virus may be the cause for a spike in cases of a severe neurological disorder called the Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). The study, published in the medical journal Lancet, showed 42 patients developed symptoms of GBS, which causes the immune system to attack parts of the nervous system. The neurological symptoms include acute motor axonal neuropathy, which is characterised by severe paralysis. It also caused respiratory problems in about a third of the patients who needed medical assistance to breathe properly, the report said. However, none of the patient-subjects died. This is the first study providing evidence for Zika virus infection causing Guillain-Barre syndrome. Because Zika virus is spreading rapidly across the Americas, at risk countries need to prepare for adequate intensive care beds capacity to manage patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome, the study said. The World Health Organization described Zika, which is spread by mosquitoes, as a public health emergency of global concern in February. READ MORE: Zika virus facts you need to know There are also suspicions that the virus could be linked to Brazils rise in cases of microcephaly a condition of underdeveloped brains in newborns. However, the Colombian government has questioned the link, saying it has not seen any evidence for it after more than 3,000 pregnant women in the country contracted Zika. But Colombias health officials have said that at least three people who died from Zika had symptoms of GBS. GBS is lethal in about five percent of cases, and another five percent suffer lasting disabilities. More than a quarter of patients require intensive care. With 1.5 million cases of Zika infection already recorded in Brazil, and tens of thousands in neighbouring countries, researchers warn that an outbreak of Guillain-Barre could strain healthcare facilities, especially outside of big cities. In areas that will be hit by the Zika epidemic, we need to think about reinforcing intensive care capacity, said Arnaud Fontanet, a co-author of the study and a professor at the Emerging Diseases Epidemiology Unit of the Institut Pasteur in Paris. Turkish religious authority refuses to allow musician imam Tuzer to perform at a concert hosted by Portos art museum. Turkeys religious authority has prevented a local imam, who is also a musician, from performing at a concert in the Portuguese city of Porto. Imam Ahmet Muhsin Tuzer, who sings for the Turkish Rock band Firock, was invited to the city by the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art to perform in early April with the band Chora(s)an Time-Court Mirage. An official with Turkeys Presidency of Religious Affairs confirmed to Al Jazeera on Tuesday that Tuzers request was rejected, adding that he will make a statement about the reasons for the decision on Wednesday. READ MORE: Turkeys rock n roll imam spurs controversy Imam Tuzer, who is also known as the rocking imam, told Al Jazeera: God knows there is nothing un-Islamic about the music we were going to play. I was going to represent my country and religion in line with the religious necessities at a time Islamophobia is spreading in the Western world. Chora(s)an Time-Court Mirage is led by Catherine Christer Hennix, a Swedish musician, who chose to convert to Islam in 2014. The bands music fuses Indian music raga, Arabic-Turkish traditional music, and Eastern African pentatonic Blues music with Turkish and Arabic hymns as well as parts of the Quran. Financial support withdrawn Tuzer, who heads a mosque in the southern city of Antalya, says that the Porto concert had received previous financial support from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and blessing from the religious authority. According to the musician, the Presidency of Religious Affairs changed its position only a month before the performance with the ministry subsequently withdrawing its support. Officials from the ministry had got so excited about the concert following my application. All have changed after the decision of the Presidency [of Religious Affairs], the imam said. The invitation I got as a religious representative and musician from a world-famous museum is significant for Turkey and our holy religion of Islam. And I believe that it would contribute towards transforming the dark perception of Islam [in the Western world] into our religions true nature of peace and light, Tuzer added. He added that he was willing to sue Turkeys religious authority if it did not change its position. The Presidency of Religious Affairs previously started an investigation towards Tuzer in 2013 after his band released an album that includes two Islamic hymns. A year later, the presidency decided not to punish the imam. In April 2014, when the investigation was ongoing, Tuzer performed with Chora(s)an Time-Court Mirage in New York. The state-run Presidency of Religious Affairs is in charge of mosques and religious education in secular Turkey and delivers non-binding views on Islamic matters. Follow Umut Uras on Twitter: @Um_Uras Hundreds rally in Salt Lake City to demonstrate against the shooting, which left 17-year-old in critical condition. Hundreds of people have rallied in Salt Lake City in the US state of Utah to protest against a police shooting that critically wounded a 17-year-old Somali refugee. The Monday night protest in Utah where speakers urged people to stand up to police and demand accountability highlighted the latest flashpoint in the national discussion about police use of force, especially with minority victims. The teenager, Abdi Mohamed, was shot twice in the torso by police on Saturday night. Officers say the incident occurred in downtown Salt Lake City when Mohamed and another person attacked somebody with metal sticks, the AP news agency reported. Citing his family, local media reported that Mohamed is now out of a coma. On Monday night, protesters held signs saying Stop killer cops as they questioned why the police had to use lethal force to combat the teenager and his offsider. Despite calls for police to release the video from body cameras worn by the officers involved in the incident, authorities have so far withheld the footage, saying it would be prejudicial to the ongoing investigation. While there is body camera footage, there is currently an active and open investigation into this matter, and release of the body camera recordings could reasonably be expected to interfere with that investigation, police said in a statement. Family, friends of Abdi Mohamed speak at rally. They say the 17-yr-old is now out or coma. #kutv2news pic.twitter.com/fEzBoTGyUk Daniel Woodruff (@danielmwoodruff) March 1, 2016 Civil rights groups, however, say police must release the tapes for transparency. Because of past unfortunate incidents of controversial police shootings nationwide, the release of the body camera video could help allay community concerns about transparency and accountability, said Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Aden Batar of Catholic Community Services in Salt Lake City says Mohameds family fled Somalia and lived for an unknown amount of time in Kenya before coming to the US in 2004. How many times have you woken up in the throes of your period crampsbarely able to movejust to look at your calendar and pray your day isn't full of meetings that you'll have to painfully wince through? (Guilty, multiple times over.) But one U.K. company is trying to remove the stigma that comes with calling in sick because of period painwhich for many women with male bosses is better known as "coming down with something." Bex Baxter, the director of U.K. company Coexist, told The Daily Mail that she plans on initiating a paid menstrual leave for her female employees. "I have managed many female members of staff over the years, and I have seen women at work who are bent over double because of the pain caused by their periods," says Baxter, who wants to be sure her team members are their most productive when they're in the office. ""Despite this, they feel they cannot go home because they do not [consider] themselves as unwell. And this is unfair.... We wanted a policy in place which recognizes and allows women to take time for their body's natural cycle without putting this under the label of illness." Slow clap, anyone? According to The Atlantic, Japan has had menstrual-leave policies since World War II, but no word on whether they're paid days. Taiwan also implemented legislation in 2013 that offers women three days of menstrual leave without cutting into their sick days. And Nike offers menstrual leave in all of its global locations. This is all great, but it should be universal everywhere by now. All we're saying is that if men got periods, paid menstrual leave would have been here since the existence of the first office. h/t PureWow Women try period panties: 2005 .. AR's Editor Joe Shea Talks About Elections On Iranian TV Bear Stearns Saved By Fed As Lehman Bros. Falters; Major Bank Failure Looms Over Wall Street, Sends Markets Into 200-Pt. Dive Lie Upon Lie Five Years Into the Iraq War The Administration Still Churns Out Lies by Randolph Holhut A Small Tragedy Even at 90, As Friends Turn Cool She Knows the Show Must Go On by Joyce Marcel I'll Take Me Imagine John Wayne or Arnold In Heels, Silk and a Girdle by Elizabeth Andrews Sen. Nelson Calls For New Fla. Primary; Gov Crist Backs 'Do-Over' Who'll Win? Ask Spock Spock.com Engine Predicts Winners By Site Searches; It Can be Wrong by Jay Bhatti Chatting Up The Cat God Gave Me Dominion Over Him But I Think He's a Non-Believer by Constance Daley Death of a Thug The Life and Horrors of Suharto by Andreas Harsono ___________________________ This Just In Sierra Club: McCain Ducked All 15 Key Votes On Green Laws (AR) A Work By AR's T.S. Kerrigan Is Chosen As 'Best Poem' By Wordpress Site Murder At Mile 63 The Deadly Assault and Bush Administration Cover-Up by S. Eben Kirkesby and Andreas Harsono 5427 14th St. West, Bradenton, FL 34207 $6.99 Fish Fridays! Manatee Co.'s Only 24-Hr. FREE Wi-Fi Paid Advertisement On Native Ground AFTER 5 YEARS, WE'RE STILL LIED TO ABOUT IRAQ by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Next week is the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. And it is likely that sometime in the next couple of weeks, the 4,000th American soldier will die in Iraq. [MORE] Momentum OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. - It's 1931, and a 14-year-old girl is standing alone on a stage. She's small and lively with dark curly hair, widespread hazel eyes, slender wrists and an open, eager face filled with the wonder of performing. Her name is Rose, and one day she will be my mother. But now she is performing an Eugene O'Neill monologue called "Before Breakfast" for a ladies' club in a wealthy suburb of Long Island. [MORE] One Woman's World COMFORTABLE WITH MYSELF by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I'm not sure but I think I may be socially incorrect. [MORE] On Native Ground ENOUGH FOR A WAR, NOT FOR A PEOPLE by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Last week, the National Governors Assn. met in Washington, D.C. One of the tasks the NGA had on its agenda was to ask President Bush to increase federal spending on roads, bridges and other public works projects as a way to stimulate the economy. He rejected their pleas out of hand, claiming that infrastructure projects wouldn't offer any short-term economic boost. [MORE] Brasch Words BEWARE THE SELF-REVERENTIAL PRESS by Walter Brasch BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Shortly before the primary votes this past week, Newsweek's Jonathan Alter called Sen. Barack Obama's surge to the Democratic nomination "inevitable." It also called for Hillary Clinton to "start her campaign for Senate majority leader." [MORE] Constance A CONVERSATION WITH MY CAT Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Normally, when the cat starts his evening rant of meowing continuously until he makes his point, I just take it as long as I can, pick him up, and put him in the garage for the night. He doesn't want to go, but the meowing stops and I don't care if he likes it or not. [MORE] Momentum OUT OF STRUGGLE, ART by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Here we are again at the crossroads of art and social change, having the opportunity to watch good and great films about the lives of women in support of the Women's Crisis Center. [MORE] Campaign 2008 HOW TO PREDICT SUPER TUESDAY II WINNERS? ONLINE SEARCH by Jay Bhatti NEW YORK, March 4, 2008, 7:00PM ET -- With the outcomes of the Texas, Vermont, Ohio and Rhode Island primaries to be decided tonight, how possible is it that online searching can predict who will win tonight's primaries? [MORE] One Woman's World DON'T VOTE; IT ENCOURAGES THEM by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Call me angry and disgusted but don't call me un-American because I won't be voting come November. [MORE] On Native Ground BUSH AND THE KEYBOARD COMMANDOS by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- As the days tick down toward the eventual departure of President George W. Bush from the White House, it's a hopeful sign that most Americans are no longer moved by his Administration's constant exploitation of terrorism for political gain. [MORE] Momentum WHICH AMERICA DO YOU LIVE IN? by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- It's a little confusing. [MORE] Make My Dat THE LAWYER THAT ATE NEW YORK by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I used to know a guy who, quite literally, didn't get hyperbole. He didn't understand exaggeration. As a result, he missed most jokes that came his way. [MORE] On Native Ground FIDEL RETIRES: NOW THE COLD WAR IS REALLY OVER by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Maybe now, we can finally say the Cold War is over. [MORE] Make My Dat THE LAWYER THAT ATE NEW YORK by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- I used to know a guy who, quite literally, didn't get hyperbole. He didn't understand exaggeration. As a result, he missed most jokes that came his way. [MORE] One Woman's World POLITICS IS NO PARTY by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- Are you having a hard time focusing your eyes? Do you have faint red spots all over your body? Is there a ringing in your ears and do you see wavy lines when you look at your television set? Do your hands shake when you try to hold a cup of coffee? And have you recently been forgetting what day of the week it is - or what year? [MORE] Make My Day FOR BETTER OR WORSE ... A LOT WORSE by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- "Marriage: It's Only Going to Get Worse." [MORE] Constance YOU CALL THESE RIGHTS? by Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- When you express an opinion you hope to persuade others to your point of view. It doesn't always happen but still, opinion writers try. [MORE] Momentum THE BRIDGE WOMAN by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. - Out there in America - yes, still - is a generation of women who were born in the 1940s, raised in the 1950s, and who came to radical consciousness in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I am one of them. Hillary Clinton is one of them. [MORE] On Native Ground OBAMA AND MY GENERATION by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- I originally planned on voting for Dennis Kucinich in the Vermont Primary on March 4. [MORE] The Willies: WARNING: THIS MEDICATION MAY MURDER YOUR FRIENDS by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla. -- You've heard the warnings, haven't you? Stop Prozac and you may take a shotgun, an Uzi or an AK-47 and mow down your family and friends, or even a whole classroom full of your fellow students. You didn't? Well, that warning is not on the bottle, but like countless mass-murder incidents before it, Friday's shootings at Northern Illinois University, as well as the Virginia Tech shootings that killed 32 last year, was probably precipitated by the effect of stopping medications that suppress anger and other powerful emotions but do not relieve the underlying cause. Isn't it time we started warning people - or stopped prescribing these medicines? [MORE] One Woman's World DON'T KNOCK ON MY DOOR by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I wish I could feel delight in my poet's mansion being like Grand Central Station all the time, but I can't. And I wish my place was such a place that someone would one day write: "Her door was always open and she always made you feel all fuzzy and warm in her presence. She could make a cup of coffee seem like a banquet." [MORE] Reporting: Panama PANAMA'S VIOLENT LABOR UNREST INTENSIFIES Mark Scheinbaum PANAMA CITY, Panama, Feb, 15, 2008 -- After just one day of relative calm, wildcat construction strikes by some members of Panama's largest union flared up again Friday morning, four days after a police sniper shot one worker. More than 140 demonstrators have been injured and at least 500 arrested, authorities say. [MORE] Brasch Words TO STIMULATE ECONOMY, BUY A CHINESE-MADE U.S. FLAG by Walter Brasch BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Walking down Main Street, pushing a grocery cart loaded with clothes, toys, and appliances was Marshbaum. Fastened to the right front corner of the cart was an American flag tied onto a three-foot ruler. [MORE] Make My Day THE TOOTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TOOTH by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- To commemorate the death of noted shark exploder Roy Scheider, and the "Jaws" movies that resulted in Erik never setting foot in the ocean again, we are reprinting this column from 2003. Shark Experts 0, Sharks 1 [MORE] Momentum THE WINTER OF MY DISCONTENT by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. - As I write this, it's raining ice. Maybe a half a foot of snow and ice has already landed up here in the woods of Dummerston. Our cars are encased in it, and the door to the house is blocked. The satellite dish that brings in our Internet service quit about 20 minutes ago - frozen solid. [MORE] The Willies AMERICA TO HILLARY: GET OUT! by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 13, 2008 -- Sen. Hillary Clinton has adopted the Rudy Giuliani strategy, and it's working - for Sen. Barack Obama. It turns out to be the strategy all Democrats are seeking - an exit strategy. But it's not for Iraq. It's for her exit from the race for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination. [MORE] Constance CONFESSIONS OF A DISAPPOINTED VOTER by Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- A week ago at just about this time, I completed an article and was about to submit it as scheduled to The American Reporter. I was feeling rather elated, ready to show up on Super Tuesday morning, firmly touch the X next to Rudy Giuliani's name and get on with my day. He was my choice; he would get my vote. [MORE] Reporting: Florida SIERRA CLUB SET TO SUSPEND FLA. CHAPTER by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 10, 2008 -- The national Sierra Club is set to suspend its Florida chapter after years of divisive infighting, the president of the national club told Florida members in a letter delivered to some this weekend. It is the first time in its 116-year history that such a step has been considered by the club, according to news reports. [MORE] One Woman's World PLANT A NEW WORLD THIS SPRING by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- For a little while, the men will just have to toss and turn in their fear-free-women beds. For a small space of time Hillary Clinton will just have to trudge on toward the White House without my faint applause in the background. [MORE] On Native Ground VERMONT AND THE 5 STAGES OF CONSERVATIVE GRIEF by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- First, Vermont tried to convince the nation to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney. [MORE] Make My Day REBEL WITHOUT A TONGUE by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Kids' brains work in amazing ways. At times, they can grasp complex concepts and make impressive discoveries. Other times, you have to wonder how we ever survived as a species. [MORE] The Willies FOR DEMOCRATS, NOW IT'S ABOUT RACE, INCOME AND GENDER by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Feb. 6, 2008 -- It's not a good time to be a Democrat. As the Super Tuesday results demonstrated, the presidential race between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has divided the partly along clear racial, income and gender lines - the very distinctions the party has sought to erase in principle but has emphasized in its pursuit of diversity. [MORE] Momentum SUPER TUESDAY BLUES by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Super Tuesday has come and gone and I still can't get excited about the upcoming presidential elections. [MORE] The Willies ON THE BRINK OF HISTORY, YOUR PUSH IS NEEDED by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 5. 2008 -- I'm expecting a sea change tonight. I believe that for the first time in this nation's history we will once and forever banish racism as the deciding factor in the destiny of African-Americans, and indeed adopt diversity as our path to the future. [MORE] Campaign 2008 AT 88, EVERY VOTE REALLY COUNTS by Ted Manna DENVER, Feb. 5, 2008 -- Pearl Turner will caucus for Mitt Romney tonight in Denver. [MORE] One Woman's World STAND BY YOUR WOMAN by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- The black vote. The gay vote. The fundamentalist vote. The Hispanic vote. [MORE] An AR Special SUSPECTS IN BENAZIR ASSASSINATION HAVE TIES TO MUSHARRAF by Ahmar Mustikhan WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When Gordon Brown this past Monday feted coup-leader-turned-President Pervez Musharraf at 10 Downing Street, Britain's new prime minister probably didn't ask the Pakistani dictator a question that is now on many minds: Did you order the murder of Benazir Bhutto? [MORE] Momentum TO THE VERMONT DELEGATION: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR US LATELY? by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. Back when President George W. Bush and Dick Vice President Dick Cheney were building up to their loathsome war in Iraq, very few people were brave enough to call the bullies' bluff. [MORE] On Native Ground IF BUSH HAS HIS WAY, WE'LL NEVER LEAVE IRAQ by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. - In his final State of the Union address on Jan. 28, President Bush cautioned against accelerating U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq, saying that it would endanger the process that has been made over the past year. [MORE] Campaign 2008 CLASH OF COMMENTS AND PROTESTORS AT CLINTON, OBAMA RALLIES IN DENVER by Ted Manna DENVER, Feb. 1, 2008 -- At least four presidential campaigns of both partiers rolled into in Denver this week ahead of the Feb. 5 "Super Tuesday" primaries in 22 states, but it was the Democratic presidential contenders who drew the big crowds and duked it out Wednesday. If sheer numbers are any indication, Sen. Barack Obama - preceded by a buoyant and beautiful Caroline Kennedy - won the round handily. He is the overwhelming favorite to win the Colorado primary next Tuesday. [MORE] The Willies WHY THE FLORIDA PRIMARY STINKS by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Jan. 30, 2008 -- I was with my wife and daughter driving the back way from Miami home to Bradenton when we stopped at a McDonald's in Clewiston, the only big town along the vast shore of Lake Okeechobee, the state's precious freshwater reservoir. The McDonald's had three televisions at a central seating area, each tuned to a different network, and our table was in front of CNN as the very first election results started to pour in around 7:30PM. With them, almost as counterpoint, suddenly came such an overwhelming odor of cow plop that my wife started to throw up as we all ran to the parking lot. [MORE] Passings: Suharto DEATH OF A KEMUSU THUG by Andreas Harsono JAKARTA - A few minutes after hearing that former president Suharto had died in his hospital bed, Marco, a militia leader in downtown Jakarta, raced to Suhartos house, wearing his jungle camouflage and began guarding the Suhartos residence on Cendana Street. [MORE] Constance I REMEMBER YOU by Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga.. -- It seems to be more often lately that the sentiment is spoken but it's always been out there: "You never get over the death of your child." This is true. But the heartfelt expressions come from some who cannot fathom the notion of losing a child; their own child is who is in their mind, not another mother's child. [MORE] Consumer banking Mortgage Banks Bracing for Consolidation Independent mortgage lenders are expecting a wave of consolidation prompted by excessive compliance costs, a tepid housing recovery and the need for more capital to grow their businesses. Roughly 20% to 25% of independent companies could be eliminated or change hands in less than two years. January 13 Consumer banking Consumer Groups Eye New Protections from Mortgage, Auto-Lease Fraud Shoppers who finance the purchase of cars, furniture and home improvements are protected under a decades-old federal regulation. Now consumer groups are urging the FTC to update its rule and consider offering the same protections to victims of home-mortgage or auto-leasing scams. February 19 Consumer banking TRID Scuttling Revival of Private-Label Securitizations Many institutional investors are refusing to purchase mortgages loans until they get assurance from the CFPB that they won't have to pay for others' mistakes. Their pullback could further the slow the issuance of private-label mortgage bonds this year, a huge concern at a time when the majority of home loans are insured by Fannie, Freddie and the FHA. February 9 A recent article in American Banker and National Mortgage News estimated that 20-25% of independent nonbank mortgage lenders "could change hands or simply shut down in the next 12 to 18 months." This should worry consumers wondering how they will obtain the credit to buy a home. Nonbank community lenders have led the charge in recent years to expand access to mortgage credit while the nation's megabanks have been more focused on designing their credit products so that better-heeled customers can get loans. Community-based lenders are also important because they service the loans they originate, providing continued localized service to borrowers rather than from a large megaservicer located halfway across the country. The article explained that independent mortgage lenders are bracing for a wave of consolidation "prompted by heavy compliance costs and a tepid housing recovery." Unlike other product categories for which the rules are different for banks versus nonbanks, all mortgage lenders have to comply with the regulations arising from the Dodd-Frank Act. Those include the new integrated disclosure requirements known as TRID that combine the disclosure regimes of the Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act as well as the compensation requirements for loan originators and the "qualified mortgage" underwriting rules. Just like community banks struggle with the compliance burden, so too do community-based nonbanks. They lack the scale enjoyed by the very large banks, which can make up for their fixed compliance costs with significant loan volume. Megabanks can also more readily afford compliance teams, attorneys and lobbyists, spreading them out over a larger revenue stream. But the time and cost of compliance takes a proportionately larger toll on smaller lenders whether a nonbank or a community bank mortgage lender. Yet there are specific steps lawmakers can take to hold back the forces of consolidation. Dodd-Frank did include some sensible exemptions for smaller companies. For example, the law authorized targeted exemptions from some Regulation Z and Regulation X servicing requirements for lenders that service fewer than 5,000 loans. But this threshold is too low to have much of an impact. Last year the House Financial Services Committee reported out a bill that would raise the exemption threshold to 20,000 loans. Lawmakers should revive the effort to pass this bill, and the legislation should be amended to include loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration and the government-sponsored enterprises. Meanwhile, Congress should also equal the regulatory playing field by providing small nonbank mortgage lenders with an exemption from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau exams, similar to the exemption provided to banks under $10 billion in assets. Both smaller banks and nonbank lenders are subject to supervision from a wide range of state and federal regulators, including the FHA and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. When Congress created the CFPB, it exempted 99% of banks from supervision by the bureau. But no exemption was provided for even the smallest nonbank lenders. Congress should correct this imbalance by creating a targeted exemption for responsible nonbank mortgage lenders that either have a net worth of $25 million or less or that originated fewer than 25,000 loans in the prior year. The CFPB can also help with the burden of compliance. The recent rollout of TRID left many smaller lenders struggling to understand how to handle the minute details of individual disclosure situations in the context of complicated new rules. Large lenders can address these details with their compliance economies of scale. Small lenders' compliance worries are not limited to TRID. All independent mortgage lenders want is clear guidance from the CFPB on how to comply with rules and the confidence that good-faith compliance with the bureau's directives will not result in enforcement actions and financial penalties. It is these types of concerns that are driving many owners to decide it is not worth the risk, or the stress, to stay in the mortgage business hence the headlines about industry consolidation. We understand that the issue of regulatory fairness may sound parochial. But the consequences are very real for a consumer that calls his or her local community mortgage lender only to have the call transferred to a larger, less personalized firm across the country. It is time to preserve the community aspect of mortgage lending. Scott Olson is executive director of the Community Home Lenders Association. First things first: Don't call what these startups have "branches." It turns out that some digitally focused fintech companies are turning to the physical world to market and sell their services and products because it is a cheaper way to gain customers. Consider Compte-Nickel, a French payments startup and subsidiary of Financiere Des Paiements Electroniques. Unlike most fintech disruptors, Compte-Nickel launched its product in physical stores, though it is managed online. Online banks in France cough up about $220 to acquire a single customer online, according to Hugues Le Bret, co-founder and chairman of Compte-Nickel. That price is too steep for a startup that wants to lower the cost to bank it touts no overdraft fees as one of its main attractions but still make a profit. "We had to find a way to get a lot of customers without investing a lot in solutions," Le Bret said. The fintech company is partnering with tobacconist shops which collectively get 10 million shoppers on a daily basis, says Le Bret to sell its accounts. People pay 20 euros to sign up for the service on terminals inside the stores. The clerk checks the person's ID and activates the payment card. Within minutes, a person gets a debit card, an international bank account number and online access. The shops get 3 euros per account opening, as well as some additional revenue from transactions, the company says. The atypical approach for a startup speaks to the evolving way people view banking, their money and the digital world. Fintech startups are taking advantage of the eroded trust between banks and consumers caused by the financial crisis. Still, some people seek the reassurance of a physical presence when it comes to their money, specifically in the account-opening process. So, even the companies that are looking to thrive in the digital space can still benefit from offering a human touch. After all, most accounts are still opened at branches. "When we talk about customers being more digital, it doesn't mean only digital," said Nicole Sturgill, principal executive adviser with CEB TowerGroup. "Physical touch is very helpful. ... It gives people reassurance," she added. The industry may discuss disruption and digital services as synonyms, but as Sturgill sees it, "it's not mutually exclusive." The model seems to be working for Compte-Nickel. Since launching in February 2014, the company has secured 245,000 customers. It is aiming to double its customer base by the end of the year. Bee, a mobile prepaid startup, is another company relying on the physical world to gain customers. It has peddled its product on the streets of New York for the past eight months. Like Compte-Nickel, the startup says the in-person distribution approach is not only cheaper than using a branch network but is also at least 50% less expensive than that of online marketing costs. The in-person approach also address a concern smartphone savvy consumers still have: who's behind the app. "We believe that our in-person interactions help us earn customer trust in a way that is very difficult to match online," said Vinay Patel, chief executive and co-founder of One Financial Holdings, the firm behind Bee. Compte-Nickel agrees. Not only does its approach give it a physical presence, it leans on the relationships the consumers likely already have with their local tobacconist shop. "People don't trust big institutions," Le Bret said. "They trust what is close to them." As startups look to bring tangibility to their products and services, banks, too, are looking for ways to attract new customers outside of digital and branch channels. Incumbent, but tech-savvy banks like Umpqua Holdings Corp., Wells Fargo and others have turned to street teams to drive awareness of products and services in new markets. Jay Sidhu, chairman and chief executive of Customers Bank and its digital-only BankMobile unit, is particularly interested in the topic. Although he sees the branch as an archaic way of acquiring customers, BankMobile has used in-person marketing in its mix to drive awareness. BankMobile has hired college ambassadors to spread the word in-person and on social media channels and enlisted street teams to promote the brand in Manhattan. Over the summer, seven BankMobile teams were spread across the city to build brand awareness and drive membership sign ups. BankMobile said it secured about 150 membership sign-ups people who are interested in learning about the bank and are likely to open a bank account at each street fair it attended. Such investments are part of spreading the word and among the many tools used to humanize the brand. Ultimately, as Sidhu sees it, the way to secure acquisitions is to have satisfied customers who recommend the easy-to-use service to friends. It was launched in January 2015 and already counts more than 100,000 customers. Sidhu said he sees the digital referral approach as more effective than branches. Even if branches are the place where most accounts are opened, there is still not a lot of activity going on in them. "Banking is antiquated and the most inefficient business I know of," Sidhu said. Cascade Bancorp in Bend, Ore., has named a new bank president and chief operating officer, as its chief executive hands over some of his leadership responsibilities. The $2.5 billion-asset company appointed Charles "Chip" Reeves to the positions on Monday, according to a news release. Reeves succeeded Terry Zink as Bank of the Cascades' president, although Zink will remain chief executive of the bank and holding company. The COO position had been vacant since March 2013, when Michael Delvin retired. Reeves had been chief banking officer of both Bank of the Cascades and Cascade Bancorp since 2012, after joining the company from Fifth Third Bancorp, where he was the bank's Chicago market president. During his stint as chief banking officer, Bank of the Cascades opened a commercial loan office in Seattle, accelerated mortgage originations, added equipment financing and grew its derivatives-trading business, Zink said in a news release. Cascade in October agreed to acquire 15 branches from Bank of America in Oregon and Washington state, a deal that also included about $707 million in deposits. The acquisition is expected to close on Friday. A Malvern Bancorp director has resigned following a disagreement over one of the Paoli, Pa., company's clients. Michael Moss wrote in a Feb. 22 letter to Malvern's board that the $727 million-asset company faces "grave legal and reputational risks" for doing business with a foreign national. The letter, which had several redactions that included the client's name, was attached to a regulatory filing disclosing Moss' resignation. The client "bears all the hallmarks of exactly the sort of individual the Bank Secrecy Act's know-your-customer rules were designed to detect," Moss added, claiming that the client had been "expelled from his own banking system" and had been "doing business in offshore havens known for money laundering." Moss expressed his opinion that conducting business with the individual, whom he claimed was introduced to the bank by an unnamed activist investor, puts Malvern at risk of violating anti-money-laundering requirements of the Patriot Act, the Bank Secrecy Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, along with sanctions tied to the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Malvern said in its filing that the client is a depositor. While Malvern did not disclose any more information about the client, the filing noted that the company had opened private banking offices in Villanova, Pa., and Morristown, N.J., as part of its strategic business plan. "The bank conducted proper due diligence and followed all applicable legal requirements, including those of the Bank Secrecy Act, in connection with opening the depositor's account," the filing said. After receiving Moss' letter, Malvern's management, including its BSA officer and compliance officer, conducted a review and "confirmed that all legal requirements were properly met." Malvern said its management team will continue to monitor the depositor's account "in accordance with all applicable laws and sound banking practices." Moss, who had just joined Malvern's board last year, is chief executive of Intercontinental Development, a privately held real estate investment company in Ottsville, Pa. He was also a founder and director at Team Capital Bank from 2005 to 2014, when the Bethlehem, Pa., company sold itself to Provident Financial in Jersey City, N.J. Moss' departure is the latest shake-up on Malvern's board. The company announced in February that two directors, including a former chairman, had resigned shortly after Lawrence Seidman, an activist investor in New Jersey, vowed to withhold support for them. Malvern recently appointed Howard Kent to succeed George Steinmetz as its chairman; Steinmetz remains a director. Kent was on the board of Center Bancorp, where Anthony Weagley was chief executive. Weagley was hired in 2014 as Malvern's CEO. Since becoming Malvern's CEO, Weagley has formed a partnership with a Delaware wealth management firm, hired new loan officers and a new chief risk officer and presided over the bank's release from a regulatory enforcement action. I asked last March, "Just How Bad a Candidate Would Hillary Be?" As Hillary locks up the Democrat nomination, the question is "Just How Bad a Candidate Will Hillary Be?" Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton may be the most pathetic presidential nominee of any major political party in our nation's history. First dispel the myth of her husband as a consummate politician. Bill was a flop as governor of Arkansas and as president of the United States. Bill managed to be the only Democrat in Arkansas state history to lose re-election as governor and won two presidential elections with a minority of the popular vote. He entered the White House with huge Democrat majorities at every level of government and left with Democrats in the minority at every level of government. Bill Clinton was impeached, disbarred, and found in contempt of court while president, which was a worse record of determined malfeasance than any president in history. As an ex-president, Clinton seems frail, dull, and testy as evidenced most recently by his snapping angrily at a veteran in South Carolina asking about Hillary ending corruption in the Veterans Administration. Since my article last March, the women who have been harassed, threatened, and raped by Clinton have served notice that they will not be quiet while his wife, Hillary, ignores and dismisses them. This is a problem Hillary has never addressed but cannot ignore, as Republican candidates have made clear, in a presidential election. The hideous behavior of Hillary towards these women brutalized by her husband is one problem. A related problem is the limp appeal of "women's issues" in electoral campaigns. Consider the utter failure in the 2014 election cycle of every candidate who based a campaign on "women's issues." Further, the failure of Hillary to attract young women in primaries against an ancient Vermont Socialist shows how little she appeals to female voters. If there is an issue that motivates Americans across the spectrum, it is trust, because we have been lied to so often and so cavalierly by Washington politicians. No sane person trusts Hillary. She not only lies even when the truth would serve as well, but she lies about telling the truth, as in her recent CBS interview. She lies almost as much as her husband. Compounding this pathological dishonesty are the natural consequences of aging, obesity, and health problems that strongly suggest a slowing down of her mental processes. The ravages of immoral life and old age clearly have reduced her husband into a very dull mind, and it is likely that many of the same abuses of youth harrowing her husband are affecting her, too. There is another aspect to her lying. Hillary has a very ordinary brain, artificially inflated by the left because leftists always consider those who agree with them "smart." In college she followed the familiar path of lackey to leftism. Hillary failed the District of Columbia Bar Examination; nearly everyone who takes it passes. Her legal career was constructed around her husband's political success. Hillary has for decades been surrounded by flacks and toadies whose work is making Hillary seem and feel intelligent. Some of the emails released from her server note that these minions, among themselves, note that she is often confused. The numerous unforced errors in her campaign also suggest a rather mean old lady used to bullying rather than reasoning. This, too, becomes over time a mental limp, a cognitive sloth, an atrophied intellect. The stench of criminal conspiracy follows Hillary, and that is because Hillary is so utterly conspiratorial in nature, but these crimes are also so frequent that if the FBI and Justice Department does nothing, then the Justice Department itself may face future investigation indeed, some of us may ask why we even need a department to protect criminals like Hillary. Finally, Hillary cannot embrace that "change" Americans want when she has been a Washington insider so long. How can Hillary campaign for those goals in a general election when the only real selling point she has is "experience"? There is nothing Hillary says that is not hopelessly tired and hackneyed rhetoric, and nothing that inspires hope. Forget the fact that she is finally dispatching the non-Democrat running against her for the Democrat nomination, and ignore the general polls today, which mean nothing. Hillary will be swamped this November. After Jebs emotional withdrawal from his quest for the Republican presidential nomination, the spavined Bush political dynasty, now quite officially, belongs to history. The familys run can be said to have lasted thirty-five years, from the senior Bushs unsuccessful 1980 pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination (as the GOP establishments candidate against the unelectable Ronald Reagan) until the results of the South Carolina primary rolled in. During this time one of three Bush family members was always at the center of American political life, either as the occupant of the White House, or as every Republican consultants sure prediction to become its next. No more. Two members of this gracious patrician clan -- both abundantly endowed with personal virtue but painfully lacking in verbal skill or instinct for political combat -- more than sufficed. The domestic political incompetence of the senior Bush spawned the Clinton tumor. This malignancy has persisted for twenty-four years and threatens to continue metastasizing in the body politic for another eight. Then the junior Bush, through bad judgment, poor communication, and -- for the last four years of his presidency -- mute passivity, delivered the nation to its worst president in history. The full scope of that damage cannot yet be measured. No small wonder, after this collective performance, that Americas Republican and conservative voters not so politely asked the third would be dynastic representative to find other work. To take the harsh spotlight off Jeb at his familys next gathering, it needs to be said that the deficiencies and failures of his father and brother contributed at least as much to his rejection as did his own self-inflicted wounds. Though it must be conceded, beginning a campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2015 by declaring, in effect, that 85% of Republican voters are ignorant and wrong on the issue of illegal immigration has to be among the most defiantly arrogant political blunders in major party history. Theres little pleasure in the Bush Familys political demise, because in reflecting on its era theres no escaping the conclusion that the Lefts assault on traditional American government and culture surged on all fronts during the entirety of it. The Bush family presidencies covered twelve years since President Reagan left office in 1989, and today the federal government is immensely more intrusive and oppressive than at any time in the countrys history, freedom of expression is under serious assault, America is undergoing a massive, enduring and unresisted invasion by third world rent seekers and future Democratic voters, and all the key cultural institutions -- public schools, universities, mass media and popular culture -- are locked in the Lefts suffocating embrace. After the glorious economic, foreign policy and coalition building accomplishments of the Reagan presidency, the Bush family leaves a painful legacy. During the twenty-eight years since the last day of Ronald Reagans presidency, the coalition Reagan built needed Republican Presidents who understood the nature of the Lefts assault and possessed abundantly a talent for persuasive language and a zest and skill for political combat. Instead, the Bush family aggressively supplied three tongue-tied but well-mannered gentlemen with no enemies at the club. Their privileged and sheltered private lives, like those of the entire American elite, insulated them from direct contact with the consequences of the Lefts assault -- a phenomenon to which all three seemed oblivious. It would be unfair to suggest that the enormous cultural forces driving American social dissolution since the mid-60s could have been halted by more articulate and forceful Republican presidents. But its also difficult to believe that more eloquent and energetic Republican chief executives could not have prevented at least some of the catastrophic domestic political and cultural circumstances we face today. Think of the incalculably positive influence on constitutional law of the great Antonin Scalia, and try to imagine what Republican Presidents with a fraction of Scalias gifts might have achieved. Some tendentious history: In 1988 Bush senior was handed a political royal flush by Ronald Reagan, whose tax and economic policies and robust defense buildup had lifted both the American economy and psyche out of its decade-long post-Vietnam malaise. After the election of 1988 Bush senior looked at that hand and -- OMG -- discarded the ace, his unqualified pledge not to raise taxes. That pledge had been the centerpiece of his campaign. Breaking it was an act of staggering political stupidity. Did the courtly Bush senior believe that the Democrats wouldnt be so ungentlemanly as to take advantage of his breach of faith? In the event, of course, they did take advantage, the magnificent Reagan coalition fractured, and G.H.W. Bush lost his 1992 reelection bid to an obscure, scandal-plagued, small state governor who got a whopping 43% of the vote. And this, it is said, was the more successful of the two Bush Presidents. After his narrow reelection in 2004 the junior Bush seemed to lose what little taste for battle he had exhibited during his first term. During his last four years he ignored -- utterly failed to respond to -- the unceasing vitriolic attacks on him and his policies that surfeited the nation. And he undermined his support among large numbers of his own voters by the ill-advised Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Meirs and his hugely unpopular amnesty proposal, both derailed by Republican/conservative uprisings. When the junior Bush left office, between his own supporters disenchantment and the damage he had suffered among the great middle through non-stop unanswered attacks, his approval ratings were at record lows. We know the rest. But almost worse than their concrete political and policy failures that gave birth to leftist presidencies, neither Bush president seemed aware of or interested in the fact that the countrys principal cultural institutions were steadily slipping into the Lefts grasp, an unresisted third world invasion was diminishing the electoral viability of their own party, and intensifying political correctness was sharply diminishing allowable discussion of a host of social problems. In short, neither ever seemed interested in or capable of participating in the ongoing war for the soul of America -- a war in which the Left has been the consistent aggressor since 1965 and that had reached dangerous levels of success as early as Bush seniors single term in 1989. All three -- father, son and brother -- possess character, decency and integrity in abundance. But in background, personal traits, and instincts all were ill fitted to lead traditional Americas defense during the bitterly embattled era of their dynastic run. After the battle of Shiloh, where Union losses had been horrific, severe criticisms of General Grant reached President Lincolns ears. Lincoln already knew of Grants personal failings, in manners, business ventures and resistance to strong drink. Always to the point, Lincoln said simply, I cant spare this man. He fights. If the apparently still confused GOP elite wants to understand why the Bush era ended and this election has taken its astonishing course, it would do well to reflect on Lincolns words. Pity the late Cedric Ford. If he had understood the way the media worked, he might not have gone on the horrific shooting spree in central Kansas on Thursday that cost three people their lives and fourteen people their health. But alas, once the major media understood the demographics of the case, they lost interest in Ford quicker than you could say Muhammad and Malvo. Ford simply did not fit the narrative. Who commits mass shootings? read the headline of an all too typical piece on CNN.com some months ago. CNNs answer: the young, white and male. At 38, Ford was relatively young, and he was certainly male, but he was not white. Ford, in fact, represents the most recent manifestation of a widely underreported phenomenon -- the black mass murderer. As in virtually every other case, Fords blackness was not an incidental detail. It was at the heart of why he did what he did. In his eye-opening new book, Antidote, black conservative activist Jesse Lee Peterson explains this phenomenon with more honesty and clarity than any commentator I know. His thesis is simple but highly explanatory. Children, black or white, when deprived of fathers, grow up angry at their parents, Peterson writes. White children displace their anger in a thousand different directions. Black children, for the most part, channel theirs in a single destructive direction -- towards and against white people. Helping focus that anger are the mavens of the grievance industry from Al Sharpton to Barack Obama. At every opportunity, these mountebanks are eager to remind young African Americans that nothing is their fault. If these young men take their anger to such frightening extremes that they cannot easily be absolved, the media step in to make sure they are quickly forgotten. Peterson cites a number of examples. Just a year ago, for instance, J.C.X. Simon died an unheralded death in a California prison cell. Never heard of him? Forty years earlier, the openly racist Simon and his fellow zebra killers shot at least twenty-one whites and Asians in San Francisco, including a future mayor of that disturbed city, and killed fourteen of them. The Bay Areas Zodiac Killer murdered half as many people in that same era and got ten times the attention, including a feature film just a few years ago To get the medias attention, black mass murderers must do something fairly spectacular. Colin Ferguson accomplished that feat in 1993 when he shot twenty-five non-black commuters on the Long Island Railroad, six of whom died, including the husband of future congresswoman, Carolyn McCarthy. Back in its saner days, the New York Times dismissed Fergusons stated motives. While Mr. Ferguson blamed racism for all his misfortunes and shattered expectations, wrote the Times, the examination of his past shows no evidence that he was ever a victim of discrimination. True to form, McCarthy, a Democrat, decided to make guns her cause de tutti causes. Save perhaps for Charles Manson, no mass murderer in American history caused as much widespread panic as John Allen Muhammad. Remember him? In October 2002, he and his young ward Lee Malvo decided to shut down the nations capital. According to Malvo, Muhammad planned to terrorize the area by killing six whites a day for thirty days. He was particularly keen on shooting pregnant white women. Before they were through, the pair shot thirteen random people, killing ten of them, and paralyzed the DC metro. As authorities learned, Muhammad had shot twelve additional people before he got to Washington, killing seven. Despite the much greater body count, Muhammad could only envy Mansons celebrity. Know what happened to Muhammad? Im guessing not. He was executed by the State of Virginia in 2009. The motive for the attacks remains murky, wrote Dena Potter of the Associated Press. Not coincidentally, the killings accelerated after Obamas election as president. In August 2010, Omar Thornton shot ten of his coworkers at a Connecticut beer distributorship, killing eight. You probably want to know why I shot this place up, said Thornton on his 9-1-1 call. This place here is a racist place. Added Thornton, I wish I coulda got more of the people. Thornton was the only black employee to experience racism at a company that had historically gotten excellent reviews for its HR practices. The fact that Thornton had been twice caught on video stealing beer may have had more to do with his forced resignation than the companys alleged bigotry. Unable to work the racist angle, the media buried the story. Union officials helped with the digging. "It's got nothing to do with race, said one Teamster official, This is a disgruntled employee who shot a bunch of people." In 2013, Christopher Dorner killed four people and wounded three others, all of them either white or Asian, in an around Los Angeles. In his final manifesto, Dorner listed all the racial insults he had suffered or imagined from the first grade through his termination by the LAPD. The sole intent of the white LAPD officers, he wrote, was to victimize minorities who are uneducated, and unaware of criminal law, civil law, and civil rights. A big Obama fan, Dorner attributed all attacks on the president to racism. Some months later, Aaron Alexis killed thirteen people at the Washington Navy Yard before the police killed him. Like Dorner and Thornton, Muhammad and Malvo, Alexis had no real father in his life and focused his rage on white people. "He felt a lot of discrimination and racism with white people especially, a friend told NBC News. It took nine incidents of misconduct before the Navy terminated him, and still he blamed the Navy. Said a friend, He thought he never got a promotion because of the color of his skin. Several black murderers, Muhammad most notably, turned to Islam as a way of legitimizing their rage against white America. Alton Nolen was one of them. In September 2014, he beheaded a female co-worker at their Oklahoma food processing plant and tried to behead another before the CEO shot him. Nolen had been suspended that very day for his anti-white slurs. He was basically saying he didnt like white people and had an altercation with our second victim based on that, said the local district attorney. Like Nolen, Ismaaiyl Brinsley found an outlet for his anti-white anger at the local mosque. Inspired by the anti-police protests in New York, Brinsley posted on Instagram, Im putting wings on pigs today. They take one of ours... lets take 2 of theirs. Hours later, he shot and killed two police officers in Brooklyn, one Asian, one Hispanic. They had to do. At this point little is known of Cedric Fords family background. In fact, were it not for the local Wichita media, almost nothing would be known about Ford or his motives. Yet from what we do know, Ford almost perfectly fit the template of the black mass murderer. His own family life was a mess. His company had demoted him. They did so because of his race. What else? He didnt like how people treated him, being a minority, said a coworker. As for the race of his victims, we can only guess. The media insist there is nothing to learn by sharing that information. In a major interview with Fox Newss Bret Baier, Attorney General Loretta Lynch played slippery, refusing to comment on whether or not a grand jury has been convened on the Hillary Clinton email case. The key segment can be seen below: She claimed, We dont speak of the specifics of any investigations as a means of evading a question that she is legally permitted tro answer. But elsewhere in the interview (complete interview here), she discussed details of the case involving Apple Computers refusal to develop code to enable reading of iPhone content. My colleague Rick Moran thinks it is unlikely that a grand jury on the case could be kept secret, as too many people would have to know about it. Thus, he thinks no such jury has been convened. He may be correct that Lynch has avoided a G.J., but I am less certain that confidentiality is impossible. The grand jurors are instructed as to the severe penalties for speaking about their work, and DoJ professionals are likely to keep their mouths shut, realizing that career suicide is at issue. One thing is certain: Lynch is a slippery character. Unfortunately, at this years 88th Academy Awards show, Bill Clinton was unavailable to make a public service appearance on behalf of problems associated with non-consensual sex. Instead, Vice President Joe Biden took time off from groping women and smooching little girls so that he, Lady Gaga, and a horde of millennials with Magic Marker scribbled on their forearms could raise awareness concerning the problem of campus rape. Joe and wife Jill followed Best Actor/green campaigner Leonardo DiCaprios lead and burned up tons of jet fuel flying to California. Upon arrival, the vice president spent hours listening to liberals accuse Americans of everything from discrimination in Girl Scouts cookie sales to anti-LGBT bias to police brutality. Near the start of the festivities, a guy with a really weird hairdo named The Weekend performed the salacious tune Earned It, from Fifty Shades of Grey, a movie that glorified sadomasochism and sexual control. Two hours later, prior to Gaga angrily growling out Til It Happens to You, the tune nominated for the best original song from the campus rape documentary The Hunting Ground, Joe Biden informed the adoring audience that too many women and men are still victims of sexual abuse. And who better to speak on the subject than a touchy-feely kind of guy with hands-on knowledge? Lets face it: Joe Biden has never been known to squander an opportunity to grope, fondle, squeeze, and lovingly caress women who, when he does it, seem uncomfortable with receiving his unsolicited affection. And while kneading various womens necks is not considered rape, Joe infamously participates in a type the type of sleazy conduct that, if he werent vice president of the United States, most women would never tolerate. Nonetheless, Handsy Joe still encouraged the audience to [t]ake the pledge a pledge that says, I will intervene in situations where consent cannot or has not been given. What the man with the wandering hands forgot to mention was that on more than one occasion, hes touched women when consent had not been given. Despite his personal shortcomings, Joe Biden asked America to pledge to stop individuals like himself from sniffing the hair, and blowing hot breath into the ears of individuals who, while Joe is getting his jollies, appear to be visibly anxious and desirous to be released from his grip. Take for instance Joe nuzzling Ashton Carters wife Stephanie at the secretary of defenses swearing in. During that episode, the woman didnt utter one word, but, for a few seconds there, Mrs. Carter eyes were pleading with the new defense secretary to liberate her from Joes clasp. Notwithstanding Mr. Bidens powerlessness to keep his hands to himself, the vice president must have felt he was qualified to exhort 34 million people to change the culture so that abuse survivors never have to ask themselves the question: What did I do?' Does Joe mean survivors like The Hills Senior White House correspondent Amie Parnes, the woman whom Joe, at a 2013 Christmas party, playfully hugged from behind while placing his arms in close proximity to her breasts? Either way, Joe Biden can now congratulate himself for taking time out of his schedule to reassure the women whove been on the receiving end of his manhandling that they need not worry, because they did nothing wrong to deserve his inappropriate treatment. And so, on a show honoring those who pretend for a living, it was apropos for Biden to get a standing ovation, because, knowing Joe, its likely he still managed to cop a feel at an after-party. Jeannie hosts a blog at www.jeannie-ology.com. A sinking ship, a dozen passengers in a crowded lifeboat, food and water for somewhere between one and eleven and a class of college sophomores. These elements may sound like an enticing Rod Serling prologue to an old Twilight Zone episode, but they actually form the components of a classic psychology experiment. The scene of an under-provisioned lifeboat is not necessarily dire but definitely precarious. The sophomores are assigned the role of directors, allocating provisions as they see fit. The neophyte directors, overwhelmingly liberal in ideology, routinely allot provisions equally among all on board; life-preservers must be tossed to everyone. There are no survivors. This experiment may have originated in academia, but it is acted out daily throughout liberal political policies. The fundamental principle is that everyone must be accommodated regardless of consequences to others, or even to themselves. We are painfully familiar with the broad consequences: rules of military engagement, police power, welfare, immigration, gender roles, health care, free speech, minimum wage, and just about anything else you can think of (Halloween costumes?) have all been contorted to squeeze through a liberal philosophical filter that sculpts a bizarre version of a tyranny of the minority. A few examples: If so few as a handful of refugees seek to cross U.S. borders for asylum, the liberal reflex is to open our borders to virtually limitless thousands of claimants. Everyone must have sanctuary. When a minority of citizens remained uncovered by health care insurance, either by exclusion or choice, Obamacare was devised and imposed upon all, whether desired or not. Everyone must have health insurance. When students at any educational level complain of offended sensibilities, educational institutions react to forbid any form of personal expression that could be construed as negative by anyone, just in case any speech or action could be interpreted as critical or demeaning. Everyone must have psychological comfort. Each of these examples employs a different mechanism to achieve a common goal. Immigration extends permission, health care exerts compulsion, and education enforces suppression, but each policy casts a wide net to ensure that no one's rights, real, perceived, or even contrived, can be infringed. The lifeboat has swelled in size to swamp the QEII. Lifeboat politics is far more than a version of free-lunch liberalism. It throws more than money at its fabricated problems; it throws away rights and freedoms as well. Uncontrolled immigration dilutes protection for the common defense, Obamacare denies citizens' rights of choice, and educational fiats trample free speech. The intrusive range of lifeboat politics knows no bounds; it's pure political kudzu. Anything as sacred as sovereign borders or as trivial as Halloween costumes is fair game. Lifeboat politics is pervasive and relentless. It always exaggerates benefits and ignores costs. The temptation to counter lifeboat politics by borrowing a phrase from Nancy Reagan to "just say no" is sorely tempting, but it risks ceding moral ground. Better to borrow from a twist of the tale of the pony, immortalized by Ronald Reagan, where an optimist always digs through a dung heap because "with all this manure, there must be a pony in here somewhere." Whenever liberals claim that any problem, be it immigration, health care, education, or whatever, is so pervasive that it amounts to a dung heap, they should be challenged. If they can dig out the pony in their dung heap, they can have it, but no reins, no bridles, no saddles, and definitely no unicorns a one pony per customer limit. The incessant barrage of lifeboat issues cannot be stemmed, but the onus of labor can be handed back to its liberal advocates. They may have finally found their shovel-ready projects. Americans tend to think of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Venezuela as oil powers, but we rarely think of Mexico in those terms. Yet oil is Mexicos top export item, despite the rapid growth of manufactured exports such as cars, currently being decried by Donald Trump. And the government-controlled oil company Pemex, which monopolizes oil exploration and production, is the largest company in the country and provides one third of the revenue of the Mexican government. So oil matters to the Mexican government. A lot. And Pemex is in deep, deep trouble. ZeroHedge reports: Mexico's largest, state-owned company, Petroleos Mexicanos also known as Pemex, announced not only its 13th consecutive quarterly loss amounting to $9.3 billion, 44% bigger than the previous year, as revenue tumbled by 28% to $15.8 billion, but also a gargantuan $32 billion annual loss and at the same time announced it would slash capex spending to preserve cash and optionality for a future which suddenly looks very bleak. Pemex has been notorious for decades for its inefficiency (and, some allege, corruption). It was unable to ramp up production to take advantage of high prices, and now that prices are low, its inefficiency costs it heavy losses. The cash crisis it now faces will have a drastic effect on both capital expenditures (necessary to maintain oil production) and employment, not to mention tax revenue for Mexico. All of this would strengthen the bargaining hand that Donald Trump would have in negotiating with Mexico should he become president. It also increases the potential for economic and political turmoil in our neighbor to the south, and consequent effects on migration pressures on our border. All in all, this is very important news for Americans to pay attention to. Hat tip: Bryan Demko Doubling down on a controversial policy opposed by many governments and localities, the White House told a National Association of Counties task force that it was looking to increase the number of Syrian refugees allowed into the country. Washington Examiner: The White House is quietly pushing for an increase in refugees from Syria, despite new concerns raised by state and county officials that federal help is often missing when they arrive. President Obama's assistant for immigration policy told a task force set up by the National Association of Counties that the U.S. is eyeing a bigger role to help alleviate the growing crisis. "We want to make sure that we can increase our numbers of refugees that are able to settle here," Felicia Escobar said. "The need globally is so, so, so massive right now, given all the displacement and conflict around the world, but we also know that we have to do it in a way that's smart." The issue has become a flashpoint in the presidential race and among governors who are concerned that Washington won't properly vet the refugees to weed out terrorists. But locally, it's an issue of money and support. Sean Conway, a county commissioner from Weld County in Greeley, Colo., said he has had to "fight" with the State Department to get promised services such as healthcare and interpreters. Worse, he added, "Many times we don't even know that relocation is taking place until it's going on." One of the most beautiful areas in the Pilbara region of Western Australia is also one of the most dangerous. About eighty years ago, blue asbestos crocidolite was discovered here leading to the development of extensive mines and subsequently a town to support the workforce. For the next thirty years, Wittenoom was Australia's only supplier of blue asbestos shipping out some 161,000 tons of the deadly material. Asbestos is extremely toxic. The thin fibrous crystals of asbestos is composed of millions of microscopic filaments that are easily released in air as dust. When inhaled, these fibers get lodged in the lung where it stays for years, slowly scaring the lung tissues, restricting one's ability to inhale and eventually causing a type of rare and untreatable cancer. Of the estimated 20,000 people who lived and worked in Wittenoom during the life of the mines and town, more than 2,000 are believed to have so far died of asbestos-related diseases. Yet, when the mines closed in 1966, it was not due to growing health concern but lack of profitability. Photo credit: Ray Foot/Flickr Although blue asbestos was first recorded in the area in 1917, it was prospector Lang Hancock and partner Peter Wright who started large-scale mining of Wittenoom Gorge in 1936. Two years later, mining started in the nearby Yampire Gorge. By 1939, Wittenoom was producing large quantities of asbestos that were promptly bought by the British to meet the surging demand created by the Second World War. Thousands of tons of asbestos were used in battleships to insulate piping, boilers, steam engines, and steam turbines. Asbestos was also used in tanks, planes, helmets and to make filters for ironically gas masks. Even before the war, asbestos use was widespread. Its resistance to fire, heat, electrical and chemical damage as well as affordability, made it the material of choice in applications such as electrical insulation and building insulation. In 1943, the mine was bought by Australian Blue Asbestos Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of CSR Limited, who continued mining until 1966. Unfortunately for CSR, the company struggled to make profit. By the time the mine closed, the company had an accumulated debt of around $2.5 million. Blue asbestos from Wittenoom. Photo credit: Edgar Vonk/Flickr The town of Wittenoom was built in 1947, ten kilometers from the mine. At its peak, some 20,000 people consisting of workers and their families lived there. Government medical officers who visited Wittenoom shortly after its founding raised serious concerns about dust levels in the mine and processing plant, and warned the company about the risks of asbestos and the dangers to the miners and the people living in the town. But the Health Department did not have the authority to order CSR to close down the mine. The first case of asbestosis at Wittenoom was reported as early as 1946, although it was not conclusively diagnosed until much later. The first mesothelioma case was diagnosed in 1962. In the last five years of the mines existence, more than 100 cases of lung disease were recorded in the town. Although the mines are gone, mountains of blue asbestos tailings still remain in the Pilbara, open to the elements, spreading across the landscape by the annual floods, contaminating water sources, pastures and other inhabited areas. Wittenoom in 1966. Photo credit: lindsaybridge/Flickr Starting from 1978, the government started phasing down activity in the town and encouraged residents to relocate. But the town would officially remain open another three decades, serving as a prime tourist destination with up to 40,000 visitors a year. In 2006, the government turned off the power grid to Wittenoom. The next year, the town's name was wiped from official maps and signs were posted around the old township warning visitors of the deadly risks of airborne asbestos. But not everyone was ready to move out. As of 2015, three people still live in Wittenoom. Lorraine Thomas, who has been living in Wittenoom since 1984 and runs the local gem and souvenir shop catering to tourists, is dismissive of the health risks. Its only the dust thats dangerous, she says, claiming there is little or no airborne asbestos in the town since mining activities ceased. Another resident Mario Hartmann refused to move because the money the government offered to buy him out $40,000 plus $10,000 in moving costs, was not enough to buy a house somewhere else. Peter Heyward, on the other hand, simply likes the silent stillness of the surroundings. The hills, the plains, the openness, the quiet. I love the country," he said. Wittenoom in 1966. Photo credit: lindsaybridge/Flickr Wittenoom in 1966. Photo credit: lindsaybridge/Flickr Yampire Gorge Mine Engine 1978. Photo credit: Philip Schubert/Flickr Wittenoom in 1962. Photo credit: Philip Schubert/Flickr Wittenoom in 1962. Photo credit: Philip Schubert/Flickr Photo credit: Michael Theis/Flickr Wittenooms name deleted from road signs. Photo credit: Jurriaan Persyn/Flickr State government warning sign near the entrance to Wittenoom. Photo credit: Five Years/Wikimedia Mine tailings near Wittenoom. Photo credit: Five Years/Wikimedia Photo credit: Five Years/Wikimedia Photo credit: Five Years/Wikimedia Sources: Wikipedia / www.watoday.com.au / Mental Floss / www.asbestosdiseases.org.au As a business, Motorola has been around since 1928 although it has not always been called Motorola. The original name was the Galin Manufacturing Corporation, but after the businesses involvement with the automobile industry, it was renamed Motor-ola, for motor as in automobile and because ending a name in ola was popular in the 1930s. The business has endured through challenging conditions, although in recent years it has caught the headlines originally because Google bought Motorola, then sold the business on to Lenovo. In the Android world, Motorola have not necessarily followed the crowd but have instead chosen their own path. Lets take a look at Motorola through the years, starting with the car radio in 1930. The first in-car radios were originally designed for American police cars. The product proved a success and quickly evolved into a two-way communication device. Skip forward to 1940 and the world was embroiled in World War 2. Motorola designed the first portable two-way radio walky-talky. The SCR-300 is the backpack that we see soldiers carrying in the second World War; yes its big, heavy but makes a significant difference to the battlefield. As the years have gone by, the technology has been refined, improved and shrunk and walky-talky devices are now considerably smaller. Almost a spin-off, but still having considerable impact on the world, is the introduction of the Handie-Talkie radio pager in 1956. This wireless pager device had a range of around twenty-five miles and was mostly adopted by hospitals in order to send important messages to doctors and medical staff. Again, the radio pager was evolved during the years although the adoption of the cell phone has reduced the market for the radio pager. Motorola were also the first company to broadcast on and from the moon: when Neil Armstrong made his famous speech on the 21 July 1969 as he stepped onto the moon, his broadcast was made over Motorola radio equipment. Advertisement Oh; the cell phone. Thats another Motorola invention. There is a famous story here whereby a Motorola engineer, working on the cellular telephone, made the first call to his rival at AT&T back in 1973. The first commercial cell phone was the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x and was launched in 1983. Later on, Motorola would manufacture one of the worlds most famous cell phones: the StarTAC, which was both the lightest handset at the time (at 88 grams) and the first clamshell. Writing of clamshell designs, the Motorola RAZR was one of the worlds most popular handsets. It was a solid, well made, quad-band handset that sold in huge numbers all over the world. The name was later recycled for a number of successful Android devices. Motorola also produced the first phone that incorporated mobile browsing plus email and alphanumeric characters in 1999: the Motorola iDEN i1000 Plus. This device, also a clamshell, was able to make and receive calls, send messages and faxes, and act as a radio. It contained a 900 mAh battery and gave customers a three-hour talk time and 45 hours of standby. Other notable features included a speakerphone and vibration notification. At the time of writing, Motorolas mobile division is owned by Lenovo, who are making changes to the product lineup. Google bought Motorola essentially for its patent portfolio and most of these have been used for the benefit of Android everywhere. Some surplus patents have now been sold on along with of course the mobile business. Lenovo originally bought Motorola for the premium branding and to help the business gain a stronger foothold into Western markets. Google is one of the largest tech companies in the entire globe, and the history of their 17-year existence is pretty remarkable. What started as a small pet project of two Stanford grad students using backlinks as a way to more effectively rank web pages has grown into a multinational tech corporation, generating billions of dollars in revenue (and profit) every fiscal quarter. Over the past couple of decades, Google has expanded their core search business into many new areas through a variety of services and products. Some of their more popular services like Gmail, Maps, Android, Chrome, and YouTube now boast billions of users, and those numbers continue to climb as the company finds new ways of locking users into their thriving ecosystem of web-based products. If youre the inquisitive sort, you may have wondered how Google goes about developing all of these massively successful projects. The company is usually pretty mum on the finer details of their day-to-day operations, but they recently launched a brand new site that provides curious users with a behind-the-scenes peek at some of their products. The site, named bar.foo, allows Google engineers to share some of their thoughts and insights on the different projects that they work on, giving users a clearer picture on the more technical, developmental side of Mountain View. The site currently covers four topics: Google Docs, Google Voice Search, Gmail, and YouTube. Each topic takes on the form of a story, with Google engineers providing a bit of history behind each product, some of the challenges they faced during development, some of the key engineers who worked on the projects, and how they developed solutions to make the products more functional and efficient. Advertisement The website provides a substantial amount of detail for each topic, like how Google Docs engineers developed a way for multiple users to edit a single document (with multiple versions) at the same time, or how Google engineers brought speech recognition from an experimental side-project to a fully fleshed commercial product in the form of Google Voice Search. Moreover, the topic sections arent just large swaths of exposition, but also include numerous graphics and animations to help illustrate how the engineers tackled each of the challenges that they faced during development. The site is definitely worth a visit if youre interested in the more technical side of how some of your favorite apps and services came to be. When the Samsung Galaxy S6 was unveiled back in 2015, on the whole the device seemed to garner substantial praise from the media and from the general public. This was largely thanks to what was clearly a complete reworking of the design of the galaxy S range of devices. A redesign which placed an emphasis on premium materials, something the company had received numerous criticisms about with previous generation devices. However, it was not all praise though, as the Galaxy S6 came missing a few fundamental aspects. Removable batteries being one, water-resistance being another, while one of the most controversial was the exclusion of a microSD card slot. Some of these aspects have been remedied now with the launch of their next generation Galaxy device, the Galaxy S7 and earlier today, a report came through detailing why the Galaxy S7 left out USB Type-C . Now another report details why Samsung decided to opt out of a microSD card slot on the Galaxy S6 last year. According to a report from TechRadar, the simple truth was that it was a matter of performance. According to Samsungs Head of Technology, Content and Launch Management, Kyle Brown, Samsung updated a number of the internal aspects of the Galaxy S6 and felt that including the microSD card slot could affect the performance of the other upgraded aspects. In particular, Brown notes that the upgrades in RAM to DDR4 and the upgrade to UFS 2.0 meant that the company felt the inclusion of a microSD card slot would slow down the performance of the device. Further adding, that after much discussion and debate on the issue, the emphasis for Samsung was to ensure the device they brought to the market was one based on design as well as performance. Advertisement Either way, it does seem that the reintroduction of the microSD card slot on the Galaxy S7 is a move which has catered to everyones needs. Brown notes that with the next-generation device, there was little need to compromise one way or the other, adding that they were able to offer the best of both worlds. A move which seemed popular with consumers when the Galaxy S7 was announced. In fact, on the consumer reaction to the galaxy S7 coming equipped with the microSD card slot, brown notes that it has been one of the most positive reactions to the S7 they have had so far. Googles email client, Googlemail or usually referred to as Gmail, has more than a billion users across the world. Gmail was one of the first email services that was free to users in cash terms, as Google used keywords in email messages to build an advertising profile of customers. However, as is Googles way over the years Gmail has been improved and refined. Today the mail service benefits from a number of innovative improvements such as two-step verification, security keys, SSL encryption and the work to remove spam. In the source blog, Googles Gerhard Eschelbeck explains how the Gmail spam system is, one of the earliest and finest examples of applying massive computing power and machine learning to solve a big security challenge. Following Gmails spam filter process, today spam messages are down to just 0.1% of emails for the average Gmail user. Gmail is one of a number of tools, applications and services available for Googles corporate services, such as Google Apps; the technology is integrated into Googles products and services, which means that an Android powered smartphone or tablet, or a Chromebook, work beautifully with the service. Google Apps are also available for the Apple iOS platform too and here too, they work very well. Furthermore, Google have a policy of improving their offerings and services and today we bring you news of some changes taking place in the Google Apps email security system. Advertisement Gerhard is speaking at the RSA Conference, San Francisco, this week in part to showcase a new feature being implemented for the Gmail at Work customers: optical character recognition is being incorporated into Googles Data Loss Prevention system, also known as DLP. Google rolled out the data loss prevention technology for Google Apps Unlimited customers at the end of 2015. Its the system designed to prevent employees from sending sensitive data out of the organisation. The new technology is going to be applied to look at the contents of file attachments and read text in images to make sure that service users are not sending illicit, sensitive documents to an unauthorised source and it uses Googles cloud computing platform for the raw processing power behind the system. The improvements will work hand in hand with some improvements in policy control that allow a more granular approach and offer greater coverage to identify personally identifiable and health record information. This Tuesday not only marked the beginning of a new month, but also the arrival of a brand new Google Play Policy Center which was just updated overnight. As Google itself claims, the Google Play Developer Program Policies are of crucial importance in making its Android software distribution platform safe and enjoyable for the Android community. The American tech giant aims to achieve that by educating and clearly communicating to its developers whats appropriate for distribution on Google Play and what isnt; what kind of activities are encouraged, whats frowned upon, and whats explicitly prohibited. Naturally, the Google Play Policy Center is the basis for all of these endeavors, so Google is putting in maximum effort to make it as approachable, informative, and generally good as it can be. Heres where the latest update to the Developer Program Policy Center comes into play. The said website got a complete overhaul which went live earlier today and is a result of months of careful analyzation of developer and user feedback by Google. The areas of focus of the latest Policy Center redesign were transparency and clarity, i.e. improving the degree of transparency and clarity by which Google Play policies are communicated to the Android community. First of all, that means the new Center now offers the ability to thematically sort out its policies, so topics like monetization, privacy, spam, intellectual property, and restricted content finally arent bundled together anymore. This not only makes finding specific topics easier but also facilitates research on broader principles of the Developer Program Policy Center. Many articles also got updated with visual examples and more detailed guidelines and rewrites were made based on developer feedback regarding confusing topics. In addition to that, Google expanded the amount of information on its policy enforcement practices which will hopefully lead to a smaller number of apps being removed from Google Play for violations developers werent even aware they were committing. From a more aesthetic standpoint, the Developer Center also received a new visual redesign which Google hopes will make navigation through its numerous pages easier, especially in conjunction with the aforementioned thematical organization. The changes apply to both mobile and desktop users. Advertisement You can check out the brand new Policy Center by following the link below where youll also find a neat little visual presentation of its latest features in the form of a GIF. This is the first major update to the Developer Program since last June when Google also focused on general user experience and clarifications of its numerous policies. It remains to be seen whether any more specific changes will be coming to it in the near future though considering Googles Developer Policy Center update pattern, that probably wont happen before late 2016 or early 2017. Android Auto was first introduced during Google I/O 2014, and made its debut on a commercially available vehicle in May 2015 with the launch of the Hyundai Sonata. Since then, numerous car manufacturers have teamed up with Google to bring Android Auto to drivers around the world, and the platform is expected to gain a lot more grip in 2016 2017. Earlier this year, Kia was among the car manufacturers to announce their use of Android Auto in future models, specifically the 2017 Kia Forte5 unveiled in Detroit. More recently during the Geneva International Motor Show, Kia revealed that by the end of 2017, Android Auto will be offered for its entire range of cars destined for the European market. According to Kia, Android Auto will be introduced along with the Kia Niro hybrid crossover which was announced in January 2016. The Kia Niro has been developed in isolation from existing models and has been built as a hybrid car from the ground up. Expected to debut in the third quarter of the year, the Kia Niro will become the companys first Android Auto-enabled car, and will be followed by models such as the Kia Optima Sportwagon and the Kia Plug-In Hybrid. Kias entire range of cars for Europe will apparently offer Android Auto before the end of 2017. Kia Europe COO, Michael Cole, adds that In-car connectivity is increasingly important to our buyers, who are young-at-heart and often seek the latest technologies on offer. Advertisement As for the Android Auto platform itself, its likely that Google will discuss its future during their I/O 2016 keynote (May 18th), especially since last year there was no mention of Android Auto during the event, and given the fact that the platform is becoming increasingly popular. Although theres not much official information to go by, some of the additions that might help the platform could include compatibility with a broader range of Android applications, as well as the ability to connect a smartphone to the vehicles infotainment system wirelessly, as opposed to having to maintain a connection through the USB port. Its worth noting that Android Auto will be accompanied by Kia Connected Services on the aforementioned vehicles, so if youre not a fan of Google Maps then there will always be an alternative method to gain live traffic updates, weather forecasts and so on. Motorola has introduced a couple of smartphones last year, including Moto E, Moto G, Moto X Play, Moto X Pure (aka Style) and Droid Turbo 2 (aka Moto X Force) devices. The Lenovo-owned company has also rolled out their second-gen Moto 360 Android Wear-powered smartwatch, which is one of the most popular smartwatches out there at the moment. That being said, India is one of Motorolas most important markets these days, and it seems like the companys product are currently discounted in the country, read on. In case you live in India, and are in a market for a Motorola-branded device, well youre in luck. Amazon India offers discounts on quite a few Moto-branded products. The Moto G Turbo Edition, Moto G (3rd-gen, both variants) and Moto E (2nd-gen) 4G smartphones are currently discounted, while all variants of the 2nd-gen Moto 360 smartwatches are also discounted. The listed smartphones are now Rs. 1,000 ($15) off on Amazon India, while you can get Rs. 2,000 ($29) off when the smartwatches are concerned. The Moto G Turbo Edition now costs Rs. 11,499 ($169) in India, while the 8GB and 16GB variant of the 3rd-gen Moto G smartphone are priced at Rs. 8,999 ($132), and Rs. 9,999 ($147), respectively. The Moto E (2nd-gen) is the most affordable handset out of the bunch, and it is now priced at Rs. 5,999 ($88). Advertisement As far as smartwatches are concerned, you can get the 42mm 2nd-gen Moto 360 with a Black Leather band for Rs. 17,999 ($264). The 46mm smartwatch with a black metal bracelet is priced at Rs. 21,999 ($323), while the 46mm natural metal watch with Silver Case and Cognac Leather band costs Rs. 18,999 ($279). Now, if you purchase either of these devices with SBI Debit or Credit Cards, you can get an extra 10% off (up to Rs. 1,500). Keep in mind that this is a limited time offer, and it lasts until March 4th, or until stocks last. There you have it, in case youre interested in purchasing either of these devices, we suggest you hurry up, this is a limited time offer. Follow the source link down below, which will take you directly to Amazon Indias Moto discount page. For quite some time now T-Mobile has been hitting the headlines for a number of their uncarrier moves which have looked to shake up the industry and offer consumers better value for their money. Moves which have cemented T-Mobiles position in the market and seen the company progress to the third spot in the U.S. behind AT&T and Verizon. That said, the seemingly continued success of T-Mobile has not stopped Deutsche Telekom from wanting to sell off their investment in T-Mobile and even in spite of the reports coming through last year that Deutsche Telekom has seen revenues increase thanks to T-Mobiles success in the U.S. Of course, completing a sale has been anything but easy for Deutsche Telekom with numerous attempts to sell to the likes of AT&T and Sprint either falling through or being shot down by the FCC, which has meant the continued news of possible talks has repeatedly come through over time. The latest of which is that in spite of Deutsche Telekom looking for their exit strategy, it now seems that the company will be taking a hiatus from trying to sell their 65.4-percent ownership. According to the report from Reuters, the reason for the temporary halt is the upcoming spectrum auction which is due to take place. Advertisement The auction which will look to sell low-frequency airwaves will be taking place in the next couple of weeks and T-Mobile is thought to be looking to scoop up all they can from the auction. However, one of the conditions of participation in such an auction, is the prohibiting of merger talks before, during and after an auction. As such, Deutsche Telekom will be holding off until the auction comes to a close before resuming their intention to sell. According to two sources on the matter, another benefit to placing a hold on a sale is to wait until the telecoms landscape is one which better favors a merger of this sort. As such, it is currently unclear how long the hold will remain in place, although it is is fair to assume if Deutsche Telekom receives an offer that interests them in the meantime, talks would likely resume promptly enough. The BlackBerry Priv is the first (official) BlackBerry device running a version of Googles Android operating system. Canadian smartphone and software business, BlackBerry (formerly RIM, Research In Motion) had persevered with the legacy version of BlackBerry OS and the later, much improved and refined BlackBerry 10 operating system, but last year finally released the Android-powered Priv. The Priv has a high end specification; its based around a QHD resolution, 5.4-inch AMOLED panel and its powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 System-on-Chip, which consists of a cluster of 1.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A53 processors for the lower performance tier and a higher performance, dual core 1.8 GHz cluster of ARM Cortex-A57 application processors. The Snapdragon 808 is backed up by 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, plus a MicroSD card slot. Theres a 3,410 mAh internal rechargeable battery, optional wireless charging backs, a Sony 18MP rear camera and BlackBerrys hardened operating system. The Priv is currently running Android 5.1 Lollipop but an update to 6.0 Marshmallow is expected. In the United States, the Priv was originally launched as an exclusive for one of the larger carriers, AT&T. Now that the exclusive has finished, it has been made available on the other carriers, which have adopted the new BlackBerry apart from Verizon Wireless. However, news today seems to signal that Verizon are to start pre-orders for the device this week and it will be released next. The news follows a long way as a Verizon-flavoured BlackBerry Priv passed through the FCCs testing and appeared on the 24 December 2015. It is unsure what the reason for the delay is, but back in January the rumours were that the Priv would not surface on Verizon until March. Advertisement Todays story is that a Verizon executive, Jeffrey Nelson, responded to a Twitter query and appears to confirm that preorders for the BlackBerry Priv on the Verizon network will be opening on the 3 March with the device being on sale from the 11 March. We cannot quite take this as confirmation of the dates when the Priv is to be released, but we do expect the device to be available shortly on Verizon. Currently, pricing is not available but the device is $650 on the BlackBerry website and a little more via carriers, but these include the wireless charging back. Not too long ago, Apple launched a program to allow users to lease the newest iPhone and upgrade each year. In essence, as long as a customer continued paying, they were ensured the latest iPhone model available. The introduction of this program comes at a time when the traditional wireless contract and subsidized phone is in steep decline with most carriers, guaranteeing Apple a significant chunk of users that formerly took advantage of such programs. Some of them may even stick around for life, using the program to get their hands on the newest iPhone each year until Apple stops selling them. Not one to take this sort of thing sitting down, rumors flew that Samsung may be launching something similar. Samsung confirmed the rumors and confirmed today that they will be launching a program similar to the one their arch-rival launched. The first handsets available with the new program are the upcoming twin flagships, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. The program will be launching on March 11, the release date of the two new devices. In order to get on board, users will have to agree to a two year lease for their device of choice. Once theyre in, theyre eligible for an upgrade after only 12 months, allowing them to jump to the newest devices as they hit the program and, presumably, keeping up with Samsungs flagship Galaxy S release cycle. Users who upgrade will no longer be on the hook for the payments on their current phone, since theyll be trading up to a newer model. Advertisement The program will be launched out of Samsungs chain of physical outlets in their homeland of South Korea, known as Samsung Digital Plaza. Theyll be partnering up with their affiliate credit card company, Samsung Card, to fund the program and finance handsets for users. The South Korean smartphone market may well get a much-needed rejuvenation from this effort. It should be noted that there was no word on when or even if this offer will be leaving South Korea and heading to other countries, namely to the United States where rival Apple continues to be dominant. Mobile World Congress is often an exciting time for smartphone fans, and last months show was no exception. In fact, Samsung as they have done a number of times in the past announced their latest Galaxy S flagship on the Sunday before the show floor in Barcelona officially opened. We said hello to the new and improved Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, complete with better battery life, the return of water-resistance and the microSD card slot and a whole lot more that weekend. We knew that Samsung were going to introduce an improved and evolutionary product, rather than reinvent the Galaxy S6 wheel, but what we didnt expect was the fast turnaround from announcement to launch. When Samsung announced their latest and greatest pair of flagship Galaxy S smartphones, they also detailed a pre-order date of February 23rd. This is pretty impressive, to say the least, but to then hear that devices would start to ship around the first or second week of March was even more impressive. In fact, some T-Mobile customers are reporting that theyve already received their Galaxy S7 pre-orders. Itd appear that the Galaxy S7 is smashing records, too. Eldar Murtazin, a prolific leakster who has been right on the money in a number of previous Samsung leaks, has recently tweeted that the Galaxy S7 in smashing records in all 60 of its launch markets, including his home turf of Russia. Speaking of Russia, Murtazin details that 64% of pre-orders were for the Galaxy S7 Edge, the remaining 36% for the Galaxy S7. This isnt too surprising, but it is good to see that customers are responding well to a new feature like the Edge display. Advertisement Official pre-order figures are difficult to come by, especially as Samsung is tough competition with not just everyone else in the Android world, but also Apple. The Cupertino-based company has a long history of twisting figures to their own advantage, and we wouldnt be surprised if this was one reason Samsung or anyone else would want to hold back official numbers. Even so, the device already appears to be a popular one, and for good reason. The new design introduced last year is still going strong, and with better performance, water-resistance and the return of the microSD card slot theres even more to love this time around. Looking to save money, the Nigerian government culled 23,846 workers from its payroll. The Finance Ministry says the mass sacking saved 2.29 billion naira (8m, $11.53m). But dont worry the sacked workers never existed: The audit is part of an anti-corruption campaign by President Muhammadu Buhari, who took power last year. Corruption and mismanagement have long been a challenge to Nigerias growth, and the government has promised to cut costs. The audit started in December used biometric data and a bank verification number to identify holders of bank accounts into which salaries were being paid. This process allowed the identification of some workers who were receiving a salary that did not correspond to the names linked to the bank accounts. It also revealed that some employees were receiving salaries from multiple sources (ANSA) - Rome, March 1 - Avvenire, the daily newspaper of Italian bishops conference CEI, on Tuesday blasted Left Ecology and Freedom (SEL) party leader Nichi Vendola after he announced the birth of his and his male partner's son thanks to surrogate motherhood at the weekend. "The sad human market is growing and it has entries on the left and right," Avvenire said in an editorial criticising the former Puglia governor. "They should stop calling it rights". The case has fueled tension over the issue of gays adopting children even though a provision that would have allowed homosexuals to adopt their partners' biological children was stripped from a bill regulating civil unions last week. On Monday top-selling Catholic weekly Famiglia Cristiana (Christian Family) on Monday slammed Vendola too for using a practice that is illegal in Italy. "The defender of the poor and the oppressed went abroad like a gentleman of means, orphaned a baby of its mother and eluded the (Italian) Constitution," the weekly wrote on its website. "Wasn't he supposed to be a leftist?". Northern League leader Matteo Salvini blasted Vendola, accusing him of "disgusting selfishness". Beppe Grillo, the leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), was also critical. "There is something about the concept of wombs for rent that scares me and it has nothing to do with homosexuality or heterosexuality, but with the logic that says 'we'll do it because it's possible'," comedian-turned-political Grillo wrote in a letter published in Tuesday's Corriere della Sera. Premier Matteo Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party (PD) is set to propose new legislation on adoptions, including those by gay parents, after the stepchild adoption provision was dropped to allow the civil unions bill to clear the Senate last week. But Interior Minister Angelino Alfano has said this would breach a pact that his centrist AP group reached with the PD to win its support. Renzi replied indirectly by saying that "the time of vetoes" to needed reforms - such as the civil unions bill now before the Lower House - is over. (ANSA) - Rio de Janeiro, March 1 - Brazilian federal police on Tuesday arrested the vice president of Facebook Latin America after the company declined to turn over client messages sent on subsidiary social media platform WhatsApp. Prosecutors say the company has obstructed an investigation in a criminal drug trafficking case. VP Diego Dozdan, and Argentine national, was arrested while on his way to work in the city of Sao Paulo on a bench warrant from the northeastern city of Lagarto. Facebook has not commented on the arrest. (ANSA) - New York, March 1 - Italy is ready to coordinate operations for the security and stabilisation of Libya but the first condition is the formation of a national-unity government and the request from that government to intervene, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said in New York Tuesday. "The level of planning and coordination among the various defence systems on a possible contribution to the security of Libya is at a very advanced level and has been going on for several weeks," he said. The United States said Monday it would "strongly" support Italy's lead role in the international coalition set to take action in Libya once requested. (ANSA) - Rome, March 1 - Italian student Giulio Regeni was tortured for seven days before being killed, two Egyptian police sources told Reuters Tuesday citing Cairo coroner Hisham Abdel Hamid. The wounds on Regeni's body show the torture happened at intervals of 10-14 hours, they said. "That means that whoever is accused of killing him was interrogating him to get information," the sources told Reuters. The Egyptian justice ministry on Tuesday denied the report, saying it was "devoid of all foundation". Abdel Hamid "was not called in by the police", said Shaaban El Shami, forensic medicine aide to the Egyptian justice minister, threatening legal action against those publishing "news that comes from sources who want to distort reality for political ends and which has nothing to do with the truth". An Egyptian lawyer who knew Giulio Regeni said he had noted "clear signs of anxiety" in the Italian student in the days before he was abducted on January 25, the heavily policed fifth anniversary of the uprising that ousted former strongman Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian daily Al Ahram said Tuesday, citing sources close to the probe into Regeni's torture and death. As well, a woman friend reported that the young researcher advised her not to go out on the anniversary of the uprising because of possible "acts of violence", the daily said. Also on Tuesday, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said taly expects full cooperation from Egypt in the investigation into Regeni's brutal killing. Italy has received assurances that "the various elements of investigation requested by us will be given to us swiftly," he said. He said the government expected "full, effective and timely cooperation on the investigative level" in the name of "both the Regeni family and the dignity of our country". Italy has repeatedly stressed that the danger of a cover-up on the death of Regeni, found in a ditch February 3 with signs of torture on his body, should be averted. (ANSA) - Rome, March 1 - Italian scientists have found evidence of active seabed doming and gas discharge in the Gulf of Naples, according to a paper published in the on-line journal Scientific Reports on Tuesday. The discovery is the result of an oceanography survey conducted by members of Italy's national research institute (CNR), national institute of geophysics and volcanology (INGV) and the university of Florence. The doming is located around 5 km from the port of Naples and 2.5 km from Posillipo and is caused by the rise of gas from a depth of 10-20 km, the researchers say. "The structure is situated half way between the active volcanoes of the Phlegraean Fields and Vesuvius, at a variable depth of between 100m and 170m," said Salvatore Passaro of the CNR. The researchers surveyed 35 gas emissions and over 650 small craters linked to gas discharge over the past 12,000 years. The data is evidence of "activity linked to a secondary volcanic phenomenon that is not currently associated to a direct rise of magma," said Guido Ventura of INGV. (ANSA) - Cairo, March 1 - The Egyptian justice ministry on Tuesday denied a report that the director of the department of forensic medicine, Hisham Abdel Hamid, said slain Italian student Giulio Regeni had been tortured for seven days. The ministry said the Reuters report, which cited police sources, was "devoid of all foundation". Abdel Hamid "was not called in by the police", said Shaaban El Shami, forensic medicine aide to the Egyptian justice minister, threatening legal action against those publishing "news that comes from sources who want to distort reality for political ends and which has nothing to do with the truth". (ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS/ISTANBUL- The European Commission is set to propose a regulation for emergency funding for humanitarian rescue operations to the tune of 770 million euros in three years (300 in 2016, 200 in 2017 and 200 in 2018) to address "the growing humanitarian needs in the EU vis-a-vis the refugee and migrant crisis," according to drafts seen by ANSA Tuesday that are expected to be adopted by the college of commissioners Wednesday. Some 131,724 migrants and refugees arrived on European coasts across the Mediterranean in the first two months of the year, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Tuesday. More than 90% (122,637) landed in Greece. The figure is higher than that for the first five months of 2015. Italy and, to an even higher degree, Greece have been struggling to cope with a massive influx fuelled by the war in Syria and conflicts and hunger elsewhere. EU tells Macedonia to apply international law European Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said on Tuesday that scenes from the border between Greece and Macedonia were highly concerning. She added that this showed that the only solution was that of the EU and that there was a need to act in accordance with international law. Macedonia strengthened security along its southern border with Greece on Tuesday after violent clashes the previous day between migrants and police. A contingent of 700 men, an infantry battalion and a police unit with armored vehicles have been sent. !0,000 campep out in Idomeni, humanitarian situation worsening About 10,000 migrants and refugees are currently camped out in Idomeni, Greece, while waiting to cross into Macedonia and continue their journey along the 'Balkan route' northwards. Skopje authorities are letting very few pass - many fewer than the 850 announced - saying that they are waiting to see what happens along the borders of other countries along the route. The situation remains very tense, the humanitarian emergency is getting worse and migrants' anger may explode again a any time. Sources on the ground say that the there is not enough food and water, hygienic conditions are unbearable and many need medical assistance. NATO's chief warned Tuesday that ISIS fighters, criminals and 'foreign fighters' were hiding in the massive refugee flows from Syria and other areas, posing a risk to the US and Europe. Speaking in testimony to the Senate Armed Services committee, Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove - NATO's supreme allied commander and head of US European Command - said that ISIS was spreading rapidly and that it was making use of this ''path of least resistance''. He also accused Russia of having enormously exacerbated the problem through its actions in Syria. (ANSAmed). Libya: media, aircraft carrier De Gaulle in drill with Egypt Al-Wasat quotes French sources, maneuvers in the coming hours (ANSAmed) - CAIRO, MARCH 1 - A ''well-informed French source'' has said that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will carry out ''over the next two days'' ''maneuvers with the Egyptian Navy'', the Arab website Al-Wasat first reported on Monday. The site added that, according to a ''French military source'', the carrier left the Persian Gulf last Monday and is ''steaming through the Mediterranean and should arrive at the end of this week (Friday in Islamic countries) off the Libyan coast''. The De Gaulle, in the Gulf since December 19, boards ''groups of fighters at the disposal of the French army to gather information on Libya by air and sea''. Citing the ''French source'', Al-Wasat also reported that there are no plans at the moment to strike Libya militarily in the near future, although such a ''possibility should be taken seriously''. (ANSAmed). Egypt government denies Regeni torture report Italian student 'tortured repeatedly over 7 days' - Reuters (ANSAmed) - CAIRO, MARCH 1 - The Egyptian justice ministry on Tuesday denied a report that the director of the department of forensic medicine, Hisham Abdel Hamid, said slain Italian student Giulio Regeni had been tortured for seven days. The ministry said the Reuters report, which cited police sources, was "devoid of all foundation". Abdel Hamid "was not called in by the police", said Shaaban El Shami, forensic medicine aide to the Egyptian justice minister, threatening legal action against those publishing "news that comes from sources who want to distort reality for political ends and which has nothing to do with the truth". Reuters reported on Tuesday that police sources citing Cairo coroner Hisham Abdel Hamid said that Regeni was tortured for seven days before being killed. The wounds on Regeni's body show the torture happened at intervals of 10-14 hours, they said. "That means that whoever is accused of killing him was interrogating him to get information," the sources told Reuters. Regeni, a 28-year-old Cambridge doctoral student researching Egyptian trade unions, was found in a ditch outside Cairo on February 3 after disappearing on January 25, the heavily policed fifth anniversary of the uprising that ousted former strongman Hosni Mubarak. (ANSAmed). Migrants: Macedonia beefs up border security with Greece 10,000 camped out in Idomeni, few allowed to pass (ANSAmed) - SKOPJE, MARCH 1 - Macedonia strengthened security along its southern border with Greece on Tuesday after violent clashes the previous day between migrants and police. A contingent of 700 men, an infantry battalion and a police unit with armored vehicles have been sent. About 10,000 migrants and refugees are currently camped out in Idomeni, Greece, while waiting to cross into Macedonia and continue their journey along the 'Balkan route' northwards. Skopje authorities are letting very few pass - many fewer than the 850 announced - saying that they are waiting to see what happens along the borders of other countries along the route. The situation remains very tense, the humanitarian emergency is getting worse and migrants' anger may explode again a any time. (ANSAmed). 31,000 migrant arrivals in Europe in 2016, UNHCR says (ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, MARCH 1 - Some 131,724 migrants and refugees arrived on European coasts across the Mediterranean in the first two months of the year, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Tuesday. More than 90% (122,637) landed in Greece. The figure is higher than that for the first five months of 2015. Italy and, to an even higher degree, Greece have been struggling to cope with a massive influx fuelled by the war in Syria and conflicts and hunger elsewhere. (ANSAmed). 'Assad used chemical weapons in Syria since ceasefire began' Says Israeli defense minister; 'targeted civilians' (ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, MARCH 1 - The Syrian government has used chemical weapons against civilians in the country even after the ceasefire began on Saturday, Israeli defense minister Moshe Yaalon said Tuesday. ''Syrians,'' he was quoted by the media as saying at a conference near Tel Aviv, ''have used military-grade chemical weapons and recently such materials as chlorine against civilians. It has done so even in these days, after the so-called 'ceasefire', by dropping chlorine bombs on civilians.'' (ANSAmed). 'ISIS fighters among refugees', warns NATO chief 'Russian intervention in Syria has made things worse' (ANSAmed) - WASHINGTON, MARCH 1 - NATO's chief warned Tuesday that ISIS fighters, criminals and 'foreign fighters' were hiding in the massive refugee flows from Syria and other areas, posing a risk to the US and Europe. Speaking in testimony to the Senate Armed Services committee, Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove - NATO's supreme allied commander and head of US European Command - said that ISIS was spreading rapidly and that it was making use of this ''path of least resistance''. He also accused Russia of having enormously exacerbated the problem through its actions in Syria. (ANSAmed). Mideast: clashes at refugee camp, Palestinian killed In Qalandiya, north of Jerusalem (ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, MARCH 1 - A Palestinian was killed and 12 others were wounded, according to Palestinian news agency Maan, in clashes last night at the refugee camp of Qalandiya, north of Jerusalem. Military radio reported that 10 Israeli border patrols were also wounded in the violence. Maan idenitified the Palestinian victim as Omar Sayadiya, 22, a student at the University al-Quds in Jerusalem. According to military radio, it is possible that he was among local armed activists who opened fire and threw Molotov cocktails against Israeli soldiers. The incidents reportedly started after allegations that members of a special Israeli unit had entered in Qalandiya. Military radio added that they were two soldiers who had accessed the refugee camp by mistake. (ANSAmed). ROME - Operations to dismantle the southern area of a migrant camp in Calais, northern France, known as the Jungle will reportedly resume on Tuesday. Demolition squads had to stop dismantling the makeshift shelters Monday due to clashes between police, no-border activists and migrants, the online edition of the BBC reports. Overnight, anti-riot police fired tear gas at the migrants who were hurling stones at demolition squads. Authorities are trying to move the migrants to shipping containers on another area of the site but many are refusing. They fear they will be forced to apply for asylum in France while their objective is to settle in the UK. The first day of eviction operations Monday at the Jungle degenerated with clashes between no-border activists, migrants and about 200 police officers deployed to oversee procedures to dismantle makeshift tents and shelters of refugees and asylum seekers who were offered to relocate to containers rendered available by the State. At 5 pm the situation became unsustainable and, due to the violence, the Police Nationale decided to suspend operations. But the move was not enough to ease tension and sporadic clashes continued through the evening. According to an initial toll, four people were detained and five officers were slightly wounded. Meanwhile, Belgian federal police announced it had rejected at the border with France 619 people after it restored last week border checks to prevent the potential inflow of migrants coinciding with dismantling operations in Calais. Last Thursday, an administrative court in Lille gave the green light to the evacuation of the southern part of the camp, the largest of its kind in France. The Hollande government immediately assured of the ''humanitarian'' and ''progressive'' nature of the operation. All migrants, Paris assured, would be offered an alternative between heated containers and migrant shelters. But NGOs believe the accommodation is not sufficient. Migrants: EU tells Macedonia to apply international law Concerned by scenes from border with Greece as tension rises (ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, MARCH 1 - European Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said on Tuesday that scenes from the border between Greece and Macedonia were highly concerning. She added that this showed that the only solution was that of the EU and that there was a need to act in accordance with international law. Tension has once again begun rising at the Idomeni camp along Greece's Macedonia border, where migrants and refugees tired of waiting to cross into Macedonia held a protest on Tuesday. Macedonia media say that groups of migrants are once again trying to break through the barbed-wire fence, after the same occurred yesterday - resulting in clashes with Macedonian police. Reinforcements of anti-riot police are being sent to the area from other parts of the country. Sources on the ground say that the humanitarian situation is worsening, that there is not enough food and water, hygienic conditions are unbearable and many need medical assistance. An estimated 7,000-8,000 migrants are at the Idomeni border fence. (ANSAmed). Migrants: Situation at Macedonia-Greece border explosive Some 7,000 people at the border, lack of food and water (ANSAmed) - SKOPJE, MARCH 1 - The situation at the border between Macedonia and Greece remains explosive and extremely critical. Over 7,000 migrants and refugees who have arrived from the Middle East are awaiting to cross the border in order to continue their trip along the Balkan route with the objective of reaching Germany and other rich countries in northern Europe. After violent clashes yesterday, when a few hundred migrants exasperated by the wait stormed a barbed-wire fence, with Macedonian police reacting with tear gas and stun grenades, tension was always palpable and there is no visible way out for the thousands who have remained stranded in Idomeni, the last outpost in Greece. Macedonian authorities authorize a limited number of entries, a decision following other countries on the Balkan route, starting with Austria, which has caused a domino effect on Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia. No more than 580 people are allowed to enter daily, only Syrian and Iraqi nationals, while Afghans and representatives of other nationalities are not permitted to cross. The humanitarian situation is highly critical, with indescribable hygienic-sanitary conditions and lack of food. Thousands of migrant landings are meanwhile being reported in the Greek islands from nearby Turkey. (ANSAmed) (ANSAmed) - ROME, MARCH 1 - On March 5, the 700th anniversary of the foundation of the Pontifical Basilica of Loreto, Orthodox authorities from the churches of Albania, Georgia, Greece, Romania, Russia and Serbia will gather in prayer together with the Pontifical Delegation and the Holy Orthodox Diocese of Italy and Malta. The event - according to a statement released by the event's promoters - marks the official recognition of the most ancient Marian relic by the Orthodox world following studies carried out by Father Giuseppe Santarelli and Greek academic Haris Koudounas. It has been definitely established that the home inhabited by the family of the Virgin Mary in Nazareth where the miraculous birth of Jesus was announced was moved in 1294 to Loreto by the Byzantine imperial family Angelo-Comneno-Ducas and subsequently the despots of Epirus and Thessaly. Before reaching the Marche, the Holy House was preserved by Giovanni Angelo-Comneno, in Pyli , Thessaly, the basilica of Porta Panagia, erected for this purpose and still existing. Prayer ('paraklisi') to the Madonna Theotokos will be conducted by Metropolitan Zervos Gennadios, Othodox Archbishop of Italy and Malta of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, at the presence of Pontifical Delegate, Mons. Giovanni Tonucci. Italian, Armenian, Russian and Greek civil authorities will attend the event, in particular from the city of Arta (Epirus) and Pyli and Trikala (Thessaly) and diplomatic representations to the Holy See in Italy, Greece, Romania and the Russian Federation. ''This 'glorious step' saves a very big and important chapter in Byzantine history - said Metropolite Gennadios - Dominated the 'Panaghia', the Mother of all. The holy Theotokos in Loreto where part of Her home has existed for centuries joins two marvelous worlds: Latin and Byzantine; and Her figure saves History and Civilization through which all of Europe needs to go through, move and accomplish helpful and prosperous facts for the whole world''. ''The sisters of the Oriental Churches boast historic ties with the Holy House of Loreto - commented Mons. Tonucci - for the issues that have determined the transfer of the holy stones of the Orient to the western coasts of the Adriatic. It is thus opportune and providential that this meeting to study and pray takes place in the Basilica of the Holy House in a spirit of faith''. ''This event - said the promoter, Prince Alexios Angelo Comneno of Thessaly, president of the Angelica Constantinian Academy - means to promote a bridge between the two worlds, the Catholic Latin and Oriental Byzantine and a reciprocal enrichment of spiritual and cultural values. The religious meeting will be preceded by a congress on the history of the Holy House during the period of permanence in Thessaly, organized by the Angelica Constantinian Academy in cooperation with the City of Loreto with the participation of eight twinned cities Altoetting (Germany), Czstochowa (Poland), Fatima, (Portugal) Nazareth, (Israel) Daroun Harissa, (Lebanon) Istra, (Russia) Tukums (Latvia).(ANSAmed). Tunisia authorizes German training of Libyan soldiers In its territory; vehicles and equipment for border control (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, MARCH 1 - Tunisia on Tuesday authorized Germany's training of Libya soldiers on Tunisia territory. ''We have been asked by Berlin and we agree in principle. We can help the national unity government to extend its authority and train its army, and we are prepared to support it at the international level,'' Defense Minister Farhat Horchani was quoted by the TAP news agency as saying. Germany has meanwhile sent equipment to Tunis including 29 off-road vehicles, binoculars, combat fatigues and anti-explosive systems for border control purposes. (ANSAmed). CAIRO - The Egyptian justice ministry on Tuesday denied a report that the director of the department of forensic medicine, Hisham Abdel Hamid, said slain Italian student Giulio Regeni had been tortured for seven days. The ministry said the Reuters report, which cited police sources, was "devoid of all foundation". Abdel Hamid "was not called in by the police", said Shaaban El Shami, forensic medicine aide to the Egyptian justice minister, threatening legal action against those publishing "news that comes from sources who want to distort reality for political ends and which has nothing to do with the truth". Reuters reported on Tuesday that police sources citing Cairo coroner Hisham Abdel Hamid said that Regeni was tortured for seven days before being killed. The wounds on Regeni's body show the torture happened at intervals of 10-14 hours, they said. "That means that whoever is accused of killing him was interrogating him to get information," the sources told Reuters. Regeni, a 28-year-old Cambridge doctoral student researching Egyptian trade unions, was found in a ditch outside Cairo on February 3 after disappearing on January 25, the heavily policed fifth anniversary of the uprising that ousted former strongman Hosni Mubarak. BRUSSELS - The ''creation of a working group on Palestine is a good result because it goes in the right direction, putting around the same table representatives of Israel and Palestine, as well as historically and geographically close countries'', said European lawmaker Renato Soru of the Democratic Left (PD), who heads the commission on political affairs, security and human rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean. The organization met yesterday afternoon in Brussels to discuss key issues like the Israeli-Palestinian situation and the grave humanitarian crisis in Syria. The meeting of MPs from the two shores of the Mediterranean also discussed the over 40 projects of cooperation promoted by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) currently ongoing in the Middle Eastern area and Africa. ''Only strengthening Mediterranean cooperation can set the bases for the improvement of the lives of populations and to stabilize areas today in grave crisis, like Maghreb and the Near East'', also noted Soru. ''The Political Commission of the PA-UfM is the only institutional place in which Palestinians and Israelis are seated at the same table as equals, discussing together with other lawmakers from the Euro-Mediterranean area the developments of the crisis in which they are the protagonists and perspectives to solve the conflict. For this reason - continued Soru - we have first of all spoken about the constitution of an ad hoc group on Palestine, based on a proposal approved by the parliamentary session of the PA-UfM last year in Lisbon: the aim is to support the birth of an independent, democratic and neighboring Palestinian State, which can live and exist in peace and security with the State of Israel, in the perspective welcomed by the international community and strongly promoted by the European Union of the two-State solution''. ROME - From Calais to Idomeni, a ''clear violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child'' has occurred, Unicef Italia has denounced. ''What is occurring is intolerable'', added in a note spokesman Andrea Iacomini. ''The scenario we are seeing has the shapes and characteristics of something that Europe and the world have already experienced during World War II, we cannot accept it, it cannot happen in Europe or, as rightly declared by Minister Gentiloni, there will be a chasm''. Images of desperate migrant children documenting events over the past few hours, added Unicef, ''are the final representation of a phenomenon rooted in the flight from conflicts that the international community has been unable to solve, that have grown in intensity and violence over the years, which we as Unicef have always denounced and on which Europe has shown great fragility''. ''It is late for recriminations'', continued the spokesman of Unicef Italia. ''Children cannot experience the nightmare of the past few hours. All, I repeat all the States at the center of the border shutdown or that have erected 'anti-historic walls' have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Adolescent''. ''The images and episodes of these past days and months are irrefutable proof of its grave violation, it is unacceptable. Nobody needs to touch these innocent children, they don't deserve to add to their flight trauma other indelible wounds, Italy should push forward the matter in all the appropriate locations and countries that violated the treaty - he concluded - should take responsibility''. GENEVA - Syrian peace talks will resume on March 9 instead of March 7, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura said Tuesday. A statement issued by the UN noted that the change of date was to enable logistical and practical issues to be dealt with. De Mistura said that he ''looks forward to Syrian participants' engagement in serious discussions with a view to implementing Security Council Resolution 2254'' on Syria. Assad offers rebels amnesty for laying down arms Also on Tuesday Syrian President Bashar al Assad told German television ARD that, ''we will play our part so that everything works'', referring to a ceasefire in place since last Saturday. Assad then offered rebels an ''amnesty '' and a ''return to their regular civilian life'' if they ''lay down their weapons''. He offered the rebels an ''amnesty without limits''. ''They should simply lay down their arms. The fact that they want to take part in a political process, or that they are on the contrary not interested in that, or that they don't follow a political agenda has no importance for me''. ''The important thing for me from a juridical and constitutional standpoint, in the interest of the Syrian people - he continued - is that there is no right to get around with weapons and tanks and aim them against citizens and their possessions''. Assad used chemical weapons in Syria since ceasefire began, Israeli minister The Syrian government has used chemical weapons against civilians in the country even after the ceasefire began on Saturday, Israeli defense minister Moshe Yaalon said Tuesday. ''Syrians,'' he was quoted by the media as saying at a conference near Tel Aviv, ''have used military-grade chemical weapons and recently such materials as chlorine against civilians. It has done so even in these days, after the so-called 'ceasefire', by dropping chlorine bombs on civilians.'' 'ISIS fighters among refugees', warns NATO chief Many Islamic State (ISIS) fighters are heading to Libya from Syria and Iraq, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department on New Threats and Challenges Ilya Rogachev said Tuesday. She said that Russian airstrikes in Syria were one of the causes. The UK is meanwhile sending about 20 soldiers to Tunisia to prevent ISIS infiltrations from the border with Libya, Defense Minister Michael Fallon said, underscoring major concerns about the growing presence of jihadists along the Libya coast. Syrian regime blocking life-saving medicine, WHO Syrian authorities have failed to grant the necessary authorization for medical supplies and refuse to allow antibiotics, surgical equipment and burns and trauma kits into opposition-held areas, the World Health Organization said Tuesday on its website. In 2015, WHO ''provided 17.2 million medical treatments to people across the country, and 27% of these went to opposition-controlled and hard-to-reach areas'', such as eastern Aleppo city, Douma, Madaya, Kafraya, Foah, Az-Zabadani, Kafr Batna, and Mouadamieh. However, the vast majority of requests to deliver medical aid are not granted by Syrian authorities: out of 102 requests made in 2015, only 30 were approved and 72 were never even answered. ''So far in 2016, WHO has submitted 15 requests to the Government to send medicines and medical supplies to enable the treatment of 2.5 million people in 53 hard-to-reach and besieged locations in 9 governorates. The Syrian authorities recently approved requests to send medicines and medical supplies to Douma, Madayah and Mouadamieh in Rural Damascus while the other requests are still pending,'' the organization said. ''Another obstacle we face is that some medical items are systematically not allowed to be included in shipments of medical supplies crossing the conflict lines,'' WHO representative in Syria Elizabeth Hoff said, citing surgical supplies, trauma and burn kits, and antibiotics. (ANSAmed). Syrian peace talks to resume March 9, envoy announces 'Ceasefire going well, violators to be excluded', Russian FM (ANSAmed) - GENEVA, MARCH 1 - Syrian peace talks will resume on March 9 instead of March 7, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura said Tuesday. A statement issued by the UN noted that the change of date was to enable logistical and practical issues to be dealt with. De Mistura said that he ''looks forward to Syrian participants' engagement in serious discussions with a view to implementing Security Council Resolution 2254'' on Syria. Russia and the UN consider the ceasefire in place in Syria since Saturday to be going well, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said. Lavrov said that though some violations had been seen, ''there are no ceasefires without incidents''. He added that factions systematically violating the ceasefire would be excluded from it. (ANSAmed). Tunisia: crisis unit set up for Tunisians in Libya Also ahead of potential international operation (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, MARCH 1 - Tunisia has set up a crisis unit to follow and support the Tunisian community in Libya, the Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui, has announced to the parliamentary commission for Tunisian affairs abroad. The unit, created inside the foreign ministry, will have to monitor the Tunisian community in Libya, based on the evolution of the situation in the neighboring country, especially in the event of international military intervention. Talking about the new structure, Minister Jhinaoui said that the necessary resources were allocated so it can effectively safeguard the Tunisian community's security, although data on the number of Tunisians currently living in Libya is not updated. The latest official data in 2014 estimated some 65,000 nationals in Libyan territory. (ANSAmed). (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, MARCH 1 - Everything is ready in Sousse for the inauguration of the new ''Venetian Casino'', an investment started by a group of Italian entrepreneurs who have decided to bet on Tunisia's ability to attract tourists, still notable in the splendid beach resort of Sousse in spite of the terror attack on the resort of Port El Kantaoui in June last year. The new casino will be inaugurated Friday in a modern and comfortable space where clients will enjoy the most modern offers of a contemporary casino: slot-machines, video poker, French Roulette, Fair Roulette, Punto Banco, Black Jack, Hold'em poker, Cash game, Chemin de Fer managed by 30 professional croupiers. There will also be live music and an Italian-style bar and restaurant service. Owners want to give a marked Italian touch to the project, conceived and carried out at a difficult time in the persuasion that investing in Tunisia is an excellent choice, as managers told ANSAmed. Guests at the gala evening will get a free fiche they can use in the various gaming rooms. Access will only be allowed to guests with a foreign passport. (ANSAmed) BarcelonaThe Dutch president of the European liberals (free-market parties), Hans van Baalen, visited the Palace of the Generalitat on Monday to meet with Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and Foreign Minister Raul Romeva. The meeting takes place in the middle of a conflict with Madrid over the department led by Romeva, who has had his responsibilities suspended following the Constitutional Court's decision to take the Spanish government's challenge into consideration. Also attending the meeting was Marta Pascal, vice-president of the European liberal group, and Jordi Xucla, representative in Madrid and President of Catalonias Liberty and Democracy Foundation. Xucla was charged with opening an event, at the end of 2013, in which Van Baalen --then president of the Liberal International-- came to Barcelona to defend the right to self-determination and called on Mariano Rajoy to authorize a consultation on the political future of Catalonia. According to Pascal in an interview last Friday with Spains Efe news agency, the visit is a show of the "explicit support" of Europes liberals for the Catalan independence process. His group in the European Parliament, however, also includes the European MPs from Ciudadanos, Catalonias staunchly unionist party. This has caused friction with the EU political family to which CDC belongs. In an interview with ARA last November, Marc Guerrero, former vice-president of the European liberals, referred to Guy Verhofstadt --leader of the group in Brussels-- as "the black sheep of the family". Bilbao"ETA killed my father in front of me. I was 16 years old. He was taking me to the bus stop to go to school. We were in the car, stopped at a red light. Someone walked up from behind and shot him. From that day on, and for many years, every time I stopped at a traffic light my hands would start shaking. There was a time when I couldnt even try to get my drivers license. On the street I would hear footsteps behind me. Those were very hard times. After that morning in 1993, Jose Goikoetxea had to receive therapy. That crime by ETA made a big shockwaves because Joses father was a sergeant with the Erzaintza, the Basque police force, and a member of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNB). Jose couldnt understand anything. It got to the point where, one day at school, his girlfriend received a letter with the ETA seal warning her to leave Jose. It was fake, which meant that, on top of it all, someone was continuing to hurt him with his own pain. This was a sick society. We were having lunch and the TV reported that ETA had killed someone and we saw it as a normal thing. I didnt even let my mother cry. I get mad at myself for having thought that way, but we didnt talk about those things or ask why. We justified the violence. Jose is a burly man who talks with the tenor voice of a choirboy and with a typical Basque rotundity: "I know that my fathers killer died the following year in a shootout with the police, and his two accomplices went to prison, but I dont follow it. I dont want to know more, because ignorance is bliss. Many people ask me why I dont seek revenge. But you know what happens? That me, with this hatred, I dont hurt anyone. Because as much as I might hate you, you wont even get a headache. Once you understand that, you can set the hate aside. Eraikiz, mix so as not to mix Jose Goikoetxea is 39 years old and, like his father, is also a police officer. Five months ago he signed the document establishing Erakiz (building in Basque), a group made up of family members of people killed by terrorism of all types. They are asking society and the political parties "not to have prejudices and to recognize the diversity of the victims as a reflection of the diversity of Basque society". Among the signatories are Marta and Sara Buesa, the daughters of Fernando Buesa the socialist Basque vice president whom ETA killed with a car bomb in 2000 and Pili Zabala, sister of Jose Ignacio Zabala, an ETA member who was kidnapped, tortured, murdered, and buried in quicklime by GAL ( in 1983. "Rather than an apology, what we would like is to hear that everyone admits this violence was bad; and not mix victims and politics. But perhaps the ideals that the victims fought for continue to be important in their respective families, I ask. "The important thing is peace. Do you think that the victims care who won and who lost? Ideals dont come before our children. "I dont need anybody to apologize; its enough if they dont do it again. "We had GAL downstairs, watching my father. We saw them. They had already made struck, but if you called the police they would answer that to be standing in the street or sitting in a parked car wasnt against the law. My father had to flee to Sant Joan Lohitzune, in Iparralde (the French Basque Country), but they travelled there to kill him. He was 40 years old. I was 18". It was March of 1985. Karmen Galdeano is a lawyer. She works as the secretary of a Basque-medium school (ikastola). Even today she still meets people who talk to her with affection "about my father", Francisco Javier Galdeano, a journalist who had founded Basque newspaper Egin. The aftereffects of her fathers murder are still felt: "Before they killed my father, the telephone used to ring in the middle of the night. When we picked up, they would hang up. I suppose it was the police. Since then, my sister and I cant stand it when the phone rings at night. Ive even told my daughter that if she isnt coming home to sleep, not to call me. Better to text me instead. The ideological trench Karmen admits that she lived in an ideological trench for several years: "It was in order to survive. You know that the other side also suffers, but you live it from your own subjectivity. If they told you "Yes, but ETA kills", youd answer "Yes, but the Spanish State tortures", and it was a case of But you kill more! I do not! You do so! ". In the end it felt like a competition to see who was worse. And at political rallies, in the streets, in the squares, everybody would stand behind their own banner. But as years went by and ETA announced the final cessation of all armed activity, in October 2011, relationships changed: "Now I go out with people from the ikastola to sing in a choir, and we say I cant believe we wouldnt look at each other in the face for so many years just because you were a PNB member and I wasnt..." Weve lived an absurdity. Ive even met with family members of ETA victims. The first day is usually dramatic. We went to lunch, and I didnt think that I could ever do it. Maybe we Basques are surly and its difficult for us to open up. But you listen and they listen to you. And you begin to feel respect, from pain. You dont need to become close friends with anyone, you only need to recognize your counterpart, move forward in empathy, building bridges. Who could deny the suffering on either side? There is a word that Karmen doesnt like at all: victim; probably because it has been associated in the media only with the victims of ETA that call for a ending with winners and losers: "I sometimes see victims on the TV and I think: "But how can anyone live with that sort of hatred inside?" I couldnt do it." Karmen had a difficult time during the interview: "Its wearing on me. And there are things that can drag you down. But I dont want to be like the victims of the Franco era now, who are opening mass graves after eighty years. We cant cry forever. We dont have the right to bore the young who didnt live through it. And I dont need anyone to apologize to me. Its enough, if they dont do it again. We still have a ways to go, but if we have been able to move forward, cant society do so, too?" _________ (1) N.T. Spains GAL (Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberacion, or Liberation Antiterror Groups) were death squads made up of mercenaries and Spanish police officers who used to murder Basque activists and ETA militants in the 1980s. LHospitalet de LlobregatFor John Hoffman, CEO of the GSMA, the dismay has passed. After avoiding the media and authorities in the official inauguration of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), which started off with a public transport strike, Hoffman yesterday announced with satisfaction that the eleventh edition of the worldwide congress of mobile telephony "has been a success". Two of the organizing entities of this annual event, the association of telecommunications companies GSMA and Fira Barcelona, calculated that from Monday to Thursday almost 101,000 visitors passed through the Gran Via exhibition center in lHospitalet de Llobregat. This figure represents 6% more attendants that the prior edition, and far exceeded the forecasts that the organization made public weeks before the event, which anticipated that it would surpass the threshold of 95,000 visitors. For this reason, the next MWC already has a date set --from February 27 to March 2, 2017--, and Ada Colau, the mayor of Barcelona, was able to say goodbye with a "see you next time" to the CEO of the GSMA, and also to everything that having a trade fair like this means for the city of Barcelona. But the mobility conflicts, a recurring topic at breakfasts, coffee breaks, and lunches for many attendees and exhibitors, have been a thorn in the side for the organizers of the event, and, as stated by Constanti Serrallonga, General Director of the Fira, it was something that needs to be addressed "before the next edition". Meanwhile, Hoffman did not make any reference yesterday to the strikes by metro and bus workers that affected transport during the congress. Serrallonga stressed the idea that "it has been a record-breaking edition in quantitative and qualitative terms". With respect to the controversy over a possible flight of the event next year (even to Madrid, as Cristina Cifuentes, President of the Community of Madrid, said), Serrallonga confirmed, firmly, that "the controversy ended when the GSMA said "See you in 2017". After four days of queues in the metro, meetings, treks up and down the 110,000 square meters occupied by eight fair pavilions, and a number of post-congress parties, yesterday most exhibitors breathed a sigh of satisfaction. "The internet of things is coming together, and we have seen much more interest than in previous editions", said Josep Ceron, CEO of Intesis, a company dedicated to the interconnection of objects, while packing up yesterday. In the end, the ultimate objective of the MWC is to do business, and in the majority of cases people made the most of the opportunity. Indeed, for the electric motorbike-sharing startup Cooltra, which will roll out its service in the city of Barcelona this March, the public transport strike served to promote their business even more. "The problems in getting to the fair means that we added many users during these few days, and that some even came with our electric motorbikes", explained Timo Buetefisch, promoter of this new project. Albert Isern, CEO of Bismart, a company dedicated to artificial intelligence, said that he was satisfied that he had clinched several deals: "A telecommunications company that came from China, a South American Bank, and many automotive firms are interested in our project". It is the third year that Bismart has been at the MWC in the Generalitats stand, and Isern confirmed that this years edition has been the best to date. Indeed, artificial intelligence and augmented reality have been the two big hits of the congress. In total, this edition of the MWC has brought together more than 2,100 companies from around the world, and 3,600 media organizations and analysts. In addition, there were delegations from 137 countries and 31 international organizations. Its worth noting that 55% of the attendees were high-ranking executives, and only 21% of the visitors were women. From the lab to companies There is another sector that is chalking this MWC up as their small personal success: this has been the first year that the world congress of mobile telephony has included a pavilion dedicated to graphene, the first material in two dimensions and with only one atom of thickness, which is forecast to revolutionize the technology industry. On the final day of the congress, Nobel Prizewinner for physics Konstantin Novoselov presented it as one of the few materials that "is shaping our world". At the graphene pavilion, organizations such as the Institute of Photonic Sciences of Catalonia (ICFO), and that of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology presented, to companies such as Samsung and Intel, prototypes of transparent and flexible sensors that detect a pulse, and batteries that recharge in five minutes. "This is what we were missing: to transition from the laboratory to businesses, and the MWC has been a great opportunity to do so", said Achim Woessner, ICFO researcher. Arriving passenger traffic stayed above 7,600 passengers in each of the final four months of 2015, with November clocking the highest traffic figures of 9,454 travelers across its terminals. Comprised of both the VIP and Sheikh Zayed Terminals, the airport welcomed 2,703 aircraft onto its tarmac and 43,278 passengers to its gates in 2015. Sheikh Zayed Terminal accounted for 80.6% of all arriving passenger traffic throughout the year, with the remaining proportion of travelers passing through the VIP Terminal. The steady influx of passengers at Al Bateen Executive Airport is testament to its world-class services, top-quality facilities and strategic location as the regions only airport tailor-made for the business aviation industry, said Ahmad Al Haddabi, chief operations officer at Abu Dhabi Airports. With a current stand capacity for up to 90 private jets, Al Bateen Executive Airport features a custom fixed base operations (FBO) service provider, which consolidates the needs of business aviation customers. The offering facilitates the fastest possible door-to-door transit time for passengers and crew. Le CBD, cette molecule active du cannabis a aujourdhui le vent en poupe. Et cela est en grande partie du au fait quil permet... Bird strikes Dover aircraft Reservists from the 712th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron repaired a Team Dover C-17 Globemaster III, here, after it encountered an engine bird strike near Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. The plane landed at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, since Dover AFB's runway is closed for repairs. "We had a real challenge with this aircraft," said Maj. Steven Keenan, maintenance operations officer with the 712th AMXS. "Normally we would simply fly it back home for the repair, but due to the runway closure, we couldn't. Our next step would have been to fly a maintenance recovery team to Ft Campbell to fix the aircraft, an expensive proposition." Leadership decided to fly the aircraft to JB Charleston and have it repaired since there were already 512th Airlift Wing reservists there, as part of their annual training requirements away from home station, according to Keenan. "We were supremely confident that they could do it, and they came through again" said Keenan. Last year, while he was chair and curator of modern and contemporary art at the Art Institute of Chicago, the museums new director, James Rondeau, made a Faustian bargain that could come back to haunt him. The museums press release announcing Rondeaus promotion mentions that over the course of his tenure, he secured numerous major gifts, most notably in 2015 when he ushered in the largest gift of art in the museums historythe Edlis/Neeson Collection [emphasis added]. What the release doesnt mention is the strings attached to that windfall of 44 contemporary artworks (up from the 42 mentioned in the press release). As reported by Steve Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (and confirmed to me by the museum): The Art Institute agreed to keep them together for the next 25 years and on display in its galleries for 25 after that. This carves out a single-collector fiefdom that disrupts the overall displays and sets a pernicious precedent: For at least 25 years, the Edlis works are to be set apart from other related works in the collection. For a full 50 years, the AIC wont be able to rotate some Edlis works off view to make room for other pieces. Whats worse, this deal could well cause other important collectors to demand the same treatment for their gifts thats been accorded to this Warhol and the rest of the Edlis trove: Rondeau is an acquirer and undoubtedly wants to continue augmenting Chicagos holdings with other important gifts. He enriched the collection enormously, then director James Cuno told attendees (including me) at a 2008 NYC press lunch previewing the museums new Modern Wing (which I later reviewed for the Wall Street Journal). But Rondeau the curator has now created major complications for Rondeau the director, who will be impeded in attempts to tell a coherent story in the contemporary galleries that should be driven by the artists and the curators who interpret them, not by the vanity of collectors. Theres nothing new about museums offering such extraordinary inducements for important collectors to relinquish their treasures. The Metropolitan Museum is notorious for its string of single-collector fiefdoms, going back to its superlative Benjamin Altman Collection of old masters. But heres what could happen in Chicago as a consequence of the Edlis Effect: If Chicago hedge-fund mogul Kenneth Griffin decides hes ready to donate his major contemporary collection to the AIC (where he serves as trustee), he may expect equal treatment. When I chatted with Griffin at the 2009 opening of the Modern Wing, he told me this: One day, our art collection will be in a museum. Id like to think it will end up here. As first reported by Katya Kazakina for Bloomberg, Griffins collection has just been greatly enhanced by two paintings acquired from David Geffen, with the total purchase price said to have been about $500 million. Kazakina writes: Griffin bought de Koonings 1955 oil on canvas titled Interchange [not Interchanged, as misnamed to me by the AICs press officean error repeated by the NY Times and others] for about $300 million and Pollocks 1948 Number 17A canvas for about $200 million, one of the [unnamed] people [familiar with the transaction] said. The de Kooning fetched $20.7 million in 1989, then an auction record for the artist and more than three times the highest pre-sale estimate of $6 million, according to Artnet, which tracks auction prices. I was in the Sothebys salesroom when that record was achieved. It should be accompanied by a big asterisk, because the winning bidder couldnt pay. Nevertheless, the auction houses long persisted in citing that price as the de Kooning record. Back in 2006, the NY Times Carol Vogel reported that Griffin had purchased another pricey masterwork from GeffenJasper Johns False Start, 1959, for some $80 million. For now, Griffins two new trophies are on display at the AIC: For a slightly better view of Griffins Pollock, courtesy of the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, here is what it looked like in the famous 1949 Life magazine spreadJackson Pollock: Is he the greatest living painting in the United States? (see image on bottom right): It would be a shame if that painting were one day relegated to a Griffin enclave at the AIC, unable to enter into direct dialogue with this Pollock, already owned by the museum. I saw it there at the opening of the Modern Wing, where it is still on display: Notwithstanding these misgivings, I think Rondeaus appointment is a good one and potentially a great one: At age 46, he may stick around for a long time. Stability and continuity are important. Revolving-door directorshipsfrom James Wood to James Cuno to Douglas Druick to Rondeau, in rapid successioncan be bad for morale and for long-term planning. With 18 years at the AIC already under his belt, Rondeau has the knowledge and relationships to hit the ground running. All the latest Ashbourne news. Ashbourne is an historic market town in Derbyshire. Situated on the southern edge of the Peak District, it is known as the 'Gateway to Dovedale' and the 'Gateway to the Peak District'. Ashbourne is famous for the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match, which has been played since at least 1667, although its origins may date back centuries earlier. Ashbourne became a Fairtrade town in March 2005. The popular Tissington Trail, which follows the route of the former Ashbourne to Buxton railway, starts on the edge of town. Keep up to date with the latest news from the town by signing up for our newsletter. The president of the Filipino bishops' Commission for Migrants and Itinerant People spoke to AsiaNews about Kuwaits "partial amnesty". He called on his compatriots to legalise their status because it is important to respect always the law. Some 10 million Filipinos work abroad, 2 million in the Gulf region. For the prelate, they are really our best missionaries and evangelisers. The government must help them. Balanga (AsiaNews) A Filipino bishop ha praised the decision of the Emirate of Kuwait to grant a "partial amnesty" for undocumented Filipino workers. For Mgr Ruperto C. Santos, bishop of Balanga and president of the Filipino Bishops' Commission for Migrants and Itinerant People, this "is a compassionate and merciful gesture. Now it is up to our fellow citizens to legalise their status because it is important to respect always the law, for their own good and that of the host nation." For the prelate, following the decision by the Gulf State, "Those who do not have the right papers, or have an expired visa, can report to the authorities not only to fix the situation but also, if they wish, return home without incurring nasty situations at customs. They will avoid being blacklisted, and thus will be able to apply for a new visa. In its 2013 report, the Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO) put the number of undocumented Filipinos in Kuwait at 6,000. This poses risks for everyone, Mgr Santos said. We must work for the common good. In practice, this means ensuring that overseas workers are always above suspicions and protected from possible blackmail of the (foreign) authorities. Sadly, the number of cases in which our compatriots are abused is very high. They have to end, but to achieve this result, they must also cooperate. For the bishop of Balanga, this "excellent result" is also the work by the Catholic Church in Kuwait. "There are three great churches in the country: the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Kuwait City, St Teresa's Church in Salamiya and Our Lady of Arabia in Alhmadi. In all these churches, the Filipino community plays a lively role, and is important in pastoral outreach. I must also thank the Apostolic Vicar of Northern, Mgr Camillo Ballin, who always defends the Filipinos." In addition, overseas Filipinos are well known for their evangelisation work. According to the latest figures, some 10 million Filipinos live outside the country, some 2 million in the Gulf region. "In every church in the world, you will find a Mass in Filipino, Mgr Santos noted. It is the new Latin. In all seriousness, he added, they are really our best missionaries. They teach and bear witness to the faith every day and in every situation. The government must help them and they should help governments to prevent abuse and mistreatment." by Mathias Hariyadi J. Kristiadi, a political analyst, spoke at a meeting organised by the Bishops Commission for the Lay Apostolate. "The political class is weak and abject, he said. The Church must educate the new generation to do something for the common good." For the Archbishop of Ende, "politics is not a 'dirty' word as some may want to believe. Jakarta (AsiaNews) The Catholic Church and the Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI) have no more projects to train young Catholic politicians, and this has led to a drop in the quality of legislators, harming people's lives. For J. Kristiadi, a well-known Catholic political analyst, the need to organise schools to train young people about politics with dignity and honest is an emergency the Church must face. Kristiadi spoke at a meeting organised by KWIs Commission for the Lay Apostolate, which was attended Catholic politicians from different parties. According to the political analyst, at present Indonesia lacks talented young Catholic politicians. There are some, but they do not have great political weight. Others have been caught up in corruption cases or shown their incompetence. For him, the fault for this lies with the KWI, which has not had a long-term strategy. Hence, the Church should invest time, money and resources to develop a new political class that can contribute to the common good. Kristiadi has a long experience in the field of politics, having been in close contact with many Christian politicians from different parties, and acted as their mentor. To show the weakness of the current political class, compromised and only interested in money, he cited the recent attempt in parliament to change the countrys anti-corruption laws. According to the Catholic analyst, President Joko Widodo is opposed to the change, but is being pushed by politicians in his own Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) on behalf of third-party interests. Conversely, Kristiadi cited some positive initiatives by two Jesuit priests during the darkest period of Indonesian history when, right after the rise to power of General Suharto, between 1966 and 1968, two million people were killed accused of "communism." At that time, Fr Joseph Beek, a Dutchman, launched a month-long outreach programme (called Kasebul) to educate new Catholic politicians so that they could join the ruling party, Golkar. A Swiss priest, Fr Franz Daehler did something similar, organising a month-long retreat (called Retnas) to prepare Catholic politicians to counter Communist ideology and participate in public affairs. Mgr Vincentius Sensi Potokota, archbishop of Ende and member of the Commission for the Lay Apostolate, shares Kristiadis concerns. However, he noted that changes in strategy have already occurred in the province of East Nusa Tenggara, where after years of defeats at the polls, some Catholics were elected. What is more, "The Catholic Church, in particular parishes and their members, must be more open-minded, the archbishop said. They must understand that politics is not a 'dirty' word as many Indonesians tend to think. It can be a tool to affect the political system and lead to actions that promote the common good." by Sumon Corraya A four-day meeting organized by the Bangladeshi Church for the future leaders of the communities, society and the nation. The focus of the assembly is mercy and its practical impact in everyone's life. An invitation to free themselves from the slavery of modern consumerism and materialism. Dhaka (AsiaNews) One day very soon, this society, this Church, this nation will be led by young people. That's why it is vital that from now on you decide to model your life on the teachings of Jesus and his mercy, said Msgr. Paul Ponen Kubi, bishop of Mymensingh, to about 400 young people gathered in his diocese for a national meeting on the theme of mercy. The prelate also explained the importance of starting a family: "The family is a great little church, the core of our entire society." The meeting was held in the church dedicated to St. Leo the Great (of Baromati parish), in Sherpur district. About 370 young Catholics registered for the four days of conferences and meetings, February18 to 22, organized as part of the 31st National Youth Assembly. Opening the meeting - dedicated to the Gospel verse "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy" - Msgr. Kubi said: "When I was a young priest, my ministry was focused on young people. Now those young people are our leaders: young people have immense courage, so they can do the good work that others cannot accomplish. " The purpose of the Episcopal Commission for Youth Ministry, which organized the meeting, is to promote the faith and Christian culture through greater involvement of high school students and universities. This is, says one of the organizers, "encouraging them to become responsible citizens, who want to get involved". One very important commitment is the need to "break free" from modern slavery: consumerism, materialism and unbridled capitalism. Speaking to the audience, Apurbo Mrong - regional director of Caritas Mymensingh - said: "You young people, from my point of view, are forward looking and confident. These are the virtues that you must use in your daily life, the tools with which you can enrich the Church and the nation. Fr. Ripon James, coordinator of the Commission, added: "Put in place a plan of life as of now. In this way you will get the most out of your existence. " Jackson Soren, a young man from Dinajpur, told AsiaNews: "We have better understood the Year of mercy and the Pope's message. I decided to give more space to the works of mercy in my life. I also learned more about the culture of the tribal Garo, mostly in Mymensingh. I am of the Santal tribal community, and I'm glad I made new friends. " by Sergei Chapnin The meeting took place 10 thousand kilometers distance from Moscow, perhaps to avoid the objections of the traditionalists. Kirill accused of being "nikodimico", too ecumenical. An "appeal to the Orthodox youth" claims that orthodoxy is being "sold out to the Pope of Rome. Others say that Pope Francis is about to "convert" to Russian Orthodoxy. Urgent need for information and education. Moscow (AsiaNews) - The meeting between Moscow Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis was a real surprise for the entire Russian Church. The telecast of this meeting was highly effective, and the place where the event took place - 10 thousand kilometers from Moscow - ruled out any random witnesses. Who compelled the powerful Patriarch Kirill to flee for 10 thousand kilometers? In seven years of patriarchy, he has been able to conduct an administrative reform in the Church, concentrating the greatest of powers in his own hands. He has also eliminated any possibility of serious opposition. He has no obvious enemies in the episcopate; those few who remain among the clergy are mostly marginal figures, while the laity can be simply ignored. So, why did Patriarch Kirill flee to Cuba? The official version is that he went to Cuba to avoid the shadow of those problems in Catholic-Orthodox relations that exist in Europe and which have not yet been resolved. However, speaking of fleeing to Cuba, a more straightforward interpretation cannot be ruled out: if the meeting had been held at a closer quarter, then those marginal elements and the entire Council of Bishops would have attended it with one question on their minds: Are the bishops betraying the Holy orthodoxy. The flight to Cuba reveals that the Patriarch Kirill knows this only too well: there can be no dialogue with those who struggle for the purity of Orthodoxy and it is almost impossible to convince them otherwise. The meeting was prepared in secret because Patriarch Kirill did not want to have any dialogue with them. I would assume that from a technical-organizational point of view (the conduct of the meeting) it was a good solution, but not at the strategic level. Dialogue is needed even with these fundamentalists dialogue. It has now become blatantly obvious that the same fundamentalists, the biggest detractors of this meeting, have seen weakness in the Patriarch's position and, perhaps, have decided that he is afraid of an open confrontation with them. Traditionalists and "nikodimists" How exactly is the Patriarch's position vulnerable? The main issue is that he represents a relatively young line - "nikodimist" - in the Moscow Patriarchate's policy. This position is so called from the name of Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), who died suddenly during his audience with Pope John Paul I in 1978. Its distinguishing feature is a lack of fear of the West and, in particular, of the Vatican, and its refusal to see unorthodox Christians as an enemy. Strictly speaking, there is still far to go from this position to a union with the Catholics which Nikodims supporters are usually blamed of. But the same refuse to directly call Catholics "heretics" is in itself, already a great scandal for the orthodox. Patriarch Kirill is to opposed by the fundamentalist groups, who call their "patristic" position. They are based on the Byzantine canons and citations of nineteenth century Russian theologians. Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) offered a curious selection of these quotes in his Sunday homily of 21 February. On the one hand, he suggests a balance between positive and negative comments about Catholics. Speaking of the condemnation of Catholics, he used very strong quotes. Here are some of the more characteristic. It is important to note that the first two are figures that the Church venerates as saints. St. Ignatius Brianchaninov (180-1867): "Popery, that is what heresy is called, declared by the West, from whicht he various Protestant teachings are derived, like the branches from the tree". It is important to note that at this point Bishop Tikhon ends the quote, but it is followed by even harsher assessments: "The papacy assigns Pope the qualities of Christ and rejects Christ. Some Western writers, almost explicitly, have pronounced this refusal, saying that the renunciation of Christ is much less a sin than the renunciation of the Pope. The Pope is the idol of the papists; He is their god. " The holy hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky, 1886-1929): "Catholics are not a Church and as a result not even Christian, because there is no Christianity without the Church." Archimandrite Ioan (Krestiankin, 1910-2006): "By deepening our reading of history and observing the proceedings of the new saviors of Russia, we note that the Roman Catholic Church appeared whenever beginning of dark times with the sole purpose to subdue the Rus 'to the domination of Rome. " In defense of dialogue with Catholics, Bishop Tikhon also made some other quotations. St. Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894): "Our Holy Church is indulgent towards Catholics and recognizes not only the Catholic baptism and other sacraments, but also the priesthood which is very significant. However, bear in mind that you can not go over to the Catholics, because they have some parts of the order of ecclesiastical confession that have been damaged and changed through the deviation of their forefathers". St. Philaret of Moscow (1782-1867): "All persons baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity are Christians, beyond the confession of belonging. The true Faith is one, Orthodox; but all Christian denominations - thanks to the Almighty's patience - continue to exist. The Gospel is one for all, although not all understand it and interpret it the same way. Do not face reproach for their blunders to those who have fallen away from the Universal Church, it is by birth that they are educated in a different confession. Simple souls believe in simplicity of doctrine that is taught to them without suffering the torment of religious debates, which are beyond their capabilities. Their spiritual leaders are responsible for them before God. There are devote people in the Orthodox Church, as in the Roman Catholic. True religious tolerance can not become so immovable as to divide the Christians, but pray 'for the union of all'. " "Confusion" and education In other words, the Orthodox representations of the Catholic Church of Rome, even by educated bishops is in fact limited to the XIX - early XX century. In order for the Russian Church to develop cooperation with Catholics in the spirit of the declaration adopted in Havana, there is a need for a great educational project to teach about the Roman Catholic Church today. There are few in Russia who know about this. Interestingly, Bishop Tikhon dramatizes the situation. This is what he had to say regarding the orthodox relationship with the meeting between the Pope and the Patriarch: "For a good number of Orthodox this event has given rise to serious confusion, let us call things by their name. We, priests, know from confessions, from the questions asked of us and letters posted on the provoslavie.rus website". It must be said that the words "a good number of orthodox" express a personal opinion of Bishop Tikhon, if not a manipulation. There are no reliable estimates on the number of Orthodox fundamentalists; there have never been any sociological surveys and this group does not have and has not had its own religious and social organizations. I think we can talk about two, three bishops, two dozen priests and about one hundred lay people. Last week I did a survey among my acquaintances and contacts in social networks and the vast majority of them said that, in their environment and in their parish communities, there are virtually no lay people and priests with anti-ecumenical positions. Apparently, there are groups who are under the influence of some "starec", including for example Hieromonk Raphael (Berestov). These groups conduct information campaigns in parishes and online (in particular, they make numerous posts with identical content on popular Orthodox internet sites) to give the impression of widespread protests. One of the main centers of this media campaign is the website 'Moscow, the third Rome' (http://3rm.info). It has gathered all of the material of the opposition to the ecumenical line of the patriarch. Among other things, on the site you can download a leaflet entitled "Appeal to the Orthodox youth", which contains the entire "inventory" of the sins of priests and bishops, and which states: "You've covered your enslavement to the Vatican with concern for Christians who die in the Middle East. " However, until the evening of February 28 this leaflet was downloaded only around 1,975 times: very little for a large-scale campaign within the Russian Church. Anti-ecumenical wave So far, only a few cases are known in which a cleric has publicly stated that he has stopped commemorating the Patriarch during the liturgy. The first of these was in Belarus, where the abbot Ambrose, dean of the male monastery of St. Zosimus-Savva wrote a report to his bishop on February 13 (the day after the meeting in Havana). In it, he declares his cessation of the commemoration of the name of the patriarch Kirill during liturgical services. The second case occurred on 19 February in Moldova: 12 priests and two monasteries have written a letter to the Metropolitan of Chisinau and All Moldova in which they declared the end of the commemoration of the name of their bishop, as the Russian Orthodox Church had fallen into the heresy of ecumenism. They demand the cancellation of a number of decisions of the Council of Bishops, related to approval of ecumenical documents for the next Pan-Orthodox Synod as well as the joint statement of the Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis. Apparently, the anti-ecumenical wave in the Russian Church has already reached its peak and from now on will begin to decline. The idea to use the meeting with the Pope as a pretext to create opposition to Patriarch Kirill has clearly failed. However, the discussion on ecumenism is far from over. A number of bishops, also in the Greek and Georgian Church, have harshly criticized the draft documents for the pan-Orthodox Synod. The ecumenical cooperation principles do not hold up from the traditional Orthodox point of view of ecclesiology (doctrine of the Church). This means that the conflict between ecumenical and anti-ecumenical within the Orthodox Church will not disappear. It will continue, at times it will rage,at others it will fade. Finally, just to mention the more radical interpretation of the meeting in Havana. Wishing to anticipate the tough questions of his parishioners, in his homily of February 14, the leader of one of Moscow's churches said: "There are rumors, that the Pope of Rome wants to repent and return to the bosom of the Orthodox Church." This is prime evidence of the general disorientation and total lack of understanding of what is happening. Unfortunately, official comments before the meeting, by the Patriarch Kirill and Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfefev) arrived very late. The situation would have been much calmer, if the clergy in Russia had at least been a little 'more prepared for this meeting. by Jibran Khan The funeral will take place in the coming hours in Rawalpindi. Millions of Islamic fanatics have already gathered and the same number is expected in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar at other simultaneous funeral ceremonies. Raised security measures around Asia Bibi, who had been defended by Governor Salman Taseer. The family of the woman hid in a secret location. Rawalpindi (AsiaNews) - The security forces are on high alert across Pakistan for the funeral of Mumtaz Qadri, the murderer of the former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who was executed yesterday in a Rawalpindi jail. The funeral ceremony will take place in the coming hours, and there are fears of the outbreak of violence by Islamic extremists who have always lauded Qadri as a "national hero." The authorities have also raised security measures around Asia Bibi, a Christian mother sentenced to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet, whom Taseer had championed contesting the blasphemy laws. Qadri was hanged yesterday in Adiala jail, despite heavy pressures that fundamentalists had exercised on President Mamnoon Hussain, threatening retaliation if he was not pardoned. The pardon was not granted, as confirmed yesterday to AsiaNews by some Catholic voices, emphasizing Hussains "courageous" decision. Immediately after Qadris execution Islamic religious parties took to the streets and blocked several cities. In Rawalpindi millions of people have gathered and the same number are expected in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Jhnag, which will host simultaneous funeral ceremonies with the actual funeral at Liquat Bagh. The rangers have been deployed to control the peace. Yesterday they arrested several Islamic leaders and sympathizers of the murderer of the former governor. Authorities have shut schools, markets, universities and offices, for fear of possible clashes. The greatest concern, however, is for the safety of Asia Bibi. Extremist groups have placed a bounty on her head and the Islamic parties have called for her death. Her family has been hidden in a secret location. Qadri had been held since January 2011, when he killed governor Taseer as he was leaving a restaurant in Islamabad, for his positions against the blasphemy law, which provides for life imprisonment or the death sentence for those who desecrate the Koran or desecrate the name of the prophet Muhammad. In October of that year he was sentenced to death at first instance by the Pakistani anti-terrorism court. In February 2015 the High Court in Islamabad confirmed the decision, arguing that "nothing can justify the murder of the victim." His lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which in October 2015 rejected their request for acquittal. 35 year-old lady tortured a native woman of the Comoros for months with bamboo sticks and electric wires. At trial pleads innocence, but neighbors confirm: she beat her continuously. Out of 42 million people in the Gulf there are 18 million migrant workers. At least 2.4 million reduced in slavery. Dubai (AsiaNews) - She tortured the maid to their "for months" brutally, kicking and punching, beating her with a bamboo stick and even using low voltage electric wires. Following months of beatings and injuries, the woman from the Comoros Islands died. As reported by the Arab newspaper Gulf News, the 35 year-old UAE citizen has been tried and charged with first-degree murder; in a statement to the judges the woman described herself as innocent and he dismissed any wrongdoing. On admission to hospital, the body of the maid had wounds and burns that have also caused blood clots and a pulmonary edema. The death occurred last December and was the result, according to the prosecution in the first trial, which opened on 28 February, of systematic violence, repeated over time. "I did not cause her death. How is that? I beat her a long time ago before the incident how could that have happened! I am not guilty, claimed the woman in court. She used bamboo sticks and electric wires on her maid. Moreover, after the abuse he has also denied necessary medical care to save her life. The autopsy confirmed that the death is the result of torture and beatings that were prolonged for "weeks and months". The defendant will remain in custody for the duration of the trail, postponed for the second hearing until 23 March. Inside the house there was another 19 year old maid, who has confirmed before the judges that her employer "constantly beat her." A neighbor, Egyptian, testified before the magistrates reporting of continuous screams aimed at the victim, who was crying in pain and begging to be spared. There are 18 million foreign workers in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf out of a population of 42 million people. They come mainly from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Ethiopia. UAE foreign labor is around 88.5% and, in spite of recent reforms in the labor market, they are always subject to abuse, violence, harassment. The so-called "kafala" sponsorship in force in all the Gulf countries, binds the employee - domestic or external - to the employer and reduces them to slave-like conditions. The worker often cannot change employers who also have the power to deport the immigrant worker. The picture is even more complicated for women workers and domestic workers, who are excluded from the regulations provided by the Ministry of Labour. In June 2014 a partial reform granted one free day a week to domestic workers and eight hours of rest in any 24-hour workday. Recent research shows that there are at least 2.4 million migrant domestic workers in conditions of slavery in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has increased the number of foreign domestic workers by 40% and Kuwait has seen a growth of 66%. "In the Our Father we pray: 'Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Its an equation, it goes together. If you are not able to forgive, how will God forgive you? He wants to forgive you, but will not if you have closed hearts, and mercy can not enter. " Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Learning to forgive as God forgives, who "forgets" our sins, saying that "if you are not able to forgive, how will God forgive you?" said Pope Francis today during Mass in Casa Santa Marta. Taking as his starting point the Gospel account of Peters well-known question to Jesus regarding how many times we are to forgive a brother who has sinned against us seventy times seven times (cf. Mt. 18:22) and the account from the 1st reading of the young Azaria, sentenced to death in a furnace for refusing to worship a golden idol, who, from the flames of the fiery furnace invokes God's mercy for the people at the same time as he implores forgiveness for himself (cf. Dn. 3:25,33-43), the Holy Father offered the young Azarias prayer as an especially apt illustration of the way we ought to trust in the goodness and mercy of the Lord: When God forgives, his forgiveness is so great that it is as though God forgets. Quite the opposite of what we do, as we chatter: But so-and-so did such-and-such, and we have the complete histories of many people, dont we? From antiquity through their Middles Ages, their modernity, and even down to their present and we do not forget. Why? Because we do not have a merciful heart. Do with us with us according to your clemency, says this young Azaria according to Thy great mercy Save us. It is an appeal to the mercy of God, that He might give us forgiveness and salvation and forget our sins. In the Gospel passage, explaining to Peter that we must always forgive, Jesus tells the parable of the two debtors, the first who gets a pardon from his master, while owing him a huge fortune, and who even shortly afterward was himself unable to be as merciful with another, who owed him only a small sum: In the Our Father we pray: Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. It is an equation: the two sides go together. If you are not able to forgive, how will God forgive you? He wants to forgive you, but He will not if you have closed hearts, where mercy cannot enter. But, Father, I forgive, but I cannot forget the bad turn that so-and-so did me .... Well, ask the Lord to help you to forget. That, however, is another matter. We can forgive, but we cannot always forget. Sometimes we say, I forgive you, when we mean, youll pay me later. This, never: forgive as God forgives to the utmost. Pope Francis went on to stress that mercy, compassion, forgiveness, repeated the Pope, are most Godly, and recalled that heartfelt pardon given and received is always an act of Divine mercy: May Lent prepare our hearts to receive Gods forgiveness but let us receive it and then do the same with others: forgive heartily. Perhaps you never even greet me in the street, but in my heart I have forgiven you. In this way, we get closer to this thing so great, so Godly, which is mercy. Forgiving, we open our hearts so that Gods mercy might come and forgive us, for, we all have need of pardon, need to ask forgiveness. Let us forgive, and we shall be forgiven. Let us have mercy on others, and we shall feel that mercy of God, who, when He forgives, [also] forgets. by Samir Frangieh* The former Christian MP appeals to the country, which has been without a president for 20 months, and torn by a serious political crisis. As in the past, the Christian community must promote unity, sharing and coexistence. A safety net must be created to protect the country. Courtesy of the Lebanese daily L'Orient-Le Jour. Beirut (AsiaNews/OLJ) Lebanon is living under the threat of renewed civil war, one that would pit Shia Muslims against Sunni Muslims not only in Lebanon but also across the Arab world. This war, if it does happen, would spell the end of Lebanon. As Christians, we have a responsibility to do everything possible to prevent another descent into hell and to build a future of peace. Why are we called to fight this battle whose outcome is decisive for the future of Lebanon? Because the coming war concerns us as much as it does Muslims. "We are part, as the Catholic Patriarchs of the East highlighted, of the cultural identity of Muslims, as much as they are part of the cultural identity of Christians." Based on this, we are therefore "responsible for each other before God and history." Can we fight this battle? Yes, we can. We can do this because historically we have played a pioneering role in promoting coexistence, by actively participating, in the 19th century, to the Arab Renaissance, the al-Nahda, and by rejecting in 1920 the idea of a "Christian homeland", and finally in 1943 by refusing to maintain the French mandate over Lebanon. We can do this because we were the first, after the break caused by the 1975 war, to work to restore Islamic-Christian coexistence, by initiating, with the Apostolic Exhortation (1997), the work of "purification of the memory." We can do this because we were the first in the Arab world, with the appeal by Maronite Bishops (September 2000), to lead the battle against dictatorships, setting the stage for the Cedar Revolution (2005), the harbinger of the Arab spring (2011). We can do this because we were the first in the Arab world to advocate, with the Maronite Patriarchal Synod (2006), the establishment of a civil state to rebuild coexistence around the state and not a community. This historical role is now being questioned by political forces for whom politics is reduced to a mere power struggle. The switch by some Christians who, after leading the battle for independence, joined the Syrian-Iranian camp they had fought; the support, in the name of minority protection, to the Syrian dictatorship; the choice by a majority of Christian parties for a so-called orthodox electoral law that brings the country back to the situation that existed before the creation of Greater Lebanon; and the conflicts over the election of a new President illustrate the extent to which we have gone backward compared to 2005. Mashreq of coexistence To halt this decline and end the danger it poses to our future in Lebanon and the region, we must return to the message that founded our specificity in this part of the world. We have been fighting for nearly a century to defend the idea that we can live together, Christians and Muslims, equal in our rights and duties and different in our religious affiliations. We managed to create a Lebanese model of coexistence, which today is taking on, with the violence that is ravaging our region and beginning to spread to Europe, a new dimension, because of the exceptional nature of this experience in which, unique in the world, Christians and Muslims are involved in running the same State and in which, unique in the Muslim world, Sunni and Shia are also partners in running the same State. In light of the above, we call on Lebanons Christians to assume their responsibilities and return to the essence of the Gospel message, which is to teach human beings to live together in peace, and reject any use of religion to create closed identities, which quickly turn, as evinced by the experience of war, into "murderous identities". We urge them to go beyond established confessional boundaries in order to unify efforts between moderates in all communities against extremists in all communities, and create a safety net that will protect Lebanon from the repercussions of the regions ongoing conflicts. We urge them to forge ties with other Arab Christians to think through, with Muslims who are fighting extremism and intolerance, on how to lay the foundation for a Mashreq of coexistence among the peoples that constitute it and whose religious and ethnic diversity should be a source of richness for each and all. We urge them to connect with the moderate forces in Europe struggling against Islamophobia and all forms of rejection of others in order to promote a new vision of the Mediterranean, a Mediterranean of coexistence among peoples who inhabit their shores. For the latter remains today "the sea of all fractures," surrounded by major conflicts that lead to religious segregations and national and ethnic cleansings from which no one is sheltered anymore." * Samir Frangieh is a Lebanese politician, a former Maronite MP from Zghorta, in northern Lebanon. Study Finds Gun Control Policies Are Effective Trending News: Are Gun Control Policies Effective? This Study Thinks So Why Is This Important? Because for all the arguing and mud-slinging, there's not much research on the topic. Long Story Short In looking to determine the effects of government gun control policies, researchers looked at earlier studies from 10 different countries. In studies that met the standards for academic rigor, they found that gun control policies generally correlate with a reduction in gun homicides. Long Story Save for perhaps abortion, there is no topic in American politics than gun regulation. While the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects individuals' rights to own firearms (though only recently!), gun proponents (usually on the right, but not always) fear that increased regulation could be a slippery slope to unconstitutional disarmament. On the other hand, those in favor of more gun control connect our (relatively) lax laws with our high gun violence rate, and cite the stricter policies (and reduced violence) of other developed nations as reasons to impose more restrictions. Who's right? It's hard to say! Unlike, say, clinical or pharmaceutical trials, gun violence and gun policies involve a tremendous number of variables, none of which are easily isolated. Our government hasn't exactly been keen on funding gun violence research lately, either. But at least one study (a large one), recently published in Epidemiologic Reviews, finds that gun control laws tend to result in reduced gun homicides. In other words, gun control (probably, maybe) works. Rather than focus on any law or set of laws enacted in a given country, the study looked at 130 other studies of gun control laws enacted in 10 countries, mostly developed ones like the U.S., Australia and Austria. Their biggest conclusion was that gun control policies were most effective when introduced en masse, rather than piecemeal. These broad overhauls, generally speaking, had in common that they banned or restricted "very powerful" weapons, implemented or expanded background checks, and required licensing for gun purchase and ownership. Other findings included: - Laws don't need to take guns out of people's hands to be effective. Access (which pertain to things like background checks and storage requirements) were found to reduce both "intimate partner" homicides and accidental child deaths. - In the U.S., laws designed to reduce gun control at best have no effect on gun violence, and at worst increase it significantly. For instance, a study that originally found an association between increased concealed carry permits and reduced homicides actually showed no correlation after a reexamination revealed flawed statistical analysis. On the other hand, a 2007 Missouri law that reduced background check requirements was directly attributed to a 25% rise in the rate of homicides. - Similarly, castle doctrine and "stand your ground" laws, which remove the obligation to retreat before using deadly force in the home and, well, anywhere (respectively) were found to increase homicide rates, not lower them. The authors of the study stressed to Vox that their findings are not a definitive endorsement of increased gun control policies the data is just too far-flung, the variables too great. But that they were unable to find any pro-gun studies is telling, and at the very least an indicator of the direction in which policymakers should look when forming an opinion. The truth is, it's easy for anyone to become irrational when discussing guns. Whenever a mass shooting occurs, those who advocate for less gun control are essentially expressing their desire to live in a fantasy world, one where everyday citizens under fire are somehow able to draw on and dispatch a shooter who already has the drop on them. Then again, gun control advocates do a pretty poor job of hearing the concerns of the average, non-crazy gun owner, who has guns because they're fun to shoot and follows all laws and regulations in owning them. They'll throw in the token "I know the majority of gun owners are responsible..." qualifier, but it's not especially believable. It's inarguable that the country, and the world as a whole, would be a much safer place if guns simply didn't exist. That's also a fantasy world, however, and people will continue to be killed (or kill themselves) by guns until everyone can stop shouting and start thinking critically. Hopefully, more studies like this one will encourage that, eventually. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question If it's legal to own guns, are you safer owning one than not? Disrupt Your Feed It's ridiculous that after all this time and all these deaths, we still can't have a reasonable conversation about this. Drop This Fact Gun crime is more prevalent in the U.S. than in any other wealthy nation. Federal circuit court judge Alexander Sandy Street is facing a judicial review application over his handling of immigration matters. Street should have excused himself because it appeared he was biased after he continually ruled against immigration applications, a court has heard. According to a report by The Guardian, statistics presented in court showed that Street had ruled against 254 out of 265 immigration cases in a six-month period last year. Barrister Jay Williams told the court that there was a one in 100 chance of having an immigration ruling overturned but there is a one in 10 chance with other judges. An informed observer would find there is a possibility of a reasonable apprehension of bias ... 99.21% of applicants were thrown out on the first court date, Williams said. He told the court that serious criticism has been made over a multitude of judgements. Despite the serious criticism coming from the full court this behaviour continues. But Neil Williams SC, appearing for the Australian Government Solicitors, discredited the analysis. The so-called statistical evidence is indeed not any such thing. A professional statistician would not draw inferences of this kind, he said. Williams responded saying that the government could have called upon another statistician to give evidence but had chosen not to, The Guardian reported. The decision has been reserved until a later date. Some lawyers working for firms in India are facing an additional tax burden after the government made some changes in its 2016 budget. These include removing tax exemptions and proposing a 14 per cent tax on a senior advocates providing services to advocate or partnership firms.The India Times reports that critics say the changes are contrary to the opening up of Indias legal market to foreign firms. "This sort of taxation will discourage the PM's dream to make India an arbitration hub in line with Singapore and London, Lalit Bhasin, president of the Society of Indian Law Firms told the paper.Delhi High Court Bar Association President Rajiv Khosla added: "The government has tried to divide the legal fraternity on the basis of law firms and litigating advocates.Aussie law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth has hired its sixth new partner of the year with prominent litigation and commercial disputes lawyer Simon Johnson joining from Norton Rose Fulbright . His practice is focused on technology and financial services sectors. He is based in the firms Sydney office.Steve Kwok has joined Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in Hong Kong as a partner. Kwok will focus on matters relating to US firms including litigation and regulatory compliance having previously been an advisor to the US Department of Justice at the US Embassy in Beijing. Kwok is a former assistant US attorney and came to the Asia Pacific region two years ago as an attache.International law firm Latham Watkins has promoted eight counsel to its partnership including two in Hong Kong. Capital markets lawyer Benjamin J. Carale and project development and finance lawyer Sungjin Kang are the two new partners in the region. The other six are from Europe, the Middle East and the US. According to a report by the ABC, unless the banks agree to amend the firms debt facilities by the end of April, lenders can pull the pin and demand $800m worth of debt repayments within a year.Slater & Gordon posted $958m first half losses, three times the combined profits since it became the worlds first listed law firm.The loss was in part the result of the firms $1.3bn acquisition of businesses from UK company Quindell, which the Sydney Morning Herald reported was funded by a $890m equity raising and a loan facility.The transaction is disappointing. I want to emphasise its important for us to focus on the future and make the best of the situation, said Managing director Andrew Grech Grechs offer to resign was rejected by the board amidst the firms uncertainty.The firm is now likely to face a class action led by long-standing rival firm Maurice Blackburn with thousands of aggrieved shareholders reportedly already signed up.SMH reported that Maurice Blackburns class action head Andrew Watson said the sheer size and scale of this write-down casts enormous doubt on the adequacy of disclosures made by Slater and Gordon.ACA Lawyers also said it had secured two litigation funders for its class action against Slater & Gordon.The directors have a lot of explaining to do. It was only in November shareholders and the market were being told the company was in good shape, ACA principal Bruce Clarke said.The firms share price has lost 90 per cent of its value over a 12 month period over concerns about the UK acquisition and the acquired businesses book-keeping processes.ASIC will not pursue further action against the firm over its accounting practices, after an eight-month-long review completed on Monday. But the regulator is believed to have left the door open to further investigation as new information comes to light. Thanks for the reply, Maggie-May24. I think i'll ask my agent to split my first employment into two.In fact, i asked him to do so, but then he showed my various applications that he filed on behalf of his clients. I saw 4 applications where he did not remove the first 2 years fro the EOI. taken aback by this, i told him to wait for a few days before i do my own research. I think i may end up calling DIAc or the concerned authority. I'm also disappointed by the way they have complicated this process unnecessarily. I mean they could have come up with a more straightforward way to fill up EOI, why leave room for such errors? I'm pretty sure my agent has been exploiting this loophole. yes, I will be able to claim 60 points if i do not use the first 2 years; however that means i may have to wait a month before i get an invitation. in worst case, i may not get a call and when in june-july when they reset the skill list, they may completely remove the software developer role. though there are evry slim chances of that happening so i guess i will be on the safe side and submit EOI with 3 years of ex i.e 5 points for work ex, total 60 points. said that, i'm gutted that there are people who have got visa even though they messed up with their EOIs, This machine combines all the perks that come with modern technologies and materials with a retro, trademark styling, that is sure to fit the taste for the more nostalgic among riders. It has, at its heart, a four-stroke, air-cooled, 1449cc, 45-degree V-Twin powerplant, paired to a five-speed manual transmission with a belt final drive, and can reach a maximum power output of 67 horsepower and 110 Nm of torque. In addition, it boasts standard fittings such as a 40 watt per channel AM/FM radio/casette audio system with a weatherband, rear speakers, separate passenger controls, a dual antenna, a CB intercom system, a sculpted dual seat with lumbar support for the rider and a pillion backrest, a bat-wing fairing with a windscreen, cast-aluminium wheels and full fenders. kW kWh HP As a fusion of classic design and modern technology, the EV3 is a-OK by us. After presenting the Phase 1 concept back in 2015, Morgan turned the EV3 into a production-ready vehicle that weighs less than 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds). Not bad at all considering that the conventional Morgan 3 Wheeler weighs 525 kilograms (1,157 pounds) dry.The zero-emissions British creation boasts a range of 150 miles (241 kilometers) on a full charge. Speaking of which, the marginally restyled body shell hides a tubular space frame chassis in which engineers encased a 46electric motor driving the rear wheel and a 20lithium-ion battery.According to the Malvern-based automaker, early indications suggest a minimum 0 - 62 mph (100 km/h) time of less than 9 seconds and a top speed in excess of 90 mph (145 km/h). Again, thats not bad at all for an electric motor that churns out the equivalent to 62 PS or 61horsepower.Compared to other electric vehicles, the 2016 Morgan EV3 is a bespoke entity produced by master craftsmen, not by robots on an assembly line. The first Morgan to use carbon composite panels also utilizes aerospace-grade aluminum. And yes, the carbon fiber and aluminum panels are handworked over a classically correct ash wood frame.The detail that does it for me is the asymmetric design, courtesy of the off-center headlight. More information on the 2016 Morgan EV3 will follow as we get it from the Geneva Motor Show floor. EGR ECU DPF NEDC At first, Diesel engines started life in a similar form to industrial steam engines, but eventually found their way to passenger cars. From the first moment, they impressed engineers with the efficiency provided.Compared to a steam engine with a similar configuration, a compression ignition unit would provide a remarkable level of thermodynamic efficiency (18% compared to 32-35%).Compression ignition engines are more efficient than their spark-ignition counterparts because diesel fuel contains more energy by volume than gasoline.They also have a higher compression ratio, and that reduces consumption at idle. Modern diesel engines achieve a peak efficiency rating of 45% in passenger vehicles, and scientists expect them to reach a level of 55%. In theory, the diesel cycle has a maximum efficiency of 75%, but that has not been achieved in practice yet.Fans of diesel engines appreciate the high level of torque provided by these powertrains, as well as the fact that they tend to deliver peak torque earlier and for a generous rev range. However, diesel engines do not achieve the same power levels as equivalent capacity gasoline engines, because they must operate at lower engine speeds.From the beginning, diesel engines produce less carbon dioxide than equivalent gasoline engines. However, they make more particulates and other toxic air contaminants. The most harmful of them are fine particles, which present health concerns, and some of them have been listed as carcinogenic (a cause of cancer) by the World Health Organization.Therefore, diesel engines start out as more dangerous to the planet and living organisms. This health risk is already known as an occupational hazard for truckers and railroad workers, but the general population exposed to this type of engine is under threat.Because of this, emission standards for diesel engines have become more and more strict, but not all manufacturers have managed to comply, as the Dieselgate scandal proved.The fuel/air mixture of diesel engines often leads to incomplete combustion, and the particles made by these power plants vary from one application to the other. We will focus on modern, four-stroke diesel engines for passenger vehicles. They can generate tiny nanoparticles, and those are dangerous to human health as they can infiltrate lungs and eventually cause respiratory illness.The incomplete combustion of diesel engines also causes other particles and soot. Depending on fuel quality, the formation of the particles can vary. Modern compression-ignition engines require low-sulfur diesel fuel to operate properly.The catalytic converter was one of the first solutions the automobile industry provided to reduce emissions of diesel-engined vehicles. Initially, the technology had two-way catalytic converters that catalyzed a redox reaction. They eventually evolved to three-way converters. The latter had the ability to reduce nitrogen oxides, a dangerous gas for human health and also the element that Dieselgate-affected engines produced in excess.Catalytic converters combined oxygen and carbon monoxide with unburned hydrocarbons to generate carbon dioxide and water. They do this by using rare metals such as rhodium, palladium, platinum, along with ceramic parts. While diesel and gasoline engines require different catalytic converters, they work on the same principle.Eventually, stricter emission standards obliged carmakers to develop specific catalytic converters for compression ignition engines. These units use platinum, aluminum oxide, and palladium to act as catalysts that oxidize the hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide generated by the combustion process.The process requires oxygen and forms carbon dioxide and water. Most converters end up operating at 90% efficiency and significantly reduced soot and diesel odor. But you are still left with some particles to eliminate.However, the catalytic converters do not manage to reduce the harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) gas, as attempting this would start a reaction with the high oxygen content in the converter. Therefore, a different method was necessary for reducing NOx emissions from diesel engines.One of the first solutions to achieve this was exhaust gas recirculation. This works for gasoline engines as well.The emissions reduction technique of recirculating the exhaust gasses uses a special valve, called anvalve, that brings exhaust gasses back into engine cylinders through the intake port. The idea behind this is to provide gasses that are inert to combustion to absorb the heat generated by the ignition process.Reducing the temperature in the combustion chamber brings the reduction of NOx gas, and improves reliability through less stress on internal engine components. The reduction of NOx gas through this method is achieved because nitrogen oxide gas is only produced at very high pressures and temperatures.Exhaust gasses are not permanently recirculated in modern engines, as this is not efficient in all operating conditions. In diesel engines, EGR rates go up to 50% and have a positive effect on reducing NOx emissions. Applications vary from one company to the next, but they usually use a heat exchanger to decrease the temperature of the recirculated exhaust gas before injecting it into the intake. Modern systems are operated electronically using multiple sensors to ensure maximum efficiency.Mazda is the only carmaker that achieved the Euro 6 standard with EGR NOx control technology. They can do this because Mazda's SkyActiv diesel power plants feature the lowest compression ratio of any production compression-ignited engine.Since catalytic converters have no shot against carbon particles, the diesel-engined vehicle started to require DPFs. These also used several rare metals, and they channel exhaust gasses to their walls, covered in cordierite or silicon carbide, where soot particles get trapped. The enginesmonitors the particle level of theand occasionally trigger regeneration.The DPF regeneration cycle temporarily uses more fuel so it can attain high temperatures that are required to clean the diesel particulate filter. Diesel-engined cars that are often driven only in the urban environment need this more often.If the driver does not know that the DPF of their vehicle is going through a regeneration phase and turns the engine off, the filter could be clogged. If no action is undertaken, the DPF could eventually be damaged and require replacement.A diesel-engined vehicle with a malfunctioning emission control device will not operate properly and will require expensive repairs. The same car will not pass emission testing if it is checked with the malfunctioning DPF.In the case of most diesel engines for vehicles, the diesel particulate filter was proving insufficient to achieve new regulations. So manufacturers came up with several solutions: selective catalytic reduction and lean NOx trap.Most carmakers use the Selective Catalytic Reduction, a technical solution that involves a particular reagent to turn NOx gas into Nitrogen. This works with an additive called Diesel Exhaust Fluid, commonly known as AdBlue. We have a separate story on AdBlue here The Lean NOx trap emissions reducing system works with a catalyst support coated with a special wash-coat. The latter uses zeolites or alkaline oxide to absorb the particles, thus reducing NOx emissions. Like the DPF, this requires high-temperature regeneration periodically, also done by pumping more fuel into the cylinders.Unfortunately, this process reduces the absorbers operating life, so these systems must be designed in a way to ensure long-term reliability. This technology is widespread in European diesel-engined vehicles, but it is not used on the entire range of most carmakers.The Dieselgate-affected vehicles from Volkswagen used Lean NOx Trap solutions to reduce their NOx emissions. As you know, they did not work as advertised, but not necessarily because of the LNT technology. The German company saved enormous amounts of money by not introducing SCR solutions for emission reduction in all of their cars and resorting to a "defeat device."Some diesel-engined cars come with combined LNT and SCR emission reduction technologies. This type is more expensive than both solutions took separately, but will eventually provide compliance with stricter norms like US Tier 2 regulations and the future Euro 6c standard.Furthermore, carmakers will be able to replicate lab results in the future real-world driving cycle thanks to the combined effort of Lean NOx Traps and Selective Catalytic Reduction on Diesel engines.A study made by the International Council On Clean Transportation revealed that EGR vehicles appear to have a stable NOx emission behavior, and that is less affected by the driving profile. SCR vehicles were better than the rest during high-load and extra-high-speed (over 120 km/h) sub-cycle test of the Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Cycle. Meanwhile, the LNT technology did provide the best values in currenttesting, but had the worst ones in the WLTC. EV Meanwhile, all-electric performance sedans have gained traction. And with Porsche announcing it has begun the transition towards a production version of the Mission E , we are on our way to see what happens when the VW Group makes Tesla sweat.But what if (we love this kind of question) the Raging Bull were to make a step forward from 2014's Asterion hybrid concept and come up with a four-doorWell, the result would be at least partially similar to the Italdesign GTZero concept we met at this year's Geneva Motor Show. With the company now belonging to the VW Group, this shouldn't come too much as a surprise, should it?While the styling shows obvious Lamborghini DNA, the company explains the design is a nod to Italian retro icons it has penned in the past, such as the Alfa Romeo Scighera and the Ferrari GG50. However, being a modern-day product, the vehicle offers active aerodynamics, in the form of the air intakes and rear spoiler.This isn't just an eye-catching study resting on the "To Be Disclosed" platform. Instead, everything is built on a modular carbon monocoque that uses aluminum subframes. While the concept houses batteries in its floor and center tunnel, the company explains the architecture also enables the current 4-seater layout to become a 3+1 setup that would allow the car to use hybrid propulsion. For instance, a gas-electric version would ditch the center tunnel batteries, making room for a driveshaft.Speaking of electric juice, Italdesign explains a quick recharge setup allows the battery pack to be brought to an 80 percent state of charge in 30 minutes (this is where we feel the Mission E influences). And since we mentioned the batteries, we should tell you these offer a driving range of 311 miles (500 km).Three electric motors allow this concept to deliver an all-wheel-drive setup with 483 hp, with two motors powering the front axle and the rear axle getting its dedicated motor.Entering the handling area, we'll mention the all-wheel-drive is doubled by the trend of the moment, namely all-wheel-steering.The interior offers a minimalist approach, with touchscreens inviting the driver to use them for nearly all the functions of the vehicle.To go with the new car and the fresh helm man (the company is led by Michael Mauer now that Walter de Silva has left the VW Group), the Italians have also unveiled a new logo. The premium brand from Stuttgart was among a list of suspects in the aftermath of the Dieselgate scandal (pretty much every European car maker that claimed to sell "clean diesel engines" was targeted), but it has always defended its diesel engines saying they comply with every existing rule and that they don't use any defeat devices.Well, this resolute position that Mercedes-Benz has taken will be tested once again shortly, as the Environmental Protection Agency has requested explanations over the emission levels of some of the company's diesel engines. EPA insisted it hasn't started an official investigation, but is simply asking Daimler for further information on the subject.The enquiry came as a result of a class-action lawsuit launched on February 18, 2016, by law firm Hagens Berman in the New Jersey District Court. In this lawsuit, Mercedes-Benz is accused of misrepresenting the performances of its BlueTEC-badged models, which it claimed was "the world's cleanest and most advanced diesel."The allegations made by Hagens Berman are as serious as they come, and should Mercedes-Benz be proved guilty, it could face a somewhat similar backlash to that experienced by Volkswagen. However, a Daimler spokesman has branded the allegations as completely bogus and said the company would work together with EPA to prove its innocence.Daimler is accused of knowingly programming its BlueTEC models to emit very high levels of nitrous oxides (NOx) while operating at temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), reaching levels over 65 times the maximum quantities allowed by EPA. Automotive News reports that Daimler defended itself by saying that all of its cars play by the rules, but it did concede that under certain conditions, a system that treats exhaust fumes could operate at a reduced capacity to prevent condensation, which could generate corrosion and damage the integrity of the engine and exhaust system. However, Daimler says that this feature is perfectly legal (and given that they publicly admitted to its existence, we'd tend to believe them).Since Daimler promised its full cooperation, EPA should be able to come with a verdict soon, so waiting for the lawsuit to end might not actually be necessary, as the Agency's findings should be conclusive enough. We'll probably be hearing more on the subject in the following days. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ABS According to the, the bolts that keep the steering damper bracket affixed to the bike may have been overtightened and might break under certain conditions.The defect was only detected in the 2016 model year bikes, and Kawasaki reports that 804 motorcycles are expected to pay a visit to authorized dealers in the US alone. However, we reckon that this is a global issue, so the overall number of bikes affected by the recall will be larger.Kawasaki superbike models ZX1000RGFAL, ZX1000RGFL, ZX1000SGFAL, and ZX1000SGFL manufactured between October 28, 2015, and January 18, 2016, are to have the bolts securing the steering damper bracket replaced free of charge. The model list includes the KRT (Kawasaki Racing Team) versions of the Ninja ZX-10R.In certain circumstances, the steering damper bracket may become loose or even detach completely from the motorcycle, with good odds of interfering with the steering of the bike and causing a crash.Kawasaki will notify the customers and the recall campaign was initiated as of February 29, 2016. Kawasaki USA can be reached at 1-866-802-9381, and customers who want to find out more info about these bikes should also mention the internal recall number MC16-03.The new ZX-10R machines are heavily updated underneath the fairing, having undergone modifications that improved the chassis geometry, brake system, and have new suspensions. Also, titanium exhaust can be found on the upgrades list, alongside a larger airbox and filter, and new throttle valves.At the same time, the entire electronic package was also improved, with new specs for the Sport Kawasaki Traction Control, intelligent, an electronic steering damper, a new IMU, and engine brake, quick shifter and launch control systems. AWD We caught our first glimpse of this move in February when the Q50 and Q60 got full engine ranges consisting of 2.0 and 3.0 turbo mills. The only naturally aspirated car on the floor of the Chicago Auto Show was the hybrid model. Infiniti may now be the company with the widest and most exciting powertrain lineup in the US luxury car market.That's not really the case in Europe, where all luxury models were turbocharged. Instead of a big V6, the Q60 coupe made its European debut wearing the 2.0t badge. That means it's packing the same kind of engine as the recently revealed Mercedes C-Class Coupe, thanks to a partnership between the two automakers.Sporting bright red paint and sharply defined lines, the Q50's two-door brother is undeniably one of the most beautiful cars at the Geneva Motor Show. However, for customers in markets like the UK or Germany, the Q30 is a lot more appealing.Even though it's the S model with lowered suspension, the crossover look is still noticeable. It too comes with a Mercedes-derived 2.0-liter turbo engine, mounted longitudinally inside its A-Class platform. Even thesystem and twin-clutch gearbox are shared with the Germans.Inside or outside, it doesn't quite have the "bite the back of your hand" beauty of the Q60. The dashboard is especially problematic, as anybody can see the Mercedes buttons and knobs. However, that may not be enough to stop it from being successful.When Infiniti arrived in the UK back in 2009, it tried to tempt buyers with V6 and V8 engines, sometimes even RWD SUVs. It didn't work, and Infiniti sales were comparable to Aston Martin's. However, the Q30 is different because it's designed and built in Britain, which is likely to become its biggest market. If you're not into the 2.0-liter turbo engine, you can also have it with a 2.2-liter diesel in two stages of tune or a 1.6-liter gasoline turbo unit. Regarding trunk size, it's smaller than the A3 but bigger than the A-Class and BMW 1 Series. SUV kWh At first glance, the design is the same as in any other Skoda concept. However, that's actually not the case. The VisionS has a grille that's about four times longer than it is tall. The headlights are very slim and connect directly to the chrome of the grille, resulting in a wide stance. Both are brand new design features that will be seen on the upcoming 7-seat crossoverproduction model.The lower grille is also one big, uninterrupted piece of plastic and metal, as the fog lights sit higher up on the bumper. The side features two pronounced character lines (similar to 2015 Fiesta) and a roof that gently slopes towards the trunk without curving.Around the back, the VisionS borrows the 3D LED taillight design from the new Superb and triumphantly boasts two oval exhaust pipes. It's not bad at all. In fact, we'd say it's better than the SEAT Ateca SUV, though the comparison is not fair.The power comes from a plug-in hybrid system, similar to what Volkswagen's GTE models have. A 1.4-liter TSI turbo engine is linked to two electric motors and a 12.4battery pack. Together, they offer a combined 225 PS and can accelerate the vehicle from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.4 seconds. One of the motors makes 55 PS and slots between the TSI engine and the six-speed DSG gearbox. The other makes 115 PS and goes at the back, giving this SUV its 4x4 capabilities.So far, Skoda has remained silent about the production potential of the VisionS. We know they plan to offer a 7-seat crossover (the concept is a 6-seater) next year. Both "Kodiak" and "Snowman" have been rumored to be the name of the vehicle. However, plug-in hybrid engines have been ruled out by the Skoda brand due to their cost. Could that change due to emission regulations coming into effect towards the end of the decade? The 2016 Global Fleet Conference returns to Brussels June 7-8. The organizers for the Global Fleet Conference have announced the agenda for the 2016 conference, which will return to Brussels, June 7-8. This years conference is being organized around the topics of economics, environment, and technology with sessions covering such topics as the Global Economic Outlook for 2016, fiscal and regulatory changes in Europe, what the Paris Climate Change Agreement means for fleets, how to defeat resistance to telematics, and a look forward at the implications of the dawn of the age of the autonomous vehicle. Other sessions will cover how to use global fleet suppliers more effectively and an overview of the major regional global markets. Produced by Nexus Communication, publisher of Fleet Europe, and Bobit Business Media, publisher of Automotive Fleet, the Global Fleet Conference brings together fleet managers and fleet stakeholders from around the world to learn about cutting-edge fleet management practices from around the globe and to network and build personal and professional connections. Now in its fourth year, the Global Fleet Conference alternates between venues in Europe and the U.S. The 2016 conference will be held at the iconic The Hotel in downtown Brussels, located on the Boulevard de Waterloo and conveniently situated near Avenue Louise, the historic Grand Palace, and the European Parliament buildings. To view the full schedule or to register, go to the 2016 Global Conference website. 1 March 2016 19:47 (UTC+04:00) By Aynur Karimova About three years after Irans reform-minded President Hassan Rouhani was elected, the Islamic Republic held elections for the 10th convocation of the Parliament and the fifth convocation of the Assembly of Experts on February 26. Millions of Iranian voters cast their votes for the 290-seat parliament and the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a panel with the constitutional duty to select the nations supreme leader. Final results revealed that the Islamic Republic's moderate camp - reformist-backed candidates have secured all 30 seats of parliament for theTehran constituency. All elected lawmakers are from the List of Hope, a pro-President Rouhani coalition of moderates and reformists, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli told reporters in a televised press conference in Tehran on February 29. In this parliamentary election, which is the first since Iran signed a nuclear deal with world powers, President Rouhani and the moderates not only swept all seats in Tehran, but also appeared to run strongly in other regions of the Islamic Republic. The moderates also did well in elections for the Assembly of Experts. Experts believe that this landslide victory is a stunning blow to Iran's hardliners. Ali Fathollah-Nejad, an expert of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), believes that the preliminary results show that many Iranians have rejected hardliner elements and have instead chosen more moderate forces. "Hence, this can be seen as support for the Rouhani administration's agenda of 'moderation' at home and abroad," he told Azernews. The elected parliamentarians will serve from May 3, 2016 for a four-year term, while the Assembly of Experts - for another eight-year term. Rouhani believes that the election has given the government more credibility and clout. "The competition is over. It's time to open a new chapter in Iran's economic development based on domestic abilities and international opportunities," the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying. James Dorsey, a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, believes that Iran's newly-elected parliament will focus on economic rehabilitation and growth. "Assuming that supporters of President Rouhani will have a significant say in the parliament, the focus is likely to be on economic rehabilitation and growth in the wake of the lifting of sanctions and returning Iran to what it believes is its rightful place in the international community," he told Azernews. Now, one can say with no doubt that the newly-elected parliament will change its policy towards the wider world as President Rouhani's hands have been strengthened in the parliament to open his country to greater trade and investment and to deepen the dialogue with the West. But, as experts state, much of this opening will continue to be with Europe, rather than the U.S. as Tehrans relations with Washington is still complex and controversial. "There will definitely be greater economic cooperation. Europe rather than the U.S. is likely to be Irans access point to the West," Dorsey said. Iran's ambitions in the region are also deeply rooted as Tehran has strategic interests in such countries as Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, as well as Afghanistan. However, there are doubts on warming of relations with Saudi Arabia. "Saudi Arabia is not interested in a dialogue [with Iran] and doing its best to isolate Iran and punish those like Lebanon who dont tow the Saudi line. Relations with Turkey and Central Asia will likely be easier but remain nonetheless complex," Dorsey noted. -- Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 March 2016 10:10 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev and High Representative of the EU, Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini held an expanded meeting on February 29, Azertac state news agency reported. The head of state said Mogherini`s visit created a good opportunity for looking through the important issues of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU. President Aliyev thanked Federica Mogherini for attending the closing ceremony of the second Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council in Baku. The head of state said Azerbaijan-EU cooperation was at an important stage now, stressing the importance of defining future plans of this collaboration. The head of state said there was mutual interest in increasing the level of partnership and expanding ties, pointing to the existence of mutual understanding in this regard. President Aliyev noted the significance of President of the European Council Donald Tusk`s visit to the country last year. The head of state also emphasized the importance of his discussions on future cooperation plans with EU Commissioner for the European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn when they recently met in Munich. The president expressed his hope that Azerbaijan and the EU would elaborate a cooperation format for establishing long-term and fruitful partnership that would cover various fields. Touching upon Federica Mogherini`s speech at the second Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council, the head of state emphasized the importance of conflict resolution, political reforms, economic cooperation, energy security, especially financial security in the region. High Representative of the EU, Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini expressed gratitude for high-level organization of the Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council. Federica Mogherini described this as a good indicator of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU. She said cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU would be continued in a new format, adding there was a firm legal base for this. She said Azerbaijan was situated in a complex region, underlining the significance of elevating the partnership between the country and the EU to a strategic level to ensure the interests of both sides. They also discussed the current state and prospects of negotiations to solve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and exchanged views on other issues of cooperation. The meeting then continued in a one-on-one format. President Aliyev later hosted an official dinner reception in honor of Federica Mogherini. EU Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic also attended the dinner reception. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 March 2016 00:12 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev has expressed condolences to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the casualties in Severnaya mine explosion. I was deeply saddened by the news of a heavy loss of life in an explosion in the Severnaya mine in Vorkuta, said the president. On behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I extend my deepest condolences to you, families, relatives of the dead and all the people of Russia, and wish those injured a swiftest possible recovery, President Aliyev added. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 March 2016 12:01 (UTC+04:00) By Nazrin Gadimova The visit of the PACE head to Azerbaijan will contribute to the expansion of the bilateral relations. Ogtay Asadov, the Chairman of the Azerbaijani Parliament, said at a meeting with Pedro Agramunt, PACE newly elected President in Baku on February 29. Asadov emphasized the importance of holding meetings with the PACE delegation. He expressed confidence that this visit will contribute to the expansion of the bilateral relations, noting that the cooperation between the Azerbaijani Parliament and the PACE will continue to develop. Addressing the meeting, Agramunt highly appreciated the active participation of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE and emphasized the importance of this activity in the future. He added that the purpose of his Baku visit is to be acquainted with the current situation in the country and discuss expansion of existing ties. Agramunt also expressed satisfaction with the development of cooperation between PACE and Azerbaijan. Furthermore, Agramunt met members of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE. During the meeting, Head of the delegation Samad Seyidov emphasized the work carried out in framework of the bilateral relations. Agramunt also plans to meet Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, as well as to hold a number of other high-level meetings to consider future cooperation. Agramunt was elected the PACE president at the organizations winter session held in Strasbourg on January 25. In a period of 2010-2015, he was a PACE co-rapporteur on Azerbaijan. -- Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 March 2016 13:27 (UTC+04:00) By Aynur Karimova Azerbaijan and the European Union, the bilateral relations of which are at an important stage now, seek to continue their mutually beneficial cooperation in a new format. The existence of mutual understanding and a firm legal base pave the way for the sides to bring their bilateral relations to the strategic level and expand the cooperation. President Ilham Aliyev, who addressed a meeting with the EU delegation in Baku, voiced belief that Azerbaijan and the EU will elaborate a cooperation format for establishing long-term and fruitful partnership that will cover various fields. Baku and the EU should define future plans of their collaboration, the president said at an expanded meeting with Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU, Vice-President of the European Commission on February 29. President Aliyev emphasized the importance of his discussions on future cooperation plans with EU Commissioner for the European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn when they recently met in Munich. Mogherini, in turn, said Azerbaijan is located in a complex region, underlining the significance of elevating the partnership between Baku and the EU to a strategic level to ensure the interests of both sides. Azerbaijan and the EU regulate the bilateral relations on the basis of agreement on partnership and cooperation, which was signed in 1996. The EU is interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan, its important strategic partner in the region, mainly in energy sector, regional security and the rule of law. Mogherini, speaking at a briefing after a meeting with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, said that the EU and Azerbaijan share common interests in developing bilateral relations and their main goal is to achieve a wide and comprehensive collaboration. She believes that despite the existing difficulties in the relations, the sides are closer to realizing the importance of simultaneously developing the political and economic cooperation. "Azerbaijans accession to the World Trade Organization can be an effective step, since it can intensify the countrys integration to the world economy," said the EU high representative. "Undoubtedly, this will make great contribution to reforming the countrys economy." Mogherini further said that the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project is vital for EUs energy strategy as this project ensures the further diversification of supply routes and makes it possible to intensify the political, economic and social relations with a number of partners in the region. Azerbaijan-initiated Southern Gas Corridor project envisages the transportation of the gas extracted at the giant Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. Shah Deniz Stage 2 gas will make a 3,500 kilometer journey from the Caspian Sea into Europe. The Southern Gas Corridor is set to change the energy map of the entire region, connecting gas supplies from the Caspian region to markets in Europe for the very first time. The first gas supplies through the corridor to Georgia and Turkey are given a target date of late 2018. Gas deliveries to Europe are expected just over a year after the first gas is produced offshore in Azerbaijan. Mogherini believes that the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Second Ministerial Meeting, which was held in Baku on February 29, is of significant importance that will contribute to the projects implementation. Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, for his part, highlighted the strategic cooperation agreement presented by Azerbaijan to the European Union, saying they exchanged views on the steps to be taken in this regard. Mammadyarov said Azerbaijan is interested in signing a modernized strategic partnership agreement with the EU "in the shortest possible time." The government submitted a modernized strategic partnership agreement to the EU in May 2015 as part of the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga. Now, Azerbaijan expects to receive the EU Council's mandate to negotiate on a new agreement, which will determine the format of the future cooperation with the EU. The draft agreement envisages the adjustment of Azerbaijans legislation and procedures to the EUs most important international and trade norms and standards, which should lead to an improvement in the access of Azerbaijani goods to the EU markets. -- Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 March 2016 15:05 (UTC+04:00) By Nazrin Gadimova A peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in accordance with the international law, remains a top EU priority. Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy made the remarks during the meeting with Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku on February 29, stressing that the European Union supports Azerbaijans territorial integrity and sovereignty. The OSCE Minsk Group is a format accepted by all sides, and endorsed by the UN Security Council, she said, addressing the meeting. Negotiations within the Minsk Group are aimed at reaching an agreement on practical steps that should be taken for a comprehensive settlement of 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. The EU, which is not directly involved in the conflict resolution, has repeatedly stated that the status quo is unacceptable and supports diplomatic settlement of the conflict within the framework of the Minsk Group. The peace talks have been largely fruitless so far despite the efforts of the MG co-chair countries over 20 years. Federica Mogherini said that the co-chairs have launched new mediation efforts and EUs support to this process, including through the EU Special Representative Herbert Salber, has been, and will continue to be, unwavering. The EU will continue to support all actions aimed at peace building and the establishment of direct contacts between people separated as a result of the conflict, Mogherini said. She further added that there will no contradiction between these activities and the efforts of the Minsk Group; both are important for long-term reconciliation. Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, in turn, emphasized Azerbaijans aspiration for the soonest settlement of the long-lasting Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. We do not believe that this conflict is frozen. The EU, together with the Minsk Group should also give an impetus to get this conflict moving, he stressed. The Azerbaijani officials have repeatedly expressed concern over the delayed conflict resolution process, with some of them proposing to make substantial changes in the format of the mediating Minsk Group. However, despite the concerns and efforts of foreign governments and international organizations Armenia doesn't give up its non-constructive position. Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four binding resolutions on its pullout from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions. Mogherini, in an exclusive interview to Trend, said that a central part of the talks within the Minsk Group is to find agreement on practical steps towards a comprehensive settlement of the conflict. Only a few months ago, in December 2015, both President Aliyev and President Sargsyan confirmed they will keep engaging on current proposals. This is vital: ultimately, it is up to your countries' leaders to show courage and move towards peace, Mogherini believes. It is no secret that the current status quo is unsustainable. Over the past year we have witnessed an escalation of violence along the line of contact: no one can afford to keep going down this path, she added. Mogherini went on to add that everyone has a duty to refrain from provocative statements and to work to de-escalate the situation on the ground. Over the past year heavy weapons were used, civilians were targeted. The current instability has huge costs for both sides. Peace, on the other hand, would allow for the opening of borders, facilitate trade and communications. Peace could make your region a prosperous gateway between Europe and Asia, she concluded. -- Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 March 2016 18:16 (UTC+04:00) By Aynur Karimova Resources rich Azerbaijan was once again on spotlight of international energy diplomacy, as Baku hosted the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Second Ministerial Meeting on February 29. The meeting, attended by the energy ministers and representatives of various organizations from the Southern Gas Corridor member-states, left no grounds for doubt: Europe considers Azerbaijan as a reliable partner able to ensure the continent's energy security, and it is ready to invest in this South Caucasus state. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who attended the meeting, emphasized the significance of holding this event and said it will focus on the work done in previous years and future tasks. The president voiced belief that the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is the historic project of the 21st century, will make it possible to even more expand the beneficial cooperation between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and other countries. Emphasizing that Azerbaijan remains committed to all its obligations and even more develops the principles of market economy, President Aliyev said energy cooperation cannot be a political requirement and this issue should be free of any political format. Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that the Southern Gas Corridor project is not directed against anyone. This project has only one goal - to deliver gas from point A - Shah Deniz field - to point B - the European consumers. This route should be operational, as well as commercially viable and reliable. In this regard, according to President Aliyev, delays and obstacles in the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project should be prevented. He believes that it is necessary to combine the efforts of the governments for overcoming all obstacles. Today, energy security holds an important place in world politics and on the agenda of international organizations. The government of Azerbaijan has done a lot for gaining a status of a reliable supplier, which is able to ensure European consumers' energy security. Being a reliable energy supplier depends not only on the country's abundant hydrocarbon resources and favorable geographic location, but also primarily on political stability and predictability. Political stability and economic development allows Azerbaijan to initiate ambitious and large-scale projects such as the Southern Gas Corridor, as well as involve foreign investors to the implementation of these projects. The Azerbaijani government, by pursuing stable domestic and foreign policy, is actively cooperating with the participants of the project, and energy cooperation plays an important role in relations with the EU. The Southern Gas Corridor project, which was initiated by Azerbaijan, envisages a 3,500 kilometer journey of the gas extracted at the giant Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea into Europe. Under the project, the existing South Caucasus Pipeline will be expanded with a new parallel pipeline across Azerbaijan and Georgia, while the Trans-Anatolian pipeline will transport Shah Deniz gas across Turkey to meet the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, which will take gas through Greece and Albania into Italy. The first gas supplies through the corridor to Georgia and Turkey are given a target date of late 2018. Gas deliveries to Europe are expected just over a year after the first gas is produced offshore in Azerbaijan. Addressing the event, Ian Bradshaw, TAP Managing Director said the groundbreaking ceremony for the 878 km TAP is expected to take place in late May-early June 2016 in Greek city of Thessaloniki. We have achieved great progress in Greece. With the help of the Government of Greece the pipes will be delivered by the end of April 2016, and the groundbreaking will start in the middle of the year, he said, adding that Greece has provided necessary conditions for the successful start of the project. European Commissions Vice-President for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic, for his part, talked about the importance of delivering natural resources from the Caspian Sea to European markets and said the EU considers the energy security as an important issue, and there is a great interest in the Southern Gas Corridor project in South-Eastern Europe and Balkan states. Sefcovic praised the interest and support to the Southern Gas Corridor by international financial organizations and noted that the EU supports this project. In his remarks, Jan van Bilsen, the regional manager of the International Finance Corporation for the South Caucasus, said the Southern Gas Corridor is a landmark strategic project to open up gas supplies to new markets and contributing to energy security of the Southern-East Europe. Bilsen noted that the IFC has not yet made an investment decision concerning the Southern Gas Corridor project. We welcome an opportunity to participate in this meeting and to understand the potential role which IFC could play in the project, he added. Massimo DEufemia, the European Investment Bank's official representative, in turn, said the Bank is working closely with European Commission, and it is attaching highest consideration to the timely realization of the Southern Gas Corridor. "As all the participants have stated, this project is key infrastructure for the region and also for Europe," DEufemia said, adding that the Southern Gas Corridor will secure new energy sources to Europe, as well as announce new competition in the gas market. Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Natig Aliyev noted that the gas to be transported by the Southern Gas Corridor will play an important role in providing European countries with this fuel. Emphasizing the great interest by such major European countries as France, Spain, Italy and Greece in this project, the energy minister said this projects implementation will make it possible to create new jobs. Further, Turkeys Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak talked about the importance of TANAP, which is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor project. He noted that Turkey will continue to provide political, economic and technical assistance in this projects implementation. The U.S. State Departments special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs, Amos Hochstein also voiced his countrys support for the project. The Southern Gas Corridor project is a form of true diversification of Europes energy security, he said during a press conference after the meeting. While there are announcements from the energy sector companies on capital expenditure reductions, the private and government sectors confirm commitment to continue the Southern Gas Corridor project, said Hochstein. That is a strong statement of importance of this project that is going to be completed on time in this environment of the energy markets, he added. BPs Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey Gordon Birrell, in turn, said that all the goals regarding the Southern Gas Corridor will be reached on the schedule and 2016 will be an important period in the projects implementation. Document inked Following the meeting, a joint declaration was undersigned by 12 ministers who took part in the meeting in the presence of President Ilham Aliyev and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, as well as Vice-President of the European Commission for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic. The document says the producers of energy resources, transit countries and consumers intend to develop and deepen prolonged strategic relations for reliable, secure and consistent provision of European markets with energy resources of Azerbaijan. The document also approved carrying out of legal procedures and regulative measures by these countries for implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project. It was noted that existing and future opportunities for the expansion of the project beyond the EU, including the Balkans will be evaluated. For this purpose, a special interest is shown for projects of Greece-Bulgaria and the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline interconnectors. The document supported strengthening of cooperation with national and international financial institutions to finance the project. The sides will continue consultations at the level of bilateral and multilateral working groups for resolving issues that may arise in connection with the involvement of new suppliers or transit countries. The above-mentioned statements and the signed document once again showed that Azerbaijan is successfully implementing its energy strategy. The country was again at the center of global energy diplomacy as an important partner. -- Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 March 2016 16:26 (UTC+04:00) Baku will extradite 21 Iranian inmates serving prison sentences in Azerbaijan. Irans Ambassador to Baku Mohsen Pak Ayeen announced about this on March 1, adding that the inmates will be extradited on March 2 through the border city of Astara. Pak Ayeen added that the Iranian nationals were mostly convicted of drug-related offences in Azerbaijan. Drug trafficking still remains as a serious issue in Iran, despite the efforts made by Iranian law enforcement bodies to stop it. Iranian officials say the fight against drugs annually costs the country about $1 billion. The extradition of the inmates was mulled at a meeting of the Iranian envoy and Azerbaijani Minister of Justice Fikrat Mammadov in Baku on March 1. During the meeting, Pak Ayeen touched upon friendly ties between Iran and Azerbaijan, saying the recent visit paid by President Ilham Aliyev to Tehran has opened a new chapter in ties between the neighboring countries. In turn, Mammadov said that the way for the expansion of ties between Iran and Azerbaijan has been paved. President Aliyev visited Iran on February 23, where Tehran and Baku signed 11 documents to expand bilateral ties. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 March 2016 17:25 (UTC+04:00) By Nazrin Gadimova Azerbaijan is interested in developing cooperation with Pakistan in all areas, particularly in political, economic, cultural and military spheres. President Ilham Aliyev made the remark in a meeting with Rashad Mahmood, Chairman of Pakistans Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee on March 1. Addressing the event, the head of the state hailed the successful development of relations between the two countries. President Aliyev also emphasized the importance of the two countries constant support for each other within the international organizations. Discussions on the strengthening of the cooperation will be held during the visit of the delegation led by Mahmood, the president said, expressing his confidence that these talks would be successful in terms of taking additional measures towards the expansion of ties. Mahmood, in turn, emphasized the ancient history of political, cultural and religious ties between the two countries. The Pakistani representative noted that Azerbaijan and Pakistan have always supported each other in most difficult times. We have always been willing to improve these relations, Azerbaijan is in our heart, and we have always proved it, Mahmood added. Rashad Mahmood arrived in Azerbaijans capital on March 1 with a three-day visit. During the visit, the Pakistani delegation will meet with Azerbaijani officials. Later, the Pakistani delegation was received by Prime Minister Artur Rasizade. The sides highlighted successfully developing relations between the two countries, adding the strategic partnership in political, economic, cultural fields yielded fruitful results. Stressing the importance of deepening the cooperation in military field, the parties condemned the aggressive policy of Armenia, which is threat to the stability of the region. They emphasized the significance of solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, within the norms of international law and on the base of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The sides stressed the support of Azerbaijan and Pakistan in international organizations, saying this bring the two countries closer to each other. Pakistan supported Azerbaijan during and after the Nagorno-Karabakh War and it is the only country that does not recognize Armenia. Relations between the two states were established after Azerbaijan became independent following the collapse of the USSR in 1991. Pakistan was among the first countries to recognize Azerbaijan. The fundamental building block of the bilateral relationship between Azerbaijan and Pakistan is military cooperation. The sides intend to join efforts to gain access to modern technologies, as well as modernize their potential. The two sides also focused on the development of economic relations. Trade and cooperation has steadily grown between the two nations, with several summits being held on how to improve trade between the two nations. -- Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 March 2016 18:39 (UTC+04:00) An exhibition of drawings titled Memory by Azerbaijani and Russian artists opened at Radisson Royal Moscow hotel under "Justice for Khojaly International Awareness Campaign on February 29. Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and initiator of the Justice for Khojaly International Awareness Campaign, also attended the event, Azertac reported. The exhibition featured drawings made by students and activists of the Moscow-based Azerbaijani Youth Association (AMOR) and their Russian friends on the Khojaly theme, war, peace and justice in an online mode. The audience honored the memory of Khojaly genocide victims by a moment of silence. Addressing the opening ceremony, Leyla Aliyeva said that Khojaly tragedy is the most brutal and bloody page in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "The conflict has lasted for nearly 30 years, and 20 percent of our territory has been occupied. Azerbaijan has more than one million refugees and IDPs. Architectural masterpieces, historical monuments connecting this region with the Azerbaijani cultural heritage have been destroyed in the occupied territories," said Leyla Aliyeva. Leyla Aliyeva further informed the audience about the terrible night of 25 to 26 February, 1992. "On the night of February 26, 1992 Armenian militants seized the Azerbaijani city of Khojaly, brutally killed 613 civilians, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old men. The life of future doctors, engineers, teachers and those, who could make life in Azerbaijan better, brighter and more interesting, were cut short. This tragedy should be fairly assed by the international community, and the perpetrators must be punished, she said. Leyla Aliyeva reminded that the Justice for Khojaly International Awareness Campaign aims at informing the world community about the tragedy. The campaign is being supported by dozens of countries around the world. The parliaments of Canada, Mexico, Peru, Pakistan, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, the Czech Republic, Jordan, Sudan, Panama, Honduras, legislative bodies of more than 20 states of the U.S., as well as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation recognized the genocide in Khojaly. A website dedicated to "Justice for Khojaly" campaign provides full information about the tragedy. Leyla Aliyeva pointed out that Azerbaijan has always been a tolerant and multicultural country where representatives of different nationalities and religions live in peace and harmony. "Despite the horrors of Khojaly the spirit of our people was not broken. The victims of Khojaly tragedy will always remain alive in our memories. We have arranged an exhibition of Azerbaijani artists and children. You can feel and see the tragedy through the eyes of these artists. Perhaps, these works are full of pain and grief, but we sincerely believe that the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will find its fair solution, territorial integrity of Azerbaijan will be restored, and all refugees and displaced persons will return to their homelands", added Leyla Aliyeva. Azerbaijans ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu said a crime that was not condemned gives rise to new and even more serious crimes. "I want to emphasize that the feeling of empathy over the Khojaly tragedy, as well as absolute condemnation of this crime should concern not only our people, but also moral and legal choice for all people of goodwill." Russian academician Yuri Pompeyev spoke about his involvement in Justice for Khojaly campaign. Pompeyev pointed out that the majority of the drawings reflects tanks: "These tanks belong to the 366th regiment. But they fell into the hands of nationalists, Nazi forces. Because Serzh Sargsyan was then one of the leaders of the Armenian armed forces. That's shameful. This fact should be brought to the attention of Russian citizens, and I am trying to do it," said Pompeyev. Witnesses of the Khojaly tragedy were among the visitors at the exhibition. The exhibition was also attended by representatives of the Russian public, diplomatic corps accredited in Moscow, politicians, employees of the Azerbaijani embassy in Russia, the Russian representation of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, representatives of the All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress, the Azerbaijani Youth Organization of Russia. The Justice for Khojaly International Awareness Campaign was launched on 8 May 2008, at the initiative of Leyla Aliyeva, General Coordinator of the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation. The campaign aims to raise international public awareness of the Khojaly Genocide, root causes and consequences of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the need for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The campaigns activities are also directed towards honoring the victims and keeping their memories alive, particularly by constantly informing the younger generations and supporting the survivors and seeking ways to relieve their suffering. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 March 2016 18:59 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijan`s First Lady, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, UNESCO and ISESCO Goodwill Ambassador, MP Mehriban Aliyeva received the Person of the Year award of National Hero Chingiz Mustafayev Foundation and ANS Group of Companies. Mehriban Aliyeva was honored for her role as chair of the Organizing Committee in excellently delivering the first European Games, and her outstanding contribution to promoting Azerbaijan worldwide, ensuring mutual integration of Azerbaijani and global cultures, preserving and promoting multiculturalism in the country, and for her charity activity. Vice-President of ANS Group of Companies Mirshahin Agayev and its President Vahid Mustafayev addressed the awarding ceremony held on March 1, Azertac reported. The ceremony also featured a video clip about the activity of President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva. Vahid Mustafayev presented a diploma of Person of the Year award and prize money to First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. Mehriban Aliyeva said that prize money would be transferred to the Rehabilitation Center for People with Down Syndrome whose construction was initiated by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. Mehriban Aliyeva first received the award in 2005. The Heydar Aliyev Foundation chaired by Mehriban Aliyeva aims to support socio-economic and humanitarian development within the country and abroad. Charity is one of the key priorities in the activities of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. The Heydar Aliyev Foundation also places special emphasis on the mutual enrichment of various cultures and civilizations, the expansion of dialogue among nations, and the preservation of the traditions of tolerance. 1 March 2016 15:50 (UTC+04:00) By Aynur Karimova Azerbaijan's Economy and Industry Minister Shahin Mustafayev and a delegation of the Iranian Darou Pakhsh Company have discussed establishment of a joint facility engaged in production of pharmaceuticals. The discussions were held in Baku on February 29. The sides also mulled offers earlier made by Iran to the Azerbaijani side. Later, the delegation of the company visited the Sumgayit Chemical-Industrial Park, where Iran eyes to establish a joint facility to produce drugs. Earlier, Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen said the project will consist of three stages. "In the first stage, necessary medicines will be imported to Azerbaijan from Iran, while in the second stage, Iran will provide Azerbaijan with the technology necessary for the production of drugs. As part of the third stage, production of medicines will be started," he said. The implementation of these three stages will take around 3-5 years, the diplomat said adding that experts from Iran will visit Azerbaijan next week for talks on the establishment of the facility. Developing pharmaceutical manufacturing in Azerbaijan may become one of major directions in the country's aim to diversify its non-oil sector of the economy. The government is keen to cooperate with foreign companies in this sector. The modern Iranian pharmaceutical system in the country commenced 100 years ago. It experienced a sharp growth last year, rising to $1.2 billion. The Darou Pakhsh is the largest pharmaceutical company of Iran with annual turnover of about $400 million. The company belongs to the Organization of Social Protection of the Islamic Republic. -- Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 March 2016 10:00 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova Bakus Natavan gallery hosted a photo exhibition titled The monuments of Azerbaijan last week, Project initiator Konul Veliyeva announced about it while talking to Trend Life. The event was carried out under the support of the Youth Foundation under Azerbaijani President. The project aimed at promoting ancient national heritage of Azerbaijan. The exhibition featured works of 30 young photographs from various regions of the country. Elvin Eldaroglu, Vusala Ragimova, Ismayil Ismayilov and Mehbara Abbasova were among them. Throughout history, the Azerbaijan people have created high material and spiritual culture and made a valuable contribution to the world development. The UNESCO World Heritage list includes a number of Azerbaijan's places of importance such as the Old city (Icheri Sheher), Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape, Palace of Shaki Khans etc. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 1 March 2016 09:00 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli Azerbaijan is in a festive mood these days, since the long-awaited holiday -- Novruz Bayram, symbolizing the coming of spring, will come to the country on March 21. Preparations for the holiday of spring begins a month prior to the festive with four pre-holiday celebrations called Novruz Chershenbesi. They are told to be celebrated as a good-bye to the old year and a welcoming of the upcoming year. Each of these four Tuesdays mark awakening of one of the natural elements that is Su Chershenbesi (Water Tuesday), Od Chershenbesi (Fire Tuesday) Hava Chershenbesi (Wind Tuesday) and Torpaq Chershenbesi (Earth or Last Tuesday). Last week saw the first Tuesday, which symbolizes life, purity and freshness. The second Tuesday to be marked on March 1 will embody fire, which means warmth and comfort. Od Chershenbesi notifies that too little remains for warm spring. Its believed, on this day, the rays of the heavenly fire -- Sun, melts snow and nature comes alive. Fire is somewhat sacred in Azerbaijan, also known as Land of Fire. Some scientists suggest that the presence of fire in the festive rituals is not accidental, as it is recognized as a symbol of life, what is more important, it gives warmth, showing that spring is on its way. It is very important to light a bonfire in every yard on Fire Tuesday, since fire means the year will be warm and fertile. People jump over the fire, because it is traditionally believed that all troubles and hardships will be left behind, and the coming year will be happy and prosperous. There is also another belief that on the Fire Tuesday no one should leave his/ her house empty and candles for each family member must be lit on the festival table. Each year more than 300 million people in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Xinjiang Uyghur region, the Balkans and the Middle East celebrate Novruz as the renewal of nature. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz March 1: 1642: Boys Will Be Boys The Plymouth Colony Court heard a case brought against Edward Michell and Edward Preston for lewd & sodomitical practices tending to sodomy. The precise wording was important: sodomy itself was punishable by death, but practices which fell short of sodomy itself (which required proof of penetration and emission), were deemed merely sodomitical or sodomy-like. According to surviving records: Edward Michell, for his lewd & sodomitical practices tending to sodomy with Edward Preston, and other lewd carriages with Lydia Hatch, is censured to be presently whipped at Plymouth, at the public place, and once more at Bamestable, in convenient time, in the presence of Mr. Freeman and the committees of the said town. Edward Preston, for his lewd practices tending to sodomy with Edward Michell, and pressing John Keene thereunto (if he would have yielded), is also censured [sentenced] to be forthwith whipped at Plymouth, and once more at Bamestable (when Edward Michell is whipped), in the presence of Mr. Freeman & the committees of the same town. John Keene, because he resisted the temptation, & used means to discover it, is appointed to stand by whilst Michell and Preston are whipped, though in some thing he was faulty. 1656: Onan You Dont. Not In New Haven New Haven Colony legislation was unique in the English-speaking world for mandating the death penalty for women as well as men for acts against nature, as well as for masturbation and anal sex among heterosexual couples. The act read as follows: If any man lyeth with mankinde, as a man lyeth with a woman, both of them have Committed abomination, they both shall surely be put to death. Levit. 20. 13. And if any woman change the naturall use, into that which is against nature, as Rom. 1. 26. she shall be liable to the same Sentence, and punishment, or If any person, or persons, shall Commit any other kinde of unnaturall and shamefull filthines, called in Scripture the going after strange flesh, or other flesh then God alloweth, by canall knowledge of another vessel then God in nature hath appointed to becomp one flesh, whether it be by abusing the contrary part of a grown woman, or Child of either sex, or unripe vessel of a Girle, wherein the naturall use of the woman is left, which God hath ordained for the propagation of posterity, and Sodomiticall filthinesse (tending to the destruction of the race of mankind) is committed by a kind of Rape, nature being forced, though the will were inticed, every such person shall be put to death. Or if any man shall act upon himself, and in the sight of others spill his owne seed, by example, or counsel, or both, corrupting or tempting others to doe the like, which tends to the sin of Sodomy, if it be not one kind of it; or shall defile, or corrupt himself and others, by any kind of sinfull filthinesse, he shall be punished according to the nature of the offence; or if the case considered with the aggravating circumstances, shall according to the mind of God revealed in his word require it, he shall be put to death, as the Court of Magistrates shall determine. New Haven Colony also applied the death penalty for adultery. This law remained in effect for the next ten years, until 1665 when New Haven Colony joined Connecticut and came under Connecticut law, which specified the death penalty for man lying with man only. Share this: Tweet More Email Print Over the years Mitchell has made a concerted effort to be the bogeyman of Bahamian politics. From his early days as a propagandist at the Herald and on ZNS, to his intermediary years as a fanatical protege of the great chief (Lynden Pindling), to his current role as a demagogue in the style of Donald Trump, Mitchell thinks he is closing in on the ultimate prize of state power. But even a cursory review of his record is more than enough to give any reasonable observer the shakes. For the two terms he has been in charge of foreign affairs in Perry Christie's chaotic cabinet, Mitchell has relentlessly sought to create friction rather than act constructively. Accusing his critics of treason, issuing sinister threats and hurling personal invective at all and sundry are classic defensive behaviours, but they are hardly the qualities that should be put on public display by our chief diplomat. Have you noticed how Fred Mitchell appears to fancy himself as a secret service agent? A grim countenance framed by dark shades, he stands as close as possible to whatever VIP is available, ready to spring into action at the slightest whiff of criticism. Predictably, we have had no word on the results of that spurious probe. More recently, Mitchell inserted himself into the governments ongoing Baha Mar imbroglio - by issuing thinly-veiled threats to revoke developer Sarkis Izmirlians permanent residency status. It was of no concern to him that this was the countrys most important economic project. And on the propaganda website not written by Mitchell, the language used was far more explicit. Due to space limitations, this account barely skims the surface of Mitchells more recent track record. But It is clearly inappropriate for any senior government official with a responsible job to engage regularly in such abusive public behaviour. There are only two ways to look at this. Either he is grossly incompetent and psychologically unable to effectively manage affairs of state, or he creates and worsens controversies for his own self-aggrandisement. You can choose your poison. Last year, Mitchell began touting a more muscular immigration policy, which imposed new restrictions on migrant families living here. Application of this policy involved turning away children from schools, community raids by armed officers, and random traffic stops. In the course of events, two unarmed Haitians were shot by security forces, and one of them died. The latest controversy features two Cubans who were imprisoned for almost three years without charge. They were freed by the Supreme Court after human rights lawyer Fred Smith filed a habeas corpus petition. Mitchell immediately swung into action, snarling that he would investigate the courts decision and condemning the men as "national security risks. Although he later walked back from that statement, it should be plain (to anyone who can read english) that he was not referring to the failure of the Attorney-Generals Office to make a case to continue holding the men. And since Mitchell is a lawyer himself, he would know the import of his words. Someone then leaked a cabinet memorandum to the press. It revealed that Mitchell had advised his colleagues in November to parole the Cubans into the country. And as lawyer Fred Smith pointed out, being considered a threat is not an offence in Bahamian law, and it is unconstitutional to imprison people for longer than 48 hours without bringing charges. What followed last week was a series of heated arguments and insult trading in Parliament (otherwise known as a communication from the minister), in which Mitchell tried to provide some cover for himself in between making vitriolic attacks on his critics. He received support from the prime minister, who said the Cubans had been refused entry into the US (where they had residency status) and Cuba (where they were born), as well as Panama and Sweden (who were usually helpful countries). "We were caught between a rock and a hard place, Christie said. "Why should we have to take them? We have no connection to them, but that is the position we find ourselves in today. It was my view and the view of the cabinet that a certain course of action should be taken and it was taken. It is a matter of national security. The two men - Carlos Pupo and Seara Marin - had apparently been involved in an escape attempt at the detention centre in 2013. A closed government hearing into the beatings of Cuban inmates at the detention centre has been ongoing since then with no result in sight. And it should be noted that the detention centre does not exist in law - so you cannot charge people with escape from lawful custody if they are not in lawful custody. In the Guardian on Monday, Candia Dames reported that the Attorney-Generals Office agreed with Mitchell's November cabinet paper, which recommended that the Cubans be paroled as asylum seekers. Her reporting included inside information apparently provided by unidentified senior government officials. The Immigration Department had been concerned that the lengthy detention would lead to legal action and damage the reputation of the Bahamas. This was also the view of the Office of the Attorney-General, which could find no legal authority on which to hold the men, Dames wrote. The upshot seems to be that the government is sharply divided on an important legal matter affecting our civil rights, and has handled the matter poorly. So why is Mitchell taking his usual bad-ass, hardline stance? The inescapable conclusion is - to deflect criticism and present himself as a strong leader in support of his political ambitions. There is little doubt that most Bahamians - black and white - share a visceral fear of Haitian immigration as our economy slowly deteriorates. And many harbour an extreme aversion to foreigners in general, for reasons too complex to go into here. Mitchell says he has no opinion in the matter, but in reality he is playing to the peanut gallery in the same way that Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump plays to his peculiar audience in America The central point to consider in of all these manufactured controversies is whether or not we live under the rule of law. After all, the constitution must mean something - and if we are to control crime, the government must set the prime example by following the laws that it enacts. If the two Cubans are a threat, charge them. If you cant charge them, release them. If you cant find another country to send them to, deal with it responsibly as a fact of life. If a judge makes a decision, dont try to overturn the law or intimidate the judiciary by shouting nonsense. As Bahamians we need to consider these matters very carefully. It is not just about foreigners - it is about our own constitutional freedoms. And if the cabinet is divided, dont seek to subvert the constitution in order to grandstand. When criticism comes your way, dont whine - take it like a man. In the Guardian on Monday, Candia Dames reported that the Attorney-Generals Office agreed with Mitchell's November cabinet paper, which recommended that the Cubans be paroled as asylum seekers. Her reporting included inside information apparently provided by unidentified senior government officials. Last year, Mitchell began touting a more muscular immigration policy, which imposed new restrictions on migrant families living here. Application of this policy involved turning away children from schools, community raids by armed officers, and random traffic stops. In the course of events, two unarmed Haitians were shot by security forces, and one of them died. Cast your mind back to the 2006 controversy over the callous 10-month detention of two ordinary Cuban dentists at Carmichael Road. Despite having US visas, the Castro government wouldnt let them emigrate. After leaving clandestinely by boat, they were picked up in Bahamian waters and thrown into jail.That case involved months of melodrama and escalating rhetoric from Mitchell until an agreement was finally fashioned behind the scenes that sent the hapless dentists to Jamaica, from where they made their way to the US. Mitchell showed no remorse for all the bad publicity and bad feelings he had generated.In successive reviews over the years, Amnesty International, the UN and the US have all criticised mistreatment and harsh conditions at the Carmichael Road detention centre. But the results of official investigations (we know of at least four - in 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2013) have never been made public.These longstanding complaints are essentially the same charges that were levelled at the current Christie administration a couple of years ago by Cuban-American activists in Miami in support of Cubans held in Nassau. That controversy flared up in March and - thanks to Mitchell - by the summer there were strident calls in Florida for a tourism boycott of the Bahamas.Rather than seeking to defuse the situation, which could easily have been managed, our foreign minister became increasingly belligerent. Instead of sticking to diplomatic language and making constructive interventions, he cynically exploited the issue as a soapbox to display his nationalist credentials.Mitchell dismissed all criticism of the detention centre - until it was revealed that the government itself had conducted a secret investigation into the beating of detainees by the Defence Force. And to add to the drama, he announced his own investigation" into the involvement of Cuban migrants in a "criminal" conspiracy to "destabilise the country. 3.0 ( - - ): editor [at] bahrainmirror.com Starbucks, Caffe Nero and Costa pastries and sandwiches contain too much salt, according to research for The Telegraph. The coffee shops are serving sandwiches and pastries containing high levels of salt, whilst simultaneously promoting a healthy image. Many of the sandwiches and paninis sold by Starbucks, Caffe Nero and Costa were found to contain over half of the recommended daily salt levels (a maximum of 6g a day). One Starbucks panini contains 3.1g of salt, which is more than half the maximum daily recommended amount for adults. A panini in Caffe Nero has 3.2g of salt, according to the analysis. Costas ham and cheese sourdough panini contains 2.5g of salt, just below half the recommended daily amount. This follows the recent news that a shocking amount of sugar can be found in many hot flavoured drinks sold by UK coffee shops, according to Action on Sugar. Our research, carried out with the campaign group Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH), follow revelations earlier this month that the same cafes are serving drinks containing as much 25 teaspoons of sugar in one serving. The Telegraphs salt findings coincide with national Salt Awareness Week, which started yesterday, designed to highlight the danger posed by the high levels of salt used in many processed and pre-packaged foods and ready-meals. Salt targets Consensus Action on Health and Salt (CASH), which is organising Salt Awareness Week, is calling on both food manufacturers, restaurants and cafes to meet stricter salt targets. Sonia Pombo, nutritionist and campaign manager for CASH, said: Its shocking to see reputable coffee shop chains such as Costa Coffee, Caffe Nero and Starbucks, which portray a healthy lifestyle image, selling these products so high in salt. She added: The food we eat is now the biggest cause of death and ill health in the UK, owing to the large amounts of salt, saturated fat and sugars added by the food industry. A Caffe Nero spokesman said: None of our paninis or sandwiches have salt added to them and so any salt present is found in the ingredients themselves. The same goes for our cakes and sweet items - intended as a treat or indulgent purchase. Kerry Parkin, head of communications at Costa, said: We take the nutritional balance of our food and drink very seriously and have already taken significant steps to reduce the salt, fat and sugar content of our ranges with the intention to continue to improve the balance of our product offerings. Consensus for Action on Salt & Health (CASH) has collected data on white bread brands in the UK, and Braces and Linwoods do not meet the 2017 max salt target. The recommended maximum daily amount of salt is 2.5g, and the 2017 salt target is 1.13g per 100g. Braces XXX Thick White, Braces Extra Thick White, Linwoods Harvest Pride White Premium Sliced Bread 800g, Braces Thick White and Braces Medium White were the only loaves not to meet the target. CASH said: This is despite the major progress made prior to 2010, when the salt reduction program was under the Food Standards Agency. Pleased to see results Gordon Polson, director of the Federation of Bakers, was buoyant about the news: "I am very pleased to see the results, as it shows the industrys commitment to the important issue of salt." He added: "A target set for 2017 still gives the industry 24 months to adjust, and the fact that the vast majority have already done so is fantastic news. "Salt has long been an important talking point, and rightly so. The industry has endeavoured and will continue to endeavour to reduce salt levels wherever possible." Sunblest, Marks & Spencer and Fletchers are also in the top ten for salt levels in white bread. Data per 100g and per portion for 2016 was collected online and in store from the week commencing 26 January 2016 until 9 February 2016. The data was sorted from highest to lowest salt content per 100g, and salt was calculated from sodium where necessary. Transparent monitoring system CASH is calling for David Cameron to set up an independent agency responsible for nutrition with regulated targets for salt, saturated fat and sugar, with a forceful, transparent monitoring system. It said in a statement: The food industry should no longer be allowed to police themselves. Greggs saw its pre-tax profits rise by 25.4% to 73m in its last financial year and has revealed it is confident of delivering even more growth in the year ahead. The high street bakery chain also said like-for-like sales rose 4.7% for non-franchised stores and total sales were up 5.2% to 835.7m in the 52 weeks to 2 January 2016. It cited the focus on transforming the business from a high street baker into a food-to-go chain as the key driver of increased sales. Roger Whiteside, chief executive at Greggs, said: In 2015 we delivered another excellent performance in the second year of our strategy to transform Greggs from a traditional bakery business into a modern, attractive food-on-the-go retailer. We have made significant progress across the business change programme and, consequently, our estate is stronger and our products, value and service are all improving the experience for customers. This year has started well and the consumer outlook remains positive with disposable incomes expected to grow further in 2016. Overall, 2016 will be another year of significant change as we advance with our strategic plan and propose major investment in our supply chain. Alongside this we are confident of delivering a further year of underlying growth. food-to-go focus This food-to-go focus was reflected by 90% of 122 new shop openings being located away from the high street in such areas as retail and industrial parks, motorway service stations and travel hubs. According to the company, motorway service stations and petrol forecourts are a particular focus for franchising expansion and the bakery now operates 105 franchised stores. More menu innovations were promised by the company for 2016, which has already seen the introduction of a flat white to menus. Balanced Choice healthy eating options will be a key focus, but the company said sweet and savoury bakery favourites remained important to the business, and 2016 would see new developments and upgrades in the sector. Operation Blessing Helps Mexico Fight the Zika Virus Acapulco, Mexico - Operation Blessing International is helping fight the Zika virus in Mexico with mosquito-eating fish. The humanitarian group is breeding Gambusia in a pond in a fish-breeding area near Acapulco and already is giving fish away to families to use in their rain water collection barrels, an Operation Blessing news release says. Already, the fish have been busy eating mosquito larvae. More than 60 local community health workers will receive the fish and training. The workers will then distribute the fish to families to be used in buckets, barrels, tubs and other containers where water is stored around their homes, the release says. When its operation is up to full capacity, the organization expects to produce thousands of fish each week to be used to battle mosquitoes that transmit the virus. The group says Mexican officials have also asked for the program to launch in the Yucatan Peninsula area. The group has had success with mosquito-eating fish in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and in El Salvador. It also plans a program in Guatemala, Honduras and possibly Peru, the release says. The group has worked with the Mayo Clinic's Program for Underserved Global Health to create a public service announcement that will air on TV stations in Latin American countries to educate people about the virus. At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money . The investment information provided in this table is for informational and general educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment or financial advice. Bankrate does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it provide individualized recommendations or personalized investment advice. 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Were transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout lifes financial journey. News shows, Hollywood films, and TV all assume that you know what the stock market is and how it works. Everyone knows that you can make a lot of money in the stock market if you know what youre doing, but beginners dont often understand how the market works and exactly why stocks go up and down. Heres what you need to know about the stock market before you start investing. What is the stock market? Stocks, which are also called equities, are securities that give shareholders an ownership interest in a public company. Its a real stake in the business, and if you own all the shares of the business, you control how the business operates. The stock market refers to the collection of stocks that can be bought and sold by the general public on a variety of different exchanges. Where does stock come from? Public companies issue stock so that they can fund their businesses. Investors who think the business will prosper in the future buy those stock issues. The shareholders get any dividends plus any appreciation in the price of the shares. They can also watch their investment shrink or disappear entirely if the company runs out of money. The stock market is really a kind of aftermarket, where people who own shares in the company can sell them to investors who want to buy them. This trading takes place on a stock exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq. In years past, traders used to go to a physical location the exchanges floor to trade, but now virtually all trading takes place electronically. When news people say, the market was up today, typically they are referring to the performance of the Standard & Poors 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500 is made up of around 500 large publicly traded companies in the U.S, while the Dow includes 30 large companies. These track the performance of the collections of stock and show how they fared on that day of trading and over time. However, even though people are referring to the Dow and the S&P 500 as the market, those are really indexes of stocks. These indexes represent some of the largest companies in the U.S., but they are not the total market, which includes thousands of publicly traded companies. Of course, youll need a brokerage account before you start investing in stocks. As youre getting started, here are eight more guidelines for investing in the stock market. How to invest in the stock market: 8 tips for beginners 1. Buy the right investment Buying the right stock is so much easier said than done. Anyone can see a stock thats performed well in the past, but anticipating the performance of a stock in the future is much more difficult. If you want to succeed by investing in individual stocks, you have to be prepared to do a lot of work to analyze a company and manage the investment. When you start looking at statistics youve got to remember that the professionals are looking at each and every one of those companies with much more rigor than you can probably do as an individual, so its a very difficult game for the individual to win over time, says Dan Keady, CFP, chief financial planning strategist at TIAA. If youre analyzing a company, youll want to look at a companys fundamentals earnings per share (EPS) or a price-earnings ratio (P/E ratio), for example. But youll have to do so much more: analyze the companys management team, evaluate its competitive advantages, study its financials, including its balance sheet and income statement. Even these items are just the start. Keady says going out and buying stock in your favorite product or company isnt the right way to go about investing. Also, dont put too much faith in past performance because its no guarantee of the future. Youll have to study the company and anticipate whats coming next, a tough job in good times. 2. Avoid individual stocks if youre a beginner Everyone has heard someone talk about a big stock win or a great stock pick. What they forget about is that often theyre not talking about those particular investments that they also own that did very, very poorly over time, Keady says. So sometimes people have an unrealistic expectation about the kind of returns that they can make in the stock market. And sometimes they confuse luck with skill. You can get lucky sometimes picking an individual stock. Its hard to be lucky over time and avoid those big downturns also. Remember, to make money consistently in individual stocks, you need to know something that the forward-looking market isnt already pricing into the stock price. Keep in mind that for every seller in the market, theres a buyer for those same shares whos equally sure they will profit. There are tons of smart people doing this for a living, and if youre a novice, the likelihood of you outperforming that is not very good, says Tony Madsen, CFP, founder of NewLeaf Financial Guidance in Redwood Falls, Minnesota. An alternative to individual stocks is an index fund, which can be either a mutual fund or an exchange traded fund (ETF). These funds hold dozens or even hundreds of stocks. And each share you purchase of a fund owns all the companies included in the index. Unlike stock, mutual funds and ETFs may have annual fees, though some funds are free. 3. Create a diversified portfolio One of the key advantages of an index fund is that you immediately have a range of stocks in the fund. For example, if you own a broadly diversified fund based on the S&P 500, youll own stocks in hundreds of companies across many different industries. But you could also buy a narrowly diversified fund focused on one or two industries. Diversification is important because it reduces the risk of any one stock in the portfolio hurting the overall performance very much, and that actually improves your overall returns. In contrast, if youre buying only one individual stock, you really do have all your eggs in one basket. The easiest way to create a broad portfolio is by buying an ETF or a mutual fund. The products have diversification built into them, and you dont have to do any analysis of the companies held in the index fund. It may not be the most exciting, but its a great way to start, Keady says. And again, it gets you out of thinking that youre gonna be so smart, that youre going to be able to pick the stocks that are going to go up, wont go down and know when to get in and out of them. When it comes to diversification, that doesnt just mean many different stocks. It also means investments that are spread among different asset classes since stock in similar sectors may move in a similar direction for the same reason. 4. Be prepared for a downturn The hardest issue for most investors is stomaching a loss in their investments. And because the stock market can fluctuate, you will have losses occur from time to time. Youll have to steel yourself to handle these losses, or youll be apt to buy high and sell low during a panic. As long as you diversify your portfolio, any single stock that you own shouldnt have too much of an impact on your overall return. If it does, buying individual stocks might not be the right choice for you. Even index funds will fluctuate, so you cant get rid of all of your risk, try how you might. Anytime the market changes we have this propensity to try to pull back or to second guess our willingness to be in, says NewLeafs Madsen. Thats why its important to prepare yourself for downturns that could come out of nowhere, as one did in 2020. You need to ride out short-term volatility to get attractive long-term returns. In investing, you need to know that its possible to lose money, since stocks dont have principal guarantees. If youre looking for a guaranteed return, perhaps a high-yield CD might be better. The concept of market volatility can be difficult for new and even experienced investors to understand, cautions Keady. One of the interesting things is people will see the markets volatile because the markets going down, Keady says. Of course, when its going up its also volatile at least from a statistical standpoint its moving all over the place. So its important for people to say that the volatility that theyre seeing on the upside, theyll also see on the downside. 5. Try a stock market simulator before investing real money One way to enter the world of investing without taking risk is to use a stock simulator. Using an online trading account with virtual dollars wont put your real money at risk. Youll also be able to determine how you would react if this really were your money that you gained or lost. That can be really helpful because it can help people overcome the belief that theyre smarter than the market, Keady says. That they can always pick the best stocks, always buy and sell in the market at the right time. Asking yourself why youre investing can help determine if investing in stocks is for you. If their thought is that theyre going to somehow outperform the market, pick all the best stocks, maybe its a good idea to try some type of simulator or watch some stocks and see if you could actually do it, Keady says. Then if youre more serious about investing over time, then I think youre much better off almost all of us, including myself to have a diversified portfolio such as provided by mutual funds or exchange traded funds. (Bankrate reviewed some of the best investing apps, including a few fun stock simulators.) 6. Stay committed to your long-term portfolio Keady says investing should be a long-term activity. He also says you should divorce yourself from the daily news cycle. By skipping the daily financial news, youll be able to develop patience, which youll need if you want to stay in the investing game for the long term. Its also useful to look at your portfolio infrequently, so that you dont become too unnerved or too elated. These are great tips for beginners who have yet to manage their emotions when investing. Some of the news cycle, at times it becomes 100 percent negative and it can become overwhelming for people, Keady says. One strategy for beginners is to set up a calendar and predetermine when youll be evaluating your portfolio. Sticking to this guideline will prevent you from selling out of a stock during some volatility or not getting the full benefit of a well-performing investment, Keady says. 7. Start now Choosing the perfect opportunity to jump in and invest in the stock market typically doesnt work well. Nobody knows with 100 percent certainty the best time to get in. And investing is meant to be a long-term activity. There is no perfect time to start. One of the core points with investing is not just to think about it, but to get started, Keady says. And start now. Because if you invest now, and often over time, that compounding is the thing that can really drive your results. If you want to invest, its very important to actually get started and have an ongoing savings program, so that we can reach our goals over time. 8. Avoid short-term trading Understanding whether youre investing for the long-term future or the short term can also help determine your strategy and whether you should be investing at all. Sometimes short-term investors can have unrealistic expectations about growing their money. And research shows that most short-term investors, such as day traders, lose money. Youre competing against high-powered investors and well-programmed computers that may better understand the market. New investors need to be aware that buying and selling stocks frequently can get expensive. It can create taxes and other fees, even if a brokers headline trading commission is zero. If youre investing for the short term, you risk not having your money when you need it. When Im advising clients anything under a couple of years, even sometimes three years out, Im hesitant to take too much market risk with those dollars, Madsen says. Depending on your financial goals, a savings account, money market account or a short-term CD may be better options for short-term money. Experts often advise investors that they should invest in the stock market only if they can keep the money invested for at least three to five years. Money that you need for a specific purpose in the next couple years should probably be invested in low-risk investments, such as a high-yield savings account or a high-yield CD. How the stock market works The stock market is really a way for investors or brokers to exchange stocks for money, or vice versa. Anyone who wants to buy stock can go there and buy whatever is on offer from those who own the stock. Buyers are expecting their stocks to rise, while sellers may be expecting their stocks to fall or at least not rise much more. So the stock market allows investors to wager on the future of a company. In aggregate, investors set the value of the company by what price theyre willing to buy and sell at. While stock prices in the market on any day may fluctuate according to how many shares are demanded or supplied, over time the market evaluates a company on its business results and future prospects. A business growing sales and profits will likely see its stock rise, while a shrinking business will probably see its stock fall, at least over time. In the short term, however, the performance of a stock has a lot to do with just the supply and demand in the market. When private firms see which stocks investors favor, they may decide to fund their business by selling stock and raising cash. Theyll conduct an initial public offering, or IPO, using an investment bank, which sells shares to investors. Then investors can sell their stock later in the stock market if they want to or they can buy even more at any time the stock is publicly traded. The key point is this: investors price stocks according to their expectations of how the companys business will perform in the future. So the market is forward-looking, with some experts saying the market anticipates events about six to nine months away. Risks and benefits of investing in stocks The stock market allows individual investors to own stakes in some of the worlds best companies, and that can be tremendously lucrative. In aggregate, stocks are a good long-term investment as long as theyre purchased at reasonable prices. For example, over time the S&P 500 has generated about a 10 percent annual return, including a nice cash dividend, too. Investing in stocks also offers another nice tax advantage for long-term investors. As long as you dont sell your stock, you wont owe any tax on the gains. Only money that you receive, such as dividends, will be taxable. So you can hold your stock forever and never have to pay taxes on your gains. However, if you do realize a gain by selling the stock, youll owe capital gains taxes on it. How long you held the stock will determine how its taxed. If you buy and sell the asset within a year, it will fall under short-term capital gains and will be taxed at your regular income tax rate. If you sell after youve held the asset a year, then youll pay the long-term capital gains rate, which is usually lower. If you record an investment loss, you can write that off your taxes or against your gains. While the market as a whole has performed well, many stocks in the market dont perform well and may even go bankrupt. These stocks are eventually worth zero, and theyre a total loss. On the other hand, some stocks such as Amazon and Apple have continued to soar for years, earning investors hundreds of times their initial investment. So investors have two big ways to win in the stock market: Buy a stock fund based on an index, such as the S&P 500, and hold it to capture the indexs long-term return. However, its return can vary markedly, from down 30 percent in one year to up 30 percent in another. By buying an index fund, youll get the weighted average performance of the stocks in the index. Buy individual stocks and try to find the stocks that will outperform the average. However, this approach takes a tremendous amount of skill and knowledge, and its more risky than simply buying an index fund. However, if you can find an Apple or Amazon on the way up, your returns are likely going to be much higher than in an index fund. Bottom line Investing in the stock market can be very rewarding, especially if you avoid some of the pitfalls that most new investors experience when starting out. Beginners should find an investing plan that works for them and stick to it through the good times and bad. Learn more: Editorial Disclaimer: All investors are advised to conduct their own independent research into investment strategies before making an investment decision. In addition, investors are advised that past investment product performance is no guarantee of future price appreciation. Last Updated: Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, 7:28 p.m. The black church can be a community lifeline, according to churchgoers in St. Pete. For last day of Black History Month, we visited Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, which has been around since 1928. The church is taking a progressive approach to keeping members and healing the community. From the moment churchgoers walk into the Sunday service, theyll hear the sound of the tambourine and the soulful songs, whether upbeat or the traditional songs like "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Theyre the songs people like 92-year-old Deacon David McEachern grew up listening to. I like the new way but I also like once in a while, I like for them to go back to some of those that I was accustomed to then, McEachern said. 'Amazing Grace,' I must tell Jesus, and so forth. That was my era. But as you can imagine the black church has changed a lot since he first sat in a pew all those years ago. The black church had a role in trying to find justice for black people in the area that I lived in, McEachern said. The role and the songs may be different but the prayer and the ability to draw people in has transcended time. With many churches offering over 50 different ministries including a dance ministry that 19-year-old Aaliyah Wright is a part of. Its an experience that can only be experienced by you coming, she said. You cant get it through someone else. It has to be experienced by yourself. Aaliyah and Deacon McEachern are both members of Mount Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church in the heart of South St. Pete. Its a church that Pastor Louis Murphy says is the heartbeat of the community. Oh my goodness, yeah the church is the pillar of the foundation in the African-American community, Murphy said. Its a place thats a spiritual hospital where people come and receive encouragement, healing, deliverance, you name it." Murphy says the church is just as progressive as its name. Mount Zion has a daycare center and education programs that are looking to see how they can impact the five failing, predominantly African-American schools in the district. Theyre also trying to help with violence, like the string of murders where eight young people were killed in the area over the span of eight weeks. Pastor Murphy says theyre combating this problem and theyre starting with the families. There is no one solution and what weve been trying to do here is to get into the family. Thats where the issue really lies, a breakdown in the family, Murphy said. Family is a word that describes the black church and its effects are felt there every Sunday. The Mount Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church is located on 20th Street South in St. Petersburg and offers a host of services, including a daycare center, a youth center and a gym. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump is making a stop in South Florida this week. His campaign announced he would attend an event not open to the public in Palm Beach on Super Tuesday. The event will be at the Mar-a-Lago Club, which Trump owns and operates for special events. His time in Palm Beach is not without controversy. Ever since he purchased the estate, he has been in legal battles with the City of Palm Beach and the airport. Litigation with the airport is still pending as Trump seeks $100 million in damages for the noise and emissions from planes flying overhead. Trump also had to defend Mar-a-Lago this month when it was revealed the club hires foreign guest workers under the H-2B nonimmigrant program. He told a reporter last week that it was difficult to get qualified American workers, because they are seasonal jobs, and American workers want full-time jobs. Trump maintains a part-time residence in Palm Beach and may be looking to celebrate Tuesday evening as the polls close for the Republican primaries. Trump has already won three primaries in his run to secure the Republican nomination for president. He scored victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. On Monday, Trump visited two universities for public rallies in Virginia. At Radford University, protesters interrupted Trumps speech multiple times. Several were escorted out, and some arrests were made. During Trumps speech in Virginia, he talked about his personal success and belittled his opponents. Ted Cruz is smarter... He's a smarter person than (Florida Sen. Marco) Rubio," Trump said. "Folks, it's not going to work. He thinks it's good we call him lion den. He'll listen to me say something, and he'll get up somewhere else and say the exact opposite of what I said. Trump also took a stab at the media. He said he wanted to revamp libel laws so it would be easier to sue news organizations. He also repeated his mission to have a wall built along the Mexican border and said he will bring overseas jobs back to America. After his speech in Virginia, Trump traveled to southern Georgia, where he held a rally at Valdosta State University. Super Tuesday will also be a busy day for Trump. He is scheduled to hold public rallies in both Columbus, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky, in addition to traveling to Palm Beach. We will have continuous coverage of his campaign stops Tuesday. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A federal judge agreed this week to release $200,000 of the annuities former Beaumont ISD contract electrician Calvin Walker forfeited in 2012 and other funds to cover his restitution, fines and tax liabilities, which enforces the plea deal he made with the government. As part of Walker's plea deal, Walker agreed to forfeit all but $200,000 of $3.4 million in annuities. In exchange, the government agreed to pay all his court-ordered restitution, fines and special assessments along with any of the Walkers' tax liability for 2008, 2009 and 2010. To cover restitution and fines, the government will release $661,282 and another $60,025 to pay for special assessments Walker was ordered to pay at sentencing, according to U.S. District Judge Ron Clark's final written judgment, which closes Walker's criminal forfeiture case. Walker's 2011 federal fraud trial ended in a mistrial. In 2012, he agreed to plead guilty to one misdemeanor count of failure to timely pay taxes. All other charges against him were dismissed. Walker is disputing the tax liability amount in a case currently pending in tax court. The outcome of the tax civil case will determine how much the government will release to cover the Walkers' tax liability, according to the judgment. The remaining portion of the $3.4 million is "hereby forfeited to the United States and Claimant Calvin Walker and Claimant Stacy Walker are forever foreclosed and barred from asserting any interest in said property," Clark asserts in his order. Walker requested in September that the funds be released to pay the criminal fine and restitution to the IRS, which he still owes. He also asked that the government release the $200,000 in annuities, plus interest, to cover his current taxes, according to his motion. The government did not oppose the release of funds to cover restitution and fines, but opposed the release of the $200,000 and interest, contending the amount Walker owes the IRS was being determined in a civil case in tax court. The government also contended no funds should be released until a ruling was made in Stacy Walker's attempt to reclaim half of the annuities, a request Clark denied in December. Stacy Walker contended her half of the annuities should not be subject to forfeiture because the government never requested or obtained consent from her, according to a response she filed July. Clark ruled that Walker was the sole owner of the annuities and that she was listed only as beneficiary. Walker, meanwhile, awaits trial in state court. He was scheduled for trial Feb. 8, but it was postponed, pending challenges to his indictment. Walker was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on four counts of fraud and two counts of money-laundering, all first-degree felonies. He has told The Enterprise he is not guilty. MLibardi@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/ManuellaLibardi This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Enterprise file photo Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Enterprise file photo Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Jefferson Co. Sheriff's Office Show More Show Less 5 of 5 A 19-year-old Port Arthur man was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison in what prosecutors and advocates have called the worst child abuse case they have seen with a surviving victim. Darrell Mason, the father of an infant who was severely injured in 2013, had already reached a plea deal capping his punishment for the first-degree felony at 25 years. The Government Accountability Office cannot fully calculate the amount of Medicare and Medicaid fraud, as it is difficult to detect, according to The Daily Caller. Here are five highlights: 1. Some providers engaging in fraud often submit a claim that appears legitimate, but then bill for services they did not provide or bill for services more complicated than the actual service provided, according to GAO Healthcare Director Kathleen King. 2. Fraudulent billing accounts for nearly 42 percent of convictions and judgments, and is deemed the most prevalent form of healthcare fraud. 3. Due to the fraud's complexity, Ms. King said there is not one single solution to combat healthcare fraud. 4. In 2015, the Medicaid Fraud Control Units recovered almost $745 million. 5. Each year, the federal government spends more than $845 billion on Medicare and Medicaid. More articles on coding & billing: New tax forms complicate matters for Oregonians: 5 insights Indiana joins fight against ACA Health Insurance Providers Fee 4 notes 7 key payer challenges for ASCs in 2016 Hamilton, Mont.-based Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital and the local medical group, Ravalli Family Medicine, are banding together with a dozen other rural hospitals in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, to launch an accountable care organization, according to the Ravalli Republic. The hospitals will receive help with implementation from the National Rural Accountable Care Consortium, according to the report. The consortium supports rural hospitals who alone may not have the minimum required number of Medicare beneficiaries or start-up funds available to launch the programs. NRACO will help provide training so hospitals can learn the ins and outs of coordinated care under the Medicare programs, according to the report. "Working with the NRACO, we are going to be able to learn how to make the transition from the fee-for-service model to a preventative alternative care model," Marcus Daly Memorial CEO John Bartos told the Ravalli Republic. "This is an opportunity for us to do that without harm to the hospital. There will be no change for our patients." The following hospitals are participating with Marcus Daly Memorial, according to NRACO. West Park Hospital District (Cody, Wyo.) Steele Memorial Medical Center (Salmon, Idaho) St. Luke Community Hospital (Ronan, Mont.) Sidney (Mont.) Health Center North Valley Hospital (Whitefish, Mont.) Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (Rawlins, Wyo.) Gritman Medical Center (Moscow, Idaho) Community Hospital of Anaconda (Mont.) Clark Fork Valley Hospital & Family Medicine Network (Plains, Mont.) Central Montana Medical Center (Lewistown) Broadwater Health Center (Townsend, Mont.) Barrett Hospital and Health Care Organization (Dillon, Mont.) More articles on accountable care: New Jersey ACOs get nod of approval with $3M investment River Health ACO drops out of Next Generation program Heritage California ACO to exit Pioneer program Mary Beth Briscoe understands the challenges hospital and health system CFOs face today, including the changing reimbursement and regulatory landscape. Ms. Briscoe joined University of Alabama at Birmingham Medicine in 2002 and serves as CFO of 1,157-bed UAB Hospital, the largest academic medical center in Alabama and one of the largest academic medical centers in the nation. She is also CFO of UAB Medicine clinical operations. Prior to joining UAB Medicine, Ms. Briscoe was CFO of Eastern Health System in Birmingham. Becker's Hospital Review recently had the opportunity to catch up with Ms. Briscoe and get her insight on a number of issues, including how to run a hospital's finance team. Question: What skills are essential for a health system CFO in today's healthcare climate beyond traditional financial and business acumen? Mary Beth Briscoe: As our industry continues to shift into an environment predicated on value and patient experience across the continuum of care, the role of the CFO is broadened on many fronts. A CFO should be able to converse in clinical terms and link clinical care delivery to operational and financial initiatives to foster credibility within the physician community. CFOs should also possess a multitude of "softer" skills including mentorship, communication, collaboration, fostering a sense of urgency and translating the effects of clinical outcomes on financial and strategic results. During these times of transition and change, the CFO has to become "comfortable" being "uncomfortable" and challenge the organization to take measureable risks. Q: What is the greatest challenge facing hospital and health system CFOs today? MBB: One of the biggest challenges facing today's CFO is prioritization and coordination of organizational prospective and reactive responses to the environment. The linkage of quality, safety, efficiency and rapidly changing reimbursement and regulatory landscape has produced significant pressures on already strained resources. The challenge of the CFO is to collaborate with all levels of leadership to prioritize the efforts of the organization. What is more valuable to the organization: Incentives associated with value-based purchasing? Reduction of clinical variation? Addressing Medicare bundled payments? Managing long range capital needs? Reducing readmissions and hospital acquired conditions to boost quality outcome indicators? Engaging the patient community to manage market shifts driven by consumerism? The answer is.these and many more are all important! Prioritization, communication and coordination of the strategic initiatives is key to success. Q: What is it like being the CFO of one of the largest hospitals in the nation and the largest academic medical center in Alabama? MBB: Being part of the senior leadership team of UAB Medicine has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. We have the privilege of serving some of the most complex patients in the country, and I am humbled on a daily basis by the compassion and call to care demonstrated by our physicians, nursing staff and other support staff. Our academic mission and link to the school of medicine and school of health professions gives us the opportunity to influence and train future physician and administrative leaders. UAB Medicine is also committed providing cutting edge research and the pursuit of knowledge that will contribute to the clinical treatments and cures of tomorrow. Professionally, the challenges and growth opportunities I have experienced being a part of a large academic organization could not have been matched in any other setting. Our organization is on the forefront of change, and we are committed to leading our industry into the 21st century. Q: In the last year, what has been your greatest accomplishment as CFO? MBB: During 2015, UAB Medicine continued taking significant steps aligning our clinical and operational stakeholders to improve coordination of care, reduce clinical practice variation and document appropriate patient condition. Unprecedented collaboration between the CMO, Provider Integration Network leadership and myself only served to illuminate how interrelated these disciplines are in order to be successful in the "value-based" environment. Our team developed a vision and action plan designed to achieve world-class patient quality and satisfaction in a manner that continues to positively influence financial viability. As a result of this realignment, UAB Medicine developed a strategy and overarching organizational initiative, Foundation For the Future, which is focused on improvements and redesign of our clinical care pathways, clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and improved efficiency. Through the tireless efforts of our physicians, leadership and staff, outcomes of care are improving and operational processes are becoming more efficient. Throughout his campaign, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with "something terrific." But what exactly is that terrific plan? Although Mr. Trump has not revealed the specifics of the plan, The Hill recently unearthed clues about DonaldTrumpCare and outlined four things to know. 1. Health insurance can be sold across state borders. During the most recent Republican debate, Mr. Trump said he hopes to "get rid of the lines around the states so that there's serious, serious competition." He added: "So, instead of having one insurance company taking care of New York or Texas, you'll have many. They'll compete. And it'll be a beautiful thing," according to The New York Times. But many including Sen. Marco Rubio haven't been satisfied with Mr. Trump's plan. "So that's the only part of the plan? Just the lines?" he asked at the Houston debate. 2. Health savings accounts will remain in place. At a CNN town hall meeting, Mr. Trump said he wants to keep health savings accounts around, according to The Hill. 3. Obama's insurance mandate may or may not be included. Through an ACA mandate, everyone is required to have health insurance. Mr. Trump said he "like[s] the mandate" during a CNN town hall meeting. But he changed his mind later, claiming he only likes the ACA's ban on insurers discriminating against consumers with preexisting health conditions. "I want to keep preexisting conditions," Mr. Trump said at the Republican debate last week. "I think we need it. It's a modern age. And I think we have to have it." 4. TrumpCare has oscillated between being a single-payer system and a non-single-payer system. In the past, Mr. Trump has advocated for a single-payer system. At the first Republican debate, he claimed "[i]t works in Canada. It works incredibly well in Scotland. It could have worked in a different age." But during the Houston debate, he denied the statement. "Donald, true or false, you've said the government should pay for everyone's healthcare," said Sen. Ted Cruz. "That's false," Mr. Trump replied. More recently, Mr. Trump said his plan is "not single-payer," but that he will "take care of people" and "will not let people die on the streets." The following hospital mergers, acquisitions and general transactions took place or were announced in February. 1. West Virginia United Health System to acquire Reynolds Memorial Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glen Dale, W.Va., issued a letter of intent to join West Virginia United Health System in Fairmont. 2. WellStar moves forward with 2 major hospital deals Marietta, Ga.-based WellStar Health System received approval from the state attorney general to add LaGrange, Ga.-based West Georgia Health to its system. 3. Hackensack University Health Network, Palisades deal gets green light In New Jersey, a Hudson County Superior Court judge signed off on Hackensack (N.J.) University Health Network's acquisition of Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, N.J. 4. Hartford HealthCare looks to expand footprint in Connecticut Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare and Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington, Conn., took the first step toward a formal affiliation, but the deal could be stalled by a recent executive order issued by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. 5. Prime Healthcare pays $25M for Pennsylvania hospital Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Foundation, the nonprofit arm of Prime Healthcare Services, acquired Mercy Suburban Hospital in East Norriton, Pa., for $25 million. 6. Shuttered Texas hospital accepts $1.5M takeover bid A bid was accepted for Bowie (Texas) Memorial Hospital more than three months after the facility closed. 7. Bankrupt Kentucky hospital gets lifeline after halting inpatient services Glasgow, Ky.-based T.J. Regional Health completed its $3.35 million acquisition of Westlake Regional Hospital in Columbia, Ky. 8. Wellmont, Mountain States Health Alliance move forward with merger The proposed merger between Kingsport, Tenn.-based Wellmont Health System and Johnson City, Tenn.-based Mountain States Health Alliance is now in the hands of state and federal regulators. 9. MemorialCare Health System enters joint venture partnership with Fresenius Medical Care MemorialCare Health System in Fountain Valley, Calif., entered a joint venture partnership with Fresenius Medical Care North America of Waltham, Mass., to operate 15 dialysis clinics in California's Orange and Los Angeles Counties. 10. DuPage Medical Group to buy $1.7M stake in Naperville Surgical Centre Downers Grove, Ill.-based DuPage Medical Group, the Chicago area's largest independent physician group, continues to grow rapidly. In its latest conquest, DMG has set its sights on a majority stake in a Naperville, Ill.-based outpatient surgery center for $1.7 million. 11. HCA to buy bankrupt Texas hospital Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Holdings inked a deal to purchase Forest Park Medical Center Frisco (Texas) from Sabra Health Care REIT. 12. Loma Linda University Health inks affiliation deal with telemedicine in mind Loma Linda (Calif.) University Health entered into an affiliation agreement with Bear Valley Community Healthcare District, which includes Bear Valley Community Hospital in Big Bear Lake, Calif. 13. St. Luke's to give back 2 Idaho hospitals under AG settlement Boise, Idaho-based St. Luke's Health System reached an agreement with the Idaho Attorney General to transfer ownership of two hospitals back to the districts that gave the facilities to St. Luke's several years ago. 14. Wexner Medical Center, Barnesville Hospital ink affiliation deal: 4 things to know The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus and Barnesville (Ohio) Hospital signed an affiliation agreement. 15. Centura Health expands footprint in Kansas Englewood, Colo.-based Centura Health took over operations of 26-bed Bob Wilson Memorial Hospital in Ulysses, Kan. 16. Skagit Regional Health gets green light to operate Cascade Valley Hospital and Clinics Mt. Vernon, Wash.-based Skagit Regional Health was given the go-ahead to lease and operate Arlington, Wash.-based Cascade Valley Hospital and Clinics, which includes a 48-bed hospital as well as five clinics and a free-standing surgery center. 17. Prime Healthcare completes purchase of hospitals in 4 states: 5 things to know Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services completed the acquisition of four acute care hospitals. 18. Larkin Community Hospital expands reach with $40M acquisition Larkin Community Hospital in South Miami, Fla., acquired 247-bed Palm Springs General Hospital in Hialeah, Fla., for $40 million. 19. LifePoint expands footprint into SC: 6 things to know Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Health completed its acquisition of Providence Hospitals, a two-hospital system in Columbia, S.C. 20. Commonwealth Health Corp. to take over management of Clinton County Hospital Bowling Green, Ky.-based Commonwealth Health assumed management of Clinton County Hospital in Albany, Ky. 21. Prime Healthcare's purchase of bankrupt NJ hospital gets go-ahead The New Jersey State Health Planning Board recommended Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services be allowed to purchase bankrupt Saint Michael's Medical Center in Newark, N.J. 22. Pearland Medical Center inks affiliation deal with The Woman's Hospital of Texas Pearland (Texas) Medical Center and Missouri City-based The Woman's Hospital of Texas formed an affiliation that launched Feb. 18. Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glen Dale, W.Va., has issued a letter of intent to join West Virginia United Health System in Fairmont. Reynolds Memorial has be around for more than 100 years, and joining WVUHS will help ensure the 90-bed hospital is around for many years to come, according to Reynolds Memorial CEO David Hess, MD. WVUHS President and CEO Christopher C. Colenda, MD, also showed excitement about the opportunities the deal provides. "We are grateful that Dr. Hess, the hospital board, and its president Bernie Twigg want to become part of the family," he said. "Our pledge is to ensure that Reynolds will continue to be a vital community resource and to enhance patient access to our signature clinical programs and specialty services." More articles on healthcare industry transactions: WellStar moves forward with 2 major hospital deals Hartford HealthCare looks to expand footprint in Connecticut Blame game ensues over stalled hospital deal in Maryland Two Dallas-area physicians were among six people charged for their alleged participation in a $13.4 million healthcare fraud scheme, according to the Department of Justice. According to a recently unsealed indictment, Kelly Robinett, DO, and Angel Claudio, MD, falsely certified Medicare beneficiaries for home healthcare when the patients were not under their care and did not qualify for the services, according to the DOJ. Drs. Robinett and Claudio along with their co-conspirators allegedly billed Medicare approximately $13.4 million based on false home health certifications and fraudulent claims for home health services. The alleged scheme took place between January 2007 and September 2015. Dr. Robinett is the owner of Boomer Housecalls in Frisco, Texas, and Dr. Claudio is an employee of Dallas-based Texas Medical Housecalls. More articles on healthcare industry lawsuits: 12 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements Workers drop $229M claim against California health system Health insurer files $2.5B class-action suit over risk corridor program shortfall The U.S. Supreme Court is set Wednesday to hear Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, a case that could have serious ramifications on abortion laws around the country. Here are five things to know about the case and its potential impact. 1. According to The Hill, the court will hear oral arguments Wednesday. It is the court's first abortion case in nine years. 2. The case challenges a law in Texas that would reduce the number of abortion clinics to 10 from 40 statewide, due to new requirements for physicians and clinics, according to The Hill. Some of the facility requirements include minimum corridor width, bed spacing, floor tiles, washable ceilings and the angle of water flow out of drinking fountains, according to Reuters. 3. Opponents of the law say it violates the Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision, which prohibits states from placing "undue burden" on women who want abortions, according to the report. 4. Eight justices will vote, due to the recent death of Justice Antonin Scalia. If the court votes 4-to-4, the justices can elect to re-argue the case later perhaps by the time a ninth judge is appointed. However, if the vote ties and the judges do not choose to re-argue the case, the lower court's ruling stands in that jurisdiction. 5. In the case of Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, this means Texas would be left with just 10 abortion clinics statewide. More articles on legal and regulatory issues: Appeals court upholds hospital face mask requirement for unvaccinated healthcare workers 12 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements SC legislators hope for audit of Greenville Health System's philanthropy A group of healthcare providers filed a federal lawsuit last year, claiming Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurers are engaging in cartel-like behavior by divvying up markets to avoid competing against one another. BCBS of Alabama is included in the multidistrict litigation, and a federal judge has made some demands on the healthcare providers for the case to proceed. The lawsuit focuses on the licensing agreements the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has with insurers, which usually involve companies having exclusive rights to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield names within a certain region. The healthcare providers claim the association's agreements lead to decreased competition causing them to be paid much less. In a motion to compel filed in late 2015, BCBS of Alabama claims plaintiffs are withholding documents related to one of the primary allegations in their case. Specifically, the insurer alleges plaintiffs are refusing to produce documents supporting the allegation that BCBS of Alabama's conduct has caused a loss of provider services, including the closure of unidentified rural hospitals. U.S. Magistrate Judge T. Michael Putnam granted BCBS of Alabama's motion last Thursday, and ordered plaintiffs to produce any documents that support the allegation that the insurer's antitrust conduct has caused hospitals or other healthcare facilities to close. The judge gave the plaintiffs 10 days to produce the documents. More articles on healthcare industry lawsuits: 12 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements Workers drop $229M claim against California health system Health insurer files $2.5B class-action suit over risk corridor program shortfall In early February, Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini said his company had "serious concerns about the sustainability of the public exchanges." But now his thoughts are slightly different, according to CNN Money. After Mr. Bertolini's comment, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell called him to discuss the exchanges. "The Secretary called me that evening at home to say, 'What happened?'" Mr. Bertolini said in a Kaiser Health News interview, according to the report. "Well, I told her you need to read the whole [earnings transcript], which she did and she calmed down. We like the program and we think it's an appropriate effort. But we do need to make changes." A spokesman from HHS declined to comment. Mr. Bertolini's proposed changes include alterations regarding low-deductible plans for young Americans. "Young people pay some amount of premium, pick a number and have a $5,000 deductible and go to the doctor once a year and pay all in cash," he said. "For people under 35, their definition of health is looking good in their underwear. How does [the Affordable Care Act] support their view of what's good health?" Fitch Ratings expects the Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies to report a decline in earnings for 2015. Of the 35 BCBS companies, 23 reported a collective $1.9 billion decline in earnings for the first nine months of 2015 and 16 reported net losses, according to Fitch. BCBS of Michigan was the biggest contributor to the year-over-year decline, as its earnings fell $622 million in the first nine months of 2015. Cost and utilization trends from Affordable Care Act state insurance exchanges have been higher than anticipated and are the primary drivers of the BCBS companies' declining earnings, according to Fitch. The companies have also struggled with striking a balance between their nonprofit status and the need to make adequate and efficient investments in their business. The outlook for the BCBS companies is brighter in 2016, as Fitch believes earnings are likely to improve this year due to premium rate increases, regulatory changes and benefit redesign aimed at improving underwriting. More articles on payer issues: Highmark isn't the top insurer in Western Pa. anymore, UPMC analysis says Moody's: Health insurer mega-mergers to disrupt entire sector Q3 comparison: 9 things to know about how 7 major payers stack up The CDC has confirmed Zika infections in nine pregnant women in the U.S. All of the women contracted the virus while traveling to countries suffering Zika outbreaks. Three of the nine delivered babies two were healthy and one was born with microcephaly, the birth defect that has been linked to Zika virus infections that adversely affects head size and brain development of infants. Two women had miscarriages, but it is not known if Zika was the cause. Two women terminated the pregnancy, one after scans indicated that the fetus had an undeveloped brain. Two pregnancies are continuing and there have been no reported complications in those cases. To date, 107 travel-related Zika cases, including the pregnant women, have been reported. The CDC is also currently investigating 10 more reports of Zika-infected pregnant travelers. More articles on the Zika virus: WHO says women in countries hit hard by Zika should breastfeed Michigan officials confirm first Zika case Can researchers foil Zika-spreading mosquitoes by using bacteria as a Trojan horse? EOS imaging received the CE Mark for spineEOS, its online 3D planning software for spine surgery. Here are five takeaways: 1. The spineEOS is based on EOS bi-planar imaging. 2. It allows a surgeon to use 3D imaging provided by the EOS system to create an optimized treatment plan. 3. It is designed to achieve improved sagittal alignment for pediatric patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis as well as adults suffering from degenerative or deformity spine conditions. 4. spineEOS is third "EOSapp" software planning solution introduced by EOS imaging, in addition to its hipEOS and kneeEOS products. 5. The company will feature all three EOSapps at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting, March 1 to 5 in Orlando. Many physicians encourage specific drugs on social media without disclosing their relationships to the drug companies, according to STAT. Here are six key points: 1. A STAT study of hundreds of social media accounts revealed most physicians don't alert patients of their conflicts of interest when supporting certain drugs or devices. 2. Legally, physicians don't have to notify about payments from drug companies in their social media posts. 3. However, as more medical professionals use social media, some are concerned about the misleading nature of failing to disclose relationships with companies. 4. Some physicians argue it is not feasible to disclose all that information in a tweet, for example. Others refute by suggesting physicians attach screenshots of disclosures as photos. 5. The Massachusetts Medical Society recently implemented a requirement mandating its members disclose financial relationships for anything they discuss online. 6. In 2010, the American Medical Association established guidelines outlining the responsibility of physicians to disclose relationships with companies. Various hospitals have encountered major data breaches, compromising patient care and causing hefty financial losses, according to Los Alamos Daily Post. Here are five things to know: 1. Hollywood (Calif.) Presbyterian Medical Center suffered a data breach earlier this month and paid nearly $17,000 to obtain access to their medical files. 2. Lukas Hospital in Neuss, Germany, was breached, although the hospital has not yet received a "concrete demand for money." 3. Lukas Hospital reported the ransomware attack to the State Criminal Investigation Office. 4. In the wake of the data breach, Lukas Hospital has reverted to using pen and paper as well as fax machines to share patients' medical records. This method has slowed down hospital operations. 5. Lukas Hospital has not paid the ransom, and a hospital spokesperson said it will take weeks until all the systems are back to running smoothly. More articles on practice management: Should physicians be required to disclose financial relationships with companies on social media? 6 key points Can Google patch up the healthcare system? 5 points 10 things to know about social media in healthcare: Who's using it? Does it make a difference? To continue following the latest news and information for Bedfordshire and surrounding areas, simply enter your full postcode below Date: Monday, February 29, 2016, 07:00 -0500 Subject: Attention: Please Attention: Please A power of attorney was forwarded to our office this morning by one gentle man and he is a citizen from united state of America and his name is Mr. Richard S. Goldberg This man claimed to be your representative and this power of attorney stated that you are dead after brief illness and he brought account to replace your information in other to claim your fund of $2.5million us dollars which is now lying dormant and unclaimed, below is the new account he have submitted: City Bank Account# / 6503809428. Routing/122006743, Address 1076 Peter Johnson Road New York, USA, Be further informed that this power of attorney also stated that you suffered and died of a throat cancer. You are therefore given 24hrs to confirm the truth in this information, If you are still alive, You are to contact us back immediately, Because we work 24 hrs just to ensure that we monitor all the activities going on in regards to the transfer of beneficiaries inheritance and contract payment. You are to call this office immediately for clarifications on this matter as we shall be available 24 hrs to speak with you and give you the necessary guidelines on how to ensure that your payment is wired to you immediately and also be inform that any further delay from your side could be dangerous, as we would not be held responsible for any wrong payment. Contact us as soon as possible if you are truly alive as we have his identification and residence he provide for us to wired the payment to him. The total amount you have is $2,5Million USA Dollars. Here is the information's to send the money so that we will help you complete it because the $95.00 is only money you have to send until you receive all your payment complete, Send the money through western union/money Gram money transfer below: Receivers Name:. OZIOMA UMEH Country . .Benin Republic City . . Cotonou Test Question. . OK Answer . .YES AMOUNT to send:. . $95.USD I am looking forward to hear from you right way because I hate any thing promise and fail, The amount you have to send now is $95.00 but please make sure that you send the money once you receive this mails so that we will give the full information's for you to pick up the first payment immediately. After you send the needed $95.00 before we can give you full information's to pick it up today. I swear to God almighty Father. If I fail to release your payment within 2hours after you send the $95.00 as I promise you that you receive, please I am expecting you with western union payment information's so that the transfer will commence immediately without further delay because i believe that we will conclude this transaction successful this year. As you can see that I swear against because this transaction and also to show you the honest and truth I am if i confirmed that you are alive? MTCN NO SENDER NAME? Meanwhile you are advice to reconfirm your detail such as Your full name. . . . . . Your full Address. . . And your current working telephone number. . . . . . Thank you. Mrs, Rose Mark International Monetary Funds Payment Office. Republic Du Benin From: Mrs, Rose Mark < inide.vent@alice.it >Date: Monday, February 29, 2016, 07:00 -0500Subject: Attention: Please 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 entrepreneurs that I will get to work with every day are some of the best and brightest in Northern Ireland - I'm inspired by their creativity and passion already. The opening of the Entrepreneurial Spark hub, or 'Hatchery', this Thursday will be a clear signal that there is both the appetite and resources to think about doing things differently - to grow and develop our local small business culture. The new Hatchery will be a place to develop early stage entrepreneurs and ideas, to allow them to stress test their concepts and build robust and investable businesses. But more than that, it will give them the space and opportunity they need to become better entrepreneurs that are flexible and resilient. Powered by Ulster Bank, the Entrepreneurial Spark Hatchery will provide free space for up to 80 entrepreneurs, or 'Chiclets', offering hands on mentoring, a start-up 'bootcamp' and a free programme of up to 18-months of advice, support and expert clinics. Our new accelerator hub will be host to new and existing businesses with exciting growth potential and adds to eight other Entrepreneurial Spark locations that are already open in Scotland and England. Not every business idea that goes in to the Hatchery will emerge fully formed - after all, you don't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. But what it does do is support the people that make good businesses and encourages a local culture of entrepreneurship - removing some of the logistical barriers to turning an idea into something real. Everything starts and finishes with small business and getting entrepreneurs up and running is vital for the Northern Ireland economy. Encouragingly, the Entrepreneurial Spark initiative - the world's largest free business accelerator for early stage and growing ventures - can boast a significant business survival rate for those that enter its programme. And 88% of start-ups and early-stage entrepreneurs who have been through its enablement programme since it was founded in 2011 are still going today. The 660 businesses supported by Entrepreneurial Spark have had an aggregate turnover of nearly 86m, attracted more than 45m of investment and created more than 1,800 jobs. At Ulster Bank, we're excited to see its potential locally and to give our people access to the vitality and enthusiasm that these entrepreneurs bring to the table. The hub will work to provide practical support where it is needed - leveraging the connectivity benefits of being in Belfast, but open to applications from people across Northern Ireland and further afield. I'm really excited by the diverse range of people and businesses that are on board, ranging across sectors such as software development, agri-business and healthcare - different and strong industries. Ulster Bank was founded by a group of local merchants in 1836 who were looking for funding to support their businesses as they sought to take advantage of the industrial revolution. With this initiative we want to see entrepreneurs develop as people just as much as we want to see their ideas develop - it's an approach that's in our DNA. Creating a culture that is supportive and welcoming towards entrepreneurs is essential in developing the local private sector and that's why I'm delighted to be providing support and advice to those starting out. While we look forward to bringing our first group of Chiclets through the Hatchery in the coming months, even now we're looking ahead to the next group who are going to join us in August and start their own entrepreneurial journey. For those who think that they might have an idea or are interested in finding out more about our journey, they can follow our story on Twitter @ESparkGlobal and with the hashtag #GoDo or visit www.entrepreneurial-spark.com. Theresa Villiers and Ian Paisley laugh as Boris Johnson hogs the limelight during a visit to a number of companies in Northern Ireland yesterday Boris Johnson has dismissed claims that Northern Ireland will be hit harder than other region in the UK if it votes to leave the EU. The Mayor of London - a leading voice in the campaign to quit the EU - said the impact here of Brexit would be "either positive or neutral". Mr Johnson was speaking during a visit to Lisburn firm Boomer, which makes parts for bus manufacturer Wrightbus. Later at Wrightbus in Antrim, Mr Johnson officially announced a Transport for London order for 200 more of its famous Routemaster red buses - also known as the 'Borisbus'. The deal, which is worth 62m, will sustain 300 jobs at Wrightbus and will take the number of Routemasters on the streets of London to 1,000. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph yesterday, he said: "I've looked at some incredible businesses here. "What's so stunning is the ambition and range of things they do." A recent poll suggested 81% of businesses in Northern Ireland are pro-Europe, but the senior Conservative put that down to scare tactics. "I think everyone is based towards the status quo," he said. "Project Fear is going on by the Government, who are trying to scare the pants off everybody." And he dismissed fears Northern Ireland would be the hardest hit UK region in the event of a Brexit. "No. I think the whole of the UK has a real chance to get a different deal and to remain very close trading partners (with the EU)," he said. "There's a big chance for a better arrangement on fisheries, on farming and on free trade deals around the world. "I am very pleased that we have been able to support great Northern Irish businesses like Boomer, and of course Wrightbus. The contracts we have got in are very important." Mr Johnson visited a number of firms during his trip to Northern Ireland, including glazing specialist Windell in Magherafelt before finishing off at Boomer, which makes interiors for the new Routemasters. He said it was time to give power back to the UK. But he was unaware David Cameron had beaten him to Northern Ireland, after the Prime Minister toured the province at the weekend. "I wasn't aware that he had been here," he said. Yesterday, Mr Cameron said his own pro-EU campaign could not be labelled 'Project Fear' but was instead 'Project Fact'. Mr Johnson dismissed that as "baloney". Asked whether relations with Mr Cameron had soured he said: "No, no, no. I think it's very important everyone focuses on the issues. "The only way to get a new deal is vote to leave - we'll save anything from 8bn to 9bn a year in payments we make to the EU. "We would also get out from under a project which is increasingly centralised and that basically we don't believe in. "They want to create this very tight union, based around the euro, and I just don't think it's suitable for the UK." Mr Johnson said businesses here have "absolutely nothing to be concerned about, indeed everything to gain". "We have a real opportunity to get out from under the encumbrance, that constricting force which is the European Union and the bureaucracy that's involved," he said. He also claimed there would be benefits for the farming and fishing industries. Stat ggh hgcjh cghdsjh ggdskhgds dgk dskd gdskhgd dgkdshg Moy Park, Northern Ireland's biggest employer with thousands of EU nationals on its workforce, has said it is in favour of staying in Europe. Moy Park, which employs 12,000 people across the continent, joined major firms Montupet and fourth-generation agri-business merchant W&R Barnett in endorsing EU membership yesterday. And William Barnett said the blame for 'red tape' usually attributed to the EU could equally be shouldered by local and national government. But a large number of other company leaders, such as Bombardier's Michael Ryan and AES' Carla Tully, indicated they would not be weighing in on the debate at all, or had not yet made up their mind. And Randox founder and managing director Dr Peter FitzGerald was non-committal. But Moy Park boss Janet McCollum declared that "Europe was their market". The firm has operations in the Republic, and in England, as well as in Netherlands and France. She said: "Within the EU, UK companies have open access to 500 million consumers and, in the event of a Brexit, no-one has been able to guarantee our continued access to those markets. "There are also wider issues regarding access, cost volatility and the complications in dealing with animal welfare standards. "The EU has imperfections but it is a massive market which offers export security and the UK needs to remain within it." Moy Park has benefited hugely from freedom of movement across the EU and is estimated to employ over 1,000 EU migrants from countries such as Lithuania, Poland and Portugal in its Northern Ireland facilities. In France, it employs 800 people in three locations, and 6,500 in Northern Ireland. There are around 5,400 staff in England, 50 in the Republic and 100 in Holland. But Randox's Dr Peter FitzGerald, whose medical tests are exported around Europe, was muted. Randox, which employs around 900 people, won the Ruban D'Honneur for exports in the European Business Awards 2014 to 2015. Mr FitzGerald said: "It's a complex issue. Randox is a UK-based company and we export around the world. "However, this is a decision for the British electorate. Whatever the outcome, at Randox we will seek to maximise trade, exports, and job creation." And Jim Burke, the Northern Ireland head of Montupet, has said misleading information on both sides of the Brexit debate risks creating "dangerous territory". The French-owned firm manufactures cylinder heads for the car industry and employs 600 people in Dunmurry. Mr Burke said the firm benefited from "substantial EU funding" and said it supported EU membership - provided the union was "run properly". He said the issues around membership were so complex that the public was likely to be swayed by emotive arguments. "This is very dangerous territory and is tantamount to playing Russian roulette without knowing how many bullets are in the chamber." And William Barnett, the chief executive of W&R Barnett, said it was in favour of staying in the EU - adding that the risks of leaving were particularly severe for Northern Ireland. "As a company that operates in a number of European markets we have benefited from the single market," he said. "The ability to trade, operate and invest safely in neighbouring EU countries under a common set of rules is a valuable asset and not something that should be taken for granted. "Although there are frustrations within our business with the EU, it is also our experience that some of the typical areas of business frustration with 'EU red tape' would be better directed at local and national government," he added. Some of the worlds biggest companies could leave Northern Ireland if the UK votes to leave the EU, experts here have warned. There are serious concerns that major international companies who have been attracted here by millions in EU funding could be poached by the Republic in the event the UK votes to leave on June 23. That could mean hundreds of jobs being lost across the border in the event of a Brexit. Bro McFerran, former managing director of insurance giant Allstate, said there was very definitely a risk of firms withdrawing. "They see it (Northern Ireland) as a gateway to Europe, we are on Europe's doorstep. I think if someone is taking a decision, some may think it's better to go elsewhere." And he dismissed the anti-EU campaign as "nonsense". "I'm very much pro-EU for a lot of reasons. Not only do we have the EU investment, but university research will go by-the-by without the EU," he said. "I think when you take the whole thing, Northern Ireland is far better off in Europe." He said technology firms had benefited from financial assistance, and Northern Ireland's agri-business and food sector was also better off staying in the EU. Mr McFerran said firms such as Allstate and manufacturing giant Caterpillar had been attracted to Northern Ireland because of its EU membership. "It (Caterpillar) wouldn't be investing in Larne if they weren't in the single market," he said. "A lot of people haven't thought this through. The argument we are going to be better off out, doesn't wash," he added. No-one from Caterpillar was available for comment on its take on EU membership. John-George Willis, head of the corporate department at law firm Tughans, agreed there was a risk of investment going elsewhere. "Those inward investment agencies and others in Europe in particular will be interested in luring a number of businesses across the border," he said. "I've no doubt that a number of the foreign direct investments (FDI) into Northern Ireland are going to be vulnerable from the IDA. And on the basis they wouldn't have to move too far to remain in the EU." And Aine Brolly, NI chief executive of recruitment firm Cpl, said there was "palpable concern over North-South business relations". As a firm with headquarters in Dublin and offices in Northern Ireland, she said Cpl was "definitely" concerned. "Indigenous companies here have bought into wanting to be here and have commitment," she said. "With FDI companies, there's not the same commitment. When it suits them they will stay (in Northern Ireland), when it doesn't, they could leave." Invest NI told the Belfast Telegraph: "investment decisions by foreign direct investors in discussions with Invest NI have not been delayed by the EU question". And a spokeswoman said: "There has been no impact on Invest NI's pipeline of investment discussions in the last few months." It said it's also "not in a position to comment on Brexit at this point". Between 2007 and 2013, Northern Ireland received almost 700m (550m) in various funding streams, including through Interreg Iva and the Northern Ireland European Social Fund Programme. That doesn't include more than 2bn (1.6bn) in farm payments. And several Invest NI schemes are part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. That includes assistance for small firms, along with research and development cash. But yesterday, during a trip to Northern Ireland, Mayor of London Boris Johnson dismissed fears Northern Ireland would be hit hardest if there was to be a Brexit. There are extreme risks looming for Northern Ireland over exiting the EU, one business body boss has said. Stephen McCully, president of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the province was contemplating having to hop-off and hop-on to another bus where the destination is far from certain. Addressing businesses and Mayor of London at Hillsborough Castle, Mr McCully said Boris Johnsons visit to Northern Ireland is timely after a Chamber survey showed 81% of businesses here want to stay in the EU. Just 11% said they wanted out of Europe. That compares to 30% of those surveyed in the rest of the UK, he said. What Im hearing from members is real concern about the investment hiatus and uncertainty that this referendum creates. There is also concern about connections and the continuity of trade into important markets. And he said the prospect of a reduced rate of corporation tax in the hands of Stormont by April 2018 was being overshadowed by the EU referendum. While all the foundations for breakthrough economic growth appear to be in place, this is all currently being overshadowed by the forthcoming in-out referendum set for June 23. But he said the announcement of 195 new London buses for Wrightbus provides some very welcome positive momentum for the economy. Despite a sluggish recovery from a deeper recession, we at the Chamber believe there are many reasons to be positive about the future in Northern Ireland with the convergence of a variety of economic and political factors meaning that many of the key building blocks for sustainable economic growth could finally be in place. An artists impression of the York Street Interchange project in Belfast An artists impression of the York Street Interchange project in Belfast A Brexit would put the funding for York Street Interchange at risk, a body representing construction firms in Northern Ireland has claimed. The Construction Employers Federation (CEF) said the project was among several major public infrastructure projects here at risk of missing out on funding if the UK left the EU. While day-to-day maintenance spending on roads here is unlikely to be affected by a vote to leave on June 23, it could affect the viability of large cross-border projects in the future. According to the Department for Regional Development (DRD), the York Street Interchange project is estimated to cost between 125m and 165m. As a key arterial route completing the link between Belfast and Dublin, the scheme is expected to draw a significant amount of EU funding. It's understood that this could account for as much as 40% of the project's total cost. The CEF said it has not yet take a stance on the issue of European membership, because the views of its members vary. But it warned that several major projects could face difficulties if the decision was taken to leave the EU. Managing director John Armstong said that many of its smaller members also had concerns about the levels of bureaucracy in the EU. But he said that should the UK leave, many large public sector construction projects could be derailed by a loss of European funding. "We are consulting with our members at the moment, however we are conscious that a significant number of major infrastructure projects are heavily dependant on European Union funding," he said. "Because these projects are seen as cross-border major arterial routes, they have been eligible for European funding." Mr Armstrong added that the failure of large infrastructure projects here would be a huge setback to the construction industry at a time when recovery is still slow. "If we don't spend on infrastructure we will not be able to attract inward investment," he said. European funding contributes millions of pounds to Northern Ireland infrastructure improvements every year. In July, 14.4m (11.25m) of EU funding was set aside to upgrade the Coleraine to Londonderry rail line. Work on the Knockmore to Lurgan rail line also received around 9.7m (7.58m). The year before, 2.8m of European funding was allocated towards a transport hub which is planned to be built on the site of the existing Great Victoria Street bus and train station. Irish house builder Cairn Homes has amassed enough land to build 11,000 homes after raising 642m (502m) over the course of 2015 Irish house builder Cairn Homes has amassed enough land to build 11,000 homes after raising 642m (502m) over the course of 2015. The company floated on the London Stock Exchange last year and followed up that deal with further equity and debt raisings. It posted a net loss 5.5m (4.3m) before exceptional items in the 13 months to the end of December, its first in operation, according to preliminary results published yesterday. Operations over the year focused on acquisitions, including Ulster Bank's Project Clear, a portfolio of loans linked to lands that account for a fifth of zoned Dublin residential sites. "Following the successful acquisition of the Project Clear loans portfolio and the nine other individual site acquisitions since our IPO, the company now has access to an exceptionally well located and well-priced core land bank of in excess of 11,000 units," Cairn chief executive Michael Stanley said. Cairn expects construction to begin at its Rathgar site in south Dublin in the second quarter. "We are currently building in Parkside, north Dublin, and Killiney, south Dublin," Mr Stanley said. "We will commence construction on five further schemes within the next 12 months and look forward to making a meaningful contribution to the much needed supply of quality new homes in Ireland," he said. After the launch of the company's first site at Parkside, Dublin 13, in September, 52 houses are now sale agreed, with Cairn reporting positive feedback. The company is now staffing up on the construction side as it looks to ramp up output. The homebuilder has continued to buy so far this year, acquiring a site on Hanover Quay in Dublin's docklands area as well as striking a deal with Hines for developments in Cherrywood. There were 165,000 fewer jobs on offer in January than last November amid announcements of big cuts in manufacturing and finance, it was found The number of vacancies has fallen for the second month in a row as companies focus on improving the skills of their existing workers, according to a new report. Advertised vacancies fell by more than 7% to just over a million in January, said jobs site Adzuna. There were 165,000 fewer jobs on offer in January than last November amid announcements of big cuts in manufacturing and finance, it was found. Doug Monro, co-founder of Adzuna, said: "January's jobs market has failed to take flight. The normal rhythm of hiring hasn't happened. Vacancy levels are down and job competition is getting tougher. Fewer options for those looking for new jobs is putting pressure on career plans. Mr Monro added that talk of the UK leaving the European Union was fuelling uncertainty. "A potential Brexit brings new unknowns into the jobs market. Politicians are at risk of fuelling uncertainty fears and only increasing doubts. "By doing so they're risking a weaker jobs market. It's a dangerous game to play. Thousands of employers and employees are already on edge. This lack of consensus is causing understandable concern for many companies. "Business expansions and hiring sprees are being put on hold as a result. EU languages are still in high demand throughout the UK and whichever road the referendum takes us down, this is sure to remain so." Adzuna said there were more than 35,000 vacancies for applicants who can speak another language, especially in computing, teaching or sales. Advertised salaries increased slightly in January. Premium David Chance Opinion Brexits economic dividend has gone to Republic of Ireland, not Britain Boris Johnson probably wouldnt have won many votes if he had campaigned on a slogan of Brexit will make Ireland richer, but that is precisely what his oven ready deal has done by making Britain less attractive to investment and less competitive in trade. It's the concert thousands of Adele fans had been waiting for following the star's stellar comeback last year. More than 10,000 packed into the SSE Arena in Belfast last night for the first gig of her UK and European tour. Many of her devoted fans queued for hours in the pouring rain to see their idol who recently made history when she walked away from the Brit Awards with four gongs. Andrew McClure (20), from Belfast, braved the cold for more than five hours, but declared: "It's been worth the wait and she even drove past us as she arrived for the concert in a dark car, it was very exciting. "I love her humour and music all combined together. I really like her as a person too. This is her first show in over three years so it will be great for her too." One of her most famous songs has a special meaning for Armagh couple Carly (32) and Roisin Cheney. "We are really big fans, her song Make You Feel My Love was our wedding song when we got married," Carly said. "It was always going to be that song as we both love her." Roisin (34) added: "We always had faith that Adele would come back from her break and we are so glad she did. Anything she does is amazing. I was even late for work because I was listening to her new Hello song. She gets better every time, I don't know how she does it." Andrew Callaghan (46) and wife Lynne (36) celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary at the sell-out concert. The couple, who travelled from Dromore in Co Tyrone, became fans after seeing her perform at London's Royal Albert Hall. Andrew said: "I've wanted to go and see Adele for a long time and the fact that she took that long break just made me want to see her even more. I love her music and her songwriting. "She has a nervous energy and she sometimes giggles during songs but she turns it around. Every song seems to have a story behind it. She's brilliant." Lynne added: "It's one concert we had to go to. I queued in Enniskillen from 6am to make sure we got tickets so we couldn't miss it as we don't know if she will ever be back." Kirsty Clinton (30), from Belfast, said: "... I've been looking forward to this concert for so long. "I was going to sell my kidney to get my hands on a ticket." Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes has said he would "certainly" write a movie version of the popular drama. Speaking in an interview with ITV's News At Ten, the 66-year-old said he would be happy to see his multi award-winner on the big screen. "I'd like a Downton film. I mean, I won't be mysterious. If they decide to do it, I'll certainly do it. I think it would be great," he said. The final episode of Downton Abbey was the most watched TV show on Christmas Day in 2015. Since its conclusion, there have been numerous reports about the possibility of a feature film. In the meantime, t he Bafta and Emmy award-winning writer talked to the Radio Times about Doctor Thorne, his latest series for ITV. Rev actor Tom Hollander stars in the title role of the adaptation of Anthony Trollope's novel. One of Fellowes' favourite books, it is set in the village of Greshamsbury in the fictional county of Barsetshire. The adaptation depicts the life of Doctor Thorne, who lives with his penniless young niece Mary, played by Rada-trained newcomer Stefanie Martini. Mary is devastated when she learns she is the illegitimate child of the doctor's late brother. Her predicament is made worse by the love between her and Frank Gresham (newcomer Harry Richardson), the heir to the Greshamsbury Estate. Frank's overbearing mother Lady Arabella (War And Peace's Rebecca Front) insists he must save the family from financial ruin by marrying wealthy American heiress, Miss Dunstable (Mad Men actress Alison Brie). Meanwhile, Doctor Thorne acts as both physician and adviser to millionaire Sir Roger Scatcherd (Lovejoy's Ian McShane), who has the fate of Greshamsbury in his hands. Like Downton, the three-part production, which will also feature Prince Harry's former girlfriend Cressida Bonas as Mary's confidante Patience Oriel, is another period drama. But Fellowes spoke with enthusiasm about its comical qualities. "There is wonderful comedy in Doctor Thorne - the snobbish Countess De Courcy, the duped fool Augusta Gresham, the angry, awkward Mr Moffat, the waspish Lady Alexandrina, the archetypal smoothie Mr Gazebee - but there is generosity too," he said. Trollope, a prolific writer of the Victorian era, is often compared with contemporary Charles Dickens, but Fellowes appeared to appreciate aspects of the former's writing more. "All Dickens' heroines are whiter than white, his villains blacker than black, something Trollope entirely avoided," he stated. "In short, what enrages his enemies, then or now, is the popularity of his productions and the enduring audience that his work still reaches, a century and a half later." This is the first television adaptation of Doctor Thorne, and Fellowes hopes it will persuade viewers to read more books by the London-born author. "I even took Is He Popenjoy? on honeymoon and sat with my nose in it for far more of the time than my wife appreciated," he said. :: Doctor Thorne is broadcast on ITV on March 6 at 9pm. Prime Minister David Cameron, accompanied by Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb (second left), hosts a St David's Day reception at Number 10, Downing Street in London. The Prime Minister has waded into the discussion about who should be the next James Bond by suggesting it could be a Welshman - and offering up Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb for the leading role. His comments came after James Bond car maker Aston Martin announced it is opening a new factory in South Wales, creating more than 750 jobs. Mr Cameron hailed the "fantastic" investment and said "there is a lot to be proud of" in the country, and a Welsh 007 would be another great achievement. Speaking to a packed Downing Street reception to celebrate St David's Day, Mr Cameron suggested his young, bearded minister bore a resemblance to Hollywood heartthrob Russell Crowe, making him the perfect contender. He said: "I think Stephen is absolutely right to mention Aston Martin, I think that is a fantastic investment for Wales - 700 jobs. "We are now going to have the James Bond car built in Wales, all we need now is a Welsh James Bond. "I always say to the Secretary of State, he looks a bit like Russell Crowe." Turning from the chortling crowd and addressing the minister, he added: "You've always got to have a second career in politics Stephen, so..." And while there were no Martinis served at the reception, guests could dig into Welsh cakes and a selection of cheeses, including caerphilly and cheddar, from organic farms in Pembrokeshire. Mr Cameron said Wales was a "powerhouse" in culture, sport and agriculture, and is enjoying an "industrial renaissance". Earlier, the Prime Minister met several volunteers who had won Downing Street's Points of Lights award, handed out to recognise the work they do for their communities. Sir Kenneth Branagh will star alongside Sir John Hurt (pictured) in The Entertainer at The Garrick Sir Kenneth Branagh (pictured) will star alongside Sir John Hurt in The Entertainer at The Garrick Sir John Hurt is returning to the London stage for the first time in a decade and will star alongside Sir Kenneth Branagh. The pair will appear in The Entertainer - with Hurt playing patriarch Billy Rice opposite Branagh's Archie Rice in the final production in the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company's Plays At The Garrick season. In more good news for the Belfast-born star, Sir Kenneth has been nominated for the best actor Olivier Award for The Winter's Tale. He will be up against Hamlet star Benedict Cumberbatch and Academy Award winner Mark Rylance for his role in Farinelli And The King. Sir John (76) underwent treatment for pancreatic cancer, but received "extremely encouraging news" from his specialist late last year, his spokesman said. The Entertainer is set against the backdrop of post-war Britain and John Osborne's modern classic conjures the seedy glamour of the old music halls for an explosive examination of public masks and private torment. Sir John said: "This has been a wonderfully successful season for Ken Branagh and his company, and I feel proud and privileged to be joining them." Tom Hollander has said public school educated actors like Eddie Redmayne are more prominent because sounding posh is "fashionable" at the moment. Alongside The Thick Of It's Rebecca Front, the 48-year-old Rev actor was talking to the Radio Times about their new ITV drama Doctor Thorne. On the topic of award-winning, public school actors Redmayne, Damian Lewis and Benedict Cumberbatch, Front talked about her own experience. "It's not impossible to be an actor if you went to state school. I went to state school," the 51-year-old said. "But there is a problem of affordability, I know one major drama school is worried that only rich kids can access an arts education." Hollander said: "Isn't it just that three actors who seem to have gone to public school are getting highly visible work?" He continued: "When I started in the profession there were very visible actors who were Scottish, Welsh or regional. "Lots of working-class-hero leading actors - it was not fashionable to sound posh. Now I'm middle-aged, it's fashionable to sound posh if you are the generation behind me." The issue of class is another dimension of the continuing diversity debate. Dame Helen Mirren, EastEnders' Danny Dyer and Julie Walters are just three names who have voiced concern about what they perceive as acting's growing class divide. However, Hollander and Front were in sync as they discussed Doctor Thorne. Based on Anthony Trollope's novel, and written by Bafta and Emmy award-winning Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, it is set in the village of Greshamsbury, in the fictional county of Barsetshire. Doctor Thorne lives with his penniless young niece Mary, played by Rada-trained newcomer Stefanie Martini. Mary is devastated when she learns she is the illegitimate child of the doctor's late brother. Her predicament is made worse by the love between her and Frank Gresham (newcomer Harry Richardson), the heir to the Greshamsbury Estate. Frank's overbearing mother Lady Arabella (Front) insists he must save the family from financial ruin by marrying wealthy American heiress, Miss Dunstable (Mad Men actress Alison Brie). Meanwhile, Doctor Thorne acts as both physician and advisor to millionaire Sir Roger Scatcherd (Lovejoy's Ian McShane), who has the fate of Greshamsbury in his hands. Like Downton, the three-part production, which will also feature Prince Harry's former girlfriend Cressida Bonas as Mary's confidante Patience Oriel, is another period drama. Front, who recently portrayed Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskoy in BBC One's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War And Peace, joked about how happy she will be if she never has to wear a corset again. Bristol-born Hollander hailed his character, calling Doctor Thorne "strong and really courageous". Published in 1858, this is the first television adaptation of the novel. ::Doctor Thorne is broadcast on ITV on March 6 at 9pm. Emma Bunton is on a shortlist of 40 names for listeners' favourite voice on the airwarves Radio listeners are being asked to vote for their favourite voice on the airwaves. The Radio Times has put together a shortlist of 40 names - 20 male and 20 female - including famous personalities and some less well-known suggestions from digital stations and radio drama. Spice Girls star Emma Bunton, Desert Island Discs presenter Kirsty Young and journalist Lyse Doucet are among the women on the list, while DJ Chris Moyles, comedian Barry Cryer and Today presenter John Humphrys are among the men. Jane Anderson, Radio Times radio editor, said: "The rules are simple. We're not looking for the cleverest presenter, the most ground-breaking reporter or a relentlessly accurate weather forecaster. "We want you to tell us who creates that thrill, that buzz or that sense all is well in the world when you hear them speak. "Which radio voice can't you resist? Read the shortlist and allow the voices to linger inside your head. And then pick your favourite three men and three women in order of how much you love them." Tony Blackburn is not among the 20 men and, asked if he had been removed in light of recent events, a spokesman said he was not on the shortlist. The veteran DJ thanked fans after being sacked from the BBC in the wake of the Dame Janet Smith inquiry into sexual abuse at the corporation. Introducing his Retro Countdown show on Kent-based KMFM on Sunday afternoon, the 73-year-old said: "Thank you very much for all your support this week. "Thank you as well to KMFM. I hope you enjoy the show." Blackburn, whose evidence to the inquiry was criticised by BBC director-general Tony Hall, said he had been made a scapegoat by the corporation. The full shortlist is available on the Radio Times website. The Rolling Stones have lined up a concert in Havana The Rolling Stones will become the first British band to play an open air concert in Cuba. Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood will play for free at the Ciudad Deportiva de la Habana in Havana on March 25. In a statement, The Rolling Stones said: "We have performed in many special places during our long career, but this show in Havana is going to be a landmark event for us, and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba too." The Rolling Stones concert, which has been in the planning stages for several months, comes only days after President Barack Obama's recently announced visit to Cuba. The band are also leading a musician to musician initiative in which musical instruments and equipment are being donated by major suppliers for the benefit of Cuban musicians of all genres. Donors include The Gibson Foundation, Vic Firth, Zildjian, Latin Percussion, Roland and Boss, with additional assistance from the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation. The Rolling Stones are currently on tour in South America for their America Latina Ole tour, which is receiving rave reviews. They have played to huge audiences in cities including Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and Rio De Janeiro, with Lima, Bogota and Mexico City following next week. The Rolling Stones Concert For Amity will be filmed and produced by award winning production company JA Digital. Paul Dugdale, the filmmaker who helmed One Direction: Where We Are is directing. The producers will be Simon Fisher of Ed Sheeran: Live at Wembley Stadium fame, and Sam Bridger who produced The Rolling Stones: Sweet Summer Sun - Hyde Park Live. Julie Jakobek of JA Digital said: "It's a great honour to be working with the Rolling Stones again on this hugely exciting and historic event". In the years following the Cuban Revolution, which culminated with Fidel Castro becoming prime minister in 1959, rock music was viewed as a symbol of Western capitalism in the Communist country. Following the Cuba concert, The Rolling Stones will fly to London to open Exhibitionism, the band's first ever exhibition, at the Saatchi Gallery on April 4. The 1975 and Jake Bugg have joined the line-up for BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend Exeter 2016. They will perform alongside Coldplay, Ellie Goulding, Craig David, Chase And Status and Bring Me The Horizon, who were announced in early February. The event will take place on May 28 and 29 in Exeter. Nick Grimshaw revealed the news during his BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show, where he was joined by The 1975 and Bugg. The two acts joined up on Monday night at Radio 1 Presents for a performance at London's O2 Forum in Kentish Town, alongside Lady Leshurr, before appearing on Grimshaw's show on Tuesday morning. The 1975, whose hits include Girls and Love Me, played the festival when it was in Derry-Londonderry in 2013 and Glasgow in 2014. The alternative rock band from Manchester said: "We're really excited to be playing in Exeter for Radio 1's Big Weekend. We loved playing Derry-Londonderry and Glasgow and are really pleased to be heading back for a third time." Bugg, known for songs including Two Fingers and Lightning Bolt, also played the festival in 2013 and 2014. Big Weekend, now in its 13th year, is Europe's largest free ticketed festival. Since 2003, the event has travelled to different cities in the UK. Thousands of fans will be able to attend the event at Powderham Castle, while listeners will be able to tune in to the festival on Radio 1. :: Ticketing details will be announced on March 21. The festival will be broadcast live on Radio 1 and streamed online. Dorothy Byers and Dragana Mahaffy from Belfast share their feelings on receiving a frightening diagnosis as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month launches today. Una Brankin and Stephanie Bell report. Every year 7,000 UK women discover they have ovarian cancer and campaigners are calling for earlier diagnosis in a bit to treat this disease more effectively. One of those organisations is Target Ovarian Cancer, which is holding a free event in Belfast at the Radisson Blu Hotel at the Gasworks next Wednesday (March 9), from 10am-4.30pm, for women living with and beyond the disease. Ovarian cancer has a poor prognosis, with just 40% of patients surviving five years. The medical profession has responded by carrying out extensive UK-wide trials designed to establish the effect early detection by screening has on ovarian cancer mortality. This form of cancer made the headlines recently when the family of an American woman who died of the illness was awarded $72m, after claiming the disease was caused by her using Johnson & Johnson's baby powder and other products containing talcum. The civil suit was part of a wider claim in the Missouri city of St Louis involving up to 60 people. This was the first case, though, among over 1,000 to result in a jury's monetary award. We talk to two women living in Belfast, who share their experience of this potentially deadly disease. If my experience can help to find a cure, I am happy Dragana Mahaffy (43), from Serbia, was a crime correspondent with a newspaper in her home country before moving to Northern Ireland to live in 2012 after meeting her husband Gordon (48, right), from Belfast, who works as a senior claims handler for an insurance company. Dragana was just starting her new life here when she was given the shock diagnosis that she had ovarian cancer, which then spread to her liver, spleen, bowel and diaphragm. She says: I have never had any disease or any problems with my health. A few months before I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, my cat jumped onto my stomach and caused an umbilical hernia. As a result I had to have surgery in January 2014 and I went in for the operation with no worries. During the surgery, though, they discovered I had a tumour on my left ovary. I had no symptoms whatsoever, so it was an absolute shock for me. It was the worst thing in the world to be told, especially just as I was starting my new life. For the first seven days I just thought I was going to die and I was extremely scared. I had an operation in Belfast City Hospital on February 27 and got another shock when they told me that the tumour on my left ovary was the size of a melon. I was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer, but it was a low grade cancer, which was a good thing and which I hoped would give me more chances to live longer. Then they discovered the cancer had spread to my liver, bowel, spleen and diaphragm. I needed specialist surgery and my doctor sent me to England and on March 23, 2014, I had an operation which lasted nine and a half hours. They removed my spleen, part of my liver and part of my bowel, so I now have a stoma bag and they cleaned my diaphragm. I thought, if I can survive that, I can survive anything. My cancer is a little bit different. It doesn't respond to chemo and if the cancer cells are under 1cm in size they look identical to normal cells and so cannot be picked up in a scan. Last September I was put on hormone treatment called Letrozole and three months after it I had a scan with good results. They have never had a case like mine here, so they have no comparison and it is all a bit experimental, which is extremely difficult to live with. I don't have a prognosis. With advanced ovarian cancer, around 15-20% of patients survive five years or more, but with me they can't say that as my case is rare. Part of me has to accept that that's life and I really am trying to be positive. My life definitely changed after diagnosis. I worked as a journalist for 15 years and was caught up in a bombing and have been attacked by the mafia. It is an extremely stressful job but now I feel that I don't want to even watch bad things if I don't need to. After my first operation I had promised myself that I would do everything I could to survive. I'm still young and feel it is not my time to go. I love life and I love the people in my life. There are so many things to do for myself, my husband, my family and my friends. I am happy to stay positive and to keep myself occupied and I am surrounded by love and support. I do have really bad days, especially when I hear about someone who has cancer and who has passed away. I don't handle that well. While I don't know what will happen tomorrow, I am really trying to believe that one day the scientists all over the world will find a cure for cancer. I strongly believe that will happen some day. If my experience can help one doctor or scientist to find a cure, then I am happy. With ovarian cancer I can see why it is called 'the silent killer' as I had no symptoms at all. I just live now for my three month scans and have to hope that everything will be okay, and so far so good, as the hormonal treatment appears to be working." 'When I got my diagnosis I was shocked, I had always been in good health' Dorothy Byers (66) was diagnosed in 2010 with primary peritoneal cancer, which is a close relation to ovarian cancer and is treated in the same way. A former primary school teacher, Dorothy lives in east Belfast with her husband David, formerly head of music and arts at the BBC, and the former chief executive of the Ulster Orchestra. They have two grown-up children, Jonathon (35), a cellist, and Fiona (32), a senior marketing executive with Atlantic Records. She says: It all began when I started to put on weight for no apparent reason. I would eat and feel full up very quickly, and then have terrible indigestion. I was bloated and gained a stone - up from 10 and a half stone to nearly 12 stone. I was on HRT and went to see my GP, and it turned out I had another little thing - a prolapse, and that was pushing all this fluid down. So I had that drained off - four litres of it. Fortunately, I'd been having yearly blood tests as part of a trial for the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS: www.targetovariancancer.org.uk). My results had always been normal but in September 2010, my blood levels were raised. So I had a scan at Belfast City Hospital and that showed up a tumour, and some smaller ones, in the fatty lining of the abdomen. My ovaries were clear but the diagnosis was peritoneal cancer, which is very similar in symptoms and treatment to ovarian. It was a shock - I'd always been in good health, apart from having a hysterectomy a few years ago, and before then, four miscarriages between my two children - I was very lucky to have my children. Anyway, I'm a very pragmatic person. My wonderful husband, David, was with me, and I didn't break down. Maybe once or twice during the whole thing, but at that moment, I was just: 'Okay, what's next?' So the specialist nurse explained it was either stage three or four, but more likely to be stage three because it hadn't spread to other organs. Well, after that I had a lovely Christmas. I had chemo on the Tuesday and by Thursday I felt awful. My sodium levels had dropped drastically and I couldn't lift my head from the pillow, and I ended up in the Cancer Centre. I was there all over the New Year. I had another scan in July and luckily, it hadn't gone into my lymph nodes but it had attached to my spleen. I had to have surgery and I remember waking up in excruciating pain afterwards and I had to be taken straight back to the operating theatre. My poor husband was waiting for me downstairs and didn't know what was happening, until someone explained I was back in surgery. Anyway, I got through that and then I had to have chemotherapy. I lost my hair, got two wigs and wore scarves. I used a little eyebrow pencil and just got on with it. Really, though, I couldn't have got through it all without my wonderful husband, David who came with me to every appointment and cooked the most delicious meals for me throughout. I'm fine now, five years on. One tip I'd give anyone, going through the same, would be to keep a journal. You do get 'chemo brain' and it helps to write everything down." One ovarian cancer survivor's great Mother's Day makeover only in Weekend magazine this Saturday Find out about ovarian cancer Target Ovarian Cancer research has found that just 3% of women in the UK would be very confident that they would notice an ovarian cancer symptom Dorothy Byers will be attending Target Ovarian Cancer's Being Together Day on Wednesday, March 9, from 10am-4.30pm at the Radisson Blu, Gasworks, Belfast with lunch and refreshments included. The free event is run by Target Ovarian Cancer. Women living with and beyond ovarian cancer and their families will be able to attend workshops and come together to support each other. For more information visit http://www.targetovariancancer.org.uk/events/support/being-together-belfast What are the symptoms? Hardcore Porsche 911 addicts kindly avert your eyes this ones not for you! With its four doors, front-mounted engine, usefully sized boot and comfortable rear seats, the sleek Porsche Panamera sedan breaks the Stuttgart companys time-honoured jelly-mould. Memories flood back of the long gone and, sadly, not much missed 928 an earlier effort that placed luxury above performance but which, just a handful of years after its 1978 launch, could be picked up second-hand for less than the price of an entry level Ford Escort. So have they got it right this time? Well, since the Panameras debut some seven years ago, except in America, sales have not exactly been dazzling, despite several facelifts, involving such cosmetics as new lights front and rear, re-styled bumpers, a smaller 3.6-litre V6 for the S model and the option of a plug-in hybrid drive-train, as well as a choice between rear or all-wheel drive. Styling-wise, the Panamera is best described as a four-door coupe, if youll excuse the mixed metaphors. Our base for the test weekend was historic Thornbury Castle, near Bristol, one of the fabled ruins that Henry knocked about a bit. Here, our bedroom was at the top of a spiral stone staircase with more than 70 steep steps to negotiate before arriving in our Tower Suite sanctuary. Our reward for all that effort was to spend the night in what is claimed to be the largest bed in Britain, measuring a massive 10 feet from side to side and seventh feet from head to toe. Thanks to high sills, a low roof line and deep bucket seats, getting into the Panamera also proved to be a bit of a struggle but, by the same token, offered a truly luxurious environment once you snuggled into the cabin. Long wheelbase versions are available, providing easier access, as well as extra space for the more long legged among us. Fire the engine up and theres a throaty rumble but noise be it from the engine, the wind or the road never reaches intrusive levels. On most versions, the power comes from a potent V8, which will easily crack the six seconds barrier for the 0-62-mph sprint. On base models, maximum speed is electrically limited to a licence busting 160-mph a purely academic figure for most of us more humble motorists. Just for the record, the 4.8-litre V8 turbo versions reach 62-mph in 3.9-seconds and top out at 180-mph. To better handle such performance, buyers can opt for the highly sophisticated Porsche Active Suspension Management System, which automatically regulates damper forces according to road conditions and the drivers style of motoring. As youd rightfully expect from a top-end luxury sedan, the Panamera is fully loaded with bells and whistles, ramping prices from 63,913 to 131,152 as you move up the range. What a contrast to the latest fully stripped out ultra-lightweight 911 GT3RS which dumps everything from sound system and sat/nav to carpets and stowage bins that is not essential to the quest for ultimate performance, though you do get a roll cage, but costs around 40,000 more than the fully loaded Porsche 911 Carrera. Only Porsche could get away with charging thousands more to give owners considerably less! Northern Ireland chartered accountants Moore Stephens have been fined by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) over the auditing of the collapsed Presbyterian Mutual Society (PMS). The firm was given a 200,000 fine, discounted for settlement to 140,000, and a reprimand following failures in the audit of the financial statements for years ending 2007 and 2008. Audit partner David McClean was fined 29,000, discounted for settlement to 20,000, and also given a reprimand. Almost 10,000 Presbyterians lost their savings when the PMS was forced into administration in November 2008. A rescue package underwritten by the UK Government and the Stormont Executive was agreed in 2011. The disciplinary tribunal highlighted a number of failings on the part of the firm and audit partner. These included: Failing to obtain an adequate general understanding of the legal and regulatory environment in which PMS operated for the purposes of the audit. Failing to adequately test the assumption of PMS's board and management that it was complying with its own rules and with applicable regulation. Failing to apply professional scepticism and to obtain sufficient audit evidence to corroborate assurances by management. During the 2008 audit, the FRC investigation found further shortcomings, namely: Failure to adequately test management's assertions that the inadequacy of the liquidity levels at the 2008 year end would be remedied. Insufficient evidence to conclude that the going concern assumption was appropriate and that PMS's lack of liquidity had no impact on the audit opinion. The tribunal found that Moore Stephens (NI) and McClean admitted failing to act in accordance with the principles of professional competence and due care, and that their conduct fell significantly short of the standards reasonably to be expected. Previously, the FRC issued a reprimand to Philip Black, non-executive former director at PMS and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland, who was also asked to pay 50,000 as a contribution to costs. In a statement Moore Stephens said it had fully co-operated with the investigation, adding: "We very much regret that the FRC found that our audits in these years fell below our usual high standards. We are pleased that the FRC accepted that our partners and staff were not engaged in behaviour that was dishonest, deliberate or reckless. "Moore Stephens strongly agrees with the FRC finding that the primary responsibility for rule compliance lay with the management, not the auditors." The company also said that Mr McClean left the firm by mutual consent in August 2011. Three years ago the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment was accused of failing to properly scrutinise the activities of the PMS before it collapsed. A BBC Spotlight investigation has accused a businessman at the heart of Northern Ireland's 1 billion Nama property deal of accepting corrupt payments. Frank Cushnahan had been appointed as an adviser to Nama, the Irish Government agency that was formed in 2009 to deal with property debts following the financial crash north and south of the border. Northern Ireland's loan portfolio was sold to the American firm Cerberus in 2014. It has been alleged that Mr Cushnahan was due to receive a so-called 'fixer's fee' for this and other deals, although he has always denied it. A secret video recording last year of Mr Cushnahan in a Belfast hotel while he met with a Northern Ireland developer and an accountant appears to contradict this. In the video he can be heard to admit that he would be paid an illegal multi-million pound fixer's fee for his work in arranging the deal. Alliance Deputy Leader Naomi Long has called for an investigation into the allegations. Mr Cushnahan had originally been appointed by the DUP as an adviser to Nama. He had set up a meeting with the then First Minister Peter Robinson and an American firm called Pimco, which had offered to buy Northern Ireland's total property loan portfolio in a single deal. That would have been the largest ever land deal in Northern Ireland's history. Nama said it had no knowledge these meetings were taking place. A 5m fee for Mr Cushnahan was promised by Pimco if the deal was successful. The deal collapsed when Nama learned what was happening, as all sales were supposed to be on the open market. Mr Cushnahan left Nama shortly after this and was not supposed to be involved with any further dealings. When Cerberus, a second American firm, made a successful bid in 2014, Mr Cushnahan was not supposed to have had any part in it. The secret video obtained by Spotlight contradicts this, appearing to show that Mr Cushnahan was still at the centre of the deal and that his continuing involvement was kept hidden from Nama. Mr Cushnahan is heard to say that the majority of the work on the deal was completed by himself and a former Belfast solicitor, Ian Coulter. John Miskelly, a Belfast developer who was present at the secretly-recorded meeting with Mr Cushnahan, has said he acted as a whistleblower to an American financial watchdog. He added that he has kept detailed evidence of his property dealings over the past seven years that implicates others in financial misconduct in the Northern Ireland property dealings. Mr Miskelly said he has passed his information on to the National Crime Agency and it is believed an investigation by the body has now been launched. Mr Miskelly also made suggestions that at one point Mr Robinson's son, Gareth Robinson, advised him to contact Mr Cushnahan for advice. In response to the programme, Mr Robinson said he had given a full account of his actions to the Public Accounts Committee at Stormont and would co-operate fully with the NCA investigation. The former First Minister and DUP leader added that "such matters should be left to professional investigators rather than a television programme". At the end of the programme BBC Spotlight reporter Mandy McAuley said: "Northern Ireland's biggest ever property sale is about to turn into its biggest financial and political scandal." East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson has issued a statement in relation to comments made on a BBC Spotlight programme which is set to be shown tonight. Mr Wilson said: My party has already made its views public regarding the attempt by BBC to link me with remarks about members of the ethnic community. Equally I have stated my position that I in no way agree with the comments about ethnics which were carried in the Spotlight programme. Indeed anyone who knows me and the wide range of friends I have within the Chinese community and the Pakistani community will know that I do not in any way endorse views about getting the ethnics out. The reporter knew this because he questioned me on the issue of immigration though chose to ignore my responses to his questions. When I stated that I absolutely agreed with the individual I was referring to his answer to my question about whether we should leave the EU. I cannot even say with certainty that I picked up on the rest of his remarks not an unusual reaction given that the conversation was about the EU referendum. Furthermore I knew that I was being recorded, filmed and followed by the reporter. I am experienced enough to know that any endorsement of such a view would be major news so even if I had agreed with the sentiments (which of course I dont ) I was hardly likely to put that on record. It is significant that the BBC had to pick a thirty second conversation out of two and a half hours of filming in order to generate controversy. Of course given that organisations pro EU stance it comes as no surprise that individuals within it wish to detract from the compelling arguments for leaving the EU by painting those who wish to vote leave as racists. The DUP stance is clear. We value those who have come to our country and make a contribution to our economy in the health sector, manufacturing or hospitality etc. The UK government alone should have control of our borders and who we allow to come and live in the UK. Our position on this issue is reasonable and compassionate despite how the BBC seeks to twist it. Plans to transform a dilapidated Co Down gate lodge into a family home have been given the go-ahead. Craigowen Lodge, designed by a pupil of Sir Charles Lanyon, has lain abandoned for years after being vested in the 1990s as part of a road-widening scheme on the Bangor to Belfast dual carriageway that never happened. Now plans by Hearth Housing Association to transform the historic building into a three-bedroom home have won planning permission, although work cannot start until the transfer of ownership takes place. Craigowen Lodge, designed by Thomas Turner, was built in 1851 and sits close to the Seahill junction on the A2 dual carriageway between Cultra and Ballyrobert. The single-storey three-bay lodge is a B1 listed building built in an Italianate style. However, it has suffered extensive vandalism and was torched a number of years ago. Following the blaze a tin roof was put on to protect the interior. Alliance councillor Andrew Muir, who has been campaigning to save the building for years, said the planning approval outlines detailed proposals to ensure careful restoration in keeping with the unique style of the building while also facilitating modern day use. "Considered to be an example of the Italianate style of architecture, approximately 40,000 vehicles pass the dilapidated building each day with a tin roof now in place following an arson attempt a few years ago," he said. "I am delighted to report that full planning permission has now been granted for restoration of Craigowen Lodge. "This is an important next step in the campaign to save the lodge after previously securing the support from the Regional Development Minister to transfer ownership to Hearth Housing Association. "I would like to commend Hearth Housing Association for taking this project forward and have every confidence the association will deliver an excellent job as renowned experts in restoring historic buildings. "With the building in a perilous state, its vital work continues apace. "I will therefore continue to lobby and support efforts to realise the dream set out within the recently approved plans and hope funding and contractual matters can be sorted without delay." Marcus Patton of Hearth Housing Association said the plans hope to add on a sympathetically designed extension to transform the original two-room lodge into a three-bedroom house. "The original lodge was tiny, as a lot of gate lodges are, but it has very attractive sculpture on it and stone carvings," he said. Mr Patton said the housing association had been involved with Craigowen Lodge for at least eight years and will be able to begin the restoration of the building once it acquires the title deeds from Roads Service. The planning approval is for the rehabilitation of the existing derelict building as a house "including the demolition of modern returns and creation of an extension with bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen to the rear of the property". Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Picture of Col Crawford who was responsible for bringing the guns to Ireland. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Orange Order member Ronnie McDowell who discovered the guns. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Orange Order member Ronnie McDowell who discovered the guns. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Orange Order member Ronnie McDowell who discovered the guns. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Orange Order member Ronnie McDowell pictured in the room where he discovered the guns. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order members were clearing out a disused room inside the hall when they opened a cupboard and found the rifles and ammunition inside. The rifles, which have probably been in storage since the Home Rule crisis, were found at the end of last year with the police being called. They will now be on display in the Orange Hall. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order member Ronnie McDowell who discovered the guns. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Ten antique rifles uncovered in Clifton Street Orange hall in north Belfast. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF. Orange Order member Ronnie McDowell who discovered the guns. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye A huge UVF arms cache has been discovered in a Belfast Orange Hall. Antique Austrian made Steyr Rifles and ammunition was discovered hidden in the Clifton Street hall at the end of last year. The guns were part of a shipment of 25,000 rifles smuggled into Larne on board the Clyde Valley in 1914 for the then UVF during the Home Rule crisis. They were found during a clean-up of the hall and will be placed on display. The rifles do not require a firearm licence, because of their age and the fact ammunition is no longer available for them. Boxes of ammunition were also uncovered but taken away by the police when the find was reported. A hall spokesman said: It is tremendous to make this discovery in the decade of centenaries, creating a direct link to the events that occurred over 100 years ago in which the Orange Institution played an integral part. The weapons were found in a part of the hall that was rarely used and they were clearly not meant to be found. He added: We look forward to displaying these rifles in our hall museum, they will compliment the numerous other items we have from this period in Ulsters history. The RMS Republic before it was sunk in 1909 when it was hit by a steam ship in dense fog It was built in Belfast, was the largest and most luxurious passenger vessel of its time, and was deemed unsinkable - yet it perished in the north Atlantic. But it's not the Titanic that Martin Bayerle is obsessed with, rather its long-forgotten sister Republic which, the American entrepreneur believes, was carrying 150,000 US 'double eagle' gold coins - worth in excess of $1bn in today's market - when it sank in 1909. Bayerle's attempt to recover the precious cargo, which was apparently intended for delivery to Russian Tsar Nicholas II, is now being chronicled on television by The History Channel. He first tried - and failed - to locate the gold nearly 30 years ago, going bankrupt in the process. Now, with salvage rights to the ship secured and having raised millions from venture capitalists, the New Yorker is convinced he'll pull off the world's largest-ever treasure recovery. "In 1987 my research was incomplete, and we spent 74 days excavating in the wrong place," admitted the 64-year-old father-of-two, whose previous expedition merely uncovered the ship's wine cellar. "Now, after three decades of additional research, we have verified exactly where the treasure is. We have good tools, we have good people, and now we just have to go for the gold." RMS Republic, loaded with wealthy passengers bound for the Mediterranean, was lost off the coast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, on January 23, 1909, after being hit by an Italian steamship which had lost its way in dense fog. Of the 1,742 people on board the 580ft, 16,000-ton White Star liner built by Harland and Wolff in 1903 - only six died, but all the baggage and cargo went down with the doomed vessel to its final resting place, 270ft below the surface. At the time, she was the largest ship ever lost in maritime history. The gold was, apparently, a loan to Russia from the US government - something the White House was keen to keep secret. "The coins were worth 20 dollars each at the time when people were earning six dollars a week," said Bayerle, who added that he wonders whether the sinking of the Titanic three years later might have had a different outcome if the Republic's construction flaws were given more attention. "Both ships were built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast with the same design," he said. "They were sister ships, termed 'practically unsinkable.' But they both sank. I can see, though, why there was no panic aboard Titanic. The loss of Republic was big news. Everybody knew about it. "But over 18 hours, all the passengers, except of course the three passengers and three crew who died at the point of collision, were safely off-loaded." In his book, The Tsar's Treasure, Bayerle - who first discovered the wreck of the Republic in 1981 - says the ship's manifest included both the Russian gold shipment and a US Government in-coin currency shipment, valued at a collective $3,800,000 in 1909. The failure of the first expedition hit Bayerle hard, and in the early '90s he was sentenced to five years in prison for voluntary manslaughter after shooting dead his estranged wife's boyfriend. He served half the sentence and then set about securing salvage rights to Republic. Billion Dollar Wreck is being shown on Mondays on The History Channel. The scandal-hit priest caught on camera snorting cocaine in a parochial house in Co Down was the least likely cleric I have ever met. As Fr Stephen Crossan sat drinking shorts and swearing like a trooper in a beach bar in the sunshine island of Gran Canaria last year, the craic was ninety. But I hadn't a notion that he was a priest. Despite his colourful language, my wife and I enjoyed his company after our chance encounter as the sun went down near Meloneras in February 2015. Read More He and a young friend were sitting at the next table to where my wife and I were drinking our customary tomato juices at sunset. After talking the usual holiday talk about our respective hotels and restaurants, I innocently asked him what he did for a living back home. His answer was not what I was expecting. "I'm a priest," he said as he knocked back another drink. The words "you're kidding" were out of my mouth before I could stop them. "No, I am a priest," he said. Feeling almost guilty that he could be talking his way into a minefield in front of me, I pointed out that I was a reporter, but he said: "I know exactly who you are." Yet, still the banter and the booze kept flowing, and I had to keep reminding myself that the man beside me was a man of the cloth. He wasn't the first priest with whom I'd shared a drink or the first one who could eff and blind with the worst of us sinners. Fr Stephen was hardly Father Jack, played in Father Ted by actor Frank Kelly, who ironically died on the very day that Fr Stephen's drug-taking was exposed in a Sunday newspaper. Equally, he could scarcely have been further removed from many of the more staid priests I had encountered in my professional and private life, including my wife's uncle who was a priest in Co Cavan and who would hardly have tried Coca-Cola, never mind coke. Fr Stephen told me that he holidayed regularly on Gran Canaria, staying normally in the island's hottest hotspot of Playa del Ingles, where anything goes. And frequently does. He talked of partying and how he told people he was a social worker. He never mentioned drugs. Not once. And though I did find his demeanour unusual for a priest, I put it down to the youthful exuberance of a young man on his holidays, and besides, I couldn't help liking him. Yet, still I was a doubting Thomas. As soon as I returned to my hotel I googled Fr Stephen Crossan's name to establish if my companion really was who he said he was. Sure enough, there was his picture in his vestments, though in the photograph he was at least three stone heavier than he was in Gran Canaria. Back home I told a few friends about Fr Stephen without identifying him, but I never thought of writing about him. Until several months later when I was asked by this newspaper to write a feature on how clerics from the four main Churches viewed Easter. I thought Fr Stephen might have observations that would be worth recording. As we chatted on the telephone, it was like talking to a different man from the one I'd met in the Canary Islands. Gone were the swear words and the laugh-a-minute banter. He talked seriously and thoughtfully about how he saw the Catholic Church in modern-day Ireland. He said: "It's getting smaller and society is changing. So we have to adapt as well to try to move on with the times and be more open and more inclusive with people. "We are in a period of transition and flux and we need patience and courage to go ahead into the future and not be afraid." He expressed concern that many young people were no longer committed to the Church. "But for me the most important thing is that the doors are open and that young people know they are welcome and that we are here if they need us," he said. Fr Crossan said that he had trained as a teacher in London and worked for the Housing Executive for a time. He told me: "I took the scenic route into the priesthood. After school I went to Maynooth and Rome to study but then I left because I was probably too young. There were 34 of us at the start in Maynooth in 1997 and only four of us were ever ordained. It was a very difficult time back then. "I was away for four years but I went back in 2004 and was ordained in 2008. My faith had never been shaken." That was the last time I spoke to Fr Stephen. But I did hear from him again. In June last year he sent me a text wondering if I was back in Gran Canaria as he was. I replied that I wasn't there but I hoped he would have a good holiday. It now appears that the pictures of Fr Crossan snorting coke were taken the following month during a night of drinking in Banbridge. He was in a room with Nazi memorabilia and reportedly said "I shouldn't" as he was offered the powder to snort. Questioned about the cocaine, Fr Stephen told a reporter from the Sun on Sunday: "It was just the one night and that was it." He also denied that he was a Nazi and said he was a collector of historical items from around the world. He also said he was on sick leave at the time of the video and that he had since left the Church. The Bishop of Dromore, John McAreavey, said that Fr Crossan had been granted leave from his pastoral duties at Seapatrick near Banbridge in May 2015 and had been receiving counselling. A statement from the Bishop said the priest had asked for an extended leave of absence in February 2016. Bishop McAreavey said he was concerned for the priest's health, and I know it's a feeling shared by his friends. Yesterday I sent a text to Fr Stephen asking him if he wanted to talk about his situation. He acknowledged my message but I'm still waiting to hear if he wants to say anything more. The PSNI is appealing for help with finding Malcolm Stevenson who was last seen in Belfast at the beginning of February. The 49-year-old is described as being approximately 178cm tall, of thin build with green eyes, ginger short hair and a thick ginger beard. Inspector Paul Noble asked anyone who knows of his whereabouts to contact Police at Woodbourne on the non-emergency number 101. Scenes from the dramatic swoop by heavily-armed police on a house in Aspen Walk in Belfast in the early hours. Detectives investigating a shooting incident in west Belfast last week have charged a 23-year-old man with possession of a firearm. The incident happened in the Glasvey Drive area Tuesday February 23. Police made two arrests and recovered a firearm following a search of a property on Monday February 29. A 41-year-old woman who was also arrested have been released on police bail pending further enquiries. Exclusive Belfast Telegraph footage showed the dramatic moment officers swooped on a west Belfast house. The 23-year-old has been charged by detectives from Reactive and Organised Crime Branch with possession of a firearm in suspicious circumstances and possession of ammunition in suspicious circumstances. He is due to appear at Craigavon Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning. A man has appeared in court accused of taking photographs up a woman's skirt at a Belfast hotel. Slovakian national Marian Antal faces a charge of committing an act outraging public decency. The 26-year-old warehouseman, of Woodbreda Avenue in the city, is alleged to have behaved in a "lewd, obscene and disgusting" way on October 31 last year. The charge against him of taking photos up a female's skirt is understood to relate to an alleged incident at Benedicts Hotel on Bradbury Place. As he made his first appearance before Belfast Magistrates' Court defence solicitor Dennis Boyd made no submissions at this stage in the case. Antal was released on continuing bail to return in four weeks time. At that stage a date is expected to be fixed for any proceedings to have him committed for trial. Criminal charges against Omagh bomb suspect Seamus Daly have been dramatically dropped by the Public Prosecution Service. Daly, a 45 year-old bricklayer, had been charged with murdering 29 people in the single biggest atrocity of Northern Irelands troubles. The evidence linking him to the dissidents' Omagh bombing was described as overwhelming by one of Northern Ireland's most senior judicial figures during a claim for damages by grieving relatives. However, the PPS told a court today that a decision had been taken to withdraw the prosecution case following concerns over the reliability of the evidence provided by the main witness. Read more Read More Daly is expected to walk free later today from Maghaberry Prison, where he was on remand. He was held in prison awaiting trial for nearly two years. His defence had protested throughout lengthy legal proceedings that he had no case to answer. And when the evidence against him was tested last month and prosecution star witness Denis O'Connor contradicted himself under cross-examination, it became clear the accusations were crumbling. The case against Daly had relied upon the movements of a mobile phone, which prosecuters believed had been used by one of the bombers on the day of the 1998 bombing. A civilian witness was allegedly able to place that mobile phone in Dalys hands around the time of the attack. However, concerns were raised over the reliability of the witnesss testimony under cross examination during a preliminary enquiry last week. Mr Daly's lawyer, Peter Corrigan, said the case against his client was paper-thin and based upon a witness who was himself arrested as part of the bombing probe. He claimed Mr O'Connor gave an account to Irish police in 1999 and had given three or four other versions. The implication was clear - his words could not be relied upon. Mr Corrigan also said his client had an alibi for the time when he was supposed to be involved in murder. He insisted the evidence was stale and could have been presented to his client at any time in recent years. The bricklayer's militant republicanism stretches back to at least 2004 when he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in the Republic after admitting membership of the outlawed Real IRA which carried out the Omagh attack. But convicting him of a string of murders in a Co Tyrone market town which shocked the world just months after the landmark Good Friday peace agreement was to prove a hurdle too high. Two Belfast civil cases, one in 2009 and a retrial in 2013, only had to prove on the balance of probabilities that the respondents were behind the bombing. In 2013 Justice Gillen concluded that the evidence against Mr Daly and three others was overwhelming. The judge in the original civil case said he was satisfied that Mr Daly was in possession of one of the two phones which, trace records indicate, were used by the occupants of the bomb car and the getaway car on the day of the attack. He said the fact that Mr Daly had provided no answer to the evidence presented before the court further supported suspicions. A one-month retrial of the civil case was shown data from mobile phone masts that tracked calls made from two phones as they moved from the Irish Republic to Omagh and back across the border ahead of the bomb attack on August 15 1998. But criminal prosecutors had to establish Mr Daly's guilt beyond all reasonable doubt and on Tuesday that barrier was judged too high. Upon reviewing the evidence a decision was taken by the PPS not to seek the return of Daly for Crown Court trial. The Director of Public Prosecutions Barra McGrory QC believed that the available evidence no longer provided a reasonable prospect of conviction. Following the collapse of the case the PPS said the decision had been taken "following a careful review of the current state of the evidence." "This has focused in particular on the testimony provided by a key witness during committal proceedings last week," a PPS spokesperson said. The spokesperson added: "Under cross examination a number of issues became apparent which impacted upon the reliability of the evidence that the witness was providing. "Having conducted a careful review of the case with the prosecution team, the Director of Public Prosecutions Barra McGrory QC has concluded that the available evidence no longer provides a reasonable prospect of a conviction. Consequently the prosecution cannot be continued." The PPS said they sympathised with the families affected by the Omagh bomb. The spokesperson continued: "We understand how difficult this decision will be for them. We hope they are assured that this decision was not taken lightly but is required in accordance with our duty as prosecutors to keep a decision under review and to discontinue criminal proceedings when the test for prosecution is no longer met." Charges of conspiring to cause an explosion and having explosives with intent in connection with a separate dissident republican bomb plot in Lisburn in April 1998 were also dropped. Speaking ahead of the announcement Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was killed, said he was unhappy that information was circulating about the collapse of the case, yet he and other families had not been informed by the authorities. "We have been failed once again by the police service, by the prosecution service, by the government and by the criminal justice system," he said. Seven years ago, Daly was one of four men successfully sued for bombing the market town when he was found liable for the attack in a landmark civil case taken out by some of the bereaved families. No-one has ever been convicted of the murders in a criminal court. Daly has always denied involvement in the bombing, which inflicted the greatest loss of life of any terror atrocity in the history of the Northern Ireland Troubles. The dead came from both sides of the Irish border, England and Spain. One of the victims was pregnant with twins. Sammy Wilson has said comments he made, when he appeared to agree with a man saying "get the ethnics out" while contributing to a BBC programme, have been taken out of context. The East Antrim DUP MP was recorded talking to a member of the public while wearing a microphone. He was filming in Carrickfergus last month for the BBC's Spotlight programme when he was approached by the man. The DUP representative explained that he was contributing to the show on the matter of the forthcoming EU referendum. The man replied: "I'd say get out of it. Between you and me get the ethnics out too." "You're absolutely right, you know," Mr Wilson appears to reply. In response to the BBC's request for clarity over what Mr Wilson meant, the politician asked if the broadcaster was "having a laugh". Read More "I am not prepared to spend any more time being interviewed giving you explanations or responding to what anyone would regard as a disgraceful request to facilitate your biased political slant to this programme," he added. Sammy Wilson, later speaking on U105's Frank Mitchell show, said his views had been taken out of context and he didn't agree with the statement made by the member of the public he was talking with at the time. However, the BBC said it reported the exchange "fairly and in context" and gave the politician "ample opportunity" to explain what he meant. "The selected piece, was a disgraceful piece," he said. "The attempt by the BBC to label me as some kind of racist is deeply offensive, especially given the relationships I have with many people within what people call the ethnic community, I simply call them Northern Ireland people who are a different colour to me. "I am no racist and I have no gripe with what people call the ethnic community." He added: "I was responding to the question on whether or not we should leave the European Union." Asked if he heard the comment, he said: "I'm sure I did hear it but that wasn't what I was responding to. "I was responding to the question I specifically asked him. "You're going back over an interview that happened three weeks ago in a conversation like that, I know what I asked him and he replied in response to my question and I agreed with him." Mr Wilson added: "I'm the only non-Chinese member of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce so I don't need to defend myself as far as my stance on people from ethnic minorities. "This was taken out of contest, the BBC also had on the same tape my views on immigration. "Later on I spelt out my views on immigration but they chose not to use them. "We should have control of our own borders, we should decide how many people come in, what kind of skills they have, there should make consideration to what public services can bear and also we should be able to put people out who we don't want because they misbehave. "The BBC chose to ignore that part of the interview... they have tried to generate controversy where there is none. "I have every right to be angry over the way this has been handled." In an interview with BBC TalkBack, he accused the BBC of reporting "propaganda" and having a "pro-Eu stance" in its reporting. He said people from many different ethnic communities such as Iran, China and Pakistan had lodged with his family and that he was aware of the BBC reporter, the camera man and the microphone he was wearing. "Anyone who says Sammy Wilson is in some way racist or condones those particular words only has to look at my personal life - as well as my political statements," he added. "I knew people were recording it, there was a reporter and a cameraman hovering over my shoulder." He said that one of the benefits of leaving the European Union would be that "better immigration controls" could be imposed. A BBC spokeswoman responded: "The BBC has reported the exchange fairly and in context. "Spotlight sent an accurate transcription of the exchange to Mr Wilson and gave him ample opportunity to explain what he meant in the exchange with a member of the public. We will reflect any further response from Mr Wilson in tonights programme. "Mr Wilsons comments on immigration are reflected accurately in the programme, due to be broadcast at 10.45 on BBC One tonight. "However, this particular exchange with a member of the public appeared different from other conversations Mr Wilson had had about immigration. We therefore sought specific explanation." The DUP released a statement "disassociating" the party from the comment "get the ethnics out". It said: "Sammy Wilson is reported to have made comments this morning about ethnic minorities. "The DUP values everyone who comes to Northern Ireland and makes a contribution to our society. Ethnic minorities are vital to our biggest and best companies never mind our Health Service. "'Get the ethnics out' is a disgraceful phrase. We disassociate the party from the comment made by a member of the public. "Whilst there needs to be a discussion about how we control our borders, this should be conducted in a factual and respectful manner as part of the EU referendum debates." UUP leader Mike Nesbitt described Mr Wilson's response to the member of the public's comments as "stomach churning" and called for the MP to make an apology for the "obvious offence caused". The Polish consul in Northern Ireland, Jerome Mullen, told Stephen Nolan: "He [Mr Wilson] didn't make the comment but he agreed with the racist comments that were clearly made by the gentleman he was speaking to. "It should be made clear and pointed out we are dependent upon a great many skills that the ethnic minority and particularly with the community that I represent, the Polish community, have been providing to Northern Ireland for many, many years. "We couldn't survive in many of the businesses here in Northern Ireland without those skills and I don't think he's aware of that." Mr Wilson is set to appear at a Grassroots Out event this Friday alongside UKIP leader Nigel Farage, Kate Hoey MP and TUV leader Jim Allister. His comments are the latest in a long line of controversies which have blighted the DUP. There was a huge outcry over comments made by the then First Minister Peter Robinson in May 2014. He said he wouldn't trust Muslims devoted to Sharia Law, but would trust them to go down to the shops for him. Mr Robinson later apologised and said his comments had been misinterpreted. Jim Wells was forced to stand down as Health Minister over comments made at an election hustings about gay marriage. In a 30-second video clip he appeared to link child abuse to homosexuality. However, when the Public Prosecution Service examined a transcript of the full eight minute recording it became apparent that, in context, Mr Wells had not said what he had been accused of. In February, Mr Wells courted controversy with remarks made about women during an Assembly committee hearing. His remarks were later found to not amount to sex discrimination or breach the Assembly code of conduct following a complaint and Mr Wells said they were a joke. Last year, Deputy Mayor of Derry and Strabane, DUP councillor Thomas Kerrigan was urged to stand down over remarks suggesting that gay people could be 'cured' by turning to Christ. Paul McClean, the DUP chair of Magherafelt District Council in 2012 said he believed homosexuality should be illegal. And Peter Robinson's wife, Iris made comments in the House of Commons stating that homosexuality was "viler" than child sex abuse. Comments which the then First Minister and her husband Peter Robinson supported. She was later further criticised for saying gay people needed psychiatric help. Spotlight will be broadcast on Tuesday at 10.45pm. Read more: They are normal people doing a job like no other - that's the message behind a series of hard-hitting videos by the Police Federation (PFNI) to show the human side of policing. The videos are part of the 'We Are You' campaign which aims to show that police officers are "the same as the rest of us". The PFNI represents the rank and file of the PSNI from constable to chief inspector. The mini-movies depict different challenges faced by officers which form the basis of the campaign. It says: "Officers are attacked, insulted, threatened and criticised. Behind the uniform, they are the same as the rest of us. They have mortgages, bills, family pressures. "Good days, bad days. They may wear a uniform, but they are you." The short videos mirror the lives of a mother, father and grand-daughter as it shows them putting their lives on the line and the horrors that they encounter alongside their personal life and the impact their job has. In one video called 'We Are Mothers' it showcases a police officer working at a security alert. It begins with her saying goodbye to her son as she sets off for work. It shows her working at the alert and cuts to her young son playing at home. When suddenly it jumps back to her at the alert where she dashes to save another child from an incendiary device. It ends with a ominous knock at the door. In another it shows a father who is playing hide and seek at home with his daughter and it then cuts to him in uniform searching a house where he is traumatised to find the body of a young child. PFNI Chairman, Mark Lindsay, said for too long, Officers were seen as separate from the community but out of uniform, they faced the same pressures as everyone else. Mr Lindsay said: Our men and women are wives, husbands, parents, brothers, sisters and all of them have to grapple with daily challenges that are exactly the same as those confronted by their extended families and friends. They have to worry about mortgages, schools, debt, everyday bills, in short, balancing the books. More than that, they have to worry about their safety and the security of their families in a climate where the terrorist threat level is rated severe. In a very real sense, Officers are no different from their neighbours, but with the added pressure of the job. They endure attacks on the frontline. Theyre constantly under the microscope. Theyre public servants who answer the call, often at great risk to themselves. They deserve to be better understood. Were not asking for adulation, just a bit of latitude that we are human beings doing a trying and challenging job for our entire community." Speaking at the launch of the campaign Justice Minister David Ford said: "The job officers do is like no other and they deserve the understanding and support of the wider community." Protests have taken place at Woodburn Forest over the drilling. Image: Pacemaker Campaigners battling controversial plans to drill for oil and gas in a popular Co Antrim forest are considering complaining to the Police Ombudsman over "hostile" policing of their protest. They claimed PSNI officers threatened them with arrest for aggravated trespass at Woodburn Forest, even though they were on public land. Up to five PSNI Land Rovers and officers from the Tactical Support Group were deployed at the forest last Monday. Last week InfraStrata felled trees on land leased from Northern Ireland Water close to the reservoir that supplies water to hundreds of homes, even though it doesn't yet have an approved waste management plan. Campaigners have set up a permanent protest site at the forest. Their cause has been supported by Mark Ruffalo, star of the film Spotlight, and British Superbike ace Glenn Irwin. Help Northern Ireland defend it's water against the environmental tyranny of Natural Gas! https://t.co/TO0nIpwrw2 https://t.co/HqYA66SS3l Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) February 25, 2016 Yesterday protesters delivered a letter from Ruffalo, founder of Water Defense, to the Department of the Environment (DoE) at Goodwood House. Daniel Jewsbury, a spokesman for North and West Belfast Greens, said some people were considering lodging a complaint with the Police Ombudsman over the handling of the protest. "It is very clear that the police overstepped the mark and reacted in a very heavy-handed way," he told the Belfast Telegraph. "The police threatened us while the tree fellers were cutting branches and trees along the main access road. We were threatened with arrest for aggravated trespass." Mr Jewsbury said aggravated trespass applied to trespassers who stopped someone going about their lawful business. Read more Read More "The problem is this is public land and the activity of the contractors is not lawful because they don't have the correct licences. They have overstepped what they are allowed to do," he claimed. "It is very clear that there is one part of the site which is leased to InfraStrata and that is not fenced off, but all of the rest of the forest is public and you can't be arrested for trespass. We were cleared out of the forest, forced out with the threat of arrest by a line of police moving towards Paisley Road. "It was a very, very hostile policing operation, very physical and quite aggressive." InfraStrata was contacted but refused to comment. The PSNI said it respected people's right to protest peacefully within the parameters of the law. Chief Inspector Stephen McCauley said they would monitor the situation and engage with all interested parties moving forward. Stop The Drill is calling for concerned people to attend a council meeting at the Braid in Ballymena from 6.30pm on Monday, March 7. Aodhan O Riordain is one of the casualties of Labour's election humiliation Irish premier Enda Kenny has vowed to work with rivals in a fractured parliament to form a government after the most divisive election of recent times. Confusion remains over the way forward after a massive voter schism in last week's poll in which the outgoing Fine Gael/Labour coalition was trounced. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, traditionally the two dominant parties who swapped power for decades, have enough support between them to form a ruling "grand alliance". But while there is little policy difference between the centre-right pair, their historic rivalry born out of Ireland's civil war more than 90 years ago means a match would be fraught with difficulties. They are also wary of handing the official opposition to Gerry Adams's Sinn Fein, the third largest party, which has refused to prop up either of them. In a statement on Tuesday evening, Mr Kenny said his Fine Gael party would work comprehensively with the manifold forces, factions and Independents to restore political stability in the "changed circumstances". "We will engage fully and inclusively with other parties, groups and independent deputies to ensure that such a Government is established," he said. The Taoiseach said he is leading his own rank and file to formulate a set of principles that will guide his party's participation in a future administration. This would deal with issues "highlighted and prioritised" by voters during the election campaign, he said. His party was also open to talking about other ideas with other parties and groups "in a new Dail that reflects the changed circumstances following the election." he added. The Dail is scheduled to resume on March 10 to elect a new Taoiseach. But such is the splintering of the vote, uncertainty hangs over whether the diverse parties and groupings can come to any agreement on forming a new government. One possibility is a minority government, potentially led by Fine Gael which remains the largest party despite its humiliating losses, backed by arch-enemy Fianna Fail in return for some concessions. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin called for all the parties to sit down at the negotiating table to agree parliamentary reforms in advance of talks to forge an administration. Ex-taoiseach Bertie Ahern has forecast there will be no new government for at least another month. As tentative moves were made to end the impasse, ousted coalition partners Labour were facing being gagged in the next parliament such is the magnitude of their humbling downfall. Junior minister Aodhan O Riordain is the latest to join the swelled ranks of his party colleagues who were dethroned after the seismic election. His ejection in the Dublin Bay North constituency, one of the last to be decided under Ireland's lengthy count process, was the 26th seat lost by the party after five years in power administering austerity with senior partners Fine Gael. Labour is looking anxiously at its last hope of being able to effectively contribute in the next Dail with party stalwart Willie Penrose in a nail-biting fight to retain his seat in Longford/Westmeath. With just six seats retained from its 33 last time around, Labour desperately needs one more to qualify for full parliamentary speaking rights. Despite their hammering at the ballot box, an emotional but defiant Mr O Riordain insisted his party would live to fight another day. "Today is the first day of the comeback," he said after losing his seat to Sinn Fein's Denise Mitchell. "Ireland needs the Labour Party and our values system. I absolutely believe we will recover from this and we will have better days again." Less than a handful of votes separate Mr Penrose, a former junior minister, and Fine Gael's James Bannon in Longford/Westmeath, where both outgoing government TDs are scrapping for a seat. A full recount was ordered in the constituency four days after the general election. Mr O Riordain, Ireland's equality minister in the deposed coalition, conceded "the tide was out" for the power-sharing partners. "We expected that maybe the government would have more support, and that maybe we would be trying to prove to people that Fine Gael needed, I suppose, partners in government," he said. "But people made a very clear decision that they didn't want the government returned." Three men have been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after an 11-year-old boy was killed in a hit-and-run outside a mosque. Greater Manchester Police confirmed that two men, including one aged 19, handed themselves in at Ashton-under-Lyne police station. A third man was arrested. All three suspects remain in police custody. Police said one of the men has also been arrested on suspicion of driving while unfit through drink or drugs. The schoolboy, who has not been officially identified, had been at a nearby mosque with his family when he was hit by a car in Moss Street West at the junction with Mowbray Street in Ashton-under-Lyne at 4.45pm on Monday. He died in hospital shortly afterwards. The imam of Mosque Hamza, Shayful Islam, told the Manchester Evening News it happened after prayers and the "whole community is in shock and praying for the family". He said the boy had "quite happily came out of the mosque. As he crossed the road there was a car driving at a really fast speed and he got run over". GMP said the car, believed to be a dark grey or black Mercedes A or B class, did not stop at the scene. Sergeant Paul Higgins, of the serious collision investigation unit, said: "A child has tragically been killed in a collision and we are doing all we can to trace the driver of the vehicle. "While we are in the early stages of our investigation we believe the car involved is a dark grey or black Mercedes A or B class and it will have damage to the front nearside headlight. "We would ask if anyone saw the vehicle around the time of the collision, or has seen it since, that they contact us. "It may be the vehicle has been parked up and left somewhere nearby so I would ask people living in the area to check outside their house and call us if they see a vehicle matching the description." The boy will appear at Brighton Magistrates' Court A 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of a 52-year-old man. Paul Jefferies was found dead at his home in the village of Mayfield in East Sussex last week. Police said he died from "multiple injuries". The teenage suspect, from Crowborough, is accused of killing Mr Jefferies on February 23. He will appear at Brighton Magistrates' Court later. A Sussex Police spokesman said: "Mr Jefferies, 52, was found dead by police who called at his home in Coggins Mill Lane on Thursday (25/2) after concerns had been expressed that he had not been seen for a few days. "A post-mortem found that Mr Jefferies had died from multiple injuries." A 17-year-old girl from Eastbourne, and a 16-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man, both from Crowborough, who were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, have all been released on bail until April 21 pending further police inquiries. Last year, around one in six children did not get a spot at their first choice of secondary school More than a third of children in some parts of England have not been allocated their first choice of secondary school for the autumn, according to a sample of councils. Around half a million families are finding out which school they have been allocated on National Offer Day. While for many the day will bring excitement, thousands of pupils are likely to miss out on a place at their first choice of school. Last year there were 533,314 applications for a secondary school place and 84.2% of children across England were offered their preferred school. Overall figures for this year will not be released by the Department for Education until June, but analysis of a sample of early figures from local councils suggests that one in 10 children could miss out on their first choice. A wide fluctuation was evident, with vi rtually all 11-year-olds getting their first preferences in some areas, while more than a third missed out in others. Out of 20 local edu cation authorities that responded to the Press Association, three-quarters reported an increase in the number of applications received from last year. Figures obtained through the survey of local councils show that: : : Across 20 councils that responded, an average of 87.6% of applicants received their first preference. : : In Birmingham, more than one third of children applying for a school missed out on their top choice. Out of 16,664 applications, 10,674 were offered their first preference - 64%. : :Southend-on-Sea (79.1%), Trafford (80%) and Bolton (82%) also had relatively high numbers of applicants not getting into their top school. :: In East Riding, 96.4% of children got their first choice. Only 0.8% did not get their first, second or third preference. : : This was closely followed by Leicester County Council (95.5%) and Norfolk County Council (94.7%). In Sunderland City Council only 34 children - less than 1.3% - did not get their first, second or third choices. The figures do not include data from the body managing the London borough councils. Last year, around one in six children across England did not get a spot at their first choice. Primary schools have been struggling to keep up with demand in recent years due to a rising population and this is now moving through into secondary schools. The Government has said it pumped 5 billion into creating half a million new places over the last parliament and has committed a further 7 billion over the next six years. Town hall bosses have warned that c hildren could be left without school places if councils are not given more powers to deal with increasing demand. The Local Government Association has issued a fresh call for authorities to be handed the ability to open new secondary schools, or force academies - which are not under council control - to expand, arguing that w ithout these powers, councils will not be able to meet their legal duty to ensure every child has a school place. Justine Roberts, chief executive of parenting website Mumsnet, said w hile many families are happy with the place their child is given, others are left feeling anxious and struggling to find a spot at the school they want for their youngster. She said: "How well the school admissions system works depends almost entirely on where you live. Lots of parents are very content with the school places allocated to their children, but in some areas - parts of London, Bristol, East Sussex and Birmingham, for example - the admissions system is starting to feel seriously creaky. "Stories abound of some families cheating the system, which only adds to people's anxiety and sense of injustice; many Mumsnet users say that their children can't get into schools that are a few hundred metres away from their front doors. "Parents are struggling, and the consensus on Mumsnet is that more needs to be done by central and local government to address the problems now, rather than waiting for places to come online in a few years." Families who do not win a place at their favoured school can appeal, and one admissions expert said more are now willing to take that step, and get legal help to do so. Matt Richards, of legal advice firm schoolappeals.com, said: "A few years ago out of 10 phone calls to us, maybe two would pay for some help. Now it's more like 50%. "People are much more switched on in terms of their legal rights and in terms of not wanting to do it on their own and asking for help." Last year, there were 54,600 appeals against school allocations - 3.7% of the total number of admissions to state schools. Just over a fifth (22.8%) of the appeals actually heard by a panel were decided in favour of the parents. Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: "We want every parent to be able to send their children to a good local school. Despite rising pupil numbers the vast majority of parents are able to do so. "The Government is investing billions of pounds creating new schools and new school places and through our free schools programme we want to open 500 more new schools during the five years of this Parliament." The UK would not get 'an easy ride' from other EU countries if it voted to leave Europe, Lord Mandelson believes The Government is stepping up its warnings over the dangers of leaving the EU, with a fresh analysis by officials concluding that any of the alternative arrangements for relations with Europe would leave Britain worse off. The paper - which looks at arrangements adopted by Norway, Switzerland and Canada as well as the option of falling back on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules - is expected to say each would carry serious risks if they were adopted by the UK. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the "hard-headed analysis" showed that it was working people who would pay the price - with lost jobs and higher prices - if the country votes for "out" in the referendum on June 23. But the report was immediately dismissed as another "dodgy dossier" by the pro-Brexit Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith who said it showed the Remain camp was "in denial" about the risks of staying in the EU. The publication of the report indicates David Cameron is undeterred by accusations he is running an unrelentingly negative campaign - dubbed Project Fear by critics - as he leads the fight to keep Britain in. It follows hard on the heels of another Government paper earlier this week warning the country would face a "decade or more of uncertainty" if it chose to leave as it painstakingly negotiated new trade deals. The latest paper examines the arrangements which other countries outside the EU have adopted - and finds none offers the advantages of continued membership. Pointing to the example of Norway, it is expected to say that Oslo still has to make a significant contribution to EU spending and accept three-quarters of EU laws with no votes or vetoes. It also has to accept the free movement of people, with EU migrants accounting for a higher proportion of the population - 6% - than they do in the UK where it is 4%. Looking to Switzerland and Canada, the paper is expected to argue that they have only limited access to the European single market, despite trade deals which have taken years to negotiate. If similar arrangements were adopted by Britain, it will say, the UK financial services sector would face increased costs as they would no longer have "passports" allowing them to sell to the EU market. Like Norway, Switzerland has to accept the free movement of people with almost four times as many EU nationals living in the country as a percentage of the population as there are in the UK. The most drastic option, if the UK failed to reach a deal with the EU, would be to fall back on WTO rules, the paper will say, which would mean new tariffs on UK exports hitting companies with supply chains in Europe. Mr Hammond said: "Hard-headed analysis shows that every alternative to remaining in a reformed EU would leave Britain weaker, less safe and worse off. Working people would pay the price with few jobs and rising prices." But in a further deepening of Conservative divisions, Mr Duncan Smith said the "real uncertainty" lay with the EU "project". "As each day passes we see yet another example - from the utter failure to cope with the migrant crisis, to the increasing disaster of the euro," he said. "This dodgy dossier won't fool anyone, and is proof that Remain are in denial about the risks of remaining in a crisis ridden EU. "The truth is we won't copy any other country's deal. We will have a settlement on our own terms - and one that will return control of our borders, and money to Britain. That's the safer choice." Junior justice minister Dominic Raab, who supports Brexit, accused the In campaign of using fear tactics. He told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: "I think that there is far too much scaremongering, it's like Halloween come early. "We have a scare story each week about the ghoulish prospects outside the European Union. I don't believe in ghosts, and I'm not afraid of these ghoulish stories, or of life outside the EU." However, he refused to be drawn on whether he thought the analysis was a "dodgy dossier". He added: "I think the brighter opportunities for Britain in terms of lower food bills, lower energy costs, freer trade from Latin America to Asia - which of course are the growth areas for the British economy and exports - that's where the real advantages lie." But Mr Hammond told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that the UK enjoys the "best of both worlds" by being "in those parts of the EU that work for Britain" while opting out of those that do not. He said: "It is not credible to suggest that you could have continued access to the single market without having to accept freedom of movement of labour, without having to accept EU regulations, and without having to contribute to the EU budget. "Now maybe the Leave campaign wants to say they are prepared to accept all of those things, but if you accept all of those things surely we are better off inside the European Union with our seat at the table, helping to shape those rules as well as being bound by them." The Prime Minister said the analysis shows the alternatives to EU membership "would damage Britain". He said: " Leave campaigners must now set out what their detailed plan for Britain outside the EU is - and its impact on the economy and prices." Matt Hancock said that 10 years after it was brought in, the FOI Act was working well Ministers are facing demands to reveal the bill for the review of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act after they appeared to drop many of its recommendations. The Government has dismissed the prospect of any changes to the legislation following a major backlash from the media, campaigners and opposition parties. The announcement came despite the independent commission - led by former mandarin Lord Burns and also featuring ex-justice secretary Jack Straw - suggesting a series of alterations. Its report, published after seven months of work, said the rules were "generally" operating well but called for legislation to "clarify beyond doubt" that ministers can wield an exemption over disclosure of material such as Cabinet minutes. There were also proposals for merging and bolstering Sections 35 and 36 - which provide exemptions for policy formulation and ministerial discussions - to protect "collective Cabinet responsibility" and "frank exchanges of views" within government. While stopping short of making a formal recommendation, the panel expressed support for allowing public authorities to include time spent censoring material when calculating whether complying with a request would breach the cost ceiling. Other ideas that were welcomed by FOI campaigners included imposing a 20-day limit on public interest assessments to prevent authorities kicking requests into the long grass, and bringing in the same restriction for internal reviews of refusals. The commission also expressed "sympathy" with complaints that the cost ceiling, currently 600 for Whitehall departments and 450 for local authorities, had not been increased since the Act was introduced in 2005. The report said there was a "case" that the level should be increased to match the "disproportionate cost threshold" applied to questions tabled in Parliament - currently 850. However, the Cabinet Office indicated that it would seek to shore up the ministerial veto by changing the way it is deployed, and guidance would be updated to address other issues. Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock said: " We will not make any legal changes to FOI. We will spread transparency throughout public services, making sure all public bodies routinely publish details of senior pay and perks." The Prime Minister's spokeswoman added: "We are not seeking to change the legislation." Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson said the news was a " remarkable Government climbdown in the face of sustained opposition from Labour, the SNP, the Liberal Democrats, and the media. "I'm delighted that Matthew Hancock has decided the FOI Act is 'working well'. Labour has been making the same point for many months," he said. "We believe the Act should be extended to cover private sector companies that win public sector contracts and we will continue to make that case. Our cross-party report will continue and recommend improvements to the Act. "In the meantime, the Tories should now set out the full cost of setting up and running the Government's independent FOI Commission, which has decided after many weeks of expensive deliberations to maintain the status quo. "If the cost is not disclosed we will submit an FOI request that his department will no doubt process speedily." Maurice Frankel, of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, said: "On the whole, ruling out the legislative changes rules out changes to the Act, and that is a positive development. "That means we are not going to see the public's rights being substantially undermined." He said it was clear that the Government was "stepping right back". "They have taken the public temperature and they have jumped away with scorched hands," he added. Bob Satchwell, director of the Society of Editors, described the announcement as "good news" but said there was still a case for extending the powers of FOI to include organisations acting on behalf of public bodies. He said: "It's a victory for common sense in that it appears that the Government has backed away from putting restrictions on this Act which has created a vital public service and particularly allows the media to inform the public about information which they are entitled to know. "But, on the other hand, the clear evidence from the review was that there's a strong case for what has been a very helpful piece of legislation to be extended to make it really effective for the public." Peter Clifton, Editor-in-Chief of the Press Association, who gave evidence to the Commission, said: "We are absolutely delighted that the FOI Act has escaped legal changes, and that the Commission found it is working well. "PA regularly uses the FOI Act, and it is a vital tool for us to hold our public institutions to account. We look forward to using it for more ground-breaking journalism in the future." Police are treating an attempt by a man to grab a teenager in an underpass as kidnap. The woman, in her late teens, was walking through the underpass in Burnham Lane, Burnham, Buckinghamshire, at 9.30am on Monday when a man approached her. A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: "Initially the offender tried to engage her in conversation and walked alongside her. Then he grabbed her by the waist and started dragging her away. "She managed to grab on to some railings and call the police on her mobile phone. At this point the offender ran off. "The victim sustained cuts to her hand and elbow." The offender is described as Asian, 5ft 7in, with facial stubble. He was wearing a grey jumper or sweatshirt with a red top underneath, a dark-coloured jacket and tan-coloured trousers. Detective Constable Stuart Malham said: "We want to speak to anyone in the area at the time of the incident, in particular several people who passed the victim as she was being held by the man. "They may have assumed there was a domestic argument going on. This was not the case and any information they may have could be vital to the investigation." A 34-year-old man, from Slough, Berkshire, has been arrested on suspicion of kidnap. Tents in the Jungle camp in Calais, France, where mass evictions are taking place Migrants and refugees staged rooftop protests on their ramshackle homes in the Calais camp known as the Jungle in an apparent last-ditch bid to halt demolition teams from dismantling their shelters. Teams with chainsaws and hammers returned to carry out mass evictions for a second day at the slum - home to around 4,000 people, many of whom want to reach Britain. Riot squad officers with batons, tear gas canisters and riot shields gathered en masse in the camp, while rows of police vans parked on the edge of the site. Some migrants sat on top of their shacks, while covered with blankets, in an attempt to prevent contractors from demolishing their shelters within the camp's southern area. Bulldozers and water cannon moved in following a court ruling in Lille last week approving the site's partial clearance, apart from social spaces including schools and places of worship. French authorities want to relocate people from the squalid, rat-infested site to heated containers nearby or to centres around France where they can apply for asylum. State authorities have said up to 1,000 people will be affected. But aid workers say the figure is likely to be much higher. Help Refugees said its own analysis revealed there were 3,455 people living in the affected area. Save The Children said nearly 400 unaccompanied children who have fled war, poverty and persecution live at the site. Campaigners had called for a postponement to remove people from the slum, saying there was not enough new accommodation for people to move to. Some have criticised the decision to send in demolition teams, including Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, who said razing the camp was not the solution. But British hauliers welcomed last week's court's judgment. The Freight Transport Association (FTA) said disruption caused by migrants cost the UK freight industry an estimated 750,000 a day last year. FTA officials said a solution needed to be found to protect the 89 billion of UK trade which passes through cross-Channel ports annually. Calais has lived with migrants in its midst for years, but the current camp on the city's edge sprang up around a day centre opened last April by the state - and has grown explosively. Repeated bids to cross the Channel to Britain have been made by migrants, prompting an Anglo-French operation to bolster security around the ports, including the erection of razor-topped fences. As bulldozers cleared sections of the camp, fire engulfed several shacks in front of banks of CRS riot officers. Activists and migrants tried to clear tents from the path of the blaze as belongings and rubbish lay strewn across the area. Green Party leader for England and Wales Natalie Bennett said: "The return of demolition teams this morning to the camp in Calais known as the Jungle is sad and disturbing. "Vulnerable, desperate people are being left shelterless, as the French police destroy the basic homes that they have built with the help of volunteers. "The use of teargas in the presence of women, including pregnant women, and children, seemingly to drive them from their shelters and homes, is of particular concern." Bed blocking is a bigger problem for NHS hospitals than previously thought, the report says The NHS will waste 3.3 billion over the next five years on "bed blocking" as the number stuck in hospitals continues to rise, a new report predicts. The study from the think tank ResPublica said delayed transfers in England was a growing problem, and Government efforts have so far failed to tackle it. It called for greater investment in social care to drive down the numbers of people relying on the NHS despite being medically fit to be discharged. In February, a separate study of NHS finances commissioned by the Government found about 8,500 bed-blocking patients are trapped in NHS hospitals every day - potentially costing the health service 900 million a year. It said bed blocking - which occurs when patients are medically fit to leave but care has not yet been organised in the community - is a bigger problem for NHS hospitals than previously thought. In the new ResPublica study, experts predicted that the NHS bill for bed blocking will reach 3.3 billion by 2020/21. Experts behind the study forecast a 24% rise in the number of delayed transfer of care beds between 2015/16 and 2020/21. The associated cost to hospitals in 2020/21 will be 763 million - 51% higher than in 2015/16. Caring for bed blocking patients in care homes , rather than in high-cost beds, would cost just 835 million across the entire five-year period, it said. "This would generate a surplus of 2.4 billion currently due to be spent on inappropriate in-hospital care for patients," the study said. Experts also pointed to the non-financial risks of bed blocking, including increasing risk of infection for patients, emotional poor health and a loss of independence and confidence. "For older people, a hospital stay is often associated with marked functional decline - an inability to carry out tasks, including self-care, which were previously non-problematic," it said. "Lying in a hospital bed typically means a lack of independence, decreased mobility and increased isolation. "The longer an older person stays in hospital, the higher the risk of functional decline becomes. A delayed discharge can therefore take away day-to-day life as an older person has known it - irreversibly." The report said the Better Care Fund set up by the Government to better integrate health and social care had so far failed to stem the rising number of bed blockers. Backing the report, Conservative MP Dr Sarah Wollaston, chairwoman of the Commons health committee, said: "This report from ResPublica provides compelling evidence that social care cannot be seen in isolation from the NHS. "There is an urgent need to improve access to social care and to address the delayed transfers of care and this can no longer be sidelined by policy makers." Baroness Joan Bakewell, a champion for older people, said: "Care homes are vital to our community and most importantly to the people who live in them. I welcome ResPublica's report that acknowledges the important role that care homes play in our society and proposes important mechanisms for ensuring their sustainable future." Phillip Blond, director of ResPublica, said: "The way health and social care work together needs to improve dramatically. "The bed blocking crisis in the NHS is only getting worse - clogging up wards and leaving newly arrived patients on trolleys in hospital corridors. "Meanwhile, as ResPublica showed last year, a staggering 37,000 beds could be lost in residential care homes over the next five years because the sector is losing money for every publicly-funded resident. "To redress both of these awful situations, care homes should be given the necessary financial resources as an appropriate alternate care setting to alleviate the problem of bed blocking." In February, the Government review led by Lord Carter of Coles found an increase in delayed transfers of care to around 5,500 patients per day. But it estimated the problem was actually much bigger, with as many as 8,500 beds every day blocked with patients who are medically fit to be transferred. The 5p charge for plastic bags was introduced in England last October A packaging firm has gone out of business, blaming the introduction of a 5p charge for plastic bags in England. Forty workers have lost their jobs at Nelson Packaging's factory in Lancashire. Managing director Michael Flynn said: " Unfortunately Nelson Packaging had to enter into administration. This was an outcome primarily of the English bag legislation and the corresponding impact on customer and retailer demand for plastic carrier bags. "Added to aggressive overseas competition this ultimately proved too devastating for the ongoing viability of the business, despite the continued efforts of the loyal workforce." The 5p charge for bags was introduced in England last October following similar moves in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The number of single-use carrier bags handed out by shops in Wales fell by 71% since charges were introduced in 2011, a report said last year. Scotland and Northern Ireland introduced their charges in 2014 and 2013 and have also seen huge drops in usage. The number of plastic bags handed out in Scottish stores was reduced by 80% - the equivalent of 650 million carriers - in the first year of the 5p charge. In Northern Ireland there was a 42.6% reduction in 2014 following a previous drop of 71%, after charges were introduced. Bailey Gwynne was fatally injured in the incident at Cults Academy in Aberdeen in October last year (Police Scotland/PA) A teenager accused of stabbing to death a pupil at school is going on trial for murder. Bailey Gwynne was fatally injured at Cults Academy in Aberdeen in October last year. A youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies carrying knives at the school and murdering the 16-year-old. The trial at the High Court in Aberdeen is expected to last five days. At a hearing in Glasgow last week, prosecutors rejected a lesser plea of culpable homicide entered by lawyers for the 16-year-old accused. The school, in the west end of the city, was closed for two days following the incident on October 28. The charge against the teenager states he fought with Bailey Gwynne and struck him on the body with a knife. He is alleged to have had in his possession knives or bladed instruments and two knuckledusters at Cults Academy on occasions between August 2013 and the day of the alleged murder. A surfer braves the cold as the sun rises on Tynemouth Beach, North Tyneside, on the last day of meteorological winter After what is expected to be the warmest winter on record the arrival of meteorological spring is set to be marked by a wintry spell bringing snow and the risk of severe gales, according to forecasters. A mild start on Tuesday will see temperatures of up to 13C (55.4F) in London, although the mercury is due to tumble through the week. A front of cold and unsettled weather is due to sweep in bringing rain, snow and strong winds and some localised disruption in the south-west by Wednesday. Met Office forecaster Tom Crocker said: "Over the next few days there is going to be a bit of a change and it will not be very spring-like. "Tuesday is going to be relatively mild but wet and windy for most followed by a frosty night. "There will be a very blustery Wednesday with wintry showers and the possibility of some snow on high levels across northern Britain. "On Wednesday we also have the potential for gale-force winds in western coastal areas, possibly touching severe gale force in parts of coastal Cornwall and south west Wales." The Met Office is due to process the final set of winter temperature readings from weather stations around the UK on Tuesday, with 2015/16 expected to be the warmest in some parts since the 17th century. Preliminary data for the central England temperature series showed an average temperature of 7C (44.6F) this winter, beating a previous high of 6.8C (44.2F) set in 1659. Early figures also indicate this winter has been the second wettest on record and the warmest for the whole of England and Wales in records dating back to 1910. The average total rainfall across the country over the winter was 515mm (20.2 inches), coming second only to 2013/2014, which saw widespread storms and flooding. Refugees wait on the Macedonian side of the border with Greece (AP) Up to 10,000 refugees and other migrants are camped on Greece's northern border with Macedonia, waiting for permission to continue their long trek north to seek asylum in wealthier European countries. Border officials have not allowed anybody to pass for 24 hours, citing a similar policy by Serbia. Greek police estimate up to 10,000 people - mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees - are stuck at the country's Idomeni border in deteriorating conditions. Hundreds of tents filled the fields stretching towards the border fence, which is patrolled on the Macedonian side by scores of police. During the day on Monday, Macedonia let in only 30 refugees. The Idomeni crossing has become a key flashpoint in Europe's migration crisis. Several European nations, led by Austria, have imposed refugee caps and border restrictions over the past 10 days, creating a huge backlog of migrants in Greece. These unilateral actions have infuriated Greece and threaten to damage the unity of the 28-nation European Union. Some migrants have been waiting at Idomeni for more than a week. The camp is full and hundreds more people arrive daily. Jasmin Rexhepi, head of the aid group Legis which has volunteers working in Macedonia on its borders with Greece and Serbia, said Macedonian authorities were restricting the numbers of migrants they let through because Serbia only allowed 30 people to cross their border on Monday from a train carrying 410 people. He said Macedonia was waiting for Serbia to open that border. About 70 people including children, who Macedonia says are mostly from Pakistan, have been stuck on the Macedonian side of the border between two razor-wire fences for three days. # Mr Rexhepi said Macedonian authorities had been trying to send them back to Greece because they had crossed the border illegally, but Greece was refusing to take them back. "We are providing food, water, sleeping bags and raincoats for this group," Mr Rexhepi said. On the Greek side, another group of 150 people who have been told it is their turn to enter Macedonia have spent days in a large tent in front of the crossing. "I've been at Idomeni for 10 days and it's the fourth day I've been waiting to cross over," said Hassan Rasheed, 27, from Iraq. "Conditions are very bad. There are many ill children who are coughing, and we spent the night in this tent under heavy rain." Macedonia closed its border following clashes on Monday when hundreds of migrants tried to force their way into the country. Police responded with tear gas and stun grenades, driving the refugees back. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the build-up of migrants at the Greek-Macedonian border is not comparable to the situation last September, when she agreed to let in thousands of people who had piled up in Hungary. Ms Merkel said after meeting Croatia's prime minister that preparations have been made in recent months to deal with the hundreds of people arriving daily in Greece. She said: "There are accommodation possibilities... in Greece, they should be used by the refugees." Ms Merkel reiterated that the aim is to have a mechanism to distribute refugees arriving in Greece to other European countries. She stressed "there is not a right for a refugee to say, 'I want to get asylum in a particular country in the European Union'". Germany saw nearly 1.1 million people register as asylum-seekers last year. An Afghan policeman has shot dead four colleagues at a checkpoint An Afghan policeman has shot dead four of his colleagues at a checkpoint on a remote stretch of a major southern road. Police in Uruzgan province said another 11 officers manning the checkpoint are still missing. It is still unclear what happened at the checkpoint, which is located on the road between Kandahar and Uruzgan provinces. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident. Afghanistan's police fight insurgents on the front lines, but have fewer resources than the army. On remote checkpoints they are vulnerable to Taliban attacks. Authorities want to consolidate the checkpoints into larger bases but have faced resistance from locals who see them as a barrier against insurgents. CALAIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 28: Migrants walk along a railway line near the 'jungle' camp on February 28, 2016 in Calais, France. The French authorities have begun dismantling part of the jungle encampment and relocating migrants to purpose-built accommodation nearby. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) Anti-riot policemen stand in front of migrants as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images A man on a shelter's roof refusing to leave speak with anti-riot policemen as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images A man on a shelter's roof refusing to leave speaks with anti-riot policemen as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images A man on a shelter's roof refusing to leave gestures in front of anti-riot policemen as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images People stand on a shelter's roof in front of anti-riot policemen as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images A man sits on a shelter's roof in front of anti-riot policemen as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images A man stands on a shelter's roof in front of anti-riot policemen as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images A man sits on a shelter's roof in front of anti-riot policemen as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images A man sits on a shelter's roof in front of anti-riot policemen as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images People sit on a shelter's roof in front of anti-riot policemen as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images A policeman gestures with a man as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images A man sits on a shelter's roof as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images A man refusing to leave stands on a shelter's roof next to anti-riot policemen as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Policemen walk as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Policemen walk as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images A migrant gestures next to a policeman as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images A migrant watches next to a policeman as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images A man carrying belongings walks past a man sitting on a shelter's roof next to anti-riot policemen as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images A man stands on a shelter's roof next to anti-riot policemen as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images An anti-riot policeman gestures as he speaks to a migrant while agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Migrants watch as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Migrants walk past anti-riot policemen as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images An anti-riot policeman stands as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Anti-riot policemen stand next to a school sign and gathered people as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Agents dismantle a shelter as anti-riot policemen stand in front of migrants nearby on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Agents dismantle a shelter as anti-riot policemen stand nearby on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Agents dismantle a shelter as anti-riot policemen stand nearby on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Police officers safeguard helmeted workers pulling down makeshift structures where migrants sleep in the southern sector of the camp near the northern port of Calais, France, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. French authorities have begun dismantling the sprawling migrant camp in Calais where thousands are hanging out, hoping to make their way to a better life in Britain. (AP Photo/Chris den Hond) Agents dismantle a shelter on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Helmeted workers pull down makeshift structures where migrants sleep in the southern sector of the camp near the northern port of Calais, France, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. French authorities have begun dismantling the sprawling migrant camp in Calais where thousands are hanging out, hoping to make their way to a better life in Britain. (AP Photo/Chris den Hond) Helmeted workers pull down makeshift structures where migrants sleep in the southern sector of the camp near the northern port of Calais, France, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. French authorities have begun dismantling the sprawling migrant camp in Calais where thousands are hanging out, hoping to make their way to a better life in Britain. (AP Photo/Chris den Hond) BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Handout file photo taken with permission from the Twitter feed of @GoodChanceCal of police in the Calais migrant camp known as the Jungle as demolition teams have moved in to start dismantling makeshift homes. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday February 29, 2016. A spokeswoman for the Help Refugees charity said police had blocked entrances to the sprawling camp, which is home to around 4,000 people. See PA story POLITICS Jungle. Photo credit should read: @GoodChanceCal/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Handout file photo taken with permission from the Twitter feed of @GoodChanceCal of police in the Calais migrant camp known as the Jungle as demolition teams have moved in to start dismantling makeshift homes. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday February 29, 2016. A spokeswoman for the Help Refugees charity said police had blocked entrances to the sprawling camp, which is home to around 4,000 people. See PA story POLITICS Jungle. Photo credit should read: @GoodChanceCal/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Handout file photo taken with permission from the Twitter feed of @GoodChanceCal of police vans lined up around the perimeter of the Calais migrant camp known as the Jungle as demolition teams have moved in to start dismantling makeshift homes. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday February 29, 2016. A spokeswoman for the Help Refugees charity said police had blocked entrances to the sprawling camp, which is home to around 4,000 people. See PA story POLITICS Jungle. Photo credit should read: @GoodChanceCal/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. Policemen stand as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Policemen stand as agents dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Policemen stand next to shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France as agents dismantle the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Agents dismantle a shelter on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants from the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE HUGUENPHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Workers dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. Pic Getty Images Migrants stand next to shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France as workers dismantle the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town. Pic Getty Images Workers dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. Pic Getty Images Workers dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. Pic Getty Images Workers dismantle shelters on February 29, 2016 in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. Pic Getty Images A French court on February 25 gave the green light to plans to evacuate hundreds of migrants the southern half of the sprawling camp in the port town, with many of the migrants wanting to stay near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, the gateway to their ultimate goal of Britain. Pic Getty Policemen look on as workers dismantle shelters in the "jungle" migrants and refugees camp in Calais, northern France. Pic: Getty Images Migrants run past burning tents in a makeshift camp near Calais, France, Monday Feb. 29, 2016. Under the eye of hundreds of riot police, workers began pulling down tents and makeshift shelters in the sprawling camp in Calais on Monday, dismantling the fragile structures that have served as temporary homes for migrants hoping to make their way to a better life in Britain. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) A migrant uses a fire extinguisher on a group of burning tents in a makeshift camp near Calais, France, Monday Feb. 29, 2016. Under the eye of hundreds of riot police, workers began pulling down tents and makeshift shelters in the sprawling camp in Calais on Monday, dismantling the fragile structures that have served as temporary homes for migrants hoping to make their way to a better life in Britain. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Migrants run past burning tents in a makeshift camp near Calais, France, Monday Feb. 29, 2016. French authorities have begun dismantling part of the sprawling camp locally referred to as "the jungle" where thousands are hanging out, hoping to make their way to a better life in Britain. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Demolition teams flanked by squads of riot police were returning to the Calais "Jungle" this morning to destroy hundreds more refugee shelters following overnight clashes. Riot units fired tear gas at crowds of asylum seekers who reportedly threw stones and other missiles, while others were seen attempting to stop lorries heading towards the Channel Tunnel and board before being forced back off the motorway. There were no reports of serious injuries but at least three people, possibly pro-refugee activists, were arrested during the demolitions. French authorities say around 1,000 people are affected by the eviction plan but humanitarian groups have put the total at more than triple that figure. It is the largest in successive rounds of demolitions aiming to destroy squalid parts of the sprawling camp, near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel and ferries to England, and move refugees away from a motorway that has seen frequent disruption and clashes as groups attempt to board lorries. Converted shipping containers complete with lights, heating and sanitation have been used to create new accommodation for 1,500 people in the camp, where conditions were previously described as diabolical. But the much-touted facility has been greeted by suspicion and distrust. Some of the vulnerable refugees earmarked to move in have refused as rumours spread about why it is fenced off from the rest of the camp, requiring refugees to scan their hands to enter and leave. Authorities also say they have offered to relocate people into centres in other parts of France where they can apply for asylum but many have resisted the move, fearing it will hurt their chances of reaching Britain. Prefect Fabienne Buccio, who had ordered the camp evacuated and dismantled earlier this month, was present for the start of demolitions on Monday. Her office accused some activist groups of intimidation tactics, claiming they were manipulating migrants into refusing to accept government offers of shelter. Really three houses out of four - I mean three huts out of four, or three tents out of four - were already totally abandoned with a lot of rubbish inside, she said. Migrants, she said, had the time necessary to gather their belongings. The rest was good enough to throw away. But cameras filming at the time appeared to capture daily life continuing in the shelters marked for demolition, populated by families and other groups of refugees. About 4,000 people are estimated to live in the camp - down from 6,000 in December and the refugees presence has driven far-right sentiment in both Britain and France. Meanwhile, the refugee crisis is reaching crisis point elsewhere in Europe as border restrictions by Austria, Slovenia, Macedonia and other nations is trapping thousands of homeless migrants in Greece after they arrive on smugglers' boats from Turkey. Independent News Service Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton are looking to pull away from their rivals on Super Tuesday, with almost a dozen state contests across the country key to accelerating their march towards the general election. It is busiest day of the 2016 primary campaign, with a quarter of Americans having their say. The contests come at a turbulent moment for Republicans as they grapple with the prospect of Mr Trump becoming the party's nominee. His main rivals, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, are engaged in a frantic effort to stop the billionaire real estate magnate, but it was unclear whether they had made their move too late. On Tuesday Mr Trump said Rubio should drop out of the race if he doesn't win a single Super Tuesday state. "He has to get out. He hasn't won anything," he told Fox News. Like Mr Trump, Mrs Clinton has won three of the four early voting contests, including in South Carolina on Saturday. Her victory over Vermont Sen Bernie Sanders there was due to support from black voters, putting her in position for a strong showing in several Southern states with large African-American electorates voting on Tuesday. Mrs Clinton is casting herself as a civil alternative to the insults and bullying that have consumed the Republican race, which she said has "turned into a kind of one-upmanship on insulting, and I don't think that's appropriate in a presidential campaign". Of Mr Trump, she said that "obviously, he's done very well". Mr Trump pushed back against criticism by suggesting that he's even attracting Democrats to the Republican Party. "I can tell you the one person Hillary Clinton doesn't want to run against is me," he told ABC. He told a rally later that Mrs Clinton "does not have the strength or the stamina to be president". Mr Sanders, who has energised young voters with his call for a political revolution, was seeking to pick up victories in states including Minnesota and Vermont. But he faces tough questions about whether he can rally minorities, who are core Democratic voters. Democrats will vote in 11 states and American Samoa on Super Tuesday, with 865 delegates up for grabs. It will take 1,237 delegates to secure the nomination at the party's national convention in July. Republicans will vote in 11 states, with 595 delegates at stake - nearly half the 1,237 delegates needed to gain the nomination at the party's convention, also in July. States holding voting contests in both parties on Tuesday are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. Republicans vote in Alaska and Democrats in Colorado. Mr Trump was seeking to sweep the South, which would be a massive blow for Mr Cruz. The Texas senator, a favourite of the region's social conservatives and evangelical Christians, expected the South to be his strength, but now is simply hoping for a victory in his home state. Mr Rubio is seeking to stay competitive in the delegate count and hopes to pull off a win in his home state of Florida on March 15. The Florida senator has cast himself as Republicans' best chance to win in a general election and has received a flood of endorsements from party officials after other more mainstream candidates dropped out. Artillery shells have exploded in a Syrian village near the Turkish border, sending international reporters running for cover and underscoring the limits of Syria's partial ceasefire. The journalists were visiting the village of Kinsibba, which overlooks the Turkish border, on a trip organised by Russia's defence and foreign ministries. The Russian military said the shelling came from the Nusra Front, a militant group that is excluded from the Russia and US-brokered ceasefire. The Syrian ceasefire, which is now in its fourth day, also does not cover the Islamic State group. Reporters were walking across the village and talking to locals when the first shell struck a hillside a few hundred metres away. No casualties were reported. Russia's defence ministry said the ceasefire has been violated 15 times in the past 24 hours. The ministry said most of the violations were recorded around Damascus, Aleppo, Homs and Latakia. It said the NF and IS groups have been attacking government positions and residential areas from territory controlled by the Syrian opposition. The ceasefire began at midnight on Friday and has brought a notable reduction in hostilities for the first time in the five-year war that has killed more than 250,000 people, displaced half of Syria's population and flooded Europe with refugees. Before their trip to Kinsibba, the reporters visited the nearby village of Ghunaymiyah, where residents recently began returning to their homes after the government last month captured the village from NF fighters. Most of the buildings in Ghunaymiyah are just concrete shells, with windows and doors missing. One resident, Musa Magardish, stood in shock in front of his ruined home. He said: "I don't have any money for rebuilding my house, and I have no idea how I can do it." Across the street, dozens lined up in front of a Russian military truck to receive food aid including tinned meat, beans and other staples. "I have a big family, there are seven of us, we feel grateful for that," said Nabila Chine. At the village's church, which was damaged in the fighting, a few people gathered to clean up the shards of glass and pieces of concrete littering the floor, before praying. One of the parishioners, Farah Arijan, said NF militants badly damaged the church when they captured the village in 2012. "They also killed many of our people, one woman was killed when she was trying to flee," he said. Four suicide bombers disguised as soldiers have targeted an Iraqi military base, killing eight army officers including a local commander, in an attack claimed by Islamic State. One of the bombers attacked the gate of the compound in the western town of Haditha, and the others struck after soldiers gathered to help the victims. Eight soldiers were wounded in the attack. IS claimed the assault in online statements issued on jihadi websites, saying it was carried out by two Syrian suicide bombers. Haditha is 150 miles north-west of Baghdad, near a key dam on the Euphrates. IS has attacked the town on a number of occasions, but has never been able to seize it. Iraqi forces, primarily Shiite militias, meanwhile launched a new push to retake a sprawling desert area outside the central city of Samarra, home to one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines, officials said. They hope to cut IS supply lines and tighten the noose around the IS-held northern city of Mosul - Iraq's second largest - according to the Joint Operations Command. Iraqi warplanes are supporting the mission. The Command did not say whether the US-led international coalition was involved. Ahmed al-Asadi, a spokesman for the paramilitary forces, said the offensive "is in retaliation for the blood of our martyrs and to annihilate the terrorist gangs that have wreaked havoc". Sabah Al-Numan, the spokesman for national counter-terrorism forces, said two vehicles loaded with militants were bombed on Tuesday, and that the security forces struck a would-be suicide car bomber before he reached his target. Iraqi forces have advanced against IS in recent months, driving the extremists from the western city of Ramadi and pushing them back on other fronts. But progress has been slow, and IS has launched counter-attacks, often involving multiple suicide bombers. Massive bombings claimed by IS over the last two days in Baghdad and the north-eastern town of Muqdadiyah killed at least 110 people. On Tuesday, separate attacks in and around Baghdad killed at least 13 people and wounded 31 others, according to police and health officials. In one attack, militants broke into a soldier's home south of Baghdad, killing his wife and two children, aged seven and five years old, a police officer said. The solider was critically wounded, he added. Visiting Baghdad on Tuesday, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would begin training Iraqi officers in Jordan. He said: "Iraqi officers will receive training in key priority fields, including countering Improvised Explosive Devices, military medicine and civil-military planning." The US-led coalition against IS has trained more than 18,000 Iraqi troops since December 2014. Iraqi officials have called for an increase in the pace of training efforts ahead of a planned Mosul offensive that Iraq's prime minister has promised will begin this year. Coalition officials say it is too early to set a timeline for the operation. IS still controls large areas of northern and western Iraq that it seized in the summer of 2014, part of a self-declared Islamic caliphate that extends into neighbouring Syria. Donald Trump's refusal to denounce an implicit endorsement from a former Ku Klux Klan leader dominated the narrative as Republican voters across 11 states prepared to head to the polls on Super Tuesday. Mr Trump's rivals are scrambling to stop the billionaire businessman from becoming an "unstoppable" force in the 2016 US presidential contest. And even Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, fresh from a strong win in South Carolina, has started turning her focus on him. Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Florida Senator Marco Rubio continued to criticise Mr Trump's character and lack of policy specifics in a series of attacks on Sunday while courting voters across the South, whose states dominate Tuesday's voting. Mr Rubio and Mr Cruz acknowledge that time is running out to prevent the former reality television host from becoming the Republican Party's presumptive nominee, as the race to collect delegates for the party's nominating convention this summer continues. Mr Trump has won three of four early voting states, and Republicans are divided over the prospect of the brash billionaire becoming their nominee. "There is no doubt that if Donald steam rolls through Super Tuesday, wins everywhere with big margins, that he may well be unstoppable," Mr Cruz said. Mr Trump was asked on CNN whether he rejected support from former KKK Grand Dragon David Duke and other white supremacists, after Mr Duke told his radio followers this week that a vote against Mr Trump was equivalent to "treason to your heritage". "Well, just so you understand, I don't know anything about David Duke. OK?" Mr Trump said. "I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists." Mr Trump later said he did not hear or understand the CNN question. Mr Cruz soon responded on Twitter, telling Mr Trump: "You're better than this. We should all agree, racism is wrong, KKK is abhorrent." Mr Rubio went further, telling a Virginia rally: "We cannot be a party who refuses to condemn white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan. "Not only is that wrong, it makes him unelectable. How are we going to grow the party if we nominate someone who doesn't repudiate the Ku Klux Klan?" Mr Trump has not always claimed ignorance on Mr Duke's history. In 2000, he wrote a New York Times editorial explaining why he abandoned the possibility of running for president on the Reform Party ticket. He wrote of an "underside" and "fringe element" of the party, concluding: "I leave the Reform Party to David Duke, Pat Buchanan and Lenora Fulani. That is not company I wish to keep." Asked about the issue on Monday, Mr Trump told NBC he had disavowed Mr Duke and asked: "How many times do I have to continue to disavow people?" The Duke debate seeped into the Democratic contest, as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders lashed out on Twitter: "America's first black president cannot and will not be succeeded by a hatemonger who refuses to condemn the KKK." Mrs Clinton re-tweeted Mr Sanders' message. The former secretary of state holds a huge advantage among African-Americans, a key Democratic constituency that will play a dominant role in several Super Tuesday states. Mr Trump holds commanding leads across the South, with the exception of Mr Cruz's home state of Texas, a dynamic that puts tremendous pressure on Mr Rubio and Mr Cruz as they try to outlast each other. Mr Trump mocked the Republican establishment and his flailing rivals, telling NBC: "It's amazing what's going on," and calling his campaign a "movement". Details have been released from the will of Osama bin Laden The handwritten will of Osama bin Laden has revealed the former al Qaida leader had about 29 million US dollars (20.8 million) in personal wealth - the bulk of which he wanted to be used "on jihad, for the sake of Allah". The will was released in a batch of more than 100 documents seized during the May 2011 raid that killed bin Laden at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Bin Laden planned to divide his fortune among his relatives, but wanted most of it spent on carrying out the work of the Islamic extremist terror network behind the September 11 2001 attacks. The threat of sudden death was on his mind years before the fatal raid in Pakistan. "If I am to be killed," he wrote in a 2008 letter to his father, "pray for me a lot and give continuous charities in my name, as I will be in great need for support to reach the permanent home". The documents were released by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence. They address a range of topics, including fractures between al Qaida and al Qaida in Iraq, which eventually splintered off into what is now known as the Islamic State; and bin Laden's concerns about his organisation's public image. In another letter, addressed to "The Islamic Community in General," bin Laden offered an upbeat assessment of progress in his holy war and of US failings in Afghanistan. The letter is undated but appears to have been written in 2010. He wrote: "Here we are in the tenth year of the war, and America and its allies are still chasing a mirage, lost at sea without a beach." "They thought that the war would be easy and that they would accomplish their objectives in a few days or a few weeks, and they did not prepare for it financially, and there is no popular support that would enable it to carry on a war for a decade or more." Bin Laden sought to portray the US as mired in an unwinnable war in Afghanistan. In an undated letter that appears to have been written in the 2009-2010 period, he compared the American combat position to that of the Soviet Union in the final years of its occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. "America appears to be hanging on by a thin thread," he wrote. "We need to be patient a bit longer. With patience, there is victory." Beginning last summer, the CIA led an inter-agency review of the classified documents under the auspices of the White House's National Security Council staff. Representatives from seven agencies combed through the documents. The review is ongoing, with the next release expected later this year. Shortly before his death, bin Laden hailed the overthrow and death of Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi. In a February 25 2011 letter addressed "to our people in Libya," bin Laden said al Qaida had triumphed. He wrote: "Praise God, who made al Qaida a great vexation upon him, squatting on his chest, enraging and embittering him, and who made al Qaida a torment and exemplary punishment upon him, this truly vile hallucinating individual who troubles us in front of the world." There have been five months of near-daily Palestinian attacks that have killed 28 Israelis, while at least 167 Palestinians have been killed (AP) A 22-year-old Palestinian was killed and four others were wounded in clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank. The Palestinian Red Crescent said Eyad Sajadiyeh was shot in the head. The Israeli military said troops entered the Qalandia refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, early on Tuesday to retrieve two soldiers who had lost their way and came under attack. It says their Jeep was pelted with rocks and firebombs and the soldiers had to flee after it caught fire. They were later rescued. Five Israeli soldiers were wounded in the violence. It is the latest in five months of near-daily Palestinian attacks that have killed 28 Israelis. At least 167 Palestinians have been killed, most of them said by Israel to have been attackers. Thousands of people attend the funeral of police officer Mumtaz Qadri in Rawalpindi, Pakistan (AP) Tens of thousands of Pakistanis gathered for the funeral of a police officer executed for murdering a secular governor in 2011 over accusations of blasphemy. As a precaution against violence, authorities closed all schools and stepped up security in Islamabad and the adjacent city of Rawalpindi, where the funeral of Mumtaz Qadri was held. Roads around key government buildings and diplomatic compounds were also closed off. Qadri's supporters threw rose petals at the ambulance carrying his coffin through Rawalpindi. Authorities put a gag order on local media covering the funeral, warning outlets in a letter they would face closure if their reporting "glorifies extremism". Some supporters attacked a media crew, breaking at least one video camera. Meanwhile, footage posted on social media showed Qadri's supporters jeering at Pakistani Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid at Karachi's airport. One threw a shoe at the minister but he ducked. Qadri's hanging on Monday triggered street protests in several Pakistani cities as some religious and political leaders, and militant groups have publicly defended him. He was executed for killing secular governor Salman Taseer who had called for reforms of the country's harsh blasphemy laws. Shortly after the attack, Qadri said he killed Governor Taseer because he had allegedly committed blasphemy by campaigning to change the laws and also in support of a jailed Christian woman accused of desecrating Islam's holy book, the Koran. Tens of thousands of Qadri's supporters walked for miles to reach the funeral venue as police had blocked most of the roads for traffic. Many chanted in support of Qadri while others carried posters with photographs of the former officer. One of those in the crowds, Ahmad Nadeem, wore a T-shirt with the painted logo: "I'm Mumtaz Qadri." "I wouldn't hesitate to do the same," he said. Pakistan's blasphemy laws allow for anyone convicted of insulting Islam to be sentenced to death, though people often take the law into their own hands. The January 2011 assassination horrified Pakistan's relatively small liberal elite. However, many Pakistanis, including some in the religious establishment and in legal circles, praised Qadri - a sign of the spread of Islamic fundamentalist thought in the South Asian nation. Pakistan lifted a moratorium on the death penalty after a Taliban school attack in December 2014 and has executed more than 300 convicts since then. The government has also taken measures against extremism, introducing a ban on hate speech, abuse of mosques, as well as media blackout on militant groups. Islamabad has also promised to improve security for minority groups and upgrade legislations on individual rights and women's rights. The Vatican newspaper praised Oscar-winning film Spotlight on Monday as having given voice to the "profound pain" of the faithful over the reality of clerical sex abuse, and insisted it is not an anti-Catholic film. L'Osservatore Romano dedicated two articles in its afternoon editions to the Academy Awards and the Best Picture won by Spotlight, about the Boston Globe's 2002 expose of the hundreds of Boston children who were raped and molested by Catholic priests and the church's systematic cover-up of the crimes. L'Osservatore quoted producer Michael Sugar's acceptance speech- "Pope Francis, it's time to protect the children and restore the faith" - saying even his appeal was positive. "It means there's still faith in the institution, there's faith in a pope who is continuing the clean-up started by his predecessor as cardinal. And there's still trust in a faith that has at its heart the defence of victims and the protection of innocents," said the piece by Lucetta Scaraffia, one of L'Osservatore's main columnists and the editor of its monthly edition on women's issues. She said the film was not anti-Catholic "because it manages to give voice to the shock and profound pain of the faithful when confronted with discovery of this horrible reality". Vatican Radio, which gave the film an enthusiastically positive review in October when it screened at the Venice Film Festival, also praised Spotlight in its Oscar wrap as a "rigorous and authentic" reconstruction, and cited Sugar's appeal. The reaction marks a dramatic turnabout by the Vatican from a decade ago and even as recently as 2010, when the last convulsion of the long-running scandal flared as thousands of new victims came forward in Europe, Latin America and beyond. Then, the Vatican paper of record was a vehicle for ringing defences of how the Holy See had responded and criticism for the "unjust attacks" being hurled against its pope. Vatican praise for Spotlight reflects the generally positive reviews the film has had in Catholic circles: Just a few weeks ago, it was screened in the Vatican for members of Francis' sex abuse advisory commission. And the Reverend Tim Kesicki, president of the Jesuit Conference in the US, said he had recently invited his staff to see it at a Washington theatre. He said they left feeling "both moved and devastated". "We were moved by the courage of those survivors who came forward and shared their truth, and we were devastated by the size and scope of the suffering," Fr Kesicki said in an email. "It is a painful story that has to be told." The Oscar was handed out just hours after one of the most senior officials in the Vatican, Australian Cardinal George Pell, testified before Australia's Royal Commission, which is investigating the scope of the abuse scandal there. The public hearing is evidence that more than a decade after the church's cover-up was exposed, some level of accountability is beginning to take hold. Later today the Police Federation for Northern Ireland will do something unique in policing terms. Traditionally we've always taken the view that we stick to the business of representing officers on the job - giving practical help where and when it matters with their welfare, front and centre. At lunchtime we'll embark on something that places welfare on a different level. We will launch a campaign entitled #WeAreYou, which seeks to address some misperceptions about our officers. There's the mistaken belief that the men and women I represent are a somehow privileged group, cocooned from the rest of society. There's a view that cops are robots, doing what they're told and nothing more - and that they're hardened to the tragic incidents they deal with all too frequently. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our officers are of and from our community. They grapple with the same challenges as the people they serve. Take them out of their uniforms and the men and women who rush towards danger for a living have identical concerns and worries. #WeAreYou is our way of restoring balance. Through a series of professionally made, high-end mini-movies that will get widespread exposure, the Police Federation sets out to show how officers are far from shielded or immune. They have to deal with tragedy in a professional, empathetic manner, but often they relate what they see to their own family circumstances. A victim of a vicious assault could just as easily be their grandparent, or a missing child might be the same age as their own son or daughter. While most people occasionally deal with traumatic events, police officers often witness two or three such incidents in one week. #WeAreYou doesn't seek to whip up sympathy for them. No, we merely wish to make the community we serve better informed of who we are and what we do. We work against an appalling and unacceptable threat from terrorists - and that makes the job like no other in the public sector. In return we ask for a little understanding and acceptance that we really are no different from the people we serve. Mark Lindsay is chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland The Sinn Fein TDs who were elected to the Dail in the general election last week owe a debt of gratitude to the IRA. They may not wish to express it publicly, but it is indisputable that it was the IRA that took the decision to allow them to stand - even before Sinn Fein itself debated the issue. Go back to 1986 when Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness urged the party to vote in favour of fighting elections to the Dail and taking seats. Previously the party had reasoned that if partition was a crime against Ireland, then parliaments on both sides of an illegitimate border were equally to be shunned. Therefore there was no more sense in Sinn Feiners taking seats in the Dail than there was in them trying to get into Stormont or Westminster. This was one of the key issues on which the Provisionals had split from the Officials in 1970, so it was a radical change that was being proposed, and it was inevitable that the republican movement would split again on it. But Adams had a card up his sleeve when he argued for the motion. He knew that some delegates would argue the decision to take seats in the Dail amounted to a betrayal of the IRA. They would say that this would undermine the armed struggle that had, until then, persisted for 16 years. So, Adams told them that the IRA had already made its own decision in favour of lifting the ban. He addressed Sinn Fein as a party that had little option but to rubber-stamp decisions taken by the IRA, which had no room to manoeuvre otherwise. He told members they were democrats and that their opinions mattered. Then he took all choice away from them. He said: "Some of you may feel that a republican organisation making such a change can no longer call itself republican. I would remind you that another republican organisation has already done what you fear we are going to do tomorrow." He told delegates, in effect, that they were not bound by decisions of the IRA. Then he said they were. "The logic which would dictate withdrawal of support from Sinn Fein, if decisions go against you, means that you have already decided to withdraw solidarity and support from the IRA and the armed struggle." The implication of that was that you could hardly be presumed to be a good republican if you did not fully support the IRA, not just in its armed actions but in its political thinking. Further, it demonstrated that the IRA took the big decisions and Sinn Fein's only job was to endorse them. Now, it may not be like that any more. It is hard to imagine that people with the focus and principle of Pearse Doherty and Mary Lou McDonald would stay in Sinn Fein if they thought the IRA was dictating policy. That may be put to the test soon if - as some republicans now believe - Adams is close to retirement as party leader. He has achieved a great deal for Sinn Fein and enlarged its vote. Yet some think it could have done better without him; without a leader tainted by his IRA past; without a leader who defends the IRA's management of rape cases; without a leader who is always the lightning rod for popular contempt for the IRA and what it did. Strangely, McGuinness doesn't get sneered at as much as Adams. That may be unfair and hard to account for given that McGuinness has acknowledged that he was an IRA member, at least in the early days of the Troubles. But it is a reality that the party has to live with. And, anyway, he's beginning to look like he is past it at 67. His management of media interviews during the election campaign was cringe-making, so it may be that a new leader is to be chosen soon. It is hard to imagine an ard fheis now at which Adams, or anyone else, would address the delegates as he did in 1986 and tell them that a decision before them had already been taken "by another republican organisation" and that they would be demonstrating their disloyalty to the IRA if they did not take the same decision themselves. But what is to be done if the IRA - as security briefings suggest - still regards itself as the ultimate authority in the movement? When the security assessment of the status of the Provisional IRA was published during the Fresh Start talks last year there was much rumbling over the finding that members of the IRA believed that their army was in control of Sinn Fein. The report itself did not conclude that the gunmen really were still in charge, but preferred to limit itself to suggesting that they might be deluded into imagining so. McGuinness was emphatic that the party was under no one's control; it made its own decisions. But it was not always so. What if there are grumpy old boys who like the way things were in the Seventies and Eighties? The relationship between the IRA and Sinn Fein was made clear in a document captured from the then chief-of-staff Seamus Twomey in 1977. This was the plan for the political project. It said: "Sinn Fein should be radicalised (under army direction) and should agitate about social and economic issues which attack the welfare of the people." There is no doubting there who is in charge. Perhaps the transition is complete and Sinn Fein is now a fully independent party, albeit an odd one. Keeping the same leader in place for 30 years does not betoken healthy democratic instincts. The party has no experience of choosing a leader and it appears to have adjusted itself reasonably comfortably to dictation from above, a top-down management style that declares itself once in a while by telling constituencies who to put forward as candidates. Look how people in the second tier get shuffled around while the top boys stay in place. Count the ministers in the last Assembly who have simply faded into the background and watch now to see if Jennifer McCann and Caral Ni Chuilin keep their jobs in the next one. John O'Dowd has already accepted that he won't. Michelle Gildernew has hardly been the mistress of her own fate. Adams has bridged the old and the new ways of doing things in both the IRA and in Sinn Fein. When he goes, he will have to take all trace of the old ways with him. Or there will be ructions in Dublin. A man who tortured, humiliated and sexually abused his best friend failed in a High Court bid on Saturday to prevent Sunday Life revealing his identity. Ballyclare man Jordan Kernoghan is today revealed as the violent sex offender who helped Darren Fu subject 17-year-old pal Aodhan Woods to hours of hell at a flat in south Belfast. Would-be rock guitarist Kernoghan, who turns 19 in April, was Aodhans best friend and the pair had been studying music together at college in Bangor. Last night brave Aodhan Woods said he was over the moon that the High Court had rejected former pal Kernoghans bid to stop Sunday Life naming him. I finally feel like after all this time I can finally start to move on, said a relieved Aodhan. Its such a weight off my shoulders its the closure that I needed. Fu and Kernoghan, then 17, subjected terrified Aodhan to violent and degrading attacks at Fus flat in Stranmillis in May 2014. A pillowcase was placed over Aodhans head with towels also wrapped around and held in place with a belt before he was subjected to several serious sexual assaults. EXTREME The twisted duo even used a drumstick and a microphone stand to inflict extreme discomfort on Aodhan. Kernoghan, who tried to stop Sunday Life publishing his details, even used a fake name on Facebook to hide his identity while showing off his new fiancee. I couldnt understand why Jordan was never named, because hes an adult, but I didnt think there was anything we could do, said Belfast Met student Aodhan. It felt like hed kind of got away with it. But Ive learned recently that I never really actually knew that much about him. The three of us were best friends when this happened I was with them near enough every day. Jordan was in my tech class at SERC in Bangor and then I met Darren [Fu] on a website called Join My Band. It was mainly music that we all enjoyed but the three of us just got on really well and liked a lot of the same things. I just never ever expected something like that to happen. It was unbelievable. I feel like its one thing if its a stranger but its another if its your mates, and your best ones at that. I trusted them and thats why now I have trust issues. I dont trust people after what they did and itll take a long time to build that back up. Aodhan, who has courageously spoken out about his ordeal in an attempt to help other victims, has recently been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Jordan Kernoghan was sentenced alongside Darren Fu for the attacks on Woods last week. He received a six-year sentence three in custody at a Young Offenders Centre and three on licence. But while Fu was named and shamed, Kernoghan remained anonymous because he was mistakenly identified as a youth in court papers and journalists believed he could not be identified. When Sunday Life established there was no court order to prevent Kernoghan being named, the sex attacker rushed to seek an interim injunction barring us from naming him today. In the High Court yesterday, his lawyer argued that identifying Kernoghan would impinge on his Article 2 rights under the European Convention of Human Rights. In an affidavit, Kernoghans solicitor said he had been instructed by his mother that she is extremely concerned about the likely impact upon the plaintiffs health and well-being, were his identity to be made public. A lawyer said Kernoghan had a history of self harm and suicide attempts, had been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome and was a vulnerable individual. He asked for a temporary injuction to allow time for an assessment of client by a suitable clinician. But Mr Justice John OHara rejected Kernoghans injunction bid after considering medical reports on the convicted sex offender. He said Kernoghans reported history of self-harming and suicide attempts took place in his early teens and were, in his reading, related to his use of drugs and alcohol. But he said a more recent medical report indicated that Kernoghan displayed significant and sustained improved improvement and was not considered at risk of self harming. VIOLENT The judge quoted Kernoghan himself telling the doctor about how he had made good progress he was off the drugs, had got his own house and had a fiancee. The judge accepted Kernoghan had been diagnosed with Aspergers and would require ongoing treatment. But Mr Justice OHara said there was a public interest in not giving anonymity to violent offenders and the publication of their names also acted a deterrent to others. He said it was obviously regrettable that any person should suffer from Aspergers but this was not a justification for granting anonymity to a violent offender. Sunday Life was not legally represented at the hearing but news editor Stephen Gordon spoke on the newspapers behalf. On hearing the judges decision, a delighted Aodhan Woods said: Im just so glad that people finally know who he is and what hes done. I thought Jordans friends might wonder where hed gone if he just mysteriously disappeared for three years but I know a lot of them dont have a clue whats happened because he was never named in court. I could never forgive them for what they did. I couldnt even look at them again, but thankfully I wont have to. This is the closure I feel I deserved and now I can try to get on with my life. Im so happy. In just under four months Northern Ireland, like the rest of the United Kingdom, will face one of the biggest questions of our time. Do we stay in a reformed European Union, or leave for good? This is not about whether we could make a go of things outside the European Union. Of course we could. I believe in the United Kingdom head, heart and soul and I know we will always be successful whatever path we choose. The real question is this: are families and businesses in Northern Ireland better off if we are inside a reformed EU, or out on our own? My view is clear: we are all better off, safer and stronger by staying in a reformed EU. Northern Ireland will be better off because businesses here will have full access to a free trade single market of 500 million people that delivers jobs, investment and lower prices in the shops. Today as many as 50,000 jobs in Northern Ireland are linked to trade with the rest of the European Union. In fact food and drink and farming as a whole account for a fifth of all Northern Irelands exports, with almost 90 per cent now going to the EU. The people who want us to leave cannot tell us what our status would be outside the EU in terms of trading with our former partners. Some argue for simply opting for World Trade Organisation (WTO) status and rules, which could mean paying tariffs on our exports, including food. So this decision will be particularly important for Northern Irelands farmers. The Ulster Farmers Union has said they think food prices in Northern Ireland would increase if we left the EU. Their concerns include the loss of a key market and tighter north-south trade controls. It is vital that the voice of Northern Irelands farmers is heard and that those who want us to leave the EU answer their questions. Those who believe we should leave also have to be clear about two other things. First, they are wrong to suggest that it would be possible for Northern Ireland to cut its corporation tax without facing any reduction in its Block Grant from Westminster. If we wanted to trade with Europe, then the same rules would probably still apply, and in any event no Government could ever simply waive the costs of a tax reduction like this in one part of the UK. Second, those who advocate leaving need to explain what it would mean for the Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland. I am clear the UK will never be part of the passport-free Schengen zone, but I do want to sustain free trade and movement between the UK and the Republic of Ireland. I know how important it is to business and communities that the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland remains fully open. There was 4bn worth of trade between the two parts of the island in 2014, and the Republic is by far Northern Irelands largest export market. So those arguing to leave need to explain how they would prevent the delays, extra bureaucracy and costs to business that would come with the introduction of physical customs controls on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic? How would they avoid having to introduce immigration checks on the border, when the Common Travel Area relies on the fact that the UK and the Republic have similar immigration arrangements? These are questions that need to be answered. Soon it will be time to make your choice. Leave a leap in the dark to years of risk, economic danger and uncertainty for Northern Ireland and for the future of the whole UK; or stay, giving us a safer, stronger, more prosperous UK, standing united with real clout on the world stage. And if we stay our plan for Europe gives us the best of both worlds in the single market with a say over its rules but out of the parts of Europe that dont work for us like the single currency and the commitment to ever closer political union. Its a decision that will shape the destiny of Northern Ireland and the future of our children and grandchildren. Ill be voting to remain. I hope the people of Northern Ireland will, too. According to research from Dublin firm Pagefair and Adobe, one in five people now use some sort of ad-blocking app or technology to stop ads If you're reading this column on a phone or a PC, the ads you see around the article may soon force you to make some choices. The mobile operator Three has said that it will start blocking online ads at a network level. It will start this in its UK and Italian mobile operators, while the Irish operator will "watch and see" how things progress with the move. Three isn't alone. Digicel, the Caribbean mobile operator run by Denis O'Brien, has also pledged to filter out online ads at a network level. And more mobile operators are set to follow. The company that both Digicel and Three are using to block ads, Shine, says that it is negotiating with dozens more operators to achieve the same effect. This operator's move to block ads is of significant concern to publishers. According to research from Dublin firm Pagefair and Adobe, one in five people now use some sort of ad-blocking app or technology to stop ads appearing on their phones or PC screens. Commercially, Adobe and Pagefair estimate that it is costing publishers up to 20bn in ad revenues each year. Three says that it is introducing the ad blocking filters because of the growing slice of customers' monthly data consumed by ads. Digicel's rationale is a little different, with Denis O'Brien having previously objected to Google and Facebook 'getting a free advertising ride' on network operators' infrastructure. He says he wants such web giants to start paying operators in a new revenue-sharing model. But publishers don't see things in the same way. Ads are the lifeblood of their commercial model. If ad blocking becomes universal, many will go out of business. So some are fighting back. 'The New York Times' is to consider introducing technology that can detect when an ad blocker is being used by an online reader. It will then cut the reader off. "Trying to use and get benefit of the Times' journalism without making any contribution to how it's paid is not good," said the newspaper's chief executive, Mark Thompson. "In the end, they're not really helping pay for what they consume. This stuff is not made for free." Other major publishers have already introduced this type of anti-ad blocker strategy. 'Forbes' won't let desktop visitors using ad blocking apps past its front page, displaying a message that tells them they must disable the ad blocker to continue reading. Wired.com has just introduced the same system, with a twist: they can continue using ad blockers if they pay $1 per week. "We know that there are many reasons for running an ad blocker," says the technology publication's open letter to readers. "We want to offer you a way to support us while also addressing those concerns." Ads can be a real pain. Aside from the data they use, they also slow access to web pages, sometimes considerably. But we are coming to a point of reckoning where people will soon have to decide whether the service they want to access 'for free' is worth seeing ads for. Swedish IT entrepreneur Robert Ilijason shows how to use a mobile phone to scan a purchase at his unmanned shop in the southern Sweden village of Viken (AP) A Swedish IT specialist has opened the country's first unmanned, 24-hour convenience store. Robert Ilijason, 39, said he was inspired after a chaotic late-night scramble to buy baby food with a screaming toddler in the back seat. Customers at the store in Viken, southern Sweden, use their mobile phones to unlock the door with a swipe of the finger and scan their purchases. All they need to do is register for the service and download an app. They get charged for their purchases in a monthly invoice. The shop has basics like milk, bread, sugar, canned food, nappies and other products that you expect to find in a small convenience store. It does not have tobacco or medical drugs because of the risk of theft. Alcohol cannot be sold in convenience stores in Sweden. "My ambition is to spread this idea to other villages and small towns," said Mr Ilijason. "It is incredible that no one has thought of his before." He hopes the savings of having no staff will help bring back small stores to the countryside. In recent decades, such stores have been replaced by bigger supermarkets often many miles away. Mr Ilijason receives deliveries at the shop and stacks products on the shelves. Then he lets the customers do the rest. He has installed six surveillance cameras to discourage shoplifting in the 480-square-foot store. Also, he is alerted by a text message if the front door stays open for longer than eight seconds or if someone tries to break it open. "I live nearby and can always run down here with a crowbar," Mr Ilijason said laughing, but added that has not been necessary since the store opened in January. A bigger challenge has been getting some of the elderly residents in Viken, a town of 4,200 people, to get the hang of the technology involved. Tuve Nilsson, 75, said there were many more shops in the town when he moved here with his family in 1976. He welcomed Mr Ilijason's new store, saying it could be convenient for elderly people living alone. "But if they can manage this (technology), I don't know," Mr Nilsson said. "Sometimes I don't understand it." Mr Ilijason is considering other ways to unlock the door that would not require using an app. He has ruled out face-recognition or fingerprint scanners, but is thinking of installing a credit card reader like some banks use. He is also considering having one person man the store for a few hours a day to help customers who are not comfortable with modern technology. Other customers loved the speed of the no-service store. Raymond Arvidsson, a friend of Mr Ilijason, did his shopping in less than a minute. "No queues," he said, smiling. "Quick in, quick out. I like." The draft Investigatory Powers Bill, or Snoopers' Charter, keeps a provision that weakening of security will only happen in cases where it is practicable, but that could still allow the Government to outlaw many of the most popular chat services as they currently exist The Government is pushing through a bill that will cripple WhatsApp and iMessage as they currently exist. The bill has been re-drafted after it was criticised by every parliamentary committee responsible for scrutinising it, but many of the most controversial powers remain. The new draft of the Investigatory Powers Bill includes a clause that forces technology companies to weaken their security when spies need it to. That includes the removal of end-to-end encryption, the technology that allows services like WhatsApp, iMessage and FaceTime to allow people to communicate securely. The Government said that it had re-written the law to respond to concerns about the weakening of encryption, and that it would no longer force them to weaken encryption. It will only force companies to weaken security that they themselves applied, for instance. But the new law could still force companies to install backdoors in their security, undermining the technology used in many of the most popular chat apps. Charities including Privacy International criticised the bill, arguing that no changes had been made to guarantee people's security. "It would be shameful to even consider this change cosmetic," said Gus Hosein, the executive director of Privacy International. "The Bill published today continues to adhere to the structure and the underlying rationale that underpinned the draft IP Bill, despite the criticism and lengthy list of recommendations from three Parliamentary Committees. "The continued inclusion of powers for bulk interception and bulk equipment interference - hacking by any other name - leaves the right to privacy dangerously undermined and the security of our infrastructure at risk. Despite this, the Home Office stands by its claim that the Bill represents "world-leading" legislation. It is truly world-leading, for all the wrong reasons." The bill also requires that internet companies keep information on everything their users have looked at for an entire year. That information can then be accessed by the Government. The new changes to the draft bill widen the situations where those powers can be used. Law enforcement will now be able to access internet usage records for pursuing investigative leads, after concerns that police would not be able to get hold of them for missing people inquiries and other investigations. The ban on encryption only requires companies to remove the security features when it is deemed practicable. Technology companies have repeatedly complained that it isnt clear what that restriction means. The new bill does include new explicit checks on that measure, making clear that the test must include a consideration of how much it would cost to remove that encryption, for instance. If the powers are used as written, they could lead to the outlawing of many of the worlds most popular internet services or force products including Apples iOS, which powers the iPhone and iPad, to be re-written from the ground up. But those same restrictions could bring the bill into conflict with other . The draft powers do not make clear how the Government would treat instances of extra-territorial conflict, meaning that the new bill could force companies to break the law in other countries to satisfy the UK powers. Technology companies have also worried that the powers to weaken encrypted chat services could set a precedent and lead to them also being instituted by other countries with fewer protections. The Government hopes that it can pass the bill by the end of the year. It claims that it is necessary because many of the laws allowing for spying will go out of date in 2016, and says that passing it will allow all of those powers to be brought under one umbrella. Spying laws give tax authorities and immigration officers power to hack into people's phones and computers Tax and immigration officers will be allowed to hack into people's phones when the UK's new spying laws are passed. The draft Investigatory Powers Bill hands over huge new powers to public bodies, allowing a range of them to engage in "equipment interference", or hacking. As well as police forces, those new powers are granted to tax authorities at Revenue and Customs, and immigration officers. It also includes customs officials and the chair of the Competition and Markets Authority, a Government body that is meant to stop anti-competitive behaviour. The full list also includes all major police forces, including the British Transport Police and the various military police forces. The proposals also hand over the power to many police forces that allow them to see people's entire internet browsing history. Independent Despite some amazing films up for nomination, the last award of the night, best picture, was given to Spotlight, a film about Boston Globe investigative reporters digging into a sexual abuse scandal involving Catholic priests. Spotlight was nominated for 6 Academy Awards this year. Due to The Revenant winning best director and best actor, viewers were left stunned when Spotlight took home the biggest award of the night. This was a prime example of how the Academy does not always stick with popular opinion. Its reminiscent of 12 Years a Slave vs. Gravity in 2013. While Gravity undoubtedly was an amazing technical achievement, 12 Years had the guts. Spotlight viewers were passionate about the films message; it had the power to say what needed to be said. This film gave a voice to survivors, producer Michael Sugar stated. And this film amplifies that voice, which we hope will become a choir that will resonate all the way to the Vatican. Spotlight was always a top contender at the Academy Awards this year, ever since its premiere at the Venice film festival in September of 2015. Spotlight has commanded considerable attention and marked its presence by winning a string of significant awards. The Academy voters responded to a film that had a serious and deliberate message. Spotlight also took the award home for Best Original Screenplay. While the faith film was the evenings last highlight, many other films are basking in the glow of an Oscar. Mad Max: Fury Road took home a total of six Oscars; the most of any film of the night. Leonardo DiCaprio took home his first Oscar for best actor for The Revenant and Brie Larson took home the Oscar for best actress for Room. Best supporting actress went to Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl, and best supporting actor went home with Mark Rylance for Bridge of Spies. The 88th Academy Awards aired from Hollywoods Dolby Theatre. A lot of the suspicion surrounding Islam comes from a lack of knowledge or understanding of a religion that is still foreign to many people, despite its 1.6 billion followers. Often this lack of knowledge results in the public cooptation of important aspects of the faith. Words like jihad and shariah have become synonymous with things like terrorism, violence and radicalism, resulting in Muslims being unable to freely use or express these important tenets of their faith. To help clarify some common misconceptions about one of the world's largest religions, here is a page from my Muslim dictionary. Islam /es-lam/ Is-lam noun: peace that comes from submission Islam derives from the Arabic root consonants s-l-m, which means submission. Islam is also derived from the root word salaam, meaning peace. Islam is thus the submission of oneself to God through which the highest form of peace is attained. Assalaamu alaykum, a common Muslim greeting, is translated from Arabic to be "Peace be upon you." Muslim /muss-lim/ Mus-lim noun: one who has submitted The word Muslim in Arabic is also derived from the same root consonants as Islam, s-l-m. A Muslim is one who has submitted or surrendered; in this religious context, a Muslim is one who has voluntarily submitted to God's will or God's decree to achieve peace. Allah /uh-luh/ Al-lah noun: The God The word Allah can be broken down into two parts. The al is a prefix definite article that translates to the. The second part luh simply translates to God. Therefore, Allah refers to The God. This is an important clarification to make because Allah is not a God Muslims believe in that is inherently antithetical to other groups' beliefs; rather, Allah just refers to The God. From an Islamic viewpoint, this is the same God that the other Abrahamic faiths believe in. For example, Christian Arabs would also refer to God as Allah. Jihad /jee-had/ ji-had noun: a spiritual self struggle Jihad is derived from the Arabic root word juhud, which means effort. Jihad is thus generally the process of exerting effort and can be applied to nonreligious actions. In the religious context, however, jihad does not mean waging a holy war or engaging in violence. Rather, the greatest form of jihad is an individual's struggle with the self -- the heart, the soul. A Muslim exerts effort in daily life activities -- such as pursuing an education or a career -- to do and achieve good for the personal process of self-improvement so as to achieve internal peace and closeness with Allah. Shariah /sha-ree-a/ sha-ri-ah noun: legal reasoning; law Shariah derives from the root shara'a and refers to a pathway or a path that leads to water. Shariah refers to the pathway upon which the believers should tread so as to reach this source of water i.e. the righteous way of life. The shariah is derived from Quranic revelation, the Prophet Muhammad's sunnah (Peace be upon him) or his traditions and sayings, and other sources of law and legal reasoning. Madrasah /med-ruh-suh/ mad-ra-sah noun: a school The word madrasah derives from the root consonants d-r-s, meaning to learn or to study. Derived from this root, madrasah literally translates into a place where one goes to learn or study. A madrasah, though it can be, is not necessarily exclusively for religious studies; for example, a high school Muslim American student in the United States would refer to her public high school as a madrasah. The implications of this false use of rhetoric is neither trivial nor inconsequential; rather, it has serious implications for the millions of Muslim Americans living in the United States. This false rhetoric -- used by everyone from the 2016 presidential frontrunners to our next door neighbors -- contributes to the increasingly unwelcoming and hostile environment and promotes dangerous Islamophobic sentiment. The use of jihadists to refer to terrorists and Islamism to terrorism is detrimental to American Muslims' ability to freely and confidently practice and express faith. Reversing the seemingly continuous stream of hatred directed towards Muslims requires fostering a deeper understanding of Islam among Americans, and so I offer to you a page from my Muslim dictionary. By Aseal Tineh as seen on The Huffington Post. Dhaka police are facing complaints over their tactic to require landlords to provide personal information about their tenants by the middle of the month, March 1, 2016. In a new tactic to prevent militant and criminal activity in apartments or rented houses, police in Dhaka are requiring landlords citywide to gather and hand over personal information about tenants by March 15. Landlords who fail to complete the necessary form could face legal action, Dhaka police officials warn, yet the move is drawing criticism about potential violations of privacy in a metropolitan area of at least 16 million residents. The Police Act does not allow them to collect personal information from the people. [T]here is a risk of the data getting into the wrong hands in the absence of a data protection law in Bangladesh, Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua told BenarNews. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) say they need landlords to assist them by collecting details from tenants including renters occupations, national identity card and passport numbers, passport-sized photos and information about relatives that would go into a database. Police also are requiring landlords to provide them with similar information about themselves. At a news conference on Monday, DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia explained the rationale behind the campaign. In many cases, the owners rent out the houses to unknown people. They cannot come to know whether their houses are being used [as] militants hideouts. So, we need the data of both the landlords and the tenants, Mia told reporters. He added that information in the database would only be open to the police. We can assure you that there would be no harassment, Mia said. This move by the police follows raids of rented houses in the Dhaka area in February that uncovered hideouts belonging to the banned militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team. ABT is the same group that Bangladeshi authorities suspect was behind last years murders of four secular bloggers and an editor in five separate attacks. On Tuesday, Barua served the home secretary and inspector general of police with a legal notice asking them to explain under which law or authority police could collect such personal information from citizens in this manner. Private information about people could also be compromised, he said. [T]here must be an institutional mechanism to hold the police accountable in case the data is passed on to the wrong persons, said Barua, adding that he would file a writ petition if he was not satisfied with the response from the home secretary and the police inspector-general. Reactions mixed Giasuddin Ahmed, a landlord who owns several houses in Dhakas Nakhalpara area, complained that being compelled to gather information about himself and his tenants could create unnecessary problems. The government maintains a national database and every adult national has an identity card. Collecting a copy of the national identity card of the tenants and the landowners is enough. The police can access the national database, Ahmed told BenarNews. Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan, the general secretary of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, expressed doubt that the new tactic would be effective in helping police counter militant threats. I do not think creating such database would help fight militancy. The police are overworked, he told BenarNews. [I]t will result in police harassment of landlords, Bhuiyan added. Babu, the owner of a five-story house in Pallabi, Mirpur, was more amenable to the task, but he said he had yet to receive the form from police. I do not see anything wrong with the move. It will help us to find keep vigil on the tenants whom we cannot always track, he said. Check out the top stories from BGSU and beyond in our newscast and online edition of our newspaper every Wednesday. You can also view past papers by clicking the e-edition header above. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 For Immediate Release, February 29, 2016 Contacts: Patrick Sullivan, Center for Biological Diversity, (415) 517-9364, psullivan@biologicaldiversity.org Haley McKey, Defenders of Wildlife, (202) 772-0247, hmckey@defenders.org, John Deans, Greenpeace USA, (207) 319-6850, jdeans@greenpeace.org Federal Appeals Court Reinstates 120 Million Acres of Critical Habitat for Polar Bears ANCHORAGE, Alaska A federal appeals court today upheld the U.S. Fish and Wildlifes designation of more than 120 million acres as critical habitat in Arctic Alaska for imperiled polar bears. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling reverses a 2013 lower court decision that shot down the habitat designation. Photo courtesy USFWS. Photos are available for media use. Todays decision offers polar bears the full protection of critical habit they truly need, according to three environmental groups (the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and Greenpeace) that intervened in the case to defend the habitat designation against challenges from oil companies and the state of Alaska. Without help, scientists predict, more than two-thirds of the worlds polar bears, including all the bears in Alaska, will be gone by 2050. Arctic sea ice which polar bears depend on for hunting and raising their cubs hit a new record low this January. This is a critical victory for polar bears at a time when theres huge momentum on fighting climate change, said Kassie Siegel, a Center attorney who filed the original legal petition that gained Endangered Species Act protection for the bear. The ruling strengthens the Endangered Species Act and affirms the commonsense idea that you cant protect imperiled animals without protecting the places they live. This decision gives polar bears some breathing room, but President Obama and other leaders still have to move fast to leave dirty fossil fuels in the ground to provide this species and so many others a true shot at survival. The Alaska Oil and Gas Association and the state of Alaska had challenged the Interior Departments 2010 critical habitat designation which amounts to some 187,000 square miles of sea ice, barrier islands and coastal areas in Alaska. The plaintiffs complained that the protections for polar bear habitat will be an impediment to oil drilling in the Arctic. The Endangered Species Act prohibits federal agencies from authorizing activities that will destroy or harm a listed species critical habitat. Critical habitat designation is so important to the survival and recovery of polar bears, which are struggling to survive as their habitat is melting from beneath their feet. The courts decision to reinstate this crucial protection will help ensure that federal actions will not add to the polar bears plight, said Jason Rylander, a senior attorney with Defenders of Wildlife. Despite protecting great swaths of the Arctic Ocean as polar bear habitat, the Department of the Interior has moved forward with plans to allow oil companies to drill in that habitat. Royal Dutch Shell announced last year that it was ending its Arctic offshore oil exploration for the foreseeable future, but the Obama administration still plans to offer lease sales in sensitive waters off Alaska. "Polar bears are a keystone species of climate change impacts and we are glad to see the court recognize that the federal government was acting appropriately to protect them, said Greenpeace Arctic campaign specialist John Deans. However, this important species will only truly be protected if it means that these sensitive areas will be properly safeguarded from oil and gas development and coupled with strong policies to combat climate change." Critical habitat designation does not impact subsistence activities by Alaska Native communities. 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. Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1.2 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org. For Immediate Release, February 29, 2016 Contact: Randy Serraglio, (520) 784-1504, rserraglio@biologicaldiversity.org Construction of Controversial Rosemont Copper Mine Delayed Indefinitely TUCSON, Ariz. Hudbay Minerals Inc. has announced a construction delay for its proposed Rosemont Copper Mine in the Santa Rita mountains near Tucson. With the global copper industry in free-fall and copper prices at historic lows, company officials could not establish a timetable for the controversial project. A number of permits remain outstanding for Rosemont, which has generated vigorous opposition from local communities in southern Arizona and threatens harm to a dozen imperiled species, including Americas only known wild jaguar, known as El Jefe. After years of misleading its investors with rosy projections for this project, the company has finally admitted the mine wont be built anytime soon, said Randy Serraglio, a conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity. But the truth is that this project should never be built. The tremendous damage that the Rosemont Mine threatens to our air, water, wildlife and beautiful landscapes is simply too great, no matter how hard the company tries to obscure it. The Rosemont project would blast a mile-wide, 3,000-foot-deep open pit in the heart of the home territory of the beloved jaguar El Jefe and destroy thousands of acres of the public land where he roams with 800-foot-high piles of toxic mine waste. El Jefe should not have to sacrifice his future for a pile of copper, said Serraglio. Mining companies all over the world are cutting billions of dollars from their operating costs, laying off tens of thousands of workers and stockpiling massive amounts of unsold copper. Theres simply no justification for this incredibly destructive mine. Its high time that our federal agencies acknowledge the writing on the wall and deny the permits needed to construct this mine, said Serraglio. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Coronado National Forest and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers all have ample scientific and legal basis to stop this atrocity from blighting our land. We already have copper mines all over Arizona, and weve got the polluted air, contaminated water, and ghost towns to prove it. But we only have one jaguar. His home should be protected. 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. Dr. David Gangitano is an associate professor in the Department of Forensic Science at Sam Houston State University. Sam Houston State University is advancing the field of forensic botany with the publication of two recent studies that use marijuana DNA to link drug supplies and pollen DNA to aid in forensic investigations. In an article published in the International Journal of Legal Medicine, faculty and students from the Department of Forensic Science report that they developed a test to individualize samples of marijuana that could be used to link drugs across cases. The study examined 11 cases containing a total of 199 samples from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which included four matching genotypes indicating drugs came from the same source. "The use of a DNA-based method for identification will allow federal law enforcement agencies (e.g., U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)) to form links between cases involving the cross-border trafficking of Cannabis," said Dr. David Gangitano, one of the authors on the study. In a second article published in Science and Justice, researchers found that pine pollen could provide a viable source of DNA for criminal investigations. Pine pollen remains viable for DNA testing for at least two weeks on cotton clothing and can help link a suspect or victim to a location. The study examined a new collection device, a high-throughput method for DNA extraction and amplification, and a newly-developed system for genotyping. "This study has shown that pollen can be a stable source of forensic DNA evidence, as a proof-of-principle, and that may persist on cotton clothing for at least 14 days of wear," said Dr. Gangitano. "This method can be applied in forensic cases where pollen grains larger than 10 m (e.g., from herbs or trees) may be transferred to clothing (worn by suspect or victim) by primary contact." "Evaluation of a 13-loci STR multiplex system for Cannabis sativa genetic identification," by Rachel Houston, Matthew Birck, Sheree Hughes-Stamm and David Gangitano, is available at http://link. springer. com/ article/ 10. 1007/ s00414-015-1296-x . "Identification and persistence of Pinus pollen DNA on cotton fabrics: A forensic application," by Cassandra Schield, Cassandra Campelli, Jennifer Sycalik, Christopher Randle, Sheree Hughes-Stamm, and David Gangitano is available at http://www.scienceandjusticejournal.com/article/S1355-0306(15)00139-2/fulltext. In addition to published research, Dr. Gangitano recently was invited as a key speaker to participate in the inaugural meeting of the First International Congress of Forensic Botany in Chile. He collaborated with the Investigative Police from the Republic of Chile on several cases involving plant evidence. In 2014, a Chilean forensic scientist was invited to Sam Houston State University to learn about molecular identification of a single grain of pollen. Dr. Gangitano also consulted on a double homicide case involving a few grains of potato pollen found on the suspect and a high profile case of an American student in Chile where the critical evidence involved an oak leaf. Source: Sam Houston State University Here is an artist's drawing of the abelisaur. An unidentified fossilised bone in a museum has revealed the size of a fearsome abelisaur and may have solved a hundred-year old puzzle. Alessandro Chiarenza, a PhD student from Imperial College London, last year stumbled across a fossilised femur bone, left forgotten in a drawer, during his visit to the Museum of Geology and Palaeontology in Palermo Italy. He and a colleague Andrea Cau, a researcher from the University of Bologna, got permission from the museum to analyse the femur. They discovered that the bone was from a dinosaur called abelisaur, which roamed the Earth around 95 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period. Abelisauridae were a group of predatory, carnivorous dinosaurs, characterised by extremely small forelimbs, a short deep face, small razor sharp teeth, and powerful muscular hind limbs. Scientists suspect they were also covered in fluffy feathers. The abelisaur in today's study would have lived in North Africa, which at that time was a lush savannah criss-crossed by rivers and mangrove swamps. This ancient tropical world would have provided the abelisaur with an ideal habitat for hunting aquatic animals like turtles, crocodiles, large fish and other dinosaurs. By studying the bone, the team deduced that this abelisaur may have been nine metres long and weighed between one and two tonnes, making it potentially one of the largest abelisaurs ever found. This is helping researchers to determine the maximum sizes that these dinosaurs may have reached during their peak. Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, co-author of the study from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial, said: "Smaller abelisaur fossils have been previously found by palaeontologists, but this find shows how truly huge these flesh eating predators had become. Their appearance may have looked a bit odd as they were probably covered in feathers with tiny, useless forelimbs, but make no mistake they were fearsome killers in their time." The fossil originated from a sedimentary outcrop in Morocco called the Kem Kem Beds, which are well known for the unusual abundance of giant predatory dinosaur fossils. This phenomenon is called Stromer's Riddle, in honour the German palaeontologist Ernst Stromer, who first identified this abundance in 1912. Since then scientists have been asking how abelisaurs and five other groupings of predatory dinosaurs could have co-existed in this region at the same time, without hunting each other into extinction. Now the researchers in today's study suggest that these predatory dinosaur groups may not have co-existed so closely together. They believe that the harsh and changing geology of the region mixed the fossil fragment records together, destroying its chronological ordering in the Kem Kem beds, and giving the illusion that the abelisaurs and their predatory cousins shared the same terrain at the same time. Similar studies of fossil beds in nearby Tunisia, for example, show that creatures like abelisaurs were inland hunters, while other predators like the fish eating spinosaurs probably lived near mangroves and rivers. Chiarenza added: "This fossil find, along with the accumulated wealth of previous studies, is helping to solve the question of whether abelisaurs may have co-existed with a range of other predators in the same region. Rather than sharing the same environment, which the jumbled up fossil records may be leading us to believe, we think these creatures probably lived far away from one another in different types of environments." Fossilised femora are useful for palaeontologists to study because they can determine the overall size of the dinosaur. This is because femora are attached to the thigh and tail muscles and have scars, or bumps, which tell palaeontologists where the ligaments and muscles were attached to the bone and how big those muscles and ligaments would have been. Andrea Cau, co-author from the University of Bologna, said: "While palaeontologists usually venture to remote and inaccessible locations, like the deserts of Mongolia or the Badlands of Montana, our study shows how museums still play an important role in preserving specimens of primary scientific value, in which sometimes the most unexpected surprises can be discovered. As Stephen Gould, an influential palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist, once said, sometimes the greatest discoveries are made in museum drawers." The study is published today in the journal Peer J. Chiarenza did the underpinning analysis with Cau while at the University of Bologna. The next step will see the team looking for more complete remains from these predatory dinosaurs trying to better understand their environment and evolutionary history. Source: Imperial College London Playing in the ever-shifting sand box of online With the IAB Digital Summit & Bookmark Awards just a few days away, SPARK Media's commercial director, Marius Greeff, spoke to Bizcommunity about some of the topics that came out of the Annual IAB SA Internet Advertising Revenue Report, which was conducted by PwC and released late last year. Marius Greef The Report says: Another trend to watch is the growth in programmatic buying, which will also be a discussion topic at next years IAB Digital Summit. IAB Europe announced that the total programmatic buying market increased by 70.5% from 2013 and 2014, while high increases were also reported for North America. This is not yet the case in South Africa, where site direct trading still accounted for 92% of digital ad spend in 2014. What is the state of the nation in this country of programmatic buying? The Report says: Another trend to watch is the growth in programmatic buying, which will also be a discussion topic at next years IAB Digital Summit. IAB Europe announced that the total programmatic buying market increased by 70.5% from 2013 and 2014, while high increases were also reported for North America. This is not yet the case in South Africa, where site direct trading still accounted for 92% of digital ad spend in 2014. What is the state of the nation in this country of programmatic buying? Greeff: In its simplest form, programmatic means the buying or selling of advertising utilising technology, doing away with much of the tedious administration involved in the traditional advertising model. This is particularly important in an age where there are billions of impressions available globally across, desktop, mobile, applications and other connected devices. Programmatic also offers further economies of scale through the ingestion of various data sources (in this case categorized as 1st, 2nd and 3rd party) which allows buyers and sellers to create and purchase specific audiences at scale. This form of purchasing allows buyers to consider audience buying without consideration for platforms, as long as brand safety and viewability is kept in mind. Its also important to note that programmatic does not replace direct purchasing through publishers and sales houses, as opportunities such as native content and home page takeovers, together with more customized solutions, remains the domain of individual interactions between brands and publishers. According to Google (AdAge), more than US$15bn was spent on programmatic in 2015, which equates to a 47.9% growth in programmatic digital display advertising from 2014 to 2015 in the US. South Africa is still lagging significantly behind this with larger agencies, brands and publishers hiring the right resources, educating clients and acquiring the correct technologies. Each of these components require unique resources which delays the adoption of the programmatic solution. From conversations with these parties is appears that programmatic efforts range from non-existent to growing at double-digit percentages based on complexity and resources within the specific business. Having said this, programmatic is on everyones lips, together with other terms such as viewability, transparency and ad blocking. Online advertising purchasing remain a frequently debated topic. While research shows that ads that have been considered by advertisers and required hard work - are more likely to be shared and engaged with than banner ads. What should advertisers be considering when choosing these ads and what should they avoid doing? Online advertising purchasing remain a frequently debated topic. While research shows that ads that have been considered by advertisers and required hard work - are more likely to be shared and engaged with than banner ads. What should advertisers be considering when choosing these ads and what should they avoid doing? Greeff: With regard to the advertising medium itself, there are many variations that comprise effective and successful creative. This can range from backgrounds, animation, call to actions, human faces etc. and each of these unique elements can have a significant effect. There are great solutions available to assist with this, such as this report from Rocket Fuel. Fundamentally it is more important to understand: 1) Your audience, their demographics and psychographics 2) the medium you will be utilising i.e. mobile vs. in-app and the opportunities and restrictions to each 3) where you are going to be driving this engagement to 4) your platform setup to handle this engagement to the users expectations As both the importance and size of online advertising in South Africa continues to increase, advertisers will continue to have to find new ways of engaging with a growing audience, that is also constantly evaluating and redefining its relationship with the online space. What types of engagement do you see going forward? As both the importance and size of online advertising in South Africa continues to increase, advertisers will continue to have to find new ways of engaging with a growing audience, that is also constantly evaluating and redefining its relationship with the online space. What types of engagement do you see going forward? Greeff: As the engagement across the online space continues to evolve, some of the key trends brands and agencies should consider are the growth of influencer marketing, and reaching and engaging these influencers across shifting mediums such as Instagram, Snapchat and new contenders such as Peach, real time marketing and live video will continue to develop. What are the greatest opportunities facing SA and the industry going forward and what are the biggest challenges? What are the greatest opportunities facing SA and the industry going forward and what are the biggest challenges? Greeff: The greatest challenge in this ever-shifting sand box of online remains the education of clients and agencies; and this in itself presents the industrys largest opportunity for growth. In January, a pregnant Brazilian woman infected with the Zika virus had a stillborn baby who had signs of severe tissue swelling as well as central nervous system defects that caused near-complete loss of brain tissue. It is the first report to indicate a possible association of congenital Zika virus and damage to tissues outside the central nervous system, said Yale researchers. The researchers led by Dr. Albert Ko at Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) and Dr. Antonio Raimundo de Almeida at the Hospital Geral Roberto Santos in Salvador, Brazil describe the case in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Ko and colleagues said the case provides evidence that, in addition to microcephaly a condition marked by an abnormally small head in newborns and widely linked to the Zika outbreak in Brazil congenital Zika infection may also be linked to hydrops fetalis (abnormal accumulation of fluid in fetal compartments), hydranencephaly (almost complete loss of brain tissue), and fetal demise (stillbirth). The researchers said that it is not possible to extrapolate from a single case the overall risk for these outcomes faced by women who are exposed to the virus during pregnancy. These findings raise concerns that the virus may cause severe damage to fetuses leading to stillbirths and may be associated with effects other than those seen in the central nervous system, said Ko, chair of the Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at YSPH, who has worked on the Zika outbreak in the coastal city of Salvador with Brazilian colleagues since shortly after the first cases of the mosquito-borne virus were reported there in early 2015. Additional work is needed to understand if this is an isolated finding and to confirm whether Zika virus can actually cause hydrops fetalis, he said. The patient, a 20-year-old woman, was having a normal pregnancy during her first trimester. That changed abruptly during the course of the 18th week of pregnancy, when an ultrasound examination discovered that the fetus weight was well below where it should have been at that point. The woman did not report any of the symptoms commonly associated with Zika (rash, fever, or body aches) prior to or during the early stages of her pregnancy, the researchers said. She also did not exhibit symptoms of other mosquito-borne diseases, including dengue or chikungunya. By the 30th week of the pregnancy, the fetus showed a range of birth defects. Labor was induced at the 32nd week. Researchers subsequently confirmed the presence of the Zika virus in the fetus. The strain of Zika that was found appears to be the same strain that is currently spreading elsewhere. Since Zika appeared in Brazil, the virus has spread rapidly throughout much of Latin America and into the Caribbean. Several cases have also been confirmed in the United States. The researchers said that since it is likely that large numbers of pregnant women in Brazil and beyond will be exposed to the same Zika strain as the woman in the case study, further investigations are needed to determine the risk of stillbirth and the other adverse outcomes. Ko worked on the study with colleagues from the Hospital Geral Roberto Santos in Salvador, the Universidade Federal da Bahia in Salvador, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Salvador, and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Source: Yale University The need to record a brand's journey is important, not only for marketing purposes but for legal reasons too. However, the volume of material that is generated, often on a variety of devices and by a host of different users, is staggering. It is no wonder then that with the advent of 'fast marketing', sometimes things go awry - vital logos, a brochure or image of the CEO shaking hands with an important dignitary go missing, or the wrong one is sent. The answer to averting brand confusion or not being able to find an image of an event you hosted, for use in an annual report, or an image for the corporate ad or a host of other vital applications, is found in a centralised cloud-based repository called digital asset management or DAM. DAM, sometimes referred to as brand or marketing asset management, describes the process, policies and software an organisation uses to manage it digital assets such as images and brand material. The concept has been around since the early nineties. The primary use at the time was to scan and store documents and images. However, as the digital era grew, so did the need to find a simple yet secure system to store, retrieve and share the right information. Swiss-based Picturepark was launched in 1997 and was the first cloud-based DAM solution. One of its first clients was a well-known Swiss based watchmaker (who incidentally remains a client) that required a place to store thousands of watch images. Since then, the company has expanded its operations to cover most corners of the globe and in South Africa, has partnered with Brandpark, under the guidance of CEO Mnive Nhlabathi to assist the African continent in better managing its digital assets. While South Africa already has a number of large corporations that have reaped the benefits of integrated DAM systems, DAM has been particularly effective for a number of companies that are spreading their corporate wings into Africa. South Africa and Africa as a whole continue to be an attractive proposition for multinationals looking for new and emerging markets. With successful merger or acquisition of the asset, comes the need for corporates and their marketing agencies to converge and centralise their marketing collateral so it can be deployed in various markets and adapted for local use, explained Nhlabathi. A DAM system that allows for uploading files into a central repository and tagging them with descriptive metadata, is no longer a luxury but a necessity. However, DAM is not reserved solely for the multinationals and advertising agencies. Other organisations that could well benefit from the implementation of a DAM system are libraries, tertiary institutions, banks, estate agency groups and more. It is not all about safe storage, ease and safety of distribution; there are also time and cost savings, that allow users to reap full ROI on their investment in brand and marketing assets. These include: Time saved searching for assets Increased productivity Data storage cost savings Bandwidth cost savings Managed copyright risks Analytics on usage Awareness of the assets users have Brands, agencies, corporations and institutions with multiple departments etc, should indeed care who, what and how their brand is being handled. Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste met questions late on Monday over the group's bid for Home Retail Group (HRG) with polite parry, saying only that the UK company's Argos chain was an attractive business for Steinhoff to add to its portfolio. The South African household goods player sparked a bidding war last week with rival grocer Sainsburys 1.3bn offer for Home Retail Group, the owner of catalogue retailer Argos. "We have approached Home Retail the process is very regulated in London we cannot discuss the details of the transaction or the plans we have, (but) Argos has a huge amount of stores and its a business with huge turnover," he said in a conference call with reporters. Steinhoff reported on Monday a 67% rise in first-half profit to 802m, boosted by the discount market in its key regions of Europe and Africa. In the six months ended-December, diluted earnings per share rose 1% to 16.1c. Sales rose 47% to 6.7bn. Steinhoff, which listed in Frankfurt in December to attract a wider investor base, said revenue in its household goods segment had increased by 8% to 4.2bn. The group plans to cut about 4,000 jobs at its furniture retail unit, JD Group. Operating profit in its general merchandise segment, which includes Pepkor, rose 25% to 197m, while revenue in its automotive business segment remained flat. Steinhoffs retail brands in the UK include Harveys, Bensons for Beds, and Cargo. Steinhoff emerged with a 1.4bn bid just days before Sainsburys had to make a firm offer. The UK grocer has since extended its deadline. It has until March 18 (the same deadline as Steinhoff) to make a firm bid or abandon its pursuit of Home Retail Group. "Home Retail Group will more likely use Steinhoffs manufacturing and sourcing, which will result in scale benefits. Furthermore, Home Retail Group will, in all likelihood, use Steinhoffs UK logistics services and Steinhoff UK will benefit from HRGs better established online offering," Qaqambile Dwayi, investment analyst at Kagiso Asset Management, said. Sainsburys is keen to expand its nonfood offering and future-proof its business in a rapidly developing digital retail environment, where it trails rivals John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. Richard Hyman, an independent retail analyst based in London, said Steinhoff was a group with "serious financial muscle" and an "excellent track record" in hard goods retailing. "My concern is that Sainsburys buying Argos would divert management, add problematic complexity and scale, and significantly expose the company to unexciting and already overcrowded nonfood markets in which it does not have a great expertise to add. The emergence of Steinhoff is, I hope, an opportunity for management to think again." Sainsburys is under pressure as German discounters Aldi and Lidl steal market share. "Argos has kept the catalogue showroom format alive for decades longer than any other country, notably the US where it was invented. However, it is a very limited model and adding some digital bells and whistles does not change this. Its trading record over the past five years says as much," Hyman said. Steinhoff had a better chance of beefing up the proposition to underpin its trading, he said. "I suspect that this latest development has much more to do with the prospects of the South African economy and the defensive attractions of the UK and pound sterling than it does about the suddenly discovered charms of Argos," he added. South African retailer Kids Emporium is set to open in the upmarket Angels Gate shopping district in Guildford, Surrey, UK. The opening of the new store will be complemented by the launch of the Kids Emporium UK online store, for online shopping with the additional convenience of door-to-door deliveries. The South African owner and founder of the Kids Emporium franchise stores in South Africa, Lauren de Swardt, opened her first flagship store at the tender age of 22. Kids Emporium has since entrenched itself in the marketplace there: its brand strength stretches to the whole Kids Emporium shopping experience, introducing a cohesive world of expert parenting knowledge aimed at educating new parents, backed by good old-fashioned service. De Swardt has, over the past 13 years, developed the brand with 26 stores now operative throughout South Africa. De Swardt said: We want our brand to be accessible in the United Kingdom, offering the market affordable, innovative South African product lines, previously unavailable to locals. Seventy percent of the goods in store will be manufactured in South Africa, with the intellectual property based in South Africa and the business operative in the United Kingdom. Franchise applicants are carefully selected - the challenge with the Kids Emporium brand is to translate passionate service levels into interest. The company ethos is to equip pregnant customers with accurate knowledge, and De Swardt insists on personal customer attention because she believes her demographic, pregnant women, is one of the most challenging. Master franchisee Guildford store franchisee and mother of two Storm Copestake was chosen to run the master franchise. Owner of the Ruby Rabbit baby-centric clothing range in the UK, Copestake has years of industry experience and is expertly poised to run the UK store. Product offerings will include exclusive ranges of childrens toys, gifts, furniture, decor, childrens wear and maternity essentials with a difference. Some of the top local South African brands include baby bath apron and snuggle blanket range, Lily and Jack, Thandana luggage, sublime kids clothing brand, Sticky Fudge and many more. The look of the international store will have clean lines, in muted tones with the same style and sophistication found in the South African franchises. De Swardt said that goods will be shipped across to the UK. It makes financial sense to do this. We are bringing a global brand to the UK that is renowned for good service from a nation of hard-working people and were proud to offer high-end products that are value for money. Its a massive milestone, the United Kingdom was chosen as a first stake, and we see the opportunity for a store that offers something completely different. After almost three decades at the helm of sprawling industrial giant Bidvest, CEO Brian Joffe is to step down following a major restructuring. But he is not going far, and remains a director at one of the major units. Bidvest CEO Brian Joffe. Photographer: Martin Rhodes Image source: BDlive "I am not going anywhere," 68-year-old Joffe said on Monday at the companys interim results presentation. "They say only the good die young. I am still here," he remarked. Joffe is to assume the role of director in the Bidvest Group, which will house the companys industrial assets outside of food services. Lindsay Ralphs, who has been CEO of Bidvest SA since 1992, will chair the division. The unbundled food services unit, where Joffe takes on a role in strategy and planning, will be led by Bernard Berson, CE of Bidvest Foodservices in Australia. He expected the unbundling to be wrapped up in the next six months, expecting no significant hurdles to the restructuring, such as those it faced in London about 15 months ago, Joffe said. The company needs both shareholder and regulatory approval. "I cant image why anyone would not want to approve," he said. Outside of the new Bidvest, Joffe plans to dedicate his time to help with the governments ambitious plan to create 100 black industrialists in the next three years. Joffe founded Bidfood, as it was known in 1988, with just two assets Chipkins and Sea World frozen foods. Since listing on the JSE in 1997 at a price of about R16.79, Bidvest has grown across a range of sectors spanning financial services, freight, pharmaceuticals and automotives. The company spread its international footprint aggressively and now has operations in Australasia, Europe, the UK and across emerging markets At Mondays close, the stock was priced at R357.29, valuing the industrial conglomerate at R119bn. "I am proud of what Bidvest has achieved in the past 29 years. We started from nothing and, today, we are the second-largest company by revenue," he said. "Made in Germany" will participate in the annual Agritech Expo in Chisamba in April. 14 German providers of agri-machinery and livestock equipment will be part of the German pavilion. Sanna Pudas via Wikimedia Commons Head of communication at DLG International GmbH, Martin Botzian, says: From the beginning of Agritech, two years ago, we have been part of this very well organised show in Zambia. Constantly we are growing our participation from year to year. And this year we successfully convinced the German Ministry of Agriculture to launch an official German pavilion. Agri sector exciting for Germans According to Botzian, the agricultural sector in Zambia is exciting for German companies that sell agri-machinery and livestock equipment because the country has a stable policy environment, which means the government supports the agricultural sector and commercial farming. Farmers are willing to invest. Zambia is a good place to grow crops and there is enough fresh water for irrigation. He adds: cattle also provide beef and dairy products for the population. Processing the raw crops has huge potential. The commercial farming in Zambia will generate enough surplus food to export to Zambias neighbours. By starting to commercialise the agricultural land you increase food security, prevent mass migration out of the country into the city and create businesses that add value at a local level to reduce poverty. The Made in Germany products that will be on display on the German pavilion at Agritech Expo includes animal housing installations, animal identification (ear tags), silos, consultation, planning and building of dairy facilities, dung removal systems, cattle breeding and marketing, crop protection, mixers and pumps, silage bags, slat flooring, poultry equipment, modern farming in Zambia, agricultural machinery such as feed mixers, maize choppers, agricultural films and nets as well as milking equipment. The upcoming Agritech Expo, which is expected to welcome some 15,000 farming professionals, from emerging and small holder to commercial farmers, and agri-experts, takes place at the GART Research Centre in Chisamba from 14-16 April. Chisamba is regarded as an important farming hub in Zambia. Agritech Expo dates and location: 14-16 April 2016 Gart Research Centre, Chisamba, Zambia Website: www.agritech-expo.com Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Last year's matriculants, who form part of the Millennial generation, represent a new way of thinking, working and interacting in the workplace. It is also becoming increasingly clear that they will face some tough challenges on the road ahead... and employers need to take these challenges into account. Yellowwood recently published a White Paper, A Youth Lost in Translation, which seeks to understand the dynamic and complex youth of South Africa, based on the findings of HDI Youth Marketeers' research, specifically the Sunday Times 'Generation Next Study'. This provided interesting statistics and insights of the views of 5,400 urban and peri-urban youth, including children between the ages of three and 12 (Generation Z), teenagers between 13 and 18, and young adults from 19 to 23 (Millennials). The study revealed what young South Africans are passionate about, worried about and dreaming about. A key insight that came out of the report is that many youngsters feel huge pressure to succeed, with their most aspirational future job title being that of CEO. Significantly, the Generation Next Study found that finding a job entered the top fears of young adults for the first time in the history of this study, and despite high ambitions, one 16-year-old respondent noted that, One of the biggest fears for me is not being successful. It scares me so much, it gets to the point where you do everything you think you should do in order to be successful because you are told that if you do these things then surely you will be successful In tandem with this, many of them feel that the education available to them in public and private schools is insufficient to equip them with practical, usable skills for their future in the workplace. When asked what they would improve if they were made President, education came first across all racial groups, ahead of child abuse, crime and housing. The report goes on to describe how employers employing Millennials and later Gen Z need to realise they are not getting their old-school first time jobbers with the expected skills. These Millennials will not work regular or long hours; they are not adept at spelling or playing by the rules, but rather the logic behind the rules. Therefore, unless the Millennials get why any company policy is logically worthwhile, they will not accept it as necessary. However, employers will get far better multi-great at research and processing information. These youngsters are innovators and have vast skills employers have not even considered the question is whether the workplace is ready to adjust their structures to make it easy for Millennials to navigate and add value to the workplace. Gaming influences youth workforce The study also touches on the fact that as many as 78.3% of South African males under the age of 23 play console games a few times a month. Around 25% of these gamers play every day. According to a 2010 Toronto University study, playing computer games develops the same mental agility as learning multiple languages. Research also shows that when gamers enter the job market, they have an uncanny ability to multitask, solve problems and lead. Ray de Villiers, a TomorrowToday global consultant on the future world of work and expert on Millennials and Generation Z, says, Gaming enhances their brain flexibility and strategic mind and enables them to adapt to the context. It makes them very competitive and increases their can do attitude. They learn real skills through gaming and if they say they can do something that may seem beyond them, they most likely are able to because they have learnt to do it while gaming. Dipping youth happiness The drive for success, paired with frustrations around access to education and concerns around safety, has had a marked impact on the youths overall psyche. Research shows that youth happiness has dipped over the past few years. In 2010, 73.2% of respondents said they felt happy most of the time. However, that figure fell to 64.3% in 2013 and stood at 67.4% in 2015 - 7.7% of the 2015 respondents said they often feel depressed and only 41% feel they get enough sleep. An unhealthy obsession with materialism and status brands has also impacted satisfaction levels of the youth, although they generally dont live on credit - as most spend in cash (even though they have bank accounts). Interestingly, 25% are using mobile technology to make payments. Despite some of the more challenging trends among South Africas youth, they are a group that values being listened to and believe that what they have to say matters. That combined with their drive to succeed and their awareness of social and political issues makes them a potent force to lead the countries workforce into the future. For more information, go to www.ywood.co.za. Offshore diversification among domestic property stocks continues apace, with sector heavyweight Redefine Properties being the latest among a bevy of South African real estate companies to announce foreign deals in recent months. Le Moal Olivier 123RF.com The company said on Friday, 26 February, it would reveal details of a "major" acquisition later this week. However, market talk is that Redefine is acquiring a portfolio of properties in Poland. The company already has exposure to the UK, Germany, and Australia through its holdings in London-listed Redefine International and Australia-listed Cromwell. Other South African-focused funds that have recently bought properties outside SA include Tower Property Fund, which bought malls in Croatia; Texton Property Fund, which entered the UK last year; Attacq; and Hyprop Investments. The latter bought a shopping centre in Montenegro last month, while Attacq recently acquired a portfolio of Serbian malls. Latest figures from Stanlib show that 36% of the SA listed property sector's assets are already located outside SA, up from only 5% five years ago. While domestic investors welcome the opportunity to gain exposure to foreign real estate markets, analysts are becoming increasingly cautious of local companies rushing offshore. The general view is that South African players that are only now trying to build a global presence may find it is too little, too late. Stanlib head of listed property funds Keillen Ndlovu said companies should focus on property fundamentals rather than timing the rand or chasing a particular currency. "Local players run the risk of either overpaying for offshore assets or buying inferior quality, given the current level of competition in many markets." Source: Business Day The SME Tourism Indaba, aimed at fostering transformation by introducing the tourism industry to 60 carefully selected and prepared emerging Gauteng tourism businesses, has kicked off. Nicolas De Corte via 123RF The two-day programme will be jam-packed with new business opportunities, cultural experiences, educational value and helpful critique, and will incorporate a speed marketing component, robust transformation debate with industry stakeholders and visits to various Gauteng townships. Identifying the best of the best local products Says David Frost, CEO SATSA: The way SMEs have traditionally been showcased in South Africa has been suboptimal. SATSA has the ability to directly link smaller players with established inbound operators, which represents a more holistic and meaningful approach to industry transformation. David says these domestic Indabas should be rolled out to other provinces as they can assist in identifying the best of the best local products to then take forward to the annual Tourism Indaba in Durban. SATSA will be pursuing these partnerships and is happy to have embarked on this path initially with the Gauteng Tourism Authority. Ensuring full representation for the province, we are honoured to have Joburg Tourism and South African Tourism on board as sponsors. As part of this exciting public-private initiative, 60 SMEs will participate in speed marketing to introduce their products and services during the two days. Three unique townships experiences will be offered exposing travel industry players to new sights, sounds and activities, from Ma Elizabeth who was forcibly removed from Sophiatown to the gallery homes of Alexandra. The state of transformation in tourism The second day of the SME Tourism Indaba will see a Transformation Breakfast hosted by Joburg Tourism. A panel of forward-thinking industry leaders will debate the state of transformation in tourism. The SME Tourism Indaba initiative comes as the Amended Tourism Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Sector Code has been handed over to the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, signalling the start of an integrated industry-wide process to transform the tourism sector. Revised targets and scorecard measurements are designed to be more inclusive of all South Africans at ownership and management levels, improve procurement from small Black businesses, and enhance the development of skills needed across the tourism value chain. The Amended Code seeks to accelerate transformation of the tourism sector by significantly increasing the number of Black people who own, control and manage tourism enterprises. Transformation is a pressing issue in South Africa, adds David. It is incumbent on all of us to look for innovative ways to bring people and businesses of colour into the mainstream of tourism. SATSA has taken the lead in conceptualising an intermediate marketplace where emerging products can meet with DMCs in an environment that allows for an informed discussion about the market readiness of the products. Our objective is to allow DMCs to evaluate SME products that may appeal to their overseas clients, thereby, to use the traditional parlance, get the product into brochures, so that Herr Schultz can book the experience in the travel agency in Dusseldorf as part of his SA holiday. Ctrack, a specialist in vehicle tracking and fleet management solutions, has partnered with the National Small Business Chamber (NSBC), becoming its corporate partner for its membership base of 101,000 SME enterprises. Mike Anderson, founder and CEO of NSBC Whilst our tracking products give business owners full visibility of their work vehicles and vans from our web-based applications, we also give the means of monitoring the way they are driven. This has a significant effect on fuel and maintenance cost savings, enabling you to run a more cost-effective and efficient fleet, says Pierre Bruwer, MD of Ctrack SA. Fuelling small business growth The NSBC is a non-profit membership organisation and the driving force fuelling small business growth. The real purpose behind the organisation is fostering the sustainability and growth of the SME sector, driving job creation, alleviating unemployment and nurturing the countrys entrepreneurial spirit. It has become the largest organisation of its kind in Africa and one of the fastest growing organisations of its kind in the world. Said Mike Anderson, founder and CEO of NSBC: With meaningful partners like Ctrack, small businesses have the potential to breathe new life into the South African economy. Providing as much support to small businesses as possible is an investment in our communities and South Africas collective economic future. Digital advice ranging from a selection of the 2016 Bookmark Awards' builders' jury panel: The importance of emotional resonance in digital work, as "humans don't stop being humans when they go online", as well as deep consumer insight and eliciting behavioural change... An incredible amount of effort was put into finding the most appropriate and experienced judges for the various Bookmarks categories. With Kerry Friend, executive creative director at Isobar Cape Town, judging the builders category, we caught up with three of its members to find out what we can expect from this years results Friend revealed last week that the builders category is focused on the craft and production of the creative ideas and the ingenuity of the tech behind them. Every, Murphy and Petra. Sammy-Jane Every, creative director at Worldwide Creative; Miles Murphy, founder and CEO of Liquorice; and Antonio Petra, business development director at Rocketseed; are just 3 of that 10-strong builders jury panel. Here, they exclusively share their insights into judging this category of digital work 1. What are you most looking forward to from this years IAB Digital Summit & Bookmark Awards? Every: The courage to try something original. And the courage to use digital for the qualities that no other marketing can collectively deliver. For example: immediacy, personalisation and interactivity. Murphy: Great creative digital work. There are some really standout pieces of digital work on the shortlist this year. The South African digital industry is really producing some innovative work and this is the chance to celebrate it. Petra: A chance to see old friends and exchange ideas. 2. Share some pointers on your personal judging process and what youre looking for from entrants in your category. Every: Innovation and inspiration. Humans don't stop being humans when they go online, so it needs to resonate emotionally. Will I be excited to share it? Will I wish that I had done it? Will the entrant leave me inspired to gather up the troops the next day and start brainstorming? Murphy: Innovation and work that's based on deep consumer insight. Petra: Meaningful accurate results first, user engagement/behaviour change second, pretty third. 3. Elaborate on the overall standard of digital work in SA. Where do we shine and whats still lacking? Every: The SA ad industry in general excels at ideation, traditionally in above-the-line. However, as digital changes daily, it feels like we are still playing catch up in this area. I don't think it is because of a lack of skill or talent but rather that digital is not yet a way of life for our clients or nation as a whole. For now, it is still treated as a channel; students still consider TV ads the sexy side of advertising. I think, in short, that it requires a change in our industry mindset, client budget allocation and national accessibility to the internet. Murphy: The SA digital industry has really shone in the past year. Social media, integrated campaigns, video craft and tech innovation are all strong. That said, I think ecommerce and service design still have a way to go compared to international standards. Petra: There are some incredibly promising pieces of work with great results that stand out and can compete easily on an international stage. I think this year our benchmark has crept up, not just in terms of design or interaction, but in terms of development, technology usage and user experience. On the flip side though, I think there is also a large proportion of the work that hasnt properly been explored, being either a bolt-on to a more sophisticated TTL campaign or simply a rehash of an existing concept that has not been properly matured. The biggest highlight for me this year is the thought that it is now going into true immersive engagement. The great digital experiences this year really did pull in the user and give them something of value in that experience. Its this element of the work that really needs to mature in South Africa in order for us to gain any respect on the international stage as an industry. That goes for standalone as well as integrated digital. Exciting times! If youre eager to delve in deeper into digital, click through to this podcast interview with Josephine Buys, CEO of IAB South Africa, to find out more about the highly anticipated IAB Digital Summit &Bookmark Awards 2016, taking place at Turbine Hall in Johannesburg on 3 March 2016. Click here for the full list of Bookmarks 2016 judges and here for the full list of finalists and watch for our in-depth coverage. Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy&Mather South Africa and Chairman of Gloo@Ogilvy, Pete Case, may be forgiven for not having extra time on his hands. Still, the industry heavyweight has committed to judging the 2016 Bookmarks, citing it as the premium digital showcase in the country. Pete Case Pete has been involved in the South African digital industry since founding SA's most awarded Digital Agency, Gloo, in 1999. He says, We need platforms like this to showcase the best work out there. The Bookmarks is seen as the premium digitally focused showcase of its kind - and its success directly helps the acceptance and growth of the local digital industry. The awards also allow a wide audience to see and celebrate both the creativity and effectiveness of digital work, encouraging more brands to embrace the medium, as well as more agencies to invest and grow in this space. In November 2014, advertising giant O&M South Africa merged with Gloo to create Gloo@Ogilvy. Central to this merger has been the underlying philosophy that success comes from the creation of collaborative and integrated agency work. He adds, In the increasingly complex marketing space its simply not possible for one agency to be master of all. Collaboration is a necessary path to success. The IAB SA, as a collective of organisations that aims to grow the voice of digital, is fast becoming the place brands can connect with, in order to find out about the different companies in the digital space. In doing so, connecting brands with agencies and the work of our wider industry." Pete describes winning his first Emmy as his single best moment from an awards perspective. He has two Emmys to his name, one for creative work on the Winter Olympics for CBS Sports, and the other for work on the Wimbledon event for HBO Sports. As one of the true pioneers of the South African digital industry he encourages all aspiring digital marketers to not be afraid to fail. It is always OK to experiment and to fail. But fail fast and move forward swiftly. Only sell what you truly believe in. The creative world is full of more Nos than Yess, so dont take it too personally and remember that a healthy dose of tenacity will get you there in the end." When Pete is not judging awards, shaping brands and driving the creative culture at O&M South Africa he likes to spend every spare moment staying as fit and as close to his family as he can. I find that one of the best ways to stay balanced is to switch off the tech at home and get my hands dirty making physical things. The craft of making is incredibly rewarding and therapeutic! P.S.: I like the smell of petrol." Editor notes Pete Case is the Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy & Mather South Africa and Chairman of Gloo@Ogilvy. He has a 25 year career in design and advertising, creating interactive experiences for many global brands. Case started directing interactive films, television idents and television commercials, whilst based in London and formed his first business in 1990. Then in 1999 he moved to South Africa and subsequently founded Gloo. The company has gone on to be SA's most awarded Digital Agency, as well as Digital Agency Of The Year in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015. Most recently merging with O&M South Africa last year. Personal awards credits for creativity and effectiveness include multiple recognition at; Cannes, The Emmy's, Promax, D&AD, CLIOs, The New York Advertising Festival, The Echo Awards, The Design Indaba Awards, Assegai, Caples, The Webbys and The Bookmarks. These include 11 awards at The Webbys, Africa's first Gold at the ECHOs and 2 Grand Prix, plus 93 statues at The Loeries. About IAB South Africa The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) South Africa is an independent, voluntary, non-profit association focused on growing and sustaining a vibrant and profitable digital industry in South Africa. The IAB South Africa represents the digital industry across all sectors including the media, the marketing community, government and the public, and also acts as the channel through which international bodies can enter the South African digital market. The IAB South Africa currently represents over 200 members including online publishers, creative, media and digital agencies, brands and educators between them accounting for more than 36 million local unique browsers and almost 1 billion page impressions. The IAB South Africa strives to provide members with a platform through which they can engage, interact and address digital issues of common interest, thereby stimulating learning and commerce within the South African digital space. To find out more about the IAB South Africa, visit its website (www.iabsa.net), like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/iab.southafrica and follow @iab_sa on Twitter. Platinum Partner Proudly brought to you by Opera Mediaworks VIP Partners Absolut,Estee Lauder Group Official Media Partners Bizcommunity, eNCA, iDidTht.com, Memeburn, Ornico (BMCR) publishes timely reviews of current scholarly work in the field of classical studies (including archaeology). The authoritative archive can be found atThis site was established to allow responses to reviews through the comments feature; all reviews from August 2008 have been posted and comments were allowed from 2008 until 2018. Thousands of Kachin people left the Myitkyina Sitapu Manaw Ground at 10.30am. They intended to march to the Kachin State Governments offices, but the police prevented them, so instead they marched to Myitkyina General Hospital. A prayer ceremony led by the Myanmar Council of Churches (MCC), where protesters prayed for PJS members injured in a grenade attack and those on the frontline, was then held in the grounds of Mytkyina General Hospital. After, the protestors marched back to the Mawnaw ground. This was the second public protest in support of the PJS, previously thousands of people had protested in front of Mytkyina General Hospital on the evening of 25 February. Over 20 PJS members have been receiving treatment at Myitkyina General Hospital after they were attacked in Kanpaiti by government Border Guard Forces (BGF) and poppy farm owners. Most of the PJS members are camped in the Sadon area and they are still holding discussions about when they should re-launch their programme, said a PJS leader at the Manaw ground on 26 February. Translated by Thida Linn Edited in English by Mark inkey for BNI It looks like you have reached this page in error ... The content you are looking for has either moved, or if you typed in the address there might have been a mistake. If you believe there has been a technical error please let us know. Most Popular Destinations The female body has a way of 'shutting that whole thing down' according to Idaho state Representative Pete Nielsen (R). State lawmakers in Idaho are considering an ultrasound bill with no exceptions for rape or incest but that isn't a concern, Nielsen says, because "trauma" prevents pregnancy. During the hearing Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, said, Now, Im of the understanding that in many cases of rape it does not involve any pregnancy because of the trauma of the incident. That may be true with incest a little bit. [...] Nielsen stood by his remarks after the hearing, saying pregnancy doesnt happen as often as it does with consensual sex, because of the trauma involved. "A little bit." That's not how science works. It's either true or it isn't. In this case, it isn't. The ultrasound bill was passed by the Idaho House State Affairs Committee and will be considered by the full state House. State lawmakers are also considering a bill that would ban the donation of fetal tissue for research and even for organ donations. Because they're so "pro-life." Government decided to choose Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting Terrestrial (ISDB-T) standard for digital migration originated in Japan based on the economic and social benefits that it offered Botswana. According to the Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Phillip Makgalemele SADC countries had two options available being ISDB-T and Digital Video Broadcasting 2nd generation (DVB-T2) which originated from Europe. These were the two leading technical standards that were approved for the SADC region by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the world body with the global mandate over telecommunications and broadcasting, he said. Makgalemele told Parliament this week that the decision to choose ISDB-T was based on the outcome of a comparative assessment and evaluation of technical and performance capabilities of the two standards. He explained that on the economic front they looked at the cost savings and the transmission efficiency. The ISD-T technology allows three (3) modes of transmission being fixed, mobile and portable or handled from one transmitter compared to more than one transmitter required for the same functionality with other service providers. On social benefits the data casting application on ISDB-T enables advanced emergency warning services, explained Makgalemele. The minister told Parliament that Set Top Boxes are not yet available in the local market. He said however government has made a pronouncement that Set Top Boxes will be sourced locally and presidential affairs ministry is working closely with stakeholders to facilitate the process of availing the Set Top Boxes in the local retail market. The targeted date of first availability of the Set Top Boxes is June 2016, said Makgalemele. The minister was responding to a question from Member of Parliament for Chobe, Ronald Shamukuni who wanted to know what informed the government decision to choose ISDB-T and whether the set top boxes for this standard are available in the market. The search for Botswana University of Science and Technology Vice Chancellor (VC) that commenced in 2015 is ongoing. Speaking during Palapye Sub-Council meeting recently, the Sub-Council chairperson Lesedi Phuthego said the search for VC and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research and Innovation, was ongoing. He said the deputy vice chancellor- finance and administration assumed duty in December 2015 and that the search for VC followed the resignation of the former BIUST VC, Professor Hillary Inyang. He said that the BIUST would continue with its efforts to recruit staff with critical skills, in order to transfer a wealth of knowledge to students and the nation. He said that the universitys curriculum took into account the needs of the private sector and was driven by a desire to contribute to the countrys economy. He emphasised that the university was a national strategic initiative intended to serve as one of the key platforms for transforming the countrys economy from being resource-based to knowledge-based through skills, capacity building, engineering, science and technology. He said that the university enrolled 1900 students including 206 post graduate and 56 international students. In terms of infrastructure, Phuthego said the university embarked on an aggressive infrastructure development with new prefabricated buildings to be used for office accommodation and lecture rooms. The university, he said also embarked on a seven-year strategic plan spanning from 2015/16 to 2022/23. Summarising some of the achievements and engagements in BIUST Phuthego noted that the University hosted a successful international clean energy conference with delegations from across the globe. The university also hosted the International Conference on Transportation in Africa which was aimed at exchanging information and ideas and sharing the development of products in the field of transportation, he said. In addition the university engaged in Monitoring for Environmental Security in Africa (MESA) which resulted in a partnership of BIUST hosting the Earth Observation Data Equipment. An African maxim counsels that when two elephants fight it is the grass that suffers. Botswana workers may be headed for a rude awakening that their trade unions are not protecting their welfare but instead engaged in power struggles that border on a clash of egos. That is if Mondays interim ruling by Industrial Court President Judge Tebogo Maruping in the case between BOPEU and BOFEPUSU over admission of the latter into the Bargaining Council is anything to go by. The Judge found that the standoff between Botswana Public Employees Union and Botswana Federation of Public Sector Unions is about nothing else but power struggle. He observed: Quite clearly this case involves power play or a power struggle based on numerical strength which leads to sharing of the eight seats allocated to the Union Party to the PSBC and the major players are NALCGPWU and BOPEU, the applicant. He then ruled that BOFEPUSU, which is a federation and not a Union recognised by government - is not entitled to be admitted into the membership of the Bargaining Council. Further the Judge interdicted the Bargaining Council from proceeding with the 2016/17 salary and conditions of service negotiations pending the conclusion of the matter. This was the hardest blow. And indeed Dr Kaelo Molefhe, a Political Science and Public Administration lecturer at University of Botswana specialising in trade union issues, shares the sentiment. This interim order means that salary negotiations are currently on halt and employees are going to suffer because of this, he said. He said that BOPEU is to blame for the impasse. What BOPEU could have done is to go ahead with the negotiations and raise their issue once they are complete, said Dr. Molefhe. BOFEPUSU Secretary General Tobokani Rari concurs. In fact while he views the judgement as an interim interdict which is returnable to court on 7th March 2016 and thereby demanding restraint on their part, he is still adamant that the behaviour of BOPEU is synonymous with that of a suicide bomber. According to Rari if the judgment could be confirmed final it would be a sad day for labour in Botswana. What it would effectively mean is that no union would be eligible to be admitted into the PSBC including BOPEU save for the Manual Workers Union as things stand now, he said. Currently Manual Workers Union is the only union that qualifies at the Public Service Bargaining Council (PSBC) because it meets the threshold. Its verified membership is 29 471 while BOPEU stand at 26 394 members against a threshold requirement by PSBC of 28 780. The remaining three unions, BTU, BOSETU and BLLAHWU have members less than 10 000. Rari said that if the judgment were confirmed it would be a total destruction of the ability and power to bargain by unions and in this case BOPEUs behavior, he said is synonymous with that of a suicide bomber. But not so, says BOPEUs Secretary General, Topias Marenga, who believes that his organisation has done nothing wrong because they wanted to protect their existence. He said it was clear from the onset that BOFEPUSU did not want them in the bargaining council and that is why they went ahead to reach a settlement agreement with the employer. He said their representatives at the negotiation table were also given the wrong document which clearly shows that BOFEPUSU did not want them. So they cannot blame us for this. Our existence was under threat, said Marenga. As for not caring about the welfare of workers Marenga retorted, that one of their objectives is to advocate for welfare of workers. We care a lot about them. But we should first protect the existence of the organisation because we have been mandated to do so, he said. But he concurred with the judge that unions must sit down and map the way forward because we still need each other. We want to see workers being victorious in every struggle. Rari also defended his federation saying it cares about the welfare of workers. In fact he said on several occasions they have invited BOPEU for dialogue. There is no doubt that BOFEPUSU always acts in the interest of the workers. We have demonstrated this by extending an invitation to BOPEU to be part of the case to support our view point against government when the employer was contending that BOPEU has terminated the acting jointly arrangement in spite of the fact that BOPEU had already disaffiliated from BOFEPUSU. A veteran Unionist, Oaitse Patle feels that the interim order and BOPEUs self-disqualification from the Bargaining Council and from the acting jointly arrangement for admission into PSBC membership with the majority Trade Union (MWU) has brought a catastrophic effect to its members and its future. He said BOPEU leadership must know and appreciate that, negotiation is not all about an increase in wages; but that negotiations also encompass advocating for change in employment policies and labour legislation and this can only be achieved when workers/unions are united and speaking with one voice. Unity is strength and no man is an island, he said. Fragmentation of trade unions, rivalry and continued divisions is unwarranted and must be condemned with the strongest possible terms by visionary unionists and the community as whole, he said. I therefore urge my fellow comrades in the struggle and in particular BOPEU members to rise to the occasion and to introspect and find out where they went wrong. BOPEU members must ensure that they make objective decisions about the future of their union and its leadership before it is too late, he said. Technocrat Gobe Matenge who contributed significantly towards the development of this country turns 90 years old on Sunday. He has not only proven himself to be a national builder, an active politician who refused to hold influential position, but a statesman as well. He easily speaks his mind out. He believes in the spirit of sharing where the haves give out to the needy; that children must be taught in their mother tongue, community radio stations must be opened, the constitution must be amended and Dikgosi should not join politics, but instead advocate for improving conditions of Dikgosi and increase their powers where it is necessary amongst other things. Neither his age nor poor eyesight has affected his mind, as he is still as sharp as a razor. Among his trademarks are punctuality and frankness. He keeps time and easily gets upset by those who turn up late for appointments, even if it is for a few minutes. I learned this the hard way on Tuesday when I arrived late and found him waiting for me in his sitting room carrying a copy of his biography UNEARTHING THE HIDDEN TREASURE THE UNTOLD STORY OF GOBE MATENGE authored by Oagile Key Dingake. After my arrival he wasted no time; he reprimanded me lecturing me on the importance of punctuality in honouring appointments. I also got to understand why the author of his biography Oagile Key Dingake does not only describe him as a self- made man who with limited education rose from the position of a messenger to Permanent Secretary. But, like Dingake states, Matenge is also an extremely organised, smart, punctual and factual person who is frank. Speaking to Botswana Guardian, Matenge revealed that he feels happy about his achievement. I lived very well for the past 90 years. I am proud that I am still active in life and useful. I can be used in many things, I can also think about many things. I can participate in useful projects. I can be engaged in discussion of any kind. Matenge retired 34 years ago on his birthday February 28. Looking back he realises that there are gradual changes for the better, there cannot be stagnation in life. I can only hope that we move forward from where we are and hope for improvements. It is not fair to compare what happened 90 years ago with what is happening today. Obviously there are going to be changes, which are visible. We start from the beginning and you gradually go up, he said. Political activist As a political activist he joined the opposition Botswana National Front (BNF) back in the days and although he did not hold any position in the party, I was active as a member. When Botswana Congress Party (BCP) broke away from the BNF, I was one of those people who assisted in forming the BCP. Since then, I remain an active BCP member. Philanthropy work Without doubt Matenge is a philanthropist. His fellow villagers in Matenge can attest to that. I do give within my reasonable means. I assist particularly at Matenge village. I made it a point that occasionally I give the primary children a complete set of school uniforms. There is no reason for me to stop doing that. If I had the means, I would be assisting many more schools around the country. Use of mother language Matenge believes that it is important that children must be taught in their mother language in order to understand where they come from. He says it is only logical for the community to maintain their language because if they do not maintain it the language will disappear and nobody wants their language to disappear. But, the quickest way of making languages go extinct is not to teach it in school. I am a supporter of people who advocate that mother tongue must be taught in schools. It does not matter what language it is. Community radio stations On non availability of community radio stations, he said for the community to feel proud, they ought to know that when they are approached for their views, you ask them in their own language and they feel free to express themselves in describing exactly what their needs are. Community radio stations are so critical within Botswana community. It a great disservice not to have them, he said. In fact, it is an insult not to have community radio stations today. On BCP and UDC marriage I know that the policy of the BCP is that they are prepared to discuss with any like-minded political opposition party, of course not prepared to discuss with the ruling BDP. But, with any political party which has almost similar policies. That is what I encourage; the only thing which I detest, is the idea of some people who say BCP must join UDC. It is a non starter to talk like that. The starting point should be to discuss, he said, adding that discussions will inform the decision to take. African presidents extending office term I condemn anybody who wants to extend the period beyond what is prescribed by the constitution. All should stick to the constitution. It was prepared by the people themselves, they knew what they were doing, but if you decide to change it for personal reasons, you must be condemned, and I condemn you. If you are given two terms, which is common these days and you can not achieve what you are supposed to achieve, it does not mean the extra period will help you to make better changes. In fact, it is much better that after serving your term you must leave and give others a chance to come in and proceed from where you stopped. Constitutional amendments Our constitution can not stay as it is, it was prepared many years ago, there have been changes in life, and in life it is absolutely necessary that we must sit down as a nation and review the constitution holistically to make sure that it is keeping with the present trend, otherwise it is lagging behind in some respects. But we should not just rush through some changes. We should sit down and agree logically on how this document should be improved. There are many areas where this document can be improved to produce a nice document. On Dikgosi joining politics It is a pity that Dikgosi are beginning to be attracted into politics, I do not know why, but I suspect the only reason why they do so is for financial gain. Otherwise I see no reason why they should not talk about improving conditions of Dikgosi and increase their powers where it is necessary because Bogosi is a very useful institution, which must remain. My advice is, if you are born the son of a Chief and feel you want to join politics then you have the right to do so. But, in my view, you should not accept the position of the leader of the tribe and along the line you run away from your responsibilities because you hear the salary of an MP is higher than the salary of a chief. To me that is not right, he said. Conduct of current MPs Of late I do not go to parliament as regularly as I used to in the past. However, I do occasionally follow the proceedings through many media forums like reading newspapers and listening to radio. What I have realised is that some of the things done or said by our current crop of MPs are right, but others are not quite right. At this point in time, I feel that all the MPs can do better than they are currently doing now. I would have expected that by this time the parliamentarians should be better than those who started parliament in 1966. But I get the impression that we have not moved far enough in this respect. My observation is people turn to think that you go to parliament because you are told that you will earn something. When parliament started, our understanding is you were keen and anxious to go to parliament because you felt you could make a useful contribution towards the development of your country. The question of money was always there, but it was not the reason for becoming a politician. At the moment, I get the impression that is not the case, things have changed slightly, but I wish they could really improve so that we can hope for the best MPs. The birthday party Matenge will celebrate his birthday in grand style with his wife Daisy, family, relatives and friends at a private party at GICC this Sunday afternoon. Who are his best friends? I have many friends, and actually everybody whom I have invited is a friend regardless of their status. They are my guests and they are equal and therefore, I cannot categorise them, but I can say, they are all my friends. There are those who are my best friends, but of course to mention them will take the whole day. I do not want to mention any names, but I can only say, there are friends and best friends. Matenge is a contented man. He is comfortable with what God has given him. I am not a greedy person, I take it that God does not make mistake in giving you what he gives. What you are before God is what you are and no more than that. Advice to youth Work hard, respect other persons, be tolerant, and be respectable because you have the chance of making this country very bright. Atleast eight illegal Zimbabwean immigrants were arrested on Tuesday while on duty at Kgalagadi Plastics Industries in Gaborone, Botswana Guardian can reveal. It all started on Monday when management requested employees who were knocking off from the 6am to 2pm shift to do a piece job of off-loading polymer - the raw material used to make plastics - from the palletswhich had to be returned to the supplier in South Africa. However, the two parties did not agree on the P200 payment, which led to management going out to Phase 2 to look for cheap labour from Zimbabwean expatriates who do not have residential and work permits. Police officers from Old Naledi station were tipped off and went to the factory where they arrested the men on Tuesday. In an interview with BG News, factory manager Boycey Barungwi confirmed the arrest and said they went out and looked for people to do the job, which was going to take less than six hours. In the past when we hired our employees to do piece jobs, it slowed down productivity of their main duties, he said, explaining that he was shocked that in less than an hour, police officers were already at their premises. He however said they were not specifically looking for Zimbabweans but people from outside who could finish the job quickly. He explained that they were under pressure to ensure that the pallets were returned to the supplier at the soonest. It was a mistake on our part and we regret it, he said. It is a crime under the laws of Botswana to hire an illegal immigrant. An employer is fined P1000 and above, depending on the duration. A total of 22, 675 illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe were deported from Botswana between January and October in 2013, compared to 17, 402 in 2012. The largest number of deportations was recorded in the month of December 2009 when 8,314 were transported back home. Two thousand six hundred people were deported in December 2010 while 2, 423 were deported in the same month in 2011. A looming retrenchment at Moolman mine set for later this month is likely to affect over 500 jobs, sources within the Botswana Mine Workers Union told Botswana Guardian this week. In fact the fears were heightened by what Moolman employees regarded as unusual behavior on Tuesday when the employer started moving equipment from the pit to the garages in preparation for a shutdown. Already one machine is believed to have left the mine premises. Vice President of Botswana Miners Workers Union Norman Kelaotswe confirmed to this publication that indeed Moolman has removed its drilling machinery from the pit. According to him, drills are permanently deployed at the plant or underground. He said that trucks were instead parked in the garage, I saw this with my own eyes, said Kelaotswe. He explained that Moolman presented their case to the union on Tuesday only after they had mobilised their equipment. They surprisingly claim that they have not signed a new contract with the client (Tati-Nickel-BCL), said BMWU Vice President. He said that Moolman claims that it cannot account for expenditure pertaining to things such as payment of employees since no contract was signed between themselves and Tati-Nickel. The last contract between Moolman and Tati Nickel expired in December last year and ever since January this year they have not been operating. Kelaotswe noted that the future of Moolmans employees is now uncertain as retrenchment is looming on the 29th of this month. It is said that over 500 workers are likely to lose their jobs. Kelaotswe said that as a union they look at the matter differently. Last year on the 11th of November they won a tender which ended in December and they have since then been bidding for tenders. Now we expect them to start operations but they have not done so since January nor have they had a word with the client, charged the vice president. Efforts to establish a comment from Moolman were futile as their office phones rang without without being answered since last week Friday. Botswana has recorded a decline in the number of tourist arrivals in 2014, this is according to the annual tourism report released by Statistics Botswana recently. The decline represents 19.9 percent from 2013 or close to P2, 6 million to almost P2, 1 million in 2014. According to the report, the gender distribution indicated that males accounted for 62,1 percent, which showed a decline of 1,2 percent from 2013 figure of 1,583,408. On the other hand there was also a decline of 22, 3 percent on female tourists from 2013s figure of 1,014,750 to 789,004 in 2014. Zimbabweans accounted for 37, 7 percent (784,720) in 2014, followed by South Africans with 28, 8 percent (600,387) and Zambians with only 9 percent which showed a decline of 43,2 percent from 2013s (331,799) to (143,448) in 2014. From outside Africa the United States of America, United Kingdom and Germany recorded 2, 4 percent (49, 961) 1, 9 percent (39, 675) and 1, 7 percent (34, 576) respectively. The African continent as a whole accounted for 86, 7 percent of total arrivals during 2014, followed by Europe with 6, 9 percent and America at 3 percent. In terms of age the 30 - 34 age group contributed 16, 1 percent (336, 293) followed by 35 - 39 by 14, 4 percent (298, 857). The age groups of 25 - 29 and 40 - 44 accounted for 12, 0 percent (263, 550) and 12, 0 percent (250,270) respectively in 2014. Regarding improving the tourism sector, Minister of Environment Wildlife and Tourism Tshekedi Khama revealed that among others direct international flights will be introduced. He said this at last years Botswana Travel and Tourism Expo which was held in Kasane. He also pointed out that the notion that Botswana is the worlds most kept secret should change. He said it should be known globally that Botswana is an amazing country that needs to be appreciated. On the other hand Botswana Stock Exchange listed tourism company Wilderness Holdings recorded a decline in revenue due to the Ebola outbreak. According to financial results for August 2015, revenue declined from P556 million to P539 million for the year under review. Overall sales decreased by 6 percent. Wilderness activities such as adventures were down by 6 percent and tour services down by 12 percent. Punters will have to wait a little longer before they can get hold of National Development Bank (NDB) shares, as the lenders privatisation process will be delayed, Botswana Guardian has learnt. A cocktail of problems has led to the postponement in selling 49 percent of the 53 year-old development bank to the public, minister of Finance and Development Planning, Kenneth Matambo told lawmakers this week. Two years ago, legislators gave thumbs up to NDB Transitional Act, which paved way for the privatisation of the development bank as well as registering the bank as a company. On Tuesday, the minister said a number of challenges such as decline in profitability, reduced banking rates and strained disposable income have put brakes on the banks privatisation exercise, which could have been at an advanced stage by now. Like BTCL, NDBs privatisation process would also see the bank floating 49 percent shares in the domestic bourse. However, the time is not now, as NDB has to be profitable before it can be sold. Early this month, Matambo said NDB registered a loss of P37, 2 million in 2015, compared to a net loss of P86, 3 million the year before. Like commercial banks in the country, the state-owned lender is struggling to cope with low interest regime. At 6 percent, the key-lending rate is at a two decade low. The property market has also faced challenges, as prices for houses have also been affected, in the process limiting the banks ability to generate fresh loans on property sector. Matambo said the banks profitability decline over the years is because NDB supports start-up businesses as well as finance agricultural projects, which are periodically affected by drought and livestock disease. These challenges, unfortunately, delayed the privatisation of the bank. To this end, a decision has been taken to first allow for the commercialisation of the bank and return it to profitability before embarking on a privatisation exercise, said Matambo. The minister did not specify when the privatisation process of the bank will be reinstated. Meanwhile, the finance minister told parliament that the bank, which offers financial services to most sectors of the economy, has implemented a turnaround strategy, which started last year. The strategy among others is targeted at reducing non-performing loans. A source in the bank told Botswana Guardian that there will be a notable improvement in the lenders financial statement in the year that will end this March (2015/16). Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. SYDNEY, N.S. Two weeks after a saucy Canadian website poked fun at Donald Trump by inviting disaffected American voters to move to Cape Breton, the islands moment in the American spotlight continues unabated. On the same day U.S. voters were taking part in the Super Tuesday presidential primaries, cable news giant CNN dispatched a reporter and crew to Nova Scotia to find out what Cape Breton has to offer. They are just so intrigued by the interest of Americans in looking at Cape Breton, says Mary Tulle, CEO of the tourism agency Destination Cape Breton. They wanted to get a sense of what is this little place, Cape Breton Island, is all about. Rob Calabrese (left), of the Giant 101.9 radio station and creator of the website (cbiftrumpwins.com) responds to questions from CNN reporter Paula Newton during an election piece for her news organization in Sydney, N.S., Tuesday, March 1, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Vaughan Merchant The network is following up on a series of reports that confirmed the website Cape Breton if Donald Trump Wins, has gone viral, attracting 787,000 unique visitors since Feb. 15 most of them from the United States. The site takes aim at Trump and his histrionic approach to Republican politics, but it also has plenty to say and show about the islands beauty, celtic culture and laid-back lifestyle. Tulle says it isnt hard to explain the enduring appeal of the website, which is linked to the Destination Cape Breton site and scores of stunning photos and videos showing off the islands rolling green hills, rocky headlands and secluded beaches. When people actually see how beautiful (Cape Breton) is, and they hear about the quality of life and they learn about the value of real estate and the strength of their dollar those elements are part of whats keeping this story alive, she said. Rob Calabrese, a Cape Breton radio announcer and creator of the website, says hes received hundreds of emails from Americans making serious inquiries about moving to Nova Scotia. The idea of living in a place like this election aside is attractive, he says. Everybody is stressed, everybody is worried about something and, all of a sudden, you have this beautiful island in front of your face and it makes the imagination roam. Tulle said the CNN team talked to real estate agent Valarie Sampson, an immigration lawyer and residents at a local restaurant in Sydney before heading to rural Marion Bridge to look at a house thats up for sale. The modern, four-bedroom house on Hillside Road includes a 20,000-square-foot lot that overlooks the Mira River. It also has a covered deck and private dock. Asking price: $449,000 or $335,000 in U.S. dollars. And many Cape Breton houses are much cheaper. Sampson, a sales agent with Remax Park Place Inc., says she has been overwhelmed with inquiries about properties, immigration and employment opportunities. Sales stemming from the Trump website are inevitable, though they may be months away, she said. Weve had people say, This has nothing to do with whether Trump wins. We found the website and were looking at your island. Can we really come up and buy a property for this price? With the Canadian dollar continuing to show weakness against the U.S. dollar, Sampson says an uptick in sales was expected, but nothing like the response shes seen in the past two weeks. Its absolutely amazing, and its been a great opportunity for us to showcase the island for its uniqueness, its beauty and its culture. Tulle says CNNs reports will be broadcast Wednesday on CNN Internationals flagship global affairs program, hosted by Christiane Amanpour. By Michael MacDonald in Halifax. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Hillary Clinton has stepped up her battle against predatory drug pricing in her bid to become the next U.S. president and she is setting her sights on Valeant Pharmaceuticals. In a new campaign ad on her YouTube page, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination vows to go after the Quebec-based drugmaker. Valeant has been accused of gouging patients on drug costs allegations it has denied. In this Feb. 29, 2016 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a campaign rally in Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File) The ad posted Monday cites the case of a woman who has been taking a brand name medication since the 1980s that, at one time, it says cost about $180 for 10 shots. The name of the medication is not disclosed in the ad, which appears to have been filmed at a town hall-type campaign stop in January. The ad shows Clinton waving a letter and saying the cost of the womans latest refill has shot up to $14,700 for the same 10 vials. The company is called Valeant Pharmaceuticals. I am going after them, Clinton tells the meeting to a round of applause. This is predatory pricing and were going to make sure it is stopped. Valeant said after it became aware of the patients story in January, it contacted her to determine whether it could help cover the costs of the medication as part of a patient assistance program. She informed us that her insurance provider covers the drug, so it is not a significant out-of-pocket expenditure for her, Valeant said in a statement Tuesday. Valeant also said there has been a generic version of the drug available since 2003 and that its share of the overall market for the medication has declined to less than one per cent. Whenever the sales volume of a drug declines, manufacturers must consider pricing adjustments to keep production of the drug viable, Valeant said. Patients are able to choose generic versions of the drug, however, at significantly lower prices. The company, one of several companies under investigation as the U.S. Congress looks at price increases for certain specialty drugs, has seen its share price plummet to well under $100 from above $346 last summer. On Tuesday, the stock fell $6.55 to settle at $87.94 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA A new analysis by one of Canadas biggest banks says the federal government is on track to run $150 billion in budget deficits over the next five years. The TD Bank report, released Tuesday, also estimates Ottawas current fiscal path means it will take more than a decade to bring the budget back into balance unless the government raises taxes or cuts spending. The bank says it produced the numbers after re-calculating Ottawas predicted shortfalls to account for the Liberal governments electoral spending vows and TDs below-consensus outlook for economic growth. Our estimates show deficits remain somewhat persistent, largely the result of our conservative view on long-term growth rates, reads the report, co-authored by TD economists Derek Burleton and Brian DePratto. A key takeaway from our analysis is that absent additional revenues or adjustments to spending relative to the status quo, the federal deficit is poised to remain stubbornly elevated over the medium term. The Liberals are projecting a shortfall of at least $18.4 billion next year a deficit thats widely expected to climb closer to $30 billion in the March 22 budget. Ottawas recent fiscal projection didnt factor in billions in Liberal spending commitments a sizable chunk of which is expected to go towards infrastructure projects in hopes of jump-starting a struggling economy. During last years election campaign, the Liberals vowed to cap annual deficits at $10 billion and to balance the books in four years, a pledge they have been backing away from while citing the sliding economy. In releasing a fiscal update last week, Finance Minister Bill Morneau insisted the governments starting point was much further back than the Liberals thought. Morneaus calculations, primarily based on the estimates of private-sector forecasters, included an additional $6 billion per year for economic prudence that the government argued was necessary to account for risk. The governments update showed the fiscal outlook for the next two years, while the TD report Tuesday broadened the projection period to five years. The authors say the study also factors in the positive growth benefits from stimulus spending. The analysis also warned that another key Liberal election promise is at risk: lowering Canadas debt-to-GDP ratio from about 31 per cent to 27 per cent over four years. The ratio, also known as the debt burden, represents a governments capacity to repay debt. TD projects the debt-to-GDP ratio will grow to 36.1 per cent by 2020-21. This underscores the need for a credible long-term anchor on spending and revenue that helps keep the budget on a sustainable track in a low-growth world, the report said. After the TD reports release, a spokesman for Morneau said the Liberals would stick to their promise to shrink the debt-to-GDP ratio, even as they make investments billed as leading to long-term growth. Canada has the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, and there has never been a better time to invest, Daniel Lauzon wrote in an email. We will maintain this ratio on a downward track throughout our mandate. However, Morneaus update last week contained projections that predicted debt-to-GDP would increase from 31 per cent in 2015-16 to 31.8 per cent in 2016-17, before decreasing to 31.1 per cent in 2017-18. Follow @Andy Blatchford on Twitter Already have an account? Log in here EDMONTON - The Alberta government wants to hear what residents think about doctor-assisted death. We need your support! Local journalism needs your support! As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support. Starting at $4.99/month you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website. or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527. Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. TORONTO Dean just turned two years old, but he already has more than 107,000 Instagram fans following his squirrel-chasing, stick-fetching and snack-sneaking adventures in Toronto. The floppy-eared basset hound is one of several Canadian dogs whose #DogsOfInstagram game is on point. These rising canine stars can score anything from free doggie treats to lucrative book deals as companies look to harness the puppies star power. Carly Bright and Nathan Sidon picked up Dean from a breeder in April 2014. One month later, the couple launched Deans Instagram account to avoid spamming their own followers with incessant pictures of their puppy. Dean, the Basset Hound who has over 105,000 followers on Instagram, celebrated his second birthday yesterday at a party at his Toronto home on Sunday, February 28, 2016. Dean just turned two years old, but he already has more than 107,000 Instagram fans following his squirrel-chasing, stick-fetching and snack-sneaking adventures in Toronto. The floppy-eared basset hound is one of several Canadian dogs whose #DogsOfInstagram game is on point. These rising canine stars can score anything from free doggie treats to lucrative book deals as companies look to harness the puppies' star power. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michelle Siu His photos started resonating with strangers, though, and by late summer, his account cracked 1,000 followers. Bright continued posting about one picture daily and fine-tuned Deans voice. The captions, Sidon said, are the couples best understanding of their dogs perspective. Hes got a big personality, said Bright. While they consider Deans social media presence a hobby rather than a business, interest in the hounds potential to peddle products has grown along with his following. People reach out to him all the time, Sidon said. At first, the couple reacted with excitement each time a brand contacted them to inquire about working with Dean. Now, emails arrive in Deans inbox multiple times a day. Sometimes the companies want to send Dean a free product, hoping his owners will showcase it on the account, said Sidon. Other times, they offer financial compensation for doing so. Once in awhile, the couple bites and agrees to the pitch (though they always test the product first). For example, they offer a promotional code for BarkBox, a monthly delivery of treats and toys for dogs, and receive some money each time someone signs up using their code. Christie Vuongs nine-month-old pug, Helmut, gained thousands of followers after she posted a parody of Drakes Hotline Bling music video starring the puppy. Now, Helmuts Instagram posts are seen by nearly 16,000 people. The dog now receives food products and other freebies, she said. Helmut and Deans owners have both been contacted by agencies interested in representing the dogs. The firms match social medias doggie darlings with brands, just as they do the people they represent. Fohr Card, a company that helps brands find human influencers, created a spinoff, Fur Card, to showcase the growing number of popular animals on social media. The deals can be lucrative. The dogs earn a fee or freebie for posting about a brands products, or can lend their image to merchandise of all kinds. Boo, a San Francisco pomeranian with more than 17 million Facebook followers and upwards of 600,000 Instagram followers, stars in two books and a game, and has a stuffed animal version of himself for sale complete with seasonal outfits. Deans owners have been asked to lend his likeness to socks, sandals and 3D figurines, but Bright and Nathan have largely passed on the offers because they want to maintain the integrity of Deans Instagram page and keep it relatively advertisement-free. They prefer to opt for promotions that stay off the photo-sharing site. Recently, an American greeting card company paid US$1,500 for a photo of the dog chilling in a water tube on a lake to use on a card. This year, the couple created their second annual Dean-centric calendar. They sold more than 500 copies and donated part of the proceeds $1,000 cash and $200 of toys and treats to the Toronto Humane Society. While that may seem like a lot, Deans upkeep is hefty. Some people say Dean pays for himself, says Bright. No, he doesnt. Plus, theyre not dog owners just because of the slim possibility their dog will rise to mega-Instagram fame. For now, theyre sticking to it as a hobby, though they might consider focusing more on Deans income potential one day. If we can ever make it work in a way that felt right Im not saying we wouldnt pursue it further, said Bright. But right now, its really just like a labour of love and a hobby that we both really enjoy. I mean, hes our favourite subject. Follow @AleksSagan on Twitter. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said an American credit card company paid US$1,500 for a photo of a dog in a water tube. Already have an account? Log in here ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - The federal government has called for a full stock assessment of northern shrimp off the northeast coast of Newfoundland and southern Labrador. We need your support! Local journalism needs your support! As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support. Starting at $4.99/month you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website. or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527. Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. REGINA Nurses are the latest group to join opposition to a private, for-profit plasma donor clinic in Saskatchewan. Tracy Zambory, president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, has written a letter to federal Health Minister Jane Philpott that says nurses believe the clinic poses a serious safety risk to the blood supply. Canadian Plasma Resources opened its doors Feb. 18 and plans to pay people with $25 gift cards for making plasma donations. The centre will be inspected by Health Canada and has to comply with national regulations, including donor screening and testing. Zambory asks Philpott to immediately prevent Health Canada from issuing licenses to any clinic intending to pay donors for blood or plasma. Zambory also points to an inquiry into the tainted blood scandal of the 1980s which recommended against paid-donor blood clinics. SUN is deeply concerned that any company paying donors for plasma would be operating in direct contravention of these recommendations and would once again be placing Canadians in great peril, Zambory said in letter Tuesday. The Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour have also called for a ban on such clinics. Philpott has fended off calls to close the clinic in Saskatchewan by saying Canada has one of the safest blood systems in the world. She said in the House of Commons on Feb. 18 that the government has examined this in great detail and is approaching this matter looking at the science and making sure that there are no compromises to the safety of the blood system. Saskatchewan Health Minister Dustin Duncan supports the clinic and has noted that 80 per cent of plasma used in Canada currently comes from paid donors, largely in the United States, but also in Europe. Plasma is the straw-coloured liquid portion of blood. Canadian Plasma Resources says donating typically takes one hour. It says plasma collected will be used in other medical therapies, not for direct transfusions. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/02/2016 (2426 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. EDMONTON An Edmonton charity that helps children in Nairobi has become the unintentional beneficiary of celebrity vanity. Todd Lorentz, a director of One Childs Village, says donations are starting to come in as a result of a Florida mans campaign called Help Kenya, Not Kanye. Gabriel Ferrer launched the website out of disgust for rapper Kanye Wests pleas for financial help on Twitter, including asking Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to give him $1 billion in order to bring more beautiful ideas to the world. Ferrers website suggests that fans who might spend $700 on one of Wests sweaters an item in his high-priced line of clothing donate the money to charities operating in the African country instead. Lorentz says $700 would feed the children at the school One Childs Village operates for a month. The charity and its school helps children affected by HIV and AIDS. Lorentz says he was completely surprised that his small organization, which operates out of his Edmonton home, ended up being listed on the website, but says hes happy to go along with it. We would love our name to be out more, so people see us, but we also dont have money allocated for marketing, he explains. He hopes they benefit from the attention, even if the campaign turns out to be short-lived. Were just hoping that we can get as much voice as we can in the short time that it might be up there, and hopefully we can launch a lot of new projects and help tens of thousands more kids in the coming weeks and months. (CHED, CTV Edmonton) Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 28/02/2016 (2427 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Dioceses of Brandon will consecrate its seventh bishop in 92 years on Tuesday. Rev. Canon William Cliff is replacing Rt. Rev. James Njegovan, who retired on July 31 after 13 years as bishop. This is a big deal. This is about as big a deal as it gets for me personally, Cliff said. He was elected from a pool of six candidates during a synod on Oct. 31. Tom Bateman/The Brandon Sun Rev. Canon William Cliff will be consecrated as the bishop of the Diocese of Brandon on Tuesday. Cliff was previously the rector of St. John the Evangelist Chapel at Huron University College in London, Ont. The 49-year-old comes to the Wheat City from Huron University College at Western University in London, Ont., where he served as the parish priest and rector of St. Johns Chapel for 13 years. The bishop-elect assumes a diocese bruised by allegations that the outgoing bishops son, Noah James Bernard Njegovan, stole tens of thousands of dollars of church money while he was executive archdeacon of the Brandon diocese. Last August, the junior Njegovan pleaded not guilty and to charges of fraud over $5,000 and theft over $5,000 and faces a Court of Queens Bench trial by judge alone. The insurer for the Anglican Church of Canada, The Diocese of Brandon is also suing Njegovan to recover the money. The allegations against the younger Njegovan, who is not currently an active priest, havent been proven in court, and hes presumed innocent. His next court dates are in the spring. I think people are looking for a way forward that doesnt blame the past and has some genuine joy in what we share together in Jesus. Thats where Im putting my focus. The matters before the courts will be resolved by the courts and we always seek reconciliation and forgiveness, Cliff said on the matter. The older Njegovan, who told Anglican Journal his retirement wasnt connected to his sons legal matters, has been very helpful in the transition, Cliff said. (He) has been wonderful in giving me counsel and encouragement and making sure that I dont step on landmines if there are landmines to be stepped on, Cliff said. Cliff called his new diocese, which includes 50 congregations spanning the western portion of Manitoba from the Northwest Territories to the American border an impossibly large area. Im one guy and Im going to do my absolute best. People here need to teach me how to be their bishop. Thats the thing Ive said repeatedly I need to learn and Im willing to learn. I like to preach, I like to be out with people, I love the life of the church, so Im excited about spending time with people, Cliff said. I genuinely am excited by anything God has to send a year ago Id never have believed Id be sitting here now so Im astonished by the people of Brandons confidence in me and Im grateful for it and Im excited by it, actually. Genuinely excited. The native of Wyoming, Ont., recognizes several parallels between Brandon and Ontario. I grew up near Sarnia, which is a town of about 25,000 so very similar in outlook and understanding. I grew up in a rural area, so Im used to that, he said. Cliff said The Diocese of Huron has one of the largest First Nations congregations in Canada, and hes looking to grow similar relationships with Manitobas indigenous people. My important thing is to listen to the stories of the people here. They were here long before me and they will be here long after me, so I think a level of humility in the face of the knowledge that is out there that I do not have, is a logical response, he said. Hes also looking to carry over his extensive work with younger Anglicans worshippers the average age of his old parish was between 18 and 22. Cliff is acclaimed for Bull with Bill a lecture series addressing issues surrounding modern Christianity. He said hes looking into ways to engage Brandon University and Assiniboine Community College students. I think thats a really important time for people to struggle with what they know, what theyre learning and how they find their way in the world, he said. Cliff, who holds an undergraduate degree in music, is one of the Three Cantors: a trio of Anglican priests who perform everything from Broadway tunes to Gregorian chants in hundreds of concerts across the country, raising money for charity. Cliff said he doesnt know how the diocese will look a year from now: his main goal is to be taught how to be an effective bishop. My father was a marine engineer on an old steam ship. He could tell you what the RPMs were by feeling the deck plates under his feet and looking at his watch. He taught me that sometimes listening to the machine will tell you more than talking to it or talking at it or tinkering with it. Cliff will be consecrated by the Most Rev. Gregory Kerr-Wilson, Archbishop of Calgary and Metropolitan of Ruperts Land at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at St. Matthews Cathedral in Brandon. tbateman@brandonsun.com, with files from Ian Hitchen Twitter: @tombatemann Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. CALGARY A Calgary woman who received a legal exemption for doctor-assisted death has ended her life in Vancouver with the help of two physicians. The woman, who cannot be identified because of a court-ordered publication ban, died on Monday with her family at her side. My colleague and I were grateful and honoured to be able to help her, Dr. Ellen Wiebe, a clinical professor at the University of British Columbia, said in an email to The Canadian Press, adding the woman made the trip from Calgary to Vancouver the same day. Wiebe is one of a group of doctors who have formed an organization called Hemlock AID to provide B.C. patients with information about and access to assisted death. She has said she has no qualms about helping patients fulfil their final wish. I dont consider giving someone a good death to be causing harm, she said late last year. Thats the main aim of helping somebody at the end of life, to help them have a good death. If what they want is to die sooner rather than later and do it comfortably, then thats a good death for them. The judges ruling on the Calgary womans case was released Tuesday. She was in the final stages of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrigs disease. The court decision indicated the woman had no more than six months to live and was in significant pain. I am not suffering from anxiety or depression or fear of death, the woman, referred to as Ms. S, said in a court affidavit. I would like to pass away peacefully and am hoping to have physician-assisted death soon. I feel that my time has come to go in peace. The Supreme Court ruled last winter that consenting adults enduring intolerable physical or mental suffering have the right to end their lives with a doctors help. The high court has given the federal government more time to write a new law on physician-assisted death, but is allowing anyone who wants to die sooner to ask a judge for an exemption. Court of Queens Bench Justice Sheilah Martin said the womans application was the only one she is aware of in Canada. Quebec has its own law governing what it calls medical aid in dying, which went into effect in December. Health officials in Quebec City confirmed the first death under the law in January. I am satisfied that Ms. S fully and freely consents to the termination of her life, Martin wrote in her ruling. Her application is not made in a moment of weakness and her desire for physician-assisted death is long standing. Court heard that Ms. S was a retired clinical psychologist and former award-winning dancer who was active before her diagnosis in 2013. ALS is a degenerative neurological disease that causes muscle weakness. Ms. S was in the final stages, unable to speak and almost completely paralyzed. She could not swallow liquids and water was pumped into her stomach through a tube. She was able to text words using her left hand, but even this form of communication is rapidly declining, wrote Martin. The woman had frequent muscle cramps and, in the last two months, suffered frequent breathing problems, often choking at night on saliva and mucous in her throat. It is not acceptable to me to live sedated to the point of unconsciousness until I choke on my own bodily fluids, Ms. S said in the court document. The woman had no children and her husband acted as her main caregiver. The ruling said he initially was resistant to her request to die, but after months of discussion came to respect her choice. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. TORONTO Forcing a news outlet to turn over materials it used for stories on a suspected terrorist would set a dangerous precedent for media freedoms, an Ontario court heard Tuesday. In submissions on behalf of Vice Media, lawyer Iain MacKinnon said the RCMP were on a sweeping fishing expedition that could undermine the medias ability to report on matters of public interest. The effect on journalists could be crippling, MacKinnon said. It could prevent them from doing their jobs. Vice Media reporter Ben Makuch leaves Ontario Superior Court in Toronto on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. RCMP are trying to force Vice to turn over materials related to interviews Makuch did in 2014 with suspected terrorist, Farah Shirdon, of Calgary. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel However, the government countered that media freedoms, while important, are not absolute, and have to be weighed against the public interest in seeing serious crimes investigated and prosecuted. At issue is a year-old court-sanctioned demand from the RCMP that Vice Media and its reporter Ben Makuch provide all materials he used to produce three articles in 2014 about Farah Shirdon, of Calgary. In October 2014, Makuch cited Shirdon as saying from Iraq: Canadians at home shall face the brunt of the retaliation. If you are in this crusader alliance against Islam and Muslims you shall see your streets filled with blood. Last September, RCMP charged the Toronto-born Shirdon, 22, in absentia with several offences, including leaving Canada to participate in the activity of a terrorist group, taking part in the activity of a terrorist group, and threatening the U.S. and Canada. The Vice stories were largely based on conversations Makuch had with Shirdon via an online instant messaging app called Kik Messenger. As part of its demand, RCMP want Makuch to turn over the contents of those chats. Police say they say they need the materials to gather possible further evidence against the Canadian, including proof of whether he was in fact in Iraq. The only reason that (RCMP) have come forward to Vice is that they are the only source of the information, Crown lawyer Sarah Shaikh told Superior Court Justice Ian MacDonnell. Police want to know how Makuch tracked Shirdon down but the reporter argues he simply monitored the suspects online activities through social media accounts. Police did the same before charging Shirdon. Mr. Shirdon was not shy about going online and posting his thoughts, MacKinnon told court. Allowing police to use media to further their investigations, MacKinnon told MacDonnell, could lead to fewer journalists taking on controversial stories and people become reluctant to talk to reporters. The damage that would be caused outweighs the value of the information sought, the lawyer said. Shaikh countered that the public has a strong interest in seeing police combat terror-related crimes. Media should voluntarily provide information related to criminal offences or expect judicial orders to do so, she said. (Journalists) are not in a position to determine what is evidence of a crime, Shaikh said. The order to Vice was carefully focused to take into account the medias special role in society balanced against the serious nature of the charges against Shirdon, Shaikh said. At the same time, she said, Shirdon voluntarily made statements to Vice knowing they would be published and police need to know what else he might have said. There is no expectation of confidentiality, Shaikh said. Vice and Makuch also asked the court for access to the sealed supporting documentation RCMP used to get the order. The government, however, argues that making the information public could jeopardize an ongoing national security investigation, hurt innocent third parties, and risk the right of the accused to a fair trial. MacKinnon called those concerns purely speculative and no reason to resort to secrecy. MacDonnell reserved his decision. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. MONTREAL Imperial Tobacco has launched a legal challenge of certain parts of Quebecs tobacco-control law and is asking a judge to strike them down on constitutional grounds. The company has filed an application for judicial review with Quebec Superior Court, saying various elements of the legislation are punitive. In its court action, dated last Friday, Imperial argues a section spelling out health warnings on packaging goes beyond federal government requirements. The company also says prohibiting advertising to tobacco retail outlets only serves to undermine their ability to sell their products. And Imperial contends Quebecs prohibition of flavoured tobacco and menthol cigarettes will just help fuel the contraband trade. The Quebec law came into effect at the end of November, although certain provisions, including the menthol ban, come into force later this year. We believe that Bill 44 and its measures infringe on our rights and freedoms as guaranteed by the Canadian and Quebec charters, Imperial spokesman Eric Gagnon said in an interview Tuesday. We continue to support reasonable and evidence-based regulation. We shared that with the government when we participated in public consultations. In addition to banning flavoured tobacco, including menthol, the legislation also covered a wide array of related issues: lighting up on restaurant patios, smoking inside vehicles with minors and selling e-cigarettes. Canadas largest tobacco company suggests many of the provisions were hastily added on just before the bill entered into law and that some of them violate the Montreal-based firms charter rights. Imperial is already challenging Nova Scotias menthol cigarette ban, which came into effect in May 2015, arguing the province exceeded its legal authority with the decision. The move to prohibit menthol cigarettes has picked up steam in the past year. Three Canadian provinces Nova Scotia, Alberta and New Brunswick currently have bans in place and Quebec will join that group in November, with Ontario following in January 2017. Prince Edward Island is also working on one. The Canadian Cancer Societys Rob Cunnigham calls Imperial Tobaccos legal action a public relations exercise and notes that provinces have the right regulate products. Menthol is very popular among youth and it makes it easier for kids to experiment and get addicted so, for us, a ban on menthol is an essential strategy to help reduce smoking especially youth smoking, Cunningham said. These laws are very important from a public health perspective. Imperial vice-president Tamara Gitto said in a statement the firm recognizes the health risks associated with smoking and supports fact-based regulation, but that it will oppose anything deemed excessive regulation that infringes on the companys constitutional rights. No date has been set for the Quebec court challenge. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Opposition parties say they deserve a seat at the table as the Liberals put together a watchdog committee on national security and intelligence. The Conservatives say the government is politicizing a process that the New Democrats say requires a transparent and independent approach. While the opposition parties say they are united in their belief that all parties must work together on the establishment of the committee, they sent individual letters this week to the prime minister and public safety minister. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale responds to a question during Question Period in the House of Commons Wednesday February 24, 2016 in Ottawa. Opposition parties say they deserve a seat at the table as the Liberals put together a watchdog committee on national security and intelligence. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld In a letter Tuesday, Conservative public safety critic Erin OToole said Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale should know from his consultations in the United Kingdom the importance of ensuring the committees work is entirely non-partisan. The appointment of a chair before the committee is structured and your public pronouncements on the committee without any all-party discussion suggests to both official opposition parties that the government intends to foist upon Parliament a committee that is immediately politicized because of a lack of collaboration and information-sharing, OToole said in his letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Canadian Press. The Conservatives presented 18 ideas for the mandate, structure and duties of the committee, including a requirement that it publish an annual report and that all its members should have had some exposure to security, intelligence or defence issues. Both parties single out NDP MP and lawyer Murray Rankin as someone who should play a major role in forming the body. Before being elected in 2012, Rankin served as legal counsel for the Security and Intelligence Review Committee, the independent body that oversees Canadas spy agency. In his letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, dated Monday, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair urged the Liberals to consider convening an all-party meeting to discuss the committees work. The committee itself is essential to build trust in the governance of security agencies while strengthening their accountability to Parliament, Mulcair wrote. We are sure that you will agree that it is essential that this process is above reproach in terms of transparency and independence, Mulcair wrote in his letter, a copy of which was also obtained by The Canadian Press. Formation of the committee was a Liberal campaign promise that followed the passage of a Conservative law extending the powers of spy and security agencies. The committee would operate outside the normal House of Commons committee structure, given the sensitivity of the material before it. Thats why, the Liberals say, the decision to appoint Liberal David McGuinty as its chair does not break a Liberal campaign commitment that committees will elect their own chairpersons. Thats also why legislation will be needed to create it and set out its mandate, said Scott Bardsley, a spokesperson for the public safety minister. Minister Goodale committed to introducing legislation and through the parliamentary process there will be ample opportunities for other parties to feed in, he said. The legislation is expected later this year. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. MONCTON, N.B. A public tip led police to a fugitive New Brunswick murder suspect known for altering her appearance, RCMP said Tuesday. After a two-and-a-half-month search, RCMP said they arrested 20-year-old Marissa Shephard at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in Moncton. She was located at the intersection of Shediac Road and the Lewisville Road in Moncton. She was accompanied by two other people a man and a woman who were also arrested, said Const. Jullie Rogers-Marsh. Marissa Shephard is seen in an undated handout photo from the RCMP. A New Brunswick murder suspect known for altering her appearance has been arrested after more than two months as a fugitive. RCMP said they arrested Shephard at 12:30 Tuesday in Moncton. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Royal Canadian Mounted Police via Facebook Eyewitnesses described a moment of drama outside a Comfort Inn during an otherwise routine lunch hour. There was quite a commotion, said Geraldine McGraw, who works at an antiques store across the street. There were police cars and a van. Rogers-Marsh said the arrest went without incident. Shephard was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for first degree murder and arson in the Dec. 17 death of 18-year-old Baylee Wylie, whose body was found in a burned-out triplex about a kilometre from where Shephard was arrested. Rogers-Marsh wouldnt give more details on the tip police received. All three people arrested Tuesday are due in the Moncton courts Wednesday morning. We certainly appreciate the help that weve gotten all along during the investigation. The publics help has led to locate and arrest her, Rogers-Marsh said. The investigation will determine if theres more charges. Family members had said they believed Shephard was likely dead. Police had issued numerous pictures of Shephard and even produced a YouTube video in January that included nine new photos. Most were selfies showing Shephard in a wide range of appearances. Online photos posted by friends and family variously depict Shephard in pouting glamour poses, as a content mother of a young boy, as a haggard suspect and as a wannabe gangster. One widely distributed photo shows a young woman posing with a gun. Police said Shephard was considered dangerous due to the violent nature of the crime. Several other young people had earlier been arrested in connection with the crime. Days after the Moncton blaze, 18-year-old Devin Morningstar was charged with first-degree murder and arson. Tyler Noel, 18, was arrested on a Canada-wide warrant Jan. 9, in Petitcodiac, N.B., after a report of a break and enter at a cottage in Elgin, N.B. The Moncton man has also been charged with first-degree murder and arson. Two other young men were arrested with Noel. Police say 18-year-old Zachary Holden of Moncton faces charges of accessory after the fact to murder and unlawfully being in a dwelling, flight from police and dangerous driving. Twenty-year-old Bradley John Bonnell, of Wheaton Settlement, has been charged with accessory after the fact to murder and unlawfully being in a dwelling. By Kevin Bissett in Fredericton Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Federal proposals on how to make the government more open are being kept secret. The Treasury Board Secretariat has chosen to withhold key memos to minister Scott Brison on reforming the antiquated Access to Information Act. Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government has promised to amend the access law so that federal information is open by default. President of the Treasury Board Scott Brison answers a question during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Monday, Feb.1, 2016. Federal proposals on how to make the government more open are being kept secret. The Treasury Board Secretariat has chosen to withhold key memos to minister Brison on reforming the antiquated Access to Information Act.THE CANADIAN PRESS.Adrian Wyld But Canadians arent allowed to see the advice from officials on how to reach that goal. The Canadian Press used the access law to request recent briefing notes and memos to Brison on possible reforms. However, entire pages were withheld for fear of revealing government advice, consultations or deliberations. It is really troubling that the public is denied insight into the process, said Sean Holman, an assistant professor of journalism at Mount Royal University in Calgary. Some passages in the 17 pages of government records have been declared cabinet confidences, meaning they cannot be disclosed. But the department could have released the pages containing advice and deliberations, Holman said after reviewing the records, noting the exemption is not a mandatory one that must be applied under the law. The fact that a Liberal government is choosing to exercise this particular exemption, I think, says a lot about the overall state of mind within government about freedom of information and about what the public has a right to know, and what the public doesnt have a right to know, Holman said. What would be so wrong in letting the public know about what options are under consideration? It would simply result in a debate about those options. The government would be better informed about where the public stands on this particular issue. Jean-Luc Ferland, a spokesman for Brison, said ministers were working to improve the law with a mandate to make information open by default. This will require a consultation with parliamentarians, agents and officers of Parliament, and other stakeholders. The pages that were disclosed do confirm that Treasury Board officials see a need to strengthen the right of access. The Access to Information Act has remained largely unchanged since 1983 and is now out of sync with the digital environment and public expectations, one page says. The Liberal government made several access reform commitments during the election campaign, including expansion of the law to cover ministers offices and administrative institutions that support Parliament and the courts. A House of Commons committee is now carrying out a wide-ranging review of the legislation. Information commissioner Suzanne Legault, an ombudsman for users of the law, urged MPs last week to take bold steps on reform. Holman said nothing prevents the Liberal government from encouraging openness by default while the review is being done. In fact, he pointed out, the former Progressive Conservative government of Joe Clark did just that in 1979 after its access bill moved to committee. Clark sent a letter to deputy ministers urging them to act in the spirit of the bill even though it would be some time before it took final shape. The Clark government fell before the bill could become law, leaving it to Pierre Trudeaus Liberals to usher in the Access to Information Act. Follow @JimBronskill on Twitter Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 01/03/2016 (2425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. We are no different from any other law-abiding citizen in the country. We carry out all the responsible jobs, as anyone else does. We have children and we want the protection of our children: we want our country to be safe, and our country is Canada. Faiz Ahmad, president of the Brandon Islamic Centre The Trudeau government marked a milestone last weekend when Canada welcomed the 25,000th Syrian refugee into the country. And while it wasnt quite what he had promised during the election campaign 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2015 it is, nonetheless, an impressive accomplishment. There are, of course, good reasons for Canadians to be proud of this, not the least of which is the fact that our country has resettled more Syrian refugees than most others in the world. CBC reports that only Germany has made more official spaces formally available than Canada, though nearly one million have sought asylum in Europe as a whole. But with the rising number of Syrian refugees to our shores, there has also been a noticeable rise in anti-Muslim rhetoric in North America. With potential presidential candidates like Donald Trump, for example, it seems that it has become fashionable as of late to build walls between people both physically and socially instead of working to tear them down. Indeed, the rise of blind hatred and bigotry in North America, including Canada, is more than a little disturbing. On Monday, we reported that members of the Brandon Islamic Centre had invited parishioners from Catholic churches in Neepawa and Carberry as part of an open house at the organizations mosque on Saturday. The move was part of an outreach program by the Islamic Centre to help Westman residents better understand the Muslims in their midst. The centres president, Faiz Ahmad, said there are about 250 people in Brandon who practise Islam, and they hail from many areas of the world, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria Unfortunately, it seems that there remains misunderstanding within the city and surrounding communities about Islam, and the Muslim faithful who live, work and play alongside us. A large part of this misinformation is due to the media, which all too often focuses on international news that tends to paint all Muslims with the same brush that they are all dangerous radical terrorists. The reality is actually quite different. As Ahmad states in the quote above, the majority of Muslim people are peace-loving people who want to raise their families in safety and security. In spite of this, attitudes are proving difficult to change. A recent poll by the Angus Reid Institute suggested that about 42 per cent of respondents wanted Canada to stop taking in Syrian refugees, while 29 per cent said Canada should draw the line at 25,000. As the Globe and Mail has reported, there have been several racist incidents across the country directed at Syrian refugees, including graffiti sprayed on a school in Calgary urging Syrians go home and die, and to kill the traitor Trudeau. And here in Brandon, just yesterday we received a few messages to our Sound Off line that we will not be printing in full in response to our coverage of the Muslim open house on Saturday. I am not interested in their culture and I dont want it, I am tired of these people wanting more and more, wrote one bigoted commenter. Canada is no longer the Country we were living in. When are you people going to give your heads a shake. You will pay the price. We applaud the Islamic Centre for opening its doors to the public, and for bringing its religion and its members into the public eye as a means to foster understanding. These kinds of outreach programs, we think, are a good way to try to give people a better understanding of their neighbours and of their beliefs. But in these days in which we live, it faces an uphill battle when it comes to educating an already suspicious and fearful citizenry. By Daniel McConnell, Irish Examiner Political Editor Taoiseach Enda Kenny will travel to the United States for St Patricks Day celebrations, despite losing the General Election. In a highly curtailed schedule of events, Mr Kenny will travel to Washington DC for events on March 15 and 16. He will depart for Brussels to attend an EU Summit on St Patricks Day itself as his presence is mandatory. The highly condensed programme events will see Mr Kenny only attending events in Washington rather than going to New York as he has done in previous years. Mr Kennys department only confirmed the details of the trip yesterday and it there had been doubt over the trip, given the failure of the Fine Gael-Labour Coalition to be re-elected. During the trip, Mr Kenny is expected to meet US President Barack Obama at the White House, and is also expected to attend a breakfast meeting with Vice President Joe Biden. An Irish American dinner on the 16 is also part of the itinerary and the Taoiseach will attend that. It was confirmed at a briefing for Political Correspondents that the Office of An Taoiseach has received an invitation from the White House, so at present Mr Kenny will be the one to travel. However, given the rising calls for him to resign from within his own party and the fact that he wont be re-elected Taoiseach on March 10 when the Dail reconvenes, there is still an outside chance someone else could be the one to travel. It was also confirmed that a much smaller group of Ministers than normal will travel for the St Patricks Day celebrations, because of the lack of a new Government. A Government spokesman confirmed that Ministers James Reilly, Alex White and Ged Nash, who lost their seats will not be travelling abroad to represent the country. Tanaiste Joan Burton is expected to travel, but the destination has yet to be confirmed. Earlier, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said he believed that that Mr Kenny should still travel for St Patrick's Day, but that there is a "question mark" over whether other Ministers should go abroad. Mr Adams said there was "an option for them not to go around the world. In the past we've been represented very well by ambassadors and consulates. "I think there is an argument for the Taoiseach, even though he might not have the mandate, to represent the State." "We [Sinn Fein] haven't discussed this in any detail but I'm sure people will be a bit offended if they see somebody traipsing off as a Minister when indeed they were rejected at the polls. Now I'm not personalising that. That's just the reality of that." "So the short answer to that is, yes certainly the Taoiseach but a question mark over the rest of them." Mr Adams is travelling to Washington and New York himself. "We always do that and the diaspora expects that," he said but added that it will not be at the taxpayer's expense. A Cork man who made a woman select the implement he would rape her with during a horrific, sustained attack has been jailed for 12 years. Denis Tobin, 29, woke the woman with a slap to her face and told her if she ever wanted to see her son again she would comply. He raped her multiple times before acting as if nothing had happened and leaving in a taxi. His victim, who is aged in her 30s, told The Central Criminal Court that she couldn't sleep for many weeks afterwards because she thought she would be woken with a slap. Tobin of Patrick's Hill, Cork was convicted by a jury after pleading not guilty to rape, anal rape, oral rape, aggravated sexual assault and assault causing harm. He has ten previous convictions including one for assaulting an ex-partner and two for breaching barring orders. Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy called it a violent and horrendous and sustained attack and noted that Tobin had threatened the victim in a most fundamental and frightening way by mentioning her son. The judge heard that Tobin now accepted the verdict of the jury and was extremely sorry. He said he would never forgive himself and wanted to undergo sex offenders' treatment while in prison. Ms Justice Kennedy imposed a twelve-year sentence and ordered that Tobin undergo four years post-release supervision. Tom Creed SC, prosecuting, said the woman had allowed Tobin to sleep on her couch that night. During the night she was woken with a hard slap to the face. Tobin then subjected her to what the investigating garda called a horrific, sustained attack. He ordered me to do what he wanted and called me a bitch every time, the woman said, after she outlined incidences of rape, anal rape and oral rape. She described herself as being terrified and said at one point of oral sex she felt like she was choking. She tried to push him away but he bit her thumb before calling her a bitch and telling her that if she wanted to see her son again she would do as he said. The woman said that afterwards he acted as if nothing had happened and got a taxi home while she ran to a neighbours for help. Tobin was arrested and claimed he had consensual sex with the woman and that it got a bit rough. Ciaran O'Loughlin SC, defending, submitted that Tobin was a father-of-two who worked as a security guard. He said his client was sexually and physically abused as a child but that there was no evidence to support this. Counsel also handed in a letter from a friend of Tobin who described him as the best friend you could ever wish for. The letter said that Tobin had always been a joy to know and was a honest, reliable, kind and trustworthy person. Sinn Fein says the Government is neglecting its responsibility to taxpayers by failing to fully investigate the sale of Nama's northern loan book. Last night, a BBC Spotlight programme alleged businessman, Frank Cushnahan, who has been at the centre of the 1bn Nama deal controversy, claimed last year that he was due to be paid a "fixer fee" in relation to the transaction. Ireland's ousted coalition partners Labour face being gagged in the next parliament such is the magnitude of their humbling downfall. Junior minister Aodhan O Riordain is the latest to join the swelled ranks of his party colleagues who were dethroned in the most divisive election in recent times. His ejection in the Dublin Bay North constituency, one of the last to be decided under Ireland's lengthy count process, was the 26th seat lost by the party after five years in power administering austerity with senior partners Fine Gael. Labour is looking anxiously at its last hope of being able to effectively contribute in the next Dail - if one can be formed at all after this election - with party stalwart Willie Penrose in a nail-biting fight to retain his seat in Longford/Westmeath. With just six seats retained from its 33 last time around, the outgoing junior government party desperately needs one more to qualify for full parliamentary speaking rights. Despite their trouncing at the polls, an emotional but defiant Mr O Riordain insisted Labour would live to fight another day. "Today is the first day of the comeback," he said after losing his seat to Sinn Fein's Denise Mitchell. "Ireland needs the Labour Party and our values system. I absolutely believe we will recover from this and we will have better days again." Less than a handful of votes separate Mr Penrose, a former junior minister, and Fine Gael's James Bannon in Longford/Westmeath, where both outgoing government TDs are scrapping for a seat. A full recount was ordered in the constituency four days after the general election. Mr O Riordain, Ireland's equality minister in the deposed coalition, conceded "the tide was out" for the power-sharing partners. "We expected that maybe the government would have more support, and that maybe we would be trying to prove to people that Fine Gael needed, I suppose, partners in government," he said. "But people made a very clear decision that they didn't want the government returned." The Dail is scheduled to resume on March 10 to elect a new Taoiseach. But such is the fracture in the vote, uncertainty hangs over whether parties can come to any agreement on forming a new government. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, traditionally the two dominant parties who swapped power for decades, have enough support between them to form a ruling "grand alliance". But while there is little policy difference between the pair, their historic rivalry born out of Ireland's civil war more than 90 years ago means a match would be fraught with difficulties. They are also wary of handing the official opposition to Gerry Adams's Sinn Fein, the third largest party, which vowed it would not prop up either of the mainstream parties. Another possibility is a minority government, possibly led by outgoing Taoiseach Enda Kenny's Fine Gael, backed by Fianna Fail in return for some concessions. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has called for all the parties to sit down at the negotiating table to agree parliamentary reforms in advance of talks to forge an administration. Ex-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has forecast there will be no new government for at least another month. By David Raleigh, additional reporting from Newstalk A man from Kerry has died after coming into contact with power lines while cutting hedges in Athea in Co Limerick. Two separate investigations have been launched following the incident. The man was cutting hedges in the village of Athea at around 1pm this afternoon when he clipped some power lines. He was electrocuted and died at the scene. Emergency services, including the fire service from Abbeyfeale and the gardai were called. The scene has been preserved for a technical examination and the body of the man remains at the scene. Gardai at Newcastle West are investigating, however are not treating the death as suspicious. "He was a member of the travelling community from Co Kerry. He was cutting trees in a farm in Athea, near Abbeyfeale," a Garda spokesman said. "He touched a power line and he was killed. There is nothing suspicious about the incident. "It happened around 1pm. The scene was preserved and closed off but it has been cleared now." The Health and Safety Authority has also been notified. A victims' campaigner has said he agreed with the decision to drop the Omagh bomb trial. Michael Gallagher's son, Aiden, was one of 29 people killed in the 1998 blast. Mr Gallagher said: "This was a difficult case and hinged on the testimony of one individual and that one individual did not seem to be up to meeting the test needed to put someone behind bars. "For that reason I agree with the decision, regrettably, that happened today. "There was no other option for the Public Prosecution Service or the judge but to deliver the verdict that we have just heard." Mr Gallagher has been the most prominent of those campaigning for justice for Omagh. He has said his son, who was 21, remains in his thoughts every day, and has met ministers in Dublin, London and Belfast as part of a campaign for a public inquiry into one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles. Mr Gallagher said it was obvious listening to prosecution star witness Denis O'Connor, a builder from Kilkenny who claimed he received a call from Seamus Daly around 20 minutes after the bomb detonated on August 15 1998, that the case was going nowhere. "I think it should have been obvious a lot earlier than that." He said he was trying to contain his anger and channel it positively into seeking the truth. "We need some answers, we need to know what went so drastically wrong 18 years on - conviction after conviction has failed in Omagh and yet there is so much knowledge about Omagh." He added: "If there is any decency in society, in the people that manage our state, they need to work together to get the truth to the families of what happened." He said most families had given up on achieving justice. "It will be difficult for all of them but also very difficult for all those other victims out there who are expecting answers." By Stephen Barry Is the American West Coast heading towards All-Ireland final-levels of bunting for Conor McGregor!? The Notorious certainly had his eye turned by a fan with a McGregor cardboard cut-out, Irish flag and bunting hanging from his balcony in this TMZ video. The LA-based fan has been putting out the McGregor decorations before every fight for the last two-and-a-half years, and he was in for the surprise of his life this week. Im going to come up to you tomorrow, promises McGregor when driving to the gym and, true to his word, he showed up Youre the f**king man! Bournemouth 2 Southampton 0 Fourth official Kevin Friend was rushed to hospital after collapsing and banging his head as Bournemouth saw off Southampton 2-0 in the Premier League. Steve Cook and Benik Afobe struck as the Cherries claimed their first home league win over south coast rivals Saints since 1958 in a low-quality encounter. Bournemouth's Steve Cook celebrates scoring the opening goal. Photo: John Walton/PA Match official Friend passed out and received immediate treatment as a hush descended across the stadium at the tail end of the first half. Referee Mike Dean quickly blew for half-time, before Friend was taken off for further treatment at hospital. Non-league referee Dean Treleaven, in the ground as a spectator, was pressed into service as Friend's replacement. On the field Bournemouth secured their first win in five matches in all competitions, Cook and Afobe both profiting from Matt Ritchie free-kicks. Toothless Southampton had few answers as Bournemouth edged further away from the Premier League drop zone. Saints boss Ronald Koeman had only extolled the virtues of the wing-backs formation on Monday, as a means of fielding two strikers amid cluttered Premier League midfields. The former Holland defender was forced to abandon that ploy after little more than half an hour on Tuesday night however, reverting to a flat back four after Bournemouth took the lead. Maya Yoshida was the unfortunate fall guy, with Koeman sending in Steven Davis to reinforce the midfield. Whatever Koeman tried however, Saints failed to fire on a frustrating night for the visitors. Charlie Austin should have put them ahead right from the off, with a snap side-foot from James Ward-Prowse's cutback, but missed the target. Ritchie and Josh King handed Southampton plenty of warning signs by sneaking in behind the visitors' wing-backs, but Koeman's men failed to heed the threat. Bournemouth's territorial dominance kept Saints pinned back for the majority of the opening half-hour, with Sadio Mane hardly helping matters by conceding possession cheaply on at least four occasions. Mane blasted over the bar on a rare Saints foray, failing to capitalise after being played through by Oriol Romeu. Saints paid for their disorganisation when King outwitted Jose Fonte on the right flank. Norway forward King first picked Fonte's pocket, then forced the Portugal defender into conceding a cheap free-kick for obstruction. Ritchie duly whipped in a dangerous ball that Forster could only parry among the bodies, and Cook acrobatically hooked home to hand the hosts the lead. Koeman's response was immediate and merciless, Yoshida sacrificed and the 3-5-2 formation along with him. As the half petered out, fourth official Friend passed out and cut his head on the dugout, receiving immediate medical attention. The start of the second half was delayed by five minutes, with Friend taken to hospital for further treatment and replaced by Treleaven. Saints hitman Austin limped out of action just ahead of the hour, replaced by Graziano Pelle, and Shane Long hobbled out shortly afterwards. Long had been rated just "50-50" by Koeman in advance of this clash as he battled a hamstring problem. Pelle briefly added bite to Saints' attack, but not nearly enough. Bournemouth doubled their advantage from another Ritchie set-piece, this time former Wolves poacher Afobe heading home his fourth goal for the Cherries to seal a precious victory. Anthony Martial, Chris Smalling and Matteo Darmian could make their returns in Manchester United's Barclays Premier League clash with Watford. A glum mood around Old Trafford has been lifted by three wins in the space of a week, despite being hampered by a lengthy injury list. Those problems could be partly alleviated when Watford visit on Wednesday, though, with Louis van Gaal revealing Martial, Smalling and Darmian could return. "(Marouane) Fellaini and (Antonio) Valencia are the first ones to come back, I think, except of course Martial, Smalling and Darmian," the Dutchman said. "They are coming back and may be ready tomorrow - it depends on how they feel tomorrow. "But the chance is there that one of these three players (can) already play, but Fellaini shall come in the last step to the process of team training. "And also Valencia, for the first time today has trained with the group, so they are coming back. (Wayne) Rooney is still in a brace." Martial's return would raise a welcome selection headache for Van Gaal, given the remarkable manner Marcus Rashford has burst onto the scene. Van Gaal on Marcus Rashford: "The media need to leave him in peace to be 18 years old. We shall guide him in that way." #mufc Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 1, 2016 Thrown into the starting line-up against FC Midtjylland after the French striker felt a hamstring problem before last week's Europa League tie, the 18-year-old blossomed under the Old Trafford floodlights. Rashford netted a crucial brace in that 5-1 win and continued his extraordinary start to life in the Untied first-team with another double in Sunday's 3-2 win against title-chasing Arsenal. "First, I think that the media have to let him in peace and rest," Van Gaal said of the teenager. "When you are in front of his house and that kind of stuff, I don't think that is beneficial for a boy of 18 years old. "Give him the time also to be 18 years and we shall guide him also in that way, but he is a very modest guy so I don't think that shall be the problem. "But of course when you have so much attention of the media, it can go in another way, but I believe that he shall keep his feet on the ground." Asked on the advice he has given Rashford and other young players thrust into the spotlight, Van Gaal added: "That is also to keep them out of the press, to say in advance, to help the answers already. "I give every match my opinion about the match to my players, so I help them to answer your questions. "But also the elder players shall also guide Marcus Rashford - and I hope to guide you also to say in this press conference maybe it is not so convenient that you are in front of the house of a young boy of 18 years old. "Too much attention is not always easy to deal with and, of course, it is remarkable and I can understand that you are praising him, but he still has to show his consistency." The US justice department cannot use a 227-year-old law to force Apple to provide the FBI with access to locked iPhone data, a judge ruled. It dealt a blow to the US government in its battle with the company over privacy and public safety. The ruling by US Magistrate Judge James Orenstein applied narrowly to one drug case in Brooklyn, New York City. But it gives support to the company in its fight against a California judge's order that it create specialised software to help the FBI hack into an iPhone linked to the San Bernardino terrorism investigation. Mr Orenstein belittled some government arguments, saying lawyers were stretching an old law "to produce impermissibly absurd results". He rejected their claims that Apple was only concerned with public relations, and said he found no limit on how far the government would go to require a person or company to violate the most deeply-rooted values. Both cases hinge partly on whether a law written long before the computer age, the 1789 All Writs Act, could be used to compel Apple to co-operate with efforts to retrieve data from encrypted phones. Mr Orenstein said the question was not whether the government should be able to force Apple to help it unlock a specific device, but whether the Act resolved the issue. "I conclude that it does not," he wrote. Apple's opposition to the government's tactics has evoked a national debate over digital privacy rights and national security. On Thursday, the Cupertino, California-based company formally objected to the California order, accusing the government of seeking "dangerous power" through the courts and of trampling on the company's constitutional rights. The separate California case involves an iPhone 5C owned by San Bernardino County and used by Syed Farook, who was a health inspector. Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people during a December 2 attack that was at least partly inspired by the Islamic State group. The couple died later in a gun battle with police. The New York case features a government request far less onerous for Apple and its mobile phone technology as the extraction technique exists for the older operating system and it has been used some 70 times before to assist investigators. Since late 2014, that physical extraction technique has not existed on newer iPhones. The court ruling came a day before a congressional hearing that will include testimony from FBI Director James Comey and Apple General Counsel Bruce Sewell on encryption and "balancing Americans' security and privacy". The justice department said it was disappointed by the ruling and plans to appeal. Floral tributes have been left at a Moscow subway station after a nanny was arrested on suspicion of killing a four-year-old girl and waving the child's severed head outside the station. Russian children's rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov called on parents to ask prospective carers to provide a doctor's certificate confirming their mental health in the wake of the incident. Four suicide bombers disguised as soldiers have targeted an Iraqi military base, killing eight army officers including a local commander, in an attack claimed by Islamic State. One of the bombers attacked the gate of the compound in the western town of Haditha, and the others struck after soldiers gathered to help the victims. Eight soldiers were wounded in the attack. IS claimed the assault in online statements issued on jihadi websites, saying it was carried out by two Syrian suicide bombers. Haditha is 150 miles north-west of Baghdad, near a key dam on the Euphrates. IS has attacked the town on a number of occasions, but has never been able to seize it. Iraqi forces, primarily Shiite militias, meanwhile launched a new push to retake a sprawling desert area outside the central city of Samarra, home to one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines, officials said. They hope to cut IS supply lines and tighten the noose around the IS-held northern city of Mosul - Iraq's second largest - according to the Joint Operations Command. Iraqi warplanes are supporting the mission. The Command did not say whether the US-led international coalition was involved. Ahmed al-Asadi, a spokesman for the paramilitary forces, said the offensive "is in retaliation for the blood of our martyrs and to annihilate the terrorist gangs that have wreaked havoc". Sabah Al-Numan, the spokesman for national counter-terrorism forces, said two vehicles loaded with militants were bombed on Tuesday, and that the security forces struck a would-be suicide car bomber before he reached his target. Iraqi forces have advanced against IS in recent months, driving the extremists from the western city of Ramadi and pushing them back on other fronts. But progress has been slow, and IS has launched counter-attacks, often involving multiple suicide bombers. Massive bombings claimed by IS over the last two days in Baghdad and the north-eastern town of Muqdadiyah killed at least 110 people. On Tuesday, separate attacks in and around Baghdad killed at least 13 people and wounded 31 others, according to police and health officials. In one attack, militants broke into a soldier's home south of Baghdad, killing his wife and two children, aged seven and five years old, a police officer said. The solider was critically wounded, he added. Visiting Baghdad on Tuesday, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would begin training Iraqi officers in Jordan. He said: "Iraqi officers will receive training in key priority fields, including countering Improvised Explosive Devices, military medicine and civil-military planning." The US-led coalition against IS has trained more than 18,000 Iraqi troops since December 2014. Iraqi officials have called for an increase in the pace of training efforts ahead of a planned Mosul offensive that Iraq's prime minister has promised will begin this year. Coalition officials say it is too early to set a timeline for the operation. IS still controls large areas of northern and western Iraq that it seized in the summer of 2014, part of a self-declared Islamic caliphate that extends into neighbouring Syria. Security is tight at a migrant camp in Calais, where people have clashed with officials who have been bulldozing part of the site. They will continue this morning to dismantle a section of the so-called "jungle" where thousands live in makeshift structures. Most are trying to get across to the UK. A flashpoint on the edge of the Channel, the camp known as the Jungle sprang up less than a year ago in the port city. It has grown explosively in past months amid Europe's migrant crisis, fuelling far-right sentiment in both Britain and France. Some 4,000 people are estimated to live in the camp - down from 6,000 in December. Calais has lived with migrants in its midst for years, but the current camp on the city's edge grew around a day centre opened last April by the state. Scores of riot police stood guard, keeping journalists and volunteers out as helmeted workers tackled the shelters one by one. Prefect Fabienne Buccio, who had ordered the camp evacuated and dismantled earlier this month, arrived as the operation began. She said: "Really three houses out of four - I mean three huts out of four, or three tents out of four - were already totally abandoned with a lot of garbage inside." Migrants, she said, "had the time necessary to gather their belongings. The rest was good enough to throw away". However, cameras zooming into huts captured scenes of daily life fully intact. The start of what is likely to be a weeks-long operation came four days after a court ruled that shelters could come down - but not common areas like houses of worship, a school, a women's centre and a library, much of it built with the help of French and British volunteers appalled by conditions in the makeshift camp. Humanitarian groups and migrants who had contested the state decision to level the most populous sector of the camp filed an appeal against the ruling on Friday with the Council of State, but any decision is likely to take weeks or months, long after the camp is gone. French authorities are offering to relocate uprooted migrants into heated containers installed last month nearby, or at centres around France where they can decide whether to apply for asylum. Many have resisted the move, fearing it will hurt their chances of reaching Britain, and some migrant advocates say there is not enough space in the new area. More than 7,000 refugees and other migrants are camped on Greece's northern border with Macedonia. They are waiting for authorities to allow them to continue their long trek north to seek asylum in wealthier European countries. The United States has asked the UN Security Council to hold a vote on a resolution that would impose tough new sanctions on North Korea in response to Pyongyang's latest nuclear test and rocket launch. A vote on the resolution, drafted by the US and North Korea's traditional ally China, has been held up for several days by Russia, which asked for more time to study the lengthy text and has reportedly suggested changes. Angola takes over the rotating Security Council presidency on Tuesday. The US asked that the vote be held after the council meets to discuss its programme for March. The draft resolution would subject cargo ships leaving and entering North Korea to mandatory inspections. It would also prohibit the sale of small arms and other conventional weapons to North Korea, closing a loophole in earlier resolutions. US Ambassador Samantha Power has said the sanctions would limit and in some cases ban exports of coal, iron gold titanium and rare earth minerals from North Korea, and would prohibit countries from supplying aviation fuel, including rocket fuel, to the country. But the draft resolution lets countries determine whether such exports are for military or humanitarian purposes, which takes into account the bleak humanitarian situation of the majority of North Koreans. In addition, the draft resolution would impose financial sanctions targeting North Korean banks and assets and ban all dual-use nuclear and missile related items. Items such as luxury watches, snowmobiles, recreational water vehicles and lead crystal have been added to a long list of luxury goods that North Korea is not allowed to import. As with previous resolutions, the test will be whether UN member states enforce the sanctions. A UN panel of experts monitoring the sanctions has repeatedly pointed out that enforcement can be weak. North Korea started off the new year with what it claims was its first hydrogen bomb test on January 6 and followed up with the launch of a satellite on a rocket on February 7. It was condemned by much of the world as a test of banned missile technology. Over the past 20 years, North Korea has conducted four nuclear tests and launched six long-range rockets, all in violation of Security Council resolutions. The US, its Western allies and Japan have pressed for new sanctions that go beyond the North's nuclear and missile programmes. But China, Pyongyang's neighbour, is reluctant to impose measures that could threaten the stability of North Korea and cause its economy to collapse. LONDON: Copper prices extended losses on Wednesday as soaring inflation and the prospect of more interest rate hikes... SINGAPORE: US oil may test a support at $83.78 per barrel, a break below which could open the way towards... Pakistans goods exports may have only risen 2.6 percent year-on-year in 1QFY23, but there is enough in it to... LONDON: Liz Truss came to 10 Downing Street vowing to be a disruptor. She U-turned on almost everything else, but... But the government says it is acting in the best interest of its workers' health, it is still talking to the unions and that the final design of a new workers' compo system is far from finalised. A new workers' compensation system for ACT government workers will be "devastating" to their rights, according to a coalition of eight unions who are vowing to fight for a better deal. More than 20,000 Canberra firefighters, paramedics, nurses, teachers and other public servants are set to be stripped of compensation rights if they are injured at work, according to trades unions. The territory is taking its public sector workers out of the much-maligned federal Comcare scheme, which covers the Australian Public Service, after years of spiralling premiums, believing it can get a better deal by going it alone. When it announced the move a year ago the territory said it wanted to design a new compensation system that put money into getting public servants back to work instead of paying them to stay at home, and opened talks with public sector unions. But their local peak body Unions ACT is not happy with what it has seen of the government's plans, issuing a tough-talking bulletin to its members warning that the planned new system would leave them much worse off than Comcare would if they were hurt at work. "Major changes to the public sector workers compensation scheme could remove important protections and rights for firefighters, paramedics, nurses, teachers and every other public sector worker in Canberra," the bulletin states. "Many of the proposed changes would make it much much harder for workers with serious injuries or diseases to access workers' compensation." A plan to allow online sports betters to 'top up' their gambling accounts at 7-eleven and Woolworths stores could be on the table following talks between the retailers and prepaid card company, Emerchants. A deal, flagged in an investor update to Emerchants shareholders in November, could see up to 4,500 stores across the country fitted with an "EachWay" top-up system by June this year. EachWay is a cash load system that predominantly caters to the betting industry. So far, William Hill, bet365 and Ladbrokes have all signed up to the system in Australia via deals with Emerchants. The line was a dog-whistle to conservative southern and midwestern voters which needed little translation, though Cruz offered one anyway. In January, Ted Cruz, the drawling Texan senator and struggling presidential hopeful, launched a pointed attack against his main rival Donald Trump, accusing the brash, Queens-born Republican frontrunner of having "New York values" . Are we best represented by the Opera House and natural beauty of Circular Quay, or the Cahill Expressway, dumped thoughtlessly on its shore? Credit:Jim Rice It's a question that's been on this expat's mind, as around me, people in my adopted city of New York grapple with the same question about their own home. At first glance Sydney values conjures a life steeped in sunshine but there's an inescapable underbelly too. Credit:Tanya Lake "Everybody understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal and pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage, and focus around money and the media," he said. The comment, which he has repeated since, has provoked an outpouring of righteous anger from New Yorkers, annoyed that their city was once again being dismissed so pejoratively by someone claiming to represent the Real America (The Daily News literally gave Cruz the finger on its front page) and ire that Trump a narcissistic, anti-Muslim shape-shifter who has disavowed his more liberal former stances on gay rights and abortion anyway should be cited as representing their beloved melting pot. But it's also prompted lengthy exploration some boastful, some introspective, some jocular of what that phrase could even mean, what are "New York values" today? Who represents them? The question of identity is particularly pertinent for New Yorkers, who have a stronger sense of civic pride than people from just about anywhere else (identifying as a New Yorker first and an American second in some cases). But, nonetheless, it has had me thinking about my own home city, and how we might define "Sydney values" and whether we're proud of them. The trendy bakeries have arrived, bringing with them uncertain times for the artists working out of a former industrial building in Birmingham Street, Alexandria. Although having Sonoma Bakery on one side and Bourke Street Bakery on the other means no shortage of decent coffee, it is also a sure-fire indication that the tide of gentrification will ultimately sweep away the artists. Creative space: Sarah Contos (left) and Lara Merrett at their Alexandria studios. Credit:Louise Kennerley "We've got the baking empires on both sides and that's always a sign that you're going to be squeezed out," says artist Lara Merrett, who has been making her large colourful works in the former industrial space for about five years. "At first we were really excited by the quality of the bread and the coffee but now we're nervous." The light and airy building, divided into individual studios, is one of a dwindling number of inner-city studio spaces. Home to 20 or so diverse artists, it will inevitably be developed sooner or later. What started as a small project in Melbourne four years ago to help improve the skills and self-esteem of young Aboriginal people has become a global phenomenon, attracting interest from Indigenous communities around the world. Requests have come from Norway's Indigenous Sami,Canada's First Nation peoples, Native American communities and New Zealand's Maori to work with Victoria's Indigenous Runway Project, which has been part of the Melbourne Fashion Festival cultural program for the past four years. Indigenous Runway Project model Toby Sam-Morris, designer Lyn-Al Young, models Maxi Sam-Morris and Rhys Carter-Coleman and shoe designer Heather Kennedy. Credit:Justin McManus This year the project moves up a rung in the festival pecking order to become one of its off-site runway shows, with creatives including Ly-Al, who makes evening wear, shoe designer Heather Kennedy (both from Melbourne) and Northern Territory label Albertini, which features designs by artists from community arts centres in Arnhem Land and near Darwin. The project has also received funding, for the first time, from Creative Victoria, as it prepares to follow its MFF show with a trip to Canada to showcase its wares and work with First Nation designers. Malcolm Turnbull's tax change options have been narrowed by the dramatic partyroom intervention of Tony Abbott, who believes the backbench is tilting away from a mooted clamp-down on excessive negative gearing, and from any tax increases on capital gains and superannuation. Abbott, who wrapped his views in plaudits for Turnbull in his first partyroom policy comments since losing office, made it clear no tax increases should occur at all, declaring it was "...time for the leadership to take on the savings challenge again". The effect was to laud Turnbull, and politically corral him also. Some MPs believe it is now "practically impossible" for Turnbull to move on negative gearing in any way, now that Abbott has so clearly positioned himself. Alive to the tactics, Turnbull responded in kind, praising Abbott's "open and courageous" leadership and stressing the strong sense of continuity his government enjoys with its previous form under Abbott. Glen McNamara gave his daughter a quick wink and a nod as she walked into the packed courtroom. Minutes later she was wiping tears from her cheeks as she spoke about her father's friend and the moment she spotted a dark coloured object protruding out of the right hand pocket of his trousers. That man was Roger Rogerson and as he tapped on his pocket he said to her father that he had "such nice daughters ... really lovely, lovely girls", the NSW Supreme Court was told on Tuesday. Cardinal Pell says he does not recall an incident in which abuse victim Timothy Green told him that Edward Dowlan was "touching little boys". Timothy Green had previously testified that when he was 12 he told then-Father Pell in late 1974 that Brother Edward Vernon Dowlan was abusing boys at Ballarat's St Patrick's College. "I said `Brother Dowlan is touching little boys'," said Mr Green, himself a victim of Dowlan. "Father Pell said 'don't be ridiculous' and walked out." Today, Cardinal Pell says: "I've got no such recollection." He says: "I'm sorry, I can't corroborate his story." Easter Holiday plans for hundreds of thousands of air passengers could be affected as Australian Border Force and other Immigration Department officials threaten to walk off the job at airports and freight terminals around the country on Easter Thursday. The 24-hour strike, part of a continuing dispute over wages and conditions, will be preceded by strikes by public servants at the Tax Office, Medicare, Centrelink, the Child Support Agency and the Bureau of Meteorology. The official uniform worn on a Border Force vessel. Bureaucrats at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Bureau of Statistics are also planning to join in the 24-hour strike on Monday, March 21, in what will be the most comprehensive industrial action seen so far in the dispute. The gloves have come off in the battle for Brisbane's City Hall, with Lord Mayor Graham Quirk blasting Labor rival Rod Harding over what he said was a "grubby" negative attack. But Mr Harding hit back on Tuesday, saying the ad raised legitimate questions about Cr Quirk's performance as lord mayor. Cr Quirk said the ad, which aired on commercial television on Monday night, asked people to say "negative things about Brisbane". Mr Harding's campaign had been criticised for offering $10 iTunes vouchers to participants in the vox pop-style advertisement, which asked them to name three things Cr Quirk had achieved in his current four-year term. A war of words has erupted between the two main contenders for City Hall over the timing of lord mayoral debates prior to the March 19 Brisbane City Council election. Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has offered himself up for three debates in the final week of the campaign. City Hall is the proposed venue for the final Brisbane City Council election debate. Credit:Michelle Smith One would be an online forum hosted by News Corp, followed by a radio debate hosted by 612 ABC Brisbane on March 17 two days before the election. The final debate proposed by the Quirk campaign would be at City Hall the following day the day prior to the election and would be open to all seven candidates. Any prospect of marijuana being decriminalised in Queensland is still a long way off, the state's health minister says. Cameron Dick's comments come after the government this week released draft legislation that could allow doctors to prescribe medicinal cannabis by the end of the year. Health Minister Cameron Dick has left the door open for marijuana to be legalised in Queensland ... eventually. Although focused on medical treatment and not wider use, Mr Dick did leave the door open for decriminalisation eventually. "Let's let people use it for medicinal purposes and then if something good comes out of that, which I know it will, then maybe we can look at those things down the track," Mr Dick told Triple M Radio on Tuesday. What started as an early morning walk turned into a rescue mission after a woman's dog fell down a steep embankment at the Gold Coast on Tuesday. It is understood a woman was walking her dog along Plaza Street at Tallebudgera Valley when the dog fell 300 metres into bushland about 7am. A dog survived a fall down a 300m slope on its morning walk on the Gold Coast. The concerned owner went to rescue the dog but had to call emergency services to help bring the dog back up to the road, as it had been injured in the fall. Fire crews carried the injured dog up on a stretcher and it was transported to a local vet. Communication and trust is vital for parents of newborn children, according to International Board certified Lactation Consultant and bestselling author, Pinky McKay. A parent needs to not only trust their child's communication, but they must trust themselves and their instincts. In order to do so, parents may need to take a step back and ask "Is it safe? Is it respectful? Does it feel right?" It is also important to remember that a child's behaviour is communication, and they do not necessarily have the skills to communicate verbally what is wrong. This is where it is crucial for a parent to be the expert about their child. As Ms McKay puts it, "Babies are the book" and if parents can tune into their child, they cannot go wrong. They will know when they are hungry, tired and upset. Unsurprisingly, caring for a child puts parents under an immense amount of pressure, as even the most well behaved baby will take at least nine hours of care. As a result, a feeling of isolation after birth is not uncommon and Ms Mackay is calling for parents to not be afraid to reach out for support. However, the onus is not just on the parents; family, friends and loved ones need to be watching out as some people will refuse to seek help, regardless of how much it is needed. Repair and restoration works to the 106-year-old Flinders Street Station will begin this year at a cost of $100 million. The works will ease commuter bottlenecks at station entrances and pave the way for the planned CBD South station opposite that is part of the $10.9 billion Melbourne Metro rail tunnel. $100 million is being spent on the Flinders Street station upgrade. Credit:Eamon Gallagher Details of the upgrade include fixing the leaky roof, restoring and repainting the crumbling building facade, retiling the stained walls and refurbishing the horrible public toilets. New station entrances will be built at the station's western end near Elizabeth Street and in the Degraves Street subway. One caller said the government had promised to put level crossings underneath road intersections, but Mr Andrews said Labor "never stipulated that every one would be under." He outlined the case of Carnegie's Grange Road level crossing, which will be replaced by sky rail. He said to bury the line would be timely with "very, very significant" cost because the high-pressure Longford gas line runs underneath, requiring major works to move the gas line before a train line could be built. "I know that it is a lot to take in for residents, I know that there will be some people who do not support this. We have had a consultation process, we will continue to work through one-on-one with residents who are impacted," Mr Andrews said. "The most important thing here is we have to get rid of these nine level crossings." A truck driver believed to have been involved in a crash that brought parts of West Gate Freeway to a halt has been identified. A motorcyclist and truck collided in an outbound lane of the West Gate Bridge about 12.45pm on Tuesday, and the rider was taken to hospital in a critical condition. Police were seeking to speak to the truck driver, believed to be driving a white prime mover with a red open trailer. Victoria Police spokesman Kris Hamilton said Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives had now identified and spoken to the truck driver. "The 45-year-old driver from Newport is assisting detectives with their investigation," Sergeant Hamilton said. "As the investigation has progressed throughout the afternoon it has become clearer to detectives that the motorcyclist appears to have lost control and collided into the rear wheels of the large prime mover about 12.40pm." He said the driver, upon hearing media reports on the incident, and a description of the truck involved, proactively made contact with police later in the day. "The motorcyclist, a 41-year-old man from Altona North, remains in hospital in a very serious condition," Sergeant Hamilton said. "The investigation is ongoing." Anyone who witnessed the incident or with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au. Islamabad: Tens of thousands of Pakistani supporters on Tuesday cheered and threw flowers at the casket of a bodyguard executed this week for killing the governor of Pakistan's most populous province over his call to reform a strict blasphemy law. Security was tight at the funeral for Mumtaz Qadri, whom supporters consider a hero for killing popular Punjab governor Salman Taseer in 2011 for criticising the law that mandates the death penalty for insulting Islam or the Prophet Mohammad. Police blocked off roads to Liaquat Bagh park in the city of Rawalpindi but thousands arrived on foot. "He lives! Qadri lives!" chanted supporters who surrounded the coffin and threw flowers. "From your blood, the revolution will come!" There is a document outlining the structure of a "chief of staff committee," which it explains is "the group of officers and personnel qualified to work with a military commander." In another letter, whose author is not clear, there is talk of men coming from Qatar with GPS devices and a map of Afghanistan. They were accompanied by a Qatari diplomat, who left three days later, saying he had diabetes and needed medication, according to the letter writer. The departure appears to have made the Qaeda members suspicious, and one militant identified by the pseudonym Abu Umamah "smashed it with a hammer," the letter writer said. "It is important to get rid of the suitcase in which the funds are delivered, due to the possibility of it having a tracking chip in it," bin Laden states in a letter to an aide identified only as "Shaykh Mahmud." There is also what appears to be a course syllabus for new fighters. Titled A Course of Islamic Study for Soldiers and Members, it includes a list of subjects and skills to be taught (No. 1: reading and writing), a lengthy reading list that is to be taught in three sections (mostly books about Islam), and a list of lectures to be given throughout the course (subjects range from history of jihad in the Horn of Africa to "a brief word on raising children"). In 2014, Congress directed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to review the material and make public as much as possible. But it has been a slow process the review began in May 2014, and it took a full year for the first set of declassified materials to be released. The first release, in May 2015, included nearly 80 documents, books, news media clippings and other materials. Most of the documents were notes from Bin Laden and his top deputies, and they suggested that the Qaeda leader spent his final years seeking to direct a terrorist network that appeared to have grown far beyond his control. There was talk of training recruits, and of how to select the most talented to carry out major attacks in the West. There were discussions of whom to promote and how to deal with the group's franchises in the Middle East and North Africa. There were letters to loved ones, including a note to one of his wives in which Bin Laden said that if he were killed, she could remarry. But he included a caveat, "I really want for you to be my wife in paradise, and the woman, if she marries two men, is given a choice on Judgment Day to be with one of them." The Reserve Bank of Australia ( RBA ) has left the official cash rate on hold at 2% at its second monetary policy board meeting for 2016.The cash rate was largely tipped to remain on hold today, with all 31 economists and analysts surveyed in finder.com.aus monthly Reserve Bank survey agreeing the cash rate would steady.Speaking about the central banks decision, the chief executive of Mortgage Choice , John Flavell, said uplifting economic data would have pleased the RBA.Strong economic data, including moderate property price growth and a bounce back in consumer sentiment, provided the Reserve Bank of Australia with no reason to change the official cash rate.According to the Westpac Melbourne Institute of Consumer Sentiment, confidence rose 4.2% in February, taking the Index to 101.3. As a result, optimists now outweigh pessimists.In addition to the recent bounce back in consumer sentiment, data from CoreLogic shows property values continue to rise, with dwelling values across the combined capital cities climbing 0.5% throughout February.However, Flavell isnt ruling out a cash rate cut later this year.There continues to be a significant level of volatility in both oil prices and the share market. If this market volatility starts to have an impact on consumer and business confidence, we may see the Board react via another rate cut, Flavell said. A whopping 77 percent of old folks in Brooklyn cannot afford the healthy food they need and the famine is creating a crisis of chronic health conditions in the boroughs wizened residents. That was the headline figure from a forum about the growing disaster at a Bedford-Stuyvesant community center on Feb. 23, where health gurus, local leaders, and seniors gathered to discuss solutions to the catastrophe a problem that is particularly dire in the host neighborhood, according to one expert. Bed-Stuy has some of the highest rates of chronic conditions in the state and in the country, said Maria Alvarez of the Brooklyn-wide Interagency Council of the Aging, who sat on the symposium hosted by Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation and advocacy group Ageing in New York Fund. We know people who do not eat properly have higher incidences of chronic disease. Deaths from diabetes in the area are more than twice the citywide rates, while the hood ranks eighth-highest in stroke hospitalizations, according to a study from the citys Department of Health both conditions linked to poor nutrition. Fortunately, the problem is at least partially preventable, the experts said many low-income seniors are going without the food that could keep them healthy despite there being government programs in place to help them out, both because they dont know about them and the stigma attached to the programs. They might think its embarrassing, said Alvarez. Sometimes it can be a denigrating experience for the person. The pro-aged activists are now working to break down the shameful associations one group has gussied up its Bedford-Stuyvesant food pantry to resemble a regular grocery store so folks feel proud to browse their aisles. Sometimes there is a stigma attached to going to a food pantry, so we converted ours to a supermarket-style client-choice model, said Lisa Boyd of the Northeast Brooklyn Housing Development Corporation, which operates the fancy pantry out of its Throop Avenue center. Its a dignified way for them to shop. The center also hosts cooking classes for seniors to further promote healthy eating. And the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation both a long-standing community group and a local neighborhood hub is also providing resources for low-income seniors unsure of how to take advantage of food programs. The center helps old-timers sign up for food stamps and screens them for other government benefits, said the panels host, who was thrilled to see a flood of local seniors show up at the rainy day of the panel to learn more. It was amazing on a cold and dreary afternoon the number of people who came out, said Tracey Capers. So many people came out in full force. Reach reporter Allegra Hobbs at ahobb s@cng local.com or by calling (718) 2608312. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams He stumbled into something great. An international documentary screening at the Brooklyn Academy of Music next month highlights the power of art to transform the lives of children. But the director of Art Connect had no idea what would result when he brought his camera to Laventille, a region of Trinidad and Tobago with a dangerous reputation. What was supposed to be a three-week project with a five-minute video ended up being a year project with a feature documentary, said director Miquel Galofre. Instead of focusing on the areas violence, the Spanish filmmaker put the spotlight on a group of children participating in a community arts project. His film follows eight of the 40 children participating in the Arts Connect program, which brought them together with local artists. The kids created visual art, music, and mini-documentaries of their home lives with GoPro cameras an element that Galofre said added a whole new element to his movie. My favorite moment in the film is probably the GoPro footage that the students filmed by themselves. It gave us an access that is priceless and it showed how open and engaged with the project they were, Galofre said. Galofre hopes audiences will look at the struggles of these young people as an international topic, and will realize how instrumental art can be to making positive changes. To talk, to share your concerns, to open yourself and to get a passion can really completely change your life, he said. Art Connect will screen as part of the quarterly Caribbean Film series, a collaboration between BAMcinematek, the Brooklyn Cinema Collective, and the Caribbean Film Academy. The co-founder of Academy says that the screening shows the universal power of art. To quote one of the young men in the film, Art is a picture of life. To see these Trinidadian youths lives transform on screen is amazing. Were ecstatic to finally be able to present this documentary to Brooklyn and New York City audiences, said Justen Blaize. Art Connect will not be a one-and-done type of documentary. Galofre intends to shoot a follow-up about the childrens lives 10 years after their participation in the program. The film will be preceded by a showing of Auntie, a short film by Bajan filmmaker Lisa Harewood about barrel children kids shuffled between homes in the Caribbean and the United States. Art Connect at BAM Rose Cinema [30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street in Fort Greene, (718) 6364100, www.bam.org] March 15 at 7:30 pm. $14. Amazon I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Castle is not a subtle show. Nor is it usually a very political one. It makes an exception with And Justice for All, though, a giant screw you to the mounting American political movement to villainize immigrants. Definitely not subtle, but any time Martha delivers a life lesson, it is impossible not to be a little touched. Nathan Fillions Former Firefly Co-Star Summer Glau to Appear on Castle >>> Castle Goes Undercover as a Chef The episode opens with Castle suffering from writers block and re-reading theories about his missing time to try and get story ideas. No dice. Luckily for him, a zoo worker and Salvadoran immigrant named Eddie Ramirez is murdered and dumped into a cage filled with deadly snakes. Beckett initially forbids Castle from working on the case, since they are still (badly) pretending to be broken up. But she soon realizes that his involvement is necessary. Eddie was a student in an ESL class. Not only were his fellow students his confidants, but he received a threatening text from the school shortly before his death. Since all the students are from countries that have corrupt police (like South Korea?) and therefore dont trust the cops, Castle goes in undercover as Jean-Luc, a French-Canadian chef who speaks suspiciously good English. Meet the Class The ESL class is filled with an assortment of characters: Hyun Joo is an au pair from South Korea; Ida is an aspiring painter from Senegal; Alistair is a Geordie, which means hes from England but speaks in a dialect that hurts to hear; Achmed used to work in some kind of government job in the Middle East; Diego is a janitor from I think Mexico, but to be honest I kind of lost track of everyone. I also didnt catch the teachers name, and hes not credited on IMDB. But I can positively identify him as the awkward friend from Smart Guy (the late-90s Disney Channel classic!), so we have that. Though Castle and Beckett initially believe that one of the students killed Eddie, it quickly becomes apparent that he was actually their friend and protector. Eddie was a corrupt cop in El Salvador, and may have been trying to make amends for his misdeeds by doing good in America. One example is Ida. Until recently, she was a waitress at a club. But because she is undocumented, a huge chunk of her earnings was extorted from her. The club owners fired her when she demanded her money, so Eddie beat the crap out of them and walked away with $10,000 rightfully belonging to Ida. The club owners alibi out, so the police focus on another instance of Eddies protection. Achmeds neighbor Anita, also an undocumented immigrant, had gone missing recently. Eddie began to investigate and told Achmed that he discovered a big and dangerous conspiracy, dying before he could give any more information. Deciding that pursuing Anita may be the best way to solve Eddies murder, Ryan and Esposito are led to career criminal Marco Sutter. Marco shoots at them during his arrest, so hes definitely guilty of something. The FBI are Jerks Again As it turns out, though, that something is not Eddies murder. Hes involved in something a lot bigger. Ryan and Esposito find this out when they go to a locker belonging to Marco and are jumped by the FBI. Continuing in the long and proud tradition of crime drama cop-feds relations, the lead of the FBI case is a jackass. This is the first time Beckett has had to deal with the dynamic as captain and she handles it well. The agent allows the team to keep Marco in custody but warns them not to interfere with the mysterious investigation. Like that ever works. Vikram manages to track Anita to a deportation center in Texas. Thus unravels a complex and corrupt immigrant extortion operation. Marco and other low hanging fruit shake down undocumented immigrants for money. When they cant pay, a judge named Jason Caldwell sends them to the Texas deportation center, which pays him for keeping a steady stream of people their way. Caldwell is the main target of the FBI investigation and possibly Eddies murderer. Best Castle Quotes from The Blame Game >>> Justice Served The police cant interfere, but interfering is Castles specialty. The ESL class works together to distract the FBI teams tailing Caldwell long enough for Castle to get him alone. He then has Hayley pretend to be Eddies revenge-seeking fiancee, and she pretends to shoot Castle in order to scare a confession from Caldwell. Caldwell eludes to having contacted people from Eddies past, saying, The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Unfortunately, he figures out the ruse before they can get more information and heads straight to his lawyer. The FBI is pissed about the whole situation. But Beckett points out that since Caldwell admitted to being an accessory to murder, they can work together on the case and both win. They track down Alfonso Sanchez, the man Caldwell contacted. Alfonsos brother was murdered by Eddie years ago, and his arrival from El Salvador coincides with Eddies murder. But Eddie didnt actually murder his brother. Even back then, he was beginning to regret his corrupt ways. Alfonso did intend to kill Eddie but says that Eddie produced sufficient evidence that he had been helping his brother instead of hurting him. Combined with a solid alibi, Alfonso turns out to be a dead end. That is, except for the fact that someone must have told Caldwell about Alfonsos past with Eddie. The only people who would have that information are in the ESL class. But Eddie wasnt betrayed by the students, all of whom are national treasures. It was the teacher, Mr. Used-To-Be-On-Smart-Guy. Some investigation reveals that a large number of his students ended up in that Texas deportation center, thanks to his ongoing relationship with Judge Caldwell. The connection means they both go to jail, and the ESL class gets to have a multi-cultural celebration. Welcome to Korea (Town) One other important thing happens in this episode. After mentioning his missing memory for the first time in ages, Castle follows up by having a flashback. Hyun Joos traditional Korean dish triggers a memory of him eating the same thing while looking at a temple. He initially thinks this means he was in Korea, but another memory reveals that he was actually in Korea Town, a part of Los Angeles. Though he previously vowed to let this mystery go, Castle is fundamentally incapable of it. Hes off to Hollywood. Castle airs Mondays at 10pm on ABC. (Image courtesy of ABC) Youre hired! UB researcher discusses the history of the job interview Lecture is part of the Humanities Institutes Scholars@Hallwalls series In 1921, he devised 146 questions that he asked job candidates. This questionnaire was the first of its kind and became a model for how to evaluate job candidates. BUFFALO, N.Y. Any list of designs and devices credited to Thomas Edison is usually one entry shy of an accurate accounting of his prolific output. In fact, the provenance of this pervasive invention is rarely mentioned at all. Its the job interview. Its modern form is attributed to a frustrated Thomas Edison, according to Paige Sarlin, an assistant professor in the Department of Media Study, who will discuss the history of the job interview in the next Scholars@Hallwalls lecture on March 4 at 4 p.m. at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, 341 Delaware Ave. in Buffalo. All Scholars@Hallwalls events are free and open to the public. With Scholars@Hallwalls, we invite members of the UB community and the broader public to come together over wine and cheese and hear exciting new arts and humanities research, says Libby Otto, associate professor of modern and contemporary art and executive director of the Humanities Institute. Rarely do we stop to consider this nearly invisible, yet hugely influential form of information gathering and exchange. This research pursuit grew out of Sarlins larger project that examines the history and social significance of the media interview. That work will culminate with the forthcoming book, Interview Work: The Genealogy of a Cultural Form. I found the job interview to be a fascinating inter-text to that story, she says. On some level its the opposite of the interview as media text because the job interview is never meant to be public. Its a private, ephemeral experience. The job interview emerged during an early 20th century shift in American hiring practices. Technology changed the dynamic and in this new world the established idea of first-come, first-hired was not always a rational approach. Edisons needs and those of his companies were more complex. Efficiency and profits were determined by more than mechanical production. Edison had to ignore the generic hiring hall model and turn instead to college campuses to fill critical vacancies. And though professional schools were, at least on paper, producing the people he needed, in practice Edison soon discovered that having a degree implied a range of ability and knowledge. Many of the mathematicians, engineers and physicists he hired failed to perform to his expectations. An exasperated Edison watched a parade of professional flops exit his many companies not long after they entered. Something was flawed. So the inventor and entrepreneur, who improved upon as many existing devices as he created, dedicated himself to bettering the hiring process. In 1921, he devised 146 questions that he asked job candidates, says Sarlin. This questionnaire was the first of its kind and became a model for how to evaluate job candidates. Prior to Edisons refinements to the hiring process, the U.S. military had introduced new ways to place recruits in regiments. During World War I, the Army developed the Woodworth Personality Test, a 110-question psychological evaluation developed to assess how a potential soldier would interact with others, says Sarlin. While Edisons questionnaire measured a job candidates knowledge and intelligence, these evaluations gauged an individuals social skills and their ability to work in a group. Although Edisons framework didnt concern itself with the social aspects of work, his questionnaire and the Armys testing blended to deepen the interview process. Eastman Kodak started interviewing applicants shortly after Edison introduced the practice, and it wasnt long before the job interview started entering American business practice as quickly as Edisons phonographs and Kodaks cameras were entering American homes. What Edison codified eventually became the open interview process, less structured and more conversational. Sarlin says another shift in the 1980s coincided with the development of the IT industry along with legal precedence and employment legislation that drove the free-form job interview back to something that is today closer to what Edison devised nearly 100 years ago. One of my chief interests is the significance of technology in the transaction of the job interview, says Sarlin. Ever changing technologies necessitate training, but new technologies also facilitate the training itself. From Skype interviews to forms of online interview, technology is the job interviews constant backdrop, giving rise to its creation and refining its development. In addition to her book, Sarlin is also developing a documentary film on job interview training. Curiously, despite a centurys worth of evolution, and perhaps to Edisons perpetual dismay, the job interview process is not a reliable tool. The return of the structured interview has made things a little better, says Sarlin. But the job interview is still not strongly predictive of job performance. 1st Congressional District race sees Norcross, Gustafson rematch U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, D-1, is looking to repeat his win two years ago over Republican Claire Gustafson when voters turn out this November. Staff at a Burnham-On-Sea opticians are celebrating this week after being nominated for two prestigious industry awards. The team at Specsavers in Burnham-On-Sea High Street are one of six to be shortlisted in the Community Eye Service Award category while optometrist and store director Rama Venkat is up against four others in the Optometrist of the Year category in this years Optician Awards. The winners will be announced at a gala dinner on Saturday 9th April to be held at Birminghams Vox Conference Centre. To have been shortlisted in two categories is just fantastic, were really thrilled, said Sai Rama, store manager at Specsavers in Burnham-On-Sea. The whole team works hard to ensure we provide the very best eyecare service so to be recognised in this way is testament to this. Our local community is extremely important to us and we are very grateful to all of our loyal customers for helping us make the store the success that it is. Rama is extremely dedicated to his profession as well as each and every customer that he sees so its great that hes been recognised for his ongoing work. We are all very much looking forward to attending the ceremony and regardless of the result, its a chance to celebrate and enjoy the night as a team. Im very grateful to the whole community for their support over the years, comments Rama. Without them, I wouldnt be in a position to even be nominated so for that Im very thankful and for their ongoing support. The Optician Awards organised by national trade magazine, Optician have been running for more than 15 years and recognise the work of opticians across the UK in 16 categories. The awards evening will also play host to several fundraising events, raising money for Blind Veterans UK. In the community category, judges will be looking for a practice that is offering enhanced services and primary eye care in its community, something the store prides itself on, while Rama has been nominated thanks to his work helping to enhance the lives of patients, colleagues and the community. Here, the judges will be looking for true commitment to patient care and examples of how the optometrists actions have benefitted patients and the practice. To find out more, pop into Specsavers, 3 High Street, Burnham-on-Sea, TA8 1NX, call 01278 765460 or click here. MARCEL CIOLACU: "Nu cred ca ar fi crescut pensiile anul acesta daca PSD nu ar fi intrat la guvernare" Employment guarantee schemes, doubling of farmer income and a rise in investment on rural road building are the initiatives in the Union Budget that, the automotive industry is hopeful, will reignite rural demand. Erratic monsoons have hit farm produce and incomes, hurting volumes of entry-level cars, two-wheelers, light trucks and tractors for manufacturers which target the rural areas for volumes. Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra, for instance.. Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016 Yadvinder Singh Guleria, senior vice-president at Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said: In the backdrop of two weak monsoons, the governments focus on the rural sector farmer welfare, education, interest subvention on existing loans and skill development will inject strength in the rural economy. Overall, we expect such measures, once implemented, will revive the stagnant demand for two-wheelers in rural areas. Motorcycles generate at least a third of volumes from the rural pocket. In the April-January period, first 10 months of this financial year, sales were 8.89 million units as against 9.09 mn in the same period last year, shows data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Delhi-based Hero MotoCorp, the country largest two-wheeler maker, gets 40-45 per cent of sales from rural markets. It posted a fall in April-January for the first time in three years at 5.3 mn units, down 2.4 per cent. Domestic tractor sales have been the worst hit. Mumbai-based Mahindra & Mahindra, which has a little more than 40 per cent of the market, under two brands, posted a fall of 12 per cent in volumes in April-January. Pawan Goenka, executive director, said, A five-year doubling in farm income (as promised in Monday's Union Budget proposals) means an increase of 12-13 per cent every year and that is a very bold statement. If that happens, it will transform our economy. A good monsoon, along with the focus on rural income, will definitely increase our sales numbers. The tractor industry has been down for two years and we could have some nice surprises. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has proposed to increase the allocation to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme by Rs 3,800 crore in the coming financial year, to Rs 38,500 crore, the highest on it till date. Similarly, it has been proposed to substantially increase the allocation on the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna, from the Rs 9,805 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 19,000 crore in 2016-17. The Tamil Nadu Government has handed over the Letter of Award (LOA) for setting up of the Main Plant Package for the 2X800 mega watt (Mw) Uppur Supercritical Thermal Power Project. The order is valued at around Rs 5,600 crore. The letter was handed over by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to Chairman and Managing Director Atul Sobti at Chennai and it was followed by the foundation stone laying ceremony for the project last week. has bagged this major order for setting up 1,600 Mw coal-based thermal power project with super critical parameters, involving two units of the country's highest rating 800 MW sets in Tamil Nadu. The order is for the main plant package for the greenfield project, which will come at Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu and the order was placed by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation. Scope of work includes design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection, commissioning and civil works for the main plant package. This is the second 800 Mw rating supercritical order awarded to from TANGEDCO in less than a month. According to BHEL's release, the public sector company has a share of 83 per cent in TANGEDCO's cumulative coal-based generating capacity, including two 600 MW sets commissioned in 2013 at North Chennai TPP. The project is slated to be commissioned by September 2019. Blackstone, the US private equity (PE) giant, and Bengaluru-based RMZ Corp, a developer-investor, could be the first ones to hit the market to list their real estate investment trust (REIT), after the finance minister cleared the final roadblock on dividend distribution tax in such bodies. Blackstone already has the structure ready....it shelved plans earlier due to tax structures. Now, it can hit the market faster than others, said an executive who is aware of their plans.. Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016 . . Blackstone and its joint venture partner, Embassy, had considered floating a $2-billion REIT but did not go ahead due to issues with the regulations. In the Union Budget, the finance minister had said the distribution made out of income of a Special Purpose Vehicle to REITs and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) did not attract dividend distribution tax (DDT). REITs are similar to mutual funds, and can be listed and traded on stock exchanges. These have to distribute a majority of their income as dividend. As a matter of policy, Blackstone does not comment on media speculation, its communications agency said in an e-mailed response. Blackstone has been investing in office assets in India since 2008 and has 30 million sq ft across 16 office parks, making it the largest operator of these in the country. Globally, it is the largest real estate PE entity, with $94 billion of assets under management. It also manages the biggest publicly traded REITs. RMZ, one of the biggest owners of office assets and backed by Qatar Investment Authority, is looking to list in 2017 or beyond, said its executive chairman, Raj Menda. Currently, we are in the acquisition mode, he said. RMZ owns 13 million sq ft office space in the country and the company wants to take this to 20 mn sq ft by 2017 and 80 mn by 2021. In the first phase up to 2017, it will develop and acquire properties and after that, offload a stake in the holding company, Menda recently told this newspaper. DDT exemption for REITs is a welcome move and will help commercial assets to be amortised and create wealth for investors, said Menda, also a member of the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (Aprea). DLF, the countrys largest listed developer, could hit the market with a REIT possible only in 2017-18, said a source, aware of the companys plans. Their first priority is to sell 40 per cent stake in the rental company, likely to happen towards the end of this year. Once it is done, they will look at a REIT, which should take six to nine months, said an executive, who declined to be identified. Even K Raheja Corp does not seem to be in a hurry to launch a REIT and list it. We will study the regulations and listings thoroughly and then proceed, said Sunil Hingorani, its director, finance. Aprea has been lobbying for launch of REITs. It said the Budget promises to remove a huge barrier to the launching of a world class REIT marketplace on the subcontinent. REITs will also help unlock the balance sheets of asset-heavy developers and reduce reliance on debt by injecting liquidity into the sector, said Peter Verwer, its chief executive. According to realty consultancy JLL, 80-100 mn sq ft of office space in the country, worth at least Rs 100,000 crore, could qualify to be included under REITs. These assets could together generate rental of Rs 6,000 crore annually. If we assume that even 50 per cent of these get listed, we are looking at total REITs listing worth $18.5 billion, said Anuj Puri, chairman of JLL India. REITs POTENTIAL IN INDIA of office space Reit-compliant assetsPotential value of ReitsRental potentialPotential worth of Reit listingProbable candidatesRMZ, Blackstone, K Raheja Corp, DLFSource: JLL India Even before the government has given out the fine print on what it means by 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the marketing of processed food, the interpretation in several quarters is that this is a backdoor entry for international multi-brand retailing. These are early days and without a government notification spelling out the retailing implications, the jury is out on how in food processing will play out on the ground. Foreign supermarket majors such as Walmart and Tesco might not gain much from this Budget announcement, as they might not opt to change their international format to only sell processed food products. However, Indian chains such as Reliance and Future Group might be able to benefit by operating food-only stores, said Arvind Singhal, founder of Technopak, a leading consultancy. Indian multi-brand groups could attract foreign capital in the food segment, which is more than 60 per cent of total retail merchandise in the country, he said. Rules on foreign investment are not only meant for Walmart, Tesco and the like but for the entire Indian ecosystem. At a time when the online-offline retailing battle is at a peak, full in food processing retail could give some kind of a level playing field to brick and mortar players, according to analysts. In fact, Indian e-commerce is being run with foreign money from marquee investors. A prominent analyst with an international consultancy said the government should stop looking at bits and pieces and open the entire retailing sector to foreign investment, once and for all. He questioned the practical aspects of any international retail chain opening a food-only format to comply with the latest norms. However, single brand foreign chains such as Marks & Spencer and Ikea could sell food products at stores after this. The condition is that any product sold in these stores should be manufactured in the country and that, analysts said, could prove problematic. Rajesh Thakkar, partner, transaction advisory services, BDO India, an advisory firm, however said the governments decision to allow up to 100 per cent in the marketing of food products was a game changer for international retailing chains that have previously avoided investing in India. They could set up food-only outlets, he said. "The move will encourage retail players to produce locally, which is in line with the governments Make in India initiative. This will also augment better price realisation for the farmers, he felt. Shoppers Stop managing director Govind Shrikhande said the finance minister had been silent on the much-debated topics pertaining to the retailing sector. Among the things he waited to hear about were a level playing field for e-tailers and brick & mortar ones, and clarity on multi-brand FDI in retailing. The earlier government had permitted up to 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retailing, with the condition that every state could decide whether or not to let foreign chains set up shop. This government has said it is opposed to any international presence in the sector but has not altered the multi-brand retail FDI rule book. That is another reason analysts think the government is looking for ways to get out of the retail FDI logjam. Harsimrat Kaur Badal first mooted the idea to goad manufacturers to utilise local produce in their products even more The Budget has given a thumbs-up to domestic food processing, with the proposal to permit 100 per cent foreign direct investment in the marketing of food products made in India. First mooted by the Union minister, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, it is expected to goad manufacturers to utilise local produce in their products even more. Most food & beverage makers utilise local produce for only some of their products. For instance, PepsiCo India does contract manufacturing of potatoes in Punjab for its potato chips. It is now stepping up focus in getting processable citrus fruits from local farmers for its juices under the Tropicana brand. In a recent conversation with this newspaper, D Shivakumar, chairman, PepsiCo India, said the first of its products using local citrus fruits, called Tropicana Mosambi, had come out of its unit at Nanded in Maharashtra. There will be more such products, tailored to local tastes with locally produced fruits, hed said. The company had also signed an agreement with the Maharashtra government to promote citrus fruit farming, beside driving joint investment with partners in the area. Similarly, rival Coca-Cola, which has been working with farmers in the Chitoor district of Andhra Pradesh to improve the processable variety of totapuri mangoes used in its Maaza mango drink, now proposes to take this initiative to oranges. The bottling arm of Coca-Cola recently signed an agreement with the Maharashtra government, with partner Jain Irrigation, to set up an orange juice manufacturing facility with the specific objective of sourcing locally-produced oranges. Venkatesh Kini, president, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, had said at the time of the announcement that the endeavour was to expand its 'Make in India' footprint. And that they were looking to stitch more partnerships for local sourcing, while seeking to expand the portfolio of products. Currently, the company sources mango pulp locally and a small portion of guava and litchi pulp. The plan was to expand all of this, he said. Parallely, are expected to step up their research and development effort to accommodate local produce in their products. This, say experts, could be a game changer for the domestic business, which could have a cascading impact on local farming. For instance, Coca-Cola took almost a year to develop a formulation that used 10 per cent juice in a fizzy drink. The product was launched at the Make in India week recently. The fruit pulp, said company executives, for the product was sourced locally. If there was one lot happy with the Budget announcements on Monday, it was consumer goods . The rural and agriculture push is likely to drive sales of after two years of relatively subdued growth because of poor monsoon and distress. Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales in rural areas grew 10-11 per cent annually in the past two years, compared with 15-18 per cent growth earlier. The consumer durables and electronics segment was worst hit with rural sales growth coming to a standstill. Apart from improving credit and crop insurance to farmers, the government proposes to introduce new schemes for animal welfare, rural electrification, interest subvention and a unified e-platform for farmers. The highest-ever allocation for the rural employment scheme, MGNREGS, at Rs 38,500 crore tops such initiatives. Consumer goods get 30-50 per cent of sales from rural India, where demand has been hit by consecutive years of rain deficit. With more money in the hands of farmers, experts expect rural demand and consumption to go up. Saugata Gupta, managing director & chief executive officer (CEO), Marico, maker of Saffola and Parachute coconut oil, said "The focus on broad-based growth with a thrust on rural, agriculture & farmer welfare augurs well for companies. Overall, the Budget attempts to drive an inclusive growth focusing on rural economy which is a positive for companies." MISSION HINTERLANDS Move comes at a time when rural areas have suffered consecutive years of drought and unseasonal weather Thanks to this, rural sales growth of consumer goods firms has declined from annual levels of 15-18% to 10-11% in the past two years The slew of measures announced in rural and agri sectors expected to give rural sales growth a fillip This is critical because of a third of sales for consumer goods companies comes from rural areas For some firms such as Hindustan Unilever, Dabur and Videocon, the percentage of sales coming from rural areas is higher; estimated at close to 50% Sunil Duggal, CEO, Dabur India, a company which derives close to half of its domestic revenues from rural areas, said "The focus of the Budget this year has been on farmers and people in the hinterlands. This will help millions of farmers recover from the rough patch they have been going through and go a long way in boosting confidence and fuelling consumerism in rural India."Aditya Agarwal, director, Emami, said "The focus on the infrastructure and rural sectors, which are the backbone of the economy, will give an impetus to companies operating in the consumer space. Many of them have turned to rural areas in the last few years. There will be a positive impact as a result of the measures announced."Anirudh Dhoot, director, Videocon Industries, said "In my view, the Finance Minister has been balanced with his focus on the rural and infrastructure sectors. The distress factor in the rural economy was too high. An improvement there benefits companies straightaway." After income tax incentives announced in the Budget on Monday, units in the GIFT City finance SEZ are expecting relief from certain provisions of the Companies Act and the establishment of a mechanism for appeals. Units in the SEZ will be eligible to 100 per cent tax exemption on income for the first five years and 50 per cent in the next five years.. Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016 The GIFT City management is in talks with Hong Kong, London, and Singapore arbitration centres and, subject to approval by the government, one of them is likely to set up shop in the SEZ. Companies planning to start operations in the GIFT City SEZ have told the government some provisions of the Companies Act like filing information and formation of boards should not apply to them because they are to be deemed as foreign companies. We are working with the government on both issues and hope to see progress, said Ajay Pandey, managing director and group chief executive officer, GIFT City. The units in the SEZ will be regulated by the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), but their rulings will need a legal dispute redressal mechanism. An international arbitration centre may be roped in to undertake that job at GIFT City. We welcome the regulations for development of the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in India, Pandey said. Along with the Budget announcements, the recent information-technology policy and waiver of stamp duty on share broking transactions in GIFT City will aid the development of Indias first IFSC, he added. The Gujarat government had proposed in its budget last week that transactions of brokers with registered offices in the domestic area of GIFT City would be exempt from stamp duty. YES Bank and Federal Bank have clocked transactions of $100 million in the 40 days they have been doing business in the GIFT City SEZ. New India Assurance and General Insurance Corporation have applied to Irdai for licences to operate in the SEZ. The BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) is waiting for changes to the Companies Act and a dispute redressal mechanism before launching operations in the IFSC. All major stock and commodities exchanges have signed undertakings with GIFT City to start operations. More steps are needed to make the IFSC globally competitive, said Nishith Desai of Nishith Desai and Associates. Singapore provides a tax rate of 10 per cent for fund management and investment advisory activities. There are also special tax incentives for banks and insurance companies, he said. While the Budget relaxations may be a good start, a bigger push will be needed to bring the IFSC on a par with financial centres around the world, Desai added. MEASURES FOR GIFTS (HMSI) has suspended close to 100 workers at its Tapukara factory in Rajasthan's Alwar district, alleging their involvement in the February 16 incidents of damage and disturbance. Many workers had gone on a strike that day, something the company says was illegal. HMSI, part of Japanese auto major Honda, is the countrys second largest two-wheeler player. Close to 100 workers who were found to be involved directly in sabotage were given the suspension letters, HMSI said in an e-mail. Another 60 workers were also sent warning letters, directing them to report for duty or face consequences. The high court in Jaipur granted bail on Tuesday to 39 of the 44 Tapukara workers who were arrested for alleged involvement in the February 16 happenings. The letter blames some workers for inciting others, hampering production, taking control of and damaging equipment, and intimidating executives. It said the presence of these workers was not in the interest of the company. The period of suspension is not mentioned. The warning letter accuses workers of being involved in an illegal strike and creating an atmosphere of indiscipline. And, that despite five separate directions to join work, these workers have stayed away. Business Standard has reviewed a copy of the letters. On February 19, the company says, many workers damaged various units of the plant, seeking reinstatement of four workers who were terminated for indiscipline. The company has not been able to operate at normal capacity for the past two weeks. Those on strike have said their decision to form a workers union in July last year did not go down well with the company, which was trying to stall this. The company denies this. The factory has capacity to produce 1.2 million two-wheelers a year. Against a normal daily production of 3,000 units, the plant is producing about 2,400 units at present. The company is trying to hire contractual workers. Of the 3,000 employees there, 2,600-2,700 are workers and the others are managerial staff. What is striking is of all workers, less than a fifth (460-470) are permanent while rest are casual/contractual. A permanent workers cost to the company is approximately Rs 26,000 a month and casual workers is Rs 14,500 a month. If an informal agreement, entered between Ashok Leyland (AL) and Nissan Motor top management officials to resolve the issues related to their LCV Joint Venture (JV), was put up for execution, the big fight between the partners could have been avoided, according to sources close to the development. The directions included an option of AL buying out Nissan's stake in the Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) business JV. AL was also ready to infuse further money into the LCV business, which contributes nearly 8-8.5 per cent of revenue for the company. Sources however said that the "unofficial" directions were not taken forward. An informal paper was signed by AL's Managing Director Vinod K Dasari and Philippe Guerin-Boutaud, Corporate Vice President Global LCV Business Unit of Nissan on this behalf, a copy of which was reviewed by Business Standard, says that both have agreed to bring in a solution to the issues faced by JV through certain actions. It was signed on January 19th at Singapore, according to an affidavit filed by AL in a court recently. This correspondent sought replies from both the on why the directions were not taken forward. AL's spokesperson said "since the matter is sub judice, we have no comment to offer". "Our growth worldwide has been has built on long-term partnerships. In the case of Ashok Leyland, we are disappointed they walked away from negotiations and took the most serious option of legal action, which we maintain, is unwarranted. Nissan wants an amicable solution so we can concentrate on building great vehicles for our customers, " said Nissan India Spokesperson. While on one side, sources close to AL said, it was Nissan which backed off from the plan, sources close to the Japanese automajor said it was AL which did not act according to the plan. One of the major points of dispute is related to infusion of money towards clearing the tax and other dues including Rs 550 crore of debt, Rs 150 crore EPCG liability and Rs 100 crore over duty and capex. All together comes to around Rs 800-1,000 crore. Ashok Leyland was ready to infuse around Rs 700-800 crore and it wanted Nissan to infuse another Rs 200-250 crore, added sources close close to the JV. While sources from Nissan argued that the fund infusion would only support the AL badged products as the Nissan products were "impaired", they also questioned on payment dues to the suppliers by manufacturing JV, in which AL holds majority stake. They argued that both the need to pay the dues to the suppliers taking the models into account. However, sources close to AL said that the money is not for any future requirements, but to come out from the problems it has met in the past. The dispute over payment of dues to the technology JV was another point which strained the relationship. While a source from AL said that the company feels that even though it has paid the dues, Nissan decided to terminate the technology JV, which restrained it from using Nissan's technology to manufacture the LCVs. However, Nissan sources said that it was after the termination only the due, which was about Rs 2.4 crore was cleared. Sources said since the JV was terminated AL may not be able to access Nissan's IP to produce LCVs, however AL in the recent press conference has said that LCVs continue to be manufactured and sold under its brand. While things are turning ugly between the two partners, sources said that there are questions for which answers are still not clear. These include why did AL decided to go to court after signing the paper, (the injunction would have halted the entire production, including cars, of Renault-Nissan), whether the JV agreed to clear the dues for suppliers, who went back after agreeing to go on a particular direction, why did Nissan terminate technology JV due to payment delay of two months while in the past same JV delayed for four months and last but not the least, whether both Ashok Leyland and Nissan are ready to sit across the table and sort out things. In 2007, Ashok Leyland and Nissan announced a JV to develop and manufacture LCVs, in the 2.5-7.5 tonne segment. The JV was named as Ashok Leyland Nissan Vehicles, in which Ashok Leyland holds 51 per cent. However the JV had a rough ride in the Indian market. The partners have formed three include Ashok Leyland Nissan Vehicles Pvt Ltd, the vehicle manufacturing company in which Ashok Leyland has 51 per cent Nissan has 49 per cent stake in, Nissan Ashok Leyland Powertrain Pvt Ltd, the powertrain manufacturing company owned 51 per cent by Nissan and 49 per cent by Ashok Leyland and Nissan Ashok Leyland Technologies Pvt Ltd, the technology development company owned 50:50 by the two partners In November last year, Nissan Ashok Leyland Technologies (NALT) has filed an application with the Bureau of Industrial and Financial Regulation (BIFR). Nissan has confirmed the development and said it as per the Indian statutory process. The technology development company is owned 50:50 by the two partners. According to the document filed with BIFR, the company was engaged in manufacture of automobile (LCVs). The company, which as per Form A, employed 57 workers, was established on May 22, 2008 and owns a factory located in Kanchipuram district. The company's Audited Balance Sheet (ABS) for Fiscal ended March 31, 2014 showed its networth (NW) as Rs 52.05 crore consisting of paid up share capital Rs 52.05 crore and free reserves Rs nil. The entire net worth was claimed to have been fully eroded due to the accumulated losses which stood at Rs 172.37 crore. The company's investment in plant and machinery was Rs 9.29 crore. Carbonated soft drinks, bottled water and could become costlier soon, in the aftermath of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's second full-term budget on Monday. Beverages A three percentage point increase in the excise duty on "waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters, containing added sugar or other sweetening" from 18 per cent to 21 per cent will lead to price hikes across the product line. The industry, struggling to cope up with slowdown in demand, will not be able to absorb the increase, sources say. Coca-Cola India is planning to increase the price of its 200 ml glass bottles by Re 1, taking the market price to Rs 13. For larger PET bottles, the hike will be between Rs 2 and Rs 9, depending on the pack size. The industry had to cut production last year during peak summer and further price hikes may affect sales in 2016. "The growth of the industry suffered significantly in 2015 and this hike will have a serious impact. The industry provides direct and indirect employment to millions of people and also supports sustainable profitability of small retail stores," says the Indian Beverage Association. Urging the government to roll back any duty hike, the IBA says, "The viability of the industry could be in grave danger because of such consistent an adversarial tax approach." Mobile handsets The withdrawal of duty waiver on a number of mobile phone components and imposition of additional duties on others will lead to 10 per cent and three per cent price increases of feature phones and smartphones, respectively. Removal of the 12.5 per cent duty sop (special additional duty, countervailing duty and basic excise duty together) is intended to encourage local manufacturing of components. According to Pradeep Jain, managing director, Karbonn Mobiles, the industry is not ready to manufacture these components. Speakers, headphones, batteries, adapters and chargers, on which the duty sops have been withdrawn, constitute 20 per cent of the cost of a feature phone and less than 10 per cent of the cost of a smartphone. As much as half the production cost of a mobile phone is on populated circuit boards and the imposition of a two per cent special additional duty will bring the differential between mobile phones and their parts lower. India is not ready for the complexity involved in populating a mobile phone's circuit board," says Hari Om Rai, chairman and managing director, Lava International. Even as the rest of India worries about conserving cash, Sajjan Jindal has emerged as a contrarian with a seemingly insatiable appetite for acquisitions and investments. Thus, Jindal's JSW Steel is amongst the seven bidders shortlisted for the e-auction of the Ghorhaburhani-Sagasahi iron ore block in Odisha which has deposits of 99.5 million tonne. Last month, JSW Jaigarh Ports signed a memorandum of understanding with Maharashtra to set up an LNG terminal in the Ratnagiri district at an investment of Rs 6,000 crore. And JSW Cement has initiated talks with Lafarge to buy its India assets which have a capacity of 11 million tonnes. According to the market grapevine, Jindal was also in talks with the cash-strapped Jaypee group to buy its cement business but lost out to Kumar Mangalam Birla whose UltarTech Cement last week sealed the deal for Rs 16,500 crore. This rather long shopping list comes on the back of some big-ticket buyouts Jindal has done. Last year, JSW Energy bought two hydro-power projects of Jaiprakash Power Ventures in Himachal Pradesh for Rs 9,700 crore and entered into a binding memorandum of understanding to buy its 500-Mw Bina Thermal Power Plant. A non-binding memorandum of understanding for a 74 per cent stake in Monnet Power is pending decision. In 2014, JSW Steel had acquired Welspun Maxsteel for Rs 1,000 crore. And in December 2010, Jindal had bought 41.29 per cent of debt-laden steel maker Ispat Industries for Rs 2,157 crore. This display of deep coffers has made Jindal much sought after by chief ministers keen to attract investments into their states. Onlookers were surprised when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee showed up at Salboni in West Medinipur for the ceremony to lay the foundation stone for JSW Cement's Rs 800-crore cement plant. A bigger surprise came when she waited patiently for Jindal to turn up as his flight had got delayed. This, mind you, is a truncated version of the 10-million-tonne steel plant and 1,600-Mw power unit with an investment of Rs 35,000 crore Jindal had conceived in 2007. In steel, he has already attained that position. State-owned Steel Authority of India is the first at 19.5 million tonnes, while JSW Steel is the second largest in India with a capacity of 14.3 million tonne, followed by Tata Steel's India facilities (13 million tonnes). Soon, the blast furnace for an additional four million tonnes at JSW's unit at Vijaynagar is likely to be commissioned, which will bring it closer to SAIL. A long way off However, it will take quite an effort to be amongst the top three players in the country in the power and cement businesses. The Lafarge acquisition, if it happens, will leapfrog JSW's capacity from the current six million tonnes per annum to 17 million tonnes in one stroke. The medium-term plan is to take it to 20 million tonnes. "We have a vision of becoming one of India's largest players in cement and we are working towards it by increasing our capacity to 20 million tonnes by 2020," a company spokesperson explains. While inorganic options are being evaluated, JSW Cement is setting up a new cement plant in West Bengal which will have a capacity of 2.4 million tonnes and increasing cement production capacity by 600,000 tonnes at Vijaynagar to three million tonnes in 2017. JSW Energy, on the other hand, has a plan of generating capacity in excess of 10,000 Mw by 2020. At present, the generation capacity is 3,140 Mw of thermal energy and 1,391 Mw of hydro energy. "We are evaluating various opportunities for growth of our energy business by both organic and inorganic means," the spokesperson adds. Even while most companies are shying away from investments, Jindal has made it clear that funding acquisitions would not be a problem. A recent Edelweiss report on JSW Energy highlighted that the company had a comfortable leverage (debt was 1.8 times equity) and strong cash flows which have enabled it to look for inorganic growth opportunities. One of the funding options for JSW Cement, going forward, could be an initial public offering. "Like most infrastructure businesses, cement is also capital intensive. Once we reach critical mass in terms of revenue and volume, we will think of an IPO. This we can expect somewhere around 2019," the spokesperson adds. However, the goals look ambitious given that the top players in cement are way ahead of Jindal. For instance, Holcim, through its control of Ambuja Cement and ACC, has 60 million tonnes of capacity while UltraTech Cement has 64.7 million tonnes (the recent acquisition of Jaypee group's 18.4 million tonne capacity will make it the largest player by a wide margin.) Global headwinds Most important, Jindal's flagship steel business is under pressure thanks to the global commodity meltdown made worse by dumping. Recently, ICRA downgraded JSW Steel by a notch and changed the outlook to negative. The revisions in the long-term rating and outlook came on the back of a sharp decline in profitability and cash accruals of the company caused by a significant fall in steel prices in the current year in both domestic and export markets. Analysts, however, are not expecting an outflow from the steel business into diversifications. Even though Jindal is a small player in cement and power, competitors find him a serious challenger. After all, he managed to surprise his rivals in steel. In 2009, JSW Steel grew bigger than the century-old Tata Steel when it increased capacity to 7.8 million tonnes; Tata Steel was at 6.8 million tonnes then. Then in 2010, JSW acquired Ispat Industries. The next goal has been set, to take the installed capacity to 40 million tonnes over the next decade through expansion of existing units. Clearly, Jindal has come a long way from the late 1990s when Jindal Vijaynagar Steel was under corporate debt restructuring as were Essar Steel, Lloyds Steel Industries and Ispat Industries. (Jindal Vijaynagar was merged with Jindal Iron and Steel Company and renamed JSW.) A decade later, the picture is somewhat like this: Essar Steel has appointed investment bankers to find a strategic partner, Lloyds Steel has sold a controlling stake to Uttam Galva Steels and Ispat Industries has been acquired by JSW Steel. No credit for picking the company that stands out from the rest. Consulting Services Private Ltd has bought shares worth over Rs 1,016 crore in Polaris Consulting through block and bulk deals in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Accoridng to BSE bulk deals data ,the US-based company bought 47,679,077 shares at Rs 213.1 a share. Similar number of shares where reflected in the block deal data also. The sellers include Orbitech Pvt Ltd (sold 17,458,692 shares), Yogesh Andlay (2,077,447 shares), Uday Jain (619,500 shares), Polaris Banyan Holding Pvt Ltd (20,020,938 shares), Orbitech Employees Welfare Trust (900,000 shares), Manju Jain (910,52,460 shares), Arun Jain HUF (789,000 shares) and Arun jain (43,22,365 shares). All of them sold the shares at Rs 213.1 a share. The transaction comes in the backdrop of regulators, including RBI and CCI, giving their nod for Polaris Consulting and Consulting Share Purchase Agreement (SPA). In November 2015, US-based IT outsourcing firm Corporation has acquired to acquire majority stake in Polaris Consulting in a $270 million deal. On Friday in an announcement to the Exchange, Polaris said that it has got RBI approval on February 5, CCI's approval on February 18 and Sebi's approval on February 23 for the SPA. With the regulatory approvals in place, the transaction is expected to complete in around two weeks, said Arun Jain, who has been the promoter of Polaris Consulting Services Ltd (PCSL). Following the transaction, he would also step down from the position of Chairman of PCSL. On November 5, Polaris' promoters, including Arun Jain, announced an agreement with US-based Virtusa under which the latter's subsidiaries were to acquire 53 per cent stake for Rs 1,173 crore, with a further intention to raise this to 75 per cent. promoter sellers of Chennai-based IT service provider Polaris Consulting & Services Ltd, including its founder and chairman Arun Jain, would get around Rs 639.80 crore out of the deal announced on Thursday. Virtusa has entered into a definitive Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) to acquire around 53 per cent of Polaris from certain promoter and promoter entities led by Arun Jain and certain other shareholders for around Rs 1,173 crore, through a subsidiary. From the promoter's family, while Arun Jain and his family will benefit the most, outside investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who held 50 lakh shares in the company, will be getting Rs 110.36 crore. This is more than what Jain, who founded the company will be getting individually, with 43.22 lakh shares. The Odisha government has challenged the landmark Vedanta bauxite mine judgement of the Supreme Court which upheld the statutory powers of the tribal village councils under the Forest Rights Act and the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Area) Act to decide if they wish mining to take place in their traditional forestlands or not. Filing a new interlocutory application before the apex court, Odisha government has claimed that the Forest Rights Act and its rules do not require any consent from gram sabha (village councils) for use of forestlands if the government decides that the rights of the people have been settled. If the application filed by the state against the Union government is accepted by the courts for hearing it could also force the NDA government to take a public stand on the issue after having deliberated the dilution of tribal consent powers behind closed doors since 2014 when it came to power. In its application, which Business Standard reviewed, Odisha has also contended that gram sabha resolutions rejecting mining in the Lanjigarh bauxite mines cannot remain perpetually in force. The state government has claimed that with adults dying in the community and new ones growing up to have voting rights in the gram sabha decisions should be up for review. The state has additionally claimed in its application that there were technical errors in the way the gram sabhas were conducted and the resolutions passed to refuse mining in their traditional lands. Making these and other pleas, the state has asked that the gram sabha decisions be set aside, the meeting of the councils be held afresh and the environment ministrys order rejecting mining based on the tribals decisions also be quashed. The Supreme Courts judgement of 2013 ordered that the 12 gram sabhas of the Dongaria Kondh, Kutia Kandha and other tribal communities would decide if they held any religious and other rights over the Niyamgiri Hills of Odisha and if the mining of bauxite in the Lanjigarh mines below the peak of the hill would affect their religious rights. The court held that if the rights were affected by the proposed mining then the clearances to mining rights stood to be cancelled. Under supervision of the tribal affairs ministry and the local administration, in what turned out to be a rather high-profile event garnering domestic and international attention, 12 gram sabhas unanimously rejected the mining that Odisha Mining Corporation was to do in a joint venture with Vedanta. Consequently the environment ministry rejected the clearance to the project. The marquee land-mark reaffirmed the power of the tribal and other forestdwellers gram sabhas as statutory authorities under the Forest Rights Act. The present NDA government has since 2014 attempted to also do away with the need for tribal consent, trying various formulations and interpretations to dilute or do away with it. With meetings on the matter continuing at the highest level the tribal affairs ministry has repeatedly warned that doing away with powers of consent would be unconstitutional and illegal, requiring an amendment to the law through Parliament in light of the Supreme Courts Vedanta judgement. But, with nearly three years after the court passed the order the state government has come to court with the plea, could do away entirely with the need for consent from tribals before using their traditional forestlands for industrial purposes. In the petition, which is listed to be heard on Friday the Odisha government contends that various general claims of worshipping all the hills in the Niyamgiri range, including NIyamgiri Dangar (the site of mines) were made and all the persons who attended were unanimous in their opposition to the Bauxite Mining Project. But the state government then notes, However, pertinently, not a single member of the Gram/pali Sabha explained how a claim could be made over an entire plateau situated far away from the abode of Niyam-Raja (the tribes traditional god). It has also contended that the tribals did not follow several other technical requirements of the court order and overlooked the interplay between the declaration of law and determination of religious/sacred rights as permitted by the court and even beyond the provisions of the Forest Rights Act. Using these arguments, even as it claims the consent of tribals under the law is not required, Odisha has asked the Supreme Court o quash the decisions of the gram sabha and hold their meetings afresh. On Friday the Supreme Court could decide whether to admit the application or not. After a brief truce for the presentation of the Budget on Monday, the ruling parties and the Opposition on Monday resumed crossfire. Members of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) disrupted proceedings in both Houses to demand action against Congress leader Karti Chidambaram, son of party senior P Chidambaram, for his alleged involvement in the Aircel-Maxis issue. Later in the day, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad held a press conference saying how the then home minister, P Chidambaram, made the United Progressive Alliance-II government change its affidavit in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case. On Tuesday, the two Houses were slated to discuss the motion of thanks on the President's Address. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi are likely to speak on the motion on Wednesday. The Rajya Sabha was also scheduled to take up a calling attention motion on an inflammatory speech allegedly by junior human resource development (HRD) minister Ram Shankar Katheria last week in Agra. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said the AIADMK protest was "being organised by the ruling party" so the House would be unable to discuss Katheria's 'inflammatory speech' allegedly against a minority community. A minister later said the entire world knows the Congress and the AIADMK were together in their opposition to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Constitution amendment Bill. In the morning, Katheria told reporters that he didn't make the comments attributed to him in some media reports. AIADMK members in both Houses waved copies of a newspaper that had on Tuesday published a report on the alleged involvement of Karti in the Aircel-Maxis issue. In the Lok Sabha, junior parliamentary affairs minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the matter was already being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and it was incorrect for the AIADMK members to accuse the government of not having taken any action. Some weeks ago, ED teams had carried out raids at offices of those associated with Karti. Meanwhile, the Opposition and ruling-alliance members moved privilege motions accusing each other of misleading Parliament. Opposition filed a privilege motion against HRD minister Smriti Irani for 'misleading' Parliament on some of the facts on the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula. Bharatiya Janata Party members filed a privilege motion against Janata Dal (United) Rajya Sabha member K C Tyagi for his claim that never before had police entered the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus. The BJP pointed out that Delhi Police had entered the campus in 1983, 1999 and 2009 and during the Emergency. Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya had also moved a privilege motion against Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia. The Congress MP from Guna had alleged during his speech in the Lok Sabha last week that Dattatreya in his letter to HRD Minister had called Vemula "casteist, extremist and anti-national". Dattatreya has said Scindia misled the House as the letter had no specific mention of Vemula, but complained of "casteist, extremist and anti-national" politics in the Hyderabad Central University campus. While senior BJP leaders now agree that Irani shouldn't have made public letters from Opposition MPs requesting admission to central government run schools for children of their constituents or even the comments posted on social networking sites on Goddess Durga and Mahisasura, the party plans to defend the minister in Parliament. The BJP will maintain that all documents that Irani read out from were duly authenticated. With the government deciding to end the income tax holiday for special economic zones (SEZs), it is the end of the road for them. Most of these have become real estate with promoters planning to use the land for redevelopment, say tax experts. . Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016 In the Mondays Budget, the government said it would not allow any deduction to units commencing manufacture or production on or after April 1, 2020, in an SEZ. Units are allowed to claim 100 per cent deduction of profits derived from exports from for five years beginning with the year of manufacturing and deduction of 50 per cent of the profit for the next five years. The change in the latest Budget will impact the sale and rent of SEZ units of companies like Adani Port, which has large in Mundra, Gujarat, say analysts. The Mukesh Ambani-owned SEZ near Mumbai will also lose tax benefits but as it is situated in proximity to Mumbai, it will become a real estate play, say tax experts. The SEZs were initially set up to take on competition from Chinese SEZs, which were exporting to the rest of the world with special tax incentives from the local government. The Indian SEZs, especially those in manufacturing, failed to take advantage of the scheme due to a combination of factors. Many Indian companies, including the Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries, decided to set up SEZs but later curtailed plans due to opposition from landowners. For SEZ developers, abolishing tax sops which provide for deduction of profits derived from development of SEZ infrastructure means bad . According to the Budget, the government will provide deduction of 100 per cent of the profits on investments made by companies on infrastructure and development of SEZs, provided the facility commences commercial operation and starts claiming deduction on or before March 31, 2017. This will impact companies like Concor, Gateway Distriparks, Allcargo, Gujarat Pipavav Port and Adani Port, which claim Section 80IA benefits on the capital expenditure repeatedly, says a Kotak analysis of the Budget. The sunset clause will also impact IT services companies operating in SEZs. In the last Budget, the Finance Minister had stated his intention to remove tax incentives. This means all Indian IT companies will be taxed post 2020. "We maintain our positive outlook on the IT sector (the current revenue growth slowdown is temporary) and our preference remains companies with the most beaten down valuations and the lowest expectations," says an Ambit report. Apart from looking to generate about 500,000 new jobs in the electronics sector, the Gujarat government is planning to set up an electronics products manufacturing hub in the state in the next five years, through its newly announced Electronics Policy 2016.In order to achieve these targets, the Gujarat government has offered several incentives and subsidies under the policy. "The new policy will boost production of electronics items in Gujarat and the state will be a manufacturing hub of electronics products in India in the next five years," Govind Patel, minister of state for energy and petrochemical, said, adding that the new policy would generate about 500,000 new employment in electronic sector during the period. The government will provide assistance in two ways to attract investment through the policy. First, the government will provide financial support of 25% of project cost or upto Rs 25 crore to set up 200 acres estate as a cluster. Further, it will provide financial assistance up to Rs 100 crore to projects which have cost of Rs 1,000 crore. Read more from our special coverage on "" Bomb hoax at Thai consulate in Kolkata Union budget to chart next course of equity markets My role in Jab Tum Kaho a mix of the real and the reel: Parvin IAF seeks ITBP canines to secure vital air bases 23 killed in Nepal plane crash The state government is expecting $6 billion investment and targets to achieve a turnover of $16 billion in the next five years through the policy. "Through the electronic policy, we are expecting $16 billion turnover with an investment of $ 6 billion by end of the year 2021. The government is also hoping for a significant jump in exports of electronic products from Gujarat which will earn foreign exchange of $ 5 billion during the said period," said Patel. The state government will also be providing assistance for research and development (R&D), patent and single window clearance facilities in order to attract huge investments in the sector in Gujarat. The government has decided to give 100 per cent exemption in stamp duty and registration for transfer, sale and lease of land to the electronic sector under the new policy. Meanwhile, the minister of state also said that to boost the industry in the state, investors will get power subsidy, capital subsidy for plant and machineries. Mineral-rich would get an additional revenue from minerals to the tune of over Rs 900 crore annually that would be used for local area development. The state government had implemented the district mineral fund policy 2015 that would generate additional revenue of more than Rs 900 crore, Governor Balramji Dass Tandon said while addressing members of Chhattisgarh's Legislative Assembly today. The month-long Budget session of the state Assembly started with the governors address. The session would conclude on March 31. Tandon said the funds generated would be used in the respective district for the development activities in the project affected places. The amount would be spent through the district collector, he said, adding that Rs 190 crore was generated under the old policy and that had been distributed to the panchayats and civic bodies concerned. Speaking on agricultural issues, he said that the state government is taking necessary initiatives to upgrade the paddy procurement and payment system. In the kharif marketing season, about 5.9 million tonnes of paddy had been procured from 1.1 million farmers, he added. Additionally, he said that the paddy procurement had cost Rs 8,429 crore to the state exchequer and maximum farmers have been paid the amount through online transaction. Tandon said the legislator model village programme introduced in the state had also received good response. The Swacch Bharat Abhiyan is also yielding the positive response and over 1,400 villages in the state have been declared open defecation free, he added. In the villages, about 0.3 million individual toilets have been constructed and more than equal number of toilets is under construction, Tandon said. Referring to the infrastructure development works in insurgency-hit areas, Tandon said that of the 1,991 km roads to be constructed in the Naxal-infested pockets, work for 1,020 km has already been completed while the remaining work is in progress. Under the chief minister village road programme, the state government had set a target to construct 1,154 roads measuring over 3,000 km. The finance minister Arun Jaitleys proposal to allocate Rs 3000 crore for the nuclear power generation will help the state run Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) to raise debt of Rs 10,000 crore. Besides, it will also help further mobilize money from its joint venture companies involving NTPC, Indian Oil Corporation and National Aluminium. The government's move to prepare a comprehensive plan for next 15-20 years will also give a much needed push for putting the implementation of nuclear capacity addition of 16,100 Mw on fast track. As on date, the installed nuclear power capacity in the country comprises twenty one reactors with a total capacity of 5780 Mw. Out of these twenty one reactors, one reactor Rajasthan Atomic Power Station-1 (RAPS) (100 Mw) is under extended shutdown for techno-economic assessment on continuation of its operation. The remaining twenty reactors with a capacity of 5680 Mw are presently operating. NPCILs former CMD S K Jain told Business Standard, It is really heartening to see that a definite time bound action being proposed for augmentation of nuclear power capacity. The opportunity was already made available post 123 agreement. All the necessary spade work at many sties including land studies, impact assessment, land acquisition have already been done. Therefore, with the government's decision to provide Rs 3,000 crore, the actual progamme can be quickly launched. This apart, he informed NPCIL will be able to raise Rs 10,000 crore as debt on 70:30 debt equity ratio and equity from join venture companies will also start flowing. Of the 16,100 Mw capacity, NPCIL has received crucial environment clearance for Kudankulam units 3&4 (2x1000 Mw) in Tamil Nadu while environment clearance for Gorakhpur plant (2x700) in Harayana has been obtained subject to clearance from wildlife angle. Further, NPCIL has obtained coastal zone regulation (CRZ) clearance and environment clearance for two units of 1,650 Mw for Jaitapur project in Maharashtra in 2010. NPCIL has submitted application in April 2015 to ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) for extension of validity of the clearance beyond five years. Further, the state undertaking has completed environment impact assessment (EIA) for 2x700 Mw Chutka plant in Madhya Pradesh and the report has been submitted to MoEF. It has received CRZ clearance and in principle forest clearance for the 2x1100 Mw Chhaya Mithi Virdi project in Gujarat. NPCIL ias pursuing environment clearance from MoEF. NPCIL has completed environment impact assessment (EIA) studies for 2x1500 Mw each in Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh and Mahi Banswara, Rajasthan respectively. Moreover, the company has submitted term of reference document for EIA studies for 2x700 Mw Kaiga project in Karnataka. Department of Atomic Energy has recently told the parliament that these projects, which are being developed based on indigenous reactors and those supplied by foreign companies, are expected to be completed in about six to seven years from the start of their construction. The government has budgetedRs 55,000 crore for auction in 2016-17, while the total revenue from communication services has been pegged at Rs 98,995 crore.About Rs 22,000 crore would come from license and spectrum fees levied by the department of telecommunications (DoT) and around Rs 21,000 crore from one-time spectrum fees and arrears from the earlier auction in March 2015, said a senior government official.The government had earlier estimated revenue of Rs 42,866 crore in 2015-16, while the revised estimates are Rs 57,384 crore. Though, the ministry of communications could not conduct a spectrum auction in 2015-16, it was able to meet the revenue targets.Brokerage firm Credit Suisse has estimated that the government may get Rs 50,000 crore in next spectrum auction planned to be held in 2016-17.The arrears of the previous years and receipts from fresh auction are also included in the Budget Estimates 2016-17, the Budget document said.In 2014-15, the government had earned revenue of Rs 1.1 lakh crore from spectrum auction. According to experts, the government could rake in Rs 5.5-6 lakh crore this year from the sale of spectrum.The Telecom Regulatory of India gave its recommendation in January this year on auction for spectrum in various bands --including the premium 700 MHz for the first time, at a reserve price of Rs 11,485 crore per MHz. This is the highest reserve price fixed for a band since the process for spectrum auction started nearly five years earlier. The 700 MHz band is considered a good one for mobile broadband and fourth-generation (4G) technology services. It is much sought for long-term evolution deployment around the world, due to its efficiency and higher penetration inside buildings. Existing operators had opposed the auction of 700 MHz DoT is considering the proposals, a decision on which would be taken by the Telecom Commission, the policy making body of the department. Subsequently, it will be given final approval by the Cabinet. DoT plans to commence the spectrum auction by June-July. Implications of Budget clarification The government has clarified that a service tax on spectrum trading deals will be levied, which can be credited back, providing some needed clarity. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said while presenting the Union Budget that assignment of the right to use radio frequency spectrum will not be taken as a sale of intangible goods and, therefore, will be liable to service tax. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) welcomed the government's clarification. Spectrum Trading Tax being categorised as a service tax allows telecom companies to claim CENVAT credit. Also, assignment by the government of the right to use the radio frequency spectrum and subsequent transfers has been included under the definition of 'declared service'. Thus, assignment by the government of the right to use the spectrum, as well as subsequent transfers of this right, would now be construed as 'service' and liable to service tax. Such a liability will not only increase the cost of service but result in huge cash flow issue for operators, COAI stated. Justice V Ramasubramanian and Justice N Kirubakaran in their interim order said that if normalcy is to be restored in the functioning of the Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, a full-fledged Board should assume office. This is possible either by declaring the results subject to the outcome of the cases or by nominating someone to the Board. The second option is ruled out, since RBI is not agreeable to nominate anyone. They fear conflict of interest. Therefore, there is only one option, namely to declare the results and allow the elected directors to assume charge, subject to the outcome of the litigation pending in all these proceedings. Therefore, for the present without pronouncing a final verdict on the question of validity of the votes polled by certain shareholders and without also recording a finding whether these votes have been calculated or not, we pass an order declaring the aforesaid 10 persons as having been elected. They are permitted to take charge subject to the ultimate outcome of these proceedings. "For the purpose of secretarial work, and for payment of dividend, the statutory time limit of 30 days shall start counting only from today. This is due to the fact, by today the period of 30 days has already expired from the date of the meeting. The declaration of results and the permission given to the elected members to assume charge are subject to final orders," said the Bench. Following people were elected to TMB Board 1. P C G Asok Kumar 2. S Annamalai 3. B Vijayadurai 4. V V D N Vikraman 5. S R Aravind Kumar 6. A Shidambaranthan 7. B S Keshava Murthy 8. Chitra Murali 9. P Yesuthasen 10. K Nagarajan S Annamalai of the Pioneer Asia Group-led faction, which includes FIIs, has been declared elected by the Madras High Court for the Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB's) Board. The group defeated the faction led by mining industry veteran S Vaikundarajan. Meanwhile, the election results also may lead the bank to go for an IPO, which was opposed by the group that lost the election. Annamalai, people from Vaikundarajan's side and senior advocates have confirmed the Court order, while TMB's management was not available for comment immediately. The faction helmed by Annamalai of Pioneer Asia Group, that owns Standard Fireworks, has the support of the VVD Group, Ayyanar Coffee and Tea Company, and foreign institutional investors. The first meeting of the newly elected Board was held at Thoothukudi today. The meeting started at 10.30 am at Bank's head quarters and went on till 2 pm, according to sources. New members of TMB Board P C G Asok Kumar S Annamalai B Vijayadurai V V D N Vikraman S R Aravind Kumar A Shidambaranthan B S Keshava Murthy Chitra Murali P Yesuthasen K Nagarajan Annamalai said that the decision on who the Chairman will be was not taken. However, he confirmed that FIIs will be part of the Board, but did not share the names and number of Board seats they will get. During the last AGM, held some six years ago, FII-backed group had secured board control of the bank. Polling for the 10 board members seat held at the Bank's AGM at Thoorthukudi on January 29. The AGM was chaired by the retired Judge of Madras High Court. Both groups, with allies and associations, hold nearly 20 per cent stake each in the bank. At the Bank's Annual General Meeting (for six years from 2009-10) on January 29 at Thootukudi, the emotional cross section of shareholders, mainly Vaikuntarajan team, have said that if the Bank goes for an IPO it will open doors for outside investors. While the Bank's management said that the IPO would help the Bank to meet regulator's CAR requirement, the shareholders said that they are ready to fund the Bank. Annamali also echoed the same view and he said the Board will consider the same in the coming days. The Bank which was started in 1921 was called as Nadar Bank, before it was renamed as Tamilnad Mercantile Bank. It has been mired in ownership tussles. The Bank has got into various disputes, ever since FIs bought stake from businessman C Sivasankaran, who had acquired the stake from the Essar Group. The transaction to FIs has also attracted a show-cause notice from the Enforcement Directorate to TMB and Standard Chartered Bank, among others, for contravention of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) 1999. According to the Bank sources the FIs and NRIs have bought the shares for Rs 24,000 per share in May 2007, while currently the Bank's share is trading at around 93,000 a share, in a private market. FIs and NRIs are holding around 42 per cent in the Bank, including 19 per cent voting right. The Pioneer Group was founded by Sankaralinga Nadar, one of the founders of the match industry in Sivakasi, along with Ayya Nadar. Annamalai and his brothers have unitedly grown the businesses of Pioneer Asia group which has interests in safety matches, textiles, wind farm, fire works, IT park, auto components. The group entered the asset financing business when it floated NBFC Pioneer overseras with IOB, according to people who are close to the Group. His group was the only major player in the small sector taking on the competiton from the erstwhile MNC Wimco. Later, when Wimco exited the field, ITC entered the field by sourcing matches from unorganised units. Still, Pioneer Asia remained a strong player. The Group came into limelight when the family members sold their stake in TMB in 1994. This had triggered the takeover of the bank by Essar group. Justice V Ramasubramanian and Justice N Kirubakaran in their interim order said that if normalcy is to be restored in the functioning of the Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, a full-fledged Board should assume office. The bench also asked the lender to declare the results and allow the elected directors to assume charge, subject to the outcome of the litigation pending in all these proceedings. "Therefore, for the present without pronouncing a final verdict on the question of validity of the votes polled by certain shareholders and without also recording a finding whether these votes have been calculated or not, we pass an order declaring the aforesaid 10 persons as having been elected. They are permitted to take charge subject to the ultimate outcome of these proceedings," the bench said. The ten members include P C G Asok Kumar, S Annamalai, B Vijayadurai, V V D N Vikraman, S R Aravind Kumar, A Shidambaranthan, B S Keshava Murthy, Chitra Murali, P Yesuthasen and K Nagarajan. Japan-based Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation on Tuesday sold 1.8 per cent stake in for Rs 3,433 crore, block deal data showed. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board picked up shares worth Rs 2,084 crore (18.1 million shares, or 1 per cent stake) at Rs 636.25 apiece. The remaining shares (14.7 million shares, or 0.8 per cent stake) were sold at Rs 623.95 apiece to unknown buyers. At the end of December 2015 quarter, Sumitomo held around 3.6 per cent stake in . This is a second block transaction in a private lender in as many days. On Monday, California Public Employees Retirement System, one of US's biggest pension fund, had sold 0.94 per cent equity in Axis Bank at Rs 387.5 to mop up Rs 869 crore. The shares were bought by Genesis Indian Investment Company, data provided by exchanges showed. Shares of on Tuesday closed at Rs 637.75, up 1.2 per cent, while that of Axis Bank ended at Rs 391.9, up 4.44 per cent. The benchmark Sensex on Tuesday gained 3.4 per cent. Kotak Mahindra and associates are significant shareholders in Business Standard Private Limited Arrests of ISI Moles in the Armed Forces . . In December 2015, one personnel each from Army and Air Force has been arrested for espionage activities. Air Force personnel has also been dismissed from service. . . Regular counter intelligence coverage in liaison with central agencies is being maintained for all the units / establishments to defeat subversion and espionage attempts of foreign intelligence agents. Further, service personnel are regularly educated on the modus operandi of foreign intelligence operatives including awareness drive on threats from social media. . . This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to ShriRajkumar Dhoot in Rajya Sabha today. . . NAMPI/RAJ Authenticity and Quality check of Ayurvedic medicines . . The Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 have exclusive provisions for the regulation and quality control of Ayurvedic medicines. The licensing and quality control of Ayurvedic medicines is under the purview of State Governments and the legal provisions are framed or amended by the Central Government. Good Manufacturing Practices and Quality Standards for manufacturing of Ayurvedic medicines are prescribed in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 and Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia and authoritative books listed in Schedule I of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940. Authenticity of the medicines is checked on the basis of standards of identity, purity and strength prescribed in the pharmacopeia. For this purpose Central Government has set up Pharmacopoeial Laboratory of Indian Medicine, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. . . There are 27 State Drugs Testing Laboratories for testing of Ayurvedic medicines and raw materials. 41 private sector laboratories are also approved under the provisions of Drugs & Cosmetics Rules, 1945 for carrying out testing of Ayurvedic drugs & raw materials. Pharmacopoeial Commission of India Medicine & Homoeopathy and Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia Committee are in place to develop quality standards and Standard Operating Procedures for the manufacturing of Ayurvedic drugs. . . Under National AYUSH Mission, Central Government provides financial support to the States for strengthening the infrastructural and functional capacity of the Drugs Testing Laboratories, Pharmacies, Enforcement Framework and Testing of drugs. Two statutory bodies in the name of Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani Drugs Technical Advisory Board (ASUDTAB) and Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani Drugs Consultative Committee (ASUDCC) are constituted under the provisions of Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 to advise the Central and State Governments in technical and enforcement matters of Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani drugs respectively. . . Ayurvedic Hospitals attached to All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi, National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur (Rajasthan), Institute of Postgraduate Teaching & Research in Ayurveda, Jamnagar (Gujarat) and Banaras Hindu University are financed by the Central Government. There are thirty Ayurvedic Research cum Treatment Centres as part of the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), which is an autonomous organization totally supported by the Central Government. There are seventeen Centres of Excellence having Ayurvedic treatment facility which are supported by the Central Government. Under National AYUSH Mission, a large number of co-located AYUSH facilities are also supported at PHCs, CHCs, District Hospitals and dispensaries etc. . . This information was given by the Minister of State for AYUSH (Independent Charge) and Health & Family Welfare, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today. . . Budget allocation for Water Resources Ministry increased by 168 percent . Allocation for Ground Water enhanced by 85 percent . . Overall allocation of resources for the Ministry of Water Resources has increased from Rs 7,431 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 12,517 crore in the Union Budget for 2016-17 through budgetary support and market borrowings. This shows an increase of more than 168%. This was stated by Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sushri Uma Bharti while addressing a press conference in New Delhi today. The Minister said Allocation for Ground Water Scheme has been enhanced by 85% and another major program for sustainable Ground Water Resources for Rs 6,000 crore has been approved. . . Referring to the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) the Minister said a total of 297 projects have so far been taken up under the programme and out of which 143 projects have since been completed. Out of the 149 projects that are on-going, 89 projects have been found to be active and 46 of them have been placed under high priority category. These projects are likely to get completed by the end of 2020 in different stages. Further, out of these 46 projects, 23 projects have been further shortlisted and are targeted for completion by March 2017. These projects are being taken up in mission mode so that the projects get completed by the target time and the complete benefits from the projects accrue to the farmers. An innovative funding mechanism has been devised for arranging funds for these projects. The funds are to be arranged from market borrowing with a repayment schedule spread over 10-20 years from the annual budget of Centre and States. To complete the priority projects the Centre and States will work together in mission mode. A committee with Irrigation Ministers of Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra alongwith Principal Secretaries of some other States has been constituted to bring more synergy in to this exercise. The Minister said another emphasis has been to bridge the gap between the already created potential and utilised. The existing gap between Potential created and potential utilized ranges from 24 Mha to 47 Mha. She said, This gap has to be bridged in a mission mode. Joint efforts for improvement of system deficiencies and command area development for optimization of resources have been initiated". . . Sushri Bharti said ground water is another important thrust area of her Ministry. She said over-extraction of ground water resources, non-sustainable irrigation and quality deterioration are threatening the reliability of groundwater supplies in India. Sushri Bharti said India is the largest user of groundwater in the world. An estimated 230 cubic kilometers of groundwater per year is extracted- over a quarter of the global total. More than 60% of irrigated agriculture and 85 % of drinking water supplies are dependent on groundwater. The Minister said National Groundwater Management Improvement Project (NGWMIP) is proposed to support sustainable groundwater resource management and creation of an environment for reforms. The project will be completed in six year with financial outlay of Rs. 6000 crore out of which Rs. 3000 cores shall come as IBRD loan. The Project will have four major components viz. Decision support tools for groundwater management, Area-specific framework for sustainable groundwater management, Enhancement of groundwater recharge and improvement in water use efficiency and strengthening institutions to foster community based management. The Project will be implemented in identified water-stressed areas in five States (Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka). . . Underlining the importance of aquifer mapping the Union Water Resources Minister said Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has embarked into Largest Aquifer mapping endeavour in the world, targeting total map able area of country ~ 23.25 lakh sq. km and vertical extent of 300 m in alluvial area and 200 m in hard rock area.The extent of aquifer, their potential, resource availability, chemical quality, its sustainable management options will be addressed. She said the programme will facilitate participatory management of ground water to provide long term sustenance for the benefit of farmers. The Minister said currently focus is on ground water stress areas of eight states comprising 5.25 lakh sq.km viz. Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Bundelkhand region. She said aquifer mapping of 1.16 lakh sq.km area is completed and the remaining will be completed by March 2017. Sushri Bharti said aquifer mapping of entire country will be completed by 2022. . . Referring to the Arsenic mitigation plan of the Government. The Minister said Arsenic contamination has been detected in isolated pockets of 331 blocks, covering 87 districts in Ten States. She said CGWB has already constructed 274 wells in the affected areas during past years which were handed over to the state Governments, free of cost for safe water supply. This has benefited 30 lakh population. The Minister informed that this year CGWB has initiated a focused Arsenic mitigation work in the selected areas of U.P, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal through construction of specially designed wells for potable water benefitting eight lakh population. . . 62 wells are being constructed in Arsenic affected Bairia block of Balia district and Karanda block of Ghazipur District of U.P, tapping deep aquifers. Similarly, 147 wells will be constructed in Brahmapur block of Buxar district (Bihar), Sahebganj, Rajmahal and Udhwa block of Sahebganj district (Jharkhand) and in Pandua block of Hugli district, (West Bengal). . . Referring to the importance of the palaeochannels which serve as a good repository of ground water as well as suitable areas for artificial recharge and ground water storage, the Minister said in the year 2015, CGWB initiated site specific studies on palaeochannels in parts of Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh States under the ongoing National Project on Aquifer Management (NAQUIM) in association with BARC and NEERI. The studies has proved the existence of palaeochannels in the Western and Northwestern parts of India. The Minister said the extent of palaeochannels, availability of fresh ground water resource in these palaeochannels and their potential to hold recharged water have been estimated. Sushri Bharti said a national Level Expert Committee is being constituted involving the eminent researchers to review the available information on Palaeochannel / River Saraswati under the Chairmanship of Prof Waldia, a Padma Bhushan awardee. . . Samir/jk. . Discouraging Tobacco Consumption by the People . . Tobacco is the foremost preventable cause of death and disease in the world today. Globally, it kills nearly 6 million people, of which 0.6 million premature deaths can be attributed to exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS). As per the report of Tobacco Control in India (2004), nearly 8-9 lakh people die every year due to diseases attributable to tobacco use. As per the ICMR study Assessment of Burden of Disease due to Non-Communicable Diseases (2006)", based on analysis of published literature till 2004, the risk of disease attributable to tobacco use was 78% for stroke, 65.6% for tuberculosis, 85.2% for ischemic heart disease, 52% for acute myocardial infarction, 43% for oesophageal cancer, and 16% for lung cancer, respectively. . . As per the NCDIR-NCRP Report on Time Trends in Cancer Incidence Rate: 1982-2010", Oral Cancers of Tongue in males showed a statistically significant increase in Age-Adjusted Incidence Rate along with Annual Percentage Change in Chennai (1.35) and Delhi (1.73). Mouth Cancers in males showed a statistically significant increase in Age-Adjusted Incidence Rate in Bhopal (2.97), Delhi (2.93), and Mumbai (1.35). The estimated incidence of Oral Cancer cases in India, State/UT-wise, for the year 2015 is enclosed at Annexure. . . The Government has taken a series of measures to deter people from consuming various tobacco products: . . (i) Enactment of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, (COTPA) 2003". . . (ii) Ratification of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. . . (iii) Launch of the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) in the year 2007-08, with the objectives to (a) create awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco consumption, (b) reduce the production and supply of tobacco products, (c) ensure effective implementation of the anti-tobacco laws and (d) help the people quit tobacco use through Tobacco Cessation Centres. . . (iv) Notification of rules to regulate depiction of tobacco products or their use in films and TV programmes. . . (v) Notification of rules on new pictorial health warnings on tobacco product packages. . . (vi) Launch of public awareness campaigns through a variety of media. . . The States/UTs are regularly advised by this Ministry to implement various provisions of tobacco control laws in letter and spirit. Besides, under the National Tobacco Control Programme, there is a provision for conducting law enforcers training in the States/UTs aimed at improving the enforcement of tobacco control laws. . . The Health Minister, Shri J P Nadda stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today. . . Government taking various steps for creating infrastructure facilities for the development of AYUSH: Shri Shripad Yesso Naik . . The Government has allocated adequate funds to the tune of Rs.900 crore under Revised Estimate for the year 2015-16 for AYUSH. . . Under the Central Sector Schemes, various steps taken for creating infrastructure facilities for the development of AYUSH includes: . . (i) Funding of thirty projects till date for creating infrastructure facilities under the scheme of Centre of Excellence Scheme". . . (ii) Funding support to ten projects till date for creating infrastructure facilities under the scheme of Development of AYUSH Cluster". . . (iii) Support for creation of Infrastructure facilities for development of eleven National Institutes relating to AYUSH sector. . . Also, the National Ayush Mission envisages creation of infrastructure facilities besides other activities through the components of AYUSH services, AYUSH educational institutions, and enforcement of quality control of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani & Homoeopathy (ASU&H) drugs and sustainable availability of ASU & H raw-materials in the states/UTs during 12th Plan. . . The three new Institutes i.e. All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi, North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda & Homoeopathy, Shillong and North Eastern Institute of Folk Medicine, Pasighat are in advance stage of construction. The details of these Institutes are as under: . . (i) All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi: . . An Apex Institute of Ayurveda with 200 bedded referral hospital and to impart education in the field of Ayurveda at M.D. and Ph. D. level. . . (ii) North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda & Homoeopathy (NEIAH), Shillong : . . A state of the art institute consisting of Ayurveda College and Homoeopathy College along with attached hospital is of Ayurveda and Homoeopathy of 100 beds and 50 beds. The institute will provide under graduate, post graduate, doctoral and post doctoral teaching. . . (iii) North Eastern Institute of Folk Medicine (NEIFM), Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh: . . It is the Centre of Excellence and Apex Research Centre for all aspect of Folk Medicine knowledge with linkage and collaboration with other research. The objective of the institute is to provide better medical/clinical facilities in North Eastern Region. . . This information was given by the Minister of State for AYUSH (Independent Charge) and Health & Family Welfare, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today. . . Handing Over of Anjadiv Island to the Defence Ministry . . There exists an island called Anjadiv Island off the coast of Goa which was given by the State Government of Goa to the Ministry of Defence. . . The island was given by the State Government to the Ministry of Defence in the year 1989 vide order No.43/1/87/REV/7950, dated 26th July 1989 with the terms and condition that the Navy should allow on the island the celebration of customary feast of St Francis de Assis" & Nossa Senhore de Brotas" subject to security considerations. . . The Anjadiv Island has been declared as a prohibited place by the State Government of Goa vide Notification No.2/86/82-HD(G), dated 27th December 1989 under Official Secrets Act, 1923. After completion of North Break Water linking Binaga Point with Anjadiv Island & setting up of sensitive facilities in the vicinity thereof, the permission to hold feasts was withdrawn due to security considerations. . . In response to a letter dated 29th January 2007 of Shri Shantaram Naik, Honble MP with reference to Special Mention raised by him in Rajya Sabha regarding permission to celebrate feasts at Anjediva Island in Goa, Shri A.K. Antony the then Raksha Mantri, vide letter DO No.15(17)/2007/D(N-III)/1282-F/RM, dated 7th March, 2007, replied that Project Sea Bird at Karwar is strategically located project of sensitive nature, wherein access of people cannot be allowed freely irrespective of any caste or religion, as apart from creating local law and order problem, it involves serious security implications. Further, as decided in consultation with District Administration that it has not been found possible to grant permission to celebrate feasts at Anjediva Island in Goa. . . This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to ShriShantaram Naik in Rajya Sabha today. . . NAMPI/RAJ Indigenisation of Defence Sector . . The Defence Production Policy, aims at achieving substantive self-reliance in the design, development and production of equipment, weapon systems, platforms required for defence in as early a time frame possible; creating conditions conducive for the private industry to take an active role in this endeavour, enhancing potential of SMEs in indigenisation and broadening the defence R&D base of the country. Indigenous manufacturing of defence equipments is encouraged by the Government through several policy measures, which, inter-alia, include the following: . . Preference to Buy (Indian), Buy and Make (Indian) & Make categories of capital acquisition over Buy & Make (Global) or Buy (Global) categories in Defence Procurement Procedure. . . Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy under which Foreign Investment Cap upto 49% is allowed through automatic route and above 49% under Government route on case-to-case basis, wherever it is likely to result in access to modern and state-of-art technology in the country. The foreign investment in defence sector is further subject to industrial license under the Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951. . . Industrial licensing regime for Indian manufacturers has been liberalised and most of the components/ parts/ sub-systems have been taken out from the list of defence products requiring Industrial Licence. This has reduced entry barriers for new entrants in this sector, particularly small and medium enterprises. The initial validity of Industrial Licence has been increased from 3 years to 15 years with a provision to further extend it by 3 years on a case to case basis. . . Issues related to level-playing field between Indian vs. foreign manufacturers and public sector vs. private sector have also been addressed. These include Exchange Rate Variation (ERV) protection for Indian vendors, offset obligations in Buy (Global) cases, Excise/ Custom duties on defence equipments, etc. . . Offset implementation process has been made flexible by allowing change of Indian Offset Partners (IOPs) and offset components, even in signed contracts. Foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are now not required to indicate the details of IOPs and products at the time of signing of contracts. Services as an avenue of offset have been re-instated with certain conditionalities. . . In the current financial year 2015-16, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) has issued 61 Industrial Licenses (ILs) for manufacture of various defence equipment under IDR Act 1951, till December 2015. . . This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Shri Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to Shri Lal Sinh Vadodia in Rajya Sabha today. . . NAMPI/RAJ Management Training for Retiring Defence Personnel . . Approximately, 55,000 personnel retire annually from the armed forces. Government is providing training to the armed forces personnel before their retirement. The details of training provided by Government to armed forces personnel including Short Service Commissioned officers is as under: . . DETAILS OF TRAINING COURSES:. . Officers Training:. . 24 Weeks Management Courses at IIMs and other reputed B-Schools. . Modular management courses like Project Finance, Academic Institutions, Supply Chain, Retail, Six Sigma, Seafaring etc. . . Newly introduced courses for 2015-16 like Strategic Retail Management, HRM, Facility, Transition, Export and Import, Event Management etc., Corporate Social Responsibility and Jet Transition. . . ICOs / ORs and Equivalents Training at Institutes:. . Security, Fire & Industrial Safety, Computer & IT including O Level, Hospitality, Tourism, Agri based, Business Management, Modular Management, Vocational & Technical, Medical & Healthcare, Library & Information Science, Legal Assistant etc. . . Newly introduced courses for 2015-16 like Logistics & Transport Management, Retailing & Showroom, Corporate Office, Material management, Marine Engineering etc. . . Courses at Regimental Centres:. . Apart from the above mentioned training programmes at Institutes at least two courses are conducted every month at all the Regimental Centres to provide variety of courses to the retirees on pension drill.Indian Institutes of Management Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Indore are conducting 24 weeks Management Courses regularly for Armed Forces personnel, which help them in taking up employment at managerial levels. . . This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to ShriMeghraj Jain in Rajya Sabha today. . . NAMPI/RAJ Setting Up of New Cancer Research Centres . . The WHO South East Asia Regional Committee, in its 68th session held in Timor Leste, adopted resolution no. SEA/RC68/R5 on 11 September 2015, on Cancer Prevention and Control the way forward". The said resolution noted that many cancers are preventable, can be detected early and treated, which improves survival and quality of life. It urged the Member States, inter-alia, to develop/strengthen a comprehensive national cancer prevention and control programme, integrated within a broader multisectoral NCD action plan, with time-bound benchmarks and targets, effective governance and accountability, adequate and sustainable financing for programme implementation, monitoring and evaluation. . . India has prepared and adopted a National Action Plan and Monitoring Framework for Non Communicable Diseases with 10 targets and 21 indicators. . . Since adopting WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the Government of India launched National Tobacco Control program in 2007-08 with the aim to create awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco consumption, reduce the demand and supply of tobacco products, ensure effective implementation of the provisions under The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003" (COTPA) and help people quit tobacco use through Tobacco Cessation Centres. . . Central Government supplements the efforts of the State Government for improving healthcare including prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Cancer. At present, National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) being implemented under National Health Mission (NHM) for interventions upto the district level includes awareness generation for Cancer prevention, screening, early detection and referral to an appropriate level institution for treatment. The focus is on three areas namely breast, cervical and oral Cancer. Screening guidelines have been provided to State Governments for implementation. Suspected cases are to be referred for confirmatory diagnosis by various tests including histo-pathological biopsy. . . Government of India is also implementing a scheme for enhancing the tertiary care facilities for Cancer in the country. Under the said scheme, Government of India is assisting to set up/establish 20 State Cancer Institutes (SCI) and 50 Tertiary Care Cancer Centres (TCCC) in different parts of the country. The maximum assistance inclusive of State share for SCI is up to Rs. 120 crores and for TCCC is up to Rs. 45 crores. . . In the Government sector, Research activities for detection and treatment of cancer are mostly carried out by Institutions/Departments such as the Indian Council of Medical Research, Department of Science and Technology and Department of Atomic Energy. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has developed Bhabhatron and the Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER) has developed Linear Accelerator (LINAC). . . The Indian Council of Medical Research is promoting cancer research including epidemiological, clinical, basic and translational research. The ICMR has also developed protocols for the management (including treatment) of Buccal Mucosa Cancer, Gall Bladder Cancer, Stomach Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, and Tongue Cancer. Institute of Cytology and Preventive Oncology under the Indian Council of Medical Research has developed a hand held device called Magnivisualizer with inbuilt source of light that can be used in field conditions for early detection of cervical cancer and oral cancer lesions. . . The Health Minister, Shri J P Nadda stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today. . . Statutory Benefits to HEC (Heavy Engineering Corporation) Employees . . HEC (Heavy Engineering Corporation) has informed that some retired employees have filed cases with the Regional Labour Commissioner, Ranchi for payment oftheir gratuity and interest thereon for the delayed period. . . HEC has informed that as on 31.1.2016 the amount pending for statutory payment under the gratuity head is Rs 37.04 cr. . . HEC has not been able to pay statutory dues to employees as the Company is passing through acute financial crisis. . . A loan of Rs 47.89 crwas provided to HEC in 2014 as one time assistance to enable the Company to liquidate the accumulated gratuity dues of its employees up to 31.3.2014. HEC has informed that the Company has been able to mostly liquidate the gratuity dues up to 31.3.2014 . . This information was given by Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Shri G.M. Siddeshwara in a written reply in Lok Sabha today. . . ST/rs Use of Radiation Technology in FPI . . Government of India has cleared several commodities under new Atomic Energy (Radiation Processing of Food & Allied Products) Rules 2012 in Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 for preservation through irradiation. A major facility in the Government sector catering to irradiation of fresh horticultural produce is the KRUSHAK facility at Lasalgaon, Nashik District, Maharashtra State, India. The facility has been used for irradiating mangoes for export to USA since 2007. Radiation processing plant at Vashi, Navi Mumbai, under the Department of Atomic Energy, has been processing spices and dry ingredients for microbial decontamination since the year 2000. . . With the objective of arresting post-harvest losses of horticulture & non-horticulture produce, Ministry of Food Processing Industries is operating a scheme for Cold Chain, Value Addition and Preservation Infrastructure for grant of financial assistance for setting up inter alia, irradiation facilities by individuals or group of entrepreneurs, cooperative societies, Self Help Group etc. . . The energy involved in irradiation is not strong enough to cause changes at the atomic level, and since the food is never in contact with a radioactive source, the food cannot become radioactive. Several extensive reviews of toxicological data by regulatory and health organizations, have determined that food irradiated at doses below 10 kGy is safe. In fact, food is safer after being irradiated because the process destroys harmful bacteria that may be present. Numerous published research studies have tried to identify problems resulting from eating irradiated foods but failed to disclose any health risks. Several of these studies were long term, multi-generation feeding studies, involving several species of test animals. A joint study group of FAO/IAEA/WHO in 1997 evaluated data on wholesomeness of food irradiated with doses above 10 kGy and recommended that food irradiated with any dose to achieve technical objectives is safe and nutritionally adequate. No upper limit, therefore, needs to be imposed as long as food is irradiated based on prevailing good manufacturing practices. . . Among the legislations that govern food irradiation in the country, The Atomic Energy (Control of Irradiation of Food) Rules 1991, the primary legislation that regulates food irradiation was amended and the notification issued recently in June 2012. A generic class-based approval has been approved for increasing the product range for radiation processing. It will provide year long availability of feedstock for irradiation plants and improve their economic viability. Irradiation of food is also governed under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the Regulations issued thereunder. . . This information was given by the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in a written reply in Lok Sabha today. . . Apple Inc and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation will make their cases before a congressional panel on Tuesday regarding a court order to force the technology company to give the FBI data from the iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters. On Thursday, Apple filed a motion to vacate the court order, maintaining its stance that Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said he would be willing to take all the way to the Supreme Court. Apple's general counsel, Bruce Sewell, will argue Tuesday that creating a tool to unlock the phone would weaken the security of hundreds of millions of Apple devices, according to Sewell's prepared remarks before the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. "Hackers and cyber criminals could use this to wreak havoc on our privacy and personal safety," he said in those remarks. Sewell will testify directly after FBI Director James Comey, who told lawmakers last week that creating an unlocking technique would "unlikely to be a trailblaser" for setting a legal precedent and would not be useful for breaking into later generation Apple devices. Comey told a congressional panel on Thursday that the phone could have "locator services" that would help the agency fill in a gap in its knowledge of the route that Syed Rizwan Farook and Malik Tashfeen traveled as they fled police after their shooting rampage in December that killed 14 and wounded 22 in San Bernardino, California. "We've looked at every gas station camera, every intersection camera, we have the whole route, but we're missing 19 minutes before they were finally killed by law enforcement," Comey said. "The answer to that might be on the device." Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance will also testify in support of the FBI, arguing that default device encryption "severely harms" criminal prosecutions at the state level, including in cases in his district involving at least 175 iPhones. Vance's office has drafted legislation it wants Congress to enact that would go beyond the single court case and require companies like Apple to ensure that their devices could be accessed in unencrypted form. "My colleagues from jurisdictions around the country have been running into the same road blocks in their efforts to investigate and prosecute serious crimes," Vance said in prepared remarks. The US Justice Department has sought court orders to force Apple to extract data from 15 devices in the past four months, beginning with a case in Brooklyn in which Apple declined to cooperate with investigators in October. Indian markets on Tuesday posted their biggest single-day jump in 30 months, following a sharp rally in consumer and banking stocks such as ITC and ICICI Bank. Rate-sensitive banks, automobile and real estate shares soared on hopes that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon announce an out-of-turn cut in policy rates on the government's commitment, made evident with the Union Budget on Monday, to meet the fiscal deficit targets. The sharp spurt in the market triggered a way of short covering - buying stocks that have been short sold, typically to avoid losses - which further accentuated prices, said market players. The 30-share Sensex gained 777.35 points, or 3.38 per cent, to end the session at 23,779.35, with all but three of its components ending with gains. The NSE's Nifty 50 index rose 235.25 points, or 3.37 per cent, to settle at 7,222.3. Both indices gained the most since September 19, 2013, in percentage terms, while it was the best day-after-Budget performance since 2011. Consumer stocks gained in anticipation of growth in demand, resulting from the boost to rural demand. Positive global markets on China's stimulus announcement also boosted investor sentiment. Devendra Joshi, equity strategist, HSBC, and market expert Herald van der Linde said the delicate balance between growth and fiscal prudence in the Budget was a sentiment booster and positive for equities and bonds. The rupee ended at 67.86, compared to Monday's close of 68.42, while yields on the 10-year benchmark government security softened another two basis points on Tuesday. The sharp appreciation in the rupee was on account of foreign institutional investors (FII) inflow of Rs 2,900 crore on Tuesday. However, nearly Rs 2,000 crore of it was on account of a block transaction in Kotak Mahindra Bank. Domestic investors sold shares worth around Rs 834 crore, provisional data showed. Government bonds surged on rising buying support from banks and corporates. While, the overnight call money rates ended lower because of lack of demand from borrowing banks. The 7.59 per cent government security maturing in 2026 advanced to Rs 99.89 from Rs 99.7550 previously, while its yield edged down to 7.6 per cent from 7.62 per cent. Gautam Chhaochharia, head of research, UBS India, said the Budget has provided room for a 50 basis point rate in policy rates in 2016. "The Budget is unlikely to alter market trajectory though and global risk environment should drive markets near-term," he said. Most global equities, emerging market currencies, and crude oil prices advanced on Tuesday after the People's Bank of China's move to cut lenders' reserve requirements improved risk appetite. The rally seen in the Indian markets on Tuesday was broad-based with over three stocks advancing for every one declining. All sectoral indices ended with gains, while the gains in small-cap and mid-cap indices were in line with the benchmark indices. The gains follow a horrid performance last month, when the benchmark Sensex fell nearly eight per cent, in its worst monthly performance since November 2011. Brokers said lot of short positions had out built in the system following last month's weakness and traders had to cover these shorts as buying momentum remained strong. The benchmark Sensex is now down nine per cent this year. UBS has set a year-end Nifty target of 7,500, less than four per cent upside from current levels. ITC, Infosys and ICICI Bank collectively contributed 370 points of the Sensex's 777 points rise, the BSE data showed. Three stocks ITC, Infosys and ICICI Bank - have contributed a nearly half to the benchmark Sensexs rally of over 750 points today. These three stocks collectively contributed 370 points to the Sensexs 777 points rise, which ended at 23,779 on Tuesday, the BSE data showed. The benchmark index has risen by 1,284 points, or 5.7%, from its 52-week low of 22,495 touched on Monday in intra-day trade. has contributed one-fourth or 183 points of the total Sensex rally. Today, the stock of cigarettes makers rallied 10% to Rs 325, surging nearly 21% from its 52-week low. It touched a 52-week low of Rs 268 on Monday in intra-day trade, following the increase in excise duty on cigarettes in the Union Budget. The Union Budget announced on Monday an increase in additional excise duty (AED), which forms a very small portion of the overall excise duty on filter cigarettes while kept the Basic Excise Duty (BED) unchanged for FY17. According to Antique Stock Broking, this development as quite positive from ITC's point of view as after 5 years of incessant increase in excise today rates (2x in 5 years across all lengths), the legal cigarette industry was given a relief in the form of a benign increase of 10% in Total Excise Duty (TED). ICICI Bank has rallied 8% to Rs 205 on the BSE, contributed 97 points, while Infosys which up nearly 4%, contributed 90 points of total benchmark index surge. Meanwhile, total investors wealth increased by over Rs 2.50 lakh crore in single day, as the Sensex recorded its biggest single day gain in absolute terms since May 2009. In per centage terms, it was up 3.4% on September 19, 2013. Measured in terms of total market capitalisation of all listed companies on the countrys biggest bourse BSE, the overall investor wealth in the Indian stock market rose by Rs 2.52 lakh crore to Rs 88.35 crore from Rs 85.83 crore on Monday. In May 18, 2009, the benchmark index had rallied 17.34% or 2,111 points at 14,284 when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by Congress won the elections with a handsome margin. Pakistan security forces have claimed to have killed 12 militants in Shawal area of North Waziristan while advancing to capture strategic points in the valley adjoining the Afghan border. The Dawn reported that the suspected militants, including a commander identified as Hezbollah, were killed when planes bombed and destroyed three hideouts. Hezbollah was affiliated with the Sheheryar group of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. The claims could not be verified through independent sources. Officials said that ground troops were advancing into the militants' strongholds and had captured Kund Ghar and Jung Top so far. The offensive was launched last week after Army chief General Raheel Sharif ordered troops to eliminate the hideouts. Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has expressed his happiness after receiving praise from prolific batman Virat Kohli for his sensational performance in his side's five-wicket loss to fierce rivals India in Asia Cup T20. Lavishing praise on Amir's stunning bowling spell, man of the match Kohli had said, "I actually congratulated him while he was bowling. I was so happy to play such an amazing spell. He is a world class bowler." Describing Kohli as a 'star' batsman, the 23-year-old said that he was grateful to him for praising his efforts, saying that he had been encouraged with the applaud. Amir revealed that Kohli had been praising him before the match as well, adding it was a kind of him to speak so generously,the Express Tribune reported. Amir, however, added that it would be a challenge for him to continue his present form to prove that he was worth that praise. Earlier, defending a paltry target of 84, Amir briefly raised his side's hopes of claiming an upset win over India after reducing the opponents to 3-8 in the third over in Mirpur. However, star batsman Virat Kohli remained calm under tense situation in his 49-run knock as he thwarted the opposition's fight back to help his side cross the victory target. Amir later continued his brilliant bowling against UAE as well as he bowled 21 dot balls to help Pakistan claim a seven wicket win in the sixth Asia Cup encounter. Buddhist luminaries from across the will gather in Thailand on Tuesday evening to deliberate on how faith-based organisations can help the international comity of nations to achieve the globe's sustainable development goals (SDG) The opening ceremony of the three-day meeting (March 1 to 3) will commence at 4.45 p.m. local time at the Wat Maha That, or the "Temple of the Great Relics", in Ayutthaya city. The event is being jointly organised by three institutions-the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), the Thammasat University and the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB). The Governor of Ayutthaya, Prayoon Rattanasenee, will be the guest of honour. The keynote address will be delivered by the United Nations Representative in Thailand Luc Stevens. Luminaries of the Buddhist who will be in attendance include Her Royal Highness Ashi Kesang Wangmo Wangchuk, Princess of Bhutan, Rev. Khamba Lama Gabju Choijamts Demberel, Supreme Head of Mongolian Buddhists, His Holiness Sanghanayaka Suddhananda Mahathero, Supreme Patriarch of Buddhists in Bangladesh, Ven. Banagala Upathissa, President, Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka, Chief Sangha Nayaka of Japan, Ambassador Lalit Mansingh, former Foreign Secretary of India, His Eminence Telo Tulku Rinpoche, Shadjin Lama, Kalmyk Republic, Russian Federation and Ven. Banagala Upathissa, President, Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka. Apart from high ranking Buddhist monks from around the world, scholars, opinion-makers, special invitees (from 24 countries) and members of various Buddhist organizations will also attend the meeting. They include Buddhist members from Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Jamaica, Germany, France, Argentina, Japan, Mongolia, Australia to name a few, besides South Asia, South East Asia and the Far East, with diverse and interesting perspectives on complex global issues. The International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) is a global umbrella Buddhist body headquartered in New Delhi. Founded in 2012, it has a current membership of over 320 Buddhist organizations, both monastic and lay, spread over 39 countries and representing every Buddhist tradition worldwide. The Supreme Patriarchs and the highest ranking monks of all Buddhist countries, including Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, South Korea and Mongolia are among its Council of Patrons that include His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Other high ranking monks and nuns and leading opinion makers of the Buddhist are also a part of IBC as members of its Supreme Dhamma Council, Presidium and Governing Council. The motto of the organization is "Collective Wisdom, United Voice", in other words giving a united voice to the collective wisdom of all Buddhist traditions to ensure that Buddhist values and principles become an important part of the contemporary global social and political discourse on important issues, including conflict and environment. Some of the pointers that could be taken up for discussion are as follows: 1. IBC Stands for Conflict avoidance instead of conflict resolution. 2. With the growing influence of the Buddhist way of life around the world, delegates from Mexican, African and Latin American offer very diverse experiences. 3. Heritage preservation and development 4. Environment and conservation 5. Gender issues and women's ordination 6. Inter-faith dialogue and understanding: a key challenge to religious intolerance 7. Young leadership 8. Former home secretary G K Pillai on Tuesday asserted that former finance minister P. Chidambaram never consulted him before revising the second affidavit in the case. Pillai said that it was surprising to see that the minister, who is competent to revise the affidavit, was taking cover behind the home secretary. "He is a minister and he is competent to revise the affidavit and he did that. The only question is whether he got it done in consultation with the home secretary, no. Whether he consulted with the Information Bureau, no. He sat in his own office and dictated the draft and filed it. And the affidavit was approved by him and filed," said Pillai. "The issue is why he is taking cover behind the home secretary and the IB for the revised affidavit. The revised affidavit was done by him," he added. Taking responsibility for the second affidavit in the case, the former finance minister P. Chidambaram had yesterday said that it was disappointing that Pillai was distancing himself from it. "Which part of the second affidavit is wrong? I accept the responsibility for this affidavit. It is disappointing that the Home Secretary, who is equally responsible, wants to distance himself from that," Chidambaram told the media in the capital. "It was brought to my notice that the first affidavit was filed without my approval and it was being misinterpreted. It was my duty to correct the first affidavit. So we filed a supplementary affidavit after consulting the Home Secretary, the Director of Intelligence Bureau and other officers," he added. Pillai served under then home minister P. Chidambaram in 2009 when the government filed two affidavits in the encounter case. Chidambaram had earlier told a leading English daily that he felt it was possible to hold an 'honest opinion' in the Afzal Guru case and that the case was 'perhaps not correctly decided' and that there were 'grave doubts about the extent of his involvement' in the 2001 Parliament attack. Ishrat Jahan, who was a resident of Mumbra near Mumbai, was shot dead along with three men on June 15, 2004, by the Gujarat Police in an encounter. Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Ranjeet Ranjan on Tuesday gave the privilege motion against Union Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani in the Lok Sabha as party vice president Rahul Gandhi is expected to address the House today. The Congress gave notice for a privilege motion against Irani yesterday and created a ruckus in the Lok Sabha for a short while before Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stood to present the General Budget 2016-17. The grand old party claimed earlier that Irani's arrogance and blatant lies in Parliament during the discussion on Hyderabad University scholar Rohith Vemula forced them to move the privilege motion against her. "What Smriti Irani said in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were blatant lies and this hasn't been claimed by the Opposition, but by the people who knew Rohith; his family members and his University colleagues. Why does she have so much arrogance? Irani could have accepted that she got the facts wrong and the matter would have been over. But just because they are in power, they have arrogance and this arrogance will let them down," Congress leader PL Punia told ANI. Irani in her speech in Parliament had said there was no question of an apology from her. She pointed out that according to a report submitted to the Telangana High Court, the police had reached Rohith's hostel at 7:20 pm when they found the body. "The police said that when they reached the hostel, they found the room open and the dead body was on the table. A hand written suicide note was found. The suicide note that was left behind does not blame anyone," she said. "This is not my submission. This is what the police said. No one allowed a doctor near this child, to revive this child. Instead, his body was used as a political tool. No police was allowed till 6:30 am the following morning. Who tried to help this child?" she asked. The Food Security scheme will be implemented in 47 more Uttar Pradesh districts from today. Prior to it, the scheme was implemented in 28 districts of the state from January 1st. All the seventy five districts of the state will now be covered under the scheme to ensure the food to poor. The beneficiaries will now get rice at the rate of Rs. three per kg, wheat at Rs. two per kg and coarse grain at Rs. one per kg. The Food Security Act, 2013, also known as Right to Food Act is an Act of the Parliament of India which aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two thirds of India's population. Sylvester Stallone's furious brother slammed the Academy insulting the big brother in the best supporting actor category at this year's Oscars. The 69-year-old star was widely backed to bag the prize following a Golden Globe award for his critically acclaimed turn as the boxer in Ryan Coogler's spin-off movie 'Creed,' reports News.com.au. But the statuette went instead to Britain's Mark Rylance for 'Bridge of Spies,' in one of the biggest shocks of the gala ceremony at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre. Frank Stallone took toTwitter to express his anguish, "The Academy should be ashamed of themselves. It's as clear as the nose on your face that Sly won. Mark who? It's total Hollywood bulls**t. Asserting that the government has an effective mechanism to deal with terrorist funding and money laundering, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday informed the Parliament that all necessary measures have been taken to counter the threat posed by the ISIS. In reply to a question, Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary stated in Lok Sabha that the Investigation Agency, NIA, has arrested 24 accused from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir so far. The Minister also said the ISIS has attracted very few youth from India. According to reports, ISIS funding in India is mostly through a self-financing mechanism. The hawala channel has also been used in one or two instances to raise funds. The ISIS uses various internet-based platforms to propagate its ideology. The Intelligence and Security agencies are closely monitoring the cyber space to identify potential recruits and keep them under surveillance for further action. The Congress Party, which has given the privilege motion against Union Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani, on Tuesday, urged Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan to reprimand the minister, thus maintaining the tradition of the Parliament where no one is allowed to lie. "Unfortunately, Sumitra ji is a bit of a partisan speaker and does not give ruling in a correct way. But this is a tradition where the Parliament must come together and reprimand the minister. It is not the matter of a BJP Minister or any other minister. It is a tradition you are setting. Once you let Smriti Irani ji go misleading the house, then any other minister will start doing that. It will be a sad day for democracy if it happens," Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit told ANI. "It is very clear that Smriti Irani misled the house. There are three factual errors that she made. It is a very serious matter. In the Parliament, ministers cannot quote wrong facts. In this case it was not a mistake because she knew exactly what was happening, she had all the facts with her and deliberately she told lies in the Parliament," he added. Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Ranjeet Ranjan today gave the privilege motion against Smriti Irani in the Lok Sabha as party vice president Rahul Gandhi is expected to address the House today. The Congress gave notice for a privilege motion against Irani yesterday and created a ruckus in the Lok Sabha for a short while before Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stood to present the General Budget 2016-17. The grand old party claimed earlier that Irani's arrogance and blatant lies in Parliament during the discussion on Hyderabad University scholar Rohith Vemula forced them to move the privilege motion against her. Irani in her speech in Parliament had said there was no question of an apology from her. She pointed out that according to a report submitted to the Telangana High Court, the police had reached Rohith's hostel at 7:20 pm when they found the body. "The police said that when they reached the hostel, they found the room open and the dead body was on the table. A hand written suicide note was found. The suicide note that was left behind does not blame anyone," she said. "This is not my submission. This is what the police said. No one allowed a doctor near this child, to revive this child. Instead, his body was used as a political tool. No police was allowed till 6:30 am the following morning. Who tried to help this child?" she asked. Manipuri rights activist Irom Sharmila Chanu, who was acquitted by a court of the charge of attempt to suicide, resumed her 15-year-long indefinite fast at the historic Sahid Minar on Tuesday, demanding repeal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the state. Sharmila, who was released from judicial custody by the chief judicial magistrate of Imphal West yesterday, came out of the special ward of Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital here and headed for Sahid Minar with a large number of supporters. A team of police personnel led by a lady officer persuaded her not to proceed further at Nupi Lan complex. Sharmila however reached Sahid Minar at around 4 pm. After reaching the site, she resumed her fast to press her demand. Sharmila, known as the Iron Lady of Manipur, began her fast in November 2000 after ten people were killed in a shooting at a bus stop near her home in Manipur. Activists blame the army for the killings but no arrests have been made in the case. In view of the statement made by 26/11 conspirator David Coleman Headley on Ishrat Jahan, the Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea seeking to quash the criminal case against the Gujarat policemen who were involved in the case. In his deposition last month, Headley had claimed that Mumbra resident Ishrat Jahan was a suicide bomber for Pakistan-based terror outfit Laskhar-e-Taiba. "The operation was about shooting the police at some naka. One woman LeT named Ishrat Jahan was involved. Muzammil Bhatt was the head of our group before Sajid Mir," he told the court via video conferencing. In June 2004, Ishrat Jahan, Javed Sheikh, Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana were shot dead by the Gujarat police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. The police had alleged that Ishrat and her associates were LeT operatives involved in a plot to assassinate the Narendra Modi who was the chief minister of Gujarat. After a long investigation, in 2009, an Ahmedabad Metropolitan court ruled that the encounter was staged. Earlier, Former Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said it was a matter of investigation whether Ishrat Jahan was a terrorist or not, but added that her name was mentioned in the martyr's list of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Speaking exclusively to ANI, Pillai said it was a matter of investigation whether Ishrat was involved or an unwitting player. "There was no direct evidence, except that LeT did put her name on the website and later on withdrew it, so I said maybe she was unwitting player." However, taking responsibility for the second affidavit, former finance minister P. Chidambaram said that it was disappointing that Pillai is distancing himself from it. "Which part of the second affidavit is wrong? I accept the responsibility for this affidavit. It is disappointing that the Home Secretary, who is equally responsible, wants to distance himself from that," Chidambaram told the media here. Retired IPS officer, Prakash Singh on Tuesday said that his efforts would be to see whether the officers discharged their constitutional and legal responsibilities in Haryana during the Jat stir for reservation. "Haryana government wants enquiry into the acts of omission and commission on part of all officers and officials. I have been asked to conduct enquiry. My efforts would be to see whether the officers discharged their constitutional and legal responsibilities," Singh told ANI here. The retired IPS officer said that he will start the enquiry tomorrow with two serving officers of the state assisting him. "Will look into aspects, whether extensive damage to public property was preventable or not and if it was, why was it not prevented? I will also visit districts affected by the Jat Reservation violence, I will examine the role of officers there," he added. Haryana Government has constituted a one-man commission to probe into the alleged failure and inaction of civil and police officials during the Jat agitation which turned violent resulting in losses of hundreds of crores in the State. The Commission will submit the report within 45 days. The State Government has appointed Singh, a recipient of Padma Shri, to inquire into the acts of omission and commission on part of all officers and officials of both Police and Civil Administration during the Jat Reservation agitation resulted in blockades of roads including highways, violence and extensive damage to public and private properties in many districts, said a spokesman of State Government. Condemning the alleged inflammatory remarks made by Minister of State for Human Resource and Development (HRD) Ram Shankar Katheria, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday said that the language in which the former was speaking only suggested that he went to create a communal mayhem in Agra. "Well I am not at all surprised. This has been a continuous, consistent and obnoxious behavior of the ministers who are part of the Modi government. And I am pretty sure that no action would be taken against them," said Owaisi. "It is good that this government is being exposed about the real agenda that is to promote hindutva. And with the minister speaking in such a language, it really says that he went to Agra not to pay condolences but to create a communal mayhem over there," he added. Meanwhile, Katheria cried foul over his alleged inflammatory speech in Agra as reported by a leading daily garnering him criticism and said that the report is completely untrue. "The article that is published in the Indian Express is completely untrue. Therefore, it is a matter of concern that Ram Gopal Yadav, without even seeing the CD, has made such statement. I would like to appeal to him to get the complete CD from his administration and listen to the whole address," Katheria told ANI. Samajawadi Party (SP) leader Ram Gopal Yadav had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack the minister for making such inflammatory remarks. According to reports, Katheria, along with BJP MP from Fatehpur Sikri Babu Lal, had recently attended a condolence meeting held for VHP worker Arun Mahaur, who was allegedly killed by Muslim youth, in Agra. During the meeting, several speakers threatened the Muslim community of revenge. One of the speakers also reportedly asked the gathering to "corner Muslims and destroy the demons (rakshas)." The leading daily also quoted BJP Fatehpur Sikri MP Babulal as saying, "If you want to test Hindus, then let's decide a date and take on Muslims. Taking a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over an alleged hate speech by Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) Ram Shankar Katheria at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) event in Agra, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday sarcastically said such people were 'deshbhakts' (patriots) for the saffron party. Kejriwal took to Twitter to train guns at the BJP. "According to BJP, people like Katheria are deshbhakts," he tweeted. Meanwhile, Katheria, on his part, rubbished the reports published in a leading daily. "The article that is published in the Indian Express is completely untrue. Therefore, it is a matter of concern that Ram Gopal Yadav, without even seeing the CD, has made such statement. I would like to appeal to him to get the complete CD from his administration and listen to the whole address," Katheria told ANI. Katheria and BJP MP from Fatehpur Sikri, Babu Lal, had drawn major flak after a leading daily reported that they had witnessed a VHP event, in which Muslims were described as 'Rakshasas' and were warned of a 'final battle'. The article published in the daily yestedday, also accuses them of making hate speeches. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday announced a hike in Members of Legislative Assembly- Local Area Development (MLA-LAD) from Rs. 77 lakh to Rs. 2 crores. Speking in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Chouhan said that the hike has been proposed so that the legislatures can serve their constituencies in a better manner. "For every small work they have to come to the government. So, i honestly feel that for these small works MLA funds should be increased. I request the Finance Minister to raise it to Rs. 2 crores," he said. "If you need more than do not worry, we will all work together for better ment of people. Money should never come in the way of serving people," he added. MLA-LAD fund is the amount allocated to legislatures for spending on development activities in their respective constituencies. If utilised in an effective manner, the MLA LAD fund can do a lot for the residents of the constituency. However, several studies show that most of the MLA-LAD funds remain under utilised by the end of the year. Union Minister of State for Labour (independent charge) Bandaru Dattatreya on Tuesday accused Congress's Jyotiraditya Scindia for 'tarnishing his image', and said that he never mentioned Hyderabad PhD scholar Rohith Vemula's name in the letter sent to the HRD ministry. "I never mentioned Rohith's name (in the letter to the HRD Ministry). I never mentioned any student's name or any organisation of the university as casteist or anti-social or anti- element. Jyotiraditya has tarnished my image," Dattatreya told the reporters here. "But, I have mentioned the petition which came for me through a BJP vice-president which I forwarded to the HRD Minister because whatever were the activities prevailing in the university, I wanted to make it correct. I don't want any punishment for anybody but my intention was only to see that these activities when Yakub Memon incident was glorified, I thought that I should mention that one," he added. Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia on February 24 accused the BJP-led government of creating an atmosphere of intolerance in the country and alleged that efforts were on to crush any opposing point of view. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Scindia demanded action against Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani and Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya over Rohith's suicide. Rohith, who committed suicide in Hyderabad Central University, along with four other Dalit students was allegedly expelled from hostel following a tussle with students affiliated with the student wing of the BJP, Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He belonged to Guntur district of Amravati and was doing his PhD in science technology and society studies for the past two years, before the scholar allegedly got involved in a tiff between two student groups in August last year. The central government has directed the Investigation Agency (NIA) to take up the investigation of the case registered in Jaipur, against a man named Mohammad Sirajuddin on allegations of promoting ISIS ideology. He is also allegedly involved in inciting persons to become member of the ISIS through the use of online social media forums and exhorting them to indulge in terrorist and anti- activities. The NIA has today registered the case at its headquarters in the capital in connection with the aforementioned offence. An officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police has been appointed as the Chief Investigating Officer of the case. Conference (NC) president Omar Abdullah on Tuesday expressed disappointment over the General Budget, saying that it had nothing for Jammu and Kashmir. We didn't see anything for Jammu and Kashmir in the General Budget. We were hoping for progress and development for Jammu and Kashmir. Some good things are there for the rural areas and the farmers," Abdullah told the media here. Presenting his third successive Budget in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley listed nine thrust areas of tax proposals to transform India. To provide relief to small tax payers, he proposed to raise the ceiling of tax rebate under section 87A from Rs. 2,000 to five thousand for income not exceeding Rs. 5 lakh. Two crore tax payers will get a relief of Rs. 3,000. Additional deduction of Rs. 36,000 a year is proposed for those who do not own any house or get any house rent allowance. They will get an exemption up to Rs 60,000 now. Presumptive taxation extended to professionals with gross receipts up to Rs. 50 lakh. The Council of Common Interests (CCI) of Pakistan has decided to postpone its population and housing census. The decision was made unanimously by a meeting presided by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and four Chief Ministers. Sharif's secretariat issued a statement which said a fresh date for conducting the census would be announced after consultations with the stakeholders. According to reports, the provinces had objected to the presence of refugees and illegal immigrants in the country. Traditionally, Sindh and Balochistan provinces don't welcome migration of Pakhtuns to these provinces, but Chief Ministers Qaim Ali Shah and Sanaullah Khan Zehri used the word Afghans, and not Pakhtuns, during the meeting. Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pervez Khattak called for repatriation of Afghan refugees living in the province. Reports say that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif remained silent despite the fact that his province had a sizable presence of both Pakhtuns and Afghans. Statistics Division Secretary, Shahid Hussain Asad said the country had been divided into 166,819 blocks for which staff of 210,239 heads was required reported Dawn. Since Pakistan's armed forces were already engaged in the Zarb-i-Azb operation, the deployment of army for conducting the census throughout the country in March or April was not possible the meeting informed. The CCI according has asked the Bureau of Statistics to propose a new date and consult the armed forces about availability of the required human resource. Dawn reported that according to an official, the bureau proposed to conduct the census on province-wise bases or on the pattern of local body elections, but the proposal was not supported. It also said that the number of soldiers required for data collection was not a problem, but ensuring security of the soldiers was an issue. The official also said that the army has suggested holding of the census in phases. In the meeting, the CCI had also approved setting up of an inquiry commission to fix responsibility for alleged illegalities in the Kacchi Canal Project. The inquiry commission will be headed by a retired judge of Supreme or High Court and secretaries of water and power, planning and finance ministries will be its members. In the meeting, it was informed that the project was initially approved by Ecnec at a cost of Rs27.5 billion in 2003 and later the PC-I cost was revised to Rs57.7bn. The project had started prior to the approval of feasibility study and PC-I. Dawn reported that Sharif had asked for a fresh feasibility study, along with implementation plan to be prepared immediately. CCI will hold next meeting on March 25 and would discuss one-item agenda of the National Flood Protection Plan-IV (2015-25). The committee comprising of ministers of water and power and climate change and the four chief ministers will present the plan. The CCI also approved the draft of the Securities and Exchange Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2016. After Sidharth Malhotra-Alia Bhatt's piping hot Vogue magazine's cover, it's Parineeti Chopra who has soared up the temperature with her latest sizzling shoot for FHM India's March issue. On the cover, the 27-year-old actress looked piping hot in a black and white picture, showing off her toned body in black mini with tousled hair and kohl-lined eyes. The other pic, shared on her Twitter handle, showed the 'Ishaqzaade' actress dressed in a white off shoulder dress with minimal makeup, and looked stunning in the bedroom look. The 'Kill Dil' actress, who has recently returned home from her fun-filled Australia trip, will be next seen in 'Meri Pyaari Bindu' that also stars Ayushmann Khurrana. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday greeted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on his birthday, wishing him a long and happy life. "Birthday wishes to Bihar CM @NitishKumar ji. May he be blessed with a long and healthy life," the Prime Minister tweeted. Congress leader Rajeev Shukla also wished the Chief Minister on Twitter. Earlier, Nitish had said that Prime Minister Modi had failed in the "examination" of the General Budget for 2016-17, which was disappointing. "They have been talking about development of farmers, agriculture, but nothing concrete has been seen. When he was talking about the farmers, we hoped that what they had promised during the election in 2014 that the minimum support price will be decided by adding 50 percent with it. This is the third year and they have not yet fulfilled it," Nitish told reporters. Iran President Hassan Rouhani is scheduled to pay visit to Pakistan, by the end of this month to push for the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project, following the lifting of sanctions from his country. The project was to be commissioned in December 2014, but work was stalled after sanctions were placed on Tehran. Hasan Rouhani will lead a high level delegation to Pakistan this month to strengthen bilateral relations. Iran had wanted some form of commitment from Pakistan, which was given in the form of awarding the LNG pipeline contract, reports Dawn. Iran had wanted some form of commitment from Pakistan, which was given in the form of awarding the LNG pipeline contract. Rouhani will take up the issue during his visit to Islamabad, adding that Pakistan had committed to completing the project after sanctions are lifted. Any delay on part of Pakistan in the post-sanction scenario would result in millions of dollars being imposed as penalty, besides upsetting diplomatic relations between the two countries. The standalone project of LNG Gwadar pipeline was feasible as the country required the pipeline capacity to pump LNG. A terminal at Gwadar would also help to import LNG. The Finance Ministry of Pakistan instead suggested to borrow around Rs100 billion from commercial banks. The13th SAARC Law Conference and the 10th SAARC Chief Justices' Conference will be organised in Kathmandu on March 5 and 6. The Himalayan Times reported that President Bidya Devi Bhandari will inaugurate the two-day regional conferences with the theme 'Connecting SAARC through law, justice, good governance and development'. The conferences will explore the possibility of enhancing connectivity in South Asian region through legal means. SAARC Law Nepal will host the law conference while the Supreme Court of Nepal will host the Chief Justices' Conference in coordination with SAARC Law Nepal. Around 220 representatives from the legal community of seven SAARC countries and Asian Development Bank will arrive in Kathmandu to participate in the SAARC Law conference. The Chief Justices from Nepal, Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are scheduled to attend the chief justices' conference that will be held side by side with the law conference. Senior justices from Pakistan and Afghanistan will also attend the SAARC Chief Justices' Conference as representatives of their Chief Justices, according to the release. It is yet to be ascertained whether any representatives from the Maldives will attend the regional conferences. The participants will present working papers on the themes of governance and human rights, corporate and business law, justice, administration, dispute settlement, legal education and legal profession. The United States has lifted restrictions imposed on its citizens travelling to Nepal. The restrictions were issued last year on October 8 in the wake of the Nepal earthquake, unrest in the Terai region over the new constitution and country-wide fuel shortages. The Embassy of the United States in Kathmandu on Tuesday issued a statement mentioning the travel warning has been cancelled effective from February 29, 2016 because the conditions had changed. The U.S. Department of State publishes travel alert and warnings based on a country's local conditions to avoid risking its travelers. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) today plans to vote on a resolution that would expand existing UN sanctions on North Korea in response to its nuclear test on January 6, said US mission to the UN. According to reports, the vote is expected to happen during the meeting today evening. The United States, had last week presented a draft resolution it negotiation with China that would significantly tighten restrictions after North Korea's nuclear test and rocket launch, and create what it touted as toughest UN sanctions regime in two decades to the 15-nation council. Washington had originally hoped to put the resolution to a vote last week but cancelled the move after Russia demanded time to study the text. China in an unusual move agreed to United States against its ally and neighbour Pyongyang. The draft would require UN members to conduct mandatory inspections to look for illicit goods of all the cargo passing through their territory to and from North Korea. Earlier, the members were only required to do the same if they had reasonable ground to believe there was illicit cargo. Rumors are that there minor changes have been made to the text. The United States had lobbied bilateral negotiations for nearly two months with China to win Beijing's support for tough measure intended to pursue Pyongyang to abandon its atomic weapons programs that at one point it also involved U.S. president Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The proposal would secure a gap in the UN arms embargo by banning all weapons import and export on North Korea. It could further ban transfer of any item to North Korea that could directly contribute to its operational capabilities of its armed forces, such as trucks that could be modified for military purposes. The proposal measures also includes banning on supplies of aviation and rocket fuel to North Korea, a initiative for the member countries to expel North Korean diplomats engaging in illicit activities, blacklisting 17 North Korean individuals and 12 entities, including the National Aerospace Development Agency (NADA), the body responsible for February's rocket launch. US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power told media that if the new measure were approved, it would be the strongest sanctions imposed by the Security Council in more than two decades. North Korea has been under UN sanctions due of its multiple nuclear tests and rocket launches since 2006. The United States of America must not go ahead with the sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, nor should it continue with or justify the need to extend arms-related or non-security assistance to the latter due to its irrefutable history of supporting terrorist groups on its soil and in the neighbourhood, says the Mumbai-based prominent foreign policy think tank Gateway House In a recent article jointly authored by well-known academics Christine Fair and Sumit Ganguly, which has been published by Gateway House, both maintain that Washington's justification for this generous transfer of weapons, security and non-security assistance (USD 30 to 31 billion since 2002 alone) is fundamentally and logically flawed, and they opine that time has come for the United States to reassess its relationship with Pakistan and seriously consider changing course. This view assumes greater significance in the wake of a stubborn and determined the Obama administration insisting that it will go ahead with its decision to sell eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, which it sees as critical in assisting Pakistan's counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations. Historically also, the argument put forward by Washington has been that if it does not deliver this security and non-security support, it could lead to the collapse of the Pakistan state and weakening of the will and striking capacity of its armed forces. The Gateway House article goes so far as to describe Pakistan as an "unworthy ally" that uses Washington's generous assistance to "foster a sense of insecurity concerning its nuclear arsenal and expanding ranks of jihadists". Fair and Ganguly further state that Pakistan has a strategic compulsion to use militants on its soil and non-state actors of a similar ilk in the neighbourhood to work against India and Afghanistan, suggest that its goals go beyond its acknowledged Islamist ideological objectives. A careful assessment of statistics appears to back their view. Professor Fair, in another article, reveals that since 2002, the U.S. has provided Pakistan 7.6 billion dollars in security-related assistance; 13 billion dollars in lucrative reimbursements under "dubiously named" Coalition Support Program (CSP) and another 10.5 billion dollars in economic assistance. What Pakistan has done in return for this largesse is that it has persistently supported the Afghan Taliban which has been responsible for the deaths of 2,356 American and 677 other NATO military personnel, the deaths of thousands of civilian contractors, more than 21,000 Afghan civilians and more than 20,000 Afghan police and army personnel. The article also trashes Islamabad's contention that Washington has been a "perfidious ally" in that it has never come to its assistance despite there being a bilateral defence pact in place between the two nations for the last 62 years. Pakistan has always believed that the U.S. should have provided help to it during its wars with India in 1965 and 1971, and should not have withheld supply of F-16 combat aircraft because of sanctions imposed in 1990. The Gateway House article, however, turns this argument on its head, and accuses Pakistan of practicing "distortion of reality" and even goes to the extent of describing it as "outright fiction". It maintains that Washington was never legally obliged to help Islamabad in 1965, as the premise of the 1954 defence pact was that it would come to the latter's assistance if it was under threat or attacked. In the case of the 1971 conflict, then President Richard Nixon bent U.S. law to authorize military aid even as it was well known that Islamabad was carrying out a genocidal mission in its eastern Bengali-dominant half. The cases relating to the last minute non-supply of F-16 aircraft and Islamabad's claim that the United States drew it into the fight against jihadists in Afghanistan also has a disputable history of its own, and according to the article, is equally flawed in terms of contention. Both Fair and Ganguly are of the view that it is a given that Pakistan has little reason to change its behaviour or its strategies, and therefore, Washington should, as a best and realistic option, initiate a strategy of containment while continuing to maintain its diplomatic ties; it should stop supplying strategic weapons systems and prevent Pakistan from going in for replacements and repair of equipment already in its possession; it should interact, support and engage with that part of Pakistan civil society that is most aligned to its interests and should effectively work towards acquiring improved social intelligence on Pakistan, as the strategic dynamics of South Asia has undergone a marked change since the Cold War era. The world is moving faster and so are the cars (courtesy technology). But, it seems like that when it boils down to promoting electric vehicles, the Government of India is not much concerned about the current grim scenario of the industry. While the 2015-16 budget brought FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of hybrid and Electric vehicles) which envisaged a support of Rs 795 crore for hybrid vehicles, this time the Government has decided to carry on with the same, with no additional allocation of money. Though the Government tried to woo investors in the field by announcing continuation of excise duty concessions on parts used in such vehicles, the overall response from the companies has been dull. The introductory statement by Arun Jaitley that commitment to cleaner environment is one of the fundamental operating principles of this years Budget is laudable but the long-term intent to promote greener solutions such as promotion of e-vehicles is not very visible in this years budgetary exercise. I was certainly hoping for greater budgetary support for the e-vehicle eco-system. There is no real clarity on the fund allocation for promotion of e-vehicles either or specific budgetary support for green vehicle infrastructure creation for the year 2016-2017. We also expect government to express its long-term commitment to the NEMMP policy so that the industry can plan their strategies and investments accordingly. The absence of this long-term commitment has left all manufacturers in a dilemma as to whether to invest heavily in this sector or to move from year to year, waiting for a clearer 5-year horizon," read a part of statement given by Mr. Sohinder Gill, director of Corporate Affairs at Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles. Mr. Shekar Viswanathan Toyota Kirloskar Motor vice chairman and whole-time director said, "We would have expected some measures to promote alternate fuel technologies which would have helped the environment also." Mr. Rakesh Srivastava, Hyundai Motor India senior vice-president (sales and marketing), was not enthusiastic as well and was quoted as saying,There were expectations of investment incentives towards bringing in fuel cell and hybrid vehicles." Also Read: Budget 2016: Additional 1% Tax to be Levied on Cars Over Rs. 10 lacs Source : CarDekho At least 10 people were arrested in Dhaka with methamphetamine-based contraband yaba pills, police said on Tuesday. The police have also seized two cars which were used to carry the contraband, bcnews24.com quoted a Dhaka police official as saying. A drug dealer, identified as 'Bhutto' and nine of his associates were held Monday night, the official said. At least 10 people were killed and 42 others injured in three road accidents in Pakistan's Punjab province on Tuesday, local media reported. Urdu TV channel 92 News said that eight people were killed and 20 others injured when an oil tanker crashed into a van near Vehari area of Punjab. The report added that the oil tanker's driver lost control over the vehicle as it was over-speeding and crashed head-on into the passenger van coming from opposite direction. Separately in Hafizabad city, 14 school kids were injured when a passenger van and a school bus collided and the school bus overturned. The accident happened when the school bus tried to overtake the van. The third accident happened on motorway near Sheikhupura city where two people were killed and eight others injured in a pile-up of vehicles. Police said that 10 vehicles, including a bus, a van and eight cars, hit one another at the motorway due to dense fog. The injured people were shifted to a nearby hospital while the pile-up disrupted road traffic for a few hours. Road accidents happen frequently in Pakistan due to poorly maintained roads, violation of road safety rules and reckless driving. A total of 670 Iraqis were killed and 1,290 others wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in February across Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said in a statement on Tuesday. The statement said the figures included 410 civilians killed and 1,050 others wounded, Xinhua reported. It said UN envoy for Iraq and UNAMI chief Jan Kubis strongly condemned the suicide bombings which targeted a funeral in the town of Maqdadiyah in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, and other attacks in Abu Ghraib area and marketplace in Sadr City in Baghdad. "These outrageous attacks in Maqdadiyah against the funeral, the bombing in Abu Ghraib and at a market in Sadr City as well as places of worship in the last few days which claimed scores of lives and injured many others have one goal: to undermine Iraqi unity," Kubis said. "Iraqis must deny the terrorists space for achieving their objective to undermine the unity of Iraq and its people," Kubis said, calling on "the government of Iraq to make sure that the perpetrators of these crimes are swiftly brought to justice." A month ago, UNAMI put the toll of casualties in January at 849 people killed and 1,450 others injured in terrorist attacks and violence across the country. At least 70 militants were killed as Afghan forces, after three days of fierce fighting, captured Taliban bastion in the northern Faryab province on Tuesday, a senior official said. "Finally the security forces were able to overrun Taliban bastion in Khawja Namusi early Tuesday," Xinhua quoted army spokesman Captain Sakhi Dad as saying. Three government forces men were killed and 11 injured during the clash over the past three days, Dad said. Over the past one year, Khawja Namusi had served as main Taliban stronghold in the northern Faryab province with Maimana as its capital 425 km northwest of Kabul. Taliban militants who have been fighting the government forces in several provinces including Faryab, have yet to make comment. An animal rights activist in Israel has launched the nation's first fruit bat shelter out of her apartment in capital Tel Aviv, where she now hosts up to 70 wounded bats, the media reported on Tuesday. "I decided to help the fruit bats because no one helped them and then I started and it was one bat after another. Now it's become a big project," said 28-year-old Nora Lifschitz. Lifschitz recently used the online crowd funding site, Headstart, to raise money to care for the flying mammals - which typically nest in tunnels and cave-like structures - and has since raised over 60,000 Israeli shekels ($15,370) for food and medical supplies to treat injuries requiring surgery. "It is an animal that is usually very hard to catch, so when people bring them in, most of them have a broken leg or wing and were found on the floor," said a local photographer at the shelter. Egyptian Fruit Bats, which are common in Israel and feed on fruits such as lychee and loquats, are generally classified as agricultural pests and are unprotected, despite their ecological value of safeguarding natural ecosystems by dispersing tree seeds and pollinating plants. At the shelter, baby bats rescued from laboratory tests nest on a teddy bear hanging from the ceiling - a substitute for the mother bat, which normally carries her babies for a full six weeks after their birth. Terror outfit on Tuesday allegedly hacked a microsite of the Railnet page of the Indian Railway to show its sinister reach for the first time. It later left the page. The hacked page of Bhusawal division of Personnel Department of the Central Railway and part of a large intranet created for the department's administrative needs, was replaced by a message of Maulana Aasim Umar, chief in south Asia, for all Indian Muslims. "Why is there no storm in your ocean? A message for Muslims of India from Maulana Aasim Umar (May Allah protect him)," read the message. An attached 11-page document on the hacked page read, "Will the land of Delhi not give birth to a Shah Muhadith Delhvi who may once again teach the Muslims of India the forgotten lesson of Jihad and inspire them to take to the battlefields of Jihad?" "Is there no successor left of the group that drenched itself in blood at Balakot, who possesses the spirit of rising in rebellion against a system based on disbelief and offering one's life for Allah?," the message said. Through the message, the Muslims in India were encouraged to participate in 'jihad' and help defeat the United States and its allies. Umar was a resident of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh and was appointed chief of the in the Indian sub-continent (AQIS) last year. Umar, also known as Sanaul Haq, allegedly joined the jihadist circle after the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992. Educated at the famous Dar-ul-Uloom seminary at Deoband, from where he graduated in 1991, Umar, investigators say, disappeared from Sambhal in 1995. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has described the currently-holding truce in his country as a glimmer of hope, adding that his troops have refrained from retaliating to the rebels breaches. In an interview with German TV released on Tuesday, the president said, "We will do our part so that the whole thing works," adding that "we have refrained ourselves from retaliating in order to give (a) chance for the agreement to survive." The cessation of hostilities, which has been in place since the weekend, is still holding in its fourth day on Tuesday, Xinhua reported. Meanwhile, the president promised "full amnesty" to rebels who gave up their arms, amid reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor group that Syrian warplanes are dropping leaflets on rebel-held areas, urging the rebels to lay down their arms and embark on a reconciliation with the government. "That is what we can do, but at the end everything has a limit. It depends on the other side," Assad said, adding that "the terrorists have breached the deal from the first day. We as the Syrian army are refraining from responding in order to give a chance to sustain the agreement." The cessation of hostilities agreement was reached by Russia and the US. The Syrian government as well as nearly 100 opposition groups announced their agreement. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday alleged flip-flop by the then Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre in the shootout case and demanded a thorough probe into it. The probe should look into the manner in which the Centre's affidavit in the case was changed and under whose "pressure" it was done, BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a press conference at the party headquarters here. He alleged that the home ministry affidavit was changed at the "political level". "On behalf of the BJP, we demand that (in) the entire flip-flop in the case, a fair inquiry be done," said Prasad. Citing former home secretary G K Pillai's recent TV interview, Prasad said the second affidavit came at the level of former home minister P Chidambaram. He said that a former home ministry official (Pillai), who signed the affidavits, told a news channel that he was "tortured" during the probe to ascertain if was killed in a fake gunfight. Prasad alleged that there was a conspiracy to name Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was then the Gujarat chief minister, in the case. He said that Pakistani-American terrorist turned approver David Coleman Headley said in his deposition in a Mumbai court that Ishrat Jahan was an Lashkar-e-Taiba activist. Prasad alleged that there was an attempt to raise questions on the information flow of intelligence agencies concerning terror networks. "Can a home minister behave in such irresponsible manner? We allege that Chidambaram was not doing it himself. He had directions from the top Congress leadership," Prasad said. Pillai in his recent TV interview alleged that Chidambaram bypassed him and rewrote the affidavit submitted to the Gujarat High Court on the alleged gunfight in which Ishrat Jahan, a 19-year-old student of Mumbra college, and three others were shot dead on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in 2004. In August 2009, the home ministry under Chidambaram submitted an affidavit to the Gujarat High Court that referred to Ishrat Jahan's alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba links. The position taken by the home ministry in the subsequent affidavit was in sharp departure from the position it took in its earlier affidavit. Countering Prasad's allegations, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said it was for the courts to decide if Ishrat Jahan was guilty. "But that courts would have done if she was alive," he said. He said India's democracy was strong and resilient enough to try and punish its worst enemies. The Congress leader said that a district judge of Ahmedabad who investigated the gunfight had found it to be fake. He said that the Gujarat government went in appeal against that order and in the court-monitored investigation, same findings were upheld. Brazilian Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo has resigned, the government has announced. Cardozo was under pressure from the ruling Workers Party because he failed to curb a corruption investigation on the party's politicians and former Petrobras functionaries, Xinhua cited the government as saying on Monday. Cardozo will become the attorney general, and he will be replaced by Wellington Cesar Lima e Silva, former general prosecutor of the Bahia State, according to the presidency's Social Communications Secretariat. The current attorney general, Luis Inacio Adams, is reportedly to leave the government for personal reasons. Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has announced to help rebuild Nepal following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the Himalayan nation in April 2015, a statement said here on Tuesday. The $1.2 million investment that was announced by IDRC's President Jean Lebel and Ambassador of Canada to Nepal Nadir Patel on Monday will restore housing, public buildings, and infrastructure, as well as promote better mitigation and management for future natural disasters. Working with local partner the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), this partnership will support rehabilitation and reconstruction activities in Dhungentar ward. The IDRC has been working on climate and water related challenges in Nepal for more than 20 years. The initiative will strengthen the capacities of communities and institutions for disaster risk management and climate change adaptation and build eco-friendly, climate and earthquake resilient homes, the IDRC said in the statement. The Canadian government has so far provided $23 million in humanitarian assistance in response to the crisis. The fund has been directed to experienced humanitarian partners, including UN humanitarian agencies, Canadian NGOs and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), it said. "This initiative will support mountain communities in their rebuilding and rehabilitation efforts following the earthquake of 2015," the statement quoting Lebel said. "Canada remains committed to work with Nepal in supporting the most vulnerable people affected by this tragedy. The ICIMOD project supported by IDRC will help in the long-term rehabilitation of the affected people," Patel said. ICIMOD Director David Molden said the whole Hindu Kush Himalayas is a high hazard region for earthquakes and the lessons learned need to be transferred to other countries in the region. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Tuesday cleared a proposal to acquire two more Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) at the cost of Rs.7,500 crore under a tripartite contract with Israel and Russia. The Indian Air Force already had three such platforms, which give an ability to see deep inside enemy territory. All three AWACS, comprise Israeli-made radars mounted on Russian heavy transport planes IL-76. The CCS chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi also approved a proposal for induction of the fourth regiment of supersonic cruise missile Brahmos and two more of Pinaka rocket launchers in the army. The Congress on Tuesday alleged that an effort is being made to distract attention of parliament from the breach of privilege notice against Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani by targeting former home minister P. Chidambaram. In a statement, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the Narendra Modi government is "jittery" over allegations concerning its actions at the Hyderabad and Jawaharlal Nehru universities and "attempt is obviously to distract attention from Smriti Irani misleading the parliament". Referring to AIADMK members raising the issue concerning Karti, son of Chidambaram, Surjewala said if there is any evidence of any irregularity, the Jayalalithaa government in Tamil Nadu and the Narendra Modi central government are entitled to take action they deem appropriate. He said Karti is a private individual and has issued a statement stating his position. "Of course, if it is a political battle against P. Chidambaram on account of vendetta, it should be fought in the arena of politics," Surjewala said. AIADMK members disrupted both houses of parliament on Tuesday targeting Chidambaram and Karti. Soon after the Lok Sabha met for the day, AIADMK members trooped near the speaker's podium shouting "We want justice" and waving newspapers which claimed that Karti had invested in real estate across the world. Slogans were also raised by AIADMK members in the Rajya Sabha demanding action against the Chidambarams. Chinese health authorities ordered cleaning of public areas to prevent the spread of viruses transmitted by mosquitoes, including Zika, nine cases of which have been detected in the country till now. According to the Chair of National Commission on Health and Family Planning, Li Bin, the campaign will focus particularly on cleaning common public areas, including bus stations, ports, markets, residential areas, cities and border towns, Efe news reported on Tuesday. Li also advised Chinese citizens to keep their homes and work places clean in order to avoid the proliferation of these diseases. "Monitoring and analysis of infectious diseases should be increased and we must be especially vigilant in areas near borders," Li said. The campaign began on Monday, the same day the ninth case of Zika in China was reported after a 23-year-old man was diagnosed with the disease after returning from Venezuela on February 19. Zika virus has been detected in about 30 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and has also spread to other regions of the world mainly through travellers. China aims to build 30 nuclear power units in countries involved with the Belt and Road Initiative by 2030, China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) president Sun Qin said on Tuesday. The CNNC has reached bilateral agreements on nuclear energy cooperation with countries including Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Britain, France and Jordan, Xinhua quoted Sun as saying. More than 70 countries are planning or are already developing their own nuclear power projects, and it is estimated 130 more nuclear power units will have been built by 2020, Sun said. The CNNC is willing to cooperate with countries throughout the whole nuclear power industry chain. It will actively promote localisation of the technology and strive to establish an integrated industrial system for countries involved with the Belt and Road Initiative, Sun said. Currently China has 30 nuclear power generating units with a capacity of 28 million gw and another 24 units are under construction, all of which are on land. A pair of giant pandas will leave China for their new home in South Korea on Thursday on a 15-year lease, the media reported on Tuesday. Yuan Xin and Hua Ni will be shipped on a Korean Air flight from Chengdu city, China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda said. Their new home will be an area of 3,300-square-metres at Everland, South Korea's largest theme park, the Global Times reported. The pair's lease was put on the agenda after Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to South Korea in 2014, during which the two countries pledged cooperation in panda research, and the loan was agreed during Premier Li Keqiang's visit last year. The centre describes Yuan Xin, a three-year-old male, as being lively and outgoing, and two-year-old Hua Ni as a "good girl" with a slightly introverted and docile disposition. The pair has undergone many health tests during one month of quarantine, and are both in good condition. The Delhi government on Monday urged four Bollywood actors to refrain from endorsing pan masala products as these contain areca nuts, a potential cancer causing agent. The request was made in letters to the wives of the actors Ajay Devgan, Shah Rukh Khan, Arbaaz Khan and Govinda as they did not respond to the earlier requests by the Delhi health department. "It is an humble appeal to you for encouraging Shah Rukh Khan not to participate in advertisements of pan masala in larger public health interest," said a letter written to Gauri, Shah Rukh Khan's wife. Similar letters were written to wives of other three actors also. "Earlier a letter was written to Shah Rukh Khan urging him not to participate in such advertisements in public interest. Nonetheless we (Delhi government) have not received any response till date nor he has plugged doing such advertisements," said the letter written to Gauri. The letter said that even if these pan masalas do not contain tobacco or nicotine, they surely contain areca nuts (supari) and now there is a lot of scientific evidence to prove that supari causes cancer. Earlier, a similar letter was written to actress Sunny Leone, over her role in advertisements endorsing tobacco products and pan masala. Eight Indian-American leaders, who are in the fray for Tuesday's local elections in Lexington city in the US state of Kentucky, have urged the members of the Indian community to vote generously. "Eight Indian-Americans running for Town Meeting in Lexington and have urged all Indian-Americans and everyone to go the polls and exercise their votes," India New England News quoted Narain Bhatia, a Lexington resident and community activist, as saying on Monday. "Indian Americans in Lexington have shattered the prevailing view that they are busy working and taking care of children so they do not have the time to get involved in town affairs. Eight candidates are now running for Town Meeting this year compared six last year against fierce competition," Bhatia said. The eight candidates consist of Sharmila Mudgal -- a Physician, who hopes to bring her experience in healthcare as a clinician and administrator to Town Meeting. Anoop Garg - a retiree from the corporate world where he managed various consulting and professional services organisations of large technology companies. He completed his graduation from IIT Delhi and has an MBA degree from State University of New York System. Anil Ahuja has Bachelors in Accounting, an MBA in Information Systems, and an MS in Computer Information Systems. He wants to help alleviate problems faced by schools in Lexington. Rita Pandey is a PhD in Sanskrit and Philosophy and served as the assistant director of Harvard Summer School where she implemented a number of innovative programmes. An instructor of Hindi, she become an ombudsman in 2015 and wants to address issues such as: taking care of the elderly and improving education. While Vikas Kinger wants to use his finance and negotiation skills as a management professional to find common ground and to keep Lexington moving in the right direction, Nirmala Garimella said, if elected, she will bring respect and inclusivity and engage in solutions that work for all. Hema Bhatt and Pamela Joshi are also in the fray for the elections. In a major gun battle, police shot dead eight Maoists, including five women, on the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border on Tuesday, police said. A gun battle erupted around 7.30 a.m. near Guttepadu in the Chintavadu forests in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh. The scene of gun battle was 15 km from Cherla mandal in Khammam district in Telangana. It began when the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the anti-Maoist force Greyhounds and police launched combing operations in the forests of Khammam following a tip off about the presence of Maoists. The Maoists, numbering about 30, escaped in the deep forests into neighbouring Chhattisgarh. In the fighting that ensued, eight Maoists were killed. Telangana Director General of Police Anurag Sharma said the forces were conducting combing operations in the area for last four days. The slain Maoists belonging to the Communist Party of India-Maoist included five women. The bodies were airlifted to Bhadrachalam Area Hospital in Khammam where an autopsy will be conducted. Police seized one AK-47 rifle, six SLR and three .303 rifles from the scene of the gun battle. A campaign against holding the next Defence Expo in Goa found an echo in parliament on Tuesday with Congress M.P. Shantaram Naik raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha. The biennial event has always been held in New Delhi but is being moved to Goa this time because its usual venue, Pragati Maidan in the national capital. is unavailable. Naik told the Rajya Sabha that villagers of Betul, specifically the Naqueri plateau, where the temporary structure for hosting the expo is being constructed, were not happy. "The villagers of Naqueri and Betul are highly agitated over the proposal of defence ministry to hold the defence exposition in their locality against their wishes," Naik said. Last week, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party in Goa, said the opposition to the holding of the event in the state was baseless because the structures would be erected only for a few days and then removed. "There is no issue of land acquisition. The opposition to the project is baseless," Goa BJP unit president Vinay Tendulkar was quoted as saying on Saturday in a media report. The event, called Defexpo India 2016, is scheduled to be held in South Goa from March 28 to 31. It is expected to be attended by over 900 companies from over 44 countries manufacturing defence equipment. Naik said in the Rajya Sabha that the state government had given the go-ahead to the event despite the fact that the proposed site belonged to the Goa Industrial Development Corporation, where construction of an industrial estate is going on. "The industrial estate is going to employ a number of locals in various types of jobs. The Goa government has apparently succumbed to the pressures of the central government to allot the land to the DefExpo 2016," Naik said. The state government has reportedly assigned to the event six lakh sq metres of land at Betul village in South Goa, about 45 km from capital Panaji. The project's critics, including some civil society organisations, claim the decision to shift the event to Goa was not taken transparently. In reply to an unstarred question, Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh said that the central government has not acquired or taken land on lease or licence for the event. The Haryana government on Tuesday ordered the transfer of 10 senior police officers, including an IG and three district police chiefs, just days after the violent Jat agitation for reservation which left 30 people dead and over 200 injured. Those transferred included nine Indian Police Service (IPS) officers and one Haryana Police Service (HPS) officer. Director General, Crime, K.P. Singh has been posted as director general with the Prakash Singh committee, which has been set up to look into lapses by officials during the Jat agitation, in addition to his own duties. Inspector General (IG) Paramjit Singh Ahlawat has been posted as IG, Telecommunication. Among the district police chiefs, Sangeeta Rani is the new superintendent of police in Rewari, Jashandeep Singh Randhawa at Jhajjar and Sumit Kumar the new SP at Kaithal. Kulwinder Singh, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), west, Gurgaon has been posted as commandant, 4th India Reserve Battalion (IRB), Manesar, Gurgaon. Balwan Singh has been posted in his place with additional charge of DCP, headquarters Gurgaon. Arun Nehra has been posted as DCP, Ambala (Urban) while Sumer Partap Singh will be the new SP in Yamunanagar and Krishan Murari has been posted as SP, Commando. The Haryana government had, last week, ordered the suspension of an inspector general of police (IGP) and two deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) following the Jat agitation. Those suspended include IGP Shrikant Jadhav, who was the Rohtak range IG till recently, when the agitation took a violent turn. The two DSPs suspended are Amit Dahiya and Amit Bhatia, both posted in Rohtak town. The Haryana Police was accused of not reacting to the situation and ensuring safety of people and property as the violent protestors had a field day in arson and looting. Rohtak, Sonipat, Panipat and Jhajjar, the districts worst-hit by violence in agitation, fall under the Rohtak range. Other affected districts included Bhiwani, Hisar and Kaithal. Rohtak town, 70 km from Delhi, suffered the brunt of the mindless violence by the Jat protestors with scores of buildings, shops, malls, private hospitals, educational institutions and vehicles being set on fire and extensively damaged. The judiciary and legislature in Himachal Pradesh seem to be on a collision course over the high court's order to ban the movement of vehicles of the legislators and their parking on the sealed roads in the state capital. In a rare show of solidarity, the assembly on Tuesday slammed the high court over the issue. Calling for making the judiciary accountable too, the members, cutting across party lines, said the judges of the high court were not above the constitution and can't take arbitrary decisions. Their contentions came in the wake of the high court order in November last that stayed vehicle permits issued by the state government for sealed roads or restricted roads in Shimla. Assuring the house, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said the government would not compromise with the prestige of the legislators and would ensure that their respect and dignity is maintained. He said the road near the new Metropol, the residential accommodation of the legislators on Mall Road, would be used for the parking of the legislators' vehicles. Speaker B.B.L. Butail, whose vehicle was also fined after the high court directive, blamed the state home department for the mess as it had misinterpreted the high court order. The issue was raised in the assembly by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Hans Raj before Question Hour. Congress member Sanjay Rattan said the judiciary was challenging the legislature, which was unjust. He said in a democracy the elected members should not be insulted in this manner. The chief minister said he too was concerned about the issue. "The assembly is a constitutional body and the MLAs have their own dignity. It should be respected at all costs. The rights and privileges of the MLAs should be protected," he added. Expectations of a rate cut, coupled with budgetary announcements and positive global cues, led the Indian equity markets on Tuesday to their steepest gains since September 2013. Consequently, the barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed the day's trade up 777 points or 3.38 percent. Similarly, the wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), too, made healthy gains during the day's trade. It ended higher by 235.25 points, or 3.37 percent, to 7,222.30 points. The Nifty closed the day's trade with the highest percentage gains since September 2013, when the pre-2014 general election rallies were first witnessed. The Sensex, which opened at 23,153.32 points, closed at 23,779.35 points -- up 777.35 points or 3.38 percent from its previous day's close at 23,002 points. During the intra-day trade, the Sensex touched a high of 23,821.49 points and a low of 23,133.18 points. The BSE market breadth was heavily tilted in favour of bulls -- with 2,011 advances and 601 declines. Initially, both the key indices of the Indian equity markets opened on a positive note, in-sync with their Asian peers and expectations of a future rate cute. Short-coverings pushed prices higher. Investors expect the Union Budget's fiscal prudence measures will provide the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) room to further ease monetary policy. Presenting the Union Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday announced that the government will adhere to a 3.9 percent fiscal deficit target. He also set a 3.5 percent target for the next fiscal. Further, value-buying was witnessed at low levels. Buying in large caps like ITC and ICICI Bank lifted equity markets higher. Even positive macro-data, that showed acceleration in India's manufacturing activity in February supported the equity markets' upward movement. The monthly Nikkei's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data reported a 51.1 uptrend in February. An index reading above 50 indicates an overall increase on the index. Besides, investors' confidence was restored after the central government announced capital expenditure on rural sector, infrastructure development, crop insurance, agricultural credit, skill enhancement and start-up initiative. In addition, bullish crude oil prices led investors to chase stock prices higher. The WTI (West Texas Intermediate) prices rose by 1.2 percent to $34 per barrel. Moreover, a strengthening rupee cheered investors sentiments. It strengthened by 44 paise at 67.86 to a US dollar from its previous close of 68.42 to a greenback. "Indian rupee cheered a constructive Union Budget, where government has struck a balance between fiscal consolidation and structural needs of the rural economy," Anindya Banerjee, associate vice president for currency derivatives with Kotak Securities, told IANS. "A sharp rally in bond prices have had a knock-on effect on rupee. Over the near term, hopes of a mid-policy rate cut from the central bank can continue to underpin Rupee. However, the zone between 67.50-70 can act a strong support level in the pair." According to Anand James, co-head, technical research desk with Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, investors expect a RBI (Reserve Bank of India) rate cut as a result of the government's commitment towards fiscal deficit targets. "Hopes of macro stability after the Union Budget have restored the risk taking appetite of investors. Investors expect RBI to go in for a rate cut, due to government's focus to stay on the fiscal deficit path," James told IANS. Vaibhav Agarwal, vice president and research head at Angel Broking, elaborated that markets traded sharply higher led by positive Asian cues. "Markets traded sharply higher led by positive Asian cues after China decided to lower the reserve requirement ratio (RRR), injecting $100 billion of cash in the economy," Agarwal noted. "We expect markets to consolidate at current levels before any strong move." At the end of the day's trade the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) had invested Rs.2,912.59 crore, whereas the DIIs (domestic institutional investors) sold stocks worth Rs.834.59 crore. Sector-wise, S&P BSE automobile index augmented by 664.63 points, banking index zoomed by 559.70 points, consumer durables index rocketed by 483.46 points, the S&P BSE capital goods index rose by 393.26 points, FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) index gained by 348.51 points, and IT (Information technology) index edged higher by 380.91 points. Major Sensex gainers during Tuesday's trade were ITC, up 9.91 percent at Rs.325.10; ICICI Bank, up 7.95 percent at Rs.205.10; Maruti Suzuki, up 7.80 percent at Rs.3,495.50; Hero MotoCorp, up 6.69 percent at Rs.2,667; and Adani Ports, up 5.30 percent at Rs.206.50. Major Sensex losers during the day's trade were ONGC, down 1.34 percent at Rs.191.50; Hindustan Unilever, down 0.58 percent at Rs.825 and Dr.Reddy's Lab, down 0.11 percent at Rs.3,028. The Indian Air Force's Induction Publicity Exhibition Vehicle (IPEV), a mobile platform promoting its various activities across the country, will visit various colleges in Kolkata and adjoining cities from March 3. The IPEV will visit the National Institute of Technology, Durgapur; Advanced Institute of Technology in Durgapur; Rishi Bankim Chandra College, Naihati; and Poddar Institute of Management and Technology, Kolkata, said a statement on Tuesday. Set to the theme "Guardians of the Sky - IPEV II", the modified vehicle showcases various facets of the IAF in one platform. The vehicle with a flying simulator incorporated in it has been a great attraction with students across the country. The IPEV houses an Information Zone to give all career-related information to the students. It also has an Experience Zone to have visual thrill of various activities like Sarang aerobatics, Air Warriors Drill Team besides simulator Su-30 MKI flying experience. The IPEV was launched by Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha in New Delhi on October 5 last year with an aim of staying connected with today's tech-savvy and button-friendly generation. Detroit, March 1 (IANS/EFE) Jeep expects to shatter its global sales record again in 2016, its 75th anniversary, thanks to the production this year of up to three models in China and the brand's sales launch in India. Last year, Jeep sold a record total of more than 1.2 million vehicles worldwide. The automaker, a division of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles that specialises in off-road and sport utility vehicles, will this year assemble two additional models at the company's plant in Changsha, China, which in late 2015 began producing the Cherokee, Jeep CEO Mike Manley told EFE. Localised production in China is crucial to Jeep's ambitious global expansion strategy. Manley acknowledged that Jeep had been at a competitive disadvantage in China until now as purely a vehicle importer but he said the situation would change this year with expanded output at Changsha. "The good news is that now we have a very intense programme. The first vehicle has been localised (in China). The second will be localised by the middle of the second quarter. And the third vehicle by the end of this year or the beginning of the next," Manley said. In another move that contributes to Jeep's expansion strategy, the brand began selling its Grand Cherokee and Wrangler models in India in February. "For me, India is a fascinating market. Its growth potential is almost limitless, but it's never really materialised," he said. Jeep will be marketed as a high-end brand in the world's second-most populous country and sold initially on a limited basis through Fiat's existing dealership network in India. Although the global economy is poised for a slowdown in 2016, Manley said Jeep would eclipse its record of 1.2 million vehicles sold in 2015, thanks in large part to the Chinese market. The US market, where automakers set a annual record last year with 17.5 million new cars and light trucks sold, will grow slightly in 2016, as will Europe, Manley said, though cautioning that Brazil would have a "very difficult" year. "It will help that we began local production of the Cherokee in China," he said, adding that will help Jeep surpass last year's results. "In our 75th anniversary year, we need to break the world record set in 2015, which was a great year for the brand and one I was very pleased with," Manley added, recalling that the new C-segment Jeep, a replacement for the Compass and Patriot models, also will be launched in 2016. A big part of the brand's success in 2015 was the start-up of production at the new Jeep plant in Goiana, a city in the northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco, where the Renegade model is being produced. Manley said Jeep's experience in Brazil had been so positive that he was looking to replicate the Goiana model in China. The situation in the Chinese market was one of the areas of perceived weakness, Manley said, adding that as an exclusive importer Jeep suffered from "pressures" in the Asian giant though that market grew by between 6 and 8 percent last year. The CEO acknowledged that the volume of Jeep vehicles imported into China fell in 2015 but he said the situation had begun to improve with the start of production of the first vehicle in China. "I'm pleased that we're in the transition phase from being exclusively an importer to a more local brand. That helps us because I think this year is still going to be one of significant ups and downs in the Chinese market," he added. Mark Allen, the head of Jeep design, and Jim Morrison, Jeep's product marketing manager, say the company's enduring success in its 75th anniversary year is due to its product range and historical legacy. "The key to Jeep's success boils down to its products. A portfolio of solid products that has continued to expand and become increasingly relevant for a growing number of customers, just as we've done here in the United States," Morrison said. Allen, for his part, said Jeep's new products were rooted in the automaker's past. "We're the only brand that does this. All the Jeeps we design have an element of our first Jeep. From the seven-slot grille to the trapezoidal wheel openings," he said. "In terms of style, going back to your first vehicle of a brand that never intended to be a brand and using those ideas ? very few people, in fact no one else does that," he said. Students from two US universities gathered here to express their solidarity with the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) who were arrested in a case of sedition and criminal conspiracy. Students, including Indian-Americans, from New York University (NYU) and Cooper Union college in New York gathered at Washington Square Park to support JNU Students Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar and other students who were arrested on sedition charges last month, Washington Square News newspaper reported on Monday. An Indian-American student said during the protest that the primary purpose of the event was to raise awareness about Kumar's arrest. "[Kumar] was arrested for making these comments against the government, even though he was not actually saying anything against the government, he was just having this poetry reading," Anjana Sreedhar said. "We are protesting against the fact that he was arrested under the sedition law which is very antiquated and very outdated," Sreedhar added. Sreedhar, along with several other students read English transcripts of Kumar's speech during the poetry reading and asked if his words warranted arrest. They also encouraged passersby and attendees to attend a forum discussion at Cooper Union next week. A student activist at the NYU Sumathy Kumar said she attended the rally because she wants to show her support to the JNU students who were "beaten and arrested and so much violence was being committed against them just for speaking out". "I am an activist, and I think we take it for granted sometimes that we have the right to dissent and that home where my parents are from and where I call my ancestors are from, they are not allowed to dissent," Kumar said. Anthropology professor Tejaswini Ganti said that she was glad students were voicing support for JNU's students and that universities should be an open forum for all opinions - even those that dissent against the governing party. Indian Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh's call earlier this month asking Indian companies to produce pulses and oilseeds in Africa to meet the country's production shortfall may have emphasised the need to diversify agriculture. But it also focusses attention on the lesser known and controversial operations of those who did acquire land in the 54-nation continent at a time when land acquisition was a hugely sensitive subject at home. Is the Indian dream of bountiful food products at cheap prices from Africa souring? It may seem so. "Foreign investors need to tread carefully and be sensitive to the needs of the local population when acquiring land in Africa," Alok Dikshit of Zambia-based Export Trading Company said on the sidelines of the India-Africa Agribusiness Forum in Delhi organised earlier this month by industry chamber FICCI. The concern is provoked by the behaviour of foreign companies in Africa, said Dikshit, who has been working in the continent for over a decade. "As we know from our Indian experience, land acquisition has to go with proper rehabilitation of the displaced, which Indian companies in Africa have, sadly, a poor record of," Dikshit told IANS. A global initiative called Land Matrix ranks India as one of the top ten investors in land overseas. In Africa, India is the biggest investor in land in Ethiopia, where Indian companies account for nearly 70 percent of the land acquired by foreigners after 2008. Nadia Paschetta, Tanzania country director of the ETG Farmers Foundation, who is of Italian origin, said the large-scale farming in Africa for export was affecting food security in the continent, besides the fact that only a fraction of people displaced from their land were expected to get jobs on the new highly-mechanised farms. "Africa's land should stay with Africans. Foreign companies can produce and sell to us African companies and we will buy," she said. Perhaps some of the dampening of initial enthusiasm for foreign capital in Africa also made Indian farmers realise that it may not be the promised land they thought it to be. Many of them have returned to India after having been enticed to Africa by attractive road shows held by Indian companies which had bought large tracts of land. Local media recently reported the case of 50 farmers from Punjab who took land on lease in Ethiopia for around Rs.25 lakh (2.5 million rupees) but had to return within the year when faced with several challenges. Their land needed water, but there were few irrigation facilities and diesel for tractors was available only long distances away from the farms. Besides, they were faced with the poor purchasing power of the locals. "During the first year, we grew maize but there were no buyers. I sold the crop by driving the tractor from village to village as there is no concept of a 'mandi' (wholesale market) there," Puneet Singh Thind, a farmer who returned to Ambala, told reporters. Initial attraction for Africa came from the fact that high cost of land in India and high input costs were making farming unsustainable in India. "In Punjab, the average rate of land is Rs.30-35 lakh an acre. This goes up to around Rs.1 crore if you are buying land near the city. As compared to this, in Ethiopia we got 2,500 acres of land for an investment of around Rs.25 lakh," said Baljinder Singh, who has returned to Amritsar. S.N.Pandey, an executive with Lucky Group, a company that has invested in Africa, had told IANS earlier that "the cost of agricultural production in Africa is almost half that in India. There is less need for fertiliser and pesticides, labour is cheap and overall output is higher." The scramble for land by other countries in Africa was sparked by the global food price crises during 2008-09, when prices of commodities like wheat soared 130 percent in a year and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's food price index shot up by 40 percent. India's response to soften the impact of the food price crisis resulted in Indian firms acquiring 600,000 hectares of land in Ethiopia, for instance. Others which had acquired significant land holdings at throwaway prices in the continent are China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, South Korea and the European Union. A World Bank report has shown that 45 million hectares of large scale agricultural land deals had been announced between 2008 and 2009. By the first decade of the new millennium, statistics from East Africa, which has a large Indian-origin population, showed more than 80 Indian companies had invested around $2.5 billion in buying or leasing huge plantations in Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal and Mozambique to grow foodgrains and other cash crops for the Indian market. This large enterprise has been accompanied by accusations against Indian companies of indulging in environmental damage as well as complaints from locals about losing access to grazing land and water due to the foreign farm projects. The Indian land dreams in Africa seem to have run up against reality. (Biswajit Choudhury can be reached at biswajit.c@ians.in ) Indonesia will deploy 14,178 officers to beef up security during the fifth summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) starting in Jakarta this Sunday. Convened under the theme "United for a Just Solution", the summit is a response to the worrying situation in Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif, which affects not only the Palestinian people, but also the world's Islamic Ummah, Xinhua reported. "Our objectives include preventing any possibilities of traffic accident, violent rally, clash, terrorism activity or misuse of gun fire, bomb and explosives, road blocking, holding hostage, kidnapping and other trans-national crimes," Colonel Czi Berlin, a spokesman for the Indonesian military, said on Tuesday. The extraordinary OIC Summit on Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif will be held in Jakarta from March 6 to 7. "This high-level summit has an international scale. Therefore, the success of holding this event will affect the dignity and credibility of Indonesia," the official said. Some 57 OIC member nations will explore approaches and strategies to counter the continuous illegal occupation and apartheid policies of the Israeli government, as well as to advance the peace process and to resolve the situation in Al-Quds Al-Sharif. The summit is expected to come forward with a resolution, which will reaffirm the principled positions of the OIC member states on the issues of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and a Jakarta declaration, which will present commitments of the leaders of the OIC member states to pursue concrete steps in support of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif. Former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai attended the ongoing Raisina Dialogue 2016, which began in New Delhi on Tuesday. Karzai was invited to the conference by Observer Research Foundation (ORF), an Indian think tank, which is the organising partner of the Raisina Dialogue 2016 with the Ministry of External Affairs. Besides the Afghan delegation, over 400 personalities from 40 countries and organisations have been invited to the March 1-3 event, Khaama Press reported. Envisioned as India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics, the Raisina Dialogue 2016 is designed to explore prospects and opportunities for Asian integration as well as Asia's integration with the whole world. It is predicated on India's vital role in the region and how India along with its partners can build a stable regional and world order. The 2016 conclave will focus on Asia's physical, economic, digital connectivity and fostering common global spaces with an emphasis on Asia. Actress-filmmaker Lakshmy Ramakrishnan's next Tamil directorial will be based on the experiences of people during the devastating Chennai floods which left the city ravaged last year. "Since the beginning of this year, I have been working on the script. My film will not be about the floods, but it will be based on the experiences of people who stood by each other and broke all barriers during the time of crisis," Lakshmy told IANS. Busy with the pre-production work, Lakshmy plans to begin the set work on the project from July. "The story will be about the aftermath of the incident on an emotional level. I want to explore the humanistic angle. I could have roped in a star and made this a heroic story, and in order to do that I didn't want to exploit the natural disaster angle," she said. "This is not about one man or a hero saving hundreds of people. This story is about human bonding and how it evolves against the backdrop of an incident of this scale," she said. Lakshmy was inspired to make this film after getting intrigued by real-life experiences that she heard from close family members and people from different walks of life. The project will be facilitated by high-end visual effects (VFX) work. "I'm already in talks with a big VFX company and they are kicked about the idea. Although they haven't worked on films so far, they are excited to partner with me on this project," she said, adding that she has already begun her casting process. Lakshmy is in talks with Ashok Selvan, Priya Anand and veteran actor Nasser. "Ashok is quite excited about the project but he is yet to come on board. Although I discussed the idea with Nasser sir, I'm yet to pass on the script. But I am sure he will be interested to be part of the film," she said, adding that she has also approached actor Vijay Sethupathi, besides a few popular stars. While she plans to go on the floors soon, she hopes to shoot the flood scenes during monsoon later this year. "Even if we were to create the rain, it would make sense to shoot during the monsoon climate to make it look authentic. In the interim, we will shoot some scenes in the set and hand over the material to the CGI department," she said. The rest of the cast and crew will be finalised soon. On the acting front, she is busy with a slew of Tamil and Malayalam projects. London mayor Boris Johnson on Monday slammed Britain's pro-EU campaigners for fear mongering, saying the risks of a Brexit had been "wildly exaggerated", Xinhua reported. Writing in a column for the Daily Telegraph on Monday, Johnson said the so-called Remain camp had made a series of "questionable assertions" about the possible threats to Britain if it were to leave the European Union (EU), and accused the movement of intending to evoke fear amongst the British public. "In every case, the message is that Brexit is simply too scary and the reality is that these threats are so wildly exaggerated as to be nonsense," he said. In the article, he rebuffed the argument that leaving the EU would jeopardise Britain's economy, police, judicial and intelligence cooperation. "It is not Brexit that presents the economic risk, it is the euro and the federalising attempts to save it that are the real long-term threat to security and stability," he claimed. Describing the euro as a "nightmare," Johnson said the single currency was "an economic doomsday machine that is still causing low growth, high unemployment and real misery in some European countries." He also rejected the notion that the EU was the military guarantor of peace in Europe, citing the EU's inability to sort out security issues of former Yugoslavia and Ukraine. "It is Nato and the Atlantic alliance that underpins our security... EU pretensions in the area are at best, confusing, and at worst, likely to encourage American disengagement," he asserted. He also indicated that EU institutions were hampering Britain's security services. "On the contrary, it is the European Court of Justice, with its vast new remit over the Charter of Fundamental Rights, that is making it harder month by month for the security services to get on with their job -- whether it be expelling murderers or monitoring terrorist suspects," he said. In the article, he called for "a new partnership and a new deal with our friends in the EU based on trade and cooperation, but without this supranational apparatus that is so out of date and is imitated nowhere else." The mayor, who has recently announced his decision to campaign for a Brexit, called on Britons to "screw up our courage and go for change". Johnson is among a number of high-profile politicians who have openly expressed support for a Brexit, but a majority of British cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister David Cameron, prefer staying in the EU. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his wife Amruta Fadnavis will be the guests of honour at the success bash of actress Sonali Bendre's book on parenting. The actress turned an author last year with her book "The Modern Gurukul - My Experiments with Parenting", in which she shared her personal experiences of raising her son Ranveer. Considering the positive response the book has generated, especially among young mothers, in Delhi and Chandigarh, Sonali and the book publishers have decided to celebrate the success on Thursday. "My book has been a wonderful journey. I'm grateful to Devendra Fadnavis and Amruta Fadnavis as they have agreed to grace the event. As working parents, they could also relate to the problems couples face while raising their children. I'm glad people have appreciated the book, especially mothers, who could relate to it." "It has also raised my confidence as a writer, and encouraged me to explore different topics," Sonali, who is married to filmmaker Goldie Behl, said in a statement. Passenger automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday reported a marginal decline of 0.9 percent in its total sales for February 2016. The company sold a total of 117,451 units during the month under review -- down from an off-take of 118,551 units in the corresponding month in 2015. "During the month, the reservation agitation had disrupted component supplies, causing a temporary suspension of production by the company," the company said in a statement. "Total production loss due to this was over 10,000 units." The automobile major resumed production at its facilities in Gurgaon and Manesar on February 23. The company had to temporarily suspend manufacturing of vehicles at its flagship facilities in Manesar and Gurgaon on February 20, due to the transport and other disruption caused by the Jat community's violent agitation for reservation in jobs and educational institutions. Domestic sales during the month under review inched up by 0.2 percent to 108,115 units from 107,892 units sold in February 2015. Exports plunged by 12.4 percent during the month under review with 9,336 units being shipped out -- down from 10,659 units sold abroad in the corresponding month of last year. The sales of passenger cars fell by 3.9 percent to 87,149 units sold during last month - from an off-take of 90,728 units in the like period of 2015. The company's passenger car segment comprises of brands like Alto, WagonR, Swift, Ritz, Celerio, Baleno, Dzire, Dzire Tour, and Ciaz. On the other hand, sales of utility vehicles which comprises of brands like Gypsy, Ertiga and S-Cross augmented by 44.7 percent at 8,484 units from sales of 5,863 units during February, 2015. Off-take in the van segment, which includes Omni and Eeco, grew by 10.5 percent to 12,482 units from 11,301 units in the corresponding month of 2015. The company's scrip at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) rose by 7.85 percent to Rs.3,497 (at 3.20 p.m.) from its previous close of Rs.3,242.60. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the first World Sufi Forum (WSF) - an event that will highlight India as the "global centre for moderate" Islam - to be held here this month, organisers said. Over 200 renowned Sufi scholars from 20 countries, including Pakistan, will attend the event. Muslims constitute the largest minority in India. Organisers have invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the March 17-20 meeting organised by the All India Ulema and Mashaikh Board (AIUMB), its founder president Syed Muhammad Ashraf told IANS on Tuesday. AIUMB is India's apex body for Sufi shrines. The event is focussed on finding constructive ways to spread the Islamic message of peace and tolerance as a counter to rising global violent extremism, Ashraf said. "We believe it is high time for us to create a platform to seriously ponder over the radical interpretations of Islam by terrorist groups for political gains. The spread of terror and tyranny by jihadist forces in Syria and other parts of the world has damaged the image of Islam more than ever before." He said: "Indian Muslims can provide a real alternative to all the bloodshed across the world in the name of Islam by promoting their rich history of Sufism." Those invited include Tahirul Qadri from Pakistan, Shaykh Hashimuddin al-Gaylani and Shaykh Afeefuddin Al-Jailani from Iraq, and Stephen Suleman Schwartz and Sheikh Mohammad Bin Yahya Al-Ninowy from the US. The event will be inaugurated on March 17 at Vigyan Bhavan, followed by a two-day session at India Islamic Cultural Centre here. The concluding session will be held at Ramlila Maidan on March 20 where a huge number of participants is expected from across India. Foodies in the country have a new reason to cheer for! Drawing inspiration from the culinary trend in India, a 10-day multi-city food extravaganza called 'Beyond Flavours Dining Festival' will start March 11. Brewfer.com in association with HSBC is presenting the festival, which will be held between March 11-20, and will have as many as 100 gourmet restaurants across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata participating in it. The event provides customers with an opportunity to explore the fest that mainly consists of three- or four-course meals at one's favourite restaurants across the host cities for Rs.1201. Foodies in each of the cities can take their pick from several eateries. In Mumbai, one can choose among eateries like the Sofitel, Salt Water Cafe, Terttulia, Hard Rock Cafe, Burma Burma, TGIF, Harry's Bar and more. In Delhi, on offer are Hard Rock Cafe, Smoke House Deli, Garage Inc, Oasis & Paranda by Vivanta by Taj, Singh Sahib and more. At Bengaluru, places like Smoke House Deli, the Glass House, the Big Kahuna, the Solitaire and Italia at The Park have made it to the list; while in Pune, one can head to Hard Rock Cafe, the Little Door, Euriska, TGIF, Prem's, the Ship Grill and other options. For foodies in Kolkata, places like Gharana, Multi Cuisine, Fluid at the Big Boss, the Gateway Hotel, TGIF, Aura, Serafina & Bombay Brasserie are part of the gala, and from Chennai, food afficionados can indulge in menus from places like Hard Rock Cafe, Kipling Masala & Cafe at ECR, Tangerine, Tuscana Pizzeria, Teppan and more. Reservations will go live on Wednesday on Brewfer.com. Fashion designer Namrata Joshipura will showcase creations inspired by the creativity and vibrancy of New York City -- a mash-up of fascinating street style juxtaposed with the most innovative ideas in fashion, art and technology -- at the Amazon India Fashion Week (AIFW) Autumn-Winter 2016 edition here later this month. Joshipura's show will be held in association with Maybelline New York on March 19 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, read a statement from the beauty brand. The designer, who is known for global aesthetics and contemporary silhouettes with modern interpretations, will display creations which embody high-fashion New York style, complementing Maybelline's latest innovations in make-up this season. Talking about the new collection, Joshipura said: "Taking inspiration from the various hues of Color Sensational Lip Gradation by Maybelline New York, the collection has deep reds, berry tones, grape and wine used in ombre gradation in dresses, embellishments and other techniques." Joshipura is a fit for the association as she resonates the spirit, style and energy of the brand, says Pooja Sahgal, general manager, Maybelline New York - India. "We are looking forward to creating stunning ombre beauty and fashion looks on the runway. Through the show, we hope to inspire young girls and women to express themselves, define their beauty and make it happen with make-up," Sahgal added. Sunil Sethi, president of Fashion Design Council of India, is also excited about the collaboration and he is confident that the show "will see a resplendent amalgamation of the best in beauty and fashion, and create trendsetting statements that will capture the New York panache". US space agency NASA announced that it is planning to build a supersonic passenger jet which will be as quiet and efficient as possible, the media reported on Tuesday. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on Monday said that it has awarded a first contract, worth $20 million, to the US company Lockheed Martin to develop a preliminary design of an aircraft which surpasses the speed of sound, EFE news reported. Despite using a jet engine, which traditionally causes loud noise, the sound levels produced by the new aircraft would be minimal. The new design would also meet the requirements for reduction of pollution as it would optimize fuel consumption. "NASA is working hard to make flight greener, safer and quieter," said Bolden. The design and the construction of the new supersonic aircraft will take several years and NASA estimates that first flight tests would start around 2020. Commercial supersonic flights were cancelled when British Airways and Air France ceased their Concorde operations in 2003. The Concorde aircraft was capable of travelling at a maximum speed of 2.180 kph, more than twice the speed of sound. The safety and profitability of the aircraft, known as the "White Bird", became questionable following the crash of a Concorde in Paris in 2000, which killed all 113 people on board. Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is scheduled to visit China next week to participate in the annual Boao Forum for Asia conference, a media report said on Tuesday. According to his personal aides, Prime Minister Dahal has started internal preparations to fly to China on March 24, My Republica daily said in the report. "The Prime Minister has received an invitation to address the conference. We have just started internal preparations on the visit," said the premier's press advisor Gobinda Acharya. Although the visit is being made to address the Boao conference that is themed "Globalization and Free Trade-Asian Perspectives", Dahal is likely to make a brief trip to Beijing from Hainan province and sign some major bilateral deals. The 2017 annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia is being held from March 23 to 26 in Boao, Hainan province. The official opening of the ceremony that is divided into four modules-globalization, growth, reform and new economy -- is scheduled to take place on March 25. --IANS ksk (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday adjourned till Wednesday the hearing on a plea against an event being organised by the Art of Living foundation, headed by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, for violating environmental laws. The tribunal said it will carry out day-to-day hearing from Wednesday. The matter, which came up before the tribunal on Tuesday, was postponed for a day on technical grounds. Environmental activist Manish Mishra has moved the NGT against the event. The Art of Living is organising world cultural festival in the national capital between March 11 and 13 that is expected to be attended by 35 lakh people from 155 countries, a statement released by the foundation said. HRD Minister Smriti Irani's controversial comments on Durga and Mahishasur appear to ignore the varied folk traditions in which the latter is adulated as a king and an ancestor, experts say. The minister sparked a fierce row when she read out in parliament last week contents of a pamphlet purportedly printed by the "SC, ST and Minority Students" of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to mark the Mahishasur Martyrdom Day. "May my God forgive me for even reading this out," she said in opening remarks. Irani was explaining the rationale behind the police crackdown at the JNU after "anti-national slogans" were allegedly raised on the campus. Dalit scholars and experts on tribal lifestyle say Irani's comments may have originated from the dominant Hindu understanding of Goddess Durga which views Mahishasur as a demon. Dalit apart, tribal communities spread in at least five states, including West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand, revere Mahishasur as a great king and some like the Asur tribe believe they are his descendents. In traditional Hindu scriptures, the word Asur is used almost synonymously with demon. Some anthropologists say Asurs were among the proto-Australoid groups inhabiting areas like Jharkhand and the western part of West Bengal. The Asur tribe is now found in Gumla, Latehar, Lohardaga and Palamu districts of Jharkhand and in north Bengal's Alipurduar districts. Asurs believe they are descendants of 'Hudur-Durga' -- the Santhal name for Mahishasur. Sections of Dalit and tribal communities have been asserting these alternative narratives of their belief systems while refusing to subscribe to mainstream versions. "Mahishasur is revered in Asur and Santhal rituals. The Korku tribe of Madhya Pradesh also worships Mahishasur. The folk songs of Santhal tribes of Jharkhand are about Mahishasur. In Purulia (West Bengal), a big fair is organised to mark the worship of Mahishasur," said Vandana Tete, who has studied the practices of the Asur tribe. Nityananda Hembram, the head of the Bharat Jakat Majhi Madowa, a Santhal organisation, told IANS that his community was long opposed to the mainstream representation of Mahishasur. The Madowa has a presence across West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Chhattisgarh. "Mahishasur has been revered as a hero traditionally by Santhals in West Bengal. We have been opposing the way Mahishasur is portrayed in Durga Puja where he is shown kneeling before Durga who kills him. It is unfortunate Mahishasur is considered a demon and a mythological character when he was a hero who fought valiantly against invaders Aryans," Hembram told IANS. While Santhals have for long revered him, for the past 12 years they have been conducting a public puja much like others perform Durga Puja. "One such puja is organised in Kashipur village in Purulia district on Navami (ninth day of celebrations of Durga Puja)," Hembram told IANS. The mainstream narrative of Hinduism considers Durga one of the major deities who bestow protection. As per Vedic literature, Durga was created by the joint forces of divinity, including the holy trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh to slay Asur king Mahishasura, who, empowered by a boon from Brahma, was on a rampage. The Devi Mahatmya relates the story of Durga, mounted atop a lion, fighting a pitched battle with Mahishasur who scoffed at her for being a mere woman. In the final stages of the fight with Durga, the Asur king is said to have changed his form to that of a buffalo (Mahish in Sanskrit) -- hence the name Mahishasur. "Asur tribes in Jharkhand believe they are descendents of Mahishasura and consider him their kulguru (clan teacher). At present, Mahishasura is not worshipped in Jharkhand but considered Kulguru (by Asurs)," Vasvi, a Jharkhand-based social worker, told IANS. The worship of Mahishasur is not limited to tribal communities. The name of Mysuru in Karnataka is said to be derived from Mahishasurana Ooru (Mahishasur's country). After Irani's speech in parliament, photographs of the Mahishasur statue in Chamundi temple circulated on social media. In West Bengal, where Durga Puja is the biggest festival, it is not uncommon for 'pushpanjali' (flowers) to be offered to Mahishasur along with the Goddess and her lion before the idols are immersed in water. The Goddess is believed to descend on earth every year in autumn to visit her maternal home. She is shown spearing the chest of Mahishasur who is half buffalo and half Asur. The only way left for Taliban militant group is to join the peace process in Afghanistan, Russian Special Envoy to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov has said. "Taliban don't have any ways other than going through this address; they have many internal problems and are divided into different groups," Kabulov said on Monday. Kabulov made the remarks during a meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul. Ghani thanked Russia for its cooperation and recent military assistance, Tolo news agency reported. Kabulov said that "the message of Russia is that the only address for peace talks is the government of Afghanistan." He believes that the Taliban has internal issues and is split into different factions. He said the Taliban is not a capable force despite its show of power. Kabulov said that President Vladimir Putin was concerned over the activities of Islamic State in Afghanistan, but Putin has also praised the Afghan government's efforts in fighting this phenomenon -- especially in eastern parts of the country. A week ago, Russia delivered 10,000 AK-47s as the part of its military assistance to Afghanistan. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Tuesday that Pakistan has decided to send a team to India to help investigate the terror attack on an air force base at Pathankot. He also said the details of the proposed visit are being chalked out. "India has handed over all the evidences collected to Pakistan in relation to Pathankot attack. They have registered a case and decided to send a team to India. For the first time Pakistan has initiated action" after evidences were handed over by India, Rijiju informed the Lok Sabha. He, however, said that Pakistan has not yet given details such as the date or the size of the team. "We are waiting for the details. India is ready to cooperate," he said while responding to a query from BJP member Ashwini Kumar. Kumar, who represents Karnal parliamentary constituency in Haryana, said: "We all know that Pakistan government plays in hands of its army. So what is the point of handing over the evidences. They are not even in favour of good relations with India." Earlier, while responding to another query, Rijiju informed the house that the government is taking all measures to stop infiltration from the border areas of Punjab. "After Pathankot and Dinanagar terror attacks, we are taking all the measures to stop infiltration from the border areas of Punjab. There is no fencing around 12 km of the border area. With the help of BSF (Border Security Force), we are trying to make these areas more safe," he said. He also said the central government is in touch with Punjab police and all efforts are being made to stop infiltration. Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz said the strategic dialogue with the US has further strengthened bilateral relations, the medi reported on Tuesday. Aziz made the comments along with US Secretary of State John Kerry after the sixth round of ministerial level Pakistan-US strategic dialogue in Washington on Monday, The Nation daily reported. At the start of the talks, Pakistan said that a contentious sale of F-16 fighter jets would strengthen the South Asian nation's ability to mount counter-terrorist operations and promote regional stability. The US government this month approved the sale of the aircraft, radar and electronic warfare equipment to Pakistan in a deal worth nearly $700 million. However, the sale has been criticised by India and also by some US lawmakers. Aziz said he appreciated the US leadership's public assessment that Pakistan uses F-16s effectively against terrorists. Kerry did not mention the F-16s sale in his remarks on Monday, but he commended Pakistan's counter-terrorism operations, including in North Waziristan, a tribal area from where militants have launched cross-border attacks into Afghanistan. The last strategic dialogue was held in Islamabad in January 2015. The strategic dialogue process started in 2010, but it was interrupted in 2011 when a US midnight raid in Abbottabad killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The process resumed in 2014. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned for 15 and 10 minutes respectively on Tuesday. The Lok Sabha was adjourned when the opposition demanded action against Minister of state for Human Resource and Development Ram Shankar Katheria over his speech during a condolence programme following a Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader's murder in Agra. The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned for 10 minutes after an uproar over the same issue. Non-state actors from Pakistan were involved in the Pathankot terror attack but they could not function smoothly without state support, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. "All details will come out in the National Investigation Agency probe. In this (attack), non-state actors from Pakistan are certainly involved; that is (for) sure... And any non-state (actor) can't function smoothly without state support," Parrikar said in reply to Shiv Sena member Sanjay Raut's queries. "Does the government believe it was just a terror attack or done with the help of the Pakistan Army?" Raut asked. The January 2 terrorist attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab left seven security personnel dead. Six terrorists, who attacked the base, were also killed in the gun battle lasting almost three days. Asked by a parliamentarian whether important defence force bases like in Pathankot should be shifted far from the border areas, Parrikar said: "There are bases strategically located within the country. Pathankot is equally important because it is closer to border and there is a lot of investment which has been carried out in Pathankot. It will be costly to shift (from) Pathankot." He informed the house that intelligence on the possibility of an attack on the airbase was received in advance. "We have now done a security audit in addition to the normal security. We are in the process of ensuring all installations are properly secured," the minister said. On a query on the Pathankot terror attack in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said that Pakistan had decided to send a team to India and details of the proposed visit are being chalked out. "India has handed over all the collected evidence to Pakistan in relation to the Pathankot attack. They have registered a case and decided to send a team to India. For the first time, Pakistan has initiated action after evidence was handed over by India," Rijiju said. He, however, said that Pakistan has not yet given details such as the date or the size of its team. "We are waiting for the details. India is ready to cooperate," he said, responding to a query from Bharatiya Janata Party member Ashwini Kumar. In response to another question, Rijiju said the government was taking all measures to stop infiltration from the border areas of Punjab. "After Pathankot and Dinanagar terror attacks, we are taking all the measures to stop infiltration from the border areas of Punjab. There is no fencing around 12 km of the border area. With the help of the BSF (Border Security Force), we are trying to make these areas more safe," he said. Parrikar said the central government is in touch with Punjab Police and all efforts are underway to stop infiltration. A notice to bring a privilege motion against Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani was submitted to Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari on Tuesday, a day after a similar notice was submitted in the Lok Sabha. "We have given a privilege motion against the HRD minister. The other day, HRD minister misled the house while discussing matters related to Hyderabad university. The minister has misled the nation through this parliament so we have moved a privilege against her," Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the opposition had no response to the HRD minister's reply. "I want to tell the leader of opposition, the discussion that happened, the reply was given with facts. You have no answer to that. You do not have any valid arguments so you ar giving invalid arguments," Naqvi said. Azad was backed by other opposition members, and Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav said: "This is a serious issue, and we support it." Rajya Sabha's Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien then said the notice is under consideration of Chairman Ansari. "The notice has been received. It is under the consideration of honourable chairman," said the deputy chairman. Naqvi hit out at the opposition saying: "It is not right that you are trying to suppress someone's voice through privilege (motion)." The opposition members wanted to debate the issue, but the chair pointed out that it cannot be done unless the notice is admitted. With AIADMK members protesting near the chairman's podium over former finance minister P.Chidambaram's son Karti, the house was soon after adjourned till 3 p.m. Only select officials knew about the plan to execute Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed killer of then Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer. Qadri, trained as an elite commando and who was a bodyguard to Taseer, was on Monday morning executed at Adaila Jail in Rawalpindi. Qadri shot dead Taseer in Islamabad on January 4, 2011 for supporting a blasphemy accused. An anti-terrorism court condemned him to death, a ruling upheld by the Islamabad High Court and Supreme Court. Right till Sunday night, only a few officers knew of the plans to execute Qadri. Those who did were told not to tell others, Dawn online reported. Expecting trouble, senior officers from the police and prisons departments had chalked out a strategy to cope with the fallout from the execution. More than 30 members of his family were summoned for a final meeting with the prisoner late at night. They included his father Mohammad Shabir, wife and a brother. Informed sources said a police team was sent to his residence to fetch his family after Sunday midnight. They were taken to the jail on the pretext that Qadri was ill and wanted to see them. Officials had expected protests after Qadri's mercy plea was rejected. "We were committed not to disclose plans for Qadri's execution before the process was completed," a senior police officer said. Similarly, the officers tasked with transporting Qadri's body to his Sadiqabad home communicated with their seniors in code till it was handed over to his family. Once this was done, police began efforts to convince the family to bury him without wasting time to avoid street protests. Another property of Rashtriya Janata Dal legislator Raj Ballabh Prasad Yadav, who has been accused of rape, was attached here on Tuesday, police said. Two days after the legislator's house at Englishpar Pathra village was attached, his flat in Patna was attached. "A joint police team of Nalanda district and Patna attached his flat," police official P. Bharti said. "Though the flat was empty as there were no household goods, police team uprooted door, windows and basins and seized them," he said. According to police, the rape accused legislator's property was attached in compliance with Additional District and Sessions Judge Rashmi Shikha's order. Police officials said the legislator's 13 bank accounts have been sealed and police are likely to begin auction process of his plots at different places. The licences of legislator's rifle, pistol and a double-barrel gun have already been suspended by the district administration, police said. He has also been asked to deposit arms with the concerned police station, failing which his licences would be cancelled. An exhibition of the works of the late Mumbai-based artist Nasreen Mohamedi was launched at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or simply The Met, here on Tuesday, supported by Nita Ambani-led Reliance Foundation. The exhibition, which will be open to public from March 18 to June 5, is part of The Met's new series of modern and contemporary programmes, hosted at the landmark building designed by Hungarian architect Marcel Breuer here. Inaugurating the "historic!" exhibition, Ambani said Mohamedi had been an inspiration to her as "in a patriarchal culture she created strong and assertive works". "It is a proud moment for every Indian, especially so, for Indian women," she said expressing her strong belief that Indian art needs wider global appreciation. "The richness and diversity of Indian art is truly brilliant," she said. "Over the years, I have come to share a very special bond with the arts." Ambani said her love for art started at the age of 5 with Bharatnatyam, and her training in the Indian classical dance form "has helped me develop a deep appreciation for all forms of art, leading to what we do at the Reliance Foundation today". Her husband Mukesh Ambani and she believed that "social sector development is most important for India as its economy grows. It is integral to building an inclusive India". That is why they established Reliance Foundation in 2010 with the vision of sustainable development and economic growth. Working in the areas of rural transformation, health, education, sports, arts and culture, and disaster response, the Foundation has already transformed the lives of over 6 million Indians, she said. Sheena Wagstaff, the chair of the Met's modern and contemporary division, apparently got Nita Ambani interested in the whole project. "One of our goals with The Met Breuer is to present thoughtful exhibitions that posit a broader meaning of modernism across vast geographies of art," Wagstaff said. "The poignant story of Mohamedi, a relatively little-known but significant artist, reveals a highly-individual artistic quest, drawing on historic sources from across the world, alongside her evocative photography as an unexpected form of visual note-taking." The exhibition is being co-hosted by the Queen Sofia Museum of Spain and the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. "One of the most significant artists to emerge in post-Independence India, Nasreen Mohamedi (1937-1990) created a body of work that demonstrates a singular and sustained engagement with abstraction," The Met said. What has come for praise is her minimalist practice, which not only adds a rich layer to the history of South Asian art, but also enrages the scope of the narratives into international modernism. Mohamedi's inspirations came from poetry of Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke and French philosopher-author Albert Camus, as also classical music and the modernist architecture of Le Corbusier's Chandigarh. Mohamedi is also believed to have had an exposure to Western and Eastern philosophy, poetry and literature, which can be seen in her diaries that include quotes by Rumi, Ghalib, and Mohammad Iqbal. The Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) on Tuesday threatened to walk out of the Left Front in West Bengal in protest against the coalition's proposed electoral arrangement with the Congress. "Suddenly this tie up is being imposed on us. Just for the sake of discipline we have to keep quiet, but this is creating resentment among our party activists at the grassroots. They are unable to explain this arrangement to the masses," RSP state secretary Kshiti Goswami told a television channel. He said the RSP was not only not consulted on the matter, but was discouraged from airing its opinion. "We have not been consulted on the issue in any way... In fact, we have been reprimanded for voicing our concerns," he said. Goswami, a former West Bengal minister, said the RSP might even leave the Left Front. "There is no compulsion for us to stay like this. We can come out and continue our struggles for the masses." Goswami's protests come even before formal talks begin on the proposed tie-up between the Congress and the Left Front for the state assembly elections which are likely to be held in April or May this year. He said the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), the dominant partner, might have their own reasons, but the RSP had not been told the rationale of the proposed tie-up with a political foe. A meeting of Left Front constituents on February 11 put its stamp of approval on holding alliance talks with the Congress. The coalition is scheduled to meet again on Wednesday to discuss the proposed tie-up. Earlier last month Communist Party of India (CPI) veteran Gurudas Dasgupta too had lamented that the issue was not being discussed with his party. Both the Congress and the CPI-M have favoured the need for an electoral arrangement to take on the ruling Trinamool Congress in the coming assembly polls, but the talks are yet to start formally. A Congress leader has conceded that there were "difficulties" in the way, particularly on the issue of seat sharing. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Tuesday said that Sadhvi Prachi, who is described as a leader of the outfit, is neither a leader, nor a spokesperson or any office bearer. "The VHP again clarifies that Sadhvi Prachi is neither the leader, nor its spokesperson or any office bearer of our organisation," VHP's joint general secretary Surendra Jain said in a statement. He also said that the Sadhvi has been active in and had fought elections in the past too. "Sadhvi Prachi has fought election on the symbol of a political party and is active in . Those active in can't be an office bearer of the VHP," Jain said. "So, Sadhvi Prachi should not be described as VHP leader," he added. The Supreme Court will hear a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking suo motu contempt action against former home minister P. Chidambaram for perjury and misleading the apex court and the Gujarat High Court on alleged LeT links of Ishrat Jahan. The PIL has also sought contempt against the then Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director for misleading and holding back information about Ishrat Jahan being a LeT operative from the apex court. The PIL has sought direction that all criminal proceedings and actions taken against Gujarat Police personnel and others involved in the 2005 killing of Ishrat Jahan be declared unconstitutional. "Have you filed the petition," a bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit asked petitioner, advocate M.L. Sharma. When he said he had, the bench directed that the petition be listed in due course. Basing his PIL on the deposition of Pakistani-American terrorist-turned-approver David Coleman Headley that Ishrat Jahan was an LeT activist, Sharma also sought "proper compensation" to the Gujarat personnel who were prosecuted for her killing. Seeking contempt against Chidambram, Sharma has referred to the union home ministry's affidavit in the Gujarat High Court wherein it had stated that Ishrat Jahan was not an LeT operative. Sharma said that it the dilution of its earlier affidavit which had pointed to her LeT links. The position taken by the home ministry in the subsequent affidavit was in sharp departure from the position taken by it in its earlier affidavit where in it had described Ishrat Jahan and her associates Javed Shaikh, Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana as Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives. Seeking initiation of the contempt against the then CBI director, Sharma has said that the CBI too had concealed this fact in the Supreme Court in its affidavit. CBI filed a charge sheet and supplementary charge sheet declaring Ishrat Jahan as an innocent Muslim student and prosecuted various police officers. Raising a question of law, Sharma, in his PIL, asked if the protection of life and personal liberty that is guaranteed under constitution's article 21 to Indian citizens was also available to the LeT members. He also asked if the killing of a terrorist in any manner was an offence under the penal code and police personnel involved are liable to be punished. Police shot dead six Maoists on the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border on Tuesday, police said. A gun battle erupted in the Chintavadu forests in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh near Khammam district in Telangana. It happened when Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), anti-Maoist force Greyhounds and police launched combing operations in the forests of Khammam following a tip off about the presence of Maoists. The Maoists, numbering about 30, escaped in the deep forests into neighbouring Chhattisgarh. In the fighting that ensued, six Maoists were killed. A Palestinian student was shot dead and 10 people were wounded on Tuesday in clashes with Israeli Border Police in a West Bank refugee camp. A military spokesman said the clashes erupted after a jeep with two Border Police soldiers entered the camp in Jerusalem, and came under attack with rocks and firebombs being hurled at them, Xinhua news agency reported. According to Israeli media, the two soldiers accidentally drove into the camp after they lost their way. A large Israeli force arrived at the camp to rescue the soldiers and opened fire at the rioters, the spokesman said. Five Israeli soldiers were injured in the violence, he added. Eyad Omar Sajadiyeh, a 22-year-old Palestinian student was shot dead, according to the Red Crescent. The incident was the latest in the five-month-old violent Palestinian conflict. At least 170 Palestinians and 28 Israelis have been killed since last October. Tata Communications said on Tuesday that its plans to sell majority stake in its Neotel to Vodacom, the South African subsidiary of Vodafone, has lapsed due to regulatory complexities in concluding the transaction. "Vodacom, South Africa and Neotel have now confirmed that the agreement between the parties has lapsed due to regulatory complexities in concluding the transaction as well as certain conditions not being fulfilled. Accordingly, the parties have agreed that the proposed restructured transaction can no longer be progressed," the company said in a regulatory filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange. "The company remains committed to its investment in Neotel and its commitment to focus on customers, partners and employees in South Africa and providing the highest levels of customer service," it added. The company on December 10, 2015 had said that Neotel and Vodacom have concluded a modified transaction and the transaction documentation relating to the restructured deal was submitted to the Competition Tribunal. Vodacom had reached an agreement to buy Neotel, controlled by Tata Communications, for 7 billion rand (around Rs.3,200 crore), in a deal that was originally signed in May 2014. For Babita Sharma it was a nightmarish experience on February 22 at NH-1 when, at around 3 a.m., a mob pounced on her family and others, beat them up, damaged their car and compelled them to chant "Jai Jat". Babita beseeched the hooligans with folded hands to spare their lives. "Burn our car, but please for god's sake don't harm us," she implored. The incident took place at Murthal in Sonipat district while Haryana was convulsed for over a week by the Jat community's agitation for reservations in education and jobs. The violence that took place during the agitation claimed the lives of at least 16 people and is estimated to have caused property losses of Rs.20,000 crore ($3 billion). Babita is now at Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) hospital here, looking after her injured husband Satish Kumar Sharma who has multiple fractures in his hands. He is now awaiting surgery. Her nephew Harjinder received 25 stitches in his head. Her son and another nephew were traumatized by what they experienced but were, thankfully, unscathed, she said. Babita also sustained injuries due to broken glass. The Delhi-based family was returning home after a pilgrimage to Naina Devi in Himachal Pradesh. They knew about the Jat agitation and would have avoided taking the route through the troubled areas. "We decided to take that route after being told that the Jats' demands have been heeded and the agitation has subsided," said Satish, Babita's husband. Passing the "Sukhdev Dhaba" near Murthal at about 3 a.m., the family saw cars halted due to a protest. "There were men in blue uniform, so we felt safe. Suddenly they (security personnel) started chasing a violent mob and we were left unguarded. It was then when scores of armed youth came out of fields and started attacking everyone and misbehaving with women," Satish recalled. They were trying to drag people out of their cars and command them to chant "Jai Jat," which the family shouted repeatedly, Satish said. "My wife pleaded with them to spare our boys. They replied in abusive language. They tried to open the door to attack my wife, but thankfully couldn't. They did get my door opened and attacked me. They were all young men," he added. There were many cars on the highway at that time and the rioters kept targeting them as they moved on, Satish said. "By the time they were finished with us, my nephew was bleeding, my wife was injured and we were all very scared. They went on attacking others and we didn't know what to do. That's when my nephew, who was bleeding, ran to hide in the paddy fields," he said. The rest of the family followed him and stayed hidden for about an hour. "From the fields we kept hearing terrible noises. People were screaming and shouting. The mob was also setting some vehicles on fire and poking the tyres to deflate them," he said. They then moved towards a farmhouse, where a farmer, Master Om Singh, helped them, gave them some painkillers, got their car fixed, accompanied them to the police station and then escorted them out of the area. Om Singh is, interestingly, a member of the Jat community. "These people were very frightened and stayed hidden in a field until one of them approached our house for help. I called them in as it was not safe out there; we too feared that the mob might attack our house," Om Singh told IANS. Asked about the reported incidents of rapes in Murthal, Om Singh said: "Lots of things were going on out there. I didn't see anything as terrible as rape. I also heard that some miscreants from other communities might have been involved." Satish said the police in Murthal, when approached, asked them to "collect a copy of the FIR later". The police also did not bother to arrange for any medical aid for the victims of the violence. "Only after this matter was highlighted by the media did the police contact us. We had to go in this condition back to Murthal Police station on Wednesday. Then they inquired and registered FIR," said Babita. She said she was doubly thankful to god about her family's safety after looking at the deluge of media reports that said gang-rapes and other terrible things might have taken place at Murthal. "After we learnt about rapes and other incidents that went on near Sukhdev Dhaba, we thanked god that we made it out safe. Their intentions were clearly not good. But what happened since then has not been good either," said Babita. Her husband started to receive proper medical treatment four days after the incident, on Saturday, only after Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Mailwal arranged to get him to admit to GTB hospital, she said. Earlier, the family also suffered the insensitivity of the Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) hospital, where they first went for medical treatment. The officials of the city-based hospital told them not to divulge the actual incident as the cause of their injuries. "At emergency ward of Shastri hospital, they advised us to say that we were injured in a bike accident and keep quiet about the violence in Murthal," Babita said. The family was received with neither sensitivity nor urgency at LBS hospital, even though the doctors did their part, she said. "My husband with multiple fractures and injuries stood in the queue for hours waiting for reports, which are yet to come. It seemed like they didn't care; we had to take our nephew to a private hospital where he received 25 stitches on his head," she said. Asked about Babita's experience, official of the LBS hospital refused to believe it. "I can't believe it. Why will the staff say that? Staff in not the politician, why would they give this type of advice. These things are always distorted and told to journalists. I'll just find out about the medical aspects and let you know," Amita Saxena, LBS Hospital Medical superintendent, told IANS. (Kushagra Dixit can be contacted at kushagra.d@ians.in) Three civilians were killed and two injured when militants fired a rocket towards Pul-e-Khumri city of Afghanistan on Tuesday morning. "The rocket fired by Taliban militants struck a house in Pul-e-Khumri, killing three members of a family and injuring two others," Xinhua quoted police spokesman Zabiullah Shoja as saying. The injured were shifted to a hospital in the city, he said. Several rockets and mortar shells have hit the city since fighting began between security forces and Taliban militants in Dand-e-Ghori and Dand-e-Shahabudin districts in the past one month. More than 3,540 civilians were killed and over 7,450 injured as violence spread to different parts of the war-torn country last year, according to a report released by the UN mission in the country on February 14. The report attributed 62 percent of the casualties to the Taliban and other insurgent groups, 17 percent to security forces while the rest 21 percent of civilian casualties were unattributed or caused by explosive remnants of the war. Three people have been arrested for possessing 150 kg marijuana valued at Rs.15 lakh in the international market, police said on Tuesday. Vijay Kumar Jha, 23, Guddu Kumar Jha, 24, and Bijay Ghosh, 28, brought the contraband in a car from Cuttack in Odisha to supply it in Delhi, the police said. The trio, belonging to an interstate gang, was arrested near the Vijay Ghat bus stand on the Ring Road ndear the Red Fort in Delhi on Monday night. "Five white plastic bags were found inside the car they were travelling in. On checking, ganja (marijuana) weighing 150 kg was seized. Efforts are on to find out about the supplier from Odisha," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav said. Vijay and Guddu are from Bihar while Bijay belongs to West Bengal. Former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai on Tuesday said his country had told Pakistan many times that using militancy and extremism in the country's policies would boomerang. Speaking at the inauguration of the three-day Raisina Dialogue, a global conclave on geo-politics and geo-economics, Karzai said that use of militancy and extremism for geo-political gains would never succeed. "We have told Pakistan many times that this policy of using militancy and extremism will boomerang," he said. Stating that there was tremendous goodwill between the Afghan and Pakistani people, he said it was relations between the two governments that were strained. "I tried very hard (for better ties with Pakistan). I visited Pakistan around 20 times," the former Afghan president said. "We must not encourage state entities in harbouring terrorist elements," he said. Karzai said that Afghanistan wanted to be a bridge between south Asia, central Asia, India and China. "Afghanistan provides the shortest route between China and Iran, India and central Asia, and Russia and south Asia," he said. He also said that "we must seek a coordinated approach for connectivity between India and China". "Afghanistan fully supports India policy on Central Asia and China's one road-one belt policy." Karzai described the deep-rooted, centuries-old relationship between India and Afghanistan as "exemplary". He also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the Afghan parliament in December last year was greatly appreciated by the people of his country. With the theme of "Connecting Asia" this year, the flagship conference called Raisina Dialogue 2016, organised by the external affairs ministry and the Observer Research Foundation, is designed to explore and examine the prospects and opportunities for Asian integration as well as Asia's integration with the larger world. Over 450 participants from around 40 countries are participating in this year's conference. It may not sound as music to the ears of the powers that be, but catchy numbers are being thrown up amid the controversies surrounding student politics and concerns over growing intolerance in India. From the multi-lingual rap song "Jai Bheem - We Want Justice" by Hyderabad's popular hip-hop group DeathRap in solidarity with University Of Hyderabad student Vemula Rohith's suicide - to Chandigarh-based music producer Dub Sharma's catchy "Azadi", the social media is certainly crooning a new variety of songs. Students and youth across campuses of universities and colleges and other places are lapping up the numbers which try to give a musical angle to the students' protests. Dub Sharma's (real name Siddharth) "Azadi" picks up JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar's azadi (freedom) speech and converts it into a catchy number - in all of two minutes. "I do not belong to any political ideology. My style of composition is very idea-centric. And I support the idea of freedom, of true freedom," Sharma, an audio engineer who has also produced music for Bollywood films, told IANS. "This very part of the chant talks about certain types of freedom that I connect with; so I built a song around it. The rest my music talks for me," Sharma said, adding that Kanhaiya Kumar's speech related to the ills that most of us have to suffer from. "My production process includes sampling something that "inspires" me. And then, I build the song around it. I picked the "Gall Kariye" (Let's Talk) track because I personally feel that people in their busy lives don't really have time to talk or to have a conversation. So I made that track," he said. Hyderabad-based DeathRap came out with "Jai Bheem - We want Justice" to highlight Rohith's plight that led to his suicide and how the fight must go on. The song and its message became an instant hit. Many people, especially students and youth, are reacting to the tracks and making their own views heard on social platforms. "Not everyone agrees with what the central government, the Delhi Police and the BJP, ABVP and other 'right-minded' people think about the students and affairs of JNU or other university campuses. The youth wants freedom to speak and to be heard," Gagan Randhawa, a student in Chandigarh, told IANS. Delhi-based DJ MojoJojo (Akshay Johar) created a "Yeh Ladai" (This fight) from the "anti-national" speech of another JNU student, Umar Khalid. A German student at JNU has also composed a track, "We are JNU", highlighting the right to free speech. (Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at Jaideep.s@ians.in) The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday that Greece is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis as disunity and inconsistency continue to mar European response plans. "For us, there is no plan B. Relocation is one of the important solidarity measures vis-a-vis Greece. Solidarity can't be just financial transfer to Greece," Xinhua cited UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) director of the bureau for Europe Vincent Cochetel as saying. "Greece needs a safety valve, and that safety valve is the orderly intake of refugees through the relocation process," he added. The EU member states agreed in September last year to a relocation scheme to alleviate the refugee and migrant crisis mainly affecting Greece and Italy, the two top EU destinations for migrant arrivals. The UN refugee agency revealed that despite commitments to relocate 66,400 refugees from Greece, states have but pledged 1,539 spaces, while only 325 relocations have actually taken place. "Countries have to wake up, there is no other plan," said Cochetel. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) figures show that 120,369 refugees and migrants, many of them Syrians fleeing conflict, have reached Greek shores since the beginning of the year. Over one million migrant arrivals were recorded in Europe in 2015, with over 850,000 in Greece. Union minister Ram Shankar Katheria on Tuesday said that he did not target any community in his speech in Agra in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. "I did not take the name of any community. I said the culprits, who murdered a VHP leader, should be given death sentence. I also said that the Hindu community should unite for their safety," the minister of state in the human resource development ministry told reporters here. "What has been published in one newspaper is false. I will send a (legal) notice to the newspaper," Katheria said while referring to a news story published in an English daily. "This is a conspiracy hatched against the Hindu community; we have to be be alert to recognise it and strengthen ourselves. We will have to fight it because if we do not do it now... today we have lost one Arun, tomorrow it could be another Arun... the killers should also go, we have to set such an example," Katheria claimed to have said in his speech. Katheria and Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Fatehpur Sikri Babu Lal had attended a condolence meeting held for local Vishwa HIndu Parishad (VHP) leader Arun Mahaur, who was killed by some youths allegedly belonging to another community in Agra on Thursday. Ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit here, the US has asked Pakistan to reduce its nuclear weapons arsenal as a responsible nuclear power, while Islamabad has sought greater US understanding of its security concern. "It's important for Pakistan to really process that reality and put that front and centre in its policy," Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday, noting that the US and Russia were seeking to further reduce their nuclear warheads. Speaking at the inaugural session of the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue here, Pakistan Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz, however, sought greater US understanding of Pakistan's security concern and its desire to contribute actively to non-proliferation. "Our engagement on non-proliferation and strategic stability will continue, and Pakistan hopes to see greater US understanding of Pakistan's security concerns and its desire to contribute actively," Aziz said. As a mainstream nuclear power, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is looking forward to attending the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on March 31, he said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to attend the summit. Earlier, welcoming Aziz, Kerry said: "Non-proliferation, nuclear safety is of obvious concern to both our countries, and I expect that we will continue to discuss the obligations of being a responsible state with nuclear weapons in the coming year." He noted that once both the US and the then Soviet Union had 50,000 warheads pointing at each other, but today, Russia and the US are operating under a treaty that has about 1,500 or so nuclear warheads. "And we are seeking to reduce that. So we're moving in the other direction," he said. "And I think it's important for Pakistan to really process that reality and put that front and centre in its policy." (Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in) The US commended Pakistan's commitment not to differentiate between terrorist groups including those targeting India, as Pakistan assured it had reached out to India as part of its policy of peaceful neighbourhood. "We commend Pakistan for its whole-of-government approach to implement the National Action Plan and eliminate the ability of militant groups to recruit, to finance, and to incite violence," Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday. "And we welcome Pakistan's commitment not to differentiate between terrorist groups in the implementation of this strategy," he said at the inaugural session of the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue here. "Groups like the Haqqani Network and Lashkar-e-Taiba (that) seek to undermine Pakistan's efforts to foster strong, positive relations with its neighbours," Kerry said. "In the end, a group like the Haqqani group or Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammad - all of these groups are literally stealing the sovereignty of a nation," he said. "And they're stealing the future of a nation. And it is important for us to stand up to them." While Haqqani Network is active in Afghanistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba is held responsible for the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and Jaish-e-Mohammad is blamed for the attack on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in January. Pakistan Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz said, "As an all-important part of our policy of peaceful neighbourhood, we have reached out to India." "We believe the resolution of all outstanding issues, including the Kashmir dispute, is possible through resumption of full-scale and uninterrupted dialogue with India." Pakistan "would also propose a mechanism to address our respective concern on terrorism", he said. He described the Indian participation in the Heart of Asia conference in Islamabad last December and announcement to start the comprehensive dialogue as "positive developments that augur well for peace and stability in South Asia". Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Islamabad in December was welcomed by most in Pakistan, Aziz noted. He expressed Pakistan's gratitude to Kerry and President Barack Obama "for your consistent support to the revival of the Pakistan-India dialogue". "It is unfortunate that the agreement on resuming the dialogue process was disrupted by the attack on Pathankot airbase on 2nd January," he said. Pakistan has taken some very important steps in the aftermath of this incident, he said. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had called Modi immediately after this attack and assured of Pakistan's support in the investigation. Since then, national security advisors are maintaining frequent contacts, Aziz said. A case has been registered, and the special investigation team is likely to visit in the next few days. "We, therefore, hope that the foreign secretary-level talks will be scheduled very soon," Aziz said. Referring to the contentious sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, Aziz thanked the US for endorsing its position that the planes would strengthen its ability to mount counter-terrorist operations and promote regional stability. (Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in) The body of a young woman was found in an open field near the Gomtinagar railway station here on Tuesday morning, police said. Police said she had been gagged and strangled. A piece of cloth was found stuffed into her mouth and a scarf tied around her neck. Police officer Satyasen Yadav told IANS that the woman was yet to be identified. The many initiatives unveiled in the Union Budget for 2016-17 on Monday are now being subjected to closer scrutiny. But a significant initiative that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched well before he presented the Budget has not received as much attention as it certainly deserves. This is the manner in which he went about conducting pre-Budget consultations and allowing the flow of communication about the process of framing the Budget. A meme featuring the just-retired Delhi Police Commissioner, B S Bassi, is doing the rounds on social media these days. It shows him saying, "We are probing Kanhaiya Kumar's role in World War II." The sedition case against Jawaharlal Nehru University student leaders Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya has taken many a bizarre turn. After purportedly doctored videos were circulated showing Kumar praising Afzal Guru - executed for his role in the 2001 Parliament terrorist attack - a case of contempt was lodged against Kumar. But the Supreme Court declined to hear the plea seeking criminal contempt proceedings against him and five others on Monday. While hearing Kumar's bail plea on the same day, the Delhi High Court is said to have asked the police whether they had any idea what sedition was. What to do with public sector banks (PSBs), particularly weak ones, is a major concern of recent times. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) requires Indian banks to fully conform to the strengthened Basel-III capital ratios by March 31, 2019. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, according to the 2016-17 Budget, will continue with the Indradhanush Mission to revamp PSBs. Mr Jaitley has announced that he will operationalise the Bank Board Bureau soon, strengthen the Debt Recovery Tribunal, amend the SARFAESI Act, and provide Rs 25,000 crore for recapitalisation in 2016-17. Western banks' forays into China offer a cautionary tale. Citigroup is the latest to sell its stake in a Middle Kingdom lender and, like most rivals, will make a decent return. But hoped-for strategic benefits have proved elusive. If the sector's current bets on financial technology play out the same way, that could prove more life-threatening. Citi is ending an almost 10-year involvement with China Guangfa Bank by selling its 20 per cent stake for $3 billion. That yields an internal rate of return, excluding any dividends, of some 17 per cent, according to a calculation. Other investments by peers have done even better. Compare Citi's return to the 25 per cent, ex-dividends, that Morgan Stanley's 15-year-long involvement with China International Capital Corp (CICC) yielded when it sold in 2010. Or the 28 per cent Goldman raked in from its seven-year flutter on Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Bank of America, meanwhile, enjoyed a 32 per cent return on China Construction Bank (CCB). And all those returns look positively earth-shattering when lined up against how poorly each bank has performed for its own shareholders. Over the past 10 years only one, Goldman Sachs, has managed a positive total return - including dividends - and that is just four per cent. Trouble is, most Western banks expected more than just a financial payoff. Bank of America, for example, wanted to parlay its stake in CCB into a longer-term relationship - the two launched a co-branded credit card in 2007, for example. Morgan Stanley embarked on its CICC adventure in 1995 pretty much in full control. None panned out as planned: partly because the banks misread China's willingness to open up, but also because of problems back home, and infighting between partners. Where as a decade ago China was the big story, nowadays it is technology: investments in payments systems, the blockchain, big data and new trading tools. But where failure to establish a bigger presence in China may mean forgoing profits, fintech presents a fundamental threat to the traditional way of banking. This won't be about misunderstanding the political context so much as picking the right technologies. But the wrong bets could make the difference between remaining competitive, becoming a utility or going out of business. Choose wisely. On his very first day as editor of The Boston Globe in 2001, Martin Baron suggests to the Spotlight team that they might want to look into allegations of a cover-up of child sexual abuse cases by the Catholic Church. Spotlight, the investigative unit of the newspaper, works for months - at times even a year - on stories. Soon after the edit meeting, Baron meets the publisher. He tells him he is planning to file a motion for access to sealed documents that could reveal the Church's involvement. The publisher just points out that a majority of the readership of the paper is Catholic, then okays the lawsuit. After sharp criticism of a Budget proposal to tax 60 per cent of the amount withdrawn from the Employees' Provident Fund, the Union finance ministry will consider suggestions for partially withdrawing it. A finance ministry statement issued on Tuesday afternoon reiterated that 60 per cent of the amount, accumulated through deposits after April 1, 2016 would be taxed, if withdrawn as a lump sum, but also said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will have a look at it to assess if the tax would be limited to returns on the corpus and take a decision in due course. Read more from our special coverage on "EPFO, BUDGET 2016" EPF tax: Its a healthy proposal The statement went on to say there would, however, be no tax, if the sum is invested in an annuity. The ministry also clarified there would be no tax on Public Provident Fund (PPF). Also, if the annuity sum is withdrawn by the heirs of the contributor, there would be no tax. The Employees' Provident Fund, or EPF, is a retirement corpus, in which employees and employers contribute equally over the years of one's employment. Till now, the contributions to EPF provided tax redemptions and withdrawals from it were not taxed either. According to the proposal, 40 per cent of the total corpus withdrawn at the time of retirement will be exempt from tax. The remaining 60 per cent of the contributions made after 1 April 2016 and returns earned on that would be taxed if withdrawn at one go. The move, the finance ministry said, was aimed at encouraging private sector employees to go for pension security after retirement instead of withdrawing the entire money from the fund account. After the finance minister's Budget speech on Monday, there was a spontaneous outflow of outrage, in the media and social media, with pension fund investors claiming that the government was gnawing away their retirement savings. In fact, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), also criticised the move. The ministry, in the clarification, also pointed out that those with an income limit of Rs 15,000 per month would also not be taxed on withdrawing their collected amount. A bulk of the EPF subscribers is in this category. "Out of around 37 million contributing members of EPF as on today, around 30 million subscribers are in this category. For this category of people, there is not going to be any change in the new dispensation," the statement said. The Budget proposal had evoked widespread adverse reaction. Suggestions from various quarters started pouring into the ministry, with some asking for only the interest earned on 60 per cent of the withdrawn amount to be taxed - and for the principal to be left alone. By Tuesday morning, there was some confusion, with some sources claiming that this proposal had been accepted by the finance ministry. The finance ministry was abuzz with Employees' Provident Fund Organisation employees meeting Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia. However, the ministry issued a clarification later: now, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will have a look at it and take a decision in a due course of time. The Budget has also proposed a ceiling - Rs 1.5 lakh a year, or 12 per cent of the employee's basic pay, whichever is lesser - for employers' contribution to the EPF. Suggestions from different quarters asked for it to be not implemented. Amit Maheshwari, managing partner, Ashok Maheshwary & Associates, said the clarification has given a partial sigh of relief to EPF subscribers. The move is aimed at bringing parity between EPF and National Pension Scheme (NPS). In the latter, all withdrawals were taxed till recently, making them uncompetitive among investors. During the Budget speech, Jaitley had said: "I believe that the tax treatment should be uniform for defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans. I propose to make withdrawal up to 40 per cent of the corpus at the time of retirement tax exempt in the case of National Pension Scheme." The Pension Fund and Regulatory Development Authority had requested the finance ministry to have parity between the NPS and the EPF, as far as taxation was concerned. Shiv Sena did not attend the National Democratic Alliance parliamentary part meeting on Tuesday, ostensibly because of a communication gap. It has also demanded a roll back of the government's decision to tax the EPF corpus. COURSE CORRECTION Budget proposal Fears & reassurance Clarification Clarification "It is proposed that 40% of the pension wealth received by an employee from the National Pension System Trust shall be exempt [from tax]. It is also proposed that the exemption under the recognised provident fund and superannuation fund will be limited to 40% of the accumulated amount arising out of contributions made in such funds on or after April 1, 2016"On Tuesday, the finance ministry issued clarifications to some of the major concerns:60% of the money withdrawn would be taxed, irrespective of whether it is put into an annuity or notTo be taxed if withdrawn at one go; no tax if the sum is put into an annuityPPF withdrawals also to be taxedNo tax on PPF withdrawals After the brief truce observed for the presentation of the General Budget on Monday, the government and the Opposition parties today resumed with what has now become normal service for the last two sessions. Members of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) disrupted proceedings in both Houses to demand "action" against Congress leader Karti Chidmabaram, son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, for his alleged involvement in Aircel-Maxis issue. Later in the day, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad held a press conference to highlight how the then Home Minister P Chidambaram had made UPA 2 government change its affidavit in the Ishrat Jehan encounter case. Today, the two Houses were slated to discuss the 'motion of thanks on the President's address.' Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as also Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, are likely to speak on the motion on Wednesday. The Rajya Sabha was also scheduled to take up a calling attention motion on the "inflammatory speech" allegedly delivered by junior Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Ram Shankar Katheria last week in Agra. Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad alleged that the AIADMK protest was "being organised by the ruling party" so that the House is unable to discuss Katheria's "inflammatory speech" against a minority community. A senior minister later retorted that the entire world knows the Congress and AIADMK were together in their opposition to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) constitution amendment Bill. In the morning, Katheria told reporters that he didn't make comments attributed to him in some media reports. AIADMK MPs, in both Houses, waved copies of a newspaper that had today published a report on the alleged involvement of Karti, son of Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, in the Aircel-Maxis issue. In the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that the matter was already being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and it was incorrect for the AIADMK members to accuse the government of not having taken any action. Some weeks back, ED teams had carried out raids at offices of one time associates of Karti. Meanwhile, both the Opposition as well as ruling alliance members moved reciprocal privilege motions accusing each other for "misleading" Parliament. Opposition MPs have filed a privilege motion against HRD minister Smriti Irani for "misleading" Parliament on some of the facts relating to the suicide of Dalit PhD scholar Rohith Vemula. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs have filed a privilege motion against Janata Dal (United) Rajya Sabha member KC Tyagi for his claim that never before has police entered the campus of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The BJP has pointed out that Delhi Police, apart from the Emergency, had entered the campus in 1983, 1999 and 2009. Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya has also moved a privilege motion against Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia. The Congress MP from Guna had alleged during his speech in the Lok Sabha last week that Dattatreya in his letter to HRD Minister had called Vemula "casteist, extremist and anti-national". Dattatreya has said Scindia misled the House as the letter had no specific mention of Vemula, but complained of "casteist, extremist and anti-national" in the Hyderabad Central University campus. While senior BJP leaders now agree that Irani shouldn't have made public letters from Opposition MPs requesting admission to central government run schools for children of their constituents or even the comments posted on social networking sites on Goddess Durga and Mahisasura, the party plans to defend the minister in Parliament. The BJP will maintain that all documents that Irani read out from were duly authenticated. After the barrage of complaints that they were being taken for granted, the government reached out to alliance partners - Shiv Sena, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Akali Dal and assorted alliance partners from the North Eastern states - to take the message of the farmer-friendly budget 2016-17 far and wide. The message was especially aimed at the Akali Dal, which has been grumbling about the political issues including incarceration of political prisoners in Punjab jails.The Budget at least partially addresses many of their complaints including FDI in retail. The Akali Dal was not for blanket rejection of FDI in multi-brand retail and 100 per cent FDI in food processing of food produced and marketed in India is seen by the party as a foot in the door in opening up India's retail trade. At the meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he wants to bring the largest possible number of farmers under the new crop insurance policy while Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asserted that the scheme will address agriculture distress. Sena MPs did not attend the meeting, saying they were not 'informed' about it. "There was some communication gap," its MP Anandrao Adsul said. Jaitley told the MPs that the government was making all out efforts to create an "insured and pensioned" society and highlighted steps like health insurance and life cover announced for the masses, sources said. BJP and its allies expect that the budget will help them blunt the opposition's charge that the government had an"anti-farmer" bias at a time when assembly polls are due in five states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and West Bengal, in April-May. The crucial UP elections are scheduled for next year. The over one-hour meeting saw a brief intervention by Modi when he asked MPs to work towards taking the benefit of newly announced 'Pradhan Manti Fasal Bima Yojana' to farmers. He urged NDA MPs to take this as a challenge in their constituencies, the sources said. BJP chief Amit Shah, who was also present, lauded the Budget for its pro-farmer and pro-village thrust. The JNU row and the debate in Parliament over it also found a mention with Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu giving an account ofdevelopments in JNU and Hyderabad Central University and urging the members to counter Opposition's charges. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has voiced hope that a French initiative to hold an international Middle East peace conference could lead to a solution like breakthrough talks on Iran's nuclear deal. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in April 2014 and since then, the situation has deteriorated, with the prospects of fresh dialogue appearing more remote than ever. A wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October has killed 178 Palestinians as well as 28 Israelis, an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean, according to an AFP toll. In January, then French foreign minister Laurent Fabius announced plans by Paris to revive plans for an international conference to "bring about the two-state solution" to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Abbas said he hoped the proposal "would allow the creation of a mechanism for a political solution on the model of what happened between the Europeans, Americans and Iran". Last year Iran struck a historic deal with world powers, that agreed to provide Tehran relief from crippling sanctions in exchange for limits on its atomic programme. The July 15, 2015, accord concluded in Vienna ended 12 years of crisis and was reached after 21 months of protracted negotiations. Should efforts to breathe life into the moribund peace process fail, France would move to unilaterally recognise Palestine as a state, Fabius said in January. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed France's proposal, describing it as "mystifying" and counterproductive, arguing that it gives Palestinians no incentive to compromise. Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tiruchirapalli, a constituent college of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, has signed an MoU with Chennai-based tractor makers Same DeutZ-Fahr India (P) Ltd to offer training to the students in repair and overhauling of engines and tractors. The MoU signed as part of Agricultural Skill Development Programme envisages strengthening training facilities for rural youth and farmers, in repair and overhauling of stationery engines and tractors. Faculty exchange for training at factory premises and sending skilled personnel from the factory to the college to impart basic practical skills on operation, repair and maintenance of Agricultural machinery is the basic focus of the programme, TNAU Vice Chancellor, Dr K Ramasamy said in a release. Trained technicians will be created as human resource development as part of Agricultural mechanization which is the immediate necessity for development of Agriculture sector. The staff and students of Agricultural Engineering College will also benefit with the practical exposure and hands on training, through this programme, he said. Congress today accused AIADMK members of disrupting the proceedings of Rajya Sabha at the behest of the ruling BJP, with Deputy Chairman P J Kurien also terming the turn of events in the House as "murder of democracy". AIADMK members created ruckus in both Houses of Parliament by holding noisy protests seeking action against former Minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti over the Aircel-Maxis issue, leading to several adjournments during the day. "There has to be an order in the House to discuss this," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said as the House took up discussion on a Calling Attention motion regarding inflammatory speeches by a Union Minister and other elected representatives violating the Constitution and oath of office. Azad, who was to move the motion, also said that the disruption was "organised by the ruling party" so that the calling attention on the "serious" issue, listed in the agenda today, is not taken up. "A serious issue is not discussed like this. This is a deliberate attempt by the AIADMK. Otherwise, never before has AIADMK behaved like this," the Congress leader said. Deputy Chairman P J Kurien, who was in the Chair, too slammed the noisy protests, saying the behaviour of the AIADMK MPs was "very bad". "You can approach the government for appropriate action. Why are you disrupting the proceedings of the House? This is irresponsible behaviour. This is murder of democracy," he said. Even though Kurien first said he would not adjourn the proceedings, he finally did it till 3 PM as the sloganeering continued unabated. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today announced Rs 5 lakh assistance to the kin of a person killed in a fire incident in Alambagh area and Rs 50,000 each to 122 families affected. An official spokesman said here, new cycles and rickshaws will be provided to those whose vehicles have been destroyed in the blaze yesterday. The CM said if there is no land dispute, then permanent houses should be provided to the affected families on the same site. The CM has directed the District Magistrate, Lucknow, to ensure adequate medical assistance to affected persons, he added. In a fire in a slum near Mawaiya crossing, 122 dwelling units were gutted and one person, Sattan Saini, was killed. Hollywood superstar George Clooney's wife Amal will be among the speakers at a conclave here later this month. The British-Lebanese lawyer is one of the speakers at the India Today Conclave which will also see the attendance of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit, whose life was the subject of recent Hollywood film "The Walk". The two-day event from March 17 will see some of the finest minds come together to discuss and debate issues from around the world. The conclave will provide an open platform for communication among the global experts from politicians to actors, its organisers said. "This edition of the India Today Conclave is firmly rooted in this millennium and looks ahead rather than at the past," said Conclave director Kalli Purie in a statement. "The multi-sensory experience across two days will introduce new ways of communicating, interacting and debating. You will get an opportunity to listen to bright minds and discuss new ideas with old hands." Nobel laureate William Henry 'Bill' Andrews, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Power Minister Piyush Goyal, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will attend the discussions. Shabana Azmi, Varun Grover, Javed Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar and Gul Panag will also speak at the event. Americans began voting today in the crucial Super primaries and caucuses, with front-runners Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump hoping to finish off their rivals in the US presidential election. A total of 12 states from Alabama to Alaska are holding primaries or caucuses today. Virginia was the first state to open its polling stations at 6:00 AM (16:30 IST). A new nationwide poll released yesterday said each of them were well ahead of their closest rivals on the eve of the 'Super Tuesday' showdown. Trump has expanded his lead over the diminished field to capture the support of nearly half of Republican voters, while Clinton tops Bernie Sanders by nearly 20 points on the Democrat votes, according to a CNN/ORC poll. The 69-year-old real estate tycoon tops his nearest Republican competitor by more than 30 points: 49 per cent back Trump, 16 per cent Marco Rubio, 15 per cent Ted Cruz, 10 per cent Ben Carson and 6 per cent John Kasich. Trump's rivals, Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, were desperately trying to halt his march toward nomination. If Trump wins the South, it could be lights out for his Republican challengers. Texas is the largest prize today. Almost 600 Republican delegates are up for grabs today, nearly half the 1,237 needed to secure the nomination. The 'Super Tuesday' is the biggest day of the 2016 US presidential primary primary season, with 12 states and one territory participating: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming and American Samoa. On the Democratic side, 68-year-old Clinton tops Bernie Sanders 55 per cent to 38 per cent in the new poll, a slightly wider margin than she held in late January before any primaries or caucuses were held, the report said. Some 865 Democratic delegates are at stake, 36 per cent of those needed to win. The presidential election is scheduled for November 8. Accusing Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah of turning a 'capitalist' for possessing a luxury watch, Union Minister Ananth Kumar today demanded a impartial probe into the "watch scam". The senior BJP leader also asked Siddaramaiah to explain how he possessed the watch when he being a public servant cannot accept a gift valued more than Rs 400. "It is very unfortunate that Siddaramaiah who comes from socialist background has become a capitalist. An impartial inquiry should be ordered in this watch scam," Kumar said. He said the chief minister should explain to the people from where this watch came from or whether he had that much disposable income to purchase the expensive item. "If yes, then he should also make public his income sources," he said, adding "If you are public servant you cannot take gift of more than Rs 400. Then how Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah can have this costly gift." The six-time MP from Bengaluru also said that if it is a imported watch then it could also be a violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). At the same time it is a case for Enforcement Directorate (ED), he said. Siddaramaiah is in a spot after the controversy that cropped up over him wearing a Rs 70-lakh diamond-studded Hublot watch, with JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy alleging that it could have been a "stolen" watch as the chief minister said it was not bought by him but gifted by a friend. However, Siddaramaiah has said that it was gifted to him by his close friend who visited India last July. The Allahabad High Court today directed Uttar Pradesh government to appoint judicial officers for speedy adjudication disposal of revenue cases pendency of which had assumed alarming proportions in the state. The order was passed by a division bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Yashwant Varma while disposing of a Public Interest Litigation filed by Yashpal Singh, a resident of Bijnore district in western UP. While delivering its judgement, the court noted with concern that the Chairman of the Board of Revenue of UP had stated in his affidavit there were "as many as 6.03,916 revenue cases pending before revenue courts" across the state. The court also observed that in his report, the District Judge of Bijnore had said presiding officers of revenue courts tended to "give priority to executive work due to which judicial work suffers" and hence "a separate cadre for revenue courts must be created in UP, appointees of which should be from judicial background only". The court said that the state government should appoint "within six months" judicial officers to the posts of Additional Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner and Assistant Collector for "speedy adjudication and disposal of revenue cases in the state". Armed robbers today looted around Rs 17 lakh before shooting at and wounding four persons at the Punjab National Bank (PNB) branch in Deendayal bazar in Bihar's Siwan district, a police officer said. ASP Arvind Kumar Gupta said that four armed robbers stormed the PNB branch at around 11.30 A.M and fired at four persons comprising three bank employees and a customer, leaving them injured before looting approximately Rs 17 lakh in cash. Two robbers stood guard outside the bank while their four associates committed the heist, he said. The injured have been taken to Sadar hospital for treatment, Gupta said. A case has been registered in this connection and a suspect has been detained for questioning, the ASP said, adding raids are being carried out to arrest the culprits. An army jawan lost his right leg as he sipped and fell while trying to alight from a moving train at Ghaziabad railway station today. Government Railway Police (GRP) inspector Pankaj Lavania said the jawan has been identified as Pritam, a native of Haryana. He was rushed to MMG District Government Hospital, from where he was referred to Delhi. Army Postal Service Corps (APS), the lifeline for delivery of letters to the armed and paramilitary forces, today celebrated its 44th anniversary at Udhampur-based Northern Command, with GOC-in-Chief Lt Gen D S Hooda lauding it for proving its mettle during war and peace. The General Officer Commanding-in-chief Hooda said APS has provided efficient postal services in the Northern Command zone and its spirit is reflected in its motto of 'Mail Milab'. The corps has a record of outstanding contribution in all operations and has proved its mettle both in times of war and peace, he said. "Over the past years, APS has made rapid strides in technological advancements thereby leading to a much more efficient system of communication. Army post offices in the Northern Command have been provided with multipurpose counter machines," Hooda said. "To convert Field Post Offices into troops-friendly establishments, computers and peripherals have been incorporated and modernisation of offices has been undertaken, giving a facelift to the Field Post Offices (FPOs)," he said. Many FPOs are also working as eMO/ePost Centres to transmit money orders and letters of troops through the internet which has resulted in reduction in time taken in delivery and remittance of money, he said. He said that although the APS came into existence as a separate Corps on March 1, 1972, the FPO is more than 150-year-old. The first FPO was raised in 1856 initially as a war-time organisation accompanying the Indian Expeditionary Force abroad, thereafter in Jammu and Kashmir operation of 1947-48, the organisation of FPOs was initially affiliated to Army Service Corps and APS personnel were finally declared combatants in 1950. On July 1, 1969 the collection, transport and delivery of official mail (SDS) was entrusted to APS. APS, the youngest Corps, is an integral part of the Indian Army and functions as an extension of Department of Posts (Ministry of Communication and IT) to meet specific needs of the armed forces, Border Road Organisation and para military forces. One of the oldest static formations of the Indian Army in the region, Headquarter Bengal Area celebrated its 122nd Raising Day here today. Lt Gen Rajeev Tewari, General Officer Commanding, Bengal Area, addressed all ranks of the formation at a special 'Sainik Sammelan' and conveyed his greetings to all ranks, civilian staff and their families on the occasion. The Raising Day celebration included drawing competition for children, blood donation camp and 'Barakhana' (feast) for families of all personnel posted at HQ Bengal Area. Bengal Area Headquarter was raised as Bengal Command at Fort William on March 1, 1895 by Lt Gen Sir W K Ells. It moved to its present location at AJC Bose Road in September 1995. Bengal Area participated with distinction during the operations in World War-II, the Sino-Indian conflict of 1962 and the Indo-Pak War of 1971. Besides operational war time task, the formation also supports the logistics requirements of fighting formations and units of Eastern Command in war and peace. It is the 'local military authority' acting as a link between the state government and the Army, besides being the custodian of the 'Maidan' area and all Army land around Kolkata. It also provides assistance to the state government in combating calamities, disasters in entire West Bengal and bordering districts of Bihar. The Bombay High Court today asked the Maharashtra government to issue instructions on a war-footing to municipal commissioners and CEOs of zila panchayats to ensure sufficient water supply in drought-hit areas of the state. Taking up suo motu the PIL on farmers' suicides in Maharashtra, the division bench headed by Justice Naresh Patil pointed out that in some areas such as Osmanabad district of Marathwada, one of the factors driving farmers to suicide was lack of water. Funds under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) should be used for the benefit of farmers, it suggested, adding that the state government should come out with a proposal on what kind of help the private companies can give to the farmers under the CSR spend. The high court also asked the government to ensure that polluted water was not allowed to flow to the drought-hit areas. The government said it had asked the ministers concerned and guardian ministers of drought-hit areas to visit these places and collect first-hand information. "We are launching schemes for the benefit of farmers and ensure that schemes are effectively implemented," said government pleader Abhinandan Vagyani. Monitoring committees had also been appointed, he said. Experts had been appointed under the Vasantrao Naik Swavlamban (self-reliance) Mission to provide assistance to people in drought-hit areas, the government pleader added. Last month the state had told the court that 124 farmers had committed suicide in Maharashtra since January 1. Ashutosh Kumbhkoni, appointed as amicus curiae (to assist the court), had cited a National Bureau of Crime Records' statistic that 15,978 farmers had committed suicide in Maharashtra in the past five years. Interrupted by jeers from observers, one of Pope Francis' top advisers today denied an accusation that his testimony to an inquiry into child sex abuse was an attempt to deflect blame for the Catholic Church transferring Australia's worst pedophile priest from parish to parish. Australian Cardinal George Pell was a priest in the 1970s in the town of Ballarat where he advised Bishop Ronald Mulkearns about the placement of priests within the diocese. Pell, now the pope's top financial adviser, told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that he had no idea that priest Gerald Ridsdale was repeatedly transferred by the bishop for more than a decade because of pedophile accusations. Pell rejected an accusation made by the lead counsel assisting the commission, Gail Furness, that his answers were designed to remove his own responsibility for Ridsdale's crimes. "My answers were designed to answer your questions accurately and completely," Pell told the Sydney inquiry via videolink from a Rome hotel. Asked if he accepted any responsibility of Ridsdale's repeated transfers within the Ballarat diocese, Pell replied: "No, I don't." The royal commission which is Australia's highest form of investigation is investigating how Pell dealt with abuse allegations as a priest, educator and adviser to Mulkearns, as well as how the Melbourne archdiocese responded to allegations of abuse, including when Pell served as a Melbourne auxiliary bishop. Today was the second day of evidence for the 74-year-old cleric, who because of ill health could not travel to Australia to give evidence in person at the inquiry into decades of child abuse. Yesterday, Pell dubbed Mulkearns' handling of Ridsdale a "catastrophe for the church." He said Mulkearns was a prime candidate for the Vatican's proposed tribunal for negligent bishops, although there is no indication the elderly Mulkearns would stand trial by the time the tribunal is operational. Commission chairman Peter McClellan asked Pell today whether it was surprising that he hadn't heard rumors about the scandal Ridsdale had created in the diocese. "Not necessarily, given the work I was doing," Pell said. "I wasn't working full-time in the diocese." Furness said that as an adviser to the bishop one of a group of Ballarat priests known as the College of Consultors Pell should have questioned why Ridsdale was frequently transferred. Identifying the "strategic and conventional imbalance with India" as the topmost security threat to it, Pakistan today rejected America's call to reduce or cap its nuclear weapons arsenal, believed to be the fastest growing in the world. "I think (Pakistan's top) security concern is strategic and conventional imbalance with India," the Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz told Defence Writers Group in a breakfast meeting this morning. Terrorism comes only after that, he said. "Terrorism is something our own domestic (concern). It is overflow of terrorism from Afghanistan that becomes the second (top security concern for Pakistan) within our borders, which hopefully we would be able to control it in the next few years," he said, responding to a question on what was Pakistan's top security concern or threat. Aziz also ruled out America's desire that Pakistan reduce or cap its fast expanding nuclear weapons arsenal and put the onus for it on India. "If India does (caps its nuclear weapons program) we would think about it," he said when asked at this point of time Pakistan is not thinking of capping or reducing its stockpile of nuclear weapons, as asked by the United States. "But if India does not, how can we cap?" Aziz asked. Citing the example of the US and Russia which are working to further reduce their nuclear arsenals, Secretary of State John Kerry had asked Pakistan yesterday to understand this reality and review its nuclear policy. "I think, it is important for Pakistan to really process that reality and put that front and center in its policy," he said in an apparent reference to the reports that Pakistan has the fastest growing stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. The nuclear and non-proliferation issue is among the six topics that was discussed during the sixth US-Pak Strategic Dialogue co-chaired by Kerry and Aziz here yesterday. "Our nuclear program is a deterrence. It is India which is expanding its nuclear arsenal at a much faster rate than we are," Aziz alleged. "The concept of deterrence is a dynamic one. Deterrence has to be effective and our deterrence is India centric. If India would not have started its nuclear program, we would have never done this," he said. "India is developing its nuclear stock. Its ability after the (civil nuclear) agreement with the United States to divert more stocks to it, more fissile materials to nuclear weapons has increased much more," he claimed. Bangladesh today released a French aid worker, an official said, months after he was arrested in the country's southeastern resort district of Cox's Bazar for allegedly helping Myanmar's Rohingya refugees. Police arrested Moussa Tchantchuing, also known as Moussa Ibn Yacoub, on December 19 on charges of "suspicious activities". He was later also accused of a "criminal breach of trust, cheating by personation and abetment". "He was released from Cox's Bazar jail this (Tuesday) afternoon after he was granted bail by the High Court," deputy jail chief Arpan Chowdhury told AFP by phone. French embassy press attache Shakhawat Hossain told AFP that he was freed "after 70 days in jail on condition that he cannot leave Bangladesh territory without the prior permission of the judge". Tchantchuing had come to Bangladesh and neighbouring Myanmar to help the Rohingyas, according to the non-governmental organsiation he worked for, BarakaCity. Rohingya, who are mostly Muslims, have long been denied citizenship in Buddhist majority Myanmar. In recent years, they have fled violence and persecution in Myamar's Rakhine province for Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh and other South East Asian nations. BarakaCity confirmed on Twitter the release of Tchantchuing, 28, which came after a petition was launched demanding he be set free. Although he was granted bail on one of the charges in January, his release was halted after he was accused of using a different name than that in his passport, court inspector of Cox's Bazar Jamal Uddin had said. "His name in the passport is different from the name he now uses." Once prisoners are freed on bail in Bangladesh, they are seldom called back to prison. Bangladesh, which shares a long border with Myanmar, has discouraged local and international charities from aiding hundreds of thousands of unregistered Rohingya who have taken refuge in Cox's Bazar and other parts of the country's southeast. As a controversy erupted over candidates being asked to strip down to their underwear for an in Bihar, the Union Government today sought a report from the Army Chief while the Patna High Court directed the Ministry of Defence to give a reply by April 5. Defending the bare body recruitment test, Director, (Recruitment) at the Army Regional Office(ARO) in Muzaffarpur Col V S Godra told reporters that it was a preventive measure against cheating. Pictures showed candidates, dressed only in their underwear, cross-legged at Chakkar Maidan, an open ground in Muzaffarpur, about 100 km from Patna, putting pen to paper in the hope of making it to the Army. The test, which was taken by 1,159 candidates, was conducted by the ARO Army Recruitment for various posts at different levels. On the basis of photographs appearing in some newspapers, lawyer Deenu Kumar had filed a PIL yesterday which a Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Iqbal Ahmad Ansari and Justice Chakradhari Saran Singh had converted into a writ and gave the order today to the Ministry of Defence to reply by April 5. Col Godra claimed that because of the measures taken by the Army no complaint of smuggling of mobile phones and chits inside the examination venue were reported. "We did not insult anybody or subject anyone to cruelty...No examinee complained, so why outsiders are making a hue and cry over the matter?" Godra wondered. The pictures of the Army aspirants were in contrast to that defining freezeframe from Vaishali last year of people perched on the window shades of a multi-storey building, passing on answer chits to Class Ten students appearing for Bihar state board exams inside. While Army officials in Delhi denied that they have received any order from Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, top sources confirmed that a file has been prepared and sent to Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag. "A report has been sought on the incident as the matter has come to light through media reports," sources said in Delhi. Army sources said the move to strip the candidates down to their underwear was a suggestion made by previous job seekers who had cleared the examination. Pictures, apparently taken by officials themselves, leaked and made its way to the social media as well as mainstream media. The written test was for candidates who had successfully completed their physical tests. State-run power equipment maker Bhel has bagged an order worth Rs 5,600 crore for 1,600 MW power plant from Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO). The company has bagged this major order for the coal-based power project with supercritical parameters, involving two units of India's highest rating 800 MW sets, Bhel said in a press release today. "Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Selvi J Jayalalithaa, handed over the Letter of Award (LoA) for setting up of the main plant package for the 2x800 MW Uppur Supercritical Thermal Power Project (TPP) to Bhel Chairman and Managing Director Atul Sobti in Chennai," said the release. That was followed by the foundation stone laying ceremony of the project. The project is slated to be commissioned by September, 2019 and the power generated from this 1,600 MW power project will help foster growth in Tamil Nadu and provide easy access to electricity to the people of the state. Valued at around Rs 5,600 Crore, the order for the main plant package for the greenfield 2x800 MW Uppur Supercritical Thermal Power Project, located in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, has been placed on Bhel by TANGEDCO. This is the second 800 MW rating supercritical order awarded to Bhel by TANGEDCO in less than a month, reinforcing Bhel's position at the forefront of the power equipment industry in India. Last month, the Main Plant Package contract for the 1x800 MW North Chennai Supercritical TPP Stage III in Tamil Nadu, was also placed on Bhel by TANGEDCO. Bhel has a significant share of 83 per cent in TANGEDCO's cumulative coal-based generating capacity, including two 600 MW sets commissioned in 2013 at North Chennai TPP, comprising in-house designed steam turbines, the first of their kind for both Bhel and the state of Tamil Nadu. Bhel's scope of work in the current contract involves design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection, commissioning & civil works for the Main Plant Package. The key equipment for the contract will be manufactured at Bhel's Trichy, Haridwar, Bhopal, Ranipet, Hyderabad, Jhansi, Thirumayam and Bangalore plants while the company's Power Sector - Southern Region shall be responsible for civil works and erection/ commissioning of the equipment. Bihar gets 3,017 MW from the central quota to cater to its electricity consumption, state legislative council was informed today. Replying to a starred question by BJP MLC Rajnish Kumar, state Energy minister Vijendra Prasad Yadav said Bihar gets 3,017 MW from the central quota to cater to consumption even as the domestic production was less than requirement. Besides receiving 3,017 MW central quota, Bihar procures 671 MW power from the private market, he said. Yadav said the production of 220 MW power from thermal power plant at Barauni would start from the next fiscal, while 2,576 MW would accrue from various power plants under construction in the state. The minister said more than 5,000 MW was proposed to be generated from three ultra power projects in the next six years to make Bihar a power surplus state. The BJP-led government in Maharastra has decided to bring a bill in the coming budget session of the state Legislature to eradicate "unconstitutional" practices, including social boycott, pronounced by bodies like caste panchayats. The legislation, 'Prohibition of Social Boycott Bill', will ensure stringent punishment to those indulging in unlawful practices under forums like caste panchayats. "The bill aims to root out evil, outdated and unconstitutional practices of Caste Panchayats, Gavki, Community Panchayats, etc," Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today after the Cabinet meeting here. "Provisions for strict punishment have been made in this bill to end this sort of harassment and gives the right to live with dignity," Fadnavis tweeted. The legislative initiative assumes significance as the practice of social boycott of a person or group of persons, and their family members, still prevails in various parts of the state and the existing laws have proved ineffective in tackling the social menace. Social ostracism is practised at the behest of a 'Caste Panchayats' at the community level that regulates various practices, personal or social behaviour of the members and resolves disputes by issuing written or oral dicta, an official said. The draft bill describes "Community" as a group, the members of which are connected together by reason or the fact that by birth, conversion or the performance of any religious rites or ceremonies, they belong to the same religion or religious creed, and includes a caste or sub-caste. The Gujarat High Court today dismissed a plea of 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case accused seeking access to some of the documents related to the Union Home Ministry's approval for trying the accused under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Justice A G Uraizee, while rejecting the plea, took into account the argument by the public prosecutor that these documents carry sensitive information about the case and cannot be given to the accused at this stage. The high court also noted that the documents are part of the charge sheet and carry names of some secret witnesses, which cannot be disclosed to the accused. Further, the court also considered the state government's argument that UAPA gives it powers about non-disclosure of these documents. These documents carry those reports which are submitted to the Home Ministry by the state government while justifying the need to invoke UAPA against the accused and subsequently received sanction from the Home Ministry for the same. In their plea, one Shahid Nagori and 75 other accused of the 2008 serial blast case have sought access to these documents, claiming that these documents are needed to prepare their case as the trial is pending in the lower court. They knocked the doors of High Court after a lower court had recently turned down their plea on the same grounds. Twenty one serial blasts had rocked Ahmedabad city on July 26, 2008, in which 56 people were killed and several others were injured. 76 people accused in the case are behind the bars here. A special court has so far examined around 780 witnesses. BMW's CEO introduced new versions of the company's big luxury sedan at the Geneva International Motor Show and cautioned that sales growth in Europe and China will only be modest this year. Harald Krueger showed off a new plug-in hybrid of the 7-Series, saying customers who wanted to set an example were asking for a low-emissions vehicle. For those wanting top performance, the company is rolling out a version with a 12-cylinder, 610 horsepower engine that can accelerate to 100 kph in just 3.9 seconds. Krueger said today the company expected "moderate sales growth" this year after a record year in which the company sold 2.2 million cars. He said he expected sales growth in Europe and China only in the lower single digit percent range. A book of collection of humorous situations from the life of Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy complied by his Press secretary P T Chacko was released here today. Veteran Malayalam actor Madhu released the book 'Kunjoonju Kathakal-2; Oommen Chandyyude Narma Sandarbhangal' by handing over a copy to former bureaucrat D Babu Paul. The book portrays interesting moments and humorous anecdotes from the life of the Chief Minister. It also gives a peep into the life around Chandy who is fondly called 'Kunjunju' by his near and dear. The book also narrates how the CM stays connected with the people of his hometown Puthupally in Kottayam district. He has been representing Puthupally constituency for the past four decades. JD(U) State President M P Veerendra Kumar presided over the function. MLA M V Sreyams Kumar and others were also present at the event. Following objection by Bhagat Singh's kin and uproar in Parliament over the issue, HRD ministry had asked DU to consider the issue. Delhi University decided to ban the sale and distribution of the Hindi version of the book which was published by it, while maintaining that it had no control over the English version as the varsity had not published it. Penguin India, which had published the original book, has already stated that they are working with the authors for a revised edition. "The critics are forgetting that this (revolutionary terrorist) was really a term the martyrs had practically used for themselves. Their conception of 'terror' as a method of revolutionary action actually derived from a tradition that went back to the Russian revolutionaries' struggle against Czarist tyranny," the statement by the historians said. "Now, however, in the last two or three decades, terror has come to mean almost all over the world the killing of innocent men, women and children. And it has thus assumed a heavily pejorative sense, not necessarily borne by it in the 1920s and 1930s," it added. Brazilian police arrested the vice president of Facebook for Latin America today after the social media giant refused access to data the authorities said was important to a criminal probe. Diego Dzodan was in detention in Sao Paulo after his arrest following "repeated non-compliance with court orders" to share Facebook data requested in a drug trafficking case, federal police said. Moody's Investors Service has described the Budget as moderately credit positive for most sectors except public sector banks, but warned that deficit reduction will remain challenging. "Budget is modestly credit positive for the sovereign, since it indicates a continued commitment to gradual fiscal consolidation by bringing down fiscal deficits to 3 per cent over the next two years," Atsi Sheth, a Moody's Associate managing director for the Sovereign Risk Group, said in a note. However, she said that Budget proposals do not contain significant measures to address structural fiscal challenges, such as the government's low tax revenue base and the vulnerability of government finances to economic shocks. This means, any deficit reduction will come from either cyclical upswings or tactical fiscal management, rather than a broad-based fiscal consolidation strategy, she said. According to the report, the Budget is credit negative for public sector banks due to the insufficient allocation of capital for the sector, as the government has stuck to the capital infusion roadmap announced last year, budgeting just Rs 25,000 crore in capital injections next financial year. According to Capitaline data, gross non-performing assets of 39 listed banks surged to Rs 4.38 trillion in the December quarter, up from Rs 3.4 trillion in the previous quarter. Most of this is contributed by state-run banks. The only silver-lining in the Budget was that the government was open to infuse more capital into them as and when needed. The report warned that the increased recognition and provisioning for NPAs will require a corresponding front-ending of capital requirements, which suggests that capital constraints will remain a key credit weakness for public sector banks. On the changes in tax and duties, she said they are credit positive for energy and commodity producers, but negative for automakers, while changes to levies on crude oil will lower cash production costs for national oil companies, and will not compensate for the impact of lower oil prices. The report further said infrastructure will benefit from a boost in spending, but not all are winners. For instance, the hike in Excise duty on automobiles to fund public infrastructure spending is credit positive. The securitisation market is also set to benefit from the changes in the distribution tax for securitisation trusts, as this will improve investors' post-tax returns and make investments in such products more appealing, leading to new class of investors entering the market. The government has presented a "pro-farmer" budget this year which will help in addressing farm distress and achieving 4 per cent growth in the sector, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said today. The minister said the Budget has made fund provisions to speed up the implementation of various schemes initiated by the government in last two years. "The government has presented a pro-farmer budget for the first time after the country's independence," Singh told reporters here. Asked if the 2016 budget will help address farm distress and achieve 4 per cent growth, he said: "Definitely, we will be able to achieve". The growth of agriculture sector has been projected at 1.1 per cent in 2015-16 fiscal as against decline of 0.2 per cent a year ago. The government is already implementing schemes to reduce cost of production, raise productivity and provide better price to farmers besides raising the minimum support price (MSP), Singh said, adding that the budget has provision to speed up implementation of these schemes. Simultaneously, the new crop insurance scheme and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojana would also help, he added. Yesterday, the government announced a major thrust for agriculture sector in the Budget by almost doubling allocation to Rs 44,485 crore and raising credit target to a record Rs 9 lakh crore. Singh said the state governments will be ready with irrigation plan for 150 districts by next month and the work would be speed up. "The launch of unified electronic agri-market from April 14 will also help in ensuring farmers get better price in the market", he said. The country has received deficient monsoon rains for two consecutive years, resulting in lower foodgrains production and higher prices of pulses. Some cases of farmer suicides were reported in states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Of the Budget allocation for the 2016-17, a sum of Rs 15,000 crore has been provided for interest subvention on farm credit, Rs 5,500 crore for crop insurance scheme, Rs 815 crore to promote dairy and allied sector and Rs 500 crore to boost pulses output. To fund agri-initiatives, the government also imposed a Kisan Kalyan cess at 0.5 per cent on all taxable services from June. TheBudgetsessionof Chhattisgarh Assembly today started with GovernorBalramji Das Tandon's speech, while the opposition Congress alleged that the BJP government was ignoring the welfare of farmers and labourers. During Tandon's address, Congress MLAs raised the issue of non-payment of wages under MNREGA and failure to hike MSP for paddy. The Governor said the last year was challenging due to the country-wide drought; the state faced its first drought in the last 12years. "For the first time, the state government included the word 'drought' in the list of natural calamities underRevenue BookCircular to ensure relief for farmers," he said. "Under MNREGA, days of employment were increased from 150 to 200. Land revenue and water taxes were waived, relief was given on agricultural loan (repayment), free distribution of seeds for (the next season's) paddy crop,freepower supply upto9,000 unitsforagricultural pumps,special diesel aid and several other measures were undertaken," he said. Under the Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah Yojana,the government hiked the financial aid for marriage of the daughters of drought-affected farmers from Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000, he said. In all, the drought-affected farmers were given help to the tune of around Rs 2,000 crore, Tandon said. The Governor also hailed the security forces' efforts to root out Naxalism and said the state is marching towards "a decisive battle" against the rebels. The Governor also mentioned the steps taken for strengthening the police force, such as sanctioning of 1,226 new posts, establishment of cyber wing and anti-terrorist squad, construction of 3,000 houses for police personnel, 800 new posts in disaster management and fire-fighting-emergency services, etc. The state can "never repay debt of martyrdom" of the personnel of Central and state security forces who died while fighting the Naxals, he said. "The state is heading towards winning a decisive battle againstNaxalism," the Governor added. During the Governor's address, state Congress Chief Bhupesh Baghel and other party MLAs raised the issue of non-payment of wages under MNREGA. Senior Congress leader Satyanarayan Sharma raised the issue of government's failure tofulfilits election promise of Rs 300 bonus and MSP of Rs 2,100 for paddy. The Governor, however, continued with his speech, and after reading out some points he said the rest can be considered as read. Speaker Gaurishankar Agrawal then announced that the discussion onmotionof thanks onGovernor'saddress would be taken up on March 4 and 8, and adjourned the proceedings till tomorrow. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), the apex body of the Catholic church in the country, will begin an eight-day plenary assembly here from tomorrow. The CBCI holds the Plenary Assembly once in two years to discuss various aspects of life of the Church in India, especially the challenges faced by it. The Assembly will also evolve a common action to revitalise the Church and to render it more effective in its service to members and to the society at large, according to CBCI. 180 Bishops from all the Dioceses of India would deliberate on the principal theme of the plenary 'The Response of the Church in India to the Present Day Challenges', CBCI said in a statement here. They will be assisted by a group of 20 priests, who are responsible for various offices and centres of the CBCI, an expert team of the religious and a panel of resource persons from the laity and from other religions, it said. The deliberations will also include the assessment of reports by various offices and national centres. The plenary assembly will also interact with Conference of Religious India (CRI) and Catholic Council of India (CCI), it said. The 32nd CBCI plenary is expected to issue a Final Statement, a call to all the members of the Church in India, containing the main thrust of the deliberations and a way forward for the future course of action. The Final Statement, which will eventually take the form of a Pastoral Letter, will be taken for deeper study by the members of the Church at different strata, it added. CBI Director Anil Sinha today refused to be drawn into the issue of American-Pakistani terrorist David Headley's recent testimony in 26/11 case that was an LeT terrorist, saying the matter is subjudice. He noted that the agency has already submitted the chargesheet in the alleged fake encounter case of . "The matter is sub-judice. We have already submitted charge sheet in the case. Hence I would not like to comment anything on this," Sinha, who was in Mumbai for inauguration of the new CBI office in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), said. He was asked by media persons if the revelation made by Headley before a special court here last month that was an operative of banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) would have any impact on the case. Headley revealed this while deposing before a special court here, which is conducting trial against alleged LeT operative Abu Jundal in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case. Headley told the court that LeT leader Zaki-ur-Rehman had told him about Muzammil Butt's botched up operation in India. "It was some shootout with the police. I don't know which part in India. But there was one female who was killed in the shootout," Headley said. Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam then said, "If I give you three names will you be able to point out who was the female who was killed?". To this Headley replied yes. Nikam then said, "Was it Noorjahan Begum, Ishrat Jahan or Mumtaz." Headley then said, "I think it is the second one." Headley had added that Ishrat was an Indian . Ishrat, 19, was killed along with Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai from Kerala, and two alleged Pakistanis - Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana - on June 15, 2004 on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. The encounter team was led by D G Vanzara, who was then Deputy Commissioner of Police in Ahmedabad Crime Branch. The CBI, which was handed over the probe later, filed a chargesheet in 2013 against seven police officers and observed that it was a fake encounter. Currently, all the seven officers are out on bail. The Centre's green panel has given approval to the Rs 4,640.88-crore Kiru hydroelectric project to be developed on Chenab river in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. Last month in a meeting, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Union Environment Ministry had examined the proposal. Based on its recommendations, the ministry will soon take a call on giving the final green nod. "After detailed deliberations, EAC recommended the grant of Environment Clearance (EC) for the 623 MW Kiru HydroElectric Project with additional recommendations," as per the minutes of the meeting held on February 8-9. The Kiru project will be developed by Chenab Valley Projects Pvt Ltd, a joint venture among NHPC, J&K State Development Corporation and Power Trading Corporation of India. The project envisages construction of a 123 metre (from river bed level) high concrete gravity dam across river Chenab with four intakes, four pressure shafts, an underground powerhouse of four units of 156 MW each. The construction period of the project is 54 months. While recommending the ministry for grant of EC to this project, the EAC suggested the company should raise the Environment Management Plan (EMP) budget to 3.5%. "The total project cost is Rs 4,640.88 crore and Environment Management Plan (EMP) budget is Rs 147.32 crore i.E. About 3.2%. The overall EMP budget should be raised to 3.5 per cent of the project cost," the EAC said. The EAC has recommended the company to use local people to meet skill requirements of the project. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today inaugurated a digital Library with over one lakh digitized pages of newspapers and magazines published centuries ago. Speaking on the occasion, Chandy said the new facility would help research students in journalism. The library was set up by Kesari Memorial Journalist Trust under the district unit of Kerala Union of Working Journalists with a governmentassistance of Rs 20 lakh. "The attempt of media persons is a welcome step especially in the wake of Kerala became Indian's first digital state... The main objective of the government is to expand the usage of the new technology in more sectors," he said. More books, periodicals and newspapers would be added to the Library, KUWJ District Secretary C Rahim said. The digitized form of various periodicals, including 'Vidha Vilasini', published in 1897, is also part of the library. Vijender said the revival plan fructified thanks to Rs 3 crore fund granted last year by the then Lt Governor Najeeb Jung. "The fund would be utilised for restoration and digitisation of books, restoration of buildings. Meanwhile, we held festivals and event in December to popularise the library and bring the spotlight on the heritage landmark," she said. A five-day (December 9-13) 'Delhi Literary Heritage Fest' was held at Shanti Desai Sports Complex, Chandni Chowk, which included musical, poetic, cultural and literary events and panel discussions. "This library was the place where people congregated for cultural activities. When Gandhiji came here in 1948, he met cloth merchants at the Hardinge Library. And, so many memories are associated with this library. And, therefore, we have planned a cultural event on January 7, which would also include a mushaira," she said. As part of heritage fest, an international conference on 'Protecting, Conserving and Preserving Literary Heritage Collection' was held from December 11-13 at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. "Around 300 participants and 23 speakers from all over the world participated in the conference, including from British Library and Germany," she said. On December 7, the iconic building was lit up, enhancing its architectural elements. "It was a sight to behold. And, one felt so proud to see it glitter. India has so many libraries. We must try to project them as cultural and tourism landmarks," Vijender added. The library, bearing a European design, has a dome on top, with ornate bordering. The old name -- 'Hardinge Library' --embossed on one of its porches, has survived, besides a wrought-iron gate ('Clark Gate') near it. The oldest book in the library is 'A Relation of Some Years Travaile Beginning in 1626' by Thomas Hardy Esquire, published by Willaim Stansby and Jacob Bloome in 1634 "A consortium of heritage public libraries has also been set up with IGNCA as its nodal agency. Besides, Hardinge Library, libraries at IGNCA and South Asian University (SAU) are also part of it, and we expect more to join it," she said. Dozens of people turned out for a short concert Monday evening in Warsaw in support of a Chilean pianist and teacher who was recently beaten by skinheads who mistook him for an Arab. The attack occurred amid a rise in Islamophobia in Poland. Dozens of Syrian Christians were granted asylum in Poland last year, though most left quickly for Western Europe. Last year, Poland pledged to take up to 7,000 migrants though only a fraction of them are expected this year. Poland's commissioner for human rights, Adam Bodnar, urged people to attend the performance to show solidarity with Christiano Ramos, the Chilean who was attacked recently on a train near Warsaw. Ramos, who has lived in Poland for many years, lost a tooth and sustained a head injury. He performed the brief piano concert himself. Bodnar said he wants to convince Ramos and others like him that they "have many friends in Poland, that Polish society might be different, and that he should not decide to leave our country." Bodnar says there has been an outpouring of hate speech against Arabs in recent months that has translated into violent incidents. "Unfortunately, massive hate speech towards Arabs translates into hate violence incidents," Bodnar said. "Basically every two weeks we can identify a situation when somebody is attacked, because he looks 'like an Arab.'" Last year, a Syrian Christian was attacked in the Western Polish city of Poznan. A court yesterday sentenced one of his attackers to two years in prison, and a second to three months. China aims to build 30 nuclear power units in countries involved with its Silk Road Initiative by 2030 as it looks to cash in its new 1000 mw nuclear reactor technology being built in Pakistan. The China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) has reached bilateral agreements on nuclear energy cooperation with countries including Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Britain, France and Jordan, its President Sun Qin said today. China is building two 1000 mgnuclearpower plants inPakistan's port city of Karachiat a cost of $6.5 billion. More than 70 countries are now planning or are already developing their own nuclear power projects, and it is estimated 130 more nuclear power units will have been built by 2020, Sun was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency. The CNNC is willing to cooperate with countries throughout the wholenuclear power industry chain. It will actively promote localisation of the technology and strive to establish an integrated industrial system for countries involved with the Belt and Road Initiative, the official name for the Silk Road Initiative Sun said. Currently China has 30 nuclear power generating units with a capacity of 28 million gw and another 24 units are under construction, all of which are on land. A court in eastern China today upheld a decision to slap $12-million fine on three chemical firms for disposing 26,000 tonnes of hazardous waste into rivers. The Hangzhou Intermediate Court in Zhejiang Province said in a statement that it has upheld the ruling of a lower district court on the Second Chemical Plant of Jiande City, the Hong'an Cargo Company and the Rongsheng Chemical Company. The Second Chemical Plant mainly produces weed-killer glyphosate. From 2012 to 2013, it asked the Hong'an Cargo Company and the Rongsheng Chemical Company to help pour waste into rivers in Zhejiang provincial capital Hangzhou, the province's Quzhou City and in Jiangxi and Shandong provinces. Neither of the companies was licensed to dispose of dangerous waste, according to the court. The Zhejiang environmental protection research institute estimates that as much as 80 million yuan ($12.3 million) will be needed to repair the damage to the rivers. Ten people, including heads of the three companies, were sentenced to jail terms ranging from nine years to one year and 10 months, and fined a total of 8.5 million yuan, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Chinese Communist officials will impose "severe" penalties on a property tycoon who criticised overbearing state control of the media to his tens of millions of online followers, an official agency reported today. Ren Zhiqiang, nicknamed "the Cannon", developed a huge audience - he had 37 million followers on Sina Weibo alone - with his provocative opinions and blunt defences of economic inequality. But he has been subjected to a barrage of condemnation in state-run outlets since he questioned whether public money should be spent on party propaganda following visits by President Xi Jinping to three major official media outlets. Ren is himself a member of the ruling party but his Chinese social media accounts have been closed and Xinhua cited a circular from a Beijing party committee as saying he will be strictly punished and receive severe internal penalties. The tycoon "has been releasing illegal information and making inappropriate comments online", Xinhua quoted the document as saying, "resulting in a vile influence and damage to the party image". The announcement followed Beijing's closure of Ren's Sina and Tencent microblog accounts for "spreading illegal information". The Cyberspace Administration of China said that its actions followed reports that the accounts had exerted a "vile influence". China has criminalised certain types of online comments, including those that contain "rumours", a broad term that could include criticism of the ruling party. Last week, Ren was the target of twin columns in the state-affiliated portal Qianlong. One of the Qianlong articles - headlined "Who gave Ren the confidence to oppose the Party" - accused the businessman of making capitalist arguments and pursuing Western constitutionalism. The other castigated him for failing to defend the interests of the party of which he is a member. "When did the people's government change into the party's government?" Qianlong quoted Ren's since-deleted post as saying. "Is their money the party's? ... Don't use taxpayers' money for things that don't provide them with services." China's Communist party tolerates no opposition to its rule and newspapers, websites, and broadcast media are strictly controlled. An army of censors patrols social media and many Western websites are blocked. Ren has previously drawn flak for calling state-run broadcaster CCTV "the dumbest pig on earth" and for his blunt statements defending the high prices of real estate, once angering an audience member so much that they threw a shoe at him. He retired from his Beijing-based property company in 2014. The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) has supported the hosting of Defence Expo in the state, arguing it will give a boost to the image of Goa. "CII supports Defence Expo in Goa, which is an integral part of the 'Make in India' initiative. Defence Expo has really grown over the years and considered as most important on the calender of such events," CII's Goa Chapter Vice President Shekhar Sardessai told reporters here. With the participation of more than 850 companies, DefExpo will give a boost to 'Brand Goa', he said. "Goans should grab the opportunity to host this event and demand manufacturing industry related to Defence be set up in the state," Sardessai said. CII is the second industrial body after Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry to pledge its support to the event scheduled between March 28 and March 31 at Betul village in the state. Certain section of people, including Congress and local civil groups are opposing DefExpo, claiming the locals were not taken into confidence before finalising the site. He said the fear about Defence Expo has been created out of ignorance. Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar has already assured the event would be a temporary one with no permanent structures built to host it. The government yesterday began preparations for the event. A day after the death of a male giraffe brought from Alipore Zoo in Kolkata to the Nandankanan Zoological Park here, the Odisha government today set up a three-member expert committee to probe into the premature demise of the animal. The committee would be headed by former PCCF Saroj Patnaik and would submit its report within a week, said Nandankanan director Sudarshan Panda. The committee would look into whether there was any negligence on part of the Nandankanan authority in handling the giraffe after its arrival here. Meanwhile, the post mortem report revealed the male giraffe 'Joy' died due to heart stroke. Symptoms of jaundice and anaemia were also found in the body of the animal, the report said. The animal was brought to Nandankanan from the Alipore zoo in Kolkata on February 24 under the animal exchange programme for mating with the lone female giraffe at Nandankanan here. The state zoo had swapped four of its tigers to get the long-necked animal. Five-year old 'Joy' was brought here under the supervision of an eight-member expert team headed by Assistant Director of Nandankanan Dr Kamal Lochan Purohit. A war of words broke out tonight over the alleged flip-flop on the affidavits in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, with BJP accusing the Congress of having attempted to frame Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in the sensational encounter killing and demanding a probe into the issue. Hitting back, Congress charged the BJP with spreading flase propaganda merely to score political points and wondered if the Modi government was intervening in the case to block the prosecution of guilty policemen. The trigger for the battle was the interview by R V S Mani, the then Under Secretary in the Home Ministry who had filed the two affidavits. In the interview, Mani alleged he was tortured to implicate senior IB officials in the case to project the encounter killing of Ishrat and other three LeT terrorists in Ahmedabad in 2004 as fake. Mani suggested that Chidambaram was behind the decision to file the second affidavit. He alleged that the then SIT chief, a CBI official, was after him and an attempt was made to question the quality of professional inputs by the intelligence agencies on Ishrat and other terrorists. It also came on a day when two former home secretaries claimed the second affidavit was filed in the Supreme Court at the behest of the then Home Minister P Chidambaram. BJP called an emergency media briefing late in the evening and fielded Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who alleged that Chidambaram did it on the directions of the Congress high command to frame the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his ministerial colleague Amit Shah, who was then Minister of State for Home. Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi accused BJP of spreading a lie about American-Pakistani terrorist David Headley and said it was very unfortunate that the ruling party was resorting to false propaganda. "Congress has never supported or opposed the guilt issue of Ishrat Jahan if established in a court of law or any procedure known to law. If IB had intellignce inputs, Ishrat Jahan would have been prosecuted. Entire Congress stand was that irrespective of guilt, a guilty person cannot be assassinated or liquidated without due process of law which is what happened in Modi's autocratic rule in Gujarat," he said. Congress workers today condemned Shiv Sena minister Vijay Shivtare's remarks in Latur district about its leaders, including former Maharashtra Chief Minister late Vilasrao Deshmukh. A protest march was held at Latur by Youth Congress workers to condemn the Minister's alleged derogatory remarks. "We strongly protest (against) the abusive language of the Minister, who insulted our leaders," Congress corporator Vikrant Gojamgunde said. "This shows the level Sena leaders can stoop to," he said. The Minister had made allegedly derogatory remarks at an event in Latur on Sunday when the Sena launched a free water tanker supply scheme. "Two persons from Latur district occupied the CM's post. What kind of leadership did they provide? They could not solve the water scarcity despite being in power. They only cared about their self interest," Shivtare had said. The Minister had also allegedly used a derogatory Marathi phrase to claim both the former CMs were incompetent. The other person from Latur to occupy the CM's chair was Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar, who was Chief Minister from June 1985 to March 1986. He had to resign after his name came up in a court case. Deshmukh first became Chief Minister in 1999 and was serving his second term (from 2004) when he had to resign in the aftemath of the 26/11 terror attacks in 2008. Congress legislators in the Rajasthan Assembly today boycotted the Question Hour, demanding action against two BJP MLAs for their alleged derogatory remarks against Rahul Gandhi. As soon as the House assembled, Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi raised the demand for action against BJP MLAs Kailash Choudhary and Gyan Dev Ahuja. When there was no response from Speaker Kailash Meghwal, the Congress members trooped into the Well of the House. Ten minutes later, they boycotted the Question Hour and walked out of the House. Delhi Government has directed schools in the national capital to consider banning sale of food items which are high in fat, sugar and salt content from their canteens and sensitize students about their ill effects. "All the heads of government and private schools are directed to sensitize the students and parents about ill effects of food high in Fat, Sugar and Salt (HFSS) through morning assembly, teacher interactive period and parent- teacher meetings," the Directorate of Education (DoE) said in a circular sent to schools. "The schools may also consider banning the sale of such foods from school canteen. Also ensure that the cafeteria sells fresh and healthy foods which are low in fat," it added. The order also details the adverse effects of each of the constituents of HFSS, as prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Some of the suggestions by the government for sensitizing the students include, "maintaining a notice board for creating awareness; organizing drawing, painting, slogan writing activities and debates in a class wise manner with special emphasis on lower classes; and dedicating morning assembly once in a month for this purpose". "Spread the word for healthy food options like vegetable sandwiches, fruits, paneer cutlets, khandvi, poha and low fat milk shakes with seasonal fruits, lassi and jaljeera etc," the DoE circular said. The communication comes following a Delhi High Court judgment ordering the regulation of junk food consumption among school children through restrictions on the sale of foods high in fat, salt and sugar, such as chips, fried foods and sugar-sweetened beverages in and around school premises. The court had also directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to implement its guidelines on making wholesome and nutritious food available to school children. A constable of the Kolkata Police allegedly shot himself to death inside a police kiosk at the Shyambazar five-point crossing in the northern part of the city early this morning, police said. Chandu Mandi (48), a constable of Shampukur police station, fired on himself from a revolver when a homeguard, who was on duty along with him, was away. "We recovered a suicide note from the kiosk where the constable said he is committing suicide as he was suffering from a prolonged illness. We are verifying the handwriting. It seems he was suffering from depression," an officer of Shampukur Police Station said. Police have spoken to the home guard to ascertain whether there was any foul play behind Mandi's death. Mandi, a resident of Howrah, is survived by his wife and a daughter. Demanding the clearance of dues owed to them by a ginning factory, around 400 growers from Seloo in Wardha district are planning a march on Wednesday to protest against the state government's failure to resolve the issue. The growers said they were hoping that RSS leaders here might be able to help them with the recovery of their dues from the ginning factory owner. Read more from our special coverage on "COTTON" Haryana, Punjab may cut Bt cotton sowing The cultivators had planned a march to the RSS headquarters here three days back, but were detained by police. Afterwards the district guardian minister, Chandashekhar Bawankule, assured them of help in the matter. The farmers, who spent Sunday night in the open, are planning another march on Wednesday with black flags to protest against the non-payment of their dues and the failure on the part of the government to resolve the issue. "We were assured on behalf of the Chief Minister that cheques to nearly 400 cotton farmers totalling Rs 8 crore will be handed out," said one of the cotton farmers, Ram Narain Pathak. The cotton growers said they had sold 20,000 quintals of cotton to the Agriculture Produce Market Committee between November, 2014, and May, 2015, which in turn was acquired by the owner of a ginning and pressing factory who allegedly failed to make payments to the farmers. The farmers are hoping that top RSS leaders can intervene in the dispute. CPI(M) Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Mohammed Salim today gave a notice of breach of privilege against HRD Minister Smriti Irani for "misleading" the House over Rohith Vemula's suicide and JNU episodes. "The statement given by HRD Minister Smriti Irani in Lok Sabha during the discussion under rule 193 on the situation arising out of recent incidents in institutions of higher education in reference to Jawaharlal Nehru and Hyderabad University on February 24, 2016 have glaring inconsistencies. "Using the opportunity to speak as a Minister during reply, she misled the entire nation by a statement which is far from truth and factually incorrect," Salim said in his notice. "This is a clear case of breach of privilege. I would like to request you to take appropriate action by allowing this notice," he said. The CPI(M) MP said the HRD Minister in her statement in Parliament on February 24 asserted that the February 9 incident was investigated by JNU and its various bodies and, after full deliberations, the students who shouted "anti-national" slogans were found guilty. This assertion is "incorrect" as it relies on the reporting of an enquiry process which is not credible for several reasons, Salim said. He noted that the high-level enquiry committee (HLEC) was formed by the University on February 11, 2016 "without any terms of reference and by superseding the Proctorial committee (which is the designated committee to enquire into any such incidents as per JNU statutes" on the same day. "On Feb 12, 2016, the HLEC opined that 8 students were involved in one or more of the following four acts: misrepresentation of facts, forcefully holding a meeting, creating a law and order situation, shouting unconstitutional slogans/derogatory remarks about the nation. Following which it issued an order of academic suspension to these students. "This decision was arrived at in less than 24 hours of the formation of the Committee. It did not fix any specific responsibility and based their claims on a video footage whose credibility is questionable," he said. The CPI(M) leader, in his notice, also claimed the students against whom the decision of academic suspension was taken were not even given a chance to be heard by HLEC members. On Irani's claim on Rohith Vemula's alleged suicide case that "no one allowed a doctor near this child (Rohith), to revive this child. Instead, his body was used as a political tool", Salim quoted a student Zikrullah's Facebook post, which said that a doctor and police were present when Rohith was declared dead. "I was the person who called health center immediately after learning that Rohith hanged in NRS hostel. Within 5 minutes CMO Health center Dr Rajashree P has reached the spot and she checked the pulses and declared him dead. "There were Telangana police also present there. Today MHRD minister lied to entire nation that no doctor and police were allowed to check the dead body till 6:30 AM of next day.(sic)," Salim quoted Zikrullah's Facebook post. The CPI(M) lawmaker noted that while Irani had said in the House that "the ones who passed judgment are not the ones appointed by the BJP-led NDA but by the Congress party", the fact is "the ones who passed the judgment were the sub-committee of the Executive Council. It is the Vice Chancellor, P Appa Rao, an appointee of the NDA, who had constituted this committee. Writer-historian William Dalrymple's first book of photographs documenting pictures of landscape, which convey potent solitude and brooding strokes will be published this month. He brings elegance, inquiry and grace to the photographic form in "The Writer's Eye," a suite of black and white photographs, shot over two years, publisher HarperCollins India said. The author of acclaimed books returns to a visual medium he first worked with in collegiate days, armed now with over two decades of writerly composure and brilliance, a statement said. Dalrymple said he was "completely thrilled that HarperCollins India is publishing my photographs - the realisation of a long held dream." According to HarperCollins India CEO Ananth Padmanabhan, "We are incredibly excited; it's a rare moment when a celebrated writer chooses another medium of art. William's first book of photographs and we are delighted he chose to publish with us." Curated by bestselling writer and Sensorium Festival co-founder, Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi, "The Writer's Eye" opens at Sunaparanta: Goa Centre for the Arts on March 18 in Goa; Vadehra Art Gallery, March 29 here; and the Grosvenor Gallery in June in London. This show is supported by arts patrons Dattaraj, Dipti Salgaocar and Isheta Salgaocar, gallerists Roshini Vadehra, and Conor Macklin. Dalrymple is also one of the co-directors and founders of the annual Jaipur Literature Festival. He is the author of several bestselling books, including "Return of a King," "White Mughals" and "Nine Lives. Veteran theatre personality M K Raina today decried as "opportunistic" and "absolutely dangerous" the present trend of artists, thinkers and writers who choose not to express their ideological and political stance. "At the recent march by JNU students it was painful to see that except for a few theatre people and artists hardly any of the big names walked with them. That I think is a very dangerous trend for society," Raina said. The director-actor referred to a march here taken out by students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, against the sedition law which the JNSU President was charged with. Raina said he was unhappy that the students did not receive greater support from the liberal arts and social science community, which, he said, by its very nature encouraged critical thinking. The director-actor pointed out that the artists community did not even extend support to a second procession, which supported an opposing ideology. "What is worrying is that the artists community did not even march along with the other procession which came later. I find this position of riding under the carpet as the most dangerous opportunistic position. It is dangerous for any art and therefore to any society and country," Raina said. The Sangeet Natak Akademi award-winning director said it was easy to teach theatre techniques like stage lighting and mounting productions but not critical thinking skills. "The critical thinking that comes from liberal arts and social science is absolutely missing," Raina said at a curtain raiser event here for the 11th META theatre awards. Deepan Sivaraman, theatre director from Kerala seconded Raina's opinion. "I have the same feeling. If arts students cannot come out to voice their dissent or support (for an issue) then it is absolutely hopeless for an institution," Sivaraman said. Delhi government has deducted half of salary of two senior DANICS officers working with its Home Department as they were suspended for defying a Cabinet order, a move which may trigger another round of confrontation between the AAP dispensation and the Centre. The Union Home Ministry had revoked the suspension order. On January 27, Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain had issued an order saying special secretaries Yashpal Garg and Subhash Chandra would only be entitled to a subsistence allowance instead of their full salary as they had been suspended by the Delhi government for allegedly defying a Cabinet order. "The government has deducted the salary of Garg and Chandra by half for the month of February," sources said. On January 29, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung had declared "illegal" the AAP government's order to slash the salary of two special secretaries in the Home Department. In a letter to Chief Secretary K K Sharma, the Lt Governor had directed him to ensure full compliance with the Home Ministry's directive and declared that Jain's order to pay the two officials only subsistence allowance has no legal sanctity. "The direction of the Ministry of Home Affairs makes it abundantly clear that no adverse action can be initiated against these officers based on the suspension orders since these orders were without authority of law, void ab initio and non est (does not exist). "Therefore, the order dated January 27 issued by the Minister of Home, Delhi government has no legal sanctity and cannot be implemented," the LG had said. The suspension of the officers had led to a major protest by bureaucrats as around 200 DANICS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service) officers had gone on a day-long mass leave on December 31. The IAS officers had also worked half-day that day. Controversial TERI Executive Vice Chairman R K Pachauri was today charge sheeted by the Delhi Police for allegedly sexually harassing and outraging modesty of a former woman colleague. Pachauri has also been accused of stalking and criminally intimidating the victim with gesture or act intended to insult her modesty, said the charge sheet filed in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Shivani Chauhan who has fixed it for consideration on April 23. Investigating Officer in the case, Pratibha Sharma, who submitted the over 1,400 page charge sheet, said the probe was also based on the SMSes and e-mails exchanged between the accused and the victim. She said the complaint of the former TERI woman employee was thoroughly examined and statements of witnesses, many of whom are present and former employees of the organisation and friends were recorded. The IO said 23 persons, including friends, present and former employees of The Energy Research Institute (TERI), have been named as prosecution witnesses in the charge sheet. Investigators have also relied on the statement of the victim before the police and magistrate, besides the SMSes and emails exchanged between her the accused, she said. She said based on the complaint of the victim, offences punishable under sections 354 (assault/criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354 A (sexual harassment), 354 D(stalking), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509(word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of IPC, are made out against Pachauri. On February 13, last year an FIR was registered against Pachauri and he was granted anticipatory bail in the case on March 21. Dutch intelligence services said today they were investigating reports that eight Dutch citizens have been executed in Syria by Islamic State (IS) after they tried to quit the jihadist group. "We are investigating the signals from this open source to get further confirmation," a spokesperson for the Dutch AIVD intelligence sources told AFP, adding they had no further information. Syrian activists on Monday said via Twitter that "Daesh executed eight Dutch fighters on Friday in Maadan, Raqa province, after accusing them of attempting desertion and mutiny." Daesh is another name for IS, which is also known by the acronyms of ISIS or ISIL. The tweet was posted by Abu Mohammad, a member of the citizen journalist group Raqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), and has not been confirmed by any other source. The group said in a statement that the eight were "then buried... In the mountain in Aljerf area, after being accused of incitement against ISIS." RBSS has been documenting since April 2014 abuses in Raqa, the group's de-facto capital in northern Syria. Tension has boiled in Raqa over the past month between 75 Dutch jihadists -- among them fighters of Moroccan origin -- and IS intelligence operatives from Iraq, RBSS said. Three other Dutch jihadists were arrested by Iraqi IS members who accused them of wanting to flee and one of the detainees was beaten to death during the interrogation, according to RBSS. According to past estimates by the Dutch secret services, 200 people from the Netherlands including 50 women have joined IS in Syria and Iraq. Villagers displaced by the construction of the Damodar Valley Corporation's Maithon and Panchet dams began a 'jal satyagraha' near here today demanding jobs and a CBI probe into employment given to fake "land-losers". Over 250 displaced villagers from four districts of West Bengal and Jharkhand assembled on the Damodar river at Simpather, near here, demanding employment and a CBI probe into 9,000 alleged fake appointments in the name of those who lost their land to the project. The displaced villagers from Dhanbad and Jamtara districts of Jharkhand and Purulia and Burdwan districts of West Bengal began the 'satyagraha' under the banner of 'Ghatwar Adivasi Mahasabha'. Ramshyra Singh, president of the Mahasabha, said they want employment for genuine persons displaced and also a CBI probe into the appointment of "fake displaced villagers". Mahasabha claimed that for the construction of the dams, over 38,000 acre of land was acquired in 1953-54 in which 12,000 families of 240 villages were displaced. Besides, the residential land belonging to 1,670 villagers of Dhanbad and Jamtara districts (then in Bihar) and 1,700 families in Purulia and Burdwan districts of Bengal had also been acquired, it claimed. Singh said family members of these displaced persons had not been given employment till date. Dhanbad sub-divisional magistrate said he had no information about 'jal satyagraha' being organised. "If it comes to my notice, the administration would take proper action," he said. An Egyptian man has been beheaded and his teenage son shot dead in the Sinai, officials said today of the peninsula where Islamic State group jihadists are spearheading an insurgency. The man and his 17-year-old son were killed late Monday in the North Sinai provincial town of El-Arish, security officials and medics said. No militant group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. In the past, jihadists from the Egyptian affiliate of IS have beheaded several people and posted gruesome pictures online after accusing them of spying for the army in the Sinai. "The man's decapitated body and his son's body were brought to hospital on Monday night. His son was shot in the head," a medic said. The killings come weeks after Egypt's IS affiliate posted pictures online of two men it said were killed for spying for the military in the Sinai. The IS affiliate -- "Sinai Province" -- is waging an insurgency in the restive peninsula that has killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen since the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The group also claimed the October 31 downing of a Russian airliner carrying tourists over Sinai that killed all 224 people on board. IS said it had smuggled a bomb onto the plane at an airport in the south of the peninsula. The Sinai jihadists pledged allegiance in November 2014 to IS, which controls parts of Iraq and Syria and also has a presence in conflict-ridden Libya. Vigilance sleuths today caught an accounts clerk of electricity department while accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 from Fatuha in Patna district. Acting on a tip off, a flying squad of the vigilance department laid a trap and arrested Mohammad Asif, accounts clerk with the electricity department, while taking Rs 15,000 in bribe from his office at Fatuha supply sub-division in Patna district, the release said. One Lal Babu Mahto, a resident of Shekh Mohammadpur village under Khusrupur police station of the district, had lodged a complaint with the Vigilance Investigation Bureau stating that Asif was demanding a sum of Rs 15,000 for releasing his mother's pension and other arrears. After verifying the complaint, the Vigilance department constituted a flying squad headed by Deputy SP Munna Prasad, the release said. The accounts clerk would be produced before the Vigilance court in Patna after completing interrogation. Altogether 22 persons have been arrested in 21 cases conducted by the department so far this year, the release added. Having failed to get a response from them, Delhi government has now approached the wives of four Bollywood actors urging them to encourage their husbands not to endorse pan masala products as they contain areca nuts, a potential cancer causing agent. Additional Director (Health), Delhi Government, Dr S K Arora has written to Kajol, wife of actor Ajay Devgn, Gauri Khan, wife of Shah Rukh Khan, Malaika Arora Khan, wife of Arbaaz Khan and Suneeta Ahuja, wife of actor Govinda asking them to persuade their husband not to endorse pan masala products in larger public interest. "Humble appeal to you for encouraging Mr Shah Rukh Khan not to participate in advertisements of pan masala in larger public health interest. "Earlier, a letter was written to Mr Khan for not to participate in such advertisements in public interest. Nonetheless I have not received any response till date nor he has plugged doing such advertisements," Arora said in his letter to Gauri. He further said even if these pan masalas do not contain tobacco or nicotine, they surely contain areca nuts (supari) and now there are a lot of scientific evidences which prove that supari causes cancer. "A similar letter was sent to Ms Sunny Leone and I am delighted to inform that I have received an affirmative response with the assurance of not to indulge in such promotion in future. Moreover, she is consulting the companies for the terms and conditions of present contract to stop advertising pan masalas," Arora said. Delhi government also urged the actors and their wives to join its anti-tobacco campaign to save the lives of lakhs of people who die due to oral cancer every year. In January, the Health Department had written to six actors--Shah Rukh Khan, Govinda, Saif Ali Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Ajay Devgan and Sunny Leone--urging them not endorse pan masala products. Arora had said that they (actors) were role model for youngsters and should not participate in pan masala or any other similar advertisements as these attract the vulnerable population, especially, children and women and are directly and indirectly responsible for the increasing trend of tobacco use. Leone's husband Daniel Weber, had called up to say that she will not sign any contract for such advertisements in future. According to experts, areca nut, the main ingredient in pan masala, is in the league of caffeine, tobacco and alcohol when it comes to addictive properties and also leads to a high number of cases of submucous fibrosis, which can easily turn cancerous. European and Asian stock markets rose today as fresh stimulus from the Chinese central bank lifted hopes for the world's number two economy, analysts said. Frankfurt's DAX 30 index was the standout European performer, rising 1.7 per cent in midday deals, helped also by official data showing that German unemployment remained at historic lows in February. "The major indices across Asia managed to post some fairly solid gains, helping Europe to lift its positive start to the week and push the major European stock markets towards monthly highs," said James Hughes, chief market analyst at traders GKFX. Markets also were boosted today by merger talk, according to analysts. US-based global markets operator Intercontinental Exchange said it was mulling a bid for the London Stock Exchange Group, already in merger talks with Germany's Deutsche Boerse, operator of the Frankfurt market. ICE, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, said in a statement that it was "considering making an offer for LSEG", which owns the London and Milan stock exchanges. China though was the key driver behind higher markets after its central bank cut the amount of reserves banks must set aside in Beijing's latest attempt at tackling the country's slowing growth. After Chinese markets closed yesterday, policymakers cut the "reserve requirement ratio" for financial institutions -- the share of deposits that they must have available in cash -- by 0.50 percentage points, freeing up more funds for them to lend. The announcement boosted the mood across Asian trading floors, with Shanghai jumping 1.7 per cent and Tokyo reversing early losses to close up 0.4 per cent today. China's central bank move came after a G20 finance ministers' weekend meeting in Shanghai that stressed the use of all available policy tools to boost growth and settle wild volatility on global equity markets. And it helped to offset more weak Chinese manufacturing figures. Official data today showed that February activity shrank at its fastest rate in four years. India's main stocks index meanwhile posted its biggest rise since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power almost two years ago, after the government presented a budget expected to boost rural demand. The United States regards the exodus of Middle Eastern refugees to Europe as a "global challenge," Secretary of State John Kerry has said, reassuring his German counterpart of US support. "It is not somebody else's problem. It is a test for all of us," Kerry declared yesterday, at a Washington news conference with Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. "The United States considers the to be global. The impact first was felt obviously by Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. They've born an unbelievable burden in the course of these four-plus years of war."The European Union is reeling under a flow of hundreds of thousands of desperate refugees from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, and particularly from Syria, which is in the grip of civil war. Washington boasts of being the biggest single donor to the refugee relief effort, having spent $5.1 billion, largely to support refugee camps in Syria's neighbours Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. But President Barack Obama has only ordered that the United States itself resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees this fiscal year -- and managed to screen just 942 in the first five months of this period. Some in Washington regard the crisis as the worst challenge to Europe since the aftermath of World War II and a threat to the survival of the European Union. The administration is under pressure to do more. But Kerry has said the priority is to push for a political settlement in Syria that would end the war and stop the refugee flow at its source. Parents of EWS category admission seeker students, who have been allotted North-East Delhi's East Point School in the centralised draw, are in a limbo as the administration had furnished wrong information about the number of seats to the Directorate of Education. "All the schools were asked to provide us information about number of seats available for Nursery and KG in their respective institutions. The East Point School, Vasundhara Enclave, mistakenly furnished information about the total number of seats rather than vacant seats," DoE Director Padmini Singhla told PTI. "Since more number of seats were shown available, more students were allotted the school in the computerised draw. The matter has been brought to our notice and remedial measures are being taken. "After admissions to the first list are over, we will try accommodating the students in schools next on their priority list depending upon the distance range" she added. The confusion has left parents in a fix with the school administration telling them the seats are already full. "I have been going there for 10 days and we are turned away from the gate saying the seats are full. Daily there is a queue outside the school with parents having same problem. Why was the school allotted to my child if the seats are already occupied? ," said Sonpal, whose son has been alloted the school for admission to KG class. When contacted, the school authorities said they cannot accommodate any more students as the seats are full. "We have been telling any parent who approaches us that the seats have been already filled. The parents are wasting their time as well as of the school administration by queueing up outside the school premises. We advice them to contact the DoE," said Kanupriya, a senior school administration official. Meanwhile, the department has yet again extended the last date for completion of admission. "It has come to the notice that most of the private unaided recognised schools have not completed the admission process of EWS/DG category Students selected through computerised draw of lots at entry level classes in spite of granting extension of time up to February 29," DoE said in a circular issued to schools. "The last date for granting admissions is hereby further extended up to March 18. All schools are directed to complete the process by then," it added. The Centre's claims of doubling farmers' income are "hollow" because returns from farming are already in negative, the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) said while dubbing the Union Budget as "anti-farmer". "The Centre talks about doubling farmer's income by 2022. This statement is a total fraud because farmers are already in distress in the wake of negative returns then how can government double their income," BKU (Ugrahan) General Secretary Sukhdev Singh said today. "To give remunerative returns to farmers, the Centre is required to implement Swaminathan Commission report which ensures 50 per cent profit over and above MSP," he said. He also demanded that the government should also stress on reducing the input cost of growers which is possible by containing the profit of corporates, engaged in providing farm inputs. BKU also termed the 100 per cent FDI in marketing of food products produced in India as a "trick to takeover" land of small and marginal farmers. "Foreign companies have big resources and they can takeover the land of growers especially small and marginal ones under the garb of marketing and once they start earning profits, they will throw them out," he alleged. Singh also said that raising credit for farming sector to Rs 9 lakh crore is unlikely to benefit small and marginal growers. "The actual beneficiaries of bank advances are big, progressive farmers and commission agents who take bulk of loans, depriving small farmers who are in real need," he said. In a bid to spread Islam's message of peace and tolerance as a counterpoint to the rising global violent extremism, the first World Sufi Forum is being organised here and will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the inaugural day on March 17. The four-day event, being organised by All India Ulama and Mashaikh Board (AIUMB), a non-profit institute, will have leading global Sufi scholars, academicians, social workers as participants from 20 countries including Pakistan, a release from AIUMB said. "We believe it is high time for us to create a platform to seriously ponder over the radical interpretations of Islam by terror groups for political gains. The spread of terror and tyranny by jihadist forces in Syria and other parts of the world has damaged the image of Islam more than ever before. "However, we are of the belief that Indian Muslims can provide a real alternative to all the bloodshed being spilled across the world in the name of Islam by promoting their rich history of Sufism," AIUMB founder-president Syed Muhammad Ashraf said in the release. Asserting that any extremist organisation waving Islamic flags and misusing the holy Quran such as Daesh and ISIS have actually "no endorsement in the ambit of Islam", he said, they are nothing but terror outfits which are tarnishing the image of Islam. "It is therefore important to realise and unearth the propaganda of such people and organisations that are funded by foreign entities to spread hatred and intolerance to disrupt peace and harmony in a country such as India," he added. Sufism stands for peace, tolerance and unconditional love and AIUMB aims to promote these virtues of Islam through our World Sufi Forum event, he said. "Through World Sufi Forum we intend to make India the global centre for moderate ideology in Islam," added Ashraf. AIUMB, a Sunni-Sufi organisation is set up primarily to counter radicalisation of Muslims. Five persons, including a minor, were arrested when they were allegedly trying to smuggle 30 bulls in a truck on Dholpur-Bari road here, police said today. Acting on a tip off, police set up a barricade and checked the vehicle during which the bulls were recovered, Superintendent of Police Rajesh Singh said. Five accused, identified as Ishaq Khan, Rahul Kumar, Feroze Khan, Mursalin and a juvenile, were arrested. The accused told police that they were smuggling the cattle head to Bihar from Tonk district. A case has been lodged against the accused. Eight Maoists including a local commander and five women were killed in a fierce gun battle with police in a dense forest in insurgency-hit Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, close to Telangana's Khammam district in the wee hours today, police said. The encounter took place between a team of Greyhounds -- Telangana's anti-Naxal force -- and the rebels in Sakler forests under Kistaram Police Station limits, nearly 500 kms south of Raipur. Based on an information that ultras were planning to strike, police parties have been carrying out combing operations in the bordering areas for the last two to three days, Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Sharma said. "At around 7.30 AM (this morning), our teams in joint operation with Chhattisgarh Police, were combing the area when one batch of the rebels fired on the security personnel and we also fired in self-defence in which eight maoists were killed," Sharma told reporters in Hyderabad. All the eight bodies have been brought to Bhadrachalam in Khammam, he said. Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, SRP Kalluri told PTI that out of the eight ultras killed, three have been identified as -- Gottimukkala Ramesh alias Lachanna (52), who was a special zonal committee member and belonged to Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, woman cadre Yosuf Bi alias Sony (40) from Medak district in Telangana, and Raju (25) from Chhattisgarh. After the exchange of fire, bodies of eight rebels, including five women, were recovered from the spot, he said, adding, an AK-47 rifle, one SLR, three Insas rifles and a .303 rifle were also found at the encounter spot, he said. Choppers were pressed into service to evacuate the security personnel from the area and shift the bodies of the rebels. Following is the chronology of the events in the sexual harassment case allegedly involving executive Vice Chairman of TERI R K Pachauri in which Delhi Police today filed a charge sheet against him. *Feb 13, 2015: FIR lodged against Pachauri for alleged offence of sexual harassment, criminal intimidation on the basis of a complaint of a woman research analyst of TERI. *Feb 17: Pachauri gives a complaint to police about hacking of his electronic devices. *Feb 19: Delhi HC grants interim protection from arrest to Pachauri till Feb 23, asks him to move trial court for further relief. *Feb 23: Delhi court extends Pachauri's interim protection from arrest till Feb 26. *Feb 24: Pachauri steps down as Chairman of the Inter governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). *Feb 25: Lawyers and civil society activists demand Pachauri's resignation from TERI. *Feb 26: Delhi court extends interim protection from arrest granted to Pachauri till March 27 but bars him from entering TERI office premises. *Feb 28: Pachauri resigns from the PM's Council on Climate Change. *Mar 21: Delhi court grants anticipatory bail to Pachauri while rejecting the request of police for his custody. *Apr 17: Pachauri moves a Delhi court seeking permission to travel abroad to attend a global water summit in Greece from April 26 to 29. *Apr 20: Delhi court refuses to hear Pachauri's plea to travel abroad after complainant questions its maintainability. *Apr 22: Pachauri moves HC seeking permission to travel to Greece. *Apr 23: HC denies permission to Pachauri to travel abroad after which he withdraws his plea. *May 19: HC seeks response of Pachauri on the woman's plea seeking cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted to him. *May 20: HC refuses to cancel Pachauri's anticipatory bail immediately. *May 21: Pachauri fails to get an order on his plea for permission to enter his office from a Delhi court. *Jun 24: Pachauri questioned by Police in the case. *Jun 27: Delhi court allows Pachauri to travel to USA to attend last rites of his brother-in-law. *Jul 12: Pachauri faces fourth round of police questioning. *Jul 16: Police seeks cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Pachauri in HC saying he was influencing witnesses and misusing the liberty. *Jul 17: Delhi court allows Pachauri to enter his office premises except the head office here and a branch in Gurgaon. *Jul 23: Governing council of TERI removes Pachauri from the post of DG. *Sep 8: Woman files fresh plea in HC alleging no action taken by TERI against Pachauri on internal panel's findings. *Sep 28: Woman moves fresh application in HC seeking Pachauri's immediate removal from office. *Nov 21: Pachauri allowed to enter TERI headquarters and its Gurgaon office by a Delhi court after victim resigns. *Jan 13: HC reserves verdict on woman's plea seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Pachauri. *Feb 8: Pachauri appointed as executive Vice Chairman of TERI. *Feb 10: Ex-TERI employees condemn appointment of Pachauri as Executive VC, demand deferment of his elevation till pendency of case. *Feb 11: Amid outrage over his appointment Pachauri proceeds on leave after a group of students refuse to receive degrees from him. *Feb 12: Former Competition Commission chief Ashok Chawla becomes new chairman of TERI. *Feb 13: TERI alumni attacks the governing council's decision to send him on "paid leave" against their demand for his removal or suspension. *Feb 15: A Delhi court allows TERI's executive Vice Chairman R K Pachauri to travel to Sharjah to receive Lifetime Achievement Award. *Feb 20: Delhi court forfeits Pachauri's surety bond after he "deliberately" violates travel conditions imposed on him by overstaying abroad. *Feb 22: Sessions court stays the order forfeiting the surety of Rs four lakh furnished by Pachauri, for overstaying abroad. *Mar 1: Delhi Police files charge sheet against Pachauri, accuses him of offences of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty, sexual harassment, stalking, criminal intimidation and word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman under IPC. A court here today awarded life imprisonment to four persons holding them guilty of murdering a priest 40 years ago. Additional District and Sessions Judge Pradeep Kumar also slapped on Mishri Lal Mandal, Sukhdev Sah, Vasudev Prasad and Ramdev Mandal a fine of Rs 10,000 each after finding them guilty in the murder of Anant Jha. According to the prosecution, Jha, a native of Nepal, was murdered in Mehsi village in the Lokhi police station area on September 25, 1976, due to enmity between them. The convicts have been sent to jail. The court acquitted four other accused persons for want of evidence against them, while six others have died during trial of the case. In a new chapter in Indo-Mauritian Defence co-operation, Goa government launched a Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV), 'MCGS Victory', designed and built in-house by Goa Shipyard Limited for Mauritius Coast Guard. Chief MinisterLaxmikant Parsekar, while addressing a gathering at the launch here yesterday, lauded the work being done in the shipyard. He said the awarding of Rs 32,000 crores MCMV (Mine Counter-Measures Vessel, also called as mine-sweepers) project is set to minimise the impact of mining restrictions, and will boost the state's economy by creating more job opportunities for the locals and setting up ancillary units. Parsekar also complimented GSL's work force for their skills and positive attitude. On the occasion, Mauritius High Commissioner J Goburdhan highlighted the important role of the vessels, being built at GSL, in safeguarding their vast maritime zone. He said that based on the high professional capability and track record of GSL, the Mauritius government is confident of getting these high-quality ships within contractual delivery time. GSL's Chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral (Retd) Shekhar Mital said, "Contract of the vessel was signed on May 17, 2014, while the keel of the vessel was laid on Dec 18, 2014." Launching of first of the series vessel within 14 months of keel laying is a record in itself, he said. He assured that the vessel, as per the track record of GSL, will be delivered ahead of the contractual schedule of September 2016. "This vessel is primarily designed for coastal patrolling, anti-piracy, anti-smuggling and anti-drug surveillance, anti-poaching, and search and rescue operations," he said. The vessel is fitted with 30 mm CRN-91 gun, 12.7 mm heavy machine guns and 7.62 mm medium machine guns, besides state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment. It is capable of achieving a high speed of 35 knots, as per a GSL release. GSL is the largest exporter of ships from Indian sub-continent and is presently executing export orders worth Rs 1,200 crore, the CMD said. Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida was also present among other prominent dignitaries, at the launch. Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra today appreciated the re-energised efforts of the Border Raod Organisation (BRO) in providing high quality roads and connectivity in the state. At the very outset at high level meeting, the Governor appreciated the re-energised efforts of the BRO projects in the state in providing high quality roads and connectivity in the region, Defence Spokesman said. Vohra chaired a meeting which was attended by Parvez Dewan, Advisor to Governor, P K Tripathy, Principal Secretary to Governor, Rohit Kansal, Secretary R&B, Border Roads Organisation Director General Border Roads Lt Gen Suresh Sharma, BRO Chief Engineer, Project Sampark Brigadier B Bhattacharyya and other BRO officials. The Construction of tunnels at Chattargala, Gurez, Tangdhar, Sadhna, Z-Gali and Fadkiyanwali Gali was emphasized to provide all round connectivity and in-built redundancy in the State road communication, spokesman said. He said that the issues regarding taking over of some important roads by BRO commensurate to defence requirements were also discussed. The monthly review meeting between State Government, BRO, NHAI and State PWD was stressed upon for sieving out grey areas and to provide impetus and synergy between all agencies involved in road infrastructure development. Issues like land acquisition and forest clearance will be put on fast track, he said. Lt Gen Sharma visited Project Sampark here and also toured extensively by air and road to assess the progress of various ongoing works. Director General Border Roads held talks with Army Commander, Northern Command, Chief Secretary, J&K and other local formation commanders. The government has taken various measures, including persuading states to reduce VAT on jet fuel and allowing Indian carriers to import fuel at cheaper rates, to revive the struggling civil aviation sector, Rajya Sabha was informed today. In a written reply to a question on revival of aviation sector, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said the government has "persuaded state governments to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) on aviation turbine fuel" and also "allowed direct import of ATF by Indian carriers as actual users." However, the government, in the budget yesterday, proposed to increase the excise duty to 14 per cent from the current 8 per cent on jet fuel, which accounts for over 40 per cent of a carrier's operating expenses. Highlighting other steps taken by the government to provide cushion to the ailing aviation sector, Sharma said the Centre has "permitted foreign airlines to participate up to 49 per cent in the equity of scheduled air transport undertaking". He said the government has also "allowed External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) for working capital requirement of airline industry for a period of one year subject to a total ceiling of 1 billion dollars." Besides, he said, the Centre has given tax concessions for parts of aircraft and testing equipment for third party maintenance, repair and overhaul of civil aircraft. After a little over 5,930 villages getting electrified so far in this fiscal, the government has expressed hope that all the unelectrified villages in the country will be energized by 2017-end. Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal has expressed hope that all the unelectrified villages will be electrified by the end of 2017 and every home will get power by 2018. The Power Ministry in a statement today said that 305 villages have been electrified across the nation during the last week. "Out of these electrified villages, 53 villages belong to Odisha, 48 in Jharkhand, 44 in Arunachal Pradesh, 42 in Bihar, 34 in Chhattisgarh, 34 in UP, 25 in Rajasthan, 14 villages in Assam, 10 in Manipur and one in Madhya Pradesh," it said. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech yesterday had said that as on April 1, 2015, a total of 18,542 villages were not electrified. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation on August 15, 2015 announced that the remaining villages will be electrified within the next 1,000 days. Modi has earlier asked the Power Ministry to target electrification of around 200 villages every week by holding regular follow ups with the state implementing agencies. The villages are being electrified under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna (DDUGJY). Outstanding issues relating to the existing Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) are under negotiation between India and Mauritius through the mechanism of Joint Working Group (JWG), Parliament was informed today. "India has proposed changes in the existing DTAA to address concerns relating to treaty abuse, around tripping of funds, double non-taxation and revenue loss. Both sides are working bilaterally to resolve these issues," Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. The last JWG meeting between India and Mauritius was held from June 29 to July 1, last year in Delhi to discuss outstanding issues. In a reply to a separate query, Sinha said the Income Tax Department has implemented the Non-Filer Monitoring System (NMS), which analyses and assimilates all in-house information as well as transactional data received from third parties including Annual Information System (AIR), tax deduction at source and Tax Collected at Source (TCS) statements. "About 1.36 crore non-filers with potential tax liability have been identified under NMS amd more than 52 lakh returns have been filed by the target segments," the minister said. Sinha said for the assessment year 2014-15, the number of taxpayers of income tax is 5.45 crore, which works out to be 4.36 per cent of estimated population of 125 crore. The government today ordered "rebidding" of the strategic Rs 10,050-crore Zojila pass tunnel contract in Jammu and Kashmir, which was earlier given to IRB Infrastructure. The decision to rebid the tunnel project was taken recently at a high-level meeting, chaired by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, official sources said. At the meeting, officials informed Gadkari that IRB Infrastructure had approached the Ministry to expedite the contract as the project was being delayed, sources said. "The Minister was of the view that if any doubts are raised in respect of any project concerning his Ministries, he would not hesitate to order rebidding. Gadkari said that since some doubts have been raised in respect of the project, rebidding should be ordered to maintain complete transparency and uphold probity in public life," a source told PTI. The project is of strategic importance, rebidding should be done at the earliest, the Minister told officials, he added. Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh had in January alleged that Gadkari had violated the CVC guidelines while awarding the contract. Gadkari had rubbished the charges of corruption, saying that Singh's allegations were "completely false" as the ministry followed a transparent e-tender system. Meanwhile, the developer in a regulatory filing to the BSE has informed that the company has received a communication from the government about the cancellation of the bid process. "The Company has received communication from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways that it has decided to cancel the bid process for the project and cancelled the said letter of award without assigning any reasons," IRB infrastructure said. The company had earlier intimated the BSE on January 3 about the letter of award for Construction, Operation and Maintenance of Zozila Tunnel including approaches on NH-1 (Srinagar - Sonmarg - Gumri Road) on Design, Build, Finance, Operate & Transfer (Annuity) basis. Soon after the award, the Road Transport Ministry had said all due processes in line with the Cabinet approval were followed in award of strategic Rs 10,050 crore Zojila pass tunnel contract to IRB Infrastructure. The statement had come a day after Congress had demanded sacking of Gadkari, alleging that the award was a "clear case of corruption at the highest level". "The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways follows due procedure while maintaining complete transparency in the award of any contracts. In the instant case also, the contract was awarded after due diligence after the bid was found technically responsive. Financial bid was opened and the quoted Semi Annuity amount found in line with the approval of CCEA for award of the work," an official statement had said. Biotech regulator GEAC has asked Delhi University's Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants, which is seeking permission for environmental release of transgenic mustard, to "revise" the report following concerns raised by farmers' bodies and NGOs, Lok Sabha was informed today. The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has received representations from various NGOs and farmers' bodies, expressing concern over the safety of transgenic mustard and is following a case by case assessment of genetically modified (GM) crops taking into account the "safety, efficacy, stability and agronomic performance", the government said. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, in written reply in Lok Sabha, said GEAC has recently received the application for environmental release of transgenic mustard hybrid DMH, developed by Delhi University's Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants, using barnase, barstar and bar genes. Javadekar said the dossier submitted by the applicant includes detailed studies to assess the impact on environment and human health in accordance with the protocols prescribed by the review committee on genetic manipulation and Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee. "These include expression studies, toxicity assessment, sub-chronic toxicity assessment, allergencity, compositional analysis and nutritional value, weediness potential, crossibility, pollen flow, gene flow studies, impact of soil organism etc. "GEAC, in its meeting held on February 5, has directed the applicant to revise the dossier as per comments of the sub-committee constituted by GEAC and inputs received from the Department of Biotechnology," he said. Government has not taken a decision on 5/20 norm, which requires an Indian carrier to have minimum 5 years of domestic flying and at least 20 planes for going overseas, Parliament was informed."No such decision has been taken," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said in a written reply to a Member's question.Sharma was responding to NCP Member of Parliament Majeed Memon's question whether in the proposed new civil aviation policy, the Government is likely to favour removal of 5/20 rule to allow some private to fly on international routes. As of now three private carriersJet Airways, SpiceJet and IndiGohave international operations besides the state-run Air India. GoAir, which is into domestic operations since 2005, is still not qualified for flying overseas as the airline is one short of required number of aircraft (20) in the fleet.Besides, two Tata Sons invested airlines AirAsia India and Vistarawhich started operations only in June 2014 and January 2015 , respectively and have only six and nine aircraft in their respective fleet, also can't fly overseas under the 5/20 norm.Significantly, last week Sharma had reportedly said that the Government had firmed up three to four options on the 5/20 rule."5/20 is going. In place of that, we will have something like 0/10 or 0/20 or 1/10 or 2/20. One of these options will be chosen very shortly. We are very close to the final decision," Sharma had said. Sharma's comments had come after chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons Ratan Tata lashed out publicly last month against the favouring continuation of the rule, alleging that the "incumbent (were) lobbying for protection and preferential treatment for themselves against the new airlines." The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which wants a status quo on the rule on the existing regulations, have in turn accused Ratan Tata and two airlines of acting in "self interest" and not in " interest." Significantly, the proposal to do away with the 5/20 norm was mooted by the erstwhile UPA government around the time Tata Group announced its re-entry in the domestic airlines industry in 2013. The registration of India under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010, was cancelled for alleged violation of laws, including false declaration about foreign contribution, Lok Sabha was informed today. Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said inspection of accounts and records of India was conducted on the basis of inputs that provisions of FCRA were being violated. During the inspection, he said, a number of violations were noticed, including transfer of foreign contribution to other than FCRA-designated bank accounts, under reporting and repeatedly mentioning incorrect amount of foreign contribution received, thus violating Section 33 of the FCRA. Under Section 33 of FCRA, a person is liable for action if he or she knowingly-(a) gives false intimation under sub-section. (c) of section 9 or section 18; or (b) seeks prior permission or registration by means defraud, false representation or concealment of material fact. The other violations by the NGO include incurring more than 50 per cent of foreign contribution on administrative expenditure, foreign NGO funding legal costs not only of bail but also of writ petitions of Indian NGOs and their activists, he said. "After serving show cause notice and providing reasonable opportunity, registration of India was cancelled on September 2, 2015," Rijiju said in a written reply. Replying to another question, the minister said registration of 4,138 NGOs was cancelled in July 2012 and those of 10,117 in March 2015 after issuance of show cause notices to such associations and giving them adequate opportunity. After inspections and scrutiny of accounts for serious violations, 17 cases were referred to CBI and 10 to state police for further investigation and prosecution. Accounts of 23 NGOs have been frozen and 20 NGOs were prohibited from receiving foreign contribution. In 2014, penalty amounting to Rs 5.20 crore was imposed on 341 NGOs for late or non-submission of mandatory annual returns and Rs 51.99 lakh on 24 NGOs for receipt and utilisation of foreign contribution without obtaining registration of prior permission under the FCRA, Rijiju added. A Saudi Arabian preacher was shot and wounded in a southern Philippine city today, police told AFP, adding security forces killed the gunman. Sheikh Aaidh al-Qarni was in hospital but did not have life threatening injuries following the shooting in Zamboanga city, local police spokeswoman Senior Inspector Helen Galvez said. The Madras High Court today permitted 10 persons, who contested for the post of Directors of Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank and got highest votes, to assume charge, subject to outcome of pending proceedings before it. A division bench, comprising Justice V. Ramasubrasmanian and Justice N.Kirubakaran, then posted the matter for further hearing to March 7. Litigations on the bank were posted for hearing before the bench as per the directions of the Supreme Court. Justice R Balasubramanian (retd judge of Madras High Court), who was appointed Chairman to conduct the annual general meetings that were pending for a long time, submitted two sealed covers to the Registrar-Judicial of the Court, containing his own report and the report of the Scrutinizer relating to the results of the annual general meetings. After perusing the contents, the bench said last time elections were held in 2009 following an earlier court order. After that, the AGMs could not take place, since the parties dragged the bank to various courts in a series of litigations, "some of which were proxy litigation fought by different groups to gain control over the bank." As a consequence, the Board elected in 2009 continued for about 7 years till January 29 this year. Upon the AGM being held on that date, the directors elected in 2009 vacated their office, the bench said. "Therefore, as on date, there is only one Managing Director and two Directors nominated by RBI. The Managing Director has virtually fallen ill, as could be seen from one of the resolutions passed in the AGM, sanctioning his medical bill." The functioning of the Bank has actually been paralyzed by the litigation. If normalcy has to be restored, then a full- fledged Board should assume office, it said. "This is possible either by declaring the results subject to the outcome of the cases or by nominating someone to the Board. The second option is ruled out since RBI is not agreeable to nominate anyone. They fear conflict of interest." "Therefore, there is only one option, namely to declare the results and allow the elected directors to assume charge, subject to the outcome of the litigation pending in all these proceedings." "....For the present, without pronouncing a final verdict on the question of validity of the votes polled by certain shareholders and without also recording a finding whether these votes have been calculated or not, we pass an order declaring the aforesaid 10 persons as having been elected. They are permitted to take charge subject to the ultimate outcome of these proceedings," the bench said. The Patna High Court today directed the Ministry of Defence to reply by April 5 on reports that it had asked candidates for varied Army posts to appear for a test without clothes, other than underwear, at Muzaffarpur last Sunday to prevent cheating. A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Iqbal Ahmad Ansari and Justice Chakradhari Saran Singh issued the order today on a petition. On the basis of photographs appearing in some newspapers in which candidates were shown writing examination in an open ground without any clothes except underwear, lawyer Deenu Kumar had filed a PIL yesterday which the High Court had converted into a writ and gave the order today to the Ministry of Defence to reply by April 5. Test was conducted for 1,159 posts at different levels in the Army at Chakkar Maidan in Muzaffarpur, about 100 km from Patna, by the Army Recruitment Office, Muzaffarpur. Director, Recruitment at Muzaffarpur Colonel V S Godra told reporters today that the step asking candidates to sit for the examination bare bodied was taken as a preventive measure against cheating. Because of this, no complaint of smuggling of mobile phones and chits inside the examination venue took place this time, he claimed. "We did not insult anybody or subjected anyone to cruelty...No examinee complained, so why outsiders are making a hue and cry over the matter?" Godra wondered. This is in contrast to photographs from Vaishali appearing last year showing people perched on window shades of a multi-storey building handing over answer chits to students appearing for exams inside. A petition has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking a probe into the recent murder of a prisoner allegedly by a fellow inmate in the Central Prison here. When the petition by the widow of Senthil came up for hearing, Justice V S Ravi directed the prison officials to produce the case diary, the post mortem report and other relevant documents in the court on March 14. Raising doubts over police's claim that her husband, a murder accused, was mentally ill and was killed by the fellow prisoner, Thirukammal sought a probe by a judge or competent officers, in order to unravel the truth. Contending that her husband was a normal person, she said during the remand, they did not inform the judicial magistrate that he was mentally ill. On February 24, the prison authorities informed her at 1.50 am that her husband was in a serious condition, and soon after, they called her and said he had died on the way to hospital. The authorities who were bound to safeguard the lives of the prisoners did not even permit her to see the body of her husband at the hospital before the post mortem, she alleged. No reason was given for the death, raising strong suspicion about the cause, the petitioner said. She contended that in order to cover up the issue they had projected her husband as mentally ill and was murdered by another mentally ill person. Unless an inquiry was ordered into the incident, the truth would remain unknown, she said and prayed before the court to direct the officials for the same. The Calcutta High Court today nullified acquisition of 50 acres of land at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district for non-payment of compensation. Justice Arindam Sinha nullified the acquisition on the ground that the non-payment of compensation violated norms stipulated in the Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The erstwhile Left Front government had in 2006 acquired 500 acres of land at Baruipur for setting up a new district headquarter there, shifting the existing one at Alipore in south Kolkata. Award of compensation for the acquisition was announced in 2007. A private developer owning 38 acres and 350 individual plot owners having 12 acres out of the 500 acres acquired moved the high court in 2009, claiming they had not been paid compensation. After hearing all parties, Justice Sinha passed the order today. The Orissa High Court today restrained the State Election Commission (SEC) from filling up the posts of Councillors in Keonjhargada Municipal Council arising out of a disqualification order passed by the SEC last month. At least nine former BJD councillors of the civic body were disqualified by the SEC on February 19 as they defied the party whip and voted for the no-confidence motion moved against the Chairperson of the civic body in December last year. Adjudicating over a writ petition filed by the nine disqualified councillors, Justice S K Mishra ordered the respondents, including the SEC, not to go ahead with the exercise of filling up the vacancies until further orders. Elected on BJD tickets, Sushree Sangita Nanda, Dileep Kumar Behera, Sunil Kumar Nayak, Kuna Nayak, Swarnalata Sahu, Prabhati Patnaik, Kumudini Nayak, Shatrughna Nayak and Sabita Sethy had defied the BJD whip and voted against the civic body Chairperson Meena Majhi after resigning from the party in the 21-member council. However, on a petition filed by BJD, the SEC had disqualified the elections of these nine councillors invoking the provision of a freshly-amended anti-defection law. Contesting the SEC action, the councillors had approached the High Court stating that the SEC order of disqualification was bad in the eyes of law as they had already resigned from the party before the anti-defection law was amended. The Madras High Court today stayed suspension of a Muslim research scholar of a state-run unviversity, holding that the action was taken on a suspicious criminal case and it went against the government's push for inclusiveness of minorities and Dalits in higher education. Passing interim orders on a petition by Mohamed Khan, challenging the action against him, Justice D Hariparanthaman also stayed a showcause notice issued by the Registrar of the Tirunelveli-based Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, seeking the student's explanation for his alleged criminal act. The Judge held that the Registrar had passed the suspension order based on a "suspicious criminal" case. The petitioner was a self-employed person who had come up the ladder working as a 'parota master' (cook), the Judge said, adding the action taken by the university was against the policy of the union government which wanted participation of members from SC, ST and minority communities in higher education. The student, suspended on October 1 last year, claimed a "false" complaint was lodged against him as he had sought details about some funds transactions and alleged 'illegal' absorption of Assistant Professors. According to the complaint, the student had entered the room of Assistant Professor Dr Jaishankar and allegedly abused him. He was also charged with closing and latching the room door while going out after Jaishankar and some of his colleagues questioned his behaviour. The Judge said the alleged incident took place on September 1, 2015 while the FIR was registered on September 25. No reason was given for the inordinate delay, he said, adding "delay is fatal to the criminal proceedings". The Judge also said the complaint was given by an Assistant Professor and not an illiterate. It had not been explained why did he lodge the complaint 25 days after the incident. The petitioner said the delayed FIR should not be relied on to take punitive action against him. The Judge said the showcause notice mentioned that the petitioner had threatened the Assitant Professor with a knife, but it was not stated in the FIR or in the complaint. The Assitant Registrar, who was present in the court, said they had not enquired about the incident from other professors who were in the room of Jaishankar. The hearing on the report of justifiability for handcuffing Dhalasamant brothers, allegedly mafia dons, in public filed by the investigating officer (IO) remained inconclusive in a local court today as the public prosecutor sought some more time to get instructions from the government. Debendra Kumar Biswal, a sub-inspector of Chauliaganj police station and the IO in the case, had submitted a report to the SDJM court detailing the grounds for which the brothers were made to walk in handcuffs in a residential colony here on February 27 where they had been taken for the purpose of investigation during police remand. Objecting to the grounds stated by the IO, the brothers' advocate Soura Chandra Mohapatra argued that the police action was in violation of settled principle of law of custodial jurisprudence as mentioned in various decisions passed by the Supreme Court earlier. "The Supreme Court in a judgment in 1979 had said that indiscriminate resort to handcuffs is illegal and shall be stopped forthwith, save in a small category of cases where an undertrial has a credible tendency of violence and escape," he said. He said the burden of proof of the ground is on the custodian as stated by Orissa High Court last week in its order while disposing of a petition filed by the State government. The matter would be taken up again on Thursday. In the meantime, apprehending law and order situation in Choudwar jail, where the brothers are currently lodged in judicial custody, the police have made an application to the SDJM court seeking permission to transfer the two brothers to separate jails in the State. In another development, city police today arrested a wanted criminal Antaryami Sahu, brother of a BJD corporator, from Chauliaganj area alleging he is an associate of Dhalasamant brothers and has been involved in extortion cases. Heart and lung diseases are the top killers in the country, Health Minister JP Nadda informed the Rajya Sabha today. According to WHO, the top ten causes of death in India are Ischemic heart disease (12.4%), chronic obstructive lung disease (10.8%), stroke (9%), diarrhoeal diseases (6%), lower respiratory tract infections (4.5%), preterm birth complications (3.9%), tuberculosis (2.7%), self-harm (2.6%), falls (2.6%) and road injury (2.4%), Nadda said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. "While some of these can be diagnosed at early stages and treated by qualified and trained MBBS doctors, diseases such as cancer, stroke, etc. Require services of specialists with postgraduate qualifications," the Minister said. At present, there are 57,138 MBBS seats and 25,850 postgraduate seats in the country. Home appliances manufacturers such as Panasonic, Whirlpool of India and Godrej are hoping that the microwave segment will see an uptick after two years of demand slowdown with the government waiving import duty on a key component. Although the removal of customs duty on magnetron of capacity 1 KW to 1.5 KW from 10 per cent earlier will benefit mostly microwaves of industrial applications, Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) says the step will give a fillip to domestic manufacturing. "The exemption of basic customs duty from 10 per cent to nil on Magnetron (of capacity 1 KW to 1.5 KW), which is used to manufacture microwave ovens, shall positively impact microwave oven manufacturing in the country," Panasonic India & South Asia Managing Director Manish Sharma told PTI. The government impetus on 'Make in India' by providing tax and duty benefits will boost the manufacturing sector for a longer period of time for strengthening the manufacturing capabilities, said Sharma, who is also President of CEAMA. Expressing similar views, Whirlpool of India VP Marketing Kapil Agarwal said: "This is a welcome move given the fact that the MWO industry has been declining in the past two years. This will enable not only growth as the products become more accessible but also spur India manufacturing." Offering a different perspective, Godrej Appliances Business Head and EVP Kamal Nandi said the proposal announced in the Budget 2016-17 will be beneficial only for big microwaves used in industrial applications and not the ones for domestic purposes. "They have dropped duty for magnetron of capacity 1 KW to 1.5 KW, which is for the higher end," he said, adding in domestic microwaves the capacity of magnetron is less than 1KW and import duty on these zero per cent last year itself. Public sector lender IDBI Bank today said international institutions like CDC of England and GIC of Singapore have shown some interest in buying stake in the bank. There were media reports that the government was in talks with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank Group member, to sell up to 15 per cent up stake in the struggling infra-lender- turned commercial bank. "You are talking about IFC, but there are many others -- CDC is there, GIC is there, these investors are looking at buying stake, because they know IDBI is a very credible bank," managing director and chief executive Kishor Kharat told reporters here. The government owns around 80 per cent stake in IDBI Bank and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while presenting the Budget yesterday had said the government was open to paring its stake in IDBI Bank below 50 per cent through a strategic stake sale. "The process of transformation of IDBI Bank has already started. The government will take it forward and also consider the option of reducing its stake to below 50 per cent," Jaitley had said. The bank today announced a three-year plan to revamp it by doubling its business to Rs 10 trillion by FY19 and also to reduce its gross non-performing assets to below 3 per cent, which is close to 9 per cent now. In the December quarter, the bank had reported its worst numbers with a net loss of Rs 2,183 crore on a massive rise in NPAs, making it the second largest loss in the history of the nation's banking history after BoB's over Rs 3,342 crore in the same period. International Finance Corporation (IFC) today launched its first Uridashi Masala Bonds (Japanese bonds) to mobilise Rs 30 crore from Japanese retail investors. The proceeds will be used for promoting private sector development in India, IFC said in a statement from Tokyo. The three-year bond builds on IFC's pioneering Masala Bond programme, which has raised the equivalent of USD 1.7 billion from international investors so far, said the World Bank Group member. The bonds will be settled in yen and each bond is denominated at Rs 1,00,000, the IFC said, adding that the bonds will be issued on March 30, 2016 and mature on March 29, 2019 with an annual payout of 5.36 per cent. Masala Bonds are rupee-denominated instruments sold only to offshore investors, while Uridashi bonds are sold to Japanese household investors. "Thriving economies depend on efficient capital markets," said Jingdong Hua, IFC vice-president and treasurer. "Our latest bond opens up a new source of local-currency finance for businesses in India while enabling Japanese household investors to participate in the development of one of the world's fastest-growing economies," Hua noted. IFC has played a prominent role in developing capital markets in the country, rolling out a USD 3 billion worth of rupee-denominated Masala Bonds over the past two years. The largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets, IFC has issued bonds in various maturities to establish a sound benchmark for rupee bond prices. Huge overseas investor demand for rupee bonds prompted the Reserve Bank of India to consider permitting local companies to issue rupee-denominated bonds in offshore markets. Hua said India is the largest client country for IFC, which has a committed portfolio totaling over USD 5 billion as of June 2015. Out of this, USD1.4 billion of new investments came in FY15 alone. Apart from strengthening local capital markets, IFC is also focused on boosting financing in infrastructure and logistics, promoting financial inclusion, and expanding access to high-quality and affordable healthcare. IFC works with over 2,000 businesses worldwide. In FY15, its long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly USD 18 billion. While American i-banker JP Morgan was the sole arranger of the bonds, the Japanese brokerage Daisen Hinomaru Securities Co was the distributor. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has given in-principle approval for creation of four new tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Assam and Chhattisgarh, Lok Sabha was informed today. "The in-principle approval has been accorded by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for creation of four new tiger reserves in Ratapani (MP), Sunabeda (Odisha), Guru Ghasidas (Chhattisgarh) and Orang (Assam)," Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said in a written reply. He said the state governments have been advised to send proposals for declaring Suhelwa(UP), Mhadei(Goa), Srivilliputhur Grizzled Giant Squirrel/ Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuaries/ Varushanadu Valley (TN), Dibang (Arunachal Pradesh) and Cauveri MM Hills (Karnataka) as tiger reserves. Javadekar said the assessment of status of tigers, co-predators and their prey in 2014, using refined methodology, has shown a country-wide 30 per cent increase in the number of tiger with an estimated number of 2226 (range (1954-2491) as compared to the 2010 estimation of 1706 (range 1520-1909). He said NTCA and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) have identified potential bottlenecks, obstacles and weak links within these corridors which are due to the presence of habitation, poor forest cover, encroachments, land use other than forest and geographical barriers. India cannot afford to lose China's support by joining the US in patrolling the disputed South China Sea as it needs Chinese help for economic growth and for success of BRICS, a state-run daily said today. In the second commentary within a week on the joint patrol issue, an article in the said: "The New Delhi government pursues pragmatic diplomacy and strives to reach a balance between the US and China. Some interpret New Delhi's refusal (to jointly patrol the SCS) as retaliation against Washington's approval of weapon sales to Islamabad last year." "This may be true. Yet, the fundamental reason is that New Delhi understands the significance of a sound China-India relationship to the nation's development. India cannot afford to lose China's support, which serves as an economic engine for the nation's growth. "In addition, New Delhi has officially taken over the presidency of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) from Moscow last month and will host the eighth summit in a few months' time. A friendly atmosphere is significant for the upcoming summit," the article said. It said conducting joint patrols in an attempt to court the US in this backdrop is inappropriate. "By refusing the US proposal, India is taking a stand and showing goodwill to China." The commentary is the second such article in the daily. On February 26, it said "any move by India to join the US navy for jointly patrolling the disputed South China sea will be against its interest and it would divide Asian countries and further escalate regional tensions." Chinese media's reactions came after it was reported that the US and India talked about launching joint naval patrols in the South China sea to safeguard freedom of navigation. But soon India clarified there would be no such patrols and the US also subsequently denied having any such plans. China claims almost all of the South China Sea, where several other Asian countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei have overlapping claims. Today's article also accused the US of attempting to drive a wedge between India and Pakistan. "Wary of India's rise, US is attempting to instigate conflicts between New Delhi and Islamabad by approving the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. New Delhi is wise to say no to Washington. "The White House is just manoeuvring India for its own interests, and will not stop supporting Pakistan as a repay to India. The US administration is following a 'divide and rule' policy," it said. India and US could sign a key military logistics agreement as top officials from the two sides meet here in April to look at ways to deepen the bilateral ties in the critical sector. Defence sources said one of the key area of focus during the visit of US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter to India in April will be three contentious agreements that Washington has been pushing for long. Known as the "foundational agreements", these pacts are - Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA), Logistics Support Agreement (LSA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA). "Discussions are on. Logistics agreement, tweaked as per India's interests, is doable and may be signed. However, some more discussions is to be held on BECA," sources said adding that CISMOA needs detailed discussions and clarifications. The sources had earlier said that LSA, which enables cashless supplies to each other's armed forces on credit, is doable as it can be done on "case by case" basis. "Of course no help will be extended in event of a war with our friendly countries," the sources had said. CISMOA allows interoperability of Indian and US equipment, which can be critical in a multi-nation operation for rescue, disaster relief or any other such matters. Indian defence establishment has concerns about this agreement as well as the BECA, which facilitates the exchange of geospatial information between governments for military as well as civilian use. The US has been pushing India over these agreements arguing that by not signing them, India is itself blocking potential for defence and high-technology cooperation. Kenneth Handelman, Deputy Assistant Secretary (Defence Trade Controls) in the State Department, had in February last year said that not signing of these pacts by India "are going to be an issue" at some point as both the countries work on high-end technology. Even though the previous UPA government had refused to sign these, sources said Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has asked the US to address India's concerns over these agreements for holding further talks, particularly on CISMOA and BECA. During his trip to US in December, Parrikar had indicated to the US that it may reconsider its stand on three contentious defence foundational agreements if its apprehensions about some of the issues in the pacts are addressed by Pentagon. "The Indian side has expressed certain reservation/ apprehension about some of the issues (with regard to Foundational Agreements)," Parrikar had told reporters at the end of his US trip. India today signed a loan agreement with multilateral lending agency World Bank for $300 million for Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Quality Improvement Project. The objective of the project is to improve student outcomes especially of disadvantaged groups in selected Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and to increase the effectiveness of the Higher Education System in Madhya Pradesh, a finance ministry statement said. The agreement was signed between Department of Economic Affairs Joint Secretary Raj Kumar on behalf of India and World Bank's Country Director Onno Ruhl on behalf of World Bank. The project has three components that include grants support to higher education Institutions, State Level Initiatives and improving system management, the statement said. India has told Pakistan to uphold the sanctity of the Line of Control and abide by the ceasefire commitment of 2003 along the International Border and LoC. Minister of State for Home, Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said Tuesday ceasefire violation is taken up with Pakistani authorities through the established mechanism of hotlines, flag meetings as well as talks between the Directorate Generals of Military Operations. "Government has repeatedly emphasised, including at the highest level, the need for Pakistan to uphold the sanctity of the LoC and abide by the ceasefire commitment of 2003 along the IB and LoC in Jammu and Kashmir," Chaudhary, in Lok Sabha, said in a written reply. The minister said there were 253 instances of ceasefire violation along the IB in 2015, 430 in 2014 and 148 in 2013. Chaudhary said there were 121 infiltration attempts along the border in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015 of which 33 were successful. However, 46 terrorists were killed by security forces. He said in 2014, there were 222 infiltration attempts in the state of which 65 were successful. A total of 52 terrorists were killed by the security forces that year. The minister noted that 208 terror incidents took place in the Valley in 2015 in which 39 security personnel and 17 civilians were killed. There were 222 terrorist incidents in J-K in 2014 in which 47 security personnel and 28 civilians were killed, he added. For the second time in a row, Indian Accent, New Delhi has been voted the 'Best Restaurant in India' at the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2016 event. The award, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, was announced at a gala ceremony here in the Thai capital yesterday. Chairman, Old World Hospitality, Rohit Khattar, said getting the award for the second consecutive time as "encouraging". "It is indeed encouraging. We are all thrilled with this award for the second consecutive year and would like to thank the jury as well as our diners for their continued support. We opened Indian Accent in New York last week and are now looking forward to New York embracing our inventive Indian cuisine", Khattar said in New York. Chef Manish Mehrotra added, "We work 365 days a year towards this and are delighted with this recognition. These are exciting times for the food industry in India and we are glad to be contributing towards its evolvement. We hope to keep bringing the very best to our diners and look forward to many such achievements in future." The award was collected by Sandeep Tandon, Managing Director, Old World Hospitality and Shantanu Mehrotra, Executive Chef, Indian Accent, the company said in a press release. Indian Accent serves a unique interpretation of Indian food, featuring historic revivals, playful nostalgia, with an openness to global techniques and influence. The restaurant has been featured in the 2015 San Pellegrino list of 100 Best Restaurants in the World, the only restaurant from India on the list. Indian Accent restaurant started functioning at Le Parker Meridian, New York last week. Old World Hospitality operates two Convention and Performing Arts Centres, two hotels, a catering company and over 40 restaurants in India. Huge suspicion, mistrust and tension between nuclear-powered India and Pakistan have been causing "devastating consequences" in South Asia, particularly halting its economic growth and exposing the region to the risk of a major conflict, former President of Sri Lanka Chandrika Kumaratunga said today. In her address at the Raisina Dialogue, she said national security concerns should compel major players in the region to cooperate with each to effectively deal with challenge of terrorism and violent "politicised extremism". Pitching for economic integration among SAARC countries, Kumaratunga, who served as Sri Lankan President for around 11 years, said why cannot "we see Chinese economic power as an opportunity rather than a threat for South Asia." "Huge suspicion and continuing mistrust between the two large states of South Asia has caused devastating consequences to the entire region," she said speaking at the inaugural session of the three-day dialogue. She said India is the world's fastest growing economy and it will have much to gain from regional economic integration. In his address, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said terrorism is spreading in the region, threatening its stability. "We must not tolerate state entities supporting, harbouring, financing terrorist networks," he said. Calling India Afghanistan's best friend, Karzai, without naming Pakistan, said states harbouring militant elements was not at all acceptable and that regional organisations like Shanghai Cooperation Organisation can play an effective role in dealing with the menace. Karzai said he had visited Islamabad over 20 times during his 14 year tenure as Afghan President in an effort to improve ties but he did not succeed. He said Afghanistan's relationship with China is comprehensive and Kabul has an important role as a transit hub for regional economic integration. "Afghanistan wants best relations between India and China. There is a need for positive symmetry," he said, hoping China-Iran rail line would be extended to other countries. Karzai also talked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the Afghan Parliament in December last year and said India has been helping the country to a great extent in the last few years. Speaking at the conference, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said terror and lack of political will have impeded regional connectivity affecting economic growth of the region. Talking about Indo-Bangla ties, he said relations between the two countries are at their "best" now. In her address, Kumaratunga also said South Asia is today one of the two most violent regions of the world and cooperation was essential to ensuring regional security. She said the paradox of South Asia is that the "very cultures we have shared for millennia have succeeded in dividing us." "South Asian states expended time and effort in consolidating separate identities - causing inter-state tension," she said. Backed by paramilitary forces and aerial support, Iraqi troops today launched a new push to retake a key area north of the capital, Baghdad, and dislodge Islamic State militants from there, officials said. According to a statement by the Joint Operations Command, the "new offensive" began at dawn in a swath agricultural area northeast of the city of Samarra, 95 kilometres north of Baghdad, with the aim to cut IS supply lines and to tighten the grip around the IS-held northern city of Mosul. The command says paramilitary forces, mostly Shiite militias, and the Iraqi air force were backing the push on the area, called Jazerat Samarra. The statement did not say if the US-led international coalition was involved in the operation. Controlling the Jazerat Samarra area will not only restrict the IS militants' movements between the three provinces in the region, but willalso be essential for future operations to retake parts of Anbar province and Mosul, said Sabah al-Numan, the spokesman of the counter-terrorism forces. Al-Numan told The Associated Press that two vehicles loaded with militants were bombed today, and that the security forces managed to hit a would-be suicide car bomber before he reached his target. The offensive comes on the heels of two massive bombings in as many days by the Islamic State group in the area - in the town of Muqdadiyah and in Baghdad - that killed at least 110 people. Shiite lawmaker and spokesman for the paramilitary forces, Ahmed al-Asadi, said the offensive "is in retaliation for the blood of our martyrs and to annihilate the terrorist gangs that have wreaked havoc." IS still controls much of northern and western Iraq, but has been driven back in recent months in some areas, such as the cities of Ramadi and Tikrit. The government last month declared the western city of Ramadi, the Anbar provincial capital, "fully liberated" after it had been captured by IS last year. Iraqi ground offensives - despite heavy backing from US-led coalition airstrikes - have been slow in scoring key victories against the Islamic State. A campaign to retake Mosul, the main city held by Islamic State in Iraq, has long been believed to be imminent but has not taken off the ground yet. Four suicide bombers disguised as soldiers struck an Iraqi military headquarters in the western town of Haditha today, killing eight army officers, including a local commander, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group. Local councilman Khalid Salman said one of the bombers attacked the gate of the compound and the others struck after soldiers gathered to help the victims. He said eight soldiers were wounded in the attack. IS claimed the assault in online statements issued on jihadi websites, saying it was carried out by two Syrian suicide bombers. The AP could not confirm the authenticity of the statements, but they resembled previous announcements issued by the group. Haditha is some 240 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of Baghdad, near a key dam on the Euphrates. IS has attacked the town on a number of occasions, but has never been able to seize it. Iraqi forces, primarily Shiite militias, meanwhile launched a new push to retake a sprawling desert area outside the central city of Samarra, home to one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines, officials said. They hope to cut IS supply lines and tighten the noose around the IS-held northern city of Mosul -- Iraq's second largest -- according to a statement by the Joint Operations Command. The statement said Iraqi warplanes were supporting the mission. It did not say if the US-led international coalition was involved. Shiite lawmaker Ahmed al-Asadi, a spokesman for the paramilitary forces, said the offensive "is in retaliation for the blood of our martyrs and to annihilate the terrorist gangs that have wreaked havoc. Four Islamic State group suicide bombers infiltrated an army headquarters west of Baghdad, killing an Iraqi general and five other soldiers, army and police officers said today. The bombers attacked a regimental headquarters in the Haditha area of Anbar province late yesterday, killing Staff Brigadier General Ali Aboud, Lieutenant Colonel Farhan Ibrahim and four others, the sources said. Major General Ali Ibrahim Daboun, the head of the Al-Jazeera Operations Command, said one suicide bomber blew himself up inside Aboud's office, while the other three detonated explosives elsewhere inside the headquarters. Seven soldiers were also wounded in the attack, Daboun said. Colonel Faruq al-Jughaifi, the Haditha police chief, confirmed the attack, saying it took place near a major dam in the area, and that the bombers were dressed in military uniforms. IS overran swathes of Iraq, including large parts of Anbar, in a sweeping offensive launched in June 2014, but has largely been on the defensive in the province since the middle of last year. Iraqi tribesmen and security personnel defending Haditha, which lies near the country's second largest dam, have held off IS for more than 18 months with the help of air strikes by a US-led coalition. The war with IS has taken a heavy toll on senior Iraqi officers in Anbar. Two heads of the Anbar Operations Command were wounded in 2015, while the commanders of a division and a brigade were killed in Anbar in April of that year. The province's governor was wounded in 2014. Senior army and police commanders have also been killed in other provinces. Joining the debate, former Union Home Secretary R K Singh today claimed that the affidavit on the controversial Ishrat Jahan case was changed due to political reasons. "The main question is who asked for a change and for what reason. Obviously politics was played," he told PTI. Singh's predecessor G K Pillai said ex-Home Minister P Chidambaram had changed the affidavit, which originally described Ishrat and her slain aides as LeT operatives. Singh, now BJP MP from Bihar, said what was the reason for the change of the affidavit when the Intelligence Bureau had said that Ishrat had links with Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists. "She knew about her accomplice Javed Sheikh, that Javed had links with terrorists. She went to two places with Javed. She knew what was she doing with Javed," he said. Pillai on Sunday claimed that as Home Minister during UPA government, Congress leader Chidambaram had recalled the file a month after the original affidavit, which described Ishrat and her slain aides as LeT operatives, was filed in Supreme Court. "Only after the affidavit was revised, as directed by the minister, did the file come to me," Pillai is quoted as saying by a media report. The then UPA government had submitted two affidavits - one that the four, who were killed in an alleged fake encounter, were terrorists and the second saying there was no conclusive evidence - within two months in 2009. Chidambaram yesterday said the second affidavit in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case was "absolutely correct" and as minister then "I accept the responsibility". Chidambaram also expressed disappointment over Pillai distancing himself from the affidavit issue despite being "equally responsible". Ishrat, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an encounter with Gujarat Police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004. The city crime branch had then said that those killed in the encounters were LeT terrorists and had landed in Gujarat to kill the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a plea seeking quashing of criminal prosecution, suspension and other actions taken against Gujarat cops in the 2004 alleged fake encounter killing of in view of recent testimony of jailed LeT operative David Headley. Headley, the Pakistani-American terrorist, during his deposition told a special Mumbai court that Jahan was a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative. "Let it be listed. We will see it then," a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit said when advocate M L Sharma mentioned the matter for its urgent hearing. Sharma said that the statement of Headley is significant as it conclusively establishes the fact that Jahan was an LeT operative. Gujarat Police personnel, including the then DIG D G Vanzara, are facing trial in a Mumbai court for their role in the alleged fake encounter. The plea, which cited the recent statements before a special court recorded by Headley, who allegedly conspired with LeT in plotting the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, said the facts are now undisputed that all four persons killed by Gujarat Police, including Ishrat Jahan, were terrorists. "The judicial proceeding and statement of David Headley, who conspired with LeT in plotting the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, stated via video conference and recorded in the special court at Mumbai that four persons, including who were killed in June 2004 by Gujarat Police, were a part of LeT terrorist organisation belonging to Pakistan and they were assigned to kill then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi," it said. The plea sought a direction to close criminal proceedings and action taken in FIRs lodged by CBI against the Gujarat Police personnel and others, saying it was unconstitutional within the judicial facts and evidences of Headley. It also sought a direction from the court declaring that killing of a terrorist is not an offence under Indian law and proper compensation be paid to the state police personnel in the interest of justice. It also wanted initiation of suo motu perjury/contempt proceedings against the then Home Minister and CBI Director for concealing true facts before the Supreme Court and the Gujarat High Court and for filing a false affidavit pertaining to facts about case. Israeli prosecutors pressed charges today against four 17-year-old Jews suspected of a "racially motivated" assault on two Arab men in the coastal city of Netanya, the justice ministry said. A ministry statement said the four had been drinking alcohol at a beach on February 17, when they saw the two Arabs heading towards a lift. They allegedly began following them and insulted the Prophet Mohammed before throwing stones and empty bottles at the pair who fled to the lift, only to be trapped inside it where the attack continued. One Arab was pulled from the lift and branded a "terrorist". He was beaten and choked until he lost his consciousness and was eventually taken to hospital. The four were being charged with "racially motivated aggravated assault", the ministry's statement read. Tensions between Jews and Arabs have risen during a five-month wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories which has cost the lives of 178 Palestinians, 28 Israelis, an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean, according to an AFP toll. Most of the Palestinians who died in the violence were killed by Israeli forces while carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, the Israeli authorities say. A number of Israelis have carried out revenge attacks on Arabs. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), hearing the Italian marines case between India and Italy, has fixed March 30 and March 31 for oral arguments by the two sides in the matter. "In the arbitration concerning the 'Enrica Lexie' incident (Italy v.India), a request for provisional measures had been filed by Italy on 11 December 2015.... India responded in writing to Italy's request on 26 February 2016. "The Arbitral Tribunal has now issued further direction regarding the schedule and the modalities for public attendance of the upcoming hearing on provisional measures... The hearing on provisional measures will commence on Wednesday, 30 March 2016," a PCA release said. The PCA yesterday also said that according to the Rules of Procedure in this arbitration, the hearing is in principle open to the public. "However, portions of the hearing may proceed in camera (confidentially), if the Arbitral Tribunal considers so necessary for the smooth conduct of the proceedings or for the protection of confidential information," it added. Two Italian marines - Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone - on board ship 'Enrica Lexie' are accused of killing two Indian fishermen in 2012 off the Kerala coast after mistaking them for pirates. While Latorre is in Italy on medical grounds since September 2014, Italy has been seeking Girone's return as well. Thirty years after her mentor late M G Ramachandran laid the foundation stone of his dream project World Tamil Sangam, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today declared open a Rs 25 crore building for the academy here. Jayalalithaa inaugurated the World Tamil Sangam building, which has come up on 14.15 acres at Tallakulam, through video conferencing from Chennai. Ramachandran, the founder of AIADMK, had laid the foundation stone for the project in 1986 and alloted the land for the purpose. Tamil scholars in the city expected the Tamil Sangam to promote Tamil poets, thinkers and writers and uphold the legacy of the three ancient Tamil academies. The members of the ancient Tamil sangams contributed to the classical language's growth immensely, which were based in Madurai. Madurai has been known as the centre of 'Muthamizh' (the three-forms of Tamil language -- Iyal (prose), Isai (music) and Nadagam (drama) since the Sangam age. It is also considered the epicentre of Tamil development activities. Jayalalithaa also laid the foundation of four laning of the ring road and two railway over bridges. Recently-appointed Jet Airways Chief Financial Officer Amit Agarwal has been entrusted with the additional charge of Chief Executive Officer in place of Gaurang Shetty, the airline today said. Shetty, who is senior vice president for commercial at Jet Airways, was given the acting charge of the post after the then CEO Cramer Ball quit the carrier in December last year. "Jet Airways Chief Financial Officer Amit Agarwal is taking on responsibility as the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the company with effect from March 01, 2016," Jet Airways said in a regulatory filing today. Agarwal, who was appointed as the CFO on December 22 last year, will function as the acting CEO in addition to his responsibilities as CFO till such time a new Chief Executive Officer is appointed, it said. This is the fifth CEO level change in Jet Airways since April 2013 when the airline offloaded a part of stake to Abu Dhabi's national airline Etihad. Jet Airways has seen a number of its senior executive departing from the carrier in the last almost three years with two top executives besides Ball having quit last year alone. Before Ball announced his departure from the carrier, in September 2015, its vice president for fleet management Krishnan Balakrishnan had left the carrier to join budget airline GoAir as its chief financial officer. Earlier in August, its then Chief Commercial Officer Raj Sivakumar also moved out of the Mumbai-headquartered airline. Nikos Kardassis was the first CEO to part ways with Naresh Goyal after he signed the Rs 2,069 crore stake sale deal with Etihad in April 2013 on the ground that he was kept out of the negotiations. Following Kardasis resignation, Jet Airways brought in Gary Kenneth Toomey as its new CEO in October, who too stepped out after serving the airline only for nearly six months despite a three-year job contract. At this stage, the then CFO Gopalakrishnan was made acting CEO, who also quit the airline in March last year. Come March 15, Jet Airways will start operating its domestic flights from terminal 2 (T-2) of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here. The relocation is part of the phase-wise transition plan of the airport operator - Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) - under which all the domestic carriers would be shifted to T-2 from the domestic airport at suburban Santacruz. The move will significantly reduce the time taken in shifting the airline's international passengers to domestic flights and vice versa, Jet Airways said. Following shifting of domestic operations to T2, transfer of Jet Airways passengers from domestic to international flight will take just 75 minutes as compared to an hour and 45 minutes currently. International to domestic transfers will take just 90 minutes compared to two hours currently, the airline said. International flights arrive and depart from terminal (T-2) of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) at Sahar in suburban Andheri, while the domestic ones from terminals 1A and 1B at Santacruz. After Vistara and Air India, Jet Airways will be the third airline to operate its domestic flights from T2. Vistara, which currently flies on domestic routes only, was the first Indian carrier to launch its services from T2. "Flight 9W-484 from Mumbai to Kolkata departing at 0225 hours will be the first domestic flight of Jet Airways to operate from T2 on March 15. The airline's first flight will arrive from Kolkata (9W-628) at 0010 hours," Jet Airways said while announcing relocation of its domestic services to T2. "The move to shift to Terminal 2 will significantly improve operational efficiencies, by allowing Jet Airways to transition a greater number of domestic fliers onto its international network and vice-versa," the airline said. Jet Airways operates over 135 domestic and international flights daily out of Mumbai. Jewellers across the country have decided to go on a three-day strike from tomorrow to protest the proposed re-imposition of 1 per cent excise duty and mandatory PAN cards for any transactions of Rs 2 lakh and above, an industry grouping today said. "We had a meeting with our members as well as with other associations under our network. We have collectively decided to go on 3-day strike from tomorrow. More than 300 associations, including manufacturers, retainers, artisans among others across the country will participate in the stir," All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) Chairman Sreedhar G V told PTI here. Meanwhile, all jewellers associations and retailers in Kerala and Rajkot (Gujarat) went on strike from today. Sreedhar said gems and jewellery industry is disappointed with the government's apathy towards the sector with the proposal of re-imposition of 1 per cent Excise Duty in the Budget 2016-17, presented yesterday by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. "We were already facing challenges and businesses have gone down by 25-30 per cent after the government's decision in January to make PAN cards mandatory for any transactions of Rs 2 lakh and above. Instead of increase the slab to Rs 10 lakh from the current Rs 2 lakh, the government has created more difficulties by the proposal to re-introduce 1 per cent Excise Duty," he rued. He said, earlier, in 2005 and 2012, the government had introduced 1 per cent Excise duty in gems and jewellery sector but had to withdraw it as it was not practical with the industry comprising mostly under-educated but highly skilled people who are not equipped to handle the paper work required in it. GJF, he said, is also planning to send a delegation soon with a representation to the Finance Ministry to explain the difficulties faced by the industry with these measures. Jaitley yesterday proposed 1 per cent Excise duty on jewellery without input credit or 12.5 per cent with input tax credit on jewellery excluding silver other than studded with diamonds and some other precious stones. Sreedhar said jewellers will take a call on future course of action after their meeting with Finance Ministry officials. Stepping up their agitation against the arrest of JNU Student Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and two others in a sedition case, the students will march to Parliament today demanding the release of those jailed in the case. "We are going to hold a solidarity march to Parliament tomorrow to protest the stifling of dissent in JNU, Hyderabad university and elsewhere through sedition charges," JNUSU Vice President Shehla Rashid Shora said yesterday. The protest march which will be joined by academicians and students from various universities across Delhi, will begin from Mandi House area at 2 p.m today. "We want to take up our issues with the PMO, MHRD and the Home Minister. We will also be approaching the NHRC and the Minority Commission to register our concerns at the functioning of the Delhi Police and the continuing threats of physical violence against Kanhaiya, Umar and Anirban," she added. The students have been agitating on campus ever since Kanhaiya was arrested in a sedition case in connection with the organisation of an event against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Following Kanhaiya's arrest- five students who were being searched by police in the case- Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, Ashutosh Kumar, Anant Prakash and Rama Naga- had gone into hiding fearing "mob-lynching". They resurfaced back on campus 10 days later. While Umar and Anirban surrendered before the police, the remaining three refused to do so but maintained that they are open to questioning by police as and when needed. "Our major demands include release of the three students, revoking sedition charges and the varsity suspension order," Shehla said. The students are also demanding resignation of HRD Minister Smriti Irani allegeing that she "misused powers" and "peddled lies" regarding the row at JNU and Hyderabad University where a dalit scholar -Rohith Vemula- was found hanging in a hostel room. "We want the government to enact a 'Rohith Act' to end caste based discrimination in universities and educational institutions," she added. Meanwhile, Left-backed All India Students Association (AISA) alleged that some of its activists were attacked in Delhi University's Satyawati college when they went to paste posters of the march. "Two activists were seriously injured when few 'goons' stopped them from pasting the posters and attacked them when they tried to resist," AISA said in a statement. Former executive Sanjiv Kapoor today joined Vistara as its Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer. Kapoor will be responsible for managing a wide portfolio of Vistara's commercial and planning functions, including strategy development, network planning, pricing and revenue management, sales and distribution, among others, Vistara said in a release. Besides, he will also be responsible for in-flight services and ground operations of the carrier, it said. Kapoor succeeds Giam Ming Toh, who is returning to Singapore Airlines on completion of his deputation with Vistara. Tata Sons holds a majority 51% stake in Vistara - a joint venture with Singapore Airlines, which holds the remaining 49%. "We welcome Sanjiv into the Vistara family. We are entering into a new phase of growth and Sanjiv's industry knowledge backed by rich Indian and global experience will be valuable in propelling Vistara's growth," Vistara Chief Executive Officer Phee Teik Yeoh said. Kapoor joins Vistara with over 19 years of experience in the airline industry, in various leadership and consulting roles, it said. "I am very pleased and excited to join an airline that has the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines as its parents. I look forward to working with Phee Teik and the entire Vistara team with great confidence," Kapoor said. The third full service domestic carrier after state-run Air India and Naresh Goyal promoted Jet Airways, Vistara had yesterday said it will reduce business class by half and those in the premium economy by one-third across its nine Airbus A320 planes. "Starting April 2016, Vistara will reconfigure its current fleet of nine aircraft to the new seating configuration of eight business class seats, 24 premium economy seats and 126 economy seats," the airline had said. Vistara currently operates A320 planes with 16 business class seats, 36 premium economy and remaining 96 in economy class. Post-reconfiguration, the total number of seats in the aircraft will go up from 148 to 158, it said. Karnataka Legislative Assembly was today rocked by the controversy over a luxury watch gifted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, as the BJP pressed for an adjournment motion on the issue, triggering a war of words between the ruling and opposition sides. As the issue was raised soon after obituary reference, Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa allowed Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Jagadish Shettar to make a preliminary submission to convince the chair to take up the issue as an adjournment motion, amidst resistance to it from the ruling Congress members. In his submission, Shettar while calling the watch issue a matter of public interest accused Siddaramaiah of violating the code of conduct for ministers and Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and demanded discussion and response from the government on the issue. After hearing the matter, the Speaker said it could notbe taken up as an adjournment motion and asked the opposition to discuss it during the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address. Following this, BJP members entered the well of the House in protest, leading to adjournment for lunch. Defending himself, Siddaramaiah alleged that the Opposition was indulging in "character assassination". "I have already stated in public that I got the watch as gift in July from a Dubai-based NRI friend, by March I will declare about it in my IT returns. To Lokayukta I have to declare in June, I will be doing it. I have also said that I will deposit the watch to the state government," he said. "FCRA is not applicable to this case as the person who gifted it is not a foreign national, but an NRI," he added. Siddaramaiah has come under attack over his luxury diamond studded Hublot watch. As the controversy erupted, he declared last week that the watch, claimed to be worth Rs 70 lakh, would be declared as state asset and handed over to the government. As Shettar questioned Siddaramaiah who claims himselfto be a "socialist" and "follower" of Ram Manohar Lohia for his conduct, Siddaramaiah in a rebuttal reminded BJP of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wearing a "Rs 10 lakh monogrammed suit". When the House met after the lunch, BJP members continued with the protest by entering the well of the House demanding discussion on Siddaramaiah's watch issue. As Speaker's attempts to conduct the proceedings failed, he adjourned the House till tomorrow. The controversy was stoked by JD(S) leader H DKumaraswamy after which the Chief Minister disclosed that theexpensive watch was gifted to him by his close friend DrGirish Chandra Verma who visited India last July. (REOPENS MDS2) Earlier, as Shettar raised the issue, ruling party members led by Law Minister Jayachandra and Industries Minister R V Deshpande objected to it. Shettar, hitting out at ruling party members, questioned why they were "scared" of discussing the issue, leading to heated argument between both sides. Intervening, the Speaker said he will allow preliminary submission, despite objection from senior ministers. As Shettar began to accuse the Chief Minister of violating the code of conduct for ministers and FCRA, ruling party members lead by Bengaluru Development Minister K J George objected to it and showed pamphlets containing pictures of BJP leaders, including former Chief Minister Yeddyurappa, with watches. Responding to this, BJP leaders said they are ready to discuss it and government cannot scare them by showing pictures. BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai said Yeddyurappa has declared about the watch to Lokayukta and the Minister was trying to misuse the opportunity as the former Chief Minister is not in the House to defend himself. The issue of Kumaraswmay hinting that Siddaramaiah's 'gift' watch may be a 'stolen' one belonging to a doctor also found a mention during the arguments. With Speaker directing the Home Minister G Parameshwara to find out about the stolen watch, the latter said that there was no connection with the case of the doctor's lost watch. Kumaraswamy, who maintained silence during most part of the discussion, stood up to defend himself as the issue of him accepting a silver chair during his tenure as Chief Minister came up during the debate. Clarifying, Kumaraswamy said he had never accepted the chair and had advised those gifting him to donate it to pontiff of Siddaganga Mutt, who is engaged in multifarious social activities. Under attack over his alleged inflammatory speech, Union Minister Ram Shankar Katheria today claimed he did not target any community. "What has been published in one of the newspapers is false. I had not taken the name of any community. I had said that the culprits, who had murdered the VHP leader, should be given death sentence. I had also said that the Hindu community should unite for their safety. I will send a notice to the newspaper," the Minister of State for HRD said. Katheria, along with BJP MP from Fatehpur Sikri Babu Lal, had on Sunday attended a condolence meeting held for VHP worker Arun Mahaur, who was allegedly killed by some youths from another community in Agra on Thursday. At the meeting, Katheria had said: "This conspiracy that is being hatched against the Hindu community, we have to be be alert to recognize it and strengthen ourselves. We will have to fight it because if we do not do it now, today we have lost one Arun, tomorrow it could be another Arun...The killers should also go, we have to set such an example". Reacting to Katheria's remarks, Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that BJP and RSS had plans to divide the country. "They speak whenever elections are nearing. They talk about dividing the country and not uniting. If they continue to speak like this, there will be repercussions across the country. Today we are raising this issue because Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh are silent on this issue," he said. Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, said that he is not surprised by the remarks of the Union Minister. "This has been the continuous, consistent and obnoxious behavior by the Modi government. I am sure that no action will be taken," he said. Owaisi added that this "was good because the real agenda of the government is being exposed". "Their real agenda is to promote Hinduvta. A Minister speaking such language clearly shows that he went to Agra not for condolence meeting but to create communal mayhem there," Owaisi said. (REOPENS DES8) Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Shrikant Sharma said the Minister has clarified his remarks. "Katheria has made it clear in his statement that he has said nothing wrong. And after this clarification, there is nothing to comment on. "I have seen his statement in which he has cleared everything. The real issue is the deteriorating law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh," he said. Union Minister Ram Shankar Katheria was today slammed by opposition parties for his alleged hate speech at a condolence meeting of a VHP leader in Agra over which police lodged an FIR against three people for allegedly making inflammatory comments but he was not named. The Congress alleged that the speech by Katheria showed that BJP and RSS resorted to divisive agenda, especially ahead of elections, while Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, said the real agenda of the NDA government is being "exposed". As a group of social activists held a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi against the alleged hate speeches of Katheria and fellow BJP MP Babu Lal, the junior HRD minister claimed he did not name any community at the Sunday meeting. Lal remained unapologetic and said Hindus cannot watch silently when they are being targeted. "What has been published in one of the newspapers is false. I had not taken the name of any community. I had said that the culprits, who had murdered the VHP leader, should be given death sentence. I had also said that the Hindu community should unite for their safety," Katheria said. "I never said anything against anyone at that meeting," Katheria told NDTV. Katheria also ticked off saffron leader Sadhvi Prachi for her alleged inflammatory remarks at the meeting, saying she should not have made such comments. "An FIR has been lodged against Prashant Chaudhary, Ashok Lavania and Kunduka Sharma at Loha Mandi police station in Agra," IG (Law and Order) Bhagwan Swaroop told reporters in Lucknow. Asked whether the three belonged to BJP or VHP, Swaroop said he did not have any information in this regard. He said Katheria's name was not in the FIR lodged by the concerned sub-inspector Anil Kumar. Katheria, who represents the Agra Lok Sabha constituency, along with Lal, an MP from Fatehpur Sikri, had on Sunday attended a condolence meeting held for VHP leader Arun Mahaur, who was allegedly killed by some youths from another community in Agra on Thursday. "They speak whenever elections are nearing. They talk about dividing the country and not uniting. If they continue to speak like this, there will be repercussions across the country. Today we are raising this issue because Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh are silent on this issue," Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, a senior Congress leader from Uttar Pradesh, alleged that the inflammatory speeches at the condolence meeting was a "defInite design" to create communal tension in Agra because the BJP was making attempts to divide the society "vertically on communal lines" in western UP. Assembly elections in UP are due next year. BJP spokesperson Shrikant Sharma said the Minister has clarified his remarks. "Katheria has made it clear in his statement that he has said nothing wrong. And after this clarification, there is nothing to comment on." Union Minister Kalraj Mishra said the "tragic" murder of the VHP leader highlighted the poor law and order situation there but cautioned against "reactions which trigger violence and unrest". : The Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) hospital here launched an awareness campaign on organ donation in association with the state government's Kerala Network for Organ Sharing (KNOS) today. The campaign, titled 'Amrutham', is envisaged to create awareness for the need to donate organs to save lives. The drive, inaugurated by film actor Anoop Menon here, has been taken up in view of hundreds of people in the state waiting for organs for transplantation, a hospital release said here today. As part of the initiative, the awareness campaigns will be organised in schools and colleges, it said. The function was attended by KIMS Vice Chairman Dr G. Vijayaraghavan, KNOS nodal officer Dr Noble Gracious, Dr Praveen Muralidharan, Dr Shiraz and Dr Shabeer Ali. The programme was initiated by the Liver Transplant Department of KIMS Hospital. Amidst the controversy over slapping of sedition charges, government today said the Law Commission has conveyed that it has identified certain focus areas and formed subgroups to deliberate on allegations of abuse and arbitrary use of the law. Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said in Lok Sabha that the Ministry of Law and Justice has requested the Law Commission of India to study the usage of the provisions of Section 124A (Sedition) of Indian Penal Code, 1860. "On December 11, 2014, the Law Commission has intimated that they have identified certain focus areas and formed subgroups to deliberate on such issues," he said in reply to a written question. The Minister was replying to questions on whether the government has taken serious note of allegations of widespread abuse and arbitrary use of sedition law by police in the country and whether the government proposes to bring reforms in the entire sedition law drafted in the colonial era. The government's response came amidst the raging row over slapping of sedition law against president of Jawaharlal Nehru University students union Kanhaiya Kumar for allegedly raising anti-India slogans. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and six other persons were also booked under sedition charges at a police station in Telangana on Saturday. The move followed a district court directive on a plea by a city-based advocate, seeking action for their extending support to Jawaharlal Nehru University students accused of sedition. BJP today hit out at the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal over the alleged lack of industrialisation in the state, where, it said, nobody was safe due to the "lawless" situation. "Not a single industry has come up in Bengal. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had not even fulfilled her promise of returning the land to the farmers of Singur. It was Singur land movement that had helped her to win the 2011 assembly elections," BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said. BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said the common people of the Bengal are "not safe in the lawless situation" of Bengal. "In Bengal neither Maa nor Mati nor Manush is safe. The BJP has to change the situation for the development of Bengal," Vijayvargiya said at a rally here. The BJP Yuva Morcha organised a march from Salt Lake to Singur demanding jobs for unemployed youths of Bengal. Delhi government has recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in distribution of Letters of Intent for new autorickshaws at Burari Transport Authority. In December last year, AAP government had suspended three senior officials in the Transport Department in connection with the case. The government's vigilance department had probed the matter and found alleged irregularites in distribution of Letters of Intent for around 10,000 new autorickshaws. "Government has written to CBI to probe the alleged irregularities in distributing Letter of Intent for new autos," sources said. The Transport Minister had made preliminary inquiries in the matter and found out two types of irregularities. The LOIs were issued on pick-and-choose basis despite orders of the Transport Minister to follow chronological order and that the LOIs were being handed over to certain intermediaries/ unauthorised persons instead of the beneficiaries/applicants. After Vigilance's probe report, one official was also suspended in connection with the case. After the alleged irregularities came to light, the government had suspended three officials, scrapped 932 LOIs issued by the Transport department and put on hold the exercise of issuing LOIs. George Miller's dystopian thriller "Mad Max: Fury Road", which won six Oscar trophies at the Academy Awards, is all set to re-release in India on March 11. Warner Bros has decided to release the film in 3D & IMAX 3D. "Fury Road", one of the most reviewed films of 2015, won maximum trophies at the Oscars on Sunday where it was honoured for Costume Design, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Production Design, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. Set in the post-apocalypse world, the film revolves around a female warrior (Charlize Theron) who decides to rebel against the warlord to rescue his five wives. She is helped in her mission by film's titular hero, Max Rockatansky, played by Tom Hardy. The Madras High Court has ordered the reinstatement of a State Bank of India employee who was dismissed from service for putting up the portrait of B R Ambedkar at the bank's branch office. A division bench, comprising Justice S Tamilvanan (since retired) and Justice D Hariparanthaman, passed the order on the appeals filed by the dismissed employee of SBI, Gowri Shankar and the management. Upholding the Central Government Industrial Tribunal's (CGIT) order awarded in April 2012, the bench said that "in our view, the award of the CGIT ordering reinstatement cannot be faulted with, since it has exercised its power under Section 11-A of I.D. Act in interfering with the punishment of removal." "Hence, we are inclined to sustain the award of the CGIT agreeing with the reasons given by the CGIT, besides our reasons, as stated above," the court said adding that the appellant be reinstated withing 30 days with continuity of service and all other attendant benefits, but without back wages. Referring to a circular issued by the Finance Ministry in September 2006, directing all nationalized banks to display the portraits of Ambedkar, the court said that "in our view, the entire issue was mishandled by the bank..." The appellant Gowri Shankar had submitted that while he was working as a sub staff at the Adyar branch during 2004, he had put up a portrait of Ambedkar at the office on July 15, 2004. Subsequently, the management issued a memo to him, which was objected to by various SC/ST Associations, as according to them, it amounted to disrespect to Ambedkar. However, this led to the issuance of a charge memo to the appellant, containing as many as 11 charges. The appellant was dismissed from service on December 2, 2005. However, on April 30, 2012, the CGIT passed an award ordering the reinstatement of the appellant with continuity of service and all other attendant benefits, but without back wages. Challenging the CGIT order, both the management of the bank and the employee had moved the High Court. The Maharashtra government today decided to table the 'Prohibition of Social boycott bill' in the ensuing budget session of state Legislature, beginning on March 9. "The bill aims to root out evil, outdated and unconstitutional practices of Caste Panchayats, Gavki, Community Panchayats, etc," Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said after the Cabinet meeting here. "Strict punishment provisions have been made in this bill to end this harassment and gives the right to live life with dignity," the CM tweeted. The development assumes significance as the practice of social boycott of a person or group of persons, and their family members, still continues in various parts of the state and the existing laws have not proved effective in tackling the issue. Social boycott is practiced at the behest of a 'Caste Panchayat' at the community level that regulates its various practices, personal or social behaviour of the members and resolves disputes by issuing written or oral dictums, an official said. As per the draft bill, "Community" means a group, the members of which are connected together by reason or the fact that by birth, conversion or the performance of any religious rites or ceremonies, they belong to the same religion or religious creed, and includes a caste or sub-caste, he said. The Cabinet also approved transferring of 143 acre of land for IIM in Nagpur at a concessional rent. It also approved transferring of 150 acre of land for AIIMS in Nagpur at concessional rent. A Malaysian state investment fund today insisted it did not provide any money to Prime Minister Najib Razak, rejecting a report that more than USD 1 billion was transferred into his personal bank accounts and that most probably come from the fund. The Wall Street Journal reported today that hundreds of millions of dollars more than previously identified was transferred into Najib's accounts. The 1MDB investment fund said in a statement said that it has never paid money into Najib's personal accounts. It accused the Wall Street Journal of not offering evidence to back its claims and relying on anonymous sources. Malaysia's attorney general said in January that USD 681 million deposited in Najib's accounts was a donation from Saudi Arabia's royal family and involved no wrongdoing by the prime minister. Meanwhile, prime minister Najib rejected the report. A statement issued by Najib's office did not comment on the larger amount reported by the newspaper, saying only that "the funds received were a donation from Saudi Arabia." It accused the newspaper of "relying solely on anonymous sources that may not even exist" and of "choosing to omit key known facts." "This is unethical and against accepted journalistic practice," the statement said. The prime minister's office said Malaysian authorities have traveled to Saudi Arabia to review documents and interview members of the royal family and confirmed that it was the source of the money. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told reporters earlier today that there must be some truth to the Wall Street Journal's allegations because Najib has not taken any legal action against the newspaper. Mahathir, a fierce critic of Najib, quit the ruling party yesterday, saying it has been hijacked by Najib to protect his own interests. An unprecedented war crimes case brought against a Malian jihadist for allegedly destroying centuries-old shrines at the world heritage site of Timbuktu opens at the International Criminal Court today. Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi will be the first jihadist to appear before the tribunal in The Hague, and the first person to face a main war crimes charge for an attack on a global historic and cultural monument. A member of an Islamic court set up by the jihadists to enforce strict sharia law, Faqi is said to have jointly ordered or carried out the destruction of nine mausoleums and Timbuktu's famous Sidi Yahia mosque dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries. ICC prosecutors say he was a leader of Ansar Dine, a mainly Tuareg group, which held sway over Mali's northern desert together with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and a third local group from early 2012 until being routed in a French-led intervention in January 2013. Faqi will also be the first person to appear at the ICC on charges arising out of the violence which rocked the western African nation of Mali, where stretches of the remote north still remain out of government control. "The people of Mali deserve justice for the attacks against their cities, their beliefs and their communities," ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said at the time of Faqi's arrest in Niger and transfer to the ICC in September 2015. The charges he was facing were for "the most serious crimes," she said. They concerned "the destruction of irreplaceable historic monuments" as well as "a callous assault on the dignity and identity of entire populations, and their religious and historical roots." Founded between the 11th and 12th centuries by Tuareg tribes, Timbuktu was dubbed "the city of 333 saints" and added to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites in 1988. Despite having been a centre of Islamic learning during its golden age in the 15th and 16th centuries, it was considered idolatrous by the jihadists. During the two-day hearing, prosecutors will be seeking to persuade a three-judge panel that they have enough evidence to put Faqi on trial. Although this is not the first case in which someone has faced charges of destroying buildings, "this is the first time the war crime of attacking religious and historic monuments constitutes the main charge against an individual facing trial at the ICC," said Jonathan Birchall, a spokesman for the NGO Open Society A trial will "set a precedent for trying individuals for this crime at a time when attacks on historic and cultural monuments as well as other cultural crimes have gained prevalence and attention in Syria and elsewhere," he said. A court here has sentenced a school teacher to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl two years ago. Second Additional District and Sessions Judge Sham Lal Lalhal, Srinagar, had convicted Parvaiz Ahmad Dar on February 26 for raping a ninth standard student at his home in December 2013. Announcing the quantum of punishment yesterday, the judge also slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 on Dar. The court had on February 26 found Parvaiz Ahmad Dar guilty of raping the student in December 2013. The fine amount will be paid to the victim. The shameful act of the convict has not only spoiled the life of the victim but has shaken the conscience of the society at large, the judge said in his order passed yesterday. The judge also sentenced Dar for two years for criminal intimidation of the victim and one year sentence for wrongful confinement. All the sentences will run concurrently. In the present case though the accused is a young man having no criminal background and he is the only male earning member of his family having aged and ailing parents and a small baby girl, he has at the same time committed the rape with an innocent and helpless student of 9th standard, the court said. The offence committed by the convict was not merely a physical assault on the victim, but "it is restrictive of the whole personality" of the victim because by his act the convict "has degraded the very soul" of the victim, it added. A man "frustrated" over unscheduled power cuts in his area has been arrested for calling Karnataka Energy Minister D K Shivakumar and allegedly using abusive words against him, with the arrest drawing flak from the Opposition. Giridhar Rai, who the minister said was a BJP activist, was arrested from his house in Bellare in the Dakshina Kannada District, produced in a court and remanded to judicial custody yesterday, police said. Upset over not getting any response from the electricity department, Rai allegedly expressed anger when he got the minister over phone and used "derogatory" words against him during the conversation. "We have a call centre, he is a BJP activist. He cannot use filthy language against me. One day is ok, two days is ok, he has beenharassing all my engineers, my staff and lastly myself. Idon't want to say the words used by him," Shivakumar said. "He can't threaten me, so it was my duty to enquire with my officers. I myself spoke to the police officers to take necessary action as per law," he said. The arrest triggered a controversy with the BJP and JDS slamming the minister and questioning his conduct. Former chief minister and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Jagadish Shettar said, "The entire government, Chief Minister, his ministers have lost patience. They are not ready to listen to ordinary citizens." Stating that it was the duty of ministers and Chief Minister to answer the public, the BJP leader said, "They have to solvethe problem and not attack or aggressively act on citizens orfile cases. It is completely wrong. We condemn the PowerMinister's attitude." Former chief minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy alleged that police machinery was being misused in the case. "The way in which the Power Minister has directed the officers to arrest the man shows that this is not people's government. We will raise the issue during the discussion on the Governor's address (in the Assembly)," he said. He alleged that the government had no capability to provide power supply to people and if someone makes a request, the person was getting arrested on the direction of the minister. "Is there democracyhere? Is it elected government here?" he questioned. "Police machinery is being misused to silence those who are discussing the government's functioning," he added. A father shot dead his 18-year-old daughter in Lahore in the latest incident of honour-killing, on a day when a Pakistani filmmaker won an Oscar for a documentary film on such murders. The accused, who is now on the run, killed his daughter Komal Bibi yesterday after she failed to tell him where she had been for several hours, police said today. "It seems to be a case of honour-killing. We have launched search for the killer who ran away after the crime," a police officer said. Ironically, the killing came when Pakistan was celebrating its second Oscar win when Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy's documentary on honour killings in the country won the prestigious award in Los Angles. Obaid won her second Oscar for "A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness", about an honour killing surviver. Honour-killing is a big issue in Pakistan and every year dozens of women are killed. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said last week that there was no honour in honour-killing and promised to take measure to wipeout the practice. The memorial of freedom fighter and dalit leader Ondi Veeran was formally declared open by the district collector M Karunakaran here today. remained shut without formal inauguration till date. Various dalit organisations attended the function. Hundreds of refugees on Tuesday tried to break through a border fence into Macedonia from Greece, where more than 7,000 people are stranded, as anger mounts over barriers to entry imposed on flooding into Europe. In a sign of deepening divisions within Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel lashed out at Austria and Balkan states for introducing tight limits on migrant entries, leaving Greece with a growing bottleneck as refugee boats continue to arrive from Turkey. And Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov warned that once Austria reaches its cap of a maximum 37,500 transiting through this year, the refugee route through the Balkans will have to close. At Idomeni on the frontier, Macedonian police fired tear gas as some 300 forced their way through a Greek police cordon and raced towards a railway track between the two countries. "Open the borders!" they shouted as a group of men used a metal signpost to bring down a section of barbed wire fencing, prompting police to fire volleys of tear gas and block them from crossing. At least 30 people, many of them children, requested first aid in the stampede that ensued, the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said. Authorities said a Macedonian policeman had also been hurt and had to be hospitalised. The protest occurred several hours after Macedonia allowed just 300 Syrians and Iraqis to cross. With Austria and Balkan states capping the numbers of migrants entering their soil, there has been a swift build-up along the Greece-Macedonia border with Athens warning that the number of people "trapped" could reach up to 70,000 in March. The UN's rights chief criticised a "rising roar of xenophobia" towards migrants. "To keep building higher walls against the flight of these desperate people is an act of cruelty and a delusion," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said. Amnesty International criticised the situation at Idomeni, branding it "the result of a shameful spate of discriminatory border closures". As the bottleneck showed little sign of easing, Merkel slammed the restrictions and pointed the finger at Austria, whose clampdown on February 19 triggered a domino effect in the Balkans. Greece must not be allowed to "plunge into chaos", she said. The spate of border closures was sparked by Austria's announcement it would accept no more than 80 asylum claims per day and that a maximum of 3,200 migrants would be allowed to transit daily. Facing flak over their alleged inflammatory speeches, Union Minister Ram Shankar Katheria today claimed he did not name any community while another BJP MP Babu Lal remained unapologetic and said Hindus cannot watch silently when they are being targeted. "What has been published in one of the newspapers is false. I had not taken the name of any community. I had said that the culprits, who had murdered the VHP leader, should be given death sentence. I had also said that the Hindu community should unite for their safety. I will send a notice to the newspaper," the Minister of State for HRD said. Katheria, along with BJP MP from Fatehpur Sikri Babu Lal, had on Sunday attended a condolence meeting held for VHP leader Arun Mahaur, who was allegedly killed by some youths from another community in Agra on Thursday. At the meeting, Katheria had said: "This conspiracy that is being hatched against the Hindu community, we have to be be alert to recognize it and strengthen ourselves. We will have to fight it because if we do not do it now, today we have lost one Arun, tomorrow it could be another Arun...The killers should also go, we have to set such an example". Addressing the gathering, Babu Lal said, "If the Muslims have something in their mind, then draw a line and you will see the strength of the Hindu community". The BJP MP today justified his remarks saying, 'Tell me if we don't take revenge, should we worship them instead? Is the community only meant to worship others while the other communities come and shoot us down." He demanded that Uttar Pradesh government take action to rein in such elements so that similar incidents do not recur. Lal claimed that the VHP leader had lodged a police complaint that he was receiving death threats and his store was also set blaze. "When such an incident will take place, will the Hindu community sit and watch the drama, will it not take action.... Then such incidents will keep on happening." Opposition parties reacted sharply to the remarks by BJP leaders with Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge alleging that BJP and RSS had plans to divide the country. "They speak whenever elections are nearing. They talk about dividing the country and not uniting. If they continue to speak like this, there will be repercussions across the country. Today we are raising this issue because Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh are silent on this issue," he said. Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, said that he is not surprised by the remarks of the Union Minister. "This has been the continuous, consistent and obnoxious behavior by the Modi government. I am sure that no action will be taken," he said. Owaisi added that this "was good because the real agenda of the government is being exposed". "Their real agenda is to promote Hinduvta. A Minister speaking such language clearly shows that he went to Agra not for condolence meeting but to create communal mayhem there," Owaisi said. BJP spokesperson Shrikant Sharma said the Minister has clarified his remarks. "Katheria has made it clear in his statement that he has said nothing wrong. And after this clarification, there is nothing to comment on." Union Minister Kalraj Mishra said the "tragic" murder of the VHP leader highlighted the poor law and order situation there nut cautioned against "reactions which trigger violence and unrest". "The law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh is really bad, due to which neither the common man nor political leaders are safe. The murder of a VHP leader is tragic. People have reacted (to it). We certainly don't want reactions which trigger violence and unrest," Mishra said. A group of social activists today held a protest at Jantar Mantar here against the alleged hate speeches BJP MPs. (REOPENS DEL 53) Shrikant Sharma said the real issue was the "worsening" law and order in UP and the statements of Katheria and other leaders were being played up to divert from the matter. "The issue in UP is its deteriorating law and order. The issue is how a youth was murdered. But to diver from it, some people are playing up certain comments," he said and referred to the recent killings in the state to make his point. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi here later this month on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, a top aide to Pakistan Premier said today. "There are chances of meeting between the two (prime ministers)," Sartaj Aziz, the Foreign Affairs Advisor to Sharif, told PTI. "There are possibilities, when they are here (in Washington DC). They would interact with each other. Whether there would be a structured meeting I do not know. Depends on...Chances are there (for a meeting)," Aziz said. The top Pakistani diplomat is in Washington to attend the sixth US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue which he co-chaired with Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday. Aziz said Sharif would be travelling to Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit at the invitation of US President Barack Obama. Modi too has been invited to the Summit on March 31 and April 1. No official announcement has been made yet. Responding to a question on the status of India-Pak relationship after Modi came to power in May 2014, Aziz said in the first year the situation was "not good". "But the last two months are better," Aziz said. Ahead of the Modi-Sharif meeting, Aziz said there is likelihood of a meeting between the foreign secretaries of the two countries. The timing of which has not been decided yet, he noted. "We do not know (when foreign secretaries would meet). He (Indian Foreign Secretary) has to come to Islamabad first. We are hoping that now," Aziz said after the breakfast meeting with Defence Writers Group here. In a major goof-up, the body of a mystery man has been mistakenly flown from India to the UK, believing it was that of a 54-year-old Indian-origin British hotelier who was allegedly murdered last May during a visit to the country. The body was today handed over to UK social services. Indian authorities had sent the body believing it was that of Ranjit Singh Power, allegedly murdered during a visit to Punjab 10 months ago. Officials thought the corpse, one of five pulled from a river in Punjab, was the missing hotelier but dental records and DNA testing proved the body was not his. "It remains unascertained. I can't be clear how he died. He was one of five males pulled from a river in Punjab. I have to give it an open conclusion. Sadly, that's as far as I can take this. No-one is coming forward," said Zafar Siddique, coroner for the Black Country region of West Midlands. "In future, if family do come forward, we have the DNA. This will have to be referred to social services." The body cannot be repatriated back to India and a funeral will be conducted by social services, although the DNA would be retained in case of further inquiries. A post-mortem examination estimated the dead man's age as 50 plus, but was not able to ascertain the cause of death. Power had been last seen at Amritsar airport on May 8, 2015, before his UK-based family launched a search for him. Indian taxi driver Sukhdev Singh has been charged with his murder and is awaiting trial after police said he has confessed to the killing and divers found a body in a canal in Ropar District. "Dental records confirm it is not Mr Power and DNA confirms that the body is not related to the family," Detective Constable Zahid Ahmed, from West Midlands Police, told the inquest this week. Power's UK-based family, including his partner Angela Bir, have stressed that her family is "focussed upon justice" and are working with police in Punjab to help in any way they can. They have since launched TheRanjitSinghPowerFoundation Trust to support orphans and children with cancer in his memory. They had feared he may have beenkidnappedafter he uncharacteristically failed to stay in contact with them and did not catch his return flight from Amritsar on May 14. Initially offering 10,000 pounds for information leading to their father's return, they had later raised it to 25,000 pounds. Top NATO General Philip Breedlove on today warned US lawmakers that Russia is helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad turn the refugee crisis into a "weapon" against the West. Breedlove, the supreme allied commander in Europe for the 28-member military alliance who also heads the US military's European Command, said the massive flow of migrants from war-torn Syria has had a destabilizing effect on European countries they are fleeing to, and that worked to Moscow's advantage. "Together, Russia and the Assad regime are deliberately weaponizing migration in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve," Breedlove told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Speaking of Russia's six-month air campaign in support of Assad, and the Syrian leader's use of barrel bombs in civilian areas, Breedlove said Moscow and Damascus are deliberately fueling the mass displacement of Syrians. "These indiscriminate weapons used by both Bashar al-Assad, and the non-precision use of weapons by the Russian forces, I can't find any other reason for them other than to cause refugees to be on the move and make them someone else's problem," Breedlove said. Breedlove, who was due to brief Pentagon reporters later Tuesday, is in Washington partly to drum up support for a proposed sharp increase in money available to US forces in Europe. The coming year's budget includes $3.4 billion -- quadruple last year's amount -- for the so-called European Reassurance Initiative. The four-star general also accused Russia of posing a growing threat to the United States itself. With the budget underlining his government's rural pitch, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked NDA MPs to bring maximum farmers under the new crop insurance policy while Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asserted that it will address agriculture distress. At a meeting attended by MPs of BJP and its allies, except Shiv Sena, Jaitley spoke in detail about the budget, underscoring that it also seeks to give a fillip to economic growth by improving infrastructure and business and investment climate. Sena MPs did not attend the meeting, saying they were not "informed" about it. "There was some communication gap," its MP Anandrao Adsul said. Jaitley told the MPs that the government was making all out efforts to created an "insured and pensioned" society and highlighted steps like health insurance and life cover announced for the masses, sources said. BJP and its allies expect that the budget will help them blunt the opposition's charge that the government had an "anti-farmer" bias at a time when assembly polls are due in five states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and West Bengal, in April-May. Crucial UP election is scheduled for next year. The over one-hour meeting saw a brief intervention by Modi when he asked MPs to work towards taking the benefit of newly announced 'Pradhan Manti Fasal Bima Yojana' to farmers. He urged NDA MPs to take this as a challenge in their constituencies, the sources said. BJP chief Amit Shah, who was also present, lauded the budget for its pro-farmer and pro-village thrust. The JNU row and the debate in Parliament over it also found a mention with Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu giving an account of developments in JNU and Hyderabad Central University and urging the members to counter opposition's charges. He praised HRD Minister Smriti Irani's "spirited reply" and members too joined in with "loud clapping", they said. Irani's reply has sparked a row with opposition members giving notice for privilege motion against her, accusing her of "misleading" the House. Briefing the NDA MPs on the business ahead in Parliament, Naidu said Modi would reply to the discussion on Motion of Thanks on the President's address tomorrow in the Lok Sabha. A presentation was also made by Naidu on various schemes related to farm sector, financial inclusion, social security, crop insurance, MUDRA Bank, Make in India, empowerment of Dalits, women, youth and rural development, the sources said. He spoke about "significant outcomes" under 60 new initiatives of the government and added that the members would be briefed on another set of 60 such initiatives during the next meeting. Referring to the opposition's criticism that a large number of accounts opened under 'Jan Dhan Yojana' were empty, he said 20.72 crore accounts were opened, of which over 10 crore accounts are in the name of women. They have total deposits of Rs33,379 crore, he was quoted as saying by sources. Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters that the "MPs were very enthusiastic about the budget as it will empower villages, farmers and youth. It is dedicated to them and all-round development of the country. "India has always been called an agrarian country but this is the first time the budget is being dedicated to farm sector." "We have heard about 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' and this budget is dedicated to 'Jai Kisan'," he said. By 2019, he said, all villages will have electricity, water, irrigation and road connectivity, he said. Asked about the opposition's notice for privilege motion against HRD Minister Smriti Irani, he said BJP members had also brought privilege motion against some opposition members. "Some parties have been defeated in the debate in Parliament on the issue. Now they are crying in frustration," he said, in a dig at Congress and other opposition parties. After choosing India as his first overseas destination, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli will head to China beginning March 20, a source close to the premier said today. The 63-year-old Prime Minister is expected to embark on a state visit to China starting from March 20 and preparations are underway for the same, the source said. His maiden visit to China since he assumed office in October last year is taking place exactly a month after his visit to India. During a press meet held in his office at Singhdurbar on the eve of his India visit, Oli had told reporters that he would pay a visit to Beijing within a month. However, a detail programme of the visit is yet to be worked out. Nepal turned towards its northern neighbour for essential supplies after its border with India was obstructed due to an agitation led by Madhesis, largely of Indian-origin, over the issue of the new Constitution. Oli said during a programme on Sunday that he wanted to develop friendly relations with both the neighbouring countries, India and China on the basis of equality and mutual benefits. He has also denied charges that his government was playing China card against India. "We don't believe in playing card against any country," he said. A meeting of Council of Ministers yesterday reviewed the premier's recent six-day India visit last month, describing it as a historic and productive one. During the meeting, it was assessed that the India visit had helped resolve the differences with the southern neighbour and augment the multi-faceted ties shared between these two countries, Minister for Information and Communications and Spokesperson of government Sher Dhan Rai was quoted as saying in local media. Oli had earlier said it would not be appropriate for him to visit New Delhi until the blockade of key trade points with India is lifted. Some reports had said that Oli could visit China before India due to hiccups in Indo-Nepal ties over the Madhesi issue and China was being seen as getting closer to Nepal by supplying fuel to the crisis-hit landlocked nation. Oli, in his remarks on Sunday, said that during his India visit he assured the Indian leadership that he would not allow the Nepalese territory to be used against any of its neighbours. "We will definitely honour and respect India's genuine concerns and interests," he said. After choosing India as his first overseas destination, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli will head to China in mid-March, a media report said today. A meeting of Council of Ministers yesterday decided on Oli's maiden China visit since he assumed office in October last year, My Republica reported but did not mention dates for the trip. The government will start preparations for the visit, Minister for Information and Communications and Spokesperson of government Sher Dhan Rai said. The meeting also reviewed the premier's recent six-day India visit last month, describing it as a historic and productive one. Rai said that during the meeting, it was assessed that the India visit had helped resolve the differences with the southern neighbour and augment the multi-faceted ties shared between these two countries. Oli had earlier said it would not be appropriate for him to visit New Delhi until the blockade of key trade points with India is lifted. Some reports had said that Oli could visit China before India due to hiccups in Indo-Nepal ties over the Madhesi issue and China was being seen as getting closer to Nepal by supplying fuel to the crisis-hit landlocked nation. But, the 63-year-old premier has rejected reports that he played the China card against India. "I don't believe in playing cards for one against the other. We want to develop friendly relations with both our neighbours on the basis of equality and mutual benefits," he said on Sunday. Oli said that during his India visit, he assured the Indian leadership that he would not allow the Nepalese territory to be used against any of its neighbours. "We will definitely honour and respect India's genuine concerns and interests," he said. As part of its initiative to prevent sexual violence against women, Breakthrough, a women's rights organisation recently launched an online campaign #MakeitSafer to create awareness about young girls being harassed on their way to school and back. According to a study conducted by the organisation across six Indian states, almost 50 per cent school girls have faced sexual harassment during their travel between schools and homes. Besides the trauma that follows the violence, the study also points out that often families and the society at large choose to turn a blind eye to the victims. "Sexual harassment has severe ramifications on a girl's life that reflect in communities in the forms of school dropouts, early marriage and also early motherhood," says Sonali Khan, Country Director and Vice-President, Breakthrough. The campaign, which has already garnered support from critically acclaimed actress Kalki Koechlin, advocates the provision of a safer ecosystem for school going girls by inviting public participation. "The campaign aims at strengthening the resources required for on-ground action and community mobilisation. It seeks to build upon sensitisation of masses while addressing the challenge of lack of safeguards and sanctions," says Khan. According to the study, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana are among the states that have recorded maximum occurence of the crime. As a preventive measure, the organisation has installed video vans in the affected areas to train the youth, law enforcement agencies, auto drivers as well as students in schools. "Via the video vans, we have been able to reach out to more than 150,000 people including 24,000 students and sensitise the masses about the need for safety of girl children in public spaces," says Khan. Scientists have identified new genes that predispose people to the risk of ischemic stroke, an advance that may lead to a drug target to prevent the potentially deadly and often debilitating condition. Researchers seeking to better understand how our genes contribute to stroke risk have completed what is believed to be the largest and most comprehensive review of the human genome to identify genes behind ischemic stroke, the cause of approximately 85 per cent of all stroke cases. An international team of scientists including those from University of Virginia (UVA) in the US examined the genomes of tens of thousands of stroke patients and far more control subjects. The research has confirmed the role of the handful of genes previously suspected, ruled out others and identified a new gene that may become a drug target for doctors seeking to prevent the potentially deadly and often debilitating condition. Stroke is the number two killer worldwide, and risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol are well established. Our genes, however, also play an important role in determining our stroke risk, but relatively little is known about the inheritable risk for ischemic stroke, researchers said. To advance the understanding of ischemic stroke, a massive study was conducted by researchers with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke's Stroke Genetics Network (SiGN) and the International Stroke Genetics Consortium. "We have started to alter the mortality from stroke, which is great and exciting. However, if you look at all the known risk factors, they are fairly poor at predicting an individual's risk," said Bradford Worrall from UVA. "There is some statistics that suggest as much as 50 per cent of the residual risk is unexplained, which is why understanding the underlying genetic contributors is so important," said Worrall. Ischemic stroke represents a collection of several different stroke subtypes, including strokes caused by blood clots that form in or near the heart and strokes that result from hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, in the head or neck. The new gene identified by the study, for example, is thought to be associated with strokes that result from large-artery atherosclerosis, researchers said. The study also sheds light on the only gene that has been linked to all forms of ischemic stroke. Researchers were able to show that the gene appears to have the strongest effect in strokes related to small vessel disease. This suggests that each identified stroke gene so far is associated with a specific stroke subtype, researchers said. The findings were published in the journal Lancet Neurology. NASA scientists are closer to solving the mystery of how Phobos was formed, by using the spectral images of the Mars' moon captured in ultraviolet by the MAVEN mission. In late November and early December last year, NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission made a series of close approaches to the Martian moon Phobos, collecting data from within 500 kilometres of the moon. Among the data returned were spectral images of Phobos in the ultraviolet. The images will allow MAVEN scientists to better assess the composition of this enigmatic object, whose origin is unknown, NASA said. Comparing MAVEN's images and spectra of the surface of Phobos to similar data from asteroids and meteorites will help planetary scientists understand the moon's origin - whether it is a captured asteroid or was formed in orbit around Mars. The MAVEN data, when fully analysed, will also help scientists look for organic molecules on the surface. Evidence for such molecules has been reported by previous measurements from the ultraviolet spectrograph on the Mars Express spacecraft, according to the US space agency said. The observations were made by the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument aboard MAVEN. The Green Tribunal (NGT) in association with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), MoEF and Ministry of Water Resources, will hold a global conference to provide a new dimension to the environmental jurisprudence from a world perspective. "This is for the first time that UNEP is holding a conference in India in which around 55 delegates from 30 countries especially South Asian countries will participate," Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said. The programme, to be held from March 4 to 6, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by Chief Justice of India T S Thakur and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. "Around 1,500 people, including world leaders, judges and experts in fields related to environment like bio-diversity and waste management are likely to participate in the conference. Three members from UNEP will also participate in the conference," Justice Kumar said. He said that the most important feature about the conference is that around 500 students from 14 educational institutes from all over the country, mostly from law colleges and environmental institutes, will participate. "We want the young blood to be made aware about the environment and therefore along with experts, students from 14 educational institutions will participate in the event," he said. He said representatives from bodies like pollution control boards, disaster management authorities and those related to environment have been invited for the three-day programme. Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested 24 people for their suspected links with and the outfit's funding in India is mostly through self-financing mechanism, Lok Sabha was informed Tuesday. Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said the Investigation Agency and police of some states have registered cases and arrested some active cadres affiliated to in the recent past. "So far, NIA has arrested 24 accused (Jammu and Kashmir - 1, Karnataka - 7, Madhya Pradesh - 1, Maharashtra - 7, Tamil Nadu - 1, Telangana - 4 and Uttar Pradesh - 3) in the cases being investigated by the agency," he said in a written reply. Chaudhary said funding in India is mostly through self financing mechanism, however, "hawala channel has also been used in one or two instances to raise funds." The Minister said ISIS uses both positive and negative imagery to attract recruits from across the world but it has influenced or attracted very few youths from India. Chaudhary said the dreaded terror group is using various internet based platforms for propaganda and to propagate its ideology. The intelligence and security agencies monitor the cyber space closely to identify potential recruits and keep them under surveillance and take further action if necessary. In order to assess ISIS' threat and to devise a strategy to deal with it, "meetings have been held by the Ministry of Home Affairs with all the central agencies concerned and the state governments," he said. Chaudhary said government has taken all necessary measures to counter the incipient threat posed by the ISIS and further details cannot be disclosed in the interest of national security. North Korea will boycott the UN Human Rights Council, Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong said today, deploring the "politicisation" of the body. "We shall no longer participate in international sessions singling out the human rights situation of (North Korea) for mere political attack," Ri told the council, charging it was plagued by "politicisation, selectivity and double standards." The UN's top rights body has repeatedly slammed the situation in North Korea, with a massive 2014 report charging the country and its leadership were guilty of a wide range of crimes against humanity. But Ri insisted Tuesday that the United States and others who have long yearned for the "elimination of the DPRK" (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) were using false allegations of human rights abuses to boost their cause. He charged they were driving a "human rights racket" against the country. They were offering more than $5,000 (4,600 euros) to "so-called North Korean defectors" to get them to "fabricate" shocking testimony about the situation in the country, Ri said. He also claimed that Pyongyang's enemies were dangling promises of economic aid to entice UN member countries to adopt resolutions on human rights in North Korea. "In other words, the voting process at the international human rights mechanisms is being commercialised," Ri said. North Korea would no longer take part in the process, he said, stressing that from now on, "whether or not such resolutions are to be put to a vote will be none of our business and we will never be bound by them." Later Tuesday, the UN Security Council in New York is due to vote on a US-drafted resolution imposing a raft of new sanctions on North Korea following its recent nuclear test and rocket launch. BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav today said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's 'Saat Nischay' (seven resolves) as part of 2016-17 state Budget, was nothing "new" as they were part of 'Sushashan Ke Karyakram 2010-2015' of the previous government. "They (grand secular alliance) are trumpeting 'Saat Nischay' as something which is new. Except one or two measures, all others announced in 'Saat Nischay' have already found place in 'Sushashan Ke Karyakram 2010-2015' during his (Nitish's) previous regime," Yadav said during a debate on Bihar Budget. Be it providing electricity, pucca road and drainage, piped water supply and construction of toilets for all, Yadav said all measures were already mentioned in 'Sushashan Ke Karyakram 2010-2015'. The Chief Minister's ambitious 'Saat Nischay' scheme aims at making younger generation self-reliant through skill development, providing wi-fi connection in colleges and universities, education loan, electricity connection to all villages, providing piped water supply to every household and road and drainage in urban areas. 'Saat Nischay' got cabinet approval on February 19 before getting a place in the state Budget, which was presented on February 26 in the Bihar Assembly. The senior BJP leader alleged as per 'Sushashan Ke Karyakram 2010-2015', the state government was supposed to provide power connection to all by 2016, but now it has been extended to 2018. Similarly, all households were supposed to be already connected with pucca roads and drainage system, he said. The state government had set the target of constructing toilets in every household in five years, Kishore Yadav said, adding the government could have constructed 48 lakh toilets out of 2.13 crore till date. "Almost all measures of Sushashan Ke Karyakram 2010-2015 have been announced as 'Saat Nischay' as the Government of India is providing money for electrification, toilets and a sum of Rs 80 lakh to every panchayat," Yadav said. Taking a swipe at both JD(U) and RJD, Yadav, a former minister, asked what happened to the progress of 'Karpoori Thakur Chhatravas Yojana' under which one hostel was to be built in every district. The scheme was started in 2008-09 and only four hostels have been constructed while construction for four others was going on, he added. Stating that the government should not pat its back for presenting a Rs 1.44 lakh crore budget, the BJP leader said the credit for bigger size of Budget goes to the Centre which took a decision that money allocated for centrally sponsored schemes would now reflect in the state's Budget. Accusing the state government for opposing the Centre for the sake of opposition, Yadav asked what was its own revenue. Out of Rs 1.44 lakh crore, the state government's own revenue was expected to be Rs 29,730 crore in 2016-17 and the rest would come from the Central government in various forms, he said. Yadav who countered the state government's claim that Bihar got less amount in the 14th Finance Commission, said the state would get Rs 4.09 lakh crore in five years against Rs 1.65 lakh crore as recommended by the 13th Finance Commission. "It is the Narendra Modi government which accepted 14th Finance Commission's recommendations and increased the states' share from 32 to 42 per cent. Neither Narendra Modi nor the Centre decided the criteria as to which state would get what amount of money," Yadav said. After Uttar Pradesh, Bihar got the highest allocation, even three times more than Gujarat, he stressed. Yadav said implementing a 'special package' was his party's commitment and modalities were being worked out for it. The state government would give its reply tomorrow on the state's Budget 2016-17. A federal judge has ruled that the US Justice Department cannot use a 227-year-old law to force to provide the FBI with access to locked iPhone data, dealing a blow to the government in its battle with the company over privacy and public safety. The ruling, by US Magistrate Judge James Orenstein, yesterday applied narrowly to one Brooklyn drug case, but it gives support to the company's position in its fight against a California judge's order that it create specialised software to help the FBI hack into an iPhone linked to the San Bernardino terrorism investigation. Orenstein belittled some government arguments, saying attorneys were stretching an old law "to produce impermissibly absurd results."He rejected government claims that was only concerned with public relations. He said he found no limit on how far the government would go to require a person or company to violate the most deeply-rooted values. And he said claims that must assist the government because it reaped the benefits of being an American company "reflects poorly on a government that exists in part to safeguard the freedom of its citizens." Both cases hinge partly on whether a law written long before the computer age, the 1789 All Writs Act, could be used to compel Apple to cooperate with efforts to retrieve data from encrypted phones. "Ultimately, the question to be answered in this matter, and in others like it across the country, is not whether the government should be able to force Apple to help it unlock a specific device; it is instead whether the All Writs Act resolves that issue and many others like it yet to come," Orenstein wrote. "I conclude that it does not." Apple's opposition to the government's tactics has evoked a national debate over digital privacy rights and national security. On Thursday, the Cupertino, California-based company formally objected to the California order, accusing the federal government of seeking "dangerous power" through the courts and of trampling on the company's constitutional rights. The separate California case involves an iPhone 5C owned by San Bernardino County and used by Syed Farook, who was a health inspector. Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people during a December 2 attack that was at least partly inspired by the Islamic State group. The couple died later in a gun battle with police. Orenstein, ruling with an eye to the California case, referenced it multiple times in a 50-page ruling and noted that the government request there was far more "intrusive." The New York case features a government request far less onerous for Apple and its cellphone technology; the extraction technique exists for that older operating system and it's been used before some 70 times before to assist investigators. Inviting National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) to establish its campus in the state, the Odisha Government said it is contemplating to set up a dedicated pharmaceutical cluster in the industrial estates around Bhubaneswar. Chief Secretary A P Padhi informed the state's plan at a meeting with executive members of the Pharmaceutical Council of India (PCI) here yesterday. The issues relating to establishment of pharmaceutical industries in Odisha, strengthening of pharmaceutical sector, capacity building of pharmacists and inviting NIPER to set up its campus in the state were discussed in the meeting, an official said. The members of the council also proposed to run a bridge course for diploma pharmacist serving in government, particularly in rural areas. The training, they said, would result in better performance and service delivery to the people. Padhi, on behalf of the state government assured the PCI members that the government would provide all support to the companies who would set up employment intensive enterprises in the state. Secretary Industries Sanjeeb Chopra informed the PCI members about the facilities and incentives being provided by the state government for setting up pharmaceutical production units along with research and development activities. Chopra said pharmaceutical industry has been categorised under priority sector in the IPR Policy, 2015 of the state government. Provisions have been made for allotment of land under subsidised rate, capital grant to support quality infrastructure, interest subsidy, quick and easy power supply, reimbursement of value added tax, reimbursement of entry tax, financial assistance for technical know-how, entrepreneurship development subsidy, environment protection infrastructure subsidy, subsidy for patent registration and quality certification, he said. This apart, other supports like anchor tenant subsidy, land for worker's hostel and capital subsidy for plant and machinery, online availability of the necessary clearances and certificates within stipulated time etc would also be available to the entrepreneurs coming up for establishment of new units. "The state government has also planned for a dedicated pharmaceutical cluster in the industrial estates around Bhubaneswar," Padhi informed the members. Crude prices rose today, boosted by China's latest stimulus measures and reports of falling oil production from the OPEC producers' cartel and the United States, dealers said. At around 1230 GMT, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in April climbed 52 cents to stand at USD 34.27 a barrel. In London, Brent North Sea crude for May advanced 29 cents to USD 36.86 a barrel compared with Monday's close. Sentiment was boosted further by China's decision yesterday to slash the so-called reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks, freeing up additional funds for lending. The move stoked expectations for stronger demand in the world's largest energy consumer. "Oil is being supported by the cut in China's RRR and signs of lower production around the world," PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga told Bloomberg . "In principle, the cut in RRR should encourage lending, support the economy and therefore oil demand. At the same time, production seems to be slipping in the United States, Mexico and even in OPEC." Prices had also risen yesterday as oil kingpin Saudi Arabia suggested it was open to a coordinated solution to market volatility while insisting it would not cut production. The oil market has slumped by 70 per cent since mid-2014 on oversupply concerns at a time when global economic growth is faltering. Crude prices were unstable in Asia today after weak Chinese manufacturing data pared gains from Beijing's stimulus measures and a fresh hint that oil producers could cooperate to stabilise the market. Prices had risen yesterday as oil kingpin Saudi Arabia suggested it was open to a coordinated solution to market volatility while insisting it would not cut production. Sentiment was also boosted by China's decision to slash reserve requirements for banks, freeing up additional funds for lending. China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data issued Tuesday showed manufacturing activity shrank at its fastest rate in four years in February, a fresh sign of sustained weakness in the world's second-largest economy. At around 0445 GMT, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery was two cents higher at $33.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent North Sea crude for May was down three cents to $36.54 a barrel. Both had fallen in earlier Asian trade. Phillip Futures investment analyst Daniel Ang told AFP in Singapore that "you need to see stronger manufacturing PMI, stronger economic growth before you can be certain oil demand in China will increase". Ang noted that while the Saudi comments could provide support for the market, it was only a short-term one. "It goes back to the basics of supply and demand. Saudi Arabia does hold a very big weight but the truth is I don't really see a lot of concrete action coming from them," he said. Slain Al-Qaeda leader had called for launching jihad against Pakistan and wanted to manipulate the tension between India and Pakistan to achieve this objective, according to newly declassified files seized from his hideout in Pakistan. In a 42-page booklet originally in Arabic recovered from the Abbottabad compound of bin Laden during the raid by US commandoes in which he was killed, the al-Qaeda leader gives a detailed blueprint on how and where to launch the jihad against Pakistan and establish Islamic rule over the country. Read more from our special coverage on "OSAMA BIN LADEN" Osama bin Laden wanted much of his fortune used on jihad In the booklet, which was released by the Office of Director of National Intelligence today, bin Laden alleged that India was planning to attack Pakistan as part of the larger American game plan to divide Pakistan. And then he sets his eyes on the entire of South Asia arguing that it is the British colonial rulers who divided the region, which in fact is one country. "India plans to attack Pakistan," is one of the chapters of the booklet 'Jihad in Pakistan'. In the booklet, bin Laden wrote, "India has embarked on many important initiatives, except that it is preparing for a decisive grand battle. Among those initiatives are India's bid to purchase 134 fighter aircraft from all over the world, this will be the largest military deal in the history of the whole world." "India's military training with Britain on the highest fighting fronts, in the mountainous Siachen region on the Pakistani border. America's grand steps in nuclear cooperation with India, through the purchase of an Indian nuclear reactor on Indian soil. India's convening the largest "Strategic War Games" in Hyderabad region. The booklet referred to India's launch of an Israeli satellite to spy on Pakistan and its alleged announcement of increasing its force size by a million, compared to its current 1,300,000 million soldier force. "These giant steps predict an incoming storm. India has focused its attention on Pakistan's internal situation. Military analysts interpreted these steps through their statements that India will attack Pakistan, sooner or later," the booklet said. Laying out his plan of action to wage a successful jihad against Pakistan, bin Laden proposed four-prong action plan. "We have to launch raids against the Pakistani army that is deployed on the Indian border, because these are vast desert battlefields areas and it will be easy to target them. By these operations, we will realise that these border armies will not come to the rescue of armies that are present in Sarhad and Baluchistan; on the contrary, they will focus their efforts on strengthening their positions in their areas, as they are sensitive areas from the point of view of Pakistan's war with India," he wrote. Therefore, every attack in these areas will constitute "an anchoring nail" in the foot of the army, impeding it from movement to these areas, he argued. Then bin Laden called for weakening "law and order" through the waging of attacks against selected targets in Punjab, in a manner that the army will be compelled to intervene and control the situation. "This will be another important success for us because Punjab army units will be compelled to remain there and will be unable to free themselves and devote energies to Sarhad region," he wrote. "If we could achieve those two objectives, we will accelerate the departure of a large number of army in Punjab and Sindh. After that, we will have to focus on suffocating the army and isolating its eastern part from the western one. There are special passes that were used through the centuries, from Punjab and Sindh to Sarhad and Baluchistan, like Mianuwali Walih, and Khaddar and others," he wrote. "If we can make these passes - which the government has shown no interest in maintaining - difficult for the army to pass, and close them operationally, we will be isolating the two corps located in Sarhad and Baluchistan region from the remaining corps in the Eastern part." "After that, if we begin to pressure the remaining army in the western part by intensifying our Jihad and military call, we trust in God almighty, that this army which surrendered to India in Bengal when it was 90,000 thousand, will crumble in front of the Mujahidin for the sake of God in a much quicker manner; especially if they realise that they are besieged from all sides, and their link with Punjab and Sindh is severed," bin Laden wrote. In the booklet, the Al-Qaeda leader appears to refuse to accept the partition of the sub-continent in 1947. "Pakistan is not just Pakistan, but it is the Indian sub-continent," he wrote. "The other important point is that the British divided Pakistan and India in the same weird manner that they divided Pakistan and Afghanistan," he wrote. "Also, from the historical aspect, it is a given that a subcontinent is one contiguous region, and whatever happens on the western side (ie current Pakistan) echoes spontaneously in the eastern one (ie current India), and this echo does not stop except at the Bay of Bengal waves," the booklet said. "Therefore, Mujahid leadership must consider in their minds the subcontinent as a whole before planning any future programme; otherwise we will harm ourselves by any planning that is based on incomplete analysis," he wrote. Academy Award winning actor George Kennedy has died of old age in Boise, Idaho. He was 91. The of Kennedy's demise was confirmed by his grandson Cory Schenkel on Facebook. "For 14 years I took care of my grandparents. I have travelled on many business trips and movie shoots with my grandpa... I have created so many great memories and I will enjoy them for life. "While I am extremely sad that they are both gone (my grandma in September 14 and my grandpa this morning) I am grateful for the life, memories, and knowledge they shared with me. They both lived amazing lives and I know they are resting in peace," Schenkel posted. Kennedy won Oscar for his portrayal of a savage chain-gang convict in the 1960s classic "Cool Hand Luke," starring Paul Newman in the lead role. Following the critical and commercial success of the film, Kennedy carved out a niche as one of Hollywood's most recognizable supporting actors and played important parts in several action movies in the 1970s. One of his strongest supporting roles was in the hit 1970 film "Airport." The movie spawned several sequels, with him being in all of them, and landed Kennedy a Golden Globe nomination. Kennedy, who was born in New York City in 1925, first began as a radio performer and then put a hold on his acting career to serve in World War II. After 16 years in the Army, he returned to Hollywood. His other popular films include, "The Dirty Dozen," "The Naked Gun" and the disaster film "Earthquake," among others. Kennedy last appeared in Mark Wahlberg's 2014 film "The Gambler". He wrote multiple books, including the murder mystery "Murder on Location" and his 2011 autobiography "Trust Me." Kennedy was also an advocate for adopted children. He had four adopted children, including his granddaughter Taylor. More than 131,000 migrants and refugees have reached Europe via the Mediterranean this year, more than the total number in the first five months of 2015, the United Nations said today. Out of a total of 131,724 people who have arrived on Europe's shores this year, 122,637 landed in Greece and most were fleeing the conflict in Syria, the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) said. The agency said an estimated 24,000 migrants in Greece were in need of accommodation as of last night. Huge blockages of people have built up in the country after European nations including neighbouring Macedonia set tight limits on migrants entries. "Europe is on the cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis," the agency warned, accusing EU governments of fuelling the chaos and suffering by resorting to "inconsistent practices" in response to the migrant influx. More than Rs 5 crore was collected by the government as fine under various provisions of tobacco prohibition law between April 2012 and September 2015, Rajya Sabha was informed today. As per information provided by different states, a total of Rs 5,42,48,708 challan was collected for 4,81,730 violations between April 2012 and September 2015. "These were collected under various provisions of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisements and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA) 2003," Health Minister J P Nadda said in a written reply. At present, National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) is under implementation in 108 districts across 31 states in the country. "The states governments/UTs of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Mizoram, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand have issued orders/notifications banning the sale of loose cigarettes," he said. He said the government has taken measures, including enactment of COTPA, ratification of WHO framework convention on tobacco control, launching of NTCP in 2007-08, with the objective of creating awareness about harmful effects of tobacco consumption, reducing production and supply of tobacco products, ensuring effective implementation of the anti-tobacco laws and helping people quit tobacco use through Tobacco Cessation Centres. At least 12 militants, including a Taliban commander, were killed today by Pakistan army during aerial bombing in the country's restive North Waziristan tribal area near Afghan border. The attacks were launched since last night in Shawal valley, a mountainous and thickly forested region near Afghan border which is considered as bastion of militants. A security official said that troops were steadily advancing towards the border and militants were on the run. The jet pounded rebel hideouts, killing 12 of them including a Taliban commander known as Hezbollah, the official said. Pakistan has already announced that the last phase of operation had started in the border region of North Waziristan. The on going offensive is a part of Zarb-e-Azb operation launched in June 2014 by the army to eliminate terrorists. Army says so far over 3,500 militants have been killed. For the "first time", Pakistan has taken action on terror strikes in India by registering a case to investigate the role of its citizens involved in the Pathankot attack, based on evidence provided by India, Lok Sabha was informed today. "Case has been registered (by Pakistan). This is for the first time Pakistan has taken action," Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said in reply to questions, adding that India had given evidence to Pakistan on the Pathankot terror strike. He gave the reply amidst din created by AIADMK members seeking action against former Home Minister's son Karti Chidambaram in the alleged Aircel-Maxis scam. In response to another question, the other Minister of State in Home Ministry, Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary, said "based on intelligence inputs received prior to the attack, and the subsequent investigation into the Pathankot terrorist attack by the NIA, it has been disclosed that the terrorists belonged to the Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist outfit based in Pakistan." "There is also evidence on record that this terrorist attack was planned by JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar and others," Chaudhary said in a written reply. He said the Pakistan government had registered a case to investigate the "role of Pakistani elements involved in this terrorist attack." Rijiju, while responding to a question, said border fencing at certain places is difficult due to terrain but BSF is keeping a strict watch to thrawt infiltration attempts. The government said a multi-agency centre has been strengthened and re-organised to enable it to function on 24x7 basis for real time collation and sharing of intelligence with other security agencies and states which ensures seamless flow of information between the state and central agencies. A Pakistani team probing the Pathankot terror attack may visit India in the next few days, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz has said and hoped that the Foreign Secretary-level talks will be scheduled very soon. "It is unfortunate that the agreement on resuming the dialogue process was disrupted by the attack on Pathankot Airbase on January 2. Pakistan has taken some important steps in the aftermath of the Pathankot incident," Aziz said yesterday in his opening remarks to the US-Pak Strategic Dialogue. "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called the Indian Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) immediately after the attack and assured of Pakistan's support in the investigation. Security Advisers are maintaining frequent contacts," he said. "Case has been registered and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is likely to visit India in the next few days. We therefore hope that the Foreign Secretary level-talks will be scheduled very soon," Aziz said during the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue which he co-chaired with US Secretary of State John Kerry. As an important part of Sharif Government's policy of peaceful neighbourhood, Islamabad has reached out to India, he noted. "We believe that the resolution of all outstanding issues - including the Kashmir dispute - is possible through resumption of full-scale and uninterrupted dialogue with India. We had also proposed a mechanism to address our respective concerns on terrorism," Aziz said. Pakistan last week set up a five-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the terror attack on the Pathankot airbase, a week after it lodged an FIR over the assault without naming Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar who India has accused of having masterminded the strike. Earlier, a six-member SIT was set up by the government for the initial probe into the January 2 attack based on the leads given by India. Three suspects arrested in the high-profile case were remanded in police custody by an anti-terrorism court in Gujranwala city of Punjab on Saturday. The FIR by the Counter-Terrorism Department of Punjab police has been lodged on the basis of information provided by Security Adviser Ajit Doval that four attackers crossed from Pakistan into India and attacked the airbase. The attack led to the postponement of a scheduled meeting between Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and India in January in Islamabad. Since then, no date has been fixed for the talks. Pakistan is "anxiously waiting" for the Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level talks, a top aide of Pakistan Prime Minister said today and asked India not to give the non-state actors "a veto" over bilateral ties. Sartaj Aziz, the foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said that his government's policy direction with regard to fight against terrorism is "clear" but conceded that the "implementation is not very easy". He said a Special Investigative Team (SIT) is scheduled to visit India to investigate the Pathankot terrorist attack and collect samples and evidences. But the progress on the investigation depends on the co-operation from India, he said in response to a question at the Council on Foreign Relations - a top US think-tank. "As our policy of peaceful neighbourhood, we have reached out to India. We are anxiously waiting for the dialogue to be resumed. The Pathankot incident disrupted the process of the two foreign secretaries' meetings," Aziz said. "Once we begin the dialogue, I am sure we would be able to deal with some issues even if we are not able to solve all the issues at dispute. Our main purpose is that Line of Control should be peaceful, normal relationship should start, sporting links should resume so that tension decreases. That prepares the ground for dealing with more difficult issues," Aziz said. Responding to a question on how Pakistan would manage the "ability of the spoilers" to take off track the peace efforts of the government in particular with that with India, he conceded that this is a tough task at their disposal. "The question is obviously people who want to disrupt these talks, non-state actors of course. No country has totally controlled them. So for somebody to orchestrate an incident, with people on both sides of the border, these kinds of incidents would always take place. We have been urging India not to give a veto to these non-state groups. "There is one incident and the whole relationship collapses," Aziz said. Observing that a great deal of the problem being faced by Pakistan today is the result of fighting other people's war, including the war against Russia by Afghan Mujahedeen and the US. "Should, we have done that in retrospect, I do not know. Look at the cost to us.. Both guns and drugs. We have destroyed our economic potential in last 20-25 years because of the one decision that we took," he said. Ironically military rulers of that time took such decisions to stay in power. "We have now decided enough to enough. We must look after our own borders, look after our own country, must develop our economy and not become part of anything that does not directly affect us," he noted. Pakistan, he argued, has shown to India that it wants to strongly deal with terrorist groups. "Terrorism is a common threat. In India they have one or two incident a year. We have an incident every week. Therefore, we have suffered much more from terrorism that anybody else. We have told them that in our relationship they have been interfering not through non-state actors but through state actors. So therefore, let's improve our relationship," he said. Aziz hoped that India would provide Pakistan necessary evidence to carry the investigation of those involved in the Pathankot terrorist attack. "In one interview in an Indian newspaper, what I said was that so far the information given is telephone call, is numbers which are linked to some. Out of those three-four (numbers), one was traced to one particular organization's head office. That persuaded us to take action against that (organisations) and preventive detention of their leaders and sealing (of its office)," he said. "The next step is to identify the four people who carried out the attack. And there the photograph provided, finger prints provided are not enough to link with our database." "The Special Investigation Team which is going to India soon, will try to get proper photograph of the face, because they are people lying underground and you can't match them with your database and proper finger prints which would also enable us to find out whether they are Pakistanis or not. That is step number one," he said. "The link of those with the telephone number and the organisations would be the next step. Right now we can't pre-judge as to who is responsible. "Anybody can dial that particular number from India. That is not very difficult. We know what the number of that organisation is. But to establish (the links), we require further evidence. Whether they were using the kind of communication...Because they were using the phone of someone who were murdered," he said. "In a very short time we have prepared the requirement we have for additional evidence. It would depend on the visit of the SIT team to Delhi next week. As a result of that hopefully India would cooperate fully, give us provide us additional evidence, which would then enable us to proceed against whosoever is suspected," Aziz said. Pakistan is on high alert as hundreds of Islamists today gathered for the funeral of Punjab governor Salman Taseer's assassin Mumtaz Qadri, who was executed for killing the liberal leader over seeking reforms in the country's controversial blasphemy laws. Security forces were deployed at main junctions and sensitive buildings in Islamabad and the nearby Rawalpindi city, where Qadri's funeral procession will pass through. "Police is on high alert and special measures have been taken to check any untoward incident. Nobody will be allowed to create any kind of disturbance," an official of the Interior Ministry said. Former police commando Qadri, who shot Taseer 28 times in 2011 in broad daylight in an upmarket locality of Islamabad, was hanged in Adialia jail of Rawalpindi city yesterday, triggering protests by thousands of Islamists who called it a "black day". Within hours of the hanging, street protests broke out in several cities by the supporters of Qadri, who considered him as a hero for defending the faith. The supporters blocked roads and forced many shopkeepers to close down their stores. The biggest protest was held in Karachi with around 8,000 people taking to the streets. After the execution, Qadri's body was handed over to his family living in Sadiqabad area of Rawalpindi where hundreds of his supporters belonging to radical religious groups gathered to mourn his death. Pakistan Sunni Tehreek, a Karachi-based group with countrywide following, has announced to organise a funeral prayer for Qadri at historic Liaquat Bagh ground of Rawalpindi. Fearing violence by Qadri's supporters, most of the private schools in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been closed. Radical religious groups had been demanding that Qadri should be forgiven as he killed a "blasphemer". Taseer, who died aged 66, had come out it in support of a Christian woman charged with blasphemy and termed the regulations as "black laws" drawing the ire of extremists. Sunni Tehreek chief Sarwat Ijaz Qadri has condemned the hanging, saying, "It is black day in the history of the country. Those who executed Qadri have only spoiled their chances of success hereafter." Meanwhile, a leading cleric and chief of Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Mualana Muhammad Khan Sherani endorsed the hanging of Qadri who he said had taken the laws into his hands. "No one is above the law," he told journalists yesterday. I respect Qadri's religious sentiments but I respect Pakistan's constitution more," he said. Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often triggering mob violence. The controversial law was introduced by former military dictator Zia-ul Haq in 1980s and so far hundreds of people have been charged under them. In a move aimed at initiating confidence-building measures ahead of Assembly election in West Bengal and to get a 'feel of the areas', four companies of paramilitary forces conducted route march in different parts of the city today. The central forces conducted route marches in different parts of the city including Jadavpur, Gariahat, Ballygunge, Kiddperpore, Watgunge and Metiaburz. According to sources in the Kolkata Police, six more companies would be reaching the city by Sunday (March 7). "They will conduct route march as well as patrolling in areas which are sensitive. Police officers from the local police stations will have no role, but they will go to individual houses and urge voters to go out and vote," a senior police officer said today. "These forces were scheduled to arrive today or tomorrow. But, they have reached in advance. We have made arrangements and the Officers In-Charge of all police stations in the city have been informed," the officer said. According to a senior official in West Bengal Police, around 100 companies of central forces have already arrived in the state and by March 7, around more 200 companies were scheduled to reach the state to carry out "law and order duties". "Today they have conducted route march in Howrah, Birbhum, Hooghly, Malda, Balurghat and it will continue for the next few days," the officer said. The commanding officers of these forces in the districts would also crosscheck information provided by the SPs, he said. Meanwhile, with 20,50,386 net addition in the number of voters, there has been a 3.23 per cent rise in the number of voters in West Bengal, additional chief election commissioner Dibyendu Sarkar told reporters here today. Stating the population-voter ratio (at 0.68 per cent) as comfortable, Sarkar said out of the total number of voters, which was over six crore, 3.17 per cent were new voters (in the 18-19 year age group). A 35-year old pastor was today sentenced to 40 years rigorous imprisonment by a court here for sexually abusing a minor girl at nearby Peechi two years ago. Pronouncing the verdict, Judge K P Sudheer of Special Additional Sessions court, trying cases under Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, observed the accused deserved no leniency as he brutally raped a hapless school girl and deserved maximum punishment. He also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on accused Sanil K James who had raped the seventh standard student in the Peechi church premises where he stayed. The accused, hailing from Nedumkandam in Kottayam district, was sentenced to 20 years RI under IPC 376 and 20 years RI under various sections of POCSO. The court ordered that the sentences would run concurrently. The Judge also ordered the government to pay Rs three lakhs to the 12-year-old girl from its Vicitm Compensation Fund. According to the prosecution, the pastor, who then belonged to the Peechi Salvation Army Church, had raped the girl during summer vacation in April 2014. It also said another case was pending against the pastor for raping another minor girl. Police filed a case based on complaint received by Thrissur Child Welfare Committee. The Pentagon is expanding its cyber war against Islamic State computer networks, senior defence officials have said as they claimed to have seized the momentum in the 18-month-old fight against the jihadists. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter and the US military's top officer, General Joe Dunford, said the United States was determined to "accelerate" the anti-IS campaign, and indicated cyber warfare is playing an increasingly important role in doing so. "The US-led coalition is working to disrupt IS' command chain "to cause them to lose confidence in their networks," Carter said yesterday. He did not offer technical specifics but said the tactic was to "overload their network so that they can't function, and do all of these things that will interrupt their ability to command and control forces there, control the population and the economy." Overloading a network is a common type of cyber attack known as a denial of service, but Carter hinted that other techniques are being used. "The methods we're using are new, some of them will be surprising and some of them are applicable to other challenges... We have around the world," he said. Carter and Dunford visited the US Cyber Command headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland in January and encouraged workers there to "do what they can" to intensify the fight against the IS group. Nearly two years since it started bombing IS positions in Iraq and Syria, in a campaign that also included training and equipping local anti-IS forces, the US-led coalition is now focusing on cyber tactics. While the IS group maintains a firm grip on vast areas of Iraq and Syria, the jihadists have suffered some serious setbacks. In Iraq, coalition-supported Iraqi forces recaptured Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province west of Baghdad, in December. And in recent weeks in Syria, a largely Kurdish group called the Syrian Democratic Forces, again backed up by commando training and US-led precision air strikes, encircled the town of Al-Shadadi in Hasakeh province, then moved in and recaptured it from the jihadists. "Because of our strategy and our determination to accelerate our campaign, momentum is now on our side and not on ISIL's," Carter said, using an alternative abbreviation for the IS group. Shah Rukh Khan says enacting a double role of a superstar and his young admirer in his upcoming film "Fan" was physically quite challenging for him. In the film, to be released in April this year, Shah Rukh plays Aryan Khanna and his lookalike fan Gaurav Chanana. "It was a very physically challenging film. It was physically challenging to do a double role. It was more challenging as at this age I had to play a 24-year-old boy, have his energy, and then I had another part to play of a superstar," the 50-year-old actor told reporters here at the trailer launch of "Fan" last evening. "It was a difficult character to play. But the team helped me and made it easy for me. We have tried to keep it normal and simple," he said. Shah Rukh revealed that he had to work hard on his look while getting into the skin of Gaurav's character. "We had to put make-up and initially it used to take six hours. Later, after some practise, it took two-and-half to three hours," he said. In real life, the "Swades" star says he has never put up an image in front of people and has always been normal. "I am never bothered about how I am. I wear stardom like T-shirt, not like Tuxedo (suit)," he said. Directed by Maneesh Sharma, "Fan" explores the bond between a superstar and a die-hard fan who looks like him. The film is not just a story of a fan's undying love and adulation, it's about how Gaurav's admiration towards a superstar slowly turns into a dangerous obsession. "People keep saying that I do the same acting for the past 25 years, even the critics say that. But I have tried to be different with this film," he said. "It's an unusual story. Some people may like it, some may not. I can't please everyone. We have tired our best to give something different and interesting. We hope people enjoy both the characters," Shah Rukh said. "Fan" will be a song-less film, except for the promotional track - "Jabra fan". "I was injured and still did 'Jabra' song. There are no songs in the film, except one. I told Maneesh to put an item song, but he refused. It's a pure experience of story telling... It's a new way," he said. Though Maneesh made his directorial debut with "Band Baaja Baaraat" (2010), he was toying with the idea of "Fan" with Shah Rukh for quite sometime. "I felt it's the most difficult film as it's not a double role... He is a lookalike. I was working on 'Chennai Express', that time Maneesh and I met at YRF (studio) and thought of working on this film ('Fan')," Shah Rukh said. "Initially we did not have the technology, but today we have... We have visual effects and all. First time when he (Maneesh) narrated me the story, I felt we can't make it as that time we did not have that much technology," he said. According to the superstar, the story of "Fan" is quite amazing. "The script is mind-blowing. It's a different story and we hope people like and enjoy it," he said. A petition was today filed in the Delhi High Court seeking direction to the Ministry of Defence to withdraw the laptops and computers issued to its officials for working from home alleging that sensitive data may land in "wrong hands". A bench headed by Chief Justice G Rohini fixed the matter for consideration on March 14 on the plea which claimed that "sensitive defence electronic datas continues to move out of the 'Defence Security Zone' through the laptops and the data transfer device of computers despite prohibition on such movement." The plea was filed by Uttarakhand resident S K Gandhi, a retired senior auditor of the Defence Accounts Department. The petition alleged that the ministry should be directed to withdraw the laptops and computers issued for doing office work at the residence to those officers of department headed by the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA), who have office situated in the 'Defence Security Zone'. CGDA heads the defence accounts department which deals with audit, payment and accounting of all charges pertaining to the armed forces, including bills for supplies and services rendered. In his plea, the petitioner said, "Respondents (Defence Ministry and CGDA) may kindly be directed to withdraw laptops and computers issued for doing office work at the residence to those officers of the department headed by the CGDA, who have office situated in 'Defence Security Zone'." He claimed that he had written to CGDA on the issue but its reply was "false and evasive". "With the suppression of the petitioner's represenation, defence electronic datas continue to move out of defence security zone and as such, remains at the risk of falling in wrong hands," it alleged. The petitioner also urged the court to appoint an advocate as amicus in the matter after hearing him on the issue. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will be hosting a Women Legislators' Summit here this week with President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to address the two-day meet which aims to bring top women political leaders on a single platform. The conference, 'Women Legislators: Building Resurgent India', will provide women legislators a platform to interact with their counterparts from across the country along with women Union Ministers, Chief Ministers, MPs, jurists and bureaucrats. It will be inagurated on Saturday by Mukherjee. It is likely to be attended by more than 300 women MLAs, MLCs, MPs, Union Ministers and Chief Ministers. The conference will feature a plenary session and three other sessions on 'Social Development', 'Economic Development' and 'Better Governance and Legislation'. The Prime Minister will also be present at the inaugural session which will be addressed by the Lok Sabha Speaker as well as Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari. Modi will address the delegates and other dignitaries at the valedictory session. Mahajan will deliver the closing remarks at that event. There are some 100 women MPs, including ministers, along with 400 MLAs and ministers in various states. Women chief ministers as also former President Pratibha Patil are expected to attend the conference. With Congress gunning for HRD Minister Smriti Irani with a Privilege Motion, BJP today hit back in Lok Sabha by pressing for similar action against the opposition party's Chief Whip Jyotiraditya Scindia for "defamatory" remarks against Minister Bandaru Dattatreya. BJP's Chief Whip Arjun Ram Meghwal accused Scindia of "misleading" the House on February 24 by alleging that Dattatreya had called Rohith Vemula, a Dalit student of Hyderabad University who committed suicide, "anti-national, casteist and extremist". Meghwal said he and many other members, including Dattatreya, had given a notice of breach of privilege against Scindia. He raised the issue amid uproarious scenes in the House as AIADMK members were demanding action against former Union Minister P Chidambaram's son Karti in the Aircel-Maxis issue. ALSO READ: Brief uproar in LS over privilege motion against Smriti Irani before Budget speech At this, Congress members too rushed to the Well, demanding that the Speaker decide on their . Dattatreya accused Scindia of "defaming him and tarnishing" his image by attributing such comments to him that he never made about Vemula. "My mother used to sell onions. I have always worked for OBCs, Dalits... I have made sacrifices for Dalits," he said, recalling his humble background and work for the downtrodden. He said his letter to Irani, over which he has been attacked by Congress, made no mention of Vemula's name. "I never made such charge against him." Congress members continued to protest with K C Venugopal showing the rule book to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to which she shot back, saying "Don't show me the rule book. I know." She repeatedly tried to pacify the members saying all the notices for are under her consideration. With AIADMK and Congress members continuing to protest, she adjourned the House. The issue of against Irani had created a brief uproar in the Lok Sabha yesterday before Finance Minister Arun Jaitely started presenting the Union Budget 2016-17 with opposition members seeking to know the status of their notices against Irani for "misleading" the House on the Rohith Vemula issue. Tens of thousands of supporters of Mumtaz Qadri today attended his funeral prayers amid tight security, a day after the ex-police commando was executed for assassinating liberal Punjab governor Salman Taseer who sought reforms in Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws. The supporters threw flowers at the casket as they shouted slogans like "Qadri, your blood will bring the revolution" and "The punishment for a blasphemer is beheading". Pakistan remained on high alert as the garrison city of Rawalpindi witnessed a large number of Qadri's supporters converge for the funeral. Security personnel were deployed at all main junctions and sensitive areas in the capital and the adjacent Rawalpindi to avoid any untoward incident as some supporters were also seen carrying sticks. While a police official said that over 15,000 people were present inside the sprawling Liaquat Bagh ground in the heart of Rawalpindi, less than 20 kms from here, private estimate put the number of those attending the funeral at over 40,000. The gathering was peaceful as the body was taken for burial at Qadri's ancestral village near Bhara Kahu in suburbs of Islamabad. Roads around government buildings, the Parliament and diplomatic compounds were closed. "Police is on high alert and special measures have been taken to check any untoward incident. Nobody will be allowed to create any kind of disturbance," an Interior Ministry official said. Fearing violence by Qadri's supporters, most of the private schools in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been closed for a second day. Former police commando Qadri, who shot Taseer 28 times in broad daylight in an upmarket locality of Islamabad in 2011, was hanged in Adialia jail in Rawalpindi yesterday. His execution triggered protests by thousands of Islamists who called it a "black day". Within hours of the hanging, street protests broke out in several cities by the supporters of Qadri, who considered him as a hero for defending the faith. The supporters blocked roads and forced many shopkeepers to close down their stores. The biggest protest was held in Karachi with around 8,000 people taking to the streets. After the execution, Qadri's body was handed over to his family living in Sadiqabad area of Rawalpindi where hundreds of his supporters belonging to radical religious groups gathered to mourn his death. Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often triggering mob violence. The controversial law was introduced by former military dictator Zia-ul Haq in 1980s and so far hundreds of people have been charged under it. Tens of thousands of Islamist supporters of Mumtaz Qadri chanting provocative slogans today attended his funeral, a day after the ex-police commando was executed for killing liberal Punjab governor Salman Taseer who sought reforms in Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws. "Qadri, your blood will bring the revolution" and "The punishment for a blasphemer is beheading" were heard as supporters of Qadri threw flowers at the casket and flocked the historic Liaquat Bagh ground in the heart of Rawalpindi, less than 20 kms from here. While a police official said that over 15,000 people were present inside the sprawling ground in the garrison city, private estimate put the number of those attending the funeral at over 40,000. The roads to Liaquat Bagh were blocked off but thousands arrived on foot. Roads around government buildings, the Parliament and diplomatic compounds were also closed. The gathering was peaceful as the body was taken for burial at Qadri's ancestral village near Bhara Kahu in suburbs of Islamabad. Pakistan remained on high alert as security personnel were deployed at all main junctions and sensitive areas in the capital and the adjacent Rawalpindi to avoid any untoward incident as some supporters were also seen carrying sticks. "Special measures have been taken to check any untoward incident," an Interior Ministry official said. Fearing violence by Qadri's supporters, most of the private schools in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been closed for a second day. Former police commando Qadri, who shot Taseer 28 times in broad daylight in an upmarket locality of Islamabad in 2011, was hanged in Adialia jail in Rawalpindi yesterday. His execution triggered protests by thousands of Islamists who called it a "black day". Within hours of the hanging, street protests broke out in several cities by the supporters of Qadri, who considered him as a hero for defending the faith. The supporters blocked roads and forced many shopkeepers to close down their stores. The biggest protest was held in Karachi with around 8,000 people taking to the streets. After the execution, Qadri's body was handed over to his family living in Sadiqabad area of Rawalpindi where hundreds of his supporters belonging to radical religious groups gathered to mourn his death. Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often triggering mob violence. The controversial law was introduced by former military dictator Zia-ul Haq in 1980s and so far hundreds of people have been charged under it. Racist speech has become "commonplace" in France including amongst some politicians, the Council of Europe said today, raising concerns over the growth of racist, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic violence. "Hate speech, by becoming commonplace in the public sphere, remains a subject of concern," said Thorbjorn Jagland, the rights watchdog's secretary general. He spoke as the group's Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) issued a new report showing a 14-percent surge in racist violence in France between 2012 and 2014, including a 36-percent rise in anti-Semitic attacks. Politicians came in for criticism, including far-right leader Marine Le Pen, whose National Front won a record number of votes in regional elections in December while failing to win any regions. Jagland urged political figures to avoid "uttering statements which stigmatise groups which are already vulnerable and exacerbating tensions within French society". The report said remarks by Le Pen and other politicians had fuelled Islamophobia, highlighting one occasion when the National Front leader compared Muslim street prayers to the Nazi occupation of France. The watchdog warned some policies made under France's strict form of secularism could be "perceived as sources of discrimination", such as a move by the mayor of the eastern town of Chalon-sur-Saone last year to insist that pork must feature on all school canteen menus. The report also said France must do more to tackle homophobia and discrimination against the Roma, citing the case of a deputy mayor who lashed out over agricultural land on which travellers were trespassing, saying: "Hitler had perhaps not killed enough" of them. Gearing up for the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh scheduled early next year, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has convened a meeting of state party leaders tomorrow for a strategy session at which poll strategist Prashant Kishor is expected to be present. Party sources said 30-35 state leaders have been called for deliberations being held at a time when the AICC has held consultations with DCC Presidents and block Congress Committee chiefs on candidates' selection. AICC General Secretary Madhusudan Mistri has toured several districts for getting a feedback on ways and means to make the organisation fighting fit after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in which only party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi could get elected from the state. Kishor was one of the key backroom players for Narendra Modi when he was the chief minister of Gujarat and also in the last Lok Sabha polls when he was BJP's prime ministerial candidate. Kishor was also the strategist behind Nitish Kumar's campaign strategy in Bihar assembly poll last year. Congress has been out of power in UP for over 26 years. The state was its stronghold till 1989 but the the Mandal and Ram Mandir issues and the rise of BSP sharply eroded the party's base. There has also been a buzz that the Congress could field its top guns in the assembly polls, including some of its MPs, especially those who had been Union Ministers in UPA I and II governments. Kishor, who is known for building his campaign strategy around strong personalities, is learnt to be keen that Congress should project a face in the state as it could galvanize the cadres. Key pladers in the state-- Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party led by Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati--are personality driven and have their strong vote bases, while Congress, which has been out of power in the state for nearly-three decades, suffers from a leadership crisis. In the last Lok Sabha elections, Congress could win only in two places with party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul retaining their traditional Raebareli and Amethi seats. A source involved in the planning for the state elections said the party will fight the polls as if it were fighting the 2019 general elections. "We will have a Brhamin face backed by a combined support of some other upper castes, Muslims and non-Jatav dalits," the source said. There are issues in the party at the grassroots level due to infighting and a demoralized cadre. Kishor has tried to get feedback on the organisational shortcomings that led to poor show of the party in the 2012 assembly polls, barely three years after it had won 21 seats in 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Railways today launched bar coding system for unreserved tickets to prevent revenue leakage and bring transparency in the ticketing system. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said bar coding of unreserved tickets, one of the rail budget 2016-17 commitments, will be launched in three stations of the city - New Delhi, Old Delhi and Nizamuddin. The IT-based bar coding project has been introduced as a pilot project at nine ticket counters in these stations. Railway Board Member (Traffic) Mohd Jamshed noted that there were cases of misuse of unreserved tickets by unscrupulous elements who used to get the tickets printed illegally. "The circulation of unauthorised tickets was affecting Railways' revenue. The bar coding system will prevent such malpractices," he said. The official stated that in order to check fraud, Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) has decided to print encrypted QR code on unreserved tickets through thermal printers. The bar coding feature includes details like ticket number, stock number, fare, source station, destination station, number of adults, number of children, train type, class code and date of journey, that are printed in the form of encrypted QR code. Jamshed explained that whenever a staff checks the ticket, he can scan the encrypted QR code and validate the information printed on the ticket to prevent any fraud. In this technology, printing will be done through thermal printer on thermal stationery only. Therefore, fraud by taking out carbon copy of the ticket or erasing of data and printing of other information on it will be detected by scanning its QR, the official noted. The bar coding will be extended to more stations and gradually it will cover reserved segment also, he added. A Thai tuna processing factory has agreed to pay staff USD 1.3 million compensation for a litany of labour abuses, an official said today, a rare victory for migrant workers in the kingdom's scandal-stricken seafood industry. Hundreds of Myanmar labourers at Golden Prize Tuna Canning, a processing plant in Samut Sakhon that sells fish to markets around the globe, have spent months seeking compensation for exploitative working conditions. Thailand is the world's third-largest seafood exporter, but the industry is plagued with rights abuses and fuelled by trafficked labour from neighbouring Myanmar and Cambodia. The sector has come under heightened scrutiny from foreign governments over the past year, with the European Union currently weighing an all-out ban on Thai fishing products. The United States also passed a bill last week outlawing goods produced by forced labour that could see Thailand targeted with import bans. Rights groups say Golden Prize workers had long been subject to unlawfully low salaries, supervisor abuse and a lack of compensation for machine accidents on the 25-acre processing sites. Following a more than 1,000-strong worker strike last week, company representatives joined negotiations with military officers, government officials and migrant worker leaders, reaching an agreement late Monday evening. "The company began paying 1,100 workers last night involving money of 48 million baht ($1.3m)," Boonlue Sartpetch, the head of the province's labour department, told AFP Tuesday. He said 700 workers have been paid, with the rest expected to receive compensation Tuesday. Golden Prize Tuna Canning, whose 2,000 workers hail mostly from Myanmar, declined to comment. The junta that seized power in a 2014 coup has struggled to revive Thailand's flagging economy and is desperate to avoid any costly sanctions on the multi-billion dollar seafood sector. It remains to be seen how Washington will enforce its new legislation on slave-produced goods. But the US labour department currently lists Thai fish and shrimp as products the government has reason to believe are manufactured by slave labour. Thai officials say they have moved fast to clean up the industry with new laws and crackdowns on traffickers and fish factories. IDBI Bank's rating is not immediately affected by the government's announcement to lower stake in the lender to below 50 per cent, Standard & Poor's today said. The US-based agency said the rating of the PSU lender could come under pressure if the government decides to lower its stake in IDBI either based on the recommendation of the Banks Board Bureau or of its own accord. "It remains to be seen if the government will choose to privatise IDBI. For now, we see a very high likelihood that the government will provide timely and sufficient extraordinary support to IDBI, given the bank's majority government ownership," S&P Ratings Services said in a report. Ratings on IDBI Bank are "not immediately affected" by the government's announcement that it could consider reducing its stake in the bank, S&P said. The ratings will be reviewed following greater clarity on what the government ultimately considers, it added. "IDBI's very strong link with and very important role for the Indian government underpin our view of the likelihood of extraordinary government support in the event of the bank's financial distress," it added. The Indian government owns 80.16 per cent of IDBI as of December 31, 2015. The US-based agency said it could downgrade IDBI if it feels the likelihood of extraordinary government support has weakened. "We may even revise the outlook to negative if we see increased risk of privatisation," it added. In his Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that the process of transformation of IDBI Bank has already started and could consider the option of reducing its stake in the bank to less than 50 per cent. Two Roman Catholic bishops who led a Pennsylvania diocese helped cover up the sexual abuse of hundreds of children by over 50 priests or religious leaders over a 40-year period, according to a grand jury report issued today. The report on the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese was based partly on evidence from a secret diocesan archive uncovered through a search warrant executed last year, said Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane. "These predators desecrated a sacred trust and preyed upon their victims in the very places where they should have felt most safe," Kane said in a statement. No criminal charges are being filed because some abusers have died, the statute of limitations has expired and, in some cases, victims are too traumatized to testify, she said. The report is especially critical of Bishops James Hogan and Joseph Adamec. Hogan, who led the diocese from 1966 to 1986, died in 2005. Adamec, who succeeded him, retired in 2011. The report said Hogan covered up abuse allegations by transferring offending priests, including by sending one accused clergyman to a school for boys. It said Adamec or his staff threatened some alleged victims with excommunication. One diocesan official under Hogan, Monsignor Philip Saylor, told the grand jury that church officials held such sway that "the police and civil authorities would often defer to the diocese" when priests were accused of abuse, the report said. The report said Adamec created a "payout chart" to help guide how much victims would receive from the church. Victims fondled over their clothes were to be paid $10,000 to $25,000; fondled under their clothes or subjected to masturbation, $15,000 to $40,000; subjected to forced oral sex, $25,000 to $75,000; subjected to forced sodomy or intercourse, $50,000 to $175,000. The right to practice law is a fundamental right for LL.B degree holder and introduction of the examination by Bar Council of India for granting advocacy license "negates" the very right, the Supreme Court observed today. "The right to practice law is there in the Act (the Advocates Act). When (Bar Council of India) says that a person will not be able to practice law without clearing the exam, then you are taking away the same right," a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit said. "This is not only a statutory right but a fundamental right also," it said, adding that an amendment to the existing law was needed for effecting the change. Apex bar body, BCI, conducts All India Bar Examination (AIBE) to examine an advocate's capability to practice the profession of law and it has been made mandatory. The court was hearing a plea fo R Nagabushana seeking quashing of BCI's notification on AIBE on the ground that it takes away the statutory right, given to an eligible person to practice law. The bar body claims that the AIBE "assess skills at a basic level, and is intended to set a minimum benchmark for admission to the practice of law; it addresses a candidate's analytical abilities and understanding basic knowledge of law. After a brief hearing, the court said, "Heard. Post tomorrow i.E. Tuesday, the 1st March, 2016, higher up in the list." The notification bringing the All India Bar Examination into force was passed by the Legal Education Committee and the members of the Bar Council of India in meetings held on April 10 and 30, 2010. Iranian voters chose "the right and proper path for the country", moderate President Hassan Rouhani said today after final election results showed his allies had made significant gains. Friday's twin elections - to parliament and to top clerical committee, the Assembly of Experts - were crucial for the president and a de-facto referendum on his administration after its nuclear deal with world powers. In the parliamentary election, hardliners who vocally opposed Rouhani's diplomacy with the West and his moves to open Iran up to foreign investment were soundly beaten by reformists. Conservatives also lost seats. "The owners of this country are the people... They determine the path and direction of this country," the president said. "I thank our intelligent and brave people who have taken a step forward," he said at an auto industry conference in Tehran. Buoyed by new backing from reformists supportive of the government, the president urged a spirit of cooperation among MPs from across Iran's political spectrum. "If there are still some who think that the country must be in confrontation with others, they still haven't got the message of 2013," he said, alluding to his landslide presidential election victory on a pledge to end years of standoff over Iran's nuclear programme and crippling sanctions. No single group won a decisive share of parliament's 290 seats, but tallies suggested the pragmatic Rouhani would be able to forge a working majority. The main conservative list secured 103 MPs, reformists and moderates 95, and independents 14, while five seats went to minorities and four to candidates with no single affiliation. While conservatives were wiped out by reformists in Tehran, they retained some seats in other cities and enjoyed strong support in rural areas. Some 69 constituencies had no clear winner, meaning a second round runoff in April in a field that has more conservatives than reformists and moderates. The outcome signalled strong public support for the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, an agreement steered by the president which saw the lifting of sanctions in January. "Cooperation should be everyone's concern. Today the era of confrontation is over," Rouhani added. Friday's second election for the Assembly of Experts also produced high-profile gains for Rouhani and his closest allies. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called today for the closure of Syria's border with Turkey to cut off outside supplies to "terrorists", including through humanitarian convoys. "Of course, neither in ceasefire agreements, nor in the process of political settlement is there a place for terrorists and extremists," Lavrov told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. "A very special task is to cut the terrorists' supply from the outside. For this purpose it is important to close the Syrian-Turkish border, since across this border those gangs receive arms, including with humanitarian convoys," Lavrov said, according to an official transcript in English of his remarks. He insisted that a "landslide defeat of (the Islamic State group)... Al-Nusra and those of their kind is a necessary precondition for securing the rights of long-suffering peoples of Syria" and the rest of the region. His comments came after aid workers on Monday made the first delivery of desperately-needed assistance since the start of Syria's fragile ceasefire four days ago. Moscow and Washington drafted the UN-backed cessation of hostilities deal, and the two countries are co-chairing an international task force evaluating how the ceasefire is holding. At an earlier meeting in Geneva, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon thanked Lavrov for "his significant role in achieving recent progress on Syria," a UN statement said. "They agreed on the importance of urgently moving forward simultaneously on implementing the cessation of hostilities agreement, providing vital humanitarian assistance to civilians, and returning to political negotiations," the statement further said. The deal meanwhile does not apply to the vast swaths of territory held by the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front. It is meanwhile hoped that the flow of much-needed assistance could create a more favourable backdrop for peace talks that collapsed in acrimony in early February. UN envoy Steffan de Mistura aims to relaunch negotiations on March 7 if the ceasefire lasts and more aid is delivered. Dozens of Russian warplanes sat idle today on the tarmac at this Russian air base in on the fourth day of a cease-fire brokered by Moscow and Washington. The apparent lull in action witnessed by the AP on a trip to the base, which was organized by the Russian defense and foreign ministries, contrasts with the hectic operation AP reporters saw here on a previous visit in January. The ceasefire that began at midnight Friday has brought a notable reduction in hostilities for the first time in the five-year war that has killed more than 250,000 people, displaced half of Syria's population and flooded Europe with refugees. But the truce has remained highly fragile with violations reported in many areas with the opposition and the Syrian government blaming each other. The Islamic State group and al-Qaida's branch in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, are excluded from the truce. The Russian military said Monday that its warplanes struck al-Nusra targets north of Aleppo. It said that groups that have declared their adherence to the cease-fire are not being targeted. During the five-month Russian air blitz that began on September 30, each jet flew several combat sorties on an average day, amounting to an impressive total of more than 6,000 missions. The Russian Defense Ministry said late Monday that the ceasefire was largely holding despite sporadic violations. Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko, who heads the cease-fire coordination center at the Russian base in Syria, voiced satisfaction with what he described as a good level of coordination with his US counterparts in Amman, Jordan. Russia and the US have agreed to exchange information about opposition groups abiding by the truce and jointly tackle any possible violations. For President Vladimir Putin, the cease-fire deal offers a chance to capitalize on a successful air campaign that has helped Syrian President Bashar Assad's military reverse the tide of war and make significant gains near Aleppo and in several other areas. The US-Russian-brokered truce agreement achieves Putin's key strategic goal of having Moscow appear as an equal partner of Washington in tackling the Syrian crisis. North Korea must pay the price for its latest and rocket launch, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye said on Tuesday, vowing to pressure Pyongyang into accepting denuclearisation as its only viable option for survival. In a televised speech to mark the anniversary of a key date in Korea's struggle against Japanese colonial rule, Park said failure to respond to the North's "reckless provocations" would only result in further nuclear tests. "If we leave them alone, they will continue," said the president, who has significantly toughened her stance against Pyongyang in the wake of the North's fourth on January 6 and a long-range rocket launch last month that was widely condemned as a ballistic missile test. "North Korea must clearly understand... That they can no longer maintain their regime through nuclear weapons," Park said Her comments came as the UN Security Council heads toward a vote on a new US-drafted resolution that would impose the toughest sanctions yet on North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme. The draft text would require countries to take the unprecedented step of inspecting all cargo to and from North Korea, impose new trade restrictions and bar North Korean vessels suspected of carrying illegal goods from ports. Park said the draft, which has secured the approval of North Korea's main ally China, showed the collective will of the community to ensure that Pyongyang "pay the price" for its refusal to halt its nuclear weapons programme. "My government will leave the door for dialogue open, but until North Korea shows they are willing to change and to pursue denuclearisation, we and the community will continue to pressure North Korea," she said. "The ball is now in North Korea's court," she added. The UN resolution currently under discussion at the Security Council, represents a compromise between the United States and China, who had been at odds over how to respond to North Korea's recent tests. China wants its reclusive neighbour to halt its nuclear weapons program and return to six-party talks, maintaining that dialogue -- rather than sanctions -- is the best way to curb Pyongyang's behaviour. Beijing fears too much pressure could trigger the collapse of leader Kim Jong-Un's pariah regime, creating chaos on its border. Already elevated tensions on the Korean peninsula are likely to rise further next week when South Korea and the United States kick off annual joint military drills. Woman IPS officer Sangeeta Rani, who was allegedly involved in verbal spat with Haryana Health minister Anil Vij last year, was today appointed the new Superintendent of Police of Rewari district. Sangeeta was among nine IPS officers who were transferred today by the Haryana government after the Jat quota agitation. Sangeeta Rani was appointed Superintendent of Police, Rewari replacing Balwan Singh, who will be DCP, West Gurgaon, an official spokesman said here. Sangeeta, the 2010-batch-IPS officer was earlier posted as Commandant 4th India Reserve Battalion (IRB) at Manesar, Gurgaon. As the then SP of Fatehabad district, she was shunted out by BJP government, a day after she was allegedly involved in a spat with Vij. She had refused to leave meeting of the District Grievances and Public Relations Committee on being asked to "get out" by the Health minister at Fatehabad on November 27 last year. Vij was irked with her response to a query on illicit liquor trade in the area. The minister then had stormed out of a meeting after the police officer had refused to follow his order to leave the venue following heated exchanges between them. The video of their spat had also gone viral on social media. Saudi Arabia executed a Qatari and three of its own nationals today, bringing to 68 the number of people it has put to death this year. The Qatari, Mohammed Jarboui, was executed in the eastern region of Al-Ahsa after his conviction for murdering a Saudi, the interior ministry said. Sliman and Ahmed Messoudi were put to death in the northern Tabuk region for trafficking amphetamines, the ministry said in a separate statement. Authorities also executed Kassadi Atoudi in the southern region of Jazan following his conviction for murder. The 68 executions so far this year include 47 death sentences for "terrorism" carried out in a single day on January 2. Most people sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia are beheaded with a sword. In 2015, Saudi Arabia executed 153 people, most of them for drug trafficking or murder, according to an AFP count. Amnesty International says the number of executions in Saudi Arabia last year was the highest for two decades. However, the tally was far behind those of China and Iran. The kingdom has a strict Islamic legal code under which murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy are all punishable by death. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah called on Saudi Arabia not to collectively punish Lebanon's people just because Riyadh disagreed with the Shiite movement's policies. In a televised address on his group's Al-Manar network, Nasrallah said Saudi Arabia does not have "the right to sanction the Lebanese people because one particular party took a certain position". Last week, Riyadh halted a USD 3 billion programme funding equipment for Lebanese security forces and urged Saudi citizens to leave Lebanon in response to "hostile" positions linked to Hezbollah. The withdrawal of Saudi Arabia's financial aid has sparked a war of words between opponents and supporters of Hezbollah in Lebanon. "If there's a criminal, I'm the criminal, Hezbollah is the criminal," Nasrallah said yesterday. "If you have a problem with us, you can continue doing so -- but what does the rest of the country have to do with it," he asked. Nasrallah also accused Saudi Arabia of trying to spark "sedition between Sunni and Shiite Muslims" when it executed Shiite Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on January 2. Saudi had been carrying out "crimes" in Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain "for the past 10 years, for the past 100 years, since the regime came into power," Nasrallah said. "They can start wars and commit massacres... But no one can say anything for fear of sparking Saudi wrath," he said. Nasrallah pledged Hezbollah would continue to speak out against what it saw as Saudi aggression in the region. Riyadh backs the five-year uprising in Syria against President Bashar al-Assad, while Hezbollah has intervened militarily on Assad's behalf. "We are happy with the truce and God willing it will persist and lead to a political solution," said Nasrallah. Nasrallah said anyone who wanted to come visit Lebanon should feel reassured that "there is no security problem in the country". The Supreme Court has sought the Centre's response in a plea challenging the constitutionality of Muslim practices of polygamy, triple talaq (talaq-e-bidat) and nikah halala. Talaq-e-bidat is a Muslim man divorcing his wife by pronouncing more than one talaq in a single tuhr (the period between two menstruations), or in a tuhr after coitus, or pronouncing an irrevocable instantaneous divorce at one go (unilateral triple-talaq). A bench comprising justices A R Dave and Adarsh Kumar Goel issued notice to Ministry of Minority Affairs and tagged the matter with the similar suo moto petition heard by the Supreme Court. Petitioner Shayara Bano said in her petition she was subjected to cruelty, and dowry demands, from her husband and his family. She claimed she was administered drugs that "that caused her memory to fade, kept her unconscious" and made her "critically ill" at which point her husband divorced her by triple talaq. She challenged the constitutionality of Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 in so far as it seeks to recognise and validate polygamy, triple talaq and nikah halala. The petitioner also challenged the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 saying that it fails to provide Indian Muslim women with protection from bigamy. Bano stated in her petition that the issue of gender discrimination against Muslim women under Muslim personal laws, specifically the lack of safeguards against arbitrary divorce and second marriage by a Muslim husband during currency of first marriage notwithstanding the guarantees of the Constitution, needs to be examined by the Supreme Court. "Muslim women have their hands tied while the guillotine of divorce dangles, perpetually ready to drop at the whims of their husbands who enjoy undisputed power. Such discrimination and inequality hoarsely expressed in the form of unilateral triple-talaq is abominable when seen in light of the progressive times of the 21st century. "Further, once a woman has been divorced, her husband is not permitted take her back as his wife even if he had pronounced talaq under influence of any intoxicant, unless the woman undergoes nikah halala which involves her marriage with another man who subsequently divorces her so that her previous husband can re-marry her," her plea said. A 40-year-old government school teacher was today arrested for allegedly stealing a newborn from a hospital here, police said. "Acting on a tip off, police recovered the baby boy from the clutches of the accused Shahina Shaikh," Crime Branch's Additional Superintendent of Police Vinay Prakash Paul said. Shaikh stole the baby, just 20 minutes after he was born at the state government-run Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital on February 25, he added. In guise of a nurse, Shaikh took the baby away saying he needed an injection. However, the CCTV camera captured her with the baby. She then took the new born to her aunt's place in Dhar district saying that it was her child and left her there. Shaikh returned here and changed her house in fear of arrest given that police had announced a reward of Rs 10,000 on her head, the ASP said. During interrogation, Shaikh confessed that she stole the baby as she couldn't bear a child from her two marriages, Paul added. The newborn is being treated in a hospital and further investigations are on, police said. Noted science journalist Pallava Bagla was today conferred with an award for his efforts in science and technology communication on television. The national award for "Outstanding Efforts in the Field of Science and Technology Communication on Electronic Medium", carrying a citation, memento and cash, was presented by Union Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan at a function here. Speaking at a function, organised by National Council for Science and Technology and Communication, the minister said in order to inculcate interest among students in the field of science, his ministry is in the process of coming up with a book based on lives of renowned scientists of the country. Vardhan said a team of experts is studying the lives of India's great scientists from Meghnad Saha to Srinivasa Ramanujan. He said learning about the great Indian scientists could help inspire students to take up professional careers in the field of science. "Our team of experts will study the lives of these men and compile all their inspiring qualities into a book which is going to be published soon. Our team is also interacting with their (scientists) relatives to find out more about their lives," Vardhan said. He rued over the fact that India's is not able to produce a Nobel Prize winner in the field of science after CV Raman. Commenting on the state of science journalism in the Indian media, Bagla said, "The next generation of journalism belongs to specialised reporters. Those who can communicate the in a simple manner will only succeed. Capital markets regulator Sebi has sought clarification from merchant banker of infrastructure firm Dilip Buildcon regarding its initial public offering. Without disclosing the details of clarifications sought, Sebi has said that it is awaiting response from Lead Manager for the proposed public offer. According to the latest weekly update on the processing status of draft offer documents, Sebi has said clarifications were awaited on the company's IPO as on January 26, 2016. The next update would be uploaded on Sebi's (Securities and Exchange Board of India) website on March 7. Sebi said it might issue observations on draft offer documents within 30 days, after receiving satisfactory reply from the lead merchant banker regarding the clarification or additional information sought. Dilip Buildcon filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with Sebi on February 1. The IPO comprises fresh issue of shares worth 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, as per draft papers. The proceed of the issue will be used for repayment of loans to meet working capital requirements and for other corporate purposes. This is the company's second attempt to hit the capital markets. Earlier, it had received approval from Sebi in June 2015, but the company decided to withdraw the DRHP in January and filed fresh papers. It, however, did not disclose the reasons for the withdrawal. In March last year, the company had filed draft papers with the regulator in order to raise Rs 650 crore through an IPO. Congress member Kumari Selja today sought a judicial inquiry into the reports of rape of several women in Haryana during the Jat agitation, saying "jungle raj" was prevailing in the state. Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, Selja said that the government has been a "mute spectator" to the large-scale violence during the agitation in the state. She further said that the state government's enquiry team cannot be trusted on the reported charges of rape and molestation by Jat quota agitators near Murthal town, demanding that the High court inquire into it. "We demand a judicial inquiry," she said. Haryana government has set up a three-member team of women police officers to look into the alleged incidents of rape and molestation of several women by Jat protesters. Pramod Tiwari of the Congress also demanded a fair probe into the rape and molestation allegations. T K Rangarajan of the CPI(M) condemned the lodging of a sedition case against party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D Raja and other political leaders in Hyderabad. An FIR has been registered against Yechury, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, party leaders Anand Sharma and Ajay Maken, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Raja, JD(U)'s KC Tyagi, JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid on the order of a Hyderabad court based on a complaint filed by lawyer Janardhan Goud. Ranjarajan also wanted to know whether the Chair has received any notice of arrest for Yechury and Raja. Shantaram Naik (Congress) raised the issue of proposed Defence Exposition to be held in South Goa and said the local people were agitated due to the proposed exhibition. "Goa government has succumbed to the pressure of the Centre," he said, adding that such expositions used to be held at the Pragati Maidan in the capital. KVP Ramchandra Rao (Congress) raised the issue of difficulties being faced by palm cultivators in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Sanjiv Kumar of JMM raised took up the issue of farmers affected by the Maithan Power Plant in Jharkhand. He said farmers whose lands were being acquired for the plant should be given permanent jobs and adequate medical facilities. Shiv Sena's Wardha district chief Nilesh Deshmukh and five others were arrested today for allegedly assaulting a doctor at a rural hospital and hurling casteist remarks. Deshmukh got into a row with Dr Sumit Ambade at the government rural hospital at Karanja yesterday, after complaining that a person, admitted for scorpion-bite, was not getting proper treatment. He allegedly beat up the doctor severely and hurled casteist remarks against him. Ambade lodged police complaint against Deshmukh and nine others last night. Inspector V M Chowdhury of Karanja police station said the police arrested Deshmukh and five other Sena activists today. Apart from assault, Deshmukh was also booked for offences under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. This is a third such incident of Shiv Sena members getting arrested for assault in public places in Maharashtra in the last few days. On February 26, a Sena man in Thane was arrested for attacking a lady traffic constable, while yesterday another party leader was arrested for beating up a shop assistant in Mumbai for refusing to give free snacks. Sena is part of the BJP-led ruling coalition in the state. Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant claimed his party was not invited to a meeting today of NDA allies in New Delhi and conveyed its displeasure over the same to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu. Another Sena MP, Sanjay Raut, blamed "miscommunication" on part of BJP for his party not attending the meet where Finance Minister Arun Jaitley spoke about the Union Budget that was presented in Lok Sabha yesterday. "We were neither invited nor informed about the NDA meeting. We were naturally unhappy with this and conveyed our displeasure to Naidu. Since he (Naidu) accepted his mistake, we do not want to make a hue and cry over it," Sawant said. Raut said "Naidu has clarified that there was some miscommunication on their (BJP's) part". However, he declined to comment when asked about reports that Sena is opposing the budget proposal to tax Employees Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawal and contribution made by employers. Sena sources said the party has opposed the proposal. Another BJP ally in Maharashtra, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana, too, spoke against the proposal to tax EPF withdrawals. "It is the hard-earned money of employees. It should not be taxed. I will raise the issue in the House," said Sanghtana leader and Lok Sabha MP Raju Shetty. Shiv Sena today said it has sacked an office-bearer of its youth wing who allegedly assaulted a shop assistant for refusing to provide free 'vada-pavs'. "That person was sacked yesterday itself," a source close to Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray told PTI. The incident took place in suburban Vile Parle (West) on Saturday. The accused, Sunil Mahadik, allegedly hit Chetan Geveriya (28), who works at Trupti Sweet and Farsan Mart on D J Road, with a bamboo stick, police had yesterday said. Mahadik had sent a person to the shop demanding 100 vada pavs, a popular street-food here, free of cost. Chetan told him that they didn't have so much stock, so the person left. Irked, Mahadik then went to the shop and hit Geveria with a bamboo stick and threatened to kill him, they had said. The incident was captured by the CCTV cameras in the shop and later an FIR was registered with Juhu police. The footage was also aired by some local channels. The incident comes in the wake of another in neighbouring Thane where a Shiv Sena worker was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman traffic constable three days ago. CCTV footage of the incident had gone viral. Meanwhile, Swabhiman Sanghatana leader Nitesh Rane said his organisation today held a "free vada pav" distribution event to protest the assault on the shopkeeper. "These people (Yuva Sena) are strong proponents of night life in Mumbai. This assault shows what will happen if what they call 'night life' is allowed," Nitesh, an MLA, said. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's vision of a friendly neighbourhood has been the driving force for normalisation of relations with India, parliament was told today. Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan made the remarks while responding to questions in the Senate, the Upper House of bicameral parliament. Pakistan wants to achieve the objective of friendly neighbourhood by resolution of all the outstanding issues, including Kashmir, with India, Radio Pakistan quoted the minister as saying. He said that the two countries had agreed to restart the comprehensive bilateral dialogue to address all the outstanding issues but the progress is stalled because of the Pathankot terror attack. To a supplementary question, he said Pakistan has objections to the design of Kishanganga project by India and efforts are being made to address the issue at the level of Indus Basin Commission. Khan told the House that the government is taking the issue of security of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) offices in abroad seriously and it has taken up the issue of attack on its offices in New Delhi with the Indian government. Responding to a call attention notice, he said response of the Indian government was positive and they have conveyed that security of PIA offices would be ensured. The Information and Broadcasting ministry has issued show cause notices to two Community Radio channels last month, whose content was prima facie found to be in violation of the norms. This information was shared by Minister of State for I&B Rajyavardhan Rathore in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. According to the Minister's reply, the content of the programmes broadcast by these Community Radio stations was found to be in violation of certain clauses of the Grant of Permission Agreement (GOPA) and also a provision of the AIR code. "Therefore, show cause notices dated 10.02.2016 were issued to both the community radio stations," Rathore said in his reply. In a written reply to anorther question, Rathore said that there are sanctioned posts of Special Correspondents of All India Radio and Doordarshan belonging to Indian Information Service Group 'A' in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and UAE only. "Earlier there was another post of Special Correspondent at Kabul, Afghanistan which is proposed to be shifted at Beijing, China, subject to clearances from other nodal Ministries of the Government," Rathore said. Forty one soldiers have lost their lives on the Glacier since 2013, Rajya Sabha was informed today. In a written reply, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that in 2013, as many as 10 soldiers were martyred while guarding the Glacier, followed by 8 in 2014, In 2015, 9 soldiers died on the Glacier, while until February 18, 2016, 14 soldiers have lost their lives. Ten soldiers were killed in an avalanche on the Glacier last month. Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, who was rescued and later rushed to the Army's Research and Referral Hospital (R&R) here, could not be saved despite efforts taken to revive him. In a response to another question, Parrikar said that in order to avoid casualties due to avalanche, a command and control set up is activated at Base Camp to monitor the incident and coordinate rescue team and equipment to the site. "Rescue equipment like avalanche victim detectors, special mountaineering equipment, ice-drilling machine as well as avalanche rescue dogs are employed to locate and rescue the victims. Best medical facilities are provided to the casualties," Parrikar added. Special Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Taj Hassan was today made the new chief spokesperson of Delhi Police, a day after Alok Kumar Verma took charge as the chief of the over 80,000 strong force. Hassan (51) today replaced DCP (Crime) Rajan Bhagat, who served Delhi Police as its spokesperson -- an additional charge -- since 2006, in pursuance of an order by Verma. Hassan, an 1987-batch IPS officer, has earlier served Delhi Police as the chief of traffic department and joint commissioner of security unit among other important positions. This is the first major change in the force after Verma took charge of its reins. When Verma was the Director General of Tihar, the prison authorities had accused Delhi Police of "misusing" media through their spokesperson in connection with the murder of two inmates in a jail van brawl last year which led to a blame game between Delhi Police and prison authorities. Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has revealed that before he joined the filmdom, he felt he looked like Bollywood actor Kumar Gaurav but at a later stage thought his looks matched that of Hollywood veteran Al Pacino's. In his upcoming film "Fan", Khan will be seen playing two roles, one of a superstar Aryan Khanna and his fan Gaurav, who comes across as his lookalike. "Initially I used to feel I look like Kumar Gaurav (son of Rajendra Kumar)...He was the first star I wanted to meet. I was happy that I looked like someone good like him (Kumar Gaurav). Then after some point, I felt I looked like Al Pacino (an American actor)," Khan told reporters here at the trailer launch of "Fan". "Now at the age of 50, I feel I look like my father. I am hopeful a time will come when I would feel I look like myself," he said. "Fan" is the story of Gaurav (Khan) a young man, whose world revolves around superstar Aryan Khanna (Khan) or God as he refers to him. From the bylanes of Delhi, young Gaurav embarks on a journey to the city of dreams, Mumbai, in order to wish his God on his birthday. But when things don't go according to plan, Gaurav's love and passion for the superstar turns into a dangerous obsession. When asked about playing a psychotic obsessive role like "Darr" again in "Fan", SRK said, "No not really... The role (of Gaurav) is different from what one saw me doing in 'Darr', 'Baazigar'. These are anti-hero." "In this film, he is not a psychotic lover. It's the story of a young boy and his love for a superstar," he said. The "Chak De India" star feels it is not right on his part to dictate or tell his fans how they should be. "A fan can be like Devdas, Rahul or Gaurav (referring to his popular roles). They have their own way of expressing ... At times it is so much. I just don't want them to write letter with blood. Today we have email system and social media," he said. "I am a fan of films. I enjoy being in this space. I remember my first fans were two ladies... I was in Delhi and they looked at me and yelled Abhimanyu Rai. I am thankful to them for making me feel like that," he added. In real life, if Khan comes across a fan like Gaurav, he said he would sit and make him understand. SRK's admirers were seen in large numbers at the film's trailer launch. "Today is February 29 and this date comes once in four years. For the first time Yash Raj Films (producers) allowed fans in their studio. Adi (producer Aditya Chopra) did this as he loves me and he knows I love my fans a lot," the 'Dilwale' star said. Special arrangements were made for the trailer launch like an audio-visual sensor, fan-o-meter that detected the highest level of the sound (referring to people cheering at the venue), after which the trailer was launched. Khan is thankful to his fans for being with him. "Whenever I am happy, sad I look upto you. I thank you all for making me the star that I am today," he said. "I feel a fan... Admirer should always take up good things. Like take up good things from Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Sania Mirza," he adds. Before the trailer launch, SRK recited popular dialogues from his films like "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge", "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai", "Devdas", "Don" and "Fan". Directed by Maneesh Sharma and produced by Aditya Chopra, "Fan" releases on April 15. Action star Sylvester Stallone's brother Frank, who slammed the Academy for awarding Mark Rylance with the best supporting actor Oscar, has apologized for his remarks on "Bridge of Spies" actor. Rylance took home the best supporting actor Oscar beating the frontrunner Sylvester Stallone and like his fans, "Creed" star's brother Frank was visibly upset by the Academy's decision. Sylvester, 69, appeared to be in fine spirits and thanked his fans for all the support captioning his Oscar red carpet photo "NEVER GIVE IN , NEVER GIVE OUT , NEVER GIVE UP! Thanks for the support." But Frank could not stop himself from slamming the Academy and calling Rylance's win a "Hollywood bullshit". "The Academy should be ashamed of themselves. It's as clear as the nose on your face that Sly won. Mark who? It's total Hollywood bullshit," he tweeted. The "Rocky" star later reacted to his sibling's comments. "Sorry, didn't mean for this picture to go up before saying that I'm very happy and please understand my brother is so emotional because he is just very protective and only wants the best for me. Life is good!," he wrote on Instagram. Following the post by his brother, Frank shared an apologetic tweet. "I will always defend what right but I was wrong to put down Mark Rylance and I apologize. He is a fine actor but I thought Sly deserved it," he posted. Sylvester was nominated in the category for his role in "Creed." Rylance won the Oscar for his role of KGB agent Rudolf Abel in the Steven Spielberg-directed Cold War-set drama. The US State Department has made public the final batch of emails taken from a private server which former secretary of state controversially used during her time in office. Clinton will hope the release will quiet the furor over her decision to spurn a government email account, but federal investigators are still probing whether her home-brew set-up posed a risk to national security. The email scandal has been seized upon by Clinton's Republican opponents and is one of the few major clouds still looming over her otherwise very promising campaign to become the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. State Department spokesperson John Kirby said the final batch of roughly 3,800 pages of mails brought the sum total released to more than 52,000 vetted and in some cases partially redacted pages of official correspondence. When, last year, it emerged that Clinton had used a private server and non-official address for all her email while in her former post, her rivals cried foul, suggesting she may have been illegally covering something up. Clinton protested that none of the mails had been marked "classified" when she sent them and, after her own lawyers had removed mails they deemed purely personal, submitted a 52,000 page document dump to the State Department. Over recent months, government lawyers have combed through the stack, retroactively investigating whether any mail contained information that should have been classified -- and they found several that raised questions. Some 22 have since been deemed to contain "top secret" information and more than 2,000 confidential information of a lower level of classification, prompting protests from Clinton's camp about excessive government secrecy. Kirby said the final batch did not contain any top secret files and, indeed, that one mail about North Korea's nuclear program that US intelligence had argued should be deemed as such had finally been downgraded. "Based on subsequent review, the intelligence community revised its earlier assessment," Kirby said, implying a tactical victory in the turf war between federal agencies over the sensitivity of the email trove. "As we've noted before, the information available to diplomats and the judgments they form do not necessarily need to be classified just because there are parallel intelligence sources," he argued. One more mail included in an email chain between Clinton and President Barack Obama was also removed from the final batch before publication, not because it was deemed secret but because it now forms part of the White House record. Four Islamic State group suicide bombers infiltrated an army headquarters west of Baghdad, killing a senior Iraqi general and five other soldiers, army and police officers said today. The bombers attacked a regimental headquarters in the Haditha area of Anbar province late last night, killing Staff Brigadier General Ali Aboud, Lieutenant Colonel Farhan Ibrahim and four others, the sources said. Delhi Police has urged the director general (DG) of health services to form a medical board to examine test reports in connection with Sunanda Pushkar's death. A letter was sent to the DG health services after the special investigation team (SIT) probing the case failed to draw any conclusion from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) medical board's opinion vis-a-vis the FBI report on Pushkar's viscera sample and other evidence in the case, a police source said today. The SIT had earlier written to the AIIMS medical board seeking further clarification on their opinion, but the response of the board is still awaited. Even a day before his retirement, Delhi Police chief BS Bassi had said the case will be taken to its logical conclusion. The AIIMS medical board's opinion on the FBI report had suggested that Sunanda, wife of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, died of poisoning with the presence of Alprax found in her stomach. Last month, the police questioned Tharoor for the third time in connection with his wife's death. 51-year-old Sunanda was found dead in her room at a five-star hotel in south Delhi in January 2014. A case of murder was registered in the matter around one year later following which her viscera sample and some other evidence in the case were sent to an FBI laboratory in the USA. Chennai-based fund house Sundaram Asset Management Company (or Sundaram Mutual) is looking to add 1 lakh retail investors to its fold by the year-end. The company, which was set up in 1996, also plans to launch three funds by March, 2017. At present, the company has 14 products in equity and 10 products in debt. "As of now, we have 12 lakh retail investors, which include 1 lakh retail investors that were added last year. We are looking at adding 1 lakh more retail investors in the current calendar year and we have already added 15,000 new retail investors so far," Sundaram Asset Management Company's chief executive, Sunil Subramaniam told PTI here today. The three proposed funds to be launched by Sundaram Mutual over the next one year include Equity Saving Fund, Credit Opportunities Fund and Large and Mid-cap Fund. "We have filed for three products before Sebi and are waiting for the approvals and plan to launch them by March 2017," he said. The company with current AUM at Rs 26,000 crore and which plans to cross AUM of Rs 50,000 crore by December 2019, claims to have trebled its systematic investment plan (SIP) transactions on a monthly basis over past two years. "Sundaram Mutual has trebled its monthly SIP transactions over the past couple of years," he said adding, "The company's current AUM is at Rs 26,000 crore and we plan to cross the AUM of Rs 50,000 crore by December, 2019." The company has 65 per cent of its funds invested in mid-cap companies. Talking about their post-Budget strategies, he said, "We will concentrate on mid-cap firms for putting our money which may include industrial, construction and cement." The company already has Rural India Fund. "The Budget has proposed to impose tax on the withdrawal of PF money and it may see the release of Rs 3,500 crore worth fund to the MF industry. We are eyeing to tap 5-10 per cent of this flow to our company," he said. Peace talks aimed at ending the conflict in Syria will resume in Geneva on March 9, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura's office said today, announcing a two-day postponement. "Intra-Syrian peace talks will resume in the afternoon of 9 March," de Mistura's office said in a statement. "The 7th of March 2016 was initially set as the target date for the resumption of peace talks," but a short delay was needed "to allow adequate time to address logistical and practical matters." "Mr. De Mistura looks forward to Syrian participants' engagement in serious discussions," the statement added. A first round of talks which began early last month was cut short amid intensifying Russian airstrikes in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Warring parties, excluding the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, have agreed to a truce brokered by the US and Russia, which the United Nations has said is broadly holding despite isolated incidents of fighting. The UN has said an extended commitment to the ceasefire by all sides would raise hope of the talks succeeding, after repeated diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have failed. Tata Communications today said the transaction for selling majority stake in subsidiary to Vodacom, South Africa has lapsed due to regulatory complexities and non-fulfillment of certain conditions. The company on December 10 last year had said that and Vodafone's South Africa subsidiary, Vodacom have concluded a modified transaction and the transaction documentation relating to the restructured deal was submitted to the Competition Tribunal. "Vodacom, South Africa and have now confirmed that the agreement between the parties has lapsed due to regulatory complexities in concluding the transaction as well as certain conditions not being fulfilled," the company said in a filing to BSE. It added that accordingly, the parties have agreed that the proposed restructured transaction can no longer be progressed. The deal was originally signed in May 2014 wherein Vodacom had reached an agreement to buy Neotel, controlled by Tata Communications, for 7 billion rand (about Rs 3,200 crore). In dollar terms, the value of transaction at that time was around $676 million. Tata Communications owns over 68% stake in South Africa's largest fixed line telephone service provider Neotel. Tata Communications said it remains committed to its investment in Neotel and commitment to focus on customers, partners and employees in South Africa and providing the highest levels of customer service. Asserting that the tax demand against them has been "rightly generated", the CBDT today said like and Cairn Energy should promptly avail the one-time dispute resolution scheme announced in the Budget to close the issue by paying the principal tax and getting waiver on interest and penalty. CBDT Chairman Atulesh Jindal said "as long as" the retrospective amendment of the IT Act passed by Parliament remains valid, the "demand (of tax against them) remains valid." Jindal, in an interview to PTI, said apart from UK's Group plc and Cairn Energy plc, there are about a dozen more such which are facing similar demands due to the retrospective amendment of the Income Tax Act. "They (companies) are basically challenging the retrospective amendment. Retrospective amendments have been passed by Parliament. They have not gone against passing of retrospective amendment before any court...So, as long as the retrospective amendment is valid, the demand (of the IT department) remains valid. "Of course, it (demand) very much remains and this is a rightly generated demand," he said. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget speech yesterday, announced a new dispute resolution mechanism for such who are in confrontation with the taxman's action. "In order to give an opportunity to the past cases which are ongoing under the retrospective amendment, I propose a one-time scheme of Dispute Resolution for them," Jaitley had said while presenting the Budget for 2016-17 in Parliament. The scheme entails paying up of the principal tax by the company that has been served with a tax notice and at the same time getting a waiver on interest and penalty. The CBDT boss said government has always made it clear that tax disputes "are not" covered under the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPA). "It is a different matter that they (companies) have gone under BIPA and our stand is that tax disputes are not covered under BIPA. That's the situation. Hence, a sort of opportunity has been given to settle these disputes (in the Budget)," the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman said. He said the department cannot go back on the tax demand raised against these firms as assessment orders were "already passed" and "demands raised" before the IT Act was amended with a retrospective effect. When told that the companies involved have not shown much initial enthusiasm to the proposal, Jindal said he is hopeful and thinks "they (companies) should come forward." Commenting on the Budget proposal, Cairn spokesperson had said that "while international arbitration proceedings have commenced to seek resolution of the tax dispute, Cairn notes the efforts of the Government of India to resolve the retrospective tax issue and will study the text of the Budget speech." A spokesperson had said: "We will of course study the details of what the Finance Minister has proposed today, while continuing to seek resolution of this matter through international arbitration. "Vodafone has always maintained that there was no tax to pay at the time it completed its acquisition of Hutchison business in 2007... Vodafone was the acquirer in this transaction. The company made no capital gains whatsoever." While Cairn Energy is facing a tax demand of Rs 10,247 crore on a 2006 business re-organisation it carried out in its India unit before getting it listed, Vodafone is facing tax liability over its $11 billion acquisition of a 67 per cent stake in the mobile-phone business owned by Hutchison Whampoa in 2007. Jindal said a few of the other such cases of indirect transfer of assets coming under the ambit of the retrospective amendment where IT demands have not been raised but proceedings are pending due to reasons like 're-opening' of the case or some other procedure, will have to go through the "approvals" and "clearances" of a Budget announced committee which will be headed by the Revenue Secretary and have the CBDT Chairman as a Member. When the Finance Minister was yesterday asked if government hopes to arrive at the desired settlement, when the involved companies are disputing the principal liability in first place, he had said: "They have two options - either to litigate or settle. Central trade unions, including the RSS-backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), have opposed the Budget proposal to tax EPF withdrawal and contribution made by employers, terming it as "an attack on the working class and a clear case of double taxation". "This is an anti-worker Budget proposal. Taxing PF means double taxation. PF is deducted from a salary on which workers have already paid tax," BMS General Secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said.. Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016 "Tax should be imposed on new income. PF accumulation is not generated or new income. The finance ministry has encroached upon the authority of the Central Board of Trustees, the apex decision making body of EPFO, which takes a final call on all issues related to EPFO schemes." The BMS is planning to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to lodge their protest against these proposals and demand a rollback. All India Trade Union Congress General Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said, "This is an attack on workers. It leads to virtual double taxation. It is an anti-saving move. It is unfortunate that emergency withdrawals by families have been subjected to taxation." "While taxing workers, they have given relief to new start up companies by allowing them not to pay EPF contributions for three years. It is a violation of the EPF Act. On March 10, there will be a nation-wide protest against anti-labour policies of the government, including tax on EPF withdrawals." As many as 11 central trade unions have planned to go on a nation-wide strike on March 10 to protest against the government's unilateral labour reforms and anti-worker policies, including tightening of EPF withdrawals and a proposal to tax them. Dasgupta also said this issue will also be raised by left parties in both Houses of Parliament during the debate on Budget proposals. Breaking from the long-held practice of exemption at all stages, the Budget for 2016-17 has proposed to impose tax on EPF withdrawal on 60% of contributions made after April 1, 2016, to EPF and other such schemes. On Tuesday, however, the government clarified that PPF withdrawals will continue to be fully exempt from tax and only interest accruing after April 1 on 60% of the contributions made to Employee PF will be taxed. At present, social security schemes run by retirement fund body EPFO are tax free 'Exempt-Exempt-Exempt (EEE)' scheme under which deposits, accrual of interest and withdrawals are tax free. It is also proposed to tax employers' contribution of over Rs 1.5 lakh towards a worker's EPF account in a year. At present, there is no such limit. Employers are mandated to contribute 12% of basic wages towards an employee's pension as well as PF account under the social security schemes run by EPFO. Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria today told the state assembly an investigation team will be sent to Jaisalmer to probe alleged killing of bovine animals there. Responding to the issue raised by Pokaran MLA Shaitan Singh during Zero Hour in the House, Kataria said two bovine animals were captured and killed near Ramdevra town in Jaisalmer on February 8 and a similar incident occurred in Pokaran on February 17. He said it was a serious matter and the accused are still at large. The Minister assured a team from Jaipur will be sent to Jaisalmer for an impartial investigation and accountability of officers will be fixed after they file a report. Telecom PSUs such as BSNL have earmarked an investment of Rs 16,815 crore for the next fiscal in a host of projects, including setting up of Wi-Fi hotspots, enhancing network quality and expanding broadband coverage. BSNL has earmarked capital expenditure of Rs 7,317 crore for 2016-17, while Bharat Broadband Network Limited, which is implementing the national optical fibre network, has investment plans of Rs 9,418.67 crore for the next fiscal. "We have capex plan for Rs 7,317 crore. This includes setting up of 40,000 wifi hotspots, 10 times enhancement of core network capacity and Rs 2,000 crore of add-on equipment under phase 7 of network expansion," BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Anupam Shrivastava told PTI. Loss making PSU MTNL will spend Rs 649.03 crore and Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) will invest Rs 100 crore, according to the budget documents. The budget indicates there will be progress in Rs 773.13 acre surplus land of government left with Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL), currently Tata Communications, after disinvestment in 2002. Special purpose vehicle Hemisphere Properties India Ltd (HPIL) created to resolve this issue will invest Rs 1 crore in 2016-17. The government has decided to allocate Rs 18,413 crore to the Department of Telecom in 2016-17 which includes provisions for public sector units as well. In the budget, government has decided to allocate Rs 2,200 crore as a refund for surrendering broadband wireless spectrum (4G) in six circles and CDMA spectrum in the coming fiscal. MTNL surrendered 5 Mhz of CDMA spectrum that was put up for auction in Delhi and Mumbai and BSNL in around 8-10 telecom service area. The Budget has provisioned for financial support of Rs 428.91 crore for loss making telecom firm MTNL in 2016-17. The support includes refund for minimum alternate tax (MAT), payment of interest on bonds and surrender of CDMA spectrum by MTNL. In current fiscal government has refunded Rs 492 crore as MAT to MTNL. A three-member committee has been constituted by Delhi government to review the policy on aided schools in the city, citing "dissatisfaction" among the stakeholders including teachers, students, parents and "arbitrary" decision-making of its managements. The committee has been set up by the Education Department following directions from Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. There are around 211 aided schools in the national capital. The Committee will undertake a "fundamental re-examination" of the relevant provisions of Delhi School Education Act and Rules (DSEAR '73) and submit its report within two months. A government official said that the city government provides grants-in-aid of around Rs 390 crore to these schools. "However, even after spending such large sums of money in supporting aided schools, most stakeholders are dissatisfied with the outcome. Managements of these schools complain of a lack of autonomy, while the government feels it has no say in their management," said the official. The schools not only receive a maintenance grant of 95 per cent of their recurring expenses from the government, non-recurring grants for contingency, rent, equipment, library, etc is also provided to them, the official said. He said teachers complain of "arbitrary and ad-hoc" decisions made by managements and the absence of any grievance redressal mechanism. Parents are "unhappy" with the infrastructure, quality of teachers and "poor" learning outcomes in these schools, the official said. The committee will be headed by former Director (Elementary Education) of HRD Ministry Amit Kaushik, Special Director (Act-II), Education Department Shashi Kaushal and Hemanth Pothula, member of Education Governance Task Force of the Delhi Dialogue Commission. Three Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) corporators in the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC), a former mayor among them, joined Shiv Sena. Former mayor Yatin Wagh, former standing committee chairman in NMC Ramesh Dhongade, and Arvid Shelke of joined the party yesterday in Mumbai in the presence of its chief Uddhav Thackeray, Sena official said today. The move by these corporators of Raj Thackeray-led MNS comes ahead of the NMC polls scheduled for early next year. Three Ukrainian soldiers were reported killed and two wounded today when their car hit a mine in the former Soviet republic's pro-Russian separatist east. A military spokesman in Kiev said another three government troops were wounded in separate exchanges of fire near the front separating rebel-run parts of the industrial Lugansk and Donetsk regions from the rest of Ukraine. The pro-Western authorities in Lugansk said the three soldiers died when a car carrying troops from Ukraine's 80th brigade hit a land mine about 75 kilometres west of the Russian border. They provided no other details and warned the toll was only preliminary as an investigation was underway. The insurgents in turn accused Ukraine's forces of wounding two of their soldiers in an overnight attack on the rebels' de-facto capital, Donetsk. Two civilians were also reported killed on Saturday after one of them set off a trip wire in the Lugansk province. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the UN Security Council on Monday he remained "deeply concerned over the continuing violations of the ceasefire" agreed in February 2015. A series of periodic truce deals that followed have been able to abate some of the violence but not put a full end to a 23-month conflict hat has claimed more than 9,000 lives. Ukraine's emergencies ministry has reported special teams cleared the ravaged war zone of more than 44,000 explosive devices by mid-October 2014. But the two sides and foreign monitors are struggling to estimate how many such indiscriminate weapons remain. Kiev and its Western allies accuse Russia of orchestrating the uprising and supporting in with troops and weapons throughout the war. Moscow denies the charges and claims that the United States was behind the street protests that toppled Ukraine's Russian-backed president in February 2014. A tiger was shot dead by villagers at Medziphema, 30 kms away from here, a district administration official said. The official said the villagers killed the tiger in self defense yesterday after it attacked one person inflicting serious wounds. The tiger had killed two pigs and a cow after entering the village last Friday, the official said. Later the carcass was handed over to the Wildlife department officials, he added. Between the decades of 50s and 70s, the white tigers even became an instrument of India's cultural relations with foreign nations, said Jairam. "We can say that white tigers in a manner played the role of India's cultural ambassadors," he said. He said that in 1960, the US expressed its interest in the white tiger following which a delegation visited Rewa and took one to their country. "How intense was the fascination for this amazing creature can be gauged by the fact that when white tigress Mohini reached Washington from Govindgarh the then US President W D Eisenhower received her," he said. Jairam also informed that another white tiger couple from Govindgarh was sent to Bristol Zoo in England in 1963. Minister Rajendra Shukla recalled that when Mohan died on December 18, 1969, a holiday was declared in local schools and markets were closed as a mark of respect for the departed white tiger. Later, Virat and Chameli was the last couple of white tigers that lived in Govindgarh till July 8, 1976. But after Mohan's progeny Virat died, his companion Chameli was shifted to Delhi Zoo and that is how the Vindhya region, which is credited with introducing white tigers to the world, got deprived of the felines since then. Later, relocating them back in the Vindhya region became a major political issue in many elections and when Shukla was the forest minister, he initiated the issue again which resulted in the creation of Mukundpur White Tiger Safari Zoo and Rescue Centre, he added. Titan today said it is planning to foray into frame-making business beginning this year with an initial investment of Rs 40 crore, with a capacity to produce one million frames per year. "We are planning to foray into frame-making business in two phases. The first phase begins August-September this year," company's CEO (Eyewear Division) Ronnie Talati said told reporters after inaugurating a Titan Eyeplus store here. Titan would make an initial investment of Rs 40 crore and "...(we) plan to make one million frames per year at our Chikkaballapur (Karnataka) manufacturing unit," he said. "We want to make our own frames to save money frombeing spent on imports, which will benefit consumers, cost-wise," Talati said, adding it would also help the company sell the end-product in smaller cities and towns. On company financials, Talati said it had been growing 'handsomely' over the last five years. Last year, it grew at 17 per cent in April-December period doing a business of Rs 400 crore and would continue to grow at double digits. He further said Q3 result of the company was bad due to unknown reasons, but January-February had been extraordinarily goodand it expects it would be good further. During the course of next financial year, the company would unveil its detailed digital strategy for omni-channel platform including going online, he said. On foraying into overseas markets, Talati said the company was actually testing the waters in markets like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, which aresimilar to Indian market. "We have been misquoted that we would foray into overseas market. We are actually testing the waters." He also said Titan was planning to set up two more satellite lens processing units in Noida and Mumbai shortly. "We have set up a satellite lens processing unit at Madhyam Gram in West Bengal at a cost of Rs 5 crore. We will open such units in Noida and outside Mumbai, shortly," he said The company plans to carry forward the same expansion plan of opening 60 to 70 Titan Eye Plus stores next year as it was doing this year, he added. "This is an aggressive expansion strategy for the prescription eye wear products and sunglasses," he said. At present, there are 395 outlets, both company's and franchisees. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has launched a series of initiatives under the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department totalling over Rs 1,200 crore. Jayalalithaa recently inaugurated Rs 735.79 crore worth projects undertaken by the department including parks, official buildings, anganwadi centres, link-bridges and underground drainage system among others across the state, an official release said on Tuesday. Read more from our special coverage on "J JAYALALITHAA" Jayalalithaa thanks opposition MLAs; lauds Speaker for being unbiased She also laid the foundation stone for various other projects slated to be taken up at a combined cost of Rs 119.22 crore in different parts of the state, it said. Solar powered concrete houses would also be constructed for 20,000 families presently residing in huts and mud-houses in certain local bodies. A Bangladeshi court today granted bail to the editor of a leading newspaper facing 79 cases, over a dozen of them calling for bringing treason charges, for publishing reports alleging corruption against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during army-backed emergency rule in 2007-2008. Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam was granted bail by the court in Rangpur in the Tk 100-crore (USD 1.3 million) defamation case. Senior Judicial Magistrate Shafiul Alam granted the bail upon a bond of Tk 1,000 with two guarantors. The court fixed May 26 for the next hearing, the DailyStar reported. The defence counsels had argued that the allegations against Anam in the complaint do not have anything defamatory. Motahar Hossain Moula, ruling Awami League's Rangpur district organising secretary, filed the case on February 15, after which the court had summoned Anam before it today. A total of 79 cases including 17 pleading to bring charges of treason have been filed against Anam in 53 districts across the country between February 9 and 22. A total compensation of Tk 1.33 trillion (USD 16.6 billion) has been sought for the damages. The barrage of cases against Anam began after he at a talk show last month discussed about a lapse in his editorial judgement in publishing some reports based on unverified leaks from the military-backed caretaker government that ruled Bangladesh until Sheikh Hasina become prime minister in 2009. He had said running the reports fed by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) without verification was a "big blunder" in his career. Several other major newspapers also carried identical reports supplied by the intelligence agency during the emergency rule but Anam's admission sparked a massive uproar. Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy has demanded that Anam be tried for treason. Many lawmakers alleged that Anam conspired to bring an "unconstitutional government" and "destroy democracy throughout their life". The cases however have drawn condemnation from local and international journalists and journalist unions. (TKM) today reported 15.53 per cent decline in vehicles sales at 11,215 units in February as against 13,277 units in the same month last year. The company sold 10,312 units in the domestic market compared with 11,802 units in the same month last year, down 12.62 per cent, TKM said in a statement. Exports during the month declined by 38.77 per cent to 903 units from 1,475 units in the year-ago month. "Ban on registration of diesel vehicles in Delhi and NCR still continues to affect our sales as Delhi & NCR market constitutes 8-10 per cent of our market share which comprises of both the Innova & Fortuner," said N Raja, Director and Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, . Moreover, the unrest in Haryana has further impacted the company's business in that region with dealerships being closed for more than a week, he added. A 52-year-old policeman was killed after being hit by a tanker on Gunnaur-Narora road here, police said today. Lajpat Singh, head constable with Gunnaur police station, had signalled the tanker to stop for checking last night and it hit the cop leading to his death, ASP Kamlesh Dixit said. Singh was on patrol duty at the Narora bridge. The body has been sent for postmortem and the cleaner of the tanker has been arrested. (Reopens ERG11) 12 persons were arrested in connection with the incident, police said. One firearm and two cartridges were also seized from them. Three members of an inter-state gang were today arrested as police seized 150kg of ganja from their possession worth approximately Rs 15 lakh. The accused have been identified as Vijay Kumar Jha, Guddu Kumar Jha and Bijay Ghosh. Delhi Police's Crime Branch nabbed the trio from outside a bus terminus here following a tip-off, a senior official said. Around 150kg of ganja was recovered from their possession which police said was sourced from Odisha. The value of the contraband is estimated to be around Rs 15 lakh on the international market. Police said it was Vijay who allegedly led the gang under the supervision of one Sonu. While Vijay roped in Guddu, Ghosh was an old contact of Sonu's Odisha-based associate, Prabhat, they said, adding that efforts are on to arrest the others. Republican presidential front- runner Donald Trump stoked another controversy after he posted a 'quote' on social media by Mahatma Gandhi, drawing sharp reaction from the US media which questioned the authenticity of the words attributed to the Indian leader. "First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win - Mahatma Gandhi," Trump wrote on social networking site Instagram yesterday as part of his effort to rally supporters. The post included a picture of hordes of supporters rallying at a Trump campaign stop in Alabama. Soon, the anti-Trump lobby was up in flames on the social media. The Hill, a top US political website, said: "There's no record that Gandhi ever used the phrase, which has been widely attributed to him." The quotation appears to be similar to words used in a 1918 trade union address by socialist leader Nicholas Klein, it said. Christian Science Monitor has put this among the top 10 political misquotes. There was no immediate response from the Trump's campaign on the issue. "Gandhi did not say this," one Scott T Smith wrote on twitter. Trump sought to quote Gandhi a day after he was criticised for re-tweeting Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini early Sunday morning. "He got tired of quoting Mussolini and he's saving the Hitler quotes until he's really desperate," tweeted Brad Fraser. Several popular websites have attributed the quote - First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win - to Mahatma Gandhi. According to Wikiquotes, this is the quote which is often misattributed to Mahatma Gandhi. "A close variant of the quotation first appears in a 1918 US trade union address by Nicholas Klein," it said. Klein had said: "And, my friends, in this story you have a history of this entire movement. First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you. And that, is what is going to happen to the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. A Delhi court today sent JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, arrested in a sedition case over a controversial event in the varsity's campus, to 14 days judicial custody. Khalid and Anirban had resurfaced in the JNU campus and surrendered themselves, following which they were first sent on three days' police remand and interrogated at R K Puram police station. The police remand was extended by two days and the duo were confronted with jailed JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar. Later, the case was transferred to Delhi Police's Special Cell and their police custody was again extended by a day. "Today the court sent them to 14 days judicial custody," a source said, adding that the proceedings took place in a makeshift courtroom set up inside a police station. On February 9, an event was organised inside JNU campus to protest against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and anti-national slogans were allegedly raised in it. Two days later, Delhi Police registered a case of sedition and criminal conspiracy in connection with the event. On February 12, the police arrested Kumar and around 10 days later Khalid and Bhattacharya resurfaced in the varsity's campus and surrendered. The UN Security Council will vote today on a US-drafted resolution imposing a raft of new sanctions on following its nuclear test and rocket launch, US diplomats said. The 15-member council will meet at 3:00 p.m (2000 GMT) to decide on the package of measures that the United States says will impose the toughest sanctions yet on . The United States presented the draft resolution to the council last week after reaching agreement with China, Pyongyang's sole ally, on the new sanctions. US Ambassador Samantha Power said that adoption of the resolution would send "an unambiguous and unyielding message to the DPRK regime: The world will not accept your proliferation. There will be consequences for your actions." She was using the acronym for North Korea's formal name. The measure "would break new ground and represent the strongest set of sanctions imposed by the Security Council in more than two decades," Power said. The council decided to impose new measures on after it carried out its fourth nuclear test on January 6 and test-fired a rocket on February 7. Both tests were in violation of a series of resolutions barring North Korea from developing nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The draft resolution would require countries to take the unprecedented step of inspecting all cargo to and from North Korea, impose new trade restrictions and bar vessels suspected of carrying illegal goods for North Korea from ports. The measure provides for a ban on exports of coal, iron and iron ore from North Korea, except if that revenue is used for "livelihood purposes" and not to fund Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The draft resolution would also ban sales of gold, titanium and rare earth minerals from North Korea and would prohibit the supply of aviation fuel including rocket fuel to the reclusive country. Banking restrictions would be tightened and governments would be required to ban flights of any plane suspected of carrying contraband destined for North Korea. The draft resolution adds 17 individuals and 12 entities to the UN sanctions blacklist including North Korea's NADA space agency and its intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau. The United States, France and Britain had pushed for quick adoption of the draft text, but Russia said it needed time to analyse its content. The council has imposed four sets of sanctions on North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006. The Uttar Pradesh government would construct a memorial to Princess Suriratna from Ayodhya who had travelled to Korea in 48 AD and married King Kim Suro. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav during a meeting with a South Korean delegation today, said the proposed memorial to the princess would be constructed as per the Korean architecture from its own resources. Yadav urged the delegation led by Kim Ki-jae, President of Central Karak Clan Society, to provide the design for the memorial at the earliest, so the government could proceed further. The Chief Minister had a detailed discussion on bilateral cultural ties, mutual cooperation and issues related to development with the Korean delegation. He said association of South Korean citizens with Uttar Pradesh would be made strong and extensive. The US has deployed its elite counter-terrorism unit Delta Force for covert operations in Iraq to capture or kill high-ranking ISIS operatives and gather intelligence, according to a media report. Army's elite Delta Force operations to target, capture or kill top ISIS operatives have begun in Iraq, after several weeks of covert preparation, an official with direct knowledge of the force's activities was quoted as saying by CNN. The official said the group has spent the last several weeks preparing, including setting up safe houses, establishing informant networks and coordinating operations with Iraqi and Peshmerga units. It is the same strategy that Special Operations forces have used in previous deployments to combat zones. The Delta Force plans to replicate the strategy that Special Operations forces used for years in Iraq and Afghanistan, the report said. It said the plan is to gather enough intelligence to stage raids on terror compounds and hideouts. Then from intelligence gathered at those sites, such as laptops and cellphones, forces will try to learn more about ISIS networks and quickly attack additional related targets. It is a strategy that worked in May 2015, when Delta raided a compound in Syria, killing ISIS operative Abu Sayyaf and capturing his wife, the report said. The Expeditionary Targeting Force which numbers about 200 personnel -- has collected enough intelligence now about ISIS operations in Iraq in up to half a dozen locations that raids and field operations are ready inside Iraq, the report said. Several Pentagon and military officials have declined to discuss specifics of the so-called Expeditionary Targeting Force. But Defense Secretary Ash Carter seemed to confirm in comments made at the Pentagon yesterday that the Special Operations forces had begun missions. "The only thing I'll say is the (Expeditionary Targeting Force) is in position, it is having an effect and operating, and I expect it to be a very effective part of our acceleration campaign," he said during a press conference. According to Carter, the force will conduct raids, seize places and people, and free ISIS-held hostages and prisoners. Carter also said that the force would cause ISIS "to fear that anywhere, anytime, it may be struck." A US official said Carter's statement reflects that Delta operations have begun. While the ETF is not yet operating in Syria, a separate group of about 50 US special forces have greatly expanded their initial operations there in recent weeks after the Pentagon announced they were going to Syria. Vadodara police today introduced online FIR/complaint registration facility, a first in Gujarat. Police commissioner E Radhakrishna said the citizens will also be able to check the status of their complaints online. This will help achieve transparency, streamline the grievance redressal machinery and make the police stations paperless, he said. "The idea is to spare the people repeated trips to the police station," he said. The top 3 markets that have seen the maximum growth are: Delhi-NCR (104%), Hyderabad (100%) and Pune (85%) - Delhi-NCR has seen a 104% growth in the searches for advocates and lawyers, with: -Court Marriage and Matrimonial Lawyers category witnessing a rise of 765% -Legal Consultants category witnessing a rise of 388% -Family Court, Divorce and Domestic Lawyer category witnessing a rise of 280% - From the analysis of nearly 80 sub categories in the Advocates and Lawyers category, apart from the Court Marriage and Matrimonial Lawyers, Copyright Patent and Trademark Registration Lawyers and Traffic Violation, RTO and Transportation Lawyers saw a growth of more than 500% across all cities surveyed. - Family Court, Divorce and Domestic Lawyers, is the most searched category across all cities surveyed. - Consumer Protection and Dispute Lawyers, and Charitable Trust, Society and NGO Registration consultants are the categories that have seen a growth of close to 300%. - Sexual Harassment Lawyers have seen a 148% rise across India, of which Bangalore, Delhi-NCR and Mumbai contributed more than 70%. Commenting on the findings, Satya Prabhakar, CEO, Sulekha, said, "The study shows the increasing trust that Indians have started to show towards the law and judiciary system. On one side, we see people seeking professional help in legal matters involving divorces and family disputes; the other side shows us an increasing number of searches for court and marriage lawyers, all showing us a picture of contemporary India. A war of Privilege Motions has broken out in Parliament, with BJP today giving notice for such an action against Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, hitting back at the opposition party for a similar move against HRD Minister Smriti Irani. In Lok Sabha, BJP's Chief Whip Arjun Ram Meghwal said he and many other members, including Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, had given a notice of breach of privilege against Scindia, the Chief Whip of Congress, for "misleading" the House on February 24. Congress and Left have already given notice of Privilege Motion against Irani, accusing her of "misleading" the House over the suicide by Rohit Vemula, a Dalit student of Hyderabad University. Meghwal said Scindia had wrongly alleged that Dattatreya had called Vemula "anti-national, casteist and extremist". The BJP leader raised the issue amid uproar created by AIADMK members who were demanding action against former Union Minister P Chidambaram's son Karti in the Aircel-Maxis issue. At this, Congress members too rushed to the Well, demanding that Speaker Sumitra Mahajan should decide on their notice of Privilege Motion against Irani for "misleading" the House on Vemula issue. Dattatreya accused Scindia of "defaming him and tarnishing" his image by attributing such comments to him that he never made about Vemula. "My mother used to sell onions. I have always worked for OBCs, Dalits... I have made sacrifices for Dalits," he said, recalling his humble background and work for the downtrodden. He said his letter to Irani, over which he has been attacked by Congress, made no mention of Vemula's name. "I never made such charge against him." Congress members continued to protest with K C Venugopal showing the rule book to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to which she shot back, saying "Don't show me the rule book. I know." She repeatedly tried to pacify the members saying all the notices for privilege motion are under her consideration. With AIADMK and Congress members continuing to protest, she adjourned the House. In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad reminded that his Congress party had given notice of Privilege Motion against the HRD Minister and wanted to know its status. "She (Irani) has misled this House and the nation through the House. Not only here, she has misled the country in both the Houses. It is a very very serious charge," Azad said. Earlier, Bhalchandra Mungekar (Cong) sought to know the fate of his notice for Privilege Motion against Irani given yesterday and insisted on action against the Minister. He raised the issue during Question Hour when his name was called for asking a supplementary question. Chairman Hamid Ansari asked Mungekar not to raise any other issue during Question Hour. (Reopen PAR20) JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav expressed support to the Congress move. "We all support the Privilege Motion. The Minister has misled the country," he said. Deputy Chairman P J Kurien, "Yes, the Chair has received the (notice for) Privilege Motion. There is a procedure and we have to adhere to it. It is under the consideration of the Chair. The Chair will get back to you." The issue of privilege motion against Irani had created a brief uproar in the Lok Sabha yesterday before Finance Minister Arun Jaitely started presenting the Union Budget 2016-17 with opposition members seeking to know the status of their notices against Irani for "misleading" the House on the Rohith Vemula issue. Filmmaker Prakash Jha says he is open to directing a Hollywood film rooted in India. Jha, who has helmed socio-political films like "Gangaajal", "Apaharan" and "Raajneeti", feels it is difficult to direct a movie which is based in a territory he is not familiar with. "My films are rooted here. So, somebody has to give me a script which I feel comfortable with. It's difficult for me to write a script which is rooted elsewhere. Like, if there is a Hollywood kind of script rooted in India, I would definitely like to do it," Jha told PTI. The director says if the characters are sub-continental, then it becomes easier for him to guide his script, unlike if they are entirely set in America. "If there's an Indian story... Like the Hollywood film 'Gandhi', I could've done it. I did 'Rajneeti', which was as big as 'Gandhi' in terms of its scale. But to set a story in America? I don't know that society," he said. "Even if I am living there, it's difficult for me to suddenly guide my scripts, actors and prepare them. But if there are characters who are sub-continental, then I feel very comfortable with the story," says the "Aarakshan" filmmaker. Jha is ready with his directorial venture "Jai Gangaajal", set to release on March 4. The film stars Priyanka Chopra as IPS officer Abha Mathur, who takes on some powerful and influential men in her district. "Jai Gangaajal" will also mark the acting debut of Jha in the role of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Bhola Nath Singh. The 64-year-old director said for a while he was talking to various DSPs for the character, and it was then the thought dawned on him that he could play it himself. "I was looking for something more than what I usually had been doing, this was there on my mind, but when I started developing this character, I started feeling interested. I was talking to several DSPs as far as the character was concerned and I got so close to the nuances and everything, that I thought this probably is the opportunity to take a step and do something new," he said. Jha is open to acting in more films as he would like to now "expand" his horizon. "If there are good (acting) opportunities, then why not. I've already explored the territory of acting with this one, now I would like to expand," he said. A 19-year-old youth allegedly strangled his elder sister and stabbed her body with a knife following an argument with her over a property in Shahbad Dairy area of outer Delhi this morning. After the incident, the youth identified as Umesh walked to a nearby police post with the blood smeared weapon and admitted to the crime. According to a senior police official, parents of the duo had gone to Rohini to resolve a property issue during which the victim, Vandana, got into an argument with her brother, Umesh, over the ownership of their office. Vandana looked after the family business along with their father. "As per Umesh's version, Vandana had refused to part with her share of the property and had asked him to resolve the matter with their father. This led to a heated argument following which Umesh strangled her with a dupatta and stabbed her 5-6 times with a kitchen knife," the official said. "After killing her, Umesh panicked and tried to even hide the body. But then he left her on the bed and walked to the nearest police post. Policemen deployed there called the PCR and once the cops arrived he handed over the knife to them and narrated the incident. He was then taken to the police station," the official said. The body was sent for post-mortem and the parents of the youth were informed. The parents later staged a protest at the police station claiming a conspiracy in the incident. They claimed that Umesh has been framed to save the actual killers. "A case of murder has been registered and further probe is on," the official added. In view of the outbreak of Zika virus, the government has issued a travel advisory urging pregnant women to defer or cancel their travel to the affected areas, Rajya Sabha was informed today. "The Union Health Ministry has issued travel advisory that pregnant women or women who are trying to become pregnant should defer or cancel their travel to the affected areas," Union Health Minister J P Nadda said. He said that all pregnant women travelling to the affected countries or areas have been advised to strictly follow personal protective measures, especially during day time, to prevent mosquito bites. He said that in case they fall sick within two weeks of return from an affected country, they should report to the nearest health facility. "Advisory has also been issued that pregnant women who have travelled to areas with Zika virus transmission should mention about their travel during pregnancy check-up visits in order to be assessed and monitored appropriately at the health facility," he said. The Health Minister said that guidelines for integrated vector management to prevent transmission by Aedes mosquito have been issued to all the states. "These guidelines include vector surveillance, both for larva and adults, effective vector control through environmental management methods, personnel protection, biological control such as using larvivorous fish and using chemicals that kill adult and larval form of this mosquito. "Vector surveillance and capacity building have also been done at international airports and ports," Nadda said. Nadda had earlier said that till date, no case of Zika virus disease has been reported in India even as dengue-hit states of Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have been alerted as the same type of mosquito spreads both the viruses. Zika virus is a member of the virus family flaviviridae and the genus flavivirus, transmitted by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes. (REOPENS DES15) Nadda said that states like Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry where dengue transmission is prevalent, have been alerted. National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in Delhi has been identified as the nodal agency for investigation of outbreak in any part of the country. "Fifteen international airports and nine major ports have displayed signages providing information for travellers on Zika virus disease and advising the travellers to report if they are returning from any of the affected countries and suffering from febrile illness. "Immigration authorities at these airports have been sensitised. Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued instruction to all international airlines to follow the recommended aircraft disinfection guidelines," Nadda said. He said that National Centre for Disease Control in Delhi and National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune have established the capacity to provide laboratory diagnosis of Zika virus disease in acute febrile stage. He said that the National AIDS Control Organization has issued advisory for blood banks and potential blood donors to prevent transmission of Zika virus infection by blood transfusion. "There is no specific treatment for Zika virus disease. People sick with Zika virus are advised to take plenty of rest, drink enough fluids, and treat pain and fever with paracetamol. They are also advised to take personal protective measures against mosquito bite. "National Centre for Disease Control in Delhi and National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune are the identified laboratories to test clinical samples and to support the outbreak investigation," he said. MANILA, Mar 1 (Reuters) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has backed the issuance of Asia's first climate bond, providing credit enhancement to a Philippine renewable power firm operating a geothermal plant in south of Manila. In 2015, ADB committed to double its financing for climate change adaptation and mitigation by 2020, including playing a catalytic role to crowd-in private sector climate finance. ADB said the 10.7-billion-peso ($225.61 million) bond was for AP Renewables Inc. (APRI), a subsidiary of AboitizPower Corporation for its Tiwi-Makban geothermal energy facilities. "The successful use of credit enhancement for Tiwi-MakBan reflects our evolving strategy to make creative use of ADB's expanding balance sheet to support infrastructure investment in Asia and the Pacific," said Todd Freeland, Director General, ADB's private sector operations department. "Credit-enhanced project bonds offer an attractive alternative to bank financing; mobilizing cost-effective and long-term capital can help close the region's infrastructure gap." The local currency bond is in addition to a direct ADB loan of 1.8 billion peso ($37.7 million). The credit enhancement is in the form of a guarantee of 75 percent of principal and interest on the bond. The Climate Bond, which has been certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative, is the first in Asia and the Pacific and the first ever Climate Bond for a single project in an emerging market. AboitizPower is a power developer in the Philippines and a leader in renewable energy in Southeast Asia. (Reporting By Manuel Mogato; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) BEIJING (Reuters) - A court in southern China has jailed 24 people for fraudulently raising nearly 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in one of the country's biggest financial scams, the official Xinhua agency said. The group was convicted of illegally raising funds during the decade to 2012 from more than 230,000 investors, mainly senior citizens who put in their life savings, it said, citing the court. Guangdong Bangjia Leasing Co set up four firms in the southern province and many branches and subsidiaries across China, luring retail investors to buy memberships and fund nonexistent loans by promising returns of as much as 47 percent. The case spotlights growing risks in a loosely regulated wealth management products industry, which lures millions of unsophisticated retail investors to high-yield products offered by opaque online finance firms and privately run exchanges. In February, authorities arrested 21 officials of Ezubao, once China's biggest peer-to-peer lending platform, which collected $7.6 billion in less than two years from more than 900,000 investors. Ezubao used savvy marketing, authorities said, to fund "a complete Ponzi scheme", that used investor funds to support a lavish lifestyle for company executives. Last year, hundreds of angry investors also hit the streets in Beijing and Shanghai after losing $6 billion from the Fanya Metals Exchange, which offered investment products promising an annual return of up to 14 percent. The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court on Monday sentenced the main suspect in the Guangdong fraud, Jiang Hongwei, to life in prison, while the others received terms ranging from 3 years to 14 years, Xinhua said. The court has frozen and seized their assets, including 127 vehicles and 43 villas, but prosecutors said few victims might get their money back, since Jiang had squandered millions on luxuries, the agency added. Some older investors who lost money in the Guangdong fraud said they were attracted by its fancy branding. "Their grand exhibition occupied six halls," Xinhua quoted one elderly woman from Jiangsu province as saying. "After attending it, I felt assured and decided to invest 700,000 yuan," she added. "It was all the savings my husband and I had." ($1=6.5397 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Shu Zhang and Matthew Miller; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) By Swati Pandey and Brenda Goh SYDNEY/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - President Xi Jinping's ambitious One Belt, One Road initiative is coming Down Under as China's hunger to secure global supply chains leads its giant sovereign wealth fund into the $6.4 billion battle for Australia's Asciano Ltd. Australia, already a major supplier of commodities to China, is set to boost exports under a free trade deal signed last year. Asciano, the country's largest ports and rail operator, fits with Beijing's ambition to expand transportation linkages across a region it sees key to its economic growth. "This is part of a process where China does want to control its logistics chains," said Harry Theochari, London-based global head of transport at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright. "If you are a big emerging nation that's very heavily reliant on raw materials from other countries ... you'd want to have as much control over the transporting of those fundamental raw materials as you possibly can." China Investment Corp (CIC), the country's $747 billion sovereign wealth fund, is part of a consortium headed by cargo handler Qube Holdings Ltd offering A$9 billion ($6.4 billion) for Asciano. Under the deal, which has been recommended by Asciano's board, CIC would take a stake in both Asciano's ports and rail operations. A potential alternative proposal being discussed involving Qube teaming up with rival Canadian bidder Brookfield Asset Management Inc would leave CIC owning the railways, but not the ports, which Australia views as strategic assets that should remain in local hands. A spokeswoman said CIC was working on its bid with the Qube consortium and declined to comment further. CHINA DEALS Beijing, through the country's firms, has been snapping up assets as part of the One Belt One Road project launched in 2013, undertaking a record 19 global infrastructure deals worth $6.8 billion in 2015, according to Thomson data. The initiative envisions building a network of land, sea and air routes that will open new trade links and markets for Chinese firms as the domestic economy slows. CIC, one of the sponsors of the $40 billion Silk Road Fund, has been active, but other Chinese companies are also involved. CIC holds a 10 percent stake in London's Heathrow Airport and a 9 percent stake in the company behind the UK's largest water and sewage company. In the United States, CIC's investments include a 17 percent stake in power company AES. China Merchants Holdings owns stakes in the ports of Morocco, Djibouti and France while Cosco Pacific has interests in terminals at the Suez Canal and Belgium's Antwerp. "I think it is quite a smart move by them and it plays into the One Belt, One Road project because it means they are not just recreating the Silk Route but also owning the Silk Route," said a Sydney-based M&A lawyer who advises on investments by Chinese companies into Australia. POLITICAL SENSITIVITIES The China Australia Free Trade Agreement is set to help boost investment, with in-bound private Chinese proposals below A$1.08 billion no longer requiring Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval. But political sensitivities remain around investments in areas such as agriculture and ports. The sale of Darwin Port, used by a deployment of U.S. Marines as well as the terminus for a critical underwater data cable, to China's Landbridge Group, sparked a rebuke from Washington last year. People familiar with the Asciano deal say the new proposal is being designed to alleviate some of those regulatory concerns as the critical port assets would remain with the Australian and Canadian companies. M&A lawyers and bankers said Chinese state-owned funds and enterprises are also buying access to best practices via deals like the Asciano bid. They are keen on engineering and infrastructure deals to replicate technology and know how back in China, ANZ Bank said in a December report titled 'What else is China buying in Australia?' "I think we'll see them doing lots of investments into freight infrastructure, into agriculture," said the Sydney-based M&A lawyer, who declined to be identified because she was not authorised to talk to the media. "Also, I wouldn't be surprised if they start moving into healthcare, if they're not already and then technology. All of that is going to be of assistance to them in the building of their economy." ($1 = 1.3826 Australian dollars) (Additional reporting by Matthew Miller in Beijing.; Editing by Jane Wardell and Lincoln Feast) (Corrects $6.899 trln 2015 figure from $6,899 trln in final paragraph) By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - The United States, China, Brazil and India are expected to keep world government debt rising this year, Standard and Poor's said on Monday, despite a small reduction in the annual global borrowing bill. The rating agency released a new report saying the stock of global government debt was expected to rise 2 percent to $42.4 trillion, with new borrowing of $6.7 trillion set to continue to outstrip the amounts being repaid. A number of major countries are behind the underlying trend. U.S. borrowing is expected to increase 8 percent or $163 billion year-on-year, while world number two economy China is forecast to ramp its borrowing 18 percent or $51 billion. The rise in China and in the likes of Brazil and India is set to drive year-on-year emerging market borrowing up 9.4 percent or $587 billion and lift the total EM total debt stock to $6.8 trillion by the end of the year. S&P said it saw the biggest absolute increase in annual borrowing in Brazil, which it expects will borrow $14 billion more in 2015 an increase of 8 percent. Poland and India are both forecast to see $12 billion increases which is an 38 percent rise for the former and 8 percent increase for the latter. In contrast, Japan, the euro zone and others such as Canada, the UK, Mexico and Ukraine are expected to see year-on-year drops in headline borrowing numbers. The euro zone is expected to see a near 6 percent drop, although its overall debt stock will also continue to creep up to just over 7 trillion euros as its countries borrow more than they repay. Globally annual issuance is forecast to dip to $6.745 trillion from $6.899 trillion in 2015, though with $4.9 trillion maturing, the $1.7 trillion 'net' increase will keep the overall debt stock rising. For full report click http://bit.ly/1LQ7wmI (Reporting by Marc Jones; editing by Ralph Boulton) China aims to lay off five-six million state workers over the next two to three years as part of efforts to curb industrial overcapacity and pollution, two reliable sources said, Beijings boldest retrenchment program in almost two decades. Chinas leadership, obsessed with maintaining stability and making sure redundancies do not lead to unrest, will spend nearly 150 billion yuan ($23 billion) to cover layoffs in just the coal and steel sectors in the next two-three years. The overall figure is likely to rise as closures spread to other industries and even more funding will be required to handle the debt left behind by zombie state firms. The term refers to companies that have shut down some of their operations but keep staff on their rolls since local governments are worried about the social and economic impact of bankruptcies and unemployment. Shutting down zombie firms has been identified as one of the governments priorities this year, with Chinas Premier Li Keqiang promising in December that they would soon go under the knife. The government plans to lay off five million workers in industries suffering from a supply glut, one source with ties to the leadership said. A second source with leadership ties put the number of layoffs at six million. Both sources requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to media about the politically sensitive subject for fear of sparking social unrest. The ministry of industry did not immediately respond when asked for comment on the reports. The hugely inefficient state sector employed around 37 million people in 2013 and accounts for about 40 per cent of the countrys industrial output and nearly half of its bank lending. It is Chinas most significant nationwide retrenchment since the restructuring of state-owned enterprises from 1998 to 2003 led to around 28 million redundancies and cost the central government about 73.1 billion yuan ($11.2 billion) in resettlement funds. On Monday, Yin Weimin, the minister for human resources and social security, said China expects to lay off 1.8 million workers in the coal and steel industries, but he did not give a time frame. China aims to cut capacity gluts in as many as seven sectors, including cement, glass-making and shipbuilding, but the oversupplied solar power industry is likely to be spared any large-scale restructuring because it still has growth potential, the first source said. Debt overhang The government has already drawn up plans to cut as much as 150 million tonnes of crude steel capacity and 500 million tonnes of surplus coal production in the next three to five years. It has earmarked 100 billion yuan in central government funds to deal directly with the layoffs from steel and coal over the next two years, vice-industry minister Feng Fei said last week. The Ministry of Finance said in January it would also collect 46 billion yuan from surcharges on coal-fired power over the coming three years in order to resettle workers. In addition, an assortment of local government matching funds will also be made available. However, the funds currently being offered will do little to resolve the problems of debts held by zombie firms, which could overwhelm local banks if they are not handled correctly. They have proposed this dedicated fund only to pay the workers, but there is no money for the bad debts, and if the bad debts are too big the banks will have problems and there will be panic, said Xu Zhongbo, head of Beijing Metal Consulting, who advises Chinese steel mills. Factories shut down would have to repay bank loans to avoid saddling state banks with a mountain of non-performing loans, the sources said. Triangular debt, or money owed by firms to other enterprises, would also have to be resolved, they added. Although China has promised to help local banks transfer the bad debts of zombie steel mills to asset management firms, local governments are not expected to gain access to the worker lay-off funds until the zombie firms have actually been shut down and debt issues settled. NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's gold imports in January surged 62 percent compared with the same period last year, agency NewsRise Financial reported on Tuesday citing a government official, as the country's appetite for the precious metal continues unabated despite duties. India, the world's second biggest consumer of gold, shipped in 93.3 tonnes of gold last month while overseas purchases of the metal surged 25 percent to 904.2 tonnes, in the ten months to January, it said. New Delhi's gold imports are seen hitting a more than two-year low in February, as rising prices keep buyers away, industry sources told last week. (Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath) By Costas Pitas GENEVA (Reuters) - Luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover will post lower fourth-quarter profit than a year earlier, its chief executive told Reuters, leaving its full-year pretax figure at around half of the 2.6 billion pounds ($3.6 billion) made in 2014/15. The firm, owned by India's Tata Motors Ltd, has been hit by sliding sales in China, a blaze at the port of Tianjin and heavy spending on new sites and models. In an interview at the Geneva car show, Ralf Speth said the Britain-based brand would fall short of the almost 400-million-pound profit posted in January-March 2015. "It was a sensational quarter (in 2015) ... We will not achieve (that)," he said. In the first three quarters of the current financial year, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) made a pretax profit of just under 1 billion pounds, meaning the annual total is set to come in at around half of 2014-15's level. JLR had previously said it expected a lower profit this financial year, without giving details. The firm took a 245 million pound charge in its second quarter after up to 5,800 cars were damaged or destroyed by an explosion at the Chinese port of Tianjin, though it has since recouped a small portion of the money in insurance and hopes to receive more. Speth said China, once the carmaker's fastest-growing market but which has seen growth slow sharply as the economy cools, was showing signs of revival. JLR's third-quarter retail sales fell 10 percent in the world's biggest car market, but January volumes were up 5 percent. "China has seen the bottom and is bouncing back and therefore I am cautiously optimistic that we will see a stronger performance," Speth said. Tata bought both the Jaguar and Land Rover brands in 2008 and has ploughed billions into the two marques, with Jaguar launching the F-Type SVR coupe on Tuesday, the latest in a series of new models to refresh and widen its line-up. JLR, which built almost one in three of the 1.5 million cars Britain made last year, also warned there would be great uncertainty were Britons to vote to leave the European Union in a referendum on June 23. "We will not have free and fair trade, or it will take years to come to new contracts and new tax schemes," Speth said. ($1 = 0.7150 pounds) (Editing by Mark Potter) In a victory for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a federal jury in Manhattan found former Euro Pacific Capital Inc brokers Daryl Payton and Benjamin Durant liable for engaging in insider trading. The trial came after a 2014 appellate ruling limiting the scope of insider trading laws forced prosecutors to drop criminal charges against Payton, Durant and three others. The SEC continued to press civil charges over trades the two men placed before IBM announced its $1.2 billion acquisition of SPSS Inc in 2009. Payton, 39, and Durant, 40, conceded they traded on non-public information. But they argued that their trades did not constitute illegal insider trading, a position they adopted after the appellate ruling. Scott Morvillo, Durant's lawyer, said he was confident the verdict would be reversed on appeal. Payton's lawyers declined to comment. The trial came amid ongoing litigation over what constitutes insider trading, an issue the U.S. Supreme Court last month said it would review. The trial followed a December 2014 ruling by a federal appeals court in New York holding that traders could be held liable only if they knew a tip's source received a benefit of "some consequence," not just friendship, in exchange. After the ruling, which overturned two hedge fund managers' convictions, a federal judge threw out guilty pleas by Payton and three other men in the IBM case. While prosecutors then dropped the criminal case, the SEC, facing a lower burden of proof, elected to move forward. According to the SEC, in 2009, Michael Dallas, an attorney at IBM's law firm, told his friend Trent Martin that he was working on IBM's acquisition of SPSS. While Dallas expected Martin, a Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc analyst, not to tell anyone, Martin bought SPSS stock and told his roommate, Thomas Conradt, a Euro Pacific employee, the SEC said. Conradt then told four Euro Pacific colleagues, including Payton and Durant, who made $629,472 and $254,141, respectively, trading in SPSS before the deal's announcement, the SEC said. Payton and Durant countered that Martin received nothing that would constitute an illegal benefit for his information, nor did they know about any benefit if it existed. The case is Securities and Exchange Commission v. Payton et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-04644. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Chris Reese and Dan Grebler) By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Oil turned negative on Tuesday as a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin made no mention of any producer-coordinated output cuts, returning bearish sentiment to the market after prices had touched a two-month high. Benchmark Brent crude futures were down 56 cents at $36.01 a barrel at 1451 GMT, erasing most gains made earlier in the session, when the contract reached a peak of $37.06. U.S. crude futures were trading at $33.50 a barrel, 25 cents below Monday's close. "People are hooked to the comments from key oil producers," said Abhishek Deshpande, chief oil analyst at investment bank Natixis. "The slightest comment that suggests a solution to tackling overproduction or does not suggest any action seems to move the market right now," Deshpande said. Putin said Russian oil companies had agreed not to raise oil production this year. He added it was Moscow's task to ensure stability in the Russian oil industry and that weak oil prices had been a result of a global economic slowdown and speculative deals. Discussions among major oil producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreeing to a production freeze are unlikely to reduce a global overhang in supply of well over 1 million barrels per day (bpd), analysts said. A surprise monetary easing by China had propped up prices earlier in the session, stoking expectations for higher oil demand from the world's largest commodities consumer. A cut in the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves frees up an estimated $100 billion for fresh lending. Signs that a global supply glut is easing are beginning to emerge. Exports from Iraq's southern fields dropped in February to an average of 3.225 million bpd, the country's oil ministry said. This fed into a survey showing OPEC production had slipped from the highest monthly level in recent history. OPEC supply fell to 32.37 million bpd in February, the survey showed. The International Energy Agency's oil division head, Neil Atkinson, said on Tuesday oil prices had "bottomed out" and were set to rise throughout this year and next. He said a price rally would be limited in the medium term by U.S. shale production costs of $40 to $50 a barrel, however. (Additional reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Louise Heavens and Dale Hudson) OPEC is very unlikely to cut output at its next meeting in June, even if prices remain extremely low, according to OPEC sources and delegates, as it will be too early to say how fast Iranian output is rising. The sources, which include officials from the Middle East, say OPEC countries such as Saudi Arabia also want to test Russia's commitment to freezing output before taking any further steps to stablise prices. More than 18 months after prices began a steep slide due to excess supply, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Venezuela and non-OPEC Russia agreed last month to freeze output at January levels in the first global pact in 15 years. Saudi Arabian Minister Ali al-Naimi said last week a supply cut was not on the cards although adding that the production freeze was only the first step to balance the market after prices fell to their lowest since 2003. "Maybe by the end of the year (a cut could be possible) when it is really clear that Iran is actually producing the volumes they are talking about. But not in June," a source from one of OPEC's Middle Eastern producers said. January was peak or near-peak production for Russia and Saudi Arabia, the world's two top oil exporters, but Iran - OPEC's No.3 producer - is the key supply uncertainty for 2016 as it is raising output after the lifting of Western sanctions in January, adding barrels to the already saturated market. Over the past month, Iran has issued conflicting statements saying it could add up to 1.5 million barrels per day over the next year which would confound market skepticism that its fields were damaged by years of sanctions. Meanwhile, its February exports have disappointed as European buyers were cautious to immediately boost trade amid remaining dollar clearance and ship insurance problems. "No-one at OPEC knows what's going on with Iranian fields. So the Saudis want to see what happens in reality," a source in one of the OPEC delegations who is familiar with production freeze negotiations, said. NO SPECIAL TERMS Non-OPEC Oman and some OPEC sources have floated an idea of Iran being exempt from output freezes - as was Iraq in the past when the country was subject of sanctions - but so far Tehran has not been offered any special terms, according to OPEC sources. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said last week the production freeze was "laughable" while Iranian sources say the country would be prepared to discuss a production pact once its output reached the pre-sanctions level. Analysts believe output and exports could rise by a maximum of 0.7 million bpd to around 3.5 million bpd in the next months but it will take time to understand where real figures stand. Iran, for instance, has already told OPEC it was pumping as much as 3.4 million bpd in January - a much higher number than estimated by OPEC watchers. By June, when OPEC holds it next meeting, the picture of Iranian exports will still not be clear, several OPEC sources said, adding that they might only have reliable numbers for April. The sources also said it will be too early to say in June if the world's record oil stocks have finally become to shrink. Saudi Arabia and Russia have not said the output freeze would be void if Iran refuses to join in, leaving room for a potential compromise. Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak plans to travel to Iran, Moscow's close ally, in March for more talks on the production freeze, which he said could last for as long as a year. RUSSIAN COMPLIANCE If Russia respects the output freeze, it would be a major departure from its former policies. The only time Russia agreed to cooperate with OPEC was in 2001 but it never delivered on its pledge and raised exports instead. That was a big disappointment for Naimi, who orchestrated the 2001 deal, and is still wary of agreeing anything at risk of being cheated by Russia or fellow OPEC members. "Even if they say that they will cut production they will not do it. There is no sense in wasting our time seeking production cuts," he said last week. But in the opinion of OPEC watchers the output freeze deal signals a change of tone for Saudi Arabia, from a view that the market would rebalance itself to one where it might need a push. "Eventually, we will have a cut in production," one OPEC delegate said, declining to be identified. Others are urging swifter action. Qatar's former energy minister Abdullah al-Attiyah, who is still talking to producers inside and outside OPEC, said a cut was needed before the glut became unmanageable. KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's Petronas announced on Tuesday that the state-owned oil and gas company will see redundancies of under 1,000 positions and leadership changes after a strategic review of its business model. The company said in a statement on its website that it was efforting to re-deploy employees affected by the redundancies. "Petronas will further embark on a separation exercise for these employees as needed, which is expected to be completed over the next six months," it said. The announcement was made after President and Group Chief Executive Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin addressed employees in a town hall meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Under the review, leadership changes from within the organisation have been made, which will take effect from April 1. The statement also said some executives, whose service contracts have come to an end, are leaving the company. The new leadership line up showed Mohd Anuar Taib as the new executive vice president & chief executive officer, upstream, replacing the former Wee Yiaw Hin. (Reporting by Emily Chow, Writing by Praveen Menon; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) By Makiko Yamazaki and J.R. Wu TOKYO/TAIPEI (Reuters) - A late hitch to Foxconn's takeover of Japan's struggling Sharp Corp <6753.T> brought simmering distrust between the two close to boiling point, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The two companies have eyed each other warily since Foxconn founder and billionaire Terry Gou pulled out of a planned capital tie-up and strategic partnership with Sharp in 2012. Missteps in communication last week, when Sharp's board met and announced a decision to sell a two-thirds stake to the Taiwanese group, ratcheted up tensions, upsetting Gou and causing embarrassment at Sharp. On the eve of that board meeting, Foxconn had asked Sharp to delay voting on a deal as it had just received "new material information" from Sharp that it hadn't seen before and needed to clarify. "It seemed Sharp simply ignored Foxconn," said one individual familiar with Foxconn's take on the matter. The information listed around 300 billion yen ($2.66 billion) in contingent liabilities at Sharp. The list was pulled together by working level officials at Sharp and forwarded, without top officials seeing it, to Foxconn as a goodwill gesture to make the buyer aware of worst-case scenario risks, sources said. They were not liabilities that required formal disclosure. It didn't go down well on the Taiwan side. "They felt violated," said a person briefed on the issue. Another person said Gou shouted at his team for not having discovered these liabilities in the first place. By late Friday, the mood had calmed and the two companies' CEOs met in China to clear the air, sources said. Sharp and Foxconn have now agreed to extend a deadline for the takeover talks by a week or two, reflecting the importance of a deal, estimated to be worth nearly $6 billion, to both sides. Sharp would have a much-needed financial lifeline, while Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co <2317.TW>, would get control of technology it needs to strengthen its hand with major client Apple Inc . RUNNING DEEP The hitch revives lingering ill-will from four years ago, when Foxconn agreed to take a stake in Sharp at 550 yen a share as part of a broader partnership. Then, Sharp warned of losses, and Foxconn walked away. Sharp shares sank 74 percent over the next seven months. Gou, however, personally bought a stake in Sharp's LCD TV panel plant in Osaka, and some at Sharp credit him with improving operations there. A turning point in the latest deal came when Gou wowed Sharp's board, independent directors and creditors with his presentation of a takeover plan on Jan. 30, according to those briefed on the matter. "Terry's a very convincing guy ... I've seen him use his magic," said a person familiar with how Gou operates. Another person familiar with Gou said: "Sharp's blueprint, Terry is very clear about it and knows this stuff like the back of his hand." But there were still nagging doubts in Japan. "There are some doubts whether Hon Hai will really keep its promise," one official involved in the negotiations said on Feb. 4, when Sharp's 13-member board decided to prioritise talks with Foxconn over a competing offer from state-backed Innovation Network Corp of Japan. INCJ had been seen as strong favourite to take over Sharp and keep Japan's insular tech industry out of foreign hands. The next day, Gou flew his team to Sharp's Osaka headquarters and emerged triumphantly waving a document, proclaiming Sharp had granted Foxconn preferred negotiation rights. Sharp officials said the document actually referred to Foxconn's extension of a takeover offer for Sharp. "This made (Sharp CEO Kozo) Takahashi and other executives rethink how trustworthy Gou would be," said one of the sources familiar with thinking in the Sharp camp. That is now in the past. "From these negotiations and from experience, Terry (Gou) has told his team time and again to be more respectful of and have more understanding of Japan's traditions and way of doing things," said one of the sources familiar with the thinking at Foxconn. "Through the communication of the last 2-3 days, from the top level to the team level, I hope (the cooperation) will improve," the person said. ($1 = 112.8400 yen) (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and J.R. Wu, with additional reporting by Taro Fuse; Writing by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Ian Geoghegan) GENEVA (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG is confident it may reach an agreement with U.S. regulators on a technical fix for diesel cars, vehicle buybacks and fines, Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said on Monday. The U.S. Justice Department has sued Volkswagen for up to $46 billion for violating U.S. environmental laws?. There is still no fix for nearly 600,000 affected cars in the United States more than five months after VW's emissions test-rigging scandal broke. "In the U.S. we are working intensely with the respective authorities ?on a sustainable overall solution," Mueller said at a reception on the eve of the Geneva auto show. "We continue to be in constructive talks," he said, adding that negotiations between both sides will resume on Thursday. Earlier on Monday, Mueller told TV that he did not believe that U.S. authorities were being too hard on the German carmaker, though they were pushing "very strongly" steps to clear up the scandal. VW is "progressing well" in its efforts to investigate the circumstances of the manipulations and will draw "the right conclusions" from its findings, due to be published in the second half of April, the CEO told reporters. Mueller also said in the interview that Europe's biggest automaker will succeed in winning back customers' trust after admitting to the cheating which it has said affects 11 million cars globally. "We have started a lot of customer-relation programmes, I'm very convinced it will work very well," he said. The Wolfsburg-based manufacturer has pledged to increase electric-car offerings and is pushing new technologies and digitalisation as it aims to overcome its crisis. VW will set up sites in Europe, California and China where specialists aim to align car design and connectivity matters more closely, and take steps "to massively promote" autonomous driving features, according to Mueller.? "Digital transformation is moving right to the top of the agenda," he said. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer and Ilona Wissenbach in Geneva; Editing by Jonathan Gould and Matthew Lewis) A day after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented his Budget for 2016-17, major functionaries of the Narendra Modi government, led by the Prime Minister and the ruling party chief, went on a media overdrive to highlight what they termed its pro-farmer, pro-poor characteristics. Modi himself urged all members of Parliament from the ruling coalition, at a meeting in the morning, to go to their respective constituencies to publicise the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and other central programmes which have seen a rise in outlay.. Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016 The crop insurance scheme got enhanced allocation of Rs 5,500 crore in the Budget. Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah lauded the PM and the finance minister for a pro-farmer and pro-village Budget. Festoons and banners commending the Budget donned the BJP head office. Parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu gave a 60-slide presentation on the achievements of the government so far. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Budget was aimed at addressing rural distress, to improve infrastructure and the business climate. He said they'd enhanced public spending in key areas to keep up the growth momentum, amid global economic challenges. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said the Budget would help address farm distress. Now, the road to development will begin from villages, he told reporters before highlighting all the pro-farmer measures announced. The Budget raised the total allocation for the ministry of agriculture by 94 per cent from the revised estimate of 2015-16, largely on account of an Rs 15,000 crore allocation for interest subvention, earlier part of the ministry of finance estimates and for the first time shown under the head of agriculture. If this is deducted, the actual rise in allocation comes to around 30 per cent. A lot of things might have been done by the previous governments and we are not discounting that but no government had thought of putting vital items of farm growth like irrigation, soil health cards, etc, on a mission mode in the past 60 years, Singh said. Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the Budget would help in lowering the prices of essential commodities like pulses and oilseeds. Referring to the e-procurement announcement, he said many states had started procuring grain electronically and others would follow. Rural development minister Birender Singh hit back at the opposition Congress for accusing him of doing a U-turn on MGNREGA. Beneficiaries of MGNREGA felt cheated due to the manner in which the UPA implemented the scheme. We have tried to alleviate that, Singh said. MGNREGS, the rural job guarantee, got Rs 38,500 crore in the Budget, only Rs 3,800 crore more than last year. Rural development minister Birender Singh brushed aside criticism on this front, adding, Beneficiaries felt cheated due to the manner in which the earlier government implemented the scheme. We have tried to alleviate that. Water minister Uma Bhart said the overall allocation for her ministry had risen by 168 per cent in 2016-17. Groundwater recharging got 85 per cent more. On the announcement of 100 per cent foreign investment to be allowed in marketing of food products made in India, food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said this would lead to creation of 'swadeshi infrastructure with videshi money'. And, former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar termed the Budget lot of empty slogans and did not share the Centres optimism that farmers' income could be doubled in five years. DIRECT TAX PROVISIONS Proposals impacting start-ups Proceeds from sale of property up to Rs 50 lakh are invested within six months from disposal of the property, in specified funds (for a defined period), and remain invested for a period of at least three years. Proceeds on sale of residential property prior to March 31, 2019 are invested by an individual/HUF in shares of an eligible start-up. This is subject to the promoter holding at least 50 per cent of the shares, and the amount invested being utilised for acquiring specified 'new' assets. No changes are proposed to section 79 (which imposes limitations on carry forward of tax losses where beneficial ownership of a company changes by more than 49 per cent). This would have been a welcome move, enabling divestment by initial investors in start-ups, without sacrificing the entity's tax losses. Tax rates phase out and rationalisation of incentives International tax The Finance Minister's (FM's) third was based on a transformative agenda, founded upon nine distinct pillars. It was aimed at creating a simpler and friendlier tax regime, while funding infrastructure development, agricultural growth and various social welfare schemes.Some key tax proposals are discussed below.The Finance Bill proposes a new section, 80-IAC, providing a tax holiday on profits of start-ups incorporated prior to April 1, 2019, with revenues not exceeding Rs 25 crore. The benefit is available for any three consecutive tax years out of five years, upto March 31, 2021. In order to qualify, start-ups need to be innovators or deploy/commercialise new products/processes or provide technology-driven services. How beneficial this proposal will be remains to be seen, given that many start-ups do not generate profits in the initial years.To incentivise promoters investing in start-ups, it is proposed to exempt long-term capital gains tax if:To incentivise manufacturing, an optional reduction in corporate tax rate to 25 per cent for domestic manufacturing companies, set up and registered on or after March 1, 2016, is proposed (Table 1). In order to avail of this benefit, the company should not claim profit/investment-linked incentives or deductions other than the benefit under section 80JJAA.The Bill proposes to phase out several exemptions and deductions over the coming years. While these could prove to be a dampener for some industries, the introduction of a "patent box" regime, coupled with lower corporate tax rates in specified cases could compensate marginally for this move.The FM has not provided a road map for reducing corporate tax rates and retained the base rate at 30 per cent for now. However, a step in the right direction has been taken through reducing the base corporate income-tax rate to 29 per cent for domestic companies with turnover not exceeding Rs 5 crore in the financial year ended March 2015.The Bill expands the scope of section 80JJAA (deduction in respect of wages paid to new employees) to apply to all companies to which a tax audit applies (and not only manufacturing companies). Norms for minimum number of days of employment and maximum emoluments are prescribed.With a view to introduce a "patent box" regime, effective April 1, 2016, it is proposed that royalty income of a resident from exploitation of patents developed and registered in India be taxed at 10 per cent on a gross basis. Such royalty income will also be exempt from MAT. In order to avail of this benefit, the taxpayer must be the inventor with the patent registered in India.Further clarity on the application of this provision to other intangibles such as designs, copyrights, etc would be welcome.Acknowledging BEPS Action Plan 13, the has proposed the introduction of Country by Country Reporting ('CbCR') provisions. These are essentially intended to apply to taxpayers of Indian parentage with revenues exceeding a prescribed monetary limit (expected to be 750 million euros or about Rs 5,395 crore). Relaxations are provided in respect of Indian subsidiaries of foreign entities, where India can obtain the CbCR from the foreign parent's country, and other conditions are met.The contents appear to be aligned to requirements specified in Action Plan 13 and include the maintenance of CbCR, master, and local files. The requirements of the local file are likely to be subsumed in the transfer pricing documentation that the Indian entity will maintain. CbCR requirements must be complied with by the due date of filing tax returns. Stiff penalties, on a graded basis, are prescribed for non-compliance with CbCR. Recognising tax challenges created by the evolution of the digital economy, the introduction of an Equalisation Levy ('EL') is proposed. EL will be imposed at six per cent on the consideration received by a non-resident from an Indian resident carrying on business, or from a non-resident with a Permanent Establishment ('PE') in India. The levy will apply to services in the nature of online advertisements, provision for digital advertising space and other notified services. EL will not apply in cases where the non-resident service provider has a PE in India and such services are effectively connected to the PE or where the aggregate consideration does not exceed Rs 1 lakh in the year. Receipts which have been subject to EL will be tax-exempt in the hands of the non-resident service provider. A tax deduction will not be available to the payor unless EL has been deducted and paid in time on the amount. While this provision could pose an additional cost for online companies (which tend to incur heavy losses), the eligibility of the EL to be credited through the use of tax treaties will require analysis. The FM has also proposed a deferral of Place of Effective Management rules by a year and these will now be effective from April 1, 2016. However, no further deferral of General Anti-Avoidance Rules has been proposed and these will take effect from April 1, 2017. Amnesty schemes/dispute resolution Effective June 1, 2016, opportunity has been provided to taxpayers to declare previously undisclosed income. Such undisclosed income will be subject to a 30 per cent tax rate, cess at 25 per cent of tax, and penalty of 25 per cent of the tax amount. The success of this scheme in its newest avatar remains to be seen. The FM has proposed a Dispute Resolution Scheme effective June 1, 2016, covering situations where taxpayers have disputes pending at CIT (A) as well as situations where a dispute has arisen on account of retrospective amendments undertaken in the past (Table 4). In the case of disputes arising from prior retrospective amendments, the taxpayer will need to discharge the entire tax liability due in order to settle the dispute. Any pending appeals will need to be withdrawn in order for the dispute to be treated as settled. Several recommendations of the Justice Easwar Committee towards simplification have found their way into the Bill. An amendment to section 206AA is proposed, such that a non-resident taxpayer need not furnish a PAN to avail of the beneficial 10 per cent withholding tax rate on royalties/fees for technical services, subject to provision of prescribed details. The proposals demonstrate the government's goal of moving to a taxpayer friendly regime. Impact on individuals Resident taxpayers with income less than Rs 5 lakh will benefit from an increased tax rebate of Rs 5,000. On the other hand, the surcharge for individuals with income exceeding Rs 1 crore has been increased to 15 per cent. Resident individuals/HUFs/firms receiving dividend income exceeding Rs 10 lakh in a financial year will be subject to 10 per cent additional tax over and above DDT that the distributing company pays. Individuals not in receipt of HRA and incurring rental expenses will be eligible for an enhanced monthly deduction of Rs 5,000. First-time home owners will be entitled to Rs 50,000 interest deduction, subject to certain conditions, including a limitation of Rs 50 lakh on the value of the house property. The government has proposed to provide exemption on withdrawal from NPS up to 40 per cent of accumulated balance. To bring parity, taxation on withdrawal from other retirement schemes (PF/superannuation) is also proposed to be amended. One-time portability from PF to NPS on a tax-free basis is proposed. Discretionary powers of the tax authorities on levy of penalty for concealment of income are sought to be curbed through section 270A. The section levies a 50 per cent penalty in case of under-reporting of income and a 200 per cent penalty in cases of misreporting of income. Expansion of e-assessment facility to seven mega cities is proposed to simplify assessment proceedings for individuals. Other key provisions Effective June 1, 2016, buyback tax will apply to any buy-back of unlisted shares undertaken by a company, and not merely a buyback under section 77A of the Companies Act, 1956. Rules will be prescribed to compute the amount received on issue of shares in various circumstances, including payment in tranches, tax neutral reorganisations, etc. Although the FM's speech suggested a reduction in the period for treating shares of unlisted companies as long-term assets to two years, necessary amendments do not appear to have found their way into the Bill. A much-awaited retrospective clarification to the MAT regime is proposed, to the effect that MAT will not apply to foreign companies, subject to conditions. The trend of retrospective amendments appears to have been reversed -- being restricted to taxpayer beneficial issues. In summary, the proposals signify a thrust towards a taxpayer-friendlier regime. The Budget announcement of 20 per cent cess on domestic crude oil production will bring down the burden of upstream oil companies - Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Oil India (OIL) and private sector Cairn India - on account of the levy by 28 per cent to Rs 10,303 crore in the next financial year. The companies had been paying cess at a specific rate of Rs 4,500 per tonne of production and had shelled out Rs 7,600 crore in the first half (April-September) of current financial year. The Union Budget presented on Monday has pegged the total cess collection from companies at around Rs 14,962 crore in 2015-16 as part of tax revenue.. Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016 However, the imposition of Ad Valorem cess has not gone down too well with a large section of the industry that had been clamoring for a shift in the cess to an ad valorem rate of between 8-10 per cent. Partly because the 28 per cent cut in burden on a count of cess comes after over 50 per cent drop in global crude oil prices since June last year. The imposition of 20 per cent ad valorem cess is expected to translate into net savings of Rs 2,158 crore for the state-run explorer ONGC. If the government had fixed the rate of cess at 10 per cent, as demanded by the industry, the net gain for the company would have been more than Rs 4,000 crore. Experts point out the benefit of the ad valorem cess would accrue to exploration and production companies only as long as the global crude oil prices remain within the $45 per barrel mark. "The cess directly impacts margins of local producers like ONGC and Cairn India etc. If the price of crude settles at about $35 per barrel, it will bring saving of about $2 per barrel. However, if the crude price goes up to $45 it will mean no change in cess cost," said Aditya Gandhi, Director-Technology at consulting firm Sapient Global Markets. He said at $100 per barrel price of crude, the cess cost will increase by $11 per barrel. "Given that crude prices are expected to settle in the $30-45 range in the near term, this should be a positive for these companies for now," he said. In the Union Budget 2016-17 proposals, the government had said, "Clause 222 seeks to amend the Schedule to the Oil Industry (Development) Act, 1974 so as to levy cess at the rate of twenty per cent, ad valorem instead of the present rate of Rs 4,500 per tonne, on domestically produced crude oil." The Oil Industry (Development) Act of 1974, provides for cess collection as a duty of excise on domestic crude oil. Cess incurred by producers cannot be recovered from refineries and therefore forms part of cost of production of crude oil. The petroleum sector's contribution to the centre's total tax collection in the form of cess on crude oil stood at Rs 16,000 crore in each of the last three financial years (2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15). The companies also paid excise duty of Rs 99,000 crore, customs duty of Rs 4,767 crore and around 3,858 crore as royalty last fiscal, according to the oil ministry's data. The government is also budgeting for a 15 per cent jump in non-tax revenue from the petroleum sector at Rs 12,401 crore in 2016-17 as compared to Rs 10,756 crore in the Revised Estimate of 2015-16, according to the Budget documents. This largely includes payments of royalty and profit petroleum by exploration companies. Looking to leave its political imprint over spending in rural India, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has budgeted for a massive 31 per cent hike in its share of spending on nine big-ticket centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) in 2016-17 over last year's budgetary allocation. Last year's Budget mantra of 'cooperative federalism' has been sidestepped to favour political exigencies. To fund these schemes, which it hopes to claim political ownership over, the Centre has introduced new cesses and surcharges on top of existing ones. Revenue from these sources remains in the central kitty and will not have to be shared with states.. Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016 In the coming financial year, the Centre hopes to mop up Rs 2,66,493 crore through this route, up from Rs 2,48,480 crore in 2015-16. This year's number is itself a substantial hike over its initial expectations. The government had originally budgeted to collect Rs 1,96,281 crore as cess and surcharge in 2015-16. Surprisingly, despite the Opposition's repeated attempts to paint it as being anti-poor, the NDA government has not claimed too much political dividend out of the fact that it actually spent more on most of these centrally sponsored schemes in 2015-16 as compared to its original budgetary allocations. The mid-course correction in the shape of hike in spending came as an afterthought. It suggests that the government hit by the 'suit-boot' jibes of the Congress and aware of growing distress in rural areas, routed the additional tax revenue it garnered to prop up the rural economy. Business Standard looked at nine major programmes under central assistance for state plans, which together account for more than three-fourths of the total allocation for CSS in 2016-17. The renewed faith in CSS this year is in sharp contrast to last year's Budget rhetoric. After accepting the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, which proposed to increase the states share in the divisible pool from 32 per cent to 42 per cent, the NDA government had cut back on several of these schemes such as Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and midday meals last year. The sharp increase in untied funds was matched by an almost commensurate cut in central funding to central schemes. After presenting the Budget and paring down the allocations last year, the government went about retrofitting the schemes. A committee was set up under the aegis Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to recommend which central schemes could be shut down entirely, which should be funded purely out of the Centre's pocket and in which schemes it should prune its share. It was only by October 2015 that these formulations could be worked out for all the schemes. This is reported to have caused tremendous flux on the ground, with services and wages remaining unpaid for months as many states had already finalised their budgets before the cuts were announced by Delhi. Social schemes require predictability of funds, as much as a specific volume to operate. The schemes suffered on both counts to begin with. Central ministries remained confused about how much funds to transfer to states and for what components. Funds from the Centre began to flow only once the new cost sharing formulae had been finalised. But now centrally sponsored schemes are back with a bang. The government's renewed interest in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), in contrast with the initial derisive remarks of the Prime Minister, is still well known. NDA upped its allocation for the rural employment programme around the middle of last year, overheated rural demand for the programme and ended up with arrears of more than Rs 6,000 crore to pay. The budget for MGNREGA has been enhanced this year by Rs 3,800 crore but it does not match up to the amount spent previously added to the arrears and the mandatory rise in wages that the scheme will see this year. But, it's still a far cry from the point in 2014-15 when the scheme saw its worst. What is less talked about is its ramping up of spending on other schemes. Compared to MGNREGA, the spending increase on the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana to build rural roads is even more impressive. Though it had originally budgeted to spend Rs 10,100 crore in 2015-16, it eventually ended up spending Rs 15,176 crore on the scheme - an increase of over 50 per cent. It has now increased the allocation further to Rs 19,000 crore in 2016-17. The government's deep cut to the ICDS, down to Rs 8,400 crore in the last Budget, had resulted in uproar. But, by the end of the year, spending on the scheme was ramped up to Rs 15,100 crore - an increase of almost 80 per cent. In the coming financial year, allocation to ICDS has been raised further to Rs 16,120 crore. On other programmes, too, spending was ramped up in similar fashion. The government eventually ended up spending Rs 8,227 crore against a budgeted Rs 6,000 crore on its marquee Swachh Bharat Mission. In the coming financial year, the government promises increase its funding further to Rs 11,300 crore. The government's expenditure on the rural component of the Housing for All scheme (rechristened Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana) matched the initially budgeted amount in 2015-16. By comparison, in urban areas it was able to spend only a third of what it had originally planned to on doing. On this scheme too, the NDA promises to spend Rs 20,075 crore in 2016-17 as compared to the budgeted amount of Rs 14,000 crore in 2015-16. The one social sector that didn't find adequate attention was primary education. While expenditure on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the midday meal scheme was budgeted at Rs 27,575 crore in 2015-16, the government ended up spending only Rs 19,298 crore by the year-end. But, even here the government promises to inject more money with the budgeted allocation for 2016-17 marked at Rs 32,200 crore. The health budget has seen an increase as well but it doesn't add up to suggest any substantial enhancement of public health services. Two years over and NDA's national health policy remains an iterant draft, while the government has now looked for the insurance route in the short-term. The fiscal burden of a targeted insurance scheme is expectedly much lower than what would be required for a universal public health care system, even if it was limited to primary and secondary health care. The only original idea of the NDA government - the Smart City programme - is the one that seems to have gotten off to a slow start. As against a budgeted amount of Rs 2,000 crore in 2015-16, the government was able to spend a mere Rs 417 crore, as it went about selecting 20 cities out of the 100 to fund initially. This year, it plans to spend Rs 3,003 crore on the programme. The euphoria over the thrust towards the agriculture in the Union presented by the Union Finance Minister is missing in Punjab and Haryana. The states may not gain much from the announcements made in the statement. The projection of doubling the farm income by 2020 cannot be achieved here since the two states have a high yield of 10-12 tonne per acre. According to the economists, the average yield here is comparable to the yield in the international farming and cannot be increased substantially. Thus raising the income to this extent may not be plausible. Talking to Buisness Standard, Manpreet Badal, and former Finance Minister of Punjab said that doubling the income in six years means to achieve a 15% year-on-year growth in agriculture. "This cannot be achieved in a short span of time. There is a need to wean away the people from agriculture to other sectors and arm them with skillsets in Punjab," Badal said. Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016 Punjab has already refused to accept the Crop Insurance Scheme of the Centre as the state wants a lower premium rate for the farmers. Punjab is also not ready to knock down the trade barrier for the Unified Agriculture Marketing Scheme that envisages a common e-market platform for 585 regulated wholesale markets. The has allocated Rs 15,000 cr towards the interest subvention, to ease out the debt repayment of the farmers in the drought hit areas. The states of Punjab and Haryana fall under irrigated areas and the farmers here would not be eligible for this relaxation on the borrowing from institutional sector. Farmers have welcomed the 0.5% Krishi Kalyan cess which is proposed to be used for financing initiatives for improvement of agriculture and welfare of farmers. Punjab is hoping to get Rs 7,200 cr for revamping its canal network for four major projects. The Finance Minister has allocated 17,000 cr for irrigation projects under Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Program scheme. The Shiv Sena stayed away from a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), called to get all allies on board with the Budget recommendations, on Tuesday because they were not informed of the meeting. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s oldest ally alleged they "were misinformed". They ratcheted up their hostility against the BJP a notch by demanding the tax on the interest on EPF withdrawals be rolled back. This demand came from senior Sena members of Parliament hours after the NDA meeting. Akali Dal said while they supported the tax, the salary exemption limit to which the tax should apply should be Rs 60,000 not Rs 15,000. The NDA meeting was called after alliance partners grumbled and complained that the BJP was taking them for granted. The government's decision to impose tax on certain PF withdrawals has evoked strong opposition. By the evening, an alarmed government was moved to sound a placatory note, saying the issue was negotiable and a roll back could be considered. Top bureaucrats told Business Standard a roll back was unavoidable. "Some course correction is inevitable," said a senior bureaucrat. In the morning meeting, Prime Minister Modi sought the assistance of NDA partners to bring farmers under the new crop insurance policy. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had asserted that it would address agriculture distress. BJP and its allies said the Budget would help them blunt the opposition's charge that the government had an "anti-farmer" bias. Assembly polls are due in five states, in April-May. SOCIAL SECTOR The Economic Survey 2015-16 talks about need for "Investing in Tomorrow's India Today", thereby implying a need to focus on social and human development in the country. Through his third budget, the Finance Minister (FM) has reflected a visible shift in the government's approach. The emphasis given to agriculture, social sector and rural development is evident from the sequencing of announcements in his speech and identifying them as distinct pillars in his transformative agenda. . Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016 The increased resource allocations and specific policy narratives for most of the social sector schemes are also in congruence with the above shift. However, the need to balance expenditure and earnings seems to have led the government to scale down its ambitious policy initiatives especially in health, education and skills. This is expected to revitalise the rural economy, leading to an increase in rural consumption and thereby fuel growth in the . However, such an outcome would not be visible immediately and will also depend on the efficiency of implementation by the states. (SCHOOL AND HIGHER EDUCATION) Water, sanitation and hygiene The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) has seen a 124% increase as compared to 2015-16.The increase is largely in its two flagship schemes - National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA). Greater convergence in the interventions of MDWS and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) will be required to achieve health outcomes, with particular emphasis on behaviour change initiatives. National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP): Allocation to NRDWP has increased by 92% this year but is still lower than the allocations in FY15. The thrust in the current is on piped water supply schemes and prioritising supply to quality-affected habitations in rural areas. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) : SBA has got a sizeable 148% increase in allocation from last year. Additionally, SBA has received Rs 2,300 crore under the Ministry of Urban Development, making the total allocation Rs 11,300 crore. The policy announcements on conversion of city waste into compost and award for open-defecation-free villages are also welcome measures. Gender : The gender allocation has increased by 13% over last year's allocations but is still below the FY15 allocation levels. While the gender budget got a major fillip through increased allocations for the National Mission for Empowerment of Women, the marginal increase in funding of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme may be insufficient to cover the additional districts targeted. The Nirbhaya Fund has received an allocation of Rs 650 crores, but it will need to be effectively utilised for any meaningful impact. Integrated Child Development Scheme and Nutrition : While it appears that the flagship nutrition scheme - Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) - has received a major boost with a 70% increase in funds allocated as compared to last year, the allocation is actually lower considering the revised expenditure of last year. The Budget is silent on any new initiatives to reduce malnutrition among women and children. Public health care India is 157th in terms of per capita government spending on health amongst 190 countries, and overall government expenditure on health continues to remain under 2% of GDP. The focus on reducing Out of Pocket Expenditure on health through the new health protection scheme, with a cover of Rs 100,000 per family and an additional cover of Rs 30,000 for the elderly, is laudable. However, the insurance approach might not be an apt solution to address the neglect of primary health care systems. Measures to make medicines affordable through the Jan Aushadhi Yojana and reduction of expenditures through the National Dialysis Service Programme are also well-thought-out initiatives. The Budget allocation for the National Health Mission has increased by a mere 4% over the previous year. The marginal increase in funding may affect the implementation of new and existing interventions in light of the need to achieve the goal of universal health care. Added focus on the Urban Health Mission and dovetailing expenditures for public health and WASH are imperative for facilitation of positive health outcomes. Livelihoods There seems to be a realisation of rural distress by the government and it is getting reflected in the highest-ever allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). However, allocations for other schemes and the lack of any major policy level announcements indicate that not enough thought has been given to the livelihood sector. The initiatives announced in the agriculture sector are expected to give an indirect fillip to rural livelihoods. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) : The renewed focus on MGNREGS could have been triggered by the performance of the scheme in the last two years. The person-days of work generated, 185 days in FY16, is still lower than in FY14 and FY15. The number of households that completed 100 days of employment also has come down to 25 lakh in FY16 from 50 lakh in FY13. The increased allocation and policy direction to use productive work for digging wells and creating organic compost units are welcome measures. The JAM may help in making programme implementation more effective as well. Increased focus should be accorded to infrastructure creation. The announcement integrating the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) and schemes being implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation into a single scheme named Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY) is a welcome move. The total increase in allocation compared to two combined schemes shows an increase of only 10%. However, increased synergy and efficiencies may help cover every block under drought and address rural distress. Further, the provision of extension of bank loan under NRLM for women SHGs at 4% getting extended to an additional 100 districts is a welcome measure. The Budget also brings back the focus on institutional strengthening of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) through a new re-structured scheme, namely, Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, thereby contributing to Sustainable Development Goal no 16, which aims to attain inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels. Education Increased focus on improving the quality of education has been one of the key thrust areas of this year's Budget. There is only marginal increase in allocations to the Department of School Education & Literacy from last year. Having achieved universalisation of primary education, this marginal increase is adequate and indicates a shift in focus from 'access' to 'quality' of education. The budget specifically focusses on facilitating digital literacy in rural India through the National Digital Literacy Mission that aims to cover 6 crore rural households in the next three years. A total of Rs 552 crore is allocated under Digital India-e learning, a new scheme introduced to focus on digital initiatives in schools. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), focusing on secondary education, has got amarginal increase in allocation of 4% over last year. Higher and Technical Education : There is a marginal increase of 4% for the Department of Higher Education in this year budget. However, a greater focus on higher education is evident from the policy announcement such as establishment of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA). The agency is expected to resolve issues associated with lack of funds that result in students opting out of higher education and further contribute in increasing the GER at higher education levels. Under Rashtriya Uchcha Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), the allocation has increased by 13% over last year, further indicating the concerted efforts of the government to increase coverage as well as enhance equity in Higher Education. Vocational education, skill development and entrepreneurship Skilling India has been a major focus for the current government and the establishment of a new ministry was one of the key achievements. The restructuring of the training wing from Ministry of Labour and Employment and integrating it with Ministry of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship has helped in convergence of initiatives. While policy initiatives for Skill India seem to be in the right direction, the resource allocations seem to be on the lower side. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is restructured as the flagship skill development and entrepreneurship programme, albeit with lower allocations. The Multi Skill Institutes for higher order skilling, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) for ease of access, and a network of training, mentors and credit facilities for aspiring entrepreneurs are welcome measures. Inclusivity is addressed through the 'Stand-up India Scheme' aimed at women and SC/ST entrepreneurs, and a placement-focused 'Nai Manzil' for minority youth. The setting up of the National Board for Skill Certification and investing in digital lockers for certificates are other laudable initiatives in the Budget. (Note: After the announced merger on NRLM and NULM, the form and extent of skill component under the same is not clear and hence has not been included.) Proposals regarding General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR), Dividend Distribution Tax and the amount provided for PSU bank recapitalisation were some of the elements in 2016-17 that disappointed the Street. Jyotivardhan Jaipuria, founder and managing director, Veda Investment Managers, who until recently was the India head of research, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, tells Puneet Wadhwa that the government will need to come up with a comprehensive package to restore confidence in the market that the PSU recap is under control. Edited excerpts: What are your key takeaways from the 2016? . . What are your key takeaways from the 2016? Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016. The Budget 2016, as is true for the budget in any year, is a juggling exercise with limited resources and very high expectations. To my mind, the big message the budget sent out was the commitment to meet the fiscal deficit target of 3.5 per cent as mandated under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) in spite of pressure from some sections to relax this target to boost growth. This has now lobbed the ball back in the Reserve Bank of India (RBIs) court and probably provided some room for monetary stimulus. The second surprise was an amnesty scheme for undeclared income. Since the Finance Minister has not provided any amount from this in the fiscal estimates, there could be more room for him during the year to provide more capex. The third big announcement is the Dispute Resolution scheme for retrospective cases. If this helps sort out high profile cases like the Vodafone tax dispute, it could remove some of the negative impression re India amongst foreign investors. While the Finance Minister has tried to simplify the tax laws, I think this is still an area where more work needs to be done. There are too many cesses and surcharges and we now have three different corporate tax rates for companies post this budget. Hopefully, as the Finance Minister said this is just the transition phase and we move to a much simpler law over next few years. Union was expected to usher in big bang reforms that would help to kick start economic growth and spur investments across sectors. Do you think that the FM has been able to achieve this? Frankly, my view has been that we over-hype the importance of the budget and expect a "big bang" budget ever year. I think there are three reasons why over the past decade, budgets are getting more predictable. Firstly, there is more transparency in the budget making process. Secondly, lot of reforms need to be done outside the budget and indeed at the state level too. Thirdly, tax rates are low already and hence changes are marginal that by itself will not dramatically change growth rate. Having said that, from the budget point of view, the Finance Minister has done what he could to help growth and investments. Firstly, he has by keeping the fiscal deficit in check provided room for the RBI to cut rates. This should help growth. Secondly, in spite of the fiscal constraints, he has provided for a 15 per cent increase in infrastructure outlay though overall capex growth is only 4 per cent. This, along with other measures outside the budget should, to my mind, drive a slow but steady recovery in the economy. Is the over emphasis on social / rural sector and the allocations worrying you? Will the proposals be able to provide the much needed impetus to the rural economy? In any budget year, the Finance Minister has to provide maximum tax concessions to the sector that has done badly over the past 18 months and raise taxes on the sector that has done well. With the rural sector struggling over past two years due to poor monsoons and low MSP prices, we have understandably seen an increase in allocations to the sector. The worry here remains the leakage - if the rural allocations reach the targeted poor, it will be positive for the economy. In this regard, I am very excited by the move to provide statutory status to Aadhar and expand the JAM (Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhar, Mobile numbers) to cover more areas like fertilizers. Are the various amnesty schemes announced workable for India Inc? The amnesty scheme was a bold and unexpected move. There are 2 reasons why it could work: (a) the tax rate at 45 per cent is relatively low; (b) it provides immunity from prosecution. The good thing is that the Finance Minister has not taken any receipts from the amnesty scheme in his budget estimates. Hence, he could have some money to play around with if the scheme is a success. Given these Budget proposals and the road ahead of the economy, do you think that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will now be enticed to cut back rates, and how soon? The fact that the Finance Minister has retained the fiscal deficit at 3.5 per cent for FY17 in line with the FMRB target is a big positive for the RBI. As Governor Rajan had said, monetary policy and fiscal deficit both need to share the burden. With the fiscal consolidation in the budget, the ball is back in the RBI camp. I would expect a 25 bps rate cut near-term and probably another 25-50 bps cut over the next year. There have been proposals relating to implementation of General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR) and dividend distribution tax. What is your reaction to these statements? I am disappointed by the move to tax dividend in the hands of the investor. I understand the need to tax the well-off Indians. But this move leads to taxing the same income twice once at the company end and then at the investor end. Considering that dividend is paid from post-tax income by companies, it effectively means triple income in some sense. When the Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) was introduced it was to replace the taxation in the hand of the individual. Now effectively, you have retained the DDT but also brought back the old dividend tax. For GAAR, the Government has reinforced the April 2017 date but my guess is we will hear more of it in the next 12 months. What are your thoughts regarding measures for the banking sector PSU recapitalisation, consolidation and privatisation initiatives? Are any stocks from this sector, PSU or private, worth a look at the current levels? The budget has provided Rs 25,000 crores for PSU recapitalisation, an amount below market expectations. The fear of the market has is that the Government is under-estimating the size of the problem. My view is that this fear of the market may not necessarily be correct. The Government has various proposals for the PSUs including: (a) providing greater autonomy and changing management; (b) consolidation of the PSU banks; (c) setting up the Bank Board Bureau that will help banks in setting strategies and raising capital; (d) the Bankruptcy Bill that will make it easier to recover NPLs. Also, the lower bond yields due to the fiscal consolidation helps the PSU banks mark to market on their bond holdings. However, the Government on its part will need to move urgently to come with a comprehensive package to restore confidence in the market that the PSU recap is an issue under control. From a stock perspective I would continue to prefer the private sector banks over the PSU banks in the near term. NPAs will continue to be focus in the next quarter too for all banks. What are your overweights and underweights sectors? I would continue to be overweight consumption plays urban consumption has been my favourite theme and rural consumption plays are now looking cheap too. There are select areas in the infra space that I like including roads and some plays that benefit from higher railway and defence expenditure. I would stay away from the global commodities and the telecom sector where competitive intensity is going to rise. What is the road ahead for corporate earnings for the next 12 months? Where do you see the Sensex, Nifty by December 2016-end? Overall, we think corporate earnings are going to see a slow recovery and in FY17 we could end with a 10-12% growth, higher than in FY16 but lower than the current consensus estimates. In the near-term, the market is vulnerable to global factors but I think second half will see market returns mirror earnings growth. Has the Budget done enough for the foreign investors (FIIs) and long funds to look at India as an investment destination given how the macros may shape up? India has been a favoured destination for foreign investors since the macros are shining out in an uncertain world. The current account deficit is low, GDP growth is amongst the strongest in the world and there is space for rate cuts. With the budget commitment on fiscal consolidation, the attractive macros have got reiterated. However, the global equity environment continues to remain uncertain and Global Emerging markets (GEM) funds are facing sharp redemptions. In this environment India too will see FII outflows. Do you think that the government will be able to stick to its fiscal deficit target and market borrowing program through the year or can one expect a revision as we go along? How are the bond markets likely to play out over the next 6 12 months? The tax revenue assumptions of the Government are reasonable and I think they will be able to achieve this. However, the non-tax revenues appear optimistic and I think there will be a slippage on the disinvestment target as well as the spectrum assumptions. Overall, however, I think the Government will be able to meet their fiscal deficit targets and the market borrowing numbers as tax revenues could slightly beat estimates. A cut in interest rates should help the bond markets. The other likelihood is that the infusion of liquidity should help lower the current steep yield curve. Irelands biggest credit union with assets of 360m and more than 33,000 members, St Raphaels Garda Credit Union, has become the first credit union in Ireland to offer mortgages to members under new credit union legislation. The offering includes loans of up to 300k for the purchase, build, renovation or extension of a family home. It also includes free life cover for the duration of the loan and maximum Loan to Value of 80% (or 90% for first time buyers up to 220k), in line with Central Bank limits. Chief Executive of St Raphaels Garda Credit Union, Claire Byrne said, "Our mortgage offering allows us to give better choice to our members who already have mortgages with other institutions and it is an important development for our members that are thinking about moving house or buying their first home. Source: www.businessworld.ie There has been continued momentum in the Dublin office market in the first few months of 2016 with several new requirements emerging since Christmas and a number of sizeable transactions currently in active negotiations. This is according to commercial property specialists, CBRE. who today released their first bi-monthly report for 2016. The report focuses on trends and transactions in each sector of the Irish commercial property market in the first two months of the year. Prime rental values remain steady at approximately 592 per square metre (55 per sq. ft.) at present. However, this headline rate is expected to increase to 700 per square metre (65 per sq. ft.) during 2016 as transactions close and new market evidence materialises. Construction has commenced on more than 120,000m2 of new office accommodation in Dublin city centre since the beginning of the year. Furthermore, there are more signs of development-related activity in all sectors of the market, most notably in the Dublin office and hotel sectors while the appetite for investment in alternative sectors such as purpose-built student housing is also becoming increasingly evident. Activity in the hotel sector also remains strong with considerable domestic and international focus on the prestigious Gresham Hotel in Dublin city centre, which the firm recently offered for sale guiding 80 million. Demand for prime Dublin pub properties has been particularly strong in the first two months of 2016 with very strong interest in properties offered for sale including Kennedys in Drumcondra, Dublin 9, which was guiding 900,000 and which has now gone to best bids. Meanwhile, the sale of the Castle Inn in Rathfarnham has completed in recent weeks for a price in the order of 660,000. Executive Director & Head of Research at CBRE Ireland, Marie Hunt says, "The first two months of the year have been active in all sectors of the commercial property market. The EU referendum result and the implications if the UK were to leave the EU is creating uncertainty for investors, occupiers, developers and others involved in UK real estate. "However, to date, demand for Irish commercial real estate doesnt appear to have been affected by this particular issue. Similarly, although we expect a number of weeks of political uncertainty following last weeks General Election in Ireland, the outcome is unlikely to have a significant impact on the commercial real estate market locally." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us It was announced this week that Center Parcs has received planning permission from Longford County Council for the development of a 233m Center Parcs holiday village. The holiday village would have capacity for up to 2,500 guests. Center Parcs operates five short break destinations across the UK. These include Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, Elveden Forest in Suffolk, Longleat Forest in Wiltshire, Whinfell Forest in Cumbria and Woburn Forest in Bedfordshire. Each Center Parcs is nestled within around 400 acres of protected and enhanced woodland, with the Village designed to complement and work with the forest environment. Center Parcs regularly achieves average annual occupancy rates in excess of 97% and welcomed two million guests last year. Following an announcement in April of its intention to develop a forest holiday village in Ireland, Center Parcs has submitted a formal planning application to invest 230m in the development of a holiday Village on a 395 acre site in Newcastle Wood, which is five kilometres from Ballymahon in County Longford. The development would create approximately 750 jobs during the construction phase. Furthermore, when operational, the village would employ up to 1,000 people in permanent jobs, with the majority of employees likely to live locally. Center Parcs estimates that, when operational, the new holiday village would add approximately 32million to Irish GDP per annum and 1bn over the next 20 years. Subject to receiving satisfactory planning permission, Center Parcs Longford Forest is expected to open to guests in 2019. CEO of Center Parcs, Martin Dalby said, "Engagement and dialogue with the local community in Ballymahon and the wider Longford area has been an important part of our approach, and will continue during the next steps of the planning process. "The positive outcome recognises the transformative impact Center Parcs Longford Forest will have on the midlands region in terms of jobs, tourism and wider economic benefits." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Some 64% of hotels and guesthouses increased staffing levels in 2015, while seven out of ten hoteliers (69%) plan to take on further additional staff over the next 12 months. This is according to figures published yesterday at the Irish Hotel Federations 78th Annual Conference in Killarney which show that strong growth in tourism continues to generate significant jobs growth in the industry. It is estimated that tourism now supports an estimated 205,000 jobs in Ireland, equivalent to 11% of total employment. At yesterday's conference, the Irish Hotel Federation (IHF) launched their Spring 2016 Tourism Careers Drive, encouraging students to consider a career in tourism. The scheme is targeting 2nd level students aged 15-18 years and aims to highlight the wide variety of career opportunities and educational courses available across the tourism and hospitality sector Commenting at the launch, IHF President Stephen McNally said, "Recognised qualifications in tourism not only provide practical skills training but access to opportunities at home and abroad. "As such, were encouraging students to explore the many options available, including hundreds of specialist third-level courses throughout the country for those interested in pursuing recognised qualifications." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us It was announced today that the Cork Airport Hotel is officially re-launching following an extensive refurbishment. Along with a new restaurant, the substantial refurbishment project at the Cork Airport Hotel over the past number of months includes a vibrant new outdoors-themed look. The new look has a restaurant exterior courtyard, refurbished gym and upgraded conference rooms where businesses can avail of free Wi-Fi and complimentary newspapers. The Cork Airport Hotel, a sister to the Cork International Hotel and the Metropole Hotel, employs 50 staff, with two new high-level positions created as a result of the recent investment. The Cork Airport Hotel has also announced that Down Syndrome Cork will be their Charity of the Year for 2016. The charity affiliation with Down Syndrome Cork will include the fundraising initiative Dream for Dream at the hotel's Olivo restaurant, which encourages children to give back to the community by choosing a dream jelly and ice-cream dessert. All proceeds will go to Down Syndrome Corks Field of Dreams, a three-acre farm at Curraheens Munster Agriculture Society grounds providing work and life skills development opportunities for adults born with Down Syndrome. A number of other fun, family-themed events will also run throughout 2016 to raise funds for further services provided at Down Syndrome Cork. Cork Airport Hotel General Manager, Aaron Mansworth says he wants to raise up to 15,000 for the charity over the coming year. "At our sister hotel the Cork International hotel, we have a strong history of working closely with local charities and we are excited to be carrying on this tradition with the Cork Airport Hotel and Down Syndrome Cork," Mansworth says. " We are already planning a number of family-themed fundraising events over the coming months at our new-look hotel, which we are hugely proud of," he said. Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Next week will see the first nationally co-ordinated Local Enterprise Week' led by Local Enterprise Offices around the country. From Monday 7th to Friday 11th, the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Cork City will host a wide array of events for the local business community and those seeking to embark on new ventures. The initiative provides business owners, managers and entrepreneurs with an opportunity to take time out of their busy schedules to hear from other business owners and practitioners. The week also provides an opportunity to learn more about the wide range of supports available through LEO Cork City to entrepreneurs and the local small business community. Nineteen separate events including workshops, seminars, information and networking sessions with guest speakers, and business advice clinics, are being hosted across the city during the week-long initiative. Most events are free to attend and all local businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs are invited to take part in these. Topics that will be addressed include accessing finance, ideas generation, using technology to build a better business, retail excellence and building sales. Speaking at the launch, Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Chris O'Leary said, "The Local Enterprise Office Cork City is the first port of call for any businessperson or entrepreneur in the city looking for advice and support, and Loominations is a very good example of a beneficiary of this support. "Whatever stage your business is at, a call to their office in City Hall will be advantageous. And indeed, participation at any of the events during the upcoming Local Enterprise Week is sure to inspire." Source: www.businessworld.ie The Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) yesterday warned the Government that their lack of "coherent policies" on retail is leading to competition difficulties for SME retailers against the "dominance" of large foreign on-line stores in the sector. The ISME claim that thousands of SME retail jobs are under threat and that billions of euro is being lost to the economy through foreign on-line sales. They are calling on the new administration to re-double their efforts in retail training supports and the adoption of retail e-commerce solutions, including an increase in scope of the Online Trading Voucher scheme. Speaking yesterday after the release of CSO Retail Sales figures, ISME CEO, Mark Fielding said, "Much of the retail industry is moving on-line and the bulk of sales are now imported from international websites. "The new government must realise that the sector comprises of every shop and store in every street, village and town and is not just a small number of over-dominant department stores, grocery multiples and websites serviced from outside the country." He added, "Retail is a changing industry with customers often never setting foot in a shop to make purchases. Government must assist retailers to adapt to this changing environment and stop making the situation more difficult by long-fingering broadband roll-out and ignoring the lack of adequate and appropriate training in the sector." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us British financial regulators have said they won't apply the European Union's cap on banker bonuses to smaller lenders because they pose fewer risks to the financial system. Under EU rules, all bonuses should be no bigger than fixed pay but can rise to twice that amount with shareholder approval. London has the largest number of bankers hit by the cap, which extends to asset managers in a banking group. The reform was aimed at quelling public anger over large bonuses at a time of austerity in many EU states following the financial crisis. National regulators must explain if they diverge from the rules as set out by the bloc's European Banking Authority (EBA). The Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority, and the Financial Conduct Authority said in a joint statement they have told the EBA that they disagree with a blanket application of the bonus cap rule on all firms. The PRA and FCA said they interpreted EU law as allowing for flexibility in relation to the size and complexity of a lender. "The PRA attaches a great deal of importance to the principle of applying policies in a proportionate manner consistent with the legal provisions," Bank of England Deputy Governor and PRA Chief Executive Andrew Bailey said in a statement. More flexibility in applying financial regulation from Brussels was at the core of Britain's "new settlement" negotiated 10 days ago by Prime Minister David Cameron before a British vote in June on whether to stay in the EU. London's banking sector is among the industries with most to lose if Britain leaves the EU, according to many economists who say an exit could hamper its ability to operate in the single European market and lead to thousands of jobs being shifted to the euro zone. "The PRA and FDA's announcement will come as a big relief to smaller banks and asset managers in the UK who had been concerned that the cap would apply to them from 2017. It remains to be seen whether any other EU regulators will take a similar approach," said Alexandra Bedims, an employment lawyer at Linkages. Britain was outvoted on the EU law capping bonuses, saying it would prompt banks to raise fixed pay and make them less nimble in cutting costs in a market downturn. The EBA noted on Monday an announcement it made last year that the cap should be applied without exemptions. The bloc's executive European Commission has powers to take a member state to court for not complying with EU rules. It is already assessing an EBA recommendation to give smaller lenders more flexibility on some aspects of banker pay rules. "At this stage it is too early to talk about whether or not to launch infringment proceedings. The Commission needs to first carefully look into and assess the detailed information provided by EBA," a Commission spokeswoman said. The UK regulators said that all large and systemically important banks, which would include RBS, Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays, must continue to apply the bonus cap. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie About us LOGAN The Logan Instacare Clinic was temporarily evacuated Monday after office staff received a bomb-threat. Logan City Police Capt. Tyson Budge said a phone message was received by the staff around 2:30 p.m. and stated a bomb would go off at 5 p.m. The staff later evacuated the building and called the police who setup a perimeter around the area and later conducted a walk-through of the office. Budge said the staff told officers that the message was very vague and came from a non-listed number. While the office was evacuated, patients were referred to the Instacare Smithfield location for treatment. LOGAN There have been a lot of setbacks along the way, but after almost nine years the renovation of Logans Historic Utah Theatre is nearing completion. In fact, Gary Griffin, Utah Festival operas managing director said the seats are being moved into the building today. The tile work is all done, the painting is all done, he said. About the only thing weve got left to do after the seats go in is to put the carpet down and clean the place up. There are a few more audio-visual things that need to be put in, but well be done in the very near future and have a wonderful opening that well announce later. Griffin said the old building turned out to be in much worse shape than expected and creating a space for the prized Wurlitzer organ was another challenge. He said it wont be long before the building is used as another beautiful theater where a wide variety of productions will be enjoyed. Cade Austin, 30, arrested and charged with attempted murder and other charges. Police claim Austin crashed his vehicle and then brandished a handgun and shot at paramedics before being shot himself. LOGAN A four-day trial has been scheduled for a 30-year-old Preston, Idaho man accused of attempted murder and threatening to kill first responders, after a traffic accident near Lewiston, December 15. Cade M. Austin wore handcuffs and shackles as he stood next to his public defender, Bryan Galloway, during the Mondays appearance in 1st District Court. A trial date was set for June 20 through the 23. Austin was reportedly the driver of a Pontiac Sunfire, northbound on US-91 when he ran off the road, striking a gas line and coming to a stop in a bar pit. According to prosecutors, he then brandished a handgun and exchanged gunfire with an EMT who arrived on the scene to treat him. Austin continued to wave the gun around inside the vehicle while drinking alcohol from a bottle. He was later pulled from the car by SWAT team members after losing consciousness. He was transported to a hospital by ambulance and treated for gunshot wounds to the chest and right shoulder. Austin is being held without bail in the Cache County Jail. He is charged with two counts of attempted murder, both first-degree felonies and four misdemeanors including driving under the influence, interfering with an arresting officer, reckless driving and having an open container inside a vehicle. He was ordered to appear again in court March 21.

will@cvradio.com LOGAN Shes the executive director of the Cache Valley Visitors Bureau but Julie Hollist Terrill is representing the state this week when she attends the largest international travel show in Berlin, Germany where people who run large group tours or tour buses gather to come up with new ideas. Terrill said she will be making a presentation on a group tour that has gathered a lot of attention The Yellowstone Loop. We will encourage tour buses to fly into Salt Lake City, she said. Come up through Ogden, come to Logan, go to the American West Heritage Center, eat dinner here, stay overnight and hopefully stop up the canyon for some activities. Terrill said from there the bus tour heads to Bear Lake, then to Jackson, Yellowstone Park, then back down through Pocatello and Lava Hot Springs where the participants can soak in the mineral springs. After that they spend a night in Park City before leaving Salt Lake City the following day. Q: My business sells its products to other businesses. How can we use discounts effectively to increase sales and profits? A: Boston Consulting Group conducted a study of business to business (B2B) sales discounting strategies. They found that B2B discounts are 30 percent or more of list price sales. They also found that 20 percent of B2B companies used a value based discounting strategy that ties discounts to the value customer's buying behavior creates for the seller. The other 80 percent of B2B companies used standard discounts to all customers and others offered flexible discounts based on sales volume, order size, channel or customer segment. They concluded value based discounting was most effective in increasing sales and profits. There are three stages in implementing a value based discounting strategy. First, design your discount strategy based on sources of value. Typical value creating customer behavior is: Switching to higher margin products Using sales channels that produce maximum value for the seller like online channels or lower customer service costs channels; Committing to a standing order or buy products that create future sales; Reward customers who agree to advance ordering or joint efforts to reduce costs; Customers who agree to refer potential other customers; and Reduce service costs to seller. Second, establish discount guidelines for sales staff. That would include things like: Set only one type discount for each source of value; Limit number of discount types to each customer; Match the discount to each customer to create value for that customer; and Offer similar discounts to similar customers. Third, execute the discount strategy. Communicate the discount strategy to customers. Train the sales staff on the value of each type discount to the seller and to the customer. Have policies for non price related incentives like free shipping and extended warranties. Managers should monitor discounts in real time. Have a review and approval process when sales staff want to offer discounts greater than standard policy. Don't base sales staff incentives only on sales volume. That encourages sales staff to offer discounts that are not profitable for the company to qualify for incentive awards. When I was a petroleum refinery plant manager, I often thought our sales staff reduced prices to meet sales goals even when it was unprofitable. Ralph Coker, a retired refinery manager, volunteers with the local chapter of SCORE, counselors to small businesses. Contributed PHOTO A notice to parents citing Central Christian Childrens Academy closure was sent Feb. 8. A deed for Central Christian Church, the academys parent church, was filed Feb. 9 by Brandon Ashley Greenwood and Woodrow Greenwood Jr., according to Nueces County Clerk records. SHARE By Beatriz Alvarado of the Caller-Times Central Christian Children's Academy will close at the end of the week and parents are unhappy with how quickly children were displaced, a parent said. "No one saw it coming," said parent Katie Hoover. "Why didn't they wait until after spring break?" The notice sent out in early February gave parents about four weeks to find a new school before the Academy closes March 6. A deed for Central Christian Church, the academy's parent church, was filed Feb. 9 by Brandon Ashley Greenwood and Woodrow Greenwood Jr., according to Nueces County Clerk records. Hoover said she heard about the possible purchase in January and was told by staff that despite the church being sold the school's operation would continue. The buyers' change of heart earlier this month was noted in the notice to parents. "In spite of our best efforts ... the buyer informed us that they no longer intend to honor their agreement to allow the academy to remain on the property," the notice states. "This was unexpected and we deeply apologize for any inconvenience it may cause." The school put together a hasty graduation Friday for its 5-year-old students, which usually takes place in May. An assistant for Brandon Greenwood said in a voice mail to the Caller-Times that Greenwood "doesn't know anything about it" and asked not to be contacted again. A message left for Woodrow Greenwood Jr. was not immediately returned. According to Better Business Bureau and online property tax records Brandon Greenwood and Woodrow Greenwood Jr. own and operate Kingsville Memorial Funeral Home. Church and academy officials also declined to comment about the sale. The more than 30-year-old academy serves about 110 children from 6 months to 5 years old. Hoover said her 4-year-old son was admitted to Vinson Morris Children's Center because a student withdrew, but at least 15 parents she knows are struggling to find a new school. "There are no openings this time of the year," she said. "It's a very odd time to (find a school) with an open spot." Hoover, whose eldest son graduated from Central Christian in August, said she was saddened to have to move schools because "it's a great school." She enrolled her sons because of the staff's low turnover and effective teachers her youngest knows how to count to 30 in Spanish and English and knows all the colors in both languages. "I wanted my kids to learn a routine and be on schedule," she said. "(The school) really provided me that." Twitter: @CallerBetty CALLER-TIMES FILE Corpus Christi City Hall SHARE By Kirsten Crow of the Caller-Times More than a dozen people hope to join the City Council in making some of Corpus Christi's most high-profile decisions. By the 5 p.m. deadline Monday, 16 applicants had filed paperwork seeking appointment on the council. The appointment would fill an at-large position left empty last week when Lillian Riojas resigned to take a job in San Antonio. "Sixteen is certainly a healthy number of applicants," said Mayor Nelda Martinez. "It's also encouraging that there are people willing to serve, because it's a significant commitment." Applicants, according to the city secretary's office, include: Joseph A. Coyle, a retired senior project designer; Margareta M. Fratila, a business consultant; Cezar Galindo, self-employed; Annie Jean Galvan, a registered respiratory therapist; Gilbert Hernandez, sales manager; Michael Taylor Hunter, Borden Insurance account executive; Bob Jones, petroleum sample custodian and radio host; Sirfrederickvon Usa King VII, business owner and independent contractor; Sylvia Michelle La Cour, an equipment specialist/material coordinator; Joe A. McComb, president and owner of McComb Relocation Services; Dan McQueen, engineer; Benigno Molina, president-Pinnacle Roofing; Guy James Nickleson, chief executive officer for Lead First Foundation of Corpus Christi; John Sendejar, small business owner; Larry Lee White, a retired engineer; and Vernon Wuensche, engineer. The appointment would last through the end of Riojas' unexpired term, which would end at the conclusion of the November election. It's expected that next Monday, the council will have a special meeting to determine finalists during executive session. On Tuesday, the council will make the appointment after public interviews with the selected finalists. City Councilman Mark Scott, who has participated in two midterm council appointments, described the public interviews a new piece to the appointment process as an interesting concept that would be more transparent. Scott added he didn't necessarily believe someone needs to be a good public speaker to be a good council member, but noted a public interview would give finalists an opportunity to answer questions similar to those posed to sitting council members. Twitter: @CallerCrow CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Bee County Sheriff Carlos Carrizales Jr. died after a lengthy battle with illness Sunday. SHARE By Julie Garcia of the Caller-Times Longtime Bee County Sheriff Carlos Carrizales Jr. died Sunday at a hospital in San Antonio. "It's with heavy hearts, the Bee County Sheriff's Office regrets to inform the passing of Bee County Sheriff Carlos Carrizales, Jr., 58, after a hard fought and lengthy illness," a social media post said Sunday. "Sheriff Carrizales passed away peacefully surrounded by family, friends, and his staff at the Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San Antonio." The Bee County Commissioners Court will appoint an interim sheriff at an upcoming meeting. Chief Deputy Alden Southmayd has been handling some of the sheriff's duties since Carrizales had been ill, according to the county judge's office. Carrizales' name is on the ballot in the current sheriff's race as an unopposed Democrat. The Republican candidate Stephen Phipps also is unopposed. Typically, a Democratic executive committee would nominate a new candidate for the General Election in November, said Bee County Judge Stephanie Silvas. However, since the county does not have that committee established, the party chair may nominate someone, Silvas said. The deadline for a nominee is late August, Silvas said. "At this point, our community is mourning him and the vacancy is the last thing on our mind," Silvas said. Public visitation will be Wednesday from 2-5 p.m. at Oak Park Memorial. A prayer service will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Bee County Expo Auditorium. A funeral service will be Thursday at 10 a.m. at the Bee County Expo Auditorium. A graveside service will follow at the Evangelico Cemetery. After the service, there will be a reception at the auditorium. Carrizales had been sheriff since 2004. Fares Sabawi contributed to this report Twitter: @Caller_Jules CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Raul Torres holds his daughters Ximena (left) and Scarlett, two of three identical triplets born May 16 to him and his wife, Silvia Hernandez. Ximena and Scarlett, who were born joined at the pelvis, will undergo separation surgery in April. SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Scarlett (left) and Ximena, two of three identical triplets born last year, will undergo a risky separation surgery in April. The sisters were born May 16 joined at the pelvis. By Chris Ramirez of the Caller-Times Separation surgery for conjoined twins born last year in Corpus Christi has been postponed until next month. The risky, hourslong procedure on Ximena Jackeline and Scarlett Juliet, who were born by cesarean section May 16, was supposed to have begun Thursday. Ben Castle, a spokesman for Driscoll Children's Hospital, said the twins' surgery will be "sometime in April." Parents Silvia Hernandez and Raul Torres, of Brownsville, came to Corpus Christi on vacation last April. Doctors told Hernandez shortly after the couple arrived that she was in no condition to travel home. Hernandez delivered the twins, and a third daughter, Catalina Montserrat. Each girl weighed the same upon delivery 4 pounds, 11 ounces. Ximena and Scarlett were born connected, sharing a rectum, intestines and an umbilical cord. The parents said on a Facebook page Ximena became sick recently and had been treated with antibiotics. Doctors in September declared the twins, born one day shy of 34 weeks, candidates for the surgery. Conjoined twins occur once in every 200,000 births, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Forty to 60 percent of conjoined twins arrive stillborn, and about 35 percent survive only one day. The overall survival rate of conjoined twins is between 5 and 25 percent. Twitter: @Caller_ChrisRam Maricela Rodriguez/Valley Morning Star Corpus Christi resident Abbie Pina was crowned Ms. South Texas Senior America 2016 on Sunday at the Harlingen Municipal Auditorium. SHARE Caller-Times File Abbi Pina was named Feria de las Flores queen in 1959. By Natalia Contreras of the Caller-Times When Abbie Pina was 15 years old she became a queen. Nearly six decades later she's still royalty. Pina became the first Feria de las Flores queen in 1959. On Sunday, the now 73-year-old was crowned again this time as Ms. South Texas Senior America at the Harlingen Municipal Auditorium. "It was such an amazing feeling to win," Pina said. "It took me back to my first win back in '59. I wanted to leave a good impression of elegance and professionalism and to show what Corpus Christi is made out of." Pageant director Elia Lopez said the pageant's purpose is to motivate, encourage and the celebrate the inner beauty of women who are 60 to 80 years old. "These women are professionals or retired and are well established in the community," Lopez said. "This gives them an opportunity to be ambassadors for their community." The pageant categories included evening gown, personal interview, talent and their philosophy of life. Pina said her family has a history with pageants. About 28 years after she was named queen of Feria de las Flores, her daughter, Delinda Muniz who encouraged her to enter the Ms. South Texas Senior America pageant also won the title in the 1980s. Every year, Pina talks to new Feria contestants and motivates them reach their goals. "I always tell them there is a lot of growth and development within you," Pina said. "I have always said women are not just for window dressing. We are productive and innovative and we persevere, and I still believe that today." When she was a contestant in 1959 Pina performed a Chiapaneco dance at the Memorial Coliseum and this year she performed a Carnaval dance, a Brazilian tropical dance, she said. Lopez said Pina stood out among the other contestants because of her passion for what she believes in. "She is a vivacious and beautiful woman inside and out," Lopez said. "Dancing is her passion and it shows." Lisa Oliver, the city of Corpus Christi's superintendent of senior services division, said she encourages all women to participate in a pageant. The Miss Coastal Bend Senior Pageant will be June 26. "It's a great opportunity for women to show their family and friends that they can still express themselves and their talents regardless of their age," Oliver said. Although Pina is now retired she remains active in community service. She has helped with local, state and nationwide political campaigns, is a fundraiser for scholarships and volunteers at nursing homes. She is also working on getting a doctorate in administration from the University of Texas. "Age is really just a number. My philosophy is that it's all about the attitude," Pina said. "Always give it everything you have and never stop getting involved in the community. Community involvement is high up in my book." Twitter: @CallerNatalia File photo SHARE By Matt Woolbright of the Caller-Times The biggest voting day of this year's primary season has arrived, and local party leaders are expecting high turnout at polling locations around the city. Super Tuesday comes on the heels of Nueces County's second-busiest early voting season for a primary since at least 1992, and one local political analyst expects this year's overall turnout will shatter the record for Nueces County set eight years ago when President Barack Obama sought his first term. "We will go over what we saw on (the primary) in 2008, and I think overall we will see a huge uptick turnout this year over 2008," said David Smith, an assistant professor of political science at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. "The (primary) turnout should more than make up the early vote difference." The 22,147 ballots cast in 11 days of early voting this year nearly doubles the turnout of the last presidential election when 11,900 voters cast ballots during 12 days before the 2012 primary, but it's about 5,800 fewer than 2008. The early vote has already surpassed the midterm elections' primary total two years ago, county records show. "We may see 85,000 to 100,000 in total turnout counting early voting we're looking at general election numbers this year," Smith said. "People are mad and they want to do something about it." And party leaders from both major parties agree though there's little certainty on exactly how many people will turn out Tuesday when voters in 12 states go to the polls. It's the single most important day for delegate allocation, which is how each party ultimately picks the nominees. "I expect a very large turnout," local Republican party chairman Michael Bergsma said. "Historically, early voting at least matches election day voting, and we had a record high in early voting on the Republican side." On the other side, Democratic Party chairman Joseph Ramirez said local races are driving voters to the polls when that role is usually reserved for higher-profile races like Obama's bout with the current Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton. "Those races aren't ugly, but they're certainly heated for the people working it, and those candidates are busting their tails to get the vote out for themselves," Ramirez said. "It's Super Tuesday, and anything can happen with the national races in flux." Local races on both sides of the political divide have caught the attention of Bergsma, Ramirez and Smith. On the Republican side, that race is the U.S. House District 27 race between incumbent U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold and challenger Gregg Deeb, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. It's a race Smith believes could be influenced by a national wave of frustration with Washington. "There's a group of disenchanted, aggravated voters in the (veterans' community) that Deeb really appeals to, and this year more than normal anger is driving a lot of people to the polls," Smith said. "Those could determine the District 27 race." For the Democrats, the contest Smith is closely watching is between District Attorney Mark Skurka, a lifetime prosecutor, and challenger Mark Gonzalez, an equally entrenched defense attorney. "It's going to come down to do voters see Gonzalez being the change he says he's going to be, or do they value the experience Skurka brings," Smith said. Smith added near-constant media attention on the presidential races could be encouraging voters to voice their opinions early. "People are starting to see they can have an impact on the primary level and how that can impact the general election candidates," he said. "That's appealing to the masses." Twitter: @reportermatt The consignment was destined to a neighbouring country without the payment of custom duties. ADS Within the framework of ensuring that goods exported from Cameroon are not only monitored but must adhere to customs rules and regulations, over 10,000 bags of rice destined for export to a neighbouring country, have been impounded at the Idenau seaport in the West Coast. The operation to impound the rice was carried out over the weekend by the marine thanks to a convention signed by the Director General of Customs, the National Marine Corps with the support of the United States Embassy in Cameroon. Customs officials at the scene informed the press that the over 10,000 bags of rice were impounded because the business persons involved in the exercise, were trying to smuggle the bags without paying custom duties. Papers presented by the business people and scrutinized, they said, mention only the quantity of goods, the number of people on board and the identity of the Captain of the boats. It is against this backdrop that the bags of rice have been impounded given that the exportation is illegal, a senior customs official said. He stressed that for the time being, the impounded rice will remain in safe state keeping until custom duties and other penalties are paid. ADS The new product is intended to open up new creative possibilities for advertisers and address the issue of slow-loading ads not optimized for mobile, which often result in a disjointed and frustrating experience. What's remained top of mind for advertisers is how challenging it is for them to tell compelling brand and product stories on mobile in ways that are enjoyable for people and effective for their business, the company said in a blog post. Chris Jones, head of creative technology at Facebook Creative Shop said the creative community was a priority when Canvas was designed and built. It's a product that represents our commitment to creative craft and delivering the best mobile experience for businesses and people, he added. The new ad product supports interactive elements such as animations, carousels, product catalogs, tilt-to-view images, and videos. These Canvases load nearly instantaneously, as much as 10 times faster than the standard mobile web, and appear linked to from News Feed ads on iOS and Android. They are identifiable by a little upwards arrow that denotes that the full-screen experience will unfold. Brands can build Canvas ads with a self-serve tool or work with Facebook to create campaigns. According to the company, lead times are usually between two to three weeks ahead of a campaign launch. Canvas is now available to all advertisers globally. In Asia, the Creative Shop team, led by Fergus O'Hare, will be providing support and partnership with brands. Valerie Cheng, most recently at JWT, will be joining the Southeast Asia team to partner closely with brands in the region. ASUS created a Canvas with the theme end bad gifts during the 2015 holiday shopping season for Japan and Australia. According to Facebook, the tech brand saw a 42 percent increase in clicks on its ad, and people who clicked into their Canvas spent an average of 12 seconds viewing the content. In addition, 70 percent of the people who clicked on the Canvas ad went to the ASUS website after exploring the Canvas. wide player in 16:9 format. Used on article page for Campaign. The advertising software company has launched its Non-Human Traffic (NHT) Credit Programme, which will refund advertisers for non-human traffic identified as fraudulent by White Ops a provider of cyber security services for fraud detection and prevention. Brett Wilson, CEO and co-founder of TubeMogul, said the companys longstanding investments and track record in blocking ad fraud have already minimized this issue for clients. The NHT Credit Programme now gives our clients total certainty as a matter of policy, he added, in a statement. Anyone can say that they are blocking suspicious or non-human traffic, but trust is earned in advertising. We hope that others will follow suit." The programme is available to platform clients that have a master services agreement (MSA), of which the company has 424 globally. Clients in Southeast Asia include agencies and brands such as Lenovo and XL Axiata. Under the initiative, beginning on April 1 TubeMogul will issue credits on a monthly basis for video ad impressions served on open exchange inventory that White Ops has measured and identified as fraudulent based on the companys proprietary methodology and benchmarking. To make that possible, TubeMogul is deploying White Ops FraudSensor technology and verification across every measurable video ad bought via OpenRTB. We brokered a large deal with White Ops to make this possibleno one else has done this, a spokesperson told Campaign Asia-Pacific in response to queries. Botnet traffic obviously varies but the point is we're totally accountable as a matter of policy. Asked about the Aprils Fools start date, the company said it was just timing. Although we do think it is foolish for advertisers to pay for fraudulent traffic and we do our best to combat this as shown by this initiative, the spokesperson added. Michael Tiffany, CEO and co-founder of White Ops said TubeMogul's bold programme is throwing down the gauntlet, and others like it will help move the industry forward. "We can measure all we want, but until there is clear accountability in the system, its hard to make significant progress on fixing the problem, he added. Brands need to demand, and providers need to accept, responsibility for the elephant in the inventory." This latest announcement is in line with the companys ongoing efforts to drive increased control and transparency for brand advertisers. In 2011, the company introduced the term fake pre-roll and brought attention to the practice of marketing cheaper banner inventory with video ad content playing automatically as pre-roll inventory. In 2012, it launched its BrandSafe suite, played a role in the creation of OpenVV and released details on three botnets and integrated with major third-parties for viewability, verification. This new initiative gives brand advertisers another reason to partner with an independent software company that shares their incentives, said Wilson. A lot has changed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona over the last 5 years. In the past, we frequently saw nearly there products and services. Connected cars. Smart homes. IoT devices. Live mobile streaming. Products and services that sounded great but, were in fact, not quite yet ready or widespread enough to be utilised impactfully by our clients. 2016 was very different. Unlike other years, most, if not all of the technology we saw is available now. Which is quite refreshing because were able to talk to clients about what we can/should be doing now, not when we might want to do something. We heard this quote at SXSW a few years ago and think its particularly salient at this years Mobile World Congress: Determining what to do next is relatively easy; working out what to do now is hard. Beneath this broad theme, we noted five key trends this year: 1. Nownot next For the first time at Mobile World Congress, almost every technology discussed and gadget demoed is available nownot at some undefined point in the future. While this may be disappointing to the technorati and early adopters, it should be music to the ears of big brands. Our job now is to understand the opportunitiesand challengesthese ready now technologies provide and take action. 2. Live mobile broadcast Mobile networks are now capable of delivering real-time, live broadcast video from brands, or consumers. Although Facebook is dominant here, with Facebook Live, this opens up both the possibility and challenge for brandsand their consumersbecoming broadcasters of real-time video content. Think about live branded content with real-time calls to action. Broadcasting and amplifying live events. The possibilities are many. 3. IoT everywhere and everything Internet of Things are everywhere at MWC. Cars (MWC almost feels like a motor show), drones, watches, glasses, vending machines, gloves and glasses are connected through low cost smart devices, while anything can become part of IoT through image recognition. So, whats new? Whats new is the software platforms developed by companies like Microsoft (Azure) and Jasper that make it cheap and easy to connect the world around us to cognitive capabilities of machine processing. 4. Ubiquity of experiences and services With Microsofts Windows 10 currently at 200 million users and aiming for 1 billion, we can embrace the ethos of create once, display on infinite screens and devices. This reduces the timeand moneyspent creating content for multiple screens / OSs and the consumer spending too much time navigating multiple OSs and how to use them. 5. The next wave of data: From big-data processing to cognitive-data understanding Perhaps the most interestingif not excitingtrend we saw this year was in the area of cognitive computing. IBMs Watson team has created dozens of open-source data-processing tools that enable brands to move beyond analysing structured data (sales, number of page hits, and so on) to analysing unstructured, human data, such as personality types and emotional cues. IBM demonstrated this with a Watson-driven robot developed with Softbank that learns what people want and need. A version of this robot will be launched in an unnamed hotel franchise, and in over 2,000 retail locations this year. Because these are available through an open API and low-cost pricing model, this ultimately enables brands to deliver even more valuable content and experiences that take into account both observed human behaviours and the emotional context of these behaviours. So, finally, 2016 is the year of now not next. This is incredibly exciting for us and the many clients I talked to in Barcelona. Our challenge, then, is to stop talkingand writingabout these trends and to start acting now to take advantage of them. Patrick Rona is chief digital officer, McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific Local telco Maxis is hoping to spur Malaysians to give back by integrating the power of e-commerce to incorporate the act of charity seamlessly into festive shopping. The campaign, titled Kongsi Home project, involves a collaboration with Epic Homes as well as Malaysias top five e-commerce platforms Lazada, Gem Five, Zalora, Rakuten, and Happy Fresh to turn customers online shopping into online giving. The campaign, which launched on 26 January and will run until 31 March, invites everyone to put a roof over the head of underprivileged families. It hopes to raise enough money to fund the building of new homes for 67 families and to reach that goal, needs 5 percent of Malaysias 7 million online shoppers to donate RM8 (US$1.91) worth of building material each. The project enables shoppers from anywhere across the globe with a valid credit card to visit any of these five online retail sites, and add that amount to their shopping cart. The materials will then be donated to the community home-building projects by Epic Homes. The building materials that have been made available for purchase are auspiciously named, with titles such as Window of Longevity, Gold-With-The-Flow Tap, Lockdown-Your-Love Doorknob, Confirm-Nail-The-Job Nail and Like-A- Boss Papan. Founded in 2010, Epic Homes is a non-profit initiative that has been building homes for underprivileged communities in Malaysia. The initiative has built a total of 71 homes across Perak and Selangor in partnership with Maxis. The video received more than 2 million views in its first week. This translated into RM84,000 (US$ 20,093) worth of donations, enough to build two homes. Ad Nut thinks this campaign is pretty inspired, merging the convenience enjoyed when shopping online with the concept of micro-donations. Whats another two bucks when youre already buying three dresses or a weeks worth of groceries? Ad Nut does feel a little sad though that the campaign has only raised enough for 2.5 homes so far, and thinks that perhaps the accompanying videos about career, wealth and health Feng Shui advice in line with the Lunar New Year were not quite on message in terms of getting people to add a little extra to their shopping cart. But Ad Nut will remain optimistic and hopes shoppers will rally at the last minute to at least make it a nice complete number of 3 (maybe 4?). Remember, Ad Nut only needs a sturdy mature oak tree to call home, you humans need more than that. | BY Ricki Green | To raise awareness of childrens eye health and improve the vision of children across Australia, optical retailer OPSM has released Penny the Pirate the worlds first free childrens book and app with creative via Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney. The app has already received global attention for its innovative thinking winning four Lions at the Lions Health and Cannes Lions Festival 2014 this week. Penny the Pirate was initially trialed with great success through OPSMs official charity, OneSight, which saw the book screen the eyes of over 300 children. Mums across Australia also tested the book and app and ahead of its national launch through Yahoo7s Mouths of Mum network. Following this successful trial the 360 degree Penny the Pirate campaign kicks off next week with cinema activity across the country from the 26th of June during school holidays sessions and a 15 and 30-second TVC that will run on free-to-air TV from the 29th of June. Other elements include; a robust digital and social spend targeting parents of 3-10 year olds, visual merchandising displays in-store, a PR campaign and experiential activations in Westfield centres. Penny the Pirate was brought to life in consultation with the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Designed for children aged 3-10 years old, Penny the Pirate combines the art of storytelling with eye care in a fun and interactive way. In order to make this as appealing as possible, OPSM partnered with Kevin Waldron, acclaimed author/illustrator to create an engaging story that integrates the eye screenings into the story. The book is creating industry buzz with Penny the Pirate winning the News Corps Were For Igniting Creative Ideas competition and was awarded with $250,000 of media to support the campaign. It has also won four Lions two Bronze and two silver at the Lions Health and Cannes Lions Festival 2014 in categories; Direct, Mobile and Health. Says Melinda Spencer, VP of Marketing for OPSM: We are thrilled about winning four Cannes Lions for this campaign we have worked in development with our agency Saatchi & Saatchi for over eighteen months on this exciting innovative project. We passionately wanted to create a useful tool that helps time poor parents to screen their childrens vision from the comfort of their own home either through the book or through the app in a fun way and are overjoyed that it has been recognised internationally. Saatchi and Saatchi Sydney creative directors Matt Gilmour and Jon Burden are also delighted with the win. Says Gilmour: Creating Penny the Pirate was an amazing experience as we knew it was an industry first. Working with OPSMs optometrists on the childrens book to ensure the screenings were correct as well as developing an engaging story for children with Kevin Waldron was unlike any other campaign weve worked on. Penny the Pirate is available free from OPSM stores nationally. Alternatively it is available to download for free at the App store and Google Play, where registered users will be delivered the essential accompanying kit which includes an eye patch, spyglass and 3D glasses . Visit http://www.opsm.com.au/penny for more information. Creative: Saatchi and Saatchi Sydney Media: OMD Digital: SapientNitro Sydney App: Two Bulls Activations: One Green Bean PR and social media: One Green Bean TV Production Company: 8 | BY Ricki Green | In the week leading into the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Facebook has announced a partnership with Australian Marriage Equality to help Australians show their support for equal marriage for all consenting adults. This week, Facebook launched a new tool similar to the rainbow filter called a custom frame feature (example attached) that allows people to add the official Australian Marriage Equality frame to their profile photo. The custom frame feature is the first international cause-related frame and coincides with Facebooks inaugural sponsorship of the 2016 Mardi Gras Festival. More Aussies are identifying themselves as LGBTIQ on Facebook. In Australia, the same-sex marriage debate was the eleventh most talked about conversation last year. By the end of 2015, the number of people coming out on Facebook each day was double what it was just a few months prior to Mardi Gras 2015. In the past year, more Australians have felt comfortable identifying themselves as LGBTIQ on Facebook. Not only has the total number of Australians who have come out on Facebook risen substantially, but so has the number coming out each day. More Australians are also showing their interests in LGBTIQ related issues through their interactions with LGBTIQ Facebook Pages. The number of Australians who like prominent LGBTIQ pages grew over 20% in 2015. In every capital city, the fan growth has either doubled or nearly doubled in terms of the number of fans of Australian LGBTIQ pages. Fan growth for these LGBTIQ groups spiked in 2015 around key international milestones such as the aforementioned U.S. Supreme Court decision and the same-sex marriage referendum in Ireland. Fan growth for Australian LGBTIQ pages does not just exist among Australians; it has come in from around the world. Individuals from more than 200 countries have supported a prominent Australian LGBTIQ page. Today, more than 1/4 of all supporters of these pages are international. Of these foreign countries, the ten with the most supporters are the United States, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Canada, New Zealand, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and Pakistan. In Facebooks most talked about topics for 2015, Marriage Equality ranked sixth globally, peaking in June when the US Supreme Court decided that same-sex couples across every state of America should have the right to marry. Three ways to decorate your profile picture with the Australian Marriage Equality frame | BY Kim Shaw | Agencies and clients have one more month to go before 28 March the deadline for submission of entries to the Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards 2016. Conference and Awards night will be held on May 31, 2016 in Manila. Entry forms may be downloaded here. The APAC Tambuli Awards honors brands that do good and do well showing the seamless integration of creativity + human good + results. Case study entries must demonstrate how brands uplift society, create positive change, and correlate purpose with purchase. The APAC Tambuli Awards is not an award on charity, advocacy, pro bono, or CSR advertising, even if those campaigns are welcome and encouraged to enter. The award, however, focuses on mainstream brand campaigns that celebrate humanity, inspire purpose, and deliver results. The award began in Manila in 2005, and opened up to the Asia Pacific region in 2012. The Tambuli (a native Filipino horn) is organized by the School of Communication of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) in collaboration with the industry, to create positive impact in society through marketing communications. | BY Ricki Green | Red Jelly and Liminal Studio have taken out the Advertising Best of Show and the Design Best of Show respectively at the inaugural Tasmania Advertising & Design Awards (TADA) held in Hobart. There were 13 Prizes and 30 Finalists awarded across 54 categories. Entrants ranged from sole practitioners to full service firms to the media and they came from both Launceston and Hobart. Red Jelly won Best of Show in Advertising for its Speed Shatters Lives newspaper wrap for the Road Safety Advisory Council. Liminal Studios won Best of Show in Design for its Environmental Graphics in the Mount Wellington/kunanyi Pinnacle Observation Shelter. New Zealand based, British chairman of judges Tim Evill revelled in his first visit to Tasmania. He was impressed with the entries and clear in his view on the need to set new standards. Says Evill: Awards are not a mere pat on the back to show mutual appreciation. We are an industry that measures everything because what gets measured gets done and awards are a measure. They create a standard and this new standard in turn perpetuates a pull which becomes a rising tide that floats all boats. TADA is fuelling this tide in a world where thinking and acting local is fast usurping the desire to be blandly, and often overpoweringly, global. Monday, February 29, 2016 at 9:18PM Hoping to quash fears and rumours that Android will be losing its app drawer, Google has denied there are plans to get rid of its app drawer in the near future. Android users were up in arms when a short clip on Google Maps Twitter account showed a Nexus 6P sans an app drawer. Its a blink or miss it sort of thing of the first two seconds of the clip. But hawk eye users were speculating this might be the start of Android dropping its app drawer to mimic the iOS approach of having all apps on the home screen. Google says the user interface shown in the video is a bad mockup of the app and it doesnt hint at anything coming up in terms of UI changes. Source: Droid Life He was assessed briefly by mental health workers while in custody, and his lawyer James Maher asked the court to consider making an order that he be sent to hospital for immediate assessments and treatment. 7.28am: No one was injured in a two-vehicle crash on the corner of Wentworth Avenue and Giles Street in Kingston but we're hearing reports one car is on its side. An emergency services spokesman said no one was trapped or taken to hospital after the crash. Shergold's willingness to embrace such a centrist, one-size-fits-all approach to risk management sits uneasily with his support for "adaptive government". His overall message is that public service culture needs a major overhaul, to encourage a greater willingness to innovate and experiment. He would like to see more pilot programs, so as to test new policies while allowing scope to adjust them or abandon them altogether. Such an approach, if used for the home insulation program, would have avoided much harm. He also wants public servants to shed the disdain for implementation that pervades the central policy departments. Canberra mandarins should become more outward-looking by working closely with other levels of government and other sectors. They should be happy to work through networks as well as hierarchies. These views reflect Shergold's own background in running line departments before moving to PM&C and his current close engagement with the community sector. I have argued in the past that the value of policy advice being made public is that it would improve the woeful standard of public policy debate in this country. This report has changed my mind. However, if advice is to be kept secret, there needs to be other ways to expose ideas and ensure quality. If incoming-government briefs some of the more important pieces of policy advice were no longer accessible through FOI, an alternative worth considering would be for each department to publish, post-election, a summary of the important questions it faces (social, economic, demographic, environmental) and summarise possible options for the future, without indicating what direction the department had suggested its new minister take. Such documents would complement the pre-election fiscal and economic outlook, enhance public understanding, and would require little extra effort given that the base work would already have been done for the incoming-government brief. Other mechanisms include traditional Westminster system "green" papers (policy discussion and information papers to help improve debate it would have been helpful to have had one in recent tax debates) or more innovative mechanisms such as the think pieces or "provocation" papers commissioned by the Victorian government. To counter this concern, the scheme in the act has a built-in "return-to-work guarantee" (section 84). It works like this. An employee on unpaid parental leave is entitled to return to their pre-leave position. However, if, by the time they are ready to return, that position no longer exists, the employee is entitled to return to an available position (a) for which they are qualified and suited, and (b) which is nearest in status and pay to their previous position. [Your Business Name] Contact Info Phone: Fax: Email: Web: CAPITOLHILLCUBANS.COM Business Overview Geographic Area Line of Business Brands We Carry Products and Services Discounts Offered Additional Information Business Hours Timezone We Accept Three college students who first met while attending a Catholic high school in Florida have launched a scholarship fund to help others experience faithful Catholic education at a Newman Guide college. As we went off to different colleges, we kept in touch and found time to catch up whenever we returned [] Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. Volvos main attractions at this years Geneva show are the new V90 estate, updated V40 hatch, and possibly, the C90 (we havent confirmed it yet), but the S90 sedan deserves a mention too since its making its Euro debut. Together with its XC90 SUV platform sibling, the S90 inaugurates a new technological and design era for the Swedish brand, with these elements to trickle down to the next generations of its smaller models. Volvo sees the S90 as a key model to making a name for itself in the premium sedan market, though it wont have an easy job going against long established and well-selling rivals in the segment like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5-Series. The S90s estate sibling, the V90, on the other hand, is expected to have an easier task, as Volvo has a strong following in the premium wagon segment. Last year in Europe, its predecessor, the V70 and its crossover-ish twin, the XC70, finished second behind Audis A6 Avant and in front of BMWs 5-Series Touring and Mercedes-Benzs E-Class Wagon, with estates accounting for half of all deliveries in the premium large segment, according to JATO Dynamics. Photos Carscoops.com/Brad Anderson Photo Gallery While the all-new 5-door Civic is making its global debut in Geneva in prototype form, Honda wants us to know that the production-ready model will be soon to follow. The new hatchback will be 30 mm wider, 20 mm lower and 130 mm longer than the current model, while also featuring wider wheels. According to Honda, this will give the car an assured stance and an overall dynamic appearance thanks mostly to a new and provocative design. At the front, the new Civic comes with large air intakes, while LED headlights and the DRLs are tucked nicely beneath the sculpted bonnet. The rear of the car features distinctive C-shaped LED lights and a bumper design that incorporates angular creases and vents meant to showcase an overall more aggressively-styled compact car than we were normally used to seeing from Honda. We knew that we needed to create a striking and stand-out exterior design that challenged conventional European compact styling while staying true to the original Civics core values, said project leader Daisuke Tsutamori. The result is a marriage of distinctive and sporty design, rewarding driving dynamics and versatile practicality. The all-new Civic hatchback will come with a range of three powertrain options: 1.0-liter & 1.5-liter VTEC turbocharged petrol engines, and a revised 1.6-liter i-DTEC diesel unit. The petrol engines are based on a completely new structure and sport developed turbo systems and variable valve motion technology, thus reducing friction and achieving better output and environmental performance. In fact, Honda is using the terms class-leading when referring to them, but well have to wait until they show us some numbers that back up those claims. Though a global product, Hondas 10th generation Civic hatchback will be built exclusively in Europe. PHOTO GALLERY While the name Porsche 718 Boxster will take some getting used to, the car fits right in at the Geneva Motor Show stand its unmistakably a Porsche. The 718 Boxster made its official debut Tuesday at the show, sporting a newly toned and sculpted exterior from the outgoing just plain Boxster. Take a few minutes to spot the differences, though. Changes are evolutionary, and even that might be stretching the description. Not that its a bad thing Porsche freshened the lights, door handles and wheels. Attempts to make the front more aggressive are mostly successful, too. Current Boxster fans are unlikely to complain much over the newness here. Of course the real story about the 718 cant be completely understood under the show lights. Wedged in the middle of the car is the new turbocharged 2.5-liter flat four that powers the Boxster replacement, with 300 horsepower in the standard car and 350 in the S model. Team that with what Porsche says is steering thats 10 percent more direct and a newly available Porsche Active Suspension Management sport chassis for a 20 millimeter lower ride height and the mission is clear. The 718 is the old Boxster thats been to spin class on a regular basis. Photos: Carscoops.com/Brad Anderson Photos Posted by the U.S. State Department to Moscow during the Mikhail Gorbachev era, Mary Ann Peters had an up-close view of the Soviet system. "The isolation and repression of the people were palpable," said Peters, a former U.S. ambassador and now chief executive officer of The Carter Center. "We in the embassy knew that talking to people on the streets would get them in real trouble, so we refrained for their sakes." A few years later, she was assigned to another Eastern Bloc country: Bulgaria. It turned out to be one of her favorite posts in her 31-year diplomatic career. The Berlin Wall had just come down and the communist regime was no longer in power. Peters found that although the people suffered an enormous decline in their economic standard of living, they were relieved and hopeful. "Having worked on Cold War problems on and off for much of my career, it was a real privilege to help Bulgaria rejoin the community of European nations," Peters said. During Tunisia's presidential election in November 2014, Ambassador (ret.) Mary Ann Peters, Carter Center CEO, prepares to brief Tunisian and international media about the Center's role in monitoring polling. Ambassador Peters co-led the Carter Center delegation of some 85 observers. (Photo: The Carter Center/ G. Dubourthoumieu) Now The Carter Center is benefiting from her skills as a leader and global citizen. Peters' taste for international work and the nomadic lifestyle it requires began long before she took the entrance exam to the U.S. Foreign Service. Her father was a corporate executive who was reassigned every three to five years. She and her six siblings got used to moving around. She recalls significant stints in the town of Setauket on the north shore of Long Island and in Grand Rapids, Michigan, but also lived in California and Pennsylvania, among other places. In college, she spent a year abroad in Paris, and in graduate school, she studied for a year in Bologna, Italy. Thanks to these experiences and her frequent childhood moves, she had no fear of relocating, a boon for any future diplomat. Those years abroad provided the foundation for learning six languages during her diplomatic career. On Sept. 11, 2001, Peters was serving as U.S. ambassador in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and had to navigate uncertain waters in a densely populated Muslim country during the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. She recalls an outpouring of sympathy from the Bangladeshi people. She still keeps a piece of art by a child in Dhaka that depicts the attacks. "It's a reminder that the initial international response to 9/11 was one of immense support," she said. Before joining The Carter Center in September 2014, Peters was provost at the Naval War College, essentially the chief operating officer of an accredited professional graduate school that grants a master's degree in national security and strategic studies. "I used to tell incoming students: You are all great at driving a ship or flying a plane, but now you need to think about why you do it," she said. International matters are par for the course at The Carter Center, which has worked in more than 80 countries over the years. Peters believes that the Carter Center's mission statement provides a clear template for the organization's activities. "Thanks to President and Mrs. Carter, the Center has a uniquely defined role that makes it easy to understand why we do what we do where we do it," she said. She believes wholeheartedly in the work of the Center and wants the organization to continuously search for opportunities to make an impact. "We should not be shy about the fact that we are very good at what we do," she said. As Peters embarks on her second year at The Carter Center, she is focused on showing the value of the organization's work. "We need to continuously assess to ensure we're having the impact that we seek," she said. The Center's programs are based on respect for the people we seek to assist, said Peters. "We don't work for them, we work with them, an attitude that comes directly from President and Mrs. Carter." There were some significant animation-related Academy Award winners last night, but one of the biggest winners never even made an appearance during the ceremony. Google Androids charming one-minute TV commercial, Rock, Paper, Scissors, which premiered in between the Oscar ceremony, proved to be an instant hit with viewers, with many calling it the best commercial of the evening. Taking the form of an anti-bullying PSA, the spot applies the rules of the rock-paper-scissors game to illustrate the friendship between the three unlikely objects, and ends with Android operating systems slogan: Be together. Not the same. The mixed media piece, set to St. Elmos Fire (Man in Motion), was directed by Conor Finnegan through London-based Nexus Productions. Were told it uses a combination of puppetry 2D and CG, shot on live-action sets and locations. Cartoon Brew: The first, and probably most obvious, question is why did you start GLAS? Jeanette Bonds: After graduating CalArts in the Experimental Animation program I began searching for independent filmmaking grants in the US and discovered my options were rather limited. The vast majority of filmmaking grants that are focused specifically on animation exist internationally. This led me to think, Why doesnt the US have organizations such as this? Although the US has a strong animation industry, there isnt a supportive structure for independent animated filmmaking in place. I wanted to create an organization that functions as a resource for independent animators that would cultivate and promote independent animation in the US; and a large part of this included establishing an animation festival emphasizing independent animation. The last major international animation festival that took place in the U.S., to my recollection, is Platform in 2007. From your perspective, why are these kind of festivals so difficult to launch in the States whereas dozens of them take place every year throughout Europe, Latin America, and Asia? Jeanette Bonds: Trying to do a festival at this scale requires financial support, which is more difficult to get in the United States. The international festivals such as Annecy, Hiroshima, Zagreb, etc., have long track records, government support, and have demonstrated their cultural value and staying power but also importantly, there is more of a mainstream appreciation for independent or serious animation in places like Europe or Japan. Along with the burgeoning independent scene in the US, there is demand for this culture to be fully represented at a festival within the US where filmmakers can gather together to showcase their work, see new films, meet one another, and meet international filmmakers. GLAS can facilitate this by supporting independent animators and building a strong movement of independent animation filmmaking in the US. Why did you choose Berkeley for the site of the first GLAS, as opposed to Los Angeles, where theres more animation artists? Jeanette Bonds: Berkeley is a city with a progressive past, and as such its a good location for a progressive festival. It has a thriving arts culture, several schools, and is close to studios and tech companies. It also hit all the practical logistical requirements we had in mind when looking for a city: multiple theaters, galleries, several hotels, and restaurants are all within walking distance which is ideal for guests traveling internationally; by its very nature the city is structured to allow the festival to expand into something larger in the years to come. We also wanted a city that animators from Los Angeles could escape to, so guests visit the city for the festival experience as opposed to trying to avoid traffic while returning back to their apartments. Talk about the biggest stresses of launching a major festival like GLAS? Jeanette Bonds: The biggest stress has been securing the financial support to make this festival as big as I envisioned. Ive learned much this year about how competitive grants are for non-profits, particularly non-profits in their first years. But we managed to gather the support of some incredible companies, organizations, and individuals who are excited to collaborate and support us to make GLAS possible and elevate GLAS to a higher level for our inaugural year. Talk a little bit about how you put together this years program, and how you selected the guests/talks. Jeanette Bonds: Themes developed and evolved naturally throughout the curating process. Our programming philosophy is to emphasize contemporary filmmaking, independent visions, and emerging talent, and as such we wanted our guests to represent this. We also want to trace a history of influence, paying tribute to artists who have inspired independent filmmakers, and more specifically artists and curators who have a strong independent vision. We looked for a good balance of filmmakers and curators who have helped to expand the scope of animation both nationally and internationally. Jeremy Clapin, Sara Gunnarsdottir, Kirsten Lepore, and Hisko Hulsing have signature visual and filmmaking styles; Nobuaki Doi and Gerben Schermer represent different parts of the world with recognizable curatorial methodologies; Henry Selick and Phil Tippett have permanently impacted independent and commercial filmmaking; Peter Millard and Caleb Wood represent a new wave of experimental animators; and festival honoree Paul Vester embodies a lifetime of dedication to an independent vision we value at GLAS. For competition selections I watched each submission and reduced the number to about 20%, which were then sent to our selection committees consisting of Einar Baldvin, Sean Buckelew, Pia Borg, Christine Panushka, Jisoo Kim, Rob Munday, and myself. For the final arrangement, much like Ottawa, we show all competition categories together which places both professional films and student films in the same context. What do you want attendees both filmmakers and filmgoers to get out of GLAS? Jeanette Bonds: Our primary goal is to broaden and redefine the perception of animation in the US, moving it away from its current association as a commercial genre to being considered as a serious art form with no boundaries, and worthy of serious attention. We want to bring this wide breadth of talent and have people in the States able to see it all in a cinematic context. We believe in the power of a festival as a great context to view films and an instigator for building communities and relationships. Even if youre a seasoned festival attendee, youll find something new to discover at GLAS, and if youre completely new to the world of independent animation, this first year would be a great primer on the exciting things are happening. Photo: Contributed - jenifoto Prague astronomical clock Overview Idealism rides high, and will affect decisions. Make sure to take off the rose coloured glasses before taking sides. There has to be a solid base in reality, no matter what is wished for. Rely on faith and what you know to be true, it is helpful. With this month having 29 days, we have a leap year, so women, its your turn to propose. In any case look at where relationships can be advanced or clarified. Discuss feelings and expectations to see if there is a future path together or its time to move on. Some are ready for change or excitement: Guard reputations. Words spoken will be hard to take back. Avoid physical confrontation. Take a trip to let things cool or shift into a better direction. Step out. aries Take some of your plans underground for now. There needs to be a change in the presentation. taurus You will have more advantage by listening instead of talking. Others have a different agenda. gemini Use all your charm to deal with those who oppose you. Pull a rabbit out of the hat now. cancer Mysteries deepen over distance, as you seek further information. Results will affect the future. leo Juggle the figures to find areas of gain. Rely on your gut feelings and not on what is being said. virgo You can stand your ground in subtle ways, so those who oppose you cant counter your place. libra Say very little until you get past areas of gridlock. Once there you will be onto the right road. scorpio Your secretive nature works well for you this week. Others dont see you coming at them. sagittarius Your input helps when decisions need to be made about home or locations. Be covert. capricorn Your intuition is strong and you feel like giving others advice. Watch how personal it gets. aquarius Others react to your look or powerful image. They are not prepared for how they feel. pisces The sun and neptune combine their energies, influencing others to fall under your spell. This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet. Photo: Jennifer Zielinski - Castanet File Photo Have you ever wondered about the secret lives of bacteria, how much DNA can fit into a cell, how gears work or what causes a tornado? You may find the answer to these and many other questions at the District Science Fair tomorrow and Wednesday at UBC Okanagan. The science fair gives inquisitive science students an opportunity to impress the judges and possibly win a spot in the regional fair at KLO Middle School. From there, the top six students in British Columbia will travel to the national fair in Montreal, Quebec to compete for $400,000 in prizes and scholarships. More than 200 students will display over 150 projects. Science Fair is such an amazing opportunity for students to use the process of inquiry to investigate the world around them, and to demonstrate to the community, their skills as 21st century learners, says teacher and organizer Tobias Blaskovits. Students of all grades can choose a topic that they are interested in, and test the boundaries of their knowledge. Students who have participated in the past, have not only been given the opportunity to travel, meet other young scientists and earn monetary benefits from scholarships and awards, but they have also found a passion for science and an understanding of what it means to be learners, thinkers, innovators, contributors and collaborators. Participants will be treated to a wonderful university experience with science demonstrations, presentations, and hands-on activities to be provided by university students and faculty at UBCO on the second day of the fair. UBC Okanagan is delighted to welcome the Central Okanagan School District and the District Science Fair back to campus, says Dr. Deborah Buszard, UBC Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Okanagan campus. It is critically important for young students today to have a strong grasp of the fundamentals of science. I hope the District Science Fair will offer girls and boys a window into the endless possibilities of science and inspire them to pursue higher education at an outstanding research university like UBC. Congratulations to all the participants! The public are welcome to explore the fair on Tuesday at the UBC Okanagan in the Engineering, Management and Education Building between 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon in the EME Building and the Fipke Building. I very strongly do not support forced evacuation. This will effectively criminalize failure to follow an evacuation order. It effectively turns a refusal to evacuate into a criminal offence because those who do not wish to follow the order will resist arrest. Refusal to follow an evacuation order already has considerable consequences. In order to provide for the safety of emergency responders it is more than sufficient to simply emphasize that emergency responders will not re-enter an evacuated area to retrieve anyone who has earlier refused to leave. Absolutely zero amount of force should ever be rendered in issuing any evacuation order. To do so is a ludicrous, miss-application of resources, and unnecessarily increases stress levels for all involved. The real job of those serving evacuation orders is to provide information about the emergency and to assist those who need help in following the order. It is an insult and a waste of critical resources to try to force anyone into complying with an evacuation order. Furthermore extending the act to force costs of apprehension on those who have refused evacuation is nothing more than adding significant insult on top of already egregious injury. In fact if anyone is forced to evacuate from their property against their will, then the province must assume full responsibility for replacement cost of any damage to property, and for the loss of income, and for the costs of apprehension, while the person is being held against their will. In short, I do not support any legislation which might have even the slightest effect of further transforming British Columbia (or any part of Canada) into a police state, even if the province were to accept responsibility for all costs and loss of income. Greg A. Woods Photo: The Canadian Press The Leap Manifesto, which is being embraced by more than a dozen NDP riding associations ahead of the party's April convention, should serve as a reference point for future policy discussions, says former MP Craig Scott. The manifesto is a good idea, but it would be unwise for the NDP to adopt it as policy without further debate, Scott said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "The bottom line is, the Leap Manifesto is hugely welcome, but plopping it into our policy book in one big vote with no serious advance discussion and debate within the party ... I don't think is a recipe for renewal," he said. "The democratic reform critic in me, as I was for three years, tells me that the process matters and that having much more ownership amongst the membership of a major ... policy renewal is as important as what the policy itself is." The Leap Manifesto which has a wide range of supporters, including actors, labour unions and environmentalists offers a number of recommendations, including a proposal to wean the country off fossil fuels to address climate change. As the NDP approaches its April convention in Edmonton the party's federal council plans to prioritize hundreds of resolutions submitted by party riding associations and commissions. Scott said he plans to promote a resolution that was adopted by his Toronto-Danforth riding association as the best path forward. "Ours says 'let's take the Leap Manifesto as a really productive starting point and work it through in serious policy discussions with the grassroots for the next two years so it comes back for the 2018 convention more fully worked through with more party ownership, as in more ownership from the members'," Scott said. The NDP riding association in Vancouver East has proposed a similar vision backed by former MP Libby Davies. At the time of the manifesto's release last September, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair did not endorse it, but he said he welcomed new ideas and understood it reflected a desire for change. "Canadians want change in Ottawa and I love the debates of ideas," Mulcair said at the time. "We're going to bring in overarching sustainable development legislation. We'll see clear targets. We'll start working with the world and stop working against the planet." Filmmaker Avi Lewis, one of the central figures behind the document, said Monday he is delighted to see interest in the proposal. "It always struck me just as someone who was born into the NDP culture that the values in the Leap Manifesto were certainly consistent and coherent from a social democratic point of view," he said. Lewis said he is not surprised to hear more debate will be needed, he added. "I am really pleased," he said. "I don't think anybody, any political party, should be expected to take a manifesto that was written by a group outside of its borders, and adopt it wholesale as party policy. "I don't think political parties work that way, but I do think it is smart for a political party that sees energy and momentum and genuine fresh ideas emerging ... to take them up and really grapple with them." Several Leap Day activities were held Monday in parts of the country in support of the manifesto. We want to send out a huge thank you to all of the very generous companies, stores and dentists that have made our Live Love Laugh campaign for the Kelowna Womens Shelter such a success. Alongside my husband Lorne Brooks and my wonderful nurses (due to ALS I need 24 hour nursing care), 2015 marks the ninth anniversary that we have collected toiletries to fill gift bags for women and children at the Shelter. Once we reached out to the community and various companies, our project grew exponentially, making over 530 gift packages in the last two years alone. The companies that have supported our project, donating thousands of their products since 2009, are Beiersdorf Canada (Nivea), Edgewell (Schick, Playtex) and Sunstar Americas (GUM). We have received donations and wholesale pricing from Unipharm Wholesalers in Vancouver. Also, a big shout out to two local companies, Barefoot Venus that has donated hundreds of products for the last 2 years and the staff of Capri Insurance that donated their dress down fund in the past. Over the years, many local stores (from multiple locations) have generously donated to our project; being Save-on-Foods, Walmart, Safeway, Pharmasave, Rexall, Dycks Pharmacy, London Drugs, Superstore, Costco, Lakeside Medicine Centre, Coopers Foods, Peters Independent Grocer and the Hudsons Bay. The number of contributing dentists has grown and we thank Doctors Leitch, Wiens, Eagleton, Gagner, Grover, Coccaro and Ashley, plus Sunnyside Dental (Doctors Koning and Schader). We can not emphasize how important the donations from the companies, stores and dentists are to these women and the children they are caring for. We want to thank everyone who sponsored a bag making this project possible. To learn more about the Kelowna Womens Shelter and how you can support them, please check out their Facebook page or go to their website http://kelownawomensshelter.com. Anne Spelliscy Photo: The Canadian Press - Jeff McIntosh The Alberta government has approved insurance for ride-sharing companies like Uber, but it's not available yet.Transportation Minister Brian Mason says the insurance likely won't be ready until June or July. Uber officials say they are suspending operations in Edmonton for now after the Alberta government announced it will make insurance available to drivers, but likely not until the summer. Ramit Kar, the general manager for the ride-booking company in Alberta, issued a news release Monday night announcing operations would cease as of Tuesday morning. Kar described the suspension as temporary but did not say how long it would last. On Monday, Transportation Minister Brian Mason said the insurance for Uber was approved but wouldn't be ready until June or by July 1 at the latest. He said the province needed to take the time to "do due diligence and ensure that there's no loopholes." He said it was important that if a passenger were injured in an accident involving an Uber vehicle, the insurance company could not deny coverage. Kar said the company would "respect" the province's decision but added it "has cost thousands of Edmonton families a source of income by forcing Uber to suspend operations in the city." He added the suspension is "unfortunately depriving tens of thousands of local riders a safe, affordable and reliable transportation alternative." California-based Uber is an app-based business that allows people to request rides over their phones and sets them up with drivers in their personal vehicles. Getting an Uber ride is typically cheaper than taking a taxi. Cities across the country have been debating how to handle Uber. In January, Edmonton became the first jurisdiction to legalize the new industry, and a bylaw is to come into effect Tuesday, with conditions including provincially approved insurance, vehicle inspections and fees. Calgary city council also recently passed a bylaw which could start in April. Kar released a statement Monday saying Edmonton's mayor and city council could delay the bylaw until the insurance is available but Mayor Don Iveson said there would be no delay in the bylaw and Uber would have to shut down. "If they operate without insurance, they're going to be in a lot of trouble," Iveson said. Mason said it shouldn't come as a surprise that the insurance is coming later. "We've always been working along the basis that the insurance product wouldn't be ready until June or July. I believe Uber and the city have been aware of that." In addition, the province is requiring ride-hailing drivers to get criminal record checks and have at least a Class 4 driver's licence, which is a commercial licence. Uber had fought the licence requirement, which is part of Calgary's bylaw, and argued its drivers should just have a regular Class 5 licence. A Class 4 licence requires more training and knowledge in areas such as defensive driving, driver fatigue and dealing with disabled passengers, Mason said. "Whether it's full or part time, commercial drivers have a responsibility for their passengers which requires the appropriate level of skill and road knowledge," he added. "My top priority is to ensure that passengers as well as drivers are safe." Edmonton company TappCar, set to launch in the city in March, is hiring a mix of former Uber and taxi drivers and other professional drivers laid off from the oilpatch. Spokesman Pascal Ryffel said the government regulations won't delay the company. Its drivers will all have at least Class 4 licences and full commercial insurance similar to that for taxi drivers, he said. "We always went under the assumption that these are the rules." Photo: Google Maps A man was robbed early this morning in Kamloops by a trio of bandits with a machete. The victim was walking on Tranquille Road about 1:30 a.m. when he was approached by three men in the area between Yew and Aspen streets. One of the robbers brandished a machete. The suspects got away with the victims wallet and cellphone. This knife-wielding suspect is described as approximately five feet 11 inches tall, between 18 and 25 years of age, with darker skin and wearing a grey hoodie and flat-brimmed ball cap. Another of the males was thinner and wearing a black hoodie. No description of the third suspect was given. RCMP responded to the area with a police dog, which tracked the suspects for more than half an hour, but eventually lost the robbers' trail near Kitchener Crescent. The victim was not injured during in the incident, said Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Jodi Shelkie. Anyone with information on the identity of the suspects is asked to contact Kamloops RCMP or CrimeStoppers. This letter is directed to the idiot driver who was putting on her makeup on February 29th, all the way from Highway 33 right up until she got to downtown Kelowna. Not only did I witness you putting on your red nail polish, you were also putting on your eyeliner and entire face by the looks of it. You were constantly lane changing and cutting people off. You were driving a green Jeep. I have your license plate number and have reported you to ICBC for dangerous and distracted driving. It never ceases to amaze me, the amount of dolts that I see driving in Kelowna, but you lady take the cake. Instead of trying to look pretty, and from what I saw no amount of makeup could help you there, why don't you try to being smart for once? Heidi Glottenburg Photo: Twitter Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there's no regional divide when it comes to what Canadians want for the economy and the environment. Speaking before climate change talks with the premiers later this week, Trudeau said everyone wants growth and jobs, while protecting the environment at the same time. "That's something that Albertans and Quebecers and everyone across the country is united in wanting," he said Tuesday following the launch of a cross-sectoral group looking to identify policies that spur innovation, generate jobs and boost the economy while improving the environment. Trudeau said the point of the discussions in Vancouver is how best to achieve that when leaders are coming to the table with differing views, solutions and priorities. "When we look at that diversity and range of voices, yes, it's a little more challenging to come to figure out that right place in the middle," he said. But he added that multiple perspectives ultimately "lead us to better solutions." Trudeau has said he favours carbon pricing as one way to help protect the environment, but Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall has come out strongly against a national carbon tax. Wall has said such a policy would "kneecap" an already struggling Canadian economy. The talks this week are also happening under the increasing spectre of national discord over the Energy East pipeline. On Tuesday, the Quebec government said it will seek an injunction to ensure the proposed project is subject to the province's environmental regulations. The announcement came a few weeks after a coalition of Quebec environmental groups said it would take legal action against Energy East for the same reasons. Alberta has been pushing for the pipeline as a means for the province to get its oil to Eastern Canadian refineries and from there to international markets. Photo: Google Street View The BC Coroners Service has scheduled a date for a public inquest into the death of a teenager who jumped from the top of a parkade near Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops almost two years ago. Jacob George Setah, 18, had been committed involuntarily to the hospital under the Mental Health Act on June 9, 2014. On the evening of June 15, 2014, (Setah) fled from a secure ward and made his way to the top of a nearby parking structure, according to a release from the coroners' service. Kamloops RCMP members were sent to his location and were present when he sustained fatal injuries. Officers had been called in after a report of a man in emotional distress. They reportedly negotiated with Setah for approximately 40 minutes before an officer unsuccessfully attempted to Taser him and Setah ended up jumping from the third level of the parkade. Last year, the Independent Investigations Office determined no police officers involved in the matter had committed any offence. The inquest begins on April 11th at the Kamloops courthouse. Presiding coroner Margaret Janzen and a jury will hear evidence from witnesses under oath to determine what led to the tragic outcome. The jury will have the opportunity to make recommendations. Setah came from Hanceville, west of Williams Lake. If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,... To: < undisclosed-recipients:; > Date: Tuesday, March 1, 2016, 14:18 -0500 Subject: YOUR EMAIL HAS OWN YOU $4.6 TICKET FREE/ONLINE E-MAIL ADDRESS WINNINGS DEPARTMENT. 526 Kingsbury Road Kingsbury London NW9 9HE AWARD NOTIFICATION/ FINAL NOTICE Are you the correct owner of this email address? If you are then be glad this day as the result of UK lotto online e-mail winning draws and sweepstakes of FEBRUARY 2016 held in the Silom Sub-District of Bangkok-Thailand has just been released. All participants were selected randomly from worldwide websites and email account providers through computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000 companies. Your email address was entered for the online draw on this Ticket Number: GJK50507213617 and won on this Lucky Number: YTX881360293. You are to contact (ZIP POST EXPRESS COURIER SERVICES) on the below email address for quick delivery of your won cheque of US$4.6M. All winners' cheque are certified cashiers and can be cashed in any country of any part of the world. To enable the Courier Company ascertain you as the rightful receiver of the cheque, include a copy of this Winnings Notification letter and the 10 below listed claims verification particulars in your contact message to them: 1: Your Full Names: 2: Country: 3: Address: 4: Telephone: 5: Mobile Number: 6: Age and Gender: 7: Occupation/Job title: 8: Address where you wish to receive your cheque: 9: Ticket and Lucky number: GJK50507213617 and YTX881360293. 10: Month and Venue of draws: February 2016 and Bangkok-Thailand. Mr. Timone Song (Director of Operations and Logistics) Zip Post Express (Thailand) Co. Ltd 500 /110-112 Nanglinchee Road Bangkok 10120, Thailand. Telefax:+66-9793-415. Email: Congratulations from the staff and thank you for being part of email account users program. Yours Sincerely, Mr. John Henry TEL:+4470-4570-5858 Dr. P. Swier, Mr. Gerald Goodman (Manager Foreign Operations), Mr. Franklyn Van Der Weijden (Manager Domestic Banking Operations), Dr. James Williams (Director International Credit Department), Mrs. Sandra Murphy (Executive), Mr. Michael Cole (Executive), Sir. David Hanks (Chairman). Copyright A 2016 United Kingdom Lottery Organization. UK LOTTERY ORGANIZATIONTICKET FREE/ONLINE E-MAIL ADDRESS WINNINGS DEPARTMENT.526 Kingsbury Road Kingsbury London NW9 9HEAWARD NOTIFICATION/ FINAL NOTICEAre you the correct owner of this email address? If you are then be glad this day as the result of UK lotto online e-mail winning draws and sweepstakes of FEBRUARY 2016 held in the Silom Sub-District of Bangkok-Thailand has just been released.All participants were selected randomly from worldwide websites and email account providers through computer draw system and extracted from over 100,000 companies.Your email address was entered for the online draw on this Ticket Number: GJK50507213617 and won on this Lucky Number: YTX881360293. You are to contact (ZIP POST EXPRESS COURIER SERVICES) on the below email address for quick delivery of your won cheque of US$4.6M. All winners' cheque are certified cashiers and can be cashed in any country of any part of the world.To enable the Courier Company ascertain you as the rightful receiver of the cheque, include a copy of this Winnings Notification letter and the 10 below listed claims verification particulars in your contact message to them:1: Your Full Names:2: Country:3: Address:4: Telephone:5: Mobile Number:6: Age and Gender:7: Occupation/Job title:8: Address where you wish to receive your cheque:9: Ticket and Lucky number: GJK50507213617 and YTX881360293.10: Month and Venue of draws: February 2016 and Bangkok-Thailand.Mr. Timone Song (Director of Operations and Logistics)Zip Post Express (Thailand) Co. Ltd500 /110-112 Nanglinchee Road Bangkok 10120, Thailand.Telefax:+66-9793-415.Email: zippostdeliverythailand@outlook.com Congratulations from the staff and thank you for being part of email account users program.Yours Sincerely,Mr. John HenryTEL:+4470-4570-5858Dr. P. Swier, Mr. Gerald Goodman (Manager Foreign Operations), Mr. Franklyn Van Der Weijden (Manager Domestic Banking Operations), Dr. James Williams (Director International Credit Department), Mrs. Sandra Murphy (Executive), Mr. Michael Cole (Executive), Sir. David Hanks (Chairman).Copyright A 2016 United Kingdom Lottery Organization. From: United Kingdom Lottery Organization. < brenna.s@hedkandisalon.com >To: < undisclosed-recipients:; >Date: Tuesday, March 1, 2016, 14:18 -0500Subject: YOUR EMAIL HAS OWN YOU $4.6 If you received a similar email, you should go to the homepage to read more about 419 fraud. Effective May 1, 2016, Dr. Stefanie Wettberg (43), Vice President Corporate Communications, will become the new Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and will report to the Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors. The current head of the unit, Magdalena Moll (54), is leaving BASF at her own request after 13 years and will be responsible for investor relations activities at OMV Aktiengesellschaft in Vienna as of June 1. Joseph Jones (51) will, as Vice President, assume responsibility for the Corporate Communications unit effective April 1. Jones, who is currently head of global communications for the Catalysts division headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey, will thus be responsible for media relations, publications and online activities. He will report to Elisabeth Schick (49), Senior Vice President Communications & Government Relations BASF Group. The Abbott Laboratories campus in Abbott Park is seen in July 2015. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., says 180 Abbott employees have been given 60 days notice and told their last day will be April 22. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) Corporate layoffs are so routine that they usually don't attract much attention among lawmakers in Washington, D.C. But Abbott Laboratories' recent move to outsource some information technology jobs has come under scrutiny from Sen. Dick Durbin. The Illinois Democrat is upset about reports that the health care company, based in north suburban Abbott Park, is replacing American workers with foreign workers. In a letter to CEO Miles White released Monday, the senator urged Abbott to cancel the layoffs. Advertisement "It should go without saying that such harsh and insensitive conduct is not justified by whatever marginal financial benefit might accrue to your company, which is already making billions of dollars in profits every year," Durbin wrote. Abbott spokesman Scott Stoffel declined to comment on Durbin's criticism. Advertisement The company hasn't publicly disclosed any layoffs in recent weeks. Durbin heard about the planned dismissals during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week on the impact of temporary visa programs, including H-1B's, used to bring immigrants, mainly from India, for technology work. The senator's staff then spoke with some Abbott workers who confirmed the layoffs, according to Durbin's letter. Durbin's letter said 180 Abbott employees were given 60 days' notice and told their last day will be April 22. People who lost their jobs also were told they would have to train their replacements, adding insult to injury, the letter said. Abbott awarded an outsourcing contract to Wipro, a large India-based IT services firm, according to Durbin. After they are trained, the foreign workers will do these jobs outside the United States, his letter said. Stoffel would only confirm that the company "recently outsourced some IT capabilities." He declined to confirm any details of the layoffs that Durbin disclosed. "We're retaining the vast majority of our U.S.-based IT jobs," Stoffel said in a statement. Durbin has been a big critic of the H-1B visas, which were intended to fill labor gaps in highly specialized areas that couldn't be filled by Americans. Instead, Durbin argues, the guest worker program has been exploited by U.S. companies to save labor costs. Media have recently reported on a number of companies, including Disney, Hertz and Toys R Us, that have fired American workers and replaced them with immigrants from an outsourcing company. The news reports have spurred calls to reform the visa program to protect American workers. Advertisement Durbin said in his letter to Abbott's CEO that "gaps in current law are no excuse for your company to treat your employees so unfairly." asachdev@tribpub.com Twitter @ameetsachdev Monster Beverage sued Li Chih, owner and overseer of a niche online forum called MonsterFishKeepers, for trademark infringement. Chih enlisted the help of law students at Suffolk University and won. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) In 2012, Li Chih, owner and overseer of a niche online forum called MonsterFishKeepers, filed for a trademark so he could sell logo T-shirts to other aquarium-owning hobbyists who enjoy chatting about very large fish. It was a typical move by any small-business owner until, a few months later, Monster Beverage, the $28 billion energy-drink conglomerate partially owned by Coca-Cola, warned that he was infringing on its trademark and threatened a legal fight that could end up costing him more than $100,000 to defend. Advertisement That, too, was fairly typical: Big companies file trademark actions all the time, and most small businesses quickly turn and run for fear of going bankrupt in court. Monster was infamously aggressive, filing more cases than any company in America last year with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the nation's top trademark court. But this time, something different happened: Chih sought help from a group of college students at a pro bono legal clinic run by the Suffolk University Law School in downtown Boston. And earlier this month, after years of legal wrangling, the truly unusual happened: Chih and the students won. Advertisement "It's pretty fun when you're the pain in the ass," said Meaghen Kenney, a 25-year-old law student who worked on the case as part of Suffolk's Intellectual Property & Entrepreneurship Clinic, and who graduates in May. But wasn't it ever, you know, intimidating, staring down one of the most litigious trademark warriors in the business? "That was the most exciting part," Kenney said. "They've got all this money to burn, and I'm doing it for free." The case has shone a light on the kooky corporate world of trademark wars, where big and small businesses often collide over the rights to some of corporate America's most valuable assets: Company logos, slogans and brands. Businesses that don't police and defend their trademarks risk losing control of their influence or ceding their power to rival brands. But that fighting philosophy has led some firms into seemingly irrational turf wars: Sportswear giant Under Armour, for instance, has fought a Christian clothing company over the word "armor." Monster, known for hyper-caffeinated beverages including NOS and Full Throttle and its extreme-sports sponsorships, argued MonsterFishKeepers' name and 'M' logo stepped too closely to its protected use of the word "monster," a term Chaucer used more than 600 years before the invention of the energy drink. Monster did not return requests for comment, but its scorched-earth trademark strategy fills court records: In 2015 alone, Monster fought an Ohio craft brewhouse, saying its "Beast from the East" beer hewed too close to its "Unleash the Beast" slogan; took a Mexican restaurant in San Antonio named Chacho's to court over its "Monster Kong Nachos"; and launched a battle against the Dassault Wine Estates on the argument that buyers might confuse the French vineyard's wines with the drink-making colossus' soda-energy Monster Assault. Chih, 39, has loved predatory jumbo fish since he was a teenager, when he remembers hefting a 25-gallon fish tank for a mile between his home and D.C.'s Chinatown. At his suburban Washington home, he now owns 14 aquariums, including a 600-gallon mega-tank, where he watches over a 3-foot catfish and a "very exotic" Asian sea bass called a barramundi. Chih started the forum in 2005 to make friends in the predatory-fish-keeping community, and in the years since the site has grown into what he calls "one of the biggest fish forums in the world": Some of its 100,000 forum members have attended gatherings in California, Australia and Singapore. Advertisement Chih runs a wholesale distribution company in D.C., for his day job, and at night he tends to MonsterFishKeepers, where site and server cost about $3,000 a month. To help cover those expenses, plus sponsorships with groups such as the Capital Cichlid Association ("A Growing Force in the Cichlid Hobby"), Chih sought the trademark and paid for thousands of shirts and decals he could sell at conventions and fish meet-ups. But Chih was bowled over in 2012, when Monster sent him its first fiercely worded cease-and-desist, and again when he met with an attorney who said he'd need to spend about $150,000 to protect the name with no guarantee he was going to win. "It was like a dent on me, a dent on my motivation," he said. "It was kind of like, why do they want to go after us? We're just a bunch of fish-keepers." In the summer of 2012, a member of MonsterFishKeepers who knew of Monster's legal blitzkrieg told Chih to reach out to Suffolk's fledgling intellectual-property law clinic, which worked like a small law firm, taking cases that its student attorneys could then research and debate. One experienced attorney would lead, supervise and vouch for the cases, assisted by eight third-year Suffolk law students working 15 hours a week. The case seemed to have strong legal merit, said Anne Hulecki, the clinic's current practitioner-in-residence, whose predecessor, attorney Eve Brown, led Chih's case: The energy-drink company and fish-hobbyist blog operated in completely different markets. "It seemed like another case of an underdog being taken advantage of," Hulecki said. "We see large companies with lots of resources being so vigilant that sometimes it doesn't make sense, and this was a case of that." Advertisement But to prove it, the students had to rebut the well-worn arguments of Monster's legal force. Over the last four years, the students would head into the clinic's small cubicle-laden office at night, after their classwork and paying jobs were done, to craft arguments, write briefs and research case law. "It was exciting, and the more we researched, the more we saw the opportunity to fight back where a lot of businesses can't," said Alex Chiulli, a 33-year-old recent graduate who now works as an associate at New England law firm Barton Gilman. But it also began to consume their brains: "You go into a CVS and you see a Monster energy drink and your mind starts to go back to the case." The energy-drink company had argued Chih's name would lead to consumer confusion; for evidence, lawyers submitted print-outs from Facebook and an online forum of two commenters discussing whether the logo "stole" Monster's design. But the clinic "mini-lawyers" argued that "monster fish" was a widely used term in the fish-keeping community to describe jumbo sea creatures -- a fact that viewers of TV's "River Monsters" and "Monster Fish" likely know already. On Feb. 1, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board finally unveiled its decision: The board would not register Chih's logo its 'M' with devil horns looked similar to Monster's 'M' with claw marks but handed him a decisive victory, in preventing Monster from opposing the MonsterFishKeepers name itself. The mark "engenders such a different commercial impression from opposer's mark that confusion is not likely," the board wrote. "In contrast and as the evidence bears out, because MONSTER precedes FISH and KEEPERS in Applicant's mark, the entire mark will be understood as referencing an extremely large fish that is being kept." Advertisement When the students learned of the win, Hulecki said, "everyone was ecstatic"; for some students, it was their first big case and first real victory. Chih was happy, too, believing the win would encourage other small businesses facing down "trademark bullies and trolls." In a triumphant post, Chih told forum members, "I have beaten the monster!" The clinic has moved onto other cases, including representing photographers in cases where their photos may have been stolen by large companies, and many of the students who worked on the Monster case have moved along, too. When Kenney graduates in May, she plans to join Brown, the clinic's former supervising practitioner, at Bricolage Law, a young firm defending small businesses against threats from corporate giants. "It's hard to describe why I felt so passionate about it. It just seemed to me so unfair," she said. She remembered back to when she first heard about the case, before the victory: "I immediately was like, 'This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.'" Ken Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel, is the 166th richest person in the world, according to Forbes' 2017 list of billionaires. He is once again the richest persion in Illinois, with a net worth of $8 billion. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) Ken Griffin's divorce settlement may have captured the headlines, but it hasn't put a dent in his wealth, which has increased by $1 billion over the last year and by $500 million since September, according to Forbes magazine. Illinois' richest resident is the 157th richest person in the world with a net worth of $7.5 billion, according to Forbes, which on Tuesday released its annual ranking of global billionaires. The Citadel hedge fund founder, 47, has been splashing around his cash in recent months, purchasing a pair of artworks by Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning for $500 million and a series of ultra-high-end properties in Miami, New York and Chicago. Advertisement But spare a thought for the state's richest family, the Pritzkers, who are having a bad spell, losing a combined $850 million since the magazine produced its last list, of the U.S.' wealthiest people, six months ago. J.B. Pritzker saw his personal wealth plummet by $200 million to $3.2 billion, while Tom Pritzker fell by $300 million to $2.7 billion, Penny Pritzker fell by $100 million to $2.3 billion, Gigi Pritzker fell by $200 million to $2.1 billion and Jennifer Pritzker dropped $50 million to $1.7 billion, according to Forbes. Nicholas Pritzker, whose relatively puny $1.4 billion fortune wasn't big enough to make the list of the 400 richest Americans in September, lost $100 million over the year, the magazine estimates. It was a bad six months for Illinois billionaires in general. Real estate mogul and former Chicago Tribune owner Sam Zell, 74, remains the state's second-richest resident, but saw his wealth drop by $100 million to $4.8 billion, according to the list. The state's third-richest resident, Walton Street Capital founder Neil Bluhm, 78, lost $100 million to fall to $3.4 billion, Forbes said. Advertisement Apart from Griffin, the only two Illinois billionaires to see their wealth grow over the last six months were eccentric Beanie Baby inventor and convicted tax cheat Ty Warner, and Chicago's chicken king, meat-processing giant Joseph Grendys. Warner's wealth grew by $100 million to $2.4 billion, while Grendys also gained $100 million to reach $1.9 billion. Microsoft founder Bill Gates remains the world's richest person, with an estimated fortune of $75.8 billion. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg was the biggest earner during the year. He added $11.2 billion to his net worth, moving up 10 places to become the world's sixth-richest person with an estimated fortune of $44.6 billion, according to Forbes. kjanssen@tribpub.com Twitter @kimjnews Graeter's Ice Cream just revealed its annual mystery flavor today, so prepare yourself for cheese crown flavored ice cream?! The small-batch Cincinnati ice cream maker started way back in 1870, and has slowly expanded around the Midwest. But unless you grew up around the company's hometown of Cincinnati, you probably have no idea what a cheese crown is. Even my sister, who lives a few hours away in Columbus, claims the item is unheard of in central Ohio. Advertisement Usually when food brands release new flavors to the public, they make some awkward attempt at staying current in the culinary world, which explains how we ended up with sriracha potato chips. Instead, Graeter's went with a kind of pastry unheard of outside the southwestern Ohio region, and which was invented nearly 50 years ago. So, what the hell is a cheese crown? Advertisement I called a couple bakeries in Cincinnati to get the scoop, but that didn't help as much as I hoped. "It's like a muffin, but it has cinnamon on the bottom and cheese in the middle," one hurried employee of a bakery replied. When asked what kind of cheese, she admitted she had no idea. From various snooping online, I'm almost positive the cheese crown is a kind of danish baked in a muffin tin that has cinnamon streusel on the bottom, a cheesecake filling, and icing on top. Fortunately, you don't have to have much of an idea what the cheese crown is to enjoy the new flavor. The creamy cheesecake flavored ice cream is punctuated with crispy cinnamon sugar pastry pieces and small bites of fondant icing flakes. In a quick taste test, one member of our Food & Dining team said it reminded her of the flavors of an Ann Sathers cinnamon roll. It honestly reminds me of slurping the bottom of bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, and I mean that as a compliment. The new flavor is available today at Jewel, Mariano's, Sunset Foods, Treasure Island Foods, and at Graeter's own store in Northbrook. Look for it to cost between $4.99 and $6. For store information, visit www.graeters.com. The Shrine at 2109-11 S. Wabash Ave. in Chicago was closed by the city after shootings outside the nightclub, complaints from neighbors and the concerns of a top police official. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) When the City Council enacted a summary closure ordinance in June 2015, it seemed tailor-made for a nightclub like The Shrine. A string of shootings outside the nightclub over the course of a year had created a dangerous situation for The Shrine's neighbors in the South Loop. But it wasn't until last month, after a patron was shot in the head outside the hip-hop club, that city officials finally shuttered it. Advertisement The city's failure to respond to complaints of neighbors and even the concerns of a top police official shows how ordinances meant to deal with neighborhood nuisances like The Shrine can prove ineffective when pitted against the bureaucratic process. Indeed, a Police Department commander testified at a hearing at which The Shrine sought a license to extend its closing time from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. that the club already consumed more than its share of police resources. The department was armed with the summary closure ordinance, which was intended to give the city the ability to close a business when its operation was deemed a threat to public safety. Advertisement "It has been one of the most frustrating things, trying to shut some of these places down," said Ald. Scott Waguespack, who was not involved in the dispute over The Shrine but whose North Side ward includes several troublesome clubs, including The Dolphin Club and Crush, which later became Koncrete. "Attorneys come in and they try to run out the clock and ask for extensions." Owner Joseph T. Russo and his lawyer, Zubin Kammula, declined to comment about The Shrine's problems. Ald. Pat Dowell, whose ward includes The Shrine, also declined comment. Law Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey said the city couldn't have used its summary closure ordinance earlier because previous incidents at the club did not meet the necessary criteria although some of those incidents, according to a Tribune review, do indeed appear to meet the criteria. City lawyers said a Feb. 20 shooting outside the club finally crossed the threshold for using the ordinance to shut down The Shrine, but police records show it was actually the fifth violent incident tied to the club since the ordinance went into effect. According to the police order addressing the use of the summary closure ordinance, the Police Department may close a business if a violent offense such as a shooting or aggravated assault occurs at or "next to" the establishment during business hours, involves employees or patrons, or "involves circumstances having a connection to the operation of the establishment." The order's definition of an "establishment" includes inside the property itself, but also on the public way "next to" the property, or on private property the business leases, "such as a parking lot." The Shrine, at 2109-11 S. Wabash Ave., first opened in 2009 and quickly drew crowds for well-known hip-hop and rap acts. But it was also a magnet for problems with the police. According to city records, when the club first opened, Russo asked then-Ald. Bob Fioretti to support a late-night liquor license. Fioretti recommended against pursuing the license initially, according to a summary of the club's history written by members of the city's License Appeal Board. Russo began pursuing the late-night license five years later, when Fioretti no longer represented the ward. But the effort ran into opposition from the Police Department. Advertisement When the matter came before the local Liquor Control commissioner in September 2014, then-Central District Cmdr. Alfred Nagode testified the club was already a locus of nuisances that he feared would get worse and presented statistics to support his claim. They showed, according to city records, that "there are a rather high number of calls for service relative to criminal activity and public safety for that one block area. Issuing a late hour license would have a continued negative impact in that area." He urged officials to deny the club the right to operate until 4 a.m. The liquor commissioner denied The Shrine's request on Sept. 11, 2014, according to city records. Russo immediately appealed to another city body, the License Appeal Commission. In November of that year, appeal commission Chairman Dennis M. Fleming discounted the Police Department's view and sided with Russo, granting The Shrine a 4 a.m. license. A Tribune review of crime statistics from a city database shows that, since The Shrine's license to operate until 4 a.m. was granted, the number of nondomestic-related aggravated batteries and assaults in the two police beats that surround the club has more than doubled. In June 2015, the City Council enacted the summary closure ordinance, and after that several incidents occurred at The Shrine. On Aug. 15, 2015, a 25-year-old man leaving The Shrine was shot while getting into his car at 3 a.m. about two blocks from the club. The police report noted that the attack began as an altercation inside The Shrine moments before. Police said the shooting happened too far away from the club to use the ordinance. Advertisement In mid-November, armed security guards at The Shrine chased robbery suspects through the streets around the club, engaging them in a gunfight. No one was hit, but the guards fired 16 shots. Police said the robbery had no connection to the club. The gunfire by the security guards happened around the corner from the club at an address that was adjacent to the back of its building. Police deemed the shooting by the security guards to be legal. A few weeks later, on Nov. 27, two men were leaving The Shrine shortly after 3 a.m. when they got into an argument with another person in front of the club. Moments later, one of the men was shot in the nightclub's parking lot, according to Police Department reports on the incident. City lawyers issued The Shrine a written violation in January stemming from the Nov. 27 shooting. The club was belatedly written up because video reviewed after the incident showed an unrelated fight inside the club that operators should have reported to police. That was a violation of the safety guidelines the club agreed to in order to win its 4 a.m. license. Rather than use the summary closure ordinance to close the nightclub over any of these incidents, the city lawyers initiated a lengthy hearing process before the local Liquor Control commissioner that promised to take months, with an uncertain outcome. Residents concerned about the safety of their neighborhood were puzzled by the city's tactics. After a Jan. 25 status hearing before the Liquor Control Commission, a supervisor from the Law Department gathered residents in the hallway outside the meeting room and recommended they not come to the public hearings on the case because it could hurt their chances of seeing the nightclub disciplined. When a Tribune reporter present at the time identified himself and asked the supervisor, David Smith, about the remark which had been made to a group of citizens in a public space at City Hall Smith said he had intended his statement not to be for publication. Advertisement McCaffrey, when asked about the incident, said Smith had told those gathered that "making their presence known on the record at future hearings could be counterproductive with the hearing officer and give the owners an argument for appeal that the hearing officer had been unduly influenced by the public." Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Discouraging the public from attending hearings on license violations seemed to be part of the nightclubs' strategy, Waguespack said. The alderman dealt with the issue in multiple clubs where shootings took place, including The Dolphin Club and Crush, which was closed after a shooting but later allowed to reopen as Koncrete, until a fatal shooting outside the club in December led to its closing. On Feb. 20, the city finally moved to close The Shrine. The action came after an incident in which a fight broke out inside the club and, when security guards escorted the patrons outside, at least two patrons and a security guard drew guns and opened fire. One of the guards was struck in the leg. A female patron was struck in the head. Later, the club's owners voluntarily surrendered their various liquor and business licenses. The owners had announced recently that The Shrine was going out of business in the near future because the building was being redeveloped. Lawyers in the corporation counsel's office said, however, that they are still pursuing a full hearing to formally revoke the licenses and prohibit the ownership group from ever again holding a liquor license in Chicago. Chicago Tribune's Abraham Epton contributed. Advertisement dheinzmann@tribpub.com Twitter @davidheinzmann Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, talks to the media before going in to cast his vote in the Texas primary March 1, 2016, in Houston. (Pat Sullivan / AP) A Cook County judge on Tuesday threw out a petition seeking to knock Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz off the Illinois ballot because the Texas senator wasn't born in the United States. Lawrence J. Joyce, of far northwest suburban Poplar Grove, petitioned the Illinois State Board of Elections in January to have Cruz's name removed from the March 15 primary ballot, arguing Cruz is not eligible to run for president because he is not a "natural-born citizen," as required by the U.S. Constitution. Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother and a Cuban father. Advertisement Cruz's lawyer, Sharee Langenstein, countered that the senator indeed is a "natural-born citizen" because American citizenship was conferred upon him at birth by his mother. Langenstein said it is customary for children born to Americans outside the country to receive American citizenship, citing the examples of Arizona Sen. John McCain and late Michigan Gov. George Romney. McCain was born to American parents in Panama and Romney was born to American parents in Mexico. "Ted Cruz became a natural-born citizen at the moment of his birth because it was not necessary to become a citizen through the naturalization process at some point after birth," hearing officer James Tenuto wrote in his analysis. The election board endorsed Tenuto's ruling in early February and overruled Joyce's objection. Advertisement Joyce appealed the election board's decision to the Cook County Circuit Court. But a Tuesday afternoon hearing before Circuit Court Judge Maureen Ward Kirby never addressed those issues because lawyers for Cruz and the election board successfully argued that Joyce did not fulfill the requirements of election law in filing his request for judicial review. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Specifically, Ward Kirby said Joyce did not properly serve Cruz or the members of the election board with copies of his petition before the court. Ward Kirby said failing to satisfy any of the Illinois Election Code requirements meant she had no legal standing to review his complaint. Joyce said he was not sure whether he would appeal that decision. Joyce, a supporter of Dr. Ben Carson, said his main aim was to keep Cruz from securing the Republican nomination, which may prove a moot point after the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses. "My concern is that if Ted Cruz is the nominee of the party, Congressman Alan Grayson will go ahead with his threat, along with several other Democrats, to keep Ted Cruz off the ballot," Joyce said. "Fundraising for Ted Cruz would dry up, his standing in the polls would plummet, he may be forced to resign the nomination." Had the judge been able to review the case, Langenstein said, she felt confident in their standing about Cruz's citizenship. She criticized Joyce's tactics, saying his petition unfairly tried to stymie Cruz's campaign. "This lawsuit was merely a misguided attempt to distract the voters away from the candidate who's the most qualified candidate we have for president, and that's Sen. Ted Cruz," Langenstein said. cdrhodes@tribpub.com Advertisement Twitter @rhodes_dawn Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday tried to blame House Speaker Michael Madigan for the financial crisis facing some Illinois public universities, contending the Democratic leader is holding up a compromise to agitate voters ahead of the primary election. A Madigan spokesman denied the claim, saying the speaker is working to collect votes to override Rauner's recent veto of a bill that would release $721 million to fund community colleges and tuition grants for low-income students. Advertisement The exchange came as the budget impasse, which has left state government operating without full spending authority since July, threatens closures and layoffs at Illinois universities, including Chicago State and Eastern Illinois. While turning thumbs down on the Democratic plan saying Illinois can't afford it, Rauner is pushing legislation that would spend $1.6 billion on tuition grants, community colleges and universities but also allow him to make cuts elsewhere in state government as he sees fit. Advertisement Rauner said Madigan is holding up a compromise to score points ahead of the March 15 legislative primaries. The powerful speaker is running "a dictatorship of one individual who cares about politics over people," said the governor, who called Madigan's veto override attempt "a sham vote." On Monday, Rauner came out in support of another option: a bill that would employ an accounting gimmick to send $160 million to struggling colleges and universities, including Chicago State, which has canceled spring break to make sure students can finish the semester before the school goes broke. "There are real solutions available to us to solve the crisis in higher education funding, but those solutions are being ignored and, instead, Speaker Madigan and his folks in the legislature are trying to create a crisis and create headlines around the crisis to impact the primary voting that's going on right now," Rauner said. "Political games are being put ahead of students' lives." Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said, "The only thing the speaker and speaker's staff is trying to do is whip up more votes for the override" of Rauner's veto on the tuition grant bill. "That's all we're trying to do." Brown said the speaker's office is reviewing the bill to funnel money to colleges and universities, but raised concerns that the legislation does not spell out which universities would receive the money. Brown also noted that the bill makes the money available only if lawmakers approve separate legislation that forgives $454 million in borrowing that Rauner's administration already made from other state accounts. Included in that figure is $180 million for school construction projects, Brown said. kgeiger@tribpub.com Twitter @kimgeiger Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell said during a hearing on encryption Tuesday that the FBI, in seeking access to a phone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers, is asking a judge to "give them something we don't have." Mar. 1. (AP) (Chicago Tribune) Reporting from Washington The heated dispute over the FBI effort to force Apple to help unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino killers moved Tuesday to Capitol Hill, where lawmakers appear deeply divided on the issue. FBI Director James B. Comey and Apple's general counsel, Bruce Sewell, both testified at a crowded House Judiciary Committee hearing on encryption and the balance between privacy and national security. Comey warned that public safety may suffer if Apple and other Silicon Valley companies can defy court-ordered warrants to cooperate with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. "If there are warrant-proof spaces in American life, what does that mean? And what are the consequences of that?" Comey asked. Comey denied Sewell's claim that the FBI is asking for a "backdoor" key to open Apple devices, insisting the California case is focused only on a single iPhone 5c. Advertisement FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday. (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press) "There is already a door on the iPhone," he said, referred to the encrypted password. "We are asking Apple to take the vicious guard dog away and let us pick the lock." The FBI wants Apple to write software that would turn off a security feature designed to wipe out data if 10 incorrect attempts are made to enter the password. Once those settings are disabled, the FBI would then try passwords until the phone unlocks. The hearing convened a day after Apple won a major federal court ruling in New York, a ruling that could affect the San Bernardino case, as well as potential legislation in Congress. In Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein said he did not have the authority to order Apple to disable security on a iPhone used by a drug dealer who had pleaded guilty in a methamphetamine distribution case. Across the country in Riverside, Apple is fighting U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym's order to write software so FBI technicians can unlock a work phone used by Syed Rizwan Farook. He and his wife killed 14 people on Dec. 2 at the Inland Regional Center. It's unclear if any useful evidence exists on Farook's phone. The FBI insists it might hold clues to the couple's location, contacts and communications before the attack. Advertisement The debate has created unusual alliances in Congress, as libertarian Republicans have lined up with civil liberties Democrats to support Apple stand on privacy. But it also has aligned national security hawks in both parties, who warn that law enforcement will be blocked from accessing evidence in terrorism and criminal cases unless high tech companies are forced to cooperate. Here's everything you need to know about the fight between Apple and the FBI in two minutes. (Los Angeles Times) The divide was clear from the start of Tuesday's hearing when Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he once led efforts to prevent law enforcement from getting a backdoor key to commercial encryption, allowing U.S. companies to thrive and keep the market from heading overseas. But now, he said, the use of stronger encryption and other new tech tools "by those intending harm to the American people is outpacing law enforcement's technological capability to access those communications in legitimate criminal and national security investigations." "We must find a way for physical security not to be at odds with information security," Goodlatte said. "Law enforcement must be able to fight crime and keep us safe, and this country's innovative companies must at the same time have the opportunity to offer secure services to keep our customers safe." The question over how to balance privacy and security is "too complex to be left to the courts and must be answered by Congress," Goodlatte said. But the top Democrat on the committee, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), warned that the FBI may be using the San Bernardino case to win public sympathy and change the law. "I would be deeply disappointed if it turns out that the government is found to be exploiting a national tragedy to pursue a change in the law," he said. "This case appears to be little more than an end run around this committee," Conyers said. In testimony submitted before Tuesday's hearing, Sewell argued that the FBI is "asking for a back door into the iPhone specifically to build a software tool that can break the encryption system which protects personal information on every iPhone." Weakening encryption, he said, "will only hurt consumers and other well-meaning users who rely on companies like Apple to protect their personal information." In court papers, Justice Department lawyers have argued that they are asking Apple to write software only for the one phone, not for all iPhones, and that the company would still control the software, not the government. Manhattan Dist. Atty. Cyrus Vance Jr., who also will testify at the hearing, said in a statement submitted to the committee that his office has 175 Apple devices in its forensics lab that investigators can't open. "It is important to recognize that 95% of all criminal prosecutions in this country are handled at the state and local level, and that Apple's switch to default encryption in the fall of 2014 severely harms many of these prosecutions," Vance wrote. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 4 People rally in front of an Apple Store in San Francisco to show support for Apple Inc., on its refusal to to help the FBI to gain encryption 'backdoor' access to information. (John G. Mabanglo, EPA / Feb. 23, 2016) Vance has given lawmakers proposed legislation that would require companies to design their products so police and prosecutors can read locked data subject to a search warrant. Lawmakers are split over whether the government should be able to force tech companies to weaken security features meant to protect customers' private data. A bill being drafted by Sen. Richard M. Burr (R-N.C.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the panel's top Democrat, would penalize companies that don't comply with court orders to help authorities crack encrypted devices. "No one's above the law in this country; no company, no individual, no organization," Feinstein said last week after Apple said it would fight the court order. "All the FBI is asking them to do is cooperate and do their best to help." Apple supports a competing proposal that would create a blue-ribbon commission to study encryption and privacy concerns, and then make recommendations to Congress. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, introduced a bill Monday to create the National Commission on Digital Security. It would include tech executives, privacy advocates, law enforcement officials and academics. Rep. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a privacy hawk who has repeatedly sought to push back on government surveillance, is backing Apple. He says the FBI attempt to force the company to bypass encryption will allow hackers to break in as well. Encrypted devices made overseas would quickly replace smartphones made by Apple and other American companies, he warned. The FBI request, he said in a statement, is wrong "from a security standpoint, wrong from a liberty standpoint, and wrong from an economic standpoint." Google, Facebook, Verizon and Yahoo are among the tech and telecom companies drafting briefs in support of Apple. U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym has scheduled a hearing March 22 at the federal court in Riverside. brian.bennett@latimes.com Follow @ByBrianBennett on Twitter. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Zika has landed forcefully in America, in one of its poorest and most vulnerable corners, a debt-ridden territory lacking a functioning health-care system, window screens and even a spray that works against the mosquitoes spreading the virus in homes, workplaces, schools and parks. There are 117 confirmed cases of the virus in Puerto Rico, four times the number at the end of January. The island territory, which has a population of 3.5 million people, is "by far the most affected area" in the United States, Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said Friday. The number will almost certainly rise sharply in coming weeks, making it ever more likely that the virus will spread to the continental United States. Advertisement Dozens of flights move daily between San Juan and Orlando, Washington, New York and other major cities on the mainland. Cruise ships stop here as part of their Caribbean tours. College students will soon head here on spring break. The growing outbreak has laid bare how deeply Puerto Rico's debt crisis has cut public programs, including basic health and environmental control services needed to fight the virus. Most homes and public schools - and even some medical facilities - don't have window screens. A specialist in birth defects at Puerto Rico's top hospital has trouble obtaining basic supplies, such as toner for his office printer. There are hundreds of abandoned houses - not only in low- and middle-income neighborhoods but also in gated communities - because owners have fled to the mainland as a result of the economic crisis. Advertisement Experts say urgent action is needed before mosquitos reach their peak with the start of the rainy season in April. Experts from the CDC estimate that 70,000 people - about 20 percent of the population - could be infected across the island by the end of the year, based on previous outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya, related viral diseases. In response, the CDC has sent 30 experts from its Atlanta headquarters and elsewhere to Puerto Rico, adding to the 70 CDC staff members based here who usually work on dengue fever but now are focusing on Zika. Frieden is expected to visit soon. President Barack Obama's $1.9 billion emergency Zika request to Congress includes $250 million for Puerto Rico. "I don't think we're going to be able to stop the Zika outbreak," said Steve Waterman, chief of the CDC's dengue branch, located on the city's west side. "There will be a substantial Zika outbreak that will peak in the summer and fall. It's likely that thousands of pregnant women will be exposed and infected, so that's why our efforts are focused on protecting as many pregnant women as possible." Five of the 117 confirmed cases involve pregnant women. And unlike in the continental United States, where cases are the result of infected travelers to Latin America and elsewhere bringing the virus back home, almost all the cases in Puerto Rico involve people bitten here by infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which also spreads dengue fever and chikungunya. Residents are blanketed in a cloud of permethrin as a team from the Puerto Rico department of health sprays the insecticide the neighborhood of Cupey, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Allison Shelley / Allison Shelley) Because of the suspected link between Zika and potentially devastating birth defects, authorities are focusing on protecting as many pregnant women as possible. That includes 4,000 expectant mothers living in parts of the island where mosquitoes are spreading the virus. That's more than one-third of Puerto Rico - primarily San Juan, the northeast and the southern coast. Only the CDC and Puerto Rico's health department labs can perform the special Zika testing. The labs expect to run 100,000 tests over the year for pregnant women, five times as many as they handle now, Waterman said. Determining whether someone is infected is complicated because most people don't show symptoms. It's also hard for tests to easily differentiate between dengue and Zika infections. On Monday, authorities in Puerto Rico began distributing free Zika prevention kits to pregnant women that were created by the CDC and the CDC Foundation. The kits include information and tools to help them reduce risk of infection and include repellent, products that kill mosquito larvae, and condoms. Mosquitoes have ample breeding grounds here. In the Villa Palmeras cemetery in barrio Obrero, a low-income neighborhood in northeastern San Juan, virtually all of the thousands of graves have built-in flower stands where water, and mosquito larvae, collect. There are 109 cemeteries across Puerto Rico and thousands of flower holders. Advertisement Mosquito larvae also flourish underground, in water meters and vent pipes of septic tanks, which contain more water than elsewhere in the United States, said Roberto Barrera, a CDC entomologist. And then there are the mountains of used tires, which mosquitoes flock to, said Johnny Rullan, a former health secretary who is helping the government eliminate breeding sites. Puerto Rico has accumulated more used tires than anywhere else in the United States, experts said. In the past three weeks, temporary collection centers have received more than 561,000 tires. A statue stands guard atop a tomb stone at the Villa Palmeras cemetery in the Barrio Obrero neighborhood of San Juan. The cemetery is one of the oldest in the city. Many of the graves feature flower urns that hold rainwater, providing the perfect breeding ground for the mosquito that can carry dengue, chikungunya and Zika viruses. (Allison Shelley / Allison Shelley) 'Part of living on the island' Perhaps the most difficult challenge is changing people's attitudes and behavior about an ever-present pest that is as much a part of life here as steamy weather and graceful old banyan trees. "What can I say, it's part of living on the island," said Jose Fernandez, a supervisor at a tire collection center in Humacao, in the southeast. Emeris Canales Morales, 27, a single mother who is 23 weeks pregnant, lives in a home that overlooks a small cemetery on one side and a fetid canal on the other. Plastic bottles and other trash collect along the banks of the canal. Her windows have no screens. In December, the mosquitoes were biting so hard that she woke up with red welts covering her arms. Advertisement At a prenatal clinic for high-risk pregnancies at San Juan's University Hospital at the Puerto Rico Medical Center, she was among the first to sign up for free Zika screening for women in their first and second trimesters. She won't know the results for at least another week. Her first two pregnancies ended in miscarriages because of complications from diabetes. She is hoping for the best this time. "I haven't had the fever or the red eyes or the rash," said Canales, who lives in Loiza, a northeast community that is one of the island's poorest areas. But even for pregnant women, it's hard to stay vigilant against the mosquito. "When there was chikungunya, we joked about it until everyone had it," she said. "Until people have the sickness, nobody in Loiza will take it seriously." Said Brenda Rivera, chief epidemiologist for Puerto Rico's health department: "Controlling Zika is going to be a daunting task." The department is coordinating the island's response to the public health emergency. Advertisement Biologist Manuel Amador, right, catches stray adult mosquitos while entomologist Dr. Roberto Barrea, left, describes new traps that his team is devising in a lab where they are breeding thousands of mosquitos for research at the CDC's dengue branch in San Juan. The center has become ground zero in the war against the Zika virus in the country. (Allison Shelley / Allison Shelley) Poor and unprepared Women in Puerto Rico give birth to about 33,000 babies a year. The island has one of the highest teenage birth rates in the United States, and many public high schools have no window screens. The government is estimating how much it would cost to add screens, said Grace Santana, chief of staff to Gov. Alejandro Javier Garcia Padilla. Nearly half of Puerto Rico lives below the poverty line. The thousands of pastel-hued public housing projects that dot the island don't have air conditioning. Residents don't have window screens, in part because they can't afford them, but also because they don't want to block the breeze. Adding screens to those homes would cost about $70 million, said Grace Santana, chief of staff to Garcia Padilla. At dusk on a recent day, a maroon pickup truck drove through the streets in the middle-class neighborhood of Riveras de Cupey, in San Juan's south, spraying permethrin, a commonly used insecticide, from a machine mounted on the back. But Aedes aegypti mosquitoes already have developed resistance to permethrin in some parts of Puerto Rico, said Audrey Lenhart, a CDC research entomologist. She is testing which insecticides are most effective, something that was never done before. "The Puerto Rican government doesn't really have a well-developed vector control and surveillance program," she said, referring to basic programs to eliminate insects, birds and other vectors that transmit disease. Advertisement CDC teams are helping authorities rebuild mosquito control programs, expand testing, and monitor and track thousands of pregnant women and their babies. They also are working with U.S. companies to provide window screens for women's homes, and to bring to market a CDC-invented trap that could be a potent and cheap way to snare and kill adult mosquitoes. For doctors such as Alberto De La Vega, an expert in high-risk pregnancies at the University Hospital in San Juan, Zika is one of many serious concerns. He worries that additional Zika testing will create huge demands on an already burdened health system. "We're having problems getting supplies, but we have to uphold U.S. standards," he said. He has modern ultrasound equipment, but he pays out of his own pocket for the paper sheets that cover exam room beds. He tells his patients they need to remove standing water and wear repellent. "What we can do as physicians is very little," he said. "By the time we identify problems with the fetus, it's usually well into the second trimester, and by then it's too late." Emeris Canale Morales, 27, walks with her dog Lucy on the family's compound next to a nearly stagnant canal in the coastal town of Loiza, just east of San Juan in February. Morales is 23 weeks pregnant and has been tested for Zika. (Allison Shelley / Allison Shelley) 'I'm going to have the baby' Advertisement The new mystery disease has infected Zulmarys Molina Paredes, 29. She's one of the five pregnant women with a confirmed Zika diagnosis. But at 16 weeks in her pregnancy, an ultrasound shows her baby developing normally. Molina and her 2-year-old son, Marco, live in Humacao in a peach-colored public housing project with her mother, aunt and brother. She is the sole breadwinner. She thinks she became infected at the private university where she works as an admissions officer, during tours of the campus. The campus has an artificial lake surrounded by trees full of mosquitoes. Her headaches began Feb. 5. The following Monday, she looked in the mirror and was stunned. "I was starting to put on my makeup and realized I was covered in a rash," she said. "I got really scared." The emergency room doctor sent Molina's blood to be tested. Nine days later, she was told her test was positive for Zika. But the doctor also said scientists didn't know how often women with Zika infections have babies with birth defects such as microcephaly, where they are born with abnormally small heads. Given the uncertainty, she is choosing to believe - and to pray - that everything will be fine. An amniocentesis is scheduled for next week. More ultrasounds will follow. Advertisement "I don't care what happens. I'm going to have the baby," Molina said. "I have faith that she's going to be fine." Her due date is Aug. 6. She will name her daughter Michaela. This photo provided by courtesy of Open Road Films shows, Rachel McAdams, from left, as Sacha Pfeiffer, Mark Ruffalo as Michael Rezendes and Brian dArcy James as Matt Carroll, in a scene from the film, "Spotlight." (Kerry Hayes, AP) There couldn't have been a better moment for the movie "Spotlight" to win at the Academy Awards for best picture and best original screenplay. Coming within days of GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump's threatening remarks on freedom of the press, these Oscars serve as validation of the journalism profession. They also recognize the rendering of the story behind the story of The Boston Globe's Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative series exposing sexual abuse by Catholic priests. "We would not be here today without the heroic efforts of our reporters," producer Blye Faust said in accepting the Oscar for best picture. Heroism was the theme. Advertisement Still, there is another important takeaway. It springs from a moment in the movie. There is an exchange between actor Liev Schreiber, who played the methodical Globe editor Marty Baron, and John Slattery as the eager assistant managing editor Ben Bradlee Jr. on whether the paper's Spotlight investigative team should move forward with a story on the abusive priests. Advertisement Baron: "We need to focus on the institution, not the individual priests. Practice and policy " Bradlee: "Sounds like we're going after (Cardinal Bernard Francis) Law." Baron: "We're going after the system." Wrapped in that last comment is the recognition by Baron, now executive editor of The Washington Post, that merely exposing individual wrongdoers does not go far enough if systemic flaws enable wrongdoing to continue. That is the driving dramatic question for the movie and the emerging motivation for the Globe journalists. Even more, though, it is a compelling challenge for the journalism profession on matters of race. Too often, we are content to frame stories about racial conflict as individual problems and not as institutional ones. College campus tension, excessive police force, even racial political pandering are all framed as anomalies, problems caused by misguided individuals. As with "Spotlight," that frame excludes what should be our real focus. As a result, we wind up missing a critical realization: We just might be part of the system we are "going after." In the movie, that possibility is teased out as the realization sets in with actor Michael Keaton's character, Spotlight editor Walter "Robby" Robinson. Admitting he was "raised Catholic," he sees late in the investigation that a church sex scandal story could have should have been more thoroughly covered by the paper "years ago." Instead it was "buried" in the Metro section, where he had been editor. Advertisement The inference here is sobering: Perhaps the Globe itself was part of the network of institutions that must be held accountable. Reporters and editors, living and working in a pro-Catholic community culture, had on blinders. Fast forward. Consider whether we also have on blinders in covering difficult social issues. The possibility of cultural bias cannot be ignored. This is not a left-right bias, or even necessarily a black-white bias. This bias can spring from something seemingly benign a belief that the system is fundamentally sound. People tend to believe problems only arise when individuals abuse the system. There is an unquestioned belief in the rightness of our institutions. During his extensive study of media biases at Columbia University, sociologist Herbert Gans found as much. Many people believe that cops serve and protect, do the right thing, and people are arrested because they do the wrong thing. And that is the point at which race can enter into it. Because of social constructions of race, we have preset notions of who is more likely to do wrong and who is more likely to be in the right who is bad, who is good. No surprise, then, that some people are quick to accept Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke's justification for shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times. No surprise that they are quick to accept that McDonald posed a threat. He was, after all, African-American and had a knife. No surprise that people accepted the initial claim by Cleveland Officer Timothy Loehmann that 12-year-old Tamir Rice posed a threat after refusing a demand to drop his gun, which turned out to be a toy. In both cases, too many journalists accepted the first police explanations, which may have fit a preset notion of right and wrong. In each case, video evidence released later motivated journalists to question the police narrative. Journalists ask questions. We are very good at the who, what, where and when of it all. Not so much the "why." In these stories, it is the why that provides deeper understanding and context. Advertisement This country is on the cusp of a new demographic reality no single racial or ethnic majority. Clearly, it is becoming a time of shared power that some people are having difficulty navigating. Why? As journalists, we have a responsibility to help the public reach a deeper understanding of these changes and their systemic context. Raising questions. Questioning the answers. If we don't ask "why?" then the public has every right to ask "why not?" and the spotlight turns on us. Christopher D. Benson is a journalist and lawyer. He also is an associate professor of journalism and African-American studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Herbert Gans as deceased. As the March 15 state primary election approaches, the Tribune Editorial Board continues its endorsements in contested races for the Illinois House. You'll find the candidates' answers to our survey, and all of our endorsements to date, here: www.elections.chicagotribune.com/candidates. Advertisement 26th District: Ding! It's Round 2 for Rep. Christian Mitchell, D-Chicago, and Jhatayn "Jay" Travis, also of Chicago, in a battle for this House seat. Mitchell beat Travis in 2014 by only 556 votes. This year's race once again pits organized labor, and the Chicago Teachers Union in particular, against school choice advocates. Mitchell supports charter schools but opposes making more charters available for now; Travis is a close ally of CTU President Karen Lewis, who fights against charter schools. Advertisement Travis is an accomplished community organizer, but she's also a one-trick pony: If you aren't with CTU on everything, you must be a corporate hack. Mitchell's record shows otherwise: He has voted with organized labor and against Gov. Bruce Rauner on several key issues. He supports a minimum wage hike. He supports reducing penalties for small amounts of marijuana possession. He voted to expand Medicaid services. And, unlike many members of the Legislative Black Caucus, he supported legalizing gay marriage. We don't agree with all of Mitchell's votes, but Travis' efforts to paint him as a tool of big business don't square with his record. Mitchell is independent and thoughtful, and he is endorsed. 29th District: We've endorsed Rep. Thaddeus Jones, D-Calumet City, in the past for being a conscientious legislator. But his opponents suggest he is coasting at a time when his constituents need a strong advocate. Two Democrats are taking him on: Kenneth "Kenny" Williams of South Holland and Wilbur "Will" Tillman of Calumet City. Williams has owned a barber school for nearly 20 years and oversees a chain of hair salons. He served as board president of Thornton Township High School District 205 until a judge forced his removal due to a 1985 forgery conviction. We don't hold that against him. Williams would be an aggressive representative independent of Democratic power brokers. But in this race, our endorsement goes to Tillman, who serves on the Dolton School District 149 board. He's taken a deep interest in reining in spending, even questioning and eliminating expenditures for doughnuts and coffee for meetings. Can you imagine what he would find in the state budget? Tillman says Jones has lost touch with the district and shouldn't be spending so much time at Hooters Jones' campaign disclosure forms show meals there for staff but we won't knock the incumbent for his restaurant choices. (It's all about the wings!) Tillman is endorsed. 40th District: Residents of the 40th District rarely get to experience true democracy in House races. Ald. Deborah Mell won the seat in 2008 with the help of her alderman-father, Dick Mell. The elder Mell then appointed her to his City Council seat when he retired and chose his top aide, Jaime Andrade Jr., for the appointment to the House seat. Got all that? Harish Patel, a community activist and entrepreneur, says residents are fed up with dynasties and rubber stamps. "(Andrade) votes with Speaker Madigan 100 percent of the time. I don't believe Madigan is always right," Patel says. Patel was 14 when his family moved from India. He speaks three languages, supports a progressive income tax and expansion of the sales tax, and would be more independent than the incumbent. Patel is endorsed. 63rd District: The Republican who emerges from this primary race will face Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, in November. This one is an easy call. Steven Reick of Harvard is a tax attorney who ran against Franks two years ago. This time, Reick has a GOP primary challenge sort of. Jeffery Lichte of McHenry is on the ballot, but he isn't campaigning, and he is a known supporter of Franks. Is he a ghost candidate put up by the Democrats to protect Franks from a real opponent? Probably. Don't waste your vote on him. Reick would bring common sense to Springfield and advocate for a separate revenue stream to pay down pension debt. Without a dedicated stream, taxpayer money will continue to get misspent, he says. Reick also is a champion of school choice and allowing tax money to follow each child so that families can choose where they want to send their children. Reick is endorsed. 66th District: Our first question to the four candidates running for this House seat: Anyone play guitar? Because someone might have to fill in for retiring Rep. Mike Tryon, R-Crystal Lake, member of the Boat Drink Caucus, a band made up of several lawmakers. Tryon announced last year he would not seek another term. Four Republicans are vying to replace him: Lakewood trustee Paul Serwatka, West Dundee trustee Dan Wilbrandt, East Dundee trustee Allen Skillicorn and McHenry County Board member Carolyn Schofield of Crystal Lake. Advertisement Serwatka isn't offering much of a campaign. Schofield has the most government experience we're pretty sure she has served on every board and commission in Northern Illinois. What's disappointing is that she worked against legislation last year that would have allowed for more consolidation of county services, saving taxpayers' money. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Franks, didn't get to Rauner's desk because Schofield and others lobbied against it. Wilbrandt is an assistant state's attorney in McHenry County. He isn't afraid to stick his neck out and vote against the board majority in his town, especially if more spending is involved. He has been tight with the purse strings. But in this race, our nod goes to Skillicorn, a marketing professional who is the most outspoken about the need to blow up the status quo in Springfield. Locally, he led the charge to freeze the property tax levy and has been a cheerleader of Rauner's agenda. We'd like to see Skillicorn make his own mark. We're confident he will. Skillicorn is endorsed. 72nd District: Four Democrats and two Republicans are running in the March 15 primary for this Quad Cities-based seat. Retiring Rep. Patrick Verschoore, D-Milan, has endorsed attorney Jeffrey Jacobs of Moline (no relation to former Sens. Denny and Mike Jacobs). Madigan's establishment Democratic Party is backing Michael Halpin of Rock Island. Glen Evans, also of Rock Island, is a minister largely running his own campaign. Katelyn Hotle is a freshman Rock Island City Council member. Hotle doesn't have the money or the organization, but she has the most well-rounded government experience. She's whip-smart on policy and would be independent. Madigan's Democratic Party of Illinois already sent negative mailers against her. Hotle supports organized labor, but she would oppose efforts to strip Rauner of his role at the bargaining table and speed negotiations into binding arbitration: "I know what arbitration does at the local level." That is, she has seen how arbitration rulings often go to labor's advantage and to taxpayers' costly disadvantage. Hotle says the "good old boys club" that has dominated Quad Cities' politics is changing. Let's start with her. Hotle is endorsed. On the Republican side, Brandi McGuire of Milan and Jordan Thoms of Rock Island are competing for the nomination. McGuire earned national notoriety when her local school district refused to allow her daughter's service dog to accompany her at school. The dog detects when her daughter might have a seizure. McGuire won in court, and the district's settlement now pays for her daughter to attend a private school. But there's more to McGuire than that story alone. She would be a voice of reason in a budget standoff that is harming the state's most vulnerable. Living close to the Iowa border and watching Illinois residents and businesses hop west across the Mississippi River, McGuire says property tax reform and reducing workers' compensation costs here will be among her top priorities in Springfield. McGuire is endorsed. Advertisement Tomorrow: Final Tribune endorsements for the Illinois House. Follow the Editorial Board on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook. A mix of freezing rain, snow and sleet hit the Chicago area overnight into the morning rush hour, with snow expected to follow after a brief morning break. Driving conditions were slow and slippery from ice and, to the north, wind-blown snow Tuesday morning. State police reported several minor accidents but no serious injuries. A hit-and-run accident was reported on the outbound Kennedy near Irving Park around 5:30 a.m. One person was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, state police said. On the Skyway, a semi collided with a car near 98th Street, but no injuries were reported. Green Line trains experienced delays after track conditions from Cermak south to 63rd briefly stopped trains around 5:55 a.m. No major Metra delays were reported. More than 400 flights were canceled at Chicago's airports, around 365 at O'Hare and 55 at Midway, according to FlightStats. The cold front arrived late Monday afternoon, dropping temperatures at O'Hare from 50 degrees at 4 p.m. to 35 degrees at 5 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. The heaviest snow overnight hit the northern-tier counties along the Illinois-Wisconsin state line, with as much as 2 1/2 inches of snow, tapering off to less than 2 inches south of Interstate 80. A winter weather advisory was in effect farther north and east across Wisconsin, the northern tier of Indiana counties for freezing rain, sleet and up to 4 inches of snow, and much of Lower Michigan for heavy snow. A winter storm warning for 5 to 10 inches of heavy wet snow was in effect for central lower Michigan Tuesday into the overnight hours. Arthur Roman of Tinley Park, a 28-year-old officer with the Oak Forest police, is charged in the stabbing a 17-year-old boy in California. (Marlatt, Jennifer / ) An Oak Forest police officer accused of stabbing a teenager in California over the weekend will be placed on leave when he returns to his home department, police said. Arthur Roman, 28, of Tinley Park, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and battery, according to police. He was released Monday after posting bail. Advertisement Roman was one of three people who got into an argument with two other people outside of a gym in Huntington Beach that led to a fight during which a 17-year-old boy was stabbed, police said. Two of the police officer's relatives, Jessica Roman, 27, and Martin Roman, 25, both of Lake Forest, Calif., also were charged with assault with a deadly weapon and battery in connection with the incident, Huntington Beach police said. Advertisement Officer Roman was on vacation from the suburban department, Oak Forest police said. The department has little information at this time about what led to Roman's arrest, according to Oak Forest Deputy Chief Timothy Kristin. But the officer will be placed on administrative leave once he returns to Oak Forest pending the outcome of an investigation. "We will be conducting an internal revenue and take action based on that internal investigation," Kristin said. Police declined to confirm when Roman was hired to the department or comment about his record. Village of Oak Forest records show Roman was sworn in with two other officers at a council meeting on Oct. 18, 2014. Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > The village will determine whether Roman will be placed on paid leave, Kristin said. A spokeswoman for the village said officials there will not comment on the charges against Roman, and also declined to provide details about the officer's employment record. Officers from Huntington Beach responded at about 4:16 p.m. Sunday to a 24-Hour Fitness for a call about a stabbing, according to Huntington Beach police. The Romans, who were in a vehicle, got into an argument with two men who were walking in front of the building, and then one of the pedestrians was stabbed, police said. The Romans fled in the vehicle and were arrested later by officers, Huntington Beach police said. Advertisement The victim was treated at a local hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening and released, police said. Police said the investigation is ongoing. Officer Roman is due in a California court on April 27. Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. As building and grounds director for Lincoln-Way High School District 210, Paul Gonzalez helped renovate a barn at North for the "Superdog" training center. (Daily Southtown / Gary Middendorf) The Illinois State Board of Education has opened an investigation into Lincoln-Way High School District 210's finances, a letter from the state to the district shows. On February 19, ISBE informed Superintendent Scott Tingley that the state is exercising its right to "initiate a proper investigation of the financial integrity," of the district. Advertisement The state wants Lincoln-Way officials to turn over voluminous records detailing the district's financial situation, including audits, projected cash flows, and major contracts. State officials want copies of the district's annual bond audits for the past three years, monthly bank reconciliations by fund for the current year, and annual cash flow by fund for the past three years, among other documents. Advertisement Lincoln-Way has until March 4 to reply, ISBE said in the letter. "As you may be aware, an investigation into a district's financial condition is the first step in a process of determining if conditions exist for 'certification of financial difficulty,'" the letter says. On Wednesday, Tingley said the state's letter was not unexpected and characterized the investigation as a normal next step in the process for a district placed on the financial watch list. The letter is part of the state's effort to learn more about what the district is doing to become financially stable, Tingley said. "We've been working with the Illinois State Board of Education," Tingley said. ISBE officials did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The state sent a similar letter to Chicago Public Schools. Last March, Lincoln-Way landed on the state's financial watch list and the school board subsequently voted to close Lincoln-Way North, one of the district's four schools. Advertisement Officials have defended the decision to close North as a necessary cost-saving measure but the move has sparked intense debate in the community. Last December, a community group calling itself Lincoln-Way Area Taxpayers Unite filed a lawsuit against the district alleging financial mismanagement and asked a judge to block the school's closure. That lawsuit is ongoing. Some in the community feel the school district can afford to run four schools with proper financial management in place. Much of the district's financial crisis can be traced to officials' decision in the mid-2000s to expand from two high schools to four. Officials cited projected population growth in support of constructing two new campuses, but some parents criticized the logic at the time and said the district should wait and see whether a fourth school became necessary. While the population growth never materialized, two companies involved with funding the campaign pushing for two schools Henry Bros. Co. of Hickory Hills and Dahlquist and Lutzow Architects made more than $41 million combined as part of the project. Advertisement In recent months, the Daily Southtown has reported on numerous questionable expenses and practices by district officials District 210 allows a private day care business to use space at all four of the district's schools without paying rent to the district, the Daily Southtown recently reported. A similar deal between Oak Lawn-based Community High School District 218 and a private day care business nets District 218 $76,250 a year in "cost-recovery" fees, records show. Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > District 210 also spent more than $90,000 to purchase playground equipment for the private day care to use. The district is in the process of soliciting proposals from vendors interested in running the day care program, a move Tingley announced last week. From 2013 to 2015, a time when the district's financial situation was rapidly deteriorating, the district paid out $272,000 in retirement bonuses for 18 employees, records show. The district also has paid $199,113 in penalties to the state pension system. Lincoln-Way also spent nearly $45,000 on renovations to house Superdog, a dog obedience training program that Tingley acknowledged has "no student benefit." Advertisement Superdog was built in 2011 and 2012 by former Superintendent Lawrence Wyllie without board knowledge or approval, officials said. Wyllie led the district from 1989 to 2013. District 210 had no contract with Superdog and collected no revenue from the program in the two years before Tingley asked the Frankfort Square Park District to take over the program. Since 2014, Superdog has brought in at least $76,165 in revenue, Park District records show. gpratt@tribpub.com Twitter: @royalpratt A rendering showing The Reserve apartment development planned for the northeast corner of 183rd Street and Oak Park Avenue in Tinley Park. (Courtesy of Michael Nolan) Seven of the nine members of Tinley Park's Plan Commission have resigned from the panel since a Feb. 4 meeting where action to possibly approve a controversial apartment development was tabled. The commissioners' letters cite time constraints, family matters or other issues as having prompted their resignations, but none specifically cite The Reserve as a factor. Advertisement The approval process for the 47-unit project, planned for the northeast corner of 183rd Street and Oak Park Avenue, has come under fire, and the Village Board, at a meeting that will be Tuesday at the village's convention center, is scheduled to vote on possibly hiring the prestigious law firm Winston & Strawn to oversee a review of the process. The village's planning director also has been placed on leave. Submitting their resignation letters were commission Chairwoman Rita Walker along with Commissioners Jeff Ficaro, Tom Mahoney, Robert McClellan, Gina Miller, Arthur Pierce and William Reidy. Ficaro's letter was dated Feb. 4, while Mahoney's was submitted the next day, Reidy's on Feb. 10, McClellan's on Feb. 15, Miller's on Feb. 16, Pierce's on Feb. 18 and Walker's on Feb. 19. Advertisement Walker, in her letter wrote, "It is time to pass the baton to those who will mold Tinley Park for the future." Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > The commission had, at a January meeting, given a tentative nod to the apartment project, and could have taken a final vote at the Feb. 4 meeting, but instead tabled a decision and sent the project back for another round of scrutiny by the Planning Department. The village's Planning Department previously had deemed the project in compliance with zoning and development codes governing building in the village's Legacy District the area that takes in most of the Oak Park Avenue business district. Those codes were put in place to streamline the project review process for companies in an effort to induce development in the downtown area. An unintended consequence, at least in this case, is that the Village Board is playing no role, at least at this point, in evaluating the apartment building, which has prompted a separate review of the village's zoning codes. The Reserve's developer, the Ohio-based Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, had asked that the matter be considered by the commission at its Feb. 18 meeting, but that session, as well as one scheduled for Thursday, were canceled. Village residents have turned out in large numbers at village meetings to protest the project and criticize village officials for not being transparent enough about the apartment development and its approval process. The size of the crowds prompted officials to move this week's board meeting to the convention center. On the agenda is a motion to enter into a "letter of engagement" with Winston & Strawn, which will conduct an investigation, "so they can develop the factual information necessary to render legal advice" to the board. The firm counts former Gov. James R. Thompson and former U.S. Attorney Dan K. Webb among its partners. mnolan@tribpub.com Kevin Quigley, the owner of Kevin's Place in Deerfield, poses for a photo in January. (Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press) Kevin Quigley brought a sunny optimism to his Deerfield diner that was as much a draw for customers as the breakfast and lunch items on the menu. But the owner of Kevin's Place couldn't mask his disappointment last week when he announced on Facebook that he was closing his eatery at Waukegan and Deerfield roads. Advertisement "Sorry to wear my emotions on my shirt sleeve," Quigley wrote. "Today I closed Kevin's Place ... a dream of mine and a place where friends helped me, and hopefully I helped others make their dreams come true." He said he needed to vacate his storefront at 808 Waukegan Road by March 15. Advertisement Quigley was nearly forced to close down last year, but a customer-initiated campaign through the crowdfunding website GoFundMe pulled in $20,000 to keep him in business. Quigley, who said he has been battling esophageal cancer off and on since 2010, said on Monday he had been forced to step back from the business while undergoing treatments. In January 2015, Quigley, 57, of Deerfield, closed the restaurant briefly, but was able to reopen in three weeks. Quigley said the Illinois Department of Revenue had notified him that his business license was being revoked because he had fallen behind in remitting sales taxes. Nearly 300 contributors chipped in more than $20,000, which enabled him to catch up on sales taxes, and his business license was reinstated. Much of the money was raised in the first four days after the GoFundMe campaign was launched by one of his customers. The comments posted by donors on the site helped to explain the outpouring of support. In the posts, customers raved about the oatmeal-banana-chocolate chip pancakes, the Greek skillet specialty and veggie burgers, but more often, the comments were about the proprietor. Quigley, an actor by training, has worked at the restaurant for the past 24 years, starting as an employee when it was called the Cherry Pit under prior owners. He purchased the restaurant in 2005 and renamed it Kevin's Place. Former owner Lynn Elliott stayed on for the next 11 years, until the restaurant closed last week. Advertisement Quigley said he feels devastated for the employees affected by the closing. "Finances just kept dwindling down and dwindling down. I tried my best to save the restaurant and I just never could," he said. He said he hasn't figured out his next move. "Right now. my mind is nothing but mush," Quigley conceded. "I have so many people reaching out to me, but I can't even concentrate. It's like a child that I have given up," he said. "I am not able to do the things that I love." kberkowitz@pioneerlocal.com Twitter: @KarenABerkowitz Algonquin hosted a ceremonial ground breaking for the Longmeadow Parkway Bridge Corridor Monday around a pile of dirt in the parking lot at village hall. (Gloria Casas / The Courier-News) Kane County, Algonquin and Carpentersville leaders came together Monday to symbolically break ground for the first phase of the $115 million Longmeadow Parkway Bridge Corridor. "I commend everyone... on any level whether local, county, state or federal who had an important role to play in ensuring this came to fruition," said Illinois Senator Karen McConnaughay, who represents the 33rd District and is former Kane County chairman. McConnaughay credited Algonquin Village President John Schmitt for being the "one to remind us this had to happen" whenever the project was put on the back burner. Advertisement The ceremony fell on the day a number of polling places opened for early voting in the March 15 election, when Dundee Township voters will face a ballot question on whether they oppose construction of the project that will connect Huntley Road and Route 62 and build a toll bridge over the Fox River. The event took place at Algonquin Village Hall, where local officials posed for photos with shovels around a pile of dirt in a parking lot that is not in the path of the new roadway. Advertisement Sen. Karen McConnaughay was one of the guest speakers at the ceremony Monday. The former Kane County chairman was one of the dozens county leaders who worked with local government officials over a 30 year period on the Longmeadow Parkway project. Also pictured: Kane County Chairman Chris Lauzen (from left), Kane County Commissioner Drew Frasz, and Carpenterville Village President Ed Ritter. (Gloria Casas / The Courier-News) Members of CURB Longmeadow, a group opposed to the project, did not attend Monday's ceremony, which community leader Laura Brehmer said was scheduled when ordinary citizens could not attend. The village did not inform residents about the event, she said. "Holding such an un-announced press photo-op disguised as a groundbreaking ceremony is a direct slap in the face to the many hundreds of residents who earlier appealed to the village government to halt the much-reviled Longmeadow project due to its negative impact on quality of life, home values and safety in the Longmeadow corridor," she said Monday. "It's like taunting the homeowners who asked for their help," Brehmer said. "Not only did Algonquin officials turn their backs on taxpayers, they now are staging a cheap and secretive in-your-face event aimed at discouraging residents from voting in a March 15 referendum on the Longmeadow Parkway." Officials did not mention the referendum during the ceremony but spoke about the opposition. McConnaughay said the people "who elect us, who we work for, who pay the bills have a lot of questions about what we do and make sure that the investment we are making is in their best interest and is enhancing their quality of life." Carpentersville Village President Ed Ritter remembers first visiting Carpentersville in 1996 to look for a house. He found one near the hill on Main Street. He noticed there was a lot of traffic. The real estate agent told him there were 16,000 to 19,000 cars using the road and bridge, which then went into two residential streets, Ritter said. The against said a new bridge would be built in a few years that would redistribute the traffic, he recalled. Ritter believes the bridge will help with economic development for the entire region. "I feel bad for the people against the bridge," Ritter said. "It is always hard to say the future will be better if we do this. But I am totally convinced the future of Carpentersville will be better when it is done." Advertisement Schmitt hosted Monday's groundbreaking ceremony at Algonquin village hall which drew dozens of people including Ritter, Kane County Chairman Chris Lauzen and county board members. A rendering of the Longmeadow Parkway Bridge Corridor was on display during a groundbreaking ceremony for the first phase of the multi-million dollar project. (Kane County / HANDOUT) Construction of the first phase of the corridor will begin in the spring, said Carl Schoedel, Kane County Department of Transportation (KDOT) director. The first phase consists of a road linking Huntley and Boyer Roads to Randall Road. Crews have already cleared away trees for the construction, he said. When completed, the corridor will be a 5.6 mile roadway with a toll bridge over the Fox River to Algonquin Road. The project is expected to take three years to complete, officials said. The county is still awaiting permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the second phase. Longmeadow Parkway Bridge Corridor is Kane County Department of Transportation's third major bridge project, County board member Drew Frasz said. He is chairman of the county's transportation department. The county completed the Stearns Road Bridge and a bridge in Elburn in recent years. It takes a lot of teamwork to complete such projects, he said. "We move forward with a very seasoned staff at KDOT having three major projects under their belt," Frasz said. "I am very proud of their leadership. Our team also includes our federal and state leaders. They have come forward big time with funding and permits, but by far (local officials) have been carrying the load on this one," Frasz said. Advertisement The regional cooperation and leadership from local officials led to Monday's ceremony, Frasz said. A bridge over the Fox Valley in northern Kane County has been discussed for decades in various concepts. Algonquin officials partnered with the county in the 1990s to select a site for the bridge. The village worked with developers to set aside land and required the Longmeadow to be built wider, Schmitt said. To get the bridge built and funded, Algonquin officials began building a coalition of 10 communities and governments including McHenry County pledging support for the roadway in the early 2000s, he said. The coalition represents about 800,000 people, he said. Building infrastructure is a very difficult thing, McConnaughay said during the brief groundbreaking ceremony. "This has been discussed, I want to say, for some 30 years. Back in the '80s, a federal grant came to Kane County to help figure out how to get across the Fox River and ever since then a combination of local, state and federal officials have continued to move the ball forward to answer questions the community had and deal with environmental challenges and not just do it once or twice, but do it over and over and over again for 30 years." "That is what it takes to make this kind of infrastructure investment in the community," McConnaughay said. "These are not inexpensive commitments." Advertisement "People live here in Kane County because this is a great place to live," she said. "It's a great place to work and it's a great place to raise a family. And if we want it to continue to be a good place to live, we have to invest in infrastructure that protects our way of life, protects the environment and encourages businesses to locate here. When business locate here, we have a vibrant business economy." Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter. In a workshop at the Levy Cener on Tuesday, Evanston residents get down to work filling out question sheets seeking their views on the Evanston Police Department. (Bob Seidenberg / Pioneer Press) At the Levy Center on a recent Tuesday night, community members gathered in a room and were engaged in conversation on how they thought the Evanston Police Department could improve relations in the community. Gilo Kwesi Logan, of Logan Consulting Services, conducted a workshop, billed as an "Evening of Diversity Dialogue With Dr. Logan," as part of the department's diversity and inclusion training on Feb. 23. Advertisement Police Chief Richard Eddington recommended last June the city enter into a $55,000 contract with Logan, whose father, William Logan was the city's first African-American police chief in the early 1980s. Logan, on his website, cites a 20-plus years as "an internationally recognized diversity consultant." Advertisement "He is president of Logan Consulting services, a member of the National Diversity Council and serves as adjunct faculty of diversity and social justice in Chicago," the website says. After conducting a review of previous diversity training, Eddington concluded that Logan's combination of personal knowledge of Evanston and his experience delivering diversity training and workshops made him a good fit for the department. The chief and Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl were among those welcoming the residents at the workshop. The mayor spoke to the excellent work the department does in the community every day but she also acknowledged the "horrific situations" in other parts of the country elsewhere involving police and their communities. "This is important work," she said. "It's important for all of us to have a great police department and we can't do that without your help." Eddington also echoed the mayor's comments about the state of relations in Evanston. But "to think that it's a perfect relationship would be foolish," he said. He said the more feedback police can get from the community the better they can improve that relationship. Residents didn't hold back doing on that front, providing plenty of material for the chief, seated with command staff and taking notes in the back of the room. Advertisement To a question about the policing style of the department, a resident from the city's diverse 2nd Ward, Renee Paden, described it as "personable," sometimes "confrontational." To question number two, "what main concerns do you have regarding services provided by the EPD?" other residents at Paden's table brought up the department's Office of Professional Standards, feeling "when they get a complaint, the response is slow and in favor of the Evanston Police Department," she said. To question number three, "what do you feel are attitudes of the EPD toward the community," Paden's group turned it around. "We said" attitudes would be more positive if they were residents," she said. Those at the table also cited a "negative attitude toward the black community" and raised concern that Hispanic issues "don't get taken seriously." A few feet away, at the Ward 6 table, perceptions were different. Officers were described as "responsive, courteous, respectful and visible," said Ald. Mark Tendam. Advertisement Concerns included that police be "well-equipped," that resources should be prioritized throughout the city, and that officers received adequate training and followed best practices, he said. Police should become more involved in the community, take part in tutoring programs like Project SOAR (Serving Our Adolescents Responsibly), members said. There were also questions raised over what happened to the beat meetings initiated a couple a years ago. At those meetings police would break down crime trends in wards and participate in give and take with residents. Logan said he has met with city officials, including the mayor and aldermen, police chief, staff and others, gathering comments. Under his contract with the city, he is to draw up a "culturally relevant program," one that is specific to the needs of officers and staff working with diverse communities and their needs. Many of the comments he received during the program and earlier interviews will go into the four-hour workshops to be held with department personnel in spring, providing strategies, tools and resources for officers, officials said. Logan expressed appreciation that residents were willing to share their experiences. Advertisement "If we can't discuss it , how can we move forward?" he asked. "This is another example of why Evanston is, as they say, one of the most livable community in the country. If that's the case we have to live up to that." bseidenberg@pioneerlocal.com Twitter: @evanstonscribe Lita Ford, Queen of Heavy Metal, guitarist, singer and songwriter, discussed and signed copies of her autobiography, Living Like a Runaway, Thursday evening at North Central College in Naperville. (Vickie Jurkowski / Naperville Sun) She bared a lot of skin in her early solo career dressed in a leather thong and bustier on stage, and now Lita Ford bares her soul in the autobiography "Living Like a Runaway." Titled after her unending search for a home of her own, literally and in the music scene, and for the Runaways, America's first teenage girl band that propelled her into fame at age 16, the memoir released Tuesday details the struggles of a female guitarist in a testosterone-driven world and the bloodthirst and fickleness of the music industry. Advertisement Ford, who earned Guitar Player's Certified Legend Award in 2014 and co-wrote the Top 10 hit "Close My Eyes Forever" with Ozzy Osbourne, writes about creating a name for herself, building a Grammy-nominated solo career and conquering an industry full of executives who repeatedly told her, "I don't know what to do with you." "She played guitar in the Runaways, broke out on her own, wanted to do it and she did it," said Kim Asbury, a River Grove resident who attended Ford's book discussion and signing Thursday evening at Meiley-Swallow Hall on the campus of North Central College in Naperville. Advertisement "Nobody else came close to it," added her sister Cindy Bidstrup, of Chicago, who described Ford as a "normal, regular person" during a chance encounter in an elevator in Milwaukee decades ago. "The doors opened, she was there, I froze with my mouth open and she said, 'Would you close your mouth already and get in here? I need to get food.'" Revealing that "normal, human" side of herself, Ford said, is partly what propelled her to pen a memoir, which shares the title of her 2012 comeback album. In it she shares amusing stories involving cheesecake, constipation and rabid fans, and heartfelt accounts of the unconditional support and cancer-related deaths of her parents, a British father who taught her to fish and an Italian mother who taught her to cook. Ford also describes disturbingly poor choices in men and reveals the consequences of drugs, from the missed opportunity of joining the Scorpions onstage to a sexual encounter that led to hemorrhaging. "I want to let people know it's OK to be human and do stupid things," Ford, 57, said during the 40-minute discussion led by Naperville-based music journalist Steve Itter and hosted by Anderson's Bookshops. "I wanted to put a book out to be a role model. I only had male role models." Dressed in American flag-designed cowgirl boots, faded denim, a black sweater with white skulls and furry fingerless purple mittens, Ford was asked about what Itter referred to as a "fantastic list" of lovers, including Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple), John Entwistle (The Who), Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest), Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue), Eddie Van Halen and Jon Bon Jovi. "There are good stories around the sex. What I've done really isn't that crazy. It's just who I've done it with," said Ford, who writes about getting an STD from Dee Dee Ramone and being punched in the eye and choked unconscious by Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi before ending their engagement. "I was devastated to find out my idol turned out to be abusive. I still worship him as a guitar player and always will." Ford, who said she has written half the material for a studio album, has upcoming tour dates with Ace Frehley and Halestorm followed by rock festivals in Sweden and Belgium. Advertisement On April 15, she will release a collection of 1980s jam sessions with Gene Simmons, Dave Navarro, Rick Nielsen and others titled "Time Capsule." She discovered the 24-track analog tapes in a closet of the mansion on a deserted island she shared with her then-husband Jim Gillette, whom she says alienated her from their two teenage sons upon her filing for divorce. "One thing that needs to come out of the closet is parental alienation," Ford said in the most emotional segment of the evening before signing books for some 80 attendees. "It is a form of child abuse. We need to change the legal system. I haven't seen my sons in five years. My ex-husband took them and I can't find them." Bidstrup and Asbury, the sisters who have been fans since the Runaways, said they can relate to such alienation because of their own parents. That connection plus their admiration for Ford's bravery and career longevity inspired them to attend the event and share Ford's music and story with others. "I was in the car recently with my 12-year-old daughter and her friend and they started to sing 'Cherry Bomb,'" said Bidstrup, who was proud and shocked the girls knew the words to the Runaways' hit, even if it was possibly due to "Guardians of the Galaxy." Whatever the source a movie soundtrack or chance encounter fans attended the ticketed event to pay homage to the Queen of Heavy Metal, whose reign began four decades ago. "She's a survivor," said Chris Carlson, an Arlington Heights resident and avid reader of music autobiographies. "I like to hear creative people talk about their craft." Advertisement Carlson and his friend Tina Regan, a resident of Chicago's South Side, have met Ford in the past and saw her perform in 2014's "Rock and Roll Christmas Tale" with Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), a good friend of Ford's who wrote the foreword. "Lita Ford is an inspiration," Regan said. "She took chances and didn't let anybody hold her back." Vickie Jurkowski is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. Local and state leaders celebrate $60 million for Arkansas Valley Conduit The project, which has been in the works for over 60 years, will funnel clean drinking water from Pueblo Reservoir to communities on the Eastern Plains. By Omar Khan International Business Advisory Dezan Shira & Associates Certifications and licenses are more important than one would imagine in Chinas business market and tax system. A tax residency certificate, for example, is crucial for multinational companies when applying for tax benefits under international tax treaties, or in cases where a foreign company wants to prove that their subsidiary is compliant to Chinas taxation laws. In this article, we introduce what is known as a Certificate of Tax Residency (), and provide detailed guidelines on how foreign expats and enterprises can obtain the certificate. The Certificate of Tax Residency is a legal document issued by the tax bureau stating that the foreign company/employee is in tax compliance. Applying to both foreign nationals employed in China and foreign companies operating as subsidiaries, the certificate is extremely useful when it comes to having domicile, sourced income or residence in a country other than that of ones origin. The purpose of this certificate is to act as a legal proof that the specified foreign national is both, and already, a qualified Chinese Tax Resident and has their respective individual income tax being withheld by their employer. It also provides relevant authentication for those who wish to provide documentation to their country of origin jurisdiction. A detailed criteria and application process can be found below: Expat Employee Applications Chinese taxation has its own rules that are more or less contingent on time spent in China, sourced income location, taxpayer status, as well as applicable Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) in place. Specifically, foreign individuals seeking to apply for the Chinese tax residency certificate must have held domicile in China for a minimum of one year. More can be found here on the various taxation parameters. It should be clear that issuance of this certificate is not an automatic method of avoiding taxation requirements in foreign individuals home jurisdiction. Foreign employees are suggested to first communicate with their respective tax authorities in their home countries on the status and adequacy of the Certificate of Tax Residency. A set of required documents are to be prepared for the local tax bureau: Application form Copy & original passport Copy of tax registration certificate of employer The original PRC individual income tax and other tax payment receipts (if no tax payment is provided a written explanation letter is required) Supporting documents for PRC residence days Other supporting documents required by the tax authority in charge Company Applications The requirements for foreign national individuals do not exist for subsidiaries. The following documents need to be submitted to the local tax bureau: Application form Copy and the original tax registration certificate Tax clearance certificate in the current fiscal year (if no tax payment is provided a written explanation letter is required) A few specifics to keep in mind are that the application procedure might be different in practice and the time required for issuing the certificate can vary by region and tax authority. For example, in Shanghai, tax authorities can issue the certificate in five business days, while in Shandong province the process can take around 20 working days. For more information on tax arrangements, processing a Certificate of Tax Residency, and application procedures for both individuals and companies, please contact china@dezshira.com. About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email china@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. Tax, Accounting, and Audit in China 2016 This edition of Tax, Accounting, and Audit in China, updated for 2016, offers a comprehensive overview of the major taxes that foreign investors are likely to encounter when establishing or operating a business in China, as well as other tax-relevant obligations. This concise, detailed, yet pragmatic guide is ideal for CFOs, compliance officers and heads of accounting who must navigate the complex tax and accounting landscape in China in order to effectively manage and strategically plan their China-based operations. Managing Your Accounting and Bookkeeping in China In this issue of China Briefing, we discuss the difference between the International Financial Reporting Standards, and the accounting standards mandated by Chinas Ministry of Finance. We also pay special attention to the role of foreign currency in accounting, both in remitting funds, and conversion. In an interview with Jenny Liao, Dezan Shira & Associates Senior Manager of Corporate Accounting Services in Shanghai, we outline some of the pros and cons of outsourcing ones accounting function. Employing Foreign Nationals in China In this issue of China Briefing, we have set out to produce a guide to employing foreign nationals in China, from the initial step of applying for work visas, to more advanced subjects such as determining IIT liability and optimizing employee income packages for tax efficiency. Lastly, recognizing that few foreigners immigrate to China on a permanent basis, we provide an overview of methods for remitting RMB abroad. Photo taken on Feb. 25, 2016 shows a cluster of residential buildings for sale in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province. China's housing market continued to warm in January, with more than half of surveyed major cities reporting month-on-month rises in new home prices. Of 70 large and medium sized cities surveyed in January, new home prices climbed month on month in 38, compared with 39 the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday. [Xinhua] China and other world economies share weal and woe together amid global economic slowdown, and it is unreasonable to put all the blames on the world's second largest economy alone. With the annual sessions of China's top legislature and political advisory body approaching, the Chinese economy and the so-called spillover effects of its slowdown has become a hot topic again. As a matter of fact, the lackluster global economy comes along with a complicated process -- the profound economic restructuring of the United States and European countries, continuous de-leveraging, weak demand, and re-balancing of the global economy. In many areas, China is not an exporter of the economic crisis, but an absorber and bearer of multiple pressures. Facing the crisis stemming from Western nations, China and other economies, which stand together in the same global value chain, should jointly meet the test of transformation. Statistics can prove that the world economy is not dragged down by China, whose contribution to it currently accounted for up to 30 percent. Despite the slowdown in imports, the amount of China's imports of bulk commodities is not decreasing. In addition, Chinese tourists were still the major consumer group as they spent 1.2 trillion yuan (184 billion U.S. dollars) overseas last year, according to an estimate by Fortune Character, a luxury market consultancy. In the global value chain, China is transforming from a big importer of bulk commodities into a key player of consumer goods and services. The Asian giant is also in evolution from a world factory into a global end market. In the opinion of George Magnus, a researcher with the University of Oxford China Center and senior advisor to the United Bank of Switzerland, due to such factors as the enormous size of the Chinese economy and its structural reform, the country is exporting a "new dividend" to the global economy. He said that despite a slowdown in its economic growth, the country will not cause trouble to other economies. At a time of economic globalization and regional integration, China and the world economy has formed a community of common destiny long ago. In this context, all countries should cooperate and work out new measures in reform to tide over the difficulties, rather than pointing fingers at each other. As a matter of fact, the Chinese economy is in no way as pathetic as some described. Last year, consumption contributed up to 66.4 percent to the country's GDP growth, setting a new record since 2001. The tertiary sector accounted for 50.5 percent of China's GDP, 10 percent higher than that of the manufacturing industry. Against the backdrop of a 0.4 percent decrease in its growth rate, China managed to create 11 million jobs in 2015, 300,000 more than the previous year. Driven by the ongoing supply-side structural reform, China has witnessed the upgrading of its economic structure despite the slowdown, as well as the rise of new industries along with the vanishing of old, outdated industries, which led to the expansion of job creation. The purported signs of crash of the Chinese economy by some in a rush are, in effect, a strong proof of the economic transformation China has been pushing ahead with, according to John Edwards, a fellow of the Sydney-based Lowy Institute for International Policy. For global investors, China abounds with opportunities in the near future. In 2015, venture capitalists invested a record 37 billion dollars in China, more than doubled the previous year's tally, according to data from British consultancy Preqin Ltd.. The company held that China, with more focus on innovation and improving quality, has been emerging as a legitimate challenger to the United States for leadership of the technology industry. One basic fact that should be acknowledged is that China will by no means encounter overwhelming economic crisis nor recession, thanks to its huge economic aggregate, current market opening and social reform, people's lasting passion for innovation, as well as highly effective government controls. Just as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has put it, the Chinese economy has been growing amid challenges. It is advisable that some countries stop pointing fingers at China and abandon the notorious zero-sum mindset. It is wise for them to turn to focus on working with China, through global platforms such as the Group of 20, to enhance production capacity cooperation worldwide and inject greater impetus into the sluggish global economy. China said Monday that it expects to lay off 1.8 million workers in the coal and steel industries, or about 15 percent of the workforce, as part of efforts to reduce industrial overcapacity, but no time frame was given. It was the first time China has given figures that underline the magnitude of its task in dealing with slowing growth and bloated state enterprises. Yin Weimin, minister for human resources and social security, told a news conference that 1.3 million workers in the coal sector could lose jobs, plus 500,000 from the steel sector. China's coal and steel sectors employ about 12 million workers, according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics. "This involves the resettlement of a total of 1.8 million workers. This task will be very difficult, but we are still very confident," Yin said. The central government will allocate 100 billion yuan (US$15.3 billion) over two years to relocate workers laid off as a result of China's efforts to curb overcapacity, officials said last week. Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao quoted Premier Li Keqiang as telling US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew yesterday that the fund would mainly focus on the steel and coal sectors. The number of layoffs was reasonable based on the government's capacity closure targets, said Jiang Feitao, an industry researcher with the China Academy of Social Sciences. He said the funds being made available would be used only after the enterprises go bankrupt and settle their debts. He said local governments would also be responsible for dealing with those debts. "It's difficult to predict a time frame but it will not be a quick process. There are many issues to be dealt with, including how to pay debt as well as layoffs," Jiang said. Downward pressure The world's second-largest economy grew 6.9 percent in 2015, the weakest in 25 years, and the government aims to achieve economic growth of 6.5-7 percent in 2016. "The economy faces relatively big downward pressures and some firms face difficulties in production and operation, which would lead to insufficient employment," Yin said, adding that more graduates this year would also add pressure in the job market. The survey-based jobless rate published by the statistics bureau remained around 5 percent at the end of last year. Officials have said that the services sector has created more jobs to help absorb laid-off workers from the manufacturing sector. In 2015, the contribution from the services sector to gross domestic product climbed to 50.5 percent, surpassing 50 percent for the first time. You are here: Home Regions have been ordered to clean up public venues as the weather is becoming warmer, which means mosquito-born viruses, including Zika, and other infections may spread easier. The focus should be on bus stations, ports, markets, residential communities and urban-rural border areas, according to Li Bin, head of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, at a meeting on Monday. Li also urged people to clean up their homes and workplaces to eradicate breeding ground for mosquitoes and other bugs. Supervision and analysis of infectious diseases must be heightened and border areas must be extra vigilant, Li said. Symptoms of the Zika virus, which is spread to humans through mosquito bites, include fever, joint pain, rash, conjunctivitis, headache and muscle pain. On Monday, south China's Guangdong reported a new Zika infection involving a 23-year-old man who returned from Venezuela on Feb. 19. He is now in a stable condition. His case brings the total confirmed Zika cases in China to nine. The boss of a coal mine in east China's Anhui Province was sentenced to 20 years in jail on Monday for an explosion at his mine that claimed 27 lives in Huainan City in 2014. Yu Qingquan, of the Dongfang coal mine in Huainan City, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegally storing explosives, illegal mining and responsibility for a serious accident, said the People's Court of Chaohu City. An explosion ripped through the Dongfang coal mine on Aug. 19, 2014, leaving 27 people dead and one injured. The blast resulted in a direct economic loss of 45 million yuan (6.9 million U.S. dollars). The court said Yu allowed miners to store explosives in the shaft and asked others to transfer explosives and detonators to a temporary storage site in the shaft when the mine was ordered to suspend production. Yu also ordered the illegal mining of more than 320,000 tonnes of coal, worth over 160 million yuan. He organized illegal mining while failing to supervise the security of the mine, therefore, he is liable for the accident, according to the court. The privately-owned coal mine which started operation in December 1997 had an annual production capacity of 90,000 tonnes. You are here: Home Chinese police have launched a nationwide campaign against gun and explosives crime ahead of the annual parliamentary session later this week. In a video conference on Monday, the Ministry of Public Security said this year's campaign will target those who sell and buy guns and explosives online or participate in production. Websites and services providers involved will be held responsible. The ministry will confiscate any guns and explosives found to be held by individuals. In China it is illegal for ordinary residents to own firearms or explosives. Gun and explosives crimes in 2015 fell by 42.7 percent and 5.6 percent respectively. Vice Minister Huang Ming ordered police to tighten checks in the exit-entry sector and delivery services to "cut the channels for the trafficking and flow of guns and explosives." A man injured 10 students with a knife at a primary school in Haikou, capital of south China's island province of Hainan. [Photo/Chinanews.com] A man injured 10 students with a knife at a primary school in Haikou, capital of south China's island province of Hainan, and killed himself after the attack, local news portal hinews.cn reported. The man attacked the students as they were leaving for home Monday lunchtime at the gate of Yangfan Primary School, witnesses said. One said the man mainly attacked students' heads before escaping. Police cordoned off the site where blood and items belonging to students, such as shoes, were seen on the ground, hinews.cn reported. Police said six boys and four girls were injured, including two in critical condition, and they were sent to nearby hospitals. The man, Li Sijun, 45, was found dead in a nearby street, and police said he killed himself. Police have not released further information on the attack. A medical worker at the No 187 Hospital in the city said one boy and one girl had been sent to the hospital, and that the girl was in a critical condition. Three injured students were sent to the Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University where they received medical treatment, hinews.cn reported. The mother of an injured student said the wound on her child's head was very deep and doctors had told her to keep the girl in hospital for further examination. Another mother said she knew her son was injured only when she looked for him at school after he did not return home at noon. "I thought my son was safe at school. I never thought such a thing could happen," she said. A court in south China's Guangdong Province on Monday imprisoned 24 people for fraudulent fund-raising of over 9.9 billion yuan (about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars). The main suspect, Jiang Hongwei, was sentenced to life in prison while 23 others received jail terms ranging from 3 to 14 years at Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court. The ring was convicted of cheating more than 230,000 victims, mostly elderly people, from 2002 to 2012, the court said. The group set up four companies in Guangzhou, many branches and subsidiaries across China, raising funds by tempting members of the public into buying membership cards or funding nonexistent loans, by promising returns as high as 47 percent. Many elderly victims who put their savings into the scam burst into tears at the trial. Some said they were attracted by the company's "novel modes of financial services" and fooled by their fancy exhibitions. "Their grand exhibition occupied six halls. After attending it, I felt assured and decided to invest 700,000 yuan," said one elderly woman from Jiangsu Province. "It was all the savings of me and my husband." The court has frozen the fraudsters' personal accounts and seized their assets, including 127 vehicles and 43 villas, but prosecutors said many victims might not be able to get their money back as Jiang had squandered millions on luxuries and failed to disclose where other funds had gone. China's central government earlier this month promised severe retribution against illegal fund-raisers after Ezubao, an online peer-to-peer platform, was found earlier this year to have cheated about 900,000 investors out of more than 50 billion yuan (7.6 billion U.S. dollars) through fake investments. An executive from the parent company has admitted that it was nothing but a Ponzi scheme. You are here: Home China's State Council, or the Cabinet, will amend 66 regulations to simplify administrative procedures, according to a decree released Tuesday. The decree, signed by Premier Li Keqiang, will eliminate or adjust certain administrative procedures for company registry and cancel two administrative charges. The decision is part of a wider drive by the government to streamline administrative procedures and delegate power to lower levels, according to the decree. The complex global landscape and growing pressure at home has made transforming government functions a pressing issue for the government as it strives to revitalize the economy and strengthen growth. The UN Environment Program (UNEP) on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tongji University of China to renew cooperation on areas that promote sustainable development and the green agenda. UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner and Professor Yang Xianjin, President of Tongji University, witnessed the signing of a new accord to elevate partnership between the two institutions to a new level. "Our partnership is unique and has led to the establishment of a centre of excellence on research and training to promote sustainable development," Steiner said during the ceremony held in Nairobi. UNEP and Tongji University in 2002 jointly established the Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD) at Tongji University to facilitate knowledge transfer on environmental sustainability. Steiner hailed the strategic partnership between the global environment body and Tongji University to advance sustainable development in the Asia Pacific and the global south, noting that IESD has created a platform for promoting environmental and sustainable development discourse. "Tongji has a proud tradition of academic research and training that has created the next generation of entrepreneurs in green technology," Steiner said. He added that a partnership between UNEP and Tongji University has been instrumental in advancing the green agenda in Africa. "The future of Africa is critical and our collaboration is a welcome addition on availability of knowledge and expertise to promote sustainable development in the continent," Steiner said, adding that a partnership with Tongji University has facilitated knowledge sharing on ecosystems management, rain water harvesting and urban renewal. The signing of a MOU between UNEP and Tongji University marked a critical milestone in cooperation between the two institutions. Yang Xianjin said the collaboration with UNEP that spans over a decade has focused on research, training and technology transfer to boost sustainable development. "It is my hope the signing of an MOU will mark a new beginning in our cooperation with UNEP," Yang said, adding that plans are afoot to upgrade IESD into an unrivalled centre of excellence on environmental studies and research on urban renewal. The US-led petrodollar era is being surpassed by a multipolar oil age in the Middle East. The transition is permeated by fundamental change and financial speculation that is penalizing the roles of the US and China in the region. Recently, oil ministers from Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela and Qatar announced an agreement to freeze their oil output levels if other major producers will follow suit. Eclipse of US-Saudi partnership In February 1945, the Yalta Conference the meeting of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, respectively effectively divided Europe. After Yalta, the ailing Roosevelt rushed to USS Quincy where he met Saudi Arabias King Ibn Saud who agreed to a secret deal. It required Washington to provide Saudi Arabia military security in exchange for secure access to supplies of oil. The bilateral deal survived even the 1971 Nixon Shock, including the unilateral cancellation of the direct convertibility of the U.S. dollar to gold. To deter the marginalization of U.S. dollar in the oil trade, Nixon negotiated another deal, which ensured that Saudi Arabia would denominate all future oil sales in dollars, in exchange for U.S. arms and protection. Other OPEC countries agreed to similar deals. As a result, global demand for U.S. dollars the so-called petrodollars soared, even though the relative share of the U.S. in the world economy continued to decline. The U.S.-Saudi strategic partnership has weathered seven decades of multiple regional wars. Today, Saudi Arabias military expenditures account for more than 10% of its GDP and it ranks fourth among the worlds largest military spenders. In relative terms, thats three times as much as the U.S. and five times as much as China; the worlds two largest military powers. However, Saudi Arabias old days of conservative caution may be history. Amid a contested succession, Riyadh is taking debt to sustain its current living standards and welfare policies, supporting polarizing OPEC policies and playing increasingly assertive role in the region, directly in the Yemen war and indirectly in Syria. From OPEC to China and emerging economies The Washington-Riyadh partnership was first shaken in October 1973 following the Yom Kippur War and the ensuing oil embargo by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Following two oil crises and a global economic recession, three decades of rapid postwar growth in the West ended with a crash. Saudi Arabia had pushed national production quotas to restrict output and boost prices. Since other OPEC nations did not comply, Riyadh slashed its production from 10 million barrels daily to a third. As that proved ineffective, it reversed the policy and flooded the market with cheap oil. By the mid-80s, oil prices declined by more than a half, but mainly after the development of major non-OPEC oil fields in Siberia, Alaska, North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Even Sadam Husseins invasion of Kuwait, the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 had fairly short-term impacts on oil prices, as long as Saudi Arabia and the rest of OPEC cooperated to ensure adequate oil supplies in the world markets. When prices began to soar once again, they were no longer fueled by the U.S.-led advanced economies but China and large emerging economies. Additional fluctuations were attributed to post-Iraq War instability, insurgencies, U.S. occupation of Iraq, and financial bubbles in the West. When the global crisis took off in fall 2008, prices boomed and burst. Crude Brent prices did return to almost $130 by early 2011, as a result of stimulus packages, recovery policies and non-traditional monetary policies in the ailing West. At the same time, China overtook the U.S. as the worlds biggest importer of oil. That period came to an end in 2014, with lingering recovery in the U.S., secular stagnation in Europe and Japan, and Chinas growth deceleration after industrialization. For more than a year, major oil exporters have debated production cuts, which have been resisted by Saudi Arabia. The OPEC still accounts for about 40% of total output worldwide. Reportedly, more cheap oil could cause its revenue to almost halve to $550 billion. Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation. Flash Six Yemeni pro-government soldiers were killed and five others injured when a booby-trapped car blast struck a military checkpoint in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Monday, a security official told Xinhua. "A suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden car at a checkpoint manned by pro-government security forces in Aden's northern main entrance of Daar Saad, killing six soldiers and injuring five others on the spot, " the local security official said on condition of anonymity. Witnesses said that "a speeding car hit the the cement barricades around the military outpost and caused a huge blast that shook the whole neighborhood." Military intelligence sources confirmed that the huge explosion was caused by a car bomb that targeted a key military checkpoint linking Aden's northern entrance with neighboring southern provinces of Lahj. Meanwhile, a landmine explosion hit a civilian vehicle and killed a whole family composed of four members in Aden's neighborhood of Beer Fadhel. On Sunday evening, unknown gunmen assassinated a prominent pro-government Sunni cleric in Aden. The port city of Aden, Yemen's temporary capital, has been witnessing a state of chaos and lawlessness during the past weeks resulted in the assassination of Aden's former governor, several high-ranking security officers and judges. The turbulent and complicated security situation in Aden and neighboring southern provinces of Lahj and Abyan is one of the biggest challenges for the Saudi-led Arab coalition forces operating in Aden. The Saudi-led Arab coalition has dispatched thousands of soldiers from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Sudan and Bahrain into five anti-Houthi southern provinces to support and train local Yemeni security forces there. Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East and the affiliate of the Islamic State. You are here: Home Flash The Turkish artillery forces has hit the Islamic State (IS) positions in Syria, local broadcaster NTV reported on Monday. Sixty artillery rounds were reportedly fired by the military on the IS targets to the north of Aleppo as part of the U.S.-led coalition's operation against the jihadist group, according to the report. Five targets were destroyed by the shells launched from the military units located near the southern Kilis province, said the report. Turkish air forces earlier participated in four airstrikes of the anti-IS coalition in Syria, while this is Turkish first artillery action with the allied forces. Turkish air forces were absent from the recent airstrikes in order to avoid any confrontation with Russia because the two countries are at odds since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on Nov. 24. Russia has been carrying out airstrikes in Syria since Sept. 30 in a bid to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government. Turkey argues that the Russian airstrikes are not targeting the IS, but the moderate Syrian opposition. The Syria-Turkey relations have hit the bottom since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011. Turkey blames Assad for prolonging the crisis, while Damascus accuses Ankara of facilitating the flow of foreign jihadists into Syria. Flash Syria's fragile cessation of hostilities was largely holding on Monday, with progress made on the military and humanitarian aspect amid new political prospects, according to media reports. Children look at people from a balcony in Damascus, capital of Syria, Feb. 29, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] Three days into the U.S.-Russia-backed truce, the capital Damascus was largely peaceful on Monday, with no shelling sound or known military operations. The truce, which started on Saturday, has reflected an international will to build a momentum to resolve Syria's nearly five years of conflict. Still, as the truce excludes the Islamic State (IS) and the Nusra Front, clashes continued against those groups on several fronts, mainly in the northern province of Aleppo. Last week, the IS cut off the only road connecting the government-controlled parts of Aleppo with other Syrian provinces in the central and the southern region. The attack severed Aleppo completely from other cities, pushing the government forces to unleash a counter-offensive to recapture the road. A Syrian military source declared on Monday that the Syrian Armed Forces have completely restored the road to Aleppo "after eliminating the last gathering of the IS." On the humanitarian level, Muhannad al-Assadi, a media spokesman of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, told Xinhua that as many as 51 aid trucks entered the town of Muadamiyeh near Damascus on Monday, the first shipment to enter the town since the ceasefire began on Saturday, and the third this month. Entering relief aid to besieged areas across the country was a main international demand along with the cessation of hostilities plan. Meanwhile, the exiled opposition renewed accusations that Syrian government forces were breaching the truce in some areas. Riad Hijab, the opposition's general coordinator, wrote a letter to the UN secretary-general detailing the alleged breaches of the truce, saying his group recorded breaches of the agreement in 26 different areas of Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Monday it monitored seven breaches of the truce by the militant groups over the past 24 hours, "including an attack by terrorists of l-Nusra Front through using artillery against units of popular protection in the surroundings of al-Ashrafiyah town in Aleppo countryside." Russia said the IS was targeting the road connecting the central province of Hama and Aleppo, which "obstructs the delivering of humanitarian aid to the residents of Aleppo and neighboring cities." UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura said "every time there has been an incident, that has been -- so far -- contained." However, he did not specify how many incidents have been reported. "We could have had much worse news, frankly," de Mistura said, adding if the truce continued, it "would be a major booster in confidence-building and trust." "The first gesture of believing in each other, or at least believing that there is a nonmilitary solution, is the reduction of violence," he said. The UN envoy further said the International Task Force, co-chaired by Moscow and Washington, was set to meet Monday afternoon in Geneva to evaluate allegations of a range of breaches. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also said Monday that there have been some incidents but the ceasefire was generally holding. "As of now I can tell you that by and large the cessation of hostilities is holding even though we have experienced some incidents," he told reporters in Geneva on Monday. Also, Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary-general of NATO, said the cease-fire in Syria is "largely holding," expressing some concerns about the Russian military buildup in Syria. Making the comments on a visit to Kuwait on Monday, Stoltenberg said "We are concerned about the significant Russian military buildup we have seen in Syria, with the ground troops, with the naval forces in the eastern Mediterranean and with air forces conducting airstrikes and so far they have mainly targeted not IS but other opposition groups." Aside from monitoring the breaches, a Russian official made new remarks on Monday, with a clue of what Russia may think about the future of Syria. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told a news briefing on Monday that Syria could become a federal state if that model works in the country. Syria has yet to comment on the fresh Russian remarks, but the government always maintains that any change in Syria must be subject to the choice of the Syrian people only. You are here: Home Flash Under heavy presence of police, works started on Monday to dismantle the southern part of migrants camp in Calais, north France, local media reported. Belgian policemen stop a truck at the Belgium-France border in Adinkerke, Belgium, on Feb. 24, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] According to the daily Le Figaro, about one hundred police officers have been deployed in the shanty town to allow workers clearing the site where about 3,000 migrants were staying. "We intend to handle it smoothly, things do not happen in a day," Bruno Christmas, Regional Secretary Alliance Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy, was quoted as saying. Local reports added a British activist from the No Border, a network advocating freedom of movement and smoother migration policy, was arrested earlier on the day. On Feb. 25, an administrative court in Lille, north France upheld the decision to evacuate thousands of migrants camping in Calais, rejecting NGOs' request to halt the eviction order. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve promised the camp's evacuation would be done "progressively, by persuasion and with respect for people's dignity." Local authorities proposed to relocate them in a state-run container shelter nearby or other refugees centers across France. Wars, political instability and poverty in many Arab and African countries forced thousands of people to displace and seek better life in European doors. Flash The United Nations deputy humanitarian chief Monday called on all parties to the conflict in South Sudan to protect civilians and grant safe and unhindered humanitarian access as she wrapped up a two-day visit to the African country. Kyung-wha Kang, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, accompanied UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the visit to South Sudan, where they met Government officials and visited communities affected by the conflict. During her mission, Ms. Kang also met humanitarian partners and the diplomatic community and visited Malakal, where she witnessed the devastating impact of the armed violence that took place on 17 and 18 February in the UN protection of civilians site. "I am outraged by what I have seen in Malakal," she said, noting that civilians who had sought safety at the site have been attacked, killed, traumatised and displaced once more, with the entire site, including medical clinics and schools, completely and systematically burnt down and destroyed. "Those responsible for these heinous acts must be held to account," she said. The two-year conflict in South Sudan has taken a brutal and deadly toll on civilians. Recently, fighting has spread to new areas, including in Wau and Mundri, and there continue to be reports of people being raped and killed, and of homes and crops being destroyed and damaged by fighting. Despite the peace agreement, civilians in the country continue to face destitution, destruction, death and devastation, and the humanitarian needs continue to grow, said Ms. Kang, calling for an end to the fighting, the protection of people caught in the middle, and immediate and unhindered access for humanitarian actors to all those in need. Ms. Kang appealed to the international community to act immediately to avert an even greater tragedy in South Sudan, as humanitarian needs are higher now than ever. The South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan for 2016 is currently only 6.5 per cent funded, including the $21 million of Central Emergency Response Fund allocation announced by the Secretary-General in Juba on 25 February, leaving a gap of nearly $1.21 billion. Some $220 million is needed without delay to ensure that vital supplies can be procured and delivered during the dry season, before nearly 60 per cent of the country is again unreachable by road. Flash South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday that the government will force the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to give up its nuclear program based on firmer defense readiness and international cooperation. South Korean President Park Geun-hye delivers a speech during a ceremony to celebrate the anniversary of the Independence Movement against Japanese colonial occupation in 1919 in Seoul, South Korea, March 1, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] Park made the remarks during her speech to commemorate the 97th anniversary of Independence Movement Day against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula. "It became clear for existing responses to be unable to discourage North Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear development," Park said, adding that if the DPRK is left as it is, Pyongyang will conduct fifth and sixth nuclear tests which will threaten stability in Northeast Asia and peace in the world as well as survival of Korean people. The DPRK carried out what it claimed was its first H-bomb test, the fourth of its nuclear detonations, on Jan. 6, and went ahead with the launch of a long-range rocket, which outsiders see as a banned test of ballistic missile technology, on Feb. 7. Tougher new sanctions toward the DPRK are under discussion at the UN Security Council, and South Korea implemented its unilateral restrictions by closing down the Kaesong industrial zone, the once-jointly-run factory park in the DPRK's border city of Kaesong. Park said that pressures by Seoul and the international society on Pyongyang would continue unless the DPRK shows its intention to denuclearize. But, she noted that the government will not close a door to dialogue with the DPRK. It marked the first time since the DPRK's fourth nuclear test that Park mentioned dialogue with Pyongyang. Flash At least 12 militants were killed and six others injured when Pakistani army launched an aerial and ground offensives in the country's northwest tribal region of NorthWaziristan on Monday, local media reported. Local Urdu Channel Samaa News said that the forces, backed by jet fighters from Pakistan Air Force, pounded three militants' hideouts, killing seven militants in Shawal area of the North Waziristan, a semi-autonomous tribal area along Pakistan-Afghanistan border. In the ground operation, the troops gunned down five militants and injured six others in the Shawal area. Identities of the killed militants have not been revealed yet, but North Waziristan Agency is believed to be a hotbed of outlawed group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan activity. This is the third major operation against the militants in the area over the last three days. The recent offensives are continuation of the military operation in North Waziristan Agency. Aiming at the eradication of local and foreign militants from the volatile North Waziristan agency, the armed offensive called "Zarb-e-Azb" (sharp strike) was launched on June 15, 2014. The army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations said in an earlier statement that about 3500 militants have been killed in the operation so far and most of the North Waziristan area has been cleared of the militants. The country's army chief General Raheel Sharif visited the region last Wednesday where he gave a go-ahead for the initiation of the final phase of the operation. The last phase of the operation aims to clear the last remnants of the militants from their hideouts in the forested ravines and destroy them in detail, while also cut their links to their abettors across the country, said the army. A local branch of ICBC in Yichang, Hubei province. [Photo/China Daily] Report says six leading banks will take part in trial program China has restarted nonperforming asset securitization after halting the business in 2009. Regulators held a meeting last week and confirmed six major commercial banks as the first batch of financial institutions to participate in a trial program for NPA securitization, reported Beijing-based Economic Information Daily on Monday. The five largest commercial lenders in the countryIndustrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank Corp, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, Bank of China Ltd and Bank of Communications Co Ltdplus China Merchants Bank Co Ltd, the first shareholding commercial lender wholly owned by corporate legal entities, are reportedly carrying out the trial program. Reuters reported the regulators set a quota of 50 billion yuan ($7.6 billion) in total on the trial, but according to Economic Information Daily, a newspaper run by Xinhua News Agency, the regulators did not specify a quota for the entire program. Bank of China is reportedly making the fastest progress among the six banks. It launched NPA securitization last year, submitted its plan on relevant products to the regulators, and is now adjusting its quota on the issuance of bad asset-backed securities according to the regulators' requirement. Two other major banks also started their own trial and confirmed the lead underwriter recently, the newspaper reported. None of the six banks replied to China Daily's requests for comment. Nonperforming loans have been on the rise in China for 17 consecutive quarters, according to statistics from the China Banking Regulatory Commission. By the end of December, the outstanding NPLs of commercial banks increased by 51 percent year-on-year to 1.27 trillion yuan. During the same period, the NPL ratio went up 42 basis points to 1.67 percent. Xiao Bo, founder of Zero and One Internet Technologies Co Ltd, a Beijing-based enabler of trading in nonperforming assets, said the huge amount of NPLs may have become a driving force for bad asset securitization. "If banks continue to sell packages of nonperforming assets at a 70 to 80 percent discount, their financial statements will look bad. But they could transfer rights to earnings from bad loans at a 30 to 40 percent discount through NPA securitization. Although institutional investors in bad asset-backed securities may lose money in a single purchase, they will be compensated by banks in other businesses," he said. "The regulators also seem to hope that institutional investors will allocate part of social funds to bad asset-backed securities rather than peer-to-peer lending products. This will help prevent companies from going bankrupt due to loan defaults, thus stabilizing the financial system. "But bad asset securitization will not fundamentally solve the problems related to bad loans, which could only be disposed through means like selling, corporate restructuring and settling with the debtor," he said. A former leading financial specialist at the World Bank said China urgently needs to develop a national strategy on inclusive finance. Inclusive finance refers to a system that offers timely, convenient and differentiated financial services to all individuals and businesses, especially to low-income house-holds, rural residents and micro and small businesses at affordable costs. Wang Jun, adjunct professor of finance at the China Europe International Business School, made the comments at a forum held by the Center for Microfinance Initiatives and Networks at Renmin University of China on Friday. "Only by launching such a strategy, could we clarify a few crucial questions about inclusive finance, including what we want to achieve through its development, which people we'd like to serve, what principles we should hold to satisfy their demands, what measures to take and how to set priorities," he said. Wang, who previously held the position of lead financial specialist for East Asia and the Pacific at the World Bank, said China needs to evaluate its current progress on inclusive finance to find out what has been achieved, what are the differences between China and other countries in this respect, and what problems still remain and why. The country also needs to build a reliable statistical indicator system revealing the actual situation of inclusive finance. "During the process of developing the national strategy, we should be cautious against overly politicizing inclusive finance so as not to hinder us from achieving our goals," he said. "The government should make greater efforts in offering basic public services such as road and network infrastructure construction, rather than devoting too much attention to the direct provision of financial services and products." The country has a severely imbalanced financial structure, according to the 2015 Green Paper of Financial Inclusion in China released by Renmin University. Private enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones, received only 30 percent of bank loans, although they contributed 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product and provided 80 percent of employment in cities and towns, the paper said. "The country should strive to develop inclusive finance, as it will guide the flow of financial resources to fill a gap between financial supply and demand caused by structural imbalance." Starting in the 1990s as small loan programs to fight poverty, the development of inclusive finance in China has accelerated since 2005, with the participation of new types of financial institutions such as small loan companies, Internet banks and peer-to-peer lending platforms. Statistics from the China Banking Regulatory Commission showed that the balance of agriculture-related loans of China's banking institutions, excluding notes financing, rose 11.7 percent year-on-year to 26.4 trillion yuan ($4 trillion) at the end of December. During the same period, the balance of loans for small and micro businesses reached 23.5 trillion yuan, up 13.3 percent year-on-year. Airbus's company logo is pictured at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, December 4, 2014. [Photo/Agencies] Airbus Group SE landed a $2.9 billion order for wide-body jets from Air China Ltd ahead of Wednesday's groundbreaking ceremony for a finishing facility near Beijing for the same model. Air China Ltd, country's third-largest carrier by passenger volume, sealed the deal with the manufacturer, buying 12 A330-300s aircraft from the group, Bloomberg reported on Monday. These 12 wide-body jets are due for delivery through 2018 and would increase the airline's capacity by 5.6 percent, the Beijing-based company said in a statement released on Shanghai exchange. The deal comes as Airbus prepares to break ground on a completion center for its double-aisle A330s in Tianjin. According to the report, the rapid growth of air travel in Asia is boosting orders for Airbus and its rival Boeing Co. China's economic growth makes air travel affordable to more people, prompting carriers to expand their fleets. Jack Ma(3rd from right), founder and chairman of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba, attends the opening ceremony of MYbank in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, June 25, 2105. MYbank has a registered capital of 4 billion yuan ($655 million). The bank will center on financial services for small and micro business, as well as online consumers through the Internet platform. [Photo/Xinhua] BEIJING - An Alibaba-backed private lender said on Monday that its focus on providing financial services to clients who are underserved by traditional banks has resulted in billions in loans to small businesses and individuals over the past eight months. E-commerce giant Alibaba holds a 30-percent stake in MYbank through its financial arm, Ant Financial. MYbank said it has lent a total of 45 billion yuan (around $6.88 billion) to farmers, merchants on Alibaba's online marketplace, restaurant owners and mom-and-pop stores, extending loans to 800,000 borrowers that have trouble accessing financing through traditional banks. In the eight months since it opened for business last June, MYbank's loan balance has grown 30 percent each month on top of a client base that has been expanding 12 percent for the past five months. Its rival, Tencent, also runs a private lender called WeBank based in the southern Chinese boomtown of Shenzhen. Neither lender has a physical presence, instead providing services online or through mobile applications. They are among a group of private lenders approved by the Chinese banking regulator under a trial program to encourage lending to the country's small and private businesses and the rural population. China's large, state-owned banks have been more inclined to lend to big, state-owned companies as the implicit guarantee they have from the government has made lending to such firms almost risk-free. Smaller companies and individuals don't have such backing, and without adequate credit records, banks don't know how much risk they are exposed to when lending to these companies. MYbank has tended to lend to companies and firms that have historically been underserved by big banks, while WeBank has focused on consumer credit and wealth management. Both touted their ability to accurately evaluate clients' creditworthiness based on their online activity, in addition to information gathered through traditional due diligence work. MYbank didn't disclose the aggregate amount of credit extended to farmers, but said average credit for rural household across 2,425 villages in 24 provinces stands at 44,000 yuan. A pedestrian walks past a Jumei International Holding Ltd outlet in Beijing. [Photo/China Daily] More shareholders in Jumei International Holding Ltd, the Chinese online beauty product retailer, are joining ranks in opposing the company's delisting in the United States, claiming the share buyback is being priced unfairly low. The growing anger comes after Jumei founder Leo Chen Ou and his partners offered $7 per American depositary share, about a third of its IPO price, to buy back the company. Jumei is the latest in a string of Chinese companies seeking to leave the Wall Street. Three institutional investors and a group of retail investors said they are now planning to sue Jumei both in the US and the Cayman Islands where the company is incorporated. If the delisting plan goes ahead, minority investors are claiming it will not only undermine their interests but also trigger widespread concerns about other overseas-listed Chinese companies taking similar moves to the detriments of small equity owners. "We have formed a group of more than 260 investors to sue Jumei and our combined shares have already exceeded 5 million shares," said Zhang Xuanji, one of the investors. "To augment our voice and influence, we are hoping to raise the number to 14 million shares, about 10 percent of the company's stock, by uniting more small investors," he said, adding three institutional investors, including iMeigu Fund in Beijing, a firm specializing in investing in US-traded Chinese companies, have also joined the efforts. New York-listed Jumei announced on Feb 17 it had received a non-binding offer from its management team to acquire all of Jumei's outstanding 45.6 percent shares for $7 per American depositary share. The company, which was not immediately available for comments, said earlier the offer represents a premium of 26.6 percent above the average closing price over the previous 10 trading days. Minority shareholders, however, argue that is 68 percent below its initial public offering price of $22, when it listed in New York in May 2014. A woman uses a sewing machine that produces taqiyah (prayer caps for Muslim men) at a clothing manufacturing company in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region. [Photo/China Daily] A 67-year-old Muslim entrepreneur in Northwestern China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region is finding new opportunities for his family clothing business along the Silk Road Economic Belt. Yang Faxiang started his company in the 1990s with a few dozen sewing machines, making ethnic costumes and clothing for Hui people. Later, as cross-cultural exchanges and trading increased between China and the Middle East, he found a welcoming foreign market for his products. His company, Wuzhong Wantini Ethnic Clothing Co, established its first overseas store in Saudi Arabia in 2012. "The store functions as a wholesale headquarters for the company in the Middle East, since traders from other countries in the region go there to restock. It also helps us to brand our company, showing our designs for Muslim clothes," Yang said. Last year, the company's sales revenue reached 24 million yuan ($3.66 million), with 60 percent coming from foreign markets. Yang expects revenue to double this year. The Belt and Road Initiative "will make the ties between China and the Middle East closer, which will benefit our business," he said. "President Xi Jinping visited three countries in the Middle East in January, which has given us strong encouragement." Yang said he hopes Xi's visit will result in some preferential policies for Chinese businesses in the Middle East, where he has found visas to be costly and challenging to get due to the short times involved. Financial services in the Middle East also are difficult for foreign businesses to obtain, so he hopes more banks will provide help for small-business owners. Competition among Chinese producers is fierce in the Middle East, Yang said. "Some clothing companies from southern China can provide the same quality with lower prices, since their logistics costs are less than those for companies in northern China," he said. This has "brought challenges to us, but we will continue to make efforts because the market is promising". Ma Jun, a senior manager at the company who is in charge of foreign marketing, said the company is considering opening stores in Sudan and Qatar. Yang chose Wuzhong, a city in central Ningxia, for his business because it is one of the major settlements in China for people of the Hui ethnic group. More than 55 percent of Wuzhong's population is Muslim, and many companies have located Muslim clothing businesses there. In November, Ningxia Hengfeng Group, a clothing company with an investment of 150 million yuan, was established in Wuzhong. The company is expected to provide 2,000 jobs when it begins production by the end of the year. The company foresees an annual production capacity of 5 million robes for Muslims, and it intends to export them to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Guo Shaoyu contributed to this story. Two visitors from Russia taste local snacks in Rongshui, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua] After four years of decline, there was a huge increase in the number of Russian tourists visiting China in January, new figures show. In total, 144,200 Russians visited in the first month of 2016up 46.9 percent on the same period last year, according to a recent report released by the China Tourism Academy, a think tank under the China National Tourism Administration. Russia is the fifth-largest source market for China's tourism industry after the United States, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea, but over the past few years a weak ruble has dampened Russians' enthusiasm for travel abroad. Last year alone, the number of Russian tourists in China was down 22.7 percent year-on-year, according to the report Xu Xiaolei, a spokesman for China Youth Travel Service, said the growth in Russian tourists this winter was not surprising, but it was still too early to predict a trend for the rest of the year. "Many Russian tourists chose to spend the bitter winter in warm Hainan province. And to avoid the peak season of Chinese New Year, many booked their trips to China in January," Xu said. "Tourism watchdogs have also been tightening the regulation of Hainan's tourism products. Compared with the sky-high hotel prices last year, prices in Hainan are relatively low this year. This has also helped to attract more Russian tourists." Xu said he expected the overall inbound tourism industry to maintain its pace of growth this year, after the number of inbound visits in January increased by 1.7 percent year-on-year to 11.1 million, according to the China Tourism Academy report The China National Tourism Administration expects more than 137 million overseas tourists to visit China this year, an increase of 2.5 percent on the previous year. According to its development goal for 2016, as set at the annual work meeting on Jan 29, international tourism revenue is also forecast to increase by 6.5 percent, reaching $121 billion. If this happens, it will be the second consecutive year of growth for China's inbound tourism market following a period of decline from 2011 to 2014. Li Shihong, deputy head of the administration, said second- and third-tier cities and small towns would play a leading role in attracting overseas touristshighlighting Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, Yueyang, Hunan province and Tongli, Jiangsu province as examples. "Second- and third-tier cities and small towns have unique cultural symbols, beautiful landscapes and have preserved history" better than modern cities, Li said. "All these are attractive factors for frequent visitors to China." "Besides, the high-speed railway network has connected small towns and made them more accessible than ever before. It is a great time for them to develop their inbound tourism industry." A Qualcomm sign is pictured in front of one of its many buildings in San Diego, California November 5, 2014. [Photo/Agencies] Thundercomm will have access to intellectual patents from US chip giant Qualcomm Inc on Monday set up a joint venture with a Chinese tech firm to develop technologies used in drones, virtual reality goggles and other "smart devices" that the US chip giant believes will be the next big thing after the smartphone boom. The new JV, named Thundercomm, will provide products and technologies for local firms which are building the next-generation drones, robots, VR devices and wearables, according to a statement from Qualcomm and its Chinese partner Thunder Software Technology Co Ltd, or Thundersoft. The registered capital of Thundercomm was 18.74 million yuan ($2.8 million) and the Beijing-based Thundersoft will control nearly 82 percent of the JV, according to a statement from Thundersoft. An investment subsidiary of Qualcomm took the rest of the new company's stake. The JV will be located at the Fairy Peach Data Valley in Yubei District, southwest China's Chongqing municipality. The inland mega city has become one of the world's largest manufacturing bases of the smart devices in recent years. Zhang Shutao, general manager of Thundercomm, said the JV will get to use intellectual patents from Qualcomm. "We will have a lot opportunities to work with Qualcomm in IP, ... the JV will find ways to help customers get access to Qualcomm's IPs," Zhang said. Frank Meng, chairman of Qualcomm China, told China Daily in an exclusive interview earlier this month Chinese startups are set to lead the world in innovation in an array of emerging sectors. Chinese tech firms are making technological breakthroughs instead of waiting for ideas imported from overseas companies, said Meng. "Local vendors are coming up with gigantic amount of ideas that suit requirements of Chinese customers. Qualcomm wants to be a part of this new trend that will unlock another trillion-yuan market," said the 56-year-old. Ma Longwen, an analyst from Changjiang Securities Co, said the new JV will give an edge to Thundersoft in many areas, including drone making, smart automobile and VR. "It requires a large number of high-end chips to make a drone, as global orders for drones reaching the highest level on record, the JV is facing a huge market demand because it is endorsed by Qualcomm technologies," according to Ma. While sectors such as VR and operating system used in automobiles are not big today, they are set to receive huge user base like smartphones did, he added. The establishment of Thundercomm was also the first major China investment from Qualcomm since it set up a Guizhou-registered firm to manage investments on the Chinese mainland in January. Qualcomm is moving its investment focus to inland provinces to echo a number of national strategies aimed to boost economy in the less-developed regions taking advantage of the Internet and new technologies. CAI MENG/CHINA DAILY The past year has witnessed positive and negative changes in Sino-US relations. Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting with US President Barack Obama in the White House in September was a continuation of their informal meetings since 2013. And the Strategic and Economic Dialogue yielded remarkable achievements. The two countries also broadened their cooperation on climate change and security. Yet, the two countries' divergence and competition in South China Sea show there is still a lack of mutual trust. In general, this year will be a continuation of the pattern of relations featuring cooperation as well as competition. The US will carry on its "rebalancing to the Asia-pacific".Historically, the US always with draws around the world after being deeply involved in a war. Dwight Eisenhower did it after the Korean War. Richard Nixon did it after the Vietnam War. Barack Obama is no exception. After the Afghanistan War, he concluded the US' global anti-terror war, with drew US troops from Iraq in 2009, and reduced the US military presence in Afghanistan. However, while contracting in the rest of the world, the Obama administration has increased its input in Asia-Pacific region. US strategists reached a general consensus in 2010 that China will be the main challenge to the US' hegemony in the coming years, and if the US wants to maintain its leadership in the world, it must respond, contain and be vigilant to China's challenge. Obama's successor will likely maintain this view. In the past few years, the Obama administration has mainly done three things in the Asia-Pacific: strengthened the US' alliance with Japan, boosted its ties with India, and concluded negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. The Obama administration will continue to push ahead with these this year. Representing a company, a worker dressed as the God of Wealth from Chinese legend, attracts the attention of job-seekers at an employment fair in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Saturday. The employment outlook is grim as 7.65 million university graduates enter the job market this year.[Photo by Lin Yunlong/China Daily] China will gradually raise its statutory retirement age over the coming years in a bid to combat the effects of an aging population. Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, told a news conference on Monday that the current retirement policy "seems to be out of date". Currently, China's retirement age is 60 for men, 55 for female white-collar workers and 50 for female blue-collar employees. "The current policy was formulated about 60 years ago when average life expectancy was relatively low. After so many years, life expectancy has increased," said Yin. "That's not to mention the aging population trend. Last year the number of citizens aged over 60 surpassed 220 million, accounting for 16 percent of the total population. "Currently, the average retirement age in China is under 55, compared to somewhere in the mid-60s in many other countries. Taking all these factors into consideration, China should raise the retirement age but only step by step until it reaches a reasonable level." The gradual implementation of a higher retirement age would mean, for example, that a worker who is five years away from retirement when the new policy takes effect would have to work an additional three months, while a worker six years out would work six months extra, Yin said. Moreover, it will not be applied equally to all sectors of the workforce and a reform plan will be released to solicit public opinion within 12 months, he added. Jin Weigang, a researcher with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, told China News Service on Saturday that the plan is likely to be implemented in 2022 after a five-year transitional period. The government's plan to raise the retirement age is a response to the fact that China's shrinking workforce and aging population has begun to bite into the country's labor market and pension system. Population figures show that the number of people aged 16 to 60 fell by 4.87 million to 911 million in 2015, the fourth consecutive year of decline. On Dec 2, the Institute of Population and Labor Economics and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences published a green paper on population and labor, in which researchers suggested a two step strategy to changing the retirement age. They recommended that China complete the integration of its two pension systems by 2017 and that from 2018, the retirement age for women should be raised one year every three years, and the retirement age for men should be raised one year every six years. This means that by 2045, the retirement age for both men and women would be 65. Chen Man, who had been wrongfully imprisoned for 23 years, was declared innocent in Haikou, Hainan province, on Feb 1, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] Lawyer Wang Wanqiong said that she was very surprised and moved to receive a WeChat message during the Lunar New Year from her client, Chen Man, who had been wrongfully imprisoned for 23 years. "I didn't believe Chen, who had been imprisoned for such a long time, could use WeChat to send me Spring Festival wishes, as he has not been good at calling me with a smart phone since he was released," Wang said. On Feb 1, the 53-year-old Chen, from Sichuan province, who was given a two-year suspended death sentence in 1994 for homicide and arson, was pronounced innocent in Haikou, Hainan province, because of insufficient evidence. Wang said she was excited to see that her client had been freed, adding that her three-year effort to help his appeal was not in vain. She clearly remembered the first time she went to visit Chen's parents in 2013, saying that their trust and determination to prove their son's innocence brought her not only confidence, but also pressure. "I have never seen such abundant appeal materials piled up in a room in my 13-year career. All the documents were collected by the parents, both in their 80s," she said. "I was so moved, depressed and shocked at the same time. Chen's parents were good at communicating and were sensible when they shared their opinions of the case. "Chen's acquittal should be attributed to the progress of the rule of law and the efforts made by legal bodies to correct wrongful judgments in recent years. The idea of dealing with such cases has changed our judicial system, which also cheered me up." Wang is negotiating how much State compensation should be paid to Chen and his family, and is helping Chen's physical recovery. Chen, who got a physical checkup before the festival, plans to recover from the stomach disease he acquired during detention and spend more time with his parents. "This past holiday was the happiest time I have had in over 23 years, because I finally got the family reunion that I most wanted in prison," said Chen. "Freedom is the most important thing and I'll cherish it and the time with my mom and dad." He noted that he will also try to fit into society, learn to use a smartphone, and increase communications with others. He remembered the time he spent in jail, saying that he thought about why destiny treated him this way as he was making shoes, sweaters or batteries in prison. "Thanks to judicial reforms put forward by the central leadership three years ago and the persistence of my family and lawyer, I was lucky to be proved innocent," he said. "I have had some ideas about my future job and want to start my own business." "But I know there are many things I should learn, so the first step for me now is to understand more about society, which is strange in my eyes." Chen Yi, his older brother, showed excitement and hope for the future. "I'm enjoying every second the family members get together now and I also believe my younger brother can live a better life," he said. In Yunnan province, Qian Renfeng, who was acquitted in December after wrongfully serving 13 years in prison for poisoning children, is also facing reintegration into society. She was wrongfully sentenced to life imprisonment in 2002 when she was 17. Qian Lunrong, her nephew, said that he accompanies her to find a job in the province's capital Kunming, "but it's too hard for her to be employed.""She didn't know how to use a mobile phone when she was released, let alone other high-tech tools. She's like a newborn bird that is curious about the world, but is afraid to fly far from home," he said. Wang also showed concern about the current social assistance for acquitted people. "The social correction centers for helping the released to find jobs don't fulfill their role now," he said. In other words, the efforts in building a "connection" between prisons and society should be further improved, Wang added. The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and J. Walter Thompson Company released a research report saying that female role models in film and TV are hugely influential in driving women to improve their lives. The report, which was released on the same day Oscars were awarded in Hollywood, finds that 90 percent of women globally feel that female role models in film and TV are important, 61 percent said female role models in film and TV have been influential in their lives, and 58 percent said that women have been inspired to be more ambitious or assertive. The survey of 4,300 women in nine countries Brazil, China, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Russia, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States also showed that one in nine globally, rising as high as one in four in Brazil, said that positive female role models had given them the courage to leave an abusive relationship. However, 53 percent of women globally think there is a lack of female role models in film and TV; 74 percent said they wished they had seen more female role models growing up; and 80 percent said that women should have a louder voice when it comes to cultural influence. Previous research by the Institute found that the percentage of fictional working women is even lower than the one that exists in the real world. Of the characters with jobs, less than 25 percent were female, while women make up 40 percent of the global workforce. Film depictions also fail to reflect the slow but steady progress of female representation across professions. Despite women holding 24 percent of global political positions, out of 127 characters holding political office in films, only 12 were female. Geena Davis, Founder & Chair, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, said: "The fact is, women are seriously under-represented across nearly all sectors of society around the globe, not just on screen, but for the most part, we're simply not aware of the extent. And media images exert a powerful influence in creating and perpetuating our unconscious biases." Rachel Pashley, Global Board Planning Director at J. Walter Thompson, said that the lack of female role models on film and TV has been trivialized for too long the statistics around abusive relationships in particular bring the importance of the issue into stark contrast. "Saying anything is possible isn't as powerful as seeing that anything is possible. It's about setting a precedent; if girls don't see women physicists, racing car drivers and CEOs on screen, how are they expected to want to be physicists, racing car drivers and CEOs?" she said. The full research report will be available through the Geena Davis Institute in March. Seeds of the abrus precatorius at a plant exhibit in Nanjing Zhongshan Botanical Garden, Nanjing city, East China's Jiangsu province, Jan 31, 2016. [Photo/IC] A Chinese passenger was found unintentionally carrying one of the world's most toxic seeds, which he had picked up in Ethiopia, in his suitcase at Guangzhou airport, according to Nanfang Daily. The man, whose name was not revealed by police, explained he loved the appearance of the seeds and thought they were harmless when security staff at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport found 0.1 kilogram of them in his suitcase. After testing and identification at a laboratory in Guangzhou Airport Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, the seeds were identified as abrus precatorius, a pantropic plant also known as the rosary pea (or jequirity pea). The reason why the seeds are listed as one of the world's top toxic lies in abrine contained in them. A man could die if he inhales or ingests three micrograms of abrine, let alone the 0.1 kilogram. The bureau launched an emergency plan, not only examining and protecting staff that had touched the seeds, but also properly keeping the seeds until destroying them. This is not the first case of the toxic seeds being discovered. In December 2011, the Eden Project, a visitor attraction in Cornwall, Britain, recalled a sale of bracelets, which were made of the same seeds, in consideration of the harm they could do to people's health. Chinese citizens traveling, working or studying in foreign countries are advised not to pick up the unknown plants or their seeds, which may be poisonous, and go to local doctors if they are ill after eating or wearing the toxic plants. BEIJING - China said it supports the intra-Syrian talks to resume in Geneva as early as possible and called for a political solution that takes into account the reasonable concerns of relevant parties, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said on Monday that the cessation of hostilities reached by the Syrian government and opposition forces is basically holding. China welcomed effective implementation of the ceasefire agreement by the concerned parties, spokesperson Hong Lei said at a daily news briefing. Hong said China hopes relevant parties can implement the UN Security Council 2254 Resolution and the joint communique of the fourth foreign ministers'meeting of the International Syrian Support Group (ISSG) in February in Munich to keep the momentum of the ceasefire and cessation of violence. "We hope the international community, especially countries in the region, will play a positive and constructive role," Hong said. Staffan de Mistura, UN special envoy for Syria, said he plans for the peace talks involving various parties in Syria to resume on March 7 in Geneva if the ceasefire holds. The Geneva talks on the Syrian crisis collapsed earlier in February. A political settlement is the fundamental and only solution to the Syrian issue, Hong said, adding that China always believes that violence won't lead to an outcome, while negotiation will give people hope. China called on all parties in Syria to meet each other halfway and seek common ground while narrowing their differences, Hong said. "China is willing to work with the international community to play its due role in promoting a political settlement for the Syrian issue," Hong said. Beijing police thwarted 4,900 cases of telephone fraud involving 620 million yuan ($95 million) last year, the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau reported on Tuesday. The bureau also announced it had handled 116,000 criminal cases last year, seized 285 kilograms of drugs and identified about 12,000 people involved in illicit drug use. It said 261,000 people were punished for violations of public security rules. Traffic accidents reported to police dropped by 19.4 percent last year from 2014, while phone calls to police dropped by 4.1 percent from the previous year, the bureau said. Members of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) from North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region wave upon their arrival at Beijing West Railway Station, in Beijing, March 1, 2016, for the Fourth Session of the 12th CPPCC National Committee. [Photo/Xinhua] BEIJING - Members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee are headed to Beijing for the advisory body's annual session, slated for Thursday. Political advisors from northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region and northern Inner Mongolia autonomous region were the first to arrive on Tuesday. With only two days until the start of the two-most important weeks of the political calendar, advisors will submit proposals and insight on state affairs. The National People's Congress, China's top legislature, will begin its annual session on Saturday. Together dubbed the "two sessions," the meetings are the most important political events in China, where political and economic development measures are discussed and key policies adopted. CPPCC members are elected from various walks of life and ethnic groups. They are the think tank for the government, and the legislative and judicial organs. They put forward proposals for the major political and social issues in the world's most populous nation and second-largest economy. Ma Zongbao, head of Ningxia University's institute for Hui ethnic studies, told Xinhua that his proposal calls for better higher education in central and western parts of China as this will aid poverty alleviation in the region. "I hope the country can improve the competitiveness of colleges and universities in central and western China to help them pull themselves out of poverty," he said. Shanghai saw a decline in migrants in 2015, the first time in 15 years, according to a report published by the city's statistics authority. The city had a population of about 24.15 million last year, 104,100 less than in 2014, the report said. Some 9.81 million migrants lived in the city last year, 147,700 fewer than 2014. Shanghai-based Dragon TV reported that the city's economic transition from low-end manufacturing to high-tech and service industries, as well as rising living costs have caused the population of migrants to fall. Many worked in the suburbs, such as the Jiading, Songjiang, Qingpu and Minhang districts in the past. But in recent years, the transition of industries in the suburbs, caused many to leave, the TV station reported. A robotic company has acquired a floorboard factory occupying about 10 hectares at Malu town in Jiading district, and the floorboard factory used to hire more than 500 workers, the station said. Chen Qiang, a deputy head of Baoqiao village in Malu town, told Dragon TV that about 6,166 migrants lived in the village in 2014, but the figure reduced to around 5,300 last year. Most worked in factories there. Xupu village in Minhang district demolished illegal buildings covering 577,000 square meters in recent years, and the number of migrants living in the village has fallen from 30,000 to 15,000. One migrant said rent for a room was 800 yuan last year, double that of 2014 which caused many migrants to leave. Shanghai has planned to restrict its population to 25 million by 2020. The city has taken measures such as upgrading industries, improving public services and enhancing law enforcement to achieve the goal. Peng Xizhe, director of the Center for Population and Development Policy Studies at Fudan University, said Shanghai should be careful in managing the population structure, such as different occupations and ages, to fulfill its goal. China supports the restart of talks over Syria in Geneva as soon as possible, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Tuesday. Hong made the remarks days after a cessation of hostilities agreement in Syria took effect. Xinhua News Agency reported that the agreement took effect at midnight Damascus time on Feb 27 in all Syrian cities, and the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura said that a new round of Syria talks will be held on March 7 if the cessation of hostilities "largely holds". According to Xinhua, de Mistura announced in Geneva on Feb 3 the temporary pause of the intra-Syrian talks. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told a press briefing on Monday that the Secretary-General said that the cessation of hostilities is holding in Syria, although there have been scattered incidents. Hong, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the country "supports the early resumption of Geneva talks on the Syrian issue", and calls for the Syrian government and the opposition parties to work out a political solution that takes into account reasonable concerns by all parties. He said China hopes all relevant parties will strictly implement the UN Security Council's Resolution 2254 and the fruits obtained in the fourth foreign ministers' meeting of the International Syria Support Group, and "seriously implement ceasefire and cessation of violence", adding that China is willing to continue to contribute its due share to pushing for a political solution for the Syria issue. City's junior high school educators among most qualified in the world, survey finds The five Chinese teachers featured in the BBC documentary Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School. The documentary triggered a heated debate on British and Chinese education methods. Experts have rated Shanghai's junior high school teachers among the world's most qualified, thanks to their diversified teaching approaches, well-rounded training and rewarding career paths. The assessment came after local teachers scored highest in 12 indicators in an international survey. The city attaches great importance to cultivating first-class teachers and giving them rewarding career opportunities, said Zhang Minxuan, director of the Research Institute of International and Comparative Education at Shanghai Normal University. In addition to the 12 indicators, such as efficiency of lessons, encouraging students to be engaged in classes, and professional training, Shanghai teachers' overall performance in nearly 40 indicators far exceeded the international average standard, the survey found. It was carried out by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Nearly 4,000 Shanghai teachers from 199 junior high schools responded to the survey, which also polled teachers in 37 other countries and regions, including Australia, Italy, Singapore and Japan, over the past three years. In an interview run by the journal Shanghai Education on WeChat, Karine Tremblay, director of the survey project, said Shanghai teachers have in-depth exchanges between peers, which helps them to "grow together on a fast track". "We found that many initiatives concerning teachers' professional development implemented in Shanghai can serve as world models," she said. In the OECD's 2012 Program for International Student Assessment, Shanghai students topped the ranks in math, reading and science tests in competition with those from dozens of countries. This helped to generate the BBC documentary series Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School, which was broadcast in August. BEIJING -- China will make stable employment a priority as structural reform puts pressure on the job market, said Vice Premier Ma Kai on Tuesday. Structural reform will put pressure on employment and the government should focus on stable employment along with economic expansion, said Ma at a State Council meeting. Local governments should support mass entrepreneurship and innovation as they will create jobs. In addition, migrant workers should be encouraged to start their own businesses back in their hometown. Workers that are made redundant as industrial overcapacity is addressed should be relocated and offered training. Policymakers have made cutting overcapacity a top priority in supply-side structural reform, which will help the world's second-largest economy achieve sustainable growth. In the process of capacity cuts, around 1.3 million people in the coal and steel sectors will loose their jobs, according to Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Yin Weimin. SHANGHAI -- China's eastern metropolitan of Shanghai saw its population shrink for the first time this century. The city's permanent population, those who have lived there for six months or more, was 24.15 million at the end of 2015, marking a decline of 0.4 percent year on year, the city's statistics bureau said Tuesday. The city has been a magnet for job seekers thanks to booming economy, but its aging local population and low birth rate have dragged down the growth figure. Yet population experts believe last year's negative growth was mainly a result of the measures taken by the megacity to curb its population in order to alleviate the pressures on traffic flow and infrastructure. Zhou Haiwang, a demographer with Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the city had relocated many residents by phasing out obsolete industrial capacities and demolishing illegal buildings. Zhou said the trend befitted the city's plan to limit its permanent population within 25 million by 2020. China will stage its largest annual political and legislative eventsthe "two sessions"starting on Thursday. China Daily takes a close look at a series of likely hot topics and catchphrases during the sessions. Today's catchphraseAging populationThe aging of China's population is progressing rapidly, with the number of people aged 60 and older expected to expand to one-third of the population by the middle of the century. But healthcare services for the elderly, such as rehabilitative and hospice services, are lacking in many places in China. Measures are being taken to cope with the challenges, such as encouraging the integration of elderly care with healthcare services to ensure that the elderly receive proper care. Zhang Shouzi, a psychiatrist at Beijing Geriatric Hospital, has seen the number of patients seeking treatment for dementia in the hospital increasing over the past few years, resulting in some patients having to wait for weeks to get a bed. "The situation may get worse in the future with the aging of the population in Beijing," Zhang said. "The incidence of dementia rises with the increase of age, and up to 40 percent of people aged 85 or older may develop the condition." To cope with the growing number of elderly patients, the hospital is increasing the number of beds, and it opened a new complex in January, according to Yang Yingna, a publicity official of the hospital. That complex has 400 beds and is equipped with better facilities to meet the increasing demands, she said. With the rapid aging of the Chinese population, major cities such as Beijing are working out plans on coping with the healthcare needs of the elderly. By the end of 2014, the number of Chinese aged 60 or older reached 212 million, more than 15 percent of the population, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Some experts predict that it will swell to more than one-third of the population by 2050, when China will become one of the countries most heavily burdened by population aging. Beijing had 3.2 million permanent residents aged 60 or older by the end of 2014, and their number is predicted to reach 4 million by 2020, according to the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau. President Xi Jinping said in February that coping with population aging concerns China's overall development and the interests of hundreds of millions of people. He urged the government to improve major policies such as family planning, employment and elder care to cope with the problem. China will encourage the integration of healthcare and elderly care services to meet the challenges, according to a guideline the State Council, or the Cabinet, released in November. Cui's solo show in Beijing features more than 200 sets of his paintings, many of which are painted with his unique "finger-ink technique".[Photo provided to China Daily] Cui Ruzhuo's 'finger-ink' show opens at the Palace Museum, marking a rare chance for a living artist, Wang Kaihao reports. As a teenager, Cui Ruzhuo was engrossed in making replicas of famous artworks at the Palace Museum in Beijing. Now 72, the contemporary artist has returned to the same venue to display his Glossiness of Uncarved Jade: Grand Exhibition of Cui Ruzhuo. On Thursday, the grand opening of his show that runs through June 25 was held at the former imperial site, which is also known as the Forbidden City, marking a rare opportunity for a living artist. More than 200 sets of Cui's paintings are on display in the Meridian Gate exhibition hall above the museum's main entrance. Cui is known for reviving traditional Chinese painting with his "finger-ink technique". The technique, which refers to the use of fingers ins tea d of brushes or other painting tools, was first mentioned in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). Some painters of the mid-Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) used it, and celebrated painter Pan Tianshou (1897-1971) took it to a new level. "Our predecessors tried almost every technique in traditional Chinese painting, and there is little room left for creativity," Cui tells China Daily. "However, finger ink is a way out." Chaoshan beef hotpot restaurants become popular in Shanghai because of the strict selection of beef and cutting rules. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily] While the bull disappeared from Shanghai's roiling stock market in the latter half of 2015, it has been easy to find in-between the chopsticks of the city's most active diners. In fact, beef may have surpassed pork for choice by many in recent months. Beef lovers have long gathered at upscale Western steakhouses and Taiwan-style beef-soup noodle eateries. The trend-setting, however, is most apparent at a less high-profile venue: The Cow's Story, featuring a rather niche cuisine from Chaoshan, a region that many may only know vaguely as "somewhere in southern China". "Chaoshan beef preparation would not be overshadowed when compared with Japanese Wagyu or any fine fillet from steakhouses," says Chen Manqi, a native of Chaoshan, Guangdong province, who now lives and works in Shanghai. For sure, the 31-year-old is biased, as she has been running several restaurants serving the cuisine from her hometown for more than a decade in Shanghai. But you don't have to take her word for it: Chaoshan hotpot restaurants are sprouting up around Shanghai, with more than 200 recent openings in less than a year. For context: The total number of hotpot restaurants in the city is around 6,000, according to figures from Dianping.com, the most-used restaurant listing in China. Judges of Tengzhou Peoples Court in Shandong province swear an oath in front of Chinese national flag on Dec 2, 2014 to celebrate Chinas first Constitution Day. [Photo by Song Haicun/Xinhua] MA CAIYUN, a Beijing judge, was killed along with her husband when two people shot them on Friday. The killers later committed suicide. One of the shooters was confirmed to have been involved in a divorce case that Ma had presided over. China Youth Daily on Monday called for better protection of judicial staff: Many people said that the killer who was involved in the divorce case might feel he was unfairly treated. But that is no excuse for murder. However, many people do feel justice is often bent. They might not resort to such drastic action, but driven by such feelings, they lose respect for the judiciary and tend to use violence or harsh language against judicial staff. We cannot deny the fact that many judges and policemen encounter violence when enforcing the law. The root cause lies in the lack of rule of law. Judges are not as independent as they are supposed to be, they are under the influence of various levels of officials, interests, even personal relations. Thus when somebody loses a lawsuit, he or she might attribute that to corruption and seek revenge. Another popular judicial practice nowadays is that courts tend to mediate instead of letting those who commit illegal deeds pay for them. Thus lawsuits sometimes become trouble-seeking competitions, with those who can create the most trouble for the court winning. How can people trust the judiciary under such conditions? Since 2014, many judges have reportedly resigned, because the pressure is too much for them, the pay rather low, and they have no sense of purpose. That's a big problem awaiting a solution. We mourn for Ma, and we hope actions will be taken so that such a tragedy does not happen again. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a discussion on Chinese foreign policy and China-US Relations at Center for Strategic and International Studies(CSIS) in Washington D.C., the United States, on Feb 25, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] THE DEPLOYMENT OF a US missile defense system in the Republic of Korea seems to have been delayed after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the United States last week. A joint working group between Washington and Seoul on the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, which was due to begin work last Tuesday, was delayed at the request of the US. However, the postponed deployment of THAAD does not mean the US government has given up on it, Beijing News warned on Monday: Whether or not the anti-missile system will be deployed in the ROK, has a lot to do with China's stance on sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea after the DPRK conducted its fourth nuclear test on Jan 6 and launched an Earth-observation satellite apparently to test ballistic missile technology on Feb 7. Washington has refused to give a definite answer as to whether the system will be deployed in the ROK, and it will use it as a bargaining chip to pressure China. True, the regional security mechanism that has failed to work is to blame for the escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, especially when it comes to the DPRK's nuclear issue. But what Pyongyang will do in response to the risk of being isolated by the international community remains unpredictable, and thus should be carefully and primarily dealt with. Unlike Washington that seeks regional leadership through its maneuvering over the deployment of THAAD, Beijing only wants to get Pyongyang back to the negotiating table with the help of the international community. That explains why it has been more open toward imposing sanctions on the DPRK this time. Although they have stalled, it is thanks to the Six-Party Talks and their legacy that there has been no major military clash in Northeast Asia. However, the outgoing US President Barack Obama is still bent on implementing the US' "rebalancing to Asia-Pacific", which is upsetting the regional security and geopolitical order. All parties concerned should be very careful about tackling both the peninsula's nuclear issue and the deployment of THAAD. Young dancers from the New Mexico Chinese School of Arts and Language perform at last year's New Year celebration in Albuquerque. Provided to China Daily A Belgian friend, who runs a medium-sized chemical company and employs four Chinese nationals, recently said a multinational is not worth its name today if it does not employ Chinese and do business with China. His business instinct also led him to open an account at the Shanghai Stock Exchange two years ago, which, however, is being managed by his 15-year-old son. By doing so, my friend says he is guiding his son to fully understand the Chinese economy because he has to rely on it to earn his living in the future. The urge to know China and share its prosperity have been rapidly growing among Europeans, Americans, Africans and people in the rest of the world. Many of them send their children to special classes to learn Chinese, study Chinese painting or martial arts; some even send their wards to Chinese universities for higher education. Concurrently, Chinese communities are growing in major cities across the globe such as London, New York, Paris and Brussels as more Chinese enterprises and investors seek opportunities outside China, and more diplomats and journalists are posted overseas. Amid all this, Chinese expatriates are trying to ensure their children do not lose track of the Chinese language and culture while attending schools in foreign cities. But this is easier said than done. I have been hunting for a secondary school in London for my son, who will finish his primary school education in Brussels in a few months, because I will soon move to the United Kingdom. But it seems my son cannot attend an English-Chinese school in London, for I couldn't find one. Instead, he can apply to about 10 bilingual schools (with either English or French as a compulsory medium), for he has mainly had French as the medium of instruction in Brussels. China's Global Newspaper Sorry, the page you requested was not found. Please check the URL for proper spelling and capitalization. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Chinadaily.com.cn, try visiting the Chinadaily home page Guiyang announced that it will host the world's first competition for pain-point seekers, aiming to find social pain points, at a press conference held in Beijing on March 1. "Pain-point seekers refers to those who identify social 'pain-points'," said Gao Weidong, vice mayor of the Guiyang municipal government. Guiyang announced that it will host the world's first competition for pain-point seekers, aiming to find social pain points, at a press conference held in Beijing on March 1.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Pain-point seekers are able to find unmet societal demands among China's complicated social phenomena. These pain-points can bring opportunities for those who plan to start up their own companies. For example, traffic jams is a pain-point. Thus, the taxi-hailing App was a business opportunity. Review websites such as dianping.com have emerged from the pain-point that consumers are in need of word-of-mouth reviews of unfamiliar restaurants. The Pain-point Seeker Plan is an attempt to solve pain-points by bringing together social talents such as pain-point seekers and social capital. Through the Pain-point Seekers Plan, Guiyang expects to explore a brand new solution to meet unmet social demands. Chen Gang, secretary of the Party's Guiyang Municipal Committee speaks at the press conference. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] "Pain-point seekers are an important driver for grassroots innovation," said Chen Gang, secretary of the Party's Guiyang Municipal Committee. Guiyang will take advantage of its big data industry to build a platform for pain-point seekers and thus promote innovation. "The Pain-point Seekers Plan will help entrepreneurs reduce risks because it helps them to find the real unmet social demands," said Chen. Under the guidance of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), the competition is cosponsored by the Guiyang municipal government and the Guizhou provincial administrative bureau for industry and commerce. Hong Dan, deputy chief of the Enterprises Supervision Branch of the SAIC, noted that the competition will invite the public to identify pain-points to solve problems and promote companies' credit potential. Based on the pain-point seekers platform, Guiyang will construct a "Pain-point Seekers Dream Factory" early this May. As a regular operation platform of the Pain-point Seekers Plan, the dream factory will incorporate social talents with capital to make sure the plan will be implemented. "Without the pain-points collected from the pain-point seekers platform, many social innovations would not be practical," said Zhou Tao, professor at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. Guiyang has been improving its innovation environment in recent years. Thanks to its favorable policies, an increasing number of talents have chosen to reside and work in Guiyang. The Pain-point Seekers Plan will be another measure to add to the favorable policies. The final of the competition will be held during the Guiyang International Big Data Industry Expo which will be held in the second half of May. By Su Zhou in Beijing and Amy He in New York | China Daily | Updated: 2016-03-01 10:53 Li Jinzao, chairman of the China National Tourism Administration (center), US Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews (second from left) and Max Baucus, US ambassador to China (right), attend the opening ceremony of the US-China Tourism Year 2016 in Beijing on Monday.[Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily] Official hopes trips between nations will total more than 5 million during 2016 China and the United States launched the US-China Tourism Year 2016 at a ceremony in Beijing on Monday. The tourism year was announced by President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama during Xi's state visit to the United States in September. It aims to increase travel and tourism between the countries by enhancing the travel experience, increasing travelers' cultural understanding and expanding the appreciation of natural landscapes. Li Jinzao, chairman of the China National Tourism Administration, passed on Xi's wish to see more Americans in China. "The shortest direct flight between China and the US takes 11 hours while the longest takes 16 hours. The Pacific Ocean does not prevent people from visiting each other," Li said. "In 2015, total bilateral visits surpassed 4.75 million. We hope the number will surpass 5 million this year." Major events scheduled include one with 1,000 American tourists visiting the Great Wall, to be held at the wall's Jinshanling section in Hebei province on March 25; a tourism promotion in the US titled Beautiful China-Maritime Silk Road; a high-level China-US dialogue on tourism to be held in northwestern China's Ningxia autonomous region; and a grand closing ceremony at the end of the year. China has become the fourth-largest source of foreign tourists for the US and is expected to become the largest by 2020. In 2015, 2.5 million Chinese traveled to the US. The number is expected to hit 2.97 million in 2016. Chinese visitors spent $23.8 billion while in the United States in 2014, according to the US Department of Commerce, accounting for 57 percent of services exports to China. Two visitors from Russia taste local snacks in Rongshui, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.[Photo/Xinhua] After four years of decline, there was a huge increase in the number of Russian tourists visiting China in January, new figures show. In total, 144,200 Russians visited in the first month of 2016 - up 46.9 percent on the same period last year, according to a recent report released by the China Tourism Academy, a think tank under the China National Tourism Administration. Russia is the fifth-largest source market for China's tourism industry after the United States, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea, but over the past few years a weak ruble has dampened Russians' enthusiasm for travel abroad. Last year alone, the number of Russian tourists in China was down 22.7 percent year-on-year, according to the report Xu Xiaolei, a spokesman for China Youth Travel Service, said the growth in Russian tourists this winter was not surprising, but it was still too early to predict a trend for the rest of the year. "Many Russian tourists chose to spend the bitter winter in warm Hainan province. And to avoid the peak season of Chinese New Year, many booked their trips to China in January," Xu said. "Tourism watchdogs have also been tightening the regulation of Hainan's tourism products. Compared with the sky-high hotel prices last year, prices in Hainan are relatively low this year. This has also helped to attract more Russian tourists." China, EU sign short stay visa waiver deal for diplomatic passport holders (Xinhua) Updated: 2016-03-01 09:20 BRUSSELS - China and the European Union (EU) here on Monday signed a reciprocal short stay visa waiver agreement for holders of diplomatic passports. This agreement will allow visa free travel to the EU for citizens of China holding a diplomatic passport for stays up to 90 days (within any 180-day period) as well as for EU citizens travelling to China and holding a diplomatic passport or an EU laissez-passer. The agreement will not apply to the United Kingdom and Ireland. And the agreement will provisionally enter into force on the third day following the date of signature. EU Commissioner for Migration, EU Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos said ahead of the signing of the agreement that this is an important agreement not only because it is the first international agreement between the EU and China in the field of home affairs but also because it represents an important step towards greater cooperation on issues of mutual concern, especially in the areas of migration and mobility. Yang Yanyi, head of the Chinese Mission to the EU, said at the signing ceremony that the signing of the agreement undoubtedly marks a concrete step in visa facilitation and commits the two sides to work together more closely to broaden and deepen the cooperation, and help further negotiations so as to provide facilitation for the greater public to travel between China and the EU. In the past year, among the 120 million outbound Chinese tourists, 2.5 million paid visits to Europe. Representatives of the European Commission and the Dutch EU Council Presidency also attended the signing ceremony. A French CRS riot policeman apprehends a young Afghan during a protest by migrants against the partial dismantlement of the camp for migrants called the "jungle", in Calais, northern France, February 29, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] CALAIS, France - Clashes with police broke out on Monday as work got underway to clear part of the shanty town outside Calais in northern France where migrants are trying to reach Britain. Police fired tear gas around midday, about 150-200 migrants and activists threw stones, and three makeshift shelters were set ablaze, according to a Reuters photographer at the site. Earlier, one person was arrested for trying to stop a group of about 20 workers under heavy police protection from clearing the site, where about 3,000 people are staying. WASHINGTON - Four students were injured on Monday after a 14-year-old boy allegedly opened fire at a school cafeteria in Ohio, according to local media report. According to the US TV network ABC News, two of the victims, both of whom are students at Madison Junior/Senior High School in Middletown, Ohio, were shot, and the other two were possibly injured by flying shrapnel. None of the injuries were life-threatening, said the report. Speaking at a press conference, local county sheriff Richard Jones said the suspect allegedly abandoned his gun as he ran away from the crime scene, and was quickly apprehended on school grounds. The motive was still not clear, said Jones, adding that the authorities were still investigating where the suspect got the gun. A young supporter cheers as Democratic US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a primary night party in Columbia, South Carolina, February 27, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] WASHINGTON - US Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton are expected to perform well on "Super Tuesday," a key date in the 2016 presidential race. While her campaign had some trouble early on, former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to do well on Tuesday, when a dozen states will hold primaries or caucuses. She is expected to perform well especially in the Southern states, mainly due to her strong support among African-Americans, a crucial voting block that in some states comprises half of Democratic voters. On the Republican Party side, Trump leads the other candidates by a significant margin, and Tuesday may well determine whether the brash billionaire will continue to clinch the Republican nomination. "If Trump does well (on Tuesday) I suspect it will be extremely difficult for any of the other candidates to overcome him at that point," Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, told Xinhua. Echoing those sentiments, Brookings Institution's senior fellow Darrell West told Xinhua that if Trump does well on Super Tuesday, "it will be very difficult to slow his route to the nomination." "He already has a big lead in delegates and the upcoming primaries could put him in a very strong position. He already is getting some endorsements from leading Republicans and more will line up to support him once it looks like he will be the nominee," West said. Indeed, recent days have seen former Republican candidate Chris Christie -- the Republican governor of New Jersey who was just six months ago seen as a serious contender for the nomination -- endorse Trump, not long after stepping out of the race. But while the in-your-face Trump is doing well in the polls, he still faces major hurdles from Republican Party big-wigs and donors. "Many of those people have not warmed up to him and feel that he will drag the party down in the general election," West said. President Xi Jinping has expressed hopes that the 2016 "China-US Year of Tourism" will be a success, and he called on the two countries to expand visit exchanges and boost cultural communication. The President delivered his best wishes in a congratulatory message to the opening ceremony held in Beijing on Monday. Xi sent his congratulations to the opening and extended a warm welcome to visiting friends from the United States, hoping that the two countries could "enhance public opinion and the social basis for the development of the China-US relationship". Both countries enjoy a rich culture and scenic attractions, and people from both countries want to boost mutual standing and promote friendship, Xi said. Xi noted that cohosting the "China-US Year of Tourism" was an important outcome achieved during his state visit to the US last September, and said more American friends are welcome to visit China. When speaking at the Third China-US Governors Forum in Seattle on Sept 22 last year, Xi announced that the two countries will hold a tourism year in 2016. Li Jinzao, head of the China National Tourism Administration, said at the Monday opening ceremony that more than 4.75 million tourist visits were made between China and the US last year, the People's Daily newspaper website reported. Li said the two countries are aiming for a figure approaching five million this year, and China is ready to take the year as an opportunity to expand opening and investment cooperation for Chinese visitors to the US. In the congratulatory message on Monday, Xi also observed that 37 years after China and the US established diplomatic relations, the relationship has "achieved historical development". "In recent years, the two countries have jointly promoted the building of a new type of relationship between major countries, and have conducted productive coordination and cooperation in regards to many major fields and important international and regional issues," Xi said. This has "not only benefited the two countries and their people but also energetically promoted peace, stability and prosperity in the world", Xi added. Brazil's Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo speaks at the Chamber of Deputies in Brasilia in this July 15, 2015 file photo. [Photo/Agencies] RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo has resigned, the government announced Monday. According to media reports, Cardozo was under pressure from the ruling Workers Party because he failed to curb a corruption investigation on the party's politicians and former Petrobras functionaries. Cardozo will become the attorney general, and he will be replaced by Wellington Cesar Lima e Silva, former general prosecutor of the Bahia State, according to the presidency's Social Communications Secretariat. The current attorney general, Luis Inacio Adams, is reportedly to leave the government for personal reasons. UNITED NATIONS -- The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a resolution on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) after the country conducted its fourth nuclear test in January. Diplomats said on Tuesday that the Council originally planned to vote on the resolution on Tuesday afternoon, but Russia had asked for a procedural 24-hour review of the document. The vote is now planned for 10 a.m. local time(1500 GMT) on Wednesday. The United States circulated the draft resolution to the 15-nation Council last week. The resolution aims to impose new sanctions on DPRK to curb the country's nuclear program. The DPRK conducted its fourth nuclear test in January. It has previously conducted three nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, respectively. Right after the DPRK's first nuclear test, the Security Council adopted a resolution to impose sanctions on the DPRK and set up a sanctions committee. (Photo : Getty Images) Google's Skybox Imaging has been renamed Terra Bella. Advertisement Tech giant Google is working with Vizio to develop a TV that is Chromecast-ready. It is no longer a secret in the tech community that Google is working to integrate its Google TV service into TV models. Google has reportedly been busy negotiating with TV manufacturers creating TVs that will support a Chromecast-like service. One of the rumored TV manufacturer Google has been working on is Vizio. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Rumors indicate that Google and Vizio are working on a new smart TV that will integrate Chromecast services. Moreover, there are speculations claiming that Vizio is also working on a tablet remote that runs on the Android platform. Vizio had already tried to create its own tablet device that runs on the Android platform in the past. However, integrating the device into a smart TV would be a step further. With the current growth of the Internet, users have started to lean towards smart TV experience. This is the reason why casting is slowly growing into a popular platform. Android TVs are already casting-ready. However, integrating the feature into brand new TVs has been an ongoing struggle for Google. Google Cast enabled TVs are expected to arrive as soon as spring. Experts agree that creating a Chromecast-enabled TV would be a good boost for Vizio's market. Market analysts also agree that creating more Wi-Fi connected TVs will be a good push for Vizio, especially if it will works hand-in-hand with Google technologies. Vizio also has its own InScape technology which is a huge feature for those who are in favor of Wi-Fi enabled TVs. Google Chromecast currently has a price tag of $35. The device's ease of use is one of its selling point. Should Google and Vizio come up with a new Chromecast-enabled smart TV, market analysts are speculating that it will be a big hit especially for consumers who are streaming online content. Advertisement TagsGoogle, Chromecast, Google Chromecast, Vizio, Vizio TV, Smart TV (Photo : Getty Images) Qualcomm has denied reports that USB Type-C ports and smartphones can explode when Quick Charge technology is used. Advertisement Qualcomm Inc on Monday announced its partnership with a Chinese tech firm to innovate technologies related to drones, smart devices and virtual reality googles, which the American chipmaker believes will be the next big thing in the industry. A statement released by Qualcomm and Thunder Software Technology Co. Ltd (or Thundersoft) said their joint venture dubbed as Thundercomm will develop products and technologies for local companies that aim to create the next generation of drones, VR devices and wearables, and robots. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement According to the deal, the official budget of Thundercomm is 18.74 million yuan ($2.8 million), and about 82 percent of the joint venture will be held by Thundersoft. Thundercomm will be located at the Fairy Peach Data Valley in Yubei District in Chongqing, China - which has become one of the largest manufacturing bases for smart devices in the world. General Manager of Thundercomm Zhang Shutao revealed that the partnership will permit the Beijing-based firm to utilize Qualcomm's intellectual properties. Meanwhile, Qualcomm China chairman Frank Meng said that Chinese startups are expected to be the frontrunner in innovation of emerging sectors. He noted that instead of waiting for overseas imported ideas, Chinese tech firm are moving and creating technological innovations. "Local vendors are coming up with gigantic amount of ideas that suit requirements of Chinese customers. Qualcomm wants to be a part of this new trend that will unlock another trillion-yuan market," Meng told China Daily in an exclusive interview. Changjiang Securities Co. analyst Ma Longwen highlights that the new tandem will offer Thundersoft a lead in a number of sectors including smart automobile, VR and drone making. Thundercomm is the first major investment by Qualcomm in China since it has built a Guizhou-registered firm to manage its Chinese investments in January. Advertisement TagsQualcomm, Thundersoft, Fairy Peach Data Valley, Thunder Software Technology Co Ltd, Thundercomm, drone, Robots, Virtual Reality (Photo : Reuters) A paramilitary police official stands guard outside the South Korean embassy in Beijing. South Korean diplomats in Beijing have reportedly criticized China's opposition to the deployment of THAAD systems in South Korea in view of China's actions in the South China Sea. Advertisement South Korean diplomats in Beijing said on Monday that China's argument opposing the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems in the Korean Peninsula runs contrary to its construction of radar installations and other defensive facilities in the South China Sea. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Quoting embassy officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency claims diplomats have criticized the Chinese government's opposition to the deployment of THAAD systems in South Korea in view of China's actions in the South China Sea. The South Korean envoys told Yonhap that China's "increasingly assertive actions" in the contentious Asian waterway undermines the security interests of its neighbors, including South Korea. "Security Interests" The diplomats apparently made the remarks in response to the Chinese government's reiteration of its opposition to the proposed deployment of US THAAD missile batteries in South Korea. Seoul is moving to allow the US military to position a THAAD missile unit on South Korean soil as part of a broader effort to counter Pyongyang's growing nuclear and long-range missile capabilities. When asked during a press briefing about Beijing's opposition to THAAD in the context of its defensive posture in the South China Sea, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: "China's deployment of necessary and limited national defense facilities will not impact other countries' security interests." In comparison, the deployment of the state-of-the-art THAAD systems in South Korea far exceed the defense requirements of the US, and will "severely damage" China's national security interests, Hong said. But the unnamed South Korean emissaries insist the same argument could be used against China's efforts to defend its assertions in the South China Sea, which -- they claim -- threaten the stability and security of the region as a whole. "Self-contradictory Stance" "The [remark] by the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman is an indication of China's self-contradictory stance on the two issues," one of the South Korean diplomats is quoted by Yonhap as saying. Chinese special envoy Wu Dawei on Monday reiterated China's concerns over Washington's proposal to deploy THAAD batteries on the Korean Peninsula, saying he hoped Seoul will "handle the concern of the Chinese side appropriately." Wu made the statement in a meeting with South Korean foreign minister Yun Byung-se in Seoul, according to Seoul's foreign ministry office. THAAD is a US-manufactured anti-missile defense system which can intercept and destroy short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles in flight. The system uses sophisticated radars, sensors and other classified technology to track down its targets. Beijing has repeatedly emphasized its opposition to the deployment of the American weapon on the Korean Peninsula, saying it would undercut China's defensive posture and boost US intelligence and strike capabilities over the Chinese mainland. Advertisement TagsChina-South Korea relations, THAAD, Territorial disputes in the South China Sea (Photo : Getty Images) China and Vietnam have vowed to maintain peace in the South China Sea and resolve their disputes peacefully. Advertisement China and Vietnam have vowed to maintain peace in the South China Sea and resolve their disputes diplomatically. The promise came on the heels of a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and the first special envoy sent by Hanoi on Monday. Xi, the general secretary of the Communist Party of China, held talks with Hoang Binh Quan, the special envoy sent by Vietnam Central Committee Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the Great Hall of the People. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Maritime Peace Vietnam expects the two sides to maintain maritime peace and stability as well as enhance bilateral cooperation. Vietnam's message to Xi was delivered by envoy, Hoang Binh Quan, head of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee. Trong emphasized that a good and stable bilateral relationship bode well with the interests of their respective constituents. Bilateral ties "China and Vietnam have many common fundamental interests and strengthening our bilateral ties will benefit the interests of our people," Trong said. He noted that aside from maritime peace, Vietnam is exerting great efforts to strengthen trade cooperation with China and enhance economic exchanges. Pham Nguyen Long, a senior researcher of international relations at the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences, said Quan's visit was primarily to discuss the South China Sea which has become a festering issue between the two sides. "The trip is also aimed at curbing tensions over the South China Sea," he said. Recently, Hanoi sent a diplomatic note to Beijing calling for a stop to its repeated violations of Vietnam's sovereignty in the Paracel Islands, which are also being claimed by Taiwan. Advertisement TagsPresident Xi Jinping, special envoy, Communist Party, South China Sea, china (Photo : Getty Images) Last year services and consumption accounted for 4.6 percentage points of China's overall growth, up from 3.7 in 2014. Advertisement China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which tracks activities in state owned and large factories, shrank to 49.0 in February, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed. This is fastest rate of contraction in factory activities since November 2011, in what looks like a fresh sign of sluggishness in world's second largest economy. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement On other hand, Caixin manufacturing PMI, which takes into consideration the activities of factories in small and medium sized plants, also shrank to 48.0 - its lowest in 5 months. Economists consider it a sign of economic expansion when the PMI is above 50, while economy is seen as contracting when the PMI slides below 50. However, many economic experts are still not reading too much into fresh PMI figures. They argue that low the PMI figures are partly due to seasonal holidays last month. Most of the factories in China were closed for a week in February to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Economists will look into March figures more discreetly to get a precise picture of production in China's factories. The fresh PMI figures came shortly after China's Central Bank cut the Reserve Requirement Ratio (RRR) by 50 basis points in a bid to spur demand in the country's slowing economy. China is currently coping with its worst economic downturn in two decades. China's GDP grew by 6.9% in 2015, the lowest GDP growth rate in 25 years, while other important economic indicators have been contracting since last year. China's Yuan has witnessed continuous devaluation since last year, while the country's foreign exchange reserves have plummeted by $762 billion to 3.23 trillion. The ongoing economic downturn has had a traumatic effect on Chinese stock market, which has been witnessing continuous bloodbath since June last year - leading to the dismissal of China Securities Regulatory Commission chief Xiao Gang. Advertisement TagsChinese Economy, china China's Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (L) at the Great Hall of the People on March 27, 2015 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Feng Li - Pool/Getty Images) Advertisement In an effort to further entice more Chinese investors to invest in Indonesia, the Indonesian government recently announced that it will soon set up a "China Desk" that will be manned by Chinese-speaking staff. The "China Desk" will be similar to the special desk that the Indonesian government had already set up for investors from Asian giants Japan and South Korea, according to a report published by The Bangkok Post. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The desk will be manned by Chinese-speaking staff, including two to three Chinese Embassy employees, that will answer inquiries and concerns that will be raised by Chinese investors wanting to pour capital in Indonesia. The "China Desk" will address issues that have discouraged potential Chinese investors and increase investment realization from China. Among them are language barriers and slow responses on land inquiries. Indonesia is gearing up and rolling out incentives and other benefits just to entice more Chinese investors to look into the country and invest. Chinese companies are moving toward global expansion to widen their market reach and Indonesia wants to corner a huge chunk of these companies. "With the presence of the desk, we want to increase investment realization from China," said Investment Coordinating Board head head Franky Sibarani. Sibarani further told reporters on the sidelines of a China-Hong Kong investor forum that the rapid growth of Chinese investment in Indonesia, as well as intensive communication between investors and the government, require assistance from those familiar with the Chinese language. Investment commitments from China doubled to US$22 billion in 2015, from an average of US$11.3 billion per year in the five-year period ending 2014, the report added. Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Xie Feng also confirmed that Indonesia is a priority destination for Chinese companies and that most Chinese investors are bullish on the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. "Less than two years after his inauguration, I think we have seen changes. We hope for more changes in years ahead," he said. China and Hong Kong ranked 7th in terms of foreign direct investment realization in Indonesia for the period 2010-2015. The top 10 in terms of FDI realization during the said period were, in order, Singapore, Japan, United States, South Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, China & Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands, United Kingdom, and Mauritius. Advertisement TagsIndonesia, China investment, China Desk, Indonesia Investment Flags fly over the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Advertisement A United States Federal Reserve researcher announced recently that the official gross domestic product (GDP) data released by China is reliable. Jun Nie, senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, told the official Xinhua news agency that his own research showed that China's official GDP figures align well with the US Federal Reserve figures. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Nie issued the note after he constructed an alternative measure of China's real GDP growth. "Our measure aligns well with (China's) official GDP figures, indicating official GDP figures remain a useful and valid measure of Chinese economic growth," he said in a research note. Nie's model utilizes a series of sectoral data that capture the strength of key sectors of the Chinese economy from the last quarter of 2008 to the last quarter of 2014. "The model captures the variations in Chinese GDP growth fairly well and could explain about 99 percent of Chinese economic growth during this period," Nie was quoted by Xinhua as saying. The researcher added that China's official GDP data captures the overall Chinese economy very well. Nie's research note came following reports that questioned China's GDP data. Some reports said the country's growth might be overvalue. Earlier, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) deputy head Xu Xianchun issued a statement blasting such reports, adding that some analysts used the weighted average method that only counts some industrial output. According to the NBS, the country's economy grew 6.9% year-on-year in 2015, the slowest growth in 25 years. Meanwhile, China's manufacturing activity contracted for the seventh straight month in February, according to a government survey. The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 49.0, below economists' forecasts for 49.4 and January's reading of 49.4. The February reading was also the lowest since November 2011, when it was also 49. A number below 50 points indicates a decline in factory activity, while one above suggests expansion. Manufacturing, however, is no longer China's primary economic engine but still makes up about 40 percent of GDP. Advertisement TagsUS Federal Reserve, us fed, China GDP, China economy (Photo : Getty Images) President Xi Jinping is set to meet US President Barack Obama after the annual session of the National People's Congress, which will start on Saturday. Advertisement Ahead of the official announcement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Premier Li Keqiang has revealed that President Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet US President Barack Obama 'very soon.' Li made the announcement following the visit to Beijing by Jacob Lew, special representative of the US President and the US Treasury Secretary. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Li said the meeting between the two leaders will help improve bilateral relations and enhance ties which have been frayed recently due to the South China Sea dispute. G20 meeting Lew attended the G20 meeting of financial leaders and central bank governors last week in Shanghai. The meeting turned out fruitful with the finance ministers promising to exert all the necessary efforts to prevent devaluation of their respective nation's currencies and to take measures to facilitate global economic growth. The meeting of the two presidents will be held after the annual session of the National People's Congress, which will start on Saturday. Nuclear Security Summit During Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to the US last week, Obama said he hoped President Xi will be able to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, which will be held in Washington from March 31 to April 1. Li and Lew agreed that good Sino-US relations are very important for both countries. Li said that Beijing values its economic and trade relations with the US. A government researcher in Beijing Wang Yusheng believes 'frequent meetings' between the two leaders will help tremendously in strengthening their bilateral ties. Paris Climate Summit The two leaders last met at the Paris Climate Summit in December, Wang said. "Every time a subtle situation seems to emerge in the bilateral relations, a face-to-face meeting between leaders of the two nations will help to sort things out," Wang said. He admitted that there are still some 'uncomfortable areas' in Sino-US relations. Advertisement TagsParis climate summit, G20 meeting, Sino-US ties, President Xi Jinping, china (Photo : Getty Images) A man wielding a knife attacked 10 children in southern China on Monday before killing himself. Advertisement A mysterious knifeman slashed 10 children outside a primary school before killing himself in southern city of Haikou, the local police announced. The shocking incident took place on Monday afternoon. According to media reports, none of the 10 children suffered life-threatening injuries. Nonetheless, two children are said to be seriously hurt and are undergoing medical treatment. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement An officials at Haikou's Longhu police station confirmed that schoolchildren were attacked as they were walking outside Yang Fan Primary School during their lunch period. However, he refused to reveal any further details. The shocking incident on Monday brought back memories of a spate of knife attacks that were taking place across China roughly five years back. Interestingly, children were the main target in most of those attacks. The most brutal attack took place in 2010 in Fujian province when a 42-year-old man knifeman stabbed eight children to death. Exactly four years later, three children were hacked to death in Hubei province and a week later four more were stabbed to death in Guangxi province The attacks, which were allegedly carried out by people suffering from severe mental illness, sparked outrage among Chinese parents, demanding extra security for their children in schools. The mass knife attacks even prompted nationwide discussions, with Chinese authorities clamping down on the media for fear of copycat attack. Internet discussions on the topic were also blocked. Chinese leaders later publicly acknowledged that these knife attacks reflected underlying social tensions within Chinese society. Since gun ownership in China is tightly regulated, knives and cleavers are heavily used to perpetuate mass attacks. Advertisement Tagsknife attack China, Crime in China (Photo : Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images) A journalist inspects the construction site of the Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant on June 4, 2009 in Sanmen of Zhejiang Province, China. China is planning to create nuclear emergency response teams before the end of 2018. Advertisement The China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) has announced Tuesday that the Chinese government is planning to build up to 30 nuclear power units abroad by 2030. According to CNNC president Sun Qin, the 30 nuclear power units will be built in countries that are involved with China's Belt and Road Initiatives. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The said nuclear power units could be built in countries that include Jordan, France, Britain, Egypt, Brazil, and Argentina. These countries have signed bilateral agreements on nuclear cooperation with the CNNC. CNNC is a state-owned entity under the direct management of the central Chinese government. According to Sun, the CNNC is ready to work with countries throughout the whole nuclear power industry chain. He added that there are now over 70 countries that are planning to are already building their own nuclear power projects. By 2020, Sun said more than 130 nuclear power units will have been built. The CNNC president added that China will actively strive to establish an integrated industrial system for countries involved with the Belt and Road Initiative. "CNNC will actively promote localizaton of the technology," Sun was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying. The China Atomic Energy Authority earlier said that China is planning to construct nuclear power plants abroad but only under completely safe conditions. The authority's director, Xu Dazhe, said China will have to make a careful and scientific feasibility review before it makes its decision related to offshore nuclear power plants. There are currently 30 nuclear power generating units in China, generating 28 million gw of power, Xinhua has reported. Advertisement TagsChina Nuclear Plant, nuclear plant, china nuclear A boy rides bicycle in front of historic buildings damaged by Nepal's earthquake on April 27, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images) Advertisement A Nepali government spokesman has confirmed that Nepali Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli will be visiting China on an official trip by the end of March. The official trip to China will be Nepali Prime Minister Oli's first after he became prime minister on 11 October 2015. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Sherdhan Rai, a spokesman of the government of Nepal said Oli's official trip was decided by a meeting of the Council of Ministers. "The prime minister is likely to visit China at the end of March," according to Rai, who is also the country's information minister. The specific dates of Oli's visit to China have not been plotted yet but Rai told reporters in a conference in Kathmandu that the prime minister will be in China by the end of this month. Oli's official trip to China was also confirmed by his foreign relations adviser, Gopal Khanal. In an interview with the official Xinhua news agency, Khanal said Oli will attend the 2016 Annual Conference of the Boao Forum of Asia, which will be held in Hainan from March 22 to 25. But Khanal said that aside from attending the Boao Forum, the 63-year-old prime minister will make an official trip to China. If the China visit pushes through, it will be Oli's second overseas trip since he became prime minister last year. His first state visit was in India from February 19 to 24 of this year. Oli's state visit in China will also take place barely a month after the Nepalese government decided to prepare for the establishment of a new consulate general office in southwestern China. The decision to establish a consulate office in China was welcomed by Nepalese tourism entrepreneurs and stakeholders, who are all hopeful that Nepal's tourism industry will be revived with the new consulate. The new consulate will be established in the southwestern province of Sichuan, specifically in the city of Chengdu, according to a Xinhua report. Advertisement TagsNepal, Nepali Prime Minister (Photo : YouTube) Meizu's Ubuntu-based PRO 5 is now available for pre-order. Advertisement Chinese smartphone maker Meizu has announced that its upcoming Ubuntu-based smartphone called the PRO 5 is now available for pre-order. The Meizu PRO 5 Ubuntu edition smartphone was initially introduced earlier this month at the Mobile World Congress in Bacelona, Spain. For those who are interested in this device, the smartphone can now be pre-ordered through Meizu's official website where buyer's will receive a link to order the device directly from Chinese partner JD.com when it is already available. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The design of the Ubuntu-based Meizu PRO 5 smartphone is similar to the Meizu MX5 Pro, which was powered by FlyMe Android-based operating system. The device features a 5.7-inch display with 1920 1080 screen resolution and is equipped with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 screen protection. The device has a crystal clear AMOLED display and will be powered by Samsung Exynos 7420 octa-core processor. Meizu PRO 5 smartphone also supports fingerprint scanning. The device will come in two versions, the 3 GB of RAM with 32 GB internal storage model and the 4 GB of RAM with 64 GB storage. Moreover, the device can be further expanded via a microSD card and also supports two SIM cards slot. The Ubuntu mobile operating system is well designed and will come with a few pre-installed apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Here Maps and Weather. These applications will take most of the phone's usage. In addition, the phone will also come with Ubuntu store support. It is unlikely that Android or iOS apps will be compatible with this device. Ubuntu is a newbie player in the mobile operating system market, and it will get more apps if it gains more popularity. Advertisement Tagsubuntu, meizu pro 5, JD.com, meizu mx5 pro, ubuntu smartphone Archeologist work on the excavation of ancient terracotta warriors in the No.2 pit of the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum in Lintong of Shaanxi Province, China. The Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) warriors and horses, one of the world's Eighth Wonders, were discovered in 1974 on the east side of the tomb of China's first emperor Qin Shihuang near Xian. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images) Advertisement A total of 459 kilos of copper coins believed to be 2,000 years old were unearthed by a villager in China's Shaanxi Province, sources told the official Xinhua news agency on Tuesday. The coins, in mixed rectangular and round shapes, were discovered by a villager surnamed Zhang in Xingping City's Nanzuo Village when he was building a house. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Zhang told authorities that he was leveling the land to prepare for the construction of his house last Saturday when he found a hole measuring half a meter deep on the ground. Using his spade, Zhang continued digging and there found the 459-kilo ancient copper coins in three kinds. All of the coins had a hole at the center. Zhang immediately informed authorities about his discovery and was later told that the coins were from the Xin Dynasty, which dates back between 9 AD and 23 AD. A cultural relic police officer also confirmed to the Xinhua news agency that the coins were indeed ancient and were used during the Xin Dynasty. According to Chinese historical records, Wang Mang, an official from the Han Dynasty, launched a currency reform after founding the Xin Dynasty. The capital of Xin was at Xi'an in Shaanxi. According to history, Wang's currency reform involved issuing different kinds of coins. The reform, however, failed to achieve its goals and only aggravated the financial crisis during his reign. The coins found in Nanzuo Village will be cleaned, processed, and then evaluated by expert archeologists to officially determine its age. The 459-kilogram three kinds of copper coins will then be give to the local museum for safekeeping, authorities said. Last month, a team of Chinese archeologists have discovered the remains of the ancient city of Yueyang. The city was at the center of a political reform 2,300 years ago. The remains of Yueyang City, capital of the Qin state during the Warring States Period is confirmed to be in the district of Yanliang in Xi'an city. Advertisement TagsChina Old Coins, China Archeology, China Artifacts (Photo : Portrait of an LBX/Flickr/CC) Zhejiang province has the highest concentration of churches in the country. A Chinese pastor who was involved in protesting against removing the cross atop his church has been sentenced 14 years in prison, on charges of corruption, swindling, and gathering people to disturb social order, according to media reports. Bao Guohua was a government-approved pastor and had resisted the cross removal campaign in Zhejiang province, where about 1,200 crosses were removed during the past 2 years. His wife, Xing Wenxiang, was sentenced to 12 years for similar charges. About 10 people for their church were also charged, but the Chinese media has not released details of their sentences. The court confiscated 600,000 renminbi (about $92,000) each from Bao and his wife, and fined Bao with $15,000 and about $14,000 from his wife. The media reported that their sentences were the most severe, which have not been imposed on any of the church leaders in China as yet. The Chinese government has refused to relent in taking down crosses, and maintains that the crosses violate building codes. However, Christian activists say that authorities want to suppress Christianity in Zhejiang, which is also referred to as "China's Jerusalem." Last year, the authorities reinforced a ban on admitting non-atheist members in the Communist Party in Zhejiang province. As the cross removal campaign in Zhejiang started, many of the buildings were also deemed "illegal structures" and razed to the ground. The government's crackdown on Christianity in China continues with the arrest and detention of several clergy members and lawyers defending churches protesting against the removal of crosses. This week, Zhang Kai, a prominent Christian lawyer who took up cases of cross removal, was made to confess on a local television station that he took money from China Aid director Bob Fu to defend churches in his capacity as a lawyer, and was trying to "change China's political system." Zhang was arrested a day before his meeting with US ambassador-at-large David Saperstein in August last year. Responding to the Zhang's "confession", China Aid director Bob Fu released a statement saying, "Although China Aid is mentioned in the shameful Chinese Communist Party's official propaganda as an 'overseas force supporting Zhang Kai's legal defense work,' we will never be intimidated nor cease to continue to promote religious freedom for all in China." In January this year, Gu Yuese, pastor of Hangzhou city's Chongyi Church was arrested, who too had protested against removal of crosses in Zhejiang province. His wife, Zhou Lianmei, was informed by the city police that he was detained on suspicions of swindling. press@cdaily.co.kr - Copyright , #Government-ApprovedpastorWho Farrakhan: Clinton 'wicked,' a white tool of Satan 01 March, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , | CHICAGO (Christian Examiner) Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, known for his controversial call for 10,000 volunteers to "rise up and kill those who kill us," condemned Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as a "wicked woman" in a fiery sermon Feb. 28. In the video of the sermon, posted to Farrakhan's Facebook page, the black separatist leader tells his congregation that he doesn't blame them for wanting a female president. It isn't Clinton, however, they should be voting for in the election. "That's a wicked woman," Farrakhan said. "You can vote for her, but vote for her with knowledge. She can be sweet but so can you, and you know when you sweet playing a game." Farrakhan alleged Clinton has had no interest in the issue of black youth being killed by police until her run for the White House. Now, he said, she has cozied up to Trayvon Martin's mother, feigning sorrow for the loss of the young man to the gun of George Zimmerman. He added that Clinton was responsible for the oppression of many young black men who have gone to prison for minor offenses. "These white people. This is Satan. And you fall for that crap. Most of you that went to jail for having a little blunt in your pocket, they arranged that the Clintons. Mass incarceration came about under the Clintons. Don't forget that," Farrakhan said. Farrakhan objected to young "gang bangers" being called "super predators" by Clinton. "She called you a super predator with no conscience, no sensitivity, like you a dog, like you an animal. Got to bring you to heel. You, my young brothers, this is what she said about you," Farrakhan said. "And she didn't just say it. It became the policy of the U.S. government under Bill Clinton and his wife and now she's apologizing, but apologizing can't bring back the broken families. Apologizing can't bring back those destroyed in prison life." Farrakhan also said Clinton, while serving as Secretary of State, had orchestrated the destruction of Libya and killing of Muammar Gadaffi, described by the leader of the Nation of Islam as "my friend." "He was my brother," he said. "She lied, [saying] he was gonna kill all his people. No he wasn't. He was just gonna kill those rebels that America, [which] seized on their dissatisfaction, made a counter revolutionary move, and then used it to bring NATO in to bomb and destroy his air defense then move to kill him. "Now Libya is a failed state," Farrakhan continued. "All of the refugees fleeing out of Libya, fleeing out of Syria, fleeing out of North Africa is because of the policies of the government United States of America and her specifically." Farrakhan said he believes when all of Clinton's emails are released it will show that she "maneuvered our president," because white people won't let black people control anything. "And maybe you won't think so well of her when you see how she talked to him. White people don't talk to black people I don't give a d*** what position you got like you the boss. They always talk to you like they are the boss." Farrakhan said the only way black people will ever be "the boss" is if they submit to "Allah and the honorable Elijah Muhammad and united with me." The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) classifies Farrakhan as a hate preacher and black separatist. Perry to Trump: Don't claim Christianity if you don't understand it 01 March, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , | WARNING TO READERS: A link in the following story takes readers to 25 vulgar statements made by Donald Trump about women on Howard Stern's radio program. It is presented here because of the serious nature of the comments in light of Trump's repeated claims to be a Christian. FORT WORTH, Texas (Christian Examiner) Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who endorsed Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz Feb. 1 in the run up to the Iowa Caucuses, is on the frontlines of the Cruz campaign again this time calling out Donald Trump for his portrayal of himself as a Christian, as well as the evangelical leaders he believes are blindly following the New York billionaire. Perry phoned in to Glenn Beck's daily radio program and said Trump clearly doesn't understand the basic tenets of the Christian faith. "If you are going to profess to be a Christian, which Mr. Trump does, but you do not understand in your mind intellectually or in your heart spiritually what salvation by grace means, I gotta stand up and say, 'Wait a minute. You really don't understand Christianity,'" Perry, himself a two-time contender for the Republican nomination and a Christian, told Beck. If you are going to profess to be a Christian, which Mr. Trump does, but you do not understand in your mind intellectually or in your heart spiritually what salvation by grace means, I gotta stand up and say, 'Wait a minute. You really don't understand Christianity.' Perry said he did not understand why men like Jerry Falwell Jr. and some other Christian leaders have thrown their support behind Trump. "I hope the reason they're doing that is so they can say, 'Hey listen, we need to get close to you so we can help save you.' That's really troubling to me and I bet the same thing would be true about your listeners," Perry said. Perry cited Trump's past claims that he was a good person and the fact that Trump was unfamiliar with how to even talk about the Christian faith in a way that makes it seem authentic. "Playing loose, standing there holding up a Bible saying, 'I've never asked God for forgiveness.' I don't get that," Perry said. "A very well known, widely known Christian leader like Jerry Falwell Jr. standing up and endorsing him. What do you tell the parent of a child a student at Liberty University? How do you explain that ... send your child here, this is what we are supporting?" Beck said he had posted to his website the Top 25 ill-mannered comments Donald Trump had made about women while on the Howard Stern show. "They are despicable," Beck said. "He brags about cheating on his wife ... whose wife he wants to sleep with ... shocking," the host added. This is not the first time Perry has gone after Trump. While still a candidate for the presidency in August 2015, Perry released a statement saying Trump has proven "once again that he doesn't have the temperament to hold our nation's highest office" after the billionaire candidate trashed FOX News host Megyn Kelly. Perry said then that Trump lacked the "character and basic decency" of a presidential candidate. COMMENTARY: The hypocrisy of the hard right Guest Commentator | 01 March, 2016 by Michael Peasley MEMPHIS (Christian Examiner) Trump holds and proclaims racist, sexist, and violent attitudes. Just look at the things he has said about women and minorities, his mockery of a disabled man, and his foul language directed at opponents. For 99 percent of his adult life Trump has supported abortion, he owns strip clubs, and he has called for the killing of the families of terrorists. In one breath the hard right argues for supporting the First Amendment's freedom of speech, and yet with the other they support the man who wants to shut up anyone who disagrees with him and has said he will make sure the laws are changed so that he can. The hard right says they want religious liberty. Yet Trump is the biggest threat to religious liberty, threatening to kick out Muslims for their beliefs. They argue that it is okay because they are Muslims, but doesn't our constitution ensure protection for all religions? When Trump accepted the support of the KKK, it reminded me of how differently Ronald Reagan responded to a KKK endorsement: "Those of us in public life can only resent the use of our names by those who seek political recognition for the repugnant doctrines of hate they espouse. The politics of racial hatred and religious bigotry practiced by the Klan and others have no place in this country, and are destructive of the values for which America has always stood." I believe that we have a moral imperative to speak out against Trump; that this is about personal and party character. For the sake of decency and religious liberty, we need to condemn Trump's racist, sexist, and violent attitudes and his declaration that Muslims should not be allowed in the country. Thankfully, many Christian leaders have been or have begun to speak out against Trump. Michael Peasley is researcher, writer, and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Memphis and a graduate of Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. His work has been published in a variety of academic journals, primarily in the area of marketing. He lives in Tennessee with his wife Kristin and their son Gavin. Vicar of Baghdad admits ISIS should be 'radically destroyed' 24 November, 2015 by Kelly Ledbetter , | LONDON (Christian Examiner) Canon Andrew White, the Emeritus Vicar of Baghdad, says ISIS is different from other militant groups he's seen in the Middle East. After the number of Christians in Iraq has been reduced from 1.5 million to only 260,000, White believes negotiation with ISIS is no longer viable. "You can't negotiate with them," the vicar of St. George's Cathedral in Baghdad told the Independent. "I have never said that about another group of people," White, who is committed to reconciliation, admitted. "These are really so different, so extreme, so radical, so evil." After being personally recalled from his church in Baghdad by the Archbishop of Canterbury for his own security in November 2014, White has continued to be active in the region through the organization he founded, the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (FRRME). The canon says more than 1,200 people he has worshiped with have been killed, including four boys beheaded because they would not convert to Islam. White's interviewer described him as reluctant to give his opinion about the solution to ISIS. "You are asking me how we can deal radically with Isis," White said. "The only answer is to radically destroy them. I don't think we can do it by dropping bombs. We have got to bring about real change. It is a terrible thing to say as a priest." White added, "You're probably thinking, 'So you're telling me there should be war?' Yes!" LACK OF FORGIVENESS IN ISLAM The canon, who previously practiced medicine before joining the Church of England to study theology, suffers from multiple sclerosis. Experimental treatments using his own stem cells have given him renewed energy to minister to the persecuted and to persecutors. "Sometimes the impossible can happen," White said, hoping for a resolution other than war. "If you want to make peace, you can't just do it with the nice people. Nice people don't cause the wars." The diminishing number of Christians concerns him, but FRRME is committed to serving all who are in need by providing relief, education, medical care, and mediation. "The only way that they [ISIS] can be overcome on the ground is by military presence on the ground," White said in a profile in Anglican News. In that interview, White told the story that he invited leaders of ISIS to have dinner with him. White is known for dining with controversial military and political leaders in order to talk to them. "It seemed the right thing to do, you meet, you eat," he said. But ISIS did not attend, saying if they did they would cut off his head. Part of the reason White was ordered from Baghdad was the $57 million ISIS bounty on him. "So I didn't push it any further," said White. PERSECUTION ACROSS DENOMINATIONS Among those he currently ministers to in Iraq, Jordan, and Israel and Palestine, White says they no longer have denominational affiliations. "My [refugee] community has given up saying we are Chaldean, Orthodox, Episcopal, Catholic. They are Christian. It is a Christian community. He added, "It is terrible thing to say the only real serious ecumenical relationships I have ever seen are as a result of this terrible persecution. Denominations come tumbling down." Renowned for his ability to talk to anyone and broker peace between strictly opposed parties, White confesses in a Spectator interview it is difficult to talk to ISIS. "It's hard with them, because with Isis it is just about power." After asking him if ISIS is "unusually evil," the interviewer points out White's view differs from "liberal opinion": he attributes the root of their violence to their adherence to the Quran. "The trouble is a lack of forgiveness in Islam," White said. "I have looked through the Quran trying to find forgiveness... there isn't any. If you find it, tell me." White continues: "This makes it very difficult to talk to Isis because they can show you quite clearly that it is what Allah wants. They can justify their position when Allah says you should combat and fight the infidel and they say, 'Well, these are infidels.' So the question is, how can you prove that these are not infidels? And you can't." Responding to a question about what people can do, White said, "We can hope, and we can pray." The Georgia State Senate passed an amended version of a religious freedom bill on Friday. House Bill 757, which will allow faith-based organizations to refuse service to same-sex couples, passed the Senate -- 38 to 14 -- after three hours of heated debate, according to CNN. The same bill passed in the House last week, 161-0. The Senate version of the bill combines the Pastor Protection Act, which protects religious leaders from being forced to perform same-sex marriages, and the First Amendment Defense Act, which allows tax-funded groups to deny services to lesbians and gays. HB 757, which was introduced in July, could be signed into law by Georgia governor Nathan Deal as early as this week. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, religious freedom acts exist in some form in 21 states. The Italian Senate passed a bill on Thursday to legalize same-sex civil unions, but did not allow the couples to adopt a 'stepchild,' as surrogacy is illegal in the country. The bill was passed amidst opposition from Roman Catholic Church and center-right parties by 173 - 71 in the upper house, from which the bill will now go on to the lower house. Civil rights granted to heterosexual unmarried couples were also given to those in the same-sex unions in this bill, including right to take a partner's name, financial support, common address and next-to-kin rights, which were as yet only allowed to married couples. Italy is the only Western European country where same-sex civil unions are not legal. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called the voting result "historic," and tweeted, "Love wins." "Hope has defeated fear. Courage has won against discrimination. Love has won," Rinzi wrote on his Facebook page. Minister of constitutional reforms and sponsor of the bill, Monica Cirinna, said in a statement that the legislation affirms that the "life project of a same-sex couple is not worth less than that between a man and a woman." "Our effort doesn't end here," she told senators. "We made only a first - albeit very tough - step." The stepchild adoption clause of the bill was fiercely opposed by center-right parties, as they said that the provision will encourage surrogacy among the same-sex couples, which is illegal in the country. The stripping of the adoption clause was condemned by proponents of the bill. "These children already exist; the prime minister recently said that all children are equal in Italy," Marilena Grassadonia of Italy's Rainbow Families told The New York Times. "Today, that's unfortunately not the case." President of gay activist group Archigay said, "This text once again does not take into consideration children who need definite laws and protection. The law that has come out of all this is lacking its heart." Roberto Calderoli of Northern League party, who opposed the bill in parliament, brought up the statements of Pope Francis and other church leaders disapproving the same-sex unions. "All those who vote yes today will go to hell. There are no saints ... Renzi will probably end up in hell, too. It's just a question of time," he said. In other alterations of the bill on floor, the language that put gay civil unions at par with marriage was taken out, including terms such as "faithfulness." The five remaining GOP presidential candidates gathered for the 10th GOP debate at the University of Houston in Texas on Thursday night. During the first opening minutes, Florida Senator Marco Rubio attacked Donald Trumps liberal stance as well as his business record. In fact, very recently, he was still defending Planned Parenthood. He says hes not going to take sides in the Palestinians versus Israel. These are concerning things, Rubio commented. And so, yes, I have a doubt about whether Donald Trump, if he becomes president, will replace Justice Scalia with someone just like Justice Scalia. Rubio also attacked Trumps business record, asserting Trumps hiring of foreign workers before American workers. "You're the only person on this stage that's ever been fined for hiring people that worked on your projects illegally," Rubio said. Texas Senator Ted Cruz mentioned the lawsuit against the university bearing Trumps name for defrauding students. Thursday nights debate was the first time the Republicans initiated an attack on Trump, the billionaire businessman who has been leading the race. John Kasich and Ben Carson, on the other hand, avoided making criticisms of Trump, staying on the sidelines of the debate. At least 38 people were killed by a suicide bombing on Monday at a funeral northeast of the Iraqi capital, security officials said. Dozens of people were wounded in the bombing in Muqdadiyah. Among the killed included a local commander in Asaib ahl al-Haq, a powerful Shiite militia that is part of the state-sanctioned Popular Mobilization Forces, which is in charge of security in the area. An anonymous source from the Business Insider stated that the suicide bomber was wearing an explosive vest and detonated himself at a funeral tent in the Shiite village. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for Mondays attack in a statement posted online. A twin suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, killed 70 people just the day before in Shiite on Sunday, recording the deadliest attack inside the capital this year. The initial attack on Sunday was in a crowded market where a suicide bomber targeted a crowd that was gathered to help the victims. 112 people remain hospitalized, according to police officials. Many of the officials have agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because they have not been authorized to speak to the media. According to a United Nations report, over 22,300 people have been estimated to either being killed or injured in armed conflict in Iraq during 2015. The Call is planning for an all-day revival gathering at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with hopes for a revival like that of the Azusa Street Revival that took place on 1906, and Korean Christians have been invited to kick off the gathering. "We're not looking for an event," said Lou Engle, the founder of The Call. "We want a breakthrough." The Call has hosted numerous gatherings of fasting and prayer over the years for youth and young adults, including one that took place in Washington, D.C. that gathered some 400,000 people in the year 2000. The upcoming gathering, called 'Azusa Now,' is set to take place on April 9 from 7:30 AM to 10 PM, and has a slight "shift" in focus, according to Engle. Whereas previous gatherings hosted by The Call focused on prayer and fasting, the upcoming gathering will also focus on "the preaching of the gospel, and signs and wonders," Engle said. Yet another aspect that sets this upcoming gathering apart from the previous gatherings hosted by The Call is its intentional focus on gathering an ethnically diverse group. Just as the Azusa Street Revival in the early 20th century brought together African American and White Americans, Engle said, unity within the church across races and denominations must occur for revival today. "Somewhere between 1909-1913, William Seymour prophesied that in 100 years another wave of revival would come that far eclipsed what took place at the original Azusa Street Revival," said Azusa Now organizers in a statement. "We are asking the Holy Spirit to truly and deeply unite Anglo, African American, Asian, Hispanic, Native American -- every tribe and tongue -- in a holy, historic convocation where once again, surrounded by crisis and division in our land, it could truly be said: 'The blood of Jesus washed away the color line at Azusa!'" organizers continue. "Only a united church can heal a divided nation!" Various ethnic groups will be leading different segments of the upcoming gathering. Korean Christians specifically will be leading the first segment of the day in Korean from 7:30 to 8:10 AM, and translation will be provided through devices throughout the entire course of the day. "Revival is not an option for us," Engle said, "and we ask that the Korean church bring its redemptive gift. Lead us in the morning with your gift." Azusa Now organizers decided to reach out to the Korean church leaders after encountering them and seeing them pray at numerous prayer gatherings that took place over the past several years in partnership with 'Line in the Sand,' including the most recent prayer gathering that Korean church leaders hosted in November of 2015, where Engle participated as one of the speakers. "Those who were part of the Azusa Street Revival or the Pyongyang Revival would not have known the future impact of what they were a part of," said Reverend Yu Chul Chin, the senior pastor of Los Angeles Full Gospel Church. "But the obedience of each person at that time led to an event marked in history. We also don't know what will happen through this, but we simply desire to serve in hopes that God will carry out what He desires to do through this." The evening portion of the day, from 4 to 10 PM, will be evangelistic, and focused on preaching the gospel and praying for healing, according to organizers. Starting March 28, organizers are planning to mobilize at least 3,000 people to reach out to the community and bring them to the April 9 event through one-on-one evangelism and prayer, revitalization of outdoor spaces in public housing developments in South East L.A., community BBQs and festivals in South East L.A., after school outreaches at public high schools, and an event with Nick Vujicic on April 1. Some 38,000 have registered for Azusa Now thus far, according to organizers. Though the event is free, organizers encouraged those who are interested to register in advance. Last week, San Antonio pastor Max Lucado became the most high-profile pastor to speak out against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. It is a break with precedent with me, Lucado told CT in an interview about his decision to disavow Trump. Ive never done anything like this. Its an unprecedented act on my part. I do not want to continue this. I have no desire to police presidential candidates. Does Lucados disengagement from politics make him the exception or the rule? We asked 11 pastors from around the country about the last time they preached about politics and why. Heres what they had to say: Thabiti Anyabwile Pastor, Anacostia River Church, Washington, D.C. Since we launched Anacostia River Church last April, theres hardly been a month wherein I havent preached something political. I dont think it can be avoided if youre committed to expositional preaching of the sort that makes contact with contemporary life. The gospels, for example, are explosive in their political import. Preaching something political is necessary if we are to live under Christs lordship in every area of life. Not doing so means Fox, CNN, MSNBC, and other secular news outlets disciple us instead. I fear thats been the case far too long and to disastrous effect for the church and the country. Corey J. Widmer Lead pastor, Third Church, Richmond, Virginia In some ways I seek to preach a political message every week. The earliest creed, Jesus is Lord, proclaims Christ as the public ruler over all the kingdoms of the world and is a challenge to all earthly rulers. Practically, this means equipping people to live ... 1 Why are many self-identified evangelicals selecting Donald Trump as their presidential candidate of choice? Some, like Liberty Universitys Jerry Falwell Jr., have revealed their reasons. But for the overall evangelical vote, the only clear trend is that its not a clear-cut voting bloc. One problem: Most polls are based only on self-identification, instead of what people do or believe. Even Russell Moore is throwing in the towel on defending what the word evangelicalmeans this election season. Recent surveys have found that Trump is a huge loser among Protestant pastors, and that evangelical leaders are solidly split on presidential picks. Reuters and others have found that church attendance distinctly decreases evangelical support for Trump, who has the least-religious supporters among the GOP candidates. But since evangelicals make up the majority or the plurality of the Republican-leaning electorate in every Super Tuesday state except for Massachusetts, ... 1 Ambulance Transports Patient from Texas Abortion Facility as SCOTUS Readies to Hear Pivotal Abortion Safety Case Contact: Troy Newman , President, 316-841-1700; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Vice President, 316-516-3034, both with Operation Rescue, info.operationrescue@gmail.com DALLAS, March 1, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Less than 48 hours before the U. S. Supreme Court will hear a pivotal Texas abortion case focused on women's safety, an ambulance transported a woman from Southwestern Women's Surgery Center, an abortion clinic in Dallas, Texas. The ambulance was photographed by a pro-life activist at Southwestern Surgery Center on Monday, February 29, 2016, at about 1:06 p.m. "This latest medical emergency at a Texas abortion facility only emphasizes abortion risks and how important it is for abortionists to maintain minimum safety standards and hospital privileges within 30 miles of their abortion facilities," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. Southwestern Women's Surgery Center is one of a handful of Texas abortion facilities that have been able to comply with ambulatory surgical center licensing requirements, which include the hospital privilege requirement that is being challenged by another Texas abortion business, Whole Women's Health. But even licensing as an ambulatory surgical center has not diminished the risk of complications to abortion that frequently send women to hospital emergency rooms for treatment that abortion facilities are not equipped to provide. Operation Rescue was able to deduce from court records that about 1,000 Texas women suffering abortion complications were hospitalized each year prior to the closing of about half of Texas' abortion facilities in 2014 due to the safety law now before the Supreme Court. The Liberty Counsel submitted an amici curiae brief on behalf of Operation Rescue in the Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstadt case, which is set for oral arguments before the nation's highest court on Wednesday. That brief relied on documentation provided by Operation Rescue to show that medical emergencies at abortion facilities are routine, and that without hospital privileges, women facing life-threatening abortion complications face further harm due to a failure of abortion facilities to provide continuity of care. This can delay emergency treatment in cases where minutes might mean the difference between life and death. Operation Rescue discovered widespread abortion abuses in Texas during a 2011 investigation that resulted in heavy fines against two Whole Women's Health abortion facilities for the illegal dumping of recognizable aborted baby remains in a public dumpster. In addition, Operation Rescue reported two Whole Women's Health abortionists, Alan H. Molson and Robert E. Hanson, for violations discovered during that same investigation, resulting in thousands of dollars in fines. Troy Newman will attend a prayer vigil outside the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on March 2 while oral arguments are in progress. Read full report on this incident. 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. Share Tweet Christian Attorney Gets Offensive with Education Freedom LYNCHBURG, Va., March 1, 2016 / (deconstructingthecoliseum.com/law) Mr. Novak says the ideas presented in the Motion promote true education freedom, in moving towards civil government school system abolition. Those ideas include rejecting federal dollars and facilitating private education through lowering real property taxes. 'The Motion is plainly Christian because it rejects the premise there should even be civil government schools.' Mr. Novak added that the Motion takes Christian public policy from a defensive posture to one offensive. 'American Christendom must show how society's cultural rot is a direct result of the civil government schools; they must be abolished not only because they are humanistic, but because the Bible does not give the civil government the right to disciple our children.' Mr. Novak, as President of Deconstructing the Coliseum and through law and policy, works to change how Christians view the civil government school system. "The question is not whether Christian parents should send a child to a civil government school. The question is whether there should even be civil government schools. There should not be. And every dollar given to civil government schools is a dollar stolen from Christian education and the gospel." Mr. Novak has publically released the Motion, but will also be discussing it periodically at subsequent Campbell County Board of Supervisors meetings. He will also be presenting it at home school conventions and the Second Annual Great Education Forum, so that others can use it as a template. Direct inquiries to Mr. Novak are at 434-845-1757 and Share Tweet Contact: Kevin R. Novak, President, Deconstructing the Coliseum , 434-845-1757, kevin@deconstructingthecoliseum.com LYNCHBURG, Va., March 1, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Campbell County's School Board has requested $184,000,000 from the County's Board of Supervisors for a Capital Improvement Plan. Local attorney Kevin R. Novak is leading the opposition to the School Board's request, doing so in a document called 'Motion in Favor of Education Freedom.'Mr. Novak says the ideas presented in the Motion promote true education freedom, in moving towards civil government school system abolition. Those ideas include rejecting federal dollars and facilitating private education through lowering real property taxes.'The Motion is plainly Christian because it rejects the premise there should even be civil government schools.' Mr. Novak added that the Motion takes Christian public policy from a defensive posture to one offensive. 'American Christendom must show how society's cultural rot is a direct result of the civil government schools; they must be abolished not only because they are humanistic, but because the Bible does not give the civil government the right to disciple our children.'Mr. Novak, as President of Deconstructing the Coliseum and through law and policy, works to change how Christians view the civil government school system. "The question is not whether Christian parents should send a child to a civil government school. The question is whether there should even be civil government schools. There should not be. And every dollar given to civil government schools is a dollar stolen from Christian education and the gospel."Mr. Novak has publically released the Motion, but will also be discussing it periodically at subsequent Campbell County Board of Supervisors meetings. He will also be presenting it at home school conventions and the Second Annual Great Education Forum, so that others can use it as a template.Direct inquiries to Mr. Novak are at 434-845-1757 and kevin@deconstructingthecoliseum.com 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. 'America's Pastor' says Donald Trump's indecent 'antics' compel him to break his political silence Best-selling Christian author Max Lucado had never commented on this year's U.S. presidential campaign much less endorse or reject certain candidatesuntil now. Breaking his silence, the man known as "America's Pastor" said he felt compelled to air his views on the election campaign because one presidential candidate, Donald Trump, has changed his attitude toward pastoral involvement in politics, according to the Gospel Herald. In a recent blog post, Lucado said Trump's "antics and insensitivities wouldn't even be acceptable even for a middle school student body election." "The leading candidate to be the next leader of the free world would not pass my decency interview. I'd send him away. I'd tell my daughter to stay home. I wouldn't entrust her to his care," wrote Lucado, the lead pastor at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas. The pastor said his concern is not about government policies or strategies that the candidates espouse. What worries him most, he said, is the "public derision of people" by a candidate who calls himself a Christian. "It would be none of my business, I would have absolutely no right to speak up, except that he repeatedly brandishes the Bible and calls himself a Christian," Lucado told Christianity Today. "If he's [Trump] going to call himself a Christian one day and call someone a bimbo the next, or make fun of somebody's menstrual cycle, it's just beyond reason to me," he said. "Trump ridiculed a war hero. He made fun of a disabled reporter. He referred to the former first lady, Barbara Bush as 'mommy,' and belittled Jeb Bush for bringing her on the campaign trail. He routinely calls people 'stupid,' 'loser,' and 'dummy.' These were not off-line, backstage, overheard, not-to-be-repeated comments. They were publicly and intentionally tweeted, recorded, and presented," Lucado said. He said he couldn't imagine how Trump could claim to be a Christian one moment and then turn around and say he had "never asked God for forgiveness." "I'm just shaking my head going, 'How does that work?' Does a swimmer say, 'I've never gotten wet?' Does a musician say, 'I've never sang a song?' How does a person claim to be a Christian and never need to ask for forgiveness?" Lucado wondered. Anglican Church of Canada now unlikely to agree to same-sex marriage The Anglican Church of Canada is not now expected to change its law this summer to allow gay marriage, the bishops have admitted. Canada's bishops are unlikely to give the two-thirds majority needed to agree changes to the marriage canon at the Church's General Synod in July. The realisation that the change to marriage doctrine does not have enough support in the leadership has led to some bishops being "mortified and devastated". The pull-back comes weeks after the Anglican Primates met in Canterbury in January when The Episcopal Church of the US had "consequences" imposed for its own approval of gay marriage and the consecration of gay bishops. The primates also warned against "possible developments in other provinces", thought to be a reference to similar penalties being recommended against Canada if it went down the same road. The Anglican Church of Canada already allows blessings for same-sex couples and was expected to change the law to allow gay marriage later this year. In a statement from a special meeting of Canada's Order of Bishops released on Monday, general secretary Michael Thompson said the bishops had spent a "considerable amount of time" discussing the theology of marriage and their episcopal role and responsibilities as chief pastors and as guardians of the Church's faith, order and unity. The meeting began with a "moving and intimate" account by Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. They also explored "deep differences" between them on the matter of changing the Church's teaching on marriage. "In our exploration of these differences it became clear to us that the draft resolution to change the Marriage Canon to accommodate the marriage of same-sex partners is not likely to pass in the Order of Bishops by the canonical requirement of a two-thirds majority in each Order. Some of us talked of being mortified and devastated by this realisation," Thompson said. Speaking on behalf of the bishops, he continued: "We have been conscious that the presence of this motion has brought distress to some, and we acknowledge the deep pain that our statement will cause both within and beyond the Church. And we are all saddened that we do not seem capable of unity on this issue. Nevertheless we are committed to work toward the deeper unity for which Christ died, and we pray daily that God would mend our divisions. Our hope is not in ourselves, but in Christ, and so we are committed to staying together that we might witness the miracle of our healing." Dean Peter Wall, of the General Synod planning and agenda team, said the bishops' statement had not put an end to the marriage canon process. "I do not believe that the work of the General Synod can be pre-empted by a meeting of the House of Bishops alone," he said. "It is when they meet as the Order of Bishops, in conversation with the Orders of Clergy and Laity, that bishops participate in the shared responsibility of all members of the General Synod to take a decision on this matter." Anglicans in Canada favour dialogue over debate on homosexuality Anglicans in Canada have agreed to respect a commitment they made years ago to refrain from the ordination of partnered homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions. Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, said the church body remains mindful of its relationship with the worldwide Anglican Communion and committed to the 2008 decision to practise restraint while at the same time exercising "the greatest level of pastoral generosity". "We have not as a house revisited or altered that decision in any way," he said, as he addressed members of the General Synod the chief legislative body over the weekend. Though the body, representing some 800,000 Anglicans, currently remains committed to the moratorium that Anglican leaders worldwide have agreed to a number of times since 2004, dioceses within the Anglican Church of Canada have already permitted the blessing of same-sex unions. Among them are the Diocese of New Westminster and the Diocese of Huron. Their actions have left conservative Anglicans, particularly those in the Global South, grieving and frustrated that the morotorium has not been honoured. In April, some 130 Anglicans from 20 provinces were urged to reconsider their relationships with the Anglican Church of Canada as well as with The Epsicopal Church in the United States, which ordained its second partnered homosexual last month. Over the past several years, dozens of parishes have voted to split from the Anglican Church of Canada, citing the denomination's departure from Christian orthodox values and Anglican tradition. The Canadian body also lost one of its most renowned members, theologian J I Packer, in 2008. The body in Canada is continuing dialogue on the controversial matter this week and Hiltz has expressed support in practising "a properly Christian style of inclusiveness". Still, he has acknowledged the diversity of opinion and suggested that the General Synod may not come out with a definitive resolution, but rather a call to continue talks. Instead of a winner-take-all statement, maybe we can be on two different sides here, he said, according to the Toronto Star. Hiltz noted in his opening address last week to the Synod that the majority of Anglicans in Canada no matter their theological position on homosexuality are committed to "respectful dialogue" and less interested in a resolution or heated debate. "I ask all members of Synod to enter into these conversations in a Spirit of humility and a genuine commitment to listen and to learn from one another," he said. "I know that our deliberations on these matters will be watched by many within Canada and around the world. I hope they see no evidence of rejection, condemnation, or demonisation but every evidence of respect, charity, and patience. ... I hope they see us striving to live together with difference and to do it gracefully." Representatives from committees that have deliberated on human sexuality since 2007 reported to the General Synod that their work has included "creating opportunities to step away from the hotly debated issues of same-sex blessings and engage in the more general topic of human sexuality". Synod members will work towards forming a pastoral statement on human sexuality. The General Synod concludes Friday. Atheist group yields after Florida judge rules in favour of Christian ministries that help rehabilitate ex-prisoners An atheist group has given up its eight-year fight after a Florida judge ruled in favour of two Christian ministries that have been helping in the rehabilitation of former inmates from drug and alcohol addiction. "Therefore, a dispassionate review of our chances on appeal indicates we likely would lose and, moreover, we may well create bad precedent that would eliminate our hard-won victory and hurt the chances of other litigants," declared plaintiff Center for Inquiry in giving up the fight. It added, "Accordingly, we have concluded the responsible course of action is not to appeal this adverse decision. Admittedly, we are coming away from this multiyear litigation with only half a loaf, but that's better than nothing." As earlier reported by Christian Today, the Council for Secular Humanism originally filed the case in 2007 against the Florida Department of Corrections to void its contracts with the Lamb of God Ministries and Prisoners of Christ Ministry for violation of the Florida Constitution's "No Aid" provision. The law states that "no revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution." However, Judge George Reynolds III of the Circuit Court of Leon County, Florida, ruled that the No-Aid provision allows government contracts with religious organisations if the funds are not spent "in aid" of religion but to advance the state's secular goals. In the case, the judge said, the payments by the Department of Corrections to the two organisations "are not being made 'in aid of' religion. The Program exists to promote the State's anti-recidivism and anti-addition interests, not religion." He said "the record shows that the Program does not indoctrinate, require participation in religious ritual, or favour any one religion over another." Reynolds said "under the contracts, participation in the DOC program is voluntary. The DOC program is open to clients of any faiths and of no faiths. Any religion content is optional. Both contractors are led by men with religious training and background." The court said the two organisations provide housing, employment assistance, transportation and food for their clients that start when the prisoners are released and are met by the contractors at the bus station. The Lamb of God and Prisoners of Christ help them "adjust to life outside prison and come up with a plan based upon each client's needs." In addition, they help them get social security cards, driver's licenses or ID cards, transportation, medical and dental services, mental health services, food stamps, GEDs and post-secondary education. The judge concluded that "under the disputed facts of the case, based on 8 years of litigation and a lengthy record, Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that state funds are being unconstitutionally used 'in aid of' a 'church, sect, or religious denomination or . . . any sectarian institution." "Men leaving prison don't have much hope for a stable job, food, or even a roof over their heads. But these religious groups have given them hope, and so much more," said Lori Windham, senior legal counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represented the two organisations. "These ministries need to focus on helping men stay sober and turn their lives around, not defending against an unending, meritless lawsuit." British Muslim girls duped into forced marriages over Skype An increasing number of forced marriages are being conducted over Skype, two charities said on Monday. Imams are conducting ceremonies over the internet or on the phone for British girls as young as 11, meaning they can remotely marry men abroad, according to the charity Freedom which campaigns against forced marriage. In one case, an 11-year-old girl from London was married on Skype to a 25-year-old man in Bangladesh, said Freedom's founder Aneeta Prem. The girl hadn't understood the significance of the Skype call at the time and contacted Freedom after reading a book about forced marriage by Prem that her brother was given at school. "As soon as she was old enough the family were planning to take her out to consummate the marriage," Prem said. "She had been pulled out of school and was being taught to be a housewife." Prem said only a handful of internet marriages had come to light so far, but the number was increasing. They are attractive to traditional Islamic families because they are instantaneous and are less likely to get caught, according to Prem. The practice is illegal under UK law and the Home Office have said perpetrators could be prosecuted. "Forced marriage is an abhorrent practice which is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the UK, regardless of how it takes place," a spokesperson said. Karma Nirvana, another British charity which campaigns against forced marriage, said it had received calls to its helpline from girls who had been married off over the phone. The girls often don't realise the phone call is a marriage ceremony until their family tells them afterwards. "Some victims have contacted us and said: 'I've been married over the phone because my family think that I'm shaming them,'" said Karma Nirvana founder Jasvinder Sanghera. "The quickest way to marry someone off is not going to be taking them out to Pakistan, India, or wherever, the quickest way to get them into marriage is going to be over the phone." Karma Nirvana helpline manager Priya Manota estimated thousands of British girls under the age of 18 are being forced into marriage every year. Britain's Forced Marriage Unit confirmed it had come across cases of forced marriage being conducted by Skype. Additional reporting from Reuters. Church and Christian buildings in Ethiopia torched and looted. 'The Lord is with us,' says bishop A Catholic bishop in Ethiopia has spoken of his horror after local people torched and looted a church compound that had been working to help them. Bishop Abraham Desta, Apostolic Vicar of Meki, told Aid to the Church in Need how one of the area's oldest and biggest parishes was attacked by "the people for whom, and with whom, we work very closely." Bishop Desta described how Gighessa parish came under attack from villagers including young and old, women and children. They started throwing stones and destroying church properties, including the presbytery, diocesan pastoral centre, a small Ursuline convent and a clinic specialising in care for the handicapped and disabled. More than 55 people from around the world were attending a conference on nursery education at the pastoral centre at the time. After setting fire to the presbytery, the attackers made off with a year's supply of food, as well as livestock including cows. Bishop Desta said: "The Ursuline Sisters who run the clinic were left behind with the patients as they were not willing to leave the patients alone, but the people did not spare them." He added: "Sad to say no one went to help the Sisters, but by God's grace they managed to reach Shashamane, the nearest parish, along with the patients and spend that night in the parish. They have lost everything, except the precious gift of life that is being given freely by God almighty. And, sad to say, all this was done by the people of the locality whom they were serving, whom they know very well." The furniture that was taken included more than 250 beds, mattresses, 700 blankets, bed sheets, bed covers, fridges and deep freezers, washing machines, televisions, generators, copier machines, computers and even the doors and windows of the house. More than 26,455 Ibs of food was also taken including the wheat, rice, and pasta that was the centre's supply for the year. Cows and chickens from the parish smallholding were stolen. "And today there is a question in our hearts and minds. Why Lord? Why like this? I hope that in due time the Lord will give us an answer," said Bishop Desta, adding that the Blessed Sacrament was left behind and was retrieved later by two Catholic girls from the parish. "Through all these incidents, the Lord is reminding us that he is with us until the end of time." Dear Pope Francis: Pope's poignant answers to children's questions published today Pope Francis' book for children has been published today around the world. Dear Pope Francis is based on letters received from 259 children in 26 countries, written in 14 different languages. Each child had illustrated his or her letter with a drawing. The project saw Pope Francis sitting with Father Antonio Spadaro on an August afternoon in Rome and going through a selection of the letters one by one. He personally answered 30 of the questions, though he said he wished he could have answered them all. One of them, from 10-year-old Mohammed, a pupil at a Jesuit-run school for Syrian refugees, begins: "Will the world be again as it was in the past?" In part, Francis answers: "There are those who manufacture weapons so that people fight each other and wage war. There are people who have hate in their hearts. There are people who are interested only in money and would sell everything for it. They would even sell other people." More to Mohammed's point, Francis answered: "No, when the time comes, the world will not be as it was. It will be far better than it was in the past." Another child, seven-year-old William from the US, asked, "If you could do one miracle, what would it be?" "Dear William," the pope said, "I would heal children. I've never been able to understand why children suffer. It's a mystery to me. I don't have an explanation." Another, eight-year-old Natasha from Kenya, asked how Jesus walked on water. "You have to imagine Jesus walking naturally, normally. He did not fly over the water or turn somersaults while swimming," he wrote. "He walked as you walk!" Francis added: "Jesus is God, and so he can do anything!" An eight-year-old Australian boy, Luca, had a poignant question. "Dear Pope Francis, My mum is in Heaven. Will she grow angel wings?" Francis answered that no, she won't grow wings, but "she is the mother you know but more beautiful than ever... smiling and full of love for you". The pope's responses were not edited or condensed for the book, published by Loyola Press in the US and by Rizzoli in Italy. Francis met some of the children who contributed to the book on Friday at the Vatican, who asked him questions ranging from "How old are you?" to "Is it easy being the pope?" Dozens dead in twin ISIS suicide attacks in Iraq Violence against Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq continues to escalate after nearly 50 died in two ISIS suicide attacks on Monday. The larger of the two attacks killed at least 40 at a funeral in Muqdadiya, 50 miles northeast of Baghdad. Among the dead were six local commanders of the Hashid Shaabi umbrella group of Shi'ite militia who were attending the funeral of a commander's relative, security officials and police in Diyala said. The killing of the commanders, four of whom were from the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia and two from the Badr Organisation, is likely to inflame sectarian tensions. Security officials and witnesses said the situation inside Muqdadiya was tense, with dozens of Shi'ite militia members out on the streets, but few security forces. The town's police chief was wounded in clashes with militia fighters who had tried to seize suspected Islamic State militants from a prison in Muqdadiya, police sources said. A separate attack in the western Baghdad outskirts of Abu Ghraib killed a further eight victims on Monday. The bombing followed an offensive by Islamic State militants on army and police positions in the same area on Sunday which left 24 people dead but was eventually repelled by counter-terrorism forces and army attack helicopters. Monday's blasts follow the deadliest bombing inside the capital so far this year, which killed 78 people in a Shi'ite district on Sunday. ISIS, the ultra-hardline Sunni group, have claimed responsibility for the attacks. Despite significant losses, the jihadist group still control large swathes of northern and western Iraq. After Sunday's attacks ISIS circulated a statement using a derogatory term for Shi'ite Muslims: "Our swords will not cease to cut off the heads of the rejectionist polytheists, wherever they are". When is Easter 2016? Good Friday and Easter Sunday dates for this year Easter, the light at the end of the long Lenten tunnel, is fast approaching. This Christian festival, celebrated around the world, marks the end of Lent and the beginning of a season of celebration. We might all know that it commemorates the resurrection of Jesus the good news the Christian faith is built around but, when it comes to details, we're all liable to forget a few, particularly when we can't trust the feast day's date to stay the same. With that in mine, here's a guide to Easter 2016: When is Easter? Easter Sunday this year will fall on March 27. This means that Good Friday will be March 25 and Easter Monday March 28. What is it? Easter is a festival of celebration commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and was resurrected three days later. The resurrection of Jesus is foundational to the Christian faith. It is through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God, that believers are given new life. In dying on the cross, Jesus took upon himself the burden of sin, and in his rising from death, he conquered that sin. Any person who follows Jesus receives "a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (1 Peter 1:3) Wait, Easter isn't just one day? Well, Easter Sunday is the great feast day, but it comes as the climax of the preceding Holy Week. This week in the Church calender commemorates the events that led up to Jesus' death and resurrection. Alongside Easter Sunday there are three other significant days in the week: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, March 20 this year, remembering Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. Maundy Thursday, March 24, commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus with his 12 disciples. It was during this passover meal that Jesus washed his disciples' feet, predicted Judas' betrayal and his own death, and instituted the tradition of breaking bread and drinking wine in his memory the Eucharist. Good Friday, March 25, then marks the beginning of the three days of Easter, commemorating specifically the crucifixion of Jesus. It is a day of mourning in the Church focussing on Christ's sacrifcial life and death. How is the date for Easter chosen? Jesus' death occurred just after passover a Jewish feast celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt and so the Easter date has always been set in relation to the Passover date. Unlike Christmas, which can reliably be found on December 25, Easter is a moveable feast. Its date is set by the Paschal (Passover) Full Moon Easter can always be found on the first Sunday after this moon. This will always leave Easter falling on a Sunday between March 21 and April 25. This has been the case since the Council of Nicea a key council of the early church in 325 AD. However, recently the Archbishop of Canterbury has said he would enter into discussion with other church leaders as to whether Easter's date should in fact be fixed a particular Sunday every year. Franklin Graham hits out at Obama after ex-Guantanamo detainee calls for jihad in Africa Franklin Graham has expressed anger over the Obama Administration's handling of terror suspects. In a stinging Facebook post, evangelist Graham was highly critical of President Barack Obama's "terrorist catch-and-release policy". "[It's] unreal," he wrote. Graham was writing in response to an ABC report that Ibrahim Qosi, ex-Guantanamo detainee and the former driver and bodyguard of Osama bin Laden, last week used social media to encourage jihad in Somalia. The SITE Intelligence Group translated a message attributed to Qosi on the Telegram messaging app as saying that fighters in Somalia should "continue the raid with a raid, and light up the ground beneath the feet of the Crusaders and team them that the lands of Islam are a fortress that is not allowed to the disbelievers, and a graveyard for the invaders." "Victory is brought by blood and suffering, not by promises and wishes from every libertine," Qosi said. Qosi was held in Guantanamo Bay for 10 years before being released in July 2012 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and supporting terrorism. Just last week, Obama unveiled plans to close the controversial prison facility that has been dogged by abuse claims by former detainees. In his Facebook post, Graham said it should not be a surprise that Qosi, who was at one time deemed "high risk", went on to become a top al Qaeda leader who is now using his position to call for jihad. He said: "It's just a shame that our military are risking their livesand giving their livesto put these Islamic terrorists out of business and behind bars, only to have them put right back out there to do more damage ... Terrorists like this shouldn't be released." Happy Birthday Justin Bieber! 5 quotes from the pop star on his Christian faith Happy Birthday Justin Bieber. I don't know about you, but he's feeling 22. 21 was a significant year for Justin he released his number 1 album 'Purpose', won countless awards and has gone public with his personal faith. Having made headlines for alleged drug use and DUI [Driving Under the Influence] charges, Justin's tune has changed more recently. He opened up in a long and comprehensive interview in Complex about his personal faith and desire to live like Jesus. He has become more invovled in church, even travelling to Australia to attend a Hillsong conference. In an interview with GQ, celebrity pastor Carl Lentz shared about the moving moment Justin was baptised in a bath. So what better way to celebrate the birth of Bieber, than with a list of five times he has spoken about his faith. 1. "I pray when I go to sleep. I pray during the day when I have a problem or when I just wanna thank Him for all He's done for me. Without God I wouldn't be in this position. He's blessed me with the talent and opportunity. And I feel like there's also a reason I'm here." Speaking to the Radio Times on the eve of his first Grammy Award, February 2016. 2. "I feel invincible like, nothing is bigger than God. If God's for me, who can be against me? That's helped me in a lot of situations where I feel judged. It gives you confidence and you can carry yourself in a cool way, but it's not cocky. It's a confidence that's a godly confidence. That's what I always want. I wanna be loved for being a good dude and for being confident in myself because I know who I am and what I carry and what I sacrifice." Complex, September 2015 3. "It's like with God: The whole thing with religion is you present yourself holy and bring your offerings so that God can bless you, when the whole point of the relationship [should be], 'No, I'm gonna do this because he loves me. I'm gonna do this because he's amazing and not because [I] have to, [but] because [I] want to.' That's the whole thing with religion that's been throwing off the people. It's not a 'have to.' It should be just like a personal relationship. Like, 'Hey, I love you because you first loved me'." Complex, September 2015 4. "I feel I have an obligation to plant little seeds with my fans. I'm not going to tell them, 'You need Jesus,' but I will say at the end of my show, 'God loves you'." Rolling Stone, February 2011 5. "I'm not religious nor do i think I have ANYTHING figured out that's why I call out on God to help me through what I can't do on my own. Developing my relationship with God has been the coolest thing I've experienced, to know that I'm not alone and I don't have to live in fear. Never feel like I'm pushing anything on u but sharing the good news I've felt in my own life." Instagram, May 2015 Jewish leaders back Ted Cruz, say he's the best hope for survival of Israel, West in face of 'existential' threat posed by Iran Texas Senator Ted Cruz secured the support not only of evangelical Christians but also of Jewish leaders ahead of Super Tuesday, the electoral event in various states across America that could make or break the fortunes of the five remaining candidates for the Republican presidential nomination. Last week, Dr. Ben Chouake, national president of NORPAC, America's largest pro-Israel political action committee, endorsed Cruz for president, Charisma News reported. More Jewish leaders endorsed Cruz over the weekend, raising his number of influential Jewish political supporters to more than three dozen, according to the senator's campaign. "Since the day we announced our campaign, we have been honoured to see tremendous support from the Jewish community." Cruz said. He again emphasised his commitment to Israel and the Jewish people, which he said began long before he became a senator and a presidential candidate. "It began with the experience my father had as a refugee fleeing oppression in Cuba to come to this country," he said. Cruz vowed that as president, "I will stand unapologetically with Israel, prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons" and "move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem" among other executive actions. Rabbi Zev Reichman, spiritual leader of the East Hill Synagogue in Englewood, New Jersey, and director at Yeshiva University, expressed his unequivocal support for the Texas senator. "Ted Cruz has impressed me with his deep respect for people of faith, his dedication to protecting the U.S. homeland, and his unflinching support for America's greatest ally in the Middle East, the nation of Israel," he said. Reichman said Cruz offers the best hope for survival not only of the Jewish nation but of the West as well. "America and the West face an existential threat to our way of life from radical Islamic terrorists. Cruz has been a leader in identifying this threat and boldly taking action to protect American lives," he said. "Ted has demonstrated foresight, understanding and good judgment. Most importantly, he has demonstrated time and again that he is a leader with integrity, strength and courage. He has introduced legislation to prevent terrorists from coming to the U.S. and to choke off their funding. Most significantly, when the Iran deal was coming to Congress for a vote, he led the efforts to stop this catastrophic deal." He recalled that on Oct. 6, 1943, hundreds of rabbis marched in Washington, pleading with elected officials to step in and address the dangers to Jews in Europe. However, President Roosevelt refused to meet with them. As a result, millions of Jewish lives were lost during the Holocaust. Reichman said today the Jews face an even greater threat from what Hitler did in World War II. "The Iranian regime threatens to do in six minutes what Hitler did in six years. They openly declare their hope to wipe Israel off the map. The Iranian nuclear deal has awarded this hideous regime billions of dollars, international legitimacy and hundreds of billions of dollars of future economic growth," he said. On Sept. 9, 2015, hundreds of rabbis once again returned to Washington to plead with elected officials to step in and reject the Iranian nuclear deal. But just like what Roosevelt did in 1943, their voices were ignored. "Ted Cruz stood with us and led at that moment," Reichman said. "President Cruz will tear up the Iran deal on his first day in office. The stakes for America, the West and Israel have rarely been higher. I hope and pray that the Almighty will help Ted Cruz become the next president of the United States and leader of the free world." More Anglican Provinces give backing to new North American body |PIC1|More Anglican leaders from across the global communion have joined in support of the newly formed Anglican Church in North America. The Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East and the Province of Southeast Asia sent their congratulations and welcomed the new conservative body. "Our prayers are for you and for the new Province to continue to stand firm in faith as you have always done," the Most Rev Mouneer H Anis of the Jerusalem and Middle East province wrote. "May the Lord keep your unity in order to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ in North America!" Bishops from England - including the Bishops of Rochester, Winchester, Chichester and Chester - Sydney and parts of Africa have also celebrated the ACNA and recognised it as authentically Anglican. So far, nine of the 38 provinces in the Anglican Communion indicated support for the ACNA, which was constituted this week as a biblically-centred province. The ACNA unites some 100,000 Anglicans in 700 parishes which have severed ties with The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada into a single church. According to its newly ratified constitution, the orthodox Anglicans say they are "grieved by the current state of brokenness within the Anglican Communion prompted by those who have embraced erroneous teaching and who have rejected a repeated call to repentance". The conservative group has been calling on The Episcopal Church the US arm of Anglicanism to repent and get back in line with traditional Anglicanism and Scripture, particularly since it consecrated an openly gay bishop in 2003. But the conservatives saw little hope that the US church would change direction. Bishop Martyn Minns of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, one of the breakaway groups that make up the ACNA, said that by forming the new province, they are establishing that they want to stay within the Christian mainstream. "The teachings we hold to are the teachings that have governed the Anglican branch of Christianity for decades," Minns said. Bishop Jack Iker of Fort Worth said constituting the ACNA marks "the beginning of the recovery of confidence in Anglicanism as a biblical, missionary church". Establishing an Anglican national province where such a national church already exists is unprecedented. And although the ACNA has gained support from some of the largest provinces in the Anglican Communion, formal recognition as the 39th province may take years. The Most Rev Robert Duncan, who was installed Wednesday as the first archbishop of the ACNA, said he is in regular contact with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the global communion. More than 900 people gathered this week for the inaugural assembly of the ACNA in Bedford, Texas. As they concluded the historic meeting on Thursday, they were reminded of why they created a new province. The ACNA was not formed to relieve the pain and angst of the past, the Rev Dr Todd Hunter, past president of Alpha USA, said. It was established to help build the Kingdom of God, he stressed. Archbishop Duncan said he wants to start 1,000 churches during his five-year term. New church opens next to a strip club in Indiana, and the lead pastor likes it When the Lafayette Community Church in the U.S. state of Indiana was looking for a new and larger location for its ministry, it did not expect a vacancy to open up beside a strip club. Lead pastor Jeff Mikels told NBC 4 that it was his associate who excitedly found the building for their church. It was the right size for them, and the price can't be beat. However, the only catch was that it was situated beside Filly's Gentlemen's Club and an adult gift store on Concord Road. Mikels said they were initially reluctant to open there, but after talking with the church's associates, they decided to give it a go. "The more and more we talked about it, the more we felt like we could find ways to be a blessing to the people who come to this part of town," said Mikels. Filly's co-owner Ed Gobel need not worry about angry Christians carrying picket signs outside his establishment, because the members of the Lafayette Community Church have been nothing but respectful and kind. Gobel's employees even received baskets of goodies from the church members. "It's been a very, very good working relationship," said Gobel. "And I think they respect our viewpoints and we respect theirs." The first part of the Lafayette Community Church's renovation project was to replace the old fence with a new one, but Mikels said the fence dividing the two properties does not mean that there is a barrier between them. "The fence is just there because we're trying to build an aesthetically pleasing environment here, so we want to make sure people feel comfortable to be in this space because we want them to feel love," said Mikels. Gobel agreed, saying the positive relationship they have formed with the Lafayette Community Church is one that he would love to experience with other neighbours as well. "It's a wonderful thing because it's the fact that we're all sharing together because we want to all prosper," said Gobel. Nigerian president orders inquiry into latest massacre of Christian farmers The President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari has ordered an investigation after armed herdsmen attacked farmers, leaving hundreds dead and thousands more displaced. The Fulani herdsmen armed with guns and machetes attacked the mainly-Christian farmers in the central Benue state in the latest assault in their long-running battle over grazing rights. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reported that the herders, who had the support of a helicpopter, launched their attack on the Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State over several days, displacing farmers and others from at least 25 communities. Varying reports put deaths at 100 to more than 300. There were also reports of at least six villages razed and corpses littering abandoned communities. There have been regular attacks by Fulani militia and herdsmen, who are mostly Muslim, on farmers in the central states of Nigeria. The attacks are becoming more frequent. The central states are where the mainly Christian south meets the mainly Muslim north. In 2014 the herders murdered more people than the Somali terror group al-Shabaab, rendering them the fourth most deadly terrorist outfit in the world, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace's Global Terrorism Index. The new attacks came after the electoral re-run. A few days ago, the herders were driven from six communities they had occupied on the banks of the Benue River. "Violence attributed to armed herders is increasingly becoming an issue in the south of the country," said CSW. In January, the body of Obi Edward Akaeze Ofulue II, traditional ruler of Ubulu-Uku Kingdom in Delta State, was discovered in the bush in Ekpon, Edo State, days after his kidnap for ransom by Fulanis. A few days ago, six traditional rulers accused armed herders of destroying local farmlands and raping women in their area. Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of CSW, said the organisation "welcomes the deployment of troops to Agatu and news of a government investigation into the violence in Benue State and the pledge to tackle the root causes of the violence. "However, given the scope of herder attacks and the fact that the herders have long constituted a threat to national security, the investigation must be widened to include every area in the country where such violence is occurring," he said. "It is essential that the government follows through on its promise and that those responsible for the bloodshed in Benue and elsewhere are held to account. The statistics are sobering; a holistic plan to tackle terrorism in Nigeria must address the Fulani herders as well as Boko Haram." Oregon bakery owners press fight for their religious beliefs, take case to appeals court It was a big blow for Oregon bakery owners Aaron and Melissa Klein when a court ordered them to cough up $135,000 for refusing to make a cake for a same-sex wedding, but the Christian couple are not backing down from their beliefs. The two have now taken their case before the Oregon Court of Appeals, according to the Gospel Herald. They are being represented by First Liberty (formerly known as Liberty Institute), a legal organisation dedicated to defending and restoring religious liberty. "We're praying that the state of Oregon will back off," First Liberty attorney Jeremy Dys said on Tuesday. "We're hoping the state will recognise the freedom of religionwe're hoping that it can be restored, not just for us, but for everybody in this nation. We're going to continue to fight on." The case all started back in 2013, when same-sex couple Laurel and Rachel Bowman-Cryer filed a lawsuit against the Kleins and their shop Sweet Cakes Bakery after the Christian couple refused to provide the cake for their wedding, citing their religious beliefs as the reason. Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries sided with the same-sex couple, ruling that the Kleins violated the state's anti-discrimination laws since their bakery is not a registered religious institution. Aaron said he and his wife do not regret making that decision even if it had cost them their life's savings. "We wanted to honour God with our business, and dedicated everything to him," he said. "We believe in a Biblical definition of marriage, and we believe that we have the freedom of religion in this country." When the Kleins were forced to pay state-ordered damage fees and interest totalling $136,927.07 in December 2015, it was a good thing that a crowdfunding site such as the Samaritan's Purse gave them financial aid. "The government of Oregon cleaned out their bank account to penalise them without their permission, but that wasn't enough," Dys said. "Thankfully, they had a whole bunch of crowdfunding that came alongside them and they were able to pay the penalty that they had to pay in order to appeal this." They now have a chance to turn things around at the Oregon Court of Appeals. First Liberty revealed that legal briefs are expected to be filed throughout the year, adding that their oral argument will take place late this year. "This is something that is broader than just these two people," Dys said. "If it can happen to Aaron and Melissa at a bakery shop, it can happen to anybody at any level of employment at any business. The government should never be the ones coercing individuals into believing something that they don't believe. Or, for that matter, punishing them for believing it. All of America suffers when someone loses their religious liberty." Russell Moore: 'Evangelical' has been hijacked by 'heretics and lunatics' in presidential race Russell Moore is not an evangelical. Or rather, he doesn't want to be labelled as one, at least until the US presidential election is over. The president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention has started introducing himself as a "gospel Christian" to avoid the word "evangelical", he says. "The word 'evangelical' has become almost meaningless this year, and in many ways the word itself is at the moment subverting the gospel of Jesus Christ," Moore wrote in an editorial for The Washington Post, explaining why he had ditched the label. The theologian barely disguised his ridicule for leaders who have endorsed Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. President of Liberty University Jerry Falwell Jr announced his official support for Trump in January, and Franklin Graham, son of famous preacher Billy Graham, has also declared his support for a number of Trump's policies. "Why are many evangelical leaders, including some who pontificate on nearly everything else, scared silent as evangelicalism is associated with everything from authoritarianism and bigotry to violations of religious freedom?" Moore asked. He argued the term evangelical has been misunderstood and misapplied, and Christians "have been too willing to look the other way when the word 'evangelical' has been co-opted by heretics and lunatics". "The word 'evangelical' isn't, first of all, about American politics," he wrote. "The word is rooted in the Greek word for gospel, good news for sinners through the life, death, resurrection and reign of Jesus of Nazareth as the son of God and anointed ruler of the cosmos. "Evangelical means a commitment to the truth of God's revelation in the Bible and a conviction that the blood of Christ is offered to any repentant, believing sinner as a full atonement for sin." He also pointed out that polls don't distinguish between actual chuchgoers and those who self-identify as evangelical. "Many of those who tell pollsters they are 'evangelical' may well be drunk right now, and haven't been into a church since someone invited them to Vacation Bible School sometime back when Seinfeld was in first-run episodes," he said. The word "evangelical" no longer has any meaning. Just call me a gospel Christian. Russell Moore (@drmoore) February 26, 2016 However Moore concluded on a note of optimism and said the "future of evangelicalism is vibrant". "But you will forgive me if, at least until this crazy campaign year is over, I choose just to say that I'm a gospel Christian," he added. "When this fevered moment is over, we will need to make 'evangelical' great again." Science and religion: Awards scheme could be worth 10,000 to your church Do science and religion go together? Not if you pay attention to social media posts claiming science has somehow 'disproved' religion. In some parts of both the Christian and the wider world, they're seen as being opposed to each other. That's a perception a project based at St John's College, Durham is out to change. Funded by the Templeton Foundation, the Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science project is aimed at helping Christians understand how to engage with science today. The three-year ecumenical project a partnership between the University of Durham and the Church of England plans to carry out research into the attitudes of clergy, offer theological resources and advice on complex questions and run conferences on issues of concern. Topics will include cosmology, suffering, transhumanism and evolution. As part of that, it's running an awards scheme that will provide up to 10,000 to churches that want to work with experts to engage their congregations with science. Among the criteria for support from the Scientists in Congregations project are that schemes have to be proposed by 'professional practitioners' in science, that they enable local groups of Christians to build confidence in science and that they "seek to change the conversation between the Church and the scientific world". Christian Today spoke to project manager Rev Dr Kathryn Pritchard. She said all kinds of ideas could be considered, including exhibitions, lectures and environmental projects in ancient churchyards. She instanced one Baptist minister with a scientific background who was concerned about young boys in his community and started a 'Messy science' programme for them involving hands-on experiments. "It's not expensive, but it's highly effective," she said. Another Anglican minister with a scientific background, Dr Vicky Johnson now a canon at Ely Cathedral has written about how she used her training with the congregation of St Michael's, Flixton, in the Diocese of Manchester. Among other things they put together a service celebrating the legacy of Charles Darwin and studied the first two chapters of Genesis. They also held nature-discovery days in the churchyard with 'bug hunts' and a 'leaf quiz' for children and held a 'Science Sunday' when the church was decorated with circling planets and spirals of DNA. Johnson told Christian Today: "In every church congregation, there will be someone with an interest in science or someone who works in the fields of science, medicine or information technology. We are all dependent on the discoveries of science in our daily lives, from antibiotics to mobile phones, chemotherapy to computers. "There are many scientists who have a Christian faith and there are a many organisations and churches, where discussions between scientists and Christians are encouraged, for example Christians in Science, The Society of Ordained Scientists, and the Faraday Institute. "Here at Ely Cathedral we are currently planning a Science Festival and the 'God and the big bang' project brings together leading scientists, Christians and school children to explore these issues." She said congregations were generally interested in science rather than threatened by it. "The reality is, these issues affect everyone's life and science is not a subject the Christian can ignore; our approach to science and scientific discoveries has a real impact on the mission of the church in contemporary culture." She added: "By engaging with science, churches can actually reach out to people. This is a mission issue. By embracing science the church can really engage with people where they are, and also provide a space for ethical dialogue with scientists and the wider community." Pritchard said that while generally there was an issue in wider society about how people saw science and how confident they are in talking about it, for Christians there could be a "conflict narrative in the way they are taught to think about it and about wider scientific developments". But, she added, "It is possible to change the narrative." Of the awards scheme she said: "There is a huge public appetite for discussion about the science-faith relationship and previous projects have attracted high levels of interest, not only from regular church members but also from the wider community. "The Scientists in Congregations programme is designed to demonstrate that bringing science into conversation with theology and vice versa is vital for our understanding of contemporary life." Similar programmes have been initiated in the US, Canada and more recently Scotland, where the scheme has funded a range of projects, including pilgrimage walking trails, a Nativity play where science and faith are considered and 'Dinosaur Sunday' services. More than 20 churches have so far signed up to be part of it. The project criteria can be found here. The deadline for applications is May 3. St David's Day: Who was Wales' 'miracle-working' patron saint? It's St David's Day, when the patron saint of Wales is honoured and the patriotic flame burns a little brighter. But who was this famous saint, and why is he still remembered? David was born around the year 500, the son of St Non. She had been raped by one of the princes of Ceredigion, who is given various names. David was the result, and according to the Life of St David writen by Rhigyfarch around 1095, he was destined to be a great preacher. While he was still in his mother's womb a local preacher found himself unable to speak in his presence and prophesied great things for him. A nearby ruler feared his power and plotted to kill him, but a great storm on the day of David's birth prevented him from doing so. Reliable information about those times which used to be known as the Dark Ages, though the term isn't really used nowadays is scarce. However, it's known that David founded several monasteries including the one in the town that bears his name today, and that he and his followers lived a simple life, eating no meat and refraining from beer. The monks pulled their own ploughs without using draught animals and had everything in common; even saying "my book" was a breach of the monastic rule. David's symbol is the leek. He became a bishop in the Church and made several pilgrimages, including one to Jerusalem. Tradition has it that he brought back with him a stone that is now part of an altar in the Cathedral that bears his name. David was a noted opponent of Pelagius, who opposed the idea of predestination and was believed to teach that people could achieve salvation by their own efforts. Like many saints of the time, David was a miracle-worker. One story about him is that he was preaching at the Synod of Llanddewi Brefi when the crowd complained they couldn't hear him. The ground on which he stood is said to have risen up to form a small hill so everyone had a good view, and a white dove settled on his shoulder as a sign of God's blessing. One historian, John Davies, wrote that one can "scarcely conceive of any miracle more superfluous" in that part of Wales than the creation of a new hill. David is believed to have died on this day in around 589. His last sermon closed with the words: "Be joyful, and keep your faith and your creed, and do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about. I will walk the path that our fathers have trod before us." Top evangelical Christian website lambasts Trump, calls him 'misogynist and philanderer' Donald Trump has been lambasted by the senior editors of The Christian Post in an unusual move to "encourage our readers to back away" from the Republican frontrunner. An opinion piece for the popular Christian news website said it does not usually take political positions but was making an exception "because Trump is exceptionally bad". The Republican candidate, who is favourite to win the nomination in most of the 12 Super Tuesday states, "claims to speak for and represent the interests of evangelicals", according to the piece. It reads: "We feel compelled by our moral responsibility to our readers to make clear that Donald Trump does not represent the interests of evangelicals and would be a dangerous leader for our country." One of the editors' main gripes with Trump is that he "has never asked for forgiveness". "There are certain non-negotiable actions needed to become a Christian: One must repent of their sins and follow Christ as Lord and Savior. Trump doesn't talk this way, even when urged to," they wrote. However the article did not stop there. The authors went on an extraordinary all-out assault against the presidential candidate and New York billionaire. "Trump is a misogynist and philanderer," they wrote. "He demeans women and minorities. His preferred forms of communication are insults, obscenities and untruths. While Christians have been guilty of all of these, we, unlike Trump, acknowledge our sins, ask for forgiveness and seek restitution with the aid of the Holy Spirit and our community of believers." They continued: "Trump is promising many things that he cannot possibly deliver, but the most frightening part is Trump's stated willingness to ignore the authority of the Supreme Court, Congress and the U.S. Constitution if he were to become president." The article also takes a swipe at Trump's previous career in business saying he has been "surrounded by controversy for decades because of his untruthfulness, questionable business practices, reported association with organized crime, and abrupt changes in fundamental positions." It concludes: "This is a critical time in American history and we call on all Christians to pray for personal repentance, divine forgiveness and spiritual awakening for our nation. It is not the time for Donald Trump." US student detained in North Korea confesses to 'severe' crime, blames Ohio church A US student detained in North Korea has issued a dramatic and emotional apology, confessing in front of cameras his "severe crime", according to state media. Otto Warmbier, 21, made his first appearance since his arrest in January in an official broadcast where he effusively apologised for his actions, saying he was encouraged by a church in Ohio and the CIA to commit the crime. Warmbier's parents said they were "greatly relieved" they had seen pictures of him. "We had not heard from him during these many weeks, so you can imagine how deeply worried we were and what a traumatic experience this has been for us," Fred and Cindy Warmbier said in a statement released on Monday. "He seems to be in good health, although we won't know for sure about his condition until we have a chance to speak with him." North Korea has a long history of detaining foreigners and has used jailed US citizens in the past to extract high-profile visits from the United States, with which it has no formal diplomatic relations. "I committed the crime of taking out a political slogan from the staff-only area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel," the North's KCNA news agency quoted Warmbier as telling media in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. It did not say what the item was. CNN showed video of a sobbing Warmbier saying: "I have made the worst mistake of my life, but please act to save me." Warmbier said a "deaconess" had offered him a used car worth $10,000 if he could present a US church with the slogan as a "trophy" from North Korea, KCNA said. The acquaintance also said the Friendship United Methodist Church in Ohio would pay his mother $200,000 if he was detained by the North and did not return, KCNA quoted Warmbier as saying. The church's senior pastor has denied knowledge of the deaconess named by North Korean officials, and said Warmbier is not a member of the church. "My crime is very severe and pre-planned," Warmbier was quoted as saying, adding that he was impressed by North Korea's "humanitarian treatment of severe criminals like myself." The White House said on Monday it was aware of Warmbier's situation and was working closely with Sweden, the United States' protecting power in North Korea, to learn as much as it can about his detention. Warmbier "was caught committing a hostile act against the state", according to North Korea's state media in January which added the act was "tolerated and manipulated by the US government". Although most tourists to North Korea are from China, roughly 6,000 Westerners visit annually, despite strong recommendations against travel to the totalitarian state from the United States and Canada. Most are curious about life behind the last sliver of the iron curtain and ignore critics who say their dollars prop up a repressive regime. The oppressive communist state is considered to be the worst place to live as Christian with 70,000 estimated to be imprisoned in labour camps for their faith. Additional reporting from Reuters. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Foley's was a part of Houston's cultural and retail fabric for more than a century before it was rebranded as Macy's a decade ago. Now, the department store is poised to reappear online and possibly as a few physical stores after a California man this week won a trademark dispute with Macy's. Foley Brothers Dry Goods Co. first opened in 1900, playing a major role in Houston in its 106-year run with its famed "Red Apple Sales" and hosting an annual Thanksgiving parade. It was purchased by Federated Department Stores in 1945, which in 2006 rebranded Foley's stores as Macy's. The Foley's trademark, and other regional department store brands that converted into Macy's, went unused. As trademarks expired, Ellia Kassoff, CEO of Strategic Marks LLC, began collecting them and started an online shop. Macy's appealed to federal trademark authorities then filed suit for the first set of trademarks Kassoff collected in 2011, citing unfair competition. The company filed a second lawsuit for another set of old trademarks in 2015. Those cases were merged. Both sides reached a settlement Monday in federal court in San Francisco. Kassoff's first step will be to create a new website with the regional brands "anchoring" the online mall. He sees possible physical locations for the regional trademarks in the future. He has been in talks with mall owners, developers and investors who were interested and told him to contact them when the lawsuit was over. "Are you going to see 20 Foley's in Houston? Probably not," Kassoff said. "Are you going to see two? Maybe." If there's enough local interest, he added. As a professional designer, Jennifer Barron has created fresh, bright interiors for plenty of clients. But when she and her husband bought their first home two years ago, she got the chance to design her own personal space. Barron and her husband, John Barron, followed his Exxon Mobil job to Houston, where they rented an apartment until they found the right house. In 2014, on a quiet street in Briargrove, they found one. Built in 1955, it was a cozy 2,036 square feet, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It had potential, but it needed a lot of updating. When they bought the place, it felt like a cave inside. "Everything was brown," Barron says, including the wood paneling on the walls. "It was dark and claustrophobic and just old-looking. I said, 'Let's just paint every inch white.' " By the time they moved in, the interior was bright white and felt bigger, cleaner and more open. To this neutral backdrop, Barron added a palette of blue and turquoise shades, accented with rich metallics and artsy antiques. "I wasn't really going for a coastal look, but it kind of has one," Barron says. A small entryway opens into the dining room, which has a fun retro feel, thanks in part to the vintage Slim Aarons photograph - "Poolside Gossip," taken at a Palm Springs swimming pool in 1970 - on the front wall. A contemporary Jonathan Adler light fixture hangs above a round glass table Barron inherited from her grandmother, complete with gold-leafed wooden chairs. The den's two broad doorways make it feel open to both the dining room and the galley kitchen behind it. A custom-made linen sofa and quartz-topped coffee table are flanked by a pair of matching turquoise lamps, which Barron found at an antiques store. The kitchen feels bigger than it is because it's bright and open, with windows that look out to the back patio. "We got lucky because it was already updated," Barron says, with granite countertops and a stone backsplash that fit the home's youthful new feel. The guest bathroom, too, had been updated with gray-toned granite counters; Barron added a navy grass cloth to the walls for a fresh, dramatic look. The art on the walls throughout the house is a personal mix of old and new. One of Barron's own drawings hangs in the guest bedroom. In the hallway are two framed blueprints - the home's original architectural plans, which she discovered in a den cabinet. And in the den is a painting Barron spotted on a work trip to New Orleans, an abstract wash of neutrals. "I couldn't get it out of my head," she says. "So I called the artist a week later and said, 'I have to have that. Can you get it to me?' " The home's entryway pairs some antique pieces - an oak chest and a gold-framed mirror, both wedding gifts - with a fresh, contemporary wallpaper print. The wallpaper's bold print is softened by its gray-and-white palette. "I wanted something really neutral that I wouldn't get sick of," Barron says. "And I have to say, I haven't gotten sick of it yet." Making those interior-design decisions was a little more difficult for her own home, Barron admits. She decided to gather up pieces and colors she truly loved, then made it all fit together. "I feel like if I go with everything I love, I can't ever go wrong," she says. "It's just fun to practice on my own house." The Barrons eventually may want a bigger house, or one that's closer to John Barron's job in The Woodlands - but for now, the couple is enjoying the look and feel of their first home. "It's perfect for our lifestyle," Jennifer Barron says. "We both work so much that it's just relaxing when we're here." Breakthrough Houston had much to celebrate during its eighth annual "Building Our Future" spring luncheon. The organization's executive director, Kathy Heinzerling, opened the Monday program by noting that students at the event venue, St. John's School's new Flores Hall and Campus Center, had affectionately nicknamed the cathedral-esque space "Hogwarts." Voters in the Alvin Community College district will consider an $88.5 million bond proposition that would fund projects including a second campus and result in a tax-rate increase. If voters OK the bond package in the May 7 election, the property tax rate for the district, now about 20.4 cents per $100 of valuation, would rise by about 6.99 cents to 27.39 cents. For a home valued at $175,000, the increase would be slightly more than $122 per year for a total bill of about $479. The college gives an exemption of $75,000 for those who are age 65 or older or who are disabled. The largest project included in the proposal is land purchase and construction related to establishing a campus on the district's west side, encompassing neighborhoods along the Texas 6/Texas 288 corridor including Sedona Lakes, Rodeo Palms, Shadow Creek Ranch and Meridiana, a 2,700-acre master-planned community to be constructed in Manvel and Iowa Colony. "Initial estimates from our consultants for the first year's enrollment at a new west-side facility are between 1,500 and 2,500 students," ACC President Christal Albrecht said. ACC is based from a campus in Alvin. As of fall 2014, enrollment was 4,837. Capital improvement plans call for the proposed campus building to occupy from 60,000 to 80,000 square feet and include classrooms, computer labs and areas for health-care and biology education, Albrecht said. Construction costs are estimated at $35 million to $45 million, depending on the size of the facility. District regents are evaluating prospective locations. "Preliminary plans are to offer core academic courses at the planned west-side campus. "But ACC intends to be responsive to the needs and requests of our students and stakeholders if the new facility is approved by ACC's voters," Albrecht said. As of late February, the board had engaged planning consultants for the facility, but no architectural work had started. "If ACC's voters approve it, we'd like to get the new campus up and running as soon as possible," Albrecht said. "Realistically, it's probably a two- or three-year project." The proposed bond package also would fund a building at the Alvin campus that would allow ACC to expand its technical programs. "Current plans for program additions include those that we currently offer that have a high demand in the job market such as industrial design, welding, (programmed operation of machine tools), pipefitting and more," Albrecht said. Construction of the technical building would cost an estimated $18 million. ACC has asked for building renovations as well, including a new culinary arts facility, energy-efficiency system improvements and campus accessibility and safety improvements. "Now it is up to the voters of the district to decide if they are in agreement with the proposal of our Long Range Facilities Planning Committee and the board of regents by casting their votes in May," ACC Regent Mike Pyburn said in the ACC bond election announcement. The committee, made up of community members, studied the condition of current facilities, along with projected space requirements, construction costs and funding options. The group recommended priority projects to the board. ACC's 10-year capital improvement plan was developed by Edmonton, Canada-based consulting firm, Stantec, which the board hired in June. The plan addresses college facility conditions and utilization, safety, technology, landscaping and traffic flow. Early voting for the May 7 election will take place April 25 to May 3. Visit http://www.alvincollege.edu/ for more information. With the new 385-acre Exxon Mobil Corp. campus and the latest segment of the Grand Parkway open just south of The Woodlands, developers are looking to attract new homebuyers. After a couple years of buying up land in Tomball next to The Woodlands' Village of Creekside Park, J. Alan Kent Development is developing a 286-acre community called Lakes at Creekside. The first model homes opened this month at Lakes at Creekside, which is currently underway off Kuykendahl and Hufsmith and is zoned for Tomball Independent School District. "We play off The Woodlands. We abut The Woodlands on most of our developments that we do in the north part of town. There are a lot of people who love The Woodlands; it's a great community. But there are a lot of people who don't want to necessarily live in The Woodlands, so we give them an alternative," said Alan Kent, founder of J. Alan Kent Development. The developer completed its first phase of development last year when it developed and sold 148 lots to three homebuilders, M/I Homes, Trendmaker Homes and Village Builders. The price point for a home at Lakes at Creekside varies greatly, ranging from $300,000 to more than $1 million. At the master-planned community's completion, Lakes at Creekside will feature 600 single-family homes, eight lakes, a recreation center, a park, trails, sidewalks, splash pad and a pool. The development, as of now, is strictly residential with no mixed-use or commercial real estate planned. Although no commercial development is planned, residents will be close enough to amenities in The Woodlands' Creekside, which features several restaurants, a new H-E-B and a Walgreens off Kuykendahl. The community is expected to be fully developed within four years, Kent said. "We've seen a great uptick in our traffic, especially for the last quarter for our homes that are $1 million and up. We had two or three lookers a weekend. Now, we have 14 or 15 people that are real buyers that are looking to buy a house," Kent said. "If you've driven the Grand Parkway to get to here, it makes it a lot easier for someone from the Katy area or literally any area to get north of town now." For Will Holder, president of Trendmaker Homes and a homebuilder in The Woodlands, the decision to build in the community of Lakes at Creekside was easy. The importance of the Grand Parkway, the Exxon Mobil move to Springwoods and the economic growth in south Montgomery County can't be understated in the decision to develop Lakes at Creekside, the plans for which were set in motion less than four years ago. Increased mobility in and out of the area and jobs were highly attractive, and offering residents high-end amenities via The Woodlands just a stone's throw away was also a major selling point. Trendmaker expects to build 23 homes during the first phase of Lakes at Creekside's development. Its first model home will open in April, and homes will sit in the $500,000 range. "Wherever transportation corridors have been developed in Houston, these are the life blood of residential communities. People will migrate to these areas where they have great access," Holder said. "Additionally, The Woodlands itself has its own gravitational pull - the retail, the job base, dining - every component of what you want for a place to live." With The Woodlands nearing residential build-out, selling off the last few hundred lots to homebuilders by 2017 or 2018, developers and homebuilders on the outskirts of The Woodlands feel like they can finally take a breath and work on other projects. "The Woodlands has, for a very long time, sucked the oxygen out of the area, and projects like Lakes at Creekside are just a natural process for projects around a master-planned community," Holder said. "When (The Woodlands Development Co.) winds down and that mantle is picked up by surrounding projects, we have to take a long-term look and we want to be up there and have a presence." Economic uncertainty has now shrouded much of the greater Houston area, named the top single-family housing market in the county according to Metrostudy, due to sharp drop in oil prices, going from more than $100 a barrel in mid-2014 to right around $30 a barrel for the West Texas Intermediate crude benchmark throughout February. The slump has caused even The Woodlands Development Co. to put its high-end condominium development, Treviso at Waterway Square, on hold. But the oil slump isn't enough to slow down home construction for Holder, who has been in the business for 35 years. Both Holder and Kent have seen the booms and busts in their decades of professional home development experience, and they think the pendulum will swing again. Even if the greater Houston area starts to feel the pinch from oil and falls from its throne as the No. 1 single-family home market in the country, Kent and homebuilders like Holder are betting that Lakes at Creekside will still be a success. "I've thought the sky was falling over the last 35 years, but now I realize that the market never stays the same. If it feels bad, get ready. It's fixing to feel good," Holder said. Want to know more? Lakes at Creekside is a 286-acre development in Tomball just next door to The Woodlands. The community is currently underway off Kuykendahl and Hufsmith. Trendmaker Homes, M/I Homes and Village Builders are the three homebuilders selected for phase one. The community, which is being developed by J. Alan Kent Development, is expected to be built out within four years. The Houston Federation of Teachers has endorsed parents' right to opt their children out of standardized exams, joining a national movement against high-stakes testing. The union, in a resolution released Monday, called the Houston Independent School District "ground zero for the over reliance on and inappropriate use of standardized tests." The nation's seventh-largest district uses students' exam results to evaluate teachers and to decide who receives performance pay. The bonus program, however, may come to an end in early 2017 amid a looming budget shortfall. Texas law does not recognize opting out as an option for students. The Texas Education Code states, "A parent is not entitled to remove the parent's child from a class or other school activity to avoid a test or to prevent the child from taking a subject for an entire semester." Several dozen parents in the Houston area opted their children out of state testing last year, according to advocates. The Houston teachers' union, which has about 6,100 members, said in the resolution that it recognizes the right of parents to opt their children out of "high-stakes testing, test prep and test related activities." In addition, the union vowed to "directly support" parents who keep their children from testing if union members at the school sanction the movement. Zeph Capo, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, said the union wants to be sure school staff and communities are on board given the potential consequences. For example, if too many students stay home, it could affect a teacher's job evaluation, particularly if the children are high-performing. Union officials may support parents by helping them organize, Capo said, perhaps lobbying lawmakers to pass a bill allowing for an opt-out option. The Houston school board passed a policy in late 2015 that made clear the district did not endorse opting out, but said students who do not take the tests "will not be subject to negative consequences or disciplinary action." Texas public school students must pass state exams to graduate from high school, though lawmakers recently allowed for some exceptions. Students in third through eighth grade also are tested annually in reading and math. Some grade levels take writing, science and social studies exams. Possible changes to the state's testing regime are being studied by a new committee, ordered by the Legislature last year. The new federal education law, called the Every Student Succeeds Act, also gives states more flexibility. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A college degree doesn't necessarily measure the intelligence of a person, but the top-tier universities members of Congress call their alma mater sure do make Congress look good on paper. RELATED: Think you could get into one of the most selective colleges in America StartClass used data from Vote Smart, a research group that examines public office candidates and elected officials, to see which higher education institutions have produced the most Congress members that are currently active. Many of those colleges, the data show, are in Texas and California. >> Click the gallery above to see the colleges that produce the most members of Congress. The college listing is based off undergraduate schools, meaning if a representative attended Rice University for undergrad and went on to attend the University of California at Berkeley for graduate work, the representative is counted once for Rice University. Of the representatives with undergraduate information available, 22 of the delegates attended California colleges, 16 went to college in Texas and 14 attended school in Massachusetts. Editor's Note: Of the 535 voting members of congress and other non-voting delegates, undergraduate schools are only listed for 458 of them in the Vote Smart data. AUSTIN -- University of Texas System regents on Monday approved tuition increases for 13 of the 14 universities under their control. The hikes range from 2 to 4 percent. The only campus where the tuition as not hiked was the health-sciences campus in Tyler. Regents Alex Cranberg, Wallace Hall and Brenda Pejovich all questioned the tuition hikes, which will raise the cost of college by about $150 a year at the University of Texas at Austin Other campuses will see tuition increases ranging from around $75 to $200. University administrators argued that the increases were necessary because of increasing costs. "I don't think this is about PR, it is about student affordability and success" said Cranberg. "The legislature should give us more funds and not put the burden on the students." Hall, who has clashed with UT over admissions practices and with Chancellor William McRaven over access to records, said he does not agree with the tuition increases because of a lack of effort from the board. He said he was disappointed in the process, saying the board was asked only to OK raising prices rather than look for ways to cut the cost of education. Hall went on to say that as the state falls on economic hard times, "we look insensitive to the middle class." The discussion of raising tuition started back in September when the board of regents approved plans for a 2 percent increase to address higher education costs and to keep all of the schools competitive. In December, UT Austin President Gregory Fenves announced tuition would increase by 3.1 percent. The UT Austin hike was approved by a 5-3 vote, and will be phased in over two years. Tuition will go up by $152 this fall and $152 the following year. "I want you to know that I do not take lightly the issue of raising tuition," Fenves said in an email to students in December. "Families are counting their dollars and expect us to keep UT affordable and accessible to students from all backgrounds." It is the first tuition increase at UT Austin since 2011. The regents also approved hiking the UT San Antonio tuition by 3.6 percent over two years, and UT Dallas by 2.9 percent over four years. San Antonio preacher and best-selling Christian author Max Lucado always kept his lips sealed regarding politics -- until now. And it's none other than Republican front-runner Donald Trump who caused him to break his own rule. Lucado, whose authorship of more than 30 books, including "Glory Days: Living Your Promised Life Now" and "God Is With You Every Day," led Christianity Today to dub him "America's Pastor," weighed in on Trump's candidacy in his recent blog, "Decency for President." In the article, Lucado, co-pastor of San Antonio's Oak Hills Church, observed that he would routinely quiz the dates of his three young daughters to ascertain their reliability. "Decency mattered to me as a dad," he noted. Then he observed, "The leading candidate to be the next leader of the free world would not pass my decency interview. I'd send him away. I'd tell my daughter to stay home. I wouldn't entrust her to his care." Lucado admitted he doesn't know Trump, but volunteered "I've been chagrined at his antics." "He ridiculed a war hero," he wrote. "He made mockery of a reporter's menstrual cycle. He made fun of a disabled reporter...He routinely calls people 'stupid,' 'loser,' and 'dummy.' These were not off-line, backstage, overheard, not-to-be-repeated comments. They were publicly and intentionally tweeted, recorded and presented." "Anger-fueled reactions have caused trouble ever since Cain was angry at Abel," he wrote. You can read his entire blog here. An interview with Lucado is featured in Christianity Today. In it, the San Antonio minister, formerly associated with the Church of Christ, noted that up until now he assiduously has avoided talking politics. "I don't even put a candidate's bumper sticker on my car," Lucado told the publication. "People don't attend church to hear my views on a presidential candidate." But Trump's claims of being a Christian, Lucado said, pushed him over the line. He said he sent the article to the candidate's campaign staff, but got no response. "It's a high stake thing from my perspective because people make decisions about Christ on the basis of Christians and how we behave," he told the magazine. "If he's going to call himself a Christian one day and call someone a bimbo the next or make fun of somebody's menstrual cycle, it's just beyond reason to me." You can read the entire interview here. Police chases are not uncommon in the Houston area. But in a pursuit Monday night, what was surprising was who was found behind the wheel. Authorities told KTRK and MyFoxHouston that a woman in her 70s led police in a chase that began on Interstate 45 in the Huntsville area and ended in the Woodlands an hour later. Just before 8 p.m., Huntsville police got a call about a silver vehicle driving with no headlights south on I-45 in Huntsville, MyFoxHouston said. When the car reportedly reached the Sam Houston statue in Huntsville, it refused orders to stop. Several law enforcement agencies joined in the chase, and speeds reportedly reached into the 70s. Officers were finally able to stop the 74-year-old woman north of Rayford Road in the Woodlands, according to the Fox station. She was later pulled from the vehicle, and MyFoxHouston says she appeared to have a medical condition and was unfamiliar with her surroundings. The unidentified woman was reportedly taken to a hospital. In a sad reflection of the toll poverty often can take on children and families, a Lubbock 3-year-old has been removed from her home after telling police, "I need a beer." An officer who was dispatched about 6 p.m. Saturday to a Lubbock apartment complex found the little girl barefoot and "extremely dirty" in the courtyard with the complex manager. According to the officer's report, the child had red bumps all over her body and it was obvious she had not been bathed for "an extended period of time." Her mother, Shauna Lee Bennett, 42, was found "passed out" on the top bunk of a bunk bed in her apartment, according to the police report. It took the officer several tries to awaken Bennett, who appeared to have no idea where her daughter was. The officer, stating she was overwhelmed by the filthy apartment, described dirty clothes, dishes and trash scattered about and cockroaches "absolutely everywhere." When the officer asked Bennett when her daughter had last eaten, the mother replied, "She had some ravioli earlier." Bennett couldn't tell the officer what time the girl had eaten the ravioli and claimed the child had slept until noon, skipping breakfast. A neighbor said he watched the girl for up to 10 hours a day about four times a week while Bennett was at work but that he did not feed her. Based upon the mother's evasive answers, the officer concluded there was "probable cause to believe (the girl) had not been fed, washed or provided with any type of general medical care or treatment for an unsafe amount of time." While waiting for Child Protective Service to arrive, the officer played with the little girl for more than an hour, during which time the child said, "I'm hungry" multiple times and also stated, "I need a beer." After searching the entire apartment, the officer found the barefoot child a pair of boots that were covered in dirt and cobwebs, according to the police report. Bennett was arrested and taken to the Lubbock County Detention Center on a charge of child neglect and nonsupport. Online records indicate she was released Monday. No information was immediately available Tuesday on the girl's placement. Bennett's case has been referred to a detective for followup, police said Tuesday. The apartment manager told the officer her mother had left her alone and had done it several times in the past. A neighbor confirmed the manager's story and said on Saturday, the girl had been outside by herself for more than two hours. The officer said she found the inside apartment door ajar but the outside metal door was closed and the little girl would not have been able to open it to get inside, according to the police report. Encyclopaedia Britannica/UIG/Getty Images/Universal Images Group A lawsuit filed on Monday in Mississippi aiming to remove the state's flag from government buildings says the flag's Confederate imagery violates the 14th Amendment protections of black residents, the Washington Post reported. The suit, filed in district court by civil rights attorney Carlos Moore, comes a week after efforts to remove Confederate imagery from Mississippi's state flag stalled in the statehouse. Mississippi's is the only state flag to include Confederate images, which the lawsuit calls "state-sanctioned hate speech." If you were an avid fan of astronaut Scott Kelly's Twitter feed, the images are going to be much more grounded from here on out. The NASA rocket man is returning to Earth after spending a whopping 340 days in space. Still, Kelly's space trip is already NASA's longest recorded spaceflight. Unfortunately, Cold War-era patriots might be sad to learn Kelly's voyage did not beat the already-established record of 438 days Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov. Late last week, Tennessee formally recognized the high-powered Barrett M82 rifle as the state's official firearm. That makes the "Volunteer State" the seventh state to officially designate a gun as a state symbol. The practice is fairly recent. The state of Utah held up the Browning M1911 handgun as its official firearm in March 2011. Before Tennessee's decision, Alaska had designated the Winchester Model 70 rifle, particularly the older pre-1963 model, as its symbol. GUNS: American gunmaker transforms iconic carbine into handgun Typically, state firearms are historically linked to the state in question. The Barrett M82 is of Tennessean origin: The designer, Ronnie G. Barrett, was born and raised in the city of Murfreesboro and his company is based in Christiana. Still, the anti-material rifle is unique in that it's the most current firearm of the bunch. In Indiana, the Grouseland Rifle is a two-century old design, manufactured by early Indiana settler John Small. One of the originals is on display, courtesy of the Grouseland Foundation, at the the old home of William Henry Harrison, the first governor of the Indiana territory and the ninth president of the U.S. The Foundation is auctioning off a replica of the long gun variant in August. Of course, it's also important to remember that holding up a weapon as a state symbol is bound to draw critics. Former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed off on a measure to recognize the Colt Single Action Army as the state's official firearm on April 28, 2011, a strange choice as the gun is Connecticut in origin. Reuters reported there was push-back from the Navajo Nation who claimed the state was honoring a weapon used to kill its people and many other indigenous peoples during the long, bloody history of the American West. Strangely, Texas does not have an official state firearm. The conservative blog, "The Right Side of Austin" suggested naming the Ruger LCP as a contender back in 2011. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry used the pistol to dispatch a coyote that was attempting to attack his puppy in April 2010. The Connecticut-based manufacturer even released a "Coyote Special" edition in honor of the kill. What should Texas' official state firearm be? Sound off in the comments below. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A judge has dismissed a claim that Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz isn't eligible for the Illinois ballot because he was born in Canada. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Maureen Ward Kirby tossed the case on a technicality Tuesday. Kirby says the suburban Chicago attorney who filed the complaint, Lawrence Joyce, failed to give a copy of it to Cruz or state electoral board members, as required by Illinois law. Instead, Joyce served only lawyers representing Cruz and the board. Joyce says the Texas senator can't be president because he wasn't born in the U.S. Cruz and some legal experts say he's eligible because his mother was a U.S. citizen when he was born. "Ted Cruz was born in Canada," Joyce said in an earlier post on 888 Web Today, a conservative, Christian site to which he contributes columns. "His mother was a U.S. citizen at the time. Under statute, Ted Cruz became a citizen at birth . . . but citizenship by statute is not natural-born citizenship." Polls heading into Super Tuesday showed Cruz with comfortable lead in his home state of Texas, but Donald Trump held the early lead in a number of other states. Joyce backs Ben Carson but says he acted on his own. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate On Monday morning Captain Clay Higgins, a sheriff's office public information officer from St. Landry Parish in Louisiana, resigned after his latest fiery Crime Stoppers video drew heat from his superiors and the media. Higgins Crime Stoppers videos, calling out criminal in the area with his tough, monotone dialect made him a viral video hit. His brash talk as a sort of Cajun John Wayne lead to versions of his videos garnering millions of views. His most recent video, calling out a gang in his area called the Gremlins, rubbed the families of the seven named suspects in the clips the wrong way. The ACLU even issued a statement decrying Higgins words on the clip. Higgins had referred to the suspects as "animals," "thugs" and "heathens in his scripts. Higgins responded by offering to debate the ACLU. Higgins boss, Sheriff Bobby Guidroz, asked that the captain tone down the comments in his Crime Stoppers clips and additionally ordered Higgins to have him approve any future media appearances. RELATED: Capt. Clay Higgins calls out Gremlins gang in newest viral clip Opelousas native Higgins told reporters that he took the past week off to reflect on the sheriffs requests and decided to instead step down from his position. On Monday morning Higgins held a press conference on the steps of the St. Landry Parish Courthouse, where he said he was not forced to resign but instead did it on his own accord. "I will not kneel to violent street gangs. I will not kneel to murderers or the parents that raised them. I will not kneel to a discredited, wannabe, black activist that doesn't really have the best interest of his people in mind, who just wants to make a profit," Higgins told reporters. "I will not kneel to bureaucrats in Baton Rouge, Washington or anywhere else who have forgotten why they wear a badge and who have forgotten who they serve." Higgins maintained that he was still a friend of Guidroz but that he couldnt serve under him any longer. "I would die rather than sacrifice my principles," Higgins says. "I would leave my wife without a husband, my children without a daddy, rather than kneel to the very forces of evil that I have so long stood against." Guidroz maintained in his own statement that the reason for his actions wasnt just what he saw in the Gremlins video, but it was a variety of things. My orders to Higgins was to, tone down his unprofessional comments on our weekly Crime Stoppers messages and had nothing to do with the Gremlins video that appeared on the networks. I agree with the Gremlins video, Guidroz said in a statement. First of all; I repeatedly told him to stop saying things like, you have no brain cells, or making comments that were totally disrespectful and demeaning. Second; Clay Higgins appeared on the cover of a local magazine in full dress uniform without my approval and permission. That too is something he didnt like me controlling. According to KATC-TV, Guidroz also pointed out that Higgins had formed an LLC to sell hats, shirts, and mugs including his likeness which he didnt get permission to do from the department. If Higgins cannot operate within the parameters of this office and abide by our policies and procedures, then he is correct in resigning his position, Guidroz added. Though he has turned in his badge Higgins told reporters on Monday that he has many options ahead of him. His line of branded items will still be sold, he said. My endeavor, with Captain Higgins Gear, the non-profit I've established to build a homeless shelter in our parish, will move forward, he said. Higgins is still a constable. According to Higgins a portion of the proceeds from his line of merchandise for sale on his official website goes to local charities. The former night shift cop also teaches Kwan Qi Do at his own martial arts studio. 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. Many aspects of the Donald Trump phenomenon are gratingthe crypto-fascism and assault on civility, for startersbut spare a thought for a lesser annoyance: the opportunism of every commentator peddling a pet criticism of the Republican Party. The list of explanations for Trumps popularity is as long as it is tedious: its the partys insistence on riling up the base over illegal immigration but also its refusal to take a tough stance on the issue; its the partys willingness to compromise with Washington liberals but also its constant obstructionism; its the partys refusal to repudiate various voter groups but also its refusal to acknowledge those voters grievances; its insufficient policy specificity on health-care reform and too much on entitlement reform; and on and on. Every objection anyone has ever had about the Republicans has become an explanation for Donald Trumps rise, even though the theories are often in direct conflict and always conveniently aligned with the analysts own preferences. Never mind that while Trump was rising, almost no one currently heaping scorn on Republicans believed that he was likely to become a serious threat. And never mind that for years, the thinking mans unthinking critique of the GOP was that it relied on divisive social issues such as gay marriage and abortion to build a base of evangelical support inclined toward theocracy. What happened to that assessment, now that the actual rupture has come from a movement entirely uninterested such goals? With religion out of play, the Republican Partys problem is instead too many white people. Jonathan Chait: Conservatism, and the modern Republican party, is the lineal heir of a historically continuous defense of white racial hierarchy that has been written out of the American civic tradition. Except, as the New York Times reported, Trumps strongest backing comes from traditionally Democratic voters. And he polls best in Massachusetts. Which theory of the GOPs flaws manifests itself most strongly in the Land of Elizabeth Warren? These critiques also seem unmoored from recent political history. What do the nominations of Bob Dole, George W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney say about the Republican Partys message? That its too mainstream, perhaps? That theres too reasonable a balance among the partys factions? Which other national politicians offered a better direction? That the partys trajectory is criticized as both too beholden to the base and too divorced from the base suggests that perhaps it was neither. If Trump hadnt run, were all these purportedly catastrophic missteps of the recent past poised to doom the party anyway? The GOP likely would be on the brink of nominating a conventional candidate like Marco Rubio or John Kasich, who would be favored to win against a Democratic Party that could not muster an option beyond a socialist punchline and a Clinton under federal investigation. Combine that with unprecedented congressional strength and dominance at the state level, and the Republican collapse would be hard to discern. Remember the epic House meltdown that produced Speaker Paul Ryan? Looking back, it was a less-than-obvious harbinger of the Trumpocalypse to come. None of which is to say that before Trump all was grand in the Grand Old Party. I have no shortage of my own complaints about its leadership, message, politics, and policy. In recent years, I, too, have argued that conservatives need to rethink their approach to issues from climate change and environmental regulation to poverty, inequality, and international trade. But I dont think Trumps success proves that I was right, or that if only someone had listened, we would be in a different spot today. Clearly, this campaign cycle has revealed deeper-than-appreciated dissatisfaction with Americas political system and appetite for a stark alternative. But it also represents a bizarre confluence of long-term trends and one-time phenomena. Lets not pretend that it was predictable, attributable to a particular set of decisions by a particular group of actors, or that it convincingly proves anyones preexisting hypotheses. Lets not even pretend that such a movement was predestined to emerge from the Rightwhen the real enthusiasm on the left is for a candidate who is not even a member of the Democratic Party. Regardless of where he lands, Donald Trump has already ruptured the GOP and posed a major challenge to American conservatism. But with postmortems for both party and movement already underway, we shouldnt make the mistake of developing solutions that fight the last war. Conservatives should be developing good policy and a compelling message, not something-that-would-have-stopped-Trump. No one knows what would have stopped Trump, and arguments from that premise are both disingenuous and a poor approach to planning for the future. Those who hate conservatism can indulge their schadenfreude while it lasts. Conservatives will just have to get back to work. Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images When a small Georgia daily pointed out recently that a local hospital board was apparently violating the states open-meetings law, the paper was hoping the board might swiftly change its ways. Instead, the hospital reportedly decided to cancel its advertising, end a subscription arrangement that provided newspapers to patients, and ban paper sales on hospital campuses. In other words, as one reader put it, they took their ball and went home. The Valdosta Daily Times reported in mid-February that the board of South Georgia Medical Center had met in an executive session prior to the regularly scheduled meeting. Georgia law allows public boards to meet in closed session in limited circumstances, and only after the boards have met in public. After that story ran, says Jim Zachary, the papers editor, he went to meet with hospital officials to urge them to follow the law. He even gave them the name of a contact at the state Attorney Generals Office who could explain the specifics of the law. When he learned that no one from the hospital reached out to the AGs office, Zachary ran a sharply-worded editorial that condemned the hospitals clandestine meetings and noted that the Times had notified the AGs office of the violation. The day the editorial ran, the hospital cut ties with the newspaper, according to a story in the Times. Laura Love, a spokeswoman for South Georgia Medical Center, declined to comment for this story. The paper had given the hospital a deep discount for the bundled subscription for hospital patients, so that wont really cause much of a financial hit, but the hospital did spend tens of thousands of dollars in advertising, Zachary said. Sign up for weekly emails from the United States Project The papers owner, Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc., says it has the Times back. Some papers would probably cave on this, said Bill Ketter, senior vice president of news at CNHI. We dont allow our papers to do that. Thats one of the benefits of being part of a larger organization that backs you when youre right and will support you financially if need be. This is a case of them trying to throw their weight around, Ketter said. Were not going to let them. The hospital has also refused to sell the newspapers in the gift shop, the Times reported. Its a public hospital, so I wonder about the constitutionality of that, but were not fighting it, Zachary said. The hospitals reaction to the Times is similar to the schoolyard bully response the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette received from a university hospital chain that didnt like the papers coverage in June 2015. In that case, the Pittsburgh paper reported, the hospitals banned the paper from sale in gift shops, after cancelling advertising on two earlier occasions. As the healthcare industry has become a bigger and bigger part of the US economyand a more prominent advertiser, toohospitals have become major economic players in many communities. And obviously, local newspapers are weaker than they once were. But in Georgia, at least, I doubt the hospitals actions will achieve their desired effect. Zachary has fought this battle before. Hes been at the Valdosta paper for about a year, and his pressure has already prompted the Valdosta and Lowndes County school boards to follow the open meetings law. He fought similar battles when he edited the Henry Daily Herald and the Clayton News Daily, community newspapers outside of Atlanta. He runs the Transparency Project of Georgia and sits on the board of directors of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation. This is a drum Ill keep beating as long as Im in this business, he said. The government belongs to the governed, not to the governors. Update, 3/31: The Georgia Attorney General has taken the unusual step of fining the Hospital Authority of Valdosta and Lowndes County over its repeated violations of the states open meetings law, according to the Daily Times. The AGs office noted in its letter to the hospital authority that the proposed $500 fine is significantly less than it could have to pay if state prosecutors pursued the case in court. Georgias law allows for fines of up to $2,500 for each official who participates in an illegally closed meeting. Hospital Authority officials would also have to attend sunshine law training as part of the settlement the AGs office proposed. The authority has 20 days to respond. Kudos to the Daily Times for pushing the issue. The case should serve as a warning to other officials in the areathe Daily Times is watching you, and Attorney General Sam Olens office takes the law seriously. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Susannah Nesmith is CJRs correspondent for Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. She is a freelance writer based in Miami with more than 25 years working for regional and national outlets. Follow her on Twitter @susannahnesmith. A U.S. investigation found that a December hack on the Ukrainian power grid was coordinated and highly sophisticated. The report released Thursday offers a detailed look at one of the first cyberattacks to succeed in taking down part of a national power grid. The well-planned strike, which blacked out more than 225,000 people, hit three regional electronic power distribution companies within 30 minutes of each other on Dec. 23. An attack such as this one has long been a nightmare scenario for top U.S. officials. National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command chief Adm. Michael Rogers has previously warned that its not a matter of if, but when attackers will also target U.S. power systems. The impacted sites continue to run under constrained operations more than two months later. In addition, the report states that three other organizations, some involved with unspecified Ukrainian critical infrastructure, also appear to have been hacked but didnt suffer overt impacts to their operations. The U.S. sent a team of cyber officials including from the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, and FBI to Ukraine to work with the government and learn lessons to prevent such future attacks. The group didnt independently review technical evidence from the Dec. 23 cyberattack, although it conducted interviews and did other spadework to piece together what appears to be a highly targeted and advanced hack. The hackers appeared to conduct extensive reconnaissance of the victim networks, possibly by first using malware introduced via phony phishing emails to snag usernames and passwords to access the facility remotely and hit their circuit breakers. The networks were compromised at least six months before the outage, by sending emails that included the downloader for the virus BlackEnergy to company employees whose emails were found publicly online, said Anna Dudka, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Energy Ministry. All the affected companies reported infections with malware known as BlackEnergy, although U.S. investigators said they are still evaluating whether that specific malware played a role in the attacks. At the end of the attack, hackers wiped targeted files on some of the systems at the three electrical companies using malware called KillDisk, which also rendered the system inoperable. The hackers also did their best to interfere with power-restoration efforts. For instance, they aimed to keep important servers inoperative by remotely disconnecting their uninterruptable power supplies, which would normally keep the computers running even in a blackout. The attackers managed that by accessing an internal management program for those power supplies. Among several preventative measures, the report suggests that companies isolate systems used to run critical infrastructure from the Internet and that they limit the ability to remotely access these systems. (Associated Press writer Yuras Karmanau in Kiev, Ukraine, contributed to this report.) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Federal regulators are failing to refer serious safety violations involving freight rail shipments of crude oil and other hazardous cargo for criminal prosecution, and are going lightly on civil fines, according to a report released Friday by a government watchdog. The Federal Railroad Administration routinely applies only modest civil penalties for hazardous materials safety violations, even though inspectors request penalties only for serious or repeated infractions, said the report by the Department of Transportations inspector general. Instead, the agencys attorneys have made it a priority to process penalties quickly and avoid legal challenges, the report said. And, although the agency processes hundreds of safety violations each year, it appears that not a single case has ever been referred for criminal investigation, the report said. After examining a random sample of safety violations over five years, the inspector generals office found 17 cases it said should have referred for criminal investigation. Based on that sample, the inspector generals office estimated 20 percent, or 227 out of 1,126 violations, may have warranted criminal referral. The agencys attorneys told the watchdog that they didnt make criminal referrals because they didnt know the procedures for doing so, and they didnt think it was part of their job. As a result, penalties have little deterrent effect, and criminal penalties arent being pursued, wrote Mitchell Behm, assistant inspector general for surface transportation. Concern about rail shipments of hazardous cargo has been heightened in recent years by a series of fiery oil train explosions in the U.S. and Canada, including one just across the border in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, that killed 47 people. More than 400,000 tank cars of oil are shipped across the country annually. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., said the report confirms that the federal government has failed to provide the necessary oversight to protect communities across the country from serious accidents involving the rail transportation of hazardous materials. One case the report said should have been referred for criminal investigation involved a company that produced tank car valves that hadnt been put through a required design approval process. The valves subsequently leaked hazardous liquids. In another case, a company may have deliberately failed to disclose that a shipment included radioactive containers. Matt Lehner, an FRA spokesman, said most of the inspector generals recommendations are being implemented. He noted that the agency collected $15 million in fines for violations in the 2015 federal budget year, a 12 percent increase over the previous year and the most in the agencys history The inspector generals office also found that the agency doesnt have a complete understanding of the risks of hazardous cargo shipments because the agency makes safety assessments by looking narrowly at operations in specific regions, not the nation as a whole. The regional evaluations also dont include an assessment of the risks of transporting highly volatile and hazardous materials like crude oil near cities and major population centers, the report said. Without an accurate national assessment, the railroad administration cant be sure that all the appropriate risk factors are being considered when deciding which operations are most in need of inspections, the report said. The inspector general also faulted the agencys complex records system, saying it makes difficult for inspectors to access safety information on rail operations outside their region. As a result, the railroad administration and a sister agency, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, dont share critical and up-to-date information with safety inspectors and investigators in different regions throughout the country. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron man is accused of having a three-pound package of crystal meth mailed to his sister-in-law's home. Benjamin Jenkins, 31, is charged with first-degree felony counts of trafficking in methamphetamine and possessing the drug. He's also accused of selling marijuana, a fifth-degree felony. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday at his arraignment in Summit County Common Pleas Court and posted $20,000 bond. His case was assigned to Judge Alison McCarty. Akron drug detectives seized a three-pound package of crystal meth shipped to a home in the 1700 block of Cromwell Drive, according to court records. The wholesale price for a pound of crystal methamphetamine in northeast Ohio is $11,000 to $16,400, according to Narcotic News. Investigators watched as the package was delivered to a woman at the home. Officers followed the woman after she left her home and stopped her. The woman told police her brother-in-law paid her $200 to accept the shipment. She said it was the third time she accepted a package for him, according to court records. The woman showed police text messages from Jenkins about picking the package up later in the day. Officers went to Jenkins' home and watched him. They sent a text message from the woman's home confirming that Jenkins still planned to pick up the package. They followed Jenkins the home on Cromwell and arrested him, court records say. Akron police searched Jenkins' home in the 1300 block of Hartford Drive and reported seizing $12,000 in drug money, five loaded guns, marijuana, prescription painkillers, a computer and seven cellphones, police said. Jenkins' wife, Kimberly Chandler, 30, was also charged with possessing and selling marijuana. She also pleaded not guilty. EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The body found in a car Monday afternoon in Cleveland matches the physical description of a man abducted at gunpoint in East Cleveland, police said. Detectives discovered the body in the trunk of a stolen 2005 Buick LeSabre just after 3 p.m. on East 155th Street near Aspinwall Avenue in Cleveland, East Cleveland Commander Scott Gardner said. The body matches the description of Charles V. Barnes, who was abducted at gunpoint just after 12:30 a.m. on Knowles Street in East Cleveland, Gardner said. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office will identify the body. The entire Buick is being taken to the medical examiner's office for processing, Gardner said. A Cleveland resident called police after seeing the car. Detectives found blood on the outside of the car, Gardner said. Investigators are still searching for two armed, masked men who forced Barnes, 46, into his mother's house at gunpoint before they abducted him, Gardner said. The men took him in a tan 2005 Buick LeSabre with the license plate number GRL6765, police said in a missing-persons alert released at 11:45 a.m. Monday. The announcement that officials located Barnes' body came less than an hour after detectives and city officials held a press conference to discuss the kidnapping. Marlon Barnes -- who identified himself as the missing man's brother -- said the incident happened shortly after midnight while Charles Barnes was leaving their mother's house on Knowles Street. "We're very depressed," he said outside his mother's house. "I didn't want to go to work today." The men approached Barnes outside his mother's house and forced him back inside. It's unclear if the men were waiting for him outside the house, Gardner said. Investigators have "reason to believe" the men attacked the mother while inside, Gardner said. Marlon Barnes said the men pistol-whipped his mother. She received medical treatment but did not suffer serious injuries, he said. The mother could not provide a description of the men because they were wearing masks. The two men took several items from the house before they forced Barnes back outside. It's unclear if both men were in Charles Barnes' Buick when it left the area, Gardner said. Investigators have not identified a possible motive, Gardner said. Marlon Barnes said he did not believe his brother was in any trouble or involved in any disputes. The armed men should be considered dangerous. Anyone with information is being asked to call 911. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The first rule of Fight Club: you don't talk about Fight Club. Similarly, the first rule of being "The Bachelor" is you don't tell a woman you love them before the final episode. Not right before you're about to invite them to the Fantasy Suite. . AND CERTAINLY NOT TO TWO DIFFERENT WOMEN. But that's exactly what happened in the penultimate episode of "The Bachelor" as Ben and the women traveled to Jamaica for overnight dates. Caila, Lauren and JoJo all told Ben they loved him before deciding to forgo their individual rooms and spend the night as a couple in a fantasy suite. Boom-chick-a-bow-bow. By morning, Ben had told Lauren and JoJo he loved them too, while Caila was left saying that even if Ben didn't say it back to her, she could "just feel" what was in his heart. Honey, that wasn't his heart. That was his pants. By telling two women that he loved them and knowing full well he can't propose to both -- this isn't Utah -- Ben is either clueless or a diabolical jerk. Either way, he's why the rest of the nice guys in the world can't have nice things. Here's this week power rankings with last week's ranking in parenthesis... ABC Photo 'The Bachelor' Power Rankings for week 9: And then there were two... It was off to Jamaica where Ben said goodbye to one of the women and said "I love you" to the two others, setting up the season finale in two weeks. Don't Edit ABC ELIMINATED: Caila (2) The Hudson native opened her heart to Ben and he crushed it like it was NBD. Not cool, bro. Not cool. The "Caila for Bachelorette" campaign starts now. Don't Edit ABC/Twitter 2. Lauren (1) Ben acts like an awkwardly giddy 13-year-old boy who's never seen a naked woman before when hes around Lauren. He seems to be more infatuated with her than in love. Don't Edit ABC 1. JoJo (3) I actually buy Ben's love for JoJo. They've gone through so much drama with her ex-boyfriend and brothers that it has strengthened their connection, which is growing every week. As Wes from season five of "The Bachelorette" would sing ya, "They say love don't come easy." Don't Edit ABC Photos Next week: The Women Tell All It should be an explosive night of explanations, feelings, crying, interrupting and name calling as "The Women Tell All" and face Ben for the first time since he systematically broke each one of their hearts. Did Caila feel blindsided? How did Amanda's daughters react to meeting a nice man who liked their mom only to never be seen again? Can Ben really tell twins Emily and Haley apart? Find out next week, but in the meantime, catch up on everything that happened in the last episode in Kristel Hartshorn's recap here. Don't Edit bachelor-caila.jpg Hudson native Caila Quinn was eliminated in the second-to-last episode of "The Bachelor" on ABC. (ABC) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Hudson native Caila Quinn says she has no regrets despite being blindsided and then left heartbroken on "The Bachelor." "I have no regrets whatsoever," the 24-year-old software sales rep. originally from Northeast Ohio told "Good Morning America" Tuesday, hours after her heartbreak was shown on TV. "I fell in love and it really does hurt me that he didn't, but I can't help that." Much to her surprise, Quinn was sent home after telling Bachelor Ben Higgins she was in love and spending the night with him in a "Fantasy Suite" in Jamaica. "Ben can't tell me that he's in love with me," she said the following morning. "But Ben didn't have to say any words, it was just something I felt." Turns out Ben had no trouble expressing his feelings to the other two women left on the show. In a "Bachelor" first, he professed his love to both Lauren and JoJo. When Caila came to surprise Ben at his hotel suite in Jamaica, he knew he had to let her go. "It's really hard to imagining saying goodbye to you," he told her. "That sounds like a line," she snapped back. Three months later, Quinn told ABC News the three months since the breakup were "very hard." "Him telling me that he was in love with two women was like, 'Ugh. Gosh. Really?!' but I did appreciate him being honest with me, and it did help me heal." While the daughter of Step2 CEO Chris Quinn didn't find love with Higgins, her "Bachelor" journey isn't quite over. She'll appear on the "Women Tell All" special on Monday. There's also a groundswell of support building for her being selected as "The Bachelorette" on the next season of that show. Police Car RTA police car drives down Clifton Blvd. in Cleveland. (Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer) CLEVELAND, Ohio - Despite all the yellow tape and cop cars scattered across local news coverage (and admittedly on our website), Cleveland is not the most dangerous place in the world. In fact, it's not even the most dangerous place in the state of Ohio, according to a recent list. That honor goes to Lucas County, which houses Ohio cities like Toledo, Waterville and Sylvania. Housing market website FindTheHome.com has ranked "The Most Dangerous Places in America" based on a 2014 FBI Uniform Crime Report, detailing areas with the highest violent crime rates. According to the report, Lucas County, which has a population of nearly 440,000, reported 3,222 violent crimes in 2014. That amounts to 735 violent crimes per 100,000 people. In case you're wondering, that's not even close to making Lucas County one of the most dangerous places in the United States as a whole based on the criteria. The top five counties were (in reverse order): Washington County, D.C., Shelby County, Tenn., Baltimore City, Alexander County, Ill., and St. Louis City. FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio --- Drugs, Westgate: A man was reported unresponsive in the restroom at Longhorn Steakhouse Feb. 18. Officers arrived and found the man with his pants down at his ankles and his coat pulled over his head. He appeared to be in a drunken or drug induced stupor. After repeated attempts to get him to communicate, he stated that he was "high as **#%%" on heroin and crack. He gave consent to search and a crack pipe and copper wool, commonly used as a screen, were found. Also on him was his unpaid bill for $36. When asked if he had money to pay the bill, he laughed and said "no." He was charged. Suspended, West 204th Street: On officer on patrol near Lorain Road on Feb. 21 ran a routine license check on a car and the owner's license showed suspended. The driver matched the physical description of the owner so the officer initiated a traffic stop. The drive was indeed the owner and admitted that his license was suspended. While speaking with him, the officer could smell a strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from the car. The driver admitted to having just smoked a marijuana "joint" and showed the officer the remainder. A probable cause search of the car was conducted with a small amount of marijuana, a scale with marijuana residues, an opened bottle of brandy and an empty bottle of cognac found in the car. Speaking further with the driver, the officer smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath which had been masked by the marijuana while he was in the car. Sobriety tests were administered and the driver was arrested. Disturbance, Lorain Road: Officers responded to Reggie's Saloon Feb. 21 on a report someone was throwing beer bottles at the bartender. Upon arrival, two women from the group involved were still at the bar with an unpaid bar tab. No damage occurred from the incident and the bartender was satisfied with the bar tab being paid. The two Fairview Park women were advised to not frequent the bar in the future, as well as the man who was tossing the bottles. c00mutual3.jpg Medical Mutual CEO Rick Chiricosta speaks to a reporter about health care in September of 2009. The company said Tuesday it is acquiring HealthSpan Partners, which will cease operations in January of 2017. (Marvin Fong) HealthSpan Partners will cease operations in January of 2017 following an agreement to sell its insurance business to Medical Mutual of Ohio. A HealthSpan spokesman said Tuesday afternoon that the company will wind down operations during the next year as it transitions its 105,000 individual and group customers to Medical Mutual. "We've got a heavy lift to transition as many people as we can over the next year," spokesman Chuck Heald said, adding that many of HealthSpan's employees will be needed to complete that work. "No one is leaving us today or tomorrow or next week," he said. The company, which is also disbanding its physicians group effective March 31, has about 300 employees working in offices in Cincinnati and Cleveland. Heald said nothing will change immediately for HealthSpan members. They will be able to continue to access services and submit claims to HealthSpan. Medical Mutual's communications director, Jared Chaney, said in a statement that HealthSpan will continue to insure its members enrolled in employer-sponsored plans through their renewal date or August 31, whichever comes first. Individual members will be insured by HealthSpan through their renewal date or the end of the year. HealthSpan has suffered significant financial losses in recent years and has been unable to staunch the bleeding. Heald said, "This is a difficult decision. We've always been a small insurer in a highly competitive market. We just couldn't get the numbers to come out the way we needed to." CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland is the most distressed big city in America, according to a study from the Economic Innovation Group. How did the group reach its conclusions? The group -- founded last year to craft centrist proposals to stimulate the economy -- used U.S. Census data to document how growth is bypassing much of the country. It used statistics on poverty, jobs, vacant housing, income and education to compute "distress scores" for zip codes with more than 500 people Those that scored above 80 on its 100-point-scale were classified as "distressed" areas where, on average, nearly one-quarter of adults have no high school diploma, 55 percent of adults are unemployed, and 27 percent of the people live in poverty. Cleveland rated 99.9 on its scale. What were its findings on Cleveland? The group found that 53% of adults in Cleveland are not working 36% of the population lives in poverty 23% of adults lack a high school degree 21% of houses are vacant The city's median income is 54% of the state average Employment fell by 2 percent between 2010 and 2013 The number of businesses fell by 3.3 percent between 2010 and 2013 What other cities were distressed? Two other Ohio cities -- Toledo and Cincinnati -- also made the group's top 10. The most distressed large cities are concentrated in the Midwest, South and California's Central Valley, the report found. "The results in Cleveland, Toledo and Cincinnati mirror what we find in may other cities in the Midwest, where transition away from legacy industries like manufacturing has been a challenge," said John Lettieri, EIG co-founder and senior director of policy and strategy. Lettieri said more prosperous cities "tend to be relatively small, new, and fast-growing." "That said, there are certainly signs of progress in central cities like Cleveland; the key will be sustaining those efforts over the long term." What big cities did the group say were doing best? Gilbert, Arizona, did the best on its scale, followed by Plano, Texas, and a pair of California communities - Irvine and Fremont. Many thriving cities specialize in "innovation-intensive, technology-based and high end services industries," the report said. Some are wealthy suburbs, like Arlington, Virginia, but even they tend to be growing employment centers, specializing in high-end activities in their own right. What does the group recommend? The group found that instead of lifting distressed communities, the national recovery left them and their residents further behind. It said that several state and federal programs over the years have tried to provide incentives for investment and enterprise in under-served areas. "Though many have fallen short of expectations, it is worth revisiting -- and perhaps reinventing -- models for linking incentive to geography in order to help," the report said. Read the report below: STREETSBORO, Ohio -- Streetsboro fire officials said that a fire that killed an elderly man Monday was likely caused by "smoking materials." The man, who was not identified, was found dead about 12:45 p.m. about five feet from the front door of his home in the 9000 block of Red Hawk Drive in the Lakeside Terrace Manufactured Home Park. Fire investigators found the man dropped "smoking materials" onto the cushion of the chair where he sat. That sparked the fire, which officials said caused more than $100,000 in damage to the home and a neighbor's. The fire was ruled accidental. Firefighters arrived at the home in less than three minutes from getting the call, officials said. Heavy smoke and fire was coming from near the front door. Three relatives made it out of the home and told firefighters the elderly man was still inside. Firefighters attacked the blaze from the outside. They reported not being able to see once they got inside the home. They eventually found the man on the ground near the door. The man's wife suffered burns and smoke inhalation. She was taken to Akron City Hospital for treatment. Two other relatives were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and burns. They suffered the injuries while running into the blaze to try and save the man, firefighters said. Firefighters from Aurora, Kent, Mantua-Shalersville and Reminderville assisted. The American Red Cross is helping the family. police line do not cross.jpg Cleveland police are investigating a shooting on the 10300 block of Elwell Avenue. (File photo) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland police are investigating after a man's girlfriend shot him several times in front of three children. The shooting happened about 11:30 p.m. Monday at a house at the corner of Elwell Avenue and East 140th Street, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said. The 26-year-old victim said that he was standing outside talking to his estranged wife who was dropping off their 5-year-old daughter to visit, police said. The wife also brought her sons, ages 9 and 10. The man's girlfriend arrived at the house and got angry when she saw the wife, police said. The girlfriend punched the man in the head and grabbed a pistol from her vehicle, Ciaccia said. The woman fired several shots and struck the man in his buttocks and leg. The man grabbed the gun from his girlfriend and threw it into some bushes, police said. The girlfriend got into her vehicle and drove away. The man bandaged his wounds inside his house. He told investigators he was hesitant to notify police because there is a warrant for his arrest in connection with a traffic violation. His family convinced him to go the hospital and report the incident to police. He went to MetroHealth about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. Police made a referral to the Children Who Witness Violence program for the three children. Fentanyl Lookalike Pills Naloxone rebate will help save the lives of people who overdosed on fentanyl pills. (AP) COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Every day, someone in Cuyahoga County dies of a heroin or fentanyl overdose, according to the county medical examiner. Emergency responders are trying to stop those deaths with naloxone, a opioid reversal drug that can save the life of someone who overdoses, if administered quickly. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine on Tuesday announced he has extended a rebate agreement that saves police and fire departments thousands of dollars on the cost of naloxone. Naloxone was used more than 16,000 times in Ohio in 2015, according to the state Department of Public Safety. The one-year extension with Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Inc. will allow state and local agencies in Ohio to receive a $6 rebate on each naloxone syringe bought until March 2017, according to a news release from Dewine's office. So far, nearly 60 Ohio agencies have applied for more than $151,000 in rebates to offset the cost of the life-saving drug. No one is safe from the epidemic of heroin and its latest iteration, fentanyl - a synthetic opiate analgesic that is "40-to-50 times more potent than pharmaceutical-grade-heroin," according to Dr. Jason Jerry, psychiatrist and addiction specialist at the Cleveland Clinic's Alcohol and Drug Recovery Center. The drugs are cratering lives and families all across Ohio. If Amphastar raises its wholesale price of naloxone during the term of the agreement, the company has also agreed to increase the rebate amount, according to a press release for DeWine's office. Agencies eligible to receive the rebate include law enforcement agencies, fire departments, emergency medical services and Project DAWN community programs. crime scene tape.jpg Two Toledo police officers were shot at overnight while they were investigating an attempted arson. (File photo) TOLEDO, Ohio - Two Toledo police officers investigating an attempted arson were shot at overnight. According to a police report, the officers were investigating an attempted arson outside a home on Eastern Avenue when the shots were fired. Police say a black Pontiac stopped at the corner of Boody Street and Eastern Avenue around midnight and shot towards the officers and the man they were interviewing, WTOL-TV in Toledo reported. The driver then took off toward Western Avenue while firing more shots. The officers did not return fire. No one was hit. Six .40 caliber shell casings were collected as evidence at the scene, WTVG-TV in Toledo reported. Police are still looking for the suspect's vehicle and they say it's a four-door black Pontiac Grand Am. They say the vehicle is black and is a 2006 to 2008 model year. Here are other stories today from Toledo and Northwest Ohio: church square pharmacy Employees at Church Square Pharmacy in Cleveland cleaned up the mess left by burglars who crashed a van into the store early Tuesday and stole an ATM. (Ryllie Danylko, cleveland.com) CLEVELAND, Ohio - Two people crashed a van into an East Side Cleveland pharmacy and made off with an ATM, police said. The incident happened about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday at Church Square Pharmacy on the 7900 block of Euclid Avenue. A dark minivan backed into the front of the building and smashed the glass doors, Cleveland police Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said. Two people got out and loaded the ATM into the side of the van. They left in an unknown direction. The burglars left the business in shambles. Store manager Hakeem Abukhalim cleaned up the mess Tuesday morning. He said that his surveillance cameras captured the incident, but the footage is blurry. Abukhalim said he gave the video to police. Ciaccia said the footage was not immediately available for release. The incident happened about a half hour after a minivan crashed into an East Cleveland pizza shop in a failed attempt to take an ATM. Ciaccia said police are investigating a possible connection between the two incidents. Three men are facing charges in connection with a similar incident in the city in January. Prosecutors said the trio was likely involved in nearly 20 similar crimes across the region. The suspects' cases are moving through Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. CLEVELAND, Ohio - The passengers wore that grim, too-long-flying, too-tired-to-care look as they rode the escalator to the baggage area at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Monday. Then they spotted three little girls, awaiting their grandfather's arrival, waving signs: "Welcome Home Soldier," "Thank Your for Your Service," and "Welcome Home." Suddenly, many of the passengers smiled. There were a few "ahhhs" of appreciation. One woman remarked, "Oh, how sweet." It isn't often that you see that kind of welcome at the airport. It certainly wasn't the sort of reception that Dale Canter got the first time he returned home in 1967 after fighting and being wounded as an Army infantryman in Vietnam. Back then, as he recently recalled, it was early in the war. There wasn't the anti-war hostility that greeted later combatants coming home. More like indifference in his case, Canter, 69, of Broadview Heights, recalled. People didn't know what to say to him, so they didn't say anything. This time, his return from his second trip to Vietnam would be vastly, intentionally different. Canter was interested in going back to the nation where he fought because, as he said before he left, "I want to see that country at peace. I want to see people without hate in their eyes. I'd like to find an old (Vietnamese) veteran who fought in the area where I was at, and shake hands with him if I could." He traveled with his daughter, Kim Canter, who had secretly arranged with her two siblings to give their father the welcome home from Vietnam that he hadn't received the first time around. Jeff Canter, 41, of North Royalton, said that his father -- who served as police chief in Maple heights, Richfield and Moreland Hills after the war - has "pretty much dedicated his whole life to public service. He's always had a special spot in his heart for the Vietnam vet. We just kind-of figured what better way to thank him for his service than welcoming him back from Vietnam." His own daughter, Leah, 8, who described her grandfather as a lovable guy, had only one greeting in mind when he arrived: "Hug him." Several police officers of departments where Canter had been chief joined the group of nearly two dozen people for the airport welcome. Moreland Hills Mayor Susan Renda also attended, and noted, "As you know, when Vietnam veterans came back in the '60s and '70s, they weren't always treated with the respect they deserved. I'd like to help make up for that on his second return. "He is the epitome of honor and dignity," she added. Vietnam veteran Bob Wagner, 67, of Independence, was among the welcoming group and could understand how Canter felt. "It was a strange time in our nation's history," he said. "The Iraq and Afghanistan veterans get a lot of support from people. That wasn't there during the Vietnam era." Bob Durrach, 74, of Avon, who volunteers at the airport's USO and as a gold-coated "airport ambassador" to assist passengers, heard about the planned welcome. He quickly pulled his bagpipes out of his car trunk so he could greet Canter with a rousing rendition of "The Army Goes Rolling Along." Durrach, who served in the Air Force during the Vietnam war, was proud to play the pipes on this occasion for Canter. "I call them my people," he said, "and my people have never been treated properly." When the moment arrived and Canter rode down the escalator, wearing a white tropics-style hat, Durrach's pipes squealed to life and the honored returnee walked into a churning mass of hugs, kisses and applause. "Hello chief," the police officers said. One joked to Canter, "There was some confusion about who was going to give you a ride home, so we all came." Canter initially looked a bit overwhelmed, but recovered quickly. "I'm a little embarrassed," he said. When asked how this welcome-home compared to the first one, Canter said, "Well, I think I felt better the first time, but this was a better surprise." This time, Vietnam was "different," according to Canter. "I got to meet a couple of old Vietnamese vets. I'm glad I went, but I don't think I'd do it again." Canter said his tall, blonde daughter was somewhat of an attraction to the Vietnamese. "They thought she was a movie star. Everybody was taking her picture," he explained. "Some spots, we were the only Americans, and they (the Vietnamese) hadn't seen Americans in a long time. They were fascinated," he added. Kim Canter said her father "had an amazing time. It was emotional at some parts, but everything we did was amazing. Everyone there was very welcoming, happy to see us. It was a great experience." As her father basked in the welcome-home glow, a woman passing nearby, towing a carry-on, noticed the signs and suddenly stopped to pull Canter aside. "Thank you," she told him. "I hope you had a better reception than the last time." Canter nodded and smiled. This time, it was a homecoming with some heart. westlake water dispute Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough testified during his city's water dispute with Cleveland. A judge sided with Westlake, agreeing it can buy water from another supplier and not pay Cleveland additional fees. (Barb Galbincea, cleveland.com) CLEVELAND, Ohio - A Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge has upheld the right of Westlake to jettison its relationship with the Cleveland water system in favor of tapping another bulk supplier such as Avon Lake. Common Pleas Judge Michael Astrab also denied Cleveland's claim that it was due additional quarterly fees that ranged from $291 for residents to more than $5,000 for big commercial users. The ruling, released Monday, caps a nearly four-year dispute between Cleveland and the well-heeled western suburb of Westlake, which was exploring the possibility of buying water from nearby Avon Lake. "The City of Cleveland is disappointed by the Judge's decision," spokesman Dan Williams wrote in an email. "We will appeal the case to the Eighth District Court of Appeals." The fight escalated in fall 2013, when Cleveland notified Westlake of additional quarterly fees it said it was owed because Westlake wanted to bail on a Water Service Agreement. Cleveland stated the fees would cover the $19 million to re-route pipes so it could continue serve to other customers, as well as the nearly $40 million that Cleveland said it invested in Westlake infrastructure projects. Mayor Dennis Clough said in the past he was willing to do business with both Cleveland and Avon Lake. Raleigh, N.C., neighborhood tense but calm after police kill black man Onlookers peer through a fence as police officers work the scene of a police-involved shooting Monday in Raleigh, N.C. (Travis Long, Raleigh News & Observer) RALEIGH, North Carolina -- An officer-involved fatal shooting of a suspect wanted on a felony drug charge has raised tensions in Raleigh, again bringing accusations of excessive violence by police against African-Americans. The shooting on Monday is being investigated by state authorities, reports CNN. And although a crowd gathered at the scene of the shooting on Monday, with some people chanting "No justice, no peace!", there were no clashes with police and it remained peaceful, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. But the shooting has caused controversy as Rolanda Byrd, who says she is the mother of the suspect, says her son, Akiel Denkins, 24, was running from police and was shot in the back by an officer. "They killed my son for no reason," Byrd says, according to CNN. "Everybody out here said he was running, didn't have a gun, (was) trying to jump a fence, and that officer shot my son seven times. For what? For nothing." Raleigh Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown has not provided many details on Monday's shooting, according to the News & Observer. She said the officer, identified as D.C. Twiddy, 29, was chasing Denkins on foot and that the suspect was shot and killed by Twiddy. The chief says a firearm was found "in close proximity" of Denkins after the shooting. Police have not said how many times the suspect was shot. "Our thoughts and our prayers go out to all involved in today's incident," the chief tells the News & Observer. "I ask everyone to please be patient while the follow-up investigations are conducted to determine the facts about what happened today." Twiddy has been placed on administrative duty as the shooting is investigated, the Associated Press reports. He has been an officer in Raleigh since 2009. Some witnesses doubted police accounts that Denkins had a firearm. Claresa Williams tells the AP she was standing on a curb when she saw an officer drive up in a patrol car in front of a convenience store and Denkins began running. Williams says Denkins climbed a backyard fence of a nearby home. She says the officer also climbed the fence, drew his weapon and began firing. Truvalia Kearney tells the News & Observer a similar story, saying she saw Denkins jump the fence, followed by the officer: "The officer jumped the fence and fell down," she said in an interview. "He pulled his gun out and started shooting. He (Denkins) got shot in the back." Kearney disputed police reports that Denkins was armed. "That's a lie because I (saw) it," she said. "If he had a gun, he didn't pull it out." Neighbors tell the AP there is a lot of drug activity in the area at night. Still, Bishop Darnell Dixon said relations with police been relatively good and that he doesn't believe there will be any serious unrest. "This is very different for this community, the actual shooting," Dixon tells the AP. "I'm interested in knowing: Why did it escalate to this point?" Donald Trump Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves after speaking during a rally at Millington Regional Airport in Millington, Tenn., Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Trump was criticized over the weekend for quoting a tweet by Benito Mussolini on Twitter (Andrew Harnik, AP Photo) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Donald Trump thought fascist movement founder Benito Mussolini put it well. The Republican presidential candidate quoted the former Italian dictator on Twitter on Sunday. "@ilduce2016: It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep. @realDonaldTrump #MakeAmericaGreatAgain" Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2016 Gawker created a fake Twitter account and filled the page with Mussolini quotations in December, after some compared the GOP candidate to the dictator. But the website attributed the sayings to Trump. "Last year, we set a trap for Trump. We came up with the idea for that Mussolini bot under the assumption that Trump would retweet just about anything, no matter how dubious or vile the source, as long as it sounded like praise for himself. (It helps that that a number of Mussolini's quotes sound plausibly like lines from Trump's myriad books)," the website writes. The billionaire took the bait, and retweeted the account. Read more here. On NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, he defended his appreciation for Mussolini's words. "It's a very good quote, it's a very interesting quote, Trump said. "But what difference does it make whether it's Mussolini or somebody else?" Trump also drew criticism over the weekend for a slow response to former Ku Klux Klan member David Duke, according to the New York Times. The former Louisiana state representative has publicly lauded the GOP candidate, and encouraged fellow white nationalists to support the billionaire candidate. Trump said he didn't know enough about Duke to renounce his racist beliefs Sunday. "I don't know David Duke," he said. "I don't believe I have ever met him. I'm pretty sure I didn't meet him. And I just don't know anything about him." Trump later renounced Duke's ideology. Read more here. Donald Trump Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump poses for photographers with Colton Jordan, 5, of Cario, Ga., top, who dresses up like Trump following a rally at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga., Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. (Andrew Harnik, The Associated Press) Donald Trump could be preparing for a big rally next week in Cleveland and a floor fight when he returns for the Republican National Convention. And Pam from "The Office" offers words of support to John Kasich. Read more in Ohio Politics Roundup. Today in convention chatter: "I think the establishment will do anything in their power to try to stop Donald Trump at the national convention," John Patrick Yob, a former delegate strategist for Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, tells the New York Times. Yob, reports the Times' Trip Gabriel, believes that "could include changing rules that bind delegates to candidates. ... One of the first orders of business at the national convention in Cleveland in July will be a meeting by the rules committee to determine guidelines for the proceedings. Delegates may not personally support the candidates they are bound to represent, based on their state's primary or caucus results. "If they are 'unbound' by a rule change, or after a first ballot in which no candidate wins a majority, the nominating fight could crack wide open on the convention floor." Put another way: This is why Ohio Gov. John Kasich is reluctant to drop out. Imagine - and this is pure speculation here - him running a floor fight in his home state. All of this, of course, is moot if he can't beat Trump in the Ohio primary two weeks from today. Speaking of ... A big Trump rally in the works for Cleveland: An I-X Center official tells me that Trump's campaign has inquired about booking space at the massive exhibition hall on Saturday, March 12 - three days before the Ohio primary. Nothing was final as of Monday. I-X officials had just begun to put together proposals at the campaign's request. A Trump spokeswoman did not respond to an email seeking comment. And Bernie Sanders is coming back: The Vermont senator and Democratic presidential hopeful "plans to return to Northeast Ohio on Saturday to speak at a Cleveland church," cleveland.com's Jeremy Pelzer reports. "Sanders is scheduled to appear at an event at Olivet Institutional Baptist Church," according to the church. Details have not been worked out. For Kasich, a not-so Super Tuesday: Don't expect much from Kasich in tonight's big slate of GOP primaries and caucuses, many of them in the South. Kasich mainly targeted two Northeastern states - Massachusetts and Vermont. But keep an eye on how meager Kasich's delegate haul is. Rubio is certain to win more - perhaps many more - and that difference could fuel another round of drop-out pressure. How bizarre: "What are we watching?" Kasich asked of the Trump-Rubio feud Monday while campaigning in Plymouth, Mass. - per the Boston Globe's James Pindell. "You know, we kind of laugh about it, but we are not electing class presidents or class clown. We are picking the president of the United States, the leader of the free world. I wanna tell you folks, there are people who say you oughta get in there and start hammering these people. And I tell you, I would rather lose than degrade myself." Kasich said in a later interview that "the entire campaign lately 'is just beyond bizarre.'" Words of encouragement: "I believe Kasich should stay in and hopefully win Ohio," Stuart Stevens, the strategist behind Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns, tells the Washington Post's David Weigel for a piece on Kasich's persistence. Sweet Home Alabama? So much for the much-ballyhooed endorsement Kasich collected last summer from Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley. Kasich didn't campaign in the state ahead of today's primary there. But Bentley made one last appeal on his behalf. On Monday, Bentley "ripped Republican front-runner Donald Trump for what the governor said was Trump's disrespect for women and minorities and for declining to disavow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke in an interview on CNN on Sunday," AL.com's Mike Carson reports. Also, "Bentley reiterated his support for ... Kasich." Why Sebring isn't Flint: "Lead-tainted drinking water in Flint, Michigan developed into a political scandal that has some residents calling for the resignation of the state's governor, Rick Snyder," cleveland.com's Mary Kilpatrick writes. "But lead-tainted drinking water in Sebring, Ohio has caused little political fallout for ... Kasich, even as he takes his presidential campaign to Michigan. The reason is simple: A state official appointed by the Michigan governor played a major role in the Flint crisis. Much of the blame for the Sebring problem rests with village leaders." New Kasich endorsers: Bruce Lisman, a Republican candidate for governor in Vermont, announced his support by calling Kasich a "competent manager who has helped to revitalize his state's economy," the Burlington Free Press' April Burbank writes. And Judd Gregg, the former New Hampshire governor and senator who had backed Jeb Bush in that state's primary, threw his support to Kasich on Monday. "We served together in Congress, and I know he is the strong, decisive leader we need in the White House," Gregg said. "John has put forward the most positive and substantive vision to restore America's standing in the world, and as a governor he is uniquely qualified. No Republican will be stronger for our party in November." And then there's Jenna Fischer: "To my GOP friends, as Super Tuesday approaches, please consider @JohnKasich," the actress, best known for her role playing Pam on "The Office," tweeted Monday. "Experience, real policy plans. Take another look." Several of Fischer's followers quickly noted Kasich's recent signature on a bill that defunds Planned Parenthood. "Yes," Fischer replied to one, "that broke my heart." Not quite an endorsement. But another example of Kasich's appeal to entertainers. He's also received support from Tim Allen, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Montel Williams. Yost's roast: Republican State Auditor Dave Yost "announced Monday that he won't vote for Donald Trump even if he wins the GOP nomination," Pelzer writes. "'Mr. Trump is not merely flawed - his thirst for power at any cost makes him unfit for public trust,' Yost wrote in a Facebook post Monday. What would he not do with public power?' Yost ... continued that he 'cannot support a man who will change any belief and associate with any evil in order to gain power, or who will use the power of government to silence his critics, or who is dismissive of people he doesn't like.'" Welcome wagon: Yost will join Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges and others on a 10:30 a.m. conference call today to discuss Trump's noon rally in Columbus. Borges, who like Yost backs Kasich, has been among Trump's most vocal critics. Another big endorsement for PG Sittenfeld: The editorial board representing cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer has backed the Cincinnati city councilman over former Gov. Ted Strickland in Ohio's Democratic Senate primary. The "focus of this year's Senate campaign should be Ohio's future, not its past," the editors write. "And a focus on the future is one of the many strengths Sittenfeld's candidacy offers Democrats." And here's an alternate view for Strickland. The winner faces Republican Sen. Rob Portman in November. PG on TV: Sittenfeld's campaign will be on air through the March 15 primary, Pelzer reports. The spots "will run on broadcast and cable in all six Ohio media markets ... . "In one ad, Sittenfeld says he'll 'fight for common-sense gun safety,' and claims that ... Strickland 'will never stand up' to the National Rifle Association." Tips or links? Send here. Follow along on Twitter: @HenryJGomez. Subscribe free to Battleground Briefing, our daily politics newsletter: Sign up here. As has been widely reported, Trump, who is emerging as the GOP's frontrunner, set off an uproar when, during a nationally televised Sunday interview on CNN, he opted not to immediately denounce the Ku Klux Klan and an endorsement from its former leader. Trump had been endorsed by David Duke, the former Louisiana politician and ex-Ku Klux Klan leader. After curtly saying he disavowed Duke's endorsement on Friday, Trump said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that he didn't know who David Duke was, and didn't directly respond to questions about the Ku Klux Klan. Republicans have responded to Trump's comments in varying ways -- some have said they would not support him under any circumstances. But most of Ohio's elected statewide Republicans, are dodging the question. Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland.com What if Donald Trump is the nominee? Most Ohio GOP elected officials won't say whether they would support him With a couple exceptions, Ohios top elected Republicans most of whom are not facing re-election this year are not tripping over themselves to take a stance on whether they would support Donald Trump if he were to win the partys nomination. In the photo to the left, Trump and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wave during an appearance by Trump in Columbus on Tuesday. Don't Edit Ohio Auditor Dave Yost As we've previously reported, this story gained steam on Monday after Repubilcan Ohio Auditor Dave Yost wrote a post on Facebook saying he would not support Trump under any circumstances, saying Trump's "thirst for power makes him unfit for the public trust." In doing so, Yost joined the Never Trump movement that has taken off in the final days before Super Tuesday, in which Trump is projected to likely win a majority of 11 states that will hold Republican contests. "I'm not going to vote for the man. Not for the primary, not in the general. And for those who say that that's going to throw the election to Hillary, I will say that the nomination of Donald Trump already throws the election to Hillary," Yost said in a Tuesday morning conference call that was organized by the Ohio Republican Party. The party scheduled the conference call shortly before a campaign appearance by Trump in Columbus. During the call, Franklin County Auditor Clarence Mingo, an elected Republican who is considered a possible future statewide candidate, also said he would not support Trump. Next slide: See what John Kasich has said he'd do if Trump wins. Don't Edit David J. Phillip, The Associated Press Ohio Gov. John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich, whose presidential bid has the support of the Ohio Republican Party and most of its elected officials, generally has preferred not to talk about Trump on the campaign trail. A campaign spokesman did not return messages on Tuesday. But here's what Kasich said during a Sunday appearance on CNN's State of the Union when asked about the "Never Trump" movement: "We're down to now five people. We're all in the arena. And I will show respect to the person that emerges from that arena. I believe it will be me. But at the end of the day, I'm going to support that person who went through the arena and became the nominee." After Trump's KKK response made the rounds, Kasich took to Twitter to say that "Hate groups have no place in America. Don't Edit John Minchillo, Associated Press U.S. Sen. Rob Portman Portman previously has said he intends to support Trump or any Republican nominee "unless something crazy happens." During a Tuesday conference call with reporters, Portman condemned the KKK and said Trump's "failure on Sunday to condemn these hate groups was wrong." But he also repeatedly declined to say whether he would support Trump as the GOP's nominee. "Im strongly supporting John Kasich, and I still think he has a definite path forward," Portman said. "As I said earlier, it runs through Michigan and Ohio. So Im not going to be undercutting him by speculating about someone else." Don't Edit Lynn Ischay, Plain Dealer, File, 2014 Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor Like Portman, a spokeswoman for Taylor, who is exploring running for governor in 2018, did not say whether she would support Trump. But she did say that Taylor supports Kasich. "Mary Taylor believes the Republican nominee will be the candidate who can carry Ohio on March 15 - John Kasich," said the spokeswoman, Bethany McCorkle. Don't Edit Don't Edit Associated Press, Tony Dejak Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted Husted, who like Taylor is considering a 2018 run for governor, also didn't say whether he'd support Trump as the nominee. I am focused on who I am for and not who Im against and I am for John Kasich, Husted said in a statement. Don't Edit Elizabeth Sullivan, cleveland.com Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine DeWine, a third GOP statewide elected official who is considering running for governor, also avoided the Trump question. Ohioans havent voted yet, and its premature to comment on the hypothetical that you proposed. Since he believes John Kasich will be the nominee anyway, the question will be moot," spokesman Dan Tierney said. Don't Edit Gus Chan, Plain Dealer Publishing Co. Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel Mandel, who is the Ohio chairman for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's campaign, indicated he will support Trump or any other Republican candidate that wins the nomination, a spokesman said. "Treasurer Mandel believes that Marco Rubio will be the Republican nominee and next President of the United States and will continue his enthusiastic support for Marco. If for any reason that doesn't happen, he will support the Republican nominee because any Republican will be a better choice than Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton," spokesman Seth Unger said. Don't Edit Republican National Committee Why won't Ohio's elected offiicals talk about Trump? Here's what I think is happening. First off, politicians usually aren't eager to weigh in on a controversial issue when they don't have to. But more specifically, there's probably something else at play. Kasich's odds of winning the GOP nomination straight up by winning more than 1,236 delegates during the primary are slim to none. But unlike the other candidates in the GOP field, he polls competitively with Trump in Ohio, trailing Trump in Ohio by 5 points in one recent poll and by 4 points in another (and within the second poll's marign of error.) Kasich and Ohio's other elected officials likely recognize the odds. But they don't want to cast any doubts about his viability, which could hurt him in Ohio. But, if Kasich can block Trump from winning Ohio's 66 delegates, it could be part of a larger effort to keep Trump from clinching the nomination. If the campaign stretches into a historic floor fight at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, anything could happen. But all that is even less likely if Ohio voters don't believe Kasich can win. Kasich and his allies probably wish Yost hadn't said anything at all. But Yost hasn't shied away from speaking his mind and bucking the rest of the party occasionally if his conviction strikes him. Donald Trump More Ohio Republicans on Tuesday distanced themselves from Donald Trump, the front-running candidate for the GOP nomination for president. (Robert F. Bukaty, Associated Press) Clarence Mingo, Franklin County auditor CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A group of Ohio Republicans, including a black elected official who said he was offended by Donald Trump's recent answer to a question about the Ku Klux Klan, on Tuesday denounced Trump's campaign as harmful to Republican efforts within the state. Franklin County Auditor Clarence Mingo said Trump's refusal during a CNN interview on Sunday to disavow an endorsement from a former leader of the KKK offended him as an African-American. Mingo, who has Parkinson's Disease, said Trump's mocking of a reporter's disability in November "shocked his conscience." And he said Trump's derision in July of Sen. John McCain's war record "was an early indication of Mr. Trump being unstable and unsuitable to hold this office." "I labored very hard for Mitt Romney in 2012, and I did so because I really believed that he was the best choice for America," Mingo said. "I will absolutely abstain from supporting Donald Trump if he is the Republican nominee for the presidency of the United States." Mingo's comments came during a conference call organized by the Ohio Republican Party in advance of a noon campaign appearance by Trump in Columbus. Mingo, who has been viewed as a possible statewide candidate in 2018, joined Ohio Auditor Dave Yost as the second Ohio GOP elected official to publicly say they would not support Trump if he were the party's noinee. Yost echoed comments he made in a Monday Facebook post, telling reporters that by nominating Trump, Republicans would be effectively throwing the race to Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State who is viewed as the frontrunner to win the Democratic nomination. But Yost, who has endorsed Ohio Gov. John Kasich's presidential bid, also said he could not in good conscience vote for Trump. "I can't stand by and watch a guy who claims to be a Republican talk about expanding federal power and misusing it, and I don't think we need another four years of Democratic policies in the White House," Yost said. Also participating in Tuesday's call was Tracey Winbush, a black member of the state GOP's central committee from the Youngstown area who said Trump's incendiary comments have not reflected the values of the Republican Party, including its commitment to diversity. Ohio Black Republicans Association President James Irvin, Jr. in a statement said he is "appalled and revolted" over Trump's response to the KKK question. The effort by Ohio Republicans to distance themselves from Trump also comes as Cleveland prepares to host the Republican National Convention in July, the state's first RNC in 70 years. Meanwhile, polls show Trump is a favorite to win most of the 11 states holding GOP primary contests taking place on Tuesday -- electoral success by Trump on "Super Tuesday" would cement his status as the favorite to gain the party's nomination in Cleveland. Trump's meteoric rise has been fueled by his image as a celebrity business mogul, his hard-line positions on immigration and other issues, as well as his refusal to be "politically correct" and his status as a political outsider. But it's revealed intensifying divisions within the Republican Party, who have said Trump's campaign tactics have been divisive and harmful to its efforts to attract minority support. This week, several high-profile Republicans, including Yost and other elected officials, as well as conservative writers, have embraced an anti-Trump social media campaign, using the Twitter hashtag "NeverTrump." Borges, the Ohio GOP chairman, said Trump's divisiveness ultimately will harm the GOP's ability to compete in Ohio, which has been a must-win swing state for Republicans in recent years during presidential elections. "One thing that's become clear, especially given some of the more recent comments we've heard from Donald Trump over the weekend, is now we have a number of Ohio Republicans coming forward and saying they will not support Trump if he is the nominee," Borges said. "Obviously that would make it very difficult for the party to prosecute an effective campaign here in the state." But Borges did not go so far as to threaten to withhold party support from Trump, saying any Republican would be preferable to the two Democratic presidential candidates, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Democrats attack Portman on Trump stance Ohio Democrats, who hope to unseat Sen. Rob Portman in the November election, issued a statement Tuesday morning that attacked Portman for saying repeatedly that he intends to support Trump if he is nominated. The state party has endorsed former Gov. Ted Strickland to challenge Portman. "Even as Republicans in Ohio and across the country are denouncing Donald Trump, Senator Rob Portman remains obediently loyal to him -- which is yet another indication of how out-of-touch Senator Portman has become with Ohio's values," Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Daniel van Hoogstraten said in a written statement. "At his rally today, Trump is sure to make news for the worst reasons, but there is apparently nothing Trump can do or say that is a problem for Senator Portman -- not even Trump's refusal to immediately denounce the Ku Klux Klan. Opposing Trump should be a simple choice, but Senator Portman always puts his own political self-interest over what's best for Ohio's working families." A spokesman for Portman said the senator will address the topic during a scheduled call with reporters this afternoon. UPDATE: Portman on Tuesday reiterated his stance that he will support the GOP nominee "unless something crazy happens," and declined repeatedly to say whether that means he would support Trump. Asked about Portman, Borges said: "He, like many of us, has said he will support the nominee whoever that is. Obviously we all have our own decisions to make, but when we have several party leaders who are adamantly opposed, it just makes it that much more complicated for me to help get the state organized in the way that we need to." State GOP chairman says Kasich can stop Trump in Ohio Borges declined to address questions about how a Trump nomination would affect the state party's plans for the upcoming Republican convention, or how Republicans might block a Trump nomination by a floor fight in Cleveland. The best thing Ohio Republicans can do to stop Trump, Borges said, is to prevent him from winning Ohio's 66 delegates in the March 15 primary. A pair of recent polls showed Trump leading in Ohio, with a second-place Kasich within striking distance. "The only guarantee [Trump would] have at the convention is if he has enough delegates to win," Borges said. "...If he doesn't have enough delegates to win, we'll see what happens. Hopefully somebody else has enough delegates. but we have to start that effort here in terms of what we're responsible for here in Ohio." While it's possible Kasich could win Ohio, his campaign has lagged elsewhere since he came in a strong second in the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9. Polls suggest Kasich may gain only a handful of delegates on Super Tuesday. Information from the Associated Press was used in this article. deer.JPG Voters in six Cuyahoga County communities will vote on bow hunting of deer March 15. (Joshua Gunter, The Plain Dealer Publishing Co.) NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio - Six Greater Cleveland communities - including three along Ohio Route 82 - will ask voters March 15 if they would support bow hunting of deer. The vote is advisory only and isn't binding on the six city governments. However, if enough voters say yes in any given community, that city's government will likely introduce a bow hunting program. Meanwhile, in Strongsville, voters will decide whether to rezone land for the possible expansion of a senior living community. Here is a rundown of local issues voters in North Royalton, Broadview Heights and Strongsville will see on the March 15 ballot. Brecksville has no local ballot issues this time around: Deer hunting. Proposed bow-hunting programs will appear on the ballot as Issue 1 in Broadview Heights, Issue 10 in North Royalton and Issue 19 in Strongsville. Parma, Parma Heights and Seven Hills will also have deer hunting issues on the ballot March 15. Olmsted Falls was initially on the list but will not have a bow-hunting issue on the ballot next week. Amended codes in each city would allow "limited" hunting of white-tailed deer using crossbows or longbows. Under the rules, hunting would take place only on 5 or more contiguous acres, with the written permission of property owners. Neighbors who share a boundary with the property owners would have to be notified in person or by mail before hunting starts. Hunters would need a license and a certificate, showing they passed a state-approved archery proficiency test, from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. They would shoot only from elevated platforms - meaning they would aim toward the ground - so that stray arrows wouldn't fly into neighboring yards. The cities would meet with the ODNR several times a year to discuss and review the culling program. Nearly every community in Cuyahoga County is debating how to manage the deer population. An east-side deer study found as many as 37 deer a square mile. A separate study found 241 deer in North Olmsted. The six southwestern cities started working together in July to develop strategies to control deer population growth after the ODNR declined to take on the task. The agency said it would provide guidance and support instead. "We still want to push the ODNR to come up with a long-term solution, which would include nonlethal methods (like birth control)," Mayor Robert Stefanik said. Stefanik doesn't consider culling a long-term solution because governmental entities that kill deer, like Solon and Cleveland Metroparks, must repeat the practice year after year to keep the deer population at manageable levels. Broadview Heights Councilwoman Jennifer Mahnic doesn't believe bow hunting would be effective or safe. She said data shows that hiring professional sharpshooters to target specific areas, as identified by an aerial count of deer, works best. She said the six cities have not conducted an aerial count. Mahnic added that neighbors, although they would be notified of hunting on next-door lots, would not be able to stop culling in their neighborhoods. "Residents should vote no and allow (City) Council to create something fair for all residents," Mahnic said. "This (proposed program) was created by mayors in our (six) communities, and our council was not able to make any changes in it." Brecksville Mayor Jerry Hruby said his city has allowed bow hunting of deer for almost 20 years. Between 80-90 deer are culled annually in Brecksville. "It hasn't solved the problem, but it helps," Hruby said. "There's been a reduction in vehicle mishaps (car-deer accidents) and (property) damage complaints. Also, plant education and tips on how to cope are part of our education process." Nursing home expansion. Altenheim Senior Living, at Shurmer and Pearl roads, just north of Giant Eagle Market District, plans to build a rehabilitation center on its 16-acre campus, which already includes a nursing home, assistant-living community and independent-living units. As part of that project, Altenheim would like voters to rezone about one-third of a 4.5-acre parcel from a residential district to a public facilities district. The remaining two-thirds of the parcel - on which the rehab center would stand - was rezoned from general business to public facilities by City Council in December. The rezoning will appear as Issue 20 on the Strongsville ballot. For approval, the issue must pass both citywide and in Ward 2, where Altenheim is located. The rezoning would allow Altenheim to build an emergency-access driveway, and perhaps a few employee parking spaces, on the rear portion of the campus. The remainder of that land portion would remain undeveloped. Altenheim would build the rehab center on the front of the parcel, toward Pearl, south of the nursing home In addition, Altenheim is asking voters to rezone a separate half-acre parcel - which now contains a vacant house on Shurmer Road, about 600 feet northeast of the campus - from residential to public facilities. Altenheim would use the house for storage and perhaps office space. Paul Psota, Altenheim's CEO, said he would like to start construction this summer and open the rehab center 14 months later. In that same time span, Altenheim is planning to build an assisted-memory-care center next to the nursing home, but that project will not need a rezoning. "Traditionally, Altenheim has worked well with us," Strongsville Councilman Joe DeMio said. "They have a great history in our city." Deposits into personal accounts of Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak exceeded $1 billion, with much of these funds being traced to a beleaguered state investment fund, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing global investigators familiar with the matter. The WSJ published a report in July alleging that nearly $700 million had flowed from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund to Najib's personal bank account. Najib has repeatedly denied wrong-doing and, under pressure from the WSJ report, said at the time the funds were a private donation from a Middle Eastern country he declined to name. In January, Malaysia's Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali told an unscheduled press conference that Saudi Arabia's royal family gave Najib a $681 million gift that was subsequently returned. The announcement was an effort to end months of speculation about the source of the huge personal donation that landed in the prime minister's personal bank account. Apandi said in January that no criminal offense had been committed, in a move that appeared to mark the end of the matter, at least within the country. But investigators in two other countries disagreed, the WSJ reported, without disclosing the names of those countries. According to the newspaper's latest report, in addition to the previously identified $681 million that moved to Najib's account in 2013, funds also arrived in 2011 and 2012. Najib's office declined to comment on allegations that funds deposited in his accounts exceeded $1 billion. Twin gauges of Chinese factory activity revealed slowing growth in February, underpinning the case for more monetary stimulus a day after the country's central bank moved to improve liquidity conditions. Output from large factories contracted for the seventh straight month in February, a government survey revealed on Tuesday. The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 49.0, below Reuters forecasts for 49.3 and January's reading of 49.4. A number below 50 points indicates a decline in factory activity, while one above suggests expansion. But Chinese government data has long been taken with a pinch of salt so when it comes to assessing the state of factories, investors tend to gravitate towards a private gauge that tracks smaller and medium sized firms, known as the Caixin manufacturing PMI. Released 45 minutes following the official report, February's Caixin reading edged down to a five-month low of 48.0, versus 48.4 in January. "Companies that reported lower output generally cited weak market conditions and reduced intakes of new work. Furthermore, total new business declined for the eighth month in a row, albeit at a modest pace that was similar to January," Caixin said in a statement, adding that the decline in production was the quickest seen since September. Asian equity markets were mixed following both surveys, while the Australian dollarwidely considered a proxy for China playsdipped as much as 0.4 percent to $0.7105 U.S. cents. Dividends have been a key focus for investors in the U.K. with companies deciding to slash, maintain or raise shareholder payouts during a disappointing earnings season. The importance of a dividend - both as an enticement for investors in a low-return world and as a reflection of a company's financial health was exemplified by the binary response of markets to earnings announcements from British banks last week. On the day state-backed Lloyds declared a special dividend in addition to a boost in its ordinary dividend, its shares were rewarded with a 13 percent bump. In sharp contrast, RBS shares slid 7 percent as the bank warned it would likely defer the commencement of any capital distributions beyond the previously hoped-for first quarter of 2017. British sterling ten pound banknotes are seen in an automated teller machine (ATM) in this posed photograph taken outside a branch of the British bank Lloyds in London. Niklas Halle'n | AFP | Getty Images With leading equity benchmarks tumbling in 2016, dividend yields have become increasingly attractive. The yield on the Euro Stoxx 600 has jumped by 40 basis points this year while the 's is up around 12 basis points, according to Thomson Reuters data. Meanwhile, analysts have lopped forecasts for first quarter-earnings deep into negative territory on both sides of the Atlantic, according to the Financial Times over the weekend. Although some sectors particularly energy and mining have been hit by recently announced dividend cuts, these are yet to be reflected in the yield given it is a backwards-looking figure that uses dividends that company has already paid in the calculation. This has led some commentators to warn that investors need to be on the lookout for upcoming dividend cuts that may drive yields back down. But, Oliver Russ, manager of two European income funds at Argonaut Capital, says the key for investors is successful differentiation. "Dividend forecasts for this year in Europe have been under some pressure at an aggregate level, but this masks considerable underlying disparities between sectors," he said via email. While indeed the most drastic payout reductions have made the biggest news, such as BHP 's 74 percent dividend slashing and Anglo American's outright suspension, Russ urges investors not to tar all companies with the same brush. "Commodity sector dividends have been under considerable stress, as projected future cash flows compress with commodity prices, leading to high-profile dividend cuts. Elsewhere though, the story is much brighter," he said. While methods of cash distribution such as share buybacks can be altered without too much fanfare, boards are generally loathed to diminish announced dividend plans as investors take it as a sign of internal concerns about a company's balance sheet strength. Worryingly, dividend coverage ratios the ratio of earnings to dividends per share, considered a proxy for a company's ability to sustain its payouts have tumbled globally. Indeed, the FTSE 100 's coverage ratio sits at its lowest level this century; according to the Economist which cited data from the London Stock Exchange last month. All of which suggests a return to basics and fundamental analysis is in order. A review of cash flow strength and forecasts may help investors to anticipate which companies' high dividend yields might signal a true bargain as opposed to an impending cut. "Cash flows in excess of dividends has meant cash piling up on the balance sheet, which given perhaps a lack of appetite for further investment and ultra-low returns for keeping cash, means payout ratios can rise without taking excessive risks," Russ said. Gold bar and coins Getty Images Gold turned lower on Tuesday, as the dollar and global equity markets rose on better-than-expected U.S. data, fueling speculation the Fed will raise U.S. interest rates. was down 0.34 percent at $1,233.56 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures for April delivery settled down 0.3 percent at $1,230.80. Gold prices were higher earlier, buoyed by weak Chinese manufacturing data and comments by New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley, who said he sees downside risks to his U.S. economic outlook. This could flag a longer pause before the Fed's next interest-rate hike than he and his colleagues had earlier signaled. watch now "Some U.S. dollar strength (is putting) a headwind into the gold market here, even though you've got a lot of speculation now moving to be long gold and (monthly) exchange-traded product flows rising to the second-highest level since February 2009," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist for U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis. The dollar rallied against a basket of major currencies after U.S. manufacturing appeared to stabilize in February, supporting views of higher U.S. interest rates, a source of pressure for gold prices. U.S. stocks led equity markets around the globe to their highest in a month. Meanwhile, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Euro zone growth and inflation prospects have weakened. A refugee stand on the Greece-Macedonia border on February 29, 2016 in Idomeni, Greece. Pierre Crom | Getty Images It was a scene of a type that could become all too common in coming months: Thousands of increasingly desperate people backed up at the frontier between Greece and Macedonia on Monday, stymied in their efforts to reach Germany. A group of angry asylum seekers busted through a razor-wire fence. Armed police officers fired tear gas as frenzied crowds chanted, "Open the border!" Less than a week after Austria and nine other European countries took steps to stem the flow of refugees from Greece toward Germany and other prosperous countries, the spasm of violence on Greece's northern border brought to life the perils of the European Union's inability so far to settle on a common policy to address the migration crisis. War in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and repression and economic hardship across the Middle East and Africa continue to compel large numbers of people to strike out for Europe. Germany continues to signal that it will accept legitimate refugees, especially from Syria. As the weather grows warmer and the sea crossing from Turkey to Greece safer, the number of people arriving is expected to spike, putting a huge strain on Greece, which in effect is becoming a giant holding center for migrants who cannot go forward because of the new border restrictions, but will not or cannot go back. An estimated 7,000 migrants are at the border with Macedonia, and camps and refugee housing in Athens are full or nearly so. "What's happening is that Greece is being turned into a sort of a Lebanon, where institutions are overwhelmed by the mere numbers of people, and there isn't a strategy to deal with it," said Wolfango Piccoli, a president of Teneo Intelligence, a London-based advisory firm. watch now If Europe does not reach an accord soon on how to deal with the situation, "Greece could look like a large-scale Calais Jungle, where there is no exit for migrants, the authorities are unable to cope and the migrants live in miserable conditions," he added, referring to a vast camp known as "the Jungle" that the French authorities began to dismantle amid angry protests on Monday. Greece, already struggling under its long economic slump and budget austerity imposed by the European Union, has requested emergency aid from the bloc to help it deal with the migrant crisis. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said on Sunday that Greece could not be required to shoulder the burden on its own. More from The New York Times: The Libya Gamble: A New Libya, With 'Very Little Time Left' Eyes on Kennedy, Women Tell Supreme Court Why Abortion Was... The Libya Gamble: Hillary Clinton, 'Smart Power' and a Dictator's Fall "Do you seriously believe that all the euro states that last year fought all the way to keep Greece in the eurozone, and we were the strictest, can one year later allow Greece to, in a way, plunge into chaos?" she said in an appearance on the public broadcaster ARD. But Ms. Merkel is under intense political pressure at home over her insistence on welcoming people with legitimate asylum claims, and without much support from other European governments. While officials in Brussels have joined Ms. Merkel in decrying unilateral steps by countries along the migrant trail to limit the flow of people, it is not clear whether European Union leaders can reach some sort of accommodation before spring brings a new surge of migrants and the potential for more violence of the sort that broke out on Monday watch now The police used stun grenades and migrants threw stones in the clashes on the frontier with Macedonia, which recently closed its border with Greece to thousands of Afghans after reclassifying them as economic migrants rather than refugees. That move, which denied Afghans the right to apply for asylum, was effectively a response to an Austrian decision that put a daily cap on the number of people allowed into the country and that left thousands of Afghans with nowhere to go. It also promoted fear among Syrians and Iraqis, who worried that they might also be unable to travel farther north if similar restrictions were imposed. What started as a peaceful protest on Monday by people, mostly Iraqis, who have a legitimate claim on crossing but have been held up some for over a week by the recent intermittent closing of the border on the Macedonian side, quickly escalated to a riot. "It started as a peaceful protest. People were walking on the railway line and ran up to the border singing and chanting, 'Open the border,'" said Gemma Gellie, a member of Doctors Without Borders who works at the migrant camp in Idomeni. When the protesters reached a razor-wire fence on the Macedonian border, they pushed part of it over, prompting the Macedonian police to turn people away violently, and throw tear gas canisters over the border and onto the Greek side. As we head into Super Tuesday, the biggest day of the presidential primaries, it is unclear which candidate's policies will be best for the private sector, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Tuesday. "Everything is upside down on a lot of different issues. That's why tonight is so important," Cramer said on "Squawk Box." "I think it's not really clear who is best for business, so to speak." Analysts say Wall Street expectations are high that businessman Donald Trump will sweep the Republican contests in 11 states, but if any of his more-traditional GOP rivals makes a stronger-than-expected showing Tuesday, the market could get a lift. On the other hand, if front-runner Hillary Clinton looks weaker than expected against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, that could be a negative for stocks. If the FBI forces Apple to "crack" the iPhone of the San Bernardino, California, killer, Mark Cuban warns modern phone security will largely go out the window. Companies will have to provide a line-by-line publication of the code used to open the devices to the court, Cuban said, so that defense attorneys couldn't claim that the evidence was placed there or altered. Those codes would immediately become public under current laws, allowing any hacker to implement the code to open a number of devices, Cuban said. "No one can play whack a mole with code fast enough to keep them out," the owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team wrote in a Tuesday blog post. Three of the current campaigns include a $2,700 option on their main donation page, according to the campaigns' "main" donation page (some campaigns have different donation landing pages depending on whether you've given before or other factors). That's the max amount an individual can legally give to a campaign in one election cycle. (Of course, thanks to the Citizens United court decision, deep-pocketed donors have any number of workarounds to pump money into the political system.) You can think of that $2,700 donation as a decoy to make the other amounts seem palatable. A lot of restaurants have one item on their menu that's way more expensive than everything else, but they don't actually expect you to order a $50 steak. It's called the anchor, and it's there to make that $15 bowl of spaghetti look more reasonable. Ben Carson, whose campaign is on the ropes, has the highest amounts listed on his default donations page. The preset options start at $25 and go to $5,400, which is the total amount a couple can donate. A spokesman for the Carson campaign explained that the totals were determined through a series of A/B testing. "We adjusted these totals for a number of months but finally landed on this set being the most effective for the largest segment of our donor file," he wrote in an email. "Unfortunately in this day and age you can't keep it away from the bad guys," Chaffetz told " Squawk Box ." At issue is a government court order directing the tech giant to help authorities hack the iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino terrorists. Last week, Apple filed a motion to vacate, saying creating such a tool would open a Pandora's Box. Ahead of afternoon testimony before the committee from Apple's top lawyer and the FBI's director, Chaffetz told CNBC: "I'm more in the Apple camp on this one, in saying it's a dangerous precedent for the government to come and dictate that you have to hand ... access to all of your data, in case you commit a crime in the future." Republican House Judiciary Committee member Jason Chaffetz said Tuesday a smartphone is either "encrypted or it's not." In a ruling that could help Apple in the San Bernardino case, a federal judge in Brooklyn on Monday said the government cannot force the company to unlock an iPhone in a New York drug case. "You can't compare your average drug dealer being prosecuted to a case of real, serious terrorism," Tusk Ventures CEO Bradley Tusk told "Squawk Box" in an earlier interview. "The idea that there's absolutes on either side doesn't make any sense." Tusk, a strategic counselor to tech leaders facing regulatory issues, said there are examples when people are willing to give up some privacy for convenience and security pointing to E-ZPass for highways tolls on the convenience side and airport screening on the security side. "Apple has no problem using my data everyday to sell me stuff," added Tusk, former campaign manager for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's third run for office. Apple's general counsel, Bruce Sewell, will argue at the Capitol Hill hearing that creating an unlocking tool would weaken the security of hundreds of millions of Apple devices, according to his prepared statement. Sewell is set to testify directly after FBI Director James Comey, who told lawmakers last week that creating an unlocking technique would "unlikely" set a legal precedent, and would not be useful for breaking into later generation Apple devices. "[But] where does this stop, and this is a question for Director Comey as well," Chaffetz said, bringing up technically advanced, electric automaker Tesla as an example. "Are they going to mandate that Tesla provide information so you can go back and track wherever that car has been?" "What about Facebook ? Are you going to be able to go in and just force Facebook to do certain things and track your whereabouts," said Chaffetz, a four-term Republican congressman from Utah and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Jetsetters longing for a return to supersonic travel might soon be in luck. The U.S. space agency NASA is pushing for a new passenger jet that looks set to fill the void left by Concorde. NASA has awarded a $20 million contract to California-based Lockheed Martin for the design of what it calls a "low boom" flight demonstration aircraft. "NASA is working hard to make flight greener, safer and quieter all while developing aircraft that travel faster, and building an aviation system that operates more efficiently," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden in a statement released Monday. "We're continuing that supersonic X-plane legacy with this preliminary design award for a quieter supersonic jet with an aim toward passenger flight," the statement read. The Lockheed Martin contract is to design a 'low-boom' passenger aircraft that would emit a soft thump rather than huge bang. Sony is looking to bolster its new Internet of Things (IoT) business by expanding into Europe this year, the company's mobile chief told CNBC, as the Japanese electronics giant seeks out new avenues of growth. The internet of things refers to devices from thermostats to smartwatches which are all connected to the internet. Last July, Sony set up an IoT business in Japan which is currently very small, consisting of between 20 to 30 people. It is currently housed under the "mobile communications" segment of the company's earnings. It is now planning to expand the business to Europe this year as interest in the IoT rises. "Currently our IoT business group is 20 or 30 people. In Europe we will set up that sort of size at the initial stage and try to expand gradually," Hiroki Totoki, the chief executive of Sony's mobile business, told CNBC last week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. "In 2016, we have to do a lot of trials and a lot of test case(s) we have to develop." South Africa's tourist businesses are hoping a stream of foreign visitors will keep flowing as the country's economy takes a hit from its plummeting currency, the rand. Rand, South Africa's currency Rapid Eye | Getty Images "As long as the foreigners keep coming, we will be alright," said Michelle Brooks, owner of Happy Hippo Backpackers in Durban. Small businesses like Brooks' firm are spread over South Africa's picturesque landscape and in its city centers, offering cheap accommodation and providing employment to local, underskilled workers. Travelers can now vacation beachside for as little as $23 (360 rand) a night. That's the price for a single room at Happy Hippo in Durban. The company's options range from dorm rooms with multiple beds to singles. South Africa's tourism economy has seen revenue fall as a 27 percent drop in the rand has forced businesses to cut back on staff. The currency has suffered because it's closely tied to the value of South African commodity exports such as platinum, iron ore and gold. South Africa supplies 30 percent of the world's platinum, for example. In August 2015, China devalued its yuan, which immediately triggered a slide in the rand. South Africa exports 68 percent of its iron ore to China and Japan. Slowing growth in China and a flat GDP in Japan have deflated demand for South Africa's exports, driving the rand lower. Political instability within South Africa also has hurt the currency. watch now So South Africa is pinning its economic hopes on drawing foreign travelers whose native currencies now go much further within the country. The cheap rand "is really good for us as, we can do more and spend less, but I really don't feel good about it when I know that the state of the rand is hurting the locals and their economy," said Aldia Janson, a foreign exchange student from Germany. The upshot is that the currency exchange rates have encouraged international travelers to spend more and stay longer. However international travelers make up only half of South Africa's tourists the other half are locals. That half has been hit hard. Many have canceled travel plans abroad or cut their local holiday plans short. Cecilia Martens, 25, is the owner of CC's Travel, which specializes in inexpensive tourism. Martens told CNBC that the drop in the rand has stifled, not helped, her company. "Most of us are hanging in there waiting for the rand to rebound," Martens said. "I am hopeful that 2016 will be a great year for the travel industry and the rand will improve." And wait she must. The South African tourism sector cannot afford to raise its prices without the risk of pricing out South Africans. "In order to make money, we have to spend money," said Brooks of Happy Hippo Backpackers, "and we're getting very little of it back." Rampant volatility in the U.S. stock market is showing up in the high-end housing market. But as with all things real estate, the impact depends entirely on location. 2016 started with a severe stock swoon, and that had an outsized impact on homebuyers with a higher net worth. Historically, high-end housing suffers most in a market downturn. "As you go up the income quintile, into the top 10 percent, 5 percent, 1 percent by income, their stock exposure increases," said Sam Khater, chief economist at CoreLogic. "For the typical family, the bulk of their equity is tied up in home equity not stock equity. It's the reverse for high income." Source: Sam Khater/CoreLogic Khater compared the share of million-dollar home sales to the and found a distinct correlation. While the share of $1 million or more homes is very small, just 1.2 percent of all home sales historically, it can move dramatically depending on stock market gains or losses. From the worst of the financial crisis in 2008 to the peak of the equity markets in May 2015, the share of million dollar and more home sales nearly doubled, according to Khater. Read More Homeowners and the Super Tuesday vote "Since its peak in May 2015, the S&P index declined 10 percent as of mid-February. This decline in the S&P index was matched by a 30 basis point or 15 percent decline in the $1 million or more share," Khater said. The correlation, however, is far more acute in certain locations. In New York City and San Francisco, where the local economies are tied most to financial markets, sales of high-end homes have weakened, and supply is rising. That jump in inventory will likely affect prices down the road, as supply outstrips demand. Nationally there was a 9.3-month supply of homes listed at $1 million or above in December 2014, but that increased to 13 months by December 2015, according to CoreLogic. "With more than a year's supply of inventory, prices, for the most part, won't be increasing," Khater said. Read More House flipping: Deja vu all over again In Washington, D.C., however, the stock effect is far more muted. Government, and the high-priced lawyers and lobbyists that surround it, are a steady denominator. Spaces Images | Getty Images "Demand is higher, even though the stock market has gotten in the way and the snowstorm has gotten in the way, but demand is there, people are feeling very good about the economy," said Nancy Taylor Bubes, a 30-year veteran of high-end D.C. real estate and currently an agent with Washington Fine Properties. She was standing in a $5.75 million listing that received a solid offer in just 10 days. Taylor Bubes, who specializes in the area's high-end neighborhoods, says she has sold six million-dollar-plus listings year to date, three times what she did last year. Her buyers, mostly domestic and local, are not swayed by Wall Street. "I actually think the stock market is good for my business. I think people are going to really think about divesting a little bit and putting it into something they would really enjoy," Taylor Bubes said. The official seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is seen on an iPhone's camera screen outside the J. Edgar Hoover headquarters February 23, 2016 in Washington, DC. watch now One thing you learn from hanging around cybersecurity professionals, even briefly: Tech and law enforcement work together more closely than most people realize. "I talk to the FBI all the time, actually," said Nico Sell, founder and chairman of encrypted messaging service Wickr. "Not always formally they will be here at my party this week," she said. It's an interesting admission for someone who says Apple CEO Tim Cook is a "national hero" for standing up to the FBI in the San Bernardino iPhone case. But in the cybersecurity world, this mix of sentiments is not uncommon. Participants at the RSA Conference in San Francisco the largest annual gathering of security experts were quick to point out the degree to which the industry does work closely with government, both in a general advisory role and in specific cases. "A lot of people from the outside just look at it and say 'why doesn't Apple help the FBI, this is ridiculous,'" said Sell. "Generally they do, but [the FBI's demand] is going too far and really threatens our democracy." Protesters demonstrate outside the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters building in Washington, DC, February 23, 2016, objecting to the US government attempt to put a backdoor into the Apple I-Phone. Paul J. Richards | AFP | Getty Images "We certainly support the position of law enforcement and we do comply with legal issues when we need to," said Intel security SVP and GM Chris Young. "But the reality is, we do need to make sure that encryption and strong security are paramount for customers and that's what we are committed to." It's also something that Apple's attorney Bruce Sewell will emphasize in his opening statement before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. "We have a team of dedicated professionals that are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year to assist law enforcement," he said in prepared remarks. Executives in the security business generally voiced support for Apple's fight against a federal court order that it must develop software to help the FBI hack into San Bernardino killer Syed Farook's iPhone. "We think the real issue in all of this is it's not appropriate for the government to ask any tech company to weaken security in its products," said Young. "We are not a fan of backdoors," said Marc van Zadelhoff, general manager of IBM Security. "We have been very vigilant across our portfolio and we're watching that case carefully." Palo Alto Networks CEO and president Mark McLaughlin said both sides have valid arguments on the one hand, impassioned government and law enforcement officials are doing what they believe is the right thing on national security, on the other hand people are legitimately concerned about privacy. McLaughlin, who was appointed to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee in 2011, and as chairman in 2014 by President Barack Obama, expects both sides to be willing to take the case to the Supreme Court if necessary. "Things that are important as a matter of principal are worth fighting for, and both sides in this equation are very principled in what their arguments are," he said. Cybersecuity executives at RSA, in general, said they were happy that a discussion that often happens behind closed doors is finally happening out in the open. "I think it's a discussion worth having. It's a good time to have it and I think it's going to be more pertinent as things move forward," said McLaughlin. "Overall they are good discussions," said Zadelhoff. "These are tough issues and I think we're seeing a good level of discussion out there, on both sides of it." WeChat commercial promoting it's app. WeChat | YouTube Tencent would want to hope most WeChat users aren't like Cai Jiami. The 31-year-old hastily transferred the balance in her WeChat "wallet" roughly 7,000 yuan ($1070) to her personal bank account before the Tencent-backed mobile messaging app could charge her for doing so. "It's not a lot of money but I just don't like to be charged," Jiami, a wedding planner based in China's southwestern Chengdu city, told CNBC. "I have Alipay on my phone, which is free and working well. Why would I waste money on WeChat?" From March 1 WeChat will charge users a fee of 0.1 percent when they transfer money from the app's built-in digital wallet to their personal bank account. According to an announcement by Tencent, the charge will be levied on withdrawals of more than 1,000 yuan ($153), with the minimum fee per transfer set at 0.1 yuan. WeChat also said it would scrap an existing monthly charge on large cash transfers; it currently charges users a 0.1 percent fee on total monthly transfers in excess of 20,000 yuan ($3,058). The new policies are an attempt to cover WeChat's banking costs, as well as to keep users' money in the WeChat Wallet, according to analysts. A new money-spinner for Tencent? China's mobile payment market has boomed in the past few years. Users have not only embraced the e-hongbao trend - exchanging digital red envelopes during Chinese New Year as greetings and gifts to friends and family - but also frequently transfer money or make payments to e-tailers as well as bricks-and-mortar stores by using services such as WeChat Pay. watch now About 516 million people made transfers during the recent Chinese New Year holiday, racking up 32.1 billion e-hongbao exchanges, according China's official Xinhua News Agency. More broadly, the latest numbers available for the third quarter of 2015 showed that Chinese transferred 18.2 trillion yuan ($2.8 trillion) via mobile in just three months, according to China Internet Watch, a digital consulting company based in Singapore. But the growing popularity of digital payments has proved costly for Tencent. The company acknowledged in its third-quart 2015 earnings report that it was paying "significant bank handling fees" on the money transfer service WeChat offered to its users largely for free. Tencent did not reveal exactly how much it paid to banks, but the cost negatively impacted the company's gross margin, according to Cynthia Meng, managing director and head of China TMT equity research at Jefferies. "The newly announced charge will in our view help to offset the burden somewhat," Meng told CNBC in an email interview. "[But] we don't believe that withdrawal fee will generate meaningful revenue for Tencent as the charge rate is minimal." Pundits, including the Jefferies analyst, believe the new policy is unlikely to impact WeChat's market share, as most users have less than a few thousand yuan in their WeChat wallet. watch now According Tencent's financial report, the number of WeChat monthly active users reached 650 million in the third quarter last year. Tencent data showed that 93 percent of residents in tier-1 cities used the social app, while users in tier-2 and tier-3 cities are expected to grow rapidly in the next few years. "WeChat users continue to use the payment tool because of convenience, user-friendliness and the scenarios offered within the WeChat Wallet," said Meng. "In our view, this will not change." That said, there are other factors that could make expanding its payment system more difficult for WeChat - increasingly fierce competition for the same digital transactions. The intensifying mobile war in China Tech giants salivate over China's online and mobile payment market, which is big and growing rapidly; That 18.2 trillion yuan worth of mobile transactions undertaken in Q3 represented a year-on-year surge of 195 percent, according to China Internet Watch. Growth is likely to be further fueled by the increasing numbers of Chinese buying smartphones. As it is, China makes up about 30 percent of the global smartphone market and the Chinese smartphone users is expected to jump from 519 million in 2014 to 704 million by 2018. WeChat Wallet's biggest rival, Alibaba-backed Alipay, dominates the mobile payment industry with 400 million registered users and about 70 percent of China's third-party mobile payments. Wechat Pay is ranked the second, with a 19.2 percent market share. In a sign of the heated rivalry, Alibaba does not allow the use of WeChat pay on its giant online sales sites, Taobao and T-mall, and Tencent does not allow Alipay to be used on the sites it backs. After Tencent's announcement, Alipay said it would not follow suit to charge users for withdrawing cash. But the market is getting increasingly crowded. Apple and Samsung are both trying to break into China's mobile payment sector with partnerships with UnionPay, China's main bank card and payment firm; Apple Pay was launched in China on February 18 and Samsung Pay is expected to join the fray soon. Unlike WeChat Pay and Alipay, which require users to scan QR codes generated by their apps in order to buy in an off-line store, Apple Pay users can complete purchases in shops via near-field communication (NFC) terminals, making it faster and more efficient than its domestic rivals. "One word to describe the Apple Pay experience fast," said Michael Lyu, a young professional based in Shenzhen. "I don't have to be directed to another app or page to pay, I don't have to type in the password, I don't even need a cellular or Wi-Fi network to pay." watch now 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. watch now Southeast Asia and, Malaysia in particular, is at serious risk of an attack by the so-called Islamic State terrorist group, a leading political consultant warned on Tuesday. "It is far from clear where, outside its 'heartland', Islamic State (IS) will strike next. But strike it will. And one region which appears to be at serious risk is Southeast Asia," Alastair Newton, head of Alavan Business Advisory and former political analyst at Nomura, said in a report on Tuesday. In January, ISIS also known by the acronyms IS or ISIL launched its first successful attack in Southeast Asia, killing four civilians in a strike on Jakarta in Indonesia. This followed coordinated attacks in Paris in November, highlighting the increasing global clout of the Islamist extremist group. "We have already seen one admittedly badly executed attack in Jakarta; and security warnings from the Australian and British government about the terrorist threat in Malaysia should be taken seriously," Newton said. Like neighboring Indonesia, Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim nation from which an increasing number of people have left to join ISIS in Syria in recent months or expressed pro-ISIS views on social media. Last month, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office upgraded its stance on the terrorism threat in Malaysia to high and advised against non-essential travel to all islands off the eastern coast of Sabah in Borneo. In addition, the Australian government warned that terrorists could be planning an attack on the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. watch now Matthew Henman, the head of IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, told CNBC on Tuesday that both Malaysia and the nearby Philippines were in focus for signs of ISIS activity. "Southeast Asia particularly the Philippines and Malaysia and areas of West Africa bordering Nigeria are countries we are watching closely for indications of Islamic State operational activity. Beyond that, an official Islamic State attack in Western Europe, particularly Belgium, Germany, U.K., Netherlands, and Italy (following on from Paris), is very much on our radar currently," he said. It is unclear though whether the Southeast Asia region is a major point of interest for ISIS, whose core base is in Syria and Iraq. "There is no evidence that Southeast Asia features prominently in the strategic calculus of the ISIS leadership in Raqqa," Joseph Chinyong Liow, a senior fellow at the Brookings Center for East Asia Policy Studies, said in article in February. What's not in doubt is that ISIS's attack strategy is globalizing. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. JTB Photo | UIG | Getty Images Andrew Fish (left), executive director of Cayuga Strategic Solutions, in October 2015 stood with Robert Simpson, president and CEO of CenterState CEO, at the organizations office in Syracuse as they outlined the Central New York regional economic-development councils (CNYREDC) plan for Gov. Cuomos business competition. Both Simpson and Fish are members of the CNYREDC. CenterState CEO on Thursday said Fish will join the organization on April 4 as senior VP of business development. (Eric Reinhardt / BJNN file photo) SYRACUSE, N.Y. Andrew Fish, executive director of Cayuga Strategic Solutions, is leaving the organization to become senior VP of business development at CenterState CEO. Cayuga Strategic Solutions is a joint venture of the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce and Cayuga Economic Development Agency (CEDA), as described in a news release CenterState CEO issued. Syracusebased CenterState CEO is the regions primary economic-development organization, representing 2,000 companies of all sizes in a 12-county region. Fishs first day at CenterState CEO is April 4. He will assist the transition at both organizations until that time, according to CenterState CEO. Fish said he is deeply grateful for the opportunity hes had to work with the businesses and leaders of Cayuga County over the past six and a half years. The success of the Chamber, CEDA, and the partnerships with the county, city, and IDAs have allowed us to influence tremendous growth and development in our community. I am extremely excited about the opportunity to join such an effective and impactful organization as CenterState CEO, as it allows me to continue the work I am passionate about: supporting growth and making a difference in our region. Cayuga County will continue to be my home and where my heart lies, and I look forward to serving all of Central New York because a strong economy in the region benefits us all, Fish said in the release. IDA is short for industrial-development agency. We are thrilled to have Andrew join our organization with his ideas, passion and incredible work ethic, Robert Simpson, president and CEO of CenterState CEO, said in the release. In his new capacity, Fish will lead a team of professionals who work at having a positive impact on the prosperity of the region, including Cayuga County, the organization contended. The CenterState CEO business-development team provides economic-development support and business resources that include advocacy, visibility, cost savings, export assistance, employee development, and connections to nearly 2,000 members, the organization said. Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com As'ad's Bio As'ad AbuKhalil, born March 16, 1960. From Tyre, Lebanon, grew up in Beirut. Received his BA and MA from American University of Beirut in pol sc. Came to US in 1983 and received his PhD in comparative government from Georgetown University. Taught at Tufts University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Served as a Scholar-in-Residence at Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He served as free-lance Middle East consultant for NBC News and ABC News, an experience that only served to increase his disdain for maintream US media. He is now professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. His favorite food is fried eggplants. Elementary students thrilled by Jersey cow in dairy lesson The educational demonstration is part of a partnership between the St. Louis Dairy Council and Southwest Dairy Farmers. Best of Business 2022: Learn Who Won Our 15th Annual Reader Poll Local professionals chose their favorite business and professional services, products, healthcare, dining and more. Find out who their top picks are. (l to r) D'quevion Brown, Derrick Gardner, Marchello Gardner and Johnathan Smith By Yolanda Jones of The Commercial Appeal Four men accused of fatally shooting a man last month near Parkway Village have been extradited from Mississippi to Memphis. Dquevion Brown, 22; Derrick Gardner, 19; Marchello Gardner, 19; and Johnathan Smith, 22, have been charged with first-degree murder in perpetration of attempted robbery in the death of Bertram Thompson. Police said on Feb. 4, Thompson , 29, was found in the middle of Outland Road near Winchester. A motorist called police to report seeing a body in the roadway. The suspects were arrested in Sunflower County, Mississippi last week. On The Docket Whether it's a verdict or a hearing, it's On The Docket SHARE By Katie Fretland of The Commercial Appeal Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan sentenced a 33-year-old Memphis man to 20 years in prison Tuesday for the aggravated sexual battery of a 12-year-old girl. Gregory Woods pleaded guilty to the sexual battery, which occurred between August 2010 and July 2011, said Assistant District Attorney Lora Fowler. The victim gave birth to a baby later determined to be Woods'. In addition to the prison sentence, Woods will have community supervision for life and must register as a sex offender. SHARE Medical device maker Medtronic's logo reflects in the pond in front of the corporate headquarters Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010 in Fridley, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone) By Kevin McKenzie of The Commercial Appeal A 5 percent decline in third-quarter revenue for Medtronic's Memphis-based spine business triggered questions Tuesday about the medical device maker's plans to turn the numbers around. "Well, obviously underperformance is not acceptable," Omar Ishrak, chief executive officer of the Dublin, Ireland-based company told analysts. "The thing is the market is still a very attractive market for us and we've got core expertise and we've got to get this thing fixed." Worldwide revenue for Medtronic's spine business declined to $704 million for the three months ended Jan. 29 from $740 million a year ago. Within the United States, revenue slid to $506 million from $522 million, Medtronic reported. A double-digit increase in its bone-growth products revenue in the U.S. was erased by the decline in core spine products revenue, the company reported. Medtronic Spine employs about 5,600 people worldwide, including about 1,300 in Memphis, many in well-paying advanced manufacturing and professional jobs. David Roman, an analyst with Goldman Sachs, said during an earnings conference call with Medtronic executives that the company has offered several iterations of a turnaround plan for its spine business over the last year or so. "What signpost are you watching to identify whether you have the right strategy in spine and how long are you willing to let this business underperform?" Roman asked. Earlier during the call, Ishrak said the company's primary focus is growing its market share through "speed to scale" product launches that will provide "a steady cadence" of new products available for the entire market. The new products will be combined with technologies, biologics and targeted physician training, he said. In response to the analyst's question, Ishrak added that the company found that it was launching new products in a "completely suboptimal" way. Its plans to boost sales by linking other elements of its Restorative Therapies Group, which includes spine and surgical technologies, also lacked specific targets, he said. "We made changes in the field level, we made changes in the overall leadership level and we're looking at this thing closely on a quarter-by-quarter basis and we expect to see improvement," Ishrak said. Later in the call, Geoffrey Martha, executive vice president in charge of the Restorative Therapies Group, offered more details, such as the company hiring "enabling technology consultants" to help physicians with navigated spine procedures using the company's navigation and imaging technology. The spine business dramatically helps Medtronic's growing surgical technology business, he said. "Without spine we wouldn't have that type of growth," Martha said. He anticipates returning to growth for the company's spine business next quarter and a "continued steady cadence of improvement," he said. Medtronic, formerly based in Minnesota, acquired Dublin-based Covidien in a $50 billion deal completed in January 2015. SHARE Jim Strickland By Ryan Poe of The Commercial Appeal Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland confirmed Monday that the city is using cell phone eavesdropping technology with court approval, but said he couldn't discuss specifics. Strickland said while campaigning last year that he would be transparent about the city's use of the "cell-site simulator" device known as StingRay, which lets law enforcement gather information from any phones that connect to a cellular network. But as mayor, he said, he's legally bound to silence by the terms of the city's contract with Florida-based Harris Corporation. "As a candidate for mayor, I did not know the legal restrictions that were in the Harris contract that my predecessor signed," he said. "But now, as mayor, I'm bound by those restrictions, and I cannot talk about how the cell-site simulators are used." Strickland said he didn't think his silence on the details means he broke his promise. "I've been more open about this issue than my predecessor was, but there are restrictions that I have and I just can't break the law," he said. The American Civil Liberties Union has argued that the public has no way of knowing which agencies are using the devices or what happens to the information gathered. Strickland wouldn't talk about what happens to information that's collected. He said he doesn't know which court reviews Memphis Police's requests for cell-site simulators or if they are commonly used. "It's an important crime-fighting tool," he said. The federal government including the Memphis FBI field office and counter-terrorism agencies also use the technology. The city signed two contracts with Harris, which sells the StingRay devices: The first, signed in January 2013, was for "software maintenance support" and cost $119,500; and the second, signed in July 2015, was for three undisclosed items costing a total of $82,500. Asked whether the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures trumps the wording of the Harris contract, Strickland said he was following the law as his administration understood it. "I'm not a Fourth Amendment lawyer," he said. But would he have signed the contract if he'd been mayor? "I don't know. I'd have to really review that more," he said. Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal February 4, 2015 - Former Shelby County Commissioner Walter Bailey (left) and Commission Chairman Terry Roland are both trying to get referendums on the next ballot. Terry Roland that would put a referendum on the ballot to remove the residency requirement for Shelby County employees and Walter Bailey has proposed a referendum that would remove term limits for the commission. SHARE By Linda A. Moore of The Commercial Appeal The Shelby County Commission's general government committee Wednesday will deliberate residency rules for the nearly 20,000 people who work for the county and its schools while considering a proposal that would put the elimination of residency requirements on an upcoming ballot. That ordinance joins a proposed referendum that would end term limits for the commission, county mayor, assessor of property, county clerk, register, sheriff and trustee. Voters had settled both issues years ago. The residency referendum ordinance is sponsored by commission chairman Terry Roland. Roland has long opposed residency requirements for county workers and has pushed before to have them removed. He's even threatened that with Shelby County being the only county in the state with residency mandates he could ask the Tennessee General Assembly to pass legislation outlawing them. He sponsored a similar referendum ordinance that failed in 2014. This time he's asking on behalf of the school system. "All I'm doing is giving the people a right to vote on it," Roland said. "And the reason why I'm doing it is because the schools are losing all the good teachers because municipal schools don't have a residency requirement." SCS board member Kevin Woods, acting at the direction of the school system's administration, brought the request to Roland and the commission. Shelby County funds SCS, schools taken over by the state's Achievement School District, charter schools and the six suburban municipal school districts, but only SCS is hamstrung in its hiring by a residency requirement, Woods said. "Obviously, nobody wants to see an erosion of our tax base with employees deciding to live outside the county," Woods said. There is a problem when the county funds all the systems, but only requires employees with one system to live within its municipal borders, he said. "We want parity across the board. We should be able to compete equally with the other school systems," Woods said. "We're all competing for great teachers and the question is how do we level that playing field." Voters approved residency requirements for county employees in 1984 and they went into effect in 1986. The former Memphis City Schools allowed employees to live outside the county and when that system merged with SCS, the commission agreed after extensive debate that the 1,400 workers who were not county residents would not be required to move. Meanwhile, Commissioner Walter Bailey is sponsoring an ordinance that would put on the ballot a referendum to abolish the county's term limit requirements for some elected officials. Bailey was first elected to the former Quarterly Court in 1971 and remained when the County Commission was created in the mid-1970s. In a 1994 referendum, 81 percent of county voters supported a charter amendment that limited elected officials to two terms. Bailey, and former commissioners Julian Bolton and the late Cleo Kirk, challenged the amendment in court and a Tennessee Supreme Court ruling in 2006 upheld the law. Bailey sat out a term and was re-elected in 2010. He's now in his second term since the term limit ruling and has claimed the support of some high-ranking county Republicans and Democrats to bring the issue back to the voters, who lose valuable continuity when elected officials are forced to leave. "I think the voters would be thoroughly enriched in terms of institutional knowledge by abolishing term limits," Bailey said. Both ordinances must be voted on three times in committee and by the full commission and must receive nine votes to pass. Follow more politics and policy coverage from the InforMemphis team on Twitter and Facebook. September 25, 2015 - Linda-Marie Goetze (right), officer, Shelby County Election Commission, waits patiently outside a doorway of an early voting precinct, Dave Wells Community Center, for voters as Mary Wilkins (second from left) ponders a decision at a voting booth in North Memphis Friday. (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal) SHARE By Ryan Poe of The Commercial Appeal In a back room at Pyro's Fire Fresh Pizza in East Memphis, with the ovens' heat radiating through the thin walls, Republican presidential delegates tried to woo the Hispanic Republican Alliance. The Thursday night meeting was a chance for voters to learn more about state Republicans' little-understood process for selecting delegates. But delegates also stumped for their candidates, revealing how a contentious campaign that has included 10 debates has trickled down to local politics. "We all want to undo what the federal government has become, really over the last 24 years," said business owner Jim Walker, a delegate for retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. In Tennessee, Democratic and Republican presidential candidates are on the ballot, but only Republican delegates are on the ballot, and will represent the state when they cast votes for their candidate at the Republican convention in July. Each Republican voter can choose 14 at-large delegates, who are either committed to a candidate or uncommitted, and three congressional delegates. Another 14 delegates are chosen by the state party's executive committee, and another three are chosen by the Republican National Committee. The 75 Democratic delegates will be chosen in county and congressional conventions later in March, and appointed by the state party executive committee in April. They will also vote at their convention in July. In front of a wall lined with pizza boxes, the delegates introduced themselves to the room of about 25 people, which was split closely between delegates and attendees. Delegates also answered questions about issues that especially affect Hispanic voters, including immigration. Activist Mick Wright said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz will rein in the use of eminent domain; Walker said Carson will be the "first true African American president"; Justin Joy, former Shelby County party chairman, said Ohio Gov. John Kasich has the legislative and executive experience to put ideas into action; activist Arnold Weiner said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was the "Ronald Reagan of 2016"; and real estate agent Nathan "Nate" Mitchell said celebrity businessman Donald Trump would be "the person who fires people." Mitchell, a first-time delegate, defended Trump's views about immigration, which include building a wall at the Mexico border and mass deportation of immigrants. He said Trump will use a phased approach to deportation, targeting criminals first, and pointed out that Trump won the Hispanic Republican vote in the Nevada caucuses. After the event, Mitchell was asked if he was bothered by some of the more caustic personal attacks Trump has launched. "People are so angry at the dysfunction, they don't care about the rhetoric," he said. Mass deportation was panned by the other delegates, and Cuban-American attendee Juan Kindelan strongly condemned the idea that the U.S. could deport 14 million people. "There won't be a house built, a lawn cut," he said. He added that the U.S. shouldn't "build walls" to solve the problem of immigration. Weiner said he expects Rubio to appeal to people who, like him, are of Cuban descent, although the same goes for Cruz. But Rubio has something even stronger going for him: "They're going to view Marco as the most attractive candidate," Weiner said. Cruz's background would help him represent immigrant citizens, said Wright, who is also a first-time delegate. "Ted was raised to know the value of freedom, and what the country offers to all people," he said. Joy said Kasich has represented a cross-section of America in Ohio, and has the experience to know whether ideas like mass deportation will work. And in that case, he said, mass deportation isn't feasible. Voting in the Tennessee primaries When: Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Where: Find your precinct at shelbyvote.com. Whos on the ballot: Of the 14 Republicans on the ballot, only five are still running: retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and businessman Donald Trump. Of the three Democratic candidates, only former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are still running. Republican delegates are also on the ballot. At stake: Tennessee has 58 Republican delegates and 75 Democratic delegates, awarded proportionally instead of the winner taking all. Democratic delegates will be selected at county conventions March 5, congressional district conventions March 19, and by state party leaders April 9. Whats next: Delegates will cast votes for their candidates at conventions in July, Republicans in Ohio and Democrats in Pennsylvania. The two parties candidates will face off Nov. 8. Follow more politics and policy coverage from the InforMemphis team on Twitter and Facebook. Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell SHARE By Jody Callahan and David Royer of The Commercial Appeal Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell declared his candidacy for Congress at a Republican dinner in Jackson, Tennessee, Monday night. Luttrell, 68, had been contemplating a bid for the 8th District, which is being vacated by U.S. Rep. Stephen Fincher. He announced his intentions to run at the Madison County Republican Party's Reagan Day dinner, held at Union University, Luttrell confirmed to The Commercial Appeal Monday night. "I'm a product of the 8th District. I was born in rural West Tennessee," he said by phone shortly after the announcement. "My roots are pretty deep." Luttrell joins a crowded field jostling to replace Fincher, who has served three terms but announced on Feb. 1 that he would not seek a fourth. Luttrell makes at least the eighth Republican in the race or interested in running, including Jackson businessman and political consultant Brad Greer; state Sen. Brian Kelsey; former U.S. Attorney David Kustoff; Shelby County Register of Deeds Tom Leatherwood; Shelby County Commissioner Steve Basar; Memphis radiologist George Flinn; and Fayette County corrections officer Ken Atkins. Two Memphis-area Democrats have also expressed interest: Michael McCusker and David Vinciarelli. Asked about the possibility that Shelby County's vote could be split among a crowded field, Luttrell said his understanding of both rural and urban issues made him unique among candidates. Luttrell said he filed with the Federal Election Commission Monday and will file with the state later. The primary elections are Aug. 4, and the general election is Nov. 8. The district covers a wide swath of West Tennessee, both rural and urban. It includes Jackson, Brownsville, Dyerburg and parts of Memphis, including portions of Millington, Bartlett, Cordova and Germantown. Luttrell was elected to his second four-year term as county mayor in 2014. County term limits mean he cannot seek the seat again. If he were to win the 8th District, Luttrell said, the county's charter states that the chairman of the County Commission would serve for the first 45 days after his resignation. Terry Roland is currently the commission's chairman. The commission would then select a replacement who would serve as mayor until the next election. March 1, 2016 - Polling Judge George Keistler tears voting stickers off a roll as Memphians start lining up at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church to cast their Super Tuesday ballot. (Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal) SHARE UPDATE Voters in the Memphis area are facing long lines in today's Super Tuesday primary ahead of the polls' 7 p.m. closing time. At Altruria Elementary in Bartlett, voters have been told the process will take them about an hour. There are three machines at the precinct. At Hope Presbyterian Church on Walnut Grove, voters say the process is taking about 50 minutes. The lines snaked around a lobby area outside the polling place. "This is probably the longest I've ever had to wait," said Tammy Patrick, who said it normally takes about 20 minutes. Lines were long throughout the day, election officials said, forcing them to dispatch an additional 81 voting machines to various locations across Shelby County. "I think its a combination of three things: voter interest, the length of the Republican ballot because they had to pick delegates and the fact that the election commission may not have properly anticipated the number of voters at some precincts," said Robert Meyers, election commission chairman. The release of early voting results will be delayed about an hour, allowing those still in line at various precincts to vote, Meyers said. By 7 p.m., when polls are supposed to close, some precincts had as many as 50 or 60 people still in line, he said. - Linda A. Moore A power outage is slowing down the process at Glenview Community Center in South Memphis, near Midtown. Poll workers are filling out some forms by hand in the dark, but lines are moving. The polling machines are on backup power. Machines at two precincts were not working early Tuesday morning, but the problems have since been fixed, Shelby County Election Commission officials said. The problems occurred at precincts at Chimney Rock Elementary and Winchester Elementary around 7:25 a.m. VOTING DETAILS When: Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Where: Find your precinct at shelbyvote.com. Whos on the ballot: Of the 14 Republicans on the ballot, only five are still running: retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and businessman Donald Trump. Of the three Democratic candidates, only former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are still running. Republican delegates are also on the ballot. At stake: Tennessee has 58 Republican delegates and 75 Democratic delegates, awarded proportionally instead of the winner taking all. Democratic delegates will be selected at county conventions March 5, congressional district conventions March 19, and by state party leaders April 9. Whats next: Delegates will cast votes for their candidates at conventions in July, Republicans in Ohio and Democrats in Pennsylvania. The two parties candidates will face off Nov. 8. LaTasha Dyer, center, encourages lawmakers to pass "MaKayla's Law" to penalize adults who leave their loaded and unlocked guns accessible to children under age 13. Her daughter, MaKayla, 8, was shot to death by an 11-year-old neighbor last October in Jefferson County. Dyer is joined by state Sen. Sara Kyle, D-Memphis, left, and Beth Joslin Roth of Safe Tennessee Project. Kyle is sponsoring the bill. (Richard Locker/The Commercial Appeal) By Richard Locker of The Commercial Appeal NASHVILLE LaTasha Dyer, mother of an 8-year-old girl shot to death by an 11-year-old neighbor last October in Jefferson County, urged state lawmakers Tuesday to pass a bill to penalize adult gun owners who leave loaded guns unlocked and accessible if children under age 13 get them. But the National Rifle Association's lobbyist, Erin Luper, told the Senate Judiciary Committee the NRA believes it's a gun owner's responsibility to safely store firearms and that the state shouldn't impose a requirement on them with a criminal law. The NRA's opposition set off a round of questioning in the committee, despite the testimony of a Middle Tennessee district attorney that existing reckless endangerment laws are difficult to prosecute in such cases. After the NRA's opposition, Sen. Sara Kyle, D-Memphis, the bill's sponsor, postponed further discussion in the committee for two weeks. Moments earlier, LaTasha Dyer had spoken softly to the panel about the Oct. 3 shooting death of her daughter. "As a mom, I never thought I would outlive one of my children but last year my 8-year old daughter Makayla Dyer was killed by our neighbor. She wouldn't show him our puppy. Our family is devastated by this avoidable tragedy," she said in support of the bill named MaKayla's Law after her daughter. "If the gun had been simply locked away and not loaded, Makayla would still be here," Dyer said. "We are so pleased that today state lawmakers are working to keep guns out of the hands of children. Please help me make sure MaKayla's horrible fate isn't shared by one more child. Support Tennessee lawmakers working to strengthen child-access prevention laws to make gun owners store their firearms safely." Dyer said she would return to Nashville in two weeks to work again for the bill's passage but she may face an uphill battle in a committee with a 7-2 Republican majority, given the NRA's opposition. Makayla was killed near her home in White Pine, Tennessee, east of Knoxville. A Jefferson County Juvenile Court judge found Benny Tiller, 11, delinquent by reason of first-degree murder in her death and ordered him held in state custody until age 19. No one else has been charged. Jefferson County authorities say Makayla was killed by a shotgun blast to her chest after the boy got his father's 12-gauge shotgun in their home and fired it through a window. She was standing outside with two other girls who were not hit. LaTasha Dyer was previously identified by advocates of the bill as Tasha Patterson, but she told reporters her name is LaTasha Dyer. She was joined by Kyle, who is sponsoring Senate Bill 2294, and Beth Joslin Roth, head of Safe Tennessee Project. The bill would make it a violation for an adult gun owner to "recklessly place, leave or store in plain view and readily accessible to a child under 13" a gun "if the gun is left unattended," not under the owner's control and either contains ammunition or ammunition is in the immediate vicinity unless the gun has a trigger lock or similar device or is in a locked container or cabinet accessible only by the owner or the owner's spouse. A violation would be a Class A misdemeanor under the Tennessee criminal code if a child under 13 gets the gun under the above circumstances but does not fire it or permit another to fire it; a Class E felony if the child fires the gun or permits another to fire it and the discharge causes bodily injury to the child or another person; or a Class C felony if the discharge results in the death of the child or another person. If approved, the law could not apply retroactively to MaKayla's case or any other incident that occurred before its effective date. Twenty-seven states have passed similar laws. SHARE Rudolph Vetter/The Commercial Appeal Among entries in the Oak Grove Hunt Club Schooling Show on March 2, 1952, at Germantown will be Mrs. Bart Mueller (right) and Miss Jean Sanders. The event will take place at Mimosa, home of Miss Sanders parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Sanders. March 1 25 years ago: 1991 WASHINGTON With guns silent in the Persian Gulf, Iraq Thursday accepted President Bush's terms for a meeting of military commanders to discuss a full cease-fire. The Iraqi decision, announced by Bush, fanned hopes for a quick release of U.S. prisoners of war and a formal end to the Persian Gulf War. "We are going to get back our POWs and we're going to do it fast," Bush declared, one day after he announced a conditional truce. But the United States warned that allied forces would not withdraw from Iraq until it had at least started carrying out the full terms for ending the war. 50 years ago: 1966 A building will go up on Court between Manassas and Orleans as an outward symbol of religions moving closer together in a co-operative ministry in Memphis. Protestants, Catholics and Jews will worship in the building, which will be a part of the University of Tennessee Medical Units and the Memphis Medical Center. Campus chaplains began working together almost three years ago to form a united University Interfaith Association. The five-member board of trustees who will work with the chaplains represent the Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic and Jewish faiths. 75 years ago: 1941 The morning mail yesterday brought to the Claridge a package containing a towel on which was a piece of wrapping paper bearing this message: "In 1926 I stole this towel from your hotel. I was not a Christian then. I have since become one. I hope you will forgive me for my sin." There was no signature. 100 years ago: 1916 "Cotton Bolls and Wedding Bells," the successful film play produced last spring by the Memphis Business Men's Club, will return after a triumphant tour through many states. 125 years ago: 1891 Lent has checked the issuance of marriage licenses but the grind of the divorce mill knows no ceasing. Mrs. Annie R. Loft, finding the treatment she has been receiving at her husband's hands more than she can bear, filed a petition yesterday in Circuit Court. March 1, 2016 - First grade teacher Deana Jeffries gives patriotic hats to students as they enter the Media Room to vote for their favorite presidential candidate on Super Tuesday at Downtown Elementary School in Memphis. (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal) SHARE March 1, 2016 - From left, first grade student Tia Frank, 6, looks at her voter card as she stands in line to vote with classmates Avery Smith, 7, Artia Driver, 7, and Shaniya Freeman, 6, on Super Tuesday at Downtown Elementary School in Memphis. (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal) March 1, 2016 - First grade teacher Gladys Galloway helps first grade students vote for their favorite candidate in the Media Room during a mock primary election on Super Tuesday at Downtown Elementary School in Memphis. The event was to encourage parents to vote in the actual primary election. (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal) By Jennifer Pignolet of The Commercial Appeal Payton James voted for Hillary Clinton "because she's going to give homeless people homes." Alexander Molinelli also took a shine to the former Secretary of State and First Lady, but for a slightly different reason. "She's gonna be a great girlfriend," the 6-year-old first-grader said. A quick clarification from his classmate, and Molinelli corrected himself. "I think she's gonna be a great president." Just like in the real primary elections taking place Tuesday across nine states, including Tennessee, it didn't matter why the students at Downtown Elementary voted for their candidate. It was an exercise in process and the importance of voting. The school held its first mock primary election for students Tuesday morning, filtering all 560 students wearing plastic American flag-patterned hats through the library to present their registration cards, choose their party and vote electronically on computer screens. The school leaned Democratic as a whole, and Clinton was by far the favorite with 331 votes, 82 percent of the total who voted Democrat. Donald Trump won on the Republican side but with just 68 votes, four fewer than Bernie Sanders, who earned 18 percent of the Democratic vote. Trump, who cracked 50 percent of the Republican vote, was followed by Marco Rubio with 31 percent and Ted Cruz with 18 percent. Principal Yolanda Martin said the hope is the exercise will have a ripple effect beyond her students. "We're hoping that by their children being excited about things that perhaps the parents will be more encouraged to exercise their rights," she said. "Because a lot of times people think, 'Well, my vote's not that important or it really doesn't matter.' But it does matter." First-grade teacher Gladys Galloway came up with the idea for a mock election after her students started asking her questions about the president. "They had so many questions about what the president does and where the president lives," Galloway said. "So we took on a writing assignment. If you were the president, think about what's wrong with this world, what do we need? It just took off." They started researching who is running and their platforms, and let the students decide what was important to them. "It's their voice, so we're letting them use their voices," Galloway said. "And we're not persuading them one way or the other. We're just giving them information and we're just allowing them to vote." Nathan Chambers, who called Ted Cruz "boring," said he voted for Trump "because I want him to be president." Tia Frank was more keen on the junior senator from Texas although she pronounced his name Ted Cruzz, rhyming with buzz because I want to be like him. Aspiring to be just like a candidate also resonated with Autumn Hester, who voted for Clinton. "Because I want to be her." SHARE 031512------E15BILLS------ August 15, 2011 - Tennessee Commissioner of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security Bill Gibbons. (Dave Darnell / The Commercial Appeal) By Bill Gibbons, Special to Viewpoint Since 2011, I've had the privilege of heading the Governor's Public Safety Subcabinet. It has given me a unique opportunity to work at the state level on many of the issues I faced as district attorney general in Shelby County. The Public Safety Subcabinet is a collaborative group consisting of the commissioners and directors of 11 departments and agencies of the executive branch of state government. In 2012, we began a team effort to implement a Public Safety Action Plan for Gov. Bill Haslam. Of the 43 steps in this first plan, 83 percent have been accomplished. Examples include: More effective monitoring of pseudoephedrine sales and limitations on the amount that can be purchased to reduce the production of meth. Mandatory incarceration for repeat domestic violence offenders. Creation of a real-time database for prescribing and dispensing prescription narcotics. Tougher sentences for certain gang-related crimes. Effective data-driven enforcement efforts by state troopers to reduce traffic fatalities and severe crashes. An increase in drug-addicted offenders participating in drug treatment court programs. The opening of additional family safety centers to better serve the needs of domestic violence victims, including the one in Memphis. Since implementation of the first plan, we have seen encouraging trends. Overall reported crimes in Tennessee have steadily dropped for the past five years. More specifically, major property crimes and reported domestic violence offenses have declined every year since 2010. Meth lab seizures have dropped from more than 2,000 in 2010 to fewer than 600 in 2015. The amount of prescription narcotics dispensed to Tennesseans has declined for three years in a row. Yet, many challenges remain. Major violent crime has remained fairly steady. Domestic violence still makes up half of all reported crimes against people. Heroin-related arrests have skyrocketed. We have a repeat-offender rate that is far too high. On Jan. 14, the governor came to Memphis to announce a new Public Safety Action Plan. It includes a number of recommendations by the Governor's Sentencing and Recidivism Task Force. (Eight of the task force's 27 members were from Shelby County.) This new three-year plan focuses on: Changes in the sentencing structure to achieve smarter use of prison beds for serious offenders and more effective alternatives for other offenders. Prevention and intervention methods to reduce the number of offenders and repeat offenders. Greater assistance to victims of crimes. An emphasis on homeland security to help ensure the safety of our state and its citizens. Actions to increase access to reliable data and information to help in future decision making. This will be the Haslam administration's road map for the next three years to improve public safety. The governor has made a number of legislative proposals this year to advance the new plan. The Public Safety Act calls for tougher sentences to deal with repeat domestic violence offenders, drug traffickers and home burglars. At the same time, it calls for effective alternatives to prison for those who have violated conditions of probation or parole short of committing another crime. It also includes steps to make it easier for victims of domestic violence to obtain orders of protection. Passage of the Prescription Safety Act is critical to maintaining the controlled-substance monitoring database, which doctors and pharmacists must check before prescribing and dispensing narcotics. As part of the plan, the governor's proposed budget includes $1.3 million in additional drug treatment court funding. We look forward to implementing this second Public Safety Action Plan by working with our partners across the state, including a close working partnership with those involved in the local Operation: Safe Community. Bill Gibbons is commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. SHARE By Francis Wilkinson Admittedly, the Republican Party has difficulty arriving at a consensus these days. But conservatives are getting pretty close to one on the matter of who bears responsibility for the party's riotous Donald Trump fiasco. They have met the enemy, and, sure enough, it's them. "The Republican Party created Donald Trump," said former RedState blogger Erick Erickson, "because they made a lot of promises to their base and never kept them." Veteran activist L. Brent Bozell III was all over that argument back in April 2015. "Republicans promised conservatives the moon in 2014 and have given us the shaft throughout 2015," Bozell wrote. Ratcheting up the culpability, the conservative Washington Times wrote that Republican leaders not only "made promises they couldn't keep," but that they "had no intention of trying to keep." That's a tough charge, but Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, copped to it at a Republican debate in September, saying, "I'm tired of telling people things they want to hear that I know we can't do." Repeal President Obama's health care plan. Ban abortions after 20 weeks. Overturn presidential executive actions on immigration. Cut spending on Democratic constituencies. It turns out that Republicans oversold and underdelivered. Given the sunny trajectory of Trump's new career, the GOP's realization might be too late. But at least the lesson has been learned. Just kidding. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is the party's last best O.K., only hope to arrest Trump's ascension to top of the jungle gym and salvage Republican orthodoxy. Rubio has lost four consecutive GOP contests, suggesting sizable pockets of resistance within the Republican base. It might be worthwhile to review his campaign in light of the party's recent confessions. Rubio has promised to "repeal and replace" Obamacare so many times that he could be excused for believing it's already gone. He attacked Trump last week for having no real plan for health care. But as Paul Waldman pointed out in The Washington Post, Rubio's own "plan" is simply a reprint of an op-ed essay espousing three main principles. Obamacare isn't really a law at this point anyway. It's the de facto health care system of the U.S. Rubio is essentially promising to repeal "War and Peace" on his first day in office and replace it with a couple of paragraphs in which Napoleon is defeated faster and better and without pre-existing conditions. Likewise, Rubio has promised to cancel the Obama administration's "ridiculous deal" on Iran's nuclear program and "reimpose sanctions on Day One" of his presidency. This fits with the Rubio rigmarole about Obama knowing "exactly what he's doing" as the president pursues what the Florida senator characterizes as a lifelong dream of weakening the U.S. But sanctions on Iran were multilateral, and indeed must be to have bite. Rubio has no power to force Europeans to reimpose sanctions they were delighted to lift. And his capacity to reformulate a deal to which the U.S. is but one of several parties is at best highly speculative. Maybe Rubio has Trumpian negotiating skills and a secret plan. If not, he's offering how did Bozell phrase it? Ah, yes, "the moon." Rubio has variously promised to end Obama's executive actions protecting undocumented immigrants, eliminate federal funding for sanctuary cities, win the war on Islamic State and pass a tax plan that "treats everyone on an even playing field," which suggests he is contemplating a plan other than the one he has actually proposed, which heavily frontloads benefits to the very wealthiest. Every candidate makes some promises that won't, or can't, be kept. It's the nature of a sketchy business. Rubio has taken to calling Trump a "con man" on the stump and it's hard to dispute the label. While Rubio offers dubious promises, boldly stated, Trump suffices with an occasional tweet and an assurance that everything's gonna be great. It's unclear why a Republican electorate that is purportedly feeling burned by empty promises should turn its lonely eyes to such an obvious deception. Maybe the analysts are wrong. Maybe what Republican voters want are promises even more extravagantly bankrupt than what they're accustomed to. Rubio's problem in that case is that he remains slightly tethered to reality. And the man has no red cap. Francis Wilkinson writes on politics and domestic policy for Bloomberg View. SHARE By George Will WASHINGTON Donald Trump's distinctive rhetorical style think of a drunk with a bullhorn reading aloud James Joyce's "Finnegans Wake" under water poses an almost insuperable challenge to people whose painful duty is to try to extract clarity from his effusions. For example, last week, during a long stream of semi-consciousness in Fort Worth, this man who as president would nominate members of the federal judiciary vowed to "open up" libel laws to make it easier to sue to intimidate and punish people who write "negative" things. Well. Trump, the thin-skinned tough guy, resembles a campus crybaby who has wandered out of his "safe space." It is not news that he has neither respect for nor knowledge of the Constitution, and he probably is unaware that he would have to "open up" many Supreme Court First Amendment rulings in order to achieve his aim. His obvious aim is to chill free speech, for the comfort of the political class, of which he is now a gaudy ornament. But at least Trump has, at last, found one thing to admire from the era of America's Founding. Unfortunately, but predictably, it is one of the worst things done then the Sedition Act of 1798. The act made it a crime to "write, print, utter or publish, or cause it to be done, or assist in it, any false, scandalous, and malicious writing against the government of the United States, or either House of Congress, or the President, with intent to defame, or bring either into contempt or disrepute, or to excite against either the hatred of the people." Now, 215 years after the Sedition Act expired in 1801, Trump vows to use litigiousness to improve the accuracy and decorousness of public discourse. The night before his promise to make America great again through censorship, Trump, during the Houston debate, said that his sister, a federal judge, "(signed) a certain bill" and that (Supreme Court) Justice Samuel Alito also "signed that bill." So, the leading Republican candidate, the breadth of whose ignorance is the eighth wonder of the world, actually thinks that judges "sign bills." Trump is a presidential aspirant who would flunk an eighth-grade civics exam. More than anything Marco Rubio said about Trump in Houston, it was Rubio's laughter at Trump that galled the perhaps bogus billionaire. Like all bullies, Trump is a coward, and like all those who feel the need to boast about being strong and tough, he is neither. Unfortunately, Rubio recognized reality and found his voice 254 days after Trump's scabrous announcement of his candidacy to rescue America from Mexican rapists. And 222 days after Trump disparaged John McCain's war service ("I like people that weren't captured"). And 95 days after Trump said that maybe a protester at his rally "should have been roughed up." And 95 days after Trump retweeted that 81 percent of white murder victims are killed by blacks. (Eighty-two percent are killed by whites.) And 94 days after Trump said he supports torture "even if it doesn't work." And 79 days after Trump said he might have approved the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. And 72 days after Trump proved that he does not know the nuclear triad from the Nutcracker ballet. And 70 days after Trump, having been praised by Vladimir Putin, reciprocated by praising the Russian murderer and dictator. And so on. Rubio's epiphany, announcing the obvious with a sense of triumphant discovery, about Trump being a "con man" and a "clown act" is better eight months late than never. If, however, it is too late to rescue Rubio from a Trump nomination, this will be condign punishment for him and the rest of the Republican Party's coalition of the timid. "Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,/In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side." So begins James Russell Lowell's 1845 poem protesting America's war with Mexico. The Republicans' moment is here. We are about to learn much about Republican officeholders who are now deciding whether to come to terms with Trump, and with the shattering of their party as a vessel of conservatism. Trump's collaborators, like the remarkably plastic Chris Christie ("I don't think (Trump's) temperament is suited for (the presidency"), will find that nothing will redeem the reputations they will ruin by placing their opportunism in the service of his demagogic cynicism and anti-constitutional authoritarianism. George Will's email address is georgewill@washpost.com. SHARE By Leonid Bershidsky Donald Trump is getting lots of flak for allegedly retweeting a Benito Mussolini quote after a Gawker journalist set an elaborate Twitter trap for him. The joke is on the mastermind of the sting operation: The phrase "It's better to live a day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep" did not in fact originate with the Italian dictator. Trump's anti-intellectualism is so in-your-face that people who consider themselves intellectuals are affronted. They like to fact-check Trump to show how ignorant he is. When during a recent campaign appearance in South Carolina Trump told an apocryphal story of Gen. Jack Pershing executing Muslim rebels in the Philippines with bullets soaked in pig's blood, rebuttals were all over the media and social networks. This time around, however, the story everywhere, from The New York Times to the BBC, and even in Italian papers, is that Trump tweeted a Mussolini quote: "@ilduce2016: "It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep." - @realDonaldTrump #MakeAmericaGreatAgain" After this tweet appeared, Gawker let it be known that its senior writer, Ashley Feinberg, had created the Twitter account @ilduce2016 in December specifically to tweet Mussolini quotes at Trump in the hope that he would retweet one. The tactic paid off. Gawker's Alex Pareene wrote: "At the time of the account's creation, Gawker Media Executive Editor John Cook expressed some concern that the joke behind the account was far too obvious, and wouldn't trick anyone but a complete idiot. Today, Donald Trump proved him and all of us right." I can't laugh with Gawker and the rest of the media that reported on the Trump retweet. Time Magazine attributed the quote to Mussolini in a story published on Aug. 2, 1943. It appeared on some Italian coins during Mussolini's rule. But it's actually a proverb from Emilia Romagna, the region of Italy where Mussolini was born. The proverb entered the political lexicon after an Italian soldier wrote it on the wall of a building in Sant'Andrea del Piave in 1918, during the Battle of the Piave. The Austro-Hungarian army attacked Gerneral Armando Diaz's Italian troops on the banks of that river in Northern Italy and failed miserably. The Austrian defeat was one of the final nails in the ailing empire's coffin and a proud moment for Italy. The bit of wall carrying the graffiti is preserved at the Fagare della Bataglia memorial. Trump, of course, had no idea whether it was a Mussolini quote, a bit of wartime graffiti or an Italian proverb. It probably didn't even register with him that the account that tweeted the quote at him was called "ilduce" or he didn't understand the Italian. "It's a very good quote," Trump said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I didn't know who said it, but what difference does it make if it was Mussolini or somebody else it's a very good quote." In a strange way, he's right. The proverb was strong enough to stand as a populist slogan, so Mussolini used it. So did Trump, with his instinctive sense of political soundbite. This is not about Trump's ignorance or the failure of some journalists to research the quote before shooting it at the Republican front-runner. It's not even about Trump's allegedly fascist views: The quote doesn't espouse racism or totalitarianism. I'm not even sure Trump holds any views at all at least not for much longer after words leave his mouth. He does, however, know what words will resonate with people who are angry and tired of losing. That's why it doesn't matter to his voters where his quotes or stories like the Pershing one come from. Trump doesn't use language to communicate information. He uses it to elicit emotion. His utterances are weaponized sound, not speech. Information is complex, and knowledge is spotty on all sides. Emotion dressed up as information is simple and powerful. Fact-checking is simply extraneous to what's going on. Every society has a number of people who react to such signals. When they are the majority, an unscrupulous politician can use it and set up a nasty regime. So far, however, Trump has only won a plurality of Republicans in several states. The U.S. is hardly ripe for a fake Mussolini. Leonid Bershidsky, a Bloomberg View contributor, is a Berlin-based writer. SHARE By Philip Bump In 1923 and 1924, candidates from both parties who were explicitly endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan ran for governor in Texas, Arkansas, Maine, Arizona and Michigan. Candidates for governor in Kansas and mayor in Minneapolis and Houston were also rumored to have the Klan's backing, though, at least in some cases, the men denied the claim. A candidate for city commissioner in Houston won election with the Klan's backing; three opposed by the Klan won, too. In New Jersey, Frank Appleby won the endorsement of the Klan for his 1924 race for the U.S. House after his opponent was "visited by a Klan delegation which demanded that he discharge his secretary, McGrath, on the grounds that he was a Catholic," according to a New York Times account from 1924. Major Stanley Washburn stuck by McGrath. Appleby won, but died before he could take office. In Kansas that same year, William Allen White, the Progressive editor of the Emporia Gazettte, decided to challenge the Republican nominee for governor, Ben Paulen, on the grounds that Paulen "had received Klan support in the primary, had prevented the Republicans from adopting an anti-Klan resolution and 'by silence has further tied the Klan to him and disgraced his party in Kansas,'" in White's estimation. White lost, too. 1924 was also when Charles Bowles ran for mayor of the city of Detroit, with the Klan promising "a national fete," should he win. In that election, the New York Times reported in 1930, the Klan tried to ally with black and Jewish voters to oppose the Roman Catholics. Bowles lost, won in 1930 and was recalled eight months into his tenure. On Sunday, after Donald Trump declined to reject support from white supremacists in an interview with CNN, we noted that his father, Fred Trump, was arrested in 1927 after a Klan march in Queens became violent. Someone sent us contemporaneous photographs of the event pictures showing New York police confronting men wearing white hoods. The marchers had been asked not to wear their hoods, but they did anyway. Newspapers suggest that 1,000 members of the Klan marched in the Memorial Day parade a thousand men and women, in a borough of New York City, marching in Klan garb in 1927. It makes more sense when you consider that the Klan was making political endorsements at the same time. The Times noted the year prior that the Klan's candidates for school board in Des Moines had a rough run of luck in the elections that year. Appleby, the House candidate from New Jersey who died before taking office? He was endorsed by the "Ku Klux Klan of Monmouth County," an organization that's presented more like an offshoot of the Royal Order of Moose than a hate group. Even then, of course, the Klan was controversial. A number of candidates denied or rejected endorsements from the group. In an editorial, The Washington Post called upon Democrats and Republicans to "cut out the Klan," as you might a tumor. "So long as such an intolerable body dares to raise its head among us," the New York Times wrote in 1924 after the Maine gubernatorial election, "there is nothing for it but to strike our hardest at it in Maine and every other State." Black voters that year warned incumbent President Calvin Coolidge that they'd oppose Klan-backed candidates regardless of party that they'd vote against their "historical allegiance" to Coolidge's Republicans, should a Republican declare support for the Klan. Over time, the role of the Klan faded to the background. Candidates occasionally explicitly or tacitly welcomed the Klan's backing (for example: John Patterson, who was elected governor of Alabama in 1958 with the Klan's support) but often without it. Former members of the Klan continued to hold office for years; West Virginia's Sen. Robert Byrd served until 2010. The man whose mantle the Republican candidates this year are vying to assume, Ronald Reagan, was offered the support of the Klan in both 1980 and 1984. "I have no tolerance whatsoever for what the Klan represents," he said in 1980 after a meeting with Jesse Jackson. "Indeed, I resent them using my name." Four years later, he spoke in even clearer language. "Those of us in public life can only resent the use of our names by those who seek political recognition for the repugnant doctrines of hate they espouse," Reagan said. "The politics of racial hatred and religious bigotry practiced by the Klan and others have no place in this country, and are destructive of the values for which America has always stood." Only 60 years prior, when Reagan was already a teenager, the Times ran an editorial excoriating Coolidge for his silence on the issue of the Klan. "[The Klan] is already weakening," the editors wrote. "But it shrinks and dissolves most rapidly where men and women are bold enough to fight it openly." "What he is obviously consenting to do" through his silence, they continued, "is to accept as many votes as he possibly can get, without inquiring too curiously in to the motives or hopes of the men and women who cast them." Philip Bump writes for The Fix, a Washington Post blog. SHARE By Robert Kagan When the plague descended on Thebes, Oedipus sent his brother-in-law to the Delphic oracle to discover the cause. Little did he realize that the crime for which Thebes was being punished was his own. Today's Republican Party is our Oedipus. A plague has descended on the party in the form of the most successful demagogue-charlatan in the history of U.S. politics. The party searches desperately for the cause and the remedy without realizing that, like Oedipus, it is the party itself that brought on this plague. The party's own political crimes are being punished in a bit of cosmic justice fit for a Greek tragedy. Let's be clear: Donald Trump is no fluke. Nor is he hijacking the Republican Party or the conservative movement, if there is such a thing. He is, rather, the party's creation, its Frankenstein's monster, brought to life by the party, fed by the party and now made strong enough to destroy its maker. Was it not the party's wild obstructionism the repeated threats to shut down the government over policy and legislative disagreements, the persistent calls for nullification of Supreme Court decisions, the insistence that compromise was betrayal, the internal coups against party leaders who refused to join the general demolition that taught Republican voters that government, institutions, political traditions, party leadership and even parties themselves were things to be overthrown, evaded, ignored, insulted, laughed at? Was it not Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, among others, who set this tone and thereby cleared the way for someone even more irreverent, so that now, in a most unenjoyable irony, Cruz, along with the rest of the party, must fall to the purer version of himself, a less ideologically encumbered anarcho-revolutionary? This would not be the first revolution that devoured itself. Then there was the party's accommodation to and exploitation of the bigotry in its ranks. No, the majority of Republicans are not bigots. But they have certainly been enablers. Who began the attack on immigrants legal and illegal long before Trump arrived on the scene and made it his premier issue? Who frightened Mitt Romney into selling his soul in 2012, talking of "self-deportation" to get himself right with the party's anti-immigrant forces? Who opposed any plausible means of dealing with the genuine problem of illegal immigration, forcing Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, to cower, abandon his principles and his own immigration legislation lest he be driven from the presidential race before it had even begun? It was not Trump. It was not even party yahoos. It was Republican Party pundits and intellectuals, trying to harness populist passions and perhaps deal a blow to any legislation for which President Obama might possibly claim even partial credit. What did Trump do but pick up where they left off, tapping the well-primed gusher of popular anger, xenophobia and, yes, bigotry that the party had already unleashed? Then there was the Obama hatred, a racially tinged derangement syndrome that made any charge plausible and any opposition justified. Has the president done a poor job in many respects? Have his foreign policies, in particular, contributed to the fraying of the liberal world order that the United States created after World War II? Yes, and for these failures he has deserved criticism and principled opposition. But Republican and conservative criticism has taken an unusually dark and paranoid form. Instead of recommending plausible alternative strategies for the crisis in the Middle East, many Republicans have fallen back on mindless Islamophobia, with suspicious intimations about the president's personal allegiances. Thus Obama is not only wrong but also anti-American, un-American, non-American, and his policies though barely distinguishable from those of previous liberal Democrats such as Michael Dukakis or Mario Cuomo are somehow representative of something subversive. How surprising was it that a man who began his recent political career by questioning Obama's eligibility for office could leap to the front of the pack, willing and able to communicate with his followers by means of the dog-whistle disdain for "political correctness"? We are supposed to believe that Trump's legion of "angry" people are angry about wage stagnation. No, they are angry about all the things Republicans have told them to be angry about these past 7 years, and it has been Trump's good fortune to be the guy to sweep them up and become their standard-bearer. He is the Napoleon who has harvested the fruit of the revolution. There has been much second-guessing lately. Why didn't party leaders stand up and try to stop Trump earlier, while there was still time? But how could they have? Trump was feeding off forces in the party they had helped nurture and that they hoped to ride into power. Some of those Republican leaders and pundits now calling for a counterrevolution against Trump were not so long ago welcoming his contribution to the debate. The politicians running against him and now facing oblivion were loath to attack him before because they feared alienating his supporters. Instead, they attacked one another, clawing at each other's faces as they one by one slipped over the cliff. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie got his last deadly lick in just before he plummeted at Trump? No, at Rubio. (And now, as his final service to party and nation, he has endorsed Trump.) Jeb Bush spent millions upon millions in his hopeless race, but against whom? Not Trump. So what to do now? The Republicans' creation will soon be let loose on the land, leaving to others the job the party failed to carry out. For this former Republican, and perhaps for others, the only choice will be to vote for Hillary Clinton. The party cannot be saved, but the country still can be. Robert Kagan is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a contributing columnist for The Washington Post. Select Commodity All Ajwan Alasande Gram Almond(Badam) Alsandikai Amaranthus Ambada Seed Amla(Nelli Kai) Amphophalus Antawala Anthorium Apple Apricot(Jardalu/Khumani) Arecanut(Betelnut/Supari) Arecanut(Betelnut/Supari) Arhar (Tur/Red Gram)(Whole) Arhar (Tur/Red Gram)(Whole) Arhar Dal(Tur Dal) Ashgourd Astera Avare Dal Bajra(Pearl Millet/Cumbu) Bajra(Pearl Millet/Cumbu) Balekai Bamboo Banana Banana - Green Barley (Jau) Bay leaf (Tejpatta) Beans Beaten Rice Beetroot Bengal Gram Dal (Chana Dal) Bengal Gram(Gram)(Whole) Ber(Zizyphus/Borehannu) Ber(Zizyphus/Borehannu) Betal Leaves Bhindi(Ladies Finger) Bitter gourd Black Gram (Urd Beans)(Whole) Black Gram Dal (Urd Dal) Black pepper BOP Bottle gourd Bran Brinjal Broken Rice Broomstick(Flower Broom) Bull Bunch Beans Cabbage Calf Capsicum Cardamoms Carnation Carrot Cashewnuts Castor Seed Cauliflower Chapparad Avare Chennangi Dal Cherry Chikoos(Sapota) Chili Red Chilly Capsicum Chow Chow Chrysanthemum Chrysanthemum(Loose) Cinamon(Dalchini) Cloves Cluster beans Cock Cocoa Coconut Coconut Oil Coconut Seed Coffee Colacasia Copra Coriander(Leaves) Corriander seed Cotton Cotton Seed Cow Cowpea (Lobia/Karamani) Cowpea (Lobia/Karamani) Cowpea(Veg) Cucumbar(Kheera) Cummin Seed(Jeera) Custard Apple (Sharifa) Dalda Dhaincha Drumstick Dry Chillies Dry Fodder Dry Grapes Duck Duster Beans Egg Elephant Yam (Suran) Field Pea Firewood Fish Foxtail Millet(Navane) French Beans (Frasbean) Galgal(Lemon) Garlic Ghee Gingelly Oil Ginger(Dry) Ginger(Green) Gladiolus Cut Flower Goat Gram Raw(Chholia) Gramflour Grapes Green Avare (W) Green Chilli Green Fodder Green Gram (Moong)(Whole) Green Gram Dal (Moong Dal) Green Peas Ground Nut Oil Ground Nut Seed Groundnut Groundnut (Split) Groundnut pods (raw) Guar Guar Seed(Cluster Beans Seed) Guava Gur(Jaggery) He Buffalo Hen Hippe Seed Honge seed Hybrid Cumbu Indian Beans (Seam) Indian Colza(Sarson) Isabgul (Psyllium) Jack Fruit Jaffri Jamun(Narale Hannu) Jarbara Jasmine Jowar(Sorghum) Jute Kabuli Chana(Chickpeas-White) Kacholam Kakada Kankambra Karamani Karbuja(Musk Melon) Kartali (Kantola) Khoya Kinnow Knool Khol Kodo Millet(Varagu) Kulthi(Horse Gram) Lak(Teora) Leafy Vegetable Lemon Lentil (Masur)(Whole) Lilly Lime Linseed Lint Litchi Little gourd (Kundru) Long Melon(Kakri) Lotus Lotus Sticks Lukad Mahedi Mahua Mahua Seed(Hippe seed) Maida Atta Maize Mango Mango (Raw-Ripe) Marasebu Marget Marigold(Calcutta) Marigold(loose) Mashrooms Masur Dal Mataki Methi Seeds Methi(Leaves) Millets Mint(Pudina) Moath Dal Mousambi(Sweet Lime) Mustard Mustard Oil Myrobolan(Harad) Neem Seed Niger Seed (Ramtil) Nutmeg Onion Onion Green Orange Orchid Ox Paddy(Dhan)(Basmati) Paddy(Dhan)(Common) Papaya Papaya (Raw) Patti Calcutta Peach Pear(Marasebu) Peas cod Peas Wet Peas(Dry) Pegeon Pea (Arhar Fali) Pepper garbled Pepper ungarbled Persimon(Japani Fal) Pigs Pineapple Plum Pointed gourd (Parval) Pomegranate Potato Pumpkin Raddish Ragi (Finger Millet) Raibel Rajgir Ram Rat Tail Radish (Mogari) Raya Resinwood Rice Ridge gourd(Tori) Ridgeguard(Tori) Rose(Local) Rose(Loose) Rose(Loose)) Round gourd Rubber Sabu Dan Sabu Dana Safflower Sajje Same/Savi Season Leaves Seemebadnekai Seetafal Seetapal Sesamum(Sesame,Gingelly,Til) Sesamum(Sesame,Gingelly,Til) She Buffalo She Goat Sheep Snake gourd Snakeguard Soanf Soapnut(Antawala/Retha) Soji Soyabean Spinach Sponge gourd Squash(Chappal Kadoo) Sugar Sugarcane Sunflower Sunhemp Suram Surat Beans (Papadi) Suva (Dill Seed) Suvarna Gadde Sweet Potato Sweet Pumpkin T.V. Cumbu T.V. Cumbu Tamarind Fruit Tamarind Seed Tapioca Taramira Tender Coconut Thinai (Italian Millet) Thogrikai Thondekai Tinda Tobacco Tomato Toria Tube Rose(Double) Tube Rose(Loose) Tube Rose(Single) Turmeric Turmeric (raw) Turnip Walnut Water Melon Wheat Wheat Atta White Peas White Pumpkin Wood Yam Yam (Ratalu) Select State Select Market As the encryption argument takes center stage in the ongoing Apple vs. the U.S. Government squabbles, a very importantand potentially destructivechange is taking place in security strategy. The encryption and security thinking used to be focused solely on protecting a customer's data from cyberthieves and other bad guys attempting to break in. It then morphed to also see law enforcement as the attacker, putting in various defenses to keep out municipal, state, federal and global investigators, sometimes on fishing expeditions for any hint of wrongdoing. [ ALSO: The economics of back doors ] Companies like Appleand where Apple goes, the tech industry almost always followsare now adding a new enemy to its to-be-protected-from list: itself. The theory goes that if Apple's best engineering can't break into its own devices, government court orders will be irrelevant. Apple can't be made to do what it can't physically do. But this raises an interesting legal question. What if Apple goes out of its way to spend millions of dollars to develop a way to not able to do something? Is that intentional obstruction? Look at it from a different perspective. Let's say that a well-financed drug dealer specifically knew that law enforcement wanted to look at particular financial records that he possessed. What if he created a massive vault that, upon a specific voice command in its owner's voice, would delete all access codes and disintegrate the vault's contents? (OK, if it could really disintegrate all of its contents, I suppose it wouldn't need to delete its codes. But drug dealers tend to opt for security redundancies.) Could the act of creating such a vault and saying that command be considered defiance of the anticipated court order? Would it potentially constitute contempt of court? We have discussed here why it's not a great idea to have the government dictating corporate encryption policies. But what the government is doing here is a lot more invasive than many people think. They are not asking for the encryption backdoor. They are instead asking Apple to use its engineersat no cost to the governmentto create security weaknesses that the government can exploit. Specifically, they are asking for a removal of the limit on the number of bad password attempts before the system locks up, as well as the removal of time limits between break-in attempts. With those two items gone, brute force attacks will inevitably be able to crack into the phone. Mark Rasch is a former federal prosecutor, former head of the U.S. Justice Department's high-tech crimes unit and currently serves as the chief security evangelist for Verizon. Rasch argues that Appleand anyone who follows themare in the clear legally. Here's the legal bottom line, from Rasch's perspective, which is not necessarily in accordance with the legal interpretations of current Justice Department lawyers or lawyers for the next administration's Justice Department. Rasch's position: A court-ordered search warrant only applies to law enforcement. A search warrant to search a suspect's home allows law enforcement to search but does not require the homeowner to cooperate. The homeowner, Rasch argues, is fully within his rights to say, "Thanks, but I choose to not let you into my house." Law enforcement then has the right to smash the door in, but that order doesn't obligate the homeowner to do anything. A court order to a civilian would have to happen under the All Writs Act. The question then goes to whether the court has that power. "Not cooperating and obstruction are different things. Obstruction in advance doesn't exist," Rasch said. "Nor does 'aiding and abetting a crime by not making it easy for me to solve crime.'" The closest Apple analogy would be if police had a valid search warrant and were trying to break into a suspect's home, Rasch said. The suspect in this scenario had so expertly reinforced all of the doors, windows and walls that police equipmentincluding battering ramswere ineffective. What if police turned to a construction worker walking down the street and said "We want you to spend as many weeks as it takes to figure out a way to break into this house"? Even if the police offered to pay the worker a fair rate, does he have the obligation to comply? What if he doesn't want to spend weeks doing this? "The government wants to take the labor of Apple engineers without just compensation," Rasch said. And even getting just compensationwhich is irrelevant in this case because "Apple doesn't want to get paid to do this"is tricky. "Apple doesn't want to take invading a customer's privacy and to turn it into a profit center," Rasch said. "And the government doesn't want to establish the precedent of having to pay people to comply with a court order." In short, as long as Apple doesn't do this to circumvent the search for a specific criminal act that they know about in advance (and no one has suggested that they are), crafting a way to lock themselves out permanently is legally sound. Alas, it's not that simple. Consumers are maddeningly self-contradictory. They love the idea of Apple not having access, so that they Apple cannot violate their privacy even with a search warrant. But they hate the idea of Apple not having access if the consumer forgets his/her password and can't simply reset it. They want access to all of those photos and messages and videos no matter what and they expect Apple to be able to do that. The typical response to sidestepping forgotten passwords is to go for biometric authentication. In theory, a consumer can't "forget" their retinas or their fingerprints. That is also not a perfect solution. What if the phone suffers some corruption and the phone can no longer match the consumer's biometric self with the phone's file? Again, they expect Apple to be able to swoop in and help. That is the real problem. If Apple creates the perfect defense against itself, it can't comply with urgent requests from the government or it's customers. Don't forget that in this specific case, the government wants to break into the iphone of Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the killers in the San Bernardino, Calif. shooting rampage. And his phone was not owned by him. It was owned by the county agency he worked for, and the county governmentthe true owner of that phonehas consented to the phone being searched. That means that there is no privacy issue in this immediate case, although it's a certainty that privacy will crop up in other cases. Rasch points out that had the county's IT folk been using a mobile device management product on county phones, this entire issue would have been avoided as the county would have had the employee's password. The question then comes back to Appleand other technology playersand how far they are willing to go to thwart government inquires (to protect customers) when such efforts will also block those customers if they get accidentally locked out of their phones. It's akin to CIOs who want no one to be able to get into an enterprise network without proper credentials, unless they are lost, in which case they want their vendors to be able to override and get in. This story, "The encryption quicksand into which Apple is sinking" was originally published by Computerworld . Abbott Labs, a global healthcare company, is laying off about 180 IT employees after signing an agreement with Wipro, a major India-based IT services firm, to take over some IT services. The employees were told about the planned cuts on Feb. 22; their last day will be April 22. The workers are expecting to train their replacements, possibly workers on H-1B and other temporary visas. Abbott is based in Illinois, which is also the home of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who has been a longtime advocate for H-1B reforms and a co-sponsor of legislation with another visa reformer, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). In a letter Monday to Abbott CEO Miles White, Durbin implored him "to reconsider this plan and retain these U.S. workers." Dubin noted that he has "repeatedly introduced bipartisan legislation to end the exploitation of the H-1B and L-1 visa programs to displace qualified American workers and offshore American jobs." Last year, for instance, he led a bipartisan group of 10 senators calling on federal agencies to investigate the layoffs at Southern California Edison and at other firms. Some IT workers at the utility complained of having to train replacements who were on H-1B visas. "While this practice is unlawful, loopholes in existing law make it difficult for the federal government to hold violators accountable," said Durbin. "I will continue to push for legislation to reform the H-1B and L-1 visa programs, but the gaps in current law are no excuse for your company to treat your employees so unfairly. It should go without saying that such harsh and insensitive conduct is not justified by whatever marginal financial benefit might accrue to your company, which is already making billions of dollars in profits every year." Sara Blackwell, a Florida attorney who is representing some former Disney IT employees in a similar situation, has been in touch with the affected IT workers and Durbin's office as well. "The first goal is to stop the termination," said Blackwell, who is hoping to focus attention on the Abbott layoff. Blackwell mentioned the layoff at a rally held by GOP presidential contender Donald Trump Sunday in Madison, Alabama. Blackwell, along with two laid-off Disney IT workers, spoke at the rally held by the billionaire businessman. With enough attention, it's possible "we can save 180 jobs and that's my goal," said Blackwell. The IT employees at Abbott are distraught, said one IT worker who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Everybody is under tremendous pressure," the worker said, noting that colleagues are are depressed, angry and worried about losing homes and paying medical expenses. "All the big companies are sending jobs to India -- how are we going to find a job at another company?" said the IT worker. "It's going on everywhere. Nobody is stopping it." Asked about the layoff plans, Abbott Labs spokesman Scott Stoffel said via email: Abbott regularly evaluates its competitive position and makes changes that reflect the strategic needs of its business. We recently outsourced some IT capabilities. Were retaining the vast majority of our U.S.-based IT jobs." Meanwhile, job ads are being posted inside the company to fill IT jobs, and each ad points out that an H-1B worker may be hired for the position. "It looks like most of the jobs will go to India," the anonymous IT employee said. Many of the workers are over 40 years old, according to documents seen by Computerworld that describe their positions and ages. About two years ago, application support was offshored to two other firms, IBM and Cognizant, and IT employees were cut after training replacements, this IT worker said. The severance being offered includes six weeks of pay, plus a week of pay for each completed year of service. As the Abbott layoff plans were unfolding last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee received sworn testimony about what was happening; Durbin's staff spoke with Abbott IT workers, who confirmed the cuts. The severance agreement includes a non-disparagement clause that may make it difficult for employees to talk publicly about what happened. It also requires employees not to sue, including any legal action under the Federal Age Discrimination Employment Act. 23 May 2022 - Understand the French healthcare system, how you access it and how you are reimbursed - Useful if you are new to the French healthcare system or want a more in-depth understanding - Reader question and answer section Aimed at non-French nationals living here, the guide gives an overview of what you are (and are not) covered for. There is also information for second-home owners and regular visitors. Cllr Michelle Lowe is Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing & Community Safety at Sevenoaks District Council. We all know that home ownership has declined over the last decade for a whole host of reasons; but the main one is that house prices have increased way above wages. As a result people in the same professions that could easily afford to buy their own home in the 1970s, 80s and early 90s struggle to afford even a shared ownership scheme today. Obviously increasing the supply of housing will help to bring prices down. But in high-price areas that have little opportunity for mass house-building such as London or the Home Counties, with large areas protected by planning constraints such as greenbelt, National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), we need local solutions to match local circumstances. In these, as in other areas, local government is the key to helping more local people step onto the housing ladder, at the same time keeping families and communities together and reducing reliance on the state. Whether it is allowing grown-up children to live near their elderly and frail parents or young families to live near grandparents good housing policy helps to keep communities together and helps prevent a broken Britain with too much expensive state intervention needed when things go wrong. If local authorities are given the freedoms and income to develop robust housing policies they can achieve what central government cannot, because local government can adjust its policies to match local circumstances. So, for example, in Sevenoaks and similar areas most new developments are under three units due to large areas designated with strict planning constraints. The likely changes to restrict Section 106 affordable housing contributions to larger developments will only wipe out the majority of cash these authorities use to help people into home ownership. In Home Counties areas house prices are comparable to a London Borough up to 17 times higher than average wages. Yet because development is always profitable, building new homes remains constant. The affordable housing contribution in some places does not stop Britain from building, and does not slow down the planning process if administered efficiently. Often there are viability clauses where if a developer can demonstrate unviability their contribution is either reduced or removed. Allowing local authorities to keep this money can only help the government with its wider health and social aims. A successful approach taken in Sevenoaks uses two main methods to help people into home ownership. The first is to look at the total housing supply and to try to encourage older people to downsize into more suitable accommodation that is cheaper to heat and maintain, and also making them less likely to trip or fall. This helps to free up family sized homes and helps to keep the local housing chain moving. They also focus on first time buyers with their award winning Home of Your Own scheme with Moat Housing Association. This is a shared ownership scheme where people are loaned money to buy a home anywhere they want to, and when they sell it or increase their ownership share of the property, the loan is recycled to help someone else. There are a number of local examples of keeping teachers and other local people in the district as a result of this scheme. Local authorities will and could be able to do more to meet their own local housing needs. Increasing the number of two-bedroom homes both helps people to down size and younger people step onto the housing ladder. With its own funding stream (such as the affordable housing contribution) local authorities can loan first time buyers money to help bring empty homes back into use, develop more shared ownership schemes (possibly some for specific groups such as ex-military personnel), and to provide hand-holding assistance to help older people down size. Many expensive areas suffer from people leaving to find cheaper housing further afield, and others moving in buying up anything remotely affordable. This breaks up communities, and local residents want new builds for local people resulting in a smoother planning process. This is why starter homes should have a local connection policy. With all initiatives, local authorities can aim to make sure the money is recycled to help others, that they apply the local connection criteria, and that they keep the affordable home affordable in perpetuity. Starter homes would be so much better if they could stay affordable in perpetuity and there are methods to achieve this. To lose an affordable home after a mere five years will have consequences in some areas where that home will be difficult to replace, leaving future need unmet. Plus we have to question the morality of people making money out of subsidised affordable homes after just five years. In some areas the bank of Mum and Dad will see starter homes as a very good investment. Government affordable housing provision should be about homing people that need assistance onto the housing ladder not helping a lucky few profit from it. The LGA calculates that discounted starter home prices will be out of reach for all people in need of affordable housing in 67 per cent of council areas. By removing the s106 affordable housing contribution from new developments the government will also hamper efforts by local authorities in certain parts of the country (mainly the home counties and South East but other places as well) to help out locally. Local authorities conduct housing surveys and understand their housing needs. Whether there is a need for socially rented homes, starter homes, family homes, retirement homes or specialist homes such as special needs accommodation or dementia hubs and/or villages. So it makes sense that local authorities should be in the driving seat to decide what type of housing is needed where to meet residents needs. If the government is serious about fixing broken Britain, keeping people out of hospital and dependent on social services, and helping people step onto the housing ladder it must allow local government to keep the funding it needs and be bold enough to allow local authorities to develop bespoke schemes that will work in their areas. One-size-fits-all will not work across the UK. Three years ago, the TaxPayers Alliance reported that in the last year, five times more Labour people were appointed to public bodies than Tories. Since then, the figures have varied, and some Conservative members or supporters have been selected to fill important posts. Nonetheless, it remains the case that, since it took office in 2010, our Party has punched beneath its weight when it comes to public appointments. One of the reasons seems to be that Tories simply dont apply in the same number as Labour supporters. To help remedy this, every fortnight we put up links to some of the main public appointments vacancies, so that qualified Conservatives might be aware of the opportunities presented. Royal Mint Advisory Committee Art Historian The purpose of the role is to play an active part in raising the standard of numismatic art in Britain, through judging artwork submitted, offering constructive comments on how it can be amended, suggesting suitable means of briefing artists and suggesting new artists to become involved in the design of coins and medals. Time: Four meetings per annum for a five-year term. Remuneration: Expenses only. Closes: 04 March Royal Mint Advisory Committee Museums Sector Member The member will be expected to attend meetings of the Committee where, upon reaching consensus, design proposals will be forwarded for approval to the government department concerned before being passed on to the Palace for royal approval. Time: Four meetings per annum for a five-year term. Remuneration: Expenses only. Closes: 04 March Bank of England Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation The Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation is the Chief Executive of the PRA, and sits on the board of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) The Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation will continue to be the Chief Executive of the PRA and will have several of his/her roles, including preparing the prudential regulation strategy and the day to day management of the PRA, written into statute. Time: Full time. Remuneration: 267,946 per annum. Closes: 04 March National Employment Savings Trust Trustee Members The NEST Trustee Board is collectively responsible for running the NEST pension scheme and setting the strategic direction and objectives for the organisation. The Board is entirely comprised of Trustee Members. NEST Corporation is a Non-Departmental Public Body, accountable to Parliament for the effective performance of its statutory functions. Time: 30 days per annum. Remuneration: 19,050, based on 30 days annual commitment (635 a day). Closes: 07 March Civil Justice Council Members The role of the Trustees is to establish SMGs policy, have overall responsibility for financial decision-making, review performance and endorse appointments to key management positions. The Trustees assist the Chairman and the Executives of the Science Museum Group in delivering its statutory objectives and in formulating and implementing its other strategic aims. Time: Minimum 8 days per annum. Remuneration: Travel expenses. Closes: 14 March Royal Parks Chair The Royal Parks (TRP) is a new public body which will be seeking charitable status. Its purpose is to oversee the management of 5000 acres of outstanding parkland in London including unique historic landscapes, rare habitats, listed buildings and national memorials. It also undertakes commercial activity to support this work including concessions, licences and a high profile series of events. Time: Monthly meetings, four to six board meetings a year, a study day, extra time prior to launch. Remuneration: Reasonable expenses. Closes: 14 March UK Statistics Authority Non-Executive Directors The Authority has responsibility for its executive office, the Office for National Statistics. The Authority Board is looking for two non-executive directors as it seeks to improve the accessibility and usefulness of statistical data to the wider public, and modernise the collection and communication of UK statistics to meet the current and future needs of the UKs decision makers. Time: Minimum two days per month. Remuneration: 15,000 per annum. Closes: 14 March Financial Reporting Advisory Board Chair HM Treasury is seeking a new Chair for the Financial Reporting Advisory Board. The Board advices UK public sector accounting standard setters on matters related to financial reporting. Created in 1996, the Boards plays a valuable independent role in the accounting standard setting process. The Chair performs a central leadership role on the Board. Time: The Board meets 3 times a year and also undertakes some out of meeting work. Remuneration: The post has historically not been remunerated but this may be reviewed for the right candidate. Closes: 18 March Home Office Her Majestys Inspector of Constabulary HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) is an independent body that inspects and reports to the public on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces and national law enforcement agencies HMIs are appointed by Her Majesty the Queen on the recommendation of the Home Secretary. Their purpose is to inspect the police and report publicly on their efficiency and effectiveness. Time: Full time basic hours of work will be 37 hours per week, excluding lunch breaks. Remuneration: Expected six figure salary, subject to agreement by Ministers. Closes: 18 March Department for Education Her Majestys Chief Inspector of Education, Childrens Services and Skills The next Chief Inspector will also have a key role over the five years of their term in delivering the manifesto commitment to reduce the burden of inspection and to continue inspection reform so that inspection is re-shaped to meet the challenges facing the education and childrens services sectors. Time: Full time. Remuneration: 170,000-180,000 per annum. Closes: 18 March Ruth Davidson is the leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. She is a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow. Understandably, attention at Westminster has centred on the small matter of the EU referendum campaign these past two weeks. It has somewhat overshadowed one of the more significant political stories of the year which came about as a consequence of the last referendum held in the UK, the one on Scottish independence. I refer to the deal agreed last week by the UK Government and the SNP Scottish Government in Edinburgh on the economic underpinning or financial framework for the Scotland bill. This deal whose complexity makes the Schleswig-Holstein question appear relatively simple has taken months to agree, and busy readers of ConservativeHome are not advised to spend their valuable time catching up on the detail. The upshot, however, is simple: from next year, the SNP Government will no longer rely wholly on a block grant from Westminster, and will instead take full responsibility for raising and spending income tax receipts in Scotland. This, allied to powers over business taxes, property taxation, environmental taxes and VAT assignmemts is a major change to how Scotland works. The longer-term political impact of this deal will be huge: as I have argued at length, the SNP has prospered in Scotland by taking all the credit for spending money, and frequently and repetitively blamed Westminster for not having enough to keep spending. Under the new plans, they will have to look taxpayers in the eye for the first time. It will be interesting to see how the populist Nationalist bandwagon fares when it finally collides with the thrifty Scottish taxpayer. That is for next year. More immediately, the deal has also provided a fresh insight into the new prevailing dynamic in Scottish politics. Because it is now clear that there are now only two parties in Scotland which really count: the SNP and the Conservatives. Labour has simply been cut out of the picture. The best way to illustrate this is to look at the way last weeks deal came to fruition. It has its genesis nearly two years ago when our own Commission of Devolution, led by Lord Strathclyde, backed a more responsible Scottish Parliament. Its central recommendation was for the full devolution of income tax, plus the adoption of more responsibility over welfare. After the independence referendum, this blueprint was adopted almost wholesale by the five-party Smith Agreement. And then after last years general election, one of the very first acts of the new UK Conservative government was to legislate to pass it into law. Last weeks financial deal, brokered by the Chancellor, will ensure that legislation comes to pass. It has rather silenced the Nationalist grievance-mongers who were waiting eagerly for Westminster to poke them in the eye. They now know it: we have delivered on what was promised. And where was the Labour party in all of this? You might well ask. For two years, the partys input into this historic process has been risible. Firstly, Ed Miliband and Ed Balls watered down their own reforms to devolution. The party then u-turned a few months later as its position became unsustainable. Finally, last week, it was a bystander as the deal was done. This from the party which, nearly twenty years ago, claimed to be the party of Home Rule. In fact, we are beginning to learn in Scotland that Labours devotion to Home Rule was always based on the presumption that it would be doing the ruling. Now that this is no longer the case, it no longer seems to know what it thinks. At every step of the way over the last two years, the Scottish Conservatives have been the only pro-UK party which has offered a credible vision to take Scottish devolution forward. Scottish Labour has repeatedly shown itself to be utterly incapable of delivering, as it struggles to cope with its internal divisions. Indeed, they may not want to admit it, but this new chapter in Scottish politics has had precious little to do with Labour at all. Now that the deal is done, I want the Scottish Conservatives to continue to lead the debate and to finally ensure that there is a credible and organised opposition party which can hold the SNP to account. The SNP runs a Government which has vast resources at its disposal, huge new powers over tax and welfare on the way, and the full power of the civil service at its beck and call. As I told Nicola Sturgeon in the Scottish Parliament last week, the buck now stops with her. Depressingly, Labours response has been as weak as it is predictable: demanding that the SNP use its new powers to increase taxes in Scotland above those in the rest of the UK. My own call is different. The SNP now needs to buckle down and focus not on their dream of a second independence referendum, but on the vastly more important day job. And that means using these new powers to ensure Scotland can compete with the rest of the United Kingdom and, indeed, the rest of the world. Ill be setting out that vision later this week when, on Friday, we hold our Scottish conference in Edinburgh. My message will be clear. Just as we have delivered on devolution over the last two years, we now intend to ensure there is a strong opposition to the Scottish Government into the future. We set ourselves the job before the independence referendum of delivering a stronger Scottish Parliament. Last week, we made good on that. We now set ourselves the task of delivering a strong, competent, credible opposition to the Scottish Government. I can assure everyone in Scotland, particularly people who have lost faith in Labours ability to take on the SNP, that we will be true to that as well. It's generally assumed that insurance rates will go up after you have an accident and file a claim, but by how much? More than you might think, according to a report by insuranceQuotes.com. The survey found the average driver will face a 44% rate hike after a single claim of over $2,000. The biggest increase would come if you happen to live in California. There, a driver making a first claim would face an average increase of 78%. Massachusetts and Wisconsin are nearly as expensive, with average rate hikes of 67% and 54% respectively. On the other hand, claims are less expensive for drivers in Maryland, Michigan, and Oklahoma, who see their rates rise between 22% and 25%. Second claim If you have an accident and make a claim, the only worse thing you can do is have another accident and make a second claim. The study says your insurance rate will be twice as high as a driver without a claim. Previous claims are a big factor in car insurance rates and can affect the amount you pay for years, Laura Adams, senior analyst at InsuranceQuotes, said in a release. If you get a rate hike for making a small claim, it could end up hurting your finances over the long run. In some cases, not making a claim can be a smarter move. That's a hard concept for many consumers to grasp. You pay for insurance every month, so why can't you use it when you need it? That's certainly a rational argument, but unfortunately that's not how the insurance system works. Insurance is all based on perceived risk the chances you will file a claim that costs the company money. Insurance companies believe that once you file a claim, chances are good you will file another at some point. Fair or not, under the concept of shared risk, you'll be penalized. Judgment call It becomes a judgment call when it makes economic sense to file an insurance claim and when it pays to pay for damage yourself. InsuranceQuotes.com has this handy calculator to help you figure it out. Why have insurance at all if you are penalized for using it? Good question. In a majority of cases it would pay to self-insure, putting the money you would pay for car insurance each month into a savings account. Unfortunately, your self-insurance policy would not be able to cover all potential accidents which could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and liability. That's why every state requires motorists to carry auto insurance, or pay into a state-maintained uninsured driver fund each month. The best thing a driver can do is put the phone away and drive carefully. SUBSCRIBE Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates straight in your inbox. Close An exciting find took place at an archaeological mound at Tel Rehovin in Israel. A huge, 3,400-year-old clay figurine depicting a naked woman came to light due to a camping trip by seven-year-old Ori Greenhut, reported Fox News. The item has been studied by antiquity experts, noting comparisons to the Canaanite culture of the 15th to 13th centuries BCE. "Ori returned home with the impressive figurine and the excitement was great," Ori's mother, Moriya Greenhut, said in a release. "We explained to him this is an ancient artifact and that archaeological finds belong to the State." The figure has been made by pressed soft clay though the message behind the design is not clear. "Some researchers think the figure depicted here is that of a real flesh-and-blood woman, and others view her as the fertility goddess Astarte, known from Canaanite sources and from the Bible," said Amihai Mazar, a professor emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who examined the figurine. Immediately the figure was handed over to the Israel Antiquities Authority. The prompt act impressed the institute. "It doesn't happen a lot, but there is increasing awareness of people calling up and informing the authority that they found an artifact," said the spokesperson. Many such figures have been discovered in this area. Some are modelled after ordinary women, and some after goddesses. "It is highly likely that the term trafim mentioned in the Bible indeed refers to figurines of this kind," said Mazar. "Evidently, the figurine belonged to one of the residents of the city of Rehov, which was then ruled by the central government of the Egyptian pharaohs." See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close Although the world has been officially freed of Ebola outbreak, many people who have been victimized by this deadly disease are still facing neurological problems, reveals new study. As per the researchers, among 82 survivors of Ebola in Liberia, almost everyone faced some neurological problem or another after six months of being infected, reports Live Science "While an end to the outbreak has been declared, these survivors are still struggling with long-term problems," study author Dr. Lauren Bowen, a neurologist at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland, said in a statement. During the outbreak in West Africa, more than 28,000 people were reportedly infected with the virus and over 11,000 people succumbed to the disease, said Bowen. The new study wanted to find out if the remaining 17,000 survivors were still experiencing neurological problems or not, she revealed. In their study, researchers examined 82 people from Liberia who had the infection and they were all made to go through a neurological exam. The researchers also enquired from the participants if they faced any neurological symptoms, during the treatment as well as after their treatment was over. The exam findings showed that nearly 2/3rd of the participants faced abnormalities in the way their eyes trailed moving objects. These irregularities "normally indicate a subtle degree of damage in the brain," Bowen told Live Science. At least 1/3rd people reported abnormal reflexes, tremors and 17% had signs of disorders affecting the brains's frontal lobes, says Live Science Some of the most common symptoms reported by the survivors were weakness, memory problems, depression, mood swings and headaches. There were two people who reportedly felt suicidal. Despite the findings, it is not clear how Ebola may be responsible for the neurological conditions, said researchers. However, the symptoms may be due to excessive blood loss that the Ebola victims experience, said Bowen, reported Live Science See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close A ghostly image of a passenger plane "submerged" in Lake Harriet, spotted on Google Maps, gave birth to a mystery. However, thanks to the experts, that mystery has now been solved. Rare pictures of a plane that appeared to have been sunk at the bottom of a US lake had surfaced on Google's satellite map. While the officials claimed to have no information of a plane crash in the region, the unexplained wreck under the lake aroused some weird controversies, reports Independent. However, before these controversies got out of hand, Google Maps spokeswoman suggested that there was a plausible explanation for this situation. Since the Google Satellite image is created in a certain way, it is possible that the picture was taken at the same time as a plane flew over it, making the two objects merge into a single picture, says Daily Mail. Susan Cadrecha, a spokeswoman for Google maps, told The Minneapolis Star-Tribune: "In short, each satellite image you see on the map is actually a compilation of several images. "Fast-moving objects like planes often show up in only one of the many images we use for a given area." As Lake Harriet is situated at a distance of 5 miles from the Minneapolis Airport, there are as many as 400,000 planes that fly in and out of it each year. Since it is also under the airport's flight path, Google's theory makes absolute sense. There have been other Google satellite images that also show planes in inexplicable locations. There was once an image of a passenger plane in a playground in New York that was spotted by Untapped Cities. Last month, it was also discovered that there are many places that are strangely blacked out by Google Maps, as reported by Mirror. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Close Permafrost in arctic is thawing due to climate change which is discharging greenhouse gases that is further adding to the problem of global warming, according to a study released on Thursday. As the frost in Arctic thaws, the alteration in the functioning of soil microbes and the way soil carbon is decomposing is supplementing the carbon dioxide emission and methane into the atmosphere, as per the study led by Chinese and US scientists. As methane and carbon dioxide are the core greenhouses gases that capture heat, it may be accelerating the climate change even more, reports The Daily Star Permafrost, also known as everlastingly frozen ground, covers a quarter of Northern Hemisphere, mainly in Arctic, according to the study published in monthly Nature Climate Change journal. The researchers working in Alaska warmed certain areas of Tundra so as to thaw the permafrost. The scientists noticed a change in the soil microbes after 18 months. "This study highlights the critical role that microbes play in mediating carbon losses from Arctic soils," said Susan Natali, a scientist at Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts and co-author of the Nature Climate Change paper, in a statement. "The rapid response of the microbial community to warming suggests that the large store of soil carbon currently contained in permafrost will be highly susceptible to decomposition once it is thawed." There are many studies in the past that suggest that permafrost will decline as much as 70% by the end of this century, revealed a statement, as reported by Manila Bulletin See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare Iranian Elections Strengthen Rouhanis Hand By Keith Jones 01 March, 2016 WSWS.org The elections held in Iran last Friday have strengthened the faction of the Islamic Republics bourgeois ruling elite that favours speedy rapprochement with Washington and has spearheaded the push for neo-liberal restructuring. This faction is led by Irans current President Hassan Rouhani, and by his longtime mentor, former two-term President Hashemi Rafsanjani. Making clear where its sympathies lie, the Western media invariably dubs this the moderate or reformist faction. At stake in Fridays elections were the composition of Irans 290-seat parliament and the 88-member Assembly of Experts. Membership in the latter body, which chooses and oversees the work of Irans supreme leader, is restricted to Muslim clerics. Because the current supreme leader, 76-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is in poor health, it is likely the incoming Assembly of Experts will have to choose his successor at some point during its eight-year term. Consequently, the outcome of this years Assembly election has been considered especially important. The precise makeup of Irans new parliament is not yet known, as there will have to be run-off elections in April to fill about 15 percent of the seats and because the politics of Irans ruling elite is not organized on the basis of highly structured parties, but rather by means of looser factional groupings. Nevertheless, the partial results do indicate that the Rouhani-Rafsanjani faction rallied substantial support from the more privileged sections of Irans population, enabling it to make major gains in both Irans parliament and the Assembly of Experts at the expense of its hardline rivals, the Principalists. Comprised of staunch Shia religious conservatives and elements with ties to the Revolutionary Guards and their substantial business interests, the Principalists have voiced concerns and in some cases outright opposition to the nuclear deal that Rouhani, with Supreme Leader Khameneis blessing, reached with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany. Under that agreement, Iran has made sweeping concessions, including dismantling much of its civilian nuclear program and submitting to the most intrusive-ever International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection regime, in exchange for the US and its European Union allies lifting the economic sanctions that have crippled Irans economy. The Principalists have also criticized the Rouhani government for its plans to auction off Irans oil resources to the Western oil giants, advocating instead the continuation of a nationally focused resistance economy. The electoral gains for the Rouhani-Rafsanjani faction were especially pronounced in Tehran, which, with a population of some 16 million, is home to more than one-fifth of Irans population. Running under the List of Hope label, it won all 30 of Tehrans parliamentary seats and 15 of Tehrans 16 seats in the Assembly of Experts. Prior to the elections, the Rouhani government had the support of just two Tehran MPs. Rafasanjani topped the polls in the Tehran district-wide Assembly of Experts election, while Rouhani finished third. The defeated included Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, the outgoing head of the Assembly, and Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, mentor and spiritual adviser to Mahmoud Ahmadinejada populist, closely identified with the Principalists, who served as Irans president from 2005 to 2013. According to Western news reports, the middle class in Irans capital city turned out in large numbers to vote, forcing voting hours to be extended in some neighborhoods up to three times. Meanwhile, the working class, centered in southern Tehran, was largely indifferent to the election, indicating its alienation from and hostility to both rival bourgeois camps. On Monday, the Iranian government reported that the election turnout in Tehran was just 50 percent, a sharp contrast to the nationwide average of 62 percent. In winning the presidency in 2005, Ahmadinejad tapped into widespread hostility to the pro-market IMF-endorsed policies Rafsanjani and his reformist successor, Mohammad Khatami, had implemented, and the resulting growth in social inequality and economic insecurity. Under conditions of rapidly rising world oil prices, Ahmadinejad during his first presidential term significantly increased social spending, to the dismay of much of Irans clerical-bourgeois establishment. During his second term, which unfolded in the wake of the 2008 world financial crash and as the US ratcheted up sanctions and war threats against Iran, Ahmadinejad and the Principalist-dominated parliament turned sharply against the working class, slashing price subsidies and accelerating an already ambitious privatization drive. The Rafsanjani-Rouhani faction improved its showing in other large Iranian cities, albeit less dramatically than in Tehran. Its Principalist rivals, however, have reportedly won most of the smaller towns and rural areas. News organizations have provided different estimates of the relative strengths of the rival groupings in parliament. The BBC said hardliners won in excess of 150 seats and the reformists 111, while Reuters and Al Jazeera gave conservatives between 35 and 40 percent of the seats, reformists 30 percent and independents slightly more than 15 percent. A significant factor in the Rouhani-Rafsanjani factions strong electoral showing was its ability to draw support from other groupings. Former President Khatami lent support, as did many leaders of the Greens, who, with Western encouragement, challenged the validity of Ahmadinejads reelection in 2009 on the basis of unsubstantiated charges of ballot-rigging. Khatamis former first Vice President Mohammed Reza Aref was the biggest List of Hope vote-getter in Tehran. The pro-Rouhani government slate also drew support from prominent figures, including noted social conservatives previously associated with the Principalists. Chief among these was the current parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, who hails from one of Irans most powerful clerical establishment families. Larijanis reelection was also endorsed by one of the Revolutionary Guards most prominent leaders, Quds Force Commander General Qassem Suleimani. Iranian business leaders and pro-market economists were ecstatic over the election results. In economic affairs the next parliament will be much better, Saeed Leylaz, one of Khatamis former economic advisors, told Reuters. Ramin Rabio, the chief executive of Turquoise Partners, a large financial services company that specializes in managing foreign investments in Iran, said he expects that the new government will quickly implement a raft of pro-market reforms, including gutting labour law restrictions on layoffs and updating the countrys commercial code to make it more business-friendly. A major objective of the Rouhani government is to rewrite the regulations governing the countrys oil industry to entice Western investment. Its hope is that a flood of European and ultimately US investment, seeking to take advantage of Irans abundant supply of skilled cheap labor and natural resources, will buoy the economy to provide it with sufficient political support and cover to eliminate the little that remains of the social concessions made to the working class in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Shahs bloody, US-backed dictatorship. Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei has pointed to the 62 percent participation in last Fridays election, which actually represented a 2 percentage-point decline from the 2011 elections, as proof of the Islamic Republics broad popular support. Khamenei has long sought to maneuver among the various factions of the bourgeois-clerical establishment. He authorized the shift to seek a nuclear deal with the US and ultimately prevailed on all sections of the state apparatus to rally behind it. He has voiced no objection to the Rouhani governments full court press to woo European governments and transnationals. However, under conditions where the Obama administration and the US military-security establishment continue to threaten Iran, maneuver to overthrow its Syrian ally and lavish arms on the Saudis and Israel, and where the Republicans have vowed to scuttle the nuclear deal should they win the presidency, Khamenei has cautioned against rushing into closer engagement with Washington. Rouhani and his foreign minister have been far less circumspect. Since concluding the nuclear deal they have repeatedly suggested that Iran could be a valuable partner for US imperialism in stabilizing the Middle East. In past pronouncements, Rafsanjani has been even franker in offering to tie Iran to US strategic objectives, suggesting, for example, in September 2013, as the US was contemplating a military assault on Syria, that Iran should withdraw its support for the Assad regime. If the Obama administration chose to back off from its war drive against Iran and pocket major concessions instead, it was done in order to concentrate on US imperialisms military-strategic offensive against its more powerful adversaries, Russia and China. A second major calculation was that US diplomatic and Western economic engagement with Iran would enable Washington to better explore and exploit cleavages within the Islamic Republic ruling elite, so as to force it to unreservedly accept US hegemony over the Middle East, or lay the political groundwork for regime-change in Tehran. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations committee last week, US Secretary of State John Kerry counseled against the imposition of further sanctions against Iran in the name of human rights and argued as well in opposition to forcing Tehran to abandon its ballistic missile program, saying Washington should rather see how the implementation of the nuclear deal goes. Lies Never Triumph By Imran Khan 01 March, 2016 Countercurrents.org What can be understood out of JNU controversy and Rohit Vemullas suicide is that the situation in India for minority and marginalised is bleak and the space for dissenting voice is fading. What can also be observed is that, different versions of nationalism are being constantly patronised by different political ideologies and each remain busy in imposing its version of nationalism on the other. In such a situation, individual liberty, freedom of thought and expression and right to dissent is put to walls. If such a situation is allowed to continue it will lead to extreme polarisation in India. What is more disturbing is that no attempt is made by the politicians to hold together the social fabric of Indian society. Instead politics is being played on such sensitive issues. Certain politicians and some groups are not able to look at the beauty of diversity, variation and dissent. Though respect for diversity, tolerance to dissent and freedom of thought and expression can strengthen India, but such virtues of democracy are labelled as antinational these days. Politicians seem hating to accept the truth and ground reality and instead stick to their own versions of nationalism, even if such versions exceed all limits of humanism. Considering previous experiences not much can be expected from politicians though but the agonizing part is that the highest institutes of learning are not able to distance itself from what is unfolding at political and societal level. Following the incidents like Rohit Vemullas suicide and JNU sloganeering and then the subsequent sedition charges, the parliament session was expected to be chaotic. The acting skills of Smiriti Irani Ji was no surprise either considering her background, however certain misleading statements from her were not expected at all, particularly with regard to Rohit Vemullas suicide. Thought Smriti Irani did a wonderful job in terms of dramatising her speech in the parliament, particularly her facial expressions were just perfect, but she was factually incorrect on many occasions as reported by many news channels. The HRD minister in her parliament speech said Nobody allowed a doctor near this child, to revive this child, to take him to the hospital, nobody allowed a doctor near him. The police have reported that not one attempt was made to revive this child, not one attempt was made to take him to the doctor. Instead, his body was used as a political tool, hidden, no police was allowed till 6.30 the next morning". However such a statement has been contradicted by the Chief Medical Officer of Hyderabad Central University, Dr Rajashree and by students of HCU. In fact a video showing police present near the Rohit Vemullas body in his hosted room has also been playing on many news channels. The CMO further revealed that it was the students who took her to Rohith's room where he was found hanging and requested her to make an attempt to revive him. About JNU incident also the HRD minister made certain furious comments. It must be noted however that the video on the basis of which Kanaya Kumar, Omar Khalid and others have been charged with sedition is believed to be a doctored video. So the facts unfolding in the aftermath of Rohit Vemullas suicide and JNU controversy suggest that the dissenting voice is being suppressed by the state and sedition law is being used to fulfil such a purpose. And the unfortunate part is that such a strategy is continuing from British period now. What is funny and ironical here is that British gave sedition law to India and but Britishers themselves dont have the same law anymore. So India is continuing with a relic of their colonial past. On the other hand prominent personalities in India too have expressed their disagreement with such a law. While expressing his dissatisfaction with the sedition 124A Gandhiji termed Section 124A as the Prince among the political sections of the Indian Penal Code designed to suppress the liberty of the citizen. What Gandhiji said in 1922 holds true even today. Further Supreme court of India too has remarked in many cases that mere slogans do not attract Section 124A pertaining to sedition. (Kedar Nath Singhs Case, Indra Das v State of Assam, Arup Bhuyan v State of Assam, Shreya Singhal v Union of India, Balwant Singh v State of Punjab). Indian state needs to remind itself what Gandhiji reminded the British Government in 1922 and that is:......affection cannot be manufactured or regulated by law. A certain version of nationalism, forced and imposed, cannot bring true patriotism in the subjects of a state. Universities are a place of learning, research, debate, and discussion, expression of ideas, opinions and dissent. Caste discrimination, intolerance and suppression of ideas should have no place at the highest institutes of learning. State should try to liberate young minds and not cage them. And no law can justify such caging. And those who make rhetoric speeches in parliament need to understand that Lies Never triumph. Imran Khan is presently working in Education Department. Previously worked as Psychologist with Action Aid International, Medecins sans Frontieres and JK Police Drug De-addiction Services. Printer Friendly Version Ambedkar On Bhagatsingh By Anand Teltumbde 01 March, 2016 Countercurrents.org The vested interests while lauding Babasaheb Ambedkar have systematically reduced him to be his near ideological antithesis. The ruling classes and their state of course have played a vanguard role but even his so called followers have not been any behind. This year the ruling establishment is going gaga over the celebration of his 125th birth anniversary when as though revealingly the year has dawned with the monumental injustice to the five Dalit Ph D scholars of the Hyderabad Central University that led to one of them, Rohith Vemula, committing suicide. When Ambedkar stressed on higher education unlike most reformers of his times, he had the likes of Rohith in mind, laced with critical faculties to steer the movement of oppressed people to their liberation. Harassment of Dalit students pushing them to commit suicide in higher educational institutes is not new but the manner in which this suicide took place should wake up Dalits to the deceit practiced by the current regime. It saw the continued abuse of the Constitution and trampling of all ideas Ambedkar stood for in recent imbroglio in JNU. The very establishments that decimated his ideal of democratic republic and killed the spirit of liberty, equality, fraternity are posing as his biggest devotees. Under such mounting propaganda, right from the late 1960s, which shows that it is not parties but the class they belong to has been acting in concert, the radical aspects of Babasaheb Ambedkar have been systematically overshadowed. For instance, just after getting disillusioned with the aftermath of Mahad struggle he had tried class politics over the entire decade until he was forced by the circumstances to revert back to the caste politics. This politics symbolized by the Independent Labour Party, which was described by him as workers party, and its reflection in Janata, his newspaper appears to have been completely forgotten. The 1930s was an eventful decade and it is interesting to see how he saw or related with many of these events. The non-Marathi readers are totally lost to these writings because their translation are yet not available in English and therefore in other languages. It creates impression that Babasaheb Ambedkar just hampered upon the betterment of Dalits and supplemented the divide and rule policy of the British imperialists. At least that is what is reflected by the current genre of the Dalit leaders through their apathy towards issues other than Dalit. One of the most shattering events of this decade is the trial and eventual hanging of Bhagat Singh along with his two comrades Rajguru and Sukhdeo. It exposed the British imperialists in their true colour along with their love for the rule of law as well as the phony concern of our nationalist leadership for the freedom of people. Bhagat Singh and Dr Ambedkar, as they would seem perfect opposite of each other, are the two heroes who had truly understood what ailed this country. When I said this while speaking in the launch of centenary celebration of Bhagat Singh in Maharashtra in 2007, people were perplexed by such a weird statement. But it is quite true. The relevance of these two people is growing as they get distanced from us. How did they see each other? There is no evidence for either of them saying anything about the other. However, we do know that Bhagat Singh had grappled with the Dalit question. He had written an article titled Achoot Samasya (Problem of Untouchability) at the age of 16, but it still has freshness and reflects amazing maturity of thought to be relevant for the emancipatory struggle of Dalits. Ambedkar did not write on the revolutionary movement of Bhagat Singh but has written an editorial note titled "Three Victims" when they were hanged. Though it does not speak about their struggle, much less politics, it explains how their execution was influenced by political expediency back home. I provide herewith its translation as it may be of interest to many a student of Ambedkar besides its historical value. Three Victims (Janata dated 13 April 1931) Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru have been eventually hanged. They were charged for the murders of an English police officer named Sanders and a Sikh police sepoy named Chaman Singh. Also there were three or four additional charges such as an attempt of murdering one police inspector at Banaras, throwing a bomb in the Assembly, conducting robbery at a house in Maulimiya village and looting its valuables. Bhagatsingh had already admitted to the charges of throwing bomb in the Assembly. For this crime, he and Batukeshwar Dutt were already sentenced with life imprisonment. One of the comrades of Bhagatsingh by name Jaigopal had confessed that the murder of sanders was executed by them revolutionaries including Bhagatsingh and others. The government had filed a case against Bhagatsingh and his comrades based on this confession. None of the three accused participated in this case, however. A special tribunal comprising three high court judges was appointed which heard the case and unanimously awarded them death penalty. Bhagatsinghs father had made a mercy petition to the Emperor and the Viceroy requesting them not to execute the punishment and convert if required into life imprisonment at Andamans. Many people including prominent leaders also tried to plead with the government in the matter. The issue of Bhagatsinghs death penalty might have arisen in negotiations that took place between Gandhi and Lord Irwin. Although Lord Irwin had not given any definitive assurance about saving Bhagatsinghs life, Gandhis speech during the intervening period created a hope that Irwin would try his best within his powers to save lives of these three youth. But all these hopes, predictions and appeals proved futile. They were killed by hanging in the Central Prison, Lahore on 23 March 1931 at 7 pm. None of them had made any appeal for saving them. But as it is already published, Bhagatsingh had expressed a desire for being killed with bullet shots instead of hanging by the neck. But even this last will of his was not granted and they implemented the judgment of the tribunal verbatim. The judgement was to hang by the neck till dead. If they were killed with bullet shots, the execution would not confirm to the judgement verbatim. The order of the justice goddess was obeyed in toto and the three were killed with the method she prescribed. For whom the Sacrifice? If the government thinks that people would be impressed by its display of devotion to and strict obedience of the justice goddess and therefore they would approve of this killing, it would be its utter naivete. None believes that this sacrifice was made with only intention of maintaining clean and sans blemish reputation of the British justice system. Even the government will not be able to convince itself with such an understanding. Then how will it convince others with this veil of the justice goddess? The entire world, as well as the government does, knows that it is not the devotion to justice goddess but the fear of the conservative party and public opinion back home in England that this sacrifice was executed. They thought, the unconditional release of political prisoners like Gandhi and signing pacts with Gandhis party has damaged the prestige of the Empire. Some orthodox leaders of the conservative party have launched a campaign that the prevailing cabinet of the Labour Party and the Viceroy who danced to its tune were responsible for it. In such a situation if Lord Irwin had showed mercy to political revolutionaries who have been convicted for assassinating an English officer, it would be like giving a burning torch into the hands of the opposition leaders. Already the condition of the Labour Party is not stable. In such a situation if these conservative leaders got an alibi that the labour government grants clemency to the convicts, who had murdered an Englishman, it would be so easy to provoke public opinion against it. In order to avert this imminent crisis and to thwart the fire in the minds of conservative leaders from flaring further, these hangings were executed. As such this was not to satisfy the justice goddess but to please public opinion in England. If it had been the issue of personal liking or disliking of Lord Irwin, he would have within his own powers annulled the death penalty and awarded life imprisonment in its stead. The cabinet of the Labour Party in England would have supported Lord Irwin in this decision. It would have been necessary to maintain congeniality of public opinion in the context of Gandhi-Irwin pact. While leaving the country, Lord Irwin would surely have liked to earn this goodwill. But he would have been crushed between the ire of his conservative kin in England and the Indian bureaucracy imbued with the same casteist attitude. Therefore, not minding the public opinion here the government of Lord Irwin hanged Bhagatsingh and his comrades to death and that too just 2 to 4 days before the Karachi conference of the Congress. Both, the hanging of Bhagatsingh and his comrades, and its timings, were sufficient to puncture the Gandhi-Irwin Pact and to trash the efforts to bring it about. If Lord Irwin wanted to fail this pact, he would not have found better act than this one. Looking from this perspective, as Gandhiji also felt, one could say that the government committed a great blunder. In sum, merely not to incur anger of the conservatives in England, they sacrificed Bhagatsingh and his comrades ignoring public opinion and not minding what would happen to the Gandhi-Irwin pact. The government must remember, howsoever it tries to cover it up or polish it; it will never be able to hide this fact. Dr Anand Teltumbde is a writer, political analyst and an activist with CPDR, Mumbai Tweet WhatsApp Share Share on Tumblr Comments are moderated SHARE Where Am I Eating by Hoosier author Kelsey Timmerman is the selection for One Book One Community. provided photo Kelsey Timmerman, author of Where Am I Eating? will speak in September at the beginning of a three-day visit to Evansville for the One Book One Community. provided photo Kelsey Timmerman traveled extensively for research for his book Where Am I Eating? Timmerman, a Hoosier, will be speaking in September as part of the One Book One Community program. provided photo Where Am I Eating by Hoosier author Kelsey Timmerman is the selection for One Book One Community. provided photo By Kelly Gifford of the Courier and Press The Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library announced it's 2016 One Book One Community selection Tuesday and its author event this fall. "Where Am I Eating?" by Muncie-native Kelsey Timmerman was chosen by the library to not only raise awareness of the global food movement but also to celebrate Indiana's bicentennial year. Timmerman will spend three days in Evansville giving lectures and participating in events with area organizations and schools, with a public event at 7 p.m. Sept. 21 at Old National Events Plaza to kick off his visit. "Where Am I Eating" chronicles the journeys Timmerman has taken to seeks out the stories behind where his food came from. He wrote about his travels to Costa Rica to talk to banana pickers, Columbia to track down where his Starbucks coffee is created and many other locations. He also wrote a similar book called "Where Am I Wearing," that shines a light on how globalization makes it difficult to know where and who products originate. "Where Am I Eating" will be available at the library starting Tuesday and at Barnes & Noble for purchase as well. There will be several events, yet to be scheduled, before and after Timmerman's engagement in September. Although they are still in the planning stages, Heather McNabb, outreach, programs and partnerships manager for the library, said the One Book One Community committee is working to get as many people interacting and learning from Timmerman as possible. The program is going to incorporate several entities throughout the community for those events as well. "During this year's program, people are going to see this program extend into the community much more than previous years," McNabb said. "With farmers markets and conscious food buying playing a bigger part in people's lives, we thought Kelsey's knowledge and global experience would be eye opening and of interest to many in the area." SHARE Michael Loveless By Mark Wilson of the Courier and Press The defense attorney for an Evansville firefighter accused of rape said on Monday he intended to file a motion to dismiss some of the charges. Rape and other criminal charges were formally filed against Michael Vernon Loveless on Monday. Loveless, 42, is accused of threatening his girlfriend with a handgun and then a knife while children were present in the home they shared. The woman reported being raped during the encounter. Loveless appeared by video in Vanderburgh Superior Court on Monday afternoon for his initial hearing on charges of rape, a level 1 felony; criminal confinement, a level 3 felony; intimidation, a level 5 felony; and battery resulting in bodily injury, a class A misdemeanor. He pleaded not guilty. Loveless faces a miniumum 20-year sentence on the rape charge. When asked if he understood the charges, Loveless repeatedly said he disagreed with them. Defense attorney Scott Danks, speaking in court, said he plans to file a motion to dismiss the rape and criminal confinement charges because he said the information alleged in the probable cause affidavit doesn't fit the charges. "Even if all the allegations as charged in counts one and two were true, they do not constitute a crime as charged," Danks said. He appeared before Senior Judge Keith Meier, who retired as Warrick Superior Court judge last year, and has been serving as a temporary special judge in Loveless' case. Last week Meier found probable cause for Loveless' arrest and set bond at $500,000 surety or $50,000 cash. Loveless is lodged at the Vanderburgh County jail. However, Meier said after Monday the special judge will be Warrick Circuit Judge Greg Granger. Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nicholas Hermann has filed a motion for appointment of a special prosecutor for the case. Local officials have been cautious in their handling of the case because the alleged victim is well known in the Evansville legal community. Danks said it will be up to Granger to appoint a special prosecutor if he approves the motion. Loveless will appear before Granger at 8:30 a.m. March 10. Loveless is a member of the Evansville Fire Department and is assigned to Station 2 on T.J. Maxx Road. Fire Chief Mike Connelly said Loveless has been an Evansville firefighter almost 11 years. The Fire Merit Commission on Monday approved placing Loveless on unpaid administrative leave while charges are pending. The woman told deputies that early in the morning on Feb. 23, an intoxicated Loveless arrived at the home with a family member, threatened her with a handgun and at one point put it to his own head and pulled the trigger, not knowing it was unloaded, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The woman told investigators that she threw the gun out a window while Loveless attempted to load it. Loveless then cut his head and arm with a knife before threatening to kill her with it, according to the woman's statement to deputies. She told deputies that fearing for the safety of herself and her children that were in the house, "she had intercourse with Loveless as he continually threatened to kill her then himself," the probable cause affidavit reads. The woman told investigators that Loveless allowed her to leave so she could take her children to school, the release states. There is no indication in the affidavit that the children were physically harmed. Deputies arrived at the residence after speaking with the alleged victim at the command post, and they arrested Loveless without incident while he walked to his car. SHARE Kendra Thomas By Richard Gootee of the Courier and Press The Evansville woman accused of making threats toward an elementary school last week now faces formal charges stemming from the alleged incident. Kendra D. Thomas, 27, faces both intimidation and child neglect charges. She was arrested on Feb. 23. The neglect investigation started after police went to Thomas' home to investigate the alleged threatening messages. The Vanderburgh County Prosecutor's Office filed formal charges in the case on Monday. Thomas faces one count of intimidation and one count of child neglect. According to the probable cause affidavit against Thomas, the police investigation against her started after she called 911 but hung up. When dispatchers called back, Thomas reportedly cursed at them and eventually told them she was at Caze Elementary School and advised to send police before she "did something to these people," investigators wrote. Thomas was not at Caze, police learned after going to the school, but she had also left a message for a school employee saying that she had sent officers to the school. In that message, Thomas cursed several times, one time saying, "now you better hope you have a school tomorrow." School officials told investigators that Thomas had been barred from school property in January. Police then located Thomas at her Pollack Avenue home, which is a few blocks from the school. During a subsequent search of that residence in the 4500 block of Pollack Avenue, investigators wrote that "every surface in the entire home was covered in dirt and grime," and that there was "dog feces and urine both in the home's kitchen and in the basement." The affidavit does not specify how many children Thomas reportedly had living in the home, or their ages, but investigators noted that she has two children enrolled at Caze. According to the affidavit, Child Protective Services was called the day of Thomas' arrest to place the children. Thomas remains in the Vanderburgh County jail. By Bradie Gray While the tragedy that surrounds the Syrian civil war may seem far away to many Tri-State residents, some feel all too close to the conflict. Some are students trying to focus on their studies at the University of Evansville while a war wages in their native homes, affecting their family and friends. UE is part of an association of colleges and universities dedicated to providing scholarship and aid to Syrian students. To further this dedication and help support UE's large number of Syrian students, the Scholars for Syria lecture series was created to humanize the Syrian crisis with a panel of Syrian students as well as their families who are local. For the next lecture, at 6 p.m. Thursday in Harkness Hall, assistant professor of philosophy Derek Jones will speak on the topic of xenophobia. "I'm interested in the cognitive mechanisms that are associated with xenophobia," Jones said. Historically, not just Americans, but humans have treated people badly out of fear. There are plenty of historical examples. We look back on those people and think that they are irrational and that would never happen to us, but cognitively, we are not that different than those folks." Jones will lecture for 45 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session with a panel of three Syrian students and Jones. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Cynthia Simmons at cs27@evansville.edu Photos by MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS Washington Middle School eighth-grader Ariel Howell makes her way down a gauntlet of high-fives as she goes to school Monday. U.S. Attorney Josh Minklers office gathered community members to form an inaugural High Five Line at Washington to celebrate student achievement and encourage kids at the beginning of the day. SHARE More than 75 community members, including Evansville Police officers, Evansville Firefighters, University of Evansville students and Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, lined up Monday morning at Washington Middle School to hand out high fives to arriving students at the beginning ISTEP testing week to give them a boost. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS With a smile on his face, Jason Horne, a sixth-grader at Washington Middle School, collects high fives as members of the community lined up Monday morning to greet arriving students at the beginning of ISTEP week, February 29, 2016. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS Ryan Hatfield holds a sign to greet Washington Middle School students as they arrive for school Monday. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS More than 75 community members, including Evansville Police officers, Evansville Firefighters, University of Evansville students and Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, lined up Monday morning at Washington Middle School to hand out high fives to arriving students at the beginning ISTEP testing week to give them a boost. By Megan Erbacher of the Courier and Press When Kylie Alstatt was dropped off at Washington Middle School, she wondered why about 75 people were standing outside, waiting for her to walk through the gate. So Alstatt, 13, eagerly walked through the human tunnel and came out on the other side smiling and laughing with her friends. "It was a nice boost of energy," the seventh-grader said. "I'm ready to get the day started now. They should do something like this every day." U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler's office gathered community members to celebrate an inaugural High Five Line Monday morning at Washington to celebrate student achievement and encourage kids at the beginning of the day. Lauren Wheatley, assistant U.S. attorney, said High Five Lines have been organized in Indianapolis as a response to youth violence. Wheatley saw the positive impact it created there, and thought, why not spread it to other cities? "Who doesn't want to support some kids, especially on ISTEP week," she said. "We came to Washington because is a high-crime area; it is more than 90 percent free and reduced lunch; and the school did receive an "F" grade rating. But they've been making amazing improvements. And we just want to show these kids that we support them." Wheatley focused on getting men involved, as well as anyone else in the community who wanted to support students. Participants included the Vanderburgh County Sheriffs Office, Evansville Police Department officers, University of Evansville students and Mayor Lloyd Winnecke. Washington Principal Michele Branson said she was honored to be the first Evansville school to have a High Five Line. Washington students will take the first part of the ISTEP assessment Tuesday through Thursday, so Branson said it was nice to have the exciting welcome Monday in preparation of testing. "It's an honor to know there are people behind us that are outside of these four walls that want to be part of what we're doing here at Washington," she said, "and to let students know there are people outside of Washington and in our community that really want to see the best things for them." Seventh-grader Sierra Berry had a confused look on her face walking through the tunnel. But Berry, 12, liked the encouragement from adults. Eighth-grader Quantasia Mason, 14, said the welcome tunnel was exciting. "I wish we had an entrance like that every day," she said. "It would make coming to school easier." Wheatley said the response for the High Five Line was "amazing." "I would love for it to continue, at every school," she said. "Who doesn't need encouragement as they're walking into school on a Monday morning?" SHARE By Megan Thorne, megan.thorne@courierpress.com An Arkansas woman is in critical condition in an Evansville hospital after her pickup truck struck a stopped tractor-trailer on Interstate 64, state police said. Pamela J. Sorrells, 59, of Randolph County, Arkansas, was traveling west on I-64 near the 64-mile marker at Ferdinand just after 4 p.m. when she lost consciousness due to a medical condition, according to a news release from the Indiana State Police. Her 2008 Chevrolet pickup swerved across lanes and struck a 2007 Freightliner semi truck sitting on the shoulder. The semi, which was pulling an empty 53-foot enclosed trailer, was parked on the shoulder after breaking down, according to the release. Emergency crews removed Sorrells from her vehicle and airlifted her to St. Mary's Hospital, where she remains in critical condition. Kenneth Goodson, 59, Owensboro, Kentucky, wasn't in his truck at the time of the crash. He was trying to call for mechanical assistance and was walking up toward the Ferdinand exit. Goodson only had damage to his trailer. Sorrells truck was totaled, police said. Police said Sorrells' seatbelt likely saved her life. Interstate 64 was closed for more than an hour, while emergency crews investigated the crash. By Zach Evans of the Courier and Press A federal appeals court ruling against the Evansville Police Department in a botched SWAT raid in 2012 was upheld after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied to hear the citys appeal. That means the city is out of appeal options, and a lawsuit between Louise Milan and the police department can proceed to settlement or a jury trial. A federal appeals court said in August 2015 that the Evansville Police Department committed too many mistakes to be shielded from liability in Milans lawsuit over a 2012 SWAT raid on her home. According to federal court records, the Supreme Court denied the citys petition to hear its appeal on Monday. Milans lawsuit argues that police violated her Fourth Amendment Constitutional rights when the SWAT team tossed two flash-bang grenades into her home at 616 E. Powell Ave., and forced their way inside to serve a search warrant on June 21, 2012. Police officers were looking for evidence of anonymous Internet posts to a message board threatening the police department and Chief Billy Bolin. The officers did not find any evidence in the home. City attorneys sought to protect the department from the lawsuits excessive force claims for the use of a flash-bang grenades in the raid. City attorney Keith Vonderahe said the courts denial was disappointing but wasnt a loss. It doesnt mean weve lost the lawsuit. The denial means that theres a question of fact as to whether or not the use of the flash-bang devices was excessive force or not. Thats what this case comes down to, Vonderahe said. He said the city will participate in any settlement hearings that are scheduled in good faith, but he thinks the courts will ultimately side with the city. We feel very strongly that the current status of the law supports the force that was used by the officers, he said. Milans attorney, Kyle Biesecker, said the lawsuit will likely head to a jury trial. The most recent trial date in March was vacated awaiting the Supreme Courts decision. Biesecker said the courts will have to choose a new date, which will likely include a final pretrial settlement conference. Milans lawsuit is asking for unspecified money for emotional distress, damages and attorneys fees as a result of the raid. No one was injured in the raid, but police damaged Milans house, handcuffed her and her daughter and seized their computers, according to the lawsuit. It was later determined the threatening posts were not made from inside the house, according to court records, but were made from someone accessing the homes Internet connection. Police arrested Derrick Murray for the threats. He pleaded guilty to a federal charge of transmitting threats in interstate commerce and was sentenced to spend 16 months in prison and then three years on supervised release. PDF of Milan's lawsuit against the city Audio of the oral arguments before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Related Stories: Appeals Court: EPD not shielded from liability in SWAT raid lawsuit Grandmother sues city, police department over June flash grenade incident Police: 'Threat matrix' dictated SWAT team response at Powell Avenue home By Zach Osowski, zach.osowski@courierpress.com INDIANAPOLIS A federal judge ruled Monday that Indiana does not have the right to ban Syrian refugees from coming to the state. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, from the U.S. Southern District of Indiana Court, granted a preliminary injunction on behalf of Exodus Refugee Immigration, preventing Indiana from "taking any actions to interfere with or attempt to deter the resettlement of Syrian refugees by Exodus in the State of Indiana." The lawsuit was filed in November by the Indiana ACLU on behalf of Exodus, stating the decision by Gov. Mike Pence to suspend the resettlement of Syrian refugees was discriminatory. The decision was made after the Paris terrorist attacks. PDF of Judge Pratt's opinion Pence said he would withhold funds normally dispersed to agencies such as Exodus when a refugee family comes to a state. That money can be used for housing, food and school supplies. Pence said, at the time, that the decision was made to protect Hoosiers from attacks similar to the Paris shootings because of gaps in the Syrian refugee screening process. He stood by that decision Monday in a release asking for an immediate stay of Pratt's ruling. "During these uncertain times, we must always err on the side of caution," Pence said in a statement. Pratt disagreed, saying Indiana's action "clearly constitutes national origin discrimination." "In balancing the competing claims of injury, it is clear that Exodus and its refugee clients will be harmed by the state's directive," Pratt wrote. "When this is weighed against the near complete absence of harm to the state it is clear that equity demands a preliminary injunction." It is unclear when the hearing on Pence's motion for a stay and subsequent appeal will be heard. SHARE By Zach Osowski, zach.osowski@courierpress.com INDIANAPOLIS A bill policing who can view law enforcement body camera footage passed the Indiana Senate 49-1 Tuesday. The burden of proof in House Bill 1019 switched from the public to police departments during committee work last week. "I think that change has helped a lot of people become more comfortable with this," said Sen. Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, who argued for the change. The bill does not mandate that police departments purchase body cams. It also leaves the decision to local officials decisions as to when the cameras should be turned on. The bill has already passed out of the Indiana House, but because the Senate amended HB 1019 it will likely go to conference committee as legislators sort out the differences. The bill's author, Rep. Kevin Mahan, R-Hartford City, said he will likely send the bill to a committee rather than agree with all the changes. In committee last week, Mahan said he didn't have a problem with the switch in burden of proof. Bray made other changes as well, including allowing anyone involved in the incident in question to view an unedited version of the video twice with an attorney. The bill also eases access for videos relating to civil rights violations or excessive force. Bray said if there was an allegation of excessive force or civil rights violation, the video in question would be released in almost all circumstances. Once an agreement is reached in conference committee, the committee report will be passed through the House and Senate. If approved in both chambers, it would go to Gov. Mike Pence for his signature. The bill received bipartisan support with Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, saying he thought the bill would decrease lawsuits. "It's important to have something that will protect police officers," Taylor said. "You're going to act differently when you know you're being recorded." Conference committee members and scheduling will be announced later this week. Disclaimer This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here represent my own views and not those of my employer or any other organization. Comments on posts represent the opinions of visitors. Continue Reading Below Advertisement Another character, Harry's vile Aunt Marge, was based on one of Rowling's family members who "liked dogs more than people." But there's one character who rises above all others in the annals of hated Harry Potter Characters. The one character whom every fan agrees is the most evil and hated. No, not Voldemort. Not Lockhart. Not even the sniveling Wormtail. It's Dolores Umbridge. Her name literally means "annoyance and offense." Warner Brothers Pictures You goddamn bitch. Continue Reading Below Advertisement If you saw the movies, you might remember Umbridge as the short one dressed in all-pink who makes Harry write with a pen that carves letters into his flesh. Seemed a bit much, right? Well, she was based on a teacher Rowling knew whom she described as someone she "disliked intensely on sight." The feeling was mutual, and Rowling described her style as being "appropriate to a girl of three." Imagine you're a teacher trying your best to enrich young minds. One of your students (though not your favorite) has become the most successful writer since God. Excited, you open one of her books and find someone who's clearly you, written as a dimwitted servant of evil dressed for a children's tea party. Oh well, you guess she never forgave you for those detentions ... The banks underwriting the more than US$45 billion financing package for Dell's acquisition of EMC are reportedly close to finding investors for a large portion of the loans that are expected to be part of the deal. The banks have lined up investors for more than US$7 billion of the US$10 billion in loan exposure they expect to take on as part of the transaction, according to a Thomson Reuters report. Still, banking sources told Thomson Reuters that debt market volatility, slumping equity markets and other economic conditions have contributed to the loans being slow to sell despite healthy demand. The loans are known as pro-rata loans, which typically include a mix of fixed-term debt and revolving credit. Dell's package includes a US$3.5 billion, three-year term loan; a US$3.5 billion, five-year term loan and a US$3 billion, five-year revolving credit facility. The banks had been expected to commit to the financing by 10 February, but pushed that date back as they tried to reduce their exposure. The Dell deal is being underwritten by JP Morgan, Barclays, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and RBC Capital. Last Tuesday, the merger cleared a mandatory waiting period under the federal Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976. The proposed US$67 billion deal must still win the approval of EMC shareholders and other regulatory clearances. The acquisition, originally pegged at US$67 billion when it was announced in October, would be the largest in the history of the technology industry, and would create an US$80 billion global IT industry powerhouse. But the value of the deal has been driven down by VMware's declining share price, which has dropped more than 40 percent in the last four months. EMC owns 80 percent of VMware. Dell recently pushed back against reports that claimed the acquisition had hit a snag with the group of banks arranging financing. Dell said it expects to take on as much as US$49.5 billion in debt to make the deal happen, and plans to begin paying down that debt aggressively in the first 18-24 months after the transaction closes. Part of that debt pay-down includes selling off business units, and Dell is close to unloading its Perot Systems unit. Dell is in an exclusive, 30-day negotiating period with Tokyo-based NTT for Perot, which Dell bought in 2009. This article originally appeared at crn.com It's a case of an Aussie battler taking on and beating the world's biggest public cloud providers, as Mitsubishi chose Perth-headquartered Zettagrid over Amazon Web Services and Microsoft for its cloud contract. The car maker awarded its Australian infrastructure-as-a-service and network contract to Zettagrid's Adelaide-based channel partner, Vectra Corporation. Vectra has had a long association with Mitsubishi Motors Australia (MMAL), having supported the auto company's mainframe and midrange systems since 1995. Vectra took over Mitsubishi's LAN, WAN, server and desktop support contracts in April 2015. In January this year, Vectra scored a four-year extension to the deal, with compute, internet and MPLS now consolidated with Zettagrid and set to run until at least March 2020. The local pair beat out competition from hyperscale cloud giants AWS and Azure as well as Telstra, while displacing incumbent network supplier Telstra in the process. "MMAL had requirements for data sovereignty that limited the selection of available providers," said Vectra's CIO, David Benda. "Consequently Zettagrid was selected from a restricted EOI process that included other providers who met data sovereignty. Zettagrid was selected due to price, local support and being wholly Australian owned and domiciled." Vectra has now migrated Mitsubishi's production environment which ran on-premises at the car maker's Adelaide plant along with its secondary data centre into Zettagrid's VMware-based cloud. "They are a very agile company," said Benda. "From our first conversation inviting Zettagrid to answer the MMAL EOI all the way down to the contract signing, there has been a single voice and quick response to all queries." The Mitsubishi environment, which includes Sharepoint, Exchange and Skype for Business, is now in production in Zettagrid's Melbourne availability zone. Mark Tiddy, CIO of Mitsubishi Motors Australia, said: "Combining our national network with Zettagrids cloud services is going to immediately realise benefits for us at Mitsubishi Motors as well as address a number of existing telecommunications challenges. In addition, migrating to a VMware cloud really smooths the cloud transition process for our organisation because we are all VMware-based." Cloud maturity Luke Brown, Zettagrid's principal technologist, said Zettagrid's maturity was a factor in winning the Mitsubishi work, given that its IaaS platform has been running in Australia since 2010. The Zettagrid cloud now hosts more than 4,000 virtual machines. Locally owned Zettagrid, which is spread across 11 data centres in Australia, said the win proved it could compete against the size, scale and price of its larger rivals. The company was invited to tender alongside AWS, Azure, Telstra and VMware vCloud, with Telstra and Zettagrid shortlisted. Brown said the company won despite facing stiff price competition from its larger rivals. "From our point of view, we can't compete on price and we don't intend to. For us it is about differentiating our offer and driving value." He said resellers liked the visibility offered by Zettagrid. "For partners, especially when they put workloads into some of the hyperscalers, they lose some of the visibility. That is troubling for them when users are contacting them and asking, 'How are things going right now?' They have trouble finding those results." Zettagrid differentiates by offering partners "access to high-level guys on our side" as well as analytics and performance metrics, said Brown. CTO Nicki Pereira added that Zettagrid was "absolutely respectful" of its bigger cloud rivals, but thrilled to support its channel partner, Vectra, with such a plum contract. "We are really proud of the fact that as an Australian company, there is innovation coming out of Australia. The channel is not all doom and gloom." In 2014, the company announced its new partner program as part of its shift to a channel model, and has seen considerable success from resellers. "Our biggest 15-20 customers are all channel partners," said Brown. "We are growing year on year. Some might have thought the hyperscalers would spell the end for us but we are getting more customers. We are at 4,000 VMs now," he added. Zettagrid appeared at No.26 in the 2014 CRN Fast50, when it grew 40.93 percent to achieve revenue of $3.4 million. Avoiding cloud sprawl The company also aims to demystify cloud pricing, added Brown. "The pricing of the bigger guys is getting incredibly complex. It's quite hard to know what you will be charged. One of our other points is we try to avoid that bill shock predictable billing that is simpler than the hyperscale end of town," said Pereira. "We want our partners and customers to receive a bill, to read it and understand it without needing a university degree." Pereira said VMware's strong footprint in the enterprise also gave Zetta an edge over rivals, given its familiarity among system administrators within client and partner organisations. "When you look into a mid-size business, about 65 percent in the enterprise are using VMware If you do want to move into these hyperscalers, there is rearchitecting and there are some workloads that won't work as well. There are 'ifs' and 'buts'," he said. Avoiding vendor lock-in is another advantage, added Brown. "Because it is a VMware platform, we can migrate you in and I am sure you can migrate out. That keeps us honest. It doesn't become like Hotel California." Zettagrid's cloud largely runs on Dell compute with EMC storage, and networking based on Brocade and Juniper. The company, which also offers flash storage, finds that the brand of infrastructure is less important than the service levels it can guarantee customers. Brown explained: "Customers will often ask, 'What storage tier do I need to be on?' but they often don't have the necessary information we would need. So we would put them on midrange to bottom-of-the-range storage and a week later we will ask them how it is performing. Then we can scale them up to a higher tier. It gives customers less to worry about; it comes down to the performance-versus-price question for them." Pereira agreed. "When we start dealing with the customer and the business, it is not the technology that is important, it is the SLAs. We can move them from slower disk up to flash disk. It is really down to performance. "As flash gets better, we are looking at flash. We have customers running on flash and as the price drops we will have more and more workloads running on that. We have R&D going on to push innovation. You can't see one of these hyperscalers converting everything to flash," he said. Telstra is offering customers a free 200GB subscription to Microsofts OneDrive cloud storage platform. The offer is only available to Telstra consumer customers with a pre-paid, mobile broadband or home broadband plan. The offer, which starts today, makes it cheaper than buying from Microsoft direct. Microsoft charges $2 per month for 50GB, or $9 per month for 1TB bundled with Office 365. It continues a long alliance between the national telco and the software and cloud vendor. Telstra originally had sole rights to sell Office 365 to small and medium businesses in an exclusive deal that was unwound in 2013. OneDrive was last year the centre of controversy after Microsoft downgraded its OneDrive data limits, reducing storage for free accounts from 15GB to 5GB. Customers on "unlimited" plans were capped at 1TB after "a small number of users" exploited the system with massive backups. Microsoft partially reversed this decision after the complaints by allowing free users to keep their 15GB limit if they signed up on Microsofts website before the end of January. Microsofts cloud rival Amazon Cloud Storage charges US$59.99 for its unlimited plan. Dropbox only allows unlimited storage on business accounts, and Google Apps for Work and Google Apps for Work both boast unlimited storage. An Australian Dimension Data executive said that a tense relationship with Cisco due to channel conflict has now softened. At the Cisco Partner Summit in San Diego, Dimension Data global security group executive Matt Gyde said the provider has been growing its security services by more than 80 percent in the last couple of years. Weve seen an enormous amount of opportunity, he said, adding that Dimension Data has pushed back pretty hard on Cisco providing any service directly to a customer. We want to be a full lifecycle partner. We personally feel that we add more value to our clients because of our experience across multiple domains and multiple technologies. Gyde, who is now based in Singapore, admitted that the channel conflict had caused friction in the past between the vendor and the solutions provider. It was a tense relationship. I think we have worked through a lot of those issues together. "Once again, thats one of the great things about working with Cisco. We can sit down and have an argument, but get it sorted out for the betterment of both organisations," Gyde added. Cisco security success Cisco's security general manager, David Goeckeler, used the panel discussion to claim the company is the largest enterprise security vendor by market share, but admitted the message is drowned out in a very noisy market. Going up the road this week to RSA [conference] in San Francisco... there are probably 500 vendors there all competing for attention," said Goeckeler. Gyde said that customers IT security budgets seemed to be growing, with upper management realising that security failures have serious consequences. [Customer board members] are very very aware now that theyll end up in jail if something goes wrong. So theres a commitment there to spend. With the amount of work out there, DiData and Cisco are now more comfortable with their roles, according to Gyde, with flexibility shown on both sides depending on customer circumstance. Whenever we need help, David [Goeckeler] and his team will get on planes any time of the day to come and support us, he said. Anytime were short of staff, Cisco will absolutely step in and help us. The journalist travelled to San Diego courtesy of Cisco. YEREVAN, March 1, ARMENPRESS. Armenpress state news agency introduces on the air of Lratvakan.am all that you will read, hear and see on todays news. High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini will arrive in Armenia on March 1. She is scheduled to meet with the Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian. After the meeting they will introduce the framework of the discussed issues and to the journalists and will answer their questions. March 1 is the World Civil Protection Day. Different events such as open lessons, training exercises, evacuations are conducted in Yerevan and provinces every year on the occasion of this day. This year is not an exception. In addition to the mentioned events, Deputy Director of the Rescue Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Major General Vrej Gabrielyan will speak about the works done by the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the future plans aimed at civil protection. State agencies activate cooperation with scientific institutions. Defense Minister of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan will meet with the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences, directors and scientists of the Institutes of the National Academy of Sciences. Issues of future cooperation between the National Academy of Sciences and the Defense Ministry will be discussed. As part of this policy, the Ministry of Diaspora signed cooperation agreements with various scientific institutions a few days ago. The scientific theme of the day will be continued by an open lesson of famous Armenian scientist, Associate Professor at the University of California, Research Director at the Information Sciences Institute Aram Galstyan. It will be themed Scientific findings in the era of large-scale data. The lecture is organized within the framework of Young Scientists Support Program under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Armenia. March 1 is perceived by Armenians not only as the first spring day, but it also reminds them of the tragic events that occurred on that day in 2008, when the protests organized in the center of Yerevan terminated with a bloodshed. Every year a march or an assembly is organized on this day. This year is not an exception. The Armenian National Congress (ANC), People's Party of Armenia and New Armenia public salvation front will conduct a joint assembly in memory of the victims of March 1 crime. National Assembly ANC faction member, member of the National Assembly Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs Gagik Jhangiryan will touch upon the political and legal lessons taken from March 1 events. What are weather expectations from March? Will temperature decline be followed by the current warm weather? What predictions are there for agricultural sphere? Deputy Minister of Agriculture Garnik Petrosyan and Deputy Head of HydrometService Meteorological Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Gagik Surenyan will speak about the mentioned topics. Cultural events. A major youth exhibition will be opened by the initiative of ArmArt cultural center. Union of Journalists of Armenia will sum up the results of Golden pen awards. More on these and other topics is available on armenpress.am. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Channel programs News How Partners Are Separating Politics From Business Michael Novinson Share this Jason Adamany, founder and president of Adesys, Fitchburg, Wis., faced a conundrum after being asked to provide IT support for Republican governor Scott Walker during the 2012 recall election. Because of how polarizing Walker's gubernatorial tenure had become, Adamany decided to take the proposal to each of his then 10 employees individually and figure out whether or not they were comfortable with Adesys taking on Walker as a client. A handful said they werent comfortable but none objected more generally to Adesys taking on the work. Adamany removed the concerned employees from the project and ensured they didnt have access to any sensitive data. Walker ultimately prevailed in the recall election, and Adesys continued to work for Walker during his 2014 gubernatorial re-election campaign and his unsuccessful 2016 presidential bid. For solution provider New Signature, based in Washington, D.C., its mantra is to remain nonpartisan, which has sometimes turned off candidates expecting ideological purity from their IT partner. [Related: Big Data's Big Role In Big Politics] We work with anyone, said New Signature President Chris Hertz. Were a business doing business with other businesses. Since New Signature isnt aligned with the Democrats or the Republicans, Hertz said the company gets most of its political clients from a rather unusual source nonprofits. Prospective candidates not currently in office often sit on the board of 501c3 organizations supporting education or another nonpartisan mission, Hertz said. Since New Signature has a large practice helping nonprofits raise money and build their Web presence, it often hears about politicians planning to launch campaigns. And for Coolhead Tech, despite having just five full-time employees and being based thousands of miles from Republican presidential candidate Ben Carsons home state of Maryland, the company received a cold call last year from a member of Carsons campaign who was interested in working with the Austin, Texas-based Google for Work Premier partner. Coolhead principal consultant Chris Alghini suspects the Carson campaign was interested in using a Google-based ecosystem and came across Coolheads popular Google Apps blog. If you put the right tools in front of the right team, theyll succeed, Alghini said. Cloud News IBM Has Been Going Full Steam Ahead Since PartnerWorld Conference Joseph Tsidulko Share this Usually, the big business announcements come in the weeks leading up to the big partner conferences, and then there's an activity lull in their wake. But IBM has maintained its head of steam since congregating two weeks ago with thousands of its partners in Orlando, Fla. In the days following its PartnerWorld Leadership Conference, IBM agreed to buy Truven Health Analytics in a $2.6 billion deal, forged an important alliance with Check Point Software Technologies, and hosted its annual analyst summit. IBM continued on that tear Monday with the acquisition of Resilient Systems, an incident-response security expert, and, concurrent with that deal, the formation of a new security services unit called X-Force Incident Response Services. [Related: 10 Key IBM Acquisitions That Could Boost Partners] The post-conference moves further illustrate the vital role IBM sees security and health-care capabilities and data playing in its transformation to what CEO Ginni Rometty described to partners who gathered in Florida as "a cognitive solutions and cloud platform company." Toni Saccanoghi, a senior analyst at Bernstein, wrote after attending the analyst conference last Thursday: "IBM has invested aggressively in acquiring capabilities and in securing data, particularly in health care, which it sees as a core asset, akin to content in the media world. "Clearly cognitive computing is a big, transformational bet for IBM, and its logic is sound," Saccanoghi wrote. "The company has very strong capabilities in Watson and infrastructure, and encouragingly, IBM has attracted seasoned outside executives to the business." Resilient, which offers a technology that bolsters IBM's security infrastructure portfolio, is the latest pickup in a buying spree that has now brought 20 companies into the IBM fold in the past year. Resilient, based in Cambridge, Mass., offers incident-response software, sold through a large channel of its own. Caleb Barlow, vice president of IBM Security, told CRN via email that once the deal has closed, IBM will start talking to Resilient's partners about how "to address future business opportunities with IBM Security." IBM plans to encourage Resilient partners to enroll in IBM PartnerWorld, its channel program, he said. "We are keen to engage with existing Resilient Systems business partners to extend and grow this skilled community," Barlow told CRN. Last week, IBM, Armonk, N.Y., entered an alliance with Check Point through which the two companies agreed to share threat intelligence -- part of a trend toward collaboration in the security space. Aside from the lines of communication between the vendors, they plan to release integrated tools that partners can leverage. "For our joint partners, the integration of IBM QRadar and Check Point technology through the IBM Security App Exchange will provide partners with simpler and more closely integrated offerings," Jason Corbin, a vice president at IBM Security, told CRN in an email. Those integrations are "particularly important for smaller partners," Corbin said. IBM collaborating on managed security services with Check Point, based in Israel and San Carlos, Calif., stems from a relationship that goes back to the 1990s. Michael Anderson, a managing director at Sycomp, a partner of both Check Point and IBM based in Foster City, Calif., told CRN that the biggest impact of the alliance is validation of Check Point's technology in identifying and managing cyberthreats. "IBM and Check Point coming together, completing each other's suites, is going to have a positive impact on the security market and people looking at positive security outcomes in general," Anderson told CRN. "Two leaders coming together is always positive." For partners like Sycomp, the ability to "deliver one-stop shopping for security outcomes is very interesting," Anderson told CRN. "Combining services, threat intelligence and controls on the threat side makes it more interesting, more valuable, and will probably save someone money somewhere." The real value comes from interoperability, he added. Bernstein's Sacconaghi wrote in the takeaways he published after the analyst conference that while IBM's vision around cognitive computing and the Watson platform was compelling, and the project had assembled a strong leadership team, "having both doesn't necessarily assure success going forward." IBM's rebranding is more aspirational than financial, he said. Bernstein estimates total cloud (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and Watson revenue at less than $2 billion in the last fiscal year, less than 3 percent of total revenue. The biggest change in strategy over that period has been IBM's belief that cognitive computing "will be a huge incremental opportunity going forward, with IBM's Watson technology as the centerpiece," Sacconaghi said, noting IBM estimates a $2 trillion market, which is bigger than the entire traditional IT market. But the cognitive arena is getting crowded, he said, and it's developing around industry verticals that each require substantial independent investments. The market is still in its early phases, "and cognitive and cloud are more vision than financial reality today," Sacconaghi concluded. "We estimate that directly attributable cloud and cognitive revenues are modest today." Data center News Cisco Teams With Startup Springpath, Sets Sights On Total Dominance Of The Hyper-Convergence Market Kevin McLaughlin and Mark Haranas Share this Cisco Systems took the wraps off a new hyper-converged infrastructure product line called HyperFlex Systems Tuesday, pitching it as a more economical and better-performing alternative to Nutanix and other startups in the fast-emerging space. HyperFlex Systems, unveiled at the vendor's annual partner conference in San Diego, consists of Cisco UCS servers and software-defined storage technology that Cisco developed through a strategic partnership with Springpath, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based startup founded by former VMware storage engineers. The technology, which Cisco is calling the HX Data Platform, pools storage from solid-state and conventional hard drives and turns it into an enterprise-grade object storage system, Todd Brannon, Ciscos director of product marketing for UCS, said in an interview. [Related: Here's Why Cisco Partners Believe Vendor Will Acquire Hyper-Converged Startup Springpath] Cisco also revealed that it led a previously undisclosed Series C round of funding in Springpath. Brannon declined to specify the amount of the investment but said Cisco has been working with Springpath since 2012, the year it was founded. Springpath spokespeople didnt respond to a request for comment. The startup has raised $34 million in funding to date from investors Sequoia Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Redpoint Ventures and Stanford University, according to Crunchbase. CRN in January was first to report that Cisco had signed an OEM agreement with Springpath and made an undisclosed investment in the startup. Cisco has the option to acquire Springpath based on revenue results, according to CRN's sources. Cisco's HyperFlex pricing for a three-node HyperFlex cluster starts at $59,000 including one year of 24x7x4 on-site support. Cisco is now taking orders and plans to start shipping products sometime this month, a spokesman for the San Jose, Calif.-based vendor told CRN. Cisco is a late arrival to the hyper-convergence market, where top startups Nutanix and SimpliVity have collectively raised close to $590 million over the past several years. But according to Brannon, hyper-convergence startups have taken "some real architectural shortcuts" that have slowed mainstream adoption of the technology. "Thats what we're fixing with HyperFlex," Brannon told CRN. Brannon said while hyper-converged startups like to tout their offerings as being quick to set up, they're typically combinations of compute and storage that dont account for networking. As a result, customers have to figure out how to connect all the different parts together, and getting a system up and running can take days or weeks, he said. Cisco, with its deep expertise in networking, has made sure this won't be an issue with HyperFlex. "Were going to bring you a solution you can deploy in less than an hour, including the network, and thats crucial," he said. One particular area of strength for Cisco HyperFlex is that customers can use it to scale their compute and storage independently, said Brannon. Cisco partners who've been eagerly awaiting the vendor's arrival to the hyper-converged market told CRN they're impressed with the HyperFlex offering. "We always felt Cisco needed a full-fledged solution in this space," said Vinu Thomas, chief technology officer at Presidio, a New York-based Cisco partner that sells UCS systems. "We've sold quite a bit of Nutanix and there was no comparative Cisco play," said Anoj Willy, vice president of product development at Trace3, an Irvine, Calif.-based company that works with both vendors. "Now Cisco has given us a competitive offering that we can bring to market. "Cisco also has the networking component, which has been the trickiest component thus far in the data center in terms of commoditization and control," Willy told CRN. HyperFlex will be included in many of Cisco's channel incentive programs, including the Value Incentive Program (VIP) and Opportunity Incentive Program (OIP), and Cisco's field sales teams will also work with partners to sell HyperFlex, said Ken Trombetta, vice president of Cisco's Global Partner Organization. Cisco was attracted to Springpath because the startup has developed what Brannon described as "an entirely new, purpose-built file system" thats designed for hyper-convergence. Most existing hyper-converged offerings rely on open-source operating systems such as Ext4 [a file system for Linux], which weren't intended to be used in hyper-converged environments, Brannon said. Cisco is also touting HyperFlex's performance, which Brannon said is superior to offerings currently on the market. He told CRN that customers who've been testing HyperFlex through Cisco's early access program, some of which are using hyper-converged offerings from Nutanix and other startups, like what they're seeing. "[Cisco HyperFlex] is stopping them dead in their tracks," Brannon said. After testing it out, customers "are stopping and turning around and giving us purchase orders." Cisco HyperFlex also offers customers better cost of ownership because it includes data optimization technology that lets them buy less infrastructure and raw capacity, according to Brannon. Brannon said while Cisco doesn't intend to walk away from its existing UCS partnerships with SimpliVity and other vendors, it does view Springpath's technology as superior and plans to lead with it in sales discussions with customers. "Our confidence in [Springpath] technology is reflected in the fact that weve fully productized it. We're adding a product family to our company, and were going to go drive with this," Brannon said. "This is definitely not aimed at SimpliVity," said Brannon. "This technology is going to leapfrog a lot of the incumbent players, but I think Nutanix has a lot more to be worried about here than SimpliVity does." Chris Morgan, a Nutanix vice president in charge of channels and distribution, told CRN that the San Jose-based company isn't surprised to see new players enter the hyper-convergence space. "Cisco is a formidable competitor with a strong channel base, but with a history of false starts entering new markets," Morgan said in an email. "Channel partners have already communicated to us that they will take a wait- and-see approach with this unproven technology from an untested startup." Security News Kaspersky Launches Targeted Attack Detection Platform, Security Intelligence Services At RSA Conference Sarah Kuranda Share this Kaspersky Lab Tuesday launched a targeted attack detection platform and line of security intelligence services at the RSA Conference, being held this week in San Francisco. The Kaspersky Anti-Targeted Attack Platform works by collecting data from network, Web, email and endpoint sensors and feeding it into an advanced sandbox for detection, and includes a targeted attack analyzer to assess and combine threat verdicts. The result, according to Michael Canavan, vice president of enterprise engineering at Kaspersky, is a platform that provides actionable intelligence around existing threats on a customer's network. The line of security intelligence services, meanwhile, includes security assessment services, cybersecurity training and threat intelligence. The security-as-a-service products are aimed at large organizations, government agencies, ISPs, telecoms and MSSPs. [Related: Palo Alto Networks CEO Expects Security Vendor Won't Be Hit By Spending Slowdown] Customers today are spending roughly 80 percent of their budgets on perimeter and protection technologies, Canavan said. However, Kaspersky expects that balance to shift, with customers putting more emphasis on detection and response technologies. "There's a realization that customers are starting to have a more balanced approach in their security postures," Canavan said. "This product set is really the accumulation of that realization and the shift from the market, the advanced threats that are out there, and extending the capability out from the protection realm to the detection realm." That shift is being felt by partners, too. Michael Knight, president and CTO of Encore Technology Group, a Greenville, S.C.-based Kaspersky partner, said it critical for his business to help customers make that shift, as it limits the devastating damage that can come from a data breach. "The big shift from protection to detection -- if you really break down why that's changing, it's because the faster you can detect a threat, the less damage that can happen to customer environments," Knight said. "By having this partners can get an additional layer of security," he said. Knight said the offerings present a big opportunity for Encore Technology Group, as the Anti-Targeted Attack Platform, combined with the new training and services, will drive more business for both sides. "From the partner side, everything is an opportunity," Knight said. "Any time you can engage with Kaspersky, one of our best partners on this level [is an opportunity]. Not only are we learning more and more, but we're doing more and more together. There's more business for both of us." While Moscow-based Kaspersky has planted its stake in traditional security markets such as anti-virus, Cavanan said the new releases mark an evolution of its portfolio to keep up with emerging security threat trends. "Security is a more and more complex issue," Cavanan said. "Having a fundamental shift to this adaptive security model, where you move from simply just protection in an environment to detection, response and remediation this will not only open the opportunity for partners to open their portfolio but, as a vendor, will provide more value in the chain in these different areas." Encore Technology Group's Knight said it is important to him that a vendor partner keeps up with industry trends like this. "For a partner, it's always important for us to have our technology partner see growth and change and [make] adjustments. ... It's very important to see partners like Kaspersky continue to evolve and bring solutions forward that will absolutely be impactful to what we're doing." Security News RSA President Amit Yoran: The Security Industry Needs A Wake-Up Call Sarah Kuranda Share this As companies start to talk about the move from prevention technologies to detection and response, they also need to walk the walk, RSA President Amit Yoran said in his keynote address opening the 2016 RSA Conference in San Francisco. The comments follow Yoran's keynote last year, which called for the security industry to embrace a new approach to cybersecurity -- one that moved away from perimeter technologies to one that invests in visibility, analytics and threat intelligence. In the past year, the industry has awoken to this trend, with many industry leaders pronouncing the "death of the perimeter." However, Yoran said, the security industry is still failing to put that knowledge into practice. Intellectually, the industry understands the need to move away from perimeter technologies, he said, but they haven't changed their behavior. [Related: Kaspersky Launches Targeted Attack Detection Platform, Security Intelligence Services At RSA Conference] "Intellectually, we get it, but that's not translating into changed behavior fast enough. Prevention is a failed strategy. But if you continue to invest solely in prevention, what good is [understanding] that?" Yoran said. "Are you leading your organization into security's future or clinging on to the past?" Only about 10 percent of budgets today are spent on detection and response technologies, Yoran said, citing numbers from market research firm Gartner. But, he said, budgets are starting to shift, and Gartner predicts that by 2020, about 60 percent of IT security budgets will be spent on detection and response. Yoran said security companies need to focus on what he called a "new world order," which places greater emphasis on monitoring and response, recognizing that ultimately, protection technologies will fail. Evidence of that in the past year includes the largest health-care breach in history, -- the Anthem breach in February -- and what was arguably the largest data breach of all time last summer at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Some of the security capabilities and technologies in that new world include full visibility, mobile platforms, identity and access management, and cloud-based services. Yoran said the talent shortage in the cybersecurity industry also poses a significant obstacle to solving this problem, as there are more than 200,000 unfilled positions in the sector. Embracing automation technologies is key, he said, as is promoting a culture that gets creative about bringing in new talent. "Let's reclaim our heritage of intellectual curiosity and rekindle the crazy spirit that brings diverse perspectives," Yoran said. These technologies, if implemented correctly, will drive better analytics and business intelligence, he said, advances that Yoran said "hold incredible promise for transforming how we do security." Bedford, Mass.-based RSA, for one, is working toward walking the walk in this area, Yoran said, striving to deliver technology with "unparalleled visibility." The company has been sharpening its focus on advanced security operations and incident response, authentication and identity management, and governance, risk and compliance. It has exited some of its businesses, as well, including DLP and crypto. "You are how you behave," Yoran said. "Our industry needs to wake up. What are you going to do differently this year?" Security News FBI Chief: San Bernardino iPhone Case Could Set A Legal Precedent For Encryption Lindsey O'Donnell Share this FBI Director James Comey acknowledged Tuesday that forcing Apple to unlock the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone could set a precedent for dealing with encryption in the future. Representatives from Apple and the FBI took their places in front of the House Judiciary Committee to discuss the government's efforts in unlocking an iPhone belonging to one of the terrorists behind the San Bernardino attacks last year. "I happen to think there are technical limitations to how useful this particular San Bernardino technique will be, given how the phones have changed, but sure, other courts, other prosecutors, other lawyers for companies will look to that for guidance or how to distinguish it," Comey said during the hearing. [Related: RSA President Amit Yoran: The Security Industry Needs A Wake-Up Call] The hearing comes after a California judge last month ordered Apple to unlock the iPhone, which was used by one of the assailants in the December mass shooting event. Apple does not have access to the data on its phones, so the FBI requested the company create a new version of its operating system, eliminating some security features, to install on the iPhone in question. There is no previous precedent for the government to ask for this particular kind of access, CEO Tim Cook said in a letter to customers in February, and complying with the request would force Apple "to expose its customers to a greater risk of attack" and create a backdoor with no guaranteed limit on its use, he wrote. Previously, Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple, which has provided default encryption on its iPhones since 2014, could use a tool that would plug into the phone and allow it to respond to search warrant requests from the government. The hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, made up of two Republicans and 16 Democrats, is meant to enable U.S. lawmakers to better understand both points of view. Apple representatives, for their part, testified during the hearing that the FBI's move could weaken the security of Apple products and undermine encryption efforts. Hackers and cybercriminals could use this to wreak havoc on our privacy and personal safety, said Bruce Sewall, senior vice president and general counsel of Apple at the hearing. "It would set a dangerous precedent for government intrusion on the privacy and safety of its citizens." Executives in the technology industry across the country, including Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, are also voicing support for Apple in its stand against encryption "backdoors." Amit Yoran, president of computer and network security company RSA, stressed the importance of encryption at the annual RSA Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday. "Some policy proposals, like weakening encryption, are so misguided as to boggle the mind," said Yoran. "In an era where cybersecurity is consistently cited as the single greatest threat to our way of life, above terrorism and all else, how can we possibly justify a policy that would catastrophically weaken our infrastructures?" Partners also take a similar stance in standing behind Cook during the debate, saying encryption could be undermined should Cook give in to the FBI's demands. In a poll on CRN.com, 76 percent of the respondents said they are siding with Cook on the iPhone battle between the FBI and Apple. "I do believe there should be a warrant to get to iPhones, there should be some sort of due procedure," said Steven Kantorowitz, president of CelPro Associates, an Apple partner based in New York. "There is so much personal content and private data in people's phones these days. I think iPhone users have an expectation of privacy." YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS: FIDE has published the rankings of March 2016. As "Armenpress" reports, leader of the Armenian National chess team Levon Aronyan has dropped to the 7th place with 2786 points.Previously he was ranked 4th. The ranking tops world champion Magnus Carlsen with 2851 points. Vladimir Kramkin is on the 2nd place with 2801 points, and Fabiano Caruana is the 3rd, with 2794 points. Among the list of top players is Grandmaster Gabriel Sargsyan, who is ranked 42nd with 2702 points. Vladimir Hakobyan is ranked 95th with 2656 points, Sergey Movsisyan and Hrant Movsisyan share the 100th and 102nd place with Norwegian Loek van Wely with 2653 points. Member of the Armenian National Team Elina Danielyan is ranked 44th with 2445 points among womens rankings. Lilit Mkrtchyan is ranked 49th with 2434 points. Compared to the previous month the players dropped by 1 position in the rankings. VATICAN CITY (RNS) Just hours after the movie Spotlight picked up the best picture prize at the Academy Awards, the Vatican newspaper praised the film for its portrayal of The Boston Globes investigation into clerical sex abuse in the U.S. The Oscar win on Sunday (Feb. 28) was hailed by producer Michael Sugar as amplifying the voice of survivors. Pope Francis, its time to protect the children and restore the faith, he said in his acceptance speech in Los Angeles that was broadcast around the world. Sugars voice apparently reached Rome as well, with a columnist for the Vaticans semiofficial newspaper, LOsservatore Romano, asserting that the film had a compelling plot and should not be considered anti Catholic. It manages to voice the shock and profound pain of the faithful confronting the discovery of these horrendous realities, wrote journalist Lucetta Scaraffia. Scaraffia said the movie did not go into detail on what she called the long and tenacious battle against clergy abuse by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger but she noted one film cannot tell all. The difficulties that Ratzinger met with do not but confirm the films theme, which is that too often ecclesiastical institutions have not known how to react with the necessary determination in the face of these crimes, Scaraffia wrote. Benedict was elected pope in 2005 after the death of Saint John Paul II and he has been credited for taking significant steps after initialing dismissing the extent of the crisis to crack down on abusive priests. Francis was elected in 2013 when Benedict resigned, and he has pushed for further reforms, including initial efforts to hold bishops accountable for failing to protect children from predators. But both popes have also been criticized for not going far enough. In her column, Scaraffia praised the film for recounting the reality of how, within the Catholic Church, some are more preoccupied with the image of the institution than of the seriousness of the act. Scaraffia also noted Sugars acceptance speech, arguing that his reference to the pontiff demonstrated there was still hope in the institution of the church. There is trust in a pope who is continuing the cleaning begun by his predecessor, she wrote. LOsservatore Romanos praise for the movie follows comments of a similar vein by Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna of Malta, who said earlier this month that all bishops and cardinals should watch the film. The movie shows how the instinct that unfortunately was present in the church to protect a reputation was completely wrong, Scicluna told an Italian newspaper. The Oscar win by Spotlight came as Cardinal George Pell, who serves as Pope Francis financial adviser, testified to Australias royal commission into sex abuse. Pell was questioned on his knowledge of abuse while a clergyman in the country. (Rosie Scammell covers the Vatican for RNS) *This article first published on Religion News Service SAN FRANCISCO - Yesterday, Salted Hash looked at various issues within the threat intelligence industry. Today, we'll revisit the topic and dig a bit deeper by talking with an analyst about how they turn data into intelligence. In the weeks leading up to the RSA conference, we watched countless sales and conference videos, and spoke to a number of security practitioners about how they use threat intelligence. While many of the practitioners couldn't comment on the record due to company policy, they did share some of their pain. Most of the complaints about what passes as threat intelligence these days is that it's flat data with a narrow focus. Sometimes, the data is useful, most of the time, it isn't. As discussed yesterday, raw data, such as a list of signatures and IP addresses, isnt intelligence if it hasnt been validated or if its missing context. Most of the experts consulted agreed that it takes a human, one who knows the needs of the business, to look at the flat data and make a judgement call. Example: A data feed detailing a domain that's related to CryptoLocker and associated IPs doesn't explain how the risk can be mitigated, and it doesn't help the organization determine how to act. It doesn't help them determine what changes, if any, need to be made. In short, such a feed or intelligence report isn't actionable. Yet, this is exactly what some vendors will sell - a simple unprocessed data feed. "At most you can block C2 and look for the traffic to Darknet sites in your telemetry to try and see if anyone has been infected, which by then is too late, but at least you can react. [That is, assuming] you have a SIEM or talented and dedicated resources for incident response and investigations," commented one practitioner when asked about the example. The ultimate goal for any organization looking at threat intelligence solutions is to obtain actionable intelligence from the vendor's offerings. Again, it's only actionable after it's been evaluated and validated; otherwise, it's just raw information. On a basic level, an organization will want to know: Who is attacking? Why are they attacking? How are they attacking? Have they attacked any competitors? Have they attacked business partners or is there an increased pattern of attacks against the industry? What are their capabilities and methods? What are the common tools and tactics used by these attackers? As you can imagine, there is a feed or data stream that can provide bits and pieces of information to address all of those questions. But again, that wont help. Theres no context, and without it, you cant put this information to work. The long-term value threat intelligence has to an organization is the ability to drive change. Validated threat intelligence (or data with proper context) should change behaviors, whether that behavior is how the SOC prioritizes and responds to alerts; how users evaluate and react to Phishing emails; or how decision makers and executives invest in a security program or prioritize long-term security projects. In some cases, threat intelligence will help IR teams with improved detection and response times, which is always a solid bonus. An analysts tale: Salted Hash recently spoke to a security practitioner in the finance sector about their experiences with threat intelligence and how it impacts their operation. Theyve asked to remain anonymous to protect their company and clients, well call this person Jane. When it comes data feeds and dealing with a vast amount of information from a number of sources, the big question is whether or not an organization can successfully manage the data, Jane said, and whether or not its getting the customized data needed. [Note: The conversation we had with Jane started after we asked for opinions on Webroots blog post earlier last month about threat intelligence.] "Right now, my finance organization mostly leverages Splunk, pulling generic blacklists and open source intelligence feeds for correlation purposes against addresses our perimeter devices log, honeypots, and FS-ISAC bulletins," Jane said. As an analyst, Jane reviews specific FS-ISAC data for finance related Phishing, credential theft, and fraud-related data to share with her team and C-Level risk executives. If its warranted, they will sometimes share Phishing or fraud indicators with FS-ISAC. At one point we looked at unified threat-sharing tools, with both paid and open source support. We stood up a Soltra server from FS-ISAC in its early incarnation (without paid support), but that required a lot of database knowledge to manage. [We] had early issues over time that required more cross-team intervention to troubleshoot than we had manpower to support, Jane said. We've been a bit shy to throw money at any one solution given that our current process works at our current scale. We did demo several paid offerings/appliances that looked promising, notably Vorstack. However, due to budgetary refocusing we decided what we had in place was sufficient for the volume of data/threat surface we deal with. So whats the workflow look like? Most of Janes security appliances already respond/block/alert based on vendor-provided indicator feeds. However, where social engineering and human interaction creates risk, Janes team will share this information with the staff. For example, alerting HR to resume-themed campaigns. But human-triage happens only when necessary she said, as they find alert fatigue to be a factor when we've provide non-security-centric teams with too much data to parse for themselves. So how much data is too much when it comes to alerts? "Right now, we're only looking for threats that specifically target finance groups, i.e. data related to known fraud activities, finance-facing DDoS threats, Phishing / credential harvesting, C-Level whaling attempts, specific watering-hole attacks of a finance nature," Jane explained. Political activity-based threats are monitored and trended as well, in case there's actor overlap, but typically, brute-force attack IP's are noisy by nature, and Janes company deals with them though their firewall, IDS and load-balancing vendors' blacklists, as well as with other heuristics / traffic behavior detection mechanisms that are in place. For example, data about government-facing watering-hole attacks, Anonymous campaigns, etc. doesn't really impact us as much as Phishing-vectored banking Trojans, Anonymous' occasional finance campaigns we'll here about in advance as they target larger finance entities. Adding some additional context, Jane said that what's been valuable about FS-ISAC is the description of the Social Engineering lures, fraud tactics and the "ruse" styles of particular campaigns that come with advisories. Such details help her team prepare training for staff, via our internal Phishing exercises, and general aware training. Correlation of raw data is only so helpful, Jane added. If her organization gets intelligence that helps them understand the ruse, or style of the attack, they can generally predict what a variant will look like, and brief incident response teams and affected staff who might be likely targets. The indicators are helpful, but not essential if her team understands the behavior or goal of the attacks more than the static data. "It's been said before but there's heaps of intelligence out there, what business actually needs is actionable intelligence, which is of course much different than raw intelligence data about say, every brute force attack that touched a business 24 hours ago, by that time our appliances have already ingested the fresh blacklists, Jane said. I think each sector has its own niche needs, and the 'firehose of data' most threat intelligence providers offer requires space management and manpower to vet, and to narrow it all down to what really matters to us, and what we should act on." YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. The adversary fired over 900 shots from different caliber weapons in the direction of Armenian front line units on the contact line of Karabakh-Azerbaijan opposing armies during Feb. 29-March 1. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of NKR Defense Ministry, the adversary also used 60 mm mortar (1 projectile) in the eastern direction of the contact line. Defense Army front line units keep a full control of the situation and dictate their will on the front line. The flashing orange and black screens with antiquated user interfaces, arduous keyboard shortcuts and sky-high price tags also known as the Bloomberg Terminal have been synonymous with the detailed financial information industry since the 1980s. Money.Net, a three-year-old Manhattan-based startup, is hoping to interrupt that industry in part by infiltrating the Greenwich market, according to former Bloomberg executive and Money.Net CEO Morgan Downey. Greenwich is kind of a financial hub in the United States, and really globally, particularly in the hedge funds and asset management space, Downey said. Wed like to be the system that is integrated into all aspects of Greenwich life, and the second thing is that we want to make sure that any young people that are coming through as part of their education process, we want them to see Money.Net before they see Bloomberg or Reuters, because theyre almost off-putting as a first touch point for the world of finance. Its not the clunky old software from 40 years ago. ... We want it to be a good experience for anyone thinking about the world of finance. The Greenwich Library has added a Money.Net terminal to its array of public services which include a Bloomberg Terminal for investors and business researchers. The terminal is installed as a stand-alone desktop application and ready for use by reservation, and a training session by Money.Net Director of Sales Andy Bodrog will take place March 11. More Information Patrons can sign up to use the Money.Net or Bloomberg terminals in at the main reference desk, or in advance by calling 203-622-7910. Reservations can be made on the same day or one day ahead and are limited to one hour per day, per user, beginning on the hour. The Money.Net training session will take place from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. March 11 in the Library Meeting Room and registration is not required. See More Collapse Downey, a native of Ireland, developed Money.Net in 2014 after a lengthy career in the financial industry, first as a commodities trader at Citibank and later as global head of commodities at Bloomberg from 2008 to 2013. Downey said there are a number of factors that set Money.Net apart from the Bloomberg Terminal most notably the cost and a modern user interface. Bloomberg Terminals cost upwards of $25,000 per year per terminal (the Greenwich Library terminal was donated and made possible by the Peterson Foundation) compared to roughly $1,200 for an annual Money.Net subscription. Evan as Bloombergs user growth for the terminals has stagnated over the past six years, it takes in nearly 40 percent of the $30 billion in annual revenue garnered by the financial information industry. Reuters is reported to make up another 40 percent of the market, while the rest is occupied by smaller companies like Money.Net. Theres been no competition in the space for a very long time, Downey said. We have no legacy code to support, yet you have the same tools as if you were sitting at a trading desk at Goldman Sachs. In addition to the price differential, Downey said Money.Net offers a more intuitive user interface with mouse-based navigation rather than the cumbersome keyboard shortcuts associated with the Bloomberg machines. Eliminating the specialty keyboard and navigation tools has also allowed Money.Net to go mobile, untethering the data that has long been accessible only from the desk. Additionally, a robust news aggregator, which includes original content from Money.Net, is intended to help users stay up to date on market news and analysis. Money.net is an excellent addition to our digital business services collection, said Stephen Schmidt, resources management librarian at the Greenwich Library. It enables our patrons to get streaming live real-time financial data, news on equities, commodities, companies and a variety of other business services. It pulls from a wide range of sources to offer a rather complete picture of the financial world at any given moment. Its nice to have multiple options here at the library for those folks interested and engaged in the financial world. Despite his desire to upset the industry and Bloomberg, Downey acknowledges the value of his former employer and its impact in leading him to develop Money.Net. The most important thing I learned was the business of news, Downey said. I was a consumer of news, but it taught me how news organizations work, and I found it kind of fascinating how that whole system and process worked. I also found out how technology is used by news organizations. KKrasselt@scni.com; 203-625-4411; Twitter: @kaitlynkrasselt HARTFORD Connecticuts car dealers are revving up their voices and political power in attempt to force upstart luxury electric-car maker Tesla to adhere to the states franchise laws. Theyre prepared for a high-speed crash on the issue. Tesla says its sales model runs counter to the traditional high-pressure sales tactics of franchise dealers. Successful last year in defeating similar legislation, the dealers on Tuesday said that theres no reason for Tesla to break the mold and sell directly to motorists in the state. In preparation for a public hearing Wednesday in the General Assembly, James T. Fleming, president of the 270-member Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association, said that the states industry has 14,000 employees in a successful business model that offers customers superior service. He said that the dealers would not oppose Tesla if the company would simply follow the franchise model. Flemings said he was aware of several potential dealers interested in carrying Teslas. He noted that eight years ago, Connecticut auto dealers had $7-billion in sales. Today, were back over $10-billion in sales in Connecticut, Fleming said. Thats nearly 19 percent of all retail sales that occur in the state of Connecticut. The reason is because the franchise system works. Its efficient. Its competitive. It understands the local market. It benefits consumers in price, selection, service and its committed locally in the communities where the dealerships are located. Tesla has never made a profit in that eight-year time period. During a news conference on the chilly north steps of the Capitol, Fleming, a former state senator, said that the issue has brought together a wide-ranging coalition of traditional car makers, who will be bringing their latest electric vehicles to the Capitol grounds on Wednesday, offering free rides. Thirty two dealers in the state offer electric cars that cost between $30,000 and $50,000, he said. Last month, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, and Rep. Antonio Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, co-chairman of the legislative Transportation Committee, said they expected to craft legislation this year that would placate traditional car dealers and allow Tesla to operate in the state. Currently, Teslas only presence in the state is a service center in Milford, but the company recently signed a lease fo retail space in Greenwich. There are Tesla outlets in New York and Massachusetts, but those who buy the $70,000-to-$106,000 vehicles must pay Connecticut sales tax when they register them here. Duff said Tuesday that the bill is in the midst of the legislative process. It strikes the right balance between the franchisees and the direct-sales idea, Duff said in a phone interview. I believe its something that both sides can live with. Having this type of retail establishment will not only create jobs, but generate property taxes and income taxes. James Chen, vice president of regulatory affairs and deputy counsel for Tesla, said Tuesday that the company is depending on Duff and Guerrera to allow Tesla to locate here. Plans call for three such sites. This bill will foster economic activity and increased jobs for Connecticut residents without harm to any established business, Chen said. No independent dealer has ever had to lay off employees or close its doors in the over 20 states where we have a sales location because of Teslas presence. Our business model is straightforward - we provide consumers with an opportunity to learn about the benefits of electric drive without high pressure sales tactics. We have no independent franchised dealers anywhere in the world, including none in the U.S. However, Hearst Connecticut Media recently reported that Tesla has agreed to a franchise agreement in suburban Fairfax County in Virginia that is expected to take effect in April. While Fleming said Tesla was welcome to join the group, Tesla representatives said they were not invited to the news conference. kdixon@ctpost.com; This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BRIDGEPORT Mayor Joe Ganim wanted to pick a new police chief, and on Monday most of the all-Democratic City Council agreed to help make that happen. In a 13-6 vote, council members gave Chief Joseph Gaudett a newly created job running emergency communications, despite warnings and some evidence that the move violated the citys bidding rules because no other candidates were sought. The plan calls for Gaudett to resign this week from his six-figure job as top cop and to immediately become a six-figure private contractor in charge of consolidating and improving the 911 department for Ganim. The contract is for three years and Gaudett is to earn $125,000 annually. I hope I believe I can bring value to this position, Gaudett told council members. I will miss being an employee of the city, certainly, but appreciate the opportunity to stick around and provide some value. Ganim, a Democrat, is expected to appoint political ally Capt. Armando A.J. Perez as interim chief. Perez is considered the front-runner for the permanent job. Ganim and his allies including the police union have been considering what to do about Gaudett all winter. Defeated Mayor Bill Finch extended the chiefs expiring contract another five years ahead of Ganims Dec. 1 inauguration and against the incoming mayors wishes. The pact negotiated over the past several weeks and approved Monday was considered the more palatable option to a more expensive buyout or a court battle to get Gaudett out of the position of police chief. I'm glad you didnt take another route that would hurt the taxpayers, Councilwoman Rev. Mary McBride-Lee told Gaudett, praising him for loving the city. But others protested that Bridgeport would be hurt because the mayor and his staff flaunted the bidding rules. If they can do this, they can do anything they want to do, veteran Councilman James Holloway said. The councils vote capped off a scramble by Ganims administration to massage the terms of Gaudetts contracting job so City Hall could claim to have met Bridgeports purchasing guidelines without having to bother to seek other contenders. Those rules require contracts over $25,000, like Gaudetts, to be publicly advertised and bid. As previously reported, as of mid last week, none of that had occurred, according to details obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request from Hearst Connecticut Media submitted to the purchasing department. The bidding process can be circumvented only for emergencies or when only a sole source bidder can be identified through reasonable efforts. Team Ganim argued those two exemptions were met. Thats where Im hung up on this, said freshman Councilwoman Kathryn Bukovsky. Does it in fact comply with the city ordinance? Yes, City Attorney Mark Anastasi argued. He said Gaudetts work would lead to efficencies to help with the ongoing fiscal crisis Ganim has said he inherited from Finch. So that makes the hiring an emergency, he said. And, Anastasi said, There is no one who possesses the experience the chief possesses combined with Gaudetts local ties. Ganim added, I gotta tell you, uniquely qualified is an understatement. Anastasi said Purchasing Director Bernd Tardy recently signed off on the bid waiver as well. Tardy was not present Monday to defend his decision or answer questions, which irked Councilwoman Michelle Lyons and lead to her no vote. Council President Thomas McCarthy said the deal did not pass the smell test. I think (Gaudett) probably is the most qualified," McCarthy said of Gaudett. But that doesn't mean he's the sole source. .MCarthy asked if the administration had gone through the effort of trying to identify other potential contractors and was not provided an answer. The administration didnt say they did their legwork to determine if there is anybody else, McCarthy told his colleagues. McCarthy, Lyons, Bukovsky, freshman Scott Burns, AmyMarie Vizzo-Paniccia and Jose Casco all voted no. Though Holloway opposed the deal, he left the meeting before the vote. Councilman John Olson backed the contract with Gaudett. This is a very sweet deal, Olson said. Its a political deal. Everybodys going to be happy. Shelton Police Department A 48-year-old Shelton man already behind bars faces new charges in connection with a burglary in Shelton last year. Kevin Lesko was charged with third-degree larceny, third-degree burglary and third-degree criminal mischief. Although he was arrested on Feb. 23, Shelton police announced the new charges against him on Monday. STRATFORD - The case was dismissed Tuesday against a male nurse who was accused of forcing a paralyzed young woman to watch him masturbate, because the woman didnt want to testify against him. I was willing and able to proceed with the prosecution of this case but the complainant has decided she no longer wants to testify, Assistant States Attorney Craig Nowak told Judge Earl Richards in deciding to drop the prosecution of Michael Albert of Stratford. Richards then granted a motion to dismiss the case from Alberts lawyer, Matthew Popilowski. Popilowski said his client maintains his innocence as he and Albert left the Golden Hill Street courthouse in Bridgeport. This was the correct result for this case, we were ready to go to trial today, Popilowski added. Albert declined comment. The 29-year-old woman, who suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy and can only communicate by raising her eyebrows and blinking, was scheduled to be brought into court this morning or the beginning of the trial against the 44-year-old Albert who had been charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. But Nowak told the judge he had received a call from the womans mother stating that her daughter was suffering from anxiety as the result of her expected testimony and it was exacerbating her other medical conditions. The mother made it clear her daughter did not want to come in and testify, the prosecutor said. Albert, who formerly worked for Pediatric Services of America, had been hired in 2013 by the victims family to provide care for the woman who cannot function on her own. Police said in July 2013 they received a complaint from the womans mother that Albert had been masturbating in front of her daughter. Police said they later were able to take a statement from the victim by hooking her up to a special computer that read her eye movements. The victim stated Albert would often brag to her about the size of his penis and how he would like to have three-way sex with his supervisor and a co-worker, police said. On July 26, 2013, the woman said she heard Albert moaning and out of the corner of her eye she saw him watching pornography on a laptop computer, police said. Albert then began masturbating in front of her, police said the woman told them. (The victim) stated that she felt mind raped and has since then had headaches and nightmares, police said. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. The Syrian army has finished the demining works of the Aleppo-Khanaser road and opened the road for humanitarian motorcade to Aleppo. Armenpress was informed about this from Aleppo-based Gandzasar periodical. Aleppo-Khanaser, the only road linking Aleppo with the outer world, was severely damaged by the terrorists. Humanitarian motorcade reached Aleppo on February 29. Fuel will reach Aleppo on March 1 and normal traffic will restore in the coming days. Just shy of a year ago, the U.S. military veteran signed on with Better Deal Printing, founded in 2001 by Lawrence Curell, a disabled Army veteran. Initially started as a home-based, business-to-broker printing company, it has evolved over 15 years into a full-scale production operation that currently serves clients in 21 countries on four continents. Image Credit: Better Deal Printing Related: Graphics From SpeedPro Imaging Have Helped Revamp Cleveland Curell's drive behind the business was to give back to the veteran community and help veterans become business owners in the high-growth area of print, promotional products and corporate apparel. The company offers reduced franchise fees for veterans and disabled veterans. It is competitive by offering lower royalty structures and by owning the manufacturing companies that produce a large portion of the products that the franchisees sell. Better Deal Printing was officially franchised in 2015 and has been growing fast with plans to add another 50 franchises in the next five years to the system. Below, Kingsbury describes just how perfect a fit this franchise was for him and his confidence of future growth within the company. Name: Greg Kingsbury Franchise owned: Better Deal Printing of Northern Arizona Q: How long have you owned a franchise? 11 months Q: Why franchising? Being part of a franchise offers the benefit of a support system which is valuable to start of your new business and ongoing support throughout the life of your business. I was able to walk into a ready-made business with a proven concept, which makes it easier to get started. Q: What were you doing before you became a franchise owner? I have been managing multiple locations for another large franchise company for the past six years. Before that, I was a national marketing director for International Event Promotions Company. Q: Why did you choose this particular franchise? With my other position, I had the opportunity to work directly with Better Deal Printing (the production side) as a vendor to provide quality print products to my customers at very affordable pricing. My business relationship with Larry Curell evolved into an opportunity to move into owning my own business without going broke in the startup phase. They really worked with me to make it affordable and easy to be able to own my own business. Beyond that, the support they offer is second to none. They are always available to me and are proactive and concerned with making sure I am successful. Related: U.S. Air Force Veteran Makes Old Spaces Feel New Again at Kitchen Tune-Up Q: How much would you estimate you spent before you were officially open for business? $13,000 estimated. $10,000 of this expense was the franchise fee for buy-in to Better Deal Printing. The remaining $3,000 covered a new computer, software, business insurance and minimal office supplies and equipment to get going. This is a work out of my home business, so the major things that typically eat at your finances (like a brick-and-mortar building) werent an issue here. My house and my car are my office. Q: Where did you get most of your advice / do most of your research? Having been a part of a major franchise for many years, my experience became my own advice. Q: What were the most unexpected challenges of opening your franchise? Taxes and paperwork. Although I managed other peoples businesses for most of my adult life, I had never owned one. I could not have imagined how important every piece of paperwork was going to be to create a solid paper trail with my finances. Better Deal Printing made it easier, as they have vendors and support in place with discounted pricing negotiated. Q: What advice do you have for individuals who want to own their own franchise? Research the company. Read and understand your contract -- there is a lot of legal stuff in there. Find a great accountant to get you set up correctly from day one. Make sure this is something you really want to do for a long time. You dont want to buy into something and find out you hate it. Thats what working for other people is for. This is your business -- and you should love it! Overall, if you are wanting to be your own boss, this is a really inexpensive and safe (safe as owning a business can be) path to follow. Most of the ground work has already been done for you. You just have to put forth the effort to build strong relationships within your area, and good things will happen. Related: Why This Air Force Veteran Decided to Become a Franchisee of a Brand She Loved as a Kid Q: Whats next for you and your business? Well, Ive brought on a new independent sales consultant to help me grow my local market and spread out a bit. Beyond that, I am hoping to open another location within the next three years and hopefully one more before I hit the five-year mark. Grow, expand, enjoy. What else could I want? YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. President Serzh Sargsyan sent a congratulatory message to the renowned author, expert in Armenian studies, translator and intellectual Kim Bakshi on March 1, wishing him excellent health and new creative achievements. As Armenpress was informed from the Department of Public Relations and Mass Media of Republic of Armenia Presidents Office, the message reads as follows, Dear Mr. Bakshi, On behalf of the grateful Armenian people, I congratulate you on the occasion of your 85th birth anniversary. Your creative journey is closely connected to the history and culture of the Armenia people. Travel notes, books, and scripts for documentary movies are the result of your diligent and vigorous work of decades. Ancient marvels of the Armenian culture, which by a twist of history appeared in different corners of the world, in all their splendor and charm present themselves in your works. Your activities encouraged numerous sons and daughters of our nation to look thoroughly into our rich historical heritage and made the Armenian culture recognizable all over the world. Somerset jury finds two of three defendants guilty of murder Now in its fifth day of testimony and seventh day overall, the double murder trial taking place in Somerset County is now over. The jury decided. Sign up now to receive the latest Hurricane Ian updates via text YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS: Four scientists and researchers will speak about the defensive battles of Armenians during the Armenian Genocide on March 31 at Harvard University. As "Armenpress" reports citing MassisPost, the event will be entitled "From Musa Dagh to Warsaw ghetto: Armenian and Jewish armed resistance of genocide . Speakers include actor, screenwriter Eric Bogosian, Clark University Holocaust historian Deborah Dwork, Armenian Review editor Tigran Kaligyan and professor of the Armenian Studies Department of Harvard University James Russell. Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell is visiting the U of M on Wednesday, March 3 as part of the series Political Leadership in Memphis, organized by the U of M College Republicans. Jonathan A. Capriel Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell is visiting the U of M on Wednesday, March 3 as part of the series Political Leadership in Memphis, organized by the U of M College Republicans. Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell is coming to the University of Memphis Wednesday, March 3. The event will start at 4 p.m. at the University Center theatre and includes a free lunch. Luttrell will be giving an introductory speech about his political work and then answer questions from the audience. The event is part of the series aPolitical Leadership in Memphis,a organized by the University of Memphis College Republicans. aWe invited him specifically to meet students,a Louis Focht, 22, president of the College Republicans, said. aThey will have the chance to talk to him, ask him about his role and network.a Focht, who is a senior International Studies and German double major, said his student organization wants to strengthen the political atmosphere on campus with events like this. aI hope that a lot of students will attend the lecture, because it is all about learning something about the political process in this country,a Focht said. aMayor Luttrell is a good speaker and probably the biggest politic official we ever invited to the U of M.a Luttrell was born in Jackson, Tennessee and moved to Memphis in his teenage years.A He graduated from the U of M with a masteras degree in public administration. The long time mayor was part of the Leadership Memphis program and received an Outstanding Alumni Award of the U of M. He is currently a member of the universityas Arts and Sciences Advisory Council. Luttrell has visited the U of M campus several times since becoming Shelby County mayor. Apple is refusing to generate a security program which would allow them to unlock any Apple phone. The request originated when the FBI found an iPhone belonging to the San Bernardino terrorist. Apple refused this request citing their clients privacy, and now the decision will be settled in court ELIZABETH CASH Apple is refusing to generate a security program which would allow them to unlock any Apple phone. The request originated when the FBI found an iPhone belonging to the San Bernardino terrorist. Apple refused this request citing their clients privacy, and now the decision will be settled in court When the FBI asked Apple to give them a program that would allow access to a locked phone, the boundaries of privacy and government control came into question. The ongoing battle between the FBI and Apple centers on how much control the government has and concerns many students at the University of Memphis. aI feel that Apple is right to not give access to the FBI because then they can access everyone,a Alicia Guthrie, 22, a chemistry senior from Memphis, said. aEven though I have nothing to hide, it gives the government more control over our lives.a The FBI wants Apple to create a back door to its iPhone security, allowing agents to look at data that would normally be password protected. As of right now, iPhone users can set their phones to delete all data after 10 wrong password attempts. However, this may change if the FBI has itas way. This request came from the FBIas discovery of an iPhone that belonged to a terrorist who killed 14 people in the San Bernardino, California massacre on Dec. 2, 2015. Apple refused this request to protect their clientsa privacy, and now the decision will be settled in court. aApple should not give the FBI what they want because clients have a right to their privacy, and Apple respects their clients,a Alex Klatt, 20, a computer science junior from Billings, Montana, said. Klatt is just one of many students who disagree with the FBIas request. Caleb Denny, 23, a biochemistry junior from Cincinnati, Ohio, said Apple should deny the FBIas request. aItas a backdoor that would give the FBI the key to access all iPhones,a Denny said. aItas possible that some other hacker to help the FBI and unlock the phone; in fact, several have offered. To give this code would lead to an abuse of power. All it takes is one person to tell or a hacker to get a hold of the codes. Cyber crimes will skyrocket.a Brannon Lamb, 21, a business supply chain management linguistics junior from Seattle, said itas hard to tell what the actual truth is. aI have a lot of questions about the whole deal,a Lamb said. aIf the technology to create a backdoor does not exist, then what stops someone else from creating one? Does the government really watch us?a Regarding the issue of the terroristas phone being issued by his work, Bailea Coleman, 21, a Spanish and anthropology junior from Memphis, said they should already be able to go through the phone without going to Apple. aI think itas a dangerous thing to start, because if they do this phone, then whatas next?a Coleman said. In court, Apple will refer to the First Amendment stating that computer codes fall under protected speech. The FBI has already issued the All Writs Act of 1789, which can only be applied if there are no laws or rules regarding the issue. On March 22, attorneys for Apple and the government will go to district court, where a decision will be made regarding the program. A group of 40 excited Memphians gathered around tables at Central BBQ on Summer Avenue, but the citys signature food wasnt the reason why. Local organizers for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders met last week to discuss issues such as income equality, climate change and foreign diplomacy. Voters decked out in clever T-shirts and blue Feel the Bern campaign buttons also joined the group called Memphis for Bernie. Sara First, communications coordinator for Memphis for Bernie, isnt surprised. Bernie has the unique ability to appeal to people who have never voted before, First said. Millennials are just starting to reach the age where they are hoping to be settled and start families. Bernies discussions are especially relevant to these young people. Many young voters in the early primaries agree. Sanders won 84 percent of millennial votes in the Iowa Democratic Caucus held on Feb 1, ultimately losing the caucus to Hilary Clinton by only .3 percent. He took home a victory from the New Hampshire primary, beating Clinton by 21.1 percent on Feb. 9. It was another close race in the most recent polls as Clinton pulled ahead of Sanders in the Nevada primary, winning by 5.3 percent. He is now campaigning in the south, where a series of elections will soon take place including the Tennessee primary on March 1. But what is it about Sanders? Why does the oldest candidate running for president appeal to the youngest group of voters? Local experts and Sanders supporters attribute his popularity to three qualities: decades of consistent policy, an idealistic approach and a sense of both personal and political authenticity. Sanders, 74, has maintained the same political views throughout his career, First said. Bernies message has been consistent since the 1960s, which is equality, fairness, and justice, she said. While in college, Sanders was actively involved in the Civil Rights Movement, leading a rally protesting against a segregated campus. He was a youth affiliate of the Socialists Party of America and participated inantiwar and peace movements, stances he still agrees with today. Other candidates seem to have changed their views over the years based on whats popular, said Kelsey Climer, 23, a University of Memphis graduate and self-proclaimed Sanders fanatic. Bernie definitely seems to be the most consistent with what he believes, she said. Sanders is promising big changes for America, such as free education, a renovated health care system and wealth and income equality. Steven Mulroy, an American national politics expert who teaches at the U of M, said millennials are drawn to Sanders because of his idealistic approach to pressing issues. Bernie Sanders appeals to that idealistic lets-do-something- completely-dif ferent vibe that might appeal to millennials, said Mulroy. Hes an outsider, and somewhat of a revolutionary. Sanders exhibits a refreshing sense of authenticity and concern for all people, said Anna Robinson, 18, an Arlington High School senior. Bernie is the only candidate seriously focusing on what the millennials are asking for, said Robinson. Bernie is speaking against the issues this generation cares about, acknowledging our fears and anger, and providing plausible solutions to the major issues that other candidates are putting on the back burner. Sanders recently opened a campaign office in Memphis at Chickasaw Crossing shopping center on Poplar Avenue. Two of the members on staff are students at the University of Memphis. Regardless of local efforts, the outcome of Super Tuesday is uncertain for Sanders as large numbers of Southern votes are tilting in Clintons favor. African-American voters will play a crucial role in the Southern primaries, and early voting polls have placed Clinton in the lead in the South. Tennesseans will have their chance to have their voices be heard this Tuesday during the single largest delegate grab in the presidential race. Super Tuesday could eliminate weaker candidates vying for the White House in both the Republican and Democratic Parties. Twelve states and one U.S. territory will hold their primaries with more than 500 delegates up for grabs. Donald Trump, the billionaire real-estate mogul, has a sizeable lead in the delegate count compared to other Republican in the race. Trump has already secured 82 delegates, and is expected to grab many more on Tuesday. At distant second place, Senator Ted Cruz, Texas, has 17 delegates and Senator Marco Rubio, Florida, has 16. Dr. Ben Carson, neurosurgeon, and John Kaisic, governor of Ohio, are trailing the furthest behind and have a combined 10 delegates. The Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, are much closer. Clinton has 90 delegates to Sandersa 65 votes, this is not including super delegates. Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia will hold caucuses for both parties. Alaska will caucus Republican candidates, American Somoa will caucus for democrats and Colorado will caucus for both parties, but only democratic delegates will be chosen. Because so many southern states are involved in Super Tuesday, it has been given the name aSEC Primarya because it compares to the Southeastern Conference in college sports. This day allows candidates to provide a clearer picture of what they plan to do if elected for president. Super Tuesday can make or break a candidates spot in the running for president.A Sanders trails Clinton in the Southern states so Tuesday could greatly impact his running. Tennessee is one state he trying to gain more votes in. Clinton is expected to win most of the delegates on Tuesday, but if Sanders can pull through, it will be a long drawn-out race between to the two Democrats. aHillary. Thatas who I want,a said Rexford Martin, a junior at the U of M. aSheas a woman. Sheas modern and thatas what we need, the youth.a Because Clintonas husband was president, Martin thinks she could do a really good job in office. aShe has used her own connections, that we may not even know about, to her advantage,a Hamid Farzam, a political science major said. Farzam thinks Clinton is a strong and resilient candidate. Nearly 600 republican delegates are up for grabs on Super Tuesday. To win the republican race, 1,237 total votes are needed. Over 800 democratic delegates are up for grabs. Either Sanders or Clinton will need a total of 2,383 total delegates to secure the presidential candidacy. CNN released a poll on Monday that showed Trump with a 49 percent lead in the Republican party which is 30 percent ahead of Floridaas senator Marco Rubio. In the Democratic lane, Clinton leads with 55 percent over Sanders 38 percent. Trump visited Tennessee this past Saturday, stopping in Millington to speak to potential voters. aOn Tuesday, you have a big day,a Trump said. aYou get up, you go to the polls, and you vote! I promise you, that you are going to look back on this night and you are going to say this was a very important night.a Farzam said he thinks all the Republican candidates are focusing on too much on what Trump is doing rather than their own ambitions in their candidacy. aTheyare feeding off of Trump and what heas doing. Thatas just arousing the masses,a Farzam said. aItas just a popularity contest.a Some students, like Farzam, have started pulling for Sanders because he wants to crack down on the big banks, doesnat work with super pacs and has a comprehensive plan to make college tuition free. aHeas not afraid to stick to his guns. He cares about the American people,a Farzam said. aConviction, thatas what you have to lead with. A transparent president is what we need.a YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS: Public health protection efforts in Armenia are always praised by international health organizations. "Armenpress" reports Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan said in his opening speech of the international ministerial conference entitled New challenges in public health sector" He noted that caring for human health knows no borders, an example of which is this conference. "Regardless of the economic development level, the most important issue in any country is public health protection. Upon declaring public health as priority, numerous projects for the protection of public health are carried out by the government, which are in accordance with the strategy of WHOs "Health- 2020"", Hovik Abrahamyan said. According to him, special appreciation is given to the national immunization program in Armenia, fight against HIV-AIDS and tuberculosis. "A successful project is also the mandatory iodization of salt, which decreased health problems caused by iodine deficiency," the Prime Minister said. Referring to screening (mass medical examination) projects, the Prime Minister emphasized the fact that 50-60% of the vulnerable population will be examined within the framework of the project in three years. Hovik Abrahamyan stressed that year by year the government is increasing funding for the healthcare sector. At the invitation of the Prime Minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan, delegations headed by healthcare ministers of Russia, Iran, Georgia, Belarus and Kazakhstan arrived to Armenia to attend the international ministerial conference entitled New challenges in public health sector. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS: Armenia has turned its attention to public health care. Preventive programs are carried out in Armenia in the framework of "Healthcare should be valued during health, not during disease. Minister of Healthcare Armen Muradyan said at the International Ministerial Conference "New Challenges in Public Healthcare" held in Yerevan. Speaking about the 20th century world wars, which resulted in the loss of millions of lives, Muradyan noted that communicable and non-communicable diseases declared a war against humanity as well. "40 million people die every year from non-communicable diseases worldwide, 18 million are premature deaths. Those people could have worked and added values to their country and all humanity. When we look at this issue in a 10 year perspective, we are talking about 180 million people, and we ask ourselves, which is the bigger war, ", Armenpress reports Armen Muradyan saying. According to the minister, the most recent wave of infectious diseases showed that new types of diseases present challenges for humanity as well, and healthcare professionals are obligated to unite against this issue. He stressed the importance of the mass vaccination program, which is successfully being implemented in Armenia, reaching out immunization programs to more than 95% of the population. Referring to the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, Armen Muradyan noted that 80% of mortalities in Armenia are linked to 3 diseases: cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular. Defeating these diseases is impossible without public support, Armen Muradyan said. He stressed the importance of promoting healthy lifestyle, fight against smoking, adding that 55% of men above the age of 16, 6-9% of minors, 2-3% of women in Armenia are smokers. At the invitation of the Prime Minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan, delegations headed by healthcare ministers of Russia, Iran, Georgia, Belarus and Kazakhstan arrived in Armenia to attend the international ministerial conference entitled New challenges in Public Healthcare. Lifestyle | Daily Life | News | The Sydney Morning Herald Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss Were the BBC reviving its 1980s TV sitcom Yes, Minister today it might have to change a few things. Get Lost, Minister would now be a more accurate title. The shows opening credits would need to be less benign, too. Mandarin Sir Humphrey, far from the droll fixer suggested by the late actor Nigel Hawthorne, has been exposed as something more sinister and bent. We have reached the position laughable, bizarre, outrageous, unBritish where civil servants have been instructed to hide paperwork from Eurosceptic ministers. These officials have, furthermore, been ordered by David Cameron and his unelected henchman Sir Jeremy Heywood to spy on ministers if they want to leave the EU. Cabinet Secretary Heywood is a former stooge of Tony Blair, another power-giddy prime minister. Only this week we have learned from a new biography of Mr Blair that he bypassed proper Cabinet government when he took us to war in Iraq. Are we seeing a repeat of that disastrous scandal? Double act: David Cameron with the Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood Mr Cameron is starting to look petulant. He is starting to look like a man who is losing the arguments. First he sneered at Boris Johnson for coming out for Leave. Now he snatches away official information from senior members of Her Majestys Government, saying nah, you cant look at that cos youre not on my side. Oh for Heavens sake, Prime Minister, do grow up. These are Her Majestys ministers, not yours. You are simply primus inter pares and there are limits on your sway. Yet under the Heywood/Cameron doctrine, Eurosceptic Michael Gove, who in addition to being Secretary of State for Justice holds the ancient position of Lord Chancellor, may not be shown official legal documents relating to the EU referendum. Hang on. Mr Gove is accountable to Parliament, thereby to the British people, for his departments work. If he may not be told everything his officials are doing, how can he possibly do his job? Similarly, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith a former Guards officer, former Leader of the Opposition, a man of high principles and patriotism is barred from knowing research his department is conducting into our EU membership. No line manager in modern business would accept such limitations on his or her knowledge. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith Both Justice and the Work and Pensions Department are at the forefront of the EU debate with the controversies on benefits and legal sovereignty. If the Secretaries of State do not know what is being done by their officials, how can we be sure the work is accurate and factual, as Civil Service law demands? Call me a cynic, but Id say it is possible that officials will be told by an increasingly strident Downing Street to pump out lies, bolster dubious claims and generally act like propagandists. Is this what we want from Whitehall? If you think that far-fetched, look at how the civil service machine was used to attack Scots Nationalist Party positions before the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. One of Mr Camerons ministerial allies, Matt Hancock, tried to defend the concealment policy in the Commons yesterday. He was monstered by the House, MPs lining up to tell young Hancock that it was appalling, sordid and constitutional gibberish to let civil servants decide what could and could not be shown to certain ministers. Rubbish! they yelled at him, no, no, no! and so forth. Mr Hancock insisted civil servants must always serve the Government of the day. The Cameron Government had come out in support of remaining in the EU, he added. Ergo, civil servants could not aid Leave sympathisers. That narrow excuse was not accepted by infuriated MPs on the Tory backbenches. The issue was a great deal more complicated than that, they said. Civil servants are supposed to be impartial. Yet there is an implicit assumption from Sir Jeremy that the material which is being hidden from Eurosceptic ministers is partial towards the Remain side. Second, this information which may not be shown to Eurosceptic ministers noses will still (albeit with difficulty) be discoverable to the public via Freedom of Information, and to MPs via parliamentary written questions. What an absurdity! Anyone but the minister will be able to know. Third, as Michael Fabricant (Con, Lichfield) put it: If were so much stronger in Europe, what is it that the Government is so careful to hide? Mr Fabricant, a Leave man, concluded: This is a huge blunder. The general public will think this decision is petty and vindictive. Matt Hancock tried to defend the concealment policy in the Commons, insisting civil servants must always serve the Government of the day The referendum is basically about our right to get rid of over-mighty politicians. Could there be a worse example of political egomania? Even pro-EU MPs thought the move was madness. As Crispin Blunt (Con, Reigate) noted, the whole point of the EU referendum is to give the British people a say. If voters think the campaign has been skewed by Whitehall propaganda, they will not entirely accept the result of the referendum. Meanwhile, Dennis Skinner (Lab, Bolsover) observed that the whole thing was doing little for Conservative party unity something Mr Cameron said he hoped to preserve. Mr Skinner said there would be threats and counter threats between ministers. As in The Godfather, Eurosceptics could soon find horses heads in their beds. Sir Jeremy is the man the Mail has nicknamed Sir Cover-Up. He is said to resent that moniker, though it seems increasingly justified, maybe even understated. This ruling is so ridiculously secretive he has been summoned to a Commons select committee today to explain himself. Cabinet Secretaries were once remote grandees, shimmering above the day-to-day fray of politics. Sir Jeremy, who may not be as skilful as he thinks, has become a toxic figure. Whatever the legal niceties of his ban on Eurosceptic ministers seeing sensitive papers, his conduct is harming the reputation of the Civil Service. With that he damages the electorates trust in our politics. He is behaving more and more like a European Commission official rather than a servant of Queen and country. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Discussions of the draft Tax code chaired by Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan went on at the Government on March 1 with the participation of the representatives of interested state agencies. As Armenpress was informed from Information and Public Relations Department of the Government of Armenia, suggested amendments in specific tax types, as well as administrative procedures were discusses. A range of proposals and remarks on the issue were introduced. Other issues concerning activation of economy and export promotion were also touched upon. Politicians and quangocrats despise the Freedom of Information Act, which since 2000 has exposed a series of scandals from MPs expenses to lavish pay and lifestyles in the public sector. Indeed, as we report today, Tony Blair on whose watch FoI came into being identifies the Act as one of his greatest regrets. Last year, the political classes came up with a plan to strangle thousands of inconvenient FoI requests at birth. Politicians and quangocrats despise the Freedom of Information Act, which since 2000 has exposed a series of scandals from MPs expenses to lavish pay in the public sector. Indeed, as we report today, Tony Blair on whose watch FoI came into being identifies the Act as one of his greatest regrets They called for prohibitive fees and clauses to protect huge salaries, golden handshakes, expense-account lunches and missed targets from the public gaze. Today, the Government will announce it is stepping in to preserve FoI. A panel reviewing the law has knocked back the demand for charges intended to stop anyone inspecting public servants dirty linen. This is a hugely important victory for the Mails campaign to protect your right to know the truth about profligacy and incompetence. The devil, as ever, will lie in the details. But what we know is encouraging. From now on, public sector organisations must give details of remuneration packages worth 150,000 a year or more and list how many staff earn 50,000-plus. About time! Last month, after a devastating expose by the Mails investigations unit, the Treasury agreed to ban six-figure payoffs and luxury health packages funded from the public purse. How did we know this money was being paid out? Because we made thousands of FoI requests. Now, not only has the political elite failed in its bid to attach fat fees to such requests, but the information it is so keen to hide will be published routinely. This is tremendous news. Even so, we shall remain vigilant. Our bureaucratic aristocracy is tirelessly ingenious in its efforts to reward itself. It must be held to account at every turn. Merchants of doom Yesterday the Government published an official analysis of a post-Brexit UK. Ten years of misery await, it told us. Expats will be stranded on the continent without basic rights. Trade will slump while we renegotiate with Brussels. All sorts of industries will be in peril. This doomsday scenario was backed by David Cameron, who denied that it was the work of Project Fear (a phrase he hates, perhaps because it has caught on). He described it instead as Project Fact. This doomsday scenario was backed by David Cameron, who denied that it was the work of Project Fear (a phrase he hates, perhaps because it has caught on). He described it instead as Project Fact The PM may regret that choice of words, because no sooner had the document appeared than its facts began to unravel. The UK does not enjoy a surplus in car trading with Europe, as the analysis insists. Expat rights will not be affected. And why on earth would EU firms rip up lucrative contracts to export to Britain? More importantly, why would countries in the rest of the world, who sell us billions of pounds worth of goods every year, stop just because we have quit the EU? Mr Cameron famously regards himself as the heir to Blair. Well, now he has his own Dodgy Dossier. A wage rise to regret? WHEN George Osborne unveiled the National Living Wage in last years Budget, he was applauded by liberal commentators who had previously caricatured him as a Thatcherite miser. This week, however, a report by the British Retail Consortium argued that the Living Wage will contribute to the projected loss of 900,000 jobs by 2025. It was inevitable that stores would shiver as the icy winds of globalisation blew. There is nothing the Chancellor can do to stop people shopping online. Not much will make me harrumph like an outraged major general from the Fifties and start muttering approvingly about the birch and National Service. But I get close to it when I hear stories such as the British stag party row on a Ryanair plane to Slovakia. The fracas resulted in a diversion to Germany and the arrest of six young men stupid with drink and arrogance, and now facing heavy fines and, one must hope, a flying ban. Footage shows the moment a mid-flight punch-up began between a stag party, which forced their flight from London to Bratislava to make an unscheduled landing in Berlin and resulted in the arrest of six young men Dramatic footage shows the brawl on the Ryanair flight which occurred just inches from innocent passengers They were drunk at Luton Airport, staggering and noisy it is said, though Ryanair staff let them board. At 35,000 ft, two of them fought, more of them made a racket and one reportedly started stripping. A woman, who was carrying a baby, asked them to calm down; they didnt. Even after landing, some of the party were furious because the cabin crew wouldnt serve them more alcohol. If you are tempted to think youthful high spirits, weve all been there, try watching the video. A fellow passenger filmed them the cabin crew tried to stop him, though what he was doing was clearly valuable evidence for the airline as well as the courts so you can listen to them bawling profanities and shouting: Why shouldnt I batter your face . . . I would rather stab you in the face with a fork. Then watch them trading blows, inches from innocent passengers families and business people whose journeys are about to be frighteningly, tiringly lengthened with an emergency landing in Berlin. The young men, who seem to have jobs and lives at home and are celebrating the coming marriage of Joshua Marriner a young father become a rabble, a disgrace, savages. You could argue, as the grooms brother does (he wasnt on the plane), that a couple of them let him down, but he cant control their behaviour . . . Hes not particularly happy about it, I dont think. Well, tough. There were 12 fit, young men; just six were arrested and we see only two fighting. If the others had been capable, they could have shut up those big brawling babies in no time. Our stag and hen parties are notorious across the Continent, especially in the old Eastern Bloc countries which, still poor and anxious for tourist income, are forced to accept the invasion as civilly as they can I have seen this happen on rowdy late-night trains: a few drunk passengers, sometimes from the military barracks at Colchester, sometimes just a party gang with girls, start effing and blinding and bawling at each other. But when it gets too much, the rest of the group damp them down a bit. Unless theyre too drunk themselves or scared and generally pathetic. In Britain, it is quite rare for things to get really nasty. As a woman, when you glare at them from over your newspaper you always get a vague, comforting sense that they are afraid you might know their mother and tell on them. But stag parties abroad well, we know what theyre like. People think theyre invincible, free from any rules, out among strangers, off their faces and away from home ground. Youll see it on a mini-break to whichever foreign city currently has the cheapest beer and flights it was once Prague, now more likely Bratislava in Slovakia or Riga in Latvia (a website that calculates how many pints you can get for a tenner reveals that three pints in Amsterdam or London will get you 11 in Bratislava). As an ordinary visitor, at least once on the trip you will cringe and feel so ashamed of being British that you may resort to pretending to be French or German. Our stag and hen parties are notorious across the Continent, especially in the old Eastern Bloc countries which, still poor and anxious for tourist income, are forced to accept the invasion as civilly as they can. There is something particularly nasty about this, a kind of new colonialism that you would expect the political Left to be more worried about. At Luton Airport: Posing for the camera shortly before boarding the plane, this is the British stag party whose drunken antics caused a Ryanair flight to make an emergency landing. Groom-to-be Joshua Mariner is circled These uninhibited, riotous, terminally inconsiderate gangs including some of the summer groups heading for resorts such as Magaluf apparently feel it is absolutely OK to behave worse abroad than they would at home, because foreigners dont count. In those countries, they feel richer because things are cheaper, so they act like their idea of spoilt Seventies rock stars. The summer resorts, at least, have to accept they are holiday places; that is not so in a decorous capital city, usually of some country struggling to develop economic prosperity and European dignity. Bratislava, for instance, lies in a predominantly Catholic or Eastern Orthodox culture. Prague is a proud city whose own young such as Jan Palach, the student who in 1969 burned himself to death in a protest in the citys Wenceslas Square fought communism for freedom. Their sons do not carry on like this. Nor do their daughters run around dressed like cartoon whores, screaming and flashing their breasts and suddenly taking tearful, sobbing offence at something another girl says. But foreigners have to put up with this from visitors and they see that the worst oiks and harridans are gulp! British. Oh, the shame! Mr Mariner, who is due to wed fiancee Abi Whitmore (pictured together with their one-year-old daughter), was the groom-to-be whose 12-man group forced the diversion of a London to Bratislava flight You can try many theories as to why this is. Thinking of the boys, you could blame family breakdown, fewer fathers and authoritative male figures providing role models. Turning to the girls, you could shake your head and say that a warped version of feminism has created the cult of the ladette, who can drink any man under the table, fell him with a well-aimed handbag and be proud of it. Or you could and I do think this is an important part of it put down their uncivilised insouciance abroad to another warping: a perversion of national and historic pride, which says that foreigners and their daily lives dont really count. Were British, so we can vomit in their streets all we like so there. Horrible, isnt it. But equally weird is the fact that the whole stag and hen fashion is attached to the most serious, responsible and adult decision of anyones life: marriage. The young Southampton mother who is about to become Mrs Marriner has got to face her wedding day knowing the sort of mates with whom her man goes a-hunting. The girlfriends of the enthusiastic fighters and strippers on that Ryanair plane have to be aware of what lies buried (not very deep) within their sweet and loving chaps. And the man planning to marry the sozzled, mascara-streaked girl in a joke bridal veil I lately saw cackling and flashing her bottom at Stansted Airport should know what deep waters he may be getting into . . . Of course, there are some peace-able, sociable stag and hen gatherings. However, they are no longer quite what they traditionally were single nights out ironically marking the end of freedom as a bit of a joke. You cant expect everyone to be as shamefully low-key as I was, spending the night before my wedding in the village pub with my groom and my three brothers. But I am glad my friends and I reached maturity before the fashion for ramping up the pre-wedding ritual to long weekends or whole weeks on holiday. Even apart from terrifying summonses to drunken depravity in neon pink T-shirts, all the younger women I know groan a little when theyre ordered to fly to Lisbon or endure three days of facials, craft sessions and dry-ski lessons with a group of women of whom they only actually like one: the bride. And the bride dislikes the grooms sister, who has to be included, but will annoy everyone. As for the men, one cunning beast I know lately managed to swerve a dreadful command to party in Budapest, telling his cousin that hed rather spend the money on a better wedding present. None of that group diverted a plane or got arrested, but one did break his arm in two places falling out of a bar. Once quoted saying, 'I just can't concentrate in flats', Victoria Beckham, 41, shocked attendees at her eponymous label's fall 2016 show in New York, when she took her final bow donning a pair of Adidas sneakers. Known for her signature sky-high stilettos, it seems that the designer will be hanging up her heels for good. Speaking to The Telegraph this week, she said 'I just cant do heels any more. At least not when Im working'. Last week at Milan Fashion Week's fall 2016 shows, Giorgio Armani,Tods and Missoni all sent models down the runway in flats. A sure sign that times - and shoe heights - are a-changing! Victoria has said, 'I beyond hate ballerina flats,' so FEMAIL has rounded up four ultra-chic flat alternatives for all former high heel addicts. Scroll down for video Shocking NYFW goers: Victoria surprised the audience at her fall 2016 show taking her final bow in a pair of Adidas sneakers Kicking it: Victoria has been seen favoring flats over her signature heels in recent months After years of proclaiming her love of heels, many have been surprised to see Victoria sporting flats in recent months. But her glitzy 'Posh Spice' persona is a thing of the past, as she told the newspaper, 'I think people saw the real me when I came out [at the end of her Victoria Beckham show in New York] in a pair of mens trousers, a roll-neck and trainers.' With the athleisure trend gaining momentum, more and more women have been embracing comfort in their looks and converting to flats. Not for ballerinas: While she may be stepping out in low heeled shoes, she still wouldn't be caught dead in ballerina flats End of an era: Victoria's signature look since her 'Posh Spice' days has been towering high heels It's not just the footwear that has changed either, Victoria - who at one point in time was always spotted in a tight dress or pencil skirt - has recently been favoring chunky knits and relaxed trousers. Her reason being, 'I travel a lot. Clothes have to be simple and comfortable'. While her ensembles are now more practical, they're not lacking in style. From dresses to culottes, she's been pairing flats with everything, and you can, too! Since we know Victoria won't be caught dead in boring ballerina flats, we found four styles of footwear (for all fomer high heel addicts) that are as chic as they are comfy. SHOP IT NOW Loafers: Left: Gucci loafer, $640, gucci.com. Right: Jeffrey Campbell Loafer, $130, needsupply.com Lace Ups: Left: Nine West flats, $89, ninewest.com. Right: Aquazurra flats, $675, net-a-porter.com Sneakers: Left: Adidas Stan Smith sneakers, $101, adidas.com. Right: Acne sneaker, $495, ssense.com Until she was in Year 8, Doni Viljoen, from Melbourne, was like any other normal teenager. A talented competitive gymnast, she had been competing nationally around Australia for many years. However, all of that came to an end after a youth trip to Fiji in 2013, when the then 14-year-old developed the beginnings of anorexia nervosa a disease that would see her quit gymnastics, drop a huge amount of weight very quickly and end up in hospital after collapsing from lack of food. Here, Doni shares her story with FEMAIL. Scroll down for video Young victim: Doni Viljoen, now 17, was just 14 when she fell victim to anorexia on a youth trip to Fiji Dark days: The disease would see her quit gymnastics, drop a huge amount of weight and end up in hospital I think things really started when I went to Fiji, Doni tells the Daily Mail Australia. We didnt get given that much food and that was new and different for me I experienced real hunger for the first time. While Doni says that her anorexia will have always laid dormant in her, she says that her mother noticed that Doni had lost a heap of weight when she got home from the youth trip: I remember she weighed me and took me to some doctors, Doni says. Doctor dodging: Here, Doni shares her story with FEMAIL, about dodging various doctors and specialists Real hunger: Doni says that on her trip to Fiji, the then 14-year-old experienced real hunger for the first time Calorie counting: As a result she started obsessively counting calories and working out every day On a ten day trip I had lost a significant amount of weight and before I knew it I was counting calories the whole time, losing so much energy I had to quit gymnastics. Because she wasnt doing gymnastics regularly, but had become obsessive about losing weight, Doni signed up for a local gym, where she put herself through a gruelling routine of one and a half hours of cardio every day: I wasnt eating much at the time and was monitoring what little I did eat on My Fitness Pal while working out to the point of total exhaustion, she says. Skipping school: Doni says she started avoiding school where possible and her weight plummeted Not someone she knows: She says that she became 'deceitful, manipulating and controlling' around people I became deceitful, manipulating and controlling - anorexia turned me into a person I wasn't supposed to become I started missing school when I could and when I went to Thailand at the end of that year, I lost another five kilos in ten days. With food and exercise very quickly becoming the focus of her life, Doni was keen to hide her illness from those around her. She says she was soon deceitful, manipulating and controlling about what and when she had eaten and when: When my mum took me to see a GP, he acknowledged that I had a problem, but didnt say I had anorexia. Instead, he thought it was schizophrenia. I later saw other GPs, a psychologist and a specialist but I managed to dodge them all. Anorexia turned me into a person I wasnt supposed to become and if things couldnt be done my way, I didnt want to know about them. Taking a turn: Shortly after a trip to Thailand and after seeing some doctors, Doni collapsed from lack of food Hospitalised: At the time, she was dangerously thin and very unwell, but now (right) she is much healthier Just two months after the Thailand trip and the visit to that particular GP, Doni collapsed and was taken to hospital. After the collapse, I was diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa - this was all last January, Doni says. And luckily, since then it has been a road to recovery. Sometimes, when Im stressed I feel a pull back towards it, especially when I hear girls around me at school talking about flat stomachs and the like, but I am determined not to succumb to the disease that nearly ruined my life. Looking up: Since her collapse, Doni is much healthier (above) - she has separated her mind from the disorder Food blog: She has set up an Instagram page which lets Doni eat all the pretty things she once didn't let herself The minimum an eating disorder stays with you is seven years, even if youre recovered, according to the experts, Doni says. But if I can separate my disorder from my mind and actions that, to me, is being healthy. Since she has started recovering, Doni has launched her own personal Instagram page a page dedicated to documenting the beautiful things she now enjoys eating: Ive always loved food blogs, and when I was really ill I used to spend time on recovery pages looking at girls taking pictures of their delicious, beautiful food wishing I could do that myself. Private turned public: While Doni says it started off as a private thing, she has since made her page public It started off as a private thing, but as Ive grown in confidence so has my page after all, you need to eat pretty things, not muesli bars, to have a pretty Instagram page. I would go as far as to say the project is helping me to recover. Doni says that like many girls who suffer from anorexia, when she finally found herself free from the disease, she saw that she had few hobbies apart from counting calories: The Instagram account gave me a project a hobby and something to do, she says. Grown with confidence: 'The Instagram account gave me a project - a hobby - and something to do,' she says Full days: For Doni, she says that nowadays it is about filling her days and not isolating herself like before My family have been the most supportive people ever and I couldnt have done it without them. These days its all about filling my day and not isolating myself, she says. She already has 183,000 followers on Instagram, and is steadily climbing by about 1,000 people every single day. But shes not a celebrity. She's not even technically famous. Instead, the 24-year-old Li-Chi Pan is known as one of Sydneys leading influencers. She is a full-time food Instagrammer or 'foodgrammer' who has given up her previous career to post artistic photos of delicious food. Full-time food artist: Li-Chi Pan is a full-time food artist, with some 183,000 followers on Instagram Perfect photos: She posts vibrant photos and is gaining nearly 1,000 new followers every single day City influencer: Pan has been called one of Sydney's biggest 'influencers' when it comes to her reach Despite being on the social media network for only two years, Pan is one of a burgeoning number of 'foodgrammers', who are invited to dine at certain restaurants and sent lavish gifts in the hope that they will Instagram their food in return. While her Instagram account was initially set up to keep in touch with her family and friends in South Africa, the now Australian native soon realised she had a talent and made the profile public. The result is perfectly-arranged pictures with a minimal and white style which regularly attract as many as 45,000 likes. Initial hobby: Initially, Pan set up her Instagram profile to keep in touch with her family at home in South Africa Super successful: However, what with the success of the profile Pan made her page public Super likes: Pan's artistic photos regularly attract as many as 45,000 likes on Instagram 'South-African born, Australia-based Li-Chi has an acute appreciation for composition, colour and minimalism,' it says on her blog. 'She creates beautiful and inspiring content on her Instagram account, showcasing her photography and styling prowess across all social platforms. 'She cites legendary architects Frank Gehry and Tadao Ando as prime inspiration for her work.' Foodie fun: Though many Foodgrammers are not professional restaurant critics, their reach is huge Big effect: A lot of places say they feel the effect of someone like Li-Chi Pan's visit long after they dined there Artistic inspiration: She cites legendary architects Frank Gehry and Tadao Ando as prime inspiration Though foodgrammers in general are not professional restaurant critics, and most have no formal training, their influence is huge and cafes, bars and restaurants all say they feel the effect of someone like Li-Chi Pan's visit long after they have passed through the doors. On her blog, Pan writes that the editing features she uses on her Instagram page include 'Afterlight, VSCOcam and Snapseed'. She says she shoots mainly on her iPhone 6 and touches up images on the go, but when she edits photos for her blog 'I edit off Lightroom and shoot on my Canon D500'. Editing help: Pan uses 'Afterlight, VSCOcam and Snapseed' to help make her Instagram shots sumptuous Shooting materials: She shoots mainly on her iPhone 6, but she also uses her Canon D500 for the blog Ever wondered what the worst first date behavior is? Wonder no more. Twitter users from around the world are sharing their most ridiculous, offensive and downright ridiculous dating tips online in order to educate others on exactly what not to do while attempting to romance a person. Using a new hashtag, #UnhingedDatingTips, the suggestions include some real gems like 'Use their toothbrush on the first date' or 'Leave halfway through the meal. It will keep the mystery alive'. Romance fail: A new Twitter hashtag is being used to share people's worst ever dating advice Other tips range from highly annoying suggestions about telling your date how to act - to totally crazy ideas on where to find a good first date, like Craigslist. Correct their grammar at every opportunity. You'll look clever, and they'll really appreciate benefiting from your wisdom, said one Twitter user, who identifies as a UK-based pun rabbit on her profile. Creepy behavior and a total lack of hygiene is also important if you want to totally disturb and distress your dates, according to several Twitter users at least. Michigan-based comedian Jeff Dwoskin is one such person, offering up the rather disgusting suggestion: Share a toothbrush on the first date. It shows you care about good dental hygiene. Safety is also off the menu as far as terrible dating advice goes, with Los Angeles-based actor Patricia Rae offering some less-than-savory advice about where people can find a date for the evening. Keep it to yourself: Share a drink or a dessert maybe, but anything related to dental hygiene should be off the table, unless you are keen to turn your date off once and for all Just stop: Dating an English teacher? Or an editor? Doesn't matter, no one wants to be on a date or at any kind of social function with someone doing this Success: This could actually lead to a second date if you leave your date wanting more and don't ditch the date without warning #UnhingedDatingTips Craigslist,' she suggested, before adding, jokingly: 'Its completely safe. Certainly if youre looking for a person who adheres to Canadian-based comic Tim Kellys advice about violating all restraining orders', Craigslist may just be the place to look. But not all of the tidbits of advice are totally dangerous. London-based user Hashtag Knight took his tip right out of an episode of Friends, seeming to draw inspiration from a scene in which Joey verbally attacks his date for trying to help herself to his fries. If she tries to eat your fries, stab her with your fork to assert your dominance,' he wrote. Good advice: For daters who are also hoarders or just love carbs, bringing a big bag or even a lunch bag to your date can be doubly useful, enabling you to steal food and creep out your date Totally creepy: Just hope it's a really short date before your eyes completely dry out He soon tweeted with a follow-up: If the fork doesn't stop them, the next step is salt in the eyes! Brooklyn-based joke-writer Kevin Flood perhaps tweeted the worst advice of all to his 27,700 followers, advising them to do nothing more horrifying than acting as they would at any other time. Just be yourself. #UnhingedDatingTips, he said. Needless to say there is no shortage of terrible advice for any romantics who are on the look-out for love and want to know exactly what not to do should they actually want to find their one true love. On the flip side, however, the awful dating advice offered up using the hashtag may also serve as useful suggestions for anyone who wants to rid themselves of a date that isn't going particularly well. Sell yourself: According to this person, dating websites could benefit from user reviews and star ratings for every single person out in the dating pool Multiple texts: If you're eager to ensure that the person is scared off for good, this Twitter user suggests persistently texting him until he replies - or changes his number Touching: They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but just try letting the food speak for itself Thankfully, #UnhingedDatingTips wasn't the only romance-focused hashtag being offered up on Twitter recently. Earlier this month, Americas longest married couple offered dating advice under another hashtag, #LongestLove. New York couple John and Ann Betar, who have been married for 83 years, advised to Never hold grudges and noted that most of their arguments are about food. Perhaps that unhinged fries advice could come in Handy. Of course, those aching for more Internet opinions on their love life, good or bad, can always go back to the classic: Reddit. Beware: This could end badly, really badly Be direct: Just wear a wedding dress and save yourself the time of climbing under the table She said she will 'fight this war with kindness, forgiveness and love' On Monday she announced her return to the industry She said she'd move back to Australia to 'live the life that I fully deserved' Last week she quit modelling because of 'fakes and lies' in the industry It may be the shortest retirement in history. Last week, Ajak Deng, one of Australia's most successful international runway models, sensationally announced she would quit modelling due to 'fakes and lies' in the fashion industry. The 26-year-old, who has modelled for designers including Dior, Louis Vuitton and Jean Paul Gaultier and starred in campaigns for Topshop and Barneys, said she was 'officially done' with the industry via Instagram. Now, less than one week later, Deng has announced her return. Scroll down for video 'I am going to stay': Australian model Ajak Deng, 26, has announced her return to the modelling industry after saying she would quit on Wednesday due to 'fakes and lies' Staying put: 'I was selfish to only think of my self [sic] and forgetting the people that has [sic] always been there for me through the worst times and good times,' she said on Instagram 'I was selfish to only think of my self [sic] and forgetting the people that has [sic] always been there for me through the worst times and good times. I feel like I have touched so many young people's lives, gave them hope,' she wrote. 'Just because I come from NOTHING does not mean that I can't make something for myself and for that I will still want to continued [sic] to touched [sic] more lives. Yes sure giving up is easier but who will fight the war that we are so in denial about?' Deng spoke about her agent Mina White and said that she 'continued to support and still have my back even though I decided to throw it all away after our hard work' and labelled Ms White her 'spirit and a guiding angel.' 'Guiding angel': Deng spoke about her agent Mina White and said that she 'continued to support and still have my back even though I decided to throw it all away after our hard work' Reflecting: She reflected on her first 'season in Milan' where nobody booked her because 'they won't booking [sic] black girls like me that season' Staying: 'I thought giving up was easier but I am going to stay and fight this war with kindness, forgiveness, love and support to all humanity,' she concluded She reflected on her first 'season in Milan' where nobody booked her because 'they won't booking [sic] black girls like me that season' and explained how Ms White told her there was 'absolutely nothing wrong with her', wiped away her tears and brought her back to New York where they decided to 'change their minds one day at a time.' 'I am just getting started and modeling isn't the only Thing I will be successful in, in my life time. I apologize to every kind souls/hearts [sic] that I have broken in the past week,' Deng said. 'I thought giving up was easier but I am going to stay and fight this war with kindness, forgiveness, love and support to all humanity.' Regret: 'I am just getting started and modeling isn't the only Thing I will be successful in, in my life time. I apologize to every kind souls/hearts that I have broken in the past week,' Deng said 'Put your best foot forward': Last week Australian model Ajak Deng announced she would quit modelling because she could 'no longer deal with the fakes and lies' Coming home: Deng said that she would move back to Australia to 'live the life that I fully deserved' 'We are all beautiful and deserved to be respected. #BigLoveToHumanity,' she concluded. On Friday, Deng said she was 'happy with her decision' to leave and described herself as a 'fighter' but just three days later she had reconsidered. Deng's fans were thrilled with the news and shared support on Instagram. 'You are the kind of person who gives me strength! A true angel, a strong person who doesn't let herself down! It must be hard to be dark skinned in a white industry...Me as a white person is deeply, but DEEPLY ashamed of what is happening in this world, and it is so sick. I just want to say that I love you my angel, and welcome back!!!' One fan wrote. 'The day you said you were leaving, I cried so hard. I've always wanted to be a model and you were my biggest inspiration...I'm so happy you're staying I'm crying in the middle of class thank you so much,' another said. Happy with her decision: The model posted to Instagram after announcing she was quitting, with a caption saying: 'Thank you for your blessings God' Supportive fans: Many were thrilled with Deng's decision to return to modelling and shared their support online Others were less supportive. 'You'll probably block me for this, but you need to just stop with your tantrums!' Another said. 'You're in a cut throat mean industry, stay professional and stop with the drama! You're probably doing your image more harm than good! I wish you all the success in the world because I'm a huge fan and I think you're BEAUTIFUL, but stop airing your dirty laundry in public!' On Wednesday, the 26-year-old announced that she would be moving back to Australia to live a 'real life'. Over it: Others asked that Deng stop 'airing her dirty laundry in public' Not so positive: 'You're in a cut throat mean industry, stay professional and stop with the drama! You're probably doing your image more harm than good!' A social media user wrote 'I will be moving back to Australia In order to live the life that I fully deserved. Which is real life,' the model wrote. 'I can no longer deal with the fakes and the lies. My life is too short for this dramatic life.' An hour later Deng posted a photo on Instagram of herself smiling and looking up to the sky with the caption: 'Thank you for your blessings God.' In 2014 the model tweeted about racism in the international fashion industry, claiming that she was 'kicked out of Balmain for being black.' The competition is being held in China from March 1 to 12 Native flowers are very on trend in floristry, but would you wear them as a dress? Australia's entrant to Mrs World Australia, Yolandi Franken, has revealed her interesting choice of national dress before leaving for the competition, which includes a cascade of real flowers down her front. Mrs Franken, from Sydney, will be wearing a native flora themed outfit for the national dress portion of the competition which is being held from March 1-12 in Donguhuan, China. The dress is green and decorated with native flowers such as wattle, waratah and kangaroo paw. It features a full skirt with and a very large floral head piece. Green and gold: Mrs World Australia Yolandi Franken (above) has revealed her national dress for the international Mrs World competition In bloom: The dress features native flowers such as waratah and wattle, as well as gum leaves and kangaroo paw The most striking aspect of the dress is the large golden cape attached to the back, which can be held up to form a circle, representing Australia's sun. The dress was designed by Mrs Franken's good friend, Amanda Whitfield. The 34-year-old said that she waited until the day she left for the competition to reveal her dress because doing otherwise is akin to a bride showing their wedding dress before the big day. ' I wanted to wait for the right time to share my dress with my fellow countrymen and women,' she explained. Blossoming: The dress also features a golden cape, designed to look like Australia's molten sun Up, up and away: Mrs Franken has left for China to compete in the pageant, which has never been won by an Australian Mrs World The Mrs World competition was born out of the Mrs America competition. Mrs America was established in the 1930s as a contest for married women, as the more well-known Miss America pageant requires its contestants to be legally single. Mrs World, the international version of Mrs America, first started in 1985. An Australian contestant has never won the competition. The pageant, Mrs Franken is quick to say, isn't just about looks but about being the 'full package.' Smile: Mrs World is a beauty pageant for married women, as the more well-known Miss World competition requires women to be legally single For a good cause: Mrs Franken wants to use her reign as Mrs World Australia to spread awareness of ovarian cancer The Sydney woman wants her reign as Mrs World Australia to help her advocate for the charities she supports, particularly in regards to ovarian cancer. The cause is close to her heart, having been diagnosed with cervical cancer five years ago after a routine pap smear. A barmaid who suffered 90 per cent burns to her body and was in a coma for nine days after being burned in a horrific house fire has revealed she spent years wishing she had never been saved. Layla Skalli, from north London, was given less than a one per cent chance of survival when, at 19, a blaze engulfed her student flat, which hadn't been fitted with smoke alarms, leaving her with life-changing injuries. The now 26-year-old, whose injuries led to her suffering depression and addicted to the painkillers she was taking for crippling pain, has said she has finally found happiness again after travelling the world. The now 26-year-old, whose injuries led to her suffering depression and addicted to the painkillers she was taking for crippling pain, has said she has finally found happiness again after travelling the world But now, nearly seven years on, Layla says she is happy to be alive and has been travelling around the world, pictured, and she now wants others to know that hope can always be found Layla was so badly burned when the fire tore through her Norwich accommodation in 2009 that when a firefighter carried her out of the blazing building, intense heat from her injuries penetrated his safety clothing and burnt him too. Medics carried out a nine-hour operation to remove Layla's deeply-burned skin so it would not become infected, before using her cells to grow new skin which was used along with donor skin for grafts which now cover 85 per cent of her body. When she came round from the medically induced coma, her first words were to ask her sister Nadia for a can of Dr Pepper. She said: 'The doctors were shocked, I wasn't supposed to come round for four weeks. Asking for my favourite drink showed I'd escaped without brain damage. That was a fear because I hadn't been breathing for so long.' More tragedy was to come after Layla's mother Jackie died of an accidental overdose following the devastation of the fire. Layla said: The fire destroyed me on every level, and then it robbed me of my mum. Layla was in a coma for nine days and woke in hospital with no recollection of what had happened The student was on the verge of organ failure due to high levels of carbon monoxide poisoning from the fire After the fire: Layla's student flat in Norwich was destroyed by the fire in April 2009 But now, nearly seven years on, she is happy to be alive and wants others to know that hope can always be found. Layla said: I spent years wishing I had not been saved, but I have managed to change how I feel. Three years ago I found the courage to travel the world, to face the world, and that has changed everything. On the other side of the globe I uncovered my burns and let people see me. I was accepted and I realised it was possible to enjoy life again.' She added: I may be scarred, but I am no longer scared. In fact, Im proud of my scars and how far Ive come. I would never have had the courage to go travelling on my own before the fire. Layla said it is still not known how the blaze started in her flatshare in Norwich as she slept on April 14, 2009. But there was no warning as her landlord Michael Billings, who was later jailed for breaching health and safety laws, had not fitted any smoke alarms. Layla Skalli, from north London, was given less than a one per cent chance of survival when, at 19, a blaze engulfed her student flat It is still unknown how the fire started, but it left the 19-year-old with life-changing injuries Layla was left with burns so severe, intense heat from her injuries penetrated the firefighter's safety clothing A catering student who planned to join the army, Laylas future crumbled when she awoke from a coma nine days after the fire. She said: The first thing I remember is coming round disorientated and seeing Mums face. I had no idea what had happened. The first thing I remember is coming round disorientated and seeing Mums face. I had no idea what had happened Jackie, 41, told her that she had fallen unconscious in heavy smoke. Fire crews smashed through her third-floor window to save her, seconds before the room exploded. They found her curled up on the floor with her hands covering her face, the only part of her body which was not severely burned. Layla said she had no recollection of the fire, only of waking up in Norwich University Hospital. She was resuscitated in the street after her rescue and began screaming in agony and coughing up blood before being taken away in the ambulance. She had organ failure, carbon monoxide poisoning and her burns were becoming infected. While her housemates escaped unharmed, carbon monoxide levels in Laylas body were near lethal and she was on the verge of organ failure. Yet 12 hours on she was still clinging to life, so during a nine-hour operation medics removed her burned skin and planned a suit of skin to be grown from her cells and donors. It would be grafted on over coming months. Layla later visited South Africa and Kenya, adding: Seeing the poverty and suffering helped me reassess life. I began to see how lucky I was. Layla, pictured while travelling, also had to learn to walk again, and lost count of all her operations. Three months after the fire, she moved in with her parents and Jackie cared for her full-time When she awoke, Layla was initially unaware of extent of her injuries. Her hands were so badly burned she was told at one stage they might have to amputated. They were saved but the tendons were destroyed so her fingers are stuck in a claw-like grip. It was only after several weeks she was able to see how she looked after asking for a mirror. Hospital staff, fearing for her reaction, said she could have one when her mother Jackie visited the next day. Her face had been protected by her hands as she fell unconscious, but Layla said: I wasnt prepared for the way the rest of my body looked. She added: 'I was relieved my face was not too bad. The rest of my body had melted but at least I still had my face. Even my hair had melted on to the floor and I was bald. That was probably the hardest part.' She also had to learn to walk again, and lost count of all her operations. Three months after the fire, she moved in with her parents and Jackie cared for her full-time. Layla said: She would get me dressed, change my dressings, she even slept with me as I suffered terrifying nightmares. The pain was constant and only numbed by the strongest painkillers. Layla said travelling around the world made her realise she had nothing to be ashamed about. She said: I was alive and starting to enjoy that feeling for the first time' Layla she decided she owed it to her mother to do something with her life, and spent some of her compensation on a flight to America. She went on: Id wanted to be a soldier, one day a wife and a mother. Now all that seemed impossible. I couldnt even go out with friends. People stared and pointed at me, so I stayed home. Back then, if Id been given a choice, I would have chosen to die. Her mother Jackie also suffered depression after the fire. On New Years Eve 2009, she accidentally mixed alcohol with her anti-depressants and died in her sleep. Layla said: She was my rock and without her I really wished I had died. I was so angry. If it hadnt been for the fire, Mum wouldnt have died. She moved in with her sister Nadia, 20, who took on her care, helped by dad Hakim, 53, and brother Andrew, 24. Layla was in the grip of her painkiller addiction when she faced her landlord at Norwich Crown Court in 2010. He was charged with 14 offences in breach of fire, health and safety laws and made to pay Layla 20,000 compensation. He was jailed for 30 months, which was later cut to 21. In January 2013 Layla finally sought help for her addiction, and was admitted to a detox centre. She said: It was so hard. I had to go through all the pain again, with no cushion. Layla's landlord Michael Billings was charged with 14 offences in breach of fire, health and safety laws and made to pay Layla 20,000 compensation. He was jailed for 30 months, which was later cut to 21 Layla was so badly burned when the fire tore through her Norwich accommodation in 2009 that when a firefighter carried her out of the blazing building, intense heat from her injuries penetrated his safety clothing and burnt him too But she decided she owed it to her mother to do something with her life, and spent some of her compensation on a flight to America. She said: Walking through New York, I finally felt like the brave person everyone said I was. I felt happy for the first time since the fire. 'I started to see it wasnt my burns that people had been reacting badly to, it was my negativity. The happier I was, the better people seemed to respond to me. After 10 days I flew home feeling so proud. Layla then bought tickets to Australia and booked into a clinic for post-traumatic stress treatment in Byron Bay. She said: I realised I had nothing to be ashamed of. I was alive and starting to enjoy that feeling for the first time. I even had flings. It gave me hope that one day I would have a relationship again. Her proudest moment came when she stripped down to her shorts to swim at the Great Barrier Reef. Layla said: Travelling helped me see I still have a great future. Seeing how big the world is, how much people can achieve, has helped put my suffering in perspective. Layla said: I realised people werent staring at me, and if they did it was because they wanted to know what had happened. She later visited South Africa and Kenya, adding: Seeing the poverty and suffering helped me reassess life. I began to see how lucky I was. After two years, Layla returned to the UK and moved from Norwich to London last year to start a degree in social sciences, and hopes to become a social worker or counsellor. She said: Travelling helped me see I still have a great future. Seeing how big the world is, how much people can achieve, has helped put my suffering in perspective. And Ive learned I have nothing to fear, because nothing could be worse than what Ive been through already. Angela Gallo was in the grips of labour. Contractions surged through her body and she felt 'fragile, helpless and overwhelmed' - but in that moment, she decided to masturbate. While many would be shocked by this, Mrs Gallo insists that 'clitoral stimulation' worked as a natural pain relief and made the transition stage of childbirth more manageable. So convinced that all women should be doing this, the 30-year-old has written a very frank and revealing blog post on the subject, which she has shared with FEMAIL. While it is not uncommon for women to orgasm during childbirth, having an orgasm during labour as a non-sexual form of pain relief is a taboo topic rarely spoken about. Mrs Gallo told Daily Mail Australia that is one of the reasons she chose to share her story. Best form: mother-of-two Angela Gallo has spoken out about how masturbation works as a natural pain relief 'Something I'm particularly passionate about is choices in childbirth,' she said. The birthing photographer, from Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, said women in mainstream birth cultures were limited with their pain relief options - with an epidural, gas or nothing at all being the main choices. Mrs Gallo described her first birth as 'highly medicalised' and she underwent an epidural that left her feeling out of control of her body. In her second labour, through masturbation she was able to have a birth free of medical interventions. It lasted for six hours as compared to her first labour which went for 45 hours. Her blog post has opinions divided, with some sharing their own stories and others making inappropriate or insensitive comments. 'It's not a sexual urge whatsoever,' she said. 'It's my body saying "hey, natural pain relief is where it's at". It's about exploring your options and exploring your choices in childbirth and taking ownership of your experience on a physical and emotional level.' Here, Mrs Gallo shares her incredible birthing story she titled: 'Why I touched myself in labour - here's three reasons you should consider it, too!' Picture perfect: 'My second baby's birth was remarkably more empowering then then my first' WHY I TOUCHED MYSELF IN LABOUR - HERE'S THREE REASONS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER IT, TOO! 'Shut the front door - she said WHAT?!' 'Yes, you heard me right. And don't be so shocked. Birth and sex operate in almost the exact same ways. The hormones, sensations, the anatomy involved, brain activity, receptors ... they are all so heavily intertwined. Our vulvas swell, blood flow is increased, we moan, sway our hips, deep breathing, sweat - we drop into a a seriously sacred intimate space. Heck, women around the world are experiencing orgasmic childbirth. I wanted to make sure I had a piece of that pie! And yet it still boggles people's minds when I let them in on my (not-so dirty) little secret. Birth brings out the animal in me; and it is a feeling I shamelessly indulge. It can only be described as a lioness coming out of her cave - sexy, strong, capable, warm. My second baby's birth was remarkably more empowering then then my first. Firstly, I labored in the comfort of our home, with the people I love most. Secondly, because of the privacy, support, and love I felt wrapped in, my surges felt COMPLETELY different. 'Why I touched myself': Mrs Gallo shares her birthing story of how masturbation turned into a drug-free labour Relief: In her second labour, through masturbation she was able to have a birth free of medical interventions They were intense, yes. But the wildness of them felt ... electric. Sensual. Powerful. I remember one moment very vividly. As I neared transition (9-10 cm), I felt incredibly fragile, hopeless, and overwhelmed. (Transition can be such a fickle b***h!) Masturbation made the MOST sense to me as I labored through my surges. I remember my husband saying, 'Would you like to have sex?' And although I couldn't commit to sex in the moment, he must have read my mind! Clitoral stimulation worked an absolute TREAT. It shifted my focus to my vagina, to the energy brewing within me. It made me feel connected, and made me feel like I had some control over what I was feeling. The surges were much more manageable, and the rest between them was so much more enjoyable. If I close my eyes now, I am taken back to that place. The hot water on my back, my husband's hands locked in mine, the safety of his presence, the happiness as I rode those wild waves. Non-sexual form of labor: She said the experience was simply her body's way of producing natural pain relief Orgasmic in a sexual way - no. Pleasure - YES. It was my glorious instinctual pain-relief system coming to life! I am so proud of myself for exploring an avenue so typically shamed. For as far back as scientific, biblical, or medicine based text exist, birth has always been spoken about as something to 'endure'; pain as punishment for eating the apple off that damn tree. To boot, many people feel very uncomfortable with the idea of pleasure in childbirth. And hey, I get it. For some, It's a pretty big idea that takes us way out of our comfort zones. Debra Pascali-Bonaro, pioneer and crusader for orgasmic birth, says, 'It's such a culture where some women actually feel shamed that they have pleasure, because the expectation is pain,' Pascali-Bonaro said. 'We have to change that.' The good news is if you've made it this far, you're at the very least, intrigued. Here are a few enticing reasons to take the shame out of pleasure, and put the sex back into childbirth! 1.WHAT GETS THE BABY IN, GETS THE BABY OUT! Oxytocin, baby. With a side of Endorphin and Adrenaline. (In all the right amounts, too!) Ina May was not kidding when she coined that term. Nipple, vaginal, clitoral stimulation, kissing, intimacy, affection; these all inspire the flow of our hormonal allies in birth. Experiencing a 'stalled' or lengthy labor? Need a natural pick me up? Touch yourself, mama! It gets the good stuff flowing. Childbirth more manageable: Mrs Gallo insists that 'clitoral stimulation' worked as a natural pain relief 2. PAIN RELIEF Ever had a headache, or been hung-over, or couldn't sleep; and you instinctively decided on a mini-masturbation sesh? And then voila - headache magically gone? Well - many of us do it. And that's because it works. So why would it be any different to using clitoral stimulation in during/between contractions? In 1988, a man by the name of Komisaruk published a study in the Journal of Sex Research, that explored the idea that when 'women stimulated their vaginas or clitori, they became less sensitive to painful stimulation'. 'Using rats, Komisaruk found that vaginal stimulation blocked the release of a pain transmitter called Substance P. In other words, the sensory neurons tasked with transmitting their message of 'ouch!' to the central nervous system are stymied from the get-go.' 'It's an actual physiological, very primordial system of the genital system blocking pain input,' Komisaruk said. 3. IT FEELS GOOD! Mood boost, anyone? Want to feel more relaxed? You know that dopey, satisfied, tired feeling you can after an orgasm...that's it right there. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Americans have been issued a travel warning to avoid visiting the southeastern part of Turkey, the Department of State announced. Armenpress reports, citing Sputniknews. "Given the recent terrorist attacks and increased threats from international and indigenous groups, US citizens should exercise caution when traveling throughout the country," the statement explained. Recent terrorist attacks from international and indigenous groups have targeted popular tourist sites, US government buildings, police and other local authorities throughout Turkey, the State Department noted. A schoolboy wrote a courageous letter about his battle with cancer shortly before his death from a brain tumour in November last year. Finlay Church, 11, wrote the letter - via speaking the words to his parents - just four days before he died from the disease. Penny and Wayne Church, from Alvechurch in the Midlands, described their son as an 'amazing boy' and have released the letter help raise awareness about the illness, as Brain Tumour Awareness Month begins today. Scroll down for video Finlay Church, 11, from Alvechurch in the Midlands shared his feelings with family friend Claire Whitehead shortly before his death from a brain tumour in November 2015 Finlay, pictured (far right) in February last year with mum Penny and dad Wayne while raising funds for Birmingham Children's Hospital, which he received a Pride of Birmingham award for Penny and Wayne Church say they feel angry and frustrated that the disease claimed the life of their 'amazing son' and hope the letter will raise awareness about the disease. (Pictured with Rico the family dog) Finlay passed away on Wednesday, November 25, just a few days after he'd dictated the letter to family friend Claire Whitehead, 39, and speaks about his fears over his ongoing battle with the disease. In one paragraph, he says: 'I'm a bit scared of losing the fight,' he admits. 'I hope I don't. I've just got to keep on fighting. 'F' cancer.' He also opens up about how he feels the disease has ravaged his life - and his hopes of one day becoming a policeman - and the love he feels for his family. Finlay, also address the cancer directly, saying: 'To cancer. 'F' cancer. You made my life change. Good and bad. He continues: 'Shall we start with the good? We got a dog, it has brought my family closer, we have raised thousands of pounds for Brain Tumour Research and Birmingham Children's Hospital.' The boy, who won a Child of Courage award at the Pride of Birmingham Awards last year after raising more than 100,000 for charity, then recounts the 'experiences I never thought I would have, thanks to the local community and friends and family.' Finlay, aged ten, pictured after helping Birmingham Children's Cancer Centre raise 4million pounds in funds A printed out version of the letter, which details the ups and downs of Finlay's battle with brain cancer After the ups, he offers an honest account of the downs, saying: 'Now the poo side of cancer. The rubbish side is the drugs and feeling so crap. The pain feels like pain, I can't explain it in any other way and I feel fed up. 'Because it's boring and I'm fed up of this feeling every day. I feel tired and have pain in my muscles, and I'm fed up with being fat.' There is humour too, as he reveals in his letter that 'Auntie Claire', who's helping him write the letter is enjoying a glass of something bubbly. He writes: 'I'm sat in bed being quizzed by Auntie Claire. As normal, Auntie Claire is accompanied by a glass of fizz...' Brave: Finlay pictured in October 2015 - just a month before his death - with his family: Dad Wayne, Mum Penny, brother Maca and sister Tegan Finlay, known as Fin to his family, sat with family friend Claire to write the letter, which he dictated to her phone Claire, who lives in Leeds and who has known Penny since they were 18, explains how the letter came about. She says: 'Penny called me and said Fin hadn't got long left so I came down to see him,' she says. 'Penny was saying he wouldn't talk to her and she just wanted to know how he felt. 'I went up to his room and we started by playing a game of cards.' As they played, mum-of-five Claire encouraged Finlay to talk to her. 'I said he could say how he felt in a letter, and he agreed. 'He didn't need much prompting and I typed everything into his phone. It was tough - and that's why I needed the glass of fizz.' FINLAY CHURCH'S INSPIRING LETTER IN FULL Why am I doing this? To tell people how I feel. My name is Finlay Church. I like my name. I like chocolate and food. I've always loved food. I do often swear to myself in my head. Sometimes I say the 's' word in my head when I have pain. The pain feels like pain, I can't explain it in any other way and I feel fed up. Because it's boring and I'm fed up of this feeling every day. I feel tired and have pain in my muscles and I'm fed up with being fat. I'm sat in bed being quizzed by Auntie Claire. As normal, Auntie Claire is accompanied by a glass of fizz. We are looking at photos of my family and friends. I love all the pictures that are flickering on. At this point in my letter I would like to say 'chop chop' to my mother to bring my tea. To my mum - I've got no idea what to say. I'm just so fed up. I'm sick of going through it. I love my crazy mum, you are nuts, bolts, amazing, incredible... You help me go through this, you wash me, you feed me, and you love me. I can't tell you how much I love you and appreciate your help. You are the best mum in the world. Finlay joked in the letter about his family, saying that his mum was 'crazy, nuts and bolts' and his little sister was 'a pain in the bottom' but 'just so cute' I'm a little bit scared, just of cancer. My dad! You're more sensible than mum and more mature. I love you to bits because you are so caring and supportive and you don't get drunk as much as mum. Macca, you are a really nice brother. You are there when you want to be. I know you struggle sometimes seeing me poorly but I know you wish the best for me. I love you even though people thought we were twins and I am nearly two years older - but it's mum I blame for dressing us the same. Tegan, you can be a pain in the bottom but I will always love you and forgive you because you are just so cute. Rico, my dog, you big daft ball of wool. You have made my family better and you have improved the improbable. I just wish you had a brain and a muzzle. To cancer, 'F' cancer. You have made my life change. Good and bad. Shall we start with the good? We got a dog, it has brought my family closer, we have raised thousands of pounds for Brain Tumour Research and Birmingham Children's Hospital. I have had experiences I never thought I would have, thanks to the local community and friends and family. I'm just so happy that people have helped. Now the poo side of cancer. The rubbish side is the drugs and feeling so crap. I'm a bit scared of losing the fight. I hope I don't. I've just got to keep on fighting. When I grow up I want to be the best armed policeman that Birmingham has ever had. I want to help my local area to say thank you for all their support and generosity. Finlay Church Advertisement The brave 11-year-old also pays tribute to his family. He calls his brother Kenzie the nickname 'Macca' and thanks him for being a 'really nice' brother. He describes sister Tegan as 'just so cute' but 'a pain in the bottom.' Of his mother, he writes: 'I love my crazy mum, you are nuts, bolts, amazing, incredible... 'You help me go through this, you wash me, you feed me, and you love me. I can't tell you how much I love you and appreciate your help. You are the best mum in the world.' And he calls his dad more 'mature' and sensible' than his mum, pointing out 'you don't get drunk as much as mum.' Finlay's parents have also revealed that they donated their son's brain to medical research to help the fight against the disease. BRAIN TUMOURS: THE FACTS One in 50 of all people who die under the age of 60, dies from a brain tumour Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer 16,000 people each year are diagnosed with a brain tumour Less than 20 per cent of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50 cent across all cancers. Just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease Source: Brain Tumour Research Advertisement Penny said: 'As we fought as hard as we could for Fin, we were sickened to learn that the treatment for brain cancer is antiquated and barbaric, as cruel as the disease itself. 'We also learned that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer. Yet just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research is allocated to this devastating disease. She said the family felt 'anger and frustration' and that she came to wish that her son had been diagnosed with leukaemia instead. Penny added: 'Investment in research and increased public awareness mean leukaemia is no longer a death sentence. We donated Finlay's brain to medical research so that he could finally rest in peace and in the hope it would be of some help to the scientists who are working so hard to understand more about brain tumours.' Victoria Beckham has received criticism on social media after posting a quirky gif of a model on her Instagram page. The fashion designer, 41, posted the moving image on her account this afternoon and quickly saw the picture, which shows a young, blonde-haired model turning left and right against a backdrop of the New York skyline, amass 32,000 likes. However, many of the nearly 300 comments rounded on the designer for using a model they felt was 'way too thin' with such vitriolic observations that the beauty's own mother had to weigh in in her defence. Scroll down for video Controversial: Victoria Beckham posted a gif of an unknown model wearing a striped black and brown dress from her latest VBAW16 collection on her Instagram account this afternoon. Comments were quickly made about the model's slender appearance Under fire again: Victoria, pictured in a smart coat and perfectly-tailored trousers during London Fashion Week, has faced criticism before for using very slim models Many Instagram users were quick to comment on the size of model Chantal Habscheid, from Toronto, Canada, with dinaor pleading: 'Please...someone feed that model.' Elsewhere, phosforescence wrote 'Girl is too thin.' Kittymalone62 wrote: 'Lovely clothes but yes the model looks way too thin. Pengelleyart wrote simply: 'This disturbs me.' One, gillc55, added: 'looks like death' while hthosta wrote 'too thin'. FEMAIL has contacted Victoria Beckham for comment. Users skinny-shamed Chantal - who is described on her agency's site as being 5ft 11ins, with a 32in bust, 24in waist and 34in hips - writing, 'sick' and describing her as 'unhealthy' and 'gaunt', making her a bad example for Victoria Beckham to set. Finally Chantal's own mother, with the username Cirque74 weighed in to defend her against claims that her thinness was a sign that she is ill. She wrote: 'This model is beautiful, hard working and has genetics, like all of us, that predisposition her body to look a certain way. She happens to be very tall and very slim. Many would say she is lucky. Some are jealous they don't look like her. The model's mother weight in to defend her daughter against skinny-shaming on Instagram 'We should all love ourselves and appreciate the beauty we see. I happen to know her well. She is my beautiful daughter. I know eats healthily most of the time. She loves salads and veggies. She also eats chocolate and ice cream frequently. 'I hope you keep your hate and judgement to yourselves in the future and let a young girl enjoy her new found success. Let's all be nice spread love.' Chantal's best friend, writing under the username of del.ephrem also hit out against the vitriol: 'Many people in the comments are talking about someone they DON'T KNOW. I do know her personally she's my best friend. Saying she's "underweight" or a "zombie" is ridiculous.' She added: 'Body shaming her is not right.' The gif shows a cut-out of the glassy-eyed model against a backdrop of Manhattan. She then rotates from left to right in the moving image... The model, Chantal Habscheid's best friend also said the claims she is a 'zombie' is ridiculous It isn't the first time the high profile designer, married to David Beckham, has faced criticism over her choice of models. Back in September 2015, fans took to social media to complain that Victoria had sent a 'parade of skeletons' down the catwalk at her Spring/Summer 2016 show in New York. She was particularly chastised for using Peyton Knight, a frail-looking 17-year-old model, to close the show, which was attended by the designer's husband David and Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Hundreds of Victorias 15 million-strong social media following made their feelings known to the designer, inundating her with messages about her choice of models. Another show of skeletons, one remarked, while another pointed out: They dont look healthy at all. Many commentators were particularly incensed by her decision to use scrawny-looking 17-year-old Peyton to close the show. Disturbing: But some fans were quick to condemn the designer's choice of model, saying she 'looks way too thin' Knight, who was first signed to a model agency at the tender age of 11, is just one year older than the minimum age recommended for catwalk shows by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. You need to feed this girl... Please give her some food, begged one, while another demanded furiously: Jesus, why dont you just get a motorised skeleton to walk down your catwalks and release these poor girls from this bloody torture of having to starve themselves for a job. The mother-of-four defended herself against the criticism, insisting that her casting director liaised with the modelling agencies and ensured all the girls were healthy before the show. 'They're young, they're thin, but that doesn't mean they're ill,' Victoria said in an interview with the Telegraph. There's an irony to the criticism as Victoria has herself previously spoken out against casting models who appear too thin. Back in 2010, she pledged to follow the 'Healthy is Beauty' campaign created by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and ban unhealthily thin models from her shows. At the time, she said: 'I had a casting last week and had some terribly thin girls come in, and it wouldnt have worked,' she said at the time. She's also insisted her clothes are for women of all shapes and sizes. The singer-cum-designer invited editors to her store for a sneak peak at her new VVB autumn/ winter 2016 line A regular on Instagram: Last week, Victoria said how proud she was of her new collection after giving fashion insiders a sneak peak at her flagship store during London Fashion Week Skinny fit: Despite using mostly slim models like Peyton, the 41-year-old mother-of-four claims her collection is 'for all shapes and sizes' Hundreds of Victoria's 15 million-strong social media following made their feelings known to the designer Last week, the former Spice Girl invited the media into her Dover Street store for an intimate presentation of her new VVB autumn/ winter 2016 line for London Fashion Week. While her impeccably tailored designs normally cost in the thousands, her VVB line - a spin-off of the more expensive Victoria Beckham label - is priced at a more modest 190 to 1,395. With her inspiration to 'bring the great outdoors inside', her new line features colourful embroidered alpine flowers, applique blossoms and quilted daisies. Sharing a sneak peak of her collection on Instagram, the 41-year-old wrote at the time: 'Thank you to everyone who came to meet me today! Proud to present my new VVB AW16 collection #LFW X vb.' A former sorority girl sugar baby has revealed how being raped in high school before she was assaulted by two separate fraternity brothers on campus drew her to starting relationships with successful men who were 10 to 20 years older than she was. Sara Bailey Nagorski has been the anonymous writer behind the fictional blog Confessions of a Texas Sugar Baby for the past four months. However, after revealing her identity, she has also admitted that although her stories are fictionalized accounts, they are all based on true stories from her time as a sugar baby. 'I didn't know the term "sugar baby" at the time, but now that I do I know that I was one, and I have no problem with that,' she wrote in an essay for Cosmopolitan.com. 'It certainly made me happier than the alternative.' True story: Sara Bailey Nagorski says she inadvertently became a sugar baby in college The author of the forthcoming fictional book, Sugar Baby, explained that when she was a senior in high school she was raped by a guy who 'spiked' her drink. However, when she shared her story of sexual assault, she noticed that most people failed to muster any real concern, while others insinuated that it was her fault because she had been drinking. When she headed to the University of Texas at Austin the next year, she pledged a sorority, thinking that the female comrade would be similar to the one she had when she was a cheerleader in high school. Because she was sexually assaulted as a teen, Sara said she avoided drinking at parties and was 'completely sober' during her four years at college. However, despite her caution, she found herself attacked by a two separate frat boys. Sara said she was back-handed by her first attacker who she bit on the arm after he pinned her to the couch. The next assault occurred by a guy she considered a friend. After he came to her dorm room to pick up a jacket, he tried to pull her onto her bed, forcing her to run away. 'I'd decided at that point that I hated sex and had no interest in dating at all, and spent my sophomore year focusing on my academics,' she said. Idyllic courtship? Sara said she never asked her suitors to pay for things for her, but when they insisted, it made her feel 'loved' and 'safe' No shame: Sara explained that she wasn't familiar with the term 'sugar baby' in college, but she now realizes that is what she was However, everything changed that year when she fell for her 35-year-old mentor while she was taking graduate-level courses as part of her school's honors program. When their friendship progressed into something more romantic, Sara said she hesitated because of their 15-year age difference. Sara said she eventually decided to start a relationship with him because of how he refused to pressure her into anything, always treating her kindly, while helping her grow as a young woman. True story: Sara Bailey Nagorski says she inadvertently became a sugar baby in college 'While he paid for everything we did together, what I valued more was his patience, his perspective on life, his help on my essays, as well as his instruction on how to properly shoot vodka and the coffee he made me in the morning,' she said. After they amicably split, Sara said she continued to date men who were 10 to 20 years her senior because she was drawn to their 'interesting stories and life experiences'. 'I dated doctors, lawyers, bankers, and other artists, who were, for the most part all kind, fascinating guys,' she said. 'I never asked them to pay for anything, but they always wanted to, and I never protested. It made me feel loved, and safe.' In January, the controversial dating website Seeking Arrangement, which pairs young women with wealthy older men or vice versa, revealed that out of all the schools in the country, Sara's alma mater had the third highest number of new sugar baby sign-ups in 2015. And while many people deduce that young women become sugar babies as a way to increase their financial gains, Sara believes the rise of sugar babies on her old campus may have more to do with the desire to escape the 'immaturity and judgement' that goes along with Greek life. Sara went on to say that she thinks young women like herself are more attracted to the emotional aspects of having a relationship with a mature man than the financial ones. She said she thinks the 2008 election was 'tame by comparison' and admitted that she 'hates' all of the current candidates The actress, who famously played Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live, gave her thoughts on the current presidential election Tina Fey might be happy to head back to her old Saturday Night Live stomping grounds to reprise her role as lookalike Sarah Palin, but that doesn't mean she's still always able to find the funny side of the candidates this year. The 45-year-old Whiskey Tango Foxtrot star covers Town & Country's April issue, which goes on sale March 8, and opened up to the magazine about the unfairness (and strangeness) of aging in Hollywood, her friendship with sometimes-co-star Amy Poehler, and this year's presidential election. 'It's funny until it isn't,' remarked the independent voter, who added that she 'hates' all of the candidates this year. 'It's gotten kind of ugly.' Cover girl: Tina Fey appears on the cover of the April issue of Town & Country magazine The 45-year-old says in an interview that she doesn't want to wear multiple pairs of Spanx or get Botox Going the natural route: She also shared her thoughts on aging in Hollywood, and how we 'never see a real human face' anymore Besides brief comments on 2016's race to the White House which she said makes 2008's run look 'tame in comparison' the star discussed her relationship with Amy, 44, who has joined her playing Hillary Clinton. The duo recently got to relax during the Golden Globes, after sharing hosting duties for three years, while Ricky Gervais took the mic. (Ricky joked that night that he got paid the same as Tina and Amy combined something Tina promised was not true.) The comedian said that one of her biggest annoyances on her recent press tour for the move Sisters, in which she and Amy both starred, was that they constantly fielded sexist and unfair questions about women in comedy and female friendships. 'Every single interviewer asked, "Isn't this an amazing time for women in comedy?"' she said. 'People really wanted us to be openly grateful "Thank you so much!" and we were like, "No, it's a terrible time. 'If you were to really look at it, the boys are still getting more money for a lot of garbage, while the ladies are hustling and doing amazing work for less,"' she said. Chilling: The actress got a break from award show hosting gigs this year after she and Amy ended their three-year Golden Globes streak Besties: Tina expressed frustration that she and Amy were often asked what they fight about on their recent press tour for Sisters Politically hilarious: Tina first played Sarah Palin on SNL in 2008, alongside best friend Amy , who played Hillary Clinton They also had a habit of asking what the famous BFFs fight about, presuming that two women who are friends must have regular catfights. 'And we'd say, "We fight about the same things Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg fight about. Do you ask them that question?"' she explained. On the subject of sexism in Hollywood, Tina also shared her thoughts on what it's like to get older in an often superficial business, pointing to Carrie Fisher's recent comments as a great contribution to the discussion. On a press tour for the newest Star Wars movie, Carrie, 59, said that it hurt her feelings when people debated whether she 'aged well'. 'I thought it was heartbreaking, and also smart of Carrie to be, like, "This hurts,"' Tina said. 'Because a lot of times we talk about the politics of it, the unfairness of it, which is all true, but I think it's clearer to people when you go, "Hey, that hurts my feelings."' Funny new film: Tina stars in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, which hits theaters this weekend Smart cookie: Discussing aging in Hollywood, Tina commended Carrie Fisher for saying that comments about her looks hurt her feelings Tina's feeling the pressure of getting older, too, but she won't resort to what some women do in an effort to remain youthful especially because it can backfire. Speaking about women who get Botox starting in their 20s, she insisted that she won't obsess over her skin or figure to the point that she looks unnatural. 'We've been so conditioned now to never see a real human face, one that moves, with its original teeth,' she said. 'Sometimes we forget that there is a choice. I choose not to do this. It's like wearing multiple pairs of Spanx: Good for you, not for me. Not mandatory.' In fact, Tina seems to have thrown out the Spanx altogether for her shoot, instead opting for menswear-inspired suits that look chic and polished without requiring uncomfortable layers of undergarments. Luckily, Molly's father, a veterinarian specializing in dentistry, was able to help out little Wesley by fitting him with train track-style braces The dog was unable to close his mouth properly, and struggled to eat Wesley, a young retriever owned by Molly Moore of Spring Lake, Michigan, recently had to be fitted with braces to help An adorable golden retriever who has been fitted with braces has taken the internet by storm. Wesley, a six-month-old puppy from Spring Lake, Michigan, has become an internet celebrity after images of his goofy brace-covered grin went viral. The Harborfront Hospital for Animals in Spring Lake shared the images on their Facebook page, featuring the pup from when he was just a tiny newborn up to when a dental problem caused him to be fitted with a mouthful of metal courtesy of his owner Molly Moore's father Jim, a veterinarian. Scroll down for video A winning smile: Wesley, a six-month-old golden retriever from Spring Lake, Michigan, has gained online fame after an image of him with braces appeared online Pretty puppy: As the little dog grew, he began to have trouble closing his mouth, leading to difficulties eating Happy family: Wesley's owner Molly Moore (pictured) was worried that the sweet pooch was seriously ill While it's clear from the photos that the sweet dog has been a looker since birth, she was not able to close his mouth properly because of the position of his teeth. 'When people hear that Dr. Moore is a "doggie dentist", they immediately say things like: "What? Does he put braces on dogs, too?" The answer is . . . yes. Yes, he does,' read the hospital's Facebook post. The poor pup was having trouble eating because his teeth alignment - a condition called malocclusion - but luckily he was in the perfect family to do something about it. Getting a grip: Molly said that she noticed her dog wasn't playing with his toys and losing weight as a result of his teeth problems To the rescue: Lucky for Wesley, his owner Molly's father Jim Moore (pictured) is a veterinarian that specializes in dentistry 'He wasnt playing with his toys and he was losing weight,' Molly explained to Buzzfeed. 'It was very worrying for me, and we needed to do something for him to be pain free and live a happy puppy life.' And lucky for Wesley, he only needs to wear the braces for a matter of weeks to correct the issue as Molly's father Jim Moore happened to specialize in dog dentistry. The photos posted to the hospital's Facebook page show the before and after images of the young retriever, including a photo of Wesley laying on his back looking up at the camera with his braces poking out of his mouth. Sorting it out: Jim used his skills to help Wesley into a snug set of braces to have him good as new and eating in no time Telling it like it is: Jim explained that the braces are only performed for practical reasons, adding 'we dont place braces or any oral appliances in the mouth for aesthetics' On his way: Wesley will be back to his old self soon enough, as he will only need to wear the braces for a matter of weeks 'It obviously doesn't bother him one little bit (if you look at the "after" photo),' added the hospital. 'He's a happy little guy.' Dr. Moore, who also does other oral surgeries and Endodontics, added: 'We dont place braces or any oral appliances in the mouth for aesthetics. We do this for pain or function.' The images of Wesley, shared in honor of National Pet Dental Health month, quickly took off online. Jennifer Lawrence is having a good week. First, she didn't trip at the Oscars (she lost Best Actress to Brie Larson, but she definitely didn't fall on camera). And now, she's starring in two new ads for Christian Dior. The 25-year-old has been a brand ambassador for the design house since 2012, and this week they released two new campaigns starring the actress front and center, for handbags and lipstick. 'I've had such a wonderful time working with Dior with couture, and there's such a synergy between the fashion and the beauty,' she said. Scroll down for video J'adore: Jennifer Lawrence stars in two new campaigns for Dior, for both fashion and beauty Haute history: The 25-year-old actress has been working with the design house since 2012 Perks: She even showed off the Diorever bag, which is brand new for the Spring/Summer 2016 season For her bag campaign, JLaw poses comfortably on a couch and leaning on a table, displaying the bags beautifully in front of her. Wearing chunky sweaters and crisp coats in neutral hues from former Creative Director Raf Simons' last ready-to-wear collection for the design house, the star looks effortlessly chic though the luxe accessories certainly don't hurt. She handles the brand's crimson Diorama bag and two Diorever totes, in black leather and a crinkled metallic lambskin a new addition for the Spring/Summer 2016 season. Final fashion: The ads include the last ready-to-wear collection from former Creative Director Raf Simons, who has yet to be replaced The perfect woman: Peter Philips, the Creative and Image Director of Christian Dior Makeup, said Jennifer is a 'natural and spontaneous woman' Jen also brings her beauty A-game to a series of images and a commercial for Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss, a new product that comes in 18 different shades. In a 20-second video, she is seen posing against a mirrored backdrop in a light pink dress, a brighter shade of the hue UltraDior 765 glistening on her lips. 'Jennifer has a strong personality, she's a natural and spontaneous woman who loves to get made up, putting on her gloss, and changing it according to her mood,' said Peter Philips, a celebrity make-up artist and the Creative and Image Director of Christian Dior Makeup. '[She's] a great actress and a beautiful girl who's not to shy to shine!' Great face of the brand: The star wore Dior to the Academy Awards on Sunday night All the girly details: She said she appreciates the 'synergy' between fashion and beauty, which made doing both ads for the brand a natural step It's not yet known whether JLaw who also wore a stunning black Dior gown to the Academy Awards on Sunday night will be sitting front row for the designer's runway show in Paris this week. Not much of a fashion week regular, the star has made an exception for attending a handful of Dior shows in the past. More than one in five people living in Puerto Rico will become infected with Zika virus, experts today warned. As the virus sweeps through the Americas, Puerto Rico has become America's front line in the battle against the disease. Home to 3.5 million US citizens, the territory has a tropical landscape that provides an ideal breeding ground for the Aedes mosquito that spreads Zika. Officials have barred local blood donations, ramped up efforts to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito and are trying to monitor every pregnant woman on the island due to fears the virus increases the risk of birth defects. The voluntary registry by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) extends to all Zika-infected women and their babies throughout the United States. Experts have warned more than one in five people in Puerto Rico will become infected with the Zika virus, as an outbreak grips the Americas. Pictured, the Aedes mosquitoes that carry the virus The Puerto Rican governor, meanwhile, has declared a public health emergency, and the CDC, which earlier urged pregnant women to reconsider visits to Puerto Rico, has asked Congress for $250 million in emergency aid to battle Zika here. The CDC has also sent nearly 40 health workers to help, and is using the island as a test bed for Zika studies. Steve Waterman, head of the CDC's dengue branch in Puerto Rico, said: 'For the US, it really is the territory that is going to have the most infections. 'It has the best medical and public health infrastructure to try and answer some of these questions at the same time that we're trying to control the disease.' Mr Waterman said more than 20 per cent of the island population could contract Zika in an outbreak that could peak by summer. 'Our objective is to protect as many pregnant women as possible and that is what we are trying to do,' he said. The CDC aims to test every pregnant woman in Puerto Rico for Zika, and prevent them from contracting the virus. The CDC is urging people to take preventative measures. That is a call Leilani Dominicci and her husband took after the first case of Zika virus was reported in Puerto Rico in December. Mrs Dominicci is 37 weeks pregnant, and fears she will become infected, putting her baby at risk. Her unease has escalated so much, the 38-year-old barely leaves her home in the capital of San Juan because of warnings the island faces an onslaught of the mosquito-borne illness. Puerto Rico has become America's front line in the battle against the disease. Home to 3.5 million US citizens, the territory has a tropical landscape that provides an ideal breeding ground for the Aedes mosquito that spreads Zika, pictured under the micoscope 'We have locked ourselves up at home,' said Mrs Dominicci. 'It's a constant concern, especially for women like us who are so far along because our options are limited. 'Ending a pregnancy at this stage is not even legal.' Zika causes headaches, fever and a rash, though most people with the virus never show symptoms. We have locked ourselves up at home. It's a constant concern, especially for women like us who are so far along because our options are limited. Ending a pregnancy at this stage is not even legal Leilani Dominicci, who is 37 weeks pregnant and lives in San Juan CDC researchers in Brazil and Puerto Rico are trying to determine whether the virus can cause microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with abnormally small heads, and a rare paralyzing condition, Guillain-Barre, which can be fatal. At least 117 people have tested positive for Zika in Puerto Rico, including five pregnant women. At least five people have been hospitalized, including a man recovering from Guillain-Barre. Mr Waterman said more than 80 per cent of adults in Puerto Rico already have had dengue and an estimated 30 per cent had chikungunya, viruses spread by the same insect. But Zika poses a greater concern, said Dr Brenda Rivera, the island's epidemiologist. 'None of those diseases have the implication for future generations that this one does, at least that we think it does,' she said. It's a preoccupation shared by Yelitza Irizarry, a 39-year-old attorney who lost a baby in December and is undergoing fertility treatment. She wears pants and long-sleeved shirts, has shuttered the windows in her home and drenches herself in repellent every few hours. Still, she can't stop thinking about Zika and potential birth defects. 'It raises a thousand concerns,' she said. An employee with the CDC tests human blood samples for Zika at the CDC's dengue lab in San Juan, Puerto Rico. One of the health agency's main goals is to test every single pregnant woman in Puerto Rico for Zika and prevent people from contracting the virus CDC officials have set up a temporary lab to breed mosquitoes and determine if they are resistant to insecticides that Puerto Rico is using. The center has also trained lab workers in using a test created in Puerto Rico this year that can detect dengue, chikungunya and Zika all at once to cut costs and speed up the process. It's launching a study to analyze how long Zika remains in semen, saliva and urine, and tracking birth defects and Guillain-Barre cases. The Puerto Rican government halted all blood donations this month and began buying blood from the Red Cross to prevent potential contamination, following recommendations from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The territory also issued an administrative order freezing the price of condoms, fearing sellers might take advantage of fears to raise prices given that there's some evidence Zika can be spread through sex. Concerns about Zika have traveled throughout the Caribbean, where officials express concern it could hurt tourism industry even though there has been no significant effect yet. Martinique and French Guiana have declared an epidemic with more than 6,000 suspected cases, including at least 38 pregnant women and five people with Guillain-Barre. Haiti has reported more than 500 cases, but the actual number is believed to be much higher because of weak monitoring systems. Many Haitians live in shacks with little protection from insects that breed in trash-clogged canals and gullies. The World Health Organization declared the current outbreak of Zika an international public health emergency over fears the virus causes the severe birth defect microcephaly, where babies are born with unusually small heads and often brain damage as a result Health officials stress that eliminating breeding sites is key to preventing a Zika epidemic in the Caribbean. In Puerto Rico, crews have rounded up used tires that can collect water, installed window screens at public schools and have fumigated thousands of neighborhoods, including Mrs Dominicci's. She said the number of mosquitoes has decreased greatly, but she still worries some will slip into her home. Her niece is developmentally disabled, and she said it's been a struggle for her family. 'Bringing a child into the world in those conditions has to be devastating,' she said of the potential tie between microcephaly and Zika. we admitted to hospital for constipation In 2014/15 more than 66,000 Constipation is costing the NHS 145 million a year, a new report has revealed. The equivalent of 182 patients every day were admitted to hospital with the painful condition in 2014/15, it found. Of those, 48,409 were unplanned emergency admissions. Meanwhile, a survey found nearly half of people said they wouldn't seek medical help for constipation and one in five said they would be embarrassed talking to their GP about bowel health. Cost to hospitals for treating unplanned admissions due to constipation was 145 million in 2014/15, according to a report out today The report, which analysed official Hospital Episode Statistics figures, from the Health and Social Care Information Centre, found: More than 66,000 patients were admitted to hospital in 2014/2015 48,409 of these were unplanned emergency admissions where constipation was given as the primary diagnosis There were also another 17, 798 elective patients There were 15,319 day cases The cost was calculate using figures from the Department of Health using the average cost of admissions to A&E. These show each unplanned emergency admission costs the NHS 1,542 and elective inpatients cost 3,375 per stay. Day cases - those who came to hospital to be treated - cost the health service 698 per day. Around 6.5 million people in the UK suffer from bowel problems, with one in seven adults affected by constipation at some point in their lives. And some 2 million people are thought to have chronic constipation, which means they have infrequent bowel movements or difficulty passing stools for weeks at a time. However, a new survey has revealed how many people suffer in silence as they see it as a minor issue, or are too embarrassed to seek medical help. Some 35 per cent said they would wait to see if their symptoms cleared up before speaking to their GP. And 45 per cent said they would not seek medical help at all. Half of those who wouldn't seek help feel they could treat the condition at home, while one in five said they would be embarrassed to talk to their GP about issues with their bowels. In fact, bowel health was second only to sexually transmitted infections on a list of embarrassing things to talk to the doctor about. Many people could be suffering in silence because they see constipation as a minor issue and an embarrassment, the researchers said Worryingly, the survey revealed more than one in ten could not identify the symptoms of constipation. These include trouble passing stools, passing small or hard stools and a swollen abdomen or abdominal pain. Dr Anton Emmanuel, consultant in neuro-gastroenterology, University College London Hospital urged people to play more close attention to their bowel habits. Our bowel habits need the same attention and care as we would give our heart, blood pressure or lungs Dr Anton Emmanuel, University College London Hospital He said: 'Our bowel habits need the same attention and care as we would give our heart, blood pressure or lungs. 'We all need to have a better understanding of what constitutes a healthy bowel, and be comfortable and confident talking about any symptoms we have. He continued: 'Constipation currently affects one in seven adults in the UK, but at the moment were glossing over how severe it can become if left untreated. 'The good news is that its often preventable and manageable provided people dont ignore it and seek information and guidance early on. 'Lets open up the conversation about constipation, so more people are aware of the condition, and understand that there is advice and treatment available. 'There is no need for anyone to suffer alone.' A new study is the first to provide evidence of a link between the Zika virus and the neurological condition Guillain-Barre syndrome, that affects the nervous system, illustrated The Zika virus does cause the neurological condition Guillain-Barre syndrome, a study has revealed for the first time. The evidence is the first connecting the virus to the severe disorder, which can render sufferers paralysed. French scientists analysed an outbreak of the virus which swept through French Polynesia between October 2013 and April 2014 - thought to be the precursor to the virus reaching South America. After analysing the blood samples of 42 patients, they found if 100,000 people were infected with Zika, 24 would go on to develop Guillain-Barre syndrome. Professor Arnaud Fontanet, from the Institut Pasteur in Paris, said: 'This is the first study to look at a large number of patients who developed Guillain-Barre syndrome following Zika virus infection and provide evidence that Zika can cause GBS. 'Most of the patients with GBS reported they had experienced symptoms of Zika virus infection on average six days before any neurological symptoms, and all carried Zika virus antibodies.' Over the six-month period, up until April 2014, French Polynesia experienced the largest Zika outbreak to be reported at the time. An estimated 32,000 patients consulted a doctor about a suspected Zika infection, and 42 patients were diagnosed with GBS between November 2013 and February 2014. Zika virus infection is associated with symptoms such as fever, rash, joint and muscle pain and conjunctivitis. The current Zika outbreak in Central and South America was followed by increased reports of cases of microcephaly and GBS, leading the World Health Organisation to declare it a global emergency. Guillain-Barre syndrome is a disorder which affects the immune and nervous systems, and is the leading cause of non-trauma related paralysis. Symptoms can develop rapidly, and include weakness in the legs and arms, muscle weakness and pain. In around 20 to 30 per cent of cases, severe GBs can lead to respiratory failure, and about five per cent of patients die. GBS is usually triggered by an infection and can develop after a person suffers herpes, influenza or dengue virus. Across Europe and North America the condition affects around one to two people in every 100,000 of the population, each year. The aim of the study was to determine the link between Zika virus and GBS. French Polynesia is also prone to outbreaks of dengue virus, so researchers wanted to see if that was an additional risk factor for GBS. All 42 patients with GBS diagnosed at the Centre Hospitalier de Polynesie Francaise in Papeete, Tahiti were included in the study. And researchers recruited two control groups. The first matched for age, gender and island of residence and was made up of 98 patients who attended the same hospital but did not have a fever. French researchers analysed blood samples of 42 people in French Polynesia, who were diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome during an outbreak of the Zika virus, pictured, from October 2013 to April 2014. They found they found if 100,000 people were infected with Zika, 24 would go on to develop GBS The second control group was 70 strong, and was made up of patients who had all tested positive for Zika virus infection, but who did not develop any neurological symptoms linked to GBS. Blood samples were taken from all patients. The majority of patients diagnosed with GBS (88 per cent) also reported symptoms of Zika virus, around six days before the onset of the neurological symptoms. A RARE CONDITION AFFECTING THE NERVOUS SYSTEM Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is a rare and serious condition of the peripheral nervous system where the body's immune system attacks part of the nervous system. The exact cause of GBS is unknown but it is thought it's triggered by an infection which triggers the immune system to attack nerve roots. Symptoms usually develop two to four weeks after a minor infection and start in the feet and hands before spreading to the arms and then legs. Patients also get pain, tingling and numbness and can have problems with muscle weakness, co-ordination problems and unsteadiness. Advertisement While none tested positive for Zika infection once in hospital, blood tests showed that 41 (98 per cent) were carrying Zika antibodies, and all had neutralizing antibodies against the Zika virus. In contrast, only 54 (56 per cent) of the patients without a fever, in the first control group, were carrying Zika virus neutralizing antibodies. Most of those with GBS (95.2 per cent) had signs of past dengue virus infection, as did most patients in the two control groups (88.8 per cent in the first control group, and 82.9 per cent in the second). The researchers therefore concluded that, in this case, past infection with dengue virus did not increase the risk of GBS among those patients infected with Zika. All 42 patients were diagnosed with a type of GBS called acute-motor axonal neuropathy. But few of them carried the typical biomarkers known to be a sign of that form of GBS. That, the researchers said, suggested an unknown disease mechanism. Furthermore, all the patients in the study recovered faster than is usually expected with GBS. Of the 42 patients with GBS, 16 (38 per cent) were admitted to the hospital's intensive care unit and 12 (29 per cent) required breathing assistance. The Zika outbreak in South America has been declared an international public health emergency by World Health Organisation experts, over, as yet unproven, links with the severe birth defect microcephaly, where babies are born with smaller than usual heads On average, patients were hospitalised for 11 days, but those in intensive care remained for longer (51 days). Three months after discharge, 24 (57 per cent) patients were able to walk without assistance. None of the patients diagnosed with GBS died. Based on the attack rate for Zika virus of 66 per cent in French Polynesia, the researchers estimate that the risk of GBS in the general population during the outbreak there is 0.24 per 1,000 people diagnosed with Zika, or 24 people were 100,000. Professor Fontanet said: 'Although it is unknown whether attack rates of Zika virus epidemics will be as high in affected regions in Latin America than in the Pacific Islands, high numbers of cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome might be expected in the coming months as the result of this association. This study provides the most compelling evidence to date of a causative link between Zika virus infection and the serious neurological condition GBS Dr Jeremy Farrar, the Wellcome Trust 'The results of our study support that Zika virus should be added to the list of infectious pathogens susceptible to cause Guillain-Barre syndrome.' Writing in a linked comment piece, Professor David Smith of the University of Western Australia, said: 'A little caution should be taken because the data are still scarce and we do not know whether the current Zika virus is identical to that in previous outbreaks, whether it will behave exactly the same in a different population with a different genetic and immunity background, or whether a co-factor or co-infection is responsible. 'Suffice to say Zika virus can be added to our list of viruses that can cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, and investigation of these cases should include tests for Zika when there is a possibility of infection by that virus. 'Whether Zika will be proven to pose a greater threat in causing Guillain-Barre syndrome than its various flavivirus cousins remains to be determined.' Responding to the French study, Dr Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, said: 'This study provides the most compelling evidence to date of a causative link between Zika virus infection and the serious neurological condition GBS. 'The increase in reported cases of GBS in Brazil and other South American countries seems to suggest that a similar situation may be occurring in the current outbreak, although the link here is yet to be proven definitively.' The virus is typically spread by the Aedes mosquito, though there have been a handful of sexually transmitted cases reported during this current outbreak He warned the scale of the outbreak in South America has taken experts 'by surprise', and added there will likely be 'further unforeseen complications of Zika virus infection to emerge in the coming weeks and months'. He added: 'Whats important now is that the global community comes together to focus research efforts on the many unanswered questions about the virus, and to share this information rapidly so that the knowledge gained can benefit patients as quickly as possible.' Dr Peter Barlow, from Edinburgh Napier University, said the results suggest a causal link between the virus and GBS. But he cautions there is much work to be done before those conclusions can be applied to the outbreak in South America. Acknowledging the evidence does make the link more 'compelling' he notes the small patient group studied means the exact link between the two conditions remains 'inconclusive'. Clutching the pregnancy test I'd just done, I sent a silent wish to the universe: 'Please let it be negative.' When I dared to look I was relieved to see only one blue line. 'Don't worry, I'm not pregnant,' I texted my husband. I've been on the Pill for more than 20 years and, like many women, rely on the packet to tell me which day I'm on. Each blister pack comes with the days of the week marked on it. You typically take one pill a day for 21 days, then have a seven-day break before starting a new pack. If you forget to take that day's dose, there's a 24-hour catch-up window in which to take it. Joanne says one of her regular batches of the contraceptive pill had the days of the week stamped on to the blister pack in Dutch rather than English, which made it very hard to keep track of which day she was on But it's much harder when the packet is not in English, as I discovered recently. Shortly before Christmas, I renewed my yearly prescription for Mercilon, a type of combined Pill, which contains synthetic versions of oestrogen and progesterone. After collecting my prescription - in two separate batches - I opened a pack from the first batch. Though the outer packaging looked normal, I couldn't work out where Friday was, because there was no Friday on the blister pack. Instead, I had 'ZO, MA, DI, WO, DO, VR, ZA', which I later discovered was Dutch (MA is short for Maandag or Monday). In the second batch, the blister pack was printed with: 'Sab, Dom, 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a, 6a.' The pharmacist told me there was no mix-up - chemists can source supplies from anywhere in the European Union and so half of my Pills came from the Netherlands, half from Portugal. Stunned, I insisted he provide me with English pills, but he said they were perfectly legal products. Eventually, he agreed to contact my GP, obtain a new prescription and call his wholesalers to find an English supply. Unfortunately, this wouldn't happen before my month-long trip to Australia in December. A spokesperson told me an imported product must be 'therapeutically equivalent' to the UK product and that 'information on its safe effective use' should be presented in English [file photo] With long journeys, stopovers, different time zones and no knowledge of Dutch or Portuguese, I returned home worrying I was carrying more than just jetlag - we live in a tiny one-bedroom flat and I definitely don't want a baby at the moment. I soon discovered my experience was all too common. On web forums, women would ask what the symbols on their pill pack meant. And my friend Lauren describes the six months she was forced to use a foreign supply of Yasmin, another brand, as 'so nerve-racking as I kept having to count backwards to check I hadn't forgotten a day'. It's a delicate balancing act between being the gatekeeper for the NHS in providing these parallel imports and ensuring patients get the best out of their medicines Occasionally, she took an extra pill from a new pack, just in case. We had received parallel imports - drugs that are imported from other EU countries because it's cheaper to source them outside the UK. And the practice is likely to have become more common as, in recent years, the pound surged in value against the euro. Stuart Gale, the chief pharmacist and owner of the Frosts Pharmacy Group, says they rarely use parallel imports, but adds: 'From a financial point of view, many pharmacists are forced to - we dispense most branded medications at a loss and if it's an expensive medication it can be a big loss.' The Department of Health recently wrote to pharmacies outlining a 6 per cent reduction in their 2016/17 funding, which Stuart Gale says could result in more foreign imports for people taking regular medication. I sent my Mercilon packaging to the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which confirmed the batches were approved products. 'The pharmacist told me there was no mix-up - chemists can source supplies from the EU' A spokesperson told me an imported product must be 'therapeutically equivalent' to the UK product and that 'information on its safe effective use' should be presented in English. This includes on the leaflet, the box and the 'immediate packaging', such as a blister strip or bottle. However, she added: 'If the product is in a sealed pouch, then a label carrying the information is applied to the pouch, as opening it to apply a label to the immediate packaging will affect the shelf life of the medicine.' As with many contraceptive pills, my packs of Mercilon have always contained blister strips that are individually packaged within a sealed foil pouch. This meant there was no requirement for the calendar pack to be translated into English. But given that the Pill is said to be 99 per cent effective with 'perfect use', but only 91 per cent effective with 'typical' use, surely it would help women if the packets are in their own language? Failure to stick to a routine is one of the biggest reasons people have problems with most medications, and non-English parallel imports are a contributing factor, says Sultan Dajani, a community pharmacist and spokesperson for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Antidepressants, hormone replacement therapy and blood pressure medication often come in calendar packs, too, so could potentially be affected by the same problem. And it's not just the blister packs that may potentially cause difficulties. 'It is good practice that all foreign boxes have an English leaflet, but it doesn't always happen and sometimes the English is poor or in very small writing,' says Sultan Dajani. However, while foreign medicines may be 'a bit unprofessional', he says they 'stop the cost to the NHS spiralling into meltdown'. 'It's a delicate balancing act between being the gatekeeper for the NHS in providing these parallel imports and ensuring patients get the best out of their medicines.' YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS: Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan introduced the newly appointed Minister Levon Yolyan to the staff of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. As "Armenpress" was informed from the Information and Public Relations Department of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the Prime Minister thanked the former Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Yervand Zakaryan for his cooperation, praised his work and noted that the Ministry headed by Mr. Zakaryan achieved many successes. Levon Yolyan thanked the President and Prime Minister, noting that his appointment is a big responsibility for him. There are many more effective vaccines around today compared with even ten years ago - for adults as well as children - thanks to rapid progress in the technology. But the NHS restricts their availability, leaving some people worried they're not protected against deadly infections. The Meningitis B vaccine Bexsero is a case in point. It is given only to babies between two and six months old, which means infants outside these ages when the national vaccination programme was introduced in March 2015 have missed out. However, you can pay to have some of the vaccines the NHS restricts (typically via a private clinic or doctor). Here, we talk to the experts about whether it's worth going private. The Meningitis B vaccine Bexsero is given only to babies between two and six months old [file photo] SHINGLES Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which also causes chickenpox. As well as triggering a painful rash and fever, some sufferers can be left with post-herpetic neuralgia (persistent nerve pain) long after the rash has disappeared. Shingles affects one in four of the over-50s and is fatal for one in 1,000 of the over-70s who develop it. A single jab of the vaccine Zostavax can reduce the shingles risk by more than 50 per cent in over-50s, and lessens symptoms when the infection does develop. Protection lasts around five years. Zostavax is what is known as a 'live' vaccine. Vaccines work by teaching the body to recognise a disease or bug and attack it; live vaccines, which contain a weaker form of the virus or bacteria, make better teachers, but carry a (very small) risk of triggering the illness. This doesn't happen with 'killed' or deactivated vaccines (which contain only sugars or proteins from the virus/bacteria and no living material). Who gets the NHS vaccine? Since last September, the jab has been offered to those aged either 70 or 78. You become eligible for this on the first day of September after you've turned 70 or 78 and remain eligible for a full year. But people who aren't those ages can't have the jab on the NHS. Shingles affects one in four of the over-50s and is fatal for one in 1,000 of the over-70s with it [file photo] The over-80s miss out because after that age the vaccine is much less effective, according to Andrew Pollard, a professor of paediatric infection and immunity at the University of Oxford. Professor Pollard, who sits on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which advises the government on vaccinations, says the decision to offer the jab only to 70 and 78-year-olds 'was made as a result of the need to give the vaccine to those who suffer the highest burden of disease at an age where the vaccine still works well and in the knowledge that protection probably lasts no more than ten years'. Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK, says vaccines are a 'vital tool' in helping older people avoid serious illness: 'We remain concerned that entitlement to the vaccine is restricted to people aged 70 or 78.' Dr Martin Scurr, Good Health's GP, believes the upper cut-off point is arbitrary: 'The vaccine is less effective in these people but it does work, and those who do get shingles are much less likely to develop long-term nerve pain.' He thinks the restrictions are 'random and unethical - if one in four people over the age of 50 who will get this disease can be protected by a vaccine, they should be given it routinely'. The vaccine is less effective in these people but it does work, and those who do get shingles are less likely to develop long-term nerve pain He adds: 'It is also nonsense to say that it causes only mild problems in those under 70. I have seen patients in their 30s and 40s who have been really debilitated by shingles.' Should I pay for it privately? There is a 'catch-up' on the NHS scheme for people who were 71, 72 or 79 on September 1, 2015. If you are between 50 and 70 or over 70 and outside the qualifying ages, or over 80 and are worried about getting shingles, Dr Scurr highly recommends having the jab privately. However, it is in short supply. Cost: Between 100 and 200. CHICKENPOX Chickenpox is usually a mild illness. However, complications include meningitis and pneumonia. The live vaccine Varivax - which is given to adults or children in two injections, six to eight weeks apart - is regarded as very safe and effective and can last for up to 20 years. 'In the U.S., where chickenpox vaccination is routine for children aged 12 to 15 months, with a second dose at age four to six years, the infection has all but disappeared,' says Professor Pollard. Who gets the NHS vaccine? 'It is not routinely offered to children or adults but can be given to patients on the NHS who are considered vulnerable to chickenpox and its complications, or those who come into close contact with them, such as healthcare workers,' explains Professor Pollard. Vulnerable people include those with a weakened immune system and pregnant women who've not had chickenpox already, as it can lead to birth defects. The chickenpox live vaccine Varivax - which is given to adults or children in two injections, six to eight weeks apart - is regarded as very safe and effective and can last for up to 20 years [file photo] 'Based on the last review of the evidence in 2009, it isn't cost-effective for the NHS to have a nationwide vaccination programme,' explains Professor Pollard. Should I pay for it privately? When it comes to adults, most people already have immunity, having caught it as a child. Some experts have suggested the best use of NHS resources would be to give the jab to older teenagers who haven't yet had the infection, but could be at risk in adulthood, when symptoms tend to be more severe. Although the vaccine is effective in childhood, it is less effective in the teenage years and adulthood, protecting around 75 per cent of people who've had it. The case for having younger children vaccinated privately may be stronger. Dr Dionysius Alexandrou, a consultant paediatrician and neonatologist at the Portland Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, says: 'There is an argument that chickenpox is relatively mild in childhood and most children will get it anyway before they reach adulthood, when it becomes more serious. However, in rare cases, chickenpox in children can be devastating.' Professor Adam Finn, a consultant paediatrician at Bristol Children's Hospital, says: 'For people who can afford it, it is certainly worth considering, since the vaccine is licensed, available, safe and effective.' 'Sometimes chickenpox is far from mild, and because nearly all children get it sooner or later, we frequently see children who need hospital care, most of whom were previously perfectly well. 'On my hospital ward rounds I am more likely to see a child with serious complications of chickenpox than a child with meningococcal disease - a disease which parents are quite rightly very concerned about. 'In my opinion, there are very good reasons to consider offering the chickenpox vaccine to all children, as is now being done in a growing number of countries in Europe, including Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain.' Cost: Around 250. This form of meningitis is more likely to prove fatal than other strains of the disease [file photo] MENINGITIS W This form of meningitis is more likely to prove fatal than other strains of the disease. As Mark Hunt, of the charity Meningitis Now, explains: 'It is very virulent - the death rate is around 12 per cent of all people who contract the infection.' Meningitis W, although still rare, has made a resurgence in the UK: there were 22 cases in 2009, but numbers have since risen by more than 400 per cent, according to Public Health England. It strikes rapidly and affects teenagers in particular - partly because they are more mobile and encounter more types of bacteria. Hormonal changes may also make them more susceptible (although it was Meningitis W that recently nearly claimed the life of rugby star Matt Dawson's two-year-old son Sami). Who gets the NHS vaccine? There are two (deactivated) vaccines, Nimenrix and Menveo, which cover four groups of meningitis: A, C, W and Y (the vaccine is given in a single injection). A national vaccination programme using the ACWY vaccine was introduced last August for teenagers aged 17 and 18. First-year students, who are a high-risk group, under the age of 25 are also eligible. From spring 2016 the Men ACWY jab will replace Men C, which is currently offered to Year Nine or Year Ten pupils (13 to 15-year-olds); this will also provide a catch-up to include pupils in Year 11 (15 and 16-year-olds). Should I pay for it privately? Dr Scurr thinks that parents should seriously consider getting private treatment for teenagers who miss the current cut-off for vaccination. The jab is available from travel health centres as it is mandatory for anyone visiting Saudi Arabia at the time of the Hajj pilgrimage and also for travel to sub-Saharan Africa. Cost: Less than 100. FLU The flu jab saves lives every year, says John Oxford, professor emeritus at Queen Mary University of London. 'It can help prevent infection in the first place, but it also reduces severity of symptoms in those who do catch it.' The jab contains three different types of deactivated flu virus. These change each year. 'The flu bug mutates very rapidly and there are a constant stream of new strains which we have to try and second-guess,' explains Professor Oxford. 'Most of the time the success rate is pretty high, but there are years when a new mutation comes along which we had not expected.' Who gets the NHS vaccine? The jab is offered every year to adults who are more vulnerable if they catch flu, including anyone aged over 65, pregnant women, and children and adults with underlying health conditions such as asthma or weakened immune systems. The flu jab saves lives every year, says John Oxford, professor emeritus [file photo] And all healthy children aged two, three and four years, plus children in Year One and Year Two at school, are given a nasal spray vaccine, known as Fluenz Tetra. This is also used for any child up to the age of 17 who's at risk because of another condition. Should I pay for it privately? 'Considering this infection can be severe, I would seriously consider paying for a flu jab as an adult or a nasal spray for a child who falls outside the school scheme,' says Professor Oxford. 'Flu is very much underestimated as a health problem. It's treated very casually, when the fact is that it could kill you. For every 1,000 people who get flu, one person will die, which is high.' However, some experts say there is no evidence that the jab reduces hospitalisations and death in adults; the evidence is that it works best in healthy people. Cost: Around 10 from a private clinic or pharmacy. HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS (HPV) The virus is linked to genital warts, cervical cancer, penile cancer and oral cancer. In Britain, the number of mouth and throat cancers has increased by 40 per cent in just a decade, to 6,200 cases a year. It's thought HPV may be largely to blame. Who gets the NHS vaccine? Girls aged 12 and 13 in the UK are offered a (deactivated) vaccine known as Gardasil. So, too, are men who have sex with men aged 40 and below. Charities and GPs want boys to be given the same protection. 'We really need every child - every boy, every girl - to be immune to this viral disease that we have a vaccine for,' says Dr George Kassianos, immunisation lead at the Royal College of General Practitioners. We really need every child - every boy, every girl - to be immune to HPV that we have a vaccine for However, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has said that it will not complete a review into this until 2017. It has previously suggested that boys will get benefits due to herd protection. Should I pay for it privately? Dr Kassianos recommends getting your son vaccinated privately, ideally before he becomes sexually active, although Gardasil is approved in people up to the age 26. The same might apply to girls too old to have qualified for it under the national vaccination programme. Cost: Each dose (three are required) costs around 130. TUBERCULOSIS This is a disease often thought to have been consigned to history. In the Fifties, there were 50,000 new cases each year in Britain, but this dropped to around 5,500 in the early Nineties. However, the numbers have since risen to 7,000. It's thought this has been driven by people coming from countries such as India and Russia, where levels of TB are higher. The vaccine contains a deactivated form of the bacteria that causes TB. Among children who are exposed to TB, it prevents infection in 60-80 per cent of cases. TB is a disease often thought to have been consigned to history Who gets the NHS vaccine? Known as Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), the vaccine used to be given to all school-age children, but is now available only to anyone under the age of 35 thought to be at particular risk of catching TB (the vaccine is not thought to be effective in anyone over this age). This group includes children under 16 who've been in close contact with someone with TB or who come from an area where TB is widespread, which can mean some areas of the UK. 'It is given to infants born in areas where the incidence of TB is more than 40 cases per 100,000 people per year, so in many London boroughs, including Lambeth and Ealing,' says paediatrician Dr Alexandrou. Also, people who are at risk because of their work in healthcare or refugee centres can have the vaccine. 'However it currently is in very short supply,' adds Dr Kassianos. Should I pay for it privately? Dr Alexandrou says he is 'strongly in favour' of parents getting the BCG for their children, even if they're not considered high risk. 'If young children pick up TB, they cannot contain it in the lungs like adults, and it can quickly invade the other organs and the brain. In some cases, children can die.' It is also vital if you are planning to travel to places abroad where there is a high incidence of TB, such as China, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Russian Federation. Cost: Up to 100, although there is currently a global shortage and most private clinics are not able to offer it. How to get the Meningitis B jab abroad By Rachel Ellis After the death two weeks ago of Faye Burdett, a two-year-old from Kent who caught Meningitis B and died 11 days later, many parents have been desperate to get their children vaccinated. But stocks of the Meningitis B vaccine - which is given only to babies under the age of one on the NHS - are extremely low in the UK, making it virtually impossible to have older children vaccinated, even privately. However, an investigation by Good Health has revealed that the vaccine, called Bexsero, is available in many other European countries and the U.S. If you do travel to get the vaccine privately, it should be possible to buy the other doses at the same time It could be as simple as getting on a ferry: the Mail visited two pharmacies in Calais and found the vaccine was available, while the regional health authority in the Pas de Calais says 'there have been no serious shortages reported'. Meningitis B is the most common cause of bacterial meningitis, and kills around 10 per cent of those infected. Of the survivors, around 20 per cent will have life-changing disabilities. Mark Hunt, from Meningitis Now, says his charity would like to see the vaccine given to children up to the age of five. Stocks of the Meningitis B vaccine are extremely low in the UK 'In an ideal world, we would like the vaccine to be offered to children up to the age of 11. But we have to be pragmatic, bearing in mind the shortages, the expense and the fact that 58 per cent of Meningitis B cases are in the younger age group.' With UK stocks low, there is no reason why British parents can't travel to other countries to have their child vaccinated. The vaccines cost around 80 a dose, and parents will also have to pay for a doctor abroad to administer it. On the NHS, babies under six months are given three doses over the first year of life (one at two months, the second dose at four months and a booster at 12 months). Those six months and older need just two doses at least two months apart (children under 11 months may also need a booster jab on top of this). If you do travel to get the vaccine privately, it should be possible to buy the other doses at the same time, providing they are stored properly. You would then need to find a private clinic or doctor at home to administer the later jabs. While countries such as France, Germany and Greece currently seem to have supplies of the vaccine, others such as Spain and the Republic of Ireland are, like the UK, experiencing shortages. In Spain, for example, supplies ran out within days when, last year, parents were allowed to buy the vaccine from pharmacies with a prescription. Last November, after the death of a one-year-old baby from the disease in Galicia, there were reports of Spaniards travelling to Portugal to get the jab. And in the Republic of Ireland, where it is only available privately, shortages mean that only children who have started a course of treatment can get the jab. Following huge public support to make the Meningitis B vaccine available to all children under 11, MPs are to debate the issue. But medical experts have warned that this would take precious NHS resources away from other areas, and there is no evidence that it is 'cost-effective' in older children (babies under a year old are 12 times more likely than older children to be infected). Furthermore, figures from Public Health England show that cases of Meningitis B fell from 1,600 cases in 2001 to around 600 cases in 2012. And before the NHS vaccination programme was introduced last September, the figures had fallen even further, to around 400 cases. Electronic cigarettes are more dangerous than experts previously thought, it has emerged. The devices contain one million times more harmful substances than polluted air - including cancer-causing substances and flame retardants. Furthermore, scientists have discovered for the first time some contain toxins linked to fertility problems, fetal development issues and thyroid disruption. The study, by researchers at Baptist University in Hong Kong has prompted health officials to call for an immediate and total ban on all e-cigarettes The Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health said the potential health risk of the devices must not be underrated. Experts at the council said because most e-cigarettes that are for sale do not provide information on their components they commissioned a laboratory test by university researchers. A new study by scientists in Hong Kong has revealed e-cigarettes are more harmful than was first feared. The devices contain cancer-causing toxins, as well as substances linked to infertility and fetal abnormalities Chairman of the council, Antonio Kwong said: 'The test results showed the quality of e-cigarettes varied and carcinogens and other harmful substances were found. 'To nip it in the bud and protect public health, we urge the Government to totally ban e-cigarettes promptly.' Researchers at Baptist University analyzed 13 different types of the device, which have seen a surge in popularity in recent years. Those tests confirmed the presence of harmful chemicals, including formaldehyde and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) - both of which are known carcinogens and are hazardous to health. Furthermore the scientists noted a significant variation in the components of e-cigarettes, even those in the same batch of the same brand. Dr Chung Shan-shan, assistant professor of the department of biology, said not only were carcinogens found, but flame retardants - poly-brominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) - used in electronic products. He said: 'PBDEs, effective flame retardants extensively used in electronic products, were first discovered in e-cigarettes. Inhalation of PBDEs has been associated with thyroid hormone disruption, reduction of fertility, affect fetal development and can cause cancers Dr Chung Shan-shan, Baptist University, Hong Kong 'We believe that PBDEs were added to reduce the rate of combustion of the combustible component in e-cigarettes, eg. plastics. 'Inhalation of PBDEs has been associated with thyroid hormone disruption, reduction of fertility, affect fetal development and can cause cancers.' And he told the South China Morning Post: 'The [Level of PAHs] in e-cigarettes is at least one million times more than roadside air in Hong Kong.' A wide variety of e-cigarettes are now available in Hong Kong via various sale channels and are mainly targeting the youngsters. However, most of them do not provide details on their components nor carry any health warnings. Some e-cigarettes are even marketed as 'healthy', 'non-carcinogenic', 'non-toxic', 'safe' or 'no harm' which mislead consumers. Users inhale unknown substances will bring potential health risks. The safety and effectiveness of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid are unknown. Insufficient evidence has been identified so far to support the claim that e-cigarettes help smokers kick the habit, says the World Health Organization (WHO). At least 16 countries have imposed a total ban on e-cigarettes, including Singapore, Thailand and Brazil. Dr Chung Shan-shan, assistant professor of the department of biology, said not only were carcinogens found, but flame retardants - poly-brominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) - used in electronic products. PBDEs have been associated with thyroid hormone disruption, reduction of fertility, affect fetal development and can cause cancers, Dr Shan-shan added The Council on Smoking and Health is calling on Hong Kong's government to enact a total ban on the sales, advertising, promotion and sponsorship, distribution, import and manufacturing of e-cigarettes. Adding further weight to their argument, the council commissioned the University of Hong Kong to conduct a survey to monitor how prevalent e-cigarette use is, and gauge public support for a potential ban on the devices. The survey found 85.4 per cent of respondents had heard of e-cigarettes in 2015, a rise on the previous year when that figure was 75.4 per cent. It also found the main reason for people using the devices was not to aid smoking cessation, and 68 per cent of users did not know what they were inhaling. While 0.2 per cent of respondents had used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, the rate of young current smokers aged 15 to 29 years old was significantly higher at 7.9 per cent, than in smokers aged 30 or above. Professor Lam Tai-hing, at The University of Hong Kong said, 'We are concerned about the prevalence of e-cigarette use among youngsters, which was higher than that in adults. 'With reference to the experiences of US and European countries, partial regulations or delay in legislation may cause a surge in the rate of youngsters using e-cigarettes. Coroner: 'Nobody managed a medication review to ensure her insulin was prescribed and administered' She died in hospital on September 18 last year after suffering extreme pain A heartbroken father claims his diabetic daughter died in hospital because medics failed to give her an insulin injection for 30 hours. Katie Powell died aged 25 at Royal Bolton Hospital three days after being admitted while 'screaming in pain' in September last year. Suffering discomfort down the left side of her body, one doctor said she was given more painkillers than he had ever given any patient in his life before. Her father Matthew, 47, says his daughter injected herself with insulin when she arrived in A&E, but staff failed to give her any more for the next 30 hours until her death. Speaking at her inquest, which is due to conclude today, the coroner said nobody in her medical team took responsibility for reviewing her medicine, leaving her without the insulin she needed. Her tragic death follows that of her mother, Sheridan, who died of diabetes aged 29, when her daughter was just eight years old. Katie Powell, 25, had type 1 diabetes and passed away at Royal Bolton Hospital on September 18 last year. Her father Matthew, 47, claims medics failed to give her an insulin injection for 30 hours before her death Matthew Powell sayshis daughter injected herself with insulin when she arrived in A&E with pain in her side. Later, she was in too much agony to administer the medicine again, and doctors overlooked her needs, he said On the opening day of the inquest, the court heard evidence from doctors about her period in the hospital's care. Despite being admitted 'screaming in pain' on September 18 last year, doctors were unable to find the source of her agony. They gave her a 'huge amount of painkillers' which did little to ease her discomfort, the inquest heard. Dr Damian Bates, a consultant at the hospital who cared for Miss Powell, said: 'Katie had more painkillers than I have ever given anyone in my entire life. We tried to manage her pain. 'She was obviously very distressed. What we were doing wasn't really helping.' They managed to calm Miss Powell, who usually self-administers insulin about three times a day, and she was moved onto a ward later that night. She had self-administered some insulin after being admitted to A&E, but although this had been included in notes, her medication was not reviewed by doctors later that night, the inquest heard. Miss Powell first fell ill from type 1 diabetes while on a family holiday to Benidorm. Mr Powell, his now wife Sharron and his daughter Katie are pictured on the break (left) Mr Powell's first wife Sheridan died of uncontrolled type 1 diabetes in 1998, and he said it was like 'history repeating itself' when his daughter Katie died of the same illness this year. Mother and daughter are pictured Area coroner Alan Walsh said it was clear nobody took responsibility for her diabetic needs, with members of the team 'leaving it for someone else'. He told the inquest: 'What is becoming clear to me is that nobody took responsibility for managing Katie during this period following her transfer from A&E to the ward. 'Nobody took responsibility in the medical team to carry out the medication review to ensure that insulin was being prescribed and administered. HOW TYPE 1 DIABETES CAN KILL Type 1 diabetes reduces life expectancy on average by 20 years. The condition is caused by the body attacking the cells of the pancreas responsible for making insulin. Insulin helps the body break down glucose from food and turn it into energy; without it, blood sugar levels become dangerously high, causing damage to blood vessels. Unlike type 2 diabetes, type 1 is characterised by insulin dependence once diagnosed, a patient must inject themselves daily for the rest of their life. The problem is that many people dont take their insulin as they should, with potentially fatal consequences. 'People often think diabetes, type 1 or type 2, is not a serious condition, says Dr Jeremy Allgrove, a paediatric endocrinologist at Barts and the London NHS Trust. But if you dont look after yourself, its a killer. Advertisement 'Everybody seems to be leaving it to somebody else and in the meantime Katie was not receiving any treatment.' Zara Gall, a consultant at the hospital, said senior doctors had been trying to assess Miss Powell. But Mr Walsh said that they could have done more to inform doctors after their shift. Miss Powell died on September 20 after suffering from a cardiac arrest and internal bleeding. She had previously suffered from a cardiac arrest in March 2014 and was left in a coma, but made a recovery. Her father said: 'When I arrived to the hospital, Katie was in agony - she spent 11 hours in A&E. 'She was then put on a regular ward and wasn't seen by a single doctor or nurse. She was known at the hospital as a diabetic but for some reason they overlooked it.' He continued: 'After that administration of insulin, I think she was in so much pain she wouldn't have been able to administer anymore. 'We last saw Katie at 4:30 on Saturday afternoon because they didn't even ring to tell us that she had been moved to a High Dependency ward. 'She died at 11:39 that night.' Her premature death echoes that of her mother, Mr Powell's first wife Sheridan, who also died from diabetes 18 years ago at the age of 29 - and when her daughter was just eight. Miss Powell was 'screaming in pain' when she was admitted to hospital, but doctors were unable to find the source. One doctor said she was given more painkillers than he had ever given any patient Despite being in a wheelchair and suffering diabetes, Miss Powell was independent and lived life to the full, her father said. She had moved into a bungalow on her own and had 'loads of friends' Miss Powell showed no signs of diabetes as a child, so her father said it 'didn't cross his mind' that she would suffer like her mother. But after falling ill while on a family holiday to Benidorm aged 16, she was diagnosed. She also had the spinal condition caudal regression - which meant she was born with two club feet. Nobody took responsibility in the medical team to carry out the medication review to ensure that insulin was being prescribed and administered. Everybody seems to be leaving it to somebody else Alan Walsh, of Bolton Coroners' Court Mr Powell said that despite being in a wheelchair and suffering diabetes, she was independent and lived life to the full. He said: 'She moved into her own bungalow in 2014 and she had loads of friends she used to visit and her grandmother went to her house everyday. 'She had a cousin with Downs Syndrome and she used to relate really well to him. She always put others before herself. 'She was a really happy girl and she really wanted to better herself. She was a bright girl and did very well at school.' The family still don't know what caused Miss Powell's original pain but believe it was unrelated to her diabetes. 'I still don't think they know what was wrong with Katie initially,' he said. 'We think it was totally unrelated to her diabetes but they completely overlooked her insulin.' A coroner said is was clear 'nobody took responsbility' for reviewing Miss Powell's medicines, leaving her without insulin. The inquest is due to conclude today Miss Powell's family, including her step mother Sharon, half brothers Nathan and Lewis, step brother Bradley and grandmother, Stevie Wild, were all present at the inquest into her the death. There, they hope they will find out why Miss Powell's diabetic needs were overlooked. Mr Powell said: 'We're still going through it all, it's been really stressful. 'I've been really unwell with pains in my chest - I thought I was having a heart attack at one point. 'It's been really difficult physically, mentally and emotionally. It's been a really difficult time.' Umar Khalid (left) and Anirban Bhattacharya allegedly organised the event in JNU on February 9 where anti-India slogans were raised Taking note of the Delhi police submission that the JNU sedition case has been transferred to its anti-terror cell, a court on Monday allowed the custodial interrogation of two arrested students, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, for one more day. The court extended the police custody of the duo, who had allegedly organised the event in JNU on February 9 where anti-India slogans were raised, after police contended that they were needed for a probe to unearth the larger conspiracy in the case. According to police sources, the anti-terror unit of Delhi police's Special Cell, to which the case has been transferred, needed some time to interrogate both the accused. The police has claimed that around 22 people present at the flash-point JNU event, including some outsiders, have been identified after the joint interrogation of Khalid, Anirban and JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar arrested in the same case. Khalid and Anirban have been on police remand since their surrender and subsequent arrest on February 24. Earlier, the Delhi High Court had ordered that confidentiality should be maintained during the remand proceedings of Umar and Anirban, as well as Kumar, while directing the police to ensure that no one suffers even a scratch and there is no ruckus this time. Lawyers had allegedly assaulted Kumar when he was brought to Patiala House Court for remand proceedings, in defiance of a Supreme Court order, on February 17. However, sleuths of Delhi Polices Special Cell questioned the owner of a photocopy shop in connection with the controversial event, which led to the arrest of the JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar and two others over sedition charges. The photocopy outlet is located in south Delhi's Ber Sarai area and the owner is believed to have made copies of the posters of the February 9 event. He was taken to Special Cell's office on Lodhi Road and questioned for several hours, a police source said. The Haryana Police went into denial mode on Monday as they filed a status report on the alleged rapes at Murthal in Sonipat district during the Jat agitation, saying no such incident took place. The status report was filed before a division bench of justices SK Mittal and HS Sidhu. The document filed by police denied the charges of molestation and gang-rape which are alleged to have taken place during the intervening night of February 22/23 in Murthal. Activists shout slogans outside the Haryana Bhawan in New Delhi demanding a probe into the rapes and sexual assaults in Murthal The division bench adjourned the case to March 14. The High Court had taken suo motu note of the matter after a report in a local daily on the alleged rapes. The bench had appointed senior advocate Anupam Gupta as amicus curiae to assist the court in this matter. During the course of the hearing, ADGP Law and Order Mohd Akil and Head of the three-member women police officers probing the allegations DIG Rajshree Singh were also present. Days after allegations of rape and molestation by Jat quota agitators near Haryanas Murthal, a woman came forward on Sunday and registered a case of gang-rape against seven persons, including her brother-in-law, in connection with the incident. An FIR has been lodged against seven people in connection with a gang-rape on the basis of a complaint filed by a Narela-based woman, Haryana Police, DIG, Rajshree Singh had said. She said the victim had alleged she was raped on the intervening night of February 22-23 and the perpetrators included her brother-in-law. The officer, who heads a three-member team of women police officers constituted by the Haryana government to investigate alleged incidents of rape and molestation by Jat protesters, said a family dispute could be the reason for the woman filing the complaint. Some political master-strokes hurt the enemy but dont allow them to scream. The Opposition on Monday emerged after Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys Union Budget speech in wobbly confusion. The harshest words muttered were a lack of imagination. The Budget is loaded in favour of the rural poor, but there are sops for the urban poor and middle class as well CPIs D Raja did something almost unbelievable. Asked to find fault with the Budget, the comrade threw red caution to the wind and spoke up for the capitalists: Outside the Budget, they promised a lot to the corporate sector. Not evident now. Nothing spectacular in the Budget. With this Budget, PM Narendra Modi and his team threaten to take away something held very dear by Indias large pantheon of Left and Centre-Left parties: the underdog. It is a direct, forceful pitch to rural India. It is Modis way of quietly folding and keeping back in the wardrobe the suit-boot image, rolling up his pyjamas, and walking to the distressed crop lands. NCs Omar Abdullah even graciously accepted that: By not focusing the benefits of Budget 2016 on the suit-boot people, Arun Jaitley has cleverly made the Oppositions job a bit tougher. While he seems to have taken a big Left turn, he has done it within the framework of reforms. The underlying economic motive is not charity but hard-nosed market economics: that rural prosperity will drive demand. One of the rural initiatives that may have the biggest social impact is Rs 1,000 crore for LPG connection to five crore below poverty, rural households. It has the potential to deeply change rural womens lives. Irrigation projects, Soil Health Card, model fertiliser retail outlets, organic farming in the Northeast, loan interest waiver, crop insurance, four big dairy projects, intensive care of drought-hit blocks, record modernisation, literacy the Budget leaves very little untouched in that sector. Add to that plans to expedite rural roads, housing, electrification and jobs. The Budget is loaded in favour of the rural poor, but there is something for the urban poor and neo-middle class as well. Cheap health protection schemes, generic medicine outlets, and dialysis centres can reduce crucial medical costs which often stand between poverty and a dignified life. Along with the Oppositions raging attack on the Dalit issue over the suicide of student activist Rohith Vemula came the initiative to set up a National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Hub in partnership with industry associations like Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. With development as its walls and fiscal prudence as its roof, the Budget is a montage of political windows, mainly looking out at the 2017 elections in UP, Punjab and other states. Hundred crore each have been kept aside for Guru Gobind Singhs 350th birth anniversary and Deendayal Upadhyayas birthday celebrations. From charges of being the Ambani-Adani sarkar to the campaign unleashed over an allegedly Rs 10 lakh suit to projecting his globe trotting as disguised holidaying (an accusation easy to sell in a country where a vast majority have never been on a holiday to the next town), Modis government and party were moving away from the underdog. An Arvind Kejriwal, a Lalu Prasad Yadav, a Mamata Banerjee, or a Mayawati fits the voice-of-the- downtrodden bill easily - and Rahul Gandhi aspired to. But Modi has regained that space with this Budget. In his iconic The Art of War, Sun Zhu says: When we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when we are far away, we must make him believe we are near. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected. Budget 2016 may not be remembered in terms of reforms as its stellar progenitor 25 years ago, but it will be remembered as one of the smartest politically. Modi has attacked his enemies where they were least prepared, appeared where he was least expected. Taxing EPF is not a welcome move By S Kannan For decades, the EPF, better known as the Employees Provident Fund, has been the middle classs jackpot - especially post-retirement. In one stroke, on Monday, the NDA government in its annual Budget threatened to rock people who have been contributing handsomely to the EPF. If the Budget proposal is to be accepted, from the next fiscal - 2016-17 - contributions to the EPF become taxable. This years Union Budget is largely being seen as pro-rural The proposal says that 40 per cent of the EPF contribution from April 1, 2016, will not be taxable and the rest will be taxed. The point is, at a time when the middle class has been treated like a punching bag by the NDA government, taxing the provident fund is unfair. Over the decades, for those not keen on dabbling with the highs and lows of the stock market, saving up in the provident funds was seen as the ultimate retirement benefit. Some voices from the government sought to assuage the feelings of the middle class on Monday when they said taxation on EPF withdrawal would not be in retrospect. Yet, there are some who feel the governments move to tax the provident fund withdrawal is a wrong signal. To be sure, barring mild tinkering at the lowest income tax slab levels, not much has been touched. People were expecting more largesse from the Union government vis-a-vis the existing tax structure. At a time when this Budget is being seen as pro-rural and growth-oriented, the middle class is undoubtedly unhappy. The government will actually be making those retiring in future poorer if PF money is going to be taxed. Advertisement Its farmers first in Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys budget for 2016-17. A staggering Rs 1.77 lakh crore has been set aside for the rural economy, and a massive Rs 2.21 lakh crore for the infrastructure sector to boost economic growth. However, this will make goods and services costlier for the middle class, while increasing the tax burden on the super-rich. The Budget has introduced a new 0.5 per cent Krishi Kalyan Cess on all taxable services to fund projects in the agriculture sector. For you, this means higher phone bills, costlier travel and more expensive eating out. Poll run Analysts see the Budget as electorally savvy for the BJP, as several states including West Bengal go to the polls this year and elections in the countrys most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, are due in 2017. A strong showing will enable the ruling party to boost its numbers in the Rajya Sabha and brighten Modis chances of winning a second term. Asked if the Budget was Left-of-Centre, Jaitley told journalists: It is neither Left nor Right, but deals with the reality of the Indian economy. It addresses sectors which need highest priority, and rural areas need most attention. There is a serious challenge, if not distress, in the rural sector and we have given priority to the social sector and infrastructure, he said. Rural welfare The allocation to the agricultural and rural sector, where 68.8 per cent of the countrys population lives, is now at a record high. Jaitley focused on plans for agriculture and farmers welfare by providing Rs 35,984 crore on this alone. A massive Rs 87,765 crore has been allocated for the rural sector, while Rs 2,000 crore will be provided for giving concessional LPG connections to BPL families. This scheme named Ujjwala will not only have immense health benefits for women and their children by providing a clean cooking fuel, but also provide significant ecological dividends, said Dharmendra Pradhan, minister of state for petroleum and natural gas. According to World Health Organisation estimates, five lakh women die in India because of unclean cooking fuels. While announcing the LPG bonanza for rural poor, the finance minister lauded the 75 lakh middle-class families for willingly giving up cooking gas subsidy. Infra push A total outlay of Rs 2.21 lakh crore has been made for infrastructure, of which Rs 97,000 crore will be for the road sector including rural roads. Jaitley said there was need to bring digital literacy to villages. Rs 8,500 crore has been allotted for rural electrification, targeting 100 percent rural electrification by May 1, 2018. He said that the government intended to double the income of farmers in five years. Jaitley premised his Budget on three pillars: A prudent fiscal policy, raising domestic demand and carrying out reforms. He said farm, rural sector, infrastructure and social sector would be given more money. A unified agriculture platform will be dedicated to the nation on the birth anniversary of Dr BR Amebdkar," the finance minister said as applause broke out in the benches. In spite of the massive increase in the allocation for the farm and rural sectors and the huge payout to Central government staff under the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission, Jaitley has managed to meet the stiff fiscal deficit target of 3.5 per cent of GDP for 2016-17. However, he hiked taxes on new cars and tobacco products, and imposed a new tax on large dividend payments to bridge the gap. Tax bed The 12 per cent surcharge on the super-rich with personal income above Rs 1 crore has been raised to 15 per cent. The Budget also proposes to collect tax at source at the rate of one per cent on purchase of luxury cars exceeding value of Rs10 lakh and purchase of goods and services in cash exceeding Rs 2 lakh. High net worth individuals receiving a dividend in excess of Rs 10 lakh per annum will also have to pay an additional 10 per cent dividend distribution tax help mobilise resources for agriculture and the rural economy. World Class: Indian Institute Of Management is a public business school located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. (File Picture.) Aiming to improve the quality of education, the government will set up a higher education financing agency and allocate Rs 1,000 crore for the initiative. The move was accompanied by a slew of measures in the education sector announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech. The push to set up world-class teaching institutions comes in the wake of the ongoing controversy over some Jawaharlal Nehru University students facing charges of sedition. Jaitley said regulatory architecture will be provided to 10 public and 10 private institutions to enable them become world-class centres of learning. In other terms, the government is looking to have Indias own Ivy League. The government will give Rs 1,804 crore for setting up 1,500 multi-skill training institutes and develop countrys own Ivy League. We have decided to set up a Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) with an initial capital base of Rs 1,000 crore. The HEFA will be a not-for-profit organisation that will leverage funds from the market and supplement them with donations and CSR funds, Jaitley said in his budget speech. These funds will be used to finance improvement in infrastructure in our top institutions and will be serviced through internal accruals. To help students, higher education institutions and employers to access degree certificates of candidates, Jaitley proposed to establish a digital depository for school leaving certificates, college degrees, academic awards and mark sheets, on the pattern of a securities depository. The finance minister stressed that it will help validate their authenticity, safe storage and easy retrieval. Jaitley also announced opening of 62 new Navodaya Vidyalayas in the remaining uncovered districts over the next two years. It is our commitment to empower higher educational institutions to help them become world class teaching and research institutions. An enabling regulatory architecture will be provided to ten public and ten private institutions to emerge as world-class teaching and research institutions. This will enhance affordable access to high quality education for ordinary Indians. A detailed scheme will be formulated, he said. Jaitley earmarked a sum of Rs 1,700 crore for setting up 1,500 multi-skill training institutes in the country and scaling up Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna. We have decided to set up a National Board for Skill Development Certification in partnership with the industry and academia. We propose to further scale-up Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna to skill one crore youth over the next three years," the finance minister said. Jaitley said entrepreneurship education and training will be provided in 2,200 colleges, 300 schools, 500 government ITIs, and 50 vocational training centres through massive open online courses. Aspiring entrepreneurs - particularly those from remote parts of the country - will be connected to mentors and credit markets. Budget 2016: Entrepreneurship education and training will be provided in 2,200 colleges, 300 schools, 500 government ITIs and 50 vocational training centres through massive open online courses. (File Picture.) In order to spread literacy in the rural sector he announced plans to launch a new digital literacy mission scheme for rural India to cover six-crore additional households within the next three years. Announcing that the government approved the National Digital Literacy Mission and Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (Disha) to promote digital literacy, Jaitley said of the 168 million crore rural households across the country, 120 million did not have computers and were unlikely to be digitally literate persons. The pace of change on the High Street is startling. Amazon has been looking for an entrance into the British grocery market for some time. Now it has it through an alliance with Morrisons. The Bradford-based group may be the weakest of Britains big four supermarkets, but through its deals with Ocado and Amazon it has taken a leap forward which will give shareholders new hope after some sterile years. Amazon has shown an ability to disrupt traditional markets and make them its own through superior logistics and robotics. David Potts, one of the Tesco refugees now at Morrisons, is throwing down the gauntlet to rivals. Breakthrough: Amazon has been looking for an entrance into the British grocery market for some time. Now it has it through an alliance with Morrisons An often forgotten advantage that Morrisons has over the other supermarkets is vertical integration. It has its own food production operation from farm to abattoir to the butchery counter, and now the ability to leverage this online into fresh and frozen food deliveries. Amazons march into grocery territory makes it all the more important for Sainsburys to come back with a more seductive offer for Home Retail Group that leaps over the South African challenger Steinhoff and extends its reach in non-food and fast delivery. Sainsburys has the ability to pay more because of the cost savings it can make by ending Argoss older leases and through the integration of its credit book and Sainsburys Bank. In the present frenetic environment Sainsburys chairman David Tyler and chief executive Mike Coupe need to demonstrate boldness. There is very little of that to be seen in the self-serving British Retail Consortium report on the future of jobs in retail. It advocates reform of business rates. But does not tell the Chancellor George Osborne where he is going to find the foregone income at a time when the Treasury is searching for further deficit reduction if it is to meet the Governments fiscal target by the end of the year. Moreover, for senior executives of major retailers to wax on about the damage likely to be done by the National Living Wage, when none of them show any sign of moderating their own wage packets, is morally suspect. In the South, where the cost of living is higher anyway and wages rates higher too, the living wage should not be an undue burden. As you move further North it is more of a zero sum game than the retailers would have you believe. Every penny extra in the pay packets of shop workers is more disposable income for them to spend. It is only the Mom & Pop operations which will seriously suffer and there ought to be ways to ease their path to a fairer wage structure. It is traditional for special interest groups to plead poverty ahead of the Budget and some of the recent changes affecting high streets, such as the way in which the apprentice levy is to be recycled back into business, could do with adjustment. The new structure makes it less likely that companies that operate their own internal training will bother with apprenticeships. If they do so they will become bogged down in bureaucratic nightmares, including Ofsted testing of their own schemes. The BRC is a useful collator of data about the High Street. But its special political pleading does it little credit. Deal breakers The efforts by the bigwigs behind the would be merger of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Boerse to pretend this is a done deal must be disregarded. Firstly, as everyone needs to recognise, there is no such thing as merger of equals when one of the equals, the Frankfurt exchange has 54 per cent of the stock. Secondly, the competition barriers to the deal are becoming higher. The French economic minister Emmanuel Macron is concerned about the threat of the deal to Paris as a financial centre. Pity that George Osborne or the remarkably silent Business Secretary Sajid Javid isnt taking the same interest in the impact on the City. Remarkably the UK may have to depend on the European Competition Commissioner, the formidable Margrethe Vestager, to launch an inquiry and rid them of a troublesome interloper. Size is less important than flexibility when it comes to financial markets. That is why both the LSE and DB have opted for advice from boutique advisers rather than the investment banking dinosaurs. Out of Africa Great to know that when it comes to making sure that investors funds are spent wisely, EasyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has lost none of his fervour. As a 12 per centinvestor in African no-frills carrier Fastjet Haji-Ioannau rightly is concerned that soon-to-depart chief executive Ed Winter and fellow directors are sitting in Gatwick depleting the groups financial resources while reporting revenues in Tanzanian currency 4,750 miles away. Write-downs: Shares in claims handlers Slater & Gordon almost halved yesterday Shares in claims handlers Slater & Gordon almost halved yesterday after it posted 500million losses following huge write-downs on its UK business Quindell. For the six months to December the Australian solicitors firm made a loss of 492million, with troubled accountancy firm Quindell being written down by 420million. Slater & Gordon bought the professional services division of Quindell, which is being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office, only a year ago for 637million. Managing director Andrew Grech said: Clearly [these] results are very disappointing. In particular the decline in business performance in the UK is of serious concern to all at Slater & Gordon and equally will be of concern to our investors. We will therefore be taking a number of necessary and significant steps to improve the operational performance of both the UK business and the broader Slater & Gordon Group. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Sergey Smbatyan, the artistic director and principal conductor of the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia became the member of the outstanding organization Swiss Gart (Swiss Global Art Management Gart). As Armenpress was informed from the press service of State Youth Orchestra of Armenia, having more than thirty years of experience in management, organizing exclusive events and international festivals, the Swiss Gart decided to bring together a team of experts from different countries in one Global Art Management. Collaborating with the most prestigious venues, concert halls and the leading orchestras, it worked both with big names, and with the stars of tomorrow - artists of the younger generation, helping them to build their career. The activity of Swiss Gart is not limited to classical music as it also works with renowned jazz and pop musicians, famous actors and dancers, theatre and ballet collectives, opera houses and composers. Swiss Gart produces exclusive art shows and delivers artistic programs. Numerous governmental and non-governmental organizations, international organizations, including UNESCO apply for the services of Swiss Gart. Swiss Gart and its team initiate worlds leading cultural programs. Its large team provides services which are prepared very meticulously, considering every slightest details. The cast of Swiss Gart includes such artists as the conductor Sergey Smbatyan, violinist, conductor and pedagogue Pinchas Zukerman, American actor, producer, director and screenwriter John Malkovich, violinist Soyoung Yoon, mezzo-soprano Carlie Paoli, as well as artists and ensembles of Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Korean Chamber Orchestra and many others. In the framework of cooperation with Swiss Gart, Sergey Smbatyan performed with John Malkovich and Pinchas Zukerman. The UK is on collision course with Brussels after defying orders to extend pay curbs across the City. A bonus cap was introduced for big banks and fund managers across the EU two years ago. This limits bonuses to one times salary and twice if shareholders approve. The crackdown was an attempt by European authorities to restrict the reckless, bonus-fuelled culture which contributed to the financial crisis. Defiant: The Bank of England led by Mark Carney, declared it will not apply the EU bonus cap across the board So far the cap has only been applied to the biggest banks and investment firms, which have responded by simply hiking fixed pay for top executives. But the European Banking Authority is now trying to force member countries to apply the pay curbs to smaller firms, not just the biggest banks. In a statement issued yesterday, the Bank of England declared it will not apply the EU bonus cap across the board, meaning more than 1,000 smaller banks, fund managers, hedge funds and brokers would be let off the hook. It warned that the blanket extension of these restrictions would drive up fixed pay across the City and endanger financial stability, pointing out that banks are already doing this for senior executives. Last night one Eurosceptic hit out at the latest intervention from Brussels. UKIP MP Douglas Carswell said: It seems that not even the Bank of England has control over basic banking rules in the city. The European authorities allowed the Greek debt crisis to assume epic proportions. These are the last people we should allow to tell us how to regulate the banks. Both the Bank and the Financial Conduct Authority argue the bonus cap should not be applied to smaller firms because unlike big banks they do not pose a risk to the financial system if they collapse. Having consulted with lawyers they said yesterday they had adhered to the EUs principle of proportionality, giving them discretion over the application of rules from Brussels. They said they disagreed with the EBAs interpretation of the rules. The refusal by the Bank and the FCA to bow to Brussels latest demands is supported by the Treasury. But the EBA yesterday made it clear it is does not plan to budge. UK manufacturing has fallen 'towards stagnation', the Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index reveals. With exports and order books struggling, Markit posted a balance of 50.8 for February, down from 52.9 in January. This marks the weakest growth seen in the manufacturing sector since April 2013, Markit said. Rob Dobson, a senior economist at Markit, said: 'The near-stagnation of manufacturing highlights the ongoing fragility of the economic recovery at the start of the year and provides further cover for the Bank of Englands increasingly dovish stance.' Sluggish: UK economic growth fell to its slowest rate in nearly three years last month, a CBI report said today Martin Beck, senior economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club, said: 'Februarys manufacturing data suggest that the sectors fairly positive performance at the start of the year may have been a flash in the pan. The manufacturing PMI saw the second largest monthly fall since early-2013. 'The detail of the survey offered further cause for concern, suggesting that prolonged weakness in export sales is beginning to extend to domestic activity.'. Dr Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist for IHS Global Insight, said: 'This is a very disappointing survey through and through output, new orders, export orders, backlogs of work and employment were all weak or falling. 'The manufacturing sector failed to contribute to UK GDP growth in 2015 (output fell 0.2% over the year) and the February purchasing managers survey suggests that the sector is currently finding life even harder. 'The hope has to be that UK manufacturers will increasingly be helped by the recent substantial weakening of the pound and also by the very low oil and commodity prices that increases their ability to price competitively.' Output: Markit's manufacturing PMI reveals weak growth in the setor After Markit published its manufacturing data, sterling fell to $1.3908, down from $1.3979 beforehand, before recovering to $1.3960, up 0.3 per cent on the day. Against the euro, sterling hit a low of 1.2775 after the data was published, but recovered to 1.2846. Separate data from the Confederation of British Industry published today reveals Britain's economic growth in the three months to February fell to its slowest rate since early 2013. The CBI's monthly growth indicator edged up to +8 last month, an increase from +6 in January, but still below levels seen last year and in 2014. UK manufacturing output leveled off over the three months, while growth in the business and professional services sector remained flat, the CBI said. Easier: UK manufacturing output leveled off over the first three months of 2016, while growth in the business and professional services sector remained flat, the CBI report said Growth in the dominant consumer services sector climbed to +21 per cent, while retail sales edged up to +11 per cent, the CBI added. But the rate of growth seen in the retail sector in the three months to February was the slowest since July last year. Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI's Director of Economics, said: 'The British economy has made a slow start to the year, and growth has remained in the doldrums in February. 'Its encouraging that growth in consumer services has held up and manufacturing output has stopped declining, but retailers and business and professional services firms are feeling the pinch. 'With global risks increasing this year following the volatility seen in financial markets, businesses will be keeping a close eye on any possible impact on domestic activity. 'Its important that the Budget later this month gives business a clear signal that the Government stands behind it in driving growth, by bringing the UKs business rates system up to date, supporting investment through the capital allowance system and equipping our world-class innovators with the tools they need to compete.' Weak: Markit's manufacturing Purchasing Mangers' Index for the Eurozone fell to 51.2, down from January's 52.3 As well as the impact of a slowdown in the global economy, the CBI said uncertainty over the referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, set for June 23, could hurt growth in 2016, although investment intentions by businesses were holding up. The CBI survey found output expectations for the next three months rose to +19 in February, up from +13 in January. Last month, when the CBI reported a growth balance of +6 per cent, Ms Newton-Smith said the economy had had a 'tough start to the year'. Separate data published today reveals that Eurozone manufacturing activity grew at its weakest pace for a year in February, as an upturn in orders failed to materialise. Markit's manufacturing Purchasing Mangers' Index for the Eurozone fell to 51.2, down from January's 52.3. Chris Williamson, Markit's chief economist, said: 'Concerns are growing that the region is facing yet another year of sluggish growth in 2016, or even another downturn. 'Lacklustre domestic demand is being compounded by a worsening global picture.' At a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Shanghai over the weekend, officials failed to come up with a co-ordinated plan to spur global economic growth. The residents of this town are a horny bunch, says Acapulcos police chief Manuel Flores, the creator of Mexicos first all-female police force. You wouldnt believe how docile a dangerous driver becomes after being pulled over by a sexy girl. He is the 'proud' pioneer of a police unit that boasts it is the sexiest in the world, and where the official criteria for a job is simply that you are 'young, female and pretty. Hotspot: Tourism makes up 80 per cent of the local economy and is a hotspot for US spring breakers and holiday makers. Authorities hope their new force will inspire confidence in the tourists Sexy: Acapulco's police chief has recruited 42 women aged 18 to 28 to form the city's Tourist Assistance Brigade in a bid to win back tourists scared off by escalating violence between rival drug cartels Docile: Police chief Manuel Flores says criminals are more 'docile' if they are arrested by a 'sexy girl' and so only applicants who were 'young, pretty and female' were selected only he insists weight is not a criteria Happy: The brigade will patrol the resort's beaches and aim to keep tourists happy with their winning smiles and are not dissuaded from flirting with tourists to make sure they leave with a good impression The unashamedly sexist move by Mexico's force is extraordinary in 2016, but it represents a desperate move by authorities against the gang wars that have blighted Acapulco's image and tourist numbers. The Tourist Assistance Brigade, a handcuff-toting arm of the municipal police, was created last October and is dedicated to keeping the visitors happy. We had to think of a way to inspire confidence in the tourists, and our new faces on the street are not only responsible but very eye-catching... but its not sexist, we have fat chicks too. Acapulco police chief Made up of 42 women aged between 18 and 28, the new brigades duties include stopping traffic to assist tourists across busy roads, patrolling the beachfront and detaining criminals while the arresting authorities arrive. The 'girls' earn $8,000 pesos a month, or 317 ($440). Tourism makes up 80 per cent of the local economy, and visitors number have dropped since the local gang wars began, Chief Flores told MailOnline as he inspected his newest officers, we had to think of a way to inspire confidence in the tourists, and our new faces on the street are not only responsible but very eye-catching. But its not sexist, he insists, we have fat chicks too. Theyre lovely, said Steven Dingman, 62, from Wisconsin, after being chaperoned towards the towns Papagayo waterfront park by 20-year-old Fanny Estevez. I wouldnt say so with my wife around, but it certainly brightens up my day. Its an important job, says Michigan native John Farkas, 67, who visits Acapulco for six weeks every year. Lipstick: The girls ensure they are turned out well, with manicured nails, carefully applied makeup and hair styled in a ponytail Anti-corruption: Young women are the least likely to be corrupt, according to the police chief, who is working to eliminate police corruption from his force Gang: Recent gang related crime has caused tourist numbers to drop. The Police Chief hopes his new all-female force will attract tourists back to the city and reassure them as they walk around Acapulco I still wouldnt walk around this area at night, but its nice to have them around. I really enjoy it, says Heidi Rodriguez, 23, who claims she doesnt put up with troublemakers but has a ready smile for visitors to her hometown. Weve had a lot of positive comments from tourists and locals alike, many of them asking me out. The spring-breakers will be here next week, she says, and well be ready for them. We dont discourage our officers from flirting, as it lets tourists leave Acapulco with a good impression. Acapulcos newest officers are dressed in brown Bermuda shorts, light blue polo shirts and sunhats to withstand the blistering 34-degree midday heat. The unit starts its day at 7am at the western end of the bay, where after half an hour of applying their mandatory make-up, complete with pre-approved shades of bright-pink lipstick, the brigade it inspected by the municipal forces senior officers. Our plan is to give a sense of responsibility, but also of confidence, says Chief Flores. We dont discourage our officers from flirting, as it lets tourists leave Acapulco with a good impression. Personal touch: Police chief Manuel Flores, the creator of Mexicos first all-female police force (pictured centre) says he interviewed each applicant personally and judges their physical fitness in the swimming pool Lovely: US tourists Steven Dingman, 62, and John Farkas say the force is 'lovely' as they are escorted to the beach front, although admit they still wouldn't feel comfortable walking around the city at night I get hollered at constantly, says Brenda Ortiz, 23, who was accepted immediately onto the training program after applying last October. Men shout at me from their cars, asking me to arrest them and handcuff them when they drive past. I interviewed every applicant personally, Chief Flores told MailOnline. Our studies showed that young females are the least corruptible of all new recruits. Much of our municipal police force is very corrupt, so we are attempting to bring in as many trustworthy officials as possible. Following Chief Flores selection of 42 candidates last October, a three-month training period began with Mexicos Federal Forces, who have a heavy presence alongside the military in Acapulco. Theyve been trained in self-defence, crowd control and lifesaving techniques, said the police chief as he smiled beside his troop. We focused on their physical fitness training in the swimming pool. Trained: Each of the 42 women have been trained in self-defence, crowd control and lifesaving techniques, and a full face of make-up is mandatory - including bright pink lipstick and pre-approved sunshades - for their shift Harassed: But Brenda Oritz (above), says men shout at her from their cars and ask her to arrest them Once North Americas most popular holiday resort, Acapulco is currently living through the worst period of violence in its history. An ongoing war between organised crime organisations has already cost 648 lives in the two months since the start of the year. Guerrero state is Mexicos largest producer of opium. Produced in the mountainous rural countryside inland, much of the raw material is brought to cities like Iguala (where 43 students were disappeared by the municipal police force in 2014), Chilpancingo and Acapulco, where it is refined into heroin before being sent northwards to the US. Cartel extortion of the local tourism industry, coupled with vast quantities of narcotics moving through the states largest port city, has made Acapulco valuable gangland territory. The subsequent war between the CIDA (Independent Cartel of Acapulco) and the Devils Command cartels have led the citys streets to run red with blood. 2015 saw 1,600 murders in Acapulco, a town with less than one million inhabitants. War: Drug cartels have ruined Acapulco's tourism industry, whose state of Guerrero is Mexico's largest producer of opium Blood: Fighting between two rival cartels - Independent Cartel of Acapulco and the Devils Command - have led the city's streets to run red with blood with 1,600 murders the city in 2015 Crime: Tourists are rarely affected by the crime, but the high murder rate has caused visitor numbers to drop While visitors are rarely affected, the killing has affected the tourism industry very seriously, said Lieutenant Lorenzo Leal, the tourist forces duty officer. These days it seems no part of Acapulco is unaffected by crime, and we have a duty to ensure the safety of our holidaymakers. It has also been a welcome change for many of the locals who have had bad experiences with the corrupt municipal force, he told MailOnline. The hope is that with these beautiful young girls patrolling the streets, we are putting faith in the police back in the populace. The chances of tourists witnessing a murder in Acapulco are higher than in any other North American seaside resort. Beautiful: Authorities are keen to show the 'beautiful face' of Acapulco, to keep tourism on the up A February 14 shooting on Tamarindos Beach saw six armed men execute an unnamed sunbather, while the slaying of a beach vendor at Condesa beach three days later was witnessed by over 100 Mexian and international tourists. No arrests have been made concerning either crime. Both the mayor of Acapulco Evodio Vasquez and the state governor Hector Astudillo have stated their support of the all-female force since it passed its trial month last December and was inaugurated into the municipality in January 2016. We want to show the public the beautiful face of Acapulco, and let them know that they are welcome, said Mayor Vasquez following the announcement that the female force was here to stay. Acapulco was built on tourism and our visitors are the citys most important assets, says Coral Perez, 21, who patrols the beach for stray homeless people on her police quad-bike in the late afternoon. A horrified diner had a nasty surprise when he went to take a bite of his sandwich - and found a huge insect on it. Dean Mclernon treated himself to the sandwich from his local Subway store in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, but was shocked to discover the earwig with large pincers attached to the bottom of his roll. He later posted a picture of his lunch on Facebook prompting hundreds of responses from people claiming they too were now put off from eating Subways. Dean Mclernon posted this picture of an insect attached to his sandwich which he bought from Subway in Westhill, Aberdeenshire Dean Mclernon treated himself to the sandwich from his local Subway store in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, but was shocked to discover the insect with large pincers attached to the bottom of his roll Dean said it was the 'last time' he would eat from the chain, adding: 'Last time I ever eat a Subway put off for life now. 'Dead insects in the food shocking!! Clearly not a very well caring business!' The gruesome photograph was shared almost 3,000 times in less than 24 hours, by Facebook users who condemned the popular sandwich chain. Stewart Robertson said: 'I thought I had to go all the way to Thailand to eat insects. Cool I can get them in Subway in Aberdeen.' Alison Hay wrote: 'I hate earwigs at the best of times but to hell with getting one on my sandwich.' Nauris Langbergs joked: 'Good source of protein.' The store which Mr Mclernan bought his sandwich from. The gruesome photograph was shared almost 3,000 times in less than 24 hours, by Facebook users who condemned the popular sandwich chain A spokesman for Subway was quick to comment on the photograph, and asked Dean to provide further details so they could look into the incident. It is not believed Mr Mclernon has heard back from the company yet. When contacted, a spokeswoman for Subway said: 'We are sorry to hear about this customer's experience. 'We have very strict procedures in place to ensure that our stores, which are all operated by franchisees, serve products safely and to customers' satisfaction. 'We are liaising with the franchisee regarding this incident and will take necessary action.' It is not the first time unwanted toppings have made their way into Subway sandwiches. Last year, a man in Oregon, USA found a dead mouse in his Italian Sub. And an Indian man was shocked to find a worm staring back at him as he was about to tuck into a Subway sandwich in Hyderabad, India. An officer was also injured in the fight and taken to hospital All 30 girls were arrested and will face charges, says school official This quickly escalated into a 30-girl brawl that ended in A school was in lock-down after a bloody brawl involving 30 girls broke out when a 'neighborhood rivalry' fight got out of hand, officials say. The disturbance allegedly began with two girls but quickly escalated into a 30-girl fight with 'kicking and screaming and punches thrown', reportedWTEA. The ruckus began Monday morning at around 9.45 am at University Prep High School in Pittsburghs Hill District. Heavy police presence: The 30-girl fight broke out Monday morning at around 9.45 am at University Prep High School in Pittsburgh (above) One girl was taken away in a stretcher (pictured) in a the 30-strong fight that saw kicking and screaming and punches thrown It was initially reported that the fight began over a boy but school officials have since said the fight escalated because of 'neighborhood rivalry'. One student was taken to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh after suffering an asthma attack, while others suffered minor scratches and bruises, according to Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh. Police were called to the school and all 30 girls were arrested. Pugh said that an officer was also injured and taken to hospital but it was not immediately clear whether the officer was a school police officer or a Pittsburgh police officer. This parent says the fight started outside her 17-yr-old daughter's classroom. #WPXI pic.twitter.com/VYJgNoV8kN Aaron Martin (@WPXIAaronMartin) February 29, 2016 We saw one student in the back of a Pgh School police car after UPrep fight. #wpxiphotogs #wpxi pic.twitter.com/Op97fMUNuS WPXI Photog Andy (@WPXIPhotogAndy) February 29, 2016 A parent of a 17-year-old girl at the school told WPXI about the frantic phone call she received from her daughter: 'She said there was a big fight outside the classroom and I said okay, what's going on? 'Then I hear a girl crying and [my daughter says] "Ma she's bleeding everywhere", so I tell her to find the girl some Kleenex.' The school, which serves grades 6 through 12, was taken off lock down shortly after the students were removed from the grounds at around 11 am. Frantic parents attempt to get inside the school after reports of the 30-strong brawl had reached them Police and ambulances were called to the school, which serves grades 6 through 12 and all 30 girls were arrested - they are likely to face charges The 30 girls have now been sent home and will face charges from a magistrate, says Pugh. Local media footage showed a heavy police presence with a number of ambulances outside the school at the height of the commotion. Pittsburgh Public Schools released this statement at 12.30 pm: 'Pittsburgh Milliones at University Prep 6-12 is now on a modified lockdown. Classes have resumed. 'Only individuals with previously scheduled appointments will be permitted in the building. Thank you for your cooperation.' This is a developing story. Advertisement Studying quietly amid the rubble, these are the brave children who take their lives into their own hands every day they go to school in Syria. The pupils, some aged just four, pore over their writing textbooks and try to ignore the distant sound of machine gun fire as the fragile ceasefire brokered last Saturday is regularly broken. These courageous boys and girls are so desperate to learn they have run the gauntlet of barrel bombs, snipers and devastation in Aleppo for four years to attend one of the 150 makeshift schools across the rebel-held city. Scroll down for video Brave: Children in rebel-held Aleppo take their lives into their hands each day they go to school and have to navigate gun battles and shelling. The city was surrounded by Government forces, backed by Iranian special forces at the beginning of February Surreal: There are more than 150 makeshift schools in rebel-held Aleppo, where teachers and volunteers rely on NGOs for independent for everything from winter jackets, heating, transport, repairs as well as the staples like books, stationery and teachers salaries Treacherous: Despite the heavy bombing that has continued until the weekend's ceasefire, Abu Bassam said the children still want to go to school. 'We tell their families to keep them at home,' he told MailOnline, 'but they want to come to school' Rescue: At least 12 people were killed when the children's neighbouring building - also an education centre - was hit by a Syrian regime barrel bomb on May 3 last year. The school children - aged four and older were rescued by members of the civil defense force from what the Opposition have said is tantamount to a war crime Teacher Abu Bassam told MailOnline via Skype from Aleppo that this is the third location the school has moved to in three years. We havent had any strikes for the past couple of days, but we can hear heavy machine gun clashes in the distance, he said. 'The children are in a good mood but even before, when we expected heavy airstrikes and told their parents not to send the kids to school, they were so eager to come to school they came anyway.' There are more than 150 schools left in rebel-held Aleppo, where up to 350,000 people are still estimated to eke out an existence. And as local councils have been splintered, pulled apart by lack of funding, incompetence, uncertainty and the myriad of armed groups that control the city, each school is left to fend for themselves. This 'classroom in the rubble' school began in 2012, in the basement of a sewing workshop after teachers brought desks from another school that had been bombed nearby. That lasted just one year before fighting between the armed forces of the Syrian Government and rebels drew too close. Then, in 2013, the school moved again to Seif al-Dawla district, where they stayed for two years before the neighbouring education centre was barrel bombed, killing twelve, injuring a number of the students and destroying the classes. Now they have set up class in the untouched first floor of a deserted residential building - its occupants long gone after it was also hit by an airstrike. But they also teach classes outside in the sunshine, against the backdrop of the bombed-out ruins, so the children can enjoy the fresh air. Destroyed: Abu Bassam, 50, set up the first school in the basement of a sowing workshop, but after the fighting came too close they relocated to a second school a year later. The neighbouring education centre was bombed two years after (above) destroying the school Blood: Abu Bassam arrived at the school minutes after it was bombed. He found children bleeding, fires still raging with glass and shrapnel scattered in the classrooms and street. All of the schoolchildren survived, but 12 students and teachers were killed at the education centre Emergency: Up to 35 people were injured and rescued from the rubble on May 3 2015 by the Civil Defense Force, also known as the White Helmets, a team of volunteers who respond to the bombings Besieged: Aleppo is now almost entirely surrounded by government forces, making it difficult if not impossible for aid and supplies to reach the rebel-held half of Aleppo City where an estimated 350,000 people remain Collapsed: The outer wall collapsed, filling the school with dust, cement, wire and debris. The headteacher's office was also destroyed although the force of the blast saved her life as it moved her from behind her desk, which was destroyed For these children the outdoor writing lesson is more than just a trip outside, but an act of defiance hoping to appeal to a world they think has forgotten them. Reading aloud, Raja, 10, addresses the world on behalf of her fellow fourth graders. We have written a composition appealing to the world, and we wish for you to help us clean our neighbourhood so we can get to school. 'We wish for you to help us plant trees, flowers, in our streets instead of rubble and destruction,' she says gesturing to the rocks behind her. But the many of the children are still struggling to come to terms with their narrow escape from the barrel bomb that devastated their second school. The barrel bomb hit in May, killing twelve and injuring 35 after it pounded the education centre next door to their classrooms. Their teacher, Abu Bassem, arrived just minutes after the impact. There was blood glassfire and shrapnel all over the place, the 50-year-old told MailOnline. 'The wall had gone and the civil defence teams were rescuing the injured people. At first I was in shock, and then I was so angry. These kids are like my kids theyre innocent, he said. The children had been so happy at the school, which had a courtyard, trees, and a water fountain, he said a relative oasis in the middle of the carnage that surrounded them. Dreams: Raja and her classmates wrote a letter to the world where they ask for help to plant trees and flowers in their neighbourhood, and to clear the rubble so they can go to school. Their third school is in the first floor of an abandoned residential building whose upper floors are unsafe to use after the building was struck by a barrel bomb Defiance: During a break in the airstrikes in January, theses fourth graders left the relative safety of their classrooms to have class outside and appeal to the world for help to 'plant trees and flowers' and to clear away the rubble so that they can get to school safely Gauntlet: The children often live far from the school, which is now in its third location after moving twice before because of the fighting New school: In their new school, the children learn Arabic, English and Maths. They also receive winter jackets through the school Trauma: The teachers also hold classes to help the children with the trauma of the bombing, and encourage them to draw and talk about their hopes and fears Their headteacher was lucky to survive and saved the lives of her pupils, who were aged just four to eight years old. They had all gathered in the courtyard of the school when the principal noticed the helicopter in the sky. The teachers got all the children inside before all of a sudden the barrel bomb landed. It was a miracle the head teacher survived her office was destroyed. She would have died for sure if she had been there, Abu Bassem told MailOnline. All of the pupils survived, although many were injured by flying debris and they have all been treated for post-traumatic stress. One four year old refuses to come back to school, terrified of another bombing. But still the majority of the children run the gauntlet of fear to attend school every day, determined to learn for whatever future awaits them. They study in an abandoned apartment block whose inhabitants have long since fled after it was bombed, and outside against the rubble when the weather is fine. Its ripped furniture sits covered in dust after it was mostly destroyed in the bombing last year. The first floor is still of a good quality so we can use it as a school, Abu Bassam insists, in a Skype interview with MailOnline. The desks have come with us from school to school, and we get some books,' he said. Without a central authority, each principal must find their own NGO to donate salaries for their teachers, their own funds to fix the walls and pay for supplies and when the school is bombed they have to find a new roof to shelter their students. Teachers are paid sporadically through local or international NGOs. The doors and windows at Abu Bassams makeshift school were repaired thanks to teacher and activist Usama Ajjan, 25, who now lives in Turkey. Oasis: Abu Bassam said the children were happy at their second school as it had trees, a water fountain and somewhere to play outside After: But the bomb on May 3rd that hit the Saif al-Dawla teaching centre next door traumatized the children, who were lining up for assembly when their headteacher spotted a helicopter in the sky and rushed them to shelter inside the school He raises money to buy winter jackets, books and to pay for general repairs for six schools in his hometown through a Facebook page called 'A Little Help is Enough'. The majority of Aleppo's citizens have fled for Turkey, Europe or a respite in the northern countryside, and those who stay are trapped surrounded by Syrian army troops, backed by Iranian special forces and Hezbollah militias. Syria's second city has a become a bastion of resistance in the country's five year war, despite joining a year after protests broke out in southern Damascus, Homs and Hama. The rebels were routed for the first time at the beginning of February when Syrian Government forces captured key towns of Nubl and Zahra to cut off the rebels supply lines into the city. As the impending siege on the rebel-held half of the city loomed, activists rushed to bring medical and food supplies to a population already on its knees. Makeshift: Teachers have set up schools in abandoned buildings for the children that remain Aleppo. Many families have stayed as they don't want to leave their city, or they can't leave because it is too dangerous of they are too poor Bombardment: Aleppo has been under near-constant bombardment for three years as the Syrian Government has dropped barrel bombs on the rebel held areas of the city. Barrel bombs are crude weapons, typically rubbish bins filled with explosives, and dropped from helicopters. As estimated 250,000 people have died in Syria's five-year civil war Before the second school was destroyed by the barrel bomb, the children studied for two years in a building that had trees and a courtyard (above) The new school is on the first floor of an already bombed out building, but they have managed to salvage the desks from the school that was bombed (above) While ISIS hasn't held positions in Aleppo City for months, Al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra has been key to the front line defences and fights alongside a number of Syrian national rebel groups against the Syrian regime. In the weeks since Assad's forces encircled the city, both regime helicopters and Russian airplanes have bombarded Aleppo - they say they are targeting ISIS, but numerous civilian targets have been hit - including schools, markets, hospitals and bakeries. One road is still passable activists told MailOnline, and runs out to the west of the city, but for many it poses too great a risk. Teachers warily accept the landmark ceasefire agreement that they hope will stop what has become the constant fear airstrikes. The 'cessation of hostilities' landmark agreement came into effect on Saturday morning, although both sides have already accused the other of breaching the terms. Activists say Syria's Russian backed air force has made a 'dozen' strikes on both civilian and armed targets. The widow of a slain Navy SEAL whose story was immortlaized in 'American Sniper' has entered politics and is campaigning in a local Texas sheriff's race. Taya Kyle, the wife of Chris Kyle, is campaign treasurer for Bill Waybourn, a Republican opponent of longtime Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson, who was seen as the face of the manhunt for 'affluenza' teen Ethan Couch. Anderson, also a Republican, is running for his fifth and final term as Sheriff in a race that will be decided by voters on Tuesday. Scroll down for video Taya Kyle (pictured left with Chris Kyle), the widow of a slain Navy SEAL whose story was turned into the hit movie 'American Sniper', is making waves in Texas politics Kyle's endorsement of Waybourn for Sheriff is on his website, in which she says: 'I endorse Bill Waybourn for Sheriff, because he is the only man Chris wanted to work for, and because he is a good man who serves those who serve us.' Kyle, 41, is also in a dispute with her late husband's former business partner Bo French, who is running as a Republican for a Texas House of Representatives seat from the same county. Lawyers for Kyle sent a cease-and-desist letter to the French camp last week calling on it to stop using her husband's name and likeness in campaign materials. 'Bo (is) abusing the name of my late husband, a beloved Son of Texas, and a hero to the nation, in an attempt to manipulate voters,' Kyle said in a statement on social media. She did not respond to requests to speak about her political activism. Taya Kyle is campaign treasurer for Bill Waybourn, anopponent of longtime Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson (pictured in January), who came to prominent in the case of 'affluenza' teen Ethan Couch Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson was seen as the face for the manhunt for 'affluenza' teen Ethan Couch (pictured last month in Fort Worth, Texas) Taya Kyle last year endorsed former Texas Governor Rick Perry in his unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Pictured, Kyle and Perry in August last year 'Her experience with public exposure and scrutiny has taught her not to let her guard down,' said Republican political strategist Bill Miller. 'She's become a very formidable woman.' Chris and Taya Kyle have become stars of the state's Republican establishment, with Governor Greg Abbott setting up a day to honor the memory of Chris Kyle, who was killed in 2013 by a troubled veteran he was trying to mentor. Kyle's endorsement of Bill Waybourn (pictured) for Sheriff is on his website Taya Kyle last year endorsed former Governor Rick Perry in his unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination. She now endorses U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. In the sheriff's race, she may be the difference in the campaign of Waybourn, a former suburban Fort Worth police chief, analysts said. Waybourn, backed by the conservative Tea Party movement, is challenging Anderson, a fellow Republican, who gained national attention in calling for the apprehension of Couch. The teen, whose lawyer said his wealth distorted his moral compass, fled to Mexico in December apparently to avoid apprehension for violating the probation deal that kept him out of jail for a drunken driving wreck in 2013 that killed four people. Kyle has not indicated any intention to seek elective office, but analysts said that should not be ruled out. 'Once someone gets involved and gets their hands wet in politics, it's hard to get out,' Miller said. Last month, she posted a heartfelt tribute to her late husband on the third anniversary of his 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. His story was captured in 2014 film 'American Sniper', starring Bradley Cooper. The film earned numerous Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Cooper's portrayal of Kyle. She shared a touching tribute to mark the three-year-anniversary of her husband's death earlier this month A teenager with a love for theatre who travelled to Sydney to see a musical was removed from the show for being too disruptive. Amanda Hirst had driven from Wollongong to the Lyric Theatre in Sydney to take her daughter Eliza, 15, who has cerebral palsy, to see Matilda The Musical on Sunday. Ms Hirst said they were asked to leave the theatre just ten minutes in to the show because Eliza was being 'disruptive to other patrons'. However the theatre's general manager Graeme Kearns said it was 'incongruous' they would ask anyone to leave, and staff were simply trying to calm the situation. Amanda Hirst (right) has claimed she and her daughter Eliza (left) were asked to lave Matilda The Musical They were attending a mattine show on Sunday at the the Lyric Theatre in Pyrmont, Sydney Ms Hirst told the Sydney Morning Herald a staff member appeared to be watching her and the friends she was seeing the show with from the moment they got there. 'The gentleman was staring at me and Eliza, to the point that I turned to my friend and asked her 'why does this man keep staring at us',' Ms Hirst said. 'We had been there about 10 minutes and Eliza was clapping and cheering with everyone else and rocking back and forwards in her wheelchair,' Mr Hirst added. The woman said she was then asked by floor staff if she could settle Eliza down, and if there was anything he could do to help with this. When Ms Hirst asked the staff member if they wanted her and her daughter to leave, he apparently suggested they may be more comfortable watching in the lobby on a screen. 'I was so intimidated by him,' Ms Hirst said, adding that the floor manager had been watching them the whole time they were there. Ms Hirst said they were asked to leave the theatre just ten minutes in to the show because Eliza was being 'disruptive to other patrons' The theatre's general manager Graeme Kearns denied that Ms Hirst and Eliza were asked to leave She said her daughter 'loves music and loves dance', and was simply enjoying the show. 'It's just so wrong. It's discrimination. I am just disgusted that my daughter has been put out of a show,' she said. The theatre's general manager Graeme Kearns told Daily Mail Australia that staff were simply asking if they could assist in calming Eliza down. 'It's incongruous that we would eject them or ask them to leave we tried to calm the situation down. 'We encourage disabled patrons to come to the theatres, we have people with cerebl paslsy come to the theatre regularly', Mr Kearns said. He said the theatre was an early adopter or the companion card system, which allows a carer to attend a show for free. Mr Kearns said he had spoken to Ms Hirst since the incident and invited her and Eliza back to the show free of charge. The public's right to know about corruption, incompetence and grotesque waste in the state sector wins a major boost today. In a victory for a Daily Mail campaign, ministers will reject demands from NHS, police and town hall bureaucrats for the neutering of the Freedom of Information Act. Councils, quangos and other state bodies had wanted greater secrecy. Instead they will be forced to publish full details of the pay and perks of staff pocketing more than 150,000 a year. The 'fat cats' will be named and barred from using data protection laws to keep information hidden. The public sector will also be made to state how many staff are taking home 50,000 or more a year in a bid to save taxpayers' cash. Scroll down for video In a victory for a Daily Mail campaign, ministers will reject demands from NHS, police and town hall bureaucrats for the neutering of the Freedom of Information Act Cabinet minister Matthew Hancock said he had decided to act after the Mail highlighted 'public sector abuses' with a series of 'important investigations'. This newspaper has used the FoI Act to expose scandals including the rampant abuse of public money by town hall chiefs. We revealed how hospitals were paid millions of pounds to hit targets for the number of patients who died on the Liverpool Care Pathway. FoI was used as well to lay bare the MPs expenses scandal. Since the autumn, the act has been under grave threat from a Government-commissioned review. In particular, councils and other public sector bodies demanded that the press and public should have to pay a fee for each request. Introducing charges would have dramatically undermined the legislation making it far harder for abuse to be uncovered. But, when it publishes its report today, the FoI Commission will say that 'use of the act by the media gives rise to some very important investigations that are clearly in the public interest'. It will add that 'a fee for information requests could hamper those investigations in future'. In his response to the Commission's report, Mr Hancock will kill the idea of introducing a fee altogether. In a statement to MPs, he will say the press must remain free to 'pursue important investigations that are in the public interest'. He will also announce that rules on transparency that currently apply to Whitehall only will be extended across the entire public sector. Cabinet minister Matthew Hancock said he had decided to act after the Mail highlighted 'public sector abuses' with a series of 'important investigations' Introducing charges would have dramatically undermined the legislation making it far harder for abuse to be uncovered Where staff earn 150,000 or more, quangos, town halls, the police and NHS will have to publish full details of their salary, allowances, fees, pension contributions, expenses, bonuses and compensation for loss of employment. This will expose the huge pay-offs many have been given when quitting or retiring early. Mr Hancock said: 'There should be no excuses for hiding taxpayer-funded pay packets. The Daily Mail has used the Freedom of Information Act effectively to highlight public sector abuses, as well as pursue a series of important investigations. After ten years, we took the decision to review the Freedom of Information Act and we have found it is working well. We will not make any legal changes to FoI. 'We will spread transparency throughout public services, making sure all public bodies routinely publish details of senior pay and perks. After all, taxpayers should know if their money is funding a company car or a big pay-off.' Mr Hancock will also announce that he is not legislating to reinstate the so-called ministerial veto, which is used by the attorney general to quash the release of sensitive information. The Government was prompted to look again at the law when, in March last year, the Supreme Court ordered the release of sensitive letters from Prince Charles to ministers giving his views on areas of government policy. The judges ordered the publication of the 'black spider letters' in response to an FoI request, despite the Government wielding its veto over the release. MPs said this went against the original intention of the act, which said that ministers should have the final say. The Government was prompted to look again at the law when, in March last year, the Supreme Court ordered the release of sensitive letters from Prince Charles (pictured) to ministers giving his views on areas of government policy The FoI commission, which includes Jack Straw (pictured) and Lord Howard, has been gathering evidence for months on whether the act should be restricted MPs were also unhappy about the wishes of Parliament being over-ridden by the judiciary. Mr Hancock will say that, in future, the veto will be issued at an earlier stage. Currently, if the press or a member of the public applies for a document, and this request is rejected by a public body, they can lodge a series of appeals to the Information Commissioner and tribunals, ending with judges. The veto is exercised by ministers only at the end of the procedure, which can drag on for years. In future, the veto will be used after the Information Commissioner has ordered a document should be released to the public. This will anger some freedom of information campaigners who insist there should be no veto whatsoever. But it will remove the problem of Parliament and the judiciary coming into direct conflict. The veto has been used seven times since the FoI Act came into force, most notoriously in relation to the release of Cabinet papers on the build-up to the Iraq war. FoI campaigners are also certain to want to check the small print of Mr Hancock's announcement. He is tightening the rules on so-called 'vexatious' FoI claims, where people lodge dozens of requests on the same subject. Aides said Mr Hancock had no intention of applying the new rules to journalists. The FoI commission, which includes Jack Straw and Lord Howard, has been gathering evidence for months on whether the act should be restricted. Among the submissions were dozens from town hall chiefs, education bosses, the NHS and police, intent on squashing the public's right to know. Their extraordinary claims included that elderly care and children's services would suffer unless the act was curbed. At the same time, tens of thousands of ordinary members of the public pointed out the vital role the law played in exposing corruption, ill-treatment and 'fat cat' pay and perks across the public sector. An alliance of press and media groups wrote to the Prime Minister to warn against any attempt to undermine the law that was crucial for local journalists seeking to expose wrongdoing and waste. The commission held a series of public hearings, at which supporters of the act lined up to defend it and attack the central claim from Whitehall, that the legislation was broken and needed fixing. Labour also held hearings looking at the act, and among the witnesses was Lord Kerslake, the former head of the civil service. In explosive testimony he dismissed his successor Sir Jeremy Heywood's claim that the law has a 'chilling effect' on civil servants and insisted that what was needed was more transparency. At one point during the official review, the Russell Group of universities, which represents Oxford, Cambridge and 22 other leading institutions, demanded they should be exempted from the act, because they are private institutions and not public bodies, even though they receive public money. Palmer was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to pay $5,000 while Mitchell could serve up to seven years A prison guard who helped two convicted killers escape when he smuggled in tools and hamburger meat stuffed with hacksaw blades has been jailed. Gene Palmer claimed he had no idea that inmates Richard Matt, 35, and David Sweat, 49, had been planning their escape from maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora. The 57-year-old pleaded guilty to promoting prison contraband for bringing in needle-nose pliers and a screwdriver, and a count for the hamburger meat and a misdemeanor official misconduct count. Scroll down for video Gene Palmer claimed he had no idea that inmates Richard Matt, 35, and David Sweat, 49, had been planning to escape He also admitted giving them access to a restricted catwalk at prison in Dannemora but denied knowing they planned to break out on June 6. Their escape sparked a massive manhunt which ended when Matt was killed and Sweat was recaptured. Palmer was one of three prison staff members arrested in June on suspicion of aiding the guards. On Monday, he was sentenced him to six months in jail and ordered to pay $5,000 in fines. Palmer had told police, he provided Matt and Sweat with supplies and granted them special privileges in exchange for information about their fellow inmates' illegal activities, reported NBC News. He said he was persuaded to smuggle in the hamburger meat by prison worker Joyce Mitchell, 51, who only had access to the tailor shop where she supervised Matt and Sweat. But he insisted he had no reason to suspect it contained hacksaw blades. The package containing the frozen meat, the lawyer said, measured 12 inches long, 5 inches wide and 2 inches high. It was in a Styrofoam container with cellophane wrap and had no store sticker. Richard Matt (left) and David Sweat (right) escaped from maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora in June Mitchell, a grandmother, was charged aiding and abetting the killers and sentenced to serve up to seven years in prison for helping the pair escape. Judge Kevin Ryan said a 'culture of violence' inside the upstate New York prison led guards to grant privileges to inmates for information but said that was no excuse for his behavior, the New York Post reports. Palmer was suspended on full pay from his $74,644-a-year job at the prison in June. He has now resigned after 28 years as a prison guard. More than a decade before his arrest, Palmer was interviewed by a local radio station telling the host that working at the Dannemora maximum-security prison could drive a person to alcoholism and suicide. North Country Public Radio reports that Palmer talked to the upstate New York station in 2000 about what it's like to work at Clinton Correctional Facility. Palmer told the interviewer: 'With the money that they pay you, you'll go bald, you'll have high blood pressure, you'll become an alcoholic, you'll divorce, and then you'll kill yourself.' His tiny 800 sq. ft. bungalow, which he shares with his girlfriend, Mary Lamar, is just behind the Mobil gas station and Subway sandwich shop where police believe Matt and Sweat went immediately after escaping on June 6 to forage for food in garbage cans. Defense: Palmer had claimed he had no idea the meat, given to him by Joyce Mitchell (above at her arraignment), contained contraband CNN reported that the tampering with physical evidence concerned a painting that Matt had given Palmer, but which he destroyed once he knew of the escape by burning some of them in a fire pit and burying others in the woods. The network also claimed that prosecutors claim that Palmer gave a screwdriver and wrench to Matt and showed him the catwalk behind his cell that the two fugitives are said to have used to get access to the steam pipes which they used to escape. Outside of his job, Palmer was a musician who played in the rock band Just Us with three of his friends. According to a Facebook page dedicated to the group, Just Us formed nearly 30 years ago, founded by musicians Joe Holland and Keith Collins. Palmer, the lead guitarist and vocalist, joined the band about a decade ago. A description on the page states: 'We are a high energy band out to have as much fun as we can...always keeping in mind it is YOU that makes it a good time. We will give you 100% on stage with a wide variety of music...something for everyone. We love meeting people and having a party everywhere we go...so hang on for the night when you come out to party with JUST US!' Just Us, according to its site, specializes in classic and country rock, 1950s hits and Blues. One of the songs on the band's playlist is Johhny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues. During his trial, defense lawyer Andrew Brockway argued that his client should be released on his own recognizance as he cares for his sick wife, but the judge sided with the district attorney. ABC News meanwhile reports that Palmer purchased art supplies for Matt at a craft store, and the prisoner gave him paintings in exchange for these supplies. Palmer (left in mugshot, right on Facebook) admitted giving Matt and Sweat tools and access to the prison's catwalk in exchange for information Hobby: Palmer (far left) is the lead guitarist and vocalist in a local band called Just Us Palmer is said to have burned some of the works and buried shortly after the men escaped from the prison. 'I purchased and then provided paint and paint brushes for Richard Matt on two separate occasions,' Palmer allegedly told investigators in a statement. He also admitted to delivering a bag with a pound of hamburger meat, tubes of paint and something wrapped in green cloth to Matt, at the behest of Mitchell, on may 29, just one week before the escape. 'I did not realize at the time, that the assistance provided to Matt or Sweat made their escape easier,' said Palmer. 'Matt provided me with elaborate paintings and information on the illegal acts that inmates were committing within the facility,' explained Palmer. 'In turn, I provided him with benefits such as paint, paintbrushes, movement of inmates, hamburger meat, altering of electrical boxes in the catwalk areas.' Mitchell meanwhile reportedly used baked goods to get guards to treat Matt and Sweat more favorably at the Clinton Correctional Facility. What's more a source claimed Mitchell vouched for Matt for months, and at one point even asked the guards to move Sweat and Matt into adjacent cells after providing them with homemade food as a possible incentive. Erik Jensen, a former inmate at the prison, also revealed the inmates had sex roughly 100 times over the course of a few months at the facility. Jensen worked at the tailor shop with Mitchell and Sweat during his eight months at the prison for possession of stolen property. Player: The 57-year-old, pictured jamming on his Les Paul guitar (left) and as a bare-chested youth in 1978 (right), has been jailed for six months Oldies: According to its Facebook page, Just Us specializes in rock, country rock, 50s music and blues Lovebirds: Palmer and his paramour have been together since May 2006, according to social media He described how the duo would sneak away to a small storage room for half an hour several times a week, telling other inmates that they were simply going to fold clothes - but no one believed them. 'Everyone used to joke with him that he was getting his quiet time with his 'boo, his girlfriend', Jensen told the New York Post. 'It was like the running joke in the tailor shop.' He added that Mitchell seemed taken with the convicted killer and would giggle whenever he came close. Jensen likened their relationship to a high school jock asking out an ugly girl to prom. She also took food to Sweat, such as a tray of barbecue chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers the day after Labor Day, Jensen said. In the past year, Mitchell was investigated for her alleged relationship with Sweat and he was transferred out of the tailor shop. But no charges were ever brought against her due to lack of evidence. More recently, Mitchell got to know Richard Matt and she admitted to having sex with him before helping both men bust out of the prison, ABC News reported. Home sweet home: Before he was hauled off to jail in June, Palmer lived in this tiny 800-square-foot bungalow in Cadyville, New York Matt and Sweat's escape sparked a massive manhunt in New York state which ended when Matt was shot dead and Sweat was recaptured After they busted out, Mitchell was supposed to help drive them away from the prison to a wooded area but on the day of the escape, she went to hospital with a panic attack. Her husband Lyle told Today that his wife backed out of the plan after the convicts said they wanted to kill him. 'She said: 'I love my husband, I am not hurtin' him',' he said. 'She said, 'Then I knew I was over my head. I can't do this'.' He added that his wife of 14 years had denied having sex with the two escaped inmates. 'She swore on her son's life that definitely, 'Never have I ever had sex'' with either man, he said. Matt, who had been serving 25 years to life for the killing of his former boss, and Sweat, who had been serving life without parole in the killing of a sheriff's deputy, left the prison on June 6. They cut their way through their cell walls, climbed down catwalks and through tunnels, cut into and out of a large steam pipe and then exited through a manhole. They left behind a taunting note containing a crude caricature of an Asian face and the words 'Have a nice day.' They had worked on the escape route for months. After more than three weeks on the run and a massive manhunt, Matt, 49, was shot and killed in a wooded area. Sweat, 35, was wounded and caught two days later near the Canadian border. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Publisher and editor-in chief of The California Courier newspaper Harut Sassounian was bestowed with the top award of the Union of Journalists of Armenia Golden pen. Armenpress reports Chairwoman of the Union of Journalists of Armenia Astghik Gevorgyan first congratulated the present on the first spring day, then, referring to the 33rd Golden pen awards, mentioned that it is awarded to Harut Sassounian who has been engaged in journalism for 33 years. Haruts Sassounian is the publicist, editor and Armenian who is not satisfied with publishing materials in his own newspaper, but makes use of any opportunity to raise issues of Armenian concerns in foreign media, Astghik Gevorgyan said. Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan documented with satisfaction that Harut Sassounian deserves the award as he keeps the Turkish society under pressure with his claims. He attentively follows the Turkish-American relations, diagnoses and gives assessments. The Turkish authorities follow Haruts activities. His pen has become a cold weapon against Turkey, Hranush Hakobyan said. She highlighted the fact Harut Sassounian became a connecting link between Armenia and the USA becoming the representative of American Armenian philanthropist, national hero of Armenia Kirk Kerkorian. A number of media representatives present at the event expressed their opinion on Sassounians activities. Director of Armenpress news agency Aram Ananyan noted that though he does not know Sassounian personally but he is familiar with his arduous works. Harut Sassounian is a contemporary author. His is contemporary by his ideas, opinions and his value system looking to the future. It is no a coincidence that today he is receiving this honorable award, Aram Ananyan said, stating that Armenpress, as a state-run news agency, will continue its cooperation with Diaspora Armenian media. At the end of the meeting the hero of the day, Harut Sassounian, also delivered a speech, mentioning that he touched by the cordial reception and kind words. I really could not expect such a thing; I am touched by the warms words addressed to me. I thought only I read my articles, Sassounian said. An Aboriginal man claims a female passenger on-board a Virgin Australia flight refused to sit next to him because of his skin colour. Kevin Whyman, from Wilcannia in New South Wales' north-west, said he was 'racially discriminated' against on Sunday morning's Flight VA 1175. 'The woman asked the stewardess if she could sit in another seat cause she didn't want to sit next to me because I'm Aboriginal so the [steward] agreed with her and they told me not take it personal,' he said in Facebook post that has since been deleted. An Aboriginal man claims a female passenger on-board a Virgin Australia flight refused to sit next to him because of skin colour 'I'm very disappointed in Virgin Blue airline [sic] it made me feel like I was some sort of dangerous animal in my own country.' But a Virgin Australia spokesman denied the woman asked to move because the man was Indigenous. 'Due to the privacy of our guests and crew we are unable to provide specific details, however we can confirm that our guest requested to change seats, which is not unusual, and that this request was not racially motivated,' he said. 'Virgin Australia does not tolerate any form of discrimination.' Mr Whyman called on his friends to share the Facebook status that urged them to share his story Mr Whyman's friend, Vickie, sent a complaint into Virgin Australia who has investigated the claims Mr Whyman, who was on a flight from Albury to Sydney, told BuzzFeed News the woman was reassigned a seat two rows in front of him, next to 'another white person'. 'I was dressed nice, I didn't have any odour or anything and it made me feel belittled and discriminated against... I felt like I was not good enough to sit next to her,' he said. Mr Whyman said he had brought the issue up with crew members on-board but he was less than satisfied with their response. 'This young flight attendant pretty much rolled his eyes a couple of times while I was speaking and pretty much had no interest in what I saying. I just felt uncomfortable, I felt like I wasn't meant to be on the plane,' he said. Mr Whyman's friend, Vickie, also lodged a complaint with the airline and was assured Virgin Australia was taking the allegations 'seriously'. Daily Mail Australia understands the woman asked to change seats because he had a solid build and they could not put the arm rest in between them. Mr Whyman has been contacted for comment on the matter. A woman's bold taste in accessories delayed her when airport security had to examine her gun-shaped shoes and bracelet. The woman, who was traveling from Baltimore/Washington International Airport near Baltimore, Maryland, transported the items in a carry-on bag. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had to take a closer look at her shoes, a pair of platforms lined with fake bullets, with stiletto heels that looked like small revolvers. Her two bracelets, with rows of fake bullets on them, also got flagged up. A woman was stopped by the TSA at Baltimore/Washington International Airport in Baltimore, Maryland, because she was transporting these gun-shaped stilettos and bracelets lined with fake bullets in her carry-on TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein tweeted photos of the items on Monday, with the caption: 'Shoes and bracelets that are less than ideal to wear or bring to a TSA checkpoint.' Farbstein added: 'Friendly reminder from TSA: realistic replica firearms and ammunition are not permitted past TSA checkpoints.' According to TSA's rules, replica firearms, including toys, can only be transported in checked baggage. TSA officials told the woman she could put her shoes and bracelets in a checked bag, but the woman eventually abandoned them so that she could catch her flight, Farbstein told Time. An internal investigation by the TSA found last year that 95 per cent of Homeland Security agents posing as passengers to test airport checkpoints were able to bring weapons through the system. Ten good Samaritans worked together to overturn a black cab in New York City this morning after it struck a 77-year-old jewelry designer who lay trapped underneath the wheels, police said. Carol Dauplaise was crossing the street in Murray Hill when 49-year-old driver Buddhi Gurung hit her while making a left turn, according to the police and several witness accounts. A group of about 10 shocked pedestrians rushed to her aid on Monday morning, working together to lift the Toyota Avalon off her body as Dauplaise's head was reportedly turning blue. Despite their best efforts, Dauplaise was rushed to Bellevue Hospital and later pronounced dead. Carol Dauplaise was hit and killed by a car while she was crossing the street in New York City on Monday morning. She started of as a receptionist at a jewelry company and started her own business in 1979 A group of pedestrians rushed to help Dauplaise, who was trapped under the car. They worked together and flipped the vehicle on its side at the intersection of 36th Street and Madison Avenue Rony Damestoir, 46, was driving in front of Gurung's black cab when he noticed what had happened and stopped to help. He told the NY Post: 'Her head was turning blue...so we lifted the car. I was surprised. I thought it [would be] heavier.' About six to 10 good Samaritans pushed the car on its side, and Damestoir said the 77-year-old was still breathing, even though she was bleeding from her mouth, nose and eyes. Damestoir, who is a cab driver himself from New Jersey, prayed for the victim and later said he was simply acting on his duty to help. Dauplaise was unresponsive when a medical team arrived and underwent cardiac arrest, officials said. Driver Gurung stayed at the scene, where he was arrested and later charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian, and failure to exercise due care. The 49-year-old from Queens told the Post: 'When I turned on the green light, I didn't see her. I'm very upset.' According to the jewelry designer's website, Dauplaise started off as a receptionist before she launched her own business in 1979. The website claims the company is a multi-million dollar enterprise with more than 50 employees. Nash Jevovic, who was the doorman at Dauplaise's apartment building, described her as nice, strong, energetic and stylish. Prime Minister David Cameron with Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood Boris Johnson accused David Cameron of trying to scare the pants off the public last night after ministers published a dodgy dossier of lurid claims about leaving the European Union. The document set out a nightmarish Brexit scenario which could lead to a decade or more of uncertainty, destroy trade and even stop Britons holidaying around Europe. Drawn up by Whitehall mandarins and signed off by Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, it was blandly titled The process for withdrawing from the European Union. But inside were a series of terrifying claims about the complex and grinding years following a Leave vote and its impact on Britain. It warned that: Any new trade negotiation with the US and other countries could take a decade or more hitting UK exporters and consumers, The freedom of UK travellers to move about freely in Europe and access healthcare could end if no new deal with the EU was done within two years of Brexit, Without an EU trade deal, shoppers could face sky-high tariffs on certain goods, including 30 per cent on sugar, 20 per cent on alcohol and cigarettes and 15 per cent on cereals. Leaving would affect the status and entitlements of some 2million UK citizens living and working in the EU, Farmers could lose subsidies from the Common Agricultural Policy. But the document triggered a Blue on Blue row between the Tory leaders of the two sides in the referendum campaign. The Prime Minister rejected the Project Fear label used by his critics, and insisted he was in charge of Project Fact. Mr Cameron told students in Ipswich: Project Fact is about saying, Stay in and you know what youll get. This is not about raising concerns and worries which arent there they are real concerns and worries based on fact. Cabinet Office minister Matthew Hancock (pictured) suggested that Brexit could hit the huge trade in cars Mr Johnson hit back: Project Fear is going into overdrive. They are trying to scare the pants off everybody, and its not working. He said on LBC radio: I think everybody can see that theres a huge chance to make a change and have a better relationship and a more honest relationship with the EU. Campaigners for Brexit immediately made a detailed rebuttal of several claims in Whitehalls dodgy EU dossier. Cabinet Minister Chris Grayling, said: People will not be impressed with this relentless campaign of fear. FUND MANAGERS: BREXIT TRADE FEARS ARE 'GARBAGE' Two of Britains most prominent fund managers have backed Brexit, with one describing fears it would harm trade as utter garbage. While bank bosses and business leaders have lined up to warn of the dangers of leaving the EU, a growing number of investors in charge of billions of pounds of savers money have backed the Out campaign. Veteran stockpicker Terry Smith, who invests 4.6billion, said: I think the UK will have a much better future if we [leave]. Most of the arguments for staying in the EU are either facile or play on fears that ... we wont be able to trade with Europe on the same terms. I think this is utter garbage. Boris Johnsons pension adviser Edmund Truell also backed Brexit, telling the Financial Times that EU states would be cutting off their nose to spite their face if they did not strike trade deals with the UK. Advertisement Claims that it will take twice as long to sort out a free trade deal with the EU as it did to win World War Two are clearly ludicrous. Theres a free trade zone from Iceland to the Russian border and Britain will still be part of it after we Vote Leave. The real uncertainty is voting to stay in an EU which is already struggling with the euro crisis, the migration crisis, and a youth unemployment crisis. Matthew Elliott, chief executive of Vote Leave, said: The Governments dodgy EU dossier has no credibility given the errors and wrong assumptions that litter it. On the Today programme, Cabinet Office minister Matthew Hancock suggested that Brexit could hit the huge trade in cars. Asked if motorists would still be able to buy popular foreign brands such as Volkswagen and Renault, Mr Hancock said: Nobody knows, because nobody has set out what things would look like. Downing Street said Mr Hancock was right to warn about the impact on the car industry, but suggested the main issue was potential tariffs, particularly on cars exported to the EU. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned ministers against relying on fear tactics, saying that the No camp in the Scottish referendum had lost a 20-point lead after its miserable, negative, fear-based campaign. She added: The In campaign in this referendum doesnt have a 20-point lead to squander. Iain Duncan Smith in stand-off with Sir Cover-Up Iain Duncan Smith was locked in a stand-off with the head of the civil service last night over access to official papers during the EU referendum campaign. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith The Work and Pensions Secretary is said to be furious about an edict from Sir Jeremy Heywood banning Eurosceptic ministers from seeing any documents that could have a bearing on EU membership. Sir Jeremy, (pictured above with the Prime Minister) is known as Sir Cover Up because of his obsession with secrecy. Yesterday he faced accusations that he was trying to rig the referendum. Mr Duncan Smith, one of six Cabinet ministers backing Brexit, has ordered officials in his department to ignore the ban. A Tory source said: Iains officials work for him he holds the seals of office, not Jeremy Heywood. He has the right to see everything created by his department. The move is a direct challenge to the authority of Sir Jeremy and the Prime Minister. It came after No10 ordered DWP officials to draw up research that could be used to support the pro-EU case without Mr Duncan Smiths knowledge. Jobs minister Priti Patel, who is also backing Brexit, said Sir Jeremys intervention could tarnish the reputation of the civil service. She said: It is important the civil service maintains impartiality. Tory MP Crispin Blunt, chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said the EU referendum would not settle the issue if it was seen to be biased. Internet firms will not be compelled to hand over messages sent on encrypted computer software to the police and security services - raising concerns it will allow jihadists and paedophiles to plot and avoid detection. Under laws set to be unveiled today, companies such as Apple and Google will only be ordered to decode their own customers' communications 'where practible'. It means tech giants will be permitted to install so-called 'end-to-end' encryption where messages can only be deciphered by the sender and recipient of messages. Under laws set to be unveiled today, companies such as Apple and Google will only be ordered to decode their own customers' communications 'where practible' Ministers had considered dropped banning sophisticated secret messaging apps which made it impossible for spies to read what criminals are saying. Prime Minister David Cameron said terrorists, paedophiles and criminals must not be allowed a 'safe space' online where they could hide with no fear that they would be hacked by the security services. But after being persuaded about the important role encoding communications played in the protection of legitimate online activity such as banking, shopping and personal data, the Government is to clarify its position in the Investigatory Powers Bill. A Home Office source said: 'The Bill clarifies the Government's position on encryption, putting beyond doubt that companies can only be asked to remove encryption that they themselves have applied, and only where it is practicable for them to do so. This will make clear that the Government is not asking companies to weaken their security by undermining encryption.' The move followed criticism of proposals for a raft of new surveillance measures - dubbed by critics as a 'turbo-charged snoopers' charter'. It also came after a high-profile row between Apple and the FBI after the tech giant refused to allow US investigators to access the iPhone of a terrorist who murdered 14 people in Sacramento. Bosses said the encryption was so sophisticated, even they could not crack it. Internet firms will not be compelled to hand over messages sent on encrypted computer software to the police and security services - raising concerns it will allow jihadists and paedophiles to plot and avoid detection It also came after a high-profile row between Apple and the FBI after the tech giant refused to allow US investigators to access the iPhone of Syed Farook (pictured right) who murdered 14 people in Sacramento But figures have showed major communication companies are still rejecting up to half of requests for customer data from UK police and intelligence agencies. In the first half of 2015, Apple provided information following a UK request in as few as 56 per cent of cases, Google acceded in 75 per cent of cases and Facebook met 78 per cent of requests. The new security bill is the latest in a series of attempts to update the law to allow police and security services to access communications data, as more and more takes place online rather than on phones. The draft bill will require internet companies to store details of a person's every internet visit, text message and phone call for up to 12 months. But the police and the security services will not be able to see the content of communications, such as opening an email or looking at the specific web pages a person has viewed, without a warrant. However, following stinging criticism by two Parliamentary committees last month FEB, which said the Bill was 'flawed', Home Secretary Theresa May has made changes. It has been revised to reflect the 'majority' of more than 180 recommendations made by the Joint Committee, Intelligence and Security Committee and the Science and Technology Committee. The Bill, to be introduced to the Commons today, will be clearer and set out strict codes of practice on exactly how the powers will be used and why they are needed. There will also be stronger privacy safeguards for lawyers and journalists and a ban on the security services asking foreign countries to carry out spying missions for Britain without ministerial approval. For the first time, ministers will publish an operational case for bulk collection of data, which involves hoovering up billions of pieces of information including emails, phone calls and internet searches, giving unprecedented detail on why the agencies need their existing powers and how they are used. Following stinging criticism by two Parliamentary committees last month FEB, which said the Bill was 'flawed', Home Secretary Theresa May (pictured) has made changes The Bill is a bid to help repair damage caused by US traitor Edward Snowden, (pictured) who leaked thousands of classified files A source said: 'We have considered the committees' reports carefully and the Bill we are bringing forward today reflects the majority of their recommendations. We have strengthened safeguards, enhanced privacy protections and bolstered oversight arrangements. 'This is world-leading legislation, setting out in unprecedented detail the powers available to the police and security services to gather and access communications and communications data, subject to a robust regulatory regime. 'Terrorists and criminals are operating online and we need to ensure the police and security services can keep pace with the modern world and continue to protect the British public from the many serious threats we face.' But the Bill is certain to get a rough ride through Parliament amid concerns among civil liberties campaigners about the degree of intrusion into people's browsing histories and who would authorise police warrants. Mrs May has already been accused of rushing through new surveillance powers, which need to be in place by the end of December. Smoke or an 'unusual odour' has filled a TigerAir plane and forced a priority landing which led paramedics to assess four crew members. The pilot landed the 70-odd passengers flying the 511 from Brisbane in Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport about 10.05am on Tuesday after requesting priority landing. Emergency crews were on the scene and Ambulance Victoria assessed four crew members, which were originally reported to have had concerns of exposure to smoke or fumes, 7 News reported. Scroll down for video The pilot landed the 60 passengers flying the 511 from Brisbane in Melbourne 's Tullamarine Airport about 10.05am on Tuesday after requesting priority landing Emergency crews are on the scene and Ambulance Victoria are treating four passengers or crew, at least three of which over concerns they were exposed to smoke or fumes TigerAir told Daily Mail Australia four crew members and no passengers were assessed. Victoria Ambulance could not confirm if they were assessed over concerns of smoke or fume inhalation. None needed to be transferred to hospital, the spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. All of the 70-odd passengers on board reportedly walked off the flight unassisted. It was originally reported smoke had filled the cabin, but a TigerAir spokesperson later said it was an 'unusual odour'. 'An unusual odour was detected in the cabin on descent,' a TigerAir spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia 'An unusual odour was detected in the cabin on descent,' a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. TigerAir said emergency services were on standby to meet the aircraft as standard procedure, and that the aircraft will undergo an assessment by engineers, which is also standard procedure. 'Safety is always the airlines first priority and the airline has robust procedures in place to ensure the highest standards of safety are always maintained.' A Melbourne Airport spokeswoman said the plane was at its usual parking bay and emergency services were called as part of the airport's standard procedures. The plane was reportedly a six-year-old Airbus A320. A TigerAir aircraft carrying 60 passengers from Brisbane has landed safely at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport about 10am on Tuesday after smoke filled the cabin forcing an emergency landing A Melbourne Airport spokeswoman said the plane is at its usual parking bay and emergency services were called as part of the airport's standard procedures Tony Blair benefited from classified British security information while touting for lucrative business contracts from foreign governments, it was claimed last night. In the latest extracts from his explosive new biography, investigative journalist Tom Bower reveals how the former Prime Minister blurred the lines between his charity work and money-making commercial interests. Bower, whose account is based on exclusive interviews with Cabinet ministers, mandarins and other senior sources, said this even included an attempt to sell Israeli drones to the Nigerians. In his explosive new biography, investigative journalist Tom Bower reveals how the former British Prime Minister blurred the lines between his charity work and commercial interests Last night, it also emerged: Mr Blair demanded a $5million-a-year salary from US investment bank J P Morgan shortly after leaving No 10; The Middle East Quartet represented by Mr Blair was considered to be useless, useless, useless by the Palestinians; He won a 20million deal to conduct a review into the Kuwaiti economy, but the countrys government considered it so derisory, it buried it; He tried to secure safe passage from Libya for Colonel Gaddafi, who he visited at least six times after leaving office. Upon leaving office in 2007, Mr Blair set up several charities, including the Faith Foundation and the Africa Governance Initiative (AGI). In May 2015, Mr Blair flew to Nigeria to meet the new president, Muhammadu Buhari, on a jet chartered by Evgeny Lebedev, the son of a former KGB colonel who owns the London Evening Standard newspaper. The next day, he visited the British High Commissioner for a comprehensive security briefing on the threat posed by the Islamic terror group Boko Haram. Armed with this secret information, Mr Blair then visited Mr Buharis offices, ostensibly for AGI to set up a so-called Delivery Unit for the president. But at one stage, Mr Blair told everyone in the room: Could you all leave us alone now? I have a personal message for the president from David Cameron. Nigerian President-elect Muhammadu Buhari (pictured left), former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Vice President-elect Yemi Osinbajo (right), talk to the media in Abuja, Nigeria, 13 May 2015 In fact, says Bower, he spent 20 minutes touting for business on behalf of his private company, Tony Blair Associates offering to sell the president Israeli drones and other military equipment to help defeat Boko Haram. Mr Buhari is said to have complained: Blair is just after business. Mr Blair is said to have also sought security briefings in other British embassies as well as accommodation for the night. Bowers book has cast devastating new light on Mr Blairs behaviour in and out of office. On Saturday, we revealed how Mr Blair presided over a silent conspiracy to make Britain a more multicultural society by letting in two million migrants. Yesterday, military families responded furiously after it emerged that British soldiers had lost their lives because of delays in ordering military equipment. Todays extracts expose how as soon as he left office Mr Blair was desperate to make millions. In a meeting with Jamie Dimon, then chief executive of Morgan Stanley, he was offered a seat on the board and a salary of $100,000 (72,000). Mr Blair responded that he wanted a proper job and expected $5million (3.6million) a year, a five-year contract as an adviser and a percentage of every contract he initiated. Within weeks, hed bagged almost all he asked for, Bower says. Mr Blair also took money from dubious sources, the book reveals. A company called PetroSaudi paid him 41,000 a month, plus a 2 per cent commission on any deals he brokered with Chinese officials. The arrangement ended when the company was accused of bribing Malaysian officials. Blair tried to secure safe passage from Libya for Colonel Gaddafi, who he visited at least six times after leaving office (pictured: The pair in 2004) The book also reveals how Mr Blairs job as Middle East peace envoy ended in acrimony with him considered to have a pro-Israeli bias. By 2011, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was asking Whats Blairs value? The view of his senior aide was that the Middle East Quartet was useless, useless, useless. He quit in 2014 after losing the faith of US Secretary of State John Kerry. Last night a spokeswoman for Mr Blair said the claim he used classified security information to tout for business was utterly without substance. She said Mr Blairs work in Nigeria was for his charities, adding: He has never sought a business contract from the government of Nigeria. Yes, he certainly has had briefings on Boko Haram. He is very interested in Boko Haram because it concerns directly the work of his foundation which is about countering extremism. He didnt demand a salary from J P Morgan. His work as chairman of their International Advisory Council is a matter of public record. It is true that some of those around the Palestinian leadership have been critical of Mr Blair. That is because he disagrees strongly with them over their political strategy. However, there are many other Palestinians with whom he works closely and well. Three University at Albany students who claimed they were victims of a racial attack on a bus last month have been charged with assault as prosecutors said they were actually the aggressors. Alexis Briggs, Ariel Agudio and Asha Burwell, all 20 years old, appeared at Albany City Criminal Court today for their arraignment. All three have pleaded non-guilty to charges of assault in the third degree, CNN reported. Burwell and Agudio have also pleaded not guilty to falsely reporting the incident. They claimed they were attacked on a Capital District Transportation Authority bus on January 30, but prosecutors say they actually assaulted a 19-year-old woman early that Saturday. Scroll down for video Asha Burwell, 20, pictured leaving the front of the judge's bench at Albany City Criminal Court on Monday, was charged with assault in the third degree, harassment and falsely reporting an incident Ariel Agudio, 20, pictured at Albany City Criminal Court on Monday, faces counts of assaults in the third degree, falsely reporting an incident, harassment, attempted assault and attempted criminal mischief Alexis Briggs, pictured during her arraingment at Albany City Criminal Court on Monday, has been charged with assault in the third degree. All three women have entered not-guilty pleas The three SUNY Albany students claimed they were victims of a racial attack last month but prosecutors say they were actually the agressors. Footage from the attack was released last week 'The evidence indicates they were actually the aggressors in the physical altercation, and that they continued to assault the victim despite the efforts of several passengers to stop them,' police said in a statement. In addition to the charges of assault and false reporting, Agudio faces counts of attempted assault, harassment and criminal mischief, CNN reported. Burwell has also been charged with harassment. The false reporting charges are a result of the 911 phone calls she and Agudio made after the incident. They have both been released and will be supervised by the Department of Probation. Briggs, who requested a public defender according to the Albany Times Union, was released with a 9pm curfew. 'These charges would have a profound impact on the community, and in fact if proven, are shameful,' Judge Rachel Kretser said during the arraignment. Agudio's attorney Mark Mishler told CNN in a statement that the charges were 'unwarranted'. He said Agudio was 'an exemplary young woman and an excellent student' and that she asked people 'not rush to judgement in this matter'. Police said during a three-week investigation, they reviewed video from 12 security cameras and four cell phones, and also interviewed 35 people, according to WNYT. University of Albany police released two surveillance videos of the incident. The police statement issued last week states a 19-year-old woman was the victim, but footage appears to a show a man being assaulted at one point. Asha Burwell (pictured during a rally earlier this month), told police she was a victim of the alleged racial attack on January 30 when she said white students called her and her friends racial slurs and 'jumped them' Following the alleged incident, she recounted it on Twitter writing 'I just got jumped on a bus while people hit us and called us the "n" word and NO ONE helped us' Burwell, 20, of Huntington Station, New York is pictured above. She has been released and placed in the supervision of the Department of Probation Burwell wrote that she was in disbelief that she had been beaten because of the color of her skin (above) The women's initial report of the incident led to national outrage, a massive campus rally and even Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton tweeted about it, hitting out against violence on a college campus. The three students claimed that on January 30, they were on the bus when at about 1am when around 12 white classmates called them racial slurs during a verbal argument before a physical altercation broke out. One of the three students told university police that several male students kicked her after she fell to the floor, according to the Albany Times Union. Following the alleged attack, Burwell took to Twitter to recount the ordeal that same day writing: 'I just got jumped on a bus while people hit us and called us the 'n' word and NO ONE helped us.' She then tweeted that she was in disbelief after experiencing 'what it's like to be beaten because of the color of my skin.' Ariel Agudio, 20, of Huntington, New York (left) and Alexis Briggs, 20, of Elmira Heights, New York (right) also face charges of third-degree assault and have pleaded not guilty Police said during a three-week investigation, they reviewed video from 12 security cameras and four cell phones, and also interviewed 35 people. Pictured is surveillance footage from the day of the incident Burwell followed up with a series of other tweets including one claiming she had 'begged for people to help us and instead of help they told us to 'shut he f*ck up' and continuously hit us in the head.' She also tweeted noting the support that she and the other girls had received meant so much. Burwell has not tweeted anything since February 11 when she wrote, 'Please don't confuse my silence with defeat. I'm still fighting this, like I said I will not give up. The truth will come out soon.' On February 1, hundreds of students gathered as Burwell tearfully recounted the alleged attack during a campus rally. 'We are shocked, upset, but we will remain unbroken,' Burwell said at the time. 'We stand here with strength because we value our worth as black women and as human beings in general.' Burwell's brother, San Diego Chargers lineman Tyreek Burwell, apparently also tweeted a threatening message to a student who he thought hurt his sister, according to News10.com. University of Albany police released two surveillance videos of the incident after the charges were announced last week Police said an investigation into the incident showed there was only one victim, the unnamed 19-year-old, who is reportedly white and was allegedly assaulted by the three students Hillary Clinton also tweeted about the incident writing, 'There's no excuse for racism and violence on a college campus.' However, police said an investigation into the incident showed there was only one victim, the unnamed 19-year-old, who is reportedly white and was allegedly assaulted by the three students. Police said the three women were never 'targeted in any manner due to their race,' according to the statement, adding 'the only person we heard uttering racial epithets was one of the defendants.' 'We took this incident very seriously and did a thorough and careful investigation,' said UPD Chief J Frank Wiley. 'The evidence shows that, contrary to how the defendants originally portrayed things, these three individuals were not the victims of a crime. Rather, we allege that they are the perpetrators. Now the firm has launched a special edition model inspired by boxer Muhammed Ali with a black version of its famous figurine (pictured) For more than 100 years the silver Flying Lady has been the symbol of the Rolls Royce car. Now the firm has launched a special edition model inspired by boxer Muhammed Ali with a black version of its famous figurine. It is to launch a range of 250,000 Black Badge Rolls-Royces aimed at younger and edgier - but still exceptionally rich - owners. The new cars also feature a twist on the classic Rolls-Royce Double R badge, whose colours are inverted to become silver on black. Chrome surfaces such as the front grille surround and exhaust pipes are also painted black. The makeover is intended to highlight the contrast with conventional Rolls-Royce cars and drivers. Rolls-Royce said the move was inspired by generations of self-empowered, self-confident rule-breakers such as Ali and The Whos late drummer Keith Moon, and as an alter ego of its more traditional customers. Two Black Badge models the Rolls-Royce Ghost and Wraith - were unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show yesterday. On the new cars, the silver figurine which adorns the prow of every Rolls-Royce - known as the Spirit of Ecstasy - has been given a radical paint-job to become a high-gloss black vamp. The original carved figure was commissioned by the then Lord Montagu as a personal mascot for the bonnet of his 1910 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. Sculptor Charles Sykes is said to have based the figurine on Lord Montagus mistress, Eleanor Thornton. Rolls-Royce said the new cars were inspired by rule breakers including Ali, Moon, billionaire aviator and businessman Howard Hughes, fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, and British former land speed record holder Sir Malcolm Campbell. The manufacturer said: Untrammelled by social convention, these disruptors lived life on the edge, believing the ultimate power to be self-empowerment, pushing every boundary to realise their personal vision. Glamorous and daring, they lived fast, worked hard and played hard. Rolls-Royce chief executive Torsten Muller-Otvos added: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars will create a permanent bespoke series of motor cars for a group of young, driven, self-made people that will make a bold and edgy lifestyle statement about their lives. Rolls-Royce said the new cars were inspired by rule breakers including Ali, Moon, billionaire aviator and businessman Howard Hughes, fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, and British former land speed record holder Sir Malcolm Campbell. Pictured is a Rolls Royce Wraith He said skills like teamwork and leadership are supported at schools High-flying professions are dominated by people who went to public schools because they provide the soft skills that many state schools ignore, a leading expert said last night. Former head of Wellington College Sir Anthony Seldon said independent schools nurture the teamwork, leadership and character traits which are vital for success in the professional world. He warned that by contrast, state schools focus too much on league tables and deliver an education which is narrow, dull and repetitive. A report by the Sutton Trust found many areas of public life are still overwhelmingly dominated by people who went to private schools He accused the education establishment of being drunk on imbibing exam tonic and being too obsessed with international rankings. Sir Anthony, who is now vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham, delivered his damning verdict in a speech to the Council for Independent Education. It comes after a report by the Sutton Trust found many areas of public life are still overwhelmingly dominated by people who went to private schools. Around 42 per cent of British Bafta winners went to an independent school, while among the UKs top judges it was 75 per cent and among top military personnel it was 71 per cent. Sir Anthony said: For years now, our policymakers have become so drunk on imbibing exam tonic that they have come to believe league tables are all education is. He added: The 21st-century workplace does not just need those who excel at memory and exam skills that computers can do far better, but rather those who have human and entrepreneurial skills that children at state schools are rarely taught and many will never learn. Former head of Wellington College (pictured) Sir Anthony Seldon said independent schools nurture the teamwork, leadership and character traits which are vital for success in the professional world The whole focus of the national state system remains irredeemably 20th century and dangerously lopsided. It is not surprising that students from independent schools continue to dominate so many of the major positions in national life. Sir Anthony went on to praise independent schools support network of parents and alumni, and criticise those who denigrate private schools for producing high-flying graduates. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. On March 1 Armenian Republics Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini. Armenpress was informed from the Press, Information and Public Relations Department of the Armenian MFA that welcoming the guest, Edward Nalbandian mentioned this is Mogherinis first visit to Armenia, and that this will have a positive impact on the development of Armenia-EU relations. Federica Mogherini stated that the establishment of a stronger partnership between Armenian and European Union will be beneficial for bilateral relations and the entire region. During the meeting the sides touched upon the broad range of issues on the development of Armenia-EU collaboration and relations. Armenian FM Nalbandian reaffirmed Armenias readiness to expand comprehensive cooperation in all the sectors of mutual interest. The sides referred to the joint steps on the development of further cooperation: political dialogue, mobility, human rights, economic reforms and Armenia's participation in the EU's various sectoral projects. During the meeting, the interlocutors also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East, especially in Syria. In this context, reference was made to migration crisis and refugee flows. Nalbandian mentioned that around 20 thousand refugees from Syria have found shelter in Armenia, and the latter is the third among European countries that have accepted the most number of Syrian refugees, in terms of population ratio. Edward Nalbandian presented the latest developments in the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks being conducted within the framework of the Co-Chairmanship of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In this context, Federica Mogherini reaffirmed the EU support to the Minsk Group co-chairs efforts to pacifically resolve the Karabakh conflict. Edward Nalbandian reaffirmed that Armenia will continue its consistent efforts on the exclusively peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict. As far as most Britons were concerned, Colonel Gaddafi had an unenviable reputation for evil. Not only had the Libyan dictator secretly financed terrorism in Ulster, but hed been ultimately responsible for the bomb that blew up a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie. To Tony Blair, however, he represented an opportunity. In 2004, after MI6 persuaded Gaddafi to accept Western aid in return for abandoning his weapons of mass destruction, the Prime Minister happily paid a visit to Libya. Being associated with this deal in the dessert, Blair felt, would gain him much-needed credibility particularly after the war in Iraq. In 2004, after MI6 persuaded Gaddafi to accept Western aid in return for abandoning his weapons of mass destruction, Prime Minister Tony Blair happily paid a visit to Libya (the pair are pictured in 2007) As a show of goodwill, just before Blair arrived in Libya, MI6 and the CIA organised the kidnap of a Libyan jihadi and his wife, who were living in Thailand, and arranged their transportation to Libya for interrogation. The couples evidence was to be used in British courts to obtain the deportation to Tripoli of other Libyan dissidents living in London. Simultaneously, MI6 and Libyan intelligence began joint operations against other Libyans living in Britain who were members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. Letters sent by Mark Allen, the head of MI6s counter-terrorism section, to Moussa Koussa, the head of Gaddafis intelligence, included the warning that their agreement needed to be kept secret and not be discovered by lawyers or human rights organisations and the media. In his explosive new biography, investigative journalist Tom Bower reveals how the former British Prime Minister blurred the lines between his charity work and commercial interests (pictured: Blair shakes hands with Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi) Despite Jack Straws later denials, the operations would have required his approval and, by implication, Blairs too, although he would deny any recollection at all. After his meeting with Gaddafi in the desert, the PM was triumphant and the two remained in touch. In 2006, Blair wrote to Gaddafi after an English judge refused to deport two Libyan dissidents back to Libya, where they faced an uncertain fate. I am very disappointed at the courts decision, the PM confided. The following year, during his final weeks before leaving office, he again visited the dictator accompanied by the chairman of BP and the head of MI6 counterintelligence. BP was planning to resume oil exploration in the country, but Blairs purpose was more delicate. In the last days of his premiership, he was keen to placate Gaddafi by promising the release from a Scottish jail of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a Libyan convicted for his involvement in the Lockerbie bombing. Al-Megrahi remained behind bars. But in 2008, after leaving power, Blair again turned up in Libya, this time with some bankers from J.P. Morgan which was paying him to facilitate deals. Gaddafi readily agreed to the banks request for a licence to trade with Libya. Next, Blair in his capacity as a Middle East peace envoy asked Gaddafi for money to go towards education programmes for Palestinians. Gaddafi agreed, but gave only $1 million delivered two years later after much lobbying. In 2006, Blair wrote to Gaddafi after an English judge refused to deport two Libyan dissidents back to Libya, where they faced an uncertain fate. I am very disappointed at the courts decision, the PM confided After his visit, Blair wrote to the dictator, suggesting he should also fund projects in Africa, since you know I am doing a lot of work there and know of good, worthwhile projects for investment. The next year, he was back again, in a jet provided by the dictator. This time he introduced Gaddafi to Tim Collins, an American billionaire who wanted to discuss the provision of free mosquito nets to combat malaria in Africa. During the meeting, the dictator urged Collins to invest in a holiday resort on the Libyan coast. Much to the billionaires surprise, Blair encouraged this idea The former Prime Minister, Collins realised, was trying to earn a commission. I dont need Blair for business, he thought, outraged that hed been brought to Libya under false pretences. After the meeting, he turned to Blair and exclaimed: This guy Gaddafi is bat-s*** crazy. Id rather go hungry than deal with a guy whos a complete lunatic. Then he drove to the airport alone, while Blair remained to broker other business possibilities, discuss a prisoner exchange and negotiate contributions to his African charity, AGI. But one big stumbling block remained: al-Megrahi was still in jail. Unless he was released, Gaddafi threatened, Libya would cut its commercial ties with Britain. Tony Blair walks with Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi, upon Blair's arrival in Tripoli in March 2004 Blair assured his host that he would once again try to broker a deal. (Al-Megrahi, who was suffering from prostate cancer, was finally released on compassionate grounds in August 2009, with apparently only three months to live. He didnt die until May 2012.) Spurred on by J.P. Morgan and other companies interested in Libyas oil wealth, Blair visited Colonel Gaddafi a total of six times during the two years after he ceased to be Prime Minister. In April 2010, Cherie received a substantial contribution to her Foundation for Women from Oxand, a French consultancy that was pursuing business in Libya. Neither she nor her husband seemed at all troubled by possible conflicts of interest. But Gaddafis days were numbered. In February 2011, he began brutally suppressing an uprising, vowing that the rebels would be: Hunted down street by street, house by house and wardrobe by wardrobe. After failing to persuade him to call a halt, Blair asked David Cameron to grant Gaddafi safe haven. The Prime Minister refused. Gaddafi was subsequently killed by a mob of his own people. What on earth was he to do after leaving office? In the closing weeks of his premiership, Blair put emotional pressure on his Iraq war ally, George W. Bush. This seemingly did the trick, securing his appointment as the new Middle East envoy for the United Nations, EU, U.S. and Russia. His grand-sounding mission would be to mediate in the PalestinianIsraeli conflict. To Blair, the appointment opened a glorious new chapter in his life. In Jerusalem, he would have everything he enjoyed: the sun, a Mediterranean lifestyle and status. To Blair, his appointment as the Middle East envoy opened a glorious new chapter in his life. In Jerusalem, he would have everything he enjoyed: the sun, a Mediterranean lifestyle and status. But his reputation took a dive when he delivered a eulogy in January 2014 at the funeral of the former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon Not only was he given a home, 12 members of staff, a fleet of armoured cars, access to a private jet and unsupervised expenses, but for his offices he chose to occupy the entire top floor of the five-star American Colony Hotel. The presence of 20 Israeli security men confirmed his importance. Feted as a hero for getting rid of Saddam Hussein, he was also introduced to the hospitality of Israels multi-millionaires and billionaires. Among these was Ofra Strauss, an attractive divorcee. His frequent visits to her home fuelled gossip about an affair but this was firmly denied. To Richard Makepeace, the British consul in Jerusalem who briefed Blair on his first visit, the new envoy radiated self-belief. Ive solved Ireland, and this is just another problem, said Blair, brushing aside warnings about the regions complexities. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks as he stands next to Israel's separation barrier between the West Bank town of Beit Jalla and the Jewish Har Gilo settlement, on the outskirts of Jerusalem Ive got unrivalled access to the leaders of all the parties, he went on, and my relationships will bring success. The Israeli occupation of the West Bank, he was warned, was near impossible to solve. It cant be as bad as that, Blair replied. Brimming with confidence, he ignored the limitations imposed on his role. The envoys task, hed been told, was not to become involved in the peace process but to improve economic conditions for the Palestinians. Over the first year-and-a-half of his new life, Blair spent about four days each month in Jerusalem. Shocked by the realities of life on the West Bank, he eventually realised that economic progress was impossible without a political settlement. But neither the Israeli nor American governments needed Blair as an intermediary in the political peace process. So he soon found himself excluded from discussions and as one observer reflected his authority swiftly dripped away. Former Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair stands at a sweets stand during his visit to the market in the West Bank city of Nablus in 2008 True, there were some achievements such as persuading Israel to agree to the UNs plan to spend 360 million on building new homes for Palestinians in Gaza. But they hardly amounted to a key element of his transformative change agenda, as Blair described his work to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A plan to lift Israeli roadblocks across the West Bank to improve the Palestinians economic and social life was also a success after the intervention of the Israeli General, Michael Herzog. That was the high point, Herzog later recalled. It didnt get any better. Only worse. The Palestinians, for example, werent impressed when Blair refused to tour Gaza because he claimed there was a jihadist threat to murder him. And when he failed to condemn the Israeli armys invasion of Gaza in December 2008, they concluded he was prejudiced against them. After that, he was rarely seen in Jerusalem and by 2011, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was asking: Whats Blairs value? His spokesmans verdict was even more damning. The Quartet and Blairs role in it had been: Useless, useless, useless. Tony Blair reviews a Palestinian honour guard on his arrival for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on September 10, 2006 in the West Bank city of Ramallah By then, EU officials, after reading about Blairs commercial deals, were demanding his resignation. And the EU Commission withdrew its 1.5 million annual contribution to his operation, ostensibly because the money was needed for refugees. Hillary Clinton quickly committed America to pay all of Blairs costs. But she was soon replaced by John Kerry. At first, Kerry seemed amenable, and Blair joined him at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Jordan. Unfortunately, he blotted his copybook by making an inane speech. How hard would it be to reach a peace agreement? Blair asked the audience. The answer is, not very hard at all. His reputation took a further dive when he delivered a eulogy in January 2014 at the funeral of the former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon. Didnt he realise that 20,000 Arabs had died during Sharons invasion of Lebanon just ten years before? Palestinians were also outraged to see Blair wearing a Jewish skullcap at the service and sitting next to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. None of this went unnoticed by the Americans in Jerusalem, who raged about Blairs prejudice in favour of Israel, his conflicts of interest and his 10 million annual cost. Isolated from the Palestinians, scorned by EU officials, and adrift from Washington, Blair knew he was on borrowed time. To save his job, he flew to Cairo to persuade Egyptian leader General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. Unfortunately, this cut across Kerrys efforts it was the final straw. Kerry was reluctant to wield the axe personally, leaving that to Federica Mogherini, an Italian responsible for the EUs foreign affairs. Tom Bowers new book says Tony Blair deceived his colleagues, the military and the nation. Did he also mislead the Queen during their weekly audiences? A court source says: If he did, perhaps he feels he has made amends by the fact that he has not received a Garter knighthood from HM, an honour accepted happily by his Tory predecessor, John Major. Tom Bowers new book says Tony Blair deceived his colleagues, the military and the nation. Did he also mislead the Queen during their weekly audiences? Former Tory MP and Thatcher aide Matthew Parris says the Leave side in the EU debate remind him of those who supported Ian Smiths attempts to remain in power in what was then Rhodesia. He writes in The Spectator: They remind me of Ian Smith. And look how that ended. But how did it end? Rhodesia then a successful country became Zimbabwe, a corrupt, failing state run for 36 years by dictator Robert Mugabe, who has celebrated his 92nd birthday at an extravagant party held during the most recent local famine. Former Tory MP and Thatcher aide Matthew Parris says the Leave side in the EU debate remind him of those who supported Ian Smiths (pictured) attempts to remain in power in what was then Rhodesia Oscars host Chris Rock, made fun of black film star Will Smith and his TV star wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who boycotted the ceremony because no blacks were nominated. He said blacks had been discriminated against at the Oscars for more than 70 years but they had better things to protest about in the past such as being lynched and raped. Rock, 51, is unique a black man who makes blacks laugh over discrimination against them by whites. See his (YouTube) video, How Not To Get Your Ass Kicked By The Police. Oscars host Chris Rock, made fun of black film star Will Smith and his TV star wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who boycotted the ceremony because no blacks were nominated Courtiers chuckled over the first part of Channel 5s Inside Buckingham Palace, especially royal historian Chris Wilsons claim that Prince Philip forced the Queen Mother to move out by turning down the heating. My source says: There was no need. Even today the central heating systems are ramshackle and ineffective. Private rooms still have electric fires to supplement the creaking system. Pseudo celebrity Eddie The Eagle Edwards, 52, is in cinemas next month the pinnacle, surely, of a winning by losing publicity career which began when he fell off the ski jump at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Former GB Olympics trainer David Miller says Eddie belongs among the accident-prone show-offs in Channel 4s absurd reality show The Jump. Pseudo celebrity Eddie The Eagle Edwards, 52, is in cinemas next month the pinnacle, surely, of a winning by losing publicity career The Royal Collection Trust declines to take part in a project, Art UK, to digitise all public art collections. Evidently they prefer us to pay to view the 7,000 or so paintings rather than look at them online. Trust income fell 19 per cent last year but theyve high hopes for their Queens 90th birthday china, with plates costing a trifling 89 and mugs a cheap-as-chips 25. Divorces will take place over mobile phones or laptops from next year, Britains most senior family law judge said yesterday. An online system for ending a marriage will mean neither husband, wife, nor the judge will need to be in a courtroom. Sir James Munby, president of the High Courts Family Division, said the click-for-divorce process was a vision not of some distant future but of what has to be. When it has been done, we will at last have escaped from a court system moored in the world of the late Mr Charles Dickens, he added. The full-scale digitisation of the legal process governing wills and divorce will begin early next year, said Sir James. An online system for ending a marriage will mean neither husband, wife, nor the judge will need to be in a courtroom A couple who agree to divorce will be able to answer online questionnaires about their marital history, wealth and income, as well as arrangements made for their children. At present, in uncontested divorces, which make up the majority in England and Wales, neither husband nor wife needs to go to court. The divorce can be pushed through by legal officials at a regional court centre, where a district judge supervises and rubber-stamps the papers. In future, Sir James said, there will be no paper and not even the judge will have to go to court. But family campaigners said the online system will devalue marriage by making divorce too easy. In a speech to the Family Law Bar Association, Sir James said reforming the system would improve lives and save money for a variety of public purses. He added: We still have a long way to go to the entirely digitised and paperless court though this is, must be, a vision not of some distant future but of what has to be, and I believe can be, achieved over the next four years. An all-computerised court system is unprecedented anywhere in the world, Sir James said, but it can be done; it must be done; it will be done. Under the new system, he said, proceedings would be started online and parties would fill in an online questionnaire capturing all the relevant information. The first entirely digitised cases would be probate approving wills and divorce, scheduled to begin in early 2017. Some proceedings will be conducted almost entirely online, even down to and including the final hearing, Sir James said. The judge, who will not need to be in a courtroom, will interact electronically with the parties and their legal representatives. He added that the heaviest cases will of course continue to require the traditional gathering of everyone together in a court room probably only for the final hearing. Sir James Munby, president of the High Courts Family Division, said the click-for-divorce process was a vision not of some distant future but of what has to be Under 1969 rules, couples who agree to divorce because of adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion can do so in less than a year if there are no complications over money or children. Otherwise, they can divorce after two years separation by agreement and five years if one opposes. The Marriage Foundations Harry Benson said: Marriage is a serious business Divorce requires time, thought and deliberate intent, not speed, efficiency and the throwaway ease of an online form. It would be wrong to relegate divorce to little more than a tweet. It should be done as it begins, in person. Family lawyer Holly Tootill of JMW Solicitors said online divorce was a novel idea but that those involved are more likely to focus on the details in front of a judge whos telling you that they believe your position to be right or wrong. A man considered to be one of New Zealand's worst rapists who kept his daughter as a sex slave for 23 years is set to be released from prison, despite being at a 'medium-high risk' of re-offending. Ronald Van der Plaat, 82, was sent to prison for 15 years in 2001 for hanging his daughter, Tanjas Darke, up to the ceiling by her ankles and placing her head in a box with a padlock on it as he raped her, New Zealand Herald reported. But he will soon walk free after his jail term ends even though members of the New Zealand Parole Board believe he was 'an undue risk to community safety' as he continued to deny his 'sexual deviancy' and did not seek rehabilitation. Ronald Van der Plaat (right), 82, was sent to prison for 15 years in 2001 for hanging his daughter, Tanjas Darke (left) Van der Plaat was denied early parole but will be released on May 11. 'It is the view of the psychologist that Mr Van der Plaats progressive ageing, possible cognitive decline, consistent denial of sexual deviancy and lack of insight regarding his risk, combined with collusive social supports, hinders relapse prevention planning,' the board said in parole documents. 'It is also clear from the information in front of the board that age is not necessarily seen as protective in Mr Van der Plaat's case, at least at this time. 'Mr Van der Plaat continues to deny the index offending. 'The psychologist can only conclude that Mr Van der Plaat's increasing physical frailty within external controls is likely to mitigate his risk of sexual recidivism "over time".' The convicted rapist's psychological report said he could target 'vulnerable solo mothers' and 'most likely non-European immigrants'. She was hung up by her ankles on the ceiling before he raped her. Van der Plaat also put her head inside a box with a padlock before he sexually assaulted her 'He will groom their trust through offering financial, material, practical and emotional support,' he said. 'Future victims are likely to be their female children with Mr Van der Plaat assuming some form of caregiver role.' At the time of his sentencing, the judge described Van der Plaat's offending as at the 'very upper level of seriousness in terms of cases of sustained abuse to come before the court'. 'It was not ordinary sexual abuse but was bizarre in the extreme and can only be described as depraved,' the judge told the court. The abuse of Ms Darke, who waved her right to privacy, started when she was only nine years old and continued on until she in her 30s. She also wrote a book about her ordeal called Flight of the Dancing Bird. Ms Darke's father would keep her in bondage with handcuffs, chains and clamps, and he would put her head in a box with a padlock on it as he carried out the rapes and shove wax into her ears, New Zealand Herald reported. When Ms Darke was 12, she fell pregnant and caught a sexually transmitted infection after years of sustained sexual abuse. Previously the sexual abuse victim said in a 2001 documentary, To Hell And Back, she did wish anything bad to happen to her father but she did say: 'I just basically don't want him to get at me.' Van der Plaat will be subjected to strict conditions upon his release. His movements will be tracked by a GPS monitor and he cannot leave his home between the hours of 10pm and 6am every day. He is not allowed to have any contact with any person under the age of 16 unless he is supervised by an adult who is over 20 years old, and knows of his criminal history and has been approved by his probation officer. Van der Plaat will not be allowed to contact or associate with Ms Darke unless he has written consent of his probation officer. In a third incident on Sunday two boys almost drowned in Brisbane Another girl, 10 is fighting for life after being pulled from a backyard pool The toddler was pulled unconscious from the water by her family She was attending a birthday party at Bethania Aquatic Centre on Her fathers battle to save his daughter was witnessed horrified bystanders A father's desperate battle to save his daughter was witnessed by family and horrified bystenaders as he pulled her unconscious from the water at a busy public pool in Queensland. A birthday party turned to tragedy when Melody Vaiele drowned in the 25m lap pool of the Bethania Aquatic Centre, in Logan, south of Brisbane just after 2pm yesterday. Paramedics could not revive her after she was pulled from the water by lifeguards and her family and she died in hospital. Scroll down for video A birthday party turned to tragedy when a three-year-old girl drowned in front of her family at a busy public pool in Queensland (pictured) Witnesses have taken to social media to pay respect to the girl and offer their condolences to the family. Melissa Stephens, who witnessed the tragedy, said she would never forget the father's distressed attempts to save his daughters life, The Courier Mail reported. 'Her poor dad (was) just crying saying, "Come on baby, come on",' she said. A father's desperate battle to save his daughter was witnessed by family and horrified bystanders (pictured) as he pulled her unconscious from the water at a busy public pool in Queensland 'We are struggling so much, and we were just bystanders. I really cant imagine the pain of her family. Its devastating.' Ms Stephens said she had spoken to the little girl only moments before the tragedy, while their with her own family. 'I was there with my family too and saw it all unfold anyone who was there doesnt blame the family one bit,' she said. A 10-year-old girl is fighting for her life (pictured) after being pulled from a backyard pool at Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday afternoon Logan City Council said a detailed investigation is being undertaken to review all systems and procedures surrounding the circumstances of this tragedy, in a statement made yesterday. 'At the time of this incident, Logan City Council had two lifeguards on the pool deck, which is twice as many lifeguards as what is recommended by the Royal Lifesaving Guidelines standard.' 'Logan City Council is providing support to all staff involved,' the statement read. The Queensland Police Service is preparing a report for the coroner. 'I just wish one of us that was there saw her jump in. I feel so sad for her and her family. They were playing with their kids the whole time,' another witness, Mandy Strong said on Facebook. In two other incidents in Queensland on Sunday three children were taken to hospital. A 10-year-old girl is still in critical condition at Caloundra Hospital after being pulled from a backyard pool at on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday afternoon. In a third incident two boys, aged three and four, came close to drowning at a private pool in the Brisbane suburb of Rochedale. CPR was performed on the children, who were in a serious condition when they were rushed to Brisbane's Lady Cilento Children's Hospital. Retailers are warning of 900,000 job losses when they are forced to implement the National Living Wage and other new costs. Supermarkets have come under fire for giving staff low pay and relying on taxpayers to top this up with tax credits. The National Living Wage will come into force next month at a rate of 7.20 an hour for the over-25s, replacing the present minimum wage of 6.70 per hour. It would then increase to 9 an hour by 2020. Last week a leak revealed that Tesco, Britains biggest private sector employer, is carrying out a feasibility study that could see 39,000 store jobs go over three years. A study by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) yesterday claimed this change will cost the industry up to 3billion by 2020. It said retailers were generally supportive of the idea, but the extra cost coupled with other factors, including the popularity of online shopping will inevitably lead to store closures and job losses. Other costs are likely to come from business rates increases and the apprenticeship levy, which is due to be introduced in April 2017. As a result, the study claims the industry could see as many as 900,000 jobs go by 2025. Last week a leak revealed that Tesco, Britains biggest private sector employer, is carrying out a feasibility study that could see 39,000 store jobs go over three years. Tesco confirmed the validity of the document but said it had modelled various scenarios. The group, which employs more than 300,000 in the UK, cut thousands of jobs last year as new boss Dave Lewis tried to turn around the companys financial performance. The BRC said the retail industry was being reshaped by the digital revolution, with 15 per cent of sales now made online and 40,000 fewer shops than there were ten years ago. Supermarkets have come under fire for giving staff low pay and relying on taxpayers to top this up with tax credits from the Government Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: As an industry we expect the years ahead will see accelerating change. Retailers will develop better propositions and compete harder across an increasing range of business models from modern multi-channel formats through to discounters and online businesses. Devastated family are now hoping to raise awareness about their dangers More than 100 children have died from suffocating on balloons since 1973 Jaina's death was ruled an accident and will not be officially investigated Her father Mike performed CPR for hours on Wednesday but she later died Jaina McGloghlon, 8, was found not breathing with a balloon over her head An eight-year-old girl has been found suffocated with a balloon over her head hours after leaving a children's birthday party. Mike McGloghlon made the tragic discovery after he went to check on his daughter Jaina who had gone to bed after the party in the family home in Portland, Oregon. The horrified father found the youngster was not breathing and had a three foot Mylar balloon over her face. He cut off the balloon and performed CPR for an hour until emergency services arrived but sadly, Jaina died. Her death has now been ruled an accident and will not be officially investigated. Scroll down for video Jaina McGloghlon was found not breathing with a large balloon around her head after returning home from a birthday party Family believe Jaina, described as a rising star with an 'uncontainable spirit', had been trying to suck out the helium from the large birthday balloon when she suffocated. Her grandmother Pat Wendland, who was in the house, said she heard the parents' screams on Wednesday. 'I heard something drop on the floor and somebody say oh my God call 911 and let's start CPR,' she told Fox 2 Now. 'My son went in to check on her and all he seen was a foot sticking out of her bed. And then he took the covers off and found the balloon on her head. The only thing we could think is that she opened it, to suck the helium out and put it over her head and she suffocated.' The devastated family are now hoping to raise awareness about the dangers of balloons to ensure no one else ever suffered their loss. Mike McGloghlon (pictured with wife My Ling and Jaina) made the tragic discovery after he went to check on his daughter who had gone to bed after the party in the family home in Portland, Oregon Grandmother Patricia Wendland, pictured with Jaina, was in the house when she heard the parents' screams on Wednesday Mike and his wife My Ling, who left the military to focus on their daughter Jaina and her little brother Jacen, had initially moved in with Mike's brother Donn Lee McGloghlon Jr who paid tribute to his 'beautiful little niece.' 'Two days ago I got the worst call of my life, I lost my beautiful little niece Jaina,' he wrote on a fundraising page set up for the family. 'I was so lucky to have this time to create an unbelievable bond with this fiery toddler! Jaina Vue had an uncontainable spirit and giant heart. She was always the center of attention and our families little rising star. 'As her uncle I am completely devastated and heart broken. 'I cant even imagine how my brother Mike and sister My Ying are functioning, they are staying as strong as possible.' Jaina, a second grader at Russell Elementary School in Portland, and her brother were named after Star Wars characters in the franchise's expanded universe books. Family and friends of Mike and My Ling have shown their support for the heartbroken couple as they pay tribute to the little girl. Lasley Xiong said: 'I'm so sorry to hear about Jaina and my deepest condolences to you and MyYing. Family believe Jaina had been trying to suck out the helium from the large birthday balloon when she suffocated Jaina, a second grader at Russell Elementary School in Portland, and her brother were named after Star Wars characters in the franchise's expanded universe books 'I still cannot believe this and I just saw her this weekend and has gave me a big huge before she left.' Barbara Jordan wrote on Facebook: 'We will miss you Jaina. You are a beautiful angel watching over your family now. While Jamie Bennett said: 'Mike, I am so incredibly sorry for your loss. Please let me know if I can help in any way.' A committal service is due to be held at Willamette National Cemetery on Thursday. The Consumer Product Safety Commission warns that balloons are the leading cause of death by suffocation among children in the US. Between 1973 and 2011, more than 110 children have died from suffocation involving balloons - most of which were under six years of age. The majority of cases involve deflated or broken piece of balloons. The CPSC warns that children under the age of eight should not be allowed to play with deflated balloons unsupervised. But they insist inflated balloons do not present a hazard to young children. Jeremy Corbyn's 22-year-old student son suffered a cut to his eye after allegedly being headbutted outside a nightclub. Tommy Corbyn, who studies electrical engineering at the University of York, claims he was attacked as he left the city's Mansion nightclub at around 4am on Saturday. The left-wing activist is said to have been partying with friends inside the venue prior to the alleged attack, after earlier helping put on a Party for Palestine hip-hop event at a separate club in the city. Tommy Corbyn, 22, who studies electrical engineering at the University of York, claims he was headbutted as he left the city's Mansion club at around 4am on Saturday. He is pictured (right) alongside Jeremy's wife Laura Tommy, the youngest of the Labour leader's three sons with ex-wife Claudia Bracchita, apparently made a complaint to police that he was 'headbutted' later on Saturday afternoon, the Mirror reports. North Yorkshire Police confirmed it was investigating an allegation of assault on a 22-year-old man. A spokesman said: 'The incident occurred at the Mansion Nightclub, Micklegate, between 4am and 4.30am on Saturday. 'The victim, who suffered a cut to his eye, reported the matter to North Yorkshire Police at 1.26pm on Saturday. 'Enquiries are on-going to investigate the full circumstances surrounding the incident. Nobody has been arrested.' Tommy, who was pictured applauding his father's speech at the Labour party's annual conference last year, is the events manager of York's Palestinian Solidarity Society and a left-wing activist. One of Mr Corbyn's other sons, Seb, 25, is chief of staff to shadow chancellor John McDonnell after previously working as a researcher and as part of his father's leadership election campaign team. Anyone with information about the alleged incident should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101. Tommy Corbyn (right), the youngest of the Labour leader's (left) three sons with ex-wife Claudia Bracchita, apparently complained to police that he was 'headbutted' following an alleged attack in York on Saturday He also aims to eventually retake the Iraqi city of Mosul, now in ISIS hands The US Army's elite counter-terrorism unit, Delta Force, already being deployed in covert operations on the ground in Iraq in order to capture or kill high-ranking ISIS operatives and gather intelligence, it has emerged, with the possibility of further deployment in Syria in the future. Speaking to CNN, an administration official 'with direct knowledge of the force's activities' said that weeks have been spent setting up informant networks and safe houses for the new Expeditionary Targeting Force (ETF), which mostly comprises Delta Force agents, as well as building up information for 'up to half a dozen' locations for raids and field operations. The ETF, which has around 200 people, aims to use its network to locate hideouts of key ISIS members then stage raids that will allow them to capture people for interrogation and data for analysis, which will in turn open up further avenues of investigation. They will also be deployed to free ISIS-held hostages. Scroll down for video Deployed: Delta Force soldiers have been deployed in Iraq as part of the new Expeditionary Targeting Force (ETF), which aims to dismantle ISIS networks in secret operations Targets: The ETF is targeting ISIS officials and strongholds, with the aim of gathering intelligence on the network that will allow them to quickly attack other ISIS targets before they have a chance to escape In position: Defense Secretary Ash Carter said that the ETF was 'in position, having an effect and operating' in Iraq during a press conference Monday In a press conference at the Pentagon on Monday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter is quoted by CNN as saying, 'The only thing I'll say is the [Expeditionary Targeting Force] is in position, it is having an effect and operating, and I expect it to be a very effective part of our acceleration campaign.' He added that ISIS would be made 'to fear that anywhere, anytime, it may be struck.' In addition, the US Army intends to use inside intelligence to conduct cyber-warfare, damaging ISIS communications, and will ultimately attempt to retake the ISIS-held Iraqi city of Mosul. 'We are working with Iraqi forces to prepare forces for the envelopment and ultimately the seizure of Mosul,' Carter said. Mosul, Iraq's fourth-largest city, was taken by ISIS in June 2014. It recently emerged that the city's hydroelectric dam was at risk of 'catastrophic failure' due to lack of maintenance. Allies: The ETF is working on the ground with Iraqi and Peshmerga (forces from the Iraqi Kurdistan region) units to attack ISIS operatives and strongholds in focused, targeted attacks Prepared: A Peshmerga soldier aims an anti-tank missile towards an ISIS position. Such units are helping provide intel needed for the ETF's missions The system being used by Delta Force in Iraq seizing data and captives, then using the information gleaned to swiftly attack other targets is the same one used by US forces generally in Iraq and Afghanistan, CNN says. It was also used in one of only two US ground operations in Syria, which culminated in the killing of ISIS operative Abu Sayyaf and the capture of his wife, who then provided information about ISIS networks in the area. The other operation was a failed attempt to free two journalists in 2014. The ETF will work with local forces on the ground, including Iraqi and Peshmerga (from the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region) units, in developing 'targeted' missions against specific individuals or ISIS operations. These require weeks of surveillance to ensure civilians are out of the area before the unit goes in, and may require confirmation by the president. CNN sources said that the ETF was only to be deployed in Iraq at the moment, but that there is a possibility of deployment in Syria. Syria: The ETF is not currently being deployed in Syria, but other US special forces are there, and recently aided the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in their successful attempt to retake the town of al-Shadadi Syria: An SDF soldier bides her time. Using the current ETF tactics in Syria could lead to issues, including difficulty passing on captives once they have been interrogated However, while a 50-strong special forces team is already helping anti-ISIS forces in Syria one recent success being the retaking of the town of Al-Shadadai on February 19 expanding the ETF's focus to that country may bring with it issues. As the ETF only takes captives for interrogation, they are not intending to hold them for long periods of time. In Iraq that's not much of a problem, as they can be turned over to the Iraqi government. But the US is opposed to the current Syrian regieme run by president Bashar al-Assad, so would need to repatriate ISIS fighters to their countries of origin - which may prove impractical. Russia's support of Assad, which has seen the country bombing ISIS targets allegedly including a truce-breaking attack on Saturday also complicates matters, as Russia does not give precise information on where it intends to strike, increasing chances of US troops being caught in the crossfire. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS: Armenia supports the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and is taking steps in that direction. Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan stated during a meeting with scientists at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, while answering the Academys President Radik Martirosyan's question about the possibility of resumption o the war. "The strategy implemented by Armenias political and military leadership is based on settlement of the issue through dialogue, politically and peacefully. It should be based on measures aimed at creating an atmosphere of trust and mutual agreements," "Armenpress "reports Ohanyan saying. The minister lamented that the rival does not want to work constructively, does not want to form a trust mechanism, to avoid various violations on the front line, maintain the ceasefire and refrain from carrying out subversive activities. "Azerbaijan also rejects international proposals for the introduction of mechanisms to investigate ceasefire violations. This speaks to the fact that Azerbaijan constantly strains the situation having political goals within the country, as well as unilateral political goals in the international arena, without realizing that we are not afraid of it. As the President said, we are afraid of war, but not afraid to fight. In other words, we are committed to defend our country, and the sacred part of our country Artsakh, "Seyran Ohanyan said. He added that in this reality, the Ministry of Defense is preparing for war every day. "But the current military-political situation, international and regional developments do not imply about large-scale military operations, because on our part, we are doing everything possible to curb the rivals ambitions. However, If there are military operations, what can we do, we will definitely defend our homeland, Seyran Ohanyan concluded. Joey Feek is in her final days her husband Rory has revealed in an emotional post about his terminally-ill wife. 'My wife has been asleep for days now and her body is shutting down quickly,' wrote Rory on the couple's blog This Life I Live. 'The hospice nurse came again this morning and said Joey will most-likely only be with us for a few more days at the most.' Rory also said that shortly after their daughter Indiana's second birthday Joey, 40, said she was ready to stop fighting after her long and brave battle with cancer, telling him 'enough is enough'. She then asked to see Indiana so she could give her daughter one last kiss. Scroll down for videos Long battle: Rory Feek (above with his wife) has revealed that his wife Joey has just a few days left to live Sad goodbye: Rory also shared a photo of his wife and her last kiss with their daughter Indiana (above) Difficult time: 'My wife has been asleep for days now and her body is shutting down quickly,' wrote Rory (above with his wife in early 2015) After learning last October that her stage 4 cervical cancer was terminal and she had six months to live at most, Joey's only wish was to live long enough to see her daughter have one more birthday. She managed to do just that, and few days later told Rory; 'Its time to go home.' First though, she wanted to say goodbye to her loved ones. 'Joey gathered her family together around her and she said goodbye to each of them to her mother and father and her three sisters,' wrote Rory. 'There were lots of tears as she explained to each one how much she loved them and that she was going to be going home soon.' Then Joey asked to see her daughter. 'I set our little Indy on Joeys lap and we all cried with my wife as she told her how much her mama loved her and, you be a big girl for your papa and that mama will be watching over you,."' said Rory. 'And then she pulled Indiana up and she kissed her.' Soon after she gave Indiana that last kiss Joey began to sleep, and then Rory learned that his wife had only a few days to live, 'In the 40 short years that Joey has lived, my bride has accomplished many great things shes lived a very full life,' wrote Rory. 'But even more than that, she has loved those around her greatly and been loved greatly in return. I can honestly say that Joeys isnt just a life well-lived, its a life well-loved.' Rory also shared that Joey is at peace, telling him just before she went to sleep; 'I have no regrets I can honestly say, that I have done everything I wanted to do and lived the life I always wanted to live.' He ended the post by thanking those who have been supporting Joey and the family over the past few months, writing; 'Thank you to all who have followed my wifes beautiful journey. Who are still following. Though our hearts are heavy we all need to do our best to remember that this is not the end. Its only the beginning. 'When Joey takes her last breath here she will take her first breath there. In heaven.' Rory also posted a video he made featuring some of his favorite photos of Joey set to a song the two recorded but never released called 'In The Time That You Gave Me.' Love: Rory and Joey were able to lay in bed together for the first time in months on Valentine's Day (above) Happy day: Joey said her only wish was to see her daughter Indiana celebrate her second birthday (above) after learning she had just months to live Last meal: Rory posted a photo in mid-February of his wife making the family dinner from her hospice bed (above) The difficult and tragic news comes after a very memorable February for the family, who got to celebrate Valentine's Day, the Grammy Awards, Indiana's birthday and the release of their new album this month - which topped the country charts. Rory posted photos of some of these moments including Joey watching as daughter Indiana blew out her candles, a smiling Indiana celebrating her second birthday and an image of Rory and Joey laying in bed together for the first time since November. 'When dinner was over, as I said goodnight and tucked the blankets around her in the little hospital bed she has been living in for months, she thanked me for the special night and then made one last request. If Jody helps me to scoot over to one sidecould you try to lay down with me and put your arms around me?' wrote Rory of the couple's Valentine's Day. 'I havent been able to be in the same bed with my wife or hold her in my arms since the beginning of November when she made her last trip to the hospital. 'But for one sweet half-an-hour that changed on Valentines day.' The big event however was Indiana's second birthday. 'Joey barely slept the night before Indianas birthday. She was too excited. Jody said she didnt fall asleep until about 5am, around the time that Indy and I woke up,' said Rory. 'When Joey woke up, a little before noon, I came in to see her and tears were flowing down her face. Again, I put my arms around her and asked, why are you crying honey? 'We made it, she softly answered. We made it."' Joey got to watch her daughter blow out her birthday candles and Indiana could be seen smiling from ear to ear in photos from the day, especially as she enjoyed her cake. 'For the most part, Indianas big day was nothing but joy and more joy. She has a way of bringing even the most painful parts of life back into perspective,' wrote Rory. Happy girl: Indiana was filmed saying 'mama' and 'dada' on camera for the first time (above) two weeks ago The two of us: Rory shared a photo last week as he and Indiana (above) sat by a campfire Joey was given just six months to live last October and told she would be bedridden for the remainder of her life in late November. She got out of bed in December though 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 was diagnosed with cancer in June 2014, just a few months after she and Rory welcomed Indiana, who was born with Down's syndrome. The cancer eventually spread and in October doctors revealed there nothing they could do for Joey. Joey was as a restaurant owner when she met Rory, falling in love with him as he performed during a songwriter's night. He was also a single father with two daughters, another reason Joey has said she was first attracted to him. On June 15, 2002, the couple was married in a small ceremony. Joey shared how she first fell in love with Rory in an interview with People earlier this year, 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."' And while Rory was a noted songwriter who had penned hits for artists such as Blake Shelton, the couple got their big break in 2008 when they appeared on the reality show Can You Duet which aired on Country Music Television. They finished in third place on the show and signed a record contract soon after - and have been making music ever since right up until the release of their new album on Friday. 'Our music has taken us many incredible places and let us experience some amazing things in the past 8 years and people we meet have often asked if we had a plan to get to where we are. Ive always answered, yes, theres a master plan its just not ours,'" Rory wrote in a blog post last week. The Boys in the Bubble have turned the EU referendum into a navel-gazing political drama about the future of the Conservative Party. Is Call Me Dave finished, even if he wins? Will Boris finally achieve his ambition of becoming Prime Minister? Will the Goves ever be invited back to supper at the Camerons? Frankly, who gives a monkey's? It's not about them, it's about us. There's another four months of this mind-numbing drivel in prospect, along with an escalating bombardment of ludicrous, intelligence-insulting scare stories. If I see another minister on TV wandering round a factory wearing a hi-viz jacket, warning disingenuously that millions of jobs are going to be lost if we vote to leave, I shall reach for the sawn-off and empty both barrels into Sky News. Scroll down for video The Boys in the Bubble have turned the EU referendum into a navel-gazing political drama about the future of the Conservative Party. Will Boris finally achieve his ambition of becoming Prime Minister? Will the Goves ever be invited back to supper at the Camerons? The only issue which matters is whether Britain should revert to being an independent, outward-looking nation, with the absolute freedom to pass our own laws and control our borders. Or whether the British people are content to remain impotent serfs in a foreign-dominated superstate which meddles in virtually every aspect of our lives. Here are two seemingly unrelated stories which encapsulate what's wrong with our misguided entanglement with pan-European government. The first emphasises our inability to decide who is allowed to live here. As the Mail's serialisation of Tom Bower's book reminds us, Tony Blair and New Labour embarked on a deliberate policy of mass immigration. Among those invited to settle in this country were millions of people from the Eastern European 'accession' states. Most of those who moved here came to work, especially the Poles. We can argue about whether they have forced down wages, or should be entitled to in-work welfare payments, but nobody can claim they haven't made a positive contribution. Take the case of Mircea Gheorghiu, (pictured) who was found guilty of rape in Romania before moving illegally to Britain. His criminal past only came to light when he was arrested for drunk driving. The 'deport first, appeal later' scheme was one of Home Secretary Theresa May's flagship policies to stop foreign criminals settling in Britain The Romanians, on the other hand, have been less of a blessing. I'm sure there are brain surgeons and IT specialists from Bucharest beavering away productively in Britain, but many of their fellow citizens have merely transfered their charming Transylvanian culture of criminality to the streets of our cities sleeping rough and specialising in aggressive begging, pickpocketing and cashpoint robbery. Occasionally, there is a token effort to remove them, but when they are deported they're usually on the next plane back. Often, EU law means we can't kick them out at all, even if they are convicted of a criminal offence. Take the case of Mircea Gheorghiu, who was found guilty of rape in Romania before moving illegally to Britain. His criminal past only came to light when he was arrested for drunk driving. Under the Home Office's much-trumpeted 'deport first, appeal later' policy, he was thrown out of Britain in 2015. But now judges have ruled that he can return to this country. As an EU citizen, Gheorghiu is entitled to freedom of movement and a family life. An immigration panel decided that his crimes weren't serious enough to deport him and, because his rape conviction was 25 years old, he posed no threat of re-offending. So that's all right, then. Although he entered Britain illegally in 2002, he was granted the right to live and work here five years later, after Romania joined the EU, because he was the 'sole breadwinner' for his family back home. They moved here in 2014. The immigration tribunal has now decided that he should be reunited with his family 'as soon as possible'. So, the Gheorghius will all live happily ever after in Britain, adding to the rich diversity of our society. We shall just have to cross our fingers and hope that Mircea doesn't decide to rape anyone else or drive drunk in future. The 'deport first, appeal later' scheme was one of Home Secretary Theresa May's flagship policies to stop foreign criminals settling in Britain. At the first time of asking, it has been ripped up under 'yuman rites' laws. It is a condition of EU membership that all member states accept the European Convention of Human Rights. We can do nothing about it unless we vote to leave, yet Theresa has emerged as a stalwart of the Remain campaign and claims, absurdly, that Britain is safer and stronger in the EU. Perhaps she'd like to explain how we can even begin to pretend that we are a proper country if we can't expel foreign criminals who have entered Britain illegally? Theresa might be deluding herself, but she should stop taking the rest of us for fools. The second story which struck me was the news that Brussels has temporarily postponed plans to make us buy new kettles and toasters. Under new EU energy-saving rules, all kitchen appliances must use less electricity. But that means it will take much longer to boil a kettle or brown a slice of toast. EU leaders are apparently concerned that once the British people get wind of this new law, it might be enought to influence us to vote Leave. So they are delaying the introduction of the edict until after the referendum. Have you ever heard such patronising garbage? It tells you all you need to know about the attitude of our real rulers in Brussels. Never mind uncontrollable mass immigration, economic chaos across Europe, 8 billion a year paid by Britain to the EU (or whatever the figure is this week), and our inability to pass our own laws or even catch our own fish. They must think we're so stupid and infantile that we'll be persuaded to vote Leave because we're worried it's going to be more expensive and take longer to make our tea and toast. EU leaders are apparently concerned that once the British people get wind of this new law, it might be enought to influence us to vote Leave While we remain in the EU, we will never again be masters of our own destiny, not just in our own country but in our own homes It should be none of the EU's business what kind of kettle or toaster we use in our own homes. Why the hell do they think they've got the right to meddle in our choice of kitchen appliances? These are just two of the myriad ways in which the EU micro-manages our lives. While we remain, we will never again be masters of our own destiny, not just in our own country but in our own homes. Why would anyone want to belong to a sclerotic, anti-democratic, domineering superstate which not only prevents us deporting foreign rapists but also has the bloody nerve to tell us what kind of kettle we can buy? The Government's Prevent Strategy was designed to nip Islamist extremism in the bud by identifying children at risk of being radicalised for instance, by keeping an eye on the websites they were visiting. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but needless to say it has ended up being used in ways for which it was never intended. That's how a 15-year-old Hampshire schoolboy found himself being interviewed by the anti-terrorist squad. Teachers reported Joe Taylor to the police because they had 'safeguarding concerns' after noticing he had accessed an 'extremist' website on his computer. Joe was interrogated, along with his father, by a specialist officer attached to the unit set up to stop youngsters joining Izal. So what had he been looking at? Beheading videos? The Government's Prevent Strategy was designed to nip Islamist extremism in the bud by identifying children at risk of being radicalised for instance, by keeping an eye on the websites they were visiting No, he'd logged on to a Ukip website. And, presumably, his teachers are the kind of brain-dead Guardianistas who think Ukip is the epitome of evil, right up there with the Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. Joe said he visited the Ukip site after a classroom discussion on extremism. He also viewed film of an English Defence League rally. The EDL are a pretty unsavoury outfit, but they're not an illegal organisation and you can see their rallies on News At Ten. Ukip is a mainstream political party. Yet Joe and his dad were both treated like terrorists, and asked about their views on immigration. To which the only answer is: mind your own damn business. Still, I suppose it was utterly predictable that a strategy designed to counter radical Islam would end up being used to hound the innocent in this case a 15-year-old schoolboy with an interest in Ukip. Here's just the latest example of one of this column's core maxims: if you give anyone in a position of authority any modicum of power, they will always, always, always abuse it. Pubs will be banned from advertising for barmaids if the Equalities Commission gets its way. Employers will no longer be allowed to specify the sex of staff they want to hire. Goodness knows what Bet Lynch would have had to say about this over a milk stout in the Rovers Return. I did notice, however, that in the name of diversity the BBC is putting a mosque in Albert Square. How long before EastEnders transgender Kyle becomes landlady of the Queen Vic? Police have reopened inquiries into claims that the former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe was involved in a murder plot, a charge of which he was acquitted in 1979. Why? I shouldnt have to point out that Thorpe, like Jimmy Savile, remains dead. How many more deceased politicians and public figures are the Old Bill going to dig up? No wonder nobody in 1971 took any notice of the fantasy diary entries of the girl who falsely accused Tony Blackburn of sexually assaulting her. She also claimed to have been ravished by Rock Hudson, one of the stately homos of Hollywood. Hudson was not interested in women. It was a standing joke that Rock was the man who turned his co-star Doris Day into a virgin. Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick poked fun at Donald Trump's campaign to become president as they reprised their roles from The Producers in a hilarious spoof sequel on Sunday night. In a skit on Jimmy Kimmel's post-Oscars show, the comedy duo played two political campaign chiefs looking to make a fortune. Broderick's character, accountant Leo Bloom, tells his colleague Max Bialystock - played by Lane - that they might stand a better chance of making a fast buck by picking a losing candidate. Explaining his theory, Bloom says: 'Max, do you realize that under the right circumstances it might be possible for us to make more money from a losing candidate than from a winner? 'First we find a bad candidate, then we raise money like crazy and we promise all the donors an ambassadorship, to Italy or Sweden or Armenia. 'Then when the public figures out what a nutcase our guy is, he drops out of the race' ' and we keep all the dough,' Lane chimes in. He adds: 'This candidate, hes gotta be the worst candidate in history. A real trainwreck, a schmuck, a putz, a grade-A world-class gold-plated nincompoop. Where would we ever find a buffoon like that?' At that moment the bumbling pair turn to the TV, where Donald Trump is speaking from Trump Tower. A brainwave hits Bialystock and he puts in a call to Trump. Before they know it, the pair are fundraising for Trump and their office is adorned with merchandise emblazoned with the real estate mogul's face. Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick poked fun at Donald Trump's campaign to become president as they reprised their roles from The Producers in a hilarious spoof sequel In a skit on Jimmy Kimmel's post-Oscars show, the comedy duo played two political campaign chiefs looking to make a fortune by taking on Donald Trump's campaign Next, they are seen fundraising from a 'crazy, old semi-racist white person' played by Cloris Leachman, who is coerced into handing over a check towards the Trump campaign. Bloom and Bialystock go through the mad ideas they have come up with as policies that they believe will lead to the public losing faith as Trump as a candidate. 'Bloom, I have to tell you, ruinning Trump was smart, but your idea about building a wall across the Mexican border - brilliant,' Bialystock says. 'Not as brilliant as your idea of making the Mexicans pay for it,' Bloom laughs, in an obvious reference to Trump's immigration plans. 'He won't last a week,' Bialystock says as footage shows the Republican presidential candidate outlining his 'great wall' policy. But - in typical Producers fashion - it does not go well for Broderick and Lane's characters. The pair are next seen fretting over what to do about Trump as his success continues. Kimmel, making a cameo as a shoe shiner, tells them the candidate is succeeding because of his reputation as a 'proven businessman'. The pair are seen fundraising from a 'crazy, old semi-racist white person' played by Cloris Leachman, who is coerced into handing over a check towards the Trump campaign Kimmel, making a cameo as a shoe shiner, tells them the candidate's is succeeding because of his reputation as a 'proven businessman' Bialystock reels off a list of outrageous statements for Trump to say that should lead voters to turn their back on him. Questioning John McCain's heroism, saying 11million immigrants should be removed from the United States and banning Muslims from entering the country are all mentioned, but Trump has done them all and is still the front runner. The parody sequel - called You've been Trumped - follows the same pattern as The Producers, which told the story of the failed theater producer and accountant conjuring up a scheme to dodge the IRS. Bloom believes that the IRS will fail to check the finances of a terrible production, meaning they can embezzle investors' money and get away with up to $2million. Couple say they were ignorant to how bankruptcy proceedings worked A mother-of-two has filmed the moment her family were forcibly thrown out of their Melbourne home by sheriffs over an unpaid $20,000 credit card bill. Buket Ozdil, 42, and Aaron Szepesvary, 40, were evicted from their three-bedroom home in Strathmore, north-west of Melbourne, last Tuesday when authorities drilled the lock and smashed down the front door. Footage shows three uniformed sheriffs threatening to 'cuff' the distraught woman, announcing she has two outstanding infringement warrants totalling $512.10 and saying 'it's done' after she admitted she could not pay them upfront. Scroll down for video Aaron Szepesvary, 40, and Buket Ozdil, 42 (pictured with their two sons Max, 7, and Jack, 6) were evicted from their three-bedroom home in Strathmore, north-west of Melbourne, last Tuesday The couple owed almost $20,000 between them on their two Westpac credit cards, but now have a total debt of almost $300,000 after bankruptcy proceedings were filed against them after failing to make minimum repayments. In the three-minute clip, Ms Ozdil claims the sheriffs had no identification and forced their way in after she ran to the kitchen to get a Notice of Claim in a bid to 'counteract the warrant.' She also claims a payment plan of $50 for the infringement notices was already in place. Court-appointed bankruptcy trustees have now seized the couple's home to recover the debts. Ms Ozdil said she was home alone last Tuesday when the sheriffs came knocking. 'They had equipment to ram the door in, I was in shock. I wasn't prepared at all. I walked out with all my legal documents, but that's it.' Mr Szepesvary and Ms Ozdil applied for credit cards with Westpac in 2004 when they went about setting up an audio-visual business and bought computers, vehicles and insurance. Ms Ozdil, who gets a disability carer's allowance for her son, said the couple fell into hardship when a work contract Mr Szepesvary had with Foxtel came to an end in 2009. 'When that fell apart it became quite hard. Aaron had to go on unemployment benefits for the first time. We had our first child at that point,' Ms Ozdil told Daily Mail Australia. 'We were still paying the mortgage - the minimum repayments were $2,000 odd dollars a month.' Their credit card debts quickly piled up with Ms Ozdil having about $10,000 on hers and $9,000 on her partner's card. Ms Ozdil said she was home alone last Tuesday when the sheriffs came knocking after bankruptcy proceedings were filed against the couple over their $20,000 credit card debt Court-appointed bankruptcy trustees have now seized the couple's home to recover the debts Ms Ozdil says authorities drilled the lock and smashed down the front door and she was only able to grab her legal documents before having to leave They stopped making minimum repayments and various letters from the bank started coming in asking for payment from 2011. The couple, who have to sons Max, 7, and Jack, 6, claim they were making payments on the credit mostly every week but admit they were well below the minimum repayments set out by the bank. 'Aaron made weekly $200 payments on his credit card and I paid $100 a fortnight. When the mortgage or electricity needed to be paid that took priority,' she said. Ms Ozdil claims she explained their situation to the bank but was told to make the payments. 'We applied for hardship, we went through the ombudsman to make suitable payment plans but they were all rejected,' she said. 'We had every intention to pay it, we know a debt is not going to go away. We were trying to negotiate all the way through. They weren't accepting anything. 'A year after we set up our own business, things were on the up but that's when the bankruptcy started.' In 2013, Mr Szepesvary was sent a letter by ACM Group saying it had purchased his credit card debt and he needed to make the payment or it would start bankruptcy proceedings. The couple owed almost $20,000 between them on their two Westpac credit cards, but now have a total debt of almost $300,000 after bankruptcy proceedings were filed against them The couple, who have to sons Max, 7, and Jack, 6, claim they were making payments on the credit mostly every week but admit they were well below the minimum repayments set out by the bank The couple, who are now living with Ms Ozdil's parents after they were evicted from their home, say they are baffled as to how quickly the debt has risen Mr Szepesvary, who is illiterate, claims he did not know what was happening and could not afford a lawyer. He was declared bankrupt in court in 2014 in absentia. Ms Ozdil received a letter from Baycorp three months later and was subsequently declared bankrupt. 'We were just burying our heads in the sand at this point,' Ms Ozdil said. 'We didn't know what bankruptcy involved - it's our own fault of course. We are appealing in the Federal Court in May. We are appealing so we can get rid of the $150,000 so we can just pay the $20,000,' she said. 'All along we've been saying we can pay back our original debt, but with the bankruptcy they've added $150,000 each, basically in legal fees. Every time we speak to them or go to court the money accumulates.' The couple, who are now living with Ms Ozdil's parents after they were evicted from their home, say they are baffled as to how quickly the debt has risen. 'I don't know how it's escalated so quickly to kick us out of the house,' she said. 'In hindsight, we regret it. If we could of (paid it), we would. In a couple of years we would have been able to. Jazzie Watson, 19, was charged with murder and will be in court Tuesday A 17-year-old student who was murdered was due to become a father, it was revealed, after a touching note from the unborn daughter he will never meet was left at the scene. The revelation that Shamus Mcnama was due to become a father comes as 19-year-old Jazzie Watson was charged for his murder, after the alleged stabbing in the early hours of Sunday. The heartbreaking note, left with flowers and an ultrasound picture of the child, read: 'RIP Daddy. I never got to meet you taken too soon, but will always be a part of me and in my heart forever.' This touching tribute appearing to be from his unborn baby, along with a note and an ultrasound picture (pictured) was left at the scene where Shamus Mcnama was allegedly murdered The teenager died in hospital early Monday morning after reportedly being reportedly stabbed in the neck It was one of many tributes were left at the scene (pictured) in Lockleaze, Bristol, where he was stabbed and he later died from his injuries in hospital on Monday morning Police were called to a house in Stothard Road (pictured here) in the Lockleaze area of the city at 5.50am following reports of a disturbance People continued to lay tributes on Monday afternoon (left). One person left a bottle of expensive Ciroc vodka with flowers and a note saying he was 'taken away too soon' (right) Avon and Somerset Police said Watson would be appearing before Bristol Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, and a second man, aged 18, was released without charge. Hundreds of floral tributes have been left at the scene including a bottle of Ciroc vodka, tied to a bunch of flowers and a note. Tributes have also been made on social media and pictures of the youngster have been posted online. Nearly 3,000 has already been raised for the funeral of the teenager. Avon and Somerset Police were called to a house in Stothard Road at 5.50am on Sunday following reports of a disturbance. Shamus is believed to have attended Orchard School and Filton High School before starting an apprenticeship at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. One school friend, who did not wish to be named, said: 'I can't believe it - it is unreal. He just had the biggest smile and he was so, so loved by so many people. A number of people embraced as they struggled to deal with the grief from losing the teenager, who was a popular member of the community Two girls react as they leave floral tributes at the scene of the stabbing in Stothard Road, Bristol 'You won't find anyone with a bad word to say about him. He had so many friends.' Another school friend, who did not wish to be named, said: 'It's such a terrible thing to happen to anyone but to happen to someone like Shamus, who was such a nice guy - it's unbelievable.' RIP Daddy. I never got to meet you taken too soon but will always be a part of me and in my heart forever. Love from your beautiful baby girl Tribute car left at the scene A 24-year-old man, who also did not wish to be named, brushed tears away as he read tributes left to the teenager. 'He was such a nice person,' he said. 'He would have done anything for anybody. He had lots of friends. He was a very likeable person.' Mark Palmer, 51, drives through the area each day to visit friends and said he was shocked by the incident. 'Something like this is completely out of the ordinary. I have never known this sort of thing to happen up round here,' he said. 'I feel for the young lad, the victim, it is a waste of a young life.' A teenage girl, who did not wish to be named, wept by tributes left at a police cordon at the scene. 'I can't believe it - it is unreal,' she said. 'He just had the biggest smile and he was so, so loved by so many people. A school friend, who did not wish to be named, added: 'It's such a terrible thing to happen to anyone but to happen to someone like Shamus, who was such a nice guy - it's unbelievable' Shamus is believed to have attended Orchard School and Filton High School before starting an apprenticeship at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College 'You won't find anyone with a bad word to say about him. He had so many friends. If you look on his Facebook it is full of people's comments, there are at least 100 on there. 'They're all saying RIP and how much he will be missed.' Shamus is believed to have attended Orchard School and Filton High School before starting an apprenticeship at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. A school friend, who did not wish to be named, added: 'It's such a terrible thing to happen to anyone but to happen to someone like Shamus, who was such a nice guy - it's unbelievable. He was just such a great guy. His funeral is going to be tragic but it will be packed School friend 'I feel so sorry for his mum, she would never have thought that something like this would happen. 'He was just such a great guy. His funeral is going to be tragic but it will be packed.' Candles, flowers and messages were left nearby. One of the messages said: 'Shamus, can't believe you're gone.' Another read: 'Shamus my brother and friend! I'm going to miss you so much mate. I love being around you.' Friends and family also took to social media to pay tribute to the teenager. His godmother Tracey Leaver, from Bristol, wrote on Facebook: 'RIP to my sweet sweet godson Shamus Mcnama my heart has just been ripped out all my love going out to all the family xxxx' Amy Revill added: 'Such sad news!! Words can't describe how much you will be missed by many! Several notes have been left at the scene of the stabbing, with others taking to social media to pay tribute to the 16-year-old Police officers and forensics personnel can be seen at the scene of the fatal stabbing in Stothard Road 'Shamus Mcnama sleep tight mate. Thinking of all the family at such a hard time!' Phoebe Clements wrote: 'RIP Shamus Mcnama. I don't really know what to say because I only saw you last night, you looked like you were having such a good time, rest in paradise xxx' Senior investigating officer Richard Pegler, said: 'We are now appealing for anyone that witnessed a disturbance in the street between 5.30am and 6.30am to get in touch with the police. 'We are also asking for anyone in the area who thinks they may have heard or seen anything suspicious or out of the ordinary between those times to come forward. 'Our thoughts are very much with the family of this young man who has tragically lost his life and we are doing everything we can to support them during this difficult time. 'While there continues to be increased police activity in the area, we'd like to reassure residents that there's no risk to the wider community.' Family liaison officers are supporting Shamus's family. A post-mortem examination will be carried out by a Home Office pathologist. A police spokesman said: 'We have tonight charged Jazzie Watson, 19, with the murder of Shamus Mcnama on February 28 at Stothard Road, Lockleaze in Bristol,' a force spokesman said. 'A second man who was arrested has been released without charge. A courier from Sydney suspected of being involved with a dangerous group of radicals has been arrested for accessing and using extremist material online. After he was convicted last year of using his brother's passport to travel to the Middle East to - allegedly to join Islamic State - Ahmad Saiyer Naizmand, 21, was placed under a terrorism control order. The Sydney Morning Herald reports he was arrested on Monday night by police and charged with five breaches of the control order - relating to breaching the restriction on accessing electronic material. Scroll down for video Ahmad Saiyer Naizmand has been arrested for accessing extremist material online He allegedly stole his brother's passport in 2015 to travel to the Middle East and join the fight with Islamic State As part of the control order, Naizmand was prevented from accessing electronic material connected to any activities at all relating to Islamic State - this can be the likes of headings, suicide attacks or bombings. The order placed restrictions on his movements and communications, preventing him from contacting 18 other alleged extremists, known as the Naizmand group. Several of them have been charged with the murder of police accountant Curtis Cheng in Paramatta last year. Naizmand was initially given a suspended jail sentence in February 2015 for using his brother's passport to travel to the Middle East via Malaysia. Naizmand left Sydney airport on the passport, telling authorities he was travelling to Malaysia to see his uncle He told authorities he was travelling to Malaysia to help a family member, but sparked interest after he was seen carrying only hand luggage and $6000 cash for a fortnight-long trip, Fairfax reported. Naizmand's own passport had been cancelled in 2013 due to security concerns, so on August 6 he purchased a plane ticket with his brother's documents and departed Sydney airport. He told customs officials he was a law student travelling alone to see his uncle in Malaysia, but two days later authorities intercepted him in Dubai, and flown back to Sydney where he was charged. WA Premier Colin Barnett's son Sam has been charged with The West Australian Premier's son has faced court on charges of damaging property after an argument where they 'smashed each other's laptops and a phone'. Sam Barnett, 26, and his 21-year-old girlfriend Melissa Garbin, were holidaying on the Gold Coast when police were called to their unit on Surfers Paradise Boulevard after 2am on Monday. The fight is said to have involved the pair smashing each other's laptops and a mobile phone after Ms Garbin discovered text messages on his phone from another woman. Scroll down for video Sam Barnett, 26, and his 21-year-old girlfriend Melissa Garbin had a fight in the early hours of Monday Police were called to the Gold Coast apartment where they were staying after they 'broke each others laptops and a mobile phone' Mr Barnett is pictured after a court appearance on the Gold Coast on Tuesday The 26-year-old man is the son of West Australian Premier Colin Barnett (pictured) On Monday morning Barnett spent an hour in a holding cell before being charged with 'one count of wilful damage'. 'Gold Police have charged a 26-year-old Western Australian man with one count of willful damage at a Surfers Paradise premises on Monday,' a spokesman told Daily Mail Australia. 'Around 2am police were called to surfers paradise boulevard unit after the man allegedly damaged some property'. Barnett fronted Southport Courthouse on Tuesday morning, and said he thinks the charge will be dropped. Speaking after his brief appearance in a closed court, Barnett said he was yet to speak to his father - West Australian Premier Colin Barnett - about the matter. Ms Garbin (pictured) is said to have discovered text messages on his phone from another woman Barnett (left( noted that none of the charges against him related to any physical violence by either himself or Ms Garbin (right) Barnett said he was yet to speak to his father - Premier Colin Barnett (pictured) - about the matter 'Dad probably believes I'm capable of looking after myself,' Barnett said outside court. 'I've spoken to mum and mum's not thrilled.' Barnett, a property developer, noted that none of the charges against him related to any physical violence by either himself or Ms Garbin. 'The police have been wonderful to work with and together we're coming up with a just outcome,' he said. But it is estimated that each operatie can save 50 children a year They are then placed in Homeland Security field offices, where they can catch sexual predators and save children from abuse Injured US army veterans might not be able to go to war any more, but they don't have to stop fighting the good fight thanks to The Hero Child Rescue Corps, a government-funded project that trains them to hunt child predators. Operating since 2013, the Hero (Human Exploitation Rescue Operative) Corps trains army veterans in cyber forensics before placing them in Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) field offices across the US. So far, it has placed 100 veterans. It's a mission that not only helps potentially thousands of victimized children across the country, but also helps the veterans themselves, giving them a new purpose and a way to help and protect the people of their country. Heroes: Run by the the National Association to Protect Children (Protect), the Hero Child Rescue Corps trains veterans like these to examine evidence in child porn cases, stopping porn traffickers and real-life abusers Opportunity: Jabryeth 'J' Christian (pictured), CEO of Protect says that the Hero Cops give injured soldiers an 'opportunity' to reclaim their role as a protector Jabryeth 'J' Christian is the CEO of the National Association to Protect Children (Protect) and was himself an Army Ranger until his spine was fractured in a mission to Afghanistan. He told CNN: In one second [the veteran's] entire life changed. When that happens, I know from personal experience, you start to wonder, what can I now do? And once you find this opportunity, you know it's truly your opportunity to step back into that role.' Videos on the official Hero Corps site feature testimonies by a number of veterans-turned-crime-fighters. In one official video, a veteran identified only as Shannon says, 'I physically couldn't do my job any longer. And I had to tell the guys I'd laughed and bled and sweated with that I can't do the job any more, and that was really, really a tough pill to swallow for me.' But in a later video, he remarks, 'When you go in, and you serve a warrant, and the bad guy your target figures out why you're there, and you watch the color flush from his face, it makes you feel so good, knowing that [this] person is done hurting kids.' Training: The vets are given 11 weeks of intensive training followed by 10 months of in-the-field experience. At the conclusion of all this, they are placed in Homeland Security Investigations field offices Technology: Operatives are trained to examine computers, cellphones and external hard disks to uncover evidence that can be used to identify victims and prosecute predators Of course, it's not just the soldiers who benefit: the fight against child pornography on the web is a challenging one. According to The Demand Project, which fights child abuse, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reviewed 17.3 million images and videos of suspected child pornography in 2011. That's four times more than 2007. It also says that a study by the center found that 40 percent of people who were arrested for possession of child pornography had also raped children. CNN quotes a study by the University of New Hampshire that put the proportion of 'hands-on offenders' among child porn owners at 55 percent. Such overwhelming figures mean that as many people as possible are needed to analyze digital evidence in order to trap child porn traffickers and, potentially, active child abusers. Veterans who are accepted onto the project are given 11 weeks of training and 10 months of hands-on experience to hone their skills at analyzing computers, cellphones and external hard disks while hunting for evidence that a suspect is harboring or worse, producing child pornography. They are then placed in HSI field offices, where it is estimated that each operative can stop or prevent up to 50 children a year from being abused and exploited. And while they have undoubtedly seen some of the worst of human nature in the armed forces, little can prepare for the kinds of imagery they will find on some of the machines they analyze. 'You see groups of children being abused at levels the average American cannot fathom,' Christian told CNN. 'If you imagine an infant getting gagged and bound tortured, it's not a rare occurrence to come across.' Good guy: Tom Block, who lost his eye in Afghanistan, wants to join to 'go after the bad guys.' His prosthetic eye is patterned like Captain America's shield a symbol of his desire to stand up to 'bullies' Harrowing: The operatives must look at truly harrowing images while doing their jobs, but it is estimated that each one saves as many a 50 children a year from being exploited and abused But that's the kind of horror that Hero operatives are willing to face. CNN spoke to one hopeful operative, Tom Block, Army Times's Soldier of the Year 2014. Block, who lost his right eye to a suicide bomber in Afghanistan and now wears a prosthetic eye with Captain America's shield on it a symbol of his desire to stand up to 'bullies' told the channel, 'It's an opportunity for me to go after bad guys again. The complete scope of the crime is a lot more than people probably think.' He adds: 'I'll be honest, looking in the mirror can be tough sometimes. But you keep your faith, you keep your confidence, and you go out there and try to make somebody else's life better. It's what you do after-the-fact, and I think I'm trying to do a pretty damn good job.' The Hero Corps is run by Protect in co-operation with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Special Operations Command, and plans to put 200 of its operatives into US law enforcement agencies by 2018. The parents of a teenage girl killed in Saturday's horrific chain-reaction car crash in Commerce, California, have spoken out, asking for justice for their daughter. William and Gigi Littlefield said what happened to their daughter, Michelle Littlefield, 19, who died alongside Brian Lewandowski, 18, as the teens drove back from Disneyland, is 'unacceptable'. Michelle was slated to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in fall, worked for Six Flag Magic Mountain and attended College of the Canyons. William and Gigi Littlefield want justice for their daughter, Michelle, 19, who was killed in a drag racing accident on Saturday Killed: Brian Lewandowski (pictured left), 18, and Michelle Littlefield (right), 19, were returning from Disneyland when a UPS truck was struck by an alleged street racer, sending over the midway and into their Nissan 'It's unacceptable. It's unbelievable, and it's unfathomable,' William Littlefield said. 'It hit me hard this morning. It's too much. ... We were very attached,' William told KTLA 5 fighting back sobs. Michelle's mother said she had trouble verbalizing her sorrow. 'She was a very happy girl and for me words can't express the pain. I really can't imagine how I will deal. 'We don't want this to happen again, for some others to suffer like what we're going through. 'Her spirit is alive and only her body is not with us,' Gigi said. Lewandowski and Michelle were killed on the 5 Freeway Saturday when a southbound UPS truck being driven by Scott Treadway, 52, was struck shortly after midnight by a Dodge Challenger that police say was involved in a street-race. The truck hit the center meridian and was lifted into the air over the northbound lane, where it sheared the top off a Nissan containing Lewandowski, Littlefield and two other young adults. The truck then landed on a Ford Explorer and burst into flames. Treadway also died in the crash. Wreck: The Nissan, seen at the rear-left of this photo, had its top sheared off by the truck, killing both teens. Two other young adults in the vehicle were hospitalized with critical injuries The driver of the Dodge Challenger, 35-year-old Dealio Lockhart, stopped after the crash and has been charged with vehicular manslaughter. The other alleged street-racer, who was driving a Dodge Charger, fled the scene. Witnesses told NBC News that the cars were driving at speeds of up to 90mph. Lewandowski and Littlefield, whose Facebook profiles say they both work for Six Flags Magic Mountain, were on their way back from Disneyland when the crash occurred, NBC News reported. The two other occupants of the Nissan were hospitalized with critical injuries. Speaking to the station, William Littlefield, Michelle's father, said: 'I'm sorry this happened to both of us. We would never want any of this. Michelle would be disappointed she was killed. But she would never hold any ill will.' And while he was 'absolutely devastated,' he said he and his wife would 'hold no strife whatsoever against the driver.' Dedicated: UPS driver Scott Treadway (pictured left) was a dedicated family man who took his job seriously. He was hit by a Dodge Challenger driving at speeds of up to 90mph, which caused him to crash Horrific: The Dodge driver, 35-year-old Dealio Lockhart, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter. Another driver fled the scene of the horrific crash. Several other people were injured, but none killed Lewandowski's parents, Jocelyn and Victor, said in a statement to the press: 'Brian was an incredible young man and every parent's dream for a son. We are absolutely devastated by our loss. 'Our hearts go out to the other victims and their families and our prayers are for the survivors' recovery. We are very thankful for the love and support of family and friends throughout this time.' NBC News also spoke to Scott Treadway's brother, Dana, who described the UPS driver as a hard worker who took his job seriously and was always there for his family, which included a stepson and stepdaughter. He said: 'He'd come and help you any time you needed it. He was always there for you, and we'll miss him.' He then turned away from the camera to hide his tears. And he was not at all pleased to hear that one of the drivers had fled the scene. 'He's a coward who needs to fess up,' he told the station. The arrested driver, Dealio Lockhart, faces vehicular manslaughter charges and is being held on $1million bail pending his court appearance on Tuesday. He has no prior criminal history. British actor Tom Hollander has said that public school educated actors like Eddie Redmayne are only more prominent because sounding posh is 'fashionable' at the moment. Hollander, claims that actors such as Oscar-nominated Redmayne, Damian Lewis and Benedict Cumberbatch, are simply more prominent due to current screen trends. The actor, 48, who was the star of British comedy Rev, said: 'Isn't it just that three actors who seem to have gone to public school are getting highly visible work? Scroll down for video British actor Tom Hollander (pictured in Rev) has said that public school educated actors like Eddie Redmayne are only more prominent because sounding posh is 'fashionable' at the moment Hollander, claims that actors such as Oscar-nominated Redmayne (left), Damian Lewis and Benedict Cumberbatch (right), are simply 'more visible' due to current screen trends 'When I started in the profession there were very visible actors who were Scottish, Welsh or regional. 'Lots of working-class-hero leading actors - it was not fashionable to sound posh. Now I'm middle-aged, it's fashionable to sound posh if you are the generation behind me.' Hollander, who currently appears alongside public school educated Tom Hiddleston in The Night Manager, was talking to the Radio Times about his new ITV drama Doctor Thorne. Co-star Rebecca Front, from political comedy The Thick Of It, said she went to state school, but admitted it was harder to make it in the acting world without wealthy parents. 'It's not impossible to be an actor if you went to state school. I went to state school,' the 51-year-old said. 'But there is a problem of affordability, I know one major drama school is worried that only rich kids can access an arts education.' The issue of class is another dimension of the continuing diversity debate. Dame Helen Mirren, EastEnders' Danny Dyer and Julie Walters are just three names who have voiced concern about what they perceive as acting's growing class divide. Hollnder (right), who currently appears alongside public school educated Tom Hiddleston (centre) in The Night Manager (pictured), said it used to be fashionable not to be posh However, Hollander and Front were in sync as they discussed Doctor Thorne. Based on Anthony Trollope's novel, and written by Bafta and Emmy award-winning Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, it is set in the village of Greshamsbury, in the fictional county of Barsetshire. When I started in the profession there were very visible actors who were Scottish, Welsh or regional Tom Hollander Doctor Thorne lives with his penniless young niece Mary, played by Rada-trained newcomer Stefanie Martini. Mary is devastated when she learns she is the illegitimate child of the doctor's late brother. Her predicament is made worse by the love between her and Frank Gresham (newcomer Harry Richardson), the heir to the Greshamsbury Estate. Frank's overbearing mother Lady Arabella (Front) insists he must save the family from financial ruin by marrying wealthy American heiress, Miss Dunstable (Mad Men actress Alison Brie). Meanwhile, Doctor Thorne acts as both physician and advisor to millionaire Sir Roger Scatcherd (Lovejoy's Ian McShane), who has the fate of Greshamsbury in his hands. Dr Thorne co-star Rebecca Front (left) said she went to state school, but admitted it was harder to make it in the acting world without wealthy parents The actor, from political comedy The Thick Of It (pictured), said: 'I know one major drama school is worried that only rich kids can access an arts education' Like Downton, the three-part production, which will also feature Prince Harry's former girlfriend Cressida Bonas as Mary's confidante Patience Oriel, is another period drama. Front, who recently portrayed Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskoy in BBC One's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War And Peace, joked about how happy she will be if she never has to wear a corset again. Bristol-born Hollander hailed his character, calling Doctor Thorne 'strong and really courageous'. Published in 1858, this is the first television adaptation of the novel. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Ministry of Armenia implements its tasks under rather complicated geopolitical conditions. Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan told about this during the meeting with the scientists at the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia. The regional security system is fragile. And today we reinforce the security system of our country parallel with the process of great powers attempts to advance their interests, Armenpress reports Ohanyan mentioning. The Minister mentioned that one of the key achievements of Armenia in the recent years is that the activities of the Defense Ministry are based on strategic plan. We do not step in the same place, we move forward, and we have already entered the second phase of our strategic plan: implementation of the development program of the Armed Forces, armaments and military equipment which is the continuation of the large-scale works of the implementation of defensive, strategic programs. All that aimed at studying the security environment of Armenia and exposure of all kinds of threats, Ohanyan mentioned. He reminded that not only the army, but the entire Armenian people took part in the Artsakh liberation war. Ohanyan mentioned that years of hard work of the entire Armenian people served as the roots of the establishment of the Armenian army. In his words, this lead to the situation that the Defense Ministry of Armenia has its unique role in the state administration of Armenia. Believe the world was created by a god made of spaghetti and meatballs Followers of the religion go by the title 'pastafarians' and wear colanders Karen Martyn is a the church's first marriage celebrant for in New Zealand Government approved church's request to be able to solemnise weddings New Zealanders can now get hitched in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster after the government officially recognised the quirky church's marriages. The nation's first 'Ministeroni' Karen Martyn, from Wellington on the countries North Island, is certified as a marriage celebrant for the niche religion, whose followers believe the world was created by a god made of spaghetti and meatballs. The New Zealand government approved the church's request to be able to solemnise weddings last year, and now followers - or pastafarians - are allowed tie the knot in the church's name, reports ABC. New Zealand woman Karen Martyn (pictured) is the country's first legally recognised marriage celebrant - or ministeroni Pastafarians wear pirate clothing because they believe the Flying Spaghetti Monster created pirates Karen Martyn defended against her claims the church was merely a parody and claims it's a legitimate religion Ms Martyn said the marriage ceremony involves some rather unorthodox equipment in the place of flowers and champagne. 'We have swords, we have noodles and pasta involved in the ceremony. It's a bit of fun.' The religion only reached mainstream culture about a decade ago, but has made headlines in the past when members won battles to wear colanders in their driver's licence photographs. The New Zealand Government gave the group the green light to stage weddings under the grounds they 'uphold or promotes religious beliefs or philosophical or humanitarian convictions.' The Church thanked New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs Births, Deaths and Marriages team for their work processing and communicating with it regarding their application for Ms Martyn to become a 'ministeroni'. On its Facebook page - that has almost 50,000 members - the New Zealand Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster notes it is: 'a real, legitimate religion, as much as any other religion. That is the point'. Ms Martyn, who also has a full-time job, defended against her claims the church was merely a parody. 'You can make fun of us because we really believe all religions should be subject to scrutiny and to humour. And they should be for the greater good not something that tears people apart, communities apart, or pits people against each other.' Ms Martyn, who also has a full-time job, said her new role meant people in New Zealand could marry the 'pasta-ific' way In 2005 Bobby Henderson, the church's prophet, revealed the world was created by a flying spaghetti monster - commonly referred to as the FSM Anyone who does marry with the church can expect an offbeat event, with its website describing the event as involving the ministeroni saying 'whatever floats your boat or sauces your noodles' - as long as those being married have their real names mentioned at some point. They also say those marrying don't have to give each other a 'ringatoni' - they can exchange anything they want. Afterwards, it is traditional to hold a pasta feast. Being a ministeroni involves no personal gain - fees cover only the costs of conducting the marriage and a donation to the church. In 2005, its prophet, Bobby Henderson, revealed his belief the world was created by a flying spaghetti monster - commonly referred to as the FSM. Pastafarians dress like pirates because they believe pirates were created by the FSM. They also wear colanders on their heads to mark important occasions. Members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (the FSM) believe the world was created by the FSM New Zealand may be thousands of miles from the U.S. presidential campaign trail but local Democratic Party supporters can boast about being the first in the world to cast ballots in multi-state primaries dubbed 'Super Tuesday' and in a bar, no less. American voters living in Wellington and registered as Democrats cast their ballots just after midnight early Tuesday local time, almost a day ahead of compatriots back home. In keeping with the South Pacific nation's informal style, all 28 of the votes were cast at a local drinking spot, the Public Bar and Eatery. Handily winning the day in New Zealand was Senator Bernie Sanders, who picked up 21 votes, while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got six. One ballot was spoiled. American voters who are registered Democrats cast their ballots in Wellington, New Zealand just after midnight early Tuesday local time. The 28 votes were the first cast in the world for Super Tuesday (pictured: Bernie Sanders) Sanders picked up 21 votes, while Hillary Clinton got six. One ballot was spoiled. Pictured, Bernie supporters at a campaign rally in Minnesota on February 29 The results will be confirmed later this month at the global voter tally center in Germany. Wellington is the first of 111 cities in 41 countries outside the U.S. to cast ballots in the primary for Democrats abroad. Republicans living overseas won't be able to do the same because the party doesn't allow for its supporters to vote in primaries. So far, four states have held primaries or caucuses to choose each party's nominee in November's presidential election. On Tuesday, Democrats will be voting in 11 states and American Samoa, with 865 delegates at stake. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the party's nomination. Democrats abroad are allocated 17 of those delegates. Republicans, meanwhile, will be voting in 11 states on Super Tuesday, with 595 delegates at stake toward the 1,237 delegates needed to capture the party's nomination. Americans living in New Zealand include students, those with specialized jobs, and retirees, said Kat Allikian, chair of the Democrats Abroad New Zealand. She said a big motivation for local voters was to stop Republicans winning the White House in particular, leading candidate Donald Trump. 'The overwhelming concern of all Democrats overseas is this Trump phenomenon that is happening on the Republican side,' she said. 'It's mindboggling that he's running away with the nomination. Although it's not set yet.' Allikian said it was an honor to lead the vote among those living overseas. 'People are really tickled that we're the very first in the world,' she said. A Fed-Ex delivery woman was stuck outside when winds reaching 140 miles per hour ripped through Paincourtville, Louisiana when a tornado hit last week. Kyra Johnson was delivering packages to Sagona's Hardware store when the tornado suddenly advanced towards her, leaving the shop completely destroyed in its wake. Shocking surveillance videos released by the store's owner David Sagona shows Johnson miraculously surviving the tornado as she takes refuge behind a soda machine just moments before the shop appears to explodes around her. Kyra Johnson (left) was delivering packages to Sagona's Hardware store when an EF-3 tornado hit in Paincourtville, Louisiana. Pictured right, David Sagona the store's owner Winds reaching as high as 140mph tore through the store on February 23, 2016, leaving it in a heap of mangled metal Here, a picture shows the store in mint condition. Johnson took refuge behind the soda machine, but it toppled over in the wind, leaving her vulnerable to the elements Just moments before, Johnson had dropped off packages at the shop's back door and took a video of the swirling tornado in the distance. She can be heard marveling at the tornado's size and says: 'I hope it doesn't come this way.' The vortex did just that within minutes, and Johnson was then captured on the store's surveillance camera at 3.24pm desperately pulling at the front doors, which were locked. She told KLTV: 'I just braced myself right here between the soda machine. It wasn't even holding on. It was just to brace myself.' The heavy vending machine toppled over just seconds later and Johnson recalls asking God for help. Sagona was surprised to see Johnson when he reviewed the surveillance videos. Here, Johnson can be seen desperately tugging at the locked doors (left) and then hiding between the wall and the vending machine (right) Moments later, a part of the roof flies off as Johnson braced herself behind the soda machine (bottom left) Then all hell breaks loose and the building appears to explode around her as the tornado rips through the store She later wrote on her Facebook: 'This is what happened to me on February 23, 2016. God Please Save Me and HE DID!! He heard my cry in all that wind. I shouted for him the whole time it was over us. 'I dont even remember being scared. I didnt have time. It was survival mode.That Coke machine fell. I had nothing to block me. 'He told me to hold on to the door and I did as I watched my life flash before my eyes!' Sagona, on the other hand, took refuge in the bathrooms and upstairs offices of the store with his employees, unaware that Johnson was outside. A number of tornadoes tore through the South last week, leaving a total of five dead. Johnson, Sagona, and the hardware store's employees all walked away unscathed Sagona gave Johnson a commemorative t-shirt with a bible verse on it. They both believe they were saved by God He said he witnessed the side wall of the building blow away, and different security cameras captured the roof crashing down. Days later, he was surprised to see Johnson when he reviewed the security footage. The two didn't know each other before the disaster hit, but Johnson rushed into the store once the tornado had passed to make sure everyone was okay. Both Sagona and Johnson attributed their survival to a higher power, and the shop owner gave Johnson a t-shirt with a bible verse on it to commemorate their near-death experience. A number of tornadoes hit the South last Tuesday and Wednesday, killing a total of seven people in Virginia, Louisiana, Florida, and Mississippi. Dozens were injured. Johnson, Sagona, and the store's employees were all left unscathed. Despite a lack of injuries, the devastation was apparent and Sagona's Hardware was left missing a roof and several walls Thirty black students were removed from a Donald Trump rally in Georgia Monday night shortly before the candidate appeared on stage. The group had been waiting to see Trump at Valdosta State University when law enforcement officials or university security its unclear which told them they needed to leave the venue and then escorted them out, despite the fact that they are all students at the college. Some of the students spoke with the Des Moines Register after the incident, claiming that Secret Service agents approached them while they were waiting for the rally to start and said Trump himself had requested they be removed from the event. But video posted on Twitter by the Register's reporter suggests bystanders thought they were removed because they were dressed as a group in all-black clothing not because of their race. And the town's police chief said Tuesday morning that the students were being disruptive and dropping 'F-bombs' before they were tossed out. A security guard on the scene also told DailyMail.com late on Monday night that the group's uniform garments made officers believe they were there to start a commotion. Scroll down for video Trump's campaign insisted it had no knowledge of 30 black students being escorted out of a rally at Valdosta State University on Monday night Trump said he was on his airplane when the incident happened and resented the Des Moines Register for dragging him into it Trump rallies typically begin with a public address announcement advising attendees that while they 'certainly have the right to free speech, this is a private event paid for by Mr. Trump. We have provided a safe protest area outside the venue for all protests.' Trumps Secret Service protective detail, like those assigned to other dignitaries, seldom takes chances. One agent told DailyMail.com last week that Trump and other protected presidential candidates have the benefit of 'security perimeters' nearly as tight as that employed for President Barack Obama. Former senior Trump aide Roger Stone wrote Feb. 18 on Twitter that the Republican front-runner wears a bullet-proof vest during campaign appearances. Trump's campaign denied the Valdosta students' suggestions of racial profiling on Monday night. Campaign press secretary Hope Hicks wrote DailyMail.com in an email: 'There is no truth to this whatsoever.' She later added: 'The campaign had no knowledge of this incident before being alerted to this false report.' Valdosta Police Chief Brian Childress, however, told USA TODAY that 'these folks were told the leave ... by the Trump detail.' He said the officers mad the right call. At least one of the ejected students was white, he said, and several were behaving in a way that could have gotten them arrested. The students were sitting in the bleachers at the Trump rally when officials approached to remove them 'What I resent is now some of these folks are going around saying it was a black issue. Thats total nonsense,' Childress said. 'I personally asked why were these folks told to leave and the reason was: they were being disruptive. The Trump staff said they were using profanity. The F-bomb is one word that was used. You cant be in there using profanity. That violates Georgia law.' Tahjila Davis, one of the students who was removed from the rally, wrote about the incident on Facebook Monday night, and attributed her dismissal to the color of her skin. 'I have never been so outraged and let down by my university until today,' she wrote. 'Donald Trump rented out and held a rally at the PE Complex earlier today and me and some more students from Valdosta wanted to go to see what he had to say.' 'After we got our tickets, waited in line, went through security and walked to get our seats,' Davis continued, 'Trumps [sic] secret service came up to us and asked us to leave. Again, a group of all black students who WERE NOT there to protest, but to sit in the rally like every else, got KICKED OUT FOR NO REASON.' There was no yelling, we held no signs, no nothing. After getting put out, the police continued to try to escort us off of our own campus. I payed [sic] money to go to this school like every other student. I got my ticket for the rally like EVERY other person in that building. Why do I get kicked out?' Another student, Brooke Gladney, told the Register reporter; 'SecretService [sic] told us we had to get out...Only reason we were given is that Mr Trump did not want us there.' Around 30 students, who said they were not there to disrupt Trump, were escorted from the rally at Valdosta State University Photos and videos show the group being removed from the venue and then escorted off the grounds of the college, which until 1963 was a whites-only campus. DailyMail.com saw representatives of at least seven different local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies at Monday's rally, plus campus security officers. It was unclear which agency was responsible for removing the students from the event until Childress sopke up. Davis did not respond to questions about how she knew it was agents from U.S. Secret Service who were involved in her and her friends' ejections from the arena. Trump vented his outrage Tuesday during a campaign rally in Columbus, Ohio, blaming the Des Moines Register 'a failed paper in Iowa' for dragging him personally into the controversy. 'I was a story about us having me having people evicted from one of my rallies. And I was in the aeroplane! I have nothing to do with it,' he said. 'I show up, I didn't even know anything happened. And they wrote this vicious story, and it gets picked up by everybody. And this is a paper that's an enemy of ours, with a writer who is horrible, and they pick it up all over the place!' The Des Moines Register has been on the Trump campaign's black list since mid-2015 when its editorial board wrote that The Donald should withdraw from the race. 'Trump should pull the plug on his bloviating side show,' the editorial was headlined. 'And they said, "Donald Trump ordered 'em out",' Trump went on. 'I was in my plane. I was traveling. I didn't even know these people. They are such liars. They are disgusting people, I'm telling you.' A French firm that made medals for Napoleons army as he waged war on Britain could soon become the first foreign company to make British honours awarded in recognition of service to our monarch and country. Arthus-Bertrand was founded in Paris in 1803, the year after Napoleon Bonaparte established the Legion dhonneur, Frances most illustrious medal, and 12 years before his defeat at Waterloo. The companys website says that by providing the new medal it became over time a witness to history. Now it has been shortlisted as a potential manufacturer of 20 honours presented by the Queen including the medal of the Distinguished Service Order, given for outstanding leadership during active military service, and medals for citizens honoured by the Queen every year. The CBE nedals (left) and the Distinguished Service Order (right) are among the 20 British honours which will be made by French medal maker Arthus Bertrand after they were handed the contract The Order of the Bath (left) and the Order of St Michael and St George (right), handed to senior civil servants, will be made by the company which makes the Legion dhonneur, Frances most illustrious medal Arthus-Bertrand has been named on the shortlist with seven British businesses following a tendering process by the Crown Commercial Service, a branch of the Cabinet Office. British medal makers criticised the move, blaming the European Union and its tendering rules. Europe states that these things have to go out to tender to everyone, one said. Unfortunately the UK seems to obey all these rules, yet somehow weve never been able to find a tender offer for French state honours. A Cabinet Office source yesterday said no contracts have yet been awarded and it was not guaranteed that all the firms on the shortlist would get work. But the spectre of British honours being made overseas has struck a sour note with military veterans and British manufacturers. Colonel Bob Stewart, a Conservative MP and former British commander in Bosnia in the 1990s who was awarded the DSO, told The Times: My argument is rather emotive but I think that a medal awarded to a UK citizen should be made in the UK personally Im very glad that my DSO was made in Britain. Colonel Bob Stewart, a Conservative MP and himself a holder of the DSO (pictured when he received it in 1993) was outraged by the decision Can you imagine the French allowing the Legion dhonneur to be made in Germany? When this country awards medals to its soldiers, sailors, airmen and citizens they should be made in the UK. Peter Duckers, author of more than a dozen books on British medals, said many early Legion dhonneur medals would have been awarded to French soldiers who were fighting against Britain, but some later ones would have been awarded to Britons when we fought alongside the French in the Crimean War, First World War and Second World War. He said some British medals were struck during the First World War to be given to French people for their service to Britain but such a move was unheard of outside of a wartime emergency. He said: It wont look right to have Bertrand of Paris embossed on the inside of the box. Julian Lewis MP, Conservative chairman of the defence select committee, said: It does seem a little bit inappropriate if an honour from a grateful nation for heroic endeavour cant even be manufactured in the UK. Even value for money considerations ought to have their limits. The Cabinet Office said the shortlisting of Arthus-Bertrand was subject to the usual public sector procurement legal framework which encourages free and open competition and value for money. Jean Charles Rocher, Arthus-Bertrands sales director, confirmed that the French company is awaiting its first order and said they were very proud at the prospect of becoming the first foreign company to be able to supply medals to the English market. He maybe mans best friend, but Nacho the police dog has no time for criminals as he showed by helping to take a man into custody, and in the process he became an online sensation. Channel Nine reports that the Western Australian police dog helped to track down and catch a 27-year-old man who was wanted for several alleged offences. When detectives from Armadale searched a property in Lynwood, Perth, the man they were looking for allegedly attempted to escape through the backyard of a neighbours house. Western Australian police dog Nacho (pictured) has saved the day - after helping police take a man into custody But this was when Nacho leapt into action. He immediately tracked the man down and lead officers to where he was hiding under a nearby boat. The man was taken into custody without further incident. Since then Nacho has been hailed a hero since then and after a post was put on the WA Polices Facebook it generated more than 1,600 likes. A police spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia that Nacho has been a police dog since April 2014 and he is about to turn three years old. Western Australia Police had this image on their Faceback to highlight Nacho's actions Hide and seek completion results: Police Dog Nacho 1, People 0, was posted on the WA Polices Facebook. And there were no shortage of users who posted their admiration for Nacho on Facebook. An 'extra cup of kibble' was in order for Nacho after his display one user believed. Another thought it was definitely a 'nacho day', while the 'Long Paw of the Law' was another way Nacho's effort was described as. An 'extra cup of kibble' was in order for Nacho after his display one user believed It was definitely a 'nacho day' as far as Ankur Jai Thakur was concerned Melania Trump wants Americans to know her husband is not a racist and is not anti-immigrant, as voters in 11 states go to the polls for Super Tuesday. In an interview with Anderson Cooper on Monday night, Melania discussed hot-button issues surrounding her husband's presidential campaign. As Super Tuesday dawns, Trump is leading comfortably in Georgia and is expected to win at least eight of the 11 primaries and caucuses. When asked by Cooper about Trump's KK endorsement scandal and people accusing him of being racist with his tance on immigration, Melania said: 'No, he's not. He's not racist. He's not anti-immigrant.' 'He wants to keep America safe. He wants to have illegal immigrants taken care of that they will not be in the country, that they don't pay taxes, that they are criminals, and that they are not good for America. He wants -- he was talking about the illegal immigration, not about everybody.' Melania also told Cooper she has to have a very thick skin and has to as the remaining GOP candidates' attacks become more vicious against her husband as the candidates fight to come out on top. Scroll down for video Melania Trump sat down with Anderson Cooper on the eve of Super Tuesday in her second ever solo interview Melania told Cooper that Trump's demeanor and tone will be different if he's able to claim the White House The Donald has proven himself to be a natural politician with retail-campaign skills not seen in the south since the days of Bill Clinton as he spoke to 7,500 people in in Valdosta, Georgia Texas Sen. Ted Cruz should hold on in his home state and one other. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio might win a contest. Ohio Gov. John Kasich and retired surgeon Ben Carson aren't expected to take home any medals at all, but they could collect handfuls of delegates in states that don't set a minimum voting threshold. Similar suspense, with fewer insults, animates the Democratic race. Hillary Clinton, the establishment pick, scored a weekend blowout in South Carolina on Saturday. She looks strong in many Super Tuesday states. As they discussed the campaign's tone, Cooper asked Melania if she thought her husband could change his, as many have been critical of how Trump handles certain situations. Cooper said: 'You know, your husband has been criticized for sometimes his tone on the campaign trail. 'One thing he said to me is that as president, you know, campaigning is one thing. 'As president he would have a different tone if he was actually in the White House.' Melania said she believes her husband would be different if he was sitting in the Oval Office. 'Yes, he can have a different tone. 'He really can have a different tone, because to build the empire and the business that he built, you cannot always use that kind of a tone. 'And he can really change. 'I know him, and he could really change the words and the tone. 'And - but, you know, he is who he is. 'And you could see his following and people agree with him because they are tired of Washington and politicians in Washington. They don't do much,' Melania said. The former model touched on a wide range of issues from her husband's tweeting habits to his refusal to repeatedly disavow former Klansman David Duke, who endorsed him last week Repeat offense: Trump pictured above at the New Hampshire rally where he repeated the derogatory statement about Ted Cruz after someone yelled it in the crowd HIGH STAKES: Five GOP candidates will spar over 595 Republican National Convention delegates on March 1. Here's how they're distributed according to population ROCKY TOP: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump drew thousands to a Tennessee airport hangar for a rally on Saturday The conversation touched on things like Trump's language and Melania saying she didn't like that he called Ted Cruz a 'p****'. She said: 'I don't agree with everything that he says, but you know, that is normal. 'I'm my own person, I tell him what I think, I'm standing very strong on the ground on my two feet and I'm my own person, and I think that's very important in the relationship.' They also discussed Melania's legal immigration to the U.S. and Trump's late-night Twitter habits, which she said don't bother her. Cooper and Melania addressed the recent controversy surrounding Trump disavowing former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke and then refusing to disavow the Klansman again. The former model said her husband is not racist or anti-immigrant, but that they don't agree 100 per cent on every issue. She said she thinks it's healthy to 'be your own person' in a marriage and relationship Melania said she doesn't think Trump refusing to disavow former Klansman David Duke again will be a problem for her GOP front-running husband 'Well, he disavowed many times. He disavowed at a press conference on Friday. 'So, I don't know why media needs to ask him so many times, because he disavowed. Cooper then asked if Melania thought this could be a problem for Trump. 'I don't think so because they were asking him about the groups, and he said I dont want - I don't know about the groups, what you are talking about, the groups. So, he disavowed, many, many times. So media is just bringing up, bringing up all the time.' Trump holds up a CNN national poll showing him with a commanding lead as he speaks at a campaign rally at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia Trump was at home in America's deep south at Valdosta State University, while 12,000 were stuck outside and could not get in, on Monday Trump, as he always does, stayed after his speech for a half an hour to sign memorabilia and pose for pictures Trump spoke to around 7,500 people at Valdosta State University, while another 12,000 were stuck outside and could not get in The interview aired just hours before Super Tuesday, which is likely to determine who will get the party nomination for President. Until now, voters in four states have picked the only delegates and just a few of them who are needed to clinch the party nominations. That changes overnight, with each party holding contests in 11 states on Tuesday. Democrats also vote in American Samoa. Republicans will allocate 595 delegates from the results of Super Tuesday, nearly half of the 1,237 needed for the nomination. Democrats will allocate 865, more than one-third of the necessary 2,383. The scoreboard shows 3-1 leads for Trump and Clinton. Trump won New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Clinton won Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina. Republican Ted Cruz won Iowa. Sanders won New Hampshire. Proud husband: Donald Trump beams with pride as his wife smiles and waves to supporters after he won the South Carolina primary on February 20. Also pictured: daughter Ivanka Trump, left Troubled comic has been in and out of custody over the past few years Police found Williams lying with hands behind his back in 'arrest position' The 42-year-old also allegedly threw a pair of goggles at the victim Williams accused of punching employee after row in the pool supply store Comedian was charged with battery after the alleged incident on Monday Micah 'Katt' Williams has been arrested for allegedly punching an employee at Georgia store Micah 'Katt' Williams has been arrested for allegedly punching an employee at Georgia store. Williams, 42, was charged with battery after he got into a row with a staff member at the pool supply store. The comedian, who was in the store with two women, threw a pair of goggles at the alleged victim before walking round the counter and punching him, according to Sgt. Kevin Holbrook. Police arrived at the scene at 11.30am on Monday to find Williams outside 'lying on the ground with his hands behind his back as though he was ready to go to jail,' Holbrook added. Perhaps Williams became familiar with the 'arrest' position after spending recent years in and out of custody. At the end of last year, Williams appeared in court last year alongside former rap mogul Marion 'Suge' Knight where they pleaded not guilty to robbery charges. The pair had been accused of taking a camera from a celebrity photographer during a confrontation in Beverly Hills in September 2014. Leslie Redden claimed she suffered a concussion and injuries to her hands and wrist, as well as having her camera stolen, after she tried to take a picture of Suge's then six-year-old son. Williams' attorney, Shawn Holley, admitted the comedian briefly took the camera to erase any images of the boy, after the equipment was taken by an unidentified woman in Knight and Williams' entourage. Both Knight and Williams denied the charges. A trial date has not been set. The comedian (pictured) threw a pair of goggles at the alleged victim before walking round the counter and punching him, according to Sgt. Kevin Holbrook Williams (pictured with rappers Nelly and Jermaine Dupri) has starred in several comedy specials and appeared in films such as First Sunday and Friday After Next The comedian was accused of assault twice in 2012 - the first when he was sued for allegedly hitting his former assistant with a 'closed fist'. He was later arrested for one for allegedly attacking an 18-year-old Berkeley, California man with a bottle aboard his tour bus Later that year he found himself in trouble for his involvement in a bar dispute in South Lake Union, before he was arrested in December 2012, on charges of gun-related child endangerment. The L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services had claimed that numerous guns and illegal drugs in his house created a safety hazard for the kids and four children were put in protective custody. The case later fell apart and all charges were dropped. Williams rounded out the year by announcing the end of his stand-up comedy career on December 3. Just three days later, Williams announced he was coming out of 'retirement.' Not so funny now: Williams appeared in court last October accused of stealing a camera from celebrity photographer Leslie Redden The comedian has starred in several comedy specials and appeared in films such as First Sunday and Friday After Next. In his latest arrest, Williams refused to tell officers how the dispute began but told them to ask the store employee what happened, Holbrook said. Hall County sheriff's Deputy Nicole Bailes said in an email that Williams faces a misdemeanor battery charge and was being held on $5,000 bond. A gay mother who penned a furious bedtime plea for marriage equality after her partner died suddenly was left stunned after her message was shared online more than 20,000 times. Naturopath Lara Ryan was at home the morning of February 8 when Elise, her partner of 10 years, was hit by a car while crossing the road just up the street. She died later in hospital. A grief-stricken Ms Ryan was left frustrated by the challenge of having to explain her family to authorities and in forms. Lara Ryan (right) lost her partner Elise (left) just three weeks ago after she was hit by a car in Tempe, in Sydney 'In my eyes and hers we were always married,' Lara Ryan (right) said. The couple are pictured with their newborn Skylar So on Monday night she sat down and made her thoughts about same sex marriage public for the world to see, in an essay titled 'this is why'. In a passionate argument for legal recognition of same sex couples, she reflected upon the many experiences she had in recent weeks. 'Having lost my partner in a horrible pedestrian accident this month I had to ask policemen if I was 'allowed' to write spouse on incident reports. 'I had to cross out boxes for husband on the death certificate and boxes for father on our new baby's birth certificate (both on the same day). 'I had to yell out in a busy, crazy emergency room "She is my wife, I know it's not legal but she is my wife!" 'Because we were never political, we just did our thing, did our life our way and tried to live by example to shift peoples hearts rather than pushing agendas. 'BUT the amount of freaking paper work I am having to do to secure mine and my children's future welfare is just ridiculous when all it would take is one marriage certificate. 'And most of all because I love her, and she has been my every day for ten years. She is the mother of our two girls, she is the future I dreamed of and she is my safe place to land.' Her final argument for marriage equality was this: 'Because love is love and we should celebrate it and encourage it always. The world is harsh enough.' 'This experience has proven to me... how important it is to have that (formal) recognition,' Ms Ryan said Ms Ryan told Daily Mail Australia she and Elise had always treated each other as if they were married - but having a legal document to put their name to was essential. 'In my eyes and hers we were always married,' she said. 'We wear rings. I changed my surname...' 'This experience has proven to me again about how important it is to have that [formal] recognition, just to have a document that gives me the same rights. 'If you're ringing someone (and explaining that) "my husband's died" (people understand). 'But if you say partner - most people are understanding, but not everyone. 'You've almost got to give your backstory every time'. Friends of the family are trying to raise money to support Lara and their two daughters, little Ivy, four-and-a-half, and Skylar, one month. Hundreds gathered on Monday to protest the shooting of 17-year-old Abdi Mohamed by Salt Lake City police, an incident that left the boy in critical condition. The rally, organized by Utah Against Police Brutality, saw protesters chanting 'Black lives matter' and 'Hands up, don't shoot' as they marched through the city. They included family members of people who have been injured or killed by police in the state, reported KUTV. Police say that Mohamed was caught beating someone with a 'metal object' and was only shot after he refused to drop the weapon and began approaching cops. Protesters say he had a wooden broom stick and was shot before he could even turn around. Fears: Protesters first gathered outside the Wallace F Bennett Federal Building in Salt Lake City, inspired by the shooting of 17-year-old Abdi Mohamed by a police officer on Saturday, an incident that has divided the city Shot: Cops say Abdi (pictured left), a Kenyan immigrant, was 'hitting a man with a metal object,' and was shot when he 'turned on officers.' Police chief Mike Brown (right) called the case a 'tragedy' Disputed: Some dispute the official story, saying it was actually a wooden broom stick, and that Mohamed was shot before he could react. Some protesters objected to what they saw as police lies March: After the meeting, the protesters marched through the city towards the Salt Lake City Police Dept. The protest began at the Wallace F Bennett Federal Building, as speakers took turns on a microphone to voice their feelings about the Mohamed incident and the wider issues surrounding policing in Utah. One protester complained that he had given up hope of things getting better and that the police's response to the backlash at the shooting was 'militarization,' not 'de-escalation,' KUTV said. Rally organizer Greg Lucero told the station he agreed. 'It's absolutely horrifying, it's tragic,' he said. 'It shows an ongoing police culture that is completely out of control.' It was an opinion shared by protesters Charley Hyde and Kaylee Peterson, who told The Star Tribune that they were sick of the police's reliance on lethal force as a primary option. 'They need retraining,' Peterson said. 'Whatever happened to Tasers? Whatever to rubber bullets? Whatever happened to shooting shots in the sky as a warning?' Withholding: Some protesters questioned why police were withholding body camera footage of the shooting; police say it's needed for the investigation, and that it might be used against Mohamed if charges are pressed Mixed: The crowd was a mix of races and ages, suggesting that fear and anger over police shootings spans boundaries in Utah Climbing: The protesters blocked streets as they marched, and some climbed over stationary cars on the way Chants: The crowd chanted 'Black lives matter' and 'Hands up, don't shoot,' two popular phrases heard at similar marches against police violence in the country The tensions have been exacerbated by the police department's decision not to release footage from officers' body cameras to the public. They say that the footage is needed as part of an investigation into what happened, and may also need to be held back in the event that charges are pressed against Mohamed. Concern over this decision was voiced by one protester to The Star Tribune. Koffi, described as 'a black man from West Africa,' asked the paper: 'Why are police wearing video and we can't see it? If they're right, let's see it.' Hands up: Many of the crowd members held their hands up, in mock surrender, as they walked 'Brutality': The march, put together by Utah Against Police Brutality, showed a fear of what organizer Greg Lucero called 'an ongoing police culture that is completely out of control' Crowds: Several members of the crowds held signs referring to other police controversies. One simply read 'Stop killing our kids' After the speeches were made, protesters began their march to the Salt Lake City Police Department, holding aloft a variety of signs. Many repeated the 'Black lives matter' slogan chanted by the crowds; others memorialized victims of police shootings, and one simply said 'F*** police brutality. One gathering of people wearing Guy Fawkes masks carried an upside-down American flag. The masks, which are duplicates of those seen in the film V for Vendetta, are associated with the activist group Anonymous. The march, which blocked roads and saw some protesters climbing over parked cars then wound its way back around to the federal building. There protesters occupied the State Street and 100 South intersection, eventually going their separate ways at 8.30pm. Anonymous: Several members of the crowd were wearing Guy Fawkes masks from the film V for Vendetta, which are associated with activist group Anonymous Linked: Several protesters walked arm-in-arm down the streets, in a show of solidarity Return: The march looped back around to the federal building, where protesters occupied the usually busy State Street and 100 South intersection. The crowd eventually dispersed at around 8.30pm The peaceful protest was a mirror of a much angrier event on Saturday night, shortly after the shooting, when an agitated crowd confronted police in the aftermath of the shooting. Rocks and bottles were thrown at police, who had to call in reinforcements, The Daily Kos reported. The worst of that event was over in 10 minutes, police said, but the disturbances continued for hours, and four people were arrested for civil disorder. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Russia created a system to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire in Syria that allows to overlook the conflict area with the help of drones, spacecraft and other intelligence means, the Russian Defense Ministry said on March 1. The shelling comes after the cessation of hostilities had come into effect at midnight on February 27, Armenpress reports citing Sputniknews website. Earlier, the United States and Russia reached an agreement on a ceasefire between the Syrian government and opposition groups to help end the countrys civil war. "Over the past three days, the Russian Defense Ministry has relocated three additional modern unmanned aerial vehicle complexes to the Hmeymim airbase, two radars to detect small targets, allowing to record the use of artillery systems by terrorists," the ministry said in a statement. The ministry added that control over the Syrian airspace is carried out by the air defense systems and Russian combat aircraft. In late February, a coordination center for reconciliation of opposing sides in the Syrian conflict began operations at the Russian Hmeymim airbase in the Latakia province. The Syrian government confirmed its readiness to halt its military actions in accordance with the Russia-US agreement. Some opposition forces have been skeptical about the ceasefire, but in general have agreed to adhere to it. The ceasefire took effect on February 27. Students at a New Zealand university have called out the 'insidious' harassment faced by women on campus after allegations of a rape threat and bottles being hurled at people who are seen as 'different'. PhD candidate Emma Tumilty was among 11 people who have become fed up with the 'unacceptable' level of abuse faced by female, transsexual and homosexual students on campus at the University of Otago, on New Zealand's South Island. The group, made up of students who live and work in the student precinct, penned an angry letter demanding that vice-chancellor Harlene Hayne do something to curb the rising level of aggression. 'This is not another letter about couch burning or broken glass, or piles of vomit in the street,' says the letter obtained by the New Zealand Herald said. 'I'm afraid it is much more serious.' Students at a New Zealand university (pictured) have called out the 'insidious' harassment faced by women on campus after allegations of a rape threat and bottles being hurled at people who are seen as 'different' 11 people have come forward after becoming fed up with the 'unacceptable' level of abuse faced by female, transsexual and homosexual students on campus at the University of Otago (pictured) The letter goes on to detail shocking allegations of instances where female, homosexual and transsexual students have faced racism, street harassment, intimidation and even a threat of rape on campus. The students noted that in a week alone they were aware of a female student being told that she would be raped in the middle of the street and another being chased on campus at 8pm. Former student Jessie-Lee Robertson disclosed a shocking instance where she was approached by a van full of people last week who pulled up beside her and proclaimed that they would rape her if her dog had not of been in the vehicle. It is not known if the people in the vehicle were students. '[They] opened the sliding door of their van and said, 'If that dog wasn't in your car, I'd rape you',' she told the New Zealand Herald. Ms Robertson said she had already started to avoid areas of the university out of fear she would be abused. Vice-chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne says the university is in the process of developing educational programmes for students to tackle the problem 'a small group' has with disrespectful and abusive behaviour. "I have no tolerance for verbal abuse of students, or other members of our University community. It is unacceptable behaviour in any community, and we will play our part in helping all of our students to work toward a culture of mutual respect,' said Professor Hayne. 'We have a very diverse community here, and the vast majority of our students are tolerant, polite and respectful. But as with any community there is a small group who need to understand what is not acceptable, and modify their outlook, attitude and behaviour accordingly.' The students noted that in a week alone they were aware of a female student being told that she would be raped in the middle of the street and another being chased on campus at 8pm Ms Tumilty, who specialises in bioethics, said there have been other instances where students have almost been hit with glass bottles. 'What upsets us most was this aggression towards others, [towards] women, or people who are slightly different - hurling bottles and abuse at people as they pass',' she told the New Zealand Herald. The group have suggested that the university run a compulsory workshop for undergraduate students that would address sexual consent and the appropriate way to conduct oneself on campus. Vice-chancellor Harlene Hayne said the behaviour described in the letter would not be tolerated and that the university was in the process of developing two educational programs. The group have suggested that the university run a compulsory workshop for undergraduate students that would address sexual consent and the appropriate way to conduct oneself on campus 'It is unacceptable behaviour in any community, and we will play our part in helping all of our students to work toward a culture of mutual respect,' she told Stuff.co.nz. But as with any community there is a small group who need to understand what is not acceptable, and modify their outlook, attitude and behaviour accordingly.' See more news on the US election at www.dailymail.co.uk/USelection2016 Campaign hope to goad Trump into saying even more offensive comments to alienate voters Hillary will be kept out of the fray while her husband Bill responds to Trumps attacks It will also highlight sexist remarks in a bid to turn women voters against him and show times he worked against the interests of working class The five-point plan will include portraying him as a loose cannon who could not lead the country Hillary Clinton is preparing for battle against Donald Trump with a five point plan to halt the Republican front-runner's dreams of the presidency, a New York Times report reveals. As the real estate mogul looks to be on course to claim the Republican candidacy, Clinton's campaign has revealed it is fighting back. Her team has compiled the detailed plan which will portray The Donald as a dangerous loose cannon and bigot who would damage the country. Scroll down for video Hillary Clinton is preparing for battle against Donald Trump with a five point plan to destroy the Republican front-runner's dreams of the presidency Geoff Garin, Clinton's chief strategist in 2008, told the Times the campaign would attack Trump on his 'temperament' and 'whether he is suited to be commander in chief.' Can he 'really be relied on as a champion for anyone but himself?' he asked. President Barack Obama has already argued Trump cannot be trusted with the position of the free world. While Bill Clinton will ready to respond when the candidate hits out - allowing his wife to stay above the fray to be seen as a champion of fairness. Edward G. Rendell, a former governor of Pennsylvania supporting Clinton, said the key to defeating Trump is to keep goading him into make more and more extreme, offensive comments. HILLARY'S FIVE POINT PLAN TO BEAT TRUMP 1. Attack Trump's explosive temper and ability to run the country 2. Highlight the Republican front-runner's sexist and bigoted attitudes to turn female votes against him 3. Show him as a ruthless businessman who had worked against the interests of working classes 4. Keep Hillary out the fray and enlist allies like Obama and Bill Clinton to criticize on her behalf 5. Goad him to making ever more offensive comments which will alienate voters Advertisement 'For every one of those blue-collar Democrats he picks up, (with those comments) he will lose to Hillary two socially moderate Republicans and independents in suburban Cleveland, suburban Columbus, suburban Cincinnati, suburban Philadelphia, suburban Pittsburgh, places like that,' he said. The campaign is already highlighting what they say is evidence of Trump's sexist and racist attitudes as well as his childishness and quick temper. Trump was forced to defend himself at the end of last year when he used the word 'schlonged' to describe Clinton's 2008 Democratic primary loss to Barack Obama. In the most brutal salvo in the 2016 general election, he said Hillary 'got schlonged' by the current occupant of the Oval Office when Obama came out of nowhere to snatch the presidential nomination from her. Trump insisted the word was not sexist but a common political phrase. Clinton later called him out for the statement, accusing him of using a 'bullying' campaign. 'I really deplore the tone of his campaign, the inflammatory rhetoric that he is using to divide people,' Clinton said, 'and his going after groups of people with hateful, incendiary rhetoric.' Bill Clinton will ready to respond when the candidate hits out - allowing his wife to stay above the fray to be seen as a champion of fairness Even with the carefully crafted plan, there are fears that it may not be enough to stop Trump. According to private polling obtained by the New York Post, Trump's support in his own backyard is 'surprisingly strong' despite the state's history of voting for Democrats. If former New York City Major Michael Bloomberg gets in as an independent, the road to the White House gets even tougher for Clinton, the Post's sources said. Bloomberg would take away a 'significant' amount of votes from Clinton, they told the Post. Barack Obama won the state both times he ran with 63 percent of the vote. An ex-New York senator, Clinton was expected to do at least as well. The last time New York voted for a Republican was 1984, when Ronald Reagan was on the ballot. Trump's candidacy could throw that into jeopardy. The billionaire was born in Queens and has made New York City his home. Clinton and her husband bought a house there in 1999, during Bills final term in office, so she could run for the U.S. Senate. She won the 2000 race and held the position for until 2008 when she was asked to serve in President Obama's cabinet as secretary of state. Trump is leading comfortably in Georgia and is expected to win at least eight of the 11 primaries and caucuses Since resigning, in early 2013, Clinton has spent much of her time in New York, working for her family's foundation, aside from her 2016 run for the White House, that is. Still, she's no native New Yorker like Trump, and that could help the billionaire secure a victory in the state and collect all its delegates come November. A major problem for Clinton is likeability. 'In the suburbs and upstate, Trump has a net positive while Hillary is a net negative,' a Republican operative told the New York Post. 'Shes more of a liability than many Democrats realized.' The confidential polls suggested that Trump's supporters are more intense and may be more lilkely than Hillary's backers to vote. A Siena College poll released earlier this month shows that Trump isn't very well-liked in New York, either, though. Seven in 10 New York voters said he's not their cup of joe. He did better with Republicans, but barely made it out of the red. Five in 10 members of his own political party said they like him, and 43 percent said they do not. Democrats were against him 87-12. Dragging down his numbers further, two thirds of independents said they're not hot on Trump. Clinton had an overall favorability rating of 50 percent. When just Democrats were considered, that shot up to 73 percent. Republicans said 84 -14 that they don't like her. She scored better with independents than Trump, though - 53 percent gave her yeas, and 42 percent gave her nays. More importantly, New Yorkers said they'd pick Clinton over Trump in a general election scenario. Just before the attack, Lane's boyfriend informed her he would leave her unless he got definitive proof she was pregnant At the time of the attack, Lane had been claiming to be pregnant for 14 months and even held a baby shower Dynel Lane was convicted of attempted murder by a jury in Boulder, Colorado after luring Wilkins to her home and cutting out the unborn child Wilkins, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, had to heal physically before she could start grieving She dressed her, sang to her and read to her lifeless body Michelle Wilkins said she found out the morning after the attack the little girl hadn't survived The Colorado woman whose unborn baby died after she was sliced from her body by a stranger has spoken out in a new interview about how she grieved for her little girl. Michelle Wilkins told People Magazine how she found out the baby had not survived the morning after the attack, when she woke up in the hospital. After a moment of panic, she asked her boyfriend Dan if Aurora was still alive. 'He said she didn't make it,' Wilkins said. 'The next five days at the hospital were awful. We supported each other. We took turns holding each other and asking the question why. The other would always answer that there was no answer to that.' Scroll down for video Michelle Wilkins, pictured after Dynel Lane was found guilty of attempted first-degree murder, assault and unlawful termination of a pregnancy, said she and boyfriend Dan still 'yearned' for their unborn daughter Aurora, who was killed in the attack Lane, pictured in court in Boulder, Colorado, will be sentenced in April. Wilkins has made a full physical recovery but still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder Before the attack, Wilkins and Dan were overjoyed to soon welcome their first child. 'Right after we found out we were having a girl we were talking about what we were most excited about,' she told People. 'He said, "I can't wait to buy her her first pair of hiking boots." I thought that was cute. Our love for the outdoors is a lot of what bonds us so I thought how sweet that he wants to share our world with his daughter.' Wilkins, who said she and Dan were still 'yearning' for Aurora, also explained she had to wait for her physical wounds to heal before she could tackle her emotional pain. 'At first I had to have this sense of safety in order to experience the intense traumatic emotions,' she told People. She has made a full physical recovery but still suffers from post-traumatic disorder. Some days, she said, she sleeps in and doesn't do much else. Other days, she engages in activities a young woman is supposed to enjoy - and for her, that means hiking and climbing. In a previous interview, Wilkins said she had been able to spend some time with her daughter in the hospital. 'I did all the things that a mom would want to do,' said Michelle Wilkins just hours after her attacker Dynel Lane was found guilty of attempted murder. That included holding the baby, dressing her and even taking time to read her some books. She then added; 'But knowing that she was only present in spirit and not physically was a really painful thing to grasp.' Difficult time: Wilkins revealed in a previous interview (above) that she got to hold, dress and read to her baby's lifeless body after she was killed last March 'This trial has allowed me to be more in touch with some of my grittier emotions, like anger,' Wilkins told The Denver Post. 'Knowing today, going into that courtroom and seeing her, I finally felt like I'd reached a comfortable place in myself where I felt like my anger was valid. 'It's hard to make a plan for where things go from here.' She then said of her tragedy; 'I think it's probably a fear of any parent who's lost a child that they will forget and that they won't think of them daily. 'But as the days and weeks and months have gone by, it's effortless for her to come into my thoughts. And I know she will be with me forever. 'Dan and I were both taken by surprise when she decided to come into our lives. She changed both of our perspectives about what we thought we wanted - who we thought we were - and continues to do so. 'But she definitely opened up an aspect of myself that I didn't know was there, which is the aspect of motherhood.' Happier times: Dynel Lane was convicted of attempted murder by a jury in Boulder, Colorado after luring Wilkins to her home and cutting out the unborn child (Wilkins above just before the attack) Wilkins also said she does not know if she will try and have more children. Lane was found guilty last week of attempted first-degree murder, assault and unlawful termination of a pregnancy in the attack, which happened last March. Prosecutors said during the trial that Lane went to great lengths to convince others she was expecting a baby before luring Wilkins to her home with a Craigslist ad for maternity clothes. She then hit and choked Wilkins before using two kitchen knives to cut out the unborn girl. Wilkins, who was 7-months pregnant, survived, but her baby died. Just before the attack, Lane's boyfriend informed her he would leave her unless he got definitive proof she was pregnant due to the fact that she had been claiming she was with child for 14 months at that point. Lane will be sentenced on April 29, and on her way out of court an emotional Wilkins said she will be there and 'speak then.' She then added of Lane; 'It had just never entered my world view that someone could be so cruel and value life so little.' 'There is nothing ever in any shape or form that can remotely prepare you for something like this,' Wilkins said Tuesday afternoon. 'What has dominated my perspective consistently is disbelief. Words are not sufficient to describe it.' Despite all this though, Wilkins somehow managed to stay calm and collected while she spoke about the woman who took away her unborn baby. 'Many have asked me how I feel about Dynel Lane. Early on I said I have forgiven her. It's part of who I am as a human being and Martin Luther King said it brilliantly. "We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love,"' said Wilkins. 'There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. 'I do not hate Dynel. But I am angry for all the pain she has caused. The deceit and all her selfishness.' Wilkins later thanked the public for the outpouring of support she received after the tragedt. 'I wish to thank everyone for their attention, and the continuing messages, donations and expressions of love and encouragement. Your continued support allows me not only to survive this but also to thrive in the midst of a dark and trying time,,' she said. 'And yes, every dollar, every smile, every message, every prayer has been a comfort and a hug to me. 'Resolution doesnt end with the case. There is still a lot of personal healing to do.' Not right: At the time of the attack, Lane had been claiming to be pregnant for 14 months and even held a baby shower, telling people she wanted to name the baby James Tough spot: Just before the attack, Lane's boyfriend informed her he would leave her unless he got definitive proof she was pregnant (Lane above as the verdict was read on Tuesday) Last week, the jury in Boulder heard the grisly and grim details of the moment Wilkins awoke to find herself in the home of Lane after being hit over the head and stabbed in the neck with glass before she was cut open from 'hip to hip' and her fetus was removed from her body. Prosecutors in the case also showed the jury the bloody pillow and bedding from the crime scene. Wilkins, 27, testified on the first day of the trial that she went to Lane's home after she posted an Craigslist ad saying that she was selling maternity clothes. She said that after an hour she went to leave, but Lane, 35, convinced her to look at some baby clothes she had in the basement. That is when Wilkins said that Lane hit her over the head and attacked her, while she told the woman; 'I love you.' Wilkins had said she believed that might get Lane to stop the attack, but instead she responded by saying; If you love me, you'll let me do this.' When she awoke some time later, Wilkins said that she immediately noticed 'a really big cut across my stomach.' She said that she tried to stand up but immediately fell down, too weak from the attack and loss of blood. 'I just felt the blood seeping through my pants and I could feel my intestines outside of my body,' she said. Wilkins somehow managed to call 911, where an operator kept her on the phone and urged her to hold a towel to her stomach in hopes of stopping the blood that was pouring out of her body. She also locked the door, not knowing at the time that Lane was no longer in the house but at the hospital with the baby she had just cut out of Wilkins, having told her boyfriend Ridley that it was her child and she had suffered a miscarriage. Prosecutors said they couldn't charge Lane with murder because a coroner found no evidence the fetus lived outside the womb. Prosecutors showed the jury the pillow and mattress from the crime scene, both soaked in blood. They also presented the blood-caked knife that was found at the scene and two bloody shirts that were found in Lane's trash. Early testimony seemed to suggest that Lane - who had been claiming to be pregnant for around 14 months at that time - may have attacked Wilkins because of an ultimatum that was given to her by her boyfriend at the time. Ridley testified that Lane's due date kept shifting and she refused to see a doctor with him. Ridley says Lane told him in April 2014 she was expecting a boy. But when 10 months passed and she hadn't given birth, he told her he needed answers from a doctor about the baby or he would leave her. He had planned to meet her for a pre-natal appointment the day of the attack. But when he came to pick her up, she told him she had delivered the baby at home. He says he found the baby in a bathtub. Ridley also said during this time Lane had been sending him ultrasound images and photos of her distended belly. Social media messages Lane sent were also shared, and showed that she had told some people she gave birth to a baby boy and others that she was still pregnant. Police and the MoD said they were unaware of what could have caused it Twitter lit up with speculation over the event, which made ground shake Light followed by rolling bang that some thought was satellite sonic boom This is the moment a suspected meteor lit up the sky over Scotland last night and terrified the population below. People from Inverness to Edinburgh reported a white, red or blue light that swept across the skyline at around 6.45pm last night. Witnesses described a rumbling noise lasting up to ten seconds before the pitch black Scottish evening turned bright white and a fireball swept across the horizon. Kim Paterson of Brechin, Angus, tweeted: 'Proper massive rumble, ground shaking, folk seeing the sky flash... is this the end?!' Police Scotland said it received a number of 999 calls and confirmed it was likely to be a meteor while the Met Office confirmed there had been no thunder storms over Scotland. Clear: This footage, also from a dashcam, shows the meteor entering the picture in the top left of the screen - turning the sky white and blue Terror: Witnesses described a rumbling noise lasting up to ten seconds before the pitch black Scottish evening turned bright white and a fireball swept across the horizon Close up: This footage taken near Ayr shows a clear trail of debris as the suspected meteor burned up in the atmosphere There were suggestions it could have been a sonic boom from an aircraft or a flare from a satellite. There were no reports of aircraft in distress, while the MoD said it was unaware of any events in the area - but would not comment on claims it was linked to an aircraft. Astronomers last night said it was most likely to be a meteor burning up as it came into contact with the Earth's atmosphere. The meteor is likely to have burned up but people are searching for debris. On Twitter, Jake Logan said: 'Flash in the sky that lit up Braemar like daylight, followed by a huge rolling bang like thunder that lasted 10 secs. Sky is clear.' John Poyner of Nethy Bridge, Inverness-shire, said: 'Anyone local just see a bright flash lighting up whole sky. Not lightning. Reports of brilliant meteor like object.' A Police Scotland spokesman said they began receiving calls at around 6.55pm on Monday evening. She said: 'One told us the sky had been lit up with an object like a fireball. Another caller said there was a very loud bang and others said the house shook. 'We know police in Inverness and in the south also received calls - it was seen by people across Scotland. 'We have checked and been told it was likely to be a meteor shower.' Footage: This driver's dashcam shows how dark it was in the Highlands before the fireball swept across the sky Eerie: Suddenly the night sky begins to brighten as the suspected meteor entered the night sky Bright: The skyline turned orange and pink as the flare entered the right edge of the skyline seen here from a car Dramatic: This is the moment a suspected meteor lit up the pitch black sky across Scotland at around 6.45pm last night The bright white streak across the night sky sparked speculation on social media whether it was an astronomical event, military activity or, perhaps more far-fetched, linked to British astronaut Tim Peake. Inverness SNP member Jackie Hendry tweeted: 'Did anyone else see that big white flash in the sky ... I reckon it was Tim Peake.' Madcow-paula tweeted: 'LOL ... some reckon @astro-timpeake dropped something causing a big white flash in the sky over Scotland this evening!' SteveCDT1986 tweeted:'Big white flash and some sort of meteor in the night sky. Looked really close aswell. #endoftheworld #armageddon.' @Colsuth tweeted: 'saw it here in Moray just as we were passing RAF Lossie. Thought it was from there.' A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said they would not discuss if there was any link to any operations in the area. STV weather forecaster Sean Batty said: 'I've had lots of tweets from around the North and East of the country this evening, with people reporting a loud bang and a large flash in the sky. Most tweets have come from around Perthshire, Angus, Aberdeenshire and Moray. 'There are no thunderstorms being reported anywhere in Scotland this evening, therefore this is not due to a flash of lightning. My only conclusion would be that this is indeed a meteor which has burned up and exploded during entry into our upper atmosphere.' In 2013, a meteor that exploded over Russia was found by scientists to be 30 times brighter than the Sun, with the force of 40 Hiroshima atom bombs. Their analysis confirmed it was the biggest in a century. The 62ft-wide meteor exploded in a fireball above Chelyabinsk, causing damage up to 50 miles away. At its fastest, it was travelling at more than 40,000mph. This is the horrific moment a truck driver was killed when cement pipes he was carrying in his cargo smashed through the back of his cab as he braked at traffic lights. The truck was driving up to a junction in the city of Shaoxing in east China's Zhejiang Province when tragedy struck. The episode was filmed on a surveillance camera. Braking: This is the horrific moment a truck driver was killed when cement pipes he was carrying in his cargo smashed into him Smashing through: The truck was driving up to a junction in the city of Shaoxing in east China's Zhejiang Province when tragedy struck. The episode was filmed on a surveillance camera Thrust forward by the braking action when the vehicle came to a sudden stop, the large concrete pipes stored behind the driver's compartment rammed forward and right through the windscreen, killing the man inside. Clearer footage from the aftermath of the accident show how the pipes must not have been securely fastened and were forced forwards. 'Three concrete pipes went directly through the windshield from the back,' Xu Weibing, a police officer of a squadron under the Keqiao District Traffic Police Brigade, told China Central Television. The driver is said to have died instantly. 'We called him for about five to six minutes but he didn't respond. His face was pale. We could reach him, but he was not breathing," said Weibing. Rescue men came to the scene afterwards with cranes to remove the pipes. The accident is under investigation. The driver has not yet been identified. Destroyed: Thrust forward by the braking action when the vehicle came to a sudden stop, the large concrete pipes stored behind the driver's compartment rammed forward through the windscreen, killing the man inside Unsafe: Clearer footage from the aftermath of the accident show how the pipes must not have been securely fastened and were forced forwards The on-flight fight between a British stag party that forced a Ryanair flight to make an unscheduled landing in Berlin was over a woman. A video shows two members of the 12-man group, led by groom-to-be Joshua Mariner, 26, fighting and trading insults on the flight from London to Bratislava, Slovakia. Today, it has been revealed that the two men seen fighting in the video had both previously dated the same young woman from their home in Southampton. Centre of it all: One of the men had reportedly reunited with 25-year-old Jeri White(pictured with her sister) and used this to rile the other One man threatens another one of the party saying he would stab him in the face with a fork, causing one of the men to lash out and throw punches, with another man forced to hold him back Footage has emerged showing the moment a mid-flight punch-up began between a stag party, which forced their flight from London to Bratislava to make an unscheduled landing in Berlin Tom Doyle, 25, laid into 28-year-old Jamie Stoop over a twin named locally as 25-year-old Jeri White,The Sun reports. A friend told the newspaper that it was common knowledge that the pair did not get on, and that they had a history of fighting each other when drinking. Mr Stoop had reportedly started seeing Miss White again, and was 'winding Tom up about it and it all kicked off'. The Sun obtained footage taken on board the flight, showing Mr Doyle standing over Mr Stoop, trading four-letter insults before becoming embroiled in a punch up. As the row becomes heated, a fellow passenger carrying a baby even asks them to calm down. At Luton Airport: Posing for the camera shortly before boarding the plane, this is the British stag party whose drunken antics caused a Ryanair flight to make an unexpected landing. Groom-to-be Joshua Mariner is circled along with the man who started throwing the punches Happy couple: Mr Mariner, who is due to wed fiancee Abi Whitmore (pictured together with their one-year-old daughter), was the groom-to-be whose 12-man group forced the diversion of a London to Bratislava flight The groom-to-be whose stag party forced a flight to be diverted because of alleged drunken behaviour has been named as Joshua Mariner. He is pictured right next to his fiancee Abi Whitmore and brother Sam (left) But despite her plea they continue to bicker, and Mr Doyle even threatens Mr Stoop saying: 'I would rather stab you in the face with a fork. No disrespect to you, but I hate you.' Mr Stoop, who is sat down in the seat, then appears to lightly slap Mr Doyle's face, causing him to lash out and try to throw punches before being held back by another member of the party. A flight attendant then comes over to the group and the footage ends after he asks a fellow passenger to stop filming. The video comes after a picture also emerged of the party all smiling and posing for the camera before they boarded the flight at Luton Airport. But now six members of the stag party who were arrested in Berlin all face fines of up to 20,000 for causing the plane to make an unexpected landing. German police initially said groom-to-be Mr Mariner, a building company director, was one of those arrested but he claims this was not the case. He blamed his two friends - who started an arguing on the flight from Luton Airport - for why the plane had to land in Berlin, Germany. Speaking today in Southampton, he said: 'I was not involved at all. 'The German police said that I was arrested, but I wasn't arrested. I made it to Bratislava and I got back last night, because, like I said, I wasn't involved. 'It was two people, and it was bad behaviour and that's that - I was not involved. 'The lads' behaviour was unacceptable and they will now have to suffer the consequences of their actions. 'It was reported by German police that I was one of the lads arrested which isn't true and I will be seeking legal advice as it has caused a lot of distress for me and my family.' Groom-to-be: Mr Mariner (right), who is due to wed fiancee Abi Whitmore (left) , was onboard the Ryanair 737-800 when several members of his 12-man bachelor party reportedly became unruly and aggressive Mr Mariner (right) describes himself as a partition and ceiling specialist and director of his own building company on his LinkedIn page. He is pictured with his brothers Tom and Sam in a family photo The Boeing 737-800 was due to fly to Bratislava in Slovakia but was forced to divert to Berlin Mr Mariner, a father-of-one, is due to wed fiancee Abi Whitmore, 29, in March. Meanwhile a fellow passenger on board the flight told MailOnline that the group were so drunk they 'struggled to walk' before boarding at Luton Airport. It is also claimed that one of the men stripped naked in front of the 170 passengers. Alexander Koller, 46, from Margate, Kent, was on the flight and branded the group a 'disgrace' but also criticised the airline and German authorities over their handling of the situation. The Austrian tour lecturer told MailOnline: 'The passengers were a disgrace - by the way, (they were) not the only drunken, obnoxious people on this flight by any means. 'The fact that they were allowed to board at all after making a huge nuisance of themselves in the departure hall at Luton and being so drunk that some were struggling to stand, was an even bigger disgrace. 'It was a total failure by Ryanair's ground staff at the gate and by the cabin crew who should have spotted them. This was not hard given that they were extremely loud and obnoxious whilst boarding and finding their seats.' A spokesman for Ryanair said the airline has 'strict guidelines' to deal with disruptive and drunk customers. But Mr Koller believes the whole incident could have been avoided. A Ryanair aircraft flying between London to Bratislava was forced to divert due to an unruly stag party The flight took off from London Luton airport and was forced to divert as it passed over central Germany The captain radioed air traffic control at Berlin's Schoenefeld Airport (pictured) and the nine-year-old aircraft was greeted at the terminal by German federal police Describing the moments after landing at the German capital, he added: 'The operation in Berlin was pathetic, with German airport police not speaking a word of English and needing a translator, proceeding without any plan and the six of them waiting for about 10 minutes in the aisle near the door to be taken away. DO YOU KNOW ANY MEMBERS OF THE STAG PARTY OR THE BRIDE? Get in touch with us on 0203 615 2611 or email jennifer.newton@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement 'This was potentially a very dangerous situation. The only saving grace was that these people were not only drunk and vulgar, but also so stupid that they thought they could simply carry on partying in Berlin for which reason they did not seem to mind being taken off the plane. 'There is often no accounting for the baseness of human behaviour. In this case, however, it was extremely easy to spot. The situation was entirely preventable.' The aircraft took off from Luton at 6pm on Friday and was about an hour into the flight and cruising at 37,000 feet, over the spa town of Bad Frankenhausen, Thuringia, when the incident happened. The flight landed within 30 minutes in Berlin's Schoenefeld Airport. The captain radioed air traffic control and the nine-year-old aircraft was greeted at the terminal by German federal police, according to Spiegel Online. In total, there were 170 passengers and crew on board the aircraft. In a statement, German Federal Police confirmed: 'During the flight, six of the 12-member group interfered with safety on board.' The aircraft took off after the six men were removed following an hour-long delay. The other six men reportedly continued their journey to Slovakia. The detainees were later released after police took their details. They will be due to return to Germany at a later date to appear in court. A spokesman for Ryanair told MailOnline: 'This flight from London Luton to Bratislava diverted to Berlin after a number of passengers became disruptive in-flight. 'The aircraft landed normally and police removed and detained these individuals at Berlin Schonefeld Airport. 'We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority. This is now a matter for local police.' A father whose two daughters suffered horrific sexual abuse at the hands of a priest has confronted Cardinal George Pell, telling him he is a 'broken man.' Anthony Foster cornered the former Archbishop of Melbourne outside his Rome hotel room after his second day of testimony via video link to the child abuse royal commission, but said the man he spoke to was the 'smooth Cardinal Pell, not the Cardinal Pell [he] saw on the stand,' The ABC reported. Mr Foster's daughter Emma was raped by Melbourne priest Kevin O'Donnell in the 1980s and she died in 2008 the age of 26 from a drug overdose and years of battling eating disorders, self harm and addiction. Scroll down for video Anthony Foster (right) whose two daughters suffered horrific sexual abuse at the hands of a priest has confronted Cardinal George Pell (left), telling him he is a 'broken man' His other daughter Katie, who was also raped by Father O'Donnell, became a binge drinker and requires round the clock care after being left disabled from a car accident in 1999. Mr Foster said they held hands as they spoke, but admitted he felt no connection and instead said the Cardinal was 'holding the hand of a broken man.' Cardinal Pell, who was a Ballarat priest at the height of pedophile Gerald Risdale's offending, faced his second day of testimony on Monday night, and shocked survivors by admitting Risdale's crimes were 'a sad story' that 'wasn't of much interest' to him. He told the commission he was never aware of the offending of notorious pedophile priest Ridsdale in the Ballarat diocese. That was despite Cardinal Pell being on a consultative committee in the early 1980s that advised on shifting Ridsdale between parishes because of his offending. Mr Foster cornered the former Archbishop of Melbourne outside his Rome hotel room after his second day of testimony via video link to the child abuse royal commission, Following the hearing, child sex abuse survivors (pictured) said they had 'watched a performance' rather than seen Cardinal Pell give credible evidence Cardinal Pell faced his second day of testimony on Monday night, and shocked survivors by admitting Risdale's crimes were 'a sad story' that 'wasn't of much interest' to him Mr Foster's daughter Emma was raped by Melbourne priest Kevin O'Donnell in the 1980s and she died in 2008 the age of 26 from a drug overdose Following the hearing, child sex abuse survivors said they had 'watched a performance' rather than seen Cardinal Pell give credible evidence. The survivors, who have travelled to Rome to hear the cardinal, were disdainful, saying it was hard to believe an intelligent man like him could not have known of Ridsdale's offending when it was common knowledge in two Victorian communities. The pedophile priest's nephew David Ridsdale, who was sexually abused by his uncle and is a spokesman for the survivors group, told reporters it was clear the Catholic church needed an external body to police its behaviour, especially when it came to children. Ballarat child sex abuse survivors (L-R) Phil Nagle, Andrew Collins and David Ridsdale are seen outside the Quirinale Hotel in Rome after day two of testimonials Mr Foster said the Cardinal held his hand as they spoke, but admitted he felt no connection and instead said he was 'holding the hand of a broken man' Fellow abuse survivor Phil Nagle said of Cardinal Pell's evidence that 'there was certainly no truth and honesty' in the way he answered the commission's questions 'All the evidence shows an incredible litany of lies and deceit that went on for decades.' He said that in blaming Bishop Mulkearns, who is dying of cancer, and others on the consulting committee, Cardinal Pell had thrown 'a whole bunch of people under a bus.' 'We feel like we've watched a performance rather than evidence,' Mr Ridsdale said. He said the Pope should question the cardinal on his 'inadequate role as a consultor' on the Ballarat committee as well as how he is fulfilling his current role as the Vatican's chief financial officer. 14 and 18, said they were groped at a public pool Two migrants have been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two young girls at a public swimming baths in northern Germany. The Afghan asylum seekers, aged 14 and 34, had reportedly molested the teenagers at a popular aquatics centre in Norderstedt, in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein. The alleged victims, aged 14 and 18, were reportedly assaulted on Sunday near the water slide at the main pool of the town's Arriba baths complex. The Afghan asylum seekers, aged 14 and 34, had reportedly molested the teenagers at the Ariba swimming pools, a popular aquatics centre in Norderstedt, in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein The frightened girls alerted security staff at the pool who held the men until police arrived. Both were arrested for attempted rape and sexual coercion. They are being held in custody without bail because they are considered a flight risk and there are fears they may commit further assaults if let free. This is the second alleged incident involving foreigners at the Arriba swimming pools in just 18 months. In June 2014, a group of seven young immigrant men attacked five schoolgirls aged between 15 and 17, grabbing their breasts and buttocks and ripping the bikini top from one of them in the exact same spot where the weekend attack occurred. The alleged victims, aged 14 and 18, were reportedly assaulted on Sunday near the water slide at the main pool of the town's Arriba baths complex Germany has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on the distribution of posters in numerous languages aimed at asylum seekers, informing them of correct behaviour towards women. Local swimming pools have become a focus of efforts to try to educate the new arrivals to respect women and girls, even if they are wearing bathing costumes. There have been several attacks reported in Germany at such venues and in neighbouring Austria an Iraqi asylum seeker is awaiting trial for the brutal rape of a young boy in a pool changing room. Germany remains tense in the wake of the mass attacks against hundreds of women in Cologne on New Year's Eve when roaming bands of immigrants sexually attacked and robbed them in a frenzy which the police failed to control. The 'killer nanny' who beheaded a four-year-old girl in Moscow kept her schizophrenia a secret and was 'kicked on to the streets' after a divorce, a police source has revealed. Gyulchekhra Bobokulova had been registered at a psychiatric clinic in her homeland Uzbekistan - and her condition had been deteriorating in recent months, the source said. In scenes that shocked the world yesterday, the hijab-wearing nanny, 38, was seen walking the streets of Moscow brandishing the head of Nastya Meshcheryakova for an hour before she was detained by police. Pictures emerged today of her being interrogated in a police station in the Russian capital as conflicting reports continued to emerge about her personal life. Scroll down for video Pictures have emerged today of the nanny being interrogated in a police station in the Russian capital as conflicting reports continued to emerge about her personal life A burka-clad babysitter has been arrested in Moscow after she walked through the streets carrying the severed head of a four-year-old girl The child, who has been identified as Anastasia (Nastya) Meshcheryakova, whose nanny Gyulchehra Bobokulova is thought to have killed her Escorted by armed police, handcuffed Bobokulova - herself a mother of three - earlier showed officers the Moscow flat where she apparently strangled Nastya , who had learning difficulties, before cutting off her head with a kitchen knife. The little girls remains were left in her cot. It emerged today that the nanny had been married for 12 years and divorced 'not long ago' in her native Uzbekistan, according to LifeNews, which obtained brief footage of her confused interrogation in a Moscow police station. After the marriage she was 'kicked into the street', it was claimed, with her three children all going to different relatives in the Samarkand region of Uzbekistan. She met a new partner a year ago, and agreed to be his 'second, unofficial wife' but four months ago he returned to his home country and she has not seen him since. 'My second husband was born in 1967. I was just seeing him,' she said. 'But he hasn't been around for four months, he left. 'He took me as his second wife and is now living with his first wife. I have no husband officially now. My first husband was born in 1975.' Meanwhile, MK claimed that Bobokulova's relatives have undergone interrogation in a village in Samarkand region. A police source in the ex-Soviet republic said: 'The parents of Bobokulova and her husband were called to police for interrogation. 'They spent full day in police, and on Tuesday morning the interrogation continued. Arrested: Pictures show the moment a babysitter took Russian police to the grisly scene where she beheaded a four-year-old girl she was looking after Escorted by armed police, handcuffed Gyulchekhra Bobokulova - herself a mother of three - showed officers the Moscow flat where she killed Nastya Meshcheryakova he 38-year-old babysitter (picttold them she was haunted by 'voices' on the day of the murder It is also claimed she was angry because her husband in Uzbekistan had started a new family while she was away working in Russia In scenes that shocked the world, the hijab-wearing nanny was seen walking the streets of Moscow brandishing the head of the dead girl for an hour before she was detained by police The woman - a citizen of Uzbekistan - is seen talking to police, and appears to understand where and why she is at the location 'I can tell you only one thing - the relatives are shocked with the cruel murder but they were not surprised. They know very well why Gyulchekhra did it.' He continued: 'Everybody here knew Gyulchekhra. She was a strange woman, to put it mildly. 'There is an explanation: she had schizophrenia. She was registered in the local psychiatric clinic for a long time and had special medical documents. Everybody knew it. 'She failed to find a job here for this very reason. Strange things often happened to her in spring time. Her parents watched her and tried to send her to the psychiatric clinic when spring came. "Her condition was gradually deteriorating. Before it was not that noticeable but as time was going, it got worse.' He claimed that 15 years ago she was in hospital for two years, and she had been back since. 'Soon after that she left for Moscow and easily found a job there. She often visited her family, for new year and other holidays. 'Probably she fooled the medical commission in Russia, if she had to face it. 'People here were talking about it. She did not take any medical documents with her. She did not tell anybody about her condition.' He said she had three children, in their late teens or early 20s. 'She did not live with her husband for good while. In 2000 Gyulchekhra was officially registered as an insane. Eyewitnesses say the woman shouted 'Allahu Akbar' as she appeared near Oktyabrskoye Pole metro station in the northwest of the Russian capital and threatened to blow herself up Sources say the babysitter told interrogators she did not want to hide from police, and aimed to draw maximum attention to what she has done 'She was very ill then, she often suffered from attacks. It was dangerous to live with her, so her husband Radmin left her. 'Officially they divorced in 2002. Radmin quickly remarried, and he has two more children. The eldest son lives with Gyulchekhra's parents, the younger ones are with their father. 'So Radmin and his second wife take care of four children. Radmin is not working now, neither his wife. It is very hard to find a job here now. Gyulchekhra did not support her relatives with money.' The policeman added: 'I don't know what her parents think now. The daughter was not under their control for a long time. All villagers are talking about it now but they are surprised she did not do anything like that before.' Bobokulova is believed to be co-operating with investigators and showed how she killed the child, with sources saying she strangled the girl before using a kitchen knife to behead her. She shouted 'I am a terrorist' and threatened to cause an explosion but, despite the FSB security service leading the probe, the Russians so far have no evidence of a link to extremist groupings. Bobokulova was taken to the flat in western Moscow at around midnight - only 16 hours after the appalling killing to which - say police sources - she has confessed. The woman was seen pulling the severed head out of a bag and walking around near the entrance to the metro station as police moved in 'Initially, she seemed insane, but then agreed to the investigative experiment,' said a police source. 'She was brought to the apartment where the murder was committed. She pointed to the block, the entrance and the apartment by herself.' The woman - a citizen of Uzbekistan - is seen talking to police, and appears to understand where and why she is at the location. She spoke to her police escorts but was only overheard once, saying: 'Here is the house, that way.' She entered the block with officers who escorted her to the fifth floor flat where she lived with the Meshcheryakov family whose daughter was killed. A police source claimed she said: 'I came here and took off my skirt, threw it in a rubbish bin. Got changed into what we wear to have prayer. A voice told me to wear so.' As she came out a women in the crowd shouted: 'You killed a child! Your head needs to be torn off!' Police tried to calm the woman as Bobokulova was bundled into a police van. 'SHE BECAME INCREASINGLY DEVOUT': HOW NANNY'S BEHAVIOUR CHANGED Beheading nanny Gyulchekhra Bobokulova had become 'almost a member of the family' of the young girl she murdered and was caring for her all day while the mother and father worked. But sources close to the devastated parents say the babysitter's behaviour changed after finding out a boyfriend she had met was already married. She spent long periods on the internet and spent 'a long time praying' and Ekaterina and Vladimir Meshcheryakov considered replacing her just weeks before the murder. The source said: 'All of a sudden she found out that (her boyfriend) was actually married,' said a source. 'It was a shock for her. She came back to Moscow in shock. They said she became detached, silent and devout. 'She started spending a lot of time on the internet, reading in social networks, writing. It wasn't in Russian so Volodya and Katya could not understand. And there was a prayer carpet in the apartment.' Beheading nanny Gyulchekhra Bobokulova had become 'almost a member of the family' of the young girl she murdered and was caring for her all day while the mother and father worked This source told Komsomolskaya Pravda she became more devout and spent a long time praying. 'Not very long ago they had a serious conversation with her. 'Like, "are you tired, perhaps? If you want, we can find someone else"... But Gulchekhra said: "No need". 'She kept spending time in the social networks. 'At one point Volodya cut off the internet at home and when they got home, they saw that Gulchekhra somehow got it working again and was at the computer again, and wasn't looking after Nastya. 'They had decided they would look for a replacement nanny. 'Perhaps, in one or two weeks there would have been a new nanny. Who could have guessed that it would happen?' Advertisement A source said she told police: 'I came here and took off my skirt, threw it in a rubbish bin. Got changed into what we wear to have prayer. A voice told me to wear so.' The parents were being comforted by friends and relatives after their daughter's horrific death. Nastya - or Anastasia - had special needs after problems during her birth. The nanny 'cared for her like her own child', according to one source. The beheaded remains of the four-year-old were found in a cot in the family flat, dressed in her night clothes, a T-short and shorts. On her blanket was a picture of a kitten. The Kremlin backed decisions by Russian media organisations not to show gruesome pictures of the crime scene inside the flat. Bobokulova told police that she went home to Uzbekistan less than two months ago and found her husband had a new wife and had started a family. Tributes: A man leaves a flower site near the Oktyabrskoye Pole underground station in Moscow, Russia Floral and toy tributes were left by mourners outside the apartment block at Narodnogo Opolcheniya Street A source told LifeNews: 'In her first testimony Bobokulova said that just over a month ago, she went to her homeland, to Uzbekistan to renew her passport. 'When she got to her home, she learned that her husband had started a new family. She was invited to become a second wife. In total, she spent 25 days there.' It is reported that when she returned to Russia, she complained to Nastya's family about her spouse, accusing him of cheating on her. The family problems caused her 'acute manic psychosis', claimed the report. Nastya's parents, Vladimir and Ekaterina, noticed her 'unstable mind' but believed it was caused by fatigue, according to one account. The nanny had worked for the family in Moscow for around three years. A family friend denied that Ekaterina - known as Katya - had noticed anything strange in the nanny's behaviour. 'Believe me, if something was wrong, Katya would not miss this moment,' she said. 'She is a shrewd woman, she would notice. 'She trusted Gyulchekhra fully. More than this she considered her family member. Everyone called her just Gulya. 'They all lived in one flat. That is why Katya and Vladimir rented a big flat with two bedrooms, so they all had enough space.' The victim was a girl identified as Anastasia (Nastya) Meshcheryakova - and the child's 38-year-old nanny Gyulchehra Bobokulova (left), from Uzbekistan, has been arrested. The girl's mother Ekaterina is pictured right The friend told MK newspaper that the nanny had looked after the child since she was a baby. 'The child was seriously ill. Katya simply could not cope by herself,' she said. They hired the nanny 'on recommendation' and she had previously worked for another Moscow family. 'She had the best recommendations. Do you think that Katya would have entrusted the child to some unreliable people? She checked the woman on all counts. 'Many famous people hire Tajiks or Uzbeks as nannies. They care for children very well. Any child care agency will confim this. 'So what happened does not fit in our heads. And the parents have no answer why Gulya did this. 'How was it possible to live with the child, and then burn the house down and kill her? And after all that to go out and shout: 'I am a terrorist?' 'Gulya herself is a mother of three. Her children live in Uzbekistan. There were no jobs there, so she worked in Moscow and sent them money home.' Mother Ekaterina and father Vladimir Meshcheryakov of four-year-old Anastasia She did not normally wear a hijab. 'We were surprised when we saw the pictures near the metro. Where did Gulya take all these rags? 'Most of our friends have never seen even a scarf on her. But those who are very close to Katya and Vladimir said that she had these clothes. 'She kept it in a wardrobe and wore it very rarely. She was not very religious. It was said that she prays, but quietly, not for show. We all thought that she loved Nastya as her own child.' She added: 'The parents state can not be described in words. This is a terrible grief for their family. 'Katya is very bad. I do not know how long it will take her to get over this.' Investigators claim she murdered the girl after starting a fire at the child's family home in a block of flats. One eyewitness at the underground station told MK how the woman (pictured left and right holding the severed head) screamed: 'I will blow up everyone' The suspect shouted that she had killed the child and was seen praying shortly before officers swooped at Oktyabrskoe Pole They say she then murdered the girl and left, before heading to the metro station. According to local media, Bobokulova shouted in the street: 'I hate democracy. I am a terrorist. I want you dead. 'You have become so hardened, you have eliminated so many of us. Look I am a suicide bomber, I will die, doomsday will come in a second.' She pulled the severed head out of a bag and walked near the metro station entrance in north-west Moscow. Video of the dead girl's mother, Ekaterina Meshcheryakova, collapsing in the street upon hearing the horrific news has emerged. She was taken to hospital in an unconscious condition. Anastasia also had a father, Vladimir Meshcheryakov, who is a technician at a mobile phone company, and a brother Konstantin, 15. The main entrance to the block of flats was being guarded by armed police yesterday. Eyewitness Alexandra Shuvalova, a student from the capital, said: 'When I got close to the metro, I saw a woman running along the street. 'I could see that she had hair in her hands or something like that. 'She was waving this thing and screaming something and drawing some shapes in the air. Dramatic footage shows the moment police sprinted in towards the woman and tackled her to the ground The woman was surrounded by police officers and bundled to the ground during the dramatic arrest in Moscow 'This woman either had a birthmark or a wart on her right cheek. It was a distinctive feature because she was dressed in entirely in black. 'I realised it wasn't a wig as I thought initially, but a head - that's why blood was dripping on her shoes and skirt. 'I stopped, had a cigarette, tried to get my breath back to normal because I was so shocked.' She claimed a security guard and two policeman missed the chance to detain her. Alexandra added: 'People ran away from her. I saw five people fleeing. And no one tried to stop her - not security guards at a cafe, nor at a shop. 'One of the guards who saw her, ran to the building to tell someone about her. He didn't try to do anything on his own.' 'I heard her yelling 'Allah Akbar' at least three times. And hitting herself on her chest. 'She was yelling something in her language. She ran to a cafe and started shouting: 'It's all you! All you!' The station was closed to passengers for some time, but no explosives were found on her. Another eyewitness said: 'She came to the entrance of the metro station Oktyabrskoye Pole with a red bag, from which she pulled out the child's head. Emergency services had earlier been called to an apartment nearby amid reports of black smoke billowing out windows Firefighters rescued four people and put out the blaze - but then found the child's beheaded body 'She walked down the street for a long time and was shouting something. But no one challenged her. Everyone was afraid.' Dramatic footage shows the moment police sprinted in towards the woman and tackled her to the ground. Emergency services had earlier been called to an apartment nearby amid reports of black smoke billowing out of windows. Firefighters rescued four people and put out the blaze - but then found the child's beheaded body Witness Alyona Kuratova told independent Dozhd TV that the woman was holding the head by its hair. Kuratova described scenes of chaos, with police cars and ambulances arriving at the scene and some people yelling: 'terror attack, terror attack.' She said she could not make out what the woman shouted but some media reported that she yelled 'Allah Akbar''- Arabic for 'God is greatest' - and threatened to blow herself up. The dead girl suffered damage because of birth problems in August 2011. The family took her for treatment to China - and were saving money to travel for subsequent care in Germany. The parents told police the nanny had been working for them for 18 months. Sources say the babysitter told interrogators she did not want to hide from police, and aimed to draw maximum attention to what she has done. Police descended on the scene as an investigation got underway at the metro station in the wake of the arrest Detectives cordoned off the station to investigate. The nanny faces up to 20 years in jail if she is deemed psychologically fit to stand trial. A Russian police officer stands at the site where a woman suspected of murdering a young child was detained Employees of the Russian Investigative Committee near an entrance to Oktyabrskoye Station She had not intended to ignite the flat deliberately and destroy evidence, she said, according to the source, and wanted the parents to know who had killed their daughter. The woman had a valid residency permit for Russia but was working illegally. She had no work permit, said officials. The nanny faces up to 20 years in jail if she is deemed psychologically fit to stand trial. The investigation was taken over by the FSB, Russia's powerful domestic secret service, once headed by Vladimir Putin. Police are not currently treating the incident as terrorism. LifeNews claimed: 'Investigators suspect that Gulchekhra had manic psychosis developing for a period of time.' A law enforcement source said the woman was suspected of handling 'explosive elements' at the flat which was engulfed in flames. But 'it might be an inflammable liquid that she used to set the apartment on fire where she killed four-year-old Nastya M.' The family's pet Chihuahua called Lyusya was lost after the fire that engulfed the flat, it was revealed today. Friends have put notices around the neighbourhood in a search to find a dog loved by Nastya. The security services are hunting for the woman's husband. A source said she may have been on 'light drugs'. Richard Winsor Ohrn, who has been charged with faking his own disappearance in Florida A Florida broker has been charged with faking his own disappearance after authorities spent $400,000 trying to find him. Richard Winsor Ohrn, 45, from Boca Raton has been indicted by a federal jury on a charge of communicating false distress to the Gold Coast coastguard in April 2015. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office say that he faked his own disappearance after he was accused of stealing over $15,000 from an elderly couple while working as a financial adviser with Chase Bank. He was arrested yesterday and is currently being held on on a $500,000 bond pending an arraignment hearing today. Ohrn was reported missing on March 31 last year and according to authorities had bought a truck, an inflatable boat and a motor boat several weeks in advance. He also rented a Sea Ray boat, which he took out into the ocean. Investigators believe he then moored the motor boat off Boyton Beach Inlet and it was spotted with no passengers aboard, prompting the Coastguard to begin a search. NBC reports that police then believe he used the inflatable boat to make it back to the shore and drove to Albany in south Georgia, where he holed himself up in an apartment before being traced three days later. In the four days when he was missing, the Coast Guard went on 20 missions in the Atlantic to look for him, costing almost $400,000. According to other records, Ohrn had previously worked for Wells Fargo but his contract was terminated over irregularities. Investigators believe he moored a rented motor boat off Boyton Beach Inlet, pictured, and it was spotted with no passengers aboard, prompting the Coastguard to begin a search He then went to work for Chase but was again accused of irregularities and was reported to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Ohrn was accused of stealing more than $15,000 from an elderly couple and forging the signatures of co-workers. After he returned to Flrorida, he agreed a settledment with the FINRA, which sees him banned from any association with regulated brokerage. A massive search operation was launched when he was thought to be missing last year, reports the Sun Sentinel. Ohrn's father, also named Richard Ohrn, and his wife, Patricia, told the newspaper they haven't talked with their son in about a year. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. OPEC oil output has fallen in February from the highest monthly level in recent history, a Reuters survey found on February 29, due to a halt in Iraq's northern exports and outages in other producers. The decrease amounted to 270 thousand Barr./day, compared with the previous month, Armenpress reports citing Reuters. The survey also found stable output in top exporter Saudi Arabia, an early sign that Riyadh is delivering on a Feb. 16 deal along with Venezuela, Qatar and non-member Russia to freeze output and support prices, which hit a 12-year low last month. Supply from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has declined in February to 32.37 million barrels per day (bpd) from a revised 32.65 million bpd in January, according to the survey, based on shipping data and information from sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants. Most of the decline in February output has been involuntary. The biggest drop is in Iraq, OPEC's largest source of supply growth in 2015, due to the stoppage in flow along the pipeline carrying crude from the Kurdish region. Production also declined in Nigeria, where Royal Dutch Shell's Nigerian venture suspended the flow of Forcados crude to the export terminal following a spill. The incident added to the impact of lower scheduled exports. Field maintenance including at the Murban development has reduced output in the United Arab Emirates, the survey found. Saudi Arabia has kept output steady compared with January at 10.20 million bpd, sources in the survey said, citing stable exports in much of February. Saudi production reached a record high of 10.56 million bpd in June. For more of the latest on Barack Obama visit www.dailymail.co.uk/obama minority leader Harry Reid said: 'They think that they can wait and see what President Trump will do, I guess' President Barack Obama called Democrats and Republicans to the White House Tuesday to discuss election-year standoff over the vacancy on the Supreme Court. Neither side showed signs of budging. In an awkward Oval Office sit-down that lasted less than an hour, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, delivered their case for refusing to consider any nominee to the highest court during the throes of a presidential election. Their Democratic counterparts, meanwhile, resolved to 'continue beating the drum,' Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid told reporters after the meeting. The gathering was the first time the leaders have met since Justice Antonin Scalia's death last month set off an election-year clash over the Supreme Court vacancy. Scroll down for video Stand off: President Obama and vice-president Joe Biden held talks with (from left) Harry Reid and Patrick Leahy, Democrats, and Mitch McConnell and Chuck Grassley, Republicans, on the SCOTUS standoff While the men huddled at the White House, the Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump was ready to pick up momentum in several state primary contests Tuesday. Democrats were quick to tie the Republican leadership's stance to their party's front-runner. 'All we want them to do is fulfill their Constitutional duty and do their job, and at this stage, they decided not to do that,' Reid said. 'They think that they can wait and see what President Trump will do, I guess.' Vice President Joe Biden, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the ranking Democrat on the committee also attended the meeting and posed for photos with smiles frozen to their faces. When reporters got too close to Grassley, Biden joked, 'Don't hurt Senator Grassley. We need him.' The leaders ignored a reporter's question about whether their minds were open to changing their position, as aides shooed reporters from the room. At another time, the gathering might have been a nod to the tradition of at least limited cooperation in naming and confirming justices to the nation's highest court. The president might have floated potential candidates; Senate opposition might have come armed with their own preferred names. But in the current standoff, gestures of collaboration seem moot. Neither side has indicated it will come with much more than talking points. 'This vacancy will not be filled this year,' McConnell told reporters after the meeting. 'Whether everybody in the meeting today wanted to admit it, we all know that considering a nomination in the middle of a heated presidential campaign is bad for the nominee, bad for the court, bad for the process, and ultimately bad for the nation,' Grassley said in his statement about the meeting. 'It's time for the people to voice their opinion about the role of the Supreme Court in our constitutional system of government.' 'Look, the president is open to a discussion, but it would represent a pretty dramatic reversal in position for Mr. McConnell, who has said that the president shouldn't put anybody forward, to come with a list of potential nominees,' White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday. 'It makes it hard for him to engage constructively, until they change that position.' Before heading to the White House Tuesday morning, McConnell had made clear he would not budge. In remarks on the Senate floor, he said he planned to use the meeting to 'reiterate that the American people will have a voice on the vacancy at the Supreme Court as they choose the next president.' No change: Harry Reid spoke after the meeting and said of the Republican leadership: 'All we want them to do is fulfill their Constitutional duty and do their job, and at this stage, they decided not to do that.' He added that the White House might want to fill out the meeting agenda with other topics, such drug-abuse legislation. McConnell also promised no movement when he addressed House Republicans at their weekly Tuesday morning meeting. Several of those in attendance said he even used the phrase 'Read my lips,' made famous by President George H.W. Bush when he promised during his 1988 campaign to not raise taxes - a promise he later abandoned under Democratic pressure. While the standoff continues, the president spent a significant part of the weekend reading through files on potential nominees and considering his options, Earnest said, adding that the president has not settled on a short list and could still add names to the mix. For now, the White House is focused on demonstrating that it is making an effort to consult with the Senate - even if there's not much give and take. In separate op-eds published in home-state media outlets Tuesday, McConnell and Grassley both wrote that Biden, a former Senate Judiciary chairman, once endorsed the idea of suspending consideration of a nominee during an election year, presumably in an effort to keep the court from becoming overly politicized. More tests showed the baby does not have disease - but child will likely have 'more issues' An NFL player has opened up about his wife's pregnancy complications in an inspiring blog post. San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Torrey Smith disclosed his family's personal struggle after a doctor told his wife Chanel that the baby she is carrying was facing complications. He recounts in a moving blog post titled 'Prayers Up' how a routine visit turned into a nightmare for the Smiths, who are already parents to one-year-old Torrey 'TJ'. Upon arriving to their house in Baltimore from California, Chanel received a call from the doctors saying that the baby, who they have already named Kameron, had a 1 in 25 chance of being born with Trisomy 18. NLF player Torrey Smith has written a touching blog post about his family's personal struggle after a doctor told his wife Chanel that the baby she is carrying was facing complications Upon arriving to their house in Baltimore from California, Chanel received a call from the doctors saying that the baby, who they have already named Kameron, had a 1 in 25 chance of being born with Trisomy 18 Trisomy, also known as Edwards syndrome, is a genetic disorder that occurs in roughly 1 out of every 3,000 or 5,000 live births and causes early death, severe developmental delays and physical malformations. Further exams showed the baby does not have Trisomy, although he will 'likely' have more issues. Smith wrote that his wife, who usually 'worries about everything' was struggling handling it all at first 'but later on it all changed. 'I noticed this strength about her that I had only seen one time before; the same strength she displayed throughout TJ's birth process,' he wrote. 'She proved that she could handle anything. Suddenly we were able to talk about what we would do with this situation knowing that her life, as well as the baby's, could be at risk.' The couple was able 'to talk about what we would do with this situation knowing that her life, as well as the baby's, could be at risk. ...What do you do? Do you go forward knowing the outcome will be a miscarriage or death shortly after birth all while putting your life in danger? Or do you terminate the pregnancy?' A few weeks ago Chanel posted a photo of her growing bump (left). Right: The NFL star and his son when he was younger The Smiths received good news when the results came back that the baby does not have Trisomy 18 'A disability doesn't make you unhealthy; it just means you may have different challenges. We all have challenges, and we are ready for ours that will soon come. Prayers Up for Kameron!' he wrote online He continued: 'Being in this situation has changed the way I view everything about it. I realized I have no right to suggest to her what she should do. I can talk about the pros and cons of each, or maybe even make suggestions, but I couldn't pressure her one way or the other.' Then, results came back that the baby 'does not have Trisomy 18,' Smith wrote, noting that his child will likely have 'more issues.' 'We have been talking about what else it could be and have been preparing for whatever results lie ahead. I'm not worried about it a single bit! I always believed that it takes special parents to provide and show love to a kid with special needs,' he wrote. 'I do know that we are ready for whatever may come and my wife is leading the way.' He added: 'Now we are praying that our little fighter continues to grow and we can meet him. I'm praying for life, not for his health. A disability doesn't make you unhealthy; it just means you may have different challenges. We all have challenges, and we are ready for ours that will soon come. Prayers Up for Kameron!' Earlier this month Rick Santorum and his wife Karen revealed the agony they faced when their daughter Bella, was born disabled due to Trisomy 18 Last year Rick Santorum and his wife Karen revealed the agony they faced when their daughter was born disabled due to Trisomy 18. The former US Senator, was initially 'at peace' with whether his daughter lived or died right after his daughter was born, believing he saw her as 'less of a person'. He questioned whether he would love her the same as his six other children, while receiving pamphlets for coffins and grave sites as they left the hospital. Around 100 makeshift homes were torn down yesterday during a French-court Advertisement Migrants have started to torch the notorious Jungle camp in protest over the demolition of the site, leading to clashes between angry protesters and police. As the flames tore through the light timbers and canvas of the buildings, some migrants called for the demolition to stop, with one woman protesting on the roof of one of the buildings. She warned police not to approach when they moved forward to arrest her male companion as around 100 makeshift homes in the so-called Jungle were torn to the ground yesterday, with bulldozers likely to continue their work all this week. Earlier, AP reported the woman, thought to be from Iran, had followed through on a threat to cut her own wrists when approached by police. As the flames tore through the light timbers and canvas of the buildings, some migrants have clashed with police, with one woman protesting on the roof of one of camp roof dwellings Migrants have started to burn down the Jungle camp as the security officers slowly remove the basic structures while police hold back angry protesters A large group of migrants watch over a pile of burning tarpaulin and wood after setting fire to several camp structures in protest over the demolition of the camp The camp, which once had its own shops and churches, will be relocated with the migrants receiving purpose-built acccomodation French riot police try to clear the Jungle camp as residents began to burn down some of the remaining buildings At least 12 shelters were set ablaze by the refugees yesterday, during disturbances involving left-wing agitators from the UK A group of anti-riot police officers apprehend a man protesting his eviction from the 'Jungle' on top of a dwelling inside the campsite The man was later dragged down by police after wrestling with them for a short period of time on the building's roof But following his arrest, a female companion clashed with the officers on top of the roof of the campsite dwelling Meanwhile, migrants brandishing metal bars and hurling rocks tried to hijack lorries today as demolition workers supported by riot police carried on smashing up their illegal camp. It has led to many of the migrants trying to get to Britain as quickly as possible, forcing traffic to a standstill on major roads while trying to get on board HGVs. Gangs broke out of the camp overnight, and started threatening drivers in the middle of the road, said a Calais police spokesman. Tear gas and baton charges were used to restore order, and then the gang members were forced back inside the camp. At least 12 shelters were set ablaze by the refugees yesterday, during disturbances involving left-wing agitators from the UK. Three members of the so-called No Borders group were arrested for inciting the migrants to attack the police. At least one unidentified woman from Britain was among those arrested during a day of violence in the French port town. She was seen in front of a mob of mainly Afghan refugees hurling bricks and stones at officers who fought back with tear gas. A second woman a German who identified herself as Ronia said she had no regrets about offering resistance on behalf of the refugees. As Ronia was handcuffed, and placed inside a police car, she said: Everyone in the camp has a right to a home and a future. The worst trouble started soon after demolition workers supported by CRS riot police arrived at around midday yesterday. The woman was conscious when she was subdued and taken away by police, though her condition was not immediately known Police surround a group of activists standing on top of a roof in a bid to halt the camp's demolition A police officer throws a tear gas canister to quell the riots breaking out in the camp this morning Riot police officers spray water cannons at activists and migrants protesting the demolition of the camp today Trudging through the muddy terrain, riot police try to gain control of the protesters at the camp near Calais A young boy looks on as a dwelling is burned to the ground behind him during the chaos which erupted in Calais today French riot police stand guard against rioting migrants and activists as a dwelling burns behind them A group of migrants desperately try to pull a tent away from the fire which burns the dwelling next to it A police officer watches over the camp after rioting migrants set tents and dwellings on fire during the forced evacuation A group of migrants keep warm around a drum fire during the freezing temperatures today It followed a court order last week that gave the French authorities the legal right to destroy the south side of the sprawling shanty town. Fabienne Buccio, the Pas-de-Calais prefect who ordered the dismantling of the camp in the first place, turned up at the start of the operation. She attacked left-wing groups such as No Borders for manipulating migrants and using their problems for political ends. Mrs Buccio insisted that many of the homes being demolished had already been evacuated and were full of rubbish, not people. Kazim Lahr, a 22-year-old Afghan refugee, said: We expected them to move in this week, but the number of police is astonishing. We have been told to get out of the south side of the camp, which is where all our homes and restaurants are. We have nowhere else to go. Me and my friends are preparing to stay here, as our only intention is to get to Britain. The French treat us like animals, but the British will not. Tensions were high as bulldozers continued dismantling the southern half of the Jungle camp, which has become a magnet for people hoping to reach Britain. Roving teams were trying to convince the inhabitants to leave of their own volition and move to better accommodation provided for them, but many fear it will take them further from their goal of reaching Britain, with clashes erupting. 'We have already seen prison and torture, this doesn't scare us,' a migrant told one of the teams. The demolition workers dismantle a shack in the campsite as two migrants on a nearby roof watch on Two riot police officers stand guard during the demolition, which has led to migrants torching their own tents and tear gas being used on rioting occupiers Migrants and activists stand on the roofs of dwellings in an attempt to prevent them from being dismantled Migrants throw pieces of what were once dwellings onto a fire as they attempt to stay warm during the demolition A bulldozer carries debris from the illegal campsite housing into a skip today as authorities began demolishing the site While authorities say 1,000 migrants will be affected by the demolition, campaign groups put the estimate at closer to 3,500 Dozens of police vans wait outside the entrance to the campsite, which began being demolished earlier this week A migrant carries his belongings away from the site, while a group of French police officers stand over the embers of a fire There are currently more than 3,000 people from war-torn countries living in the south side of the camp. Some have been offered accommodation in converted shipping units in the north side, but there are not enough to go round. The units are behind security fences, and all those who apply for a heated unit have to supply palm prints. They are like prisons very few of us want to go there, said another Afghan migrant, who asked to be referred to as Ali, 25. The evacuation of the Calais camp is expected to carry on all this week, and the police are braced for more violence. The evicted migrants have been offered heated accommodation in refitted containers set up next door to the camp, but many are reluctant to move there because they lack communal spaces and movement is restricted. They have also been offered places in some 100 reception centres dotted around France. The demolition of the Jungle comes ahead of talks on Thursday between French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron and the existence of which has played into fraught discussions about Britain's possible exit from the EU. Some opponents of 'Brexit' say that if Britain were to leave the EU, the British government would lose the ability to call on France to stop the refugees from trying to make their way across the Channel. A worker destroys a makeshift wooden dwelling under the close watch of a French riot police officer Police officers confront migrants and activists inside the camp as the dismantling began yesterday Workers and police officers clear away debris from the 'Jungle' where thousands of migrants live A group of workers pull down the makeshift shelters under the close watch of riot police officers A bulldozer clears away tents and debris while migrants who once lived in the camp watch on A police officer prepares to fire tear gas during clashes at the 'Jungle' migrant camp yesterday Iain Duncan Smith has told his civil servants to ignore a ban on giving him documents related to the EU referendum. In a new escalation of a fairness row at the heart of the referendum, the Work and Pensions Secretary is going head-to-head with Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood and No 10. Sir Jeremy issued advice to civil servants that because David Cameron's position was backing Britain's membership of the EU, they could not do any work or provide papers to ministers working for the other side. Iain Duncan Smith, left arriving for Cabinet today with his deputy Priti Patel, has reportedly ordered his officials to ignore rules excluding him from receiving all referendum-related government papers Under the rules Theresa Villiers, left today, and Michael Gove, right today, are also barred as Brexit-backers from receiving papers on the EU referendum The Leave campaign has claimed the move is unconstitutional and Sir Jeremy is due to be grilled by MPs furious at the instruction later today. Mr Duncan Smith is said to have dismissed the rules in conversation with friends. The Sun said he had remarked: 'My civil servants report to me not Jeremy Heywood. 'It's me who's got the seals of state not him.' The minister is said to have added: 'I have told them that all European Union documents must pass across my desk. 'I trust my staff not to withhold information.' Mr Duncan Smith has worked at the Department for Work and Pensions since 2010 and is said to trust his staff to be open with his paperwork. Tory eurosceptic Bernard Jenkin has summoned Sir Jeremy to answer questions at his Public Administration Committee in the Commons later today. Mr Jenkin led criticism of the policy yesterday in the Commons after he secured an urgent question on the issue. He said: 'How does this situation best serve the democratic process if ministers on opposing sides of the debate finish up disagreeing about information from the same Government department which is meant to be impartial and accurate information provided by professional civil servants?' Cabinet Office Minister Matt Hancock defended the scheme. Under the controversial rules, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, left, and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, right, both in Downing Street for Cabinet today, will keep full access to Government papers as In campaigners The fairness row could threaten to derail David Cameron's referendum campaign, which he took to Ipswich yesterday for an event with students He said the Government is functioning 'perfectly well' under the arrangements as he stressed the civil service code makes it clear that the 'duty' of civil servants is to 'support the position of the government of the day'. But Mr Hancock was criticised for an hour by MPs on both sides of the Commons amid claims it could make the referendum appear to be unfair. Under the rules set out by Sir Jeremy when the campaign formally started last week, Brexit supporters are allowed access to anything they have seen already and anything not specifically related to the referendum. But the rules ban them from receiving certain documents - raising the prospect the Cabinet ministers are held responsible for things they have deliberately not been told about by officials. All Cabinet ministers are ultimately responsible to Parliament for their department - even if they were not personally aware of a problem. But because officials could be banned from briefing a minister Ms Patel said the ruling was 'unconstitutional' and a Government minister has been hauled to the Commons to explain the rules to MPs later today. Five members of the full Cabinet defected to the Vote Leave camp within minutes of Mr Cameron launching the referendum and suspending the normal rules of 'collective responsibility'. They include Mr Duncan Smith who, in the event of a Remain vote, would be responsible for introducing key parts of Mr Cameron's deal with the EU. Sir Jeremy Heywood, left, will defend the policy to MPs at a committee hearing later today. Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock, right, yesterday insisted it was important to the sound running of Government Justice Secretary Michael Gove and Commons leader Chris Grayling might have to plan for the new 'red card' system for rejecting new EU laws. But the ruling suggests none of them have access to relevant civil service resources until after the June 23 poll. Employment Minister Priti Patel said: 'It is important that the civil service maintains impartiality during the EU referendum. Jeremy Heywood's unconstitutional act threatens the reputation of the civil service. 'Secretaries of State are responsible for their departments. For an unelected official to prevent them being aware of the information they need for their duties is wrong.' London Mayor Boris Johnson, who is not a minister and does not receive civil service papers, today said: 'What the public wants to see what I want to see is total transparency and all information should be laid before the public. This is for the people to decide, this is for everybody to make up their minds about and let's have total candour and transparency. 'This is only going to be a few months, but this is a once in a lifetime chance for us to get it right. The EU has changed out of all recognition, I think it's going in the wrong direction for Britain, for the UK now's the time to make a change.' The Prime Minister's official spokeswoman today said there had been no formal complaints made and the system set out had been clear since Mr Cameron had decided to allow his ministers to take a personal view on the referendum. She said: 'The guidance is clear. There have been no complaints to the Cabinet Secretary.' Lord Mandelson warns Britain could face massive export tariffs of 20 per cent on cars, whisky and clothes if it votes Brexit At a speech today, Lord Mandelson will warn of the dangers of quitting the EU Lord Mandelson will today warn Britain could face trade barriers and tariffs of up to 20 per cent on some of its biggest exports after a Brexit vote. The former EU trade commissioner will make his first intervention in the referendum debate today to insist losing the EU's 'preferential trading benefits' could hit sales of top UK goods such as whisky, cars and clothes. Tariffs are charges on importing or exporting goods that make doing business more expensive. Lord Mandelson denied the claim would amount to more scaremongering amid a growing row over so-called 'project fear' tactics being used by the campaign to keep Britain in. Boris Johnson yesterday blasted David Cameron's campaigning tactics as 'baloney' after the Prime Minister claimed he was offering 'project fact' by claiming Brexit was a 'leap in the dark'. Lord Mandelson is due to say today: 'In trade you need bargaining chips in order to negotiate benefits in exchange and Britain is already a relatively open economy. 'Losing the EU's preferential trading benefits in foreign markets could mean new tariffs of 10, 20 per cent or sometimes even more on key UK exports, such as cars, machine goods, whisky and textiles. 'We would end up having to sacrifice sensitive positions in order to secure these deals.' Challenged on the BBC if he was scaremongering, Lord Mandelson rejected the claim. He said: 'There is no scaremongering in that speech and I would say substantial speech which addresses the risks and the consequences for British business and British jobs of our leaving the European Union.' The Labour peer added: 'Any idiot can start a trade agreement; the question is: where does it end up? You can deal with tariffs relatively easily. 'What is much harder to deal with are the behind-the-border regulatory barriers. Peter Mandelson has warned Brexit ministers to stop 'whinging' about being banned from accessing government papers on the EU. Amid a growing row over rules imposed by Sir Jeremy Heywood to ensure civil servants are not supporting the Out camp, Lord Mandelson said ministers were 'lucky' to have the chance to campaign against David Cameron without being fired. Iain Duncan Smith has reportedly ordered his officials to ensure he still receives all reports despite Sir Jeremy's diktat. Lord Mandelson, speaking on the risk to the economy at a Britain Stronger in Europe event today, told Brexit-backing ministers to stop whinging The intervention came after Iain Duncan Smith, seen arriving at Cabinet today with Priti Patel, reportedly ordered officials to ignore rules banning him from seeing referendum-related papers The senior Labour peer made his remarks as he made his first intervention on the referendum with a warning Brexit could inspire huge trade tariffs on British exports. Speaking in the City, Lord Mandelson said: 'We are faced in this country with the biggest choice of our generation, a choice which is going to have a huge impact on our jobs, our trade, our investment, our place in the world. 'Frankly, I think, these complaining ministers are lucky. Usually when members of a government go against ministerial collective responsibility and the will of the Cabinet, they receive one paper - and that's their P45. 'So I think they have got off rather lightly and they should stop whinging.' Lord Mandelson dismissed claims he was adding to 'scaremongering' by the In campaign with his speech as he warned it would be 'thoroughly reckless' to quit the EU. But the Vote Leave said his warnings of steep tariffs made him look like a man carrying a 'the end is nigh' sign in the street. The new row comes a day after Boris Johnson blasted Mr Cameron's claim he was promoting 'project fact' as 'baloney'. In his speech, the former EU trade commissioner said: 'In trade you need bargaining chips in order to negotiate benefits in exchange and Britain is already a relatively open economy. 'Losing the EU's preferential trading benefits in foreign markets could mean new tariffs of 10, 20 per cent or sometimes even more on key UK exports, such as cars, machine goods, whisky and textiles. 'We would end up having to sacrifice sensitive positions in order to secure these deals.' Challenged on the BBC if he was scaremongering, Lord Mandelson rejected the claim. He said: 'There is no scaremongering in that speech and I would say substantial speech which addresses the risks and the consequences for British business and British jobs of our leaving the European Union.' The Labour peer added: 'Any idiot can start a trade agreement; the question is: where does it end up? You can deal with tariffs relatively easily. 'What is much harder to deal with are the behind-the-border regulatory barriers. 'The more you want to reduce both border tariff barriers and regulatory barriers, the longer and more complex it is and the harder the negotiation is and that's why on average a free trade agreement takes between four and seven years, sometimes much longer, to negotiate.' Despite complaints the In campaign is scaremongering, Lord Mandelson today issued grim warnings about what he would expect to happen to trade tariffs following a Brexit vote Boris Johnson yesterday dismissed as 'baloney' claims the In camp was not pursuing 'project fear' tactics with dire warnings about the impact of a Brexit vote The senior peer, who was an architect of Tony Blair's New Labour in the 1990s, said the Brexit camp had to make clear what was on offer. He said: 'The point about the Leave campaign is they're really not giving an answer to what Out would look like, what situation we would be in if we were not in the European Union.' FURY AT DAVE'S 'DODGY DOSSIER' AS PRO-EU CAMP IS ACCUSED OF SCAREMONGERING David Cameron, pictured campaigning yesterday, has claimed he is pursuing 'project fact' Boris Johnson accused David Cameron of trying to 'scare the pants off' the public last night after ministers published a 'dodgy dossier' of lurid claims about leaving the European Union. The document set out a nightmarish Brexit scenario which could lead to 'a decade or more of uncertainty', destroy trade and even stop Britons holidaying around Europe. Drawn up by Whitehall mandarins and signed off by Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, it was blandly titled 'The process for withdrawing from the European Union'. But inside were a series of terrifying claims about the 'complex and grinding' years following a Leave vote and its impact on Britain. It warned that: Any new trade negotiation with the US and other countries could take a decade or more hitting UK exporters and consumers The freedom of UK travellers 'to move about freely in Europe' and access healthcare could end if no new deal with the EU was done within two years of Brexit Advertisement In another day of clashes between the Prime Minister and London Mayor, Mr Johnson first hit out at the 'project fear' tactics being used by Mr Cameron's Remain campaign. The intervention prompted Mr Cameron to insist at his latest campaign stop in Ipswich that he wanted to be straight voters and he told a group of students he was only interested in 'project fact'. But speaking on a visit to Northern Ireland - where he posed for photographs trying to smash bullet proof glass with a mallet - Mr Johnson said this was 'baloney'. He told LBC: 'There is an attempt going on to scare people into staying with the status quo, when I think the real risk is we will simply remain in a system that is less and less suitable to our needs.' Mr Johnson urged Britons to have 'courage' to resist the fear driven campaigns and head for the Brexit. Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive of Vote Leave said: 'Peter Mandelson told us the British economy would fall off a cliff if we didn't join the euro and now he is indulging in the same scaremongering about the referendum. He was wrong then and he is wrong now. 'He is starting to resemble a man wearing a sign saying the 'end is nigh'. 'As the Prime Minister has said - trade will continue after we Vote Leave, Peter Mandelson should stop his scaremongering. 'It is safer to take back control and to start to spend our money on our priorities than it is to keep giving more power and money to the EU.' Labour Eurosceptic Gisela Stuart, who is on the board of Vote Leave, today said the Labour Party has failed to face up to the realities of the European project. She told the BBC: 'France and Germany coming together within the envelope of Nato and the collective security - that is what has kept the peace. 'What the European Union, up to a certain point, provided for was a political stability within a defence framework. 'But if you are looking at what is happening across the European Union now - and the refugee crisis is just the latest demonstration - that political stability is being seriously questioned, and the European Union as an institution is not responding to it properly.' Iain Duncan Smith has ordered his civil servants to IGNORE a diktat banning him from getting referendum paperwork because he backs Brexit Iain Duncan Smith, pictured on Sunday during a BBC interview, has told friends he trusts his officials to pass him all EU paperwork Iain Duncan Smith has told his civil servants to ignore a ban on giving him documents related to the EU referendum. In a new escalation of a fairness row at the heart of the referendum, the Work and Pensions Secretary is going head-to-head with Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood and No 10. Sir Jeremy issued advice to civil servants that because David Cameron's position was backing Britain's membership of the EU, they could not do any work or provide papers to ministers working for the other side. The Leave campaign has claimed the move is unconstitutional and Sir Jeremy is due to be grilled by MPs furious at the instruction later today. Mr Duncan Smith is said to have dismissed the rules in conversation with friends. The Sun said he had remarked: 'My civil servants report to me not Jeremy Heywood. 'It's me who's got the seals of state not him.' The minister is said to have added: 'I have told them that all European Union documents must pass across my desk. 'I trust my staff not to withhold information.' Mr Duncan Smith has worked at the Department for Work and Pensions since 2010 and is said to trust his staff to be open with his paperwork. Tory eurosceptic Bernard Jenkin has summoned Sir Jeremy to answer questions at his Public Administration Committee in the Commons later today. Mr Jenkin led criticism of the policy yesterday in the Commons after he secured an urgent question on the issue. He said: 'How does this situation best serve the democratic process if ministers on opposing sides of the debate finish up disagreeing about information from the same Government department which is meant to be impartial and accurate information provided by professional civil servants?' How will your MP vote? Full list of all the Conservative politicians who have declared their stand on the EU referendum debate TORY MPs WHO WANT TO STAY IN EU Name Constituency Guto Bebb Aberconwy Nick Herbert Arundel and South Downs Damian Green Ashford David Lidington Aylesbury Victoria Prentis Banbury Maria Miller Basingstoke Ben Howlett Bath Jane Ellison Battersea Dominic Grieve Beaconsfield Graham Stuart Beverley and Holderness David Evennett Bexleyheath and Crayford Paul Maynard Blackpool North and Cleveleys Nick Gibb Bognor Regis and Littlehampton Matt Warman Boston and Skegness David Tredinnick Bosworth Tobias Ellwood Bournemouth East Eric Pickles Brentwood and Ongar Simon Kirby Brighton Kemptown Keith Simpson Broadland Bob Neill Bromley and Chislehurst Sajid Javid Bromsgrove Anna Soubry Broxtowe Andrew Griffiths Burton Jo Churchill Bury St Edmunds Craig Whittaker Calder Valley Craig Williams Cardiff North Simon Hart Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Mel Stride Central Devon Daniel Poulter Central Suffolk and North Ipswich Edward Argar Charnwood Simon Burns Chelmsford Greg Hands Chelsea and Fulham Alex Chalk Cheltenham Michelle Donelan Chippenham Mark Field Cities of London and Westminster Edward Timpson Crewe and Nantwich Gavin Barwell Croydon Central Chris Philp Croydon South Patrick McLoughlin Derbyshire Dales Claire Perry Devizes Charlie Elphicke Dover David Mundell Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale Damian Hinds East Hampshire Sam Gyimah East Surrey Antoinette Sandbach Eddisbury Alec Shelbrooke Elmet and Rothwell Maggie Throup Erewash Helen Whately Faversham and Mid Kent Mike Freer Finchley and Golders Green Damian Collins Folkestone and Hythe Mark Harper Forest of Dean Mark Menzies Fylde Richard Graham Gloucester Byron Davies Gower Nicholas Boles Grantham and Stamford Brandon Lewis Great Yarmouth Anne Milton Guildford James Morris Halesowen and Rowley Regis Sir Edward Garnier Harborough Robert Halfon Harlow Andrew Jones Harrogate and Knaresborough Amber Rudd Hastings and Rye Alan Mak Havant John Howell Henley Mark Prisk Hertford and Stortford Oliver Dowden Hertsmere Guy Opperman Hexham Jeremy Quin Horsham Jonathan Djanogly Huntingdon Ben Gummer Ipswich Kris Hopkins Keighley Jeremy Wright Kenilworth and Southam James Berry Kingston and Surbiton Chris Skidmore Kingswood Nicky Morgan Loughborough Victoria Atkins Louth and Horncastle Philip Dunne Ludlow Theresa May Maidenhead Helen Grant Maidstone and The Weald Caroline Spelman Meriden George Freeman Mid Norfolk Sir Nicholas Soames Mid Sussex Nigel Huddleston Mid Worcestershire Sir Paul Beresford Mole Valley David Morris Morecambe and Lunesdale Robert Jenrick Newark Richard Benyon Newbury Peter Heaton-Jones North Devon Simon Hoare North Dorset Alistair Burt North East Bedfordshire Oliver Heald North East Hertfordshire Sir Roger Gale North Thanet Shailesh Vara North West Cambridgeshire Michael Ellis Northampton North Chloe Smith Norwich North Marcus Jones Nuneaton James Brokenshire Old Bexley and Sidcup Jo Johnson Orpington Nicola Blackwood Oxford West and Abingdon Rory Stewart Penrith and The Border Oliver Colvile Plymouth Sutton and Devonport Flick Drummond Portsmouth South Stephen Crabb Preseli Pembrokeshire Justine Greening Putney Rob Wilson Reading East Alok Sharma Reading West Crispin Blunt Reigate Jake Berry Rossendale and Darwen Mark Pawsey Rugby Nick Hurd Ruislip Northwood and Pinner Philip Hammond Runnymede and Weybridge Kenneth Clarke Rushcliffe Sir Alan Haselhurst Saffron Walden John Glen Salisbury Robert Goodwill Scarborough and Whitby Michael Fallon Sevenoaks Mark Spencer Sherwood Julian Smith Skipton and Ripon Julian Knight Solihull Heidi Allen South Cambridgeshire Lucy Frazer South East Cambridgeshire Alberto Costa South Leicestershire Gavin Williamson South Staffordshire James Cartlidge South Suffolk Robert Buckland South Swindon Andrew Selous South West Bedfordshire Gary Streeter South West Devon David Gauke South West Hertfordshire Elizabeth Truss South West Norfolk Jeremy Hunt South West Surrey Jeremy Lefroy Stafford Karen Bradley Staffordshire Moorlands Margot James Stourbridge Neil Carmichael Stroud Therese Coffey Suffolk Coastal George Osborne Tatton Mark Pritchard The Wrekin Kevin Hollinrake Thirsk and Malton Luke Hall Thornbury and Yate Neil Parish Tiverton and Honiton Thomas Tugendhat Tonbridge and Malling Kevin Foster Torbay Sarah Newton Truro and Falmouth Greg Clark Tunbridge Wells Tania Mathias Twickenham Alun Cairns Vale of Glamorgan Ed Vaizey Wantage David Mowat Warrington South Chris White Warwick and Leamington Richard Harrington Watford Peter Aldous Waveney Oliver Letwin West Dorset Matthew Hancock West Suffolk Harriett Baldwin West Worcestershire John Penrose Weston-Super-Mare Stephen Hammond Wimbledon Steve Brine Winchester David Cameron Witney Robin Walker Worcester Peter Bottomley Worthing West Ben Wallace Wyre and Preston North Mark Garnier Wyre Forest TORY MPs WHO WANT TO LEAVE EU Name Constituency Sir Gerald Howarth Aldershot Graham Brady Altrincham and Sale West Nigel Mills Amber Valley John Baron Basildon and Billericay Bob Stewart Beckenham Richard Fuller Bedford Anne-Marie Trevelyan Berwick-upon-Tweed Chris Green Bolton West Conor Burns Bournemouth West James Cleverly Braintree Chris Davies Brecon and Radnorshire Ian Liddell-Grainger Bridgwater and West Somerset Andrew Percy Brigg and Goole Charles Walker Broxbourne David Nuttall Bury North George Eustice Camborne and Redruth Julian Brazier Canterbury Rebecca Harris Castle Point Cheryl Gillan Chesham and Amersham Andrew Tyrie Chichester Iain Duncan Smith Chingford and Woodford Green Theresa Villiers Chipping Barnet Christopher Chope Christchurch Martin Vickers Cleethorpes David Jones Clwyd West Will Quince Colchester Jason McCartney Colne Valley Fiona Bruce Congleton Tom Pursglove Corby Henry Smith Crawley Gareth Johnson Dartford Chris Heaton-Harris Daventry Mike Wood Dudley South Tim Loughton East Worthing and Shoreham Sir Greg Knight East Yorkshire Mims Davies Eastleigh David Burrowes Enfield Southgate Eleanor Laing Epping Forest Chris Grayling Epsom and Ewell Dominic Raab Esher and Walton Suella Fernandes Fareham Jack Lopresti Filton and Bradley Stoke Edward Leigh Gainsborough Rehman Chishti Gillingham and Rainham Caroline Dinenage Gosport Adam Holloway Gravesham David Davis Haltemprice and Howden Bob Blackman Harrow East Bernard Jenkin Harwich and North Essex William Wragg Hazel Grove Mike Penning Hemel Hempstead Matthew Offord Hendon Andrew Bingham High Peak Peter Lilley Hitchin and Harpenden Angela Watkinson Hornchurch and Upminster Andrew Turner Isle of Wight Victoria Borwick Kensington Philip Hollobone Kettering Maria Caulfield Lewes Michael Fabricant Lichfield Karl McCartney Lincoln John Whittingdale Maldon Nadine Dorries Mid Bedfordshire Iain Stewart Milton Keynes South David Davies Monmouth Glyn Davies Montgomeryshire Andrea Jenkyns Morley and Outwood Julian Lewis New Forest East Desmond Swayne New Forest West Anne Marie Morris Newton Abbot Scott Mann North Cornwall Stephen Barclay North East Cambridgeshire Ranil Jayawardena North East Hampshire Jacob Rees-Mogg North East Somerset Bill Wiggin North Herefordshire Owen Paterson North Shropshire Liam Fox North Somerset Justin Tomlinson North Swindon Craig Tracey North Warwickshire Kit Malthouse North West Hampshire Andrew Bridgen North West Leicestershire Henry Bellingham North West Norfolk James Gray North Wiltshire Andrew Stephenson Pendle Stewart Jackson Peterborough Robert Syms Poole Penny Mordaunt Portsmouth North Mark Francois Rayleigh and Wickford Karen Lumley Redditch Nigel Evans Ribble Valley Rishi Sunak Richmond Zac Goldsmith Richmond Park James Duddridge Rochford and Southend East Andrew Rosindell Romford Alan Duncan Rutland and Melton Nigel Adams Selby and Ainsty Philip Davies Shipley Daniel Kawczynski Shrewsbury and Atcham Gordon Henderson Sittingbourne and Sheppey Stephen Phillips Sleaford and North Hykeham David Warburton Somerton and Frome Heather Wheeler South Derbyshire Richard Drax South Dorset Sheryll Murray South East Cornwall John Hayes South Holland and The Deepings Richard Bacon South Norfolk Andrea Leadsom South Northamptonshire Seema Kennedy South Ribble Craig Mackinlay South Thanet Andrew Murrison South West Wiltshire Royston Smith Southampton Itchen David Amess Southend West Kwasi Kwarteng Spelthorne Anne Main St Albans Steve Double St Austell and Newquay Derek Thomas St Ives Stephen McPartland Stevenage James Wharton Stockton South Bill Cash Stone Nadhim Zahawi Stratford-on-Avon Michael Gove Surrey Heath Paul Scully Sutton and Cheam Christopher Pincher Tamworth Lucy Allan Telford Laurence Robertson Tewkesbury Geoffrey Clifton-Brown The Cotswolds Geoffrey Cox Torridge and West Devon Sarah Wollaston Totnes Boris Johnson Uxbridge and South Ruislip James Davies Vale of Clwyd Nusrat Ghani Wealden Graham Evans Weaver Vale Peter Bone Wellingborough Adam Afriyie Windsor Priti Patel Witham Jonathan Lord Woking John Redwood Wokingham Steven Baker Wycombe Marcus Fysh Yeovil Julian Sturdy York Outer Boris Johnson (pictured outside his house) angered David Cameron by announcing he will vote for Brexit Michael Gove (pictured) is a close family friend of David Cameron but is opposing him on the EU A Canadian teenager who was killed in a tour helicopter crash in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, died of brain damage from drowning, the local medical examiner's office said. Riley Dobson, 16, of Guelph, Ontario, was trapped inside the helicopter after the crash, which occurred on 18 February when the chopper plunged into the ocean. The teen had to be cut free from his seat and died at a hospital four days later. Scroll down for video The dramatic crash was caught on video, showing the helicopter abruptly tilt to one side before slamming the water and sinking Riley Dobson, 16, of Guelph, Ontario, was trapped inside the helicopter after the crash, which occurred on 18 February when the chopper plunged into the ocean The dramatic crash was caught on video, showing the helicopter abruptly tilt to one side before slamming the water and sinking. Dobson suffered from damage from a lack of oxygen, according to Honolulu Medical Examiner's office. Two family members and the pilot were seriously injured and remain in hospital in stable condition. One passenger suffered minor injuries and has been released. A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board last week said the pilot felt a vibration then heard a grinding noise and a loud bang before the crash. The helicopter was submerged in about 40 feet of water. Dobson was a horse jumper who competed in several equestrian shows in Guelph province, Ontario. Dobson was a horse jumper who competed in several equestrian shows in Guelph province, Ontario He was a student at Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute, which issued the following statement: 'We are extremely saddened to learn of the passing of one of our students and our hearts go out to the student's family. Supports are available for our staff and students through the Board's Crisis Response team, guidance counsellors, social workers and child and youth counsellors. We ask that the media please respect the family's privacy during this difficult time.' A hospital cremated a man without telling his family he had died, meaning his devastated relatives missed the funeral. The man, named only as Mr C, died at Kings College Hospital, in London, and staff asked the local council to help trace his next of kin. Officers from Lambeth council searched his home and found letters which had been written to his family and identified where they lived and how to contact them. But the documents 'fell behind an office cabinet' and were lost. The hospital then cremated the man without his family knowing he was dead. King's College Hospital cremated a man from South London without telling his family he had died, meaning his relatives missed the funeral The family claimed they later found that the hospital charged his estate for storing his body and due to the councils mistake his estate was also still being charged rent for his home. The incident from 2013 is one of 40 cases highlighted by ombudsman Dame Julie Mellor, exposing how patients and families who complained routinely met with obstruction and obfuscation from NHS officials. The report says: 'The Trust's bereavement services manager contacted the Council and asked it to use its statutory powers to enter Mr C's property and gather information to identify his next of kin. The search took place and the Council found documents relating to Mr C's financial affairs, and letters between him and his family. The incident from 2013 is one of 40 cases highlighted by ombudsman Dame Julie Mellor 'The Council officers created a schedule of the items, and placed them in an envelope with the keys to Mr C's property. Unfortunately, the envelope was mislaid, and the Council did not inform the Trust of its findings.' Mr C was then cremated. His family only discovered he was dead when they contacted his GP. King's College Hospital and Lambeth Council have now apologised to the family. They have been awarded 650 compensation, the charges for body storage have been cancelled, and the family have been given back 750 to make up for the erroneous rent. A spokesman for Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: 'We would like to apologise wholeheartedly once again to the family involved in this case. 'When a patient dies, we always do our best to contact the next of kin, which can sometimes prove difficult, as it did in this instance. 'Since this incident, we have taken a number of steps to prevent it from happening again. 'We reviewed our procedure on arranging funerals for patients, and amended our checklist to ensure written acknowledgment is provided by the Council following their property search. This ensures any information which may help us identify the next of kin is obtained and thoroughly explored before a funeral is booked. ISIS has executed 424 of its own fighters in its 20 month reign in Syria ISIS has executed eight Dutch members of its own jihadist fighting force in Syria after accusing them of desertion and mutiny, activists say. Another three Dutch jihadists were arrested with one of the detainees beaten to death during the interrogation, Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently reported. In total, ISIS has executed more than 420 of its own fighters, for crimes such as attempting to defect, spying for foreign countries or fraternising with the enemy. ISIS has executed eight Dutch members of its own jihadist fighting force in in Maadan, Raqqa province, in Syria, after accusing them of desertion and mutiny (stock image) 'Daesh (IS) executed eight Dutch fighters on Friday in Maadan, Raqqa province, after accusing them of attempting desertion and mutiny,' Abu Mohammad, a member of the citizen journalist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), said via Twitter. Tension has boiled in Raqqa, the self-proclaimed 'capital' of ISIS, east of Aleppo, over the past month between 75 Dutch jihadists and IS intelligence operatives from Iraq, RBSS said. ISIS leaders in Raqqa sent a delegate to solve the dispute with the Dutch cell's enraged members, but they murdered the intermediary in vengeance, the citizen journalist group added. The ISIS leadership in Iraq then ordered the arrest of all the members of the Dutch group, and imprisoned them in Tabaqa and Maadan in Syria. Since declaring a 'caliphate' in Raqqa in June 2014 (pictured) ISIS has executed 3,967 people, including 2,142 Syrian civilians and 424 if its own fighters Eight of the arrested Dutch fighters, some of whom are of Moroccan origin, have since been executed, RBSS said, a report which has not yet been confirmed. Dutch secret services say that 200 people from the Netherlands, including 50 women, have joined IS in Syria and Iraq. During it's 20-month-long reign of terror, ISIS has executed 424 of its own members, a recent report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says. In February alone, ISIS executed 71 people in it's controlled areas in Syria, and while a majority of those executed were rebel or government fighters, nearly half were civilians, including five women. In total, ISIS has executed 3,967 people since declaring its 'caliphate' in Syria on the 29th of June 2014. This includes 2,142 Syrian civilians including 78 children and 121 women. Zena Stephens, a black woman, is standing to be sheriff in Jefferson County, whose campaign office was shot at Police have arrested a man in Texas after he allegedly fired shots at the campaign office of a candidate for local sheriff while shouting racial slurs. Zena Stephens, a black woman, is standing to be sheriff in Jefferson County with the election set to take place today. However, last night, a white male is accused of pulling up outside her campaign office in a white jeep and fired a shot at the window while shouting 'f*** the n*****s'. It is believed that around 25 people were inside the office when the man stuck, including several members of her family. But despite the weapon causing the glass at the front of the building to shatter, nobody inside was hurt. She told NBC News: 'Anytime something like that happens with innocent people around you're concerned for them. 'I don't know if it was a random act or whether it was targeted, but I just think it is, you know, ignorance.' According to the Beaumont Police Department a convenience store down the street from her office was also targeted by the man, who was said to be in the passenger seat of the car. Officers later tracked down the vehicle and found two weapons inside. One man was arrested and four others were taking in for questioning. Ms Stephens, a former chief of law enforcement of Jefferson County, is standing for sheriff against two Democratic party rivals. Despite the weapon causing the glass at the front of the building to shatter, nobody inside was hurt She is currently the police chief for Prairie View A&M University where two years ago she became the first woman to hold that position. Her Democratic rivals Joe Stevenson and Rod Carroll both condemned the shooting. Boy with painful tumour must be brought to Australia for medical treatment A 10-year-old boy with an aggressive and painful tumour encroaching on his brain must raise $60,000 to travel to Australia for lifesaving surgery. Ashmit, who shares a bed in an abandoned farm house in Fiji's remote Sigatoka Valley with his father and two younger brothers, noticed a lump forming just above his left ear three months ago. The extremely rare Angiosarcoma doubled in size in just six weeks, causing severe pain to the little boy and has the risk of haemorrhage at any second. Scroll down for video 10-year-old Ashmit (pictured left before his tumour began growing and right now) has an aggressive tumour encroaching on his brain, leaving him in agony Ashmit, who shares a bed in an abandoned farm house in Fiji's remote Sigatoka Valley with his father (pictured) and two younger brothers, noticed a lump forming just above his left ear three months ago The extremely rare Angiosarcoma doubled in size in just six weeks, causing severe pain to the little boy Although Ashmit has received his diagnosis, treatment is not available in Fiji due to the rarity of the tumour and the little boy must instead travel to Australia for urgent surgery. A desperate GoFundMe campaign was started more than two weeks ago to raise $60,000 to cover Ashmit's hospital bills and an emergency visa and has reached just over half its goal. Sydney-based Rachelle Matousek, Trustee of children's charity Fiji Kids is behind the campaign. 'This beautiful boy will not survive without the emergency surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, all of which is available in Australia,' she said in a media release. 'We know it is a big ask, but we are absolutely sure people will want to help. Although Ashmit has received his diagnosis, treatment is not available in Fiji due to the rarity of the tumour and the little boy must instead travel to Australia A desperate GoFundMe campaign was started more than two weeks ago to raise $60,000 to cover Ashmit's (pictured far right with father and brothers) hospital bills and an emergency visa Although the little boy has had the growth diagnosed , he still must travel to Australia to have the life saving surgery 'It is unimaginable to most of us that a child just a few hours away would be denied lifesaving treatment,' Rachelle Matousek from Fiji Kids said 'It is unimaginable to most of us that a child just a few hours away would be denied lifesaving treatment. 'We are his only hope of survival and time is not on our side.' A video was shared on the fundraising page on Monday of Ashmit describing the pain he experiences from the enormous growth saying he 'can't stay with the pain.' The little boy also said he hopes to be able to go back to school after the surgery to play with his friends and would love to work as a police officer when he is older. 'We are his only hope of survival and time is not on our side' Ashmit and his brothers, Amish and Aarav (pictured), have perfect attendance at school and are described by their teachers as 'delightful' A video was shared on the fundraising page on Monday of Ashmit describing the pain he experiences from the enormous growth saying he 'can't stay with the pain' Ashmit (pictured here with his younger brothers) hopes to one day become a police officer Their father picks vegetables for a living, earning a few dollars per day Ashmit and his brothers, Amish and Aarav, have perfect attendance at school and are described by their teachers as 'delightful.' Their father picks vegetables for a living, earning a few dollars per day. When Ashmit is in severe pain, he treks two hours to the nearest town on the back of a carrier van for stronger medicine for his son. Angiosarcoma is an extremely rare cancer in children and even more rare in and around the brain. It is a cancer in the inner lining of the blood vessels and can occur in any area of the body. The little boy said he hopes to be able to go back to school after the surgery and play with his friends Angiosarcoma is an extremely rare cancer in children and even more rare in and around the brain Although more than half of the necessary $60,000 has been raised with the help of Fiji Kids (pictured) the group still need the rest to get Ashmit to Australia YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS: The participants of the rally to commemorate the victims of March 1, 2008 events lay flowers in Myasnikyan square. The rally was initiated by Armenian National Congress, Peoples Party of Armenia, New Armenia Initiative National Self-Determination Union, Armenia Initiative and Civil Contract Party. Armenpress reports that before the rally in the streets of Yerevan, a short demonstration took place in Freedom Square. The representative of ANC Aram Manukyan emphasized the issue of reparations to the families of victims during the manifestation and spoke of the need of holding responsible the perpetrators of the crimes. He also said that a parliamentary commission on these events should be created. In order to avoid the repetition of such events and to bring justice, we should gather on this day every year, we should remember and pay our respects to the memories of the victims, Manukyan said. The representative of Heritage Party Armen Martirosyan read the joint statement adopted by all the initiators of the rally. The statement read that all the signatory parties will pursue justice for this case by all legal methods. The rally then moved to the Myasnikyan square and lay wreath near Myasnikyan monument. The police, who accompanied the rally also lay flowers to the monument. Photo: RFE/RL Armenian Service Dr Christian Solomonides arriving at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester A senior hospital doctor used his Twitter account to publish expletive-ridden rants about 'neurotic' A&E patients 'crippling' the NHS with their 'aches and pains', a tribunal heard today. Dr Christian Solomonides, a consultant in emergency medicine, posted dozens of messages over three-and-a-half years, including one that claimed 90 per cent of ambulance call outs were 'bull****'. One tweet read: 'A few aches and pains... Who f**king cares... Just crack on like every other normal thinking person.' He also called for a fine to deter those who 'abused' the system. He also branded David Cameron an 'Islamophile' and said it was 'sickening' how the Government 'sucked up to sick doctrines like Islam' in a series of anti-religion tweets. The abusive posts were uncovered when the account was referred to the General Medical Council. The account information identified the user as a doctor and made references to Barnet Hospital, in north London, where Dr Solomonides is an employee. The brief profile also mentioned the medic's hobbies of powerlifting and piano playing. At a fitness to practice hearing in Manchester, Solomonides, of Chingford, East London, admitted posting 188 potentially offensive tweets from his account between July 2011 and January last year. Now deactivated, the account had the Twitter handle @drcms1 and was 'easy to find on a Google search', the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service was told. From the account, he aired his views on politics, atheism and the state of the NHS but the doctor, who was described as an 'excellent clinician', also used the public forum to slam patients. In one tweet he wrote: 'Ambulance for a broken nail, an earache, period pain, not being able to sleep are all REAL. What's going on with the people of the U.K...' He also posted: 'It costs 1,000 to deploy an ambulance and convey to hospital, I would say that 90% of call outs are f***ing bull*** (as I work front line). Blasting patients: The emergency medicine consultant posted dozens of messages over three-and-a-half years, including one criticising A&E admissions that said 'who the f*** cares about aches and pains' 'You can quickly appreciate why the NHS is crippled financially. A fine of 50 to those who abuse A&E will soon keep drive away the droves of ambulatory neurotics.' The medic also wrote that he was 'sure ADHD is merely a polite term for a child who is just a little sh**'. On July 14, 2013, he posted a series of extraordinary posts criticising patients with minor injuries who expected to be seen immediately in A&E. It culminated with the message: 'It doesn't matter HOW you arrive, it's WHAT you arrive with that determines when or if you'll be seen. 'Please try to understand this simple concept before abusing our hard working staff!!!! #rant.' He also posted offensive tweets on other topics, including religion. He wrote: 'Abstinence makes the church grow fondlers' and 'Nobody is born that f***ing stupid, it's religion that does it'. Dr Christian Solomonides, pictured, also branded David Cameron an 'Islamophile' Another read: 'David Cameron is an obsequious Islamophile and he needs to go. The way we suck up to sick doctrines like Islam in the UK is sickening.' Dr Solomonides' Twitter account was eventually brought to the attention of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust in January 2014 following an anonymous complaint. Associate medical director Vivienne Van Someren examined the tweets concluded the medic may have a problem with 'equality, diversity and discrimination,' the Manchester hearing was told. Counsel for the GMC Miss Shirlie Duckworth said: 'It was clear to her from the account that he was anti-religion but most comments were anti-Islamic. She was also concerned about derogatory comments he had made about patients he had treated at Barnet.' Dr Solomonides was questioned about the comments during a meeting on January 25 last year and accepted responsibility. Miss Duckworth added: 'He recognised he had overstepped the mark, the postings could cause offence and compromise his credibility. 'He expressed regret and said he had been naive in thinking the postings would only be accessible to his own followers.' In a letter to the Trust, Dr Solomonides added: 'I recognise now that I hold a position of considerable authority and publicly announcing controversial views in this context is inappropriate and compromises my professional credibility. 'I wish to emphasise these personal views have never influenced my clinical practice in any way.' The hearing continues. Twitter rant: Dr Christian Solomonides also posted offensive tweets on other topics, including religion The account made reference to Barnet Hospital, in London, pictured, where Dr Solomonides is an employee New spying laws creating sweeping powers for the police to access anyone's web browser history and break into their phones have been handed to MPs. A new draft of proposed laws was presented to Parliament this afternoon after three inquiries made scores of recommendations for changes and one blasted the original as rushed and flawed. Among the changes in the re-written bill are expanded powers to break into phones and computers if there is a 'threat to life' and enhanced rules on allowing police and security service access to records about which websites - but not specific pages - have been accessed. The new bill does include concessions on encryption of messages and the powers to make companies such as Apple and Google decode messages will only apply 'where practicable'. Scroll down for video Home Secretary Theresa May, pictured in Downing Street today, will not press ahead with new laws which could have required tech firms to open up encryption to the police and security services Home Secretary Theresa May is understood to want the backing of MPs for the proposed new laws by the summer. The Home Office today said the legislation had to become law this year because existing laws will expire. Mrs May said: 'Terrorists and criminals are operating online and we need to ensure the police and security services can keep pace with the modern world and continue to protect the British public from the many serious threats we face.' Under the changes revealed today: Police will be given access to web browsing records in specific crime investigations. In the first draft this was limited to illegal websites and communications services. The data will include websites visited but not pages viewed. So-called 'internet connection records', which is another form of browsing data, will also be accessible by security services. It shows which website a device connected to but not the details of each page on that site. Where the authorities declare there is a 'threat to life', the ability of the security services and police to carry out remote hacking is expanded. The draft bill will require internet companies to store details of a person's every internet visit, text message and phone call for up to 12 months. Privacy campaigners have been deeply critical of the legislation and the row comes as US courts wrestle with whether Apple can be ordered to unlock the iPhone of a terrorist who killed 14 people at a shooting in California last year. The new laws are meant to clarify legislation and make clear what powers the security services have in the wake of scandals triggered by Edward Snowden's revelations. In a written statement to MPs, Mrs May acknowledged the 'thorough and comprehensive' scrutiny of three committees which produced scathing reports on her first draft. She said: 'The revised Bill... reflects the majority of the recommendations made by the three Committees.' Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham welcomed changes to the proposed laws but said he still had concerns about the 'most intrusive' elements And she added: 'The Government is not seeking sweeping new powers. 'Rather the Bill ensures that the security and intelligence agencies and law enforcement continue to have the powers they need to keep us safe against a backdrop of an increasingly complex, serious and unpredictable threat. 'The Bill provides the public and Parliament with greater confidence that there are robust measures in place to ensure that the powers are subject to world-leading safeguards.' Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham said Labour had been 'responsible and constructive' in its approach to the proposals and he welcomed some of the changes made. But he warned: 'Where I have potential disagreement with the Home Secretary is over the criteria for the use of the most intrusive powers. 'I have consistently made clear that I believe those powers should only be used in connection with the investigation of the most serious crime or to protect people in life-threatening situations. 'However, instead of tightening the criteria, this Bill appears to lower the threshold for their use and allow the authorities to access them in a much broader range of circumstances. This raises serious questions. 'To date, the Government has not adequately justified this significant extension of powers and we will be pressing them to do so.' Mr Burnham said he had further concerns about the powers to access records of which websites a person has accessed, questioning whether the powers would be 'proportionate and justified'. Under laws unveiled today, companies such as Apple and Google will only be ordered to decode their own customers' communications 'where practicable' The proposals were branded 'dangerous' today by Nick Pickles, the head of UK public policy at Twitter. He said: 'Making local staff liable for legal enforcement because Governments can't agree a process is not 'world leading' - it's dangerous. 'Draft #IPBill said no enforcement against overseas companies for full range of powers - #IPBill contradicts that. WHAT IS THE SNOOPERS' CHARTER AND WHAT POWERS WILL THE POLICE NOW HAVE? What powers will the Bill cover? Current tactics such as access to communications data - the who, when and where but not the content - targeted interception of electronic communications, the collection of bulk data and the ability to mount IT attacks - known as equipment interference. Will there be anything new in it? Firms will now be required to store data relating to people's web use for up to a year, but the Government has repeatedly stressed that internet connection records (ICRs) will not cover users' full browsing history or include the actual content of a communication. Judges will be handed a role in the process for authorising more intrusive capabilities. Didn't we already know this? Yes. The draft Bill was unveiled in November, but now ministers have published a revised version after three separate parliamentary committees raised concerns about clarity and privacy and made scores of recommendations. So what has changed? Theresa May said the revised Bill reflects the majority of the recommendations, is clearer and includes stronger privacy safeguards. A fourth purpose for which authorities can access ICRs is expected to be added - the pursuit of 'investigative leads'. An 'operational case' for bulk power - to gather large amounts of data - was published for the first time. What about encryption? The Government has always said the Bill will not impose additional requirements in relation to encryption beyond the obligations under existing laws. The revised Bill spells out the position more explicitly and put beyond doubt that companies can only be asked to remove encryption where it is 'practicable'. Advertisement 'It is possible for the #IPBill to work for global businesses - but it needs more time to be carefully drafted.' Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights group Liberty, said: 'Minor botox has not fixed this Bill.' Jim Killock, executive director of Open Rights Group, said: 'On first reading, the revised Bill barely pays lip service to the concerns raised by the committees that scrutinised the draft Bill.' Kate Allen, of Amnesty International, said it 'beggars belief that the Government is blundering on with its snooping power-grab', adding: 'It's like adding extra storeys to a burning building.' Earlier this month, intelligence and security committee chairman Dominic Grieve said the Bill had failed in its objectives and appeared rushed. One amendment revealed today will see another purpose for which authorities can access web data known as internet connection records added - the pursuit of 'investigative leads'. ICRs detail services a device connects to but not users' full browsing history or the content of a communication. Mr Cameron has said terrorists, paedophiles and criminals must not be allowed a 'safe space' online where they could hide with no fear that they would be hacked by the security services. But after being persuaded about the important role encoding communications played in the protection of legitimate online activity such as banking, shopping and personal data, the Government has clarified its position in the Investigatory Powers Bill. New safeguards for interception and equipment interference warrants - used to hack into suspects' devices - will be introduced, reducing the period of time within which urgent warrants must be reviewed by a judicial commissioner from five to three days. A Home Office source said: 'The Bill clarifies the Government's position on encryption, putting beyond doubt that companies can only be asked to remove encryption that they themselves have applied, and only where it is practicable for them to do so. 'This will make clear that the Government is not asking companies to weaken their security by undermining encryption.' Senior law enforcement officers had argued that proposed rules around ICRs appeared to preclude access to details that could be valuable in missing people inquiries and human trafficking investigations. It also came after a high-profile row between Apple and the FBI after the tech giant refused to allow US investigators to access the iPhone of Syed Farook (pictured right) who murdered 14 people in Sacramento The Bill is a bid to help repair damage caused by US traitor Edward Snowden, (pictured) who leaked thousands of classified files The first 'operational case' for bulk powers has also been published, giving unprecedented detail on why intelligence agencies need existing powers to hoover up large volumes of data and how they are used. Officials say it is clearer, with tighter technical definitions and strict codes of practice; includes stronger privacy safeguards including a requirement for security services, as well as the police, to obtain a senior judge's permission before accessing communications data to identify a journalist's source; and explicitly prevents UK agencies from asking foreign intelligence bodies to undertake activity on their behalf unless they have a warrant approved by a secretary of state and judicial commissioner. Figures have showed major communication companies are still rejecting up to half of requests for customer data from UK police and intelligence agencies. In the first half of 2015, Apple provided information following a UK request in as few as 56 per cent of cases, Google acceded in 75 per cent of cases and Facebook met 78 per cent of requests. The new security bill is the latest in a series of attempts to update the law to allow police and security services to access communications data, as more and more takes place online rather than on phones. The draft bill will require internet companies to store details of a person's every internet visit, text message and phone call for up to 12 months. But the police and the security services will not be able to see the content of communications, such as opening an email or looking at the specific web pages a person has viewed, without a warrant. However, following stinging criticism by two Parliamentary committees last month, which said the Bill was 'flawed', Mrs May has made changes. The video has since clocked up thousands of views on social media A great-grandmother-of-five thought to be Britain's oldest rapper proves she is down with the kids - after becoming a viral hit with a hilarious hip-hop video filmed in the back of an ambulance. Norma Clarke, 78, stunned paramedics by delivering a blistering performance despite having just suffered a severe nosebleed at her home in Castle Vale, Birmingham. The Dr Dre fan, who suffers from arthritis and psoriasis, showed the younger generation that she can mix it with the best of them, with lyrics she penned herself based on a real-life run-in with a shopkeeper. Young at heart: A great-grandmother-of-five thought to be Britain's oldest rapper proves she is down with the kids - after becoming a viral hit with a hilarious hip-hop video filmed in the back of an ambulance Her grandson, Jordan Lynam, captured the song on his phone as they prepared to travel to Birmingham Heartlands hospital. The pensioner has since clocked up thousands of views on social media. Jordan, 25, said: 'She's pretty well-known around Birmingham and one of the paramedics knew her face from when she was on TV years ago. 'Obviously she was a bit disappointed to have to go to hospital but the rap helped keep her spirits up. I don't know how she does it. 'She's just a natural performer. She's got the timing of the delivery perfect. It all goes back to storytelling and poetry she did when she was younger. 'I'm an aspiring rapper and actor as well under the name Diamond Lynam. We listen to Dr Dre together and she picks up the language from there. Impressive: Norma Clarke, 78, stunned paramedics by delivering a blistering performance despite having just suffered a severe nosebleed at her home in Castle Vale, Birmingham 'The paramedics were in stitches. She built it up to them and told them the story it's based on and they were pretty blown away by how good she was. 'You don't really expect a 78-year-old woman from Birmingham to be able to rap like that.' Norma, a retired catering supervisor, is mother to four children and has a further six grandchildren. Norma made a brief appearance on Britain's Got Talent in 2007 but has been propelled back into the spotlight after Jordan posted the footage from the ambulance on Facebook. Norma said: 'Singing has been my life. I sang in the clubs and on boats for years. 'I've written more than 300 songs, mainly country and western or rock and roll, but I realised I'd never done a rap. 'I suppose it is a bit unusual for someone of my age but I've never really thought about it like that. I'm just glad that people appreciate the talents of someone in my age group. Down with the kids: 'I've written more than 300 songs, mainly country and western or rock and roll, but I realised I'd never done a rap. I suppose it is a bit unusual for someone of my age but I've never really thought about it like that. I'm just glad that people appreciate the talents of someone in my age group' In full rap attire, left and more traditionally dressed, right: The popular former community worker is now out of hospital after having her nose cauterised to prevent it bleeding constantly 'The driver of the ambulance recognised me and asked would I do the rap for him. I was a bit angry with Jordan when he told me he filmed the whole thing. 'I don't write the words down, I just keep them in my head. I love the beats too. The drums have always been my favourite instrument. 'I think the kids that rap today are very talented but I'm proof that age is just a number.' In the rap, Norma chronicles how she witnessed a young busker get asked to leave his pitch by an irate shopkeeper - causing her to intervene in support of the musician. The popular former community worker is now out of hospital after having her nose cauterised to prevent it bleeding constantly. Norma said: 'I'm not in the best of health but at least it was just a nose bleed. It wasn't like I was flat out on my back or anything. 'I'm glad it makes people smile. I've gone out and got all the bling and the peak caps so I've got the look as well. 'It takes a bit of confidence and a bit of talent. Quite a lot of kids round here recognise and treat me like a bit of a legend. 'That's not why I do it though. I just love music.' Al Qaeda's leaders were increasingly worried about spies in their midst, drones in the air and secret tracking devices reporting their movements as the U.S.-led war against them ground on, documents seized in the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's Pakistani hideout and reviewed by Reuters reveal. The cache of 113 documents, translated and declassified by U.S. intelligence agencies, are mostly dated between 2009 and 2011, intelligence officials said. The documents - the second tranche from the raid to have been declassified since May 2015 - depict an Al Qaeda that was unwavering in its commitment to global jihad, but with its core leadership in Pakistan and Afghanistan under pressure on multiple fronts. Scroll down for video Fears: Osama bin Laden is shown in this video clip released by the Pentagon on May 7, 2011 U.S. President Barack Obama has said drone strikes and other counter-terrorism operations depleted Al Qaeda's original leadership, culminating in bin Laden's killing by U.S. Navy SEALs on May 2, 2011. In the years since, the organization has proved resilient from Afghanistan to North Africa, and its ideological rival, Islamic State, has grown and spread. In one document, bin Laden issues instructions to Al Qaeda members holding an Afghan hostage to be wary of possible tracking technology attached to the ransom payment. 'It is important to get rid of the suitcase in which the funds are delivered, due to the possibility of it having a tracking chip in it,' bin Laden states in a letter to an aide identified only as 'Shaykh Mahmud'. In an apparent reference to armed U.S. drones patrolling the skies, bin Laden says his negotiators should not leave their rented house in the Pakistani city of Peshawar 'except on a cloudy overcast day'. Policemen stand guard near the partially demolished compound where Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. special forces in May 2011 The recently declassified documents were taken from bin Laden's compound during the May 2011 raid (pictured above) Soldiers stand over covered debris as it is moved from the compound the day bin Laden was assassinated While the document is undated, the hostage, Afghan diplomat Abdul Khaliq Farahi, was held from September 2008 to late 2010. Another, fragmentary document acknowledges that Al Qaeda executed four would-be volunteers on suspicion of spying, only to discover they were probably innocent, according to senior U.S. intelligence officials authorized to discuss the materials in advance of their public release. 'I did not mention this to justify what has happened,' wrote the undated letter's unidentified author, adding, 'we are in an intelligence battle and humans are humans and no one is infallible.' In a May 11, 2010 letter to his then second-in-command, Atiyah Abd al Rahman, bin Laden urged caution in arranging an interview with al Jazeera journalist Ahmad Zaidan, asserting that the United States could be tracking his movements through devices implanted in his equipment, or by satellite. Bin Laden voiced his fears that his associates were being tracked by U.S. drones when he gave specific instructions on how to move a hostage, diplomat Abdul Khaliq Farahi (seen above) 'You must keep in mind the possibility, however, slight, that journalists can be under surveillance that neither we nor they can perceive, either on the ground or via satellite,' he wrote. Even as Al Qaeda came under growing pressure, bin Laden and his aides planned a media campaign to mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, the documents show. They plotted diplomatic strategy and opined on climate change and the U.S. financial collapse. In a undated letter 'To the American people,' the Al Qaeda chief chides Obama for failing to end the war in Afghanistan, and accurately predicts that the U.S. president's plan for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will fail. In a May 11, 2010 letter to his then second-in-command, Atiyah Abd al Rahman (pictured), bin Laden urged caution in arranging an interview with al Jazeera journalist Ahmad Zaidan. Al Rahman was killed in a drone strike in 2011 OSAMA BIN LADEN'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT To my Precious Father Peace is upon you with Gods mercy and blessings. Thanks to God, prayers and greetings on Gods Messenger, our Prophet Muhammad, his kindred, all his followers and those whom he allies with. How are you father? I ask God that you are in the best of conditions. To start: I do not forget your favor in raising us, and deepening the concept of Jihad in our hearts, and on spending on us, and in helping us get married, and a lot more of other things. You have the favor after God in our commitment and guidance to the right path; the road to dignity and gaining the heavens. What a father and how wonderful you are. My precious father: I entrust you well for my wife and children, and that you will always ask about them and follow up on their whereabouts and help them in their marriages and needs. They are from me and I am from you, and they are your sons, too. My precious father: I have enlisted myself an immigrant and mujahid for the sake of God. If I am to be killed, pray for me a lot and give continuous charities in my name, as I will be in great need for support to reach the permanent home. There is another matter: When I got married, Abu Burhan Al-Suri covered the marriage costs and what was after. If these were not from your funds, kindly pay them back, so I will not be trapped in my grave. Finally: I ask God, if I am killed before you, that God will accept my pledge for you, my mother, my sons, daughters, my wife, brothers, sisters, your wives, and all our family. I ask God almighty to give you victory over his enemies, and to establish the Islamic state at the hands of the Mujahideen, sooner or later. I would like you to forgive me, if I have done what you did not like, and convey my greetings to all our family and in particular my mother; that I 'would remember in my prayers/strengthen yourselves'. Your son, Saad Bin Usama August 15 2008 Last wishes: Above, a view of bin Laden's letter to his father, written in Arabic In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Praise be to God and prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his followers and companions. I, Usama Bin Muhammad Awadh Bin Abud Bin Laden, have signed below. In regard to the money that is in Sudan, it is about $29 million dollars. According to the mediator, I have received $1,100,000 in Sudan, $800,000 thousand in Jalalabad, and then about $1,250,000 in Qandahar. I received $12million from my brother Abu Bakir Muhammad Bin ((Laden)) on behalf of Bin Laden Company for Investment in Sudan. I hope, for my brothers, sisters, and maternal aunts, to obey my will and to spend all the money that I have left in Sudan on Jihad, for the sake of Allah. Also, I need you to take 1 per cent from the total and give it to Shaykh Abu Hafs al-Mauritani. By the way, he has already received $20,000- $30,000 dollars from it, he said. I promised him that I would reward him if he took it out of the Sudani Government. I also told brother Engineer Abu Ibrahim al-Iraqi Saad ((Jawhar)) to cut 1 per cent as a reward for his hard work in Wadi al-Aqiq Company, and I think he has already have done that. If not, I want you to give him what I promised him. The conversation about the money in Sudan is over. I want $300,000 riyals to go to my Uncle Master Muhammad Bin Umar al-((Attas)) and his children. I want 20 of gold to go to Khadijah Umm (mother) of Ali, the daughter of Abdullah al-((Jilani)). I want my uncles sons, sisters, and maternal aunts to have two pounds of Hujazis gold for each one (male) and one pound of them and Hujazis gold for each one (female). I want you also to cut from Sudans money 200,000 riyals for my sisters Maryam, Iman, and Atidal, for the total of 600,000 riyals. I want for my son Saad Bin Usama and his mother to share a half of his portion and my daughter Khadijah, the daughter of Usama, half of the daughters share. Signed, Usama bin Muhammad Advertisement On April 28, 2011, just four days before his death, bin Laden was editing a document he had written on the Arab Spring revolutions. Al Qaeda's leaders also urged further attacks on the United States. 'We need to extend and develop our operations in America and not keep it limited to blowing up airplanes,' says a letter, apparently written by bin Laden, to Nasir al-Wuhayshi, head of Al Qaeda's Yemen branch. Bin Laden 'was still sort of thinking in very kind of grand schemes, and still... trying to reclaim that 9/11 "victory",' said one of the senior intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. But he was 'somewhat out of touch with the (actual) capabilities of his organization,' the official said. The documents show the strains of managing Al Qaeda's external networks, including identifying capable leaders and finding resources to fund operations abroad. In a letter to his father, bin Laden asked him to take care of his family if he died before he did. Above, one of bin Laden's several wives, Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah One associate, who signed his 2009 note simply as 'Your beloved "Atiyah,"' acknowledged troubles replacing an ineffective leader for external operations, saying some of the best candidates were dead. 'There are new brothers, perhaps some would be suitable in the future, but not now,' he wrote. Suspicion of tracking devices pops up again and again in the group's writings. The concern may have been merited - the United States conducts extensive electronic surveillance on Al Qaeda and other Islamic militant groups. Abu Abdallah al-Halabi - who the U.S. Treasury has identified as a name used by bin Laden's son-in law Muhammad Abdallah Hasan Abu-Al-Khayr - writes in a letter to 'my esteemed brother Khalid' about intercepting messages of 'spies' in Pakistan, who he said would facilitate air strikes on Al Qaeda operatives by marking cars with infrared streaks that can be seen with night vision equipment. In another, bin Laden, writing under the pseudonym Abu Abdallah, expresses alarm over his wife's visit to a dentist while in Iran, worrying that a tracking chip could have been implanted with her dental filling. 'The size of the chip is about the length of a grain of wheat and the width of a fine piece of vermicelli,' he wrote. The letter ended with this instruction: 'Please destroy this letter after reading it.' Also among the cache of documents released exclusively to Reuters and ABC News were letters believed to be bin Laden's last will and testament. One document, a hand-written note that U.S. intelligence officials believe the Saudi militant composed in the late 1990s, laid out how he wanted to distribute about $29million he had in Sudan to global jihad after his death. One percent of the $29 million, bin Laden wrote, should go to Mahfouz Ould al-Walid, a senior Al Qaeda militant who used the nom de guerre Abu Hafs al Mauritani. 'By the way, he (al-Walid) has already received $20,000-30,000 from it,' bin Laden continued. 'I promised him that I would reward him if he took it out of the Sudani government.' OSAMA BIN LADEN PENNED ESSAY CALLING ON AMERICANS TO HELP PRESIDENT OBAMA FIGHT CLIMAGE CHANGE Osama bin Laden (left) wrote a letter address to the American people, saying they should help President Obama (right) fight climate change in a document that was found at the terrorist's hideout the night he was killed in 2011. On Tuesday, the Obama administration declassified 113 of these documents Also among the documents released Tuesday was a letter, attributed to Osama bin Laden, calling on the American people to help President Obama fight 'catastrophic climate change' and 'save humanity' The undated, unsigned letter 'to the American people' appeared to have been written shortly after Obama began his first term in 2009, based on the letter's references to events. Bin Laden's preoccupation with climate change also emerged as a theme in the first tranche of documents from the raid that was declassified in May 2015, as well as in an audio recording released via the al Jazeera network in January 2010. In the rambling letter made public Tuesday, bin Laden blamed the 2007-8 U.S. financial crisis on corporate control of capital and corporate lobbyists, and the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He called on Americans to launch 'a great revolution for freedom' to liberate the U.S. president from those influences. That would enable Obama to make 'a rational decision to save humanity from the harmful gases that threaten its destiny,' bin Laden continued. In a separate letter, bin Laden urged a close aide to launch a media campaign for the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks that included a call for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Bin Laden contended that the world would be better off fighting climate change than waging what he claimed was a war against Islam. '...the world should put its efforts into attempting to reduce the release of gases,' said the undated, unsigned letter to someone identified as Shaykh Mahmud that U.S. intelligence officials said they believed was written by bin Laden. 'This is a struggle between two of the largest cultures on Earth, and it is in the shadow of catastrophic climate conditions.' Advertisement Bin Laden lived in Sudan for five years as an official guest until he was asked to leave in May 1996 by the then-Islamic fundamentalist government under pressure from the United States. Another one percent of the sum should be given to a second associate, Engineer Abu Ibrahim al-Iraqi Sa'ad, for helping set up bin Laden's first company in Sudan, Wadi al-Aqiq Co., the document said. Bin Laden urged his close relatives to use the rest of the funds to support holy war. 'I hope for my brothers, sisters and maternal aunts to obey my will and to spend all the money that I have left in Sudan on jihad, for the sake of Allah,' he wrote. He set down specific amounts in Saudi riyals and gold that should be apportioned between his mother, a son, a daughter, an uncle, and his uncle's children and maternal aunts. In a letter dated August 15, 2008, bin Laden asks that his father take care of his wife and children in the event he died first. 'My precious father: I entrust you well for my wife and children, and that you will always ask about them and follow up on their whereabouts and help them in their marriages and needs,' he wrote. In a final wistful paragraph, he asks his father for forgiveness 'if I have done what you did not like.' Advertisement The rookie police officer shot and killed on her first day on the job has been laid to rest. Hundreds of uniformed officers united on Tuesday to bid a final farewell to Ashley Guindon days after her death. Mounted officers lined the route to the church, and police dogs and their handlers stood by at the church's entrance. Bagpipes played and officers saluted a hearse carrying Guindon's body as it pulled up to the church. After a two-hour public viewing, the funeral began. the Rev. Gerard Creedon said he hoped the loss felt in Guindon's 'unconscionable dismissal from this life' might signal an end to violence. Final farewell: Mounted officers lined the route to the church, and police dogs and their handlers stood by at the church's entrance in Woodbridge, Virginia, to lay rookie officer Ashley Guindon, 29, to rest on Tuesday Hundreds of uniformed service men and women joined Guindon's family for the ceremony Ashley Guindon, 29, (left) was allegedly shot dead by Pentagon army sergeant Ron Hamilton, 32, (right) after his wife Crystal, also 29, called 911 to report domestic assault. He is also accused of fatally shooting Crystal Video courtesy FOX 5 DC 'Blessed are the peacemakers,' Creedon said. Guindon graduated from the Prince William Criminal Justice Academy in 2015, but left before completing the field training program for personal reasons, police said. She was readmitted last month. 'She accomplished more in 28 years than I could in 100,' Chief Stephan Hudson said during the service. Hudson said Guindon dedicated her life to others up to the very end. 'That's exactly what she did,' Hudson said. Guindon, 28, was responding to a domestic violence call in Dale City, Virginia, last Saturday night at the home of Pentagon Army sergeant Ron Hamilton. By the time Guindon arrived with two fellow officers, Hamilton's 29-year-old wife Crystal had been shot dead. After the funeral her casket was brought out by uniformed police officers as Ashley Guindon's mother Sharon Guindon, left, was comforted by a Prince William County Police Officer after the services Gov. McAuliffe hugged offered the grieving mother a hug. He was one of many who turned out so the family would know they aren't alone Police Officers from across the country saluted Guindon's casket as it was carried out after the funeral service Video courtesy FOX 5 DC Hamilton, 32, allegedly opened fire as soon as the officers arrived, fatally shooting Guindon and wounding the other two. The Hamiltons' 11-year-old son was in the house at the time but survived unscathed. Officers began lining up for the funeral and viewing at 10am. At noon, an American flag was raised in Guindon's honor. At the funeral, retired FBI agent John Kerr showed up in leather and chains with his motorbike, one of several members of the Strength and Honor Motorcycle Club in attendance. 'We wanted them (Guindon's family) to know they are not alone,' Kerr told The Washington Post. Mounted officers lined the route to the church, and police dogs and their handlers stood by at the church's entrance. Guindon was one of three officers shot Saturday responding to a domestic violence call. The other two officers are expected to survive. Suspect Ronald Hamilton is jailed facing a capital murder charge and other counts. Hamilton's wife, Crystal Hamilton, was shot and killed Saturday before police arrived. A multi-jurisdiction police honor guard, from Baltimore, Maryland, marches for Guindon on Tuesday At the funeral, retired FBI agent John Kerr showed up in leather and chains with his motorbike, one of several members of the Strength and Honor Motorcycle Club in attendance Guindon had interned with the police force before applying for her job. Here her new coworkers pay tribute Police officers remove an American Flag from a hearse at the chapel Police Officers from across the country, line-up to pay their respects to the Prince William County officer He has admitted that he shot killed his wife and a rookie Virginia police officer who was working her first day on the job, according to court records. An affidavit suggests Ronald Hamilton told cops he had gunned down spouse Crystal, 29, and then 29-year-old Officer Ashley Guindon when they arrived at his home on Saturday. The latest allegations were revealed after the 32-year-old was held without bond during his first court appearance. Hamilton was shackled and surrounded by six prison guards as he faced a judge for his arraignment at Prince William County General District Court via video link. Prosecutor Paul Ebert has said he'll likely seek the death penalty against Hamilton. He's charged with capital murder, first-degree murder and malicious wounding. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for Hamilton. Her, a police officer salutes at the end of the services for Hamilton's alleged victim, Ashley Guindon Hamilton's wife Crystal (left) was shot dead before Guindon arrived. Tributes were left outside the home (right) Ten-year veteran David McKeown, 33, (left) and eight-year veteran Jesse Hempen (right) were wounded He also told WUSA 9 Hamilton has a prior assault conviction in another state. By the time Guindon arrived with her field officer Jesse Hempen, 31, and ten-year police veteran David McKeown, 33, Crystal was shot dead, the affidavit states. Hamilton allegedly opened fire as soon as the officers arrived, fatally shooting Guindon and wounding the other two. The Hamiltons' 11-year-old son was in the house at the time but survived unscathed. On Sunday, police chief Stephen Hudson paid tribute to Guindon's work and gave a poignant account of the passion she showed when she interviewed for the job. The Oscar-winning movie Mad Max: Fury Road has been condemned by green campaigners who accused film-makers of destroying the environment and wildlife to create new dirt tracks. Environmental groups in Namibia, southwest Africa, claimed the film-crew destroyed sensitive areas of the Namib Desert while shooting the movie which scooped six gongs at the Hollywood awards. One tour operator said lizards, geckos and chameleons suffered when they added tracks in 'untouched areas' - before trying to remove the trails by 'dragging nets over them'. Scroll down for video The Oscar-winning movie Mad Max: Fury Road (pictured) was condemned by green campaigners who accused film-makers of destroying the environment and wildlife to create new dirt tracks Tommy Collard told AFP: 'They added tracks in untouched areas. What is worse is the film crew tried to remove the marks they left themselves by dragging nets over them, ripping plants out. 'Together with other coastal tour operators we have collected a lot of photographic evidence. One cannot rehabilitate the landscape of the Namib Desert.' George Miller's post-apocalyptic chase film took six awards in technical categories for editing, make-up, production design, sound editing, sound mixing and costume design. Filming took place in the desert in 2012. The website IOL reported in 2013 that coastal watchdog NACOMA (Namibian Coast Conservation and Management) Project had requested a report on any potential damage caused. Joh Henschel, who compiled the report, then sent it to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. He is reported as saying: 'NACOMA contracted me as consultant about the tracks left by the Mad Max film crew and yes some areas in the Namib Desert were destroyed. 'In one area a ploughing device was used,' he added, declining to give more details. The Namibia Film Commission hit back and placed an advert in a paper to 'refute the allegations... in the strongest terms'. Tom Hardy is pictured in the Mad Max film AFP reported that it had seen a copy of the report - and that some responsibility had been laid at the door of the government department. It reportedly said: 'The permit and environmental clearance granted by the MET to the Mad Max project were not sufficiently specific so as to serve to guide the management of environmental compliance of the project.' However, the Namibia Film Commission hit back and placed an advert in a paper to 'refute the allegations... in the strongest terms', IOL reported. The advert said: ''Mad Max(4): Fury Road' has to our satisfaction... faced up to their responsibilities within Namibia... we register no reservations and give 'Mad Max(4): Fury Road' a clean bill.' The ministry of environment's permanent secretary Simeon Negumbo insisted at the time that 'the experienced, dedicated team used tried and tested methods like vehicle and hand-dragged fishing nets, tyres, brooms, chains, ropes and leaf blowers, which worked perfectly in the area.' Mad Max: Fury Road was produced under a budget of just over 100million. The big spending paid dividends - in its first weekend in the U.S. it pulled $45,428,128 (US). Worldwide it collected more than 265million. A former Royal Marine killed himself after his abuse of anabolic steroids to help him keep fit made him prone to violent mood swings, an inquest has heard. John Salthouse, 23, had taken steroids every two weeks claiming they would help with his weight lifting - but the pills caused him to erupt into bouts of blind rage towards his loved ones. His girlfriend Kimberley Challenor once found him in their bath in a drunken stupor with blood on the walls, and on another occasion he choked his sister until she almost passed out after a minor row over a vacuum cleaner. Former Marine: John Salthouse, 23, originally from Buxton, Derbyshire, had taken steroids every two weeks claiming they would help with his weight lifting She added: It was almost like he was in a blind rage. I also knew he was taking steroids around that time. We had never seen him like that before. I made the decision that we would be better off friends and he was remorseful and said sorry. I assured him that he could stay as long as he wanted and he would be fine one moment and then turn the next. He took steroids every two weeks, I didnt want him to do it and didnt like him doing it. One morning I was woken up by banging in the bathroom, I went in to see what was going on and there was blood on the walls. I called the police for help - I didnt know what to do. Mr Salthouse sought help from a doctor over his behaviour just days before he took his own life in Ashton-Under-Lyne, Greater Manchester. An inquest in Stockport heard the upholsterer, originally from Buxton in Derbyshire, had joined the Marines as a teenager and moved to Scotland where he was at Clyde Naval Base. But he left the Armed Forces in 2014 following an incident of damage to a hotel and moved back home with his family. His father Graham Salthouse said: He didnt seem happy at the end of his time in the Royal Marines and he had some problems in Scotland. He came back to live at the family home with me and his sister and it was around this time he became very serious about weightlifting. He had always been serious about gym training. 'I think his temper might have been to do with the drugs he was taking. Bodybuilding drugs appeared in the house, which were muscle building drugs, most of them were bought online from abroad. 'I was concerned about what affect they had on him physically and mentally. There was an incident at the home which led to him being arrested and he had to stay away from the house.' Miss Challenor, who subsequently let Mr Salthouse move in with her, said he became aggressive with her at a party in Manchester because she 'stopped him doing a deal in the club'. On a tank: Mr Salthouse sought help from a doctor over his behaviour just days before he took his own life He didnt say anything - he was crying and had been drinking in the bath. He had left me a note saying he was sorry. The police arrived and managed to get him. Sad case: He left the Armed Forces following an incident of damage to a hotel and moved back home It took two of them to hold him down and he was taken to hospital at that point. Later that evening I got a text from him saying they were keeping him in and could we talk. I told him there were people who cared about him and he could stay at my house. His behaviour from that weekend was unlike anything Id seen him like before. I had never seen him like that. Mr Salthouse was admitted to Tameside Hospital where he was treated by mental health staff but was discharged the next day and went back home to Miss Challenor before heading out to work. He was found dead at 5am the following morning by the emergency services. Patricia Bardsley, a senior practitioner in mental health services, said: He said he felt insecure in his relationship and said it had been fragile the last two months. Two nights earlier he had made a number of derogatory remarks towards her and the next day she ended the relationship. He had suicidal thoughts. He was casual smart dressed and there was no evidence of self-neglect. He attended the gym daily which he enjoyed. Recording a verdict of suicide, coroner Joanne Kearsley said: John had a number of difficulties since he had come out of the Royal Marines and he himself admitted he had some difficulties with anger. I think he is someone who acted very impulsively at that time when he was feeling quite low. Im sure listening to the evidence is really difficult - he has so many family members and friends here. The Cambridge student found murdered and dumped on the side of a road in Cairo was tortured and interrogated for up to a week before he was killed, an Egyptian forensics official has revealed. Burn marks on the body of Italian Giulio Regeni, a student at Cambridge's Department of Politics and International Studies, had been inflicted over several days. The marks are from cigarettes, pointing to interrogation methods which human rights groups say are the hallmark of the Egyptian security services. This is the strongest indication yet that the 28-year-old PhD candidate was killed by a person or group working for the government. The Italian national, a student of Cambridge's Department of Politics and International Studies, suffered 'inhuman violence' before his death, autopsies revealed In the past, the Interior Ministry has rejected accusations about human rights abuses. The prosecution sources said Hisham Abdel Hamid, Director of the Department of Forensic Medicine, gave his findings during questioning as an expert by officials in the public prosecutor's office last week. 'We asked Hisham Abdel Hamid to appear before the prosecutor's office for questioning, to ask him questions about the autopsy,' an investigator in the prosecutor's office told Reuters, adding that Abdel Hamid was accompanied by two associates who also took part in the autopsy. 'Abdel Hamid said during the questioning that the wounds on the body occurred over different intervals of between 10-14 hours. 'That means that whoever is accused of killing him was interrogating him for information.' The 28-year-old's family have denied suggestions he was working for Western intelligence agencies while in Egypt The main Interior Ministry spokesman was not available for comment. Another Interior Ministry spokesman, asked by Reuters to comment on the findings, said: 'I know nothing about this matter.' A source in the Department of Forensic Medicine confirmed Abdel Hamid had been questioned. Reuters reached Abdel Hamid by telephone but he declined to comment. Regeni, 28, disappeared on Jan. 25, the anniversary of the 2011 uprising that ended former President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. Regeni had written articles critical of the Egyptian government, the Italian newspaper that published them said. The broken corpse of the Cambridge University student, who was researching the rise of independent labour unions following the 2011 revolt, was found in a ditch on the side of a motorway on Feb. 3. Egyptian forensics and prosecution officials have said his body showed signs of torture and that he was killed by a blow with a sharp object to the back of the head. 'The autopsy report shows a number of injuries at one time; and there are a number of other injuries later and other injuries a third time,' said another investigator in the public prosecutor's office, summarising Abdel Hamid's statements. 'The wounds and fractures occurred at different times in intervals during a period of about five to seven days.' More than 3,000 people attended Giulio Regeni's funeral in Fiumicello, northern Italy The 28-year-old Italian researcher was brutally murdered and mutilated body was found dumped in a ditch The autopsy revealed that Regeni's neck was twisted or struck which broke a vertebra and left him unable to breathe The case has put a spotlight on alleged police brutality in Egypt, a strategic ally of the United State and other Western powers. Shopkeepers in Regeni's neighbourhood of Cairo said there were no signs that police in the area had been questioning people since his disappearance or death. Rights groups accuse the police of widespread abuses against Egyptians since the army toppled Egypt's first freely elected president in 2013. Such actions against foreigners are not common. Italy has said Egyptian investigators should hand over the evidence they have uncovered on Regeni's death. Egypt invited Italian investigators to take part in the investigation, but judicial sources in Rome say the collaboration has been limited because not enough information was shared. A second autopsy in Italy 'confronted us with something inhuman, something animal', Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfa has said without elaborating further. The case has created tensions between Egypt and Italy. Egypt's interior ministry has said possible motives for the killers included criminal activity or the desire for revenge 'due to personal reasons'. Italian judicial sources say an Italian team in Cairo has not received any information of value from their Egyptian counterparts. A 17-year-old naked model had her eyes gouged out and her ears cut off after allegedly being hacked to death by her 'envious' drug-fuelled older sister. Stefania Dubrovina, 17, was killed in the St Petersburg, Russia flat of an unnamed 42-year-old man on February 24. Her sister, 19-year-old Elizaveta, is in detention suspected of murdering her and mutilating her body. Stefania Dubrovina (pictured right), 17, was allegedly killed in a 42-year-old's flat by her sister Elizaveta (left) Stefania Dubrovina (left), pictured with her sister Elizaveta (right), was stabbed 140 times and badly mutilated Murder victim Stefania Dubrovina (right) pictured with her sister Elizaveta Dubrovina (left) in 2012 The young girl's body was 'almost ruined by cutting performed by the girl's elder sister', newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda reported. St Petersburg showman Stas Baretsky, 43, said: 'I had known Stefania for about two years. She was a modest and attractive girl, she took part in my shows. I am shocked.' Although she posed for naked photographs he denied she had taken part in any porn movies, and also insisted rumours that she worked as an escort girl were untrue. 'Stefania was never involved in it,' he said. 'She was not filmed in porn film either. She simply tried to boost her career in modelling.' Stefania captioned her final nude picture on the eve of her death: 'Happy Defender of the Motherland Day. Our dear, only, beloved and strong men. We love you so much.' An unnamed female friend told the newspaper that on the night she died she had gone to see a man who has not been identified. 'It is not 100 per cent proved that she had romantic relations with his man,' said the friend. 'We are only sure that this man organised photo sessions for Stefania. She visited him a week before too.' On 23 February, Stefania's sister Elizaveta joined her. A police source told that the three of them had 'a great party' and by midnight they ran out of alcohol and the man went out to buy some more. But as soon the man had shut the door behind him, it is alleged that Elizaveta attacked her sister with a knife. Stefania (pictured), 17, was embarking on a burgeoning modelling career when she was tragically killed A police source said on the night of her death, Stefania (pictured), her sister and the older man had run out of alcohol. The unnamed man left to buy some more and that is when the killing occurred A police source said the killer cut off the ears of her victims, gouged out her eyes and cut the whole body. A friend claimed Stefania's sister was always 'a bit crazy' and there were reports she was treated in a psychiatric clinic . Elizaveta also tried to look as glamorous and 'copied the image of her younger sister - the same hair colour, the same lipstick' , according to the newspaper report. 'There are photographs of both sisters hugging each other but there is no doubt that the elder sister envied the younger one.' The girls were orphans, part of a larger family whose children were removed from their parents. Iit is alleged that Elizaveta (pictured), 19, attacked her sister with a knife after the man left the building Elizaveta (pictured) tried to look as glamorous and 'copied the image of her younger sister', it was claimed The two sisters (pictured is alleged killer Elizaveta) were orphans and part of a family removed from their parents A family member to the two girls (pictured is Elizaveta) said Stefania's death was a 'shocking tragedy' Stefania was raised in an orphanage but escaped aged 15 and went on the run for three months. Baretsky said: 'I called Stefania some hours before her death, she was crying. I asked her "what happened?" But she explained nothing. I only understood that she had some problems.' Earlier last month, Stefania posted a picture of herself with a bottle of wine and a big knife. Ekaterina Dubrovina, aunt to the sisters, called Stefania's death a 'shocking tragedy'. She said they suffered a nightmare in their childhood. This is the heartwarming moment a wild wolverine mum tenderly carries her baby in her mouth to a new den. The extremely rare footage was filmed by a Canadian wildlife filmmaker, Andrew Manske, in the Canadian north for his documentary Wolverine: Ghost of the Northern Forest. It represents the first time a baby wolverine has been seen in the wild. Wolverines have a reputation of being elusive, solitary animals - but the footage proves they are 'a lot more social than we thought', Manske said in an interview ahead of the film's debut. Scroll down for video A wild wolverine mum is seen carrying her baby in her mouth to a new den The extremely rare footage was filmed by a Canadian wildlife filmmaker, Andrew Manske, in the Canadian north for his documentary Wolverine: Ghost of the Northern Forest Wolverines have a reputation of being elusive, solitary animals - but the footage proves they're a lot more sociable than previously thougth He captured both male and female adult wolverines in the company of offspring working together with University of Alberta researchers Mark Boyce and Matt Scrafford. In the scene, the mother is seen carrying the pale grey, fluffy wolverine kits outside the den in broad daylight to move them to a new location. 'We were shocked to see her come out in the middle of the day,' said Manske. He was also surprised to see that male wolverines play a bigger role in raising their offspring. 'We kept seeing the male wolverine returning to the den when the mother was inside with her kits,' Manske said. 'The male would come by every couple days just to check on them.' He's also seen using his urine to mark the outside of the den with his scent to keep other wolverines away. Manske spent five years trying to capture the wolverines in a remote corner northwest of Alberta. The area was only accessible in winter by snowmobile. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. On March 1 Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan received High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini and the delegation headed by her. During the meeting, the sides discussed the agenda of Armenia-EU bilateral relations, including cooperation in specific areas, as well as current international issues on regional developments, challenges and prospects. Armenian President stressed the importance of deepening Armenias relations with EU and said that our country is interested in the mentioned above. The President noted that such high-level demonstrate the willingness of bilateral cooperation. As Armenpress was informed from the Department of Mass Media and Public Relations, the two sides agreed that the 4th summit of the Eastern Partnership in May 2015, in Riga was an important milestone in the relations between Armenia and the EU, and based on this, the parties continue to cooperate. The sides noted the importance of the fact that in Riga mutual understanding between Armenia and the EU on the framework for future agreements was confirmed. Sargsyan noted with satisfaction the start of negotiations on a new comprehensive legal instrument between Armenia and the EU, expressing hope that the negotiations will take place in the natural channel and the parties will successfully finish this significant in the near future. The President also touched upon the implemented wide-ranging reforms in Armenia, including constitutional reforms, conducted in December of Last year. Sargsyan stressed that Armenia is determined to continue the initiated reforms in various fields and appreciates the EU's financial experts assistance in implementation of the mentioned reforms. The interlocutors also touched upon the negotiation process on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group. The President introduced the guest with Armenia's position on this issue, which has repeatedly been expressed on various occasions. Mogherini reaffirmed the EU's position, stressing that the EU supports the OSCE Minsk Group in the performance of the mission, as well as protects three principles of the negotiations - the right of peoples to self-determination, non-use of force or threat of force and territorial integrity. Jill Chandler from Spokane, Washington, began contacting the former pilots in 1982 when she was fresh out of high school A woman has amassed an amazing collection of 400 photos and thousands of letters from World War Two fighter pilots after diligently writing letters to them all. Jill Chandler from Spokane, Washington, began contacting the former pilots in 1982 when she was fresh out of high school. It came after she always had an interest in collecting autographs and personal letters, and it was a hobby she had always enjoyed. But as there was no internet at the time, the only way Ms Chandler could contact the fighter pilots was to carry out research in local libraries and diligently write to them. And after contacting hundreds of pilots and military organizations, the signed letters and photographs started streaming in to her. Now, more than 30 years on, Ms Chandler has collected thousands of letters and pictures, from celebrated pilots to unheard of crew members who fought against the Germans. Among the letters she has received have included a one from Francis Gabreski, an Army pilot, who was dubbed the best over Europe. One of her first replies was from the famed Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington, the leader of the Black Sheep Sqaudron. While other letters detailed the horrors of the conflict with one from first lietutenant Jay Coberley describing how he was taken to a prisoner of war camp after being shot down over Germany. Ms Chandler, a records handler for a medical group, told the Spokesman Review: 'These aces were the superheroes, the jockeys of the sky. More than 30 years on, Ms Chandler has collected thousands of letters and pictures, from celebrated pilots to unheard of crew members who fought against the Germans 'The guys who flew on the bombers, I wrote to them differently than the aces. The men in the bombers kept more to themselves and didnt seek notoriety. 'Theyre all heroes. These men sacrificed it all for our country, and I dont want their stories to be forgotten.' A former UN climate change chief has been charged with sexual assault and harassment following accusations he sent inappropriate texts and emails to a female colleague. Rajendra Pachauri, 75, the ex head of the UN climate change panel, was the subject of a complaint by an ex-colleague at an environmental think-tank. Indian police today brought the charges against him in a Delhi trial court, more than a year after the woman in her late twenties filed her original complaint. Rajendra Pachauri, 75, has been charged with sexual assault, harassment and criminal intimidation. Here he is pictured addressing the 2014 climate change conferences in Lima Virender Dalal, the investigating officer, said: 'We have filed the charge sheet today and the court will decide when to begin the hearing.' Police have charged Pachauri, 75, with four counts including sexual assault, harassment and criminal intimidation, according to the complainant's lawyer. 'Police have filed the nearly 1,400-page charge sheet in the trial court,' lawyer Prashant Mendiratta said. 'We will need time to examine the entire document but it states that they have found prima facie evidence.' Pachauri, who is on bail, denies the sexual harassment charges and has said his emails and mobile phone were hacked. Rajendra Pachauri denies the sexual harassment charges His lawyer Ashish Dixit said his client would defend the charges and stressed the case still had a long way to go. Mr Dixit said 'Obviously he is maintaining his innocence. 'The charge sheet doesn't make any difference because he has not given his side of the story. 'The charge sheet is based on the complainant's statements. Arguments have not been heard from the other side.' Pachauri, a leading voice on the dangers of global warming, was forced to quit as chairman of the Nobel Prize-winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February 2015 after his colleague at the think-tank filed her complaint. In July, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) based in New Delhi announced it was replacing Pachauri after a backlash over his return to work while facing the allegations. A court had barred him from entering the institute's office for many months following the complaint, but later allowed him to return while still on bail. Last month his appointment as TERI executive vice chairman caused outrage, forcing the institute, where he had worked for 35 years, to put him on indefinite leave. Pachauri continues to hold the position, according to the TERI website. Bernie Sanders has voted in his hometown of Burlington, Vermont, as Super Tuesday kicks off across 11 states. 'After a lot of thought, I voted for me,' the Vermont senator joked to reporters. Defiantly upbeat, he insisted that if voter turnout is high 'we are going to do well', adding: 'we're feeling pretty good.' His optimism is an apparent bid to smile through what looks set to be a difficult day for their campaign's national debut. Even Sanders' wife Jane said it isn't looking good. 'Its a rough map for us,' she told the Guardian. 'I wish 11 states werent up tomorrow. I wish there were 48 hours in the day.' Meanwhile his competitor Hillary Clinton started her Super Tuesday with a call in to Dallas, Texas, R&B radio station K104, with an impassioned appeal to the anti-Trump listener base. 'If I could wrap up the nomination early, I could turn my attention to ... Donald Trump,' she said. On the Republican side, Marco Rubio is continuing his push to destabilize Trump's lead with a rally in Minnesota, while Ted Cruz headed straight to Houston, Texas, to cast his ballot. Texas will be crucial for both Rubio and Cruz if they want to knock Trump off the top spot. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and his wife Jane Sanders vote in the Vermont primary at the Robert Miller Community and Recreation Center in Burlington, Vermont, on Tuesday The couple appeared jovial as they greeted election workers at the start of a big day for Bernie's campaign Republican candidate Senator Ted Cruz casts his vote in Houston, Texas, with his young daughter Catherine Cruz's home state of Texas could make or break any of the top three GOP candidates Still pushing for votes: Hillary Clinton greets patrons at Mapps Coffee in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Tuesday Clinton started her day with a call to a Dallas R&B radio show, then went to Minnesota, before heading to Miami, Florida, to round it all off in an attempt to seal her expected victory in the Democratic field Donald Trump and Chris Christie, who is endorsing Trump's campaign, arrive for a campaign stop on Tuesday at the Signature Flight Hangar at Port-Columbus International Airport in Columbus, Ohio Marco Rubio addresses supporters ahead of Minnesota's evening Super Tuesday caucuses in Andover Trump is widely perceived to be the frontrunner in the GOP fight over 595 delegates. However, Cruz's home state of Texas could make or break a campaign, making the outlook somewhat hazy. House Speaker Paul Ryan and other conservatives kicked off the day urging their party to go with the establishment. Ryan said on Tuesday that anyone who wants to be the Republican presidential nominee must reject any racist group or individual. The GOP is the party of President Abraham Lincoln, he told reporters, adding: 'this party does not prey on people's prejudices.' Ryan was apparently referring to Trump's appearance Sunday on CNN when he declined to disavow the support of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and other white supremacists. His words come as the Christian Post makes its first ever politically affiliated plea to readers - calling on them to reject Donald Trump. 'We are making an exception because Trump is exceptionally bad and claims to speak for and represent the interests of Evangelicals,' read an editorial on Tuesday - days after Trump won the Evangelical vote in Nevada. Taking a scatter-gun approach for the Democrat nomination, the Clinton clan is sweeping the country in a final push for votes, with 865 delegates at stake. While Hillary spoke in Dallas, Bill met voters in Boston, and Chelsea was stationed in Omaha, Nebraska, which has its primary later this week. Next, Hillary will head to Minneapolis, Minnesota, before finishing her day in Miami, Florida. The former First Lady is set to triumph over Sanders after taking a staggering 86 per cent of the African American vote in South Carolina. Across the pond: Larry Sanders, Bernie's Britain-based brother, is seen voting for Bernie at the UK primary Clinton scatter-gun: Bill has been meeting voters in Boston on Tuesday (left) while Chelsea met with people in Omaha, Nebraska, on Tuesday (right) - which is not part of Super Tuesday but has its caucus on March 5 Clinging to the race! GOP hopeful Ohio Gov John Kasich addresses a crowd in Fairfax, Virginia, on Tuesday Nonetheless, Bernie woke up on Tuesday morning to one victory: New Zealand. Wellington is the first of 111 cities in 41 countries outside the U.S. to cast ballots in the primary for Democrats abroad. Republicans living overseas won't be able to do the same because the party doesn't allow for its supporters to vote in primaries. So far, four states have held primaries or caucuses to choose each party's nominee in November's presidential election. The Republicans American voters living in Wellington and registered as Democrats cast their ballots just after midnight early Tuesday local time, almost a day ahead of compatriots back home. In keeping with the South Pacific nation's informal style, all 28 of the votes were cast at a local drinking spot, the Public Bar and Eatery. Handily winning the day in New Zealand was Senator Bernie Sanders, who picked up 21 votes, while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got six. One ballot was spoiled. The results will be confirmed later this month at the global voter tally center in Germany. VIRGINIA: Donald Trump is expected to win over GOP voters in Arlington, while Hillary is set to win her side TEXAS: Voters were lined up to cast their votes before work in Fort Worth on Tuesday ARKANSAS: Election workers set up voting machines at the McGee Community Center on March 1 in Conway TENNESSEE: First=time voter Brian Casey of Nashville clutches his copy of Trump's book at a polling station Voters receive stickers like this (pictured in Centreville, Virginia) in a bid to persuade others to vote too On Tuesday, Democrats are be voting in 11 states and American Samoa, with 865 delegates at stake. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the party's nomination. Democrats abroad are allocated 17 of those delegates. Republicans, meanwhile, will be voting in 11 states on Super Tuesday, with 595 delegates at stake toward the 1,237 delegates needed to capture the party's nomination. Americans living in New Zealand include students, those with specialized jobs, and retirees, said Kat Allikian, chair of the Democrats Abroad New Zealand. HIGH STAKES: Five GOP candidates and two Democratic candidates will spar over delegates on March 1, also known as Super Tuesday. Here's how they're distributed according to population This is how the Republican field is set to look across the 11 states by the end of Super Tuesday, polls show Hillary is on track to trounce Bernie and even his wife Jane admits the map looks 'rough' She said a big motivation for local voters was to stop Republicans winning the White House in particular, leading candidate Donald Trump. 'The overwhelming concern of all Democrats overseas is this Trump phenomenon that is happening on the Republican side,' she said. 'It's mindboggling that he's running away with the nomination. Although it's not set yet.' Allikian said it was an honor to lead the vote among those living overseas. 'People are really tickled that we're the very first in the world,' she said. Advertisement These razor-wire fences last night became the new frontier in Europe's bid to tackle the migrant crisis as Greece was told it faced being 'sacrificed' to save the EU. Austria and the Balkan countries yesterday refused to ease border restrictions that have led to the Greeks being sealed off from the rest of the Continent. For 19 miles along the boundary with Macedonia, the parallel lines of 8ft fencing keep thousands of migrants trapped in Greece. Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann yesterday said border controls introduced through Europe were needed to end the 'disorganised chaos'. He warned that Austria would no longer be 'a waiting room for Germany'. A colossal wall of razor wire and thick fencing now stretches along the Greek-Macedonian border near Idomeni, Greece A boy stands behind a fence at the refugee camp in Idomeni, Greece, where migrants and refugees wait to be allowed to cross the borders Special forces open the heavily razor wire covered fence for a cargo train to pass the closed borders from Idomeni, Greece Refugees, who just arrived, rest in front of makeshift fires in a field in Idomeni, northern Greece after a long journey More than 27,000 refugees have been stranded in Greece after countries along the migrant route created a bottleneck by following Austria's lead in introducing limits on the number they will let pass. Troubled Greece is now set to be turned into a massive refugee camp as Brussels officials are today expected to agree to hand over 375million to Athens in return for it providing shelter for 100,000 people. German Chancellor Angela Merkel last night performed a major U-turn as she told migrants trying to leave Greece they could not choose which European country they move to and should stay there. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said: 'We have come to the time when Greece is likely to be sacrificed'. He said he had warned Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras: 'It will be your responsibility because you did not do anything on the Turkish-Greek border.' Despite the restrictions stopping people from leaving Greece, thousands more are arriving each day, with 3,651 landing on its islands on Sunday alone. More than 120,000 people arrived in the first eight weeks of this year 30 times the number who came in the same period in 2015. A further 9,000 have arrived in Italy. At least 7,000 migrants are camped on Greece's northern border with Macedonia, which has been closed since hundreds tried to force their way through on Monday. For 19 miles along the boundary with Macedonia, the parallel lines of 8ft fencing keep thousands of migrants trapped in Greece. Many of the migrants are now stuck at the town of Idomeni Greece's colossal border wall of razor wire evokes memories of the Berlin Wall (pictured) which separated the German city for four decades President John F Kennedy looks out over the heavily fortified Berlin wall during a visit to the city in June 1963 Migrants stand next a fire burning shacks, in the southern part of the so-called 'Jungle' migrant camp, as half of the camp is being dismantled, in the French northern port city of Calais As the flames tore through the light timbers and canvas of the buildings, some migrants have clashed with police, with one woman protesting on the roof of one of camp roof dwellings Migrants have started to burn down the Jungle camp as the security officers slowly remove the basic structures while police hold back angry protesters A large group of migrants watch over a pile of burning tarpaulin and wood after setting fire to several camp structures in protest over the demolition of the camp The camp, which once had its own shops and churches, will be relocated with the migrants receiving purpose-built acccomodation French riot police try to clear the Jungle camp as residents began to burn down some of the remaining buildings At least 12 shelters were set ablaze by the refugees yesterday, during disturbances involving left-wing agitators from the UK The news comes as migrants have started to torch the notorious Jungle camp in protest over the demolition of the site, leading to clashes between angry protesters and police. Some refugees brandishing metal bars and hurling rocks tried to hijack lorries today as demolition workers supported by riot police carried on smashing up their illegal camp. 'Gangs broke out of the camp overnight, and started threatening drivers in the middle of the road,' said a Calais police spokesman. 'Tear gas and baton charges were used to restore order, and then the gang members were forced back inside the camp.' At least 12 shelters were set ablaze by the refugees yesterday, during disturbances involving left-wing agitators from the UK. Three members of the so-called 'No Borders' group were arrested for inciting the migrants to attack the police. At least one unidentified woman from Britain was among those arrested during a day of violence in the French port town.She was seen in front of a mob of mainly Afghan refugees hurling bricks and stones at officers who fought back with tear gas. A second woman a German who identified herself as Ronia said she had 'no regrets' about 'offering resistance on behalf of the refugees'. As Ronia was handcuffed, and placed inside a police car, she said: 'Everyone in the camp has a right to a home and a future.' The worst trouble started soon after demolition workers supported by CRS riot police arrived at around midday yesterday. Hundreds of migrants mass at the Greek-Macedonia border today. Today it emerged it has taken just two months for 131,000 people to reach Europe this year - the same figure took six months to reach in 2015 A family of refugees wait in the no-man's-land area at the border which is guarded by barbed wire fences. Macedonia has closed its border with Greece, causing a bottleneck among those travelling the Balkan route Two Macedonian soldiers, wearing riot gear, stand guard at the crossing with Greece where there were fierce riots yesterday Macedonian special forces members were quickly drafted into the area today in case there is further disorder The Macedonian army began building the second fence last month 16ft from the first fence, which was put up in November. Fights yesterday broke out as those camped in muddy fields near the fence scrambled over each other to grab limited supplies of food. The UN refugee agency said at least 1,500 people had spent the night in the open and tensions were running high. 'We have been waiting for six days,' said Farah, a 32-year-old woman from Baghdad, as the van distributing canned food and long-life milk was mobbed and emptied in minutes. 'The food is not enough everyone is lying to us and we are desperate,' she added. Fayez, a 27-year-old computer technician from Syria, added: 'We have to queue for over three hours, for not enough food. 'We've been here four days we want to go to Sweden but our money is running out.' The grim weather has already taken a harrowing toll on the travellers' health, with many children heard coughing and crying in the tents. Zineb Hosseini, a Syrian mother of five, said her family was 'freezing', adding: 'And now the wait begins anew.' Yousef Karajakes, a 30-year-old Syrian pharmacist from the northern city of Aleppo, said he fled the civil war only to find himself in another conflict. 'They told us come, come, come here, come here and now we come and found a second war,' said Mr Karajakes, whose wife and child were killed in a bombing raid. A burgeoning tent city near the village of Idomeni is growing by the day with up to 10,000 thought to be amassing in the area A migrant woman stands beside a tent on which graffiti stating 'open the borders' has been scrawled A woman sits with a baby next to a tiny camp fire in a bid to keep warm at the campsite near Idomeni A boy looks through the barbed wire as migrants waited to cross the Greece-Macedonia border today The conditions at the campsite are getting steadily worse. Pictured is a food handout from the back of a van A man holds a child during the food distribution. UN leaders have expressed concerns about the way Macedonian authorities handled the riots at the border yesterday European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker meanwhile telephoned Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday to express 'unwavering support' for Athens in dealing with the crisis. Some migrants have been waiting at Idomeni for more than a week, as even when the border is open Macedonia allows in no more than a few hundred a day. Yesterday it took in only 30. A group of about 150 people who have been told it's their turn to enter Macedonia have spent days in a large, flimsy tent right in front of the crossing. 'I've been at Idomeni for 10 days, and it's the fourth day I've been waiting to cross over,' said Hassan Rasheed, 27, from Iraq. 'Conditions are very bad. There are many ill children who are coughing, and we spent the night in this tent under heavy rain.' The Idomeni crossing has been closed for nearly 24 hours, following clashes when hundreds of migrants tried to force their way into Macedonia, whose police responded with tear gas and stun grenades. Nevertheless, today small groups of refugees arrived in a steady flow, mostly on foot after walking up to 18 miles along highways. One of them was Ahmed Majid, a 26-year-old Iraqi travelling with his wife and two children. 'We have been walking for three kilometers. Police stopped our taxi on the national road, which is why we are going through the fields,' said Majid. 'On the route from Athens police kept stopping us at petrol stations and told us that the border was still shut.' 'We have been waiting for six days,' said Farah, a 32-year-old woman from Baghdad, as the van distributing canned food and long-life milk was mobbed and emptied in minutes. 'The food is not enough everyone is lying to us and we are desperate,' she added. A spokesman for the UN refugee agency said: 'The crowded conditions are leading to shortages of food, shelter, water and sanitation. 'Tensions have been building, fuelling violence and playing into the hands of people smugglers.' Greek authorities have set up two additional camps for 12,500 people near the fences and are building a third. Thousands more refugees are stuck in the main port in Athens and on the Greek islands, with ferry services being cut because of the backlog of people at the Macedonian border. Mrs Merkel, who has been blamed by many for encouraging migrants to come to Europe, yesterday tried to persuade those who had already come to stay in Greece. 'There are accommodation possibilities in Greece, they should be used by the refugees,' she said. Mrs Merkel added: 'There is not a right for a refugee to say, 'I want to get asylum in a particular country in the European Union'.' Migrants find shelter in the passenger terminal of the port of Piraeus, near Athens, after arriving from the Greek islands. These refugees are following the path of those who have already reached Macedonia A young boy poses for a photograph as he waits for a city bus to take him to one of reception centres after arriving in the port near Athens from the islands The port has become a makeshift sleeping quarters for those making their way through Greece in a bid to reach Europe The majority of the 131,000 to have crossed the Mediterranean this year are fleeing the wars in Iraq and Syria A young woman and two children cover themselves in blankets in a bid to stay warm at the port of Piraeus He is charged with murdering six people and injuring two others during a five-hour gun rampage last Saturday night It comes almost one week after Jason Dalton went on a shooting spree The wife of the former Uber driver charged in the slayings of six people in southwestern Michigan claims there were absolutely no issues in their marriage until he went on a shooting rampage. Carole Dalton filed for divorce from alleged shooter Jason Dalton on Friday, saying 'there has been a breakdown in the marriage relationship'. But until the day of his alleged rampage, everything was fine, her lawyer claims. 'The day of the shooting, there was nothing until dinnertime,' attorney Paul Vlachos told the Detroit Free Press on Monday. 'There was no estrangement, no financial difficulties, they were not separated. ... There was nothing out there that would indicate something like this would happen.' After the shooting, however, 'there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved,' her legal documents stated. Eight people were shot at three locations in the Kalamazoo area. Only two survived. Scroll down for video Carole Dalton filed for divorce from alleged shooter Jason Dalton on Friday, saying 'there has been a breakdown in the marriage relationship'. But she insists their relationship was solid until his rampage Headed for divorce: Uber driver Jason Dalton, who is charged with murdering six people in Michigan last Saturday, has been married to Carole, with whom he has two children, for 21 years Jason and Carole Dalton married in 1995 and have two children, ages 15 and 10. Dalton was arrested in Kalamazoo over the weekend after allegedly going on a deadly shooting spree while driving a Chevrolet for the popular ride-sharing service. Attorney Paul Vlachos, who has been hired to represent Dalton's family, told ABC's Good Morning America on Thursday that Carole and her children were bewildered to find out Jason was involved, saying: 'They're thinking like everybody else: why?'. He also suggested they noticed a change in his demeanor two days prior. 'He's been acting different in the last couple of days,' the lawyer said. 'His wife asked him and he said he was tired ... [he] seemed to be depressed and down, which was not his normal character.' However, on Tuesday Vlachos told KHOU there were no problems 'until dinnertime'. Mrs Dalton has been swift to condemn her husband's alleged actions. Last week she released a statement paying tribute to the victims. 'Our hope is for peace and healing for the victims, the families of the victims, the Kalamazoo community and those touched by these events throughout the nation,' Carole Dalton said in the statement released to the Detroit Free Press. 'This type of violence has no place in our society, and we express our love and support for everyone involved. 'We intend to cooperate in every way that we can to help determine why and how this occurred.' Vlachos told Good Morning America Mrs Dalton is struggling to come to term with what had happened. 'She's still in disbelief.' On Wednesday, it emerged that Dalton visited a gun shop shortly before the rampage and switched cars after the first shooting. At least one passenger who rode in Dalton's car that night, apparently after the deadly spree had begun, recounted that the Uber driver seemed oddly calm and even appeared to be fatigued to the point of almost falling asleep at the wheel. 'He didn't say much and he didn't act abnormal. He was rather quiet,' Marc Dunton told Reuters of the ride he shared with two friends, taking the front-passenger seat beside Dalton. First interview: Attorney Paul Vlachos, who has been hired to represent Dalton's family, went on ABC's Good Morning America Thursday revealing that Jason didn't seem like his usual gregarious self in the days leading up to the shooting spree Gun shop visit: Kalamazoo gunman Jason Dalton casually strolled around a gun store before he bought a tactical jacket designed to hide a gun hours before his rampage left six dead, surveillance photos obtained by the Daily News show Dalton randomly shot at people at an apartment complex, a car dealership and a restaurant, killing six and badly wounding two others Flowers for the fallen: A makeshift memorial is seen near where people were shot near car dealership in Kalamazoo, Michigan Prosecutors say Dalton randomly shot at people at an apartment complex, a car dealership and a restaurant, killing six and badly wounding two others, including 14-year-old Abigail Kopf who was left in critical condition. 'Right after the first shooting at the apartments, he left the scene and sideswiped a car,' said Paul Matyas of the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Department. The accident prompted him to switch cars, from a silver Chevrolet Equinox to a Chevy HHR, both vehicles belonging to his parents. Dalton was denied bail on Monday after a court hearing in which a detective testified that he admitted to the deadly spree. Hours before the first shooting occurred on Saturday evening, Dalton and a friend visited Southwick's, a gun shop he frequented in nearby Plainwell, a shop employee told Reuters. Barbara Hawthorne (left), 68, and Dorothy Brown (right), 70, were also believed to have been inside the vehicle when it was hit by a barrage of bullets Sisters-in-law Mary Jo Nye, 60, (left) and Mary Lou Nye, 63, (right) were killed during the shooting spree while sitting inside a car with the 14-year-old girl at the Cracker Barrel Fighter: The parents of Abigail Kopf (left and right), 14, who was shot in the head in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Saturday, say their daughter is fighting for her life. The teen was initially declared dead Tyler Smith, 17,(right) was killed in the parking lot of Seelye Kia, along with his father, Rich (left), while they were looking at cars, multiple reports suggest Dalton was a regular customer who usually spent time chatting with the staff, but he bought a heavy-duty tactical jacket and left the store within 10 minutes, said the employee, who asked not to be identified. 'He's in here enough for me to know he talks to the guys about guns and different stuff,' she said. Searching for a motive behind the violence, investigators focused on a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and a cellphone seized from Dalton, as well as the fact that he picked up fares for Uber between or after the shooting episodes. Chris Rock was generally lauded for his performance hosting at the Oscars on Sunday, but one joke in particular wasn't a slam dunk in everyone's books. Charlotte Hornets star Jeremy Lin has voiced his frustration with one of Rock's bits, in which he brought three Asian children out on stage to act as the ballot counters from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers - a reference to the stereotype that Asians are good at math. 'Seriously though, when is this going to change?!?' basketball star Lin tweeted on Monday about the controversial joke. 'Tired of it being "cool" and "ok" to bash Asians smh [shaking my head] #Oscars' And Lin was far from the only one to call Rock out for the gag. Scroll down for video Not laughing: Jeremy Lin (left at a basketball game on Friday) didn't find Chris Rock's (right at the Oscars) joke about Asians being smart at math funny Angry: The Charlotte Hornets star wrote this tweet on Monday, asking 'when is this going to change?' Many called Rock a hypocrite for making a joke about Asian stereotypes when he spent his entire monologue taking Hollywood to task for its systemic racism towards black actors. 'I was shocked that Latinos and Asians and Native Americans were not a part of this conversation,' Felix Sanchez, chairman and co-founder of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, told the Associated Press. 'They have this idea that the paradigm is still black-white and they need to expand the conversation. That it was so narrow is indefensible.' The all-white list of acting nominees led to widespread criticism in the weeks leading up to Sunday night's show and to the hashtag movement #OscarsSoWhite. Rock invited three young Asian children (pictured) on to the stage at the Oscars and introduced them as 'PricewaterhouseCoopers accountants' 'If anybody's upset about that joke, just tweet about it on your phone, which was also made by these kids,' Rock said about the Asian gag Rock was praised for introducing an unusual level of candor about race to the telecast, but his comments were almost exclusively about blacks, and the show overall made only brief references to other minorities. 'If anybody's upset about that joke, just tweet about it on your phone, which was also made by these kids,' Rock said about the Asian gag. Mee Moua, president and executive director of the Washington-based Asian Americans Advancing Justice, said in a statement Monday that the show was a setback for diversity. 'Last night's ceremony, and particularly the "joke" involving Asian children, which played off more than one damaging stereotype of Asians and Asian Americans, exposed one of the failings of how we talk about race in America: race relations are not a black-white binary,' she said. Not cool: Many viewers were unhappy with Rock's joke about Asians and voiced their outrage online Sunday night 'It is to all of our detriment to look at race narrowly. We need to work together to dismantle the systems that devalue the experiences of minority groups so we can see the tales of the diversity that have shaped our nation reflected accurately.' A publicist for Rock, Leslie Sloane, said Monday that he was unavailable for comment. And the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sanchez said that he watched closely to see if any attendees were wearing brown ribbons, which Eva Longoria and others had suggested as a protest against the absence of Hispanics. 'I didn't see one person wearing the brown ribbon,' he said. Some at the Oscars did make broader calls for diversity. 'The Revenant' filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, in his acceptance speech, urged 'our generation to really liberate ourselves from all prejudice and ... make sure for once and forever that the color of the skin becomes as irrelevant as the length of our hair.' Labour's candidate for Mayor of London has been described as a 'lackey who speaks alongside extremists' by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon as the race to replace Boris Johnson turned nasty. Mr Fallon stepped up the attack on Sadiq Khan, who is expected to beat Tory rival Zac Goldsmith in May's election to City Hall. Using the strongest words of the campaign so far, the Defence Secretary said reports of Mr Khan's links with controversial individuals made him unfit to 'protect' London against a terrorist threat. Scroll down for video Sadiq Khan, pictured in 2001 when he was providing legal defence for the controversial Islamic fanatic Louis Farrakhan, has been described by the Tories as 'unfit' to be London Mayor because of his links with radical individuals in the past And he hit out at the Labour candidate as 'a man who has said Britain's foreign policy is to blame for the terrorist threat'. But Mr Khan's team hit back, describing the unprecedented attack by Mr Fallon as 'demeaning' his office. Speaking on LBC Radio this morning, Mr Khan said: 'For goodness sake, let's have a campaign that is positive.' Mr Fallon's comments follow recent media reports linking Mr Khan to Islamic extremists he had defended in his former job as a human rights lawyer. SADIQ KHAN DEFENDS LINKS WITH MAN WHO DESCRIBED WHITE PEOPLE AS 'DEVILS' Sadiq Khan, pictured in 2001 during his work on Louis Farrakhan's case, said 'even the worst people need a defence' Labour's candidate for Mayor of London has defended his links to infamous Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Sadiq Khan represented Farrakhan in the early 2000s in his efforts to overturn a ban on coming to Britain. Farrakhan is a hugely controversial figure who has denounced white people as 'devils' described jews as 'bloodsuckers' and called Hitler a 'very great man'. Mr Khan, who is MP for Tooting, is attempting to follow Boris Johnson as London mayor in May. His main opponent is Tory MP for Richmond upon Thames, Zac Goldsmith. Last month Mr Khan defended his role in the legal bid. In an interview with Jack Mendel at Jewish News he said: 'I have never hidden the fact that I was a human rights lawyer. 'Unfortunately, that means that I had to speak on behalf of some unsavoury individuals. 'Some of their views made me feel deeply uncomfortable, but it was my job.' Sources close to Mr Khan said he had condemned extremism and radicalisation publicly for his entire career. But reports from the time reveal he played a very public role in attempting to get Farrakhan into Britain. He was, and remains, banned because of fears his anti-Semitic views would stir up racial hatred. In 1990 Farrakhan sparked outrage after claiming Jewish people controlled the US 'like a radar controls the movement of a great ship in the waters' and had 'got a stranglehold on the Congress'. Advertisement They included the infamous Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who Mr Khan defended in the early 2000s after the Islamist fanatic attempted to overturn a ban on him coming to Britain. Mr Farrakhan is a hugely controversial figure who has denounced white people as 'devils', described Jewish people as 'bloodsuckers' and called Hitler a 'very great man'. Mr Khan defended the links last month, insisting that as a human rights lawyer he had to speak on behalf of 'some unsavoury individuals'. Mr Fallon does not shy away from using inflammatory language to attack political opponents. In the heat of the General Election campaign last year he told voters not to trust Ed Miliband as Prime Minister because he had 'stabbed his own brother in the back to become Labour leader'. He added: 'Now he is willing to stab the United Kingdom in the back to become prime minister.' Launching a fresh attack on Mr Khan at a meeting of local Conservative party members in Bromley, south London, Mr Fallong said last night: 'My priority as Defence Secretary is to give our armed forces what they need to protect our people and our territory, here at home and overseas, now and into the future. 'With the Home Office and the police, we have plans in place to deploy up to 10,000 troops in the event of Paris-style terrorist attacks. The Mayor has an important role to play in protecting London, supporting the police, and reassuring the public. 'That is why we need a candidate who can unite our city, not a Labour lackey who speaks alongside extremists, proving himself unfit to perform that role. A man who has said Britain's foreign policy is to blame for the terrorist threat. London has witnessed appalling terrorism in the past. 'It needs a Mayor who will back our police, security services and Armed Forces all the way. Labour cannot be trusted with our country's security and they cannot be trusted with London's either.' Responding to his comments, a spokesman for Mr Khan said: 'The Tory campaign is in real desperation and it was only a matter of time before they went down this route so it's no surprise it's Michael Fallon who will literally say anything during an election. 'Sadiq has consistently spoken out against extremism and terrorism. He's suffered death threats and constant abuse from Muslim extremists throughout his life because of his mainstream views. He's the only candidate in this election who has a real plan to put a stop to radicalisation. 'Attacks like this on mainstream Muslims like Sadiq only make it harder for us to fight extremists, put an end to radicalisation and beat the terrorists - it demeans the office of Defence Secretary.' Zac Goldsmith, pictured left in central London, is battling it out with Labour's Sadiq Khan to replace Boris Johnson as Mayor of London in May's elections but today the election campaign turned nasty after Michael Fallon launched an unprecedented attack on Mr Khan's ability to protect Londoners from a terrorist attack Zac Goldsmith reveals he earned 10m in five years and paid 4.5m in tax after publishing tax return The Tory candidate for Mayor of London has revealed he earned 10million since he became an MP in 2010 and paid more than 4million in tax over the five-year period. The figures were unveiled by Zac Goldsmith himself as he took the unprecedented step of publishing his tax returns in a risky move that exposes his astonishing personal wealth. He published the details after coming under pressure to 'come clean' over his former status as a 'non-dom' taxpayer. But Labour responded by saying his tax returns 'raise more questions than they answer,' claiming they fail to explain the detail of the benefits he derived from his non-dom tax status. Tory mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith, pictured in central London, published his personal tax returns last week, revealing that he has earned 10million since he became an MP in 2010 His personal tax return revealed he paid an average of 46 per cent tax on his worldwide income and capital gains between 2010 and 2015. Mr Goldsmith urged his rivals for London Mayor - which include Labour's Sadiq Khan, the Respect party's George Galloway and the Green candidate Sian Berry - to publish their tax returns. 'I have... published my tax return details, prepared and verified by PwC... I gave a commitment to do so and today I deliver on that promise,' he said. 'I look forward to all mayoral candidates doing the same so London voters can judge us equally.' A spokesman for Mr Khan said the Labour candidate will publish his tax returns this week. But Tory MP Paul Scully hit back at Mr Khan, saying: Zac has delivered on his commitment. With every day that Khan dodges the question, hes hiding from transparency. 'He cant deal with the scrutiny, just as he couldnt deal with scrutiny of his experimental 1.9 billion pound black hole. It came on a day when Mr Goldsmith was forced to defend his decision to back Britain's exit from the EU in the upcoming referendum, which drew criticism that he was 'betraying' Londoners. In an article this morning, he acknowledged that being pro-EU would have put him in a better position to win the mayoral race but said he was not willing to put electoral politics ahead of his convictions. Zac Goldsmith (pictured right) is battling Sadiq Khan to replace Boris Johnson (pictured left) as Mayor of London in May's election 'I recognise that opinion in London is at best divided on this issue, and as a mayoral candidate, it would be easier for me to quietly U-turn,' he wrote. 'But I didn't get involved in politics to test every idea with pollsters, flip flop on the big issues and then carry on regardless once elected. He will campaign on the same side as the current London Mayor Boris Johnson, who dramatically announced he was joining the Out campaign yesterday. Mr Goldsmith's tax record shows that his taxable income since being elected as MP for Richmond Park & North Kingston was more than 6million. Most of it came from a family trust set up by his late father, the billionaire financier James Goldsmith, who died in 1997. He earned an additional 4.3million in profits from selling assets. Over the five year period he had an average annual income of 1.2million - 45 times the average salary for UK workers of 26,500 and 36 times the median salary for full-time workers in the capital of 33,203. His income puts him in the highest-earning 0.05 per cent of UK taxpayers. Mr Goldsmith is believed to be the wealthiest MP with a personal fortune thought to be between 200million and 300million. Up until 2009 he was registered as a non-dom - a tax status that allows some UK residents to limit the tax paid on income earned overseas. He inherited the non-dom status along with his personal fortune from his father. But despite publishing his record today and declaring he is 'proud of my record,' Mr Goldsmith is likely to come under fire over why he did not give up his non-dom status earlier if he was not benefiting from it, as he claims. His Tory campaigners say the amount of money he has earned under the non-dom status was 'virtually nil'. Mr Goldsmith admitted he had been 'dealt a good hand in life' but insisted he was determined to 'play it well'. 'As well known to voters in my two elections as an MP, I became 'non-dom' automatically because of my father's international status. It was not a choice, and I relinquished it seven years ago. 'I was born, grew up and have always lived in London except for two years travelling abroad in my early twenties. Because of this I derived very little, if any, benefit from this status as my income came to the UK and was therefore taxed here.' Responding to the publication of his tax returns, Labour MP Neil Coyle said: 'Zac Goldsmith's tax returns raise more questions than they answer. 'They don't explain any detail of the benefits he derived from his non-domiciled tax status or explain why he bought his London home through a Cayman Islands trust. A 74-year-old woman was taken to the hospital after she led police on an hour-long, nearly 40-mile police chase through Texas, officials said. Texas officials believe the woman, who has not been named, had a medical condition and they released her to a family member after the chase, which began in Huntsville, Texas, at about 8pm on Monday. Huntsville police initially tried to stop her after receiving a call that she didn't have her headlights on and was 'driving sort of oddly', but she continued in her car, reaching speeds of 70mph on I-45. A 74-year-old woman (pictured) led Texas police on an hour-long, 38-mile chase on Monday evening Three police cars with their lights on can be seen on the left following the woman's car down the I-45 Police who took part in the multi-agency chase used a spike strip to blow out the woman's tires, but she kept driving even after all four tires were blown out, according to KHOU. The chase eventually slowed to 15mph and police stopped the woman in The Woodlands, Texas, 38 miles south of where the chase began. 'She told us that she was on her way to Houston to deliver a message to a family member,' Huntsville Police Cpl. Wade Roberts told KTRK. 'After hearing that and speaking to her a little bit more, it was apparent that it was a medical-related issue - not a criminal issue.' EMS crews were called to the scene, and police said that the woman did not seem familiar with her surroundings. She was not arrested and instead taken to Montgomery County Hospital District for evaluation where she was later released to a family member. Emotional texts between Bristol Palin and her ex-fiance Dakota Meyer have emerged in court documents that reveal the former couple have come to an interim agreement over visitation of their daughter, Sailor Grace, with Palin telling her baby's father, 'I want you to be a part of her life, from the bottom of my heart I do.' But Bristol also wants to make sure that Dakota, by being a part of Sailor's life, does not interfere with her breastfeeding schedule. In a heartfelt exchange detailed in the legal papers seen exclusively by Daily Mail Online Palin told Meyer, 'There's nothing on my end holding you back Dakota.' She continued: 'I want you (and your family) to be in her life as much as possible. It's not about us, and I don't care if you hate me, put it aside and put her first. 'She grows everyday and everyday I literally just think about how much you're missing by not seeing her, so realize I'm not bs'ing you' Scroll down for video Bristol Palin shared this photo of daughter Sailor Grace on Instagram, saying the little girl looks just like her father, Dakota Meyer as the former couple continue their bitter custody battle Bristol Palin, who gave birth to Sailor Grace on December 23, 2015, says her ex-fiance Dakota Meyer can have visitation rights to see his daughter but it must not interfere with her breastfeeding schedule Meyer responded: 'I don't hate you Bristol I have no reason too [sic] but my hands are tied when I legally have no right to a child that is mine.' Earlier in the conversation Palin, 25, begged Meyer to 'come see her soon.' 'I know you're busy,' she wrote, 'but I'd even meet you somewhere, she changes so much everyday, I don't want you to miss anything.' In the messages, sent on the morning of Monday, January 18, Palin included a picture of their newborn daughter. Meyer, 27, admitted: 'Yea i don't want to miss anything either and being busy will never be what keeps me from seeing Sailor. Hopefully everything gets worked out soon and I can be in her life.' It is just the latest twist in what has become an increasingly bitter custody battle over baby Sailor Grace who was born in December. Two weeks ago Daily Mail Online exclusively revealed that a court demanded paternity test showed Meyer to be baby Sailor's father with '99.9957 percent certainty.' And last week it was reported that Meyer had filed an emergency custody motion asking a judge to rule immediately on a temporary custody agreement. Today Daily Mail Online can reveal that Palin opposed that order and his demands on the grounds that she is breastfeeding Sailor, and Meyer's request would have interfered with that process. Instead the couple has agreed to far more limited access than that which Meyer originally sought with the Marine and Medal of Honor recipient set to see his daughter for the first time on March 19. Emotional text messages seen by Daily Mail Online in court documents show Dakota Meyer is reaching out to Bristol Palin in an effort to see his daughter According to the court papers, Palin has 'repeatedly invited Mr. Meyer to see his daughter' but stipulated that the grounds be set so as not to disrupt her breastfeeding schedule. Her response to his emergency custody motion explains: 'Ms. Palin is currently breastfeeding their two-month old daughter and plans to continue doing so until she is at least a year old. 'It is in Sailor's best interest that breastfeeding continue and that Mr. Meyer's visitation be fashioned so that he may begin bonding with Sailor without disrupting her breastfeeding schedule.' Meyer had originally sought to see Sailor for four consecutive days, between March 19 and 22, away from Palin from noon to 6pm on March 19 and then from 8am until 6pm on every other day. He also argued that a decision needed to be made quickly to allow him to make travel plans from his native Kentucky to Alaska where Palin and his child live. But Palin's lawyers asserted: 'Sailor's best interests trump Mr. Meyer's interest in prearranging his travel plans.' Dakota tells Bristol that he does not hate her but that his hands are tied when it comes to spending time with newborn daughter Sailor Grace Now the couple have agreed to a series of visits, every two weeks beginning March 18. Meyer will see his child for three hours at a time and the first visit will be 'supervised at Bristol's discretion.' Should he need to reschedule for any reason Meyer can do so with two weeks advance notice. Meyer has had to agree to 'respect Bristol's wishes to, the extent possible, feed Sailor breast milk.' He is permitted to Skype/Facetime Sailor 'no later than 7pm Alaska time.' And he cannot 'consume or be under the influence of drugs or alcohol during his visitations with Sailor.' The news of Palin's interim custody agreement with Meyer, comes just days after her long running battle with Levi Johnston, the father of son Tripp, was finally settled seven years after the boy's birth. Johnston announced the news on Facebook, writing: 'I'm so happy to have my son in my life, and to put all of this back and forth in the courts behind me. 'It might have taken me 7 years and cost me around $100,000 in lawyer fees spread out among three different lawyers, as well as a lot of patience, but it was all worth it. 'I know you're busy but I'd even meet you somewhere, she changes so much everyday, I don't want you to miss anything,' wrote Bristol to Dakota in a text message 'I'm happy now to be successfully co-parenting.' In an apparent response to the news Palin posted a picture of herself with Tripp and Sailor on Instagram along with the words: 'These babies are my world and I will always be doing what is best for them. Every child deserves two loving parents, so I will continue to encourage that no matter what. I have never, and will never, keep them from having a positive relationship with their fathers.' She also cited Bible verse Matthew 5:11 in the post, which reads, 'Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.' But Palin has yet to reach a final agreement with former fiance Meyer and, in the past, has rejected his bid for joint physical custody as 'impracticable' given that Meyer lives in Kentucky and she lives in Alaska. Instead she has asked that she receive a 'decree for primary physical custody,' with visitation adjusted consistent with the child's age and Meyer's out-of-state resident. She has also asked for interim and permanent child support and that Meyer pay Sailor Grace's delivery and medical expenses. Meyer's family have told Daily Mail Online that they were 'hurt' that doubt had ever been cast over Meyer's paternity and insisted that he 'has a right to that child,' whose birth Palin announced on December 24. Speaking from the family home in Greensburg, Kentucky, Meyer's grandmother, Jean, 85, said: 'It happens every day that a mother tries to keep a child from the father and you just have to deal with it. 'But I would say it does hurt [to have to prove paternity]. But that's just the way the law is you have to get permission here and permission there. 'I really think Dakota will do the right thing and I think he has a right to that child.' Dakota, the youngest person ever to be awarded the Medal of Honor, met Bristol in May 2014 during Sarah Palin's Sportsman Channel show, Amazing America. The pair got engaged during a Rascal Flatt's concert in Las Vegas in early 2015, planning a wedding in his native Kentucky over Memorial Day weekend. But less than a week before the ceremony, Palin announced the wedding was off when it emerged that Meyer had failed to inform her he had been married before. Instead of tying the knot Palin set off on an RV trip in Alaska with a friend who was an exotic model. A month later she announced her pregnancy, though she initially refused to say whether Dakota was the father. She admitted that her second out-of-wedlock pregnancy was, 'a huge disappointment to my family.' 'I do not want any lectures,' she said, 'And I do not want any sympathy. Joy Karega (pictured), a professor at a prestigious Ohio college, has kept her job despite spewing anti-Semitic hate on social media A professor at a prestigious Ohio college has kept her job despite spewing anti-Semitic hate on social media including blaming Jews for 9/11 and the rise of ISIS. Joy Karega, an assistant professor of rhetoric and composition at Oberlin College, claimed in a series of Facebook posts that Israel planned the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the Charlie Hebdo massacre in January last year. She also posted conspiracy theories that alleged the Jewish states national intelligence agency formed the Islamic State terror group. However, in its response, Oberlin College did not condemn Karegas posts and added that she has the right to express her personal views. According to Karegas profile on the private liberal arts colleges website, she received her PhD from the University of Louisville in 2014. At Oberlin, she has recently taught courses entitled Writing for Social Justice and Negotiating Language, Culture and Power. She had also written a book which draws upon archival research and oral history and historicizes the political literacy education of the Black Liberation Front International a black student organization at Michigan State University from 1968 to 1975. Now, she claims she is working on another book called Conspiratorial Political Literacies: Rhetorical Practice, Contested Knowledge, and Subversive Politics' which will include her thoughts on the backlash she has faced since her Facebook posts were reported in The Tower this week. Karega reportedly posted this graphic shortly after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, which shows an ISIS militant taking off a mask of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She alleges the murder of cartoonists at Charlie Hebdos headquarters in Paris was a false flag aimed to stop France supporting Palestine She posted a graphic on January 13 last year shortly after the Charlie Hebdo attacks appearing to show an ISIS militant pulling off a mask of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the site reported. The militant is seen with a Star of David tattoo and the acronym JSIL Israel presumably a Jewish version of ISIL as the terror group are sometimes called. The text superimposed on the image suggests the murder of cartoonists at Charlie Hebdos headquarters in Paris was a false flag aimed to stop France supporting Palestine. Along with the picture, Karega wrote: This aint even hard [sic]. They unleased Mossad on France and its clear why. Later on the same day, Karega reportedly posted a claim that Netanyahu attended a rally for free speech in Paris uninvited. Netanyahu wanted to bend Hollande and French government officials over one more time in public just in case the message wasnt received. Netanyahu had actually visited Paris to honor four Jews killed in a kosher supermarket in a terror attack shortly after the murder of Charlie Hebdos staff. Karega also said ISIS is a CIA and Mossad operation and that Israeli and Zionist Jews plotted the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. In a statement, the school said that although it does not endorse her comments, she is entitled to express her views. 'Oberlin College respects the rights of its faculty, students, staff, and alumni to express their personal views,' it said. 'Acknowledgement of this right does not signal institutional support for, or endorsement of, any specific position. 'The statements posted on social media by Dr. Joy Karega, assistant professor of rhetoric and composition, are hers alone and do not represent the views of Oberlin College.' But Karega's comments have stirred up controversy, including calls for her to lose her job. Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz told The Tower: 'If Karega had expressed comparably bigoted views about Blacks, Muslims or gays, the President of Oberlin would not have posted the boilerplate he posted. Oberlin College (pictured, file photo) did not condemn Karegas posts but said she has the right to express her personal views 'He would have condemned those views, even if he defended her right to express them.' Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of the Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center, an Israeli-based civil rights organization, told Fox News: 'This is the worst kind of anti-Semitic rhetoric. 'It is not acceptable for the dean to hide behind academic freedom and claim this is freedom of speech.' 'She is not a tenured professor. She needs to be thrown off campus immediately.' In recent months, however, students at the $50,000-a-year college have expressed concerns that anti-Semitism is becoming a problem at the school. The student newspaper, the Oberlin Review, says Jews do not feel welcome, quoting one student, who said: I quickly learned that, at Oberlin, love for my own nation (Israel) was not something I could express. The same student reportedly later transferred out of the school due to the toxic climate regarding Israel. Last month, hundreds of alumni and students published an open letter to Oberlin President Martin Krislov saying the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanction Israel) movement has become considerably active on the college campus. Several student organizations at Oberlin have assumed the role as the mouthpiece of the BDS movement, which claims to be a defender of Palestinian rights, but whose inflammatory language falsely portraying Israel as an illegitimate, colonialist and murderous regime demonstrates that its primary goal is to demonize the Jewish state, the letter said. As Oberlin students and alumni representing a diversity of views on Israel, we accept criticism of its leadership and policies. However, we do not believe Israel should be singled out for condemnation and we object to questioning its right to exist. 'We also abhor the tactics of Oberlins pro-BDS student organizations that intimidate, threaten, and coerce Jewish students, which we have seen and heard in numerous written and spoken reports. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict is a priority for the European Union. High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini said about the aforementioned during the press conference in Armenian Presidents Residence. The status quo cannot be maintained, but there can be no military solution as well. The conflict must be settled peacefully, Mogherini mentioned, Armenpress reports. She added that EU supports the efforts of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, aimed at peaceful settlement of the conflict, based on Madrid principles. The reduction of tension in recent times is also significant, at the same time it is necessary to refrain from military rhetoric and increase of violence, Mogherini mentioned. She also noted that the European Union supports Minsk Group co-chairs over the introduction of investigative mechanisms in the conflict zone. Police are searching for the body of a teen who vanished in 1997 after a tip-off from a prisoner who was suspected in her disappearance but never charged. Officers from La Marque Police Department near Houston, Texas, have been searching fields south of Houston in the hopes of finding the remains of Jessica Cain, 17. Investigators were shown to the spot last Wednesday by William Reece, who is currently serving a 60-year sentence after being convicted in the kidnap of Sandra Sapaugh, also in 1997. Police in Houston, Texas, are searching a field for the remains of Jessica Cain, 17, who vanished in 1997 while driving home from a meal with friends Heavy digging equipment has been brought in to help look for the remains of Cain in a vacant lot on East Orem Drive, near Houston, KHOU reports. The field is more than 30 miles from where Cain was last spotted by a friend close to her father's broken-down truck on the shoulder of Interstate 45. However, the site is just three miles from Reece's old address, where police records show he was arrested for the disappearance of Sapaugh. William Reece, 56, a suspect in Cain's disappearance who is serving a 60-year jail term for another kidnapping Cain's father, named in reports only as C.H. Cain who now lives in Liberty County, told reporters that police had contacted him and confirmed they were searching for his daughter's remains. He told ABC 13 that he still has hopes of seeing his daughter alive, almost two decades after he last saw her. He said: 'We're leaving it in God's hands. If God allows us to have our girl back, that'd be a big blessing.' Cain was last seen in August 1997 after going for a meal with friends at Bennigan's Restaurant in Clear Lake, Texas, departing at around 1.30am, according to The Charley Project. A friend reported seeing Cain a short time later, close to her father's tan 1992 Ford pickup, which appeared to be broken down at the side of the I-45 between exits 7 and 8. The friend said Cain appeared to be walking towards a cherry-red Izusu Amigo that had pulled up behind her vehicle on the shoulder. Cain's locked vehicle was found by her father the following morning at around 5am, parked close to where the friend last reported seeing her. Her wallet was inside, and although police swabbed the cab for fingerprints, nothing was found. A massive manhunt, including dog units, deputies on horseback and hundreds of volunteers was launched. Despite days of intense searching, and images of Cain dominating every newspaper and faxed to hotels and truck stops within a day's drive, she has not been seen since. Nobody has been charged with kidnapping her. Reece, who lived around three miles from the new search site, was suspected in Cain's disappearance but investigators never gathered enough evidence to charge him Cain was one of dozens of girls and young women who either vanished or were murdered in an area around the Gulf Freeway in Galveston County that came to be known as the killing fields. Since the 1970s, more than 30 women have apparently died or disappeared, and there is little doubt some of the killings are connected. Four bodies were discovered buried in the same remote patch of land. One victim's father reported receiving a letter purportedly written by a serial killer. Reece, a former bulldozer operator, was arrested and subsequently jailed in 1997 for the aggravated kidnapping of Sandra Sapaugh, which also took place along I-45. Sapaugh was waiting along the shoulder of I-45 in May 1997 when Reece pulled up and offered to help before forcing her into his truck at knifepoint. The final sighting of Cain came in August 1997 when a friend reported seeing her truck (pictured) broken down at the side of the I-45. She was seen walking towards another vehicle, before vanishing Cain has been spotted (pictured) in the field telling police where to dig. According to sources who spoke to ABC 13, he is assisting cops in the hopes of staying in jail in Texas, rather than being moved to another state While driving along the I-45, Reece told Sapaugh to undress but instead she jumped from the moving vehicle before contacting police. Reece has also been charged with the 1997 murder of Tiffany Johnston, 19, in Bethany, Oklahoma, after new DNA evidence linked him to the crime. Johnston was last seen at the Sunshine Car Wash before her partially clothed body was found the following day in a patch of long grass. She had been strangled. Johnston's body was tested several times for DNA from Reece but did not return a result. However, advancements in testing yielded a positive result in September last year, leading to fresh charges. Aerial images of the field show officers digging in a large spot up against a fence. According to witnesses, they have burrowed around 6ft down in the hopes of finding Cain's remains Reece is also suspected, but has never been charged, in the disappearance of 12-year-old Laura Smither in Galveston County, Texas, who vanished while out jogging in April, 1997. Her nude body was found several days later in a retention pond several miles away in Pasadena. Reece was named as the prime suspect and extensively questioned over the killing, but charges have never been filed. The Prime Minister grinned briefly as she entered Downing Street after a run in the central London fog this morning as MailOnline can reveal that all her 'In Liz we Truss' merchandise was expunged. The party's cups, travel mugs, bags and T-shirts celebrating her election 45 days ago, each costing between 14.95 and 24,95, have been deleted from the website and pulled from sale. Wearing her gym kit and muddy trainers, the outgoing Tory leader, now considered the most disastrous in party history, gave a wry smile at police as she skipped into the back door of No 10 at around 8am. She will spend her last weekend as PM at Chequers, No 10 has said. The UK's shortest serving PM will still receive severance pay to the tune of 18,860 - equal to 419.11 for each of the 44 days she served. She also earned 10,000 in that time because he ministerial salary went up. Ms Truss is beginning her final week as Prime Minister as her rivals circle to take her job - but there is also increasing anger about the cash and benefits she is leaving with and demands for her to forgo them. She will now also be entitled to claim up to 115,000-a-year in an allowance for former Prime Ministers. Her predecessors Sir John Major, Sir Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson are all believed to have claimed it. Ms Truss will also benefit from a taxpayer-funded pension as a former minister and Prime Minister. Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer today joined calls for Ms Truss to reject her allowance and hand back any payout, declaring that she had 'not earned the right' to keep it. He said: 'She should turn it down. I think that's the right thing to do. She's done 44 days in office, she's not really entitled to it, she should turn it down and not take it'. Bill Gates topped the list of the worlds richest billionaires for the 17th time in 22 years, it has been revealed. Though the 60-year-old Microsoft head is $4.2billion poorer than 2015, his net worth of $75billion has put him in the top spot of the spot on Forbes' World Billionaires list for the third year in a row, after overcoming Mexicos Carlos Slim Helu in 2014. Helu came in fourth in Forbes 2016 list of 1,810 billionaires, behind Gates, Zaras Amancio Ortega and business mogul Warren Buffett, respectively. Others who made the top ten include Amazons Jeff Bezos at fifth on the list, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook at sixth, Oracles Larry Ellison at seventh, Michael Bloomberg at eighth, and tied for ninth are David and Charles Koch. Scroll down for video With a net worth of $75billion, Microsoft head Bill Gates hit the top spot on Forbes' 2016 World Billionaires list for the third year in a row Zaras Amancio Ortega (left) is worth $67billion. Warren Buffett (right), 85, of Berkshire Hathaway came in third on the billionaires list, with a net worth of $60.8billion Mexico's Carlos Slim Helu (left) came in fourth on the list with $50billion, while Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos (right) took the fifth spot on the billionaires list with $45.2billion Zuckerberg, 31, had the best year of all billionaires, having added $11.2billion to his fortune and moving up from number 16 to six on the list. This is Zuckerberg's and Amazon's Jeff Bezos' first appearance in the top ten of Forbes' annual ranking. The top ten billionaires rake in a net worth of approximately $505.4billion. Forbes found 1,810 billionaires this year, down from last years record of 1,826. The aggregate net worth of the billionaires was $6.48trillion, $570billion less than last year. The average net worth of a billionaire dropped for the first time since 2010 and sits at $3.6billion, down $300million from last year. While 221 people fell off the billionaires list this year, 198 people joined the ranks. Twenty-nine from the 2015 list died, while another 29 rejoined the list after having fallen off. Noteable drop-offs include fashion designer Tory Burch, Sam Adams head Jim Koch and Dicks Sporting Goods chief Edward Stack. Of those billionaires who made it on to this year and last years list, 892 are poorer while only 501 have increased their fortunes. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg broke the list's top ten this year, moving up from number 16 to number six on the list FORBES 2016 RICHEST 20 BILLIONAIRES IN THE WORLD BILLIONAIRE 1. Bill Gates 2. Amancio Ortega 3. Warren Buffett 4. Carlos Slim Helu 5. Jeff Bezos 6. Mark Zuckerberg 7. Larry Ellison 8. Michael Bloomberg 9. Charles Koch 9. David Koch 11. Liliane Bettencourt 12. Larry Page 13. Sergey Brin 14. Bernard Arnault 15. Jim Walton 16. Alice Walton 17. S Robson Walton 18. Wang Jianlin 19. Jorge Paulo Lemann 20. Li Ka-shing WORTH $75billion $67billion $60.8billion $50billion $45.2billion $44.6billion $43.6billion $40billion $39.6billion $39.6billion $36.1billion $35.2billion $34.4billion $34billion $33.6billion $32.3billion $31.9billion $28.7billion $27.8billion $27.1billion COMPANY Microsoft Zara Berkshire Hathaway telecom Amazon.com Facebook Oracle Bloomberg LP diversified diversified L'Oreal Google Google LVMH Wal-Mart Wal-Mart Wal-Mart real estate beer diversified Advertisement Oracle's Larry Ellison (left) is ranked seventh on Forbes' billionaires list, with a net worth of $43.6billion. Michael Bloomberg (right) is not far behind in eighth, with a net worth of $40billion Brothers Charles (left) and David (right) Koch round out the top ten of Forbes' billionaires list, each having a net worth of $39.6billion Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, whose company owns AMC Theaters climbed into the top 20. Notable newcomers to the list include Cameron Mackintosh, the first theater producer to enter the ranks, WeWorks Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey and Pinterests Ben Silbermann and Evan Sharp. WHO FELL OF BILLIONAIRES LIST? Fashion designer Tory Burch Sam Adams head Jim Koch Dicks Sporting Goods chief Edward Stack J Michael Pearson, CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, founder of Biocoin Marc, Oliver and Alexander Samwer, Rocket Internet Advertisement Neumann, Silbermann and Sharp are three of 66 billionaires under 40 years old, a record for the Forbes list. The youngest on the list is 19-year-old Norwegain heiress Alexandra Andresen, who holds a 42 per cent stake in her familys business. Her 20-year-old sister is the second youngest on the list. Andreson, a professional dressage competitor, and her sister are ranked the 1,475th richest people in the world after their father Johan F Andresen transferred his stake in Norway's biggest company, Ferd Holdings, to his daughters in 2007. Zhou Qunfei is the richest self-made woman in the world, holding a $5.9billion fortune from smartphone screens. She is one of 190 women to make the list, down from 197 last year. US billionaires hold 540 spots on the list, more than any other country in the world. In second is China with 251 and German with 120. The youngest on the list is 19-year-old Norwegain heiress Alexandra Andresen, who holds a 42 per cent stake in her familys business. She and her 20-year-old sister are ranked the 1,475th richest people in the world Two brothers from Massachusetts allegedly broke into a home to steal copper piping but found the resident dead, so they ransacked the property during several trips. Thirty-eight-year-old Mark Landry and 37-year-old Steven Landry, both of Bellingham, are facing charges of breaking and entering, larceny, receiving stolen property and vandalizing property. They are being held on $100,000 bail each after pleading not guilty at their arraignment Monday. Police said the brothers broke into a Bellingham home and found the 68-year-old resident's body in the bedroom. He was later identified as Edward Gibson and had apparently been dead for weeks. Scroll down for video Thirty-eight-year-old Mark Landry (left) and 37-year-old Steven Landry (right) were held on $100,000 bail each after pleading not guilty at their arraignment Monday to breaking and entering and larceny Police said the brothers broke into this home and found the 68-year-old resident's body. He had apparently been dead for weeks The residence belongs to Caron Parker, My Fox Boston reported. Foul play is not suspected in the death, according to the TV station. Police said the brothers returned to the home several times and stole electronics, medication, copper piping, checkbooks and even a vehicle. Police were tipped off by the Landry brothers' landlady who said they asked her about cashing the dead man's checks but she turned them down, the Metro West Daily News reported. Citing an affidavit written by Bellingham Det. Stephen Daigle, the newspaper said Daigle contacted Gibson's bank and discovered $7,000 to $8,000 worth of checks had been made out to the siblings. Claims: Lawyers for the brothers denied the allegations during the arraignment. Mark Landry is seen standing, with his brother Steven Landry in the background Bellingham police said in a Monday news release: 'On 2/26/16 Bellingham Police received a report of a past breaking and entering. 'The reporting party identified two suspects that had confessed to them about the crime. 'The reporter came forward because the suspects had informed them that they had found a body in the residence during the break in.' Bellingham police said they went into the home, which they said exhibited signs of forced entry, for a welfare check. Authorities said: 'The home was in very poor condition. 'There were no working utilities and there was garbage piled throughout. 'The resident had no known next of kin. 'Detectives observed signs of missing property while looking through the home.' According to Bellingham police, the brothers were put under surveillance following the tip-off. Authorities said: 'Officers observed the suspects driving and performed a motor vehicle stop. 'The operator Steven Landry, 37, was arrested for operating after suspension and the passenger, Mark Landry, 38, was arrested on an outstanding warrant.' Authorities said they executed a search warrant and found the victim's items at the brothers' home. Lawyers for the brothers denied the allegations during the arraignment. A 23-year-old Miami woman has been held without bail after allegedly kidnapping her cousin's baby daughter after suffering a miscarriage. Initial reports said that the two-month-old girl, Taraji Kemp, was abducted on Friday night by two armed intruders, who broke into her mother's home in Fort Lauderdale around 11 pm. Police now say that Stephanie Luna Augustin enlisted the help of her 14-year-old cousin to steal the child, sparking two statewide Amber Alerts. The baby was found safe in an Orlando-area apartment rented by Augustin - more than 200 miles away from the child's home - after a 17-hour search, The Sun-Sentinel reported. Police say Stephanie Luna Augustin, 23 (left), enlisted the help of a 14-year-old boy to abduct Taraji Kemp (right), her cousin's baby daughter, in Miami at the weekend, sparking two statewide Amber Alerts Augustin has since reportedly confessed to the crime. Investigators say Augustin and her cousin broke into an apartment at 2770 NW 14th Court in the Roosevelt Gardens neighborhood, where Taraji and her mother were asleep. The boy was armed with a handgun he and Augustin had bought earlier in the day at Walmart. He allegedly held at the mother's head while Augustin grabbed the child. The two then fled in a dark blue 2010 Nissan Altima. Augustin dropped the boy off at his home in Miami before fleeing to Orlando. On Saturday morning, the following day, the boy confessed to his parents what he had done. Detectives say they spoke to Augustin on the phone on Saturday, but she refused to cooperate. The car was named in two Amber Alerts as authorities tried to determine where Augustin was. Taraji Kemp was sleeping in a bedroom with her mother when the intruders broke into the Fort Lauderdale home (pictured) and took the child just after 11pm, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office Augustin was then arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol as she drove south on Florida's Turnpike. She had left the child alone in the apartment, however authorities found the little girl safe. The baby was strapped into a car seat on the floor in a bedroom, police said. Following her arrest, Augustin told detectives that 'someone' had told her to kidnap the child, but would not say who. She is now facing multiple charges, including aggravated child abuse, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed burglary of a dwelling, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and kidnapping. She is being held without bond Augustin announced that she was pregnant last August, and said that she gave birth in January, a friend told investigators. 'It was also learned that the defendant did not give birth and actually had a miscarriage,' detectives noted. A public defender for the 14-year-old boy, who is being held in juvenile detention, said that the boy does not spend much time with Augustin and became excited at the thought of seeing her, believing they were going shopping. The public defender described Augustin as the 'chief architect' of the crime. The boy is facing two counts: aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and armed burglary of a dwelling. While the baby's mother has not been identified, her and Augustin are said to have been close. 'Her and [the baby's] mother are very close,' Betty Augustin, the sister of the accused, said in court, The Sun-Sentinel reported. 'I don't know what happened.' Advertisement These haunting images show Japanese cities devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit the north-east coast in 2011, killing more than 18,000 people. The disaster left many still unable to return to their homes and triggered a meltdown at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant in what turned out to be the worst nuclear accident since Cernobyl. As Japan prepares to mark five years since the tragedy, the pictures provide a priceless testimony to the death and destruction that struck the country. The tsunami-devastated Natori city in Miyagi prefecture seen in these images taken 11 March 2011 (top) and 15 February 2016 (bottom) Kesennuma city in Miyagi prefecture seen in these images taken March 12, 2011 (L) and February 16, 2016 Natori city, once a thriving farming town home to 74,000 people, was erased off the map by the 10m-high waves, whose catastrophic images reverberated around the world. Flooded areas, debris and burning houses gave way to emptiness and desolation. Naraha town, near the Fukushima plant, was evacuated following the disaster that sent the plant's reactor into triple meltdowns in March 2011. The town's 7,400 residents were prevented from going home for four and half years since the accident. Only in October 2015 Japan's government lifted a ban meaning people from the town could return to their home for the first time since the disaster. The central government said radiation levels in Naraha have fallen to levels deemed safe following decontamination efforts. About 100,000 people from about 10 municipalities around the wrecked plant still cannot go home. Natori city, once a thriving farming town home to 74,000 people, was erased off the map by the 10m-high waves (top), whose catastrophic images reverberated around the world Rikuzentakata city in Iwate prefecture in 2011 (left) and now. The disaster killed more than 18,000 people and displaced many others After the nuclear disaster, both Japanese and global media struggled to communicate the consequences of damage done at the nuclear plant. It was reported that three of the plant's six nuclear reactors went into meltdown and released radioactive materials. The soil and water in the region still contains high levels of radiation which makes the clean-up effort difficult, according to reports. A total of 300,000 people evacuated the Fukushima area on the east coast and 15,884 people died due to the earthquake and tsunami. Clean-up is expected to take decades, and cost more than 18 billion. An investigation panel deduced the disaster had major elements of being 'man-made,' and there was a culture of complacency about nuclear safety and poor crisis management. Naraha town, near the Fukushima plant, was evacuated following the disaster that sent the plant's reactor into triple meltdowns in March 2011 The anniversary comes as three former executives at Fukushima were formally charged with negligence over the 2011 accident. The trio, who worked at Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), will be the first to go to a criminal court over the disaster. A citizens' judicial review panel ruled last year that Tepco chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, then-vice-president Sakae Muto and former vice president Ichiro Takekuro should be put on trial. Prosecutors had twice refused to press charges against the men, citing insufficient evidence and little chance of conviction. Advertisement Tens of thousands of Pakistanis have gathered for the funeral of a police officer who was executed yesterday for murdering a secular governor who wanted to reform the country's blasphemy laws. As a precaution against violence, authorities closed all schools and stepped up security in Islamabad and the adjacent city of Rawalpindi, where the funeral of Mumtaz Qadri was held. Qadri, a former police bodyguard, shot liberal Punjab provincial governor Salman Taseer 28 times in Islamabad in 2011. He said he was angry at the politician's calls to reform the blasphemy law. Thousands of mourners gather in Rawalpindi, Pakistan to celebrate the killer Mumtaz Qadri who was executed yesterday. Pictured bottom left is an ambulance carrying his body as it snakes its way through the mass of people Qadi's coffin was carried through Rawalpindi today (pictured) before tens of thousands of supporters as they threw rose petals on its roof Supporters of Qadri pray in unison during his public funeral in Rawalpindi, a city next to Islamabad Qadri, who is considered a hero for killing the reformist politician, was loved by many of the country's religious conservatives Despite the fact the policeman shot a politician 28 times in 2011, thousands attended his funeral to worship him as a hero People hold a photo of police officer Mumtaz Qadri, who was executed by the state of Pakistan yesterday Today roads around key government buildings and diplomatic compounds were also closed off, while Qadri's supporters threw rose petals at the ambulance carrying his coffin through Rawalpindi. Authorities put a gag order on local media covering the funeral, warning outlets in a letter they would face closure if their reporting 'glorifies extremism'. Meanwhile, footage posted on social media showed Qadri's supporters jeering at Pakistani Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid at Karachi's airport. One threw a shoe at the minister but he ducked. Some supporters attacked a media crew, breaking at least one video camera. Qadri's hanging yesterday triggered street protests in several Pakistani cities as some religious and political leaders, and militant groups have publicly defended him. He was executed for killing secular governor Salman Taseer who had called for reforms of the country's harsh blasphemy laws. Shortly after the attack, Qadri said he killed Governor Taseer because he had allegedly committed blasphemy by campaigning to change the laws and also in support of a jailed Christian woman accused of desecrating Islam's holy book, the Koran. Tens of thousands of Qadri's supporters walked for miles to reach the funeral venue as police had blocked most of the roads for traffic. Many chanted in support of Qadri while others carried posters with photographs of the former officer. One of those in the crowds, Ahmad Nadeem, wore a T-shirt with the painted logo: 'I'm Mumtaz Qadri.' Supporters of the Islamist political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam shout slogans during a protest in Peshawar following Qadri's execution Another similar protest was held by the political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam in the city of Lahore (pictured) Supporters in Lahore chant slogans and wave flags following the former police guards hanging in Pakistan yesterday Qadri was loved by many of the country's conservatives eager to prevent a loosening of the country's blashemy laws. Pictured are his supporters reading from the Koran in Peshawar A supporter of the Islamic political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam reads from the Koran during the religious ceremony in Peshawar 'I wouldn't hesitate to do the same,' he said. Pakistan's blasphemy laws allow for anyone convicted of insulting Islam to be sentenced to death, though people often take the law into their own hands. The January 2011 assassination horrified Pakistan's relatively small liberal elite. However, many Pakistanis, including some in the religious establishment and in legal circles, praised Qadri - a sign of the spread of Islamic fundamentalist thought in the South Asian nation. Pakistan lifted a moratorium on the death penalty after a Taliban school attack in December 2014 and has executed more than 300 convicts since then. The government has also taken measures against extremism, introducing a ban on hate speech, abuse of mosques, as well as media blackout on militant groups. Islamabad has also promised to improve security for minority groups and upgrade legislations on individual rights and women's rights. Mourners covered the ambulance carrying Qadri's body with red rose petals as it made its way past them The ceremony attracted tens of thousands of mourners who are opposed to any reformation of the country's blasphemy laws Pakistani supporters of convicted murderer Mumtaz Qadri shout slogans prior his funeral prayers in Rawalpindi An 18-year-old Colorado man accused of killing his 15-year-old girlfriend because he thought she was pregnant with his baby has pleaded guilty to murder. Darwin Christopher Bagshaw, of Grand Junction, entered the plea Monday, a week before his trial was set to begin. Prosecutors said he beat Anne Kasprzak to death and tossed her body in a river near Salt Lake City, Utah, in March 2012. Closure: Darwin Christopher Bagshaw, 18 (pictured left in court last year), has pleaded guilty to murder in the beating death of his then-girlfriend, 15-year-old Anna Kasprzak (right) Elevnth-hour deal: The Colorado teen entered the plea Monday, a week before his trial was set to begin Authorities said Bagshaw, then age 14, thought the girl was pregnant when he killed her, though medical examiners later found that she was not expecting. An autopsy later showed she suffered blows that crushed her face and head. Police said they found her blood on Bagshaw's shoelace, and he asked a friend to lie and say she had had a nosebleed. Bagshaw was arrested last fall, more than two years after Kasprzaks slaying, and charged with first-degree felony murder. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to recommend he receives credit for time served since his arrest in the fall of 2014, reported the Salt Lake Tribune. Bagshaw now faces a mandatory prison term of 15 years to life. His sentencing is scheduled for April 23. Anna Kasprzak was last seen alive by her parents on March 10, 2012, after she argued with them and went to her bedroom to listen to music. She later left the house and her parents reported her missing. Victim: Kasprzak went missing on March 10, 2012, and her bloody body was found in a river a day later. An autopsy later showed she suffered blows that crushed her face and head A passerby saw blood and Kasprzak's shoe by a footbridge over the Jordan River in Draper, Utah The girl's bloody and bruised body was pulled out of the Jordan River, Utah, on March 11, after a passerby saw blood and a shoe by a footbridge over the river in Draper. When she was pulled from the water, Anna was so badly beaten that she was unrecognizable. Investigators had to use scars, clothing and dentistry to identify her, according to search warrants. One of her fingernails was pushed back and she appeared to have defensive wounds on her hands. Police interviewed Bagshaw for the first time shortly after his girlfriend's death and noticed he was wearing a new pair of shoes. When they asked to inspect his old sneakers, Bagshaw claimed Kasprzak had gotten nosebleed at a friend's home two weeks before her death and dripped blood on his shoelace. A friend of Bagshaw's had initially backed up his story about the nosebleed but later told police it was a lie concocted by the teen. Bagshaw was arrested in connection to Kasprzak's murder in October 2014 and was originally charged as a juvenile, but a judge later transferred his case to adult court. Authorities said Bagshaw, then age 14 (pictured left on a hunting trip), mistakenly thought Anna was pregnant when he killed her. He was arrested in October 2014 Failed cover-up: Bagshaw initially lied to police that Anna had gotten a nosebleed before her death in an attempt to explain away her blood found on his shoelace Following Darwin Darwin Bagshaw's plea on Monday, the victim's family expressed relief at having been spared a trial and getting some closure after years of uncertainty. 'I feel very blessed that we do not have to relive this,' Jennifer Kasprzak, the victim's stepmother, told the Salt Lake Tribune. Ms Kasprzak added that she still would like to know why Bagshaw killed Anna but acknowledged that getting the answer would not bring her back. James Bratcher, Anna's stepfather, told a KSL reporter outside the courtroom that he does not hate Bagshaw, but he is glad the teen finally took responsibility for ending his daughter's life. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson likely has the least probable path to the Republican nomination of the five candidates standing especially after today's Super Tuesday contests but he's not giving up. The reason, he explained today on Morning Joe, is that 'I have millions of social media fans and they're begging me not to get out,' Carson said, even though GOP voters have put him in fourth or last place in the last handful of races. 'Well, there's always the possibility that people will awaken and recognize that just what they were asking for is what I have presented for them,' he explained. Scroll down for video Ben Carson said he's staying put in the presidential race because 'millions of social media fans' want him to - and he put pundits who have pointed to his low poll numbers - on blast Yesterday Carson sang a similar tune and penned an op-ed for Fox News blasting the pundit class 'campaign flacks dressed up as journalists' who have suggested that he get out of the race. 'Unfortunately, these pundits have gotten too lost in the gladiatorial spectacle to see what truly matters: the will of We the People of America,' Carson wrote. 'With every call to drop out, pundits and political operatives salivate over polling percentages as though the people they represent were commodities to be bought and bartered in the backrooms of D.C.s exclusive political clubs,' Carson continued. 'This mentality is driving voters away from the political system they have so long supported,' he added. In attacking the messenger, Carson fails to mention the rather dire situation his bid is in, having not come close to winning a primary thus far, as Republicans report record turnout. Financially the retired neurosurgeon has been doing well, and in yesterday's op-ed said he would continue his bid until the money runs out, but he's in fourth or fifth place of five GOP candidates in the polls leading to today's Super Tuesday contest in which 11 states' voters make their pick. Last week Carson's campaign adviser reportedly responsible for the campaign's big shake-up late last year hinted that the Super Tuesday results might compel his candidate to get off the island. .@RealBenCarson: I have millions of social media fans and they're begging me not to get out https://t.co/03QEbT3LXA Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) March 1, 2016 'I think Super Tuesday, March 1, is going to be a moment of truth,' Armstrong Williams told Politico, hinting that if Carson didn't turn things around when a slew of Southern states vote on March 1 it was game over. 'You cannot ignore the fact that our predictions of what would happen and what could turn this around have not come to fruition yet,' Williams said. 'Unless that happens, it is obvious what the outcome will be.' On Morning Joe, Carson said he would 're-evaluate' his campaign tomorrow morning after the Super Tuesday results are in, but suggested it would bring him to the same conclusion he held today. 'I re-evaluate the campaign every single day,' the candidate said. 'But one of the major factors for me is our supporters, and that's the reason that I'm here,' he continued. 'You know, I'm not in here for the typical reason that a politician would be in here. I'm in here because the people asked me to be here and I will continue to listen carefully to what they have to say.' The doctor also wouldn't name the names of those who have asked him to drop out. 'I don't think that it's useful to divulge that because they certainly would be very unhappy if I did,' he said. 'But of course. It's politics as usual in Washington, D.C.,' he added, calling it a 'slimy thing.' Ben Carson is hanging in there - despite the fact that he has racked up two fourth place finishes and two last place finishes in Republican contests thus far Ben Carson will bring up the Tortoise and the Hare when asked whether he plans to drop out. He posits himself as the tortoise and perhaps frontrunner Donald Trump as the hare Carson only briefly saw success in his presidential bid, but then hopes of his outsider candidacy taking hold tumbled down. Around Halloween, Carson was polling ahead of frontrunner Donald Trump in Iowa, where the countrys first contest is held. But as the polls peaked for the retired neurosurgeon, the media started poking holes in some of the colorful anecdotes the doctor would tell on the campaign trail. One story - involving a young, brooding Ben Carson stabbing someone - was revised several times. Was it a close relative? A best friend? Carson changed the script, while associates of the Detroit native came forward and said they never remembered this type of anger coming from a young Ben. Trump capitalized on it, releasing an Instagram video on Friday the 13th, which described Carson as a violent criminal or a pathological liar. We dont need either as president, the Trump ad boasted. Losing ground thanks to some sluggish debate performances, pronouncing Hamas like hummus, the chickpea-based spread, when talking foreign policy and suggesting the pyramids in Egypt were built to store grain, Carsons 2015 holiday season consisted of a pretty big staff shake-up. Ben Carson's campaign was at a high point in November, but has been plagued by negative news stories, about the candidate and the inner-workings of the campaign, ever since Carson called two batches of reporters, from the Associated Press and the Washington Post, to his home unbeknownst to his campaign manager Barry Bennett. To those reporters he hinted that he might make some changes in staffing to his campaign. The retired neurosurgeon then immediately went on CNN and told Don Lemon that he wasnt firing anyone. That was over Christmas. Before the ball dropped to mark 2016 Carsons campaign announced enhancements, with Bennett and Communications Director Doug Watts resigning effective immediately. More than 20 other staffers followed the duo out the door. The campaign moved retired general Bob Dees, who was Carson's foreign policy adviser, into the role of campaign chairman. A senior strategist for Carson, Ed Brookover, became the campaign manager. 'As we enter a new phase of the campaign cycle, it is necessary to invigorate my campaign with a strategy that more aggressively shares my vision and world-view with the American people,' Carson said in the statement. 'I commend Barry Bennett and Doug Watts for their efforts to help me share my vision for America,' Carson said. Parting words aside, NBC News sources suggested the split was, in part, because of Bennett and Watts' inability to get along with Armstrong, a longtime business adviser of the candidate. After the shake-up the campaign, again, never gained back its footing. When CNN reported that Carson planned to head to Florida - to pick up more clothes for the campaign trail - just a day after the Iowa caucuses, Ted Cruzs volunteers spread the misinformation that Carson was on the cusp of dropping out, trying to recruit his voters to choose Cruz, another evangelical favorite, on their Iowa ballot instead. The move may have helped Cruz, who won the Iowa caucuses in a somewhat surprising victory over Donald Trump, who had led there since Carsons November fall and had only been neck-and-neck with the Texas senator in recent weeks. The gossip didnt do any favors to Carson who came in fourth. In the next two contests, New Hampshire and South Carolina, Carson came in last. Carson made another controversial comment last week, that President Obama was 'raised white' and didn't embody the typical black American experience, in the run-up to Nevada's caucuses. He returned to the fourth place position in that state, though this time in a field of just five candidates, and again pledged to stay in the race. If you remember the story of the tortoise and the hare, Carson said during several media appearances Tuesday before the caucus results came in. If you give up on the tortoise too early, youre only going to have the hare who is exhausted and not very effective, he said on Fox & Friends. Jeb Bush had used a similar line to explain to reporters his style of campaigning. These are the shocking injuries suffered by a pensioner who was beaten up and robbed at home. Alfiero Cetamore, 77, let a man into his block of flats in Manchester through the communal door on Saturday afternoon before he was assaulted and left seriously injured on the floor. His attacker ransacked the apartment - stealing his mobile phone, wallet, car keys, three gold rings and a white and yellow gold Bulgari bracelet inlaid with 12 diamonds. Three broken ribs: Alfiero Cetamore, 77, let a man into his block of flats in Manchester through the communal door on Saturday afternoon before he was assaulted and left seriously injured on the floor Aid: Mr Cetamore was taken to Salford Royal Hospital (pictured) for treatment and was later discovered to have three broken ribs, two lost teeth and a bruised lung The man then drove off in his Toyota Corolla which was found crashed into a wall in Moss Side just 20 minutes later, while Mr Cetamore was taken to Salford Royal Hospital for treatment. Officers were called at 4.40pm to reports of an assault in the Deansgate area of Manchester, and Mr Cetamore was later discovered to have three broken ribs, two lost teeth and a bruised lung. Police investigation: Mr Centamore, pictured in 2010, was 'beaten viciously before being robbed' Greater Manchester Police said a 25-year-old man has since been arrested on suspicion of robbery and remains in police custody for questioning. Detective Sergeant Mark Astbury said: This poor man was found by a neighbour badly beaten and only semi-conscious in his flat, having suffered terribly at the hands of this offender. As you can see from the pictures Alfiero was beaten viciously before being robbed and it is perhaps fortunate that he did not suffer a more serious head injury, such was the brutality of the assault. He added: The car was found abandoned in Moss Side, 20 minutes after it had been stolen, and two men were seen to flee the car after the collision. I am still appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the offender near the flats, or anyone who may have witnessed the collision in Moss Side to contact me as soon as possible. Urging people to assist the investigation, Mr Astbury said: Your witness account could help us achieve a successful conviction in this case, so please think of the pictures of poor Alfiero if you are considering whether to call police with information or not. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS: President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan has signed a decree of restructuring the Ministry of Finance today. As Armenpress was informed from the Press Office of the Presidential Administration, by presidential decree the State Revenue Committee has been disjointed from the Ministry of Finance. The decree also envisions a clause by which the head of the State Revenue Committee will be directly in charge of the Customs Service and Tax Service. President assigned the Government of Armenia a month in order to adopt necessary legal basis for the implementation of the decree. But insists there is just as much 'uncertainty' associated with staying in The report on the state of London's economy for Boris Johnson (pictured in Northern Ireland yesterday) London can thrive in or out of the EU and has nothing to fear from Brexit, a major report for Boris Johnson found today. The 300-page report - authored by the Mayor of London's chief economist Gerry Lyons - admitted that cutting ties with Brussels would cause an 'economic shock' and would 'depress economic activity' but insisted there was similar 'uncertainty' associated with Britain remaining in the EU. And it lambastes Europe's 'disappointing' economic growth. It comes a day after Mr Johnson used his latest newspaper column to hit out at David Cameron and George Osborne's scaremongering by driving an agenda of 'project fear' and saying he was 'convinced that the real risk is to sit back and do nothing, to remain inertly and complacently in an unreformed EU'. Mr Johnson said today's 300-page report - titled 'London: The Global Powerhouse' - was a 'valuable piece of work' that helped 'cement' London's place as the 'Europe's and the world's greatest city'. The report came as the competing camps in the EU referendum again traded blows over the Government's ban on Brexit ministers accessing government papers on the EU. Peter Mandelson, the former Business Secretary who also served as Britain's EU trade commissioner, told Brexit ministers to stop 'whinging' over the ban and said they were 'lucky' to have the chance to campaign against David Cameron without being fired. Iain Duncan Smith has reportedly ordered his officials to ensure he still receives all reports despite the diktat from Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood. The report on London's economy published today is a further challenge by Mr Johnson on Mr Cameron's efforts to convince voters to stay in the EU. The Global Powerhouse report said London can thrive in or out of the EU and has nothing to fear from Brexit Boris Johnson, pictured wielding a hammer on a visit to a bullet proof glass factor in Northern Ireland today, wants to smash up Britain's EU membership The report states: 'There is uncertainty associated both in leaving the EU and staying in it. Perhaps this should not be a surprise. FURY AT DAVE'S 'DODGY DOSSIER' AS PRO-EU CAMP IS ACCUSED OF SCAREMONGERING David Cameron, pictured campaigning yesterday, has claimed he is pursuing 'project fact' Boris Johnson accused David Cameron of trying to 'scare the pants off' the public last night after ministers published a 'dodgy dossier' of lurid claims about leaving the European Union. The document set out a nightmarish Brexit scenario which could lead to 'a decade or more of uncertainty', destroy trade and even stop Britons holidaying around Europe. Drawn up by Whitehall mandarins and signed off by Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, it was blandly titled 'The process for withdrawing from the European Union'. But inside were a series of terrifying claims about the 'complex and grinding' years following a Leave vote and its impact on Britain. It warned that: Any new trade negotiation with the US and other countries could take a decade or more hitting UK exporters and consumers The freedom of UK travellers 'to move about freely in Europe' and access healthcare could end if no new deal with the EU was done within two years of Brexit Advertisement 'The EU has changed much since its origins, so its future path is also likely to be uncertain. In the early 1970s when the UK joined the 'Common Market' it was believed that the European economic growth model was more successful than the UK's. 'It was also expected that Europe's common agricultural policy would be changed dramatically and that a free market would persist. Now, Europe's economic growth model disappoints.' The report says that when only short-term economic forecasts are taken into account, leaving the EU would be 'worse' for the economy. 'Leaving the EU would be an economic shock,' it states. 'Most, if not all, economic shocks depress economic activity. 'Thus economic forecasts that focus on, say, a couple of years ahead would tend to show that leaving the EU is always worse than the alternative.' Both sides of the EU referendum debate claimed the report backed up their arguments. The Britain Strong In Europe campaign claimed the 'economic report' warned of 210billion being wiped off the capital's growth if Britain left the EU but the Vote Leave campaign insisted this was a 'worst-case scenario'. On the contrary, the Vote Leave camp pointed to the report saying that 'being outside and on good terms with the EU and globally focussed' would boost London's economy by 120billion. Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliott said: 'This report is clear, London would be better off outside of the EU by 120bn. 'It's such a shame to see the BSE [Britain Stronger In Europe] campaign trying to mislead people over clear economic analysis that shows the safer choice is to Vote Leave. 'As much as they might not like it, advocates of the EU must be honest and admit that the renegotiation failed and isn't even legally binding. The only way to take back control and spend our money on our priorities is to Vote Leave.' James McGrory from the In campaign claimed the report showed why Mr Johnson 'should be making the full-throated case for Britain to remain in Europe, and not advocating a risky and costly leap into the dark.' Iain Duncan Smith has ordered his civil servants to IGNORE a diktat banning him from getting referendum paperwork because he backs Brexit Iain Duncan Smith, pictured on Sunday during a BBC interview, has told friends he trusts his officials to pass him all EU paperwork Iain Duncan Smith has told his civil servants to ignore a ban on giving him documents related to the EU referendum. In a new escalation of a fairness row at the heart of the referendum, the Work and Pensions Secretary is going head-to-head with Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood and No 10. Sir Jeremy issued advice to civil servants that because David Cameron's position was backing Britain's membership of the EU, they could not do any work or provide papers to ministers working for the other side. The Leave campaign has claimed the move is unconstitutional and Sir Jeremy is due to be grilled by MPs furious at the instruction later today. Mr Duncan Smith is said to have dismissed the rules in conversation with friends. The Sun said he had remarked: 'My civil servants report to me not Jeremy Heywood. 'It's me who's got the seals of state not him.' The minister is said to have added: 'I have told them that all European Union documents must pass across my desk. 'I trust my staff not to withhold information.' Mr Duncan Smith has worked at the Department for Work and Pensions since 2010 and is said to trust his staff to be open with his paperwork. Tory eurosceptic Bernard Jenkin has summoned Sir Jeremy to answer questions at his Public Administration Committee in the Commons later today. Mr Jenkin led criticism of the policy yesterday in the Commons after he secured an urgent question on the issue. He said: 'How does this situation best serve the democratic process if ministers on opposing sides of the debate finish up disagreeing about information from the same Government department which is meant to be impartial and accurate information provided by professional civil servants?' TORY MPs WHO WANT TO STAY IN EU Name Constituency Guto Bebb Aberconwy Nick Herbert Arundel and South Downs Damian Green Ashford David Lidington Aylesbury Victoria Prentis Banbury Maria Miller Basingstoke Ben Howlett Bath Jane Ellison Battersea Dominic Grieve Beaconsfield Graham Stuart Beverley and Holderness David Evennett Bexleyheath and Crayford Paul Maynard Blackpool North and Cleveleys Nick Gibb Bognor Regis and Littlehampton Matt Warman Boston and Skegness David Tredinnick Bosworth Tobias Ellwood Bournemouth East Eric Pickles Brentwood and Ongar Simon Kirby Brighton Kemptown Keith Simpson Broadland Bob Neill Bromley and Chislehurst Sajid Javid Bromsgrove Anna Soubry Broxtowe Andrew Griffiths Burton Jo Churchill Bury St Edmunds Craig Whittaker Calder Valley Craig Williams Cardiff North Simon Hart Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Mel Stride Central Devon Daniel Poulter Central Suffolk and North Ipswich Edward Argar Charnwood Simon Burns Chelmsford Greg Hands Chelsea and Fulham Alex Chalk Cheltenham Michelle Donelan Chippenham Mark Field Cities of London and Westminster Edward Timpson Crewe and Nantwich Gavin Barwell Croydon Central Chris Philp Croydon South Patrick McLoughlin Derbyshire Dales Claire Perry Devizes Charlie Elphicke Dover David Mundell Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale Damian Hinds East Hampshire Sam Gyimah East Surrey Antoinette Sandbach Eddisbury Alec Shelbrooke Elmet and Rothwell Maggie Throup Erewash Helen Whately Faversham and Mid Kent Mike Freer Finchley and Golders Green Damian Collins Folkestone and Hythe Mark Harper Forest of Dean Mark Menzies Fylde Richard Graham Gloucester Byron Davies Gower Nicholas Boles Grantham and Stamford Brandon Lewis Great Yarmouth Anne Milton Guildford James Morris Halesowen and Rowley Regis Sir Edward Garnier Harborough Robert Halfon Harlow Andrew Jones Harrogate and Knaresborough Amber Rudd Hastings and Rye Alan Mak Havant John Howell Henley Mark Prisk Hertford and Stortford Oliver Dowden Hertsmere Guy Opperman Hexham Jeremy Quin Horsham Jonathan Djanogly Huntingdon Ben Gummer Ipswich Kris Hopkins Keighley Jeremy Wright Kenilworth and Southam James Berry Kingston and Surbiton Chris Skidmore Kingswood Nicky Morgan Loughborough Victoria Atkins Louth and Horncastle Philip Dunne Ludlow Theresa May Maidenhead Helen Grant Maidstone and The Weald Caroline Spelman Meriden George Freeman Mid Norfolk Sir Nicholas Soames Mid Sussex Nigel Huddleston Mid Worcestershire Sir Paul Beresford Mole Valley David Morris Morecambe and Lunesdale Robert Jenrick Newark Richard Benyon Newbury Peter Heaton-Jones North Devon Simon Hoare North Dorset Alistair Burt North East Bedfordshire Oliver Heald North East Hertfordshire Sir Roger Gale North Thanet Shailesh Vara North West Cambridgeshire Michael Ellis Northampton North Chloe Smith Norwich North Marcus Jones Nuneaton James Brokenshire Old Bexley and Sidcup Jo Johnson Orpington Nicola Blackwood Oxford West and Abingdon Rory Stewart Penrith and The Border Oliver Colvile Plymouth Sutton and Devonport Flick Drummond Portsmouth South Stephen Crabb Preseli Pembrokeshire Justine Greening Putney Rob Wilson Reading East Alok Sharma Reading West Crispin Blunt Reigate Jake Berry Rossendale and Darwen Mark Pawsey Rugby Nick Hurd Ruislip Northwood and Pinner Philip Hammond Runnymede and Weybridge Kenneth Clarke Rushcliffe Sir Alan Haselhurst Saffron Walden John Glen Salisbury Robert Goodwill Scarborough and Whitby Michael Fallon Sevenoaks Mark Spencer Sherwood Julian Smith Skipton and Ripon Julian Knight Solihull Heidi Allen South Cambridgeshire Lucy Frazer South East Cambridgeshire Alberto Costa South Leicestershire Gavin Williamson South Staffordshire James Cartlidge South Suffolk Robert Buckland South Swindon Andrew Selous South West Bedfordshire Gary Streeter South West Devon David Gauke South West Hertfordshire Elizabeth Truss South West Norfolk Jeremy Hunt South West Surrey Jeremy Lefroy Stafford Karen Bradley Staffordshire Moorlands Margot James Stourbridge Neil Carmichael Stroud Therese Coffey Suffolk Coastal George Osborne Tatton Mark Pritchard The Wrekin Kevin Hollinrake Thirsk and Malton Luke Hall Thornbury and Yate Neil Parish Tiverton and Honiton Thomas Tugendhat Tonbridge and Malling Kevin Foster Torbay Sarah Newton Truro and Falmouth Greg Clark Tunbridge Wells Tania Mathias Twickenham Alun Cairns Vale of Glamorgan Ed Vaizey Wantage David Mowat Warrington South Chris White Warwick and Leamington Richard Harrington Watford Peter Aldous Waveney Oliver Letwin West Dorset Matthew Hancock West Suffolk Harriett Baldwin West Worcestershire John Penrose Weston-Super-Mare Stephen Hammond Wimbledon Steve Brine Winchester David Cameron Witney Robin Walker Worcester Peter Bottomley Worthing West Ben Wallace Wyre and Preston North Mark Garnier Wyre Forest TORY MPs WHO WANT TO LEAVE EU Name Constituency Sir Gerald Howarth Aldershot Graham Brady Altrincham and Sale West Nigel Mills Amber Valley John Baron Basildon and Billericay Bob Stewart Beckenham Richard Fuller Bedford Anne-Marie Trevelyan Berwick-upon-Tweed Chris Green Bolton West Conor Burns Bournemouth West James Cleverly Braintree Chris Davies Brecon and Radnorshire Ian Liddell-Grainger Bridgwater and West Somerset Andrew Percy Brigg and Goole Charles Walker Broxbourne David Nuttall Bury North George Eustice Camborne and Redruth Julian Brazier Canterbury Rebecca Harris Castle Point Cheryl Gillan Chesham and Amersham Andrew Tyrie Chichester Iain Duncan Smith Chingford and Woodford Green Theresa Villiers Chipping Barnet Christopher Chope Christchurch Martin Vickers Cleethorpes David Jones Clwyd West Will Quince Colchester Jason McCartney Colne Valley Fiona Bruce Congleton Tom Pursglove Corby Henry Smith Crawley Gareth Johnson Dartford Chris Heaton-Harris Daventry Mike Wood Dudley South Tim Loughton East Worthing and Shoreham Sir Greg Knight East Yorkshire Mims Davies Eastleigh David Burrowes Enfield Southgate Eleanor Laing Epping Forest Chris Grayling Epsom and Ewell Dominic Raab Esher and Walton Suella Fernandes Fareham Jack Lopresti Filton and Bradley Stoke Edward Leigh Gainsborough Rehman Chishti Gillingham and Rainham Caroline Dinenage Gosport Adam Holloway Gravesham David Davis Haltemprice and Howden Bob Blackman Harrow East Bernard Jenkin Harwich and North Essex William Wragg Hazel Grove Mike Penning Hemel Hempstead Matthew Offord Hendon Andrew Bingham High Peak Peter Lilley Hitchin and Harpenden Angela Watkinson Hornchurch and Upminster Andrew Turner Isle of Wight Victoria Borwick Kensington Philip Hollobone Kettering Maria Caulfield Lewes Michael Fabricant Lichfield Karl McCartney Lincoln John Whittingdale Maldon Nadine Dorries Mid Bedfordshire Iain Stewart Milton Keynes South David Davies Monmouth Glyn Davies Montgomeryshire Andrea Jenkyns Morley and Outwood Julian Lewis New Forest East Desmond Swayne New Forest West Anne Marie Morris Newton Abbot Scott Mann North Cornwall Stephen Barclay North East Cambridgeshire Ranil Jayawardena North East Hampshire Jacob Rees-Mogg North East Somerset Bill Wiggin North Herefordshire Owen Paterson North Shropshire Liam Fox North Somerset Justin Tomlinson North Swindon Craig Tracey North Warwickshire Kit Malthouse North West Hampshire Andrew Bridgen North West Leicestershire Henry Bellingham North West Norfolk James Gray North Wiltshire Andrew Stephenson Pendle Stewart Jackson Peterborough Robert Syms Poole Penny Mordaunt Portsmouth North Mark Francois Rayleigh and Wickford Karen Lumley Redditch Nigel Evans Ribble Valley Rishi Sunak Richmond Zac Goldsmith Richmond Park James Duddridge Rochford and Southend East Andrew Rosindell Romford Alan Duncan Rutland and Melton Nigel Adams Selby and Ainsty Philip Davies Shipley Daniel Kawczynski Shrewsbury and Atcham Gordon Henderson Sittingbourne and Sheppey Stephen Phillips Sleaford and North Hykeham David Warburton Somerton and Frome Heather Wheeler South Derbyshire Richard Drax South Dorset Sheryll Murray South East Cornwall John Hayes South Holland and The Deepings Richard Bacon South Norfolk Andrea Leadsom South Northamptonshire Seema Kennedy South Ribble Craig Mackinlay South Thanet Andrew Murrison South West Wiltshire Royston Smith Southampton Itchen David Amess Southend West Kwasi Kwarteng Spelthorne Anne Main St Albans Steve Double St Austell and Newquay Derek Thomas St Ives Stephen McPartland Stevenage James Wharton Stockton South Bill Cash Stone Nadhim Zahawi Stratford-on-Avon Michael Gove Surrey Heath Paul Scully Sutton and Cheam Christopher Pincher Tamworth Lucy Allan Telford Laurence Robertson Tewkesbury Geoffrey Clifton-Brown The Cotswolds Geoffrey Cox Torridge and West Devon Sarah Wollaston Totnes Boris Johnson Uxbridge and South Ruislip James Davies Vale of Clwyd Nusrat Ghani Wealden Graham Evans Weaver Vale Peter Bone Wellingborough Adam Afriyie Windsor Priti Patel Witham Jonathan Lord Woking John Redwood Wokingham Steven Baker Wycombe Marcus Fysh Yeovil Julian Sturdy York Outer Boris Johnson (pictured outside his house) angered David Cameron by announcing he will vote for Brexit Michael Gove (pictured) is a close family friend of David Cameron but is opposing him on the EU David Cameron today insisted he had a strong argument but admitted making it was like a Monty Python sketch David Cameron today claimed the EU referendum campaign was like Monty Python's Life of Brian as he endlessly had to explain everything Europe was good for. In what was immediately seen as a fresh dig at Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister today also said the EU question was dividing families. Mr Johnson stood apart from his brother, sister and father in his declaration for Brexit. In remarks at a Downing Street reception to mark St David's Day, Mr Cameron defied his critics who have claimed he is running a scare campaign to win the June 23 poll by insisting he had a 'strong argument'. Mr Cameron said: 'It is rather like that scene in Monty Python's Life of Brian - 'What's Europe ever done for us? 'Well, apart from the market of 500 million people, the regional grants, the access to the market, the support for our universities. 'Well other than that...' Mr Cameron added: 'I think it is a very strong argument and I look forward to making it in the months to come.' The Prime Minister said the 'extraordinary strength' of Welsh farming was partly down to the EU single market. He said: 'That market of 500 million people means there are no quotas, there are no tariffs, there are no taxes, there are no restrictions - you can sell as much Welsh lamb, Welsh beef, Welsh pork into that market. 'Imagine swapping that for the situation that some other countries have outside the European Union, where you have restrictions, you might have quotas, you might have tariffs, and we wouldn't have access to that market. 'Imagine what that might mean to Welsh business and Welsh employment.' Mr Cameron, who has campaigned almost daily since firing the starting gun on the referendum despite there being four months to go, said these were 'important years in our country'. He added: 'Of course, this will be a decision and a choice that divides many people, many communities, sometimes even families, as we debate and think about this.' The London Mayor made his declaration for Brexit last month but stands apart from father Stanley, an ex MEP, sister Rachel, and his fellow MP brother Jo. The Johnson family division has not restrained Mr Johnson who derided Mr Cameron's campaign as 'baloney' yesterday. Mr Johnson told LBC: 'There is an attempt going on to scare people into staying with the status quo, when I think the real risk is we will simply remain in a system that is less and less suitable to our needs. The Prime Minister made his remarks at a St David's Day reception in Downing Street today, pictured In the iconic Monty Python sketch a row over what the Romans had ever done for the people of Judea turned into a list of successes despite all the complaints Mr Johnson urged Britons to have 'courage' to resist the fear driven campaigns and head for the Brexit. In his Daily Telegraph column, Mr Johnson derided the negative campaigning from Mr Cameron's In camp. He said: 'The agents of Project Fear and they seem to be everywhere have warned us that leaving the EU would jeopardise police, judicial and intelligence cooperation. 'We have even been told that the EU has been responsible, over the last 70 years, for 'keeping the peace in Europe'. 'In every case the message is that Brexit is simply too scary; and the reality is that these threats are so wildly exaggerated as to be nonsense.' The claims did not deter George Osborne, who today told MPs a Brexit would lead to a 'long, costly and messy divorce'. Mr Cameron's made another joke immediately seen as being at Boris Johnson's expense as he quipped the EU question divided families. Mr Johnson, pictured smashing a window in Northern Ireland yesterday, has declared for Brexit despite his father, brother and sister all backing Remain You're lucky you've not been fired! Twice-sacked Peter Mandelson tells Brexit ministers to stop 'whinging' about being banned from seeing referendum reports Peter Mandelson has warned Brexit ministers to stop 'whinging' about being banned from accessing government papers on the EU. Amid a growing row over rules imposed by Sir Jeremy Heywood to ensure civil servants are not supporting the Out camp, Lord Mandelson said ministers were 'lucky' to have the chance to campaign against David Cameron without being fired. Iain Duncan Smith has reportedly ordered his officials to ensure he still receives all reports despite Sir Jeremy's diktat. Lord Mandelson, speaking on the risk to the economy at a Britain Stronger in Europe event today, told Brexit-backing ministers to stop whinging The senior Labour peer made his remarks as he made his first intervention on the referendum with a warning Brexit could inspire huge trade tariffs on British exports. Speaking in the City, Lord Mandelson said: 'We are faced in this country with the biggest choice of our generation, a choice which is going to have a huge impact on our jobs, our trade, our investment, our place in the world. 'Frankly, I think, these complaining ministers are lucky. Usually when members of a government go against ministerial collective responsibility and the will of the Cabinet, they receive one paper - and that's their P45. 'So I think they have got off rather lightly and they should stop whinging.' A test pilot putting the Air Force's most sophisticated fighter jet through its paces has revealed that it can perform an 'impossible manoeuvre' made famous in the film Top Gun. Major Morten 'Dolby' Hanche, who is the first Norwegian to fly the F-35, says the jet can 'slow down quicker than you can emergency brake your car'. This means that when a pilot being chased by an enemy jet applies the air brake, the jet following them would overshoot and could be shot down. In the film, Tom Cruise, performs this manouvre in an F-14 and shoots down a Russian MiG. However, in reality, the F-14 could not have done this as it couldn't slow down fast enough. Major Hanche revealed that the F-35 is capable of the incredible tactic in a new blog. He also defended the $100m aircraft after a report found it was not as good at dog-fighting as the F-16 which is 40 years old. Scroll down for video Major Morten 'Dolby' Hanche, pictured beside his F-35 believes the $100 million aircraft is a dramatic improvement on the older generation F-16 which he has flown for more than 2,200 hours Major Hanche is especially impressed by the manoeuverablity of the aircraft, pictured, in a dogfight situation The Norwegian fighter pilot said it was now possible to perform a manoeuvre shown in the 1986 film Top Gun According to Hanche: 'I can whip the airplane around in a reactive manoeuvre while slowing down. The F-35 can actually slow down quicker than youd be able to emergency brake your car. 'This is important because my opponent has to react to me stopping, or risk ending up in a role-reversal where he flies past me. Same principle as many would have seen in Top Gun - hit the brakes, and hell fly right by.' Last year questions about the F-35's ability were raised when a leaked document claimed it was worse at dog-fighting than the older jet. An F-16 pilot, who took part in a dogfight with the F-35, claimed the new jet lacked power and was not as capable as the older fighter. Major Hanche believes the F-35 is able to lock-on to a target earlier than the F-16 because the aircraft is able to hold a stable Angle of Attack (AOA) at a more extreme angle compared with the older fighter However, Major Hanche believes his new jet is a dramatic improvement on the F-16. Hanche has spend the past four months flying the new jet with the 62nd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force base in Arizona, he is a firm fan of the weapons system. In a blog he wrote: 'I now have several sorties behind me in the F-35 where the mission has been to train within visual range combat one-on-one, or Basic Fighter Manoeuvres . 'As an F-35-user I still have a lot to learn, but I am left with several impressions. For now my conclusion is that this is an airplane that allows me to be more forward and aggressive than I could ever be in an F-16.' The F-35, pictured, has suffered some major developmental delays but is almost ready for deployment During his intensive training he said he is learning to fully exploit the capabilities of the aircraft: 'As the offensive part, the training objective is to exploit every opportunity to kill your opponent with all available weapons.' He said the aircraft performs very well in a dogfight situation. 'The offensive role feels somewhat different from what I am used to with the F-16. 'In the F-16, I had to be more patient than in the F-35, before pointing my nose at my opponent to employ weapons; pointing my nose and employing, before being safely established in the control position, would often lead to a role reversal, where the offensive became the defensive part.' Hanche said he is able to point the nose of the F-35 at a higher angle of attack (AOA) than the F-16 and maintain stable flight. This is a significant advantage in a dogfight. He said: 'This improved ability to point at my opponent enables me to deliver weapons earlier than I am used to with the F-16, it forces my opponent to react even more defensively, and it gives me the ability to reduce the airspeed quicker than in the F-16.' He said: 'I have flown additional sorties where I tried an even more aggressive approach to the control position more aggressive than I thought possible. It worked just fine. The F-35 sticks on like glue, and it is very difficult for the defender to escape.' Major Hanche said it is possible to fly the F-35 far more aggressively than the F-16 Major Hanche said he also enjoys the noise the aircraft's powerful engine makes when he opens the throttle He said: 'I am impressed with the stability and predictability of the airplane. Particularly at high AOA and low airspeeds. It is a peculiar feeling to be flying the F-35 at high AOA. I can pull the nose up to where my feet sit on the horizon and still maintain level altitude. 'Im also impressed by how quickly the F-35 accelerates when I reduce the AOA. High AOA produces lots of lift, but also tremendous induced drag. 'When I break the AOA, it is evident that the F-35 has a powerful engine. The F-35 also makes a particular sound at this point. When I quickly reduce the AOA stick full forward I can hear clearly, even inside the cockpit how the F-35 howls! 'It seems like the 'howling' is a mix of airflow over the wings and a different kind of noise from the engine. Maybe this isnt all that relevant, but I still think its a funny observation. 'Another aspect is the kind of reaction I get when I push the stick forward; the F-35 reacts immediately, and not delayed like the F-16. 'Looking at another F-35 doing such manoeuvres is an impressive sight. The various control surfaces on the airplane are large, and they move very quickly. 'I can monitor these movements on the screens in my cockpit, and Im fascinated by how the control surfaces move when I manipulate the stick and pedals. 'Especially at high AOA, it is not always intuitive what control surfaces move, and by how much.' Major Henche, pictured in his F-35, wrote about his experience in the jet having spent 2,200 hours flying the older F-16 which was first developed 40 years ago but is still considered an effective aerial superiority aircraft The US Marine Corps wants the F-35 to be able to take off and land vertically, which has made the development of the jet far more complicated and according to critics has made it less capable as a fighter aircraft The F-35 , which is the most expensive weapons project in history, has faced major problems during its development. The Pentagon has budgeted nearly $400 billion for a total of 2,443 F-35 aircraft. Nine international partners including Britain, Canada and Turkey are helping pay for the jet's development and are buying hundreds more of the jets, which are manufactured by Lockheed Martin. But the program has faced numerous setbacks, including a mysterious engine fire in 2014 that led commanders to ground planes until the problem could be resolved. Pentagon officials have acknowledged that a decision at the outset to start building the jet before testing was finished has caused difficulties. A South Carolina teacher was forced to resign after a student stole her phone and shared her nude pictures. Leigh Anne Arthur, 33, a former mechatronics (a blend of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer control and information technology) teacher at the Union County Career and Technology Center, doesn't think she should be held responsible for the theft, which occurred while she was patrolling the halls. Arthur, who took the partially nude pictures for her husband on Valentine's Day, told WYFF that she knows who the student is because he is one of her 16-year-old students that she taught in her mechatronics class. Scroll down for video Leigh Anne Arthur, a former mechatronics teacher at the Union County Career and Technical Center, was forced to resign last week after a student stole her phone and sent her partially nude photos to other students through text messages and social media The student, who had also warned her that something bad was coming, sent the images to other students through text messages and social media, according to WSPA. Arthur said the student told her that 'your day of reckoning is coming'. When school officials got wind of the situation, they took action against Arthur. They gave her two choices, resign or the district will terminate her, according to Union County schools superintendent David Eubanks. He told The State that there is a 'right to privacy, but when we take inappropriate information or pictures, we had best make sure it remains private'. 'Students had access to very inappropriate pictures of a teacher,' he said. Arthur resigned last week. School officials are unsure how many students viewed the teacher's picture, but Eubanks said Arthur's phone was unlocked when it was swiped. When school officials got wind of the situation, they took action against Arthur. They gave her two choices, resign or the district will terminate her. Arthur said the student is from her class at the Career and Technology Center (pictured) Arthur filed a complaint about the theft with the Union Public Safety Department. She said that the student 'took pictures from my phone and sent them from his phone'. 'He knows right and wrong. He had the ultimate decision to take pictures of my pictures, and he had the ultimate decision to send them out,' she said. 'He had to hit my apps button and to open up all my apps and then open my gallery.' Regardless, Arthur said she already forgives the student for the prank. Three of Arthur's students started an iPetition titled 'Bring Mrs. Arthur Back', to gather signatures to call for her reinstatement. The petition reads: 'After being escorted off of school property, we (the students) are left to believe that she has been forced to, or given little choice but to resign. 'Mrs. Arthur has not only shown tremendous dedication to her students, but also the mechatronics program itself, often reaching out to local businesses and colleges to get materials that would not normally be available for class. Students from Union County High School (pictured) started a petition to gather signatures for Arthur's reinstatement 'With that being said, the student(s) responsible have not received any sort of punishment. 'The circumstances in which Mrs. Arthur was let go is unacceptable, and must be corrected.' The petition currently has more than 250 signatures. Arthur said parents and students are signing the petition to have her teach again and the amount of support has been overwhelming. It's unclear whether or not the student responsible for stealing and distributing Arthur's images will face disciplinary action. Advertisement It's an exhaustive long-distance race that usually takes a minimum of nine days to complete. But it's fairly difficult to complete a dog sled race without snow, as Alaska is realizing right now. Later this week, seven rail carts full of snow will be delivered to downtown Anchorage - which has had an unseasonably warm winter - ahead of the start of the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Saturday. The delivery will amount to between 300 to 350 cubic yards of snow, after the snow that fell this year was eroded by unusually high winter temperatures, News Miner reported. About 350 cubic yards of snow will be shipping to Anchorage (pictured when there was some snow) this week from Fairbanks so that the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race can begin While there is still snow outside the city, it is far from the usual dump for this time of year. THE IDITAROD DOG SLED RACE The Iditarod Trail is the most famous dog sled race in the world and takes place every March in Alaska. It is sometimes called the 'Last Great Race'. The race is over 1,049 miles long and begins in Anchorage, where there is an 11-mile ceremonial start, to Nome in Alaska's north. The record for the fastest time is held by Dallas Seavey, at 8 days, 13 hours, 4 minutes and 19 seconds. He has won the race three times and is taking part again this year. Rick Swenson is the only five-time winner, with his last win in 1991. Advertisement As a result the ceremonial start of the most famous dog sled race in the world may not run the full 11 miles that it has in previous years, according to Alaska Dispatch News. 'It's no secret that warm temperatures for days on end have further eroded what little snow cover existed on the trail system here in Anchorage,' Iditarod chief executive officer Stan Hooley said in a statement on Monday. 'We are exploring our options at this time as we very well may need to shorten our Day 1 Ceremonial Start.' The railroad cars will be filled with snow in Fairbanks on Tuesday or Wednesday night. They will then be delivered to Anchorage on Thursday and stored. The snow will be then moved to trucks and transported into the city and unloaded. 'It's an important thing for Anchorage, it's an important thing for the state, to make sure the Iditarod is able to go off like it should,' Alaska Railroad spokesman Tim Sullivan told News Miner. The National Weather Service has forecast Anchorage temperatures in the mid-30s to low-40s through Friday, dipping into the 20s at night. Those temperatures are high above the conditions that usually fall during the race. The Saturday forecast says there will sunny skies with temperatures in the 30s for the start of the race. A dog-sledder - known as a musher - travels over minimal snow in Anchorage last year but at least it was real Yuka Honda of Whitehorse, Canada and her dog team running during the Ceremonial Start of the 2015 Iditarod There is also a chance of snow showers in the evening. During the 29 days of February, the weather service recorded 1.8 inches of snow at its West Anchorage office. However that snow fell in just one storm on February 21. As of Monday, there was no snow on the ground at the office, weather service meteorologist Joe Wegman told Alaska Dispatch News. The Iditarod Trail is 1,049 miles long and takes from between eight days and two weeks to complete. Last year it was won by Dallas Seavey, from Willow, who is hoping to take home his fourth winner's trophy this year. Former Asda worker Paul Kelly, 55 (pictured), has been jailed after using 180,000 from the supermarket's charity fund to prop up his younger lover's ballet company A former Asda boss who used 180,000 from the supermarket's charity fund to prop up his younger lover's ballet company has been jailed for three years. Paul Kelly convinced the Asda Foundation Charity to hand over three blank cheques in his role as chairman, which he claimed he would give to Prince Charles to help flood victims in the South West. But the 55-year-old, a former Government advisor who received a 160,000 salary for his role as Asda's vice-president of corporate affairs, instead handed the cheques to the Murley Dance Company, which was run by his 36-year-old American boyfriend David Murley. The court heard how, between February and May 2014, Kelly wrote cheques for 35,000 and 80,000 for Mr Murley - a dancer who has performed with Madonna, the Royal Opera and English National Opera - and also passed over smaller amounts of money which did not have to be signed off. He was only caught when a colleague saw a copy of the final cheque and recognised the company name as one Kelly had nominated to receive funds in October 2013 - and which the board had previously agreed to give 15,000. Kelly was then sacked from the company - just days before he had been due to sit on a panel at Labours party conference with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. He has now been jailed for three years after pleading guilty to seven counts of fraud. Passing sentence at Leeds Crown Court, Judge Nigel Sangster QC said Kelly had told a series of 'audacious and disgraceful lies' in a bid to siphon the cash. He said: 'Until July 2014 you were diligent and honest, a pillar of your community and trusted by many. 'That makes your fall from grace and the gross abuse of trust all the more shameful. You were a respected figure and people are astonished at what you have done.' The court was told how Kelly, who now lives in Southwark, London, falsely claimed the school was a charity and did fantastic work with disabled children. The former Government advisor handed the cheques to the Murley Dance Company, run by 36-year-old David Murley (left). Pictured right: Kelly (right) next to Mr Murley (in the black shirt) Jailing him at Leeds Crown Court from three years, Judge Nigel Sangster QC said Kelly had told a series of 'audacious and disgraceful lies' in a bid to siphon the cash from the supermarket (pictured) He so successfully convinced his colleagues of the company's merit that they agreed to hand over 15,000 and even asked for pictures of the classes to put on their newsletter. Kelly is pictured with Nick Clegg when Asda was made an official partner for the 2014 Tour de Frances Grand Depart in Yorkshire Kelly, who was based at the supermarket's office in Asda and served on numerous charitable baords, also pushed through a number of smaller cheques, which did not have to be signed off. The court heard he also covered his tracks by donating some of the money to organisations including the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Fund and other fictitious groups. In the end he plummeted 180,000 of Asda's money, as well as 100,00 of his own money, into the venture. Mitigating Simon Blakeborough said Kelly - who rubbed shoulders with Nick Clegg - had an 'exemplary career' with Asda up until 2013, when his work there began to deteriorate due to stress. He attempted suicide twice before he was exposed, the court heard. Mr Blakeborough said Kelly struggled to work in the 'macho' environment at Asda and also struggled with the collapse of a 13-year relationship and the deteriorating health of his mother. Kelly was dismissed from Asda in September 2014 following an investigation. A family is seeking answers after an Alabama police officer last week shot and killed a man yards from his own front door. Greg Gunn, 58, of Montgomery, died early Thursday morning after a police officer on patrol spotted him walking in a residential neighborhood a little before 3.20am. Authorities on Monday identified the police officer as AC Smith, who joined the force in 2012. Police Chief Ernest Finley said Smith deemed Gunn, a grocer, 'suspicious', left his car and approached Gunn on foot. A struggle ensued before Smith fatally shot Gunn, Finley said. Finley confirmed Smith is white. Gunn was black. Greg Gunn, 58, of Montgomery, Alabama, died early Thursday morning after being shot by a police officer just yards from his front door in a historically black neighborrhood At a Monday news conference, Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said he couldn't specify why Smith deemed Gunn suspicious but said all patrol officers were aware of a rash of burglaries in the area lately. Gunn was reportedly carrying a retractable painters stick, family members said according to the Washington Post, but Montgomery Police Chief Ernest Finley denied this accusation. 'He was not carrying a painter's stick,' he told The Post. 'I do know the painter's stick is a lie, and they know it's a lie.' Neighbors said they heard commotion - one saying he heard banging on his windows - before shots were fired. Courtesy of WSVN Gunn's younger brother told the Post that Gunn 'was racially profiled'. 'I know he was racially profiled,' Franklin Gunn, Gregory's younger brother, told the Post. 'He was black. That was the only thing suspicious about him. 'They thought he was a low-life nothing, walking the street,' he said. 'They didn't see a man. They didn't see a black man. They saw somebody who needed to die, and they executed him. Now they are trying to cover it up.' Local attorney Tyrone Means, who represents the Gunn family, said Gunn attended a regular card game with friends Wednesday after he got off work. Montgomery Police Chief Ernest Finley (right) confirmed that the shooter was AC Smith, who joined the force in 2012 Gunn frequently walked from his friend's house to his home a few blocks away, where he lived with his mother. 'Trayvon Martin was a black kid walking in a predominantly white neighborhood, and someone just thought he looked suspicious,' Means said. 'Greg Gunn was in a community in which he was well-known and well-loved. That's scary.' Authorities said they are conducting a thorough investigation into what happened. 'We will get to the facts. It will be open. It will be transparent, and wherever the facts lead us, that will then tell us what our next steps will be,' said Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange on Friday, according to WSFA. 'I understand that there is frustration right now. The [state investigators] will not do a quick investigation; they will do a thorough investigation.' Gunn and his family grew up in the west Montgomery neighborhood, Means said. After a divorce, he had returned home to care for his mother. 'All this gentleman was doing was walking home,' Means said. 'Little did the family expect that a walk this man has done all his life would end with him dying in terror.' Family and community activists want answers from city authorities and police, specifically about possible body and patrol camera footage. But city officials said the situation is out of their hands while the State Bureau of Investigations handles the case. There was a heavy police presence on McElvy St in the Montgomery neighborhood following the shooting 'We're not satisfied either,' Strange said Monday. 'We obviously want answers. It's out of our hands. We've done everything possible to make sure this is done correctly.' Strange said the crime scene was immediately sealed Thursday after Gunn was declared dead around 3.35am, and no police officers reviewed any potential camera footage at the scene. All evidence was turned over to SBI, Strange said, who arrived on scene around 4.30am. Means said the Gunn family is concerned about their family but also 'broader implications' of Gunn's death. 'If nothing else, perhaps this will change the way law enforcement responds,' Means said. 'There has to be some manner of screening people who do not have the discernment or discretion to use a lethal weapon.' SBI on Monday would not comment on any aspect of the investigation. Strange said he has requested SBI expedite the investigation. Some of Gunn's family members, friends and neighbors are calling for white police to stay out of their historically black neighborhood following the incident. 'I want to see all white officers out of the black community,' Chris Miles, a close friend of the Gunn family, told The Montgomery Advertiser. 'I don't want them patrolling here anymore, because we're either "suspicious" Donald Trump would lose the presidency to either of the Democratic Party's two remaining candidates if the November election were held today, according to a new poll of registered voters. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the 73-year-old democratic socialist from Vermont, has little chance of winning his party's nomination. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton looks to have a clear path unless an FBI investigation into classified emails on her private server puts her out of the running. But Trump said Tuesday morning as caucuses and primary elections began in 11 states that he's not worried. 'I haven't even focused on Hillary Clinton' yet, the Republican front-runner told 'Good Morning America' on ABC. 'I can tell you the one person that Hillary Clinton doesn't want to run against is me.' Scroll down for video TROUBLE BREWING? Donald Trump is polling 8 points behind Hillary Clinton in a new poll of registered voters, but he's not concerned JUST YOU WAIT: Trump said Tuesday morning that he hasn't even begun to focus his rhetorical energy on Hillary Clinton yet READY FOR NOVEMBER? Clinton is leading Trump but losing to Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio The CNN/ORC poll shows Clinton beating the real estate billionaire by a 52-44 margin. Both of Trump's main rivals, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, would come out on top by tiny margins, 50-47 and 49-48, respectively. 'Theyre not going to get the nomination,' Trump said of the two first-term senators. 'I will beat Hillary Clinton much more easily than anybody else.' Even though he's likely to win few delegates in Super Tuesday voting, Sanders fared better than Clinton against all three Republican contenders. He would beat Cruz by 17 points, Trump by 12 and Rubio by 8, according to the CNN/ORC pollsters. The survey has a significant weakness: Its pollsters spoke with registered voters without asking if they were likely to show up on Election Day. The 2016 electorate is shaping up to be unpredictable, with millions of first-time primary participants and caucus-goers expected to participate in the early rounds of intra-party voting. CRAZY LIKE A FOX: Trump has inspired new groups of first-time voters, including independents and Democrats, to vote for him in the primary elections Trump in particular has demonstrated an ability to bring newly minted voters out of the woodwork. Nearly 20,000 registered Democrats in Massachusetts a deep blue state have already quit their party to become independents or Republicans this year, according to numbers published by the Boston Herald. That could suggest a groundswell of support for the brash businessman that no poll of registered voters would be able to pick up on. 'Look at how many people have come out. We're just absolutely the numbers are double and triple in some cases what they had four years ago,' Trump said on ABC. 'We're getting Democrats coming in, we're getting independents coming in. We're getting a lot of people coming in.' And Democrats, he claimed, 'are very worried about it.' 'We have tremendous numbers of people coming in, and the Republican Party is growing larger. And if it didn't, it has no chance. It'll be like Mitt Romney four years ago. It has no chance of winning. We're getting people into the party that it never had before.' One hundred thousand children are thought to have missed out on their first choice secondary school today as an escalating places crisis sweeps the country. In some areas, up to half of families have missed out on their favourite school, and thousands were not even allocated any of their six choices. Councils are battling with a bulge in the secondary school population caused by a baby boom fuelled by high migration. Scroll down for video Around 100,000 pupils are thought to have missed out on their first choice of secondary school with children in areas such as Birmingham, Kent, Manchester and Berkshire being denied their top choice (file picture, posed) As half a million families received their school allocation on National Offer Day today, it emerged the squeeze on places in the capital is now spreading to other major cities. Council officials in Birmingham, Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, Kent and Berkshire all reported high proportions of children being denied their top choice. And in one sample survey of 20 councils, three-quarters reported an increase in the number of applications received since last year. Justine Roberts, chief executive of Mumsnet, said the admissions system appeared to be 'seriously creaky' in many areas including London, Bristol, East Sussex and the Midlands. She added: 'Stories are abound of some families cheating the system, which only adds to people's anxiety and sense of injustice. THOSE WHO MISSED OUT ON PLACE Percentage of applicants missing out on first choice secondary school: Reading 18 per cent Medway 16 per cent Birmingham 31 per cent Sandwell 26 per cent Trafford 20 per cent Warwickshire 23 per cent Hammersmith and Fulham 48 per cent Southwark 41 per cent Advertisement 'Many Mumsnet users say that their children can't get into schools that are a few hundred metres away from their front doors.' A survey by the Daily Mail found that in Birmingham, 31 per cent of children missed out on their first choice while just under 7 per cent were offered a school which was not any of their six choices. In Warwickshire, 23 per cent missed out on their first choice and just under 5 per cent got none of their choices. In Sandwell, 26 per cent were denied their favoured school and 7 per cent just over 300 pupils were given a school which was not on their list. Trafford Council reported 20 per cent did not get their first choice, while in Reading it was 18 per cent and in Brighton it was 19 per cent. The situation was much worse in London, where across the city a third of all children did not get their first choice. Broken down by borough, the worst hit was Hammersmith and Fulham, where the proportion was 48 per cent. Justine Roberts (left), chief executive of Mumsnet, said the admissions system appeared to be 'seriously creaky' in many areas including London, Bristol, East Sussex and the Midlands, while Schools Minister Nick Gibb (right) said the Government is 'investing billions of pounds creating new schools and new school places' More than 40 per cent also missed out in Kensington and Chelsea, Southwark, Lambeth, Lewisham, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Westminster with the proportion increasing in many of these areas since last year. Applications in London have risen by 3.3 per cent since the previous year and across the city, 5,322 pupils have not been given any of the schools on their list of choices this year. However, there is still wide variation across the country and in some areas almost all families were lucky. THOUSANDS MISS OUT ON PLACES Thousands of families in oversubscribed areas are expected to have missed out on getting any school place allocation today. Figures released earlier this week suggested the top ten most under-pressure council areas have between them 10,000 more pupils than there are places. The most oversubscribed council appears to be Hounslow in West London, which has received 5,151 applications for only 2,907 places a shortfall of 2,244. In Trafford the shortfall is 1,213, while in Kent it is 1,025, in Haringey, London, it is 992 and in Stockport it is 688. Other oversubscribed councils include Solihull, Leicester, Calderdale, Dudley, Birmingham, Bury and the London boroughs of Ealing, Merton and Waltham Forest. The figures, collated by Education Law at law firm Simpson Millar, also showed only 3 per cent of appeals against allocated places are successful in some oversubscribed areas. Figures from the Department for Education show that nationally, 0.4 per cent of applicants or 2,131 children were not allocated any place on National Offer Day last year. By law, councils must find a place for every child by September, but this often means cramming them into super-size year groups or sending them to less popular schools far away from their homes. In previous years, children in London have been forced to commute for more than two hours every day to schools in other parts of the city. Many councils did not respond to requests for details of how many children did not receive a place. Advertisement In East Riding, 96 per cent of children got their first choice and only 0.8 per cent did not get their first, second or third preference. Leicester County Council reported 95.5 per cent first choices and Norfolk County Council reported 94.7 per cent. In Sunderland only 34 children - less than 1.3 per cent - did not get their first, second or third choices. Last year there were 533,314 applications for a secondary school place and 84.2 per cent of children across England were offered their preferred school. Overall figures for this year will not be released by the Department for Education until June. Primary schools have been struggling to keep up with demand in recent years due to a rising population and this is now moving through into secondary schools. The Government has said it pumped 5 billion into creating half a million new places over the last parliament and has committed a further 7 billion over the next six years. Town hall bosses have warned that children could be left without school places if councils are not given more powers to deal with increasing demand. Families who do not win a place at their favoured school can appeal, and one admissions expert said more are now willing to take that step, and get legal help to do so. Matt Richards, of legal advice firm schoolappeals.com, said: 'A few years ago out of 10 phone calls to us, maybe two would pay for some help. Now it's more like 50 per cent. 'People are much more switched on in terms of their legal rights and in terms of not wanting to do it on their own and asking for help.' Last year, there were 54,600 appeals against school allocations - 3.7 per cent of the total number of admissions to state schools. Just over a fifth of the appeals actually heard by a panel were decided in favour of the parents. Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: 'We want every parent to be able to send their children to a good local school. Despite rising pupil numbers the vast majority of parents are able to do so. 'The Government is investing billions of pounds creating new schools and new school places and through our free schools programme we want to open 500 more new schools during the five years of this Parliament.' Thousands of miles from the exotic and warm sea where former insurance salesman Manfred Bajorat sailed on his final voyage lie the gloomy frontier towns spanning Germany and Holland where his dreams of global adventure were born. People who knew Manfred before his mummified corpse was found on his yacht last week painted a portrait to MailOnline of a romantic who loved his family, loved the sea and longed to break out of the landlocked existence that was his lot in life. He made his first foray into a life on water by moving his family to a houseboat in the Netherlands, 15 miles from the nearest German border village of Twisteden, so they could live, sleep and eat on the waves and his beloved only daughter Nina could go to school like a normal child. But as one pal, Reiner Kirschner said: 'The rivers, lakes and reservoirs were never going to be big enough for his dreams. He dreamed of the open sea. Not many people have the courage to act upon their pipe dreams, but he did.' Family man: Nina Bajorat, the daughter of a German sailor discovered mummified in his yacht off the coast of the Philippines has revealed that she is flying to the islands to help with identifying the body Tragedy: The mummified body of Manfred Fritz Bajorat was found aboard his yacht, drifting in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Barobo town in Surigao del Sur Mystery: Mr Bajorat's body was found near to the radio telephone as if he was trying one last desperate Mayday call to save himself when he died Manfred, who was born in Velbert, 14 miles from the state capital of Dusseldorf, learned to sail as a child when his parents took him on a holiday to Belgium. The sea was with him until that day and he met a soul mate in his future wife Claudia, who he married in 1980. Manfred trained as an insurance salesman and in the late 80s he opened an insurance office in the old Ruhr industrial city of Wuppertal. He was, by all accounts, moderately successful, but the longing for the sea only grew stronger as he grew older. It comes amid reports that his daughter Nina Bajorat will be flying out to the Barobo town to help identify the body. If it indeed is her father, Ms Bajorat has said that she will have the mummified remains cremated before returning with them to her home country. Nina was born in 1984 and spent the first few of years of her life growing up in the city before he moved the family to a houseboat on the River Maas in Holland. A friend of Manfred's, Reiner Kirschner (right), who first met Manfred in the late 1980s, said his friend often spoke about selling up and buying a yacht to sail the world, but he never believed he'd go through with it. Meanwhile, a school friend of Nina's Markus de Groot (left), 32, remembered her as 'a really, really nice girl' A more recent image of Manfred Bajorat, whose mummified body was discovered on board his boat, off the coast of the Barobo town in Surigao del Sur. Friends have described him as a romantic who loved his family, loved the sea and longed to break out of the landlocked existence Authorities are trying to establish the last days of Mr Bajorat, who left a tribute to his late wife, Claudia, on a shipping forum. Pictured left, she is also believed to be pictured in a damaged photo album found on board the ship where Mr Bajorat was found Nina went to school in the village of 2,000 people and. when old enough, enrolled at the Realschule - comprehensive - at Klewe a few miles distant. HOW DOES A BODY MUMMIFY ON THE OPEN SEA? Professor Frank Ruhli, Director of the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich explained to MailOnline how the mummification of the sailor's body might have come about. There are various ways that natural mummification can occur. Basically in most cases it is a dehydration of tissue, which causes a shrinkage of the cells,' he said. On the open sea, there are generally fewer insects than there are on land. The salt and salty air particularly can help to lead to natural mummification, and a steady air flow can be supportive too. Mummification starts within days, depending on temperature, salt content, level of humidity, bacterial level and air flow. Once the mummification is finished and there is no climatic change, the process of decomposition is stopped and the mummified condition can thus last almost indefinitely. The mummified hair is also dried out and thus stays as it is. There are several factors that can speed the process up, including heat, a steady air flow, salty air and lack of insects and bacteria. The mummification process can be at least partially completed within days, or can take up to several months to fully develop. With favourable conditions, this state of mummification could have been achieved within a few months, it looks like it has been quite fully mummified. Advertisement Markus de Groot, 32, her classmate who graduated with her in 2000. said: 'I remember her as a really, really nice girl, great fun to be with, always kind, always willing to help others. 'I remember that she lived in a houseboat across the border somewhere but her mum brought her to school every day. I think her dad stayed in Wuppertal for part of the week for work. 'Nina told us that her parents were mad sailors and that they were all going to sail around the world one day but I don't know whether we believed her or not. It seemed a big dream for a small town. 'One thing is for sure: I remember that before we graduated we had to write down what we wanted to do in life and she wrote down sea captain. I have heard from an old friend of her's that it was an ambition that succeeded. I am pleased for her.' Reiner, who met Manfred at a bowling club in the late 1980s, said of his erstwhile friend: 'He was a kind guy. He was lucky to have a wife who shared his passion for the sea. He often spoke about selling up and buying a yacht and sailing away, but who dosn't have pipe dreams? 'In 2004, I think it was, he told me that he was going to sell up and make the dream a reality. I admired him for it. 'Although he loved everything about living on water he was responsible enough to know that Nina needed a decent education so he remained registered in Twisteden while they all lived over the border in Holland.' He sold his business for around 200,000 euros and bought a yacht he christened Nina after his daughter. There followed four years of preparation before they took off in 2008 across the Atlantic and down to Martinique - the island his wife fell in love with and where she was buried two years later when she died of cancer. Police are trying to retrace his last voyages and find the last people to speak with him in an attempt to piece together the final days of his life Authorities were still determining the cause of the death and have been in touch with the German Embassy for more information about the former insurance salesman The sign screwed into a bulkhead reads: 'This is a swell ship for the skipper....but a hell ship for the crew' The vessel was found with tins and rubbish strewn around, with ageing photo albums that had seen severe water damage The mystery as to where he had been and where he was going remains as baffling as the moment Mr Bajorat was discovered. Clues appear to lie in the haunting photographs and documents found on board in a weather-worn album found on the boat The couple parted soon after arriving on the island; friends do not know what was the cause of the break up, but it is thought that the love of the sea and the nomadic lifestyle was more Manfred's idea than her's. The break up clearly crushed him; he wrote a poignant farewell to her on a sailor's website after she died of cancer aged 53 on May 2 2010. He was clearly still deeply in love with her. The memorium read: 'Thirty years we're been together on the same path. Then the power of the demons was stronger than the will to live. You're gone. May your soul find its peace. Your Manfred.' Reiner went on: 'I really lost regular contact with him about 20 years ago. We kept in touch a couple of times a year after that, Facebook and the odd phone call. 'I think his daughter will be devastated at his death, but at the same time glad that, at least, he died in the boat he loved.' A photograph apparently discovered on board shows a woman holding a baby, possibly Manfred's wife Claudia with their daughter Nina, standing next to a boat being towed by a car Following the post-mortem, a spokesman from the Barobo police station told MailOnline that there is no evidence of 'foul play' Badly damaged photographs are the only testament to the life on land that Mr Bajorat sailed away from. But friends in his hometown of Twisteden have given insight into the man he was Two fishermen in the Philippines discovered Manfred's body this week, floating off the coast of Surigao del Sur. Christopher Rivas, 23, a resident of P-4 Poblacion, in Barobo, was fishing together with a friend nearly 40 miles from the coast when he spotted the yacht with a broken mast. Inside the cabin, much of which was underwater, photo albums were discovered apparently showing his wife, family and friends, and clothes and tins of food were strewn all around. It is still unclear how long Manfred, who has been identified by paperwork on board, has been dead or what killed him. Following a post-mortem, a spokesman from the Barobo police station told MailOnline that there was no evidence of 'foul play'. Authorities in the Philippines are working with the German embassy to identify Manfred's surviving friends and family. His daughter Nina has revealed that she will be flying to the Philippines to identify the body These photographs show memories of a happier time. Photographs found on board the boat are clues as to the kind of man Manfred was, and the loved ones he may have left behind Manfred Fritz Bajorat, 59, was discovered by two fishermen aboard his yacht in the Pacific Ocean 40 miles off the coast of Barobo town in Surigao del Sur 'The doctor believes that the man died of natural causes,' he said. Police spokeswoman Goldie Lou Siega in the Philippines previously said: 'We have no evidence of a second person aboard and no weapon was found on the yacht.' The sailor, who is believed to have posted regular Facebook updates of his adventures, was last heard from on the social network site a year ago. Manfred is thought to have sailed the Atlantic, the Pacific, around the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean, the Agean and, as a younger man, the waters of the Baltic bordering northern Germany. YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. EU is considering the possibility of providing aid to Armenia to support the refugees who arrived in Armenia from Syria, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini said during the press conference at the residence of the Armenian President. "Along with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia we also discussed the issue of Syrian refugees in Armenia. EU is considering the possibility of providing assistance to Armenia related to this issue ", - Mogherini said. She noted that the assistance can be provided through the trust funds of the EU to overcome the Syrian crisis. If today's Super Tuesday polls are on point, frontrunners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will be one step closer to nabbing their respective parties' nominations meaning the next big question will be: who will they choose as veep? When it comes to the Republican veepstakes, voters are all over the place, according to a new poll from Morning Consult. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, another GOP candidate still in the race, gets the biggest chunk of support, at 11 percent, while 38 percent of respondents indicated they didn't yet know who they'd like to see take Joe Biden's place. Scroll down for video Is this the ticket? If Donald Trump (left) becomes the Republican nominee 11 percent of his party's voters suggest that he pick retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson (right) to be the veep While more than a third of Republicans don't have a strong preference who joins Donald Trump on the presidential ticket, current and former candidates get top support With Donald Trump's political 'outsider' brand, Republicans don't seem to think he needs another media personality like Joe Scarborough (left) or billionaire like Mark Cuban (right) to join the ticket Right behind Carson are the remaining candidates in the Republican field. Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz each get 9 percent support for vice president, while former Ohio Gov. John Kasich received 8 percent support. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who threw his weight behind Trump's bid on Friday, also clears the top of the list at 8 percent. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who dropped out of the race after he saw his fortunes dashed by Trump in South Carolina and through the whole campaign, really was selected by 4 percent of respondents. All the other choices doled out by pollsters to Republican voters got between zero percent (New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez) and 2 percent (South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley). And while an outsider pair of Trump and Carson seems to make sense to the electorate, there doesn't seem to be much appetite for an all-billionaire ticket with businessman Mark Cuban receiving just 2 percent support. Same goes for another loud-mouthed media personality on the ticket with Trump, as MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, a former Republican U.S. House Member from Florida, a swing state, gets just 1 percent support. Hillary Clinton could come a step closer to clinching her party's nomination tonight and while 40 percent don't yet have an opinion yet for veep, rival Bernie Sanders is the top pick Democrats' top pick for vice president would create a unity ticket with more than a quarter of respondents feeling the Bern While a quarter of Democrats would like to see Bernie Sanders (right) on the presidential ticket another 10 percent would like to see the current occupant, Vice President Joe Biden (left) stay in the job Over on the Democratic side, while 40 percent of those voters don't know who they'd like to see on the ticket below Hillary Clinton's name a quarter of respondents are still feeling the Bern. Bernie Sanders is the top choice of Democratic respondents, receiving 26 percent support, and if Clinton picked him it would be seen as a move to unite the party. The next selection by the Democrats keeps with the status quo. Ten percent would like to see Vice President Joe Biden stay on after the Obama Administration and serve as Clinton's veep too. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who liberals hoped would run against Clinton before Sanders decided to jump in, is the third most-liked pick, with 7 percent support. All the other choices received between 1 percent and 3 percent support. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who ran against Clinton and Sanders until he didn't meet the threshold to receive delegates in the Iowa caucuses, gets just 3 percent support for veep. Twitter-happy New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker also received 3 percent support from Democrats. Julian Castro, whose promotion to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development secretary from mayor of San Antonio was viewed as a move by Democrats to get him veep-ready, received just 2 percent support. Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, who also briefly ran in the Democratic primary, received 2 percent as well. Receiving 1 percent support were Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack, who briefly ran for the White House in the 2008 cycle, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, which would produce the country's first all-female ticket and Terry McAuliffe, the current governor of Virginia, a swing state, who has been a longtime Clinton ally. Downing Street officials have demanded world leaders send them speeches that could affect the referendum campaign in advance so they can be vetted. In an extraordinary bid to control what the public is told in advance of the vote, the Prime Minister's aides have asked that countries consult them and are careful not to say anything that could boost the Brexit side. One of David Cameron's advisors at a lunch in London last week told diplomats from the 27 other EU countries they had already made a similar request to the White House. Downing Street officials are demanding to see speeches planned by world leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured with David Cameron at last month's EU summit) to check they won't undermine David Cameron's efforts to keep Britain in the EU 'The people need to be aware that there's an impact in the UK debate about what they're saying in their own countries,' a No10 source said, according to influential Brussels website Politico Europe. 'If a leader stands up and says something to their own parliament it won't just play in their own domestic media, it will make it to the UK.' Diplomats were warned that EU politicians should think twice before publicly belittling the deal secured by Mr Cameron in Brussels a fortnight ago. Eastern European leaders have already been caught boasting at home about how they prevented Mr Cameron from getting all his demands to restrict payments of benefits to EU migrant workers. Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban last week triumphantly told his MPs: 'We have succeeded in ensuring that these social benefits cannot be taken away.' The Polish prime minister Beata Szydlo also tweeted that the agreement was 'good for Europe', adding: 'We took care of the interests of Poles using social benefits in EU countries.' UK Government officials have even requested to check Barack Obama's speeches to ensure it does not boost the Brexit campaign Barack Obama, who last July made a carefully choreographed intervention calling on British people not to leave the EU, is thought to be planning a speech on Britain's membership in the coming months. Meanwhile it was reported today that Mr Cameron is facing a dilemma at home over how to reach out to Labour voters in the EU referendum campaign. He is unsure how to deal with Jeremy Corbyn. A Downing Street source told Politico: 'We're working with lots of Labour politicians on this, like Alan Johnson [head of Labour's In campaign] 'We've got lots of contacts with people who are supporting this from Labour.' Despite committing to Britain to staying in the EU Mr Corbyn last night distanced himself from Downing Street's campaign efforts and asked whether he would consider sharing a platform with the Prime Minister he simply replied: 'No'. Despite committing to Britain to staying in the EU Jeremy Corbyn (pictured on ITV's Agenda) last night distanced himself from Downing Street's campaign efforts and asked whether he would consider sharing a platform with the Prime Minister he simply replied: 'No' David Cameron is reportedly facing a dilemma over how to reach out to Labour voters but is struggling to find a way of dealing with Jeremy Corbyn (pictured on ITV's Agenda alongside host Tom Bradby) And the long-time Eurosceptic appeared to describe Mr Cameron's EU deal 'legally questionable' during his appearance on ITV's Agenda. 'We are not on the same side of the argument,' Mr Corbyn said of his and Mr Cameron's stances on the EU referendum. 'He wants a free market Europe. I want to see a Europe that is about protecting our environment and ensuring we have sustainable industries across Europe, such as the steel industry and high levels of jobs and social protection across Europe. His agenda is the very opposite.' Downing Street officials are also trying to encourage small business leaders to publicly call for the country to remain in the EU. An anti-Brexit letter from FTSE 100 bosses backfired last week after only 36 signed it despite aides hoping for around 80 signatures. 'The Leave campaign is trying to portray that we're in bed with big business, and that this is a campaign of big business vs. small business,' the No10 source said, according to Politico Europe. 'But the point is that big and small businesses will be affected by Brexit.' Sherri Shepherd has lost her appeal of a Pennsylvania court ruling that found her responsible for a child born to a surrogate before she divorced. The state Supreme Court said Tuesday that it won't hear the case brought by the sitcom actress and former co-host of 'The View.' Her lawyers had been arguing that she should not have to pay child support for the son she and her ex-husband Lamar Sally agreed to have while they were married, named Lamar Jr. Scroll down for video Sherri Shepherd has lost her appeal of a Pennsylvania court ruling that found her responsible for a child born to a surrogate before she divorced her former husband Lamar Sally (pictured together in 2013) Shepherd, 48, is currently paying $4,100 in monthly child support to her ex-husband. His lawyer, Tiffany Palmer, says Shepherd has not seen the one-year-old. Surrogacy advocates say the lower court ruling made in her case last year is the first to declare surrogacy contracts binding in the state of Pennsylvania. Shepherd's lawyer says he's surprised the court won't review the issue. The actress, who also has a ten-year-old son from her previous marriage to Jeff Tarpley, had spent more than $100,000 to arrange the surrogacy but tried to void the contract as the couple divorced in New Jersey. Shepherd and her lawyers were fighting to have her name removed from the birth certificate of Lamar Jr. (above with his father in September 2014) Last year, a Pennsylvania judge ordered Shephed to pay $4,100 a month child support and made her responsible for carrying the baby on her health insurance until he is 18 The 48-year-old actress also has a ten-year-old son (pictured together) from a previous marriage The couple's surrogate Jessica Bartholomew, was seven months pregnant when Shepherd filed for divorce from Sally, 44, in May 2014 - less than three years after they were married. In July that year, Sally petitioned a court in Los Angeles for full custody of a baby they were expecting via surrogate. A Pennsylvania judge ruled that Shepherd was legally the young boy's mother and as such would be required to contribute to the child's expenses While Shepherd's ten-year-old son is biologically hers, she had no biological claim to the child as her egg was not used in the fertilization process. She refused to be listed as the child's guardian after he was born and also refused to pay child support or any medical expenses. As a result, the surrogate was listed as the mother after the child's birth and held legally responsible for the baby she was pregnant with only because she agreed to carry it for Shepherd and Sally. But in April last year, a Pennsylvania judge ruled that Shepherd was legally the boy's mother and as such would be required to contribute to the child's expenses. Her name was put on the birth certificate, she was ordered to pay $4,100 a month child support and is responsible for carrying the baby on her health insurance until he is 18. But she refused to accept the court's decision and took the case to the Court of Appeals last October. After the arguments were heard in the Court of Appeals, Sally's lawyer Tiffany Palmer told DailyMail.com: You cannot walk away from this baby just because your marriage failed. 'And amazingly, Sherri brought this case to Pennsylvania, instead of New Jersey where she lives, because there are no laws on the books for or against surrogacy here, so Sherri is trying to get it outlawed in this state just to avoid paying child support. Britain's top civil servant was yesterday forced to deny politicising the Royal Family, weeks after a row over seemingly pro-EU comments by Prince William. Last month the Duke of Cambridge appeared to echo a central argument of the In campaign that Britain would be less secure if it leaves the EU. Yesterday Sir Jeremy Heywood, nicknamed Sir Cover-Up, admitted it was likely No 10 officials had seen text of the prince's speech in advance. Labour MP Paul Flynn, left at today's hearing, demanded Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood, right, explain Royal involvement in the EU referendum campaign and the earlier Scottish poll The Cabinet Secretary also did not deny he had intervened in the Scottish referendum by coming up with a form of words to allow the Queen to signal support for keeping the UK together. He told the Commons public administration committee he would 'never dream' of trying to politicise the Queen, but Labour MP Paul Flynn, said: 'What I'm accusing you of is collaborating in the politicisation of the Royal Family.' Sir Jeremy was before the committee after a row over whether he told civil servants to stop anti-EU ministers receiving documents. He insisted there was no 'conspiracy' against pro-Brexit ministers and that his guidance was clear restrictions apply only to material intended to support pro-Brexit arguments. But he promised to rewrite a Q&A which appeared to suggest all information with a bearing on the EU debate should be restricted. The MPs questioned Sir Jeremy on accusations he was instrumental in politicising royals to swing referendums. Two weeks ago, in a speech to the Foreign Office, Prince William said 'our ability to unite in common action with other nations is essential it is the bedrock of our security and prosperity'. The comments from Prince William, pictured with Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond at the Foreign Office during the controversial event , echoed the Queen's extraordinary intervention before the Scottish referendum when she told Scots to think 'carefully' about whether they wanted to leave the United Kingdom At the time Kensington Palace denied the comments had any bearing on the EU referendum. But Mr Flynn asked yesterday: 'Wouldn't those words be fine to put into the campaign material of those wishing to stay in the European Union?' Sir Jeremy replied: 'I certainly wouldn't assume to advise the campaign; that's not my job.' Mr Flynn said of the royal interventions: 'Here we've got quite convincing examples of government, possibly with the connivance of the civil service, using the Royal Family for party political aims. Are you involved in this?' Sir Jeremy said: 'I don't think there has been any attempt by anybody in government or the civil service to involve the Royal Family in politicisation.' Committee chairman Bernard Jenkin asked how 'normal' it would be for a royal to 'make a speech to the Foreign Office that had not been seen by civil servants in advance'. Mr Flynn later dismissed Sir Jeremy's evidence on royal involvement as 'ludicrous' Sir Jeremy said: 'I think it would be unusual probably.' He said the information bar was only for 'briefing material and speech material', adding that 'the Prime Minister doesn't think it is appropriate, and I don't either, to provide that material to ministers who want to argue against the Government's position'. Jessica Valik (pictured) has pleaded guilty under a deal with prosecutors to child endangering in Cincinnati A New York woman suspected of sickening her 4-year-old son by injecting something into his hospital feeding tube pleaded guilty under a deal with prosecutors to child endangering in Cincinnati. Jessica Valik's son Jackson Baldwin was treated at Cincinnati Children's Hospital for a rare disease that causes skin to blister. Prosecutors alleged that Valik, 26, of Syracuse, added Benadryl to the boy's feeding tube last fall, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Hospital staff became suspicious when the boy suffered severe diarrhea without an apparent medical reason, authorities said. The boy had to undergo several diaper changes, which were painful because of his skin condition called epidermolysis bullosa, they said. Valik's attorney, Massimino Ionna, declined to comment about her motives after Valik pleaded guilty Tuesday to a single misdemeanor count, the newspaper reported. Prosecutors dropped a felony assault charge under the deal. Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor Jocelyn Chess said Children's Hospital officials agreed with the plea as there were 'some complications' in proceeding with the case. Scroll down for video 'We believe this would be the best way to resolve this case,' Chess said. Valik could face up to six months in jail when she's sentenced on March 28. Prosecutors alleged that Valik, 26, of Syracuse, added Benadryl to the Jackson Baldwin's feeding tube last fall. He is seen in this photograph Valik's attorney, Massimino Ionna, declined to comment about her motives after Valik (center) pleaded guilty Tuesday to a single misdemeanor coun Fundraisers for Jackson to get a bone marrow transplant previously took place in New York, NBC affiliate WNYT in Albany reported. The Mayo Clinic says online that epidermolysis bullosa 'is a group of rare diseases that cause the skin to blister.' It says: 'Epidermolysis bullosa has no cure, though mild forms may improve with age. 'Treatment focuses on addressing the symptoms such as infection and itching and preventing pain and wounds. 'Severe forms may cause serious complications and can be fatal.' In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful To the American people, Peace be upon those who follow the righteous track. Hereafter, The subject of my talk to you is the overwhelming control of capital (Var.: money) and its effect on the ongoing war between us. I direct my talk specifically to those who support real change, especially the youth. I say from the onset: Your former president warned you previously about the devastating Jewish control of capital and about a day that would come when it would enslave you; it has happened. Your current president warns you now about the enormity of capital control and it has a cycle whereby it devours humanity when it is devoid of the precepts of God's law (Sharia). The tyranny of the control of capital by large companies has harmed your economy, as it did ours, and that was my motivation for this talk. Tens of millions of you are below the poverty line, millions have lost their homes, and millions have lost their jobs to mark the highest average unemployment in 60 years. Your financial system in its totality was about to collapse within 48 hours had not the administration reverted to using taxpayer's money to rescue the vultures by using the assets of the victims. As for us, our Iraq was invaded in response to pressure from capitalists with greed for black gold, and you continue to support the oppressive Israelis in their occupation of our Palestine in response to pressures on your administration by a Jewish lobby backed by enormous financial capabilities. An observer of the policies of the new administration realizes that the change is tactical and not strategic; it does not at all agree with the change you seek. There are very many indicators of this, especially concerning important matters related to your security and economy, particularly the ongoing war between us. The previous administration was successful in implicating you in these wars against us under the premise that they are necessary for your security or according to the promise that it would be short and would finish in six days or six weeks. Six years has passed, and that administration is gone without realizing the victory. The man calling for change promised you victory in Afghanistan and set a time for withdrawal. Before the end of the set time, Petraeus, from the previous administration, came and asked for an extension of six more months. If it was the six-day war that started by President Bush, and six years have not been enough to finish it, then the wise men should question how long would a six-month war take and whether you are able to fund a war that requires a large amount of money that weakens your economy and your dollar. For Obama to leave one-third of the soldiers in Iraq, and the statements from his administration about this, especially from Aderno, about the possibility of Obama's ordering the return of the forces he took out of Iraq, it would have been better for him had he disagreed with the ethics of the previous administration and adopted the truth as a friend and told you that he will not withdraw from Iraq, which may not serve the US interests but it is in the interest of the large corporations. The course of the policies of the present administration in several areas clearly reveals that whoever enters the White House, even with good intentions to safeguard the peoples' interest, is no more than a train operator. His only task is to keep the train on the tracks that are laid down by the lobbyists in New York and Washington to serve their interests first, even if it is counter to your security and economy. Any president who tries to move the train from the lobbyist's tracks to a track for the American people's interests will confront very strong opposition and pressures from the lobbyists. Your president described the decision by the court in favor of corporations to intervene in the political arena as a victory, but it is not [a victory] for the American people except for the big corporations. There is no doubt about it that it is a right, and it is also a right for the administration to support the oppressive Israelis for the continued occupation of our land and the killing of our brothers, marking a victory for the Jewish lobby. The president was not able to defend you against the security and economic loss. The way for change and freeing yourselves from the pressure of lobbyists is not through the Republican or the Democratic parties, but through undertaking a great revolution for freedom: not to free Iraq from Saddam Hussein but to free the White House and to free Barack Husayn so he can implement the change you seek. It does not only include improvement of your economic situation and ensure your security, but more importantly, helps him in making a rational decision to save humanity from the harmful [greenhouse] gases that threaten its destiny. The way for change and freeing yourselves from the pressure of lobbyists is not through the Republican or the Democratic parties, but through undertaking a great revolution for freedom: not to free Iraq from Saddam Hussein but to free the White House and to free Barack Husayn so he can implement the change you seek. It does not only include improvement of your economic situation and ensure your security, but more importantly, helps him in making a rational decision to save humanity from the harmful [greenhouse] gases that threaten its destiny. For the American youth to succeed in this change, they need to relive the history of their ancestors and the conditions in their country more than two centuries ago. They need to understand the similarities during that era and their present situation, especially in their fundamental conditions. The British Parliament sided with corporations, then against the interests of the citizens. You have noticed the Congresss stand with corporations against the peoples interests when they refused to legislate against interference in the elections by corporations. The British military governor in the United States used to have the right to appoint judges and mayors. Similarly, the corruption is deep rooted now in all higher authorities, thus giving authorities over these offices to corporations. Subsequently, the higher court adjudicated their support of political financing by corporations under such circumstances. Reading the book by the intellectual Thomas Paine helped your fathers in the revolution against the oppressors. It is useful for you to read it under the current, similar circumstances. You are in need of people like Thomas Paine to publish books pointing out the similarities between the two phases and that will have a similar effect. You also are in need of men with courage and initiative like those of your forefathers at that time when they refused to allow one company to harm the interests of the United States, a company that had a monopoly on tea and its prices. Yet there now are many companies that endanger the United States economy, which continues to be vulnerable to collapse and they also formulate the policies of the White House. They threw hundreds of thousands of soldiers against us and have formed an alliance with the Israelis to oppress us and occupy our land; that was the reason for our response on the eleventh. Palestine has been under occupation for decades, and none of your presidents talked about it until after September 11 when Bush realized that your oppression and the tyranny against us were part of the reason for the attack. Then he talked about the necessity for two states. Obama is trying to address the issue with the same solutions suggested by his predecessor; they are quilting fruitless solutions not of concern to us. If you want a real settlement that guarantees your security in your country and safeguards your economy from being depleted in a manner similar to our war of attrition against the Soviet Union, then you have to implement a roadmap that returns the Palestine land to us, all of it, from the sea to the river, it is an Islamic land not subject to being traded or granted to any party. In conclusion: Be assured that we do not fight for mere killing but to stop the killing of our people. It is a sin to kill a person without proper, justifiable cause, but terminating his killer is a right. You should be aware that justice is the strongest army and security offers the best livelihood; you lost it by your own making when you supported the Israelis in occupying our land and killing our brothers in Palestine. The road to safety starts with the stopping of aggression. Palestine shall not be seen captive for we will try to break its shackles. The United States shall pay for its arrogance with the blood of Christians and their funds. The daughter of murder suspect Glen McNamara has told a Sydney court her father paled after his alleged accomplice Roger Rogerson complimented herself and her sister over a beer on the day Jamie Gao was killed. Jessica McNamara testified on Tuesday she arrived home from work to an empty apartment about 5.15pm on May 20, 2014, and her father and Rogerson arrived a short time later. She said the three of them exchanged chit-chat as McNamara and a 'jovial' Rogerson shared a beer. Scroll down for video Murder suspect Glen McNamara's daughter Jessica McNamara testified on Tuesday she arrived home from work to an empty apartment about 5.15pm on May 20, 2014 - the day Jamie Gao was killed But the mood turned when Rogerson commented on how 'nice' she and her younger sister were. 'He said to my dad that he had really lovely, lovely girls,' Ms McNamara told the NSW Supreme Court. 'As he was saying that I looked at my dad and he was pale. 'He looked skittish. He kept moving at the table, twitching a little bit.' Ms McNamara, 25, said she noticed Rogerson began tapping a dark-coloured item in his right trouser pocket and that her father suddenly began fidgeting, standing up and pacing on the spot. She said the three of them exchanged chit-chat as McNamara and an apparently 'jovial' Roger Rogerson, who is accused of being the former's accomplice, shared a beer But the mood turned when Rogerson commented on how 'nice' she and her younger sister were. Above is McNamara being escorted from court It is alleged McNamara and Rogerson murdered Mr Gao, a 20-year-old university student and alleged drug dealer, in a storage shed before stripping him of 2.78kg of ice and dumping his body at sea Prosecutors allege only hours earlier, Rogerson and McNamara had murdered Mr Gao, a 20-year-old university student and alleged drug dealer, in a storage shed before stripping him of 2.78kg of ice and dumping his body at sea. Ms McNamara said her father hardly ate a thing that night at dinner. 'He sat there playing with cutlery and not eating. He was just talking,' she said. 'He seemed dazed.' McNamara slumped forward in the dock on Tuesday and held his head in his hands, wiping away tears as his eldest daughter described the regular fishing trips they had taken together in the family boat. Here Rogerson and McNamara are seen entering a Cronulla apartment with a six pack of beers Ms McNamara after she told the NSW Supreme Court Rogerson began tapping a dark-coloured item in his right trouser pocket following their arrival at home The Crown alleges a boat was used to dump Mr Gao's lifeless body into the ocean by McNamara The Crown alleges it was this boat that McNamara used to dump Mr Gao's lifeless body into the ocean. The body was spotted by fishermen on May 26, 2014, wrapped in a surfboard bag and a blue tarpaulin and bobbing in waters off Cronulla. McNamara's barrister Kara Shead has previously told the jury it was Rogerson who shot and killed Mr Gao, and while her client admitted being involved in disposing of the body, he did so under duress after Rogerson threatened him and his family. Rogerson's counsel, meanwhile, argued it was McNamara who pulled the trigger. Flight Lieutenant Albert Chennell showed incredible bravery to carry on piloting his Whitley bomber back to RAF Driffield in East Yorkshire after one of its two engines caught alight in Germany in April 1942 Smiling proudly for the camera, this is the heroic RAF officer who saved his crew by continuing to fly his warplane for five hours after one of its two engines caught fire. Flight Lieutenant Albert Chennell showed incredible bravery to carry on piloting his Whitley bomber after one of the two engines caught alight as the crew prepared to drop a 1,000lb bomb in Germany. Rather than order the five-man crew aboard the stricken plane to bail out or crash land in Germany, Fl Lt Chennell turned the bomber around and limped 500 miles back to Britain with just one engine. Even when they reached RAF Driffield in East Yorkshire five hours later, the pilot still had to perform an emergency landing with several large explosives still on board. Had the hair-raising landing gone wrong 70 years ago, the results would have been catastrophic. Fl Lt Chennell, who was an accountant before the Second World War, was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Flying Cross for his bravery in April 1942. His medals as well as his wartime logbooks, which document the incredible act, have now been put up for auction by his family for an estimated 2,000. His 1939-45 Star comes with the Bomber Command clasp, the award that recognises personnel who served in Bomber Command which was only granted in 2013 after years of campaigning. Fl Lt Chennell, who was originally from Thornton Heath, south London, but later lived in Blandford, Dorset, piloted the Whitely aircraft on a sortie to attack factories that made the Heinkel bombers in Rostock, north Germany, on the night of April 25. Ned Cowell, of George Kidner Auctions of Lymington, Hampshire, said: 'His Distinguished Flying Cross was for his devotion to duty but the Rostock incident gets top billing. 'His plane was just 30 miles from its target when one of the twin engines was hit by anti-aircraft fire and caught alight. 'But rather than order the crew to bail out and crashing the plane, he managed to put the fire out and then nurse his aircraft all the way home on a single engine. Flight Lieutenant Albert Chennell flew the Whitley bomber for five hours back to East Yorkshire after one of its engines caught alight during a mission to drop 1,000lbs bombs over Germany during the Second World War Flight Lieutenant Albert Chennell (left) is pictured with two of his crew who were later killed at RAF St. Eval A letter from the Group Captain in Abingdon congratulating Albert Chennell on his Distinguished Flying Cross Flt Lt Chennell is pictured alongside colleagues in this black and white photograph from the Second World War 'His logbook notes that he had the 1,000lbs bomb hung up throughout the trip back which must have been a very long and anxious one. 'It was a pretty hairy experience that must have required steely nerves. There was a great body of explosives on board and if the plane came down too hard and crash landed it could have gone up. 'But he pulled it off and got the plane, his crew and the bomb back safe. It meant they could all be used to fight another day rather than have ended up in German hands. 'This was early 1942 and although the Allies had won the Battle of Britain, the outcome of the Second World War was far from clear and every crew member, aircraft and bomb was needed for the war effort. 'It was a very significant act of flying merit.' Flight Lieutenant Albert Chennell (circled) with other members of RAF 139 (Jamaica) Squadron in 1945 A letter from Mr and Mrs Thomas Watts thanking Flt Lt Chennell for his sympathy following their son's death Later on in the war, Fl Lt Chennell, who served in 51 Squadron, took part in anti-submarine patrols and air-sea rescues of downed Allies airmen. He moved to 193 Squadron where he flew Mosquitos Pathfinders and also took part in the very last Bomber Command operation of the Second World War, when Mosquitos bombed Kiel harbour in anticipation of an attempted German break out in the direction of Norway. After the war he joined the Civil Aviation Authority and worked as an air traffic controller before retiring in 1974. The widower died in 1997 aged 83. Mr Kidner added: 'His family are selling the medals as I don't think they forsee future generations of the family having them so it is best to put them in the hands of a collector who will cherish them.' The medal group will be sold on Thursday. Flt Lt Chennell's medals and his wartime logbooks have been put up for auction by his family for about 2,000 Flt Lt Chennell's wartime medals have been put up for auction including his (pictured from left to right): Distinguished Flying Cross, 1939-45 Star, Air Crew Europe Star, Defence Medal and his 1939-45 War Medal Cardinal George Pell has defended suggestions that his evidence is 'completely implausible' and designed to deflect the blame from himself, the child abuse royal commission has heard. The Cardinal has again claimed he was deceived by people within the Catholic church who knew about sexual abuse by pedophile priests, but chose not to reveal this to him. He told the royal commission he had sought a briefing from the Catholic Education Office after a delegation came to him in 1989, when he was an auxiliary bishop in the Melbourne archdiocese, to complain about Father Peter Searson. Complaints against Father Searson included abusing and harassing children and parents and harming animals in the Doveton parish. Scroll down for video Cardinal George Pell arrived at a Rome hotel on Wednesday for his third night of testimony to the child sex abuse royal commission hearing in Sydney However, Cardinal Pell said the education office didn't share a considerable amount of information they had about Searson's behaviour. Commissioner Peter McClellan asked Cardinal Pell if he could give any reason why the education office 'would choose to deceive you in relation to Searson's behaviour?'. 'Yes, I was a new boy on the block,' Cardinal Pell told the commission on Wednesday via an audiovisual link from Rome. 'I was known to be capable of being outspoken. 'They might have been fearful of just what line I would take when confronted with all the information.' Cardinal Pell agreed that there should be disciplinary action against the education office staff who deceived him. On Tuesday the cardinal told the commission he was deceived by the former Bishop of Ballarat, Ronald Mulkearns, when he was a priest in that diocese in the 1970s and early 1980s about the behaviour of the now notorious pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale. Cardinal Pell was asked on Wednesday why he was deceived in the case of Ridsdale and Searson. 'In both cases, it's a mystery but in both cases for some reason, they were covering up,' he said. 'I think they would have covered up from me, as I mentioned earlier, because they would have feared that I would not accept the status quo.' Counsel assisting the commission Gail Furness put to the cardinal that his claims about the education office were 'completely implausible' and were designed to deflect blame from himself. 'I can only tell you the truth,' Cardinal Pell replied. Ms Furness put to Cardinal Pell that he did have knowledge of Fr Risdale's conduct and that the education office had 'properly and adequately' briefed him in relation to Fr Searson. Cardinal Pell denied this. Cardinal George Pell concedes he should have done more when he was told of rumours about pedophile priest Brother Edward Dowlan's activity with children in the 1970s Cardinal George Pell is being questioned about what he knew of pedophile priests operating in Ballarat and Melbourne when he served there in the 1970s and 1980s Plain-clothes state police officers kept journalists back as the cardinal walked the few steps to the hotel door, refusing to answer questions about the hearing Cardinal George Pell earlier conceded he should have done more when he was told of rumours about a Christian Brother's activity with children in the 1970s. The Cardinal said he heard vague and unspecific rumours about Brother Edward Dowlan from about two students and two priests, but was told by the school chaplain at Ballarat's St Patrick's College that the Christian Brothers were dealing with it. 'I regret that I didn't do more at that stage,' he said. Cardinal Pell said he did not take any further action to determine what the Christian Brothers did about Dowlan after speaking to the chaplain. 'No I didn't, but I soon became aware that Dowlan was shifted,' he said. 'It was a generalised suggestion, accusation. There was nothing specific. 'I would say that in the light of my present understandings, I would concede I should have done more.' Pressed on what he was told, Cardinal Pell said there were unfortunate rumours about Dowlan's activity with young people, adding it was always vague and unspecific. He admitted he understood it to be rumours of sexual activity with young people, as well as discipline and violence. The commission heard Dowlan was moved at the end of 1974. Commission chair Justice Peter McClellan asked Cardinal Pell if he was concerned that a brother about whom he had heard rumours of sexual activity with children was dealt with by moving him. Cardinal Pell said: 'No ... I didn't know exactly what he was accused of, but 40 years ago, or more than 40 years ago, I did not think that (moving the brother) was unusual or inappropriate.' Justice McClellan asked if it was appropriate to move someone who may be offending against children to a different location where they could continue to offend. Cardinal Pell said he didn't believe that. He said he assumed the Christian Brothers were dealing adequately with the matter. 'I was not aware then of their poor record which I learnt about later in dealing with such things,' Cardinal Pell said. 'I presumed when they shifted him they would have also arranged for some appropriate help.' Cardinal Pell did not tell then-Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns about the issue, and regretted he did not do more at that stage. Cardinal Pell again told the commission he could not remember being told about Dowlan by Timothy Green in 1974, although he included Mr Green in the two students who approached him about the brother. 'I'm certainly not suggesting Mr Green is telling lies but I am suggesting that I have no such recollection.' Mr Green, 53, told the commission last year he was 12 or 13 when he told Cardinal Pell Dowlan was abusing boys at St Patrick's College in 1974. 'Fr Pell said 'don't be ridiculous and walked out,' Mr Green said. On Tuesday, he told the commission he did not know about repeated complaints against the now-imprisoned pedophile Father Gerald Ridsdale because former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns did not tell him The former senior Australian Catholic shocked abuse survivors who are in Rome to watch him give evidence, when he said on Tuesday Ridsdale's offences were 'a sad story' but had not been of much interest to him Cardinal Pell says his predecessor as Melbourne archbishop did not act on child abuse when he should have. He said he was strongly critical of and deeply disturbed by what came out about the handling of complaints by Frank Little, who was Archbishop of Melbourne from 1974 to 1996. 'Archbishop Little on some occasions did not act when he should have and certainly did not make appropriate information available to the personnel advisory board on some occasions,' he said. Cardinal Pell said Bishop Little had a 'blind spot' when it came to handling complaints about sexual abuse by priests. The bishop did not reveal there was a long list of complaints about one priest, when Cardinal Pell had sought advice when he was auxiliary bishop in the Melbourne archdiocese in the 1980s. 'I have to say that I am strongly critical of it,' he said of Archbishop Little's handling of complaints about Sunbury parish priest Father Peter Searson. Cardinal Pell said he only discovered recently someone had prepared a one-and-a-half page list of infractions by Searson and was never told about the seriousness of the matters involved. Fr Searson's conduct included keeping a gun at school, showing a body in a coffin to children, sexual contact with children and animal cruelty. He was also accused of making children kneel between knees and sit on lap during confession and holding a knife to a girl's chest. There were complaints about Searson's strange behaviour while he was at Sunbury between 1977 and 1984 and many more after he was moved to Doveton, where he remained until 1997. Cardinal Pell said a 1985 complaint about Searson making children kneel between his legs during confession and recording their confessions should have been investigated. Searson died before facing a criminal investigation. Counsel assisting the commission Gail Furness SC questions Cardinal George Pell via videolink from Rome On Tuesday, he told the commission he did not know about repeated complaints against the now-imprisoned pedophile Father Gerald Ridsdale (pictured) because former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns did not tell him Plain-clothes state police officers kept journalists back as the cardinal walked the few steps to the door of Hotel Quirinale in Rome refusing to answer questions about the hearing Cardinal Pell is being questioned about what he knew of pedophile priests operating in Ballarat and Melbourne when he served there in the 1970s and 1980s. On Tuesday, he told the commission he did not know about repeated complaints against the now-imprisoned pedophile Father Gerald Ridsdale because former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns did not tell him. The former senior Australian Catholic, now the third-most powerful man in the Vatican, shocked abuse survivors who are in Rome to watch him give evidence via video link, when he said on Tuesday Ridsdale's offences were 'a sad story' but had not been of much interest to him when they were happening in the 1970s in regional Victoria. 'I had no reason to turn my mind to the evils that Ridsdale had perpetrated,' he said. On Tuesday, Cardinal Pell was challenged outright that his claim to have known nothing of Ridsdale's offences when so many others did was simply implausible. He rejected the suggestion, saying it was only implausible if there was evidence he had been told about Ridsdale. Drug dealers in Indonesia will be made to eat their own supply until they die if new rules are pushed through. The country's National Narcotics Agency has suggested the punishment in a desperate bid to tackle growing drugs problems. The proposal would strengthen already tough laws, which include death by firing squad if citizens are caught drugs trafficking. Drug dealers in Indonesia will be made to eat their own supply until they die if new rules are pushed through. Above, Indonesian police secure an area in March 2015 ahead of the deaths of two drug traffickers Police have also increased raids on local dealers, with one recent investigation leading to four deaths. Slamet Pribadi, a spokesman for the agency, told Al Jazeera: 'We need to be serious because drugs are the enemy.' Hendro Pandowo, a local police chief, added: 'We have to fight this war on drugs everywhere. 'They have to be cleaned off the streets of Jakarta and eradicated through Indonesia.' It comes after the country decided to halt all executions temporarily at the end of last year. The decision meant British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford (pictured), who was sentenced to death after being caught smuggling cocaine into Bali, was given a temporary reprieve. Around 4.5 million drug addicts currently live in Indonesia with 33 people dying per day due to overdoses. Critics have slammed the proposals and claim the country's laws do not differentiate between addicts and criminals. It comes after the country decided to halt all executions temporarily at the end of last year. Without the markets, I would have no way of feeding my children, she says. There are many, many women like me in Port Moresby, single mothers who have nobody else to rely on. I have no choice but to go. Like many of the women who make up 80% of the citys vendors, she is entirely reliant on the income she generates selling produce at the sprawling and chaotic markets scattered throughout the capital. EVERY morning, Serah Thomas gets up early and makes her way to Gordons market in Papua New Guineas capital, Port Moresby. Its not the work that fills Thomas with dread as she ties up her hair and makes her way to the bus with a bag of things to sell. Its the harassment, theft and violence that she will have to navigate during the day. Markets are not safe for female traders. Women are bullied by market security, intimidated by police and sexually harassed throughout the day. A toilet trip is not to be made on your own. People try to rob them on their way to the bus stop. Poor street lighting and unreliable public transport increase their vulnerability as they try to get home. Over the years, we have all faced many problems at the markets: people cutting our bags and stealing our wallets, drunks chasing us. We have all experienced a lot of violence, says Thomas. Every day we are scared for our lives and worry that the next day something will happen to us. It is very stressful. The violence faced by women in the markets is a reflection of Papua New Guineas epidemic of gender-based violence. The island is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman, with an estimated 70% experiencing rape or assault. In 2011, the capital was chosen as a pilot location in the UN Womens safe cities initiative, a global attempt to address rising levels of violence against women in urban and public spaces. It isnt enough to say there is a culture of impunity around violence against women in all public spaces in Papua New Guinea. It is routine and for many people it remains just part of the fabric of everyday life, says Jurgita Sereikaite, from UN Womens Papua New Guinea office. A study in 2011-12 to assess the scale of the problem found that 55% of women had experienced violence in markets in the previous year. The survey also highlighted poor sanitation in markets: the dilapidated toilets posed health and safety concerns and in areas around bus stations vendors felt particularly vulnerable to assault. The womens responses acted a bit like a map for us, says Kay Kaugla, the gender officer at the National Capital District Commission. We understood what we were facing. When we first went to the markets to tell the women about [the safe cities] programme, it was very tough they were suspicious and scared. When they realised that they were going to have a say in what needs to change, they became positive, she says. After a shaky start, more than 3,000 women formed 12 vendor associations, each with an elected spokesperson to represent their concerns to local authorities. There was this perception among many in government that these women were just voiceless poor women who didnt need to be listened to, says Kaugla. This was what we wanted to challenge. We are trying to show that these women are entrepreneurs, small business owners and have rights that must be protected. For the next two years, the vendor associations took part in consultations to overhaul one of the markets, Geheru, and build a space that was safer for female vendors. The bathrooms and showers were updated, market stalls and shaded areas were renovated, potable running water was provided, and a playground was built. When it reopened in 2014, the market trialled a cashless method to allow vendors to pay their market fees through mobile phones. It was introduced to stop women being harassed for illegal fees by market officials and men posing as tax collectors. An ambitious rebuild of Papua New Guineas largest urban market, Gordons, is now slowly under way. Although there has been no official assessment of whether violence has decreased since the rebuild at Geheru, female vendors say it has made an enormous difference. Whether this can be replicated at Gordons is another matter. The market has become a focal point for rape, mugging and gang violence and the scale of the work needed has already caused significant delays. Women working at Gordons say the wider problem of corruption and discrimination must be tackled. The police are our biggest problem, says Mary Boi, a vendor at Gordons. Even after the safe city project came to our market and encouraged us to report our problems to the police, they didnt listen and the men who abused us would be back in the market and harassing us again. The police also threatened and intimidated us. Kay Kaugla, gender officer at Papua New Guineas National Capital District Commission, says the vendors are entrepreneurs, small business owners and have rights that must be protected. In an effort to tackle this, training on womens rights has begun with local police forces based close to the markets. There is now a dedicated member of staff working solely on policing issues within the safe cities team. All we want is a safe place to work, says Boi. These markets are bad places for women to be. We just want this to change so we can spend our days in peace, not looking over our shoulders fearing what will happen next. Thomas, now president of the mini-goods vendors association at Gordons, is upbeat. A few years ago, nobody cared what we thought; now they are designing a market to make things better, she says. That is progress. After writing a best-seller about her 18 years in captivity, Jaycee Lee Dugard is working on a book about the joys and challenges that followed. Simon & Schuster announced Tuesday that it has acquired Dugard's new piece of work, Freedom: My Book of Firsts, which is scheduled for release July 12. The book will focus on her 'first experiences' after the ordeal ended. Dugard said in a statement: 'There is life after something tragic happens. Life doesn't have to end if you don't want it to. It's all in how you look at it.' 'I still believe that we each hold the key to our own happiness': Kidnap survivor Jaycee Lee Dugard announced in a statement Tuesday that her second memoir, Freedom: My Book of Firsts, will be released in July Dugard's first book, A Stolen Life (left), sold 1.5 million copies in the US following its release in 2011. She is pictured right with Oprah Winfrey at the Diane von Furstenberg Awards in New York in 2012 The statement continued: 'Somehow, I still believe that we each hold the key to our own happiness and you have to grab it where you can in whatever form it might take.' Dugard was abducted in June 1991 on her way to school in South Lake Tahoe, California. Then 11, she was held until by Phillip and Nancy Garrido and was raped and drugged repeatedly over the course of 18 years. While in captivity, she gave birth to two daughters fathered by Garrido. Monsters: Phillip Garrido (left) and his wife Nancy (right) are serving 431 years and 36 years respectively for abducting Dugard and hiding her in the backyard of their home. Dugard had two children by Phillip Garrido Failed by the system: Jaycee Dugard was 11 when she was kidnapped by a convicted rapist who was on parole Held: Garrido, a registered sex offender, kept Jaycee Dugard at his home in Antioch, California (pictured), for 18 years, after kidnapping her from a bus stop in 1991. He was on parole at the time Garrido was sentenced to 431 years to life for the kidnap and rape of Dugard. His wife Nancy was sentenced to 36 years to life. Dugard described her ordeal in the 2011 release A Stolen Life, which sold 1.5 million copies in the US. JAYCEE LEE'S HORRIFIC ORDEAL Jaycee Lee Dugard was abducted as she walked to a school bus stop in South Lake Tahoe, California, on June 10, 1991. She was snatched by Phillip Garrido, who had been released on parole in August 1988 after serving 11 years of a 50-year sentence for the kidnap and rape of Katherine Callaway Hall in 1976. He shot her with a stun gun and pulled her into his car, then drove her to his home in Antioch, where he held her captive in a concealed compound behind his house. Miss Dugard was reported missing and her case earned worldwide fame. The police missed two chances to save Miss Dugard in November 2006 and July 2008 when Garrido was questioned by authorities for a neighbourhood disturbance. Miss Dugard was saved on August 25, 2009, when Garrido was ordered to bring his daughters to a parole meeting. Miss Dugard broke down and eventually told police officers who she really was. She was awarded $20 million for police negligence during her captivity and the poor supervision of Garrido. After originally saying they would plead not guilty, the Garridos eventually changed their plea, so Miss Dugard was spared the ordeal of giving evidence. In June, Phillip Garrido was jailed for 431 years and Nancy Garrido for 36 years. Advertisement 'Jaycee Dugard is a remarkable woman,' Jonathan Karp, publisher of Simon & Schuster, said on Monday. 'Her strength has been an inspiration to millions, and her story is a remarkable example of resilience and spirit. Readers of this book will gain a new appreciation of how joyful freedom can be.' Dugard, now 35, and her two children have received a $20 million settlement from state of California. Dugard was rescued in 2009, when two female police officers became suspicious of Garrido, a convicted rapist, and summoned him and his family to a parole meeting. Garrido went to a parole office in Cincord and was accompanied by his wife, the two young girls and a woman who turned out to be Dugard. During the meeting, Dugard broke down and managed to tell police who she really was. During an interview with ABC News in 2012, Jaycee said she was appreciative of 'just being free to do what I want to do, when I want to do it'. She added of her daughters, who are now in their late teens: 'I want my girls to have a normal life as much as possible.' In the same year, she was honored at the Diane von Furstenberg Awards in New York. During the ceremony, Oprah Winfrey, who was also honored at the event, said in her speech of Dugard: 'I am so proud of you, your courage, your ability to press onward toward the future.' At of the release of her last book, Dugard was living in seclusion in Northern California with her daughters and mother, Terry Probyn. In the years since, she has slowly used her ordeal to become a spokesperson for abuse. A 22-year-old mother-of-one was killed while sitting in her car at a stop sign when suspected distracted driver's vehicle went airborne and landed on her car. Megan Goeltz, 22, of Hudson, Wisconsin, was sitting in her car in Washington County, Minnesota, when 20-year-old Drew T Fleming's vehicle fatally struck her on Monday evening. The Saab driven by Felming, also from Hudson, was heading north Highway 95 when it crossed the southbound lands and went into a ditch, Minnesota police said. Megan Goeltz, 22, of Hudson, Wisconsin, was sitting in her car in Washington County, Minnesota, when 20-year-old Drew T Fleming's vehicle fatally struck her on Monday evening The mother-of-one was raising her three year old daughter on her own and working at a nearby nursing home. Fleming told police he may have been distracted when he lost control of his vehicle, causing to go into a ditch and go airborne The vehicle then hit an embankment and went airborne, landing on Goeltz's Ford Fusion sitting at a three-way intersection in Lakeland Township. A statement Tuesday afternoon from the state Department of Public Safety said: 'The 20-year-old driver, who is cooperating with investigators, indicated that he may have been distracted in the vehicle when he lost control of his car and landed on top of the victim's vehicle.' Patrol Lt Tiffani Nielson told the Star Tribune that 'a number of distractions will be examined in this crash, including texting and [others] that may have been occurring in the vehicle when this crash occurred'. Fleming was taken to Regions Hospital in St Paul and has since been released. Megan's father, Thomas Goeltz, said that his daughter's death 'really hits home for me. I'm a safety consultant. I train people on distracted driving'. He told the Star Tribune that he spent much of Tuesday 'calling relatives and crying'. Goeltz was sitting at a stop sign when Fleming's car went airborne and struck her vehicle. Fleming was taken to Regions Hospital in St Paul and has been released Fleming's mother, Angela Fleming, said her son was not prepared to speak publicly about 'this horrific incident'. 'He's devastated right now,' she told the Star Tribune. Goeltz was raising her three-year-old daughter on her own and was working at a nursing home before her death, her father said. She was a certified nursing assistant and worked at the same facility she would visit as a child when her preschool would bring kids over to visit with the residents. 'She had an affinity (for) working with the elderly,' Thomas Goeltz told the Star Tribune. It is illegal in Minnesota for drivers to read, compose or send texts and emails or access the internet while the vehicle is in motion or stopped in traffic. Police are currently investigating over 104 calls made to Crime Stoppers The women were approached across Adelaide's inner southern suburbs A 16-year-old was one of the females threatened by a knife Detectives swarmed the Ford Sedan in Adelaide on Sunday afternoon Police seize a car thought to be driven by a man who attacked five women Police have seized a vehicle believed to have been used by a violent offender who stalked and threatened five women, including a 16-year-old with a knife. Detectives swarmed around a white 1980s Ford Falcon parked at the Glandore Community Centre, south of Adelaide, on Sunday afternoon after a member of the public called the police with a tip-off. In just over an hour on Sunday morning, the stalker allegedly approached four women across Myrtle Bank, Malvern, Unley and Glandore in Adelaide's inner southern suburbs, before threatening the teenager who was walking in a park, reported Nine News. Scroll down for video Police and detectives swarmed a car believed to be used by an offender who stalked and threatened five women The owner of the vehicle was nowhere to be seen but upon searching the car a bottle of pills was found. South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said finding the man was a priority. 'We're quite surprised about the prevalence of the incidents that have happened over just a very short space of time, that's of a concern in its self,' Commissioner Stevens said. 'We've put a lot of resources into trying to find identify this person.' A bottle of pills were found in the car but the owner was nowhere to be seen The breakthrough in the case came after a member of the public called the police with a tip-off Police released an image of the alleged offender A 61-year-old woman walking her dog was the first victim at around 6.20am. The white sedan is believed to have driven past her before returning and parking ahead of her. The offender approached his victim but returned to his vehicle when she ran away. His next victim was a 33-year-old woman but once again the man is believed to have returned one she screamed and ran away. Attempting a more brazen attack the offender grabbed the arm of a 22-year-old who managed to flee and a 52-year-old woman alleges a man struck her with an unknown object on her arm. Finally, the 16-year-old was harassed and threatened before manage to escape. Over 104 calls have been made to Crime Stoppers since Operation Blair was launched on Sunday afternoon. Police and detectives are investigating each line of inquiry but are still urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers. The man is described as Caucasian, aged between 25 and 45, with a medium-to-slim build and weighing about 70 kilograms. The man (pictured) allegedly stalked the woman before threatening them with a knife - one of his victims was a 16-year-old girl Donald Trump will take part in a Republican debate moderated by Fox News star Megyn Kelly, his campaign said today. The move ends a long-running boycott of Kelly by Trump, after they clashed bitterly during the first Fox News Republican debate. Asked by Daily Mail Online whether he was 'solidly committed to debating on Thursday', a campaign spokesman replied simply: 'Yes.' The decision by Trump comes after he wondered out loud at a campaign rally about whether he should attend. Star quality: Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party earlier this week Speaking to supporters in Oklahoma City, he said the debates 'seem like a terrible waste of time' Business Insider reported. 'Aren't these debates ridiculous, though?' he asked. 'How about if I don't do the next debate? Yes?' Trump asked. The debate will be the third one hosted by Fox News, but only the second Fox News debate attended by Trump as he boycotted their event in Des Moines in January. The feud goes back to August, when Kelly opened the debate - the very first of the election cycle - by asking Trump: 'You've called women you don't like, "fat pigs", "dogs", slobs, and disgusting animals.' When Trump replied 'only Rosie O'Donnell', Kelly hit back: 'No it wasn't. For the record, it was well beyond Rosie O'Donnell. 'Your Twitter account has several disparaging comments about women's looks. You once told a contestant on "Celebrity Apprentice" it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees. 'Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president?' Trump later used his Twitter account to call Kelly 'unprofessional' then in a CNN interview, said of her: 'You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her - wherever.' I'm in: Trump confirmed his attendance at the debate moderated by Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, ending a boycott going back to their feud in August last year The comment led to widespread claims of sexism and misogyny. Trump and Fox News were increasingly at odds, and when the next debate came in January, he did not take part, instead holding a rally which raised money for veterans' groups. That prompted Kelly to say off air that the other candidates had treated him like 'Voldemort' - the Harry Potter villain whose nickname was 'he who must not be named'. Fox News later said that she was unfamiliar with the Harry Potter books and was unaware that Voldemort was the most evil character in them. Last month he again boycotted a Fox News event, a town hall in Houston, Texas, in which the other four remaining candidates took part. This debate could be the last for some of the candidates involved, with John Kasich having said that he will quit the race on March 15 if he cannot win Ohio, where he is governor. A former CIA agent and security contractor says he exposed Fox security expert Wayne Simmons over Facebook chat after a three-year investigation with his former boss 'M'. Kent Clizbe, 55, says he began digging into Simmons' claims of having a 27-year career with the CIA back in 2010 after becoming suspicious during a meeting arranged by a mutual friend. Enlisting the help of his former boss and senior CIA official, who he names only as 'M', Clizbe told the New York Times how the pair exposed Simmons during a good-cop bad-cop interrogation via Facebook. Kent Clizbe, a former CIA agent (left), has told of how he spent three years investigating Fox News guest Wayne Simmons (right) who claimed to be a former member of the agency Simmons, a regular contributor to Fox News where he was credited as a former CIA operative, was arrested for fraud in October last year. He is awaiting trial and denies the charges. Clibze says at first he wanted prove Simmons had been in the CIA, and began asking around among his old security contacts for anyone who had heard of him, or knew about operations similar to those Simmons claimed to have worked on. When that failed, he approached M and told him of his suspicions, at which point M also began asking around top CIA officers, looking for any trace of the rogue agent. Clizbe said that he met Simmons in 2010 and was instantly suspicious of his claims, and so began investigating with former boss named only as M The pair came up empty handed, and after digging around in his personal and family history, they became convinced that Simmons was a fraud. Clizbe said after years of watching Simmons appear on Fox, and then author a book, he and M finally decided to approach him directly, with M taunting him via his Facebook wall. Eventually Clizbe says Simmons responded after being called a lair, and was coaxed by the pair into providing details of operations which they confirmed as false. Confronted with his own apparent lies, Clizbe said Simmons folded, and while he didn't admit guilt, he said he would no longer represent himself as former CIA. Clizbe says he then forwarded details of the investigation and evidence of Simmons' apparent lies to the CIA. Two years later, officials arrested Simmons, saying they had been investigating him since 2013, around the time Clizbe sent them his information. While the agency denies their investigation is in any way linked to Clizbe's, he maintains that the timing is too coincidental. Asked why he dedicated years to exposing Simmons, he responded: We cannot allow scum bags to take away honor and truth and change the meanings of those things. Its the fundamental basis of our society and culture.' Simmons was an unpaid Fox News guest from 2001 until his arrest, during which time he commented on security issues from the Iraq war to the rise of ISIS. While Clizbe says some of Simmons' stories, such as being in the Navy (left) are true, he was unable to find any evidence to support his claims of being in the CIA for 27 years He once called House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi 'a pathological liar' and claimed ISIS could be overrun in a week if bombed hard enough. Simmons was also allowed to travel to Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, and me then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and President George W. Bush. A picture of the meeting was later signed by Ronald Reagan. According to Rolling Stone he has been confined to his home since his arrest. He reportedly hasn't made a mortgage payment since 2010 and recently had his car repossessed. He is only allowed to leave his home to tend to his horses or see his doctor. Simmons asked to attend family gatherings over Christmas but his request was turned down. A US Navy spokesman revealed to Daily Mail via email in October that hewas unable to find a record of Simmons ever having served in that branch of the military. The Navy declined to comment further on his case. The CIA has a practice of not commenting on their agents. Simmons denies all the charges against him. A woman in south west China's Sichuan province has died after taking part in an exorcism on February 27. Her family had hired two 'witch doctors' to help rid her of an undisclosed illness, the People's Daily Online reports. Police are now investigating the details behind the woman's death. Evil spirits: A woman in Sichuan province was steamed to death during an exorcism in Sichuan province According to a villager surnamed Liu, the woman had suffered from an unidentified illness for years and had often been heard crying out in pain. Liu says on February 27, he heard people crying and went to discover what was going on. He claims that he found two witch doctors who had been hired by the woman's family at the scene. The woman was sealed into a large barrel, which was then being heated by the vat of boiling water underneath. When the local villagers told them to stop, the two 'doctors' replied that the screams were not in fact coming from the woman, they were from the devil. Steamed to death: Two witch doctors were hired by the woman's family to rid her of evil spirits They said they needed to continue to drive the ghost away. Villagers took no notice and helped to free the woman. When they managed to release her from the barrel, they discovered that her face had turned black and she was unable to stand. People immediately went looking for medical help while others helped take her into the house. However shortly after the rescue attempt, the woman died. Britons with holiday homes in France could end up paying an extra 10 per cent in tax if they sell the property following a Brexit, experts have warned. They suggested that Britain overseas property buyers have been protected from paying additional charges that apply to non-EU citizens. These include significantly higher capital gains tax charges on selling properties in France. Jason Porter, of wealth managers Blevins Franks, warned: 'Britons who own a property or who are thinking of buying a holiday home in the EU perhaps do not realise the extra tax charges that could arise as a result of a Brexit. People need to know about the extra tax they could pay on property if Britain leaves the EU, experts warn. Britons with holiday homes in Europe could end up paying an extra 10% in tax if they sell the property following a Brexit. 'In an attempt to create a level playing field across European countries, the European Court of Justice has imposed judgements against certain states it believed were imposing inequitable taxes on non-residents compared to residents, or where a tax did not comply with the fundamentals of the EU. 'For example, it recently prevented France from imposing a 15.5 per cent social charge on rental income on non-residents in the EU, on the basis the EU requires social security should only be payable in one state in the EU. This judgement does not apply to non-EU states. 'People need to be aware of the taxes they could end up paying on property if Britain leaves the EU. The benefit of these judgements, might be lost if the UK left the EU.' A Brexit means that a British resident who buys a 500,000 holiday home in France could end up paying 48.5 per cent in tax on selling the property as opposed to 39.5 per cent if Britain votes to stay in the EU. They will first need to pay tax in France, which can they can offset when it comes to then paying tax in the UK. One million Britons currently own a holiday home somewhere in Europe. In France, the charges include capital gains tax of 19 per cent, a surcharge of up to 6 per cent and social charges of up to 15.5 per cent, which equates to a maximum of 36.5 per cent. The French capital gains tax and surcharge paid can be set off against the tax due in the UK at up to 28 per cent (French social charges cannot be off set), which means a maximum additional amount of 3 per cent is payable in the UK. It means the most you will pay in total between the two countries is 39.5 per cent. However, if Britain leaves the EU, then you would pay capital gains tax of 33.3 per cent, and social charges of up to 15.5 per cent in France - a total of 48.5 per cent, almost 10 per cent more than if Britain stays in the EU. However, a vote for Brexit on June 23 will not be end of the story for UK property investment in places such as Austria, says Mark Warner Property's Giles Gale. They are fascinating and terrifying in equal measure, but for many people understanding what motivates serial killers to murder many times over can be difficult to grasp. Psychologists and neuroscientists are starting to build up a picture of the disturbing minds behind some of the most shocking crimes to have come to light in recent decades. They have discovered surprising similarities between these mass murderers and have even found evidence that suggests a genetic abnormality that may act as a trigger. While most people may be quick to dismiss serial killers as simply monsters, scientists are now attempting to understand what causes them to commit mass murder by studying their brains and their DNA. A new info graphic (pictured) has summarised some of the latest research on serial killers Dr Helen Morrison, a forensic psychiatrist based in Chicago, has studied and interviewed 135 serial killers, according to an infographic compiled by the website Best Counseling Degrees. She believes that in many cases the killers suffered a chromosome abnormality that led them to have an extra chromosome in their DNA. For example, Bobby Joe Long, who is currently on death row in Florida for sexually assaulting and murdering at least 10 women in the Tampa Bay area, had an extra X Chromosome. According to Dr Morrison this led to excessive amounts to oestrogen which began to cause him embarrassment and anger during puberty as he developed breasts. Dr Helen Morrison studied and interviewed 135 serial killers and has found many of them share surprising similarities (illustrated). Perhaps most intriguingly she has identified chromosome abnormalities such as an extra X Chromosome or Y Chromosome during puberty may act as a trigger for their later behaviour Research has suggested many serial killers suffer a sense of detachment from the world around them that means they struggle to empathise with their victims. Professor Jim Fallon discovered that he himself had the brain of a psychopath (right in the picture above) which has dark patches on the orbital cortex behind the eyes Researchers have also found psychopathic tendencies may be passed down through families and could be linked to a gene known as the Warrior gene, or MAO-A, which regulates the mood hormone serotonin in the brain (illustrated above). This may interact with brain activity and childhood experience Similarly Richard Speck, who tortured, raped and murdered eight student nurses in Chicago, had an extra Y chromosome. Dr Morrison has also said serial killers tend to develop a sense of detachment from the rest of the world from a very early age. This ultimately leads them to feel a lack of empathy for their victims. Research by Professor Jim Fallon, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine, has also been studying the brains of psychopaths using brain imaging. He found low activity in the orbital cortex seems to be involved in sociopathic behaviours and have trouble suppressing rage and violence. His work has shown that some people's brains appear to be predisposed towards violence. Perhaps most surprisingly he found that his own brain scans show the same low orbital cortex activity as a serial killer. Scans of his son's brain showed normal orbital cortex activity. The number of serial killers whose crimes are known about appears to have spiked during the 1980s but still remains disturbingly high, as the graph above illustrates Serial killers like David Berkowitz (left), known as the Son of Sam, have been notoriously difficult to predict and so to catch, but new research may make it easier to identify them in the future. Bobby Joe Long (right) killed 10 women but was found to have an extra X Chromosome that scientists say could have been a trigger Professor Fallon has also tested the DNA of his family for genes associated with violence and identified a gene known as the MAO-A gene. Responsible for producing an enzyme called monoamine oxidase A, it is also known as the 'warrior gene' and regulates levels of the mood hormone serotonin in the brain. Professor Fallon's discovery about his own brain led him to change his thinking about whether genes and brain function were the only pieces of the puzzle. Serial killer Ted Bundy (pictured) was one of the most notorious in American history. He brutally murdered at least 30 women, confessing to the homicides shortly before being put to death in 1989 He now believes childhood experiences may also act as some sort of trigger that combines with these other factors to turn someone into a serial killer or a psychopath. Writing in The Guardian, Professor Fallon said: 'Why, in the light of the fact I have all of the biological markers for psychopathy, including a turned off limbic system, the high risk genetic alleles, and the attendant behaviours, including well over half of those listed in the psychopathy tests and low emotional empathy, did I turn out to be a successful professor and family man? 'One most likely reason is that although I have the genetic makeup of a "born" psychopath, some of those very same "risk" genes in someone showered with love (versus abuse or abandonment), from childbirth through the critical first few years of life, appear to offset the psychopathy-inducing effects of the other "risk" genes.' The exceptionally preserved nerves and cord are an extremely rare find It was early ancestor of modern arthropods, such as insects and spiders s one of the most detailed fossils of its age More than half a billion years ago, scurrying along the ocean floor, an ancient relative of modern day creepy crawlies gave its final twitch as it died. Now, 520 million years later, a team of archaeologists which uncovered its remains believe it to be one of the oldest and most detailed fossilised nervous systems from the period ever found. Its fossilised remains have been so well preserved that individual nerves can be seen, providing scientists with new insight into how the systems of insects, crabs and spiders, have evolved. Scientists who have uncovered an ancient fossilised relative of modern day arthropods say it is the most complete example of a central nervous system from the Cambrian period, 520 million years ago The crustacean-like creature, called Chengjiangocaris kunmingensis, belonged to a group of animals called the fuxianhuiids, which were early ancestors of modern arthropods. It lived during the Cambrian explosion, a period of rapid evolutionary development when the first major animal groups are believed to have emerged. 'This is a unique glimpse into what the ancestral nervous system looked like,' said Dr Javier Ortega-Hernandez, of the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology and co-author of the study. 'It's the most complete example of a central nervous system from the Cambrian period.' 'The more of these fossils we find, the more we will be able to understand how the nervous system, and how early animals, evolved.' . The crustacean-like creature, called Chengjiangocaris kunmingensis, belonged to a group of animals called the fuxianhuiids, which were early ancestors of modern arthropods - a family which includes insects such as the praying mantis (left), spiders such as the tarantula (middle) and crustaceans such as red crabs (right) The central nervous system in arthropods consists of a condensed brain and a chain-like series of interconnected masses of nervous tissue that resemble a string of beads. AN EXCEPTIONALLY PRESERVED NERVOUS SYSTEM Chengjiangocaris kunmingensis belonged to a group of animals called the fuxianhuiids, which were early ancestors of modern arthropods. The 520 million year-old fossilised remains have been so well preserved that individual nerves can be seen. This provides scientists with new insight into how the nervous systems of modern day arthropods which includes insects, crabs and spiders have evolved. While hard teeth and shells are well preserved in the fossil record, the nervous system and soft tissues are essentially made of fatty-like substances so finding them preserved as fossils is extremely rare. Advertisement Preparation of the fossils involves chipping away at the surrounding rock with a fine needle, with researchers then able to view the hard body parts and fossilised soft tissue. The nervous system and soft tissues are essentially made of fatty-like substances so finding them preserved as fossils is extremely rare. The exceptionally well-preserved nerve cord of C.kunmingensis represents a unique structure that is otherwise unknown in living organisms, with the researchers saying it shows just how important the fossil record is in understanding the evolution of animals in the period. A closer look at the animal's fossil revealed tiny fibres just five thousandths of a millimetre long, branching out at regular intervals. 'These delicate fibres displayed a highly regular distribution pattern, and so we wanted to figure out if they were made of the same material as the ganglia that form the nerve cord,' said Dr Ortega-Hernandez. Analysis using fluorescence microscopy showed that they were in fact nerves, offering 'an unprecedented level of detail' The image shows a complete fossilised specimen of C.kunmingensis (left) and a reconstruction of its body (right). A closer look at the animal's fossil revealed tiny fibres just five thousandths of a millimetre long, branching out at regular intervals, which analysis showed to be nerves The nervous system and soft tissues are essentially made of fatty-like substances so finding them preserved as fossils is extremely rare Dr Ortega-Hernandez added: 'These fossils greatly improve our understanding of how the nervous system evolved.' Over the past five years researchers have identified partially-fossilised nervous systems in several different species from the period - but these have mostly been fossilised brains. In most of those specimens the fossils only preserved details of the profile of the brain - meaning the amount of information available has been limited. Researchers first identified a fossilised central nervous system in 2013 but the new material has allowed them to investigate the significance of these findings in much greater depth. The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are helping researchers understand how the nervous system of creepy crawlies with jointed legs evolved. Researchers said we should limit search for alien life to within this zone What if ET has been phoning home for years, but nobody has answered? The search for alien life in the universe often focuses on finding as many planets as possible that are similar to ours, capable of hosting life. But in a paper published today, scientists argue that we should narrow our search down to those that would be able to see us too. The search for alien life in the universe often focuses on finding as many planets as possible that are similar to ours, capable of hosting life. But in a paper published today, scientists argue we should narrow our search down to those that would be able to see us too in the so-called Earth's transit zone The research, published in the journal Astrobiology, from Dr Rene Heller and Professor Ralph Pudritz discusses ways to ensure that aliens trying to detect life on Earth are successful. In the search for alien life, astrobiologists focus most of their search efforts on planets and moons that are too far away to see directly with telescopes, so they study them by tracking their shadows as they pass in front of their own host stars. 'The approach we utilize is the so-called transit method of detecting planets as they traverse their host stars,' Pudritz told MailOnline. 'This is arguably the simplest and most direct method of actually discovering that a planet is present and what its size is.' THE 'SUPER GOLDILOCKS' ZONE Traditionally, astronomers have focused the search by looking for planets in their star's 'habitable zone' - more informally called the 'Goldilocks zone'. This is the swath of space that's 'just right' to allow an orbiting Earth-like planet to have liquid water on its surface, perhaps giving life a chance. But so far that has been just a sort of binary designation, indicating only whether a planet is, or is not, within that area considered right for life. A new index was introduced last year, which is more nuanced. It produces a continuum of values that astronomers can punch into a form to arrive at the single-number habitability index, representing the probability that a planet can maintain liquid water at its surface. Advertisement If a planet crosses in front of its parent star's disk, then the observed visual brightness of the star drops a small amount. By measuring the dimming of starlight as a planet crosses the face of its star during orbit, scientists can collect a wealth of information, even without ever seeing those worlds directly. 'To prove that life is present on that planet is a much more difficult and involved task, one that is only now being planned by using the latest telescopes,' the pair continued. 'But once again, one starts with candidates that have been detected to be earth-like, for example rocky planets like ours, with an interesting atmosphere that you would get by doing these transit type of observations.' To identify a potential target, first scientists would need to understand whether or not the planet could be capable of hosting life as we know it. 'You would analyse the light of a host star that has passed through the planet's atmosphere to see if it contained finger prints of molecules associated with life,' he added. Heller and Pudritz said that we should be focusing our search on the Earth's transit zone - a thin slice of space that if aliens were living in, they'd be able to see the earth passing in front of the sun. The Earth's transit zone (ETZ) offers around 100,000 potential targets, each potentially orbited by habitable planets and moons, the scientists say. Geometrical construction of ETZ shown. The yellow circle represents the sun, the blue circle is Earth, not to scale The Earth's transit zone (ETZ) offers around 100,000 potential targets, each potentially orbited by habitable planets and moons, the scientists said - and that's just the number we can see with today's radio telescope technologies. 'The bottom line is that if you are capable of doing careful observations of stars, it would be difficult to miss the transit method,' continued the researchers. 'So it would be hard to miss our earth if you were an observer in the ETZ - within a few thousand light years from us.' If any planets in the ETZ host intelligent observers, they could have identified Earth as a habitable or even as a living world long ago 'We obviously cannot predict what other possible extra-terrestrial observers are capable of in terms of detecting earth like planets with intelligent life,' Pudritz said. 'But this search procedure is based on the method that has proven itself as simple and effective and based on basic physical ideas, like blocking the light of the star, that really could not be missed. Dr Heller added 'if any of these planets host intelligent observers, they could have identified earth as a habitable, even as a living world long ago and we could be receiving their broadcasts today.' Several projects are already under way, both to send signals from earth and to search for signals that have been sent directly or have 'leaked' around obstacles, possibly travelling for thousands of years. Heller, a post-doctoral fellow, worked with Pudritz, while at McMaster University in Canada. He is now working in a project at the Max Planck Institute, Germany, that will be heavily involved in a new space observatory dedicated to planet searches (Plato). 'We have also focused our paper at the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI) community that uses radio telescope searches,' Pudritz said. 'As theorists, we are interested to gauge whether or not surveys might be mounted to sample the large number of sources in the earth transit zone (ETZ) that we have proposed - of the order of 100,000,' Pruditz told MailOnline. 'A full survey would require a huge amount of observation time.' Heller and Pudritz propose that the Breakthrough Listen Initiative, part of the most comprehensive search for extraterrestrial life ever conducted, can maximise its chances of success by concentrating its search on Earth's transit zone. Five weeks later it would be announced that his third novel, To the Islands, had won the second-ever Miles Franklin Award, after Patrick Whites Voss had taken out the inaugural prize the previous year. Stow, at 23, was four or five years older than most of his fellow recruits, and already a published poet and novelist: a fact of which they were almost certainly unaware. The trip, delayed by an outbreak of flu among the trainees, was a noisy and uncomfortable fourteen-hour grind in a chartered DC-4 with hour-long stops at Townsville and Cairns. IN EARLY March 1959, RandolphMickStow, with two dozen other young cadet patrol officers, took off from Sydneys Mascot airport after midnight to fly up the Queensland coast to Port Moresby. A post-university stint as a storeman at the Forrest River Mission (later known as Umbulgurri) in the Kimberley in early 1957 had given him a taste for out-of-the-way places and, after a period studying anthropology at Sydney University, he had been encouraged by Minister for Territories Paul Hasluck, a fellow-West Australian, to apply for a job with the Department of Native Affairs in Papua and New Guinea. In Port Moresby, during the three-week orientation course that supplemented his five weeks training at the Australian School of Pacific Administration, or ASOPA, at Mosman in Sydney, Mick was quickly inducted into the heavy drinking culture that took place, in strictly segregated bars, among the towns white inhabitants. Within a few weeks, however, the novelty had worn off. I am rapidly developing the most strong antagonism towards Civil Servants, he wrote in his diary. New Guinea should be cleared of Europeans as much as possible as soon as possible. But I havent been thirty years in the Territory so I wouldnt know. Embarking on a biography of Randolph Stow, an introspective author widely thought to be a recluse in his later years, had not been easy at the best of times, but writing about his time in New Guinea in 1959 was troubling on several levels: not least because during his last months there he had experienced a mental and physical breakdown that brought him close to death. I was probably not the first researcher, too, to discover that Stows Department of Territories personnel fileor the portion of it that dealt with precisely this periodhad gone missing from the Australian Government Archives. When I tried to get in touch those ex-Department officers who had been in closest contact him, I was met with silence. The events, occurring not long after the death of Micks father Cedric Stow, a country town solicitor, had caused great distress to his surviving family members, and still did. Stow himself would not discuss it with his mother and sister at the time, and their fragmented conjectures had led them to believe that, as a barely-trained CPO, he had somehow been left unsupervised in a distant outpost. This combination of circumstances was inclining me towards the conclusion that a cover-up might subsequently have been put in place to protect the reputations of those further up line. . For Mick Stow, things had soon begun to look more promising. A few weeks after his arrival he learned that, instead of being posted out on patrol, he was to be attached to Charles Julius, the Departments anthropologist. In early May he and Julius would go to Kirwina island in the Trobriand group, to investigate the disputed paramount chieftainship of Omarakana. The authority of the Trobriand chiefs appeared to be waning as various factors underpinning their prestigepolygamy, and faith in their power of magic and beneficent sorcerydiminished with the encroachment of European ideas. If the breakdown of order continued, it was believed, lawlessness might result. On the morning of Saturday 2 May 1959 Mick and Charles Julius left by Canadian Otter seaplane for the tiny island outpost of Samarai in the Milne Bay district, from where they would travel by boat to Kiriwina. At Omarakana, they would study what might happen if Mitakata, the elderly paramount chief of the Trobriands, disinherited his heir, who was thought to have slept with one of his younger wives. The two men would spend some five months together before Julius returned to Moresby to make his report, while Stow reverted to his role as a CPO. These experiences with Charles Julius in the Trobriand Islands, and later on his tour of duty with his supervising senior Patrol Officer Peter Gall, would eventually result in the novel Visitants. Before that happened, however, in December 1959, after a spell in Taurama hospital in Port Moresby, Mick would resign and be repatriated to Australia. Subsequently Stow was circumspect about these events, publicly as well as privately, and within weeks the larger part of his Public Service file (after being inspected by the the minister, Paul Hasluck) had been moved to a restricted category. Hints dropped by Mick about his loneliness had led his family to believe his mental crisis had been brought on by malaria. Certainly, in later life, Stow himself also thought so. Neither Peter Gall, who was still living in Port Moresby, nor Galls immediate superior, Robert Blaikie, the Assistant District Officer at Losuia on Kiriwina at the time, whom I had traced to Queensland, would respond to my letters or emails. When I tried to ring Peter Gall directly from Australia, the operator in Port Moresby told me his telephone had been disconnected. Finally, from Bob Blaikie, I had received a courteous two-sentence email thanking me for mine, and stating, I have nothing to add that would be of any use to you. Blaikie, who had correctly guessed that I knew nothing, was evidently prepared to leave it that way, and my research so far amounted to little more than a distillation of gossip, hearsay and speculation. This is a rivetting and elegantly written long-form article, and if you are interested in writing, writers or Papua New Guinea you should read the full version here. Suzanne Falkiners Mick: A Life of Randolph Stow has just been published by University of Western Australia Publishing An alien from a faraway planet has made the 'first extraterrestrial contact in the history of mankind' after losing its own home, a bizarre new video claims. The video released by The Sheivae Project claims to contain the genuine recording of an alien named Sheivae, who has reached out in response to the 1977 message of a Nasa Voyager. According to the website, Nasa's Curiosity rover obtained the garbled recording in 2012 and has kept it hidden until the recent 'leak.' But, there are no records of the Mars rovers detecting such a response, and the cliched message has even had seasoned alien hunters questioning its authenticity. Scroll down for video An alien from a faraway planet has made the 'first extraterrestrial contact in the history of mankind' after losing its own home, a bizarre new video claims. But, there are no records of the Mars rovers detecting such a response, and the cliched message has even alien hunters questioning its authenticity THE ALLEGED 'ALIEN MESSAGE' In 1977, Nasa sent two Voyager probes into space, where they have explored for almost 40 years. These probes were each sent on their journey with a message, a gold-plated copper disk that holds sounds and images that represent life on Earth. According to The Sheivae Project, the message has been answered. The video claims that an 'unknown signal' was first detected in 2005 by the Opportunity Mars rover, but was not successfully recovered until 2012, by the Curiosity rover. But, there are no records of the Mars rovers detecting such a response, and the cliched message has even alien hunters questioning its authenticity. The video's creator 'Viktor' has said on YouTube, 'You can believe me or not, this is not a problem but please respect my work and the risks I took.' Advertisement In the recording released earlier this month, a distorted voice can be heard amid whirring, beeping, and other electronic sounds. According to The Sheivae Project, the message goes as such: 'Hello. I am Sheivae. I receive your message. I come from a world far away from yours. 'You are not alone. 'I hope you receive mine. I hope you understand my message. I try to learn your language (???) yours. '(???) me I lost (???) I lost my planet. 'Now I am explorer, voyager, creator. You are my first contact. I would (???) like to (???) you. I am not your enemy. I come in peace.' The story, however, has some holes, and its origin maintains a degree of mystery. According to the YouTube post, the video can be traced back to a person named 'Viktor,' who says he (or she) was told the story in 2011 by a man who has since 'died of cancer' a year before the video claims it was discovered. On UFO Sightings Daily, where the video has also been shared, editor Scott C. Waring describes his conversation with an anonymous Twitter user, who told him of the recording she obtained from the deceased man. The man has since passed away, but she still has the voice recording of the probe that was found,' Waring writes. 'Its odd, for sure, no doubt about that, but NASA doesnt like to tell the public about what they find. [sic] Waring has asked users to weigh in on the subject, but alien hunters have expressed their skepticism toward the bizarre recording. 'fake...' wrote an anonymous commenter. 'an alien would not use the human phrase 'we come in peace'. This phrase is popular because of western films since the 1950s. Plus english isn't the language of earth,' the post continued. One commenter called it 'ridiculous,' and said the voice is easily recreated with common tools. On YouTube, other believers seemed to share these opinions. 'There is no way to verify this is a genuine message,' an anonymous user commented. 'I'm a believer but this message, to me, is a little over the top.' Some were much more direct in their criticism. 'We have a word for this stuff where I come fromit's called bullsh*t,' one YouTube user commented. 'complete bullsh*t,' another wrote. 'I have studied about UFOs and ETs for more than 5 years. I know thats fake and honestly stupid,' the user continued, in a reply to The Sheivae Project's response. The video's creator has expressed understanding toward the mixed responses online, and writes that more information will be disclosed as it comes. The video also explains the historical events that led up to the release of the alleged alien message. In 1977, Nasa sent two Voyager probes into space, where they have explored for almost 40 years. These probes were each sent on their journey with a message, a gold-plated copper disk that holds sounds and images that represent life on Earth. According to The Sheivae Project, the message has been answered. In 1977, Nasa sent two Voyager probes into space, where they have explored for almost 40 years. These probes were each sent on their journey with a message, a gold-plated copper disk that holds sounds and images that represent life on Earth. The Golden Record, pictured above The video claims that an 'unknown signal' was first detected in 2005 by the Opportunity Mars rover, but was not successfully recovered until 2012, by the Curiosity rover. 'Viktor' writes that disclosing the information comes at a 'risk.' 'I worked with some people (Ufo experts, multimedia, engineers, some people working for the government or companies related to him), we are investigated and I decided to disclose everything I had [sic]. 'This vocal files was found in the probe. Others things will be disclose in the few days or weeks. One theory is that Nasa's moon formed in a similar way to Earth's moon Nasa scientists are closer to solving the mystery of how Mars moon Phobos formed. In late November and early December, the space agencys Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (Maven) mission made a series of close approaches to the Martian moon. This allowed it to collect data from within 300 miles (500km) of the lunar surface, as well as produce spectral images of Phobos in the ultraviolet. Scroll down for video In this image, orange shows mid-ultraviolet (MUV) sunlight reflected from the surface of Phobos, exposing the moon's irregular shape and many craters. Blue shows far ultraviolet light, which is scattered off of hydrogen gas in the upper atmosphere of Mars. Phobos blocks this light, eclipsing the ultraviolet sky HOW DID PHOBOS FORM? One theory is that Phobos' was formed in a similar way to our own moon, in something known as the 'Giant Impact Hypothesis.' This states the moon formed shortly after Earth was formed 4.5 billion years ago when a large object, around the size of Mars, collided with our planet. The material that was thrown out form this collision rapidly combined quickly after the impact to form the moon. Some researchers, however, argue that Phobos was once an asteroid that got drawn in by Mars' gravitational pull. Advertisement The images will allow Maven scientists to better assess the composition of this enigmatic object, whose origin is unknown. Comparing Mavens images and spectra of the surface of Phobos to similar data from asteroids and meteorites will help planetary scientists understand the moon's origin whether it is a captured asteroid or was formed in orbit around Mars. One theory is that Phobos' was formed in a similar way to our own moon, in something known as the 'Giant Impact Hypothesis.' This states the moon formed shortly after Earth was formed 4.5 billion years ago when a large object, around the size of Mars, collided with our planet. The material that was thrown out form this collision rapidly combined quickly after the impact to form the moon. Some researchers, however, argue that Phobos was once an asteroid that got drawn in by Mars' gravitational pull. The orbit of the Maven probe sometimes crosses the orbit of Phobos. This image shows the configuration of the two orbits in early December 2015, when Maven's Phobos observations were made Astronomers predict that Mars's larger moon, Phobos, will eventually be destroyed by its parent planet's gravitational force. This graphic shows how the satellite's remains are expected to encircle the red planet, causing it to become 'a smaller version of Saturn' and the first non-gaseous planet in our system to sport rings The Maven data, when fully studied, will also help scientists look for organic molecules on the surface. Evidence for such molecules has been reported by previous measurements from the ultraviolet spectrograph on the Mars Express spacecraft. THE MARKINGS OF PHOBOS Phobos is the larger and closer of Mars' two moons, the other being Deimos. They were both discovered in 1877. Irregularly-shaped Phobos has an average radius of seven miles (11km) and is seven times larger than Deimos. Phobos is 3,700 miles (6,000km) from Mars and has the closest orbit of any known planetary moon. It is so close that it orbits Mars faster than Mars rotates, and completes an orbit in just 7 hours and 39 minutes. Due to tidal interactions, Phobos is drawing closer to Mars by one metre every century, and it is predicted that in 50 million years it will collide with the planet or break up into a planetary ring. It was thought that mysterious grooves on the moon were markings as the result of an impact, but nor scientists say they are the first sign the rocky body is under stress. Advertisement Last year, astronomers from California predicted that Phobos will eventually be destroyed by its parent planet's gravitational force. Once destroyed, the satellite's remains will encircle Mars, causing it to become 'a smaller version of Saturn' and the first non-gaseous planet in our solar system to sport rings. In a paper published on Nature Geoscience, the researchers from the University of California, Berkeley explained how Phobos and the red planet are on a collision course. Unlike our moon, Mars' main satellite is moving closer and closer to its parent planet, which is inexorably pulling it down. This gravitational tide is opening grooves on Phobos' surface which can measure 328 to 656 feet (100 to 200 metres) wide and 33 to 98 feet (10 to 30 metres) tall . The scientists attempted to calculate whether the moon would eventually just crash on the red planet, or rather break into pieces. Combining observational data with a computer model to calculate the internal strength of Phobos, they found that much of the satellite is composed of weak materials, which makes its disintegration almost inevitable. Phobos might not be the only doomed moon in our solar system either. 'We speculate that diminutive Phobos may be the last of many inwardly migrating prograde satellites in our solar system,' the researchers wrote in the study Something similar could be happening, for instance, to Neptune's moon Triton - which is also slowly losing orbit and has comparable fissures on its surface. Classifying people's appearances based on 'rigid gender boxes' can cause a person to perceive others as less attractive, a new study reveals. This is according to a psychology study by an international team of researchers, who examined a concept known as the 'Johnny Depp Effect.' By this effect, women are found to prefer men who have more feminine faces but the researchers have now found that this can be altered depending on the context of the situation. Researchers examined a concept known as the 'Johnny Depp Effect.' By this effect, women are found to prefer men who have more feminine faces but the researchers have now found that this can be altered depending on the context of the situation THE 'JOHNNY DEPP EFFECT' In the 'Johnny Depp Effect,' women have a tendency to prefer men with more feminine facial features. Now, researchers have found this can be influenced by context. When people are forced to classify ambiguous faces within 'rigid gender boxes,' they will rate the face as less attractive. But otherwise, people were found to prefer the faces with feminine features. The team says that shows how 'mental effort' can have a negative impact on peoples' impressions of others. Advertisement Researchers from the University of Otago, Warwick Business School, and the University of California, San Diego set out to explain why women tend to prefer men with feminine facial features in some contexts, but not others. The team conducted two separate experiments in which they asked participants to rate the attractiveness of gender-blended face morphs. Overall, the study revealed that assigning 'male' or 'female,' to the faces before rating them led participants to judge ambiguous faces as less appealing. With exception only when they were asked to assign a gender to the gender-blend faces, participants were found to prefer more feminine features. This phenomena is likely traced back to 'processing fluency,' or the ease of perceiving, processing, and categorising a particular thing, explains co-author Professor Jamin Halberstadt, of Otago's Department of Psychology. Applying 'mental effort can negatively colour our initial impressions, even for things that are objectively pretty,' says Piotr Winkielman, from the Warwick School of Business, and UCSD. 'The idea we tested is that the mental effort of having to assign a gender to an ambiguous face has a flow-on effect of negatively influencing how we feel about that face,' says Professor Halberstadt. The team conducted two separate experiments in which they asked participants to rate the attractiveness of gender-blended face morphs (examples pictured). Overall, the study revealed that assigning 'male' or 'female,' to the faces before rating them led participants to judge ambiguous faces as less appealing Classifying people's appearances based on 'rigid gender boxes' can cause a person to perceive others as less attractive, a new study reveals. With exception only when they were asked to assign a gender to the gender-blend faces, participants were found to prefer more feminine features In the second experiment, some participants were asked to categorise the ambiguous faces by ethnicity. The researchers say, in this case, participants did not then judge the blends as less attractive. According to the team, this indicates ambiguity is not causing a general aversion, but processes in the brain are actually to blame. 'It has previously been suggested that a woman's preference in male faces vary due to hormonal influences 'that sometimes she is subconsciously looking for signs of a 'nice dad' who will be a good provider, while other times it is the highly masculine 'bad boy' with his 'better' genes,' Professor Halberstadt said. 'However, our research indicates that such changes in preferences can instead be explained by a simple cognitive process.' The researcher says that context can shift a person's preferences. While ambiguity may be considered more attractive initially, a situation that forces someone to then classify that face into a 'male' or 'female' role causes the person to see it as less appealing. 'The more feminine faces are generally preferred, unless the context forces the viewer to put the face into rigid gender boxes,' said Halberstadt. Advertisement After spending nearly a year on the International Space Station, Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly is preparing for his return to Earth tomorrow. The 52-year-old is scheduled to touch down in Kazakhstan at around 11:45 pm EST having completed 5,440 laps around the planet, and logging 143.8 million miles. Ahead of his journey home, Nasa astronaut Tim Kopra today assumed command of the International Space Station from Kelly in a traditional 'Change of Command' ceremony. Scroll down for video Scott Kelly (right) scheduled to touch down in Kazakhstan at around 11:45 pm EST tomorrow having completed 5,440 laps around the planet, and logging 143.8 million miles. Ahead of his journey home, Nasa astronaut Tim Kopra (left) today assumed command of the International Space Station from Kelly in a traditional Change of Command ceremony Expedition 47 will officially begin under Kopras command when the Soyuz spacecraft carrying Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov undocks from the space station tomorrow. During his 'Year in Space', Kelly has done a little bit of everything, from science experiments and spacewalks, to watching movies and celebrating talking with President Obama. And he's shared it all with the world on social media. In the countdown to his departure, the astronaut has been posting some of his social media highlights on Twitter, including an image showing a stunning red aurora over Earth and one of the Milky Way. Kelly says he is proud to have served as guinea pigs for future Mars expeditions. For Nasa, getting astronauts to Mars in 20 years is what this yearlong mission is all about. Last week, Kelly held his final news conference from the International Space Station, saying the experience was like 'camping in the woods'. He told reporters that space is a 'harsh environment,' and you never feel perfectly normal. Kelly held his final news conference from the International Space Station, telling reporters that space is a 'harsh environment,' and you never feel perfectly normal' During his 'Year in Space', Kelly has done a little bit of everything, from science experiments and spacewalks, to watching movies and celebrating talking with President Obama. And he's shared it all with the world on social media In this December 21, 2015 photo, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly participates in a spacewalk outside the International Space Station in which he and Flight Engineer Tim Kopra, not pictured, moved the station's mobile transporter rail car ahead of the docking of a Russian cargo supply spacecraft 'Day 325. Set your sails for the #stars! #GoodNight from @space_station! #YearInSpace' tweeted Scott Kelly yesterday, with this image SCOTT KELLY AND THE TWIN STUDY Scott Kelly, together with cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, boarded the ISS in March last year as part of a first-of-its-kind experiment to test how the human body copes with prolonged space travel. They will be the first astronauts to spend a year on the station. Mr Kelly's identical twin Mark has remained on Earth, allowing Nasa to examine the changes between these genetically identical people in two vastly different environments. Both the Kellys will be subjected to 10 experiments in human physiology, behavioural health, microbiology and molecular. By staying on the station for 12 months, the astronauts will provide key information on how an eventual Mars mission - estimated to last three years there and back - might play out. Advertisement From a hygiene perspective, he said, he feels as if he has been camping for a year. But from a physical point of view, though, he feels 'pretty good.' The toughest part? Being isolated from loved ones, a situation that will pose even more of a challenge for astronauts sent to Mars. Despite all this, Kelly said he could go another 100 days or even another year 'if I had to.' By the time he comes home, he will have spent 340 consecutive days aloft, a US record. The world record is 438 days, set by a Russian cosmonaut in the 1990s. Even that will pale in comparison to a Mars expedition, expected to last two to three years round trip. Scientists hope to learn much from Kelly's mission to pave the way to Mars in another two decades; they also will collect data from his Russian roommate for the year, Mikhail Kornienko. Along with Kornienko, Kelly will check out of the space station tomorrow, riding a Russian capsule back to the planet to end Nasa's longest space flight. They will land in Kazakhstan. Then Kelly will be hustled home to Houston. The 52-year-old astronaut said he can't wait to jump in his pool and dine at a real table with friends and family. Kelly rocketed away last March on a research-packed mission, leaving behind two daughters and his girlfriend. He lightened things up recently by donning a gorilla suit a gag gift from his identical twin, retired astronaut Mark Kelly and cavorting through the station. The brothers hope to go fishing in Alaska once things settle down. Also waiting for him is his girlfriend of seven years, Amiko Kauderer, who is in Texas, working as a public relations officer at Nasa. In this July 12 photograph, Kelly is seen inside the Cupola, a special module which provides a 360-degree viewing of the Earth and the space station. On each additional day he spends in orbit as part of his one-year mission, Kelly will add to his record and to our understanding of the effects of long-duration spaceflight Amiko Kauderer snapped this photograph of herself saying goodbye to her boyfriend of five years, Scott Kelly, who is currently on the ISS. They are due to be reunited again tomorrow Station Commander Scott Kelly passed astronaut Mike Fincke, also a former station commander, on Oct. 16, 2015, for most cumulative days living and working in space by a Nasa astronaut (383 days and counting). Kelly is scheduled to come home March 2, 2016, for a record total 522 days in space Kelly is not the only human breaking records for time in space. Expedition 44 commander Gennady Padalka broke the 10-year-old record for the number of cumulative days in space June 28, as he reached 804 days in space. The international space station has been occupied since November 2000 and in that time, more than 200 people from 15 different countries have visited. Crews are usually assigned 35 working hours a week and conduct research in different disciplines to advance scientific knowledge of the Earth space, physical, and biological sciences. 'What makes this exciting for me, this one-year flight, is about the science and everything we're going to learn from expanding the envelope on the space station,' Kelly said in an interview in December. 'If we're ever going to go to Mars someday, the International Space Station is really a great platform to learn much more about having people live and work in space for longer durations. 'It's close to the Earth, and it's a great orbiting facility.' Kelly, a former Navy fighter pilot, said his goals are the same as they are every time he flies in space: 'No one gets hurt, we don't break anything and we leave as friends.' The 'One Year Crew,' consists of Commander Kelly (left) and Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Koneinko (right) Kelly's second image posted on social media said: 'Good morning Texas! Great view of you, the moon, and Venus this morning.' Texas is seen to the right of the ISS, the moon and Venus are pictured bottom left THE YEAR-LONG ASTRONAUTS Scott Kelly This is the fourth spaceflight for Mr Kelly, 51, a former Nasa shuttle commander and Navy test pilot whose identical twin brother, Mark, also was chosen as an astronaut in 1996. The two will conduct many of the same medical experiments over the coming year so scientists can compare the results. Scott Kelly's first two flights were aboard shuttles. He spent more than five months on the space station in 2010 to 2011. It was during that mission that his sister-in-law, then Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, nearly died after being shot in the head in Tucson, Arizona. Once he's back home in Houston, Kelly imagines it will be 'hard to walk away' from spaceflight. He'd love to pilot one of the new US spacecraft in development. But he figures if he cuts in front of other astronauts awaiting assignments, 'someone will run me over with their car.' What will Kelly miss the most, besides his loved ones? The weather. 'It never changes on the space station,' he said. 'Even though it's a pretty nice environment, I guess it's like living in Southern California, people get sick of it ... after a while.' Mikhail Kornienko It is the second space mission for Mr Kornienko, 54, a former paratrooper whose helicopter-pilot father was part of the search and rescue team for the first Soviet cosmonauts back in the 1960s. His father brought back souvenirs from the returning Soyuz capsules: uneaten food rations and pieces of the orange silky parachutes used for the final descent. 'Mom made gorgeous skirts out of them,' he said. 'I still have a small piece of one of those parachutes. 'I cherish it as if it were something sacred.' A religious man, Mr Kornienko is taking into orbit a folding icon depicting the Madonna and Child. His previous station stay was in 2010, 12 years after his selection as a cosmonaut. He figures he'll miss the same things he dreamed about last time he flew: water not in the form of blobs as in space, but water you can swim in, as well as grass, forests and fields. Mr Kornienko already says he'd take on another one-year mission after a break, of course. Advertisement Scott Kelly (right) and his identical twin brother, retired astronaut Mark Kelly (left) pose for pictures during a press conference at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan in March Posting this image on Twitter, astronaut Scott Kelly wrote: 'Day 166. #Venus photobombed the #Moon tonight. Good night from @space_station! #YearInSpace.' This image shows the curvature Earth, the moon and Venus behind it as well as part of the International Space Station in the foreground Advertisement Some families live and die in the same town, and have done for centuries, while others move from one place to the next. But regardless of which camp you fall into, a new web app claims to predict where you're most likely to be from using just your family name. 'Named' was developed by researchers at University College London's Department of Geography, and forms part of a larger project on UK surnames. It uses data from the Consumer Data Research Centre to show where the surname is most concentrated in the UK, in comparison to the general population of the area, which can also reveal how common your name is. Desktop users can discover where their name comes from using the tool below. Mobile users can access the tool from the Named site. Due to high demand the tool below may take some time to load. Users simply type in their surname into the website and search for it (pictured). The resulting heat map generated by the algorithm shows the highest density of the surname in red, with the lowest in pale yellow Users type in their surname into the website and press 'Go!'. The resulting heat map generated by the algorithm shows the highest density of the surname in red, with the lowest in pale yellow. On his blog, UCL data scientist Oliver O'Brien wrote: 'I put together the website and adapted for the UK some code on generating heat maps showing regions of unusual popularity of a surname.' The researcher explained that the original code underpinning the UK maps was written by researchers at Arizona State University in the US. 'The site is also a useful information gathering tool we are only in the early stages of evaluating the validity or accuracy of this method we know it works well for certain regional UK names which are not too popular or too rare, at least,' O'Brien wrote. MailOnline tested a number of the most common surnames in the UK. In most cases, due to the wide distribution of names, the heat maps highlight areas of highest concentration in the countryside. Due to the wide distribution of names, the heat maps highlight areas of highest concentration in the countryside. But in some cases cities will be highlighted as the highest density, typically with names which have been introduced in the UK's modern history. For example, the surname Patel is most highly concentrated in and around London (pictured) Another common surname 'Green' shows wider geographical distribution and is much harder to pin down to a single region or city in terms of concentration (pictured) But in some cases cities will be highlighted as the highest density, typically with names which have been introduced in the UK's modern history. 'It will only rarely highlight London and the other major cities of the UK, except for exceptionally urban-centric surnames, typically of foreign-origin,' explained O'Brien. HOW DOES IT WORK? 'Named' was developed at University College London's Department of Geography, and forms part of a larger project on UK surnames. It uses data from the Consumer Data Research Centre to return where the surname is most concentrated in the UK, in comparison to the general population of the area. Users simply type in their surname into the website and press 'Go!' The resulting heat map generated by the algorithm shows the highest density of the surname in red, with the lowest in pale yellow. The code underpinning the UK maps was originally written by researchers at Arizona State University in the US. Advertisement For example, the surname Patel is most highly concentrated in and around London, while another common surname, Green, shows wider geographical distribution and is much harder to pin down to a single region or city in terms of concentration. But the website has an additional data twist. It claims that it can even predict where a couple likely met, based on both of their surnames. For example, when MailOnline searched for 'White' and 'Singh' the heatmap predicted the lovers most likely met in either London or Birmingham, based on the overlapping of the two names. Professor Paul Longley, a geographer at UCL who is leading the project, said: 'The website is a quirky start of our research project which is looking into whether our surnames are linked to our geographical locations something which has been long perceived. 'It is known that many names remain surprisingly concentrated in specific parts of the UK, and this project helps us extend our understanding of name geography to combinations of names too when we enter relationships.' For those with a rare surname, which may only bring back a small number of people, these have been omitted to protect their identity. Professor Longley added: 'Most Anglo Saxon family names came into common usage between the 12th and 14th centuries, and were first coined in particular parts of the country. Interestingly, most individuals do not move far from their ancestral family homes and so, 700 or more years later, most names can still be associated with particular localities. For example, if your lover's surname is Rossall, for example, it is still about 40 times more likely that you met him or her in the environs of Blackpool than in Central London.' The project has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and users are encouraged to give feedback. O'Brien added: 'The maps on our website make predictions based upon geographic patterning, and we are really interested to learn whether we get things right.' The sight of the red hourglass markings on their abdomen is enough to send even the bravest of people scampering away with fear. But while the markings on the underside of deadly female black widow spiders can help us identify them easily, scientists have discovered they evolved the marking to warn off birds. Researchers have been able to prove that the distinctive red patch acts like an illuminated hazard sign for birds but are also difficult for the spider's insect prey to spot. The distinctive red hourglass markings on a female black widow spider (pictured) are designed to scare off potential predators but could also alert prey to their presence too. Researchers studied the way insects and birds see the markings and found insects struggle to see the bright red marks This allows black widows to warn off potential predators in the surrounding area without alerting crickets, beetles and ants to their presence. Dr Nicholas Brandley, a biologist who conducted the study at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina but now works at Colorado College, said: 'Insects can still detect red light, but not as well as mammals or birds. 'TWERKING' FOR SURVIVAL The black widow earned its name mainly because of the female spiders tendency to devour mates and potential suitors. But recent research has found that male spiders have developed an unusual tactic to avoid being eaten. The male black widows vibrate their abdomens when entering a female's web to warn her that they are here to mate, not food. Spiders use vibrations on their webs to help detect when an insect has become ensnared in their sticky trap, but the male spiders use a specific set of vibrations to catch the female's attention first before she reacts. The researchers, from Simon Fraser University in Canada, found that the courtship vibrations of both species differed from those of prey, but that the very low-amplitude vibratory signals produced when male black widows shake their abdomens were particularly distinctive. Advertisement 'The birds would see a spider model with red markings and get startled and jump back, like 'Oh no man, get me out of here.' Black widow spiders are considered to be one of the most venomous spiders in the world, but despite their reputation their bite is rarely lethal to humans. It can be harmful to the very young and elderly, but the venom is far more deadly to smaller mammals and their insect prey. Many toxic and venomous creatures use bright colours to advertise they are dangerous to predators, but the markings on a black widow are much more subtle. While their red markings have long been suspected as a warning to predators, it has been unclear if this was a disadvantage to the creatures when hunting. To study the role of the black widow's red markings, the researchers used 3D printing to create fake plastic spiders which they placed onto bird feeders. Half of the eight fake spiders were painted completely black while the other half were given a red hourglass that matched the colouring seen in real black widows. The researchers found the spiders with the red hourglass were less attractive to birds looking for a snake and they were three times less likely to peck or grab a model with one on. As part of their study, the scientists 3D printed replica black widow spiders with and without red markings to see how birds would react to the bright red mark. The spiders would normally sit on their webs belly up so the distinctive red mark is visible from above to birds (pictured) Small, short-beaked birds such as house finches and chickadees were more easily spooked. Dr Brandley, who carried out the research as part of his PhD, and his colleagues also examined how birds and insects would see the red and black hues used by black widows. Birds eyes have photoreceptors that allow them to see long wavelengths of light that most insects lack. Using an spectroradiometre, the researchers, whose work is published in the journal Behavioural Ecology, they measured the light reflected by two of the three black widow species seen in the United States. They were then able to calculate how much of that light the photoreceptors in the eyes of birds and insects would detect. They discovered the black widow's warning colours are two times more visible to birds than to insects. The red marks (pictured) are twice as visible to birds than to insects as they reflect light that birds are particularly sensitive too. In tests using 3D replicas, the birds were three times more likely to avoid spiders with the red marks on their bellies than those without them Dr Brandley and his colleagues said the viewing angle may also play a role as black widows usually hang underneath their horizontal webs with their bellies facing the sky. This puts their warning markings in full view of birds overhead but leaves them largely hidden from insects. To test this, the team put two species of North American black widows in 20 inch tall cages and allowed them to build webs. The species that built its web highest from the ground, and so may be visible to birds hunting above and below them, carries red marks on its back as well. Dr Brandley said the study had highlighted the role that detection by prey may play in the evolution of warning colours to deter predators. Genetically engineering bacteria has the potential to lead to new solutions to problems such as pollution or delivering new types of treatments to patients. But releasing these man-made microorganisms into the environment is thought to be fraught with fears they may spread out of control. Researchers now claim they have developed a solution by turning bacteria into microscopic 'swarmbots'. Scroll down for video Scientists have engineered a way of controlling bacteria by only enabling them to survive if they are surrounded by other microbes. Each produces a chemical that causes their neighbours to resist an antibiotic, meaning 'swarms' can grow successfully (top row) and those without the swarm ability (bottom) do not grow The bacteria have been engineered so they are unable to survive by themselves as they are reliant upon the protective proteins produced by their neighbours. However, if they spread out, causing their density to drop below a certain level, the bacteria can no longer get enough of this protein and quickly die. CONTROLLING GM BACTERIA Genetically modified organisms could improve our lives by allowing scientists to tackle problems not currently possible in nature. Bacteria capable of breaking down harmful pollutants or producing new types of biofuels have been created in the laboratory. But putting them into the environment also runs the risk of them spreading uncontrollably. To keep them under control, scientists have been developing 'kill switches' designed to act as an emergency stop for GMOs. The mechanisms not only destroy the genetically modified organism if it escapes from the lab, but will also erase any trace of the genetic information used to create it. One option is something known as the Deadman solution, based on train models. Just like a train, the operators had to keep their hands on the dead man's switch. If the operator becomes incapacitated, their hand would loosen and brakes would engage. In the case of a kill switch for genomes, a certain chemical must always be present or the 'switch' will go off and it will die. The other microbe kill switch is Passcode, which requires a combination of three small molecules such as molecules A and B, but the complete absence of C. The designer can also choose whatever sequence or 'passcode' they wish. Advertisement Dr Lingchong You, a biomedical engineer at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina who oversaw the study, said: 'Safety has always been a concern when modifying bacteria for medical applications because of the danger of uncontrolled proliferation. 'Other labs have addressed this issue by making cells rely on unnatural amino acids for survival or by introducing a "kill switch" that is activated by some chemical. 'Ours is the first example that uses collective survival as a way of intrinsically realizing this safeguard.' In research published in the journal Molecular Systems Biology, Dr You and his team engineered a strain of the common gut bacteria Escherichia coli to produce a chemical called AHL. The bacterial cells were also modified so that in high enough concentrations AHL causes them to produce a protein that would protect them against an antibiotic. The researchers confined the bacteria within a permeable capsule and washed it with antibiotics. Provided the bacteria remained inside the capsule, their density remained high and they survived. But if the capsule was ruptured and the bacteria escaped, they spread out and were quickly killed. The concept works much like robot swarms where each member is reliant upon the others in the swarm for things like communication or positioning. Dr You and his team said the experiment proves the concept of using the technology to create bacteria that are only able to survive while they remain in 'swarms'. This would allow them to be released into the environment or given to a person without fear they will multiply out of control. The microbial swarmbots are able to grow in the presence of antibiotics provided they remain inside a capsule that keeps their density high (bacteria are pink in the picture above). The researchers say they hope to adapt the approach to allow them to develop probiotic bacteria that can be controlled within the guts of patients The bacteria need to be present in a high density which is maintained inside a capsule (illustrated) Once the bacterial colony grows too big for its capsule, it will burst and release them, causing them to die. 'In general, this concept does not depend on the use of antibiotics,' said You. 'There are multiple directions we are hoping to follow with this platform. 'We're using non-pathogenic E. coli, but we hope to demonstrate that the same concept can be established with a probiotic strain of bacteria. 'Once we've established the platform, then we have the freedom to introduce whatever proteins we choose and allow these cells to engage in many different applications.' Using probiotic bacteria could allow the researchers to respond to certain environmental conditions in a person's gut, to perhaps release drugs or nutrients when needed. It raises the prospect of using such bacteria to help tackle harmful food poisoning bacteria by programming the probiotic strains to react in their presence. Dr Shuqiang Huang, another of the researchers involved in the study, said: 'We can imagine programming probiotics that can respond to changes in their environmental conditions. When the bacteria leave the capsule containing them - for example if it is ruptured (pictured) - they quickly die, preventing them from spreading. It could prove a useful failsafe for releasing genetically modified microbes 'That response could include delivering proteins or chemicals to modulate the microbiome.' The technology could also be used to deliver bacteria contained within capsules that could help the body combat pathogenic bacteria, said Anna Lee, a student who was involved in the study. She said: 'We want to program cells to respond to signals produced by pathogenic bacteria. Advertisement Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly has landed back on Earth after spending nearly a year on the International Space Station. The 52-year-old and two Russian cosmonauts touched down in Kazakhstan after a three-hour flight from the ISS. It was a textbook landing for Kelly and his crew, with the Soyuz spacecraft landing vertically as planned at approximately 11.25pm EST. Kelly was seen clambering out of the capsule with the help of search and rescue teams and punched the air as he breathed fresh air for the first time since early 2015. He looked in fine form and was on the phone just minutes later, perhaps to his family, two daughters or his girlfriend, who works for Nasa. Scroll down for video Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly has landed back on Earth after spending nearly a year on the International Space Station The 52-year-old and two Russian cosmonauts touched down in Kazakhstan after a three-hour flight from the ISS - and Kelly was carried out of the spacecraft by a rescue team The Soyuz capsule carrying the International Space Station (ISS) crew of US astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Sergei Volkov fell through the atmosphere suspended by a parachute Heading home: Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly's Soyuz spacecraft (pictured) undocked from the ISS shortly after 8pm EST The capsule undocked shortly after 8pm EST as it edged away from the ISS at a speed of just four inches a second. Once the Soyuz craft had crept 50ft away from the space station, two short blasts of its rockets - known as separation burns - set Kelly on his way home TODAY'S SEQUENCE OF EVENTS 4:15 pm ET - Farewell and hatch closure coverage; hatch closure scheduled at 4:40 p.m 7:45 pm ET - Undocking coverage; undocking scheduled at 8:05 p.m ET 10:15 pm ET- Deorbit burn and landing coverage; deorbit burn scheduled at 10:34 pm, with landing at 11:27pm ET. Advertisement Kelly and his crewmates Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov will be taken for medical tests before they meet their loves ones. The trio clambered into a Russian Soyuz spacecraft at 4.15pm EST ahead of the capsule's undocking from the ISS shortly after 8pm EST. It edged away from the ISS at a speed of just four inches a second until it had crept 50ft away, when two short blasts of its rockets - known as separation burns - set Kelly on his way home. Kelly shared an emotion farewell with his crew this afternoon after posting a picture of his final sunrise on Twitter, telling his 925,000 followers: 'Rise and shine! My last #sunrise from space then I gotta go!' Ahead of his journey home, Nasa astronaut Tim Kopra yesterday assumed command of the International Space Station from Kelly in a traditional 'Change of Command' ceremony. During his 'Year in Space', Kelly has done a little bit of everything, from science experiments and spacewalks, to watching movies and celebrating talking with President Obama. And he's shared it all with the world on social media. In the countdown to his departure, the astronaut has been posting some of his social media highlights on Twitter, including an image showing a stunning red aurora over Earth and one of the Milky Way. Kelly says he is proud to have served as guinea pigs for future Mars expeditions. For Nasa, getting astronauts to Mars in 20 years is what this yearlong mission is all about. Last week, Kelly held his final news conference from the International Space Station, saying the experience was like 'camping in the woods'. He told reporters that space is a 'harsh environment,' and you never feel perfectly normal. Tim Peak (right) steadies the camera to capture the moment that Scott Kelly (second on the right) and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko (second from the left) and Sergey Volkov (center) enter the Soyuz capsule. On the left is Tim Kopra Scott Kelly has bid an emotional farewell to his crew mates today (left). His capsule will undock at 8:05pm ET and touch down in Kazakhstan at around 11:45 pm EST. Kelly says he is proud to have served as guinea pigs for future Mars expeditions After spending nearly a year on the International Space Station, Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly is preparing for his return to Earth today. This is the last tweet he sent before hatch closure Hours before his departure Scott Kelly posted this stunning image, telling followers 'Rise and shine! My last #sunrise from space then I gotta go!' The astronaut posted a series of 5 stunning pictures to mark his last morning aboard the ISS.he 52-year-old is scheduled to touch down in Kazakhstan at around 11:45 pm EST today In the countdown to his departure, the astronaut has been posting some of his social media highlights on Twitter, including these images of his final sunrise in space Ahead of Kellys journey home, Nasa astronaut Tim Kopra (left) today assumed command of the International Space Station from Kelly in a traditional Change of Command ceremony Amiko Kauderer snapped this photograph of herself saying goodbye to her boyfriend of five years, Scott Kelly, who is currently on the ISS. They are due to be reunited again tomorrow SCOTT KELLY AND THE TWIN STUDY Scott Kelly, together with cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, boarded the ISS in March last year as part of a first-of-its-kind experiment to test how the human body copes with prolonged space travel. They will be the first astronauts to spend a year on the station. Mr Kelly's identical twin Mark has remained on Earth, allowing Nasa to examine the changes between these genetically identical people in two vastly different environments. Both the Kellys will be subjected to 10 experiments in human physiology, behavioural health, microbiology and molecular. By staying on the station for 12 months, the astronauts will provide key information on how an eventual Mars mission - estimated to last three years there and back - might play out. Advertisement From a hygiene perspective, he said, he feels as if he has been camping for a year. But from a physical point of view, though, he feels 'pretty good.' The toughest part? Being isolated from loved ones, a situation that will pose even more of a challenge for astronauts sent to Mars. Despite all this, Kelly said he could go another 100 days or even another year 'if I had to.' By the time he comes home, he will have spent 340 consecutive days aloft, a US record. The world record is 438 days, set by a Russian cosmonaut in the 1990s. Even that will pale in comparison to a Mars expedition, expected to last two to three years round trip. Scientists hope to learn much from Kelly's mission to pave the way to Mars in another two decades; they also will collect data from his Russian roommate for the year, Mikhail Kornienko. Along with Kornienko, Kelly will check out of the space station tomorrow, riding a Russian capsule back to the planet to end Nasa's longest space flight. They will land in Kazakhstan. Then Kelly will be hustled home to Houston. The 52-year-old astronaut said he can't wait to jump in his pool and dine at a real table with friends and family. Kelly rocketed away last March on a research-packed mission, leaving behind two daughters and his girlfriend. He lightened things up recently by donning a gorilla suit a gag gift from his identical twin, retired astronaut Mark Kelly and cavorting through the station. The brothers hope to go fishing in Alaska once things settle down. Also waiting for him is his girlfriend of seven years, Amiko Kauderer, who is in Texas, working as a public relations officer at Nasa. In this December 21, 2015 photo, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly participates in a spacewalk outside the International Space Station in which he and Flight Engineer Tim Kopra, not pictured, moved the station's mobile transporter rail car ahead of the docking of a Russian cargo supply spacecraft 'Day 325. Set your sails for the #stars! #GoodNight from @space_station! #YearInSpace' tweeted Scott Kelly yesterday, with this image In this July 12 photograph, Kelly is seen inside the Cupola, a special module which provides a 360-degree viewing of the Earth and the space station. On each additional day he spends in orbit as part of his one-year mission, Kelly will add to his record and to our understanding of the effects of long-duration spaceflight Station Commander Scott Kelly passed astronaut Mike Fincke, also a former station commander, on Oct. 16, 2015, for most cumulative days living and working in space by a Nasa astronaut (383 days and counting). Kelly is scheduled to come home March 2, 2016, for a record total 522 days in space Kelly is not the only human breaking records for time in space. Expedition 44 commander Gennady Padalka broke the 10-year-old record for the number of cumulative days in space June 28, as he reached 804 days in space. The international space station has been occupied since November 2000 and in that time, more than 200 people from 15 different countries have visited. Crews are usually assigned 35 working hours a week and conduct research in different disciplines to advance scientific knowledge of the Earth space, physical, and biological sciences. 'What makes this exciting for me, this one-year flight, is about the science and everything we're going to learn from expanding the envelope on the space station,' Kelly said in an interview in December. 'If we're ever going to go to Mars someday, the International Space Station is really a great platform to learn much more about having people live and work in space for longer durations. 'It's close to the Earth, and it's a great orbiting facility.' Kelly, a former Navy fighter pilot, said his goals are the same as they are every time he flies in space: 'No one gets hurt, we don't break anything and we leave as friends.' The 'One Year Crew,' consists of Commander Kelly (left) and Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Koneinko (right) Kelly's second image posted on social media said: 'Good morning Texas! Great view of you, the moon, and Venus this morning.' Texas is seen to the right of the ISS, the moon and Venus are pictured bottom left THE YEAR-LONG ASTRONAUTS Scott Kelly This was the fourth spaceflight for Mr Kelly, 52, a former Nasa shuttle commander and Navy test pilot whose identical twin brother, Mark, also was chosen as an astronaut in 1996. The two conducted many of the same medical experiments over the coming year so scientists can compare the results. Scott Kelly's first two flights were aboard shuttles. He spent more than five months on the space station in 2010 to 2011. It was during that mission that his sister-in-law, then Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, nearly died after being shot in the head in Tucson, Arizona. Once he's back home in Houston, Kelly imagines it will be 'hard to walk away' from spaceflight. He'd love to pilot one of the new US spacecraft in development. But he figures if he cuts in front of other astronauts awaiting assignments, 'someone will run me over with their car.' What will Kelly miss the most, besides his loved ones? The weather. 'It never changes on the space station,' he said. 'Even though it's a pretty nice environment, I guess it's like living in Southern California, people get sick of it ... after a while.' Mikhail Kornienko It is the second space mission for Mr Kornienko, 54, a former paratrooper whose helicopter-pilot father was part of the search and rescue team for the first Soviet cosmonauts back in the 1960s. His father brought back souvenirs from the returning Soyuz capsules: uneaten food rations and pieces of the orange silky parachutes used for the final descent. 'Mom made gorgeous skirts out of them,' he said. 'I still have a small piece of one of those parachutes. 'I cherish it as if it were something sacred.' A religious man, Mr Kornienko took into orbit a folding icon depicting the Madonna and Child. His previous station stay was in 2010, 12 years after his selection as a cosmonaut. He said he'll miss the same things he dreamed about last time he flew: water not in the form of blobs as in space, but water you can swim in, as well as grass, forests and fields. Mr Kornienko already says he'd take on another one-year mission after a break, of course. Advertisement It's popularly said that dogs have a sixth sense when it comes to sniffing out nasty people. Now it seems they react strongly to the 'threat' of a robot too. A feisty terrier has taken on Boston Dynamics' 'Spot' dog by barking at it and even giving chase, showing that in the event of a robot uprising, dogs will still be man's best friend. A feisty terrier has taken on Boston Robotic's 'Spot' dog (pictured) by barking at it and even giving chase, showing that in the event of a robot uprising, dogs will still be man's best friend. Credit: Steve Jurvetson/Flickr The dog, named Cosmo, is said to belong to Andy Rubin, the co-founder of Android, who has previously managed the robotics program at Google. Google acquired Boston Dymamics, which makes numerous sized robotic animals in differing sizes, including Spot, which can run, climb stairs, jog next to its owner and even cope with being kicked. Cosmo can be seen barking at and chasing Spot in a dog versus robot stand-off captured in a video by venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson who shared the footage onYouTube. He told IEEE Spectrum: 'I was told that this is the only Spot (their latest robot) in civilian hands.' The dog, named Cosmo (pictured), is said to belong to Andy Rubin, the co-founder of Android, who has previously managed the robotics program at Google The 160lb (72kg) electrically powered and hydraulically actuated robot can walk, trot and even climb steps as well as cope with being kicked Cosmo can be seen barking at (pictured) and chasing Spot in a dog versus robot stand-off captured in a video by venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson The US military has been putting Spot, or the 'Legged Squad Support System' through its paces as a reconnaissance robot, but its future is unclear, according to a report by military.com Captain James Pineiro, the Ground Combat Element branch head for the Warfighting Lab told the site: 'I see Spot right now as more of a ground reconnaissance asset. 'The problem is, Spot in its current configuration doesn't have the autonomy to do that.' However, Mr Jurvetson praised the robot's lifelike movement, which certainly captured the attention of Cosmo. In the video, Cosmo the dog keeps barking at the robot and even when its operator makes it run away, the dog follows (pictured above), seemingly distrusting of the technology Google acquired Boston Dymamics, which makes numerous sized robotic dogs (pictured) in differing sizes, including Spot, which can run, climb stairs, jog next to its owner and even cope with being kicked SPOT CAN WITHSTAND KICKING A video showing Spot being kicked last year sparked an ethical debate. It was intended to show how stable the machine is, but viewers complained the 'dog'in the clip had been mistreated. The action was dubbed 'cruel', 'wrong' and has even raised concerns about robotic ethics. One Twitter user wrote: ''Kicking a dog, even a robot dog seems wrong.' Another said: 'Just wrong, kick a robot dog as practice: Google's dog robot looks too real for comfort when getting kicked.' But a more practical user wrote: ''Kicking a dog is wrong; it feels, breathes, and remembers. A robot is a piece of sheet metal.' Noel Sharkey from the University of Sheffield, UK, added: 'The only way it's unethical is if the robot could feel pain.' Advertisement He quipped: 'the tradition of the uncanny valley continues...To the un-canine valley!' In the video, Cosmo the dog keeps barking at the robot and even when its operator makes it run away, the dog follows, seemingly untrusting of the technology. An observer says of the dog: 'He totally thinks he's winning' and when Spot drops to a crouch, his operator says "you win".' Last year, Boston Dynamics released a video showcasing the robot's amazing abilities. It shows the 160 lb (72kg) electrically powered and hydraulically actuated robot walking, trotting and even climbing steps. A sensor on the robot's head helps it navigate over rough terrain - and to spot when humans, or another robo-dog, is nearby by, allowing it to follow its owner and run in formation. However, in the latest video it appears the dog is being completely controlled by a human operator. The European Space Agency's new boss today elaborated on plans to build a village on the moon. 'The future of space travel needs a new vision,' said Jan Woerner. The concept is a base for lunar exploration by humans and robots, which would act as a stopover for spacecraft, and become a 'village' with mining and even tourism. Scroll down for video The European Space Agency's new boss today elaborated on plans to build a village on the moon. For now, it is just an idea - called 'crazy' by some - but one that Jan Woerner said was being widely discussed as the end of the ISS looms large EXPLORE FAR SIDE OF THE MOON Woerner says the project could allow exploration of the far side of the moon. 'No human has ever visited the far side of the Moon,' he wrote. 'Astronomers want to set up radio telescopes there because it is shaded from Earth's radio pollution. Building a telescope with innovative techniques like 3Dprinting, perhaps using lunar soil, would enable us to look much deeper into the Universe. 'No human has ever visited the lunar pole regions, where unmanned missions found water ice. 'Water is an important resource, because you can produce rocket propellant and oxygen from it. 'Both lunar regions are scientifically very promising places.' Advertisement 'The future of space travel needs a new vision,''Right now we have the Space Station as a common international project, but it won't last forever,' said Woerner. 'If I say Moon Village, it does not mean single houses, a church, a town hall and so on. No, that would be misleading. 'My idea only deals with the core of the concept of a village: people working and living together in the same place. 'And this place would be on the Moon. 'In the Moon Village we would like to combine the capabilities of different spacefaring nations, with the help of robots and astronauts. 'The participants can work in different fields, perhaps they will conduct pure science and perhaps there will even be business ventures like mining or tourism.' Woerner said the village could even help man get to Mars. 'The Moon Village would also act as a 'pit stop' for the further exploration of the Universe,' he said. 'Esa is eager to fly to Mars as well. 'For more than a decade, we have had a very successful spacecraft orbiting there. And now, with ExoMars, two unmanned missions are aiming at martian orbit and the surface. 'Yes, the Americans want to send astronauts to Mars one day, but today's technology isn't prepared for this trip yet. 'For example, we must develop countermeasures against the cosmic radiation that endangers the health of humans on long space trips. And we have to learn how to endure longer periods of time in space, not only in low orbit as on the Space Station. 'This is where our Moon comes into play it is the perfect stepping stone to Mars. 'Recently, I talked to Charlie Bolden, the administrator of NASA. He endorsed the idea of a Moon Village. 'He said to me, 'We will go together.' It could also help defend the Earth. Esa scientists have been testing 3D-printing technology they say could be used on the moon. It was one of a number of proposals discussed at an international conference organised by Esa about returning humans to the lunar surface. A proposed lunar base is illustrated 'It helps with planetary defence, which means protecting Earth from the hazards of impacting asteroids or comets. 'To venture into the unknown is in our genes, curiosity has always been a very strong driver for humankind. And exploration is especially part of the European heritage.' The village would be manned by humans and robots, with rovers able to traverse the planet on their own. 'I can imagine astronauts on the Moon along with robots and unmanned rovers. Or the robots and rovers could be remotely controlled from a manned lunar space station. Esa's D-Shape printer has been used to create prototype structures that could be used in a lunar base (pictured). It uses a mobile array of printing nozzles that spray a binding solution onto a sand-like material 'Yes, in principle the Moon Village could be robots only, but the idea is to bring together the whole diversity of spacefaring nations. Therefore, I am quite sure that some nations would send astronauts, cosmonauts or taikonauts as well. Woerner also said the project could even bring the US and China together. 'It is true that currently the US Congress doesn't want to cooperate with China in a common project like the International Space Station, but the situation with the Moon Village would be different. 'I think we should bridge these earthly problems, and I'm sure that it can be achieved in the end.' The project could take the place of the ISS. All members but the European Union have agreed to operate and finance the ISS to at least 2024. Woerner insisted today the ISS 'has its value' and said he hoped to convince member states that 'Esa should continue' its involvement in the project. Europe is currently committed until 2020. As for the future, 'I see the Moon Village as the ideal successor of the International Space Station for... exploration,' said Woerner in a previous interview about the project. Structures for a lunar base could be built by robots sent ahead of human astronauts. Experts said 3D printing technology can currently construct an entire building in around a week CHINA'S MISSION TO THE MOON DISCOVERS NEW TYPE OF ROCK A type of titanium-rich rock, never before seen by researchers, has been discovered on the surface of the moon. Samples of the unique basalt were gathered by the Chinese rover Jade-Rabbit and researchers have now studied the rock to learn more about the moon's volcanic surface. In particular, the rock contains a unique mixture of titanium dioxide and olivine, which makes it different from any of the samples returned by the Nasa Apollo missions. The unmanned Chang'e-3 probe and the Jade Rabbit rover touched down on a vast flat flood plain formed of a unique type of volcanic basalt. Analysis of the measurements the rover took while exploring the site have revealed the area formed surprisingly recently and may be among the youngest areas on the lunar surface. While the surface of the moon is largely thought to have been shaped by volcanic eruptions that took place some 3 to 4 billion years ago. But the unusual volcanic basalt rock discovered by the Chinese rover appears to be just 2.96 billion years old. It has been found to contain a unique mixture of minerals that has high levels of titanium dioxide and also another green mineral called olivine. Advertisement 'So far, there is no competitive proposal on the table.' Unlike the ISS, he explained, a lunar village required no 'formal decision' among countries. 'It is more an understanding of many nations to go together to the Moon.' What is important, however, is a discussion on the best location to settle. 'Is it the far side? Is it the near side? Is it the poles?' Once a spot is chosen, said Woerner, individual countries or space agencies will decide how they want to take part in the project. But who would take part? 'Russia has some lunar missions planned, so why not have them as part of the Moon Village?' asked Woerner, noting also that 'the Chinese are planning some lunar missions.' He also said he did not mind that some think his idea hare-brained. 'The word 'crazy' is exactly something I would like,' he said. 'We have to think out of the box. That means new ideas.' Woerner said he had mooted his idea at two space gatherings last year, in the US and in Israel, and 'I've had several organisations worldwide saying to me: 'How can we participate?'.' The scheme will come up in talks with the space agencies of the US, Japan, Canada and Russia in the coming weeks, on the future of the ISS. 'And we will have discussions with other countries and states worldwide,' said Woerner. 'We need an idea of where to go and what to do.' Earlier this month, Esa proposed using 3D printing technology to create a series of permanent structures using the lunar soil, known as regolith, which could used to house astronauts by 2030. Esa has begun to take a lead role in the push to establish a base on the moon after Nasa said it does not intend to be the lead in future manned missions on the lunar surface. Instead, the American space agency is focusing on sending humans to an asteroid and then on to the surface of Mars. This 1.5 tonne building block was produced as a demonstration of 3D printing techniques using lunar soil Space exploration experts from around the world met in Noorwijk, the Netherlands, last month for the Esa-led international symposium entitled Moon 2020-2030: A New Era of Coordinated Human and Robotic Exploration. They discussed new technologies that could help to support human life on the moon including new space suits, habitats and ways of producing food. Some of these technologies, such as greenhouses being used to grow salad and other planets, are already being tested on the International Space Station. Laurent Pambaguian, from Esa's materials technology section, outlined technology his team have been testing to print construction blocks out of the lunar regolith. He added that 3D printers can produce between 6.5ft and 11ft (2 metres and 3.5 metres) of material an hour, meaning an entire structure could be produced in a week. By sending a robot capable of building structures from the lunar soil, it may be possible to have these in place in time for a manned mission to the moon. Speaking in the past about the 3D printing technology, Mr Pambaguian said: 'Terrestrial 3D printing technology has produced entire structures. Scientists also discussed a possible location for a base with astronomers favouring the far side of the moon as it would allow radio telescopes to peer into space without being effected by transmissions from Earth. A false colour image of the lunar surface is pictured 'Our industrial team investigated if it could similarly be employed to build a lunar habitat.' Artist's impressions of such a lunar base released by Esa have been compared to the underground buildings inhabited by the children's TV charactrers the Teletubbies. Scientists also discussed a possible location for a base with astronomers favouring the far side of the moon as it would allow radio telescopes to peer into space without being effected by transmissions from Earth. However, according to Space.com, Europe now appears to be leading the international efforts to put humans back on the moon. Kathy Laurini, Nasa's co-chair for the exploration roadmap working group who attended the symposium, said: 'The Esa space-exploration strategy sets the moon as a priority destination for humans on the way to Mars. 'The recent talk of a 'Moon Village' certainly has generated a lot of positive energy in Europe. 'The timing is right to get started on the capabilities which allow Europe to meet its exploration objectives and ensure it remains a strong partner as humans begin to explore the solar system.' Auburn officials expect Police Chief Brian Neagle to remain on leave for several more weeks as he recovers from an injury that has sidelined him since mid-November. Neagle, who was promoted to chief in 2012, has been on medical leave due to wrist injuries stemming from an on-duty incident, according to City Manager Doug Selby. Officials declined to disclose specifics about the injury. Selby said Neagle had been performing administrative tasks on an occasional basis since late November, but no longer. According to the city manager, Neagle was told on Feb. 24 to focus on his recovery, officially relegating temporary command of the Auburn Police Department to Capt. Paul Casper. Casper first joined the APD in 1988 and has been a captain for six years, according to the local police union. "Casper comes with a lot of respect," said Chris Major, vice president of the Auburn Police Local 195. Over the last few months, Neagle reported to work on an occasional basis to perform administrative duties, such as reviewing time sheets. Selby said Neagle fulfilled these tasks upon his own volition without the city's instruction. Neagle could not be reached for comment on Monday. Neagle has received and will continue to receive normal pay in accordance with state law, Selby said. Article 207-c of state General Municipal Law outlines compensation benefits for officers that are partially disabled in the line of duty. The city manager stated Monday that he does not expect Neagle to return to service for "at least several more weeks" as the chief undergoes treatment for his injuries. The direction dispels some confusion within the department as to the official chain of command, according to the union. Major said Neagle had issued a memo in December indicating that Casper would be in charge of day-to-day operations, but there was still "hesitancy" among the officers as to decision-making because Neagle continued to occasionally report to the department and issue orders to his staff. Casper took the lead on the recent pedestrian accident on South Street as well as another emergency earlier this year involving a suicidal individual with a knife who barricaded herself inside of her residence, Major said. He said Casper has been responsive as a supervisor and communicates regularly with officers. "It clears up a lot of uncertainty among members," Major said. "You need a definite leader." Selby said Casper has been in charge of the department ever since Neagle first went on leave. "There might have been some confusion because (Neagle) was doing some things, but Paul's been doing day-to-day assignments. It should be more clear now," Selby said. "Brian is on a medical leave and won't be doing city work." The city manager indicated he is continuing to work with the leaders of Auburn Police Local 195 over issues the union has taken with Neagle's leadership. An overwhelming majority of Auburn police officers voted no confidence in Neagle in December. Union leaders continue to seek Neagle's removal from his post, citing more than a dozen claims and complaints. Selby declined to comment further on his discussions with the union, calling it is a personnel matter. Joseph Villano, president of Auburn Police Local 195, said he last spoke with the city manager more than a week ago and is confident that Selby is working toward some sort of resolution. Neagle has not contacted union leaders about the no-confidence vote or its claims, Villano said. "We haven't talked to the chief at all in regards to that," he said. "There hasn't been any communication with the chief in regards to anything." They are often depicted as big, brutish and not terribly bright, but Neanderthals may have actually been sophisticated chemists who harnessed the power of explosive materials in rocks. Scientists claim to have uncovered evidence that the extinct species of early human used powdered manganese dioxide to help them light fires 50,000 years ago. Blocks of the dark material have been found at sites inhabited by Neanderthals in south west France and was thought to have been used to produce a powder to decorate their bodies. Scroll down for video Blocks of manganese dioxide found at a Neanderthal site in the Dordogne in south west France were found to have scratch marks (pictured) that may have been made to produce a fine powder. Scientists have found this powder can lower the temperature needed to light wood But analysis by scientists at Leiden University and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands suggests the early humans may have used it to make fire lighting easier. While manganese dioxide is not combustible itself, it is known to increase the flammability of other materials and reacts explosively with aluminium when heated. ARE OUR ALLERGIES THE LAST LAUGH OF THE NEANDERTHALS Between one and six per cent of the DNA carried by people from Europe, and much of Asia, has been inherited from Neanderthals or their ancient early human cousins the Denisovans. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have now identified three distinct genetic variations from Neanderthals that play a role in allergies. These genes produce proteins known as Toll-like receptors, which are an important part of the innate immune system that provides the first line of defence against infections. However, faults in this immune response also lead to allergies as immune cells react to non-harmful substances such as pollen, food, dust or animal hair. The researchers said three Neanderthals genes which produce proteins called TLR 6, TLR1 and TLR10 all seem to be associated with, and increase, allergic disease in large numbers of people. Advertisement In a series of experiments the researchers found powdered manganese dioxide, which is powerful oxidant, reduces the temperature that wood ignites at, making it much easier to start a fire. They found it even made green wood, which is usually much harder to light, easier to ignite. The findings may help to settle the long-running debate about whether Neanderthals were capable of lighting fires. While there is evidence that they used fire and may even have cooked with it, some anthropologists have suggested they were only able to do this by taking advantage of natural fires. Dr Peter Heyes, an archaeologist at Leiden University who led the research, said the findings add to growing evidence that Neanderthals were sophisticated and skilled craftsman. They are known to have created stone tools, or lithics, but also created jewellery and perhaps even cooked using herbs and used rudimentary medicine. Dr Heyes said: 'We don't know how Neanderthals made fire but given their skills with lithics, we might start with an assumption they used sparks and tinder. 'We don't bring it out particularly in the paper but manganese dioxide added to wood shavings or other tinder increases the efficiency with which the tinder captures a spark and lights. Neanderthals may have used the powdered rocks to lower the temperatures needed to light wood shavings. If they controlled fire in this way, then it has wide ranging implications for their cognitive abilities, society and culture. A stock image illustrating Neanderthals around a fire is pictured The scientists conducted experiments using wood shavings alone (left), wood with with manganese dioxide powder (top right) and powder manganese dioxide rocks from a Neanderthal site in Pech de l'Aze in south west France (bottom right). They found the powdered rocks caused the wood to burn faster than the other two 'Starting a fire using sparks from flint without a metal striker is not as easy as it may seem but manganese dioxide has a significant beneficial effect.' Manganese dioxide blocks were discovered at a site in Pech-de-l'Aze in the Dordogne in south west France that was inhabited by Neanderthals 50,000 years ago. The blocks occur naturally in the limestone formations where the Neanderthals made their home. But some of the blocks found at the site were covered in scratches which suggests they may have been scraped to produce a powder. The researchers, whose study is published in the journal Scientific Reports, found adding this powder to wood lowered the temperature needed to ignite it from 662F (350C) to 482F (250C). Dr Heyes and his colleagues argue that while Neanderthals could have used the black brown powder to decorate their bodies, it is more likely they would have used soot and charcoal which was more readily available. They say the ability to light and control fire provides an important insight into the cognitive capabilities and the culture that existed among Neanderthals. They say fire would have been important not only from its ability to provide warmth and cook food, but also from a social and symbolic point of view. There is now growing evidence that Neandethals, who survived for around 250,000 years before dying out 40,000 years ago, were far more sophisticated than was previously believed. Anthropologists have long-debated whether Neanderthals (reconstruction pictured left) wee able to light and control fires or made use of wild fires that were lit by lightning strikes. These is growing evidence, however, that they did use fires regularly and even cooked food on them (illustrated right) Neanderthals, who died out around 40,000, were previously thought to be big and brutish with low intelligence, but recent research is revealing them as surprisingly intelligent, resourceful and cultured. A Neanderthal skull discovered in Spain is pictured Dr Heyes added: 'Woodsmen typically keep a supply of naturally air-dried wood shavings or other tinder to help light fires. 'From the evidence of the wear patterns on their lithics, Neanderthals cut and whittled wood. 'If we assume Neanderthals could keep a supply of air-dried wood shavings, then once they had a small fire established aided by manganese dioxide, it could have been built with twigs and small braches. The growing fire would have tolerated more freshly cut 'green' wood. 'Finding evidence to support a view on Neanderthal management of wood fuel resources is a very remote possibility. 'It could nevertheless have been an important aspect of subsistence. 'If Neanderthals could devote time and resources to collecting manganese dioxide for fire making, it is perhaps not unreasonable to assume they could manage wood fuel resources effectively.' The Predator drone has received a major upgrade. A new larger version of the military drone with wings 79 feet long has been flown for the first time, meaning the drone can fly for 40 hours at a time rather the 27 hours current models can manage. It marks the start of a massive upgrade programme for the drone, which will be a new version available to military bosses in 2018. Scroll down for video The new larger version of the military drone with wings 79 feet long can fly for 40 hours at a time rather the 27 hours current models can manage, and marks the start of a massive upgrade programme for the drone, which will be a new version PREDATOR FACTS The Predator was first conceived in the early 1990s as an aerial reconnaissance vehicle, and carries cameras and other sensors. However, it has been modified and upgraded to carry and fire two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles or other munitions (Unmanned combat aerial vehicle). The aircraft, in use since 1995, has seen combat over Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bosnia, Serbia, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Syria, and Somalia. Advertisement The flight occurred on February 18 at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Gray Butte Flight Test Facility in Palmdale. 'Predator B ER's new 79-foot wing span not only boosts the RPA's endurance and range, but also serves as proof-of-concept for the next-generation Predator B aircraft that will be designed for Type-Certification and airspace integration,' said Linden Blue, CEO. The new wing span is 13-feet longer, increasing the aircraft's endurance from 27 hours to over 40 hours. During the flight, the craft launched, climbed to 7,500 feet (initial flight test altitude), completed basic airworthiness maneuvers, and landed without incident. A subsequent test program will be conducted to verify full operational capability. The long wings are the first components to be produced as part of GA-ASI's Certifiable Predator B (CPB) development project, which will lead to a certifiable production aircraft in early 2018. Previous version can only fly for 27 hours. Here, Members of the 11th Reconnaissance Squadron, Indian Springs, Nev., perform pre-flight checks on the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle prior to a mission. Further hardware and software upgrades planned for CPB will include improved structural fatigue and damage tolerance, more robust flight control software, and enhancements allowing operations in adverse weather. Additional improvements include short-field takeoff and landing performance and spoilers on the wings which enable precision automatic landings. The wings also have provisions for leading-edge de-ice and integrated low- and high-band RF antennas. An earlier version of Predator B ER featuring two wing-mounted fuel tanks is currently operational with the U.S. Air Force as MQ-9 Reaper ER. Air Interdiction Agent Will Brazelton from U.S. Office of Air and Marine (OAM), programs an unmanned Predator aircraft from a flight operations center near the Mexican border at Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, Arizona, America. Last year it was claimed the US military plans to widen its surveillance and firepower in conflict zones such as Ukraine and the South China Sea with a major expansion of drone flights, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Pentagon plans to increase daily flights by 50 percent over the next four years, expanding them from 61 a day now to as many as 90 by 2019, the Wall Street Journal said, citing senior defense officials. The paper said that up to 10 of the flights could also be run by private contractors, though the non-military flights would not be 'strike missions' such as those used to bomb suspected militants. A report says that Pentagon officials will increase the number of drone flights per day 50 per cent by 2019. Above, a picture of a MQ-1 Predadtor drone above California Increased flights be used in other areas such as Iraq, Syria and North Africa, the Journal said. Unmanned drone flights can be used on reconnaissance missions to gather video, photos and other surveillance data. They can also be used to launch air strikes, which has been controversial under President Barack Obama. As many as 10 non-strike flights a day would come from private government contractors using older Predator drones rather than newer long-range models, unnamed officials told the Journal. News of plans for increased drone activity come shortly after the number of flights per day was decreased from 65 to 60 because of stress on the devices' pilots. Above, a pilot flies a drone in Afghanistan from Nevada Under the phased-in plan, the US Air Force would reportedly continue to launch 60 drone flights a day, the Army would dispatch 16 and the Special Forces Command could contribute up to four. The news comes after a report earlier this summer saying that the Air Force was scaling back its use of drones from 65 per day to 60. Operators flying the devices from a location near Las Vegas are 'burning out' from stress, according to the New York Times. Pilots have complained of feeling 'perpetually deployed' as they struggle to transition from spending time with their families to bombing targets thousands of miles away. However, intelligence and military officials value the information from drone flights, and the US has recently spoke with North African countries about using drones on the continent to combat Islamic State's presence in Libya. Planning a trip to a foreign country can fill holidaymakers with anxiety or doubt and that can lead to a lot of bizarre or amusing questions for travel agents. While most tourists just want an experts tips on sights or bargains, some make outlandish requests before they jet abroad or return from their trip with hilarious complaints. From the tourists who request parties in their honour to the ones who ask if their hotel offers an escort service, British travel agents have revealed some of their most amusing tales from the job. A British ski tour operator said one holidaymaker called and asked if the snow would be cold at their resort First-time skiers have no idea what to expect when they hit the slopes, and Iglu.com, which sells ski and cruise holidays, has had its share of hilarious questions. One holidaymaker asked if the snow would be cold at their resort, while another said they would need two skis and two boots (one for each foot). A couple in their 70s once asked for the cheapest room in a chalet and when they were told it had a bunk bed the woman responded: We dont get up to anything like that these days, dear. Those who have booked a cruise were really interested to learn more about the view from their cabin. One wanted to know what the view would be like in an inside cabin, and another asked: Do you do outside cabins that are under the sea, so I can see under the ocean? Travel agents have also heard this one several times: If I do a transatlantic cruise, when will my pounds turn into dollars? A holidaymaker said his sons could stand on a flight after being told there weren't enough seats for his family Recently, a customer called Holiday Hypermarket to book flights to Goa, India, for his family. However, there were only two seats left on the flight he wanted. Undeterred, the man said it wouldnt be a problem because his two sons could stand. Another customer was booking a fly-and-drive holiday to Florida, meaning they would fly to the sunny destination and then drive around in a hired car. The customer asked whether his car would be flown across the Atlantic with him or if it would arrive on a separate flight. On another occasion, a customer asked if they could get an infant rate for their toddler, who had just turned two years old and now qualified for a slightly more expensive rate. Can I sleep on the hotel floor? Lastminute.com customer They asked Holiday Hypermarket if it could charge the infant rate because the child was born premature and wasnt supposed to be two years old for another three weeks. A spokesperson said: Our customers are very inventive and are always on the lookout for finding new ways to save money, whether it's taking their own car instead of hiring one in resort, or asking for standing space only on planes. Lastminute.com said some of the most unusual questions its staff have heard include whether hotels offer escort services or if there are mosquitoes in a hotel booked by one customer. Another holidaymaker wanted to know if they would be allowed to sleep on the hotel floor. Special requests have included a water bed and a party organised for the guest, and one customer service agent was even asked if she could take care of a clients home and water their flowers while they were away. After returning from Malaysia one customer complained that he couldnt find a place with his beloved English breakfast on the menu, while another was upset that the bed linen didnt match the drapes at his hotel. To blag a cheaper flight, a holidaymaker wanted an agent to register his 16-year-old daughter as an 11-year-old. One customer even tried to book a hotel room for 11 people in order to save money. Gemma Antrobus, managing director of Haslemere Travel and chair of AITO Specialist Travel Agents, said a passenger who booked a cruise once asked if they could open the ships port hole because they liked fresh air. A businessman who 'flipped' on a flight to Portugal and had to be restrained by air crew after punching his pregnant wife, has been banned from flying. Sajid Rafiq was on board a Monarch Airlines flight from Manchester International Airport to Faro Airport, in May 2014, when witnesses said he became aggressive and was 'raging' with 'anger in his face' as he barged past crew who were trying to serve passengers. Rafiq, 36, from Bolton, who was travelling with his wife and two children, had just finished using the toilet at the back of the aircraft when he was ordered back to his seat. Sajid Rafiq was on-board a Monarch Airlines flight from Manchester International Airport to Faro in May 2014 (file photo) Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard that after being told to sit down, Rafiq returned to his seat in row 19, but then proceeded to grab his wife, who was sitting across the aisle from him, put her in a headlock and start punching her. Crew members stopped the assault and escorted him away from his family towards the front of the plane, where they gave him a cup of water and tried to calm him down. Alexander Langhorn, prosecuting, said that the aircraft from Manchester was carrying 214 passengers, plus crew, on the two and a half hour flight. Langhorn added that despite being taken to the front of the aircraft, Rafiq continued shaking and being emotional, while acting in a strange manner. Appearing at the court, Rafiq pleaded guilty to negligently acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft or any person therein. Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court (above) heard that after being told to sit down, Rafiq returned to his seat in row 19, but then proceeded to grab his wife, put her in a headlock and start punching her WHAT IS BIPOLAR DISORDER? Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic depression, is a condition that affects your moods, which can swing from one extreme to another. If you have bipolar disorder, you may have periods or episodes of: 1. Depression where you feel very low and lethargic. 2. Mania where you feel very high and overactive (less severe mania is known as hypomania). Source: NHS Advertisement Phillip Boyd, defending, said the 36-year-old had not been drinking but had suffered a mental breakdown during the flight, caused by pressure he was under from marital problems and attempting to build up work as a consultant following the sale of his business. He has since been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is receiving treatment. Mr Boyd said Rafiq, who has now separated from his wife, had behaved in an extremely bizarre way on the aircraft. Speaking to the court, he said: 'It would have caused very considerable fear among the other passengers.' Boyd added that Rafiq is now remorseful and embarrassed about the incident and has taken steps to improve his mental health. Sentencing Rafiq to a conditional discharge for three years, Judge Bernard Lever described it as a 'sad case'. Judge Lever said: 'Unlike so many of the air rage cases we hear in this court you hadn't had a single drop of drink.' 'You completely flipped on the plane and you caused a great deal of concern to the crew and the passengers. 'You should know the court almost always takes a very, very serious view of outlandish behaviour on planes. Mercifully nobody was hurt and I think it is inappropriate to give you an immediate custodial sentence.' Judge Lever also banned Rafiq from flying again until he can produce a written medical report stating there is no risk of him repeating the conduct he exhibited on the Faro flight. Witnesses said Fariq was 'raging' and had 'anger in his face' after he became aggressive and barged past crew who were trying to serve passengers (stock photo) He closed the case by stating: 'The duty of the court to protect the public in the air cannot be overstated. Speaking to MailOnline Travel, a Monarch spokesperson said: The safety of all on board is our primary concern. We would like to thank the crew and customers who assisted them. Monarch train crew to manage a variety of situations on board even though incidents such as this are very rare. Holidays provide the perfect opportunity to stock up on tales to make friends and family jealous, with many returning from trips boasting a tan and an armload of stories about moonlit beach walks, local markets and mouthwatering breakfasts. In fact, travellers are often so keen to impress loved ones with their exotic adventures that they gloss over the less attractive aspects of their stays, such as rude locals and dirty tourist attractions. But seasoned holidaymakers are now sharing some of their worst experiences from specific destinations around the world to warn other tourists who might be planning a visit. The rural Bosnian countryside running along Mostar to Sarajevo Train Line is beautiful, but a recent visitor to the country has claimed the country also has a rubbish problem (stock image) In a Reddit thread, hundreds of travellers have finally disclosed the worst holiday secrets they kept when returning home in a bid to keep their vacation tales positive. One of the most commonplace secrets among tourists is how dirty the place they visited was, with Egypt, India, China and Vietnam all receiving criticism for the amount of rubbish on their streets. One user called usthcd said: 'Bosnia is full of trash. I love that country, but damn, is it littered. 'If you're hiking in the countryside and you see a small lovely path, don't take it, it leads to a dump. Almost every village has one.' Hawaii is a popular destination for tourists wanting an exotic vacation, but one tourist has revealed they were shocked at the number of homeless people on the island (stock image) A user called Sslaaitch added: 'India was spectacularly bad on this front. 'At one point I asked our tour guide if he knew the location of a trash can and he responded with "I'll take care of that," and threw an empty water bottle over the wall into someone's front yard - 20 metres from a UNESCO heritage site.' Tourists have been sharing their worst travel experiences online (stock image) Rubbish wasn't the only issue for people when touring city streets, many also had problems with the number of homeless people in certain countries, with tourists particularly surprised with the scale of the issue when visiting the United States. One user called TimberBucket said one of the aspects of his trip to Hawaii that he always failed to mention when recounting his holiday was: 'The amount of homeless people sitting in those little pergola areas in Waikiki, Hawaii.' Reddit user Ragsoftime added: 'Did a tour of the West Coast of the US and loved almost all of it, but was really shocked by the homeless population in San Francisco. 'The first thing I saw leaving my hotel was a guy smoking crack on the street at 4 in the afternoon. Not many people seem to know about it outside the US.' For some, the rudeness of the locals the encountered managed to ruin their holiday experience, like Reddit user Kaspium, who struggled with the shopkeepers in Paris. Kaspium said: As a general rule, I enjoyed my visit to Paris, however I did have a couple of times when I'd visit a shop and the workers would just be d**** to me. 'I speak French ok, but I'm a bit slow, and I'd try to talk in French and the shopkeepers would basically laugh in my face/talk about me to each other when I was standing in front of them.' Paris is a great location for a city break, but one recent visitor has complained that the shopkeepers were extremely rude (stock image) For others, the levels of crime they encountered in foreign countries tainted their trip so much that they refused to talk about it on their return. One man called W00glesaid: 'In Amsterdam, even the guy who mugged me spoke excellent English.' Another tourist called TheScandinadian said of their trip to Israel: 'I generally tell my stories, because I want to share what the experience is really like and help other travellers make safe decisions. 'That said, my parents will never know that I got robbed in Jerusalem. I still love the city but I was definitely on my guard for the rest of the visit. I just don't want them to think less of me.' A Reddit user has revealed he was so ashamed about being mugged in Jerusalem that he kept the incident a secret from his family (stock image) Many others professed to being shocked by the sex tourism that went on in Eastern European and Asian countries when they visited, including afellowinfidel, who said: 'I was offered underage sex in SE Asia. Way underage. 'It's depressingly common, and many North American and European paedophiles come here for that reason.' For others, the seedy underbelly of the places they visited left permanent scars, including one female tourists who was the victim of a sex attack in Peru. The user, called selfishevents said:'I was raped by my taxi driver who knew I was solely in that country to volunteer in the hospitals. 'Cops treated me like s*** and told me the bruises on my neck were love marks, that if I tested positive for any drugs I would be charged because surely I put the drugs in my system knowingly, and that I was just a stupid American who was embarrassed by her fling. 'I just tell people that there was a mix up at the airport is why I came back early. And just talk about the poverty and stuff.' A visitor to Peru has told how she was raped by a taxi driver and was so traumatised by the attack that she lied about why she came home from the trip early (stock image) One man was so traumatised by his near-death experience when visiting China that he even kept the story secret from his closest family. His child Hellknightx said: 'When my father came back from a business trip in China, he had a broken leg. He told us that he had slipped on some stairs. It was only many years later that I found out the Chinese military police had thrown him off a bridge and left him for dead. and incinerated in accordance with the law A man was caught attempting to bring a AUD$500 (250) live lobster through an airport - by packing it in his luggage. The traveller, who had arrived at Ningbo Airport in southern China after a holiday in Australia, was stopped by custom officials when a police dog sniffed out the large styrofoam box on the conveyor belt, local media reported. Upon inspection, security guards discovered a live 7-pound lobster packed in sawdust. A shellfish transported into China was confiscated by airport staff after the man was informed that bringing live animals into China is restricted due to concerns about disease According to The Epoch Times, the man had paid $500 for the lobster and was planning on taking it home for dinner with friends and family. The shellfish was confiscated by airport staff after the man was informed that transporting live animals into China is restricted due to concerns about disease. After a 'high pressure sterilisation', the lobster was incinerated in accordance with the law. According to the South China Morning Post, customs officials in Ningbo said it was the first time they had found a live lobster in a passengers luggage. After a 'high pressure sterilisation', the lobster was incinerated in accordance with the law In January, MailOnline Travel covered an incident which saw a man arrested after attempting to smuggle nine live birds hidden in a bum bag through airport customs. The passenger, who arrived at Miami International Airport on a flight from Havana, Cuba, was randomly selected by security for an inspection. During the examination, officers discovered six small birds concealed in tubes in the waist bag, and a further three hidden in his groin area. An Icelandic budget carrier has named one of its hot pink planes TF-GAY in support of LGBT rights. WOW Air said it will use the new Airbus A330-300 on its Reykjavik-San Francisco route when service begins in June. The Reykjavik-based airline has given a number of playful registration names to its planes, including TF-MOM, which flies to Berlin, and TF-BRO, which is used on a route to Paris. WOW Air said the plane with the registration name TF-GAY will fly to San Francisco (pictured: TF-MOM) WOW Air chose TF-GAY for its San Francisco flights in a nod to the Californian citys role in the LGBT rights movement. The City by the Bay has been a hotbed of activism for decades and was declared the gay capital of the US by Life magazine in the 1960s. WOW Air CEO Skuli Mogensen told GayIceland.is: WOW Air is an airline for the people and one of our most important goals is to lower fares in order to enable everybody to travel the world and get to know different cultures. We wholeheartedly support queer peoples fight for rights. Just as we support equal rights for everybody, no matter their gender, religion, ethnicity or culture. WOW Air chose TF-GAY as a nod to San Francisco's important role in the LGBT rights movement Mogensen revealed that the TF-GAY registration number was suggested by one of the airlines pilots. He said: I immediately thought it was a great idea and fitted with our approach to using words relating to family members in the spirit of inclusiveness. We think TF-GAY fits right in with our modern family concept. The airline already flies to nearly two dozen destinations in Europe and North America, including London, New York and Montreal. In survey, 11.5 per cent of women said someone on their hen do strayed One in four men admit someone in their stag party cheated on a partner Getting married is supposed to be one of the romantic times in a man or woman's life, when they commit to a lifetime together. But it is also a risky business, thanks to the boozy hen and stag parties that happen ahead of the big day - with men far more likely to stray while celebrating the final stretch than women. A new British study has revealed that men are twice as likely to cheat on their partner whilst on a stag do, than women on a hen do. Men are twice as likely to cheat on their partner whilst on a stag do, than women on a hen do (stock image) According to the survey, a quarter (24.9 per cent) of men questioned admitted that someone in their stag party had cheated on their other half whilst celebrating. Meanwhile, 11.5 per cent of women questioned revealed that someone in their hen do had cheated. On top of this, men were also more likely to come back from the celebrations with empty pockets. The survey carried out by Last Night of Freedom revealed that over the last year, stags were twice as likely to spend over 100 on their parties in 2015 as the hens. As well as a risk of cheating and excessive spending, stag and hen dos often result in fights between members of the group. Daytime drinking, lack of sleep and strangers spending 24 hours a day together also mean that tensions often run high. In a survey, just over one in ten women admitted that someone in their hen party had cheated on a partner Just this weekend, it was reported that a British stag party forced a Ryanair flight to make an unscheduled landing in Berlin after two members of the party started a brawl mid-flight. Two members of the 12-man group, led by groom-to-be Joshua Mariner, 26, fought and traded insults on the flight from London to Bratislava, Slovakia. Today, it has been revealed that the two men had both previously dated the same young woman from their home in Southampton. Tom Doyle, 25, laid into 28-year-old Jamie Stoop over a twin named locally as 25-year-old Jeri White,The Sun reports. It's the perfect opportunity to show off individual style and wear the most dramatic of outfits. But Australian actress Rebel Wilson opted for a safe and simple style in a black wrap dress to attend the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party, in Los Angeles on Sunday night. The 35-year-old How To Be Single star covered up in the modest dress but elegant ensemble, although the outfit did boast a thigh high split, flashing just a slither of her flesh. See Oscars updates as Rebel Wilson swoons over DiCaprio at Vanity Fair Oscars after party Safe bet: Rebel Wilson opted for a simple but chic black dress as she stepped out onto the red carpet at the Vanity Fair Oscar after party in Los Angeles on Sunday night The garment nipped Rebel in at her waist and the wrap detail boasted thin sections of sequinned detailing for an added element of interest. Rebel kept her hair down for the evening, showing off a loose wave in her blonde locks. The Pitch Perfect 2 starlet opted for simple make-up for the evening with a slight smokey eye, apricot cheeks and a nude lip colour. Swoon: The actress was seen smiling at Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio and along with this snap she tweeted 'Love you Leo X' All smiles! The Australian actress appeared to be sharing a joke with Leonardo a the glitzy party Dramatic: The comedic actress's floor-length frock was bejewelled with glittering panels around the torso, while a peek of leg was visible thanks to the skirt's dramatic thigh-high split While Rebel didn't attend the award ceremony, as just nominees their guests and presenters are invited, she joined the cream of Hollywood at the glitzy awards bash. In fact Rebel enjoyed her very own own moment with man of the evening Leonardo DiCaprio, who finally scooped an Oscar for Best Actor. In two snaps posted to her Instagram page Rebel is seen laughing and joking with the actor at the glitzy awards bash. Primped: Rebel, who shunned jewellery and nail polish for the occasion, left her blonde locks to hang loosely around her shoulders in tousled waves Peachy keen! She kept her makeup neutral with a peach blush, brown lipstick and bronze eye shadow Along with the first snap she wrote: 'Love you Leo X' On Sunday night Leonardo finally won his first Oscar for his performance in The Revenant on Sunday night, after four previous unsuccessful Best actor nominations. Earlier in the evening Rebel had seized the opportunity to promote her own flick tweeting: 'As we're celebrating the whole movie industry tonight, I'm also celebrating HOW TO BE SINGLE hitting $75 million at the box office today!' Emily Ratajkowski took the opportunity to showcase her sensational figure in not one, but two stunning outfits on Sunday night. The busty model put on a leggy display at Elton Johns Oscar viewing party before she oozed sex appeal in a sheer gown for the famous Vanity Fair after party. Emily, 24, wowed the crowd at the Vanity Fair bash in a sexy strapless black wool bustier bodysuit paired with an Italian embroidered sheer tulle skirt by Australian designer Steven Khalil. Scroll down for video Double the fashion: Emily Ratajkowski took the opportunity to showcase her sensational figure in not one, but two stunning outfits on Sunday night The dress perfectly displayed her ample assets and slender figure, while eyes were immediately drawn to her enviable legs due to the sheer skirt. Accessorising with a satin Tyler Alexandra clutch and a delicate diamond necklace, the brunette beauty wore her locks in light waves while she let her emphasised her natural beauty with soft make-up. Emily began her evening in a figure-hugging single sleeve dress which showcased her model legs thanks to a high cut asymmetric hem at 24th annual Elton John AIDS Foundations Oscar viewing party in West Hollywood. See full coverage of the Oscars 2016 with more of the latest news and red carpet pictures Va-va-voom: The busty model oozed glamour in a bodysuit and sheer tulle skirt by Steven Khalil for the famous Vanity Fair after party Turning heads: The 24-year-old wowed the crowd at the Vanity Fair bash in a sexy strapless corset-style ensemble by the Australian designer, whose couture pieces start from AUD15,000 Simply stunning: The brunette beauty wore her locks in light waves while she let her emphasised her natural beauty with soft make-up The red dress featured a gold belt around the waist while Emily added height to the look with strappy gold heels. Emily accessorised with a matching clutch bag and large drop earrings and was sure to pose up a storm for the cameras. While she aspires to act, she infamously made her debut topless in Robin Thicke's extremely raunchy Blurred Lines music video released back in 2013. Picture perfect: The dress perfectly displayed her ample assets and slender figure, while eyes were immediately drawn to her enviable legs due to the sheer skirt Strike a pose: Emily began her evening in a figure-hugging single sleeve dress which showcased her model legs thanks to a high cut asymmetric hem at 24th annual Elton John AIDS Foundations Oscar viewing party Emily has since starred in Gone Girl alongside Ben Affleck and more recently We Are Your Friend opposite Zac Efron. She's due to film 1980's romance movie Cruise alongside Spencer Boldman. In a recent article she wrote for Lennyletter.com, the actress recalled her struggle to deal with how others viewed her body as she revealed that during her youth her father would lovingly refer to me as a "baby woman." 'And that's what I was: a 12-year-old with D-cup breasts. Looking good: The red dress featured a gold belt around the waist while Emily added height to the look with strappy gold heels Look back at it: Emily accessorised with a matching clutch bag and large drop earrings and was sure to pose up a storm for the cameras Prior to the Sunday, Feb. 21 paper, there had been about a two-month lull in Thomas Hanleys letters to the editor. Reason being, it took him two full months to come up with enough material for a letter that didnt mention President Bushs name. He did however manage to lump all Republicans into the mysteriously non-existent bucket of hate that liberals have been creating and expanding upon for years. You know, that bucket where magically all Republicans and/or conservatives are racist, misogynistic bigots. By focusing on only one of still five candidates left, Mr. Hanley fails to mention that there is also an African American, two Hispanics, and a compassionate conservative running for president on the GOP side. Amazing right? The difference in diversity between the two parties is astounding. And I believe the worst nightmare for people like Tom is likely to come to fruition. Though Trump has the most delegates to this point and is leading in most upcoming states, the inevitability of the field narrowing will bring about consolidated support of the 65 percent or so Republican voters that do not want Donald Trump. And I still believe in what I said four years ago, that Marco Rubio will be the Republican nominee when the dust settles. This is where the aforementioned nightmare for the Democrats and likely nominee Hillary Clinton begins. Take a long look at the now famous picture of Marco Rubio on stage at a rally in South Carolina standing next to an Indian American female governor in Nikki Haley, one of only two African American senators in Tim Scott, and future felon Hillary Clintons arch-nemesis Trey Gowdy. This could very well be the next administration with Haley on everyones short list for VP, Scott a beloved and well-respected senator, and Gowdy who I would think a shoo-in for attorney general. So the question is, how would liberals like Tom or Hillary spin such an administration? How could Democrats keep up the dirty politics of painting Republicans anti-woman and racist bigots? How would the phony war on women tactic continue to work? And despite every socio and economic indicator relating to African Americans being in decline over the past seven years, how would the typical rhetoric of Democrats labeling Republicans racist continue to be a go-to? It wouldnt. And in all actuality, it never should have in the first place. When the policy debate is lost, personal attacks ensue, and thats how Democrats have become the true party of intolerance. Jeff Wolford Sennett As red carpet debuts go it really doesn't get much bigger, but Edwina Bartholomew appeared to lose her composure upon catching sight of Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence at the 88th annual Academy Awards on Sunday evening. The newest addition to the Sunrise presenting team was heard screeching at the Oscar winner as she made her way towards The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles ahead of the prestigious ceremony. Her voice rising to a shrill scream, Edwina, 32, sounded more like a star-struck fan while pleading for attention from the actress as she breezed past. Scroll down for video Excited: As red carpet debuts go it really doesn't get much bigger, but Edwina Bartholomew appeared to lose her composure upon catching sight of Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence at the 88th annual Academy Awards on Sunday evening 'Jennifer, wave to Australia!' she yelled off-camera. 'Wave to Australia - PLEEASE!' While the American star did offer a good natured wave in the direction of those gathered in the press pit, it did not appear to be aimed at hapless Edwina, who later conceded Jennifer 'almost' looked in their direction. The following day Edwina described her efforts as 'desperate', telling the Kyle and Jackie O show how the event's biggest stars shuttled down an 'express lane' to avoid being interviewed. Host Jackie 'O' Henderson asked whether she had noticed the section of the red carpet which was reserved for the biggest names and if it made the process difficult. Responding jokingly, Edwina said: 'It got desperate,' before mimicking herself shouting: 'Jennifer, Jennifer! Please, please!'. The former weather girl was making her first red carpet appearance at the Oscars after being named as the fifth member of the Sunrise presenting team earlier this month. See full coverage of the Oscars 2016 with more of the latest news and red carpet pictures Did someone call me? While the American star did offer a good natured wave in the direction of those gathered in the press pit, it did not appear to be aimed at hapless Edwina She caught the eye on the day in a sweeping blue evening dress from Australian designer Rachel Gilbert, but its unusual embellishment prompted some ribbing from followers after she posted a snap of herself on Instagram and Facebook. One Instagram user asked: 'Nice but why is there a uterus on your dress?' Another follower wrote: 'Your face and body are to die for.... But, sorry, the thing on the dress looks like a part of a female anatomy. I know I am not the only person thinking this....' Never mind: Edwina, who later conceded that Jennifer 'almost' looked in her direction as she breezed past The presenter ensured her dress commanded attention by selecting her make-up from a natural colour palette, while her hair was equally understated and maintained with a simple side parting. Captioning a pre-event shot, in which she is surrounded by a gathering of tuxedo clad colleagues, she wrote: 'Heeeey boys. We are LIVE from the Oscars red carpet. Thank you @rachelgilbertau for my sparkly frock.' On a night dominated by the ongoing diversity row there were six wins for Australian thriller Mad Max: Fury Road. George Miller's post-apocalyptic picked up awards for Best Costume Design, Production Design, Make-up and Hairstyling, Film Editing, Sound Mixing and Editing. Elsewhere Spotlight won the award for Best Picture, while Leonardo DiCaprio picked up a well deserved Best Actor award for his role as fur trapper Hugh Glass in The Revenant. She has embarked on a mammoth tour with her Georgie Shore castmates in Australia. And it appears as if her busy schedule has finally taken its toll, as Charlotte Crosby looked rather sleepy as she strolled through Perth Airport following a long-haul jaunt in the city, on Monday afternoon. The 25-year-old, however, managed to cut a relatively stylish figure, flashing her lean and slender limbs underneath a comfy knitted hoodie. Scroll down for video Travelling taking its toll? Charlotte Crosby looked rather sleepy as she strolled through Perth Airport following a long-haul jaunt in the city, on Monday afternoon Her toned figure was partially covered but her sculpted legs were on full display. She finished off her relaxed aesthetic with plain white trainers and a large black designer holdall, carried in her hand. With her golden-tinted tresses swept into a carefree ponytail, Charlotte allowed her natural beauty to shine through with subtle tones of makeup. Keeping her cool: The 25-year-old, however, managed to cut a relatively stylish figure in a grey-knitted hoodie Earlier on in the week, the reality TV star tweeted her excitement about her promotional duties, where she excitedly gushed: 1 week left in Australia! It's flown over! Last stops Sydney and Melbourne and then HOME next Sunday to my little doggy. During her stay Down Under, the MTV favourite has been relishing the moments she has spent with on/off beau and fellow co-star Gary Beadle, who recently sent her a huge bunch of roses. In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail Australia, Charlotte explained: 'We're getting on very well,' when asked about their unique relationship. '1 week left in Australia! It's flown over!': Earlier on in the week, the reality TV star tweeted her excitement about her promotional duties She added: 'It was always just kinda of a sex thing, although I obviously wanted it to be more and then weve grown up so much now that I cant even explain it but something is different now, something is really different I think weve both matured.' Alongside her relationship status with Gary, the former Celebrity Big Brother winner has been focusing greatly on her Geordie Shore promotional duties as series 12 prepares to launch. The new season of the popular show will air on March 15, and will also feature two new faces, Chantelle Connelly and Marty McKenna. 'We're getting on very well': During her stay Down Under, the MTV favourite has been relishing the moments she has spent with on/off beau and fellow co-star Gary Beadle, who recently sent her a huge bunch of roses They tied the knot six months ago and on Monday Ronan Keating and Storm Uechritz were spotted in Sydney together for the first time since becoming man and wife. While enjoying a romantic date night in Bondi the pair were spotted breaking into laughter after witnessing a female tumbling and falling into a nearby gutter. As the pair continued to walk past, they were seen looking back multiple times to re-evaluated the incident. Scroll down for video Out and about: Ronan Keating and wife Storm Uechritz enjoyed a night out in Sydney on Monday for the first time since becoming man and wife But besides the series of unfortunate events the duo never failed to move their arms from each other. As they strolled the quiet streets of Bondi they both showed off large smiles for onlookers while wrapping their arms around each other's waists. For the romantic date night Ronan, 38, displayed his muscular torso as he dressed in a simple blue T-shirt which showed his colourful bicep tattoos. He teamed the garment with a pair of dark denim jeans and a pair of tanned suede boots. Poker face: During their romantic date night the pair witnessed a female tumbling and then falling into a nearby gutter, but maintained straight faces as they strolled past Something funny? While the unknown individual was attended to by another female, Ronan and Storm later burst into fits of laughter Observing: As they walked past the incident they glared to access the scenario His TV producer wife matched his casual look as she too slipped her long toned legs into a pair of denim skinny jeans. Storm, 34, added a pink button-up shirt to her attire along with a beige jumper which she rested over the top of her shoulders. While showing off her natural beauty with a nude-themed makeup, the model wore her long luscious blonde hair out and parted down the middle. This is the first time the happily married couple have returned to Australia since marrying in Scotland last August. Ronan, who is currently Down Under filming The Voice, met Storm on the set of Australia's X Factor when he worked as a judge on the TV talent show. Down Under: The pair's visit to Australia is the first since they said their 'I Dos' on Scotland last August The pair began dating shortly after their marriage breakdown from their respective partners - Ronan from Yvonne Keating and Storm from Sydney financial director Tim Ivers. Last month Ronan - already a dad to Jack, 16, Missy, 14, and Ali, 10 from his first marriage to Yvonne - revealed he was keen for the couple to have children of their own. When pressed on whether he would like to be a dad again, he told Jonathan Ross on his chat show: 'Yes maybe yes, Id love to, well see how it goes. Wed love to, wed love to, itd be smashing.' While talking about Storm, the musician revealed his 'emotional' proposal involved the rest of the family. Can't keep their hands to themselves: But besides the series of unfortunate events the duo never failed to remove their arms from each other Every bit loved up: During their date night they looked every bit loved up as they wrapped their arms around each other's waists He explained that his children were in on the news and gathered alongside him as he dropped to one knee to pop the question. 'You very much involve them,' he said about his kids. 'Its a big deal because Storm isnt just marrying me, shes marrying the four of us as such so it was very special'. He added: 'The four of us asked Storm to marry us which was amazing it was a really beautiful moment and very emotional It was very special. It meant a lot to all of us.' Their budding rollercoaster romance has been hitting headlines since they first kissed in the Celebrity Big Brother house. But following a series of ups and downs, which culminated in a 24-hour split, Stephanie Davis has revealed the back story to her surprise separation and reconciliation with Jeremy McConnell. Candidly discussing her brief break-up with the 26-year-old model, the actress, 22, told OK! magazine that he won her back by revealing he 'couldn't live without' her in his life. Scroll down for video Jeremy told me that he loved me and couldnt live without me': Following their 24-hour split, Stephanie Davis has revealed the back story to her surprise separation and romantic reconciliation with Jeremy McConnell Stephanie - who first found fame on Channel 4's Hollyoaks - explained their row and Jeremy's subsequent confession sprung from the couple's inability to spend time apart. She explained how the situation unfolded, describing herself as being in a highly emotional states, saying: I was in floods of tears for two days in my hotel room. Weve been living in each others pockets. We literally cant be without each other; its ridiculous. In a good way, obviously. 'We literally cant be without each other; its ridiculous': Candidly discussing her brief break-up with the model, 26, she told OK! magazine that he won her back by revealing he 'couldn't live without' her in his life However the actress - who began a romance on TV with Jeremy whilst still officially in a relationship with model Sam Reece - revealed it was Jeremy's romantic pledge which saved their romance. Describing the turn in their fortunes after the initial split, she said: Jeremy told me that he loved me and couldnt live without me. We decided to put it all behind us and give things another go. But rather than question how easily their romance could be shaken, she went on to assert: The whole situation made me more sure than ever that Jeremy is the one for me - I know now that I cant be without him. 'I know now that I cant be without him': Rather than question how easily their romance could be shaken, she went on to assert that she was more sure than ever that they were right for one another And with their romance firmly back on track, the actress and reality star revealed that the pair are set to make their romance more than skin-deep, as they've booked in to get matching tattoos. Were booked in to get new tattoos this week in Dublin,' the Merseyside-native said. 'Were getting the Oasis lyric: "Maybe youre the same as me, we see things theyll never see".' And while some might well scoff at the idea, given the couple only met in January, she defended the permanent act, explaining: It really represents everything we went through in the Big Brother house. Jeremys going to get it around his leg and I might get it on my arm. Im going to get his name, too. Passionate: On Sunday she launched a passionate defence of their romance on social media following a wave of criticism, and advised people if they 'Don't like it. Lump it' And while the couple have faced many withering comments about their behaviour, the feisty actress showed that she won't take any abuse aimed at her man lying down. Read all about it: Catch Stephanie interview in full in this week's OK! Magazine - out Tuesday March 1 As an irate Stephanie hit back at the love-birds' naysayers on Sunday in a furious Twitter outburst. Venting her fury on social media, she sniped: 'We've all been through our past ups and down.' And with some comments regarding the couple clearly getting to her, the enraged actress shared her opinion on Twitter, advising people if they 'Don't like it. Lump it'. The tweets - which were quickly deleted from Stephanie's account - took aim at the negative opinions that have come about through the couple's erratic behaviour - with them allegedly having split-up for an evening before quickly reuniting. However clearly feeling defensive towards her relationship and new beau, 26, the outspoken former Hollyoaks actress hit back at their critics. She wrote: 'I'll not have anyone slag jezz of! So get of my time line if you do! We've all been through our own past ups and down. But I don't need the Negativity [sic].' The fiery Merseyside native added cryptically: 'Whatever happened between us is our business. I fell in (love) with someone on TV yes & that's the way it is. Don't like it. Lump it [sic].' Read Stephanie candid interview in full in this week's OK! Magazine - out Tuesday March 1. She just spent time with her American grandparents in Oregon. And after getting in touch with some of her family roots, Bindi Irwin looked happy to be back home in Australia as she touched down in Brisbane with brother Robert 'Bob' Irwin and mum Terri. The 17-year-old was beaming as she strolled through the airport on Monday with her famous family by her side. Scroll down for videos Carefree and confident: Bindi Irwin appeared to be in good spirits as she strolled through Brisbane airport on Monday after spending time with her American grandparents in Oregon The Dancing With The Stars winner swapped her iconic khaki ensembles for a pair of comfortable ripped jeans and suede ankle boots. The talented teen sported a black T-shirt under a comfortable black jacket and wore a cute sparkly necklace for a touch of bling. Her brown locks were tied in a youthful side-pony and she carried a khaki bag to store her valuables. All smiles! The 17-year-old was beaming in a pair of ripped jeans and a casual black T-shirt and jacket Brother Robert sported a typical Irwin ensemble of khaki cargo shorts and a matching t-shirt with an animal print on front, while 51-year-old Terri showcased her support for Australia by wearing a promotional T-shirt for Russell Crowe's film The Water Diviner. The trio were just in Oregon visiting Terri's parents, Judy and Clarence. Despite having a happy relationship with their American grandparents, Bindi and Robert are estranged from their paternal grandfather on their late dad Steve's side, Bob Irwin. Typical: Brother Robert wore a trademark Irwin ensemble of matching Khaki shorts and shirt Supporting Australia: American-born Terri Irwin showed her support for Australia by sporting a promotional T-shirt for Russell Crowe's film The Water Diviner The 17-year old spoke out following reports of an increasingly strained relationship with Bob, who has previously reflected on his struggle to cope after son Steve Irwin was fatally struck by a stingray in 2006. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at the 5th annual AACTA Awards in December, Bindi claims her grandfather became reclusive in the years following his death. 'Everyone deals with grief differently,' she said. 'When my dad passed away he chose to distance himself from everything that dad loved the most. 'When my dad passed away he chose to distance himself from everything that dad loved the most:' Bindi previously revealed to Daily Mail Australia that she's not on good terms with her late dad's father Bob 'At the moment were really just respecting his wishes because he hasnt had anything to do with us for a long time and he decided his own path. Thats important so good for him.' Bindi claims her grandfather, who still operates the Bob Irwin Wildlife & Conservation Foundation having retired from Australia Zoo in 1992, has even rejected well meaning gifts from the family. 'There was one year where we sent birthday presents to him and he opened them up and he sent them back,' she recalled. 'With things like that you realise that people need to deal with grief how they need to deal with grief and as long as it doesnt hurt yourself or hurt those around you then thats the way to go.' 'At the moment were really just respecting his wishes because he hasnt had anything to do with us for a long time and he decided his own path,' Bindi confessed She strutted her stuff in a glamorous gown at the Vanity Fair post-Oscars party on Sunday. And Michelle Rodriguez wasted no time on Monday in making a fast and non-furious escape from Los Angeles as she was spotted at LAX. The 37-year-old actress kept it casual as she jetted off make-up free, transformed from her glitzy outfit the night before. Scroll down for video Morning after: Michelle Rodriguez wasted no time on Monday in making a fast and non-furious escape from Los Angeles as she was spotted at LAX Perhaps after pulling a late night and early morning, the Fast and Furious star sported dark glasses, despite it not being the sunniest of California days. She showed off her toned figure in skin tight tan leather trousers, which clung to every curve. A cosy cream and grey hoodie kept the star warm and she kicked off her high heels in favour of flat-soled chunky boots. Night out: She strutted her stuff in a glamorous gown at the Vanity Fair post-Oscars party on Sunday but was considerably more relaxed the following day Her brunette tresses were left loose but a little flat and unkempt - she had sported a tight up-do just hours before. The beauty showed off her flawless skin without any traces of make-up - although she had run into criticism for her understated look on the red carpet at the exclusive party hosted by Graydon Carter in Beverly Hills. Her next big screen role sees Michelle take on a hitwoman who was double crossed by gangsters and has had her gender deliberately reassigned from male to female. Happy days: Perhaps after pulling a late night and early morning, the Fast and Furious star sported dark glasses, despite it not being the sunniest of California days Sprayed on: She showed off her toned figure in skin tight tan leather trousers, which clung to every curve. Tomboy, A Revenger's Tale is slated for release in 2017 and it indulges her unique beauty with brawn qualities. Michelle also has confirmed her part in the upcoming eighth film in the Fast & Furious franchise. It will be the first installment in the popular franchise since they lost original castmember Paul Walker in a car accident. British costume designer Jenny Beavan wore M&S jeans and a fake leather jacket as she collected her second Academy Award, just weeks after Stephen Fry quipped that she looked like a 'bag lady' The red carpet at the Oscars is normally where the stars show off gowns designed by the likes of Versace, Vera Wang or Ralph Lauren. Marks and Spencer's jeans and fake leather jackets, on the other hand, are less commonly given an outing at the world's most glamorous award ceremony. But this was the outfit chosen by British costume designer Jenny Beavan as she collected her second Academy Award, 30 years after her first and just weeks after Stephen Fry quipped that she looked like a 'bag lady' for her scruffy ensemble at the Baftas. Still, she remains unapologetic about her wardrobe choices and said that while she loves her job of dressing some of the world's most glamorous stars, she cannot stand the idea of getting dolled up herself. She told the Daily Mail: 'I promise you, I look ridiculous in a beautiful designer gown. A gown would simply unzip itself and run away from me. It really would'. Standing in the middle of the Governors Ball, tickets to which cost $1,500 (1,080), she looked a far cry from the actresses in their bespoke and expensive gowns. She was honoured at Sunday's ceremony for her work on Mad Max: Fury Road, for which she also won a Bafta. Beavan, 65, did not receive applause from many in the auditorium as she walked up to collect her award, including Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu who won the award for Best Director for The Revenant. Perhaps they did not realise she was the victor, given her less than formal attire. She later posed next to Cate Blanchett, who looked stunning in her Armani Prive gown. Blanchett was nominated for best actress for her portrayal of a lesbian in Carol but lost out to Brie Larson for her role in Room. Beavan, who received her first Oscar in 1986 for the Merchant Ivory film A Room With A View, sipped champagne and toyed with a striped scarf. She said: 'Now, this wasn't from M & S. This is an Egyptian scarf. I don't think I have any scarves from M & S. 'People who know me know that I've never really been into parties or dressing up. I look absolutely hideous in a gown of any kind and I don't do heels at all because of my bad back. 'I simply don't do frilly, pretty red carpet frocks. I like doing it to other people. I love dressing others and I know how to make them look beautiful onscreen but I have never been interested in that kind of look for myself'. See Oscars 2016 updates as winner Jenny Beavan says she 'looks hideous in a gown' British costume designer Jenny Beavan, 65, did not receive an applause from many in the Hollywood auditorium as she walked up to collect her Oscar award for Best Costume Design on Mad Max: Fury Road Ms Beavan (pictured receiving her Oscar from Cate Blanchett) said she chose to wear Marks and Spencer's jeans and a jacket because she 'looks absolutely hideous in a gown of any kind and doesn't do heels at all' She has worked on some of cinema's most successful period pictures, including The Bostonians, Howard's End, Sense and Sensibility, Gosford Park and The King's Speech. Her most recent film, A United Kingdom, with Rosamund Pike and David Oyelowo, which will be released in the Autumn. She has been nominated for an Oscar ten times and has won twice, with her other victory coming for A Room with a View in 1987. On why she hates to dress herself up, despite doing it to others for a living, she added: 'I've always been pretty rebellious and anarchic with my own free- wheeling style'. She explained that her Oscar night 'look' was inspired by the Immorton Joe character in Mad Max: Fury Road. In his honour, she added a Swarovski crystal emblem on the back. Beavan may seem eccentric but she possesses one of the sharpest creative minds in the business. She is in constant demand because of her knowledge of costume history, the politics of fashion and how to create outfits on budget, plus she often runs a department of scores of people. Beavan was married to theatre producer Ian Albery. She has one daughter Caitlin, a West End theatre producer and two step sons. She shares a rambling pile in South London which she calls The Asylum which she offers as a place of refuge to friends and to friends of her children. Ms Beavan's Oscar appearance comes just weeks after Stephen Fry referred to her as a 'bag lady' on Twitter She will keep her new Oscar statuette, a more muscular model than the one she won thirty years ago, in a little private room she calls her den. She said: 'I have my mother's 18th century oak desk in there and it's full of little trinkets including the first Oscar. This new Oscar can keep the old one company'. Beavan will travel back to London via the Hudson Valley in New York State where she will visit her former collaborator James Ivory, who gave her her first job in film. 'He wondered what an earth I was doing working on Mad Max after all the years working on the films that he and Ismail Merchant made,' she noted. Of Stephen Fry, Beavan said that the whole incident was overblown. 'He has been a friend for years and I knew he was joking. Everyone else but me took it seriously,' she explained. She was clearly enjoying this particular party. She was given another flute of champagne. On Monday night, Nova radio host Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli was less than impressed when his co-star Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald ditched him in the South African jungle on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! And it seems the 36-year-old is having a terrible time at the celebrity camp on his own, with the radio nice guy losing his temper during a challenge seen in a new teaser of Tuesday night's episode. The father of one can be seen having a hissy fit to the show's host Julia Morris, telling her: 'I'm f**king furious.' Scroll down for video Don't make him angry! Nova FM radio host Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli loses his temper on Tuesday night's episode of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! It's unclear exactly what Wippa is angry about in the clip, but he doesn't hold back when he vents his frustrations. 'I hear ya,' Julia says to the radio funnyman as his anger boils over. 'I'm f**king furious,' he says. 'I don't see why you wouldn't be,' she responds, before he repeats: 'I'm f**king furious.' 'I'm f**king furious': Wippa is seen losing his cool and talking to the show's co-host Julia Morris Not happy! It remains unclear as to what Wippa is so furious over The clip cuts in and out of a makeshift radio studio, where Wippa's Nova co-host Fitzy is seen chatting to Julia and her co-host Dr Chris Brown about what went down during the challenge. 'When he looked at me in the face and said this is not fair and this is not on, I'm instantly like, "absolutely!",' Julia tells Fitzy with a laugh. Meanwhile, Fitzy described the clip on the duo's Facebook page as 'awesome' ahead of the full episode on Tuesday night. Giving a run down: During the clip Julia and fellow shot host Dr Chris Brown are seen detailing the incident to Wippa's radio co-host Fitzy Meanwhile, during Monday night's episode, Fitzy and Wippa were dropped into the jungle and disguised themselves in an effort to sabotage camp mate Paul 'The Chief' Harrigan's tucker 'Screaming Headache' trial. The competition saw the sportsman put his head inside a perspex fish tank filled with catfish as he tried to complete a buzzwire maze. 'We will be controlling the buzzer. So even if he gets close to the end and thinks I've made it, gone. Buzzed out,' Wippa said, cheekily smiling at the camera. Fitzy and Wippa completed their mission without a hitch, successfully making Paul believe that his own incompetence was to blame for his failure to earn even one star. Naughty: During Monday night's episode, Fitzy and Wippa were dropped into the jungle and disguised themselves in an effort to sabotage camp mate Paul 'The Chief' Harrigan's tucker 'Screaming Headache' trial Is that you? The pair added fake noses and fake beards to their recognisable faces They eventually revealed their true identities to the campmates and were invited to stay for dinner with the celebrities. What Wippa didn't know is that he would be spending the entire night at the campsite while Fitzy headed back to his luxury hotel. Dashing off to the diary room during dinner, Fitzy confided to the camera: 'Over the years Wippa has stitched me up many a time. And this is my time to shine. So Michael John Wipley, this is a double stitch-up. We got chief the first time, you're the second.' Wippa soon realised that he had unknowingly joined the celebrity cast of the show thanks to a letter left by Fitzy and a video message from his wife, who was also in on the prank. 'It just dawned on me, the reality is that Lisa's in on it as well. Here's to a wild night in the jungle. I can't wait to be with the team. It's kind of like being captured by the enemy,' he said. Her last few feature films have been critical and commercial flops. But it looks like Nicole Kidman is making a serious comeback as a theatre actress after landing a prestigious Olivier Award nomination for her acclaimed performance in the West End play Photograph 51. The nomination comes just one week after the 48-year-old won Best Actress for the role at the WhatsOnStage awards. Scroll down for video Back on top! After a few box office flops, Nicole Kidman has found success on the stage after scoring a prestigious Olivier Award nomination for her role in Photograph 51 Nicole spent two months last year playing DNA researcher Rosalind Franklin in the play. She has already won a London Evening Standard Theatre Award for the role. The Olivier Awards are Britain's top theatre awards, with Oscar winner Mark Rylance and Benedict Cumberbatch among those nominated in different categories. Kidman has spoken in the past of how she took the role of Franklin in honour of her late father, Dr Antony Kidman, who was a research scientist. Winning! The 48-year-old has already won a London Evening Standard Theatre Award and a WhatsOnStage Award for the role Is that you Nicole? The talented actress made a total physical transformation to become the character She also admitted that she cried when the play came to an end after its two-month run. 'I have just loved it so much, that connection with an audience and I'm going to miss it,' she told the London Evening Standard. 'I was sobbing on Saturday night at the curtain call. I've said to Michael (Grandage - the director) "Don't make me wait another 17 years"' she added. It is her first stage performance since appearing in David Hare's The Blue Room in 1998. The Oliviers will take place on April 3 at the Royal Opera House, London. Honouring his memory: The starlet revealed that she took the role in honour of her late father, Dr Antony Kidman African-American host Chris Rock made non-stop jokes about racial prejudice as he presented the Oscars ceremont in California, writes BRIAN VINER The Oscar is an inflexible little statuette, yet it has always bent over backwards to accommodate any number of causes and campaigns, enabling actors and directors to pretend that they are setting political agendas. But has the self-importance of the Academy Awards ever scaled such towering heights as it did in Los Angeles on Sunday evening? From African-American host Chris Rock's non-stop jokes about racial prejudice, to Leonardo DiCaprio's dire warnings about global warming, to Spotlight producer Michael Sugar sending a message to Pope Francis about abusive priests, to Sam Smith's idiotic claim to be the first openly gay man ever anointed with an Oscar, it was as if all the sanctimonious posturing down the years had finally erupted in one vast explosion of self-regarding pomposity. And then there was Lady Gaga, performing her ballad Till It Happens To You, from a documentary about rape on university campuses. As she warbled away, dozens of grim-faced survivors of sexual abuse surrounded her white piano, and the entire auditorium rose as one, not only to applaud the song, but also, let's be frank, themselves, for being such elegantly-dressed standard-bearers for justice and decency. As far as any piece of theatre quite that contrived can be moving, it was. But the rush of luvvie adrenaline began almost immediately. 'These survivors. Wow. Floored by the courage. And beauty. And realness,' tweeted actress Kerry Washington. Realness? Who was she kidding? I love the Oscars, but practically everything about them is illusory, up to and including the idea that films as diverse as The Revenant, Spotlight, Brooklyn and Mad Max: Fury Road can honestly and reliably be compared. But then, ever since the Academy Awards began in 1929, there have been plenty of instances of Hollywood folk taking themselves far too seriously. Perhaps the most egregious example came in 1973, when Marlon Brando declined his Best Actor trophy for The Godfather, and instead sent his friend Sacheen Littlefeather, a civil rights activist, to deliver a speech about the mistreatment of Native Americans. Three years ago, Jared Leto used his acceptance speech as Best Supporting Actor for Dallas Buyers' Club to castigate Russian policies towards the Ukraine, as if all of Crimea were breathlessly following events in the Dolby Theatre. Of course, there's no doubt that tens of millions of people do watch the Academy Awards. Nor is there any doubt that actors and film-makers, for better or worse, are role models. And it's commendable that they use their influence to draw attention to evil and injustice, and not simply to their over-priced frocks and over-the-top rocks. But the Dolby Theatre stage is not a soapbox and there is a limit to how much lecturing we should be expected to take. The 88th Academy Awards greatly exceeded that limit, showcasing almost more causes than films. The irony was that these had been billed as the politically incorrect Oscars, following the apparent snubbing of black actors and directors the so-called #OscarsSoWhite controversy. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio (right) made dire warnings about global warming as he received his first Oscar award while singer Sam Smith (left) made an 'idiotic claim' to be the first openly gay man ever anointed with an Oscar From the start of Sunday's ceremony, it was apparent that practically everyone present was desperate to make amends, and to show that they weren't the ones to blame for overlooking black talent (even though rather a lot of them must have been). Hence the riotous laughter when Chris Rock quipped that if hosts had to be nominated he would never have got the gig. African-Americans didn't usually care about white talent being favoured, he said, because they were 'too busy being raped and lynched to care about who won Best Cinematographer'. The point was well made but he promptly overdid it with a variation of the same gag. 'You know, when your grandmother's swinging from a tree, it's really hard to care about Best Documentary Foreign Short.' OK, Chris. Enough already. If it was predictable that Rock would drag up the race row, it was an even deader cert that DiCaprio, in the odds-on event of him stepping up to receive a first Best Actor Oscar for his performance in The Revenant, would use his big moment to draw attention to his pet cause: the environment. 'Climate change is real, it's happening right now, it's the most urgent threat affecting our entire species,' he thundered, the camera briefly flitting to his friend Kate Winslet in the audience, filling up with actressy empathy and pride. Significantly, unlike everyone else who prattled on for too long, DiCaprio was not interrupted by the orchestra. But Leo at least comported himself with dignity. The same, alas, cannot be said for Britain's Sam Smith, who won Best Original Song for his Bond theme. Referring to the race row, Chris Rock quipped that if hosts had to be nominated he would not have got the gig Hollywood's homophobia was just as bad as its racism, he shrieked, implying that as a 'proud gay man' receiving an Oscar he was a brave pioneer, bursting through some sort of barrier of prejudice. Which was ridiculous. If there ever was a barrier, it was breached even before Smith was born. Moreover, Dustin Lance Black, the fiance of British diver Tom Daley, used his acceptance speech for his screenplay for Milk seven years ago to make a rather more eloquent speech about his struggles as a gay man, in the far more appropriate context of a film about Harvey Milk, a gay rights campaigner. Unfortunately, context doesn't seem to matter to these shrill luvvies. And even when they do find some sort of context, they are utterly shameless about promoting their own beliefs. Any notion of President Trump might be ghastly to many of us, but there are still millions of Americans who seem to believe in him, so what right did Adam McKay, director of The Big Short, have to bring his politics to the stage with him to receive his award for Best Adapted Screenplay? 'If you don't want big money to control government, don't vote for candidates that take money from big banks, oil or weirdo-billionaires,' he stormed, with all the smug security of a man preaching to the converted. " " The Model S is an all-electric sedan that Tesla Motors says "sets a new standard for premium performance." (Courtesy of Tesla Motors, Inc.) For gearheads, the news is dire: Young people aren't buying cars, they're buying smart phones. Detroit is bankrupt. Electric cars are creeping into the market share one silent percentage point at a time. You better keep that vintage Chevy El Camino with the big-block engine hidden under a tarp in the garage before the flame job police attempt to pry it from your cold, dead fingers, right? I mean, they already killed the Humvee. What's next? Twelve-cylinder Lamborghinis? These are sad days. But are they really? If history is any lesson (and it is), we're probably headed back to the good ol' days of the automobile. In the early 1900s vehicular propulsion was a free-for-all, with gasoline-, electric- and steam-powered cars all vying to be the most popular. Gasoline-powered cars went farther and faster; electric-powered cars were clean and touted as being safe for lady drivers; and steam cars, well, they had a readily available fuel source. In the big metropolises like New York City and Boston, the market was split roughly into thirds, depending on what people fancied and how they elected to use their newfangled automobile. Advertisement The same will likely be true in the near-ish future. The truth is, no one is going to take your El Camino away from you -- but even you have to admit that it's a gas hog. Collectors and automobile enthusiasts will likely stop commuting in their gas-powered toys and use them on weekends instead. After all, no one wants to pay more for fuel just to commute back and forth to work than they make in a day. People will probably take stock of their vehicle usage and then buy and drive accordingly. A lot of people will realize their range anxiety is nothing more than a phantom -- though not a Rolls-Royce Phantom, despite a recent experiment to electrify that luxury beast. So yeah, there'll definitely be more all-electric cars on the streets -- but not every car. At least, not until we get our nuclear-powered flying cars. Then all bets are off. Taylor Swift fans can now watch the pop diva's touching maid-of-honour speech from her BFF Britany Maack's wedding reception in Reading, PA on February 20. In the 11-minute video, the 26-year-old songstress donned matching Reem Acra gowns with her oldest, dearest friend as they excitedly danced and sang onstage the romantic festivities. 'My favorite accomplishment of my entire life is that everything in my life has changed except for me and Britany,' the 10-time Grammy winner told her gal pal. Scroll down for video Life-long friends: Taylor Swift fans can now watch the pop diva's touching maid-of-honour speech from her BFF Britany Maack's wedding reception in Reading, PA on February 20 'She was my partner in crime at Brownie's sleepaway camp and she was my date to the Grammys. And little did either of us know that prince charming for Britany would be the kid that sat next to me in class with a bowl cut and a Lego lunchbox.' Taylor - famed for her powerful girl squads - was referring to the groom, Benjamin LaManna, whom she's 'known since age 4.' 'He would chase her and pursue her through middle school and junior high and high school, and their paths would diverge, and then come back together,' the Bad Blood belter explained to the crowd. 'It would be so magically unpredictable, but at the same time, so incredibly fated just like the best love stories are.' See Taylor Swift updates as delivers touching maid-of-honour speech at BFF nuptials Letting loose! In the 11-minute video, the 26-year-old songstress donned matching Reem Acra gowns with her oldest, dearest friend as they excitedly danced and sang onstage the romantic festivities 'My favorite accomplishment of my entire life is that everything has changed except for me and Britany': The longtime blonde duo have literally known each other their entire lives, and they used to ride horses together The 10-time Grammy winner said: 'She was my partner in crime at Brownie's sleepaway camp and she was my date to the Grammys. And little did either of us know that prince charming for Britany would be the kid that sat next to me in class with a bowl cut and a Lego lunchbox' Is she next? Taylor did not appear to have brought her Scottish DJ beau Calvin Harris to the romantic ceremony, but the musical couple will celebrate their first anniversary next month The longtime blonde duo have literally known each other their entire lives, and they used to ride horses together in Pennsylvania. Taylor did not appear to have brought along her Scottish DJ beau Calvin Harris to the romantic ceremony, but the musical couple will celebrate their first anniversary next month. On Sunday, Swift attended the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in a plunging Alexandre Vauthier gown and gold Giuseppe Zanotti stilettos selected by her stylist Joseph Cassell Falconer. This time, the Shake It Off hitmaker opted to bring along New Zealand pop princess Lorde wearing a custom Monique Lhuillier gown. On February 19, Taylor announced to her combined 212.9M followers on social media that her seventh single off 1989 will be New Romantics. Leggy lady: On Sunday, Swift attended the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in a plunging Alexandre Vauthier gown and gold Giuseppe Zanotti stilettos selected by her stylist Joseph Cassell Falconer Popular: This time, the Shake It Off hitmaker opted to bring along New Zealand pop princess Lorde wearing a custom Monique Lhuillier gown (pictured Sunday) She's currently swapping the screen for the stage. And Laura Carmichael, 29, appeared to enjoy the gala night performance of The Maids, on Monday, if the smile on her face was anything to go by as she left Trafalgar Studios in London. The Downton Abbey actress changed into a plain black Altuzarra dress and covered it with a leather jacket as she accompanied her co-star Zawe Ashton, 31, out of the stage door and into a waiting car. Scroll down for video Pleased as punch: Laura Carmichael, 29, appeared to enjoy the gala night performance of The Maids, on Monday, if the smile on her face was anything to go by as she left Trafalgar Studios Laura, who played the lovable Lady Edith Crawley in the award-winning period drama, wore a modest pair of navy heels as she headed to an after-party with her co-stars Ashton and Orange is The New Black's Uzo Aduba, 35. She styled her blonde tresses in a middle parting and allowed her waves to rest on her shoulders, while her subtle make-up application was typical of the classy star. The trio already looked to be a tight unit in the early stages of the psychological thriller's three-month run. Close display: Laura wore a modest pair of navy heels as she headed to an after-party with her co-stars Zawe Ashton, 31, (left) and Orange is The New Black's Uzo Aduba, 35 (centre) All smiles: Laura wore her blonde tresses in a middle parting and allowed her waves to rest on her shoulders Dressed to impress: Aduba stood in the middle of the trio in a glamorous blue and white bandeau gown They were all smiles as they posed with their arms around each other. Aduba stood in the middle of the trio in a glamorous blue and white bandeau gown. Meanwhile, Ashton sported a striking ankle-length red dress with a racy leather top. The actress wore her hair pulled back into a bob ad posed seductively against an exposed brick wall. And it certainly looked like plenty of guests were expected to celebrate with the leading ladies if the number of wine glasses on display were anything to go by. Making an exit: The Downton Abbey actress changed into a plain black dress and covered it with a leather jacket as she accompanied Ashton out of the stage door and into a waiting car Back to the wall: The actress wore her hair pulled back into a bob ad posed seductively against an exposed brick wall Bold ensemble: Ashton wore a striking ankle-length red dress with a racy leather top They are best known for roles as kitchen maids in the hit period drama Downton Abbey. But Cara Theobold, 26, and Sophie McShera, 31, weren't restricted by the early 20th century attire of the award-winning programme when they attended The Maids gala night at Trafalgar Studios, Whitehall, London, on Monday. The actresses were far more radiant then their onscreen counterparts, especially Cara, who lit up the red carpet in a bold floral mini-dress. Lady in red: Cara Theobold, 26, wasn't restricted by the early 20th century attire she wore in Downton Abbey when she attended The Maids gala night at Trafalgar Studios, Whitehall, London, on Monday Stunning Cara, who played kitchen maid Ivy Stuart, wore her blonde tresses pulled back into a bun with loose tendrils framing her face. The beautiful blonde emitted a healthy glow as she smiled for the cameras. Her blue eyes were made more piercing by lashings of mascara, while her rosy cheeks and a slick of lipstick added to her cute look. Her dress boasted intricate patterning on its top half and three-quarter length sleeves to create an Oriental style. Quite the departure: The actress was far more radiant then her Downton character, kitchen maid Ivy Stuart, lighting up the red carpet in a bold floral mini-dress Blonde beauty: Stunning Cara wore her blonde tresses pulled back into a bun with loose tendrils framing her face Radiant: The actress emitted a healthy glow as she smiled for the cameras She held a black clutch and finished her look with a pair of black knee-high boots. Meanwhile, Sophie, who played Daisy Mason in the hit show, was a little bit more reserved but stylish nonetheless. She wore a cream and navy striped top tucked into a dark pair of jeans. To keep warm in the chilly night she wrapped up in a long grey knitted coat and finished the ensemble with some cream shoes. Her sleek brunette locks were styled straight and allowed to fall over her shoulders. She was all smiles as she posed for photographs and made her way into the venue. Classy ensemble: Sophie McShera, 31, was a little bit more reserved but stylish nonetheless Happy! The smiley actress wore a cream and navy striped top tucked into a dark pair of jeans Brr! To keep warm in the chilly night she wrapped up in a long grey knitted coat Showing her supoort: Downton Abbey actress Elizabeth McGovern was also seen leaving the theatre Mother and daughter's night out: Elizabeth, 54, was joined by her youngest daughter - 18-year-old Grace These boots were made for walking: They showcased their similar style senses as they both sported knee-high boots Colour clashing: While Grace favoured a monochrome colour theme, Elizabeth deliberately clashed blues and green as she wore multiple layers Other famous faces to join the pair at the event were Spandau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp, Lady Colin Campbell, Ronni Ancona and Rupert Evans. The Maids has returned to the West End for the first time in 20 years and features the talents of Uzo Aduba (Orange is The New Black), Zawe Aston (Fresh Meat) and Laura Carmichael (Downton Abbey). Described by ATG Tickets as an intense psychological thriller, the play is set in a 'luxurious bedroom where two maids fantasize about killing their employer, playing out dangerous and sadistic scenarios as they plan her violent death'. In love: Spandau Ballet guitarist Gary Kemp put on a close display with his wife Lauren Barber Loving life: Lady Colin Campbell rocked a dark green leather jacket with a glossy finish Eye-catching: Ronni Ancona sported a stylish sheepskin coat with a fluffy lapel and cuffs Stylish display: Kathryn Drysdale dressed in a sophisticated ankle-length black coat Feeling the chill: Kimberley Nixon was well wrapped up in a woolly beanie and thick scarf All smiles: John Heffernan and Elliot Levey put on a close display on the red carpet Cool dude: John McMillan was in smart casual dress for the evening with a pair of headphones wrapped around his neck High spirits: Gabrielle Lloyd and Maggie Steed gave each other a warm embrace for the cameras Jennifer Garner got back to being a busy mom on Monday after putting in a glamorous appearance on the Oscars red carpet. The 43-year-old actress picked up her daughter Seraphina, seven, from school and headed to some local boutiques in Pacific Palisades. Jen was in such great spirits she even had a shop-owner giggling as she made a quick stop to look at the wares on display. Scroll down for video Back to reality: Jennifer Garner was all smiles as she took her daughter Seraphina to a local boutique in their neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades on Monday Dressed casually in sweatpants and a puffy jacket, Jennifer's look was a far cry from her stunning Versace gown of the night before. She kept her locks tied back in a braid and appeared to be makeup-free. Both Jennifer and her estranged husband Ben Affleck attended the 88th Academy Awards on Sunday as well as the Vanity Fair post-ceremony party. While they each took to the red carpets solo, the former couple were pictured being cordial and chatting to other guests together during the evening. Getting artsy: The actress was all smiles as she picked up a couple of things for her daughter Bundled up: The 43-year-old actress kept it casual in sweatpants and a puffy jacket Dressed for action: The 43-year-old Golden Globe winner completed her sporty, gym look with $180 New Balance NB1990 trainers Moving on: The doting mom recently opened up about her split with ex Ben Affleck in an interview with Vanity Fair Meanwhile, Jennifer spilled her heart out to Vanity Fair in a bombshell interview that was released on Friday. She not only talked about Ben killing her 'dream' of being happily married, but also touched on the nanny who he was claimed to be in a relationship. In her interview, the Dallas Buyers Club hinted heavily that Ben cheated on her and also heavily suggested that he did have romantic relations with their nanny, Christine Ouzounian, 28, even though he claimed last summer the accusation was 'garbage.' 'We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny,' said the Miracles From Heaven actress. 'She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce. She was not a part of the equation. Bad judgment? Yes.' Belle of the ball: Jennifer stunned in a black Versace gown at the Oscars and vanity Fair afterparty Going solo: While they didn't pose together Jennifer and estranged husband Ben Affleck were seen chatting during the night Doing the honours: The actress presented alongside Benicio Del Toro during the ceremony Getting along: While they each took to the red carpets solo, the former couple were pictured being cordial and chatting to other guests together during the evening The toughest part of the allegations was talking to her children about it, she said. 'It's not great for your kids for [a nanny] to disappear from their lives,' she said. 'I have had to have conversations about the meaning of "scandal."' Jennifer and Ben, who have three children together (Violet, aged 10, Seraphina, aged seven, and Samuel, aged three), announced their split in June, just a month before talk of his involvement with the nanny. As far as his claims that the affair never happened, Jennifer said: 'Hes still the only person who really knows the truth about things. And Im still the only person that knows some of his truths.' Dining out: The former couple took their three kids to dinner at Cafe Vida in Pacific Palisades on Saturday following the actress' tell-all Vanity Fair interview He caused quite a commotion when he performed at the BRITS. But Canadian rapper Drake was much more low-key when he dined out in central London's affluent Mayfair on Monday evening. The handsome star, 29, was spotted at Nobu - just days after delivering a steamy performance with rumoured beau Rihanna. Scroll down for video Dining out: Canadian rapper Drake was much more low-key when he dined out in central London's affluent Mayfair on Monday evening Dressed head-to-toe in black, the chart-topper cut an urban figure as he emerged from the popular pan-Asian eatery. Sporting his trademark look, which consisted of a two-piece hooded tracksuit and silk padded jacket, he added a pair of pristine white trainers to the mix. Also showing off his signature stubble, the star kept his cool as he effortlessly turned heads. See Drake updates as he has meal in London's Nobu after performance with Rihanna City slicker: The handsome star, 29, was spotted at Nobu - just days after delivering a steamy performance with rumoured beau Rihanna Joined by an equally-casual male friend, the two exited the venue in their near-matching styles and headed into a waiting vehicle. There. they were driven off to a late-night venue for further exploration of the city. Sadly, there was no sign of Rihanna joining the festivities - although there's a chance she may have joined the men later on. Urban appeal: Dressed head-to-toe in black, the chart-topper cut an urban figure as he emerged from the popular pan-Asian eatery No sign: Sadly, there was no sign of Rihanna joining the festivities - although there's a chance she may have joined the men later on According to a report in The Sun, Rihanna and Drake's suggestive performance wasn't just a mere dance routine - but representative of the fact they're back together. The newspaper claim that the hit-makers have rekindled their romance in the latest installment of their on again/off again relationship. Speaking to the publication, a source said: 'They're back together and Drake is besotted. His team have been teasing him about it but nothing can wipe the smile off his face.' The report adds that the couples' renewed romance is an 'open secret' among their respective entourages. Together? According to a report in The Sun, Rihanna and Drake's suggestive performance wasn't just a mere dance routine - but representative of the fact they're back together She had just reached the pinnacle of her acting career. So no wonder Brie Larson felt like rewarding herself as she celebrated her best actress Oscar win by chowing down on a burger at the Vanity Fair party on Sunday. The saucy 26-year-old looked like she was having a great time as she munched on the tasty treat while resting her leg on a table in the mildly comical Instagram picture. Scroll down for video Flame-grilling of the vanities: Hilarious Brie Larson posted a picture of herself munching on a burger at the Vanity Fair Oscar party on Instagram Monday Room star Brie was wearing the stunning pink velvet gown she debuted at the thrilling bash, which was held in the upmarket Beverly Hills area. And she added an extra dash of risibility to her snap by wearing a dirty pair of old converse trainers, which she showed off as she rested her foot on one of the pristine tables inside the venue. Brie partied all night, before heading back to the Dolby Theatre, where the stimulating ceremony is held, to relive her glory on the Live! with Kelly & Michael on Monday morning. During her interview she said she had diced with death to make it to the ceremony, as she had been filming King Kong reboot, Kong: Skull Island, in Vietnam. Risking it all for entertainment: Brie said she took her life into her own hands by flying from Vietnam to attend 'I hope I win': She said she had to endure three scary flights to make it to the event Brie said: 'It was, like, three really sketchy flights, and I was like, "I really hope that I win because otherwise I risked my life for"' Thankfully that proved not to be the case, and she added the much-coveted golden statuette to her trophy cabinet. She joked that she had made sure to have a quiet night after her win, saying: 'I did not dance all night. I didn't hang out with Lorde and Taylor Swift. I went to sleep. I didn't do that. 'I didn't just shove a bagel in my face and a cup of coffee and come out here, at all.' I was there: She delighted the crowd by revealing exactly where she had been sitting in the venue Zinger: Kelly Ripa made herself chuckle when she joked she could not believe she had seen Brie eat a bagel The fun never stops: She then handed her trophy over to Kelly so they could recreate her walking off stage The hilarity of it all was almost too much for Kelly Ripa, who then hit back with a decisive zinger of her own, saying: 'It's so fun to watch an backstage in Hollywood eating a carbohydrate. I was like...' Brie also said she has taken to referring to Eddie Redmayne, who presented her with the award, as her 'fairy godmother' as he had handed over the plethora of gongs she has won for her role as a kidnapped mother in Room. And the actress said the Danish Girl favourite gave her a bit of forewarning about what was going to happen. She said: 'He told me, "You're going to be fine until they call me to come up and present and once that happens, you're going to like need some Depends." Not so fast: Cheeky Kelly pretended she was going to run off with the precious prize My precious: She seemed enchanted by the shiny object when she finally got it back Backstage for real: She was met by her handsome musician beau, self-styled rocker Alex Greenwald 'It's totally true. They very slyly pulled him away and I was, like, "Oh no." It was, like, "Is this going to happen again?" 'When he called my name, it's a weird out-of-body experience.' Brie, whose real name is Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers, then recreated the moment she went backstage with her award. Cheeky Kelly, who was playing the role of her guest, tried to make off with her gong by continuing to head into the wings, before she was grabbed by the star in another moment of comedy gold. The actress also made sure she paid tribute to her pint-sized co-star Jacob Tremblay, the nine-year-old who played her son in Room. She said: 'He's beyond. I think you get a sense of him on TV but he's even more than whatever it is you see. He's the greatest person.' Emotional overload: She was overcome and almost cried after scooping the prestigious paperweight In the pink: She struck her trademark gazing up to the heavens pose as she showed off her stunning gown She's currently engaged in a road trip with co-host David 'Kochie' Koch as they present breakfast show Sunrise from a range of picturesque coastal locations around Australia. And after all that travelling Samantha Armytage appeared to have worked up an appetite as she took a break in Queensland on Monday. The 38-year old tucked into a savoury slice after arriving at Gold Coast suburb Burleigh Heads - her latest pit-stop on the morning show's self-styled 'Great Aussie Road Trip.' Scroll down for video Tucking in: Samantha Armytage enjoyed a savoury slice after arriving at Gold Coast suburb Burleigh Heads - her latest pit-stop on Sunrise's self-styled 'Great Aussie Road Trip.' Sporting a breezy white summer dress and matching wide-brimmed hat, Samantha appeared to be in high spirits while taking a well earned break with Sunrise weatherman Sam 'Mac' McMillan. The presenter added to her seasonal look with a pair of thongs, while heavily tinted sunglasses rounded things off. Samantha later offered a broad smile while walking close to the sweeping Queensland coastline, her mobile phone clutched in her right hand. In good company: Sporting a breezy white summer dress and matching wide-brimmed hat, Samantha appeared to be in high spirits while taking a well earned break with Sunrise weatherman Sam 'Mac' McMillan Break time: The presenter took a break as she prepared to shoot the morning show from Queensland Summer ready: The presenter added to her seasonal look with a pair of heavily tinted sunglasses Sunrise's road trip across the east coast of Australia began on Monday and will conclude on Friday. The team of hosts and producers will wrap up their on-the-road show in Melbourne after visiting locations in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sydney. Wednesday's show will see the crew return to New South Wales, where they will broadcast from Palm Beach - the home of popular soap opera Home And Away. Thirsty work: The presenter sipped from a bottle of mineral water while chatting to weatherman Sam Busy: Samantha, Sam and the rest of the Sunrise team will wrap up their on-the-road show in Melbourne after visiting locations in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sydney Upbeat: The pair were in high spirits as they took a stroll close to the sweeping coastline on Monday Low-key: Samantha completed her summer ready look with a pair of very casual thongs That's better: Samantha stretched her legs after taking a welcome break with co-presenter Sam This isn't the first time the Sunrise crew have taken their show outside of their Martin Place studio. Last year the team successfully travelled to five countries across the globe in a five days. They visited Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, London in the UK, New York in America, Niagara Falls in Canada and Cancun, Mexico. It was the most celebrated film of the night, winning six of the ten categories in which it had been nominated. But as director George Miller suggested on Monday after his night of Oscars glory, Mad Max: Fury Road was not always destined for success. Halted numerous times amid the global financial meltdown and almost destroyed by hostile filming locations, the picture came close to never being made. The fourth in the Mad Max franchise, fans had waited years for the film when it was released in May last year. Scroll down for video Show stopper: Mad Max: Fury Road swept the board at the 88th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday A decade in the works Production was scheduled to begin in 2001, with 20th Century Fox agreeing to fund Miller's vision. His first attempt at production was thwarted by the 9/11 attacks, with the American dollar plummeting in value as a result and wiping away the film's budget. Long time coming: Director George Miller was forced to halt production several times 'This film [Fury Road] was green lit three times and fell over three times over a decade,' Miller said in October. 'We went to shoot with Mel Gibson back in 2001, but then 9/11 happened, and the American dollar collapsed against the Australian dollar close to 30 per cent, so we lost that amount of budget overnight,' he explained in an interview with Top Gear. With no feasible means to get production off the ground, Miller moved on to create Happy Feet, an animated film about penguins released in 2006. That same year, and following its release, he revealed the script for Mad Max: Fury Road had been written a fourth time. Battling the elements In 2009, eight years after production was first discussed, Miller said he had chosen Broken Hills in New South Wales as the location for their desert shoot. But a bout of heavy rain stalled production in the area. Wildflowers sprouted in the dessert location where he had planned to film, thwarting any hopes of a post-apocalyptic setting. Filming was moved as a result to Namibia, with producers setting up camp on the outskirts of the city of Swakopmund. Miller and his production were accused by local conservationists of damaging the land, a claim later rejected by the Namibia Film Commission which took out a full page advertisement to defend the film, Wired reported at the time. An all-star cast In the 1979 and 1989 films Mel Gibson took the lead role of Max and was tipped to reprise it when news of production surfaced in 2001. Later it was announced that British actor Tom Hardy would take on the title role. He was joined by Charlize Theron and a score of other stars including supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whitley. Speaking after the film's release, Hardy gushed over Miller and his vision for the feature. Star studded: Fans hoped Mel Gibson may have revived his role as Max but the character was taken on by Tom Hardy (above together with Miller at the film's premiere) Success: Hardy later spoke out to reveal he did not fully understand Miller's vision when they began work Star quality: Charlize Theron also appeared in the film, drawing crowds with her celebrity 'The most frustrating thing for me or the hardest part [of filming] was trying to know what George wanted me to do at any given minute on a minute-by-minute basis, so I could fully [execute] his vision. 'But because [Miller was] orchestrating such a huge vehicle literally in so many departments, and because his signature is on every single detail [of the film] and because all of the [parts] in the vehicle are just moving, there is just motion,' he said, later describing the director as 'brilliant'. The compliment was returned, with Miller confirming the actor would have a role in forthcoming sequels. Big money and even bigger stuns Mad Max: Fury Road was produced under a budget of $200million AUD. A seemingly endless pile of cash was necessary to facilitate the many elaborate stunts and reams of expertly selected wardrobe on set. The big spending paid dividends - in its first weekend in the U.S. it pulled $45,428,128 (US). Worldwide it collected $523,032,152 (AUD). Not holding back: Miller previously told how he did not want to use special effects where unnecessary A huge portion of the budget was spent on equipment, costume and stunts. Describing his gung-ho approach, Miller told Deadline last year: 'We have the ability as human beings to detect whats real or not. 'Particularly if youre doing things that you can at least see on television or YouTube that are actually real, youre going to be working very, very hard to do it all CG. 'So it was the logical thing to do, and also everyone was up for it.' More to come Before this year's Oscars nominations had even been revealed, Miller confirmed he already had enough material for two sequels. Two years ago, before the film hit theatres, Miller told fans at Comic Con he did not know the order in which they would emerge. 'In order to tell this story, we came up with two others,' he said in a press conference at the event. 'Weve written the screenplay of one and the novelization of another, but its a very rough novel. 'We kept working on them while we were working on other things.' Watch this space! Miller (above with his wife Margaret Sixel at this Oscars) revealed plans for two sequels She recently confessed she gets 'really anxious and self-conscious' on the set of photoshoots. But Sylvia Jeffreys looked impeccably comfortable in her own skin on Tuesday as she stepped out as an official ambassador to launch the 2016 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival. Dressed in an ice blue mid-length dress by Acler to attend the event at Royal Randwick Racecourse, the 29-year-old gleamed as she posed alongside fellow ambassadors Nerida Winter, Jodi Gordon, Grace Huang, Isabel Cornish, Storm Uechritz and Elyse Knowles. Scroll down for video Ice ice baby! Sylvia Jeffreys looked impeccably in a pale blue frock as she stepped out as an official ambassador to launch the 2016 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival in Sydney on Tuesday The locally designed dress featured a plunging neckline, the A-line dress finished just below her knees and teased a small glimpse of her trim pins with a wedge cut out at the front. Despite her towering 5'10" stature, the Today Show newsreader pumped up her height with a pair of nude heels, and added a race day touch with a black floral headband by Nerida Winter. Her makeup was kept glowing and natural, with lightly smoked eyes and a pale manicure. Sky's the limit! Despite her towering 5'10" stature, the Today Show newsreader pumped up her height with a pair of nude heels Fellow beauties (from L to R): Fellow ambassadors Nerida Winter, Jodi Gordon, Grace Huang, Isabel Cornish, Storm Uechritz and Elyse Knowles Later in the day, she shared a snap posing with E! Australia host Ksenija Lukich, who wore dressed in a semi-sheer black frock and boater hat. 'I found another tall girl and I'm not letting go!' wrote Sylvia humorously in the caption. In an interview published on Sunday, Sylvia opened up about becoming comfortable in front of the camera. 'I found another tall girl!' Sylvia took a snap with E! Australia correspondent Ksenija Lukich 'I don't know how to pose,' she told Sunday Style. Sylvia, who starred on the stunning cover of the glossy, said her height has given her grief in the past: 'I've only just started wearing high heels. I always wanted to be one of those petite girls.' The blonde beauty glows on the cover of the weekend publication, her bright bluish green eyes lined with plenty of smoky eyeliner to make them sparkle. She's been one of My Kitchen Rules' harshest and most outspoken contestants while her timid husband Tim has silently stood by her side. And on Tuesday night's episode of the cooking competition Dee showed that she couldn't put her money where her mouth is after serving a trainwreck three-course meal that sent the 28-year-old and her hubby packing with a dismal score of just 38. 'I'm angry,' Dee said as she was given her marching orders. 'I just can't believe I cooked so badly.' SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO 'I just can't believe I cooked so badly:' Tim and Dee were a total disaster on Tuesday night's episode of My Kitchen Rules Their elimination left rivals Lauren and Carmine safe from elimination and extremely pleased with themselves, despite several other contestants stating that they would've preferred for Tim and Dee to stay instead. 'We're definitely not ready to go home tonight,' Lauren said at the beginning of the episode, before adding: 'Totes hoping for a disaster.' Before they even started to cook, Dee showcased her now infamous dominant side by stating: 'Tonight I need to be the boss in the kitchen and Tim needs to listen.' See MKR updates as Tim and Dee destroyed by judges for dinner and are sent home Disappointed: Dee shed tears as her lowly score of just 38 was delivered by the judges Feeling good: Carmine and Lauren were happy to avoid elimination after clashing with Tim and Dee several times over the series Tim, who was continuously being yelled at by his wife in the kitchen, didn't seem to have a problem with the power imbalance in their marriage. 'I really value her opinion to tell me how I'm doing things and whether I'm doing it right or wrong,' he said. 'I really like her to just look over my shoulder.' They soon got started on their Spanish-themed cuisine, but it didn't take long for disaster to strike. 'Tonight I need to be the boss in the kitchen and Tim needs to listen:' The 28-year-old made it clear that she wears the pants in the relationship 'I really value her opinion to tell me how I'm doing things and whether I'm doing it right or wrong:' Tim didn't have a problem with following orders from Dee 'Totes hoping for a disaster:' Lauren made no secret that she was hoping that Tim and Dee would bomb and save her and Carmine from elimination 'The whole night is already ruined!' Dee shrieked at Tim after discovering a problem with the bread they were preparing. She then turned her attention to some onions in the fry pan and freaked out when she believed that Tim hadn't been stirring them properly to keep them from getting burnt, despite the fact that they all still looked white. The 28-year-old then started to shriek and stamp her foot on the floor in frustration over the situation. 'That is onion that has burnt because it's been left unattended,' she barked in Tim's face, before screeching, 'Throw it out!' 'That is onion that has burnt because it's been left unattended!' Dee threw a tantrum over bread and onions before the entree had even been served Feeling angry: Dee cried and stamped her foot on the floor as things failed to go her way Dee's aggressive display left Tim in tears, with the 30-year-old wiping his watery eyes as he said: 'I just get really emotional because this is something she's dreamed of and she's getting upset doing it.' She later blamed Tim for not purchasing cumin for the dish, snapping at her hubby: 'I'm really annoyed at you... what have you done?! I'm personally mortified, I'm very upset.' After some more tears and tantrums from Dee, the couple finally delivered their entree of Spanish Lentil Soup with Chorizo, but the reaction wasn't good. 'I want Spanish, and what I got was not very good,' said judge Colin Fassnidge, who remarked that the food was completely undercooked and raw. 'This is Dee-sappointing,' added Lauren as she tried to bite into the raw dish. 'I just get really emotional because this is something she's dreamed of and she's getting upset doing it:' Tim shed tears because his wife wasn't having a good time in the kitchen 'I want Spanish, and what I got was not very good:' Judge Colin Fassnidge slammed Tim and Dee's entree Things went from bad to worse once the couple returned to the kitchen to prepare their main of Spanish Meatballs with Potatoes and Spicy Tomato Sauce, with Tim burning the breadcrumbs in the oven - forcing Dee to use packet breadcrumbs instead. After berating her defeated husband, Dee flipped out again when she realised that their meatballs were raw because Tim had forgot to put the gas on. 'Just cook them!' she screamed. 'You're pissing me off!' Uh oh! Tim burned some breadcrumbs and then forgot to turn the frying pan on to cook the meatballs 'Just cook them!' Dee screamed at Tim, before adding: 'You're pissing me off!' As Dee verbally abused Tim, the guests at the table -who at this point had been waiting for over two hours- were taken aback by the loud shouting that they could hear coming from the kitchen. When they delivered the main meal it was clear from the get-go that it wasn't a winner, with Lauren correctly stating: 'This dish looks like a mess.' Both the judges and the other teams slammed the meatballs, most of which were inedible due to being undercooked. The trouble couple tried to turn things around with their creme caramel dessert, but despite it receiving a generally positive reception from everybody, it wasn't enough to save them from elimination. 'I'm very disappointed,' Dee said at the end. 'I just wish that we could've held our heads together and performed how we know that we can perform.' Not happy: Colin and Rachel Khoo weren't pleased with the couple's meatball dish, which was the second undercooked meal of the night 'I'm very disappointed:' Dee was upset as she and Tim received a score of just 38 It seems like the cold never bothered Penelope Disick anyway. The three-year-old youngster looked adorable as she wore a shimmering costume of Disney's Elsa on her latest family outing. Her mother Kourtney Kardashian and older brother Mason, six, all were spotted leaving the Toys R Us in Calabasas as they picked up a few playthings. Princess: Penelope Disick dressed in a Elsa from Frozen costume on an outing with Kourtney Kardashian and Mason Disick in Calabasas on Monday Penelope already looked to be living in her own fantasy world as she sported a shiny seafoam green dress with matching flat shoes. Her brunette tresses were done up in four cornrows up top as the rest of it was worn down. Penelope's 36-year-old mother put on a leggy display in a pair of Daisy Dukes and black suede booties. She also showed support to her brother-in-law Kanye West by wearing a short-sleeved Yeezus shirt as she accesorised with a gold bangle and small leather bag with a gold chain strap. Family affair: The-three-year-old looked happy to be the proud new owner of a doll as she wore the shiny Seafoam Green dress Support system: The 36-year-old eldest Kardashian sister wore Daisy Dukes, black suede booties and a white Yeezus shirt Kourtney wore her medium-length raven-coloured tresses down as she sported natural, complimentary make-up including a swipe of shiny lip. Mason was dressed comfortably in a black V-neck with patterned shorts and a pair of black and neon orange LeBron James Nike trainers. It seems as if Penelope has made it quite the habit of dressing up as her favourite Frozen characters as she apparently went as Elsa's sister Anna during a recent family dinner. Busy day: Earlier in the day, Penelope was spotted without the costume Last week her grandmother Kris Jenner took to Instagram to share a photo the family dinner table after their meal with an auburn-coloured wig and blue hat on it. The 65-year-old momager captioned the image: 'You know it's been a good night when you've finished your family dinner and you realize Elsa's sister Anna left her hair behind. #penelope #frozen #magicalnight.' The Kardashian-Jenner family got together for a dinner to celebrate what would have been the 72nd birthday of her late ex-husband Robert Kardashian. The group, which included Penelope's father Scott Disick, enjoyed a large, Armenian-style dinner at the late-attorney's favourite restaurant Carousel to commemorate the occasion. It's a magical moment in any child's life. So who can blame doting mother Tammin Sursok for documenting the first time her two-year-old daughter Phoenix saw snow. The 32-year-old took to Instagram to share sweet family snaps from their time at Big Bear Lake in California as they frolicked in the winter wonderland. Scroll down for video Snow much fun: Tammin Sursok has recently enjoyed a family trip to the snow with her husband Sean McEwen and their two-year-old daughter Phoenix and shared snaps with her fans on Instagram In one snap the actress is crouched down on the ground next to her look-a-like daughter excitedly writing: 'Phoenix saw the snow for the first time this weekend!' Tammin was wrapped up in a quilted white coat that was tied tight around her slender waist matched with fitted blue jeans. She finished her look with heavy duty white ski boots that laced up high around her calves and wore her brunette locks loose and effortlessly styled around her face. Her cherubic daughter was dressed in a similar white coat also matched with jeans and a pair of brown boots with a thick fur trim. Family fun: The 32-year-old took to Instagram to share sweet family snaps from their time at Big Bear Lake in California as they frolicked in the winter wonderland for the first time together Working together: The South African-born Australian-raised beauty relocated to the U.S to further her career and now owns a production company, Charlie Baby Productions with her husband In another picture from their holiday, her husband Sean McEwen is seen leaning down to kiss Tammin as she beamed up at him with their daughter in her arms. Phoenix is a regular feature on Tammin's social media feed, and she appears to be relishing life as a mother. The South African-born Australian-raised beauty relocated to the U.S to further her career and now owns a production company, Charlie Baby Productions with her husband. They are planning on developing, writing and directing their own web comedy series called Aussie Girl together. Her mini me: Phoenix is a regular feature on Tammin's social media feed, and she appears to be relishing life as a mother Still smitten: Tammin and Sean were married in 2011, and after 11 years together, are still as loved up as ever The striking star rose to fame in the iconic soap Home and Away playing feisty teenager Dani Sutherland on Home And Away. Tammin and Sean were married in 2011, and after 11 years together, are still as loved up as ever. While they have one daughter together, she has admitted the couple have considered having more children and joked that Sean constantly tries to have a baby with her. The brunette beauty has previously hinted that she and Sean have considered relocating back to Australia in the hope of raising Phoenix Down Under. As this year's Oscar buzz wears off, troubled Samuel Johnson reminds us that not all TV and film stars enjoy a life of glitz, glamour and multi-million dollar pay days. Because the Molly star - who last week announced his shock retirement from acting - has suffered more than his fair share of trials, tribulations and heart-breaking tragedies. From losing three loved ones to suicide - including his mother - to watching his brave sister Connie battle terminal breast cancer, the 38-year-old has remained strong in the face of adversity. Troubled: The Secret Life of Us star Samuel Johnson, 38, surprised fans last week when he announced his decision to retire from acting to focus on his breast cancer charity Love Your Sister The Daylesford-born star has, meanwhile, battled his own demons, turning to drink to cope with the death of an ex-girlfriend in 2006 which he claims 'ruined' him emotionally. And during the height of these troubled years, the former actor was charged with assault following a brawl at a Sydney casino - but escaped jail on a 12-month good behaviour bond. Recently, he's enjoyed a career resurgence in made-for-TV film Molly - a biopic about Countdown host Ian 'Molly' Meldrum - but has since claimed he's given up acting to focus on his charity work. Career resurgence: After seemingly disappearing from the celebrity scene following a difficult few years, Samuel returned to our screens this year in Channel Seven's made-for-TV film Molly (pictured) Worry: There has been some concern for Samuel's well-being during publicity for Molly - as he admitted to being 'dead broke' and even showed up 'barefoot and dishevelled' at an Adelaide radio interview this month However, fans are still concerned about Samuel's well-being, as earlier this month he showed up 'barefoot and dishevelled' to an Adelaide radio interview, journalist Peter Ford reported. He also recently revealed he's 'dead broke but happy' after claiming he hadn't been paid for an acting job in over a year. And on Monday, sister Connie - co-founder of their cancer charity Love Your Sister - suggested that her brother was 'drunk' when he publicly announced his retirement on Facebook last week. The following day, he confessed to being 'tipsy' while writing the post - which is perhaps troubling for someone who previously admitted to ABC having 'a problem with alcohol'. Love: Samuel (left) enjoys a close relationship with his sister Connie, 35 (right) who is suffering from terminal breast cancer - but she criticised his decision to quit acting to focus on their charity, Love Your Sister And while he didn't backtrack on his decision to retire, the ex-actor implied that he had not consulted friends, family or colleagues about his retirement in a rambling follow-up post. He revealed his agent 'wasn't the least bit impressed' by his choice to give up acting and focus on his charity work, and even claimed that Molly himself scolded him: 'You can do both, you idiot'. He also added that his other sister Hilde was 'so devastated she can't even talk about it with me other than to say "I just can't believe the idiocy of it".' Retirement speech: Last week, the ex-Secret Life Of Us star announced his retirement in an emotional post on Love Your Sister's Facebook page, which stated: 'I can't act anymore. Not if I'm to serve you properly' Meanwhile, as the public awaits the next chapter in Samuel's story, Daily Mail Australia reflects on his remarkable life - marked by dizzying career highs and devastating personal lows. He previously admitted that the suicides of three women in his life have left deep emotional scars. Born in Daylesford, Victoria, tragedy struck the Johnson family early on, as Samuel's mother committed suicide when he wasn't yet one year old, shortly after his father left her. And in late 2005, a close female friend called Heather - with whom he performed in short films at the Victoria College of the Arts - also took her own life. Sadly, just months later, Samuel's former girlfriend Lainie Woodlands committed suicide at her home at Victoria's Hepburn Springs after he ended the relationship. 'I kind of bailed on her and then she killed herself, which was charming, so considerate,' he told Meshel Laurie's Nitty Gritty Committee podcast last year. 'I was probably already not doing that well but when my girlfriend [killed] herself, the night that I left her, s*** got pretty heavy.' Tell-all: Samuel confessed to 'going through a very self-destructive kind of phase' in ABC Australian Story documentary The Sum Of Sam back in 2008 Self-medicating: The Molly star revealed on the documentary film that he 'already had a problem with alcohol' before his ex-girlfriend Lainie Woodlands committed suicide, 'but it certainly accelerated my usage' He previously told ABC Radio Melbourne: 'The three key women in my life have left me. It floored me. 'You know, I mean, its still floored me. Its just ruined me emotionally and I'm very sad now.' As he struggled to cope with the grief, Samuel faced a bitter, two-month legal battle with Lainie's mother against her estranged father to have her buried in Hepburn Springs, near Daylesford. Eventually, Lainie was laid to rest close to her chosen home - but due to legal costs and not working, Samuel was forced to sell his home in Daylesford and pay off debts. 'I was going downhill pretty quickly and I was certainly going through a very self-destructive kind of phase,' he revealed in tell-all ABC documentary The Sum Of Sam in 2008. 'We all want to mask the pain somehow in some way and, you know, I had my issues there and I think I already had a problem with alcohol before it happened but it certainly accelerated my usage.' New beginnings: After his ex-partner Lainie committed suicide in 2006, Samuel eventually found love again with casting director Sarah Hallam - pictured together in 2009 This downward spiral continued as Samuel self-medicated with drink and drugs, until he hit rock bottom in September 2007 while attending a wedding party with his partner Sarah Hallam at Star City Casino in Sydney. The Underbelly star was involved in a drunken brawl with guest Ben Benson, punching him repeatedly before stomping on his head as he lay prone on the floor, the Sydney Morning Herald reported at the time. The court heard Samuel was receiving treatment for depression following Lainie's death and magistrate Brian Maloney acknowledged that the violent attack was out of character. Trying times: Samuel was supported by Sarah during his trial for assaulting a guest, Ben Benson, at a wedding reception in Sydney's Star City Casino in September 2007 Spared jail: In December 2007, Samuel escaped a conviction for the brawl on a 12-month good behaviour bond He escaped a conviction on a 12-month good behaviour bond and was also required to continue with his counselling. Outside of the court, he said: 'I am very sorry it all happened, I was a bit of a nincompoop and I'm glad that it's all over. I'm looking forward to moving on. 'I behaved like a goose and I've been remorseful since the moment it happened,' he concluded. Siblings: Samuel and his sister Connie, pictured as children before her first diagnosis with cancer Meanwhile, there has been another lifelong agony for the actor - who is best known for his role as Evan Wylde on silver Logie Award-winning TV series The Secret Life of Us. His beloved sister Connie has battled cancer on three separate occasions - having been first diagnosed with a rare aggressive bone tumour at the age of eleven. However, she bravely conquered the disease with the help of early detection and chemotherapy. Courage: Connie has bravely battled cancer on three separate occasions, having been first diagnosed with a rare aggressive bone tumour at just eleven Meanwhile, Samuel revealed in his Australian Story documentary that he was whisked off 'to a camp for siblings of kids with cancer' at Continental House in Hepburn Springs, VIC. 'That place just meant a lot to me, you know, as a kid,' he added. At age 22, Connie overcame a tumour in her womb, once again, thanks to early detection and effective treatment. But five years ago, the mother-of-two was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer which had subsequently spread to her lungs, liver, pelvis, spine and knee. The Love Your Sister website states 35-year-old Connie 'has a life expectancy of 6-12 months.' The siblings founded the charity together in 2014 to raise money for breast cancer research at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Darlinghurst. Support: Samuel has spent his life raising money for cancer research, inspired by sister Connie's bravery In 2014, he finished what was then the world's longest unicycle journey by travelling 15,955 kilometres over 364 days and raising nearly $1.5 million. Most recently, Samuel has pledged to raise $10million for breast cancer research - a goal which he claims prompted his decision to quit acting this month. Meanwhile, he has a history of using his profile to support good causes, having ridden a unicycle from Sydney to Melbourne in 2003 for children's cancer charity Canteen. But as loved ones - including Connie herself - express surprise and disappointment at his decision to prematurely retire from acting, it remains to be seen what Samuel will do next. His girlfriend is 13 years younger than him - but that hasn't stopped Superman actor Henry Cavill from being loved up with his girlfriend Tara King. The beautiful couple attended the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills on Sunday evening. Henry looked very dapper in his black suit as the couple posed for snaps upon arrival, linking arms with his beautiful blonde partner. Scroll down for video Sweet: Henry Cavill and girlfriend Tara King attended the Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted By Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills on Sunday evening Tara opted for colour in a bright orange dress which had a contrasting gold strap on one shoulder as she sported a perfect manicure. With her blonde locks tied in a tousled up do, the English stunner appeared to be having a whale of a time as the couple prepared to get ready with the stars. She completed her look with a pair of metallic heels which added a bit of glitter to her incredible ensemble. Dream team: Henry looked very dapper in his black suit as the couple posed for snaps upon arrival, with Tara looking incredible in an orange gown Henry recently opened up about how he fell head over heels for the 'mature' teen. In a candid interview with Elle Magazine, he revealed: People say age is just a number. It's actually real and true sign of someone's maturity. But in this case, she's fantastic. When I met my girlfriend, I was super intimidated. I wanted to impress her, the Man Of Steel star continued. I was thinking, Don't mess this up, man. And although the British heartthrob feels at ease with the teenage University student, Henry confessed he understands natural reaction to the couple's age difference. The Tudors actor went on to confide that he has dated older women in the past, by adding: When I was 19, I was going out with a 32-year-old. The Mail on Sunday revealed in October that Henry and Tara were an item after they were pictured together at a rugby match at Twickenham. They have since been on three holidays together, the most recent break being New Zealand during Taras reading week at university. A lot of people wondered if the relationship would last, but this shows its serious, despite the age difference, a friend of the actor told the publication. The New Zealand adventure came two weeks after the pretty blonde joined Henry to meet his family at home in Jersey, and two months before that they travelled to China. Henry, who is gearing up for the highly anticipated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie, has previously dated a string of famous women in his quest to find his real-life Lois Lane. He was in an on/off relationship with American actress Gina Carano, 33, and was briefly linked to Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco, 30, three years ago. 'People say age is just a number': In a recent interview, Henry has insisted that his relationship with Tara is simply not an issue Advertisement As a Hollywood superstar, a plush mansion is a must. Yet Ashley Benson is set to flog her Los Angeles mansion, with an asking price of an eye-watering $2,995,000 for which the buyer will gain an exquisitely designed three bedroom, three bathroom French-Normandy style home, which she bought in 2012 for $2.2million. The 26-year-old Pretty Little Liars star, who purchased the home in 2012, is already the proud owner of a house in Beverly Hills - which set her back a huge $4,150,000 in October - yet she appears to be reducing her real estate portfolio. Scroll down for video All star property: Ashley Benson is set to flog her Los Angeles mansion, with an asking price of an eye-watering $2,995,000 for which the buyer will gain an exquisitely designed three bedroom, three bathroom French-Normandy style home Ashley's Hollywood Hills mansion is nothing short of stunning as images show the gated home features 1930s style detailing where the pool area is draped with intricate fairy lights - affording the exterior a dream like quality. The blonde beauty purchased the home for $2.2million - meaning her newly installed renovations will bump the property price by nearly $800,000, a handsome profit for the youthful star. Her home has quite a superstar history as the house was briefly owned by Kylie Minogue in the early-2000 before Eurythymics front man Dave Stewart bought the property which eventually wound up in Ashley's possession. She is selling the house through Hilton & Hyland, the same estate agent flogging the Playboy mansion. Hometime: The 26-year-old Pretty Little Liars star, who purchased the home in 2012, is already the proud owner of a house in Beverly Hills - which set her back a huge $4,150,000 in October - yet she appears to be reducing her real estate portfolio Stunning: Her kitchen had a homely feel with white cupboards and marble sides, while an island in the centre of the room made for a fantastic point of social mingling with a huge stove and an elegant light fitting Cool Brit: Ashley clearly has a taste for all things Britannia as her stalls around her island were emblazoned with a union flag, which coordinated with her huge artwork also featuring the flag The 13 Going On 30 actress proved she has a true flare for interior design as the house was kitted out with class and style including minimalist furniture and muted tones. Although not entirely sprawling in size, Ashley's home looked as though it was the perfect fit for living alone. Her kitchen had a homely feel with white cupboards and marble sides, while an island in the centre of the room made for a fantastic point of social mingling with a huge stove and an elegant light fitting. Ashley clearly has a taste for all things Britannia as her stalls around her island were emblazoned with a union flag, which coordinated with her huge artwork also featuring the flag. Similar style: Her dining room was in-keeping with the style of the kitchen as the white shelving units coordinated with the kitchen cupboards and the low hanging light above the intricately decorated table matched that in the kitchen room Stunning: Ashley's house epitomised class and style as she ensured all the finishing touches were elegant Tight squeeze: One bathroom was relatively small for a house of such proportions Her dining room was in-keeping with the style of the kitchen as the white shelving units coordinated with the kitchen cupboards and the low hanging light above the intricately decorated table matched that in the kitchen room. The living room was surrounded by glass and featured a vast sofa and cosy seat with a mammoth television hung on the wall - no doubt to catch up on the goings on of her colleagues. One of the more lively rooms in the office featured monochrome wallpaper and a bold orange pouffe. Plush: The living room was surrounded by glass and featured a vast sofa and cosy seat with a mammoth television hung on the wall - no doubt to catch up on the goings on of her colleagues Proud: In a nod to her lucrative and glimmering career, in a snug room the stunning star had posters hanging of some of her movies including her 2012 film Spring Breakers Cosy snug: Ashley's wood panelled library was littered with a host of images of herself - proving her confidence in her look Fancy a dip: While her pool was relatively modest in size, it looked like a great spot for a party Bold: One of the more lively rooms in the house featured monochrome wallpaper and a bold orange pouffe Letting her hair down: Ashley was set to unwind as she headed out in Hollywood on Monday - leaving her real estate issues at home Busty beauty: Ashley opted to go braless for her night out on the town - looking sensational if slightly worse for wear Her bedroom was nothing short of spectacular as it featured a four poster bed and charcoal wallpaper which extended through the whole ceiling while adorned with gold detailing. In a nod to her lucrative and glimmering career, in a snug room the stunning star had posters hanging of some of her movies including her 2012 film Spring Breakers. She injected A-list touches to her property with the addition of chandaliers and plush furniture which no doubt cost a pretty penny. Busy bee: Her bedroom was nothing short of spectacular as it featured a four poster bed and charcoal wallpaper which extended through the whole ceiling while adorned with gold detailing Fancy four poster: Her bed looked super cosy while her room was kept classy and detailed Guest room: The guest room in Ashley's home featured an idyllic balcony looking out on the pool Exterior: The outside of the house was just as beautiful as the inside of the home She's best known for her 20 year role as Sally Fletcher on long-running soap Home And Away. But away from the cameras, Kate Ritchie's most important role is being a mum to baby girl Mae. Looking stunning makeup-free, the Nova FM presenter put on a doting display as she took her one-year-old daughter to a Sydney park on Monday. Proud mum: Ex-Home and Away star Kate Ritchie, 37, was spotted enjoying a relaxed play date with her 18-month-old daughter Mae at a local park in Sydney on Monday The actress-turned-DJ, 37, opted for a low-key look in a simple, black T-shirt and a skirt as she enjoyed a coffee while doting over little Mae. She was joined for the relaxed trip by her husband Stuart Webb - an ex-NRL player who recently trained as a chef. The former St George Illawarra Dragons star, 35, wore a grey workout T-shirt and Nike shorts. Young family: The Nova 100 presenter, from Goulburn, NSW, was joined for the trip by her husband, ex-rugby league star Stuart Webb, 35 (right) What's that? Stuart, who previously played for NRL squad St George Illawarra Dragons, held daughter Mae in his arms while pointing out something of interest in the park The doting dad, from Uralla, NSW, could be seen holding a delighted-looking Mae in his arms as he pointed out something of interest in the park. At one point, the adorable 18-month-old proudly held out a new discovery - a twig - to show her father. Baby Mae's style was the opposite to her black-clad mum, as she was dressed in a light pink top while enjoying the shade under a baseball cap. Playful: At one point, a delighted-looking Mae proudly held out a new discovery - a twig - to show her father Apple of his eye: Baby Mae was dressed in a light pink top while enjoying the shade under a baseball cap Watch this! Kate entertained Mae by picking up a stick from the grass and throwing it Curious: The child's attention soon strayed to her mother Kate as the family strolled through the park Good times: Kate looked every inch the working mum as she went make up-free and wore her hair in a top bun The child's attention soon strayed to her mother, who entertained Mae by picking up a stick from the grass and throwing it across the park. Meanwhile, Kate, who hails from Goulburn, NSW, looked every inch the working mum as she went for a natural look and wore her hair in a top bun. Last year, the opened up to Daily Mail Australia about welcoming more children in the future. 'I've never denied the fact that we'd like to have a big family, so that will happen in due course,' she said. Goals: Both Kate and Stuart have moved on from their initial careers - acting and rugby respectively - to explore new horizons in recent years, as Kate took a radio gig on Nova and Stuart began training as a chef Doting dad:Stuart held Mae in his left arm, while also displaying his wedding ring Jaime King confirmed that she is a survivor of sexual abuse in a Twitter post on Sunday. The day before after she posted a long Instagram message that revealed her abuse began at the tender age of 12, the actress wrote: 'Thank you @ladygaga - I finally felt a true healing from years of abuse as a minor in the industry. Time to be brave.' Her words were linked to a quote by Lady Gaga which was tweeted by the United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. Scroll down for video Her truth: Jaime King confirmed that she is a survivor of sexual abuse in a Twitter post on Sunday Moved: The actress wrote, 'Thank you @ladygaga - I finally felt a true healing from years of abuse as a minor in the industry. Time to be brave' Taken from Gaga's moving performance of Til It Happens To You during the Oscars on Sunday night, the tweet read: '"1 in 6 women will be raped by time they leave college. As survivor myself, I'm happy to be here to give survivors a stage" -@ladygaga at #Oscars' The 36-year-old first posted a long message early on Monday morning, which she titled 'survivor.' 'Thank you for the switch that went off inside finally when I realized my silence said I cannot help nor change and that is not who I am,' she wrote in the lengthy post. Speaking up: Her words were linked to a quote by Lady Gaga which was tweeted by the United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women Response: On Tuesday, Lady Gaga responded to Jaime's revelation by posting this photo of her with the caption: 'An Angel. Thank you.' Time for the change: The star urged followers that it was time to work together on the issue Survivor: Jaime came out as an abuse survivor in a lengthy Instagram post on Monday The photo she shared is a picture of her younger self, staring straight at the camera. 'I was about 14 here,' she wrote. 'It started at 12.' In the post, she thanks a number of people who have supported her and inspire her, staring with her husband of almost nine years, Kyle Newman, for 'loving me whole'. Her message: The former model never specified exactly what happened to her, but her entry was brave and soulful Weight off her shoulders: Hours after her post, a very thin-looking Jaime was spotted out shopping for bags at luxury designer Celine in Beverly Hills The couple have two children, who she thanked next; two-year-old James and seven-month-old Leo. Immediately after her family, the next person Jaime pays tribute to is Lena Dunham 'for her relentless bravery that always leads my Spirit to stand up'. She also tells 'TS' - Taylor Swift, who is the godmother of her youngest son - 'I love you for being there no matter what'. She also thanks Lady Gaga and Dionne Warwick, although the latter she presumably confused with Diane Warren, the co-writer of the The Hunting Ground's Oscar nominated song 'Til It Happens To You'. At peace: 'Thank you for the switch that went off inside finally when I realized my silence said I cannot help nor change and that is not who I am,' she wrote in the lengthy post In love: She thanked a number of people who have supported her and inspire her, staring with her husband of almost nine years, Kyle Newman, for 'loving me whole' Gaga belted out a moving performance in Hollywood just hours before Jaime's post, surrounded by other victims of sexual abuse, or as they defiantly branded themselves 'Survivors'. 'Thank you to @unwomen & all organizations that have tirelessly worked to somehow comfort & make right,' Jaime continued. She saved her final thanks for herself, revealing that she opted against advice to tell her story in a magazine. Girls: Immediately after her family, the next person Jaime pays tribute to is Lena Dunham 'for her relentless bravery that always leads my Spirit to stand up' Behind her: Jaime thanked both Taylor Swift - the godmother of her youngest son - and Lena Dunham for their inspiration and support 'Thank you to myself to not choosing to not make this a cover story though that was what was suggested to me but to express from my heart to you all personally which felt the most honest way for me to speak,' she wrote 'Thank you to my Soul, body, mind, emotions, my inner child, my younger self, I love you. It's a night of celebration, of change, of not being ashamed of your race, creed color, situation, circumstances and environment, or past. 'Now I am free, somewhat,' she continued. Family: The couple (pictured at the Weinstein pre-Oscar party in LA on Saturday) have two children, who she also thanked two-year-old James and seven-month-old Leo 'I love you all very much for creating a safe space. Peace be still.' The revelation sheds new light on Jaime's past as a drug user; she she began using heroin at 14 and became an addict until she was 19. Her ex-boyfriend, Italian fashion 'heroin chic' photographer Davide Sorrenti died of a kidney ailment, thought to have been brought on by excessive drug use. Difficult past: The revelation sheds new light on Jaime's past as a drug user; she she began using heroin at 14 and became an addict until she was 19 Hours after her post, a very thin-looking Jaime was spotted out shopping for bags at luxury designer Celine in Beverly Hills. Following the Oscar ceremony Lady Gaga, who previously revealed she was raped at 19, also shared a picture of herself kissing fiance Taylor Kinney with a similar message. 'I never thought anyone would ever love me because I felt like my body was ruined by my abuser,' she wrote. 'But he loves the survivor in me. He's stood by me all night proud and unashamedly. THATS a real man. Happy couple: Filmmaker Kyle, who met his wife to be on the set of 2005's Fanboys, shared this pic himself on Sunday night She's undergone many an image overhaul during her 15-year pop career. And Jennifer Lopez was reunited with former versions of herself to an extent as she judged a doppelganger drag queen contest on live television on Monday. The global superstar had the pleasure of meeting three male artists who were styled as different versions of her as part of the competition on Watch What Happens Live. Scroll down for video 'Shades of J.Lo': Jennifer Lopez took a trip down memory lane as she met three doppelganger drag queens on Watch What Happens Live on Monday Jennifer, 46, oozed sass as she posed side on and in-between the three Lopez ladies after announcing the winner of Jennifer Faux-Pez - the first annual J.Lo drag queen contest. Sharing the fun snap on her Instagram page, she captioned it: 'SHADES Of JLo #wwhl @bravoandy.' The Love Don't Cost a Thing hit-maker was interviewed by host Andy Cohen before the funny sketch and her ex Ben Affleck's back tattoo was a hot topic of conversation. The original: One of the male artists imitated Jennifer's MTV Music Awards 2000 look (left) while another picked out a similar dress to the one she sported to the Grammy Awards in the same year Jennifer Faux-Pez: The Lopez ladies were styled as different versions of the global superstar Tattoo review: Jennifer Lopez share her opinion on Ben Affleck's back tattoo on Monday during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live The Shades of Blue actress branded the the actor's large phoenix tattoo covering most of his back 'awful'. She told the host: 'His tattoos always have too many colours, they shouldn't be so colourful, you know what I mean? They should be, like, cooler.. I don't know.' Jennifer famously dated Ben for around 18 months from late 2002 until early 2004, famously calling off their September 2003 wedding at the last minute. Colourful ink: Ben in November showed his back tattoo while filming in Los Angeles and it's safe to say his ex is far from a fan 'Awful': She branded her ex's large back tattoo as she chatted to host Andy Cohen She went on to marry third husband Marc Anthony just five months after breaking up with Ben. When describing her hopes for the future, the Maid In Manhattan actress said she wanted to get married again, despite having three divorces under her belt. 'It's always been a dream of mine, to grow old with somebody... to have a marriage that lasts, until we both die, like in The Notebook,' she giggled. While hopeful of marriage, Jennifer added that she didn't want to rush into anything with boyfriend Casper Smart who she has been dating since October 2011. She said: 'We're happy right now. The kids are great, he's great. Everything is great right now.' Jennifer was then grilled about her supposed 'feud' with Mariah Carey and how she was 'caught texting' during the diva's performance at the Billboard Music Awards. Upon arrival: The singer and actress wore a furry coat, tan sweater and ripped jeans upon arriving at the Watch What Happens Live studio Holding hands: Jennifer held hands with boyfriend Casper Smart, who watched the show backstage, after the taping She explained: 'It was a long performance, I watched most of it, I may have looked down for one second. 'So not fair, I was watching her the whole time.' When asked why she'd skipped Mariah's show in Las Vegas, the New Yorker blamed it on her busy schedule. The host: Andy Cohen fired off his own questions plus some from viewers 'I didn't have a lot of time,' she said, citing the filming of her new TV show Shades Of Blue and American Idol. J.Lo released her single, I'm Real, 15 years ago and in a game of the same name, Andy sought to discover 'how real she really is'. After noting that she 'always' shaves her legs, has 'never smoked weed' and never sleeps in her make-up, Jennifer finally admitted to talking about sex with her girlfriends. Honest answers: J-Lo revealed she always shaves her legs and has 'never smoked weed' In another game she was forced to deduce if a series of images was of her own body, or that of her friend Leah Remini. Talking of her pending ninth album she refused to be rushed for a release date. Her last release A.K.A. sold a disappointing 71,000 copies in the US, a far cry from the 3.8million copies of J.Lo she shifted in 2001. 'When it's ready,' shrugged the star, who confirmed she was not wearing any 'boob tape' for the live show. Guessing game: The star had to guess if close-ups were of her or gal pal Leah Remini 'They're just in the dress,' she said, gesturing towards her gravity-defying bosom. A caller asked Lopez how Britney Spears acts backstage, saying: 'We're not there at the same time,' she said. Talking of the fashion choices at the Oscars, she said: 'I thought Cate Blanchett looked really nice.' She's already revealed she wanted to share a cheeky kiss with him on I'm A Celebrity...Get me Out Of Here. And after some steamy jungle flirting, Vicky Pattison has confessed she has been on a date with Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews. Writing in her latest column for new! magazine, the Geordie Shore favourite admitted that the suave reality star was 'charming' but they have little in common. Scroll down for video Flirty: Vicky Pattison has revealed she has been on a date with Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews after the two reality stars hit it off in the I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here jungle last year Vicky has admitted she shared some real chemistry with Spencer during their stint on I'm A Celebrity at the end of last year, and has been keen to go on a date with the MIC star. Writing for new! Vicky confessed the two have enjoyed dinner together, revealing: 'I went on a date with a certain Spencer Matthews last week. We enjoyed a lovely night having drinks and dinner.' Vicky added that she has mixed feelings after the evening though, explaining: 'The date was really nice. Yes, I did post a quote on Instagram afterwards that said, "My mind forgets to remind me you're a bad idea." What can I say? I'm not sure how much we have in common and I'm not his usual type but he is very charming, so watch this space' Will it go anywhere: Writing in her latest column for new! magazine, the Geordie Shore star admitted that the suave reality star was 'charming' but they have little in common Vicky was referring to an Instagram post she shared on Friday, with the cryptic caption: 'I'm in trouble'. Despite her reservations, Spencer seems to be pulling out all the stops with his charm offensive, with Vicky telling her Loose Women colleagues last week that he sent her 100 red roses on Valentine's Day. The Geordie Shore star also admitted if Spencer had stayed longer in the jungle the two reality stars would have probably shared 'a cheeky kiss'. In demand: Vicky, pictured on Loose Women on Tuesday, told her Loose Women colleagues last week that Spencer sent her 100 red roses on Valentine's Day Vicky and her Loose Women co-stars were discussing the question of whether you should sleep with a colleague during the show, when talk turned to Vicky's flirtation with Spencer during their time in the jungle. She admitted something could have happened between the two if Spencer hadn't had left Australia early to fly back to England to address his substance abuse issues. 'There was no chance for anything for us to happen, his time was very fleeting,' pointed out Vicky, adding: 'There are rules, even in the jungle, against that, you know.' What if: Vicky admitted she probably would have shared a 'cheeky kiss' with Spencer if he had remained on I'm A Celebrity 'But I think I probably would have had a cheeky kiss with him. Is that bad? Theres no stationary cupboard in the jungle man!' Vicky, 28, was then asked about who sent her a huge bouquet of red roses on Valentine's Day. 'Put me on the spot!' she said, before admitting: 'Spencer sent me 100 red roses.I think there will be a date. He's not in the country at the moment but as soon as he's back I would like to see him and thank him for the roses.' Babe in blue: The Geordie star looked great in a blue jumpsuit and gold heels as she posed outside the ITV Studios on London's South Bank Later in the show, when discussing a hair and beauty segment, Vicky was asked if shed allow herself to go grey and if Spencer, 27, would still fancy her if she changed her look. 'Id like to think its me heart Spencers interested in,' Vicky told her co-stars. It's not the first time Vicky has admitted there is a spark between her and the Made In Chelsea star. 'As soon as I come out I had a message off [of] him on Twitter...and he basically said that he was gutted and he was going to be watching and rooting for us and wanted us to win,' she told Loose Women in December. Getting hot in here: The Geordie Shore star told her Loose Women colleagues that if Spencer had stayed longer in the jungle the two reality stars would have probably shared 'a cheeky kiss' She added though that she's waiting for Spencer to complete his treatment for steroid addiction before pursuing anything: 'I think Spencer has a lot of stuff hes got to deal with and a lot of stuff to occupy his time, Im assuming I should give him some space to do that. 'We have been messaging and things and it has been really nice and weve said some really quite soppy thing to each other, just like "I wished he hadnt gone."' Despite her continued chemistry with Spencer, Vicky spent Valentine's Day with another man, cosying up to her Judge Geordie co-star Alex Cannon in Newcastle's Fat Buddha bar for an Instagram snap on the day. She has always been extremely proud of her Welsh heritage. So Katherine Jenkins was naturally prepared to pay homage to her country as she took to Instagram on St David's Day on Tuesday. The 35-year-old operatic singer looked simply adorable in the shot in which she sported a frilled bonnet, gingham cape and lace apron - the traditional dress of Welsh woman. Scroll down for video Traditional: Katherine Jenkins was naturally prepared to pay homage to her country as she took to Instagram on St David's Day on Tuesday Doe-eyed Katherine, who is the mascot of the Welsh national rugby team, looked around four or five in the adorable snap in which she sported the traditional costume worn by rural women in Wales. The fashions date back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries where a bedgown and a unique Welsh hat were the hallmarks of the outfit. The outfit is frequently seen at eisteddfodau, the Welsh festival of music, literature and performance, while it was first worn by girls to celebrate Saint David's Day just before the First World War. Young Katherine was clearly celebrating the patron saint day, which falls on the first of March, in the snap which showed off her naturally brunette locks. Blonder: The 35-year-old operatic singer looked simply adorable in the shot in which she sported a frilled bonnet, gingham cape and lace apron - the traditional dress of Welsh woman The stunning star has enjoyed an array of hair colours and styles although she is best known for her bright blonde locks. In 2014, Katherine went back to her brunette locks and told MailOnline: 'I'm on the cusp of being brunette and I'm really happy with it. 'When it happened, I thought "whoa"... My mum loves my new hair and us girls love a bit of change. I've been enjoying trying out different shades of make-up and dressing differently. Blonde beauty: The stunning star has enjoyed an array of hair colours and styles although she is best known for her bright blonde locks 'I'm having so much fun with it already. That whole thing about blondes have more fun, I'm like, let's put that to the test.' In light of her Welsh heritage Katherine will receive the Hopkins Medal from the St. Davids Society at its Annual Award Banquet and Scholarship Fundraiser in Manhattan on Friday. She's the poster girl for a new jewellery collection. And Daisy Lowe has certainly put her all into the campaign for Pamela's Love's designs, stripping off for a very steamy shoot. The model shows off her famous curves in the images, going topless in a pool as she displays the designs from the CFDA award-winning jeweller. Scroll down for video Baring all: Daisy Lowe goes topless for a new campaign for Pamela Love's jewellery collection The most risque shot sees the dark-haired beauty lying down in the water and staring straight at the camera. She's draped in nothing but jewels from Pamela Love, including long pendant necklaces and glitzy bracelets. Dark eyeliner, a vampy manicure and a red lip add to the glam vibe of the shot. Bit of bling: The model shows off her famous curves in the images, going topless in a pool as she shows off the designs from the CFDA award-winning jeweller Other shots in the campaign show Daisy in close-up as she expertly models beautiful rings, bracelets and necklaces, with the model posing in a slinky robe and lingerie. New Yorker Pamela Love is renowned for her beautiful creations inspired by alchemy, astronomy, botany and American folklore. Daisy has had a busy month, hitting London Fashion Week with gusto in February as she sat front row for the top shows and hit the star-studded parties. Like a pro: The stunning model sports dark smoky eyes and a glossy red lip in the retro style shoot Sultry: The beautiful shots show off Love's creations which are inspired by alchemy, astronomy, botany and American folklore Racy: Daisy is seen lounging around in a slinky robe and lingerie as she shows off the gorgeous jewels Strike a pose: The top British model expertly displays the designs from the New Yorker She has also been working hard, unveiling another new collaboration with Triumph lingerie this week. Daisy, who has appeared in high-profile campaigns for the likes of DKNY, Marc by Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton, began her modelling career at the age of two. Eyebrows were raised when she went topless for Esquire and posed nude for Playboy in 2011. Ready for her close up: The beauty stares seductively into the camera Curves: Long pendants are layered up for the stunning photoshoot Summer style: The campaign is shot in soft focus for a stunning set of images Daisy is currently in a relationship with Peaches Geldof's widower Thomas Cohen, 25. The pair were spotted kissing in a London park earlier this month while out with his son Astala. They were first linked in January after a suggestive snap of Thomas posing alongside Daisy's behind on Instagram during their New Year break in Miami appeared online. Talking to Now magazine, Daisy refused to officially confirm the romance, but said: 'I'm never going to talk about my personal life, never,' but she did say: 'I am so happy, thanks, yeah. I'm about good vibes all around.' Piled up high: Silver rings and bangles adorn Daisy's hands and feet Work it: The star looks gorgeous in the close up images They've hardly enjoyed a totally blissful romance since first getting together five years ago. But Geordie Shore star Gaz Beadle delivered the ultimate insult to his on-off love interest Charlotte Crosby in a new magazine interview. The original MTV star compared his cast-mate's nose pre-surgery to that of a 'f**king parrot' as he touched on her decision to go under the knife. Scroll down for video Not mincing his words: Geordie Shore's Gaz Beadle has taken a swipe at his now-girlfriend Charlotte Crosby's old nose in a new interview 'She was like a f**king parrot': The cheeky lad said of Charlotte's old nose (left) before saying her new nose 'makes her look amazing' 'Did you see her nose before? She was like a f**king parrot! Only joking,' he told Star magazine. Adding: 'I keep winding her up and saying you needed it done! But I do think it makes her look amazing.' However, despite the recent revelation, the 25-year-old Belly Blitz star recently admitted the couple - who have been on and off for five years - are getting on better than ever. 'We're the best we've ever been': Gaz, 27, said of his and the 25-year-old's current relationship after recently confirming they're giving their romance a proper chance Charlotte told Daily Mail Australia: 'It was always just kind of a sex thing, although I obviously wanted it to be more and then weve grown up so much now that I cant even explain it. 'But something is different now, something is really different I think weve both matured.' Gaz, 27, reiterated his girlfriend's sentiments, saying: 'Were the best weve ever been. I feel giddy around her and we cant wait to see each other. Weve messed around, but now weve dropped our guards completely.' Romance isn't dead: The original Geordie Shore couple looked the picture of relationship bliss as they enjoyed a date night on Tuesday 'Something is different now': Charlotte recently said of her and Gaz's budding romance after a five-year turbulent relationship And the reality stars proved their romance is going from strength to strength as they were the picture of relationship bliss while enjoying a recent day date at the end of promotional duties on Tuesday. The couple cuddled into one another as they tucked into pizza and enjoyed some civilised drinks in the image which was shared on her Instagram page. Charlotte underwent a nose job earlier in the year after growing tired of hating what she saw on-screen and she's a lot happier since having the plastic surgery. 'When I got the cast off I looked in the mirror I was like "wow, that is amazing". To think that [my nose] has just changed in three hours and I felt so much better and I was so much more confident,' she explained. She's been showing off her toned physique on the beaches of Turks and Caicos in a number of skimpy two-pieces. And Michelle Heaton showcased her extensive bikini collection in a figure-flaunting design as she enjoyed yet another sun-soaked day in the Caribbean recently. The 36-year-old TV personality was bound to set the already scorching temperatures soaring as she highlighted her sculpted abs in a nautical-style two-piece. Scroll down for video Beach babe: Michelle Heaton showcased her extensive bikini collection in yet another figure-flaunting design as she enjoyed yet another sun-soaked day in the Caribbean recently The swimsuit gave Michelle's athletic figure a more feminine silhouette with its white frilled detailing. The former Liberty X singer showcased her natural beauty by keeping her skin free of make-up beneath her aviator shades, while her brunette locks were swept into an effortless top knot. Her stunning display came just a short while before Michelle wowed in a colourful floral bikini, which once again showed off her toned tummy and varied inkings, as she hit the beach with her two little ones on Monday. Bottoms up! The 36-year-old TV personality was bound to set the already scorching temperatures soaring as she highlighted her sculpted abs in a nautical-style two-piece What a frill! The swimsuit gave Michelle's athletic figure a more feminine silhouette with its white frilled detailing Sharing snaps from their idyllic vacation on social media, Michelle captioned one shot: 'Been a long time since wearing a bikini! After the operations & the kids.. Stay strong girls if I can do it you can!' It's been a tough couple of years for Michelle, following her mutated BRCA2 gene diagnosis in 2012. In 2014, she underwent a hysterectomy, following the birth of her second child and was motivated by the fear of leaving her offspring without a mother. She and husband Hugh Hanley are parents to Faith, three and AJ, 18 months. Another winner! Her stunning display came just a short while before Michelle wowed in a colourful floral bikini, which once again showed off her toned tummy and varied inkings Hot to trot: The yummy mummy looked incredible in a colourful floral bikini, which showed off her toned tummy and a variety of inkings while soaking up the sun with her children in Turks and Caicos, south east of the Bahamas She captioned one snap with the words: 'Been a long time since wearing a bikini! After the operations & the kids.. Stay strong girls if I can do it you can!' The fitness enthusiast previously underwent a preventative double mastectomy in 2012. The shocking diagnosis signalled an 80% chance of developing breast cancer and a 30% chance of ovarian cancer. Continuing to put on a brave face, Michelle posted a couple more snaps as she documented her time away with her family on Instagram. Holding hands with her little girl, she wrote: 'Me and my wing woman .... My best friend in the whole world... Loving life right now at #BeachesTurksandCaicos.' And as she looked out at the pool from her hotel balcony, with her son and daughter by her side, she wrote: 'A cheeky good morning to you all from #BeachesTurksandCaicos ... Now that's what I call a room with a view xxx.' Ben Affleck took a one-two punch from exes Jennifer Garner and Jennifer Lopez over his mid-life crisis tattoo in recent days. And it seems the humiliation just might be taking a toll. The 43-year-old looked worn out and weary as he rubbed his eyes while arriving at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills on Tuesday. Scroll down for video Weary: Ben Affleck looked a bit tired as he was spotted heading into the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills on Tuesday after exes Jennifer Garner and Jennifer Lopez mocked his new back tattoo Laid-back: The father-of-three looked casual in a fitted, black T-shirt worn underneath a coordinating blazer, and along with dark wash jeans Ben dressed casually for Tuesday's outing, sporting a fitted, black T-shirt underneath a coordinating blazer. He coupled those with a pair of dark wash jeans as well as brown boots as he made his way into the hotel. The father-of-three looked like he needed a bit of a caffeine boost, as he was spotted carrying an iced beverage from Dunkin' Donuts. The Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice star was also spotted looking exhausted as he made his way into the hotel, rubbing his eyes. The outing comes after exes Garner and Lopez both spoke out about his new back tattoo, mocking him in both Vanity Fair and on Watch What Happens Live, respectively. A pick-me-up: The Oscar winner was spotted carrying a large iced beverage from Dunkin' Donuts as he arrived Having a laugh: Ben has recently been the butt of a few jokes after getting some new ink following his split from wife of ten years, Garner On Monday, Lopez appeared on the Bravo chat show, during which host Andy Cohen asked what she thought about her ex's new tattoo as they played Plead the Fifth. 'It's awful!' J.Lo gushed, adding: 'I would tell him that! I would tell him, like what are you doing?' The Shades of Blue star continued, explaining: 'It has too many colors. His tattoos always had too many colors. They shouldn't be so colorful, you know what I mean? They should be cooler.' Lopez dated Ben for around 18 months from late 2002 until early 2004, famously calling off their September 2003 wedding at the last minute. And in a revealing cover story for Vanity Fair, Ben's estranged wife Garner commented on the tattoo as well. Topic of conversation: Many have been poking fun at Ben's new tattoo - a phoenix rising from the ashes - which can be seen here as he was spotted on the set of Live By Night in Los Angeles in December 'It's awful!' Ex Lopez mocked the tattoo, saying it had 'too many colors' as she appeared on Monday's episode of Watch What Happens Live - the pair dated from late 2002 until early 2004 'You know what we would say in my hometown about that?' the West Virginia native dished of the tattoo: Bless his heart. 'Am I the ashes in this scenario?' The 13 Going on 30 star also joked. 'I take umbrage. I refuse to be the ashes.' Garner and Ben, who have three children together (Violet, aged 10, Seraphina, aged seven, and Samuel, aged four), announced their split in June, just a month before talk of his involvement with the children's nanny, Christine Ouzounian, 28. 'Bless his heart' Garner also poked fun at Ben for his tattoo in her cover story with Vanity Fair, commenting: 'Am I the ashes in this scenario? I take umbrage. I refuse to be the ashes' Moving forward: Garner and Ben (pictured in January) split last June, announcing plans to divorce the day after their 10-year anniversary As far as his claims that the affair never happened, Garner said: 'Hes still the only person who really knows the truth about things. And Im still the only person that knows some of his truths.' She did, however, insist that the nanny was not the reason for the couple's split, which was announced the day after their 10-year anniversary. They kicked off their Sounds Live, Feels Live world tour in Japan last week. And on Tuesday 5 Seconds Of Summer rocked out in Taipei, Taiwan as they continued the Asia-leg of their trip. During the concert the four Aussie lads were seen getting hot and sweaty as they ran up and down the stage as they performed to the sold out crowd. Scroll down for video Sounds live, Feels Live: 5 Seconds Of Summer rocked out in Taipei, Taiwan on Tuesday as they continued the Asia-leg of their world tour For their performance the band spread out in their usual pattern across the stage as lead singer and rhythm guitarist Luke Hemmings took his spot in the middle, blocking the view of drummer Ashton Irwin. Guitarist Michael Clifford stood to the singer's right while bass player Calum Hood took a stand in front of his microphone on the left. The band were seen getting into their hit tunes, singing into each other's microphones and throwing their hands in the air. See more of the latest 5SOS updates as they get hot and sweaty performing in Taiwan In positions: For their gig the band spread out across the stage in their usual pattern, as Luke Hemmings (M) took his spot in the middle and his three bandmates surrounded him (L: Michael Clifford, R: Calum Hood) Having a ball: The Aussie lads put their energy into their hit tunes as they were pictured singing into each other's microphones and throwing their hands in the air Nothing different there: For the evening all four dressed in their traditional black skin-tight jeans and a simple dark coloured T-shirt (pictured: Luke Hemmings) For the evening all four dressed in their traditional black skintight jeans and a simple dark coloured T-shirt. Michael opted for a different look and showed off his bulging biceps in a grey tank top. Days earlier the group performed in Tokyo, Japan where they met their 'mini-me's'. The foursome shared multiple snaps of themselves and their Japanese fans across social media where they struck multiple poses. Showing off: Michael mixed up his outfit and opted for a grey tank top which showed off his bicep muscles Who's who? Days earlier 5SOS performed in front of a sold out crowd in Tokyo, Japan where they met their 'mini-me's' (L: Michael Clifford, R: Ashton Irwin) Fans come first: They mingled with the tiny fans and signed autographs backstage Memorable moment: Following their performance the lads welcomed the four youngings on stage where they posed with their arms crossed as they formed the 'rock out' symbol with both their hands Following their gig the lads welcomed the four youngings on stage with them and they all performed a bow in front of the applauding crowd. 5SOS Australian Tour Dates: September 29: Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne October 2: The Riverstage, Brisbane October 4 and 6: Hordern Pavilion, Sydney Advertisement All eight stood tall while crossing their arms in front of them as they formed the 'rock out' symbol with both their hands. The band shared the adorable group snap with their 5.3 million social media followers, which they simply captioned: 'MINI 5SOS'. The Aussie group will travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday before jetting to Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. In April 5SOS will kick off their European leg before moving to the USA and Canada in July. Timeline of Syrian ceasefire A "cessation of hostilities" has been in effect in Syria for three days, although both sides accuse the other of violations. The accord was drawn up by Russia and the United States, and has the unanimous backing of the UN Security Council. It applies to Damascus and most of its suburbs, the southern province of Daraa, and parts of Aleppo and Homs provinces. Syrian children walk past heavily damaged buildings in the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern edges of the capital Damascus on February 27, 2016, on the first day of the landmark ceasefire agreement Sameer Al-Doumy (AFP/File) What is not included is more than half of the country's territory that is controlled by Islamic State group (IS) jihadists or Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front. Saturday, February 27 - The unprecedented cessation of hostilities begins at 0000 local time (2200 GMT on Friday). - Russia says it will suspend for one day its air strikes in Syria to support the agreement and avoid "bombing mistakes". - The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and militants report a precarious calm in the central regions around Homs and Hama, in Damascus and around Aleppo in the north. No air strikes are signalled against rebel regions. - One exception is near Abbasid Square in Damascus, where about a dozen shells hit an area disputed for the past three years by government troops and rebels. - A Geneva-based international working group issues a positive evaluation of the situation. Although a few incidents are noted, the UN estimates they have not torpedoed the ceasefire. Sunday, February 28 - Aircraft attack six locations in Aleppo province and one in Hama, the Syrian Observatory says. The director of a pro-rebel press agency says the aircraft were Russian. - Russian Lieutenant General Sergei Kuralenko accuses rebels of violating the ceasefire nine times, but adds: "On the whole, the ceasefire regime in Syria is being implemented." - The Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee, which represents most of the opposition groups, says the ceasefire has been broken two dozen times by Syria's government and its allies, leaving 29 dead. - Saudi Arabia directly accuses President Bashar al-Assad's regime and Russia of "ceasefire violations". - The UN says it will distribute supplies to an extra 154,000 people in besieged areas over the next five days. Monday, February 29 - The Observatory says that the death toll in areas outside jihadist control has fallen sharply since the ceasefire began, with 40 people killed on the first two days in areas where IS is not present, against 144 on Friday. - Ten airstrikes hit part of the eastern town of Deir Ezzor controlled by IS. - Turkey shells IS positions in northern Aleppo province in coordination with the US-led international anti-jihadist coalition. - The UN human rights chief warns that thousands could die from starvation because of sieges that have affected more than 480,000 people. The Red Crescent begins delivering UN-provided hygiene supplies to the rebel-held town of Moadamiyet al-Sham southwest of Damascus. - The international task force was to meet in Geneva to shore up the ceasefire, after UN chief Ban Ki-moon tells media that "by and large the cessation of hostilities is holding even though we have experienced some incidents". Syrian rebel fighters from the Failaq al-Rahman brigade, take a break as they hide inside a building on the frontline against regime forces in the rebel-controlled village of Bala, on February 28, 2016 Abdulmonam Eassa (AFP/File) Iran elections: what changed and what it means Elections in Iran have led to a reshaping of political forces in the Islamic republic and benefited President Hassan Rouhani following a nuclear deal with world powers last summer. In a ballot on Friday for parliament an alliance of pro-Rouhani reformists and moderates gained seats, conservative numbers were cut and hardliners who had opposed the nuclear agreement were all but wiped out. Although the president's allies did not secure a majority in parliament, they made significant gains that are likely to make passing legislation much easier. An Iranian woman shows her inked finger after casting her ballot at a polling station in Tehran on February 26, 2016 Atta Kenare (AFP/File) A simultaneous election was held for the Assembly of Experts, a powerful clerical body that appoints Iran's supreme leader, Iran's ultimate authority, currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Why two elections at the same time? Iran, an Islamic republic since a 1979 revolution toppled the pro-Western monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, has some institutions and many officials appointed by the supreme leader, but parliament and the Assembly of Experts are elected directly by the people. All candidates are vetted by a constitutional watchdog, The Guardian Council, for their loyalty to the state. Polling for the country's 290 MPs takes place every four years, while the 88 members of the Assembly are elected for eight years -- and this year the two elections coincided. The Assembly of Experts generally has a low profile, but a long dormant task may be undertaken during its next term if the incumbent Khamenei, who is 76, dies. The assembly would pick his replacement. Under Iran's system the supreme leader outranks the president and has the final word on major areas of domestic and international policy, setting the country's strategic direction. What are the main political forces? There are two major political movements in Iran: reformists and conservatives. The conservative bloc is not monolithic, however: it also has radicals (or ultra-conservatives) and moderates. Moderates can find themselves aligned with reformists on some policy matters. The agreement of July 2015 between the major powers and Iran over its nuclear programme was approved by reformists and moderate conservatives, for example. Who won? Conservatives or reformists? There is no clear cut victory for either of the two camps, as none on its own will have a parliamentary majority. But the allies of reformists and supporters of Rouhani made significant gains and were able to offset the strong influence of conservatives. Most ultra-conservatives have been sidelined and the government will, in addition to its own supporters, probably be able to rely on the votes of moderate conservatives on some future reforms. In the last parliamentary elections in 2012, reformists largely boycotted the polls in protest at the disputed 2009 re-election of then president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the subsequent house arrest in Tehran since 2011 of reformist leaders Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi. The Assembly of Experts remains dominated by conservatives, but reformists and moderates have had symbolic victories. They partly achieved their main goal -- the voting out of two of the three strong conservative personalities in the assembly, Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, its president, and Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, a figure long openly hostile to reformists. Where does the supreme leader stand? The supreme leader safeguards the unity of the nation and never officially takes part in partisan fights. But he remains Iran's strongman and his statements and influence are unquestionable. Without his consent, the nuclear negotiations leading to the accord and the lifting of crippling international sanctions would not have been possible. The decision was hailed by reformists. But since the agreement, Khamenei has warned against the "arrogance" of the United States, dubbing it the key player behind risks of economic, political and cultural "infiltration" by foreign powers. Khamenei's views on "infiltration" and the "arrogance" were widely used by many conservatives during election campaigning. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a press-conference in Tehran, on February 27, 2016 Atta Kenare (AFP/File) Israel orders 84 Palestinians held without trial: NGO Israel has over the past 10 days slapped "administrative detention" orders on 84 Palestinians, a controversial procedure under which prisoners can be held without charge, a Palestinian NGO said Monday. The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said 39 Palestinians had been arrested and placed under administrative detention for periods of between two and six months, while the other 45 had their detention prolonged. Last Friday, journalist Mohammed al-Qiq ended a 94-day hunger strike staged in protest at his administrative detention under a deal for his release in May. On February 26, 2016 journalist Mohammed al-Qiq (poster) ended a 94-day hunger strike staged in protest at his administrative detention under a deal for his release in May Abbas Momani (AFP/File) The procedure, which dates back to the British mandate of Palestine, allows Israel to hold suspects without trial for renewable six-month periods. The latest orders raise to more than 700 the number of Palestinians held under administrative detention, out of a total of more than 7,000 Palestinians being held in Israeli jails, according to the NGO. Family of Israeli missing in Gaza ask world to pressure Hamas The family of an Israeli man who went missing in 2014 after crossing into the Gaza Strip appealed Monday to the international community to help bring him home. Avraham Mengistu, a 29-year-old Israeli of Ethiopian descent, was deeply depressed and suffering from mental problems when he wandered unarmed across the border to Gaza a year and a half ago, they said. Israel's defence ministry has determined that Mengistu was held by Hamas after illegally crossing the border, but the Islamist movement governing Gaza has provided no information about his whereabouts or condition. A relative of Avraham Mengistu (portrait), an Israeli of Ethiopian descent who went missing after crossing into the Gaza Strip, poses with an Israeli flag as family and friends protest near Tel Aviv on August 17, 2015 Jack Guez (AFP/File) "We are kept in the dark," the man's 30-year-old brother Gashao told AFP during a visit to Geneva, with a representative of Israel's mission to the United Nations serving as translator. His father Ayaline sat next to him, looking anxious and drawn, and his mother Agurnesh sat nearby, weeping quietly. The family, who live in the southern city of Ashkelon near the Gaza border, had travelled to Geneva to meet with diplomats and groups and appeal to them to put pressure on Hamas "to do the right thing," Gashao said. With his parents sitting nearby looking anxious and drawn, Gashao insisted "the international community has influence over Hamas." "They can help this go beyond politics. It is a human rights and a humanitarian issue," he said. "When Hamas is asking for humanitarian assistance, and contributions to the people in Gaza, then the international community should tell them: don't expect us to assist you when you are violating the same rights of the other side," Gashao said. "We are talking about an innocent civilian. He's not a soldier. He was never a soldier," he said. He explained that Avraham, distraught after the death of another brother and hospitalised several times for mental problems, had been exempt from Israeli military service. The family rejected reports that they had previously been angry with the Israeli military's reaction to Avraham's disappearance and had claimed that more effort would have been put into finding him if he were white. Members of Israel's 135,000-strong ethnic Ethiopian community say they suffer from discrimination. But Gashao said this was not an issue in this case: " The government is doing what it can." Israel does not allow its citizens to enter Gaza, partly over fears that they may be used as bargaining chips to demand concessions, including the release of prisoners. Supreme Court justice asks first question in decade Rarely are Supreme Court proceedings rocked by such astonishment. On Monday, Justice Clarence Thomas broke a years-long habit of silence by asking a question during a hearing on gun rights -- his first in a decade. An arch-conservative who was ideologically aligned to his friend on the court, the late -- and voluble -- Justice Antonin Scalia, Thomas has become known as the only justice never to open his mouth during oral arguments. US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas testifies on April 15, 2010 in Washington Alex Wong (Getty/AFP/File) But when Federal government lawyer Ilana Eisenstein had wrapped up arguments in a case over a law banning those convicted for domestic violence from owning firearms, Thomas spoke up. "Can you give me another area where a misdemeanor violation suspends a constitutional right?" he asked. Heads turned in disbelief. Sitting next to Scalia's empty seat -- which remains draped in black -- Thomas went on to ask several more rapid-fire questions as if he had suddenly found his tongue, journalists covering the case said. He last asked a question on February 22, 2006 in a case concerning the death penalty. Only once since then, in January 2013, did he break his silence to crack a joke during oral proceedings. Eight justices currently sit on the Supreme Court instead of the usual nine as the White House braces for a showdown with the Senate's Republican majority over the appointment of a replacement for Scalia, who died earlier this month. The court's sole African American, Thomas supports "originalism" -- the idea championed by Scalia that the constitution must be interpreted according to the Founding Fathers' original intent. Appointed by President George Bush in 1991, Thomas is also a strong defender of the Second Amendment, which holds that Americans have the right to keep and bear arms. The 67-year-old judge has put forward various reasons for his silence over the years, once stating that asking too many questions is "not helpful" for deciding cases because lawyers do most of the work in the legal briefs they file with the court. Trump, Clinton heavy favorites going into Super Tuesday White House hopefuls Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are poised to pass a point of no return on Super Tuesday, if as expected they outrun their rivals on the biggest voting day of the primary season. With just hours to go before polls open, the Republican and Democratic frontrunners fended off rivals and appealed to supporters in a dozen states, a day before they head to polls. If they win big as the presidential nomination race broadens following a string of statewide votes, it could spell doom for their challengers. Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton (L) waves to the crowd beside Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe during a campaign rally on February 29, 2016 at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia Paul J. Richards (AFP) Clinton was riding high after thrashing rival Bernie Sanders in South Carolina over the weekend, securing an astronomical 86 percent of the African-American vote. But she was leaving nothing to chance, traveling to multiple states to urge a strong turnout. "I need your help to go and vote tomorrow, to bring people to vote with you," she implored a crowd in Springfield, Massachusetts on Monday. She also took aim at the increasingly hostile campaign rhetoric on the Republican side led by the brash real estate mogul Trump. - Scapegoating, fingerpointing, blaming - "I really regret the language being used by Republicans. Scapegoating people, fingerpointing, blaming. That is not how we should behave toward one another," she told several hundred people at a university in Fairfax, Virginia. "We're going to demonstrate starting tomorrow on Super Tuesday, there's a different path that Americans ought to take." Trump, whose incendiary campaign has turned US politics on its head, has a political target on his back, with mainstream favorite Marco Rubio intensifying his personal attacks and stressing Trump would have serious weaknesses in a general election. The Florida senator warned supporters in Tennessee that US media and critics will jump on Trump "like the hounds of hell" if he wins the nomination. "They'll shred him to pieces and then get Hillary Clinton elected," Rubio said, insisting that he is better positioned to defeat Clinton. But Trump is clearly in the driver's seat. He is leading in polling in at least eight of the 11 Super Tuesday states. And a new CNN/ORC poll shows the billionaire expanding his lead nationally, earning a stunning 49 percent support compared to second place Rubio at 16 percent. Fellow first-term Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is third, at 15 percent, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 10 percent and Ohio Governor John Kasich at six percent. Trump hit back hard against Rubio, calling him "Little Marco," mocking him for sweating on the campaign trail and warning Rubio could not stand up to strong men like Russian President Vladimir Putin. - Republican gut check - Super Tuesday will unquestionably be a gut check for the Republican Party. It will also test whether Rubio's newfound aggressiveness toward Trump -- the 44-year-old senator has attacked his rival's business dealings, temperament, age, policy platforms and hairstyle in recent days -- will have an impact on voters. Trump is "the Bernie Madoff of American politics," Rubio told Fox News, referencing the former investment advisor jailed for life for committing the largest financial fraud in US history. Trump's inflammatory rhetoric during the campaign, accusing Mexico of sending "rapists" and criminals across the border and urging a ban on Muslims entering the country, would have been the undoing of a normal candidate. But all signs show 2016 is far from normal, with a fiercely angry electorate keen to back an outsider who scornfully attacks the establishment. Trump has shrugged off the criticism, including Clinton's. "Hillary says she doesn't like my tone," Trump told a crowd of some 3,000 in southwester Virginia. "The world is a mean and evil place, we need a strong tone." In the latest controversy, Trump came under withering criticism from Republican and Democratic candidates alike for not immediately disavowing the support of David Duke, a white supremacist who once led the Ku Klux Klan. Rubio said Trump's failure to immediately repudiate Duke, who has expressed support for Trump, makes him "unelectable." The party's flagbearer in 2012, Mitt Romney, joined the chorus of outrage, tweeting that Trump's "coddling of repugnant bigotry is not in the character of America." Trump sought to put the issue behind him, blaming it on a "very bad ear piece" that prevented him from accurately hearing the question about Duke, and repeating his prior disavowal of the white supremacist. If Trump sweeps the South, where many of the Super Tuesday races are taking place, it could be lights out for his Republican challengers. Like Rubio, rival Cruz warned that a vote for Trump was a vote for Clinton in November. "If Donald Trump is the nominee, Hillary in all likelihood wins," arch-conservative Cruz told a rally in his home state of Texas. The Lone Star State is the largest prize Tuesday, and Cruz is banking on winning there. But he trails in every other Super Tuesday state, except for Arkansas. Nearly 600 Republican delegates are up for grabs Tuesday, close to half of the 1,237 needed to secure the nomination. Some 865 Democratic delegates are at stake, about 36 percent of those needed to win. US presidential nominations: Super Tuesday Colin Henry, Kun Tian, Alain Bommenel (AFP) Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio speaks at a rally on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas on February 29, 2016 in Conway, Arkansas Michael B. Thomas (AFP) Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz speaks at a rally at Gilley's Dallas on February 29, 2016 in Dallas, Texas Stewart F. House (Getty/AFP) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to speak in Las Vegas, Nevada, February 22, 2016 John Gurzinski (AFP/File) So far, Coconino County has not seen any big rallies or fundraising events for individual Republican presidential hopefuls. But that doesnt mean local GOP voters are not passionate about their favorite candidates. Flagstaff resident and longtime Republican activist Joy Staveley feels so strongly about Marco Rubio that she spent four days in the Las Vegas area making campaign phone calls, going door-to-door and volunteering at rallies ahead of Nevadas Republican caucus this past week. I, for one, would like a president that I can be proud of and inspired by, Staveley said. And to me, thats Marco Rubio from head to toe. For Staveley, Rubio is the ideal candidate: a young, attractive conservative with detailed political plans whose charisma and ability to communicate remind her of a young Ronald Reagan. I believe he appeals to the widest cross-section of voters, she said. I believe that he can garner support from people who have Libertarian-leaning views, from (people with) what are considered traditional Republican views, I believe he can appeal to independents and I believe that he would appeal to some more moderate Democrats. Staveley said Rubio can appeal to voters in the traditionally left-leaning Flagstaff area because he knows how to work across party lines. In particular, she likes his position on illegal immigration, which includes a path to citizenship for those in the United States illegally. She is disappointed that so-called anti-establishment candidates like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are getting so much of the attention this election season because neither of them, in her mind, could get enough bipartisan support to win the general election. For one thing, she said Trump has not offered any real plans for how he is going to, in his words, make America great again. Its just the weirdest election cycle Ive ever seen in my entire life and to me its too bad because I really think were at a critical juncture in our history, Staveley said. Staveley plans to keep making calls for the Rubio campaign ahead of Arizonas March 22 primary, but the focus will probably be on other parts of the state. Locally, we just dont have a lot of (GOP) activists up here, Staveley said. I have a lot of friends down in the Valley who are strong Rubio supporters but up here there really arent as many of us. She also said she has not seen a lot of local political activity in favor of Ted Cruz, Ben Carson or John Kasich. Staveley said the sheer number of Republican candidates who entered the race this election cycle and then started attacking one another probably didnt help. If Rubio does not win the primary battle, Staveley said she would still vote for the Republican nominee in the general election because she fundamentally disagrees with Sanders political views and she does not trust Hillary Clinton for a variety of reasons. But she said she would not campaign for most of the other GOP candidates. Staveley encouraged voters to take the time to research all the remaining candidates platforms before casting their ballots. That, and show up. A very small percentage of the electorate votes in primaries or caucuses, she said. I dont like the way we do that. Too few people are making a very important decision. US 'Super Tuesday' -- what's at stake Americans in a dozen states head to the polls for a slew of primaries and caucuses Tuesday on what is considered the most important day of the presidential nominations calendar. Here is what is at stake on "Super Tuesday," which could have a big impact on Democratic and Republican contenders still in the race for the White House: - Twelve states vote - US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton waves after addressing a primary night rally in Columbia, South Carolina, on February 27, 2016 Nicholas Kamm (AFP/File) A dozen states are holding contests, including several in the South. For the most part, they are both Republican and Democratic in nature. Two exceptions are Alaska, where only Republican caucuses are being held, and Colorado, where only Democratic caucuses will take place. In contrast to primary elections, caucuses are meetings which voters attend and where they indicate their preference. Here is the list of "Super Tuesday" states in alphabetical order: Alabama (south) Alaska (northeast, Republican caucus) Arkansas (south) Colorado (west, Democratic caucus) Georgia (south) Massachusetts (northeast) Minnesota (north) Oklahoma (south) Tennessee (south) Texas (south) Vermont (northeast) Virginia (east) Democrats are also voting in American Samoa in the Pacific. - Times/delegates in play - Most of the polling places open between 7 am and 8 am local time across US eastern and central time zones and close between 7 pm and 9 pm. In Alaska, caucuses finish around 0500 GMT Wednesday. About a quarter of all delegates doled out during the primary process will be up for grabs. Texas has the largest number of delegates in play (222 on the Democratic side and 155 on the Republican side.) Alaska and Vermont have the fewest. Primaries and caucuses serve to elect delegates to national Democratic and Republican conventions where a party's presidential candidate is chosen ahead of the November elections. The Republican National Convention will be held July 18-21 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Democratic National Convention takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 25-28. For Republicans, the first candidate to reach 1,237 delegates out of 2,472 will get the party's nomination. On the Democratic side, the support of at least 2,382 delegates out of 4,763 is needed. - Who's leading? - Four states have voted up until now -- Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Billionaire real estate magnate Donald Trump leads the Republican field, having pocketed New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Iowa went to rival Ted Cruz, a senator from Texas. Former first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton leads rival Bernie Sanders after victories in Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina. Sanders, a senator from Vermont, won in New Hampshire. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, February 19, 2016 Jim Watson (AFP/File) IS executes eight Dutch jihadists in Syria: activists The Islamic State has executed eight Dutch members of the jihadist group, whom it accused of trying to desert, activists said Monday. "Daesh (IS) executed eight Dutch fighters on Friday in Maadan, Raqa province, after accusing them of attempting desertion and mutiny," Abu Mohammad, a member of the citizen journalist group Raqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), said via Twitter. RBSS has been documenting since April 2014 IS' abuses in Raqa, the group's de facto capital in northern Syria. The Islamic State has executed eight Dutch members of the jihadist group, whom it accused of trying to desert, activists said Tension has boiled in Raqa over the past month between 75 Dutch jihadists -- among them fighters of Moroccan origin -- and IS intelligence operatives from Iraq, RBSS said. Three other Dutch jihadists were arrested by Iraqi IS members who accused them of wanting to flee and one of the detainees was beaten to death during the interrogation, according to RBSS. IS leaders in Raqa sent a delegate to solve the dispute with the Dutch cell's enraged members, but they murdered the intermediary in vengeance, the citizen journalist group added. The IS leadership in Iraq then ordered the arrest of all the members of the Dutch group, and imprisoned them in Tabaqa and Maadan in Syria. Eight have since been executed, RBSS said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict, could not confirm the report. However it said three European jihadists of North African origin were executed in what IS calls the Wilayet al-Furat -- an area stretching across the Syrian-Iraqi frontier. Four charged with selling stolen satellite tech to China Canadian federal police on Monday charged an American, a Briton and two Canadians with stealing sensitive satellite imaging technology and selling it to China in violation of export laws. Two of them stole the sensor from their employer Teledyne Dalsa of Waterloo, Ontario with help from a former employee, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They then sold it to two Chinese firms, one of them state-owned, in violation of the Canadian Controlled Goods Program and other laws. Canadian federal police charged an American, a Briton and two Canadians with stealing sensitive satellite imaging technology and selling it to China Clive Rose (Getty/AFP/File) The fourth accused works for one of the Chinese companies allegedly involved in the scheme. The microelectronics were "intended for space satellite use," the RCMP said in a statement. "This investigation is an example of foreign governments having an interest in Canadian-based controlled technology and it highlights the RCMP's commitment to keeping Canadian's safe from the potential misuse of that technology," RCMP Superintendent Jamie Jagoe said. The two-year probe also involved the Canadian Space Agency, the military, the US Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. Canadians Arthur Xin Pang, 46, and Binqiao Li, 59, were arrested and charged with more than a dozen related crimes. Police officer fatally shoots man in North Carolina A police officer in Raleigh, North Carolina fatally shot a man wanted on a drug charge on Monday, prompting protests amid accusations that the victim was shot in the back. The officer was chasing the suspect -- wanted for a felony drug charge -- on foot, Raleigh police chief Cassandra Deck-Brown told reporters. "During the course of the pursuit, the suspect was shot and killed by the officer," she said. A police officer in Raleigh, North Carolina was chasing a suspect -- wanted for a felony drug charge -- on foot when the suspect was fatally shot Scott Olson (Getty/AFP/File) "Initially, it is known that a firearm was located within close proximity to the deceased suspect," she added without elaborating. Deck-Brown asked for patience while the authorities investigate the incident. Police did not identify the officer or the suspect. However, local media reported a woman at the scene as saying a cousin had told her a police officer had shot and killed her 24-year-old son. Rolanda Byrd said her son, Akiel Denkins, was unarmed and had been shot in the back, the paper reported. She said witnesses told her Denkins, an African-American, was "shot seven times by a white officer with a bald head," the News and Observer newspaper reported. More than a hundred people protested at the scene near downtown Raleigh. A series of killings of African-Americans by white police officers -- most caught on video -- have roiled racial tensions and prompted a protest movement under the banner "Black Lives Matter." Gun violence claims the lives of about 30,000 Americans every year and mass shootings -- rare in most countries -- have been on the rise in the United States. Judge sides with Apple in NY drug probe iPhone case A US magistrate judge in New York has ruled that police overstepped the law when they called on Apple to unlock the iPhone of a suspected drug dealer. The ruling could signal Apple is on sound footing in a separate but similar battle with the US government over being forced to help crack into an iPhone used by one of the shooters in December's San Bernardino attacks. US Magistrate Judge James Orenstein in New York said in a 50-page opinion that law enforcement lacked the authority to compel Apple to comply. US Magistrate James Orenstein in New York said in a 50-page opinion that law enforcement lacked the authority to compel Apple to unlock the iPhone of a suspected drug dealer Jewel Samad (AFP/File) "The relief the government seeks is unavailable because Congress has considered legislation that would achieve the same result but has not adopted it," he wrote. The US Drug Enforcement Agency and the FBI went to court to compel Apple to help it break into an iPhone confiscated in June of 2014 from a suspected methamphetamine trafficker, according to court documents. The US government sought to get Apple to help break into the iPhone under the auspices of the All Writs Act, which is what is being relied on in the San Bernardino case -- a 1789 law that gives wide latitude to law enforcement. Orenstein refused to issue the order in the case, saying it undermined Constitutional principles and was a matter to be dealt with by Congress. "This is precisely on point in the San Bernardino case," a senior Apple executive said during a telephone briefing with reporters after the New York ruling was issued. Apple and FBI are locked in battle over a warrant seeking to force the technology company to help unlock the iPhone used by one of the shooters in December's San Bernardino attacks. Apple's refusal has set off an intense political debate about encrypted devices that provide "keys" only to users. - Non-binding precedent - Orenstein's ruling was a precedent, but the judge presiding over matters in the San Bernardino case is not bound by his decision. Conflicting rulings on the same points of law would increase the chances of the US Supreme Court being called upon to make the final call. Oral arguments in the San Bernardino case are to be made in federal court in Southern California on March 22. The Apple executive said that while the magistrate judge in California is free to rule differently, the iPhone maker hoped that she would be persuaded by Orenstein's "thoughtful and masterful" reasoning in his decision. Apple argued that it is being asked to go further in the California case by creating software that doesn't exist to essentially "hack our own phones." Apple wants a "conversation" to help settle a standoff with US law enforcement over accessing an encrypted iPhone, according to testimony prepared for a congressional hearing. In a statement prepared for the Tuesday hearing, Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell said the public should understand that "encryption is a good thing, a necessary thing" even if it makes the work of law enforcement more difficult. In his remarks, Sewell said Apple has been stepping up its encryption over the past few years. "As attacks on our customers' data become increasingly sophisticated, the tools we use to defend against them must get stronger too," he said. "Weakening encryption will only hurt consumers and other well-meaning users who rely on companies like Apple to protect their personal information." Encryption helps preserve privacy around the world, he added, "and it keeps people safe." Lawmakers and the public should decide the question of access to the locked iPhone, Sewell said, renewing Apple's criticism of the government's use of the broad 1789 All Writs Act, which offers broad authority to law enforcers. Sewell repeated comments by Apple chief Tim Cook that the FBI is asking the company "to create an operating system that does not exist" that would open "a backdoor into the iPhone." But New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance argued in his own prepared testimony that the current level of encryption "cripples even the most basic steps of a criminal investigation." Pivotal 'Super Tuesday' could elevate Trump, Clinton Americans vote Tuesday in what is deemed the most pivotal day in the presidential nominating process, with frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump hoping to finish off their challengers. Voters in a dozen states will take part in "Super Tuesday" -- a series of primaries and caucuses in a dozen states ranging from Alaska to Virginia. If Democrat Clinton and Republican Trump -- an outspoken billionaire political neophyte who has unexpectedly tapped into a reservoir of conservative rage at conventional politics -- win big, it could spell doom for their challengers. US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses a primary night rally in Columbia, South Carolina, on February 27, 2016 Nicholas Kamm (AFP) With just hours to go before polls open, the duo made last-ditch appeals to supporters ahead of a day like few others on the calendar leading to the November election for the White House. Trump's Republican rivals, Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, were trying frantically to halt the real estate magnate's march toward the nomination, seeking to unite the party against the man they see as a non-conservative political interloper. Clinton meanwhile was riding high after thrashing rival Bernie Sanders in South Carolina over the weekend, securing an astronomical 86 percent of the African-American vote in her third win in four contests. Should she win black voters by similar margins in places like Alabama, Georgia and Virginia, she should dominate there to become once again the inevitable candidate. That was her status at the start of the campaign -- before the rise of Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist. She was leaving nothing to chance, traveling to multiple states Monday to urge a strong turnout. Clinton also took aim at the increasingly hostile campaign rhetoric on the Republican side led by the brash real estate mogul Trump. - Scapegoating, fingerpointing - "I really regret the language being used by Republicans. Scapegoating people, fingerpointing, blaming. That is not how we should behave toward one another," she told hundreds at a university in Fairfax, Virginia. "We're going to demonstrate, starting tomorrow on Super Tuesday, there's a different path that Americans ought to take." Trump's incendiary campaign has infuriated Republican rivals, including mainstream favorite Rubio who has intensified his personal attacks and stressed Trump would have trouble in a general election. The Florida senator warned supporters in Tennessee that US media and Democratic groups will jump on Trump "like the hounds of hell" if he wins the nomination. But Trump is clearly in the driver's seat. He is leading in polling in at least eight of the 11 Super Tuesday states. And a new CNN/ORC poll shows the billionaire expanding his lead nationally, earning a stunning 49 percent support compared to second place Rubio at 16 percent. Cruz of Texas is third, at 15 percent, followed by retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 10 percent and Ohio Governor John Kasich at six percent. Trump punched back against Rubio, calling him "Little Marco," mocking him for sweating on the campaign trail and warning that Rubio could not stand up to strong men like Russian President Vladimir Putin. - 'Party of Lincoln' - Trump's inflammatory rhetoric, including accusing Mexico of sending rapists across the border, mocking women and the disabled and urging a ban on Muslims entering the country, would have been the undoing of a normal candidate. But the 2016 cycle has been anything but normal, with a furious electorate keen to back an outsider who scorns the political establishment. "I'm representing a lot of anger out there," Trump told CNN. "We're not angry people, but we're angry at the way this country's being run." In the latest controversy, Trump came under withering criticism for not immediately disavowing the support of David Duke, who once led the Ku Klux Klan. Rubio said Trump's failure to promptly repudiate Duke, who has expressed support for Trump, makes him "unelectable." Some conservatives have said they will shun Trump if he is the nominee. "This is the party of Abraham Lincoln," said Senator Ben Sasse, accusing Trump of being a non-conservative plotting a "hostile takeover" of the party. Trump supporters, Sasse told MSNBC, "need to recognize that there are a whole bunch of other people who say, if this becomes the David Duke/Donald Trump party, there are a lot of us who are out." If Trump sweeps the South, where many of the Super Tuesday races are taking place, it could be lights out for his Republican challengers. Texas is the largest prize Tuesday, and Cruz is banking on winning his home state. He trails in nearly all other Super Tuesday states. Almost 600 Republican delegates are up for grabs Tuesday, nearly half the 1,237 needed to secure the nomination. Some 865 Democratic delegates are at stake, 36 percent of those needed to win. US presidential nominations: Super Tuesday Colin Henry, Kun Tian, Alain Bommenel (AFP) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to speak in Las Vegas, Nevada, February 22, 2016 John Gurzinski (AFP/File) Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio speaks at a rally on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas on February 29, 2016 in Conway, Arkansas Michael B. Thomas (AFP) Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (R) and his wife Jane O'Meara Sanders enter a campaign rally at the Minneapolis Convention Center on February 29, 2016 in Minnesota Stephen Maturen (Getty/AFP) Lost Israel troops stray into camp, sparking bloody clashes Two Israeli soldiers using a traffic app to find their way mistakenly entered a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank overnight, sparking clashes that killed one Palestinian and wounded 15 people, officials said Tuesday. The two soldiers travelling in a jeep entered the Qalandia refugee camp and were targeted with rocks and Molotov cocktails, Israeli officials said. Israeli reinforcements were then urgently deployed to the camp between Jerusalem and Ramallah to rescue them, provoking further clashes that lasted hours. The two soldiers were later rescued unharmed. An overturned car is seen in the Palestinian Qalandia refugee camp following clashes with Israeli troops overnight on March 1, 2016 Abbas Momani (AFP) Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said the soldiers "apparently used Waze," the Israeli-developed navigation app now owned by Google. The military said it was investigating. Waze however said the soldiers themselves were at fault, with a setting that tells the app to avoid "dangerous areas" having been turned off and the driver having deviated from the suggested route. With the threat of two of their soldiers being kidnapped or killed, Israeli forces were quickly dispatched. According to an Israeli police spokeswoman, Palestinians threw homemade explosives and shot at the rescue team, which also opened fire. The Palestinian health ministry said one Palestinian was killed and 10 wounded. The dead man was identified as Eyad Omar Sajdia, a 22-year-old student. Five Israeli border police were also wounded, one of them seriously, police said. - 'Didn't know the terrain' - A trail of blood could be seen extending down a wall from a roof where Sajdia was believed to have been when he was shot. The narrow roads of the camp were littered with rocks and other debris, and several thousand people later attended Sajdia's funeral, his body wrapped in a Palestinian flag. The two soldiers who first entered the camp abandoned their jeep, with one hiding in the courtyard of a house and shooting to defend himself and signal his position, the military spokesman said. The other fled towards the nearby Israeli settlement of Kochav Yaakov. Their jeep was burnt, and what was said to be its registration plate could be seen on the ground in the camp on Tuesday. Sajdia's father, Omar, said a huge contingent of Israeli forces arrived at the camp. "If you want to describe the situation you would say there is a war," he told AFP as he received guests who paid their respects at his home. Residents said the Israeli reinforcements included a bulldozer that caused damage to homes. The soldiers' mishap made headlines in Israel, whose military is reputed to be the region's most technologically advanced. "They apparently used Waze, which indicated a shortcut from Jerusalem to Ramallah," Yaalon said at a conference, according to his office. "They didn't know the terrain. We have to verify who sent them on the mission, what they knew and what they didn't know and how to respond when, in modern times, Waze shows you the way." Yaalon said: "I learnt long ago, when GPS began to be used, that you cannot neglect locating yourself with a map." He added that it was important to know "the environment and not be misled by technological systems that show you the way." - Waze faults soldiers - But Waze, acquired by Google for more than $1 billion in 2013, hit back at suggestions its app was at fault, saying it cannot protect against human error. "(Waze) includes a specific default setting that prevents routes through areas which are marked as dangerous or prohibited for Israelis to drive through," the company said in a statement to AFP. "In this case, the setting was disabled. In addition, the driver deviated from the suggested route and as a result, entered the prohibited area. "There are also red signs on the road in question that prohibit access to Palestinian-controlled territories (for Israelis). It is the responsibility of every driver to adhere to road and traffic signs and obey local laws." Israeli raids on Qalandia to arrest suspects have sparked heavy clashes in the past. The camp is located just beyond a checkpoint separating annexed east Jerusalem and the West Bank. The heavily fortified crossing is a hated symbol of the Israeli occupation for Palestinians. Qalandia camp was established in 1949 in the wake of the creation of Israel and has grown into a densely populated town with 11,000 registered refugees. Nearly one in five residents is unemployed, according to the UN, and around 60 percent are under 25 years old. A wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October has killed 178 Palestinians as well as 28 Israelis, an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean, according to an AFP toll. Most of the Palestinians who died in the violence were killed by Israeli forces while carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities. Others were shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes or demonstrations. Palestinian mourners attend the funeral of Eyad Omar Sajdia, who was killed during clashes with Israeli security forces at the Qalandia refugee camp on March 1, 2016 Abbas Momani (AFP) Evidence of coral bleaching on Barrier Reef as sea warms Scientists on Tuesday warned coral bleaching was occurring on the Great Barrier Reef as sea temperatures warm, and it could rapidly accelerate unless cooler conditions blow in over the next few weeks. Authorities cautioned last year that the world faced a mass global coral bleaching event driven by the warming effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies said it was a growing concern. "Current reports of coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef do not equate to a mass bleaching event," said the centre's director Terry Hughes, based at James Cook University in Townsville in Queensland state. Bleaching is a phenomenon that turns corals white or fades their colours, threatening a valuable source of biodiversity, tourism and fishing - (WWF Australia/AFP/File) "But we are concerned about a growing incidence of minor to moderate bleaching at multiple locations along the reef as the peak of summer approaches." Bleaching is a phenomenon that turns corals white or fades their colours, threatening a valuable source of biodiversity, tourism and fishing. It occurs when reef symbiosis -- the mutually beneficial relationship between two organisms that inhabit corals -- is disrupted by a rise in ocean warming, although there can also be other causes. Janice Lough, senior research scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, said the next few weeks were crucial. "The latest Bureau of Meteorology forecasts suggest that we could see significant above average temperatures through the month of March, which may mean more bleaching ahead for corals on the Great Barrier Reef unless we get some windy and cloudy weather soon," she said. The Barrier Reef -- the world's biggest coral reef ecosystem -- is already struggling from the threat of climate change, as well as farming run-off, development and the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish. It narrowly avoided being put on the UN World Heritage in danger list last year with Canberra working on a plan to improve the reef's health over successive decades. A study by the University of Queensland and the US National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration in October said only two previous mass coral bleaching events had been recorded in history and Hughes said he hoped the reef would avoid a similar fate. "We have been closely monitoring conditions on Australia's coral reefs for the past six months," he said. "The best outcome is that the bleaching doesn't get any worse, but if it becomes more widespread, we are ready to mobilise a network of scientists to document the extent of the bleaching, which will help us understand how the reef is responding to successive major bleaching events." WWF-Australia said a wide variety of corals were being impacted. "Global warming -- fuelled by burning fossil fuels -- is increasing the water temperature and bleaching coral reefs," said WWF Great Barrier Reef campaigner Louise Matthiesson. "Right now, the Great Barrier Reef is on a knife-edge." One of the worst mass bleaching episodes on record, which affected reefs in 60 tropical countries, took place in 1998, when the El Nino weather pattern was exceptionally strong. The phenomenon occurs when trade winds that circulate over waters in the tropical Pacific start to weaken and sea surface temperatures rise. Australia's Great Barrier Reef - (AFP Graphic) Assad vows to 'do our part' on holding Syria ceasefire Syrian President Bashar al-Assad pledged to do his part to guarantee the success of a shaky ceasefire that was largely holding on its fourth day. World powers have thrown their weight behind the landmark truce as a way to bring an end to Syria's conflict, which began in 2011 with anti-government protests. The United Nations said the next round of peace talks would resume in Geneva on March 9, announcing a two-day postponement "to allow adequate time to address logistical and practical matters". Syrian President Bashar al-Assad speaks to AFP in Damascus on February 11, 2016 Joseph Eid (AFP/File) Assad said the truce provided a "glimmer of hope" for Syria, where more than 270,000 people have been killed since the complex conflict erupted. "We will do our part so that the whole thing works," Assad told German public broadcaster ARD, referring to the cessation of hostilities reached by the United States and Russia. "We have refrained ourselves from retaliating in order to give (a) chance for the agreement to survive. That's what we can do, but at the end everything has a limit. It depends on the other side." Assad also offered an amnesty to opposition fighters if they agree to disarm. "The most important thing for me, legally and constitutionally... (is) that you're not allowed, as a citizen, to hold machineguns and hurt people or properties," he said. "This is the only thing that we ask. We don't ask for anything. As I said, we give them full amnesty." Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, whose Lebanese Shiite militants are fighting in support of Assad, also welcomed the ceasefire. "We are happy with the truce and God willing it will persist and lead to a political solution," he said in Beirut. - 'The revolution continues' - The ceasefire has brought relative calm to swathes of territory in Syria's north, south, and around the capital, where civilians were back on the streets demonstrating against the regime. In the besieged rebel town of Daraya, near Damascus, dozens of young men chanted against the government and carried signs reading "Daraya will not kneel!" "Of course we're going to seize this opportunity (to protest) because the rest of the time there were constant barrel bombs and shelling," said activist Shadi Matar. The truce does not include areas where the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, Al-Nusra Front, are present. Regime forces clashed Tuesday with IS jihadists in the oil-rich eastern province of Deir Ezzor, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Clashes also took place in Aleppo city and in the town of Harbnafsa in central Hama province, said the monitor. The complex patchwork of territorial control has made the truce difficult to monitor, particularly in areas where Al-Nusra Front has formed close ties with non-jihadist rebel groups. - 'Much fewer planes' - Civilians in central Homs province say their towns are not being targeted as often, but violence has not stopped. "There are much fewer airplanes, which is very good... (But) there's still artillery, mortar fire, and we hear the planes flying above us," said Hasaan Abu Nuh, an activist in the flashpoint town of Talbisseh. "People still have the same routine -- they still go down to the shelters when they hear the planes." Despite backing opposing sides of Syria's war, Moscow and Washington drafted the UN-backed cessations of hostilities deal and co-chair the international task force evaluating its implementation. Washington said Tuesday the ceasefire appeared to be holding, although State Department spokesman John Kirby noted that "nobody's doing any victory dances" yet. "Over the last 24 hours, we have not been apprised of any claims of any additional violations of any significance," Kirby said, while noting there had been reports of violations in past days. The opposition High Negotiations Committee however said there had been at least three violations by regime forces on Tuesday and 17 the previous day. And Russia said Tuesday it had recorded 15 truce violations in the past 24 hours. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for the closure of Syria's border with Turkey to prevent supplies reaching "terrorist" groups. Tens of thousands of displaced Syrians amassed along that border last month, fleeing an intense government offensive backed by Russian strikes. Speaking in Washington, top NATO General Philip Breedlove said Russia and Syria had turned the refugee crisis into a "weapon" against the West. "Together, Russia and the Assad regime are deliberately weaponizing migration in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve," he told US lawmakers. A Syrian rebel fighter emerges from a hideout on the outskirts of Damascus on February 26, 2016 Amer Almohibany (AFP/File) A Syrian man rides his bicycle past a man selling grain during a halt in fighting in Douma, east of Damascus, on February 29, 2016 Sameer Al-Doumy (AFP) The crisis in Syria Rare Thai labour win as tuna factory pays out $1.3 mn A Thai tuna processing factory has agreed to pay staff $1.3 million compensation for a litany of labour abuses, an official said Tuesday, a rare victory for migrant workers in the scandal-hit seafood industry. Hundreds of Myanmar labourers at Golden Prize Tuna Canning, a processing plant in Samut Sakhon province east of Bangkok that sells fish worldwide, have spent months seeking compensation for exploitative working conditions. Thailand is the world's third-largest seafood exporter, but the industry is plagued with rights abuses and fuelled by trafficked labour from neighbouring Myanmar and Cambodia. Thailand is the world's third-largest seafood exporter, but the industry is plagued with rights abuses and fuelled by trafficked labour from neighbouring Myanmar and Cambodia Madaree Tohlala (AFP/File) The sector has come under heightened scrutiny from foreign governments over the past year, with the European Union currently considering an all-out ban on Thai fishing products. The United States also passed a bill last week outlawing goods produced by forced labour that could see Thailand targeted with import bans. Rights groups say Golden Prize workers had long been subject to unlawfully low salaries, supervisor abuse and a lack of compensation for machine accidents on the 25-acre processing sites. Following a strike last week by more than 1,000 workers, company representatives joined negotiations with military officers, government officials and migrant worker leaders, reaching an agreement late Monday. "The company began paying 1,100 workers last night involving money of 48 million baht ($1.3m)," Boonlue Sartpetch, the head of the province's labour department, told AFP Tuesday. He said 700 workers have been paid, with the rest expected to receive compensation Tuesday. Golden Prize Tuna Canning, whose 2,000 workers hail mostly from Myanmar, declined to comment. The junta that seized power in a 2014 coup has struggled to revive Thailand's flagging economy and is desperate to avoid any costly sanctions on the multi-billion dollar seafood sector. It remains to be seen how Washington will enforce its new legislation on slave-produced goods. But the US labour department currently lists Thai fish and shrimp as products the government has reason to believe are manufactured by slave labour. Thai officials say they have moved fast to clean up the industry, with new laws and crackdowns on traffickers and fish factories. Last month police said they arrested more than 100 people on trafficking charges linked to the fishing industry. Authorities have also registered nearly half of an estimated 200,000 undocumented foreign workers in the seafood sector, officials said. On Tuesday foreign ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee hailed the peaceful settlement between Golden Prize and its workers as a model for future disputes. "The government is committed to use this approach in order to eliminate labour exploitation and to uplift the quality of life of workers in Thailand," he said. Andy Hall, a British labour activist who has been helping the Myanmar workers at Golden Prize Tuna, said he suspects the spectre of costly trade bans was finally forcing the Thai government to act. "To get a dispute like this that involves so much money and actually have it settled is very unprecedented," he told AFP. But he accused both the tuna company and local labour department of dodging the workers' complaints for nearly a year. In the past some Thai factories have responded to rights abuse accusations with defamation lawsuits, which Hall is currently facing for highlighting alleged exploitation at a Thai fruit company. WASHINGTON Supporters of a copper mine proposed for Oak Flat have been given until Friday to make the case that the area, deemed sacred by the San Carlos Apache, should not be designated a historic site. Reps. Paul Gosar, R-Prescott, and Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Flagstaff, asked the National Park Service to withdraw the Oak Flat application to the National Register of Historic Places, saying it was confusing and vaguely worded in an attempt to undermine the proposed Resolution Copper mine. They noted, among other things, that the application did not cite Oak Flat, as the area is commonly known, but called it the Chichil Bildagoteel Historic District. We are concerned that the use of the phrase Chichil Bildagoteel Historic District and a lack of geographic information is an attempt by these opponents to limit transparency and public comments from constituents that disagree with this nomination, and an attempt to undermine our bipartisan bill that is estimated to create approximately 3,700 new jobs, the lawmakers letter said. The park service said it did not have the authority to withdraw a nomination to the register, but it could grant an extension to the comment period which it did, giving opponents of the listing until this Friday. But supporters of the historic designation said the park service should grant the application. Oak Flat is an important cultural and religious area that is vital to the traditions of our Native American brothers and sisters it deserves our strongest protections, said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Tucson, in a statement from his office Monday. As someone who has fought to safeguard this treasure for years, I fully support designating the land as a historic property listed on the National Register of Historic Places and encourage the National Park Service to evaluate the proposal based on its merits, his statement said. Gosar and Kirkpatrick were not available Monday to comment. They were among the lead sponsors of a bill, the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act, that called for the federal government to swap 2,400 acres of copper-rich federally owned land for about 5,000 acres of land owned by Resolution Copper. The mining company has said that its project would provide thousands of jobs in southeast Arizona and would pump billions of dollars into the states economy over the expected 60-year life of the mine. But included in the land the mining company would receive is the Oak Flat campground, an area in Pinal County that the Apache say is spiritually significant. They have come to Washington to protest the mine, mounted a petition in opposition to it and protested at the site. Critics including Gosar and Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who helped push the land swap deal through the Senate in late 2014 have charged that there was never any spiritual significance to Oak Flat until the mine came along. Being listed on the historic register would highlight the propertys uniqueness and its value to the community, but it would not ultimately protect it from mining, a park service official wrote in response to Gosar and Kirkpatrick. Neither a listing nor a Determination of Eligibility for listing requires or otherwise guarantees that a historic property cannot be modified or even destroyed, said Stephanie Toothman, the National Registers keeper, in the letter to the lawmakers. Bill Tanner, a spokesman for Resolution Copper, also said a historic designation would not necessarily prevent the company from mining the land it would just become another consideration in the process of determining the projects environmental impact. We believe that the most appropriate way to ensure that this matter is fully evaluated is through a comprehensive NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) process that involves all stakeholders, Tanner said Monday. Trump, Clinton eye big boost from Super Tuesday Millions of Americans cast ballots Tuesday on the most pivotal day of the presidential primary season, with frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump hoping to wipe out all rivals for their party nominations. On Super Tuesday, voters have their say in a series of primaries and caucuses in a dozen states, stretching from Massachusetts and Virginia on the east coast to Texas and all the way to Alaska. If Democrat Clinton and Republican Trump -- an outspoken billionaire who has tapped into a vein of conservative rage at conventional politics -- win big, they will be well on their way to the nominations, spelling doom for their challengers. A woman leaves the Old Etlan rescue squad building, used as a county voting location, in Etlan, Virginia on March 1, 2016 Andrew Caballero-Reynolds (AFP) Polling stations opened first in Virginia where a steady stream of voters stopped to cast ballots on a day like few others on the calendar leading up to the November presidential election. Steve Slye, who runs an audio-visual company in Arlington, in the swing state's suburbs near Washington, said he voted for Ohio's Republican Governor John Kasich. "He's the adult in the room, to me," he said of Kasich, who has run a more optimistic campaign than Trump but has failed to generate enough enthusiasm to topple the frontrunner. Halfway across the country, in Conway, Arkansas, 23-year-old student Dominique Vinson said she felt compelled to cast her ballot in the Democratic primary -- in support of Clinton. "I don't like how the other candidates are presenting the future of America, so I decided I needed to vote," she said. Trump's main Republican rivals, Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, have been frantically trying to halt the real estate magnate's march toward the nomination, seeking to unite the party against the man they see as a non-conservative political interloper. But it might be too little too late, with polls showing the 69-year-old Trump in a commanding lead in most Super Tuesday states and beyond. Former secretary of state Clinton, coming off a blowout weekend win in South Carolina, is also well ahead of her rival Senator Bernie Sanders, though her camp has admitted they do not expect a clean sweep Tuesday. Even as the 68-year-old Clinton made her final case to voters in Minnesota, she appeared to tilt toward the general election matchup, assailing Republicans "running their campaigns based on insults." Asked if Trump would be the eventual nominee, she told reporters "he could be on the path." But "whoever they nominate, I'll be prepared to run against (him) if I'm fortunate to be the nominee." A new CNN/ORC poll found that both Clinton and Sanders would easily defeat Trump if the general election -- set for November 8 -- were held now. If Rubio or Cruz were the Republican nominee, Clinton would face a much closer race. Strikingly, Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, topped all three Republican candidates by wide margins, the poll showed. - An incendiary campaign - Trump's incendiary rhetoric has infuriated his Republican rivals, and the race has descended in recent days into a mud-slinging match between him and the mainstream favorite Rubio. The Florida senator sent a letter to his supporters Tuesday calling Trump "a serious threat to the future of our party, and our country." "In just the last few days, Trump has refused to condemn white supremacism and the Ku Klux Klan, praised dictators Saddam Hussein and Moammar Qaddafi, and proposed infringing upon the First Amendment of our Constitution," he wrote. "This is no joke. It's time to fight back." Trump also received a stern rebuke from House Speaker Paul Ryan over his failure to immediately denounce the support of David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan. "If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party, there can be no evasion and no games," Ryan, the top Republican in Congress, told reporters. "This party does not prey on people's prejudices." Trump remains in the driver's seat. He is leading in polls in at least eight of the 11 Super Tuesday states, and expanding his lead nationally with CNN/ORC giving him 49 percent support. Rubio is a distant second at 16 percent, with Cruz one point further behind. The Texas senator is banking however on winning his home state, the largest prize on Tuesday. - Furious electorate - Trump's inflammatory rhetoric -- he has accused Mexico of sending "rapists" across the border, mocked women and the disabled, urged a ban on Muslims entering the country, and eagerly advocated the use of torture -- would have been the undoing of a normal candidate. But the 2016 cycle has been anything but normal, with a furious electorate keen to back an outsider who scorns the political establishment. If Trump sweeps the South, where many of the Super Tuesday races are taking place, it could be lights out for his Republican challengers. Almost 600 Republican delegates are up for grabs Tuesday, nearly half the 1,237 needed to secure the nomination. Some 865 Democratic delegates are at stake, 36 percent of those needed to win. As the prospect of a Trump nomination loomed ever larger, a lengthy clip by British satirist John Oliver skewering his many false claims and inconsistencies has gone viral. The segment on "Last Week Tonight" launched a hashtag, #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain, in a nod to the candidate's original family name, and by Tuesday, the word "Drumpf" was ahead of both Rubio and Cruz in Google search rankings -- right behind Trump himself. US presidential nominations: Super Tuesday A volunteer for Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's campaign makes calls to potential supporters during a phone banking event on March 1, 2016 in Dallas, Texas Laura Buckman (AFP) Microphones await the arrival of Republican Presidential frontrunner Donald Trump at the Mar-A-Lago Club on March 1, 2016 in Palm Beach, Florida John Moore (Getty/AFP) Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio shakes supporters hands after speaking in Andover, Minnesota on March 1, 2016 Stephen Maturen (Getty/AFP) North Korea to boycott UN rights council North Korea will boycott the UN Human Rights Council, Foreign Minister Ri Su-Yong said Tuesday, deploring the "politicisation" of the body. "We shall no longer participate in international sessions singling out the human rights situation of (North Korea) for mere political attack," Ri told the council, charging it was plagued by "politicisation, selectivity and double standards." The UN's top rights body has repeatedly slammed the situation in North Korea, with a massive 2014 report charging the country and its leadership were guilty of a wide range of crimes against humanity. North Korea is one of the world's most secretive regimes Kim Jae-Hwan (AFP/File) But Ri insisted Tuesday that the United States and others who have long yearned for the "elimination of the DPRK" (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) were using false allegations of human rights abuses to boost their cause. He charged they were driving a "human rights racket" against the country. They were offering more than $5,000 (4,600 euros) to "so-called North Korean defectors" to get them to "fabricate" shocking testimony about the situation in the country, Ri said. He also claimed that Pyongyang's enemies were dangling promises of economic aid to entice UN member countries to adopt resolutions on human rights in North Korea. "In other words, the voting process at the international human rights mechanisms is being commercialised," Ri said. North Korea would no longer take part in the process, he said, stressing that from now on, "whether or not such resolutions are to be put to a vote will be none of our business and we will never be bound by them." Later Tuesday, the UN Security Council in New York is due to vote on a US-drafted resolution imposing a raft of new sanctions on North Korea following its recent nuclear test and rocket launch. In-form Kohli guides India to Asia Cup final In-form batsman Virat Kohli made an unbeaten half-century as India eased to a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka to qualify for the Asia Cup final in Dhaka on Tuesday. Kohli, who played a brilliant innings of 49 under pressure against Pakistan on Saturday, hit 56 off 47 balls to guide India to 142-5 after their medium pacers restricted Sri Lanka to 138-9. Replying to the modest score, India were in danger early on when Nuwan Kulasekara removed both the openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma for just 16 runs. India's Virat Kohli plays a shot during an Asia Cup T20 cricket tournament match against Sri Lanka at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on March 1, 2016 Munir uz Zaman (AFP) Dhawan returned to the starting line-up after an injury break against Pakistan but survived just three balls before edging Kulasekara to Dinesh Chandimal for one. Sharma fell in Kulasekara's next over offering a catch to Chamara Kapugedera at slip for 15. Kohli, who hit seven fours, added 54 runs with Suresh Raina for the third wicket to put India firmly in control. "Touch wood, it's coming out nicely now. Another crunch situation, 16 for 2. It's nice to challenge yourself," Kohli said after the match. "Kulasekara and Angie were bowling well. I knew I'm striking the ball well, so I have to take the pressure off the other batsman by hitting the odd boundary." Dasun Shanaka broke the partnership as Raina miscued a catch to Kulasekara at mid-off after making 25 runs. Yuvraj Singh ensured it did not affect India's run-flow, hitting left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for two sixes off successive balls in the next over to make 35 off 18 balls. India captain MS Dhoni praised Singh for his effort. "Yuvraj Singh's innings was crucial, not just for this match but for the team as well," said Dhoni. "Good to see him get into some good form." Put into bat first by Dhoni, Sri Lanka's Kapugedera scored the team's highest of 30 off 32 balls, but the islanders needed a strong effort from lower order batsmen Milinda Siriwardana and Kulasekara. Siriwardana made 22 off 17 balls while Kulasekara added 17 after facing just six balls to provide a late impetus. Indian medium pacers controlled the innings making regular in-roads from the start. Ashish Nehra removed Chandimal early after he added six runs to his 50 and 37 runs in the previous two matches. Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah then claimed two wickets each to finish with 2-26 and 2-27 respectively before the lower-order gave the Sri Lankan innings some respectability. Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said dew that had fallen on the ground in the evening was partly responsible for their defeat. "With the dew coming in, it felt like we were 20-25 runs short, but the Indians batted well, as always, and Virat was outstanding," he said. "If the wicket was like the previous one, it would have been a fighting total, but the dew came in and the ball started sliding through." Bangladesh will face Pakistan in the tournament on Wednesday. UN set to toughen North Korea sanctions The UN Security Council was expected to approve on Wednesday a new raft of tough sanctions on North Korea to punish the reclusive regime after its fourth nuclear test and rocket launch. The council is due to vote on a US-drafted resolution, backed by China, that takes aim at North Korea's banned nuclear and ballistic missile programs by cutting off sources of hard currency and access to material. The new sanctions come in response to North Korea's fourth nuclear test on January 6 and the launch of a satellite-bearing rocket on February 7 that the world viewed as a disguised ballistic missile test. A meeting of the United Nations Security Council on February 24, 2016 at the UN in New York Mark Garten (United Nations/AFP/File) The United States has described the package of measures as the toughest yet to hit North Korea, but the impact will largely depend on how China, Pyongyang's sole ally and main benefactor, implements the sanctions. The resolution would require countries to take the unprecedented step of inspecting all cargo to and from North Korea, impose trade restrictions and bar vessels suspected of carrying illegal goods for North Korea from ports. It also provides for a ban on exports of coal, iron and iron ore, gold, titanium and rare earth minerals from North Korea, and prohibits the supply of aviation fuel including rocket fuel to the reclusive country. Banking restrictions would be tightened and governments would be required to ban flights of any plane suspected of carrying contraband destined for North Korea. Under the measure, UN member states would expel North Korean diplomats engaged in smuggling or other illegal activities. Luxury watches, snowmobiles, recreational watercraft such as Sea-Doos and sports equipment would be banned from sale to North Korea, building on a previous resolution targeting Pyongyang's elites. The council had initially planned to vote on Tuesday, but the meeting was delayed at Russia's request to allow for more time to review the text. Diplomats said they expected Russia to back the measure following what Japanese Ambassador Motohide Yoshikawa said were "minor technical changes" to the draft resolution. One of those changes involved dropping North Korea's mining development representative in Russia from the new UN sanctions blacklist, according to a revised annex to the draft text seen by AFP. The annex lists 16 individuals and 12 entities to be hit by an assets freeze and travel ban, including North Korea's NADA space agency and its spy agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau. - A shift from China? - It took seven weeks of tough negotiations for the United States and China to come to agreement on the package of measures. Japan and South Korea also lobbied for sanctions that they insisted would be significantly stronger than those in place since 2006. China had maintained that the new resolution should not push Pyongyang toward more erratic and dangerous behavior. Beijing fears too much pressure could trigger the collapse of the pariah regime, creating chaos on its border. Talks on ramping up sanctions were held as South Korea and the United States announced plans for the deployment of a new missile defense system on the Korean peninsula and the adoption of new US sanctions against Pyongyang. "The United States, South Korea and Japan have stopped outsourcing to China their policy on North Korea," said Roberta Cohen, an expert on North Korea at the Brookings Institution. China, and to a lesser extent Russia, "will find loopholes, they always have," to avoid fully implementing UN sanctions, said Cohen. But Beijing "sees the mobilization of alliances, strong military alliances between the United States, South Korea and Japan and it sees that it can't go on the way it has," she added. Taking a hard line, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye said North Korea must pay the price for its latest nuclear test and rocket launch. "If we leave them alone, they will continue," she said. The latest resolution would be the fifth set of UN sanctions to hit North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006. Kim Jong-Un's nuclear ambitions John Saeki/Adrian Leung (AFP) Anti-North Korea activists shout slogans during a demonstration in Seoul on March 1, 2016 Ed Jones (AFP) Algeria prosecutor seeks jail for imam who urged writer's execution An Algerian prosecutor on Tuesday demanded a six-month jail term for a radical Muslim preacher who called for the public execution of an award-winning author he accused of apostasy. Abdelfatah Hamadache Ziraoui in December 2014 urged the North African country's authorities to put to death Kamel Daoud, in a statement posted on his Facebook page. Hamadache Ziraoui accused Daoud of "apostasy" after the author and journalist criticised the relationship Muslims have with Islam during an appearance on a French television show. Algerian writer Kamel Daoud, who won the prestigious French Prix Goncourt for debut novel "The Meursault Investigation", was accused of "apostasy" by a radical Muslim preacher Bertrand Langlois (AFP/File) The radical Sunni Salafist preacher, who campaigns against alcohol and swimwear, charged that Daoud's remarks were tantamount to "a war against Allah, his prophet, the Koran and the sacred values of Islam". A verdict is expected on March 8. Daoud, a columnist with the Quotidien d'Oran newspaper based in the western Algerian city of Oran where he lives, was once attracted by Islamist ideology but turned his back on it. Last year, he won the prestigious French Prix Goncourt for a debut novel -- "The Meursault Investigation", a retelling of Albert Camus's classic "The Stranger". In an interview last year with the Los Angeles Review of Books, Daoud said he was "confronted by an absurd world that kills in the name of the sun or Allah". Last month, Daoud said in a letter published by the French newspaper Le Monde that he was giving up public debate and journalism, after a group of university professors accused him of "fanning the fantasies of Islamophobes". The professors were reacting to an op-ed Daoud had published in Le Monde after crimes committed on New Year's Eve in Cologne when hundreds of women reported being sexually assaulted or robbed by a mob of mostly North African and Arab men. In the opinion piece headlined "The Sexual Misery of the Arab World", Daoud wrote that "...one of the great miseries plaguing much of the so-called Arab world, and the Muslim world more generally, is its sick relationship with women". Environmentalists take on Indian guru over festival World-famous Indian guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has come under fire for a mass festival to promote peace that environmentalists say risks damaging the delicate ecosystem of Delhi's Yamuna river. Critics say the World Culture Festival, to be held later this month on the banks of the river with millions of fans including India's prime minister in attendance, will cause lasting environmental damage. Organisers say they expect 3.5 million people to attend the three-day event, which will feature yoga and meditation sessions, peace prayers by Sanskrit scholars and traditional cultural performances from around the world. An Indian labourer takes part in construction work on the banks of the River Yamuna in New Delhi on March 1, 2016 Money Sharma (AFP) "Three and a half million people are going to trample the area so basically 210,000 tonnes of weight will be put on a fragile ecosystem," said activist Anand Arya, who has asked India's top environmental court to cancel the event. "It is most unfortunate that the event is being organised by an apostle of peace and non-violence." Manoj Mishra of the Live Yamuna campaign to protect the river that flows through the capital, said more than 1,000 acres (405 hectares) had been cleared to make way for a stage, pontoon bridges, portable cabins and parking. "Reed beds were cleared, vegetation was chopped for a two-and-a-half day event which will leave an ever-lasting impact on the environment," Mishra said. Shankar's Art of Living foundation, which is organising the festival, denied there would be any permanent impact and said it had secured permission from all the necessary authorities to hold the event. "We have used only eco-friendly material like wood, mud, cloth, and scaffolding towards building a temporary stage," the foundation said in a statement to AFP. The event, due to start on March 11, is billed as a platform "for spiritual and religious leaders, politicians, peacemakers and artists to spread the message of global peace and harmony in diversity". The globe-trotting Shankar, once ranked by Forbes magazine as India's fifth most powerful person, is close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the pair have meditated together. The Yamuna river is the largest tributary of the Ganges, considered holy by Hindus. Despite high levels of pollution, its floodplains are rich in flora and fauna with more than 320 bird species and 200 types of plants. On Monday a committee appointed by the environmental court recommended fining the foundation $17.5 million dollars but did not say the event should be cancelled. NATO commander says Russia, Syria using migrant crisis as weapon Top NATO General Philip Breedlove warned US lawmakers Tuesday that Russia is helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad turn the refugee crisis into a "weapon" against the West. The supreme allied commander in Europe for the 28-member military alliance said the massive flow of migrants from war-torn Syria has had a destabilizing effect on European countries where they found refuge, and that worked to Moscow's advantage. "Together, Russia and the Assad regime are deliberately weaponizing migration in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve," Breedlove told the Senate Armed Services Committee. General Philip Breedlove, pictured in October, accused Russian president Vladimir Putin and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad of deliberately fuelling the refugee crisis, turning it into a 'weapon' against the West. Speaking of Russia's six-month air campaign in support of Assad, and the Syrian leader's use of barrel bombs in civilian areas, Breedlove said Moscow and Damascus are deliberately fueling the mass displacement of Syrians. Breedlove, who also heads the US military's European Command, suggested this creates a distraction for Western powers as they grapple with the crisis and are forced to take their eye off its root cause. "These indiscriminate weapons used by both Bashar al-Assad, and the non-precision use of weapons by the Russian forces, I can't find any other reason for them other than to cause refugees to be on the move and make them someone else's problem," Breedlove said. Further complicating the refugee crisis, he added, is that increasing numbers of foreigners who have fought in Syria are heading home again, bringing battlefield skills and sometimes extremist ideologies. "What we have seen growing in the past months and year is that in that flow of refugees we see criminality, terrorism and foreign fighters," he said. NATO last month launched an unprecedented naval mission in the Aegean Sea to tackle people smugglers taking refugees and migrants from Turkey to Greece. Germany, Greece and Turkey had called for help dealing with Europe's biggest migrant crisis since World War II. - European reassurance - Breedlove was in Washington partly to drum up support for a proposed sharp increase in money available to US forces in Europe. The coming year's budget includes $3.4 billion -- quadruple last year's amount -- for the so-called European Reassurance Initiative. The four-star general also accused Russia of posing a growing threat to the United States itself. "Russia has chosen to be an adversary and poses a long-term existential threat to the United States and to our European allies and partners," Breedlove said. "Russia is eager to exert unquestioned influence over its neighboring states in its buffer zone... so has used military force to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, Georgia and others, like Moldova." He said in the last week, the US ambassador in Ukraine had gotten reports of 450 attacks along the frontlines in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels oppose Kiev's pro-Western leadership. "The report from the ambassador is there are several disturbing trends in those attacks and that is that some of them are now happening in places that were heretofore quiet," Breedlove said. More than 9,000 people have died during the Ukrainian government's 22-month war against pro-Russian insurgents in the former Soviet state's industrial east. In a briefing with Pentagon reporters, Breedlove blasted Russia for its "irresponsible" attitude to nuclear weapons. "I see (Russia) as a real threat and I would just point to the fact that this is a nation that holds thousands of nuclear weapons and they talk all the time about using those nuclear weapons," he said. A woman holds her crying baby at a makeshift camp by the Greek-Macedonian border near the Greek village of Idomeni on March 1, 2016 Louisa Gouliamaki (AFP) Census of foreigners in Burundi sparks fears Burundi launched a drive Tuesday to register all foreigners, sparking fears among overseas nationals that the scheme could be a pretext for government surveillance. All non-Burundians in the crisis-hit country will be required to report to border police offices in the coming two months, according to a public security ministry spokesman. Several foreigners told AFP they feared it was a pretext to track them, and Rwandans said the process could lead to their community being victimised. Burundian soldiers withdraw from the restive Cibitoke neighbourhood in Bujumbura after a police operation on July 1, 2015 Marco Longari (AFP/File) But Public Security Minister Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni insisted last month that the move was aimed at granting foreigners a biometric ID card. Foreign nationals -- who also include people from West Africa including Congolese, as well as Indians -- will be required to attend police stations in person and carry their travel documents. "We don't know how the police will use this data and with the violence that has already struck the Rwandan community... I think that I will also have to leave he country," said a Rwandan national born in Burundi 40 years ago. Thousands of Rwandans who lived in Burundi have fled the country since the start of the crisis after several arrests within their community. Relations between Burundi and Rwanda are at a low ebb, with Bujumbura and the United Nations accusing Kigali of supporting Burundian rebels. Burundi was plunged into crisis following over President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term which he went on to win in a July election. Jewish hardliner returns to Jerusalem holy site after ban Israeli religious hardliner Yehuda Glick visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound Tuesday for the first time since a Palestinian tried to kill him over his campaign to boost the Jewish presence at the highly sensitive site. The site in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem is the third-holiest in Islam, but is also revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and considered their holiest. Clashes there last year were a precursor to the current five-month wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories, and there were warnings that the visit by Glick, who has previously been banned from the site, could set off further tensions. Rabbi Yehuda Glick, a hardline campaigner for Jewish prayer rights at the al-Aqsa mosque compound, in Jerusalem's Old City on July 14, 2015 during a demonstration Ahmad Gharabli (AFP/File) Glick has been an outspoken advocate of Jewish rights to the holy site, which Muslims and Palestinians consider a provocation. He has also guided visits there. The 50-year-old US-born rabbi carried out "a legal visit to the Temple Mount that took place without incident," a police spokeswoman told AFP. A spokesman for the Waqf, the Muslim trust which administers the site, said Glick's "actions and statements are provocations against Palestinians. The visit bodes ill." Glick was on October 29, 2014 shot four times by a masked gunman in Jerusalem. A day later, police shot and killed his suspected attacker, Muataz Hijazi, a Palestinian from east Jerusalem. The rabbi is also a thorn in the side of the mainstream Israeli Jewish religious establishment, which recognises the Temple Mount as the site of the biblical temples and Judaism's holiest, but says Jews should not pray or even visit there at this time. Current rules governing the site allow Jews to visit during set hours but not pray there to avoid provoking tensions. A court recently exonerated Glick of a charge of assaulting a Palestinian woman, and removed the police ban on him visiting the holy site. Glick, who is a member of the ruling Likud party and next in line to enter parliament, had also been barred from the site between 2011-2013 for praying there. Speaking to AFP, Glick said that while there were no restrictions on his visits beyond those that apply to other non-Muslims, he had coordinated Tuesday's visit with the police. He said it felt like "returning home" after the long absence. Glick said tensions at the site had been dramatically lowered since Israel's September ban on the Murabitat and Murabitun, funded by the Islamic Movement in Israel and acting as self-appointed sentinels who harassed Jewish visitors. A wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October has killed 178 Palestinians as well as 28 Israelis, an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean. Most of the Palestinians who died in the violence were killed by Israeli forces while carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities. Clashes erupted at the Al-Aqsa compound during a series of Jewish religious holidays in September amid fears among Muslims that Israel was planning to change rules governing the site. MIDLOTHIAN, Va. Sheila Covert is worried about Donald Trump. A loyal Republican voter from swing state Virginia, Covert calls the businessman bombastic and says theres just no substance in his boastful campaign rhetoric. But if Trump does become the GOP presidential nominee? Well, Id definitely vote for him, said Covert, an 81-year-old from the Richmond suburb of Powhatan. After a pause, she added, But I hope and pray it doesnt come to that. Covert is part of a legion of skeptical Republican voters across the United States coming to grips with the prospect that Trump, a candidate whose appeal they simply cant understand, may end up being their partys best chance for retaking the White House. The real estate mogul has scored three commanding primary victories in a row, including Tuesday in Nevada, and enters next weeks delegate-rich Super Tuesday elections in strong position. Interviews with about two dozen frequent Republican voters in Virginia an important general election battleground and one of several states with a primary next week reveal the complex mix of emotions Trump evokes within in his own party. Among those who dont plan to vote for Trump in the primary, theres shock, confusion and anxiety over his candidacy. But theres also a grudging acceptance of the billionaires political staying power and a feeling that despite his many flaws, hed be better than another four years with a Democrat in the White House particularly if that Democrat is Hillary Clinton. He says things you cannot imagine a president saying, said Michael Glunt, a 42-year-old landscaper from Midlothian. But if Trump faces off against Clinton in November, Glunt will cast his ballot for the GOP nominee. In this particular case, I would vote for him, Glunt said. Hillary Clinton, I dont trust her. Theres no trust. The voters interviewed by The Associated Press represent a tiny sliver of the electorate. But their views illuminate the debate within both parties about how a Trump nomination would play out in November, particularly as that prospect becomes more real with each voting contest. Democratic officials are betting that Trumps over-the-top rhetoric, particularly about women and immigrants, would turn off independents and some Republicans in battleground states like Virginia. Some anxious GOP leaders share that concern, contributing to the sudden rush of lawmakers and other party officials rallying around Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as an alternative. Bill Ginther, a 69-year-old retiree from Midlothian, is among the Republicans so turned off by Trump they can hardly envision voting for him if hes the nominee. Ginther, who plans to vote for Rubio in Tuesdays primary, says hes honestly shocked that Trump has come as far as he has. I dont know if I could vote for him, Ginther said. It would make it very difficult. While some voters joke about moving to Canada if Trump becomes president, Nancy Bradner is looking at that possibility with some seriousness. A supporter of past GOP nominees including Mitt Romney and George W. Bush, shes now researching Canadian politics, as well as the countrys health care system and housing market. Bradner doesnt know if shed really go through with a move north I cant leave my grandbabies, she said but makes clear that it would be an option. I just dont think I could be in the midst of it, Bradner said. This is the first time in my 68 years that I have truly been scared of what is going to happen in this election. A recent AP-GfK poll, however, suggests Ginther and Bradner may be in the minority. The survey showed far more Republicans than not say theyd vote for Trump in the general election, and 86 percent of Republican voters think he can win in November giving him a 15 percentage point advantage over anyone else. For Cumberland County resident Tina Shumaker, the prospect of voting for Trump is deeply unappealing. Her top concern in the election is national security, and she cant fathom Trump engaging in diplomacy or being able to keep the country safe. But her concerns about him pale in comparison to her dislike of Clinton. And while Shumaker sees no good options in a general election contest between the two, the 66-year-old leaves no question about who would get her support. If it would have to come between him and Hillary, Im afraid hed get my vote, Shumaker said. I hope it doesnt turn out that way. But its beginning to look that way. Israeli teens charged after racist attack on Arabs Israeli prosecutors pressed charges Tuesday against four 17-year-old Jews suspected of a "racially motivated" assault on two Arab men in the coastal city of Netanya, the justice ministry said. A ministry statement said the four had been drinking alcohol at a beach on February 17, when they saw the two Arabs heading towards a lift. They allegedly began following them and insulted the Prophet Mohammed before throwing stones and empty bottles at the pair who fled to the lift, only to be trapped inside it where the attack continued. A member of the Israeli security forces at the scene of a stabbing attack in Netanya on November 2, 2015 Jack Guez (AFP/File) One Arab was pulled from the lift and branded a "terrorist". He was beaten and choked until he lost his consciousness and was eventually taken to hospital. The four were being charged with "racially motivated aggravated assault", the ministry's statement read. Tensions between Jews and Arabs have risen during a five-month wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories which has cost the lives of 178 Palestinians, 28 Israelis, an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean, according to an AFP toll. Most of the Palestinians who died in the violence were killed by Israeli forces while carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, the Israeli authorities say. Gunman wounds Saudi preacher in Philippines: police An influential Saudi Arabian preacher was shot and wounded in a southern Philippine city on Tuesday, police said, adding security forces killed the gunman. Sheikh Aaidh al-Qarni was in hospital following the shooting in Zamboanga city but did not have life threatening injuries, local police spokeswoman Senior Inspector Helen Galvez said. "He is out of danger," Galvez told AFP by phone. Philippine soldiers patrol the streets in Zamboanga, on southern island of Mindanao on September 21, 2013 Ted Aljibe (AFP/File) A police report said that Qarni was shot in the right shoulder, left arm and chest while his companion, a Saudi embassy attache, was wounded in his right thigh and left leg. However a Saudi embassy statement later said none of Qarni's companions were wounded. The police said that Qarni had just delivered a university lecture when a man came out of the crowd and opened fire with a .45 calibre pistol. Police acting as security escorts shot the attacker dead. "We pinned down the gunman. He's dead," Galvez said. She said the gunman was apparently a Filipino and that two other Filipino men, residents of Zamboanga, were later arrested after eyewitnesses said they were with the attacker. But Galvez did not immediately identify the gunman. "We still do not know what this group is or the motives of the gunman," she said. The Saudi embassy in Manila confirmed the incident, stating Qarni was hit in the arm when a man approached his car and shot him as he left a conference. He was visiting at the invitation of a local religious association, the embassy said. The preacher was later flown to Manila on a plane made available by the Saudi embassy, according to a statement. Saudi media outlets described Qarni as a senior Islamic scholar. He has more than 12 million followers on Twitter. In his book "Awakening Islam," the French academic Stephane Lacroix included Qarni among "the most famous" Saudi preachers. Qarni's name was among those of a number of Saudi scholars listed by the Islamic State group in the latest issue of Dabiq, its monthly online magazine, in an article entitled "Kill the Imams of Kufr". It accused the scholars of apostasy, and called on "lone wolves" to act against them. Militants who launched who a deadly assault on a remote army outpost in the southern Philippines late last month waved black IS flags when they raided the detachment. The attack triggered a week of fighting that left at least 12 militants and five soldiers dead. Zamboanga is one of the largest cities in the southern Philippines, which has been home to a decades-long separatist rebellion by the mainly Catholic nation's Muslim minority. Zamboanga has a mixed Christian and Muslim population, and has been a frequent target of attacks by local Muslim militant groups. Trump slips in billionaire ranking in turbulent year Donald Trump may be the Republican frontrunner for the White House, but he is slipping behind in the world billionaires race, Forbes magazine's new list of the planet's richest people shows. Trump, who has made his enormous wealth a key selling point in his presidential bid, came in 324th in the magazine's 2016 ranking of the world's billionaires, which was published Tuesday. That means that more than 200 billionaires have jumped ahead of the ever competitive real estate mogul since 2015 when he placed 121st on the annual list. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, pictured on February 27, 2016, came in 324th in Forbes magazine's 2016 ranking of the world's billionaires Michael B. Thomas (AFP/File) The magazine put Trump's net worth at an above average $4.5 billion, the same as last year but about half the $10 billion fortune candidate Trump often claims to have amassed. In other highlights, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is still ranked the world's richest person with an estimated net worth of $75 billion, $4.2 billion less than last year. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg had the best year of all, adding $11.2 billion to his fortune. Forbes put the 31-year-old's net worth at $44.6 billion, ranking him number six, just behind Amazon's Jeff Bezos ($45.2 billion). It was the first time either of them made the top ten. It hasn't been a banner year for billionaires, however. According to Forbes, their number has slipped to 1,810, 16 fewer than last year, and their aggregate net worth shrank by $570 billion to $6.48 trillion. This is also the first year since 2010 that the average individual billionaire's fortune has dropped, settling at $3.6 billion, $300 million less than last year, it said. A volatile stock market, cratering oil prices and the strong dollar have reshuffled the ranks of billionaires, the magazine said. Only two held on to their previous year's rank -- Gates, who has been number one for three straight years, and investor Warren Buffet, whose $60.8 billion fortune put him in third place. Mexico's telecoms magnate Carlos Slim slipped to fourth place, giving up second to retailer Amancio Ortega of Spain ($67 billion). Slim's fortune plunged from $77.1 to $50 billion. Forbes said 221 people fell off the list altogether, replaced by 198 newcomers. The youngest billionaire was 19-year-old Danish heiress Alexandra Andresen. Her 20-year-old sister Katharina is the second youngest on the list. In all, 66 billionaires are under 40 years of age. The richest of the 190 women on the list was Liliane Bettencourt of France who was ranked 11th with $36.1 billion, down from $40.1 billion last year. The United States is still the country with the most billionaires (540), followed by mainland China (251) and Germany (120). Venus Williams will end her 15-year boycott of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells next week, following in the footsteps of sister Serena who returned to the event last year. The 35-year-old former world number one has not played the prestigious Californian event since 2001, when she and Serena were booed by sections of the crowd. Her father Richard Williams has long alleged the family was subjected to repeated racial slurs after Venus withdrew from a semi-final against Serena due to a knee injury. Venus Williams, pictured on January 19, 2016, has not played the prestigious Indian Wells event since 2001 William West (AFP/File) Explaining her decision to return to the tournament in a commentary on The Players Tribune website, Williams said the criticism directed at her family had left a lasting mark on her. 'I remember the pain of my knee injury, and how badly I wanted to play in the semis against Serena - before finally accepting that I wouldn't be able to,' Venus wrote. 'I remember the accusations toward me and my sister and our father. I remember the crowd's reaction, as I walked to my seat, during Serena's match in the final. And I remember how I couldn't understand why thousands of people would be acting this way - to a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old, trying their best. 'There are certain things where, if you go through them at a certain age, you simply don't forget them.' Venus said she had been prompted to return after seeing the warm reception her sister received last year, when she was given a 57-second standing ovation before her opening match on Stadium Court. 'It was in that moment, seeing Serena welcomed with open arms last year at Indian Wells, that I think I fully and truly realized what being the big sister means,' Venus wrote. FBI, Apple clash in Congress on encryption The battle between the FBI and Apple over encryption moved to Congress on Tuesday, with both sides arguing security is at risk in the legal wrangling over accessing a locked iPhone. FBI chief James Comey defended his agency's efforts to force Apple to help unlock an iPhone in the San Bernardino attacks probe, saying that law enforcement's job may be crippled by "warrant-proof spaces" that become inaccessible to investigators. Addressing a case that has set off a fierce public debate, Comey said Americans need to know the safety implications if encryption makes it impossible to access data on smartphones and other devices. FBI director James Comey testifies on the encryption of the iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino attackers "It's our job to tell the American people the tools we use to keep you safe are becoming less effective," Comey told the House Judiciary Committee hearing. "If there are warrant-proof spaces in American life, what does it mean? What are the costs?" While everyone values privacy, Comey said, "there are times law enforcement saves our lives and rescues our children." But Comey also acknowledged that forcing Apple to help unlock the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters could set a precedent for other investigations. "It is going to be potentially precedential, that's just the way the law works," he said in response to a question from Representative John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat. The hearing comes amid an intense legal and political battle after Apple said it would challenge a court order to provide the FBI technical assistance to help break into the San Bernardino iPhone. Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell told the panel the public should understand that "encryption is a good thing, a necessary thing" -- even if it makes the work of law enforcement more difficult. He said Apple is being asked to develop a tool that could be used on any iPhone, even with more advanced encryption, which could make users vulnerable to hackers and government surveillance. "This is not about the San Bernardino case -- this is about the safety and security of every iPhone that is in use today," Sewell said. - 'Vicious guard dog' - Apple has argued the Federal Bureau of Investigation is effectively asking the company to "hack" its own devices and create a "back door" that malicious actors could exploit. Comey told the hearing that in his view, "it's not about back doors... there's already a door on that phone -- we're asking Apple to take away the vicious guard dog." Citizens' rights are protected by an independent judiciary, he noted, citing a long-standing principle that "if an independent judge finds reason to believe that certain private communications contain evidence of a crime, then the government can conduct a limited search." Lawmakers from both parties appeared skeptical of the FBI efforts, questioning whether they could lead to weaker overall security in the future for new technologies. "It won't really be a one-time request? It will set a precedent for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies?" asked the committee chairman, Virginia Republican Bob Goodlatte. - Bypassing Congress - Conyers said that the FBI's legal efforts could be seen as an "end run" around the legislative process to step up its access to encrypted devices. "I would be deeply disappointed if it turns out that the government is exploiting a national tragedy to pursue a change in the law," he said. "This committee and not the courts is the place to consider the appropriate consequences." Representative Trey Gowdy, however, offered strong support for the FBI, arguing that it is not for Apple to decide what is off-limits to a search. Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, chastised Sewell for failing to offer any constructive proposal for lawmakers. "Your position, since you don't have anything positive, is to leave us (lawmakers) to our own devices, and I can guarantee you're not going to like the result," Sensenbrenner said. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance told the panel his office has over 200 phones that are inaccessible due to encryption, frustrating efforts to prosecute murderers, rapists and child molesters. "What we should be seeking is not a phone by phone solution to accessing devices, we should be creating a framework where there are standards," he said. Susan Landau, a cybersecurity specialist at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, backed Apple's case on the risks of providing a weaker operating system. "It would weaken us, but not change it for the bad guys," Landau said, noting that criminals could still use apps for encryption. "They wouldn't have to buy a foreign phone, they could just download the app from anywhere." Landau added in her testimony that "law enforcement continues to see electronic surveillance in 20th century terms, and it is using 20th century investigative thinking in a 21st century world." "Instead of celebrating steps industry takes to provide security to data and communications, the FBI fights it," she said. Protesters demonstrate outside an Apple Store in Los Angeles, California as they object to the US government's attempt to put a backdoor to hack into the Apple iPhone on February 23, 2016 Mark Ralston (AFP/File) US Representative John Conyers, pictured on September 18, 2015, said that the FBI's legal efforts could be seen as an "end run" around the legislative process to step up its access to encrypted devices Alex Wong (Getty/AFP/File) UN chief: Syria cease-fire holds despite growing breaches BEIRUT (AP) U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that a shaky cease-fire in Syria is holding "by and large" on its third day despite sporadic fighting and growing accusations of violations. A war of words between the Syrian government and Saudi Arabia, a key backer of the opposition, has meanwhile added to the rising tensions. The Syrian Foreign Ministry said recent statements by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir were "lies meant to boost the morale" of militants who have suffered setbacks in Syria in recent weeks and demonstrate the kingdom's "destructive role" in Syria. Pins with the images of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah are displayed at a souvenir shop in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) Al-Jubeir had reiterated Saudi Arabia's longstanding position that Syrian President Bashar Assad must leave power, either peacefully or through military means. The foreign minister also accused Syrian forces of violating the cease-fire. Speaking to reporters Monday in Geneva, Ban confirmed receiving a letter from the High Negotiations Committee, the main umbrella opposition group, complaining of continuing violations by the Syrian government and its Russian and Iranian backers. The letter sent Sunday urged the U.N. to help "specify the territory covered by the truce to prevent hostilities." The Russian and U.S.-brokered cease-fire that went into effect Saturday excludes the Islamic State group as well as al-Qaida's branch in Syria, the Nusra Front. The cease-fire has significantly reduced violence across the war-ravaged country, bringing some respite to civilians, particularly from airstrikes. But accusations of breaches by both sides threaten to undermine the deal, which aims to bring the Syrian government and the opposition back to peace talks in Geneva next week. Ban told reporters he wanted the cease-fire extended beyond the planned duration of two weeks. The U.N. also said it plans to deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance to about 154,000 people living in besieged locations inside Syria over the next five days. A briefing note sent out by OCHA on Monday said the assistance will include food, water and sanitation supplies, as well as non-food items and medicine. An official with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent said dozens of trucks carrying aid started entering a besieged rebel-held suburb of the Syrian capital, Damascus, for the first time since the cease-fire went into effect. Muhannad al-Assadi told The Associated Press that the 51 trucks are carrying domestic supplies such as blankets, soap and diapers. He said it is the third aid convoy that has been allowed to enter the suburb of Moadamiyeh in recent weeks. Aid deliveries are a main opposition demand ahead of the planned resumption of peace talks in Geneva on March 7. An attempt to restart talks collapsed earlier this month over escalating violence, including a massive Russian-backed government offensive in Aleppo. Fighting in Aleppo province continued Monday, with Syrian state media reporting that troops and other pro-government forces have opened the road linking the northern city of Aleppo with central and western Syria after it was cut by the Islamic State group last week. Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group said it had recovered the body of a senior commander, Ali Fayyad, who was killed during fighting in the region. The Shiite group fighting alongside Assad's forces in Syria said body of the commander, locally known as Haj Alaa, was recovered Sunday night in an operation in which Syrian and Hezbollah special forces took part. Fayyad was a Hezbollah veteran who had led major battles against the Israeli army in south Lebanon. Lebanese media say he was among four Hezbollah fighters killed in Aleppo last week. In the central province of Hama, warplanes carried out repeated attacks on the village of Harebnafsah amid fighting between troops and militants, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees, both opposition monitoring groups. The LCC said the warplanes were Russian. It was not immediately clear which militant groups were taking part in the fighting. The Observatory reported that government forces captured an area near the Damascus suburb of Harasta after a day of fighting with militants, including the Nusra Front. The opposition on Sunday reported air raids on several parts of northern Syria and warned that continued violations would jeopardize the planned resumption of U.N.-brokered peace talks. Riad Hijab, who heads the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee, said in the statement to Ban that Russian, Iranian and government forces have not stopped hostilities since the cease-fire went into effect. Hijab said there had been 24 instances of shelling and five of ground attacks. He added that Russian warplanes carried out 26 airstrikes on Sunday alone targeting rebels that are abiding by the truce. The French foreign minister called for a meeting "without delay" of a task force to monitor the cessation of hostilities following reports of airstrikes targeting the moderate opposition. Jean-Marc Ayrault spoke Monday, shortly before addressing a meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. envoy to Syria, had planned a meeting of the task force, led by the United States and Russia, for later in the day. Ayrault told reporters he planned to discuss the "attacks including by air" with de Mistura and Ban. Critics say Russia and Syrian forces have been targeting the moderate opposition. ___ Keaten reported from Geneva. Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report. MSNBC's Scarborough strikes hard at Donald Trump NEW YORK (AP) MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, who lately has become a symbol of the media's complicated relationship with Donald Trump, said Monday that the Republican's remarks on David Duke are "disqualifying" and compel an apology. The "Morning Joe" host, a former GOP congressman from Florida, referred to Trump's Sunday interview on CNN about former Ku Klux Klan leader Duke's support of Trump's presidential candidacy. Trump at first pleaded ignorance about Duke and groups he's been involved in, then later said he disavowed Duke's support. "That's disqualifying right there," Scarborough said of the CNN interview. "It's breathtaking ... Is he really so stupid that he thinks Southerners aren't offended by the KKK?" Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures while speaking during a rally at Radford University in Radford, Va., Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) Scarborough also penned a Washington Post column posted on Monday saying Trump's "feigned ignorance" about Duke and the KKK raise disturbing questions about the Republican presidential front-runner. A Trump spokeswoman noted that the candidate had disavowed Duke's endorsement before and after Sunday's interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, but had no comment on Scarborough's remarks. Trump, on NBC's "Today" show on Monday, blamed a "very bad earpiece" provided by CNN for having trouble understanding precisely what Tapper had asked him. Scarborough's comments come after he and his show have faced criticism for being too friendly with Trump. The business mogul's rise in the political polls has been accompanied by record ratings for events surrounding the GOP nomination campaign, giving networks the incentive to talk about the race as much as possible particularly with the candidate himself. Trump has been interviewed on "Morning Joe" 32 times since the Republican announced his candidacy last summer, according to the liberal media watchdogs Media Matters for America. Many have been telephone interviews. Most television shows avoid phone interviews they need pictures but the interest in Trump and the ratings his appearances bring has led to that rule being bent by many. In the months before primary or caucus voting began, Scarborough frequently disagreed with analysts who believed Trump's initial strong showing in polls would evaporate. That was undoubtedly helpful to the Trump campaign, yet also proved to be astute analysis for a daily program that traffics in three hours of political talk. It was some offhand comments that embarrassed "Morning Joe." The morning after Trump's win in the New Hampshire primary, Trump said in an interview with Scarborough and co-host Mika Brzezinski that "you guys have been supporters and I really appreciate it." He quickly clarified himself: "not necessarily supporters but at least believers. You said there's some potential there." Tapes leaked by radio host Harry Shearer, of conversations involving Scarborough, Brzezinski and Trump during commercial breaks in Trump's Feb. 17 town hall meeting on MSNBC, revealed the type of banter between media figures and a candidate usually not seen when cameras are rolling. In the off-air moments, both MSNBC hosts told Trump that they had been wrong in thinking Trump had performed poorly in a recent debate. When Brzezinski discussed with a network producer a potential subject for questions, Trump is heard saying, "nothing too hard, Mika." The hosts also thanked Trump for providing the network with an hour of prime-time programming, and Trump joked, "I'm doing this because you get great ratings and a raise. Me, I get nothing." Frank Sesno, media and public affairs professor at George Washington University and a former CNN Washington bureau chief, said Scarborough "like so many on cable television and on talk radio, has been captivated by the Trump phenomenon. I would not say he's been working for him." But the media figures must always remember that "part of their responsibility, part of the public trust, is also to bring scrutiny to the story and hold people accountable when they are running for president of the United States." Scarborough has fought back against any characterizations that he's been too friendly to Trump, and noted in the Washington Post that he hung up on the candidate after a December on-air discussion about Trump wanting to block Muslims from entering the country grew too heated. Police: Man fatally shot former co-worker at Reno casino RENO, Nev. (AP) A former cook shot and killed a former co-worker as the two had a snack at a sleepy casino in downtown Reno, Nevada, authorities said Monday. Suspect Kiley Grayson, 38, stayed at the scene and was arrested on suspicion of murder, police said. It's unclear if he has an attorney. The shooting occurred at Siri's Casino just before midnight Sunday. The identity of the man who died at a hospital hasn't been released. This Feb. 28, 2016 booking photo provided by the Reno Police Department shows Kiley Grayson. Officials say they have arrested the former casino cook accused of fatally shooting a co-worker as the two had a snack at a sleepy downtown Reno, Nev., casino. The shooting at Siri's Casino happened just before midnight Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016. (Reno Police Department via AP) Casino owner Jeff Siri said the two men had been cooks at a nearby sister property, although neither was on the job during the confrontation. Grayson is a former employee who stopped coming to work a few days ago, he said. Siri said he was told by witnesses that the men were eating at a snack bar toward the back of the casino with at least one other person, who was walking away as the shooting happened. "The employee that got shot pushed (the shooter) with his cane, and that's when he pulled the gun out, within seconds. It was really fast," Siri said. Police spokesman Officer Timothy Broadway said he could not immediately confirm the account provided by Siri. Siri said the small casino has 96 slot machines and no table games. There were about 10 customers and two employees working at the time. No one else was hurt, he said. "We're broken up about this thing. I know he had some young children," Siri said of his employee who died. "It's terrible to see something like this, especially someone whose got a lot of people to take care of." The casino was closed during the investigation but has since reopened. Insider Q&A: Bank of America's Moore on mobile banking CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Banking customers are on the move, and the big national banks are scrambling to keep up. They are working to update their technology and offerings in hopes of nabbing increasingly mobile customers. Both Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase recently announced they would allow customers to use their mobile phones at ATMs instead of a card to withdraw cash, for example. Bank of America customers can now use their phones to remotely "lock" their debit card if the card is lost. Michelle Moore, head of digital banking at Bank of America, runs the bank's mobile app division and oversees thousands of employees at the bank's call centers. She recently sat down with the AP to talk about what banking customers expect and how the largest retail bank in the country is responding. The interview has been edited for length and clarity: Michelle Moore, head of digital banking at Bank of America, poses at the banking company's financial center, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, in Boston. Moore runs the banks mobile app division and oversees thousands of employees at the banks call centers. She recently spoke to The Associated Press about what can be expected from the banks newest technology designed to attract increasingly mobile and cashless customers. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Q: What are these card-less ATMs that Bank of America and others have announced, and what's your plan for them? A: We are actually live today now in New York City and will have 20 ATMs with the card-less feature by the end of (February). You just walk up to these ATMs with your smartphone, using the same technology as Apple Pay, use the reader to withdraw money without your card. In May, that capability will be available for Android devices and we will be upgrading our ATMs in other markets like in Silicon Valley. We plan to roll out nationally later this year. Q: Why would customers want this? A: As customers have become accustomed to using Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, it's not as necessary to have your wallet on you anymore. Most people will leave their house and they will make sure they have their smart phone, but might not as much for their wallet or purse. Still, you're still carrying around your debit card because you might need cash. So if we enable the ability to use your phone at the ATM, why else would you need to carry your wallet? So it's partly about convenience. But it's also about security. Using Apple Pay or Samsung pay is the most secure way to protect your information. Using your phone helps protect against thieves who might (use a device to steal your card data) at the ATM. Q: What else can you do to make things easier for mobile customers? A: You can now do nearly everything through our app now that could have been done at a branch. You can open an account. If you need help, you can set an appointment to meet with someone at a (branch). We do 21,000 appointment requests a week now through either smart phone or the website. We also now allow customers to be connected directly to our call centers without having to re-authenticate. The credentials from the phone's app are transferred directly to our associates' desktop. We do 150,000 calls a week now this way and that number was effectively zero a year ago. So now you can connect to our ATMs, our call centers, our financial centers (branches) all from your mobile device. We will be rolling out a Spanish version of our mobile banking app. We also will be updating our ATMs to do check cashing, do credit card payments and withdraw multiple denominations of cash as well. Q: What's left, if anything, for a traditional teller to do? 4 hurt as student opens fire in Ohio school cafeteria HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) A 14-year-old boy pulled out a gun in a school cafeteria Monday and opened fire, hitting two students, and then ran from the school, threw the weapon down and was apprehended nearby with the help of a police dog, authorities said. Two other Madison Local Schools students also were injured, possibly from shrapnel or while running away. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, said Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones. Jones said the 14-year-old was a student and there was a motive to the shooting which he did not identify. The boy was charged preliminarily with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terrorist threats, Jones said. A child is comforted Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, near Middletown, Ohio after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in a school shooting that wounded four classmates, including two who were shot, is in a juvenile lock-up and facing several charges. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says the boy has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terrorist threats. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Students were eating in the cafeteria when the shooting happened around 11:30 a.m., Jones said. Afterward, classmates described a chaotic scene where they weren't sure what was happening at first. Some students fled outside. One student mistook the first shot for a potato chip bag being popped. Thirteen-year-old Shelby Kinnin said she heard "a couple of bangs" and realized she was near the shooter. "I didn't really know it was gunshots until I looked over and a kid was grabbing his leg and falling over," she said. Many people ran from the scene, and the shooter went out a door, she said. She recognized him as a boy who was in a class with her last year, though she wasn't sure of his name. Her stepmother, Stephanie Kinnin, said it was unnerving to see emergency responders swarm the school. "There is no feeling like that in the world," she said. "But my eyes found the children walking out looking for parents, and that was heartbreaking. Their eyes just told the story." The students who were shot ages 14 and 15 were taken to a hospital where they were in stable condition, investigators said. A 14-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl were also injured, though it was unclear how, Jones said. "We don't know if it was from the shooting or from exiting the school or because of the shrapnel from the bullets hitting into that small of an area," Jones said. One student who'd been injured hid and was later found by authorities looking for students, Jones said. A sheriff's deputy stationed in the school had just been in the cafeteria, Jones said. The suspect apparently stood up, moved toward the door and then began shooting, said Chief Anthony Dwyer of the Butler County Sheriff's Office. All other students were safe, according to the school website. The school, which had practiced for such an event, immediately went into lockdown, said district spokeswoman A.J. Huff. School was cancelled Tuesday along with extracurricular events, although staff was expected to report to plan a response once students returned. The campus is near Middletown, roughly 30 miles north of Cincinnati. State records show enrollment of about 250 junior high and 500 high school students. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican running for president, said on a campaign stop in Vermont he'd been briefed but didn't give details. "Obviously it was a tragedy, but thank God that no life was lost," Kasich said. ___ Associated Press writers Kantele Franko, Julie Carr Smyth and Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus and John Seewer in Toledo contributed to this report. A child is comforted Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Marshall Gorby/Dayton Daily News via AP) A child is comforted Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, near Middletown, Ohio after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in a school shooting that wounded four classmates, including two who were shot, is in a juvenile lock-up and facing several charges. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says the boy has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terrorist threats. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) A child is comforted Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, near Middletown, Ohio after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in a school shooting that wounded four classmates, including two who were shot, is in a juvenile lock-up and facing several charges. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says the boy has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terrorist threats. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Deputies stand guard Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, near Middletown, Ohio after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in a school shooting that wounded four classmates, including two who were shot, is in a juvenile lock-up and facing several charges. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says the boy has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terrorist threats. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Police vehicles block the entrance of Madison Local Schools, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Parents run to see if they are allowed to pick up their kids at Madison Local Schools, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Parents and community members form a prayer circle as they wait to pick up their kids Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Russian warplane crashes on training exercise, pilot killed MOSCOW (AP) The Russian military says one of its warplanes crashed while on a training exercise in southern Russia and the pilot was killed. The Defense Ministry statement, carried by the Tass news agency, says the Su-25 ground attack aircraft went down Monday evening in an uninhabited area in the Stavropol region. The crash caused no casualties or damage on the ground. The Su-25 is one of the aircraft the Russian military has deployed in Syria to provide air support for the Syrian army. Since Russia began the air campaign five months ago, its warplanes have flown thousands of missions. Russia is known to have lost only one aircraft an Su-24 shot down by a Turkish jet in November. University leader refused to stop for deputy IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) The University of Iowa's interim campus police leader interfered with an investigation into a hit-and-run drunk driving accident by his stepson after the two left an Iowa City bar, driving away before officers could interview him, according to records obtained by The Associated Press. Investigative documents withheld from the public for months show that David Visin refused an officer's requests by phone to pull over on June 25 so police could speak with him and his passenger, his stepson Sean Crane. Officers were searching for Crane, 33, because his truck had smashed into two cars minutes earlier in a parking lot outside the bar. Instead of stopping, Visin dropped Crane at a gas station a few miles away and left before officers arrived. Johnson County sheriff's deputy Brad Kunkel later found Crane intoxicated and shirtless on the side of a nearby highway with a major abrasion on his back that required emergency medical treatment. This undated booking photo released by the Johnson County Sheriff's Office in Iowa City, Iowa shows Sean Crane, 33. Cranes stepfather, University of Iowa public safety director David Visin, is accused of interfering with an investigation into a drunk driving hit-and-run accident caused by Crane on June 25, 2015, according to police reports obtained by The Associated Press. (Johnson County Sheriff's Office via AP) Visin repeatedly told Kunkel he couldn't pull over because he needed to go home to drop off a trailer he was pulling, saying: "I'm not a good trailer puller." Visin said he left Crane because he "wanted him to get the hell out of my truck" after learning about the hit-and-run. Kunkel told Visin those explanations were ridiculous, according to audio from his police car obtained by AP. On Monday, Visin blamed his actions on diabetes, a disease he said he has hidden from colleagues to avoid discrimination. He told the AP he had not been drinking, had no involvement in the hit-and-run and wasn't aware of Crane's injuries then. He denied interfering, saying: "Without my assistance, they never would have found him." He said his judgment was affected by low blood-sugar levels, and he needed to get home to inject himself with insulin and eat. "I am sorry that this whole incident occurred and really, that covering up my disease has led to this moment," he said. Visin, 47, has served as assistant vice president and director of public safety for 14 months, earning a $153,000 salary. The university is expected to decide soon whether to permanently give him the job, which has become increasingly high-profile as the school fights binge drinking and sexual assault. University spokeswoman Jeneane Beck said Monday that Visin disclosed the incident to his superior after it occurred, noting he wasn't charged with any crimes. In his report, Kunkel said he believed Visin interfered with the investigation and lied. But authorities didn't file any charges. Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek said officers didn't have cause to investigate further once Visin left. After having Crane transported by ambulance to a hospital, Kunkel blasted Visin in a phone conversation he recorded. He said Visin should have known, as an officer, that the only "reasonable, logical and ethical thing" was to pull over and that Crane's injuries should have raised concerns. "A cop is on the phone telling you to stop, and the person with you is involved in a hit-and-run, and you don't do that? You tried to interfere with this. You tried to make this difficult," Kunkel said. "I think the worst thing you could have done is walk away and wash your hands of it, because it looks like you're trying to hide something." Crane received treatment for "road rash" on his back, which he suffered after being ejected from his truck during the hit-and-run accident, according to video of the stop and police reports. His blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit, and Crane admitted he had been smoking marijuana after officers found joints in his truck. He was sentenced to two days in jail after pleading guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Prosecutors dropped a drug charge. Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness refused the AP's request for investigative reports in July, citing Crane's criminal case. AP renewed its request in December after Crane pleaded guilty, then notified Lyness last week it was planning to file a complaint accusing her of violating the open records law. Lyness apologized for delays and released the records. Visin told police he met Crane at Eagles Club bar at 4 p.m. Two hours later, witnesses called police to report the hit-and-run. Police learned the truck involved was registered to Crane, and Kunkel went to Crane's home to investigate. Visin and Crane left in Visin's truck as Kunkel arrived. Crane's wife then connected Kunkel and Visin by phone. When Kunkel told Visin about the accident and asked him to pull over, Visin repeatedly said he had no idea what was happening, irritating Kunkel, who called the situation "pretty straightforward." Kunkel told Visin not to leave Crane by himself, but he did. Visin said Monday he learned about the hit-and-run from Kunkel, and "was very angry" because he felt Crane was using him to try to flee. He said his hypoglycemia made things worse. He said Crane is in treatment and regrets that his "deception and addiction led to possible damage to my career." The Latest: Washington gunman had long criminal record BELFAIR, Wash. (AP) The Latest on a murder-suicide in Washington state that left five people dead (all times local): 11:55 a.m. The man who fatally shot three family members, a neighbor and then himself in rural Washington state had an extensive criminal history, including felony charges. A Mason County Sheriff Dept. SWAT vehicle drives a few miles from the scene of a fatal shooting Friday, Feb. 26, 2016, near Belfair, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) A review of Pennsylvania court records shows misdemeanor and felony convictions for David Wayne Campbell dating to 1996. Documents say he was charged with multiple counts over several years, mostly related to bad checks, stolen property and forgery. He served time in prison starting in 2000 on a charge of theft by deception. It's not clear when he moved to Washington. Campbell killed himself Friday after a standoff with authorities. He also killed his wife, her two teenage sons and a neighbor. ___ 9:40 a.m. Authorities in Washington state have released the name of the fourth victim in a standoff that left five people dead, including the gunman. Mason County Coroner Wes Stockwell says 68-year-old Donna Reed was among the four people whose bodies were found in a chicken coop after Friday's standoff. The standoff began after David Wayne Campbell called a sheriff's office supervisor Friday morning to say he had done something bad and was suicidal. After hours of negotiations, police tried to flush Campbell out using tear gas. They say that's when he stepped outside and killed himself. Reed was a neighbor of Campbell. Also killed in the standoff were Campbell's wife of six years, 49-year-old Lana J. Carlson, and her two teenage sons, Quinn and Tory Carlson. Authorities said Monday she adopted the boys from Kazakhstan before she met Campbell. A Washington State Patrol detective is seen through trees as he works the scene of a fatal shooting Friday, Feb. 26, 2016, near Belfair, Wash. A gunman who killed four people in rural Washington state called an officer he previously encountered to say he shot his family, leading to an hours long standoff at a home Friday that ended with his suicide, authorities said. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Top Puerto Rico luxury hotel targeted in tax evasion case SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) The administrators of a top luxury hotel in Puerto Rico have been arrested and charged in a tax evasion case as the U.S. territory cracks down on corruption amid a worsening economic crisis, officials said Monday. The island's Justice Department said Wilhelm Sack and Harold Davies Mayne of the Horned Dorset Primavera are accused of withholding more than $600,000 in room occupancy tax over the past six years. The announcement comes nearly a year after the hotel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it struggled with nearly $1.7 million in debts, including more than $800,000 owed to Puerto Rico's Treasury Department and more than $320,000 owed to the island's struggling power company. Sack is being held on $29,000 bond and Mayne on $232,000 bond. They are scheduled to appear in court March 14 for a preliminary hearing. Adrian Santiago, the hotel's reservation manager, said he had no comment. Melanie Matos, an attorney for Sack, told The Associated Press that negotiations were underway and the case is tied to an old debt being disputed in a local court and bankruptcy court. "We hope that this can be rapidly resolved and are looking forward to giving the best service to the hotel guests," she said. It is one of the most high-profile cases to date since authorities began pursuing suspected tax evaders late last year in an attempt to recover millions of dollars. The island government's liquidity has dwindled amid a nearly decade-long economic slump and it faces $72 billion in public debt that the governor has said is unpayable and needs restructuring. Officials say Sack and Maynes are accused of withholding tax revenues owed to the island's Tourism Company from December 2008 to October 2015. "Horned Dorset has been an institution for Puerto Rico tourism, holding us up high for decades in the international market," said Justice Secretary Cesar Miranda. "It's a shame they haven't met their tax obligations. ... We will pursue this case like any other." The two men face a total of 174 charges. The hotel in the popular tourist town of Rincon in western Puerto Rico has suites that go for up to $1,600 a night. ___ The Latest: Arguments conclude in Menendez corruption case PHILADELPHIA (AP) The Latest on a 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals hearing for New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez (all times local): 4:15 p.m. Oral arguments have concluded in the corruption case of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez. FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2016, file photo, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) speaks during a news conference, in Union City, N.J. A federal appeals court is to hear arguments in the corruption case of Menendez on Monday, Feb. 29. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File) A three-judge appellate panel will now take the next several weeks to decide whether to dismiss charges against the longtime congressman or uphold a lower court ruling and send the case to trial. The charges include bribery and theft of honest services. Menendez's attorney argued that meetings Menendez set up with various government officials were held to review policy issues. The government claims they were to help the business interests of Salomon Melgen, a wealthy Florida eye doctor who showered gifts and campaign donations on Menendez. Both men were indicted last spring. ___ 3 p.m. A panel of appeals court judges is grilling New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez's lawyer during arguments in the corruption case against the longtime lawmaker. Menendez was charged last year with multiple counts of bribery and honest services fraud after prosecutors said he took gifts and campaign contributions from a Florida eye doctor in exchange for political favors. He has pleaded not guilty. Menendez argues that meetings he had with government officials were related to policy matters and not intended specifically to help Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen in his business interests. The senator claims his actions were protected by a constitutional protection against prosecution of members of Congress engaged in legislative acts. ___ 3 a.m. A federal appeals court in Philadelphia is scheduled to hear arguments in New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez's corruption case. Menendez was charged last year with multiple counts of bribery and honest services fraud after prosecutors say he took gifts and campaign contributions from a Florida eye doctor in exchange for political favors. Menendez has pleaded not guilty and says he and Salomon Melgen are longtime friends and that he did nothing wrong. A key issue the judges will weigh on Monday is a Constitutional protection given to House and Senate members when they perform legislative duties. The Latest: Charges being mulled in pastor's shooting DAYTON, Ohio (AP) The Latest on the fatal shooting of an Ohio pastor (all times local): 4 p.m. Police in Ohio say they're still deciding what charges to file against a man suspected in the fatal shooting of his pastor brother inside a church office. In this January 2011 photo, the Rev. William B. Schooler poses for a photo in Dayton, Ohio. The pastor with deep roots in the Dayton community was shot and killed at his church Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, and police say they expect to charge his brother, Daniel Gregory Schooler, in the slaying on Monday. (Chris Stewart/Dayton Daily News via AP) LOCAL PRINT OUT; LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; WKEF-TV OUT; WRGT-TV OUT; WDTN-TV OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT Authorities in Dayton say they expect to charge Daniel Schooler in the shooting of Rev. William B. Schooler. The shooting happened as services were winding down Sunday. A police spokeswoman says detectives will meet with prosecutors on Tuesday to discuss potential charges. Jail records don't list an attorney for Daniel Schooler. Court records show he sued his brother and church leaders in 2011, saying he was owed money from the real estate value of the church. A relative told the Dayton Daily News that Daniel Schooler has a history of mental illness. ___ 3:15 p.m. The man being held in the fatal shooting of his pastor brother at an Ohio church sued the minister over an inheritance dispute five years ago. Police in Dayton say suspect Daniel Schooler is the brother of the Rev. William B. Schooler. The pastor died Sunday at St. Peter's Missionary Baptist Church. Court records show Daniel Schooler sued his brother and church leaders in 2011, saying he was owed money from the real estate value of the church. A court ruled against Daniel Schooler's claim. Police have said they don't know what led to the shooting. A relative told the Dayton Daily News that Daniel Schooler has a history of mental illness. The newspaper also reports that Daniel Schooler shot his nephew in the arm in 2001, but the nephew didn't want to press charges. ___ 7:15 a.m. Authorities investigating the slaying of a southwest Ohio pastor expect to charge his brother in the fatal shooting that occurred at the pastor's church office as services were winding down. Dayton police say the Rev. William B. Schooler was shot around 12:30 p.m. Sunday at St. Peter's Missionary Baptist Church. The 70-year-old pastor's brother was arrested at the church and taken to the Montgomery County jail. Police say they expect 68-year-old Daniel Gregory Schooler will face a murder charge Monday. Jail records don't list an attorney for Schooler. Police said they did not know Sunday what led to the shooting, but said the pastor was the only intended victim. The brothers' niece, Joyce Napier, told the Dayton Daily News that Daniel Schooler has a history of mental illness. ___ Information from: Dayton Daily News, http://www.daytondailynews.com EPA wants states to double-check drinking water procedures TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) The Obama administration said Monday it would keep a closer watch on state agencies in charge of drinking water safety, urging them to prevent more cases such as Flint, Michigan, where the system has been tainted with lead. In addition to double-checking their procedures for treatment and sampling, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said states should bolster confidence in public water systems by making information such as lead and copper testing results and the location of lead water pipes available online. "Clearly there's public concern and understandably so, given the seriousness of the events in Flint," Joel Beauvais, the EPA's deputy assistant administrator for water, said in a phone interview. FILE--In this Feb. 25, 2016 file photo, signs warn not to drink the lead contaminated water from a water fountain at Woodside Church in Flint, Mich. The Obama administration said Monday, Feb. 29, 2016 it would keep a closer watch on state agencies in charge of drinking water safety, urging them to prevent more cases such as Flint, where the system has been tainted with lead. In addition to double-checking their procedures for treatment and sampling, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said states should bolster confidence in public water systems by making information such as lead and copper testing results and the location of lead water pipes available online.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, file) In a letter to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said her staffers would meet with leaders of all state drinking water programs to make sure they are properly carrying out and enforcing federal rules on lead and copper pollution. "I ask that you encourage your state agency to give this effort the highest priority, consistent with our shared commitment and partnership to address lead risks," McCarthy said. Similar letters were being sent to governors of the other states that oversee compliance with the federal lead and copper rule, part of the Safe Water Drinking Act. All states do so except Wyoming, which relies on the EPA for the task, as does Washington, D.C. A task force appointed by Snyder said in December the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality was primarily to blame for the Flint crisis because it didn't require the city to treat its water with anti-corrosive chemicals after beginning to draw from the Flint River in 2014. Flint stopped buying Lake Huron water from Detroit and switched temporarily to the river, a move designed to save money for the impoverished city of nearly 100,000 until it could join a new system that also would use lake water but hadn't finished building the infrastructure. Shortly afterward, residents began complaining of problems with the river water's taste, smell and appearance. Unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria prompted boil-water advisories. After denying it for months, state officials acknowledged last fall that water reaching some homes and schools was contaminated with lead. The EPA issued a memo last November to clarify requirements for corrosion controls. Michigan officials had believed the rule allowed Flint to test the water for two six-month periods before deciding whether controls were needed. Beauvais said for larger cities such as Flint, corrosion controls are required at all times. The agency has been working for years on a proposed update of the rule, which it expects to complete in 2017. In addition to McCarthy's letter to governors, Beauvais wrote separately to state environmental agency chiefs asking them to confirm within 30 days that they are abiding by the regulations. He recommended the agencies work with local water system officials to make sure the public gets prompt notifications about high lead levels in drinking water systems, as well as instructions on dealing with lead risks. Michigan agrees with the proposals and is reviewing its compliance with the federal lead and copper rule, but the measure should be rewritten so that it "makes more sense" and provides stronger safeguards, said Ari Adler, spokesman for Snyder. "What happened in Flint is a crisis, but Flint is not alone," Adler said. "Many municipalities across the country could easily become the next Flint and, even if something that large doesn't occur, it's likely the current federal lead and copper rule isn't doing enough to protect every resident of the United States from the dangers present within the lead pipes that are possibly running into their homes." ___ Follow John Flesher on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JohnFlesher AP Explains: Iranian clerics tasked with picking top leader TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iranian moderates have won a majority in the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body that is tasked with choosing the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, and which was previously dominated by hard-liners. The 88-member body is elected every eight years, and may choose the successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been Iran's top decision-maker since the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, died in 1989. Khamenei is 76 years old and underwent prostate surgery in 2014, raising concerns about his health. The newly elected body could therefore play a major role in shaping the future of Iran, which is deeply divided between hard-liners who are hostile to the West and relative moderates who want to expand freedoms and improve relations with the international community. FILE -- In this Friday, Feb. 26, 2016 file photo, released by official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei casts his ballot during parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections in Tehran, Iran. Iranian moderates won a 59 percent majority in the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body which will choose the successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been Iran's top decision-maker since 1989. The 76-year-old underwent prostate surgery in 2014, leading to renewed speculations about the state of his health. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File) The Associated Press explains the Assembly of Experts, the latest election, and what it means for Iran's future. WHAT IS THE ASSEMBLY OF EXPERTS? The body consists of Islamic scholars or clerics who are popularly elected every eight years. In theory, they have the ability to appoint or dismiss the supreme leader, and to question his policies. But in reality, the assembly has always deferred to his leadership. The scholars are supposed to be above politics, but many are aligned with the country's political camps and have served in other offices. President Hassan Rouhani and former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani are well-known moderates, while Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati is a leading hard-liner. All three retained their seats in the Assembly of Experts in the election. WHY DOES THE ELECTION MATTER? The supreme leader has the final say on all major policies in Iran and exerts power throughout the ruling system, including by appointing half the Guardian Council, a powerful body that vets election candidates. He also appoints the chief of the judiciary, controls state radio and TV and dozens of other unelected institutions, and is the country's commander-in-chief. That means Khamenei's successor will have a major influence on the future direction of the country. The election changed the balance between the two camps, with the moderates winning nearly 60 percent of seats after holding less than 25 percent in the previous assembly. Two staunch hard-liners -- Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, the current head of the assembly, and Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, the spiritual mentor of hard-liners -- were not re-elected. WHAT KIND OF SUCCESSOR DO THE MODERATES AND HARD-LINERS SEEK? If the moderates have their way, the next supreme leader will favor the expansion of democratic freedoms and greater openness toward the West. The hard-liners would likely prefer a leader even more hard-line than Khamenei, who is deeply suspicious of the United States and fears Western influence could undermine the Islamic Republic. The moderates tend to see the government's legitimacy as deriving from elections, while hard-liners see it as coming from adherence to a strict interpretation of Islam regardless of its popularity. Both camps, however, remain committed to the ruling system and the role of Islam in public life, meaning the next supreme leader is unlikely to favor radical change. HOW DOES THE ASSEMBLY CHOOSE THE NEXT SUPREME LEADER? The Assembly of Experts has only chosen a supreme leader once, after Khomeini's death in 1989, so there is little precedent to go by. The assembly also conducts much of its work in secret. The names of potential successors are kept secret, and the assembly covertly monitors their personal and public lives. Rafsanjani broke a taboo in December when he said a committee within the assembly has begun putting together a list of possible replacements for Khamenei. Should Khamenei pass away or become incapacitated, the assembly would meet to vote on a successor, who could come from within the body or outside of it. They would then hold a secret ballot where the candidate would be chosen by a simple majority. The successor would then be announced to the public. FILE -- In this Friday, Feb. 26, 2016 file photo released by official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani waves to media after casting his vote for parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections in Tehran, Iran. Iranian moderates won a 59 percent majority in the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body which will choose the successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been Iran's top decision-maker since 1989. The 76-year-old underwent prostate surgery in 2014, leading to renewed speculations about the state of his health. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File) Schism emerges on Apple case among San Bernardino survivors WASHINGTON (AP) A schism is emerging among family members of victims and survivors of the December's shootings in San Bernardino, California, with at least one couple supporting Apple Inc. in its battle against a federal court order to help the FBI hack into a shooter's locked iPhone. Salihin Kondoker, whose wife, Anies, was shot three times during the Dec. 2 attack but survived, sent U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym a two-page letter Monday expressing support for Apple's position in the case that has pitted digital privacy rights against national security concerns. Kondoker said he was writing to the court because he believes "privacy is important and Apple should stay firm in their decision." FILE - In this Feb. 17, 2016 file photo shows an iPhone in Washington. A schism has emerged among family members of victims and survivors of the San Bernardino, California terrorist attack, with at least a couple supporting Apple Inc. in its battle against a federal court order to help the FBI hack into a shooters locked iPhone. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Apple asked Pym in a filing last week to vacate her order requiring it to assist investigators by creating specialized software that would let the FBI bypass security protocols to test random passcode combinations in rapid sequence. The filing accused the federal government of seeking "dangerous power" through the courts and of trampling on the company's constitutional rights. Kondoker called for stronger gun laws, saying "it was guns that killed innocent people, not technology." He said he believed the FBI had access to information it has ignored, writing, "I'm very disappointed in the way they've handled this investigation." A spokesman for the FBI declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department did not immediately provide comment. Apple said in a statement it "has the deepest sympathies for the victims and their families." The letter, which Kondoker requested be included as part of the court file, gives support to Apple's case one day before a congressional hearing that will include testimony from FBI Director James Comey and Apple General Counsel Bruce Sewell. Filings in support of either side of the case are due by Thursday. A person close to the filings in support of Apple said more than 25 companies and organizations have pledged their support, including Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo and Verizon. The person wasn't authorized to discuss the legal process publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Los Angeles attorney Stephen Larson is representing at least several families of victims and others affected by the attack and said he plans to file a brief in support of the Justice Department by March 3. The county-issued iPhone 5C was used by Syed Farook, who, with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people at an office holiday party in December. Farook and Malik died later in a gun battle with police. The government said they had been at least partly inspired by the Islamic State and said it was critical that its investigators conduct a thorough investigation by accessing the phone. The couple physically destroyed two personal phones so completely that the FBI has been unable to recover information from them. Kondoker, who works in information technology, said he has attended FBI briefings and has been frustrated by the lack of information in the case since the attacks. He said he initially worried that Apple's opposition to the court order would be another roadblock, but added: "I have come to understand their fight is for something much bigger than one phone. They are worried that this software the government wants them to use will be used against millions of other innocent people. I share their fear." His wife of 17 years, Anies, worked with Farook at the county health department and was shot three times in a hallway as she returned from a restroom. The handbag she left on a chair was "shattered by bullets," and Kondoker wrote, "There isn't a day that goes by I don't think about what could have happened had she actually been sitting in that chair." She survived the attack and is recovering. Kondoker, who couldn't be immediately reached for comment by phone, said he, his wife and their three children are a Muslim family who are proud to call America home. He called the attack "an act of hate." Kondoker said his wife had a county-issue iPhone and never used it for personal business, and he believed it unlikely there was anything valuable on Farook's phone. "Neither I, nor my wife, want to raise our children in a world where privacy is the tradeoff for security," Kondoker said. "I believe this case will have a huge impact all over the world. You will have agencies coming from all over the world to get access to the software the FBI is asking Apple for. It will be abused all over to spy on innocent people." ___ Australian cardinal denies deflecting child sex abuse blame CANBERRA, Australia (AP) Interrupted by jeers from observers, one of Pope Francis' top advisers on Tuesday denied an accusation that his testimony to an inquiry into child sex abuse was an attempt to deflect blame for the Catholic Church transferring Australia's worst pedophile priest from parish to parish. Australian Cardinal George Pell was a priest in the 1970s in the town of Ballarat where he advised Bishop Ronald Mulkearns about the placement of priests within the diocese. Pell, now the pope's top financial adviser, told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that he had no idea that priest Gerald Ridsdale was repeatedly transferred by the bishop for more than a decade because of pedophile accusations. FILE - A Tuesday, March 31, 2015 file photo of Cardinal George Pell attending a press conference at the Vatican Radio headquarters, in Rome. One of the highest-ranking Vatican officials is being compelled to testify in public starting Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, about clerical sex abuse, an unusual demonstration of holding even the most senior Catholic bishops accountable. The cardinal, Pope Francis' top financial adviser, will testify in a Rome hotel conference room for three nights running, answering questions via video link from Australia's Royal Commission with his accusers on hand to confront him. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File) Pell rejected an accusation made by the lead counsel assisting the commission, Gail Furness, that his answers were designed to remove his own responsibility for Ridsdale's crimes. "My answers were designed to answer your questions accurately and completely," Pell told the Sydney inquiry via videolink from a Rome hotel. Asked if he accepted any responsibility of Ridsdale's repeated transfers within the Ballarat diocese, Pell replied: "No, I don't." The royal commission which is Australia's highest form of investigation is investigating how Pell dealt with abuse allegations as a priest, educator and adviser to Mulkearns, as well as how the Melbourne archdiocese responded to allegations of abuse, including when Pell served as a Melbourne auxiliary bishop. Tuesday was the second day of evidence for the 74-year-old cleric, who because of ill health could not travel to Australia to give evidence in person at the inquiry into decades of child abuse. On Monday, Pell dubbed Mulkearns' handling of Ridsdale a "catastrophe for the church." He said Mulkearns was a prime candidate for the Vatican's proposed tribunal for negligent bishops, although there is no indication the elderly Mulkearns would stand trial by the time the tribunal is operational. Commission chairman Peter McClellan asked Pell on Tuesday whether it was surprising that he hadn't heard rumors about the scandal Ridsdale had created in the diocese. "Not necessarily, given the work I was doing," Pell said. "I wasn't working full-time in the diocese." Furness said that as an adviser to the bishop one of a group of Ballarat priests known as the College of Consultors Pell should have questioned why Ridsdale was frequently transferred. "I was happy to take the bishop's word that it was appropriate for him to be shifted," Pell said. "Gentle and euphemistic language ... was regularly used by Bishop Mulkearns on these occasions, so that some of us were kept in the dark," he said. Pell accompanied Ridsdale to court in 1993 when the pedophile faced his first child molesting charges. He was convicted in 1993, 2006 and 2013 with sexually abusing more than 50 children. Pell told the royal commission said Mulkearns' refusal to act on the allegations against Ridsdale was extraordinary. "Unfortunately, I would have to say that I can't nominate another bishop whose actions are so grave and inexplicable," Pell said. Pell agreed with McClellan that even if a priest did not have a legal responsibility to stop Ridsdale's crimes, a priest would have a moral responsibility to do whatever he could to prevent such abuses. "I think that is a reasonable proposition," Pell said. The Royal Commission in December accepted medical advice that 85-year-old Mulkearns was dying and was unfit to testify. He was Ballarat's bishop from 1971 until he retired in 1997. The bishop's former adviser, priest John McKinnon, told the Royal Commission in December that Mulkearns was "profoundly sorry" for relocating suspected pedophile priests, but could no longer remember details. Ballarat, Pell's hometown, has been devastated by disclosures about the huge number of abuse victims, scores of whom killed themselves in a cluster of abuse-related suicides. Two dozen Australian abuse survivors and their companions traveled across the globe to witness Pell's testimony in a hotel conference room, a significant show of accountability in the church's long-running abuse saga. Pell said priests didn't discuss with him the allegations against Ridsdale. Pell's testimony was interrupted by jeers from the public gallery as he explained the moral framework in which priests live. "We work within a framework of Christian moral teaching, or certainly we should, and discussion of the secret faults of others is not encouraged," Pell said. Furness told Pell that Ridsdale's crimes were not "secret," since they were common knowledge in the towns of Apollo Bay and Inglewood where Ridsdale had been the parish priest and police had reported their suspicions to the church. Pell said he had not known the sexual abuse was common knowledge in Inglewood. "I didn't know whether it was common knowledge or whether it wasn't. It's a sad story and it wasn't of much interest to me," Pell said, bringing audible gasps and jeers from the public gallery. Andrew Collins, a clergy abuse victim from Ballarat, said outside the Rome hotel that he found Pell's denials of any knowledge of pedophilia allegations against Ridsdale " absolutely unbelievable." "He's always been seen as an ambitious man and ambitious people have knowledge. They crave knowledge," Collins told reporters. "They know everything that's going on and he wouldn't be in the position he was today if he was the sort of person who sat back and didn't pay attention to what was going on," he added. Before Pell's testimony on Tuesday, he told reporters: "I've got the full backing of the pope." The Vatican said a private audience Pell had with the pope on Monday was a long-scheduled appointment related to Pell's duties as Holy See finance minister, and had nothing to do with the abuse hearings. Pell will testify for a third four-hour session late on Tuesday Rome time. Dominic Ridsdale, a survivor of priestly sex abuse, wears a shirt reading "No more silence" as he stands in front of the Quirinale hotel in Rome, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016. A group of Australian survivors of priestly sex abuse and their relatives are in Rome to witness one of the highest-ranking Vatican official, Cardinal George Pell, testify before an Australian commission investigating the depth of the abuse scandal Down Under. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) From left, Dominic Ridsdale, Phil Nagle, Tony Waroley, Stephen Woods and Peter Blenkiron, survivors and relatives of priestly sex abuse, stand in front of the Quirinale hotel in Rome, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016. A group of Australian survivors of priestly sex abuse and their relatives are in Rome to witness one of the highest-ranking Vatican official, Cardinal George Pell, testify before an Australian commission investigating the depth of the abuse scandal Down Under. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Peter Blenkiron, a survivor of priestly sex abuse, wears a T-shirt showing him at the age in which he was abused, in front of the Quirinale hotel in Rome, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016. A group of Australian survivors of priestly sex abuse and their relatives are in Rome to witness one of the highest-ranking Vatican official, Cardinal George Pell, testify before an Australian commission investigating the depth of the abuse scandal Down Under. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) David Ridsdale, second from right, a survivor of priestly sex abuse stands in front of the Quirinale hotel in Rome, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016. A group of Australian survivors of priestly sex abuse and their relatives are in Rome to witness one of the highest-ranking Vatican official, Cardinal George Pell, testify before an Australian commission investigating the depth of the abuse scandal Down Under. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Anthony, left, and Chrissie Foster, parents of two victims of sex abuse, stand in front of the Quirinale hotel in Rome, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016. A group of Australian survivors of priestly sex abuse and their relatives are in Rome to witness one of the highest-ranking Vatican official, Cardinal George Pell, testify before an Australian commission investigating the depth of the abuse scandal Down Under. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Anthony Foster, center, and Chrissie Foster, right parents of two victims of sex abuse, talk with victim Peter Blenkiron, in front of the Quirinale hotel in Rome, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016. A group of Australian survivors of priestly sex abuse and their relatives are in Rome to witness one of the highest-ranking Vatican official, Cardinal George Pell, testify before an Australian commission investigating the depth of the abuse scandal Down Under. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Voters in Florida begin early voting in crucial primary MIAMI (AP) The Florida primary is weeks away, but tens of thousands of voters headed to the polls Monday for early voting in this critical contest that could make-or-break the presidential aspirations of native son, Sen. Marco Rubio. Sixteen of Florida's 67 counties opened for early in-person voting, including some of the state's most populated areas, with the remaining counties kicking off early voting on March 5. That's on top of the nearly 600,000 people who have already cast their ballots as absentees, offering a glimpse at the direction of this primary, which for Republicans, is winner-take-all. Florida's large and diverse population has turned it into a fiercely contested swing state in the general election, but it is also critical for nailing down all 99 Republican delegates at stake. For Rubio, who launched his longshot campaign nearly a year ago from Miami, a loss in Florida primary threatens to derail his ambitions of balking front-runner Donald Trump, who thus far dominates in early preference polls. Rolando Conesa arrives at the Miami-Dade Elections Department in Miami, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, during early voting. Early in-person voting for the crucial contest in two weeks began today, and more than 200,000 voters in each party have already cast ballots absentee. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz) "We're going to win Florida," he told CBS' Face the Nation Sunday. "Florida is not going to vote for a con artist like Donald Trump." Absentee and early voting are popular in Florida. Projections show that more than half of those voting in the primary will have cast their ballots before the March 15 primary. So far, more than 303,000 Republican voters and more than 261,000 Democratic voters have submitted their absentee ballots, according to University of Florida political scientist Daniel Smith, who is tracking statewide absentee ballot returns. That means the absentee ballots thus far cast in Florida alone far outnumber the combined 335,000 voters who took part in the Iowa and Nevada caucuses. About 1.7 million Democratic and Republican voters requested absentee ballots ahead of the primary, said UF's Smith. Absentee voters were mailed ballots weeks ago and include the names of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and seven other GOP candidates who have since dropped out of the race. Smith said almost 44 percent of the absentee Republican votes so far are from people who did not vote in 2012. "This might bode well for (Donald Trump), as the competitive GOP primary appears to be drawing in a sizable number of Republicans and absentee voters at that who in previously primary contests have sat on the sidelines," said Smith. Unlike Super Tuesday states, where the all-important delegates are divided proportionally based on votes, Florida's 99 Republican votes all go to the winner, versus the Democrats who award a total of 246 delegates on a proportional basis. As a closed primary, only registered Republicans and Democrats can vote in their respective primaries. Florida's large batch of delegates is drawing candidates to the Sunshine State even with several other primaries scheduled in the first two weeks of March. Rubio and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton announced that each is holding nighttime rallies in Miami on March 1 when nearly a dozen states host contests of their own to kick off their campaigns in Florida with two weeks to go until the polls close there. A Quinnipiac University poll released last week shows that Trump rolls into Florida with a 16 percentage-point lead over Rubio. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and Ben Carson trailed the two front-runners. Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton appears to be ahead of rival Bernie Sanders in early preference polls. Ellen Barnett, a 62-year-old accountant from Miami, said she "couldn't wait to vote," having cast her ballot Monday for Trump. "He loves America. He's a businessman who knows what he's doing," she said. She described Rubio as "too young." Hortensia Lee, a Democrat and Cuban-American from Miami, said she early voted for Clinton because "the country is not ready for a socialist like Bernie Sanders." This year, more than 4.2 million registered voters are Republicans and almost 4.6 million are Democrats, according to figures released over the weekend by the Florida State Department's Division of Elections. Nearly 2.9 million Floridians are registered as "no party affiliation" and therefore cannot vote in the primary. Of this year's 12 million registered voters, 66 percent are white, 15 percent are Hispanic and 13 percent are black. Oscar Amor and his wife, Marta, both Cuban-Americans in their 70s, came together to vote for Trump describing Rubio as "too establishment" for their political taste. "He cannot be compromised because he cannot be bought," said Oscar Amor. "Trump shows strength and reminds me of Ronald Reagan." A voter receives his ballot his ballot as he prepares to cast his vote during early voting, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Miami. Early in-person voting for the crucial contest in two weeks began today, and more than 200,000 voters in each party have already cast ballots absentee. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz) David Labrie prepares to cast his ballot during early voting, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Miami. Early in-person voting for the crucial contest in two weeks began today, and more than 200,000 voters in each party have already cast ballots absentee. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz) Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. is introduced by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, at a campaign event at the InterContinental Hotel, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio R-Fla speaks to a crowd during a campaign stop Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Joy Kimbrough/The Daily Times via AP) Atheist group appeals ruling on cross memorial on state land WASHINGTON (AP) An atheist group has appealed a federal judge's ruling that a 40-foot-tall cross situated on land owned by the state of Maryland doesn't violate the U.S. Constitution. The American Humanist Association filed the appeal Monday with the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. In December, a federal judge in Maryland ruled that the 90-year-old monument known as the Bladensburg Cross does not amount to government sponsorship of religion. The judge wrote that the cross was meant predominantly for secular commemoration of World War I. The humanist association says the cross endorses Christianity while ignoring non-Christian veterans and other cross war memorials have been found unconstitutional. The Latest: Peaceful rally follows weekend KKK confrontation LOS ANGELES (AP) The Latest on the violent brawl at a Ku Klux Klan gathering in Southern California (all times local): 9:35 p.m. Hundreds of people gathered for a "peace protest" Monday night in the same Southern California park where a Ku Klux Klan rally turned violent when a handful of Klan members were confronted by counter-protesters. This photo provided by OC Weekly shows two counter-protesters scuffling with a KKK member on the ground holding a stabbing knife as he grabs an attacking protester, right,during an anti-immigration rally held by the KKK at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Three people were stabbed Saturday, one critically, after a small group of Ku Klux Klan members clashed with a larger gathering of counter-protesters, police said. (Eric Hood/OC Weekly via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Anaheim police Sgt. Daron Wyatt says about 250 to 300 people took part in the candlelight gathering, which began in Pearson Park and continued on with a march to City Hall. Although the gathering got loud at times, Wyatt said, it remained peaceful and there were no arrests or confrontations. One of the organizers, Glen Peterson of the group World Relief, said before the rally that those taking part wanted to show that despite Saturday's outburst Anaheim is a peaceful, tolerant place. ___ 2 p.m. A Ku Klux Klan leader who was injured when his small group of demonstrators brawled with counter-protesters in a Southern California park this weekend says he called police beforehand asking for security and was told, "We don't do that." In an interview Monday with The Associated Press, Will Quigg says he contacted the Anaheim Police Department but that his requests for a police presence were denied. Three people were stabbed and several others injured in the melee involving several dozen people Saturday. Police Sgt. Daron Wyatt said he believes Quigg asked for police to act as personal security guards and was told how to contract for officers to do that. He said Quigg didn't want to pay. Wyatt said officers were at the rally but declined to say how many. A Ku Klux Klansman, left, fights a counter protester for an American flag after members of the KKK tried to start a "White Lives Matter" rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. The event quickly escalated into violence and at least two people had to be treated at the scene for stab wounds. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via AP) In this photo provided by OC Weekly a falling Ku Klux Klansman gets shoved by a counter-protester behind him, after members of the KKK tried to start an anti-immigration rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Three people were stabbed Saturday, one critically, after a small group of Ku Klux Klan members staging an anti-immigrant rally clashed with a larger gathering of counter-protesters, police said. (Eric Hood/OC Weekly via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT A counter protester tries to tear off the shirt of a Ku Klux Klansman after members of the KKK tried to start a "White Lives Matter" rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. The event quickly escalated into violence and at least two people had to be treated at the scene for stab wounds. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via AP) House OKs measure urging Iran to aid in Levinson's release WASHINGTON (AP) The House of Representatives has approved a resolution calling on Tehran to fulfill its promise of assistance in the case of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who went missing in Iran nine years ago. Lawmakers approved the bipartisan resolution Monday. The resolution calls Levinson, now 67, the longest held American hostage. His case drew renewed attention in January when he was not part of a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Iranian governments that set free four other Americans who had been held in Iran's custody. The resolution says Iran agreed to provide all available information about Levinson's disappearance. The Latest: Hundreds protest Utah police shooting SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The Latest on a 17-year-old shot by police in Salt Lake City, touching off protests (all times local): 7:05 p.m. Several hundred people took to the streets in Salt Lake City holdings signs that read things like, "Stop killer cops" in a protest against police shooting that left a 17-year-old Somali refugee critically wounded. Police stop a boy as he walks away from a crowd that formed after an officer-involved shooting at 200 South Rio Grande Street in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Unrest broke out in a Salt Lake City neighborhood on Saturday night after what appears to be a shooting involving a police officer, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. (Lennie Mahler/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP) The Monday night rally in Utah where speakers urged people to stand up to police and demand accountability highlighted the latest flashpoint in the national discussion about police use of force, especially with minority victims. Civil rights groups are calling for a thorough investigation and for police to make public body camera video of the incident. Police say Abdi Mohamed was shot twice in the torso when officers intervened as Mohamed and another person attacked someone with metal sticks. Police are withholding footage from body cameras worn by the officers, citing the ongoing investigation and the possibility that the teenager could face charges. ___ 4:15 p.m. Two civil rights groups are calling for a full and transparent investigation of a Salt Lake City police shooting that left a 17-year-old Somali refugee in critical condition. The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah said Monday it hopes that Abdi Mohamed and his family are treated fairly and compassionately as investigators sort through what happened Saturday night in downtown Salt Lake City. The Council on American-Islamic Relations called on police to release body camera footage in the name of transparency and accountability. Police say Mohamed was shot twice in the torso when officers intervened as Mohamed and another person attacked someone with metal sticks. Police are withholding footage from body cameras worn by the officers, citing the ongoing investigation and the possibility that the teenager could face charges. A group called Utah Against Police Brutality is expecting several hundred people at a protest and March Monday night. ___ 3:45 p.m. A 17-year-old boy critically wounded by police in Salt Lake City is a refugee originally from Somalia who has been in the United States since 2004. Aden Batar of Catholic Community Services in Salt Lake City says Abdi Mohamed's family fled Somalia and lived for an unknown amount of time in Kenya before coming to the U.S. Batar says he spoke with Mohamed's family after the Saturday night shooting about what happened. Batar, the agency's immigration and refugee resettlement director, said they hadn't seen the family much after they helped them through the initial settlement process more than a decade ago. Police say Mohamed was shot twice in the torso when officers intervened as Mohamed and another person attacked someone with metal sticks. He is in critical condition. A woman holds a young boy as a crowd of people clash with police following an officer-involved shooting at 200 South Rio Grande Street in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Unrest broke out in a Salt Lake City neighborhood on Saturday night after what appears to be a shooting involving a police officer, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. (Lennie Mahler/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP) Police arrest a man in an angry crowd that formed after an officer-involved shooting at 200 South Rio Grande Street in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Unrest broke out in a Salt Lake City neighborhood on Saturday night after what appears to be a shooting involving a police officer, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. (Lennie Mahler/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP) A man shouts at a police officer following an officer-involved shooting at 200 South Rio Grande Street in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Unrest broke out in a Salt Lake City neighborhood on Saturday night after what appears to be a shooting involving a police officer, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. (Lennie Mahler/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP) A man confronts a police officer after an officer-involved shooting at 200 South Rio Grande Street in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Unrest broke out in a Salt Lake City neighborhood on Saturday night after what appears to be a shooting involving a police officer, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. (Lennie Mahler/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP) Police advance on an angry crowd following an officer-involved shooting at 200 South Rio Grande Street in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Unrest broke out in a Salt Lake City neighborhood on Saturday night after what appears to be a shooting involving a police officer, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. (Lennie Mahler/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP) Tuesday, March 8 Today is Tuesday, March 8, the 68th day of 2016. There are 298 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date: 1702 - England's Queen Anne ascends the throne upon the death of King William III. 1722 - Afghanistan's Mir Muhammad starts war against Persia. 1765 - Britain's House of Lords passes Stamp Act to tax American colonies. 1782 - The Gnadenhutten massacre takes place as some 90 Indians are slain by militiamen in Ohio in retaliation for raids carried out by other Indians. 1865 - A canal is begun in the Netherlands to connect Amsterdam with the North Sea. 1898 - United States refuses to support Britain in its conflict with Russia over a loan to China. 1904 - Germany revises 1872 anti-Jesuit law to permit return of some members of the Roman Catholic order. 1917 - Riots and strikes break out in St. Petersburg, marking start of Russian Revolution. 1942 - Japanese forces capture Rangoon, Burma, during World War II. 1949 - France recognizes noncommunist Vietnam under Bao Dai as independent state within French Union. 1950 - Marshal Voroshilov announces the existence of the Soviet atomic bomb. 1954 - United States and Japan sign mutual defense agreement. 1957 - Ghana is admitted to the United Nations. 1965 - United States lands 3,500 Marines in South Vietnam. 1986 - Guerrilla violence in Colombia takes seven lives a day before national elections. 1987 - Sri Lankan troops launch large new offensive, killing 11 separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Jaffna peninsula. 1989 - Chinese troops converge on Tibetan capital of Lhasa to enforce martial law following three days of anti-Chinese rioting. 1993 - South Korea's President Kim Young-sam fires two key generals in a move to seize civilian control of the army and open the path to reform. 1995 - Gunmen fire on a van carrying American employees to the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing two and wounding one. 1996 - China fires three ballistic missiles into waters off Taiwan's main ports, two weeks before the island's first presidential elections. 1999 - The U.S. Energy Department fires a Taiwanese-born scientist suspected of handing over nuclear missile technology to China in the 1980s. 2003 - An Argentine court releases an indictment ordering the arrest of four former Iranian government officials for their alleged role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, in which 85 people were killed. 2005 - The U.N. war crimes court indicts Kosovo's prime minister for alleged atrocities while commanding ethnic Albanian insurgents against Serb forces in the struggle for control of the province. 2009 - Roman Catholic and Protestant congregations pray together for peace after Irish Republican Army dissidents kill two British soldiers the first deadly attack on Northern Ireland security forces in 12 years. 2012 - One of the strongest solar storms in years engulfs Earth, but scientists say the planet may have lucked out because it struck in a direction that causes the least amount of damage. 2013 - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is lauded as a modern-day reincarnation of Latin American liberator Simon Bolivar and a disciple of Cuba's Fidel Castro at a fiery foot-stomping state funeral that at times smacks of a political rally. 2015 The co-owners of an Irish setter feared poisoned at Britain's leading dog show are devastated by his death but they do not believe that one of the other competitors is responsible. Today's Birthdays: Richard Howe, English admiral (1726-1799); Oliver Wendell Holmes, U.S. jurist (1809-1894); Juana de Ibarbourou, Uruguayan poet (1895-1979); Cyd Charisse, U.S. actress-dancer (1923-2008); Lynn Redgrave, British actress (1943--2010); Aidan Quinn, U.S. actor (1959--); Camryn Manheim, U.S. actress (1961--). Thought For Today: Q&A: Why KKK was at California park, how it turned violent LOS ANGELES (AP) A melee between KKK members and counter-protesters at a California park has gotten worldwide attention. Three people were stabbed, several others were injured, and seven people face charges of assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse. Here are some questions and answers about the brawl: ___ Detective J.D Duran, right, and Anaheim Police Department forensics officerJeannette Torres investigate the scene in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Feb.27, 2016, after a small group of Ku Klux Klan members staging an anti-immigrant rally clashed with a larger gathering of counter-protesters, police said. Three people were stabbed Saturday, one critically, during the clash. (Ed Crisostomo/The Orange County Register via AP) MAGS OUT; LOS ANGELES TIMES OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT Photo by ED CRISOSTOMO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER WHAT HAPPENED? Six Ku Klux Klan members arrived at Anaheim's Pearson Park to hold an anti-immigration rally and were immediately confronted by an angry mob of about 10 to 20 people, according to police. Authorities say a Klan member stabbed three people in self-defense, one critically. Twelve people were initially detained. All Klan members were later released. ___ WHY WAS THE KKK THERE AND WHO WERE THE COUNTER-PROTESTERS? Chris Barker, who identified himself as the imperial wizard of the Loyal White Knights, told The Associated Press his members were there to hold a peaceful anti-immigration demonstration. Klan members arrived with signs reading "White Lives Matter." The counter-protesters appear to have been members of various groups. Police say only one was from Anaheim. ___ DID POLICE KNOW THE PROTEST WAS PLANNED? Police were aware of the KKK protest and issued a notice to the public Friday stating they would be "monitoring the situation for any violations of law." According to police, officers were at the park when the violence broke out and immediately called for backup when the melee began. Authorities say additional officers arrived in less than two minutes. However, Brian Levin, director of California State University, San Bernardino's Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, says he saw no uniformed officers at the park before the brawl started. ___ HOW DID IT TURN VIOLENT? Anti-Klan protesters waited for KKK members to arrive and attacked them with pipes and two-by-fours shortly after they arrived, according to a witness and police. When one Klansman stabbed a counter-protester, a vicious brawl erupted spanning an entire city block. ___ WHY WERE THE KKK MEMBERS RELEASED? Police said that five KKK members arrested after the brawl later were released because evidence showed they acted in self-defense. Seven people still in custody were seen beating, stomping and attacking the Klansmen with wooden posts, police Sgt. Daron Wyatt said. The district attorney's office has until Tuesday to decide whether to file charges against any of the KKK members, Wyatt added, but said it was "clear and convincing" that they were defending themselves. ___ Associated Press writer Amanda Lee Myers contributed to this report. In this photo provided by OC Weekly, a stabbing victim receives first aid from an Anaheim Police Officer, at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Three people were stabbed Saturday, one critically, after a small group of Ku Klux Klan members staging an anti-immigrant rally clashed with a larger gathering of counter-protesters, police said. (Eric Hood/OC Weekly via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT In this photo provided by OC Weekly, a stabbing victim receives first aid from an Anaheim Police Officer, at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Three people were stabbed Saturday, one critically, after a small group of Ku Klux Klan members staging an anti-immigrant rally clashed with a larger gathering of counter-protesters, police said. (Eric Hood/OC Weekly via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT In this photo provided by OC Weekly, counter-protesters chase a fleeing SUV driven by a KKK member attempting to escape a counter-protester mob at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Three people were stabbed Saturday, one critically, after a small group of Ku Klux Klan members staging an anti-immigrant rally clashed with a larger gathering of counter-protesters, police said. (Eric Hood/OC Weekly via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT In this photo provided by OC Weekly a falling Ku Klux Klansman gets shoved by a counter-protester behind him, after members of the KKK tried to start an anti-immigration rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Three people were stabbed Saturday, one critically, after a small group of Ku Klux Klan members staging an anti-immigrant rally clashed with a larger gathering of counter-protesters, police said. (Eric Hood/OC Weekly via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT This photo provided by OC Weekly shows counter-protesters scuffling with a KKK member as he stabs an attacking protester, as members of the KKK try to start an anti-immigration rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Three people were stabbed Saturday, one critically, after a small group of Ku Klux Klan members staging an anti-immigrant rally clashed with a larger gathering of counter-protesters, police said. (Eric Hood/OC Weekly via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Salt Lake City police shooting triggers protest, questions SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Questions about why police shot and critically wounded a 17-year-old Somali refugee in Salt Lake City grew Monday as civil rights groups called for answers and several hundred protesters took the streets holdings signs that read, "Stop killer cops." The Monday night rally in Utah where speakers urged people to stand up to police and demand accountability highlighted the latest flashpoint in the national discussion about police use of force, especially with minority victims. Abdi Mohamed, who came to the U.S. with his family in 2004, was shot twice in the torso when officers intervened as he and another person attacked someone with metal sticks, police said. Salt Lake City interim Police Chief Mike Brown speaks with reporters during a news conference Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Salt Lake City. Police are withholding footage from body cameras that officers were wearing when a 17-year-old boy who was wielding a metal stick was shot and critically injured, a brief confrontation that ignited hours of unrest in Salt Lake City's bustling downtown. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Police say officers told them to drop their weapons, but the teen instead moved menacingly toward the victim. Mohamed was shot in the torso and remained in critical condition Monday. The victim of the beating, meanwhile, didn't need medical attention. Charley Hyde and Kaylee Peterson came to the rally holding cardboard cutouts in the shapes of guns with the words, "Don't shoot." They said they're fed up with officer's inability to deescalate or use non-lethal force. "They need retraining," Peterson said. "Whatever happened to Tasers? Whatever to rubber bullets? Whatever happened to shooting shots in the sky as a warning?" Police on Monday declined to offer more details on the incident and refused to release footage from the officers' body cameras, citing the investigation into the shooting and the possibility that the teenager could face charges in the fight. That decision drew criticism from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which called on police to release the body camera footage to avoid making the same mistake Chicago police made in waiting more than a year to release footage of a black teenager shot 16 times by a police officer. Spokesman Ibrahim Hooper hasn't been able to talk to Mohamed's family but has been told they are Muslim. Nacom Koffi was one of many who chanted "Black lives matter" and speculated that Mohamed's race played a factor in the shooting. Koffi, a black man from West Africa, joined the chorus of calls for police to release the body camera video. "Why are police wearing video and we can't see it?" Koffi said. "If they're right, let's see it." The shooting ignited unrest Saturday in the city's bustling downtown. About 100 officers donned riot gear, barricaded four city blocks and closed a light rail stop as bystanders threw rocks and bottles. The street where the shooting happened is known for drug deals, beatings and overdoses, said employees at a nearby business. At the shooting scene, a makeshift memorial was cobbled together Monday with roses, candles and a beer can. The city's primary homeless shelter is located in the area, less than a mile from an outdoor mall and the arena where the NBA's Utah Jazz play. At the Jazz game Saturday night, officials alerted fans not to drive in the area of the shooting. Anna Brower, spokeswoman for the ACLU of Utah, said the response by police in riot gear raises real question not only about this incident but the larger issue of whether heavy police mobilization is the best way to handle high-crime areas like this one. Her organization is calling for city leaders to ensure a complete investigation is done and that the Mohamed's family is treated fairly and compassionately during the process. The worst of the protest was over in about 10 minutes, said interim Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown. His eyes filled with tears as he described meeting with the teen's mother and sitting with her in the hospital. Bystander Selam Mohammad told The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News that he was a friend of the teenager who was shot as he turned to face police. "He barely even turned around, then boom, boom, boom and he just dropped," Mohammad told the Deseret News, saying he was at the scene. Police said they could not confirm or deny that account. The union that represents the officers said they were stopping a beating. "This case is not about race, they acted in defense of an innocent party," Salt Lake Police Association president Michael Millard in a statement. Utah law allows the use of deadly force when people, including police officers, fear someone who could badly hurt or kill them. New police training standards, though, tell officers to back off and take cover so they won't need to shoot, Brown said. Abdi Mohamed's family fled Somalia and lived in Kenya before coming to the U.S. when he was just a young boy, said Aden Batar of Catholic Community Services in Salt Lake City. A woman arranges candle at a makeshift memorial for a 17-year-old boy who is in critical condition after being shot by Salt Lake City police Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Salt Lake City. The Saturday shooting that occurred near the city's primary homeless shelter on a street notorious for drug deals and fights raised questions about police use of force and the role of race. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Salt Lake City interim Police Chief Mike Brown speaks with reporters during a news conference Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Salt Lake City. Police are withholding footage from body cameras that officers were wearing when a 17-year-old boy who was wielding a metal stick was shot and critically injured, a brief confrontation that ignited hours of unrest in Salt Lake City's bustling downtown. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Selam Mohammad talks about a shooting that happened in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016, and having to talk to police with arms in the air because the officers had guns drawn. Police are withholding footage from body cameras that officers were wearing when a 17-year-old boy who was wielding a metal stick was shot and critically injured, a brief confrontation that ignited hours of unrest in Salt Lake City's bustling downtown. (Kristin Murphy/The Deseret News via AP) Dozens of police officers work to secure the area near the Road Home after a shooting took place in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Police are withholding footage from body cameras that officers were wearing when a 17-year-old boy who was wielding a metal stick was shot and critically injured, a brief confrontation that ignited hours of unrest in Salt Lake City's bustling downtown. (Kristin Murphy/The Deseret News via AP) Police officers take a man away in hand-cuffs after a shooting and riots took place in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Police are withholding footage from body cameras that officers were wearing when a 17-year-old boy who was wielding a metal stick was shot and critically injured, a brief confrontation that ignited hours of unrest in Salt Lake City's bustling downtown. (Kristin Murphy/The Deseret News via AP) Woman accused of providing guns in Kansas attacks posts bond WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal magistrate judge set a $10,000 bond Monday for the woman accused of providing the guns used in last week's mass shooting at a Kansas lawn equipment factory. More than a dozen family members and friends of Sarah Hopkins came to her first court appearance in U.S. District Court in Wichita, but they refused to talk to the media. Her attorney, Douglas Adams, declined comment. Prosecutors did not seek her detention, and court records show she later posted the bond. The 28-year-old Newton, Kansas, woman is charged with knowingly transferring a firearm to a convicted felon. Prosecutors say she gave Cedric Ford an AK-47-type semi-automatic rifle and a .40-caliber handgun that he used in the attack at Excel Industries in Hesston. Four people, including Ford, were killed and 14 others were injured. This photo courtesy Sedgwick County Jail shows Sarah Hopkins. Federal prosecutors charged Hopkins with one count of knowingly transferring a firearm to a convicted felon on Friday, Feb. 26, 2016. Prosecutors allege that Hopkins, a friend of Cedric L. Ford knew he was a convicted felon when she gave him a semi-automatic rifle and a handgun. (Courtesy Sedgwick County Jail via The Wichita Eagle via AP) Hopkins told investigators that she moved out of a home she shared with Ford in July 2015. Police officers the following month helped her retrieve the firearms, which she had purchased, according court documents. Hopkins said at the time that Ford was a convicted felon who could not lawfully possess them, the documents say. She told federal investigators after Thursday's shooting rampage that she gave the guns to Ford in August because he had threatened her, according to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case. But the government contends Hopkins, who bought the guns in 2014, had subsequently pawned them and redeemed the rifle this month months after she said she'd given the guns to Ford. Ford is the father of Hopkin's 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son, according a Harvey County paternity case. KKK leader: Request for police security denied before rally LOS ANGELES (AP) A Ku Klux Klan leader who was injured when his small group of demonstrators brawled with counter-protesters in a Southern California park this weekend said Monday that he called police beforehand asking for security and was told, "We don't do that." Will Quigg said in an interview with The Associated Press that he contacted the Anaheim Police Department but that the agency denied his requests for a police presence. The KKK then told officers that the group would hire an outside security company. "They said, 'No, you can't do that either,'" Quigg said. This photo provided by Eric Hood/OC Weekly shows. a Ku Klux Klansman member is apprehended by Anaheim Police Department officers, after members of the KKK tried to start an anti-immigration rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Three people were stabbed Saturday, one critically, after a small group of Ku Klux Klan members staging an anti-immigrant rally clashed with a larger gathering of counter-protesters, police said. (Eric Hood/OC Weekly via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT The Police Department is facing scrutiny for its response after three people were stabbed and several others were injured in the melee Saturday involving several dozen people and spanning a city block. Investigators determined that Klan members acted in self-defense after the counter-protesters attacked. On Monday night, some 300 people took part in a candlelight vigil and "peace protest" in the same park. The group marched from Pearson Park to City Hall, and although the gathering got loud at times, police Sgt. Daron Wyatt said it remained peaceful. "There were some people from Saturday's protest who showed up at the end and started yelling, but there was no violence and no need for police intervention," he said. Organizers said they wanted to show that Anaheim is a peaceful, tolerant city. The Police Department had notified the public ahead of Saturday's Klan gathering that the KKK planned to hold an anti-immigration protest at the park about 3 miles from Disneyland, but at least one witness said he saw no uniformed officers when the attack began. When Quigg and about five others arrived they were confronted by dozens of angry counter-protesters. Wyatt said officers were present, but he declined to say how many. He acknowledged that Quigg had contacted the department but believed that the group leader was asking for police to act as personal security guards. "He was told how to contract for officers to do that, but did not want to spend the money," Wyatt said. Eugene O'Donnell, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said the department's response about contracting officers is as if the KKK rally was the same as "an Oktoberfest or a New Year's Day event." "It's their way of saying, 'We have no reason to believe there will be any trouble beyond the trouble you get at a rock concert," he said, adding police are obligated to ensure public safety. Police departments are facing criticism for overpolicing, chilling free speech and being heavy-handed, O'Donnell said. That can make it difficult for officers to know how to handle a protest event. "Sometimes the best presence is a very low key presence," he said. Anaheim police said a plan was in place and officers at the protest quickly called for backup when the violence broke out. Additional officers arrived within less than two minutes. "Officers rendered medical aid to those who were injured and arrested all but one of the suspects," the agency said in a statement. Five KKK members arrested after the brawl later were released because evidence showed they acted in self-defense, police said. Seven people still in custody were seen beating, stomping and attacking the Klansmen with wooden posts, Wyatt said. Police said the Klansmen stabbed three counter-protesters. "Regardless of an individual or groups' beliefs or ideologies, they are entitled to live without the fear of physical violence and have the right, under the law, to defend themselves when attacked," a police statement said. Quigg said he was thrown to the ground, hit with a pipe, stomped and struck with two-by-fours. He said his right hand was fractured and his spleen and a rib bruised. He said the left side of his chest is "black and blue and swollen up to the size of a softball." Quigg said he did not stab anyone. "What was done was done to protect our lives," he said. "Our lives were in jeopardy." Like many other U.S. cities, Anaheim has a history intertwined with the KKK. In the 1920s, Klan members gained four of five City Council seats but were ousted after their affiliation became public. The group's presence in the state is extremely small today, said Brian Levin, who directs the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. ___ Follow Christine Armario on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cearmario . In this photo provided by OC Weekly, a stabbing victim receives first aid from an Anaheim Police Officer, at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Three people were stabbed Saturday, one critically, after a small group of Ku Klux Klan members staging an anti-immigrant rally clashed with a larger gathering of counter-protesters, police said. (Eric Hood/OC Weekly via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT A Ku Klux Klansman, left, uses an American flag to fend off angry counter protesters after members of the KKK tried to start a "White Lives Matter" rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. The event quickly escalated into violence and at least two people had to be treated at the scene for stab wounds. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via AP) Counter protesters scuffle with a Ku Klux Klansman after members of the KKK tried to start a "White Lives Matter" rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. The event quickly escalated into violence and at least two people had to be treated at the scene for stab wounds, (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via AP) In this Feb. 27, 2016 photo provided by the B. Levin Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, a man dressed in Ku Klux Klan garb, center, and a counter-protester, left, confront each other during a KKK rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim, Calif. This city is home to Disneyland, the self-proclaimed Happiest Place on Earth. It's also the place where the City Council once had a majority of Ku Klux Klan members and a Klanrally in a city park attracted 10,000 people. The KKK returned to that park Saturday, and violence ensued.(B. LevinCenter for the Study of Hate & Extremism via AP) In this photo provided by OC Weekly a falling Ku Klux Klansman gets shoved by a counter-protester behind him, after members of the KKK tried to start an anti-immigration rally at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Three people were stabbed Saturday, one critically, after a small group of Ku Klux Klan members staging an anti-immigrant rally clashed with a larger gathering of counter-protesters, police said. (Eric Hood/OC Weekly via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT This photo provided by OC Weekly shows two counter-protesters scuffling with a KKK member on the ground holding a stabbing knife as he grabs an attacking protester, right,during an anti-immigration rally held by the KKK at Pearson Park in Anaheim on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Three people were stabbed Saturday, one critically, after a small group of Ku Klux Klan members clashed with a larger gathering of counter-protesters, police said. (Eric Hood/OC Weekly via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Clinton, Trump claim big Super Tuesday wins WASHINGTON (AP) Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton moved closer to winning their parties' nominations with a series of victories in the Super Tuesday elections, the biggest day of the primary campaign. Clinton and Trump each won seven of 11 state races as they distanced themselves from party rivals and looked ahead to a November presidential election showdown. Clinton's opponent, Bernie Sanders, won the Oklahoma primary and caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado, as well as the primary in his home state of Vermont, but he failed to broaden his appeal with minority voters who are crucial to the party in presidential elections. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reacts to supporters as she arrives to speak at her Super Tuesday election night rally in Miami, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) In the Republican race, Ted Cruz, a firebrand conservative senator, won his home state of Texas and Oklahoma and Marco Rubio, a favorite of the Republican establishment, won in Minnesota for his first victory. Both are seeking to break out as Trump's main rival. Cruz desperately needed the Texas win in order to stay in the race. Still, Trump's wins in the South were a blow to Cruz, who once saw the region as his opportunity to put himself on a path to the nomination. Instead, he's watched Trump, a brash New York real estate mogul, display surprising strength with the region's evangelical Christians and social conservatives. Rubio's win in Minnesota gave him a boost on an otherwise disappointing night. His long-shot hopes now rest with his home state, Florida, which votes on March 15, but polls show him trailing Trump there. Trump won in Virginia, Arkansas, Alabama, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont and Georgia. The race in Alaska has not been called. Trump has stunned the Republican political establishment by emerging as the clear front-runner, winning three of the four contests preceding Super Tuesday. He has seized on the anxieties of voters angry at Washington and worried about terrorism, immigration and an uncertain economy. Using simple terms, and often coarse language, he has soared to the top of polls with his pledge to "make America great again." Clinton, once seen as the all-but-inevitable Democratic nominee, has contended with an unexpectedly strong challenge from Sanders, a senator and self-described democratic socialist. But Clinton, like Trump, had also won three of the first four races. Clinton, the former secretary of state and senator, won in Massachusetts, Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia. The wins reflected her strength in the South, where black voters are an important part of the Democratic base and overwhelmingly support her. Signaling her confidence, Clinton set her sights on Trump as she addressed supporters during a victory rally in Miami. "It's clear tonight that the stakes in this election have never been higher and the rhetoric we're hearing on the other side has never been lower," said Clinton, who is seeking to become America's first female president. Trump, too, had his eye on a general election match-up with Clinton, casting her as part of a political establishment that has failed Americans. "She's been there for so long," Trump told a news conference at his swanky Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. "If she hasn't straightened it out by now, she's not going to straighten it out in the next four years." Candidates are trying to win delegates who will vote for them at the parties' national conventions in July. For Republicans, 595 delegates were at stake, nearly half of the 1,237 needed for the nomination. Democrats were allocating 865 delegates, more than one-third of the 2,383 needed to become the nominee. Clinton has now won at least 421 of the 865 delegates at stake, and Sanders at least 232. Including superdelegates party leaders who get to vote for candidates of their choice at the convention Clinton now has at least 969 delegates. Sanders has at least 319. It takes 2,382 delegates to win. Trump has won at least 175 of the delegates at stake in Tuesday's contests. Cruz collected at least 89 and Rubio picked up at least 51. Ohio Gov. John Kasich has won at least 17 delegates and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has won at least three. Overall, Trump leads with 257 delegates. Cruz has 106, Rubio has 67, Kasich has 23 and Carson has eight. Both Cruz and Rubio have launched furious verbal attacks on Trump in recent days, but some in the party establishment fear the anti-Trump campaign has come too late. Republicans spent months largely letting Trump go unchallenged, wrongly assuming that his populist appeal with voters would fizzle. Instead, he's appeared to only grow stronger, winning states and drawing support for some of his most controversial proposals. In six of the states voting Tuesday, large majorities of Republican voters said they supported a proposal to temporarily ban all non-citizen Muslims from entering the United States, an idea championed by Trump. The exit polls were conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks. Republicans fear Trump will damage their prospects of recapturing the White House after Barack Obama's two terms. The worries appeared to grow after Trump briefly refused to disavow the apparent support of a former Ku Klux Klan leader, David Duke, during a television interview. Trump later said he had not understood the TV interviewer and he did repudiate Duke. In addition to her state victories, Clinton won in American Samoa, picking up four of six delegates in the South Pacific island chain. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks on Super Tuesday primary election night at the White and Gold Ballroom at The Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, March 1, 2016, as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie listens. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during an election night watch party Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Stafford, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks during a campaign rally, Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Andover, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone) American Reform rabbis warn of alienation from Israel JERUSALEM (AP) A recent gathering of American Reform rabbis in Jerusalem was meant to celebrate the small gains the liberal Jewish movement has made in Israel in recent years. But a series of comments by Israeli officials denigrating the group marred the event, reflecting an awkward relationship that many fear is alienating the world's second-largest Jewish community from Israel. The Reform Movement is the largest stream of Judaism in the United States, claiming to represent 1.5 million people, and its members provide a key source of financial support and political advocacy for Israel. But the movement is marginal in Israel, where religious affairs are dominated by the Orthodox rabbinical establishment. Israeli lawmakers, both secular and ultra-Orthodox, have repeatedly disparaged the group, questioning their Judaism and accusing them of promoting Jewish assimilation. In this photo taken Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, American and Israeli Reform rabbis pray in the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in Jerusalem's old city. A recent gathering of American Reform rabbis in Jerusalem was meant to celebrate the small gains the liberal Jewish movement has made in Israel in recent years. But a series of comments by Israeli leaders denigrating the group marred the event, reflecting an awkward relationship that many fear is alienating the worlds second-largest Jewish community from Israel. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) "How do you ask Jews around the world to support Israel politically, economically, socially ... and at the same time you have these ministers who say to our people 'you're not really Jewish' or 'you don't have a place here in Israel?' That incongruity is a real problem for us," said Rabbi Steven Fox, the chief executive of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which held its septennial convention in Israel last week. The group represents 2,000 rabbis. In the U.S., Reform synagogues are commonplace, characterized by practices such as mixed-gender prayers, services led by female rabbis and members who drive to synagogue on the Sabbath customs that violate Orthodox norms. In Israel, Reform Judaism is often seen as a curiosity and in some cases, a threat. This in turn has placed obstacles in the way of the movement's effort to make inroads in Israel, beaten back by an Orthodox monopoly over Jewish rituals such as marriage, burials and conversions. Reform rabbis have made small gains in Israel, and in January, the movement was jubilant over perhaps its greatest victory Israel's announcement that it would create a special mixed-gender prayer area at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The wall, managed by an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who opposes having Reform customs at the site, is the holiest place where Jews can pray. The new area will also permit women to wear prayer shawls and skullcaps, a rite reserved for men under Orthodox custom. The announcement came after three years of painstaking negotiations between Israeli officials and the liberal streams of Judaism and appeared to mark a historic turning point in relations between Israel and diaspora Jews. But right after the plan was approved, Israel's secular Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said the Reform movement was a "waning world." He accused it of tolerating intermarriage, encouraging assimilation and predicted the mixed-prayer area would become unnecessary within two or three generations. Under religious law, Jews cannot marry non-Jews. Even after Reform rabbis criticized him, Levin expressed no remorse. "It's very important that we'll be aware of the problem of assimilation and do our best efforts in order to solve it," he told The Associated Press. A chorus of other lawmakers, most of them Orthodox, have publicly lashed out at the Reform movement. As the rabbis' convention was kicking off, a legislator from an ultra-Orthodox party compared the movement to the "mentally ill." The rhetoric has put Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a tough spot. Early this month, he rejected "disparaging and divisive remarks" about Reform Jews and called the movement "part and parcel of the Jewish people." He also met the visiting American rabbis. But, possibly wary of antagonizing religious factions in his coalition, his office made no announcement of the meeting, as it often does with high-profile visitors. Fox, the rabbi group's chief executive, said the encounter was "more positive" than past meetings with Netanyahu, though they were surprised by the absence of the public announcement. "The ministers here paint us as if we're not really Jewish. And the ignorance they display makes my congregants ... think 'is Israel really that backward of a nation?' It reflects poorly on the state of Israel," said Rabbi Denise Eger, another leader of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Netanyahu's office said he does not put out public statements on all his meetings. It declined to discuss the meeting with the Reform rabbis or say why he had decided to keep silent. For decades, American Jewry the second largest Jewish community in the world after Israel has served as a bedrock of support for Israel. But there are signs of that support eroding, particularly among younger and more liberal Jews. Jay Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation, a Boston-based group that teaches Israeli leaders about the American Jewish community, said that at a time when Israel faces so many challenges, it makes no "strategic sense" for Israeli leaders to alienate American Jews. "A smart politician would say, 'These Jews are different than us, but they play a very important strategic role,'" he said. Beyond the Western Wall compromise, the Reform rabbis say they do see progress elsewhere as well. Israel's Supreme Court ruled last month that the country's ritual baths must accept all converts to Judaism, even those who have undergone non-Orthodox conversions outside the country. The rabbis also point to the movement's small but growing base in Israel and their invitation to a parliamentary committee during their convention last week, where lawmakers, mainly from centrist parties, showered them with gratitude and praise. "When I read statements by the Israeli tourism minister about Reform Judaism in the United States, it comes from a denial and a misunderstanding and an ignorance about the importance of the powerful contribution that you make to relations between the two countries," Nachman Shai, a lawmaker from the centrist Zionist Union, told the packed auditorium, where women and men wore rainbow-colored skullcaps and sang Hatikva, Israel's national anthem. Reform leaders told the meeting that the harsh reactions from some lawmakers were an unfortunate but expected response to the gains the movement has made. "These are clearly changes that are long overdue," said Rabbi Richard Jacobs, the President of the Union for Reform Judaism. "The change signals to the ultra-Orthodox that there will no longer be a monopoly." In this photo taken Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, American and Israeli Reform rabbis pray in the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in Jerusalem's old city. A recent gathering of American Reform rabbis in Jerusalem was meant to celebrate the small gains the liberal Jewish movement has made in Israel in recent years. But a series of comments by Israeli leaders denigrating the group marred the event, reflecting an awkward relationship that many fear is alienating the worlds second-largest Jewish community from Israel. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) In this photo taken Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, American Reform Rabbi, Zachary Shapiro, center left, and other American and Israeli Reform rabbis pray in the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in Jerusalem's old city. A recent gathering of American Reform rabbis in Jerusalem was meant to celebrate the small gains the liberal Jewish movement has made in Israel in recent years. But a series of comments by Israeli leaders denigrating the group marred the event, reflecting an awkward relationship that many fear is alienating the worlds second-largest Jewish community from Israel. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) In this photo taken Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, American and Israeli Reform rabbis pray in the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in Jerusalem's old city. A recent gathering of American Reform rabbis in Jerusalem was meant to celebrate the small gains the liberal Jewish movement has made in Israel in recent years. But a series of comments by Israeli leaders denigrating the group marred the event, reflecting an awkward relationship that many fear is alienating the worlds second-largest Jewish community from Israel. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) In this photo taken Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, Reform Rabbi Nicole Greninger prays with other American and Israeli Reform rabbis in the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in Jerusalem's old city, A recent gathering of American Reform rabbis in Jerusalem was meant to celebrate the small gains the liberal Jewish movement has made in Israel in recent years. But a series of comments by Israeli leaders denigrating the group marred the event, reflecting an awkward relationship that many fear is alienating the worlds second-largest Jewish community from Israel. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) In this photo taken Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, American and Israeli Reform rabbis pray in the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in Jerusalem's old city. A recent gathering of American Reform rabbis in Jerusalem was meant to celebrate the small gains the liberal Jewish movement has made in Israel in recent years. But a series of comments by Israeli leaders denigrating the group marred the event, reflecting an awkward relationship that many fear is alienating the worlds second-largest Jewish community from Israel. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) In this photo taken Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, Reform Rabbi Nicole Greninger, right, takes a picture of other American and Israeli Reform rabbis as they pray in the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in Jerusalem's old city. A recent gathering of American Reform rabbis in Jerusalem was meant to celebrate the small gains the liberal Jewish movement has made in Israel in recent years. But a series of comments by Israeli leaders denigrating the group marred the event, reflecting an awkward relationship that many fear is alienating the worlds second-largest Jewish community from Israel. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) Boy's hearing gives no clue on Ohio school shooting motive HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) A 14-year-old boy accused of shooting students in a school cafeteria entered the juvenile court equivalent of a not-guilty plea at a Tuesday hearing that offered no clues about the motive that investigators say they know. The boy is charged in Butler County with attempted murder, felonious assault, inducing panic and making terroristic threats. With his ankles shackled, he sat silently during the brief hearing and kept his head down, reading the complaint. Defense attorney Ed Perry entered a denial of the charges, and a magistrate ordered that the suspect remain in juvenile detention pending a hearing April 5. Perry and the boy's supporters declined to comment afterward. Parents run to see if they are allowed to pick up their kids at Madison Local Schools, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) There was no indication whether prosecutors might seek to move the case to adult court. The Associated Press doesn't generally name juveniles charged with crimes. Authorities allege the boy fired at students Monday in a cafeteria used by high schoolers in Madison Township, near Middletown. Two students were shot and two others were hurt, possibly by shrapnel or while running away, authorities said. The injuries weren't considered life-threatening. In a recorded call, a 911 caller reporting the shooting immediately identified the suspect by name. Breathing heavily, the unidentified caller told a dispatcher: "He just pulled out his gun and started shooting." Sheriff Richard Jones said he's aware of a motive but wasn't ready to release it. Students were eating in the cafeteria when the shooting happened around 11:30 a.m., Jones said. Afterward, classmates described a chaotic scene where they weren't sure what was happening at first. A sheriff's deputy stationed in the school had just been in the cafeteria, Jones said. The students who were shot were 14 and 15 years old and were taken to a hospital where they were in stable condition, investigators said. The school, which had practiced for such an event, immediately went into lockdown, said Madison Local Schools spokeswoman A.J. Huff. The district canceled classes and extracurricular activities Tuesday. Classes were to resume Wednesday. ___ Associated Press writer Kantele Franko in Columbus contributed to this report. ___ Follow the reporter at http://www.twitter.com/dansewell . To see some of his other recent stories: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/dan-sewell A child is comforted Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, near Middletown, Ohio after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in a school shooting that wounded four classmates, including two who were shot, is in a juvenile lock-up and facing several charges. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says the boy has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terrorist threats. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Butler County Sheriff Deputies stand on the scene at Madison Local Schools, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Butler County Sheriff Deputies stand on the scene at Madison Local Schools, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Cara Owsley/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; NO SALES A child is comforted Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Marshall Gorby/Dayton Daily News via AP) Parents and community members form a prayer circle as they wait to pick up their kids Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Police vehicles block the entrance of Madison Local Schools, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) A child is comforted Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, near Middletown, Ohio after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in a school shooting that wounded four classmates, including two who were shot, is in a juvenile lock-up and facing several charges. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says the boy has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terrorist threats. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) College behind bars: An old idea with some new energy MONROE, Wash. (AP) Eight years ago, when Noel Caldellis began serving time for killing a university student, his main objective was to make 20-plus years in prison pass as quickly as possible: work out, walk circles in the yard with inmates and watch TV. A few years into his sentence at the Monroe Correctional Complex, Caldellis discovered he could spend his time developing his mind as well as his body, moving from the weight room to the classroom. "It's helped me tremendously to grow as a person," said Caldellis, who is working on a bachelor's degree in history. In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, inmates carry books as they head to classes at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Wash. College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. Private money kept some prison education programs going when government dollars vanished. Several recent studies have shown those projects cut crime and prison costs by helping inmates go home and stay there instead of returning. "Education in prison is transformative. It leads to safer communities and that's to the benefit of everyone," said Fred Patrick, director of the Center on Sentencing and Corrections at the Vera Institute of Justice, a New York nonprofit that combines research and demonstration projects associated with criminal justice. Now more dollars are starting to follow those results, led by a recent decision by the U.S. Department of Education to experiment again with federal Pell Grants for inmate students. Forty-seven states have applied to participate in that program. States such as Washington, New York and California also are looking into spending more state dollars on these programs. Rudy Madrigal, a student in Washington's University Beyond Bars program, said the experience transformed his life. Madrigal, who expects to serve about 24 years for second-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, said he had a rough start to his sentence, getting in fights and other trouble. He took his first class as another way to pass the time, but started getting excited about school after really connecting with a math teacher and finding out he could work toward a degree with a scholarship from a private foundation. "Since I started school and educating myself, I've built up connections not just with people in here but with people out there," said Madrigal, who hopes after prison to get into social services to help other people. While his path is personally enriching, state officials and prison experts say the community is the real beneficiary. A Rand Corporation study on education in prisons found inmates who participate in any kind of educational program behind bars are 43 percent less likely to reoffend. Another study paid for by the Indiana Department of Correction found that while all kinds of inmate education has a positive influence on recidivism, inmates who take college courses have a prison return rate of less than 5 percent. That's compared to the national average of nearly 68 percent within three years of release, federal statistics show. In Washington state, private donations have been paying for college classes at prisons across the state since 2008. The state also provides vocational education in subjects ranging from computer coding to auto mechanics. One way Washington is unique among the states is how many inmates are participating in its education programs. It has about 16,500 inmates and 11,000 are involved in education, said Mike Paris, state administrator of offender education. In comparison, in California less than a quarter of its more than 112,000 inmates participate in educational programs. The Vera Institute's Pathways from Prison to Post-Secondary Education Program, which is paid for with private foundation money, gives inmates a free college education, both in prison and after release, along with other supports such as mentoring and housing assistance for inmates in Michigan, New Jersey and North Carolina. California will be starting a new pilot project this fall to pair four community colleges with state prisons to provide classes. In the past, most California inmates going to college took online classes supported by private dollars. In 2014, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state would be putting money back into inmate education programs. Lawmakers fought the plan, saying it rewarded criminal behavior, but others pointed out how much less expensive it is to educate prisoners than to incarcerate them. Authorities estimate New York spends about $60,000 a year to incarcerate one prisoner while a year of college in prison will cost about $5,000. Katja Schatte, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington who teaches world history at the Washington state prison in Monroe, said criminal justice reform is intertwined with so many things happening in American society today from the Black Lives Matter movement to inequity in public schools. "People should be thinking about how do we keep people out of prisons in the first place and education is the answer," Schatte said. ___ This story has been corrected to reflect that Washington University's program is called Beyond Bars, not Behind Bars. In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, inmates mingle in a recreation yard in view of guards, left, at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Wash. College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, a guard looks down from a tower at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Wash. College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, staff members head past razor wire-topped fences and into a building hosting a University Behind Bars program at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Wash. College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, Rudy Madrigal, center, looks on as he sits with fellow inmates in a a college world history class at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Wash. College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) n this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, inmates look on in their college world history class at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Wash. College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, Katja Schatte, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington, leads a discussion in a college world history class she teaches at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Wash. College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, inmate Jayson Bush raises his hand in a college world history class at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Wash. College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, Katja Schatte, left, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington, talks with inmate Noel Caldellis in a world history class Schatte teaches at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Wash. College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, inmate Noel Caldellis smiles as he talks about taking college courses at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Wash. College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, Rudy Madrigal smiles as he talks about his college world history class at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Wash. College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, Rudy Madrigal, left, shares a fist bump with fellow inmate Nicolas Melendrez before Madrigal headed into his world history classroom, at right, at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Wash. College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, inmate Tim Booth leans against a wall during a break from his college world history class at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Wash. College education in American prisons is starting to grow again, more than two decades since federal government dollars were prohibited from being used for college programs behind bars. The shift comes as everyone from President Barack Obama to state policymakers are looking for ways to get better results from the $80 billion the U.S. spends annually on incarceration. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Police kill 8 Maoist rebels in gunbattle in southeast India HYDERABAD, India (AP) Eight Maoist rebels, five of them women, were killed in a fierce gunbattle with police in southeastern India, police said Tuesday. The gunbattle with at least 30 rebels began early Tuesday in a remote forest area bordering Chhattisgarh and Telangana states, said police superintendent Shahnawaz Qasim. Police had started searching for the rebels after receiving a tip that they were seen moving around in the area. Eight bodies were recovered and police were looking for other rebels who belong to the Communist Party of India (Maoist), he said. Among those killed was a leader of the party, identified by police as Hari Bhushan, from Telangana. Police suffered no casualties. The rebels have been fighting for more than three decades in central and eastern India to demand a greater share of the region's natural resources for indigenous people. They have been relatively quiet over the past six months. Top German court considers bid to outlaw far-right party BERLIN (AP) Germany's highest court opened hearings Tuesday on a bid to outlaw the country's biggest far-right party, which officials accuse of promoting a racist and anti-Semitic agenda. It's the second attempt to secure the ban, which would be the first of its kind in 60 years. The German parliament's upper house, which represents the country's 16 state governments, applied at the end of 2013 for a ban on the National Democratic Party, or NPD. The states say it violates the constitution and are keen to cut off the state funding to which political parties are entitled. The Second Senate of the German Federal Constitutional Court, including Peter M. Huber, Peter Mueller, chairman Andreas Vosskuhle, Herbert Landau and Monika Hermanns, from left, stand in the courtroom in Karlsruhe, southern Germany, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Germany's highest court on Tuesday begins three days of hearings on a bid by state governments to ban the country's biggest far-right party, the National Democratic Party, NDP. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP) Back in 2003, the Karlsruhe-based Federal Constitutional Court rejected a first attempt to ban the party because paid government informants within the group were partially responsible for evidence against it. Officials say there's no evidence from informants in the new case. Bavaria's interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, told n-tv television that "the NPD is a danger to our democracy." He added that "the NPD benefits from state financing of parties that means that tax money is abused for neo-Nazi propaganda." The head of Germany's main Jewish group, Josef Schuster, said the NPD wants to create a state "in which there is no place for minorities." Peter Richter, a lawyer representing the NPD, petitioned for the case against the party to be closed, arguing there was no credible evidence that government informants had been removed from the group. He also sought as the hearing began to have two of the eight judges, both former politicians, removed for alleged bias against the party a motion that the court rejected. In a recent statement on the ban proceedings, the NPD asserted that "the real policies of the German government are extremist, not the criticism of them," citing the government's actions in the migrant crisis. The NPD complained of "constant hate campaigns against patriotic dissenters." The NPD isn't represented in Germany's national parliament, though it does have a single seat in the European Parliament and lawmakers in one eastern German state legislature. Opening three days of hearings, chief justice Andreas Vosskuhle told the court that the case was "a special challenge." He stressed that judges must refrain from "any political evaluation" and consider only legal aspects. Only two parties have previously been banned in West Germany and reunited Germany, the last of them the German Communist Party in 1956. The case comes amid concern over anti-migrant rhetoric and attacks on refugee accommodation as Germany deals with a large influx of migrants. Federal Justice Minister Heiko Maas said that the case is groundbreaking but the court "will not relieve us of the job of fighting the far right, however the case goes." The court typically takes several months to rule on cases. NPD party chairman Frank Franz, left, talks to his lawyer Peter Richter, right, at the German constitutional court in Karlsruhe, southern Germany, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Germany's highest court on Tuesday begins three days of hearings on a bid by state governments to ban the country's biggest far-right party, the National Democratic Party. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) Out in the cold: Refugees get no good news at Greek border IDOMENI, Greece (AP) Hassan Rasheed's papers have been cleared but the Iraqi refugee has spent days freezing in a tent with no tarp on the ground and flaps that don't close, one of 10,000 migrants stuck at a muddy camp on the border of Greece and Macedonia. They're hoping for a breakthrough in Europe's troubled negotiations on how to handle the deepening crisis. But there was little sign of that Tuesday. Austria's chancellor insisted he would not to let his country become a "waiting room for Germany," while authorities from four ex-Yugoslav countries on the migrant route vowed closer cooperation to keep people out. A migrant mother holds her baby as they await on the Greek side of the border to enter Macedonia near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Macedonian police fired tear gas at hundreds of migrants after they stormed a metal fence along the border with Greece on February 29, as refugees were blocked from traveling between the two countries on the main route to Western Europe. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) "I've been at Idomeni for 10 days and it's the fourth day I've been waiting to cross over," the 27-year-old Rasheed said. "Conditions are very bad. There are many ill children who are coughing, and we spent the night in this tent under heavy rain." The heavily policed border, marked by a twin fence and coils of razor wire, remained closed a day after migrants attempted to push through the barriers and were forced back by Macedonian riot police using tear gas and stun grenades. Before that, sporadic closures since Feb. 19 had slowed the number allowed through to just dozens a day. Overnight, rain soaked many families, who hung up clothing to dry Tuesday on the border fence. More exhausted refugee families continued to reach the burgeoning tent city in this Greek border town on foot or by taxi. Many walked up to 30 kilometers (18 miles) along Greece's northern highways. Ahmed Majid, a 26-year-old Iraqi, was traveling with his wife and two young children. "We have been walking for three kilometers. Police stopped our taxi on the highway, which is why we are going through the fields," he said. About 2,000 migrants are still reaching Greek islands from nearby Turkey every day, despite the recent deployment of NATO ships in the east Aegean Sea. European Council President Donald Tusk was in Austria on Tuesday to try to persuade Chancellor Werner Faymann to change his mind about the country's decision to accept no more than 80 asylum requests a day at Austria's southern frontier with Slovenia. But Faymann said Austria was determined not to accept the "policy of waving through" migrants to the rest of the EU. "Austria is not a waiting room for Germany," he said. "This disorganized chaos must end. ... It's important to have clarity on the EU's external borders. (Otherwise) Austrians have to be active on their borders." Meanwhile, Austria's interior minister, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, announced plans by her government to launch an advertising campaign in Afghanistan including billboards, TV ads and public bus banners to discourage Afghans from trying to reach Europe. Tusk added a stop in Ankara to his schedule, ahead of next week's summit of leaders from the EU and Turkey on migration. To prepare for the summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was to meet French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Friday, and she remained vocally opposed to the Austrian border closure. "We must stand with Greece," a spokesman quoted the chancellor as saying on a Twitter post. "I am therefore in constant contact with (Greek Prime Minister Alexis) Tsipras." In Athens, the government said it has requested 480 million euros ($520 million) in aid for the refugee crisis from the EU, under an emergency plan to cope with as many as 100,000 stranded refugees roughly three times the number now stuck inside Greece. Athens is pressing EU countries to honor pledges to accept asylum seekers directly and for Turkey to help speed up deportations. The government said 69 people from North Africa considered ineligible for asylum were deported to Turkey, with another 230 people due to be sent back by Wednesday. The impasse in Greece drew strong criticism from the United Nations refugee agency, which warned that Europe "is on the cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis." A UNHCR statement said inconsistent policies on the continent, which faces its worst immigration crisis since the end of World War II, "are causing unnecessary suffering and risk being at variance with EU and international law standards." New York-based Human Rights Watch blamed "discriminatory border closures" and the cap imposed by Austria for the crisis. "Trapping asylum seekers in Greece is an unconscionable and short-sighted non-solution that is causing suffering and violence," said the right's group's Greece specialist, Eva Cosse. "It demonstrates once again the EU's utter failure to respond collectively and compassionately to refugee flows." ___ Jahn reported from Vienna. Associated Press writers Konstantin Testorides in Skopje, Macedonia; Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia and Derek Gatopoulos, Nicholas Paphitis, and Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed to this report. ___ Follow Kantouris at http://www.twitter.com/dgatopoulos Macedonian soldiers patrol between two lines of protective fence reinforced with barbed wire along the border line between Macedonia and Greece, near southern Macedonia's town of Gevgelija, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Macedonian police fired tear gas at hundreds of migrants after they stormed a metal fence along the border with Greece on Monday, Feb. 29, as refugees were blocked from traveling between the two countries on the main route to Western Europe. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) Children walk by a painted container as people wait in line for food handouts outside an overcrowded shelter area for migrants at the Athens' port of Piraeus, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Border restrictions further north in the Balkans have left thousands of refugees and other migrants stranded in a country that is still wracked by its own financial crisis and unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) Migrant children await by the fence on the Greek side of the border to enter Macedonia near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Macedonian police fired tear gas at hundreds of migrants after they stormed a metal fence along the border with Greece on Monday, Feb. 29, as refugees were blocked from traveling between the two countries on the main route to Western Europe. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) Refugees stand in queue to receive food distributed by a non-governmental organization, at a refugee camp in the Greek-Macedonian border near the Greek village of Idomeni , Tuesday, March, 1 2016. Some 7,000 migrants, including many from Syria and Iraq, are crammed into a tiny camp at the Greek border village of Idomeni, and hundreds more are arriving daily. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) A migrant mother holds her child as they await on the Greek side of the border to enter Macedonia near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Macedonian police fired tear gas at hundreds of migrants after they stormed a metal fence along the border with Greece on February 29, as refugees were blocked from traveling between the two countries on the main route to Western Europe. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) A refugee carries a large branch as he walks through tents in the Greek-Macedonian border, near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. Some 7,000 migrants, including many from Syria and Iraq, are crammed into a tiny camp at the Greek border village of Idomeni, and hundreds more are arriving daily. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Refugees walk past tents near the Greek-Macedonian border, in the northern Greek village of Idomeni, on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. Some 7,000 migrants, including many from Syria and Iraq, are crammed into a tiny camp at the Greek border village of Idomeni, and hundreds more are arriving daily. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) A child of a migrant family holds a doll in Athens, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, at the Victoria Square where most newly-landed migrants head after reaching the Greek capital from the Aegean Sea islands. Border restrictions further north in the Balkans have left thousands of refugees and other migrants stranded in a country that is still wracked by its own financial crisis and unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) A girl of a migrant family holds her face in her palms in Athens, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, at the Victoria Square, where most newly-landed migrants head after reaching the Greek capital from the Aegean Sea islands. Border restrictions further north in the Balkans have left thousands of refugees and other migrants stranded in a country that is still wracked by its own financial crisis and unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) A child peers out from a bus, in Athens, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, at the Victoria Square, where most newly-landed migrants head after reaching the Greek capital from the Aegean Sea islands. Border restrictions further north in the Balkans have left thousands of refugees and other migrants stranded in a country that is still wracked by its own financial crisis and unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) A migrant woman cries while holding a baby, in Athens, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, at the Victoria Square, where most newly-landed migrants head after reaching the Greek capital from the Aegean Sea islands. Border restrictions further north in the Balkans have left thousands of refugees and other migrants stranded in a country that is still wracked by its own financial crisis and unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) A child carries bottles of water at the old airport in Athens, Greece, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Border restrictions further north in the Balkans have left thousands of refugees and other migrants stranded in a country that is still wracked by its own financial crisis and unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) A child by a painted container as people wait in line for food handouts outside an overcrowded shelter area for migrants at the Athens' port of Piraeus, Greece, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Border restrictions further north in the Balkans have left thousands of refugees and other migrants stranded in a country that is still wracked by its own financial crisis and unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) A child stands in an overcrowded shelter area for migrants at the Athens' port of Piraeus, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Border restrictions further north in the Balkans have left thousands of refugees and other migrants stranded in a country that is still wracked by its own financial crisis and unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) People wait on a docking ferry as more than 1,000 people arrived to already overcrowded shelter areas at the Athens' port of Piraeus, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Border restrictions further north in the Balkans have left thousands of refugees and other migrants stranded in a country that is still wracked by its own financial crisis and unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) Migrants lie under a tree at the Victoria Square in Athens, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Victoria Square is the place where most newly-landed migrants, most of them from Afghanistan, head after reaching the Greek capital from the Aegean Sea islands. Border restrictions further north in the Balkans have left thousands of refugees and other migrants stranded in a country that is still wracked by its own financial crisis and unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) A migrant father with his child awaits on the Greek side of the border to enter Macedonia near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Macedonian police fired tear gas at hundreds of migrants after they stormed a metal fence along the border with Greece on Monday, as refugees were blocked from travelling between the two countries on the main route to Western Europe. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) Local resident Katrina Kyveli originally from Georgia, who has lived the last 20 years in Greece, holds a nine-month old baby from Afghanistan at the Victoria Square in Athens, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Victoria Square is the place where most newly-landed migrants, most of them from Afghanistan, head after reaching the Greek capital from the Aegean Sea islands. Border restrictions further north in the Balkans have left thousands of refugees and other migrants stranded in a country that is still wracked by its own financial crisis and unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) A girl cries after becoming temporarily separated from her family after more than 1.000 people were ferried in to an already overcrowded shelter area at the Athens' port of Piraeus, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Border restrictions further north in the Balkans have left thousands of refugees and other migrants stranded in a country that is still wracked by its own financial crisis and unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) Migrants sit on the rail tracks awaiting on the Greek side of the border to enter Macedonia near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Macedonian police fired tear gas at hundreds of migrants after they stormed a metal fence along the border with Greece on Monday, as refugees were blocked from travelling between the two countries on the main route to Western Europe. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) The Latest: UN chief: Border limits violate 'human decency' IDOMENI, Greece (AP) The Latest on Europe's migration crisis (all times local): 10:50 p.m. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says border restrictions being imposed in Europe to stem the flow of migrants "are not in line with international law or with common human decency." Syrian refugees walk on a road towards the Greek border station of Idomeni Tuesday, March, 1 2016. Some 7,000 migrants, including many from Syria and Iraq, are crammed into a tiny camp at the Greek border village of Idomeni, and hundreds more are arriving daily. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Ban made the comments Tuesday in Madrid after Greek police said up to 10,000 mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees were stuck at the country's Idomeni border crossing in deteriorating conditions. The Idomeni crossing has become a key flashpoint in Europe's migration crisis. Several nations led by Austria have imposed refugee caps and border restrictions over the past 10 days, creating a huge backlog of migrants in Greece. Ban says he's concerned about the restrictions along land migration routes, adding that "every asylum seeker has the right to his or her application to be considered individually." ___ 5:55 p.m. Senior police officials from countries along the so-called Balkan migrant corridor have agreed to work together to establish a flow of migrants along the route that will ease the pressure at the border between Greece and Macedonia. Officials from Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria said Tuesday that control of the region's borders is crucial to prevent illegal entry, while allowing through those who have the right to seek asylum in EU countries. They say joint profiling of migrants is necessary to determine who can proceed. Serbian police director Vladimir Rebic says "we didn't discuss quotas, but how to prevent misuse." He warns uncontrolled migrant flows present a security risk. Tighter entry rules by the Balkan countries have slowed down the movement along the route, leaving thousands stranded in Greece. ___ 5:30 p.m. Greece's main media union is deploring the left-led government's decision to suspend media access to all migrant registration and transit camps in the country. The POESY union is urging the government to "immediately rescind" the ban. In a statement Tuesday, the union said there can be no excuse for restricting fundamental rights, and said reporting on the immigration crisis should include living conditions at migrant centers. The government argued that the decision was dictated by overcrowding at migrant facilities. ___ 4:40 p.m. The German government says Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Friday to prepare for a European Union summit with Turkey. Merkel views diplomacy with Turkey as the key to reducing the influx of migrants to European Union member Greece. She is resisting pressure for national restrictions like the cap on incoming refugees imposed by Austria. EU leaders are to meet Turkey's prime minister in Brussels on Monday in an effort to push forward efforts to protect the bloc's external border. ___ 4:10 p.m. Austria's chancellor is holding firm on border restrictions choking the flow of migrants along the Balkan route to West Europe, reflecting the failure of a top EU official to persuade him to change his mind. Werner Faymann insists his country must control its borders to stop the "unorganized chaos" he says has characterized the EU's approach to dealing with the migrant crisis. He said Tuesday that Austria is neither a "waiting room for Germany" nor in an allusion to Greece prepared to accept the "policy of waving through" migrants to the rest of the EU through Austria. Faymann spoke after meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk. Indirectly rejecting the Austrian restrictions, Tusk said all EU nations need to get back to fully applying "common rules" of open borders. ___ 3:45 p.m. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the buildup of migrants at the Greek-Macedonian border isn't comparable to the situation last September, when she agreed to let in thousands of people who had piled up in Hungary. Merkel said after meeting Croatia's prime minister on Tuesday that preparations have been made in recent months to deal with the hundreds of people arriving daily in Greece. She said: "There are accommodation possibilities ... in Greece, they should be used by the refugees." Merkel reiterated that the aim is to have a mechanism to distribute refugees arriving in Greece to other European countries. She stressed "there is not a right for a refugee to say, 'I want to get asylum in a particular country in the European Union.'" Germany saw nearly 1.1 million people register as asylum-seekers last year. ___ 2:50 p.m. The head of Europe's border control agency says the numbers of migrants crossing into Europe in January and February this year was thirty times higher than the levels reached at the same time last year. Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri spoke Tuesday in the Turkish capital of Ankara. He is in Turkey to discuss border management and the fight against smugglers. His visit came as Turkey is under pressure to deliver on a pledge to crack down on the huge numbers of migrants trying to cross into Greece. The Frontex chief welcomed the creation within the Turkish national police of a special center to fight smugglers. Leggeri said: "The struggle against smugglers is necessary to ensure that the migrants are not victims of these traffickers." ___ 12:15 p.m. About two dozen migrants protesting the demolition of a sprawling camp in northern France are occupying shanty rooftops, and are surrounded by police. The slow tear-down of the encampment in Calais is continuing, angering migrants who live there in squalid conditions in hopes of reaching a better life in Britain. In Tuesday's protest, a man and a woman on a rooftop warned police not to come closer. But police moved in, and the woman sliced her wrists. The man was beaten with batons and both were removed from the roof. The woman was conscious, but her condition wasn't immediately known. French authorities are blaming the activist group No Borders for the ongoing unrest. Calais is temporary home to an estimated 4,000 migrants, down from 6,000 in December. ___ 11:20 a.m. More than 7,000 refugees and other migrants are camped on Greece's northern border with Macedonia, waiting for authorities to allow them to continue their long trek north to seek asylum in wealthier European countries. The Idomeni crossing has been closed for nearly 24 hours, following clashes when hundreds of migrants tried to force their way into Macedonia, whose police responded with tear gas and stun grenades. Hundreds of small tents stood Tuesday in the fields around an official migrant camp on the Greek side of the border that can take no more people. Some migrants have been waiting at Idomeni for more than a week, as even when the border is open Macedonia allows in no more than a few hundred, citing a similar policy by Serbia further north. Migrants and activists stand on the roofs of dwellings in an attempt to prevent them from being dismantled, as police patrol, in a makeshift camp near Calais, France, Tuesday March 1, 2016. The slow tear-down of the encampment in Calais continued Tuesday, angering migrants who live there in squalid conditions in hopes of reaching a better life in Britain. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Police surrounds activists standing on the roofs of dwellings in an attempt to prevent them from being dismantled in a makeshift migrants camp near Calais, France, Tuesday March 1, 2016. The slow tear-down of the encampment in Calais continued Tuesday, angering migrants who live there in squalid conditions in hopes of reaching a better life in Britain. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Syrian refugees walk through a motorway in their effort to arrive the Greek border station of Idomeni Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Some 7,000 migrants, including many from Syria and Iraq, are crammed into a tiny camp at the Greek border village of Idomeni, and hundreds more are arriving daily. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Macedonian soldiers patrol beside the railway track blocked by two lines of protective fence reinforced with barbed wire along the border line between Macedonia and Greece, near southern Macedonia's town of Gevgelija, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Macedonian police fired tear gas at hundreds of migrants after they stormed a metal fence along the border with Greece on Monday, Feb. 29, as refugees were blocked from traveling between the two countries on the main route to Western Europe. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) Syrian refugees walk on a motorway towards the Greek border station of Idomeni Tuesday, March, 1 2016. Some 7,000 migrants, including many from Syria and Iraq, are crammed into a tiny camp at the Greek border village of Idomeni, and hundreds more are arriving daily. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Macedonian soldiers patrol between two lines of protective fence reinforced with barbed wire along the border line between Macedonia and Greece, near southern Macedonia's town of Gevgelija, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Macedonian police fired tear gas at hundreds of migrants after they stormed a metal fence along the border with Greece on Monday, Feb. 29, as refugees were blocked from traveling between the two countries on the main route to Western Europe. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) Following an uneventful night, members of the search and rescue team from MOAS, Migrant Offshore Aid Station, a Malta-based organization aiming to rescue migrants at sea, practice during a training session on the deck of the rescue vessel as it patrols between the eastern Greek Island of Agathonisi and Turkish shores, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Greece is unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey and many thousands of migrants are prepared to risk making the sea crossing despite the dangers.(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) Following an uneventful night, members of the search and rescue team from MOAS, Migrant Offshore Aid Station, a Malta-based organization aiming to rescue migrants at sea, board one of their speedboats as they pose for the MOAS photographer during a training session on the deck of their rescue vessel as it patrols between the eastern Greek Island of Agathonisi and Turkish shores, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Greece is unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey and many thousands of migrants are prepared to risk making the sea crossing despite the dangers. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) Following an uneventful night, members of the search and rescue team from MOAS, Migrant Offshore Aid Station, a Malta-based organization aiming to rescue migrants at sea, practice during a training session on the deck of the rescue vessel as it patrols between the eastern Greek Island of Agathonisi and Turkish shores, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Greece is unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey and many thousands of migrants are prepared to risk making the sea crossing despite the dangers. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) Following an uneventful night, members of the search and rescue team from MOAS, Migrant Offshore Aid Station, a Malta-based organization aiming to rescue migrants at sea, practice during a training session on the deck of the rescue vessel as it patrols between the eastern Greek Island of Agathonisi and Turkish shores, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Greece is unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey and many thousands of migrants are prepared to risk making the sea crossing despite the dangers. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) Following an uneventful night, members of the search and rescue team from MOAS, Migrant Offshore Aid Station, a Malta-based organization, aimed at rescuing migrants at sea, board one of their speedboats as they pose for the MOAS photographer during a training session on the deck of the rescue vessel as it patrols between the eastern Greek Island of Agathonisi and Turkish shores, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Greece is unable to seal its lengthy sea border with Turkey and many thousands of migrants are prepared to risk making the sea crossing despite the dangers. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) Under the protection of French riot police, workers dismantle sheds and tents in a makeshift migrants camp near Calais, France, Tuesday March 1, 2016. The slow tear-down of the encampment in Calais continues Tuesday, angering migrants who live there, although they have had to cope with squalid conditions. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) French riot police secure an area where French officials tell migrants they must leave in a makeshift migrants camp near Calais, France, Tuesday March 1, 2016. The slow tear-down of the encampment in Calais continues Tuesday, angering migrants who live there, although they have to cope with squalid conditions. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) A migrant packs his bag to leave before workers at right start to dismantle his shed in a makeshift camp near Calais, France, Tuesday March 1, 2016. The slow tear-down of the encampment in Calais continues Tuesday, angering migrants who live there, although they have to cope with squalid conditions. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Migrants and activists stand on the roofs of dwellings in an attempt to prevent them from being dismantled in a makeshift camp near Calais, France, Tuesday March 1, 2016. The slow tear-down of the encampment in Calais continued Tuesday, angering migrants who live there in squalid conditions in hopes of reaching a better life in Britain. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Migrants and activists burn wood to stay warm as dwellings are dismantled in a makeshift camp near Calais, France, Tuesday March 1, 2016. The slow tear-down of the encampment in Calais continues Tuesday, angering migrants who live there, a;though they have to cope with squalid conditions. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) French riot police secure an area where French officials tell migrants they must leave in a makeshift migrants camp near Calais, France, Tuesday March 1, 2016. The slow tear-down of the encampment in Calais continues Tuesday, angering migrants who live there, although they have to cope with squalid conditions. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Syrian refugees walk through a motorway in their effort to arrive the Greek border station of Idomeni Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Some 7,000 migrants, including many from Syria and Iraq, are crammed into a tiny camp at the Greek border village of Idomeni, and hundreds more are arriving daily. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Macedonian soldiers patrol beside the railway track blocked by two lines of protective fence reinforced with barbed wire along the border line between Macedonia and Greece, near southern Macedonia's town of Gevgelija, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Macedonian police fired tear gas at hundreds of migrants after they stormed a metal fence along the border with Greece on Monday, Feb. 29, as refugees were blocked from traveling between the two countries on the main route to Western Europe. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) Birthday wishes Call 281-422-8302 or email sunnews@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun. Happy Birthday Wishes Irish leaders seek new government formula after election DUBLIN (AP) Ireland's shell-shocked leaders are convening for the first time since last weekend's election to plot how to form a new government, a search with no easy answer in a hung parliament. Senior figures in the two-party government of Prime Minister Enda Kenny say their 5-year-old coalition effectively lost Friday's inconclusive election. Three ministers sitting at the Cabinet table Tuesday failed to win re-election, but all ministers will remain in office until a new government is formed. Enda Kenny arrives at the Mayo Convention Centre in Castlebar, Ireland, where counting continues in the Irish general election, Saturday Feb. 27, 2016. (Niall Carson/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT Electoral officials spent a fourth day recounting votes in three constituencies where the validity of ballot papers and accuracy of previous counts is disputed. With six seats still up for grabs in Ireland's 158-member parliament, Kenny's Fine Gael has won 49 seats, opposition Fianna Fail 44, and Kenny's coalition partner Labour just six. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny leaves after voting at a polling station at St Anthony's School in Castlebar, Mayo, Friday Feb. 26, 2016. Ireland could be on course for a historic coalition between two longtime political foes the Fine Gael and Fianna Fail parties as the first official election results were announced Saturday. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT Enda Kenny arrives at the Royal Theatre in Castlebar, Ireland, where counting continues in the Irish general election, Saturday Feb. 27, 2016. (Niall Carson/PA via AP) UNITED KINGDOM OUT 10 Things to Know for Today - 1 March 2016 Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today: 1. CLINTON, TRUMP LOOK TO PULL AWAY FROM RIVALS The leading Republican and Democratic candidates are hoping to build all but insurmountable leads on Super Tuesday. FILE - In this July 27, 2013, file photo, North Korean soldiers turn and look towards their leader Kim Jong Un as they carry packs marked with the nuclear symbol as they parade during a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea claims to have tested its first H-bomb on Jan. 6, the day after the Department of Defense report came out. That claim has been disputed, but there is no doubt it has some nuclear weapons capability and its technicians are hard at work improving the nuclear weapons in quantity and quality. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File) 2. CAN THE FBI FORCE APPLE TO BREAK INTO ITS OWN PRODUCTS? A 20-year-old federal law helps explain why Congress has never explicitly granted the federal government that power. 3. OBAMA MEETS WITH SENATE REPUBLICANS VOWING TO BLOCK HIS SUPREME COURT NOMINEE With each side unyielding, the face-to-face encounter will likely offer nothing more than talking points. 4. JUST HOW STRONG IS NORTH KOREA'S ARMY? AP offers a branch-by-branch look based on what reporters and photographers have seen on the ground and the latest report to the U.S. Congress by the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 5. WHERE RUSSIAN WARPLANES ARE SITTING IDLE On the fourth day of the Syrian civil war's cease-fire, the AP witnesses an apparent lull in action on the tarmac of the Russian air base in Syria. 6. WHAT PANASONIC'S LATEST POLICY ANNOUNCEMENT DOESN'T SAY ABOUT JAPANESE CORPORATE CULTURE Other Asian businesses are unlikely to follow suit on Panasonic's decision to recognizing same-sex partnerships. 7. AMERICAN REFORM RABBIS WARN OF ALIENATION FROM ISRAEL A gathering of American Reform Rabbis in Jerusalem was marred by comments by Israeli officials denigrating the movement. 8. MORE THAN 7,000 MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES STUCK ON GREEK-MACEDONIAN BORDER After clashes prompting the closure of the Idomeni crossing, the asylum-seekers are waiting for authorities to allow them to continue their long trek north to settle in wealthier European countries. 9. WHAT'S THE HISTORY BEHIND THE SUPERDELEGATES GIVING CLINTON AN EDGE OVER SANDERS? Superdelegates have been there for the establishment for decades, and the system isn't going to change anytime soon despite protests from the Sanders camp. 10. WHAT'S BEHIND THE SYPHILIS OUTBREAK IN NEVADA? Health officials say it's part of a national spike in cases tied to increased testing, a rise in anonymous sex tied to social media, and a less consistent use of condoms. In this photo taken Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, American and Israeli Reform rabbis pray in the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in Jerusalem's old city. A recent gathering of American Reform rabbis in Jerusalem was meant to celebrate the small gains the liberal Jewish movement has made in Israel in recent years. But a series of comments by Israeli leaders denigrating the group marred the event, reflecting an awkward relationship that many fear is alienating the worlds second-largest Jewish community from Israel. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) Robert Cray to celebrate B.B. King at Playboy Jazz Festival LOS ANGELES (AP) The Robert Cray Band with guest guitarists Sonny Landreth and Roy Gaines will offer a special tribute to the late blues legend B.B. King at the 2016 Playboy Jazz Festival. The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced the lineup Tuesday for the 38th annual Playboy festival, scheduled for the weekend of June 11-12 at the Hollywood Bowl with George Lopez returning as host. Other headliners include the smooth jazz group Fourplay celebrating its 25th anniversary, "Late Night" bandleader Jon Batiste and Stay Human, and Los Van Van. FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2013, file photo, Blues music legend B.B. King performs on Framptons Guitar Circus 2013 Tour at Pier Six Pavilion, in Baltimore. The Robert Cray Band with guest guitarists Sonny Landreth and Roy Gaines will offer a special tribute to the late blues legend at the 2016 Playboy Jazz Festival. The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced the lineup Tuesday, March 1, 2016, for the 38th annual Playboy festival, scheduled for the weekend of June 11-12 at the Hollywood Bowl. (Photo by Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP, File) Among those making their Playboy debuts will be singers Seth MacFarlane, Cecile McLorin Salvant and Janelle Monae; The Bad Plus with saxophonist Joshua Redman; and 12-year-old Indonesian pianist Joey Alexander, who received a standing ovation at last month's Grammy Awards. ___ Online: VIEWER'S GUIDE: Here's your guide to watching Super Tuesday WASHINGTON (AP) A quarter of Americans have their say in the presidential nominating races on Super Tuesday. The two front-runners, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, hope the results from nearly a dozen states signal the inevitability of their march toward the major party nominations. Clinton challenger Bernie Sanders and Trump rivals Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are desperate to drag out the drama a little longer. Traffic moves along 16th Street in front of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March 1, 2016 as voters in several states go to the polls on so called "Super Tuesday" primary election day to select their choice to represent their political party on the crowded road to the White House. (AP Photo/J. David Ake) A guide on what to watch for: THE TIMELINE If vote margins aren't too tight, expect waves of race calls as polls close: Georgia, Virginia and Vermont at 7 p.m. EST (0000 GMT); Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Massachusetts at 8 p.m.; Arkansas at 8:30 p.m.; Texas, Minnesota and Colorado at 9 p.m.; Alaska at midnight. A big chunk of the electorate votes early in Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas. Caucuses are local meetings of registered party members organized by the state party. Primaries are run by the state government and are done by secret ballot at polling stations, similar to the general election. ___ DEMOCRATIC DEMOGRAPHICS Watch how Clinton does with minority voters across the South and beyond. If she can replicate the support that she got from black voters in South Carolina, where she was favored by 9 in 10 African-Americans, she'll be well-positioned to get the nomination. Watch how Sanders does among everyone but the youngest voters. He lost every age group but the under-30 crowd in South Carolina, which is not a big enough slice of the population to get him to the nomination. ___ CRUZ'S CROWN JEWEL It's all about Texas for Cruz. After three straight third-place finishes in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, the Texas senator likely couldn't survive a Super Tuesday embarrassment in his own state. More than 1.7 million voters have already cast early ballots there, representing about 7 percent of registered Republicans. Even if Cruz wins the state, he's not guaranteed all 155 Republican delegates; the state awards them proportionally. ___ SOUTHERN COMFORT With seven Southern states casting ballots, it's time to see if Clinton can erect the much-talked-about southern firewall. If Sanders can't show strength beyond his Northeast home base in Vermont and neighboring Massachusetts, he'll know he's in trouble. ___ THE MATH In the end, it's all about the delegates. And about a quarter of them, awarded proportionally, are decided on Super Tuesday. Trump came into Super Tuesday with 82, Cruz, 18, Rubio 16, Kasich 6 and Carson 4. It takes 1,237 to win the Republican nomination. Clinton entered Super Tuesday with 546 delegates including superdelegates, the party leaders and members of Congress who can support any candidate. Sanders had 87. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the Democratic nomination ___ AP Writers Stephen Ohlemacher in Washington and Will Weissert in Houston contributed to this report. ___ Follow Nancy Benac on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nbenac Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., greets supporters during a campaign rally at Milton High School in Milton, Mass., Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a campaign rally in Norfolk, Va., Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) NASCAR Driver Chase Elliott, accompanied by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, and NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France, second from left, speaks at a Trump rally at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga., Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Supporters of Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wait in their seats before a campaign appearance by Cruz, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate) Poland honors thousands of anti-communist fighters WARSAW, Poland (AP) Poland on Tuesday honored thousands of anti-communist fighters persecuted and killed during the early years of the Soviet-imposed regime, which ignored their existence in history books for decades. The nationwide observances, led by President Andrzej Duda, are part of democratic Poland's efforts to recognize the sacrifice of men and women who actively opposed the communist regime, which seized power in 1944 as the Red Army was defeating German troops at the end of World War II. The fighters were a taboo topic under communism. A national holiday in their memory was established in 2011, but its status and form was raised this year by the new, conservative government that took power in November and aims to restore the forgotten or banned chapters of Poland's history. These fighters "were on the side of a free Poland, they fought to the end and never gave up," Duda said at a ceremony in the Presidential Palace, adding that punishments for such activities at the time included "prison, torture, suffering and pain." March 1 marks the anniversary of the 1951 execution of seven leaders of anti-communist resistance at a Warsaw prison, following a trial before a military court that was to sow fear in the nation. Their bodies, like those of other victims of the regime, were dumped in unmarked holes in the ground. Some of those mass graves have not been found until today. Remains of over 100 victims were revealed in 2012 under a lawn at a Warsaw cemetery. Some of them have been identified through DNA matching with their living relatives. The area has been turned into a memorial site for all those killed from 1944-56. State officials and families of the victims laid wreaths there on Tuesday. The Latest: Attorney says Ohio school suspect is 'overcome' HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) The Latest on the school shooting near Middletown, Ohio (all times local): 5 p.m. The attorney for a 14-year-old boy accused of shooting fellow students in an Ohio school cafeteria says he hasn't been willing to talk much and appears to be "overcome" by the situation. Parents run to see if they are allowed to pick up their kids at Madison Local Schools, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Attorney Ed Perry also tells The Associated Press that James Austin Hancock's family wants the families of those hurt and the Madison Local Schools community in general to know that they are very concerned and saddened about them. They declined to talk with reporters Tuesday morning outside the juvenile courtroom where Perry entered a denial of charges including attempted murder for Hancock. He says it's been difficult to get the youth to talk with him, but he says he hopes that will change in the days ahead. Hancock is being held in juvenile detention pending an April 5 hearing. Perry wasn't aware of Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones' contention that the youth should be prosecuted as an adult, but said that's an issue "we will be concerned about." ___ 4:15 p.m. A 14-year-old boy accused of shooting students in an Ohio school cafeteria has denied charges including attempted murder. An attorney for James Austin Hancock entered the juvenile court equivalent of a not guilty plea on Tuesday, a day after police say the teen opened fire during lunch and shot two students. Hancock is charged with attempted murder, felonious assault, inducing panic and making terroristic threats. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says authorities have interviewed the youth and believe they know a motive, but they won't reveal it while their investigation is continuing. The superintendent of Madison Local Schools says schools will reopen Wednesday. ___ 11:45 a.m. An Ohio sheriff says the 14-year-old suspect in a school shooting apparently was carrying a handgun all morning before he jumped up in the cafeteria and opened fire. Sheriff Richard Jones says it's believed that the youth obtained a .380-caliber gun from a family member, but the investigation is continuing. He also repeated that authorities also believe they know a motive in the Monday lunchtime shooting, but aren't releasing any details to avoid jeopardizing the case. Jones says as terrifying as the shooting was, it's a relief that no lives were lost. He says it's the first school shooting in memory in Butler County in southwest Ohio, although there have been repeated school lockdowns because of threats in recent months. He calls on school officials throughout the counties to recognize that such shootings can happen anywhere, and to take action to be sure their schools are protected. The youth's attorney denied the charges Tuesday in juvenile court. ___ 11 a.m. The sheriff of the Ohio county in where four students were injured in a school shooting wants the 14-year-old suspect prosecuted in adult court. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones tells The Associated Press that while that might sound harsh, he believes it's important to "send a message" to students that using guns isn't like playing a video game. He says he is making the recommendation to the prosecutor's office, which hasn't indicated whether it will seek to move the case from juvenile court. The youth's attorney entered a denial of charges for him Tuesday morning and he remains in juvenile detention in Hamilton. Jones says besides the students who were wounded or otherwise injured, many students have likely been traumatized by Monday's shootings. He also is renewing his call for all schools to have police resource officers, as Madison Local Schools do, and for allowing specially trained school staff to be armed. ___ 10:30 a.m. Officials at an Ohio school where two students were shot say classes will resume Wednesday, and that students and parents can walk through the school Tuesday evening in preparation for their return. Madison Local Schools Superintendent Curtis Philpot says crisis counselors will be available and that school staff including bus drivers and teachers will pay extra attention to make students feel comfortable about going back to school, two days after Monday's lunchtime shooting that resulted in four students being hurt. He says there will be extra staff available Wednesday in the cafeteria where the shooting took place. Philpot says the "No. 1 priority" is to make students feel safe and comfortable. ___ 9:30 a.m. A 14-year-old boy accused of shooting students at an Ohio school will remain in juvenile detention under a magistrate's instructions. He's charged with attempted murder, felonious assault, inducing panic and making terroristic threats. His attorney entered a denial of the charges Tuesday in Butler County juvenile court. The boy's ankles were shackled as he sat silently during the brief hearing. He kept his head down, reading the complaint. He was ordered to remain in custody pending a hearing April 5. His attorney and supporters declined to comment afterward. Authorities say the boy fired at students Monday in a Madison Local Schools cafeteria. Two students were shot, and two others were hurt. The injuries weren't considered life-threatening. It's unclear whether prosecutors might seek to move the case to adult court. ___ 8:30 a.m. A recording indicates a 911 caller reporting a shooting at a southwest Ohio school immediately identified the suspect by name. Breathing heavily, the unidentified caller gives the name of a 14-year-old boy and tells a dispatcher, "He just pulled out his gun and started shooting." The scene Monday in a Madison Local Schools cafeteria left four students hurt. Two were shot. Investigators say the other two might have been injured by shrapnel or while running away. The injuries weren't considered life-threatening. Sheriff Richard Jones said he's aware of a motive but wasn't ready to release it. The suspect was caught nearby and was expected to appear Tuesday morning in Butler County juvenile court. It wasn't immediately clear if he has an attorney. The school district canceled classes and activities Tuesday. ___ 7 a.m. An Ohio school district is closed and all extracurricular activities cancelled as authorities investigate a shooting by a 14-year-old boy that injured four students, including two who were hit by gunfire. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones in southwestern Ohio says he's aware of a motive in Monday's shooting at Madison Local Schools but isn't ready to release it. Authorities say the boy pulled out a gun in a school cafeteria and opened fire, hitting two students, and then ran from the school. The boy threw the weapon down and was apprehended nearby with the help of a police dog. Two other Madison Local Schools students also were injured, possibly from shrapnel or from running away. None of the injuries appear to be life-threatening. A child is comforted Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, near Middletown, Ohio after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in a school shooting that wounded four classmates, including two who were shot, is in a juvenile lock-up and facing several charges. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says the boy has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terrorist threats. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Butler County Sheriff Deputies stand on the scene at Madison Local Schools, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Butler County Sheriff Deputies stand on the scene at Madison Local Schools, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Cara Owsley/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; NO SALES A child is comforted Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Marshall Gorby/Dayton Daily News via AP) Parents and community members form a prayer circle as they wait to pick up their kids Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Police vehicles block the entrance of Madison Local Schools, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) A child is comforted Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, near Middletown, Ohio after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in a school shooting that wounded four classmates, including two who were shot, is in a juvenile lock-up and facing several charges. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says the boy has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terrorist threats. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) The Latest: Police ID black man fatally shot by officer RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) The Latest on the shooting of a suspect by a Raleigh police officer (all times local): 2:50 p.m. The State Bureau of Investigation is confirming the identity of a black man who was fatally shot by a police officer. Rolonda Byrd, who says she is the mother of shooting victim Akiel Denkins, cries during a news conference near the scene of the shooting in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Authorities say that a police officer fatally shot a man Monday while trying to make an arrest for a felony drug charge. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) The agency says 24-year-old Akiel Denkins, of Raleigh, was killed and that agents have talked to his mother, Rolonda Byrd. She had earlier complained that authorities had not told her that her son had been killed and that they wouldn't let her see his body. The news release from the State Bureau of Investigation said its report would be delivered to the Wake County District Attorney's office upon its completion. It did not release any other details. Raleigh police said Monday that Senior Officer D.C. Twiddy opened fire on the suspect when he was serving an arrest warrant. Police say a gun was found near Denkins, but it's not clear if he was armed during the chase. ___ 11:45 a.m. The head of the North Carolina NAACP is calling on authorities to conduct a fair and transparent investigation into the fatal police shooting of black man who was being chased on foot. The Rev. William Barber II said at a news conference Tuesday that if someone is running away, that is not a "license to kill." Rolonda Byrd says she is the mother of the man who is believed to have been killed. She says she has talked to the medical examiner and police chief, but they have not told her definitively that her son Akiel Denkins was killed. She also says she hasn't been allowed to look at the body. Church pastors and neighborhood residents have said the slain man was Denkins, who was 24. Police are releasing few details about the case. Raleigh police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown said Monday an officer was pursuing a man who was wanted on a felony drug charge when the officer opened fire. The chief said a gun was found near the suspect's body, but she did not say whether it was his. ___ 8:40 a.m. The North Carolina NAACP plans to hold a news conference Tuesday morning on the shooting of a man by a Raleigh police officer. The civil rights group says the news conference will occur at the site where the man was shot shortly after noon Monday. The man's name hasn't been officially released by authorities. Police have said he was wanted on drug charges. The officer was Senior Officer D.C. Twiddy, who's been with the department since 2009. Twiddy is on administrative leave while the State Bureau of Investigation and the Raleigh Police Department investigates the shooting. ___ 4:20 a.m. A neighborhood in Raleigh, North Carolina, is awaiting answers about what led an officer to fatally shoot a man wanted on a drug charge as authorities continue investigating. Eyewitnesses have offered descriptions of what happened to the man after an officer chased him into a backyard, and one woman said she ran down a side street after hearing gunshots. Police spokesman Jim Sughrue says Senior Officer D.C. Twiddy was the officer involved in the shooting. He says the 29-year-old Twiddy has been placed on administrative leave, in accordance with department policy, while the State Bureau of Investigation looks into the matter. Sughrue says the identity of the victim could be released Tuesday.___ Associated Press writers Emery P. Dalesio, Allen G. Breed and Martha Waggoner contributed to this report. A man sits at the scene of a fatal shooting in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. Authorities say that a police officer shot and killed a man while trying to make an arrest for a felony drug charge. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) Destiny Brown, left, and Bonnie King light candles during a vigil near the scene of a fatal shooting in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. Authorities say that a police officer shot and killed a man while trying to make an arrest for a felony drug charge. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) The Rev. William Barber II, right, head of the North Carolina National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, speaks during a news conference as Rolonda Byrd, left, who says she is the mother of shooting victim Akiel Denkins, listens near the scene of a shooting in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Authorities say that a police officer fatally killed a man Monday while trying to make an arrest for a felony drug charge. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) A man who identified himself as A. Wilson pays tribute to Akiel Denkins, 24, Tuesday, March 1, 2015 at a makeshift memorial near the intersection of Bragg and South East Streets in Raleigh,N.C. Denkins died during a Raleigh police officer involved shooting Monday. (Travis Long/The News & Observer via AP) MAGAZINES OUT, TV AND TV WEBSITES OUT A makeshift memorial sits near the scene of a shooting in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Authorities say that a police officer fatally killed a man Monday while trying to make an arrest for a felony drug charge. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) People gather around candles and flowers placed at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Authorities say that a police officer fatally killed a man Monday while trying to make an arrest for a felony drug charge. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) Court: Nigerian governments must account for returned funds LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) A Nigerian Federal High Court is ordering governments going back to 1999 to account for hundreds of millions of dollars that were returned by foreign governments because the funds were deemed to have been looted from the Nigerian state, according to the civil rights group that filed the suit. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project hailed the "landmark judgment" won through a freedom of information suit to shine light on an issue so obscure no one can even say how many billions of dollars are involved. "It is so opaque, that is why we did not specify any amount in the court case," said Olukayode Majekodunmi, the group's deputy director, though he said their records indicated some $2.4 billion has been returned to Nigeria. Now the group wants to know what has happened to those funds. A statement Monday from the civil rights group says Friday's ruling orders the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that his government as well as those of Goodluck Jonathan, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and Olusegun Obasanjo "account fully for all recovered loot." Most was stolen by Nigeria's last military dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha. The United States in 2014 froze nearly half a billion dollars of illicit Abacha funds but has yet to say if they will be repatriated. Hundreds of millions have been frozen by the United States, Switzerland, Britain, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. Nigerian and foreign rights organizations charge that some of the $505 million repatriated from Swiss banks was stolen a second time by corrupt officials. Luxembourg and Liechtenstein also have returned hundreds of millions of dollars. In the latest controversy, the project is demanding accountability from former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for releasing more than $300 million to the office of the national security adviser for the purchase of weapons to fight the Boko Haram Islamic uprising. All looted funds were returned on condition they were to be spent on development. Facebook's Latin American boss arrested in Brazil RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Police in Sao Paulo have arrested Facebook's most senior executive in Latin America in the latest clash between Brazilian authorities and the social media company over its refusal to provide private information about its users to law enforcement. A Tuesday news release says that Facebook's vice president for Latin America, Diego Dzodan, was arrested on an order from a judge in the northeastern state of Sergipe. Dzodan is accused of ignoring a judicial order in a secret investigation involving organized crime and drug trafficking. The decision by Judge Marcel Montalvao follows the company's refusal to surrender user information from the WhatsApp messaging service, an application Facebook bought in 2014. Facebook said in a written statement released Tuesday that the two companies operate independently "so the decision to arrest an employee from another company is an extreme and unwarranted step". WhatsApp said in its own statement that it had "cooperated as much as we could given the architecture of our service." It said the company was "unable to provide information we do not have". But Monica Horta, a police spokeswoman in Sergipe, said that the arrest was made because neither Facebook nor WhatsApp responded to the request for information first issued four months ago. Two months ago, Montalvao started to fine the company 50,000 Brazilian reais ($12,700) for every day it ignored the order, an amount that rose to 1 million Brazilian reais ($250,000) daily over the past month. Brazilian police argue that Facebook's stance is at odds with Yahoo, Google and local telecommunications companies, which have been willing to hand over user information to help investigations. A separate judicial order forced Brazil's telecommunications companies in December to block WhatsApp over its refusal to cooperate with a police inquiry. The move snarled communications for many of its 100 million users in Brazil for around 12 hours. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the time said he was "stunned" by the "extreme decision". Brazilians are among the world's most voracious users of social media such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. Around half of the country's 200 million people use WhatsApp. ___ Honeywell walks away from $90B bid for United Technologies NEW YORK (AP) Honeywell abandoned a bid worth more than $90 billion for rival United Technologies, saying it did not want to force a deal with an unwilling partner. United Technologies rejected the offer last week, saying a tie-up of the two industrial conglomerates would never be approved by anti-trust regulators. Honeywell said it disagreed, but that it would not go any further if United Technologies was not willing. FILE - This Jan. 18, 2011, file photo, shows the Honeywell Specialty Materials plant in Metropolis, Ill. Honeywell International Inc. said Tuesday, March 1, 2016, that it is abandoning its $90 billion buyout attempt of rival United Technologies. United Technologies Corp. had rejected the offer, saying a tie-up of the two industrial conglomerates would never be approved by anti-trust regulators. (Steve Jahnke/The Southern Illinoisan via AP, File) MANDATORY CREDIT The two companies had held talks for some time before those negotiations became public. United Technologies had brought up the possibility of combining the companies in 2011 and 2015, Honeywell said. During a meeting last month, Honeywell said it was told by United Technology executives that "such a combination would be fabulous" and that "they would take it very seriously." At some point the mood soured however, and Honeywell says United Technologies has since been unwilling to engage in negotiations. United Technologies said Tuesday that Honeywell's retreat "is the appropriate outcome given the strong regulatory obstacles." Both companies are big players in the aerospace sector. Honeywell, based in Morris Plains, New Jersey, also makes thermostats and security systems. United Technologies, of Farmington, Connecticut, also makes elevators and fire alarms. Kerry: 2 Pakistanis working with US mission killed by bomb WASHINGTON (AP) Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that two Pakistanis working with the U.S. Consulate in the northwestern city of Peshawar were killed by a roadside bomb while on a mission to eradicate drug cultivation. Kerry told an audience at the State Department that he awoke to news that the pair had been killed. He lamented the deaths as senseless and denounced the perpetrators. State Department spokesman John Kirby later confirmed that two Pakistani employees of the U.S. mission were killed in the attack on a Pakistani government anti-narcotics convoy. He condemned the attack and said the U.S. had offered assistance to Pakistan in "investigating the incident and bringing the perpetrators to justice." A Pakistani government administrator said the bomb targeted Pakistani officials working for a USAID-funded project for the eradication of poppies in the northwestern tribal region of Anbar, killing two of them and wounding four others. Naveed Khan said he did not know whether those killed or wounded were also working for the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar. "I can only confirm that a Pakistani inspector working for a USAID-funded project was killed along with his driver in an IED blast today," he said, using the abbreviation for improvised explosive device. Khan said the two were working in the Narcotics Affairs section of a government department. Ahsanullah Ahsan, a spokesman for Jamatul Ahrar a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. ___ Two Roman Catholic bishops who led a Pennsylvania diocese helped cover up the sexual abuse of hundreds of children by more than 50 priests or religious leaders over a 40-year period, according to a grand jury report issued on Tuesday. The 147-page report on the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese was based partly on evidence from a secret diocesan archive uncovered through a search warrant executed last year, said Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane. 'These predators desecrated a sacred trust and preyed upon their victims in the very places where they should have felt most safe,' Kane said in a statement. 'Just as troubling is the cover-up perpetrated by clergy leaders that allowed this abuse to continue for decades.' Scroll down for video Bishops Joseph Adamec (left) and James Hogan (right) are accused of covering up the sexual abuse of hundreds of children by more than 50 priests or religious leaders from the 1960s The 147-page report on the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese (pictured, the administration building in Altoona) was based partly on evidence from a secret diocesan archive uncovered through a search warrant last year But no criminal charges are being filed because some abusers have died, the statute of limitations has expired and, in some cases, victims are too traumatized to testify, she said. The report is especially critical of Bishops James Hogan and Joseph Adamec. Hogan, who led the diocese from 1966 to 1986, died in 2005. Adamec, who succeeded him, retired in 2011. Adamec or his staff threatened some alleged abuse victims with excommunication, and generally worked harder to hide or settle allegations of abuse than to sanction the priests accused of committing them, the report contends. Adamec even created a 'payout chart' to help guide how much victims would receive from the Church, the report said. Victims fondled over their clothes were to be paid $10,000 to $25,000; fondled under their clothes or subjected to masturbation, $15,000 to $40,000; subjected to forced oral sex, $25,000 to $75,000; subjected to forced sodomy or intercourse, $50,000 to $175,000. Adamec cited possible self-incrimination in refusing to testify before the grand jury in November. But in a court filing, his attorney said the accusations against the retired 80-year-old bishop are unfounded. No criminal charges are being filed because some abusers have died, the statute of limitations has expired and, in some cases, victims are too traumatized to testify, she said. Pictured above, Bishop Hogan (right) with Pope John Paul II in Rome The 147-page report said Adamec (pictured receiving a charity check) created a 'payout chart' to help guide how much victims would receive from the Church 'Bishop Adamec's handling of abuse allegations has no similarity to other clergy abuse scandals,' his attorney wrote. Adamec required 14 priests accused under his watch to undergo psychiatric evaluation, the filing said. Nine were suspended or removed from ministry, and the five who were reinstated never re-offended, his attorney wrote. BISHOP'S PAYOUT CHART FOR ABUSE VICTIMS Victims fondled over their clothes: $10,000 to $25,000 Fondled under their clothes or subjected to masturbation: $15,000 to $40,000 Subjected to forced oral sex: $25,000 to $75,000 subjected to forced sodomy or intercourse: $50,000 to $175,000 Advertisement But the report said Hogan covered up abuse allegations by transferring offending priests, including by sending one accused clergyman to a school for boys. The Church's own records show that the priest 'would have been prosecuted and convicted except that the bishop intervened and he was sent to Michigan for treatment and then placed in another parish upon his return,' the grand jury found. It said Adamec or his staff threatened some alleged victims with excommunication. One diocesan official under Hogan, Monsignor Philip Saylor, told the grand jury that Church officials held such sway that 'the police and civil authorities would often defer to the diocese' when priests were accused of abuse, the report said. Saylor told the grand jury that the mayors of Altoona and Johnstown even consulted him on their choices for police chief in the 1980s. 'Politicians of Blair County were afraid of Monsignor Saylor, and he apparently persuaded the mayor to appoint me as the chief of police,' Altoona's former police chief Peter Starr testified. Monsignor Philip Saylor (pictured), an official under Hogan, told the grand jury that Church officials held such sway that 'police and civil authorities would often defer to the diocese' when priests were accused of abuse The current bishop, Mark Bartchak, is not accused of wrongdoing. He recently suspended a handful of priests named as alleged abusers in the report, though the grand jury said it remains 'concerned the purge of predators is taking too long'. The investigation began when Kane's office was asked to review the handling of abuse allegations at Bishop McCort Catholic High School against an athletic trainer, Franciscan Brother Stephen Baker, who worked there from 1992 to 2001. Baker killed himself in 2013 after abuse settlements with an Ohio diocese where he formerly worked were publicized. That investigation continues. The clergy sex abuse crisis erupted in 2002, when The Boston Globe persuaded a judge to unseal files from the Boston Archdiocese in the case of a pedophile priest who had been transferred by bishops from parish to parish without warning parents or civil authorities. The story of the intrepid journalists who uncovered the scandal was immortalized in the film Spotlight, which won Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards. Following The Boston Globe's reporting, the scandal then spread nationwide as Catholics and others demanded to know the full scope of wrongdoing. Dioceses across the country have been forced to release thousands of internal files on accused priests. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops estimates that American dioceses have paid nearly $4billion since 1950 to settle claims with victims. Argentine president: nation in bad shape but change coming BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) Argentine President Mauricio Macri painted a grim picture of the nation on Tuesday, telling Congress that the state is broke, drug traffickers are prospering and institutions including the armed forces are so weakened that the borders are barely protected and many military planes cannot fly. Addressing Congress on the first day of the legislative session, Macri also blasted the previous administration, saying that political patronage had led to a major spike in the number of workers on government payrolls. Several thousand people have been fired since Macri assumed office in December. "We are a great country with enormous potential," Macri said, sitting next to Vice President Gabriela Michetti as he addressed Congress. "But the first thing we must do is recognize that we are not in good shape." Supporters hug Argentina's President Mauricio Macri as he leaves Congress after giving his first annual State of the Nation address in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Macri assumed the presidency in December after campaigning on promises to modernize the economy by attracting foreign investment, root out corruption and solve a long-standing spat with creditors in the U.S. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano) Macri, a conservative and former mayor of Buenos Aires, campaigned on promises to modernize the economy by attracting foreign investment, root out corruption and solve a long-standing spat with creditors in the U.S. Speaking in a somber tone during the hour-long speech, several times Macri returned to the issue of drugs. He said Argentina was a "prosperous country for drug traffickers," and added that the South American nation had become the world's third largest producer of cocaine. The problem was exacerbated by "borders that are virtually defenseless" and a military so weakened that it possessed "planes that don't fly." Macri addressed the long-standing fight with a group of creditors in the U.S., bluntly framing it as a problem now in the hands of Congress. On Monday, Argentina and the group of creditors led by billionaire investor Paul Singer announced a tentative deal, potentially putting an end to years of legal fights that have kept the South American nation from accessing international credit markets. The deal, however, must be approved by Congress, where Macri doesn't have majorities in either chamber and will likely face stiff opposition from some sectors of the Peronist Party, which lost the presidency for the first time in 12 years in last year's election. Macri said he trusted legislators would "be responsible" in their rhetoric and "we'll build the necessary consensus" to pass a deal. Former President Cristina Fernandez refused to negotiate with the group of creditors she called "vultures," even after New York federal court Judge Thomas Griesa repeatedly ruled against Argentina. Macri said the decision not to engage had cost Argentina dearly. He said the total hanging debt went from about $3 billion in the beginning to about $11 billion, and that the inability to access international credit markets had cost Argentina $100 billion and millions of jobs. He did not explain how he came to those numbers, but the implicit message to Congress was clear: don't mess this up. Roberto Bacman, director of the Center for Public Opinion Studies, a South American research firm, said Macri will likely get the votes he needs to pass the deal with the holdouts, but that will mean negotiating on other things, like supreme court nominations. "Votes are never free," said Bacman, adding that the biggest threat to Macri's ability to govern was the high inflation. Last year, it was estimated around 30 percent. After a sharp devaluation of the peso in December, prices have continued to soar. Macri commented on the inflation, and said that the solution was to get the economy growing again after four years of virtual stagnation in its gross domestic product. He said the process would take time, and blamed the previous administration for "700 percent inflation in the last 10 years." ____ Peter Prengaman on Twitter: http://twitter.com/peterprengaman Argentina's President Mauricio Macri kisses supporters as he leaves Congress after giving his first annual State of the Nation address in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Macri assumed the presidency in December after campaigning on promises to modernize the economy by attracting foreign investment, root out corruption and solve a long-standing spat with creditors in the U.S. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano) Argentina's President Mauricio Macri arrives to open the 2016 session of Congress and give the annual State of the Nation address, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. A day after Argentina and a group of U.S. creditors announced a deal in a longstanding debt standoff, has given President Macri a boost. Macri who assumed power in December after campaigning on promises to modernize South America's second-largest economy by solving the dispute and attracting foreign investment. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Argentina's President Mauricio Macri gives an annual State of the Nation address to open the 2016 session of Congress and in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. A day after Argentina and a group of U.S. creditors announced a deal in a longstanding debt standoff, has given President Macri a boost. Macri who assumed power in December after campaigning on promises to modernize South America's second-largest economy by solving the dispute and attracting foreign investment. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Supporters of Argentina's President Mauricio Macri stand outside the National Congress as the President opens the 2016 session of Congress for his annual State of the Nation address, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. A day after Argentina and a group of U.S. creditors announced a deal in a longstanding debt standoff, has given President Macri a boost. Macri assumed power in December after campaigning on promises to modernize South America's second-largest economy by solving the dispute and attracting foreign investment. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Detectives: Woman accused of kidnapping baby had miscarriage FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) A 23-year-old woman who is charged with kidnapping her cousin's baby at gunpoint had a miscarriage in January but told others she had given birth, detectives said. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports (http://bit.ly/1L2ufkG ) that Stephanie Augustin was ordered during a Monday court hearing to be held without bail and to undergo a mental health evaluation. Augustin and a 14-year-old male cousin are charged with kidnapping 2-month-old Taraji Kemp. Broward County sheriff's detectives said in court documents that Augustin admitted taking the child during their interrogation, "stating 'someone' told her to do it." They wrote that she had told people she was pregnant last summer and announced giving birth in January, but actually had a miscarriage. Detectives said Taraji and her mother were asleep at a Fort Lauderdale home Friday night when intruders took the girl. The teen allegedly pointed a gun at the mother. His public defender, David Wheeler, said it was a BB gun. Wheeler said Augustin manipulated him into participating, inviting him to hang out and go shopping. Instead, she drove the boy to the baby's home and coerced him into participating in the kidnapping, Wheeler said. "She is the chief architect behind this whole scheme," Wheeler said. He wants the boy's case kept in juvenile court. Taraji was found safe Saturday at an Orlando apartment that Augustin rented. She was still in her car seat and no one else was there, detectives said. Throughout the search Saturday, detectives were in contact with Augustin by phone but she was uncooperative, they said. She refused to meet with them or give her location, they said. Augustin was arrested when a highway patrol trooper spotted her on the Florida's Turnpike. Robbers on trial in France for death of local police woman PARIS (AP) Five suspected robbers face up to life in prison for taking part in a high-speed highway chase with police in which France's first female local police officer was killed in 2010, raising a wave of indignation and a debate on the duties of the country's local police. A total of eight defendants, aged 32 to 58, appeared in a Paris court Tuesday for the first day of a high-profile, seven-week trial in which more than 100 witnesses and dozens of plaintiffs and experts are expected to testify. Some 60 reporters attended the opening inside a large crowded courtroom. Another suspect was never found and is tried in absentia, while yet another has been arrested in Algeria and is the subject of separate proceedings. Three of the suspects, including the one tried in absentia, are accused of murdering local police woman Aurelie Fouquet, 26, a mother of a 14-month baby boy. The six others appearing in court Tuesday are charged with taking part or helping in the failed hold-up. The first day of the hearing was dedicated entirely to a draw of the six jurors, a call of the 103 witnesses and a long account of the facts, with no parties speaking. The jury will deliver the verdict at the last day of the trial, set for April 15. In May 2010, while a gang of 10 robbers divided into several groups was about to attack an armored cash-transportation van, one of their vehicles was spotted by a police car. During the 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) highway chase in morning rush hour, one of the robbers opened the back door of their van, fired at police officers with a submachine gun, unloaded the contents of tear gas canisters and fire extinguishers on their pursuers and threw the empty projectiles at the police car, according to court documents. Several police officers and people driving their personal cars were wounded. The van used by four of the robbers left the highway and had an accident. The attackers wearing balaclavas, gloves, bulletproofs vests and battledresses got out of the van and immediately fired multiple shots at a local police car that had just arrived, fatally wounding Fouquet. Bill to block state labeling of genetically modified foods WASHINGTON (AP) A Senate panel on Tuesday approved a bill that would block state labeling requirements for genetically modified foods. The Senate Agriculture Committee voted 14-6 to prevent the labeling on packages of foods that include genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Vermont is set to require such labels this summer, and other states are considering similar laws. Senators have said they want to find a compromise on the labeling issue before Vermont's law kicks in. Sen. Pat Roberts, chairman of the panel, said a patchwork of state laws could be costly for agriculture, food companies and ultimately consumers. "Now is not the time for Congress to make food more expensive for anybody," Roberts said. The bill would create voluntary labels for companies that want to use them on food packages that contain genetically modified ingredients. Genetically modified seeds are engineered in laboratories to have certain traits, like resistance to herbicides. The majority of the country's corn and soybean crop is now genetically modified, with much of that going to animal feed. Corn and soybeans are also made into popular processed food ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup, corn starch and soybean oil. The food industry says about 75 percent to 80 percent of foods contain genetically modified ingredients. While the Food and Drug Administration says there is little scientific concern about the safety of those GMOs on the market, advocates for labeling say not enough is known about their risks The legislation approved Tuesday is similar to a bill the House passed last year. The food industry has backed both bills, saying GMOs are safe. Labeling advocates have been fighting state-by-state to enact the labeling, with the eventual goal of a national standard. SodaStream layoffs expose Israel boycott conundrum JERUSALEM (AP) The layoffs of hundreds of workers following the closure of Israeli company SodaStream's West Bank factory has even some Palestinians questioning the wisdom of the anti-Israel boycott movement. The fundamental contradiction: while Palestinians support the international outcry against the occupation of the West Bank, businesses attached to Israel's far richer economy nonetheless offer much-needed jobs. The West Bank factory employed some 500 Palestinians, providing a lifeline to the workers in an economy where unemployment is high and wages low. But boycott activists said the factory was a product and symbol of Israel's nearly 50-year-old occupation, and part of a network of settlement businesses standing in the way of Palestinians building a vibrant economy of their own. For years, the factory in Mishor Adumim was a prime target of the BDS movement, which calls for boycotts, divestment and sanctions in what it says is a nonviolent struggle against Israeli occupation. BDS activists had lobbied stores around the world to remove the company's fizzy drink makers from their shelves until it shuttered the West Bank factory. In 2014, the company said it would shut the plant and move its operations inside Israel. File - In this Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015 file photo, employees work at the new SodaStream factory built deep in Israel's Negev Desert next to the city of Rahat, Israel. The layoffs of hundreds of workers following the closure of Israeli drinks maker SodaStreams West Bank factory has even some Palestinians questioning the wisdom of the anti-Israel boycott movement. The fundamental contradiction: While Palestinians support the international outcry against the occupation of the West Bank, businesses attached to Israels far richer economy nonetheless offer much-needed jobs.(Photo/Dan Balilty, File) Palestinians require permits to work inside Israel, and most of the factory workers, unable to get them, were let go last year. The 100 or so permits SodaStream managed to secure expired Monday and weren't renewed, sending the remaining Palestinian workers packing. "I'm not against BDS," said Mohammed Jaradat, one of those workers. "They have the right to be political, but they need to find us jobs before they close factories." Jaradat, 36, worked at SodaStream for seven years and is now searching for how to support his four children. "I cannot work in the Palestinian territories," he said. "First, there are no jobs. And second, the salaries are very low." He said Palestinian factories pay about half of the 5,000 shekel ($1,250) monthly salary he earned at SodaStream. The BDS movement has grown into a worldwide network of thousands of volunteers lobbying corporations, artists and academic institutions to sever ties with Israel. It has three goals: ending Israel's occupation of territories captured in the 1967 Mideast war, stopping discrimination suffered by Arab citizens of Israel and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to family properties lost in the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948. Israel says the Palestinian "right of return" would lead to a massive influx of refugees and mean the end of the country as a Jewish state. The movement has made gains in recent years. U.S. and British academic unions have endorsed boycotts, student governments at universities have made divestment proposals, and some famous musicians have refused to perform in Israel. The BDS movement also claims responsibility for pressuring some large companies to stop or modify operations in Israel, among them SodaStream. The campaign against SodaStream made global waves when actress Scarlett Johansson parted ways with the international charity Oxfam because of a dispute over her work as brand ambassador for the Tel Aviv-based company. When SodaStream opened its new factory near the Israeli desert village of Lehavim, it was only able to secure about 100 permits for Palestinians. The company's chief executive, Daniel Birnbaum, reacted angrily Monday when the government did not renew the permits. "We're sending them to unemployment and anxiety and fear and despair at a time when they have no alternatives," Birnbaum told The Associated Press. Birnbaum denies that the BDS campaign had any effect on the decision to move the factory, saying the company needed more space. He blames the job losses entirely on a "tangled" Israeli bureaucracy, adding that if Israeli leaders were truly interested in promoting peace, they would have found a way to grant permits to all the Palestinian employees. Amid the backlash from BDS activists, the company has portrayed itself as a beacon of coexistence. The new factory employs Bedouin Arab women, young Ethiopian Jewish men and Russian immigrants. Palestinian employees had received a shuttle service from the West Bank, and the wages and benefits they received were on par with Israeli standards, the company says. Palestinians and human rights groups, however, say such arrangements mask an unfair system in which Israeli businesses often exploit a captive labor market by paying low wages and are granted preferential access to land and resources. International organizations like the World Bank have long called on Israel to open up the West Bank to more Palestinian development. Omar Barghouti, the BDS movement's co-founder, said Israel's "regime of occupation" is to blame for the job losses because it forced Palestinians "to become laborers in its factories in illegal colonies." "Those who claim that BDS hurts Palestinians are ... making unfounded claims and failing to understand how resistance is always costly at first," said Barghouti. Cogat, the Israeli military body that oversees Palestinian civilian affairs, says 58,000 Palestinians have permits to work in Israel and 27,000 others can work in settlements, often building the homes widely seen as an obstacle to creating a Palestinian state. Thousands more work in Israel illegally, and plans are reportedly underway to grant an additional 30,000 permits. A recent report by Human Rights Watch said that businesses operating in settlements contribute to and benefit from "an inherently unlawful and abusive system that violates the rights of Palestinians." It urged businesses to cease their settlement operations. The report said Palestinian laborers are often paid below Israeli minimum wage, and that settlement companies receive favorable treatment. Sari Bashi, Human Rights Watch's Israel-Palestine director, said SodaStream made a "wonderful" choice by relocating, and called on Israel to grant its Palestinian workers permits. Israel says it prioritizes Israeli workers. "The best thing Israel can do for the Palestinian economy would be to remove settlements and settlement businesses," she said. ___ Corruption probe targets Brazil's former president SAO PAULO (AP) A federal task force has begun looking into the suspected involvement of Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with construction companies being investigated in the corruption-kickback probe that has engulfed state-owned oil company Petrobras. Deltan Dallagnol, the prosecutor coordinating the task force, said in a letter sent to the Supreme Court on Monday that Silva was in office he received "benefits" from the construction companies involving a country home and a luxury seaside apartment in Sao Paulo state. Dallagnol said the task force is investigating if the construction companies paid for the renovation of the two properties and if the money was part of a laundering scheme. FILE - In this May 1, 2015, file photo, Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivers a speech during a May Day rally in Sao Paulo, Brazil. On Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, its was revealed that a federal task force is probing the suspected involvement of Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with construction companies being investigated in the corruption-kickback probe that has engulfed state-owned oil company Petrobras. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File) The Sao Paulo-based Lula Institute said on its website that Silva has nothing to hide, nor does he fear being investigated. Prosecutors investigating Petrobras allege that over $2 billion was paid in bribes by businessmen to obtain contracts from the oil company projects that then subsequently ballooned in costs. Investigators also have said that some of the money made its way to the governing Workers' Party. $1 million Turing Award winners advocate for encryption NEW YORK (AP) This year's $1 million A.M. Turing Award goes to a pair of cryptographers whose ideas helped make Internet commerce possible, and who now argue that giving governments a "back door" into encrypted communications puts everyone at risk. Whitfield Diffie, a former chief security officer of Sun Microsystems, and Martin Hellman, a professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Stanford University, introduced the ideas of public-key cryptography and digital signatures in 1976. The concepts are used today to secure all kinds of communications and financial transactions. Their award, from the Association for Computing Machinery and mostly funded by Google Inc., is named for British mathematician Alan Turing and is one of the most prestigious prizes in computing. This photo combination of images provided by Stanford University show Whitfield Diffie, left, and Martin Hellman. Diffie, a former chief security officer of Sun Microsystems, and Hellman, a professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Stanford University, have won the year's $1 million A.M. Turing Award, announced Tuesday, March 1, 2016, by the Association for Computing Machinery. (Rod Searcey, Linda A. Cicero/Courtesy of Stanford University via AP) The honor comes amid a fight between the FBI and Apple, which is resisting government pressure to help the government hack into the iPhone of a gunman in the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, in December. Hellman told The Associated Press that he's sympathetic to the plight of FBI Director James Comey and those investigating the attack in which an Islamic extremist couple killed 14 people before dying in a gun battle with police. But Hellman said giving the FBI what it wants would unleash "huge" consequences that could not be contained. "The problem isn't so much with this first request, it's the precedent that it would set and the avalanche of requests that would follow," Hellman said, adding that many likely would come from less democratic governments such as China, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Hellman said he will sign onto one of the many "friend of the court" briefs backing Apple in the case. Tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter have pledged to participate as well. Diffie also has advocated against giving "back doors" to law enforcement, co-authoring a paper with other prominent cryptographers last year that urged the U.S. government to carefully consider the risks. Hellman said the encryption technologies he and Diffie invented didn't make them popular with the government. Before their research, encryption had mainly been the realm of government entities such as the NSA. Their work allowed it to spread to the private sector. This undated photo provided by Stanford News Service shows Martin Hellman. Hellman, a professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Stanford University, and Whitfield Diffie, a former chief security officer of Sun Microsystems, have won the year's $1 million A.M. Turing Award, announced Tuesday, March 1, 2016, by the Association for Computing Machinery. (Linda A. Cicero/Stanford News Service via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT 2 US bishops hid sex abuse of hundreds of children ALTOONA, Pennsylvania (AP) Two Roman Catholic bishops who led a Pennsylvania diocese helped cover up the sexual abuse of hundreds of children by over 50 priests or religious leaders over a 40-year period, according to a grand jury report issued Tuesday. The report on the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese was based partly on evidence from a secret diocesan archive uncovered through a search warrant executed last year, said Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane. "These predators desecrated a sacred trust and preyed upon their victims in the very places where they should have felt most safe," Kane said in a statement. Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane speaks about the 147-page report on sexual abuse in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese was made public at a news conference, Tuesday, March 1, 2015 in Altoona, Pa. Kane says none of the alleged criminal acts can be prosecuted because some abusers have died, statutes of limitations have run their course and victims are too traumatized to testify. (J.D. Cavrich/Altoona Mirror via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT No criminal charges are being filed because some abusers have died, the statute of limitations has expired and, in some cases, victims are too traumatized to testify, she said. The report is especially critical of Bishops James Hogan and Joseph Adamec. Hogan, who led the diocese from 1966 to 1986, died in 2005. Adamec, who succeeded him, retired in 2011. The report said Hogan covered up abuse allegations by transferring offending priests, including by sending one accused clergyman to a school for boys. It said Adamec or his staff threatened some alleged victims with excommunication. One diocesan official under Hogan, Monsignor Philip Saylor, told the grand jury that church officials held such sway that "the police and civil authorities would often defer to the diocese" when priests were accused of abuse, the report said. The report said Adamec created a "payout chart" to help guide how much victims would receive from the church. Victims fondled over their clothes were to be paid $10,000 to $25,000; fondled under their clothes or subjected to masturbation, $15,000 to $40,000; subjected to forced oral sex, $25,000 to $75,000; subjected to forced sodomy or intercourse, $50,000 to $175,000. In a court filing, Adamec's attorney said the accusations against the 80-year-old are unfounded. Adamec required 14 priests accused under his watch to undergo psychiatric evaluation, the filing said. Nine were suspended or removed from ministry, and the five who were reinstated never re-offended, his attorney wrote. The current bishop, Mark Bartchak, is not accused of wrongdoing. He recently suspended a handful of priests named as alleged abusers in the report, though the grand jury said it remains "concerned the purge of predators is taking too long." Bartchak, issued a statement saying he deeply regrets "any harm that has come to children." He said the diocese will continue cooperating with authorities. The clergy sex abuse crisis erupted in 2002, when The Boston Globe persuaded a judge to unseal files from the Boston Archdiocese in the case of a pedophile priest who had been transferred by bishops from parish to parish without warning parents or civil authorities. The scandal then spread nationwide as Catholics and others demanded to know the full scope of wrongdoing. Dioceses across the country have been forced to release thousands of internal files on accused priests. The success of a local economy and school district can reflect one another, as Beatrice Public Schools and local agencies are striving to show. Beatrice Public Schools feeds the local economy by providing diverse programming and partnerships that aim to draw in and maintain families and graduate successful community members, officials said. I think schools are a valuable tool for economic development and recruitment, said BPS Superintendent Pat Nauroth. I just think that in most communities, people dont think about how we can collaborate. We have made a conscious effort as a community ... about, How do we work together to sell ourselves? Nauroth said area economic leaders NGage (Gage Area Growth Enterprise), Beatrice Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, Main Street Beatrice and the city of Beatrice have all been working together, along with the school district. We need to support each other, Nauroth said. What were seeing on our side is if there are activities that (these agencies) are doing, we try to be supportive of that, if its something we can lend our voice to. In turn, the same agencies can use their knowledge base of BPS as a tool to sell the community, Nauroth said. So that when they go off to talk to places, they understand whats going on in the school and, as community partners, they can say, Hey, are you aware that we offer preschool services for 3- and 4-year-olds thats a collaborative venture with Blue Valley Head Start? Those types of things, Nauroth said. Nauroth, who serves on the NGage (Gage Area Growth Enterprise) Board of Directors, said BPS staff meet periodically with staff of NGage, Beatrice Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, Main Street Beatrice and the city of Beatrice. A lot of those entities are part of our strategic planning groups, BPS Director of Curriculum Jackie Nielsen said. One of our strategic planning focuses is that really strong bond between the community and the schools and how (to) build that, because that is key to ensuring the success of the district and also ensuring the success of the community. You have to have the close collaboration. Nauroth said that after wrapping up a marketing and branding campaign last year, the school district is more actively sharing with the public its positive news and general information about academics and preschool, summer school and other programming. We do this through social media, the newspaper, radio, quarterly utility bills, our website, Nauroth said. We try to get that message out both locally and regionally just to make sure that parents and people in the community are aware of what happens. Because often when people are thinking of moving here, theyre talking to community people about, How are the schools? Whats offered here? Things like that. Nielsen said the BPS Facebook page has proven to be a useful tool. We frequently get messages from patrons and stakeholders just asking questions, Nielsen said. So its nice to be able to quickly answer those questions and simply provide them with resources that they need. Also new within the last year is the strengthened partnership between BPS, NGage and leaders of industry in the area. Beatrice High School is in the process of organizing future tours of local manufacturing companies for interested high schoolers. BHS currently transports upperclassmen to select colleges for tours. The high school also offers dual-credit courses in topics including English, math and Spanish that apply toward students credit at Southeast Community College. Students can sign up for other classes to learn technical skills such as computer-aided design, woodworking and construction. At half the cost of in-state tuition, BHS students can also enroll in SCC classes under six different academies agriculture; education; welding; health; business, marketing and management; and law enforcement. A couple of years ago, the high school was not yet involved in the Southeast Nebraska Career Academy Program, BHS principal Jason Sutter said. Its become a really positive thing for our students and great opportunity for our kids to earn high school credit in areas theyre already interested in, but now also credit through SCC, Sutter said. More importantly, were giving our kids opportunities to learn by different pathways, class work and materials so they can continue to approach those careers. Were putting more focus on (offering) opportunities to help them know what they want to leave BHS with as far as career. NGage Executive Director Glennis McClure said SCC is a wonderful asset to the high school. The partnership between Beatrice Public Schools and Southeast Community College is very much needed, McClure said. And they get that. They understand that importance. I think also Southeast Community College believes that their outreach to all students in public schools is important. Additionally, the high school is in the process of bulking its opportunities in job shadowing, work-based learning and occupational internships for its students. I think the public schools are becoming more active in helping students connect in business and industry here so they can learn about what opportunities are here for employment, McClure said. It also helps students understand what skills they need to develop to work here or anywhere. Nielsen said the partnerships between the school district and, for example, NGage and manufacturing businesses, are important to all stakeholders involved who want to keep students in the community after graduation. Nielsen also mentioned the diverse programming in Best Possible Summer, the districts summer education program. The curriculum is tied to state standards in reading, math, science and writing and is often hands-on and in-depth. Sessions include robotics, art, law and other fields. The districts partnerships during the summer program include YMCA, Beatrice Humane Society, Homestead National Monument of America, the University of Nebraska Extension Office and SCC-Beatrice. Many Mexican schools: no bathrooms, failing teachers MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexicans are getting shocking news about their public schools, 11 percent of which don't even have bathrooms. That figure rises to almost one-third in poor states like Oaxaca, Guerrero and Chiapas, Education Secretary Aurelio Nuno said Tuesday. Nuno also gave details on how the government plans to handle the relatively poor showing on the nation's first round of teacher evaluations. About 24 percent of teachers tested at grade schools and middle schools either failed teacher evaluation tests or didn't show up for testing. The Education Department says the teachers who failed will be given another try. But Nuno said Tuesday 3,360 teachers who didn't show up twice for testing have now been fired. Because of protests organized by radical teachers' unions, some teachers didn't show up once, but will be presumably be given another chance. But Nuno said all 3,360 who didn't show up after two invitations are now considered fired without severance pay. He pledged their jobs will be filled by tested applicants as soon as possible. About 45 percent of the approximately 146,000 teachers tested got good or excellent ratings. The rest got adequate scores. Mexican public schools are poorly funded, and teachers' unions often control hiring and firing. PICTURED: Celebrations for Clinton, Trump on Super Tuesday AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Supporters of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton celebrated their candidates' wins in many of the states voting on the busiest day of the 2016 primaries. Trump and Clinton have so far notched Super Tuesday wins in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia, Arkansas and Massachusetts. Trump also won in Massachusetts and Vermont, and Clinton in Texas. Ted Cruz picked up his home state of Texas as well as neighboring Oklahoma, and Marco Rubio scored a lone victory in Minnesota. Sanders won his home state of Vermont, and Oklahoma, Colorado and Minnesota. Republicans are voting in 11 states, with 595 delegates at stake. Democrats are casting ballots in 11 states plus the territory of American Samoa, with 865 delegates up for grabs. John Evans points across the room while waiting for Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to take the stage during an election night watch party Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Stafford, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) A collection of photos capturing Super Tuesday, from across the United States and beyond, by The Associated Press. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reacts to supporters as she arrives to speak at her Super Tuesday election night rally in Miami, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) Steven Ness, left, watches as returns are displayed on a monitor as he waits for Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to take the stage during an election night watch party Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Stafford, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Republican presidential candidate Ohio Gov. John Kasich kisses the cheek of Kay Ward of Louisville, Miss., as she has her photo taken prior to addressing a Central Mississippi Republican Party fund raising dinner in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, March 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) A Marco Rubio supporter displays a sign as she waits for the arrival of Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., at a campaign rally, Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Miami. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz) Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton cheer as they watch election returns at her Super Tuesday election night rally in Miami, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) Rubio supporters raise they campaign signs as Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., spoke during a campaign rally, Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Andover, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone) A man holds a photo of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump before a rally, Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) A supporter takes a selfie with Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., after a campaign rally, Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Miami. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shields his eyes as he listens to a question as he speaks on Super Tuesday primary election night at the White and Gold Ballroom at The Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, March 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses supporters at her Super Tuesday election night rally in Miami, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) Israel begins installing defense against mid-range rockets JERUSALEM (AP) Israel said Tuesday it has begun delivering its new mid-range missile defense system to air bases. The Defense Ministry said the David's Sling system "will allow Israel to more effectively defend against the wide range of current and future threats to its civilians." The delivery process will take a few weeks. Developed by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and U.S.-based Raytheon Co., it is designed to intercept rockets between 70 kilometers (45 miles) and 300 kilometers (180 miles). It is primarily meant to defend against attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon. File - This Monday, Dec. 21, 2015 file photograph provided by the Israeli Ministry of Defense shows a launch of David's Sling missile defense system. Israel said it has begun delivering its new mid-range missile defense system to air bases. The Defense Ministry said Tuesday March 1, 2016 that the David's Sling system "will allow Israel to more effectively defend against the wide range of current and future threats to its civilians." (Ministry of Defense via AP, File) Young suspect in Ohio school shooting denies charges HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) A 14-year-old boy accused of shooting students in a school cafeteria denied charges including attempted murder on Tuesday, while the sheriff in the southwest Ohio county urged that he be prosecuted as an adult and that all schools step up security. James Austin Hancock kept his head down and showed no emotion during a brief juvenile court hearing. His attorney, Ed Perry, said he hasn't been willing to talk much so far. "I think he's overcome by what's going on," Perry told The Associated Press. Parents run to see if they are allowed to pick up their kids at Madison Local Schools, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Perry said he wasn't aware of Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones' contention that Hancock's case should be moved to adult court, but said "that's something we will be concerned about." The school district said classes will resume Wednesday, with extra staff on buses, greeting students outside, and visible throughout the schools, particularly in the cafeteria where the shooting took place Monday. Hancock is charged with attempted murder, felonious assault, inducing panic and making terroristic threats. He sat at the defense table with his ankles shackled as a prosecutor read the complaint against him, alleging he took a loaded handgun into school, fired "several shots, hitting two students," causing a lockdown and bringing "a huge law enforcement presence." Perry entered a denial of the charges, the juvenile court equivalent of a not guilty plea, and a magistrate ordered that the suspect remain in juvenile detention pending a hearing April 5. The boy's family and supporters declined to talk with reporters thronged outside the courtroom, but Perry said later that they want the families of the students who were hurt and the school community in general to know that they are "very, very concerned" and saddened about the other students. Jones said authorities believe they know a motive, but they won't reveal it while their investigation is continuing. He said the youth apparently had a .380-caliber handgun obtained from a family member for "some time," including all morning inside the school before he allegedly jumped up from a cafeteria table and opened fire. Authorities also say he was carrying extra ammunition. Investigators told the Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News that Hancock had told other students he had a gun and showed it to one before shooting. The newspaper reported that Sgt. Rob Whitlock said there was no indication at this point that bullying was involved. Two students were shot and two others hurt, possibly by shrapnel or while running away, authorities said. All were expected to recover. In a recorded call, a 911 caller who sounded like a young person reporting the shooting immediately identified the suspect by name. Breathing heavily, the unidentified caller told a dispatcher: "He just pulled out his gun and started shooting." Jones said he was recommending to the prosecutor that he seek to have the case moved to adult court because of the serious nature of the charges. "That may sound harsh, but you have to send a message to the kids," Jones told The Associated Press, saying students need to realize that using guns isn't like playing video games. Madison Local Schools Superintendent Curtis Philpot said crisis counselors were available and that schools were open Tuesday evening for families to walk through and ask questions so students will feel "safe and comfortable" back in class. School was canceled Tuesday for some 1,500 students. Students were eating in the cafeteria when the shooting happened around 11:30 a.m. Monday, Jones said. The youth threw down his gun as he ran from the school and was soon arrested near the school with the help of a Middletown police K-9 unit, he said. A sheriff's deputy stationed in the school had just been in the cafeteria, said Jones, who said the shooting underscores the need for every school to have such a police presence and to allow specially trained staff members to have access to firearms, too. "It could have been much worse," Jones said. The wounded students were males, 14 and 15 years old, and were hospitalized in stable condition, investigators said. ___ Associated Press writer Kantele Franko in Columbus contributed to this report. ___ Follow Dan Sewell at http://www.twitter.com/dansewell To see some of his other recent stories: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/dan-sewell A child is comforted Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, near Middletown, Ohio after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in a school shooting that wounded four classmates, including two who were shot, is in a juvenile lock-up and facing several charges. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says the boy has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terrorist threats. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Butler County Sheriff Deputies stand on the scene at Madison Local Schools, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Butler County Sheriff Deputies stand on the scene at Madison Local Schools, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Cara Owsley/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; NO SALES A child is comforted Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Marshall Gorby/Dayton Daily News via AP) Parents and community members form a prayer circle as they wait to pick up their kids Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Police vehicles block the entrance of Madison Local Schools, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Madison Township in Butler County, Ohio, after a school shooting. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in the school shooting that wounded multiple classmates is in custody. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) A child is comforted Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, near Middletown, Ohio after a school shooting at Madison Local Schools. An Ohio sheriff says a 14-year-old suspect in a school shooting that wounded four classmates, including two who were shot, is in a juvenile lock-up and facing several charges. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says the boy has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terrorist threats. (Nick Graham/Dayton Daily News via AP) Venezuela's high court bans congress from removing justices CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Venezuela's Supreme Court on Tuesday banned the congress from investigating the government's rushed appointment of 13 high court justices last year. The ruling came just hours before lawmakers planned to debate the issue. It set up another likely clash between the opposition-controlled National Assembly and President Nicolas Maduro's socialist administration. A lame duck government-controlled congress approved the appointment of 13 Supreme Court justices just before Christmas in a move that the opposition has said undermined its landslide victory in legislative elections. Pro government supporters protest outside of the National Assembly building against the law of national production that congress in debating today, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, March. 1, 2016. The sign at right reads in Spanish "Let's defend our patriot businesses." (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) The appointments filled vacancies left by justices who retired early. The opposition has said it has evidence that some of the justices were forced to quit under threat. The Supreme Court said in its ruling that the National Assembly would be overstepping its authority if it attempted to remove or even review the appointments. Pro government supporters protest outside of the National Assembly building in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, March. 1, 2016. Venezuelas Supreme Court is banning congress from investigating the governments rushed appointment last year of 13 high court justices. The ruling came just hours before lawmakers are set to debate the issue and sets up another likely clash between the opposition controlled congress and President Nicolas Maduros socialist administration. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) US targets Puerto Rico companies in toxic pesticide case SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) The U.S. government on Tuesday filed complaints against a pest control company in Puerto Rico and two businessmen for the illegal use of a toxic pesticide that nearly killed an American family in the neighboring U.S. Virgin Islands. The Environmental Protection Agency said the businessmen used methyl bromide to fumigate homes and other unauthorized places in several cities across Puerto Rico from 2013 to early 2015. The men were identified as Edwin Andujar Bermudez with Truly Nolen Pest Control of Caguas and Wilson Torres Rivera of Tower & Son Exterminating Corp. in Bayamon. Tower & Son was named in a separate complaint, but not Truly Nolen. They face up to $7,500 in civil penalties for each violation as part of a continuing federal investigation in Puerto Rico into the illegal use of methyl bromide, an odorless chemical that can severely damage the brain and lungs. EPA spokesman John Martin said the agency expects to announce more actions in upcoming months. "Applying methyl bromide products in homes is dangerous and against federal law," said Judith Enck, an EPA regional administrator. Peter Diaz, a lawyer who represents both Andujar and Torres, told The Associated Press that hundreds of pesticide applicators in Puerto Rico have for decades used products that have recently come under EPA scrutiny. "After some controversies with the use of these products, both companies voluntarily discontinued its use," he said, adding that he will contest the complaints. Diaz did not respond to questions, including when the companies stopped using the pesticide. He said the chemical was used only on wood furniture at the companies' workshop and never at homes or other locations. However, the EPA complaint says methyl bromide was used in places such as people's bedrooms and kitchens in cities including the capital of San Juan. The EPA banned methyl bromide for residential use in 1984. The pesticide is still used in the U.S. mainland for agricultural purposes, but the EPA is phasing out its overall use. Federal officials began investigating the use of the chemical in Puerto Rico after a Delaware family vacationing in the U.S. Virgin Islands was poisoned in March 2015. Officials opened a criminal investigation after announcing that Terminix had used methyl bromide at a vacation unit below the one the family had rented at Sirenusa Condominium Resort on the island of St. John. Two teenagers were hospitalized in critical condition while their parents had to undergo therapy. ___ What We Know about Turing Award winners NEW YORK (AP) This year's $1 million A.M. Turing Award was given Tuesday to a pair of cryptographers whose ideas helped create the foundation for the Internet: WHAT IS IT: The award has been given each year since 1966 by the Association for Computing Machinery, the world's largest scientific computing society, in honor of Alan Mathison Turing, the British mathematician who cracked the Nazis' Enigma code and fostered the field of artificial intelligence. Funding from Google Inc. raised the amount of the prize to $1 million. THE WINNERS: Whitfield Diffie, a former chief security officer of Sun Microsystems, and Martin Hellman, a professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Stanford University. Their invention of public-key cryptography and digital signatures in the 1970s put encryption to use outside government hands and created the foundation for the Internet. This undated photo provided by Stanford University shows Whitfield Diffie. Diffie, a former chief security officer of Sun Microsystems, and Martin Hellman, a professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Stanford University, have won the year's $1 million A.M. Turing Award, announced Tuesday, March 1, 2016, by the Association for Computing Machinery. (Rod Searcey/Courtesy of Stanford University via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT WHY NOW: "In 1976, Diffie and Hellman imagined a future where people would regularly communicate through electronic networks and be vulnerable to having their communications stolen or altered. Now, after nearly 40 years, we see that their forecasts were remarkably prescient," ACM President Alexander L. Wolf said. This undated photo provided by Stanford News Service shows Martin Hellman. Hellman, a professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Stanford University, and Whitfield Diffie, a former chief security officer of Sun Microsystems, have won the year's $1 million A.M. Turing Award, announced Tuesday, March 1, 2016, by the Association for Computing Machinery. (Linda A. Cicero/Stanford News Service via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Gatwick runway reopens after oil spillage chaos Dozens of flights were delayed and diverted when the runway at Gatwick was closed due to a suspected oil spillage. A spokesman for the West Sussex airport said the runway was shut shortly after 10.15am and did not reopen until 11.38am. According to Gatwick's website a t least 19 incoming flights were diverted to other airports, and a number of departing services were delayed. No flights were able to land or take off after a suspected oil spillage on the runway at Gatwick Airport An airport spokesman said: " Arriving and departing flights recommenced from Gatwick at 11.38am. "The runway closure has caused some flights to be diverted to other airports in the area and there will be delays to some departing flights. "Friends and family waiting for passengers should contact the relevant airline for the latest information." Passengers on diverted flights took to social media to complain about the delay in completing their journeys to Gatwick. Ryan Brackpool, who was travelling to the UK from Australia, expressed his anger at being informed the plane he was on - which landed at Heathrow - would not take off again for Gatwick for another three hours. He posted on Twitter: "Come on @Gatwick_Airport. Sort this out. We can't disembark at LHR. But we have to stay for three hours on the plane! Very poor communication!" Another passenger, Jade Louise Davis, wrote: "Does Emirates really expect an entire plane to sit at Heathrow for three hours before doing a half hour journey back to Gatwick?!? Let us off!!" According to reports the spillage was caused by a Virgin Boeing 747 jet. A passenger going by the username Bunny Hulme posted on Twitter: " Gatwick-Berlin flight delayed nearly 5 hours. Diabolical. I hope you have the decency to refund us all #berlin #notsoeasyjet." Government to step up warnings over Brexit The Government is stepping up its warnings over the dangers of leaving the EU, with a fresh analysis by officials concluding that any of the alternative arrangements for relations with Europe would leave Britain worse off. The paper - which looks at arrangements adopted by Norway, Switzerland and Canada as well as the option of falling back on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules - is expected to say each would carry serious risks if they were adopted by the UK. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the "hard-headed analysis" showed that it was working people who would pay the price - with lost jobs and higher prices - if the country votes for "out" in the referendum on June 23. The UK would not get 'an easy ride' from other EU countries if it voted to leave Europe, Lord Mandelson believes But the report was immediately dismissed as another "dodgy dossier" by the pro-Brexit Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith who said it showed the Remain camp was "in denial" about the risks of staying in the EU. The publication of the report indicates David Cameron is undeterred by accusations he is running an unrelentingly negative campaign - dubbed Project Fear by critics - as he leads the fight to keep Britain in. It follows hard on the heels of another Government paper earlier this week warning the country would face a "decade or more of uncertainty" if it chose to leave as it painstakingly negotiated new trade deals. The latest paper examines the arrangements which other countries outside the EU have adopted - and finds none offers the advantages of continued membership. Pointing to the example of Norway, it is expected to say that Oslo still has to make a significant contribution to EU spending and accept three-quarters of EU laws with no votes or vetoes. It also has to accept the free movement of people, with EU migrants accounting for a higher proportion of the population - 6% - than they do in the UK where it is 4%. Looking to Switzerland and Canada, the paper is expected to argue that they have only limited access to the European single market, despite trade deals which have taken years to negotiate. If similar arrangements were adopted by Britain, it will say, the UK financial services sector would face increased costs as they would no longer have "passports" allowing them to sell to the EU market. Like Norway, Switzerland has to accept the free movement of people with almost four times as many EU nationals living in the country as a percentage of the population as there are in the UK. The most drastic option, if the UK failed to reach a deal with the EU, would be to fall back on WTO rules, the paper will say, which would mean new tariffs on UK exports hitting companies with supply chains in Europe. Mr Hammond said: "Hard-headed analysis shows that every alternative to remaining in a reformed EU would leave Britain weaker, less safe and worse off. Working people would pay the price with few jobs and rising prices." But in a further deepening of Conservative divisions, Mr Duncan Smith said the "real uncertainty" lay with the EU "project". "As each day passes we see yet another example - from the utter failure to cope with the migrant crisis, to the increasing disaster of the euro," he said. "This dodgy dossier won't fool anyone, and is proof that Remain are in denial about the risks of remaining in a crisis ridden EU. "The truth is we won't copy any other country's deal. We will have a settlement on our own terms - and one that will return control of our borders, and money to Britain. That's the safer choice." Junior justice minister Dominic Raab, who supports Brexit, accused the In campaign of using fear tactics. He told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: "I think that there is far too much scaremongering, it's like Halloween come early. "We have a scare story each week about the ghoulish prospects outside the European Union. I don't believe in ghosts, and I'm not afraid of these ghoulish stories, or of life outside the EU." However, he refused to be drawn on whether he thought the analysis was a "dodgy dossier". He added: "I think the brighter opportunities for Britain in terms of lower food bills, lower energy costs, freer trade from Latin America to Asia - which of course are the growth areas for the British economy and exports - that's where the real advantages lie." But Mr Hammond told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that the UK enjoys the "best of both worlds" by being "in those parts of the EU that work for Britain" while opting out of those that do not. He said: "It is not credible to suggest that you could have continued access to the single market without having to accept freedom of movement of labour, without having to accept EU regulations, and without having to contribute to the EU budget. "Now maybe the Leave campaign wants to say they are prepared to accept all of those things, but if you accept all of those things surely we are better off inside the European Union with our seat at the table, helping to shape those rules as well as being bound by them." The Prime Minister said the analysis shows the alternatives to EU membership "would damage Britain". Disappointment for some as pupils allocated places at secondary school More than a third of children in some parts of England have not been allocated their first choice of secondary school for the autumn, according to a sample of councils. Around half a million families are finding out which school they have been allocated on National Offer Day. While for many the day will bring excitement, thousands of pupils are likely to miss out on a place at their first choice of school. Last year, around one in six children did not get a spot at their first choice of secondary school Last year there were 533,314 applications for a secondary school place and 84.2% of children across England were offered their preferred school. Overall figures for this year will not be released by the Department for Education until June, but analysis of a sample of early figures from local councils suggests that one in 10 children could miss out on their first choice. A wide fluctuation was evident, with vi rtually all 11-year-olds getting their first preferences in some areas, while more than a third missed out in others. Out of 20 local edu cation authorities that responded to the Press Association, three-quarters reported an increase in the number of applications received from last year. Figures obtained through the survey of local councils show that: : : Across 20 councils that responded, an average of 87.6% of applicants received their first preference. : : In Birmingham, more than one third of children applying for a school missed out on their top choice. Out of 16,664 applications, 10,674 were offered their first preference - 64%. : :Southend-on-Sea (79.1%), Trafford (80%) and Bolton (82%) also had relatively high numbers of applicants not getting into their top school. :: In East Riding, 96.4% of children got their first choice. Only 0.8% did not get their first, second or third preference. : : This was closely followed by Leicester County Council (95.5%) and Norfolk County Council (94.7%). In Sunderland City Council only 34 children - less than 1.3% - did not get their first, second or third choices. The figures do not include data from the body managing the London borough councils. Last year, around one in six children across England did not get a spot at their first choice. Primary schools have been struggling to keep up with demand in recent years due to a rising population and this is now moving through into secondary schools. The Government has said it pumped 5 billion into creating half a million new places over the last parliament and has committed a further 7 billion over the next six years. Town hall bosses have warned that c hildren could be left without school places if councils are not given more powers to deal with increasing demand. The Local Government Association has issued a fresh call for authorities to be handed the ability to open new secondary schools, or force academies - which are not under council control - to expand, arguing that w ithout these powers, councils will not be able to meet their legal duty to ensure every child has a school place. Justine Roberts, chief executive of parenting website Mumsnet, said w hile many families are happy with the place their child is given, others are left feeling anxious and struggling to find a spot at the school they want for their youngster. She said: "How well the school admissions system works depends almost entirely on where you live. Lots of parents are very content with the school places allocated to their children, but in some areas - parts of London, Bristol, East Sussex and Birmingham, for example - the admissions system is starting to feel seriously creaky. "Stories abound of some families cheating the system, which only adds to people's anxiety and sense of injustice; many Mumsnet users say that their children can't get into schools that are a few hundred metres away from their front doors. "Parents are struggling, and the consensus on Mumsnet is that more needs to be done by central and local government to address the problems now, rather than waiting for places to come online in a few years." Families who do not win a place at their favoured school can appeal, and one admissions expert said more are now willing to take that step, and get legal help to do so. Matt Richards, of legal advice firm schoolappeals.com, said: "A few years ago out of 10 phone calls to us, maybe two would pay for some help. Now it's more like 50%. "People are much more switched on in terms of their legal rights and in terms of not wanting to do it on their own and asking for help." Last year, there were 54,600 appeals against school allocations - 3.7% of the total number of admissions to state schools. Just over a fifth (22.8%) of the appeals actually heard by a panel were decided in favour of the parents. Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: "We want every parent to be able to send their children to a good local school. Despite rising pupil numbers the vast majority of parents are able to do so. Area high school students identified meat cuts, plant species and animal breeds, demonstrated how to give an animal a shot and showed off an array of other agriculture-related skills at Southeast Community College in Beatrice on Tuesday. FFA teams from 25 area high schools traveled to the college for the Career Development Events, which is the FFA district competition that qualifies teams for the FFA state conference in April in Lincoln. The hardest part is practicing and preparing for all of the competitions and all of the parts of the competitions, said Pawnee City high school student and FFA member Caetlen Gyhra. Contests were in categories including agri-science, farm management, food science, nursery and landscaping, livestock management, sales, welding, agronomy, biotechnology and veterinary science. The anxiety of waiting possibly a day for the results is the hardest part, said Pawnee City high school student and FFA member Leslie Sommerhalder. The contests were scored by SCC-Beatrice students of agriculture. Results will be published at a later date. (FFA) broadens your horizons, said Pawnee City high school student and FFA member Macey Gyhra. You get to meet new people. It opens up windows in terms of college (choices and majors). And it looks really good on a resume. Sommerhalder said participating in FFA is worthwhile and gains members leadership skills. We get to know whats out there and explore different careers, Sommerhalder said. The youth organization is rooted in agriculture and includes several broader facets, such as public speaking. The National FFA Organizations mission statement is to provide for each student a path to achievement in premier leadership, personal growth and career success. The competition on Tuesday included events for individuals and teams. Students said they applied what they learned in agriculture-related classes in school and that their teachers and FFA advisers signed them up for the events they would fare best in. I didnt do FFA in high school, so this has been kind of a cool experience for me to see what all they do, said SCC agriculture student Dylon Smedra, who helped score events. Twelve schools of the FFA District 1 and 13 schools of District 5 participated. Participating teams of nearby schools include those of Lewiston, Freeman, Tri County, Diller-Odell, Pawnee City and Fairbury. Teams traveled from as far away as York, Nebraska City, Falls City, Waverly, Omaha and other Nebraska cities for the competition. Anguish for Omagh victims' families as case against Seamus Daly collapses A convicted dissident republican who had been accused of murdering 29 people in the Omagh bomb attack has walked free from prison after the prosecution dramatically collapsed. Co Armagh bricklayer Seamus Daly, 45, spent almost two years in custody on remand charged with the 1998 Real IRA atrocity and a number of other terror offences. The case against him was dropped before it ever reached trial after inconsistencies were exposed in the evidence of the prosecution's star witness. Seamus Daly, who was charged with murdering 29 people in the Omagh bombing, leaves Maghaberry prison after the case against him was dropped Seven years ago, Daly was one of four men successfully sued for bombing the Co Tyrone market town when he was found liable for the attack in a landmark civil case taken by some of the bereaved families. No-one has ever been convicted of the murders in a criminal court. Hours after the charges were formally withdrawn at a short hearing in Ballymena Magistrates' Court, Daly was released from Maghaberry high security prison in Co Antrim. The south Armagh man, who has a previous conviction in the Irish Republic for membership of a dissident republican organisation, declined to make public comment on the case before he was driven away by family members. His lawyers said there were no current plans to seek compensation for his time behind bars, but that a challenge against the civil case ruling was now being considered. Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was killed by the bomb, was in Ballymena courthouse when the decision to drop the case was announced by a barrister for the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service. "Here we are again after 18 years. Extremely disappointed," he said afterwards. "We've been let down by the police service, by the PPS, by the criminal justice system. "And this is probably, or was probably, the last chance for justice. "Unfortunately now that's not going to be the case. We'll have to re-evaluate and discuss with our legal team what the best way forward is." Daly has always denied involvement in the bombing which inflicted the greatest loss of life of any terror atrocity in the history of the Northern Ireland Troubles. The dead came from both sides of the Irish border, England and Spain. One of the victims was pregnant with twins. The decision by the PPS came before the case had reached the floor of the Crown Court. A pre-trial hearing commenced in Omagh Magistrates' Court last week to establish whether the evidence in the case was of sufficient strength to warrant such a trial. That decision to drop the case only two days into the hearing was forced after serious inconsistencies emerged in the evidence of a crucial prosecution witness, Kilkenny builder Denis O'Connor. Mr O'Connor had claimed Daly had phoned 20 minutes after the attack from a mobile phone police believe was used by the bomber. During the hearing, the witness conceded Daly may actually have called him a week earlier. Northern Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions Barra McGrory made the decision to drop the charges. "I have great sympathy with the families affected by the Omagh bomb and share their disappointment that we are in a position where we are unable to progress this prosecution," he said. "There is a shared determination by ourselves and police to take forward the prosecution of those responsible if any new evidence to support this becomes available." As well as the 29 murder counts, Daly, from Kilnasaggart Road, Jonesborough, Co Armagh, had faced charges of causing the August 1998 explosion and possession of a bomb with intent to endanger life or property. He was further charged with conspiring to cause an explosion and having explosives with intent in connection with a separate dissident republican bomb plot in Lisburn in April of the same year. All charges have now been dropped. In 2009, Daly and three others were ordered to pay 1.6 million in damages to the bereaved relatives - money they are still pursuing. Daly faced a civil retrial after successfully appealing against the original finding, but the second trial delivered the same outcome as the first, with judge Mr Justice John Gillen ruling him responsible for the attack. In 2007, south Armagh electrician Sean Hoey, who was then 38 and from Jonesborough, was found not guilty of the 29 murders after a marathon trial at Belfast Crown Court. At the time, trial judge Mr Justice Weir heavily criticised the Royal Ulster Constabulary and its successor, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, for their handling of the investigation. Mr Gallagher said he regrettably agreed with the PPS decision in the Daly case. "This was a difficult case and hinged on the testimony of one individual and that one individual did not seem to be up to meeting the test needed to put someone behind bars," he said. "For that reason I agree with the decision, regrettably, that happened today. "There was no other option for the Public Prosecution Service or the judge but to deliver the verdict that we have just heard." Family and friends who had been campaigning for Daly's release said he had been "interned" for 23 months. A statement from the Release Seamus Daly group said: "The case against Seamus Daly has been flawed from the beginning. The British Government along with the prosecution proceeded against Seamus with no tangible evidence." His solicitor, Peter Corrigan, said his client had been held in custody for a considerable period of time for offences which he vehemently denied. "The defendant has been in custody for two years - the equivalent of a four-year custodial sentence (allowing for 50% remission) - and this was based on a prosecution house of straw in our view," he said. Mr Corrigan said he would support the call for a public inquiry into the bombing. Seamus Daly has been released from prison after charges were dropped Man Utd boss Louis van Gaal confident Marcus Rashford will remain grounded Louis van Gaal is confident Marcus Rashford will cope with his new-found fame, saying the Manchester United teenager's attitude matches the remarkable aptitude displayed over the past week. The 18-year-old has gone from relative unknown to one of the country's most feted players in a matter of days, having been given a surprise first-team opportunity last Thursday. Anthony Martial's hamstring complaint ahead of the Europa League tie with FC Midtjylland saw Rashford thrown in a the deep end - an opportunity the striker capitalised on in style, netting twice as United won the do-or-die last-32 second leg 5-1. Manchester United's Marcus Rashford will be hoping to continue his dream week As if that was not enough, Rashford netted another double at Old Trafford on Sunday as title-chasing Arsenal were defeated 3-2 - a fairytale that could be continued if Martial fails to recover in time for Wednesday's match with Watford. "First, I think that the media have to let him in peace and rest," Van Gaal said of Rashford. "When you are in front of his house and that kind of stuff, I don't think that is beneficial for a boy of 18 years old. "Give him the time also to be 18 years old and we shall guide him also in that way, but he is a very modest guy so I don't think that shall be the problem "But of course when you have so much attention of the media, it can go in another way, but I believe that he shall keep his feet on the ground. "Too much attention is not always easy to deal with," the United boss added. "And, of course, it is remarkable and I can understand that you are praising him, but he still has to show his consistency." Van Gaal is doing his best to help Rashford deal with his new status, along with the other four youngsters handed a United debut last week. That focus on youth has been borne out of necessity due to United's lengthy injury list, although Martial, Chris Smalling and Matteo Darmian could return and add more experience for Watford's visit. Wednesday's Barclays Premier League match offers United the chance to extend their winning run to four matches in all competitions, but those hoping for more touchline dramatics from Van Gaal look set to be disappointed. Much of the talk after the win against Arsenal was about Van Gaal hitting the deck during a bizarre touchline spat with fourth official Mike Dean, when the United manager attempted to illustrate his frustration at Alexis Sanchez's supposed diving. The footage has gone viral and it is not the first time the Dutchman has gone over the top on the sidelines, which he compared to his touchline high-kick when Ajax coach during the 1995 Champions League final following a challenge by AC Milan defender Marcel Desailly on Jari Litmanen. "It was too emotional and that's why you have to deal with the fourth referee, and the referee and the authority of referee," he said of the most recent incident. "I think that I have to control my emotions, like I say to my players always. "That is why I have apologised but I don't feel sorry for it because it is me. I think at that time maybe I was right." Sunday's colourful outburst certainly appeared to warm the hearts of some doubters, with a rare chorus of 'Louis Van Gaal's red and white army' heard at Old Trafford. "It is not part of my philosophy because I don't think you can influence the game from that spot," he said, when asked if he would return to the touchline. "I know (I can influence the fans from there) but I am not a clown, I am Louis van Gaal. I am a human being, a professional manager. "Part of my philosophy is that my players have to think on the pitch and not the manager, but I want to help them. "Sometimes I help them with these actions or something like that, but I help them more to train in the brain with what I have said - and I have been training already for 18 months - (so) that they see the solutions on the pitch. Plastic bag charge blamed as packaging firm enters into administration A packaging firm has gone out of business, blaming the introduction of a 5p charge for plastic bags in England. Forty workers have lost their jobs at Nelson Packaging's factory in Lancashire. Managing director Michael Flynn said: " Unfortunately Nelson Packaging had to enter into administration. This was an outcome primarily of the English bag legislation and the corresponding impact on customer and retailer demand for plastic carrier bags. The 5p charge for plastic bags was introduced in England last October "Added to aggressive overseas competition this ultimately proved too devastating for the ongoing viability of the business, despite the continued efforts of the loyal workforce." The 5p charge for bags was introduced in England last October following similar moves in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The number of single-use carrier bags handed out by shops in Wales fell by 71% since charges were introduced in 2011, a report said last year. Scotland and Northern Ireland introduced their charges in 2014 and 2013 and have also seen huge drops in usage. The number of plastic bags handed out in Scottish stores was reduced by 80% - the equivalent of 650 million carriers - in the first year of the 5p charge. Call for permanent tribunal to support child sex abuse victims A Government-funded "popular tribunal" should be established on a permanent basis to take evidence from survivors of child sexual abuse, a report has recommended. The tribunal proposal is the key recommendation from a year-long unofficial inquiry which found that existing institutions had failed to provide survivors with "meaningful opportunities for either healing or justice". The report of the UK Child Sex Abuse People's Tribunal blamed "a series of institutional failings" for preventing the reporting of abuse, and claimed that there were "clear links" between children left vulnerable as a result and "predatory abuse on an organised scale". PICTURE POSED BY MODEL.File photo dated 31/07/14 of a silhouette of a person, as a report recommends the establishment of a permanent tribunal to take evidence of child sex abuse. The People's Tribunal was set up in 2014 on the initiative of survivors and their supporters, and has heard the testimonies of 20 people about their experience of sexual abuse, as well as taking evidence from expert witnesses. In its report, released in Westminster, the Tribunal recommended: :: A permanent, state-funded popular tribunal to enable survivors to come forward and tell their stories; :: Provision of advocates to survivors giving evidence, to assist their access to justice. :: Mental health services to be linked to police investigations to help victims disclose abuse; :: Channels to allow victims to give evidence anonymously if they fear reprisals; :: Training for the police, judiciary and health service on the effects of undisclosed sexual abuse; :: Establishment of a Royal Commission to enquire whether the criminal and civil justice systems are fit for purpose in investigating allegations of sexual abuse. The Tribunal's legal adviser Alan Collins, a partner at Hugh James solicitors, said: "The People's Tribunal's preliminary findings reveal that there exists a widespread under-reporting of sexual abuse, which is the result of inadequate systems and safeguards which, if in place, would undoubtedly have led to a greater number of victims coming forward to report historic or ongoing abuse. "The Tribunal's ability to have gathered the amount of evidence it has in just a year is testament to the fact that by having a proper forum in place that victims feel comfortable participating in, crimes and abuses can be effectively reported, and victims can start to move on with their lives following these extremely traumatic experiences." Kuwaiti minister hints driver who killed policeman may be a militant KUWAIT, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Kuwait's interior minister said on Monday that a man who rammed his car into a group of police officers last week, killing one of them, "belonged to an organisation" - a wording that suggested the incident was an Islamist militant attack. The Western-allied oil exporter has been on alert against Islamist militants since a suicide bomber killed 26 people in June last year at a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in an attack claimed by Islamic State. Sheikh Mohammad al-Hamad al-Sabah, speaking at a ceremony to honour the deceased police officer, said the man who carried out the attack "belonged to an organisation," state news agency KUNA said, quoting a statement by the interior ministry. It did not elaborate on the type of organisation and the interior ministry spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. Germany says credibility of Minsk peace deal for eastern Ukraine at stake WASHINGTON, Feb 29 (Reuters) - The credibility of the Minsk peace deal for eastern Ukraine will come under threat unless both sides in the conflict make faster progress in implementing the agreement, Germany's foreign minister said on Monday. Speaking at a news conference in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Frank-Walter Steinmeier conceded that the readiness of the government in Kiev and pro-Russian separatists to move forward with Minsk was "very limited". "Implementation must continue. The credibility of the whole process rests on this," Steinmeier said. Kerry said "both sides need to perform", and that Russia must ensure that the separatists do their part. Kiev's struggles to get an election law for eastern Ukraine through parliament and an increase in ceasefire violations in the region have raised fears that the deal, sealed one year ago in the Belarus capital, could collapse, sparking a new wave of fighting. European countries have tied the removal of sanctions against Russia to the implementation of Minsk. Germany and its allies worry that if Ukraine does not implement its side of the agreement, pressure could rise to ease those sanctions when they expire in July. Earlier on Monday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned the European Union against extending the sanctions automatically when they lapse, urging instead a "serious debate" on the matter. Steinmeier said he hoped that a meeting of the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine scheduled to take place on Thursday in Paris would lead to progress on planned elections in eastern Ukraine. More than $1 bln was transferred into Malaysia PM's accounts-WSJ KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 (Reuters) - Deposits into Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's bank accounts ran to hundreds of millions of dollars more than previously identified by probes into state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Citing two unnamed people familiar with flows into Najib's accounts and a person familiar with one overseas investigation, the report said that more than $1 billion was deposited from 2011 to 2013, far more than the $681 million earlier identified. The paper said global investigators believe much of the $1 billion originated with the state fund, known as 1MDB, but did not specify where the extra money came from or what happened to it. The report contradicts a conclusion reached recently by Malaysia's chief law officer. Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib in January of any corruption or criminal offences, saying the $681 million transferred into Najib's account was a gift from a member of Saudi Arabia's royal family and that most of it was returned. The prime minister's office had no immediate comment, a spokesman said when contacted by Reuters. Najib has been buffeted for months by allegations of graft and financial mismanagement at debt-burdened 1MDB and in particular by revelations of the transfer of around $681 million into his account in 2013. He has denied wrongdoing, saying the funds were a legal political donation and he did not take any money for personal gain. The Wall Street Journal report said money beyond the $681 million arrived in Najib's account in 2011 and 2012. It said investigators in two countries believed funds originated from 1MDB and moved through a complex web of transactions. Najib is chairman of the board of advisors to IMDB, a fund set up in 2009, when he came to office, to invest in projects of national importance. 1MDB has said that it has not paid any funds into the personal accounts of the prime minister. A spokesperson for 1MDB declined to comment on the latest report when contacted by Reuters. Two French tourists have been raped at knifepoint by a group of Cambodian fishermen who swam ashore on a Thai paradise island and attacked them on the beach. Thai police said four French tourists, two men and two women, were attacked late on Saturday on Koh Kood, a remote island near Thailand's maritime border with Cambodia. The two men were injured in the assault but managed to escape and raise the alarm, and the five Cambodian men were caught while trying to escape. Confessed: The Cambodian men, pictured after their arrest, swam from their fishing boat and assaulted a group of French tourists on Koh Kood, a remote Thai island, raping two women at knifepoint The five attackers have confessed to assaulting the group of French tourists, and raping the two women on the tourist island, famed for its untamed jungle and pristine beaches. Investigators said the attackers swam from their fishing boat to assault the group and raped the women at knifepoint. Cambodia's Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement that the five fishermen confessed to Eat Sophea, Cambodian Ambassador to Thailand, that they raped and assaulted the tourists. 'During the interview with the Cambodian ambassador the five fishermen confessed to have really been involved in the cases of rape and assault,' the ministry said in a statement. 'It happened while the five fishermen were in a drunk state.' Attackers: One of the suspects points during a crime re-enactment at Koh Kood island after the group confessed to raping and assaulting French tourists on one of the island's many isolated beaches Horror in paradise: The attack took place on the Thai island Koh Kood, known for its untamed jungle and pristine beaches The fishermen, who said they were drunk at the time of the attack, swam ashore and attacked the group of four French tourists 'They (the attackers) all confessed and police have already brought them to do a re-enactment,'police major general Nopparat Rinthaphol said. Thailand's Channel 7 television broadcast images of angry locals trying to attack the men during the re-enactment on Monday. The five have been charged with rape and violent assault. It is the latest high-profile case to hit the popular holiday destination, raising serious questions about tourist safety in the Southeast Asian country. Anger: Locals on the island reportedly attacked the Cambodian men during the re-enactment on Monday In December, two migrant workers from Myanmar were found guilty by a Thai court of killing two British tourists on a beach on the southern Thai holiday island of Koh Tao in 2014. Thailand remains a popular tourist destination, despite a slew of high-profile crimes against tourists last year and an August bomb attack at a popular Bangkok shrine that left 20 people dead, most of them foreigners. Poland - Factors to Watch March 1 Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland's financial markets on Tuesday. ALL TIMES GMT (Poland: GMT + 1 hour): DATA Markit will release its February PMI index for Poland at 0800 GMT. DEBT Poland's finance ministry will publish its debt supply for a Thursday tender at 1400 GMT. ASTALDI Italian Astaldi won a 965 million zlotys ($241.90 million) contract to build a tunnel and a road in southern Poland, Rzeczpospolita daily said. CENTRAL BANK The Polish government supports central bank head Marek Belka's candidacy for the post of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's president, Prime Minister Beata Szydlo was quoted as saying by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily. BANKS Puls Biznesu said that GE Capital has put on hold its talks with UniCredit and billionaire Leszek Czarnecki, aimed at selling GE's Polish unit BPH. The daily had previously reported that UniCredit is close to buying a part of BPH. Insurer PZU, however, is interested again in Raiffeisen Polish unit, Raiffeisen Polbank, the daily said. The bank could be bought via a PZU subsidiary, Alior Bank, it said. JSW Polish coking coal producer JSW's fourth-quarter loss widened significantly after it was forced to write off 2.8 billion zlotys ($700 million) due to record-low coal prices that eroded the value of some of its assets. TAURON Poland's second-largest energy firm state-run Tauron Polska Energia issued bonds worth 2.25 billion zlotys ($562.42 million) to re-finance debt, it said on Monday in a statement. ****Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.**** Romania - Factors to watch on March 1 BUCHAREST, March 1 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Romanian financial markets on Tuesday. FX RESERVES DATA Romania's central bank will release January foreign exchange reserves data. UNEMPLOYMENT DATA The National Statistics Board will release unemployment data for January. CEE MARKETS Central Europe's main currencies firmed on Monday, with the zloty outperforming the forint after Poland published strong economic output data. MORTGAGE BILL Romania's senate approved on Monday a bill that enables Romanians to give up their mortgaged properties and stop paying loans. The bill was initially approved last year, but the president sent it back for reexamination after the central bank, European Commission and the IMF said it posed a systemic risk. The senate rejected a central bank proposal to exempt from the bill a state-subsidised programme for first-time homebuyers, but approved a property value ceiling of 150,000 euros. The bill now goes to the lower house, which has the final say. For the long-term Romanian diary, click on For emerging markets economic events, click on For an index of all diaries, click on China aims to lay off 5-6 million state workers -sources By Benjamin Kang Lim and David Stanway BEIJING, March 1 (Reuters) - China aims to lay off 5-6 million workers from "zombie enterprises" over the next two to three years as part of efforts to curb industrial overcapacity and pollution, two sources with ties to the country's leadership said. Beijing is trying to rejuvenate its flagging economy by streamlining bloated industrial sectors, starting with coal and steel, but layoffs have emerged as one of the biggest concerns for cash-strapped regions ahead of next week's annual session of parliament. The government's plans to lay off five million workers in industries suffering from a supply glut would be the country's boldest retrenchment programme in almost two decades, one source said. The restructuring of state-owned enterprises from 1998 to 2003 led to around 28 million redundancies and cost the central government about 73.1 billion yuan ($11.2 billion) in resettlement funds. A second source with leadership ties put the number of layoffs at six million. Both sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media about the politically sensitive subject for fear of sparking social unrest. The ministry of industry did not immediately respond when asked for comment on the reports. For China's stability-obsessed government, keeping a lid on unemployment and any possible unrest that may follow has been a top priority. On Monday, Yin Weimin, the minister for human resources and social security, said China expects to lay off 1.8 million workers in the coal and steel industries. But he did not give a timeframe. China aims to cut capacity gluts in as many as seven sectors, including cement, glassmaking and shipbuilding, but the oversupplied solar power industry is likely to be spared any large-scale restructuring because it still has growth potential, the first source said. Shutting down "zombie firms" has been identified as one of the government's priorities this year, with China's Premier Li Keqiang promising in December that they would soon "go under the knife".. The term refers to companies that have shut down operations but keep staff on their rolls since local governments are worried about the social and economic impact of bankruptcies and unemployment. RUSTBELT RESISTANCE The government has already drawn up plans to cut as much as 150 million tonnes of crude steel capacity and 500 million tonnes of surplus coal production in the next three to five years. It has also earmarked 100 billion yuan ($15.29 billion) in central government funds to deal directly with the layoffs from steel and coal over the next two years, vice-industry minister Feng Fei said last week. But the overcapacity action plans are still expected to face resistance from hard-hit regions like the northeastern rustbelt provinces of Heilongjiang and Liaoning and the northern province of Hebei, which surrounds the capital Beijing. "There is bound to be a tussle between the central and local governments," the second source said. The funds being offered will do little to resolve the problems of debts held by zombie firms, which analysts say could overwhelm local banks if they are not handled correctly. Factories shut down would have to repay bank loans to avoid saddling state banks with a mountain of non-performing loans, the sources said. "Triangular debt", or money owed by firms to other enterprises, would also have to be resolved, they added. China has drawn up dozens of policy documents since 2010 to try to deal with industrial overcapacity. The European Chamber of Commerce in China said in a recent report that the government had been "complacent" and had failed to tackle local government obstructionism. More than $1 bln was transferred into Malaysia PM's accounts-WSJ KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 (Reuters) - Deposits into Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's bank accounts ran to hundreds of millions of dollars more than previously identified by probes into state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Citing two unnamed people familiar with flows into Najib's accounts and a person familiar with one overseas investigation, the report said that more than $1 billion was deposited from 2011 to 2013, far more than the $681 million earlier identified. The paper said global investigators believe much of the $1 billion originated with the state fund, known as 1MDB, but did not specify where the extra money came from or what happened to it. The report contradicts a conclusion reached recently by Malaysia's chief law officer. Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib in January of any corruption or criminal offences, saying the $681 million transferred into Najib's account was a gift from a member of Saudi Arabia's royal family and that most of it was returned. A government spokesman said Malaysian authorities had gone to Saudi Arabia to "examine documentation" and interviewed members of the royal family and officials who handled the donations. "As stated by the attorney-general of Malaysia, the funds received were a donation from Saudi Arabia," the spokesman said in a statement in response to the latest report. Najib has been buffeted for months by allegations of graft and financial mismanagement at debt-burdened 1MDB and in particular by revelations of the transfer of around $681 million into his account in 2013. He has denied wrongdoing, saying the funds were a legal political donation and he did not take any money for personal gain. The Wall Street Journal report said money beyond the $681 million arrived in Najib's account in 2011 and 2012. It said investigators in two countries believed funds originated from 1MDB and moved through a complex web of transactions. Najib is chairman of the board of advisors to IMDB, a fund set up in 2009, when he came to office, to invest in projects of national importance. In response to the WSJ report, 1MDB said it has consistently maintained that it has not paid any funds to the personal accounts of the Prime Minister. "This has been reiterated by multiple lawful authorities including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Malaysian Attorney General, and various reputable international publications, who have confirmed that these funds came from Saudi Arabia," it said in an email response. Baghdad attacks signal Iraqi forces stretched thin against Islamic State By Ahmed Rasheed and Saif Hameed BAGHDAD, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Islamic State's deadliest attacks for months in and around Baghdad could be a sign that Iraqi forces are stretched thin after recent advances to reclaim territory from the group, according to some military commanders and a provincial official. Iraqi forces backed by air strikes from a U.S.-led coalition retook the northern city of Baiji in October and then Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, at the end of last year. But the government's determination to move on the militant stronghold of Mosul in the far north this year has prevented the military from consolidating gains on the northern and eastern outskirts of Ramadi, said the commanders. They said this has allowed Islamic State fighters to regroup and continue sending weapons from deep inside the "caliphate" to Falluja and Garma - areas just west of Baghdad where security officials said Sunday's attacks were launched from. A twin suicide bombing in the Sadr City district of Baghdad killed 78 people. Islamic State also said it was behind an assault on police and army positions in the western outskirts of Abu Ghraib, which killed 24 security forces and gave the insurgents control of the country's largest grain silo for most of the day. Iraqi officials and a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said the Baghdad attacks were aimed primarily at boosting the militants' morale after losing ground in Ramadi two months ago. But the attacks have raised questions about security in the capital, home to four million people, and the government's ability to move on Mosul this year without letting other reclaimed areas fall back under the group's control. The closest Islamic State position to Baghdad - which has never been under the group's control - is Falluja, 50 km to the west, which Iraqi forces have been encircling for months. Sunday's attackers were able to breach the military's defences there and in the adjacent area of Garma, officials said. Two Iraqi army officers stationed near Ramadi told Reuters that a shortage of troops had slowed the military's advance to a crawl in the city's northern and eastern outskirts. Most of the elite counter-terrorism forces that spearheaded the city's capture have been redeployed elsewhere and replaced by less effective army and police units. "After the seizure of Ramadi, military operations have abated. That was a tactical mistake as Daesh fighters were given the chance to take a breath and regroup," said a colonel from the ninth division, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. "We need more reinforcements to fill the gap left by the counter-terrorism forces if we want to keep the momentum high." The colonel also criticised the government's decision to mobilise hundreds of troops this month to Makhmour, a base south of Mosul. "Every single soldier is needed to drive the remaining pockets of Daesh from rural areas around Ramadi," he said by phone. "This is what I call blundering army tactics." Fadhil Abu Ragheef, a Baghdad-based security analyst, said a nine-month offensive in Garma by Iraqi forces "had not achieved any victory worth mentioning", leaving Islamic State militants there the space to launch the Abu Ghraib attack. PROTECTING BAGHDAD Iraqi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Rasool said Iraq had sufficient forces for operations on multiple fronts. "We won't neglect anything," he told Reuters. "Everything is planned. There is the joint operations command and a planning committee that includes highly competent senior officers and we are working on the plans." Yet according to Falih al-Essawi, deputy head of the provincial council of Anbar where Ramadi and Falluja are located, the Abu Ghraib attack should be a "red flag" to the government to review security in the capital. "When Daesh fighters control an area that is a 15-minute drive from Baghdad, that means there are serious security flaws that need to be addressed," he said. Islamic State threatened to overrun Baghdad 20 months ago during its advance through northern and western areas after crossing the Syrian border but the capital has since seen relative calm. The authorities said this month they were reorganising checkpoints and closing gaps in the perimeter around Baghdad in a bid to prevent further militant attacks. In the Abu Ghraib attack, the militants infiltrated the city from Garma and Falluja using all-terrain vehicles so they could use dirt roads to evade detection by Iraqi forces, security officials said. Security forces mostly regained control of Abu Ghraib by Sunday evening, including a grain silo and a cemetery where Islamic State had dug in for hours. Essawi and a trade ministry official suggested the attack was partly motivated by Islamic State's desire to seize wheat stored in the silo to feed residents in the encircled areas of Falluja and Garma, but said the militants had not managed to take the supplies before fleeing. SLEEPER CELLS Army Lieutenant Colonel Fadhil al-Mohammadawi said the military was still pursuing militants on Monday in rural areas of Abu Ghraib and checking for sleeper cells suspected of participating in the attacks. Two witnesses said on Monday that Islamic State paraded the bodies of 12 Iraqi soldiers through the streets of Garma in the back of a pickup truck. Images distributed online by Islamic State supporters showed several bodies clad in military uniforms in the back of a muddy white pickup truck, along with Humvees and army trucks allegedly seized in Sunday's attacks. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the photos or the witness accounts. Coalition spokesman U.S. Army Colonel Christopher Garver said local commanders were right to be concerned about holding territory recently recovered from Islamic State but added that planning already takes such concerns into consideration. The coalition has so far trained about 2,000 Anbar police to be the main holding force in Ramadi, he added. Graver said the formation that attacked Abu Ghraib was not "particularly large" and showed that the coalition and the Iraqis were succeeding in preventing Islamic State from conducting major resupply and manoeuvring. "You'll never be able to get the noose so tight that a well-trained person can't move in and out of the area," he said, but the Iraqi military "now stands its ground and even if they were to tactically fall back as we've seen a couple times, they retake the ground". Graver said it was up to the Iraqi government to decide how best to mobilise its limited resources to advance towards Mosul. Smiths says on-going pension contributions to be materially lower March 1 (Reuters) - British engineering conglomerate Smiths Group Plc said its on-going pension contributions would be materially lower than before, after it agreed to a new pensions funding deal. The company said the new deal would reduce its cash costs for financial year 2016, as it had agreed to pay its pensions deficit over the next three financial years. PRESS DIGEST - RUSSIA - March 1 MOSCOW, March 1 (Reuters) - The following are some of the leading stories in Russia's newspapers on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. VEDOMOSTI www.vedomosti.ru - The Russian government has extended a grace period for heavy trucks under a much-criticised heavy haulers tolling system, known as Platon, until 30 June 2017, the paper says. - Russia's economy shrank by 2.5 percent in January year on year, the paper writes. - Prices for mobile Internet in Russia are among the lowest in the world, the paper writes citing a recent Content Review study. KOMMERSANT www.kommersant.ru - Russian travel agents ask the Foreign Ministry to ease rules for foreigners obtaining Russian visas, in a hope to attract some 30-40 percent more tourists to Russia, the paper reports. - Russia's Komi republic will allocate some 40 million roubles ($541,000) as compensation to the families of miners who died in an accident in the Severnaya mine in Vorkuta last week, the paper reports. - For the first time in many years, the number of warships built in Russia in 2015 exceeded that of civilian vessels, the paper writes. NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA www.ng.ru - Japan wants to ship some 40 percent of its sea freight via Russia's Northeast Passage and monitor its ice conditions alongside its Russian partners, the paper writes citing Japan's Ambassador in charge of Arctic Affairs Kazuko Shiraishi. - The Russian Defence Ministry plans to reform logistics support for the Navy in order to extend its presence in the world ocean, the paper writes. Mali rebel destroyed ancient Timbuktu shrines, ICC told By Thomas Escritt AMSTERDAM, March 1 (Reuters) - An Islamist fighter caused irreparable damage to Africa's cultural heritage by destroying religious sites in the ancient city of Timbuktu during the 2012 conflict in Mali, international prosecutors said on Tuesday. Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, a former trainee teacher, had led and personally taken part in the attacks on nine mausoleums and mosques in the city with pick-axes and crowbars, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) said. Al-Mahdi -- an ethnic Tuareg who prosecutors say belonged to the Ansar Dine militant group, an ally of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb -- is the first person to be charged with destroying cultural artefacts by the court. "This crime affects the soul and spirit of the people," said prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, comparing the attacks on the ancient seat of learning to the destruction wrought by Islamic State militants on Palmyra in Syria and the Taliban's 2001 defacement of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in Afghanistan. "These were sites dedicated to religion and historic monuments and did not constitute military objectives," she said, adding their destruction hit "the deepest and most intimate part of a human being, their faith." At the hearing, prosecutors must convince judges, led by Kenya's Joyce Aluoch, that they have marshalled sufficient evidence to justify a full trial. The ICC has been examining events in Mali since 2012, when Tuareg rebels seized part of the north, imposing a strict interpretation of Islamic law. French and Malian troops pushed them back the following year. Known as the "City of 333 Saints", Timbuktu was a trading hub and spiritual centre by the 14th century, playing a key role in the spread of Islam across the continent. The mausoleums of those scholars remain important pilgrimage sites. Al-Mahdi, who was wearing a frilled white shirt and rimless spectacles and rose to confirm he understood the charges, cut a very different figure from the warlords and political leaders who have previously appeared before the international court accused of killings and human rights abuses. Bensouda said Al-Mahdi, known to his followers as a religious scholar, had helped plan and lead the attacks, implementing rulings of the Islamic Tribunal set up by the rebels occupying Mali. British manufacturing activity slumps to nearly three-year low By William Schomberg LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - British factories had their weakest month in nearly three years in February, a survey showed on Tuesday, raising a warning signal that the country's recovery from the financial crisis could be slowing further. With growing uncertainty about the health of the global economy and the approach of Britain's European Union membership referendum, the Markit/CIPS manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell sharply to 50.8, below all the forecasts in a Reuters poll, from 52.9 in January. It was just above the reading of 50 delineating expansion from contraction. The survey showed demand at home slowed while export orders fell, a double whammy for a sector which accounts for about 10 percent of Britain's economic output. It underscored why the Bank of England has said it is ready to pump more stimulus into the economy if needed. "The near-stagnation of manufacturing highlights the ongoing fragility of the economic recovery at the start of the year and provides further cover for the Bank of England's increasingly dovish stance," Rob Dobson, a senior economist at Markit, said. "The breadth of the slowdown is especially worrisome." New orders in February were their weakest since the turnaround began in 2013. Consumer and investment goods orders bore the brunt of slower growth in demand at home and a further fall in orders from abroad, Markit said. BREXIT Kallum Pickering, an economist with Berenberg, said nervousness about Britain's June 23 EU membership referendum suggested a difficult few months ahead for manufacturers. "As long as the UK votes to stay in the EU, domestic demand will likely pick up again thereafter. If the UK votes to eject itself from its biggest market, things may get much rougher," he said in an email to clients. The survey was mostly conducted before a latest sharp fall in value of sterling in late February which would make British goods cheaper abroad. The manufacturing sector cut jobs for a second month in a row although the decline was mild. Companies said they cut the prices of their goods for the sixth month in a row but the fall was slightly less marked than in January. Manufacturing weighed on Britain's overall economic growth at the end of last year, leaving the country's much bigger services sector as the sole driver of the recovery. Allan Monks, an economist with JPMorgan, said Thursday's survey of the services sector would help give a better sense of how the economy was faring. "In recent years the services sector has remained resilient in the face of manufacturing weakness, reflecting in turn the strength of domestic relative to global demand," he said in a note. A Reuters poll of 29 economists sees the services PMI falling to 55.1 compared with 55.6 a month earlier. Slovakia's Fico set for election win, reinforcing central Europe's EU dissenters By Tatiana Jancarikova BRATISLAVA, March 1 (Reuters) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is on course to win another term in parliamentary elections on Saturday, maintaining an anti-immigration alliance with his European Union neighbours, Hungary's Viktor Orban and Poland's Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Fico, 51, is a Social Democrat but fits in with his two conservative peers when it comes to a focus on national pride, social conservatism and strong opposition to immigration. Opinion polls show Fico's Smer party will win 32.5-38.4 percent of the vote, enough to retain power with a coalition partner or two. Many in Brussels are watching the election and Fico's views on migration because Slovakia will hold the rotating six-month EU presidency from July, giving it a bigger voice in EU discussions. Fico has made his tough stand against German Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy the main issue in the election, and could beat his nearest rivals by around 20 percentage points, enough to lead the next cabinet. Linking the influx of migrants into Europe to the November attacks in Paris and New Year Eve assaults on women in Germany, Fico said Muslim immigrants could not integrate. "Multi-culturalism is a fiction. Once you let migrants in, you can face such problems," he said. "Virtually every time there's a terror attack, it's... Muslims." Fico is already openly clashing with the EU, saying Slovakia will not take its share of 160,000 refugees the EU agreed to relocate among its 28 members. He has filed a suit with the European Court of Justice against the plan. "CEE countries are now willing to break the EU consensus. That could have negative implications for decision-making processes on the EU level," said Otilia Dhand, analyst at Teneo Intelligence in New York. Fico's line appears to have resonated in the largely Catholic country, which has had trouble integrating its Roma minority and at times had tense relations with its ethnic Hungarians. The landlocked nation of 5.4 million lies off the route that more than a million people fleeing war and poverty took to Germany last year, when only 330 people sought asylum in Slovakia. Many Slovaks have never even met an immigrant, so they have not had a chance to confront the television coverage and political messages they see with their own experience. Fico's line echoes Orban who says the flood of migrants would redraw the cultural, ethnic and religious map of Europe. Kaczynski has said refugees could bring diseases into Poland and threaten the country's Catholic way of life. Central Europe's anti-Muslim rhetoric stands out in the region, although some of its other views, such as on tighter Schengen border management and rule enforcement, have won wider acceptance as Europe grapples with the refugee crisis. ILLIBERAL DEMOCRACY? Some are concerned that Fico may also follow Orban and Kaczynski's path in clamping down on democratic checks and balances. He has had poor relations with a critical press, filing lawsuits and adopting a media law in 2008 that was criticised by human rights groups. But the former Communist Party member has no deep ideological roots and has shown no urge to control the media or revamp the constitution. He has backed euro zone policies and kept an open door to foreign investors, and last week told Reuters he wanted to maintain a "lively democracy". "Fico does not have such authoritarian tendencies like Orban. He has ruled alone for four years and he could have done much worse," said analyst Samuel Abraham, head of Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts. Fico's power will also be checked because Smer is likely to lose its absolute majority in parliament. Surprise gains by centre-right parties could even oust him from the office he has held for eight of the last 10 years. Tim Haughton from the Centre for Russian, European and Eurasian Studies at the University of Birmingham said Fico might cool the tone after the election to protect the benefits the trade-dependent country enjoys from free movement in the EU. "For a country like Slovakia, the Schengen zone is very important, and it's in Fico's interest to ensure that its benefits are not lost," Haughton said. Hungary passes law to restrict access to data on central bank units BUDAPEST, March 1 (Reuters) - Hungary's parliament passed a law on Tuesday that will restrict public access to data from business units owned by the National Bank, ignoring a warning from the data protection authority which said it violated the constitution. Since it came to power in 2010, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party has redrawn the constitution and taken control of state media and public institutions, moves which critics said eroded Hungary's democratic checks and balances. Turkey's top judge defends court independence after Erdogan criticism By Gulsen Solaker ANKARA, March 1 (Reuters) - Turkey's top judge asserted his court's independence on Tuesday after President Tayyip Erdogan and the justice minister both criticised a ruling that the detention of two prominent journalists had violated their rights. Erdogan said on Sunday he neither recognised nor respected Thursday's ruling by the constitutional court that led to the release of Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper, and its Ankara bureau chief. Their arrest last November, after Cumhuriyet published video footage purporting to show the state intelligence agency helping to send weapons to Syria, drew international condemnation and concerns about media freedom in Turkey, which aspires to join the European Union membership. "Decisions taken by the constitutional court using its authority, are binding for everyone and every institution," court chairman Zuhtu Arslan told a legal conference in Ankara. "We are doing our job. We do not look at who is making the application. We are not on anybody's side or against anyone." Arslan's predecessor, Hasim Kilic, clashed with Erdogan several times, warning last year that the judiciary could become an "instrument of revenge" for politicians after government-backed candidates strengthened their grip on key courts, heightening concern about judicial independence. Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag echoed Erdogan's criticism of the court ruling on Tuesday, telling parliament the ruling was a "clear violation of the constitution and law", according to the state-run Anadolu news agency. The Cumhuriyet newspaper infuriated Erdogan last May when it published photos, videos and a report that it said showed Turkish intelligence officials transporting arms to Syria in trucks in 2014. The two Cumhuriyet journalists were charged with intentionally aiding an armed terrorist organisation and publishing material in violation of state security. Erdogan, who has cast the newspaper's coverage as part of an attempt to undermine Turkey's global standing, has said he will not forgive such reporting. "This has nothing to do with press freedom. This is a case of spying," he said on Sunday. Cameron's morning after: how Brexit divorce gets messy By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS, Feb 29 (Reuters) - If Britons vote to leave the European Union in their June 23 referendum, Prime Minister David Cameron can effectively file the divorce papers in person to fellow EU leaders the next morning in Brussels. Just how he will arrange his diary, having scheduled the vote on the first day of the regular midsummer EU summit, is not yet clear; from then on, the process of "Brexit" will only get messier, as Europe's fractious leaders haggle their way through an unprecedented break-up that could take years to complete. Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union lets a state quit and sets a deadline to negotiate terms within two years. If by mid-2018, Britain has not agreed issues like trade terms or the status of foreign residents, its membership will simply end -- unless it and all 27 other EU states agree an extension. Cameron's government said this week, however, that rewriting British laws post-Brexit and renegotiating relations in trade and other fields could take a decade, with an EU divided over other crises and smarting from Britain's rejection. No one has a clear idea how events will unfold once voting ends at 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Thursday, June 23. Instant exit polls will deliver a verdict to Brussels just as EU leaders are finishing dinner at the halfway point of their two-day meeting. If Cameron stays in London for the result, as some British officials expect, he will fly in the following morning, either triumphant -- or defeated and facing the possible end of his own career and opening negotiations on withdrawing from the bloc. His experience of sitting out the Thursday summit session, where he may delegate his vote to an ally, possibly the Irish or Dutch, would be one that he, or his successor, would have to get used to. Once Britain gives notice it is quitting, it will be excluded from EU discussions on how to handle that process. Cameron, who is campaigning to stay on the basis of a reform package that he agreed 10 days ago, says he will not delay in notifying Brussels if Britons vote to leave. It is not clear, however, that he could or would do that formally the next day. "IT'S OVER" Some supporters of a Brexit vote have suggested that formal notification of Britain's plan to quit could be delayed to give EU leaders time to offer better terms than Cameron's deal, possibly to a new British premier if Cameron is forced out. That seems unlikely, however, and EU leaders have insisted there can be no coming back from a 'Leave' vote once London has formally started the clock ticking on Article 50 -- ruling out also that Britons could hold a second referendum and change their minds to stay in if they do not like the outcome of talks. "We negotiated a package to try and save our marriage," one senior EU official said. "If Britain votes to go, it's over. We negotiate divorce." Although no member state has voted to leave in the 60 years of the Union and its earlier incarnations, territories such as Algeria have emerged into independence. But the most recent departure, when Greenland quit the EEC membership it shared with Denmark until 1985, was so tortuous, even though the trade links were tiny, that the 2009 Lisbon Treaty redrawing EU law set the first rules for withdrawal. "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union," states the new Article 50. An agreement on terms needs approval by a qualified majority of the remaining member states and the European Parliament. If there were no deal in two years, which veteran trade negotiators think improbable, Britain's EU membership would lapse unless all 28 states agreed an extension. Many eurosceptics say an abrupt exit would be no problem and that world trade rules would simply apply. EU states would want to maintain exports into the British market and Britain would be free to cut its own trade deals with others. A variety of models including Norway and Switzerland are available, though most mean trading some independence for access to EU markets. British law could be reworked, where needed, to cover gaps in lapsing EU rules. And the rights of some 2 million Britons living and working in Europe could be safeguarded reciprocally with those of a similar number of EU citizens in Britain. The government paper on Monday questioned those assumptions, however. And supporters of EU membership argue that the EU would drive hard bargains, not just to gain economic advantage but to discourage other states from following Britain to the exit. U.N. aims to restart Syria peace talks on March 9 By Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA, March 1 (Reuters) - The United Nations will delay the next round of Syria peace talks by two days to allow the cessation of hostilities in force since Saturday to take hold, U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said. International observers have acknowledged violations of the agreement intended to halt nearly five years of fighting while reporting that the level of violence has decreased considerably. "We are delaying it to the afternoon of (March) 9th for logistical and technical reasons and also for the ceasefire to better settle down," de Mistura told Reuters on Tuesday. The talks had been pencilled in for March 7. The cessation of hostilities was "a glimmer of hope", Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said, although he accused the opposition of violating the agreement. The opposition in turn says the Syrian government has breached the fragile truce by repeatedly attacking its positions, which the government denies. "We will play our part to make the whole thing work," Assad told Germany's ARD television network, adding that the Syrian army had not reacted to truce violations in order to give the agreement a chance. "The terrorists have breached the deal from the first day. We as the Syrian army are refraining from responding in order to give a chance to sustain the agreement. But in the end there are limits and it all depends on the other side," Assad said. The cessation of hostilities agreement, drawn up by the United States and Russia, is seen by the U.N. as an opportunity to revive peace talks which collapsed before they had even started a month ago in Geneva. It also hopes the truce will allow humanitarian aid to be sent into besieged areas where many Syrians are living in dire conditions. However, the opposition said it had yet to be officially informed of a new round of talks on March 9, insisting that no serious discussions can begin before detainees are freed and blockades are lifted. Riad Nassan Agha, a member of the High Negotiations Committee, told Reuters the opposition would study the call for talks based on developments on the ground, adding that it heard of the March 9 date only through the media. NEGOTIATING TABLE U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was an urgent need to implement the agreement and for the warring parties to return to the negotiating table, a U.N. statement said. "They agreed on the importance of urgently moving forward simultaneously on implementing the cessation of hostilities agreement, providing vital humanitarian assistance to civilians, and returning to political negotiations," the statement said. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that while efforts were being made to track down alleged violations of the cessation of hostilities, there was currently no evidence to suggest they would destabilise the fragile peace. In a telephone conversation on Tuesday, Lavrov and Kerry reaffirmed the importance of coordination, chiefly military, between Moscow and Washington to strengthen the truce, the Russian foreign ministry reported. De Mistura expected to see attempts to disrupt the ceasefire, saying these needed to be contained to avoid them spreading and undermining the credibility of the truce. "We don't want discussions in Geneva to become a discussion about infringements or not of the ceasefire, we want them to actually address the core of everything," he said in an interview. De Mistura wants the Syrian sides to focus on constitutional reform, governance, and hopes elections can be held in 18 months. Prisoner releases would also be "very much up front on the agenda", he said. Syria's Ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Hussam Aala, said his government was cooperating over aid deliveries, including to rebel-led areas. It was facilitating "access to humanitarian aid to those who need it without discrimination, between the besieged zones or zones infiltrated by terrorists". However, addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council, he also accused Saudi Arabia and Qatar of financing jihadist rebel groups including the Nusra Front, which is linked to al Qaeda, and also rejected criticism from France. JIHADIST GROUPS The agreement does not include Islamic State or the Nusra Front, and Assad and his Russian backers have made clear they intend to keep attacking them. The Saudi-backed "moderate" opposition says that because some of their fighters are in areas alongside Nusra, they fear being targeted too. The Russian Defence Ministry said it was refraining from striking areas where the "moderate opposition" was respecting the ceasefire agreement, Interfax news agency reported. A total of 15 ceasefire violations have been registered in Syria in the past 24 hours, Interfax quoted the Russian military as saying. The U.S. State Department, however, said it had not received any reports of "significant" violations. The Syrian military denied it was responsible for any violations and said "terrorist groups", the term it uses to describe its enemies, were to blame. Operations against Islamic State - also known as Daesh - and the Nusra Front were going ahead. Tunisia backs plan to host German troops to train Libyan army TUNIS, March 1 (Reuters) - Tunisia's government backs a plan for German forces to come to the country to train troops from neighbouring Libya for the fight against Islamic State militants, the Tunisian defence minister said on Tuesday. The Islamic State militants have taken advantage of political chaos and a security vacuum in Libya to expand their presence there, taking control of the city of Sirte and staging frequent attacks. Western officials are discussing ways to counter the group, including through the use of air strikes and special forces operations, though plans for outside assistance have been hampered by the failure of a United Nations-backed unity government in Libya to win wide approval in the country. Last week a German delegation visited Tunisia to discuss a training programme for Libyan forces. "We agree on the principle of the project," Tunisian Defence Minister Farhat Harchani said in an interview with the TAP state news agency. He gave no details on the nature of the training or when it might happen, but said Tunisian forces would also take part. "We will participate in the formation of the nucleus of the Libyan army and security forces in Tunisia. This is our duty and we will help Libya to get it done," he said. Tunisia has been struggling to contain its own militant threat, and thousands of Tunisians have gone to fight in Iraq, Syria and Libya. Authorities say gunmen who killed dozens of tourists at a museum and a beach resort in Tunisia last year trained in Libya before returning home. Tunisia recently completed a 200-km (125 mile) barrier consisting of an earth wall and trenches along its frontier with Libya, aimed at stopping militants from crossing the border. European and U.S. military trainers are to instruct Tunisian forces on improving electronic surveillance there. Britain said on Monday it had sent a team of 20 military personnel to Tunisia to provide mobile patrolling and surveillance training on the border. It said a similar training mission had been conducted at the end of last year. EU to call for emergency humanitarian aid to Greece BRUSSELS, March 1 (Reuters) - The European Union is proposing increased humanitarian aid for Greece, where more than 20,000 refugees and migrants are stuck after borders were tightened along the Balkans preventing them from trekking north to wealthier parts of Europe. The European Commission, the EU executive, said on Tuesday it will put forward a plan on Wednesday to offer emergency financial assistance for humanitarian crises inside the 28-nation bloc, comparable with operations it has launched elsewhere in the world. The Commission's spokesman told a regular news briefing in Brussels that the plan was necessary "to prevent humanitarian suffering as a result of an unprecedented number of people arriving in the EU". Migrant build-up in Greece shows EU solution urgent-Merkel BERLIN, March 1 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday the build-up of migrants and refugees at Greece's northern border showed Europe needed to find a common solution to the crisis at an EU summit next week and reinstate the Schengen free travel zone. "The pictures show us clearly every day that there is a need for talks," Merkel told reporters after meeting Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic in Berlin, adding she was in regular contact with Greece's prime minister. "We need to deal with the difficult situation in Greece and ... return to the Schengen system as soon as possible." Migrants have become stranded in Greece after Austria and countries along the Balkans migration route imposed restrictions on their borders, limiting the numbers able to cross. Many of the migrants hope to reach Germany. Macedonian police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of migrants who stormed the border from Greece on Monday, tearing down a metal gate. Merkel opposes the border restrictions and she, and senior EU officials, have said the suspension of the Schengen passport-free travel zone, one of the pillars of European Union integration, could lead to its collapse. The restrictions imposed by Austria and other countries have also angered Greece, where an estimated 22,000 migrants and refugees were trapped on Monday and a minister warned the figure could reach 70,000 in the coming weeks. On Tuesday, Merkel rejected suggestions that the situation on Greece's northern border was similar to that in Budapest last year when Hungary closed the main train station in the capital leaving thousands of migrants stranded. The stand-off ended after the German government intervened to allow about 25,000 migrants to board trains to Austria and Germany. Asked if she would repeat that if migrants on the Greek-Macedonian border asked for help, Merkel said: "There is actually no right that a refugee can say 'I want to receive asylum in this specific EU state'." She said the situation was not comparable given that systems to process refugees, who are fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and elsewhere, had been set up in Greece, the first EU country they arrive into, mainly on boats from Turkey. Merkel said the EU should help Greece deal with the influx. Senior Iraqi army officer killed in Haditha attack BAGHDAD, March 1 (Reuters) - A senior Iraqi army officer and seven others were killed overnight when Islamic State militants attacked a military headquarters near the town of Haditha, security officials said on Tuesday. Haditha and its nearby dam, which the command is charged with protecting, are in one of the few parts of the Sunni Muslim province of Anbar still controlled by Iraq's Shi'ite-led government forces and local police backed by tribal fighters. The area is about 190 km (120 miles) northwest of Baghdad. Brigadier Ali Abboud, the command's chief of staff, was killed when four suicide bombers attacked an entrance to the base and clashed with soldiers, said Major General Ali Daboun, the commander of Jazeera and Badiya operations in charge of the western desert bordering Syria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. "Four terrorists attacked the entrance to the command headquarters and our soldiers managed to kill them. Regrettably Brigadier Ali Abboud was martyred in the attacks," Daboun said by phone. A news flash on state television confirmed Abboud's death. Seven other police and army personnel were killed, including a second army officer, two police sources said. Initial investigations showed the militants managed to reach the base by dressing in army uniforms, security officials said. Islamic State said in an online statement that two of its fighters had infiltrated a police headquarters near Haditha dam and attacked soldiers stationed there with light weapons and hand grenades before detonating their explosive vests. The statement named Abboud and several other security officers it said were also killed. The last major attack on Haditha in January by about 200 Islamic State militants was repelled with the help of U.S.-led coalition air strikes. A coalition spokesman said at the time that offensive was in response to the group's losses in the provincial capital of Ramadi, which Iraqi forces recaptured in December. Spain's Socialist leader presses Podemos to back unlikely leadership bid By Angus Berwick and Blanca Rodriguez MADRID, March 1 (Reuters) - Spain's Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez urged the anti-austerity party Podemos on Tuesday to back his proposed coalition with the pro-business Ciudadanos as he geared up for a seemingly doomed parliamentary vote on his bid to form a government. Sanchez, whose PSOE party came second in an inconclusive election in December, faces a confidence vote on Wednesday after acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy's centre-right People's Party (PP) passed him the baton last month. Sanchez has secured the backing of Ciudadanos's lawmakers but his coalition is still 46 seats short of the absolute majority, 176 votes from the 350 deputies, that it needs on Wednesday for Sanchez to be elected prime minister. If he fails then he would only need to secure the most votes in a second ballot on Friday, but such a result is also doubtful as both the PP and Podemos, which together command 192 seats, have already said they will vote against Sanchez. A failure in both votes would mean other parties will then have two more months to form an alternative majority, prolonging the stalemate at a time when its economic recovery is still fragile and unemployment stubbornly high at over 20 percent. In a speech to parliament, Sanchez said a government of leftist parties was impossible since it would not achieve a majority. Instead, he said Podemos, which finished third in December, should join his coalition with Ciudadanos. "In these elections, the left has not won enough seats to form a government of only one political colour," he said. "Rather, those that have won a huge parliamentary majority are the forces of change." But Podemos has so far refused to join an alliance with Ciudadanos and wants a pact of leftist parties. The party's number two Inigo Errejon told journalists that Sanchez's speech was underwhelming and he was heading for a failed vote. MONTHS OF DEADLOCK Sanchez said Rajoy should step aside to allow such a government. "It is an error to think that the party with most votes has to govern," he said to whistles from parliamentarians and a raised eyebrow from the acting prime minister. Sanchez has ruled out any deal with the PP, which favours a coalition with the Socialists and Ciudadanos, under Rajoy as prime minister. Spain has been snarled in deadlock since December's ballot, with Rajoy having already failed to form a government a month ago. The PP said Sanchez's hour-and-a-half speech was pointless given his distance from a parliamentary majority. "Spaniards cannot keep wasting time following Sanchez's whims," Rafael Hernando, the party's spokesman in congress said. Political analysts expect little to shift in the parties' negotiating positions if parliament rejects Sanchez's proposal. "The PP will continue to argue that a government led by them is the only realistic choice," said Teneo Intelligence analyst Antonio Barroso. "And Podemos will continue to attack the PSOE for not making a definitive turn to the left." North Korea vows to shun UN rights forum over political attacks By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA, March 1 (Reuters) - North Korea will boycott any session of the U.N. Human Rights Council that examines its record and will "never, ever" be bound by any such resolutions, its foreign minister said on Tuesday. The announcement signalled further isolation of North Korea whose leadership has been accused by U.N. investigators of committing crimes against humanity and is poised to be hit with fresh U.N. sanctions for its nuclear programme. Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong also accused the United States, Japan and South Korea of sending agents into his country to recruit criminals to become "so-called North Korean defectors". "As a way out and in order to earn their living, they are compelled to continue to fabricate and sell groundless testimonies by trying to make them sound as shocking as possible," Ri said in a speech to the 47-member state forum. South Korea rejected the accusations, saying that "questioning the credibility of the defectors' testimony is nothing but a denial of truth". Japan urged Pyongyang to take concrete actions to improve human rights at home. "We shall no longer participate in international sessions singling out the human rights situation of the DPRK (North Korea) for mere political attack," Ri said. Any resolutions adopted against the DPRK "will be none of our business and we will never ever be bound by them", he said. Ri said the U.N. rights forum was marked by worsening "politicisation, selectivity and double standards", and criticised gun-related violence in the United States and Europe's migrant crisis. Japan and South Korea are drafting a resolution for debate at the ongoing four-week session to renew the mandate of the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, currently Marzuki Darusman, and may seek further steps. Darusman, in a report last month, asked the United Nations to officially notify North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that he may be investigated for crimes against humanity, in line with the findings of a landmark 2014 U.N. report. The U.N. Security Council delayed until Wednesday a vote on a U.S.-Chinese drafted resolution that would dramatically expand U.N. sanctions on North Korea after Russia said it needed more time to review the text, diplomats said. Guatemala sex slave victims seek $3 mln in damages in historic wartime rape trial By Anastasia Moloney BOGOTA, March 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A group of Guatemalan women used as sex slaves by two former military officers during the country's civil war are seeking $3 million in compensation following a historic trial, their lawyers said. On Feb. 26, a Guatemalan court convicted a retired army officer and a former paramilitary for holding 11 indigenous women as sex slaves at a military base, murder and forced disappearances dating back to the early 1980s. The defendants -- Esteelmer Reyes Giron, a lieutenant colonel and former commander of the Sepur Zarco base and Heriberto Valdez Asij, a civilian with links to the army -- were sentenced to a total of 360 years in prison. Both deny wrongdoing and will appeal, their lawyers said. The verdict marks the first time that sexual slavery perpetrated during a conflict has been prosecuted in the country where the crimes took place as opposed to an international tribunal, legal experts said. "(It) is the first time a national court has recognised and established state troops were responsible for subjecting women, the majority indigenous women in this case, to sexual slavery and exploitation and that sexual violence was used as a weapon of war," said Paula Barrios, a Guatemalan lawyer involved in bringing the case to court. "This ruling sets a very important example and precedent for criminal proceedings and convictions involving sexual violence in conflict that's not only relevant for Guatemala but other countries like Colombia in armed conflict," Barrios, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview. HARROWING TESTIMONY As many as 250,000 people were killed in a bloody civil war lasting from 1960 to 1996 in the Central American country. Up to 45,000 people disappeared in the conflict between state security forces and Marxist guerrillas. During the trial, prosecutors told the court that in 1982 soldiers killed, captured and were responsible for the disappearances of more than a dozen men in Sepur Zarco village. Many of the victims had been campaigning for land rights and were accused by the army of sympathising with the rebels. Some of their wives were forced into slavery at the military base. The court heard recorded and live testimony from the 11 surviving Mayan women, many in their seventies and eighties, who said they were raped at the base and forced to cook, clean and wash for the soldiers. One woman, Rosario Xoc, told the court she was gang raped by soldiers near a river where she would wash clothes. "My young son was screaming when he saw what they were doing to me but nobody helped me," she said through a Q'eqchi Mayan language interpreter. REPARATIONS The women's lawyers will seek around $3 million in damages, access to health care, a school and land titles for the victims during a hearing on reparations on March 2. A United Nations-backed Truth Commission set up under a 1996 peace deal concluded that the military was responsible for more than 85 percent of abuses committed during the war. But until now no members of Guatemala's armed forces had been convicted of wartime rape in the country. Rigoberta Menchu, Guatemala's Mayan Nobel laureate and a leading rights activist said the trial had set a precedent that would likely pave the way for more women to come forward. "The bravery of these Mayan women has allowed the silence and impunity surrounding sexual violence to be broken after more than 30 years," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Barrios said around 1,500 testimonies had already been collected from other women who suffered wartime rape and that the Guatemalan authorities were investigating more cases. Rival of Uganda's Museveni challenges presidential poll result By Elias Biryabarema KAMPALA, March 1 (Reuters) - One of the candidates who sought to end Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's thirty years in power in last month's presidential vote filed a petition on Tuesday seeking to nullify Museveni's victory due to widespread irregularities. Museveni, 71, who came to power in 1986 and is one of Africa's longest-serving rulers, won the Feb. 18 vote with 60 percent of the votes. Former prime minister Amama Mbabazi, Museveni's ally-turned-challenger, won less than two percent of the vote, but has accused Uganda's security services of intimidating candidates and has questioned how the votes were tallied. Opposition candidate Kizza Besigye, who won 35 percent of the vote but has dismissed the tally as fraudulent, missed Tuesday's deadline, with officials from his party saying Besigye's repeated detentions had made it impossible to mount a challenge. Mbabazi's lawyer, Severino Twinobusingye said that delays in getting ballot material to constituencies, which delayed the voting process for hours in some places, improper supervision of voting, and voter-bribery had all tainted the results. "The offences committed and the non-compliance with the law substantially affected the result," he said, adding the court should annul the results and hold "another election." The European Union's observer mission said the vote had been conducted in an "intimidating" atmosphere, while the United States has voiced concerns about Besigye's frequent detentions. Under Uganda's electoral laws, a loser in a presidential election has ten days from the day the results are announced to lodge a challenge in Uganda's Supreme Court. Supreme Court Registrar, Tom Chemutai, confirmed that Mbabazi had filed a petition, and said the chief justice would form a panel to hear the petition and give a verdict within 30 days. Deputy government spokesperson, Shaban Bantariza said they welcomed Mbabazi's court challenge but did not comment on the specific assertions. Francis Mwijukye, a senior official from Besigye's party, said that Ugandan security personnel had repeatedly blocked Besigye from leaving his home or receiving visits from lawyers and party officials in recent days, impeding the party's ability to build its challenge. "We were failed by the state... We couldn't take a petition to the supreme court," he said. Hezbollah sees new struggle in Lebanon, denounces Saudi Arabia By Tom Perry and Laila Bassam BEIRUT, March 1 (Reuters) - Hezbollah said on Tuesday that Lebanon had been pushed into a new phase of political conflict by Saudi Arabia but was not on the brink of civil war and its government of national unity should survive. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Iranian-backed group, also stepped up criticism of Saudi Arabia, accusing it of directing car bombings in Lebanon, an arena for sectarian-tinged Iranian-Saudi rivalry that is escalating across the Middle East. Saudi Arabia had no immediate response to the accusation. Relations between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia have been plunged into crisis since Riyadh halted $3 billion in aid to the Lebanese army - a response to the Beirut government's failure to condemn attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran. The row has raised concern for Lebanon's political and economic stability by exacerbating tensions between its Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims and prompting concerns about the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese expatriates the Gulf. Tensions spilled into the streets on Saturday night when a Saudi-owned TV station aired a show mocking Nasrallah that led the group's supporters to block roads with burning tyres. "It is clear that since ... the announcement to halt grants and other Saudi measures we have entered a new phase of political and media struggle which Saudi Arabia has escalated," Nasrallah said. The aim of Saudi policy was to force Lebanese to confront Hezbollah to force it to retreat "even if this leads to strife in Lebanon, the collapse of the government in Lebanon, to a civil war in Lebanon", Nasrallah said. "Saudi doesn't care." "We see that the continuation of the government is a national interest and we do not intend to resign from it." Sunni-led Saudi Arabia wields big influence in Lebanon through its backing for Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri, a former prime minister who said on Tuesday that "riots, road blocking and tyre burning" were attempts to provoke "chaos and discord". "We should not be dragged to any attempt of this sort," he said. Tension between Hezbollah and Hariri spilled into armed conflict as recently as 2008, when a political dispute fuelled by Saudi-Iranian rivalry triggered a brief civil war. Nasrallah said there would be no repeat of that conflict. "We don't want to turn the table on anyone. We want this table to remain," he said in reference to dialogue between Hezbollah and Hariri's Future Movement. He said Hezbollah had nothing to do with recent street protests, telling his supporters there was "no need to go into the streets". "I ask you not to go out," he said. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have advised citizens against travel to Beirut. Riyadh last week blacklisted four companies and three Lebanese men for having links to Hezbollah. "REAL JIHAD" Yemen's Gulf-backed government has accused Hezbollah of training and fighting alongside Houthi forces in that country's war and of planning attacks in Saudi Arabia. Iran and Hezbollah deny accusations they have provided military aid to the Houthis. Even with regional upheaval, Lebanon has so far avoided the kind of all-out war under way in Yemen or Syria, where Hezbollah is fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad. But political conflict has paralysed the Lebanese government and the country has been without a head of state for nearly two years. Underlining the depth of hostilities, Nasrallah described an anti-Saudi speech he gave last year after the start of its military intervention in Yemen as the "most honourable thing I have done in my life ... "I feel this is the real jihad," he said, calling it "greater than the July war" - a reference to Hezbollah's month-long conflict with Israel in 2006. It was that day of the year yesterday. I mean February 29, which comes once in every four years. It is quite literally the Uday Chopra of the Gregorian calendar. You know it's going to strike you and yet there's nothing you can do to prevent it. Besides this, there were other matters of global prominence too, namely, the Oscars and "OMG, OMG Priyanka Chopra exhaling carbon dioxide at the Oscars." This comes as a bit of a surprise, as Indian emotions in general about American matters are pretty limited to whether or not American customs will allow you to take mango pickle into the country. However yesterday was also Budget Day in India, or as I would like to call it, the "annual CA planetary relevance reminder". Now Budget speeches are way too boring and require endurance to watch from start to finish. Especially when Indian audiences are accustomed to the "WWE Hell in the Cell" theatrics, which are quite a common sight on an average day in the Parliament. Budget speeches are filled with way too much of financial jargon for the common man to comprehend. Allow me to, then, put my knowledge of accountancy to some good public use finally and gain some karmic brownie points in the bargain. Trust me, you're in safe hands... well almost! The budget session of the Parliament started as always with the finance minister posing in front of the press with an age-old briefcase which is supposed to contain the well-guarded Budget papers. In an alternate universe, in case I do get selected for this coveted post, I would love to just open a briefcase full of samosas and kachoris on Budget Day simply to troll the photographers. The standard operating procedures are pretty simple. News channels across the nation stream Budget updates live and citizens are supposed to act shocked and traumatised over every other announcement as if they didn't know the Budget was going to screw them up eventually. It's like walking into a Barbecue Nation outlet for dinner and getting stunned by diarrhoea next morning. While hogging away a year worth of calories in one meal, deep within, you knew very well that things won't go too well next morning, but you still carried on shamelessly. Coincidentally, this is how the government works too. When you splurge a bit too much, you need to unload a fraction of your wealth to the government coffers too. The trauma is usually accompanied by choicest slur words aimed at ministers and their posterity. Cigarette prices have been raised to promote cohesion amongst teenage addicts and also to teach them the importance of sharing, be it the lunch box or their packet of Gold Flake. Movie tickets are also going to cost more shortly, which is a subtle way of saying "Hey, who the f**k are you to enjoy simple pleasures in life, that too in Dolby Digital Surround Sound, when the movie is going to come up on TV two months down the line?" Electronic items would get costlier so you might not want to sever ties with your foreign-based relatives even though they usurped all your ancestral property. Branded garments will attract higher excise duties thus giving snobbish kids more things to brag about, besides their cars, houses and that De Beers diamond necklace which coincidentally happens to come with a loving and caring mom attached to it. You see, on a scale of priorities, human emotions come after materialistic possessions for this breed. Start-ups formed between April 2016 and March 2019 shall enjoy a tax break for three years unless they make a viral YouTube web series midway chronicling their struggles, in which case, they shall get rewarded with a cameo by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Provident funds, that is, the last hope of social security for the salaried class shall become taxable soon. Bet the conversation between a middle class person and a government employee would be as follows: Middle class guy: "Hey, you can't just tax my whole life's savings, that too when I am about to retire!" Government guy: "Don't get so emotional. At least you didn't get rammed and killed by the SUV of a drunk celebrity. Isn't that enough mental relief?" Middle class guy: "Boss, what about my social security?" Government guy: "You know you could have been struck down by lightening, floods, lamp posts falling, open sewers, what not. India offers some highly creative ways to get killed. Count your blessings." Middle class guy: "What the..." Government guy: "Bloody greedy guy you are!" Telephone bills shall get higher owing to increased telecom spectrum rates. So just in case you're looking around for a credible reason to snap out of your long distance relationship, this is a godsend opportunity indeed. Food outings at restaurants shall cost more owing to higher service tax which shall inevitably cause a sharp rise of a new breed of foodies who shall overnight discover their passion for street food at roadside stalls. SUVs shall attract a cess of four per cent from henceforth. However, vehicles registered as ambulances and used solely as ambulances shall be exempt from cess. So just in case you have a habit of going to parties in ambulances, blasting "To Brazil" by Vengaboys on full volume, a) You are an a**hole indeed! b) You will have to pay taxes to pursue this noble hobby of yours. The government is also offering a four-month compliance window for domestic black money holders to search deep within their soul for finding out any last few shreds of morality. Last, but not the least, here are a few terms for your reference. It's strongly recommended that you use them to sound wise in any conversations remotely revolving around the topic of the Budget. 1. Crony capitalism. 2. Dampened spirits. 3. Creditable credit. 4. Transgressors (a "cooler" synonym for violators). 5. Fiscal deficit target. 6. Financial rationalisation. Yes, you're welcome! Here's hoping that we have a prosperous year ahead and also that we get the opportunity to time travel in the future just to see if our green cards get approved or not. News Story not available This story has been published on: 2022-10-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. This story is no longer available on our site. 2011 Civitas article illuminates the history of redistricting arguments In the past, Democrats admitted drawing voting maps for political purposes A three-judge panel noted that redistricting is "ultimately the product of democratic elections" "The years 2000 through 2004 were filled with lawsuits and backdoor wheeling and dealing over lines drawn by a Democratic majority. Those controlling the process ignored complaints from Republicans and even Democratic African-American legislators. ... The process was done with no transparency. Lawmakers were barely able to see their districts before voting on them." "African-American Democrats revolted at the prospect of a map with very few majority-minority districts, endangering the map's passage in the closely divided House. Democratic Speaker Jim Black told the public that the map was drawn to ensure that Democrats would have control of the body, and that giving African-Americans more seats would endanger that majority. "'Every time you change one district, you change districts around it. Every time you do that, you change the balance of power in the state,' said Black. 'I personally believe African-American citizens will be better off with Democratic leaders for the next 10 to 20 years.'" "Democrats have always been keenly aware of the advantage redistricting gave them. As late as 2010, Gov. Bev Perdue told Democrats at the annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner how important it was that they hold onto the General Assembly in a redistricting year. 'We must have Democrats redraw those maps,' she said." The primary date will remain March 15, 2016, for all other races including Presidential, Gubernatorial, and Legislative. The Congressional Primary date is June 7. Reopens the filing period for interested Congressional candidates from March 16 - March 25, 2016. Explicitly outlines that any and all votes cast for Congressional races via absentee ballot on the March 15th primary date will remain confidential and will not be counted. Changes the absentee ballot application deadline to 45 days prior to the June 7 primary to help ensure the State Board of Elections has enough time to print and mail ballots. Establishes that there will be no runoff primaries in the 2016 election cycle. North Carolina Republican lawmakers have answered a three-judge panel ruling earlier this month with a new congressional map that makes changes to all 13 districts and looks very different from the map it replaced. Since the unveiling, Gov. Pat McCrory has called the General Assembly back into a special session to approve the map.The federal panel ruled that the Republican majority in the legislature relied too heavily on race when they drew the 1st and 12th districts in 2011. They gave the state until Feb. 19 to draw new districts. The Republican-led legislature unveiled the new congressional map two days early, revealing a map that seemed to surprise everyone. While the political outcome seems to remain the same (10 Republican and three Democratic districts), the districts appear to be markedly more compact. The map is being redrawn even though the previous districts were approved by the U.S. Justice Department and the North Carolina Supreme Court and used in the 2012 and 2014 elections.Given that it has been nearly five years since the legislative and congressional maps were first drawn, it is interesting that a Civitas article written in 2011 is so timely. Neal Inman, then a Civitas intern , wrote about North Carolina's newly drawn Congressional and legislative maps in August 2011. Inman helped put this decade's redistricting in perspective by taking a look back at the redistricting that took place after the 2000 census.At that time, it didn't take five years to find a court that would rule against the legislative maps drawn in 2001, he wrote. "Because the 2001 Democratic maps violated the Whole County Provision of the North Carolina Constitution, the state Supreme Court struck down the legislative maps in the Stephenson decisions. The 2002 election maps were drawn by a judge, but Democrats took the opportunity to redraw the maps in 2003."Inman pointed out that there was a stark difference in how the Republican Party drew the districts in 2011 compared to how they were drawn in 2001, 2002 and 2003 when Democrats controlled the legislature:According to Inman, back in 2001, the issue of race was front and center too:In 2011, Inman also noted an irony that is present today: "Many of the same voices calling for increased numbers of minority-majority seats in 2001 are now decrying the Republican maps for doing just that."And while today's Democrats are now denouncing Republicans for drawing maps to their advantage, Inman noted they once aimed to do the same:In 2016, it looks as if the legislature is pushing ahead with the newly drawn congressional map, not waiting to see if the U.S. Supreme Court will issue a stay of the federal courts ruling. If the new redistricting bill (map) is passed in both houses and signed into law by the governor (a redistricting bill is not subject to the governor's veto), and the federal panel approves of the newly drawn districts, the legislature must then call for a new primary election for congressional districts. In fact the legislature did just that, as this article was being published. In a news release from the Office of the Speaker of the House, a new schedule was announced for the primary elections:Calling the redistricting bill a "contingency plan" the Speaker's Office release states that while they hold-out hope the U.S. Supreme Court will issue stay, but if not, the following schedule will be set in place.We only go through the redistricting process every ten years and it's easy to forget that redistricting is fundamentally a political process. Perhaps another three-judge panel ruling on the same maps in 2013 said it best when they found North Carolina's legislative and congressional maps to be constitutional. Inand, the Superior Court panel concluded: "Redistricting in North Carolina is an inherently political and intensely partisan process that results in political winners and, of course, political losers. The political party controlling the General Assembly hopes, through redistricting legislation, to apportion the citizens of North Carolina in a manner that will secure the prevailing party's political gain for at least another decade. While one might suggest that there are more expedient, and less manipulative, methods of apportioning voters, our redistricting process, as it has been for decades, is ultimately the product of democratic elections and is a compelling reminder that, indeed, 'elections have consequences.'" The Virginia House of Delegates recently passed House Bill 1090, a bill that would defund all clinics offering abortion services. In Virginia, the state does not provide tax money for the purpose of abortion except in the case of rape, incest or severe threat to the mothers life. Therefore, withdrawing state funding from these clinics simply diminishes programs that provide vital health-care services to women in need. HB 1090 is not a pragmatic attempt to reduce abortions in our state. It is part of a larger ideological war against women that has very real ramifications taking away essential health-care services that in fact help to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies. On March 2, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt, the controversial case regarding Texas recent law designed to shut down 75 percent of womens health clinics providing legal abortion services. On this day, womens health advocates from all around the country will gather to rally for their right to safe, legal and affordable medical care. In Virginia, the passage of HB1090 mirrors a national trend of disregard and contempt toward our most vulnerable communities. The fight for womens health care is at our doorstep. Please choose to stand with women. Madison Mundy Charlottesville The meaning of a written law is determined by its text. (textualism) That text should be interpreted by attributing to its words and phrases their conventional meaning at the time of enactment. (originalism) Laws (including the Constitution as the supreme law of the land) apply, not just to ordinary citizens, but to politicians and bureaucrats as well. (the rule of law) From our years together at the D.C. Circuit, we were best buddies. We disagreed now and then, but when I wrote for the Court and received a Scalia dissent, the opinion ultimately released was notably better than my initial circulation. Justice Scalia nailed all the weak spots the 'applesauce' and 'argle bargle' and gave me just what I needed to strengthen the majority opinion. He was a jurist of captivating brilliance and wit, with a rare talent to make even the most sober judge laugh. ... He was eminently quotable, his pungent opinions so clearly stated that his words never slipped from the reader's grasp. ... It was my great good fortune to have known him as working colleague and treasured friend. If constitutional government survives in this country, much of the credit will go to one man Antonin Scalia, who died on February 13th having served for 30 years on the US Supreme Court. Throughout his life Scalia championed three ideas:Strange as it may seem to non-lawyers, by the time Scalia was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1986 the vast majority of legal scholars and judges had come to regard all three of these ideas as outdated and naive. Instead they embraced the progressive theory of law. According to that theory, laws in general, and the Constitution in particular, are "living" documents, the meaning of which can and should be manipulated to suit changing conditions and changing ideas of what is desirable. Furthermore, rather than trying to enforce the misguided and inefficient system of checks and balances specified by the Constitution, the courts should defer to a political elite that can, in the absence of judicial impediment, be relied upon to transform society into a rational, well-organized system, and keep it running smoothly.Thirty years later, the situation is very different. While the progressive point of view still predominates, Scalia's ideas are now fully endorsed by a growing and increasingly influential minority of law professors and judges. What's more, even most of Scalia's opponents now accept that his ideas must be seriously addressed rather than casually dismissed. As several obituary writers have observed , the extent of the change became particularly clear when the Supreme Court upheld the right of individuals to keep and bear arms in District of Columbia v. Heller . The justices who dissented from Scalia's opinion for the majority did not argue that the Constitution should adapt to modern ideas about self-defense and public order, or attempt to reconstruct the founders broad intentions regarding such matters. Instead, they disputed Scalia's claims about the original public meaning of the 2nd Amendment by advancing textualist and originalist arguments of their own.How did one man manage to make such a difference? If I'd been asked that question prior to his death I'd have said it was simply that Scalia's ideas were sound and he expressed them with clarity and logical rigor, and I'm still sure that those factors played a role. After years of vague and portentous pronouncements (that often seemed designed to obfuscate and gloss over the Court's progressive agenda), Scalia's forthright, no-nonsense prose was like a blast of fresh air. Nevertheless, after reading many obituaries and tributes I'm convinced that an equally important factor was his personality, which has been aptly described as "ebullient."Scalia's ebullience came through in his writing, which in addition to being rigorous and clear was always entertaining, and often very funny. His opinions were read with pleasure, not only within the legal profession but outside it as well. (No other Supreme Court justice in modern times has had his or her writings compiled in a popular anthology.) His ebullience also came through at oral argument, where he used his skill as a showman, not just to discomfit the parties' attorneys, but also to influence his fellow justices. And it came through in his public persona, which was widely recognized even among those who would never have thought of reading one of his opinions. (No other Supreme Court justice in history has been the subject of both a play and an opera .)Above all, Scalia's ebullience came through in his day-to-day interactions with others. He formed many close and lasting friendships, and these often crossed political and ideological lines. Indeed, since his death some of the most touching tributes have come from left-of-center academics and jurists who, no matter how much they disagreed with Scalia on the issues, nevertheless found his lively personality irresistible.Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein, who headed the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs during President Obama's first term, described Scalia as,and after listing many of his accomplishments and virtues added,Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who remained a life-long friend despite their political and philosophical differences, said Almost single-handedly, Antonin Scalia transformed textualism, orginalism, and the rule of law from quaint relics of a bygone era to respectable ideas worthy of serious consideration by legal scholars and judicial decision-makers. For the sake of the Republic, we must do what we can to ensure that these ideas continue to be taken seriously. Sadly, however, now that Scalia is gone we will probably have to do so without an exuberant champion on the Supreme Court.An unintended consequence of progressive legal theory has been a change in the Senate's approach to judicial appointments. Traditionally, in the absence of a clear finding of incompetence or wrongdoing the Senate would defer to the President when it came to judicial appointments. That's what happened when Ronald Reagan nominated Scalia in 1986; he was confirmed by the Senate 98-0. Less than a year later, however, the Senate Democrats chose to break with this tradition. Because they regarded him as too conservative, they used every means at their disposal (including releasing his private movie rental records!) to keep Robert Bork off the Court. They were equally ruthless and equally creative in opposing the nominations of Douglas Ginsburg, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito, and they established a new tradition of vigorously opposing even well qualified judicial nominees who are known to harbor the wrong political or philosophical views. The result has been to exclude all but the most reticent and anodyne judicial nominees from serious consideration.Now that a lame-duck Democratic president must win the consent of a Republican Senate in order to appoint a replacement for Justice Scalia, the Democrats claim to be having second thoughts about their break with tradition, but there's no going back. As long as the Constitution means whatever a majority of Supreme Court justices want it to mean, keeping the opposition's preferred candidates off the Court will remain a high priority.Regardless of which party controls which branch of government in the years to come, it's hard to see how anyone as delightfully ebullient as Antonin Scalia can ever again be appointed to the Supreme Court. The legal world is going to be a lot less interesting and a lot less fun! R.I.P. It has been far too many years since the Woke theology interlaced its canons within the fabric of the Indoctrination Realm, so it is nigh time to ask: Does this Representative Republic continue, as a functioning society of a self-governed people, by contending with the unusual, self absorbed dictates of the Woke, and their vast array of Victimhood scenarios? Yes, the Religion of Woke must continue; there are so many groups of underprivileged, underserved, a direct result of unrelenting Inequity; they deserve everything. No; the Woke fools must be toppled from their self-anointed pedestal; a functioning society of a good Constitutional people cannot withstand this level of "existential" favoritism as it exists now. Tom Campbell It's time for doctors and patients to get off the medical merry-go-roundWe've talked for decades about healthcare reform but the only significant attempt to change the skyrocketing costs of health insurance, escalating pharmaceutical costs and deepening dissatisfaction has been Obamacare. Even its ardent supporters agree The Affordable Care Act is flawed and has not yielded the hoped-for benefits.Patients are fed up with the impersonal treatment and mind-numbing paperwork at doctors' offices. Insurance premiums and deductibles are rising faster than the cost of living. Patients question why our pharmaceutical prices are so outrageous while other countries costs are lower and wonder why millions are spent on television ads promoting drugs. Medicaid and Medicare ranks swell every month, increasing the role of government in healthcare decisions.Doctors, especially primary care doctors, are equally frustrated, awakening to the reality they no longer work for their patients but instead are working for insurance companies. To be economically viable our fee-for-service system requires primary care docs to schedule four to five patients per hour; they don't have the time to improve patient wellness and are essentially relegated to treating symptoms all day, filling out endless forms to receive established Medicaid, Medicare or insurance company reimbursements. After a frantic day seeing patients many go home to complete paperwork. No wonder doctor burnout is rampant and few medical students want to go into primary care.So the medical merry-go-round continues. Nobody can get off, but they can't hang on much longer.There is good news, a radically different approach to healthcare called Direct Primary Care (DPC).Patients pay a monthly fee to become "members" of a practice, usually ranging from $15 to $60 per month, depending on the patient's age. Doctors in DPC typically schedule only one patient per hour, ensuring they have much longer than the 7 minutes or less previously spent with a patient. Not only do DPC physicians treat chronic or symptomatic conditions but spend more time working with patients to improve overall health and wellness. Some have onsite nutrition and exercise consultants and frequently offer an in-house pharmacy or discounted prescription drugs by mail. But DPC practices do not accept, nor will they file insurance claims to the government or insurance companies.The benefits are dramatic. Patients are significantly happier, report greatly reduced admissions to hospitals, take fewer prescription drugs and are healthier, restructuring their health insurance to cover major medical events. Recognizing the significant overall cost savings, a growing number of employers are signing up workers as members. Doctor burnout is reduced, since they no longer race from one patient to the next and their operating overhead is cut by as much as 40 percent due to the reduced paperwork.DPC is not without problems. Only those able to afford the monthly fee can join. If DPC is to be the new model for healthcare something must be done to resolve this situation.Direct primary care is a growing trend across the county and in North Carolina. Over 15 practices with more than 22 physicians now operate in communities as small as Nashville and Williamston and as large as Raleigh and Charlotte. The number of providers and patients is increasing daily as this has promise to be the healthcare revolution that gets doctors and patients off the medical merry-go-round. "We have met the enemy, and he is us." - Pogo This year's Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy sees the introduction of the Carl Cox Motorsport sidecar team to the Sure si... 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 Dayton Childrens experts say the most important thing you can do is listen and take your cues from them. Most parents make the mistake of giving too much information, and kids after a while, are either overwhelmed or tune out, says Gregory Ramey, PhD, executive director for Dayton Childrens Center for Pediatric Mental Health Resources. Depending on age, your child may not have any interest or be acutely impacted by the news. The key is to be guided by your child and you cant make a mistake. Parents should be truthful, but not go into more detail than the child is interested in or can handle. A young child may accept the news at face value without any connection to their life. However, by the time kids reach the age of 7 or 8, they begin to distinguish between fact and fiction, and what they watch on TV can seem all too real. They may ask, "Could I be next? Could that happen to me? Unless your child is younger than 5 years old, you dont have to stop them from watching the news, says Dr. Ramey. You can use what they see there to provoke discussion. Encourage them to talk openly about what scares them. An adult's willingness to listen will send a powerful message. Most often, kids are going to ask Am I safe? says Ramey. And that can be a tough one for parents to answer. Reassurance Incidents of school violence are terrible and frightening, but fortunately they are rare. Although it might not seem that way, the rate of crime at U.S. schools that involve physical harm has been declining since the early 1990s. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fewer than one percent of all homicides among school-age children happen on school grounds or on the way to and from school. The vast majority of students will never experience violence at school or in college. Parents can use this information to put a school shooting into context for a child. Share your own feelings, too during a tragedy, kids often look to adults for their reactions. It helps kids to know that they are not alone in feeling anxious. Knowing that their parents have similar feelings helps kids legitimize their own. At the same time, kids often need parents to help them feel safe. What Schools Are Doing Talk with your kids about what schools do to help protect their students. Many schools are taking extra precautions some focus on keeping weapons out through random locker and bag checks, limiting entry and exit points at the school, and keeping the entryways under teacher supervision. Others use metal detectors. Lessons on conflict resolution have been added to many schools' courses to help prevent troubled students from resorting to violence. Peer counseling and active peer programs help students learn to watch for signs that a fellow student might be becoming more troubled or violent. Tips for Parents London: Britain is to send troops to Tunisia to help prevent Islamic State (ISIS) fighters from moving into the country from Libya, the British defence minister has said. "A training team of some 20 troops from the 4th Infantry Brigade is now moving to Tunisia to help to counter illegal cross-border movement from Libya in support of the Tunisian authorities," Michael Fallon told Parliament on Monday. The move comes after growing Western concern that Islamic State is seeking to use Libya as a base to plan and carry out attacks. In June 2015, 30 British holidaymakers were killed when an Islamist gunman attacked a beach at a hotel on Tunisia's Mediterranean coast. "I ... am extremely concerned about the proliferation of Daesh (ISIS) along the Libyan coastline, which is why we have been urgently assisting the formation of a new Libyan government," Fallon said. Jihadist groups have taken advantage of political chaos to expand their presence in Libya, and fighters loyal to Islamic State have taken control of the coastal city of Sirte. Western officials say they are discussing air strikes and special forces operations in Libya against the group that is seeking to set up a cross-border Islamic caliphate and has already seized large areas of Syria and neighbouring Iraq. Fallon said Britain was not currently planning to deploy ground troops to Libya in a combat role. "Before taking any military action in Libya, we would seek an invitation from the new Libyan Government," he said. Pakistani Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz spoke of the proposed sale at opening of the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue (Photo: PTI) Washington: Amid India opposing the F-16 deal, Pakistan today said sale of US fighter jets would strengthen its ability to mount counter-terrorist operations and promote regional stability. The US government this month approved the sale of the aircraft, radar and electronic warfare equipment to Pakistan in a deal worth nearly $700 million. Pakistani Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz spoke of the proposed sale at opening of the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue. Secretary of State John Kerry, however, did not comment on the issue. Kerry welcomed Pakistan's commitment to not differentiate among terrorist groups. He said groups like the Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba seek to undermine Pakistan's relations with its neighbours. India has opposed the aircraft sale, which has drawn criticism even in the US Congress. US lawmakers could block the deal, although such action is rare. Islamabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Islamabad in November this year; the Pakistani government announced here Monday. Pak Prime Ministers Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi said that dates for Prime Minister Modis visit were being finalised. Dates for the upcoming SAARC Summit in Islamabad are being worked out in consultation with member states, Tariq Fatemi said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to attend the summit, he added. The summit will probably be held in November. Pakistan has proposed to host the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November 2016. Further, Fatemi said a five-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed to probe the January 2 terror attack on Indias Pathankot airbase will complete its work this week. Seven Indian soldiers were killed when militants stormed the airbase, with India claiming involvement of Masood Azhar-led militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed. The Punjab government had last week formed the JIT to investigate the Pathankot airbase attack case, which was registered a week earlier in Gujranwala. The newly-formed team is being headed by the same person who heads the six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed earlier by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The team is working on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered in Gujranwala on February 18 under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997. The FIR was lodged on the recommendations of the SIT formed by the premier in the week of January after India had provided evidence suggesting the attack was planned and handled from Pakistan. The team had, however, termed the proof inadequate to book the suspects, including Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, named by India. Modi had last visited Pakistan in December to surprise his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, on his birthday. The ties between the two nations received a boost due to the short trip but the Pathankot attack again spoiled the peace efforts. JNU did not pay heed to Defence Ministrys request of putting up a hoarding on campus, exhorting students to join the armed forces, the RSS-affiliated ABVP claimed on Monday. The allegation comes days after a section of ex-servicemen met the JNU Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar over the controversial February 9 event, where students allegedly raised anti-India slogans. The veterans had suggested having an Army memorial on campus and the varsity administration said it was actively considering their proposal. Earlier, in its February 19, 2015 letter to the varsity registrar, the Directorate General of Recruiting, one of the directorates of Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army), had asked the JNU for its permission to allow installation of a unipole hoarding on the JNU campus. ABVP member and JNUSU joint secretary Saurabh Kumar Sharma said the university has not acted upon the Armys proposal. He shot off a letter on Monday to the VC inquiring about the grounds on which it denied permission. The Directorate plans to erect unipole hoarding in selected places in NCR to provide information pertaining to the recruitment in the Indian Army. The proposal has been approved by the Government and the Directorate is in process to get these erected, the letter from the Directorate said. The letter argued that the unipole structure will add to the beauty of the campus, besides acting as an advert for the Army recruitment. IPS officer Alok Kumar Verma, who replaced Bhim Sain Bassi as Delhi Police Commissioner on Monday, said his primary focus now is to conduct a fair probe in the sedition case filed against Jawaharlal Nehru University students. Bassi retired after a three-year term. In his first message to colleagues, Verma called for a new beginning for better policing in the capital. Delhiites always have high expectations from Delhi Police. It will continue despite our highs and lows. We must ensure that we live up to the expectations and challenges on a daily basis, Verma said in his speech on wireless. The message comes at a time when the force has been facing criticism over the Jawaharlal Nehru University sedition case and violence by lawyers at Patiala House Courts Complex. Police must conduct fair probe overlooking religion, caste and status in the society, Verma added. A 1979-batch Arunachal Pradesh-Mizoram-Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre officer, Verma, was previously posted as Director General (Prisons) and will hold the post for 17 months. Verma got a warm welcome at the police headquarters in central Delhi by senior police officers, including Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Deepak Mishra. He went to his office on the second floor of the building around 12.15 pm. Bassi was there to introduce Verma to the nitty-gritty of the post. Bassi left the building after a brief conversation with Verma and the media, with police officers bidding him farewell near the front lawn. Verma also met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. During the 15-minute meeting, Verma is believed to have given a list of his priorities, including womens security and maintaining law and order. High drama The commissioners office also witnessed high drama when a woman created a ruckus minutes before Verma took charge. Arifa, a resident of south east Delhi's Jamia Nagar, went outside the office claiming that her in-laws were trying to kill her and her two-month-old child. She wanted to meet the commissioner and complain about local police allegedly taking a bribe in a harassment case filed against her husband. Arifa was carrying a copy of the complaint. She was whisked away before Vermas arrival. In his speech at a farewell parade at north Delhis Kingsway Camp, Bassi said the force does not work under political pressure. While I take your leave as Delhi Commissioner, I would like to clarify that Delhi Police does not work under any political pressure. Please remove that misunderstanding, Bassi said. We rely on evidence, whether it's the Sunanda Pushkar case, whether it's about recent Patiala house court incident or the JNU case, he said. Bassi also denied any strife with anyone. His term was shadowed by constant clashes with the AAP government in Delhi. We reach out to everyone, Bassi said. Special Commissioner of Police (General Administration) Vimla Mehra, who is Verma's predecessor as Director General (Prisons), also retired on Monday. Finance Minister Arun Jaitelys proposal to give 100 per cent tax deduction for companies building houses up to 30 sq metres in the four metros is a welcome step to invite private builders to redevelop slums, said Delhi government officials and urban planners after the Union Budget presentation. The retention of duty relief in the Budget for environment-friendly electric vehicles is also good new for a city fighting a battle to clean its poisonous air by promoting green wheels. There are 675 slums in Delhi which are home to over 1.5 million people and the Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys proposal is likely to encourage a larger role for private developers in vertical growth of plots where shanties exist. Since 1994, 220 slums in Delhi have been relocated to new spots and the residents given alternative flats based on their entitlements linked to number of years spent in the city. Challenge Rohit Matai, an urban planner and architect, said: Incorporating slum clusters into planned urban development is a challenge for Delhi. Offering a respectable home to slum dwellers by 2019 is an ambitious proposal, said Matai, referring to Jaitelys plan to offer incentives for developers who build low-end 30 sq-metre homes and deliver the flats between June 2016 and March 2019. Some 51 per cent of the slums in the city are on DDA land, about 10 percent each are on land owned by the Delhi government, Railways and civic agencies and others, said an official of the citys Urban Development Department. A Delhi government official said: The details of the scheme are not clear yet but it holds out hope for faster slum redevelopment. Apart from giving incentives for affordable housing, the capital is likely to gain from the Rs 9,000 crore sanctioned for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. During his Budget speech, Jaitely said: We have introduced ranking of urban areas in sanitation which has resulted in constructive competition among towns and cities. He said Rs 9,000 crore had been provided for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Cleanliness contest The New Delhi Municipal Council area, a participant in the cleanliness contest, figured in the top three cleanest cities in the country. The civic agency is upgrading public toilets and installing modern bins under the Swachh Bharat Scheme. Jaitelys sops for the retailers may also benefit businessmen in Delhi and the city government to generate more revenue. A VAT department said: No weekly off for markets would mean more business volume and tax generation. The Finance Minister in his speech proposed a new model Shops and Establishment Act that would give shopkeepers the option of opening their business without a weekly off. Jaitley has also proposed scheme for helping job seekers get employment with ease as state employment exchanges would be linked with the national platform. The city labour departments officials, however, said they were not aware of the details and not in a position to react. Another Budget proposal to make operational 100 model career centres across the country by the end of 2016-17 may help Delhi youths if at least one of these comes up in the city. Delhi educational institutions may also benefit if they figure in the proposed plan to offer online courses on Entrepreneurship Education and Training at 2,200 colleges, 300 schools, 500 government Industrial training Institutes and 50 vocational training centres. While some doctors welcomed the Budget announcement on dialysis units at district hospitals, others termed it as half hearted without a renal transplant programme in place. Currently, the government facilities fall short as the burden of patients suffering from kidney problems is huge. The private sector dialysis facilities are expensive. Dialysis centres is a good move. Thousands of people lose out on treatment as dialysis at private hospitals is extremely expensive and the numbers of centres in the government sector fall short of the demand, said Dr A K Rai, medical superintendent at Safdarjung Hospital. Units can be helpful for patients suffering from acute renal failure. But a significant number of patients suffer from chronic renal failure and need transplant after a number of dialysis cycles. So there needs to be a proper renal transplant programme in place without which the efforts of setting up these units will only be half-hearted, said Dr Y K Sarin, medical superintendent at Lok Nayak Hospital. Currently, most renal transplants are conducted in private hospitals. Renal transplant programmes should be boosted in government hospitals, said Dr Sarin. The funds will be made available through public-private partnership (PPP) mode under the National Health Mission to provide dialysis services in district hospitals. About 2.2 lakh new patients of End Stage Renal Disease get added in India every year resulting in additional demand for 3.4 crore dialysis sessions. With approximately 4,950 dialysis centres in India, largely in the private sector and concentrated in the major towns, the demand is only half-met, said Minister Arun Jaitley. The minister added that every dialysis session costs around Rs 2,000 which takes the annual expenditure of a family to more than Rs 3 lakh. The centres are located in the major towns which means families have to travel long distance to access these services, incurring heavy travel costs and loss of wages, he said. This will help reduce financial suffering of lakhs of patient who cannot afford kidney transplants. About 80 per cent of 2.2 lakh new renal patients cannot afford kidney transplant, said Dr D S Rana, secretary general, Indian Society of Hemodialysis and chairperson, Nephrology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. A centre at every district will help reduce mortality rates of patients suffering from kidney diseases, said Dr K K Aggarwal, honourary general secretary, Indian Medical Association. The opening of 3,000 generic drug stores was also welcome by doctors. This will provide cheaper medicines to the community, said Dr Aggarwal. When asked about playing a psychotic obsessive role like "Darr" again in "Fan", SRK said, "No not really... The role (of Gaurav) is different from what one saw me doing in 'Darr', 'Baazigar'. These are anti-hero." "In this film, he is not a psychotic lover. It's the story of a young boy and his love for a superstar," he said. The "Chak De India" star feels it is not right on his part to dictate or tell his fans how they should be. "A fan can be like Devdas, Rahul or Gaurav (referring to his popular roles). They have their own way of expressing ... At times it is so much. I just don't want them to write letter with blood. Today we have email system and social media," he said. "I am a fan of films. I enjoy being in this space. I remember my first fans were two ladies... I was in Delhi and they looked at me and yelled Abhimanyu Rai. I am thankful to them for making me feel like that," he added. In real life, if Khan comes across a fan like Gaurav, he said he would sit and make him understand. SRK's admirers were seen in large numbers at the film's trailer launch. "Today is February 29 and this date comes once in four years. For the first time Yash Raj Films (producers) allowed fans in their studio. Adi (producer Aditya Chopra) did this as he loves me and he knows I love my fans a lot," the 'Dilwale' star said. Special arrangements were made for the trailer launch like an audio-visual sensor, fan-o-meter that detected the highest level of the sound (referring to people cheering at the venue), after which the trailer was launched. Khan is thankful to his fans for being with him. "Whenever I am happy, sad I look upto you. I thank you all for making me the star that I am today," he said. "I feel a fan... Admirer should always take up good things. Like take up good things from Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Sania Mirza," he adds. Before the trailer launch, SRK recited popular dialogues from his films like "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge", "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai", "Devdas", "Don" and "Fan". Directed by Maneesh Sharma and produced by Aditya Chopra, "Fan" releases on April 15. Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has revealed that before he joined the filmdom, he felt he looked like Bollywood actor Kumar Gaurav but at a later stage thought his looks matched that of Hollywood veteran Al Pacino's.In his upcoming film "Fan", Khan will be seen playing two roles, one of a superstar Aryan Khanna and his fan Gaurav, who comes across as his lookalike."Initially I used to feel I look like Kumar Gaurav (son of Rajendra Kumar)...He was the first star I wanted to meet. I was happy that I looked like someone good like him (Kumar Gaurav). Then after some point, I felt I looked like Al Pacino (an American actor)," Khan told reporters here at the trailer launch of "Fan"."Now at the age of 50, I feel I look like my father. I am hopeful a time will come when I would feel I look like myself," he said."Fan" is the story of Gaurav (Khan) a young man, whose world revolves around superstar Aryan Khanna (Khan) or God as he refers to him.From the bylanes of Delhi, young Gaurav embarks on a journey to the city of dreams, Mumbai, in order to wish his God on his birthday. But when things don't go according to plan, Gaurav's love and passion for the superstar turns into a dangerous obsession. The ruling, by US Magistrate Judge James Orenstein, yesterday applied narrowly to one Brooklyn drug case, but it gives support to the company's position in its fight against a California judge's order that it create specialised software to help the FBI hack into an iPhone linked to the San Bernardino terrorism investigation. Orenstein belittled some government arguments, saying attorneys were stretching an old law "to produce impermissibly absurd results." He rejected government claims that Apple was only concerned with public relations. He said he found no limit on how far the government would go to require a person or company to violate the most deeply-rooted values. And he said claims that Apple must assist the government because it reaped the benefits of being an American company "reflects poorly on a government that exists in part to safeguard the freedom of its citizens." Both cases hinge partly on whether a law written long before the computer age, the 1789 All Writs Act, could be used to compel Apple to cooperate with efforts to retrieve data from encrypted phones. "Ultimately, the question to be answered in this matter, and in others like it across the country, is not whether the government should be able to force Apple to help it unlock a specific device; it is instead whether the All Writs Act resolves that issue and many others like it yet to come," Orenstein wrote. "I conclude that it does not." Apple's opposition to the government's tactics has evoked a national debate over digital privacy rights and national security. On Thursday, the Cupertino, California-based company formally objected to the California order, accusing the federal government of seeking "dangerous power" through the courts and of trampling on the company's constitutional rights. The separate California case involves an iPhone 5C owned by San Bernardino County and used by Syed Farook, who was a health inspector. Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people during a December 2 attack that was at least partly inspired by the Islamic State group. The couple died later in a gun battle with police. Orenstein, ruling with an eye to the California case, referenced it multiple times in a 50-page ruling and noted that the government request there was far more "intrusive." The New York case features a government request far less onerous for Apple and its cellphone technology; the extraction technique exists for that older operating system and it's been used before some 70 times before to assist investigators. A federal judge has ruled that the US Justice Department cannot use a 227-year-old law to force Apple to provide the FBI with access to locked iPhone data, dealing a blow to the government in its battle with the company over privacy and public safety. Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump today posted a quote on Instagram attributing it to Mahatma Gandhi, but the American media said there is no evidence that the Indian leader had ever used these words. "First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win Mahatma Gandhi," Trump wrote on social networking site Instagram as part of his effort to rally supporters. The Instagram post included a picture of hordes of supporters rallying at a Trump campaign stop in Alabama. Soon, the anti-Trump lobby was up in flames on the social media. The Hill, a top US political website, said, "There's no record that Gandhi ever used the phrase, which has been widely attributed to him." The quotation appears to be similar to words used in a 1918 trade union address by socialist leader Nicholas Klein, it said. Christian Science Monitor has put this among the top 10 political misquotes. There was no immediate response from the Trump's campaign on the issue. "Gandhi did not say this," one Scott T Smith wrote on twitter. Trump sought to quote Gandhi a day after he was criticised for re-tweeting Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini early Sunday morning. "He got tired of quoting Mussolini and he's saving the Hitler quotes until he's really desperate," tweeted Brad Fraser. Several popular websites have attributed this quote -- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win to Mahatma Gandhi. According to Wikiquotes, this is the quote which is often misattributed to Mahatma Gandhi. Headley, the Pakistani-American terrorist, had told to a Mumbai court that Jahan was a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative. "Let it be listed. We will see it then," a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit said when advocate M L Sharma mentioned the matter for its urgent hearing. Sharma said that the statement of Headley is significant as it conclusively establishes the fact that Jahan was an LeT operative. Gujarat Police personnel, including the then DIG D G Vanzara, are facing trial in a Mumbai court for their alleged role in the encounter. The plea, which cited the recent statements before a special court recorded by Headley, who allegedly conspired with LeT in plotting the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, said the facts are now undisputed that all four persons killed by Gujarat Police, including Ishrat Jahan, were terrorists. "The judicial proceeding and statement of David Headley, who conspired with LeT in plotting the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, stated via video conference and recorded in the special court at Mumbai that four persons, including Ishrat Jahan who were killed in June 2004 by Gujarat Police, were a part of LeT terrorist organisation belonging to Pakistan and they were assigned to kill then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi," it said. The plea sought a direction to close criminal proceedings and action taken in FIRs lodged by CBI against the Gujarat Police personnel and others, saying it was unconstitutional within the judicial facts and evidences of Headley. It also sought a direction from the court declaring that killing of a terrorist is not an offence under Indian law and proper compensation be paid to the state police personnel in the interest of justice. It also wanted initiation of suo motu perjury/contempt proceedings against the then Home Minister and CBI Director for concealing true facts before the Supreme Court and the Gujarat High Court and for filing a false affidavit pertaining to facts about Ishrat Jahan case. The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a plea seeking quashing of criminal prosecution, suspension and other actions taken against Gujarat cops in the 2004 alleged fake encounter killing of Ishrat Jahan in view of recent testimony of jailed LET operative David Headley. In a first of its kind lawsuit, a decorated Sikh-American soldier has sued the US military, alleging that because of his religious beliefs he is being subjected to "discriminatory" testing that no other soldier in the US Army goes through. Captain Simratpal Singh, 28 was in December last year granted a temporary religious accommodation to serve in the US Army while maintaining his Sikh turban, unshorn hair and beard. The accommodation, a rare exception, was scheduled to remain in effect until March 31 but in an unprecedented step backward, the US Army recently ordered Singh to report today for "extraordinary, non-standard additional testing as a precondition for remaining in the Army", international law firm McDermott Will & Emery, representing Singh, said in a statement. The firm, along with the Sikh Coalition and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, filed the federal lawsuit against the Department of Defence on behalf of Singh, who has earned a Bronze Star for clearing explosives from roads in Afghanistan, and received numerous other military accolades in various positions. Singh is scheduled to be sequestered for three days to undergo testing that no other soldier in the US Army has ever been subjected to, including the soldiers permitted to maintain beards for medical reasons and previously-accommodated Sikh soldiers, the law firms said. The New York Times said the tests seek to determine if his helmet would fit over his long hair and if his gas mask could seal to his face. The lawsuit, which is the first of its kind on behalf of a Sikh officer, demands that the US military continue to accommodate Singh's Sikh turban, unshorn hair, and unshorn beard and "abandon its unfair and discriminatory" testing. "For years we have worked to avoid litigation under the guiding belief that the US military would finally do the right thing," said Amandeep Sidhu, Partner at McDermott Will and Emery. "The US Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act make it clear that Captain Singh has the right to practice his faith in the military and we are confident that the court will agree," said Sidhu. Once the testing is enjoined, Singh seeks a further ruling directing the Army to make his religious accommodation permanent. "I have so much pride in my Sikh identity and service to my nation," Singh had said in December after receiving his temporary accommodation. "To feel spiritually whole, while continuing my military career, has always been the dream," he had said. Singh had enrolled in West Point in 2006 and after failed attempts to obtain an accommodation, he had to cut his hair and shave his beard in order to be able to serve in the Army. Singh, who graduated from West Point with honours in 2010, filed an accommodation request in October last year and was granted a temporary 30-day accommodation to serve while maintaining his Sikh articles of faith. "Captain Singh is being subject to discriminatory testing that isn't required of any other soldiers, even those with medical or religious accommodations. The Army cannot delay in providing him his statutory and constitutionally mandated right to an accommodation to serve as an observant Sikh in the Army," said the Sikh Coalition's Legal Director, Harsimran Kaur. Senior Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty Eric Baxter said the US Army should be trying to get more soldiers like Singh instead of banning them from serving or punishing them for their beliefs. "It's time for the Pentagon to stop playing games and start doing the right thing for Captain Singh, for Sikh Americans, and for all Americans," Baxter added. Last year, 27 retired US Generals called on the US department of Defence to eliminate the ban on observant Sikhs. These generals join 105 Members of Congress, 15 US Senators and 21 national interfaith and civil rights organisations, who have previously signed letters in support of American Sikhs' right to serve. On the reported charges of rape and molestation by Jat quota agitators near Murthal town, Selja said the state government's enquiry team cannot be trusted and demanded that the High Court should inquire into it. "We demand a judicial inquiry." Haryana government has set up a three-member team of women police officers to look into the alleged incidents of rape and molestation of several women by Jat protesters. Pramod Tiwari of the Congress also demanded a fair probe into the rape and molestation allegations. T K Rangarajan of the CPI(M) condemned the lodging of a sedition case against party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D Raja and other political leaders in Hyderabad. An FIR has been registered against Yechury, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, party leaders Anand Sharma and Ajay Maken, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Raja, JD(U)'s KC Tyagi, JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid on the order of a Hyderabad court based on a complaint filed by lawyer Janardhan Goud. Ranjarajan also wanted to know whether the Chair has received any notice of arrest for Yechury and Raja. Shantaram Naik (Congress) raised the issue of proposed Defence Exposition to be held in South Goa and said the local people were agitated due to the proposed exhibition. "Goa government has succumbed to the pressure of the Centre," he said, adding that such expositions used to be held at the Pragati Maidan in the national capital. KVP Ramchandra Rao (Congress) raised the issue of difficulties being faced by palm cultivators in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Sanjiv Kumar of JMM raised took up the issue of farmers affected by the Maithan Power Plant in Jharkhand. He said farmers whose lands were being acquired for the plant should be given permanent jobs and adequate medical facilities. Congress member Kumari Selja today sought a judicial inquiry into the reports of rape of several women in Haryana during the Jat agitation, saying "jungle raj" was prevailing in the state.Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, Selja said there is "jungle raj" in Haryana and the government has been a "mute spectator" to the large-scale violence during the agitation in the state. With Congress gunning for HRD Minister Smriti Irani with a Privilege Motion, BJP today hit back in Lok Sabha by pressing for similar action against the opposition party's Chief Whip Jyotiraditya Scindia for "defamatory" remarks against Minister Bandaru Dattatreya. BJP's Chief Whip Arjun Ram Meghwal accused Scindia of "misleading" the House on February 24 by alleging that Dattatreya had called Rohith Vemula, a Dalit student of Hyderabad University who committed suicide, "anti-national, casteist and extremist". Meghwal said he and many other members, including Dattatreya, had given a notice of breach of privilege against Scindia. He raised the issue amid uproarious scenes in the House as AIADMK members were demanding action against former Union Minister P Chidambaram's son Karti in the Aircel-Maxis issue. At this, Congress members too rushed to the Well, demanding that the Speaker decide on their privilege motion. Dattatreya accused Scindia of "defaming him and tarnishing" his image by attributing such comments to him that he never made about Vemula. "My mother used to sell onions. I have always worked for OBCs, Dalits... I have made sacrifices for Dalits," he said, recalling his humble background and work for the downtrodden. He said his letter to Irani, over which he has been attacked by Congress, made no mention of Vemula's name. "I never made such charge against him." Congress members continued to protest with K C Venugopal showing the rule book to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to which she shot back, saying "Don't show me the rule book. I know." She repeatedly tried to pacify the members saying all the notices for privilege motion are under her consideration. With AIADMK and Congress members continuing to protest, she adjourned the House. The issue of privilege motion against Irani had created a brief uproar in the Lok Sabha yesterday before Finance Minister Arun Jaitely started presenting the Union Budget 2016-17 with opposition members seeking to know the status of their notices against Irani for "misleading" the House on the Rohith Vemula issue. The terror attack on Pathankot Airbase in January was carried out by Pakistan's "non-state actors" who operate with support of the Pakistani establishment, government suggested in the Rajya Sabha today. "The complete details will come out in the NIA investigation. But in this, non-state actors from Pakistan are surely involved. This is for sure. Any non-state actors there, they cannot function smoothly without full state support," Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said. He was responding to a question by Shiv Sena member Sanjay Raut who wanted to know whether it was merely a terror attack or an armed operation carried out with the support of Pakistani army. Replying to supplementaries, Parrikar said intelligence had been received about the possible attack indicating Pathankot Army installations as suspected targets. Following the attack, steps are underway to ensure that vital defence installations in the country are secure. "We have now done a security audit in addition to the normal security and are in the process of ensuring that all Army installations will be properly secured," he said. Asked if the Airbase would be shifted from Pathankot in Punjab as it is perilously close to the border, Parrikar ruled it out. "A lot of investment has been carried out in Pathankot and it will be very costly to shift the Airbase. But we have other bases which we have created," the Defence Minister said. "Other bases are strategically located within the country, much inside the border, but Pathankot is also equally important because it is closer to the enemy border," he said. Parrikar refused to share further details of the attack, saying the NIA is already investigating the matter and investigations are on. "..Further details about the incident cannot be given till the investigation is complete," he said. In a written reply, the Minister said "government has constituted a Committee under the chairmanship of a former Vice Chief of Army Staff to inter-alia suggest measures to strengthen security of various military establishments across the country." He said, "The Committee appointed is to ensure that defence establishment security audit and any lack of security aspects and to further improve the security aspects and to give suggestions on that." He said in his written reply that a group of terrorists attacked the Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab, in the intervening night of January and 2, 2016 and a joint operation by the Army, Air Force and National Security Guard (NSG) was conducted to neutralise the terrorist attack. "The terrorists were confined to non-residential and non-operational area of the base. Thereby, they were successfully prevented from damaging the strategic assets of Indian Air Force," he said. India cannot afford to lose China's support by joining the US in patrolling the disputed South China Sea as it needs Chinese help for economic growth and for success of BRICS, a state-run daily said today. In the second commentary within a week on the joint patrol issue, an article in the Global Times said: "The New Delhi government pursues pragmatic diplomacy and strives to reach a balance between the US and China. Some interpret New Delhi's refusal (to jointly patrol the SCS) as retaliation against Washington's approval of weapon sales to Islamabad last year." "This may be true. Yet, the fundamental reason is that New Delhi understands the significance of a sound China-India relationship to the nation's development. India cannot afford to lose China's support, which serves as an economic engine for the nation's growth. "In addition, New Delhi has officially taken over the presidency of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) from Moscow last month and will host the eighth summit in a few months' time. A friendly atmosphere is significant for the upcoming summit," the article said. It said conducting joint patrols in an attempt to court the US in this backdrop is inappropriate. "By refusing the US proposal, India is taking a stand and showing goodwill to China." The commentary is the second such article in the daily. On February 26, it said "any move by India to join the US navy for jointly patrolling the disputed South China sea will be against its national interest and it would divide Asian countries and further escalate regional tensions." Chinese media's reactions came after it was reported that the US and India talked about launching joint naval patrols in the South China sea to safeguard freedom of navigation. But soon India clarified there would be no such patrols and the US also subsequently denied having any such plans. China claims almost all of the South China Sea, where several other Asian countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei have overlapping claims. Today's article also accused the US of attempting to drive a wedge between India and Pakistan. "Wary of India's rise, US is attempting to instigate conflicts between New Delhi and Islamabad by approving the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. New Delhi is wise to say no to Washington. "The White House is just manoeuvring India for its own interests, and will not stop supporting Pakistan as a repay to India. The US administration is following a 'divide and rule' policy," it said. From US perspective, China, Russia and India are all threatening its status as a superpower. The US does not want to see a stronger India, it said. "In fact, the likelihood for India to station its naval forces in the South China Sea remains quite low. Yet, it may strengthen its military presence in the Indian Ocean. For instance, there is Indian Navy's ambitious Project Seabird, which pursues the construction of facilities to berth the nation's aircraft carriers," the article said. "In addition, it may also cooperate with Vietnam by selling equipment to Hanoi, conducting military drills, regularly visiting Hanoi's ports, inspecting ships and so forth. Maintaining a close military bond with Vietnam conforms to India's Act East strategy," it said. "Strengthening its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region is the ultimate purpose for the US to propose US-India joint naval patrols. Washington believes that Beijing, which has already broken through the first island chain, is challenging its maritime hegemony," it said. "Freedom of navigation is never an issue in the region. The White House is just finding excuses to enter the waters and even attempting to station its forces in Philippine naval bases," it said. "Apart from drawing countries outside the region, such as India, Japan, South Korea and Australia, the US is also inciting South China Sea claimants to stir up trouble in the region. Over time, these countries will realise that it is the US, rather than China, that is militarising the South China Sea and destroying the peaceful and stable environment there," it said. Shiv Sena today said it has sacked an office-bearer of its youth wing who allegedly assaulted a shop assistant for refusing to provide free 'vada-pavs'. "That person was sacked yesterday itself," a source close to Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray told PTI. The incident took place in suburban Vile Parle (West) on Saturday. The accused, Sunil Mahadik, allegedly hit Chetan Geveriya (28), who works at Trupti Sweet and Farsan Mart on D J Road, with a bamboo stick, police had yesterday said. Mahadik had sent a person to the shop demanding 100 vada pavs, a popular street-food here, free of cost. Chetan told him that they didn't have so much stock, so the person left. Irked, Mahadik then went to the shop and hit Geveria with a bamboo stick and threatened to kill him, they had said. The incident was captured by the CCTV cameras in the shop and later an FIR was registered with Juhu police. The footage was also aired by some local news channels. The incident comes in the wake of another in neighbouring Thane where a Shiv Sena worker was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman traffic constable three days ago. CCTV footage of the incident had gone viral. Meanwhile, Swabhiman Sanghatana leader Nitesh Rane said his organisation today held a "free vada pav" distribution event to protest the assault on the shopkeeper. "These people (Yuva Sena) are strong proponents of night life in Mumbai. This assault shows what will happen if what they call 'night life' is allowed," Nitesh, an MLA, said. Americans began voting today in the crucial Super primaries and caucuses, with front-runners Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump hoping to finish off their rivals in the US presidential election. A total of 12 states from Alabama to Alaska are holding primaries or caucuses today. Virginia was the first state to open its polling stations at 6:00 AM (16:30 IST). A new nationwide poll released yesterday said each of them were well ahead of their closest rivals on the eve of the 'Super Tuesday' showdown. Trump has expanded his lead over the diminished field to capture the support of nearly half of Republican voters, while Clinton tops Bernie Sanders by nearly 20 points on the Democrat votes, according to a CNN/ORC poll. The 69-year-old real estate tycoon tops his nearest Republican competitor by more than 30 points: 49 per cent back Trump, 16 per cent Marco Rubio, 15 per cent Ted Cruz, 10 per cent Ben Carson and 6 per cent John Kasich. Trump's rivals, Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, were desperately trying to halt his march toward nomination. If Trump wins the South, it could be lights out for his Republican challengers. Texas is the largest prize today. Almost 600 Republican delegates are up for grabs today, nearly half the 1,237 needed to secure the nomination. The 'Super Tuesday' is the biggest day of the 2016 US presidential primary primary season, with 12 states and one territory participating: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming and American Samoa. On the Democratic side, 68-year-old Clinton tops Bernie Sanders 55 per cent to 38 per cent in the new poll, a slightly wider margin than she held in late January before any primaries or caucuses were held, the report said. Some 865 Democratic delegates are at stake, 36 per cent of those needed to win. The presidential election is scheduled for November 8. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) has sold 1.81 crore shares in Kotak Mahindra Bank to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in a deal worth over Rs 1,150 crore. SMBC held a 3.58% stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board held a 3.91%, as per the shareholding pattern table for the quarter ended December 2015, on the BSE. According to sources, Citibank managed the share sale, for which the shares were offered in the price range of Rs 611.34-636.55 per share. Karnataka State Womens Development Corporation (KSWDC) Chairperson Vasanthi Shivanna on Tuesday asserted that sex workers should be brought to the mainstream of society. Addressing the gathering during a programme organised to distribute certificates to successful trainees of various vocational skills programme, organised by Guard organisation, in association with L&T Public Charitable Trust at Jaganmohan Palace auditorium here, Vasanthi, who strongly criticised women taking to sex work to eke out a living, described it as a bad culture. It has also led to an increase in the number of AIDS cases, she added. Vasanthi said such women can be assured of jobs with the help of job-oriented schemes introduced by the government. She instead appealed to women to be educated and pursue studies through open and distance learning courses. L&T Public Charitable Trust, Corporate Training, Vice-President A D Sahaane appealed to the successful trainees to help the needy by enrolling them to such training courses. He also urged them to share their success stories and experiences to motivate others and also to repay loans advanced by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), with Guard as guarantor. Sahaane advised the successful trainees to make use of the skills and create employment opportunities for others. Earlier, he said, women had innate talents that should be encouraged with timely support. Under the initiative, over 2,700 women have been trained since five years, he added. Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli was in India on his maiden foreign trip after assuming charge underscoring the importance Kathmandu is placing in restoring normalcy to its ties with India. This was the first bilateral visit by a Nepalese Prime Minister to New Delhi since Baburam Bhattarais in October 2011 and Oli was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa, finance minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel and home minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet among others. Oli was explicit that his main mission behind this bilateral visit to India was to clear the misunderstanding and take ties between the two countries to the same level as in 2014, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Nepal. And after his discussions with Modi, Oli said, The misunderstanding that persisted in the last few months is no longer there. I believe our relationship will greatly benefit from our discussions. It is high time to look at India-Nepal relations with a forward-looking approach in the interest of the two countries and their people. The two nations also signed nine agreements, ranging from infrastructure to rail and road transit. This visit assumes great significance as Indo-Nepal ties had been strained in the wake of agitation by the communities opposing Nepals Constitution, saying it failed to address their concerns over representation and homeland. The protesters had blocked the trading points for almost four months crippling supply of petroleum products, medicines and other commodities. Olis government had accused India of imposing an unofficial blockade to support the Madhesis and there were even suggestions that the prime minister might visit Beijing first instead of New Delhi, thereby breaking a longstanding tradition. But after the blockade ended earlier this month, Oli reached out to India. Before his visit to India, Oli tried to allay Indian concerns by suggesting that his government wanted close ties with both New Delhi and Beijing and that he didnt believe in using one neighbour against another. India had raised concerns over Nepals constitution through back channels to avoid being accused of interfering with the process. There was a sense that Nepalese parties ignored the concerns, along with a suggestion to delay promulgation for a few days in view of protests. India conveyed a list of seven amendments to make the constitution am-enable for alienated groups living mostly in the Terai region bordering India. The Nepalese government argued that Nepals constitution is better than the Indian constitution and the most progressive in South Asia. Communist leaders in Nepal have taken a strong anti-India line underlining that the new constitutions promulgation is a matter of conscience and self-respect for the Nep-alese people and any act from anywhere that amounts to undermining our sover-eignty is not acceptable to the Nepalese. Indo-Nepal relations have taken a nosedive with Kathmandu blaming India for growing fuel shortages, implying that India had imposed an informal blockade by not allowing fuel trucks to cross the border into Nepal. New Delhi blamed this disruption on the mass protests. Nepal imports almost all its oil from India, and road links to China through the Himalayas have been blocked since last years earthquake. As tensions with India mounted, China reopened its border with Nepal in Tibet. The disruptions underscore the Himalayan kingdoms profound economic vulnerability, further inflaming anti-India passions. China is likely to be a beneficiary of this turmoil in Indias periphery. Historically, Nepal has had close ties with India. The political uncertainty in Nepal has fuelled anti-Indian sentiments, allowing China to enlarge its presence and even offer financial assistance for drafting the constitution. China overtook India as Nepals biggest foreign investor in 2013 with its funding of a $1.6 billion hydropower project one of countrys biggest outside investments. Modis Nepal visit Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made Nepal a priority. He visited in August 2014 and also pledged $1 billion for reconstruction after the earthquake. It was the first bilateral visit to Nepal by an Indian prime minister in 17 years. Nepalese polity, cutting across party lines, had welcomed the assumption of power by Modi, with most expressing hope that Nepal would be a beneficiary of his developmental agenda. The Nepalese parliament invited Modi for an address, the first by a foreign head of state to that body since 1990, and the Nepalese gave him a rousing welcome. Modis speech was a graceful reflection on the trials and turbulence that have shaped Indo-Nepalese ties in recent years with a promise of a change of course. Modi also concluded three memoranda of understanding, including one on the 5600-MW Pancheshwar project, a bi-national hydropower project to be developed in Mahakali River bordering Nepal and India. Most significantly, he promised prompt implementation of Indian projects in Nepal, a cause of needless irritation in this bilateral relationship and viewed as symptomatic of Indias lack of seriousness by most Nepalese. India also promised review of the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship within two years on the basis of recommendations from a group of eminent representatives from both countries. Now, with India welcoming the amendment of the Constitution to accommodate the demands of Madhesis and the lifting of the blockade, the Modi government has another opportunity to reshape the contours of New Delhis relations with Kathmandu especially at a time when India seems to be losing ground in Nepal to China. Nepalese prime minister has reached out to India and India reciprocated well. The challenge will be to ensure that this momentum is not lost in the coming years. (The writer is Professor of International Relations, Kings College London) The mandatory helmet rule for pillion riders, which has already come into force across the State, was implemented in the district from Tuesday. Deputy Commissioner B Ramu, who participated in an awareness programme for government employees at J H Patel Auditorium, here, said government employees should be role models for others in respecting the law. A major reason for high casualty among motorcyclists is not wearing of helmets, he added. From March 1, wearing helmet has been made compulsory in the district and everybody should follow the order to protect their lives, he stressed. Superintendent of Police Kuldeepkumar R Jain said, helmets had been made compulsory across the State, except Chamarajanagar, in an effort to create awareness among the people. Several campaigns will be organised at various parts of the city to create awareness in this regard. Those who violate the law would be penalised. So, both rider and pillion rider should wear helmets, he stressed. DH News Service The Opposition disrupted the proceedings of the legislature on Tuesday, demanding that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah come clean on his diamond-studded wrist watch or step down immediately. The BJP and the JD(S) wanted the chief minister to explain why he accepted a Rs 70 lakh worth of Hublot watch from NRI doctor, Girish Chandra Varma, and whether there was some quid pro quo. In response, the chief minister reiterated that he had done nothing wrong by accepting the gift from the NRI. Congress legislators tried to turn the tables on the BJP members, accusing them of wearing equally expensive watches. In the Assembly, BJP members led by Jagadish Shettar unsuccessfully attempted to move an adjournment motion, demanding an explanation from the chief minister on the grounds that it was a matter of public interest. The BJP argued that Siddaramaiah not only flouted the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), but also the code of conduct for ministers. Shettar not only sought Varmas details but also an affidavit from him that he had gifted the watch to Siddaramaiah. At that time, however, the chief minister didnt respond. Interestingly, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, who was the first to highlight that the chief minister wears expensive watches, remained a mute spectator to the war of words between the Congress and the BJP members. But his partymen supported the BJP members in the Council. Amid the din, Siddaramaiah and his Cabinet colleagues tried to declare the watch issue a close chapter. In the Council, BJP leader K S Eshwarappa said in a preliminary submission on the adjournment motion, The chief minister should reveal why he accepted such an expensive gift and whether the gifter had benefited from him. He also suggested that Siddaramaiah had brought discredit to the State. Siddaramaiah, who had remained silent for the most part of the screaming match, defended himself by saying he had not violated the FCRA as Dr Varma was not a foreigner and that it was permissible to accept gifts from NRIs. He reiterated that he would mention the watch in his Income Tax returns and to the Lokayukta by June, besides depositing the personal wear with the State government. The BJP said the Congress party had panicked over the watch issue. Jumping to Siddaramaiahs defence, Congress ministers and members presented photographs which they said showed BJP leaders wearing equally expensive watches. In the Council, BJP and JD(S) members staged a dharna, seeking permission to make the preliminary submission. But the chairs of both the Houses did not allow the adjournment motion. The House was then adjourned for the day as the Opposition refused to budge. DH News Service Stop CM from watch auction: Plea in HC A petition has urged the High Court to direct Chief Minister Siddaramaiah not to auction the Hublot watch he claimed was a gift from an NRI doctor. The petitioner, Nataraj Sharma, said he had written to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to investigate the source of the watch. He urged the court to order the chief secretary to keep the watch in safe custody. The court is yet to hear the petition. With the Opposition demanding his resignation over the diamond-studded watch issue, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday evening hosted dinner to the ruling party legislators at a star hotel. The chief minister has hosted the dinner a day before the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting. The CLP is scheduled to be held on Wednesday at Vidhana Soudha. Siddaramaiah wants the ruling party to counter the Opposition attack on the issue unitedly in both the Assembly and the Council. Many party legislators, especially seniors, are not happy with Siddaramaiah as far as the watch issue is concerned. They are of the view that the controversy has damaged the partys image. Some of them even believe that the watch issue was a reason for the Congress party putting up a poor show in the recently concluded zilla and taluk panchayat polls, the sources said. Moreover, the party high command has taken the controversy seriously. The row has embarrassed the Congress which had been accusing the Narendra Modi government as suit boot ki sarkar. A section of Congress leaders are even speculating about the leadership change in Karnataka. Hence, it is important for Siddaramaiah at this juncture to ensure that the CLP members stand by him, the sources pointed out. Disregarding the Supreme Courts observation that installing CCTV cameras at dance bars is unacceptable and impermissible, the Maharashtra government has claimed before the top court that the proposed measure would help maintain dignity of girls, prevent their exploitation and avoid any unnecessary harassment by the police. The state government also cited study conducted by institutions and NGOs like Prayas, Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini and Research Centre for Womens Studies in SNDT University, Mumbai and Forum Against Oppression of Women, Mumbai, which stated the bar girls between 18 and 30 years of age are uneducated or less educated. They are from poor strata of the society. Also further most of the girls or artistes have entered the profession not by their choice but have entered by compulsion. The state being concerned with the dignity and exploitation of such poor uneducated/less educated bar girls, installing the CCTV cameras and live feed of the same to the police control room will help to maintain the dignity of such girls and prevent their exploitation, it said in an affidavit. In case of installation of CCTV cameras and live feed of the same to the police control room, there will be check on the police and transparency for both the parties will be maintained, it added. The state government also claimed it had enquired with various restaurants and bar owners who said that they had installed CCTV cameras in the bars, restaurant and public areas like reception, lift, entrance and exist to hotel, which among others, will help reduce crime. The cameras would not only ensure personal safety of the dance bar girls but would result in quick response from police in case of any untoward incident, it said. It also submitted that the restaurant is a public place as per the provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951. There is no question of encroachment upon privacy of any individual/customer visiting the restaurant/permit room, it said, adding the place of public amusement" meant any place where music, singing dancing, or any game is organised. The state government also defended its decision to impose conditions like there would not be any concealed room in dance bars, which could be used for immoral purpose. The apex court, which had struck down in 2013 Maharashtras ban on dance bars, had on February 24 observed the right to practice ones profession cannot be curtailed by using such tools as CCTV cameras on objections raised by the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association over those fresh conditions. The court had in October, 2015 allowed dance performances, allowing the government to regulate it to check obscenities. The state government also defended its decision to impose conditions like there would not be any concealed room in dance bars, which could be used for immoral purpose. The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has made the process of issuing the No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) certificate online with the launch of a web portal www.nori.ac.in for the purpose. The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has made the process of issuing the No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) certificate online with the launch of a web portal www.nori.ac.in for the purpose. Issuing a notification, however, the ministry has made it clear that it will not entertain applications for NORI from doctors or anyone seeking the certificate to undertake higher training in medical and allied subjects in US, saying the matter pertaining to such individuals comes under the purview of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. With this website, getting a certificate of waiver from two-year stay-back in India condition may now be a hassle free affair for Indian technocrats, researchers and students applying for H1B visa to work in US after the expiry of their J-1 visa period, issued for sponsored study or training exchange programmes. The Union Health Ministry notified last year that it will not issue NORI to doctors and those with medical degree, in an effort to check migration of medical professionals from India to abroad. Thought the ministry has made the portal operational for processing of applications from February 27 inviting individuals to apply online, it has notified that it will continue to receive and process the candidates application submitted in physical form only for the next 90 days. Post 90 days, physical application will not be accepted for the purpose, the Ministry added in its notification. As per the US Immigration laws, candidates with J-1 visa applying for H1B visa to work in US are required to submit to US authorities a NORI certificate. Many Indians face problems in getting NORI from Indian consulates in US. With the launch of the website, candidates can not only file an application online, but also track the status of their applications, rectify the shortcoming indicated by the HRD Ministry. Applicants will get alerts through e-mail on every stage. The entire process been simplified to make it a hassle free experience to Indians going US with J-1 visa, official sources added. Emphasising that India was a pluralistic country, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) and Archbishop of Trivananthapuram, Baselios Cleemis Cardinal Thottunkal, on Tuesday asserted that the majority of Hindus in the country were secular. Politics is certainly good, but not vote-bank politics. If the entire Hindu community in India had decided to be communal, the Christians, Muslims and Sikhs would not have been safe. Thanks be to God the majority of Hindus in India are secular. The virtue of secularism should be celebrated by all, Cardinal Thottunkal told reporters here on the sidelines of a press conference. The head of the CBCI said attacks on the minority communities in India had come down, but it was derogatory statements that were creating trouble. There is a dignified space for everyone in India to believe, profess and propagate their faith. But when the secular fabric of the country is under attack, we all should stay together as a nation and face it, he stressed. He pointed out that the Christians, despite being a minuscule community, had been providing the best healthcare services in the country after the Government of India. 32nd CBCI plenary The Cardinal said a week-long plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops in India, which will be held in the City from March 2, would discuss various issues related to the Church and India. As many as 180 bishops from all the dioceses in India will deliberate on the theme, The Response of the Church in India to the Present Day Challenges, he told reporters. Several experts and resource persons in the religious, socio-political and economic fields, including scholars from the Hindu and Muslim communities, will address the bishops. The plenary will discuss secularism as well as interreligious dialogue, he said. The High Court has expressed displeasure over the standard of education being imparted in the colleges and universities of the State. Justice S Abdul Nazeer - sharing his experience of evaluating the answer sheets of advocates who appeared for the exam for the posts of district judge - observed that the standard of education had deteriorated so badly that he felt like suspending these advocates from practising and cancelling their registration. While hearing a petition filed by Shree Devi Trust, a study centre of Karnataka State Open University (KSOU), which had challenged the derecognition of the university and the cancellation of the study centre, the bench asked if the KSOU was being run in a building or under a tree and if it had a building and infrastructure of its own. In September 2015, the University Grants Commission (UGC) issued a notification, derecognising and cancelling the study centres. The study centre has approached the court, saying that UGC does not have the authority to derecognise as it only grants funds to the universities and that the recognition is given under the UGC legislation. The counsel for the study centre said that there were over 2,000 students in the centre and that they had filed criminal cases against the centre following the derecognition. The UGC has contended that degrees were sold in these study centres and hence, the university has been derecognised. The court asked the vice-chancellor or the registrar of the KSOU to be present before the court and adjourned the hearing to March 3. The Maharashtra government on Tuesday sealed the Sahara Group-owned Aamby Valley City for non-payment of dues worth Rs 4.82 crore. However, within hours the township located near the famous twin hill stations of Lonavla-Khandala in Pune district had to be reopened. The Lonavala-based property was sealed by the Mulshi Taluka Tahsildar for non-payment of non-agricultural tax of Rs. 4.82 crore. For the past two years, the Aamby Valley city has not paid the Non agricultural (NA) land tax amounting to Rs 4.50 crore and hence the action was taken, said Naib Tehsildar Nilesh Gaikwad. Vivek Kumar, CEO of Aamby Valley & Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai, however, said that the action was illegal and the gates have been reopened. A company which is valued for over Rs 1 lakh crore and is independent Indias first planned hill city, a creative expression of our founder Subrata Roy, came to news for non-payment of Non-Agriculture Tax which is Rs 27 lacs only (Rupees Twenty Seven Lacs only) as of today (Tuesday), because of the other dues aggregating to Rs 2,26,13,870, he said. "It will only be liable for payment by the closure of current Financial year i.e. 31st March, 2016; therefore we still have 30 days left for payment," he said. Kumar added that outstanding amount of Rs 2,53,41,610 (outstanding dues of Rs.27,27,740 and Rs.2,26,13,870 is for the current year 2015-2016) paid by cheque onTuesday. The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the Bar Council of India (BCI) for making it mandatory for every lawyer to pass the All India Bar Examination within two-years after enrolment. The apex court observed that the clause is in violation of a members fundamental right to practice the profession. How are you holding this examination? What is its basis without any amendment to the statute? Have you become a law unto yourself, a bench presided over by Chief Justice T S Thakur asked advocate A Prasad, appearing for the BCI. The counsel for the BCI, the apex regulatory body for the advocates, submitted that the All India Bar Examination, intended to set a minimum benchmark for admission to the practice of law for the advocates, was introduced on the basis of a recommendation by a committee following an apex court judgment. The rules in this regard were notified on June 5, 2010. The bench, also comprising Justice U U Lalit, however, pointed out that the committee itself has recommended for amendment to the Advocates Act before introducing any such examination. To say that one has to pass an examination for practising as advocate will negate his or her right to profession. A law graduate has a fundamental right to practice. Conditions can't be put after enrolment. If at all it is required, the condition should be put at the enrolment stage, the bench added. Advocate Sanjay Nuli, appearing for Bengaluru-resident one R Nagabushana, challenged the rules framed by the BCI making it compulsory for every law graduate to clear the examination. To the BCI counsels contention that the decision for examination was taken on the basis of a judgment by the apex court, the bench said the verdict has made suggestion for it but only after making amendment in the statute. The court also said in the US, it is mandatory to clear an examination to practice as an advocate and it is held regularly to assess the advocates. The court put the matter for further consideration on Wednesday, directing the counsel to produce the Law Commission's reports, which had, if at all, recommended for holding the examination. To say that one has to pass an examination for practising as advocate will negate his or her right to profession. A law graduate has a fundamental right to practice The State government has refused the offer made by the Centre to supply power to Karnataka to tide over shortage this summer saying it was way too expensive. Last Friday (February 26), Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal assured a delegation of Union ministers from Karnataka to supply of 317 MegaWatt (MW) power to the State on a daily basis till March-end. The cost of the power supplied by the Centre was Rs 5.75 per unit. Energy Minister DK Shivakumar told Deccan Herald that he said no to the power from the Centre as other cheaper options were available for the State. He said that the State had an agreement with the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) to supply 450 MW power at Rs 4.80 per unit. The power has already started flowing to the State from Monday night through the national grid, he said. Following an unexpected breakdown of the States major hydel power supplier Sharavathy Generation Station (SGS) and raising mercury levels, the demand-supply gap for power in Karnataka increased from 2,500 MW to 3,775 MW per day. SGS alone accounted for daily power generation of 1,275 MW. Total estimated power requirement of the State is 10,000 MW per day. A few weeks ago, Shivakumar had written Goel seeking 1,000 MW power to meet the demand this summer. Synchronisation of plants Meanwhile, the government is also hopeful of adding another 800 MW from Yeramarus Thermal Plant coming up at Raichur. The Energy department is hopeful of successful synchronisation of the first unit of the States first supercritical thermal plant at Yeramarus before the end of this summer. The 2X800 MW project is a joint venture of the State and Indias public sector major Bharath Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). Synchronisation of the first unit which was planned last month delayed again due to technical snags. Meanwhile, first unit of the 2400 (3X800) MW super thermal power plant at Kudgi in Vijayapura district is likely to be synchronised with the grid on March 18. Like all thermal plants, it will be oil synchronisation followed by coal. The power is likely to flow from June or July, sources said. As per the agreement, Karnataka is set to get 50 per cent of the total power generated from the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) plant at Kudgi. DH News Service The Delhi government has approached the wives of four actors, urging them to encourage their husbands not to endorse pan masala products as they contain areca nuts, a potential cancer causing agent. The move comes after the government failed to get a response from the actors themselves. Additional Director (Health), Delhi Government, Dr S K Arora has written to Kajol, wife of actor Ajay Devgn, Gauri Khan, wife of Shah Rukh Khan, Malaika Arora Khan, wife of Arbaaz Khan, and Suneeta Ahuja, wife of actor Govinda, asking them to persuade their husbands not to endorse pan masala products in larger public interest. Humble appeal to you for encouraging Mr Shah Rukh Khan not to participate in advertisements of pan masala... Earlier, a letter was written to Mr Khan for not participating in such advertisements in public interest. Nonetheless I have not received any response till date nor has he plugged doing such advertisements, Arora said in his letter to Gauri Khan. He further said that even if these pan masalas do not contain tobacco or nicotine, they surely contain areca nuts (supari). Now there are a lot of scientific evidence which proves that supari causes cancer. A similar letter was sent to Sunny Leone and I am delighted to inform that I have received an affirmative response that there will be no such promotions in future. Moreover, she is consulting the companies for the terms and conditions of the present contract to stop advertising pan masalas, Arora said. Padma Vibushan awardee Professor P Rama Rao has stated that the Manhattan Project launched by the United States was perhaps the quintessential example of grand synthesis of knowledge, investment manpower under a magnificent leader. Rao, who is the chairman of the Governing Council of Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru was speaking on the occasion of SRM University's Research Day held in Chennai recently. Rao said: None of the cutting-edge scientific ideas involved big capital or government, but was conceived by brilliant minds. Rao added that he was delighted when SRM Universitys chancellor and president spoke about the value of research and publications. I have not heard about these themes or even research day in many universities. SRM scores very uniquely both in terms of a Research Institute and in having a research day, Prof Rao said. He felt that if there are more and more researchers, India has the potential of putting out 25 per cent of graduate students (post Graduate) in the world. In his speech, professor Biswanath Mukherjee, professor of Computer Science from the University of California at Davis, USA, said: The pre-requisite of extraordinary achievement is extraordinary effort. Not everybody is a super star. Achieve your potential and beyond. India on Tuesday virtually indicted the Pakistan Army for supporting the non-state actors, who had carried out the January 2-4 terror attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab. The full details will come out of the investigation being conducted by the National Investigation Agency. But some non-state actors of Pakistan are involved in it (the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot). This much is at least true that no non-state actor there (in Pakistan) can function smoothly without taking support from them (Pakistan Army), Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in Rajya Sabha. He was responding to a question from Shiv Sena MP, Sanjay Raut, whether the terrorists, who had carried out attack at Pathankot, had been supported by the Pakistan Army. The defence ministers remark came ahead of the proposed visit of Pakistani investigators to India in connection with the probe into the attack. Six terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) crossed over from Pakistan to India and carried out the attack in the IAF base, killing a civilian and seven security personnel before being gunned down. Parrikars remark also came close on the heels of first official confirmation from Islamabad that the JeM founder Moulana Masood Azhar had been placed under police custody in Pakistan after New Delhi had accused him of masterminding the attack and shared with the neighbouring countrys government information about his role in planning the strike. Three others Khalid Mahmood, Irshadul Haque and Muhammad Shoaib were also arrested in Pakistan in connection with the attack on the airbase in India. New Delhi did not call off the proposed resumption of the stalled bilateral dialogue with Islamabad, after the cross-border terror attack on the IAF base at Pathankot, particularly taking into account Pakistans offer to act on the information provided by India. Though the proposed January 15 meeting between the two foreign secretaries to decide the modalities of the bilateral dialogue were postponed after the attack, New Delhi and Islamabad are set to restart formal engagement soon. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and his counterpart A A Chaudhry may meet in Kathmandu middle of this month. We have now done security audit also in addition to the normal security, and are in the process of ensuring that all army installations will be properly secured, Parrikar said, replying to a question whether security in and around the defence installations stepped up after the attack on the IAF base at Pathankot. The defence minister also said that the government had received intelligence input indicating that the defence facility in Pathankot could be a target of terror attack. The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to examine a petition seeking dropping of all proceedings against Gujarat police officers in the 2004 Ishrat Jahan encounter case, based on the testimony given by 26/11 Mumbai attack accused David Headley. A bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit directed for listing of the petition filed by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma. He relied upon the deposition of Headley who stated that Ishrat and her three companions were Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives on a mission to assassinate then chief minister Narendra Modi. Plea matters In his plea, Sharma also urged the SC to initiate suo motu perjury/contempt of court proceeding against the then home minister and CBI director for concealing true facts before the Supreme Court and Gujarat High Court for filing a false affidavit on the facts about Ishrat Jahan. Notably, the Home Ministry has decided to examine files relating to the 2004 case after then home secretary G K Pillai's claim that the affidavit was changed in 2009 by then minister P Chidambaram. The UPA government, in its first affidavit, had claimed that the four, who were killed in an alleged fake encounter, were terrorists. Subsequently, within two months, it changed its stand saying there was no conclusive evidence in this regard. In his petition, Sharma contended that the judicial facts and evidence supplied by Headley via video conference in the 26/11 special court at Mumbai on February 11 proved that the four people, including Ishrat, killed by Gujarat Police in an encounter on June 15, 2004 were members of the LeT. He contended that there could not be any prosecution of police personnel for killing terrorists. The petitioner sought direction for compensation to then DIG D G Vanzara and other police officers who had to suffer trial in a Mumbai court for their role in the encounter. It was a war of privilege motions in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. In a tit-for-tat approach, BJP members hit back at the Congress for giving notice for moving a breach of privilege motion against HRD Minister Smriti Irani. BJP chief whip Arjun Ram Meghwal and few other party colleagues had given notices for moving a breach of privilege motion against Congress chief whip Jyotiraditya Scindia for misleading the Lok Sabha over purported remarks made by Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya. Scindia, while initiating the debate on the JNU row and the suicide at the Hyderabad Central University (HCU), had claimed Dattatreya had called Rohith Vemula anti-national, casteist and extremist. War of words Dattatreya also gave a notice for breach of privilege motion against Scindia accusing the Congress leader of defaming him and tarnishing his image by attributing such comments to him that he never made about Vemula. The minister said his letter to Irani, over which he has been attacked by the Congress, made no mention of Vemulas name. I never made such charge against him, Dattatreya said. Congress members K C Venugopal and Ranjeet Ranjan had given notices for breach of privilege motions against Irani on Monday. CPM member Mohd Salim too gave a similar notice on Tuesday. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had reserved her observations on the notices given by opposition members. Notice In his notice against Irani, Salim claimed that the statement made by Irani, while replying to a short duration discussion on April 24 on the recent incidents at JNU and HCU, had glaring inconsistencies. Parliamentary privilege refers to rights and immunities enjoyed by Parliament as an institution and MPs in their individual capacity, without which they cannot discharge their functions as entrusted upon them by the Constitution. The House can let off the offending person committing a breach of privilege with a warning or even send the person to prison as the case may be. The Bengaluru Urban district administration has restored seven acres and 20 guntas of prime government land belonging to Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). The Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishat (JSP) had filed a complaint with the Upalokayukta against the officials of BDA and Revenue department, including Assistant Commissioner (AC) L C Nagaraj, for illegally transferring 10 acres and four guntas of BDA land to four private persons in Doddathogur village, Begur. The land in question is at survey number 105 of Doddathogur village in Bengaluru South taluk. The complaint was filed with the Upalokayukta and ADGP, Lokayukta on January 30. It said that the land had been allotted to private persons from 2010 to 2016. These private persons are benami for realtors and politicians, the complaint said. We had approached Upalokayukta Justice N Ananda with this complaint. The Upalokayukta spoke to the DC of Bengaluru Urban V Shankar over the phone and instructed him to ensure restoration of the government land. On February 6, 2015, seven acres and 20 guntas of BDA land has been restored, Adarsh R Iyer of JSP said. Out of 10 acres and four guntas, seven acres and 20 guntas has been transferred back to the BDA through an order by the AC. The reversal of his own order does not absolve the AC of his attempt to rob government land by illegally transferring it to private persons. We have filed another application with the ADGP, Lokayukta, seeking action against the AC. As far as the remaining two acres and 24 guntas are concerned, a number of sites have been registered. The revenue officials must ensure that this land also is restored to the government. All these sites have been registered through a GPA holder by name R Prabhakar Reddy, who has given subsequent GPA to a person by name K S Vinod Kumar, Iyer said. Land meant for poor The complaint filed by the JSP said that, in 2007, gomala land was transferred to the BDA for building houses for the poor displaced during eviction drives on several government lands in the past 10 years. The first allotment of this land to a private person happened in 2010, when Ramanjaneya was the Special Deputy Commissioner. Subsequently, two acres and 24 guntas was transferred to one Annayyappa, four acres was allotted to Mariyappa, one acre and 20 guntas to K D Changappa and two acres to Gangappa, till 2016. As a result, only 18 guntas was left in the name of BDA. Amid speculations that the PDP and the BJP are inching closer towards government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, a festering war of words has erupted between opposition National Conference (NC) and hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani. The NC is again openly crying that hardline Hurriyat supports Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while Geelani accused the former of playing vote bank politics. As of now, the hardline Hurriyat and the NC are at daggers drawn, trying to strip each other in public. After some statements by Geelani against NC president Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah, the latter spewed venom against the former. And, theres no end to this. In the latest, hardline Hurriyat issued a formal statement against the Abdullahs. The separatist party said the Abdullahs were playing vote bank politics by doing sweet talks. Whenever NC is out of power, they suddenly start to remember the states autonomy and the betrayal of India and also start to talk about the friendship with Pakistan and the resolution of Kashmir. But when they are in the government, they not only hate to talk about the word autonomy but Farooq Abdullah also suggest India to attack PaKistan and occupy that region too, Hurriyat spokesperson Ayaz Akbar said in a statement. In a major setback to the Maoists, Venkatapuram Area Committee secretary Kunja Veeriah alias Lachana of Bhadrachalam Division in Telangana and seven others were killed in an encounter with the police. Five women Maoist cadres were also killed in the encounter that took place at Gottepadu forest area close to the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border in south Bastar region during the early hours of Tuesday. Sources said Telangana Maoist party secretary Haribhushan aka Narayana and another senior Maoist leader Bade Chokka Rao managed to escape but Haribhushans wife Sammaka alias Sarada was among the killed. The police recovered one AK 47, three SLRs and three other firearms from the slain Maoists and the bodies were shifted to Bhadrachalam Area Hospital in two helicopters. According to Telangana DGP Anurag Sharma, the encounter took place when a search party of Telangana Grey Hounds and the Chhattisgarh Police came across the Maoists and surrounded them. The encounter that went on for an hour and a half, two police personnel were also injured. A 21-year-old woman is suspected to have jumped from the fifth floor of a building in DRDO Quarters in A Narayanapura, east Bengaluru, on Monday evening, shortly after a heated argument with her boyfriend who was not keen on an early marriage. Neha, who was studying engineering, was in a relationship with Vighnesh, a BCom student, for the past one year. The couple had decided to marry. Neha, whose mother died of cancer, introduced Vighnesh to her grandfather and he consented to the marriage. Vighneshs parents were also aware of the relationship but wanted him to focus on his studies instead, said the jurisdictional Mahadevapura police. From then on, Vighnesh is believed to have started avoiding Neha, and the couple fought over the matter. Neha had been trying to contact Vighnesh for the past one week, but he didnt respond to her calls or text messages. Frustrated and distraught, she went to his house around 7 pm on Monday. The police believe she wanted to make peace with him, but the couple fought again. An hour later, she darted to the fifth floor and jumped down. She bled to instant death. A stunned Vighnesh alerted his mother who was in the house. The police and Nehas family were also alerted. The police took Neha to a hospital where she was declared brought dead. Nehas father, Mallesh Reddy, who lives in Chinnappanahalli, Marathahalli, made a complaint to the police, accusing Vighnesh of abetting in his daughters suicide. Accordingly, the police detained Vighnesh and are interrogating him. Elderly man run over by bus An elderly person was killed in a road accident in Peenya traffic police limits Tuesday evening. The deceased was identified as Veerachar, 75, a resident of Soundarya Layout in Peenya and a teacher of acting skills. According to the police, he boarded a BMTC bus from Kempegowda bus terminal and got down at the junction on Hesaraghatta Cross around 3 pm. He was crossing the road but walked back as the traffic signal turned green and vehicles rushed at great speed. However, he fell down at the median and came under the wheels of a BMTC bus. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he died later. The police arrested Hanumantha Raju, the driver of the bus, and seized the vehicle. The cases of rape and financial misappropriation involving Alliance University Chancellor Madhukar G Angur are now being probed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). A total of eight cases are registered against Madhukar G Angur at the Anekal police station. The complainant (his elder sister) asked for a CID probe given the gravity of the allegations. Hence, a decision was taken at the top level to transfer the cases to the CID, ADGP (Crime) Bhaskar Rao told Deccan Herald. Anekal falls under the Bengaluru Rural police jurisdiction. The police need to attend to many other cases and may not be able to focus on such a sensitive investigation. Moreover, they neither have the men nor the machinery to investigate a specialised case like an economic offence. Considering these limitations and the gravity of the allegations against Angur, a decision was taken to transfer all the cases to the CID, Rao said. The cases were transferred to the CID about two weeks ago after the complainant met the top police officers and made a request in that regard. The police believe that disputes in Angur family led to complaints and counter-complaints. Dr Angur, 60, who holds a doctoral degree from the University of Texas, Arlington, was arrested in early February after his sister complained to the police that he repeatedly raped her 32-year-old daughter between 2011 and 2014. Victim in depression Angurs niece went into depression and quit her job at the university in 2015. Her condition deteriorated and she was hospitalised in January this year. After recovery, she narrated what Angur allegedly did to her. Until then, no one in the family knew about the rape, her mother said in the complaint. Dr Angur had established Alliance University at Chikkahagade Cross in Chandapura on Anekal Road to fulfil his parents wish. He got his siblings to maintain the university and his property in Bengaluru. He also employed his niece (the victim). He claimed that his siblings had lodged a false complaint to usurp his property. A fight over a petty issue resulted in the murder of a youth in Chikkajala police limits on Monday. The deceased was identified as Arun, 21, a resident of Muneshwara Camp at Betta Halasuru. He had studied till PU and was working in the cargo department at the Kempegowda International Airport, said the police. The police have detained Aruns college-mate Sandeep and his accomplices Bharath and Yogesh for questioning following a complaint by the victims mother Amaravathi. Arun, who was junior to Sandeep in the college, had posted a message on Sandeeps Facebook account which read: Hai Shishya (Hey disciple). Irked by the act Sandeep was irked by Aruns post calling him a Shishya. He had fought with Arun over the issue. Arun and his friends had thrashed Sandeep in the fight. A fuming Sandeep was waiting to settle the score, said the police. Meanwhile, Amaravathi, who was worried after the attack, had sent her son to Chennai where his sister stays. Arun had returned to the City on Monday afternoon and Sandeep got to know about Aruns arrival. He went to Aruns house and invited him for a talk and took him to a hotel around 8.30 pm. Amaravathi went in search of Arun when he did not return, said the police. She raised an alarm as she saw Sandeep and others assaulting her son. However, the suspects dragged Arun into a car and drove away. Stabbed repeatedly They stopped the car at Vidyanagar Cross, repeatedly stabbed him, dumped him on the spot and vanished. A few local residents rushed him to a nearby hospital, but doctors declared him brought dead, added the police. The response to the pre-budget meeting at the Mangaluru City Corporation on Tuesday was extremely dull. The meeting was organised to invite suggestions from the public and organisations on the Corporation budget for the year 2016-17. Thin attendance of the public, officials and elected representatives was recorded. The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor too were absent for the meeting. The meeting witnessed the presence of 15 general public, 15 MCC officials and five corporators. The very purpose of the meeting, however, remained unfulfilled as most people who were present at the meeting expressed their grievances rather than contributing suggestions towards an effective budget and ideas for revenue generation by the Corporation. Corporation Commissioner Dr H N Gopalakrishna said that the total budget of the Corporation was Rs 400 crore, out of which, the government funding is Rs 250 crore and Rs 153 crore is the revenue to be generated by the MCC. Gopalakrishna Bhat from Pumpwell suggested imposing tax on advertisement hoardings. Also parking fee could be collected after creating parking lots in various places within MCC limits. Penalty for illegal parking should be increased, he said. Rajendra Kumar from Aam Aadmi Party said that the empty spaces in the service bus stand at State Bank could be used as advertisement spaces. Rohan from AAP felt for a need to allocate funds in the MCC budget for the development of LED street lights in the interior roads. Also empty spaces could be developed as parking lots and revenue could be generated. Journalist Raviprasad Kamila suggested allocating funds for skywalks in various locations and a flyover at Basaveshwara circle near KPT. Scribe Guruvappa N T Balepuni said that rent should be fixed on daily bases for plastic banners and flexes and concession should be given for cloth banners. Joint Commissioner Gokuldas Nayak, Chairmen of various Standing Committees Harinath, Keshav Maroli, Deepak Poojary, Prakash Salian and Council Opposition whip Shashidhar Hegde were present. Titans Hyperion PCIe card integrated into Xanadatas Typhon accelerated threat detection solution RSA SHOW, SAN FRANCISCO Calif., Mar. 1st, 2016 Titan IC Systems, a pioneer in cyber security and a spin-out out of Queens University Belfasts Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), today announced is partnering with Xanadata, who design, develop and deploy custom systems that rapidly unlock information in unstructured data. The Titan IC Hyperion platform is a PCI Express product designed for high performance, low latency RegEx processing for content inspection. The 40Gbps version has been integrated in Typhon, Xanadatas Accelerated Threat Detection solution (ATD). Noel McKenna, CEO, Titan, said, This is a really exciting partnership. The solution means people can rapidly compare network history against todays best threat intelligence. He continued, Weve successfully addressed the issue of how to analyze very large data logs in an economic and portable solution. Were delighted to be working with Titan. Together our technologies can analyze months of network data in a few minutes giving users vital information regarding threat actor activity., Richard Benson, Xanadata CEO, said. The joint solution gives an understanding of the level of network compromise, but crucially, it achieves this in a portable form factor meaning customers do not need to send sensitive information to the cloud. Titan and Xanadata will be demonstrating the solution at RSA (San Francisco, March 1-3) and Security & Policing (Farnborough, UK March 8-10). About Titan IC Systems Titan IC Systems is a spin-out from the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (CSIT) at Queen's University Belfast, focusing on the development of unique technologies for complex regular expression processing in hardware. Titans Helios solution is a unique, fully scalable soft IP core bringing hardware accelerated regular expression processing to a FPGA platform. Titan Hyperion is a PCI Express product designed for high performance, low latency RegEx processing for content inspection at speeds of up to 40Gb/s. The EU and Brazil have signed an agreement to develop 5G, the next generation of communication networks. The Commission has also started work on an action plan to deploy the technology in the EU by 2020. By this time, it is forecast that there will be 26 billion connected devices and 70% of people will own a smartphone. 5G will be the backbone of the EU Digital Single Market, industries of the future, modern public services and innovative applications such as connected cars, smart homes or mobile health services. To face this global challenge, the EU joins forces with Brazil to strengthen cooperation in this strategic area and to make sure that 5G does not develop in silos at the international level. The EU and Brazil, which are close trading partners, have been cooperating on information and communication technologies since 2008. European Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society Gunther H. Oettinger and Brazilian Minister of Communications Andre Figueiredo signed the joint declaration following similar key cooperation initiatives with South Korea, Japan and China. Vice-President Ansip, responsible for the Digital Single Market said: "This is about essential technology to ensure connectivity. But it is also about building trust and confidence in online services and creating the right conditions for the technology to be deployed across borders. Spectrum coordination is essential to make 5G happen." Gunther H. Oettinger, in charge of the Digital Economy and Society, said: "Neither Europe, nor Brazil can afford to lag behind in the digital era. With [this] agreement we have notably committed to cooperating on the take-up of 5G in so-called vertical industries such as transport or energy. International agreements are complementary to our efforts to deploy the technology in the EU and the work we are starting today to prepare a 5G action plan for the EU". The EU and Brazil have committed to developing a global definition of 5G and to identifying the services which should be the first delivered by 5G networks. The two partners will also work to define common standards in order to have a stronger position on the global stage. They will cooperate in identifying the most promising radio frequencies to meet the additional spectrum requirements for 5G, especially in the framework of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). In addition, they will promote the deployment of 5G in fields like smart cities, agro-food, education, health, transport or energy as well as possibilities for joint research projects in this area. Cooperation agreements are also being discussed with India and the United States. While many of Google's self-driving SUVs have been rear-ended before, this is the first time that the car initiated the accident. A video footage posted by Associated Press on YouTube shows surveillance camera footage of the accident between Google's self-driving car and the bus. The driver appears astounded, and reacts as if to say, "Why would you do that?" Check the footage here below: For the first time on record, one of Googles self-driving cars was involved in an accident where it happened to be on the causing end. The incident happened when the self-manoeuvring Lexus SUV hit a public bus in process of skipping across sand bags on a storm drain. At the moment of the accident, the car was travelling at a speed of about 3kph, while the bus was travelling at about 24kph. No individual was injured in the process, although Google has claimed some of the responsibility, for the first time. The accident occurred on February 14. The batch of self-driving cars around Mountain View, California have been involved in a number of accidents, although until now, it were other cars that were bumping into the self-driving vehicles. The most common incident involving the self-driving cars was of other drivers bumping on to the cars from the rear. As of now, the US federal law requires an individual to be present behind the steering wheel in case of emergency actions. However, the government has given the nod to artificial intelligence and computers to be considered as the driver and be held accountable for incidents, giving a positive push to the future of autonomous vehicles. Moneysupermarket.com was given a boost on Tuesday as Canaccord Genuity lifted its target price to 352p from 342p and left its rating at hold after the company reported a rise in full year profit and revenue. For the year to the end of December, the price comparison service said statutory profit after tax grew 20% to 63.4m as revenue pushed up 14% to 281.7m. Moneysupermarket pointed to particularly strong growth in the Money and Home Services businesses, while growth in Insurance was lower as a result of strong second half comparatives in the previous year and tougher competition. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 14.5p from 12.3p the previous year and the group said it will pay a final dividend of 6.6p per share, taking the total dividend for the year to 9.15p from 8p in 2014. The company said it remained confident of delivering its expectations for the year. The company traded solidly to the end of February, delivering 12% growth, although insurance revenue was down 4% and travel is deteriorating. Nonetheless, given continued strong growth in Money, which accounts for 27% of group revenues and rising, we are nudging up our forecasts, with EBITA up from 103.9m to 105.1m, said Investec analyst Simon Davies. This drives a 1% uplift in EPS from 15.0p to 15.1p. The analyst said there was definite scope for further cash returns as Moneysupermarket.com remains committed to a progressive dividend policy and ongoing monitoring of the appropriate capital structure. The increase in the target price represents a 15.0x full year 2017 enterprise value/EBITDA, and 21.2x cash adjusted price earnings ratio. Citigroup downgraded Genel Energy to neutral from buy and slashed the price target to 120p from 253p. It pointed to the fact the company has reduced the expected gross ultimate recovery from its Taq Taq field in Iraqi Kurdistan on the back of revised assumptions on the fracture porosity within the Shiranish reservoir at the field. On Monday, Genel downgraded its assumptions for Taq Taq its largest oil field to 356m barrels of oil from 683m. As a result of the reserve downgrade, Genel also said it expects to record an impairment of around $1bn due to a lower carrying value for the Taq Taq field in its full year 2015 results, which is around 28% of its current equity value. Our buy case on Genel was based on a view that despite the political uncertainties in the Kurdistan region, Genel held a significant low cost resource base that was undervalued and remained relevant to the wider industry, Citigroup said. However, Mondays news changes this investment thesis and makes it more challenging for Genel to fund its Miran gas development, Citi said. With continued political uncertainty (and ongoing pipeline issues), we believe Genel could trade at a discount to core NAV in the near-term. Goldman Sachs marked down its valuation of ITVs shares as a result of the recent de-rating in its US peers and cut the M&A premium it attached to them, although it still saw the company as a potential takeover target. Interestingly, the broker lowered its 12-month target price on the stock from 329p to 297p, in part as it lowered the M&A premium on the stocks valuation from 50% to 30%, with the rest of the shares value, 70%, now being a function of the companys fundamentals. The latter also came down as a result of the de-rating of ITVs US peers and was set at 14.5 times the estimated 2017 P/E, down from 15 times. We see more limited NT upside given the lack of major positive earnings momentum and the de-rating of US peers, Goldman said. The broker also downgraded the stock to neutral and removed it from its Pan-Europe Buy list. Nonetheless, at a price-to-earnings multiple for 2016 of 12.8 the shares were not expensive, the analysts said. Furthermore, the trend towards a rising value of content and convergence between telcos and media made the company a potential M&A target, Goldman said. Weak prospects for advertising and poor ratings were also set to weigh on programming costs at ITV, Goldman Sachs said in a research note sent to clients. The latter had seen ITVs audience decline by 4%-5% in 2014/15, while the end of major shows such as Downton Abbey or Mr.Selfridge - and a change in the Director of Television might result in greater programming reinvestment in the near-term, the broker said. Nonetheless, the shares were up by 432% since being added to Goldmans Buy list on 12 October 2009, versus an advance of 9.8% for the FTSE World Europe benchmark, analysts Lisa Yang, Otilia Bologan, Sarah Watson and Katherine Tait said in a research note sent to clients. Goldman was in-line with the company consensus, anticipating 2015 NAR growth of 5.6%, programming costs of 1040m and earnings per share of 16.1p. However, the broker saw upside to forecasts for ordinary dividends of 5.9p plus an extraordinary pay-out of 7.8p. For the first quarter of 2015, Goldman anticipated NAR would grow by 1% and for all of 2016 by 3%. The latter was down from a previous projection for a rate of growth of 4.5% and below the consensus estimate for 3.8%. Programming costs in the first three months of the year were pegged at 1057m. Earnings per share were now seen reaching 17.8p, 5% less than previously (consensus: 18p). ITV was also structurally well-positioned and had strong management, the analysts wrote. Oil futures saw a second successive session on positive turf, as Brent and WTI futures registered appreciable gains on Tuesday. With Saudi Arabia commenting that it would work with other producers to limit oil market volatility, selected analysts opined there were hints the market had bottomed out. Overnight, the Saudi cabinet issued a statement noting: "The kingdom (of Saudi Arabia) seeks to achieve stability in the oil markets and will always remain in contact with all main producers in an attempt to limit volatility and it welcomes any cooperative action. Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC members Venezuela and Qatar agreed with non-OPEC Russia last month to freeze output at January levels. However, Iran refused to join in while it takes advantage of the recent lifting of its international economic sanctions. At 1701 GMT, the Brent front month futures contract was up 1.23% or 45 cents to $37.02 per barrel, while the WTI rose 2.16% or 73 cents to $34.48 per barrel. Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG, said, Both Brent and WTI are held up well on Tuesday and there is every reason to expect more upside. Too many traders have been caught out trying to short the market over the past week or so, with little sign so far that the bounce has run its course. Analysts at Barclays noted: The recent output freeze talks are unlikely to have any immediate impact on market balances, given the producers who have agreed to freeze production (as well as those indicating willingness) are already producing close to their full capacity. We think what it does represent, however, is an exercise in building broader cooperation between producers, and thereby is likely to prove a litmus test for building trust, as Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi recently opined. Away from oil markets, precious metals slipped into negative territory. The COMEX front-month gold futures contract was down 0.35% or $4.30 at $1,230.10 an ounce, while spot gold was down 0.62% or $7.65 to $1,231.02 an ounce. COMEX silver fell 0.82% or 12 cents to $14.80 an ounce, but spot platinum bucked wider trends to head 0.46% or $4.26 higher to $938.11 an ounce. Headline base metal futures were largely higher across the London Metal Exchange board. At 1635 GMT, three-month futures contracts of nickel (up 1.7%), lead (up 0.5%), tin (up 0.9%) and copper (up 0.6%) headed higher, but the primary aluminium (down 0.2%) contract was marginally lower. Liz Grant, senior account executive at Sucden Financial, said, Base metals were under pressure through the Asian session but recovered towards the end of the session with further gains made during the London morning as equities and oil strengthened and LME stocks showed further declines. Once again, as the market seeks direction, trading conditions were choppy, prices mostly range bound and turnover was moderate at best. Finally, agricultural commodity futures were on mixed turf. CBOT corn (down 0.21%), wheat (down 1.54%) and ICE cocoa (down 0.74%) futures headed lower. However, ICE cotton (up 0.34%) and CME live cattle (up 0.0.8%), headed higher in early trading calls stateside. Volkswagen 's chief executive officer Matthias Mueller has warned that costs associated with its emissions scandal in the US could escalate above the automakers current provisions, and the matter might take longer to resolve. In an interview with the BBC, Mueller said VW was still in "constructive dialogue" with regulators and hoped the firm would be "judged fairly". The VW chief also warned a 6.7bn (5.2bn) provision the company had made to cover costs of the scandal might not be enough, but that he was impatient for answers himself. "I've postponed our year-end financial results and the AGM to improve their quality, so that we can be even more confident and take even more care and diligence in establishing the figures.Then we'll see if we have to make additional provisions, over and above the 6.7bn," Mueller added. Results of an internal inquiry could be ready in April, the CEO said further. Last September, US authorities discovered that VW used computer software to alter emissions data during tests, a scandal that led to the resignation of Muellers predecessor. While the scandal originated in the US, it has since emerged around 11m VW vehicles globally had been fitted with such devices. The US Justice Department taking legal action against VW for breaching environmental laws, and the company has been ordered to fix almost 600,000 diesel vehicles in the country fitted with the devices. Mueller described his companys actions as a grave mistake. We have lost a lot of trust with our customers, and we now need to win them back. We need to face the allegations of the authorities, and I expect a fair ruling here. And then it's important to look ahead, and to make VW into an even better company." However, he insisted that the German automaker had not been "paralysed" by the emissions scandal and it was looking to "the future with confidence". Oil and gas services firm Wood Group has won a $120m (86m) contract with Babcock International to provide industrial services to a number of its UK sites. The company said the contact will be delivered by Wood Group PSNs industrial service line business, Wood Group Industrial Services (WGIS) and will run for five years with an option to extend for another five. Hugh Pelham, managing director of WGIS, said the contract builds on its 15-year relationship with Babcock. We have a strong history of delivering marine projects safely, to schedule and to budget. I look forward to building on this across further Babcock Group sites, and successfully continuing our long-standing relationship with this key client. It is the second contract awarded to WGIS this year after a new five-year contact with Valero Energy to provide services to the onshore Pembroke refinery in south west Wales. Shares rose 0.74% to 628.64p at 1022 GMT. Barclays confirmed plans to sell its African business on Tuesday as it announced a drop in full year profit and a cut to the dividend. For the year to 31 December, adjusted pre-tax profit slipped 2% to 5.4bn and the bank announced a 1.45bn provision for PPI misselling. Analysts had been expecting Barclays to report a profit of around 5.8bn. In addition, it said it will slash its dividend by more than half to 3p per share this year and the next. Barclays also confirmed that it will sell its 62.3% stake in Barclays Africa, as it looks to focus on Barclays UK and Barclays Corporate & International. Barclays said the sale, along with its restructuring plan, would boost capital by at least 1 percentage point. Weak metals prices had a significant impact on Fresnillo in 2015, though the company was appearing strong in its results for the calendar year on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 company saw adjusted revenue rise 2.5% to $1.58bn, with higher volumes more than offsetting lower metal prices. Gross profit and EBITDA were $433.1m and $547.5m, which represented reductions of 16.9% and 3.5% respectively. Profit from continuing operations was $200.4m, a reduction of 18.4%. The company said the devaluation of the Mexican peso against the US dollar positively affected production costs, but also resulted in increased deferred taxes with a negative impact on its effective tax rate. Net cash from operating activities was $542.9m, against $121.6m in 2014. Fresnillo reported capital expenditures of $474m and an exploration spend of $140m. The company's board said it maintained financial flexibility, with a year-end cash balance of $500.1m and a net debt position of $296.9m on 31 December. Fresnillo's basic and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were 9.4c, and adjusted earnings per share were 6.9c, down 36.1% and 6.8%. The board recommended a final dividend of 3.35c per share, equivalent to $24.7m. Servelec Group has acquired Tribal Group 's Synergy children's services management information system business for of 20.25m cash, which it is part-funding with a new bank facility. Using the proceeds to reduce net debt, Tribal, which issued two profit warnings late last year, said the deal would reduce its scheduled rights issue to 21m from the 30m proposed in December. The deal requires approval of Tribal's shareholders and will see the business purchased on a debt-free cash-free, with the transfer of 63 skilled staff, contracts and maintenance agreements and a property lease on an existing premises. Synergy's suite of software products, which has been implemented in over 100 local authorities in England and Wales, helps the local authorities manage information within children's services such as education, safeguarding and children's centres. In calendar 2015 the business recorded revenues of 6.3m, contributing an operating profit and a profit before tax of 2.7m. Servelec chief executive Alan Stubbs said the acquisition was another step to capitalise on the growth opportunities offered by the government's Converged Care plans. "Building on a strong year for Servelec's Social Care business, driven by the successful acquisition and integration of Corelogic, Synergy will allow our combined Local Government clients to improve child care by having a single view of a child's needs. It strengthens the suite of products available to new and existing customers and fits within our strategy of acquiring complementary businesses that will provide both short-term and long-term benefit to the group as a whole," he said. Tribal said after using the proceeds to reduce net debt, the disposal will also strengthen its focus on a core business centred around the management of universities, colleges and schools. Chief executive Ian Bowles added: "This, together with the intended rights issue, will restore the group's balance sheet, and enable the management team to take the business forward in its domestic and international markets." Servelec Group has acquired Tribal Group's Synergy children's services management information system business for of 20.25m cash, which it is part-funding with a new bank facility. Using the proceeds to reduce net debt, Tribal, which issued two profit warnings late last year, said the deal would reduce its scheduled rights issue to 21m from the 30m proposed in December. Eagle Eye Solutions Group has confirmed the retirement of Bob Willett as a non-executive director. In an update on Tuesday, the AIM-listed software as a service (SaaS) technology company that validates and redeems digital promotions in real-time for the grocery, retail and hospitality industries, said Willett was leaving to concentrate on his other investments. Jaywing was embarking on an ambitious study of consumer behaviour on Tuesday, announcing the formation of a strategic collaboration with the Data Science Institute at Imperial College London. The AIM-traded company said it had agreed to sponsor a three-and-a-half year research programme, to measure cognitive response through neuroimaging technology. Capital Gearing Trust, a self-managed investment trust listed on the London Stock Exchange, has issued fresh equity. In market update on Tuesday, CGT said it had issued 2,000 Ordinary Shares of 25p from its block listing facility at a price of 3,403 pence per share. Expansion was the theme of 2015 at Johnson Service Group, and it paid off in its final results on Tuesday, with its two new acquisitions performing well. The AIM-traded textile services business saw revenue in the calendar year increase 11.4% to 234.4m, with adjusted operating profit ahead 28% to 27.9m. Adjusted profit before tax was 25.2m, up 26% on the prior year. Premier African Minerals received a fresh cash injection on Tuesday, announcing it had received a direct subscription for 500,000 in new ordinary shares. The AIM-traded company said the subscription consisted of an issue of 100 million new ordinary shares, at a subscription price of 0.5p each, conditional on admission. ULS Technology expanded its B2C offering on Tuesday, acquiring a 35% stake in HomeOwners Alliance (HOA), and integrating its eConveyancer technology into the popular property web destination. The AIM-traded provider of online B2B platforms for the UK conveyancing and financial intermediary markets said the HomeOwners Alliance website was originally launched in 2012 as a membership organisation, serving up independent expert property-related articles and advice to homeowners and prospective buyers in Britain. Cambridge Cognition was reaching out to a new frontier in the world of wearable technology on Tuesday, announcing a new partnership with London-based design and research agency Ctrl Group for the creation of products for use in mental health applications. The AIM-traded company, which specialises in cognitive assessment technologies, said the partnership would produce novel digital health applications with prototype products expected in the latter half of 2016. Atlas Development and Support Services formed a major partnership in its development of the Chancho Project bottle manufacturing facility in Ethiopia on Tuesday, appointing local firm MH Engineering to provide design services to the project. The AIM-traded company said the services provided would include architectural, engineering, structural, sanitary, electrical and mechanical design and quantity surveying services at the project, which would have an annual production capacity of 105 million 330mL bottles. Onzima Ventures has snapped up a 49% share in drug reformulations outfit N4 Pharma for 41,000 cash and 24.27m new shares, which will be locked in by N4's management for two years. Onzima, which changed its name from Ultima Networks after selling off its green energy operations and raising 0.75m in a placing, has agreed to provide a loan facility of 209,000 to N4 Pharma for the development of its business. Federal appeals court temporarily blocks Biden student debt relief plan A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked the Biden Administration from moving forward with its student debt relief program aiming to forgive billions of dollars in student loans. Rouhani's reformist partners set to sweep Iran Iranian President Hassan Rouhani won a strong vote of confidence and reformist partners secured surprise gains in parliament in early results from elections that could speed up the Islamic Republic's emergence from years of isolation. While advances by moderates and reformists in Friday's polls were most evident in the capital, where they won all Tehran's 30 seats according to early results, the sheer scale of the gains there suggests a legislature more friendly to the pragmatist Rouhani has become a distinct possibility. Top Rouhani ally Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a shrewd political fixer and veteran pro-reform figure, issued a solemn message on Twitter that no one could resist the people's will. "No one is able to resist against the will of the majority of the people and whoever the people don't want has to step aside," the message said. A loosening of control by the anti-Western hardliners who currently dominate the 290-seat parliament could strengthen Rouhani's hand to open Iran further to foreign trade and investment following last year's breakthrough nuclear deal. A reformist-backed list of candidates aligned with Rouhani was on course to win all 30 parliamentary seats in Tehran, initial results released today showed. Top conservative candidate Gholamali Haddad Adel was set to lose his seat. "The people showed their power once again and gave more credibility and strength to their elected government," Rouhani said, adding he would work with anyone who won election to build a future for the industrialised, oil-exporting country. There was silence from the conservative camp. The polls were seen by analysts as a potential turning point for Iran, where nearly 60 per cent of its 80 million population is under 30 and eager to engage with the world following the lifting of most sanctions. Principlists, otherwise known as hardliners, hold 65 per cent of the outgoing parliament and the rest is divided between reformists and independents who traditionally support Rouhani. "It is a very big victory," analyst Saeed Leylaz, a former adviser to former reformist President Mohammad Khatami, told Reuters. "It is very good news for President Rouhani. We will have a very rational parliament, a less factional parliament, a more expert and technocrat parliament." Foad Izadi, an assistant professor at the Faculty of World Studies in Tehran University said the reformists' strong showing was prompted by Rouhani's success in reaching a nuclear agreement between Iran and international powers, the removal of most of the sanctions that had strangled the country's economy over the past decade and restoration of relations with the West. "It is a sweeping victory for Tehran but for other cities it is not yet clear cut. It is beyond expectations," he added. Etemad, a reformist newspaper whose managing-editor Elias Hazrati won a seat in Tehran, chose the headline of "clean up in the parliament". "The next parliament will be like no other parliament in the history of Iran as no political faction will have the absolute say," the newspaper said on its front-page. Millions crowded polling stations on Friday to vote for parliament and the Assembly of Experts, which selects the country's highest authority, the supreme leader. Both bodies have been in the hands of hardliners for years. Supporters of Rouhani, who promoted the nuclear deal, were pitted against hardliners close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who are wary of detente with Western countries. Rouhani and Rafsanjani led the race for the Assembly of Experts with most votes counted, and appeared to be sure of winning seats, early results released on Saturday showed. Choosing Khamenei's successor Until now, the contest for this seat of clerical power was an unremarkable event, but not now. Because of Khamenei's health and age, 76, the new assembly members who serve eight-year terms are likely to choose his successor. The next leader could well be among those elected this week. Rafsanjani is among the founders of the Islamic Republic and a former president. Often at the centre of Iran's intricate webs of power, he is famous for his pragmatism and political acumen. Just one prominent hardliner was on course to be elected in the experts assembly race in Tehran - Ahmad Jannati, in 15th place out of the 16 seats reserved for the capital's candidates. The assembly's current chairman, Mohammad Yazdi, on 17th, and arch-conservative, Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, on 19th, appeared unlikely to win seats, according to partial results. Mesbah-Yazdi is a fierce critic of reformists and has even advocated violence against its supporters. After disputed 2009 presidential elections, Mesbah-Yazdi strongly supported official winner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and was seen as his mentor. A Reuters tally, based on official results published so far, suggested the pro-Rouhani camp and allied independents were leading in the parliamentary vote. Some moderate conservatives, including current speaker Ali Larijani, support Rouhani. Reformists had 23 per cent, independents 18 and principlists 36, according to Reuters calculations based on final results, excluding Tehran where results remain preliminary. Twenty three per cent of candidates will have to go to run-offs in late April because nobody won the required 25 per cent of votes cast. Eight of the initial winners were women. Analysts say the large number of independents may be significant as they could cooperate across ideological lines with Rouhani's government. Whatever the outcome, Iran's political system places much power in the hands of the conservative Islamic establishment including the Guardian Council, which vets all laws passed by parliament. The intelligence minister said today that two terrorist plots had been foiled before the election. "Two terrorist groups were identified by the intelligence ministry's agents and their plots were defused," Mahmoud Alavi was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency. He did not elaborate. dpa ElectionsData 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. Kia Australia has blamed a lack of government incentives for its reluctance to launch a new wave of electric hybrid vehicles onto the local market. Despite debuting two new hybrids at this week's Geneva motor show, the Korean manufacturer's local arm was unable to confirm either will make it to Australia. They were a plug-in hybrid version of the large Optima sedan, and the all new Niro crossover which is built on a platform specifically optimized for hybrid powertrains. The Niro is powered by a 1.6-litre petrol engine developing 77kW of power, backed by a 32kW lithium-ion battery with a targeted carbon dioxide emissions output of just 89g/km. "It's not definitely out but it's more unlikely than not," Kia Australia spokesman Kevin Hepworth said of the Niro's chances of making it to Oz. "At the moment, as a commercial exercise, hybrids are more expensive and they're not all that popular. "You've got the problem that there's no government incentive whatsoever for manufacturers to sell a more expensive product in Australia to a market that doesn't want it." He said that unlike in some countries, the added expense of a hybrid powertrain would be borne by customers, which could be too big a risk for Kia if resulting sales were low. "As a three per cent market-share company we can't afford to make a mistake," Hepworth added. "If someone in our position gets it totally wrong then it can be a very awkward situation." Interestingly, it's a risk that sister company Hyundai seems willing to take. It has confirmed that its new hybrid Ioniq hatchback based on the same platform as the Kia Niro will be launched in Australia next year. Kia's European head of powertrain development, Dr Michael Winkler, said there was no doubt a hybrid-powered car would always be more expensive than its purely petrol driven equivalent thanks to the addition of an electrical motor and battery. "You have two electrical components that you have to pay for so it cannot be the same price as a conventional gasoline engine," he said. Unlike Australia, some European markets penalize vehicles with higher C02 emissions or offer other benefits, leading to better sales figures. "In Europe we see the countries where there are high government incentives or high C02 taxes, the more fuel efficient vehicles become more attractive to the customer. That is definitely the case," Dr Winkler said. Looking at a report published in the Dundalk Democrat of June 1972, later re-printed in Tempest Annual, I see that back forty four years ago there was an expectation that Dundalk would soon have a 'New Satellite Town'. This was at a time when the town was hoping to emerge from the slump caused by the decline in many of its traditional industries. The Democrat report was about a special meeting of the Dundalk Urban District to consider a development plan for the 317 acres 'land bank' that the Council had purchased some years earlier at South Marsh, on the eastern side of the town. This was the first I had ever heard the term 'Satellite Town' used in connection with the development of the lands on the outskirts of a town in Ireland but it went on to be used widely throughout the country. The report stated that 'in essence, it provides for a satellite township reaching into the outer fringe of Dundalk and has been named by somebody, in advance, Muirhevnmore'. The development plan had been prepared by MacEoin, Kelly and associates. It was proposed that 'open space will cover seventy-five acres, roads will cover nineteen acres and the remainder will be used for housing and an industrial site, churches and schools and other ancillary buildings and uses'. The report goes on to state --- 'On completion there could be upwards of 8,000 people living in Muirhevnamore, around 3,000 going to school there, at least 1,000 working there (if ancillary buildings proceed) and the the total cost of everything, in 1972 prices, should not exceed seventeen million pounds. The net density of housing, after excluding the central recreational area, is about nine dwellings to the acre.' In relation to the type of houses to be built the plan stated 'The housing proposed is: Council housing; three bedroom houses, 724, four-bedroom houses, 140, three-bedroom bungalows, 64, two-apartment old people's dwellings 16 (this can be increased). Private sites: Maisonettes, 200; bungalows, 57; two-storey houses 218. Total, 1,619.' The report concludes by saying --'The Council approved the plan in principle, after a discussion.' That part of the town has since changed utterly but, I think it is fair to say, not in the way that was envisaged by this ambitious plan. For one thing I believe that people thought at that time that main road between Dublin and Belfast would be passing through the new Satellite Town but the building of the Western By-Pass put paid to that plan. There was never as many houses built because the Council soon discovered that large housing estates were difficult to maintain. Not nearly as much employment was provided by the industrial estate as had been hoped and the area never became a distinct township. The year 1972 was not all that long ago and it might be interesting to research how was actually spent by local government on the development of the area but I would guess that it was not anything like the 17 million suggested in the plan. You can check-out any time you like, But you can never leave!" - Hotel California Saturday last dawned with the air of expectation and the knowledge that the next 48 hours would either galvanise the country or launch it into further dismay and confusion (clue, it's not the first part of that sentence). From a personal point of view it meant taking up residence in the Ramada Hotel out the Armagh Road for an indefinite period of confinement. First thing first about election counts - there's a lot of waiting. A lot. It's the kind of waiting were you end up eating more junk food than is healthy and you become particularly good friends with the barmen and the hotel staff. Add to that, you also get to chat idlly with the local gardai in a situation which is removed from the usual tense encounters with such law enforcement personel. The Democrat team set up base camp in the media centre in the hotel at 9.30am. Across the way the local radio stations were already practicing their vocals for a testing couple of days. The great and good of Irish media made an appearance. Samantha Libreri and Richard Dowling from RTE looked the part in their Donnybrook wardrobe. Yours truly had to make do with an itchy Penneys jumper and accompanying slacks. Inside the 'counters' were corralled and penned-in like zoo animals while the rest of us swarmed around, ogling them as they went about their monotonous, yet vital task. No conversation or feeding, please. Back to the media centre. The tallies were starting to roll in and very quickly we had an idea how the election was going to pan out here - all we had to do now was wait to have it officially confirmed. Lunch at these things consists of a sandwich of dubious quality at best and a Twix. Samantha and Richard had grander munch - a chinese takeaway. We watched in awe at the way they divided up the food - prawn crackers, oceans of curry and fried rice. I Mopped up the drool and went back to my sandwich. Plug points were something to be coveted and guarded for dear life. We had four and could have sub-let two out for a reasonable return given the demand - in the end we just shared them over the course of the weekend. Count 1 came and went, as did a few more and then a few more after that. Saturday drew on and the eyes started to narrow a bit. The smokers outside the reception of the hotel put paid to any notion of grabbing some fresh air. A stroll about the car park was a better option. On Sunday the Sinn Fein folk had commandeered a picnic table outside and Gerry and the crew tucked into some fizzy pop and hang sangwiches - lucky divils. The entry system into the count centre was intense. Every time you left you got a white, stamped card which allowed to you to gain re-entry upon your return. By Sunday evening I had enough for a full playing deck littered amongst my many pockets. Saturday came and went with nobody getting the nod or being hoisted atop shoulders. Twitter and Facebook were the communication media for ourselves throughout this fallow period. However, when little is happening, there's little to put up onto the cybersphere. The mind gets creative and the fingers get loose. The mature gentleman with the Baileys on ice, who drifted around for the two days, should get special mention. He seemed to come and go whenever the mood took him, but the glass always remained. By Sunday evening the light had gone out of the eyes of most journalists. The thousand yard Vietnam-stare took hold and any mention of the word 'recount' was met with open hostility accompanied with the threat of imminent violence. As it turned out Fitzer and O'Dowd scraped through and by 7.30pm we were marching out into the cold evening and hoping - nay praying - that the recently elected would be able to form a functioning government. If for no other reason than to spare us having to return here in a few months time. The chill. The transparency brought by the internet has changed the way we do business. Business owners no longer size themselves against the competitor on the adjacent street because, irrespective of locality, all stand side-by-side in a list of online search results; each just a click away from the other. But while this ultra-competitive, virtual environment has served the consumer well when it comes to choice and comparison, this transparency appears to be failing business owners themselves in their quest for real insight to drive improvement. Welcome to the minefield of online review websites. Only 1.5 percent of customers wrote reviews In a 2014 study involving product reviews at a prominent private label clothing company, it was discovered that only 1.5 percent of customers wrote reviews. Further, the study revealed that 5 per cent of reviews were written by people who hadnt purchased the product in question. As a result, feedback provided through the plethora of review websites often struggles for credibility and influence. One UK-based start-up believes they have the answer to this problem with a solution that promises to change the way people give feedback on their experiences, whether it be in a shop, restaurant, bar, or hotel. Founded by Georgina Nelson, point-of-payment rating system, truRating, has today announced its official launch in the Australian market after a successful six-month pilot program. Headquartered in London with a team of 45 employees, Sydney will now be home to the organisations first international branch which, so far, has a team of 10. Using the familiar electronic payment terminal, truRating presents customers with a single feedback question asking them to rate an aspect of their experience using a scale of 0-9 on the keypad. This feedback is then used by truRating to provide companies with a real time view of customer satisfaction and business performance based on key metrics such as service, value or product selection. The data collected can subsequently be used to implement immediate changes and improvements to the business and make better informed decisions that impact the bottom line. The potential to give Australian consumers a real voice Unlike many other feedback initiatives implemented by companies, Ms Nelson believes that customers will be incentivised by the anonymity afforded by the system and the ease and speed at which feedback can be passed on. Proving this theory correct, truRating reports that on average, 88 per cent of customers provide a rating. Ms Nelson also comments that the system is particularly useful in scenarios where head offices struggle for visibility on localised issues. Until now, there has been no straightforward system that provides merchants with validated and trusted ratings of their business, in real-time. Our vision for truRating Australia is to leverage our new technology to transform the way merchants collect feedback from their customer base to drive greater loyalty and profitability, said Ms Nelson. Since its introduction to the the UK market in January 2015, over 1.3 million ratings have been collected worldwide with 60,000 collected in Australia during the 6-month pilot program. Paul Greenberg, Executive Chairman of the National Online Retailers Association (NORA) believes that the technology will provide a more accurate reflection of consumer opinion. Its great to see that Australias startup economy is beginning to attract world-class entrants from leading fintech industries such as the UK. truRating is a welcome addition to our market. Its technology has the potential to give Australian consumers a real voice and transform the way merchants engage with customers, he said. Looking to capitalise on rapid growth and technology advancements in the region The 6-month trial has involved a number of local merchants including: Rolld, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, TONI&GUY and Crisp and Jones the Grocer. All of which are now live with the system. Ray Esquieres, Co-Founder and CFO at Rolld said: From a franchise perspective, truRating gives us the ability to benchmark performance across our stores, which is very beneficial from a business point of view. truRating has also secured partnerships with some of the top-tier institutions in the payments space, including a formal partnership with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, as well as PC- EFTPOS to introduce the first iteration of their technology in Australia. Now, after winning a number of awards for their ground breaking technology, Ms Nelson comments that shes thrilled truRating has been able to partner with some of the biggest names in the Australian payments and banking industries, who are embracing innovative solutions in order to continue to provide fantastic support to their merchant customers. For the months ahead, the APAC team will be looking to capitalise on rapid growth and technology advancements in the region. "We must be ready to dare all for our country. For history does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. We must acquire proficiency in defense and display stamina in purpose." - President Eisenhower, First Inaugural Address Sussex News Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Sir Suma will officially open the EBRD Representative Office in Athens Sir Suma Chakrabarti, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), is today paying his first official visit to Greece since the Bank started investing in the country last year. In Athens Sir Suma is meeting Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Minister of Finance Euclid Tsakalotos, Minister of Economy and EBRD Governor George Stathakis, Governor of the Bank of Greece Yannis Stournaras and the Mayor of Athens, George Kaminis. The EBRD President said: We are determined to make a significant contribution to Greeces recovery and my visit today will provide us with first-hand insight into the most urgent tasks. In the first months since we started operating in Greece we have made good progress in laying the foundations for strong delivery. The most important thing now is to act in order to mobilise investment, strengthen the private sector and deepen regional integration. During his stay the President is also meeting local and international business representatives and chairing a roundtable with banks. Sir Suma will also officially open the EBRD Representative Office in Athens. The office has a staff of eight and is lead by Sabina Dziurman, the Regional Director for Greece and Cyprus. In his speech at the office inauguration, Sir Suma will set out the Banks strategic priorities for its work in Greece. Getting the right policies in place, strengthening institutions, making sure that reforms work in the long-term and that they are supported by real leadership, not just in the political sphere but across the board, are going to be vital, he will say. During the visit the President will also sign an agreement with National Bank of Greece to provide a facility under the EBRDs Trade Facilitation Programme. Integrating Greek companies and banks into international trade is seen as vital for the recovery of the economy. Following a decision by its shareholders the EBRD started investing in Greece last year on a temporary basis until 2020. To date, the Bank has already invested 320 million in six projects and is currently working with the authorities in a country strategy that will define the Banks activities for the period until 2020. Brought to you by your friends in the GOP Theres a good chance that the Republican Primary will essentially end on Super Tuesday and people will stop pretending that Marco Rubio was ever winning by losing. Since Donald Trump easily won the Nevada Caucus, America has been wandering around, bumping into things, wondering if everyone else is in the same dream. As low of an opinion as many of us had of the Republican Party, the idea that bigoted charlatan could commandeer the party, while using the last Republican president and last Republican nominee as a urinal, seemed far fetched. Clearly, we had too much faith in GOP voters. Now we have to wonder if the rest of America could fall prey to the same wacky egoism thats inspired by a man whose policies all involve some sort of figurative sodomizing of his enemies. The Clintons have began the effort of reassuring supporters that they have a real plan to defeat Trump. It involves taking him very seriously, something Republicans never really did until Nevada. From there the early attacks include pointing out that hes a sexist racist, undermining his business record and questioning his ability to competently serve as commander-in-chief. Will their plan work? The last two strategies sound suspiciously like what Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are doing now and Jeb Bush tried to do before he faded into a cup of Earl Grey tea, right? All we know for sure is that they cant do any worse than Republicans have. Lets review what Republicans taught us about how not to defeat Trump. I have had a number of people ask me about the difference between Michigans March 8th primary a week from today and the primary on August 2nd. So, heres a short explainer. The March primary on Tuesday, March 8th is a Presidential Primary. This is the election when Michigan voters weigh in on who they want to receive their Partys nomination and compete in the General Election on November 8th. This year Michigan is holding a closed primary. That means that you will need to choose between a ballot for the Republican candidates (what I like to call the List of Loonies) and one for the Democratic candidates (aka, The Good Guys/Gals.) You do NOT have to be a member of one party or the other to vote, you simply need to pick a ballot. Although I personally dont like it, some Democrats will take a Republican ballot and vote for the person they think is the least likely to win or choose the person they think is the least insane just in case. On the ballot you will also be asked whether or not you are uncommitted. When a voter selects uncommitted, this indicates the voter is exercising a vote for that political party, but is not committed to any of the candidates listed on the ballot. If enough voters cast uncommitted votes, the party may send delegates to the national nominating convention who are not committed to a specific candidate. In addition to voting for the presidential candidates, some municipalities may have other things on the ballot (special ballot proposals and special elections to fill unanticipated vacancies are the most common.) In that case, you will have a additional items to fill out to vote on beyond the presidential candidates. You can, in fact, skip the presidential candidate ballot entirely and receive a ballot that has just the other stuff if you choose to. The August primary is where we will choose the candidates running in the General Election in November for all the other offices. This includes state legislators, members of Congress, judicial positions, local elected officials, etc. In partisan races, this is where we sort out which Republican and which Democrats (and which Green Party candidate and which Libertarian Party candidate, etc.) will face each other on November 8th. We also choose precinct delegates in August and their may be some ballot initiatives thrown in for good measure in some municipalities, as well. The August primary is NOT a closed primary so everyone gets the same ballot. You can vote for all the candidates of a single party or you can split your vote between two or more political parties. However, you may only vote for candidates in a single party. From the Secretary of States website: Voters in an open primary are given a ballot with a column listing each qualified partys candidates. Voters then decide which party primary they wish to participate in by voting only in the column of their party choice while in the privacy of the voting station. Voting for candidates in more than a single partys column will void the entire partisan ballot. A few other tidbits: No matter how you voted in March, you can vote however you wish in August. In other words, if you chose a Democratic ballot in March, you can still vote for a Green Party candidate in August. The ballot you chose in the March presidential primary is public and FOIAable. WHO you voted for is not, however. So nobody will know if you voted for Senator Bernie Sanders or Secretary Hillary Clinton, for example, unless you tell them. The information on which ballot you chose will be destroyed after a 22-month retention period. The deadline to be registered to vote in the August 2nd primary is July 6, 2016. Despite what you may have been told, according to the Michigan Secretary of States Office, Michigan does have a voter identification requirement at the polls: Voters are asked to present an acceptable photo ID such as a Michigan drivers license or identification card. Please note that voters who do not have an acceptable form of ID or failed to bring it with them to the polls still can vote. They simply sign a brief affidavit stating that theyre not in possession of a photo ID. Their ballots are included with all others and counted on Election Day. The following types of photo ID are acceptable: Michigan drivers license or state-issued ID card Drivers license or personal identification card issued by another state Federal or state government-issued photo identification U.S. passport Military ID with photo Student identification with photo from a high school or accredited institution of higher learning Tribal identification card with photo The ID does not need your address. Got more questions? Check HERE or ask them in the comments! The following guest post was written by Nick Krieger, an attorney and former clerk in the Court of Appeals. Follow him on Twitter at @nckrieger. His essay is published here with permission. Enjoy. Republican senators have dishonored the original meaning of the United States Constitution We hear it almost every day. Like a broken record, the Republicans in the United States Senate repeat the incessant refrain that they will not schedule hearings or hold a vote on President Obamas forthcoming nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the United States Supreme Court. Indeed, this particular Republican talking point has taken on a life of its own, gaining increasing popularity on social media platforms like Twitter with the hashtag #NoHearingsNoVotes. But lets pause the insanity for a moment and delve deeper into the meat of the controversy. As is true of most disputes between different branches of government, this controversy begins with the text of the United States Constitution itself. The Appointments Clause of Article II, section 2 provides in relevant part that the President shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint . . . Judges of the supreme Court . . . . It is beyond dispute that the word shall is a term of mandate, denoting a compulsory requirement just as it was when the Constitution was drafted in 1787. Substituting the term must in place of the word shall, the meaning of the Appointments Clause becomes more apparent: The President must nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate must appoint Justices of the Supreme Court. There are other clear indications that the Framers intended this language to create a mandatory obligation as well. Look no further than the Treaties Clause of Article II, section 2, which states that the President shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur. The Treaties Clausethe only other clause in the United States Constitution to mention the advice and consent of the Senate is particularly useful in interpreting the Appointments Clause. It does not require the President to make treaties, but provides only that the President has the power to make them. This is classic language of discretion. It confers upon the President the power to enter into treaties, but does not compel him to do so. If the Framers had intended to make presidential nominations optional rather than mandatory, they could have simply duplicated the discretionary language of the Treaties Clause. Thus, when you hear Senate Republicans complaining that no one should be nominated to fill the Supreme Court vacancy until after the next President is inaugurated on January 20, 2017, remember that it is President Obamas constitutional obligation to nominate someone to fill the seat formerly occupied by Justice Scalia. Quite simply, the President has no choice in the matterhe is constitutionally required to choose a nominee and forward that individuals name to the Senate for consideration. Republicans also argue that the Senate has no duty to schedule hearings or hold a vote on a presidential nominee. Albeit more complicated, this argument is belied by the text of the Constitution as well. The Appointments Clause does not merely state that the President must nominate Supreme Court justices. It also says that the President must appoint Supreme Court justices by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. What does this mean? The most compelling understanding of the Appointments Clause is that advanced by Alexander Hamilton in The Federalist. You will recall from civics class that The Federalist (also referred to as the Federalist Papers) is a collection of 85 essays written anonymously by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in 1787 and 1788 to promote the ratification of the proposed United States Constitution. The essays form a point-by-point analysis of the various sections of the proposed Constitution, and are considered to be valuable evidence of the Constitutions original meaning at the time of ratification. In The Federalist No. 66, Hamilton envisioned that the Senate would hold a vote with respect to each nominee put forward by the President either approving or rejecting the individual nominated for each position. As Hamilton wrote, [The senators] may defeat one choice of the Executive, and oblige him to make another; but they cannot themselves choose they can only ratify or reject the choice of the President. Hamilton expanded on the advice-and-consent role in The Federalist No. 76, explaining that the Senates only recourse when faced with an unacceptable nominee would be to hold a vote and reject the nomination, thereby requiring the President to nominate a different individual. Through this process, Hamilton observed, the President would ultimately find a mutually satisfactory nominee someone, even if not the Presidents first choice, who would be acceptable to both the President and a majority of the senators. At the same time, Hamilton also cautioned that the Senate should be wary of rejecting the Presidents first choice. As Hamilton explained, senators who vote to reject a presidential nominee can never know for sure whether the next person nominated to fill the position might be even less acceptable. The Framers did not merely intend for the Senate to provide an up-or-down vote on every nominee; they also intended that the Senate would exercise this advice-and-consent function without delay. Consider the purpose underlying the Recess Appointments Clause of Article II, section 2. At the time of ratification, the United States Senate took more and longer recesses than it does today. If the Framers had intended to allow federal positions to remain vacant for long periods, they would not have included the Recess Appointments Clause. After all, had the clause not been included, the President would have been required to wait for the Senate to reconvene possibly months later before making any appointments. The fact that the Framers included the Recess Appointments Clause is strong evidence of their intent to ensure that federal positions, like judgeships, would be promptly filled to facilitate the seamless continuation of government upon the death, removal, or resignation of an incumbent officeholder. The Framers would be aghast at the thought of a system wherein the Senate, while in session, could simply refuse to consider a nominee put forward by the President. It is important to remember that the Senate Republicans who are now insisting on an incorrect, confused reading of the Appointments Clause are the very same senators who championed an erroneous interpretation of the Treaties Clause last year. Remember the now-infamous letter to Iran, in which 47 Republican senators asserted that [i]n the case of a treaty, the Senate must ratify it by a two-thirds vote? This fundamental misunderstanding of the Senates constitutional role was rather astounding, especially given that attorneys such as Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio signed the Iran missive. While it might seem like an exercise in semantics, the point is well established: The Senate does not make or even ratify treaties. Instead, it provides advice and consent to the President during the treaty-making process. The power to make a treaty belongs to the President alone. Thereafter, if two-thirds of the senators give their consent, the President may finalize or ratify the treaty, thereby making it the supreme law of the land. The same misunderstanding of the Senates advice-and-consent role has infected the current debate. The Senate Republicans many of whom disingenuously claim to follow an originalist interpretation of the Constitution now wish to impermissibly expand the meaning of advice and consent beyond anything the Framers ever imagined. But, just like the advice and consent that is essential to the treaty-making process, the advice and consent essential to the appointment process is restricted in scope it does not imbue the Senate with its own plenary authority over appointments, but only with the responsibility to affirm or reject the Presidents personal choice. The constitutional text and weight of primary authority compel but one conclusion: The Framers intended that the Senate would, without unnecessary delay, provide an up-or-down vote for each nominee put forward by the President. By announcing that they will not schedule hearings or hold a vote on President Obamas nominee for the Supreme Court, Republican senators have dishonored the original meaning of the United States Constitution. The choice of a nominee belongs to the President alone, and the Senate is obligated to promptly approve or reject each nominee. If the senators find President Obamas nominee to be unacceptable for any reason, they may vote to reject him or her. But the President must then forward the name of a new nominee, and the process must start afresh continuing in the same fashion until a nominee is eventually approved by the Senate and appointed. Thats the exactly how our Constitution was designed to work, and it demands nothing less. [CC photo credit: Mark Nester | Flickr] Apple has changed the date for the launch event for its 4-inch iPhone and new iPad Air from March 15 to March 21, according to news reports. If the rumor is correct, Apple will be holding the event the day before it appears in a federal court in California to contest a controversial court order. Apple has filed a motion to vacate the order requiring it to comply with the U.S. Justice Departments request for assistance in accessing data on an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists. The timing seems to be a miscalculation on Apples part, said John Carroll, a mass communications professor at Boston University. Theyre stepping on their own story because the focus on the following days new coverage is going to be all about the FBI, he told the E-Commerce Times. Worse yet, the whole event could backfire on Apple in a bad way. If their product rollout gets any kind of coverage, its possible it will be covered as an attempted smokescreen to divert attention away from the FBI issue, Carroll added. Trial Balloon On the other hand, the date change could be a calculated move by a company known for its marketing acumen. Its possible the rumor is a trial balloon from Apple to see what kind of reaction it gets, Carroll said. If the reaction is skeptical enough or critical enough, thats their signal to pull back. Although just a rumor, the March 21 date makes sense, noted Patrick Moorhead, founder and principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy. Apple has reasons to refresh their lineup to be more competitive in emerging regions and to help turnaround declining iPad sales, he told the E-Commerce Times. Grief Over Shipping If Apple did indeed change the date of the event, maybe its because they want the announcement to be made closer to when the products are going to ship, suggested Bob ODonnell, chief analyst at Technalysis Research. They caught a fair amount of grief for the big gap between the time of the announcement and shipping of the Apple watch, he told the E-Commerce Times. That was an unusually long gap, so maybe theyre trying to make a statement about being able to deliver products immediately after an event. Theres also the possibility that everything rumored to be announced at the event wont be announced there, remarked Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. We have seen before when products are incremental, Apple will just put out a press release about them, she told the E-Commerce Times. It could be we will not see everything, and some will just come out in a press release at a different date. Maturing Market Apple is expected to schedule an event to unveil an iPhone with a 4-inch display and upgraded components, as well as a new iPad Air that will have features similar to the iPad Pro. If you look around and see the other devices doing well, its not tablets Its two-in-ones, ODonnell said. This new iPad looks like it will be another form of two-in-one because you can use a keyboard and pencil with it. If the rumors prove true, Apple appears to be adjusting its product line to meet the demands of a maturing market. Overall, theyre filling out their options in terms of screen sizes to address a wide range of interests, ODonnell said. Thats how the world works now. As you get a more mature market, you need to have a few different buckets into which people can find a product that best meets their needs. As for the event being overshadowed by Apples tussle with the FBI, from the consumer perspective, it doesnt matter, Milanesi observed. What consumers think about when a new product is out is the new product. The Obama administration plans to increase the amount of private communications the National Security Agency can share with other government agencies without first adding privacy protections, according to a report published last week in The New York Times. The plan would ease restrictions on the amount of intercepted email and telephone intelligence the NSA gathers, including bulk collection of satellite communications, phone data between foreigners, and messages from overseas that U.S. allies provide, according to the report, which cited unnamed officials familiar with the deliberations. The move represents a major expansion of surveillance and data sharing authority and has been a longstanding concern of privacy groups, according to Marc Rotenberg, president of theElectronic Privacy Information Center. There are significant privacy implications that EPIC will examine in detail, he told the E-Commerce Times. The data subject to the expansion includes system-of-record notices, such as individuals of interest in foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activity. Past Expansion Attempts EPIC opposed the NSAs attempt last year to expand the use of operations records, which include names, Social Security numbers, email addresses, phone numbers and other publicly available information. The expanded use would allow this information to be shared with law enforcement and other intelligence agencies. Given the massive expansion of the NSAs spying efforts over the past decade, now is not the time to jettison the very rules that are supposed to protect Americans from misuse of their private information, said Patrick Toomey, an attorney for theACLU. The government claims this surveillance is directed at foreigners, but it actually vacuums up vast quantities of Americans communications as well, he told the E-Commerce Times. The NSA should not be warrantlessly spying on Americans in the first place, yet it now wants the ability to share all that raw data more widely, Toomey added. The disclosures came at a sensitive time for the intelligence community. The administration has come under increasing pressure to get ahead of intelligence estimates in light of last years attacks in San Bernardino, California, and Paris. Apple Wont Share The FBI is demanding that Apple create code that would let the agency access the encrypted data on the iPhone of one of the suspects in the San Bernardino shootings. Apple CEO Tim Cook has publicly opposed the demand and is fighting a court order, arguing that allowing the government to force a private technology company to compromise the security of one of its products would open the door for additional requests in future cases. Such a request could open Apple up to similar demands from governments around the world. Over the weekend, rival technology firms agreed to join Apple in its fight against the Obama administration. The U.S. is facing increased threats from overseas in both the virtual and physical worlds, James Clapper, director of national intelligence, told theHouse Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence last week. A major U.S network equipment maker has acknowledged that someone repeatedly gained access to its source code to make its default products encryption unbreakable, he testified. The intruders also introduced a default password that would give them undetectable access to some of the target networks worldwide. Clapper did not name the manufacturer. 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Australia's embattled governor-general defied calls to resign on Thursday as a row over his handling of child sex abuse in the Anglican church flared just days before a visit by British monarch Queen Elizabeth. Australian police have charged a Roman Catholic bishop, who is a military chaplain, on three charges of indecent treatment of children under the age of 14 said to have been committed 45 years ago. Bishop Max Davis, the head of the Catholic Church's military diocese, was on Friday charged by West Australian police for the alleged crime, the Australian Associated Press reported. It is believed Davis is the first Australian bishop and the most senior Australian church official charged with a child sex offence. The 68-year-old bishop appeared in the Perth Magistrate Courts on July 25. Bishop Davis is accused of indecently assaulting a 13-year-old boy in 1969. That is when Davis was a teacher at St. Benedict's College in New Norcia, northeast of Perth, two years before he was to be ordained. At the Perth Magistrate Courts, the bishop's lawyer requested that his client not be required to appear in court if his presence is not important as Davis now resides in the Australian Capital Territory. The magistrate granted the request and agreed that Davis only report to Belconnen Police Station in Canberra. Accusations of Catholic priests' involvement in child sexual abuse have been prevalent in Australia. On July 24, Father Patrick Holmes was jailed for sexually abusing two young girls in Western Australia. Holmes was sentenced in the District Court of Western Australia after pleading guilty to six child-sex charges. In July, a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse wrote to the Vatican to seek copies of all documents relating to abuse complaints involving priests in Australia. The Vatican declined the royal commission's request. The Catholic Military Ordinariate of Australia acknowledged the allegation in a statement on Sunday saying Davis was not an ordained priest when the incident is alleged to have occurred. It also said he "emphatically denies" the charge. (Photo: Royal Commission)Judge Peter McClennan and Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald arrive for a hearing of the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Sydney on September 19, 2014. An Australian inquiry into child sex abuse is looking into how Melbourne's Northside Christian College handled complaints against a teacher accused and convicted of sexually abusing his students. The teacher, Kenneth Sandilands, 69, was jailed for two years in 2000 for 13 counts of indecent assault of eight victims, the Guardian reported. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which has far reaching powers to call witnesses, was examining the abuses committed by Sandilands in the 1980s and early 1990s. Margaret Furlong, who still teaches at the college, said three children complained that Sandilands was touching them. One girl, Emma Fretton, said she wanted to be transferred to another class "because he did bad things" to her. Now 34, she told the commission that Sandilands abused her for three years, "touching her, beating her with a wooden paddle and making her sign obscene stories which the teacher dictates to her." Furlong said she reported the complaints to the then principal but there was no action. She said the victims as well as the teachers got no support from the administration and a "climate of fear" pervaded the school. She said at the time she trusted "godly men" to do the right thing. Pastor Dennis Smith, a senior Pentecostal pastor, was asked why he did not question a report about the abuse. "I was again being guided by the educators, the principal, because they would know what is right and what is wrong," he said. His answers also reveal that it did not occur to him that the reported contact may be a sexual contact with a child. Smith also told the commission he had no reason to suspect Sandilands was touching children inappropriately because it was not his job to check previous employments of teachers. On 10 September 2014, Sandilands was jailed for 26 months on a further six counts of indecent assault at St Paul's Anglican primary school in Frankston, Victoria, where he had worked in the 1970s before he joined Northside. The commission was sitting in Sydney on Wednesday. (Reuters)Apple tightens security measures on the iPhone to make it harder for government to hack a locked iPhone, with the company's chief executive claiming it is their job to protect their customers. In the light of revelations of government surveillance made by Edward J. Snowden, companies like Apple have been retooling their products to protect against government intrusion. With Republican candidate Donald Trump calling for a boycott of Apple products until the company complies with a court order to unlock an iPhone used by the shooter in the San Bernardino attacks, Apple tech masters are working on new security measures that will prevent the government from breaking into a locked iPhone. Security from government intrusion is also a marketing strategy that allows investors and customers to feel assured of their privacy and freedom. Apple is only one company that has been able to resist strongly the requirements on data access set forth in Federal wiretapping laws. In tightening security measures in upcoming devices, Apple itself may not be able to break into any future devices. The iPhone 7 coming out this year may be totally unhackable, such that Apple itself will not even be able to break in. ValueWalk sees the benefit in it that makes it impossible for others to exploit any backdoor that Apple leaves for itself. Apple's chief executive Timothy D. Cook states in an interview with ABC News, "For all of those people who want to have a voice but they're afraid, we are standing up, and we are standing up for our customers because protecting them we view as our job." Apple has already started working on its unhackable security measures, but it has not confirmed whether this will be in the iPhone 7 to be launched sometime in September. It appears that this measure may become part of an iOS update so that any iPhone updated with the new iOS will become unhackable, too. As to the San Bernardino iPhone, the company has revealed that all information it has about the unit were already turned over to the authorities, although it is not yet complete. Apple's use of end-to-end encryption does not allow access into anything on the device, which is why the Federal Bureau of Investigation was not able to turn up with anything. Apple has vowed to fight the order by the Justice Department asking them to crack the iPhone in question, with Cook declaring that this would put their customers at risk, not to mention having their civil rights "trampled." "If a court can ask us to write this piece of software, think about what else they could ask us to write maybe it's an operating system for surveillance, maybe the ability for the law enforcement to turn on the camera," according to Cook. "I don't know where this stops. But I do know that this is not what should be happening in this country." And in a tweet by Trump on his iPhone, "If Apple doesn't give the information to the authorities on the radical Islamic terrorists, I'll only be using a Samsung until such time as they give the information." "Hopefully others will follow suit. Our country needs and should demand security. It is time to get tough and be smart!" (Facebook/MadamSecretary)Elizabeth and Henry meets Stevie's new boyfriend in the upcoming episode of "Madam Secretary." Elizabeth (Tea Leoni) may be a bigwig in the U.S. political arena, but many forget she is still a mother to her three children. In the upcoming episode of the CBS series "Madam Secretary," viewers will see her in action as a protective parent to Stevie (Wallis Currie-Wood). In "Hijriyah," CarterMatt reports that the McCords' eldest daughter will decide that it is time for her parents to meet her new boyfriend Jareth (Chris O'Shea). She will be bringing him to dinner, where Elizabeth and Henry (Tim Daly) can get to know him better. After her failed relationship with President Dalton's (Keith Carradine) son, Harrison (Jason Ralph), Stevie has become guarded when it comes to her relationships. This will be the first time she will bring a guy home to meet the family, and she cannot help but feel nervous for her and for Jareth (Chris O'Shea). After his close call with the uranium bombing, Henry is still feeling shaky and anxious for his family. The bomb could have taken them all out of the picture and the fact that they are all safe is a blessing indeed. Henry has been a good father to Stevie, even during the times that she and Elizabeth were having difficulty communicating. He was particularly worried about his daughter when photos of her and the POTUS' son were exposed on the Internet in the past. How will Henry evaluate Jared as Stevie's new boyfriend? For that matter, how will Elizabeth do it? Meanwhile, Elizabeth will once again be busy doing her work as Secretary of State. After the recent bombing in the convention she hosted, the state department must not lose time tracking down the mastermind of the attack. Jibral Disah (Bobak Bakhtiari) has officially become the most-wanted terrorist in the world after his attack in the American soil. The U.S. has difficulty getting intel about his location, even after working with the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In the upcoming episode, a Libyan refugee on board a ship in distress will claim that he knows valuable information about Disah. The Italian warship that came to the ship's aid will contact Elizabeth about the matter and give her only 20 minutes to decide whether she wants to interrogate the informer. Is this the break that they have been praying for? "Madam Secretary" season 2 airs Sundays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS. Microsoft just released a series of ads highlighting the features of the Windows 10 that the Mac and its operating system don't have. (THOMAS MUKOYA / REUTERS) Windows 10 launch in Nairobi, Kenya. During the live broadcast of the Academy Awards' red carpet on E!, the Windows 10 ads aired over and over at almost every break. Two women, named Kristie and Jess, are introduced in the spots. There is a fine text near bottom of the video that describes the two ladies as "real people paid for real opinions." They talk about how Windows 10 fits with their businesses. They talked about the features of Cortana, integrating touchscreen technology to PCs, and Windows Hello. In all four ads, the lines, "Even on the new Macs, they don't have that," and the tagline, "Windows 10 PCs do more," are noticeably uttered and displayed. The ads are clearly sending a message that they have special features that Apple does not offer. One ad talked about Cortana, Microsoft's personal voice search assistant, and how it is useful with the Windows 10 PCs. Apple's Cortana equivalent, Siri, might also come to Macs soon. The Cupertino-based tech giant plans to extend Siri's functionality to its computers this June. The feature will be introduced in the OS X 10.12 update, 9to5Mac reported. Another spot showed drawing a bug on the PowerPoint presentation using the touchscreen technology. One of the women in the video then commented, "I don't have a touchscreen on my Mac, I'm jealous of that." Despite numerous touchscreen enabled PCs and laptops in the market today, Apple still has not joined in on the trend and continues to stick with their iPhones and iPads as touch exclusive. Meanwhile, the third ad discussed more on the face login feature, which enables Windows users to login to their account using the face recognition technology via the front camera of their computers. Apple, however, has not incorporated this technology to any of its products because of privacy concerns, according to a separate story from 9to5mac. (FACEBOOK/Daniel Schooler)August 22, 2014 Facebook image While services were going on at the St. Peters Missionary Baptist Church in Dayton, Ohio, a pastor was shot multiple times and was killed inside his office. Local police said Pastor William Schooler was shot by his own brother, Daniel Schooler. The 68-year-old gunman reportedly had one main target since no other people were shot or injured during the shooting. According to WHIO News, the 70-year-old Reverend was gunned down before 12:30 p.m., just before the Sunday services ended. The choir was still singing the final numbers when the shooting started and people attending the services scrambled out of the building. A witness said she saw the pastor's brother walk toward the pastor's office, which is located at the back of the church building. "I just got everybody out of the church and we just kept hearing shooting and shooting," Alberta Blayth said. Choir director Curtis Booker also said he saw the accused follow his brother into the back of the building after the service had been turned over to the choir for wrapping up the service. Photos obtained by the outlet show some church members giving each other hugs and consoling themselves as the accused was led out of the facility in handcuffs. Sgt. Creigee Coleman said, "I want to make sure the public understands this is not a random act of violence. This was somewhat a domestic situation between family members." The shooter is currently detained at the Montgomery County Jail, and while the church people continue to grieve their leader's loss, a Schooler family member explained that Daniel had been dealing with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The family is also grieving, but they have decided to stick together and move forward as a team. Both the accused and the victim have children and a niece of the two said the family won't turn away from each other despite the unfortunate events that their family has been involved in lately. To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020. The EIB is hosting a seminar by Professor Mariana Mazzucato from the University of Sussex to discuss The Entrepreneurial State and the Role of Public Banks. Professor Mazzucato, who holds the RM Phillips Chair in the Economics of Innovation at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex, has undertaken extensive research into the role of public banks in fostering innovation. As a result she will be able to provide valuable insights into how the EIB can further enhance its impact in this area, with a particular focus on utilising EFSI resources. This is demonstrated by Mazzucatos recent book The Entrepreneurial State: debunking public vs. private sector myths (Anthem, 2013) focusing on the need to develop new frameworks to understand the role of the state in economic growth and how to enable rewards from innovation to be just as social as the risks taken. A publication which was on the 2013 Books of the Year list of the Financial Times. Prior to working at the University of Sussex Mazzucato has held academic positions at the University of Denver, London Business School, Open University, and Bocconi University. She also was winner of the 2014 New Statesman SPERI Prize in Political Economy, the 2015 Wirtschaft Weiter Denken German book prize and in 2013 the New Republic called her one of the '3 most important thinkers about innovation'. For more information contact economics@eib.org . The event will also be tweeted live and a video will become available online shortly after the seminar. Bogota, Feb 29 (EFE).- The younger brother of former President Alvaro Uribe was arrested Monday on suspicion of ties to right-wing paramilitaries, Colombian Justice Minister Yesid Reyes said. "It is an autonomous decision of the Attorney General's Office. I understand that it's a process that has been open many years and a formal investigation began just a few years ago," the minister said. The warrant for the arrest of Sen. Santiago Uribe, a member of the opposition party led by his brother, was issued by a prosecutor in his home province of Antioquia and specifies the charges of aggravated homicide and criminal conspiracy. The senator is also under investigation for his alleged role two decades ago in the creation of the paramilitary group known as "The 12 Apostles," which operated in the area of Yarumal, Antioquia. The administration has nothing to with "any decision made either by the judicial branch, or the judges of the republic or, in this case, the AG Office," Reyes said. Whenever prosecutors or the courts take action in the case of a national figure, the minister said, "the country divides." "At times the decision is praised, at times it is criticized, as in this case, because not all of the decisions of the judicial branch please everybody." Opposition politicians say the arrest of Sen. Uribe is part of Attorney General Eduardo Montealegre's "persecution" of former President Uribe. Alvaro Uribe, who governed from 2002-2010, is a harsh critic of current President Juan Manuel Santos' peace process with the FARC guerrillas. 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: Discount on sales of clothes Just a random data point: I was shopping for a new suit in Zurich so I went to Suitsupply, a European-base men's suit chain... I found a great suit for 459 CHF. They also have a store in Los Angeles so I figured it would probably be cheaper here in L.A. for the same suit... nope! It was US $599, plus 9.9% California sales tax! So for roughly CHF200 less... I'll be buying the suit in Zurich... and I can't believe I found something that is actually cheaper in Switzerland, let alone a "luxury good"! Re: Guitar players, musicians in Basel Hello, I'm new to the forum and haven't exactly figured it out yet, outstanding that I've made it this far. My name's Johnny and I've been living in der Schweiz for five and a half years. I live in Zeiningen which is about 20 minutes from Basel. I play the guitar and have looked for people to jam with since I've been here which has been very unfruitful. I am from the US where finding musician friends is as easy as finding drinking buddies. So, I was quite surprised to find such an closed society. Music rooms where hard to find, expensive when they where available and they had to be shared with as many as four other bands. Time schedules and taste often clashed so I pretty much gave up. I lived in Basel at that time and after being in an apartment for year one the other tenants moved out and that freed up a basement room which my land-lady let me turn into a small studio. I bought a small PA, a key board started collecting jam tracks learned how to use the computer for drum loops. Musically it's worked out but, aside from occasional visits to Liverpool, it's been kinda lonely and sometimes repetitious. Anyhow, that's a little bit about where I'm at. I've got two guitars and a couple of amps, a yamaha psr 1500(key board), and 80 watt PA, a couple of mic.s, 4 channel mixing board and other musical stuff here and abouts. I love playing the blues-soul, funky, clean and a high gain hard edge, although I'm hip to all sorts of music - been around awhile. I haven't played any Neil Young for years and I see one of you guys are into that - Right On! I just started teaching a Canadian guy the guitar. He's Swiss by birth but spent most of his life in Ontario. I play rhythm and some lead and basically just looking for some folks to jam with - maybe write some stuff. Sorry about the long windy thread but I'm not all that savvy with these forums...Johnny E. Re: ETH Zurich offer Thank you for your reply Meerkat33. They sent me an email informing me that I will receive an offer for this master course, but I will need to wait up to 6 weeks in order to receive the official letter with any conditions that I will need to achieve in order to be officially accepted and possibly list of modules I might need to take from their undergraduate list if they feel that my modules are not sufficient. As TU Delft asked me for just completion of my degree in time for their masters course, while Imperial College asked me for a specific grade. UK universities tend to ask for a specific grade, while from my understanding TU Delft always asks for completion of the degree (the same offer for another two friends of mine), raised the question what approach ETH Zurich tend to follow. Re: English speaking therapist Enge/Zurich city center Edward Bernhardt (has availability, native english speaker, grew up in the States, down to earth and the only person on this list who I've met in person so far) -- Mac Bischof-Campbell (native english speaker) -- Emily Szemere (native english speaker, American?, offers free in-person consultation, is booked a ways out but has openings) -- Judith Humbel (has openings, native english speaker, Swiss-Irish) -- Katy Remark (native English speaker, American?, fully booked in the Spring) -- Martina Famos (non-native english speaker but very nice, has availability) -- Nicole Zuellig (non-native english speaker but also very nice, did her MA in the US, has availability) -- Dennis Gyurina (native english speaker with no current availability) -- Free consultations from Jungian-therapists in training, some in English: Article with unfortunately outdated contact info for councilors Jeanette Wyrsch and Christine Young, so don't even bother trying ( Great list of Anglo psychologists and therapists: Here is the fruit of my research. Please note that I didn't include folks with Jung Institute-oriented methods in my search.Edward Bernhardt (has availability, native english speaker, grew up in the States, down to earth and the only person on this list who I've met in person so far) -- http://www.englishpsychologist.ch/ Mac Bischof-Campbell (native english speaker) -- http://www.bischof-campbell.com/approach.html Emily Szemere (native english speaker, American?, offers free in-person consultation, is booked a ways out but has openings) -- http://www.psychologyinzurich.com/ Judith Humbel (has openings, native english speaker, Swiss-Irish) -- http://zentrumamgubel.ch/team.php?id=1 Katy Remark (native English speaker, American?, fully booked in the Spring) -- http://www.xpatxchange.ch/health-care/123-therapists Martina Famos (non-native english speaker but very nice, has availability) -- http://www.martina-famos.ch/ Nicole Zuellig (non-native english speaker but also very nice, did her MA in the US, has availability) -- http://www.nicole-zuellig.ch/#!therapies/cjg9 Dennis Gyurina (native english speaker with no current availability) -- http://www.psychotherapie-gyurina.ch/ Free consultations from Jungian-therapists in training, some in English: http://www.isapzurich.com/en/counseling-service/ Article with unfortunately outdated contact info for councilors Jeanette Wyrsch and Christine Young, so don't even bother trying ( http://www.xpatxchange.ch/health-care/105-counseling ).Great list of Anglo psychologists and therapists: http://zurich.angloinfo.com/af/715/p...herapists.html Re: Non-residents Maintaining Swiss Bank Account I'm an EU resident (within the Euro area, not bordering CH) ). I want a swiss bank account to diversify currency (CHF instead of EUR) and jurisdiction (non-EU). Also I would prefer a Cantonal Bank due to their A+ solvability ratings and governmental shareholder structure. (UBS and CS are too big to fail, however as they are global banks, with global risk exposure) I understand German, so I've read trough most of the bank ToS'. Most banks require a extra fee for non-domiciled accounts. However if you go to the ZKB of BKB website, account openings are only for domiciled persons. Bankcoop and Migros seems to levy extra fees for non-domiciled but it is not very clear they offer these accounts on their website. PostFinance does sent a papermail they require you to come to a Swiss PostOffice. BCGE (Geneva) has a website in English, has very moderate fees (16 CHF p/m for account and 5 CHF for non-domiciled). Any readers here can advise on what documentation is needed for PF and BCGE to open a non-domiciled account (if at all)? Anyone has experience with opening at BKB and ZKB? Re: Moving to Lucerne Also you'll need to do the mandatory SKN dog ownership course - theory and practical. You can do the theory online in English. Online BLV approved SKN theory courses But you'll need to find a certified trainer to do the practical part with your dog within a year of moving here. The Swiss take dog ownership very seriously so you'll need to know not only the Federal part (SKN), but also Lucerne canton's rules and those of the gemeinde (town) too. You also need to check what you need to do to bring your dog to Switzerland. Use the online tool you'll find here: http://www.blv.admin.ch/themen/04670...x.html?lang=en I hope your dog doesn't have a docked tail or cropped ears as they are not allowed in Switzerland. Check and double check that your dog will be allowed when applying for a place to rent. Make sure it's written into the rental contract if you can and be prepared to spend a few more francs for doggie damage cover on your personal liability insurance.Also you'll need to do the mandatory SKN dog ownership course - theory and practical. You can do the theory online in English.But you'll need to find a certified trainer to do the practical part with your dog within a year of moving here. The Swiss take dog ownership very seriously so you'll need to know not only the Federal part (SKN), but also Lucerne canton's rules and those of the gemeinde (town) too.You also need to check what you need to do to bring your dog to Switzerland. Use the online tool you'll find here:I hope your dog doesn't have a docked tail or cropped ears as they are not allowed in Switzerland. Last edited by Medea Fleecestealer; 01.03.2016 at 18:04 . Moving to my possession to Switzerland Hello. I already checked the official website and spoke with the swiss customs. Still it is not clear what should I do in my specific situation, for this reason I'd like to ask the advice of the forum members. I am Italian, living and working in Japan. I got a contract signed with a Swiss company and move with my Japanese wife to Lausanne in April. In order to send our belongings to Switzerland (used for at least 6 months and not prohibited items) I was told to compile the "Application for clearance of household effects" document. Unfortunately, we don't have yet an accommodation in Switzerland (we will look for it once arrived asap). Furthermore we will be shipping just a couple of boxes using standard post service as we don't have so many belongings. The Swiss custom suggested to put on each box the list of what is inside as well as a partially compiled "Application for clearance of household effects" document with my email and my company contact as I will be shipping my belongings to my company. What scared us is that the Swiss customs said, "do that and hope that the customs contact you or you will have to pay customs and TVA". My first question is: does anybody ever did like that? Are there any suggestions? The second point concerns the luggages we will be bringing with us from Japan (in the airplane). We will arrive probably with 4 luggages and try to bring breakable stuff, such as some of our kitchen pans, glass stuff, some objects we have around the house, clothes and other small stuff (everything used and more than 6 months old). Once again the Swiss customs weren't too clear about what we should do. They said that if it's our stuff we shouldn't declare anything and go through the green exit. But on the website I've read otherwise. My second question is: What would you recommend to do with the belongings we are bringing from Japan in our luggages? Should I prepare a list and another "Application for clearance of household effects" document? Third and last point. Being Italian I might want in the future to bring something from my family house in Italy. My third question is: everytime that I bring something owned by me or my family for years/decades/centuries into Switzerland I should pay the customs? For instance, my 300+ cd collection or some old VHS or some forniture from my house. Thank you so much for your time. He was driven by his jealousy and his rage over the scam she pulled on his family, which led to his doing the unthinkable and suffocating her to death, and the guilt of committing the crime will cause Joey (James Lastovic) to make an emotional confession to his mother, Kayla (Mary Beth Evans), on Days of Our Lives. JJ & Gabi Take Their Relationship To The Next Level After he smothered Ava (Tamara Braun) in her hospital room, his father, Steve (Stephen Nichols) walked in and realized what he did--and made a shocking decision to cover for his son and confessed to committing the crime himself. Considering that Ava had blackmailed him into sleeping with her, kidnapped Kayla, and later shared a video of herself and Steve in bed together, it wasn't hard to believe that Steve tried to get revenge. However, Joey, who learned that his father had slept with Ava, was driven to commit the crime because of the feelings Ava had gotten him to have for her while they schemed to bring Kayla and Steve back together--something that isn't public knowledge outside of his family. Since no one knows about that, he doesn't seem to have a motive, and no one is suspecting him instead of his father. Chad Is Unsettled By Rafe's News But, as his father potentially faces charges for murder, Joey will feel compelled to tell his mother what he really did. And though Kayla will be stunned by his confession, she may still also make sure her young son doesn't face any sort of punishment either, and will back up Steve's decision to take the fall. Days of Our Lives airs Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. on NBC. Astronaut Scott Kelly is set to return to Earth after one year in space today; find out how you can watch his landing live online. Kelly is making his big landing today along with spacecraft commander Sergey Volkov and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko and NASA is providing a live stream for the whole process. Farewells and hatch closure coverage are set to begin at 4.15 p.m. ET, with the hatch closure scheduled for 4:40 p.m. ET. Then at 8:02 p.m. ET it's the spacecraft undocking process. At 10:32 p.m. you can watch coverage of the deorbit burn. Finally, 11:25 p.m. ET is set to be the official landing time for Kelly, Volkov and Kornienko in Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. Kelly recently spoke (via CBS News) about one of the main highlights of his trip through space, the Soyuz re-entry. "Once you get past the initial shock of the drogue chute opening and all the pyrotechnics firing for various reasons, certainly coming through the atmosphere, the plasma that's right next to your head ... (it) definitely gets your attention," he said. "It's so much fun for me that I said after my last flight, if I'd hated being in space for six months I'd have done it all over again just for that last 20 minutes in the Soyuz. It's that type of an experience." Watch Kelly's Return From Space Online Or Via Mobile Devices You can live stream the entire process of Kelly and company's return from space via NASA TV. Keep Up With Kelly's Return From Space On Social Media If you wish to live tweet Kelly's big return, simply use hashtag #YearInSpace on Twitter. Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA), which promotes green building development in the country, has re-elected Seana Nkhahle as its non-executive chairman and Rudolf Pienaar as non-executive deputy chairman for a second term. They will continue as key role-players on the board of one of the most active green building councils worldwide. GBCSA has also welcomed three new board members, expanding its knowledge-base with leading minds in their fields of speciality. They are: Nkosinathi Manzana, Colin Devenish, and Anthony Stroebel. Commenting on the appointments, Brian Wilkinson, CEO of GBCSA, says: We are fortunate to have such experienced and passionate people on our board. The leadership that Seana and Rudolf bring to our vision and agenda are invaluable, especially with the huge environmental challenges South Africa, and indeed the world, face. We need to respond with innovative thinking and bold action, and the pioneering insights of Nkosinathi, Colin and Anthony will no doubt support this. Seana Nkhahle is the Executive Manager in the Office of the Chief Executive Officer at the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). SALGA is mandated by the South African constitution to transform local government towards continuous improvement in the delivery of their constitutional mandates. He is widely recognised as an innovator and activist for sustainable development. Nkhahle has extensive experience in sustainable urban development and local governance. He has facilitated numerous partnerships to support municipalities to improve sustainability and environmental responsiveness in their operations. Before joining SALGA, Nkhahle worked as the Executive Manager for Programming at the South African Cities Network (SACN). Prior to SACN, he was the Managing Director at Syn-Consult, a consulting firm that focuses on managing sustainability in the built environment. He is also chairperson of Planact. Rudolf Pienaar is the Divisional Director: Office Sector for South Africas largest JSE-listed REIT, Growthpoint Properties. Growthpoint, a JSE ALSI 40 company, owns or co-owns the largest portfolio of green buildings of any company in South Africa. With 30 years experience in the property industry, Pienaar has served in senior management positions of five listed property companies. He is a director of Growthpoint, Acucap and a member of the property committee of the V&A Waterfront, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Department of Construction Economics at the University of Pretoria. Pienaar has been a member of the GBCSA board since 2010 and sits on its executive committee. He is also a director of the World Green Building Council (World GBC). Nkosinathi Manzana is the Head: Professional and Technical Services within the Group Real Estate Services of Standard Bank. In this role, he is responsible for development management of strategic properties, maintenance, engineering and energy management. He has over nineteen years of experience in the built environment in South Africa. Manzana has been involved in the planning, design and implementation of a broad range of multidisciplinary projects such as transport infrastructure, buildings, petrochemical pipelines and pump stations, ports and municipal engineering services. He is passionate about sustainability, green buildings and energy management. He forms part of the core Standard Bank team that has overseen the green building certification of four bank-owned buildings in the last three years. Colin Devenish is the Executive Manager of Operations at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, one of South Africas most iconic and visited destinations. Colin is responsible for all operations-related services for both its existing and development properties. Prior to the V&A he was National Facilities Manager at Old Mutual Properties. Colin also spent 14 years in the mining industry where he was involved in rehabilitating old mines back into agricultural land. He chairs the V&A Waterfronts Sustainability Committee. Under his guidance, the V&A Waterfront achieved a Platinum rating on the Heritage Environmental Rating System and various other sustainability awards. He was integral in implementing practices which led to the V&A Waterfront being awarded Best Destination at the World Responsible Tourism Awards for its focus on sustainable development and the role it plays in creating jobs and boosting the local economy. Anthony Stroebel is Group Marketing Director at Pam Golding Properties, where his role is to engineer a sustainable future through innovative strategies for the company, which includes integrating a green agenda into the future of residential property in South Africa. His personal mission is to drive green consciousness in the minds of homeowners to the extent that the green credentials of a home become integral to their value as perceived by buyers and, in so doing, become part of the journey towards a more sustainable planet. Prior to Pam Golding Properties, Anthony spent 13 years in the advertising industry, the last five of which he was CEO of J. Walter Thompson in Cape Town. GBCSA is an independent, non-profit, membership-based organisation formed in 2007 by leaders from all sectors of the commercial property industry. It is the official certification body of commercial buildings under the Green Star SA Rating System and residential buildings under the EDGE certification system. The organisation aims to ensure that all buildings are built and operated in an environmentally sustainable way so all South Africans work and live in healthy, effective and productive environments. A total of 25 Green Building Councils from around the world unveiled national commitments to transform the sustainability of their buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure that the building and construction industry plays its part in limiting global warming to a maximum of 2 degrees. The GBCSA made an ambitious commitment at COP21 in Paris to introduce a net zero/positive building certification scheme by 2020. Buildings currently account for around one third of global emissions. But, green building is one of the most cost-effective solutions to climate change, and generates significant environmental, economic and societal benefits. Snapchat yesterday acknowledged that one of its employees had fallen for a spear phishing scam and revealed employee payroll information. The good news is that our servers were not breached, and our users data was totally unaffected by this, the company stated in a blog post. The bad new is that a number of our employees have now had their identity compromised. And for that, were just impossibly sorry. On February 26, the company says, an email claiming to come from the CEO and asking for payroll data was sent to Snapchats payroll department. Unfortunately, the phishing email wasnt recognized for what it was a scam and payroll information about some current and former employees was disclosed externally. All those affected have been offered two years of free access to an identity theft monitoring service, and the company says it will redouble our already rigorous training programs around privacy and security in the coming weeks. Unfortunately for those affected employees, employee payroll information includes the necessary data that crooks could use to file fraudulent tax returns and request a refund, Sophos John Zorabedian noted in a blog post. Tripwire directory of IT security and risk strategy Tim Erlin told eSecurity Planet by email that criminals continue to use phishing because it works. While training employees can definitely help, phishing tactics evolve continuously to beat the training, he said. A recent Mimecast survey of 600 IT security professionals found that 65 percent of respondents dont feel fully equipped to defend against email-based attacks, and one third of respondents believe their email is more vulnerable today than it was five years ago. Fifty-five percent of respondents reported an increase in whaling attacks on their companies. Organizations are target-rich environments for cybercriminals, Mimecast cybersecurity strategist Orlando Scott-Cowley told eSecurity Planet by email. Whaling or CEO fraud uses effectively simple social engineering to trick employees into handing over critical data or making fraudulent financial transactions. This Snapchat email fraud is a prime example of fraudsters getting hold of valuable data in order to launch secondary attacks, Scott-Cowley added. These attacks usually do not include any malware and evade traditional email security techniques. Recent eSecurity Planet articles have examined the importance of user security training?and offered advice on stopping phishing attacks. Younited Italia, Nicola Manzari e il nuovo Coo, Luca Faccini e Head of Growth e Domenico Petraroli e General Counsel New research on the molecular structure of suckerin proteins is presented at the annual meeting of the Biophysical Society this week in Los Angeles WASHINGTON, D.C., February 29, 2016 -- A squid has more in common with a spider than you may think. The razor-sharp 'teeth' that ring the suckers found on some squid tentacles are made up entirely of proteins remarkably similar -- and in some ways superior -- to the ones found in silks. Those proteins, called suckerins, give the teeth their strength and stretchiness, and could one day be used as the basis for biomaterials with many potential biomedical applications. Hoping to harness the power of suckerin proteins, a team of researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Bioinformatics Institute, A*STAR in Singapore are continuing to unravel the proteins' molecular structures. Akshita Kumar, a graduate student at NTU, will present the group's latest findings at the 60th annual meeting of the Biophysical Society, held Feb. 27 - March 2 in Los Angeles, Calif. In the recent work, the group found that suckerin proteins are composed of what are known as "beta-sheet" polymer networks, which help give the teeth their strength. The researchers also discovered that the networks are thermoplastic, meaning that they melt when heated and harden again when cooled. That makes the material moldable and reusable like thermoplastic synthetic polymers such as the ones used to make PVC pipes. "Suckerin proteins constitute a unique combination of mechanical and biophysical properties that appear to make them superior to other synthetic or natural polymers," said Kumar. "And these materials provide a new paradigm by showing that a strong biomaterial can be entirely made of proteins, without the need to add a second hard phase, for instance a mineral like in bone, to strengthen it." To probe the suckerin's architecture at the molecular level, the researchers used a recombinant bacterial expression system to produce the most abundant suckerin protein, known as Suckerin-19 and found in the crown of jumbo squid sucker ring teeth. They then used a combination of biophysical and computational techniques to determine the 3-D structure of the protein in solution. Silks also form "beta-sheet" polymer networks and are being studied as potential templates for synthetic silks that mimic their natural counterparts. "But silk proteins are difficult to produce and process," said Kumar. Suckerin proteins, however, have a smaller molecular weight and, given their thermoplasticity, could be easier to make in the lab and more environmentally friendly to process into practical biomaterials, she said. Their previous results have been partially published in several journals including ACS Nano, Nature Communications, Nature Biotechnology and Advanced Materials. The team plans to focus on characterizing the structure of other suckerin proteins -- there are 21 -- and their self-assembly in the future. And they're exploring various biomedical applications, too, such as using the biomaterial for scaffolds to grow tissues and fibers like the ones in artificial ligaments. Although such applications are far from being commercially viable at present, continuing to unlock the secrets of suckerin proteins in the lab and using the knowledge to produce recyclable eco-friendly substrates inspired by suckerins is key to their future development, said Kumar. The poster #B661,"Squid's suckerin proteins in bits and bytes," by Akshita Kumar, Srinivasaraghavan Kannan, Julien Lescar, Chandra Verma and Ali Miserez will be in a poster session beginning at 1:45 p.m. PT on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016 in the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. ABSTRACT: http://tinyurl.com/hdvqchy ### MORE MEETING INFORMATION ABOUT THE MEETING Each year, the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting brings together more than 6,500 researchers working in the multidisciplinary fields representing biophysics. With more than 3,600 poster presentations, over 200 exhibits, and more than 20 symposia, the BPS Annual Meeting is the largest meeting of biophysicists in the world. Despite its size, the meeting retains its small-meeting flavor through its subgroup symposia, platform sessions, social activities and committee programs. The 60th Annual Meeting will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. PRESS REGISTRATION The Biophysical Society invites professional journalists, freelance science writers and public information officers to attend its Annual Meeting free of charge. For press registration, contact Ellen Weiss or the media line at the American Institute of Physics at or 301-209-3090. NEWS RELEASES Embargoed press releases describing in detail some of the breakthroughs to be discussed at the meeting are available on Eurekalert, Newswise and Alpha Galileo or by contacting the media line at the American Institute of Physics at or 301-209-3090. QUICK LINKS Main Meeting Page: http://tinyurl.com/hewekyj Symposia: http://tinyurl.com/h7lnk4p Itinerary planner: http://tinyurl.com/hslnx3p ABOUT THE SOCIETY The Biophysical Society, founded in 1958, is a professional, scientific Society established to encourage development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysics. The Society promotes growth in this expanding field through its annual meeting, monthly journal, and committee and outreach activities. Its 9,000 members are located throughout the U.S. and the world, where they teach and conduct research in colleges, universities, laboratories, government agencies, and industry. For more information on the Society, or the 2016 Annual Meeting, visit http://www.biophysics.org An unidentified fossilised bone in a museum has revealed the size of a fearsome abelisaur and may have solved a hundred-year old puzzle. Alessandro Chiarenza, a PhD student from Imperial College London, last year stumbled across a fossilised femur bone, left forgotten in a drawer, during his visit to the Museum of Geology and Palaeontology in Palermo Italy. He and a colleague Andrea Cau, a researcher from the University of Bologna, got permission from the museum to analyse the femur. They discovered that the bone was from a dinosaur called abelisaur, which roamed the Earth around 95 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period. Abelisauridae were a group of predatory, carnivorous dinosaurs, characterised by extremely small forelimbs, a short deep face, small razor sharp teeth, and powerful muscular hind limbs. Scientists suspect they were also covered in fluffy feathers. The abelisaur in today's study would have lived in North Africa, which at that time was a lush savannah criss-crossed by rivers and mangrove swamps. This ancient tropical world would have provided the abelisaur with an ideal habitat for hunting aquatic animals like turtles, crocodiles, large fish and other dinosaurs. By studying the bone, the team deduced that this abelisaur may have been nine metres long and weighed between one and two tonnes, making it potentially one of the largest abelisaurs ever found. This is helping researchers to determine the maximum sizes that these dinosaurs may have reached during their peak. Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, co-author of the study from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial, said: "Smaller abelisaur fossils have been previously found by palaeontologists, but this find shows how truly huge these flesh eating predators had become. Their appearance may have looked a bit odd as they were probably covered in feathers with tiny, useless forelimbs, but make no mistake they were fearsome killers in their time." The fossil originated from a sedimentary outcrop in Morocco called the Kem Kem Beds, which are well known for the unusual abundance of giant predatory dinosaur fossils. This phenomenon is called Stromer's Riddle, in honour the German palaeontologist Ernst Stromer, who first identified this abundance in 1912. Since then scientists have been asking how abelisaurs and five other groupings of predatory dinosaurs could have co-existed in this region at the same time, without hunting each other into extinction. Now the researchers in today's study suggest that these predatory dinosaur groups may not have co-existed so closely together. They believe that the harsh and changing geology of the region mixed the fossil fragment records together, destroying its chronological ordering in the Kem Kem beds, and giving the illusion that the abelisaurs and their predatory cousins shared the same terrain at the same time. Similar studies of fossil beds in nearby Tunisia, for example, show that creatures like abelisaurs were inland hunters, while other predators like the fish eating spinosaurs probably lived near mangroves and rivers. Chiarenza added: "This fossil find, along with the accumulated wealth of previous studies, is helping to solve the question of whether abelisaurs may have co-existed with a range of other predators in the same region. Rather than sharing the same environment, which the jumbled up fossil records may be leading us to believe, we think these creatures probably lived far away from one another in different types of environments." Fossilised femora are useful for palaeontologists to study because they can determine the overall size of the dinosaur. This is because femora are attached to the thigh and tail muscles and have scars, or bumps, which tell palaeontologists where the ligaments and muscles were attached to the bone and how big those muscles and ligaments would have been. Andrea Cau, co-author from the University of Bologna, said: "While palaeontologists usually venture to remote and inaccessible locations, like the deserts of Mongolia or the Badlands of Montana, our study shows how museums still play an important role in preserving specimens of primary scientific value, in which sometimes the most unexpected surprises can be discovered. As Stephen Gould, an influential palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist, once said, sometimes the greatest discoveries are made in museum drawers." The study is published today in the journal Peer J. Chiarenza did the underpinning analysis with Cau while at the University of Bologna. The next step will see the team looking for more complete remains from these predatory dinosaurs trying to better understand their environment and evolutionary history. ### For further information please contact: Colin Smith Senior Research Media Officer Communications and Public Affairs Imperial College London South Kensington Campus London SW7 2AZ Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 6712 Email: cd.smith@imperial.ac.uk Duty press officer mobile: +44 (0)7803 886248 Notes to editors: "A large abelisaurid from Morocco and comments on the Cenomanian theropods from North Africa" paper published in Peer J [1] Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, [2] Andrea Cau [1] Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London [2] Geological and Paleontological Museum, University of Bologna Download copy of proof paper: https://peerj.com/articles/1754/ About Imperial College London: Imperial College London is one of the world's leading universities. The College's 14,000 students and 7,500 staff are expanding the frontiers of knowledge in science, medicine, engineering and business, and translating their discoveries into benefits for society. Founded in 1907, Imperial builds on a distinguished past - having pioneered penicillin, holography and fibre optics - to shape the future. Imperial researchers work across disciplines to improve global health, tackle climate change, develop sustainable energy technology and address security challenges. This blend of academic excellence and its real-world application feeds into Imperial's exceptional learning environment, where students participate in research to push the limits of their degrees. Imperial nurtures a dynamic enterprise culture, where collaborations with industrial, healthcare and international partners are the norm. In 2007, Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust formed the UK's first Academic Health Science Centre. This unique partnership aims to improve the quality of life of patients and populations by taking new discoveries and translating them into new therapies as quickly as possible. Imperial has nine London campuses, including its White City Campus: a 25 acre research and innovation centre in west London. At White City, researchers, businesses and higher education partners are co-locating to create value from ideas on a global scale. http://www.imperial.ac.uk TV and radio interviews Imperial College London academic experts are available for interview via broadcast quality Globelynx TV facilities and an ISDN line for radio at our South Kensington Campus. To request an interview, please contact a member of the communications team http://www.imperial.ac.uk/communications/contacts/research-communications/ . Scientists of the Tomsk State University have found preserved moose in Western Siberia that have unique features of DNA structure. This discovery of Tomsk scientists will help determine the origin and path of moose movement in the last few tens of thousands of years and gives reason to believe that Siberia is a unique genetic repository. The research has been presented at International Conference "Theriofauna of Russia and adjacent territories" (X Congress of Russian Theriological Society). Unique moose were found in the southeastern part of Western Siberia. Hunters of the Tomsk Region assisted in this discovery. Along with the license for opening the animals, they got set for the capture of prototypes and a small profile. After the genetic analysis of samples, the scientists codified data and compared them with data from GenBank, the international computer database. In this way zoologists have discovered previously unexplored genetic lines, on the basis of whose similarity they were able to draw a conclusion about the existence of a new West Siberian haplogroup of moose similar in DNA structure. It is assumed that these genetic lines were widespread 30-40 thousand years ago, but disappeared throughout the last glacial maximum about 18-24 thousand years ago. Western Siberia remains a white spot, where molecular studies of animals almost never take place, - said Olga Nemoykina, an employee of the Laboratory of Biodiversity Monitoring of Institute of Biology TSU. - This discovery confirms the existence of a refugium - places with favorable conditions in the south of the region, where groups of forest species might be saved during global cooling. According to Olga, the mitochondrial DNA fragment that is not subjected to recombination was used for analysis. That is, for the entire time from ancient moose to our contemporaries they have only mutation changes. At the same time, according to the hypothesis about the molecular clock, the mutation process is going on at a certain speed: about three thousand years was needed for the emergence and consolidation of one mutation in the DNA fragment used by scientists. The scientist emphasizes that moose of Western Siberia are characterized by a high (for moose) level of genetic diversity. It allows us to assume that we also have the chance to find an unusually high genetic diversity of other forest species of our region, - says Olga Nemoykina. - Due to the fact that the high genetic diversity of populations increases the likelihood of their survival when environmental conditions change, wildlife is Western Siberia can be a repository of such diversity for those species that are well represented here. The zoologists' next step will be identifying patterns between the genotype and the appearance of new species of moose. ### A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation shows a weak link in the chain of events that causes an aggressive subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The study also suggests a possible tool to break this link. "There's a gene called meningioma-1 or MN1. When it's overexpressed in AML, the prognosis is poor. And when you take this gene and put it in mouse bone marrow, it causes aggressive leukemia. However, it hasn't been clear quite what this gene does," says Kathrin Bernt, MD, investigator at the CU Cancer Center and assistant professor in the Molecular Biology Program at the CU School of Medicine. In other words, the field has a known cause (MN1) and a known effect (aggressive leukemia), but between these two has been a black box in which the mechanism of oncogenesis takes place. "Unfortunately, it is currently impossible to use a medicine to directly target a gene. We can't simply switch off MN1. Instead, we must look for essential steps between the existence of gene alteration and the advent of cancer in which to intervene. We can't target MN1, but we can target the program that has to be there for MN1 to do its job," Bernt says. Discovering this program required opening the black box of oncogenesis between MN1 alteration and aggressive AML. Bernt and colleagues did this by inducing the overexpression of MN1 in mouse models and noticing the genes that changed in response. These genes looked familiar - MN1 overexpression resulted in the activation of genes previously known to predispose cells to develop AML, namely HoxA9 and Meis1. "Interestingly, these genes also depend on chromatin regulators," Bernt says. Chromatin regulators help to control the structure of DNA as it is packed for storage or unpacked to be "read". The Bernt lab identified two chromatin regulators essential for creating the environment that MN1 needs to cause leukemia: Mll1 and Dot1l. While MN1 can currently not be "drugged", these molecules that remodel chromatin can. One obvious question is whether it would do any good. "In mice, we put MN1 in first, leading to AML. Then we knocked out these chromatic regulating molecules, Mll1 or Dot1l. When we did that, the leukemia collapsed," Bernt says. With promising results in mouse models, the group gathered samples of human AML defined by the over-abundance of MN1, as well as two additional genes, HOXA9 and MEIS1, which are key targets of DOT1L and MLL1. When Bernt and colleagues used the same mouse-model strategy of Dot1l inhibition, these samples of human AML were killed. Anti-cancer agents targeting Dot1l are already in clinical trials. For example, the experimental anti-cancer agent EPZ-5676 inhibits Dot1l and is currently being tested in a phase I clinical trial in pediatric patients with aggressive leukemias (NCT02141828) marked by a different gene rearrangement, namely aberrations in the MLL1 gene. "The existing trial targets patients with rearrangements in the gene MLL1. Our study shows another subset of patients that may benefit from this or other therapies aimed at DOT1L inhibition, namely patients with MN1 overexpression," Bernt says. Challenges exist before the group hopes to collaborate in a clinical trial of EPZ-5676 against AML marked by MN1 overexpression. For example, "Overexpression exists along a spectrum. At what degree of MN1 overexpression does it become clinically significant?" Bernt asks. Defining the cutoff of MN1 overexpression at which the disease is susceptible to Dot1l inhibition will require further work with AML samples. However, the group remains optimistic that further study could lead to targeted treatment for this subsample of patients with especially aggressive AML. ### Researchers find that a universe that contains some big objects and many small objects relieves gravitational tension faster than a uniform universe WASHINGTON, D.C., March 1, 2016 - Our solar system contains one massive object -- the sun -- and many smaller planets and asteroids. Now researchers from Duke University in Durham, N.C. have proposed a new explanation for the size diversity, which is found throughout the universe and is called hierarchy. The researchers report their finding in the Journal of Applied Physics, from AIP Publishing. "Since the 1700s scientists have known that gravity causes objects in the universe to get bigger, but the phenomenon of growth does not explain the hierarchy," said Adrian Bejan, a professor of mechanical engineering at Duke University. "To my huge surprise this question has been overlooked." Bejan's specialty is in thermodynamics and he is the author of the Constructal Law, which states that natural systems evolve to facilitate flow (see http://us.macmillan.com/thephysicsoflife/adrianbejan). He had already applied the law of evolution to explain the shape of snowflakes, river basins, lungs and even airplanes, when a conversation with an undergraduate student prompted him to consider how the Constructal Law would manifest itself in the cosmos. "This is my first trespass into planetary science," he said. Bejan and his student, Russell Wagstaff, started by calculating the tension caused by gravitational attraction between bodies of the same size, uniformly distributed in space. They showed that if the bodies coalesce into some large bodies and some small bodies, the tension is reduced faster than if the bodies merged uniformly. "The discovery is that hierarchy 'snaps' from the very beginning, spontaneously," Bejan said. The break-up of the uniform suspension of bodies into a few large and many small bodies occurs because it's the fastest way to ease the internal tension caused by gravity, he said. The natural tendency of a system to evolve toward a state of reduced tension is a manifestation of the Constructal Law, Bejan said, and can be seen in other phenomena, such as soil cracking under a drying wind. "The working title for our paper was actually 'The Universe as Cracked Mud,'" he said. Bejan said he hopes the application of the Constructal Law to the cosmological scale will inspire other researchers to consider how the law could be applied in their own fields. "I never thought I would have anything to say about celestial bodies in pure physics, but by chance I realized I have a key to open a new door," he said. "Everything has evolution and the Constructal Law can help predict it. The plan is to keep exploring." ### The article, "The physics origin of the hierarchy of bodies in space," is authored by A. Bejan and R.W. Wagstaff. It will be published in the Journal of Applied Physics on March 1, 2016 (DOI: 10.1063/1.4941986). After that date, it can be accessed at: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jap/119/9/10.1063/1.4941986 The authors of this paper are affiliated with Duke University. ABOUT THE JOURNAL Journal of Applied Physics is an influential international journal publishing significant new experimental and theoretical results of applied physics research. See: http://jap.aip.org A technique called acoustic force spectroscopy uses standing sound waves in a fluid channel to tug on DNA and other biomolecules in a precise and easily controllable way, revealing information about the molecules' structure and mechanical properties WASHINGTON, D.C., March 1, 2016 -- If you give a toy to a baby, she might investigate its properties by squeezing, throwing or chewing it. Scientists can similarly investigate the properties of materials by applying different forces, albeit in a much more controlled way. Researchers have recently developed a new and improved way to controllably manipulate materials, in this case biomolecules that are far too small to see with the naked eye. By stretching molecules like DNA and proteins, scientists can find out important information about the structure, chemical bonding and mechanical properties of the individual molecules that make up our bodies. This understanding could shed light on diseases like cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The new technique is called acoustic force spectroscopy (AFS). The research team first described AFS in a 2015 Nature Methods paper and have since then upgraded it so that it is compatible with more imaging techniques, can produce a stronger stretching force, and can stretch from a designated distance. The researchers dubbed the upgrade AFS 2.0 and they will present it at the annual meeting of the Biophysical Society, held Feb. 27 - March 1 in Los Angeles, Calif. "AFS is a new and promising technique that still has some tricks up his sleeve," said Douwe Kamsma, a graduate student in biophysics at the VU University in Amsterdam who was an author on the first AFS paper and is currently working on AFS 2.0. AFS works by using sound waves to generate forces in a fluid channel. The fluidic channel is located in a glass slide and a piezo element is glued on top of the slide. The sound waves are produced by the piezo element, which vibrates in response to an applied alternating voltage. Researchers can tune the frequency to bring the system in resonance and make a standing wave. A standing wave is a wave in which specific points, called nodes, appear to be standing still. To stretch DNA or other molecules, the researchers tether one end to the surface of the fluid channel and attach the other end to a microsphere. When the piezo element is turned on to create a standing wave in the fluid layer, the microspheres are forced toward the nodes of the standing waves. The selected resonance frequency of the wave determines the direction of the force and the amplitude determines the strength of the force. Researchers can change these two parameters almost instantaneously to manipulate the microspheres, and hence tug the DNA with varying degrees of force. "The big advantage of AFS is that we can coat the whole surface with these tethered constructs and so measure thousands of single biomolecules in parallel," Kamsma said. AFS 1.0 has already been commercialized by LUMICKS, which is a spinoff company from the VU University lab where Kamsma works. To upgrade the product to AFS 2.0, the researchers integrated an optically transparent piezo element, which would not block the view of the channel, and demonstrated that the AFS chip was compatible with a wide range of microscopes. They also developed a model to optimize the thicknesses of the different system layers, making it possible to apply higher forces. Finally, they demonstrated a fast and easy method to quantify the force profile within the fluid layer, and showed that the AFS system could be used to stretch molecules by manipulating the distance of the attachments points of the biomolecule, a function called a distance clamp. A distance clamp is better than a force clamp in probing multiple rupture events on the same molecule, Kamsma said. This could be used, for example, to study the overstretching of DNA as well as protein unfolding, he said. "AFS is a very good example where the instruments and techniques that are developed by physicists are used to study cells and biomolecules," Kamsma said. To make the system work required knowledge from fluid dynamics, software development, manufacturing and molecular biology. "Bringing all this together is very exciting," he said. Most of the technical challenges of developing the new tool have been overcome, so "now is the time to apply it to very exciting biomolecular problems." Presentation #2472, "Tuning the music: Acoustic force spectroscopy (AFS) 2.0.," is authored by Douwe Kamsma, Ramon Creyghton, Gerrit Sitters, Erwin J.G. Peterman and Gijs J.L. Wuite. It will be in a poster session that begins at 1:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday, March 1, 2016 in the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. ABSTRACT: http://tinyurl.com/hwmmetd ### ABOUT THE MEETING Each year, the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting brings together more than 6,500 researchers working in the multidisciplinary fields representing biophysics. With more than 3,600 poster presentations, over 200 exhibits, and more than 20 symposia, the BPS Annual Meeting is the largest meeting of biophysicists in the world. Despite its size, the meeting retains its small-meeting flavor through its subgroup symposia, platform sessions, social activities and committee programs. The 60th Annual Meeting will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. PRESS REGISTRATION The Biophysical Society invites professional journalists, freelance science writers and public information officers to attend its Annual Meeting free of charge. For press registration, contact Ellen Weiss or the media line at the American Institute of Physics at or 301-209-3090. NEWS RELEASES Embargoed press releases describing in detail some of the breakthroughs to be discussed at the meeting are available on Eurekalert, Newswise and Alpha Galileo or by contacting the media line at the American Institute of Physics at or 301-209-3090. QUICK LINKS Main Meeting Page: http://tinyurl.com/hewekyj Symposia: http://tinyurl.com/h7lnk4p Itinerary planner: http://tinyurl.com/hslnx3p ABOUT THE SOCIETY The Biophysical Society, founded in 1958, is a professional, scientific Society established to encourage development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysics. The Society promotes growth in this expanding field through its annual meeting, monthly journal, and committee and outreach activities. Its 9,000 members are located throughout the U.S. and the world, where they teach and conduct research in colleges, universities, laboratories, government agencies, and industry. For more information on the Society, or the 2016 Annual Meeting, visit http://www.biophysics.org Researchers uncover structural markers to differentiate between smaller and larger forms of "Jekyll and Hyde" amyloid beta molecular bundles--providing a basis for understanding why smaller bundles of the protein are more toxic than larger bundles WASHINGTON, D.C., March 1, 2016 -- A tiny protein known as an "amyloid beta" acts like Jekyll and Hyde in mysterious ways within the human body. Outsized human suffering is linked to this otherwise tiny, innocuous-looking molecule, as it is suspected to be a key player in the neurodegenerative mechanisms underlying Alzheimer's disease. The action of any protein, whether it is life-supporting or toxic, is tied to its shape. Amyloid beta molecules appear to become toxic within our bodies when they make contact with each other and form small bundles. Oddly, they may become less toxic again as the bundles grow larger in size and form ordered fibrillary plaque deposits. This begs the question: What's different about these bundles than the single protein molecule and the fibrils? During the Biophysical Society's 60th Annual Meeting, being held in Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 27-March 2, 2016, a group of researchers from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in India, will describe what they discovered while exploring a suspected critical change in the protein shape as the molecular bundle grows in size. "Determining this difference in shape was a challenge, however, because standard tools fail to decipher much about this shape-changing molecule," explained Sudipta Maiti, who co-directed this research. "The power of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) couldn't be applied, because the shape change involved is too fast to be captured by it." Faster tools like optical spectroscopy can monitor these fast changes, but don't have high enough resolution to provide detailed information about the molecule's shape. So the researchers decided to go back to NMR. They "froze" time by literally freezing the structurally evolving sample at "appropriate" times, determined via optical spectroscopic techniques. "The frozen sample can then be studied at leisure with a variation of NMR called 'solid-state NMR,' as well as other spectroscopy techniques," noted Maiti. Solid-state NMR "has the power to yield atomic-scale resolution and molecular geometry information in a direct manner," pointed out P.K. Madhu of TIFR Center for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Hyderabad, co-director of this work. To zero in on underlying changes, they also used high-resolution modeling and simulations, which, according to co-author Ravindra Venkatramani, helped them to visualize the shapes of the molecular components. One of the biggest questions within this field of study is: How does toxicity evolve? Until now, it's been difficult to explain why toxicity decreases as larger fibrils form. "By figuring this out, it may be possible to tweak the small bundles so that they take a nontoxic route to forming fibrils," Maiti said. "Our previous research didn't uncover any major differences in the shape of the protein as it evolves from the small bundles to the larger fibrils." But, with this new approach, they discovered a "twist" within the structure--as the small bundle grows, an intramolecular-to-intermolecular beta sheet transition occurs--that was hidden until now. "This feature seems to bring the protein closer in shape to some other well-understood proteins with established mechanisms of toxicity," said Maiti. "An intriguing aspect is that this transformation--from toxic to benign--appears to be governed by a sort of 'kiss' between two parts of the protein molecule, an interaction also known as a 'salt bridge.'" This provides clear structural markers to differentiate between the small and larger forms of the protein, and provides a basis for understanding why the smaller bundles are more toxic. If the group is correct, their work will open the door to diagnosing the toxic forms of the protein--and possibly even manipulating them. With a greater understanding of the protein's shape, the researchers are now determined to explore how it takes an insidious turn. "Ideally, we'd like to figure out how to manipulate the toxic forms of the protein to make it take the nontoxic path," Maiti said. For example, "if a potential drug molecule can be synthesized to make the 'kiss' happen at the earliest stage, it may dramatically reduce the toxicity," he added. "We're also excited because our technology can be applied to help understand the molecular basis for other diseases, such as Parkinson's and Type-II diabetes, which are also linked to small proteins." The group plans to put their theories to the test to see if they work as a general principle, and then "pharmaceutical scientists can pursue it further as a promising avenue for developing drugs to treat many diseases--or even develop a cure," Maiti said. Presentation #1765, "A hidden structural transition accompanies the progression of amyloid-eta oligomers to mature fibrils," is authored by Bappaditya Chandra, Debanjan Bhowmik, Barun K. Maity, Debabrata Dhara, Kaustubh Mote, Ravindra Venkatramani, Perunthiruthy K. Madhu and Sudipta Maiti. It will be at 11:00 a.m. PT on Tuesday, March 1, 2016 in Room 515A of the Los Angeles Convention Center. ABSTRACT: http://tinyurl.com/jncs49m ### ABOUT THE MEETING Each year, the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting brings together more than 6,500 researchers working in the multidisciplinary fields representing biophysics. With more than 3,600 poster presentations, over 200 exhibits, and more than 20 symposia, the BPS Annual Meeting is the largest meeting of biophysicists in the world. Despite its size, the meeting retains its small-meeting flavor through its subgroup symposia, platform sessions, social activities and committee programs. The 60th Annual Meeting will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. PRESS REGISTRATION The Biophysical Society invites professional journalists, freelance science writers and public information officers to attend its Annual Meeting free of charge. For press registration, contact Ellen Weiss or the media line at the American Institute of Physics at or 301-209-3090. NEWS RELEASES Embargoed press releases describing in detail some of the breakthroughs to be discussed at the meeting are available on Eurekalert, Newswise and Alpha Galileo or by contacting the media line at the American Institute of Physics at or 301-209-3090. QUICK LINKS Main Meeting Page: http://tinyurl.com/hewekyj Symposia: http://tinyurl.com/h7lnk4p Itinerary planner: http://tinyurl.com/hslnx3p ABOUT THE SOCIETY The Biophysical Society, founded in 1958, is a professional, scientific Society established to encourage development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysics. The Society promotes growth in this expanding field through its annual meeting, monthly journal, and committee and outreach activities. Its 9,000 members are located throughout the U.S. and the world, where they teach and conduct research in colleges, universities, laboratories, government agencies, and industry. For more information on the Society, or the 2016 Annual Meeting, visit http://www.biophysics.org New Issue of the Annals of Global Health explores the health consequences of climate change and doctors urge action to help mitigate risks and prepare for new challenges New York, NY, March 1, 2016 - Climate change is already having a noticeable impact on the environment and global health. Around the world extreme weather events, increased temperatures, drought, and rising sea levels are all adversely affecting our ability to grow food, access clean water, and work safely outdoors. Soon in some areas, the transformation will be so drastic and devastating that native populations will be displaced and forced to find new homes as environmental refugees. In a review published in the Annals of Global Health, doctors warn of the impending public health crisis brought on by climate change and call for action to help prepare the world for what is ahead. As we begin to experience an unprecedented shift in temperature, we are starting to see the immense impact climate change will have on people around the world, especially those living in low-income countries. Bearing the brunt of the damage caused by climate change, low-income nations are especially susceptible because their economies often rely solely on agriculture and most do not possess the resources to ease the risks posed by climate events. Low-income countries contribute just a tiny fraction of greenhouse gases (GHG), yet, they stand to lose the most if something is not done to curb emissions. In 2004, the United States, Canada, and Australia approached 6 metric tons (mt) of GHG per capita, while per-capita GHG emissions in low-income countries was only 0.6 mt overall. "As global temperature increases, rich countries' economies continue to prosper, but the economic growth of poor countries is seriously impaired," explained co-author Barry S. Levy, MD, MPH, Adjunct Professor, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine. "The consequences for economic growth in poor countries will be substantial if we continue on a 'business-as-usual' path of increasing carbon dioxide concentrations and rapid climate change, with poor countries' mean annual growth rate decreasing from 3.2% to 2.6%." The adverse health effects of climate change will be broad and will tax public health resources globally. Vector-borne diseases, foodborne and waterborne illnesses, malnutrition, respiratory and allergic disorders, heat-related disorders, collective violence, and mental health problems will all likely increase due to climate change. Already vulnerable populations including the poor, minority groups, women, children, and older people will face the greatest challenges brought on by climate-caused illness. Malaria, Rift Valley fever, tick-borne encephalitis, and West Nile virus disease are spreading due to climate change. Along with minority populations and poor people, women are more vulnerable to the health consequences of climate change. Co-author investigator Jonathan A. Patz, MD, MPH, Director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin--Madison explained, "There are many ways in which climate change disproportionately affects women, including and especially adolescent girls. In low-income countries, women and adolescent girls generally assume primary responsibility for gathering water, food, and fuel for their households. Climate change-induced droughts make this work much more difficult." Because the challenges presented by climate change disproportionately affect already vulnerable groups, investigators warn that caution must be exercised when trying to manage the effects of climate change. "International organizations and governments at the national, state/provincial, and local levels should ensure that human rights are considered in developing and implementing mitigation and adaptation measures," noted Dr. Levy. "Nongovernmental and humanitarian organizations need to hold governments accountable in protecting and promoting these human rights." Positive progress on this front emerged last December in Paris from the UN Conference of the Parties (COP21) on climate change. World leaders gathered there agreed to establish a $100 billion fund to pay for both energy development as well as damages already incurred by poorer nations. "The agreement, which included the concept of 'damages,' clearly shows a recognition of the imbalance between industrialized nations that have caused climate change and those countries already bearing the brunt of extreme weather impacts," said Dr. Patz, who attended the Paris meeting. Now is the time to address these issues and determine proper plans of action. In this issue of Annals of Global Health, "Climate Change, Global Health, and Human Rights," guest editor Holly G. Atkinson, MD, Program Director of Human Rights, Arnhold Institute for Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explained, "In many places around the globe where upheavals are occurring, public health systems have broken down. As a consequence, for example, we have witnessed the resurgence of polio--an ancient disease almost eradicated in 2012. Despite the evidence, many people remain substantially uninformed about the link between climate change and global health." Public health problems resulting from climate change continue to increase, and yet, we are slow to react. With the most vulnerable populations among us set to sustain the most damage, this review in the Annals of Global Health urges swift and decisive action to protect poor people, women, children, older people, and other vulnerable populations from the health consequences of climate change now and in the future. "The global climate crisis threatens most people and their human rights," concluded Dr. Patz. "The adverse consequences of climate change will worsen. Addressing climate change is a health and human rights priority, and action cannot be delayed. Mitigation and adaptation measures must be equitable, respecting, protecting and promoting human rights." ### Almost all patients wish they received more information at diagnosis; new Health Union website offers community for patients and supporters to find information about managing the condition Philadelphia, March 1, 2016 - In a new national survey of Crohn's disease patients, Health Union reveals that it was not uncommon for patients to see multiple healthcare professionals (HCPs), have numerous office visits, and endure multiple diagnostic tests before receiving a diagnosis. Results demonstrate an impact on such things as the ability to work or exercise, but also on overall quality of life and social activities. Respondents wished more people understood the disease and its impact. Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the digestive tract affecting about 780,000 people in the U.S. Typical symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, and fever. In addition, as an inflammatory disease, Crohn's can have symptoms outside of the digestive tract affecting the joints, skin, eyes, and liver. The exact cause of Crohn's is unknown. It is believed that it may be an autoimmune reaction - the immune system overreacts and attacks the body's healthy cells. The survey shows that 45% of respondents had a family member with an autoimmune disease other than Crohn's. Forty-two percent had a family member also diagnosed with an inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's or ulcerative colitis. Various stimuli, such as a bacteria or virus, can be responsible for triggering the immune system reaction. Crohn's disease is often life altering and 22.5% of respondents experienced their first symptoms before the age of 15. Seventy-eight percent say that Crohn's at least sometimes impacts their ability to work and over half report that it often or always negatively impacts their overall quality of life. "I wish people would become more educated about Crohn's Disease," says Paul Richman, CrohnsDisease.com patient contributor. "If everyone was more well-read about Crohn's, they would understand how it affects people's lives in every way. They would realize how many people are affected by it, and how hard it is to keep friendships and relationships because of the embarrassing impact it has on our daily lives and routines." In addition to gastrointestinal issues, 85% of respondents experience complications, with the most prevalent being: arthritis/swollen joints (60%), malnutrition/nutritional difficulties (37%), and anemia (36%). Crohn's proves very difficult to diagnose with 44% of respondents needing 10 or more office visits and 59% seeing three or more HCPs. More than 3/4 started off with a moderate to severe Crohn's diagnosis. On a more positive note, once diagnosed, patients actively pursue treatment and are generally happy with their medical care. Eighty-seven percent began treatment immediately or within one month of diagnosis and 95% are under the care of an HCP. Over 3/4 are satisfied with their HCP, with those unsatisfied most often wanting more empathy and education/communication. Patients found HCPs most valuable for monitoring progression, treatment suggestions, and education. "When it comes to Crohn's, health care providers can do a lot more than just provide treatment. Openly discussing the unsavory aspects of this condition is really important as many patients feel they can't talk to their friends/family. This is why a site like CrohnsDisease.com is so important. It provides the open, non-judgmental support so necessary for management," says Tim Armand, president and co-founder of Health Union. Just as diagnosing Crohn's is difficult, so is symptom management. Less than three percent of respondents were not experiencing symptoms and those with symptoms experienced an average of seven, with 68% citing fatigue/low energy as the most difficult to manage. One quarter have never been in remission and those who have been experienced remission for less than three years. Almost 3/4 experience flares every few months, if not more often. The primary trigger was stress, followed by greasy foods and raw fruits and vegetables. Finding the right treatment is difficult. More than half of respondents have been on their current treatment plan less than two years and about 70% may be changing in the next year. The most common treatment is biologics. Sixty percent would be interested in participating in a clinical trial. "Inflammatory Bowel Disease is incredibly difficult to live with and not very well understood by the public. It does makes me feel good to know that some pharmaceutical companies and doctors are working hard for the first time ever to collaborate with patient advocates to improve quality of care for those suffering from this debilitating disease. This helps to mitigate some of the unique challenges faced by IBD patients," said CrohnsDisease.com patient contributor Marisa Lauren-Troy. The Crohn's Disease in America survey was conducted online October 29, 2015, to January 10, 2016, with 2,018 respondents who were diagnosed with Crohn's disease and a resident of the U.S. or U.S. citizen living abroad. More details about the survey are available on request. ### About Health Union, LLC and CrohnsDisease.com Health Union inspires people to live better with challenging health conditions - combining new, original content every day with digital, social and mobile technologies to cultivate active, engaged online communities. Health Union platforms are unique ecosystems dedicated to illuminating the voices and experiences of people with migraine, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis C, and more. Its services and offerings foster open and honest interactions about these health conditions between and among patients, caregivers, professionals, providers and industry partners to help all stakeholders make more informed decisions about healthcare. CrohnsDisease.com is Health Union's newest online community dedicated to Crohn's disease, where patients and supporters of people living with this condition can connect, share experiences and learn about managing the condition. EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Is your boss always a jerk? You still may be better off than those workers whose supervisor is courteous one moment and rude the next. New research by a team of current and former Michigan State University business scholars suggests employees whose superior is consistently unfair are actually less stressed and more satisfied with their job than employees with an erratic boss. The study, online in the Academy of Management Journal, included both a lab experiment in which participants' heart rates were monitored for stress levels and a separate field study of workers and supervisors from 95 employers representing a host of industries. "Our findings essentially show that employees are better off if their boss is a consistent jerk rather than being a loose cannon who's fair at times and unfair at other times," said Fadel Matta, lead author of the study and a researcher in MSU's Broad College of Business. "We found that inconsistent treatment is much more stressful than being treated poorly all the time." In the lab experiment, about 160 college students were split into two rooms and given a stock-pricing task. The students in each room were told the students in the other room would act as their supervisor; however, the feedback the students received was actually sent from the researchers. A third of the students were always treated fairly, a third were always treated unfairly and a third received erratic treatment that bounced back and forth between fair and unfair. Examples of unfair statements included "You should be ashamed of your efforts on that last round" and "It sucks to work with an unmotivated person." The researchers monitored participants' heart rates - a common indicator of stress - and found that those who were treated inconsistently experienced more stress than those who were treated unfairly all the time. The findings were replicated in a field study in which the researchers surveyed workers and their bosses daily over a three-week period. Participants worked in industries ranging from retail to health care to technology. According to this study, employees with fickle bosses were more prone to stress, job dissatisfaction and emotional exhaustion than workers who were treated poorly all the time. Why is this the case? Brent Scott, MSU associate professor of management and study co-author, said people appear to value consistency and predictability in fair treatment as much or more than fair treatment itself. "Let's not lose sight of the fact that the best outcomes for employees occurred when their supervisors were consistently fair," said Scott. "However, if supervisors are going to be unfair, the results suggest that they would be better off behaving that way all of the time." Developing consistently fair supervisors may require more than the occasional training session offered by many companies, the study notes. Instead, this goal could be woven into routine development programs and supervisor assessments. In addition, the researchers suggest personality and integrity tests - typically used when hiring or promoting a supervisor to predict job performance - could also be used to predict their ability to treat employees fairly on a consistent basis. "Prioritizing self-discipline, focus and careful thinking could help deliver leaders who are not just fair some of the time, but who are instead fair almost all of the time," the study concludes. ### Matta is a doctoral candidate in MSU's Department of Management who will start as an assistant professor at the University of Georgia after he completes his degree in May. In addition to Scott, his co-authors are Liana Passantino, MSU doctoral candidate in management, and two MSU graduates - Jason Colquitt, faculty member at the University of Georgia, and Joel Koopman, faculty member at the University of Cincinnati. Spending nearly a year in space, 249 miles from Earth, could be a lonely prospect, but an office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, made sure astronaut Scott Kelly could reach home for the entire 340-day duration of his mission. Not only could Kelly communicate with mission control in Houston, but Goddard's Network Integration Center connected him with reporters and even family. Reliable space-to-ground communication is critical to all missions - when astronauts venture outside the International Space Station to install new equipment and perform important maintenance, as well as for any other on-orbit needs. Data collected in space, like video transmission of a spacewalk, travel as radio signals from antennas on spacecraft to much larger antennas on Earth, some with diameters up to 230 feet. From there, they travel via cables underground, or even under the ocean, to data centers around the world where scientists collect and analyze the data. With hundreds of satellites operating in orbit around Earth and elsewhere in the solar system, it's easy to imagine that communication channels might become overwhelmed with data from the satellites. To prevent this, NASA manages and maintains three large communications networks. A spacecraft's distance from Earth decides which network it will use. Spacecraft in the far reaches of our solar system, such as New Horizons, just past Pluto, communicate via the Deep Space Network, while spacecraft closer to home, such as the ISS, use the Space Network or the Near Earth Network. Spacecraft utilizing the Space Network communicate using a constellation of geosynchronous Tracking and Data Relay Satellites known as TDRS. The Near Earth Network consists of ground-based stations located around the Earth. While the Space Network generally services spacecraft in low Earth orbit, the Near Earth Network can service spacecraft in low-Earth orbit, geosynchronous orbit and even in orbit around the moon. The Space Communications and Navigation Program office is located at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Engineers and technicians at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, are primarily responsible for the management and operation of the Space Network and the Near Earth Network. The Deep Space Network is managed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Goddard's Network Integration Center (NIC) is the primary operations center for coordinating the communications for missions using the Near Earth Network and Space Network. Capabilities include robotic satellite missions as well as all human spaceflight missions. Service capabilities typically begin with the preflight testing of a spacecraft's communications systems prior to launch and culminates with the launch and initial in-orbit activities of the spacecraft. Human spaceflight missions are the NIC's specialty. The center has been operational in one form or another since Project Mercury, NASA's first human spaceflight program. Maintaining communications with human-occupied spacecraft is essential for mission success regardless of whether it is in low-Earth orbit or beyond. Today the NIC is involved in all human space missions and regularly supports the ISS and the visiting cargo and crew transport vehicles that service the space station. The NIC will provide similar communication and navigation to the new commercial crew spacecraft being built by Boeing and SpaceX. Communication and navigation for most spacecraft in low-Earth orbit is relatively straightforward, said Human Spaceflight Network Director Mark Severance, who manages the communications services from all networks during human spaceflight missions. Most low-Earth-orbit spacecraft connect with and maintain communications with one or two NASA communications networks. Future exploration missions will be more complicated. "Typically when you fly a mission beyond Earth orbit, you launch and go around Earth a couple times, and you communicate through the Near Earth Network and the Space Network," Severance said. "Then you do a big rocket firing, you depart from Earth orbit and you're not going to return. You're then on the Deep Space Network forever. However, the return trips of human missions will require not only network handovers as the spacecraft leaves Earth, but return handovers between networks as well." Because of this, future exploration missions will use all three of NASA's space communication's networks at various times during the mission. Not only must the NIC team ensure that all networks are functioning correctly, but that the handovers between networks are orchestrated to maintain communications between the spacecraft and mission control as it leaves Earth or approaches on its return journey. These plans can change rapidly due to in-flight complications, leaving the team to coordinate a new handover plan between the networks. A preview of this type of mission capabilities occurred during the Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) in December 2014. The flight orbited Earth twice to test NASA's new Orion spacecraft, designed to carry astronauts to destinations in deep space, including an asteroid and Mars. EFT-1 flew the Orion capsule to more than 15 times further from Earth than the International Space Station, about 3,600 miles above the planet's surface. Data collected during the flight will help finalize Orion's designs and show how the capsule performs during, and returns from, deep-space journeys. This includes testing Orion's communications capabilities with the Space Network, which was overseen by Severance's team in the NIC. The NIC Human Space Flight team at Goddard is already planning the communications for Exploration Mission-1, the first flight of the agency's new Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to demonstrate the integrated system performance prior to the first crewed flight. Severance said this mission would be the biggest communications challenge moving forward into the next several years. As NASA soars into space beyond Earth orbit once more, a legacy of space communications that began at Goddard more than 50 years ago continues. ### To see video - transmitted to Earth via the NIC - of a new commander taking over control of the ISS from returning astronaut Scott Kelly on Feb. 29, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-SzZXTKWS0 A team of researchers, led by scientists in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, will launch a project designed to improve nutrition and empower women in Cambodia by promoting their production and marketing of horticultural crops and rice produced via sustainable intensification practices. Funding for the $1 million project, Women in Agriculture Network Cambodia: Gender and Ecologically Sensitive Agriculture, was awarded by the Feed the Future Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab, which is based at Kansas State University. The program is supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development as part of Feed the Future, the U.S. government's global hunger and food security initiative. Smallholder farmers produce nearly half of the world's food, but they often have notoriously low yields, strong gendered divisions of labor and limited financial resources, according to lead investigator Rick Bates, professor of horticulture at Penn State. "Small-scale farming systems such as these -- prevalent in many developing countries -- have been called 'very resilient poverty traps' that are characterized by chronic food and nutrition insecurity," said Bates, whose expertise includes horticulture enterprise development and sustainable food production systems. "Such is the situation in Cambodia, where some regions have 45 percent poverty rates and high concentrations of stunting and malnutrition." To overcome these challenges, the researchers aim to improve the socio-economic and nutritional status of women and their families by promoting existing and potential sustainable intensification technologies, practices and policies that foster production of nutritious and marketable food while protecting agro-ecological resources. Sustainable intensification, or SI, is defined as the process of enhancing crop yields on existing agricultural lands while minimizing environmental impact. The concept grew out of the realization that a growing global population is increasing the demand for food at a time when land, water, energy and other inputs are in short supply. Bates noted that the project has three major objectives: To identify and promote adoption of gender-sensitive SI technologies and practices in rice and horticulture value chains, targeted to improve ecological resilience and the nutritional status and income of poor households. To identify and foster the conditions and social networks that will enable women to fully participate in the local, regional and international value chains for horticultural and rice-based foods produced via SI. To build capacity in local agricultural institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and international universities and research institutes to develop and promote the adoption of innovations in gender-sensitive and ecologically sensitive SI. The researchers contend that horticultural and other foods grown by smallholder farmers via SI are produced and distributed through value chains that can be exploited to create new opportunities for women and improve the nutrition of their families. "Cambodia represents a best-case scenario for promoting SI through the increased involvement of women, who already play a significant and often nearly autonomous role in agriculture in much of the country," Bates said. "Our project stresses the importance of markets and will promote efforts to move Cambodian agriculture toward a market-driven system." However, explained co-principal investigator Leif Jensen, because markets can work differently for women and men, the researchers will bring a gendered-economy perspective to the project. "Our value chain analysis will address normative, cultural, economic and political forces and barriers that affect access to and control of resources in the production of horticultural goods via SI in Cambodia," said Jensen, Distinguished Professor of Rural Sociology and Demography. "Although the project will focus on four of the country's provinces, we hope our approach will serve as a model for the entire country and region." ### The project's 14 other co-principal investigators include researchers from Penn State and several other universities and research centers, with expertise in areas such as gender and agriculture, international agriculture and development, crop protection and integrated pest management, agricultural economics, agroecology, soil science, agribusiness development, food science, and animal science. Women's Agricultural Network Cambodia falls under the umbrella of the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences' new Gender, Agriculture and Environment Initiative, led by Carolyn Sachs, professor of rural sociology and women's studies, and Ann Tickamyer, professor and head, Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education. The initiative draws together a network of scholars and researchers who can initiate and respond to new opportunities for research, instruction and evidence-based outreach that address the intersections of gender with agricultural and environmental sciences. For more information about the initiative, contact Deanna Behring, the college's director of international programs, at dmb37@psu.edu. A team led by Prof. Tae-Woo Lee (Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering) at POSTECH have fabricated highly-efficient, solution-processed fluorescence organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) using pure-organic thermally-activated delayed-fluorescence (TADF) emitters. The research was published in Advanced Materials journal. This research is selected as a most significant paper and open to the public as a "Layman's abstract". Conventional OLEDs use the phosphorescent emitters which have shown high internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of nearly 100%. However, they should incorporate precious heavy metals such as iridium and platinum into phosphorescent metal-complexes; these limit their commercialization. In order to overcome these disadvantages, the research team uses pure-organic TADF emitters which can show a very high IQE of nearly 100% without precious metals. Furthermore, TADF emitters have advantages of easy synthesis using pure-organic molecules and versatile molecular design, thus, reduce the synthesis cost. They also introduced the inexpensive, simple solution-process to fabricate the TADF-OLEDs by solving fundamental problems which limit the high efficiency in solution processed TADF-OLEDs. A multi-functional buffer hole injection layer (Buf-HIL) that can increase the hole injection capability to the emitting layer (EML) due to its high work function, and also improve the luminescence efficiency of TADF-OLEDs by preventing exciton quenching at the HIL/EML interface was employed. Furthermore, new polar aprotic solvent improved the device efficiency by improving the solubility of pure-organic TADF emitters, reducing the surface roughness and the aggregation of dopants, and managing the exciton quenching in the emitting layer. This improvement in solution processed TADF-OLEDs will remedy the disadvantages of a complex and expensive vacuum-deposition process and thus lower the production cost of the devices. It is of prime importance to reduce the production cost of the devices from the perspective of industrial mass-production of OLED displays and solid-state lightings. Prof. Tae-Woo Lee mentioned, "This technology is a big leap toward the development of inexpensive and solution-processed OLED displays and solid-state lightings because this method uses only low-cost pure-organic molecules and simple solution process to realize the extremely high efficiency solution-processed OLEDs." ### This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP), and by the Center for Advanced Soft-Electronics funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning as Global Frontier Project. Reston, Va. (March 1, 2016) - A recent study, reported in the March issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, found evidence that genetic influence on cerebral glucose metabolism played a major role in the bilateral parietal lobes and the left temporal lobe of the human brain, while environmental influences after birth dominated in other regions. Twins have long been the subject of studies in the quest to determine the influences of nature vs. nurture. An earlier study, published in the journal "Nature Genetics" in May 2015, examined more than half a century of research collected on 14.5 million pairs of twins and concluded that the nature versus nurture debate is a draw; both have nearly identical influences on a person's traits and diseases. But we still didn't know specifically how nature and environment can affect our brains. Now, researchers at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan have begun to focus in on just that. In their study of 40 monozygotic (identical) and 18 dizygotic (fraternal) twin pairs, ages 30 or older, they used positron emission tomography (PET) scans with the radiopharmaceutical 2-deoxy-2-F-18-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) targeting regional cerebral glucose metabolism. Eighteen control pairs matched genetically unrelated individuals of the same age and gender as the twins in the study. Jun Hatazawa, MD, PhD, corresponding author of the study, explains, "Glucose is an essential fuel for brain energy metabolism as well as oxygen. Functional activation of neurons is normally associated with increases in the local cerebral glucose utilization and blood flow." They evaluated the F-18 FDG uptake in each cerebral lobe for the identical and fraternal twins as well as the controls. By comparing differences, they could estimate the genetic and environmental contributions. Hatazawa notes that previous studies have revealed strong genetic influence on the volume of frontal gray matter, whereas this study shows that frontal glucose metabolism is preferentially influenced by environmental factors. Knowing which areas of the brain are more influenced by the environment will help with understanding particular neurological and psychiatric disorders. He states, "The frontal lobes of monozygotic twins are anatomically identical, but they are metabolically and functionally different under environmental influences. This twin-imaging research can be applied to amyloid imaging in Alzheimer's disease and neurotransmitter-receptor imaging in psychiatric disorders where genetic, epigenetic and environmental influences remain unknown. In future twin studies, we may be able to identify specific environmental risk factors." ### Authors of the article "Genetic and Environmental Influences on Regional Brain Uptake of 2-deoxy-2-18F-fluoro-D-glucose: a PET Study in Monozygotic and Dizygotic Twins" include Shinichiro Watanabe, Hiroki Kato, Eku Shimosegawa, and Jun Hatazawa of Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine. Please visit the SNMMI Media Center to view the PDF of the study, including images, and more information about molecular imaging and personalized medicine. To schedule an interview with the researchers, please contact Laurie Callahan at (703) 652-6773 or lcallahan@snmmi.org. Current and past issues of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine can be found online at http://jnm.snmjournals.org. About the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is an international scientific and medical organization dedicated to raising public awareness about nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, a vital element of today's medical practice that adds an additional dimension to diagnosis, changing the way common and devastating diseases are understood and treated and helping provide patients with the best health care possible. SNMMI's more than 17,000 members set the standard for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine practice by creating guidelines, sharing information through journals and meetings and leading advocacy on key issues that affect molecular imaging and therapy research and practice. For more information, visit http://www.snmmi.org. Researchers see alternative ways of using knowledge in indigenous societies as a way to improve our own societies in Europe In the indigenous societies that still exist on the planet, those who possess greater knowledge of natural resources, traditions and age-old beliefs have a greater capacity to obtain food and safeguard their health. However, in spite of their privileged situation, these individuals do not enjoy a better nutritional status or general well-being than the other members of the group, probably because these societies prioritise information sharing and equal distribution of resources. This is the conclusion of a study by scientists at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) led by Dr Victoria Reyes-Garcia, in the framework of a research project on the adaptive nature of culture and the benefits of local environmental knowledge as seen in three indigenous societies in Borneo, the Congo and Amazonia. The project, with one million Euros in funding through a Starting Grant awarded by the European Research Council (within the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union) to Victoria Reyes-Garcia, has carried out an in-depth study of these three indigenous societies over five years, in order to gain greater insights into their systems of knowledge, which are often forgotten. Though the societies being studied may appear to be far removed from our own lives, the results point to alternative ways of producing and using knowledge that could be of great significance for our "knowledge society". "We call our own society the 'knowledge society' but this is a commodified knowledge; if we can learn to use knowledge in a different way, as these indigenous populations do, we could gain great benefits", explains Dr Reyes-Garcia. The members of the research group lived for a year and a half in the communities of the Punan Tubu (hunter-gatherers of Borneo, Indonesia), the Baka (semi-nomads from the River Congo basin) and the Tsimane' (forager-horticulturists from Bolivian Amazonia). The local environmental knowledge (LEK) studied in this period encompasses all the ancestral knowledge that the members of the group have of natural resources and of the functions and dynamics of their ecosystems, along with the management practices, beliefs, traditions and institutions associated with this knowledge that the society has built up over thousands of years. LEK is dynamic, is transmitted from one generation to another in unwritten form by observation and imitation and it facilitates the adaptive strategies of indigenous peoples in the face of change. The researchers note, however, that this knowledge is losing importance in these indigenous societies, which are gradually abandoning their subsistence economy and adopting new forms of economy based on the market, along with formal education and modern health systems. The project focused on knowledge relating to hunting and medicinal plants. In indigenous societies, greater knowledge of hunting techniques is a guarantee of having food available daily, while knowing about medicinal plants is key to the survival of groups with limited access to national health systems. "We tried to find out if people who have accumulated more knowledge (LEK) about hunting or medicinal plants enjoy better living conditions; for example, whether knowing more about medicinal plants means they get fewer illnesses or whether catching more game means they enjoy a better nutritional status", explains Dr Reyes-Garcia. The results showed that individuals with greater hunting knowledge caught more animals per hour of hunting and that those who knew more about medicinal plants reported fewer days of illness. However, In spite of these results these persons were not necessarily found to enjoy a better nutritional status. The explanation for this paradox seems to lie in the prevalence of sharing and reciprocity in the three societies being studied: practices that affect both knowledge and access to resources. "They share information on the properties of a plant or where in the forest it can be found and they also share meat, with all members of the community. The frequency with which information and resources are shared could be the reason why individuals' nutritional status is not directly related to their LEK level". The researchers suggest that knowledge of LEK systems should not only be taken into account when making policy with regard to indigenous peoples but should be seen from the perspective of European societies as "alternative ways of producing, transmitting and using knowledge". On completing this project (The adaptive nature of culture: A cross-cultural analysis of the returns of Local Environmental Knowledge in three indigenous societies"), the group has issued a comprehensive report with the principal conclusions drawn, in Spanish, English and French. ### RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- University of California, Riverside researchers may have found a better, more environmentally friendly way to stop the procession of Argentine ants, which have been spreading across the United States for the past few decades, despite pest control efforts. The Argentine ant is an invasive species that has become a major nuisance in California and southern states, including Georgia, South Carolina. Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina. In fact, a 2007 survey found that 85 percent of all urban pest control services in California were focused on the Argentine ant. A common weapon for managing the Argentine ant has been residual insecticide sprays, insecticides that remain effective for a length of time after being sprayed on a surface. However, the downside of this tactic is that the insecticides can find their way into water systems and harm some aquatic species. Another common management technique is baiting, where the ants take food mixed with insecticides back to their colony and then expose other ants to the toxins. This method is more environmentally friendly, but it can be tricky to perfect because the baits need to be palatable, non-repellent, slow-acting, transferable, and inaccessible to non-ants. In an effort to improve the baiting technique, a team from the UC Riverside added ant pheromones to the bait. They found that baits with pheromones reduced ant activity by 74 percent after four weeks. Baits without pheromones reduced ant activity only 42 percent after four weeks. The researchers used the Argentine ant pheromone (Z)-9-hexadecenal, which is inexpensive enough that the researchers believe they could be an economically viable modification to existing bait products. This result came as a bit of a surprise to the authors. "We expected the pheromone-assisted gel bait to attract more ants, but the amount of Argentine ant control in homes was quite remarkable," said Kevin Welzel, an author of the paper and a graduate student at UC Riverside who works with Dong-Hwan Choe, an assistant professor of entomology and an assistant cooperative extension specialist. Welzel added: "A good way to explain why the pheromone bait worked better is to think about it like the smell of your favorite food. Once you smell your favorite food, you tend to go to the source of the food and you may find it difficult to resist the temptation to consume it. Essentially, we just added an attractive smell to bait that didn't have an odor. This attractive smell allows the Argentine ants to quickly locate and then consume more of the bait." ### The findings were outlined in a paper, "Development of a Pheromone-Assisted Baiting Technique for Argentine Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)," that was published last week in the Journal of Economic Entomology. The UC Riverside Office of Technology Commercialization has filed a patent on the technique outlined in this paper. Josh Lancette, manager of publications at the Entomological Society of America, contributed to this press release. Losing the ability to fly gave ancient penguins their unique locomotion style. But leaving the sky behind didn't cause major changes in their brain structure, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin suggest after examining the skull of the oldest known penguin fossil. The findings were published in the Journal of Anatomy in February. "What this seems to indicate is that becoming larger, losing flight and becoming a wing-propelled diver does not necessarily change the [brain] anatomy quickly," said James Proffitt, a graduate student at the university's Jackson School of Geosciences who led the research. "The way the modern penguin brain looks doesn't show up until millions and millions of years later." Proffitt conducted the research with Julia Clarke, a professor in the Jackson School's Department of Geological Sciences, and Paul Scofield, the senior curator of Natural History at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand, where the skull fossil is from. The skull is from a penguin that lived in New Zealand over 60 million years ago during the Paleocene epoch. According to Proffitt, it likely lived much like penguins today. But while today's penguins have been diving instead of flying for tens of millions of years, the change was relatively new for the ancient penguin. "It's the oldest [penguin] following pretty closely after the loss of flight and the evolution of flightless wing-propelled diving that we know of," Proffitt said. The shape of bird skulls is influenced by the structure of the brain. To learn about early penguin brain anatomy, Proffitt used X-ray CT-scanning to digitally capture fine features of the skull's anatomy, and then used computer modeling software to create a digital mold of the brain, called an endocast. The researchers thought that loss of flight would impact brain structure--making the brains of ancient penguins and modern penguins similar in certain regions. However, after analyzing the endocast and comparing it to modern penguin brain anatomy, no such similarity was found, Proffitt said. The brain anatomy had more in common with skulls of modern relatives that both fly and dive such as petrels and loons, than modern penguins. It's difficult to know why modern penguins' brains look different than their ancestors' brains, Proffitt said. It's possible that millions of years of flightless living created gradual changes in the brain structure. But the analysis shows that these changes are not directly related to initial loss of flight because they are not shared by the ancient penguin brain. However, similarities in the brain shape between the ancient species and diving birds living today suggest that diving behavior may be associated with certain anatomical structures in the brain. "The question now is do the old fossil penguins' brains look that way because that's the way their ancestors looked, or does it have something maybe to do with diving?" Proffitt said. "I think that's an open question right now." ### The research was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. A Canadian government panel charged with recommending terms for the Supreme Court-imposed right to euthanasia wants MDs (and nurses) to have lower conscience rights than veterinarians. What do I mean? If someone presents a pet to be euthanized, the veterinarian can say no if she thinks the condition of the animal does not warrant that extreme action. But if the panel gets its way, not so with doctors. It wants all MDs required by law to either kill the legally qualified patient or if they have a religious or other predicated conscience objection to committing homicide to provide an effective referral to a colleague to perform the lethal injection. Effective referral will likely mean procuring a death doctor they know will be willing to do the deed, which is the law in Victoria, Australia, around abortion. From the report: RECOMMENDATION 10 That the Government of Canada work with the provinces and territories and their medical regulatory bodies to establish a process that respects a health care practitioners freedom of conscience while at the same time respecting the needs of a patient who seeks medical assistance in dying. At a minimum, the objecting practitioner must provide an effective referral for the patient. Some objecting doctors might try to get around the effective referral requirement by claiming they didnt find the patient legally qualified medically. But conscientiously, religiously, or morally objecting nurses would have no such wiggle room. The panel wants nurses to be allowed to kill. But since they wouldnt be the ones determining whether a patient was qualified legally for euthanasia, nurses would face the stark choice of administering the lethal injection when directed by a doctor, or being insubordinate and losing their livelihood. The same would no doubt apply to pharmacists who would concoct the death brew. Not only that, but religious medical institutions will be required to permit euthanasia in their facilities if the panel has its way. This includes Catholic nursing homes if they receive government funding, which, I am told, is how Canadas system works. Again, from the report: RECOMMENDATION 11 That the Government of Canada work with the provinces and territories to ensure that all publicly funded health care institutions provide medical assistance in dying. Heres the bottom line: If the panels recommendations are enacted, to practice medicine, nursing, pharmacy, or run a nursing home or hospice in Canada will require participation or complicity in the killing of sick, disabled, and mentally ill patients. Theres a word for that. Hint: It is the antithesis of liberty. Image credit: 135pixels / Dollar Photo Club. Cross-posted at The Corner. New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Conversion Rates Take a Dive after Business Confidence Declined Significantly Downwards pressures from the US Dollar following todays strong US labour market data have so far failed to weaken the New Zealand Dollar, which is beginning to advance. The GBP to NZD remains bullish today, although the New Zealand Dollar is now trending positively against the majority of currencies. New Zealands antipodean neighbours have stolen focus today after Australia posted better-than-expected GDP growth of 3%, making the Australian Dollar (AUD) the high-risk currency of choice today at the expense of the New Zealand Dollar (NZD). The Pound is currently making a bullish recovery after the NZD exchange rate advanced yesterday due to a small uptick in dairy prices. The GlobalDairyTrade auction has yielded the first price rise in nearly three months, strengthening the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) and eroding the British Pounds earlier gains. The 1.4% price increase takes the average value of a metric tonne of dairy derivatives up to US$2,253 per metric tonne. Here are the latest live FX rates as a reference: On Saturday the Pound to British Pound exchange rate (GBP/GBP) converts at 1 The live inter-bank GBP-GBP spot rate is quoted as 1 today. At time of writing the pound to us dollar exchange rate is quoted at 1.13. The pound conversion rate (against australian dollar) is quoted at 1.778 AUD/GBP. Please note: the FX rates above, updated 22nd Oct 2022, will have a commission applied by your typical high street bank. Currency brokers specialise in these type of foreign currency transactions and can save you up to 5% on international payments compared to the banks. Todays pound to NZ dollar spot rate remains strong, although UK data has printed poorly. The latest Markit PMI shows that UK manufacturing sector growth slowed from 52.9 to 50.8, its worst performance in 34 months, with new orders making little improvement and more jobs being cut. In response to disappointing domestic data the New Zealand Dollar dived versus its major currency peers. Even intervention from the Peoples Bank of China (PBoC) wasnt enough to aid a recovery in the NZD exchange rate. As traders await the Global Dairy Trade Auction the NZ Dollar is predicted to hold its current weak position. Popular Foreign Exchange News The GBP/NZD exchange rate advanced thanks to disappointing NZ data. On Monday afternoon the New Zealand Dollar held significant losses versus nearly all of its major peers. The depreciation was the result of particularly disappointing domestic data which showed Business Confidence dived from 23 to 7.1 in February. In reaction to the disappointing data, ANZ New Zealand Chief Economist Cameron Bagrie said; Firms are still flagging reasonable prospects; it's just that the foot is planted less firmly on the accelerator. We put the move down to global unease. Our composite indicator still flags pretty solid prospects over the year ahead, albeit in a lower gear. The finger can be pointed at the global scene. It's been a rough start to the year. Our economy is not immune from global pressures. We are a small, commodity dependent, debtor nation. The forthcoming Global Dairy Auction, the result of which is due during Tuesdays European session, will be very likely to provoke significant NZD/GBP and NZD/AUD exchange rate volatility. Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rate Edges Higher but EU Referendum Uncertainty Predicted to Weigh on Gains During Mondays European session the British Pound edged higher versus the majority of its most traded currency rivals. This was due to positive domestic data results which showed Net Consumer Credit, Net Lending Securities on Dwellings, Mortgage Approvals and M4 Money Supply data all eclipsed the respective median market forecasts. Sterling gains are predicted to be short-lived, however, as EU referendum uncertainty continues to dominate trader focus. Any mention from a prominent British official of support to leave will likely be met with a large Sterling depreciation. This weeks main focus, in terms of British economic data, will be Thursdays Services PMI. A positive result could see the Pound extend the recovery, but political uncertainty will limit the advance. US Dollar (USD) Softens after Pending Home Sales Unexpectedly Slump The combination of heightened demand for high-yielding assets in response to intervention from the Peoples Bank of China, and disappointing domestic data caused the US Dollar to soften versus its major peers. Of particular disappointment was Januarys Pending Home Sales which unexpectedly contracted by -0.9%. While pending home sales have been weak lately, some other housing indicatorsincluding the mortgage purchase application data reported through most of Februaryhave looked strong, giving us hope that the housing market is continuing to recover, Daniel Silver, an economist at J.P. Morgan Chase, wrote in an analyst note. Today's CAD dollar exchange rate remains bearish against currency peers such as the pound, euro and US dollar. Supportive oil and gold costs had previously counteracted the Canadian Current Account flop, leaving Canadian exchange rates static. Demand for oil is predicted to fall, along with crude prices, in the coming days after the news that the US inventories of crude oil swelled to an historically high level, potentially weakening the Canadian dollar (CAD) against currency rivals. Inventories were expected to fall from 3.5 million barrels to 1.1 million barrels, but instead leapt up to 10.3 million barrels. Before we continue, here are some key forex conversion rates as a reference: On Saturday the Pound to British Pound exchange rate (GBP/GBP) converts at 1 At time of writing the pound to pound exchange rate is quoted at 1. The live inter-bank GBP-EUR spot rate is quoted as 1.146 today. The GBP to USD exchange rate converts at 1.13 today. Please note: the FX rates above, updated 22nd Oct 2022, will have a commission applied by your typical high street bank. Currency brokers specialise in these type of foreign currency transactions and can save you up to 5% on international payments compared to the banks. Canadian Exchange Rates Fall as Investors Examine Wider Economic Conditions While yesterdays GDP data bettered expectations, the Canadian dollar exchange rate is falling today as investors take a closer look at the data and the wider economic conditions. The figures show that the Canadian economy saw less-than half the rate of growth it experienced in 2014 and expanded at the slowest rate since the 2009 recession. Economic growth figures for Canada have bettered expectations, relieving economists and boosting the CAD exchange rates today. Monthly GDP only slowed by half as much as forecast to 0.2%, while Year-on-Year (YoY) GDP remained at 0.5% and annualised GDP in the fourth quarter of 2015 only slowed from 2.4% to 0.8%, despite both figures having been expected to hit 0%. The day has begun favourably for the Canadian Dollar, which has advanced by respectable amounts against its major peers including the Euro and US Dollar. This positive movement can be attributed to a recent favourable shift in the cost of nationally relevant commodities. The price of crude oil per barrel has risen to $34.15 today on the WTI index, while the cost of gold per 100 ounces has been similarly beneficial, having climbed to $1239.9. Yesterday saw the Loonie devalued somewhat by its biggest piece of domestic data; during the afternoon, the Q4 current account fell from -$15.31bn to -$15.38bn. CAD/GBP, CAD/USD Exchange Rate Movement Expected on High-Impact Canadian Ecostats The near afternoon will bring a number of potentially impactful Canadian economic announcements, beginning with the earlier December and Q4 GDP figures. Current forecasts are negative across the board, with expectations being for declines from 0.3% to 0.1% on the month, 0.2% to 0% on the year and for a shift from 2.3% to 0% for the annualised quarterly figure. Following on from this will be the RBC February manufacturing PMI, which has no forecasts assigned but previously came in near the growth range at 49.3. If the result manages to breach the 50 mark, the Loonie could be bolstered by such a development. After this afternoon, the future is expected to be fairly quiet for the Canadian Dollar until Friday, when the next (and last) ecostats are due to be announced. These will mainly be comprised of the Ivey purchasing managers index for February, which was expected to fall from 66 to 58 at the time of writing. Pound Sterling on the Up Today after Optimistic CBI Report The appeal of the UK currency has increased substantially today, with the Pound as yet being untroubled by the usual battering of UK Referendum news that has characterised its movement of late. One of the most beneficial developments has been the announcement from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) that although January was a lacklustre time for UK economic growth, there is nonetheless a strong hope that the economy will pick up in the coming quarter. According to Rain Newton-Smith, the CBIs Director of Economics: Its important that the Budget later this month gives business a clear signal that the Government stands behind it in driving growth. US Dollar (USD) Fails to Attract Investors Today as Super Tuesday Gets Underway The US Dollar hasnt been particularly appealing today, having slipped against many of its major economic peers at the start of the trading session. A potential cause for this decline is the occurrence of the potentially-destabilising Super Tuesday. Today is a key one in the race to become the Republican or Democrat candidate for the US presidency, given that the most states are voting at one time to make their decision. At the time of writing, expectations were that either Donald Trump or Marco Rubio would end the day in the lead for the Republican Party, while despite initial windfalls, Democrat candidate Bernie Sanders was predicted to fall behind the more popular Hilary Clinton. BOC Predicted to Act if GDP Forecasts Prove Accurate - Canadian Dollar Forecast Although further stimulus measures would likely send the appeal of the Canadian Dollar diving if they were announced, current opinions are that weak GDP stats today could ensure this very outcome from the Canadian government. Scotiabank economist Derek Holt has stated that: The issue is whether the economy slightly expanded or contracted in the final quarter of last year. Q4 GDP could increase pressure on Ottawa to add stimulus on March 22nd, when the Federal budget lands. For anyone interested in exploring the geneses of and backgrounds to Graham Greene's novels (not to mention his plays, screenplays and travelogues), I can highly recommend(Bodley Head, 1980, dust jacket design by Michael Harvey). A kind of sequel to(1971) Greene's autobiography, which covers his life up to the age of twenty-seven and the publication of his fourth novel,(1932) is part memoir, part book-by-book exploration of the author's backlist, drawing on his introductions to the 19701982 Bodley Head/Heinemann Collected Edition of his works along with assorted essays for assorted newspapers and magazines. I read the whole thing last year (after buying a first edition for a fiver at the Lewes Book Fair) and touched on it briefly in my review of(1943) and my year-end books top ten ; but I'm minded to dwell on it a little more in regard to another Greene book I read last year:(Heinemann, 1958, dust jacket design by Donald Green said wrapper also to be found, naturally, in Beautiful British Book Jacket Design of the 1950s and 1960s ). The story of a middle-aged Havana-based vacuum-cleaner salesman, Jim Wormold, who winds up spying for British Intelligence after a fashion; he fabricates all of his reports also featured in my top ten books of the year, placing at number ten, just below the ninth placedin fact. While I enjoyed it, I'd venture that it isn't as rich a piece of fiction as, say, the aforementioned, or(1955), or(1978). However, like those novels it does deal with matters of espionage a subject Greene had plenty of experience with, having spied for the Secret Service in Africa during the war and in many ways is perhaps more illuminating on the realities of spying than any of them.Greene notes inthatstarted life as an outline for a film, written shortly after the war at the request of the Brazilian director Alberto Cavalcanti but never developed into a full screenplay. (In the event the book was filmed after publication by British director Carol Reed .) "I thought I would write a Secret Service comedy based on what I had learned from my work in 19344 of German Abwehr activity in Portugal," Greene explains, before continuing:Our Man in HavanaIn their absurdity and especially their apparent veracity, Greene's recollections of spying inand their fictionalised versions inremind me of W. Somerset Maugham's magnificent Ashenden, or, The British Agent (1928). Admittedly there's less humour in the latter, but despite the differences in tone (although less marked differences in the clarity of their prose; Greene and Maugham were both beautifully clear writers), in its own waystrikes me as being as authentic a (fictional) depiction of spying as. And regarding the lighter tenor of, as Greene reasons, "It seemed to me that either the Foreign Office or the Intelligence Service had amply merited a little ridicule."Incidentally, the chapter oninis revealing in ways entirely unrelated to espionage as well, not least when Greene recounts the episode in Cuba when he tried to score some cocaine. And equally incidentally, the copy ofpictured in this post is a first edition (and first impression) I bought on eBay last year, partly because I wanted to read the book, partly because I love Donald Green's wrapper , but also because this particular copy bears the ownership signature of a Georgina Greene on the front free endpaper. I haven't been able to establish any kind of familial connection with Graham Greene, but Greene did have quite an extended family he had five brothers and sisters so you never know. In any case, as a collector of books himself , in particular signed editions, Graham Greene would surely have approved of the purchase. Health board officials from Scotland are travelling to Australia to try to persuade expat GPs to return to the country which has a shortage of doctors.The NHS Education Scotland delegates are attending the 2016 Ottawa medical conference in Perth but are also planning face to face with GPs working in Australia who are interested in returning to General Practice in Scotland."Scotland needs its trained GPs back. With the development of a new GMC contract underway, more investment in General Practice, access to the NHS pension scheme and a health service that is arguably one of the best in the world, there is much to commend working as a General Practitioner in Scotland right now," said a spokesman.Those interested in doing so would need nothing more than a simple two to four week induction programme, managed by the Health Board whose Performers List they choose to join.Those who have worked in NHS General Practice before and are currently working in a clinical post comparable to General Practice in the UK, for example in Australia, New Zealand or Canada, face no entry assessment and no lengthy waits to get a position."We are interested in attracting GPs in particular but are always looking to talk to any medics, specialists and healthcare staff who are interested in choosing Scotland as a place to live and work," the NES spokesman explained."Recruiting abroad is not new to the NHS across the UK. Efforts have stepped up exponentially in the last few years as a lack of staff in key areas leads to higher costs in terms of locum or temporary staff, as well as the knock on effect to the continuity of care for patients," he said.He added that he did not know how many expat GPs were working in Australia but said Scots medics were in high demand because their education and training was first class.One doctor who graduated in medicine from Edinburgh University in 2004 explained why he moved to Australia and has now moved back to Scotland. "We planned to go to Australia for one year and do some travelling on the way out, work for a year and then do some travelling on the way back and see it as an 18 month to two year period out and then come back and find something more permanent," he said."However, before we knew it, I had spent five years as a GP in Australia, during which time my wife and I had a baby and, after she got towards the end of her maternity leave, we were at that tipping point where you either stay long term in Australia or move back," he explained."Given we both have very close families, we decided to come back so they could play some part in the upbringing of our wee boy and so that we could help them as they get on a bit and become a bit more dependent," he added.He found the process of coming back to work in Scotland easier than he thought it would be. "I thought it might entail a retainer scheme that I would have to go on. I was pleasantly surprised when I only had to complete a two week supervised position," he pointed out."It was decided that, given I trained in Edinburgh and was familiar with the area, two weeks of supervised practice would suffice. It all came back pretty quickly. Nothing had changed from when I was last working here," he added.However, he found the colder climate a shock. "But there are things that Australia really doesn't have like the history, the proximity to Europe and all the cultural aspects of Edinburgh. Being so close to family was the main reason we came back and it is great to be nearer them. We've seen my family and my wife's family a lot since we've been back and that's been good," he said. WOOSTER, Ohio Three years ago, the first Ohio hops conference was held with just a handful of producers in attendance. There were roughly 10 hop farms, 15 acres in hop production and 50 craft brewers in the state. Today, Ohio boasts about 120 farms and 200 acres in hop production and 220 craft brewers. Its really grown a lot in 800 days, said Brad Bergefurd,OSU Extension horticulture specialist at the South Centers in Piketon, Ohio. A lot of this resurgence in hops production is due to a spike in craft brewing in the state. Conference This years Ohio Hops and Malting Barley Conference, held Feb. 24-25, at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, sold out with more than 2,000 producers, from beginner to advanced, in attendance. Sessions offered new producers the opportunity to get involved in the growing industry while also helping advanced and established growers take their crop to the next level. Hop dreams Allen Conti, of High Point Farms, Leetonia, Ohio, is looking into adding hops to the family farm, and Brian Conti, of Cleveland, hopes to start a craft brewery with those hops. While the Contis are only in the talking stages, Brian said he attended the conference to learn all he can about the plant, from how its grown to how it is used in the brewing process. Its good to learn from the ground up. Bug zoo In between presentations, growers had an opportunity to take a closer look at the bugs that affect hop growth. Mary Gardiner, associate professor of entomology at Ohio State University, set up a Bug Zoo at the conference. Gardiner and student researchers showed growers what spider mite damage looks like, and the tiny bugs themselves, as well as aphids and other pests. The Bug Zoo also showcased a variety of beneficial bugs that aid in plant production. Ann George, executive director of Hop Growers of America, gave a national and international overview of the hop industry. Nationally, there are currently 45,000 acres is hop production, which is the highest production has ever been in the U.S., said George. This is a fun time to be in the hop industry. I just hope it stays, said George. Markets Hop markets are historically unstable, said George. While there is a stable demand for hops in the craft brewing industry, there is not enough acreage to support the demand. Varietal differences, growing practices, pests, Mother Nature, and even brewers changing recipes to develop the next best beer, all affect the market. Craft brews Overall U.S. beer sales in 2014 increased by 0.5 percent, while craft beer increased by 17.6 percent, according to the Brewers Association. The overall beer market was $101.5 billion, with the craft beer market at $19.6 billion (a 22 percent sales growth). Annually, the U.S. exports 50 percent of its hop crop to more than 60 markets. Just five years ago, that number was closer to 70 percent, explained George. This shift is being driven by the craft brewing boom. In the past three years, overall hop acreage has increased 52.4 percent to meet the demands of domestic craft brewers. The craft brewing industry had a 15 percent growth rate going into 2015. Craft brewing is also driving a shift in the varieties that are being grown in the U.S. Historically, U.S. production has centered around Alpha varieties of hops, which are high yielding. Craft brewers are searching for aroma varieties which require certain climates to achieve desired flavors. These varieties also produce fewer hops per bind. Brewers are also experimenting with the use of wet or fresh hops and organic hops, which could open the door for niche growers. Coming soon George said new hops farms are being established across the country, but with this growth, there is a need for quality and food safety standards. Hop Growers of America is working on a self-certifying program that will allow growers to identify themselves as quality hops producers and help local brewers find them. Online modules will be available for growers to take and print out a certificate of completion. The first module will be available around harvest time (mid-2016) at usahops.org. The group is also working on a database system that will issue each certified grower a grower number. This will help with traceability knowing what varieties are being grown, how much acreage is being used and where it is being grown, for better reporting. Do homework George told beginning growers that there are a lot of considerations before one decides to put a plant in the ground. Growers should first identify a market to sell their crop. Ask area brewers what varieties they would be interested in purchasing and how much they need. Then, try to secure a contract with brewers if possible. Varieties Growers should seek out quality plant stock to begin a hop yard; know what diseases to be prepared for; and what tools (pesticides/herbicides) are approved for treatment of those diseases. Finding the right variety that grows well in an area may require research and test plots. George notes that what works well for one grower may not necessarily work for another. It may take a couple years to find what grows well. Infrastructure is key How will the grower harvest and process his crop? It could mean an investment in machinery or teaming up with another grower who would provide the service. It can cost a grower $10,000-$15,000 in start-up costs to build the trellis system that is required for growing hops. Develop a realistic five-year budget, mapping costs of production and potential market prices. It doesnt take very much acreage to have something of high value and provide extra income for the family, said Tom Worley, director of Ohio State Universitys South Centers. But it does take a lot of careful planning and hard work to be successful. Read more about Ohio hops here Shropshire A Full-Time position is available for an assistant herdsperson on a family dairy farm in mid Shropshire. We have a 250 dairy herd rearing own replacements together with a b... Copa and Cogeca welcome a new report published today by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) showing EU farmers and agri-cooperatives stand to gain if import duties on fertilizers and anti-dumping duties were removed. With farmers facing increasing challenges especially high fertilizer prices, the report, commissioned by the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), shows the huge benefits for farmers if input costs were removed. Speaking at the press event organized by the IFA in Brussels, Copa and Cogeca Secretary General Pekka Pesonen said: We welcome the report. We have sent a letter to EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom underlining our concerns and also presented our views to EU Farm Commissioner Phil Hogan as one of the ways to alleviate the current crisis hitting EU agricultural markets. Fertilisers make up a large share of the production costs for wheat, barley, maize, oilseeds and fodder (grass) for animal feed. Copa and Cogeca member organisations believe that the significant drop in prices on the global energy markets, even allowing for the appreciation of the US Dollar against the Euro, has not resulted in a proportional decrease in the price of mineral fertilisers along the entire chain, from the blending stage, through distribution, right down to farm level. Tools to manage risks on the mineral fertiliser market do exist, yet they are inappropriate and unavailable at farm level. We call on the EU Commission to temporarily set import duties at zero with immediate effect for the products listed in chapter 31 of the customs code and for ammonia (chapter 2814) and remove anti-dumping duties on ammonium nitrates from Russia, he added. Jer Bergin from IFA said: Fertiliser is the second biggest expenditure for Irish farmers with an annual spend of over 500m and the Commission must take action as family farm incomes are on the floor. The report takes an in-depth look at how the European fertiliser market functions comparing it to other major agricultural producing regions of the world. It is clear from the data collected that Europes market is not functioning as the duties and tariffs protect European manufacturers at the expense of farm families. For example, prices in Europe increased by 123% between 1970 and 2002, while prices in other countries like Brazil decreased by 65%. IFA Inputs Project Team Leader James McCarthy said: The ongoing concentration of Europes fertiliser manufacturing industry, coupled with greater vertical integration of the sectors supply chain, has seen farmgate fertiliser prices increase at an unjustified rate relative to other input costs. The industry historically blamed the disparity on rising energy costs. However, the steep fall in energy prices over the last two years has not been reflected in retail fertiliser prices to the primary producer. A new 70 million innovation centre will bring together the food industry and academic researchers to transform the productivity of the UK livestock industry. The Centre of Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIELivestock) has been allocated 31.7 million funding from the Governments Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) to set up state-of-the-art facilities across the UK, providing the livestock industry with world-beating access to research. Additional funding from industry for projects in the Centre and investments by the participating research institutions will bring total investment to over 70 million. Speaking as the Centre was officially handed over from Innovate UK, Sam Hoste, Interim Chief Operating Officer of CIELivestock, said: CIELs objective is to increase the economic performance of UK farming and associated industries by 12 for each 1 spent in research. By bringing together the best research in areas such as breeding, animal health, biotechnology, feeding and genomics the centre will create a state of the art, one-stop-shop for the industry that we expect to increase productivity and drive innovation. The universities of Edinburgh (The Roslin Institute), Leeds, Nottingham, Newcastle, Aberystwyth, Bristol, Queens (Belfast) and Harper Adams are receiving investment from CIEL, as well as the UKs leading research institutes including Rothamsted Research, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute Northern Ireland (AFBI), Scotlands Rural College (SRUC), Fera and Duchy College. Nick Major, Corporate Affairs Director of ForFarmers and CIEL Interim Board Chairman, said: CIEL will be the global lead for livestock nutrition, health and genetics, linking transformational research for industry-led innovation with commercial farms on the ground, generating wealth and business competitiveness through the growth in profitability of the UK livestock sector. CIEL will: Provide the UK livestock sector with the research capability that it needs on its own doorstep through one entry point, so the industry does not have to go abroad to do work and/or wait for work done overseas to be translated for a UK market Provide an uplift in livestock productivity and exports for the UK and speed up rates of innovation and discovery in livestock R&D Drive improvements in equipment, products and services, working with industry partners to translate new research outputs into practical and exploitable solutions Encourage and support high growth potential start-up businesses, who can deliver innovation with agility and timeliness Increase the UKs productivity potential by translating research findings into improved food products and promoting best practice and training and using the industry and academic networks already embedded in CIEL Work with industry and academia to provide succession solutions from undergraduate training to post graduate study, coaching the industry innovators and leaders of the future Senior leaders across the UK food industry are backing the centre: Andrew Caines, Group Technical Director, Cranswick plc: I see CIEL as a fantastic opportunity to provide world class research facilities to the UK livestock and meat processing industries. In so doing it will establish a forum that will link leading research providers with forward thinking processors to ensure that the innovative research, for which the UK is renowned, is more easily converted into commercial reality and thereby giving the UK livestock supply chain a real point of difference Kim Matthews, Head of R&D, AHDB Beef and Lamb: AHDB is delighted that CIEL is finally established. The investment in livestock research facilities in the UK will provide opportunities to take the next steps in animal science to deliver new tools and techniques to our farmers. Bringing together many of the worlds leading animal scientists to work together on problems faced by the livestock sector will catalyse new approaches to help our levy payers to improve the sustainability of their businesses. CIEL will be well placed to deliver AHDBs R&D programmes. Jon Lightner, Chief Scientific Officer, Genus plc: Genus is the worlds leading livestock genetics company selling improved bovine and porcine genetics in over 30 countries worldwide. As a UK-based company, we are very encouraged to see the creation of CIEL and the development of state-of-the-art large animal research and testing facilities within the UK. Such facilities will provide important resources as we develop novel products over the next few years. Richard Kennedy, Group CEO Devenish Nutrition: Devenish Nutrition owes its success to research and innovation conducted in collaboration with leading UK academics and we look forward to CIEL contributing to the future development of Devenish Nutrition. I am confident that CIEL will uplift the productivity and profitability of the UKs livestock industry as a whole through the unique relationship it offers between our leading academics and diversity of industry partners which have committed to CIEL. Jason Rankin, General Manager, AgriSearch: CIEL will deliver a long overdue and transformative upgrade of the UKs livestock research capacity. In addition, the integration of scientists, industry and farmer levy bodies in one centre will help ensure that future research meets the needs of farmers and the wider agri-food sector in these most challenging times. AgriSearch is delighted to be a foundation member and we are already developing plans to commission research using the new state-of-the-art facilities. Mike Steele, Chief Executive, BSAS: CIEL is truly game changing bringing together the UK research capabilities in livestock science to redirect industry R&D back to the UK. BSAS is delighted to be a part of this exciting initiative as a critical component of linking academia and industry to deliver impact for the livestock sector. Jonathan Statham, Chief Executive, RAFT Solutions Ltd: CIEL is hugely important because the so-called valley of death between the UKs world leading blue sky research institutions and their effective translation and application into industry and UK benefit has existed for too long. CIEL offers a transformational opportunity to coordinate the world leading science just at a time when the industry is under great pressure and offers optimism and positive opportunity to make UK Agri-tech a world leader once again. Ian Nanjiani, Head of Research at Westpoint Research, part of the Origin group: Research and innovation are essential for a successful livestock industry in our changing world, and are bedrocks of our livestock businesses. CIEL combines the talents and facilities of world leading research institutes, universities and organisations active in the fields of agriculture and animal health and we are delighted to be part of CIEL as foundation members. The combined facilities, knowledge and expertise of the consortium members means CIEL is ideally placed to address the challenges facing sustainable food production in the UK. We are very much looking forward to making our contribution within CIEL to build the new knowledge and understanding that will keep the UK at the forefront of sustainable food production. Professor Martin Green is leading on the project for The University of Nottingham, he said: We are delighted to be taking part in this important project. We have a team of dedicated academics with a wealth of experience in livestock research at Nottingham. We are all looking forward to working closely with colleagues in industry and academia, in order to find innovative new solutions to the issues facing livestock producers and food manufacturers. With spring fast approaching the parasite Nematodirus is a deadly threat to the lives of lambing flocks. An online risk forecast could help UK sheep farmers assess the risk of outbreaks of the parasite in their lambs and take action before it is too late. The forecast maps will be updated daily to track changes in risk throughout the spring and early summer and include treatment and management advice. The online risk forecast has been developed by SCOPS (Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep) and researchers at the University of Bristols School of Veterinary Sciences to predict when Nematodirus eggs will hatch and when outbreaks are likely to happen. Nematodirosis, caused by the gutworm Nematodirus battus, is a deadly disease affecting young lambs. Eggs deposited on pasture by lambs the previous year hatch together in spring, triggered by a period of chilling over winter followed by warmer weather. Young lambs take in large numbers of larvae as they graze, which damage their gut leading to foetid black diarrhoea (black scour) and death. Predicting when outbreaks might happen is becoming increasingly difficult due to variation in spring temperatures from year to year. Farmers can no longer rely on a standard timetable of treatments to avoid disease. As the damage is done by the larvae, faecal egg counts are of little use in detecting and controlling Nematodirus in young lambs. The forecast takes advantage of the temperature-driven synchronised hatching of the Nematodirus larvae and uses weather data from 140 weather stations provided by the Met Office and Forecast.io. The interactive Google map allows farmers and advisers to select the nearest or most representative weather station and provides advice on how to relate the predicted risk to their particular farm and treatment options. Cases of nematodirosis and eggs detected in routine faecal worm egg counts will also be mapped anonymously as they arise to improve the forecasts and SCOPS are asking farmers, advisors and diagnostic labs to contribute to these records by emailing researcher Dr Hannah Rose at the University of Bristols Vet School. Dr Rose said: In previous years 64 per cent of farmers and advisors surveyed changed the timing or extent of treatment or advised treatment - after consulting the forecast, which has been running since 2013, and 93 per cent felt that their approach to control of this parasite had changed as a result of the forecast. UK Government funding provided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council has enabled further development of the forecast and it is hoped that even more farmers will benefit in 2016. SCOPS is an industry led group that represents the interests of the sheep industry. It recognises that, left unchecked, anthelmintic resistance (AR) is one of the biggest challenges to the future health and profitability of the UK sheep industry. The SCOPS group was formed to develop sustainable strategies for parasite control in sheep, facilitate and oversee the delivery of these recommendations to the industry and ensure that new research and development is incorporated to refine and improve advice given to the sheep industry. Julie Sedgewick, who has led the northern region of the National Sheep Association [NSA] for 25 years, has stepped down from her role as Manager. The end of her stay in office was marked by the NSA at the Northern Region AGM, when the association presented her with a beautifully engraved glass tablet in thanks for the work she has done promoting the Association and the industry. In addition at the Northern Region AGM Julie was presented with the T I Allinson Memorial Award which is awarded to a person for lifetime achievement to the northern sheep industry. The award was presented by Greg Dalton current Chairman of NSA Northern Region. Julie took on the role of NSA Northern Region Secretary in 1989 when her son Tim was only four months old. Her first NSA North Sheep event was held in 1990 at East Fourstones, Hexham, followed by a further 12 successful NSA North Sheep events around the region. Greg Dalton, NSA Northern Region Chairman, said: For many years Julie has been a stalwart for the northern region, the sheep industry and the North Sheep event. Julie works incredibly hard and she just gets it done. Everything we do now, and have done from the very beginning has evolved as a result of Julies hard work, culminating with last years fantastic record breaking event held at Millstone Moor Farm, near Cockermouth. She will be such a huge miss, which may make it difficult to follow in her footsteps! Anyone who has worked for her would say the same thing. Julie is sad to be going, but feels the time has come for her to stand down and let someone else contribute their ideas. She says: I think one of our greatest achievements in the many years I have been working for the NSA in the north of England has been raising the profile of our specialist sheep events, run by the NSA for sheep farmers, sheep breed societies and the trade. They were originally initiated to promote the newly formed sheep breed societies that were being formed in the UK in the 80s and 90s. There was usually a farm tour, with perhaps 500 local farmers attending; now they are key occasions attended by thousands of people from across the UK. If Julie is responsible for the appearance of NSA North Sheep and NSA Scotsheep in the sheep farmers diary, she also made her mark on the National Sheep Event, held in Malvern. The NSA and Julie took it over from the Royal Agricultural Society of England [RASE] and turned it into a profit-making event. Julie has always been committed to bringing young people into the industry. She was responsible for the re-introduction of the Young Shepherd of the Year finals, which now take place at the Sheep Event in Malvern every two years. Choosing their candidates from heats held at all of the NSA regional events, she adds: I have always believed that young sheep farmers should get involved in the running and planning of the specialist sheep events, it is really important that they do so to ensure the future survival of these events. The NSA represents the views and interests of sheep producers throughout the UK. It is funded by its membership of sheep farmers, and its activities involve it in every aspect of the sheep industry. It encourages enthusiasm, knowledge and best practice and wants those not keeping sheep to be made increasingly aware of the contribution sheep make to society, and of the core aspects of the sector. As the National Sheep Breeders Association it was founded in 1892 as a forum for progressive breeders, and to provide a strong and common voice for the industry. Its title changed to its present form in 1969 to reflect the more comprehensive work of the organisation and its representation of both pedigree and non-pedigree producers in all aspects of the sheep sector. NSA Northern Region is one of the largest in England, taking in the counties of Cumbria, Co. Durham, Humberside, Lancashire, Northumberland, north and west Yorkshire and the Isle of Man. NSA North Sheep is held every other year and offers free entry to NSA members. Details of regional meetings and events can be found in the events section of the NSAs website. A decade ago, the Hungarian philosopher and former dissident Gaspar Miklos Tamas observed that the Enlightenment, in which the idea of the European Union is intellectually rooted, demands universal citizenship. But universal citizenship requires one of two things to happen: Either poor and dysfunctional countries become places in which it is worthwhile to become a citizen, or Europe opens its borders to everybody. None of these two is going to happen soon if ever. Today the world is populated by many failed states nobody wants to be citizen of and Europe neither has the capacity nor its citizens-voters will ever allow keeping the borders open. So, the real debate in Europe is not should the European Union make its borders harder to cross, it is clear that it should, the split is on whether we should feel morally right doing it and how we should help best to the most vulnerable people in the world. In 1981 when the researchers of the University of Michigan conducted the first world value survey they were surprised to find that nations happiness was not determined by material well-being. Back then Nigerians were as happy as West Germans. But now, 35 years later, the situation has changed. According to the latest surveys in most of the places in the world people are as happy as their GDP will predict. What has happened meanwhile is that Nigerians got TV sets and the spread of Internet made it possible that young Africans or Afghans with one click of the mouse can see how Europeans live and how do their schools and hospitals look like. Globalization made the world a village but this village lives in dictatorship- dictatorship of global comparisons. People do not compare their lives with the lives of their neighbors any more they compare themselves with the lives of most prosperous inhabitants of the planet. In this connected world of ours migration is the new revolution not the 20th century revolution of the masses, but the 21st century exit driven revolution performed by individuals and families and inspired nit by the ideologues painted pictures of the future but by the Google map inspired photos of life on the other side of the border. It offers radical change now. In order to succeed, this new revolution does not require ideology, political movement or political leaders. So, we should not be surprised that for many of the wretched on earth crossing Europe Unions border is more attractive than any utopia. For a growing number of people the idea of change means to change your country, not your government. The problem with migrants revolution is that it has worrying capacity to inspire a counter-revolution in Europe. The myriad acts of solidarity toward refugees fleeing war and persecution that we saw months ago are today overshadowed by their inverse: a raging anxiety that these same foreigners will compromise Europes welfare model and historic culture and that they will destroy our liberal societies. Fear of Islam, terrorism, rising criminality and a general anxiety over the unfamiliar are at the core of Europes moral panic. Europeans are overwhelmed not by those more than one million refugees that have asked for asylum but by the perspective of a future in which European Unions borders are constantly stormed by refugees or migrants. Olympus Corporation of the Americas said Tuesday it settled two separate U.S. investigations, including one involving Foreign Corrupt Practices Act offenses. The companys Latin America unit agreed to pay $22.8 million to resolve criminal allegations that it violated the FCPA. Olympus Latin America, Inc. also entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with enhanced compliance obligations. A compliance monitor will assess and monitor Olympus Corporation of the Americass FCPA compliance program. Olympus is the biggest distributor of endoscopes and related medical equipment in the United States and sells the devices world wide. Olympus Latin America provided cash, money transfers, personal or non-Olympus medical education travel, free or heavily discounted equipment, and other things of value to doctors working at government hospitals and clinics, according to the deferred prosecution agreement. The offenses occurred in Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, and Costa Rica. From 2006 to 2011, the unlawful payments totalled about $3 million, the DOJ said. The payments resulted in profits for Olympus Latin America of more than $7.5 million. Company executives kept a spread sheet of the illegal payments and linked them to sales and revenues. They also instructed other employees how to keep the payments secret. In the deferred prosecution agreement (available here as pdf), the DOJ said Olympus did not timely, voluntarily disclose the FCPA violations at issue. But Olympus ultimately cooperated and received sentencing credit for conducting an extensive internal investigation, translating documents as necessary, and collecting, analyzing, and organizing voluminous evidence and information, according to the DPA. Olympus ended its involvement with numerous responsible parties, including employees and third-party distributor relationships in Latin America, the DPA said. And it enhanced its due diligence for third-party agents and consultants. * * * Separately, Olympus Corporation of the Americas or OCA agreed to pay $612 million plus interest to resolve parallel criminal and civil investigations into alleged violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act. The second settlement resolved allegations by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of New Jersey concerning interactions and financial relationships with U.S. medical business customers and doctors who use Olympus products. OCA agreed to pay a $312.4 million criminal penalty under the Anti- Kickback Statute and an additional $310.8 million to settle civil state and federal charges under the False Claims Act. The civil settlement resolved a lawsuit filed by John Slowik, the former chief compliance officer of OCA. Slowik will collect $51 million from Tuesdays settlement $44 million from the federal share and $7 million from the state share of the civil settlement amount. He filed suit in the District of New Jersey under the whistleblower provisions of the federal False Claims Act and various state versions of the law. The FCA permits private parties to sue for false claims against government entities and to share in any recovery. The DOJ said in connection with the Anti-Kickback Statute case, The criminal complaint against OCA, which OCA agrees is true, charges that OCA won new business and rewarded sales by giving doctors and hospitals kickbacks, including consulting payments, foreign travel, lavish meals, millions of dollars in grants and free endoscopes. The kickbacks helped OCA win more than $600 million in U.S. sales and earn profits of more than $230 million, the DOJ said. As part of the settlement, OCA entered into a separate three-year deferred prosecution agreement and a five-year corporate integrity agreement that requires appointment of a compliance monitor. The monitor will also perform duties under the FCPA-related DPA. The DOJ said the monitor is Larry Mackey, a former federal prosecutor best known for trying the Oklahoma City bombing cases, the DOJ said. His three-year term can be extended for two more years if Olympus violates the DPA. The DOJs March 1, 2016 release is here. * * * Olympus Corporation of the Americas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Olympus Corporation in Tokyo, Japan. OCA is headquartered in Center Valley, Pennsylvania and has about 5,000 employees in North and South America. OCA President and CEO Nacho Abia said Tuesday, Olympus leadership acknowledges the Companys responsibility for the past conduct, which does not represent the values of Olympus or its employees. The Company has implemented and will continue to enhance its robust compliance program, he said. Olympus Corporation in Tokyo first acknowledged the investigations publicly a year ago, OCA said, and last month announced the booking of reserves against the potential settlement amounts. _____ Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. He can be contacted here. Thank you for visiting, I love reading your comments & always try to return the visit so please leave me a message.If you'd like to contact me regarding anything book or blog related then you can email me I am happy to accept books from publishers or authors for review. See my Review Policy for more information. Joe Russo has revealed that he and filmmaking brother Anthony were more 'aggressive in tone' for Captain America: Civil War. Captain America: Civil War Anthony and Joe Russo return to the director's chair for the already highly anticipated movie Civil War, which could go on to be the most successful film in the Captain America franchise to date. This is the first time we have seen them in the director's chair since they steered The Winter Solider to both critical and commercial success back in 2014. This really is the 2016 film I cannot wait to see. Speaking at Wizard World Cleveland Comic Con over the weekend, Joe said: "We really did a radical reinterpretation of Captain America in Winter Soldier. We were twice as aggressive in tone and execution on Civil War." Civil War sees the Russo brothers reunite with actors Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, and Sebastian Stan as they return to the franchise to reprise their roles as Captain America, Black Widow, Falcon, and the Winter Soldier. However, there are some big new additions as we are going to see Robert Downey Jr, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, and Paul Rudd appear in a Captain America movie for the first time. It really is a wonderful cast that has been brought together as we see the Avengers torn apart and going head to head. Captain America: Civil War will kick off Phase 3 of Marvel films and is the first of two Marvel films to be released this year; the second comes in the form of Doctor Strange in the autumn. Civil War is set to lay some of the foundations for the upcoming double Avengers film Infinity War, which will see Anthony and Joe Russo take over the director's chair from Joss Whedon. Captain America: Civil War is released 29th April. by Helen Earnshaw for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on Sarah Wayne Callies is set to return to the big screen this week as she leads the cast in the new horror film The Other Side of the Door, which sees her team up with writer and director Johannes Roberts for the first time. Sarah Wayne Callies in The Other Side of the Door We caught up with the actress to chat about the new film, filming in Mumbai, and the writing projects that she has on the horizon this year. - Your new film The Other Side of the Door is about to be released here in the UK, so can you tell me a bit about the film? The Other Side of the Door is about a white family from the U.S. living in Mumbai, where it is all going really well. Then there is this car accident and things stop going really well. Maria is able to save one of her children but not the other; as a result, she falls into this spiral of grief, depression and a form of madness. As a means of trying to help her, her Indian housekeeper suggests a ritual that might be able to help her get some closure and some forgiveness. Maybe because she isn't Indian or Hindu, Maria messes up the ritual and all hell breaks loose - that is the horror part of the film right there. - You take on the central role of Maria in the film, so what was it about the character and the script that was the major draw for you? For me, it has everything to do with that journey of grief and madness and just how close they are to each other. I watched someone very close to me lose a daughter when I was quite young and I never got over the impression that that kind of grief is unpredictable and can change people's minds and hearts in totally unforeseeable ways; their behaviour can be unlike anything you have ever seen before. The actor part of me thought that that would be interesting to play and the human part of me thought it would be interesting to try and explore those corners of my own brain. - The Other Side of the Door does explore Indian mythology and Hindu symbolism did you do any research into this as you were preparing for the role? How much is this aspect of the film something that interested you? I chose not to do any research because my character doesn't know anything about it. I chose to take on board Maria's level of education when it came to that. I grew up in Hawaii and I grew up surrounded by Hawaiian mythology, language and culture; I think that this is part of what made this project interesting to me. This is a story about ancestors, gods and goddesses that are very much outside the Judeo-Christian paradigm and I am always curious about those beliefs because they are so endemic to the way that I was raised and yet, they are considered foreign to most people in North America and Britain as well. - Can you talk a bit about Maria? We see her go on a huge emotional journey in the film, what was that like to tackle as an actress? One of the interesting things for me about this process was the fact that this is an extraordinary role for a woman, which was written and directed by a man. That is exciting to me. We are starting to make pretty good strides as far as roles for women in Hollywood go, but, of course, we can't do that without the complicity of the men, who are writing and directing as well. It was encouraging to see that a role of this complexity is being written by a man. And yet, when Johannes Roberts wrote it, he didn't have any children - he has since had a young son - and there were several scenes he would come to me and say 'as a mum, can we collaborate on this together?' The scene where things got really interesting was the scene where Oliver is back, she goes up to his bedroom and reads to him as a ghost. When I read the scene, I figured that she would be thrilled because if I had lost a child - god forbid - any part of them that I could have back would be a cause for celebration for me. Johannes turned to me and said 'to me, this should have been a creepy scene and a scene of fear'. And I was like 'why? She has got her kid back, who cares if she can't see him,' and Johannes was like 'that's interesting. That is really dark and really weird, but I think it can work'. We plotted backwards through the rest of the story together, we decided that we could make that decision and then we shot it together and collaborated on that bit. Hopefully, that is a bit that works. It was a journey for her, both emotionally and intellectually, that was very much a collaboration between the two of us. - You have mentioned Johannes Roberts already and he is back in the director's chair, so how did you find working with the filmmaker? I loved it. One of the things that I really respect about Johannes as the director of the film is that he comes to it as a true believer; Johannes loves horror movies and he has seen every one that has ever been made and he has directed them before and has a huge amount of experience. He said to me 'this is the movie that I always wanted to make,' and I think that that is really terrific. You get directors who come into a horror movie to just make money or because someone told them that they should, and it is just not the case with him. He taught me a lot about it because I don't watch horror movies, I get really scared, and so it is a genre I know nothing about; he was a great collaborator in that sense. - How was the experience of filming in India? How much was the Indian location a draw when you were reading the script for the first time? I have always been quite intimidated by India and I have always thought that it was a place where things were so big and there was so much need, in terms of the poverty. I really could see myself swallowed whole. In a way, the idea of going to shoot a film there was a really interesting prospect because you are not going there to be a tourist, you are going there to work. It means that you are going to get to know people who live there and you are going to get to work with people who live there; you get to know it at another level. It was quite an intense experience. We shot in the slums for a few days and we got to know people there, hang around with the kids, and we laughed and played together. It gave me a sense of India that I would never have had before. But I will say, overwhelmingly, my experience of Mumbai, was of being very unsettled; I am sure that it is a place that makes sense to people who are from there but, since I am not, I was always a little confused, a little lost, a little under the weather, and very overwhelmed. However, I think all of that served the character really well (laughs). - Sofia Rosinsky and Logan Creran - who play your children in the film - are terrific, how did you find working with them? Working with kids is always terrific because they love make-believe, they get it, and they just do it. Kids don't worry about process or preparation and all of those stupid actor homework things, they just get on with it and give a great performance. When they are done, they bop off and are like 'is make-believe time over? Great, let's go and get a pizza'. Kids are terrific that way. I loved working with them because they make it all looks so easy. - As you said earlier, you are not a big fan of the horror film genre, so how did you find taking on a movie like this? I expected to come back from Mumbai a shivering wreck (laughs) having not slept the entire time. The hours and the heat were so intense that I did sleep quite well. I think so much of the tension that is built in a horror film, is built from camera angles, lighting, and music and when you are in the moment and shooting it, it really isn't that bad. I will say, when the Myrtu was all done up in the makeup and looking creepy, I didn't want to sit too close. I was much less afraid of it than I expected to be. - Away from The Other Side of the Door, we are also going to be seeing you in This Is Your Death this year, so can you tell me a bit about that project? That was a really cool one. Leave it to me to have a career primarily in television and then to a film about TV. It is a very very dark satire about an American show where people commit suicide live on TV. It is a look at the culture of fame at all costs that we have built. It was a sensational script and it has been directed by Giancarlo Esposito, who most people will know as Gustavo 'Gus' Fring from Breaking Bad. Giancarlo is also one of the stars of the film and watching him both star in and direct something, was one of the most extraordinary things that I have ever seen. It is a fascinating film and I cannot wait to see it cut together. - During your career, we have seen you move between television, film, and theatre, so how do you find that the mediums compare? And how much do you like moving between them? I do. They have all got upside and pitfalls but it is nice to be able to move between them with fluidity. A generation ago, if you were a television actor you were going to stay on TV and if you were a film actor, you wouldn't be caught dead doing TV. Now, that is all up on its head because some of the best roles of women are on television and that is really exciting. The great thing about a film is that you have a beginning, a middle and an end and you can craft a performance with more intentional coherence than you can in TV. But in TV, you have got so much more time to develop a character because you have got years to live with her and watch her evolve. I learn a lot from each process. Theatre is like going to boot camp and getting back to the heart and the soul of what it means to repeat the same moments over and over all week. I always emerge from a play feeling much sharper and much clearer. - Finally, what's next for you? We have got the second season of Colony to shoot, that will start in the summer. I have two films that I have written that are in various stages of development. One is casting right now, Gale Anne Hurd - who produced The Walking Dead - is producing it and we have a director lined up. We are in the process of getting that together. The other is an animation feature, which is based on a children's book. We have a director in Paris who is going to be doing that and we have just got a grant from the French film board to get that started. All of those things are under way and it is allowing me to be part of the storytelling process a little earlier than casting; which is the last thing that is done before a story is told. - What made now the right time to make that transition into writing? Have you any desire to direct? I really don't have any interest in directing. If the only way to get a script that I had written made was to direct it, I would do that. However, it is not an aspiration. It looks too hard and it looks like too much work (laughs). Sitting in an editing room, in the dark, for six months doesn't sound like my cup of tea. I have been working on writing for a couple of years and we are finally at a point when... the things that I write largely star women and women of colour and I think we are just at a point where people are open to telling those stories and believing that they can get made and get financed. I think that it has to do with a moment where my kind of storytelling is becoming something that is becoming viable in Hollywood. The Other Side of the Door is released 4th March. For more information about The Other Side of the Door, visit www.theothersideofthedoor.co.uk by Helen Earnshaw for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on Justin Bieber has met with the members of the the Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir. Justin Bieber The 22-year-old pop star was beaten to the coveted UK Christmas number one spot by the choir after he actively called on his fans to buy their record 'A Bridge Over You' instead of his own hits 'What Do You Mean', 'Sorry', and 'Love Yourself'. Justin greeted the choir members, and subsequently told OfficialCharts.com: "I was honoured to meet everyone from the choir and I'm really happy that they got their number one." Justin was widely praised for his selfless gesture, which included messages on his Twitter account imploring his legion of fans to support the choir's track. Back in December, at the height of speculation regarding the Christmas number one spot, Justin tweeted: "So for 1 week it's ok not to be #1. Let's do the right thing & help them win. It's Christmas. @Choir_NHS good luck. (sic)" Katie Rogerson, a junior doctor and choir spokesperson, said: "We are all delighted to meet Justin Bieber today, and congratulate him on his tremendous achievements. It was wonderful that Justin supported the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS choir. "By doing this, he not only recognised our mental health charities and Carers UK, but also acknowledged every single member of our hardworking NHS team across the UK. "On a personal note, it gives me a bit of street cred with my paediatric patients as Dr Katie! I'm now a Belieber in every sense of the word!" Rakhee Thakrar is reportedly being lined up for 'Doctor Who'. Rakhee Thakrar The 'EastEnders' star - who is known for playing temperamental Shabnam Masood in the BBC One soap - is set to step into the shoes of Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) and become the new companion of the Time Lord (Peter Capaldi) in the sci-fi show following her departure last year. A source told the RadioTimes.com that auditions for the coveted role are taking place now but bosses already have their sights set on snapping up the 32-year-old actress. And the brunette beauty's schedule should have no problem accommodating filming for the next series as she's just turned her back on 'EastEnders' following two years on the show. And, although the rumours about the casting are yet to be confirmed, if she does take on the role, Rakhee will be the first non-white main companion since Freema Agyeman's medic Martha Jones left David Tennant's side back in 2008. Meanwhile, the popular sci-fi series is set for a huge shake-up next year when current producer Steve Moffat hands over the production reins to the new show runner Chris Chibnall. But it's not just behind the scenes that will change, as Peter - who has played the Time Lord for two years - has also hinted he'll be stepping down in 2017 to give Chris a "fresh start." Christopher Peterson, president, Global Brands at Ralph Lauren Corporation will step down as of May 31, 2016 and will work closely with CEO Stefan Larsson to transition his responsibilities.According to a press release from Ralph Lauren, the position of president, Global Brands, which was created in April 2015, is being eliminated. Christopher Peterson, president, Global Brands at Ralph Lauren Corporation will step down as of May 31, 2016 and will work closely with CEO Stefan# The company's Global Brand presidents will now report directly to Stefan Larsson, streamlining the senior leadership structure and giving Larsson direct oversight of brands.Christopher Peterson joined the company in 2012 and until April 2015, held the position of executive vice president, chief administrative officer and chief financial officer.Stefan Larsson said, I would like to thank Chris for his many valuable contributions to Ralph Lauren, especially during this time of transition and his dedication and loyalty are greatly appreciated.Under the new structure, I will work directly with the Global Brand presidents as we drive long-term growth and further strengthen this iconic brand, he addedChristopher Peterson said, It has been a privilege to work for such an iconic company and I believe the company is well positioned for future success under Stefan's leadership.I am committed to transitioning my responsibilities in a high-quality manner and believe this transition makes the most sense for me as well as for the company, Peterson informed.Ralph Lauren Corporation is a designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products in four categories: apparel, home, accessories and fragrances.Its brand names include; Polo Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Ralph Lauren Collection, Black Label, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, Double RL, RLX, Ralph Lauren Childrenswear, Denim & Supply Ralph Lauren, etc. (AR) Fibre2fashion News Desk - India Cinte Techtextil China has categorised exhibitors in 12 product application areas to offer visitors a diverse range of sourcing options from around the world.Exhibitors hail from countries like Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, UK and the US. Cinte Techtextil China has categorised exhibitors in 12 product application areas to offer visitors a diverse range of sourcing options from around# The biennial fair will take place from October 1214, 2016 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, a press release from the organizer, Messe Frankfurt stated.The 2016 edition features a number of first-time participants as well as returning exhibitors.One of these new exhibitors is Johns Manville from the US, a manufacturer of insulation, roofing materials and engineered products.After exhibiting at Techtextil in Frankfurt, they will join Cinte Techtextil for the first time having already experienced the potential in China, Messe Frankfurt added.The Chinese market showed the biggest growth potential in the last couple of years and it will remain, although slowing down a bit right now, that way in future, Anke Weidinger said.Johns Manville sees big opportunities for its specialty polyester spunbond and glass fibre nonwoven product range in China, she too added.The company will exhibit a broad variety of nonwovens, including chemically, mechanically and thermally bonded PET spunbond nonwovens, glass fibre wet laid mats, etc.The products are suitable for a wide range of applications including luxury vinyl tiles, ceiling tiles, wall coverings, roofing, geotextiles, battery, air and liquid filtration, and windmill blades.Also participating for the first time from America is Coats, a world-leading industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business with a presence in more than 70 countries.The Coats-branded products that will feature at the fair include wire & cable or fibre optics, flame retardant protective wear, automotive items, teabag threads, etc.According to Messe Frankfurt, returning participants within 12 product application areas add to diversity of sourcing options. (AR) Fibre2fashion News Desk - India Apparel Textile Sourcing Expo is set to make its debut in Canada this year. The three-day expo organised in coordination with the China chamber of commerce for import and export of textile and apparel (CCCT) will be held from August 22 in Toronto, the organisers said in a media release. The expo would connect Canada's retailers with the world's major apparel and textile manufacturers on a single platform without the time or expense travelling outside the borders of Canada. The event would also provide a comprehensive seminar tract led by acclaimed industry and government experts covering topics likes the TPP, best practices, the changing Canadian market, tips on how to choose whom to work with overseas, and much more. Apparel Textile Sourcing Expo is set to make its debut in Canada this year. The three-day expo organised in coordination with the China chamber of# JP Communications, parent company of Manufacturer.com and TopTenwholesale.com, has been awarded the exclusive contract to produce the expo. We are honoured to have received such a distinguished and globally significant opportunity, our brands have been connecting millions online since 2005 and now we are able to serve our growing community offline in Toronto this summer as well as with other major events we will be producing, said Jason Prescott, CEO of TopTenWholesale.com and Manufacturer.com. Canada has needed a trade show where apparel and textile importers and retailers can learn about sourcing best practices while meeting international producers from around the world. The event offers an important new resource for our domestic market and we are excited to support this endeavour, said Bob Kirke, Canadian apparel federation executive director. Confirming China's participation in the event, Jiang Hui, chairman of CCCT said, This event is a new project started for the promotion of global textile and apparel trade by CCCT. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the international textile and apparel market, we are convinced that the Canadian apparel and textile sourcing expo will become an efficient and convenient trade platform for the global textile and apparel industry. Textile and apparel companies from China, India, Bangladesh, Mexico, US, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mauritius, Honduras, Jordan, Peru, Burma, Myanmar, Colombia and Guatemala are expected to participate in the expo. (NA) Fibre2fashion News Desk - India Archroma organised an exclusive denim art exhibition, in collaboration with the consulate general of Switzerland, at Mohatta Palace in Karachi.An Archroma press release explained that under the theme 'Jewels of the Sea', the exhibition highlighted how denim and indigo together inspire designers and artists. Archroma organised an exclusive denim art exhibition, in collaboration with the consulate general of Switzerland, at Mohatta Palace in Karachi# The exhibits comprised of original paintings, artifacts, and antique objects exploring the interrelation between indigo and denim.The exhibition was visited by a number of dignitaries, brand owners and retailers, as well as denim manufacturers, from Pakistan and abroad.According to Archroma, interestingly, indigo was first discovered centuries ago in the vicinity of Jamshoro, Pakistan, from where its trade was initiated to other parts of the world.Archroma addes that it has the distinction of bringing indigo back to its roots by starting production of liquid indigo at its plant at Jamshoro.Speaking on the occasion, Emil Wyss, consul general of Switzerland, said, Pakistan has a rich cultural heritage and its connectivity with its main crop, cotton ; is fascinating.The local textile industry has grown manifolds due to ample availability of cotton and the exhibition gave a deep insight of the past and present and is an excellent chronicle, Wyss too added.This exhibition, showcased pieces of art produced by the team of Archroma to pay tribute to the Pakistan denim industry for their extraordinary efforts, said Mujtaba Rahim, CEO of Archroma Pakistan.Today a denim apparel from Pakistan carries strong brand image of being of high quality, durability and style, he stated.We are inspired to see the rousing response of our patrons and hopefully our efforts will facilitate to make our denim industry sustainable, Rahim informed. (AR) Fibre2fashion News Desk - India The HKS 4-M EL from Karl Mayer is a new, innovative machine for efficiently processing even small runs and for producing patterns flexibly.It was presented to the public for the first time at ITMA 2015 in Milan in a gauge of E 28, a press release from Karl Mayer said. The HKS 4-M EL from Karl Mayer is a new, innovative machine for efficiently processing even small runs and for producing patterns flexibly.# Interconnected, adjacent arrangement of the waves and the pronounced 3D effects are produced by the clever patterning technology and a specific drawing-in arrangement on the HKS 4-M EL.The EL facility is needed to work the long shog movements of the ground guide bars of over 1" and the pattern repeat length of 474 courses.Whereas the fully threaded ground guide bar, GB 2, works a plain lapping for the ground, GB 3 and GB 4 process elastane in a block-wise arrangement from a beam, the company added.According to Karl Mayer, the yarns are laid from the two ground guide bars in wavy lines running against each other, basically in a tricot lapping, which is shogged step-wise by means of pilgrim steps.The elastane is used double at the intersecting points between the waves, which produces zones with a high stretch having a three-dimensional look.Showcasing a creation made on this machine, Karl Mayer further said that this attractive high and low design was developed by Karl Mayer using the Texion ProCad warpknit software.It was produced by one of Karl Mayer's customer, who processed elastane having a count of dtex 78 and polyamide 6.6 of dtex 44 f 34 on an HKS 4-M EL in a gauge of E32.The stretch warp-knitted fabric has an oval, Gothic design, and the scalloped shapes have a distinct, three-dimensional appearance, the company stated. (AR) Fibre2fashion News Desk - India Developer of spider silk based fibres Kraig Biocraft Laboratories has signed a cooperative agreement with a governmental entity in Vietnam to develop and produce its advanced silk technologies.Under the terms of the agreement Kraig Labs has agreed to form a subsidiary company in Vietnam and to open an advanced hybrid silk research and pilot production operation, Kraig informed in a press release. Developer of spider silk based fibres Kraig Biocraft Laboratories has signed a cooperative agreement with a governmental entity in Vietnam to develop # Kraig Labs has created an efficient method of producing high strength silks using its innovative genetic engineering technologies.According to the company, demonstrating superior strength and elasticity, in some cases higher strength and elasticity than native spider silks, Kraig Labs' Dragon Silk has the potential to reshape the textile industry.The research and production agreement announced with the Vietnamese entity lays the groundwork for the production and further development of these advanced hybrid textiles, it added.This agreement represents a major advancement for Kraig Labs and is the successful culmination of two years of negotiations and many more years of scientific research and development, said CEO Kim Thompson.It is a key milestone in the advancement of our longstanding business plan to bring these advanced materials to the multi-billion dollar marketplace for advanced technical textiles, she added.Thompson further added that this agreement is important because of the tremendous existing silk and textile production infrastructure, while also bringing new technology and capability to Vietnam.The company is currently in the process of obtaining the necessary approvals for the subsidiary and its operational plan.Over the next several months, Kraig Labs plans to finalise the formation of the subsidiary, lease a facility, hire and train local staff, obtain permits, and begin cross breeding its silkworms with local commercial silkworm lines.Kraig Biocraft has achieved a series of scientific breakthroughs in the area of spider silk technology with implications for the global textile industry. (AR) Fibre2fashion News Desk - India Priyanka Chopra revealed in a recent interview that she wanted to look very feminine at the Oscars and she wanted her gown to be 'very classic'. After the Oscar ceremony, Priyanka Chopra told eonline.com in an interview,"I wanted to make sure that it lasts all night and I wanted it to be pretty and feminine...very classic for the Oscars.'' She added, ''I can't be told what to wear. So, when I told Sophia I was like... It has to be a moment... the outfit. That I definitely want.'' BEWITCHING: These Very Rare Pictures Of Young Katrina Kaif Will Leave You Spellbound 'It's one of the biggest red carpets in the world. It's super long so, I want to be comfortable for sure. And something that lasts the whole evening...you know it's not ripping,''she said. At the Oscars, Priyanka Chopra looked gorgeous in a structured cage bustier mermaid dress, which was designed by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad. Priyanka Chopra also talked about her Hollywood Debut in the same interview, ''Baywatch is such a big brand... I grew up watching the show. Baywatch and 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' were my favourites. When I read the script, it was hilarious. So funny that it will be really something that people will wanna watch.'' Priyanka Chopra further added, "It's a lot of work. I am flying back and forth because I am going from Montreal to Miami. The show (Quantico) is coming back on March 6.'' "I am perennially physically exhausted, but I am doing so many amazing things and these are such great opportunities and I am a greedy actor," the diva said. Chinas big commodity companies could instigate another round of global mergers and acquisitions to help meet the countrys long-term objectives at a time of market weakness, said Hernan Cristerna, JP Morgans global co-head of M&A. Speaking to FinanceAsia during a visit to Hong Kong, Cristerna predicted a continued increase in M&A in 2016 over the record $1.27 trillion-worth of deals seen in the Asia-Pacific region last year, according to data provider Dealogic. He said he believes Chinese state-owned enterprises in particular are likely to initiate consolidation in the oil and gas sector after two quiet years. The sector we are focusing most closely on [in Asia-related M&A] is oil and gas, Cristerna told FinanceAsia. Fundamentally there is excess capacity in the world and it requires consolidation. Chinas economy may be slowing but its overall electricity consumption continues to rise albeit at a slower pace than the countrys official GDP growth rate. And much of its production depends on oil and gas that it has to import. So because Beijing's long-term focus remains fixed on energy security, the country's SOEs are likely to remain active in offshore acquisitions, Cristerna said. Cristerna said the big issue preventing such M&A to date was the lack of certainty about the direction in which oil and gas prices would move over the coming months. If theres no consensus about whether oil will be worth $30, $40, $50, $70 or $80 [per barrel], how can you value a company? he asked, rhetorically. Companies are not concerned whether there is a high or a low consensus, as long as there is one. Stabilising But that is now changing as the market stabilises. We hope through the course of this year we will see more of a consensus emerge, and it seems likely [for the foreseeable future] oil will remain closer to $50 than to $100, Cristerna said. Growing confidence in the range-bound nature of oil and gas prices will likely help to solidify China's energy acquisition plans and spur the country's SOEs into buying, whereas its unlikely to provide enough comfort to their publicly traded international rivals. For Cristerna, "now looks like a decent time to consider M&A" for companies such as China's SOEs, which are not subject to immediate investor scrutiny and could therefore think in terms of years rather than quarters. Oil and gas companies have seen their valuations fall over the past year, along with the price of the products they sell. Royal Dutch Shells share price has dropped by more than 26% since the beginning of 2015, whilst Exxon Mobils is down almost 14% and BPs down 24%. Potential sellers are likely to demand premiums to their current market valuations in the belief that todays prices are near the bottom of the oil and gas cycle. However, Chinese companies will still be able to acquire companies or individual assets a lot more cheaply than, say, two years ago. Cristerna declined to specify any companies that could be targets for Chinese buyers, beyond noting that they would likely look towards larger targets. Quiet times Chinas energy companies have been quiet for the last two years. They announced $6.75 billion in outbound M&A in 2015 and just $3.45 billion in 2014, according to Dealogic. That compares to $21.7 billion in 2013, when Cnooc acquired Canadian oil sands company Nexen for $15.1 billion. The acquisition was something of a flop in retrospect, given the slump in oil and gas prices seen in the years since. Oil sands production is expensive and requires a high oil price to be profitable. When Cnooc acquired Nexen, the price of oil was at around $100 a barrel and some banks were predicting it could rise to $150 or even $200. Instead it dived to as low $27 a barrel by February 2016. Nexen cut 400 workers in 2015 in response to falling oil prices. There are already signs of consolidation within commodity industries. China National Chemical Corporations (ChemChina) $43 billion takeover bid for Swiss fertiliser and seed maker Syngenta is one example. Syngenta was previously approached by US rival Monsanto in 2015 but rejected its advances. In contrast, Syngenta's board has approved the bid by ChemChina, subject to regulatory approval, not least from US foreign investment watchdog CFIUS. JP Morgan is advising Syngenta on its M&A discussions with ChemChina but Cristerna declined to discuss the deal. Aside from energy M&A, Cristerna said JP Morgan believes Chinese companies will spearhead rising Asian appetite to buy media, manufacturing, consumer goods, and retail assets, as the country continues to seek access to better technology and manufacturing capabilities and to source more products for internal consumption. We anticipate a continued increase in overall Asian M&A volumes this year, he said. Asias equity capital markets could soon see a flurry of financial leasing company IPOs as China Development Bank filed an application to list its financial leasing unit in Hong Kong on Monday. China Development Bank Financial Leasing (CDB Leasing) could be the first of a trio of financial lessors going public in Hong Kong this year as BOC Aviation, the aircraft leasing unit of Bank of China, and Minsheng Financial Leasing are also preparing IPOs. All three companies operate in the highly capital intensive aircraft leasing business, which has been growing rapidly in recent years because of the rise of low-cost carriers, which tend to lease planes instead of owning them to minimize capital expenditure. The company's fleet of 371 aircraft as of the end of September last year falls short of BOC Aviations 511 planes but it engages in a wider range of leasing business that includes infrastructure, shipping, commercial vehicle and construction machinery. In the first nine months of last year, CDB Leasing derived 43.4% of revenue from its aircraft leasing business while its infrastructure leasing contributed to 32.8%. The company mandated Deutsche Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citic CLSA Securities as joint sponsors for the planned IPO, according to filings with the Hong Kong stock exchange. Fair value CDB Leasing is one of five wide-ranging financial leasing companies backed by Chinese banks. It competes with CCB Financial Leasing, Bocom Financial Leasing, ICBC Financial Leasing and Minsheng Financial Leasing, as well as other non-bank affiliated financial lessors. The fact that financial leasing is a relatively new sector to stock market investors in Asia mean there is not much reference as to determining the fair value of these companies at the time of their IPOs. However, China Aircraft Leasing, backed by state-owned financial conglomerate China Everbright Group, is one of Asia's two listed financial leasing companies. Its shares closed at HK$6.28 on Monday, giving it a market capitalization of HK$3.8 billion ($490 million), equating to 1.95 times net asset value. Another reference is Shenzhen-listed Bohai Leasing, which trades at the equivalent of 2.2 times book value. The company announced last month the completion of a $2.51 billion acquisition of Irish aircraft lessor Avolon in a deal fixed at 1.72 times the latest reported book value. Should CDB Leasing sell its IPO shares at two times book value, it will have a market capitalization of $4.5 billion based on its net asset value of Rmb14.6 billion ($2.23 billion) as of the end of September last year. At that valuation the IPO could raise a little more than $1 billion assuming a standard 25% free float. Promising prospects Financial leasing companies have been growing rapidly in China because of rising market demand and a more supportive regulatory environment, according to Chris Lee, an associate director in the Financial Services practice at Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. The number of financial leasing companies surged to 2,202 as of the end of 2014 from 80 in 2007, while total leasing assets increased more than 12 times to Rmb3.2 trillion from Rmb24 billion in the same period. The market is growing particularly for aircraft lessors because more carriers are increasingly turning to a light asset model amid fears of a global economic slowdown. The emergence of new low-cost carriers in recent years has also boosted demand for aircraft lessors. Air China, the countrys flag carrier, leases 73 aircraft from the likes of Bocom Leasing and ICBC Leasing. The proportion of leased aircraft accounts for about 20% of its 356-strong fleet. The figure is higher for budget airlines. Spring Airlines, Chinas largest low-cost carrier by fleet size, leases more than half of its 57-strong fleet. According to aviation database Planespotters, the Shanghai-based airline owns 23 planes and rents 34 from aircraft lessors globally. AirAsia, the largest budget airline in Asia by fleet size, announced in July last year it intended to sell 120 aircraft to aircraft lessors under a sale-and-lease-back program in an attempt to reduce its debt level. Good prospects for the aviation leasing industry have attracted investment from business tycoons including Li Ka-shing, Asias richest man, whose flagship listed entity Cheung Kong Holdings bought a portfolio of aircraft for about $1.9 billion in 2014. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/29/16 -- Northern Vertex Mining Corp. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: NEE) announces that the Company's unaudited interim consolidated financial results for the second quarter fiscal 2016 ended December 31, 2015 have been filed on SEDAR. The full version of the Financial Statements and Management's Discussion & Analysis can be viewed on the Company's website at www.northernvertex.com or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Financial and Corporate Highlights for the Quarter Ended December 31, 2015 -- For the quarter, net loss was $1.28 million (2015: $0.31 million), excluding a non-cash, unrealized foreign exchange gain of $1.75 million (2015: $1.21 million); -- Net gain for the quarter was $0.46 million ($0.005 per share) due to a $1.75 million non-cash, unrealized foreign exchange gain compared to a net gain of $0.90 million ($0.012 per share), after a $1.21 million non-cash, unrealized foreign exchange gain, for the same period last year; -- Year-to-date net loss, excluding a non-cash, unrealized foreign exchange gain, was $1.94 million compared to a net loss of $0.67 million for the comparative period last year; -- Year-to-date net gain was $2.61 million ($0.031 per share), primarily due to a $4.56 million non-cash, unrealized foreign exchange gain compared to a net gain of $2.14 million ($0.030 per share) for the same period last year; -- Cash and cash equivalents was $2.21 million at December 31, 2015, compared to $3.98 million at December 31, 2014. The variance was primarily due to legal fees regarding the recent arbitration, consulting fees pertaining to the Macquarie debt financing due diligence and exploration and evaluation spend at the Moss Mine Project that included the feasibility study; -- Total costs incurred to December 31, 2015 for the Moss Mine Project, including the Silver Creek Project, increased to $34.30 million, compared to $26.71 million for the same period in the prior year. Dick Whittington, President & CEO, states, "2016 promises to be a transformative year for the Company. We are looking forward to finalizing our JV LLC agreement with Patriot Gold, completing the Macquarie debt financing and securing the necessary equity funds to commence our development plans for the Moss Mine. The robust economics, the excellent location and the relatively straightforward nature of the planned operation put us in a good position to deliver on these plans. It is an exciting time for the Company and its shareholders." Cost Management -- The Company has taken significant measures to optimize and preserve its cash position and will continue to adapt to the challenging external environment. Operating Results Operations -- Phase I - Pilot Plant Operations continues to be on a scheduled care and maintenance program. Company staff maintain the site Monday to Friday on day shifts, while Mohave Security monitors the site on night shifts, weekends and holidays. The Company continues to safeguard the facilities on site in preparation of a future construction decision relating to Phase II - Commercial Operations. Exploration -- The Company has previously completed a field geological mapping and sampling program on areas outside of the main Moss vein system, indicating the property wide potential. Exploration potential is considered to be excellent both adjacent to the main Moss Vein System, both on strike and to depth, as well as property wide. Several target areas remain to be sampled and others require follow-up sampling to further define their potential. This potential will be evaluated once the Moss Mine is in production. Feasibility Study -- The Bankable Feasibility Study was delivered and received by Patriot Gold on July 20, 2015 which completed the final requirement of the "earn-in" obligation under an Exploration and Option to enter Joint Venture Agreement Moss Mine Project with Patriot Gold Corp. ("Patriot Gold") effective March 7, 2011, whereby the Company was granted the right to earn a 70% interest in the Moss Mine project located in Mohave County, Arizona ("2011 Agreement"). The NI 43-101, Disclosure Standards for Mineral Projects Technical Report was filed on SEDAR on July 23, 2015. It is the Company's position that all costs incurred for services rendered or supplies received after July 20, 2015 will be shared on a 70:30 basis with Patriot Gold. -- The economic highlights of the Feasibility Study ("FS"), at prices of US$1,250/oz Gold and US$20/oz Silver, 100% Project basis using a discount factor of 5% in arriving at the Project Net Present Value ("NPV") and recoveries to dore for gold and silver of 82% and 65%, respectively, are summarized in the following table: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Tax After-Tax ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- NPV@ 5% US$75.30 M US$55.30 M IRR% 54.6% 44.3% Payback (yrs) 2.3 2.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Debt Financing -- On September 15, 2015, the Company signed an Engagement Letter with indicative terms for Macquarie Bank Limited to provide project finance facilities of up to US$20 million (the "Macquarie Facility") to be used to fund the majority of the projected development costs of the Company's 70% owned Moss Mine Project. The Company has also received indicative terms for a US$6.5 million Equipment Finance Facility (the "Equipment Facility") from a major US bank. The Macquarie Facility and the Equipment Facility are complementary and together would provide up to US$26.5 million towards the estimated pre-production capital of US$33.0 million required to construct the planned gold-silver mine at the Moss Mine site. Due diligence work continues on the debt financings. Corporate -- The Advance Notice Policy was approved by shareholders at the annual general and special meeting held on December 29, 2015. Tax Pools -- As of December 31, 2015, the Company has approximately US$31.8 million in tax deduction pools that can be applied directly to the Company's 70% share of taxable income from the Moss Mine, to off-set future tax liabilities. Utilizing these tax deduction pools to the Company's portion of the joint venture will significantly enhance the Company's economics of the Moss Mine over and above the analysis of the Feasibility Study. Arbitration -- On January 22, 2016, the Company announced that it had received the arbitrator's award arising out of the December 2015 arbitration with Patriot Gold, the details of which were previously disclosed. The Company prevailed on both the disputed matters. The arbitration award confirmed that the BFS delivered to Patriot Gold on July 20, 2015, met the requirements of the 2011 Agreement and the Company has earned a vested 70% interest in the Moss Mine. The arbitrator also dismissed Patriot Gold's claims to be paid US$5.5 million for the gold and silver proceeds from the 2013 Pilot Plant Operation. Strategic Priorities -- The key strategic priorities for the Company are to finalize a formal joint venture agreement in the nearer term on a 70:30 basis with Patriot Gold and complete debt, equipment and equity financings, following which the Company's development plans for the Moss Mine Project will commence. -- Additional priorities involve the continued exploration of the Moss and Silver Creek properties where the potential exists to make new discoveries and to continue to support the various community related initiatives that the Company has started in both the educational and community development areas. The Company's directors and management believe that these priorities are formulating a solid foundation for Northern Vertex Mining Corp., and its shareholders, as it continues working towards building a prosperous, well-respected and long-term mining company. About Northern Vertex Northern Vertex Mining Corp. is a Canadian based exploration and mining company focused on the reactivation of the Moss Mine Gold-Silver Project located in NW Arizona, USA where the Company has recently earned a 70% property interest and will form an LLC joint venture with Patriot Gold Corp. The Moss Mine Gold-Silver Project is an epithermal, brecciated, low sulphidation quartz-calcite vein and stockwork system which extends over a strike length of 1,400 meters and has been drill tested to depths of 370 meters vertically. It is a potential heap leach, open pit project that has been advanced to the Feasibility Study stage to ensure that technical, economic, permitting and funding requirements are met prior to proceeding with the development of the mine. The Company's management comprises an experienced management team with a strong background in all aspects of acquisition, exploration, development, operations and financing of mining projects worldwide. The Company is focused on working effectively and respectfully with our stakeholders in the vicinity of the historical Moss Mine and enhancing the capacity of the local communities in the area. Qualified Persons: The foregoing technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Mr. L.J. Bardswich, P. Eng., General Manager Moss Project, and a Qualified Person ("QP") for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS J.R.H. (Dick) Whittington, President & CEO 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. Cautionary Note About Forward-Looking Information This news release contains statements about our future business and planned activities. These are "forward-looking" because we have used what we know and expect today to make a statement about the future. Forward-looking statements including but are not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work and analyses. Forward-looking statements usually include words such as may, intend, plan, expect, anticipate, believe or other similar words. We believe the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable. However, actual events and results could be substantially different because of the risks and uncertainties associated with our business or events that happen after the date of this news release. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. As a general policy, we do not update forward-looking statements except as required by securities laws and regulations. Cautionary Note to US Investors: This news release uses the terms "Measured", "Indicated", and "Inferred" resources. US investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. "Inferred Mineral Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. US investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources will ever be converted into Mineral Reserves. US Investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a Mineral Resource is economically or legally mineable. 2016 number 03 Contacts: Northern Vertex Mining Corp. Investor Relations 604-601-3656 or 1-855-633-8798 www.northernvertex.com MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/29/16 -- Results of the 2016 Oski Formal Puzzler "Chessboard Challenge" were announced today by Oski Technology, Inc., the only dedicated formal verification service provider, during the Decoding Formal Club meeting sponsored by Synopsys. Oski challenged the Semiconductor Industry in December to solve two problems that involved moving a chess king around a 5-by-5 chessboard. Contestants were invited to use paper and pencil to solve the puzzles, but encouraged to run formal verification tools to solve them with model checking, a formal verification technique. Oski ran each entry using Synopsys VC Formal Solution to determine which Verilog model and formal testbench ran the fastest. The winning entry, announced by Anshul Jain, an engineer at Oski Technology, during the Decoding Formal Club meeting's "CheckMate" session and award ceremony, was submitted by Jesse Bingham who solved both problems. His entry had the fastest runtime of all entries on one of the two problems. Oski Technology will exhibit at DVCon 2016 in Booth #205 later today from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. and again Tuesday, March 1, and Wednesday, March 2, from 2:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. It will demonstrate how to achieve End-to-End Formal verification and complete coverage with Oski Formal Methodology and Abstraction Models, and explain how the chessboard problem relates to structures often seen in Verilog hardware designs. More information about Oski Technology can be found at: www.oskitechnology.com DVCon will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel in San Jose, Calif. The DVCon website can be found at: www.dvcon.org About Oski Technology Oski Technology is a formal verification services company with expertise in deploying formal verification on complex, digital designs. Oski Technology has developed a unique Formal Sign-off Methodology and Oski Abstraction Models to solve challenging capacity problems with formal verification. Its formal methods bring a higher level of productivity than traditional simulation and formal verification approaches. Oski Technology, headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., with a design center in India, has built a team of the world's foremost experts in formal verification. More information about Oski Technology can be found at: www.oskitechnology.com Formal Sign-off Methodology is a trademark of Oski Technology, Inc. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information, contact: Nanette Collins Public Relations for Oski Technology (617) 437-1822 Email Contact HSINCHU, Taiwan, Feb. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --JHL Biotech, Inc. (Stock Code: 6540.TWO) announced it has entered into a contract manufacturing master service agreement with Affinita Biotech. The agreement covers a development and manufacturing partnership for Affinita's oncology monoclonal antibodies. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160213/333015LOGO The agreement, extending to 2020, is estimated to be worth up to US$20 million in value. JHL will provide cell line development, process development, and manufacturing expertise. The activities will be carried out in JHL's Zhubei site in Taiwan as well as at JHL's manufacturing facility in Wuhan, China. About Affinita Biotech Affinita Biotech, based in South San Francisco, California, is a preclinical stage biotech company focusing on research and development of certain novel cancer therapies. The company was founded in 2015 by a group of industry experts to focus on research and development of targeted, immunity-based oncology therapies. About JHL Biotech JHL Biotech was founded by a group of industry veterans with deep experience in pharmaceutical development and operations. JHL is supported by the commitment of premier financial firms, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital, Biomark Capital, Milestone Capital, Fidelity, and the China Development Industrial Bank. JHL Biotech's mission is to provide the world with low-cost medicines of exceptional quality. JHL Biotech has built world-class facilities in accordance with United States, European Union, and ICH cGMP regulations and standards. The JHL Center of Excellence in Taiwan can support biosimilar pre-clinical and early-clinical phase R&D work; JHL's facility in Wuhan, China will be able to support commercial-scale manufacturing of biologic therapies. This infrastructure gives JHL the unique ability to manufacture its own product and execute contract orders for select clients. For more information about JHL Biotech, please visit the JHL Biotech website at www.jhlbiotech.com. Media Contact: JHL Biotech, Inc. Max Chan, Chief Financial Officer Contact Phone Number: +886-(0)3-658-3899 #700 Contact Email: mchan@jhlbiotech.com TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/29/16 -- EEStor Corporation (TSX VENTURE: ESU) ("EEStor" or the "Company"), today announced its financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2015. All amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars. Financial Results The net loss for the three months ended was $661,526 (2014 - $941,463) with the amount of $536,867 (2014 - $699,432) attributable to the Company and $124,659 (2014 - $242,031) attributable to the minority owners of EEStor Inc. which incurred a loss for the three months ended of $231,023 (2014 - $485,032). About EEStor Corporation EEStor Corporation's mission is to be the provider of leading edge capacitor and energy storage solutions and related technologies. The Company operates on the principle and belief that a fundamental breakthrough in high voltage capacitance and related energy storage will be the catalyst for positive environmental and economic change globally. The Company's current business strategy is focused on licensing and partnership opportunities across a broad spectrum of industries and applications building on its recent technology achievements in the capacitor industry. The Company holds an approximate 71.3% as-converted equity and voting interest and certain technology rights to a solid-state capacitor and related energy storage technologies currently under development by EEStor, Inc. The acquisition of the controlling interest in EEStor, Inc. aligns the businesses of both companies and now allows EEStor Corporation to benefit from other revenue streams that should be available to EEStor, Inc., including applications throughout the capacitor industry and not limited to high density energy storage applications. EEStor, Inc.'s capacitor and energy storage technology is still under development and a number of further development milestones must be achieved before commercial viability can be fully established. There are significant risks associated with the development of new technologies such as EEStor, Inc.'s capacitor and energy storage technology and readers are directed to the "Risk Factors" disclosed in EEStor Corporation's most recent Annual Information Form filed on SEDAR. 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. Contacts: EEstor Corporation Ian Clifford Chief Executive Officer 416-535-8395 ia.clifford@eestorcorp.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. Skriver Will Lead Client Management in Denmark & Scandinavia for the Mobile Commerce Solutions COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Buoyed by several years of high growth and Boersen recognition for two consecutive years as a prestigious Gazelle price company, CellPoint Mobile has selected Copenhagen as its operational headquarters in Europe. In addition, Knud Skriver has joined CellPoint Mobile (www.cellpointmobile.com) as Area Manager-Nordic, a new position that expands the company's presence in Denmark and across Scandinavia. Skriver will provide account management, client services and sales support to the company's Nordic region customers. Skriver's hiring strengthens Copenhagen as CellPoint Mobile's EU operational headquarters, said CEO Kristian Gjerding in today's announcement. Skriver, who started his career as a mainframe systems programmer, brings to his new role more than 30 years of experience in management, sales, finance and enterprise solutions at Amdahl, EMC, StorageTek and other global technology firms. He specializes in client relationships and enterprise-level sales of technology solutions. CellPoint Mobile helps global and large regional clients, including ground and air transportation companies, generate direct-channel revenues of USD billions with payment solutions that simplify complex payments and enable direct-channel transactions. Its solutions support mobile payments, mobile wallets, alternate payment methods, fraud monitoring, a converged payment gateway and mobile support for reservations, ticketing, retailing and customer service. CellPoint Mobile's platform handles millions of ticket and payment transactions daily across all direct channels and devices. Clients include DSB (Danish Rail), SpecSavers and Emirates, a leading global airline. Gazelle designation is awarded to high-growth Danish firms by Boersen, a leading business publication. "CellPoint Mobile's expansion provides the expertise that clients in Denmark, the EU and around the world need to capture new, emerging revenue streams as rail, airline and retail payments shift to mobile devices and mobile technologies," Gjerding said. "We welcome Knud Skriver to our team and are proud of our company's continued growth in Denmark." About CellPoint Mobile: Making Travel Payments Easier CellPoint Mobile helps airlines, transportation firms and global clients navigate and own the complex payments ecosystem, regardless of their customers' preferred currency, payment method, device or channel. The company has offices in Copenhagen, London, Miami and Pune. www.cellpointmobile.comor email info@cellpointmobile.com. WELLINGTON, Florida, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Armed with international industry stakeholder support, Sam Stathis-Founder and Chairman of Stathis Enterprises and the World Chariot Racing Federation-is on a mission to save harness racing in Florida before it is too late. The recently proposed "decoupling" legislation has a chance to pass and Stathis explained "This decision could cause a ripple effect with millions of dollars lost in business, agricultural and tax revenues plus thousands of lost jobs and countless number of horses being slaughtered. Not to mention the long term effects to tracks in other states where the same will happen. This could be provedevastating to the world's horse racing industry in the process. "I am completely disappointed that the United States Trotting Association approved $250,000 for market studies and social media and only $10,000 to help save harness racing in Florida." Stathis added, "If decoupling passes in Florida, it would likely spread across all race horse tracks in the USA like wildfire. "I'm putting my money where my mouth is and donating a minimum of $11,000 in cash and $100,000 in services to stop decoupling." Stathis said. When asked about the decoupling legislation's impact on the horse racing economy, 2014 State of Florida CFO candidate William Rankin says, "I am opposed to any legislation that may cause a negative economic, social or environmental impact on the people in the state of Florida.Furthermore, I believe this decision may have unintended consequences that should be analyzed and all involved parties should have a chance to play a part in the ultimate solution." Stathis is calling upon all opponents of the legislation to meet at Pompano Parkon Tuesdaynight. "I am not asking for a donation. Come bet on me, enjoy the races, and let's discuss how we can work together to stop this legislation." Stathis, who is a licensed owner, driver, trainer, will have his work cut out for him Tuesdayat Pompano Park. The morning line has both his horses at odds of 12-1. Celebrity Lambo starts from post one in the first race and Celebrity Artemis goes from post four in the seventh race. "With a little luck, I hope to see everyone for a win photo after my races." Stathis added. "I want this story to reach at least one million supporters and to get the legislature to realize what they are doing to Florida is wrong." ADDISON, TX--(Marketwired - March 01, 2016) -Nerium International continues to broaden its global footprint and establish itself as one of the top leaders in the direct sales industry around the world! After opening its business in the Korean market in August 2015, the company will celebrate its full launch with a monumental Grand Opening in KINTEX, Ilsan March 5. Nerium International Founder and CEO Jeff Olson, other members of Nerium's executive team and top executives from Signum Biosciences and Cosmax are scheduled to deliver key company announcements at the event. The historic event will include the announcement of additions to Nerium's revolutionary product line in Korea, expanding the company's well-established international product portfolio. Nerium will also offer attendees a chance to purchase brand new tools, gear and marketing materials at the Nerium Store on site, making the Grand Opening Event the first time the Korean Brand Partners have access to the Nerium store. As part of Nerium International's commitment to global philanthropy, its executives will announce it's plans to expand it's Nerium Ripple Foundation to Korea. With this historic event just weeks away, it's clear Nerium is committed to continuing its remarkable success in markets across the world. About Nerium International Based in Addison, TX, Nerium International is a global relationship marketing company with Age-Defying products created in cutting-edge research and science. Founded in 2011, Nerium International has shattered industry records for sales while developing a strong customer base in both the North American and Asian markets. This unprecedented success has allowed Nerium to generate $1 billion in sales after just four years. Nerium was recognized for its historic growth by ranking No.1 on the 2015 Inc. 500 List of fastest-growing private US companies in consumer products and services and No. 40 on the 2015 Direct Selling News Global 100 List. Led by an executive team with more than 220 combined years of experience, Nerium International is committed to distributing an excellent product line based in real science and providing its Brand Partners with a life-changing and outstanding business opportunity through relationship marketing. Ashley Julian Krupp Kommunications 646-797-2041 AJulian@KruppNYC.com GAM Holding AG / GAM Holding AG announces changes in the Board of Directors . Processed and transmitted by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Daniel Daeniker will not stand for re-election at the upcoming Annual General Meeting Nancy Mistretta, Ezra S. Field and Benjamin Meuli are nominated for election Daniel Daeniker decided not to stand for re-election to the Board of Directors at the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for 27 April 2016. Daniel Daeniker has been a member of the Board since 2010 and served most recently as its Vice Chairman and a member of the Compensation Committee and of the Governance and Nomination Committee. The Board proposes to elect Nancy Mistretta, Ezra S. Field and Benjamin Meuli to the Board of Directors at the upcoming AGM, subject to customary regulatory approval. Johannes A. de Gier, Diego du Monceau and Hugh Scott-Barrett will stand for re-election. Nancy Mistretta is a former partner of Russell Reynolds Associates, an executive search firm, where she worked from February 2005 until June 2009. Prior to joining Russell Reynolds, Nancy Mistretta was with JPMorgan Chase and its heritage institutions for 29 years and served as a Managing Director in Investment Banking from 1991 to 2005. Nancy Mistretta is a director of Scotts Miracle-Gro, where she currently chairs the Audit Committee and is a member of the Finance Committee. She is also a director of the North American Holding Company of HSBC, where she serves on both the Nomination and Governance Committee and the Audit Committee. A resident of Bedford, New York, she is a graduate of Smith College with a BA in Psychology. She is a US citizen. Ezra S. Field is a Managing Director of Roark Capital Group, an Atlanta-based private equity firm. Prior to joining Roark, Ezra Field was a Managing Director at New York-based ACI Capital, where he played a lead role in all aspects of the firm's investing activities. Ezra Field was previously also an Adjunct Professor at Pace Law School, where he taught Mergers & Acquisitions. Before joining ACI Capital in 2001, Ezra Field was an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. From 1998 to 1999, he served as a law clerk to the Hon. Ralph K. Winter, then Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Ezra Field received a BA (Honors) from Wesleyan University, an MBA from Columbia Business School and a JD from Columbia Law School. He is a US citizen. Benjamin Meuli is the Chief Investment Officer at XL Group, a position he has held since 2015. Between 2009 and 2015, he was the Chief Financial Officer and member of both the Group Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of Catlin Group Ltd. Benjamin Meuli was the Chief Investment Officer and a member of the Executive Board at Swiss Re between 2004 and 2008. Prior to joining Swiss Re, he was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley with responsibility for coverage of large multinational insurance groups. He started his career at JPMorgan, where he spent 20 years in a variety of roles mostly in investment banking. Benjamin Meuli received an MA in politics, philosophy and economics from Worcester College, Oxford and an MSc in agricultural economics from Oxford University. He is a Swiss and UK citizen. Johannes A. de Gier, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said: "On behalf of the full Board of Directors I would like to thank Daniel Daeniker for his invaluable contribution to the Board and his impact in the evolution of the company over the past six years. We look forward to welcoming Nancy Mistretta, Ezra Field and Benjamin Meuli. Their experience and diverse backgrounds will be a great addition to our Board, and we are delighted that they have agreed to stand for election at our next AGM." For further information please contact: Larissa Alghisi T +41 (0) 58 426 62 15 Visit us at: www.gam.com (http://www.gam.com) Follow us on: Twitter (https://twitter.com/gaminsights), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/gam?trk=company_logo) and XING (https://www.xing.com/companies/gam) About GAM GAM is one of the world's leading independent, pure-play asset managers. The company provides active investment solutions and products for institutions, financial intermediaries and private investors under two brands: GAM and Julius Baer Funds. The core investment business is complemented by private labelling services, which include management company and other support services to third-party asset managers. GAM employs over 1,000 people in 11 countries with investment centres in London, Zurich, Hong Kong, New York, Milan and Lugano. The investment managers are supported by an extensive global distribution network. Headquartered in Zurich, GAM is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and is a component of the Swiss Market Index Mid (SMIM) with the symbol 'GAM'. The Group has assets under management of CHF 119.0 billion (USD 119.2 billion) as at 31 December 2015. English Press Release (http://hugin.info/142256/R/1990377/731268.pdf) Oslo, 1 March 2016: Yara International ASA today meets with investors and analysts for Yara's Capital Markets Day to present market prospects, segment strategies, improvement activities and financial scenarios. "Yara's return on investment demonstrates the value creation and robustness of its business model. But although we have delivered strong results, we cannot rest on our laurels", says Svein Tore Holsether, President and Chief Executive Officer of Yara. Yara presents new scenarios for future earnings at the Capital Markets Day. The scenarios are not a prediction of future results, but are "what if" examples based on selected fertilizer and energy price scenarios and Yara's current business. A run rate scenario reflecting current market prices translates into an estimated Earnings Per Share (EPS) of NOK 35. A full-cost scenario reflecting recently observable plant construction and production costs indicates a urea price around 300 USD/t which translates into an estimated Earnings Per Share (EPS) of NOK 57. Adding Yara's committed growth adds an additional estimated 6 NOK per share by 2018, or 7 NOK per share under the full-cost urea scenario. "We believe growth is key to creating further shareholder value, and sustain and grow our competitive edge. Also, improving our relative cost position and productivity is a key priority. During the next six months we will establish a Corporate Improvement Program, consisting of several initiatives aimed at reducing cost and increasing efficiency", says Svein Tore Holsether, President and Chief Executive Officer of Yara. Link to Yara Capital Markets Day presentation material: http://yara.com/investor_relations/financial_webcasts/capital_markets_day_2016/ (http://yara.com/investor_relations/financial_webcasts/capital_markets_day_2016/) The webcast of Yara's Capital Markets Day will start 01 March 2016 at 08:30 CET. Contact Thor Giver, Investor Relations Mobile: (+47) 48 07 53 56 E-mail: thor.giaver@yara.com (mailto:thor.giaver@yara.com) Esben Tuman, Media Relations Cellular (+47) 90 50 84 00 E-mail esben.tuman@yara.com (mailto:esben.tuman@yara.com) About Yara Yara's knowledge, products and solutions grow farmers', distributors' and industrial customers' businesses profitably and responsibly, while nurturing and protecting the earth's resources, food and environment. Our fertilizers, crop nutrition programs and technologies increase yields, improve product quality and reduce the environmental impact of agricultural practices. Our industrial and environmental solutions improve air quality by reducing emissions from industry and transportation, and serve as key ingredients in the production of a wide range of goods. We foster a culture that promotes the safety of our employees, contractors and societies. Founded in 1905 to solve emerging famine in Europe, today, Yara has a worldwide presence, with close to 13,000 employees and sales to more than 150 countries. www.yara.com (http://www.yara.com/) This information is subject of the disclosure requirements acc. to 5-12 vphl (Norwegian Securities Trading Act) Yara CMD 2016 with notes (http://hugin.info/134793/R/1990401/731275.pdf) 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: Yara International ASA via Globenewswire HUG#1990401 STOCKHOLM (dpa-AFX) - Sweden's manufacturing growth slowed more-than-expected in February to its lowest level in one-and-a-half years, mainly driven by a slump in new orders, survey data from Swedbank and the purchasing managers' lobby SILF showed Tuesday. The purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector fell to 51.7 from January's 55.4. Economists had forecast a modest decline to 55. The latest reading was the lowest since August 2014, the report said. While declines were seen across the board, the biggest negative contribution came from the sub-index of new orders. Orders fell for the first time since 2013. 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. Skive, Denmark, 2016-03-01 09:00 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --Dantherm has extended an option agreement on the divestment of its Telecom business segment until 9 March 2016.In 2014, Dantherm entered into a binding agreement with the parent company of China Technologies Holdings Group Co. (Hong Kong) (CTHG) concerning the divestment of the Telecom business segment. So far, the buyer has been unable to complete the transaction.The divestment of the HVAC business segment to Procuritas on 15 January 2016 (see company announcement no. 1) included the Telecom EMEA companies, for which reason the agreement with CTHG was terminated by Dantherm, while giving CTHG the option of re-entering into the former agreement by the end of February 2016.Based on an agreed extension of the deadline for re-entering into the agreement up until Wednesday 9 March 2016, Dantherm is negotiating an updated agreement with CTHG on the acquisition of the entire Telecom segment including the Telecom EMEA companies.If the divestment to CTHG is realised, Dantherm's only remaining activities will be the company's 43% stake in Dantherm Power.If the divestment of the Telecom activities to CTHG is not realised, Dantherm will seek to divest the operating activities individually.The proceeds from any sale cannot be calculated until the agreements have been finalised, but in both scenarios, the net proceeds are at present expected to be considerably lower than the company's interest-bearing debt, and Dantherm moving into negative equity, after which Dantherm will be in a capital loss situation as defined by the Danish Act on Public and Private Limited Companies.Following the divestment of all operating activities, a winding-up process will - subject to agreement with Dantherm's credit institutions - commence, which will include exploring the possible sale of the listed company and its tax asset, although this would be conditional upon the making of a composition concerning the outstanding debt with the credit institutions. Whether the divestment of the listed company is possible is uncertain, and it is therefore doubtful whether the final winding-up process will result in minimal proceeds for the company's shareholders.The Board of Directors will update the market further as soon as new information becomes available.Financial statementsThe financial statements for 2015 will be published on 29 March, and not as previously announced on 18 March. As announced earlier, the annual general meeting will be held on 27 April 2016.The deadline for submitting items for the agenda is 18 March 2016.Any enquiries concerning this announcement can be directed to Chairman of Dantherm's Board of Directors Jrgen Mller-Rasmussen on tel. +45 23 20 50 50.In case of doubt the Danish version of this announcement is applicableAttachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=549731 BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 3:45 am ET Tuesday, Markit Economics is due to release its February manufacturing PMI figures for Italy and France at 3:45 am ET and 3:50 am ET, respectively. German manufacturing PMI and unemployment data for February are slated for release at 3:55 am ET. Subsequently, the manufacturing PMI for the Eurozone is due 4:00 am ET. Ahead of these reports, the euro showed mixed trading against the other major currencies. While the euro fell against the U.S. dollar and the pound, it rose against the yen and the Swiss franc. As of 3:40 am ET, the euro was trading at 0.7792 against the pound, 1.0866 against the Swiss franc, 1.0868 against the U.S. dollar and 123.02 against the yen. 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. DySIS Colposcope to be incorporated into national cervical screening programme DySIS Medical Ltd. (DySIS) today announces that it has signed a multi-million pound contract with medical technology distributor, ITEM Medical Technologies as part of the national cervical screening programme in Turkey. No financial details have been disclosed. As part of plans to advance the country's cervical screening programme, the Turkish Ministry of Health selected DySIS's Colposcope over other technologies. The aim is to install a DySIS Colposcope in every City hospital in the country. ITEM Medical Technologies has purchased an initial instalment of 75 instruments from DySIS in order to begin the roll-out during 2016. Alastair Atkinson, CEO of DySIS, said: "This order is another clear endorsement of our technology. ITEM Medical Technologies is working closely with the Turkish Ministry of Health to bring better standards of healthcare to women. Adopting the DySIS Colposcope will enhance Turkey's screening programme." Zafer Yazici, Managing Director of ITEM Medical Technologies, said: "Cervical cancer screening in Turkey is a vital component of women's healthcare, delivered thorough approximately 1,000 screening centres. The advantages offered by the DySIS Colposcope were proven in the clinical evaluation that was performed and are strongly appreciated by gynaecologists." The DySIS Colposcope differs from traditional colposcopes by measuring the cervical epithelium, producing a map of the cervix. The DySISmap assists the clinician with the processes of evaluating the cervix, selecting biopsy sites or performing treatment if needed. The DySISmap technology acts as an adjunct to conventional methods. Alastair Atkinson added, "This contract builds on the strong adoption of our products in the UK, US and Middle Eastern markets where over 80,000 DySIS examinations have now been undertaken. We continue to receive very positive feedback from consultants and we know our technology is saving women's lives. DySIS is proving itself as the new standard of care for cervical cancer prevention." Sales of the DySIS Colposcope continue to grow. The instrument is now installed within 70 centres within selected US states and is available in the UK, northern Europe and the United Arab Emirates. Ends Notes to Editors DySIS Medical Ltd DySIS Medical, a medical devices company active within Women's Health, has developed an advanced cervical scan which, in addition to performing traditional colposcopy examinations, uses dynamic spectral imaging to scan, quantify and map the cervix. www.dysismedical.com About the DySIS colposcope The DySIS colposcope differs from traditional colposcopes by measuring the cervical epithelium automatically, producing a map of the cervix which assists the clinician with assessing the cervix, identifying biopsy locations and performing treatment if needed. DySIS delivers dynamic spectral imaging, in vivo quantified assessment of the cervix, high sensitivity quantified mapping of the aceto-whitening effect and HD digital imaging video with intuitive touch screen interface. The DySIS colposcope's ergonomic design is compatible with all patient beds. About cervical cancer Worldwide, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer for women and the seventh most common cancer overall. While it is the only entirely preventable cancer, approximately half a million women are diagnosed with the disease every year. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160301005924/en/ Contacts: DySIS Medical, Inc. Alastair Atkinson E: info@dysismedical.com T: 01506 592159 or Instinctif Partners Melanie Toyne Sewell/Gemma Howe E: dysis@instinctif.com T: 020 7866 7860 LONDON, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Portr, the London based travel-technology company, and Capita, the UK's leading specialist travel and events provider, are excited to announce their supplier partnership deal to offer Capita Travel and Events customers the travel transformation service - AirPortr. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150805/256168LOGO ) AirPortr delivers passenger bags within hours between London locations (homes/ hotels/ offices) and London airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and London City Airport) - providing same-day, on demand bag free travel for business and leisure travellers alike. Lugging luggage to and from the airport and around London has historically been a real inconvenience for the corporate traveller but now air travellers can experience a much more efficient journey to and from the airport. Bags are either dropped off in the airport with an AirPortr concierge, before being securely transported by an AirPortr driver to their London destination, or, bags are collected from any London address and delivered to the airport at a time suited to the customer before their flight. Travelling bag free changes the whole journey dynamic, allowing quicker, lighter and stress free travel. The end result is that travellers can focus on doing what they need to, rather than having their baggage dictate their itinerary. The service allows travellers to benefit from: avoidance of rush hour traffic and hotel check-in restrictions; extra and unplanned business meetings; making the best use of their time in London. AirPortr will be digitally integrated into the Capita Travel and Events travel management workflow, facilitating bookings in advance of, or on the day of travel. Chris Walsh, Director & Head of Customer Experience at Portr, said: "Our vision is to fundamentally change how people travel, putting them back in control of their own agenda. AirPortr is all about increasing the efficiency of travellers' time, they know that their bags are being securely delivered, which leaves them to make the most of their first or last day in London, we like to call it 'Luggage Freedom'." Raj Sachdave MCIPS, Head of Auxiliary Partnerships & Innovation, Capita Travel and Events, said: "Business travellers' needs and expectations are constantly evolving. Capita is listening to our customers call for better experiences brought by less stress, greater connectivity and streamlined services. We're always on the lookout for innovative suppliers like AirPortr; it means we can continue to enhance the customer experience, aiding the productivity and business performance of our customers. This approach still provides visibility of spend and allows greater insight into the total cost of travel." About AirPortr: AirPortr was set up by three frustrated frequent flyers that met through coincidence, but shared a vision to create and shape a better way to travel. Operational since 2014 it is the first service of its kind in Europe. AirPortr have delivered thousands of bags to-date and all with a 100% customer satisfaction record. Editor's Notes: AirPortr launched in May 2014 in London City Airport, Gatwick in July 2015 and Heathrow in December 2015 . in London City Airport, in and in . Pricing: 15 to Airport addresses and local hotels, 25 to central London and 35 to outer London . Each additional bag costs 5 (with no size or weight restrictions). and 35 to outer . Each additional bag costs 5 (with no size or weight restrictions). Delivery locations include airports (airport to airport), hotels, homes and offices within the London M25 area M25 area Customers include business, leisure, families on holiday, global adventurers and city break millennial travellers. All luggage can be GPS tracked in real time from a users smartphone/ as well as seeing their dedicated driver; covered for 10,000; there are no amendment or cancellation fees*; customers receive delivery updates by text/ email. All bags are X-rayed, tagged, sealed and tracked with their own unique number to ensure safe and secure delivery. * Terms & Conditions Apply, please refer to http://www.portr.com for full details. About Capita Travel and Events Capita Travel and Events brings together the leading specialists in business travel, accommodation, meetings and events, to create one powerfully unique business. An established business travel portfolio, incorporating Capita Business Travel, BSI, Expotel and Venues Event Management, allows customers to benefit from a new multi-specialist offer without compromise. Whether customers choose one specialist service, all of them or a combination, Capita Travel and Events provide trusted and proven expertise through one coherent solution. With an annual customer turnover in excess of over 500m, the combined business employs 900 people across 7 UK sites and provides services for organisations including Santander, BT, EE, Pinsent Masons LLP, Royal Mail Group and E.ON. http://www.capitatravelandevents.co.uk @CapTravelEvents Part of Capita plc For further information, imagery or to ensure you experience Luggage Freedom the next time you travel please contact Marie-Claire at Portr: (M) +44-(0)7990-453-910 (DD) +44-(0)203-384-6677 (E)mclalor@portr.com Please Explore More at http://www.portr.com AUSTIN, Texas and NYON, Switzerland, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Endocare, Inc announced today the signing of an exclusive agreement with R-Action Distribution SA rl, a subsidiary of R-Action SAS, for the distribution of its Endocare' Cryoablation technology in France and Switzerland coinciding with a first installation at Institut Mutualiste Montsouris in Paris, France. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160223/336402 ) Endocare' cryoablation therapy is a specialized type of cryotherapy for the minimally invasive treatment of cancer of the prostate, kidney and lung as well as liver metastases and palliative intervention. Prostate salvage cryotherapy is a form of treatment administered when radiation therapy has not been successful and a growing amount of evidence supports the use of cryotherapy for patients with localized prostate cancer following radiation therapy (Jones JS. European Urology 2011; 60:411-412). Utilization of cryotherapy for the treatment of small tumors of the kidney has also increased in recent years due to the fact that, in addition to urologic cryosurgeons, interventional radiologists can perform cryotherapy with high precision using computerized tomography (CT) scanning under either general anesthesia or conscious sedation. About Endocare Endocare, Inc is a subsidiary of HealthTronics, Inc. dedicated to treating cancer with innovative minimally invasive approaches. The current core of its technologies is cryoablation for destruction of tumors in the kidney and lung as well as treating prostate cancer, liver metastases and providing palliative intervention for cancer. ENDOCARE is a trademark of Endocare, Inc, registered in the U.S. and other countries. www.endocare.com About R-Action Distribution R-Action Distribution SA rl is a manufacturer and distributor of medical devices for use in urology, coloproctology, OB/GYN, paediatric and general surgery. R-Action Distribution represents leading North American and European manufacturers through direct operations in Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria, the Benelux countries and a joint venture in Russia. www.radistribution.com Media contact: Toby Hamblin, toby.hamblin@radistribution.com, +41(0)223627682 Scania is launching its most powerful marine engine ever at the Dubai International Boat Show this March. The compact 16-litre V8 engine delivers 1,200 hp and boasts low weight and unsurpassed fuel economy, allowing for a significantly increased range of operation. Scania's pleasure-craft engine is based on the company's modular system, which has been developed over the past 50 years. It guarantees reliability and availability, as well as simplifying service and reducing the need for spare parts. "This new V8 can provide the powerful heart needed in high-speed pleasure craft, regardless of whether they have a propeller or are driven by waterjet," says Joel Granath, Senior Vice President for Scania Engines. "It's the most powerful engine in Scania's entire portfolio the most outstanding that we have developed to date." The new engine builds on Scania's long and deep experience with marine installations and different applications. Scania's V8 engines are well known for their unsurpassed power-to-weight ratios and powerful torque, something that gives boat owners the best acceleration in the class. The new pleasure-craft engine takes these characteristics a step further. The power ranges from 1000 through to 1200 hp. The Dubai International Boat Show takes place between 1 and 5 March and is primarily focused on large yachts and luxury boats. Scania will display both the new V8 and a 13-litre straight six cylinder, today capable of producing up to 750 hp. "The fair is a tremendously good meeting place for meeting new customer groups and creating new contacts," says Granath. "It attracts major attention, both in and outside of the pleasure-craft industry. That's why we see great value in being on the ground in Dubai and displaying our offering. Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. Service-related products account for a growing proportion of the company's operations, assuring Scania customers of cost-effective transport solutions and maximum uptime. Scania also offers financial services. Employing some 44,000 people, the company operates in about 100 countries. Research and development activities are concentrated in Sweden, while production takes place in Europe and South America, with facilities for global interchange of both components and complete vehicles. In 2015, net sales totalled SEK 95 billion and net income amounted to SEK 6.8 billion. Scania's press releases are available on www.scania.com (http://www.scania.com/se) This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160301005958/en/ Contacts: Scania Engines Joel Granath Senior Vice President Phone: +46 8 553 820 37 E-mail: Joel.Granath@scania.com or Torben Dabrowski Global Product Manager Marine Scania Engines Phone: +46 8 553 836 92 E-mail: Torben.Dabrowski@scania.com VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - German shares rose on Tuesday as downbeat Chinese manufacturing data and Japanese capital spending figures strengthened expectations of more monetary stimulus. Also, Europe's manufacturing sector expanded at the slowest rate in a year in February, adding pressure on the European Central bank to unveil another round of stimulus next week. The Markit's manufacturing PMI for the euro zone dropped to 51.2 from January's 52.3. German data painted a mixed picture, with the manufacturing PMI slowing sharply to a 15-month low, while the unemployment rate remained at the record low of 6.2 percent. The benchmark DAX was up 102 points or 1.08 percent at 9,587 after closing 0.2 percent lower the previous day on disappointment over the outcome of the weekend meeting of G20 finance minister and central bankers. Stocks pared early gains after the release of Eurozone manufacturing data. Automakers paced the gainers, with BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen rising 1-2 percent on the opening day of the Geneva motor show. Klockner & Co shares jumped over 4 percent even as the metals trader posted fiscal 2015 net loss of 349 million euros, hit by goodwill impairments in North America activities. Deutsche Boerse shares advanced 1 percent. Intercontinental Exchange confirmed that it is considering making an offer for LSE, which is in talks over a potential merger with Deutsche Boerse. 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. BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The euro showed mixed trading against the other major currencies in the early European session on Tuesday, following the release of Eurozone PMI report for February. Data from Markit showed that Eurozone manufacturing growth eased to a one-year low in February. The final manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 51.2 in February, a 12-month low, from 52.3 in January. It was slightly above the flash estimate of 51. Separate data showed that Germany's PMI reached a 15-month low in February. The final Markit/BME PMI dropped to 50.5 from 52.3 in January. The flash score was 50.2. Meanwhile, data from the Federal Labor Agency showed that Germany's unemployment declined for the fifth consecutive month in February. The number of people out of work decreased 10,000 from January as expected by economists. The unemployment rate held steady at 6.2 percent, the lowest since German reunification. The rate also matched economists' forecast. Meanwhile, the European share markets traded higher, as investor sentiment boosted after China's central bank cut its reserve requirement ratio to support the nation's economy. In Asian trading, the euro held steady against its major rivals. In early European trading, the euro fell to more than a 4-week low of 1.0858 against the U.S. dollar and a 1-week low of 0.7784 against the pound, from early highs of 1.0893 and 0.7821, respectively. Thereafter, the euro held steady against both the currencies. Against the yen, the euro rose to 123.32, from an early near 3-year low of 122.07. If the euro extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around the 127.00 area. The euro edged up to 1.0877 against the Swiss franc, from an early low of 1.0848. On the upside, 1.10 is seen as the next resistance level for the euro. Looking ahead, at 7:00 am ET, New Zealand's GlobalDairyTrade auction is due to be held. In the New York session, Canada GDP data for the December, Canada RBC manufacturing PMI for February, Markit's U.S. manufacturing PMI for February and the ISM's manufacturing PMI for February and U.S. construction spending data for January are due to be released. At 9:05 am ET, European Central Bank executive board member Sabine Lautenschlaeger is expected to speak at the GARP 17th Annual Risk Management Convention in New York. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de For immediate release 1 March 2016 CBO Investments (Jersey) Limited Series 2002-1 6,000,000 Secured CDO Linked Floating Rate Notes due 2020 ISIN: XS0144097853 Disclosure of Home Member State EU Directives 2004/109/EC, 2007/14/EC and 2013/50/EU, which are frequently referred to together as the EU Transparency Directive ('EUTD') require issuers to disclose their Home Member State. In accordance with the EUTD, CBO Investments (Jersey) Limited hereby discloses that its Home Member State is the United Kingdom. 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: CBO Investments (Jersey) Limited via GlobeNewswire [HUG#1990348] 3146202R11 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. BSD Crown Ltd. (LSE: BSD) (the "Company") Company Update Ramat Gan, 01 March 2016 The Company hereby announces that on 3 February 2016, it received a request from Rotenstreich Gitzelter Trust Company Ltd (the "Trustee") to convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of the Company in order to remove the directors of the Company (other than Mr Zvi Shur) and replace such directors with nominees of the Trustee. So far as the Company is aware, the Trustee holds 10,278,451 shares in the Company (representing approximately 9.34 percent of the issued share capital of the Company) (the "Secured Shares") on trust for the Naftali Shani Group ("NSG"), amongst others, as a security in connection with a share purchase agreement entered into by Israel 18 (the indirect controlling shareholder of the Company) relating to the acquisition by it of shares in BSD. The Company has considered the validity of such request with its advisers and notes the following: The Trustee asserts that ownership of (and control of the voting rights with respect to) the Secured Shares has transferred to NSG and therefore the Trustee is entitled to call for an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of the Company for the purposes set out above. The Company has been informed by Israel 18's legal counsel that Israel 18 rejects this assertion and that since the Trustee and/or NSG have not become the owners of the Secured Shares, they have no right to call for an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of the Company. Israel 18 referred to a similar request made by the Trustee regarding B.G.I Investments (1961) Ltd. (as referenced in the Company announcement of 29 December 2015 ) in which Israel 18 received the expert opinion of a leading expert in Israel pledge law (the "Expert"). Israel 18's position, based on the opinion received from the Expert that NSG is a secured creditor, is that NSG cannot ask the board of the Company to call for a general meeting of the shareholders of the Company for the purpose of replacing its board of directors absent it having asserted its right to realise its security as secured creditor with respect to the Secured Shares. In light of the dispute between NSG and Israel 18, the Board of the Company has resolved not to take any further action at this time whilst such dispute remains outstanding and the request to convene an extraordinary general meeting of the Company cannot be validated. As a matter of course, the Company and the board will comply with any competent judicial decision with regard to this matter. The Company will provide further updates, as required. Enquiries: Yossi Schneorson, CEO: yossi@bsd-c.com VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Effective March 1, 2016, JET Group (Jet Equipment & Tools Ltd., American Forge & Foundry Inc. and Sellstrom Manufacturing Co.), a leading supplier of tools, equipment and safety products, has rebranded the corporate identity to "SureWerx". The SureWerx name not only represents a change in our brand but also embodies a new brand promise to our distributors and to the end users of our products. Our product brands remain unchanged and will continue to take centre stage in all of our marketing and sales materials. SureWerx as a parent brand is designed to tie all of our product brands together globally. This opens the door for further global expansion and allows our company to look beyond its traditional geographical markets. "This is more than just a brand name change; this enhances our ability to deliver on our promise to our customer to always find a better way," said Chris Baby, President & COO, SureWerx. "Rebranding JET Group to SureWerx is another evolutionary step in our corporate culture, allowing us to integrate confidence and safety in all that we do." SureWerx will build on all of the success that our company has achieved with our partner distributors, and accelerate it in new ways. The SureWerx message of confidence and safety will enable us to convert end users to our brands and, when combined with our excellent service, will deliver new business growth to our partner distributors. About SureWerx Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, SureWerx is a leading supplier of professional tool, equipment and safety products. SureWerx markets its products in Canada under the JET, Strongarm, ITC, STARTECH, Pioneer, Ranpro, PeakWorks, and Sellstrom brands, and in the United States under the American Forge & Foundry, Pioneer, Ranpro, PeakWorks, and Sellstrom brands. SureWerx offers an unparalleled access to its brands through its partner distributor network servicing the North American industrial, construction, safety markets as well as the automotive aftermarket. SureWerx is owned by Penfund, one of Canada's oldest independent private equity firms. For more information, please visit us at www.surewerx.com or www.surewerx.ca. Contacts: SureWerx Bill Jeffery SVP Corporate Development 604.523.7634 bjeffery@surewerx.com Tikkurila Oyj Press Release March 1, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. (CET+1) Today on March 1, 2016, there has been discussion in the media about the request for preliminary investigation regarding Tikkurila Oyj by Tikkurila's former software provider. Tikkurila has received the preliminary request for clarification from the authorities. Tikkurila will give its response to the authorities in charge of the preliminary investigation in the near future. In Tikkurila's view, the request for preliminary investigation in unfounded. The issue at stake is a civil action that has already been handled in arbitral tribunal. The arbitral tribunal has given its award at the beginning of February 2016. According to the award, Tikkurila Oyj has no liability towards the claimant. Tikkurila's interpretation is that the software provider was disappointed to the termination of cooperation and to the award of the arbitration court, and have now unfoundedly started to drive the civil action through preliminary investigation and media publicity. For further information, please contact: Antti Kiuru, Tikkurila Oyj, Group Vice President, Legal, mobile +358 400 686 488, antti.kiuru@tikkurila.com (mailto:antti.kiuru@tikkurila.com) Tikkurila is the leading paints and coatings professional in the Nordic region and Russia. With our roots in Finland, we now operate in 16 countries. Our high-quality products and extensive services ensure the best possible user experience in the market. Sustainable beauty since 1862. www.tikkurilagroup.com (http://www.tikkurilagroup.com) 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: Tikkurila Oyj via Globenewswire HUG#1990531 WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The first case of Zika virus infection has been reported from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. WHO said Tuesday that the National IHR Focal Point of the southern Caribbean island nation notified PAHO/WHO of its first Zika case. The patient is a 34-year-old female who visited on 16 February a health center in Union Island after experiencing fever, headache, chills, cough and weakness of the lower extremities. She was kept for observation at the hospital overnight. The patient has no history of travel in the 30 days prior to being admitted to hospital. No clusters of febrile-like illness were noted on the island. The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) tested a venous blood sample positive for Zika virus infection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Health authorities in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are taking several precautionary measures in the wake of the outbreak news. The detection of autochthonous cases of Zika virus infection indicates that the virus is spreading geographically to previously unaffected areas, and in this case to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. 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. Transaction Marks Waypoint's Continued Partnership with Bristow and Further Expansion into Latin America Waypoint Leasing (Ireland) Limited ("Waypoint"), the largest independent global helicopter leasing company, today announced that it has closed a multi-aircraft agreement with Bristow Group Inc. ("Bristow") for the purchase and leaseback of three AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters. All three helicopters will operate offshore in crew change and limited Search and Rescue roles, on long-term contract in Guyana. "We are pleased to announce yet another lease transaction with Bristow, and appreciate the opportunity to provide leasing solutions to one of the leading offshore helicopter operators in the world," said Waypoint CEO Ed Washecka. "We deeply value our partnerships and are proud to support Bristow's continued success while furthering our own expansion in Latin America." Waypoint's portfolio includes more than 120 aircraft with total assets in excess of $1.5 billion. Waypoint's fleet operates for 16 customers in 27 countries. Additionally, Waypoint has firm and option orders with aircraft manufacturers for more than 125 helicopters valued at more than $1.7 billion, to be delivered over the next five years. About Waypoint Leasing (Ireland) Limited Waypoint Leasing is a global helicopter leasing company that provides operating lease and financing solutions to helicopter operators worldwide. Headquartered in Limerick, Ireland, Waypoint differentiates itself with a senior management team that has direct helicopter operating and leasing experience in key helicopter markets around the world, having leased helicopters across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. Waypoint serves a wide range of sectors including oil and gas, emergency medical service, search and rescue, firefighting and governmental support. In addition to Ireland, Waypoint has offices in the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, and Brazil. Waypoint plans to open additional regional offices in Australia and South Africa in the second quarter of 2016. Further information is available at www.waypointleasing.com. About Bristow Group Bristow Group Inc. is the leading provider of helicopter services to the worldwide offshore energy industry based on the number of aircraft operated and one of two helicopter service providers to the offshore energy industry with global operations. The Company has major transportation operations in the North Sea, Nigeria and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and in most of the other major offshore oil and gas producing regions of the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Russia and Trinidad. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.bristowgroup.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160301005572/en/ Contacts: Media: For Waypoint Sard Verbinnen Co Andrew Cole/Jared Levy, 212-687-8080 waypoint-svc@sardverb.com ANKARA (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Department of State has warned U.S. citizens to avoid travel to southeastern Turkey. Given the recent terrorist attacks and increased threats from international and indigenous groups, U.S. citizens should exercise caution when traveling throughout the country, the State Department said in a Travel Warning Monday. Recent terrorist attacks from international and indigenous groups have targeted popular tourist sites, U.S. government buildings, police, and other local authorities throughout Turkey. The threat of kidnapping remains a concern, especially in the southeast. There have been incidents of cross-border shelling from Syria into Turkey. US citizens have been advised to avoid travel to southeastern Turkey, particularly near the Syrian border. Travel restrictions remain in place for U.S. government employees to southeastern Turkey for the provinces of Hatay, Kilis, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Sirnak, Diyarbakir, Van, Siirt, Mus, Mardin, Batman, Bingol, Tunceli, Hakkari, Bitlis, and Elazig. 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. SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Aria Systems, which helps enterprises grow recurring revenue, today announced that Edmunds.com, the premier destination for car shoppers with 20 million monthly visitors, has chosen Aria's active monetization platform to help scale their billing operations to meet the skyrocketing demands of its customer base. Edmunds.com, named one of "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 in Automotive" by Fast Company, selected Aria as the best solution for its current and future business models after an extensive market evaluation. The Aria platform will provide end-to-end monetization and billing capabilities for the Edmunds Program, which gives its dealer partners a powerful online platform to reach millions of in-market car shoppers, and to close deals faster, and with higher customer satisfaction. Edmunds.com chose Aria for its robust API suite and ability to ramp up new products and billing methods that tailor meet their evolving customer needs. Aria's #1 ranked cloud-based billing and active monetization platform is designed to help enterprises, like Edmunds.com, rapidly test and iterate on their monetization strategies to better respond to evolving market conditions. Aria will help Edmunds.com to automate their processes, and greatly reduce the manual overhead currently required to manage customer lifecycles. "Efficient and scalable billing operations are becoming critical for any company that is looking to drive unparalleled choice and an unsurpassed customer experience," said Sheryl Washington, Edmunds.com VP of Dealer Operations. "Aria offers us a flexible and powerful billing platform that can adapt as we look to launch new offerings that expand our business footprint." "We're delighted to partner with Edmunds.com, an innovative disrupter in the automotive industry," said Tom Dibble, CEO of Aria Systems. "We look forward to being a part of their promise to drive higher customer lifetime value through unique products and offers." About Aria Systems Proven by the world's most demanding enterprises, including AAA NCNU, Atlassian, Constant Contact, Edmunds.com, Experian, Falck, Pitney Bowes, Roku, VMware, and Zipcar, Aria helps enterprises grow their recurring revenue businesses. With Aria's end-to-end active monetization platform, global brands can get to market faster with a wider variety of products and services, while maximizing customer satisfaction, retention, and lifetime value. To learn more, visit www.ariasystems.com. About Edmunds.com: Car shopping destination Edmunds.com serves nearly 20 million visitors each month. With Edmunds.com Price Promise, shoppers can buy smarter with instant, upfront prices for cars and trucks currently for sale at 13,000 dealer franchises across the U.S. Shoppers can browse not only dealer inventory, but also vehicle reviews, shopping tips, photos, videos and feature stories on both Edmunds' wired site and on its acclaimed mobile apps. Regarded as one of the best places to work in Southern California, Edmunds.com was also named one of "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 in Automotive" by Fast Company. Edmunds welcomes all car-shopping questions on its free Live Help Line at 1-855-782-4711 and help@edmunds.com, via text at ED411 and on Twitter and Facebook. The company is based in Santa Monica, Calif. and has a satellite office in downtown Detroit, Mich., but you can find Edmunds from anywhere on YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+ and Flipboard. Aria Systems and the Aria logo are trademarks of Aria Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Press Contacts Parker Trewin Aria Systems + 1 415 549 2531 Email Contact Aaron Lewis Edmunds.com + 1 310 309 4934 Email Contact DUBAI, UAE, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Aster DM Healthcare, a Dubai-based healthcare conglomerate is reiterating its call amongst journalists in the GCC to submit their work that is socially-relevant and has impacted the community. The deadline for submission to the Aster Media Awards is on March 15, 2016 via http://www.astermediaawards.com . Aster Media Awards was launched last February to recognize the efforts of journalists in India and the GCC in highlighting stories about the community which has driven social impact. The awards comprise three categories: National (open to works written in all Indian languages except Malayalam), Regional (open to works written in Malayalam) and International/GCC (open for works in English and Arabic from media in the six Gulf countries). Prizes for the winning pieces are: AED25,000 for International (GCC), Rs. 10 Lakhs for National (India), and, Rs. 5 Lakhs for Regional (Kerala). The award-giving body also just announced its panel of jurors who will select the winning entries such as:Shri. Venu Rajamony, IFS, Diplomat & Press Club Secretary to the Hon. President of India; Ms. Shahnaz Pakravan, Journalist with exposure in Middle East & Western Media - BBC, Channel 4, Al Jazira, Channel 33 and Arab Publications, Mr. Rajrishi Singhal, India National Journalist, a Senior Fellow in Geo-economics Studies, and, Dr. Azad Moopen - Chairman & Managing Director, Aster DM Healthcare & Founder of Dr. Moopen's Foundation. The inaugural 2016 Award ceremonies willbe held in three cities - Delhi, Kochi and Dubai, for National, Regional and International categories, respectively. Commenting on the awards, Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman & Managing Director, Aster DM Healthcare stated: "The Aster Media Awards is designed to recognize journalists who bring to light stories of our fellowmen and the community and the positive change that it has brought. We are also extremely grateful to have the commitment of the jury to review and award deserving journalists who made an impact to the community through their works. We believe that the Aster Media Awards will support and encourage more journalists, who put the spotlight on development, growth and sustenance of communities and focus on journalism of consequence with stories having a social impact. All together, we trust that the jury will help elevate the exemplary works of journalists in India and the GCC who deserve to on the spotlight." The Aster Media Awards was conceptualized by Aster DM Healthcare in recognition of the impact of the media in shaping public awareness, acknowledgement and actions in the respective region. As part of the social responsibility of the Group, Aster DM Healthcare is keen to provide a platform to applaud the efforts of the media, whose talent, efforts and commitment are rarely noticed in society. Journalism plays a key role in keeping a check on societal conscience and vision of collective development. This needs to be applauded in the purest form - be it stories around protecting the way of life of communities, curbing social-ills, protecting our environment, educating on health and wellness, inspiring young minds towards education and empowerment of disadvantaged communities by highlighting their cause, CSR & Community Initiatives and Innovations. About Aster DM Healthcare Established in 1987, Aster DM Healthcare currently owns and operates a network of more than 290 plus units across the Middle East and India, covering an array of healthcare verticals including clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, and a modern medical city. These network units are consolidated under the brand names ASTER, MEDCARE, ACCESS, ASTER Medcity and ASTER MIMS. The multitude of health facilities that include 14 hospitals offer primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary care in order to meet the requirements of people from a cross section of the society. Regulatory News: Leading live marketing group to deploy comprehensive IFS (STO:IFSA)(STO:IFSB) solution across its international business IFS (http://www.ifsworld.com/), the global enterprise applications company, announces that the Live Marketing Solutions division of MCH Group (http://www.mch-group.com/en-US.aspx), comprising subsidiaries such as Expomobilia (based in Effretikon, Switzerland) and Winkler (Wohlen, Switzerland), has decided to implement IFS Applications 9 (http://www.ifsworld.com/en/solutions/ifs-applications/ifs-applications-9/) to optimize its global business processes. The contract includes licenses and services worth approximately 1.4 million euros. The MCH Group is a leading international group of live marketing companies with a comprehensive services network spanning the entire exhibition and event market. MCH was looking for a new unified ERP solution since its legacy systems were not providing optimal support for the group's numerous cross-company processes. After an extensive selection process, the Live Marketing Solutions division opted for IFS Applications. When fully implemented, IFS Applications will empower some 200 staff with enhanced support for mission-critical processes such as multi-site and multi-currency project management and costing. The solution will also provide optimized support for material and rental management, helping the company increase its competitiveness and cost efficiency throughout its international value chain. The IFS solution will support business processes such as financials, distribution, manufacturing, engineering, maintenance, sales service, collaboration, human resource, CRM, project management and reporting, rentals, document management and quality management. "We chose IFS because of the international orientation of the company and its software as well as its robust support of inter-company processes," Richard Hammerli, CFO, Live Marketing Solutions, MCH Group, said. "With IFS Applications, we can further increase the efficiency of our operations as well as accelerate them. This is of enormous importance with regard to international project management. Only with optimized processes can we remain competitive in the long term." "The agreement with MCH Group is further proof of our expertise in the project-based industries," IFS Europe Central Vice President Sales Marketing Peter Hohne said. "For companies that are active in this field, IFS offers an integrated lifecycle management solution that supports the individual requirements. We are very excited to start the implementation project and look forward to a long and successful relationship with the MCH Group." The implementation will start at MCH Group subsidiary Expomobilia, which constructs exhibition stands and pavilions, and event service provider Winkler Multi Media Events. These will be followed by Techno Fot AG, Rufener Events AG, Reflection Marketing AG, and MCH Global AG. About MCH Group The MCH Group is a leading international group of live marketing companies with a comprehensive services network spanning the entire exhibition and event market. It creates effective and efficient marketing platforms in the form of internationally and nationally leading exhibitions. And it offers bespoke marketing solutions for successful participation in exhibitions and also for other corporate and public events of all kinds all over the world. The MCH Group has its roots in the "Schweizer Mustermesse" (Swiss Sample Fair) which was established in Basel in 1916 and later became Messe Basel. The MCH Group takes in the exhibition companies in Basel, Zurich and Lausanne and several companies in the fields of "Live Marketing Solutions". The holding company, MCH Group Ltd., with its head office in Basel, is a joint stock company with the participation of public sector entities under the terms of Article 762 of the Swiss Code of Obligations. It is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The group has around 730 permanent employees. About IFS IFS (http://www.ifsworld.com/en/) is a globally recognized leader in developing and delivering enterprise software for enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise asset management (EAM) and enterprise service management (ESM). IFS brings customers in targeted sectors closer to their business, helps them be more agile and enables them to profit from change. IFS is a public company (XSTO: IFS) founded in 1983 and currently has over 2,800 employees. IFS supports more than 1 million users worldwide from its network of local offices and through a growing ecosystem of partners. For more information visit: www.ifsworld.com. Follow us on Twitter: @ifsworld (http://twitter.com/ifsworld) Visit the IFS Blog on technology, innovation and creativity: http://blog.ifsworld.com/ IFS discloses the information herein pursuant to the Financial Instruments Act (1991:980) and/or the Securities Markets Act (2007:528). The information was submitted for publication on March 1, 2016, at 2 p.m. CET. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160301006092/en/ Contacts: IFS Anders Lundin Corporate Communications. Phone: 46 8 58 78 45 00 press@ifsworld.com or Frederic Guigues Investor Relations. Phone: 46 8 58 78 45 00 frederic.guigues@ifsworld.com WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices continued to rise Tuesday morning despite troubling economic data from China. China released manufacturing PMI data showing further contraction by the sector, prompting speculation that Beijing will splurge on economic stimulus. WTI crude oil for April was up 55 cents at $34.30 a barrel, having bottomed at a 13-year low near $26 a month ago. Hopes of a deal between major producers to freeze output also helped oil prices rise in February. Markit is due to release its final U.S. manufacturing PMI at 9:45 am ET. Economists expect the PMI to come in at 51.3 for February, up from the flash estimate of 51 but down from January's 52.4. 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. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Darrel Hackett, President, BMO Wealth Management (U.S.), has been named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America by Savoy Magazine. The Savoy Top 100 honors African American executives, influencers and achievers who represent a diverse range of industries with a national and global focus. Honorees contribute not only within their companies, but also in their surrounding communities. In selecting Mr. Hackett, Savoy Magazine singled him out for his strong record of professional accomplishments and for his longstanding and dedicated commitment to bettering his community. Since joining BMO Financial Group in 2004, Mr. Hackett has served in a variety of commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management leadership roles. In his current position, he is responsible for the performance, strategy, and delivery of BMO Financial Group's personal wealth management businesses throughout the United States. This includes leading three distinct businesses across the mass affluent, high net worth and ultra-high net worth segments: BMO Harris Financial Advisors, BMO Private Bank (U.S.) and CTC myCFO. Mr. Hackett serves on the Board of Directors for the Art Institute of Chicago and the Adler Planetarium. He is also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emmanuel to the Chicago Cook Workforce Investment Committee in 2013. Some of Mr. Hackett's recognitions include being listed in Crain's Chicago Business' 2009 "40 Under 40," being identified as a Business Leader of Color by Chicago United and being named a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow. "Darrel is a great role model and strong advocate for the African American community," stated L.P. Green, II, Publisher of Savoy Magazine. "We are continually inspired by the success of executives such as Darrel and we salute the corporations that support and value their diverse contributions." "Savoy Magazine is such a positive publication and showcases the amazing efforts of African Americans across the country," said Mr. Hackett. "Their Most Influential list always includes accomplished, impressive individuals. I feel very fortunate and honored to be among them." "We take great pride in the diverse group of leaders we have at BMO, and we are very happy for Darrel and his wonderful family that he has been included on this prestigious list," said David Casper, President and CEO, BMO Harris Bank. "I've had the distinct pleasure of working with Darrel for over ten years, and I know firsthand that his focus on helping clients achieve their financial goals is matched only by his commitment to the community." Mr. Hackett has a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science (Cum Laude) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. About BMO Financial Group Established in 1817, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified financial services provider based in North America. With total assets of CDN $699 billion as of January 31, 2016, and close to 47,000 employees, BMO provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets. Contacts: Media contact: Amanda Robinson 416-867-3996 Amanda.Robinson@bmo.com Media contact: Nicholas Gaffney 415-732-7801 ngaffney@infinitespada.com INDIANAPOLIS, IN--(Marketwired - March 01, 2016) - Scale Computing, the leader in hyperconverged storage, server, and virtualization solutions for mid-sized companies, announced today that it has signed an agreement with Fairsystems, a leading provider of business solutions and technology services, to distribute its HC3 hyperconverged virtualization platform throughout the Middle East territory. This agreement is the latest major international expansion by Scale to extend its hyperconverged technology around the world. Based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Fairsystems will leverage its extensive technical expertise in infrastructure deployment and consultancy to market, sell and service Scale products to medium and large organizations in local markets as an exclusive value added distributor. With core principles of passion, simplicity and efficiency, Fairsystems understands the value proposition that hyperconvergence offers customers and is positioning the technology as ideally suited for overcoming the complexity associated with traditional data center architectures. "We were looking for the right hyperconvergence solution to position locally and we lucked out and found Scale Computing," said Wissam Stouhi, CEO of Fairsystems. "Most IT managers in mid-sized organizations don't have the time or resources to manage complex infrastructures. Scale has an edge over competitors in terms of not only its completeness of vision and comprehensive roadmap, but more importantly, in its actual simplicity of usage. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to use, configure and manage Scale's solution. This is where Scale technology really excels. I believe there is quite a big opportunity for them in the Middle East." Scale Computing's HC3 platform brings storage, servers, virtualization and management together in a single, comprehensive system. With no virtualization software to license and no external storage to buy, HC3 products lower out-of-pocket costs and radically simplify the infrastructure needed to keep applications running. HC3 products make the deployment and management of a highly available and scalable infrastructure as easy to manage as a single server. Solution providers and resellers are a critical piece of the company's go-to-market strategy, with Scale Computing selling all of its products through channel partners rather than through direct sales. With competitive margins, marketing support and award-winning technology, Scale Computing's Platinum Partners have the opportunities to deliver a solution that has been specifically built for easy deployment and managed by IT administrators who want to spend more time focused on business needs and applications rather than troubleshooting infrastructure and hardware issues. "It is imperative to team up with the right partners who understand the local markets and ideologies driving purchasing decisions in their regions as we continue to expand the reach of our HC3 virtualization platform," said Jeff Ready, CEO and co-founder of Scale Computing. "With Fairsystems, we are confident that their passion and drive will best suit us in not only penetrating the Middle East market but in quickly achieving critical mass there. We believe that we have built the proverbial better mouse trap and look forward to a strong partnership with Fairsystems to ensure local organizations know about the value it provides." About Scale Computing Scale Computing integrates storage, servers, and virtualization software into an all-in-one appliance based system that is scalable, self-healing, and as easy to manage as a single server. Using industry standard components, the HC3 appliances install in under an hour, and can be expanded and upgraded with no downtime. High availability insulates the user from any disk or server failure and a unified management capability driven by the patented HyperCore Software', efficiently integrates all functionality. The result is a data center solution that reduces operational complexity, allows a faster response to business issues, and dramatically reduces costs. Media Contact: Scott Kline JPR Communications 818-798-1474 Scottk@jprcom.com MARKHAM, ONTARIO and OSLO, NORWAY -- (Marketwired) -- 03/04/16 -- Enghouse Systems Limited (TSX: ESL) announced today it has acquired CellVision AS. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, CellVision enables spatial intelligence and visual dashboard analytics for network operators. The company's mBOSS product line includes a suite of applications that integrates with data sources in the telecommunications service provider's operating environment, including OSS and BSS systems, geographic information systems (GIS), coverage planning, trouble ticketing, fault management, CRM, probes, configuration management systems, element management systems and more, and delivers a holistic operating view of the network. CellVision's solutions visualize network impact on customer experience and deliver network operations efficiencies in handling customer complaints, customer care and mobile coverage marketing. "CellVision extends our capabilities in GIS, enabling real time analytics and visualization dashboards, especially for mobile network operators but can also be extended to other fixed line converged operators and utilities," said Sunil Diaz, General Manager, Enghouse Networks. "This acquisition helps Enghouse address an emerging need among network operators for improved customer experience and expectation management, which are increasingly important for incumbent as well as competitive mobile service providers. We are pleased to welcome CellVision's customers and employees to our organization." About Enghouse Systems Limited Enghouse Systems Limited is a leading global provider of enterprise software solutions serving a variety of vertical markets. Its strategy is to build a more diverse enterprise software company through strategic acquisitions and managed growth within its business sectors: Contact Center, Networks (OSS/BSS) and Transportation/Public Safety. Enghouse shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: ESL). Further information about Enghouse is available at www.enghouse.com. About CellVision AS Founded in 2000 in Oslo, CellVision is focused on advanced and streamlined network analysis and customer communications to improve the customer experience and reduce mobile operator costs. CellVision's mBOSS family of products provides engineering and analytics, and shifts customer calls from a call center onto the web. For more information, please visit www.cellvision.com. Contacts: Sam Anidjar VP, Corporate Development Enghouse Systems Limited (905) 946-3300 PRINCETON, New Jersey, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Chengdu Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd. to Strengthen Pharmacovigilance Process using ArisGlobal's ARISg' Solution. ArisGlobal, a leading provider of software solutions to the life science industry, has announced that Chengdu Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd. (CDIBP) has selected ARISg' to strengthen and build a solid foundation for its pharmacovigilance process. Located in Chengdu, CDIBP (a subsidiary of China National Biotec Group Co., Ltd. (CNBG)) is one of the largest developing and manufacturing bases of vaccines and biological products in China. CDIBP, in partnership with PATH, an international nonprofit focused on improving health, has been working on building a pharmacovigilance database that meets the World Health Organization's requirements to provide affordable vaccines to a broader market. With the implementation of ARISg', a safety information management system chosen by life sciences companies worldwide, CDIBP will be able to establish an effective clinical safety and pharmacovigilance system from case data entry to automatic generation of submission-ready adverse event reports that fully support all global regulatory reporting requirements. The system will also be available in the Chinese language to more efficiently support Chinese users. "It's a very nice experience to work with ArisGlobal. They provide us with not only their excellent product, but also their leading expertise in pharmacovigilance systems and first class service to meet customer requirements," said Mr. Zhang Lei, International Cooperation Project Manager, Chengdu Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd. "We are very pleased that CDIBP has selected ARISg' for its safety system and will be our first customer in the Chinese Market," said Kazushi Iwai, Business Development Director for North Asia at ArisGlobal KK. "Because of the growing pharmaceutical market in China, combined with a more stringent regulatory environment, meeting an increased demand for expertise in pharmacovigilance practices can be one of the challenges faced by domestic companies and healthcare practitioners. ArisGlobal's in-depth knowledge and experience in the pharmacovigilance domain will support CDIBP in implementing and understanding the best practices and requirements that are critically important in drug safety and risk management." CDIBP's ARISg' safety system will be implemented by ArisGlobal KK, the Japanese subsidiary of ArisGlobal, located in Tokyo Japan. About ArisGlobal: ArisGlobal (http://www.arisglobal.com) specializes in the delivery of innovative, cloud compliant software solutions that facilitate global drug development and regulatory compliance within the Life Sciences and Healthcare industries. Its comprehensive portfolio supports the entire product life cycle including Clinical Development, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance and Medical Communications. ArisGlobal's advanced technology solutions currently empower over 200 drug and device manufacturers, CROs and regulatory agencies to make better and more informed decisions, facilitate compliance, reduce risk and improve operational efficiency. Headquartered in the United States, ArisGlobal has regional offices in Europe, India and Japan. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA and DOWNERS GROVE, ILLINOIS -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Kelso Technologies Inc. (TSX: KLS)(NYSE MKT: KIQ) ("Kelso" or the "Company") reports that it has made a scheduled change to its management team. Effective March 1, 2016 Mr. Anthony (Tony) J. Andrukaitis becomes the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Company and Neil Gambow will become the Managing Director of Corporate Development. Mr. Andrukaitis is an accomplished business executive with over 25 years of senior management experience in the railroad sector. He is the past Chief Operations Officer of Trinity Rail and past President of Trinity Tank Car Inc., both subsidiaries of Trinity Industries of Dallas, Texas. He is also the past President and CEO of GATX Terminals Corporation of Chicago, IL. He is a CPA and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Illinois and an MBA from DePaul University. Tony joined the Board of Directors of Kelso as an independent director on August 24, 2011 and going forward will continue to serve Kelso as a non-independent director. Mr. Gambow has been a key figure in the development of Kelso from its near bankruptcy in 2010 to one of the most respected corporate brands in the railway equipment supply industry. He will remain an active executive manager of the Company and be a key advisor to both the CEO and COO of the Company. He will continue to concentrate on design engineering, sales and lobbying for use of the best available equipment for a work safe environment; marketing of future and current products; and the challenges of regulatory and government matters that affect the future of the Company. James R. Bond, CEO of the Company, comments that: "We have made these scheduled changes to our executive management team to strengthen the effectiveness of our business practices, maintain our management expertise and spread increasing workloads more effectively. Kelso is growing its commercial product catalogue substantially to get ready for the next up-cycle in rail tank car production that is expected to commence later this year triggered by required compliance with new hazardous material regulations and laws. The railway industry has been bogged down with regulatory and economic challenges over the past year and despite the current severe slowdown in rail tank car production we have the necessary capital resources to survive throughout 2016. Management remains optimistic that our long-term strategic plans should lead to enhanced financial performance in the future." About Kelso Technologies Kelso is a railway equipment supplier that designs, produces and sells proprietary tank car service equipment used in the safe handling and containment of hazardous materials during transport. Products are specifically designed to provide economic and operational advantages while reducing the potential effects of human error and environmental harm during the transport of hazardous materials. The Company is recognized as a reliable supplier of AAR approved railway equipment that addresses the regulatory concerns about railroad safety in North America. For a more complete business and financial profile of the Company, please view the Company's website at www.kelsotech.com and public documents posted under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com in Canada and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov in the United States. On behalf of the Board of Directors, James R. Bond, CEO and President Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are indicated expectations or intentions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include that Kelso is growing its product catalogue substantially to get ready for the next up-cycle in rail tank car production that is expected to commence later this year triggered by required compliance with new hazardous material regulations and laws; that despite the current severe slowdown in rail tank car production we have the necessary capital resources to survive throughout 2016; and that management remains optimistic that our long-term strategic plans should lead to enhanced financial performance in the future. Although Kelso believes its anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, they can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information as such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Kelso to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and information, including without limitation the risk that the Company's products may not provide the intended economic or operational advantages; or reduce the potential effects of human error and environmental harm during the transport of hazardous materials; or grow and sustain anticipated revenue streams; AAR approvals may not be attained; the rail tank car market may not improve in 2016; new hazardous material regulations and laws may not come into effect when expected, or at all; orders may be cancelled and competitors may enter the market with new product offerings which could capture some of our expected market share. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Contacts: Kelso Technologies Inc. James R. Bond CEO and President bond@kelsotech.com Kelso Technologies Inc. Richard Lee Chief Financial Officer lee@kelsotech.com Kelso Technologies Inc. Corporate Address: 13966 - 18B Avenue South Surrey, BC V4A 8J1 www.kelsotech.com JEFFERSON CITY, MO--(Marketwired - March 01, 2016) - BidNet has officially launched the Missouri Purchasing Group. The online community provides a central location for companies interested in doing business with local government agencies in Missouri to access bids and RFPs posted directly by the City of Poplar Bluff, City of Dardenne Prairie, and other participating local governments and not-for-profits in the state. Vendors looking to increase government contract opportunities are encouraged to visit www.BidNetDirect.com/missouri to access upcoming solicitations. The Missouri Purchasing Group makes it easy for government vendors to find and respond to public solicitations throughout the state. Vendors registered on the Missouri Purchasing Group gain access to bids, quotes, RFPs, related documents, addendum, and award information published directly by participating public agencies. In addition, vendors have the option to be alerted of open statewide bids from agency buyers throughout the entire state of Missouri. Companies interested in local Missouri government bids are invited to register here: https://www.BidNetDirect.com/register. Government agencies and not-for-profit organizations in Missouri utilize the bid and vendor management e-sourcing solution to simplify the purchasing process. The Missouri Purchasing Group includes time-saving solutions for buyers and purchasing professionals to publish, distribute, amend, track and award solicitations. The Missouri Purchasing Group facilitates collaboration between local government purchasing departments, resulting in a shared bid library and vendor database, lower cost of goods, and an increased outreach to local vendors. Any public purchasing professionals in Missouri interested in learning more about the benefits of joining the Missouri Purchasing Group can schedule a personalized demonstration at www.BidNetDirect.com/buyer-demo. About The Missouri Purchasing Group The Missouri Purchasing Group is a regional network for local counties, municipalities, school districts and special district governments to directly publish and distribute solicitations to registered vendors. Registered vendors get more bid information, manage less paperwork, and receive an easier method of doing business with local Missouri government agencies. For more information, visit www.BidNetDirect.com/missouri. About BidNet's E-Sourcing Solution BidNet's e-Sourcing solution provides over 1,100 local government agencies and over 9,000 departments with vendor management, document distribution, and audit control tools. With years of input from procurement professionals, BidNet has designed 17 regional purchasing groups to address the specific bid and supplier management needs of local government agencies across the country. To learn more about the benefits, features and modules available to government agencies, please visit www.BidNetDirect.com/buyers or www.SourceSuite.com. Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/2/29/11G085098/Images/Missouri_Purchasing_Group-7c9c8c0c8e80af218824826856d490d9.jpg Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/2/29/11G085098/Images/BidNet_Direct_Logo-80c060999968a0f5917badeff5c70bcd.jpg Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/2/29/11G085098/Images/SourceSuite_E-Procurement_Solution_-_Logo-430200786686.jpg Media Inquiries: Kim Cullen Director of Marketing 518-689-7036 Kcullen@bidnet.com Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2016) - CircuitMeter has been selected to install its real time, circuit level metering technology at the Pembina Institute head office in Calgary. Pembina Institute, a leading clean energy think tank, chose CircuitMeter to analyze and reduce energy consumption in its head office as part of its drive to encourage industry and commerce to reduce energy consumption. This initiative is in keeping with the Pembina Institute's support for climate change legislation and carbon pricing, and is intended to highlight the growing focus on energy efficiency, conservation and demand management techniques that are coming to market. Simple Solar, a Calgary-based company and a CircuitMeter channel partner, installed CircuitMeter's technology at the Pembina Institute. Simple Solar develops patented solar energy systems and supports solar energy research, energy monitoring and analysis, low-energy building development and energy/ environment training programs. "We are delighted to have been selected by the Pembina Institute, long recognized as a prominent thought leader and advocate for a low carbon economy in Canada, as their electricity submetering technology of choice. We are of the view that our sophisticated energy submetering technology and big data analytics are on the leading edge of clean energy advancements globally. Acknowledgment from one of the foremost clean energy advocacy organizations in North America will help us build market recognition of "behind the meter" energy management as a growing area of opportunity in industrial and commercial markets and encourage companies to consider the opportunities to reduce costs and energy usage, as well as their greenhouse gas footprint," stated Paul Mertes, President and CEO, CircuitMeter Inc. "Selecting CircuitMeter's submetering technology for our Calgary head office is part of the Institute's mandate to promote energy efficiency and the low carbon economy," stated Ed Whittingham, Executive Director, Pembina Institute. "In our report on clean energy in Canada that we released a couple of years ago (Competing in Clean Energy at http://www.pembina.org/pub/2406), we summarized discussions the Pembina Institute had with business executives, entrepreneurs, investors and academics about what Canada needs to do to compete in the global race for clean energy and how Canada could better tap into this sector's potential. The Pembina Institute remains committed to furthering clean energy initiatives throughout Canada and the rest of the world. We view CircuitMeter's technology for our head office as an important part of our ongoing efforts to promote sustainability and the clean tech sector in Canada." About the Pembina Institute The Pembina Institute is a Canadian non-profit think tank forum focused on energy. Founded in 1985, the Institute has offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver. The mission of the Pembina Institute is to advance clean energy solutions through innovative research, education consulting and advocacy. The Pembina Institute advocates policies that reduce the use of fossil fuels and supports the transition to cleaner energy sources. The Institute promotes renewable energy sources including wind and solar. The Pembina Institute supports energy efficiency policies and actions in communities and businesses and improved building efficiency. The Institute works on regional energy priorities and major national energy-related issues. In Alberta, the Institute advocates for an approach to energy development that respects science-based limits and protects air, land, water, species and communities. In British Columbia, the Institute supports the carbon tax and the province's emerging clean energy economy. In Ontario, the Institute advocates for expanding rapid transit infrastructure and supporting urban and suburban development policies that reduce traffic congestion. At the national level, the Institute holds the federal government of Canada responsible for stronger climate action. Additional information is available at www.pembina.org. About CircuitMeter CircuitMeter builds and markets advanced electrical energy submetering systems and integrated Big Data, cloud based software designed to analyze real time, detailed energy usage and enable energy users to better manage their energy consumption and reduce their costs. CircuitMeter's low cost WebMeterTM permits facility managers to capture data related to energy usage from every circuit in an electrical panel within the building. CircuitMonitoringTM operates as a cloud based energy management platform and dashboard, providing building operators with a circuit-by-circuit view of their electrical usage and trends, as well as notifications of trends and anomalies. The combination of WebMeterTM and CircuitMonitoringTM provides historical and real-time detailed analysis through the use of visual dashboards and reports. Facility managers have the ability to receive their energy information at an enterprise level, and at the individual circuit level within a facility. In September 2015, CircuitMeter Inc. was named as a recipient of one of Canada's 2016 Clean50 awards that annually recognize national leaders in sustainability. Additional information is available at www.circuitmeter.com. For additional information: Kirk Heuser Communications Lead Pembina Institute C: 587 585 4522 kirkh@pembina.org B. Paul Mertes, MBA, P.Eng. President & CEO CircuitMeter Inc. O: 888 350 1790 X201 D: 647.494.9730 Paul.mertes@circuitmeter.com MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Dundee Sustainable Technologies Inc. ("DST" or the "Corporation") (CSE: DST) is proud to announce that it has successfully completed its piloting campaign ("Piloting") on gold concentrates (the "Concentrate") provided by Empresa Nacional de Mineria, Chile ("ENAMI"), using DST's proprietary technology. In September 2015, DST received 2 Tonnes of Concentrate from ENAMI to be used for Piloting (refer to September 23, 2015 press release). The Concentrate contained 121 g/T of gold, 9.2% copper and a mercury content of 787 g/T. Through controlled oxidation, DST removed 99.7% of the sulphide and 99.6% of the mercury content. The calcine material was then submitted to acid and water leaching where 99% of the copper was recovered as copper sulphate. DST's chlorination process that followed achieved a gold recovery of 98.8% and a final gold deposition over silica recovery of 99.8%. DST is pleased with the results of the piloting phase. This Piloting is part of a phased approach established between DST and ENAMI with the objective of implementing a processing facility, utilizing DST's patented technology, in Chile. DST and ENAMI will advance towards developing the technical and economic feasibility criteria for the implementation on a commercial scale of the DST process in Chile. About ENAMI, a Chilean state-owned company ENAMI's mission is to promote the small and medium size private mining sector in Chile, by supplying technical, financial, metallurgical, production and trading services to small and medium size miners. ENAMI's assets include one smelter, five processing plants and a network of technical support and facilities. ENAMI purchases ore and concentrate from producers in various purchasing agencies located throughout Chile. About Dundee Sustainable Technologies, a company controlled by Dundee Corporation The Corporation is engaged in the development of environment-friendly technologies for the treatment of materials in the mining industry. Through the development of patented, proprietary processes, DST extracts precious and base metals from ores, concentrates and tailing, while stabilizing contaminants such as arsenic, which could not otherwise be extracted or stabilized with conventional processes because of metallurgical issues or environmental considerations. At present, DST most advanced proprietary processes are associated to the extraction of precious metals using a chlorination process which provides a cyanide-free alternative for the exploitation of gold deposits. The primary benefits of this innovative technology are shorter processing times, a closed-loop operation eliminating the need for costly tailings pond, and a reduced environmental footprint related to the inert and stable characteristics of the cyanide free tailings. The chlorination process developed by DST is a recognized "green technology" for which it was awarded a $5 million grant by the Government of Canada for the construction and operation of a demonstration plant. The plant will serve as a demonstration platform for the chlorination process on an industrial scale and under continuous operating conditions. In addition to this chlorination process, DST completed the construction of a pilot plant designed to demonstrate its arsenic stabilization process which is designed for the sequestration of arsenic in a stable glass form. This process is becoming an attractive technique to segregate the arsenic and is therefore opening opportunities for materials considered to contain too much of this toxic material to be exploited or stabilized using conventional approaches. DST has filed, published and was granted patents for these processes in several countries. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains forward-looking statements that address future events and conditions, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, some of which may be beyond the Corporation's control. These factors include: general market and industry conditions, risks related to continuous operations and to commercialization of new technologies and other risks disclosed in the Corporation's filings with Canadian Securities Regulators. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Corporation's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Corporation 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 required by applicable law. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: Dundee Sustainable Technologies Inc. John W. Mercer President and CEO (514) 866-6001 # 239 (514) 866-6193 (FAX) info@dundeetechnologies.com ALPHARETTA, GA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- SECUDE, a leading data security provider specializing in security for SAP software, and Boldon James, the market leader in data classification and secure messaging software, today announced a new technology partnership. A joint solution from Boldon James and SECUDE provides enterprises with a comprehensive classification framework to protect data originating from SAP systems. By integrating Boldon James Classifier with SECUDE Halocore, companies can identify and classify data at the point of creation both within and outside SAP systems for a cohesive and seamless data protection experience across the entire organization. "We're thrilled to announce our partnership with Boldon James," said Michael Kummer, President Americas at SECUDE. "Data classification is an essential part of a successful security strategy, ranking in the top three of most important security controls for any organization. By bridging the gap that currently exists between enterprise-wide and SAP-specific data classification tools, Boldon James and SECUDE can help enterprises make intelligent decisions about data handling and protection consistently across the entire enterprise. We're extremely pleased to offer this phenomenal solution that integrates our companies' offerings in the most efficient and seamless way possible." Keith Vallance, Product Director at Boldon James commented, "We are delighted to be partnering with SECUDE as a leader in SAP data classification to help ensure any type of data within the enterprise can be seamlessly protected. With our combined solution with SECUDE, enterprises are now able to enhance data protection and governance consistency, ensuring sensitive data is adequately protected throughout its lifecycle regardless if it is created manually by a user or generated by an SAP application. The Boldon James/SECUDE partnership further demonstrates the value of our Classifier360 approach to data classification, which blends the virtues of automated and user-applied classification in a manner that best suits each enterprise." Companies can now take a unified and proactive approach toward data classification by labeling data at the point of creation, whether the label is applied interactively by a user with Boldon James Classifier, or automatically when extracted from SAP systems with SECUDE Halocore. Every time a document is created and exported from an SAP system, Halocore applies its knowledge of the content to automatically apply a metadata label to the document in a manner compatible with Boldon James Classifier. Classifier then continues the downstream management of the SAP exported file as it is shared, exchanged and revised, ensuring consistent protection throughout its lifecycle. Consistent data classification helps reduce inadvertent disclosure and data spillage of sensitive information. The result is streamlined business processes with data security at the core, reducing risk and allowing companies to cut data management costs while ensuring compliance with global and national regulations. To learn more about the joint solution, register for the Boldon James and SECUDE exclusive live webinar Data Classification: Closing the Gap Between Enterprise and SAP Data on Thursday on March 17, 2016 at 11:00 A.M. (EST) / 4:00 P.M. (GMT). About SECUDE - www.secude.com SECUDE is an innovative global provider of IT data protection solutions for SAP customers. The company was founded in 1996 as a partnership between SAP AG and Europe's largest application-oriented research organization, Fraunhofer institute in Germany. SECUDE helps customers protect sensitive data from loss or theft and to meet legal and industry requirements and guidelines. Since 2011, SECUDE has been part of the SAP PartnerEdge Value Added Reseller program and an SAP distribution partner in Germany and Switzerland. SECUDE's solutions enable enterprises that run on SAP to identify sensitive data exports from SAP applications with intelligent classification and secure information with strong encryption and fine-grained permission policies, allowing it to be safely accessed, stored, and shared inside the enterprise and across cloud and mobile platforms. Today, SECUDE is trusted by a large number of Fortune 500 companies, including many DAX companies. With offices in Europe, North America and Asia, SECUDE embraces global IT security. About Boldon James - www.boldonjames.com For over 30 years, Boldon James has been a leader in data classification and secure messaging solutions, helping organisations of all sizes manage sensitive information securely and in compliance with legislation and standards. Our Classifier product range extends the capabilities of Microsoft products and other solutions to allow users to apply relevant visual & metadata labels to messages and documents in order to enforce information assurance policies, raise user awareness of security policies and orchestrate multiple security technologies, such as DLP and Rights Management. Our customers range from corporates, including global Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, Financial and Professional Services businesses, to Government, Defence & Intelligence organisations. Boldon James is a wholly-owned subsidiary of QinetiQ plc, a FTSE 250 company, with offices in the UK, US, Australia and Europe and channel partners worldwide. About QinetiQ A FTSE250 company, QinetiQ uses its world class knowledge, research and innovation to provide high-end technical expertise and advice, to customers in the global aerospace, defence and security markets. Visit the website at www.QinetiQ.com PDF Attachment Available: http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/201602/28007_BoldonJamesSECUDESolutionbrief.pdf Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2971429 Media Contacts: Marina Vasilyeva Marketing Manager SECUDE +1 (404) 862-0210 Email Contact Joanne Hogue Partner Smart Connections PR +1 (410) 658-8246 Email Contact Georgina Stockley PR Team Boldon James +44 1270 507800 Email Contact BETHESDA, MD -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Paley Rothman, a full service law firm serving corporate and individual clients throughout the Washington metropolitan area, is pleased to announce that veteran litigator, Rick Claxton, has joined the firm as Principal, effective March 1, 2016. With over 30 years of courtroom experience representing clients ranging from individuals to Fortune 50 corporations, Claxton will play an integral role in the firm's Litigation, Appellate and Alternative Dispute Resolution practices. "Rick will be the 40th attorney at Paley Rothman and we are delighted that his arrival marks this milestone for the firm. His diverse practice, combined with his substantial trial work, will be invaluable assets for our firm as we continue to provide our clients with innovative solutions to complex corporate and individual disputes," noted firm Co-President, James R. Hammerschmidt. "Rick will offer our Employment, Estate Planning, Healthcare and Real Estate clients with the incisive expertise and judgment that his extensive experience provides and we look forward to working with him." Prior to joining Paley Rothman, Claxton was Principal with Garson Claxton LLC, where he was head of the firm's Litigation practice. A veteran of dozens of jury and bench trials, Claxton's practice has focused on complex business cases, such as corporate and partnership disputes, construction litigation, business torts, and employment litigation. He also has substantial appellate court experience, having briefed and argued cases before the highest courts of the District of Columbia and Maryland, as well as before various federal circuit courts. Lauded by peers and organizations for his legal ability and ethical standards, Claxton has received numerous awards and recognition over the course of his career. Claxton received his Juris Doctor, with honors, from Boston University School of Law (1978), where he served as executive editor of the American Journal of Law and Medicine. He received his Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri, School of Journalism (1972). Claxton Photo: http://bit.ly/RickClaxton Founded in 1972, Paley Rothman (http://www.paleyrothman.com) is committed to anticipating client needs and providing practical and cost-effective solutions to its corporate and individual clients. The attorneys handle a wide-range of legal counsel and representation in diverse and demanding areas, including tax, real estate, employment law, estate planning, litigation and a variety of other matters for clients nationally and throughout the Washington metropolitan area. MEDIA CONTACT: Susan E. Jacobsen 202.251.8184 Email Contact BOUCHERVILLE, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- RONA inc. (TSX: RON)(TSX: RON.PR.A) ("RONA" or the "Corporation") announced today that it has filed its Management Proxy Circular (the "Circular") with securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces of Canada in preparation for its special meeting of shareholders (the "Meeting") to be held on Thursday, March 31, 2016 at 10:30 a.m. (Montreal time) at Hotel Omni Mont-Royal, 1050 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 2R6, Canada. The Circular is available at www.rona.ca and www.sedar.com. On February 25, 2016, the Quebec Superior Court issued an interim order pursuant to which, among other things, RONA is authorized to hold and conduct the Meeting at which RONA common and preferred shareholders, voting separately, will be asked to approve the previously announced statutory arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Quebec) (the "Arrangement") involving RONA, Lowe's Companies, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Lowe's Companies Canada, ULC, pursuant to the arrangement agreement entered into on February 2, 2016. The Board of Directors of the Corporation has unanimously determined that the Arrangement is in the best interests of RONA and unanimously recommends, for the reasons set out in the Circular, that RONA common and preferred shareholders vote FOR the special resolutions to approve the Arrangement. Shareholders of record on February 25, 2016 will receive notice of and be entitled to vote at the Meeting. The Circular, which shareholders are expected to receive in the coming days, provides information on, among other things, the Arrangement and voting procedures. Completion of the Arrangement is conditional upon approval of at least 66 2/3% of the votes cast by the common shareholders at the Meeting and satisfaction of other customary conditions including regulatory approvals in Canada and the issuance of a final order by the Quebec Superior Court. As described in further detail in the Circular, the implementation of the Arrangement is not conditional on its approval by preferred shareholders. It is expected that the Arrangement will be completed in the second half of 2016. RONA has retained Kingsdale Shareholder Services to act as proxy solicitation agent and to respond to inquiries from shareholders. Kingsdale Shareholder Services may be contacted either (i) by email at contactus@kingsdaleshareholder.com, (ii) by toll-free telephone in North America at 1-866-851-2743 or call collect outside North America at 416-867-2272 or (iii) by mail at Kingsdale Shareholder Services, The Exchange Tower, 130 King Street West, Suite 2950, P.O. Box 361, Toronto, Ontario, M5X 1E2. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated timing of the Meeting and the anticipated timing for completion and the outcome of the Arrangement, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Canadian securities legislation and regulations. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "plan," "foresee," "believe" or "continue" or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. In respect of the forward-looking statements and information concerning the anticipated timing of the Meeting and the anticipated timing for completion and the outcome of the Arrangement, the Corporation has provided such in reliance on certain assumptions that it believes are reasonable at this time, including assumptions as to the ability of the parties to receive, in a timely manner and on satisfactory terms, the necessary regulatory, court, and shareholder approvals, including but not limited to the receipt of applicable foreign investment approval required in Canada; that the business of the Meeting concludes as anticipated; the ability of the parties to satisfy, in a timely manner, the other conditions to the closing of the Arrangement including that there be no material adverse effect and that registered holders of common shares shall not have exercised their rights to demand repurchase of their common shares with respect to more than 10% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Corporation; and other expectations and assumptions concerning the Arrangement. The anticipated dates provided may change for a number of reasons, such as the inability to secure the necessary shareholder, regulatory or court approvals in the time assumed or the need for additional time to satisfy the other conditions to the completion of the Arrangement. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of assisting investors and others in understanding certain key elements of the Corporation's objectives, strategic priorities, management's current expectations and plans, and in obtaining a better understanding of the Corporation's business and anticipated operating environment as at and for, the periods ended on certain dates and the reader is cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. Investors and others are cautioned that undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Risks and uncertainties inherent in the nature of the Arrangement include the failure of the parties to obtain the necessary shareholder, regulatory and court approvals, or to otherwise satisfy the conditions to the completion of the Arrangement, in a timely manner, or at all. Failure to obtain such approvals, or the failure of the parties to otherwise satisfy the conditions to or complete the Arrangement, may result in the Arrangement not being completed on the proposed terms, or at all. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. For more information on the risks and uncertainties that could cause the Corporation's actual results to differ materially from current expectations, and about material factors or assumptions applied in making forward-looking statements, please also refer to the Corporation's public filings available at www.sedar.com. In particular, further details and descriptions of these and other factors are disclosed in the "Risks and uncertainties" section of the Corporation's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the fiscal year ended December 27, 2015. The forward-looking statements in this press release reflect the Corporation's expectations as at March 1st, 2016, and are subject to change after this date. The Corporation expressly disclaims any obligation or intention to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by the applicable securities laws. ABOUT RONA RONA inc. is a major Canadian distributor and retailer of hardware, building materials and home renovation products. The Corporation operates a network of nearly 500 corporate and independent affiliate stores of complementary formats. With its nine distribution centers, RONA serves its own network as well as many independent dealers operating under different banners, including Ace, for which RONA owns the licensing rights and is the exclusive distributor in Canada. With the help of its nearly 22,000 employees, the Corporation generates annual consolidated sales of $4.2 billion. For more information, visit www.rona.ca. Contacts: Media Valerie Gonzalo Media Relations 514-626-6976 media@rona.ca Financial Community Stephane Milot Vice President - Development, Real Estate and Investor Relations 514-599-5951 stephane.milot@rona.ca Webinar reveals Frost & Sullivan's analysis of the trends shaping the global economy in 2016 MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- WHEN: 11:00 a.m. EST on Thursday, March 3, 2016 LOCATION: Online, with free registration (Email kayla.belcher@frost.com) EXPERT PANELIST: Frost & Sullivan's Global President and Managing Partner, Aroop Zutshi; Program Manager for Mobility and Senior Economist for Africa, Craig Parker and Industry Analyst Sanghamitra Chatterjee Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160229/338713LOGO The global economy is currently at a crossroads that can diverge either into an era of stable growth or one that feels the downward pressures of the next global recession. This webinar will focus on the economic outlook and the macroeconomic trends shaping the global economy in 2016, and aims to discover how the combined risks and opportunities will affect the economy. Experts will evaluate the excess oil supply, declining commodity prices, devaluing currencies and geopolitical unrest. Frost & Sullivan thought leaders will examine past global recessions and draw parallels with the current economic scenario. The webinar will be followed by an interactive Q&A session. Attend this webinar to discover: Top 2016 trends influencing global economic growth Risks and drivers influencing investment decisions and expansion strategies What markets are being considered as growing investment hotbeds This webinar will benefit the business community, developmental agencies and university students interested in understanding economic trends and their potential implications. Thought leader insights: "The world economy is going through a transition period. CEOs need to be concerned with what the economy is transitioning toward," Frost & Sullivan's Global President and Managing Partner Aroop Zutshi. "Companies need to understand the interplay of risks and opportunities in 2016 to make lucrative investment decisions and take part in this transformational global growth. Additionally, companies need to prepare themselves for the future, given the disruption, collapse and transformations we are seeing in markets, industries and regions." "On one hand, declining oil and additional commodity prices can help support stronger economic growth, however these factors can also raise vulnerabilities in countries dependent on oil and commodity exports," Frost & Sullivan's Emerging Market Innovation Industry Analyst, Sanghamitra Chatterjee. "A country's macroeconomic fundamentals and policy choices will play a major role in determining the effect lower commodity prices will have on the 2016 global growth trajectory." "Advanced economies, such as the United States and Europe, should recover in 2016 with the support of accommodative monetary policies," Frost & Sullivan's Mobility Program Manager and Senior Economist, Africa, Craig Parker. "However, emerging markets are experiencing a slowdown due to falling prices, depreciating currencies and capital outflow. Additionally, a new wave of economies may occur, frontier markets are positioning themselves as emerging market frontrunners in Africa, Asia andLatin America." Register: To attend the briefing, email Kayla Belcher, Corporate Communications - kayla.belcher@frost.com - your full name, job title, company name, company telephone number, and company email address, website, city, state and country or click here: http://frost.ly/1x. About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. Our "Growth Partnership" supports clients by addressing these opportunities and incorporating two key elements driving visionary innovation: The Integrated Value Proposition and The Partnership Infrastructure. The Integrated Value Proposition provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation. provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation. The Partnership Infrastructure is entirely unique as it constructs the foundation upon which visionary innovation becomes possible. This includes our 360 degree research, comprehensive industry coverage, career best practices as well as our global footprint of more than 40 offices. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies? Contact: Kayla Belcher Corporate Communications - North America +1.210.247.2450 kayla.belcher@frost.com The Management Board of Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp AS (registry code 10223439, seat Gonsiori 2, 10143 Tallinn), convenes an annual general meeting of shareholders on 12 April 2016 at 14:00, in the Conference centre of Nordic Hotel Forum Radisson, Viru valjak 3, Tallinn.Registration of the participants begins on 12 April 2016 at 13.30. The list of shareholders entitled to participate in the general meeting will be decided at 5 April 2016 at 23.59.The Supervisory Board of Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp AS has determined the following agenda of the annual general meeting and makes the following proposals.1. Approval of the annual report of 2015 of Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp ASTo approve the annual report of Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp AS for 2015 prepared by the Management Board of Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp AS and approved by the Supervisory Board, according to which the consolidated balance sheet of Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp AS as at 31.12.2015 is 347,980 thousand euros, the sales revenue for the accounting year is 555,447 thousand euros and the net profit 22,071 thousand euros.2. Distribution of profitTo approve the profit distribution proposal of 2015 of Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp AS, presented by the Management Board and approved by the Supervisory Board, as follows:Retained profits of previous years 73,197 thousand euros Net profit of 2015 22,071 thousand euros Total distributable profit as at 31.12.2015 95,268 thousand euros To pay dividends 0.52 euros per share 21,179 thousand euros Retained profits after distribution of profits 74,089 thousand eurosThe list of shareholders with a right to receive dividends shall be fixed as at 26 April 2016 at 23.59. Dividends shall be paid to the bank accounts of shareholders via transfer on 27 April 2016.The shareholders whose shares represent at least 1/20 of the share capital may request the inclusion of additional issues to the agenda of the general meeting, provided that the respective request has been submitted in writing no later than by 28 March 2016. The shareholders whose shares represent at least 1/20 of the share capital may submit a written draft of the resolution in respect to each item on the agenda no later than by 8 April 2016. More detailed information available on 287 of the Commercial Code (right of shareholder to information), 293 (2) (right to demand the inclusion of additional issues in the agenda) and 2931 (3) (obligation to submit simultaneously with the request on the modification of the agenda a draft of the resolution or substantiation) and 2931 (4) (right to submit a draft of the resolution in respect to each item on the agenda) about the rules and term of exercising these rights have been published on the homepage of Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp AS at www.tkmgroup.ee. The drafts of the resolutions and substantiations submitted by the shareholders will be published on the same homepage, if any are received. After the items on the agenda of the general meeting, including additional issues, have been discussed, the shareholders can ask for information from the management board about the activity of the public limited company.The documents of the annual general meeting, including the annual report, sworn auditor's report, proposal for profit distribution, report of the supervisory board, drafts of the resolutions of Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp AS are made available on the homepage of Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp AS at www.tkmgroup.ee, and from the publication of the notice on calling the general meeting until the day of the general meeting is held, in the secretariat of Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp AS at Gonsiori 2 (2nd floor) in Tallinn on business days from 10 AM to 4 PM. Questions about the topics included in the agenda of the general meeting can be sent to the following e-mail address sekretar.gonsiori@kaubamaja.ee or by post to the address of the public limited company or by telephone 66 73 300.Please submit the following documents to register the participants of the general meeting:a shareholder that is a natural person - personal identification document; a representative of a shareholder that is a natural person - personal identification document and a written letter of authorisation; a legal representative of a shareholder that is a legal person - an extract of the relevant (commercial) register in which the legal person is registered, and the personal identification document of the representative; a transactional representative of a shareholder that is a legal person is also required to submit a written authorisation issued by the legal representative of the legal person in addition to the above listed documents. We ask the documents of a legal person registered in a foreign country to be legalised or having an apostil attached to the documents beforehand, unless specified otherwise in an international agreement. Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp AS may register a shareholder that is a legal person from a foreign country to the general meeting also in case all required information on the legal person and its representative are included in a notarised letter of authorisation issued in the foreign country and the respective letter of authorisation is accepted in Estonia.We ask you to present a passport or an ID-card as a personal identification document.A shareholder may inform of the appointment of a representative or withdrawal of an authorisation given to a representative before the general meeting by e-mail on sekretar.gonsiori@kaubamaja.ee or by submitting the mentioned document(s) on business days from 10 AM to 4 PM no later than by 8 April 2016 to the secretariat of Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp AS at Gonsiori 2 (2nd floor) in Tallinn, prepared on the respective forms published on the homepage of Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp AS at www.tkmgroup.ee. You can find information about appointment of a representative or withdrawal of an authorisation on the same homepage.Raul Puusepp Chairman of the Board Phone: +372 731 5000 TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- The Minister of Science, Kirsty Duncan, today announced more than $48 million in federal funding for 76 research teams across the country - through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council's (NSERC) Strategic Partnership Grants. Together, discovery and innovation help create clean jobs, grow our economy, and protect our environment. The announcement was made at Ryerson University, where one of this year's recipients - a team led by Dr. Bala Venkatesh - is making it easier and cleaner to store energy. Dr. Venkatesh's team of 27 researchers is part of the NSERC Energy Storage Technology Network (NEST), and will use its $5 million investment to create more reliable, environmentally responsible, and efficient technologies for storing energy - an essential technology for the global transition to clean energy. These partnerships demonstrate the rich diversity of Canada's research and innovation ecosystem. Through initiatives like these, knowledge is being translated into practical applications to improve our wealth, wellness and well-being. Before making the announcement, Minister Duncan also had the opportunity to meet with researchers and was given a tour of the NEST facilities. Quotes "On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to congratulate Dr. Venkatesh and all of today's recipients. This support represents a big investment in connecting our country's talented scientists and engineers with industry." The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science "Strategic Partnerships connect companies and governments with Canada's brain trust to advance research in areas where we can be a world leader. By accessing deep research expertise, these collaborations can help provide tangible outcomes to solve fundamental societal and economic issues." Dr. B. Mario Pinto, President, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council "Ryerson University is truly honoured to have been awarded the Strategic Partnership grant for the NSERC Energy Storage Technology (NEST) Network. Leading a network of 15 universities and many industry partners across Canada, our researchers will explore innovative energy storage technologies and their impact on our electricity system. The network will enable direct progress - without duplication of efforts - towards a strong domestic energy storage industry while benefiting consumers and helping make Canada a world leader in clean energy." Dr. Bala Venkatesh, Academic Director, Centre for Urban Energy at Ryerson University Quick Facts - The Strategic Partnerships connects universities, businesses, and government organizations in research collaborations. - This round of Strategic Partnership Grants comprises two research networks and 74 projects across Canada. The competition focused on four areas: environmental science and technologies; information and communications technologies; manufacturing; and natural resources and energy. Associated Links - Full list of Recipients - Strategic Partnership Grants Overview - Ryerson University - NSERC 2020 - NSERC Funding Dashboard: Where we invest and why About NSERC NSERC invests over $1 billion each year in natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. Our investments deliver discoveries, valuable world-firsts in knowledge claimed by a brain trust of over 11,000 professors, world-leading researchers in their fields. Our investments enable partnerships and collaborations that connect industry with discoveries and the people behind them. Researcher-industry partnerships established by NSERC help inform R&D, solve scale-up challenges and reduce the risks of developing high-potential technology. Our investments provide scholarships and hands-on training experience for the next generation of science and engineering leaders in Canada, more than 30,000 post-secondary students and post-doctoral fellows. Contacts: Media Relations Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada 343-291-1777 ic.mediarelations-mediasrelations.ic@canada.ca Martin Leroux Media and Public Affairs Officer Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada 613-943-7618 media@nserc-crsng.gc.ca TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Alexandria Minerals Corporation (TSX VENTURE: AZX)(OTC PINK: ALXDF)(FRANKFURT: A9D) is pleased to announce that it has signed an Option Agreement with Prosper Gold Corporation ("PGC") giving Prosper the right to earn up to 90% interest in Alexandria's Wydee and Matachewan properties, in Matachewan, Ontario. The Option/JV agreement specifies that, in order to earn a 75% interest in both properties, Prosper will issue 750,000 shares to Alexandria, and expend $5,000,000 on exploration over 5 years on the two properties. To earn a further 15%, Prosper must prepare a resource estimate compliant with National Instrument 43-101 totaling a minimum of 1.5 million ounces of gold. Eric Owens, President and CEO, said, "This agreement allows us to continue to focus on our more advanced projects, while maintaining an interest in Wydee and Matachewan. These properties are early stage exploration properties which have been subject to variable amounts of exploration work over the years." Alexandria's extensive mineral property portfolio stretches over 3 of the most important mining provinces in Canada - Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba. The properties lie within world-class mining districts, including Val d'Or, Quebec, Red Lake, Ontario and Flin-Flon-Snow Lake, Manitoba. Since 2012, during some of the most difficult mining markets in recent memory, Alexandria has had considerable success. It has completed 4 separate equity financings, totaling $6.5 million, all at considerable premium to market (between 70% and 300% over market price), it discovered and monetized what will likely become Quebec's next gold mine, it acquired another junior exploration company with an excellent property portfolio (Murgor Resources), and tripled its gold resource base. The Company recently announced a drill program on its flagship Cadillac Break property package in Val d'Or, Quebec, a 35 km-long group of properties assembled between 2006 and 2008. The current focus emphasizes porphyry gold-copper targets on the western half of the property package. The direction of this exploration program is a result of the Company's discovery of the Akasaba West Zone in 2012, sold in 2014 to Agnico Eagle for $5 million and 2% Net Smelter Return. Further information about the Company is available on the Company's website, www.azx.ca, or our social media sites listed below: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alexandria-Minerals-Corporation-AZXTSXV/186115074772628 Twitter: https://twitter.com/azxmineralscorp YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/AlexandriaMinerals Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/alexandriaminerals/ About Alexandria Minerals Corporation Alexandria Minerals Corporation is a Toronto-based junior gold exploration and development company with important gold resources on one of the largest properties along the prolific, gold-producing Cadillac Break in Val d'Or, Quebec, additional gold-copper resources in the world class Snow Lake-Flin Flon mining district of Manitoba, and the notable Red Lake Mining District of northern Ontario. WARNING: This News Release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of up-coming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Alexandria Minerals Corporation relies upon litigation protection for 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: Alexandria Minerals Corporation Mary Vorvis Vice President, Corporate Development and Investor Relations (416) 305-4999 Alexandria Minerals Corporation Eric Owens President/CEO 416-363-9372 info@azx.ca www.azx.ca DUBLIN, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/m9c8vv/hospitalacquired) has announced the addition of the"Hospital-Acquired Infection (HAI) Control Market (Disinfection, Sterilization, Treatment, Testing)" report to their offering. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130307/600769 ) Infection control in health care facilities deals largely with protecting building occupants from patients with communicable infectious diseases. Infections, which may result from activities and procedures taking place within the facility, have become a cause for great concern. Infection that is acquired during the course of healthcare is known as a nosocomial, or hospital acquired, infection. This Hospital-Acquired Infections report takes a solid look at Hospital-Acquired Infection Statistics Device Sterilization Market Hospital Area Disinfection Market HAI Testing Market Treatment Market Market Segmentation by Healthcare Location: Hospital, Nursing Home, Other Market Segmentation by Geographic Location: US, EU, Asia , Other The following companies are among those discussed in the report: Advanced Sterilization Products Becton Dickinson Belimed AG bioMerieux Cantel Cepheid Getinge Merck & Co. Nordion Pfizer Roche Sakura Seiki Steris TSO3 Key Topics Covered: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Overview The Nosocomial Infection Market Scope Research Methodology Industry Challenges Total Size and Growth of the Market Issues and Trends Affecting Market Leading Competitors INTRODUCTION AND INDUSTRY TRENDS Overview Introduction to Pathogens Classification of Antibacterial Organisms Common Hospital (nosocomial) Infections Description of Infections Acinetobacter Baumannii Clostridium Difficile Gastroenteritis Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (HAP) Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Staphylococcus Aureus/Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia Tuberculosis Urinary Tract Infections Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) Patient Risk Factors General Populations at Risk for Infection World Demographics Assessing the Problem: Nosocomial Infection Statistics Infection Risk Assessments by Hospital Department Burn Units Intensive Care Units Emergency Departments Hospital Length of Stay Increased Hospital Length of Stay for HAIs Extended Stay Environments International Trends in Nursing Facilities Economic Trends Comparison between Healthcare Spending and Real Health Outcomes U.S. Government's National Plan to Prevent Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs)43 Steering Committee Affordable Care Act (ACA) Funding Government Funding for HAI Prevention Infrastructure Activities The Department of Health and Human Services: 2016 Budget Highlights National Healthcare Safety Network Hospital infection Surveillance Process Screening Hospitalized Patients Pharmaceutical Manufacturer and Marketer Trends Trends in Partnerships and Alliances Developers Trends INFECTION PREVENTION Overview Methods of Transmission Airborne Contact Droplet Vehicle High-Risk Facilities or Departments Technology Overview Potential Use of Copper for Reducing Infections Wide Area Disinfection Methods Software for Infection Detection and Control Antiseptic-Coated Catheters UV-C Reflective Coatings Specialized Disinfection/Sterilization Systems Sterilization vs. Disinfection Sterilization Disinfection Equipment and Solutions Heat/Steam Sterilization Product Examples Chemical Sterilization Sterilants Product Examples Mid-Level Disinfectants Suppliers Radiation Sterilization Product Examples Sterilization and Disinfection Verification Systems Market Overview Hospital infection Prevention Market by Geographical Region Competitive Analysis INFECTION TESTING Overview Drug-Resistance/Susceptibility Testing Genotypic Methods DNA Sequencing Solid-phase Hybridization Techniques Microarrays Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction Techniques Phenotypic Methods Phage-based Assays Colorimetric Methods The Nitrate Reductase Assay Specific Serious Hospital infection Testing Acinetobacter Baumannii Clostridium Difficile Product Examples Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Staphylococcus Aureus Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Vancomycin-Intermediate/Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (VISA/VRSA) Product Examples Tuberculosis Product Examples Urinary Tract Infections Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia New Developments Market Overview Total Market Size and Forecast Hospital infection Testing Market by Geographical Region Competitive Analysis INFECTION TREATMENT Overview Principles of Anti-bacterial Therapy Infecting Organism Antibiotic Sensitivity Testing Site of Infection Host Defenses and Organ Function Antibiotic Pharmacokinetics Monitoring Therapy Classifications of Antibacterial Products Carbapenems Cephalosporins Macrolides Penicillins Quinolones Sulfonamides Tetracyclines Infections and Drug Resistance Easing Approvals of Antibiotics Causes of Drug Resistance Antibiotic Abuse Antibiotic Use in Agriculture Drug Resistance in Select Populations Children The Elderly Compromised Individuals Measures for Reducing Resistance Testing for the Selection of Anti-bacterial Therapy Monitoring Therapy Treatment Guidelines Clostridium Difficile Gastroenteritis Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia Ventilator-associated Pneumonia Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Staphylococcus Aureus Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Tuberculosis Urinary Tract Infections Leading Products New Developments Development Incentives Total Market Size and Forecast Hospital infection Treatment Market by Geographical Region Competitive Analysis MARKET OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOSPITAL INFECTION CONTROL Market Considerations Market Overview Healthcare-Acquired Infection Distribution by Setting The Global Market for Hospital infection Control Estimated Market Share by Facility Setting, 2015 The Global Market for Hospital infection Control Estimated Market Share by Hospital Department,2015 Hospital infection Control Market by Geographical Region Developed and Emerging Market Analysis COMPANY PROFILES Becton, Dickinson and Company Belimed bioMerieux Cantel Cepheid Getinge Group Merck & Co Nordion Pfizer Roche Sakura Seiki Steris Tso3 For more information visithttp://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/m9c8vv/hospitalacquired Media Contact: Laura Wood Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 EDMONTON, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Ceapro Inc. (TSX VENTURE: CZO) ("Ceapro" or the "Company"), a growth-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of active ingredients for healthcare and cosmetic industries, announced today that the Company will initiate an extensive research program in collaboration with McMaster University to develop novel chemistries for stabilizing Ceapro's Pressurized Gas eXpanded (PGX) derived products. Professors Todd Hoare and David Latulippe from the Department of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University have been awarded a $370,300 research grant from The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to support this strategic research collaboration. This strategic research project is a three-year agreement and will contribute to the training in applied research of three doctorate-level students as well as two undergraduate students per year. The study will focus on the development and application of highly tunable porous biopolymer and smart polymer scaffolds using Ceapro's PGX technology. Gilles Gagnon, M.Sc., MBA, President and CEO of Ceapro, stated, "The PGX research project with McMaster University is perfectly aligned with our expressed vision to strategically position Ceapro as a "green" company as well as our desire to expand the applications for our PGX technology." Mr. Gagnon added, "The successful completion of this research will offer significant economic, environmental and health benefits. Due to the expected outcomes of this project, we anticipate being able to generate more exports of Ceapro's products, while significantly developing an industrial sector. In expanding our partnership network with universities, we unreservedly support this NSERC Strategic Grant and look forward to building a long-term relationship with Todd Hoare and David Latulippe from the Department of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University." Given the significant potential to both develop and expand the utility of PGX Technology and open new market opportunities through proof-of-concept demonstrations of innovative application of the PGX material, Ceapro will provide in-kind financial support to match the award received by McMaster University. Ceapro anticipates that the strategic research collaboration with McMaster University will commence in the first half of 2016 and will remain active for three years. The study aims to develop novel chemistries for stabilizing PGX-derived products based on both sustainable biopolymers and "smart" environmentally-responsive polymers that change properties in response to an environmental stimulus, which is temperature in this instance. These novel chemistries will then be leveraged by the combined expertise of the Hoare lab in bioactives delivery and tissue engineering and the Latulippe lab in bioseparations and environmental adsorption technologies to apply these stabilized porous constructs to improve delivery of drugs and agricultural chemicals, generate 3D cell scaffolds maintaining high cell viability, generate low-cost alternatives for purification of antibodies and viruses, improve methods of removing heavy metal ions from industrial waste water, and enhance the capture of carbon dioxide from polluted air. One of the key driving features of the materials design in this proposal is to expand the use of renewable biopolymers (starch, pectin, chitosan and crystalline nanocellulose) as scaffolding materials. Over the last 10 years, NSERC has invested more than $7 billion in basic research, projects involving partnerships between postsecondary institutions and industry, and the training of Canada's next generation of scientists and engineers. About Pressurized Gas eXpanded Liquid Technology (PGX) PGX is a unique and disruptive technology with several key advantages over conventional drying and purification technologies that can be used to process biopolymers into high-value, nano-sized polymer structures and novel bio-nanocomposites. PGX is ideally suited for processing challenging high-molecular-weight, water-soluble biopolymers. It has the ability to make ultra-light, highly porous polymer structures on a continuous basis, which is not possible using today's conventional technologies. PGX was co-invented by Ceapro researcher Dr. Bernhard Seifried and University of Alberta professor, Dr. Feral Temelli. About McMaster University McMaster University, one of four Canadian universities listed among the Top 100 universities in the world, is renowned for its innovation in both learning and discovery. It has a student population of 23,000, and more than 175,000 alumni in 140 countries. About The National Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) NSERC invests over $1 billion each year in natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. Our investments deliver discoveries, valuable world-firsts in knowledge claimed by a brain trust of over 11,000 professors, world-leading researchers in their fields. Our investments enable partnerships and collaborations that connect industry with discoveries and the people behind them. Researcher-industry partnerships established by NSERC help inform R&D, solve scale-up challenges and reduce the risks of developing high-potential technology. Our investments provide scholarships and hands-on training experience for the next generation of science and engineering leaders in Canada, more than 30,000 post-secondary students and post-doctoral fellows. About Ceapro Inc. Ceapro Inc. is a Canadian biotechnology company involved in the development of proprietary extraction technology and the application of this technology to the production of extracts and "active ingredients" from oats and other renewable plant resources. Ceapro adds further value to its extracts by supporting their use in cosmeceutical, nutraceutical and therapeutics products for humans and animals. The Company has a broad range of expertise in natural product chemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, immunology and process engineering. These skills merge in the fields of active ingredients, biopharmaceuticals and drug-delivery solutions. For more information on Ceapro, please visit the Company's website at www.ceapro.com. 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 this release. Contacts: INVESTOR AND MEDIA CONTACT: Jenene Thomas Jenene Thomas Communications, LLC Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Advisor (US): 908-938-1475 jenene@jenenethomascommunications.com Favier will manage global business operations for CPFD, developers of Barracuda Virtual Reactor simulation software for design and process optimization of fluidized reactor systems. ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CPFD Software LLC, developers of process engineering software for fluidized reactor systems, today announced that Dr. John Favier has been appointed as President. He will manage business operations for the Albuquerque-based company, which markets its Barracuda Virtual Reactor simulation software and provides support services to process industries worldwide for design and optimization of fluidized systems. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160301/338961LOGO Dr. Favier brings over 20 years experience in development and marketing of simulation software for granular solids and is the founder, and formerly CEO, of DEM Solutions Ltd, the market leader in bulk solids simulation software. Dr. Ken Williams, co-founder of CPFD Software stated: "We are delighted that John Favier has joined CPFD to lead the company in its next phase of growth. He has extensive experience in developing advanced engineering software and is focused on supporting customers and partners in maximizing their return on investment in simulation software." Dr. Favier said: "I am excited to be joining the leader in software for design and process optimization of particle fluidization systems. The Barracuda Virtual Reactor uniquely enables designers and operators of industrial fluidization units to run virtual process performance tests. The results provide key engineering and process control information for a wide range of fluidization equipment. I look forward to working with the CPFD team to support our customers in leveraging the power of Barracuda VR to transform the engineering of their fluidization processes." About CPFD Founded in 2006, CPFD Software has invented the only engineering simulation technology with the ability to serve as a true Virtual Reactor' for the design optimization of industrial fluidization units used in: oil refining; coal and bio-mass power generation and gasification; petrochemical reactors, e.g., polyolefins/plastics, acrylonitrile, titanium dioxide, polysilicon for photovoltaics; and for numerous clean-tech applications, such as chemical-looping and flue gas scrubbing. CPFD's Barracuda Virtual Reactor software can simulate complex 3D fluid-particle flows, including thermal effects and heterogenous chemical reactions in any environment. CPFD's customers are using Barracuda VR simulation to predict key process performance characteristics such as: fluidization regime; particle entrainment; mixing and segregation; location and severity of erosion; catalyst residence time; feedstock conversion; and yield. CPFD provides its Barracuda VR simulation solutions worldwide through licensing, applications support, and engineering services. Barracuda VR simulation is deployed in design and scale-up of fluidized reactors to increase production efficiency, to fix off-design performance problems, to reduce catalyst and product losses, to minimize operational risk in plant upgrades, and to reduce emissions and gas cleanup. Barracuda Virtual Reactor is used internationally by industry leaders including GE, SABIC, Shell, BASF, Dow, Chemours, Alstom, Technip, INEOS, and B&W to increase on-stream reliability and gross margins, to reduce capital and operating costs, to support regulatory compliance, and to develop next-generation fluidization technology. Barracuda Virtual Reactor, Barracuda VR, Barracuda and CPFD are registered trademarks of CPFD Software, LLC. Web: www.cpfd-software.com PUNE, India, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report"Microgrid Marketby Grid Type (Grid-Connected, Remote, Hybrid), Component, Power Source (Fuel Cell, CHP, Renewables), Vertical (Government & Education, Residential & Commercial, Military & Others), and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets, the is estimated to reach USD 34.94 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 10.9% between 2016 and 2022. Browse 77 Tables and 68 Figures spread through 154 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Microgrid Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/micro-grid-electronics-market-917.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. Factors such as drop in renewable prices, especially solar PV cells has encouraged companies to switch to renewables, moreover, other benefits associated such as drop in energy costs and low gas emissions among others are some of the key drivers for the microgrid market. Additionally, increase in number of rural electrification projects in Africa and APAC provide huge opportunities for further growth of this market. Renewable power source is expected to lead the microgrid market: The renewable market is expected to grow rapidly during the forecast period. The key reason behind this growth can be attributed to the launch of programs focused on demonstrating and subsidizing solar farm projects in the Asian and African countries, such as India, China, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and countries in Africa among others. This has also helped to drive the market for remote/ island microgrids also known as, off-grids. The market for residential & commercial vertical is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2016 and 2022 The key reason behind a sharp growth in the residential & commercial vertical is because of the increase in number of projects for rural electrification in Africa and India. Recent developments have also occurred in this market. In July 2014, Dharnai village located at Bihar, India, successfully completed the construction of a solar microgrid, making itself the first village to meet 100% of its own energy needs using off-grid solar power. The market in APAC expected to grow at a high CAGR during forecast period The market in Americas held the highest share for the microgrids in 2015, whereas APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2016 and 2022. This growth in APAC can be attributed to the large number of investments being made by both national and international companies, such as ABB, Siemens, GE and, Schneider Electric among others in this region. Major players operating in this market are ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), Anbaric Transmission (U.S.), Eaton Corp plc (Ireland), Exelon Corp. (U.S.), General Electric (U.S.), Honeywell International, Inc. (U.S.), Northern Power Systems Corp. (U.S.), NRG Energy, Inc. (U.S.), Pareto Energy (U.S.), Siemens AG (Germany), and Spirae, Inc. (U.S.). Inquiry Before Buying: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=917 This research report categorizes the global Microgrid Market based on grid-type, component, power source, vertical, and region. This report describes the drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges with respect to the microgrid market. This report gives a detailed view of the market across the four geographies, namely, the Americas, Europe, APAC, and Rest of the World (RoW), which includes Middle East and Africa. The Porter's Five Forces analysis has been included in the report with a description of each of its forces and their respective impact on the microgrid market. Browse Related Reports Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) Market by Compensation Type (Shunt, Series & Combined), Component, Application, Verticals (Electric Utilities, Renewables, Railways, Industrial, And Oil & Gas), and by Geography - Global Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/flexible-ac-transmission-system-market-1228.html Static VAR Compensator (SVC) Market by Type (Thyristor Based, MCR-Based), by Component, by Vertical (Electric Utility, Renewable- Wind Power & Solar Farm, Railway, Industrial- Steel & Mining and Oil & Gas), and Geography - Global Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/static-var-compensator-market-96574756.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is world's No. 2 firm in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical info graphics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers. We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository. Contact: Mr. Rohan Markets and Markets UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ Magarpatta city, Hadapsar Pune, Maharashtra 411013, India Tel: + 1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog@ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/electronics-and-semiconductors Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets Orava Residential REIT plcNotice of Annual General Meeting 1 March 2016 at 5:45 p.m.NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF ORAVA RESIDENTIAL REIT PLCThe shareholders of Orava Residential REIT plc are invited to the Annual General Meeting, which is held on TUESDAY 22 March 2016 at 9:00 a.m. in the 'Porssisali' of the Stock Exchange Building at Fabianinkatu 14, Helsinki. The reception of those registered for the meeting will start at 8:30 a.m. After the meeting, coffee will be served for the attendees.A. Matters dealt with at the Annual General Meeting1. Opening of the meeting2. Organisation of the meeting3. Election of the examiners of the minutes and supervisors of vote counting4. Establishment of the legality of the meeting5. Verification of attendees and confirmation of the list of votes6. Presentation of the financial statements, Board of Directors' report and auditor's report for 20157. Adoption of the financial statements8. Use of the profit shown by the statement of financial position and deciding on payment of dividendsThe Board of Directors proposes that the Board of Directors is authorised to decide on distribution of profit for 2016 before 31 December 2015 as follows: No more than EUR 1.08 per share will be paid in dividends for shares (ISIN code FI4000068614) not in the company's possession and issued in the book-entry system no later than on 1 March 2016 according to the following table.ISIN code Dividend right Shares(pcs) Dividend/y() Total/y()FI4000068614 100 % 8,327,567 1.08 8,993,772,36No more than EUR 8,993,772.36 will be distributed in dividends. The dividends will be paid in four instalments of EUR 0.27. The dividend payment dates are 4 April 2015, 30 June 2015, 30 September 2015 and 30 December 2015. The Board of Directors will be authorised to decide on the amount of dividends for each quarter within the limits.The Board of Directors will be obligated to supervise solvency before the payment of each dividend and, as necessary, reduce the amount of dividends to be paid in each quarter if the company's solvency were to be endangered due to the distribution of dividends. The Board of Directors will be authorised to decide at its meetings on the dividend record dates9. Deciding on discharge from liability for members of the Board of Directors and the CEO10. Deciding on the remuneration of members of the Board of DirectorsThe Board of Directors proposes that the remuneration of Board members be as follows: chairman EUR 2,000 and members EUR 1,200 per month, plus a meeting-specific fee of EUR 600 for the chairman and EUR 300 for a member for attendance at meetings.11. Deciding on the number of members of the Board of DirectorsThe Board of Directors proposes that 6 members be elected for the Board of Directors.12. Election of members of the Board of DirectorsThe Board of Directors proposes that Patrik Hertsberg, Mikko Larvala, Tapani Rautiainen, Veli Matti Salmenkyla, Jouni Torasvirta and Timo Valjakka be re-elected as the members of the Board of Directors.13. Deciding on the remuneration of the auditorThe Board of Directors proposes that the fees of auditors be paid according to the invoice.14. Election of the auditorThe Board of Directors proposes that PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy, Authorised Public Accountants, with Tuomas Honkamaki, Authorised Public Accountant, as the chief auditor, be elected as the company's auditor.15. Authorisation of the Board of Directors to decide on share issues and issues of option rights and other special rights entitling to sharesThe Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting decide to authorise the Board of Directors to issue shares so that, on the basis of the authorisation, the Board of Directors may issue no more than 6,000,000 of the company's shares without dividend rights during year 2016.On the basis of the authorisation, the Board of Directors may use directed issues. Shares may be issued in deviation from shareholders' pre-emptive rights through a directed issue if there is a weighty financial reason for it from the point of view of the company, such as developing the company's capital structure or financing or implementing transactions in shares in housing companies. The subscription price of shares may be paid in cash or, instead of cash, in its entirety or partly in subscriptions in kind.The Board of Directors proposes that the authorisation be valid until the next Annual General Meeting. The authorisation will repeal the previous authorisation given on 19 March 2015.16. Amending the rules for investments operationsUnder section 14 of the rules for the investment operations of Orava Residential Real Estate Investment Trust plc, the General Meeting of Shareholders decides on amendments to the rules for investment operations.The Board of Directors proposes an amendment to the chapter 3 of section 11 of the rules for investment operations concerning the management services and the related fees. The hurdle rate (previously six per cent) of the performance-related management fee the Trust pays Orava Funds plc of the Trust's annual return exceeding twenty per cent (20%) is to be seven per cent (7%).The Board of Directors proposes amendments to the chapter 2 of section 14 of the rules for investment operations concerning the amendments of the rules for investment operations. The rules enter into force after a month form their communication to shareholders by publishing the information in the manner required in the case of information falling within the sphere of the Trust's duty of disclosure in accordance with Section 10. Previously an approval by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority was required. In addition the Board of Directors proposes that the sentences that ruled the time before the listing will be removed.The amended first sentence in chapter 3 of section 11 of the rules is as follows (change in bold):As a performance-related management fee, the Trust pays Orava Funds plc twenty per cent (20%) of the Trust's annual return exceeding the hurdle rate of seven per cent (7%). The performance-related management fee is calculated on the basis of earnings per share for the financial period and the number of shares at the end of the financial period.The amended chapter 2 of section 11 of the rules is as follows:Amendments to the rules enter into force after a month from their communication to shareholders by publishing the information in the manner required in the case of information falling within the sphere of the Trust's duty of disclosure in accordance with Section 10.17. Closing of the meetingB. Annual General Meeting documentsThe aforementioned decision proposals concerning the agenda of the Annual General Meeting and this notice of meeting are available on the website of Orava Residential REIT plc at www.oravaresidentialreit.com. The financial statements, Board of Directors' report and auditor's report of Orava Residential Real Estate Investment Trust plc are available on the aforementioned website no later than on 1 March 2016. The decision proposals and other aforementioned documents are also available at the Annual General Meeting, and, on request, copies of them and this notice of meeting will be sent to shareholders. The minutes of the Annual General Meeting (in Finnish) will be available on the aforementioned website as of 5 April 2016.C. Instructions for meeting attendees1. Shareholder registered in the shareholders' registerA shareholder who is registered in the company's shareholders' register maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd on the record date of the Annual General Meeting 10 March 2016 has the right to attend the Annual General Meeting. A shareholder whose shares are entered in their personal Finnish book-entry account is registered in the company's shareholders' register.A shareholder registered in the shareholders' register who wants to take part in the Annual General Meeting shall register with the company no later than on 17 March 2016 at 5:00 p.m. Registration may take place:a) by email to yhtiokokous@oravarahastot.fib) by letter to Orava Residential REIT plc, Annual General Meeting, Fabianinkatu 14 B, FI-00100 HELSINKI, Finland.In connection with registration, the name of the shareholder, personal identity code/business ID, address, telephone number and the name of any potential assistant, authorised agent or legal representative shall be notified. The personal information disclosed by the shareholder to the Orava Residential REIT plc will only be used in connection with the Annual General Meeting and the handling of the related necessary registrations.The shareholder, their representative or agent shall be able to prove their identity and/or right of representation at the place of the meeting.2. Owner of nominee-registered sharesThe owner of nominee-registered shares has the right to attend the Annual General Meeting pursuant to shares on the basis of which they would have the right to be registered in the shareholders' register maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd on the record date of the Annual General Meeting on 10 March 2016. Attendance also requires that the shareholder is temporarily entered in the shareholders' register maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd no later than 17 March 2016 by 10:00 a.m. With regard to nominee-registered shares, this is considered as a registration for the Annual General Meeting.The owner of nominee-registered shares is instructed to well in advance request the necessary instructions from the administrator of their property concerning the registration in the temporary shareholders' register, provision of powers of attorney and registration for the Annual General Meeting. The account manager entity of the administrator of property shall announce the owner of nominee-registered shares who wants to take part in the Annual General Meeting to be temporarily registered in the company's shareholders' register no later than at the aforementioned time.3. Use of an agent and powers of attorneyA shareholder may take part in the Annual General Meeting and exercise their rights there through an agent. A shareholder's agent shall present a dated power of attorney, or they must otherwise in a reliable manner prove that they are entitled to represent the shareholder. If a shareholder participates in the Annual General Meeting using several agents that represent the shareholder using shares on different book-entry accounts, they shall in connection with registration announce the shares based on which each agent represents the shareholder.It is requested that any potential powers of attorney be delivered in the original to Orava Residential REIT plc, Shareholders' register, Fabianinkatu 14 B, FI-00100 HELSINKI, Finland, before the end of the registration period.4. Other instructions/informationA shareholder present at the Annual General Meeting has the right to pose questions on matters dealt with at the meeting in accordance with chapter 5, section 25, of the Limited Liability Companies Act.On the date of the notice of meeting, 1 March 2016, Orava Residential REIT plc has a total of 9,206,619 shares that represent 9,206,619 votes.Helsinki 1 March 2016Orava Residential REIT plcBoard of DirectorsAdditional informationPekka Peiponen, CEO, tel. +358 (0)10 420 3104Veli Matti Salmenkyla, CFO and administrative director, tel. +358 (0)10 420 3102 NASHVILLE, TN -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Considered among many as the next musical sensation, Nashville's own Annie Moses Band marked the release of their newest WMG/Warner Classics project, The Art Of The Love Song last Friday February 26th. The cd with bonus track and DVD and Blu-Ray featuring band interview footage are also available, including a corresponding 60-minute concert footage special airing on PBS stations beginning this month and running throughout the coming months. AMB celebrated their newest WMG release with a return to The Grand Ole Opry on Saturday, February 27th, 2016. Already a favorite at the legendary venue where The Art Of The Love Song special was filmed, the band will perform favorites from the album, previewing what fans can expect from the PBS special. "The Grand Ole Opry is about honoring the great artists of the past and building upon their musical legacy, and that's what we wanted to do in 'The Art Of The Love Song,'" the band stated, adding, "So it was incredible to perform these classic songs with the signature sound of the Annie Moses Band for all the music lovers at the Opry." In addition to their performance, the band hosted a signing for fans at the venue immediately following the show, meeting and taking photos with fans who gathered. A sweeping musical collection and presentation of the greatest love songs ever written, The Art Of The Love Song showcases the most classic love songs of the century from the lush strings of Nat King Cole to the heartfelt songwriting of artists like Paul Williams' "Evergreen," Ewan MacColl's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," and Lennon-McCartney's "And I Love Her," among countless other gems. The Annie Moses Band has already won over thousands who appreciate the group's unique mix of musical brilliance, family ties and beauty of heart, mind and spirit. Their live shows are transformative, their recordings inspirational to critics and general audiences, and with The Art Of The Love Song, these six siblings offer the world exactly the music needed in these challenging times. More than an artistic and conceptual milestone in modern popular music, The Art Of The Love Song ultimately will be remembered as the moment that these young performers stake their claim as one of America's most valuable ensembles. They are individually instrumentalists of the highest order as well as accessible and distinctive personalities. Collectively, they challenge and inspire each other and invite more listeners to savor the results, whether sculpting a landmark George Gershwin composition into a humorous but exhilarating Rhapsody In Bluegrass or, with The Art Of The Love Song, marrying two of humanity's greatest attributes, love and music, into one unforgettable achievement. Having already undertaken several exciting projects, leading up to last year's American Rhapsody tribute to classic American repertoire The Art Of The Love Song boldly and beautifully marks a shift from this sweeping perspective to an intimate examination of romance through song. ABOUT THE ANNIE MOSES BAND: Six siblings from the musically accomplished Wolaver family comprise The Annie Moses Band. Four of the band members are graduates of the prestigious Juilliard School with -- Annie on violin and lead vocals, Alex on viola, Benjamin on cello, Camille on keyboards and harp, Gretchen on violin, mandolin and guitar, and Jeremiah on electric guitar. Their charisma is undeniable; vocally and instrumentally, they radiate excitement onstage. Whether playing at Carnegie Hall, on tour in the United Kingdom or at the Fine Arts Summer Academy they host each summer in their Nashville hometown, they manifest love for each other and their burgeoning fan base. SOCIAL MEDIA AND CONTACT INFO: Twitter: https://twitter.com/anniemosesband Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anniemosesband?_rdr=p Insta: https://www.instagram.com/anniemosesband/ WebSite: anniemosesband.com Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2972170 PLAN A MEDIA, LLC Patti Conte 212 337 1406 ext. 2 PattiConte@planamedia.com Kaylin Johnson 212 337 1406 ext. 3 kaylin.planamedia@gmail.com VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Goldstrike Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: GSR)(OTC PINK: APRAF)(FRANKFURT: KCG1) and Petro One Energy Corp. (TSX VENTURE: POP) announced on December 22, 2015 that they had entered into a definitive agreement providing for the acquisition by Goldstrike of all issued and outstanding shares of Petro One, to be carried out by way of a statutory arrangement involving Goldstrike, Petro One and the shareholders of Petro One (the "Arrangement"). On February 12, 2016 the companies announced that the Arrangement had been approved by the shareholders of Petro One and on February 15, 2016 the companies announced that the Arrangement had been approved by Order of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, which satisfied the final requirement for a statutory plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia). The Companies are now pleased to report that, with the consent of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Arrangement has completed with an Effective Date of February 29, 2016 and Petro One is now a wholly- owned subsidiary of Goldstrike. Accordingly, the Companies have requested that trading in shares of Petro One be halted pending delisting of Petro One shares by the Exchange. About Goldstrike Commencing in 2011, Goldstrike systematically explored thirty-three prospects in Yukon, ultimately leading to the discovery of its flagship "Plateau" property and the Lucky Strike project. Petro One's 30% interest in the Lucky Strike Property was transferred to Goldstrike on completion of the Arrangement. The Plateau South property is 100% owned by Goldstrike and covers a district scale gold-mineralized system known as the Yellow Giant Trend. Multiple high grade gold showings have been exposed along the Hess River valley over a strike length of more than 25 kilometres and a vertical extent of more than 1,000 metres, and significant drill results have been obtained in multiple holes (best intersection to date 13.25 grams per tonne gold over 17.5 metres in the Goldstack Zone, including 35.88 grams per tonne gold over 5.7 metres) (News Release September 9, 2015). Fifty per cent of the holes drilled in 2015 intersected grains of native gold in the core. The gold is coarse, and appears to be free milling. In recognition of the significance of this discovery, Goldstrike has been invited to display its Plateau drill core at the Prospectors and Developers Association (PDAC) conference, being held March 6-9, 2016 in Toronto. Goldstrike's geological team will be presenting the drill core in the Core Shack, Booth 3118A. Trevor J. Bremner, P. Geo., Chief Consulting Geologist and Goldstrike Board Member, is a qualified person (as defined by National Instrument 43-101) for Goldstrike's Yukon exploration projects and has supervised the preparation of, and reviewed and approved, the technical information in this release. Further information and maps on the Plateau and Lucky Strike projects can be found at www.goldstrikeresources.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD PETRO ONE ENERGY CORP. Peter Bryant, President & Director ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD GOLDSTRIKE RESOURCES LTD. Terrence E. King, President & Director For further information, please visit the companies' websites, follow the companies's tweets or contact the Jeff Stuart of King James Capital Corporation, handling Investor Relations for the Company, by telephone at (604) 805 0375 or by email at jstuart@kingjamescapital.com. PETRO ONE ENERGY CORP. GOLDSTRIKE RESOURCES LTD. Telephone: 604 566 9089 Telephone: 604 681 1820 Facsimile: 604 564 8003 Facsimile: 604 681 1864 IR: 604 805 0375 IR: 604 805 0375 PetroOneEnergy.com GoldStrikeResources.com Twitter.com/PetroOneEnergy Twitter.com/GoldstrikeRes 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. Contacts: King James Capital Corporation Jeff Stuart Investor Relations (604) 210-2150 jstuart@kingjamescapital.com NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - March 01, 2016) - MRO Americas Conference and Exhibition (MROAM), produced by Penton's Aviation Week Network, is taking place in Dallas at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, April 5-7. Focused on commercial aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), the event offers networking among industry leaders representing airlines, regulators, suppliers, and service providers. For 21 years, MRO Americas has served as the flagship of Aviation Week Network's MRO event series and recognized throughout the industry as the premiere event, attracting more than 800 exhibitors and 14,000 registered attendees. Highlights will include: Six major airlines disclose their fleet needs and MRO requirements. American Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest, UPS and FedEx will provide an in-depth overview of the carrier's fleet status, what's new in tech-ops, major and upcoming projects, challenges and issues facing its supply chain. Keynote address speakers are Doug Parker, CEO of American Airlines; Lt. General Lee K. Levy II, Commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center Air Force Material Command; and Kevin McAllister, President and CEO, Services, GE Aviation. This year's conference will collocate with MRO Military under the direction of Lt. General Lee Levy, Commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center, Air Force Material Command. He will also lead a panel with Commanding General Jim Richardson, AMCOM; Paul Verrastro, NAVAUP Weapon Systems Support, U.S. Navy; and Brigadier General Mark Johnson, Commander, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex. The show's supporting sponsor is Team Texas and MRO Americas Diamond sponsors are: AeroTurbine, HEICO, Pratt & Whitney, Rhinesthal CTS, and UTC Aerospace Systems. ABOUT AVIATION WEEK NETWORK Penton's Aviation Week Network is the largest multimedia information and services provider for the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries. Click here to learn more about Aviation Week MRO Events; follow @AvWeekEvents; and like us at facebook.com/avweek. ABOUT PENTON Penton is an innovative information services company that empowers nearly 20 million business decision makers in markets that drive more than 12 trillion dollars in purchases each year. Headquartered in New York, Penton is privately owned by MidOcean Partners and Wasserstein & Co., LP. For more information, visit http://www.penton.com or follow us on Twitter @PentonNow. CONTACT: Elizabeth Kelley Grace 855-525-2899 Elizabeth@thebuzzagency.net OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Editors Note: There are three photos and one video associated with this press release. The Corel Painter team is honored to introduce the newest members of its prestigious Painter Master program. Ten new Painter Masters were selected from an impressive collection of applicants demonstrating some of the most influential and talented digital artists working today. Each of the selected Painter Masters represent the top of their fields and have been chosen for their ability to captivate, motivate and educate Painter enthusiasts of all levels. "Without question, Painter artists are the number one source of inspiration for our team. Their creativity, imaginations and incredible talent leave us awestruck every day. With the 2016 Painter Master program, we've once again reached out to our community to find the best of the best and are honored to have them as outstanding evangelists for Painter our community," said Chris Pierce, Product Manager for Painter. The stunning work created by the 2016 Painter Masters covers the full spectrum of art from the classical to the fantastic and span industries from film and gaming to editorial and commission fine art. Each Painter Master shares a few things in common: proven technical skills, a signature style, a desire to develop others in the community, and a passion for Painter. Congratulations to the 2016 Painter Masters: -- Borislav Mitkov -- Brigid Ashwood -- Collin Chan -- David Harrington -- Dominick Saponaro -- Eric Scala -- Joel Payne -- Katarina Sokolova -- Melanie Rose -- Robert Stacy For more information about the 2016 Painter Masters and to find samples of their art and links to their work, please visit www.painterartist.com/masters. To learn more about Corel Painter 2016 and to download a trial, please visit www.painterartist.com. About Corel Painter: Corel is the proud creator of Corel Painter, the world's most realistic paint program. Whether you're a budding artist or a creative professional, Painter gives you the freedom to create digital art without boundaries. The Corel Paint Program lineup also includes Painter Essentials, the complete home art studio, ParticleShop, a Particle brush plugin for Adobe users, and mobile apps that let you create digital art on the go. Boasting some of the industry's best-known brands, Corel's product lines also include CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, Corel PaintShop Pro, Corel VideoStudio, Corel WordPerfect Office, and titles from Roxio, Pinnacle, ReviverSoft and WinZip. For more information about Corel Paint Programs, please visit www.corel.com. 2016 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved. Corel, the Corel logo, the Corel Balloon logo, Painter, CorelDRAW, Essentials, PaintShop, Particle, ParticleShop, Pinnacle, ReviverSoft, Roxio, VideoStudio, WinZip and WordPerfect are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in Canada, the U.S. and elsewhere. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners. Patents: www.corel.com/patent. To view the photos associated with this press release, please visit the following links: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20160301-Painter_Master_2016.jpg http://www.marketwire.com/library/20160301-Painter_Master_Wordmark.jpg http://www.marketwire.com/library/20160301-COREL-Painter_2016_Box.jpg To view the video associated with this press release, please visit the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgQVB9OEQj4 Contacts: Media Contact Alex Brazeau Corel PR alex.brazeau@corel.com www.painterartist.com Mississauga, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2016) - Pioneering Technology Corp. (TSXV: PTE) ("Pioneering"), a technology company and North America's leader in cooking fire prevention technologies and products, is pleased to report its financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2015. Pioneering reported revenue of $1.34 million, net income of $191,257 ($0.01 per share) and adjusted EBITDA of $273,700. This marks Pioneering's fifth consecutive quarter of operating profitability. Kevin Callahan, President & CEO of Pioneering said, "We are pleased to report record quarterly financial results and continued profitability. Year over year revenue for the 12 months ended December 31, 2015 is up over 50% and we expect this trend to continue based on the strength of growing awareness of the home cooking fire problem, the need for our technology solutions, our new distribution relationships and the changing regulatory environment. We have led the creation of the home cooking fire prevention category and the disruption of the cooking appliance industry and are now just starting to see the beginnings of what we believe will be a very sizeable market opportunity." Financial Highlights for the First Quarter Ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 First Quarter Ended December 31 2015 ($) 2014 ($) Revenue 1,336,549 1,193,626 Gross Profit 806,411 692,838 Expenses 546,154 575,330 Net Income 191,257 81,460 EPS 0.01 $0.00 Adjusted EBITDA 273,700 141,891 In addition to the quarterly highlights noted above, the following metrics highlight Pioneering's growth over the past 12 months: Net income over the past 12 months is $250.9K versus a loss in the previous 12 months of $1.23M or a net increase of $1.48M. Adjusted EBITDA over the past 12 months is $784.5K versus a loss in the previous 12 months of $1.5M or a net increase of $2.3M. Kevin Callahan continued, "Pioneering's business is definitely heading in the right direction. We met our Q1 forecast and expect our revenue and profitability to continue to grow significantly. We look forward to providing our shareholders with updates as we continue to achieve our sales and earning milestones." Pioneering's unaudited financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three months ended December 31, 2015 are available for review at www.sedar.com. Financing Developments Pioneering has historically funded its working capital requirements through a combination of cash flow generated by operations and debt and equity financing. The cost of debt financing as Pioneering has been growing has been expensive. Pioneering is currently pursuing a number of lower cost financing opportunities . In the short term the Company expects to complete a non-brokered private placement of units for gross proceeds of up to $1.5 million at a price of $0.125 per unit. Each unit is expected to consist of one common share and one-half of one share purchase warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable for one common share at a price of $0.25 for eighteen months. Finder's fees in accordance with TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") policies may be payable in respect of the placement. The proposed placement is subject to TSXV approval. ## About Pioneering Technology Corp:Pioneering, based in Mississauga, Ontario is an "energy smart" technology company and North America's leader in cooking fire prevention technologies and products. Pioneering engineers and brings to market energy-smart solutions for everyday consumer appliances making them safer, smarter, and more efficient. Pioneering's patented cooking-fire prevention technologies/products are engineered to help prevent cooking fires, the number one cause of household fire (a multi-billion dollar problem) in North America. According to the National Fire Protection Association, stovetop cooking is the number one cause of household fire and fire injuries in North America (48% of all household fires - up from 20% in 1980). Pioneering has proprietary cooking fire prevention solutions for the majority of the more than 140 million stoves/ranges and over 140M microwave ovens throughout North America. Pioneering's cooking fire prevention trademarks include Safe-T-element, SmartBurner, RangeMinder & Safe-T-sensor. For more information go to www.pioneeringtech.com. For more information please contact: Kevin Callahan, President & CEO of Pioneering, 905-712-2061 ext.222 kcallahan@pioneeringtech.com Forward Looking Statements The statements made in this press release include forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from the events, performance and results discussed in the forward-looking statements, such as the economy, generally, competition in Pioneering's target markets, the demand for Pioneering's products, the availability of funding and the efficacy of Pioneering's technology and governmental regulation. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof an, except as required by applicable law, Pioneering does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from Pioneering's expectations and projections. Non-GAAP Measures Adjusted EBITDA is a measure not recognized under Canadian generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). However, management of Pioneering believes that most shareholders, creditors, other stakeholders and investment analysts prefer to have these measures included as reported measures of operating performance, a proxy for cash flow, and to facilitate valuation analysis. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest income, taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock based compensation, restructuring costs, impairment charges and other non-recurring gains or losses. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is a useful measure that facilitates period-to-period operating comparisons. Adjusted EBITDA does not have any standard meanings prescribed by GAAP and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Readers are cautioned that Adjusted EBITDA is not an alternative to measures determined in accordance with GAAP and should not, on its own, be construed as indicators of performance, cash flow or profitability. References to the Pioneering's Adjusted EBITDA should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and management's discussion and analysis of Pioneering posted on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). This news release contains certain forward-looking statements reflecting the Company's current views or expectations on its performance, business and future events. Such statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results and events may vary significantly. The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy and accuracy of this release. SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Simeio Solutions, a global, industry-leader in identity and access management, today announced its latest, most advanced release of Simeio Solutions Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) using the identity and access management (IAM) portfolio from CA Technologies. Simeio's IDaaS provides a simple and low-cost alternative to building and maintaining an IAM infrastructure. By using CA's IAM technology, Simeio IDaaS offers customers a fast track to a business-focused IAM implementation that can be deployed in a fraction of the time it takes to deploy traditional IAM implementations. Simeio IDaaS integrates CA Identity Suite, CA SSO, CA Advanced Authentication, and CA Privileged Access Management to provide clients with best-in-class IAM, while eliminating the hardware costs, ongoing maintenance and upgrade costs. With automated workflows for user access request submission and review, provisioning and attestation, and the ability to enable federation and simplify compliance with regulatory mandates, Simeio Identity-as-a-Service offers complete, end-to-end identity services tailored to customers' specific requirements, including: Identity administration Access request Role and access governance Identity risk and intelligence At CFA Institute, Simeio IDaaS is used by well over two million identities globally. Elaine Cheng, CIO of CFA Institute said, "Simeio IDaaS using CA's IAM technology supports both our long-term business and technology strategies to provide services and infrastructure for optimum online engagement and transaction. Identity and access governance is critical for our organization's members and candidates who need access to CFA Institute resources. Managing their identities and governing their access is critical to upholding the very basis of our mission: ethics and professional excellence." Simeio IDaaS customers also enjoy the features and capabilities of the Simeio Identity Intelligence Center (IIC), the first and only solution of its kind designed specifically to operate, monitor and defend complex, multi-vendor IAM and security infrastructures. Simeio IIC is designed to help anticipate disruptive events -- operational vulnerabilities and inefficiencies, as well as security risks tied to identity -- before they become problems. Simeio IIC goes even further by offering insights into how accounts are being used -- or misused -- and analytics that can help identify new business opportunities. Simeio Solutions CEO Hemen Vimadalal said, "We recognize CA's leadership when it comes to delivering a comprehensive IAM solution, and we are pleased to partner with an industry leader like CA to offer full-featured Identity-as-a-Service for organizations that struggle to address IAM needs in house. Unlike other companies who offer a partial IAM solution, Simeio leverages the breadth of CA's IAM portfolio to deliver a comprehensive IAM offering in a single solution. Simeio IDaaS delivered via the industry's first and only Identity Intelligence Center, provides our clients with a higher level of security and reliability." In today's IT environment, Identity has become the new security perimeter. Maintaining the integrity of this perimeter requires highly specialized solutions designed to manage identities and monitor privileged accounts, and to detect and prevent malicious activity across a wide range of cloud-based services that live well outside the traditional corporate firewall. Given the complexity of most IT environments, installing and managing these solutions can be a difficult, expensive and time-consuming effort, and requires finding a team of people with niche skills and expertise. Michael Trubatch, vice president, CA identity and access management solutions, said, "Partnering with Simeio Solutions puts the breadth of CA's robust and highly scalable IAM technology into the hands of many organizations. Simeio and CA are offering companies the ability to do IAM in an easier way. By pairing CA's category leading products into a single solution backed by Simeio's industry-leading IDaaS platform, customers get all the security capabilities to implement a truly effective IAM strategy and address a full range of IAM needs, from provisioning and identity governance, to access control and single sign-on." About Simeio Solutions Simeio Solutions, Inc. offers complete, end-to-end Identity and Access Management (IAM) services and solutions powered by the Simeio Identity Intelligence Center (IIC). A single-source for all your identity and access management needs, our offering spans plan to build to operate, with a la carte access to professional services (strategy and implementation), business-ready IAM cloud solutions, and expert managed services for on-going operational support. Simeio is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with offices around the world. Simeio provides services to numerous Fortune 1000 companies across all industries including financial services, high technology, health care, public utilities, education and more. To learn more about Simeio Solutions visit http://www.simeiosolutions.com. See the video to learn more about Simeio IDaaS Video. Trademarks All trademarks and registered trademarks are those of their respective companies. Simeio Identity Intelligence Center (IIC) is a trademark of Simeio Solutions, Inc. For more information: Simeio Solutions Ed Pascua (678) 665-0281 mailto: epascua@simeiosolutions.com IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - March 01, 2016) - SmartBug Media, a leading inbound marketing agency assisting businesses in generating leads, increasing awareness, and building brand loyalty, is pleased to announce the recent hire of Kyle McMillan James as Interactive Manager. James will play a lead role in incorporating inbound and content marketing strategies into creating engaging digital experiences for a portfolio of clients. James has worked professionally in Web marketing and development since 2006. He was one of the first 50 employees at HubSpot and spent three years with the company in a variety of roles, including Inbound Marketing Consultant, Manager of Consulting Services, and Blogging Platform Product Manager. In 2008, James co-founded nuCloud, which specializes in providing low-cost, highly customizable map solutions for schools and other organizations. The company has twice (2013-2014 and 2014-2015) won the Reader's Choice Award from eSchool News and also was honored with the Reader's Choice Top Products Award from University Businessin 2013. Between 2008 and 2014, James also served as founder and blogger of .eduGuru, a blog and brand about Internet marketing and Web development in higher education. "I have known Ryan for years and followed SmartBug Media's growth into HubSpot's biggest and best agency partners," says James. "It only made sense if I was going to come back into HubSpot's orbit, after a hiatus of building my own company, to do it at the best agency partner. I've been drinking the inbound marketing Kool-Aid since the beginning and am excited to join another fast-growing inbound marketing company in its early stages. I hope to become a positive cog in SmartBug's growth, scale, and development." James first discovered Web development in 1996 when he built his first website using Netscape Composer. In 1997, he created The Magic Bazaar, a popular website dedicated to the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering. Though the site is long since defunct, at its peak it was averaging 40,000 hits a month. James is a 2003 graduate of Wofford College, is a diehard Atlanta Braves fan and an avid home brewer, and lives in South Carolina with his wife and two beagles. "Kyle has excelled in a variety of roles over his inbound career: development, sales, support, consulting, management, entrepreneurship, and product," says Ryan Malone, Founder and CEO of SmartBug Media. "That versatility will be an asset to our team and serve our clients well. We are thrilled to have someone of Kyle's experience and enthusiasm on board." About SmartBug For more than seven years, SmartBug Media has been helping businesses increase sales leads, close more customers, and enhance the reach of their brands. SmartBug is one of a handful of HubSpot Diamond partners in the world and is the highest rated agency in the history of the HubSpot ecosystem. We also boast the highest ROI documented from any HubSpot partner -- 3,558% and 14,500% ROI on a six-month and three-year campaign. For a free inbound marketing or web design consultation, or to learn more, visit http://www.smartbugmedia.com/ or call 949-236-6448. Ryan Malone SmartBug Media 949-236-6448 x700 pr@smartbugmedia.com VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - The European markets ended Tuesday's session in the green, despite some weak global economic data. Employment data from the Eurozone was viewed positively, but manufacturing data was disappointing. Chinese manufacturing data also came in weaker than expected. The weak Chinese data lead to speculation that China will need to expand its stimulus measures. In addition, the European Central Bank will hold its meeting next week. Investors are expecting the ECB to announce further quantitative easing measures at the meeting. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 1.72 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 1.31 percent. The DAX of Germany climbed 2.34 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 1.22 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.92 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 1.51 percent. In Frankfurt, Automakers climbed on the opening day of the Geneva motor show. BMW increased 4.26 percent, Daimler added 2.52 percent and Volkswagen rose 4.69 percent. RWE advanced 6.07 percent and peer E.ON gained 4.17 percent. Klockner & Co. jumped 8.02 percent even as the metals trader posted fiscal 2015 net loss of 349 million euros, hit by goodwill impairments in North America activities. In Paris, Peugeot rose 4.29 percent and Renault added 1.76 percent. Car parts maker Valeo also advanced 2.07 percent. In London, Barclays slumped 8.11 percent after announcing further restructuring and halving its dividend in a bid to boost its capital buffer. London Stock Exchange Group soared 7.17 percent. Intercontinental Exchange confirmed that it is considering making an offer for LSE, which is in talks over a potential merger with Deutsche Boerse. Glencore dropped 2.06 percent. The mining giant reported a 70 percent fall in annual adjusted net income after being hit by weak commodity prices. Fresnillo tumbled 6.20 percent. The company reported profit before income tax of $212.4 million for the full year ended 31 December 2015 compared to $251.1 million, last year. Ashtead Group sank 8.82 percent. The company's third quarter earnings per share were 17.2 pence, 18 percent higher than 14.1 pence a year ago. Eurozone manufacturing growth eased to a one-year low in February, final data from Markit showed Tuesday. The final manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 51.2 in February, a 12-month low, from 52.3 in January. It was slightly above the flash estimate of 51. The euro area unemployment rate fell to the lowest level in more than four years in January despite sluggish economic growth and weak confidence. The jobless rate came in at 10.3 percent in January, down from 10.4 percent in December, data from Eurostat showed Tuesday. This was the lowest since August 2011. It was forecast to remain at 10.4 percent. Germany's unemployment declined for the fifth consecutive month in February, the Federal Labor Agency reportedly said Tuesday. The number of people out of work decreased 10,000 from January as expected by economists. Germany's unemployment rate declined marginally in January, provisional data from Destatis showed Tuesday. The jobless rate fell slightly to adjusted 4.3 percent in January from 4.4 percent in December. In the same period last year, the rate was 4.8 percent. The U.K. manufacturing sector expanded at the slowest pace since early 2013 in February, data from Markit showed Tuesday. The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index fell more-than-expected to 50.8 in February from 52.9 in January. This was the lowest reading since April 2013. It was forecast to drop to 52.3 in February. Manufacturing activity in China continued to contract in February, as output declined at the steepest pace since last September on a sharp decrease in new work. The Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell unexpectedly to 48 in February from 48.4 in January, survey results from Markit showed Tuesday. This was the lowest reading in five months. Economists had forecast the index to have remained unchanged at 48.4. The official manufacturing PMI slid to 49 in February from 49.4 in January. Likewise, the non-manufacturing PMI fell to 52.7 from 53.5 in the prior month. Although the sector logged an expansion, the pace was the weakest since late 2008. While the Institute for Supply Management released a report on Tuesday showing a much bigger than expected increase by its index of manufacturing activity in the month of February, the index still pointed to the fifth straight month of contraction. The ISM said its purchasing managers index rose to 49.5 in February from 48.2 in January, but a reading below 50 continues to indicate a contraction in manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 48.5. Construction spending in the U.S. increased by much more than anticipated in the month of January, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday. The report construction spending surged up by 1.5 percent to an annual rate of $1.141 trillion in January from the revised December estimate of $1.124 trillion. Spending had been expected to rise by 0.5 percent. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Augusta Industries Inc. (the "Corporation") (TSX VENTURE: AAO) is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Marcon International Inc. ("Marcon"), has entered into various agreements with various departments of the United States government for the supply of instrumentation and equipment. The aggregate value of the agreements signed in February is $196,839 and the current value of Macron's backlog is $963,707.32 as of February 26, 2016. "The Corporation is pleased with the entering of these new agreements," stated Allen Lone, President of the Corporation. "These new contracts are a great way to start off the New Year and the Corporation will continue to work to ensure that these new contracts, along with the current backlog, are fulfilled in a timely and efficient manner. These agreements are evidence of the continuing confidence that the various entities of the United States government have in Marcon. The Corporation and Marcon have worked and continue to work in building an ongoing successful relationship with these clients." About the Corporation: Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Marcon and Fox-Tek Canada Inc. ("Fox-Tek"), the Corporation provides a variety of services and products to a number of clients. Marcon is an industrial supply contractor servicing the energy sector and a number of US Government entities. Marcon's principal business is the sale and distribution of industrial parts and equipment (Electrical, mechanical and Instrumentation.) In addition to departments and agencies of the U.S. Government, Marcon's major clients include Saudi Arabia-Sabic Services (Refining and Petrochemical), Bahrain National Gas Co, Bahrain Petroleum, Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Gas, Qatar Petrochemical, Gulf of Suez Petroleum, Agiba Petroleum and Burullus Gas Co. Fox Tek develops non-intrusive asset health monitoring sensor systems for the oil and gas market to help operators track the thinning of pipelines and refinery vessels due to corrosion/erosion, strain due to bending/buckling and process pressure and temperature. The Corporation's FT fiber optic sensor and corrosion monitoring systems allow cost-effective, 24/7 remote monitoring capabilities to improve scheduled maintenance operations, avoid unnecessary shutdowns, and prevent accidents and leaks. The TSX Venture Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions, uncertainties and management's best estimates of future events. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements are detailed from time to time in the Corporation's periodic reports filed with the Ontario Securities Commission and other regulatory authorities. The Corporation has no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Contacts: Corporation contact: Augusta Industries Inc. Allen Lone President, CEO (905) 275-8111 Ext 226 atlone@fox-tek.com Technavio analysts forecast the power rental market in Southeast Asiato post a CAGR of close to 11% by 2020, according to their latest report. The research study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the power rental market in Southeast Asia for 2016-2020. A detailed study of the product type (diesel, gas, and hybrid generators) and the revenue and growth patterns of the market are covered in this report. The report also discusses the key end-users of the market, including oil and gas, construction, utilities, industrial, and others. Technavio energy research analysts highlight the following three factors that are contributing to the growth of the power rental market in Southeast Asia: Need for continuous power supply Increase in infrastructure activities Increased demand from utilities and industrial sectors Need for continuous power supply Rapid development and increased investments in various businesses due to favorable foreign direct investment (FDI) has increased power consumption by 2.5 times in the past 20 years in Southeast Asia. According to the IEA's World Energy Outlook 2015 for Southeast Asia, the region's electricity demand is likely to triple by 2040, for which an additional power generation capacity of 400 gigawatts (GW) is required. Utilities are unable to meet the rising electricity consumption due to poor T&D and low power production. This has increased power outages, driving the need for rental power in the region. For instance, in 2013, 14 provinces in Thailand experienced blackouts because the required power was 2,500 megawatt (MW) while the local power plants were capable of producing only 2,000 MW. The remaining power deficit was purchased from other sources such as private players and neighboring countries. Such instances surged the need for emergency power supply, thus fueling the need for power rentals in the region. Vishu Rai, a lead analyst from Technavio, specializing in research on power, says, "Indonesia, the largest country in the region, had an 80% electrification rate at the end of 2013. This, along with poor grid connectivity in remote areas, has also increased the need for temporary power supply in the region." Increase in infrastructure activities Southeast Asian countries have a steady economic growth rate between 2% and 8%. Governments across these countries are aiming to achieve economic sustenance through industrial development. In order to attract investors to set up bases in these countries, basic infrastructure facilities such as roads, railways, water, and power supply play a crucial role. Therefore, many countries in the region are increasing their annual infrastructure spending. Though governments of various countries in this region are investing in building new power plants as long-term power sources, shortage of power supply in the region is restricting power companies to meet the immediate demand. "The surge in residential and commercial infrastructure developments have resulted in peak-hour supply constraints. These factors have compelled power companies to rely on temporary power generation sources such as rentals to cater to the growing demand," adds Vishu. Increased demand for power rental from utilities and industrial sectors The need for temporary power supply across utilities and industrial sectors is increasing due to the supply-demand gap for electricity. Many industries require constant power supply to achieve optimum operational capacity and avoid financial losses due to outages. Some industries in Southeast Asia are located in remote locations that are not yet connected to the grid and have poor T&D infrastructure. For instance, the Philippines is an archipelago that constitutes over 7,000 islands with a population of over 100 million. The power supply shortages have encouraged the government to take short-term initiatives such as leasing additional power from different islands and using diesel generators for additional capacity. Browse Related Reports: Global Power Rental Market 2015-2019 Power Rental Market in Americas 2015-2019 North America Power Rental 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 Technaviois 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/20160301005160/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) -- 03/01/16 -- Biosenta Inc. (Biosenta) (CSE: ZRO) is pleased to announce that on February 29, 2016 it received approval from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to proceed with the implementation of the restructuring proposal to creditors (the "Proposal"). The Proposal was announced on November 19, 2015. The Proposal is made under the Canadian Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (The Act). A copy has been filed on the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. The Proposal had been approved by the board of the Company and then by the creditors at the meeting held on December 7, 2015. The Company expects to implement the requirements of the Proposal over the coming weeks. On behalf of the board of Biosenta, interim Chairman, Dene Rogers, said "the acceptance of the Proposal to creditors by both our creditors and the court gives Biosenta a much healthier balance sheet and the opportunity to continue the rollout of the consumer products to the U.S. and to begin the approval process for the industrial product, Tri-Filler. We are very grateful to our creditors for their support. Forward looking information There can be no assurance that The Proposal will be successfully completed, or even if it is successfully completed, that the Company will achieve success. About Biosenta Inc. Biosenta Inc. develops and manufactures a range of chemical compounds for household and industrial applications using advanced nanotechnology. Other household disinfectants and cleaners possess similar levels of efficacy as traditional disinfectants. But Biosenta products contain significantly lower concentrations of active ingredients resulting in lower toxicity. Biosenta disinfectants and cleaners will kill 100% of potentially deadly mold, fungi, bacteria and viruses on contact and prevent re-growth. Biosenta disinfectants are very safe due to the very low toxicity. Biosenta industrial compounds are embedded to protect various materials, including drywall, plastics and resins, from microbe formation. These compounds remain active for decades and protect the drywall of buildings, objects such as resin furniture, and carpet which contain plastic or resin, as well as textiles and paper from mold, fungi, bacteria and viruses. Both the Biosenta household and industrial products are environmentally safe and biodegradable. Disclaimer The CSE has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: Biosenta Inc. Dene Rogers, President and CEO Ph: 416-410-2019 Email: dene@biosenta.com 3080 Yonge Street, Suite 6020 Toronto, ON M4N 3N1 MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- DiaMedica Inc. (TSX VENTURE: DMA)(OTCQB: DMCAF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the engagement of JV Public Relations New York ("JVPRNY") to lead its PR efforts in the United States. JVPRNY is a boutique life science communications agency working to meet the needs of emerging and innovative life science companies. With a collective 30 years of experience, the firm's founder, Janet Vasquez, ran award-winning global and local public relations campaigns for an array of life science, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology clients, while simultaneously managing highly successful programs for companies in laboratory, medical device diagnostics/companion diagnostics industries. In addition, the JVPRNY team is well-versed in the social media landscape, having designed and implemented social media programs for several clients that span from biotechnology, consumer health to non-profit firms. The firm's goal is to elevate DiaMedica's profile in the US markets and engage proactive dialogues on the rising interest with the scientific and investment community. JVPRNY's targeted media campaign includes traditional media interviews with print, broadcast, and online publications outlets including expert opinion pieces targeting healthcare decision makers. Media outlets interested in learning more about DiaMedica and its pipeline of protein therapeutics for vascular diseases should reach out to Janet Vasquez at jvasquez@jvprny.com or 212-645-5498. About DiaMedica DiaMedica is a publicly traded clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel protein therapeutics for vascular diseases, including stroke, and kidney diseases. DiaMedica's common shares are listed on the TSX-V Exchange under the trading symbol "DMA" and on the OTCQB under the trading symbol "DMCAF". FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS The statements made in this press release that are not historical facts contain forward-looking information that involves risk and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, which address DiaMedica's expectations, should be considered forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management's exercise of business judgment as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. When used in this document, the words "may", "will", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend" and words of similar import, are intended to identify any forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals, future plans and statements regarding the use of proceeds from the private placement. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information described in detail in the DiaMedica's filings with the Canadian securities regulators, all of which are available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. DiaMedica undertakes no obligation, and does not intend, to update, revise or otherwise publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events, unless required by law. Although management believes that expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, no assurance can be given that these expectations will materialize. 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 contents of this press release. Contacts: DiaMedica Inc. Rick Pauls President & CEO 763-270-0603 info@diamedica.com AIX-EN-PROVENCE, FRANCE -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- SuperSonic Imagine (EURONEXT PARIS: SSI) (FR0010526814), the highly innovative ultrasound company, announced today its participation in the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) March 2 - 6, in Vienna, Austria, to demonstrate the clinical benefits of real-time ShearWave Elastography (SWE) in assessing major diseases such as chronic liver disease and cancer of the breast, prostate and thyroid as well as in the domain of musculoskeletal imaging. The Company is also featuring two new innovations during the Congress, which they will be demonstrating on the show floor (booth #4 in Exhibit Hall A). SuperSonic Imagine will showcase its new solution for microvascular visualization, Angio PL.U.S. -- Planewave UltraSensitive imaging. Angio PL.U.S. is a significant advancement in Color Doppler Imaging. Conventional Doppler is limited in its ability to show microvascular slow flow. Angio PL.U.S. provides a new level of microvascular imaging through significantly improved color sensitivity and spatial resolution while maintaining exceptional 2D imaging. It increases the detail of real-time flow information available during ultrasound diagnostic exams. This information is instrumental in helping the diagnosis of cancerous tissues in areas such as the liver, lymph nodes and thyroid as well as musculoskeletal pathologies such as inflammation in tendons. Angio PL.U.S. leverages SuperSonic Imagine's previous innovation, UltraFast Doppler, providing an advanced solution for vascular evaluation. Also during ECR, SuperSonic Imagine will be highlighting the clinical benefits a new SuperEndocavity Volumetric transducer, the unique endo transducer on the market that enables 2D AND 3D imaging for B-Mode, Color modes and SWE. This information is very useful in the diagnosis and monitoring of prostate cancer as well as for gynecologic and obstetrics applications. Both of these latest innovations can be found as part of SuperSonic Imagine's platform Aixplorer, the only ultrasound system available that provides SWE in real-time. SWE is a quick, non-invasive exam that provides color coded maps and quantitative measurement of tissue stiffness. This information is used by physicians to help identify potentially malignant or other diseased tissue. As of today, over 300 peer-reviewed articles have demonstrated the clinical benefits of SWE in a wide range of clinical applications. "Clinicians are eager for imaging advances and new tools to help identify and diagnose suspicious lesions while avoiding unnecessary imaging or biopsies," said Jacques Souquet, SuperSonic Imagine's Chief Innovation Officer and Founder. "Angio PL.U.S. and our new 3D endo transducer combined with our existing innovations, SWE and UltraFast Doppler, represent significant advancements to the arsenal of non-invasive diagnostic tools for cancer or other major diseases." "From my experience, the new 3D endocavity transducer brings significant improvement to prostate imaging with ultrasound and could provide a true alternative to multi-parametric MRI imaging currently used for prostate cancer," said Pr. Jean-Michel Correas, Vice Chairman of the Adult Radiology Department at Necker University Hospital, Paris, France. "With 3D ShearWave Elastography, for the first time, we are able to clearly identify and target suspicious regions of the prostate with an ultrasound based technique." During the ECR (March 2, 12:30 - 1:30pm, Room N), SSI will host a symposium "UltraFast Imaging: A New Paradigm for Ultrasound Diagnosis - How innovations derived from UltraFast Imaging are improving diagnosis and patient management across diseases." Participants will include Dr. Maja Thiele, Prof. FKW. Schafer, Prof. JM. Correas, and Mr. Mickael Tanter. For additional information or to register can be found HERE. Additional information about ECR can be found here. The Company will be exhibiting at booth #4 in Exhibit Hall A and will be hosting live demonstrations at the booth throughout the meeting. About SuperSonic Imagine Founded in 2005 and based in Aix-en-Provence (France), SuperSonic Imagine is a company specializing in medical imaging. The company designs, develops and markets a revolutionary ultrasound system, Aixplorer, with an UltraFast platform that can acquire images 200 times faster than conventional ultrasound systems. Aixplorer is the only system that can image two types of waves: ultrasound waves ensure excellent image quality and shear waves, which allow physicians to visualize and analyze the stiffness of tissue in a real-time, reliable, reproducible and non-invasive manner. This innovation, ShearWave Elastography, significantly improves the detection and characterization of numerous pathologies in several applications including breast, thyroid, liver and prostate. SuperSonic Imagine has been granted regulatory clearances for the commercialization of Aixplorer in the main global markets. Over the past years, SuperSonic Imagine enjoyed the backing of several prestigious investors, among which Auriga Partners, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, Bpifrance, Omnes Capital and NBGI. For more information about SuperSonic Imagine, please go to www.supersonicimagine.com. SuperSonic Imagine Corporate Bernard Doorenbos Email Contact +33 6 15 66 64 68 SuperSonic Imagine Marketing & Communication Emmanuelle Vella Email Contact +33 4 86 79 03 27 NewCap Investor Relations - EU Pierre Laurent / Florent Alba Email Contact +33 1 44 71 98 55 Pascale Communication Media Relations - US Amy Phillips Email Contact +1 412 327 9499 EIZO today announced the Re/Vue Pro compact lossless encoding and streaming solution for mission-critical applications. Designed for air traffic control (ATC) system integrators and recording solution providers, the new device is equipped with a DisplayPort digital interface to support higher stream resolutions of up to 4K x 2K. The Re/Vue Pro supports both DVI and DisplayPort connectivity and offers lossless capture and streaming of resolutions of 4096 x 2160 at 60 Hz via DisplayPort and up to 2048 x 2160 at 60 Hz via DVI. Industry-leading compression ratios of 8,000:1 to 30,000:1 minimize required storage for large volume image data. Mission-critical redundancy is provided by dual Ethernet outputs and two external power supplies. Fully detailed APIs including playback decoding and streaming are provided together with full Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) interface details to support remote configuration and diagnostic monitoring of connected Re/Vue devices. David Hindon, ATC Business Development Manager for EIZO commented, "With Re/Vue Pro, ATC/ATM system integrators can confidently choose a lossless video streaming solution to deploy that will be ready for the future with both DVI and DisplayPort support and SDK/API and SNMP command set, providing backwards compatibility." Re/Vue Pro joins EIZO's line-up of screen capture, encoding and streaming technology to enable ATM/ATC system integrators to deploy industry-leading video, audio, and data recording systems. Re/Vue products are ideal for typical requirements of mission-critical recording in live ATC operational centers, training and simulation, and R&D applications. EIZO will be demonstrating the Re/Vue Pro at World ATM Congress 2016 in Madrid, Spain from March 8-10. Visit booth #349 to see the new product along with EIZO's full line of ATC visual display solutions. Data sheet for Re/Vue Pro http://www.eizoglobal.com/products/atc/re_vue_pro/index.html Media photo http://www.eizoglobal.com/press/releases/images/ReVue_Pro_press.jpg About EIZO EIZO (TSE:6737), which means image in Japanese, is a visual technology company that develops and manufactures high-end display solutions. EIZO integrates hardware and software technologies with consulting, web hosting, and other services to help customers in business, graphics, gaming, medicine, maritime, and other fields work more comfortably, efficiently, and creatively. Headquartered in Hakusan, Japan, EIZO has R&D and manufacturing facilities in Japan, China, Germany, and the US, and representation in more than 80 countries. All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. EIZO and Re/Vue are registered trademarks of EIZO Corporation. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160301006794/en/ Contacts: Media and sales contact: David Hindon Business Development Manager ATC Email: david.hindon@eizo.com Tel: +44 (0) 3330 117488 WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - In an apparent shot at Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., declared Tuesday there can be 'no evasion and no games' on the issue of white supremacist groups. Ryan argued the presidential campaign has recently turned into a conversation about white supremacist groups rather than a serious debate about the policies needed to restore the American idea. 'As you know, I try to stay out of the day-to-day ups and downs of the primary,' Ryan told reporters. 'But I've also said when I see something that runs counter to who we are as a party and as a country, I will speak up.' 'So today I want to be very clear about something: If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party, there can be no evasion and no games,' he added. 'They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry.' The remarks by Ryan come after Trump declined to disavow support from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke an in interview with CNN on Sunday. Trump later blamed a 'bad earpiece' for misunderstanding the question and claimed he previously disavowed Duke. Ryan asserted that the Republican Party does not prey on people's prejudices, noting that the GOP is the 'Party of Lincoln.' 'We believe all people are created equal in the eyes of God and our government,' Ryan said. 'This is fundamental, and if someone wants to be our nominee, they must understand this.' He added, 'It's time we get back to focusing on how-very specifically, how-we are going to get to solving the problems that American families are facing after seven years of Barack Obama.' House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also weighed in on Trump's refusal to disavow the KKK, which she called a breathtaking low-point for the country. Pelosi claimed Trump's 'radical agenda' does not reflect the values of the American people but is a perfect reflection of many House Republicans. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Technavio has announced the top five leading vendors in their recent global ground-based augmentation systems market 2016-2020 report. This research report also lists numerous prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period. Competitive vendor landscape The global ground-based augmentation systems (GBAS) market is highly competitive and vendors compete on the basis of cost, product quality, reliability, and aftermarket service. To survive and succeed in such an intensely competitive environment, it is crucial for vendors to provide cost-effective and high-quality landing systems with latest technology and materials. "Government organizations like ICAO, IATA, FAA, EASA, and CASA, and the EU, certify and encourage the use of GBAS landing systems. These systems enhance flight safety as well as improving the landing and navigation of aircraft. "Therefore, vendors invest in creating new, cost-efficient and effective GBAS for use by the airports, globally," says Abhay Singh, lead research analyst at Technavio for aerospace components Request sample report: http://goo.gl/oRSDTI Honeywell Honeywell was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, US. Honeywell provides aerospace products and services; electronic and advanced materials; and energy-efficient products and solutions for homes, business, and transportation industries globally. The company offers SmartPath, which is a GBAS, used for ensuring precision landing solution for aircraft. SmartPath provides digital navigation data to the aircraft and terminal operators and helps them in reducing delays in landings, as well as air traffic noise. This system is certified with CAT I precision approaches. In 2009, they launched two ground proximity warning systems, SmartRunway and SmartLanding solutions, for global airport operators. Honeywell has installed over 2,300 SmartRunway and SmartLanding solutions in various airports across the globe. Indra Navia Indra Navia was founded in 2012, after the acquisition of Park Air Systems by Spain-based consulting and technology solutions provider Indra Sistemas. The company is headquartered in Oslo, Norway and was formerly owned by aerospace and defense technology provider Northrop Grumman. The company engages in the design, development, and integration of airport communication, navigation, and surveillance systems for global airport operators and aviation companies. Since its inception, the company has provided its solutions to over 1,200 airports across the world. In May 2015, Indra Navia entered into a strategic partnership with UK-based provider of air traffic control services NATS. The two companies have collaborated on a development program, which is focused on the capability enhancement of existing GBAS technology. NEC NEC was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company, along with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets computers, electronic devices, navigation and telecommunication equipment, and software across the globe. NEC provides ground-based navigation systems that are designed to provide a seamless navigational aid to the operators for safe landing of aircraft. This GBAS is designed to operate in all weather conditions for precision approach and landing of aircraft. The company's GBASs are composed of GBAS reference stations, VHF data broadcast antennas, GBAS processors, and GBAS VHF data broadcast equipment. Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, US. The company provides systems, products, and solutions focusing on aerospace, electronics, information systems, and technical services for government and commercial customers across the globe. Northrop Grumman provides navigation and positioning systems that enable airport operators and pilots to acquire information about location and direction while landing. The company through its European subsidiary, Park Air Systems, provides communication, surveillance, navigation, and solutions for airspace operations globally. It also engages in the design and installation of ground-based systems that are used in ATC and air defense applications globally. Thales Thales was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Paris, France. The company provides solutions primarily to the aerospace and defense industries globally. Thales, along with its diversified portfolio of navigation and aircraft control systems, provides a satellite based augmentation system (SBAS) solution that helps airport operators and pilots in aircraft landing with the support of wide-area or regional augmentation by using additional satellite-broadcast messages. Browse related reports: Global Commercial Aircraft Seat Actuation Market 2016-2020 Global Automotive Sensors Market 2016-2020 Commercial Aircraft Autopilot System 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/20160301005220/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 630 333 9501 UK: +44 208 123 1770 www.technavio.com BELGRADE, Serbia, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Calling on the nation to unite behind his party "to complete the transformation of Serbia into a modern economy with European living standards," Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic today set early Parliamentary elections for April 24. Mr. Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) was elected in 2014. In his announcement today he said over the past two years Serbia had turned its back on "the disastrous old ways we inherited" of populism and chauvinism and now needed to move forward. "For that we need another full term to continue the reforms and complete the transformation of Serbia into a modern economy, with European living standards, which can offer a decent place for raising children," he said. In a nationally televised announcement on the RTS network, Mr. Vucic said: "I will tell you what I want to achieve in the next four years - I want our education and health system to reach a modern European level. I want every person in Serbia to have decent job so we can eradicate poverty and offer families a higher living standard. We have to continue our fight against corruption and establish our country with one rule of law for all. "These are all very big challenges. They are not easy but if we all stay united together we can deliver on that. For that we need another full term to continue the reforms and complete the transformation of Serbia into a modern economy, with European living standards, which can offer a decent place for raising children." In the last election, on April 27, 2014, the SNS party won 158 of the parliament's 250 seats. In that campaign, the SNS promised to stabilize the nation and begin to rebuild. Since then, there has been considerable progress. The country officially exited the recession and recorded 0.8% growth for 2015, expected to continue towards double-digit numbers in 2016 and 2017. Central government deficit for this year will remain below the 3% Maastricht rule and the acceleration of the growth in public debt has been stemmed, intended to start declining in 2017. The official unemployment rate of 3Q 2015 stood at 16.7%, coming down from 20.9% in 2Q 2014. The Government Statistics Office indicates that in 2015 alone, 80,000 new jobs were created. Despite the cuts in public sector salaries, overall the country's wages remained stable, pointing to a healthy increase in private sector salaries in 2015. The Government attracted EUR1.7B of foreign direct investment in 2015 thanks to increased credibility among investors. Government investment increased, resulting mainly in completing overdue infrastructure works around the country - 300 km of newly paved or reconstructed highways and new bridges. Only recently the World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" index indicated that Serbia has made a significant jump in two years from 91st to 59th place. "The hard work is starting to pay off and there is room for optimism," Mr. Vucic said. "2016 will be better for citizens, and 2017 even better, with dynamic growth as a result of the reforms and of even more in foreign investment. We will deliver on a four-year plan to bring Serbia to European standards of living: a decent job, a modern health system, good education, and one rule of law for all. This year-by-year plan will give young people and young families stability and hope to build their future in Serbia." About the Serbian Progressive Party Founded in 2008 by a breakaway group from the Serbian Radical Party, the SNS aimed to draw a line under the country's challenging post-war legacy in order to pursue Serbia's ambitious plans towards membership of the European Union. As party leader, Aleksandar Vucic has made strong progress on modernizing the Serbian economy by positioning the country as a key investment hub in the region. Serbia has emerged as an attractive business destination due to a number of government led policies and initiatives. Building on the strength of its partnerships with its neighbours, Serbia under Mr. Vucic's leadership aims to see EU entry by 2020 and position itself as a key political and economic player in Europe. Further information:Aleksandar Belevski - belevski.aleksandar@gmail.com or +381-63-8262241 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2016) - Data Deposit Box Inc. (the "Company") (CSE: DDB) (OTCQB: DDBXF) (FSE: 2DD), a global provider of cloud backup and recovery technology, is pleased to announce a regional distribution engagement with Singapore-based TechServe Pte. Ltd. ("TechServe"). With this engagement, TechServe Pte. Ltd becomes the Company's dedicated regional distributor of its new Smart Storage product line. This agreement will provide the Company with a direct local presence in the Aisa-Pacific region ("AsiaPac"), providing TechServe with exclusive distribution rights. Customers and existing partners of the Company based in AsiaPac are now able to order the Smart Storage products and all orders will be processed locally, ensuring a faster time to market while enabling a local support infrastructure. Partners are now able to order all versions of the Company's new Smart Storage solution to evaluate or resell to clients knowing that the assembly, shipping and delivery will come from within the local AsiaPac region. The Smart Storage product solution is the first of its kind to offer a patented continuous cloud backup and agentless cloud backup solution within a 4-bay hard drive system with additional cloud storage, offering the industry's most cost-effective business continuity solution for small to medium sized businesses globally ("SMB"). "We are incredibly excited to begin selling and shipping the Smart Storage product to our partners in the AsiaPac region. One of the most important aspects of any hardware product and technical ecosystem is to have a trusted and technically strong distributor within each region. We are pleased to have TechServe Pte. Ltd as a partner and distributor for the Singapore and AsiaPac region. This is an essential step in the success of our Smart Storage offering. The Smart Storage solution offers a very attractive pricing model that allows the reseller and partner to generate margin on the initial purchase and on a monthly recurring basis" said Tim Jewell, the Company's CEO. "With the product offering and target pricing, we are very excited to become the exclusive distributor for the Data Deposit Box Smart Storage product within our region. We feel the pricing and technology will have a good market within our existing customer base in Singapore and AsiaPac. We chose to partner with Data Deposit Box because together we can offer the most advanced cloud backup technology for the SMB. It will blend perfectly with our existing cloud services" says Farhad Mohamed, CEO of TechServe. Data Deposit Box's "Smart Storage" local storage device is a 4-bay storage system that is designed to provide a local and cloud based business continuity solution at an SMB price. The hardware is designed with redundant "NAS quality" hard drives that provide maximum storage capacity and system uptime. Cloud storage is coupled with the hardware product to provide a low cost offsite recovery point. This offers a one-time revenue gain from the device while creating a reoccurring monthly revenue stream from the bundled cloud storage. "The global SMB market is largely unserved with this type of product and service at the price offered by Data Deposit Box. Having direct access to two major regions will make the device available to over 40MM small and medium businesses. We continue to move on our Managed Services Provider and End Device strategy and launching the DDB200 is the beginning of the execution of our strategy" said Troy Cheeseman, the Company's President & COO. About TechServe Pte. Ltd TechServe is a Singapore-based company that has a long-standing reputation for achieving excellence, and bringing forth dedication towards building relationships with business partners. Furthermore, TechServe is committed to forging a long-term and trusting relationship with customers, not only on its suite of cloud services, online business solutions, business analytics, infrastructure, security, focused solutions group and service response solutions, but also on its expertise and reliability. TechServe has provided IT and technological solutions to its customers, supporting them in achieving their short and long-term objectives. Its customer-oriented approach has assisted many organisations in navigating an ever-increasing array of technological choices. This approach consists of analysis of day-to-day challenges, designing a secured collaborative network, implementation, free cloud assessment and supporting best practices to ensure that customers' needs are accurately identified and serviced professionally to achieve their business efficiency and productivity. About Data Deposit Box Data Deposit Box, a pioneer of cloud backup and recovery technology, has set a new industry standard by providing the SMB market with the same level of security and protection that is available to large enterprises. Data Deposit Box patented backup technology, known for its Exabyte scalability, advanced data reduction capabilities and ease-of-use, has won prestigious industry awards and has been featured in many key industry publications. Data Deposit Box technologies and solutions are currently used daily by over 200,000 customers, 1,000 resellers, 25 MSPs and private label partners for online backup and recovery, archiving, disaster readiness, secure file sharing and remote access. Investor Inquiries W. Clark Kent Corporate Development Telephone: 647-519-2646 Email: ckent@currentmca.com This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release. Bullying, peer pressure, youth violence and delinquency are just a few of the realities faced by our inner city children daily. Our kids severely lack leadership opportunities, and in turn they risk becoming targets of negative influences. How can we help close the opportunity gap and give our kids the chance to shine as leaders? On Thursday, March 3rd, 7 pm, over 130 kids from 14 Etobicoke schools will showcase their inner leader as they share music, dance and drama presentations on stage at North Albion Collegiate Institute (NACI). Please join the community in celebrating the accomplishments of the children. They are finding the confidence they need to define their own paths to success, and to combat the many challenges along the way. Special guests will include MP Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science; Deputy Mayor Vincent Crisanti; and TDSB Systems Superintendent for School Effectiveness, Annie Appleby. DAREarts is helping the community combat the severe issues of gang violence, bullying, and poverty facing the kids in the Rexdale area. Children who are at risk of not reaching their full potential are becoming young leaders who will ignite change in their lives and in their community. Fourteen Northwest Etobicoke schools selected two students each from grades 4 to 8 who need life skills opportunities. These children are challenged by circumstances such as economic, academic, peer pressure or bullying. But at DAREarts, they are equals who see a wider world of opportunities. DAREarts uses the arts as a tool to empower kids with the courage and confidence to be their best. They are dared to opt out of destructive behaviour and expectations of failure. They are given a safe space where all of their new peers are in the same situation; labels cannot follow them from school and they are given the chance to redefine themselves in a positive environment. DAREarts Lead Teacher, Laura MacKinnon, has taken these children to arts venues across Toronto to expand their horizons including: the AGO, the Aga Khan Museum, Ballet Jorgen, the Canadian Opera Company, the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, and the Toronto School of Art. She was joined by accomplished Canadian artists including: Juno-nominated songwriter, Glenn Marais; Dora-winning actor, Jamie Robinson; co-artistic director of Opera Atelier, Jeannette Zingg; founder & artistic director of Kashedance, Kevin Ormsby; and the first conductor of the Toronto Symphony, Victor Feldbrill. The children are tasked with the job of going back to their schools after each DAREarts Day to peer teach their classmates, sharing knowledge and experience. Participating schools include Albion Heights JMS, Beaumonde Heights JMS, The Boys Leadership Academy, Broadacres JS, Claireville JS, Cookstown Central PS, Elmbank JMA, The Elms JMS, Melody Village JS, Rivercrest JS, Smithfield MS, West Humber JMS, and Westmount JS. Kids say of DAREarts: "Thank you for helping me with hard situations." - Gr. 6 student. "At school people make like you have a reputation, and so you have to act the same. DAREarts helps people remember to be unique." - Gr. 6 student Parents say of DAREarts, "I enjoyed knowing my daughter was learning and building leadership skills. She was having a hard time with the kids at school but it seems the problems have subsided!" Backgrounder: DAREarts is a Canadian charity that stands for Discipline, Action, Responsibility and Excellence in Education. DAREarts Toronto program works with 9-14 year olds from schools in high-priority neighbourhoods, empowering them to become leaders. Visit www.darearts.com. DAREarts thanks its lead supporters: Northbridge Insurance, Scotiabank, Guy Carpenter, and the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario. To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20160301-1045204_photo_800.jpg Contacts: Marilyn Field Founder & President o. 905-729-0097 m. 416-616-2821 mfield@darearts.com Brenda Norton Director of Operations o. 905-729-0097 m. 905-967-2149 bnorton@darearts.com CHICAGO, IL and SEATTLE, WA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- JLL (NYSE: JLL) has expanded its real estate leasing services with the acquisition of Washington Partners Inc., one of the leading tenant representation firms in Seattle. The acquisition is consistent with JLL's disciplined growth strategy and immediately expands the firm's tenant representation and brokerage capabilities across the region. "Washington Partners is one of the top-ranked real estate service providers with some of the best tenant representation professionals in the market and we're delighted to combine our two firms in this way. The combination of Washington Partners' tenant representation expertise with our own expands our presence in the Greater Puget Sound market and further enhances our services to our clients," said JLL Market Director Joe Smurdon. A total of 15 professionals, including 11 brokers, will join JLL's 58 employee-strong team in Seattle and work closely with Smurdon. They include Ed Curtis, Doug Hanafin, Pat Pendergast and Clay Nielsen, who co-founded Pike in 1997, as well as partners Larry Almeleh, Mark To, Mark Fox and Adam Chapman. Also joining are Blair Stern, Kevin Harris and Darrick Thompson. The changing needs of Seattle's tenants require a broader perspective and this move will enable the Seattle-based Washington Partners to deliver more comprehensive services to corporate clients across the Pacific Northwest. "Joining JLL gives us the opportunity to plug into national and global trends and provide our clients with a broader perspective," said Curtis. "With the deep resources and expertise of JLL, we will be able to serve our clients' space needs anywhere in this country and around the world." Hanafin mentioned that the entire Washington Partners group is honored to join one of the finest real estate services firms in the world. "Our people will be immersed in a rich, diverse culture that will allow each individual to best support our clients with a more comprehensive service delivery model." Across the Puget Sound region, JLL provides a broad platform of specialized real estate services including landlord and tenant representation, capital markets, project and development services, corporate solutions and property management. It serves all of the main commercial real estate sectors including office, retail, industrial, hospitality and multifamily markets as well as specialized segments such as data centers, healthcare and life science facilities. For more news, videos and research resources on JLL, please visit the firm's U.S. media center Web page: http://bit.ly/18P2tkv About JLL JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a professional services and investment management firm offering specialized real estate services to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying and investing in real estate. A Fortune 500 company with annual fee revenue of $5.2 billion and gross revenue of $6.0 billion, JLL has more than 230 corporate offices, operates in more than 80 countries and has a global workforce of more than 60,000. On behalf of its clients, the firm provides management and real estate outsourcing services for a property portfolio of 4.0 billion square feet, or 372 million square meters, and completed $138 billion in sales, acquisitions and finance transactions in 2015. Its investment management business, LaSalle Investment Management, has $56.4 billion of real estate assets under management. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit www.jll.com. Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2970762 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2970774 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2970779 Contact: Andrew Neilly Phone: +1 925 930 9848 Email: Andrew@gallen.com CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Shaw Communications Inc. ("Shaw") (TSX: SJR.B)(NYSE: SJR) today confirms that it has closed its previously announced acquisition of Mid-Bowline Group Corp. ("Mid-Bowline") and its wholly-owned subsidiary, WIND Mobile Corp., for an enterprise value of approximately $1.6 billion. Chief Executive Officer, Brad Shaw said, "We know Canadians want options when it comes to their wireless provider and, in time, customers can expect to see integrated offerings that provide them with the best value for their dollar in quality of coverage and connectivity. We are excited about our growth prospects in mobile and welcome the WIND team of 1200 employees. With the transformative power of this transaction, Shaw will become a leading pure-play connectivity provider." WIND is Canada's largest non-incumbent wireless services provider, serving approximately 940,000 subscribers across Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta with 50MHz of spectrum in each of these regions. Shaw will continue to invest in the wireless network and service offering, including the upgrade of its network to 4G LTE. "With Shaw's long-term commitment, customer focus and breadth of product offering, we are better positioned to deliver better value and capability to WIND customers," said Alek Krstajic, Executive Vice President & President, WIND. "The strength of Shaw as a company and as a brand will provide Canadians with more choice and opportunities to stay connected." About Shaw Shaw is a leading pure-play connectivity provider focused on delivering superior consumer and business broadband communications over its wireline, WiFi and wireless infrastructure. Shaw serves consumers with broadband Internet, WiFi, video and digital phone. Shaw Business Network Services provides business customers with Internet, data, WiFi, telephony, video and fleet tracking services. WIND provides wireless services in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Shaw Business Infrastructure Services provides enterprises colocation, cloud and managed services through ViaWest. Shaw Media provides Canadians with engaging programming content through one of Canada's largest conventional television networks and 19 specialty networks. Shaw is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges and is included in the S&P/TSX 60 Index (Symbol: TSX - SJR.B, NYSE - SJR). For more information, please visit www.shaw.ca. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this news release relating to operational and growth plans constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements are based on assumptions made by Shaw that it believes are appropriate in the circumstances, including without limit, that: expected business and financial results for Shaw will be realized; the pricing environment for WIND is stable relative to current rates; there is no significant market disruption or other significant changes in economic conditions, competition or regulation; the upgrade to 4G LTE, other growth plans and the converged network solution can be executed in a timely and cost effective manner to yield the results expected for Shaw; and WIND will provide expected benefits to the Shaw and the service offering for its customers. There is the risk that one or more of these assumptions will not prove to be accurate and this may affect the business, operational and financial results for Shaw. Undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statement. Except as required by law, Shaw disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement. Contacts: Investor Inquires: Shaw Communications Inc. Investor Relations investor.relations@sjrb.ca www.shaw.ca Media Inquires: Shaw Communications Inc. Chethan Lakshman VP External Affairs (403) 930-8448 chethan.lakshman@sjrb.ca TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/01/16 -- Miles Technology Inc. ("Miles") is pleased to announce that, effective March 1, 2016, Miles, APTN Property Development Corp. ("APTN"), and 2497302 Ontario Inc. ("Miles Subco"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Miles, have completed a three-cornered amalgamation transaction (the "Transaction") under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario), whereby shareholders of APTN were issued shares of Miles, and Miles Subco and APTN amalgamated to form a new entity named "APTN Property Development Corp." ("Amalco"), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Miles, all in accordance with an amalgamation agreement (the "Amalgamation Agreement") dated as of February 29, 2016 among Miles, APTN, and Miles Subco. Pursuant to the terms of the Amalgamation Agreement, each shareholder of APTN received one (1) common share of Miles (a "Miles Share") issued from treasury for every one (1) common share of APTN held by such shareholder. Immediately prior to the Transaction becoming effective, APTN had outstanding 1,700,200 common shares, and no convertible or other securities outstanding. After completion of the Transaction an aggregate of 2,795,200 Miles Shares are now issued and outstanding with former shareholders of APTN holding 1,700,200 Miles Shares, representing approximately 60.8% of the outstanding Miles Shares, and the original shareholders of Miles holding 1,095,000 Miles Shares, representing approximately 39.2% of the outstanding Miles Shares. In addition AireSurf Networks Holdings Inc., a shareholder of Miles holding 1,010,000 Miles Shares has agreed to sell an aggregate of 750,000 Miles Shares, including an aggregate of 725,000 to be held directly or indirectly, or over which control or direction is to be held, by existing shareholders of APTN. The board of directors of each of the companies approved the Transaction and the Transaction was also approved by the shareholders of each of APTN and Miles Subco. Miles Management Each of the four (4) directors of Miles and each of its officers has resigned, and the following three (3) nominees of APTN have been appointed to the board and to the following management positions: Paolo Abate, President - Chief Executive Officer and Director Nick Tsimidis - Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Director Vince Abate - Director Early Warning Requirement Pursuant to the Transaction, Paolo Abate (address c/o APTN Property Development Corp., 1-71 Marycroft Avenue Vaughan, Ontario, L4L 5Y6) the new Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company, has acquired a combination of registered ownership and control or direction over an aggregate 850,100 Miles Shares, and also has the right to acquire control or direction over an additional 375,000 Miles Shares, representing approximately 43.8% in the aggregate of the outstanding Miles Shares. Nick Tsimidis (address c/o APTN Property Development Corp., 1-71 Marycroft Avenue Vaughan, Ontario, L4L 5Y6), the new Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and a director of the Company, has become the registered holder of 850,100 Miles Shares, and also has the right to acquire indirect ownership over an additional 350,000 Miles Shares, representing approximately 42.9% in the aggregate of the outstanding Miles Shares. For the purposes of National Instrument 62-103 early warning reporting, the Miles Shares were acquired as a result of the Transaction and the Miles Shares are held for investment purposes and the holder may, from time to time, acquire additional securities of the Company or dispose of such securities as it may deem appropriate. A copy of the applicable early warning reports can be obtained under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. About APTN Property Development Corp. Amalco is a holding company amalgamated under the laws of the Province of Ontario. It is currently reviewing various venture opportunities for possible investment and or acquisition. Shares Outstanding: 2,795,200 This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing Miles and its business and affairs, readers should refer to Miles's Management's Discussion and Analysis. Miles undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Contacts: Miles Technologies Inc. Nick Tsimidis CFO & Secretary Telephone: 289.371.3080 Email: ntsimidis@nstprofessionalcorp.com San Francisco, CA-based refinancing company SoFi announced that Anshu Jain, former co-CEO of Deutsche Bank, has become an advisor to the firm. Jain, who joined Deutsche Bank in 1995, is also expected to join SoFi as a board member in the coming months. Led by Mike Cagney, co-founder and CEO, SoFi provides mortgages, personal loans and student loan refinancing having funded more than $7 billion to date. In Autumn 2015, the company added SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt as a board advisor and announced a $1 billion funding round led by SoftBank and existing investors. FinSMEs 29/02/2016 Cycle GmbH, a Hamburg, Germany-based developer of synchronization systems based on fiber-optic technology and ultra-short pulsed lasers, closed a seed financing round of undisclosed amount. Backers included High-Tech Grunderfonds (HTGF), business angel Tim Bode and the Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg (IFH). Founded in Spring 2015 by Dr Damian Barre and Prof. Franz Kartner, Cycle has developed a synchronization process that allows high-profile research facilities to shoot movies of molecules, which enables better understanding of active substances on a molecular level, and impacts development of new medication to cure (until now) incurable diseases. The company was founded as a spin-off from the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron one of the worlds leading center for photon and molecular science, accelerator technology, and particle physics. The spin-off is supported by a Helmholtz Enterprise project of the Helmholtz Association as well as a InnoRampUp start-up project by the Hamburgische Investition- und Forderbank. FinSMEs 01/03/2016 hiQ Labs, a San Francisco and New York-based provider of a people analytics platform, raised a funding round of undisclosed amount. Tokyo-based Temp Holdings Co. Ltd., Japans largest human resources (HR) company, made the investment via its Temp Innovation Fund, a corporate venture capital fund. The investment will enable hiQ Labs to expand sales and marketing, as well as drive further product innovation. Founded in 2013, hiQ Labs provides SaaS-based solutions that apply predictive analytics to the enterprise workforce, enabling companies to leverage internal and external data to improve employee retention. Led by Darren Kaplan, CEO and co-founder, the company applies data science and machine learning to internal and external data to allow HR teams to make people decisions. FinSMEs 01/03/2016 Pets Deli, a Berlin, Germany-based company for fresh and natural pet food, raised an eight-figure Series A financing round. Backers included Global Founders Capital (GFC) and existing investors Index Ventures and Project A Ventures. The company intends to use the funds to expand its multi-channel approach. Founded in January 2014 by David Spanier and David Reinecke, Pets Deli is a multichannel pet food brand, which delivers human grade quality basic food, snacks, supplements, dried meat, etc., to owners in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria. The company, which runs two physical branches in Berlin, produces the majority of its products in-house. All products are free of animal by-products, slaughter waste, and artificial additives and preservatives. FinSMEs 01/03/2016 Redline Assured Security Ltd, a Doncaster, UK-based provider of security training, quality assurance and consulting services, primarily to the aviation sector, raised 3.7m in funding. Mobeus Equity Partners made the investment. The company will use the funds to accelerate the roll out of its products and services into Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Founded by Paul Mason and Jim Termini, Redline provides security training and support services to the regulated aviation industry, but our products and services are now applied in high value and high threat environments. With 80 staff and 200 associates, the company offers training and covert quality assurance services to a large number of customers, including the majority of UK airports. FinSMEs 01/03/2016 Stackla, a Sidney, Australia-based social aggregation and curation platform for brands, publishers and events, closed an AU$6.1M Series A round of funding. The round was led by Bailador Technology Investments with participation from existing investors Rampersand and Tony Faure. The company intends to use the funds to grow operations globally, particularly across US, EMEA, and Singapore, to invest in the product, and increase marketing efforts. Co-founded in 2012 by Damien Mahoney and Peter Cassidy, Stackla provides brands, publishers and events with a platform to curate and publish the best content from across the social web, powering experiences for live events, social commerce, social advertising, competitions, and data visualizations. The company currently has more than 40 employees in Sydney, London, San Francisco and New York and more than 500 customers. FinSMEs 01/03/2016 TD4 Brands, the Manchester, UK-based parent company of Boost Juice Bars and The Shake Lab, raised approx. 3.5m in equity funding. Business Growth Fund made the additional investment. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the roll-out of its national retail chains and open up to eight stores this year. Co-founded by Richard and Dawn OSullivan in 2007, TD4 Brands is on course to achieve sales in excess of 13m this year, up from 5m in 2013 when BGF first invested in the business (read here). Since 2013, the company has increased the number of bars from 10 to 32, opening up seven new sites in the 2015 alone, including in Cambridge, Reading, Southampton, Sheffield, Manchester and London. As part of its growth, TD4 Brands introduced its milkshake concept, The Shake Lab to Manchesters Trafford Centre in December 2015, with Londons White City and six other schemes targeted for 2016s roll-out. TD4 Brand, which currently employs nearly 400 people, independently owns and operates all stores in the UK and Ireland and has a franchise network of more than 400 stores worldwide. FinSMEs 01/03/2016 New Delhi: Last year, while replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Presidents address in Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme, a UPA legacy, was a living monument of poverty in the country. Since then, the Modi government has obviously done some re-think on the efficacy of this scheme since no one now refers to the scheme and poverty in the same breath. In fact, with the Budget Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented on Monday entirely focused on reviving the rural economy though, it is no surprise that MNREGA is now the cynosure of all eyes. The allocation for MNREGA was the "highest ever" according to the FM at Rs 38,500 crore for 2016-17. This year the amount stood at Rs 36,967 crore. MNREGA guarantees 100 days of employment to a household or an unemployment allowance within 15 days of an applicant seeking a job under it. Enhanced allocation in the Budget for this scheme is a welcome move but even more money may yet be needed under this scheme as the Mahendra Dev Committee has recommended that wages under MNREGA be linked to CPI (Rural) against the CPIL (Agricultural Labour or AL) index wages are linked to as of now. In 2015, the average wage of a beneficiary was just Rs 150. This, Rural Develpoment Minister Birender Singh said on Tuesday, could mean additional burden of Rs 2,000 crore. "We have accepted the recommendations of the Mahendra Dev Committee and have written to the Finance Ministry, seeking the Rs 2,000 crore needed for this." Earlier this year, MNREGA completed a decade of offering employment guarantee to the rural poor, with mixed results. Enhanced allocation for next fiscal could mean the scheme may get more people employment or an unemployment allowance (which the states are mandated to offer if no work is provided within 15 days of request). But a glance at the parameters so far, even under the NDA government, does not paint a pretty picture of this scheme. The 21 months of this government have shown improvement in some parameters under the MNREGA compared to the last two-three years of the UPA regime but even now, the scheme needs far better focus. And yes, it could do with more funds than allocated for even 2016-17. According to the latest data from the ministry of rural development: 1) Only 6.35% households or 27.17 lakh households have completed 100 days of employment as of February 25. Though the ministry says another 38.58 lakh households are expected to reach the 100-day employment completion benckmark by 31 March, this obviously leaves a lot to be desired as far as offering employment to the needy is concerned. During 2014-15, only 24.92 or less than 6.35% households had completed 100 days of employment. Will increased Budgetary allocation for MNREGA in FY17 help more households find jobs? 2) Delayed wage payments is one of the biggest problems under MNREGA. Even when employment is offered under the scheme, delayed payments don't help the intended beneficiary in any way. According to the ministry's own statistics, 45% of payments under MNREGA have been made in the stipulated time period against just 28% in 2014-15. This is an improvement for sure but look at it this way: more than half the payments are still delayed. The ministry has already introduced the facility of electronic transfer of payments in Kerala from January to ease this payments delay and 10 more states are to be brought into this scheme through 2016-17. It remains to be seen whether these efforts are enough to cut wage delays substantially. 3) Let's now look at total expenditure under the scheme. In 2012-13, the penultimate UPA year, Rs 39,778 crore was spent under MNREGA and this fell to Rs 38,553 crore in 2013-14. In the first year of the NDA too, the expenditure on this scheme declined further to Rs 36,024 crore. But now, ministry officials say Rs 47,000 crore is the estimated expenditure for the current fiscal, of which Rs 43,000 crore has been spent till February 25. This includes the share of states' expenditure too under MNREGA. 4) This brings us to another issue plaguing this programme. Each year, back payments or payments of arrears under MNREGA have been criticised by social activists who say this propensity then leads to under-funding and delays in release of payments to states. According to ministry officials, pending liability this fiscal (which will be carried over to 2016-17) is estimated at Rs 6,500 crore, a tad lower than the Rs 6,955 crore carried forward this fiscal from 2014-15. A senior ministry official said already nine states are offering not 100 but 150 days of work under MNREGA and these are mostly drought affected states. She also said there has been a substantial increase in the number of person days generated under MNREGA this fiscal, refuting a charge that employment under this scheme is shrinking. As we have said earlier, the Centre has done well to hike the allocation under MNREGA for 2016-17 but now, it must ensure much better implementation of this scheme than the last years of the UPA and its own 21 month regime. New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys federal Budget for the fiscal year 2016-17, has done well in propelling investment in the right places and maintaining the guidance on the fiscal deficit. The Budget displays a strong Narendra Modi touch but wherever the PMs hand is missing, it is much of the same, with incremental tinkering rather than making bold departures from the UPA budgetary template. Many of the finance ministrys tax proposals betray an entrenched mindset steeped in an unsavoury and complex cocktail of communist and socialist philosophies. This reflects in how tax proposals are collected. Markets would have appreciated a single tax, even at a higher rate, rather than sneaking in multiple small taxes to mask the real tax burden. For example, Service Tax at 15% versus a slab of 14% + 0.5% + 0.5% is about collecting the same tax, but with maximum distress (because the rules for all the three 14%, 0.5% and the next 0.5% are different). This is a continuation of the UPAs policies, where P. Chidambaram, former Finance Minister, mastered the concept of multiple cesses and levies and cess on cess - or basically, taxing the same thing again and again and again. The tax proposals additionally lack the principle of equity and fairness. A capitalist, market-oriented nation rewards meritocracy and hard work, incentivising people to get rich. These budget proposals do just the opposite. Some glaring examples: 1) Another VDIS The Black Money Act failed to curb black money, by failing to bring politicians and political parties under the tax net. Yet, it is incentivizing the corrupt once again by bringing in another amnesty scheme. The VDIS disincentives people who work hard and pay their taxes while encouraging people to evade taxes. Though the government has not explained the need for another VDIS, it is being viewed as a tacit acceptance of defeat. 2) Abolition of STT - The first hint that the government is toying with the idea of removing exemptions given to dividends in the hands of shareholders and Long Term Capital Gains Tax (LTCG) where STT is already paid, came from Mr. Modi in a public speech in February. This got a universal thumbs down from the market and the stock market sold till the budget day. It should be remembered that a new Securities Transaction Tax (STT) was introduced by P. Chidambaram, former finance minister, on all stock market transactions to cover FIIs who do not pay capital gains due to Mauritius and similar treaties and the LTCG threshold on shares where STT is paid, was reduced to 1 year from 3 years as partial compensation to domestic shareholders. STT was a blow to the domestic stock market participants which lives in continuing hope that some government in future will remove this special tax on capital markets and bring normalcy. Since there was vociferous resistance to reducing the LTCG threshold without removing STT, the government has taken a half step by increasing STT on options and lowering the LTCG ceiling for unlisted shares and off market transaction of shares from 3 years to 2 years. However, this has fueled apprehensions that next year, the LTCG ceiling may be increased to 2 years on shares where STT is paid and STT may stay. The markets want the removal of STT for domestic participants and restoration of the earlier tax position but this tinkering of LTCG and STT is another example that the government wants to discourage capital markets, not deepen or broaden it so that it becomes a more effective source of capital mobilization and investment. At the same time, GIFT city in Gujarat is exempt from all such shenanigans. Why should citizens get second hand treatment ? 3) Dividend Tax - Dividends received above Rs 10 lakh from domestic companies (Section 115O) will now be taxed in the hands of shareholders. This is essentially a tax on promoters and large shareholders of firms and discourages entrepreneurship despite the governments stated objective of wanting to incentivise startups. It would have been simpler and more equitable to abolish the Dividend Distribution Tax and let dividends be taxed as any other income, but the government has chosen to retain it. The interpretation of this move by the market is that the government believes paying of dividends is not desirable. It is also feared that the move could be disguising a hidden, longer term agenda, like bringing down the Rs 10 lakh ceiling or sneaking in a cess on the 10% rate next year, in effect, taxing dividends at a rate higher than other sources of incomes. The Budget fails to explain the logic behind this tax or how it ties up with the principles of fair and equitable taxation. 4) Tax on EPF - Employer contributions to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) were tax exempt so far. This has been brought under the tax net above a certain limit going forward. Employee contributions to EPF were always taxable beyond the 80C exemption limit of Rs 1.5 lakh, which includes other investments like LIC, PPF, etc. Now withdrawals from EPF for contributions made from FY17 onwards will also be taxed with 40% deduction. This requires salaried employees to maintain separate records of such contributions and income. The headache apart, in a country where there is no social security, this is detrimental to the salaried class by reducing their retirement savings. The government should be asked to explain, through a position paper what its long term fiscal objectives are so that the common man can try to relate to its logic. 5) Exemptions to startups - These exemptions make good headlines. The Registrar of Companies has been directed to register a startup within a day but it may take months to first even get a startup status from the government. The government has announced other concessions pandering to foreign private equity investors while treating local entrepreneurs and businessmen who are not connected to such foreign and private investors unfairly. 6) The government has missed the bus on the most obvious source of saving on expenditure and raising tax revenue cutting the perquisites given to politicians and civil servants. This would have curbed wasted expenditure. Further, the valuation norms for perquisites given to civil servants and politicians is ridiculously low. In the interest of equity, can the finance ministry explain the rationale behind giving preferential treatment to this class of tax payers? 7) The Budget has also failed to tax rich farmers with agricultural income exceeding Rs 1 crore (or people with farm houses) to mobilise additional tax revenue, which would have signaled the fact that all sources of income are dealt with in an equitable manner. In summary, the government, now more than ever, considering Indias demographics, needs to incentivize people to work hard and get rich. Instead, this Budget reflects a jaded mindset that screeches: If you have enough money, you should not mind giving some more (politicians and the like exempted). In order to bring about parity in New Pension Scheme and other retirement schemes, the government while announcing the Union Budget on Monday, decided to impose tax at the time of withdrawal on 60 percent of the contributions made after 1 April, 2016, to EPF and other schemes. The proposal has come as an unexpected shocker for the salaried class. What the FM announced in Union Budget 2616: Finance Minister announced that EPF contributions made after 1 April 2016 will no longer be a part of EEE tax regime. As per the FM's speech: "In case of superannuation funds and recognized provident funds, including EPF, the same norm of 40% of corpus to be tax free will apply in respect of corpus created out of contributions made after 1.4.2016." As per the new proposal, withdrawal up to 40% of the corpus at the time of retirement (58 years) will be tax exempt. In English that means, the amount of money that you get when you exit will be taxed, but it's not as easy as it sounds. Firstly, whatever amount you have invest and the interest you earn till the age of 58 on that amount will continue to be tax free. But, any amount you invest after 1.04.16 the interest you earn on this amount will be taxed when you exit. So, going by the FMs proposal 40% of that corpus will be tax free, and out of the remaining 60% , only the accrued interest on the 60% contribution will be taxed, while the principal amount will remain tax exempt. What's the status now: Currently EPF falls under the EEE tax regime. Which means, the money you put (12% of salary) in the EFP account, and a matching contribution from your employer is tax free as per Section 80 C of the India Income Tax Act. Even the interest you earn is exempt from tax. And, finally when you turn 58 years old, you get your entire corpus (amount + interest earned) tax free. So, it's EEE or Exempt, Exempt, Exempt tax regimen. There is resistance and clarity is needed: Social media has already seen an outrage on this matter. And, those who aren't outraged are demanding further clarity. Jayant Sinha, MoS Finance, said on Twitter, We have noted concerns about changes in the tax treatment for EPF/PPF/NPS. Full clarification with FAQs will be issued shortly. In any case please recognize that we are only talking about prospective changes. Existing savings are not impacted in any way. What are the experts saying: Of course social media reactions are against the proposal, whose fine print is even out yet. Experts too are divided partially if not full on this matter. Pankaj Mathpal, Certified Financial Planner based out of Mumbai says, "It may seem like a bad move, but again it's too early to say anything until the fine print comes. My guess is while 40% withdrawal is tax free, the investor might have to buy annuity with remaining 60% amount." He isn't the only one who thinks the annuity is a possibility. Harsh Roongta, a Mumbai based Certified Financial Planner says, "I think the fine print may have a clause, where with the remaining 60% the investor will have to buy annuity on retirement. And, if that's the case, a rough estimate will show that around 70-80% of people will not be affected. And, those who don't want to buy into annuity, should pay the tax." The truth is that most of us are not prepared for retirement. Mathpal says, "When the EPF amount was available for withdrawal, many exhausted the corpus and were left with nothing for years to come. Bringing in an annuity would make sense." Watch the above video for more Harsh Roongta's elaborate views Suresh Sadagopan, Mumbai based CFP says, "But assuming you don't want to convert the 60% of the corpus on retirement into annuity, you will have to pay tax and to get your own money. If you need cash to say buy a house or put it in Fixed Deposit, the current proposal will defiantly hurt. This announcement regarding EPF in the budget seem like a retrograde move." What you should do: Seriously, what can you do? Common sense says wait for the fine print. Experts expect amendments will be made to the current announcements. If the current proposed EPF rules change there is a good possibility that NPS might turn out to be a better alternative, though it is not entirely a fixed return product. As of now, we suggest, keep tracking this space as we bring you more updates. NEW YORK A federal jury on Monday found two former New York stockbrokers liable for trading on confidential tips about an IBM Corp (IBM.N) acquisition, despite a major appeals court ruling that made insider trading cases harder to pursue. In a victory for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a federal jury in Manhattan found former Euro Pacific Capital Inc brokers Daryl Payton and Benjamin Durant liable for engaging in insider trading. The trial came after a 2014 appellate ruling limiting the scope of insider trading laws forced prosecutors to drop criminal charges against Payton, Durant and three others. The SEC continued to press civil charges over trades the two men placed before IBM announced its $1.2 billion acquisition of SPSS Inc in 2009. Payton, 39, and Durant, 40, conceded they traded on non-public information. But they argued that their trades did not constitute illegal insider trading, a position they adopted after the appellate ruling. Scott Morvillo, Durant's lawyer, said he was confident the verdict would be reversed on appeal. Payton's lawyers declined to comment. The trial came amid ongoing litigation over what constitutes insider trading, an issue the U.S. Supreme Court last month said it would review. The trial followed a December 2014 ruling by a federal appeals court in New York holding that traders could be held liable only if they knew a tip's source received a benefit of "some consequence," not just friendship, in exchange. After the ruling, which overturned two hedge fund managers' convictions, a federal judge threw out guilty pleas by Payton and three other men in the IBM case. While prosecutors then dropped the criminal case, the SEC, facing a lower burden of proof, elected to move forward. According to the SEC, in 2009, Michael Dallas, an attorney at IBM's law firm, told his friend Trent Martin that he was working on IBM's acquisition of SPSS. While Dallas expected Martin, a Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc analyst, not to tell anyone, Martin bought SPSS stock and told his roommate, Thomas Conradt, a Euro Pacific employee, the SEC said. Conradt then told four Euro Pacific colleagues, including Payton and Durant, who made $629,472 and $254,141, respectively, trading in SPSS before the deal's announcement, the SEC said. Payton and Durant countered that Martin received nothing that would constitute an illegal benefit for his information, nor did they know about any benefit if it existed. The case is Securities and Exchange Commission v. Payton et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-04644. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Chris Reese and Dan Grebler) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. New Delhi: Joining the debate, former Union Home Secretary R K Singh on Tuesday claimed that the affidavit on the controversial Ishrat Jahan case was changed due to political reasons. "The main question is who asked for a change and for what reason. Obviously politics was played," he told PTI. Singh's predecessor G K Pillai said ex-Home Minister P Chidambaram had changed the affidavit, which originally described Ishrat and her slain aides as LeT operatives. Singh, now BJP MP from Bihar, said what was the reason for the change of the affidavit when the Intelligence Bureau had said that Ishrat had links with Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists. "She knew about her accomplice Javed Sheikh, that Javed had links with terrorists. She went to two places with Javed. She knew what was she doing with Javed," he said. Pillai on Sunday claimed that as Home Minister during UPA government, Congress leader Chidambaram had recalled the file a month after the original affidavit, which described Ishrat and her slain aides as LeT operatives, was filed in Supreme Court. "Only after the affidavit was revised, as directed by the minister, did the file come to me," Pillai was quoted as saying by a media report. The then UPA government had submitted two affidavits - one that the four, who were killed in an alleged fake encounter, were terrorists and the second saying there was no conclusive evidence - within two months in 2009. Chidambaram on Monday said the second affidavit in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case was "absolutely correct" and as minister then "I accept the responsibility". Chidambaram also expressed disappointment over Pillai distancing himself from the affidavit issue despite being "equally responsible". Ishrat, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an encounter with Gujarat Police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004. The city crime branch had then said that those killed in the encounters were LeT terrorists and had landed in Gujarat to kill the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. PTI What is common between an amnesty-like scheme announced by governments for black money holders and a state-sponsored farm loan waiver for borrowers? The honest citizen, who till then paid his dues to the state, is made to feel dejected and fooled by the same Government in both casesthe taxpayer during the amnesty scheme and the bank loan borrower in the other. Finance minister, Arun Jaitley, in the Union Budget 2016, announced that a four month (June 1 to September 30, 2016) amnesty-like scheme will be given to domestic black money holders in India to disclose their illegal, unaccounted wealth by paying a total of 45 per cent tax. Jaitley hasnt called it an amnesty, but in principle, it is nothing but an amnesty offered to the outlaws. This is the second such scheme for domestic blackmoney holders announced by Indian government in recent times. The first was in 1997, during UPA, when P Chidambaram was Finance Minister (when the government collected Rs10,000 crore). Besides that, after the Narendra Modi-government came to power, it announced a 90-days amnesty-like window for foreign blackmoney holders charging them 60 per cent tax. A total of Rs 4,147 crore of undeclared wealth was declared and the government garnered Rs 2,500 crore from the whole exercise, a paltry sum considering the kind of blackmoney stashed abroad. The fate of this current exercise wouldnt be too different (to be sure, it is quite possible the domestic black money would be much bigger in quantum than what is across the border since someone who developed the guts to accumulate unaccounted wealth for years and keep it safe fooling the government and the fellow-taxpayers, would not want to forgo 45 per cent (nearly half) of his booty and be in the good book of the state. This is one reason why the amnesty for foreign blackmoney holders failed miserably. But the larger point here is by extending a helping hand to the black money holders, the Government is being unfair to the honest taxpayer. This will send a signal to him that it doesnt make sense to pay tax anymore. Instead, the better idea is to stash it in real estate or gold (where blackmoney is easily accepted), below the bed or safe in the septic tank and wait for the next round of amnesty to come clean. In a separate context, this is what happened during the 2008, Rs70000 crore farm debt waiver by Chidambaram too. The government promised to waive off all the loans of farmers, leaving the honest borrower feel like an idiot. More recently, the same happened in Andhra Pradesh too, when the new twin states announced a waiver of farm debt. At the very first mention of the waiver, even those who paid their installments regularly to banks stopped paying thinking that even their loans would be waived off at some stage. The credit culture was destroyed and broke the back of state-run banks. Weak State? When it comes to amnesty for blackmoney holders, one can not blame the Narendra Modi-government alone for this. This is precisely what the UPA too did. What this proves is the weakness of the government to unearth blackmoney hidden right under its nose despite having all state machinery at its disposal. And the blackmoney holder knows it, hence he wouldnt be too perturbed to do what he does bestkeep making a mockery of the law of the land. This is evident from the last round of amnesty announced by the NDA-government for foreign blackmoney holders. Only abut 600, possibly the vulnerable small fishes in the pond, agreed to enter the net, while the sharks and whales smiled at the idiotic lot from their dark safe havens. This time too the story would be not so different. The point here is does the government have enough machinery to hunt down blackmoney holders and recover their ill gotten wealth instead of offering them asylum. Secondly, the governments own credibility to hunt blackmoney holders is questionable. Thats because a good part of their election spending is done using the same blackmoney. If the whole of black money turns white, then who will fund the political extravaganza, the spectacles and the chest thumping in mega rallies during election festivals? It cant be from the miniscule subscription fee by workers and donations by sympathizers. Going by an analysis of Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch for 2013-14, the source of funds for most political parties remain opaque. At present, about 75 percent of the sources of funds to political parties remain unknown. This is in contrast to the system in place in many other countries such as Bhutan, Nepal, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Bulgaria, the US and Japan, where the complete details of the donors to political parties are publicly available. When one of the biggest beneficiaries of unrecorded financial transactions are political parties themselves, how do one expect politicians to act honestly to put an end to black money dealings in the domestic economy? There is no escape from this evil unless the root cause of the problem is addressed. Period. The question is will the Modi-government fist take firm initiatives to make every penny of political funding transparent? Returning blackmoney from the foreign lands (the Swiss accounts of the world) was a much-hyped election promise made by Modi himself during the run upto the 2014 general elections. Till this point, the government hasnt had much luck in fulfilling its promise. The bottomline is this: Jaitleys 4-month window is unlikely to win major goodies for the government exchequer, going by the past experience. But the larger concern is offering amnesty to people who chose to fool the state for years is an injustice shown to honest taxpayers and can send a wrong message to him. That can complicate the problem. By Shantanu Guha Ray A number of schools in Delhi have happily used jammers some even proudly informed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to clog handsets they suspect could be smuggled by students for board examinations which started on Monday, 29 February. Parents accompanying their children to examination centres found it a case of total paranoia, complaining they had to walk for at least a mile to get their handsets buzzing. If this was not enough, across many centres, students were frisked twice, sometimes thrice as if they were boarding flights at airports. Many found the search totally unwarranted, only adding to what many claim is an insurmountable parental pressure to garner an aggregate of 96 percent plus marks, the borderline for getting into top colleges in Delhi and other parts of India. The countrys HRD minister, Smriti Irani, now in the news for her feisty speech in Parliament following controversies over the death of a Dalit student in faraway Hyderabad, has not found time to address this growing pressure of marks which has already forced an estimated 35 students to commit suicide in just the first two months of 2016. Those who consumed poison, set themselves ablaze, jumped from buildings or hanged themselves were unable to handle unrealistic ambitions of their parents, poor teaching standards in schools and the countrys fiercely competitive college admission race. As per information with the National Crime Research Bureau, almost 4,000 students committed suicide because of examination pressures in India in 2013, the last computed official data. The numbers, claim many, has increased manifold since then. Police say thousands more suicides go unreported because parents keep the cause of death a secret. No one is letting the steam off the system. Every year is a repeat of the previous year, says social theorist Ashish Nandy.Children are being put into a pressure cooker, adds Nandy, reminding educationists that India has one of the worlds highest rates of suicides. Each year, between 30 and 40 people per 100,000 Indians aged between 15 and 29 kill themselves; one third of the countrys suicides is made up of students. Test preparations are nightmarish. Gruelling schedules, frequent testing and round-the-clock stress are taking a deadly toll, says Dr Rakesh Aggarwal, a top psychiatrist. Recently in Kota, a small town in Rajasthan that is considered Indias capital for examination training centers, a young student hanged himself from the ceiling fan. His suicide note read: I am responsible for my suicide. I cannot fulfil papas dream. His parents, the cops said in their report, had put extra pressure on their son, calling him a doctor when he was in school. This was totally unnecessary, it only adds up intense psychological pressure, adds Dr Aggarwal. Education counsellors have routinely blamed schools for sending results of bimonthly tests to parents via text messages but the practice has not stopped. Some schools have special coats for meritorious students; rest wear generic ones. Approximately 1.5 million students take the joint entrance examinations for engineering, medicine and a few other specialised courses every year, while fewer than 10,000 are accepted. This creates a class difference, keeps students perpetually on the edge says Ashok Lahiri, a retired principal in Kolkata. He says sales of memory pills are highest in India during examination times, many companies even sell brain food and newspapers run special supplements advising how to tackle stress. Many parents push their unfulfilled ambitions on students. Almost a decade ago, a study by the University of Mumbai showed students were more frightened of examinations than earthquakes, accidents or explosions. Recently, a top government official in Kota urged students in the town to stop studying and watch squirrels play on branches, and visit a riverside. Clearing an exam or two is not everything, he wrote in his letter. But India refuses to change. Last week, Army chief General Dalbir Suhag was asked by Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar, to explain why candidates for an army examination in Muzaffarpur, the biggest city of north Bihar, were made to strip before handing over question and answer sheets for an examination where fitness was the overriding criteria. Parrikar is yet to get an answer, like many parents in India. The Haryana police continued to deny the allegations of gangrape by Jat protesters in Murthal in Sonepat district in its status report submitted before a bench in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday. The status report was filed before a division bench comprising of justices SK Mittal and HS Sidhu, with the police denying incidents of alleged rapes said to have occurred on the intervening night of 22-23 February, according to a report on India Today. The case has been adjourned to 14 March. The ADGP Law and Order Mohammad Akil and DIG Rajshree Singh, who is heading an all-women Special Investigative Team (SIT) currently investigating the matter, were present at the hearing. The Punjab and Haryana HC had taken suo moto cognizance of the matter after The Tribune reported of the alleged gangrapes at the time of the Jat quota agitations. The bench had appointed Anupam Gupta as amicus curiae to assist in the matter. Meanwhile, Congress has slammed the report filed by the Haryana Police, as well as the ruling government in the state, demanding the imposition of President's rule in the state. "I fully contradict the report of the DGP. There was no law and order. Three truck drivers have given statement that women were dragged into the field there. One victim has lodged an FIR that there was mass gangrapes, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari was quoted as saying according to a report on The New Indian Express. Tiwari added that the CBI should enquire into the matter and should take severe action against the guilty as the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government has failed to maintain law and order in the state. Meanwhile, amid the round of denial from both the police and the government, the first FIR has been lodged on the matter by the SIT with a Delhi-based woman coming forward and alleging that she was dragged out of her car, and gangraped in Murthal on the night of 22 February. The FIR includes the name of the complainant's brother-in-law among the seven others against whom the case has been lodged. According to her statement, she was on her way to Narela in Delhi from Haridwar in a van along with her 15-year-old daughter, who was not raped during the incident, according to India Today. "Prima facie this seems to be a family dispute... the woman has mentioned her brother in law's name in FIR," SIT head Singh was quoted as saying in a report on The Economic Times. Meanwhile, residents of the Hasanpur village, one of the hamlets near the spot of the alleged crimes, have also denied the occurrence of the alleged crimes. They went on to add that they were defending the local eateries at the time of the protests. "The locals surrounded our perimeter and ensured not even a glass pane was broken. I called the village heads as I feared my dhaba will be burnt. "They assured me the eateries were the pride of the village and no harm would come to them, ," Amrik Singh, the owner of Sukhdev Dhaba on National Highway-1, was quoted as saying in report on The Economic Times. "Will villagers who saved the dhabas pull out women and rape them?," asked Hasanpur village head Jai Narayan in the report. Meanwhile, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal has promised help to the women allegedly raped by the protesters. New Delhi: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday approached a court here seeking summoning of certain documents related to the financial details of Indian National Congress (INC), Associated Journals Pvt Ltd and Young Indian Pvt Ltd for the purpose of investigation in the National Herald case. In an application moved before Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen, Swamy has sought to summon balance sheet, receipts, income and expenditure statements for assessment years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 of INC, Associated Journals Pvt Ltd (AJL) and Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI). Congress President Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda are accused in the case. Swamy had accused Sonia, Rahul and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by just paying Rs 50 lakh by which YI obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore which the AJL had owed to the Congress party. In the application, which will be considered by the court on March 8, the complainant claimed that these documents were necessary for the interest of justice in the matter. On 20 February, the court had directed that some documents summoned from the Ministries of Finance, Urban Development and Corporate Affairs, Income Tax Department and other agencies in the case would be kept in a sealed cover till further orders, after noting that Delhi High Court was seized of the matter. The direction had come after the accused in the case had argued that Swamy should first satisfy the court about the relevance of the documents which were ordered to be summoned. The court had on 19 December 2015, granted bail to Sonia, Rahul, Vora, Fernandes and Dubey, who had appeared before it pursuant to the summons issued earlier. Pitroda was granted bail on 20 February when he had appeared in the court. The Supreme Court had earlier granted exemption to Gandhis from personal appearance in the trial court. Sonia, Rahul, Vora (AICC Treasurer), Fernandes (AICC General Secretary), Dubey and Pitroda were summoned for alleged offences under section 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420(cheating) read with section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. PTI Raipur: Maoists have killed at least ten villagers in the Abhujmad area of Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Narayanpur district after suspecting them to be informers in the last few days, police said on Tuesday. "The incidents took place at various villages located inside the core area of Abhujmad under Narayanpur and Orchha police station limits during the past week," a senior police officer told PTI. So far police had received specific information about the killing of ten villagers by the ultras, he said, adding that security forces had been rushed to these villages. The forces have been directed to be extra cautious while moving into the forests so as not to fall into any trap, he said. "We have reports of the four murders in past two-three days in remote pockets of Abhujmad," Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena told PTI. There were similar reports from elsewhere too and police teams had been sent to verify them, he said. According to police sources, some senior Maoist leaders recently met in Abhujmad after the ultras suffered major setbacks in encounters with police in the region. "These killings are the outcome of the frustration of their senior leaders with the increasing pressure of security forces in their so-called liberated zone," the SP said. On February 27, a local man named Sukhram Poyam was shot dead by rebels at Kundla village under Kurusnar police station limits, who suspected him to be a police informer. PTI New Delhi: As many as 24 people were arrested by the NIA for their suspected links with Islamic State and the outfit's funding in India is mostly through self-financing mechanism, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said the National Investigation Agency and police of some states have registered cases and arrested some active cadres affiliated to Islamic State in the recent past. "So far, NIA has arrested 24 accused (Jammu and Kashmir -1, Karnataka - 7, Madhya Pradesh - 1, Maharashtra - 7, Tamil Nadu - 1, Telangana - 4 and Uttar Pradesh - 3) in the cases being investigated by the agency," he said in a written reply. Chaudhary said the Islamic State funding in India is mostly through the self financing mechanism. "However, hawala channel has also been used in one or two instances to raise funds," he said. The Minister said Islamic State uses both positive and negative imagery to attract recruits from across the world but it has influenced or attracted very few youths from India. Chaudhary said the dreaded terror group is using various internet based platforms for propaganda and to propagate its ideology. The intelligence and security agencies monitor the cyber space closely to identify potential recruits and keep them under surveillance and take further action if necessary. In order to assess the threat posed by Islamic State and to devise a national strategy to deal with it, "meetings have been held by the Ministry of Home Affairs with all the central agencies concerned and the state governments," he said. Chaudhary said government has taken all necessary measures to counter the incipient threat posed by the ISIS and further details cannot be disclosed in the interest of national security. PTI New Delhi: NCP Chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday faulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for remaining silent on issues like the JNU row and demanded immediate sacking of Union Minister Ram Shankar Katheria over his alleged hate speech in Agra. A former Agriculture Minister, Pawar said he did not find the Union budget to be a "pro-farmer exercise" but felt there were only "lot of slogans". Replying to questions at a press conference, Pawar alleged politics of communal polarisation was being played in the country since the Narendra Modi government assumed office. "Communal fever... Temperature is rising. An atmosphere of fear is being created in which small groups and minorities are being targeted. But there is no place for such an important issue in the Prime Minister's Man Ki Baat programme," he said. Asked whether he felt the Modi government was vindictive after NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal faced ED raids, Pawar initially said one should not react immediately to such actions. Later, he said there are "no bad days" for those who have been agreeing with the government. Briefing on the deliberations at NCP's working committee meeting here yesterday, Pawar said the party adopted a resolution, condemning the "blatantly communal" speech of Katheria, Union Minister of State for HRD, while addressing a condolence meeting for VHP worker Arun Mahaur, who was shot dead on February 25. "The NCP demands that the minister be immediately dismissed and legal action be taken against him," he said. Criticisng the budget proposals, he said the move to tax 60 per cent of withdrawals from provident fund and a ceiling on employers contribution would "lead to unrest". He said the raising of the service tax to 15 per cent would lead to further price rise. Pawar, who was Agriculture Minister for 10 years during UPA rule, did not share the government's optimism that the income of farmers could be doubled within the next few years. "If this was to be achieved, there should be substantial step-up in the outlay for agriculture each year," he said. PTI The issue of 'triple talaq' has been an emotive issue which has fueled much religious tension for several decades, and has been hotly debated by both Hindu and Muslim hardliners. With the Supreme Court issuing notice to the central government over a plea challenging the practice of triple talaq, the issue is back in the limelight. Here is a brief history of the issue- - As noted by Islamic scholar Asghar Ali Engineer in an article on the website Counter Currents, the British government established its own courts of law after it seized power from the Mughals. In most of these courts, there were either British or non-Muslim judges who heard the cases. These judges consulted the English translation of Hidayah, written by a Hanafi scholar. The judgments delivered in these cases became precedents and gradually formed what is now known as Muslim personal law. Over the years, 'triple talaq' under which a husband can unilaterlly divorce his wife merely by uttering the word 'talaq' thrice been cited as representational of how Muslim personal law is unfair to women. -Soon after independence, the Constituent Assembly dealt with the tricky question of the desirability of a uniform civil code for different religious communities. In 1948, while Dr B R Ambedkar defended the inclusion of the uniform civil code in the directive principles (which are non-binding), he opposed introducing such a code by force, saying that it would be 'mad' to do so by 'provoking Muslims,' as reported by The Hindu. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the precursor to the BJP also favoured a uniform civil code for both Hindus and Muslims. However, the organisation also sought a ban on cow slaughter and ending the special status for the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which led to questions over whether its demands were motivated by an agenda of Hindu domination. -The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, which claims to represent the demands of the Muslim community in India, says on its website: 'These laws of Muslims are an integral and inseparable part of their religion which are based on the guidance given by the Prophet under divine inspiration. Therefore the issue of their Personal Law is not merely a cultural issue or an issue of customary practices for the Muslims rather it is an issue which concerns the safeguarding and conservation of their religion which burdens them with grave responsibilities and they are, as a result, very sensitive about it.' -However, several voices from within the Muslim community have called for reforms in Muslim personal law, including the provision of triple talaq. The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) in November last year called for a ban on the triple talaq divorce system, saying it was un-Islamic and outlawed in several Muslim countries. The Quran gives rights to Muslim women during marriage and does not recognise triple talaq, the group said in a resolution passed at its ninth annual convention. In a letter addressed to PM Modi, the organisation said that from the Shah Bano case in 1985, Muslim women had never been heard in matters concerning their lives "thanks to the politics in our country. "Certain orthodox and patriarchal males have dominated the debate on rights of Muslim women and have stone-walled any attempt towards reform in Muslim personal law," the organisation has said. -This is not the first time that the issue of triple talaq has been dealt with by the Supreme Court. In December last year, the Supreme Court declined to intervene in a petition seeking the implementation of a uniform civil code, as reported by The Times of India. The court, however, had then said that it could examine the legality of triple talaq if a woman approaches the court questioning the validity of the divorce procedure. The petition in response to which the court has now issued notices has been filed by a woman who has alleged that she was subjected to cruelty and dowry demands by her husband. The woman, Shayara Bano has contended that such practices 'have reduced women to mere chattels, and that such practices do not have a place in progressive society'. With inputs from IANS Mumbai: CBI is separately probing the financial angle in the sensational Sheena Bora murder case in which former media baron Peter Mukerjea and his wife Indrani are among the accused, a top agency official said on Tuesday. "We are separately probing the financial angle in the Sheena Bora murder case," the official said. Besides Peter and Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and ex-driver Shyam Rai are also accused in the case, in which the central agency has filed two chargesheets. All accused are in jail under judicial custody. Sheena, Indrani's daughter from an earlier relationship, was murdered on 24 April, 2012 and her body was burnt before it was dumped in a forest in adjoining Raigad district of Maharashtra. The murder came to light in August 2015 and it was initially probed by Mumbai Police before being handed over to CBI in September. In the second chargesheet filed in mid-February, CBI claimed that the 24-year-old was killed as her father and Indrani strongly disapproved of her relationship with Peter's son Rahul. Both Peter and Indrani were part of the murder plot, it said. Sheena was working with Mumbai Metro before she went missing in April 2012. The first chargesheet was filed on 19 November by CBI and it named Indrani, Khanna and Rai as accused. The document, running into more than 1,000 pages and containing statements of 150 witnesses, 200 documents and seven statements recorded before a magistrate, was submitted before Magistrate RV Adone at Esplanade court in South Mumbai. The same day Peter was arrested for his alleged role in the murder and his name figured in the second document. He was in CBI custody for two weeks before being sent to judicial custody. The second chargesheet did not mention details of the financial transactions and the agency had then indicated it may submit another document in future. PTI by Bhavya Dore Former Gujarat police officer and alleged fake encounter accused DG Vanzara has been permitted to enter the state of Gujarat following an order from the Bombay High Court on Tuesday modifying the conditions of his bail. Vanzara, accused in the alleged staged encounter of Sohrabbudin Shaikh while he was in the Gujarat state anti-terror squad, was allowed bail by the high court in this case in September 2014. At the time the court had given bail on the condition that he stay in Mumbai, report to the sessions court three times a week, surrender his passport and make no attempt to contact witnesses connected with the pending cases. Last year Vanzara then moved the high court seeking to amend the condition prohibiting him from entering Gujarat on the ground that he had retired from service. On Tuesday Justice Abhay M Thipsay allowed Vanzaras application while imposing a condition that he would have to report to the CBI office in Gandhinagar every day except on Sundays or public holidays. Any failure to report to the CBI office shall be reported by the concerned officer to the trial court which shall take appropriate action as it deems fit, he dictated. Previously, bail conditions were imposed on Vanzara in line with what had been imposed in the cases of co-accused and police personnel B Chaubey and S Pandian. I have carefully considered the matter, said the court, while dictating the order. Since the other accused upon whom such conditions were imposed were deputed for duty in Maharashtra itself, the condition not to enter Gujarat doesnt operate as harshly against them. Moreover, [Vanzara] was released after custody of eight years. All the accused are on bail. The trial has not yet commenced... In an earlier order the court had recorded the submission that it would be difficult for him to interfere in the case. It is also submitted that the application has been provided with security and is always surrounded by police escort, and that, as such, it would not be possible for the application to abscond or tamper with the evidence, it said. In a light pink shirt and white pants, Vanzara was present in court on Tuesday instructing his lawyer Hitesh Shah, when the matter came up. He has also been accused in the fake encounter case of Mumbra student and alleged terrorist Ishrat Jahan. He was granted bail in this matter in February 2015. An application to modify similar conditions in this bail order debarring him from entering Gujarat is still pending hearing in the Ahmedabad sessions court. The high court on Tuesday however, clarified that its own order should not be construed as modifying that order or its effect. Is the government finally saying sorry to farmers and rural India? Yes, if you go by the slew of Budget announcements for the benefit of both. For nearly two years, both were a marginal presence in the government's grand plan for the country's economic revival. While all its talk revolved around headline-grabbing big ticket investments, multi-billion dollar projects and making India an attractive destination for global money, the farmers suffered in silence. The government was throwing platitudes but hardly looked serious about them. Goaded by economists who firmly believed that the concern for both was a frivolous obsession of an intellectually bankrupt political class and that industry-driven high growth was the only solution to the country's economic woes, it shifted to an alien trajectory. It even called the rural safety net programme MGNREGA the living example of the failure of six decades of Congress rule. In the initial days, it was aggressive on revising the Land Act of the UPA to make it more industry-friendly. India was finding it difficult to be comfortable with the drift. The approach invited ridicule from the government's political opponents. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi invented the derisive expression 'suit-boot ka sarkar' to describe the government. "Why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi seen with industrialists and the well-heeled all the time? He has no time for the poor and the country's farmers," he would say. There was a political price to pay too. In Delhi and Bihar assembly elections, the BJP lost miserably. Obviously, a good chunk of the voters were from rural areas. It seems the government is now convinced that its politics and agenda for the economy won't be viable with a disenchanted and demoralised rural populace. It desperately needed a course correction and needs to break free from the image of being anti-farmer which the opposition had managed to create through a sustained campaign. The immediate concern could be the upcoming assembly elections in some important states. With a severe drubbing in two elections and an indifferent showing in several isolated elections across the country, it cannot afford political losses anymore. In less than two years in power it has ceded a lot of space to political rivals through a rather rigid pro-industry stand. Now, it wants to wrest it back. Prime Minister Modi has been more vocal about farmers over the last few months. The Budget of his Finance minister is another big effort in wooing back rural India. Consider these: -Rs 35, 984 crore for welfare of farmers -Rs 20,000 crore for irrigation -Rs 5,500 crore for prime minister's Fasal Bima Yojana -Allocation for Krishi Sinchai Yojana -Soil health cards for 14,000 farms this year These are a few of the measures announced by the finance minister for farmers, which could have an effect on a massive part of the rural community. While we don't know how on-ground execution plays out, the course-correction is significant considering the rural economy is in distress and the lot of the farming community is worrisome. Suicides by farmers have shown no sign of abating and migration of impoverished farmers to urban areas continues. The causes of rural distress - scanty rainfall, inadequate or absent irrigation facility, low productivity and indebtedness etc - remain unchanged despite lofty promises by governments. In combination with MNREGA, the government's initiatives could change all that. That, however, is expecting too much too early. The big takeaway from the budget is the apparent shift in the government's attitude. Perhaps it has learnt its lesson. It realises that it cannot be arrogant and dismissive of rural India and, at a more general level, cannot have a economic worldview that is perceived to be anti-people. The Narendra Modi government's third budget has come as a shocker to the salaried even as it addressed the much important issue of the rural poor. Here are a few steps that are aimed at the salaried class: EPF taxed: This has come as a real shocker for the salaried. The government has decided to tax on withdrawal 60 percent of the contributions made to EPF and other schemes. This aimed at bringing about parity in New Pension Scheme. This is effective 1 April 2016. At present, EPFO is tax free while making the contribution, while interest is being accured and while withdrawing (exempt, exempt, exempt or EEE). Krishi Kalyan Cess: This is another dampener for the salaried middle class. The porposal is to impose a Krishi Kalyan Cess of 0.5 percent on all taxable services effective from June 1 this year. With the effective tax rate stands at 15 percent, including the 0.5 percent Swachch Bharat Cess. This will help the Centre get Rs 5,000 crore which it need not share with the state governments (unlike tax). The proceeds would be "exclusively used for financing initiatives relating to improvement of agriculture and welfare of farmers", said the finance minister. Infrastructure cess: This could be mood dampener for those looking to buy vehicles as they will have to fork out 1 percent more. The cess has been imposed on small petrol, LPG, CNG cars, 2.5 per cent on diesel cars of certain capacity and 4 per cent on other higher engine capacity vehicles, SUVs and bigger sedans. This will help the government garner Rs 3,000 crore next fiscal. Excise on branded garments: The government proposes to levy excise duty on ready-made products of Rs 1,000 or more. "I propose to change the excise duty on branded readymade garments and made up articles of textiles with a retail sale price of Rs 1,000 and above from Nil without input tax credit or 6 per cent/12.5 per cent with input tax credit to 2 per cent without input tax credit or 12.5 per cent with input tax credit," this is what Jaitley said in the budget. If this may appear Greek or Latin for many, here's how the garment industry has explained it: the prices of branded garments will go up by 2-5 percent. Ajit Lakra, Head Textile, Federation of Industry and Commercial Organisation, has said it is the "most deplorable" move. "We strongly condemn this move of the Finance Minister as it will hurt small and medium size industries which are manufacturing garments for big brands," he has said. With branded garments becoming pricier, the urban consumer may start downtrading (or switching to lower priced cloths). The garment companies are likely to feel the pinch, if that happens. This is not to say that the budget has only negatives for the salaried. There are some that will give relief to the salaries class. For example, the tax deduction limit on housing rent has been raised to Rs 60,000 per annum from the current Rs 24,000. But with the above steps, chances are the government's urban constituency will feel the heat and is also likely to boomerang politically. Government formation in Jammu and Kashmir has suffered a major setback after the Centre skipped announcing any specific allocations for the state in the Union Budget 2016-17, irking its former ally, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whose leaders were anticipating sops from the BJP. The PDP leaders were hoping that the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who reportedly met Jammu and Kashmir's former finance minister, Dr Haseeb Drabu recently would make some announcements for Jammu and Kashmir and give the party some reason to continue the alliance. For weeks now, a group of PDP leaders had in off-the-record conversations with newspapers of the state, said there would be major announcements for Jammu and Kashmir in the coming union budget which would ultimately pave way for government formation in the state. The PDP has been demanding the return of the NHPC-owned power projects from the Centre, removal of armed forces from civilians areas, withdrawal of the draconian AFSPA from the state, resumption of dialogue with the Hurriyat and Pakistan, along with major economic measures from the BJP-led Centre before continuing the alliance. According to insiders in the PDP, there were expectations within the party leadership that the Centre would allocate money to the state for buying back two key power projects owned by NHPC in the state. However, after the finance minister failed to make a statement to this effect, senior PDP leaders told Firstpost that government formation would get further delayed and the party would not give up on its demands before forming the government in the state. A senior PDP leader told Firstpost that the party had expected major announcements regarding economic empowerment of the state, including the strengthening of the all-important power sector of the energy-starved state which has to foot a bill worth millions to export power from NHPC. Of course there were expectations that the budget will set the tone right for government formation in the state. However, the absence of any measures will certainly delay the government formation. It will also impact the parleys that are currently taking place, a senior PDP leader told Firstpost. Although the two parties are holding back-channel negotiations to break the ice over government formations, the PDP was waiting for a major announcement in the union budget. "The PDP was eyeing a massive financial announcement in the Union Budget. It is the PDP that must have got disappointed with the budget today, noted economist and industrialist, Shakeel Qalander, told Firstpost. Post-2014 floods, the economy of the state has been stagnant in all sectors; be it real estate, retail trade or service sector, there has been a deep lull in the economy in the state, experts say. Two things could have done; one is the assistance or relief, whatever you call it. Some compensation could have been announced for the communities affected by the floods and some segments of the economy to take off. Qalander added. Secondly, lending could have been made more easier through banks. We still have 37 percent of the credit deposit ration; money is being collected in the shape of deposits by banks, but it is being invested elsewhere in the country. We have a very low CD ratio, they had not given us money. If you double the CD ration or bring it to some credible point, then a lot of money could have been flown in to the economic sector, he added. The state of Jammu and Kashmir has largely lagged behind the growth trajectory of the rest of mainland India. Governments at the Centre have tried to give sops by announcing investments in certain sectors In past budgets to balance that lagging behind factor. But in the budget this year, nothing of that sort has happened, which will further strain the relations between the two parties who were in an alliance till January 7 when the chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away at Aiims, bringing down curtains on the alliance. "We are in favour of continuing the alliance. We want to work together for prosperity of Jammu and Kashmir. So what if there is no major announcement for the state in the (Union) Budget. We are holding talks and you will soon see a government in office," a senior BJP leader said. Athens: Greece has asked the EU for 480 million euros ($534 million) in emergency funds to help shelter 100,000 refugees, the government said Tuesday, warning that the migrant influx threatened to overwhelm its crisis-hit resources. "Greece has submitted an emergency plan to the European Commission .. corresponding to around 100,000 refugees," government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili told reporters. "We cannot bear the strain of all the refugees coming here...these are temporary measures, there needs to be a permanent solution on where the refugees will be relocated," she added. "Greece has made it clear that it will use every diplomatic means available to find the best possible solution," Gerovassili said. With Austria and Balkan states capping the numbers of migrants entering their soil, there has been a swift build-up along the Greece-Macedonia border. Athens had previously warned that it could be stuck with up to 70,000 people trapped on its territory. Gerovassili said there were 25,000 migrants and refugees currently in the country and that Macedonia was only allowing "a few dozen" through every day. Over 7,000 people -- many of them stranded in near the Idomeni border crossing for days -- spent a freezing night and awoke under wet canvas among sodden wheat fields. Greek news agency ANA said another 6,000 people were waiting to cross to the mainland after landing on islands in the Aegean from neighbouring Turkey. The spokeswoman said the Greek army was helping feed some 10,000 people. Thousands more are fed by aid and church groups and the government has put out a call for private donations of food, medicine and health supplies. Gerovassili added that migration flows from Turkey showed no sign of slowing down despite the recent deployment of NATO warships to help the Turkish coastguard tackle people-smugglers sending migrants to Greece. "There has not been a significant reduction in the flow...today there were just over 1,000 (new arrivals) which is considered ordinary," she said. AFP New Delhi: With the budget underlining his government's rural pitch, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked NDA MPs to bring maximum farmers under the new crop insurance policy while Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asserted that it will address agriculture distress. At a meeting attended by MPs of BJP and its allies, except Shiv Sena, Jaitley spoke in detail about the budget, underscoring that it also seeks to give a fillip to economic growth by improving infrastructure and business and investment climate. Sena MPs did not attend the meeting, saying they were not "informed" about it. "There was some communication gap," its MP Anandrao Adsul said. Jaitley told the MPs that the government was making all out efforts to created an "insured and pensioned" society and highlighted steps like health insurance and life cover announced for the masses, sources said. BJP and its allies expect that the budget will help them blunt the opposition's charge that the government had an "anti-farmer" bias at a time when assembly polls are due in five states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and West Bengal, in April-May. Crucial UP election is scheduled for next year. The over one-hour meeting saw a brief intervention by Modi when he asked MPs to work towards taking the benefit of newly announced 'Pradhan Manti Fasal Bima Yojana' to farmers. He urged NDA MPs to take this as a challenge in their constituencies, the sources said. BJP chief Amit Shah, who was also present, lauded the budget for its pro-farmer and pro-village thrust. The JNU row and the debate in Parliament over it also found a mention with Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu giving an account of developments in JNU and Hyderabad Central University and urging the members to counter opposition's charges. He praised HRD Minister Smriti Irani's "spirited reply" and members too joined in with "loud clapping", they said. Irani's reply has sparked a row with opposition members giving notice for privilege motion against her, accusing her of "misleading" the House. PTI The Parliament was disrupted yet again on Tuesday, this time over corruption charges against former Home Minister P Chidambaram's son. The Lok Sabha was adjourned till Wednesday after the Opposition members created a ruckus in the House, with the AIADMK members demanding action against Chidambaram's son. Soon after the Lok Sabha met for the day, AIADMK members trooped near the speaker's podium shouting "We want justice" and waving newspapers which claimed that Karti had invested in real estate across the world. Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned twice in the first hour before noon on Tuesday. On the other hand, Chidambaram's son Karti countered the charges against him and told reporters, "All my businesses are completely compliant. All my filings are up to date. That's all I have to say." When the house reassembled at 12 noon, the AIADMK members continued their protest demanding action against Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram over the recent IT and ED raids. Meanwhile, the Congress members sought to know from the Speaker about the status of their notices of privilege motion against Irani. The Rajya Sabha also saw massive protests taking place in the House over the same issue. Some of the members stormed the Well of the House, forcing the Deputy Chairman to adjourn the House till 3.45 pm. Amid the din in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan laid the papers on the table of the house. "I have received the notices but those are under my consideration," Mahajan said. As the Congress members didn't relent, Mahajan adjourned the House till 2 pm. Earlier in the morning, soon after the house met, the AIADMK members trooped near the Speaker's podium holding newspapers reports. They were raising slogans like "we want justice". Mahajan adjourned the house till 11.15 am. When the House reassembled at noon, AIADMK members again trooped near the speaker's podium shouting slogans. AIADMK members levelled corruption charges against the former minister's son citing revelations made by some media report. Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu urged the members to raise the issue after giving proper notice. "The issue being raised here is very important. But please go to your seats. Give a notice. The government has no problem to discuss the issue," he said. The Speaker also requested the members to let the house function. Amid the din, the Speaker tried to conduct the Question Hour but the AIADMK members were not relenting. She then again adjourned the house till 12 noon. With inputs from agencies Geneva: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Tuesday for the closure of Syria's border with Turkey to cut off outside supplies to "terrorists", including through humanitarian convoys. "Of course, neither in ceasefire agreements, nor in the process of political settlement is there a place for terrorists and extremists," Lavrov told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. "A very special task is to cut the terrorists' supply from the outside. For this purpose it is important to close the Syrian-Turkish border, since across this border those gangs receive arms, including with humanitarian convoys," Lavrov said, according to an official transcript in English of his remarks. He insisted that a "landslide defeat of (the Islamic State group)... al-Nusra and those of their kind is a necessary precondition for securing the rights of long-suffering peoples of Syria" and the rest of the region. His comments came after aid workers on Monday made the first delivery of desperately-needed assistance since the start of Syria's fragile ceasefire four days ago. Moscow and Washington drafted the UN-backed cessation of hostilities deal, and the two countries are co-chairing an international task force evaluating how the ceasefire is holding. At an earlier meeting in Geneva, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon thanked Lavrov for "his significant role in achieving recent progress on Syria," a UN statement said. "They agreed on the importance of urgently moving forward simultaneously on implementing the cessation of hostilities agreement, providing vital humanitarian assistance to civilians, and returning to political negotiations," the statement further said. The deal meanwhile does not apply to the vast swaths of territory held by the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front. It is meanwhile hoped that the flow of much-needed assistance could create a more favourable backdrop for peace talks that collapsed in acrimony in early February. UN envoy Steffan de Mistura aims to relaunch negotiations on March 7 if the ceasefire lasts and more aid is delivered. AFP ANKARA/WASHINGTON Defense ministers from the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State militant group discussed the possibility of a Syrian ground incursion two weeks ago but they have not made a decision, an aide to Saudi Arabia's defence minister said on Monday. "It was discussed two weeks ago in Brussels," Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said in a telephone interview from Riyadh. "It was discussed at the political level but it wasn't discussed as a military mission," he said. "Once this is organised, and decided how many troops and how they will go and where they will go, we will participate in that," he said. "We need to discuss at the military level very extensively with the military experts to make sure that we have a plan." Asseri also said the kingdom was now ready to strike Islamic State from Turkey's southern Incirlik air base, where four Saudi fighter jets arrived last week. The jets have not yet participated in any attacks, he added. The U.S. State Department said the Saudis had previously talked about the possibility of introducing ground forces in Syria to fight Islamic State, but there were many issues that needed to be discussed about a potential incursion. Deploying ground forces would be a major escalation for the 66-member U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, which has so far relied mainly on air strikes and arming and equipping moderate Syrian opposition groups. State Department spokesman John Kirby said at a news briefing in Washington that the Saudis had talked about "the potential of an introduction of some sort of ground force element in Syria" and that the United States would welcome such a contribution in the fight against Islamic State. "But there's a lot that needs to be discussed in terms of what they would do, what their makeup would be, how they would need to be supported by the coalition going forward. So there's a lot of homework that needs to be done," Kirby said. A U.S. defence official said supporting indigenous anti-Islamic State forces on the ground was a key component of the U.S. strategy against the group. "We will continue to provide equipment packages to vetted leaders and their units so that over time they can make a concerted push into territory still controlled" by Islamic State, the official said. "As a matter of policy, we won't comment or speculate on potential future operations," the official added. (Writing by Humeyra Pamuk and Mohammad Zargham; Editing by David Dolan and Lisa Shumaker) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Washington: Pakistan today said the proposed US sale of F-16 fighter jets to the country would strengthen its ability to carry out counter-terrorism operations and promote regional stability. "We appreciate the public assessment of the US leadership in response to Congressional inquiries that Pakistan has used the F-16s effectively against the terrorists in the region," Sartaj Aziz, Pakistani Foreign Affairs Advisor, said in his address to the opening session of the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, which he co-chaired with US Secretary of State John Kerry. "The prospective sale of F-16s will strengthen Pakistan's capabilities to successfully continue these vital operations for our mutual benefit and stability in the region," Aziz said as he praised Kerry's recent defence of sale of F-16, which is being vehemently opposed in the US Congress. "We are grateful to you Secretary Kerry for your recent positive testimony on the Hill," Aziz said. Last week, testifying before a Congressional committee, Kerry strongly defended the decision and argued these fighter jets are a critical part of the Pakistan's fight against terrorists. Citing the example of the US and Russia which are working to further reduce their nuclear arsenal, Kerry asked Pakistan to understand this reality and review its policy in this regard. "So we (US and Russia) are moving in the other direction," Kerry said. "I think, it is important for Pakistan to really process that reality and put that front and center in its policy," he said in an apparent reference to the reports that Pakistan has the fastest growing stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. Kerry's remarks come ahead of the next month's Nuclear Security Summit that would be attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. "We look forward to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's participation in the nuclear security summit next month," Kerry said, adding "non-proliferation" and "nuclear safety" is obvious concern to both the countries. "I expect that we continue to discuss the obligation of being a responsible State with nuclear weapons in the coming year," he said. "As you know United States of America once had 50,000 (nuclear) warheads pointing at another country/entity the Soviet Union. Soviet Union had 50,000 pointing at us. It took two (Mikhail) Garbachev and (Ronald) Reagan to decide that this did not make sense," Kerry said. "We have moved in a completely opposite direction. And today, Russia and the United States are operating under a treaty that has about 1500 or so nuclear warheads and we are seeking to reduce that," said the top American diplomat. On the other hand, Aziz sought nuclear mainstreaming of Pakistan. "Our engagement on non-proliferation and strategic stability will continue and Pakistan hopes to see greater US understanding of Pakistan's security concerns and its desire to contribute actively as a mainstream nuclear power," he said. (Reopens FES 144) Ruing about the widespread and strong anti-Pakistan sentiment prevailing at the Capitol Hill, Aziz told Obama administration that it needs to do a better job on highlighting the positive aspects of US-Pak relationship to the Congress. Such an observation from Aziz comes amidst massive opposition that the Obama Administration has been facing in the Congress on the its decision to sell eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. "Regrettably, there is tendency to blame Pakistan in somewhat simplistic fashion for most of the difficulties and challenges that engage Afghanistan. We are blamed to be pursuing a duplicitous policy," Aziz said. Bob Corker, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who was in Afghanistan a few months ago, had said he "witnessed that continued duplicity on Pakistan's part, outright blatant duplicity, where they continue to support" the Taliban, the Haqqani network and give safe haven to al-Qaida. "This narrative revives the unpleasant memory of the past when our relations had dipped to perhaps its lowest levels in recent years. Nothing can be further from the truth than to hold Pakistan responsible for the Afghan problems. Who would like to set one's own neighbour on fire with the hope to save one's backyard?" Aziz questioned. "Pakistan has suffered the most due to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. Actions taken by Pakistan against terrorist group of all shades and colours in Afghanistan have been unprecedented. At this critical juncture, we have to avoid blame game, admit mistakes committed by all, and closely cooperate and coordinate our respective policies," Aziz asserted. Kerry in his remarks said this relationship is based on mutual respect and mutual interest. "Cooperation along Pakistan's borders is absolutely essential. We recognise the extraordinary and real sacrifices that Pakistan's military, especially in Operation Zarb-e-Azb and the ongoing missions in North Waziristan, and the United States has pledged USD 250 million to help rebuild the communities of persons who have been displaced by the fighting in these operations," he said. "We'll also continue to coordinate with Pakistan on the overall counter-terrorist strategy, and we recognise that every country can do more to intensify to destroy and defeat violent radical extremists," he added. PTI New York: Indian artist Nasreen Mohamedi's works - the largest such exhibition of an Indian artist's retrospective in America, opened to rave media reviews Tuesday at New York's audacious new temple to contemporary art Met Breuer. Supported by the Nita Ambani-led Reliance Foundation, which is pushing for more Indian art on a global stage, the Mohamedi exhibition will be open to public from March 18 to June 5 at a landmark 'brutalist' building designed by Hungarian architect Marcel Breuer. Asian Americans are the highest-income, best-educated and fastest-growing racial group in the United States and Reliance Foundation is rooting to give art mobility even as the Met -one of the world's great museums attempts an epic tweak to appeal to a swiftly changing demographic. Inaugurating the "historic!" exhibition, Ambani said Mohamedi had been an inspiration to her as "in a patriarchal culture she created strong and assertive works". "It is a proud moment for every Indian, especially so, for Indian women," she said expressing her strong belief that Indian art needs wider global appreciation. "The richness and diversity of Indian art is truly brilliant," she said. "Over the years, I have come to share a very special bond with the arts." Chief of the Met's contemporary treasures, Sheena Wagstaff walked Nita Ambani through the intricate and layered works of Nasreen Mohamedi which the Met ran live on its Facebook page and pulled in viewers from around the world. Ambani said her love for art started at the age of 5 with Bharatanatyam, and her training in the Indian classical dance form "has helped me develop a deep appreciation for all forms of art, leading to what we do at the Reliance Foundation today". Her husband Mukesh Ambani and she believe that "social sector development is most important for India as its economy grows. It is integral to building an inclusive India". That is why they established Reliance Foundation in 2010 with the vision of sustainable development and economic growth. Working in the areas of rural transformation, health, education, sports, arts and culture, and disaster response, the Foundation has already transformed the lives of over 6 million Indians, she said. Sheena Wagstaff, the chair of the Met's modern and contemporary division, got Nita Ambani interested in the whole project. "One of our goals with The Met Breuer is to present thoughtful exhibitions that posit a broader meaning of modernism across vast geographies of art," Wagstaff said. "The poignant story of Mohamedi, a relatively little-known but significant artist, reveals a highly-individual artistic quest, drawing on historic sources from across the world, alongside her evocative photography as an unexpected form of visual note-taking." The exhibition is being co-hosted by the Queen Sofia Museum of Spain and the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. "One of the most significant artists to emerge in post-Independence India, Nasreen Mohamedi (1937-1990) created a body of work that demonstrates a singular and sustained engagement with abstraction," The Met said. What has come for praise is her minimalist practice, which not only adds a rich layer to the history of South Asian art, but also enrages the scope of the narratives into international modernism. Mohamedi's inspirations came from poetry of Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke and French philosopher-author Albert Camus, as also classical music and the modernist architecture of Le Corbusier's Chandigarh. Mohamedi is also believed to have had an exposure to Western and Eastern philosophy, poetry and literature, which can be seen in her diaries that include quotes by Rumi, Ghalib, and Mohammad Iqbal. With IANS Disclaimer: Firstpost is part of Network18, owned by Reliance Industries Limited. Washington: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Washington later this month on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, a top aide to Pakistan Premier said on Tuesday. "There are chances of meeting between the two (prime ministers)," Sartaj Aziz, the Foreign Affairs Advisor to Sharif, told PTI. "There are possibilities, when they are here (in Washington DC). They would interact with each other. Whether there would be a structured meeting I do not know. Depends on...Chances are there (for a meeting)," Aziz said. The top Pakistani diplomat is in Washington to attend the sixth US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue which he co-chaired with Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday. Aziz said Sharif would be travelling to Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit at the invitation of US President Barack Obama. Modi too has been invited to the Summit on 31 March and 1 April. No official announcement has been made yet. Responding to a question on the status of India-Pak relationship after Modi came to power in May 2014, Aziz said in the first year the situation was "not good". "But the last two months are better," Aziz said. Ahead of the Modi-Sharif meeting, Aziz said there is likelihood of a meeting between the foreign secretaries of the two countries. The timing of which has not been decided yet, he noted. "We do not know (when foreign secretaries would meet). He (Indian Foreign Secretary) has to come to Islamabad first. We are hoping that now," Aziz said after the breakfast meeting with Defence Writers Group in Washington. PTI BEIJING/TAIPEI Taiwan President-elect Tsai Ing-wen's diplomatic honeymoon with China could be shortlived if she allows the Dalai Lama to visit the self-ruled democratic island that Beijing claims as its own, two senior political sources said. China regards Tibet's exiled spiritual leader as a separatist, and Ma Ying-jeou, the outgoing president who favours closer economic ties with the mainland, refused the Dalai Lama entry several times since his last visit to Taiwan in 2009. On that occasion Ma did allow him in, although he did not meet the 80-year-old. With invitations pending from Buddhist groups that are likely to be renewed after Tsai and her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party easily won January elections, the incoming leader faces a dilemma, said a Taiwanese source close to the DPP and another with direct knowledge of the matter. "The Dalai Lama could visit as early as around national day," said the source close to the DPP, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. The Republic of China, Taiwan's official name, marks its national day on Oct. 10. Since sweeping to victory at the polls, Tsai has vowed to seek to maintain the "status quo of peace and stability" with China, Taiwan's biggest trading partner, and Chinese state-run media have noted her pledges. Since the election, Beijing has also warned against any moves towards formal independence and said it would defend its sovereignty. Tsai, who takes office on May 20, must decide whether to let the Dalai Lama in and risk riling China at a time when tensions in the region have already been raised over rival claims to the vital waterways of the South China Sea. The Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Communist rule. China has accused him of being a separatist, but the monk says he only wants genuine autonomy for his Himalayan homeland. Tsai could try and seek a compromise, the sources said, by convincing Beijing to keep dialogue open, rather than stonewalling her, in exchange for allowing the Dalai Lama into Taiwan but not meeting him one-on-one. The DPP said in a statement it was not aware of an invitation for the Dalai Lama to visit Taiwan. The Dalai Lama's office in India, where he lives in exile, said: "His Holiness the Dalai Lama has no plans to visit Taiwan at the present time". China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment. The Dalai Lama congratulated Tsai on her "remarkable" victory, according to www.dalailama.com. "It is indeed encouraging to see how firmly rooted democracy has become in Taiwan," the Dalai Lama wrote. "It is a model and source of inspiration to those who aspire (to) freedom and accountable leadership." Beijing and Taipei have been diplomatic and military rivals since their split in 1949 after the Nationalists lost the Chinese civil war and fled to Taiwan. But trade, investment and tourism have blossomed during outgoing Ma's eight-year rule. (Additional reporting by J.R. Wu in TAIPEI, Ben Blanchard in BEIJING and Abhishek Madhukar in DHARAMSALA, India; Editing by Mike Collett-White) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Americans vote on Tuesday in what is deemed the most pivotal day in the presidential nominating process, with front-runners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump hoping to finish off their challengers. Voters in a dozen states will take part in "Super Tuesday" a series of primaries and caucuses in a dozen states ranging from Alaska to Virginia. If Democrat Clinton and Republican Trump an outspoken billionaire political neophyte who has unexpectedly tapped into a reservoir of conservative rage at conventional politics win big, it could spell doom for their challengers. With just hours to go before polls open, the duo made last-ditch appeals to supporters ahead of a day like few others on the calendar leading to the November election for the White House. Trump's Republican rivals, Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, were trying frantically to halt the real estate magnate's march toward the nomination, seeking to unite the party against the man they see as a non-conservative political interloper. Clinton meanwhile was riding high after thrashing rival Bernie Sanders in South Carolina over the weekend, securing an astronomical 86 percent of the African-American vote in her third win in four contests. Here is what is at stake on "Super Tuesday," which could have a big impact on Democratic and Republican contenders still in the race for the White House: Twelve states vote A dozen states are holding contests, including several in the South. For the most part, they are both Republican and Democratic in nature. Two exceptions are Alaska, where only Republican caucuses are being held, and Colorado, where only Democratic caucuses will take place. Democrats will be voting in 11 states and American Samoa, with 865 delegates at stake. Democrats abroad are allocated 17 of those delegates. Republicans, meanwhile, will be voting in 11 states on Super Tuesday. In contrast to primary elections, caucuses are meetings which voters attend and where they indicate their preference. Here is the list of "Super Tuesday" states in alphabetical order: Alabama (south) Alaska (northeast, Republican caucus) Arkansas (south) Colorado (west, Democratic caucus) Georgia (south) Massachusetts (northeast) Minnesota (north) Oklahoma (south) Tennessee (south) Texas (south) Vermont (northeast) Virginia (east) Democrats are also voting in American Samoa in the Pacific. Delegates in play Around a quarter of all delegates doled out during the primary process will be up for grabs. Texas has the largest number of delegates in play (222 on the Democratic side and 155 on the Republican side.) Alaska and Vermont have the fewest. Primaries and caucuses serve to elect delegates to national Democratic and Republican conventions where a party's presidential candidate is chosen ahead of the November elections. The Republican National Convention will be held 18-21 July in Cleveland, Ohio. The Democratic National Convention takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 25-28 July. For Republicans, the first candidate to reach 1,237 delegates out of 2,472 will get the party's nomination. On the Democratic side, the support of at least 2,382 delegates out of 4,763 is needed. With inputs from agencies Washington: Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump on Sunday posted a quote on Instagram attributing it to Mahatma Gandhi, but the American media said there is no evidence that the Indian leader had ever used these words. "First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win Mahatma Gandhi," Trump wrote on social networking site Instagram as part of his effort to rally supporters. The Instagram post included a picture of hordes of supporters rallying at a Trump campaign stop in Alabama. #MakeAmericaGreatAgain #Trump2016 #TrumpTrain A photo posted by Donald J. Trump (@realdonaldtrump) on Feb 29, 2016 at 8:12am PST Soon, the anti-Trump lobby was up in flames on the social media. The Hill, a top US political website, said, "There's no record that Gandhi ever used the phrase, which has been widely attributed to him." The quotation appears to be similar to words used in a 1918 trade union address by socialist leader Nicholas Klein, it said. Christian Science Monitor has put this among the top 10 political misquotes. There was no immediate response from the Trump's campaign on the issue. "Gandhi did not say this," one Scott T Smith wrote on twitter. Trump sought to quote Gandhi a day after he was criticised for re-tweeting Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini early Sunday morning. "He got tired of quoting Mussolini and he's saving the Hitler quotes until he's really desperate," tweeted Brad Fraser. Several popular websites have attributed this quote First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win to Mahatma Gandhi. According to Wikiquotes, this is the quote which is often misattributed to Mahatma Gandhi. PTI Washington: The US has deployed its elite counter-terrorism unit Delta Force for covert operations in Iraq to capture or kill high-ranking ISIS operatives and gather intelligence, according to a media report. Army's elite Delta Force operations to target, capture or kill top ISIS operatives have begun in Iraq, after several weeks of covert preparation, an official with direct knowledge of the force's activities was quoted as saying by CNN. The official said the group has spent the last several weeks preparing, including setting up safe houses, establishing informant networks and coordinating operations with Iraqi and Peshmerga units. It is the same strategy that Special Operations forces have used in previous deployments to combat zones. The Delta Force plans to replicate the strategy that Special Operations forces used for years in Iraq and Afghanistan, the report said. It said the plan is to gather enough intelligence to stage raids on terror compounds and hideouts. Then from intelligence gathered at those sites, such as laptops and cellphones, forces will try to learn more about ISIS networks and quickly attack additional related targets. It is a strategy that worked in May 2015, when Delta raided a compound in Syria, killing ISIS operative Abu Sayyaf and capturing his wife, the report said. The Expeditionary Targeting Force which numbers about 200 personnel -- has collected enough intelligence now about ISIS operations in Iraq in up to half a dozen locations that raids and field operations are ready inside Iraq, the report said. Several Pentagon and military officials have declined to discuss specifics of the so-called Expeditionary Targeting Force. But Defense Secretary Ash Carter seemed to confirm in comments made at the Pentagon yesterday that the Special Operations forces had begun missions. "The only thing I'll say is the (Expeditionary Targeting Force) is in position, it is having an effect and operating, and I expect it to be a very effective part of our acceleration campaign," he said during a press conference. According to Carter, the force will conduct raids, seize places and people, and free ISIS-held hostages and prisoners. Carter also said that the force would cause ISIS "to fear that anywhere, anytime, it may be struck." A US official said Carter's statement reflects that Delta operations have begun. While the ETF is not yet operating in Syria, a separate group of about 50 US special forces have greatly expanded their initial operations there in recent weeks after the Pentagon announced they were going to Syria. PTI Human Rights Watch has slammed "virginity exams" conducted on Afghan women and girls accused of so-called moral crimes, saying the invasive tests by government doctors were tantamount to sexual assault. Women face growing levels of violence and harassment in Afghanistan more than 14 years after the Islamist Taliban regime was toppled from power by a 2001 US-led invasion. Of 53 women and girls as young as 13 accused of pre-marital sex -- punishable by up to 15 years in jail -- 48 were subjected to virginity exams, Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission found in a recent study. Nearly half of them were examined more than once, often in the presence of multiple people, according to the study which was highlighted in a new HRW report on Monday. "These so-called virginity exams are not just demeaning - they constitute sexual assault and are often used as evidence against women in court for the 'crime' of zina, or sex outside of marriage," said HRW researcher Heather Barr. "The continued use of degrading and unscientific virginity exams by the Afghan government is part of a broader pattern of abuses in which women and girls are jailed on spurious 'moral crimes' accusations, often in situations where they are fleeing forced marriage or domestic violence." Virginity testing is a widely discredited practice in several conservative Islamic nations. In 2014 the World Health Organization issued guidelines that the test had "no scientific validity". "The Afghan government should end arrests (for moral crimes) entirely and reform the law that permits them. Banning all 'virginity exams' could be an important first step toward reform," Barr said. Afghanistan has witnessed a sea change in women's rights since the ousting of the Taliban regime, with female lawmakers and even pilots now commonplace. But gender equality remains a distant dream amid endemic violence against women and strong patriarchal attitudes. AFP In the past few months Donald Trump has become too popular to ignore. He was the clear winner in the latest Nevada Republican caucus, and we can foresee a future where he becomes the president of the United States. Various late night show hosts have rededicated their hours to take Trump down. John Oliver the famous British comedian (trained under Jon Stewart) who hosts the HBO's Last Week Tonight and has mainly been ignoring Trumps popularity up until now, was the latest in line to take Trumps case. "Our main story tonight and I can't believe I'm saying this, is Donald Trump," Oliver started Sunday's episode. "I say that knowing that every time his name is said out loud, he has a shattering orgasm." Oliver and Trump have had a history of public feuding, when Trump called Olivers show boring on social media platform Twitter. Today Oliver uses Trumps remark as a publicity tool. On Sundays show, the 38-year-old comedian remarked on Donalds wealth (or the lack of it), his campaign tactics, his ivy-league education, his love for words, the art of suing and his short stubby fingers. He went on to dig into his past and highlighted the holes in Trump's lies. Trump has on various occasions made reference to the power of his name. In light of that, Oliver reveals "The name 'Trump' was not always his family's name. One biographer had found that a prescient ancestor had changed it from, and this is true, 'Drumpf.' Yes, f---ing Drumpf. And Drumpf is much less magical." He went on to launch the hashtag #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain and a website called donaldjdrumpf.com where one can download drumpfinator chrome extension to replace the word Trump with Drumpf wherever it appears on the browser. The 22-minute show ended with a new campaign anthem where Oliver said, We cannot keep getting blinded by the magic of his name Dont think of him as Donald Trump, think of him as Donald Drumpf. Earlier, it was expected that if you pack the latest processor from Qualcomm, it would in effect be able to have the fast charging properties of the particular processor. However, the OnePlus 2 showed that it is possible to remove the fast charging abilities if needed. Similarly, now it seems that Samsung have bundled only QuickCharge 2.0 with their Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge while LGs G5 is capable of doing QuickCharge 3.0. Both the variants of the Galaxy S7 as well as the LG G5 are powered by Snapdragon 820 processors so by right, they both should support QuickCharge 3.0. While QuickCharge 3.0 is better off with a USB Type-C port like on the LG G5, the faster speeds are possible with a microUSB port as well. QuickCharge 3.0 is about 45% more efficient than 2.0 and wouldve been a great thing to have on the S7. One of the reasons we believe for the omission is to unify the user experiences on the Exynos 8890 and Snapdragon 820 powered S7 variants. Instead of putting QuickCharge 3.0 on the Snapdragon 820 variant and giving it an advantage, Samsung has decided to provide similar charging speeds on both. While it could be a bummer for those who are getting the Snapdragon version, others will feel like they are treated equally especially since most people would get the Exynos variant in their region. Despite the lack of the QuickCharge 3.0 certification, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge should still be able to charge quite fast and Samsung is likely to bundle a quick charger in the box. Whether or not the handsets would yeild the same results with Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 certified chargers is something that remains to be seen. Source 1 | Source 2 | Via The DOLE packaged salad listeria outbreak is far from over with three more cases recently confirmed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in their February 25, 2016 Case Count Update. All three recent victims come from the United States: one from Missouri and two from Ohio. This brings to a total of 29 confirmed listeriosis cases linked to the DOLE packaged salads contamination incident according to an article by Food Safety News. Total case count for the United States is 18 while the remaining 11 are in Canada. All 18 US listeria monocytogenes outbreak victims required hospitalization and one from Minnesota died. The Canadian's latest update last February 5, 2016 still stands at 11 cases and covers 5 Canadian provinces. According to the same article from Food Safety News, the listeria monocytogenes outbreak started seven months ago on July 5, 2015. CDC, together with the FDA, started collaborating with local health officials in affected states as early as September 2015. However it was only on January 2016 that CDC was able to link the listeria outbreak to DOLE's Springfield, Ohio processing facility which prompted the recall on the potentially contaminated packaged salads. According to CDC, these recalled salads are packaged under the following brands: Dole Fresh Selections Simple Truth MarketSide The Little Salad Bar President's Choice Organics In the FDA's website, the agency warns that while listeriosis is rare, it is a serious illness caused by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. Common symptoms include fever and muscle aches, soon followed by diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms as well as chills. No new DOLE packaged salads from their Springfield, Ohio facility were produced since the discovery as DOLE has ceased its salad production in the affected facility since January 21, 2016. For now, FDA reminds consumers to remain vigilant on their purchases and take corrective steps detailed on their sites, such as thoroughly cleaning their refrigerator and other food preparation surfaces, if they suspect of contact with the contaminated products. How far does one go to deliver an excellent customer service? The answers might vary but learning a new language is probably not one of them. Yet, that is exactly what one barista did to give her regular customer who is deaf the same Starbucks experience as everyone else. This heartwarming story has been making the rounds in the social media lately with thousands of shares which just show all of us need a dose of goodness in our lives. The customer, Ibby Piracha, is a regular of the local Starbucks outlet at Leesburg, Virginia according to an article by Tod Perry for The Daily Good. He usually orders by writing a note to his order in it before passing it to the barista. This time, however, he did not need to. When his turn came, it was the barista who asked him what he wanted to drink in a language he could understand - in sign language. This took Piracha by surprise as it does not happen every day that people get out of their way to communicate with the hearing-impaired. However, what is more impressive is that the lady barista learned sign language using tutorial videos on youtube. Piracha was deeply touched by the effort of this particular barista to communicate with him in his own terms. Learning the American Sign Language (ASL) is like learning a new language altogether, more so because she did it on her own accord and not as a requirement of her job. This may seem to be a simple gesture to some but for Piracha, this simple act of trying to understand him, a hearing-impaired, reignited in him a feeling of connection with the rest of humanity. Unrealized by the population with normal hearing, the world can be a tough place for those who are hearing-impaired given the fact that only a handful knows how to sign language. Because of this communication barrier, the hearing-impaired minority somehow end up feeling alienated from the rest. Realizing that this act of kindness and understanding had to be shared with everyone, Piracha posted his experience via Facebook which has since gone viral. As for the amazing lady barista, she was just motivated to learn ASL because Piracha was a customer according to the WJLA article. What a kind-hearted lady indeed. The name, as well as the branding, are important in any business especially when you want to tackle the fast food industry. Think about this; would you be intrigued to try the flavors of a new restaurant if its name is not appealing, has no charm and is boring? We guess not. So, having said that, did you know how your favorite fast food chains got theirs? What's the story behind the names and who said it was the perfect fit? Of course, our list doesn't include McDonald's, Wendy's and Jimmy John's which are all named after their founders. STARBUCKS Did you know that your favorite coffee chain could have been named "Pee-Quod"? Thank god, they changed it. Getting its name from the same book would have called Starbucks the name of the first mate in the classic novel 'Moby Dick'. According to Starbucks co-founder Gordon Bowker, the company's founders began looking into names that started with "st" after Terry Heckler, founder of ad agency Heckler Associates, mentioned that words beginning with "st" were powerful. "Somebody somehow came up with an old mining map of the Cascades and Mount Rainier, and there was an old mining town called Starbo," Bowker told the Seattle Times. "As soon as I saw Starbo, I, of course, jumped to Melville's first mate [named Starbuck] in 'Moby-Dick'." Today, Starbucks' website says its name "evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders." PANERA Lucky for those who speak, read and understand Latin, having to decode the origins of the name "Panera" is no challenge. The company was originally called St. Louis Bread in 1998. However, founder Ron Shaich has changed it to its name today following the literal meaning "breadbasket." Afterward, the name Panera was adopted by the French language and was given the translation "the place of good bread." by owner Au Bon Pain. LITTLE CAESARS No, Little Caesars is not owned by a little man named Caesar, well, not exactly. In fact, their founders, Mike and Marian Ilitch originally considered calling the restaurant 'Pizza Treat' but decided to change it after Marian thought the name was "too generic". Being married for four years before launching the pizza chain, Marian has always believed that her spouse will eventually be a pizza emperor, that's why she calls him "Little Caesar" as her term of endearment and pet name. Mike is definitely not little at 5-foot-9! Arby's Some people speculate that Arby came from the initials; R and B that came after their famous roast beef. Rumors said that people would always ask "Do you want some R.B?" and people mistook it for Arby. As much as the story is cute and charming, owners said that their name came from Leroy and Forrest Raffel, the Raffel Brothers, or "RB," the chain says on its website. PIZZA HUT Owners Dan and Frank Carney scored a deal when a local Coca-Cola distributor gave them a complimentary sign upon opening their first store. But, here is the catch; the layout of the sign is not really proportional; it was larger (in width) on top than at the bottom. The top can fit the five letters of pizza perfectly but the lower portion allows only three. So what now? They thought of three letter words that made sense-Inn, Pad and then bingo! They picked Hut! Thanks to Dan's wife Beverly who said their building looks like a hut. CHICK-FIL-A In case you didn't get it, it's a word play with fillet. Fillet-Fil-A. Get it? Try reading it with a British accent! Also, the company says that the"A" in their name also says the quality of their food and service. SONIC The monumental root beer stand was originally called "Top Hat" but, someone has taken the name and got it trademarked, so founder Troy Smith had to think of another. Basing on their existing tagline: "Service at the Speed of Sound," Smith decided that Sonic fits their store perfectly. The first official Sonic drive-in opened in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1959. Noodles and Company is a restaurant located in Broomfield, Colorado, that offers worldwide and American noodle cuisine and also soups, plates of mixed greens, pasta and sandwiches. The thought for Noodles and Company was brought about by previous Pepsi marketing executive Aaron Kennedy. He felt there were insufficient restaurants that served noodle dishes, which are a staple for some worldwide food after eating at Mamie's Asian Noodle Shop in Greenwich Village, New York. Kennedy began creating recipes out of his relative kitchen with the future COO, Joe Serafin and head culinary specialist, Ross Kamens, in 1994. Kennedy brought $73,000 up in personal assets and $200,000 in ventures from 24 loved ones. The primary Noodles and Company was opened in October 1995, in the Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. Kennedy was merged by partner Tom Weigand, who he had met at Augustana College. And then they opened a second branch in Madison, Wisconsin. Interests in the chain's new "Made. Different." situating and adaptable children's menu is paying off, CEO Kevin Reddy said, noting that Noodles and Company hope to encourage profit by its exceptional diversity throughout today's millennial families. Executives declined to share the precise effect of the adjustable child's meal the chain took off during the final quarter, noting that it's still somewhat early to survey. Q4 comps at Noodles and Company fell 1.1 percent year over year, proceeding with the pattern of declines the chain posted before in the year. Traffic is enhancing, executives noted and to-date comp development for Q1 has rolled positive. Ventures made to bolster the chain's expanded media presence and additionally its new positioning has put weight on income. The chain acquired $4.3 million damage during the quarter. Noodles and Company additionally closed 17 restaurants amid Q4 but hopes to lift future performance. It's finally confirmed. People who have suspected that their "parmesan" cheese tasted something other than cheese are not paranoid at all. In fact, there is no real parmesan in it but other kinds of cheeses as well as wood pulp. Michelle Myrter, an executive of the now-defunct two cheese companies Universal Cheese & Drying Inc. and International Packing LLC, who were accused of selling "real parmesan cheese" that contained wood pulp instead of parmesan, finally entered guilty pleas for herself and the companies last Friday. Myrter was released by District Judge Mark Hornak on a personal recognizance bond after Myrter pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor criminal count in the Western District of Pennsylvania Court. According to the Food Safety News article, Myrter could face a one-year sentence or a $100,000 fine or both. Michelle Myrter also entered guilty pleas on behalf of her two cheese companies to one count each of "conspiring to introduce misbranded and adulterated cheese products into interstate commerce and to commit money laundering." Michelle is the daughter of Castle Cheese Inc co-CEO George Myrter who told FDA inspectors last November 2012 that he knew that the companies' cheeses were made with fillers. Acting on a tip from a fired plant manager, the FDA inspected a Castle Cheese facility. According to a geek.com article by Ryan Whitman, the FDA found that the "100% grated parmesan" cheese do not actually contain any parmesan component at all but is a mixture of swiss, mozzarella, white cheddar and cellulose also known as wood pulp. According to the same article, manufacturers usually resort to the use of a small amount of wood pulp or cellulose as a bulking agent. However, the FDA set a strict limit that the cellulose content must not exceed two percent of the total weight. Past offenders caught by FDA that introduced cellulose way much more than is allowed include Jewel-Osco at 8.8% as well as Wallmart's Great Value brand at 7.8 percent but they were still better because, at least, they were still mostly parmesan cheese. To be safer for now, consumers are advised to buy block cheese and grate it as needed according to a CBS article by Mary Marcus. Disney's (DIS 3.50%) grand opening of its Shanghai Disnelyland resort is just three and a half months away. With Parks and Resorts revenue representing over a fourth of the media company's revenue, and considering the sheer size of the China market, investors are watching Disney's important international park opening closely. One key question some investors may have is whether or not management is concerned with the timing of economic headwinds in China ahead of the company's Shanghai resort debut on June 16. But management appears undeterred. The 10,000-foot view is what matters The resort is just as important to the company as is to investors. It is Disney's "most important single new initiative" for its Parks and Resorts segment, said Disney COO Tom Staggs, who continues to play a critical role in overseeing the Shanghai Disneyland even after being named COO about a year ago, during the company's first fiscal quarter earnings call of 2016 (via Reuters transcript). The stakes are high for the park to be an excellent performer for the company. Disney has invested heavily in Disneyland Shanghai. Staggs even dubbed referred to it as "one of the most extraordinarily creative and innovative projects in the history of [Disney]." But could economic headwinds become a hurdle for Disney's Shanghai at least initially? Staggs isn't concerned. The focus for Disney, he explains goes much further than near-term economic struggles. "This is a very long-term proposition, so what's going on in the economy at any given moment is not a big concern for us," explained Staggs during a recent Wall Street Journal interview." We look at the trends over the long term and continue to be as bullish as we've ever been in terms of the number of income-qualified people, the prospect for continued growth of the middle class in China, etc. While Staggs said during the WSJ interview Disney was hoping for a big initial reception, he emphasized that the company builds parks "for generations." "We won't judge where we are a week out, a month out, or even a year or two out," he said. Planning for a big launch The company's bet on a big opening is evident. Disney's resorts and parks operating income benefited from growth in domestic operations during the company's most recent quarter but growth was partially offset by lower operating income in Disneyland Paris "as well as pre opening spending at Shanghai," Staggs explained in Disney's earnings call. Though the company isn't jumping in to Shanghai Disneyland blindly; management has reason to believe the opening will be a hit. A recent announcement that tickets will go on sale on March 28 was "incredibly well-received in China," Staggs said during Disney's earnings call. "[T]he anticipation is palpable and growing," he explained. Staggs predicts Shanghai Disneyland represents "an attractive and profitable place to deploy Disney's capital for the long term," he said in the first-quarter call. If Shanghai turns out to be what management expects, investors will likely welcome the international resort with open arms as it begins to contribute to Disney's revenue and bottom line. What happened? Consumer PC retail giant Dell's attempts to move into the enterprise space are now one step closer to realization. The privately held company has won a key approval in its proposed buyout of storage company EMC Corporation (EMC) -- which is the majority owner of VMware (VMW 1.89%) -- as the European Commission has cleared the transaction. The commission does not believe either of the combined entity's two major business lines will limit competition or be negative for consumers. In the press release announcing its decision, it said that even together, Dell and EMC will contend with strong competition for external enterprise storage systems. It also believes that "the merged entity would have neither the ability nor the incentive to shut out competitors," in the virtualization software segment. The European Commission is the executive arm of the European Union. Among other functions, it acts as the economic bloc's antitrust regulator. Does it matter? The European Commission's nod was the last remaining big regulatory hurdle to the merger, following last week's clearance from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. That's a huge win for the ambitious Dell, which is laboring mightily to shift toward higher-end, corporate segments from its traditional focus on the individual consumer. The deal is expected to close by July. It's really committing to this. It agreed to pay around $67 billion for EMC in order to create what company founder Michael Dell characterized as "a dream combination." That's the largest tech industry buyout in history, which is saying something given the multitude of big-ticket deals that have occurred in the sector over the years. RCD Mallorca 100 Years Anniversary Kit The t-shirt reflects the history of the club and it is characterized by details which make it an exclusive product. In fact, it maintains the classic red, predominant on all the t-shirt, and the black, which is used in some details to create contrast. The long sleeves, mandarin collar and V-neck with black laces give the t-shirt a vintage look. At the end of the neckline are embroidered the dates 1916-2016, while on the heart side of the chest is embroidered the logo celebrating the 100 years of Real Mallorca. In addition to the personalized black neck, the numbered label Edicion Limitada embellishes the bottom left of the t-shirt. Real Mallorca's logo is on the back of the neck. Italian sportswear supplier Macron today revealed a special kit that celebrates RCD Mallorca's 100th anniversary. The new Macron RCD Mallorca 100th Years Anniversary Kit will be worn on March 5 against Real Oviedo, the same date the Spanish club was founded. This is the new RCD Mallorca 100-Years Anniversary Shirt.Boasting a vintage look, the new RCD Mallorca 2016 100 Years Anniversary Shirt is designed to be an instant classic. It has no brandings, in line with the classy design.Black shorts and socks are set to complement the special RCD Mallorca Jersey.Pure class. What's your verdict on the new Macron RCD Mallorca Kit? Let us know in the comments below. Rosbergs best time of 1m 23.022s, set on soft tyres, put him two-tenths clear of Williams Valtteri Bottas - who clocked his best lap on Pirellis ultrasoft compound. It was the first time Mercedes have run the soft rubber, the world champions having used only mediums and hards in last weeks opening test. And it was another busy day for the Silver Arrows, with Rosberg notching up 82 laps in the morning and Lewis Hamilton another 90 as he completed a race simulation in the afternoon. Fernando Alonso brought out the red flags just before lunch when his McLaren stopped on track, but the team bounced back in the afternoon, with the Spaniard totalling 93 laps en route to a highly encouraging third in the times. Just behind Alonso was Kimi Raikkonen, who spent much of the afternoon in the Ferrari garage thanks to technical problems, and Red Bulls Daniil Kvyat who also lost track time thanks to a brake problem which caused a small fire on his RB12. It was also a frustrating day for newcomers Haas, who were forced to abandon their programme early thanks to a fuel system problem which left Esteban Gutierrez 11th in the times on just 23 laps. By contrast, Toro Rosso and Force India enjoyed excellent reliability, with Max Verstappen completing a mammoth 144 laps in his newly race-liveried STR11 and Nico Hulkenberg 121 in his VJM09. They finished seventh and eighth respectively, just ahead of Felipe Nasr who gave Sauber's 2016 machine, the C35, a solid debut as he racked up 103 laps. Tuesday's unofficial testing times from Barcelona A former Disney (NYSE:DIS) employee is speaking out about U.S. companies hiring foreign workers with H1-B visas, at lower wages, to replace U.S. workers. The foreign workers that replaced the hundreds of us here in Orlando, and Anaheim, were just flown in weeks before, former Disney IT employee Leo Perrero told the FOX Business Networks Stuart Varney. Perrero then discussed the difference in wages paid to the foreign replacements. They came in on a visa called the H1-B visa, I dont know exactly what they pay, however the bulk of these people that applied for this visa are at the very lowest pay scale out of the four. They all claim to come in on this visa because they are better than Americans, yet they come in on the lowest pay scales. More on this... A visit to Disney will now cost you more According to Perrero this is not a trend unique to Disney. Disney is not an anomaly and in fact, right now, this is happening at Abbott Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:ABT) in Illinois, and one of the senators that was at the hearing, Durbin, sent a letter to the CEO yesterday demanding that he rethink his plans to replace hundreds of IT workers in Illinois, his home state. Perrero then addressed why he is supporting Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential race. Trump has been the most vocal about this, hes publicly stated that Disney should hire everybody back that was replaced by the foreign worker, he is the most vocal about it, Cruz has also brought it up as well, so this is an issue that is coming to the presidential level and gaining more and more attention. But Americans are really starting to slowly see whats happening and starting to fight back on this issue. Jay-Z and Beyonce use it and Kayne West thinks its cool enough to put in his songs. For nearly 20 years the invitation only American Express (NYSE:AXP) Black Card, known formally as the Centurion Card, has worked its way into the hands of high profile celebrities including Britney Spears. But just as Britney toned down her persona, other big spenders may be doing the same when it comes to ringing up hefty bills on elite cards. Sources in touch with high net worth individuals tell FOXBusiness.com their sentiment these days is that the high fees American Express charges is not worth the current set of benefits. The fees will set you back $10,000 according to AmExs card member agreement. While American Express has historically remained tight lipped on what it takes to be invited, most agree that it requires annual spending of approximately $250,000 on a lower level AmEx card, like the Platinum card. An AmEx spokesperson tells FOXBusiness.com that the company does not share details of Centurion benefits and services outside of those who are members. Despite sky-high fees and deep-pocket spenders, AmExs most recent quarterly earnings, released in January, tell another story. Profits fell 39.2% and the company announced a $1 billion cost cutting plan. That day the stock tumbled 12% and has lost 32% over the past 12-months. Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) is the companys largest shareholder with a 15.7% stake. Buffett reaffirmed his support for AmEx's management team in his 2015 annual report. Fee income is AmExs bread and butter: AmExs card revenue was composed of 70% fee income and 30% spread income, according to a report from Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS). American Express used to be the undisputed champ of upscale credit cards for a long time. Now, theres a lot of competition coming after that crown says Matt Schulz, CreditCards.coms (NYSE:RATE) chief industry analyst. Rivals are moving in for the kill by offering lower fees for luxury cards and a more competitive suite of perks. Mastercard (NYSE:MA) offers a Black Card with a much lower annual fee of $495, while the Citi (NYSE:C) Prestige card has a fee of $450. The Chase Palladium card has a higher fee at $595 and Mastercard has a gold card with a $995 fee, but those are still significantly less than AmExs $2,500 fee for the Centurion card. All but one analyst interviewed by FOXBusiness.com agreed that focusing on the high end consumer should be American Express goal moving forward to not only retain brand image but also as their key business strategy. Indeed, AmEx notes on their website that the average AmEx cardholder has an income 26% higher and spends 64% more than non-AmEx users. Brian Kelly, also known as The Points Guy, would like to see AmEx enter the area of lucrative perks that most credit card companies have not tapped into yet: private jets. Airlines to an extent are the most coveted perks says Kelly who believes if AmEx were to offer private jet point accumulation, they could regain their luxury client base. Credit card companies rank airline deals high on the list of preferred partnerships as they generally come with annual fees and free trips that result from spending more. AmExs Black Card isnt the only segment taking a beating. Last month AmEx CEO and chairman of the board Kenneth Chennault cited merchant fees among several reasons for the companys poor financial results. This summer, the company will lose its 16 year co-branded partnership with Costco (NASDAQ:COST) for its TrueEarnings card as the big box retailer has partnered with Citi. AmEx expects to make up to a billion dollars from the sale, according to a press release issued on Monday. And adding insult to injury, JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU) ditched AmEx last year after ten years for the Barclaycard an agreement with Barclays (NYSE:BCS) and Mastercard. The companys partnership with Starwood Hotels (NYSE:HOT) is in limbo after the hotel company was acquired by Marriott (NASDAQ:MAR) which partners with Chase (NYSE:JPM). Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway's 2014 annual meeting. Warren Buffett's 2015 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders was released last Saturday. I wanted to share the three things that I, as an investor, learned from it. 1. Berkshire's low-cost advantageThe biggest thing that struck me in Buffett's letter this year was the way he tied together the cost advantages that many of Berkshire's wholly owned business units share. The low cost model of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, one of Berkshire's five most profitable noninsurance subsidiaries, charges an average $0.068 per kilowatt hour to customers in Iowa. The other major electric utility in Iowa charges $0.095 per kilowatt hour. And the rates charged by utilities in adjacent states are equally high. "Those outstanding performances explain why [Berkshire Hathaway Energy] is welcomed by regulators when it proposes to buy a utility in their jurisdiction," Buffett wrote. "The regulators know the company will run an efficient, safe and reliable operation and also arrive with unlimited capital to fund whatever projects make sense." The same thing is true at Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the nation's largest railroad which was purchased by Berkshire in 2009. While price comparisons between railroads is difficult because of differences in both their mix of cargo and the distance over which it's carried, Buffett's admittedly "crude" analysis estimates that BNSF's cost advantages allow it to charge 40% less per ton-mile than its competitors. And, of course, there's Geico insurance, the longtime low-cost insurance provider. Geico's promise that new customers can save at least 15% in 15 minutes or less is grounded in a model that eschews an expensive and cumbersome network of agents in exchange for direct-to-consumer sales. Its underwriting expenses in 2015, for instance, were 14.7% of its premiums, which is second in the industry only to USAA when it comes to efficiency. In all of these cases, Berkshire's low-cost advantage creates a moat -- "an enduring one," says Buffett -- that its competitors are unable to cross. It allows Berkshire to not only underprice competitors while still generating wide margins, but it also builds goodwill among both customers and industry regulators. 2. Important points about riskRisk management is critical to Berkshire Hathaway, which is made up in no small part of insurance companies. Berkshire's success in this regard can be summed up by Buffett's observation that the Omaha-based conglomerate is "far more conservative in avoiding risk than most large insurers." One key is that Berkshire never overextends itself. "The nature of our insurance contracts is such that we can never be subject to immediate or near-term demands for sums that are of significance to our cash resources," Buffett wrote. "This structure is by design and is a key component in the strength of Berkshire's economic fortress." Buffett goes on to explain that among the biggest shortcomings of most insurance companies is that they're unwilling to walk away from business even if they can't charge high enough premiums to adequately offset their risk. "They simply can't turn their back on business that is being eagerly written by their competitors," wrote Buffett. "That old line, 'The other guy is doing it, so we must as well,' spells trouble in any business, but none more so than insurance." Regardless of how conservative Berkshire is, however, Buffett recognizes that some events will cause trouble for even it -- namely, an attack on the United States. As he explained: 3. Berkshire's partnership with 3G CapitalBuffett also spent time in his letter addressing 3G Capital, a Brazil-based investment firm that Berkshire has teamed up with to invest in Kraft Heinz and Tim Hortons. As Buffett explained, the two companies employ different strategies when identifying investments: Despite their different approaches, Buffett noted that Berkshire "share[s] with [3G Capital] a passion to buy, build and hold large businesses that satisfy basic needs and desires." As Berkshire continues to grow, it's likely to come across fewer acquisitions that will meet its stringent criteria. One way to get around this increasingly sparse landscape, in turn, is to team up with other investors that come at it from a different angle. The article 3 Takeaways From Warren Buffett's 2015 Letter to Shareholders originally appeared on Fool.com. John Maxfield has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Since mid-September,Cablevision has been in that weird limbo a company operates in when it has accepted a buyout offer but has not received regulatory approval. The Long Island-based cable and Internet provider reached agreement with Altice, which trades on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange under the ATC.AS symbol, to be acquired for $34.90 per share. That's slightly higher thanthe company's $32.51 close on Feb. 26 and a decent jump from the $28.54 it closed at on Sept. 16, the day before the deal was announced. Cablevision operates in what is known as the New York metropolitan area comprised of New York, New Jersey, and pats of Connecticut. The company has more than 3.1 million residential and business customers, with approximately 65% of its cable customers subscribing to triple-play services, according to a press release. Despite it being a public entity, the company has always been controlled by the Dolan family, and CEO James Dolan released a statement on the pending merger. "Since Charles Dolan founded Cablevision in 1973, the Dolan family has been honored to help shepherd our customers and employees through the most extraordinary communications revolution in modern history," he said. "Now, nearly half a century later, the time is right for new ownership of Cablevision and its considerable assets. We believe that Patrick Drahi and Altice will be truly worthy successors, and we look forward to doing all we can to affect this transition for our customers and employees." Not everyone agrees, and the deal will face a number of hurdles as the company looks to get it approved at the both the national and local level. That will almost certainly impact the stock price going forward. Source: YCharts.com. The deal is approvedAltice is trying to become a player in the United States, and it would be adding Cablevision to holdings that include SuddenLink, which would make it the fourth largest U.S. cable and Internet provider. Should that happen, Cablevision shareholders will see their stock purchased at prices higher than where it has traded since any point after the deal was announced. This is the most likely scenario for the company, because even though New York Cityregulators and Mayor Bill de Blasiohave made noise about fighting the deal, there are no clear reasons it should be stopped. This is notComcast grabbing up another system to make the top provider even bigger. It's a foreign company trying to gain a U.S. footprint, where the objection from the city is mostly due to the job cuts that would almost certainly occur. The deal is denied, and CVC goes it aloneThe current Federal Communications Commission, chaired by Tom Wheeler, denied the Comcast purchase ofTime Warner Cableand basically threw down a gauntlet to all cable/Internet companies. Even though this deal does not pose the same anti-competition issues the Comcast deal did, it's not out of the question that public sentiment would force the FCC to say no, or offer approval with conditions that cause one company or the other to walk away. For example, Altice has claimed it will save nearly $1 billion between its foreign holdings, Suddenlink, and Cablevision. If the FCC demanded it keep certain levels of jobs, or stopped it from raising prices for a period of time, it's possible the company would walk. If that happens, Cablevision could see a stock increase merely because it would immediately become the most desirable asset in play in the cable/Internet space. The deal is denied, and a better one comes alongWhen the Comcast deal was quashed, its intended purchase target was immediately swooped up byCharter Communications in what was arguably a better deal for shareholders. It's very possible that if the Altice deal is denied or falls apart, one of the other players in the space could immediately make an offer at a better price. Cablevision has a very attractive subscriber base concentrated in one of the richest parts of the country. Those users would be an asset for any company, but they would be especially attractive to Comcast, which operates in adjacent markets. It's possible that given the tightening market, the best thing that could happen for Cablevision shareholders would be for the company to be up for sale to the highest bidder. If that happened, it's very likely it would get a better price per share than Altice is paying. The article 3 Reasons Cablevision Stock Could Rise originally appeared on Fool.com. Daniel Kline has no position in any stocks mentioned. He's tired of winter and wants to go swimming. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Wynn Palace, which is currently under construction in Macau. Image source: Wynn Resorts. Steve Wynn doesn't give a lot of interviews, so when he talks on conference calls with analysts each quarter, investors should pay attention. There are a lot of changes taking place at Wynn Resorts ; here are my five biggest takeaways from the conference call with management after the first quarter (transcript from Seeking Alpha). Will Wynn Palace in Macau be able to stand out? The $4.1 billion Wynn Palace in the Cotai region of Macau will open this summer, and it should be a transformational property for the company. But analysts were wondering how it will stand out versus the competition. Steve Wynn doesn't think that will be a problem, saying: The larger point was that Wynn is selling to customers looking for exclusivity, and are willing to pay for it. He isn't after the mass-market players whoMelco Crown or Las Vegas Sands have targeted with their new resorts, including thousands of hotel rooms. Like Las Vegas, he wants high rollers and premium mass-market players who are willing and able to pay for the experience Wynn provides. Will there be table games? After Melco Crown's Studio City was only given 200 table games when it opened -- less than the 500 or so it expected -- there was concern that Wynn Palace would get the same treatment. Complicating matters is Las Vegas Sands' The Parisian, which will open later this year. If the government wants to limit table-game growth, the resorts may have to split the year's allocation. When asked about table-game allocation, Wynn had this to say: I'm not sure if that's reassuring, but it's the closest we're going to get to an answer to the table-game question until probably shortly before the casino opens. Early renderings of Wynn Paradise Park, the next addition in Las Vegas. Image source: Wynn Resorts. Paradise Park is getting more audacious Wynn recently started talking about the next stage of development in Las Vegas, known as Paradise Park. Early renderings (above) show a lake with a beach, and a hotel addition with about 1,000 rooms. But since then, the plans have gotten bigger: Steve Wynn hasn't even gotten to the planning point where he's taking the project to the Board of Directors, but it sounds like it'll be wild, no matter what ends up being built. How to pay for a $1.5 billion project in Las Vegas The next question is about paying for this planned $1.5 billion addition. And that's where Steve Wynn was very upfront about his plans. To put that into perspective, $300,000 per day would be about $110 million in new revenue for Wynn Las Vegas. That alone doesn't make the addition a great investment, but when added to hotel rooms, convention spaces, bars, restaurants, shops, and anything else that's added, you can see how it could make a lot of money very quickly. Wynn Resorts and the massive buyback program In April, Wynn Resorts authorized up to $1 billion in a buyback program, which could be a large percentage of shares given the current $9.5 billion market cap, and the stock's recent volatility. Here's how Steve Wynn explained the move: Wynn went on to talk about how crazy the market is, but the broader point is that the company will buy back shares aggressively if it feels they're undervalued. If you're bullish on Wynn Resorts, that's great news. The article 5 Things Wynn Resorts' Management Wants You to Know originally appeared on Fool.com. Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The compact Jeep Compass posted a big sales gain in February. Image source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said on Tuesday that its U.S. sales rose 12%, powered by strong gains by its Jeep and Ram brands. Shocked, shocked, to discover strong Jeep sales in this establishment It's a story we've been hearing for quite a while now. While some parts of FCA's global business are struggling, the Jeep and Ram brands have been doing just fine -- better than fine, in fact. U.S. sales of Jeep SUVs rose 23% last month versus results in the year-ago month. That jump was powered by a big (54%) gain for the compact Compass and the addition of the subcompact Renegade, which wasn't yet available at this time last year. Sales of the big Grand Cherokee were up 12% year-over-year, but other Jeeps posted just modest year-over-year increases. No matter: FCA said that the Cherokee (up 7%), Wrangler (up 3%), Patriot (up 3%), and Compass all posted their best February results ever. It's an impressive result especially in light of FCA's manufacturing situation. The Toledo factory that makes the Wrangler and Cherokee is running at full speed and has been for a while; until that changes, year-over-year sales gains are likely to be modest simply because supplies are limited. Ram trucks also had a good month The Ram brand also had a great February, with sales up 27% year-over-year. While FCA didn't quite come out and say it, the big story here is probably a jump in the company's sales to commercial fleet buyers. Last year, FCA CFO Richard Palmer said that the company would look to gain ground in sales of trucks and vans to commercial fleets in the United States. That market has long been dominated by Chrysler's old Detroit rivals, Ford and General Motors -- and unlike rental-car fleet sales, sales of work trucks to commercial fleets are good, profitable business. The Ram ProMaster City, a small commercial van, is off to a good start. Image source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Those profits were probably strong in February. Ram pickup sales rose 23%, accounting for much of the brand's volume -- but its Fiat-derived ProMaster and smaller ProMaster City commercial vans are also doing well. ProMaster van sales were up 83% year-over-year, while the ProMaster City (which was new this time last year) added another 1,763 units to the brand's total. FCA's car models continue to struggle On the car front, here's the good news: Sales of the Dodge Challenger coupe rose 6%, and the big Chrysler 300 sedan was up 10%. The bad news is that those two are niche products, and the volume models are hurting. The bread-and-butter compact Dodge Dart (down 9%) and midsize Chrysler 200 (down a disturbing 58%) both continue to slide into oblivion. The two were supposed to be FCA's mass-market volume car models, but neither has managed to get much momentum in the market. Buyers are ignoring FCA's mainstream sedans, but the big Dodge Challenger muscle car is selling quite well. Image source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Sales of the 300's sibling, the Dodge Charger, dropped 15% year over year. On the bright side for the Dodge brand, sales of the Durango SUV (a sibling of the Jeep Grand Cherokee) rose 22%, and the Caravan minivan, which is set to be discontinued, posted a 95% year-over-year gain as dealers began selling off inventories. The upshot: FCA's sales roll continues In what was likely a good month for U.S. sales overall, FCA's results show its ongoing strengths: The powerhouse Jeep brand, its well-regarded Ram pickup line, and its appealing niche cars. This was the company's 71st consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains in the United States. Compared to its rivals, FCA still lacks a credible luxury offering, and at this point it's almost a non-player in the mass-market sedan segments. Both are likely to hurt the company in coming years. But the things FCA does best are still working for it in a still-strong U.S. new-car market. The article Fiat Chrysler is Living on Jeep and Ram Sales Right Now originally appeared on Fool.com. John Rosevear owns shares of Ford and General Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Ford. The Motley Fool recommends General Motors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The Building Efficiency headquarters of Johnson Controls in Milwaukee. Image source: Johnson Controls. In an emerging market, like the Internet of Things (IoT), today's leaders can easily become tomorrow's laggards. Currently,Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) is at the forefront of developing building automation systems (BASes) and following several strategic maneuvers, redoubling its efforts to seize the burgeoning smart building market. Let's take a closer to see how these moves improve upon the company's strengths.What's in a nameOne competitive advantage which Johnson Controls retains is its highly respected brand name and reputation. The company, for the ninth year in a row, ranked as one of the world's most ethical companies by Ethisphere, and it ranked 14th in Corporate Responsibility Magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens list. Regarding BAS, Johnson Controls, due to Metasys, is an esteemed industry stalwart, that wonFrost and Sullivan's 2009North American Award for Market Leadership of the Year. According to the research firm: "Outstanding expertise in customer care coupled with the ability to combine technology and successful marketing has benefited Johnson Controls in its quest for market leadership within the BAS industry."The company's edge extends beyond Metasys and into the respected names of its other properties. With nine heating and cooling brands -- such as York and Coleman -- in its portfolio, three leading refrigeration brands, and 11 air distribution brands, Johnson Controls offers its customers a variety of industry-leading products to pair with Metasys. Thus, it can provide more competitive pricing to customers who avoid third-party equipment. The commercial market provides ample opportunity for the company. According to Navigant Research,global revenue from commercial energy-efficient HVAC systems alone is expected to total $340 billion from 2015 to 2024.Thanks to a joint venture with Hitachi completed last October, Johnson Controls is adding yet another respected name to its portfolio. Retaining 60% ownership in the partnership, Johnson Controls will broaden its reach in several Asian markets: China, Taiwan, Japan, and India. Not to be underestimated, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) is a substantial opportunity. According to research from Technavio, theglobal residential HVAC market in APAC was valued at $31.7 billion in 2014 and is likely to reach $51.4 in billion in 2019. In announcing its merger with Tyco International last month, Johnson Controls is further demonstrating its commitment to building automation and trusted brand names. Johnson Controls and Tyco investor presentation.Image source: Johnson Controls. The merger unites two IoT- savvy companies that lead in separate niches: Johnson Controls in HVAC and Tyco in fire and security. Once Tyco's proficiencies are integrated with the current iteration of Metasys, Johnson Controls will enjoy another competitive advantage: offering the market a more comprehensive solution -- one that's not just smarter, but safer as well.Consequently, the joining of the two business presents a formidable force in BAS; Tyco will contribute 17 fire and security brands to Johnson Controls' already extensive portfolio. It will also contribute its own BAS, Tyco On. And with expected synergies to yield about $650 million in savings, Johnson Controls will be able to offer customers a more competitive Metasys at a more attractive price.Committing to the front lineAnother competitive advantage that Johnson Controls enjoys is its technology lead in regards to Metasys and its battery products and solutions. The company has no intention of resting on its laurels -- instead it continues to pursue innovation. Over the past three years, the company's research and development cost has averaged $772 million per year -- accounting for 2.3% of average revenue over the same period. Tyco will fit in nicely in this regard as it is also committed; its average R&D spending has accounted for 1.9% of its revenue over the past three years. Conversely, competitors likeIngersoll-Rand are not as committed -- ithas averaged 1.7% on R&D over the past three years.Johnson Controls' commitment ensures that it retains its competitive position as an industry leader.Another significant competitive advantage for Johnson Controls is the high switching costs for customers who already employ the company's building automation solutions -- and for customers who have adopted solutions from Tyco. Developing a system for a building is no easy feat: sensors and controllers must be deployed, and personnel must be trained in using the system's software. Transitioning to a new system is not as simple as changing out a couple of smoke detectors. The switching costs become even higher for campus operators, like hospitals and higher education institutions.Subsequently, as Johnson Controls builds its building automation customer base (both organically and from Tyco), another competitive advantage emerges -- an established channel through which it can provide distributed energy solutions. The companyis growing stronger by turning inward, looking to leverage its proficiency in batteries to gain yet another edge in the BAS market. In an investor presentation from last December, management discussed its intent to pursue the distributed power generation and storage market. Source:Johnson Controls strategic review and 2016 outlook. In one of the first of several planned projects in North America, Johnson Controls is implementing its distributed energy solution in Chicago's Merchandise Mart. The facility has benefited from the company's other solutions to improve its energy efficiency. Paired with the company's energy management strategy, the distributed energy storage solution is expected to reduce this facility's (and others') electricity spending by up to 35%.Industry experts expect the distributed energy storage market to grow substantially over the next few years. According to Navigant,worldwide revenue from distributed energy storage systems is expected to grow from $452 million annually in 2014 to more than $16.5 billion in 2024. Johnson Controls' proficiency in both BAS and battery technology provide a significant competitive advantage which uniquely positions the company to seize a significant portion of the market opportunity.The takeaway In addition to the joint venture and merger, Johnson Controls is spinning off of its automotive business in October. When completed, it will only have two operating segments -- building efficiency and power supply.Granted, there is substantial competition as companies likeGE and Honeywell look to grow their BAS businesses and companies likeTesla Motors look to grow in the energy storage market. Nonetheless, Johnson Controls is uniquely positioned in that it has proficiency in both building efficiency solutions and battery technology. As it provides more solutions which combine these two areas of expertise, the company should prove that it has the ability to succeed in this rapidly growing market. The article How Strong Is Johnson Controls' Internet of Things Position? originally appeared on Fool.com. Scott Levine has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of General Electric Company and Johnson Controls,. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Image Source: Cheniere Energy investor presentation A good indication that people think highly of your ability in a profession is when they're willing to pay $1,600 on Amazonfor a book you wrote on that profession. That's the case for hedge fund manager and value investor Seth Klarman, who wrote a limited-edition value-investing book called Margin of Safety.In 2015, Klarman's hedge fund, the Baupost Group had just its third down year in its three decade-plus history. Given Klarman's long-term track record, it seems that now is a good time to be looking into his portfolio for undervalued securities. He redoubled his analysis and then bought more Cheniere EnergyWhen a stock moves against you, there are three things you can do: Sell the stock, buy more of it, or do nothing. With some of his stocks moving against him, Klarman and his team went back to the drawing board and carefully reassessed the intrinsic value of each position. Here's what he said in his Q4 2015 letter to investors: In the case of Cheniere Energy (NYSEMKT: LNG), a critical reevaluation led Klarman to buy a lot more of the company. In January he filed with the SEC, revealing that he had increased Baupost's stake in the company by 50% and now owned 15% of Cheniere. His doubling down on Cheniere is even more interesting, considering the SEC filings reveal that Baupost was happy to hold Cheniere at over $80 and was buying shares early in 2015. His Q4 letter provides some color on why Klarman still likes Cheniere: "Even Cheniere Energy, with limited exposure to oil and gas prices, was significantly penalized by this unforgiving market." What is Klarman talking about? How does Cheniere have limited commodity price exposure? Cheniere is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, and global LNG prices have worsened significantly. Cheniere, however, is relatively unaffected by this drop because of pricing contracts it's locked into. Cheniere has signed contracts both to sell all of its production and the price that it will be sold for. Here's a list of 20-year contracts Cheniere agreed to on its Sabine Pass facility: Source: Cheniere January 2016 presentation. Cheniere purchases its natural gas based on the Henry Hub spot price. That Henry Hub price will fluctuate, but Cheniere's contracts to sell LNG are locked in at Henry Hub plus 15%. That means it doesn't matter if natural gas prices rise or fall. Cheniere will make the same amount either way. On top of the 15% markup is a fixed fee of roughly $3 per MMBtu. At today's prices, that would mean Cheniere is buying natural gas for $1.91 and selling it for $5.19. While he was buying Cheniere, he was dumping Pioneer Natural Resources At the end of March 2015, shale oil producer Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD) wasn't in the Baupost portfolio. By the end of June the Baupost portfolio had over 4 million Pioneer shares worth more than $560 million. That position was unchanged as of last September. By the end of December, the Baupost portfolio held no Pioneer shares. PXD data by YCharts Why might that be? While we can't know for certain, since he didn't refer to the sale publicly, it seems quite possible that Klarman became less bullish on the price of oil. Given that few people could have imagined that we'd be looking at $30 WTI in February 2016, the length and depth of this collapse may have caught Klarman by surprise. Perhaps with Saudi Arabia, Iraq and now Iran (with sanctions removed) willing to continue to increase production into an oversupplied market Klarman believes his assumptions on where oil might go have changed. There were more than a few of us who believed that OPEC at the very least would not intentionally increase production to keep oil down for longer. It would make sense that Klarman would sell if he now believes that OPEC could keep oil prices much lower for much longer than expected. Alternatively Klarman may have changed is mind on Pioneer specifically. Pioneer has been one of the most aggressive drillers of wells into these low oil prices. While companies like EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG) have adopted the policy of not growing production into low oil prices Pioneer has been quite vocal (until very recently) about continuing to grow. While Pioneer is very well hedged against low prices, it isn't fully hedged so these incremental growth barrels would be sold at very low prices. It is quite possible that Klarman does not approve of this strategy which could be viewed as drilling marginally economic (at best) or money losing wells. Either way, Klarman is out of Pioneer. Implications for investorsIf you believe that Klarman's 30-year track record of significant investing outperformance is due to something other than luck, then you might want to take a hard look at Cheniere Energy. Following a great investor into one stock doesn't guarantee success, but taking a hard look at what a great investor is buying makes a lot of sense. The article Seth Klarman Doubled Down On This Energy Stock While He Dumped Another originally appeared on Fool.com. TMFWolfpack has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon.com. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Source: ExxonMobil corporate website. Oil and gas behemoth ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) recently released its 2014 reserve report, and with it came the end of a mighty streak. After 21 consecutive years of growing its oil and gas reserves, Exxon told us that in 2015 the company replaced only 67% of the reserves it produced. The cause of the decline wasn't an issue with Exxon not being able to find oil and gas.The issue was low commodity prices resulting in the company being forced to deem previously existing reserves as uneconomic. Oil and gas prices have dipped so low that even the strongest companies in the industry are suffering. The guilty culprit -- natural gasThe oil price collapse is what gets the most headlines these days. The financial news is regularly littered with what the energy minister from one OPEC nation or another may have said. But it wasn't the low price of oil that put the big dent in Exxon's reserves. It was natural gas. While Exxon more than replaced its oil production in 2015, it had to reduce its proven natural gas reserves by roughly 5 trillion cubic feet. The issue wasn't that the natural gas itself disappeared; the problem is that prices are so low that the gas is now uneconomic to produce. So the good news is that if natural gas prices rebound in the coming years, some or all of those reserves could come back to Exxon. This is a continuation of a tough period for Exxon when it comes to natural gas. In December 2009, Exxon acquired shale gas producer XTO Energy for a dizzying $31 billion in Exxon shares. Exxon hasn't even been drilling XTO's legacy natural gas assets in the past couple of years and has instead been focused on oil acreage in the Permian and Bakken that came in the deal. Two and a half years after that acquisition in June 2012, Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson was famously quoted as saying that the company was "losing their shirts" drilling for natural gas. With natural gas prices currently trading for a sickly $1.76, I think it's safe to say that those shirts are still in short supply around Exxon's corporate headquarters when it comes to shale gas. Now obviously for a company the size of Exxon not replacing 33% of one year's production is not that big of a deal. This company has a vast reserve base and the current stressed environment could actually benefit the company in the long run if it can acquire some very attractively priced assets. Another streak ends -- share buybacks are discontinuedBefore releasing the information about its reserves, Exxon had released its Q4 earnings. Included in that was this news about its share repurchase program: "In the first quarter of 2016, the corporation will continue to acquire shares to offset dilution in conjunction with its benefit plans and programs but does not plan on making purchases to reduce shares outstanding." This is yet another sign of how big of an impact low oil and gas prices are having on everyone in this industry. In the previous several years, Exxon had been a major acquirer of its own shares at higher stock prices. Now with a lower stock price, the share repurchase plan has been kicked to the curb in order to protect the balance sheet. From 2011 through the end of 2014, Exxon spent an incredible amount repurchasing shares: 2011: $22.0 billion 2012: $21.1 billion 2013: $16.0 billion 2014: $13.2 billion In 2015, that number is down to just under $4 billion, and in 2016 the numbers are apparently going to be pretty close to zero, with just enough being repurchased to offset option issuances. Will the XTO mistake keep Exxon on the M&A sidelines?Despite all of the damage being done by low commodity prices to Exxon's reserves and its share repurchase plan, Exxon's share price has held up very well. At just over $80, Exxon is trading only about 20% below its 2014 high. Meanwhile, there are all kinds of attractive acquisition candidates with share prices that are down 50%, 60%, 70%, and more. You can't help thinking that now would be a perfect time for Exxon to use its much more richly valued share price to scoop up some significant assets on the cheap. Companies such as Continental Resourcesor Whiting Petroleum have very beaten-down share prices and large, high-quality positions in the Bakken. Acquiring one of these companies would provide Exxon with decades worth of development drilling locations that involve no exploration or political risk. Surely shareholders in these companies would welcome an ExxonMobil takeover at a nice premium from where the stocks currently trade. Last time commodity prices collapsed, Exxon did make a major move acquiring XTO. Since that hasn't worked out very well, perhaps Exxon will remain on the sidelines this time if the mergers-and-acquisitions market heats up. We will have to wait and see. The article Should You Worry About ExxonMobil's 21-Year Reserve Replacement Streak Ending? originally appeared on Fool.com. TMFWolfpack has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of ExxonMobil. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Image source: Veolia. Water, waste, and energy goliath Veolia Environnement reported its annual results for 2015 last week. And even though the market had a muted response, the company continues to perform admirably in light of the significant debt and overextension it had experienced coming out of the Great Recession. With so many moving parts in such a large company, let's focus on the story from 30,000 feet first -- it's relatively easy to understand: The company benefited from favorable currency exchange rates and the divestiture of certain businesses in 2015. Without those effects, revenue actually fell 0.6%. But that doesn't matter, because Veolia has been all about becoming a leaner company for the past five years. Net income rose almost 80% to 1.06 euros per share, and free cash flow rose to a record 856 million euros. Digging deeperAs I said, there are a lot of moving parts here; diving too deep into any one of them would turn this into an arduously long article. Instead, I'd like to focus on results in two different lights -- by segment and by geography. Here's how each of the company's three main segments performed in 2015. Segment Revenue Growth Water 11.35 billion (2.5%) Waste 8.69billion 0.5% Energy 4.93billion 0.1% All figures in euros and for 2015 fiscal year. Growth is at constant scope and exchange rates. Data source: Veolia. Water revenues were hit the hardest by contract renegotiations in France that were eventually resolved butthat were unfavorable for the company on a year-over-year basis. Waste revenues grew thanks to new commercial contracts, which help offset a drop in the volume of waste in almost all corners of the globe (that's a good thing for most of us). And energy activities actually performed quite well given weak commodity prices, and contracts outside of Europe were mostly to thank for that. But to get a better picture of the state of the company, it's worth viewing more geographically, as management spends much more time providing this type of granularity. Also, note that the "Global" business is mainly a construction business. Geography Revenue Growth EBITDA Growth France 5.47billion (1.5%) 816 million (2.5%) Europe ex-France 8.57billion (1.2%) 1,104million 9.1% Rest of world 5.93billion 3.5% 805million 3.7% Global 4.88billion (3.3%) 226million (3.7%) All figures in euros and for 2015 fiscal year. Growth is at constant scope and exchange rates. Data source: Veolia. EBITDA = earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. As I stated above, the renegotiation of contracts in France along with lower energy prices and waste volumes drove both revenue and EBITDA down. And while the global construction business provides one-fifth of revenue, it is a low-margin business -- providing just 7% of EBITDA -- and the downfall didn't hurt shareholders too much. The real strength came from cost-cutting in Europe and growth in the "Rest of World" division. Specifically, revenue growth in Latin America (+12.8%) and China (+7.9%) helped offset a decline in North America. Management went out of their way to talk about how the company's China operations benefited from the energy sold through the Jiamusi and Harbin heating networks, as well as construction of waste incinerators. Valuing the businessIt's worth noting that management also announced that the company's dividend would be raised from 0.70 euros to 0.73 euros, an increase of 4%. They further stated that they expect to grow the dividend by a hefty 10% per year between 2016 and 2018. While investors may have been hoping for more, that's promising growth on the horizon for a stock that already has a 3.5% yield. With 856 million euros of free cash flow, the company now trades for 13 times that figure. Given the stabilization of the company's revenue streams, the promise of further dividend increases, and cost-cutting measures that will continue through 2018, the company is definitely healthier today than it was just a few years back. The article Veolia Environnement Continues to Stabilize Its Ship originally appeared on Fool.com. Brian Stoffel has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Veolia Environnement. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Last Thursday, Republic Airways , the No. 2 U.S. regional airline operator, filed for bankruptcy. This might seem like bad news for Brazilian jet maker Embraer , because Republic is one of its biggest customers. Republic Airways is the No. 1 operator of Embraer's E175 jet. Photo: Embraer However, while Republic is facing some financial distress right now, it is likely to keep most or all of its outstanding aircraft orders, as Embraer's E175 jet remains profitable for regional airlines to operate. Furthermore, even if Republic had to cancel some of its orders, they would likely be picked up by other U.S. regional airlines. Republic files for bankruptcyRegional airlines have faced a growing pilot shortage in recent years, due in part to low starting pay. Republic Airways was particularly hard hit last year because of an ugly battle with its labor union that prevented it from raising its first-year pilot pay. Republic finally reached an agreement with its pilot union in late 2015. However, while the resulting pay increase helped somewhat in terms of hiring new pilots, the company was woefully understaffed by that point and couldn't catch up. This made it impossible for Republic to operate all the flights it had promised to fly for mainline partners like United Continental . Republic hints at its strategyRepublic expects to continue business as usual while going through the bankruptcy process. To restructure successfully, it will need to match its aircraft fleet and flying commitments to the amount of flying it can handle based on pilot availability. Given that pilot staffing is Republic's key constraint, the company has a strong incentive to keep its most profitable flying contracts (and the associated aircraft) while dumping more marginal ones. This means that Republic is likely to accelerate its shift toward a single fleet type consisting of Embraer's E170 and E175 jets. Indeed, in the press release announcing its Chapter 11 filing, the company stated, "Our restructuring will maintain Republic as the world's largest operator of EJET aircraft." Republic Airways will retire its last Q400 turboprops this year. Republic had already planned to remove all of its Q400 turboprops within the next couple of quarters. It had also intended to retire its fleet of 50-seat Embraer 145 jets by mid-2016, but last year, Delta Air Lines unexpectedly extended Republic Airways' contract to operate these marginally profitable jets until 2021. Republic's best move is to get out of its E145 contract in order to free up pilots to fly the more profitable E170 and E175 jets. These two models are the most popular regional jets today due to their wider seats, tall ceilings, and low operating costs. They also share the same type rating, so pilots can fly either model without the need for retraining. Republic's E175 orders are safeAt the end of 2015, Republic Airways had 28 outstanding E175 orders with Embraer, with deliveries scheduled for 2016 and 2017. Embraer has already delivered four E175s to Republic in the first two months of the year, leaving 24 firm orders in its backlog. These orders are probably safe. The operational and financial benefits of operating a single fleet type and the relative profitability of the E175 should push Republic to keep growing its E175 fleet, even as it shrinks overall. Republic Airways will standardize its fleet on the E170 and E175 jets. Image source: Republic Airways. Additionally, it's important to remember that Republic is ultimately operating regional flights on behalf of major airlines. Its current E175 orders are part of a contract with United Continental. Even if Republic can't or won't buy the remaining E175s it has ordered, United still needs these planes to retire older, less-efficient jets in its regional fleet. As a result, if Republic were to reject any of its remaining E175 orders, United Continental would probably find another regional airline to operate those planes. Today, Republic is one of three companies operating E175 regional flights for United. There might be some changes to the timing of the delivery schedule, but Republic's woes aren't likely to change United's long-term regional fleet plan. No major cause for concernIn short, Republic Airways will probably restructure by moving to a single fleet type of E170 and E175 jets. While this would entail getting rid of its smaller Embraer 145 jets, that model is already out of production, so it wouldn't matter much for Embraer. The E170 and E175 planes (particularly the latter) remain in high demand among the big U.S. airlines for their regional fleets. That means Republic is likely to keep its existing orders with Embraer. And even if it has to cancel some E175 orders, United Continental or its other regional affiliates will step into the gap in short order. The article Why Republic Airways' Bankruptcy Won't Hurt Embraer originally appeared on Fool.com. Adam Levine-Weinberg owns shares of Embraer-Empresa Brasileira and United Continental Holdings, and is long July 2016 $25 calls on Embraer-Empresa Brasileira and long Jan. 2017 $40 calls on Delta Air Lines, The Motley Fool recommends Embraer-Empresa Brasileira. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. As the presidential candidates look to Super Tuesday, Ben Carson discusses what he sees as his path to victory. The path to victory would be people awakening and recognizing that what we are offering is exactly what they asked for, someone who was an outsider, someone who could not be bought or sold, someone who has a life of achievement, the Republican presidential candidate told the FOX Business Networks Stuart Varney. Carson addressed concerns he hasnt won a primary or caucus yet and cant win the nomination without delegates. No question about that. But at the same time, recognize that my candidacy is non-traditional, this was not something that was part of my plan, but it was rather a response to millions of Americans and continues to be that. We have millions of people on social media pushing us to stay in, who are supporting us. Were bringing in a lot more money this month than we did last month. Carson also discussed whether he would support Donald Trump if he were to become the Republican nominee. Of course I would support whoever the nominee is. And that is something that all Republicans and conservatives must understand, that if they decide that no, Im not going to support this person, then they are voting for the other side. On Varneys statement that it is not a unified party, Carson responded: No question. And I remember after the last debate, if you can call it that, so many of the international reporters asked me, arent you embarrassed, isnt this embarrassing for your country? You know, we have just reached a point where we dont seem to understand whats going on in the world anymore and its a little bit alarming. Its almost like the Roman Coliseum, and Rome was being destroyed and the people were only interested in what was going on in the coliseum. San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Torrey Smith opened up to fans Monday about the medical scare he and his pregnant wife are currently going through with their unborn child. Smith and his wife Chanel, who are already parents to son TJ, were initially told by doctors that their baby had a 1 in 25 chance of trisomy 18. I wasnt familiar with it, so I began to Google it while she was explaining what it was all about, Smith wrote in a blog post entitled Prayers Up. My heart dropped and my wife was in tears. I still had no worries because even though its high risk, I still viewed it as a 24-1 chance that he is fine. Trisomy 18, also called Edwards syndrome, is a condition caused by an error in cell division and disrupts the normal pattern of development. It occurs in about 1 out of every 2,500 pregnancies in the United States, and can be fatal before birth, according to the Trisomy 18 Foundation. About 10 percent of children with trisomy survive their first birthday. The Smiths returned to the doctor the next day where another test showed the odds were heightened to 1 in 10. After the initial shock, Smith said his wife began to show strength that made him realize they could handle whichever way the diagnosis went. The couple decided abortion was not an option, and they would carry the baby to term. Being in this situation has changed the way I view everything about it. I realized I have no right to suggest to [Chanel] what she should do, Smith wrote. I can talk about the pros and cons of each, or maybe even make suggestions, but I couldnt pressure her one way or the other. When I realized that, it hurt me to the core. I feared I could lose both of them. Four days later, tests revealed the initial and second diagnosis was wrong, their son, who theyve decided to name Kameron, does not have trisomy 18, but there may be other issues. We are excited to know that our child has a shot at life and nothing else even matters. My wife is fearless waiting for the final test results. I never knew my admiration for her could grow any more than it did the day she gave birth to Torrey [TJ], he wrote. Now we are praying that our little fighter continues to grow and we can meet him. Im praying for life, not for his health. A disability doesnt make you unhealthy; it just means you may have different challenges. We all have challenges, and we are ready for ours that will soon come. Prayers Up for Kameron! Doctors are increasingly marrying other well-educated people with careers, and that may be exacerbating the shortage of doctors in already underserved rural areas of the U.S., suggests new research. More than half of U.S. doctors are now married to other highly educated people, and those marriages are tied to a 38 percent reduced odds of the doctors working in rural underserved areas, researchers report in JAMA. "It's making it increasingly difficult for rural areas to attract physicians," said lead author Douglas O. Staiger of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The researchers used Census and survey records to study one percent of all employed physicians age 25 to 70 working in the U.S. every decade from 1960 to 2000 - totaling almost 20,000 doctors, and every year from 2005 to 2011 - totaling more than 55,000 doctors. From the data, the researchers determined if a doctor's spouse had six or more years of college before 1990 or a master's degree or higher from 1990 to 2011. They sorted rural Census blocks into primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas. Doctors with highly educated spouses increased from 9 percent in 1960 to 54 percent in 2010, and one third of highly educated spouses were also doctors consistently over time. In 1960, 4 percent of married physicians were women, but that number rose to 31 percent in 2010. They were more likely than men to be married to a spouse with a graduate degree. Between 2005 and 2011, about 11 percent of the U.S. population lived in Health Professional Shortage Areas, while only about 5 percent of doctors worked in these areas. About 4 percent of married doctors with a highly educated spouse worked in underserved areas, compared to about 7 percent of married doctors without highly educated spouses. Single, young, female, black and Hispanic doctors were also less likely to work in underserved areas, compared to married doctors without highly educated spouses. "People have focused on lots of the other reasons for the physician shortage, and we were just trying to emphasize that an increasingly important barrier is this joint location issue for married couples who both have careers," Staiger said. Cities offer more general amenities, higher average incomes and more opportunities for professional development, he said. "People who haven't grown up in rural areas are unlikely to locate there, and fewer and fewer people have grown up in rural areas," he said. But rural areas still need doctors, particularly primary care and urgent care doctors, he said. These areas try to attract doctors by offering more money. Other ways to address the problem may include training nurse practitioners or other health professionals to act as primary care providers, or to use telemedicine to connect urban doctors to rural patients, Staiger said. "A lot of research for decades has shown that the two most powerful factors are having grown up in a rural area and being committed to particular specialties that fit in a rural area, like family practice," said Dr. Howard Rabinowitz of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. "The first way people approach it is to try and preferentially admit to medical school students who are likely to go rural," said Rabinowitz, who was not part of the new study. Some rural practices will pay off a doctor's student loans to attract them to the job, he told Reuters Health. Identifying people who actually want to go rural and support them has been the most effective way to address the shortage so far, he said. Justin and Dahlia Constantine had only known each other for a few months when he was deployed with his Marine Corps unit to Iraq in summer of 2006. They had met while taking a Spanish class in Argentina, where he had mentioned that he was a lawyer in the Marines but hadnt been deployed before. Less than two months after arriving in Al Anbar Province, Justin was shot by an enemy sniper behind his left ear, with the bullet exploding while exiting through his mouth. I talked to everyone who was involved that day, apparently I was awake and I was still functioning at the time, trying to fight when I was in shock, Justin, 46, told FoxNews.com. I remember a little from that morning but I dont remember from the site when I was shot, I dont remember walking in to the aid station and communicating with doctors or anything like that. A medic performed an emergency tracheotomy on Justin, saving his life during the live firefight. He was eventually airlifted to Landstuhl, Germany, which is when Dahlia, then enrolled in a doctoral program in Cambridge, England, would learn about his injury. Justin was expected to return to base that night, promising hed call or send an email when he did. But as the day went on, Dahlia began to worry. Coming back from a conference she passed an American cemetery from World War II, and her heart sunk as she realized that something might have gone wrong. She eventually received an email from his mother with the subject Justins OK, but nobody had any idea as to what had happened. A few reports said that he had been killed in action. Dahlia boarded a plane to Germany the next day and learned firsthand what had happened. We were in a long-distance relationship, I was just eager to see him no matter what he looked like, Dahlia, 37, told FoxNews.com. I just missed him. The doctor sat with me trying to explain that he was medicated, he wouldnt recognize me, that I wouldnt recognize him and trying to emotionally prepare me for what was about to happen, she said. They opened the door and he was bandaged from head to toe, except for one eye. I looked at that one eye and it was him. Justin lost nearly all of his teeth, part of his jaw, his palate, the end of his tongue, and nearly all sight in his left eye. Doctors placed him on a feeding tube and in an induced coma. His vocal cord was also swollen, leaving doctors to believe he wouldnt be able to speak. Everything else was a mess and a disaster, but it was him, and it was me, and we would be OK, Dahlia said. Transitioning to a new life The road to recovery and ensuing years would forge a bond between Justin and Dahlia that would connect them on a deep emotional level. Dahlia, a California native, dropped out of her program at Cambridge and followed him to Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland, to become his fulltime caregiver. Justin would undergo two dozen facial reconstruction procedures, including one to rebuild his jaw which involved taking bone and bone marrow from his leg and hip. The transition home was difficult, as Justin had to learn how to rely on others for help. The Marine who lead eight other Marines into battle now had to wear a towel over his shoulder and down his front, because the injury to his jaw caused him to drool excessively. He cannot run, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury. We didnt go out to eat in public for about a year because it was such an embarrassing situation for me, he said. I didnt like walking around in public because people would look and wonder what happen. You have to get used to asking for help for everything, Justin said. Dahlia did everything helped me take my clothes off, helped me wash, helped me with PTSD, I needed Dahlias support in everything. The couple spent many days during his recovery creating lists of places they wanted to visit and things they wanted to see. They wed in 2008, which was the same year Justin received a Purple Heart and wore his uniform for the first time since the injury. The couple is also careful to say that Justins injury didnt necessarily change their outlook on life, because they had been positive from the start, which helped them through their dark days. However, the accident did help them realize that they needed to prioritize their lives and spend time doing more things together, which is true to this day. Just as importantly, they know they need to take time apart to appreciate what they have. Some advice for caregivers in general, whether its your child, parents, spouse, is to take some time for yourself. Its much easier said than done, Dahlia said. I would go to Starbucks and have a coffee, even if its just 15 minutes a day, to rejuvenate and be a better caregiver and be better for yourself because you lose sight of yourself. As they approach the 10-year anniversary of Justins injury, the Constantines dont have any grand plans to commemorate it. They honor it in their own way, but dont allow it to define them as a couple. Justin retired from the Marines as a Lt. Colonel in 2013, and recently published his first book, My Battlefield, Your Office, which targets mid-level corporate managers and shares ways to become a better leader. Dahlia has enrolled at Colombia University to pursue the doctoral degree in education curriculum and teaching that she put aside to care for Justin. We know we can tackle things now, we had the hard part up front, Dahlia said. Even when things get hard which they do because thats life we can go back and say look, we accomplished this, how do we do this and use those same ideas now. They both work to give back to the community they live in, and are exploring the possibility of writing a book together. Justin is also a motivational speaker and works with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to help returning soldiers, injured veterans and their caregivers find employment. He works extensively with veterans groups to help soldiers find available resources. Justin may undergo a few more facial surgeries for symmetry, but has stopped going to counseling as he feels he is in a much better place than he was when he returned. He also credits Dahlia with helping him return to his former self. She was there every single day, Justin said of Dahlia. That was a cornerstone to my recovery this isnt just for wounded warriors, this is for anyone having a loved one with you makes a huge difference in what youre going through. Hannah Kiresuk, 19, was diagnosed with juvenile refractory myasthenia, a rare autoimmune neuromuscular disease, when she was a teen. Through her four years of treatment, Hammy, a stuffed cow toy, has stayed by her side as she endured more than 30 surgeries and procedures. Hammy went missing Sunday and Kiresuks family is hoping for the toys safe return before her next chemotherapy infusion on Friday which would be her first without the beloved toy. Losing him is a BIG deal, hammy can't be replaced, Kiresuk, of Roseville, Minn., wrote on the Team Hannahs Courage Facebook page. Hammy is lost Hannah needs hammy home! It will be her first chemo infusion without him if he's not back home Friday Posted by Team Hannah's courage on Sunday, February 28, 2016 Hammy has undergone the same medical procedures as Kiresuk, including excision of the bone cyst, eye surgery, thymectomy, fistula placement, and tracheostomy. The cow was created at the Minnesota State Fair and Kiresuk made his hospital gown out of her favorite baby shirt and two of the zipper pouches were made from her cats blanket. He cant be replaced, I need him, she wrote on Sunday. According to The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, myasthenia gravis (MG) patients nerves and muscles are unable to communicate properly, leading to muscular weakness. The disease occurs in about 10 in one million people, 10 percent of which are children. Kiresuks MG worsened as she got older and shes now in chronic respiratory failure she is hooked up to a breathing machine 18 hours a day. According to her Facebook page, she receives most of her medical care in San Diego because of the severity of her disease. Shes also been diagnosed with a number of other illnesses, including reflex sympathetic dystrophy and obsessive compulsive disorder. Kiresuk and her family hope she can receive a bone marrow transplant, one of few FDA-approved treatments for MG, according to her fundraising page on the Childrens Organ Transplant Association. Shes been denied coverage by insurance companies and the transplant would cost about $500,000. There is no known cure for MG. Hammy fell out of Kiresuks bag Sunday as she was on her way to a benefit held in her honor in Minneapolis. Shes asked anyone who sees the stuffed animal to please contact her via her Facebook page. Researchers are testing an intriguing new weapon for patients battling cancer: rigorous physical exercise. Studies and clinical trials at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City aim to find out if a regimen of exercise training can inhibit or delay the spread of a malignant tumor and help prevent its recurrence. An early-stage trial currently under way involves 72 women with stage 4 breast cancer, which has spread to other parts of the body and is generally considered incurable. Scientists say the research, part of an emerging field known as exercise oncology, could take years to prove a link between exercise and cancer. If successful, they hope exercise someday will become a standard of care in cancer treatment, along with conventional therapies such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Previous studies have found, for example, that breast-cancer patients who exercise have a lower risk of recurrence and are less likely to die from their disease than women who are inactive. But the findings, from observational studies, arent definitive, experts say. Exercise also has been shown to help some cancer patients tolerate the debilitating effects of chemo and radiation treatments. The new research at Sloan Kettering includes randomized, controlled studiesconsidered the gold standard for scientific inquiryseeking to prove that exercise can alter the biology of a tumor, thereby inhibiting or slowing its growth, says Lee Jones, who is leading the Sloan Kettering effort. Dr. Jones, an exercise scientist with Sloan Ketterings Cardiology Service, whose research has focused on oncology, says studies with animals suggest the idea of reversing tumor growth with exercise may be possible. A study he co-authored, published last year in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that exercise statistically significantly reduced tumor growth in mice with breast cancer. Some doctors caution that some cancer patients cant tolerate even moderate exercise. Chemo drugs can take a heavy toll on the body, for example, and cancers that metastasize to the bones could raise the risk of fractures, says Anne McTiernan, a doctor and researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. Click for more from The Wall Street Journal. A Chinese toddler narrowly cheated death after tripping while holding a screwdriver, causing the tool to become lodged in her brain. Han Han, 1, was learning how to walk when she managed to get her hands on the tool, Central European News (CEN) reported. The screwdriver pierced through the childs right cheek before becoming stuck in her brain. Han Han was initially crying after the accident, CEN reported, but eventually fell unconscious, causing her parents to fear the worst. She was taken to Xuzhou Central Hospital where doctors convinced her worried parents to allow them to perform surgery. Seven centimeters (2.75 inches) of the screwdriver were inside the childs skull, and three centimeters (1.2 inches) had penetrated her brain, Dr. Jiang Dehua, head neurosurgeon, told CEN. But luckily it missed her right eye and major blood vessels. We could not just pull the screwdriver out that could have caused unforeseen complications so we eventually convinced the parents to let us operate, he said. Surgeons took five hours to remove the tool, leaving Han Han, of Xuzhou City, in Chinas eastern Jiangsu Province, in stable condition with a good prognosis. Doctors are now monitoring for infection, CEN reported. Shred the political playbook. The 2016 campaign will be remembered as the year in which the conventional wisdom was anything but wise. Most political pundits have been wrong. And almost every assumption about presidential campaigns since the birth of modern politics in 1960, with the first televised debate and widespread use of TV advertising, has been debunked. Our political catechism has been upended. Consider the following: 1. Money trumps all (pun intended). When the Supreme Court ruled in the 2010 Citizens United case that corporations were people and therefore could spend unlimited amounts of money without disclosure, in some instances on political campaigns, Democrats and other critics warned that democracy was now for sale and that the candidate who raised the most money would invariably prevail over less well-funded contenders. Enter Jeb Bush, the Republican Partys inevitable nominee, who raised over $130 million for his campaign and Super Pac even before he formally declared. Eight months later, exit Jeb!, the low-energy candidate who, having spent the vast majority of the money he had raised, quit the race, dragging his exclamation point behind him. Donald Trump, by contrast, may be wealthy just how rich remains in dispute but he has spent less overall than any other candidate and, because of the nonstop coverage his slurs and antics have received, virtually nothing on TV advertising. 2. Organization is everything. Ted Cruz was supposed to win all the early GOP contests because of his heavy investment in his ground game. But, with the exception of Iowa which he first visited in 2008, only months after being elected a first-term senator from Texas organization, like money, has meant little this year. Cruz won Iowa thanks to a large evangelical turnout after Trump skipped what turned out to be a critical debate days before the nations first caucus, but he has steadily faded ever since. Polls suggest that Trump won in Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina with the most modest of campaign ground organizations because of his powerful slogan of American revitalization; because he is seen as a consummate political outsider, a blunt businessman who says what ordinary people think, a problem-solver and anti-politician; and because of his celebrity status and tempestuous rallies, complete with the by now almost ritualistic ejection of a protester. While Trump has repeatedly flown to primary states in his private jet, he rarely spends a night outside his baronial residence on Fifth Avenue. 3. Endorsements matter. Apparently not this year. Almost no establishment politician endorsed Trump during the first two primaries. The only other celebrity politician who rallied to Trumps side was Sarah Palin, whose rambling, incoherent 45-minute endorsement prior to the Iowa caucus, if anything, may have cost him votes there. Marco Rubio, the candidate who has garnered the most endorsements, has yet to win a primary and is unlikely to do so, despite his growing support from a still reeling Republican establishment. 4. You cant run against the media. Trump has mocked this political platitude, repeatedly. If anything, one of the bumptious billionaires most reliable applause lines is his frequent declaration that the media are terrible, among the most dishonest groups of people hes ever met. Apparently his rivals have gotten the message. During the debate in Houston last Thursday, every candidate except John Kasich, who is running a poor fifth except in his home state of Ohio, attacked the press. 5. A candidate cant prevail with high negatives. Quite the contrary. In 2016, given Americas deep political polarization, no candidate seems able to win without high negatives. The nations bitter frustration seems to require candidates to make increasingly stark, even extreme, appeals. The GOP field has no shortage of candidates with high positive ratings, especially Ben Carson and Marco Rubio, neither of whom has carried a single state primary or caucus. On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders has far higher favorability ratings than Hillary Clinton, who in poll after poll is widely viewed by potential voters of most ages, ethnicities and genders as untrustworthy and perhaps even dishonest. Yet Clinton got 73.5 percent of the Democratic vote in South Carolina on Saturday. Many Trump critics continue to assert that he will ultimately stumble, because no candidate can win his partys nomination or be elected to the nations highest office without substantial political experience. While the 2008 election of a junior senator from Illinois whose resume featured only a brief stint as a community organizer began to challenge that political bromide, the crucial primaries on March 1 and March 15 will be the ultimate referee. Given the pundits predictive record so far, a degree of humility is in order. Trump, once the unthinkable, may soon become inevitable. For better or worse, the 2016 race is anything but politics as usual. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will take up a major abortion case, Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt. Even without Justice Scalias feisty presence, sparks will be flying. At issue is a Texas law that simply requires abortion clinics to meet the same reasonable health and safety standards as other outpatient surgical clinics. Abortion, after all, is an invasive surgical procedure requiring anesthesia, and one that results in 3,000 women annually being sent to the hospital due to complications, according to Planned Parenthoods research affiliate the Guttmacher Institute. Some of these complications are life threatening. Yet pro-choice advocates, claiming to speak for women, have fought against these safety standards, right up to the highest court in the land. They argue that a majority of clinics in Texas will have to shut down because they dont meet the safety standards. Really? Thats quite an admission. Advocates for womens health are fighting to continue to send women to clinics that offer substandard care? Lets review a little recent history to see why the Texas law was passed in the first place. The abortion industry, because of politics surrounding the issue, has traditionally operated under a shroud of secrecy with little oversight from health regulators. Abortion clinics do not tend to attract the medical professions best and brightest; in fact, they attract a disproportionate number of incompetent and even grossly negligent doctors. Inept, unscrupulous doctors dealing with women at a vulnerable time, with very little regulatory oversight -- its a deadly combination. Literally. If Karnamaya Mongar were still alive, we could ask her if there should have been more regulatory oversight of Dr. Kermit Gosnells abortion clinic in Philadelphia, where she suffered deadly uterine and bowel perforation. His notoriously unsanitary clinic operated for 17 years without a health inspection, and finally received a visit from regulators only after he was snagged for unrelated offenses related to his dealing in illegal prescription drugs. I wonder what 22-year-old Semika Shaw would think of the clinic regulations before the Court, but we cant ask her either because she, too, died at the hands of Dr. Gosnell. Semikas cousin, who happens to be a Democrat state legislator in Pennsylvania, pushed for clinic safety regulations just like those in the Texas law, arguing, Today I honor (my cousins) memory by voting yes on this legislation, that seeks to safeguard the health of women so that never again will a woman walk into a licensed health care facility in the State of Pennsylvania and be butchered as she waswith her uterus perforated and her death of sepsis and infection. The abortion lobby quickly disowned Gosnell, calling him an outlier. He may have been particularly gross in his malpractice, but unfortunately, there are Gosnell types crawling all over the abortion industry. Consider other cases, most only known because Gosnells publicity caused some regulators to take a closer look behind the veil of the abortion industry. Two more abortionists at a Gosnell-affiliated clinic in Delaware, Drs. Albert Sworkin and Arturo Apolinario, had their medical licenses revoked for unscrupulous and illegal practices. Around the same time, two nurses at Planned Parenthood clinics in Delaware quit, citing unsafe and unsanitary abortions after 5 women ended up in the hospital that year due to botched abortions. One of those negligent doctors, Timothy Liveright, also operated clinics in California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Dr. Liveright was accused by the Delaware deputy attorney general of incompetence and negligence and of being an immediate danger to the public, as well as sexual misconduct, but it seems hes been re-hired by a California Planned Parenthood where he apparently currently works! Another woman who would have benefited from tighter abortion regulations is 29-year-old kindergarten teacher, Jennifer Morbelli, who tragically died in February of 2013 at the hands of Dr. Leroy Carhart in Maryland. After publicity surrounding Morbellis death, four clinics in Maryland were shut down in March, then allowed to reopen again before being shuttered again in May, but only after yet another woman died at a Baltimore clinic. One of the doctors had previously been suspended for unwanted sexual contact with patients. Also in 2013, Dr. Robert Alexanders abortion clinic in Michigan was cited for violations including filthy conditions, and reports of a botched abortion resulting in uterine rupture (and a live birth oops, babies that survive are not supposed to happen during an abortion). Dr. Alexander, according to the Huffington Post, had previously lost his medical license twice and served time in prison for prescription drug dealing. Two more Michigan abortion clinics operated by Dr. Reginald Sharpe were closed in 2013 after the discovery of illegally dumped fetal remains. Dr. Sharpes distinguished medical career included a previous suspension of his medical license and a lawsuit due to the perforation of a 26-year-old womans uterus resulting in her death. In Ohio, Capital Care Network abortion was cited for multiple violations of basic health and safety standards in 2013. After complications at another Ohio clinic in 2014, 22-year-old Lakisha Wilson died. Look back a little further to find the death of Tonya Reaves at a Chicago Planned Parenthood in 2012 (Planned Parenthood was forced to pay a $2 million settlement), the drugs decades past their expiration dates, inadequate or inoperable equipment at Dr. Soleiman Solis clinic in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, and the complaints of serial disregard for health regulations at Dr. Steven Brighams clinic in Allentown. Dr. James Pendergraft had his medical license suspended in Virginia and was convicted of attempted extortion, but apparently continues to run multiple abortion clinics in Florida. Dr. Brian Finkel of Arizona was convicted on 22 counts of sexually abusing 30 patients over 17 years. There is a pattern of little regulation and oversight, and dodgy doctors who lose a license in one state but set up shop in another, until women end up abused, in the hospital or the morgue. The Court should uphold the Texas law, which would help weed out the creepy cast of characters posing as purveyors of womens health care. I was going to write about how the Republican presidential campaign has become gutter politics, but given Donald Trumps horrid statements, the gutter would be a step up, because things have descended into the sewer. Never in modern times has there been a presidential candidate who has hurled more personal insults and hurtful accusations at his fellow candidates and others who disagree with him. It should embarrass a normal person, but Trump appears beyond embarrassment. He criticizes Vicente Fox, the former president of Mexico, for dropping the F-bomb when he did the same thing during the New Hampshire primary campaign. He attacks Marco Rubio for repeating himself when Trump repeats himself repeatedly. He has criticized the personal appearance of Carly Fiorina, Rosie ODonnell and Arianna Huffington, among others, when he isnt much to look at. He tosses out words like loser and during the Houston debate responded to a question from radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt by saying no one listens to his program and his ratings are lousy. The country is not served by such language. Neither does the political debate format serve the public when it resembles a cage match rather than a serious discussion about the multiple challenges facing America. There must be a better way to elect a president than this. Bully backs blowhard for president, was the headline on The Daily Beast, referring to New Jersey Governor Chris Christies endorsement of Trump. What continues to amaze is the strong backing of Trump by so many evangelicals. If their church members behaved as Trump does, they would receive a serious talking to by the deacons or pastor and if they didnt repent and change their ways they might face expulsion. With Trump, most evangelical leaders have remained largely silent, offering neither criticism nor praise. This is what can happen when some pastors who are called to a different kingdom and a different King settle for an earthly kingdom and lesser king. Does anyone know what Donald Trumps position is on anything? Do they care? Apparently not from the sycophants who cheer his every insult at packed rallies around the country. He belittles, he whines and he complains that some in the media dont treat him fairly when he has been on TV more than all of the other candidates combined. The reason for all the coverage he receives? He gets big ratings and the networks live for ratings. One of the few evangelical leaders to take Trump on is San Antonio pastor and best-selling author, Max Lucado. In a recent blog post, Lucado says Trumps antics wouldnt even be acceptable for a middle-school student body election. In an interview with Christianity Today, Lucado was asked why he published his post, which he titled Decency for President. While saying he doesnt bring politics into his church, he said he felt the need to speak out because of Trumps derision of people, adding, It would be none of my business, I would have absolutely no right to speak up except that he repeatedly brandishes the Bible and calls himself a Christian. If hes going to call himself a Christian one day and call someone a bimbo the next or make fun of somebodys menstrual cycle, its just beyond reason to me. Beyond reason best describes the Trump campaign. It also explains the fealty so many have for a man with whom one hopes they have nothing in common from his lifestyle, to his indecipherable politics, to his fact-challenged pronouncements. In past elections some voters have complained about being forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. If the nominee for the Democratic Party is Hillary Clinton, and if Republicans select Donald Trump, this election may force voters to choose between the least evil of two lessers. Free speech isnt free the saying goes. Certainly not when we count on private institutions like colleges, Twitter or Facebook to keep it that way. Twitter is in an uproar as conservatives are exiled, silenced or abandon the venue in protest. Facebook is increasingly using its power to silence views it opposes. And colleges, once bastions of freedom, now limit speech they dont like and intimidate those who dare speak out. Conservative Ben Shapiro got a scary reminder of just how bad things are. He was first disinvited from California State University, Los Angeles and then needed police escort to protect him and his supporters last Thursday from berserk lefty protesters intent on disruption. The left wants to turn the world into one giant unsafe space for anything they oppose. And its working. This fight has been especially visible on campuses. Mizzous resident academic activist Melissa Click just found out that she had lost her job for urging an assault on a student photographer. That was some rare good news. Williams College went from protecting free speech to dropping a speaker because allegedly many of his expressions clearly constitute hate speech. On most colleges, that means you dare disagree with the party line. As Shapiro found out recently. Left wingers tried shouting, blocking doors, pulling a fire alarm and even violence to stop the Breitbart editor from speaking. -- If conservatives had treated Black Lives Matter protesters this way, it would have become a major national news story. Instead, journalists just dont care. But conservatives have to. Silencing conservative speakers, attacking Christians or Israel supporters, even shutting down Chick-fil-A have all become part of the lefty academic handbook. The University of South Carolina even interrogated two of its own students for a free speech event about campus censorship. The fight online is just as rough. Twitter was founded nearly 10 years ago and has grown into an essential site for breaking news with 320 million active users. But PC executives seem intent on breaking what they built. To address complaints of harassment and cyber bullying, the company created the Soviet-sounding "Trust & Safety Council," including groups like GLAAD, which despises the right. Twitter unverified Breitbart technology editor Milo Yiannopouloss account in January and ignored repeated requests to reinstate it. It was a shot across the bow of the conservative movement. Popular blogger Robert Stacy McCain was suspended and then kicked off of Twitter for the vague thought crime of violating the Twitter Rules. The hashtag #FreeStacy trended for a while on Twitter. Even his book account was shut down. Conservative actor Adam Baldwin called to disband the 'Trust and Safety' Council, and said he was quitting Twitter. Baldwin, who starred in the cult classic "Firefly" and the current apocalyptic drama "The Last Ship," has been one of Hollywoods more visible conservatives. And now Sci-fi author Larry Correia all-but shut his account down in sympathy. Conservative blogger Ace of Spades declared: I no longer use Twitter except to exploit it as a promotional tool. It's for ads only. Censorship is the art of idiots, cowards, and thugs. Somehow new Twitter CEO claims, Twitter stands for freedom of expression. Really? Facebook, while not as bad, seems to be trying to catch up. The lefty organization once instituted more than 50 gender options to placate its supporters. It recently took down the page for the controversial comic Viz and shut down sales of guns on the site. It has also been slow to pull posts attacking Jewish people. Remember, anti-Semitism remains a liberal virtue. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is now fighting a PC war against his own staff after incidents in which employees crossed out Black Lives Matter and wrote All Lives Matter on the walls of the company's Menlo Park, Calif., campus, according to USA Today. Things will only get worse. Americans have turned over our constitutional rights to third party tech companies that pretend to believe in free exchange, but really bow to every left-wing agenda. And we can no longer trust to academia. Administrators have made it clear the 60s free speech movement is dead and only liberal speech is now welcome. Ultimately, when free speech isnt free, neither are we. Isnt it obvious? As an act of political theater, President Obama should pick Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Then the nation will find out if McConnells distaste for the president is so great that he is willing to obstruct his own nomination to punish Obama. At the moment, McConnell, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and the majority of the Senate GOP conference are continuing their strategy of obstructing anything and everyone associated with this president. By pledging not to hold confirmation hearings for any Obama nominee to the high court, McConnell has reached new depths of disdain for the president. That is saying something. Remember, during the presidents first term, McConnell said his greatest aspiration as leader of the Senate was preventing Obama from winning a second term. Now McConnells view of responsibly governing descends to the unprecedented low of refusing any Obama nominee the courtesy of a simple visit to the Senate for an introductory meeting. For all of you who have been paying attention for the last seven years, there is little news in the McConnell and Tea Party-effort to obstruct the twice-elected president. What is newsworthy is that the strategy has now reached a nadir that involves a vulgar show of disrespect for the constitution, the presidency and the courts. White House press secretary Josh Earnest pulled no punches last week when he told reporters this would be a historic and unprecedented acceleration of politicizing a branch of government [the Supreme Court] thats supposed to be insulated from politics. Earnest also noted on Twitter that every Supreme Court nominee since 1875 has received a hearing or a vote. Obama himself tweeted a petition calling for McConnell to reconsider: Refusing to even consider the President's Supreme Court nominee is unprecedented. Tell the Senate: #DoYourJob. Doing the job of allowing the nations courts to function does not seem to be on the GOP agenda. As Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell recently reported: Last year, the Republican-controlled Senate confirmed just 11 federal judges, the fewest in any year since 1960. Only one appeals court judge was confirmed, the lowest number since 1953. As a result, there are 76 vacancies (including Scalias) for Article III judgeships, nearly twice as many as there were when Republicans regained Senate control in January 2015. A year of 4-4 rulings by the divided Supreme Court will negate the constitutional role of the high court. The courts docket in the coming year contains high-profile cases on everything from congressional redistricting to lifting the threat of deportation from 5 million undocumented immigrants to the collective bargaining rights of unions. In the absence of a Supreme Court ruling on these cases, the lower courts rulings will be the law of the land. That is in direct contravention of the power placed in the high court by the founding fathers. Republicans like to cite a speech by Vice President Biden, when he was in the Senate, calling for Republicans not to appoint a Supreme Court justice in the last year of a presidency. And when President Obama was in the Senate, he gave support to the idea of a filibuster to stop a high court nominee. But that GOP charge of hypocrisy falls flat in both cases. In Bidens 1992 speech, he was not referring to an actual nominee but discussing a hypothetical vacancy. And when Senator Obama gave support to a possible filibuster in 2006, the GOP nominee to the high court, Samuel Alito, was not only given hearings but confirmed by the Republican majority in the Senate. In addition, there was no pattern of persistent obstruction by the Democrats of all federal court nominations, in addition to ambassadorships and other top federal jobs. For example, despite the Republican lament about the slow economic recovery, the Senates banking committee has not confirmed a single nominee in this Congress to the Federal Reserve or other top agencies handling the nations economic concerns. McConnell and Grassleys obstruction of Obamas judicial nominees for lower courts has already created a crisis in which there arent enough judges on the federal bench to hear cases requiring timely adjudication. While this intransigence may have delighted the House Freedom Caucus, their Senate allies and cheerleaders in the conservative media, it is not a sound strategy if McConnell hopes to preserve the GOPs Senate majority. A Pew Research poll from last week found that the majority of Americans, 56 percent, say McConnells Senate should hold hearings and vote on [President] Obamas nominee. Just 38 percent agree with McConnells "no hearings, no vote" approach. Those findings track with a Fox News poll that found 62 percent of all Americans want the opening on the court filled by an Obama nominee, whoever that may be including 61 percent of independents. The same poll found that position was held by just 36 percent of self-described Republicans. Senate Republicans up for reelection in November include Ohios Rob Portman and Pennsylvanias Pat Toomey. A PPP poll from last week shows that 58 percent of voters in Ohio and 57 percent in Pennsylvania think that Scalias Supreme Court seat should be filled this year. The real political poison for incumbents like Portman and Toomey is how strongly independent voters oppose the hardline McConnell approach. A whopping 70 percent of Ohio independents and 60 percent of Pennsylvania independents say the new justice should be named this year, according to PPP. Those numbers constitute a harsh verdict on the GOP congressional failure to responsibly govern. The result may be another Democrat in the White House and a return to a Democratic-majority in the Senate. There was a time in American politics when the term socialism conjured up images of the Cold War, the U.S.S.R, Joseph Stalin and Karl Marx, nuclear threats, government domination of private industry and gulags. For most Americans who came of age during the height of the Cold War, who remember being taught to hide under their desks at school, socialism like communism has long been a dirty word. But, as the popularity of Bernie Sanders shows, that is no longer the case especially when it comes to millennials, for whom socialism has a whole new meaning. Sanders has run a far more competitive primary campaign against Hillary Clinton than anyone thought possible. He not only trounced her in the New Hampshire primary, but he came in a very close second in the Iowa caucuses. He has raised millions in small donations and is drawing crowds that in size and enthusiasm are second only to Donald Trumps. What is perhaps even more shocking is that Sanders is a self-described Democratic Socialist who, far from running from the label, has embraced it. As he told The Nation, Im not afraid of the word. He later gave a speech at Georgetown University where he defined and explained the term: Let me define for you what democratic socialism means to me. It builds on what Franklin Delano Roosevelt said when he fought for guaranteed economic rights for all Americans. Sanders seems to be on to something. The latest polls show that rather than rejecting the term, Democratic voters are embracing it. A poll commissioned by the American Action Network finds that almost 60 percent of likely Democratic primary voters believe socialism has a positive impact on society. This is particularly true among voters 45 and younger, who prefer socialism to capitalism by 46 to 19 percent, as well as those 46-55 who prefer it 48 to 22 percent. These findings are in line with other polls, including a survey of likely Democratic primary voters in Pennsylvania which found that approximately 70 percent have a favorable or somewhat favorable view of socialism. Similarly, a Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register poll taken in early January found that more Iowa Democratic caucus goers identify as socialist (43 percent) than capitalist (38 percent). One question these polls raise is: What explains the sudden popularity on the left of a term that was once forbidden? Part of it may have to do with the way the term is defined and understood by younger generations of Democrats. Far from equating socialism with communism (something that was once so common, even Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels used the terms interchangeably), today the term is much more closely associated with the notions of democracy, equity and justice. As Sanders often says, an increasing number of Democrats now see democratic socialism as the path to creating a more just and equitable society. In making this case, Sanders often harkens back to FDR: [Roosevelt] saw one-third of the nation ill-housed, ill-clad and ill-nourished and he acted, against the ferocious opposition of the ruling class of his day. Roosevelt implemented a series of programs that put millions of Americans back to work, took them out of dire poverty and restored their faith in government. Almost every program he produced, every idea he introduced, was called socialist. Despite being its current and most popular proponent, Sanders did not invent this notion by any means. In 1962 Michael Harrington published The Other America, in which he argued that the problems of the American underclass, defined by poverty and inequality, were the result of an unregulated capitalist system, and that they could be solved only by a government that redesigned and refocused itself to promote equality and social justice. Harringtons work was not only a precursor to Lyndon Johnsons Great Society, but it had a profound impact on Martin Luther King and many others. Also, it is eerily similar in tone and rhetoric to the arguments Sanders is making today. And without question in the aftermath of the 2008 economic recession, years of war and the Occupy Wall Street movement, among other things it is a message that resonates with many on the left who, like those on the right, feel America is on the wrong track. And for whom the notion of a socialist state does not conjure up Stalin, Marx, the Bolsheviks, gulags and state-control of production, but rather economic equality and social justice in as Sanders likes to say the European sense. Justice delayed for Army sergeant who defended Afghan boy from rapist By , The old Army adage, Hurry up and wait, applies once again to a decorated Green Beret who protected an Afghan boy from a child molester only to see his actions jeopardize his military career. A decision from the military on the fate of Sgt. First Class Charles Martland was due Tuesday, but now has been put off for a third time, until at least May 1. Martland, an 11-year Special Forces veteran, was stationed in Afghanistan in 2011 when he confronted a local police commander who allegedly had raped a 12-year-old boy. Charles did the right thing in Afghanistan by standing up to a child rapist and corrupt commander, and now its the Armys turn to do the right thing and reverse the decision to expel him from the service, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., whose office has been assisting Martland, told FoxNews.com earlier this month. Permitting Charles to continue serving is in the best interest of the Army and the nation. Martland is not being discharged specifically for the incident, but having it on his record put him on the chopping block amid ongoing military cuts. A spokesman for Hunter noted that Vice President Biden appeared with Lady Gaga at the Academy Awards Sunday and spoke out about sexual abuse, urging the crowd to intervene in situations where consent cannot or has not been given. Supporters mounted an online petition backing Martland and, separately, 93 members of Congress have called for an investigation into the military's silence in the face of rampant sexual abuse of children in Afghanistan. The 2011 incident occurred at the remote outpost where Martland was stationed. The boy and his mother showed up at camp, and the boy showed the Green Berets where his hands had been tied. A medic took him to a back room for an examination with an interpreter, who told them the boy had been raped by a man identified as Afghani Police commander Abdul Rahman. Rahman allegedly beat the boy's mother for reporting the crime after learning that they went to the Army outpost. This led Martland and team leader Daniel Quinn to confront Rahman. According to reports of the incident, Rahman confessed to the crime and laughed it off. When Martland and Quinn roughed him up, Rahman reported them. One year ago, the Army conducted a "Qualitative Management Program" review board and called for Martland -- among thousands of other soldiers with prior disciplinary issues -- to be "involuntary discharged by Nov. 1, 2015. Martland appealed the decision and a final ruling on his discharge has been delayed until now. With the deadline rapidly approaching, other legal advocates have come to his aid, and even garnered more than 300,000 signatures in a petition calling for the decision to be overturned. URL https://www.foxnews.com/politics/justice-delayed-for-army-sergeant-who-defended-afghan-boy-from-rapist On the eve of Super Tuesday, the State Department released the final installment of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's emails from her private server, bringing the total to more than 2,000 emails containing classified information. The 261 new classified emails are among the approximately 1,700 emails in 3,800 pages released by State Department in the 14th, and final, Clinton email release. Mondays release brings the total number of classified Clinton emails to 2,080 among the more than 52,000 pages of emails she turned in to the State Department last year. In releasing the final batch of 3,800 documents, the department also settled a long-running dispute over one sensitive email as intelligence agencies dropped a months-long demand an exchange on North Korea's nuclear program be designated "top secret," the highest level of classification. The State Department, which had insisted the information was not classified at all, partially won its battle over the document as the intelligence community revised its initial assessment and determined the information was "secret," the next lower classification. "Based on subsequent review, the intelligence community revisited its earlier assessment," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters. He added: "The original assessment was not correct and the document does not contain top secret information." The announcement came a day before Clinton competes in 11 Democratic primary contests. She is the front-runner to win the Democratic presidential nomination. The department faced a Monday deadline set by a federal judge to release the final documents from the private server Clinton exclusively used while in government. Clinton aides went through her emails and turned over the ones they determined to be work-related. The North Korea email is one of two that Charles I. McCullough, lead auditor for U.S. intelligence agencies, identified last year as particularly problematic. The other concerned the CIA's drone program and led to officials classifying 22 emails from Clinton's private account last month as "top secret." They were withheld from publication. The State Department claims that no emails Clinton wrote or received were marked as classified at the time of transmission, which Clinton has repeatedly cited in her own defense. Intelligence officials however tell Fox News this is a dubious claim, and that all the emails were born classified. As with earlier releases, Monday's contained emails with information that has been upgraded to "secret" and "confidential." 261 were so identified, bring the total of such upgrades to more than 2,050 for the entire set. No material in Monday's release contained documents with information now deemed "top secret." However, the current batch did include one message with an attachment that purported to be a classified note that Tom Donilon, Obama's national security adviser, slipped into Jerusalem's Wailing Wall on a trip to Israel in 2012. However, officials said the attachment along with its contents were, in fact, a joke sent to Clinton by an aide. The attachment is addressed to "Hashem," a Hebrew word for God, and includes inside jokes poking fun at then-U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and Clinton's top Asia aide, Kurt Campbell. It bears a "TOP SECRET" stamp. "This document, and the email chain to which it was attached, are unclassified," a State Department official said. "This document is not a real note. It is a joke written by Secretary Clinton's communications adviser, Philippe Reines, and was attached to an email chain discussing senior officials' travel to Israel in July 2012." The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity. On the North Korea document, Kirby stressed that the exchange had only been "provisionally" upgraded in classification, suggesting the department doesn't even fully accept the lesser finding. "The information available to diplomats and the judgments they form do not necessarily need to be classified just because there are parallel intelligence sources," Kirby said. In addition to portions of that document being censored, one email between Clinton and President Barack Obama was also withheld from publication on Monday, bringing to 19 the total of such messages that have been kept private to protect the president's ability to receive advice from his aides. Those emails are not classified and will be released eventually like other presidential records. Another email on an unidentified law enforcement matter was also withheld from Monday's release, which was done in accordance with Freedom of Information Act standards. Kirby said that one also is unclassified. In another exchange at the end of 2009, Clinton received some early advice from her confidant Sidney Blumenthal on how to take a "different approach" from President Obama in dealing with the aftermath of the attempted bombing of a Delta Airlines flight in Detroit. Blumenthal encouraged Clinton to channel her inner John F. Kennedy following the aftermath of the botched Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, saying that JFK took personal responsibility for the failure and encouraged her to do the same. "Don't blame anyone in public! he encouraged Clinton. He added that said President Obama's refusal to take responsibility for the underwear bomber was a "failure." Years later, critics faulted Hillary Clinton for not taking personal responsibility immediately following the terrorist attack on her consulate in Libya, killing the ambassador and three other Americans. The White House refused to let Clinton hire Blumenthal to join her team officially. Instead, he relayed advice to her on the private server. Late last year Clinton told the Benghazi Select Committee the emails and advice from Blumenthal were "unsolicited." In another email, Sid told Clinton the "very clever" Denis McDonough then working in the National Security Council was "inadvertently" setting up the president "for a fall." He also accused New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd of a drive by shooting, which he called a drive-by "machine gunning." Fox News Lucas Tomlinson and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Seventeen months before he was killed in the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, Ambassador Chris Stevens was seriously considering leaving the country as its civil war widened. The ambassador's concerns are reflected in emails sent to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's inner circle. The emails were released by the State Department Monday as part of the 14th and final batch of messages from Clinton's private server. One email in particular, dated April 10, 2011, relays Stevens' safety concerns to the State Department. It was sent by a State Department official named Timmy Davis to several key Clinton aides, including Jake Sullivan, now the top foreign policy adviser on Clinton's presidential campaign, and Huma Abedin. The message, with the subject line "Stevens update" reads, in part, "The situation in Ajdabiyah [a town approximately 90 miles southeast of Benghazi] has worsened to the point where Stevens is considering departure from Benghazi. The envoy's delegation is currently doing a phased checkout (paying the hotel bills, moving some comms to the boat, etc) ... He will wait 2-3 more hours, then revisit the decision on departure." The message from Davis indicates there is heavy sniper fire and shelling in Ajdabiyah. According to the message, Stevens is apparently trying to see if this is an irreversible situation. Departure would send a significant political signal that the U.S. had lost confidence in Libya's Transitional National Council, which oversaw the rebel forces fighting to overthrow dictator Muammar Qaddafi. Davis' message was forwarded to Clinton by Abedin. The secretary of state's response is not known. The latest email release also indicates that State Department official Wendy Sherman sent at least one classified email to Clinton in August 2012. The email, which Sherman sent with the attached message, "I don't usually forward emails such as below", dealt with Egyptian troop movements. Sherman, who left the State Department this past October, led the U.S. delegation at last summer's nuclear talks with Iran. Fox News previously reported that Sherman appears in a 2013 State Department video saying that in the interest of speed, Clinton and her aides shared information that "would never be on an unclassified system" normally. Another revelation in the latest email dump is that Clinton confidant Sidney Blumenthal urged Clinton to approve the showing of Usama bin Laden's death photos to members of Congress after the Al Qaeda leader was killed by Navy SEALs in May 2011. In an email to Clinton, Blumenthal argued that the photos would provide a boost to President Obama's political capital ahead of that summer's lengthy debt ceiling fight with the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. "Having the members file through [a special secure room] will provide testimony to the President's feat," Blumenthal wrote in the May 5, 2011 message. "They will be not only be acknowledging but also enhancing his power. They will in effect become liegemen bowing before him, but not in any way they will resent or will protest. They will serve as witnesses to the magnitude of what he has done." Members of Senate and House committees who deal with intelligence and military matters were later invited to view the photos, but they have not been made public. State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday that one additional email between Clinton and Obama was withheld from the final batch of messages, bringing the total number of such messages to 19. Kirby also said that 52,000 pages of emails, not 55,000 as previously stated, have been released to the public from Clinton's private server, which was kept in her bathroom in her Chappaqua, N.Y. home. Kirby said 55,000 was a "colloquial" term used previously by the State Department and the real number of pages is between 52 or 53,000. Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and Chad Pergram contributed to this report. Ahead of a possible make-or-break Super Tuesday, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign announced that it had raised more than $42 million in February. Sanders' campaign claimed the total was the most raised in a single month by any of the 2016 candidates, adding that the self-described democratic socialist had received more than $6 million in donations on the final day of the month. Not only are we going to smash Secretary [Hillary] Clintons personal goal of raising $50 million in the first quarter of 2016, our supporters are putting Bernie on the path to win the nomination, Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver said in a statement. Sanders' campaign has made much of its reliance on small donations, and the candidate himself has contrasted his comparatively shoestring fundraising operation with the far wealthier Clinton campaign. Since thumping Clinton by 20 points in the New Hampshire primary, Sanders has seen his fortunes fade. He suffered a narrow loss in the Nevada caucuses and a blowout defeat in Saturday's South Carolina primary. Even Sanders' wife, Jane, admitted Monday that her husband's campaign faces a "rough map", with most of Tuesday's nominating contests taking place in states expected to favor Clinton. However, Sanders has vowed to carry on his run through this summer's Democratic convention. The Associated Press contributed to this report. David Duke, a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, denied Monday that he had formally endorsed Republican front-runner Donald Trump, but said he would vote for the real estate mogul and had encouraged others to do the same. "When you say you endorse someone you're basically endorsing the person and basically people get the impression you're endorsing everything about them," Duke told Fox News Radio's "The Alan Colmes Show" Monday night. "I think that voting sometimes is not a question of endorsing someone, but sometimes you vote strategically." Trump was criticized over the weekend by his opponents as well as by several prominent Republicans for failing to immediately repudiate Duke's support. Trump said Monday he had not understood the interviewer who first raised the question about Duke, and he did later repudiate him. "How many times do I have to continue to disavow people?" he said. "I don't know if [Trump] ever studied me, my writings or what I've actually said," Duke said Monday. When asked what he would say to Trump if given the chance, Duke responded, "I would say, 'Donald Trump, we hope you keep all your promises. You've spoken like no other candidate in recent history.'" The former Louisiana state representative and gubernatorial candidate did criticize Trump for what he described as "lip service to Israel." Duke spoke on the eve of Super Tuesday, when 13 states hold presidential nominating contests to award 595 delegates in the Republican race. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Rarely have the stakes been so high in a race for second place. Barring a seismic shift in voter sentiment, Donald Trump is expected to dominate the Republican primary field on Super Tuesday, adding to his already-sizable delegate lead but Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are battling fiercely to be the definitive alternative to take on Trump in what could be a bruising, to-the-convention fight for the future of the party. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who's expressed low expectations for Super Tuesday -- though his presence continues to frustrate efforts by Rubio and Cruz to consolidate support -- remains in the race in hopes of making it to the Ohio contest in two weeks. Super Tuesday was never anything that we ever thought was going to be some great thing for us, Kasich openly acknowledged to Fox News on Tuesday, also telling Fox Business Network there's "zero chance" he'd be anyone's running mate. Rubio, too, is looking ahead to the March 15 contest in his home state, even planning to hold his primary night rally there Tuesday. But first, hell need to stay competitive with Cruz in the 11 Super Tuesday states awarding 595 total delegates. Theres at least one state he stands a decent chance of winning, according to recent polling, and that is Minnesota. Rubio was holding a rally there Tuesday before heading to Miami. Cruz, meanwhile, is the odds-on favorite in his home state of Texas which, with 155 delegates, is the biggest prize of the night. In a sign of his expectations, Cruz planned his election night party in Stafford, Texas. But because delegates can be allocated proportionally in the Super Tuesday contests (provided the winners margin of victory is not colossal), Rubio and Cruz both want to rack up a substantial number of second-place finishes. A Rubio campaign aide told Fox News they are "focused on only one thing today: delegates." The polling is varied and in some states sparse, but RealClearPolitics averages show Cruz and Rubio likely are competing closely for second place in Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma and elsewhere. Rubio appears to have the edge over Cruz in Virginia and Massachusetts, while Cruz was actually leading one recent poll in Arkansas. In the run-up to Tuesday, Cruz and Rubio both have stepped up their attacks on the front-runner, resorting to the kinds of personal insults and attacks that have defined Trumps campaign style. Rubio defended the new tack in an interview with Fox News. Every now and then, someone like that needs a taste of their own medicine because that's called a bully and hes using the pulpit of the presidency or the presidential run to insult people, Rubio said. Cruz told Fox News that while Trump will have a big chunk of delegates come Wednesday morning, We're going to have a big chunk of delegates, and there's going to be a huge drop off for everybody else. Trump, for his part, suggested Tuesday he wants to see Rubio get out of the race. He hasnt won anything, Trump told Fox News. As for Rubios goal of a big win later this month in Florida, Trump said, I dont think right now he could be elected a dogcatcher in Florida. Trump wasnt conceding the race against Cruz for Texas, either. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, meanwhile, defended his continued presence in the race on Tuesday. People have asked for somebody who is not a politician, who was a member of we the people, who has an outstanding life of achievement and who thinks the way they do, he told Fox News. Remember in June 2014 when House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor was upset by a Virginia college professor named Dave Brat? Well, the Super Tuesday balloting has the potential to produce a few more Dave Brats, or at least force some well-established Republican lawmakers like Cantor was into runoffs if they fail to get more than 50 percent of the vote. Many of the races are in Texas, which because of its size has 38 House members -- 27 Republicans and 11 Democrats. Their outcomes could be influenced by the GOP presidential primary turnout for Sen. Ted Cruz, trying to win his home state and close on front-runner Donald Trump, to say nothing of the general animus toward Washington. And groups aligned with Cruz have gone after several House GOP incumbents since he came to Capitol Hill in 2013. Three chairmen of GOP-led House committees, who are all from Texas, are in competitive races: Reps. Lamar Smith at Science; Pete Sessions at House Rules and Kevin Brady at House Ways and Means, who took the gavel just months ago when Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan became House speaker. GOP Rep. John Culberson, another Texan, also faces a primary challenge. He isnt a full committee chairman. Hes known on Capitol Hill as a cardinal because hes chairman of the influential House Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds Commerce, Justice & Science programs (CJS). Appropriations subcommittee chairmen are referred to as cardinals because they wield particular eminence over that section of federal spending. Even Texas GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert, one of the most-conservative House members, faces a primary challenge Tuesday. GOP incumbents from Alabama are also in close races. At the top of the list is Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Richard Shelby. He came to Washington as a Democrat, then switched to a Republican after the GOP took control of the upper chamber in 1994. His record is being criticized amid the Supreme Court debate about whether President Obama should make a nomination to replace the late Antonin Scalia, and whether the GOP-led Senate should block such an effort. Shelby has been criticized for holding up the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court (who ultimately wasnt confirmed) in 1987 when Shelby was a Democrat. Unlike fellow Alabama GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions, Shelby has not endorsed Trump. Two House GOP members could face challenges tonight -- Reps. Martha Roby and Bradley Byrne. At least one of the races not going to a runoff would be a surprise. In 2014, Texas GOP Rep. Ralph Hall, then the oldest member of Congress, was forced into a runoff by John Ratcliffe, who eventually defeated Hall. Runoff elections are frequently more challenging to incumbents because the challengers supporters are more energized and go to the polls. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton each scored a string of impressive primary victories Tuesday night that sent an emphatic message to voters and their respective political rivals that the primary season might be all but over, and the race for the White House is on -- though Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, with victories in delegate-rich Texas and in Oklahoma and Alaska, is far from conceding anything. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, too, found reason to press on, with Super Tuesday wins in Minnesota, Oklahoma, Colorado and his home state of Vermont. Even Marco Rubio, after a string of second- and third-place finishes, found his first win in Minnesota. But with Clinton amassing a huge delegate lead, the more competitive race is on the Republican side where Cruz clearly edged Rubio in the Super Tuesday battle for second and quickly positioned himself as the better candidate to take on Trump. Tonight was another decision point, and the voters have spoken, Cruz said in Texas, urging voters to unite behind him so he could take on Trump head to head. Even with the senators' victories, Trump emerged from Tuesdays contests closer than ever to the nomination, and acting more and more like a general election candidate eager to take on Democratic front-runner Clinton. Once we get all of this finished, Im going to go after one person, and thats Hillary Clinton, he said, at an unusual primary night press conference in Florida. I think thats frankly going to be an easy race. Speaking in Florida after notching several wins, Clinton also seemed to look beyond Sanders taking implicit shots at Trumps make America great again campaign slogan. America never stopped being great, Clinton said. We have to make America whole. She also mocked his proposal for a southern border wall, saying, Instead of building walls, were going to break down barriers. Trump answered right back, quipping: "Make America great again is going to be much better than making America whole again." With results still coming in, Trump is projected to win in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. Clinton is projected to win Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Across 11 states, 595 Republican delegates were up for grabs Tuesday nearly half the number needed to clinch the nomination. And on the Democratic side, Clinton and Vermont Sen. Sanders were battling for 865 delegates in 11 states roughly a third of the number needed to clinch the nomination. No matter how the delegate math shakes out, the primary races are not over yet. While the Super Tuesday contests marked the biggest day of primary season voting to date, the states were mostly allocating delegates proportionally, meaning even the runner-ups could add to their totals. Rubio stressed that point, as he began to focus on the March 15 contest in his home state. We never said Super Tuesday was going to be our night, he told Fox News. Cruz clearly had the better night. Texas was the biggest prize on the Super Tuesday map, offering 222 Democratic delegates and 155 Republican delegates. A win for Cruz in his home state was considered critical, and he was able to thwart any potential late-hour surge by Trump there. While Cruz put subtle pressure on Rubio to step aside, Trump openly mocked the Florida senator after earlier calling on him to drop out a call Rubio rebuffed. Trump again called him a "lightweight" while threatening to take on the Florida senator in his home state in two weeks. Clinton entered Super Tuesday with a head of steam following her landslide win over Sanders in South Carolina this past Saturday. Sanders, though, savored his home-state win all the same, rallying cheering supporters in Vermont Tuesday evening. "It is good to be home," he said, before shifting to his stump speech slams against a "corrupt campaign finance system." Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who expressed low expectations for Super Tuesday, remains in the GOP race in hopes of making it to the Ohio contest in two weeks, though his presence continues to frustrate efforts by Rubio and Cruz to consolidate support. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, meanwhile, has defended his continued presence in the race. People have asked for somebody who is not a politician, who was a member of we the people, who has an outstanding life of achievement and who thinks the way they do, he told Fox News. Seven minutes to midnight. Five minutes to midnight. Three minutes to midnight. Last month, experts with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced that the "Doomsday Clock," an iconic symbol meant to represent humanity's risk of facing global calamity, was stuck at 3 minutes to midnight, despite a historic climate agreement reached in Paris just a few months earlier. As part of their reasoning, the atomic bulletin scientists cited the nonbinding nature of those Paris climate accords, the rise of hostility between superpowers and the proliferation of more "modernized" nuclear weapons that may be more tempting to use. But the minute hand of the clock has been stuck just a snack break away from global apocalypse for decades. And the Doomsday Clock now encompasses more than just nuclear threats. [End of the World? Top 10 Doomsday Threats] Given that, the Doomsday Clock may not be the right tool to mobilize people to actually change things for the better, experts say. "I don't think that using apocalyptic rhetoric helps us to do the hard work of discussing difficult and complicated issues in a democracy," said Katherine Pandora, a history of science researcher at the University of Oklahoma. Powerful symbol, muddled message Originally conceived in 1947 by a cadre of former Manhattan Project physicists, the clock was meant to symbolize how close humans were to nuclear annihilation. And as a visceral and powerful symbol, it hit the mark. "All of us have experienced events in our lives when the matter of a few moments could change everything," Pandora told Live Science in an email. "The clock metaphor calls up associations with the gut-level emotional impact of living through those moments and their aftermath, adding to its power as a symbol." Now, however, the Doomsday Clock represents not just the threat of nuclear annihilation, but also the threat of global climate change, hostile killer robots, malevolent genetic engineering experiments and cyberterrorism. All those threats are legitimately frightening, but with such a grab bag of threats, the symbolism of the clock has been a bit muddied, said Anders Sandberg, a philosopher at the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford in England. "It's not an exact measure and it's also combining several things," Sandberg told Live Science. "It was perhaps much easier when they started, when it was just nuclear war, but since then we have gained other existential risks." From alarm to action What's more, focusing on the big picture may not be the most effective strategy for getting people to fix the problems. Solving nuclear proliferation is tricky enough; add in forestalling climate change meltdown, and many people feel paralyzed, Sandberg said. People typically do better with more bite-size challenges. For instance, adding buttons to prevent the accidental detonation of nuclear weapons was a small but significant step in avoiding nuclear war, Sandberg said. The clock's conflation of current risks is also tricky because it's not really a numerical risk estimate, Sandberg said. And the clock publishers don't explain how they factor in potential future risks, such as artificial intelligence, he added. "Without the right safeguards, it might be tremendously dangerous," Sandberg told Live Science. "With the right safeguards, it's probably the opposite; it's probably the best things you can imagine: Having smart systems that actually help us." Persistent panic The clock may be on target when it depicts how close humanity is to global catastrophe, Sandberg said. But persistently living on the precipice of destruction may inure people to the justifiably scary threats the Bulletin hopes to emphasize, Sandberg said. "You can't live your life at 3 minutes to midnight," Sandberg said. Pandora thinks the clock could even be counterproductive. "Having authorities state that an emergency is at hand is an effective way to gain someone's attention and have them primed to take immediate action, which is the logic behind the clock's minutes-to-midnight gambit," Pandora said. "Asking successive generations of people to sustain a constant sense of emergency is a contradiction in terms. The unintended effects of this directive can impede a successful resolution of the issue at hand and undermine the working relationship between experts and nonexperts." While the Doomsday Clock itself may not be an effective symbol, that doesn't mean all the work put into creating it is useless, she said. "It is the prodigious amount of research and analysis that ground the conclusions in the reports that the [Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists] issues that are the real tools for mobilizing discussion among all of us on critical issues," Pandora said. Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. NASA has released a new image of Mars moon Phobos, allowing scientists to better assess the mysterious object. The space agencys Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission made a series of close approaches to Phobos in late November and early December 2015, according to a NASA statement. Related: Mars' moon Phobos could be headed for destruction Among the data returned were spectral images of Phobos in the ultraviolet, NASA explained. The images will allow MAVEN scientists to better assess the composition of this enigmatic object, whose origin is unknown. NASA explained that comparing MAVEN's images and spectra of the surface of Phobos to data from asteroids and meteorites will help scientists understand whether the moon is a captured asteroid or was formed in orbit around Mars. The data will be useful to scientists look for organic molecules on Phobos surface, the space agency said. Related: Hubble captures star's stunning blue bubble Last year scientists explained that Phobos may be heading for destruction, noting the spatial cracks crisscrossing the moons surface - much like cracks in the foundation of your home The U.S. Justice Department's efforts to compel Apple to provide the FBI with access to a locked iPhone in the San Bernardino terror investigation could set a precedent for future cases, FBI Director James Comey said Tuesday. Comey, testifying before the House Judiciary Committee about the encryption debate, acknowledged that other prosecutors and lawyers would likely look to the outcome of the San Bernardino case. "Any decision about a court is particularly useful to another court," Comey said. During his testimony, Apple General Counsel Bruce Sewell said that the FBI is asking the tech giant to weaken the security of its products. Sewell said, however, that Apple would comply with the courts order to unlock the iPhone if the court process ends in the governments favor on the issue, according to Reuters. Comey disputed that the Justice Department was requesting a "key" to open the iPhone, one which Apple has argued could not remain secure. "There's already a door," Comey said. "Take the vicious guard dog away and let us pick the lock. I have a lot of faith in the company's ability to secure their info." Comey's testimoney comes a day after the Justice Department suffered a setback when a federal judge ruled Apple could not be forced to provide the FBI with access to a locked iPhone's data in a Brooklyn drug case. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein's written decision provided support to Apple's decision as it fights a California judge's order to create specialized software to help the FBI hack the San Bernardino phone. The San Bernardino County-owned iPhone 5C was used by Syed Farook, who along with his wife Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people during an attack on Dec. 2 that was at least partly inspired by ISIS. Farook worked for the country as a health inspector. Apple on Thursday formally objected to the order in a brief filed with the court. The company's opposition to the government's tactics has evoked a national debate over digital privacy rights and national security. Orenstein concluded that Apple is not obligated to assist government investigators against its will and noted that Congress has not adopted legislation that would achieve the result sought by the government. "How best to balance those interests is a matter of critical importance to our society, and the need for an answer becomes more pressing daily, as the tide of technological advance flows ever farther past the boundaries of what seemed possible even a few decades ago," Orenstein wrote. "But that debate must happen today, and it must take place among legislators who are equipped to consider the technological and cultural realities of a world their predecessors could not begin to conceive." "We are disappointed in the Magistrate's ruling and plan to ask the District Judge to review the matter in the coming days," a Justice Department spokesman said in a statement. "As our prior court filings make clear, Apple expressly agreed to assist the government in accessing the data on this iPhone -- as it had many times before in similar circumstances -- and only changed course when the government's application for assistance was made public by the court. This phone may contain evidence that will assist us in an active criminal investigation and we will continue to use the judicial system in our attempt to obtain it." Attorneys for Apple and company officials said they were still reading opinion and will comment later. In October, Orenstein invited Apple to challenge the government's use of a 227-year-old law to compel Apple to help it recover iPhone data in criminal cases. The Cupertino, California-based computer maker did, saying in court papers that extracting information from an iPhone "could threaten the trust between Apple and its customers and substantially tarnish the Apple brand." It followed up by declining to cooperate in a dozen more instances in four states involving government requests to aid criminal probes by retrieving data from individual iPhones. Federal prosecutors say Apple has stopped short of challenging court orders judicially, except in the cases before Orenstein and the California jurist who ruled about the San Bernardino shooter's phone. "Ultimately, the question to be answered in this matter, and in others like it across the country, is not whether the government should be able to force Apple to help it unlock a specific device; it is instead whether the All Writs Act resolves that issue and many others like it yet to come," Orenstein wrote. "For the reasons set forth above, I conclude that it does not." Several tech companies have already voiced their concern about creating so-called backdoors into encrypted devices for government. My experience in security technology tells me that the creation of the firmware in question would give away enough blueprint for government (and the hackers who have demonstrated proficiency at hacking government) to exploit millions of other iPhones, wrote Pravin Kothari, CEO of cloud security specialist CipherCloud, in a statement emailed to FoxNews.com. I believe that national security and privacy can and should co-exist. As a civilian, I rely on the government to protect us within the rule of law." Fox News' Matt Dean and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Tech giants Google and Twitter have teamed with the Associated Press to launch AP Election Buzz, a tool for tracking online activity during the election. Powered by Google Trends and Twitter, the tools charts show Google search interest in political terms, and election-related conversation on Twitter. The Google political index measures search interest in a list of 2016 election topics, such as presidential candidates, policy issues and current events. Twitter election conversation analyzes tweets containing data such as candidate names, campaign hashtags and other election-related terms. Both charts use Iowa caucus day on Feb.1 as a baseline. Related: Trump jumps into iPhone security row, calls for boycott of Apple products "Spikes typically coincide with political events, such as debates, primaries and caucuses, though they may occur at different times on Google and Twitter, in part because the measurements differ," explained AP. The Twitter numbers measure what people are saying online, while Google search data reflect what people want to find or learn about. Citing Google Trends data, the tool reports that Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump accounted for 59.3 percent of search interest in the past 24 hours, ahead of his Democratic counterparts Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton with 13.3 percent and 10.4 percent, respectively. Trump was also the main driver of conversation on Twitter, accounting for 58.4 percent of conversation, compared to Sanders 14.2 percent and Clintons 12.8 percent. The most mentioned issues on Twitter in the past 24 hours are energy and the environment, national security and foreign affairs, which took 19.5 percent, 16.9 percent and 13.7 percent of conversation, respectively. A professor at a prestigious Ohio school still has her job despite a blitz of Facebook posts blaming Israel and Jews for everything from 9/11 to the creation of ISIS. Joy Karega, an assistant professor of "rhetoric and composition" at Oberlin College, claims the Jewish state secretly planned the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris and that its national intelligence agency, the Mossad, formed the terror group. Critics acknowledge that she is free to cling to kooky theories, but question why a school that charges students $50,000 per year would subject them to the ravings of a crackpot. This is the worst kind of anti-Semitic rhetoric, said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of the Shurat HaDinIsrael Law Center, an Israeli-based civil rights organization. "It is not acceptable for the dean to hide behind academic freedom and claim this is freedom of speech. She (Karega) is not a tenured professor," she added. "She needs to be thrown off campus immediately. According to the colleges web site, Karega focuses her research and instruction on social justice and social change, covering a breadth of topics with her students from journalism basics, grant writing, economic and social inequity, homosexuality and gender roles. She published a book that draws upon archival research and oral history and historicizes the political literacy education of the Black Liberation Front International, and is working on another book project, covering in part, the backlash of bullying she claims on her Facebook page to have received since The Tower first published its report on her. The college, ranked by US World & News Report as the 23rd best National Liberal Arts College and one of the best undergraduate music schools in the country, does not endorse Karega's wacky and bigoted statements, but pays her salary. "Oberlin College respects the rights of its faculty, students, staff, and alumni to express their personal views," the school said in a statment. "Acknowledgement of this right does not signal institutional support for, or endorsement of, any specific position. The statements posted on social media by Dr. Joy Karega, assistant professor of rhetoric and composition, are hers alone and do not represent the views of Oberlin College." But at some point an academic institution has a responsibility to repudiate hate speech, according to Darshan-Leitner. There is a difference between freedom of expression and hate speech, said Darshan-Leitner. There is no place for hate speech on campus. If she was attacking gays or Hispanics, there would be no tolerance for that. A series of posts on social media have been offensive, Darshan-Leitner said, including a picture she posted after the Jan. 7, 2015, Charlie Hebdo shooting that showed an Islamic State terrorist with a Star of David tattoo pulling off a mask, exposing the face of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In text accompanying the image, she called the murder of the French cartoonists part of a conspiracy to stop French support for Palestinians. Under the picture, she wrote This aint even hard. They unleashed Mossad on France and its clear why. Another post claimed Netanyahu attended a free speech rally in Paris after the attacks uninvited, but did not mention Netanayhu was actually in Paris to honor four Jews killed in a related terror attack. She also claimed the Islamic State is not Islamic, but rather a CIA and Mossad operation, writing "theres too much information out here for the general public not to know this. Another offensive post, Darshan-Leitner said, claimed Israeli and Zionist Jews orchestrated the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. Just under 3,000 students pay more than $50,000 a year to attend Oberlin College and live on its spacious 440-acre campus. Anti-Semitism has been a concern at the school in recent months. Some 250 alumni and students published an open letter to the Oberlin President Krislov, the trustees, faculty, staff and students last month, voicing their concern that the movement to Boycott, Divest from, and Sanction Israel (BDS) has become increasingly active on American college campuses, including Oberlin. Several student organizations at Oberlin have assumed the role as the mouthpiece of the BDS movement, which claims to be a defender of Palestinian rights, but whose inflammatory language falsely portraying Israel as an illegitimate, colonialist and murderous regime demonstrates that its primary goal is to demonize the Jewish state, the letter said. The letter also noted Jewish students dont feel welcome at the college. The Oberlin Review quoted one student who said, I quickly learned that at Oberlin, love for my own nation (Israel) was not something I could freely express. The student, who was quoted in The Jewish Exponent, also explained that she transferred out of Oberlin due to its toxic climate...around Israel. Melissa Landa, who heads a group fighting anti-Semitism at Oberlin, said physical intimidation, verbal harassment and vandalism is prevalent at Oberlin. Hanan Yadin, an Israeli whose Texas-based company, Instinctive Shooting, trains military and law enforcement about terrorism related conflicts, said anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide. He said the propaganda at the university against Jews, including Karega's rantings, could get people hurt. Could this incite violence against Jews worldwide and against Israelis in Israel?" he said. "Of course. It will give more fuel to those who are anti-Semitic already and for those who are indecisive and need an extra push to make up their mind. Karega, who received her Ph.D. from the University of Louisville in 2014, also did not respond to an inquiry from FoxNews.com for this report, but said in a statement on her Facebook page, that she will use the push back shes received for material for her new book. She also criticized the antisemitism call-out culture." I can generate articles for days on what I can describe as "antisemitism call-out culture" and some of its accompanying practices. I don't have to tell some of you that these recent activities in my own professional life have handed me a LARGE body of data (emails, voicemail messages, tweets, Facebook inbox messages, etc.) that will shed light on and provide insight into how and to what extent anti-Blackness rhetorics show up in antisemitic call-out culture and practices, Karega wrote. A volunteer school aide accused of sexually abusing students at a suburban Washington elementary school has now been indicted and faces additional charges. Twenty-two-year-old Deonte Carraway was charged last week with eight counts of producing child pornography. A grand jury indicted him Monday on 13 counts, involving 11 victims ranging in age from 9 to 12. If convicted, Carraway could spend the rest of his life in prison. Each count carries a minimum 15-year sentence. He is also facing charges in state court. His attorney has declined to comment. Parents of some of the children have alleged in lawsuits that Carraway was given unrestricted access to students at Judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School in Glenarden, Maryland. The lawsuits say the principal was warned about Carraway's conduct but didn't inform authorities. A California school has asked about a dozen students wearing anti-gay stickers to remove the badges at least for now, The Desert Sun reported. Both anti-gay stickers and pro-gay rights symbols previously had been allowed as a matter of free speech at Shadow Hills High School in Indio, a city outside Palm Springs. But Superintendent Gary Rutherford wrote in a letter to Shadow Hills staff on Monday that new information had prompted an additional review. He didnt note what that information was. Recently some information has been brought forward that requires additional investigation and follow-up to determine a proper course of action, Rutherford wrote. Pending further investigation, we are going to ask students who are displaying the symbol showing a rainbow pattern with a circle and a line, at least for now, to remove symbols while at school. Federal courts have allowed some limits on student speech, allowing schools to prohibit items like banners and T-shirts that mentioned drug use or came at a school with racial strife. At the Shadow Hills, some students and staff object to the stickers because they felt the gay and lesbian community has been targeted, said Amy Oberman, an Advanced Placement U.S. History teacher. Yes, there is freedom of speech established by [The Supreme Court decision] Tinker, but at least in my view, it's a hate crime because a group was targeted, Oberman said. District administrators said last week they thought allowing the stickers was the right course of action. "Sometimes people can be uncomfortable because of an opinion, but that doesn't mean it's bullying," said Laura Fisher, assistant superintendent of personnel services. The Associated Press contributed to this report. As many as 30 girls who engaged in a bloody brawl at a Pittsburgh prep school Monday were arrested and could face charges, officials said. Initial reports claimed it was a fight over a boy that got out of hand, but investigators later said it stemmed from ongoing tensions between University Prep School students from different neighborhoods, WPXI reports. The school, which serves grades 6 through 12, was taken off lockdown after the students were removed from the grounds. One student was taken to a hospital for an asthma attack, Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said. TV news footage showed a large police presence and ambulances outside the school. Pugh said she wasn't sure of the ages of those involved. The fight began around 9:45 a.m. She says injuries other than the asthma attack were minor scratches and bruises. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The Bible emphasizes the true weight of words and how they serve as a reflection of ourselves and God, says evangelical speaker Jefferson Bethke. In his "Monday Message" posted to YouTube, Bethke discusses the gravity our words carry and answers the question: "Is swearing a sin?" The answer to this question may not be as "black and white" as it first seems, Bethke says, although Christians can look to the Bible for the answer as it has "a ton to say about our speech, our words, our mouth." Bethke points to James 3 which states that the same mouth Christians use to praise God is the same mouth used to mock or gossip about others. "When we make fun of someone, or reap pain, or gossip, or damage upon them, we are actually assaulting our Creator," Bethke argues. He goes on to explain that a Christian doesn't have to say a traditional "curse word" to speak out against their Creator, but this verse applies to anyone who partakes in gossip or mockery of their fellow man. While hurtful words damage a Christian's relationship with God, they also make a bad impression on non-Christians. Followers of Christ have a responsibility to speak lovingly so they may represent what it means to be a real Christian, Bethke says. Click Here to Read the Full Story at ChristianPost.com A shooting at the home of a military couple near Augusta, Ga. left the husband dead and the wife critically wounded, investigators said Tuesday. The husband was in the Army and the wife is in the Air Force, Grovetown Public Safety Chief Scott Wheatley told WRDW. He said both were active duty, but did not give their names or ranks. The shooting appeared to be an attempted murder-suicide, Wheatley told WJBF. It stemmed from a domestic dispute and the husband was believed to be the aggressor, WRDW adds. Paramedics rushed the wife to the hospital in critical condition Tuesday morning, The Columbia County News-Times reports. The husband was declared dead inside the home. Grovetown is approximately 10 miles west of Augusta, and 130 miles southeast of Atlanta. A New Jersey pet store owner accused of hiding three dead dogs in a freezer and failing to keep infections under control was charged with 267 counts of animal cruelty on Monday. Vincent "Vinnie" LoSacco, the owner of Just Pups in East Brunswick, is due in court next week, according to the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "I cannot stress enough, this is an ongoing investigation and it is highly likely that more animal cruelty charges will be filed," the society's president Steve Shatkin told MyCentralJersey.com. Investigators say the shop lacked proper infection control procedures, exposed sick animals to new, healthy animals and displayed other signs of poor veterinary care. They said people who visited the store were at risk of contracting infections as well. LoSacco told the website his animals receive "proactive" care, adding, "All of our dogs get more than enough food, water and veterinarian care. Just like humans, they can get sick." The store reports it was closed for "interior improvements." WNBC reports a judge had granted a temporary restraining order to shut it down. Other veterinarians had determined the dogs were unfit for sale after they were purchased, according to investigators who said they found three dead dogs in a freezer during a search. East Brunswick is roughly 2 hours southwest of New York City. LoSacco reportedly owns three other Just Pups stores across New Jersey. A man who police warn has exhibited "violent behavior" escaped from a Virginia mental health facility Monday triggering a comprehensive search. Michael Marshall, 33, was reported missing from the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute in Falls Church Monday evening, Fox 5 reports. Investigator urged people who see Marshall not to approach him, but to call police instead. They say he's roughly 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 235 pounds, with black hair and glasses. Man fled mental health facility. Could be around Annandale; ties to C-ville & Sterling areashttps://t.co/3lYpigkHS5 pic.twitter.com/poP1tjLpPG FairfaxCounty Police (@fairfaxpolice) March 1, 2016 Marshall could be in the areas of Annandale or Falls Church but also has ties to nearby Centreville and Sterling, investigators add. Falls Church is about 8 miles west of Washington, DC. Click here for more from Fox 5. The State Bureau of Investigation has confirmed the identity of a black man who was fatally shot by a police officer on Monday. The agency said 24-year-old Akiel Denkins, of Raleigh, was killed and that agents have talked to his mother, Rolonda Byrd. She had earlier complained that authorities had not told her that her son had been killed and that they wouldn't let her see his body. The news release from the State Bureau of Investigation said its report would be delivered to the Wake County District Attorney's office upon its completion. It did not release any other details. Raleigh police said Monday that Senior Officer D.C. Twiddy opened fire on the suspect when he was serving an arrest warrant. Police say a gun was found near Denkins, but it's not clear if he was armed during the chase. The head of the North Carolina NAACP is calling on authorities to conduct a fair and transparent investigation into the shooting. The Rev. William Barber II said at a news conference Tuesday that if someone is running away, that is not a "license to kill." The neighborhood where an officer fatally shot a black man during a foot chase is on edge Tuesday, awaiting answers in one of the latest police shootings in a predominantly African-American community. Eyewitnesses have offered descriptions of what happened Monday, including a woman who said a black man was shot in the back by a white police officer, but authorities have so far been tightlipped. Raleigh police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown said an officer was pursuing a man who was wanted on a felony drug charge when the officer opened fire. The chief said a gun was found near the suspect's body, but she did not say whether it was his. After the shooting, neighborhood residents began chanting "no justice, no peace" -- a slogan used by the Black Lives Matter movement. Later in the evening, about a dozen people gathered around an anti-police sign with an expletive that was hoisted on a utility pole. The head of the North Carolina National Association for the Advancement of Colored People called for a fair and transparent investigation. "If one is running away, that is not a license to kill," the Rev. William Barber II said. Rolonda Byrd says she is the mother of the man who is believed to have been killed. She said she has talked to the medical examiner and police chief, but they have not told her definitively that her 24-year-old son Akiel Denkins is dead. She said she went to the medical examiner's office, but wasn't allowed to look at the body. "They stopped me at the door. Somehow they knew I was on my way," Byrd said. A day earlier, she questioned the police officer's use of force. "Why should we show our calm when they're not showing theirs? Why wasn't there a Taser pulled out to Taser him while he was jumping over that fence? What happened to beanbags guns? They used to use those to stop a criminal. They don't do that anymore. Now it's just bullets -- all bullets. Why?" she said. Denkins had previous drug convictions and was released on $10,000 secured bond in October after being charged with two counts of selling or delivering cocaine and one count of felony possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver, according to court documents. He failed to show up for a court date and an order for his arrest was filed Friday. The officer involved in the shooting was identified as senior officer D.C. Twiddy, 29, according to police spokesman Jim Sughrue. He said Twiddy has been placed on administrative leave, in accordance with department policy, while the State Bureau of Investigation looks into the matter. Twiddy's race was not released. Witness Claresa Williams said she was standing on the curb in front of her apartment when she saw an officer drive up. A man she knows as "Lock Man" in the neighborhood was standing in front of a convenience store and began to run, she said. "When the police came, he jumped the fence" into the backyard of a house next door, Williams told The Associated Press. "The officer jumped the fence, pulled his gun out and shot him down six times." Williams said her view was blocked so she didn't see the man fall from the bullets. "To me, you pulled your gun out and you fired at that man six times in his back because he was running," Williams said. Judith Lewis, a woman who described herself as a community activist who has lived in the area for years, said a lot of drug activity takes place in the neighborhood at night. She blamed it on buyers coming in from elsewhere. "It's an open-air market," she said. Deck-Brown said the Raleigh Police Department's Internal Affairs unit will investigate whether any departmental policies were violated. She said she will send a report to the city manager within five working days. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II reflects on Jesus' central role in her life in a new book ahead of her 90th birthday, calling Christ "the King she serves" in the title. "I have been and remain very grateful to you for your prayers and to God for his steadfast love," the British monarch writes in the foreword to The Servant Queen and the King She Serves, which is to be released in April. "I have indeed seen His faithfulness," she adds. Thousands of churches will reportedly be giving away copies of the book, which is being published by HOPE, Bible Society and the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, according to the Church of England. "As I've been writing this book and talking about it to friends, to family who don't know Jesus, to my Jewish barber, I've been struck how very interested they are to discover more about the Queen's faith," said Mark Greene, executive director of LICC, who is the co-author of the book. "The Queen has served us all her adult life, with amazing consistency of character, concern for others and a clear dependence on Christ. The more I've read what she's written and talked to people who know her, the clearer that is," he added. Click Here to Read the Full Story at ChristianPost.com Its Super Tuesday! Democrats and Republicans head to the polls today in primaries and caucuses from Texas to Massachusetts. 12 states are holding elections today. Texas is seen as must-win for Ted Cruz. Marco Rubios best chance may be Minnesota. It looks good for Donald Trump in most other states. On the Democratic side, Hillary is likely to dominate in the South. Bernie Sanders has a shot in Oklahoma and the caucus in Colorado. Hes likely to win Vermont. Massachusetts is considered a must-win for Sanders. Weve got reporters all over, and will be checking in on various states today. Rich Edson is in VA, Jonathan Serrie is in Atlanta, Casey Stegall in Dallas, Molly Line in Newton, MA, Peter Doocy in St Paul, Shannon Bream in Manassas, VA, Doug McKelway is in Atlanta, Mike Emanuel in Burlington, VT, John Roberts is in Miami, Carl Cameron is in West Palm Beach, FL, Ed Henry in Miami and James Rosen is in Katy, Texas. 0700EST -- Sen Sanders votes in the VT Primary. Burlington, VT. POOL COVER 1230EST -- Sen Rubio holds a rally. Courtyards of Andover Events Center, Andover, MN. LIVE via LiveU 1200EST -- Donald Trump holds a rally. Signature Flight Hangar, Port-Columbus Intl Airport, Columbus, OH. LIVE 1230EST -- Hillary Clinton makes a campaign stop. Minneapolis, MN. LIVE via LiveU 1300EST -- Hillary Clinton makes a campaign stop. Minneapolis, MN. LIVE via LiveU 1115EST -- Sen Ted Cruz votes in the TX Primary. West Gray Community Center, Houston, TX. LIVE via LiveU 1200EST -- OH Gov Kasich holds a rally. George Mason Univ Law School, Arlington, VA. FNC TAPE Clinton and Trump are looking like the big winners according to most recent polls. The way the GOP structured the primaries this season are working towards a quick nomination for Donald Trump. The new system was designed to make up for perceived flaws during the Romney nomination in 2012, but its front-weighting the nomination battle and that is helping Donald Trump. Nearly half the delegates for the nomination are at stake today. Some in the GOP are saying they will not support Trump if he gets the nomination. Reid Epstein in the Wall Street Journal today writes: A divisive battle is brewing in the Republican Party over the potential nomination of Donald Trump, as some party leaders warn they won't back him and could support third-party or write-in candidates. Most party leaders still say they will back the party's nominee, and until recent days even Mr. Trump's loudest critics maintained they would back him in the general election if he wins the nomination. That is beginning to change -- even as Mr. Trump is poised to win a string of Super Tuesday contests, and likely take the lion's share of the 595 delegates up for grabs today. Meantime, Hillary Clinton is already looking past Bernie Sanders to a likely battle with Donald Trump in the general election. The Washington Post reporters Anne Gearan and Abby Phillip write today: Hillary Clinton and her allies are shifting their attention to a likely general-election contest against Donald Trump that they expect to be strongly negative - and for which they are planning an intensive effort to draw out minority voters who feel demonized by the billionaire real estate mogul. Clinton is still waging a hard-fought nomination battle against Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont - including 11 contests on Tuesday - and some Democrats supporting her are wary of looking too far over the horizon. But increasingly sure that Trump will win the Republican nomination, Clinton appears this week to be running a two-pronged campaign against both Sanders and an eventual Republican opponent who sounds a lot like Trump. The WSJ reports that as many as 40% of the votes in some Super Tuesday states were already cast.. before polls even open. The final batch of Hillary Clinton emails were released by the State Department. President Obama meets with Senator Mitch McConnell today along with the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Chuck Grassley to discuss the vacancy on the Supreme Court. Both men have suggested they wouldnt even consider any Obama nomination to fill the hole left by the death of Antonin Scalia. 1130EST -- POTUS holds meeting with Senate ldrs and members of Senate Judiciary Cmte to talk about the Supreme Court. POOL TAPE SPRAY A House committee will hold a hearing with the FBI and Apple. Yesterday a federal judge denied a government request to open an iPhone in a drug case. The Obama Administration will release the second set of documents related to the 2011 raid that killed Usama bin Laden. For more news, follow me on Twitter: @ClintPHenderson A teacher in South Carolina resigned after a student took a nude picture from her phone and sent it to friends through texts and social media, officials said Monday. The Union County Career and Technology Center teacher, Leigh Anne Arthur, said the photo was meant for her husband, according to WYFF. She told reporters, "The student who actually took my phone and took pictures turned around and told me, 'your day of reckoning is coming.'" She reportedly said the unnamed student took her phone while she was patrolling a hallway on Feb. 19. Still, interim superintendent David Eubanks said Arthur should not have kept her phone unlocked, WYFF adds. I think we have a right to privacy, but when we take inappropriate information or pictures, we had best make sure it remains private, Eubanks told The State. He said Arthur could be contributing to the delinquency of a minor, but it's unclear whether the student will face charges. Arthur claims the school pressured her to resign. She had taught in Union County for more than a decade, according to WSPA. She says a petition has circulated among students and parents to get her back into the classroom. A physics major one semester away from graduation is suing to stop University of Texas-Austin from expelling him based on the unproven accusation he sexually assaulted a woman in a drunken, off-campus encounter. In one of the latest cases of male college students turning to the courts after being punished by public universities for being accused of sexual assaults, the 21-year-old man identified as John Doe in legal papers claims the school is violating his Constitutional right to due process. His alleged victim, who did not attend the school, never filed a police report, according to his lawyer, yet the school took action based on her fathers complaint. What were seeing here is a nationwide movement that has gone too far in what the system sees as victims of campus assaults, said Brian Roark. "Give us a fair hearing, and we'll deal with the consequences." My law office gets phone calls every day from students who want to defend their right to due process. Andrew Miltenberg Doe, who claims the sex was consensual, is facing a disciplinary hearing that could result in his expulsion, The College Fix reported. He filed the suit about two months ago with the goal of clearing his name. The alleged incident occurred on March 6, 2015, after a night of heavy drinking at a house party where Doe met two unnamed women, according to the lawsuit. The three spent the night at an off-campus apartment belonging to one of the women, where Doe had sex with one woman that night and the other the next morning, according to the lawsuit. The father of the woman who had sex with Doe the next morning told campus police of the encounter a month later, prompting a school investigation. Doe told investigators that the woman was enthusiastic about the encounter and talked about being in a pornographic movie. Its not just me raping this drunk girl, Doe told investigators, according to the lawsuit. But the alleged victim later told her friend, who had had sex with Doe hours earlier, that she was still intoxicated from the previous night and was in fact unconscious during sex. I dont remember throwing up, or coming home, or having this random guy in my bed, the alleged victim texted her friend, according to the lawsuit. I didnt want this guy. At all. This guy wanted me and got me when I wasnt conscious. Her friend reportedly responded, Dude I didnt realize you were unconscious, you were talking to me, according to the lawsuit. Differing accounts of drunken sexual encounters are at the core of most similar cases being dealt with by colleges and universities in the wake of a 2011 directive from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. In that letter, the federal government threatened to withhold funding under the gender equity law known as Title IX if schools did not demonstrate they were taking serious action to halt the epidemic of sexual assaults on campus. While proponents say the federal efforts have protected women on campus, critics say it sparked a rush to judgment against young men who can have their lives ruined by unproven accusations. "The university has been placed under enormous political pressure to appear tough on those accused of sexual assault and as a result have adopted a practice of expelling males from the university without regard to the rights of the accused student of the evidence, the lawsuit states. Roark said UT-Austin's policy barred Doe from having legal representation, cross-examining the accuser or even calling on testimony from corroborating witnesses, including the other woman. He scoffed at the 27-year-old education grads he said typically staff the school-run probes. UT-Austin declined to comment, citing a policy of not discussing ongoing litigation or student discipline. Dozens of young men are going to court to seek relief from punishment and reputational damage meted out by schools for alleged sexual assaults, according to Inside Higher Ed. As of November, there are more than 50 pending lawsuits filed by men who claim they were unfairly expelled from college after being accused of sexual assault. I think you can have a system that encourages victims to come forward while protecting the rights of the accused, Andrew Miltenberg, a lawyer who specializes in campus assault due process, told FoxNews.com. But are we there yet? No. Miltenberg gained national attention when he represented a Columbia University student accused of raping a fellow student who went on to conduct a campaign against the man by carrying a mattress around campus and making a video re-enactment of her alleged rape. Paul Nungesser was cleared of rape charges, but is now suing the school in federal court for failing to stop Emma Sulkowicz from harassing him. Sulkowicz, with the help of three friends, carried the mattress when she received her diploma during graduation to the cheers of fellow students. Nungessers mother, who was at the graduation ceremony, told Newsweek, I would have liked to go to every single parent in that audience and say, I am the mother of Paul, and I am very proud of my son, and I hope you discuss with your sons and daughters what they did to him. In one of the first of its kind, the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island on Monday ruled to allow a former students lawsuit to proceed against Brown University, alleging that the school violated his due process and discriminated against him based on gender during a wrongful sexual misconduct investigation. My law office gets phone calls every day from students who want to defend their right to due process, Miltenberg said. The courts are going to have to see enough of these that there is a sense across the country that, Wait, this is coming up too much, there really must be something wrong. Europe's leading human rights body has slammed conditions in Greek prisons and criticized the handling of police brutality allegations, saying not enough improvements have been made despite repeated recommendations. The situation in Greece's prisons has "further deteriorated to the point where lives are being lost," the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture said in a report released Tuesday. It cited severe overcrowding, lack of health care and major staff shortages. The report said many prisons were "merely acting as warehouses in which to hold people" and likened the situation to "a boiling cauldron left to simmer away with violent eruptions every few months." The government response, also released Tuesday, noted improvements in some areas, and said efforts were being made to address other issues. A series of artillery shells exploded near the main street of a Syrian village close to the border with Turkey on Tuesday, sending a group of visiting international reporters running for cover and underscoring the limits of Syria's partial cease-fire. The shelling came as Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with German television that rebels who lay down their arms can expect a "full amnesty." Assad was asked in the interview with ARD television airing Tuesday what a moderate rebel could do to be accepted by him as a Syrian civilian again. According to excerpts released by the channel, he replied: "Just to give up your armament, whether you want to join the political process or (are) not interested about the political process." He added that the most important thing for him is that citizens can't hold machine guns and hurt people -- "This is the only thing that we ask. We don't ask for anything. As I said, we give them full amnesty." Assad has made similar gestures in the past, but opposition and rebel groups have rejected such offers saying he has no role to play in the future of Syria. The journalists were visiting the government-controlled village of Kinsibba, in the coastal province of Latakia, on a trip organized by Russia's defense and foreign ministries. Russian defense ministry spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov, who was on the trip, said the projectiles came from positions held by the Nusra Front, al-Qaida's branch in Syria, which is excluded from the Russian and U.S.-brokered cease-fire, along with Islamic State group. The journalists were traveling in armored trucks provided by the Russian military, and were escorted by Russian special forces. Reporters were walking across the village, which was seized in a recent government offensive, and talking to locals when the first shell struck a hillside a few hundred meters away. Russian officers yelled at journalists to lie down, and they ducked as more shells fell and landed closer to the group. A Russian armored personnel carrier rushed forward to screen the reporters from direct hits. A couple of journalists suffered minor scratches as they ran for cover and were quickly treated by Russian military medics. No other casualties were reported. Just after reporters left, more shells landed in the area, killing three Syrian troops and wounding eight others, Konashenkov said. The partial cease-fire, which began at midnight Friday, has brought a notable reduction in hostilities for the first time in the five-year war that has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced half of Syria's population. Yet the truce has remained fragile, with violations reported in many areas and the opposition and Syrian government blaming each other. Russia's defense ministry said on Tuesday the cease-fire has been violated 15 times in the past 24 hours. Opposition activists and state media reported some violence in different parts of Syria, including the southern city of Daraa, where residential areas were shelled. Before their trip to Kinsibba, the foreign reporters visited the nearby village of Ghunaymiyah, where residents recently began returning to their homes after the government last month captured the village from Nusra Front fighters. Most of the buildings in Ghunaymiyah are just concrete shells, with windows and doors missing. One resident, Musa Magardish, stood in shock in front of his ruined home. "I don't have any money for rebuilding my house, and I have no idea how I can do it," he said. Just across the street from his house, dozens lined up in front of a Russian military truck to receive food aid including canned meat, beans and other staples. "I have a big family, there are seven of us, we feel grateful for that," said Nabila Chine, as one of her daughters stood next to her, smiling. Konashenkov said Russia has delivered around 580 tons of food aid to government-held areas since it began airstrikes in support of Syria's government in September 2015. At the village's church, which was damaged in the fighting, a few people gathered to clean up the shards of glass and pieces of concrete littering the floor, before praying. One of the parishioners, Farah Arijan, said Nusra Front militants badly damaged the church when they captured the village in 2012. "They also killed many of our people, one woman was killed when she was trying to flee," he said. A terror suspect nabbed last week in North Africa is the latest in a mounting and alarming list of former Guantanamo Bay detainees to return to the battlefield, say experts who have tracked Gitmo prisoners in and out of the facility for the last 14 years. Hamed Abderrahaman Ahmed, nicknamed the Spanish Taliban, was arrested with three others Feb. 23 by Spanish and Moroccan authorities on the North African coast. He reportedly led a jihadist effort aimed at recruiting teens to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and was prepared to commit terrorist acts on Spanish soil. Ahmed was deemed particularly dangerous by Spanish law enforcement because he was trained in handling weapons, explosives and in military tactics (which) makes this cell particularly dangerous. The prisoners in Gitmo now should not be released," said Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based think tank, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and editor of the Long War Journal. "These are dangerous members of Al Qaeda and allied jihadist groups. It is suicidal in my opinion to release members of a group you are at war with while you continue to be at war with them. Often after they are released to their home country, they are freed and return to fight Americans and their allies, Roggio said. "It is suicidal in my opinion to release members of a group you are at war with while you continue to be at war with them. Bill Roggio, Foundation for Defense of Democracies In the case of Ahmed, a 2004 Joint Task Force Guantanamo report said he should not be released because he poses a high threat to the U.S., its interests and its allies and remains dedicated to the cause of jihad against the U.S., but the U.S. transferred him into the hands of the Spanish government, which released him after the Spanish Supreme Court overturned his conviction on terrorism related activities. Some 779 prisoners were held at Guantanamo since January 2002 when the facility opened, and since, 678 were transferred or released, nine died while in custody, and another 91 are still behind bars. There are petitions being circulated by those who want to see the Gitmo prisoners released, including groups like the American Civil Liberties Union. They are pushing President Obama to keep his 2008 campaign pledge to close the facility. Obama transferred 10 of the prisoners in January without the approval of Congress. Obama traded another five prisoners to the Taliban in a highly controversial deal for the return of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured by the Taliban after he deserted. Obama has maintained holding prisoners at Gitmo feeds the terrorist recruitment efforts, but Roggio said Guantanamo is not a recruiting tool for terror groups. We are closing Guantanamo for all the wrong reasons. For reasons that continue to be repeated and are flat out wrong, Roggio said. Congress has passed numerous measures opposing the prisoners' transfer to U.S. soil, and military and defense experts have opposed their outright release, maintaining the prisoners are still extremely dangerous. There is pretty strong evidence, even from the Obama administration, that the majority of the folks we released and sent back have eventually made their way to the country we sent them to, back into the fight somehow, said Steve Bucci, director of the Allison Center for Foreign and National Security Policy at the Heritage Foundation and a retired Army Special Forces officer. Who does that in the middle of a war? Some of the most notorious former Guantanamo Bay prisoners who rejoined the jihadist movement include: Backed by paramilitary forces and aerial support, Iraqi troops on Tuesday launched a new push to retake a key area north of the capital, Baghdad, and dislodge Islamic State militants from there, officials said. The operation came as a group of suicide bombers targeted a military headquarters in western Iraq, killing eight officers on Tuesday. No one immediately claimed responsibility for that attack. According to a statement by the Joint Operations Command, the "new offensive" began at dawn in a swath agricultural area northeast of the city of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, with the aim to cut ISIS supply lines and to tighten the grip around the ISIS-held northern city of Mosul. The command says paramilitary forces, mostly Shiite militias, and the Iraqi air force were backing the push on the area, called Jazerat Samarra. The statement did not say if the U.S.-led international coalition was involved in the operation. Controlling the Jazerat Samarra area will not only restrict ISIS militants' movements between the three provinces in the region, but willalso be essential for future operations to retake parts of Anbar province and Mosul, said Sabah al-Numan, the spokesman of the counter-terrorism forces. Al-Numan told The Associated Press that two vehicles loaded with militants were bombed on Tuesday, and that the security forces managed to hit a would-be suicide car bomber before he reached his target. The offensive comes on the heels of two massive bombings in as many days by the Islamic State group in the area in the town of Muqdadiyah and in Baghdad that killed at least 110 people. Shiite lawmaker and spokesman for the paramilitary forces, Ahmed al-Asadi, said the offensive "is in retaliation for the blood of our martyrs and to annihilate the terrorist gangs that have wreaked havoc." Meanwhile, four suicide bombers disguised in army uniform struck at dawn at the military headquarters in the city of Haditha, 150 miles northwest of Baghdad, killing eight troops, including a local army commander, councilman Khalid Salman told the AP. One of the bombers first attacked the gate of the building, then the others blew up themselves up when people gathered at the scene to help the victims. Salman said eight soldiers were also wounded in the attack. ISIS still controls much of northern and western Iraq, but has been driven back in recent months in some areas, such as the cities of Ramadi and Tikrit. The government last month declared the western city of Ramadi, the Anbar provincial capital, "fully liberated" after it had been captured by ISIS last year. Iraqi ground offensives despite heavy backing from U.S.-led coalition airstrikes have been slow in scoring key victories against the Islamic State. A campaign to retake Mosul, the main city held by Islamic State in Iraq, has long been believed to be imminent but has not taken off the ground yet. Eight Dutch members of ISIS have been executed after they allegedly attempted to desert from the terror group, a Syrian activist said Monday. Abu Mohammad, a member of the citizen journalist group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), said on Twitter that the killings had taken place Friday in Maadan, Raqqa Province, not far from the capital of the self-proclaimed caliphate. RBSS said that the attempted desertions stemmed from a dispute between approximately 75 Dutch militants and some of the terror group's Iraqi intelligence operatives. It claimed that ISIS leaders in Raqqa had sent an intermediary to resolve the conflict, but the intermediary was killed. In response, ISIS leaders in Iraq reportedly ordered the arrest of all the members of the Dutch cell. RBSS also said that three other Dutch jihadists had arrested by Iraqi ISIS members who accused them of attempting to flee, and one of those men had been beaten to death during an interrogation. The Dutch security services estimate that approximately 200 people from the Netherlands, including 50 women, have joined ISIS. Some of them are believed to have previously immigrated to Holland from Morocco. Click for more from Sky News. A nanny whom Russian police have described as being clearly insane for parading the severed head of a child around Moscows streets Monday reportedly told authorities that she was driven mad after discovering her husband had been cheating on her. Gyulcherkhra Bobokulova, a native of Uzbekistan, was arrested Monday morning outside a Moscow subway station after carrying the head of a 4-year-old child, while yelling "I'm a terrorist!" and "Allahu Akbar, The Telegraph reports. Authorities believe the nanny, 38, strangled and then beheaded the girl -- who had been in her care for 18 months -- with a kitchen knife before setting fire to the familys Moscow apartment and running out the door with the head in a plastic bag. Russian police said the woman was clearly insane and have yet to establish a motive for the crime, according to The Telegraph. But Bobokulova reportedly told authorities that she had gone mad after learning that her husband whose current whereabouts are unknown is with another woman. About a month ago she returned to Uzbekistan to get a new passport, a police source told the Russian newspaper Life News. When she got home she learnt that her husband had taken a new family. He offered to make her his second wife. The childs parents who were not identified said in an interview with police that Bobokulova got along great with their daughter and did not consider her a threat, despite noticing that she had become emotionally unstable in recent weeks, The Telegraph reports. She was taken back to the apartment around midnight Monday to lead police through the scene of the crime. As she walked the streets, hecklers gathered and shouted at Bobokulova that her head needs to be needs to be torn off as retribution for the killing, The Sun reported. Hundreds of flowers and toys have since been laid around the subway station where Bobokulova was taken into custody, in memory of the girl. While Russian newspapers and websites covered the murder, the countrys state-owned television channels appeared to ignore the story, The Telegraph reports. The story was kept off-air because of government concerns that the murder could stoke ethnic tensions, two employees of the stations told the Russian newspaper RBK. But the Kremlin denied that it had imposed a blackout. Its not like that. The broadcasters themselves chose not to show insanity. But we support their decision, said Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putins press secretary. Click for more from The Sun. Russia on Tuesday again delayed a requested United Nations vote on new sanctions against North Korea in response to its recent nuclear test and rocket launch. After the U.S. mission to the U.N. requested a vote for Tuesday afternoon, Russia demanded a procedural review of the resolution, pushing back the vote to Wednesday morning. Russia had already delayed the vote over the weekend, asking for more time to study the lengthy text and reportedly suggesting some changes. The proposal, drafted by the U.S. and China, would require every U.N. member to inspect all cargo heading to and from North Korea for illicit goods. Some western diplomats told Fox News the delay can be attributed to Kremlin muscle flexing, signaling to Washington and Beijing that they may agree on the resolutions text, but ultimately both governments must fully include Moscow in considerations. China and Russia, both permanent members of the Security Council, historically have been North Koreas allies, often delaying and blocking action that would punish their Cold War partner. The White House announced last week that Beijing was on board to let the U.S. resolution pass. Negotiations over the resolution started after Pyongyangs fourth nuclear test on January 6. Fox News' Jonathan Wachtel and The Associated Press contributed to this report. IHG Grows Luxury Portfolio with First InterContinental Resort in Pattaya 156-room InterContinental Pattaya Resort to open along Pattaya Bay beachfront March 01, 2016 // Franchising.com // InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of worlds leading hotel companies, has signed a management agreement with Amburaya Resort Company Limited to rebrand the Sheraton Pattaya Resort, a luxury resort nestled in the Phratamnak Hills south of Pattaya Bay, to InterContinental Pattaya Resort. The Resort will be operating under the InterContinental brand in April 2016. The 156-room beachfront resort located five-minute walk from the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Center, will offer a selection of superior, premium rooms and villas, in a lush, exotic locale, coupled with unparalleled service. Guests can look forward to a variety of cuisine at the hotels all day dining and signature restaurant, and unwind by the three lagoon swimming pools, work out at the fitness centre or indulge in an array of relaxing treatments at the spa. In the months following the opening, the resort will also feature a Club InterContinental lounge and Planet Trekkers, a dedicated space for young guests, as part of the new offerings to reposition the property to an InterContinental Resort. Guest rooms will be renovated including the creation of Club InterContinental rooms on a dedicated floor. InterContinental Pattaya Resort will join Holiday Inn Pattaya to be the second resort managed by IHG in the popular beach destination. Clarence Tan, Senior Vice President, Development, AMEA, IHG said: As one of Thailands top beach destinations, Pattaya attracts both international visitors and locals from other Thai cities looking for an idyllic weekend getaway. Phratamnak Hill is a prime location and one of the most exclusive areas along the coastline, which is perfect for the first InterContinental resort to cater to guests who want a luxurious experience. Weve had a great partnership with Amburaya Resort Company Limited who we launched our Holiday Inn Express brand in Bangkok with, and we are delighted to work with them again to provide guests with exceptional experiences in Pattaya. Amburaya, who owns Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Siam, has a proven track record in high quality hotel developments and continue to expand its portfolio of hotels and resorts in key cities across Thailand. Sunny Bajaj, Managing Director, Amburaya Resort Company Limited, said, The InterContinental brand is globally recognised for its consistency in delivering top-notch luxury travel standards. With the growing popularity of Pattaya amongst luxury travellers, partnering with IHG is a strategic decision for us to bring our property up to the next level catering to guests seeking luxurious experiences. We are confident InterContinental Pattaya Resort will be one of the most highly sought-after hotels in Pattaya, and look forward to a great partnership with IHG for many years to come. InterContinental Hotels and Resorts is one of the world's leading hotel brands with a long and successful heritage since the first InterContinental was founded in 1946. Today, InterContinental is an award-winning brand, picking up accolades such as the coveted title of "World's Leading Hotel Brand" at the World Travel Awards last year an award it has held for six consecutive years; and the title of "Best Hotel Brand Worldwide" in this year's Business Traveller Middle East Awards. Globally, IHG operates 184 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, with 52 hotels due to open in the next three to five years. In Thailand, there are three InterContinental Hotels & Resorts: InterContinental Bangkok, InterContinental Hua Hin Resort and InterContinental Samui Baan Taling Ngam Resort, and 15 other hotels acrossCrowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express,Hotel Indigo. The company has 15 hotels and resorts in its development pipeline, due to open in the country within the next three to five years. About IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, EVEN Hotels, Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites andCandlewood Suites. IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns more than 5,000 hotels and 744,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries, with more than 1,300 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG Rewards Club, the worlds first and largest hotel loyalty programme with more than 92 million members worldwide. InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Groups holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 350,000 people work across IHGs hotels and corporate offices globally. Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihg.com/media and follow us on social media at: www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg and www.youtube.com/ihgplc. SOURCE IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Louisiana-Based Independent Brokerage Chooses To Affiliate With Century 21 Real Estate March 01, 2016 // Franchising.com // MADISON, N.J. In keeping with its expanding growth of new affiliates in 2015, Century 21 Real Estate LLC, the franchisor with the largest global network in the residential real estate industry, announced today that Realty Executives SELA has chosen to affiliate with the CENTURY 21 brand, and the firm will now operate as CENTURY 21 SELA. Led by President Tammy Randles, CENTURY 21 SELA provides residential real estate, investment real estate and land development services to buyers and sellers throughout southeast Louisiana. Currently, the firm has four offices and a wealth of sales associates serving this regional market. Our brand is defined by the way our local affiliated C21 professionals approach every consumer and industry professional they encounter, and Tammy Randles and her sales professionals truly reflect our SMARTER. BOLDER. FASTER. CENTURY 21 brand, said Rick Davidson, president and chief executive officer, Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Tammys commitment to growing her four offices while supporting and advocating for the revitalization efforts in her community is reflective of the CENTURY 21 value proposition, and we are fortunate to have her as a brand ambassador. Im looking forward to watching CENTURY 21 SELA grow and thrive as part of the CENTURY 21 System. Randles has tripled the size of her brokerage in the past three years, which she attributes to providing sales associates with a positive, growth-oriented working environment. At CENTURY 21 SELA, we truly believe in order to be the best, we have to align with the very best, said Randles. The CENTURY 21 global brand awareness, combined with access to incredible lead-generating tools and technologies that engage and connect with todays consumers, will take our brokerage to the next level and give our affiliated agents access to the tools and resources to provide the best real estate services in the Southeast Louisiana area. CENTURY 21 SELA is an independently owned and operated franchise affiliate of Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate has numerous websites to help answer specific consumer needs. They are: century21.com century21Global.com commercial.century21.com century21.com/finehomes, and century21espanol.com. About Century 21 Real Estate LLC Century 21 Real Estate LLC (century21.com) is comprised of approximately 6,900 independently owned and operated offices in 78 countries and territories worldwide with more than 101,000 independent sales professionals. Century 21 Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global leader in real estate franchising and provider of real estate brokerage, relocation and settlement services. 2016 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. CENTURY 21, the CENTURY 21 Logo are registered service marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated. SOURCE Century 21 Real Estate LLC Contact: Meaghan Quinn Account Executive O. 617-226-9538 M. 774-573-2361 ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Pacific Passion Coffee Returns to Maui Wowi for Limited Time Only Global Beverage Franchise to Offer Popular Hawaiian Coffee Blend this Spring DENVER - March 1, 2016 // PRNewswire // - Forget about spring fever; it's all about the passion! For the seventh consecutive year, Maui Wowi, known globally for its tiki huts and brightly colored kiosks, is bringing back its popular Pacific Passion coffee blend for a limited time only. Available starting March 1, Maui Wowi will combine the best of the Pacific Islands with Hawaiian and Papua New Guinea coffee beans to serve up the Pacific Passion blend. With a naturally sweet taste and fruity aroma, the blend has a full-body finish and clean flavor. "The reviews of our Pacific Passion coffee have been overwhelmingly positive and we are excited for its return to the brewers this spring," said Mike Weinberger, brand president of Maui Wowi. "The gourmet quality of this limited time coffee is the perfect brew to enjoy as we transition into warmer days ahead." Maui Wowi, a global coffee and smoothie franchise that has more than 450 stores, kiosks and mobile units, will offer the special roast at participating locations and online at www.shop.mauiwowi.com, giving its loyal customers the opportunity to experience the flavors of the Pacific Rim with ease. For more information on Maui Wowi, visit http://www.MauiWowi.com. About Maui Wowi Since 1982, Maui Wowi has embraced the Hawaiian culture and has been serving paradise in a cup since the day it began, over 30 years ago. From event carts, mall kiosks and stand-alone retail locations, Maui Wowi offers premium, all-natural, gluten-free, fresh-fruit smoothies, as well as gourmet Hawaiian coffees and espresso beverages. The company maintains strong community involvement through fundraising efforts by its franchisees, in addition to Team Karma; an initiative that promotes corporate responsibility and giving back to the community. In November 2015 Maui Wowi was acquired by Kahala Brands. The brand has more than 450 operating units and an online store, shop.mauiwowi.com. To learn more information about Maui Wowi products, locations or flexible, low-cost franchising opportunities, visit http://www.MauiWowiFranchise.com. About Kahala Brands Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., Kahala Brands is one of the fastest growing franchising companies in the world with a portfolio of 18 quick-service restaurant brands with approximately 3000 locations in 34 countries including Cold Stone Creamery, Blimpie, TacoTime, Pinkberry, Samurai Sam's Teriyaki Grill, The Great Steak & Potato Company, NrGize Lifestyle Cafe, Surf City Squeeze, Planet Smoothie, tasti D-lite, Maui Wowi, Johnnie's New York Pizzeria, Cereality, Kahala Coffee Traders , Frullati Cafe & Bakery, Rollerz, Ranch One and America's Taco Shop. For more information about Kahala Brands, visit www.KahalaBrands.com. SOURCE Maui Wowi ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus TWO MEN AND A TRUCK Gears Up for 4th Annual Career Move Month With one-third of franchisees starting as movers or drivers, company aims to hire 1,000 people and create franchisees of tomorrow. LANSING, Mich. - March 1, 2016 // PRNewswire // - When it comes to Moving People Forward, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK takes its core purpose seriously. From movers and drivers to marketing specialists and general managers, the industry's fastest-growing moving services franchise is dedicated to providing hardworking employees with a rewarding career path that offers plenty of room to grow - just ask the 75 percent of management staff that started out in entry-level positions. Now, as TWO MEN AND A TRUCK enters its fourth annual Career Move Month campaign, thousands of people will have a chance to become a part of the company employing "Movers Who Care." Career Move Month is an initiative dedicated to recruiting new hires to join the rapidly expanding brand. In 2015 alone, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK had more than 1,200 new hires emerge from the celebrated month and a total of 8,919 hires throughout the year. Demonstrating growing success of the nationally recognized moving company, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK has announced this year, it hopes to hire at least 1,000 applicants from the March Career Move Month initiative. "Career Move Month is an essential endeavor for TWO MEN AND A TRUCK to extend opportunities to potential hires and encourage them to join a company focused as heavily on the satisfaction of its customers as it is of its employees' success," said Randy Shacka, president of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK. "We're eager to continue growing our successful team, responsible for all of our accomplishments for the past 30 years." Looking to expand overall staff throughout its franchises across the country as well as corporate office located in Lansing, Mich., TWO MEN AND A TRUCK is hiring in all departments, including movers, drivers, marketing specialists and management-level staff. Career Move Month also honors the moving franchise's focus on providing employees with not just a job, but a lasting and meaningful career. Hiring from within is an initiative that's championed by TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, and the brand encourages upward mobility amongst all of its employees. "A big factor in our brand's success and consistent growth is the commitment we have to all levels of staff, giving them the tools to succeed and move up within our brand," said Jeff Wesley, CEO of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK. "Our president, Randy Shacka, even started out as an intern in the corporate office, showcasing just one of our special stories of Moving People Forward. We understand our people are a vital part of our brand, and we're better able to serve our customers because of the talents they bring to the table. That's why we're committing an entire month to the growth of the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK team and to further add to our talent pool that will help mold the franchisees of tomorrow." In line with this successful annual program, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK also introduced Mary Ellen's Moving People Forward Scholarship program in 2015, named after the company Founder Mary Ellen Sheets. This initiative was created to show system managers the ropes through various training opportunities and eventually molding them into successful franchisees themselves. The entire executive team at TWO MEN AND A TRUCK believes in grooming employees to become franchisees by giving them the right tools and mentorship. This scholarship's inaugural winner Randi Bloodworth was awarded a franchise inPearland, Texas, in partnership with existing franchisees Jeff Knowles and Ryan Knowles. Scholarship runner-up Michael Sham is also partnering with his current franchisee Jeff Taylor to become a franchisee himself. "Everyone deserves a fulfilling career where they can grow and make a difference in their community," Wesley said. "We want to foster that opportunity by providing new job options for long-term careers at every level of our organization. We are so much more than a moving company. We're in this business to change people's lives." To inquire about franchising, visit twomenandatruckfranchising.com To inquire about career opportunities, visit careers.twomenandatruck.com About TWO MEN AND A TRUCK TWO MEN AND A TRUCK is the largest franchised moving company both in the United States and internationally. Currently there are 330 national locations and 2,534 trucks operating in the U.S.; in total, the company operates more than 350 locations and 2,600 trucks. TWO MEN AND A TRUCK has performed more than 5.5 million moves since its inception in 1985. The company has seen consistent monthly growth dating back to December 2009 and more than 57 consecutive months of record growth. Each location is independently owned and operated. For franchising opportunities, visit https://franchise.twomenandatruck.com/. SOURCE Two Men And A Truck Contact: Lauren Kaminski No Limit Agency 312.526.3996 lauren@nolimitagency.com ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Waves beat against the pylons of offshore wind turbines, and winds shake the rotors. Because of this, the base of the turbine, which is located underwater near the seabed, must be able to withstand severe stresses. Corrosive saltwater can also damage the foundations. Divers descend periodically to inspect the highly vulnerable welding seams of these anchor points. They need to determine if these are still in good order, or whether any cracks or defects have appeared that pose a safety risk. To get to the bottom of these questions, the divers first blast the weld with a high-pressure cleaning tool to remove growths like algae and crustaceans. Then they apply an electromagnetic field to the weld and cover it with iron filings. If a crack is present, the field will be forced outwards, and the iron filings will accumulate there. This is a difficult task for the divers, who must carry down a lot of equipment while braving strong currents and allowing themselves enough time to adjust to changing water pressures during the dive. Currently, the inspection of one wind turbine installation takes about a day. Automated measurement using a sensor ring In the future, this arduous and sometimes dangerous task can be performed by a robot; more specifically, a box-shaped remote operating vehicle, or ROV for short. The groundwork for this technology has been laid by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS in Dresden in cooperation with various industry partners. We have developed a sensor ring that simplifies these measurements and will allow them to be performed automatically in the future, says Andreas Schnabel, project manager at the IKTS. This system offers a number of benefits. It is far more precise than other methods used to date, because for instance it can also analyze the dimensions and depth of cracks, which until now was impossible. Furthermore, this type of inspection is much faster than labor-intensive manual methods the job is complete in just ten minutes. But how does the system work? The heart of the system is the sensor ring, which is placed around the weld and remains there for the entire service life of the wind turbine, Schnabel explains. This ring is composed of numerous sensor elements arranged like a string of pearls, with spaces of five to seven centimeters between them. To take the measurements, the diver first connects a battery-powered handheld device to the interface port on the ring and then begins the analysis with the press of a button. In the future, this task will be performed by the robot. The laborious task of cleaning the area using high pressure is no longer needed. Each of the sensor elements takes its turn in functioning as an actuator. Heres how it works: the sensor hits the weld with ultrasound waves, which then permeate the entire structure. If there is a crack somewhere, the waves will be reflected back from the damaged area, while passing unobstructed through the intact areas. The other sensors detect these signals, and in this way they can home in on the damaged areas. The next sensor then takes its turn as an actuator: it transfers the data via cable connection to the handheld reader, whose data is transferred to a PC. As a result, the researchers receive data similar to that of a CT scanner at a doctors office. The end user, or in this case the inspector of the offshore wind farm, receives an image of the weld with damaged areas color-coded according to severity. Practical trials in the Baltic Sea concluded successfully Working together with staff from Baltic Taucher in Rostock, the researchers successfully demonstrated the viability of the process in an on-site trial at the Baltic 1 offshore wind farm. For this trial, they made a crack measuring 0.9 millimeters in width, 45 millimeters in length, and 7 millimeters in depth in a branched metal pipe, and lowered it to the bottom of the Baltic Sea at a depth of 18 meters. The trial was a success: not only was the system able to locate the crack with excellent precision, but it even determined its length, height and depth. Researchers are hopeful that the system will be certified and ready for robotic operation in approximately five years. Their goal is to sustainably ensure a long service life for the wind turbines while supporting the transition to new energy sources. Current CFRP production often involves large, expensive equipment. The molten polymer is pressed between the reinforcing carbon or glass fibers. Using this method, the plastic is only heated indirectly by the massive mold. The molds have to be moved, cyclically heated with variotherm process control, and cooled again. Depending on the process, this can require a significant amount of energy and time. The often high investment costs for presses and other large systems mean that smaller and medium-range batches are not profitable. However, there is an alternative for this: Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT in Pfinztal can heat the CFRP directly in a vacuum with infrared radiation. The energy acts where it is needed. Immediately. For the mold wall, the researchers have found a material that transmits infrared radiation in the desired wavelength range, but which undergoes almost no internal heat expansion. Usually, vacuum based variotherm manufacturing processes take between 30 minutes and several hours, depending on the thickness of the component. Using the ICTs approach, this is done in less than 60 seconds. Our method is faster, more economical and more energy efficient than the current state of the art, says Sebastian Baumgartner, mechanical engineer at the institute in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Processing in a vacuum protects the material. The plastic does not oxidize, as it does in open procedures. Trapped air and possible exhaust gases are sucked out. The process is very stable and easy to use. All forms of electromagnetic radiation are suitable for heating CFRP in our approach, including microwave radiation, Baumgartner explains. The industry saves energy, costs and materials and can manufacture more quickly. The method is suitable for both large and small series. It will particularly benefit smaller and medium-sized companies that do not want to pay for expensive system technology, Baumgartner clarifies. Exhibit at the JEC In a test plant, the researchers use the process to produce 40 x 40 centimeter wide CFRP sheets. Similarly large parts are already found in sporting goods and automotive applications. Our system fits on a normal shop floor, Baumgartner explains. Unlike with large presses, no superstructures, substructures or special foundations are needed. The scientists will present the project at the JEC (the trade fair for composite materials) from March 8th to 10th in Paris (Pavilion 5A, Booth E70). The system produces distortion-free plates. This is a major challenge when manufacturing with CFRP. We heat and cool symmetrically, use a mold wall with minimal thermal expansion and operate at relatively low process pressures, in order to avoid squeeze flow, says Baumgartner. The smooth surface of the mold wall also creates an almost reflective CFRP plate surface. This is very advantageous in the final component, particularly for applications in visible areas. The plastic heats up immediately once the infrared radiator is switched on. Scientists cannot yet say exactly how much energy is saved. We dont have the precise comparative figures. The effect is evident, though, since there are no large thermal masses that have to be heated up and cooled down again, as is the case with the pressing process, the researcher adds. In cars, airplanes and sporting goods Carbon fibers are thinner than a human hair. In new developments, thermoplastics often serve as suitable matrices for CFRP. They can be melted repeatedly and recycled completely. Fibers and plastics are stacked layer by layer until the desired component thickness is reached. Heat and pressure bring fibers and melted plastic together. A particular challenge is to manufacture the panels without any gaps or air pockets without any shifting of the fibers. Unidirectional CFRP is stiff in the direction of the fiber and flexible perpendicularly. As a result, components with customizable properties can be manufactured through a specific arrangement of the layers. CFRP is not only interesting for aerospace and Formula 1. It is currently used in cars, airplanes and sporting goods. IDOMENI, GreecePressed against coils of razor wire and shouting Help us!, refugees stranded at Greeces northern border were pushed back Monday by Macedonian police using tear gas and stun grenades, as the European Union scrambled to ease the escalating number of stranded migrants in Greece. In a chaotic scene, Syrian and Iraqi refugees forced their way through part of a Macedonian border fence, some clutching infants or struggling to free duffel bags caught in the razor-wire fence. They were met by Macedonian riot police, bolstered by dozens of special forces officers flown in by helicopter to quell a refugee protest. Amnesty International condemned European government for failing to adequately help stranded migrants. Tragically, there seems to be more willingness among European countries to coordinate blocking borders than to provide refugees and asylum-seekers with protection and basic services, said Giorgos Kosmopoulos, Amnestys director in Greece. Some 7,000 migrants, including many from Syria and Iraq, are crammed into a tiny camp at the Greek border village of Idomeni, and hundreds more are arriving daily. The border pileup began ten days ago, when Austria and four ex-Yugoslav countries on the Balkan migrant route north into Western Europe decided to slow border access for migrants to a trickle and stopped letting Afghan migrants travel through their territory. A U.N. official says those nations never did explain who made the decision on Afghan migrants, or why. Donald Tusk, the European Council President, begins of tour of those countries Tuesday, starting in Vienna, which has been strongly criticized by other EU nations for its caps on asylum-seekers, and ending Thursday in Athens. Tusk is aiming to prepare for a meeting of leaders from the EU and Turkey on March 7, where the key topic will be trying to halt the flow of migrants from Turkey to Greece. The number of migrants stranded in Greece topped 22,000 over the weekend, according to government estimates. Thousands have been sleeping outside in parks and along northbound highways, as refugee shelters quickly overflowed. Very many people were forced to sleep in the open, without tents, wrapped in blankets, said 45-year-old Syrian refugee Nidal Jojack, who has been camped out with her family at Idomeni for three days. It was very cold. The borders are effectively closed, its a huge problem. To get food, we have to wait in very long queues, she said. Jojack said she hopes to reach Germany, where her 18-year-old son has already arrived. Despite receiving the bulk of the refugees seeking the safety of Europe, Germany has opposed unilateral border restrictions and continued to back an EU-wide solution for the migrant crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is resisting calls at home and elsewhere in Europe for limits on refugees like Austria. We cant do this in such a way that we simply abandon Greece, she told public ARD television. This is exactly what I fear: When one country defines its limit, another must suffer. That is not my Europe. At next Mondays summit, EU leaders will discuss how we can restore the (passport-free) Schengen system step by step with Greece, Merkel said. But Austrias deputy chancellor, Reinhold Mitterlehnerin a sign of continued diplomatic tensionsdeclared Monday that the refugee restrictions are necessary (and) were going to maintain them. Wolf Piccoli, head of research the global advisory firm Teneo Intelligence, said the EU was making a risky bet with its strategy on migration. The EU is betting on incremental steps, hoping that the backlog will deter potential migrants before tensions in Greece raise concerns over the countrys institutions, he said. So far, border closures have not stopped migrants from coming. Greek authorities say over 1,800 people a day have reached Greeces islands from Turkey in February, slightly down from 2,175 a day in January. Accidents are frequent as dozens cram into unseaworthy boats provided for a high price by smuggling gangs. Ninety-six people have drowned in Greek waters alone so far this year, with another 34 missing at sea. Struggling to cope with the crisis, Greeces government has issued a temporary ban on journalists visiting migrant camps and called opposition party leaders to an emergency meeting Friday with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Nicholas Paphitis and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Konstantin Testorides in Skopje, Macedonia and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed. The state is one of a dozen Super Tuesday contests whose outcomes could go a long way in determining each party's eventual winner. States holding voting contests in both parties Tuesday are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. Republicans vote in Alaska and Democrats in Colorado. Democrats also have a contest in American Samoa and for Democrats Abroad. John Whitbeck, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said GOP voters are fired up to get to the polls. "The evidence is clear that we're looking at a record turnout in Virginia," he said. The limited polling available in Virginia shows Donald Trump ahead in the Republican primary and Hillary Clinton leading in the Democratic race. Susan Swecker, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said she expects turnout on the Democratic side to be "robust," but isn't sure whether it will be record setting. She noted that there are only two candidates running for the Democratic side, Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, compared with five GOP candidates. Whoever wins Virginia is also likely to bolster their case that they can do well in the general election, as the Old Dominion has a diverse electorate and is expected to be a pivotal swing state. "Virginia is America in miniature," said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. "A win here means more than a win in a lot of other states." Virtually every candidate in both parties made at least one stop in Virginia in the run-up to the primary. Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio held a four-stop tour across the state Sunday and has recently consolidated a large amount of the state GOP establishment's support. Trump was at Virginia Beach's Regent University last week and held a rally Monday at Radford University in southwest Virginia, home to a large number of blue-collar voters more likely to support him. Clinton spoke Monday in northern Virginia, home to wealthier, more liberal voters, and in Hampton Roads, which has a high concentration of African-American voters. The Clinton campaign has focused on courting black voters in Virginia, lining up support from most African-American state lawmakers. And Gov. Terry McAuliffe is a longtime family friend and confidante. The Sanders campaign has shown momentum in Virginia. A rally he held in Norfolk drew thousands. Rubio and a super PAC supporting him have recently purchased more than $400,000 of airtime in Virginia's four biggest TV markets, according to the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project. Clinton's campaign has bought more than $360,000. Trump has made small TV ad buys across the state. A super PAC devoted to attacking Trump announced Friday that it is running radio ads attacking him in parts of central Virginia. Zarr Tech Announces Being Nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year at Oakville Awards for Business Excellence Zarr Tech is proud to announce it has been nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year at this year's Oakville Awards for Business Excellence. -- Zarr Tech (www.ZarrTech.net) a company that solves and diagnoses business technology problems and offers local IT consultation, announces its nomination for Entrepreneur of the Year at the Oakville Awards for Business Excellence The nominees for the 21st Annual Oakville Awards for Business Excellence were announced in early February, and among the nominees is Zarr Tech founder, Matthew Zarrillo. (Source: "Congratulations to 2015 Nominees for Oakville Awards for Business Excellence," Oakville Chamber of Commerce web site, February 4, 2016; https://www.oakvillechamber.com/congratulations-to-2015-nominees-for-oakville-awards-for-business-excellence/.) "I can't tell you how much of an honour it is to be acknowledged by a group with such a respected history," says Zarrillo. "This is definitely an acknowledgement that is shared with my team of amazing technicians and staff who come to work every day with the goal of helping our clients as their first priority. We've created an environment here that encourages everyone to be their best." There are eight other categories represented in the awards show, including Small Business of the Year, Professional Service Provider of the Year, and Franchise of the Year. Two additional awards--the Charity or Not-for-Profit Excellence Award and the Oakville Business Icon Award--will be announced at the gala, which will take place at the Oakville Conference Centre on Wednesday March 23 and is presented by The Rotary Club of Oakville and the Oakville Chamber of Commerce. "When putting all that work into a business and all the time spent just trying to provide the very best service possible, winning awards is never really a big consideration," says Zarrillo. "There are so many other businesses in Oakville doing great things, so I really am grateful for this nomination." Zarr Tech helps small businesses in the GTA better manage its IT. It strives to implement or improve technology for the businesses it works with, which include clients from the retail, medical, and communications industries. More information can be found at www.ZarrTech.net. For more information about us, please visit http://www.zarrtech.net/ Contact Info: Name: Matthew Zarrillo Organization: Zarr Tech Address: 2275 Upper Middle Road E Suite 101 Oakville, ON L6H 0C3 Phone: (289) 813-3791 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/zarr-tech-announces-being-nominated-for-entrepreneur-of-the-year-at-oakville-awards-for-business-excellence/105473 Release ID: 105473 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Simon & Geherin, PLLC, Announces the Firm Has Been Ranked in "Best Law Firms" The firm received this honor for their work in criminal defense and the founding partners were named "The Best Lawyers in America" in the 2016 edition of this publication. -- Simon & Geherin, PLLC recently received a ranking in the 2016 Edition of U.S. News & World Report-Best Lawyers in America "Best Law Firms" in the practice area of criminal defense. In addition, founding partners Joseph A. Simon and Daniel T. Geherin were individually named in The Best Lawyers in America 22nd Edition 2016 publication, Simon for his work in criminal defense-non white collar and Geherin for his work in criminal defense-DUI/OWI defense. Inclusion in Best Lawyers requires an attorney undergo an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey compromising more than 6.7 million confidential evaluations by top attorneys. "For more than three decades, Best Lawyers has been regarded-by both the general public and those in the profession-as one of the most definitive and credible guides to legal excellence in the United States, Because there is no fee or purchase required to be included in the guide, being listed is considered a singular honor. The firm is honored to have both of its founding attorneys recognized in this manner. In our experience, consumers find this listing to be of great help when they are in need of a criminal defense attorney in Washtenaw County, as they know our firm has been thoroughly and positively vetted by those who rate attorneys," states Daniel Geherin, founding partner at Simon & Geherin, PLLC. "At Simon & Geherin, PLLC, we take great pride in providing clients the highest quality of legal representation. I find it very rewarding that both clients and other members of the legal community appreciate our hard work and success. It is great that both US News and World Report and Martindale-Hubbell recognize the firm's combined success and the founding partners' individual accomplishments," notes Associate Attorney Philip M. Jacques. In addition, in September 2015 Martindale-Hubbell ranked Daniel T. Geherin, a firm partner and experienced criminal defense lawyer in Ann Arbor, as AV-Preeminent. This remains the highest ranking available for attorneys and is granted to only those individuals who have been awarded the highest ratings for their legal ability and professional ethics by their peers. As the standards are so high, only ten percent of attorneys benefit from this advantage, yet Simon & Geherin PLLC has two attorneys who have been rated AV-Preeminent. Martindale-Hubbell honored Joseph A. Simon with this distinction in 2006. "When the time came to make a career move, I knew I wanted to look at Simon & Geherin, PLLC. Not only would I be able to work on cases that I am passionate about, such as juvenile delinquency matters and state criminal defense, but I would be working in a firm that has been honored a number of times, not merely at the firm level, but also at the attorney level. Joining the firm in 2013 was one of the wisest decisions I have ever made, as I get to work with those who have been named the Best Lawyers in America and my work only improves as a result," Brian Montoye, a Ann Arbor criminal defense lawyer and associate of Simon & Geherin, PLLC, states. Simon & Geherin, PLLC stands out from other firms in the area in additional ways also. The firm offers client services not found in many practices, including an on-staff private investigator, on-staff notary publics, full-time paralegals, expert referrals, a 24-hour answering service and more. This ensures clients have access to the tools and resources they need in a timely manner. "Simon & Geherin, PLLC strives to be the only firm a person needs to contact when they are facing legal trouble. In addition to our outstanding attorneys, we offer ways to reduce the stress associated with a criminal proceeding or the restoration of a Michigan driver's license. Contact us today for a free consultation and see why we have been recognized by clients and peers alike for our outstanding work," Joseph A. Simon declares. About Simon & Geherin PLLC: Simon & Geherin, PLLC, is a full-service criminal defense law firm know for defending those who face OWI, misdemeanor or felony charges in Washtenaw County, including Ann Arbor and all of Southeast Michigan. The firm likewise represents those who are seeking to restore their revoked driver's license in the state of Michigan. For more information about us, please visit http://simongeherin.com/ Contact Info: Name: Joseph A. Simon Organization: Simon & Geherin PLLC Address: Ann Arbor, MI, 48104 Phone: 734-997-0870 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/simon-geherin-pllc-announces-the-firm-has-been-ranked-in-best-law-firms/105499 Release ID: 105499 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sorry that press release couldn't be found. [ Vist our sister sites: Linux news | Bible Study Tool ] Site design and layout copyright 2005-2015 Free Press Release Center 2016 Women's Walking Shoe Review Launched in Light of Recent Exercise Uptick Choosing the right walking shoe can make a world of difference where health and fitness are concerned, publishes womenswalkingshoereview.com -- Recently released reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention point out approximately half of Americans are currently making an effort to ramp up their levels of aerobic exercise; of those, 60 percent list walking as their activity of choice. These figures exhibit a 6 percent increase over the CDC's previous findings. In light of this uptick, Melissa Rowland, also known as the Female Fitness Geek, has launched her Women's Walking Shoe Review for 2016. Said Rowland, "Walking is a great form of exercise, and it's a wonderful way to relieve stress and get fresh air. In addition to building muscle tone, burning calories and improving overall health, it can also help save money on transportation for those who are able to walk to work or when running errands. Though there really aren't any disadvantages to walking, having the right shoes can make a world of difference. The purpose of my website is to provide honest reviews of the best options on the market and help women decide which ones may be right for them, so I encourage anyone interested to click here and view my top picks in several different categories." Consumers who visit this website will find Rowland's summary of the top walking shoes currently available in small, medium and large budget categories. Positive and negative aspects of each model are discussed as well as notable features. Videos offering further information along with links to manufacturers' and distributors' websites are likewise provided. Shoes for walkers with flat feet and prime sandals for this type of exercise are also covered in the latest edition of the review with previously mentioned elements in these categories as well. Aside from specific types, brands and models of walking shoes, the review explains the significance of each variety as well as any listed features. Additional advice on appropriate shoe choice is additionally furnished. Concluded Rowland, "I will continue to update the website on a regular basis and share my thoughts on an array of topics in this genre. A number of other categories are discussed as well, like hiking shoes and walking accessories; not to mention, I offer information on weight loss, mental health benefits of walking and other subjects. I encourage anyone thinking about starting a routine or simply looking for a more comfortable and supportive pair of shoes to visit my website to learn more here. Visitor may also feel free to post their questions, concerns and comments on each discussion." About Women's Walking Shoe Review: Published by Female Fitness Geek Melissa Rowland, the Women's Walking Shoe Review provides a wide range of information on walking shoes. The review covers such topics as price and selecting suitable options based on personal style, foot type and level of dedication to this type of exercise. For more information about us, please visit http://womenswalkingshoereview.com/ Contact Info: Name: Melissa Rowland Organization: Womens Walking Shoe Review Address: State College, PA 16801 Phone: (814) 708-9845 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/2016-womens-walking-shoe-review-launched-in-light-of-recent-exercise-uptick/105487 Release ID: 105487 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Mobile Wallet Market Is Expected To Reach USD 2,950.2 Billion by 2020: Radiant Insights Radiant Insights, Inc has announced the addition of the "Mobile Wallet Market Analysis By Application (Grocery Stores, Public Transportation, Restaurants, Retail, Vending Machines) And Segment Forecasts To 2020" report to their offering. -- Increasing Smartphone penetration, exponential growth of mobile internet applications and advancement of 3G and 4G networks are expected to serve as key market drivers over the forecast period. Technological advancement and the advent of NFC (Near-Field Communication) are also expected to positively impact market growth over the forecast period. Download Full Research Report @ http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/mobile-wallet-market-analysis-by-application-grocery-stores-public-transportation-restaurants-retail-vending-machines-and-segment-forecasts-to-2020 The market is characterized by consumer demand for easy and convenient payment modes that consume minimum time as against traditional banking channels. Furthermore, surging demand for high-end mobile devices and integration of technologies such as RFID, Bluetooth and NFC across POS (Point of Sale) terminals is expected to significantly contribute to industry growth. Additionally, secure and easy payment processes and enhanced user experience offered by mobile wallet solutions are expected to fuel global demand. Browse All Reports of This Category @ http://www.radiantinsights.com/catalog/technology-and-media Further key findings from the study suggest: o The global mobile wallet market was estimated to comprise 230 million users in 2013, which is expected to reach 1,420.8 million users by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 30.0% from 2014 to 2020. o Retail was the largest application area in 2013 and accounted for over 40% of the overall market. This can be primarily attributed to initiatives to equip retail stores with easy mobile device payment options along with integration of POS terminals and various loyalty schemes, which result in better customer engagement. In public transportation, mobile wallet facilitates the purchase of tickets for air, rail, bus, and other forms of transport in an efficient manner. Request a Sample Copy of this Report @ http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/mobile-wallet-market-analysis-by-application-grocery-stores-public-transportation-restaurants-retail-vending-machines-and-segment-forecasts-to-2020#tabs-4 o Asia Pacific accounted for over 30% of the global market volume in 2013. Furthermore, the region is expected to witness the fastest growth over the next six years, which can be primarily attributed to the surge in number of Smartphone and internet users. o Key industry participants include American Express Inc., BlackBerry, Apple Inc., First Data, Google, ISIS, MasterCard, PayPal Inc., Samsung and Visa Inc. Developing easy-to-use and secure mobile wallet solutions delivering enhanced user experience is expected to be a critical success factor for gaining market share. About Radiant Insight Radiant Insights is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. It assist and facilitate organizations and individuals procure market research reports, helping them in the decision making process. The Organization has a comprehensive collection of reports, covering over 40 key industries and a host of micro markets. For more information about us, please visit http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/mobile-wallet-market-analysis-by-application-grocery-stores-public-transportation-restaurants-retail-vending-machines-and-segment-forecasts-to-2020 Contact Info: Name: Michelle Thoras Email: sales@radiantinsights.com Organization: Radiant Insights Inc Address: 28 2nd Street, Suite 3036 Phone: 1-415-349-0058 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/mobile-wallet-market-is-expected-to-reach-usd-2950-2-billion-by-2020-radiant-insights/105534 Release ID: 105534 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Super Blinds Mart Presents Exclusive Offers for both Custom and Ready Made Blinds Super Binds Mart, a leading supplier of custom and readymade blinds has announced 15% off on all types of blinds. They also offer FREE shipping Australian wide. -- With over 40 years of experience in the industry, Super Binds Mart has been recognised as the leading supplier of quality blinds at super competitive prices. They stock a huge variety of blinds including venetian blinds, roller blinds, roman blinds, vertical blinds and more. They also supply curtain accessories, eyelet curtains, pelmets and brackets custom, and more. "Whether it's our locally manufactured custom made blinds or our internationally sourced ready-made blinds, we ensure that our entire range meets the strictest quality standards. Our store lets you buy blinds online Australia wide via a safe and secure shopping experience from the comfort of your own home," quoted the spokesperson of Super Binds Mart. Super Binds Mart has just announced their exclusive offers for blinds and curtains. They provide a 15% off on all types of blinds accompanies by FREE shipping worldwide. When asked about the discounts, "Our family has been selling custom and readymade blinds and curtains for over 40 years. Most of our happy customers buying online blinds from us have rated us 4.5/5. his means when you buy blinds online from us, you can be rest assured you'll not only get high quality, durable blinds at a cheap price, you'll be treated to even better after sales service. We provide various offers and discounts on all brands of blinds with a free shipping Australian wide. All our blinds carry a flat 15% discount, no matter what the size or brand is!" exclaimed the spokesperson. At Super Binds Mart, they stock blinds from the leading brands in Australia and those products come with a two year warranty. "In most cases, your blinds will be delivered to your door in less than 7 days no matter whether you're in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Canberra, Darwin or regional Australia. We also provide free colour samples before you buy to help you get a feel for the quality of our fabrics, too," added the spokesperson lastly. About Super Binds Mart: With more than 40 years of experience in retail window industry, Super Binds Mart has been supplying blinds of varied colour and sizes from all the leading brands of Australia. For more information about us, please visit http://www.superblindsmart.com.au Contact Info: Name: Stewart Graham Email: sales@superblindsmart.com.au Organization: Super Blinds Mart Address: 125 Stirling Highway, Nedlands, Perth, West Australia, Australia, 6009 Phone: 1300 652 027 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/super-blinds-mart-presents-exclusive-offers-for-both-custom-and-ready-made-blinds/105512 Release ID: 105512 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM) has hired Dale Erdei as head of adviser sales for its UK funds business. Mr Erdei will lead client relationship development to independent financial advisers in the UK, and will report to Jasper Berens, head of UK funds. His arrival follows the departure of Mike Parsons, head of UK fund field sales, at the start of this year. Mr Erdei has been with JPMAM for over 11 years and was most recently divisional sales manager for the wealth management channel in the US funds team, based in Chicago. Mr Berens said: Dale has a huge amount of experience and enthusiasm for our business. He has been managing sales divisions for the last six years and was a highly successful client adviser for a number of years before that. The JPMAM team has made a number of hires over the past two years following a restructure in late 2013, including head of global strategic relationships Andrew Larkin, and Nick Webb, sales manager for UK platforms and life companies. The European Commissioner responsible for the financial sector has said he is open to a review of the bankers bonus cap. Lord Hill, the British representative on the European Commission, suggested he shared the UK governments position in opposing the measure. Speaking to the Treasury select committee today (1 March) he said he agreed with the original proposals from the commission that centred around measures such as claw-back but which were changed by EU member states and the European Parliament. While being questioned by the committees chairman Andrew Tyrie Lord Hill - who was not in post when the bonus cap was agreed - conceded it could end up pushing basic pay up. He said: My approach would have been that you have an approach which has deferred payments and claw-back so you can do it over time without having a cap. That is what I would have argued for and I would at the time have been arguing for there not to be a cap, I am sure, as the commission was. What I have been concentrating on is generally trying to get a new approach on financial regulation which is proportioned, which is where we regulate far less and where we review the effect of regulation which has already been passed. It is the case we are looking at the question of the bonus cap from the point of view of proportionality and whether it in future would make sense for it to be applied in a uniform way to all sized credit institutions or whether it makes sense to do it proportionately. The UK government attempted to challenge the introduction of a bonus cap, which restricts bonuses to 100 per cent of bankers pay or 200 per cent with shareholder approval and is due to come into effect in January 2017. HM Treasury had argued the cap would drive talent out of Europe and inflate basic pay but it abandoned its challenge in 2014, recognising that it was unlikely to overturn the decision made in Brussels. Lord Hill also touched on the financial transaction tax (FTT), which 10 member states are proposing to levy, and its effects on the Capital Markets Union proposals. He said: I have always taken the view on the FTT that if one were to go down the route of the FTT these things are best done at a global level. We need to see where this proposal gets to which, as you know, has been a long time in the coming. Where it will end up and what form it will end up in is not clear. People have been pointing out that if a group of member states proceed with this, they dont do so in a way that cuts against the objectives of the Capital Markets Union. New entrants in Scotland who are looking to get their first foothold in the farming industry are being urged to apply for the tenancies of three small farms. The Scottish government has announced it is making two more part-time starter farms available using public land. Applications are now being invited for a 27ha five-year let at Lochnameal on the Isle of Mull, which is grazing land surrounding a former forest workers holding. See also: Young farmers chosen for government starter farm A 9.3ha five-year let at Ardentinny in Cowal on the National Forest Estate, which is being brought back into agricultural use after many years, has also been made available. Ensuring the next generation of farmers can get a foothold on the farming ladder is absolutely crucial for the future of the industry that puts food on our tables Richard Lochhead, rural affairs secretary While not an official publicly owned starter farm, young farmers are also being encouraged to apply for a 10-year limited duration tenancy being advertised for Den Farm on The Crown Estates Fochabers estate in Moray. Rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead said: Ensuring the next generation of farmers can get a foothold on the farming ladder is absolutely crucial for the future of the industry that puts food on our tables. Our innovative approach of creating starter farms on public land has been a hugely successful way of doing this which is why I last year established an expert group to maximise the amount of publicly owned land available to young farmers. Even though the group has yet to submit its final report, we are now beginning to reap the rewards of its endeavours with even more starter farms and opportunities for young farmers coming onto the market. Since 2012, 11 starter farms have been created on Scottish government land. The policy is to offer the farms for a defined period with the intention that successful applicants will be able to build their business experience and capital in that period and then move on at the end. Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise are looking to identify land on their estates suitable for starter farm opportunities. Story Highlights 38% of Americans say U.N. is doing a good job Job rating is highest since start of Iraq War in 2003 Independents much more likely to give good rating than in 2015 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans are slightly more likely than they were a year ago to think the United Nations is doing a good job of trying to solve the problems it faces. The small gain -- from 35% in 2015 to 38% now -- pushes the U.N.'s job rating to its highest level since before it balked at supporting the Iraq War in 2003. The percentage of Americans judging the U.N.'s work favorably has now risen 12 percentage points since 2009. At that time, 26% of Americans said the U.N. was doing a good job -- the lowest point in the 38 times Gallup has polled on the subject, going back to 1953. This year's slight climb comes after the percentage saying the U.N. was doing a good job stalled at 35% for three consecutive years. Fourteen years have passed since a majority of U.S. adults have said the U.N. is doing a good job, following a familiar pattern that goes back decades. Fifty-five percent of Americans supported the U.N.'s efforts when the question was first asked in 1953, and 50% did so in 1967. However, the percentage dropped to 44% in 1970, and since then, attitudes about the U.N.'s work have been marked by lengthy stretches of negative ratings. The two exceptions since then were brief periods of majority support around the times of the first Gulf War in 1991 and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 2015 a Tumultuous Year for the UN In judging the U.N.'s performance this year, U.S. adults had several major events on which to base their opinions: In July, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved an agreement designed to limit Iran's nuclear program -- a deal that has not been popular in the United States. In November, the Security Council unanimously approved a resolution calling for action against the Islamic State group. The action came a week after attacks by Islamic extremists killed 130 people in Paris. In December, the United Nations Climate Change Conference produced the Paris Agreement, a global deal on the reduction of climate change reached after 20 years of negotiations on the subject. On Feb. 3, the U.N. suspended peace talks focused on ending Syria's civil war just a few days after they began. The United Nations' support of the Iran nuclear deal touched on an issue that a majority of Americans opposed, but its action on global warming dealt with a subject that has strong support overall in the U.S. The U.N.'s quick reaction against the Islamic State group after the Paris attacks also mirrored the attitudes of most Americans. UN Job Rating Improves Most Among Independents Over the past year, the United Nations' support of the global warming treaty and the Iran nuclear deal drew criticism from Republicans in Congress. Not surprisingly, the percentage of Republicans saying the U.N. is doing a good job fell from 25% in 2015 to 17% now. Nevertheless, the overall U.N. job rating rose because the percentage of independents saying it is doing a good job spiked from 29% to 43%. In doing so, independents -- for the second time in a decade -- moved closer to the Democratic view than to the Republican view. Democrats' opinions of the U.N. showed no significant change in 2016 after improving by 11 percentage points last year. Meanwhile, the partisan gap between the two parties, after widening from 15 points in 2014 to 27 points last year, now stands at 37 points -- the largest divide since Gallup began asking the question annually in the February World Affairs poll in 2004. Bottom Line Although the United Nations has made incremental advances in the eyes of the American public over the past seven years, only slightly more than a third of Americans think it is doing a good job. Furthermore, the U.N. lost ground among Republicans in the past year, possibly as a result of its support for the Iran nuclear deal and the global warming treaty. But despite Americans' consistent disapproval of the United Nations since 2003, the American public has indicated again and again that the U.N. has a vital role to play. More than 60% said in 2014 that the U.N. should play a leading or major role in world affairs. In 2013, 58% said that working with the U.N. should be a very important foreign policy goal for the U.S., and 66% said that the U.N. "plays a necessary role in the world today." While the majority of Americans generally have not been happy with the way the United Nations deals with the world's problems, few have wanted to see it fade into oblivion, as did its post-World War I predecessor, the ill-fated League of Nations. Survey Methods Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Feb. 3-7, 2016, with a random sample of 1,021 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 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. 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. View survey methodology, complete question responses and trends. Her profile does not match! According to the Bank, the socioeconomic profile of the type of manager does not fit with that of a person who, abroad, handles hundreds of millions of dollars and, on the other hand, fits with a person in a managerial position (regular employer). Carvajal, as corroborated by the newspaper La Nacion, now is the manager of sportsbook 5Dimes. 5Dimes business name is Red Planet S. A., another company headed by Carvajal, this business also received money from Malta and Panama through bank transfers from Woodtree Equipment Limited, according to research by Banco De Costa Rica Security Department. As for companies domiciled in Malta and Dubai (United Arab Emirates), there are no audited financial statements of 2014 -a which accessed the bench, where revenues of more than $ 1,500 million were reported. The more records is Woodtree Equipment Limited, with revenues of $ 1,444 million and $ 1,282 million expense. And Latitude Global FZE reported $ 84 million entries and expenses by $ 72 million, the statement said Marisol Carvajal, meanwhile, borrowed, on national soil, with two mortgages totaling $ 241,000 ( 130 million) to build a house in San Rafael de Escazu, from a private bank. In the writings of the loans, she was identified as "administrator" in 2006 and 2014. Besides this, the company Red Planet S. A. -under which operates the sportsbook - owes little more than $ 1 million to the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) per worker-employer contributions. According to a report by the Ministry of Public Education (MEP), she obtained the baccalaureate high school in 1997, under the distance mode. Latco accounts, which received $ 67 million over three years Carvajal firms are being investigated by the Public Prosecutor for the alleged crime of money laundering. Since September 2013, this is the only income recorded in the accounts in the BCR Latco. 87% of the shares are Latco lawyer Manfred Pino and the rest of his wife, while the generalissimo is empowered Jennifer Morsink, member of the Board of the National Bank since 2012. Money transfers. The $ 67 million was deposited by 25 transfers from Malta and Arab Emirates, through banks in Germany, Spain, Britain and the United States. With these resources, two escrows, which are administered by Latco with the intention to develop real estate projects, were formed. The executor of these works is Pino, owner of the trust company. This follows the report of the Administrative Office of Compliance from Banco de Costa Rica (BCR), which was sent to the prosecutor, the November 19, 2015 . In that document, the bank sets out the reasons why he closed the four Latco accounts and is the basis of the preliminary investigation by the Assistant Prosecutor for Money Laundering. Suspicions. The Bank's attention to this case occurred after Latco provided partial information on the origin of the resources Woodtree Latitude Global FZE and Equipment Limited. Even Morsink, says BCR report, in the first instance, refused to receive a notice in which she was requested additional information on the work or nature of these two companies. She alleged that many of these documents had already been handed over to the state bank. However, the BCR team was not satisfied. For example, Woodtree Equipment Limited, Latco only provided some financial statements audited by a certified public accountant (CPA) Costa Rican, although the company is registered in Malta. The CPA said that the document lacks implementation of international financial reporting standards. Of the 2,000 shares of Woodtree, 1,999 belong to Carvajal and the firm Reliance Management Ltd. According to those same financial statements, Woodtree is dedicated to software development and high-tech business, and has clients such as Allianz, Air France-KLM Group and L'Oreal. "No specific references obtained about the business of companies senders funds (...). There is information company registration, but this is not satisfactory to make a relationship that satisfies the natural questions that the bank has had to consider "the report said. Concentration. Another observation that reveals the study of BCR team is a "major mismatch" between the origin and destination of resources entering Latco bank accounts. After entering Costa Rica, 30% of the money left the country to accounts in Panama, United States and Peru. Another 67% was sent to accounts at other banks Latco on national soil as BCT, Scotiabank and BAC San Jose, while the remaining 3% are cashier checks. Of the $ 67 million to Carvajal he wrote a check for $ 75,000 ( 40 million) here and Pino was deposited transactions $ 702,000 ( 380 million) in his accounts in the United States. "The transfer of funds by such high amounts, from untraditional countries, Arab and Malta Emirates for constituted by a Costa Rican businesses and to others with no clear organizational and operational qualities, suggest at least an unusual situation," the report GG-11-459-2015. on Newspaper tried to locate Marisol Carvajal at her home, mobile, office, email and social networks. However, at the closing of this edition was impossible, because she left the country since February 15, confirmed the press office of the Directorate of Immigration. Manfred Pino, owner of Latco, agreed to an interview, but until later Tuesday. Pesquisas. The Public Ministry initiated the investigation following the report which referred the BCR, last November, for the alleged crime of money laundering. So far, no persons charged because the case is in the preparatory stage. Leovigildo Rodriguez of the Legal Division of BCR, declined to comment on the allegations. He argued that "evil would," because the case is already pending in the prosecutor's office. A "fistulated" cow that played an important role in research at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University died last week. "Beatrice" was about 21 years old and had been at the college since at least 1993. Her abdomen was fitted with a small plastic device call a "cannula," through which researchers and students could directly observe the digestive process. "It's like a rubber stopper," explained Betsy Snyder, a technician with the large-animal program at OSU's College of Veterinary Medicine. After a hole was cut in Beatrice's side, a donut-shaped implement was fitted to the incision. The "hole" of the piece was removable and allowed researchers and students to actually reach inside the cow. The Jersey cow was the college's resident donor of rumen fluid to cows and camelids at the Lois Bates Acheson Teaching Hospital. Rumen fluid contains numerous bacteria that aid in digestion and promote the absorption of nutrients into an animal. The fluid could be "harvested" from Beatrice via the cannula. Several of the hospital's clients also purchased this "liquid gold" to help their animals at home, Snyder said. "If you've got an animal at home that's not eating, or it's been off food and you need to kind of jump start their intestinal tract ... you can introduce the rumen fluid from another animal and it'll jump-start their system." Snyder wasn't sure exactly what Beatrice's cause of death was, but she said 21 years was "ancient" for a cow. The bovine also had bad arthritis in her joints and had been having difficulty moving around. But she used to be quite spry. "B-Cow,' as she was known, had quite a personality in her younger days," Snyder said. "She even made it into a couple of faculty offices on occasion, put in an appearance or two at holiday parties, and there wasn't a gate on the grounds she couldn't open if it wasn't safely secured." Beatrice was donated to the veterinary college by Willaval Dairy. Her escapes from her home barn and pasture at the college were often ended when faculty exploited her fondness for grain to lure her back. "She loved her food," Snyder said. There has been some talk of getting another fistulated cow for the college, but Beatrice, who made popular appearances at OSU's Pet Day and Adventures in Learning classes, will never be replaced. "She was a lot of fun," Snyder said. OSU faculty, staff and students are donating money toward a small memorial for Beatrice - a paver stone that will be placed in front of the college. "We'll miss her in both a personal and educational sense," Snyder said, "but we hope she's in cow heaven, where the grain never runs out and there's always someone to scratch her chin." The crowd was utterly silent and the steady sound of rain pouring off the Student Experience Center Plazas roof was the only accompaniment to a list of names, some familiar in the news: Freddie Grey, Sandra Bland, Walter Scott, Trayvon Martin and many others. For several minutes students took turns reading the names that have become rallying cries for the Black Lives Matter movement, during a candlelight vigil at Oregon State University on Monday night. The movement protests systematic violence against black people, and most of the names were of black people killed by police over the last year and a half. The last student to read names ended by saying, We will not forget you. Several students spoke during the event. If we dont love each other enough, this will continue, said one student. Capreece Kelsaw, the events organizer and an OSU sophomore in political science, also spoke at the event. Im here and my voice needs to be heard, along with those that have been taken from us, she said to the audience. After the vigil, she said attending the events like it and sending out supportive tweets was not enough. If you build a relationship with someone and you grow and like them you are not going to kill them, she said. Kelsaw, vice president of the OSU chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said she organized the event because while there is a national conversation about the issues of the Black Lives Matter movement, it is not widely discussed on campus. She said she was pleased by the turnout: the event had more than 100 participants. I think there was a lot of support, studentwise, facultywise and communitywise, she said. Kelsaw, an Oregon native, said in this state it can be easy for people to say that the problem of police killings of black people is a distant problem. Id like for more people to realize the whole black community is affected by this, just because it hasnt happened here doesnt mean it wont, she said. The vigil overlapped with a town hall discussion on social justice with Ed Ray, OSUs president, held at the Learning Innovation Center. Kelsaw said she was a bit upset when the administration announced the town hall last week, since the vigil had been scheduled well before the town hall as part of the universitys celebration of Black History Month. However, she said appreciated that the administration revised its plans by shortening the town hall so its attendees could also go to the vigil. Ray announced that he would hold town halls every quarter as part of his response to a student-organized forum in the fall of 2015 about racism at OSU, during which around 20 students described their personal experiences with racism on campus. The town hall was the first of its kind. However, the questions from students and faculty at the town hall, which had an audience of about 150, were often on other topics. Two students talked about how the rising tuition rate at OSU was stifling the ability for the college to help people rise up; one woman said the lack of accessible facilities on campus made it hard for students with disabilities to get to class and use bathrooms; one student said the university needed to do more for veterans; and two students asked about how OSU curriculum could be improved to help raise awareness of social issues. Ray said after the meeting that he thought there were good questions at the meeting. I thought it was a great start, but there is so much more to talk about, he said. He added that attendance of future meetings would be a good measure of whether they are being done right; if it drops it may be a sign of a need to rethink the events. Angela Batista, the interim chief diversity officer, said during the meeting the administration plans to hold its next town hall in May. Its a typical Monday at the Benton County Fairgrounds. The arena is set up for horseback riding, the RV park is full and the Benton County Sheriffs Office is conducting a physical fitness test for job applicants in the auditorium. Of course, its even busier on the weekends. The ever-changing array of community activities is part of what Lonny Wunder likes about being the fairgrounds manager. But it also makes it hard to take time off. This is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week job, Wunder said. I cant be too far away in case something happens. Thats about to change. Today is Wunders last day on the job he has held since September of 2009, retiring after a 6-year tenure that makes him the longest-serving fairgrounds manager the county has had in 35 years. At 59, he decided it was time to slow down. Im going to go do something else, Wunder said. I dont know what it is yet, but Im moving on. Wunder came to the Benton County job with more than 20 years experience in the fair business in California, having worked as the manager of the Heidrick Ag History Center and CEO of the Yolo County Fair, both in Woodland. Part of what he brought to the job was respect for tradition, and he didnt do a lot to shake things up at the Benton County Fair and Rodeo. Instead, he focused on sprucing up the facilities and making sure the operation ran smoothly. Wunder oversaw the installation of new siding on the Benton Arena, construction of a new livestock barn equipped with solar panels, upgrades to the auditorium and the replacement of the old fairgrounds marquee with an electronic reader board. He also updated some of the old signage and got all of the buildings on the 33-acre fairgrounds painted the same chipper shade of red. It just looks good, he said. It looks a lot better than when I got here. Revenue from the RV park has more than doubled since Wunders arrival, from just over $100,000 a year to about $250,000. That said, attendance at the four-day Benton County Fair & Rodeo has been flat during Wunders tenure, and the fairgrounds requires a substantial subsidy from the county to break even ($393,000 this year from a total budget of just over $1 million). That shouldnt be seen as a knock on Wunders performance, according to Benton County Commissioner Jay Dixon, who pointed out that county fairs all over the state and across the country are struggling to stay financially viable. I think Lonnys done a good job, Dixon said. Its probably unrealistic (for the fairgrounds) to be self-supporting, but wed like it to be as close as we can make it. That task is not likely to get any easier for the next fair manager, who will have to grapple with the same issues Wunder did: How to generate more revenue from fair operations and facilities rentals without raising ticket prices and rental fees so much that local residents cant afford them. Budgetwise, its really difficult, Wunder said. Theyre supposed to pay for themselves, but how can they pay for themselves when theyre supposed to be community-focused and not charge too much? Since Wunder announced his retirement plans last October, the Benton County Fair Board has been looking for a new fairgrounds manager. According to Board Chairman Bill Blair, a number of viable candidates have applied for the position, although interviews have not yet begun. Blair will serve as interim manager until the position is filled. Wunder and his wife, Dawn, who works at Linn-Benton Community College, have no plans to leave the area. When they made the decision to relocate from California, it was with the intention of becoming permanent residents. One of the reasons I took this job is we wanted to move to Oregon, Wunder said. We love the people. We love the communities. I cant think of a better place to retire to. Wunder said hes looking forward to spending more time at the couples home on Riverside Drive and working on welding projects in his shop. He also hopes to get in some fishing and crabbing in his 14-foot motorboat. Ive had it six years and Ive put it in the water once, he said. But he wont just disappear from the Benton County Fairgrounds, either, he added. Hes got one last chore to finish first: installing some decorative tiles created by children for a community art project led by Alsea artist Kathi Jederlinich. The 12-inch-by-12-inch terra cotta squares, adorned with colorful flower mosaics, will form a new border for the planter beds around the Floral Pavilion. Over the next two months or so, hell come in a couple of times a week until the jobs done. The new tiles will form a companion piece to another childrens art project led by Jederlinich, which is now a permanent part of the pavilion. Kids will come back (and say) Theres my tile. I love projects like that. It gets kids involved, makes them feel special, Wunder said. Ive always liked when people do things at the fairgrounds they can come back and admire. F.Y.I. is a community calendar. To accommodate demand for the print edition, we ask that items be brief and include time, date, place, address, admission cost and a contact number for publication. Inclusion of items is at the discretion of the Gazette-Times. Further information is available at 541-758-9524 or jane.stoltz@lee.net. Assistance TUESDAY Emergency food boxes, by appointment, North Corvallis Ministry Center, 5050 N.E. Elliott Circle. Appointments: 541-220-1040. Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance (SHIBA), 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., Corvallis Senior Center, 2601 N.W. Tyler Ave. Free, confidential, impartial Medicare counseling and education. Appointments required; call 541-812-0849. Screenings for Emergency Adult Dental Voucher Program eligibility, 9 a.m. to noon, Benton County Health Center, 530 N.W. 27th St. For Benton County residents with proof of residency, such as an ID card, piece of mail or utility bill. Information: 541-207-5875. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Corvallis Senior Center, 2601 N.W. Tyler Ave., appointments only, 541-602-5829; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 N.W. Monroe Ave., walk-ins and appointments, 541-602-5829. Free tax service open to taxpayers of all ages and backgrounds, with special attention to those 60 or over; AARP membership not required. Information: 888-227-7669 or www.aarp.org/taxaide. Emergency food boxes, 1:30 to 4 p.m., St. Vincent de Paul Society Corvallis Conference Food Pantry, campus of St. Marys Catholic Church, 501 N.W. 25th St. No appointment needed. Information: 541-757-1988, ext. 317. Stone Soup dinner, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., McLean Hall, First Christian Church, 602 S.W. Madison Ave. Free meal for those in need. Classes TUESDAY Academy for Lifelong Learning, 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., First Congregational United Church of Christ, 4515 S.W. West Hills Road. At 9:30: Marcia Gilson and Beth Rietveld present Quilts: Not Just Your Grandmothers Bedcover Anymore! At 1:30: Art Bervin presents the Video English: Birth of a Language, followed by the talk Indo-European to Internet in 45 Minutes. Information: 541-737-9405 or admin@academyforlifelonglearning.org. Strength and Endurance, 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, Recreation Room, North Star Manufactured Housing Community, 2601 N.E. Jack London St. Full-body, gentle, effective. Cost: $20 per month, or $4 drop in; first class free. Information: 541-754-6554. Chair yoga, 3 p.m., Live Well Studio, 971 N.W. Spruce Ave. Suited to those with medical or physical limitations. By donation. Information: 541-224-6566 or www.livewellstudio.com. Introduction to the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, 6 p.m., CAN! Research office, 551 S.W. Fourth St. Events TUESDAY Infant story time, 10 a.m., Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 N.W. Monroe Ave. For children from birth through age 1. Dont Worry, Be Happy, 3 to 5 p.m. or later, Old World Deli, 341 S.W. Second St. Join in games; bring your favorites or just show up at any point. Fragrance-free, please. Information: 541-752-0135. Government TUESDAY Corvallis Airport Advisory Board, 7 a.m., Madison Avenue Meeting Room, 500 S.W. Madison Ave. Benton County Board of Commissioners, 9 a.m., board meeting room, commissioners office, 205 N.W. Fifth St. Work session. Benton County Board of Commissioners, noon, board meeting room, commissioners office, 205 N.W. Fifth St. Alpine, Alsea, Cascade View and South Third service district meetings immediately to follow. Philomath Park Advisory Board, 5 p.m., Kugler Hall, City Park, 299 S. 23rd St. Benton County Mental Health, Addiction, Developmental Disabilities Advisory Committee, 5:15 p.m., Siletz Conference Room, second floor (use north-side entrance), health department, 530 N.W. 27th St. Philomath Finance/Administration Committee, 5:15 p.m., city hall, 980 Applegate St. Adair Village City Council, 6 p.m., city hall, 6030 William R. Carr Ave. Health TUESDAY Monroe Family Medicine, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 610 Dragon Drive, Monroe. Insurance, Medicare, Medicaid accepted. Information: 541-847-5143. Rapid HIV testing, 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., First Christian Church, 602 S.W. Madison Ave. Free testing and counseling. Information: 541-740-0405. Opportunities The Nuts and Bolts of Writing and Selling Short Stories, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 30, Comfort Inn Suites, 1730 N.W. Ninth St. Early-bird rate, Tuesday through April 1: $35 for Willamette Writers on the River members, $45 for nonmembers. Registration: http://willamettewriters.org/wwotr/workshops. Organizations TUESDAY Running and walking group, 5:45 a.m., Corvallis High School track, 1400 N.W. Buchanan Ave. Information: 541-754-0441 or www.hotvrunners.com. Zonta Club of Corvallis, 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Clubhouse at Adair, 6097 N.E. Ebony Lane, Adair Village. Information: info@zontacorvallis.org. Philomath Rotary Club, noon, Peace Lutheran Church, 2540 Applegate St. Presentation: What Is Your Hearing Aid IQ? by Ron Leavitt. Cost: $10 for lunch; no charge for first-time guests. Corvallis Bridge Club, 1 p.m., 6:30 p.m., Heart of the Valley Bridge Center, 1931 N.W. Circle Blvd. Sign up 20 minutes before game. Partners/information: 541-740-1072 or www.corvallisbridge.org. Rotary Club of Corvallis After Five, 5:15 p.m., downstairs, Tommys 4th St. Bar & Grill, 350 S.W. Fourth St. Information: 503-559-0971. Corvallis Meditation Community, 5:30 p.m., 3311 N.W. Polk Ave. Information: 971-218-6798 or rasalila2@yahoo.com. Corvallis Community Choir, 7 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis, 2945 N.W. Circle Blvd. Newcomers welcome; no audition; no experience necessary. Cost: $50 per term. Information: 541-740-6068 or nonandjay1@gmail.com. Gospel Choir, 7 p.m., social hall, College United Methodist Church, 1123 Main St., Philomath. Information: 541-929-2412. Heart of the Valley Astronomers, 7 p.m., Corvallis Masonic Temple, 306 S.W. Madison Ave. Society for Creative Anachronism, 7 p.m., Avery Park Boy Scout Lodge, Southwest Allen Avenue. Information: 541-754-2372 or rudesheim@juno.com. Schools TUESDAY Open House: An Evening at Zion, 6 to 7:30 p.m., Hand-in-Hand Early Learning Center, Zion Lutheran School, 2800 N.W. Tyler Ave. Information: 541-753-7503. Support groups TUESDAY Support group for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Information: Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence hotline, 541-754-0110. Alcoholics Anonymous: 7 a.m., noon, room 11, First Christian Church, 602 S.W. Madison Ave. 6:30 p.m. (open meeting), basement, New Life Fellowship, 1412 Applegate St., Philomath. 7 p.m., Alsea Community Library, 19192 Alsea Highway. 7 p.m., Crossroads Christian Fellowship, 2555 N.W. Highland Drive. Information (24 hours): 541-967-4252 or www.aa-oregon.org. Narcotics Anonymous, noon, 7:30 p.m., room 11, First Christian Church, 602 S.W. Madison Ave. Information (24 hours) 877-233-4287 or www.lblna.org. Stroke Support Group, 1:30 p.m., Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan, 333 N.W. 35th St. Information: 541-768-5157. National Alliance on Mental Illness Mid-Valley Support Group, 7 p.m., conference room, fourth floor, Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, 3600 N.W. Samaritan Drive. Information: 541-745-2064 or www.namimidvalley.org. Alanon, 7:30 p.m., room 12, Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan, 333 N.W. 35th St. Support group for families and friends of alcoholics. Message center: 541-967-6262. Mens Support Group, 7:30 p.m., 1975 S.E. Crystal Lake Drive, No. 131. Information: 541-752-6261. As the Oregon Legislature heads into the final week of its short session, its interesting to note which bills are beginning to fade. Of course, its not at all unusual for bills to die in the Legislature; in fact, you can make a credible argument that the most important function of any legislative assembly is to kill bills. But whats interesting is the reason why many of these bills are fading and its a reason you wish would have been trotted out on other bills. For example, consider House Bill 4026, which was written in response to a planned ballot measure to end Oregons monopoly on the liquor industry. The initiative does not outline a way in which the state can make money off liquor sales, which now are allowed only in state-run stores. The bill would have created an alternative funding source for the state through a sales tax on wholesalers. But legislators have decided that the issue is too complex for a short session. The same fate might await a bill that would allow police agencies to temporarily withhold the identity of officers involved in deadly force incidents, if a judge finds that the officers face a credible threat to their safety. (The bill aims to protect the unidentified officer who shot and killed Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupier Robert LaVoy Finicum.) The bill passed the House easily, but now has stalled in the Senate as legislators realize that the issues involved are more complicated than they first appeared. A similar fate has befallen what appears to be the sessions primary bill involving genetically modified organisms, a bill that would have required genetically engineered fish to be labeled in Oregon. Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson said there wasnt enough time in the session to discuss such a complex issue. The argument that these five-week legislative sessions simply are too short to consider complicated issues is valid. Thats part of the reason why these sessions were initially designed to handle housekeeping items budget alterations such as the measure to reimburse Harney County for some of its standoff expenses, or loose ends from previously passed legislation. But the argument cuts both ways. For example: The complicated three-tiered system that legislators came up to increase the states minimum wage could have benefited from additional analysis, but that didnt stop the Legislature from passing it. (The argument that the measure needed to be dealt with in the short session to prevent a ballot measure also seems to cut both ways: Ballot measures are pending on privatization of liquor and a bit of business to dramatically increase Oregons corporate taxes, but youve seen what happened to the liquor bill and the tax issue never got any traction in this session because you guessed it its too complicated.) The sessions remaining big policy bill, the so-called Coal to Clean measure to phase out coal-fired energy provided by Oregons two major utilities and to double the states existing renewable energy standards, might survive the sessions final week. But it wouldnt be a bad idea for legislators to dump the bill in the Too Complicated bin and to head home at the earliest opportunity. 31 kilos heroin : International drug smuggler gets 7 years Bonn A heroin smuggler with an apartment in Bonn is sentenced to 7 years of prison for his role in smuggling in 31 kilos of heroin from Turkey. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Following a court trial lasting several months, a 47-year old man was sentenced to 7 years in prison for his role in smuggling 31 kilos of heroin from Turkey. The enormous amount of heroin had a street value of over 1.5 million Euro. The man lived with his family in Prague but kept an apartment in Bonn. In March of 2014, he and a 43-year-old accomplice from Bonn drove in their car to Istanbul. Before the trip, they had taken their BMW to Poland where they had an extra gas tank built in the trunk of the car. After arriving in Istanbul, the 47-year-old flew back alone. It was left to the 43-year-old drug courier to smuggle the heroin back into Bonn on his own. On his drive back to Bonn, the 43-year-old was stopped at the Turkish/Bulgarian border. Customs inspectors searching the car discovered the gas tank in the trunk was two thirds full with heroin. The smuggler was arrested and sentenced to 7 years prison in Sofia, Bulgaria in June of 2014. It was through this arrest that criminal investigators became aware of the 47-year-old accomplice back in Bonn. They had the electrician placed under surveillance, until evidence that he was working with a Turkish drug cartel became firm. Countries involved in the smuggling scheme included Germany, Austria, Poland, The Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Turkey. The 47-year-old man was taken into custody in Spring of 2015 in Prague and brought to Germany. In District Court in Bonn, the man refused to give any information about others involved in the smuggling ring. Video interviews with the jailed drug courier in Bulgaria also did not produce any further information. Cologne/Bonn Airport : Police woman raises major security alarm Cologne/Bonn A 23-year-old policewoman barges through security at Cologne/Bonn airport, setting of an alarm. 1,000 passengers were affected. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken A 23-year-old police woman in civilian clothing barged uncontrolled through a security barrier Tuesday morning at Cologne/Bonn airport. This set off a security alarm at around 10:00 a.m. and affected 1,000 passengers. Police are now looking into the matter to see if it was a misunderstanding. German daily Bild first reported that the woman was a police officer. The woman said she told security personnel that she was police. Maybe she thought that was all that needed to be said and she rushed through. In any case, she could not be identified or found after setting off the alarm and Terminal 2 was completely evacuated and closed. Police went through with sniffing dogs looking for traces of explosives. All the passengers, even those already sitting at their gates had to evacuate and go through security again. Two aircraft were also evacuated and five flights were delayed up to two hours. One flight was cancelled. Incoming flights were not affected. A police spokesperson said This is of course aggravating for travelers but security has the highest priority. After one and a half hours, the security area was opened again. The woman was identified in security video cameras. She told police in her interview that she had informed security personnel that she was a member of the police force, and didnt mean to break through a barrier. She was reminded that even police have to go through the security checks. Treehouse hotel : Venusberg hotel gets Newcomer of the Year Award Venusberg An unusual Bonn hotel with some treehouses as guest rooms wins the Newcomer of the Year award from Top-Hotel magazine. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken V-Hotel on Venusberg received the Newcomer of the Year Award from Top-Hotel magazine. The Bonn hotel on Haager Weg 42 was honored with first prize in the category Exceptional for the most extraordinary new opening in 2015. Hotels are not allowed to submit competition applications but are rather chosen by the magazine. Hotel manager Christina Voigt said We really never expected to win this prize. But her father Harald added that Its of course a wonderful thing for our small hotel. The hotel has 42 rooms and 3 treehouses also used as guest rooms. V-Hotel was opened in 2014, but only added the treehouses in the following year. Each treehouse is one room and allow guests to overnight 4 feet up in the trees, in the middle of nature. The houses are made of stone pine, which is thought by some to promote positive health, and has the smell of a Tyrolean cottage. nametalkam at 1-03-2016 09:42 AM (6 years ago) (m) A 22-year-old Nigerian asylum seeker who claimed to be gay but then raped a woman has been sentenced to serve five years in prison in the Republic of Ireland. Kenneth Udeh entered Ireland in 2009 and applied for asylum, claiming he had been persecuted because of his Christian faith in Nigeria. However when that bid to be accepted as a refugee was rejected he then reapplied, claiming that he was a homosegxwal fleeing homophobic persecution. That too was rejected. But despite that claim, a court has found him guilty of molesting a woman in the early hours of 12 September in 2014. The court heard that the woman had been outside a pub in Waterford City, Munster county, when she had gotten chatting to a group of men who were smoking. When she said goodbye to the men and went to leave Udeh, who had been with the group of men, offered her a lift home. She agreed and Udeh lead her to a place where he claimed to have parked his car. However the woman told the court that the next thing she remembered was finding herself on the ground with Udeh on top of her with his trousers down. The woman told the court that she had told Udeh to stop but he raped her without a condom and did not stop until a local man who was leaving work shouted at him. Udeh fled and was chased by the man and a passing taxi driver while a female passer-by comforted the victim until police arrived on the scene. Udeh was able to evade the men who were chasing him but the police were able to track him to a nearby hostel. Udeh initially denied molesting the woman but pleaded guilty when he was presented with the forensic evidence against him. Despite being sentenced for the rape Udeh is still appealing the rejection of his refugee application to Irelands Refugee Appeals Tribunal. Justice Patrick McCarthy noted that the victim did not feel Udeh should be allowed to remain in the country but said that was not a matter for his court to decide. Kenneth Udeh entered Ireland in 2009 and applied for asylum, claiming he had been persecuted because of his Christian faith in Nigeria.However when that bid to be accepted as a refugee was rejected he then reapplied, claiming that he was a homosegxwal fleeing homophobic persecution.That too was rejected.But despite that claim, a court has found him guilty of molesting a woman in the early hours of 12 September in 2014.The court heard that the woman had been outside a pub in Waterford City, Munster county, when she had gotten chatting to a group of men who were smoking.When she said goodbye to the men and went to leave Udeh, who had been with the group of men, offered her a lift home.She agreed and Udeh lead her to a place where he claimed to have parked his car.However the woman told the court that the next thing she remembered was finding herself on the ground with Udeh on top of her with his trousers down.The woman told the court that she had told Udeh to stop but he raped her without a condom and did not stop until a local man who was leaving work shouted at him.Udeh fled and was chased by the man and a passing taxi driver while a female passer-by comforted the victim until police arrived on the scene.Udeh was able to evade the men who were chasing him but the police were able to track him to a nearby hostel.Udeh initially denied molesting the woman but pleaded guilty when he was presented with the forensic evidence against him.Despite being sentenced for the rape Udeh is still appealing the rejection of his refugee application to Irelands Refugee Appeals Tribunal.Justice Patrick McCarthy noted that the victim did not feel Udeh should be allowed to remain in the country but said that was not a matter for his court to decide. Post Reply I specialize in investigative reportage across several subject matter and sectors but mainly focus on metro events and investigation. Do leave your thoughts and opinion on my reports to let me know what you think about them. Thank you Posted: at 1-03-2016 09:42 AM (6 years ago) | Addicted Hero Union Budget 2016: Key takeaways for tech companies and consumers Features oi -Ankit The Union Budget 2016 was tabled in the Lower House of the Indian Parliament on 29th February 2016, as is done each financial year. Presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the Budget saw majority of the announcements aimed towards the rural sector. Emphasis was also on the government's ambitious projects - Start Up India and Digital India. Here are all of the top tech announcements - extracted from the complete speech - that are relevant from a consumer technology point of view. SEE ALSO: Top 5 apps to shop for all your Fashion essentials 1. National digital literacy programs Enabling millions of Indians to get online and become digitally literate, the Indian government announced two new programmes under the Digital India campaign - the National Digital Literacy Mission and the Digital Saksharta Abhiyan. Aimed at connecting the rural and urban demographics through the capacity of Internet provision, these programs will also help the rural youth by generating digital employment opportunities and enhancing skill development in industrial training institutions. 2. Approval for Start Up India campaign Initiated in January 2016 by PM Narendra Modi, the StartUp India campaign is aimed at bringing benefits to entrepreneurs, especially in the innovation and technology sector. With the Union Budget 2016, the government announced the approval from Cabinet and offered tax rebates to eligible entrepreneurs for the first 3-5 years from commencement of business. SEE ALSO: Up Close And Personal With Samsung Galaxy S7 [First Look] 3. E-Platform for rural agricultural producers The Union Budget is focused primarily on rural development and a promising feature is the setting up of an online e-commerce portal enabling rural agricultural producers to register and sell their products online. Without the hassle of traders and middlemen, the government claims at developing a transparent and easy to use e-platform that will be further complimented by the digital literacy programs. With this project, the government aims to connect upto 250 local mandis by September 2016 and 585 mandis by March 2018. 4. Plans to reduce the digital divide Finance Minister Arun Jaitley claimed that out of the 168 million rural households in the country, over 120 million are not connected to the Internet, thus leading to a significant digital divide. Through the efforts of the Digital Literacy campaigns and providing subsidy and awareness on sale of computers, tablet PCs and smartphones, the government aims at reducing that divide and getting more of the untapped demographic, online. SEE ALSO: 5 interesting facts to know about Samsung Gear VR headsets 5. Digital Depository for schools/universities Jaitley also proposed a Digital Depository for all major schools and universities in the country. This Depository will digitally store all school-leaving documents of students, to be easily accessed in the future. The practice of physically storing such documents has been prevalent in rural as well as urban areas, increasing the probability of non-procurement of student documents on demand. 6. Technology for creating accountability In a first, the Finance Minister announced that technological advancements would be used appropriately to create a sense of accountability in all departments. He said, "Technology is a boon for mankind. We plan to use technology in taxation Department in a big way to make life simpler for a law abiding citizen, and also for data mining to track tax evaders." SEE ALSO: Hottest Tech Rumor Roundup: Apple iPad, iPhone SE, Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro And More 7. Resolve Income Tax return complaints online Running a pilot since last year, Arun Jaitley announced that the Income Tax Department would finally be implementing the 'e-Sahyog' initiative that aims at reducing compliance cost and time through resolutions via an online portal of the department. This project will be beneficial for small income tax payers - enabling them to resolve any mismatches in their income tax returns - without having to physically visit the Income Tax office. Best Mobiles in India Hottest Tech Rumor Roundup: Apple iPad, iPhone SE, Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro And More Features oi -Vigneshwar Rumours are the integral part of the technology sector, where the information about the upcoming devices is shared to everyone over the Internet by some means. Most of the time information leaked by some reputed leakster, tends to be true. While we have no idea, how they get it, let us go through some famous rumours and leaks, that's been doing rounds on the Internet! Rumour #1 Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro After Zauba and GFXBench, the Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro has been spotted on AnTuTu, revealing the specifications. As per the report, the so-called A9 Pro comes packed with 6-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display with 19201080 pixels. As per the reports, it comes powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 652 processor, Adreno 510 GPU If the rumour turns out to be true, Galaxy device comes packed with 4GB RAM, 32GB ROM with an expandable option up to 128GB via microSD card, Android 6.0, 16MP/8MP camera package, 4G LTE, 4000mAh battery under the hood. Rumour #2 Oppo R9 Few hours back, the Chinese handset Oppo has sent out the media invites for it upcoming R9 smartphone. This device is camera centric, targeting the photographers and as per the teaser, it shows the glimpse of metal body and SIM slots. However, as per the report, the company will launch R9 and R9 Plus in the event. As per the leaked information, the so-called R9 and R9 Plus is expected to come packed with 5.5-inch display and 6-inch display respectively, 4GB RAM, 64GB ROM, Android 6.0 on board. On the camera, the R9 will sport a 16MP/13MP camera, while the R9 Plus is expected to come with 16MP camera on both sides. Talking about the battery life, the R9 comes powered by 2850mAh battery and the Oppo R9 Plus with 4120mAh battery. Further, the leak suggests that, both the smartphones will come with either Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor or Deca-Core MediaTek Helio 20 SoC. Rumour #3 Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2016 or Galaxy Tab E 7.0 We all know, that the South Korean techie Samsung is terrible at keeping secrets. The new Samsung Galaxy tablet has surfaced from @evleaks, dubbed as Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2016 and Galaxy Tab E 7.0. As per the earlier report, the tablet is rumoured to launch as Galaxy Tab E 7.0 in the US and as the Galaxy Tab A 2016 in Europe. This tablet comes in two variant with the model number - SM-T280 (WiFi-only) and SM-T285 (4G connectivity). Moving on to the specs, both the tablets come with 7-inch display, 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB RAM, 8GB of inbuilt memory with expandable options, Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, 5MP/2MP camera, 4G LTE and juiced with a 4000mAh battery. Rumour #4 Apple iPhone SE & iPad Pro As per the report, the company is expected to unveil the 4-inch iPhone SE, a 9.7-inch iPad Pro and new ranges of Apple Watches. The iPhone 5SE or iPhone SE will come with the latest A9 chip, with more curvy edges. Moreover, this device wont be supporting 3D Touch also. The iPhone SE will be priced not more than $500 (approx Rs. 34,300) and it might slash the price of iPhone 5S into half. On the other hand, the so-called iPad Pro 2 will be scaled down to 9.7-inch display, along with 12MP camera on the back, capable of taking 4K videos as well. Further, it will also have four speakers, A9X processor, smart connector and support for Apple Pencil. Rumour #5 Zuk Next Smartphones Handset maker Zuk is now working on its latest smartphone, which is reportedly called as mini variant of Z1. As per the report, this rumoured Z1 variant will have 4.7-inch display, with two variants in terms of storage, 2GB RAM with 16GB ROM, and 3GB RAM with 32GB ROM. Moreover, this device is expected to run on Mediatek Helio P10 chipset and will come with ZUI. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Facebook to reveal people's sleeping habits soon News oi -GizBot Bureau The social networking website Facebook can be used to track people's sleeping habits by building up a database of when your friends were seen last online busy chatting or "liking" posts on Facebook, a media report said. "Many people visit Facebook as the first thing in the morning and the last thing before going to bed. It is, therefore, possible to get a good impression of their sleeping habits," said San Francisco-based software engineer Soren Louv-Jansen in a Mail Online report. SEE ALSO: Weekly Round Up: Top Devices Launched in India For the study, Louv-Jansen used "time stamps" from Facebook's Messenger service to see when his friends were asleep. He was curious to see where the "last seen" data was coming from and after doing some research, he found a list of his Facebook friends' user IDs and last activity "time stamps". This, he added, is embedded in the initial mark-up of Messenger.com and can be viewed by simply visiting the website and clicking "View Source" to see for yourself. "By creating a simple service that checks Facebook every 10 minutes, I'm able to get an accurate picture of my friends' Facebook usage," said Louv-Jansen, who published the programme's source code onto GitHub. SEE ALSO: 5 interesting things to know about Desktop Dining! GitHub is used by many developers and hackers to put large amounts of information for developer communities to see and take advantage of, the report said. Source IANS Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Pushkar-Gayathris Vikram Vedha showcases that a film can be made in any language or for any audience, can be told with the premise & outcome without deviating and keeping the narrative tight. Hill's F-35s drop first weapons By Nathan Simmons, 388th Fighter Wing / Published February 29, 2016 HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (AFNS) -- Airmen from the 388th and 419th fighter wings dropped laser-guided bombs at the Utah Test and Training Range the week of Feb. 25, marking the first time an F-35 Lightning II combat unit has deployed weapons from the F-35A. Lt. Col. George Watkins, the 34th Fighter Squadron commander, said dropping weapons from the F-35 allows pilots to more fully engage the aircraft and confirm that everything works as planned. "This is significant because we're building the confidence of our pilots by actually dropping something off the airplane instead of simulating weapon employment," Watkins said. Air Force F-35s have dropped weapons in test environments, but this is the first time it's been done on jets designed to deploy once the Air Force declares initial operational capability, which it plans to do between August and December. IOC will be announced when the Air Force deems the F-35 combat capable. Lt. Col. Darrin Dronoff, the director of Hill's F-35 Program Integration Office, said that while this achievement is a significant step toward Air Force IOC, the milestone goes beyond that mark. "The pilots and weapons loaders in the 388th and 419th fighter wings are perfecting their skills not only to prove aircraft capabilities, but they'll also be the Airmen called upon to take the F-35 to combat, whenever that call may come," he said. Hill's F-35 pilots will begin flying the F-35 in four-ship formations, which is the standard configuration flown in contested combat scenarios, as early as March. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Keeping the C-17 in the fight By Tech. Sgt. James Hodgman, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs / Published February 29, 2016 AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar (AFNS) -- The C-17 Globemaster III is a versatile aircraft in high demand across the globe. The airframe is used to haul cargo, transport passengers and medically evacuate wounded service members. The 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron maintenance team at Al Udeid Air Base helps keep the base's C-17 fleet mission ready by performing regular maintenance on each aircraft. The unit provides the only tier two C-17 maintenance capability in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility with the ability to replace engines and perform fuel cell work. "Our goal is to maintain our C-17s so they're ready to go at a moment's notice," said Senior Airman Matthew Vanderbosch, a 8th EAMS C-17 crew chief from Buffalo, New York. "We need to make sure the aircraft is crew ready. We configure the cargo bay for each mission, inspect everything on the aircraft and call in specialists, as needed, to fix problems quickly." Conducting preflight inspections is one of the many responsibilities of 8th EAMS crew chiefs. During inspections, nearly a half dozen crew chiefs inspect every system on the aircraft, Vanderbosch said. "We inspect the interior and exterior of the aircraft, all lights, computer systems, hydraulics, every brake and tire everything," said Staff Sgt. Robert Hill, a 8th EAMS C-17 crew chief from Helena, Montana. "Each inspection consists of hundreds of items." Ensuring the C-17, an aircraft called upon to evacuate 80 U.S. Embassy personnel from Yemen in February 2015, is mission ready is vital, Hill said. "Everything we do here has an impact. Every time we support a jet launch we're making things happen," Hill said. "Whether it's moving passengers across the AOR, delivering munitions or delivering humanitarian aid like water, blankets or food to people in need; we are here to support all of that." One day, Vanderbosch was informed of a C-17 waiting to takeoff to transport wounded Soldiers out of Afghanistan. The aircraft was fueled up, the pilot was ready to start engines and the aeromedical evacuation crew was ready to go. However, there was one problem -- two tires needed to be replaced. "Without hesitation, a team of us went out to the jet, jacked it up and replaced the tires," Vanderbosch said. "Behind every flight crew, there's a team of crew chiefs and specialists ensuring they can do their jobs, because if we don't do our jobs, the flight crews can't do their jobs. "Knowing we were able to help bring those Soldiers home and get them the care they needed being a part of that, was pretty cool," he continued. During his time at AUAB, Vanderbosch said he's replaced C-17 brakes, lights and more tires than any other time in his Air Force career. The 8th EAMS maintainers perform maintenance actions on a routine basis in an effort to ensure assets are available at the time of need, Hill said. "We track the maintenance needs for every aircraft; we assign people as necessary, perform our inspections and focus on preventative maintenance so we take care of problems before they arise," Hill said. The 8th EAMS currently has a logistics departure reliability rate of nearly 93 percent. That means for every 10 aircraft assigned to missions, nine take off on time. The LDRR is one of many achievements made possible by the hard work of the 8th EAMS maintenance team, said Capt. Danielle Rogowski, a 8th EAMS maintenance operations officer from St. Cloud, Minnesota. "Our guys understand the importance of what they're doing and they see the impact of what they do every day," she said. "When a C-17 is transporting service members across the AOR or when someone needs to get medevac'd out, that's possible because of the work my Airmen do." Rogowski said she's impressed with the dedication her Airmen bring to the mission. "I'm so proud of our people, to do what they do every day in extreme heat; I'm having to pull them off of stands to take breaks because they won't stop. If something is broke, they won't stop until it's fixed," she said. "To display such tenacity, that's impressive and they bring that tenacity every day. They come here ready to go, focused on getting the mission done." In 2015, the 8th EAMS supported more than 1,700 sorties delivering nearly 24,000 tons of cargo and more than 9,000 people to locations across the CENTCOM AOR. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Bombers receive warm welcome for Cold Response By Senior Airman Joseph Raatz, 2nd Expeditionary Bomb Group Public Affairs / Published February 29, 2016 MORON AIR BASE, Spain (AFNS) -- B-52 Stratofortresses from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, arrived in Europe Feb. 27, in preparation for their participation in a large-scale NATO training exercise. This year's iteration of the biennial Cold Response will be held in the central Trndelag region of Norway and feature air, ground and maritime operations. Approximately 16,000 troops from a dozen nations will participate in the exercise, working together to collectively develop tactics, techniques and procedures for combat operations in an extreme cold-weather environment. 'We appreciate the opportunity to take part in such a large multinational exercise at the invitation of our Norwegian allies, and we are especially thankful for the opportunity to test our skills in such unique cold weather conditions,' said Lt. Col. Dennis Cummings, the 2nd Expeditionary Bomb Group commander. 'The ability to train bomber aircrews in different geographic combatant commands is essential to maintaining a strong, credible bomber force that enhances the security and stability of our allies and partners.' The B-52s will conduct multiple sorties over the course of the exercise, engaging in simulated strikes against ground targets inside the training area. As the Air Force's premier nuclear-capable, strategic heavy bomber, the B-52 is capable of delivering a large payload of precision nuclear or conventional ordnance over long distances while also providing decision makers the ability to rapidly project military power. 'Bomber participation in joint military exercises like this one are an expression of the U.S. commitment to supporting our allies and partners, demonstrating our shared dedication to promoting global security and stability,' said Maj. Matt Spinelli, the 2nd EBG assistant director of operations. The B-52s will join with KC-135 Stratotankers and F-16 Fighting Falcons to serve as the American air component for the duration of Cold Response 16. A number of C-130 Hercules will also be on hand to provide support to ground forces. 'This exercise provides a great opportunity for allies to train together and better understand how we each operate and communicate,' Cummings said. 'The increased understanding and cooperative efforts between our countries enable us to work together effectively, while also addressing any and all security challenges that may arise in the region or other parts of the world.' Cold Response 16 is scheduled to run through March 9. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Military Strikes Target ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA, February 29, 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 and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 12 strikes in Syria: -- Near Abu Kamal, a strike struck an ISIL gas and oil separation plant. -- Near Raqqah, a strike struck an ISIL gas and oil separation plant. -- Near Ayn Isa, three strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed eight ISIL buildings, an ISIL fuel tanker, an ISIL tactical vehicle and seven ISIL vehicles. -- Near Mar'a, three strikes destroyed four ISIL fighting positions. -- Near Tal Abyad, four strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units, destroyed two ISIL buildings and an ISIL vehicle and suppressed an ISIL fighting position. Strikes in Iraq Fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 12 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government: -- Near Baghdadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb. -- Near Fallujah, a strike destroyed an ISIL front end loader and an ISIL tunnel system. -- Near Kisik, a strike suppressed an ISIL rocket fire position. -- Near Mosul, a strike struck an ISIL vehicle bomb factory. -- Near Ramadi, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL fighting position, two ISIL staging areas and two ISIL petroleum, oil and lubricant trucks. -- Near Sinjar, three strikes destroyed six ISIL fighting positions and suppressed an ISIL mortar position and an ISIL sniper position. -- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike 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 that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dunford: Counter-ISIL Shaping Operations Have Begun in Mosul By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, February 29, 2016 Operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have begun in Mosul, Iraq, and the United States will increase support to Iraqi forces, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today during a news briefing at the Pentagon. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. and Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Iraqis will continue to lead efforts against the terror group in Iraq's second-largest city. Mosul is the largest city under ISIL control in either Syria or Iraq. With a population of around 665,000 people, the operation against the group will be much more complicated than the successful operation against ISIL in Ramadi late last year, Dunford said. "Operations against Mosul have already started," he said. "We're isolating Mosul, even as we speak. The same thing with Raqqa," the chairman added, referring to an ISIL-controlled city in Syria. These shaping operations are both kinetic and cyber, Dunford said. Iraqi and free Syrian forces are working to cut the physical lines of communications between Raqqa -- the terror group's "capital" -- and Mosul, he said. In addition, the coalition has launched cyberattacks against the group, seeking to virtually isolate the terrorists, the general said. Coalition officials also are helping to train the Iraqi forces that will be used in the operation, the chairman said. Operations in Mosul The Iraqis have developed their plan of attack against ISIL in Mosul and have shared it with Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, who has briefed it to senior U.S. officials. Dunford said American military officials are looking at the Iraqi plan to see where U.S. capabilities can work and how those capabilities can accelerate the process. "I, like the secretary, think we would do more in Mosul than Ramadi, just because of the order of magnitude of the operation in Mosul," he said. U.S. forces will apply the lessons learned from operations against ISIL in Ramadi to Mosul, Dunford said. "It isn't fundamentally different than what we are doing in Ramadi; it's doing the things we were doing in Ramadi better -- which is train Iraqi forces, provide combined arms and provide logistics support," the chairman said. The chairman also discussed operations in Afghanistan. Coalition forces continue to work with Afghan security forces to build the capabilities they will need to provide security and stability in the nation, Dunford said. These include building ministerial capacity, building corps-level capabilities, perfecting the intelligence enterprise, and enhancing Afghan special operations forces and the country's aviation capabilities, the chairman said. Some of the capabilities are not building as fast as the coalition -- or Dunford -- would like, he said. "The aviation capability is not developing as fast as we would've wanted to," the chairman said. "And frankly, many of the Afghan forces were tied up, focused on supporting two major elections and a difficult political transition." Last year was a learning experience for both the Afghans and the coalition, he said. "I would say that this summer probably, we have lessons learned," the chairman added. "One is [that] the Afghan forces, at the end of the day, were resilient." Moving forward, the coalition and the Afghan government will apply the lessons learned in 2015 to operations in 2016, he said. "It would certainly be premature now to talk about force levels or capabilities or those kinds of things," Dunford said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Carter Highlights Momentum in ISIL Fight By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, February 29, 2016 Momentum is on the side of the coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said today, noting significant gains in Iraq and Syria. The secretary spoke in a joint news conference at the Pentagon with Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Forces on the ground in Iraq have retaken Ramadi and are making progress in Anbar, while the coalition is making 'operationally significant strides' in Syria, he said. 'Because of our strategy and our determination to accelerate our campaign, momentum is now on our side and not on ISIL's,' Carter said. Gains Include Reclaiming Shadadi The secretary highlighted how coalition forces recently reclaimed Shadadi, a town in northeastern Syria, that he described as a 'critical node' for ISIL training, logistics and its oil enterprise. 'As our partners take control of Shadadi, I believe we will learn a great deal more about ISIL's criminal networks, its criminal enterprise and what it does to sustain them,' Carter said. Shadadi is important in efforts to sever the 'last major artery' between the Syrian city of Raqqa -- ISIL's putative headquarters -- and the Iraqi city of Mosul, an 'operation critical to dissecting ISIL's parent tumor into two parts,' he said. Accelerated Efforts Include Cyber The campaign to defeat ISIL is being accelerated across Syria and Iraq, the defense secretary said. Coalition members are bombing ISIL's banks and oil wells, he said, and cyber tools are being used to disrupt ISIL's ability to operate and communicate over the virtual battlefield. The cyber efforts are being used, particularly in Syria, Carter said, to disrupt ISIL's command and control operations, cause the terrorists to lose confidence in their networks and to interrupt their ability to control the population and the economy. Cyber is an 'important new capability,' he said. 'This is something that's new in this war, not something you would've seen back in the Gulf War. It is an important use of our Cyber Command -- and the reason that Cyber Command was established in the first place.' ISIL is one of five challenges that must be addressed as part of DoD's mission to defend the nation, Carter told reporters. The other challenges are Russian aggression in Europe, a rising China that is 'behaving aggressively,' and the threats of North Korea and Iran in their respective regions, he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Department of Defense Press Operations News Release No. NR-068-16 February 29, 2016 Statement by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on US-Russia Video Conference Discussing the Flight Safety Memorandum of Understanding The Department of Defense today held a video conference co-chaired by Acting Assistant Secretary for International Security Affairs Elissa Slotkin and Joint Staff Director for Strategic Plans and Policy Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr. with Russian Ministry of Defense counterparts to discuss ongoing implementation of the U.S.-Russia memorandum of understanding (MOU) on flight safety over Syrian airspace. The two sides discussed measures to enhance operational safety for counter-ISIL coalition and Russian military forces operating in Syria, including the means to avoid accidents and unintended confrontation between coalition and Russian forces whenever the two sides operate in close proximity. Separate consultations are ongoing through other channels to address the Cessation of Hostilities agreement developed by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) members in Munich on February 12, 2016. Today's video conference was intended to focus solely on safety issues and is not a forum to discuss issues related to the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities agreement. Today's meeting follows previous video conferences between the Department of Defense and the Russian Ministry of Defense in January 2016 and October 2015 to discuss the safety of coalition air operations in Syria. The conversation was constructive and the two sides agreed to continue safety discussions in this format in the future. http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/682038/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Exercise Iron Fist 2016: Final push; U.S. Marines, sailors, Japanese soldiers hit beach, beyond for PHIBLEX US Marine Corps News By Cpl. April Price | February 29, 2016 After a month of training at Exercise Iron Fist 2016, U.S. Marines, sailors, and Japanese soldiers concluded Iron Fist training with a scenario based, battalion-sized amphibious landing exercise, or PHIBLEX, at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton on Feb. 24-27, 2016. PHIBLEX began with the insertion of reconnaissance and intelligence units ahead of the main-body landing, followed by an amphibious assault launched from the USS Somerset (LPD 25), airborne troop movements, and coordinated attacks from the beach deep into the training ranges of Camp Pendleton. Exercise Iron Fist is an annual exercise, which focuses on improving combined amphibious operation capabilities while simultaneously enhancing Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and U.S Marine Corps ability to plan, communicate and conduct amphibious operations at the platoon, company and battalions levels. Over the course of its five-week training schedule, U.S. Marines and sailors, and their Japanese counterparts trained sidebyside to hone their skills in a broad spectrum of military tasks, to include: combat marksmanship, sniper tactics, military planning, fire support operations, amphibious reconnaissance, casualty evacuation procedures and amphibious operations. "This [Exercise Iron Fist] is the largest bilateral exercise conducted by the I Marine Expeditionary Force, here in southern California," said Brig. Gen. David Coffman, deputy commanding general, I Marine Expeditionary Force at a press conference during PHIBLEX. "It's a shining example of U.S. and Japanese alliance at work." During PHIBLEX, more than a dozen Amphibious Assault Vehicles transported Marines from 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I Marine Expeditionary Force, and Japanese soldiers from the Western Army Infantry Regiment, JGSDF, from ship-to-shore where they assaulted and secured a simulated contested beach before progressing to additional objectives further inland. Once on the beach, the Marines and Japanese soldiers established defensive perimeters and executed a series of spearheaded attacks on simulated combat towns using many of the skillsets they had worked on in the previous month of Iron Fist training. Since 2006, this bilateral exercise has showcased the partnership between the U.S. and Japan, and the dedication to the security treaty between the two countries. "For more than 55 years, the U.S. and Japan have been security treaty allies," said Coffman. "Our governments have pledged to strengthen the bond of peace and friendship between our two nations and to uphold the principles of democracy, liberty and the rule of law." This year's Iron Fist saw the addition of a Japanese higher headquarters that partnered with the 11th MEU's command element and provided command and control for the two forces. "The bilateral training with the U.S. Marine Corps for Iron Fist has directly allowed us to observe and learn the Marine Corps planning and operations skills," said Maj. Gen. Shinichi Aoki, deputy chief of staff (operations), Western Army, JGSDF. "The training environment is great here and helped to promote a great opportunity to build our capabilities and practice them with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit and I Marine Expeditionary Force." Training side-by-side allows both U.S. Marines and JSGDF soldiers to learn about each other, work through communication issues and move around the in same battlespace. By working closely with the JGSDF, U.S. forces have a familiar friend ready to respond quickly and effectively to crises that may occur in the Pacific Region. The Japan-U.S. alliance can help with counter-terrorism, counter-piracy, peacekeeping, capacity building, ballistic missile defense, and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief stated Coffman. "This training is a testament to the discipline and spirit of the fine warriors you'll see here today and very beneficial to both services as the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force develops their Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade," said Coffman. As the U.S. Marine Corps continues to conduct exercises with the JGSDF, their work here at Exercise Iron Fist 2016 paves the way for future coalition success as an expeditionary force in readiness. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 'Target is in the sky': U.S. Marines, Norwegian forces launch Stingers US Marine Corps News By Cpl. Dalton Precht | February 29, 2016 U.S. Marines with 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade and Norwegian forces launched Stinger missiles Feb. 24 and 25, 2016, at rland, Norway. "The Norwegians are helping the Marines with range safety and host-nation support. We are supporting with everything from security on site, transportation, logistics and accommodation," said Norwegian Air Force Maj. Michael Bottenvik-Hartmann, the G-bad officer of the 138 Air Wing staff and range safety officer for the training. The Marines were firing the missiles at remote controlled aircraft piloted by Norwegian service members. Marine Cpl. Justin T. Heslep, a Low Altitude Air Defense Gunner with the unit, Battalion, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, talked about the partnership with the Norwegians and the interoperability the two units had throughout the live-fire. "In order to fire the Stinger missile there are a few steps, but it all comes down to you being able to find the target and firing the system," said Heslep. The Marines shot down nine out of the ten R.C. planes launched during the live-fire. "Exercises like this are important for future cooperation and Cold Response itself," said Bottenvik-Hartman. "It helps us familiarize and integrate in a better way." The live-fire exercise was held in preparation for Exercise Cold Response 16, a joint exercise comprised of 12 NATO allies and partnered nations and approximately 16,000 troops. Throughout the preparation for the exercise, U.S. Marines and Norwegian service members have worked side-by-side to include multiple live-fire ranges, cold-weather survival training and driving courses. Cold Response will kick off in March and is designed to help bolster transnational relations while enhancing the participating countries' abilities to respond to global crises. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO and Kuwait take cooperation to a new level NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 29 Feb. 2016 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed closer cooperation between the Alliance and Kuwait during his first official visit to Kuwait on 29 February 2016. Speaking at the site of the future NATO-Kuwait Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) Regional Centre, Mr. Stoltenberg praised Kuwait's commitment and vision in bringing NATO closer to the Gulf region. As the Alliance's first presence in the Gulf, the NATO-ICI Regional Centre will be a hub for NATO's practical cooperation with Kuwait and other ICI partners, as well as Saudi Arabia and Oman. "Today, we are taking our partnership to the next level" said the Secretary General. The NATO-ICI Centre will foster cooperation between NATO and Gulf partners in a number of areas, including strategic analysis, civil emergency planning, military-to-military cooperation and public diplomacy. It will also serve as a link between NATO and the Gulf region, to share expertise and improve understanding. During his visit, Mr. Stoltenberg underlined that the security of the Gulf region is directly linked to the security of the Alliance. He praised Kuwait's active role in promoting regional stability and supporting the international coalition's fight against ISIL. The Secretary General also commended Kuwait's leadership in responding to humanitarian emergencies, such as the Syrian refugee crisis. "In a dangerous world, NATO and Kuwait share the same objective: to safeguard peace. So it is important that we cooperate even more closely in the years ahead," said Mr. Stoltenberg. As part of NATO's deepening cooperation with Kuwait, the Secretary General signed a NATO-Kuwait Transit Agreement with First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah. This agreement, NATO's first in the Gulf region, allows the movement of NATO personnel and military equipment through Kuwait. This will enable improved logistical support for NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan and for other missions in the future, contributing to international security. While in Kuwait, the Secretary General also met with the Emir of the State of Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister, His Excellency Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and the President of the Kuwait National Security Bureau, His Excellency Sheikh Thamer Ali Al-Sabah. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the signing of the NATO-Kuwait Transit Agreement with His Excellency Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah, Foreign Minister of Kuwait NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 29 Feb. 2016 (As prepared) Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to be here with you in Kuwait. This is my first visit to your country as NATO Secretary General. Kuwait has long been a strong and committed partner for NATO. Playing a crucial role in promoting political dialogue and practical cooperation between NATO and Gulf countries. In 2004, Kuwait became the first country to join the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, the ICI. It was the first country in the region to host meetings of Gulf countries and the North Atlantic Council. It was the first ICI country to sign an information security agreement with NATO, to facilitate the exchange of sensitive information. And it was the first to agree an Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme with NATO, tailoring our cooperation to the specific needs of your country. Today, our countries face many challenges. Challenges from failed and failing states across the wider Middle East. From extremism and terrorism. And from the proliferation of ballistic missile technology and weapons of mass destruction. Kuwait has shown leadership in promoting regional security, playing an important role in the fight against ISIL as part of the Global Coalition. It has also shown compassion through its humanitarian work to alleviate the refugee crisis. The security of Kuwait and of the other Istanbul Cooperation Initiative countries is of key strategic importance to NATO. In this climate of instability, it is essential that we work together in partnership. To find common solutions to common challenges. For together, we are stronger. Kuwait's long history of partnership with NATO, and its strategic location in the Gulf, make it the ideal partner for NATO as we tackle common security challenges. Including the threat posed by ISIL. That is why this NATO-Kuwait Transit Agreement that we have just signed is so important. It is yet another example in our cooperation. This agreement will greatly facilitate the transit of personnel, supplies and equipment to our Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. It will also make any future NATO activities in the region significantly more effective. This is the first such agreement that NATO has signed in the Gulf region. I thank Kuwait. And I hope it will lead to similar agreements with other nations in the region. Later today, I will visit the site of the first NATO-ICI Regional Centre. When complete, it will be a focal point for NATO's cooperation with Kuwait and the other countries of the ICI. As well as others in the Gulf, such as Saudi Arabia and Oman, and with the Gulf Cooperation Council. This center is another concrete sign of the maturity reached in our cooperation under the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative. Ladies and gentlemen, Our nations share the same challenges. We face the same threats. And we share the same desire for peace and security. So on behalf of the NATO Alliance, I would like to thank the Government of Kuwait for their strong and enduring support. And for signing this agreement today. Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address USS Ashland Completes South China Sea Patrol Navy News Service Story Number: NNS160229-08 Release Date: 2/29/2016 12:22:00 PM From Expeditionary Strike Group 7/Task Force 76 Public Affairs SOUTH CHINA SEA (NNS) -- Amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48) conducted a routine patrol in international waters of the South China Sea Feb. 26 after participating in exercise Cobra Gold 16. In recent months, other U.S. Navy ships have conducted similar operations in the 7th Fleet area of operations including the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54), USS Lassen (DDG 82) and USS Preble (DDG 88), the multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2), the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) and the Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3). USS McCampbell (DDG 85) completed a similar patrol Feb. 22. 'As always, the officers and crew navigated the ship in a highly professional manner,' said Cmdr. Dan Duhan, commanding officer of Ashland. 'Routine in execution, transits like these have the additional benefit of training our junior officers and watch standers on real world applications associated with International Maritime Law.' The transit followed Ashland's recent participation in exercise Cobra Gold 16, a Thai-U.S. co-sponsored multinational joint exercise that is an integral part of the U.S. commitment toward advancing prosperity and security in the Indo-Asia-Pacific. Ashland, with the embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, is currently on patrol in 7th Fleet as part of the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group (ARG). The Bonhomme Richard ARG is comprised of amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), Ashland and amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42). Ashland is forward deployed to Sasebo, Japan, and operates in U.S. 7th Fleet to support a full range of theater contingencies, ranging from humanitarian and disaster relief operations to full combat operations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US 7th Fleet Forges Friendships in Osaka Navy News Service Story Number: NNS160229-15 Release Date: 2/29/2016 2:11:00 PM By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Indra Bosko, U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs OSAKA, Japan (NNS) -- The U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), and its embarked 7th Fleet staff, kicked off its spring patrol with a three-day port visit to Japan's cultural center, that concluded Feb. 27. 'It was great seeing old friends, and making new ones,' said Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, commander of U.S. 7th Fleet. 'Thank you to the generous people of Osaka for being great hosts.' Aucoin described Japan as a country that enables the stability and security in the Indo-Asia Pacific. 'Our visit here represents our alliance, which continues to grow stronger,' Aucoin said. 'I'm proud that our partnership has proven to be key to the security, peace and prosperity of the Pacific region.' Blue Ridge's last visit to Osaka was after the ship provided command and control during Operation Tomodachi, where the U.S. and Japan demonstrated its strong partnership, providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake, registering a magnitude of 9.0, quickly followed by a massive tsunami. 'The presence of the U.S. 7th Fleet flagship in the Osaka area is incredible, incredibly reliable and meaningful to us,' said Shojiro Takenaka, the director general of Kinku-Chubu Defense Bureau, in his remarks during a reception aboard Blue Ridge. 'Day in, day out, our Navy works alongside Japan's Maritime Self Defense Force, coordinating operations and training together,' Aucoin said. 'Our forces are better because of our ability to learn from each other and exchange information and technologies.' The U.S. 7th Fleet conducts forward deployed naval operations in support of U.S. national interests in the Indo-Asia-Pacific area of operations. As the U.S. Navy's largest numbered fleet, 7th Fleet interacts with 35 other maritime nations to build maritime partnerships that foster maritime security, promote stability and prevent conflict. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Mount Whitney Departs Cyprus Navy News Service Story Number: NNS160229-12 Release Date: 2/29/2016 1:56:00 PM By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Wright LIMASSOL, Cyprus (NNS) -- U.S. 6th Fleet command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) departed Limassol, Cyprus, after a successful port visit Feb. 29. During the visit, Sailors hosted ship tours, participated in two community relations (COMREL) projects, and held a reception aboard the ship. Quote: 'The service projects out in the community and the events we held on board show how much this hybrid [military-civilian] crew values being ambassadors and in building friendships in places we visit. I'm proud of the whole team. We were thankful for the hospitality of the Cypriot people and look forward to coming back. ' -Command Master Chief Matt Dickinson, USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) Quick Facts: Vice Adm. James Foggo III, commander, U.S. 6th Fleet, and the Honorable Kathleen Doherty, U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus, hosted a reception aboard Mount Whitney for Cypriot military and government officials, in order to further strengthen ties between U.S. and Cyprus. Sailors from Mount Whitney and the embarked U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet (CNE-CNA/C6F) staff volunteered at Cypriot community organizations Theotokos Foundation and the St. Loukas Parents Association for Adults with Disabilities during the ship's port visit, Feb. 27. Mount Whitney made the port visit in Cyprus in order to enhance U.S.-Cyprus relations as the two nations work together for a stable, secure and prosperous region. Mount Whitney is currently underway conducting unit-level training, performing duties as the fleet command and control ship, and working to strengthen ties with partners and allies in the region. Mount Whitney, forward-deployed to Gaeta, Italy, operates with a combined crew of U.S. Navy Sailors and Military Sealift Command civil service mariners. The civil service mariners perform navigation, deck, engineering and supply service operations, while military personnel support communications, weapons systems and security. It is one of only two seaborne Joint Command Platforms in the U.S. Navy, both of which are forward deployed. U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Delta Force to begin operations in Iraq Iran Press TV Mon Feb 29, 2016 5:32PM The US Army's elite Delta Force units are preparing for operations to target, detain or kill the main Daesh (ISIL) operators in Iraq, says a US official. The official told CNN on Monday that the troops have been preparing over the last few weeks, setting up safe houses and establishing informant networks while coordinating their missions with Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces. This is similar to the strategy US special operation forces have been using during previous deployments to similar combat zones, including the northern parts of Syria. The report could not verify where or when the operations were going to take place but it noted that the strategy worked in May 2015 when the forces raided a building in Syria, allegedly killing major Daesh operator Abu Sayyaf and capturing his wife. US military officials declined to comment on the matter or discuss any details of the operations. 'We will not comment on their operations or their location to maintain operational security,' Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said. Devices and documents gathered from the building, along with confessions from Sayyaf's wife gave a detailed insight into the terror group's network, laying the basis for other missions, US commanders claim. In December of last year, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter initially detailed such missions at a congressional testimony, saying the Pentagon was sending a 'specialized expeditionary targeting force (ETF)' to conduct 'raids and intelligence gathering missions.' The Pentagon's ETF, comprised of 200 personnel deployed to Iraq last December, have gathered enough intelligence to conduct missions against about half a dozen "targeted missions" inside Iraq and to go after certain leaders of the group. As part of its so-called war on Daesh Takfiri terrorists, the Pentagon had announced there were 3,500 US forces on the ground in Iraq to 'train and equip' local security forces against the foreign-backed militants. That tally has now been increased to 3,870, according to US Army Colonel Steve Warren. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address At least a dozen killed by Ugandan rebels in Congo Iran Press TV Mon Feb 29, 2016 3:51PM An attack by Ugandan rebels has left at least 12 civilians killed in a village in the restive east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials say. According to a top official, the incident occurred early Monday in Ntombi village, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of the Beni territory in the troubled North Kivu Province. 'The village of Ntombi in the Beni territory was the scene of an attack by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Two bodies have just been found, decapitated by machetes,' territorial administrator Amisi Kalonda said, adding that the health center in the village was completely looted. This is while the army officials gave a higher toll for the attack, with military spokesman Lieutenant Mak Hazukay, saying 'a total of 13 bodies, cut to death, including four women" were found. The Study Center for the Promotion of Peace, Democracy and Human Rights (CEPADHO), a local organization that documents violence in the region, confirmed the killings in a statement, saying 12 were killed. The Allied Democratic Forces-National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF-NALU) rebel group, which was founded in Uganda in 1995 and later moved to Congo, is believed to have roughly 400 members and has been accused of committing serious human rights violations, including recruiting child soldiers and rape. ADF-NALU and dozens of other armed groups have been active in eastern Congo since the 1996-2003 Congo wars. The Congolese army, joined by UN troops, is on the offensive against the rebel group which is blamed for more than two decades of violence that has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. More than 300 people were killed by ADF-NALU militants last year in and around Beni. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Yemeni infrastructure reduced to rubble in Saudi raids: Group Iran Press TV Mon Feb 29, 2016 8:52AM A human rights group in Yemen says the country's infrastructure has been severely damaged in Saudi Arabia's atrocious war on the conflict-stricken Arab country. Yemen's Human Rights Center, in a report released on Sunday, announced that more than 800 schools, 240 medical centers and hundreds of fuel depots and power plants have been targeted ever since Saudi Arabia launched its military strikes late March last year to bring fugitive former Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi back to power. The rights group added that Saudi military assaults have also destroyed airports, docks, harbors, bridges and hundreds of roads across Yemen. The report indicated that many tourism centers, historical sites, mosques, food warehouses, water reserve tanks, communications towers and stadiums have also been struck in Saudi attacks. In a separate development, tens of Saudi-sponsored mercenaries have been killed in a missile attack by Yemeni forces backed by Popular Committees against the Sahn al-Jin military base in the central Yemeni province of Ma'rib. Tens of Saudi-backed and pro-Hadi militiamen were also killed or wounded during clashes in the western part of the same province. On Monday, Amnesty International called for an arms embargo on all warring parties in Yemen, including Saudi Arabia and its regional allies. The rights watchdog said it has documented grave violations of humanitarian and human rights law, including possible war crimes, during the nearly a year of war in Yemen. "Amnesty International is urging all states to ensure that no party to the conflict in Yemen is suppliedeither directly or indirectlywith weapons, munitions, military equipment or technology that would be used in the conflict until they end such serious violations," it said in a statement. The group called "for any authorization of arms transfers to any party to the Yemen conflict to include a strict, legally binding guarantee that the end use will be in line with international humanitarian and human rights law, and that such arms transfers will not be used in Yemen." "The embargo call goes far beyond existing international sanctions on parties to the conflict in Yemen," it added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 6 Arrested in Al-Shabab Attack on Somali Town by Mohamed Olad February 29, 2016 Somali authorities arrested six people in connection with Sunday's double bomb attack by al-Shabab in the town of Baidoa that killed at least 32 people and wounded more than 60 others. "We have arrested six people suspected to be the organizers and the masterminds of the explosion, and they will be brought before justice,' said Abdullahi Ali Watiin, the district commissioner of Baidoa. Police and the local government said the center of the town, located 245 kilometers west of Mogadishu, was very busy when a car bomb exploded near the main market. A second blast, believed to be from a suicide bomber, went off moments later at a restaurant. Meanwhile, Somali Cabinet ministers held an extraordinary security meeting late Sunday in Mogadishu to discuss recent al-Shabab attacks. Security Minister Abdirisaq Omar Mohamed spoke to VOA Somali about the effort to defeat the militant group. "We know, only military force cannot defeat al-Shabab. We need to launch an ideological war against them so that we can at least convince the young Somalis they brainwashed to refrain from the violence, and of course political solution for those who want to take the peaceful way is a vital,' Mohamed said. Al-Shabab had time to plan Former Somali Intelligence Chief Ahmed Fiqi said the Islamist militant group was given a chance to plan and carry out their attacks because no major military operation against the group's hideouts has been launched in the past two years. "The last two years, no major attack to pursue the militants were taken,' Fiqi told VOA. 'So that gave them a chance to think and plan their attacks accordingly, whether it is guerilla and hit-and-run attacks on the AU bases or suicide attacks on civilian targets." He said the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia lacks central command and pursues different agendas. 'To my knowledge, the troops involving into the mission take the final orders from their individual countries, not a central command run by the mission commanders. We also know that each troop-contributing country focuses on [its] interests rather than the return of peace in Somalia. So, how can they succeed their mission?' he asked. Consecutive attacks Sunday's attacks in Baidoa came two days after two massive explosions killed 25 people and wounded nearly 60 others in Mogadishu. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for those bombings as well. The militant group, which has links to al-Qaida, carries out frequent attacks in Somalia, often targeting government officials and African Union troops. Al-Shabab controlled most of southern Somalia as recently as 2010, but has been pushed into the countryside by AU and Somali government forces. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address AU to Send Monitors to Burundi by Mohammed Yusuf February 29, 2016 The African Union says it will send 200 military advisers and human rights observers to Burundi, 10 months into the country's violent political crisis over President Pierre Nkrunziza's third term. International diplomatic efforts appear to be making little headway. Five African heads of state were in Burundi last week to push for an end to the crisis. The outcome has been underwhelming for some. Pancase Cimpanye is deputy spokesman for the political opposition now in exile, CNARED. "We are a bit disappointed with AU delegation because they did not emphasize the importance of the peace accord agreement of Arusha. They did not emphasize the need to come around a table of talks outside the country, talks between Nkurunziza and CNARED, I mean the opposition, and they did not talk about the AU force,' said Cimpanye. Rights agencies say at least 400 people have been killed during the crisis. Another 200,000 have fled the country. In December, the African Union proposed sending 5,000 troops to Burundi, but the bloc backed off when the government rejected the initiative. Zuma said Saturday the African Union will now send 100 human rights monitors and 100 military advisers to Burundi. Those monitors may find their work difficult, says Amnesty International researcher Rachel Nicholson. "The situation in Burundi is very tense at the moment and it is very difficult for human rights observers to carry out their work. We have seen situations deteriorate rapidly over the last 10 months, and current trends are frequent arrests of young people particularly from opposition neighborhood, the security situation has also deteriorated,' said Nicholson. Zuma also reiterated the African Union's calls for inclusive dialogue. The Burundi government has insisted it is ready. But research associate at the Institute for Security Studies in Nairobi, Yolande Bouka, says there is still disagreement about who will participate, even in the wake of these high-level A.U. and U.N. visits. "When Ban Ki-moon went to visit Bujumbura a few days ago, the government agreed to inclusive dialogue, but they turned around and said the armed opposition, CNARED and people who are believed to involved in the coup will not be invited or involved in the mediation so this a bit contradictory when we know the international community is expecting mediation to be all among the stakeholders,' said Bouka. The Burundi opposition says the African Union's choice of mediator could also be holding things up. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was preoccupied with his own bid for a fifth term in office February 18. It is a distraction that may continue as tensions remain high in Kampala over the arrest of opposition challengers and alleged vote rigging. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Coalition Strikes Continue Against ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA, March 1, 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 and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 12 strikes in Syria: -- Near Hasakah, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed five ISIL buildings. -- Near Hawl, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL vehicles and two ISIL buildings. -- Near Ayn Isa, three strikes destroyed an ISIL building, an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL mortar system. -- Near Manbij, two strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb and an ISIL mortar system. -- Near Mar'a, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions. Strikes in Iraq Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 15 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government: -- Near Fallujah, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL anti-air artillery piece, an ISIL building, an ISIL bunker, an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL staging area and denied ISIL access to terrain. -- Near Habbaniyah, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle. -- Near Mosul, two strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL fighting position and damaged a separate ISIL vehicle. -- Near Ramadi, three strikes destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle, two ISIL tunnel systems and two ISIL vehicle bombs. -- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position and suppressed an ISIL mortar position. -- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position and suppressed an ISIL mortar position. -- Near Tal Afar, a strike suppressed an ISIL mortar position. -- Near Tikrit, two strikes destroyed an ISIL vehicle and two ISIL mortar positions. Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is 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 that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Marine aircraft wing provides assets in Cobra Gold US Marine Corps News By Cpl. William Hester | March 1, 2016 Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 167 is among one of the squadrons aiding in the air-ground capabilities. HMLA 167 is currently supporting Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force in Thailand during Cobra Gold 16 as part of the unit deployment program. Cobra Gold is a multi-national exercise designed to increase interoperability and cooperation through training events that are meant to advance solution solving skills between the participating nations. The goal of this exercise is to preserve and promote peace in the Asia-Pacific region. "We're proud to be part of this exercise as we participate with the Thais and other partner nations here," said Capt. Ryan R. Morrison. "We're expanding our influence in the region, learning from them, hopefully showing them some ways we do things and building relationships." Throughout this Cobra Gold, this year's being the 35th iteration, HMLA has been able to exercise this trait in an atmosphere foreign than the traditional training areas in the United States. "Generally speaking, HMLA will be responsible for going in and conducting reconnaissance of landing sites and objective areas and ensuring any threats are attrite before (other aircraft) come," said Morrison. HMLA is home to the UH-1Y Huey and the AH-1 Cobra. The two caveat off each other with the Huey providing highly capable sensors and a "God's eye view" and the Cobra bringing longer distance weapon capabilities. "HMLA really does provide a lot of noncombatant opportunities," said Morrison. "We've already seen a lot of that in Nepal and in other humanitarian disaster relief situations where we are able to provide access to zones a lot of larger aircraft such as MV-22 Ospreys and CH-53E Super Stallions aren't able to get into." HMLA is capable of bringing in supplies, limited CASEVAC and troop transportation assets during these humanitarian type situations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN warns Central Africa faces 'dire' food shortage Iran Press TV Tue Mar 1, 2016 5:30PM The United Nations has raised alarm about extreme food shortage in the Central African Republic (CAR). Two UN agencies warned on Tuesday that CAR faces a 'dire' food crisis with over half the population suffering hunger following three years of conflict. 'The situation is dire. Half of the population faces hunger,' said Bienvenu Djossa, the World Food Program (WFP) Country Director in CAR. Overall crop production in 2015 remained 54 percent below average levels prior to a March 2013 coup which plunged the impoverished country into chaos, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and WFP said in a report. Production was up 10 percent on 2014 but this was largely due to an increase in the cassava crop. Grain harvests were 70 percent down on pre-crisis levels. The CAR conflict has led to one million people being displaced from their homes in a country of less than five million where 75 percent depend on agriculture for their living. The conflict has also reduced the number of cows, goats and sheep in the country by almost a half, the agencies said. Lake and river fishing has been disrupted, resulting in a 40 percent fall in the catch since the onset of the crisis and a 70 percent rise in prices. Other important sources of protein have also seen sharp price spikes with groundnut flour up 74 percent and beef nearly twice as expensive as pre-crisis. The FAO said it had provided 170,900 households with seeds and tools during 2015, benefiting an estimated 850,000 people. The WFP supported the operation by providing food rations to more than 65,000 farming families to prevent them from using their remaining seeds for food rather than planting. Separately, the WFP provided food through various activities including school meals and emergency food assistance to some 900,000 people. The two agencies said they would need more funding from donor states to continue their work in 2016. The FAO is seeking $86 million while the WFP said it needs $89 million to respond to urgent needs of 1.4 million people until the end of July in CAR and in neighboring countries. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address ICC charges Malian over attacking historical sites in Timbutku Iran Press TV Tue Mar 1, 2016 11:26AM Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have charged a Malian Takfiri militant with war crimes over attacks on centuries-old shrines at the world heritage site of Timbuktu in 2012. Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, arrested in Niger and moved into ICC custody in The Hague in September 2015, will be the first Takfiri militant to appear before the ICC. He will be the first person to face a main war crimes charge for an attack on a global historic and cultural monument. "We must stand up to the destruction and defacing of our common heritage," chief ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said as she unveiled a single war crimes charge against Faqi. Bensouda said it was incumbent on the tribunal to ensure that those responsible for annihilating ancient sites be punished. ICC prosecutors say Faqi was a leader of Ansar Dine, a mainly Tuareg group that captured Mali's northern desert together with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and a third local group from early 2012 until 2013. Faqi is said to have jointly ordered or carried out the destruction of nine mausoleums and Timbuktu's fabled Sidi Yahia mosque in 2012. The destruction of cultural and religious heritage is clearly set out in the ICC's guiding Rome Statute as a war crime, Bensouda said. Prosecutors are seeking to persuade the three judges that there is enough evidence against Faqi to proceed to a trial. The news comes at a time when Takfiri Daesh terrorists are wrecking havoc in Syria and Iraq and destroying cultural and historic monuments in the Arab countries. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Saudi envoy defends military intervention in Yemen Iran Press TV Tue Mar 1, 2016 11:11AM Saudi Arabia defends its war in Yemen after an EU call for arms embargo on Riyadh amid reports of high civilian casualties in the impoverished country. "Saudi Arabia is bombing in Yemen to bring peace and stability," Saudi Ambassador to Britain Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz wrote in The Telegraph daily on Monday. "While the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia deeply regrets any civilian deaths, it firmly denies allegations of deliberately targeting civilians," he said. A recent report by a United Nations panel tasked with examining Saudi airstrikes on Yemen has found "widespread and systemic" attacks on civilian targets. Prince Mohammed said the Saudi military was making "extensive efforts" to avoid civilian casualties. "For instance, UK military personnel are providing assistance in targeting and its legal aspects, precision weapons are being used over cluster munitions," he said. A new report from Human Rights Watch has accused Saudi Arabia in Yemen of using American-made cluster bombs in civilian areas. Riyadh, the report said, is responsible for all or nearly all the cluster munitions attacks in Yemen because it is the only entity operating aircraft capable of delivering the weapon. US officials have acknowledged reports of civilian casualties in Yemen but stopped short of recognizing the use of cluster munitions or accepting any direct responsibility for collateral damage resulting from Saudi strikes. 'We are aware of the Human Rights Watch report and are reviewing it,' Christopher Sherwood, a spokesman for the Department of Defense, told CNN on Monday. On Thursday, the European Parliament called on the European Union to impose an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia in response to allegations of civilian casualties in Yemen. 'Our duty is to the civilians in Yemen, and given widespread and very valid concerns over the conduct of the war by Saudi forces, our call for an EU-wide arms embargo is proportionate and necessary,' said Alyn Smith, one of the lawmakers who spearheaded the vote. Human rights groups have called for President Barack Obama to follow the EU Parliament's lead and impose an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia, but US security experts said Washington was unlikely to do that. 'The Obama administration is basically tolerating civilian casualties in Yemen and giving lip service that they are concerned,' said William Hartung, an adviser to the Security Assistance Monitor. He said the United States continues to sell cluster bombs to the Saudis because of a number of geopolitical and economic factors. Washington's long-standing role as an arms supplier to Saudi Arabia, he said, has been very lucrative for American companies. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Saudi airstrike kills over two dozen in Yemen Iran Press TV Tue Mar 1, 2016 10:26AM More than two dozen civilians have lost their lives in another Saudi aerial attack against a residential neighborhood in Yemen's west-central Yemen province of Sana'a. On Tuesday, Saudi fighter jets launched an airstrike against the mountainous Jabal Bani Yusuf district of the province, leaving 25 people dead and tens of others injured, the al-Mayadeen news network reported. Elsewhere, a child was injured and a number of houses were destroyed when Saudi warplanes struck Razeh district in the northern province of Sa'ada. Saudi military aircraft also carried out several aerial assaults against the strategic Dhubab district in the southwestern Ta'izz Province, though no immediate reports of casualties were available. The airstrikes took place shortly after Yemeni army soldiers and fighters from allied Popular Committees mounted a missile attack against Saudi-backed mercenaries in the same area, killing tens of them. Moreover, Saudi jets bombarded al-Rabouah city, which is controlled by Yemeni forces, in the kingdom's southwestern Asir province. There were no reports of possible casualties and the extent of damage caused. Saudi aircraft also pounded parts of Harad and Hayran districts in the northwestern Yemen province of Hajjah, with no casualties reported so far. Yemen has been under military attacks by Saudi Arabia since late March. The Saudi military strikes were launched to supposedly undermine the Ansarullah movement and bring fugitive former President Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi back to power. At least 8,300 people, among them 2,236 children, have reportedly been killed and 16,015 others injured, since March. The strikes have also taken a heavy toll on the impoverished country's facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UNHCR: Europe On 'Cusp' Of Self-Induced Humanitarian Crisis March 01, 2016 by Eugen Tomiuc The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has criticized European countries over a 'domino-like' buildup of tens of thousands of refugees in Greece, warning that the continent is on the 'cusp of a self-induced' humanitarian crisis if governments fail to work together. The UNHCR's warning on March 1 came after Macedonia used tear gas and stun grenades to repel hundreds of migrants attempting to ram through a barbed-wire fence at a crossing in Idomeni. The UNHCR also warned that crowded conditions in Greece have led to a 'completely unmanageable' situation that includes shortages of food, shelter, and water among migrants, stoking tensions and 'fueling violence.' 'We are faced with an extremely alarming situation at the moment, with Europe on the cusp of a new and largely self-induced humanitarian crisis,' UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told RFE/RL on March 1. Edwards said Mediterranean arrivals in January and February totaled 131,000, compared to around 147,000 in the first six months of last year, more than 122,000 of them coming to Greece after fleeing conflict in Syria. The UN agency said an estimated 24,000 refugees were in need of accommodation in Greece as of February 29, while Greek police said the number of people massed at the Idomeni crossing has reached 10,000. The UNHCR spokesman noted that 'compared to refugee crises that we see in the Syria region, in Afghanistan, in parts of Africa, these are still relatively small numbers.' Greece has been left to cope with much of the burden of new arrivals since a cap on migrant entries was imposed by its Balkan neighbors and Austria, which is further along a route used by people trying to reach Germany and other rich European Union countries. Large numbers of migrants have built up in the country as a result. 'Governments across Europe are not working together despite agreements that have already been reached in a number of areas,' Edwards said. The 28-member European Union, which has been struggling to cope with a surge in migration that saw more than 1 million new arrivals last year, has been criticized for its failure to show a united front in protecting the rights of the refugees. 'Country after country is imposing new border restrictions and a series of inconsistent practices across Europe causing both unnecessary suffering and risk being at variance with EU and international law,' Edwards said. 'And most serious still, bring Europe back into a crisis over a situation which should be entirely manageable.' The UNHCR said that for many months European countries simply waved refugees and migrants through without any proper screening system to establish who was a refugee and who wasn't and without functioning mechanisms that could have ensured that help is available for people who need asylum. 'Now we're seeing a turning of the tide that's forcing people country-by-country domino-like back towards Greece into a situation which is completely unmanageable. We urgently, urgently need now to see Europe return to trying to address this together,' Edwards told RFE/RL. Meanwhile the border remained closed on March 1, as Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov warned he could shut down the Balkan migrant route altogether later this year. Ivanov told German newspaper Der Spiegel that, when Austria reaches its limit of 37,500 migrant entries, Macedonia will close its border with Greece, effectively shutting down a path to northern Europe used by hundreds of thousands of migrants. 'When Austria reaches its limit, it will happen,' Ivanov said, suggesting that could occur very soon, 'perhaps right at this moment.' The UNHCR warned that such moves 'risk being at variance with EU and international law and are causing unnecessary suffering to many people.' Edwards urged European countries to work together to solve this 'manageable' situation instead of taking unilateral action. 'The crisis that Europe has now is one of failing to work together to address this properly. It's a self-induced crisis. It's also one solvable and avoidable,' he said. With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and AP Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/unhcr-humanitarian- crisis-greece-refugees/27582690.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Afghan Rights Group Says Women, Girls Face Invasive 'Virginity Tests' March 01, 2016 by RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan An Afghan human rights watchdog has urged the government to take measures against the practice of 'virginity' tests by state doctors that it says amount to 'torture' and 'sexual harassment.' Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) says women and girls accused of having sex outside marriage -- a criminal offense in Afghanistan -- are often forced to undergo 'invasive' and 'humiliating' tests by government doctors. In a report published on February 29, the Afghan rights group said 48 of 53 women whom it interviewed during 2015 had been subjected to compulsory gynecological exams by law-enforcement officials. 'Since gynecological tests are conducted without consent of the victim, it can be considered sexual harassment and human rights violation,' the commission said. The report said most of the tests included invasive genital and anal exams that were carried out in the presence of male guards and others, and often amounted to 'torture' with 'horrible effects and consequences.' Nearly half of those tested were examined more than once, the study said. Sorya Sobhrang, the women's rights commissioner at the AIHRC, said the tests damaged the women's 'personal integrity and emotional well-being.' The exams purportedly verify whether a woman has been sexually active outside of marriage. However, Sobhrang, a gynecologist by profession, said the veracity of such tests has been widely challenged by medical doctors and scientists. 'There are no medical forensics specialists...[or] DNA tests in Afghanistan, therefore it's impossible here to determine...whether the woman was raped or had sex outside marriage,' Sobhrang told RFE/RL's Tajik Service. The report said the tests also violate the spirit of Afghanistan's constitution, which states that 'no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam.' According to the study, a number of the women forced to endure the tests were accused merely of leaving their homes without permission, which is not a crime under Afghan law. In Afghanistan's conservative society, a bride's virginity is regarded by many as proof of her purity. There are cases of women who were unable to prove their virginity being killed in so-called honor killings whose perpetrators claim to be preserving a family's integrity. Sobhrang cited an Afghan practice in which a bride may be returned to her family with her face painted black -- as a sign of disgrace -- if she is thought not to be a virgin. In such cases, she said, the bride's parents must repay the dowry and wedding expenses. In some cases, she said, a groom might then marry the 'disgraced' bride's sister. 'Law-enforcement agencies or any other institutions should not be allowed to conduct such tests on women or girls to determine their virginity, adultery, or sex outside marriage, unless a victim asks for such a test.' Sobhrang said. Millions of Afghan women regained their rights to education and work following the fall of the hard-line Taliban regime more than a decade ago, but domestic abuse and violations of women's rights are still widespread in Afghan society. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and RFE/RL's Tajik Service Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/afghanistan-virginity- tests-human-rights-violation/27582267.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tunisia Confirms British Instructors to Train Local Border Guards Sputnik News 19:01 01.03.2016(updated 19:17 01.03.2016) British instructors will arrive in Tunisia to assist in training of local border guards, a spokesman for the Tunisian Defense Ministry told Sputnik on Tuesday. TUNIS (Sputnik) Earlier in the day, UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said a group of about 20 instructors had been sent to Tunisia to provide assistance to local troops working on prevention of illegal crossing of the country's border with Libya. 'The group of British soldiers will arrive in Tunisia to assist in the training of the Tunisian military controlling the borders,' Belhassen Oueslati said. He added that the instructors will teach the local border guards to operate specialized military equipment and will not directly participate in any military operation. Libya has been in a state of turmoil since its longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011. IS, which is outlawed in many countries including Russia, seized a pocket of Libyan territory centered in Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte in November 2014. In early February, Tunisian Defense Minister Farhat Horchani said the construction of the 196-kilometer (122-mile) protective wall all along the border with Libya had been completed in order to prevent IS militants from reaching Tunisia. The wall's construction was announced after the June 2015 attack on a tourist resort in the city of Sousse that resulted in nearly 40 deaths. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Update: air strikes against Daesh 1 March 2016 British forces have continued to conduct air operations in the fight against Daesh Latest update Royal Air Force aircraft have inflicted further losses on Daesh terrorists in Syria and Iraq. Wednesday 24 February Tornados destroyed a terrorist weapons factory in Mosul. Thursday 25 February Tornados and Typhoons conducted five attacks in Iraq and Syria, silencing mortar and machine-gun positions, and destroying bunkers. Friday 26 February Tornados and Typhoons conducted three attacks in northern Iraq against Daesh mortar and rocket teams, and a checkpoint. Sunday 28 February Tornados and Typhoons conducted three attacks in northern Iraq against mortar and sniper teams; a Reaper conducted five attacks in northern Syria. Detail RAF Tornado GR4s, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, successfully bombed a Daesh weapons factory in Mosul on Wednesday 24 February. The following day, Typhoon FGR4s patrolled the area north-west of Mosul, and assisted Kurdish peshmerga forces who had come under fire from a terrorist mortar position, destroying it with a Paveway IV guided bomb. A second Typhoon mission, near Tall Afar, used a Paveway to eliminate a machine-gun team that was also firing on Iraqi forces. Further south, Tornados operated near Fallujah, where they delivered two successful Paveway attacks on two groups of terrorists entrenched in a network of bunkers. In eastern Syria, a Tornado patrol supported Syrian Democratic Forces as they mounted an offensive against Daesh near As Shadadi; our aircraft destroyed a terrorist mortar position with a Paveway IV. On Friday 26 February, Tornados and Typhoons flew missions over northern Iraq. Typhoons bombed a Daesh mortar team that was firing on Kurdish troops near Kisik, while a pair of Tornados used a Brimstone missile to attack a checkpoint east of Bayji. They then headed north to the Mosul area where they used a Paveway against a rocket-launcher position. Typhoons and Tornados were active again over northern Iraq on Sunday 28 February: a Typhoon flight struck two mortar positions with Paveways and Tornados also used a Paveway IV to demolish a large isolated building from which a terrorist sniper was engaging Kurdish forces south of Sinjar. Across the border in northern Syria, an RAF Reaper conducted five attacks with Hellfire missiles and a GBU-12 guided bomb against Daesh extremists, including an armed team in a truck, near Tell Dehlis. In addition to these strikes, the Tornados, Typhoons and Reapers undertook extensive reconnaissance activity, complemented by the strategic surveillance capabilities of the RAF's Sentinel aircraft. On the ground, British military instructors continue to play a major role in the coalition programme to help train and equip the Iraqi security forces. The equipment and training provided by the UK to help counter the threat from improvised explosive devices is proving of particular importance as the Iraqis work to clear the streets of Ramadi of thousands of booby-traps left behind by the defeated terrorists in an attempt to prevent the civilian population from returning. Previous air strikes 1 February: Two Tornados flew reconnaissance and close air support for the Kurdish peshmerga in northern Iraq. Near Kisik Junction, they used a Brimstone missile and three Paveways to attack three rocket launchers and a Daesh vehicle, then over Qayyarah, a further Brimstone and Paveway destroyed an ammunition truck and a mortar position. Typhoons operated in the area of Ramadi, where they conducted successful attacks on three terrorist strongpoints. 2 February: Typhoons worked closely with other coalition aircraft to target a group of terrorists manoeuvring in the open near Ramadi, hitting them with a Paveway IV guided bomb. The Typhoons then flew to the area north of Habbaniyah, where they conducted a Paveway attack on a terrorist-held building. Further north, a pair of Tornado GR4s bombed a Daesh mortar team that was firing on Iraqi troops near Bayji. 3 February: Typhoons and Tornados providing close air support to Iraqi forces clearing Daesh positions in the area around Ramadi. The Typhoons destroyed a terrorist building with a Paveway, then used two more Paveways to engage a pair of Daesh groups, armed with heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, which were engaged in close combat with Iraqi troops. Despite the proximity of the friendly forces, the precision of the Paveways and careful planning by the aircrew allowed both targets to be struck successfully. The Tornados similarly had to attack a series of Daesh positions close to Iraqi forces, and these were also highly successful: Paveway attacks accounted for four groups of terrorist fighters, including one heavy machine-gun and two mortar teams, and when machine-gunners opened fire on the Iraqis from the windows of a single storey building, the Tornados launched a pair of Brimstone missiles which accurately struck both windows. Later in the day, Typhoons used a Paveway to destroy a mechanical excavator which had been converted into a large booby-trap, positioned amongst trees next to a road east of Ramadi. 4 February: RAF patrols over the countryside around Ramadi and Fallujah. Typhoons bombed three Daesh positions, as well as a group of terrorists caught moving in the open, whilst Tornado GR4s again attacked extremists engaged in very close combat with Iraqi forces; Paveways were used to destroy a heavy machine-gun team and a strongpoint, but in one instance, the terrorists were so close to the Iraqi troops that even a Paveway could not be used safely. Fortunately, the Brimstone missile's precision and small warhead allowed one to be fired into the midst of the Daesh fighters to significant effect. The following day, Typhoons operated around Habbaniyah and Ramadi, using eight Paveways to destroy an armed truck, a recoilless gun, two Daesh-held buildings, a command and control position, two weapons caches and a workshop producing truck-bombs. 7 February: Tornados used a Brimstone missile to destroy a truck-bomb near Habbaniyah, while Typhoon missions near Ramadi successfully attacked a garage containing an armed pick-up truck which was firing through the doorway at advancing Iraqi soldiers, and a terrorist-held building. Throughout all these missions, the Typhoons and Tornados were supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, with Sentinel aircraft providing essential strategic surveillance support to the coalition. 9 February: A pair of Typhoon FGR4s, supported by an RAF Voyager air refuelling tanker, destroyed an armoured vehicle, converted into a large truck-bomb, blocking a road with a Paveway IV guided bomb south-west of Kirkuk.10 February: Typhoons provided close air support to Iraqi troops engaged in close combat with Daesh extremists north of Habbaniyah. The Typhoons struck the terrorists with a pair of Paveway IVs. 11 February: As Iraqi ground forces clear the remaining pockets of Daesh within Ramadi city they are also turning their efforts to Daesh strongpoints to the north and east of the city, supported by coalition aircraft. A pair of Typhoons, working in close cooperation with a coalition surveillance aircraft, successfully conducted two Paveway attacks on groups of terrorist fighters. Later that day, a second Typhoon mission over the area used Paveways to destroy a heavy machine-gun position and an accommodation block used by Daesh. 12 February: Typhoons were also active east of Ramadi, bombing two groups of terrorists, as well as a team planting improvised explosive devices. 14 February: A Tornado mission successfully targeted a compound north of Habbaniyah, where around 16 Daesh extremists had been observed, striking it with a pair of Paveway IVs. 15 February: Two Tornado GR4s conducted an armed reconnaissance patrol over northern Iraq in support of Kurdish security forces. A group of Daesh extremists were identified in a pair of buildings south-west of Kirkuk and were able to attack both at the same time with Paveway IV bombs. A Brimstone missile destroyed a terrorist vehicle and before the Tornados returned to base a Paveway was used to attack a weapons cache.Meanwhile, RAF Typhoons alongside other coalition aircraft conducted a series of coordinated attacks on Daesh facilities. The targets included a large weapons store at Abu Kamal, on the Syrian bank of the Euphrates which was destroyed with four Paveway IVs. An RAF Reaper provided surveillance support to several of the other coalition attacks. 16 February: Tornados patrolled over northern Iraq and came to the assistance of advancing Kurdish forces who were under fire from Daesh heavy machine-gun and mortar teams south-east of Mosul. Paveway attacks successfully dealt with the threat. 17 February: A Tornado mission interrupted a Daesh team preparing to fire nine artillery rockets, hitting them with Paveway to impact the middle of the line of launch rails. 18 February: RAF Tornado GR4s and a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft conducted counter-Daesh missions over Syria. North of Abu Kamal, a Tornado patrol used a pair of Brimstone missiles to strike a large engineering vehicle being used for wellhead repair and maintenance in a Daesh-controlled oilfield. Meanwhile, north-west of Raqqa, a Reaper worked closely with coalition jets to prosecute a group of Daesh extremists who were attacking members of the moderate Syrian armed opposition. The Reaper provided targeting and surveillance support to three successful coalition air attacks, then conducted a fourth attack using its own Hellfire missile. Over Iraq, other Tornados continued to support Iraqi army operations around Ramadi, in the course of which they used Paveway IVs to bomb three Daesh-held buildings. 19 February: Typhoon FGR4s and Tornados patrolled over western Iraq. North-east of Ramadi, an Iraqi helicopter reported coming under fire from an anti-aircraft gun concealed beneath a carport. A Paveway IV delivered by a Typhoon removed the threat. The Typhoons then dropped two Paveways on a large building where a group of terrorists, armed with rocket-propelled grenades, were holding out against the advancing Iraqi troops. North-east of Al Asad airbase, a coalition surveillance aircraft identified a set of five rocket launchers and an ammunition stockpile set up in a palm grove, and was able to guide in a Tornado flight which destroyed both targets with Paveways, then used a third Paveway to eliminate a group of terrorists caught in the open. Later in the day, a second Tornado patrol used Paveways to destroy four Daesh-held buildings north-east of Ramadi, including two used to prepare truck-bombs. In northern Iraq, a Typhoon mission operated north-east of Mosul, supporting the Kurdish peshmerga, and destroyed two buildings from which the terrorists had been fighting. Over Syria, a Reaper and other coalition aircraft supported moderate Syrian opposition forces north-west of Raqqa; our Reaper assisted in one coalition air strike, then used a Hellfire to destroy an Daesh improvised armoured vehicle. 20 February: RAF Reapers in action over both Syria and Iraq again. North-west of Raqqa, a Reaper tracked a Daesh machine-gun team that had been firing on Syrian opposition fighters. The terrorists retreated to a small building, where they were joined by other extremists. The Reaper then successfully attacked the group with a Hellfire missile. In Iraq, again north-east of Ramadi, another Reaper worked closely with another coalition remotely piloted aircraft to provide close air support to the Iraqi ground forces. The Reaper assisted its coalition partner in an attack, then conducted two attacks with its own Hellfires on two Daesh groups engaged in close combat with the Iraqi troops. 22 February: A Typhoon flight patrolled east of Mosul and was able to identify a Daesh team that was planting improvised explosive devices, they hit with a Paveway. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address ICC Mulls Unprecedented War Crimes Trial by Lisa Bryant March 01, 2016 Judges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague began considering arguments Tuesday on whether to open the court's first-ever war crimes trial targeting the destruction of religious or cultural heritage. Malian citizen Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi is accused of overseeing 2012 attacks on cherished religious sites in Mali's ancient city of Timbuktu. The hearing was unprecedented for a court better known for judging crimes such as rape, killing and sexual slavery. On Tuesday, judges at the International Criminal Court instead considered whether there was enough evidence to bring to trial another kind of crime the destruction of cultural and religious heritage. Destruction of monuments Former trainee teacher and alleged jihadist Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi is accused of planning and leading the destruction of nine mausoleums and the door of an ancient mosque in the northern Malian city of Timbuktu in June and July of 2012. All but one of the buildings were designated United Nations (UNESCO) world heritage sites. Timbuktu is known as the "city of 333 saints," and has been an important trading and religious hub for centuries. In opening remarks before a pre-trial chamber, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda argued the mausoleums' demolition by Islamist radicals amounts to nothing less than the destruction of the soul and history of a community and a loss for the world. "What is at stake here is not just walls and stones. The destroyed mausoleums were important from a religious point of view, from an historical point of view and from an identity point of view. Such an attack against buildings dedicated to religion and historic monuments falls into the category of crimes that destroy the roots of an entire people and profoundly and irremediably affect its social practices and structures." Ansar Dine militant group The prosecution claims al-Mahdi, an ethnic Tuareg who is believed to be in his 30s, led a morality squad in Timbuktu and was a member of militant group Ansar Dine, an ally of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. The Islamists captured Timbuktu in May 2012, imposing a harsh rule on the local population before French soldiers finally drove them out, almost a year later. Al-Mahdi appeared to listen carefully to the prosecution's arguments. He sported long hair, a beard and spectacles. He spoke briefly, saying he understood the charges against him. He has previously denied them and his lawyers will make his case during the hearing. Besides the Timbuktu monuments, the Islamic State militant group's destruction of temples in Syria's ancient city of Palmyra and the Taliban's 2001 demolition of massive Buddha statues in Afghanistan have also sparked global outcry. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address La Cosa Nostra La Cosa Nostra, translated into English means this thing of ours. It is a nationwide alliance of criminals linked by blood ties or through conspiracy dedicated to pursuing crime and protecting its members. La Cosa Nostra, or the LCN as it is known by the FBI, consists of different families or groups that are generally arranged geographically and engaged in significant and organized racketeering activity. It is also known as the Mafia, a term also used to describe other organized crime groups. The LCN is most active in the New York metropolitan area, parts of New Jersey, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, and New England. It has members in other major cities and is involved in international crimes. Over the years, FBI investigations have revealed how organized criminal groups have proliferated and impacted much of the world. Partnerships with foreign law enforcement agencies are essential to combat global organized crime groups. Among the partnerships the FBI is involved with is the Italian American Working Group, which meets every year. The group addresses organized crime, cyber crime, money laundering, international terrorism, illegal immigration, cooperating witnesses, drug smuggling, art theft, extradition matters, and cigarette smuggling. The US and Italy take turns hosting the meetings. Since their appearance in the 1800s, the Italian criminal societies known as the Mafia have infiltrated the social and economic fabric of Italy and now impact the world. They are some of the most notorious and widespread of all criminal societies. There are several groups currently active in the U.S.: the Sicilian Mafia; the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia; the Ndrangheta or Calabrian Mafia; and the Sacra Corona Unita or United Sacred Crown. The FBI estimated the four groups had approximately 25,000 members total, with 250,000 affiliates worldwide. There were more than 3,000 members and affiliates in the US, scattered mostly throughout the major cities in the Northeast, the Midwest, California, and the South. Their largest presence centers around New York, southern New Jersey, and Philadelphia. Their criminal activities are international with members and affiliates in Canada, South America, Australia, and parts of Europe. They are also known to collaborate with other international organized crime groups from all over the world, especially in drug trafficking. The major threats to American society posed by these groups are drug trafficking and money laundering. They have been involved in heroin trafficking for decades. Two major investigations that targeted Italian organized crime drug trafficking in the 1980s are known as the French Connection and the Pizza Connection. These groups dont limit themselves to drug running, though. Theyre also involved in illegal gambling, political corruption, extortion, kidnapping, fraud, counterfeiting, infiltration of legitimate businesses, murders, bombings, and weapons trafficking. History of La Cosa Nostra Although La Cosa Nostra has its roots in Italian organized crime, it has been a separate organization for many years. Today, La Cosa Nostra cooperates in various criminal activities with different criminal groups that are headquartered in Italy. Giuseppe Esposito was the first known Sicilian Mafia member to emigrate to the U.S. He and six other Sicilians fled to New York after murdering the chancellor and a vice chancellor of a Sicilian province and 11 wealthy landowners. He was arrested in New Orleans in 1881 and extradited to Italy. The Mano Nera (Black Hand) was not an imaginary band of blackmailers and assassins, but a powerful and widespread criminal organization, having members in various large American cities, where they have given evidence of their existence, not only with the bomb, but the pistol and the knife. The letters they sent to their victims, bearing such sinister signs as the dagger, the blood'red hand, and the skull and crossbones, were not merely idle threats; they had a deadly purpose behind them. By around the year 1890 the first indications of the unwelcome fact that the murderous customs of the outlaws of Sicily had been introduced into America were perceived. By 1910 the New York Times estimated the number of Black Handers in New York at 5,000, which was probably an overstatement. However, they must be very numerous, because when a band of the criminals has been captured, accomplices hire lawyers, procure bail, terrorize possible witnesses and prosecutors, and write threatening letters to American officials having to do with the trial. In Greater New York there were over 500,000 Italians, of whom only 3 per cent, are naturalized citizens of the United States. The others were huddled into swarming colonics, Sicilians in one place, Calabrians in another, Neapolitans in another, and so on. These were men who did no visible work and yet had plenty of money. The hard-working Italians with whom they were surrounded knew these men well and shrank from them. In describing them, County Judge Norman S. Dike, of Brooklyn, said: "They are not exactly bullies, in the American sense of the word; rather treacherous, sinister men, who, if offended, may do harm. They are well satisfied with themselves, and say: 'No, we do not work. Work does not agree with us. We have friends, they work and give us money. Why not?' It is these men, living as parasites upon their fellows, who are responsible for most of the crime among Italians. Their countrymen do not expose them, partly because they were fellow townsmen in Italy, but mostly because of fear. Italians in America are, as a rule, so afraid of saying anything about these mysterious criminals, working beneath the surface of society, that doubt existed as to whether the Black Hand, or Mano Nera, is allied with the Sicilian secret society known as the Mafia, or is an entirely separate organization. Italians in the American detective service state that the object of the Mafia is principally to avenge wrongs which its members think have been done to them. When an Italian received a notice from the Mano Nera, the others called him the marked man. While the band did not hesitate to extort money from the poorest labourer, if its members thought they can get it, the wealthier class were their special victims. They apparently possessed lists of the leading bankers, merchants, and manufacturers in each of the large cities; and when one was singled out for attack they got information about his vocation, habits, family, and even his friends. The members of the Mano Nera committed all kinds of crime in their efforts to secure money, and do not hesitate at murder in its most horrible form. Apparently they are not only merciless, but savage and brutal to a degree, so it is not strange that they hold so many of their countrymen in abject terror. Taking advantage of parental love, a favourite plan of the blackmailers is to employ the threat of kidnapping or stealing children, and, as in other instances, the threat is not an idle one by any means. The resort to the bomb and other infernal machines shows that the band cares little for human life in accomplishing its purpose, and apparently has no objection to wholesale murder. New Orleans was also the site of the first major Mafia incident in the USA. On October 15, 1890, New Orleans Police Superintendent David Hennessey was murdered execution-style. Hundreds of Sicilians were arrested, and 19 were eventually indicted for the murder. An acquittal generated rumors of widespread bribery and intimidated witnesses. Outraged citizens of New Orleans organized a lynch mob and killed 11 of the 19 defendants. Two were hanged, nine were shot, and the remaining eight escaped. The American Mafia has evolved over the years as various gangs assumedand lostdominance over the years: the Black Hand gangs around 1900; the Five Points Gang in the 1910s and 20s in New York City; Al Capones Syndicate in Chicago in the 1920s. By the end of the 20s, two primary factions had emerged, leading to a war for control of organized crime in New York City. The murder of faction leader Joseph Masseria brought an end to the gang warfare, and the two groups united to form the organization now dubbed La Cosa Nostra. It was not a peaceful beginning: Salvatore Maranzano, the first leader of La Cosa Nostra, was murdered within six months. Charles Lucky Luciano became the new leader. Maranzano had established the La Cosa Nostra code of conduct, set up the family divisions and structure, and established procedures for resolving disputes. Luciano set up the Commission to rule all La Cosa Nostra activities. The Commission included bosses from six or seven families. Luciano was deported back to Italy in 1946 based on his conviction for operating a prostitution ring. There, he became a liaison between the Sicilian Mafia and La Cosa Nostra. Other Historical Highlights: 1951: A U.S. Senate committee led by Democrat Estes Kefauver of Tennessee determined that a sinister criminal organization known as the Mafia operated in this nation. 1957: The New York State Police uncovered a meeting of major LCN figures from around the country in the small upstate New York town of Apalachin. Many of the attendees were arrested. The event was the catalyst that changed the way law enforcement battles organized crime. 1963: Joseph Valachi became the first La Cosa Nostra member to provide a detailed looked inside the organization. Recruited by FBI agents, Valachi revealed to a U.S. Senate committee numerous secrets of the organization, including its name, structure, power bases, codes, swearing-in ceremony, and members of the organization. Today, La Cosa Nostra is involved in a broad spectrum of illegal activities: murder, extortion, drug trafficking, corruption of public officials, gambling, infiltration of legitimate businesses, labor racketeering, loan sharking, prostitution, pornography, tax-fraud schemes, and stock manipulation schemes. The Genovese Crime Family Named after legendary boss Vito Genovese, the Genovese crime family was once considered the most powerful organized crime family in the nation. Members and their numerous associates engaged in drug trafficking, murder, assault, gambling, extortion, loansharking, labor racketeering, money laundering, arson, gasoline bootlegging, and infiltration of legitimate businesses. Genovese family members are also involved in stock market manipulation and other illegal frauds and schemes as evidenced by the recent FBI investigation code named Mobstocks. The Genovese crime family has its roots in the Italian criminal groups in New York controlled by Joseph Masseria in the 1920s. The family history is rife with murder, violence, and greed. Early History Masseria and Maranzano Masseria sparked the so-called Castellammarese War in 1928 when he tried to gain control of organized crime across the country. The war ended in 1931 when Salvatore Maranzano conspired with Masserias top soldier, Charles Lucky Luciano, to have Masseria killed. Maranzano emerged as the most powerful Mafia boss in the nation, setting up five separate criminal groups in New York and calling himself Boss of Bosses. Two of the most powerful La Cosa Nostra families known today as the Genovese and Gambino families emerged from Maranzanos restructuring efforts. Maranzano named Luciano the first boss of what would later be known as the Genovese family. Luciano showed his appreciation less than five months later by sending five men dressed as police officers to Maranzanos office to murder him. Luciano, Costello, and Genovese With Maranzano out of the way, Luciano become the most powerful Mafia boss in America and used his position to run La Cosa Nostra like a major corporation. He set up the LCN Commission, or ruling body, composed of seven bosses, and divided the different rackets among the families. In 1936, Luciano was sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison. Ten years later, he was released from prison and deported to Italy, never to return. When he was convicted, Frank Costello became acting boss because Genovese then just an underboss had fled to Italy to avoid a murder charge. His return to the states was cleared when a key witness against him was poisoned and the charges were dropped. Costello led the family for approximately 20 years until May of 1957 when Genovese took control by sending soldier Vincent the Chin Gigante to murder him. Costello survived the attack but relinquished control of the family to Genovese. Attempted murder charges against Gigante were dismissed when Costello refused to identify him as the shooter. In 1959, it was Genoveses turn to go to prison following a conviction of conspiracy to violate narcotics laws. He received a 15-year sentence but continued to run the family through his underlings from his prison cell in Atlanta, Georgia. Valachi Sings About this time, Joseph Valachi, a made man, was sent to the same prison as Genovese on a narcotics conviction. Labeled an informer, Valachi survived three attempts on his life behind bars. Still in prison in 1962, he killed a man he thought Genovese had sent to kill him. He was sentenced to life for the murder. The sentencing was a turning point for Valachi, who decided to cooperate with the U.S. government. On September 27, 1963, he appeared before the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and testified that he was a member of a secret criminal society in the U.S. known as La Cosa Nostra. In 1969, several years after Valachi began cooperating with the FBI, Vito Genovese died in his prison cell. By then the Genovese family was under the control of Philip Benny Squint Lombardo. Unlike the bosses before him, Lombardo preferred to rule behind his underboss. His first, Thomas Eboli, was murdered in 1972. Lombardo promoted Frank Funzi Tieri, and later Anthony Fat Tony Salerno as his front men. Throughout the 1980s, the Genovese family hierarchy went through several changes. Tieri, recognized on the street as the Genovese family boss in the late 1970s, was convicted for operating a criminal organization through a pattern of racketeering that included murder and extortion. Salerno then fronted as boss until he had stroke in 1981. In 1985, Salerno and the bosses of the other four New York families were convicted for operating a criminal enterprisethe LCN Commission. Lombardo, his two captains in prison and his health failing, turned full control of the Genovese family over to Gigantethe man who tried to kill Costello 30 years earlier. Fish on the Hook In 1986, a second member turned against the Genovese family when Vincent Fish Cafaro, a soldier and right-hand-man to Anthony Salerno, decided to cooperate with the FBI and testify. According to Cafaros sworn statement, Gigante ran the family from behind the scenes while pretending to be mentally ill. Cafaro said this behavior helped further insulate Gigante from authorities while he ran the Genovese familys criminal activities. Gigantes odd behavior and mumbling while he walked around New Yorks East Village in a bathrobe earned him the nickname the Odd Father. After an FBI investigation, Gigante was convicted of racketeering and murder conspiracy in December 1997 and sentenced to 12 years. Another FBI investigation led to his indictment on January 17, 2002, accusing him of continuing to run the Genovese family from prison. He pled guilty to obstruction of justice in 2003. Gigante died in prison in December 2005 in the same federal hospital where Gambino family leader John Gotti had died in 2002. Labor Racketeering Labor racketeering is the domination, manipulation, and control of a labor movement in order to affect related businesses and industries. It can lead to the denial of workers rights and inflicts an economic loss on the workers, business, industry, insurer, or consumer. The historical involvement of La Cosa Nostra in labor racketeering has been thoroughly documented: More than one-third of the 58 members arrested in 1957 at the Apalachin conference in New York listed their employment as labor or labor-management relations. Three major U.S. Senate investigations have documented La Cosa Nostras involvement in labor racketeering. One of these, the McClellan Committee, in the late-1950s, found systemic racketeering in both the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union. In 1986, the Presidents Council on Organized Crime reported that five major unionsincluding the Teamsters and the Laborers International Union of North Americawere dominated by organized crime. In the early 1980s, former Gambino Family Boss Paul Castellano was overheard saying, Our job is to run the unions. Labor racketeering has become one of La Cosa Nostras fundamental sources of profit, national power, and influence. FBI investigations over the years have clearly demonstrated that labor racketeering costs the American public millions of dollars each year through increased labor costs that are eventually passed on to consumers. Labor unions provide a rich source for organized criminal groups to exploit: their pension, welfare, and health funds. There are approximately 75,000 union locals in the U.S., and many of them maintain their own benefit funds. In the mid-1980s, the Teamsters controlled more than 1,000 funds with total assets of more than $9 billion. Labor racketeers attempt to control health, welfare, and pension plans by offering sweetheart contracts, peaceful labor relations, and relaxed work rules to companies, or by rigging union elections. Labor law violations occur primarily in large cities with both a strong industrial base and strong labor unions, like New York, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. These cities also have a large presence of organized crime figures. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) The US Government has several investigative techniques to root out labor law violations: electronic surveillance, undercover operations, confidential sources, and victim interviews. It also has numerous criminal and civil statutes to use at our disposal, primarily through the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Statute. The civil provisions of the RICO statute have proven to be very powerful weapons, especially the consent decrees. They are often more productive because they attack the entire corrupt entity instead of imprisoning individuals, who can easily be replaced with other organized crime members or associates. Consent decrees are most effective when there is long-term, systemic corruption at virtually every level of a labor union by criminal organizations. A civil RICO complaint and subsequent consent decree can restore democracy to a corrupt union by imposing civil remedies designed to eliminate such corruption and deter its re-emergence. The Teamsters are the best example of how efficiently the civil RICO process can be used. For decades, the Teamsters has been substantially controlled by La Cosa Nostra. In recent years, four of eight Teamster presidents were indicted, yet the union continued to be controlled by organized crime elements. The government has been fairly successful at removing the extensive criminal influence from this 1.4 million-member union by using the civil process. Chris Christie Tino Fiumara, the brother of Chris Christie's aunts husband, was a ranking member of the Genovese crime family. Tino was twice convicted of racketeering, sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, and linked by investigators to several grisly murders, including one in which a victim was strangled with piano wire. Christie says that as United States attorney he was tough on organized crime, but it did not rank as high as public corruption, terrorism, violent street gangs or human trafficking. And he said he stands by a 2007 remark that the Mafia is much more prominent on HBO than in New Jersey. By 2009 Fiumara sat on a the three-man committee that ran the Genovese family following the death of Vincent Gigante in 2005. Tino (the Greek) Fiumara died in 2010 of pancreatic cancer. The Christie crew engaged in a mafia-esque episode for four days in September 2013, abrupt and unexpected lane closures on the George Washington Bridge - that links New Jersey to New York City and carried some 300,000 vehicles on a typical day - brought traffic to a standstill. Christie denied charges he or his team ordered the closing to punish Democratic Mayor Mark Sokolich of Fort Lee, New Jersey for refusing to support his bid for reelection. But e-mails from one of the governors aides confirmed his teams involvement. The governor said he did not know. At least two aides have been indicted in the alleged scheme to shut down lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge as political retribution for a mayor who refused to endorse the governor's re-election. Mayor Dawn Zimmer of Hoboken said the Christie administration was prepared to deny Hoboken Sandy relief aid if she didnt favor a redevelopment project represented by David Samson, Chairman of the Port Authority and a close confidante of Governor Christie. Had Zimmer succumbed to the pressure, Samsons law firm could ultimately have made millions of dollars in legal fees. On February 26, 2016 Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump won the endorsement of one of his formal rivals, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who said Trump had the best chance to win the November election. Meg Whitman, who served in the role of National Finance Co-Chair for Christie's campaign, said "Chris Christie's endorsement of Donald Trump is an astonishing display of political opportunism. Donald Trump is unfit to be President. He is a dishonest demagogue who plays to our worst fears. Trump would take America on a dangerous journey. Christie knows all that and indicated as much many times publicly. The Governor is mistaken if he believes he can now count on my support, and I call on Christie's donors and supporters to reject the Governor and Donald Trump outright. I believe they will. For some of us, principle and country still matter." Donald Trump Real-estate mogul Donald Trump has long faced allegations of connections to the mob. Trump joined his dads real estate business in his 20s, giving him a multitude of contacts ranging from political and real estate power brokers to mob connections. Trump's father, Fred Trump, was reportedly worth $200-$400 million when he died. James Tomasello was the bricklayer contractor on one of Fred Trump's early projects. Tomasello was a source capital for Trump, and the source of that capital was something Trump didn't inquire about too closely. According to the Organized Crime Task Force in the 1950s, a complex web of relationships linked Tomasello to the Gambino and Genovese crime families. Prior to joining Trump, William Willie Tomasello had partnered with figures in the Genovese and Gambino crime families in a number of real estate developments in New York and Florida. Trump's alleged ties to New York and Philadelphia crime families go back decades and have been recounted in a book, newspapers and government records. "The mob connections of Donald are extraordinarily extensive," New York investigative journalist Wayne Barrett told CNN in an interview. In the 1980s and early 1990s organized crime' ties to the New York and New Jersey construction industries made contact between developers and mafia-controlled companies unavoidable. Writing in the Washington Post October 16, 2015, Robert O'Harrow Jr. noted "No serious presidential candidate has ever had Trumps depth of documented business relationships with mob-controlled entities. ... Throughout his early career, Trump routinely gave large campaign contributions to politicians who held sway over his projects, and he worked with mob-controlled companies and unions to build them... He was never accused of illegality, and observers of the time say that working with the mob-related figures and politicos came with the territory." Trump bought the property that his Atlantic City casino Trump Plaza would one day occupy -- for twice market price -- from Salvatore Testa, a Philly mobster and son of Philip Chicken Man Testa, who was briefly head of the Philly mob after Angelo Brunos 1980 killing. Trump used the mob-controlled concrete company S&A Concrete to build Trump Plaza condos. Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, head of the Genovese crime family, and Paul Castellano, the don of New York's Gambino family, controlled S&A. The Trump Tower was built out of concrete, instead of steel - the mafia controlled much the concrete industry. Trump and Salerno were both represented by high-power attorney Roy Cohn. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Organized Crime Belarus, Chechnya and Russia are virtual "mafia states" and Ukraine is going to be one. For each of those countries, one cannot differentiate between the activities of the government and organized crime groups. Economic influence, sooner or later always reaches political power. a key factor in a government's ability to combat OC depends on the extent to which the country's best attorneys and law firms represent the mafia. The vory v zakone do not engage in racketeering and murder, preferring to distance themselves from this activity and focus on crimes that are further up in the hierarchy, such as corruption of high-level ministers. The level of power that vory v zakone operate at is indicated by their level of interaction with these public servants, because cabinet-level officials do not spend time with unimportant people and cannot be tempted by those who do not have something important to offer. Whereas terrorists aim to substitute the essence of the state itself, organized crime [OC] seeks to be a complement to state structures. The Governmetn of Russia [GOR] strategy is to use OC groups to do whatever the GOR cannot acceptably do as a government. As an example, Kalashov worked for Russian military intelligence to sell weapons to the Kurds to destabilize Turkey. The GOR takes the relationship with OC leaders even further by granting them the privileges of politics, in order to grant them immunity from racketeering charges. Putins power is founded on his links to organised crime. Putin has a close circle of criminal oligarchs at his disposal and has spent his career cultivating this circle. Karen Dawishas book, "Putins Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia" documents how during Putin's time as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg he was alleged to be was involved with the local Mafia, ex-KGB apparatchiks and bureaucrats in schemes involving the diversion of municipal funds, illegal arms shipments, the food shortage scandal of 1991, the local gambling industry, and money laundering for the Cali drug cartel through the Real Estate Board of St. Petersburg. Gennady Petrov is believed to be the head of a prominent ring known as the Tambov organized-crime group, and is alleged to have ties to Putin and members of Putin's inner circle that stretch back to their days in St. Petersburg. Petrov got his start as a co-owner of the Bank Rossia in 1998-99, together with close Putin friends Nikolai Shamalov, Viktor Myachin, and Yury Kovalchuk. All three were founding members of the Ozero collective, which was formed in 1996 and included Putin. Petrov used Spain as a base to carry out criminal activities mainly in Russia, including murder, arms trafficking, drug smuggling, extortion and fraud. Petrov was arrested during a raid on his villa in Majorca in 2008 in a sweep that also netted 20 other suspected members of the Spanish branch of the Tambov gang. In a surprise move, Spanish judges granted bail to Petrov, who was out on house arrest as of January 31, 2010. He was later allowed to travel to Russia and has been living peacefully in St. Petersburg ever since. Russia doesnt allow the extradition of its citizens, and Spain doesnt try people in absentia. A 488-page petition to the Central Court in Madrid filed in 29 May 2015 was the product of a decade of investigations into Russian organized crime during the Putin era. It depicts they links between the criminal enterprise and top law-enforcement officials and policy makers in Moscow, including some of Vladimir Putins closest allies - Viktor Zubkov, the chairman of gas exporter Gazprom who was prime minister and first deputy premier from 2007 to 2012, and Zubkovs son-in-law, former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. In the mid-1990s several vory v zakone began to enter Spain. Since 2004 Spanish prosecutors have created a formal strategy to "behead" the Russian mafia in Spain. This has been a top-down strategy done through extensive investigations of criminal actions by these vory v zakone living in Spain. These individuals have no known jobs and unknown sources of income, yet they live in large mansions. Spanish prosecutors have concluded that money-laundering is likely involved and the challenge has been how to prove this. Spain's longtime experience in fighting drug traffickers' use of money laundering has proven valuable in this regard. The term "Eurasian mafia" is more socially acceptable and what the Russians certainly prefer. The term Russian mafia can be a misnomer since these criminal groups sometimes involve Ukrainians, Georgians, Belarusians or Chechens. There is a stigma surrounding the phrase "Russian mafia", but it is acceptable to say "Sicilian mafia." The Thieves-in-Law (a.k.a. KANONIERI KURDEBI; a.k.a. KANONIERI QURDEBI; a.k.a. KANONIERI QURDI; a.k.a. RAMKIANI QURDEBI; a.k.a. RAMKIANI QURDI; a.k.a. SINIE; a.k.a. THIEF-IN-LAW; a.k.a. THIEVES PROFESSING THE CODE; a.k.a. THIEVES-WITHIN-THE-LAW; a.k.a. VOR V ZAKONYE; a.k.a. VOR-V-ZAKONE a.k.a. VORY V ZAKONI; a.k.a. VORY V ZAKONYE; a.k.a. VORY-V-ZAKONE; a.k.a. VOR-ZAKONNIK; a.k.a. ZAKONNIK , United States; Russia; Greece; Ukraine; Spain [TCO] is a Eurasian crime syndicate that has been linked to a long list of illicit activity across the globe. The Thieves-in-Law originated in Stalinist prison camps. Its members are initiated or crowned after demonstrating an ideal criminal biography and take an oath to uphold a code that includes living exclusively off their criminal profits and supporting other Thieves-in-Law. Gatherings of Thieves-in-Law are called skhodka, during which decisions are made on issues, such as specific criminal activity, redistribution of criminal spheres of interest, responses to law enforcement operations, crowning of new Thieves-in-Law, and punishment of those who violate Thieves-in-Law traditions and customs. Law enforcement in various countries have attempted to break up such gatherings in order to prevent Thieves-in-Law from coordinating activities by raiding them and detaining the participants. The Thieves-in-Law has grown into a vast criminal organization which has spread throughout the former Soviet Union, Europe, and the United States, engaging in a variety of crimes, such as money laundering, extortion, bribery, and robbery. These criminals and their activities within the United States have become a target for U.S. law enforcement. In 1995, a Thief-in-Law was arrested in New York and later deported to Russia after serving a nine-year sentence on extortion charges; another Thief-in-Law was sentenced to three years in prison in 2013 after pleading guilty in Manhattan to a racketeering conspiracy. As recently as this year, U.S. law enforcement indicted over two dozen people, including a Thief-in-Law, for their involvement in crimes including acts of violence, fraud, identity theft, and trafficking in stolen goods. There are two reasons to worry about the Russian mafia. First, it exercises tremendous control over certain strategic sectors of the global economy, such as aluminum. The US has a strategic problem in that the Russian mafia is suspected of having a sizable investment in General Motors via its interest in Canadian auto parts maker Magna International. The second reason is the unanswered question regarding the extent to which Putin is implicated in the Russian mafia and whether he controls the mafia's actions. Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian intelligence official who worked on OC issues before he died in late 2006 in London from poisoning under mysterious circumstances, that the Russian intelligence and security services - Grinda cited the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), and military intelligence (GRU) - control OC in Russia. By 2010 the FSB was "absorbing" the Russian mafia but they can also "eliminate" them in two ways: by killing OC leaders who do not do what the security services want them to do or by putting them behind bars to eliminate them as a competitor for influence. The crimelords can also be put in jail for their own protection. Certain political parties in Russia operate "hand in hand" with OC. For example, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was created by the KGB and its successor, the SVR, and is home to many serious criminals. Grinda further alleged that there are proven ties between the Russian political parties, organized crime and arms trafficking. Some cite the strange case of the "Arctic Sea" ship in mid-2009 as "a clear example" of arms trafficking. The threat and use of violence is a defining characteristic of Russian organized crime. Violence is used to gain and maintain control of criminal markets, and retributive violence is used within and between criminal groups. The common use of violence is not surprising since extortion and protection rackets are such a staple of Russian criminal activity. ROC had relatively little or no involvement in some of the more traditional crimes of US organized crime, such as drug trafficking, gambling, loan sharking, etc. On the other hand, these varied criminal groups are extensively engaged in a broad array of frauds and scams [of teh sort they perferctd in the Soviet Union during the Period of Stagnation], including health care fraud, insurance scams, stock frauds, antiquities swindles, forgery and gasoline tax evasion schemes. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the world became the target of a new global crime threat from criminal organizations and criminal activities that have poured forth over the borders of Russia and other former Soviet republics such as Ukraine. The nature and variety of the crimes being committed seems unlimiteddrugs, arms trafficking, stolen automobiles, trafficking in women and children, and money laundering are among the most prevalent. The spillover was particularly troubling to Europe (and especially Eastern Europe) because of its geographical proximity to Russia, and to Israel, because of its large numbers of Russian immigrants. But no area of the world seems immune to this menace, especially not the United States. America is the land of opportunity for unloading criminal goods and laundering dirty money. The transnational character of Russian organized crime, when coupled with its high degree of sophistication and ruthlessness, attracted the worlds attention and concern. The privatization of state property that began in Russia in 1992 when public property began to be sold to private investors both expanded and solidified the complex relationship that had developed between the state and organized crime. Because of its connections to officialdom and to the shadow economy, organized crime took part in what has become the enormously lucrative scheme of privatization. As a result, the assets controlled by organized crime give it enormous economic power, and hence political power as well. These assets enable criminal organizations (in various guises) to deal directly with the stateon behalf of their own economic interests from a position of parity. Organized crime in Russia uses legal businesses as fronts for illegal activities and for setting up illegal product lines. It creates political clans to exercise political power and seeks to create and regulate markets to exercise economic power. Russian criminals make extensive use of the state governmental apparatus to protect and promote their criminal activities. For example, most businesses in Russialegal, quasi-legal, and illegalmust operate with the protection of a krysha (roof). The protection is often provided by police or security officials employed outside their official capacities for this purpose. In other cases, officials are silent partners in criminal enterprises that they, in turn, protect. Through networks of financial-industrial groups or holding companies, central and regional organized crime groups penetrate into each others territory, where they struggled for political and economic spheres of influence. The expansion of organized crime in Moscow, for example, occurred through buying real estate, and through gaining controlling shares of banks and other enterprises. These crime groups, in turn, bought up controlling shares in various regional banks and enterprises on a broader regional level outside of Moscow. Because of the proliferation of groups, there is not a specific organizational structure that can be delineated as if it described one criminal organization. Even the characterization "Russian" is used generically to refer to a variety of Eurasian crime groups - many of which are not Russian. Among the active criminals in the U.S. are Armenians, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, and persons from the Caucasus region of the former Soviet Union (Chechens, Dagestanis, and Georgians). The media and law enforcement call these groups various names - Russian mafia, Russian mob, Organizatsya, Bor, Bratva, etc. Some of the group names refer to geographical locations in Russia - Izmailovskaya, Dagestantsy, Kazanskaya, and Solntsenskaya. The latter are indicative of the local geographically defined roots of some Russian crime groups. It was estimated in 2007 that approximately 15 of these loosely categorized criminal groups were operating in the United States, and that 8 or 9 of them maintain links to Russia. The estimated membership of those groups is 5 - 6,000 members. To put these estimates into context, a June 2000 report published by the Global Organized Crime Project of Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies ("Russian Organized Crime: Putin's Challenge") estimated that 200 large ROC groups were operating in 58 countries worldwide, including the United States. Donald Trump To all evidence, Donald Trump is the Manchurian Candidate. Trump has a variety of prior connections with Russian interests. He has said strangely friendly things about Russia, and early on in 2015 the Russians had clearly endorsed him as their preferred candidate. The term Manchurian Candidate has evolved into common day political usage to refer to someone who is secretly working for an opposing hostile interest. Salman Rushdie proposed on the HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher a theory he had heard that Republican campaigner Donald Trump is in fact a manchurian candidate, planted by the Democrats to split apart the Republican Party. A number of other pundits and think-piece artists have minded the same vein of pop-culture reference, but none agree precisely how Trump fulfilled that role. Starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, and Angela Lansbury, The Manchurian Candidate [United Artists, 1962] is a bleak, mordant spy thriller. A US Army platoon, captured in the Korean conflict, is whisked to Manchuria for three nightmarish days of brainwashing. Returned to the United States as war heroes, one of them - Raymond Shaw, with a Medal of Honor - is used by his mother and the Communists to promote her Joe McCarthy-like husband's political career. Raymonds trigger mechanism is the Queen of Diamonds. The Denzel Washington version of the Manchurian Candidate [Paramount, c2004] is an homage to the first verion. During the first Gulf War, Sergeant Raymond Shaw saves his fellow soldiers. Using the incident for political gain, Shaw eventually becomes a vice-presidential nominee, for the the Manchurian Global corporation. Human rights lawyer Scott Horton reported "Among the powerful facts that DNI missed were a series of very deep studies published in the [Financial Times] that examined the structure and history of several major Trump real estate projects from the last decadethe period after his seventh bankruptcy and the cancellation of all his bank lines of credit. ... The money to build these projects flowed almost entirely from Russian sources. In other words, after his business crashed, Trump was floated and made to appear to operate a successful business enterprise through the infusion of hundreds in millions of cash from dark Russian sources. He was their man. "... his real estate deals were used to hide not just an infusion of capital from Russia and former Soviet states, but to launder hundreds of millions looted by oligarchs. All Trump had to do was close his eyes to the source of the money, and suddenly empty apartments were going for top dollar.... real estate has an arbitrary value. Is that apartment worth $1 million? Two million? Why not $3 million for a buyer who really wants it? When the whole transaction is just one LLC with undisclosed ownership paying another LLC with undisclosed ownership, its even neater than hiding the money in an offshore account." Donald Trump used the mob-controlled concrete company S&A Concrete to build Trump Plaza condos. The company used underpaid undocumented Polish workers, most of whom entered the country illegally, lacked hard hats, and slept on the site. Trump avoided labor troubles, like picketing and strikes, and job safety inspections. But Trump and his associates were found guilty in 1991 of conspiring to avoid paying pension and welfare fund contributions. Michael Cohen joined the Trump Organization in 2006, and eventually became Trump's personal lawyer, a role once occupied by Roy Cohn, Senator Joseph McCarthy's heavy-lidded hatchet man. Glenn Simpson, the private investigator who was hired to examine Trump's Russia connections during the 2016 election, testified in November 2017 before the House Intelligence Committee that Cohen "had a lot of connections to the former Soviet Union, and that he seemed to have associations with organized crime figures in New York and Florida Russian organized crime figures". During the 2016 campaign, "One of the things that we learned that caught my interest," Simpson testified, "serious questions about Donald Trump's activities in Russia and the former Soviet Union went to Michael Cohen, and that he was the only person who had information on that subject or was in a position to answer those questions." Cohen was involved in the negotiation of Trump Organization business deals with oligarchs in Russia and Kazakhstan. Before he connected with Trump, Cohen had family ties to the Russian underworld. His uncle, Morton Levine, ran the El Caribe Country Club, a Brooklyn "social club" that was a popular watering hole for Italian and Russian gangsters in the 1980s and 1990s. Cohen and his siblings all had ownership stakes in the club. The club also served as the headquarters of Boris Nayfeld, once the most feared Russian crime boss in the US (though Levine himself was never accused of wrongdoing.) Cohen was a longtime friend of Trump business associate Felix Sater, who pleaded guilty to his involvement in a money-laundering scheme with the Russian mob before helping develop the Trump SoHo hotel. According to the FBI, Saters father was a right-hand man of Russian mafia chieftain Semion Mogilevich, considered to be the boss of bosses overseeing Russian organized crime worldwide. The relationship beteen Donald Trump and Felix Sater represented a rather direct link between the presidential candidate and Russian Organized Crime. The Russian emigre a twice-convicted felon with ties to the Mafia appeared in photos with Trump, and carried a Trump Organization business card with the title Senior Advisor to Donald Trump. Trump confused when asked under oath in a 2013 about his relationship to the Russian emigre. Sater served prison time for a grisly 1991 assault at the El Rio Grande restaurant and bar in New York. According to court documents, Sater allegedly told a man at the bar, Ill kill you. Ill rip your f****** head off and stick it down your throat. Sater then allegedly grabbed a frozen margarita from the bar, flung the contents in the air, smashed the glass on the bar, and stabbed the man in the cheek and neck, breaking his cheek and jaw, lacerating face and neck and severing nerves. He was convicted of first degree assault. Sater emailed Cohen in November 2015. "I will get Putin on this program and we will get Donald elected. We both know no one else knows how to pull this off without stupidity or greed getting in the way. I know how to play it and we will get this done. Buddy our boy can become President of the USA and we can engineer. I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this." Bayrock Group LLC was a real estate development firm that partnered with Trump on numerous projects after renting office space from the Trump Organization. Sater is a top Bayrock executive in the Bayrock Group, which is headquartered in Trump Tower. The founding chairman of Bayrock is Tevfik Arif, who has reputed Russian organized crime ties. In 2010 he was charged in Turkey for smuggling underage girls into the country for prostitution. Another principal in the deal is Russian emigre Tamir Sapir, who also lives in Trump Tower. Sapirs executive vice president and top aide, Fred Contini, pled guilty in 2004 to participating in a racketeering conspiracy with the Gambino crime family for 13 years. Sater pled guilty in 1998 to one count of racketeering for his role in a $40 million stock fraud scheme involving the Genovese and Bonanno crime families. The connection to Felix Sater dated to the early 2000s. After Sater's criminal history and past ties to organized crime came to light in 2007, Trump distanced himself from Sater. Less than three years later, Trump tapped Sater for a business development role that came with the title of senior adviser to Donald Trump. Donald J. Trumps Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, FL, describes itself as one of the most highly regarded private clubs in the world. In all but a handful of cases, Mar-a-Lago sought to fill the jobs with hundreds of foreign guest workers from Romania and other countries. Trump uses a recruiter based in upstate New York, Peter Petrina, to find foreign workers for his resorts, golf clubs and vineyard. Petrina is of Romanian descent and has an office in Romania. Trump pursued more than 500 visas for foreign workers at Mar-a-Lago since 2010, while hundreds of domestic applicants failed to get the same jobs. Guest workers can be attractive to employers because they are essentially a captive work force, since they can work only for the company that sponsored the visa. Louise I. Shelley presciently noted in 1999 that " ... the increasing wealth and power of transnational organized crime groups has the potential to undermine even the strongest democracies and impede the transition to democracy in transitional countries. The coordinated international effort needed to combat transnational organized crime does not presently exist. This situation may usher in a new form of authoritarianism with severe long-term consequences for much of the world's citizenry." In an interview Sunday with ABCs This Week, Trump commended campaign manager Corey Lewandowski for his spirit after the aide was caught on camera grabbing a protester by the collar at a weekend rally in Arizona. In Redstate, streiff wrote on 22 March 2016 that "This kind of vicious, suck-up-kick-down toady is attracted to Trump the way lint is attracted to Velcro. ... This is a warning about the people a Trump administration would attract and the way a Trump administration would operate. This is your preview of a Trump administration." Sunny Isles Beach condominium towers drew in new moneyed Russians all too eager to pay millions. Kenneth McCallion, a former prosecutor who tracked the flows of Russian criminal money into Trump's properties, told Seth Hettena, "Trump's genius or evil genius was, instead of Russian criminal money being passive, incidental income, it became a central part of his business plan." McCallion continued, "It's not called 'Little Moscow' for nothing. The street signs are in Russian. But his towers there were built specifically for the Russian middle-class criminal." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Al-Qaida Recruitment in Syria May Jump by Jamie Dettmer March 01, 2016 Rebel commanders and opposition activists are warning that jihadist recruitment of Syrian fighters is likely to jump in the coming months because of the collapse of some moderate militias and a shake-up of others in the wake of a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive in northern Syria. But it is not Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's Islamic State that will benefit the most, but al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, they warn. Al-Nusra has pursued a stealthier approach in Syria than its jihadist rival, alternately intermingling with other rebel militias and assisting them when more is to be gained or turning on them and seeking to dominate when circumstances change. With the majority of Jabhat al-Nusra's fighters being Syrian analysts estimate only about 20 percent of the group's fighters are from overseas the group has appeared less alien than IS and more rooted in the country. Battlefield effectiveness Jabhat al-Nusra and ally Ahrar al-Sham, a hardline Islamist faction al-Qaida veterans were instrumental in forming, have legitimacy among Syrian rebels, not so much for ideological reasons but because of their effectiveness on the battlefield, say rebel commanders. Jabhat al-Nusra is being seen by rebel fighters as the best vehicle to continue the fight against President Bashar al-Assad and his foreign Shi'ite allies from Iran and Lebanon. "Many fighters already furious with the West for its passivity in the face of the Russian airstrikes and Assad offensive will feel they have no other option but to join with the jihadists," says Bassam al-Kuwaitli, a well-known figure in political opposition circles. "They will follow the money and join who can supply them with arms," he laments. Al-Qaida's affiliate is expanding geographically, sending fighters back into Aleppo a year-and-half after it withdrew from the city to focus on building control of neighboring Idlib province as a counter to the Islamic State's presence in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor. Redeployment into Aleppo The redeployment back into Aleppo came as the Russian-backed Assad offensive unfolded last month in northern Syria. Al-Nusra fighters set up checkpoints to protect larger incoming conveys. The group also expropriated several large buildings and warehouses in rebel-held districts of Aleppo for use as offices and barracks. Political activists quickly raised an alarm about the large presence of al-Nusra fighters, arguing it would make more sense to have them on the outskirts of the city if they were there to combat the Assad offensive in the suburbs of Aleppo. Anger beyond borders Al-Nusra's rejection of a proposal by moderate rebels and Islamic nationalists for a unified police force to be formed in Aleppo also prompted concern and fears the al-Qaida affiliate will impose its will on rebel-held districts, helped by the rising bitterness among Syrian rebel factions and civilians directed at the West for not confronting Assad and his allies, the Russians. The anger can be heard in southern Turkish border towns. "The Americans, the Russians, the regime, they are all responsible for the deaths, for the killing of Syrians," said Mustafa, a refugee in Kilis. His words were greeted with vigorous nods by a small crowd of Syrians. In a joint study issued last month by the Institute for the Study of War and the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, both Washington-based research organizations, analysts warned Western powers "must alter the popular narrative that the West has abandoned the Syrian Sunni Arabs in favor of Iran, Assad, and Russia." In search of a strategy In the report, "Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS: Sources of Strength," the analysts concluded, "Identifying means of separating Jabhat al-Nusra from the opposition in order to destroy it is the most difficult intellectual task in developing a strategy for Syria.' Developing such a strategy and countering al-Nusra is not being helped by the Assad government or the Russians. The targeting of al-Nusra, which has been excluded from the shaky U.N.-mediated cessation of hostilities, is building up even more sympathy among rebel fighters for al-Qaida's affiliate, cautions Nader Othman, deputy prime minister in the opposition's Syrian Interim Government. "The Assad offensive has damaged the moderates, and more fighters will move over to al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham," he says. "This is the logical result. Only five percent of Russian airstrikes were on ISIS, most were on us, the moderate rebels. And the regime's idea was to demolish the moderate alternative to the regime." "People will keep on fighting, but we should worry about where the fighters whose militias collapse will go," he adds. "There is huge danger," says a Turkey-based European diplomat. "This war is going to become more terrorist-based, more of an underground fight. Many more fighters are going to become highly radicalized and we are going to be seen as much the enemy as Assad." "They feel the world is against them and they will lash out," he adds. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China to conduct more than 20 satellite launches in 2016 People's Daily Online By Yuan Can (People's Daily Online) 14:56, February 29, 2016 The year 2016 is a big year for China's aerospace industry, as several rockets will be sent into space, including Tiangong-2, an orbiting space lab and Shenzhou-11, a manned spacecraft with two people on board. Two new types of rockets will be launched in 2016. Long March-7, scheduled to be launched in June, will put the country's first cargo ship, Tianzhou-1, into space in the first half of 2017 to dock with Tiangong-2 and conduct experiments. Furthermore, Long March-5 is slotted to be sent into space in September of this year. This type of rocket has the largest carrying capacity among the new generation of rockets in China, with a maximum payload capacity of 25 tons to low Earth orbit and 14 tons to geosynchronous transfer orbit. Both of the launches will take place at the newly constructed Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in south China's Hainan province. In addition, China will send several experimental satellites into space in 2016. China's retrievable Shijian-10 satellite will be launched in April at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. China will also send a Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope, an X-ray space observatory, and a quantum communication satellite. China plans to launch its first ever carbon-tracking satellite into space in August. According to a staff member from China's Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, China plans to conduct more than 20 satellite launch missions in 2016, which positions China to exceed U.S. launches. Among them, a total of 15 launches are significant projects or first flights. China launched the first of a new generation of navigation satellites for its BeiDou navigation system in 2015. The next of these satellites is set to be launched this year. Gaofen-3 satellite, a Chinese civilian remote sensing satellite, will also be sent into space in 2016. In addition, China sent a Belarusian communications satellite into space, and will also help the country with its commercial sensing satellites. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China's Y-20 to be put into military use in 2016, experts say People's Daily Online By Yuan Can (People's Daily Online) 16:56, February 29, 2016 China's own domestically built military cargo jet, Y-20, will likely be put into service in the army this year, a military expert said in an interview with People's Daily Online. According to Xu Yongling, a military expert, the test flight period for large aircraft is generally between three and five years. Since there have been no bottlenecks during development or manufacturing, the Y-20 will be put into use this year. The first flight of the Y-20 took place in 2013, making China the fourth country in the world, following the U.S., Russia and Ukraine, to develop a 200-ton military cargo jet. 'This is not only progress for China's national defense industry, but also a milestone of industrial and military modernization,' Xu said. The official code name of the aircraft is Kunpeng, after the mythical bird of ancient China that can fly for thousands of kilometers. However, within the Chinese aviation industry, the aircraft is more commonly known by its nickname, Chubby Girl, named by military fans for its relatively wide fuselage. Military expert Chen Hong said in an interview with People's Daily Online that the carrying capacity of the Y-20, around 60 tons, is higher than that of Russia's Ilyushin Il-76, a multi-purpose four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter. The Y-20's engine, aerodynamic arrangement and combat performance are all better than those of the Russian aircraft. The cargo jet can be used to refit significant special operations platforms, as it has a long flying period and flying distance. The Y-20 is also a good choice for maritime detection and early warning, according to Chen. As for future military developments, airborne transportation depends not only on the Y-20, but also on other military cargo jets, which China may develop in the next five to ten years, according to Xu. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China Arms Exports Double as Regional Tensions Mount by Shannon Van Sant February 29, 2016 A research group says China's arms exports have almost doubled in five years as the country has moved to become a major player in the global industry. Chinese exports of major arms grew by 88 percent between 2011 and 2015, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). "China is actively pushing for exports. A lot of the exports are going to countries where China has had good relations for a long time, so there's also a strategic incentive for China to supply weapons. Pakistan for example, Bangladesh, Myanmar," said Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher with the institute. China is now the world's third largest arms exporter behind the U.S. and Russia, and the country accounted for nearly six percent of arms exports between 2011 and 2015. The U.S. and Russia's weapons exports grew by 27 and 28 percent respectively during the same period, although both countries are still far ahead of China and the rest of the world in total sales. Imports of arms to China fell 25 percent compared with the previous five-year period, indicating that China now has the technological capability and know how to produce many of its own weapons. Wezeman said territorial disputes and the growing modernization of China's military may be spurring an arms race in Asia. China's military budget was up 10 percent from the year before, to more than $141 billion. "You can see a general arms build-up in Asia. You can see countries reacting to what neighbors are doing, and a strong driver for this is Chinese military modernization, expanding Chinese capabilities, linked to a quite assertive Chinese policy," he said. Vietnam jumped from 43rd place to become the eighth-largest arms importer from 2011 to 2015. The country now accounts for roughly 3 percent of world-wide arms purchases during that period. India imported 14 percent of globally traded arms during that time period. Tensions rising across Asia Gregory Poling is the director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and a fellow with the Sumitro Chair for Southeast Asia Studies at CSIS. Poling said China's recent actions in the South China Sea are raising tensions throughout Southeast Asia. "More immediately this is clearly destabilizing the wider region, for states like Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia, would much rather be focused on economic development and boosting regional architecture,' Poling said. 'Instead they're caught in what they see as an almost existential need to boost their militaries, to purchase arms, to divert budgets towards modernization in ways that they would rather not but they're facing a Beijing that they see as an increasing security threat." Five trillion dollars in global trade passes through the waterway every year, and the sea is thought to be rich in oil and gas reserves. Bonnie Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia and the director of the China Power Project at CSIS, said while territorial disputes may boost arms sales in Asia, China's neighbors' won't be able to keep up with the pace of China's military modernization. "They want to have other choices rather than feeling that they simply have to accommodate to China, and they don't have enough capability, even with their increased weapons spending and procurements, no country on China's border is going to be able to keep up with China,' Glaser said. 'Look at its defense spending. So countries are going to have to find more creative ways. They can certainly enhance their own capabilities." Collaboration among China's neighbors has already increased to protect their territorial claims. Earlier this month Vietnam announced it will allow India to set up a satellite tracking center in southern Vietnam that will provide it with access to overhead images of the South China Sea. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address American Arrestee Interviewed Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS) Pyongyang, February 29 (KCNA) -- Otto Frederick Warmbier, student at the University of Virginia, the U.S., was interviewed with domestic and foreign journalists in Pyongyang Monday. He was arrested for committing anti-DPRK hostile acts. Present there were domestic and foreign journalists, members of foreign diplomatic missions and missions of international bodies here and overseas Koreans staying in the homeland. Warmbier spoke first. He said: On December 29, 2015, I entered the DPRK as a tourist. On January 1, 2016, I committed severe crimes against the DPRK. I am 21 years old. I am a student at the University of Virginia. I am in my third year of the university. My residential address is Ohio, United States with my family. At the moment, I lived in a rented apartment near the university. My father owns a very small factory that barely makes enough to support my family. My mother is a housewife. I am the oldest son in my family. My brother and my sister are both high school students. I committed the crime of taking out a political slogan from the staff-only area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel. The slogan inspires the Korean people's love for their system. The task was given to me by the Friendship United Methodist Church. At the encouragement of the Z Society and the connivance of the United States Administration, I came to commit this task. The aim of my task was to harm the motivation and work ethic of the Korean people. This was a very foolish aim. Growing up in the United States, I was taught that the DPRK is a mysterious, 'isolated communist nation' from the mass media and education. This made me an innocent thinking adventurous young man like myself, want to show my bravery in this mysterious country in order to improve my reputation and show Western victory over the DPRK. I was scheduled to take part in a university-sponsored financial class in Hong Kong and I decided to use this opportunity to visit the DPRK as a tourist. Based on my application's confirmation, I chose to have my tour at the end of December 2015. On September 23, 2015, I was having dinner at my friend Stefan Webb's home with him and his mother, Sharon Webb. Sharon Webb is a deaconess in the Friendship United Methodist Church and her son Stefan Webb is an active believer in this same church. Sharon emphasized that her church does not support the Government of North Korea and that communism should be ended. She said that communist nations rally around political slogans. She asked me to take an important political slogan from North Korea to be hung in her church as a 'trophy'. She continued to say that by taking this slogan, we would harm the unity and motivation of the North Korean people and show this country an insult from the West. She offered me a used car worth $10,000 if I was successful. And she said if I was detained and not returned, her church would pay $200,000 to my mother in a way of charitable donations. Since my family is suffering from very severe financial difficulties, I started to consider this as my only golden opportunity to earn money. Most importantly, Sharon said to never mention the Friendship United Methodist Church's involvement or no payments would come. In early October, 2015, I informed my mother very little of my crime attempt offer, but I told that I planned to steal something precious from North Korea and if I was detained I told her that her bank account would receive transfers for my brother and sister's university tuition. She cried and said not to do anything dangerous. I considered less, not wanting to hurt my mother. But since then, I got several alluring pressures from the Friendship United Methodist Church, leading me to finally decide my crime attempt. In the meantime, the Z Society also clandestinely encouraged my act. After I came to know that all members become very wealthy with high-paying jobs after they graduate university, I eagerly wanted to join the Z Society. That is why, in late November 2015, I intentionally revealed my plan of my act to a member of Z Society. He said my plan of action would certainly help the Z Society's goal of spreading 'freedom' and eliminating 'tyranny'. He said if I was successful, he promised me that he would help me become a member in the Z Society. And he even said if I was caught, the Z Society could help pressure North Korea for my release. Finally, he said to never mention the Z Society's encouragement. I arrived in Pyongyang through Beijing and committed my crime against the people and Government of the DPRK. My crime is very severe and pre-planned. Then he answered questions raised by journalists. He said: The politicians and United States Administration use the Friendship United Methodist Church to harm the DPRK by all dirty means and ways. The Friendship United Methodist Church gave me my crime task, which is matched to United States' consistent hostile policy against the DPRK, with aims to spread Christianity in the DPRK and increase the support from the United States Administration. Therefore, my crime was the expected output of the U.S. Administration's consistent hostile policy against the DPRK and its implementation by the Friendship United Methodist Church. There is no doubt that the CIA knows the Z Society's encouragement of my crime. I took many detailed steps to prepare for my crime in the DPRK while I was in the United States. I have been very impressed by the DPRK Government's humanitarian treatment of severe criminals like myself and of the very fair and square legal procedures in the DPRK. And I've come to see that the current 'human right issues' in the DPRK, consistently highlighted by the United States Administration is simply nothing more than a hypocritical excuse to eventually overthrow the Government of the DPRK. I apologize to the people and the Government of the DPRK and beg for forgiveness. -0- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address DPRK arrests American student for attempt to take political slogan from hotel People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 17:44, February 29, 2016 PYONGYANG, Feb. 29 -- An American student held by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) since January told a press conference here Monday that he tried to take a political slogan from a hotel and was later arrested. Otto Frederick Warmbier, a 21-year-old undergraduate student of commerce from Virginia University, confessed at the press conference to 'committing severe crimes against the DPRK people and government' on New Year's Day, 2016. He said that on the early morning of Jan. 1, he attempted to take a political slogan which inspired people's love for the DPRK from a staff-only area at Yanggakdo International Hotel, where he stayed during his tour in Pyongyang. He committed the crime with the connivance of the U.S. government and the task was given by the Friendship United Methodist Church, which promised him a good reward in return, he said. 'The aim was to harm the work ethics and motivation of the DPRK people,' Warmbier said. He was later arrested and detained at Pyongyang International Airport on Jan. 2. Warmbier apologized to the DPRK people and the government and he repeatedly begged for forgiveness and for help in any possible way to rescue him, claiming that he was only a 'political victim of the U.S. consistent hostile policy against the DPRK.' He also stressed that he was treated in a humanitarian way during the investigation and is now in good health. He said he did not know what penalty he might face, but he fervently hoped he could return home to reunite with his family. The DPRK's state media KCNA reported on Jan. 22 that Warmbier had been arrested by the authorities because he entered the country under the guise of a tourist and aimed to undermine the foundation of the country's single-minded unity. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Detained American in North Korea Makes 'Public Confession' by VOA News February 29, 2016 An American college student detained in North Korea has publicly confessed to attempting to steal a political banner from a Pyongyang hotel. Otto Warmbier appeared before a group of domestic and foreign journalists Monday in the North Korean capital, accompanied by North Korean guards. The 21-year-old University of Virginia student, who was visiting North Korea with a tour group, was arrested last month before boarding a plane out of the country. He has been charged with committing a hostile act against the state, with the help of the United States. Warmbier told reporters he removed a political slogan from a staff-only area of the hotel where the group was staying to give to a member of his church who wanted the banner to display as a 'trophy.' He said the church member offered him a used car worth $10,000 and told him that if he was caught and unable to return, Warmbier's mother would get $200,000. 'I understand the severity of my crime, and I have no idea what sort of penalty I may face, but I am begging to the Korean people and government for my forgiveness. And I am praying to the heavens so that I may be returned home to my family," he said during the statement. Pyongyang has not said what possible punishment Warmbier may face. North Korea has often detained Americans and other foreign citizens on trumped up charges. Statements, confessions The detainees are usually brought before foreign journalists to read statements confessing to crimes committed against the dictatorial regime. The statements are widely considered to have been coerced, and detainees often recant their confessions after their release. Analysts say Pyongyang often tries to use the detainees as bargaining chips with the West. Tour groups sponsor regular visits to the North for sightseers curious to see what life is like under the repressive regime. The U.S. and Canadian governments both advise against travel to North Korea. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sanctions on North Korea Hurting Businesses in South Korea by Brian Padden February 29, 2016 South Korean factories that were forced to halt operations in North Korea's Kaesong Industrial Complex are asking the Seoul government to compensate them for their losses. The South Korean government suspended all activities at the industrial zone it operated jointly with North Korea, to punish the Kim Jong Un government for its recent nuclear test and latest long-range rocket launch. The Corporate Association of Kaesong Industrial Complex represents the 123 small and medium South Korean manufacturing companies that operate there and were forced to close. Estimated losses The organization estimates its initial losses of assets and raw material to near $644 million (820 billion won). When announcing the closure of the Kaesong complex, South Korean President Park Geun-hye said the government would offer aid and support to the affected companies. "By utilizing insurance from inter-Korean cooperative funds, the government will quickly offer up to 90 percent of [the] investment cost for the Kaesong Industrial Complex," Park said. The Kaesong association, however, said the insurance will only cover $220 million (280 billion won) of their losses. The group has been in talks with the South Korean government to determine fair compensation, but so far the two sides remain far apart. "The government did not say we are exaggerating the amount, but they said it has not been objectively proven," said Jeong Gi-seob, chairman of the Corporate Association of Kaesong Industrial Complex. South Korea's Unification Ministry Monday issued a statement defending the shutdown of the complex and said it is offering a range of tax deductions, loans and other support to affected business "The government has been conducting one-on-one site visits for each company and preparing measures tailored for companies by listening to their requests," the Unification Ministry said in its statement. Fall into disrepair The closure of the faculty put 54,000 North Korean employees out of work and cut off the flow of about $100 million a year into North Korea. South Korean officials said 70 percent of Kaesong funding, paid in U.S. dollars, was used to finance the North's illicit nuclear weapons program. After the closure of the facility was announced, Pyongyang imposed military control of the site, froze all assets of the Kaesong companies, and deported the remaining South Korean managers and staff still there. The Kaesong association criticized the sudden closure it said violated a 2013 joint agreement to maintain a stable operation, unimpeded by political disagreements or provocations. Seoul, however, said the existential threat to national security and public safety posed by Pyongyang's defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons justified the harsh and sudden response. South Korea cut electrical power and water to the Kaesong complex, making it very difficult for North Korea to utilize the facilities. If the complex remains unused for six months, some operators say, rust will set in and the equipment will fall into permanent disrepair. Permanent closure? The Kaesong corporate association is asking for the complex to be re-opened, but that seems highly unlikely given the increasing diplomatic and military tensions in the region. Since 2006 the U.N. Security Council has imposed increasingly severe sanctions on North Korea for developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology. This week, the U.S. is expected to approve the strongest set of sanctions yet against the Pyongyang government, intended to cut off the trade and funding of North Korea's nuclear program and its military, and to target the North Korean leadership and officials directly involved in these illicit activities. The Kaesong complex was once part of a range of assistance projects meant to build trust between the North and South. But support in the South for unqualified engagement faded as Pyongyang continued its defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons and continued to initiate provocations. Other South Korean aid programs were halted and sanctions imposed against North Korea in 2010 after Seoul accused Pyongyang of sinking a South Korean warship and killing 46 sailors. Youmi Kim in Seoul contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Security Council to vote fresh North Korea sanctions Iran Press TV Tue Mar 1, 2016 6:3AM The UN Security Council is set to vote on a US-engineered resolution that would impose a package of unprecedented sanctions on North Korea after its recent nuclear test and rocket launch. The council is expected to convene at 2000 GMT on Tuesday to decide on the resolution that was presented by the US last week, according to Washington's mission to the UN. US Ambassador Samantha Power said "if adopted, it will break new ground and represent the strongest new set of sanctions in two decades. The new sanctions would require UN member states, for the first time, to inspect all cargo going to and from North Korea by air, sea and land. A complete ban would also be imposed on all types of weapons transfers to and from the country. On January 6, Pyongyang said it had successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb, its fourth nuclear test, vowing to build up its nuclear program as deterrence against potential aggression from the United States. A month later, North Korea launched a long-range rocket that it said placed an earth observation satellite into orbit. However, Washington and South Korea denounced it as a cover for an intercontinental ballistic missile test. Power further said the new punitive measures would send "an unambiguous and unyielding message to [Pyongyang]. The world will not accept your proliferation. There will be consequences for your actions," she added. Washington has said it had submitted the proposed resolution after reaching an agreement with China. Russia, however, said it needed time to analyze the content of the draft resolution. Pyongyang has already been under UN sanctions over launching missiles considered by the US and South Korea as ballistic and aimed at delivering nuclear warheads. The North accuses the US of plotting with its regional allies to topple the government in Pyongyang, stressing that will not relinquish its nuclear deterrence unless Washington ends its hostile policy toward it. It also wants the US to dissolve its military command in South Korea. Earlier this month, South Korea called on the Security Council to adopt "extraordinary" measures in response to its neighbor's recent nuclear test and rocket launch. Amid the new wave on tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Washington and Seoul have reportedly worked out an agreement on the deployment of an advanced US missile system, called THAAD, to South Korea. They said they would begin talks on the issue at the earliest time possible. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pyongyang Rejects Seoul's Call to Abandon Nuke Program Before Peace Treaty Sputnik News 19:27 01.03.2016 North Korea has rejected the call made by its south neighbor to abandon its nuclear program before having any discussions on a peace agreement, it was reported in the media Tuesday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Earlier, a representative of the South Korea Unification Ministry said that North Korea giving up its nuclear program must be a precondition for peace treaty talks to begin, Yonhap news agency reported. Pyongyang dismissed the call, saying that if Washington and Seoul refused to desist with their hostile policy toward Pyongyang, any discussion about peace on the Korean peninsula would be impossible. Under the bilateral pact between Seoul and Washington, the US has the right to support South Korea in response to a nuclear threat from a third party. In January, North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test and launched a ballistic missile a month later in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Later on Tuesday, the UN Security Council is set to vote on a draft resolution that would tighten the existing sanctions against North Korea and limit the activities of several sectors of its economy. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China to Strictly Follow Measures Stipulated in UN Resolution on N Korea Sputnik News 12:49 01.03.2016(updated 12:50 01.03.2016) China will strictly follow the measures stipulated in a new UN Security Council resolution on North Korea which aims to limit Pyongyang's nuclear and military development, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Tuesday. BEIJING (Sputnik) The UN Security Council is expected to approve the proposed resolution expanding sanctions against North Korea later in the day. 'As we have said before, the nuclear test and the missile launch by North Korea violated UN Security Council resolutions, and it is important that the Security Council adopt a new resolution to restrict the development of nuclear and missile programs by North Korea. If the resolution is adopted, China will strictly abide by it,' Hong said at a press briefing. The spokesman added that China intended to discuss the issue with all interested parties. In January, Pyongyang conducted its fourth nuclear test and launched a ballistic missile in February in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. On February 25, US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said that Washington had circulated a draft resolution to expand the sanctions against North Korea due to its nuclear activities, bringing the restrictive measures against Pyongyang to what has been described as an unprecedented level. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN Security Council Delays Vote on North Korea Sanctions by VOA News March 01, 2016 The U.N. Security Council has postponed until Wednesday a vote on resolution that would impose new sanctions on North Korea in response to its latest nuclear test and long-range missile launch. The vote had been expected Tuesday afternoon but Russia invoked a 24 hour procedural review, according to the U.S. mission to the United Nations. The resolution, drafted by the United States and introduced last Thursday, calls for a total arms embargo on Pyongyang, a mandatory inspection of all cargo in and out of North Korea, whether by land, sea or air, and halts imports of all products that could be used for military purposes. The vote was already delayed for a few days when Russia declared it needed to study the document. Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said the resolution 'would break new ground and represent the strongest set of sanctions imposed by the Security Council in more than two decades.' The U.N. already has imposed a number of sanctions on North Korea in response to past nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The U.S. submitted the resolution after several weeks of negotiations with China, North Korea's closest ally and largest trading partner. Beijing was angered by the North's January nuclear test and its February 7 ballistic missile test, but it has been reluctant to support harsh international sanctions on Pyongyang for fear of destabilizing the country and triggering a surge of refugees across their border. The resolution also bans imports to North Korea of aviation and rocket fuel, as well as exports of commodities such as coal, iron, gold, titanium and rare earth minerals. It also adds 17 individuals and 12 entities to the U.N.'s sanctions blacklist, including North Korea's space agency NADA, and requires nations to expel North Korean diplomats engaging in illegal activities. In a televised speech Tuesday ahead of the vote, South Korean President Park Geun-hye says the international community must continue to pressure North Korea until the regime proves it is committed to giving up its nuclear weapons development program. VOA United Nations correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address India to Allocate $440Mln Annually for Nuclear Power Investments Sputnik News 14:22 29.02.2016(updated 14:43 29.02.2016) India will increase its investment in nuclear power to up to 30 billion rupees (almost $440 million) per year, the country's finance minister, Arun Jaitley, said on Monday, unveiling a budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. NEW DELHI (Sputnik) The government is drafting a comprehensive plan for nuclear energy, which will be implemented in the next 15 to 20 years, according to the minister. The Indian budget features a number of tax reforms, infrastructure investments as well as measures to promote ease of doing business, agriculture, the rural and social sectors, education and job creation. In 2002, India and Russia launched a much-delayed joint project to build the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. The first unit reached full capacity in 2014, and is currently India's most powerful reactor with a maximum operating capacity of 1,000 megawatts. The construction of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant was initially agreed by the Soviet Union and India in 1988, but the project was shelved for a prolonged period. In December 2015, India and Moscow agreed that a total of 12 nuclear power units would be built in India in 20 years based on Russian design. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran unveils five new pieces of defense equipment Iran Press TV Mon Feb 29, 2016 10:5AM Iran has unveiled five new domestically-built pieces of defense equipment during a ceremony attended by top military officials. The defense achievements, unveiled in Tehran on Monday, comprised the Pars Cam detector device, an explosives and drugs detector device, anti-shock and explosion-proof polymer covers, a new generation of NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) suits, and a production line for Obidoxime Chloride, a medicine for countering chemical agents. During the ceremony, Iran's Minister of Defense Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan hailed the country's recent defense achievements. "In spite of the sanctions against [Iran's] defense sector, the armed forces have foiled enemies' intentions and objectives by attaining self-sufficiency and producing new achievements, and will do the same in the future," Dehqan said. He added that the Iranian Defense Ministry is working on the design and development of "advanced and sophisticated defensive equipment" as an "important mission." In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in its defense sector and reached self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems. The Islamic Republic has repeatedly assured other nations, especially regional neighbors, that its military might poses no threat to other countries, stating that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran needs 'no permission' to develop missile program: Zarif Iran Press TV Mon Feb 29, 2016 7:36AM Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the Islamic Republic will continue to develop its missile program and that Tehran needs "no permission" to enhance the country's defense capabilities. "We have announced that we will not ask permission from anyone to [strengthen] our defense and missile capability," Zarif said in an interview with Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, on Sunday. The top Iranian diplomat went on to say that the country's missile program does not breach the July nuclear agreement struck between Tehran and six world powers and that the deal does not ban Iran from boosting its defense capabilities. Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany finalized the text of the accord known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the Austrian capital Vienna on July 14. Based on the JCPOA, Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the lifting of all economic and financial sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Zarif said that Iran's missile program will continue apace and will be provided with all necessary materials and equipment. He further dismissed as "unacceptable" claims by US officials that the Islamic Republic's missile tests are in breach of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, saying none of the Iranian missiles have been designed to carry "nuclear warheads." On October 11, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) successfully test-fired its first guided ballistic missile dubbed Emad. Washington slammed the test, claiming the projectile is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. In January, the US Treasury Department said in a statement that it had imposed new sanctions on several individuals and firms over Iran's ballistic missile program, claiming that the program "poses a significant threat to regional and global security." The statement said five Iranian citizens and a network of companies based in the United Arab Emirates and China were added to a US blacklist. Iranian officials say none of the country's missiles, including ballistic ones, have been "designed to carry nuclear warheads," and thus their production and test are not in contravention of Resolution 2231. The Islamic Republic has repeatedly said that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence and Iran's military power poses no threat to other countries. 'US should abandon sanction mentality' Touching upon Iran's relations with the United States, Zarif told ISNA that the US should abandon its "mentality of sanctions." "We are still waiting to see whether the US is serious in its commitments" concerning the lifting of sanctions, he noted. Zarif further criticized Washington's "wrong" policies in the Middle East region. "US policies even harm their own interests in the region since they have caused unrest and created Daesh [terrorist group]," he noted. Zarif said that Iranian officials have reached no agreement with US officials on regional issues, saying Tehran would take a decision on extending talks with the US should Americans "correct their policies." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Rohani, Reformist Allies Win Control Of Iran's Powerful Assembly Of Experts February 29, 2016 by RFE/RL Final results from Iran's February 26 elections show relative moderate President Hassan Rohani and his allies winning a majority in the powerful Assembly of Experts and making a strong return to parliament as one of three dominant blocs. The elections were Iran's first since international sanctions were lifted in connection with a landmark nuclear deal in July, and reformist gains against hard-liners will almost certainly affect Tehran's efforts to rebound from decades of political and economic isolation. The strong showing by the reformist-and-moderate camp came despite intense vetting that moderates said had excluded many of their preferred candidates, and appeared to be most pronounced in the capital. Rohani and centrist ex-President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani easily won seats in the Assembly of Experts, the chamber of clerics that chooses and supervises Iran's most powerful official, the supreme leader. In all, reformist-backed candidates claimed 52 of the assembly's 88 seats, according to the Interior Ministry, including 15 of 16 races in Tehran. In doing so, they managed to unseat several prominent hard-liners, including the current chief of the assembly, Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, and Ayatollah Taghi Mesbah Yazdi. But several prominent hard-liners were reelected to the assembly, including Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, who narrowly clung to his seat. Jannati also heads the Guardians Council, the unelected, constitutional watchdog that disqualified hundreds of reformist candidates from the parliamentary and assembly votes. After the voting, the conservative head of Iran's judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani, accused reformists of working with "American and English media outlets" to prevent hard-liners from being reelected to the Assembly of Experts. 'Is this type of coordination with foreigners in order to push out these figures from the Assembly of Experts in the interests of the regime?' Larijani asked in a statement on February 29, referring to Yazdi's and Mesbah Yazdi's election defeats. During its next eight-year term, the assembly could name the successor to fiercely anti-Western Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is 76 and has been in power since 1989. Reformists had urged voters to cast ballots for a coalition of pro-reform and relative moderate candidates to prevent the reelection of hard-liners and ultraconservative clerics. Interior Minister Rahmani Fazli on February 29 announced a final combined turnout figure of 62 percent among Iran's 55 million or so registered voters. The parliamentary vote count suggested the best showing there by opponents of hard-liners in more than a decade. None of Iran's three main political camps -- reformists, independents, or hard-liners -- was expected to win an outright majority in the 290-seat legislature, known as the Majlis. But reformists, together with moderate conservatives who supported the July 2015 deal curbing Iran's atomic activities in exchange for relief from UN and Western sanctions, would collectively control a legislative majority if they decided to join forces. Rohani and Rafsanjani's allies won all 30 of Tehran's contested seats in the parliament. Hard-liners, who opposed the nuclear deal, won just 68 seats, down from more than 100. Reports suggested as many as 50 parliamentary races had no clear winner and could require a second-round runoff vote, most likely in April. With reporting by Reuters, AP, IRNA, and ISNA Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/rohani- reformist-allies-win-control- irans-assembly-of-experts/27580613.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Rouhani, Allies Win Majorities in Iranian Elections by VOA News February 29, 2016 Iranian hard-liners have been dealt an electoral setback, with moderates winning a majority in the country's top clerical body, the Assembly of Experts, and parliament. Two leading conservatives, Ayatollahs Mohammad Yazdi and Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, were defeated in their bid for re-election to the important 88-member Assembly. The body will pick the country's next supreme leader, to succeed the 76-year-old incumbent, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's leader since 1989 State television reported Monday that moderate President Hassan Rouhani and his allies won 15 out of Tehran's 16 seats in the election for the Assembly, where members serve eight-year terms. Overall, the moderates will hold a 59 percent majority. The Iranian Interior Ministry said that reformers, who favor social freedoms and engagement with the West, won at least 85 seats in parliament, while moderate conservatives, who also favor Iran's nuclear agreement with six world powers, won 73, giving the two groups a majority in the 290-seat parliament. Interior Minister Abdel Reda Rahmani Fazli says 62 percent of Iranians across the country and 50 percent in the capital, Tehran, participated. He added that candidates would have several days to appeal the election results. Hardliners, who opposed the deal halting Iran's development of nuclear weaponry in exchange for lifting sanctions that had hobbled the country's economy, won 68 seats in parliament, down from the more than 100 in the current parliament. Rouhani said Friday's election has given the government more credibility and clout. 'The competition is over. It's time to open a new chapter in Iran's economic development based on domestic abilities and international opportunities,' the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying. Rouhani made last year's nuclear agreement with a group of six world powers, including the United States, a key objective of his administration and the electoral outcome could be interpreted as support for his policies. Khamenei called on those elected to act in the interests of Iran and stand against the influence of other countries. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted the leader saying development is the country's top goal. 'Nominal development without independence or national dignity is not accepted,' Khamenei said. Former Iranian president Abolhassan Bani Sadr tells VOA the election was a clear victory for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, despite reports that "moderates" won more seats. Former Iranian diplomat Mehrdad Khonsari argues the outcome of the election was at the very least an opportunity for the Iranian public to express its dissatisfaction with the hardliners. 'There is a feel-good factor for the population in the sense that the general outcome is one that satisfies public opinion because it sees stark improvement in the situation of moderates and because it gave the public an opportunity to express dissatisfaction with the hardliners, even though they are aware that in actual policy terms that might not make a difference,' said Khonsari. Iranian-born analyst Alex Vatanka tells VOA many Iranians decided to vote after being persuaded it would be foolish not to do so. "There was more enthusiasm than many had actually anticipated only a few weeks ago, and that goes to the fact that [former president] Mohamed Khatami and others really put in a lot of effort to bring out the vote with a very simple message, which is, ''We know these elections are not free and fair, but even within the limited confines of this election, voting for moderates who are allowed to run will prevent the hardliners from getting a total grip on the system,'' said Vatanka. Former deputy U.S. State Department spokesman, Adam Ereli, told VOA that despite the electoral changes in Iran, 'I don't think that we're going to see a huge change in Iranian behavior, either internally or externally. It's like saying the far-right wing of the party didn't win, but that still means that the center of the party, which is very, very conservative, is in power.' Edward Yeranian contributed to this report from Cairo. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran Navy flotilla docks at Tanzania port Iran Press TV Tue Mar 1, 2016 5:58PM An Iranian Navy fleet has docked at Tanzania's Port city of Dar es Salaam in line with the Islamic Republic's strategy of expanding its naval presence in high seas. The flotilla, comprising of Shaheed Naqdi, Lavan and Bushehr warships, berthed at the African port on Tuesday as part of Iranian naval forces' training. Speaking to reporters, Iran's Ambassador to Dar es Salaam Mehdi Aqa Ja'fari said the visit is aimed at conveying the Iranian nation's message of peace and friendship to East African countries, particularly Tanzania. He added that the flotilla's four-day journey indicates good relations between the two countries and their keenness to improve cooperation, particularly in defense. The envoy emphasized that Iran's strong presence in the north and west of the Indian Ocean is in line with the country's plans to help improve international peace and security. "The Islamic Republic of Iran's close relations with African countries play an important role in maintaining stability and security as well as safe and secure shipping in this region," Aqa Ja'fari pointed out. During their stay in Dar es Salaam, the Iranian naval forces will meet Tanzania's military officials and visit military zones of the country. An Iranian naval flotilla visited Dar es Salaam in June 2014. Over the past few years, Iran's Navy has increased its presence in high seas to safeguard naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Warning of 'Catastrophic Failure' of Iraq's Mosul Dam by Sharon Behn February 29, 2016 Iraq's Mosul Dam risks 'catastrophic failure' and a massive wall of water that would sweep downstream anything in its path, including bodies, buildings, cars, unexploded ordnances and hazardous chemicals, the U.S. is warning. The dam, located on the Tigris River just north of Mosul, is the largest in the country. Built in 1984, the dam is structurally flawed and has required constant maintenance and shoring up with cement grout. At full capacity, the dam can hold 11 cubic kilometers of water. If it were to burst at that level, a huge wave would roll down the river, potentially killing hundreds of thousands of people who are not able to move out of the way in time. 'The approximately 500,000 to 1.47 million Iraqis residing along the Tigris River in areas at highest risk from the projected floodway probably would not survive its impact,' according to a statement released by the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Flood would reach Baghdad, devastate infrastructure Flood waters could reach depths greater than 15 meters in some parts of Mosul city in as little as one to four hours, giving residents little time to flee. In three to four days, the water would reach Baghdad, swelling the river that dissects the city by some 10 meters, and likely forcing the closure of the capital's international airport. The 500-kilometer flood path would also damage or destroy large sections of infrastructure, and knock power plants offline, causing the entire Iraqi electricity grid to shut down. Farmland would also be severely damaged. Mosul and the area down river are largely controlled by Islamic State militants, which could complicate any international relief effort, the U.S. embassy said. After months of downplaying the seriousness of the risk, the Iraqi government recently acknowledged the need to strengthen the dam and contracted the Italian engineering firm Trevi to repair and maintain the structure. NGOs and humanitarian agencies have already started work on contingency plans in case the dam bursts. But it is unclear what would happen to the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people already displaced by violence in Iraq. Although it said had no specific information as to when the dam would collapse, the U.S. embassy said an early warning system and clear evacuation procedures could reduce the loss of life. The U.S. embassy public warning comes after weeks of private notices calling on the international community and the government in Iraq to be prepared for such a disaster. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary General in Baghdad: NATO stands with Iraq in the fight against extremism NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 01 Mar. 2016 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg praised the bravery of Iraqi security forces and highlighted NATO support during an official visit to Iraq on 1 March 2016. Meeting with Prime Minister Al-Abadi, Mr. Stoltenberg commended the success of Iraqi forces in pushing ISIL back and retaking territory in Ramadi and elsewhere. He welcomed the government's ongoing efforts to build confidence across Iraq's different communities, which is vital for the country's long-term stability. Mr. Stoltenberg also underlined NATO's commitment to an enduring partnership with Iraq. For over a decade, NATO and Iraq have worked together, enhancing security dialogue and promoting the development of Iraqi Security Forces through capacity building, education and training. This month, NATO will begin training Iraqi officers in Jordan, as part of NATO's Defence Capacity Building Package for Iraq, the Secretary General said. Iraqi officers will receive training in key priority fields, including countering Improvised Explosive Devices, military medicine and civil-military planning. NATO experts will also provide advice for Iraq's ongoing security sector reform efforts. The Secretary General also met with President Fouad Massoum and Defence Minister Khaled al-Obaidi, underscoring NATO's commitment to high-level political dialogue with Iraq. In his bilateral meetings, Mr. Stoltenberg highlighted NATO's efforts to step up support for the Global Coalition to counter ISIL. Last month, NATO Defence Ministers agreed in principle to use NATO AWACS surveillance planes to backfill national AWACS capabilities, increasing the coalition's ability to degrade and destroy ISIL. The Secretary General stressed that by working more closely together, NATO and Iraq can enhance stability in the Middle East region. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel Defense Ministry Starts Supplying New SAM Missile System to Army Sputnik News 18:40 01.03.2016(updated 18:41 01.03.2016) Israel's Defense Ministry has begun supplying the David's Sling surface-to-air missile system, jointly developed by Israel and the United States, to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the ministry said Tuesday. TEL AVIV (Sputnik) David's Sling has been designed by Israel's state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems corporation and the US defense contractor Raytheon. 'After tests have successfully been completed in December the Defense Ministry, jointly with the US Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency, has begun to supply the Israeli Air Force with the main components of the system,' the ministry said in a press statement. The system is to be used in conjunction with the Iron Dome air defense system designed to intercept short-range rockets, as well as the US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. It is intended to intercept Hamas-developed Palestinian Qassam rockets and Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Covert Affairs: UK 'Commandos' Deployed in Libya to Tackle Daesh Sputnik News 14:20 28.02.2016(updated 15:13 28.02.2016) The United Kingdom has secretly deployed a group of special forces commandos to advise Libya on repelling the Daesh advance, Western officials and sources on the ground told British media. MOSCOW (Sputnik) A 'small number' of British advisers are said to be working 'very much in the background' alongside US counterparts in Misrata, sources told The Telegraph daily late Saturday. US military operatives have reportedly begun 'giving tactical training' to select local militias earlier, according to the daily. Libya has been in a state of turmoil since the 2011 Arab Spring movement, which later led to a civil war and the overthrow of the country's leader Muammar Gaddafi. The instability in the country facilitated the emergence of numerous militant groups, particularly Daesh, which is outlawed in many countries, including the United States and Russia. US forces are known to carry out regular drone strikes against Daesh targets over Libya. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said this week President Barack Obama planned to address the terrorist organization's advances in Libya with top military officials. Also this week, Libyan military officials said 15 French special forces members have been assisting national troops in fighting the extremists in Benghazi for two months. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pakistan Says It Needs F-16s From US for Counterterrorism by Nike Ching February 29, 2016 Pakistan said Monday at the start of strategic talks with the United States that a contentious sale of F-16 fighter jets would strengthen the South Asian nation's ability to mount counterterrorist operations and promote regional stability. "The prospective sale of F-16s will strengthen Pakistan capabilities to successfully continue these vital operations for our mutual benefit and stability in the region," said Sartaj Aziz, Pakistani adviser on foreign affairs. Aziz met with U.S. Secretary of the State John Kerry at the State Department for the sixth Ministerial Level U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue. The U.S. government this month approved the sale of the aircraft, radar and electronic warfare equipment to Pakistan in a deal worth nearly $700 million. Neighboring India opposes the sale, which has drawn criticism from some U.S. lawmakers. Congress could block the deal, although such action is rare. Kerry last week told a House committee that Pakistan's existing fleet of F-16s has been critical for its counterterrorism fight on its western border with Afghanistan. Kerry did not mention the F-16 sale in his remarks Monday, but he commended Pakistan's counterterrorism operations, including in North Waziristan, a tribal area where militants have launched cross-border attacks into Afghanistan. "Cooperation along Pakistan's borders is absolutely essential, Kerry said after Monday's meeting with Aziz. We recognize the extraordinary and real sacrifices that Pakistan's military, especially in Operation Zarb-e-Azb and the ongoing missions in North Waziristan, and the United States has pledged $250 million to help rebuild the communities of persons who have been displaced by the fighting in these operations." Picking and choosing militants Pakistan has been accused of targeting some militant groups but nurturing or turning a blind eye to others. Kerry welcomed Pakistan's commitment to not differentiate among terrorist groups. He said groups like the Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba seek to undermine Pakistan's relations with its neighbors. Kerry also said they would also discuss Pakistan's "obligations of being a responsible state with nuclear weapons." Adam Ereli, a former U.S. ambassador to Bahrain, said Pakistan is a country of enormous geo-strategic consequences. "Given the fact that it is a nuclear power [with] an ongoing conflict with India, given its role in Afghanistan, given the fact that it's a Muslim nation of 150 to 160 million, with severe economic and political challenges ... the U.S. has a very, very strong interest in a stable and cooperative relationship with Pakistan," Ereli said. As the threat of Islamic extremism has grown in Pakistan, so has international concern about the security of the nation's nuclear arsenal. Experts say Pakistan's nuclear stockpile is growing fast, and it is developing tactical nuclear weapons to deter rival India's larger conventional forces. Kerry and Aziz also reviewed progress made by six working groups under the framework of the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, including nonproliferation, education, defense consultation group, law enforcement and counterterrorism, economic and finance, as well as the energy working groups, according to spokesman John Kirby. The U.S. and Pakistan are among members of the so-called "Quadrilateral Coordination Group," which also includes China and Afghanistan, to support a peace process in Afghanistan. While voicing support for an Afghan-led and an Afghan-all peace talk, Aziz said: "In coming days and weeks, all members of the Quadrilateral process will intensify their efforts toward achieving a broader national consensus in support of peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address S. Korea appoints new chief envoy for six-party talks People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 19:32, February 29, 2016 SEOUL, Feb. 29 -- South KoreaMonday replaced its representative at the six-party talks for the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula with Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Hong-Kyun. Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement Monday that Kim Hong-Kyun will be the new special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs who represents South Korea at the long-stalled six-way dialogue. Hwang Joon-Kook, South Korea's former chief envoy for the six-party talks, has been named as the country's ambassador to Britain. The six-party talks, which involve South Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), China, the United States, Russiaand Japan, have been stalled since late 2008. The replacement came amid ongoing discussions at the UN Security Council about fresh sanctions on the DPRK for its latest nuclear test and rocket launch. Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket on Feb. 7 to test what is believed to be a banned ballistic missile technology after conducting its first 'hydrogen bomb' test on Jan. 6, the fourth of its nuclear detonations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Five Russian Weapons Which Made Their Deadly Debut in Syria Sputnik News 17:19 28.02.2016 Russia's ongoing airborne campaign in Syria wouldn't have been such a game changer without the help of some of the country's most sophisticated weapons. The Sukhoi Su-34 strike fighter, adopted by the Russian Aerospace Forces in 2015, has been deployed against the radical Islamists in Syria from the beginning of Russia's anti-Daesh campaign there. In 2016 the Russian aircraft contingent deployed at Hmeymim Airbase was further bolstered by four Sukhoi Su-35S super maneuverable multirole fighters. The impressive combat performance of these aircraft has already attracted the attention of many prospective buyers from around the globe. In October 2015 the world became suddenly aware that Russia possesses sophisticated long-range cruise missiles. The message was spread by the country's Caspian Flotilla in the most no-nonsense, matter-of-fact way possible, as its warships successfully obliterated a number of Daesh targets in Syria by launching Kalibr-NK missiles from hundreds of miles away. While many of this new cruise missile's parameters still remain classified, apparently it has an effective range of 350 kilometers when deployed against naval targets and can hit assets on the ground from a distance of up to 2,600 kilometers. The Tupolev Tu-160 supersonic strategic bomber, known as the 'White Swan' in Russia and as 'Blackjack' abroad, is usually considered a deterrent, a nuclear weapon delivery system capable of crossing a distance of up to 14,000 kilometers without refueling. In Syria, however, these bombers wiped out numerous Daesh targets using conventional ordnance, such as KAB-500 guided bombs, Kh-29L laser-guided missiles and Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles. The TOS-1A Solntsepyok ('Blazing Sun') multiple rocket launcher has also proved to be an effective weapon in the Syrian conflict. Its thermobaric projectiles are especially effective in mountain areas as their blast waves resonate and are boosted in confined environments an unwelcome surprise for Daesh militants who sought to use elevated positions in the mountains to their advantage or to take cover in ruined buildings. And last but not least, there are BTR-82A1 armored personnel carriers an invaluable tool for every infantry assault operation. The vehicle's 30mm autocannon with a coaxial 7.62mm machinegun virtually tears apart concrete structures while its digital targeting systems ensure that the crew's vision won't be impaired by nighttime, leaving the militants almost no place to hide. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Radio-Electronic Systems Stripped From Mistrals, Returned to Russian Navy Sputnik News 09:30 29.02.2016(updated 09:34 29.02.2016) According to a spokesman from Rostec's United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation, Russian radio and electronic equipment stripped from the Mistral-class helicopter carriers that were not delivered by France to Russia has been returned to the Russian Navy. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The Russian radio and electronic equipment stripped from the Mistral-class helicopter carriers that were not delivered by France to Russia has been returned to the Russian Navy, a spokesman from Rostec's United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation said Monday. '[The equipment] has been taken from France and given to the Russian fleet to use and train sailors,' the spokesman said. Moscow and Paris officially terminated the $1.3-billion contract on the delivery of the warships in August. Moscow has received some $1 billion in compensation. Cairo and Paris signed a contract in October for the purchase of two French-made Mistral-class helicopter carriers originally built for Russia. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia's S-400 Missile Systems Enter Combat Duty in Western Siberia Sputnik News 08:19 01.03.2016(updated 11:51 01.03.2016) Advanced S-400 air defense systems entered combat duty in Western Siberia. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russia's S-400 Triumf (SA-21) air defense system formations have entered combat duty in Western Siberia, the Central Military District's (CMD) press service said Tuesday. 'Position development and camouflaging were performed for the deployment of new [S-400] systems.' The Triumf is by far Russia's most advanced surface-to-air missile system that has a range of 248 miles and is capable of tracking and destroying all existing aerial targets, including ballistic and cruise missiles. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO Commander: Russia Threat to US, Its Allies and Partners by Isabela Cocoli March 01, 2016 NATO's military commander has told the U.S. lawmakers that Russia poses a long-term threat to the United States and to its European allies and partners. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove said that Russia is eager to exert unquestioned influence over neighboring countries. "Russia has used military force to violate the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Georgia and others like Moldova. In Ukraine specifically, Russia continues to use all elements of national power to hinder Kyiv," he said. Breedlove said Tuesday that NATO has recently observed an increase in violence along the line of contact in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and a number of diplomatic, economic and propaganda efforts on Moscow's part to keep Ukraine from moving closer to the West. Moscow seeking 'leading role' Breedlove told senators Russia has also undertaken a massive military deployment in Russia's Kaliningrad province, the Black Sea and, most recently, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and western Syria, sharply constraining the alliance's access to those areas. "Russia seeks to re-establish a leading role on the world stage. Russia does not just want to challenge the agreed rules of the international order, it wants to re-write them. Russia sees the U.S. and NATO as threats to its objectives and as constraints on its aspirations. So, Russia seeks to fraction our unity and challenge our resolve. Russia recognizes strength and sees weakness as opportunity," he said. To that end Russia is using what some call unconventional or hybrid warfare, Breedlove said. Russia is using diplomatic, economic and informational tools in addition to military pressure to shake and influence nations, while trying to remain below triggering a military response, he said. Russia is using snap exercises to mask and desensitize real military deployment, he added. Russia's entry into the fight in Syria has changed the dynamic in the air and on the ground, despite public statements to the contrary, Breedlove said. He added that Russia has done little to counter the Islamic State militant group, but has greatly bolstered the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and his allies. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Saudi says discussed Syria incursion with US Iran Press TV Tue Mar 1, 2016 6:50AM A Saudi official says the kingdom and the US discussed the possibility of a ground incursion in Syria two weeks ago but they have not made a decision. 'It was discussed two weeks ago in Brussels,' Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, an aide to Saudi Arabia's defense minister, said on Monday. 'It was discussed at the political level but it wasn't discussed as a military mission,' Reuters quoted him as saying in an interview. Saudi Defense Minister Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud met his counterparts from the US-led coalition which has been carrying out airstrikes inside Syria since September 2014, Asseri said. 'Once this is organized, and decided how many troops and how they will go and where they will go, we will participate in that,' he said. 'We need to discuss at the military level very extensively with the military experts to make sure that we have a plan,' Asseri said. The kingdom, he said, was now ready to carry out airstrikes from Turkey's Incirlik air base, where four Saudi fighter jets arrived last week. The US is already using Incirlik for attacks inside Syria. Turkey has also urged allies to launch ground operations in Syria. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said Ankara and Riyadh could launch a ground operation in Syria "if there is a strategy." Threat to ceasefire There is currently a fragile ceasefire in Syria, which has held for the fourth day despite reports of breaches by various warring sides. On Monday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called out Turkey and other countries, saying they were damaging efforts made by all parties in relation to the Syrian peace process. He said Russia had noticed several incidents that violated the ceasefire deal on Syria, especially from Turkey and other countries neighboring Syria. 'We are concerned about the increasing military activities on the Syrian border. If the countries that are doing so intend to fulfill some agenda by force, then it would be a fatal blow to the prolonged efforts all sides have made to solve the Syria crisis,' he said. 'The governments of these nations, including the Turkish government, should fully realize their responsibility in what has happened,' said Ryabkov. Ryabkov said the US-led coalition should pay more attention inside its own circle, and not pass blame to Russia and the Syrian government. Syrian Popular Front for Change and Liberation leader Qadri Jamil also criticized Turkey for allegedly breaking the agreement. He called for the international community to impose sanctions on Turkey for its actions. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Saudi Jets to Launch Missions From Turkish Airbase Upon US Order - Riyadh Sputnik News 17:36 01.03.2016(updated 17:39 01.03.2016) According to the Saudi Defense Ministry, Riyadh will kick off it's combat missions in Syria as soon as the United States gives the green light. CAIRO (Sputnik) Four Saudi Arabian military aircraft that arrived at the Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey last week will begin carrying out combat missions in Syria after receiving corresponding orders from the US-run operation center, Saudi Defense Ministry adviser Ahmed Asiri told Sputnik Tuesday. 'The aircraft have not carried out any operations yet since they only arrived on Friday. Air operations are coordinated by the operational center of the coalition, based in Qatar and run by the United States. If they give the order to conduct combat operations, they will be fulfilled,' Asiri said. Riyadh's deployment of four F-15E Strike Eagle fighter-bombers joins US, German and Qatari aircraft taking part in the anti-Daesh airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. The US-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the group, banned in a number of countries including Russia, in Syria since mid-2014 without approval from Damascus or the United Nations. The Incirlik base is 5 miles north of the Turkish city of Adana near the Syrian border. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkey 'Main Violator' of Ceasefire Regime in Syria's North Sputnik News 18:07 28.02.2016(updated 19:22 28.02.2016) The Syrian ceasefire is generally holding, apart from Turkey violating it in the country's north, a member of the Syrian opposition delegation formed after meetings in Moscow and Cairo told Sputnik on Sunday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Turkey has been shelling towns in northern Syria recently. 'The most serious violation of ceasefire is in the north of Syria on the border with Turkey. This is a violation of the ceasefire regime by Turkey. The rest are separate cases. The overall situation is fine,' Qadri Jamil, one of the leaders of the Syrian Popular Front for Change and Liberation, said. Ankara has claimed the Syrian Kurds have links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is fighting for Kurdish independence from Turkey and is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara. Russia and the United States reached an agreement on the ceasefire in Syria on February 22. The ceasefire took effect at midnight on Saturday Damascus time (22:00 GMT on Friday). The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2268 endorsing the Russia-US agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria on Friday, shortly before the ceasefire came into force. The cessation of hostilities does not apply to designated terrorist organizations operating in Syria, including Islamic State (IS) and the Nusra Front, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda. Turkish Presdient Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized the ceasefire deal, arguing Syria's Kurdish Democratic Union (PYD) and the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) should be excluded from the ceasefire process in the same way that the Islamic State is. Ankara considers the PYD and YPG to be terrorist organizations. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Nusra Front Shells Syrian Opposition in Latakia, Killing Civilians Sputnik News 16:29 28.02.2016(updated 17:27 28.02.2016) The Nusra Front terrorists shelled a Desert Falcons opposition unit in Syria's Latakia, killing and wounding militia members and civilians, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Sunday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russia and the United States reached an agreement on the ceasefire in Syria on February 22. The ceasefire took effect at midnight on Saturday Damascus time (22:00 GMT on Friday). 'The terrorists of the Nusra Front international terrorist organization carried out a mortar attack against the Desert Falcons people's opposition unit from the area controlled by the 'moderate' opposition in the Latakia province near the settlement of Kbana. There are large numbers of killed and wounded people among the opposition and local residents,' the statement read. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2268 endorsing the Russia-US agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria on Friday, shortly before the ceasefire came into force. The cessation of hostilities does not apply to designated terrorist organizations operating in Syria, including Islamic State (IS) and the Nusra Front, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda. The Syrian government has confirmed its readiness to halt its military actions in accordance with the Russia-US agreement. Some opposition forces have been skeptical about the ceasefire, but in general have agreed to adhere to it. According to Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the conflicting Syrian sides that are ready to abide by the ceasefire have contacted the Russian coordination center for reconciliation in Syria's Latakia province over 10 times during the first day it has been in operation. Russia and the United States can bomb any Syrian militant groups that have expressed their unwillingness to observe the ceasefire, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov noted. Washington, in its turn, said it was discussing a so-called Plan B to be implemented in the event that the Syrian ceasefire agreement is violated. Moscow has ruled out any Plan B for Syria. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian Army Not Returning Fire at Russian Request After Damascus Shelled Sputnik News 15:45 28.02.2016(updated 16:30 28.02.2016) The Syrian army, following a request from the Russian center on reconciliation, did not return fire after Damascus was shelled Saturday from the regions of Ghuta and Jobar, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Sunday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) According to the statement, the Syrian capital of Damascus was shelled six times on Saturday morning from the regions of eastern Ghuta and Jobar, where the so-called 'moderate opposition' is stationed. 'The Syrian government troops did not return fire, upon the request of the Russian center on reconciliation,' the statement read. A ceasefire between Syrian government and rebel forces that entered its second day is largely holding, the head of Russia's ceasefire monitoring center at the Hmeymim airbase in Latakia said Sunday. On Wednesday, Russian servicemen started their work at a coordination center for reconciliation in Syria's Latakia province at the Hmeymim airbase. Russia and the United States reached an agreement on the ceasefire in Syria on February 22. The ceasefire took effect at midnight on Saturday Damascus time (22:00 GMT on Friday). The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2268 endorsing the Russia-US agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria on Friday, shortly before the ceasefire came into force. The cessation of hostilities does not apply to designated terrorist organizations operating in Syria, including Daesh and the Nusra Front, a terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaeda. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Carter: Cease-Fire in Syria Could Be 'First Step' in Ending Civil War By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, February 29, 2016 The cessation of hostilities in Syria could be a 'first step' in ending Syria's civil war, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said today during a Pentagon news conference. The agreement, which went into effect over the weekend, could also be a move toward helping the Syrian people, Carter said. Brokered by the U.S. and Russia, the cessation of hostilities includes the Syrian government, Russia and several rebel factions. 'If properly implemented and adhered to, we believe this cessation can lead to an overall decline in violence and hasten the delivery of humanitarian aid,' Carter said. 'It could be a first step towards an end of the civil war and the suffering of the Syrian people.' Other Issues Require Resolution Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was with Carter at the news conference and said other issues will have to be resolved for the violence to permanently end. 'A lasting peace in Syria is going to require addressing the grievances associated with the civil war and a political process that leads to transition,' Dunford said. Officials are constantly monitoring the situation on the ground, the defense secretary said. 'We will see in coming days if all parties back commitments they have made in words with their actions,' he added. Carter made it clear the developments would not impact coalition efforts to accelerate the operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The Syrian civil war was one of the causes that led to the creation of ISIL in the first place, he said. 'There is no cessation of hostilities in the counter-ISIL campaign,' Carter said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Saudi Arabia trying to thwart truce in Syria: Damascus Iran Press TV Mon Feb 29, 2016 5:2PM The Syrian government has warned against Saudi Arabia's attempts to undermine a cessation of hostilities agreement that recently came into effect across the war-hit country. The Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday that remarks by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir about a plan B in Syria are clearly aimed at derailing the truce. 'What Adel al-Jubeir says ... about a plan B regarding the current developments in Syria is merely a delusion in the mind of the Saudi regime,' a Syrian Foreign Ministry official said in the statement, adding, 'Jubeir's statements are ... an attempt to thwart the cessation of combat operations.' It also stressed that recent statements by the Saudi minister demonstrate the kingdom's 'destructive role' in Syria. Jubeir's comments are 'lies meant to boost the morale' of Saudi-backed militants who have suffered setbacks in recent weeks in different parts of Syria, it noted. Saudi Arabia is among the regional countries known as the main supporters of the militants fighting the Syrian government forces. The Saudi foreign minister on Sunday said Riyadh will consider an alternate plan if it becomes clear that Syria and Russia are not serious about the ceasefire. The comments by the Saudi minister prompted Russia to say a Syria plan B is totally out of the question. A ceasefire agreed by the United States and Russia took effect in Syria on February 27 midnight Damascus time. The Syrian government also accepted the terms of the truce on condition that military efforts against Daesh and the al-Nusra Front Takfiri militants, who are not included in the ceasefire agreement, continue. According to a statement by Syrian Foreign Ministry, the country's military, however, reserves the right to 'respond to any breach by these groups against Syrian citizens or against its armed forces.' The ceasefire agreement in Syria has revived hopes that the truce would lead to an end of nearly five years of war in the country. Over the past few weeks, Syrian government forces have managed to retake major positions from the foreign-backed militants in Syria. The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has claimed the lives of some 470,000 people and left 1.9 million injured, according to the Syrian Center for Policy Research. Syria accuses Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar of funding and arming terrorist groups operating inside the country, including Daesh. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian forces regain control of strategic road in Aleppo Iran Press TV Mon Feb 29, 2016 10:54AM Syrian government forces have managed to retake control of a strategic road in northern Syria in a new major advancement that paves the way for purging the northern city of Aleppo of the Takfiri Daesh terrorists. The Syrian forces liberated Khanasir-Ithriya road in the southeast of Aleppo Province from Daesh on Monday, and are currently defusing the explosive devices planted by the terrorist group. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the advance, adding that government forces engaged in battles with Daesh terrorists in the area. The Syrian forces had been relying on the route to reach Aleppo because terrorists control the main highway to the city further west. Syrian troops regained control of the village and the hill of Tal al-Hamam south of the town of Khanasir earlier on Monday. Khanasir, which lies 50 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of the city of Aleppo, had been liberated from terrorists on Friday. Syria has been grappling with foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. According to a recent report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country's pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkey's Reinforcement of Syria Border May Derail Truce - Russian Military Sputnik News 22:48 29.02.2016 The commander of the Russian center on reconciliation in Syria stated that the deployment of reinforcements, including armed vehicles, by Turkey on the Syrian border could lead to the derailment of a fragile truce in war-torn Syria. LATAKIA (Sputnik) The deployment of reinforcements, including armed vehicles, by Turkey on the Syrian border could lead to the derailment of a fragile truce in war-torn Syria, the commander of the Russian center on reconciliation in Syria said Monday. A footage by a Russian television channel circulated on Sunday showed deployment of additional armored vehicles and strengthening of firing positions by the Turkish military near the town of Tell Abyad. 'We consider these actions as provocative acts that could derail the ceasefire regime and the entire reconciliation process in Syria,' Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko told reporters at the Hmeimim airbase near Latakia. Turkey has also been shelling other towns in northern Syria, claiming that the Syrian Kurds have links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is fighting for Kurdish independence from Turkey and is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara. Russia and the United States reached an agreement on the ceasefire in Syria on February 22. The ceasefire took effect at midnight on Saturday Damascus time. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2268 endorsing the Russia-US agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria on Friday, shortly before the ceasefire came into force. The cessation of hostilities does not apply to designated terrorist organizations operating in Syria, including IS and the Nusra Front, both outlawed in Russia. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian Government Blasts Saudi Attempts to Undermine Ceasefire Sputnik News 22:33 29.02.2016(updated 22:42 29.02.2016) Damascus condemns Saudi Arabia's Plan B as a delusion designed to 'boost morale of terrorists.' On Monday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry blasted remarks by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir as an attempt to undermine the recently enacted cessation of hostilities agreement. 'What Adel al-Jubeir says about a Plan B regarding the current developments in Syria is merely a delusion in the mind of the Saudi regime,' the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in the statement. 'Jubeir's statements are an attempt to thwart the cessation of combat operations.' The Syrian government warned of Riyadh's 'destructive role' in the country, questioning their commitment to combat Daesh and other Islamic fundamentalist terror organizations. Jubeir's comments are a 'lie meant to boost the morale of militants,' retorted the statement. Saudi Arabia is recognized as the primary financial supporter of militants fighting against Syrian governmental forces, with conflicting reports on whether these militants are associated with Daesh or other terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda and with differing opinions as to the implications of this support on the battle to degrade Daesh. The Syrian Foreign Ministry along with Russian officials have repeatedly charged Saudi Arabia, along with Turkey and Qatar, with funding, arming, and providing material support to terrorist groups within the country, including Daesh. The US government nonetheless maintains that Saudi, Turkey, and Qatar are allies in the fight against Daesh, and have called for the transition of the Assad regime as a necessary predicate for stabilizing the internal politics in Syria to better contain the spread of Daesh. On Sunday, only hours after the ceasefire went into effect, Riyadh declared that they will 'consider an alternate plan if it becomes clear that Syria and Russia are not serious about the ceasefire.' Russian officials responded fiercely saying that 'a Syria plan B is totally out of the question.' The ceasefire, negotiated between Russian and US leaders, took effect on midnight Saturday. The Syrian government accepted the terms of the truce, which provided that the military effort against Daesh and the al-Nusra Front Takfiri militants would continue unabated. In a related statement, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said that Syria 'reserves the right to respond to any breach by these groups (Daesh or al-Nusra) against Syrian citizens or against its armed forces.' Saturday's ceasefire agreement inspired hope that the five-year civil war in Syria would soon come to a close. The conflict in Syria, which began in March 2011, has claimed the lives of 470,000, left over 1.9 million injured, and have displaced over 13.5 million Syrians or roughly 60% of the country's entire population, according to the Syrian Center for Policy Research. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Jets Bomb Nusra Front Near Aleppo to Stabilize Situation - MoD Sputnik News 22:14 29.02.2016(updated 22:15 29.02.2016) The Russian center on Syrian reconciliation said Monday that Russian combat jets have carried out airstrikes against the Nusra Front militant group, which is forbidden in Russia, north of the Syrian city of Aleppo to stabilize the situation. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russian combat jets have carried out airstrikes against the Nusra Front militant group, which is forbidden in Russia, north of the Syrian city of Aleppo to stabilize the situation, the Russian center on Syrian reconciliation said Monday as quoted by the country's Defense Ministry. According to the statement, the Nusra Front has been shelling the Syrian army positions from the Narb-Nafsa settlement. 'In order to stabilize the situation, the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out missile and bomb attacks against the attacking units of the Nusra Front militants in regions north of Aleppo and attack positions of terrorists near the Narb-Nafsa settlement,' the statement reads. The center reiterated that no attacks were being carried out against the opposition groups in Syria which had agreed to the ceasefire. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian MoD Says Truce in Syria 'Holding in General' Sputnik News 21:29 29.02.2016(updated 22:55 29.02.2016) The ceasefire regime in Syria has been respected in general by the government forces and armed opposition groups, only seven violations have been registered, the commander of the Russian center on reconciliation in Syria said Monday. LATAKIA (Sputnik) The Russian center carried out round-the-clock monitoring of cessation of hostilities in the Hama, Homs, Latakia, Damascus, Aleppo and Daraa provinces. 'The ceasefire regime between government troops and opposition forces in Syria is being respected in general,' Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko told reporters at the Hmeimim airbase near Latakia. 'Officers at the Russian center on Syrian reconciliation registered only seven ceasefire violations in the past 24 hours,' Kuralenko stressed. The ceasefire regime in Syria, which came into force last Saturday has been respected in general by the government forces and armed opposition groups, only seven violations have been registered, the commander of the Russian center on reconciliation in Syria said Monday. 'The ceasefire regime between government troops and opposition forces in Syria is being respected in general,' Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko told reporters at the Hmeimim airbase near Latakia. Kuralenko said the Russian center carried out round-the-clock monitoring of cessation of hostilities in the Hama, Homs, Latakia, Damascus, Aleppo and Daraa provinces. 'Officers at the Russian center on Syrian reconciliation registered only seven ceasefire violations in the past 24 hours,' Kuralenko stressed. Russia and the United States reached an agreement on the ceasefire in Syria on February 22. The truce excluded the terrorist groups Islamic State and the Nusra Front, both of which are outlawed in Russia. The Syrian government has confirmed its readiness to halt its military actions in accordance with the Russia-US agreement. Some opposition forces have been skeptical about the ceasefire, but in general have agreed to adhere to it. The ceasefire took effect at midnight on Saturday Damascus time. On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russia's ceasefire monitoring center at the Hmeimim airbase in Syria's Latakia had received from the United States the list of 69 opposition groups pledging to stick to the ceasefire regime in the country. The ministry added the US-run monitoring center in the Jordanian capital of Amman had been informed about all facts of ceasefire violation in Syria. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Refutes Reports Moscow, Damascus Violating Syria Truce - Ministry Sputnik News 16:31 29.02.2016(updated 17:11 29.02.2016) Sergei Ryabkov dismissed reports that Moscow and Damascus are violating the ceasefire in Syria. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov dismissed reports on Monday that Moscow and Damascus are violating the ceasefire in Syria. On Sunday, media reports emerged claiming that Russia and Syria were carrying out airstrikes against areas controlled by the so-called moderate opposition factions which had agreed to ceasefire. 'We investigate such reports. I have to tell you that as of today, there is no truth to these reports,' Ryabkov told reporters. 'We believe that instead of using unsuitable means to try and blame Russia for the fragility of the current ceasefire, the US-led anti-IS coalition should urge some of its subordinates to be more careful at this time,' he added. Russia and the United States reached an agreement on the ceasefire in Syria on February 22. The ceasefire took effect at midnight on Saturday Damascus time. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2268 endorsing the Russia-US agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria on Friday, shortly before the ceasefire came into force. The cessation of hostilities does not apply to designated terrorist organizations operating in Syria, including Islamic State and the Nusra Front, both outlawed in Russia. Late on Sunday, Russian top diplomat Sergei Lavrov and US State Secretary John Kerry held a phone conversation calling on media not to broadcast unconfirmed provocative information on Syria ceasefire violations, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Moscow Disturbed Over Military Preparations Along Syria's Borders Sputnik News 15:59 29.02.2016(updated 16:23 29.02.2016) Deputy Foreign Minister said that Russia is very disturbed by the military preparations along the Syrian border which threaten fragile ceasefire agreement. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Military preparations along the Syrian borders are very disturbing. If countries like Turkey plan to use force, this would become a fatal blow to everything that has been done so far, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Monday. "We cannot but be disturbed by the military preparation and the strengthening activity along the Syrian border. If the governments of those countries, which are involved in this activity, plan on using military force to reach some sort of goals, this by all means would be the final fatal blow to everything that has been done with great labor up to now," Ryabkov said at a press conference in Moscow. He said that Turkey, as well as other countries, needs to fully understand their responsibility for what is happening. Other countries, including Turkey, using force in Syria would be a fatal blow to everything that has been achieved in terms of Syrian settlement so far, Sergei Ryabkov said Monday. 'We, of course, cannot but be concerned about intensified military preparations near Syria's border. If the governments of countries engaged in these activities intend to use military force in Syria, this would, basically, be a fatal blow to everything that has been achieved so far through much hard work,' Ryabkov told reporters. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian Army Drives Terrorists Out of Key Areas in Hama Province Amid Truce Sputnik News 14:49 29.02.2016(updated 16:51 29.02.2016) The Syrian Army and the country's National Defense Force have managed to liberate more strategic territories in Hama Province from Daesh terrorists, media reports said. More key areas in the central province of Hama have been won back by the Syrian Army and the country's National Defense Force (NDF), in an offensive that has left dozens of Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) terrorists dead and many more wounded, according to the Iranian news agency FARS. The moping-up operation was launched after Syrian troops retook full control over the village of Hammam, 'after a violent battle with the ISIL' in the northeastern part of Hama Province, FARS quoted sources as saying. During the operation, the Syrian forces managed to clean the heights surrounding the village, including Hammam Height, from the terrorists so as to restore more security to the Ithriya-Khanaser road. 'Clashes are still ongoing between the Syrian Armed Forces and ISIL along the Sheikh Hillal-Ithriyah Road; however, the government forces are steadily advancing amid the Russian Air Force's non-stop bombardment in northeastern Hama,' sources said. The Syrian Army and the NDF cleared the village after Daesh attempted to recapture it late last week, when more than 30 terrorists were killed and 40 more injured in the army's offensive, according to sources. Syria has been mired in a civil war since 2011, with forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting against a number of opposition factions and extremist groups, including Daesh and the Al-Nusra Front, which are prohibited in many countries, including Russia. Earlier this month, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2268, endorsing the Russia-US agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria, shortly before the ceasefire came into force at midnight last Saturday, Damascus time (22:00 GMT on Friday). The cessation of hostilities does not apply to designated terrorist organizations operating in Syria, including Daesh and the Al-Nusra Front, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda. Adding to the Syrian Army's anti-terror effort is Russia's ongoing air campaign in Syria which 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 President Assad. The Russian Defense Ministry said, in turn, that 'Russian aircraft aren't performing strikes in those regions where a willingness to cease fire and to start negotiations were expressed. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Nusra Front Terrorists Attack Kurdish Residential Areas in Syria's Aleppo Sputnik News 14:08 29.02.2016(updated 14:29 29.02.2016) According to a source in a local militia, Nusra Front extremist fighters on Monday fired rockets at several mainly Kurdish-populated residential areas in city of Aleppo in northern Syria. BEIRUT (Sputnik) Nusra Front extremist fighters on Monday fired rockets at several mainly Kurdish-populated residential areas in city of Aleppo in northern Syria, a source in a local militia said. 'Jabhat al-Nusra today fired rockets into the neighborhoods of Mashariq, Ashrafiya, Zahra and Sheikh Maqsoud places where Kurds live. The streets of the Bani Zaid block have been attacked by snipers for several hours,' the source told RIA Novosti. The group also reportedly attacked a number of Syrian army and people's militia checkpoints in Aleppo, the source said. 'The number of terrorists was small, the fight was short-lived and the militants retreated,' the source added. The attacks have resulted in no casualties, according to the source. Russia and the United States reached an agreement on a ceasefire in Syria on February 22. The ceasefire took effect at midnight on Saturday, Damascus time (22:00 GMT on Friday). The cessation of hostilities does not apply to terrorist groups operating in Syria, such as the Nusra Front, which is banned in Russia. A source told RIA Novosti on Saturday that militant groups allied with the Nusra Front opened fire in civilian areas of Aleppo and Homs after midnight. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN agency restores full rations in Syria with boost in donor funding 29 February 2016 The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that new funding pledged during a conference in London earlier this month will enable the agency to fully reinstate its food assistance to Syrians. The record pledge of $675 million made during the 'Supporting Syria and the Region Conference' will support a "comprehensive restoration" of food assistance for refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt from March until the end of the year, WFP said in a press release today. "On behalf of the Syrian people whose lives have been torn apart by the conflict, we thank those world leaders who stepped up in London. Their generosity means we are able to fully meet the immediate basic food assistance needs of 1.8 million refugees in the region and 4.5 million Syrians inside the country who rely on WFP assistance every day," said WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin. The funds will also enable WFP to provide a full food basket for families inside Syria from April until October 2016. WFP noted that the pledges will also support increased school meals and other in-kind activities in Syria that will "help restore hope for a better future for the millions of people affected by the crisis." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN: Syria Cease-fire Largely Holding Despite 'Incidents' by VOA News February 29, 2016 U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that despite 'some incidents' the cessation of hostilities in Syria is largely holding on its third day. Ban said several reported violations of the agreement are troubling; however, he noted that a multinational task force monitoring the truce is working to make sure violations do not spread and the halt in fighting can continue. He stressed that the break in fighting continue. "We can continue to deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance to many people, at least 400,000 people who are living in besieged areas. ... So, it is absolutely important and crucial that the parties keep their promise. That is a very important one." Attack allegations French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called for a meeting of the task force 'without delay' to discuss reported air attacks on rebel-held areas. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said 'if properly adhered to,' the cessation can lead to an overall decline in violence. 'It could be the first step towards a political solution that would end the civil war and the suffering of the Syrian people,' he added. The cease-fire began Saturday. There was a noticeable uptick in violation claims on Monday with Syrian rebels alleging the Assad regime attacked towns and villages they hold 26 times. Seven of the breeches they claimed consisted of barrel bombing by low-flying regime helicopters. Targeting 'populated areas' "The regime has continued to target populated areas using helicopter raids using explosive barrels, resulting in a large number of fatalities and causing significant injuries, most of whom were innocent women and children," Riad Hijab, the rebels' chief negotiator, complained in a formal letter to the United Nations. Rebels claim there have been 24 recorded breaches involving regime artillery shelling and five incidents of offensive ground operations. "Hostilities committed by Russian, Iranian, the Syrian regime, and foreign militias and mercenaries allied to them have continued against the Syrian people despite the truce taking effect on 27 February 2016," Hijab's said. He added: "Right from the onset of the truce, a large number of violations have been committed by the regime and its allies in several parts of Syria." Hijab said on Sunday Russian fighter jets launched twenty-six air strikes against territory held by opposition groups which have announced and entered into the truce. "Disturbingly significant is the fact that cluster bombs as well as Thermobaric weapons have been used," he wrote. Map of opposition groups Rebels say a map issued publicly at the start of the truce by the Russian Ministry of Defense detailing the positions of moderate opposition groups is full of errors. They are urging the U.N. to draw up a separate map. Russian monitors Sunday said they have recorded nine violations of the truce, attributing most to the rebels. Meanwhile, the U.N. planned to begin aid deliveries Monday in hopes of reaching more than 150,000 Syrians in besieged areas. Many of these people have been without any aid for up to a year, the U.N. said. The U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Yacoub El Hillo, said the shipments are scheduled for multiple areas across Syria between Monday and Friday. 'It is the best opportunity that the Syrian people have had over the last five years for lasting peace and stability,' he said. The U.N. plans to provide those trapped by fighting with food, water and sanitation supplies, medicine and other relief items. Ban said the U.N. needs about two weeks to deliver the humanitarian deliveries. UN endorsement Less than an hour before the temporary truce went into effect, members of the U.N. Security Council unanimously endorsed the deal. At the same meeting, the U.N. envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura announced that if the truce largely holds and humanitarian aid access continues he will reconvene intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva on March 7. The co-chairs of the International Support Group for Syria (ISSG), Russia and the United States, will be responsible for addressing violations, not the United Nations. President Barack Obama said the United States will do everything it can to make the agreement hold. Jamie Dettmer in Turkey and Lisa Schlein in Geneva contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Refugee Crisis Deepens Amid Shaky Syria Cease-fire by Heather Murdock February 29, 2016 On the Greek side of the border with Macedonia on Monday, refugees and other migrants tried to break through a border fence as anger boiled over at barriers impeding their access. Police in Macedonia fired tear gas hoping to keep the throngs of people out of the country. As the unrest among refugees fleeing the Middle East spreads along European borders, a shaky cease-fire that began on Saturday has reduced the level of violence in Syria; but, until major power players in the region figure out how to overcome mutually exclusive positions, battles will continue to flare and the refugee crisis will continue to deepen, according to analysts. And with the approach of spring weather, the crisis will worsen, according to Yan St. Pierre of Berlin-based security group, Mosecon. "That is everybody's fear," he said, adding, "that once the weather becomes milder, that there will be a much larger influx of refugees and certainly more attempts to cross over into Europe." All sides have accused their enemies of violating the terms of the cease-fire, but the United Nations says the relative calm may allow them to deliver emergency aid to 150,000 people this week. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault warned on Monday that reports of continued airstrikes could threaten the cease-fire. "France has therefore demanded that the task force charged with overseeing the cessation of hostilities meet without delay,' he said. End in sight? Actually ending the war will require rival powers, including Saudi Arabia and Iran and their respective allies, to negotiate deals on issues on which they take opposing, hard-line views, according to Khaled Almaeena, a veteran Saudi journalist and former editor-in-chief of Saudi Gazette. For example, he said, Saudi Arabia will accept no future for Syria that includes President Bashar al-Assad, a staunch Iran ally who has vowed to retake all of Syria. "I think we are politically mature enough that there has to be a transition period," he added. "If Assad goes, then who will fill in the vacuum?" He said negotiating peace in Syria is a seemingly impossible task that cannot be completed quickly. The current cease-fire may contribute to the peace process, according to St. Pierre, but it also may give some groups of fighters the chance to regroup and prepare for long-term battle. Additionally, militant groups like Islamic State and al-Nusra Front are not part of the peace talks or the cease-fire and vow to continue the violence, despite any international agreements. Continued U.S. coalition and Russian attacks on Islamic State militants are contributing to the refugee crisis, as families flee U.S.-led coalition and Russian airstrikes in addition to the ground war, said St. Pierre. "The more they keep bombing," he said, "the more refugees they produce." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia after Turkey-Syria border closure over arms flow Iran Press TV Tue Mar 1, 2016 1:30PM Russia's foreign minister has called for the closure of the Turkish border with Syria, saying the region is used to smuggle weapons into the Arab country to supply terror groups operating in Syria. Sergei Lavrov told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday that some of the smuggled arms are hidden in humanitarian aid cargo. 'A very special task is to cut the terrorists' supply from the outside. For this purpose it is important to close the Syrian-Turkish border, since across this border those gangs receive arms, including with humanitarian convoys,' he noted. Lavrov further described a landslide defeat of the Daesh Takfiri terror group, the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and those of their kind as 'a necessary precondition for securing the rights of long-suffering peoples of Syria' and the rest of the region. Turkey has been among the main supporters of the militant groups operating in Syria, with reports saying that Ankara actively trains and arms the Takfiri terrorists there and facilitates their safe passage into the crisis-hit Arab state. Ankara has also been accused on numerous occasions of being involved in illegal oil trade with the Daesh. Russia has released pictures and videos purportedly showing the movement of oil tankers from Daesh-controlled areas in Syria toward Turkey. On February 28, the Russian ceasefire monitoring center in Syria said it was verifying reports that an attack on the Kurdish town of Tal Abyad in Syria was carried out by militants coming from Turkey. Daesh militants launched an assault to capture Tal Abyad and Suluk early on February 27, an official of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), Redur Xelil, said, adding that the towns were attacked from two sides with some terrorists progressing from across the Turkish border and some others from the south. On February 16, Russia's Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov also announced that terrorists active in Syria's volatile northwestern region receive arms smuggled through the Turkish border during night. Back in May 2015, the center-left Turkish daily Cumhuriyet posted on its website footage showing trucks belonging to Turkey's National Intelligence Organization, also known as the MIT, allegedly carrying weapons for militant groups in Syria. The Cumhuriyet video also purportedly showed trucks of the MIT being inspected by security officers. The daily reported that the trucks were carrying some 1,000 mortar shells, hundreds of grenade launchers and more than 80,000 rounds of ammunition for light and heavy weapons. The Turkish government denied the allegations, saying the trucks had been carrying humanitarian aid to Syria. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syria patience limited on truce breaches: President Assad Iran Press TV Tue Mar 1, 2016 12:11PM President Bashar al-Assad of Syria says the army has so far refrained from responding to breaches of the ceasefire in the country but there are 'limits' to its patience. 'The terrorists have breached the deal from the first day,' the Syrian president was quoted Tuesday by state media as saying in an interview with German broadcaster ARD's Weltspiegel Extra program which will be aired in full later. 'We as the Syrian army are refraining from responding in order to give a chance to sustain the agreement and that is what we can do. But in the end there are limits and it all depends on the other side.' President Assad said the cessation of hostilities is a 'glimmer of hope,' adding, 'We will play our part to make the whole thing work.' The ceasefire went into effect on February 27. It was brokered by the United States and Russia. Assad also stated that people living in Syria are suffering from a 'humanitarian disaster.' The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which started in March 2011, has claimed the lives of some 470,000 people and left 1.9 million injured, according to the Syrian Center for Policy Research. The Syrian president offered amnesty to those militants who will put down their arms, and said they can 'return to normal civilian life' on that condition. Also on Tuesday, the UN said in a statement that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed that there is an urgent need to implement the ceasefire agreement. 'They agreed on the importance of urgently moving forward simultaneously on implementing the cessation of hostilities agreement, providing vital humanitarian assistance to civilians, and returning to political negotiations,' the statement said, referring to the two officials. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syria Ground Operation Yet to Be Discussed at Military Level - Riyadh Sputnik News 17:07 01.03.2016(updated 17:25 01.03.2016) A ground operation in Syria is yet to be discussed at a military level, Saudi Defense Ministry adviser Ahmed Asiri told Sputnik. CAIRO (Sputnik) A possible ground operation in Syria has been discussed at a political level but military discussions have yet to start, Saudi Defense Ministry adviser Ahmed Asiri told Sputnik on Tuesday. 'Defense ministers made this decision in Brussels at a political level. So far, no preparatory work has been carried out at a military level. When we have a plan ready, we will act in accordance with it and [a ground operation] will be carried out,' Asiri said. On February 5, media reported that Saudi Arabia could send thousands of ground forces to Syria, most likely in coordination with Turkey, to take part in the fight against the Daesh jihadist group. Shortly after that, Turkey reportedly sent troops to its border, and also intensified the shelling of Kurdish-held areas in northern border regions of Syria. Syrian President Bashar Assad said Syria would regard Saudi and Turkish troops, if they are to be sent to Syria, as terrorists. Riyadh and Ankara have been members of the US-led coalition that has been launching airstrikes against Daesh in Syria since September 2014, without the permission of Damascus or the United Nations. Daesh is a terrorist group, outlawed in a number of countries, including the United States and Russia. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Daesh Prepares 'Powerful Attack' on Key Kurdish-Held Syrian City Sputnik News 15:43 01.03.2016(updated 15:46 01.03.2016) Daesh terrorists are preparing a new attack on the Kurdish-held city of Tell Abyad in Syria, Kurdistan National Congress spokesman Selahattin Soro said Tuesday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Soro said that Daesh terrorists are reinforcing themselves in their so-called capital of Raqqa in Syria. "There's information that Daesh is currently preparing a new, more powerful attack on Tell Abyad, it is reinforcing its ranks in its 'capital' city of Raqqa that's not far from Tell Abyad," Soro told RIA Novosti in an interview. He said Tell Abyad is a strategically important city for the Daesh due to oil smuggling routes. "This is a strategically important city. Oil is transferred from Daesh's territory into Turkey through it. Moreover, if the militants take Tell Abyad, the Kurdish territory will be split and communication between the cantons of Kobani and Cizre will be disrupted. Kobani will again fall to the militants as in 2014," Soro said. He said that the Kurds are counting on US help in attacking Daesh terrorists in the area, which also includes Syrian Kurdistan. "The [Americans] are helping, including from the air. They are conducting sorties from the Rumilan Base as well as from the Incirlik Base in Turkey," Soro said. More than 150 Kurdish militants died in the city of Aleppo and the canton of Afrin in the last four days since the Syrian truce came into effect, Kurdistan National Congress spokesman Selahattin Soro said Tuesday. "In the Afrin canton and the city of Aleppo alone around 150 Kurds have died since the truce came into effect. Most of them are civilians and only 25 were YPG [People's Protection Units] militants," Soro told RIA Novosti in an interview. He said that Russian Aerospace Forces were supporting Kurdish units in the Afrin canton and in Aleppo, "but now the Russians are observing the truce and aren't flying." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Jets Not Striking Syrian Moderate Opposition Observing Truce Sputnik News 15:10 01.03.2016(updated 15:13 01.03.2016) Russian warplanes did not attack regions controlled by Syria's 'moderate' opposition whose members joined the Moscow-Washington ceasefire agreement. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russian Aerospace Forces have not delivered any airstrikes in regions under control of Syrian moderate opposition units that are observing the truce agreements, the Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday. "The Russian Aerospace Forces have not carried out any airstrikes in regions controlled by units of the moderate opposition that have joined the truce agreement and are observing its conditions," the Defense Ministry said in a bulletin. On February 23, the United States and Russia reached an agreement to implement a ceasefire in Syria, to ensure humanitarian aid flows and take a tangible step toward a political resolution of the five-year-old conflict. The cessation of hostilities went into effect on Saturday, following the passage of resolution 2268 by the UN Security Council. The ceasefire applies to all fighting parties in Syria, except Daesh, Nusra Front and other groups designated as terrorist by the United Nations. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian Army Wins Back Hama-Aleppo Supply Line Amid Nationwide Offensive Sputnik News 09:52 01.03.2016(updated 13:26 01.03.2016) The Syrian Army and its popular allies have recaptured the government forces' main supply line from Hama to Aleppo after a series of fierce firefights with Daesh terrorists, Iran's Fars news agency reported. 'The Syrian government forces pushed Daesh militants back from their last positions along the strategic road connecting Ithriya in Hama province to Khanaser in Aleppo province,' the army said. "The engineering units of the army are working to defuse roadside bombs planted by the terrorists to reopen the road as soon as possible,' the army went on to say. Earlier reports said that the strategic village of Abu al-Karouz had been retaken from the terrorists and at least 14 militants had been killed in the government forces' ongoing offensive against Daesh terrorists in the southeastern parts of Aleppo province, Fars News wrote. Meanwhile, government troops, backed by the Republican Guard and the National Defense Forces, scored more military gains in other key provinces across the country, killing a number of militants and inflicting major damage to their military hardware. Russian fighter jets, in a fresh round of combat missions on Sunday, bombed several concentration centers of the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front in the eastern part of Aleppo province, inflicting major losses on the terrorists. In the coastal province of Latakia, Syrian Army commandos pushed the militant groups back from their positions and won back a strategic height overlooking Turkey. The terrorists left behind scores of dead and wounded members and fled their strongholds in the northern part of the province after coming under heavy attacks by the Syrian Army and National Defense Forces. The Syrian Army's anti-terrorism operation in the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor near the border with Iraq left at least 20 Daesh fighters dead and their military grid severely damaged. On Sunday Daesh pulled its fighters back from a key town in the north of Raqqa province on the border with Turkey under heavy attacks by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Assad: Syria Truce a 'Glimmer of Hope' by VOA News March 01, 2016 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Tuesday the cessation of hostilities in his country's five-year war is a 'glimmer of hope.' In a German television interview, Assad said his government will do its part to make the truce work. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the next few days 'critical' in building momentum toward the goal of de-escalating the Syrian conflict. He spoke to reporters Monday evening in Washington as Syria entered its fourth day under a cessation of hostilities that includes pro-government fighters and opposition forces, but not Islamic State militants or those from al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra. Kerry said he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agree there have been a number of violations since the truce began Saturday, but that they do not want to litigate them publicly. Instead, they will rely on a task force led by their two countries to investigate every reported violation and promote compliance with the halt in fighting. 'This is hard,' Kerry said. 'But the fact is that we need to stop the cycle of fighting and of bloodshed that is destroying Syria. It is that simple.' The task force monitoring the truce met Monday and Kerry said it will continue to do so regularly. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also said that despite 'some incidents' the cessation of hostilities was largely holding. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said 'if properly adhered to,' the cessation can lead to an overall decline in violence. 'It could be the first step towards a political solution that would end the civil war and the suffering of the Syrian people,' he added. There was a noticeable uptick in violation claims on Monday with Syrian rebels alleging the Assad regime attacked towns and villages they hold 26 times. Seven of the breeches they claimed consisted of barrel bombing by low-flying regime helicopters. "The regime has continued to target populated areas using helicopter raids using explosive barrels, resulting in a large number of fatalities and causing significant injuries, most of whom were innocent women and children," Riad Hijab, the rebels' chief negotiator, complained in a formal letter to the United Nations. Rebels claim there have been 24 recorded breaches involving regime artillery shelling and five incidents of offensive ground operations. "Hostilities committed by Russian, Iranian, the Syrian regime, and foreign militias and mercenaries allied to them have continued against the Syrian people despite the truce taking effect on 27 February 2016," Hijab's said. He added: "Right from the onset of the truce, a large number of violations have been committed by the regime and its allies in several parts of Syria." Rebels claim 26 Russian airstrikes Hijab said on Sunday Russian fighter jets launched 26 air strikes against territory held by opposition groups which have announced and entered into the truce. "Disturbingly significant is the fact that cluster bombs as well as Thermobaric weapons have been used," he wrote. Rebels say a map issued publicly at the start of the truce by the Russian Ministry of Defense detailing the positions of moderate opposition groups is full of errors. They are urging the U.N. to draw up a separate map. Russian monitors Sunday said they have recorded nine violations of the truce, attributing most to the rebels. Meanwhile, the U.N. and aid partners began deliveries Monday in hopes of reaching more than 150,000 Syrians in besieged areas. The U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Yacoub El Hillo, said the shipments are scheduled for multiple areas across Syria through Friday. 'It is the best opportunity that the Syrian people have had over the last five years for lasting peace and stability,' he said. U.N. envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said he will reconvene intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva on March 9, two days later than the original target date. The delay was needed to 'allow adequate time to address logistical and practical matters,' a U.N. spokesman said. United Nations correspondent Margaret Besheer and Jamie Dettmer contributed to this report . NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkey's 'Hidden War' Against Kurds May Be Deadlier Than Syria Sputnik News 21:55 29.02.2016(updated 22:06 29.02.2016) According to numbers supplied by Turkey's Human Rights Association, Turkey's military operation against Kurds in the country has been deadlier than the opening of the Syrian conflict. Turkey's operations in Kurdish areas have turned into an all-out was with hundreds of dead, head of Turkey's Human Rights Association Ozturk Turkdogan told Sputnik Turkiye. The intensity of the violence reported by Turkdogan can be compared to the opening months of the Syrian conflict in terms of both the scope of violence and civilian deaths reported by human rights bodies. Turkey's violence is somewhat more local when compared to Syria, although attacks on Turkish soldiers have taken place outside the restive Diyarbakir province. 'It is known that in Diyarbakir's Sur, the military is conducting an operation. That is, there is now a real war. Similarly, in Cizre, where, according to our estimates, the military has killed more than 200 civilians. The death toll among the civilian population in the area Sur already stands at about 100 people. In addition, about 130 people are injured and waiting to be saved,' Turkdogan told Sputnik Turkiye. Turkey's operation against Kurdish activists in the country's southeast began on December 2, 2015, subjecting the region's people to a round-the-clock curfew declared by the governor, despite such a measure being illegal in Turkey, Turkdogan said. 'With this in mind we can say that the curfew, is in fact the shell of a hidden war which is currently underway,' Turkdogan added. Turkey is also considering relocating civilians living in the areas, which the residents oppose because that would make them de facto prisoners of war. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gen. Breedlove: US Begins Training of Ukraine Defense Ministry Forces Sputnik News 19:46 01.03.2016 The United States has started training of Ukrainian Ministry of Defense forces in the western part of the country, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Philip Breedlove told the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The United States has also recently completed training the 'first generation' of Ukrainian special operations forces, Breedlove said. 'We are just starting the second class,' he added. 'We have just finished that iteration [of training for Ukrainian national guard forces] and now we are beginning to train the Ministry of Defense Forces in Yavoriv, and this is an incredibly successful program,' Breedlove said. As part of NATO partnership-building with Ukraine, Washington began providing additional military training to Ukraine in 2014. The training and increased joint NATO-Ukrainian military exercises followed western allegations that Russia was meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs. Moscow has repeatedly denied interfering militarily in Ukraine. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address For the quarter, net loss was $1.28 million (2015: $0.31 million), excluding a non-cash, unrealized foreign exchange gain of $1.75 million (2015: $1.21 million); Net gain for the quarter was $0.46 million ($0.005 per share) due to a $1.75 million non-cash, unrealized foreign exchange gain compared to a net gain of $0.90 million ($0.012 per share), after a $1.21 million non-cash, unrealized foreign exchange gain, for the same period last year; Year-to-date net loss, excluding a non-cash, unrealized foreign exchange gain, was $1.94 million compared to a net loss of $0.67 million for the comparative period last year; Year-to-date net gain was $2.61 million ($0.031 per share), primarily due to a $4.56 million non-cash, unrealized foreign exchange gain compared to a net gain of $2.14 million ($0.030 per share) for the same period last year; Cash and cash equivalents was $2.21 million at December 31, 2015, compared to $3.98 million at December 31, 2014. The variance was primarily due to legal fees regarding the recent arbitration, consulting fees pertaining to the Macquarie debt financing due diligence and exploration and evaluation spend at the Moss Mine Project that included the feasibility study; Total costs incurred to December 31, 2015 for the Moss Mine Project, including the Silver Creek Project, increased to $34.30 million, compared to $26.71 million for the same period in the prior year. The Company has taken significant measures to optimize and preserve its cash position and will continue to adapt to the challenging external environment. Phase I - Pilot Plant Operations continues to be on a scheduled care and maintenance program. Company staff maintain the site Monday to Friday on day shifts, while Mohave Security monitors the site on night shifts, weekends and holidays. The Company continues to safeguard the facilities on site in preparation of a future construction decision relating to Phase II - Commercial Operations. The Company has previously completed a field geological mapping and sampling program on areas outside of the main Moss vein system, indicating the property wide potential. Exploration potential is considered to be excellent both adjacent to the main Moss Vein System, both on strike and to depth, as well as property wide. Several target areas remain to be sampled and others require follow-up sampling to further define their potential. This potential will be evaluated once the Moss Mine is in production. The Bankable Feasibility Study was delivered and received by Patriot Gold on July 20, 2015 which completed the final requirement of the "earn-in" obligation under an Exploration and Option to enter Joint Venture Agreement Moss Mine Project with Patriot Gold Corp. ("Patriot Gold") effective March 7, 2011, whereby the Company was granted the right to earn a 70% interest in the Moss Mine project located in Mohave County, Arizona ("2011 Agreement"). The NI 43-101, Disclosure Standards for Mineral Projects Technical Report was filed on SEDAR on July 23, 2015. It is the Company's position that all costs incurred for services rendered or supplies received after July 20, 2015 will be shared on a 70:30 basis with Patriot Gold. The economic highlights of the Feasibility Study ("FS"), at prices of US$1,250/oz Gold and US$20/oz Silver, 100% Project basis using a discount factor of 5% in arriving at the Project Net Present Value ("NPV") and recoveries to dore for gold and silver of 82% and 65%, respectively, are summarized in the following table: Pre-Tax After-Tax NPV@ 5% US$75.30 M US$55.30 M IRR% 54.6% 44.3% Payback (yrs) 2.3 2.4 On September 15, 2015, the Company signed an Engagement Letter with indicative terms for Macquarie Bank Limited to provide project finance facilities of up to US$20 million (the "Macquarie Facility") to be used to fund the majority of the projected development costs of the Company's 70% owned Moss Mine Project. The Company has also received indicative terms for a US$6.5 million Equipment Finance Facility (the "Equipment Facility") from a major US bank. The Macquarie Facility and the Equipment Facility are complementary and together would provide up to US$26.5 million towards the estimated pre-production capital of US$33.0 million required to construct the planned gold-silver mine at the Moss Mine site. Due diligence work continues on the debt financings. The Advance Notice Policy was approved by shareholders at the annual general and special meeting held on December 29, 2015. As of December 31, 2015, the Company has approximately US$31.8 million in tax deduction pools that can be applied directly to the Company's 70% share of taxable income from the Moss Mine, to off-set future tax liabilities. Utilizing these tax deduction pools to the Company's portion of the joint venture will significantly enhance the Company's economics of the Moss Mine over and above the analysis of the Feasibility Study. On January 22, 2016, the Company announced that it had received the arbitrator's award arising out of the December 2015 arbitration with Patriot Gold, the details of which were previously disclosed. The Company prevailed on both the disputed matters. The arbitration award confirmed that the BFS delivered to Patriot Gold on July 20, 2015, met the requirements of the 2011 Agreement and the Company has earned a vested 70% interest in the Moss Mine. The arbitrator also dismissed Patriot Gold's claims to be paid US$5.5 million for the gold and silver proceeds from the 2013 Pilot Plant Operation. The key strategic priorities for the Company are to finalize a formal joint venture agreement in the nearer term on a 70:30 basis with Patriot Gold and complete debt, equipment and equity financings, following which the Company's development plans for the Moss Mine Project will commence. Additional priorities involve the continued exploration of the Moss and Silver Creek properties where the potential exists to make new discoveries and to continue to support the various community related initiatives that the Company has started in both the educational and community development areas. VANCOUVER, Feb 29, 2016 - Northern Vertex Mining Corp. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:NEE) announces that the Company's unaudited interim consolidated financial results for the second quarter fiscal 2016 ended December 31, 2015 have been filed on SEDAR. The full version of the Financial Statements and Management's Discussion & Analysis can be viewed on the Company's website at www.northernvertex.com or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.Dick Whittington, President & CEO, states, "2016 promises to be a transformative year for the Company. We are looking forward to finalizing our JV LLC agreement with Patriot Gold, completing the Macquarie debt financing and securing the necessary equity funds to commence our development plans for the Moss Mine. The robust economics, the excellent location and the relatively straightforward nature of the planned operation put us in a good position to deliver on these plans. It is an exciting time for the Company and its shareholders."The Company's directors and management believe that these priorities are formulating a solid foundation for Northern Vertex Mining Corp. , and its shareholders, as it continues working towards building a prosperous, well-respected and long-term mining company. Northern Vertex Mining Corp. is a Canadian based exploration and mining company focused on the reactivation of the Moss Mine Gold-Silver Project located in NW Arizona, USA where the Company has recently earned a 70% property interest and will form an LLC joint venture with Patriot Gold Corp. The Moss Mine Gold-Silver Project is an epithermal, brecciated, low sulphidation quartz-calcite vein and stockwork system which extends over a strike length of 1,400 meters and has been drill tested to depths of 370 meters vertically. It is a potential heap leach, open pit project that has been advanced to the Feasibility Study stage to ensure that technical, economic, permitting and funding requirements are met prior to proceeding with the development of the mine. The Company's management comprises an experienced management team with a strong background in all aspects of acquisition, exploration, development, operations and financing of mining projects worldwide. The Company is focused on working effectively and respectfully with our stakeholders in the vicinity of the historical Moss Mine and enhancing the capacity of the local communities in the area.The foregoing technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Mr. L.J. Bardswich, P. Eng., General Manager Moss Project, and a Qualified Person ("QP") for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects).ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORSJ.R.H. (Dick) WhittingtonPresident & CEONeither 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.Cautionary Note About Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains statements about our future business and planned activities. These are "forward-looking" because we have used what we know and expect today to make a statement about the future. Forward-looking statements including but are not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work and analyses. Forward-looking statements usually include words such as may, intend, plan, expect, anticipate, believe or other similar words. We believe the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable. However, actual events and results could be substantially different because of the risks and uncertainties associated with our business or events that happen after the date of this news release. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. As a general policy, we do not update forward-looking statements except as required by securities laws and regulations.Cautionary Note to US Investors: This news release uses the terms "Measured", "Indicated", and "Inferred" resources. US investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. "Inferred Mineral Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. US investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources will ever be converted into Mineral Reserves. US Investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a Mineral Resource is economically or legally mineable.2016 number 03Investor Relations604-601-3656 or 1-855-633-8798www.northernvertex.com Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCwire) - Kings Bay Gold Corporation (TSXv: KBG) (Kings Bay or the Company) announces that it has changed its auditors from Magnus Chartered Accountants (the "Former Auditors") to MNP LLP (the "Successor Auditors") effective February 29, 2016. At the request of the Company, the Former Auditors resigned as auditors of the Company effective February 29, 2016. The Board of Directors of the Company on the recommendation of management has appointed the Successor Auditors as the Company's auditors in place of the Former Auditors effective February 29, 2016. There were no reservations in the Former Auditors' reports for the two most recently completed fiscal years or for any period subsequent to the most recently completed period for which an audit report was issued and preceding the date of the Former Auditors' resignation. There are no reportable events between the Company and the Former Auditors. The Notice of Change of Auditors, together with the letter from the Former Auditors and the letter from the Successor Auditors, has been reviewed by the Company's Board of Directors and has been posted on SEDAR. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Kings Bay Gold Corporation Dusan Berka Dusan Berka Director, President Tel: (604) 681-1568 This news release includes certain forward-looking statements concerning the future performance of Kings Bay Gold Corporations business, its operations and its financial performance and condition, as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words as "may", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend" and similar words referring to future events and results. These forward-looking statements represent management's best judgment based on current facts and assumptions that management considers reasonable. The Company makes no representation that reasonable business people in possession of the same information would reach the same conclusions. All forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, fluctuating commodity prices, competitive risks and the availability of financing and as described in more detail in the Companys recent securities filings available at www.sedar.com. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements and readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance thereon. Neither TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange Inc.) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/kingsbay02292016.pdfSource: Kings Bay Gold Corporation (TSX Venture:KBG) http://www.kingsbaygold.com/ Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2016 Filing Services Canada Inc. Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCwire) - 92 Resources Corp. (the Company) (TSXV: NTY) (FSE: R9G2) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Property Purchase Agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Hidden Lake Lithium Property (the Property) near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Hidden Lake Lithium Property The Hidden Lake Lithium Property consists of two mineral claims, totalling approximately 1,100 hectares. It is located just north of Highway 4, approximately 40 km northeast of the city of Yellowknife, NT. The property is highly prospective for spodumene-bearing lithium pegmatites. The lithium potential of pegmatites within the Yellowknife area was first recognized in the mid-1950s, when a number of the regions pegmatites were sampled and found to contain highly anomalous concentrations of lithium. Prior to 1955, small shipments of lithium ore were reported for two deposits within the region (Mulligan, 1965; p.6). It was also at this time that several pegmatites were identified at the Hidden Lake Property. At Hidden Lake, the LU#12 pegmatite was mapped and sampled over an approximate exposure that measures 10 by 300 meters. Seven samples were collected from surface trenches, and contained between 1.37 and 3.01% Li 2 O. The very high grades of lithium were attributed to observed concentrations of coarse-grained spodumene. Crystals up to 36 inches long were noted, with visual estimates across the dyke(s) in some places of 20 to 35%. In Lithium Resources in the Yellowknife Area, Northwest Territories Canada, (Lasmanis, 1977) provides the following summary: Detailed mapping and surface sampling of fourteen properties within the district has demonstrated the presence of 49,000,000 tons of rock to a depth of 152m (500ft) having an average grade of 1.40% Li 2 O. These resources could be developed if and when the market conditions place a strain on available supplies.* Spodumene within the Yellowknife district is also described as generally light in colour and of good quality. * The foregoing district-scale resource estimate includes fourteen separate properties in the Yellowknife area, and does not include the LU#12 dyke of the Hidden Lake Property. The estimates are not considered reliable; however, are relevant given that they suggested the potential for significant tonnages of spodumene-bearing lithium pegmatite(s) within the vicinity of the Hidden Lake Property. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and the company is not treating the historical estimate as current. About Hard-Rock (Spodumene Pegmatites) Deposits Spodumene-bearing pegmatites continue to be an important supply of lithium despite the advent of low-cost production from lithium brine deposits in South America in the mid-1990s. As the demand for lithium is increasing, other pegmatite deposits around the world are gaining attention. In many lithium pegmatite districts, including the Yellowknife district, other rare and specialty-metals have been recovered. Tin, beryllium, tantalum and niobium are often associated with spodumene pegmatite deposits. The worlds largest active lithium mine is the Greenbushes Lithium Project in Australia with reported reserves (as of Sept 30, 2012) of 61.5Mt at 2.8% Li 2 0. The mine has been in operation since 1985, and produces approximately 740,000 tpa of lithium (spodumene) concentrates. 92 Resources Corp. anticipates conducting fieldwork as soon as weather conditions permit. Initial fieldwork will consist of mapping and sampling all known pegmatites at the property to assess grade and mineralogy, and approximate surface dimensions of the pegmatites. NI 43-101 Disclosure Neil McCallum, P. Geo. of Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release. Acquisition Terms The Company has entered into a Property Purchase Agreement (the Agreement) with DG Resource Management Ltd. (DG Resource), Zimtu Capital Corp. (Zimtu) and Michael V. Sklavenitis (MS), collectively the Vendors. In consideration for a 100% interest in the Property, 92 Resources Corp. will: pay $5,000 non-refundable deposit upon execution of the Agreement to DG Resource (paid); upon regulatory approval, issue 2,000,000 common shares as to 50% to DG Resource (1,000,000), 25% to Zimtu (500,000) and 25% to MS (500,000); within 30 days of regulatory approval, pay DG Resource project acquisition costs of $50,000 ($5,000 paid); twelve months after the regulatory approval, pay additional $35,000 to DG Resource; twelve months after the regulatory approval, issue further 2,000,000 common shares as to 50% to DG Resource (1,000,000), 25% to Zimtu (500,000) and 25% to MS (500,000); and incur $250,000 of exploration expenditures prior to September 30, 2016 and additional $250,000 of exploration expenditures prior to May 31, 2017; The Agreement is subject to a 2% NSR of which the Company has the right to purchase 1% from DG Resource within 5 years of the regulatory approval for the sum of $2,000,000 per property. Financing The Company also announces that it has arranged a non-brokered private placement of up to 6,000,000 units (the Units) at a price of $0.05 per Unit to raise gross proceeds of up to $300,000. Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company and one half of one transferable share purchase warrant (a Warrant). Each whole Warrant will permit the Warrant holder to acquire one additional common share of the Company (a Warrant Share) at a price of $0.10 per Warrant Share for a period of two years after closing. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Private Placement for general working capital, and for expenditures on the Hidden Lake Lithium Property. The private placement is subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. All the securities issued under the Private Placement will be subject to resale restrictions under applicable securities legislation. Finders fees may be paid by the Company in conjunction with the completion of the private placement. For further information, please contact Adrian Lamoureux, Pres. & CEO at: Tel: 778-945-2950 adrian@92resources.com or visit www.92resources.com On Behalf of the Board of Directors, ADRIAN LAMOUREUX Adrian Lamoureux, 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 news release. Forward Looking Statements: This News Release may contain forward-looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of exploration and other risk factors beyond its control. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements about the possible raising of capital and exploration of our properties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors beyond the Companys control. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, that we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval, that we may not be able to raise funds required, that conditions to closing may not be fulfilled, we may not be able to organize and carry out an exploration program, and other risks associated with being a mineral exploration and development company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results differed from those projected in the forward-looking statements. To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/92resources03012016.pdfSource: 92 Resources Corp. (TSX Venture:NTY) http://www.92resources.com/ Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2016 Filing Services Canada Inc. Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCwire) - Klondike Gold Corp. (TSX.V:KG) (Klondike Gold or the Company) announces the resignation of Jeremy Crichton from the position of Chief Financial Officer of the Company. The Board would like to thank Mr. Crichton for his contributions over the past years working for Klondike Gold, and wish him well in his future endeavours. Harpreet Dhaliwal has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer effective immediately. ABOUT KLONDIKE GOLD CORP. Klondike Gold Corp. is a Canadian exploration company with offices in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Dawson City, Yukon Territory. The company is focused on exploration and development of its road accessible Yukon gold projects located on the outskirts of Dawson City, YT in the historic Klondike region covering 25,000 hectares of hard rock and 2,000 hectares of placer claims including McKinnon Creek leased to Todd Hoffman/Jerusalem Mining LLC and featured on the Discovery Channel show Gold Rush. On behalf of Klondike Gold Corp. Peter Tallman President and CEO (604) 559-4440 E-mail: info@klondikegoldcorp.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. To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/Klondike03012016.pdfSource: Klondike Gold Corp. (TSX Venture:KG) Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2016 Filing Services Canada Inc. Vancouver - Uracan Resources Ltd. (Uracan or the Company) (TSX.V:URC) announces the resignation of Jeremy Crichton from the positions of Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of the Company. The Board would like to thank Mr. Crichton for his contributions over the past years working for Uracan, and wish him well in his future endeavours. Harpreet Dhaliwal has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer, and Melinda Coghill as Corporate Secretary effective immediately. Uracan Resources Ltd. (TSX.V:URC; OTC:URCFF) is a Canadian-based exploration company focused on exploring for uranium deposits in Saskatchewan and Quebec, Canada. In early 2013, Uracan signed an agreement with UEX Corp. , whereby Uracan acquired the option to earn from UEX a 60% participating interest in the Black Lake Property along the northern margin of the Athabasca Basin. UEX currently holds an 89.99% interest in the Black Lake Project with AREVA Resources Canada Inc. (AREVA) holding the remaining 10.01% interest.In July 2014, Uracan signed an agreement with Forum Uranium whereby Uracan can acquire up to a 70% interest in the Clearwater Property near the southwestern margin of the Athabasca Basin, immediately adjacent to Fission Uraniums Patterson Lake South discovery. Forum is the 100% owner of the Clearwater Property.Uracan continues to review additional opportunities worldwide to capitalize on management's exploration and financing capabilities.On behalf of Uracan Resources Ltd. Clive JohnsonChairmanMarc SimpsonPresident and CEOMarc Simpson, President and CEO604-506-6996www.uracan.caNeither 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. SHARE Staff report A 25-year-old San Angelo man has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he attacked another man with a knife. The suspect, Nathaniel Gamez, could face additional charges once the investigation is complete, according to a news release issued by the San Angelo Police Department. The victim, Carlos Hernandez was transported to, and treated for what police say were "nonlife threatening injuries" at Shannon Medical Center. Police would not specify the exact injuries suffered by Hernandez and said they did not know his current condition. According to the news release, police responded to a reported stabbing on the 1600 block of Austin Street at 9:25 p.m., Saturday. Police provided first aid to the injured Hernandez until he could be transported to the hospital. Gamez was located and arrested in an apartment at Capri Apartments, 602 West Avenue M. Police investigators say Gamez is believed to have gone to Hernandez's home and began slashing the tires of a vehicle owned by the victim. Hernandez was stabbed by Gamez when he went outside to confront the suspect. SHARE By Federico Martinez, Federico.Martinez@gosanangelo.com / @Federico_SAST Paint Rock resident Ed Lloyd, 79, turned out to vote Tuesday morning only to be turned away and told only Republicans could vote at the community's eight voting precincts. Election officials informed Lloyd and other Democrats in Concho County that they only had one option - cast their votes in Eden. "I had to drive 35 miles away to vote just because I'm a Democrat," said an upset Lloyd. "A lot of older people live here and can't drive or don't have transportation." Democrats in Paint Rock, Eola, Lowake, Eden and Millersview could cast their votes only in Eden on Tuesday, said Melissa Campos, chief deputy clerk for Concho County. The decision to have only one voting location for Democrats is because so few Democrats are registered in the area, Campos explained. For example, an average of 10-15 Paint Rock residents cast votes for Democrats during elections, she said. About 1,600 people are registered to vote in Concho County. A vast majority of Concho County voters identify themselves as Republicans, Campos said. The county does not even have a Democratic chairman, whose duty includes making sure a Democrat is posted at each voting site. To save money and because it's difficult to find enough registered Democrats to serve as election monitors, the county has been offering only one location for Democrats to vote, Campos said. The decision saves the county thousands of dollars each election because fewer workers are needed. "We checked with the state Democratic Chair to make sure it was OK that we did this," Campos said. "We also published the information in the local newspaper two weeks before the election. "Republican and Democrat voters also had the option of casting an early vote at the county." Lloyd wasn't satisfied with the response. He said that voting is an important American right and it's worth the extra cost and effort to ensure everyone has equal access. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach on Monday endorsed Donald Trump for president -- and he backed Trump's plan to force Mexico to pay for a border wall.Kobach, a conservative Republican, lauded Trump's strong stand against illegal immigration, a cause Kobach has championed for years."On that issue, Mr. Trump stands head and shoulders above the other candidates," Kobach said in his written endorsement. "Now, more than ever, America needs Mr. Trump's aggressive approach to the problem of illegal immigration."In a telephone interview with The Star , Kobach said he disagreed with critics of the billionaire businessman, who leads the Republican field going into the Super Tuesday primaries. Kansas holds its presidential caucuses Saturday.About white supremacist David Duke's endorsement of Trump and Trump's response to it, Kobach said that nothing in Trump's remarks indicated "any sort of agreement with the KKK," calling such a conclusion "outrageous." Kobach said Trump's lack of government experience can be seen as a positive."The way he would operate as president is he would surround himself with a talented, conservative team," Kobach said. "That's exactly what (Ronald) Reagan did."Kobach said he appreciates Trump's boldness. And at least the harsh rhetoric against opponents comes directly from him rather than third parties, he said. Many politicians unleash negative ads for that purpose, he said."Trump is actually doing it himself, and in some ways that's more honest than having a super PAC do your insulting for you," Kobach said.Kobach is the first major elected official in Kansas to endorse Trump. Sam Brownback has endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, although the governor has said he would vote for Trump if he wins the Republican nomination.Kobach, who has advocated nationally for laws curbing to curb illegal immigration, said that Trump is correct that the United States can compel Mexico to pay for construction of a wall between the countries to keep out illegal immigrants."We have the ability to shut down the flow of remittances to Mexico from illegal aliens working in the United States," he said. "Mexico will then have to make a choice: Either make a single payment of $5 billion to $10 billion to the United States to pay for the wall, or lose most of the $23 billion in remittances that Mexico receives every year from its nationals working illegally in the United States."A lawyer, Kobach has represented U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in lawsuits against the Obama administration. In 2001-2003, he served as U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's chief adviser on immigration law and border security. California's system of seizing and spending "unclaimed" cash from banks, mutual funds and defunct businesses has survived a Supreme Court challenge.The state says it is now holding $8 billion in lost assets. And from this fund, it takes about $450 million a year to add to the state budget.After considering an appeal for four months, the justices said Monday they would not hear a long-running lawsuit that contends the state does not do enough to notify the rightful owners before seizing their assets.Under the state's law, accounts can be seized if a bank or retirement fund has lost track of the owner for three years.State Controller Betty Yee says her office holds these assets so they can be returned to their rightful owner. Its website _ www.claimit.ca.gov _ permits people to check to see if any of their assets are being held by the state. Amounts under $5,000 can be quickly reclaimed, she said.But lawyers who sued called the state's system a "recipe for abuse" because many people are unaware that their assets or those of a relative are being held by the state.In a concurrence, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said the justices should decide "in a future case" whether states must do more to contact owners of lost property."As advances in technology make it easier and easier to identify and locate property owners, many states appear to be doing less and less to meet their constitutional obligation to provide adequate notice" before seizing the accounts, Alito said in Taylor vs. Yee. "Cash-strapped states undoubtedly have a real interest in taking advantage of truly abandoned property to shore up state budgets. But they also have an obligation to return property when its owner can be located." Justice Clarence Thomas said he agreed.Separately, the court turned down a building-industry challenge to a San Jose ordinance that says at least 15 percent of new residential units must be reserved for low-income buyers. These units must be sold at a below-market price that cannot exceed 30 percent of the buyers' median income.The California Building Association sued, contending the ordinance amounted to an unconstitutional taking of private property. But the California Supreme Court ruled the ordinance can be enforced, and the Supreme Court said Monday it would not hear the builders' appeal. 'Diagnose and Adios' Invisible Health-Care Workers State Mortality Data 'It Should Be About Living' As advances in medicine and public health help people live longer, a new health crisis has been created: a tidal wave of Americans living with Alzheimers and other dementia-related diseases.Nowadays, about 1 in 9 people age 65 and older will getAlzheimer's, and that number increases to 1 in 3 once someone reaches 85. It's the most common form of dementia, making up 75 percent of dementia-related diagnoses.It's a problem that health-care providers and states are struggling to handle. The current system often fails to care for patients and aid their millions of unpaid caregivers.The structure we have in place no longer fits the frame, said Elaine Ryan, vice president of state advocacy for AARP.States, however, are starting to consider the issue more seriously.In the health-care community, Alzheimer's is often referred to as a diagnose and adios disease, meaning once someone is formally diagnosed, there often arent medical interventions until that person needs hospice care (which can be years later). Many of the "treatments" are more social work focused and not in the purview of a medical doctor. But even given that, Alzheimer's care advocates say health-care policymakers have failed at providing help."Doctors will never be social workers, but they need to start showing family members all of their resources in order to get support they need -- even if it's not from them," said Terry Barclay, a neuropsychologist in the Center for Memory and Aging at HealthPartners, a Minnesota-based health-care organization.More than 40 states have an Alzheimer's state plan" created by policymakers. They often include plans for more research, public awareness campaigns, training for health-care professionals and data collection.In terms of actual implementation, Minnesota has surpassed the rest, according to Ryan.We saw a smattering of guidelines relating to the disease, but no one had actually put the pieces together yet, said Barclay.So Barclay, along with other members of the Alzheimer's Association's Minnesota chapter, created ActOnALZ.org. In the absence of a national standard for testing cognitive impairment, the website offers providers a cognitive screening tool and information on how best to coordinate care once a diagnosis is delivered. It also helps caregivers learn the best ways to speak with people inflicted with the disease.Unlike many states, Minnesota also immediately connects people to a social worker with a speciality in aging care after they've been diagnosed."The landscape of the political scene in many states doesn't allow money for initiatives like ours," said Barclay. "But we just decided money or not, this is important."There are an estimated 34 million unpaid caregivers (often family and friends of the patient) serving the 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer's. They are considered an invisible workforce within the health-care system, and their workload takes a toll on their own lives. study this month from the National Institutes of Health found that people who provide substantial care for a loved one were three times more likely to lose productivity in other areas of their life and five times more likely to neglect activities like socializing, working out or attending a religious service.About 400,000 of these unpaid caregivers are in Maricopa County, Ariz., where Alzheimer's is the fourth-leading cause of death (it's the eighth-leading cause of death among Americans overall).Many of these caregivers are older themselves, said Wayne Tormala, chief of the Bureau of Tobacco and Chronic Disease for the Arizona Department of Health. These are people under a lot of stress, so often we see them dying before the person they are caring for. We have a major public health problem on our hands.In the past year, 40 laws have been enacted in 31 states aimed at giving these caregivers a helping hand. California, for example, now requires hospitals to keep family caregivers in the loop during the hospitalization and discharge process. That may seem like a no-brainer, but its something that both Alzheimer's health advocates and caregivers have been begging for for some time.I work in medicine and I dont even think we have a good standard in place to deliver information to caregivers, said Tena Alonzo, education and research director at Beatitudes Campus, a retirement community in Phoenix. If we cant give caregivers all of the medical information in a language they can understand, then how is someone supposed to make the best decision for that person?States across the country, though, are starting to take this issue more seriously.About a dozen family caregiving task forces have recently been established, and some states have expanded their respite care services, which give caregivers a break while a professional looks after them. Its currently underutilized, with only 27 percent of caregivers using respite services, either because they aren't aware of the resources or because it isn't covered by Medicare.Many advocates argue that in order to create a more holistic care system, there needs to be more funding and focus on palliative care.A board-certified field of medicine since 2006, palliative care focuses on making a patient with a chronic illness as comfortable as possible. Its a system of managed care where relief can be as varied as a prescription for painkillers or a visit to a spiritual leader. It's similar to hospice care but instead focuses on patients before they reach a terminal stage.Hospice care is always palliative care, but palliative care is not necessarily hospice care,said Carol Long, founder of Palliative Care Essentials, a consulting firm specializing in care for aging adults.It simply just takes the principles of hospice care and moves it upstream. Its the best way to ensure that the stress of the illness is managed from the get-go.But Ryan of the AARP is unconvinced that a more palliative-focused framework is the answer because it isn't on policymakers' radars just yet. She does, however, agree that there needs to be a better way to treat the ill.The system of care has to change," said Ryan. "What it needs to look like remains to be seen, but we have to figure out a way to support this rising need. We dont have a way to meet demands right now."A good place to start, according to experts, is to think of Alzheimer's less as a disease and more as a phase of life that needs extra attention.This disease shouldnt be about dying, it should be about living, said Ryan. Whats the best and most humane way we can help people live out their last years? A federal judge overrode Gov. Mike Pence's attempt to stop Syrian refugee resettlement in Indiana, issuing a preliminary injunction Monday that the state immediately contested.At question is whether Pence has the authority to stop federal dollars that flow through the state to help refugees resettle in Indiana. He suspended Syrian refugee resettlement in the state last year, citing security concerns after terrorist attacks in Paris and questions about the screening of Syrian refugees.But U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt sided Monday with Exodus Refugee Immigration, a local nonprofit that aids refugees, in its lawsuit contending that Pence's decision is unconstitutionally unfair to Syrians.She ordered the state to stop blocking those funds until the case is resolved."The withholding of funds from Exodus that are meant to provide social services to Syrian refugees in no way directly, or even indirectly, promotes the safety of Indiana citizens," Pratt wrote in the injunction.Because Pence is targeting only Syrians and no refugees from other countries, Pratt later added: "The State's conduct clearly constitutes national origin discrimination."The state failed to prove, she said, "that temporary national origin discrimination is any more constitutionally acceptable than permanent discrimination."But Pence said in a statement Monday that he stands by his decision to suspend Syrian refugee resettlement in Indiana. He ordered the attorney general's office to seek an immediate stay on the judge's action and appeal it."So long as the Obama administration continues to refuse to address gaps in the screening of Syrian refugees acknowledged by the FBI and a bipartisan majority in Congress," Pence said, "Hoosiers can be assured that my administration will continue to use every legal means available to suspend this program in Indiana unless and until federal officials take steps to ensure the safety and security of our citizens."In court records, the state argued that the suspension of funds was meant to deter resettlement agencies from bringing in Syrians until the federal government can assure that Syrian refugees are sufficiently screened and pose no public safety threat.The financial support goes toward services for refugees such as employment training and English language classes. Exodus pays for those services and is reimbursed by the state."The bottom line here is what the court said -- you have to treat all refugees equally," said Ken Falk, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana. The ACLU of Indiana is representing Exodus in its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.Falk said Syrian refugees are extensively vetted before being allowed to resettle in the United States. "We're not talking about opening up floodgates."Pence's directive hasn't stopped Syrians from moving to Indiana. Though one family slated to come to Indianapolis in December was redirected to Connecticut, Exodus brought to Indiana another family of four in January and is planning for others to arrive in the coming months, said interim executive director Cole Varga.The federal judge wrote in her court order that the state is not deterring the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Indiana, nor could the state know that it would be stopping people who could pose a security risk. 1. Security 2. Emerging Technologies 3. Allocation of Resources SACRAMENTO, Calif. Public and private officials looked to the future of government technology in a discussion about the opportunities and obstacles facing the public sector in the coming years.The conversation, part of the California Public CIO Academy held Feb. 24-25 in downtown Sacramento, identified several key areas technology leaders should focus on when it comes to enterprise efficiencies, embracing the fast-paced change of technology and meeting public expectations.Security is a top concern facing the public-sector CIO, and is something that Robert Schmidt, chief of the Office of Technology Services, says remains a manageable but unsolvable problem in the technology space.In terms of things that keep me awake at night, I think most of us in the room wouldnt argue about security, he said. Im seeing security now as something as I cant necessarily solve, but its something I can manage, and thats what we need to do."The tectonic shift, or rapid development, of new technologies was a focus of EMC's David Nicholson. From his perspective as a vendor, the disruptive shift of technology of this magnitude has not been seen since the advent of the minicomputer.Were sort of going back to this world of convergence, where that convergence is happening in both on-premises private data centers as well as public data centers, where everything is in a stack, Nicholson told the crowd. So, this is a once in a generation kind of shift.As new technologies become available to the public at large, Schmidt and Nicholson said the demands of constituents will only continue to increase. The ability to do more from mobile devices more quickly, puts additional pressure on agencies with limited resources.Schmidt said there is often a disconnect between the creative process and implementation of new technologies and solutions. The fact that government agencies are often risk averse drives Schmidt to ask his staff, What would you do if you knew you could not fail?Ownership is key. You need to find folks who are excited by the technology, are excited by the business problem and can actually implement, he said.Moderator Chris Maio, director of the 21st Century Project at the California State Controllers Office, said even in light of more efficient technologies in areas like procurement, there is little that can be done to expedite more cumbersome processes, like the formulation of the states considerable budget.Even with these increases in proficiencies, we still have budget cycles we have to pass through. If Im going to do anything major, I have to ask for the cash to do that, and that is still, as we all know, a long process, he said. I dont see an agile way of approaching that yet.Nicholson also noted that a challenge he sees facing his public customer base is mirrored in the private sector resource allocation.Were all resource constrained, and such a large share of budget goes toward simply keeping the lights on," he said. "When you start talking about innovation, innovation has to be funded somehow. So, its the concern about how do we foster innovation while keeping the lights on and, oh, by the way, how do we figure out how to leverage what we already have in the direction of innovation?Despite limited resources, Nicholson said the demands placed on IT organizations are not static and continue to increase.Schmidt echoed that sentiment."The speed of business, having worked as a CIO for five years, business is moving much faster than IT can keep up, there never seems to be enough resources," he said. "So we need to figure out how do we best partner with the business, how do we gain their trust? Through that trust we can gain additional resources But given unlimited resources, Schmidt said he would implement programmable data centers and scalable server systems as a valuable resource for state agencies, as well as standardize, centralize and consolidate software and services on a statewide basis. (TNS) -- Google Fiber's road to Portland has included a pair of city council votes, two bills in the Oregon Legislature, nearly a year of state utility rulemaking, and an unfavorable state Supreme Court ruling that nearly derailed the whole thing.Now, two years after Google Fiber first announced interest in serving Portland, the way looks nearly clear. Utility regulators vote Tuesday on whether the company qualifies for a tax exemption created specifically for its high-speed service.While Portland has been on the sidelines, Google Fiber has committed to serve eight other U.S. cities. For customers in Oregon awaiting Google, the 24-month delay has been exasperating and bewildering.For Google, though, clearing the field of regulatory obstacles may have been what it really wanted all along."Google Fiber still has something of the feel of a science experiment to it," said Craig Moffett, a nationally known telecommunications analyst who has followed the company's rollout closely.What Google really wants is to promote high-speed Internet access, anticipating faster connections will enable more online services Google's primary business. By experimenting with a number of different rollouts, in various cities with distinct legal and regulatory conditions, Google is setting a precedent for how to build super-fast networks.And in the two years since Google began eyeing Portland, Comcast, CenturyLink and Frontier have all announced plans for significantly faster connections for their Oregon customers. Comcast and Frontier have each applied to take advantage of the same Oregon tax breaks Google is seeking."Google's ambition seems to be primarily to create broader regulatory and policy precedents, not to provide service per se to a particularly large number of people," Moffett wrote in an email commenting on Portland's experience.Google Fiber runs high-capacity fiber-optic lines directly to customers' homes to provide Internet service at 1 gigabit per second, 40 times faster than the current federal broadband standard. That's much faster than almost any residential customer needs today, but Google hopes faster speeds will enable new online services.It typically charges $70 a month, which is more expensive than slower connections from other companies but considerably cheaper than similar speeds from other companies. And unlike its rivals, Google's pricing is transparent it doesn't subject subscribers to substantial rate hikes after introductory periods.Regardless of Google's ambitions, it wants to put a cap on its costs. Portland estimates it will cost Google $300 million to build its fiber network in the city. It'll cost a lot more than that if Google adds on suburban communities it's also considering, including Gresham, Tigard, Lake Oswego, Beaverton, Hillsboro and parts of unincorporated Washington County.An unusual Oregon tax may be the major factor that delayed the company's Portland rollout. The Oregon Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that cable TV and Internet companies are subject to "central assessment," a rare practice dating to the 19th Century that levies property taxes based partly on the value of certain companies' brands.Applying the tax to Google would have added millions of dollars perhaps tens of millions of dollars to its annual operating costs, and the company threatened to drop its Portland plans if Oregon lawmakers didn't exempt it from the tax. The Legislature complied, and the Oregon Public Utility Commission votes Tuesday on Google's eligibility for the tax break.Google declined to comment in detail on the Portland market, except to note the company has continued to map the network and make plans to build it."We are working closely with city leaders to determine if we can bring Google Fiber to the Portland metro area, making progress in areas ranging from permitting to construction planning to digital inclusion," said Chris Taylor, hired last year as Google Fiber's Portland manager . "We continue to move toward a decision and look forward to sharing an update soon."Fiber networks take a long time to build, so even if Google greenlights Portland in the first half of this year, it's unlikely service would be available anywhere in the city before late 2017 or early 2018. It could take several more years to build out the network into the suburbs.As Google Fiber has rolled out cities elsewhere, it's adopted a variety of models taking over existing networks, targeting only apartments or building a network from scratch. Just this week, Google announced plans to serve Huntsville, Alabama, using fiber built by the local electric utility, and parts of San Francisco using other companies' existing fiber."The markets that they've chosen seem to be carefully selected almost as experiments to see what works and what doesn't," Moffett said. "They all have a certain showcase feel to them, as if the point isn't so much to see if they can make money so much as it is to showcase what is and isn't possible."That's probably right, said Mary Beth Henry, director of Portland's office of Community Technology and the regional point person working with Google Fiber."They are a company that tries things and learns," she said. "I don't think they're afraid to change a recipe."In Oregon, then, Google has learned a lot. But while Henry said she remains optimistic on the company's plans for Portland, she said it has made no promises."All I can do," she said, "is just keep working at it." High-pressure issue Seeking right balance (TNS) -- Questions over Che Andre Taylors death have been constant since Seattle police fatally shot him.Were his hands up, as supporters say? Was he reaching for a gun, as police contend?If officers were wearing body cameras, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said afterward , the footage would provide some clarity. Since the Feb. 21 incident, city officials have faced intense criticism from community members who say the death of Taylor, 46, is yet another in a series of senseless killings of blacks by white cops.Months from now, Seattle police say, that kind of evidence from body-worn cameras will be a reality. After completing a pilot project last year, the agency is on track to join others nationwide that have fully adopted the small, battery-powered devices, a trend that accelerated after the Ferguson, Mo., officer-involved shooting of Michael Brown. But exactly how Seattle police will release the footage, which is a matter of public record, remains unknown. Like departments nationwide, the agency has struggled to come up with possible solutions for meeting public requests for the videohow Seattle police will release the footage, which is a matter of public record, remains unknown.Body cameras are more intimate than the in-car videos are. You dont walk into somebodys house with an in-car video, said Mary Perry, the Seattle Police Departments new director of transparency and privacy. You dont go into the E.R. You dont lean over somebody who is getting health care.In Washington, where the Public Records Act is broad, legislators are considering a change to add new privacy protections so that video of murder victims, private homes, sex crimes and other sensitive images captured by the cameras is not publicly available. Supporters of the measure say it would also help agencies handle and afford the costs of large public-records requests. Critics say the measure doesnt go far enough.All sorts of situations that you really dont want on YouTube can go up on YouTube under current law, Rep. Drew Hansen, D-Bainbridge Island, House Bill 2362s sponsor, said at a Jan. 14 public hearing. This is brand-new technology its evolving very quickly.That conversation in Olympia comes amid a sweeping movement nationwide for legislatures to pass laws on how agencies use the devices and release their recordings, sparked by the growing interest in police accountability.Im often asked, When will body-worn video become a reality? Seattle Police Chief Kathleen OToole said in a Feb. 20 written statement . The community has made it abundantly clear they welcome this technology.Several smaller Washington police departments, including those at Bainbridge Island and Airway Heights, Spokane County, already use the devices. And in Spokane, more than 200 police officers now use the cameras after a smaller group tested them in a pilot project, according to a city spokesman.The Seattle department, under advice from the City Attorneys Office, removes legally exempted information, such as footage of minors, from any police videos before release under public disclosure. And according to the departments blotter, a simple redaction in a one-minute video can take specialists upward of half an hour, whereas more complicated edits can take much longer.Tedious redaction work nearly caused the Seattle Police Department to shelve its body-camera plan in 2014 after an individual asked for all videos from dash-cams; the anonymous person also planned to request copies of all body-cam videos. The department later launched its own YouTube channel to show redacted body-camera and dash-cam videos.Perry, a former assistant city attorney who police hired in January, said the department has more than 700,000 hours of dash-cam video. That would take someone nearly 330 years to simply watch not edit working eight hours a day, every business day, she said.For perspective, she said the department expects the body cameras to generate about 220,000 hours of footage each year.Supporters of HB 2362 say it would limit those broad requests in addition to adding privacy protections. The proposal requires individuals to give specific details on footage sought, such as the name of an individual depicted in the footage and a police case number, among others. It also allows agencies to require most people to pay for the redaction work.This is a huge issue because we have all of this content, Perry said in support of the legislation at the Jan. 14 public hearing. We dont have the technology that really makes it efficient to produce thisat this point.In the wake of Taylors shooting, some community members demanded that the officers involved be criminally charged, and the citys police chief be fired.Taylor, a felon under supervision by the state Department of Corrections, was shot in Northeast Seattle on Feb. 21 after police say he didnt follow commands and reached for a handgun as officers tried to arrest him with a prohibited weapon.Investigators are looking into the incident under protocols arising from a 2012 consent decree, in which the city agreed to adopt court-ordered reforms to address excessive force and biased policing cited by the U.S. Justice Department, city officials said in a statement Friday. If we had body cameras up right now in this situation we would have a clearer video, Mayor Murray said soon after the shooting, adding the proposal at the state Capitol would advance efforts to put the cameras on officers.The citys police department is in the process of building on policies it formed during its six-month pilot program, where officers tested two types of cameras, some of which they wore as eyewear and others on their uniforms.Officials are still penciling out the body-camera budget before some 640 officers the department employed 1,289 officers in 2015 start wearing the devices this fall. Among the concerns is how much it will cost to store the video. The citys 2016 budget sets aside $1.8 million for the cameras, augmented by $600,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice.The department hopes to begin training officers on how to use the devices shortly after buying them in July or August, Perry said, adding vendors are taking a special look at the agencys requests because of the states broad requirements for public disclosure.Companies are paying attention to us, she said, because if they can satisfy Washington, theyve got it made for everybody else.Because of Washingtons limited privacy protections in the public-records law, stakeholders say they face unique headaches on balancing full disclosure while protecting citizens privacy rights.Were going into unchartered territory, said Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, who is working with the citys police department on the body-camera issue.The Washington, D.C.-based Urban Institute recently compiled a state-by-state breakdown of body-camera policies, a report that shows considerable difference in how states balance privacy and disclosure.According to the breakdown, nine states have passed legislation specifying when and where officers can use the cameras, while 16 other states are considering similar bills. Every state besides New Hampshire has exemptions to public disclosure for law enforcement, the report found, such as records that are part of an ongoing criminal investigation.The Washington bill would create a task force to continue the discussion on body cameras and require agencies that use them to create policies, such as when the cameras should be on and how police should inform citizens theyre being recorded, for instance.If passed, the provisions in the law would expire in the summer of 2019, a deadline Hansen said allows stakeholders to consider changes, if necessary.Opponents, however, argue the legislation does not go far enough to define what footage is protected from disclosure, and that law-enforcement agencies should not be tasked with making policies on the cameras because of their inherent conflict of interest.Body cameras are a police accountability tool, and this bill does nothing to ensure police use the cameras properly, said Jared Friend, technology and liberty director of ACLU-WA. He called the proposal a Band-Aid solution on the issue of adequate transparency that needs a more comprehensive solution.Toby Nixon, president of the Washington Coalition for Open Government, said because the proposal is temporary, the coalition is taking a neutral stance on it. But the coalition will oppose certain provisions if it becomes permanent, he added.The measure has bipartisan support among its sponsors. The House of Representatives has approved the measure, and now its sitting in the Senate Rules Committee; its last stop before the Senate floor. The legislative session ends March 10.Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess said Seattle is highly likely to launch its full body-camera plan, regardless of whether the measure passes.The city is ready to go forward, he said.When city leaders introduced the use of dash-cam video, Burgess said, they faced similar sorts of issues over balancing accountability and privacy, though he thinks that technology eventually proved to make a positive change.And over time well see the use of body cameras in the exact same way, he added. More often than not, they will clear officers of misconduct, and they [the cameras] will certainly help in the gathering of evidence.Information from The Seattle Times archives was included in this report. Mixed emotions Morality different (TNS) -- Apples resistance to providing the FBI with access to a mass killers iPhone has laid bare more than a disconnect between cybersecurity and national security. It has also exposed the absence of a unified code of ethics in an increasingly crucial realm of technology.Unlike older professions medicine with the Hippocratic oath, the law with its codes of conduct cybersecurity has no codified ethical standards.Thats made much of the debate over the FBIs demands and Apples resistance about more than the legal argument.There is no single reason such ethical standards dont yet exist, or even a consensus that they should let alone exactly what they might consist of or what impact they might have.While there is overwhelming support for Apple inside the industry, outside in law enforcement, in government and even around dinner tables the lack of clearly communicated ethical lines contributes to some of the questions raised.If you could prevent a 9/11-type attack from happening by unlocking an iPhone, would you do it? wrote one recent commenter on a Chronicle story on the issue.Another shot back: If Apple loses this, your kids will be less safe. Their locations will be exposed to hackers and the government.Perhaps this dispute, now playing out in federal court, might lead to a clearer idea on what rules should apply.On Thursday, the Cupertino company filed a motion to vacate a federal magistrates mandate that Apple comply with the FBIs request.In fighting the court order, Apple is making both a legal and moral appeal.If it agrees to break into just one iPhone on behalf of U.S. law enforcement, it argues, it could face an undue burden to do so elsewhere.Some experts have made the case that it would leave Apple open not just to demands from other U.S. law enforcement agencies, but possibly also to similar pressure from authoritarian countries with abysmal human rights records.The company says it should not be compelled to take that risk, or the risk of creating software that it fears could be used to access data securely stored on its other products.On a practical level, Apples argument might be meant to assure individuals that they can entrust their iPhone with financial information ( Apple Pay ), health information ( ResearchKit ) and even fingerprints ( Touch ID ).But without agreed-upon standards of ethics, says Ryan Kalember, a senior vice president of cybersecurity strategy at Proofpoint, a Sunnyvale cloud-security company, its difficult for people to determine whether Apple is on solid ground.In what ways should they be a conscientious objector? he said. On what principles and morals?Basically, Apple is saying we could (help the FBI), but we shouldnt, said David Brumley, the director of CyLab, Carnegie Mellon Universitys security and privacy institute.Law enforcement, meanwhile, is saying that while that might be so, it still needs to solve crimes, he said.Brumley agrees that the lack of ethical standards makes the situation difficult to judge. I dont think theres an industry-wide definition, he said. Theres a lot of discussion of ethics, but that really hasnt involved modern computer security and privacy experts.While computer science students learn basic codes of conduct, professional security engineers are often more driven by a sense of morality. A majority are committed to universal rights, chief among them a users right to privacy. Its a tenet apparent in their work.Safeguards, such as those that thwart attackers from guessing an iPhones passcode an unlimited amount of times, are installed with individual security in mind.We are in the largest crime wave the human race has ever seen, and that massive amount of crime (the loss of information through cyberattacks) cannot be ignored, said security researcher Dan Kaminsky. There are individual events that are awful, but we have to talk about the universal vulnerability threatening our civilization.People are losing their businesses. People are losing their jobs, he added. People are losing faith in information technology itself, with good reason.That sentiment, shared by many in the cybersecurity industry, is pervasive in Silicon Valley. Kaminsky concedes, however, that the sense of moral urgency he and other insiders feel isnt being articulated well to the rest of society.But morality, or an individuals personal belief, is not the same as ethics, or what the community as a whole expects from individuals, said Brumley.On another level, Apple, which is famously close-mouthed about its products, is essentially the only source for what is possible or not regarding accessing its software. That makes some skeptical of its supposedly principled stand.I think its good that Apple is framing things in this matter, trying to attend to the consequences to human, democratic rights, but I also think that Apple is a little disingenuous in making these arguments, said Phillip Rogaway, a professor of computer science at UC Davis.While he is firmly on Apples side in the showdown, he said: They dont seem to have acknowledged that its really a failure of their own security architecture that they have the ability to comply with this order.Apple has been claiming for quite a long time that even their latest phones are designed in such a way that they cant unlock the data at rest, Rogaway added. I think thats not really true.The challenge, in cases like this, is the definition of welfare, of the public good, and the definition of safety is being defined differently by Apple on the one hand and the (Justice Department) on the other, said Andrea Matwyshyn, a law professor at Northeastern University.A cybersecurity ethics code could include exceptions for instances where the normal rules wouldnt apply, said Nate Cardozo, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.In almost all (written codes of conduct), there are law enforcement exceptions, he said. If your client is going to tell you they are going to commit a crime, for instance, attorney-client privilege goes out the window.But not everyone thinks that such a code can, or even should, exist.The difference with doctors and lawyers is that they are licensed by the states and therefore the states law enforces ethical standards, said Tenable Network Security strategist Cris Thomas, a member of the hacker collective L0pht Heavy Industries, who goes by the name Space Rogue, in an email.There are no such review boards for car mechanics or plumbers, which are usually also licensed by the state, he said. Should there be an ethics review board for (information security) professionals like there are for doctors and lawyers?His answer: Not until the states force infosec people to become licensed like doctors and lawyers. (TNS) -- U.S. commanders mounted a cyberoffensive against Islamic State in Syria for the first time in recent weeks by deploying military hackers against the extremist groups computer and cellphone networks, according to the Pentagon.The digital assault, launched from Ft. Meade in Maryland, marked the first major integration of U.S. Cyber Command into a major battlefield operation since the command was established in 2009.More importantly, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carters disclosure of a government-sanctioned cyberattack represents a shift in Americas war-fighting strategy and power projection. No other nation has publicly acknowledged launching cyberwar.But in December, after deadly terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, frustrated officials in the White House pushed the Pentagon and intelligence agencies to crack down harder on Islamic States use of the digital realm to recruit and radicalize followers, handle logistics and communicate with commanders and fighting units.Carter said Monday at the Pentagon that the goal was to overload their networks and interrupt their ability to command and control forces with jamming and other cybertools.This is something thats new in this war, Carter said before he left on a four-day swing through the West Coast to meet Silicon Valley executives, address a cybersecurity conference in San Francisco and visit Amazon and Microsoft in Seattle.Carter did not reveal details of the new cybercampaign, and its effect and extent are difficult to assess.Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who appeared with Carter, said secrecy was necessary to ensure Islamic State commanders dont know if theyre under attack, or just suffering technical problems.We dont want the enemy to know when, where and how were conducting cyberoperations, he said. We dont want them to have information that allows them to adapt over time.Just as the Pentagon seeks to avert civilian casualties in airstrikes, it needs to calibrate cyberattacks to avoid unintended consequences.Blocking all communications in territory held by the militants, for example, could hamper U.S. collection of intelligence on their locations, operations and plans. It also could affect civilian networks or those used by humanitarian groups in Syrias civil war.But U.S. officials said targeted denial of service and other cyberattacks, plus more than 85 coalition airstrikes, helped U.S.-backed Syrian rebels retake the strategic town of Shaddada and nearby oil fields in mid-February, a major prize in the war.The officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly about ongoing operations, said teams working from Ft. Meade identified and jammed Islamic State online communication networks during the four-day battle.The victory severed a critical route that the militants used to funnel fighters and supplies from the Iraqi border to Raqqah, their self-declared capital and chief stronghold in northeastern Syria.Pentagon officials described the growing role of Cyber Command as part of a strategic shift from cyberdefense to cyberoffense as the military adopts digital sabotage as a new tool for combat and counter-terrorism.Cyberoffense doctrine remains secret, but Carter has spoken about the need to mobilize Cyber Command to counter Islamic States sophisticated use of social media and other Internet platforms.The effort was set in motion in December, shortly after Islamic State sponsored an attack in Paris that killed 130 people, and a couple loyal to the group killed 14 in San Bernardino. In a White House meeting, officials directed senior Pentagon officials to prepare options for more aggressive cyberoperations.Carter ordered Adm. Michael S. Rogers, head of both Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, to develop the strategy.The capacity and capability is starting to come online, Rogers said in a Jan. 21 speech at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington. The military will rely on cyberattacks in a broader and broader way.Hacker teams working with U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, were ordered to focus on disrupting [Islamic States] ability to command and control, to communicate, and to run the so-called state, according to a Defense Department official.The Obama administrations budget request to Congress for the next fiscal year includes $6.8 billion for Cyber Command and other Pentagon cybersecurity operations. Thats a 15% increase over this year even as the Pentagon has faced budget cuts.Martin Libicki, a cyber and national security analyst at the nonpartisan Rand Corp. think tank in Arlington, Va., said Cyber Command has far greater resources than Islamic State and should be able to overwhelm the group, which is also known as ISIS.They probably couldnt do this so easily with a sophisticated enemy, but ISIS is not a sophisticated enemy, he said. Let's face it, ISIS is not going to reengineer its computer systems after they realize they've been breached.Experts say Russia, China, North Korea and other countries have hacked U.S. government networks in recent years, mostly to steal information. But none has publicly acknowledged it.Cybersabotage also has begun to emerge in conflict zones.In January, Ukraines military blamed hackers in Russia for malware that caused massive power outages. Moscow, which is supporting insurgents in eastern Ukraine, denied involvement.One reason for the caution is fear of potential blowback. U.S. communication and digital networks, from finance to public safety, are potentially at risk of counterattacks.There is no end to what the enemy could do to us, Lani Kass, a former senior Pentagon official now with defense contractor CACI International, warned at a recent symposium.Its clear those concerns no longer are enough to stop Americas use of cyberweapons.Theres a monumental shift in global security happening right now, from simply protecting systems and equipment to having the capability to attack and control them, said Alan Paller, research director at SANS Institute, a cybertraining center in Bethesda, Md. No military campaign in the future will be fought without a cybercomponent. (TNS) -- A single, instantly updated list of registered voters in California became reality on Monday, as two final counties plugged in to an electronic database mandated by a federal law enacted in the wake of the contentious 2000 presidential campaign.In other words, a database that was long overdue."It's been more than a decade in coming," Secretary of State Alex Padilla said.The $98-million project allows elections officials in each of California's 58 counties to easily track voters who move from one place to another and to quickly update their records in the event of a death or a voter deemed ineligible after conviction of a felony.The database will allow voters to check if they are registered at their current address, their party affiliation and whether a ballot sent by mail was actually counted."Usually, it is the poorer or more rural counties that lack these tools," said Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation. "That creates an uneven playing field for California voters and undermines voters' constitutional right to equal protection."In an interview Monday, Padilla said a public awareness campaign will be needed to ensure Californians know there soon will be a new tool at their disposal."What it means for the voters is most important," he said.The VoteCal database will undergo a battery of operational testing to sort out any remaining problems before being officially certified in June. But the final hookup to Stanislaus and Monterey counties Monday marked an important milestone.Since 2003, the project has been waylaid by a scandal that led to the resignation of a former secretary of state, a threatened federal lawsuit, a private company that walked away from the technology project and the cumbersome process of re-awarding the government contract."All that is thankfully behind us," Padilla said.Where voter records used to largely depend on the accuracy of the work done in individual counties, the database project has created a uniform process for inputting and sharing information on the state's 17.2 million registered voters."It's huge," said Neal Kelley, registrar of voters in Orange County and president of the state association representing local elections officials.Orange County was one of the five initial counties to be connected to the VoteCal system last summer. Kelley said that from the very first moment, the database paid off by displaying 460 voters who had duplicate registration records in Orange and Sacramento counties."It was right in front of our eyes," he said. "You never would have seen that before."Getting a reliable list of registered voters was one of the principal goals of the federal Help America Vote Act, passed in the wake of the chaotic events in the 2000 presidential race that led to the legal standoff and ultimate election of President George W. Bush. California was awarded $400 million for a variety of voting modernization projects, and state officials say a portion of that money is still on hand and available for maintenance and operation of the VoteCal system.The database also is the key step toward implementing a 2015 state law that will automate voter registration for every citizen who applies for a driver's license and a 2012 law allowing election-day voter registration Monday's announcement also allows California to set aside its dubious distinction as the very last state in the nation to launch a comprehensive voter registration system, the end to a system that Kelley said was based on voter data collection methods dating back to the 1920s."Getting in to the 21st century is a good feeling," he said. Home Motorcycles & Bikes Top 10 Best Motorcycle GPS Trackers Of 2022 Reviews & Buying Guide Motorcycles & Bikes Top 10 Best Motorcycle GPS Trackers Of 2022 Reviews & Buying Guide This article may contain affiliate links. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Motorcycles are excellent vehicles for travel and adventure both on and off-road. It is an investment you need to keep safe from those who would love to take that treasure off your hands. Wheel-locking systems may not be enough for those with enough mechanical ability to hot-wire it, and in some cases, one or two people could simply load it onto a truck without unlocking anything. You dont want to wait months for the police to try to get it back. You want to know where it is right now. A GPS tracking system is the perfect security investment for your motorcycle, and we have reviews of the best motorcycle GPS trackers here for you. Top 10 Best Motorcycle GPS Trackers You Should Buy Of 2022 Reviews 1 AMERICALOC GL300W Mini Portable Real-Time GPS Tracker. XW Series Leta start with this Americaloc mini portable GPS tracker. This is a mid-range GPS tracker both regarding cost and ability. It comes in about the size of a heavy keychain, so if you are looking for something tiny, this is not it. It is detectable by someone who knew what they were looking for but depending on where you attached it to your motorcycle, it may take them a bit of time to identify it. There are diverse opinions in the reviews about its battery life. It appears that it will last at least 3-4 days, but there are sometimes problems when recharging it. Make sure to follow the instruction guide that comes with this tracker. You also need to recognize that this service is run by a tech that is not as widespread as most cellphone GPS trackers. While is advertises real-time the reality is that it updates once per minute, thirty, or ten seconds depending on your setting. This setting will affect battery life, and depending on where it is, the updates may not be entirely accurate. It is not a bad tracker, but you need to have realistic expectations for it. Pros GPS Tracker for vehicles, people, assets GPS Tracker for vehicles, people, assets This GPS tracker has the longest battery life version with extended multicarrier coverage. Battery life is measured in weeks. This GPS tracker has the longest battery life version with extended multicarrier coverage. Battery life is measured in weeks. Alerts: movement, parked, speeding, device on/off, low battery, entering or leaving zones Alerts: movement, parked, speeding, device on/off, low battery, entering or leaving zones Real-Time Tracking and 1 year of tracking history. Track from any computer, tablet or phone or just download our Android and iPhone APP. Real-Time Tracking and 1 year of tracking history. Track from any computer, tablet or phone or just download our Android and iPhone APP. Works in the US, Canada, Europe and in almost every country in the world Works in the US, Canada, Europe and in almost every country in the world 1-minute location updates while moving. Can be configured for location updates every 60, 30 or 10 seconds with no additional cost. Cons Slightly bigger than something described as mini. Slightly bigger than something described as mini. Sometimes faces battery charging issues Sometimes faces battery charging issues Behind cellphone GPS technology and occasionally is off a block or so in tracking Behind cellphone GPS technology and occasionally is off a block or so in tracking No mobile app and website can be buggy 2 Spy Tec STI GL300 Mini Portable Real-Time Personal and Vehicle GPS Tracker Spy Tecs GL300 GPS is about the same size as the Americaloc, but about half the price. As with most GPS devices, there is a monthly subscription fee that can quickly add up over time. In practice, this GPS seems to function a little more smoothly than others, with many short-term satisfied customers. For this GPS to work well for you, you need three things. First, you need to be using it in an area covered by T-mobile, or else you may have accuracy problems. Second, you need to be able to recharge it every few days. Finally, this is a short-term solution. The charging cable seems to break down over months, not years, and the customer and tech service can be a pain to deal with. If you are looking for a long-term GPS, you may want to take a pass on Spy Tec. Pros Perfect for tracking vehicles, people, or assets Perfect for tracking vehicles, people, or assets Compact size can go anywhere Compact size can go anywhere Tracks with Google Maps in real-time over the Internet Tracks with Google Maps in real-time over the Internet Get text or email when a person leaves an area (geo-fencing) Cons Inconsistent customer service Inconsistent customer service Works primarily in T-mobile coverage areas Works primarily in T-mobile coverage areas Problems with charging cable Problems with charging cable Short life span 3 Amcrest AM-GL300 V3 Portable Mini Real-Time GPS Tracker for Vehicles Here is another low-end GPS tracker for your motorcycle. What makes this one of the best motorcycle GPS trackers is that it works with mobile apps from Google and Apple, so you can track your motorcycle from your phone and not just your computer or a webpage. It comes with lots of tracking options as well. You can create zones and be alerted if your motorcycle moves outside of it. You can set speed alerts or other proximity alerts, which will be pushed to your phone via text and email. The Amcrest is a solid package for taking care of your needs, and there is no contract required to use it. How you use it will determine the battery strength, and, like other devices in this low-cost range, the batteries are a weak point, particularly if not re-charged correctly. Also, it relies on 2G coverage and does not connect with all carriers. To get your moneys worth out of this motorcycle GPS tracker, make sure to inquire about coverage in your area and this tracker, and be sure to read the instructions about recharging your GPS. Pros Works with apps from Google and Apple store Works with apps from Google and Apple store This GPS device allows you to create zones that you specifically want to monitor, such as your home to you know when your loved one leaves or returns. Set maximum speed alerts and proximity alerts for your vehicles to suit your needs. This GPS device allows you to create zones that you specifically want to monitor, such as your home to you know when your loved one leaves or returns. Set maximum speed alerts and proximity alerts for your vehicles to suit your needs. Receive text, push and email notifications straight to your personal device. Receive text, push and email notifications straight to your personal device. Long-lasting Stay connected with a longer battery life of 10-14 days on a full charge. Long-lasting Stay connected with a longer battery life of 10-14 days on a full charge. Access the reports from your GPS device from your PC, Mac or smartphone. Access the reports from your GPS device from your PC, Mac or smartphone. No contract required Cons GPS Tracker is limited to 2G and will only work in areas where there is 2G coverage. GPS Tracker is limited to 2G and will only work in areas where there is 2G coverage. Batteries can be faulty leading to short lifespan of the device 4 GPS Tracker Optimus 2.0 This low-end tracker has a better performance record than some of the others, making it one of the best motorcycle GPS trackers on the market. This GPS has a monthly subscription fee but no contract required and it comes with apps you can use to track your motorcycle from your phone. There is no limit to how much data you can save on the secure databases, and so will update you every 30 seconds while your motorcycle is moving, or you can upgrade it to update you every 10 seconds. Fortunately, there are only two reported issues from the reviews of this GPS tracker. It is slightly larger than some of the other models, making it a bit more challenging to hide securely. It also sends out false reports occasionally if the cell service is interrupted. Pros No Contract No Contract Adjustable position report frequency from 30 Seconds while moving. Adjustable position report frequency from 30 Seconds while moving. iPhone and Android App iPhone and Android App Email and Text Message notifications for Movement, Speeding, Leaving or Entering Areas, etc. Email and Text Message notifications for Movement, Speeding, Leaving or Entering Areas, etc. Unlimited Tracking Data Saved During Service Unlimited Tracking Data Saved During Service SIM Card and Data Plan all Included SIM Card and Data Plan all Included Easy to install and use Cons Will occasionally send out false reports if it loses cell service Will occasionally send out false reports if it loses cell service Slightly larger than other models Which of the best motorcycle GPS trackers have the best batteries? 5 Trackmate Mini 3G H GPS Tracker for Vehicles Unlike the previous models of the best motorcycle GPS trackers, the Trackmate does not rely on a rechargeable lithium battery. Instead, it is hardwired directly into the motorcycle battery itself. This has the benefit of preventing the GPS from turning off when the battery dies at inopportune times. The downside of this setup is that installation is more difficult, and while the device is easily concealable, it also has wires running between it and the battery. This connection can cause your motorcycle battery to run down if you do not monitor it closely, causing both the device and motorcycle to fail to operate. This is a 3G tracker and has better accuracy than the previous 2G GPS trackers, making this one of the best motorcycle GPS trackers on the market. Pros On/Off Detection, Speed Indicator, and Live Map Tracking. On/Off Detection, Speed Indicator, and Live Map Tracking. Numerous alerts such as low-battery, tampering and towing. Historical location reports available. Numerous alerts such as low-battery, tampering and towing. Historical location reports available. All-Weather Resistant and Waterproof. All-Weather Resistant and Waterproof. STAY IN TUNE: Unique system Tracks via AT&T and T-Mobile networks, simultaneously. STAY IN TUNE: Unique system Tracks via AT&T and T-Mobile networks, simultaneously. EASILY CONCEALABLE: 3.4 X 1.75 X 0.50 , 2oz. No visible external light. Cons Can drain the motorcycle battery Can drain the motorcycle battery Challenging to install since it is hardwired to the motorcycle battery 6 MotoSafety Mwaas1P1 Wired 3G GPS Car Tracker The MotoSafety Mwaas1P1 is another hardwired GPS tracker that you can use on your motorcycle. It also uses 3G service and, as long as you are in the United States, typically does an excellent job of tracking through mobile apps. It sends detailed reports, particularly useful for tracking teen drivers, such as speeding, hard braking, and curfew notices. You must subscribe to a monthly fee, but there are no contracts. Overall, this is one of the best motorcycle GPS trackers. There are about 10% of customers though who encounter significant issues trying to get this GPS to function properly. Many of these are being used in cars, rather than motorcycles. However, since this GPS is hardwired into the vehicle system, the fault seems to be a compatibility issue, between the GPS and the vehicle. There are no reports of which vehicles are incompatible or why. You take a small risk with this GPS that it may not be compatible with your motorcycle. Otherwise, this is one of the best motorcycle GPS trackers. Pros Monitor driving activity using Google Maps. Monitor driving activity using Google Maps. Use GPS to review driving routes, set geofences around key locations and know when the vehicle is in use after curfew. Use GPS to review driving routes, set geofences around key locations and know when the vehicle is in use after curfew. No contracts or cancellation fees. No contracts or cancellation fees. Track anywhere with free GPS tracking mobile apps with real-time email & text message alerts. Cons Has some issues updating consistently Has some issues updating consistently Only works in the United States 7 ATian Vehicle Car personal GPS/GSM/GPRS/SMS Tracker The ATian GPS Tracker is one of the less expensive of the best motorcycle GPS trackers available. It comes with both a Lithium-ion battery and power supply to be installed to the motorcycle battery. Be warned though, that it will drain both rather quickly if you use it continuously. The lithium-ion battery, for example, is only rated up to 29 hours of continuous use, meaning you have to recharge it daily. This GPS is not waterproof so some kind of external cover may be necessary to keep it working correctly. It comes with a remote control though, to turn it on and off without getting on the motorcycle yourself. The biggest challenge with this GPS is that they do not provide a SIM card in it. Being foreign made, they have adapted to the global cellular service challenge by forcing you to get your own SIM card for it. This means that, although there is only a minimal service fee for using this GPS, you have to pay a cell service company to use it. With the frequent false alerts reported in the reviews on this GPS, that cell service bill can cost you a pretty penny. Pros Single Locating Single Locating Auto track continuously Auto track continuously Track with limited times upon time interval, Smart track upon time and distance interval Track with limited times upon time interval, Smart track upon time and distance interval The tracker will update the positions automatically to web server once the vehicle changing driving direction over preset angle value to form a smooth trajectory consistent with the actual road, this function works only in GPRS /GSM mode Cons Drains motorcycle battery Drains motorcycle battery May often send false alerts May often send false alerts Requires a SIM card and the additional cost of that cellular service. Looking for a higher end GPS for your motorcycle? 8 AES RGT90 GPS Tracker The difference (besides the price) between the AES RGT90 and some of the other best motorcycle GPS trackers that operate with a lithium-ion battery, is that the folks over at AES implemented a sleep mode into their device. That saves you hours and hours of battery use wasted when your motorcycle is simply sitting in your garage. That is how they are able to get 90 days worth of use out of their battery. The other reason that this GPS tracker costs so much is that it has the broadest range of the best motorcycle GPS trackers extending all through North America and over 100 other countries as well. By comparison, most other trackers have difficulty even covering the USA alone. Pros Works Anywhere in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, plus over 100 other countries Works Anywhere in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, plus over 100 other countries Internal battery Operates GPS tracker up to 90 days on a single charge. Recharges by Micro USB for better convenience. Charge using any USB Charger. Internal battery Operates GPS tracker up to 90 days on a single charge. Recharges by Micro USB for better convenience. Charge using any USB Charger. Covert, Discrete, Waterproof Magnetic Case Covert, Discrete, Waterproof Magnetic Case Goes to sleep when the vehicle is parked for 5 minutes or more. Displays the last location before going into Sleep Mode. Access anytime via text. Goes to sleep when the vehicle is parked for 5 minutes or more. Displays the last location before going into Sleep Mode. Access anytime via text. Track on your phone or on the website. You can also receive GPS coordinates via SMS Text. Cons Phone app is not the easiest to use Phone app is not the easiest to use Relies on magnetic attachment What is the best reviewed of the best motorcycle GPS trackers? 9 Goome 3G/WCDMA/GSM/GPS GM36W The Goome has the least amount of negative reviews of the best motorcycle GPS trackers on the market. It also has the fewest reviews in total, so take that with a grain of salt. Many of the reviews commented that they got more value than they expected from this GPS. It is easy to install and very accurate, and the company offers global service. The only problem the reviews have reported is that the app associated with this tracker is in Chinese and can be difficult to navigate. Even so, most customers were able to use this GPS quite well directly through SMS communication between their phones and devices. Pros Support 3G/WCDMA/GSM/ Network Support 3G/WCDMA/GSM/ Network Waterproof features, level IP67 will prevent water damage the inter electric components. Waterproof features, level IP67 will prevent water damage the inter electric components. Geo-fencing, playback history tracks, speeding alarm, low power &battery alerts, etc. Geo-fencing, playback history tracks, speeding alarm, low power &battery alerts, etc. OTA Upgrade Program, Anti-theft OTA Upgrade Program, Anti-theft One year free trial for North America customers Cons App is Chinese and hard to navigate App is Chinese and hard to navigate Can be difficult to find to purchase What is the least expensive best motorcycle GPS tracker on the market? 10 MOTOsafety OBD GPS Tracker Device Here is the least expensive of the best motorcycle GPS trackers you can find. This GPS, like several of the others reviewed, was made with teen drivers in mind. It gives comprehensive reports on driving stats, but it is not meant to be long-lasting. If you are looking for a short-term GPS tracker, and you are living in the US, this is an inexpensive option for you. If you are looking for a GPS for security reasons, you may want to see another option. Pros Monitor driving activity using Google Maps. Monitor driving activity using Google Maps. Get a complete driving report cards that score safe driving habits such as speeding, harsh braking, and rapid acceleration to improve driving habits. Get a complete driving report cards that score safe driving habits such as speeding, harsh braking, and rapid acceleration to improve driving habits. 3G vehicle tracking coverage that updates every minute in the US, Canada, and Mexico 3G vehicle tracking coverage that updates every minute in the US, Canada, and Mexico Track anywhere with the free GPS tracking mobile apps and real-time email & text message alerts. Track anywhere with the free GPS tracking mobile apps and real-time email & text message alerts. Use the GPS tracking to review reports such as driving routes, set geofences around key locations (school, home, or friends house) and know when the vehicle is in use after curfew. Cons Inconsistent updating Inconsistent updating Only works in the US So, how do these reviews line up? Best Motorcycle GPS Trackers Buying Guide Best Value The MOTOSafety OBD GPS Tracker is the least expensive option if you are looking for a short-term tracker for your motorcycle. It is made for tracking the driving habits of teenage drivers. The Trackmate is a more expensive device, but it has a lower monthly subscription cost and is hardwired into your motorcycle, so you dont have to worry about recharging the battery. The ATian GPS tracker is inexpensive as well, but you may end up paying more for your SIM card (not included) usage. Accuracy The AES is the most expensive of the best motorcycle GPS trackers but can provide you with some of the best accuracy across the greatest number of countries. The ATian is one of the least expensive devices but can offer service in any country you can get a SIM card to use in it. The Goome GPS also provides excellent service if you can navigate the Chinese app or use SMS to connect to the device. Durability How long do the best motorcycle GPS trackers last? The most durable of these trackers are the ones that are hardwired into your motorcycle battery. The lithium-ion battery is one of the earliest failing points on these devices, and if it doesnt have one, it lasts that much longer. You also want one that is waterproof, to prevent moisture from damaging the electronics. The Trackmate is a great hardwired GPS that is recommended for motorcycles and is waterproof. It is one of the more durable of the best motorcycle GPS trackers. There is one exception to the battery rule, and that is the AES RGT90 GPS tracker. This tracker, because of its sleep mode, causes less wear on the battery and ends up lasting much longer than any other GPS with a lithium-ion battery. Conclusion You can get inexpensive GPS trackers if you are only interested in short-term use. If you want something to last longer, you need to spend a little more money. You also need to be able to install it to your motorcycle battery. It is also important to watch for the subscription costs. The device may be inexpensive, but most subscriptions are around $20 each month. Some may require cell phone contracts (although most do not). Also, the more expensive GPS trackers have better service (3G instead of 2G) and a much wider area of coverage. If youre looking for the best motorcycle GPS trackers, the reviews suggest checking out the AES RGT90 and the Trackmate Mini 3G H GPS Tracker. The new Phideon was developed in Germany with the assistance of VWs Chinese partner SAIC Volkswagen. The sedan will be offered with high-efficiency turbocharged gasoline TSI engines, and a plug-in hybrid drive is also planned. Volkswagen unveiled the new Volkswagen Phideon luxury sedan ahead of the Geneva International Motor Show 2016. The future of Volkswagens premium segment will go into production in China initially for the China market in the third quarter of 2016. Phideon is positioned above the Passat and the Magotan, which is available in China. Volkswagens design team derived the Phideon almost directly from the C Coupe GTE concept car, which was presented at Auto Shanghai in 2015, with only minor changes. (Earlier post.) From a technical perspective, Phideon is the first Volkswagen brand car to be based on the Modular Longitudinal Matrix (MLB). Its namePhideonis a construct standing for elegance and reliability, and phonetically and symbolically evokes Fides, the Roman goddess of fidelity. The top-of-the-range modelthe Phideon 3.0 TSI 4MOTION, which comes with four-wheel drive as standardis powered by a 3.0 liter V6 turbocharged direct injection gasoline engine that produces 220 kW/295 hp. This efficient TSI develops maximum torque of 440 Nm (325 lb-ft). In addition to the planned plug-in hybrid model, the new five-seater will also be available as a 2.0 TSI (with four-cylinder engines) with front-wheel drive. Convenience and driver assistance systems high-end technologies. The new Phideon continues the Volkswagen tradition introduced to the top segment with the Phaeton of a chassis equipped with an air suspension system, similar to the systems used by fellow Volkswagen Group brand Bentley. The Phideon is equipped with latest generation of this technology, with five individually selectable driving modes. Another new feature is the electric soft-closing system for the doors, called Soft Close, which harmonizes perfectly with the stylish, luxurious and noiseless ambience on board. MLB assistance systems. This new sedan has the full technology spectrum of the Modular Longitudinal Matrix (MLB) at its disposal. When it comes to driving information, this includes features such as a head-up display (which projects information onto the windshield) and a camera-based night vision system that warns the driver if there are people or animals on or near the road, even in pitch-black darkness or in fog, allowing the driver to react significantly faster. When maneuvering, Area Viewa system with four wide-angle camerasimproves all-round visibility. Other assistance systems include ACC (adaptive cruise control); Front Assist (surroundings monitoring system); Park Assist (assisted parking with automatic steering and braking); Lane Assist (camera-based lane-departure warning system); Side Assist (lane-changing assistant); the proactive occupant protection system (which tensions the safety belts and closes the windows or the sunroof) and Light Assist (which automatically dips the high beam). The new Volkswagen also features connectivity provided by the integrated Modular Infotainment Platform (MIB). CarPlay (Apple) and MirrorLink (Android) can be used to integrate almost any common smartphone, using various apps to control the infotainment system. TREV is a range extender system that uses a micro-turbine (fueled either by liquid or gaseous fuels) to generate electricity that charges a battery pack. The battery powers the motors that drive the wheels. In 2010, Jaguar introduced a similar concept, the C-X75 extended range electric vehicle that used twin gas micro-turbines from Bladon Jets to power two switched reluctance generators from SR Drives. ( Earlier post .) Techrules, a new China-based automotive R&D company, made its global debut at the 2016 Geneva International Motor Show with the unveiling of a Turbine-Recharging Electric Vehicle (TREV) series hybrid system applied in a 6-motor, all-wheel drive supercar concept. Techrules AT96 (liquid fueled) TREV supercar on the track. Click to enlarge. Techrules said that its newly developed battery management technologies enable superior charging efficiency. The high efficiency of the TREV range extender results in a requirement for fewer batteries, saving weight and space. Techrules started testing a development prototype of the TREV supercar last month at the Silverstone race circuit in the UK. Performance specs for the TREV include peak power of 768 kW (1,030 bhp), with a projected 0 - 100 km/h time of 2.5 seconds, 350 km/h (217 mph) restricted top speed). Projections, based on initial testing, indicate that the range of a future production supercar under battery power alone will be up to 150 km (93 miles). Where charging points are unavailable TREV technology can recharge batteries anywhere, either while underway or when parked. It is envisioned that this parked recharging process could be completed unsupervisedovernight for example. Maximum rangebased on the battery configuration in the concept supercar presented at Genevais projected to be more than 2,000 km (1,243 miles) from 80 liters (21 gallons) of aviation keroseneor a fuel with equivalent calorific valuein urban driving conditions. There is no direct electrical feed from the generator to the electric traction motors: the TREV system is purely a series hybrid range extender system. Air drawn into the micro turbine is passed through a heat exchanger where heat from the exhaust air is transferred to the cold intake air after it has been compressed. Ignition of the compressed and heated fuel-air mixture generates energy which is channelled at very high speeds to turn the turbine vanes. As this hot exhaust gas is expelled, it passes through the heat exchanger to ensure the heat energy is recuperated and transferred to cold intake air. Because turbines have always been a very inefficient way to convert chemical energy into useful wheel turning mechanical energy, only a few have tried to use a turbine in the powertrain system, and none have ever succeeded commercially. But, with electric vehicles, an electric motor is used to drive the wheels, which effectively frees the combustion engine to exclusively convert chemical energy into mechanical energy and finally into electric energy. This is a major breakthrough, making it possible for us to use the highly efficient turbine engine as a superb range extender on our vehicles. Techrules Chief Technology Officer, Matthew Jin The turbine shaft powers a generator that produces electricity to charge the battery cells. In Techrules TREV configuration, the turbine and the generator share the same shaft and rotate at the same speed: over 96,000 revolutions per minute. The turbine produces 36 kW. Of this output, 30 kW powers the generator, with 6 kW directly powering auxiliary equipment such as the inverters. The 30 kW electrical output from the generator is used to charge the battery pack. The total weight of the TREV range extender system (micro-turbine, inverters, fuel pumps, air pumps, and generator, but excluding batteries and motors) is approximately 100 kg (220 lbs). The TREV system incorporates several new technologies that make it approximately 50% more efficient than range extender systems using gasoline engines, Techrules said. The high rotational speeds that the shaft requires in order to draw in the required volume of air means that achieving low friction is paramount to the efficiency of the TREV system. Techrules employs air bearing technologya high pressure feed of compressed airinstead of a traditional oil lubricant film to separate the shaft from the bearing. This results in fewer frictional energy losses, since it eliminates parasitic losses of a mechanical bearing. The use of an air bearing system is not unique, but how Techrules uses the air bearing involves innovations. Of particular note is that the air bearing is also supported by a magnetic field that allows for precise adjustment of the high speed shaft. Both bearing solutions work together to maintain stability. The magnetic bearing allows a far greater clearance between the shaft and its wall lining, which delivers significant advantages for the long-term durability of the system. This is an especially important consideration in automotive applications of turbine systems becauseunlike in stable power generation conditionsthe entire assembly must be able to be capable of withstanding volatile operating conditions that result from, for example, vertical shocks from uneven road surfaces and lateral forces in cornering. Techrules hybrid bearing system is also more economic to produce, because the built-in extra clearance space reduces the extreme tolerances usually required. In addition, a new design of internal foilan intrinsic component within an air bearingis used for the bearing liner that supports the air pressure and flow. It is made of a new compound material that gives it superior durability. Of equal importance is that the new foil enables the mass production of the bearing liner at the required production tolerances to be achieved at a high volume scale at low cost. Techrules has also introduced a new and innovative heat exchanger design that is more thermally efficient than conventional designs. A new material has been introduced in the hybrid heat exchanger which greatly increases the efficiency of heat recuperation from the exhaust gases. New charge balancing strategy. The TREV system employs an innovative smart battery management system that optimizes the efficiency of battery charging and power balancing between battery cells. In a conventional lithium-ion battery management system, to avoid cells being damaged by overcharging, the cellswhich each charge at a slightly different ratemust be balanced as they charge. This balancing is conventionally achieved by actively discharging the cells that are charging more quickly in order to enable the other cells to catch up. This process sees a proportion of energy wasted during the charging process and increases the time required to charge all cells fully. To address the shortcomings with this standard industry practice, Techrules battery balancing system harnesses the excess voltage in cells that are charging more quickly, sharing their charge with slower-charging neighboring cells to achieve the required balance. As a result, the entire pack charges more quickly, and there is no energy wasted in actively discharging the best-performing cells, the company says. Power-dense cells. The TREV system uses readily available cylindrical 18650 Lithium-Manganese-Oxide battery cells. Techrules is focusing its capabilities on the efficiency of the battery management rather than the battery chemistry itself. Its insight and smart battery management system will be applicable to any future, higher capacity battery technology. Because the TREV system incorporates a series hybrid range extender, Techrules is prioritizing power density ahead of energy density. With a common core architecture, the TREV system can be tailored to run on one of a variety of fuels. This means that the configuration of the TREV system can be matched to the fuel which is already prevalent in a specific market with a comprehensive supply and distribution infrastructure. As a result, adoption of the TREV system by the fuel supply industry, vehicle manufacturers and consumers requires no major investment in new networks. The TREV systems turbine has been tested in various guises, with alternative versions running natural gas, biogas, diesel, gasoline and aviation kerosene. The two concepts. Techrules is showcasing its TREV technology at the 2016 Geneva International Motor Show in a two-seater all-wheel drive concept supercar. The turbine generator is carried behind the passenger cabin and in front of the rear wheels, making the concept a mid-engined extended-range electric vehicle. It is presented in two designs, the AT96 and GT96. These designseach offering an alternative configuration of the TREV systemare two variations of a vision of how turbine-recharging supercars might look when the technology enters production in Chinas first supercar. AT refers to Aviation Turbine, indicating that the turbine is configured to run on a liquid fuel such as aviation kerosene, diesel and gasoline. The AT96 is a vision of a track-focused version of the supercar and features management large rear wing, which provides both straight-line stability as well as downforce to aid high speed cornering. The GT96 (gas turbine) is designed to run on a gaseous fuel such as biogas and natural gas and is styled as a road-going hypercar. The supercar also incorporates plug-in charging capability for markets where public or residential off-street parking charging networks are in place. A first supercar development prototype based on the AT96 aviation turbine configuration has been produced by Techrules specialist vehicle engineering partners in Italy and the UK. Initial testing began in February 2016 at the iconic Silverstone race circuit in the UK. At the heart of the concept is a carbon-fiber monocoque to provide exceptional torsional rigidity and passenger safety. The body structure is also lightweight carbon fiber, including the dihedral doors. The rear subframe carries the primary range extender components, including the micro turbine generator and direct ancillary systems, as well as the cooling systems for the electric traction motors and battery pack, and the rear motors and inverters. Under the carbon-fibre body, a longitudinal T-shaped battery back runs down a central spine of the car, providing the same appearance in the passenger cabin as a transmission tunnel would in a front-engine, rear wheel drive car. The battery pack is liquid cooled to maintain an optimal operating temperature for the cells. The battery pack comprises 2,376 individual 18650 cylindrical cells that use Lithium-Manganese-Oxide chemistry chemistry with a capacity of 20 kWh usable and with a voltage of 720 V. Thanks to its smart battery management system, the battery pack can be charged by the turbine generator in approximately 40 minutes. The supercar concept is driven by six electric traction motors, each weighing 13 kg and each one of which is coupled to its own dedicated inverter. Each front wheel is driven by a single motor, while each rear wheel is driven by a pair of motors. The primary advantage of using two smaller motors instead of a single larger motor for each rear wheel is packaging efficiency and simpler mounting to the monocoque, Techrules said. This six-motor layout with independent power feeding each wheel provides an ideal configuration for torque vectoring which is managed by an electronic control unit. Four-way torque vectoring guarantees maximum cornering stability at high speed and eliminates the requirement for complex and heavy mechanical differentials. With such power and speed available from the accelerator pedal, so is there due consideration for high performance stopping power. Rapid retardation is achieved with 405 mm ventilated discs with six-piston calipers at the front, and 380 mm ventilated discs with four-piston calipers at the rear. Techrules is a subsidiary of Txr-S, a research and development company which has other subsidiaries operating in the fields of new materials development, biogas production and aerospace. Techrules plans to begin series production of TREV technology in a low volume supercar of its own design within a couple of years. It then plans to begin production of higher volume city cars a few years later. Deflection-induced PVIwhich results from a vehicle overcoming a resisting force (i.e. dissipating energy due to deformation of the pavement structure)results in wasted fuel because the dissipated energy does not contribute to the vehicles forward movement. Past studies on PVI and the three elements that impact PVItexture, roughness, and deflectionhave been empirical in approach, using actual trucks on actual pavements. This approach has ignored the pavement layer structure and material properties, and has led to high variability in the reported results. A recent collaboration between the MITs Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) showed that phenomena associated with deflection-induced pavement-vehicle interaction (PVI) accounts for 1% of overall fuel consumption on California highways. In contrast, the CSHub researchers employed a novel small-scale experimental approach in which a rigid steel tire rolls along a polymer pavement while they measured the horizontal force required to move the tire forward at different speeds and with different loads. This approach allowed them to look directly at the interaction between the wheel and pavement structure. The experimental pavement system was represented as a viscoelastic beam on an elastic subgrade through a two-layered silicone elastomer pavement. The researchers gave the model pavement a range of top layer thicknesses, top layer elastic moduli, and top layer viscoelastic properties and observed the model pavements response to a moving wheel of varying loads and speeds both visually and through the resulting horizontal force resisting its motion. Using a technique called photoelasticity, they looked inside the pavement structure and measure the PVI-induced dissipation. The team ran nearly 200 experimental configurations to investigate the scaling of the key PVI parameters with excess energy dissipation. Among their findings were that: The stresses created in the material are not symmetricalan indication that the wheel is moving on an uphill slope. Dissipated energy is greatest at lower speeds and under high loads; an increase in load results in a rapid increase in dissipated energy, which increases fuel usage. An increase in pavement stiffness minimizes the impact of deflection-induced PVI. For the research, Caltrans provided the CSHub with a wealth of data collected using ground-penetrating radar. The data identified the roads structure, including the materials beneath the pavement, and included GPS coordinates on every crack, rut, and bump in Californias 50,000 lane-mile system. CSHub researchers ran 40,000 to 50,000 calculations for each mile in the network and then made a ranking to determine the fastest path reduction of fuel consumption. While a passenger car wouldnt achieve significant gas savings, road stiffness could make an enormous difference for 40-ton trucks, with up to 4 percent gas mileage savings, said MIT professor of civil and environmental engineering Franz-Josef Ulm, faculty director of CSHub, in an interview with Engineering News-Record (ENR) magazine. If we can save 2 million tons of CO 2 per year, at the aggregate level, this becomes extremely important in a low-carbon economy. Most of the world is looking from the tires up to understand how to produce less greenhouse gas, Tom Pyle, pavement management engineer with Caltrans, told ENR. But were looking from the tires down, to the pavement, to achieve efficiencies the public never sees by significantly reducing greenhouse gases. Pyle noted that some studies already show a 2 to 3 percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions in high-traffic volume locations. The Caltrans research specifically looked at the use phase of the pavement life cycle, but CSHub research is not just focused on this phase, nor just on PVI; it looks broadly at the entire life cycle of paving and building materials. The CSHub has also conducted life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis studies for numerous locations including Virginia, Colorado, Arizona, Florida, Missouri, and Minnesota. In an interview, Ulm said the ultimate goal of the Caltrans research, and all CSHub research, is for decision makers, including engineers and politicians, to think of infrastructure as part of the solution in a carbon constrained environment. The Caltrans research offers a new way of thinking of pavement management systems. Ulm said, In an environment where we deal with carbon restriction and where carbon has a price, making it part of the equationmaking it part of the cultural baggage of engineers to improve our infrastructureis the ultimate focus, this where we want this research to end up. HARTFORD - A bill that would allow motorists to register cars while owing back taxes for the first time in 81 years is hitting a wall of opposition from legislators and others worried about towns and cities losing millions in annual revenue. The loss would be particularly hard hitting in our inner cities where there are more renters, said State Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton. Lets face it most of us are not happy with the car tax. But we have it and towns have become dependent on it. In an effort to reduce wait times at Department of Motor Vehicle offices, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is asking the General Assembly to eliminate a requirement dating back to the mid-1930s that back car taxes and parking tickets be paid before a car can be registered. The legislation also delays issuing boat titles until 2019 and allows Triple A to register cars in addition to issuing drivers licenses. Dennis Murphy, acting DMV commissioner, told the General Assemblys transportation committee at least 50,000 people annually come to a DMV office only to learn they owe back taxes. After paying those taxes, the customers return at least once more, further increasing wait times, he said. Towns can be creative about collecting taxes, Murphy said. But legislators and town officials said its not realistic to expect municipalities to collect car taxes without the leverage provided by the registration requirement, in part because liens cannot be placed on cars. Estimates of annual revenue losses ranged from $1.3 million in Hartford to $17,000 in Bridgewater. DMV has been besieged over the last year with delays, long lines and malfunctions of all types after a new $25 million computer system was installed. The problems forced some offices to close. Long lines Murphy said forcing DMV to enforce car tax laws is contributing to longer lines, irate customers and arguments with staff. Two thirds of all compliance issues concern local property taxes, Murphy said. A large number of people come twice. We believe it results in 10 to 15 percent of all transactions. Maybe if someone can register their car they can get to work and pay their taxes. Art Schaller, who owns a large car dealership in New Britain, said the bill will also eliminate a burden on dealers. I heard from many of our customers about the long hours at DMV, Schaller said. All of our dealers experienced problems. This bill will eliminate regulation that forces DMV and dealers to become tax collectors. Cant collect While no one supported long lines at DMV offices, the committee heard far more testimony opposing the bill than supporting it. We ought to find a way to do this that does not place additional burdens on our municipalities, said state Rep. Gail Lavielle, R-Wilton. State Rep. Angel Arce, D Hartford, said the bill will cost his city $1.3 million annually in lost car taxes. The taxes are not going to get paid. The last thing we want is to not be able to collect property taxes, he said. Litchfield First Selectman Leo Paul said his town would see a 5 percent reduction in car tax revenue, representing a $105,000 annual loss. We cannot support eliminating the ban on registering vehicles, Paul said. We would have to raise taxes. Patricia Strauss, Westports town clerk, noted long lines at DMV are not only caused by people learning they owe taxes. There are many reasons why people are turned away, she said, adding lack of insurance is at the top of the list. Betsy Gara, director of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns, added This will result in a five percent drop in local property taxes. Im surprised this is being discussed as delaying lines. Its pretty clear its not as much of a problem as they are stating. With startups popping-up everywhere in Silicon Valley across all types of industries, founders are looking to develop a sense of community with their colleagues. These startup community organizations have developed from a desire to exchange ideas, get assistance and tap into a support system to help get through the barriers and challenges on the horizon. Related: How Angel Investing Is Different Outside of Silicon Valley Here are some of the top startup communities in Silicon Valley and nearby San Francisco: 1. Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs Founded in 2007 and headquartered in San Francisco, this is a grassroots community organization that shares opportunities to share knowledge and experience. They have over 23,000 members that are invited to join in weekly events that can include pitch events, panel discussions, social mixers and co-founder matching nights. 2. Cuckoo's Nest Club This social club offers a comfortable environment in which to socialize, share ideas, connect with colleagues and potential co-founders and pick entrepreneurs' brains about the best approach to launching and managing a startup. The club has an impressive roster of charter, founding and new members that come together in a community atmosphere for special events and networking. They also provide an atmosphere to connect with impressive investors from the valley. 3. SV Forum Headquartered in San Jose, this community organization has developed numerous ways to create connections and offer education to all types of startup founders and business professionals throughout Silicon Valley. The organization offers events and conferences as well as forums and numerous strategic partners that provide additional resources that can be leveraged to help your startup. 4. Startup Grind Silicon Valley This is a global network of startup founders, mentors, entrepreneurs and investors with a strong presence in Silicon Valley. This years global conference was held in Redwood City on Feb. 23 and offered an excellent opportunity to get in front of even more startup founders. The group features various speakers who share their stories and offer additional opportunities to network with local entrepreneurs. 5. Entrepreneurs Organization This is a global entrepreneur network with an online presence as well as a physical presence through its Silicon Valley chapter. Its been around since 1987 and has thousands of members all over the world. There are numerous events and meet-ups plus online resources that help your startup. This offers opportunities for friendships and mentoring. Related: For Tech Companies in the Bay Area, Gender Diversity Still Lags 6. VLAB This is the Bay Area chapter of The MIT Enterprise Forum, which is a global non-profit that brings together investors, industry experts and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to assist in the growth of startups, industries and the economy. Since 1990, VLAB has been an established community in Silicon Valley with well-known Silicon Valley companies and leaders volunteering to help entrepreneurs find their way to startup success. 7. Silicon Valley American Marketing Association Since marketing is such a critical component to a startups success, the American Marketing Association formed a chapter within the Silicon Valley to help the local entrepreneurial community with this aspect of business as well as offer networking, professional development, resources and research. The chapter is located in San Jose, but it holds events throughout Silicon Valley. 8. Black Founders Founded in 2011 as a community organization designed to encourage black founders to create and follow through on their startups, the organization is open to all entrepreneurs as a way to encourage diversity and foster success for all types of founders. They offer events, conferences, "hackathons" and funding opportunities. 9. Startup Embassy Started by entrepreneurs who realized it would help to have a community available to welcome new entrepreneurs to the Silicon Valley and help them get settled, Startup Embassy has been assisting other entrepreneurs since 2012. Located in Palo Alto, it is a hacker house where international tech entrepreneurs that come to Silicon Valley, can get acclimated and accustomed to a new way of life. Depending on what is needed, you can find collaboration, workspace and physical living space by joining this community. 10. SCORE Silicon Valley This national small business community organization has a local chapter that is designed to help through consulting and classes, focusing on specific problems and issues that each entrepreneur is currently facing in their operations. Located in San Jose, this chapter of SCORE also has a library of resources on-site as well as events that encourage entrepreneurs to network and help each other. Related: Why Venture Capital Deals Stay in Silicon Valley All of these startup community organizations are designed to fuel innovation and the next round of disruptive products and services that are driving a sustainable national economy. The objective is to keep the idea that this country was founded on, which is that free enterprise and hard work breed success and bolster a nation. Related: Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Not so fast. The debate over whether adding salt warnings to restaurant menus has been nothing if not interesting. Health officials, youll recall, want warnings next to chain-restaurant menu items that contain at least a days worth of sodium, which the FDA defines as 2,300 milligrams. The National Restaurant Association, the main industry-trade group, says the warnings will be bad for business and will lead to warning fatigue among diners. But five days ago, a state judge denied the National Restaurant Associations lawsuit to block the warnings, meaning things would proceed accordingly and the warnings would go into effect tomorrow. Now, though, theres a new twist: Today, an appeals court is giving the NRA another chance. That means the NRA has successfully managed to stop the warnings from going into effect, at least a little longer. The court agreed to the groups request to delay the rule so that it could consider the NRAs case that the restaurants it represents will suffer irreparable harm if salt labels become mandatory. If the group can make a convincing case, it may mean the salt warnings may never take effect. That might happen. The NRA, of course, fought the city government in the past, successfully blocking Mayor Bloombergs soda ban. [Law360] Maslow, when hes just high on life. Photo: Yoon S. Byun/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Tim Maslow, a Momofuku Ssam Bar alum currently up for a James Beard award, may unfortunately have to add convicted felon to that list. The Boston-based chef was in Canada this weekend for a Montreal cooking festival, but on his way back Friday night, he got busted by Vermont border patrol for carrying 22.5 pounds of marijuana edibles, plus some other controlled substances. There were four other people in the car with him, but police tell the Boston Globe that Maslow immediately claimed the drugs all belonged to him and was very cooperative during the subsequent arrest. Hes been charged with four counts of felony possession (marijuana, a depressant, a stimulant, and a narcotic), pleaded not guilty, and is out on $5,000 bail. If his mugshot is any indication, the conversation he managed to have with police was probably an interesting one: Boston-area chef Timothy Maslow is arrested at Canadian border with edible marijuana https://t.co/clnDTXcr6R pic.twitter.com/zyCZ94pMw9 The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) February 28, 2016 Maslow worked as chef de cuisine at Ssam Bar before returning to the Boston area to take over his dads sandwich shop Strip-Ts. After getting some acclaim for innovating it, he opened Ribelle, which the Globe gave four stars in 2013. Time in the pokey, or even a felony record, would complicate life, and anyone who caught Maslows Instagram meltdown after the arrest (hes since deleted the posts) would have definitely had additional cause for concern: One is a video of him burning Ribelle business cards, with the caption Last service @ribellebkline in the books. So looking forward to gutting this bitch like a pig and getting it right. In another, he sets the Globes review on fire, and its caption reads: Im done with this one too. Have your 4 stars back @bostonglobe. Give it to someone who wants it. #ripribelle. According to Ribelles official Twitter account, the restaurant has been renamed 1665 Beacon St., which is the spots address. Anyone hungry for great food with maybe a side of drama in the Boston area will be happy to know that the restaurant, whatever its called now, still plans to serve dinner tonight: In case you were wondering, yes we are open for dinner! See you at 6pm. Ribelle (@RibelleBKline) February 29, 2016 [Globe] Earlier today a teaser confirmed that Oppo is getting ready to launch the Oppo R9, a possible successor to the R7 duo from last year. One thing that hasn't so far been clear is when exactly the new device will be announced. Thankfully, that's now been revealed thanks to Oppo itself. The Chinese company has plastered a very large number of ads all over subway and bus stations in China, ads that look like this one: The ads state that there will be an event on March 17, during which Oppo will out a handset that has "9" in the name. So that pretty much settles it. Unlike its predecessors, the R9 is rumored to sport some very high-end specs. It should be marketed as Oppo's top camera phone, and may include support for the company's recently unveiled Super VOOC fast charging. The Oppo R9 will allegedly have a 6-inch QHD touchscreen, a 21 MP rear camera, a 13 MP selfie snapper, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chipset, 3 or 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, and a 3,700 mAh battery. It should run Android 6.0 Marshmallow from day one, and could look almost identical to Apple's iPhone 6s Plus. Source Haiti - Politic : PHTK accuses Privert to violate the agreement Monday, Guichard Dore, strategic advisor to the PHTK denounced in a press conference the nomination of Fritz-Alphonse Jean as Prime Minister. For PHTK Jocelerme Privert, who was President of the Senate and who assumes the provisional presidency provisional presidency "does not respect the agreement and his promises during the negotiations [...] he violates the terms of the agreement signed on February 6 between former President Michel Martelly and the presidents of both Chambers of Parliament," saying the PHTK does not recognize the Prime Minister named joining in his position, other political actors that ensure that the election of Jean Fritz was not the result of a consensus and regretted that it was installed before they go to parliament. Guichard Dore also said that the President a.i. Privert "starts very badly and may aggravate the crisis," arguing that the PHTK will fight all the excesses of the agreement so that the latter "is the card to out the crisis," adding "we have done our part when President Martelly left office." He also said that consultations with parliamentarians and allied parties were underway "to give an adequate response, because we will not accept that the President and the Prime Minister is of the same political tendency [Lavalas] . We want to out of the crisis and not create more crisis [...] We ask Mr. Privert to take advice by correcting the shot and by designating under the agreement of February 6, a Prime Minister of consensus for the proper functioning of country and to find a solution to the political crisis [...]" See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16745-haiti-politic-vote-of-confidence-the-pm-in-the-hunt-for-votes.html HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Quebec : The CPH asks Canada to not interfere in Haitian affairs The Concertation pour Haiti (CPH) a group of organizations of the civil society and individual members of Quebec (diaspora and others) involved in the movement of solidarity with the Haitian people, reiterates its support for the Haitian population in this difficult period of transition and recovery of the electoral process. In a note the CPH questions on the involvement of the International Community in this crisis "Is there not a need for all nations to respect the national sovereignty of a people and not to interfere in the internal affairs of a State ?" This is why the CPH is supporting the democratic process in Haiti, without external interference. "The CPH request to the Canadian Government to refrain from interfering in the ongoing electoral process in order to let the Haitians the opportunity to see their affairs without external intervention to dictate them what to do." HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Security : New DG to the Central Directorate of Administrative Police Monday in Petionville, Godson Orelus, the Director General of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) proceeded during a ceremony attended by many executives of the institution, to the installation of the former head of the West Departmental, the Divisional Commissioner, recently promoted inspector general, Michel-Ange Gedeon, as the new Director of the Central Directorate of Administrative Police (DCPA). He takes over this position, the Inspector General Destorel Germain (45 year career) who held the post for nearly 10 years. In his words of circumstance, Michel-Ange Gedeon thank the Director General of the PNH for the choice of him and promised to fulfill its mission with professionalism before invited the audience to observe a minute of silence in memory of officers who died in service. He took the opportunity to seek the support of all police staff to enable the institution to effectively respond to its primary mission to protect the lives and property of the population. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Petit-Goave : One fight, two versions... On the night of Sunday, February 29 to Monday, March 1, 2016 at about 1:00 am the former deputy of Petit-Goave, Jacques Stevenson Thimoleon and a young boy, Frederic Dito have a fight in the street Lamarre during the passage of a band of "Full rasta". Two versions of the facts... Version of the young Dito : Frederic Dito said Monday on the waves of the Radio Preference FM "The rara band 'Full rasta' headed for the Street Lamarre. Former Deputy Thimoleon came cordially greet us, a group of young people from the city who do not share his political position... He gave me his hand, I have categorically refused [...] I told him I do not want shake your hand because you're a criminal. You made me assaulted at your house, there a year ago. Suddenly the deputyangry, took me by the collar and I have responded, I made the same... We have jostled and brutalized under the watchful eye of security guards of the parliamentary... Finally, I was able to escape and I rushed home to the street Lamarre. Security officers of the former deputy then fired into the air." Version of Journalists of radio Thim FM : The version of the journalists from radio Thim FM, station of the former deputy Thimoleon which he is the CEO is very different "[...] the former deputy Jacques S. Thimoleon was nearly killed early Monday morning February 29 to the Lamarre street while he was playing in a group of 'Full Rasta' returning from Radio TV Thim. According to people who were on the scene, everything went very well, in a festive atmosphere when a young man wearing a shirt, verbally attacked Thilmoleon and suddenly stones were thrown at the crowd followed by shots. One could easily identify with gunpoint the named Dukens thus known and Fat Mitou. Thanks to the vigilance of the crowd, Mr. Thimoleon escaped unharmed. Radio TV Thim strongly condemns this dishonest and unhealthy act exercised over its CEO and asks the police and judicial authorities to assume their responsibility in the context of this case." HL/ HaitiLibre / Guyto Mathieu (Correspondant Petit-Goave) Haiti - Environment : Cooperation Cuba-Haiti in the forestry sector The Minister of the Environment, the engineer Dominique Pierre, held a working meeting with the Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of Cuba, Liliana Garcia Socarras around the development and continuity of the Cuban cooperation in the sector forest with his Ministry. During the meeting, the Minister stressed the importance of these exchanges through the Cuban experts in forestry, while four of them end their mission in Haiti. Liliana Garcia Socarras evoked the arrival of 6 new Cuban experts who will give continuity to the bilateral cooperation in education and environmental protection. During a brief ceremony, the Minister of the Environment welcomed the departure of 4 members of the Cuban forest brigade who worked for two years in Haiti. He commended the work of the Brigade in different parts of the country, highlighted the level of coordination and support of Cuban experts in a friendly atmosphere and expressed the gratitude of the Ministry, for their significant contribution in the development of programs for the protection and management of protected areas and reforestation in various zones of Haiti. The four Cuban specialists expressed their satisfaction at having cooperate in this ministry and have been able to strengthen the ties of friendship and solidarity between the two countries, in addition to the work done on the ground. The Minister Dominique Pierre added that Haiti was ready to host the next Cuban team which should arrive in the country in April. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14362-haiti-environment-cooperation-between-cuba-and-haiti.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-10421-haiti-environment-phase-ii-of-the-reforestation-project-of-haiti-with-cuban.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-9826-haiti-environment-signature-of-a-cooperation-agreement-in-the-forestry-sector.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-8974-haiti-environment-congratulations-to-the-cuban-cooperation.html SL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping politics... A statement to fuel the crisis Dr. Schiller Louidor, a Fanmi Lavalas party member, said on a radio station of the capital that with the arrival of Jocelerme Privert at the National Palace, there was no question of holding a second round between Jovenel Moise and Jude Celestin. Fednel Montchery, the National Coordinator of "Repon Peyizan" denounced this statement that raises serious doubts... "Pitit Desalin" and Fanmi Lavalas require "Pitit Dessalin" and Fanmi Lavalas require the formation of an independent commission of assessment and verification of the ballot of 25 October 2015, while the Haitian Tet Kale Party (PHTK) and the Consortium of political parties wish the formation of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) and the continuation of the process with the second round of presidential elections between candidates Jovenel Moise and Jude Celestin. Fritz Jean unlikely to get a vote of confidence... Jean Robert Bosse, Deputy of Aquin (OPL) (member of the majority group G48) estimates that the Prime Minister named has no chance to reach the stage of Parliament, a view shared by the deputies of the majority group in the Lower House and the Senators of the minority group in the Senate (G9) who advise the Prime Minister named Fritz-Alphonse Jean to not waste time, claiming that he has no chance to get a vote of confidence in Parliament (16 votes in the Senate and 60 in the lower chamber required). The Deputy Bosse also vigorously denounces this nomination and installation, in violation of the agreement of 6 February and the amended Constitution. He believes detect a clear willingness of the President a.i. Jocelerme Privert "to spend time with a view to an extension of the transition and its mandate." See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16745-haiti-politic-vote-of-confidence-the-pm-in-the-hunt-for-votes.html The Senator of Francisco de la Cruz advocates agreement in the Senate The majority group in the Senate expressed support for the choice of the economist Fritz Jean as the new Prime Minister. Senator Francisco de la Cruz (OPL) who believes that the position of the minority group in the Senate is correct " Because it is not normal that a single political ideology wants to take everything and it must be accepted that there is a problem in the choice of the Prime Minister," he nevertheless calls upon its colleagues not to be guided by political passion and encourages them to agree to facilitate the vote of confidence of the General Policy of the Prime Minister named. "Privert made a mistake" dixit Moise J-C... According Moise Jean Charles leader of "Pitit Desalin" President a.i. Privert have made a mistake by launching the formation processes of Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), because according to him it is necessary firstly that the investigation of the Independent Commission allow to publish the final results of the first round of presidential elections of 25 October 2015. HL/ HaitiLibre Jacquie Gales Webb, an award-winning radio/television producer and gospel music announcer, has selected Indiana University's Archives of African American Music and Culture (AAAMC) as the repository for her collected papers and an array of production materials related to her career. The collection will provide an invaluable resource for scholarly research and course development on Black-oriented radio, radio documentary production, media history, African American music-including gospel and jazz-as well as broader issues on music, mass communication and culture. On March 9, Jacquie Gales Webb will visit the IU campus to present a free public lecture in the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center's Grand Hall at 4:00 p.m. The lecture will be followed by a reception honoring her distinguished career and celebrating the establishment of the Jacquie Gales Webb Collection. An exhibit currently on display through March 11 in the Neal-Marshall's Bridgwater Lounge provides an overview of Gales Webb's career as well as the history of Black radio. As producer of the groundbreaking 1996 Smithsonian radio series, Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was, Webb was among the first to explore the history and development of Black-oriented radio through interviews with pioneering disc jockeys, producers, radio station executives and recording artists. On March 7, a publicly accessible online multi-media exhibit celebrating Gales Webb's career will be added to the AAAMC's website (aaamc.indiana.edu). Drawing upon materials in the Jacquie Gales Webb Collection, the exhibit will include many images of her work within radio, the gospel music industry, and the Washington, DC community. The Gales Webb Collection was also the source of many items used in the AAAMC's online multi-media exhibit, "The Golden Age of Black Radio," which debuted February 1 on the Google Cultural Institute website. Included are audio clips of interviews conducted by Gales Webb with Black radio pioneers, many available to the public for the first time. Following the format of Gales Webb's Black Radio series, the four-part exhibit traces the birth of Black-oriented radio in Chicago, the role of radio during the Civil Rights Movement, women in radio, and the role of personality deejays in "breaking the hits" and promoting Black music and artists. The AAAMC was one of 50 institutions invited to partner with Google to celebrate Black History Month by curating new online exhibits. Gales Webb has hosted the number one "Sunday Afternoon Gospel" music program in Washington, D.C. since 1990 on 96.3 WHUR. She is also a freelance arts reporter for WAMU in Washington, D.C. Tags : Jacquie Gales Webb Jacquie Gales Webb news Jacquie Gales Webb latest The full Federal Court has ordered the Fair Work Commission to reconsider announced an unfair dismissal appeal by a sacked Qantas pilot who groped his female colleague in a taxi after an alcohol and drug-fuelled stopover. The long-serving pilot Steven Gregory, who tested positive to alcohol and cannabis, was dismissed by Qantas for serious misconduct after touching his colleagues breast during a weekend stopover in Santiago in 2014. Commissioner Cambridge found Qantas had acted fairly when deciding to dismiss Gregory and a Full Bench of the FWC denied Gregory permission to appeal, saying that the Commissioner had properly considered whether his termination was harsh or unreasonable and there had been no lack of procedural fairness. But a ruling by the full Federal Court has granted Gregory another chance to press for an appeal against his dismissal in the Fair Work Commission. The full Federal Court said Qantas's decision to terminate Mr Gregory's employment was based on the inappropriate touching of a female co-pilot rather than the elevated levels of cannabinoids. However, Gregory says he didnt knowingly ingest the cannabis and claimed his drink was spiked, leading to his unusual behaviour. He claimed no memory of the event and apologised to his female colleague. The FWC had rejected Gregory's claim that his drink was spiked with cannabis as "plainly implausible" and backed the airline's decision to fire him. Patricia Ryan from The Workplace lawyers says employers can avoid these situations by ensuring employees are aware of what conduct is expected of them. She says that while Qantas did not appear to lack procedural fairness when approaching Gregorys termination, the airline giant could have built a stronger dismissal case if incorporating the drug test results along with the inappropriate sexual touching. The reason given was the sexual misconduct and not because cannabis was found in a drug test, Ryan says, adding that it is reasonable for employers to take a strong stand against sexual misconduct. However, the grounds for dismissal may have been stronger if Qantas relied on both, When using drug tests as evidence for disciplinary action or dismissal, HR should ensure workplace policies are followed, have reasonable cause to conduct the tests and give the employee an opportunity to respond to any findings. HR should carefully consider the appropriate outcome based on the findings, Ryan says. She says employers can look at alternatives such as demotion or warnings before deciding to terminate employees. In order to succeed in his unfair dismissal case, Gregory would need to show that his dismissal was unfair in that Qantas did not take into account that his drink may have been spiked (but no evidence of this) and that this led to his conduct, Ryan says. He would also need to show that whatever the reason for the conduct, the dismissal was harsh based on his long and good service and the consequences for him. It is possible that FWC may find it was harsh but equally that a similar conclusion to that of Commissioner Cambridge may be reached, Ryan says. This case could go either way. By Jesse Wood Early voting for the March 15 primary begins on Thursday, March 3 at several locations around Watauga County and at the Avery County Board of Elections office in Avery County. Although the voter registration deadline prior to early voting has passed, same-day registration is available at any of the one-stop voting locations. Voters should be ready to show their acceptable photo IDs, Watauga County Board of Elections Director Matt Snyder said. A list of acceptable IDs and other voter information is available at the state sponsored, http://voterid.nc.gov. 2016 marks the first year of North Carolinas controversial Voter ID law. However, voters who request a mail-in absentee ballot arent required to show ID, according to the State Board of Elections. The last day to request an absentee ballot for the 2016 primary is Tuesday, March 8. Another thing to note, especially in a county like Watauga, where unaffiliated voters outrank Republicans and Democrats on a one-on-one basis, is that if you are an unaffiliated voter, you must request a specific ballot or else precinct workers will automatically give you a non-partisan ballot, according to Snyder. The non-partisan ballot only features the Connect NC Bond, while the partisan ballots feature races from within the Republican, Democrat or Libertarian ballots. For more information, contact the Watauga County Board of Elections office at 828-265-8061 or the Avery County Board of Elections office at 828-733-8282. To figure out your Election Day polling place, click here. Early Voting Sites, Hours AVERY COUNTY Avery County Board of Elections Office in Courthouse, 200 Montezuma St. #307, Newland March 3- 4 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. March 5 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 7-9 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 10 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. March 11 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 12 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Early Voting Sites, Hours WATAUGA COUNTY Watauga County Administration Building, 814 West King St. Boone March 3-4 from 9 a.m. 5 p.m. March 7- 11 from 9 a.m. 5 p.m. March 12 from 8 a.m. 1 p.m. ASU Plemmons Student Union, Blue Ridge Ballroom, 263 Locust Street, Boone March 3-4 from 10 a.m. 6 p.m. March 8-11 from 10 a.m. 6 p.m. March 12 from 8 a.m. 1 p.m. Blowing Rock Town Hall, 1036 Main Street, Blowing Rock March 3-4 from 10 a.m. 6 p.m. March 8-11 from 10 a.m. 6 p.m. March 12 from 8 a.m. 1 p.m. Deep Gap Fire Department, 6583 Old U.S. 421 South, Deep Gap March 3-4 from 10 a.m. 6 p.m. March 8-11 from 10 a.m. 6 p.m. March 12 from 8 a.m. 1 p.m. Meat Camp Fire Department 4797 N.C. 194 North, Boone March 3-4 from 10 a.m. 6 p.m. March 8-11 from 10 a.m. 6 p.m. March 12 from 8 a.m. 1 p.m. Western Watauga Community Center 1081 Old U.S. 421, Sugar Grove March 3-4 from 10 a.m. 6 p.m. March 8-11 from 10 a.m. 6 p.m. March 12 from 8 a.m. 1 p.m. See sample ballots for Avery and Watauga counties below: Avery County Ballots Note that young adults that are not yet 18 years old but will be by the November election wont be allowed to vote on the bond referendum. So 17-year-old voters will see similar ballots minus the bond referendum selection. Republican Primary Ballot Democratic Primary Ballot Libertarian Primary Nonpartisan Watauga County Ballots Republican Ballot Democratic Ballot Libertarian Ballot Nonpartisan Ballot Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket We've tried [to agree on] a competitiveness pact for ten-and-a-half months. Sometimes perseverance pays off. We now have a concrete proposal on the table for the very first time, thanks to labour market organisations, he said at a news conference on Monday. The preliminary agreement on a social contract reached by labour market confederations in the wee hours of Monday appears to create the preconditions for scrapping the competitiveness pact of the Government, gauges Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre). Sipila also reminded that a number of questions remain unanswered and that the proposal has yet to receive the approval of the Government. The Government has set its on conditions for the competitiveness pact as well as for local bargaining. We have a couple of further questions for labour market confederations, he stated. The Government will according to him discuss the proposal with labour market confederations on Tuesday. The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) has similarly yet to approve the proposal, with Helsingin Sanomat reporting that SAK will not make its decision until 7 March after consulting its member organisations. The Federation of Finnish Enterprises has already questioned the merits of the agreement by estimating that in regards to local bargaining it does not satisfy the objectives set by the Government. Alexander Stubb (NCP), the Minister of Finance, acknowledged at the press conference that the issue of local bargaining has yet been resolved. Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, he reminded. Sipila similarly estimated that questions pertaining to local bargaining have been addressed rather vaguely in the proposal presented by labour market confederations. We want to know in more detail what has been agreed on wages and working times and how local bargaining would work in practice, he said. The proposal, for example, fails to elaborate the extent to which wages and working times can be determined at workplaces. The Government declared in a press release later on Monday that it will examine the results of the negotiations from the viewpoint of the objectives set forth in the government programme as well as evaluate, based on the state of the public economy, whether additional spending cuts are necessary and whether income tax concessions are viable. It originally promised to introduce income tax concessions worth a total of one billion euros if the labour market confederations agree on measures to bring down unit labour costs by five per cent. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Antti Aimo-Koivisto Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi Dandelion wins $100k grant to expand catering John William Pope Foundation President John Hood praises Safelight's Dandelion Eatery, which received a $100,000 grant to expand its commercial kitchen. Men in suits and the director of Safelight made comments during the announcement of a big grant that will help Safelights Dandelion Eatery expand its commercial kitchen. Related Stories But the real star of the show the reason the show happened at all was invisible to the crowd of supporters that cheered the grant. A former client of the womens domestic abuse shelter wrote the application that won Safelight (formerly Mainstay) a $100,000 grant the first of its kind by the John William Pope Foundation. The grant writer, who did not want her name used because of concerns for her family, said in an interview outside the glare of a news conference that low self-esteem had caused her to drop out of school. Always a passionate writer, she took on the assignment to write a grant proposal that described how the kitchen expansion would train more wome and make them marketable in the work force and financially independent. I received help and its come full circle with the awarding of the grant, she said. She now works at a church office and is returning to college. Her commitment to the mission came through in the application, said David Stover, a Pope Foundation board member. As a board I can say that the proposal for this project was outstanding, he said. You could feel the passion come through in that proposal. The end goal that you have here is to help people help themselves. And that was another thing that really stuck, to us. If we can help people help themselves and break that cycle and be productive citizens theres nothing more beautiful than that. Pope Foundation president John Hood praised the Dandelion for its solution-based program that hires domestic violence victims as interns and by training them as cooks and servers helps them break the cycle of dependence and abuse. The Dandelion project is not just something that is benefiting one community but we hope a program that will inspire others to do similar things in their community, Hood said. Thats one of the things we were looking for when we created the Joy Pope Memorial grants. We need people to come to us and say this is how you should do it. Thats why we seek out organizations that know things we dont know solutions on the ground that work. This is one of them. The two grants it awarded came from nonprofits That was great because part of our purpose was to learn, he said. We have some ideas about how that might work but we know theres a lot we dont know, and one of the purposes of the Joy Pope Memorial Grant was to discover ideas, to support them, to nurture them and to make other people aware of them across the state. Safelights mission to make hope real is a fitting match for the Pope Foundations mission to find and spread the word about nongovernment human services solutions that work. That is a mission we are privileged to invest in, Hood added. This grant proposal resulted in nearly 100 proposals from around North Carolina. We chose Safelight and Dandelion Eatery to be the first recipient of the Joy Pope Memorial Grant. Tanya Blackford, Safelights executive director, recalled that when she and board members first began talking about the Dandelion, she had to admit to doubters that she knew nothing about running a restaurant. We were willing to invest this money for the possibility that we can change lives in the future, she said. We have watched this project change peoples lives not only the interns but in the community. It is a privilege to watch that change happen. Utilities panel OKs Duke conversion, rejects backup The North Carolina Utilities Commission on Monday approved Duke Energy's application to replace its Lake Julian coal plant with a new gas-fired power plant but went along with the public staff in rejecting a 186-megawatt backup unit that Duke said it might need by 2023. Related Stories The commission issued its decision on Duke's request for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to build two 280-megawatt natural gas units to replace the 379 MW coal plant when it retires in 2020. Under a special law the Legislature passed last year to accelerate the review, the commission had 45 days to make a decision on Dukes proposal. The commission will issue a more detailed decision at a later date. Were disappointed in the North Carolina Utilities Commissions decision to approve Duke Energys plans for a huge new gas-fired power plant near Asheville, said Gudrun Thompson, the senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represented MountainTrue and Sierra Club. The environmental organizations applauded the panel's decision to reject what it described as "Dukes premature application for the third unit." "But replacing the coal plant with an oversized, billion-dollar gas plant will lock the region into dependence on dirty fossil-fueled power for decades when the rest of the nation is transitioning to cleaner, cheaper energy resources, Thompson said. Duke Energy officials praised the regulators' decision. "We appreciate the North Carolina Utilities Commissions thorough consideration and decision on our Western Carolinas Modernization Project, David Fountain, Duke Energys North Carolina president, said in a news release. We are fully committed to creating a smarter and cleaner energy future for the region. "We also have a unique opportunity to work with the community to reduce energy demand and invest in technology that will provide cleaner energy to power the growing region of Western North Carolina, he added. This project will allow us to continue to provide cost-effective, reliable power for all of our customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. The company is working with the Asheville, Buncombe County and surrounding communities to explore solutions that will reduce energy use in the fast-growing, nine-county Duke Energy Progress-West region, which serves more than 350,000 people. The company will closely track collective progress toward reducing daily and peak power demand and will file annual updates on the progress of the communitys efforts to reduce peak load growth. If these efforts are successful, Duke Energy Progress will delay or cancel plans to file a future Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) application for the commercial operation of the Asheville 186-megawatt simple-cycle power plant. Duke said it will file a future application to for a minimum of 15 megawatts of new solar generation over the next seven years after the Asheville coal units have been decommissioned and coal ash excavation is completed. Thirteen members of an organised crime gang with Irish links - dubbed the Dead Zoo Gang - are facing jail after plotting to steal a rhino horn and Chinese artefacts worth up to 73m. A jury convicted four of the gang's "generals", who helped to plan and oversee a string of offences, including break-ins at Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum and Durham's Oriental Museum in the UK in 2012. John 'Kerry' O'Brien Jr (26), Richard 'Kerry' O'Brien (31), Michael Hegarty (43) and Daniel 'Turkey' O'Brien (45), were found guilty after a trial which could not be reported because of similar offences committed by travelling criminals dubbed the 'Rathkeale Rovers'. The two-month hearing at Birmingham Crown Court was told that 10 other men had previously been convicted for their parts in the conspiracy, which included a bungled attempt to steal a rhino head from Norwich Castle Museum. Although jurors heard that exhibits stolen in Durham and Cambridge were valued at around 21.7m, detectives believe they might have fetched up to 73m on the "booming" Chinese auction market. The gang masterminded an offence at Gorringes Auction House in East Sussex, and organised the disposal of stolen artefacts. Eight of the men convicted after a four-year international police inquiry have family or business links to Rathkeale, Co Limerick. The latest trial was told that a computer used to make incriminating internet searches was found at a house in the town. Other defendants from Cambridgeshire, London, Southend-on-Sea, Wolverhampton, Kent and Belfast either admitted the offences or were found guilty. They included six members of the same Rathkeale family, travellers' rights campaigner Richard Sheridan, and Donald Wong, a London-based "fence". Sheridan (47), Wong (56) and Richard O'Brien denied taking part in the plot between September 2011 and August 2012. Hegarty, John O'Brien and Daniel O'Brien, all of Orchard Drive, Smithy Fen, also denied any involvement in the offences but were unanimously convicted. None of the 18 jade exhibits stolen from Fitzwilliam Museum have been recovered, but a bowl and figurine stolen in Durham were found. One of the men convicted has been jailed and served his sentence. The other 13 offenders will be sentenced in April. Independent Averil Power watches a recount of votes for Dublin Bay North at the RDS Photo: Damien Eagers A recount in the "group of death" Dublin Bay North constituency will continue today and maybe even tomorrow as two other counts in the capital face court battles following the general election. The agonising process, which began when senator Averil Power requested a recount late on Sunday night, ended with no clear resolution late last night. Speaking shortly before the recount began yesterday, Ms Power said the recount needed to take "as long as necessary" to ensure it is fair and accurate. Struggle But she added that she was delighted to have got this far in what has been a highly competitive struggle for seats. So far, only Richard Bruton has been elected to the five-seat constituency after he exceeded the quota of 12,271. Meanwhile, PBP-AAA candidate John Lyons said he believed he would not win a seat. "If things had fallen slightly differently, I think we would have been in with a very good chance, so it's disappointing in that respect," he said last night. By the time the re-examination of Labour's Aodhan O Riordain votes began yesterday, it was presumed the count would continue into today. In Dublin South Central, a legal challenge of disputed votes was not off the cards. Catherine Ardagh (FF) was vying with AAA/PBP Brid Smith for the final seat in the constituency last night, following a recount. Ms Ardagh called for the recount of votes after only 35 ballots separated her and Ms Smith. "We'll have a look at the results and see how close it is and see from there," she said. "I'm not gunning to go to court, but if it's warranted I'll have to consider it." Ms Smith, who was ahead in the race, said there were 160 disputed votes to be decided on by the returning officer. Katherine Zappone took the final seat in Dublin South West following two days of re-checks and recounts. "Politics is a tough game, even though I haven't been in it very long," she said. A significant number of Fianna Fail's first-time TDs say they would be open to supporting a minority Fine Gael government in order to avoid another election. But many of the newcomers are completely opposed to a Fine Gael-Fianna Fail 'grand coalition' and insist Enda Kenny should be replaced as Taoiseach by Micheal Martin. In an extraordinary election result for the party, 19 of the newly-elected Fianna Fail TDs were first-time candidates. The election also saw the return of several older faces, including ex-TDs Eamon Scanlon, Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher and John Curran, as well as Seanad members Thomas Byrne, Marc MacSharry and Darragh O'Brien. While a number of the party's veteran politicians have ruled out entering government with Fine Gael on civil war grounds, the party's newcomers insist their opposition relates to policy and public perception. "Civil war politics never meant anything to me," Dublin South West TD John Lahart told the Herald. "But we need to respect the message we heard loud and clear on the doorsteps - this government has been rejected," he added. Cork North West TD Andrias Moynihan said the public have voted for Micheal Martin as Taoiseach. "The people have clearly voted against this outfit. It would be wrong to force them to have them back in," he said. Meanwhile, several first-time deputies - such as Pat Casey (Wicklow), Declan Breatnach (Louth), Eugene Murphy (Roscommon), Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East) and James Lawless (Kildare North) - said they are open to supporting a minority Fine Gael government. But all five insisted that this could only happen if a series of demands were met, including a substantial package for rural Ireland. The Dail's youngest TD, Jack Chambers, said politicians must look to the example set in Nordic countries where government's are minority-based. "I think fragmentation is here to stay. It would be an insult to the Irish people to go back to the polls just because what they chose doesn't suit what conventional-type politics wants." The Fianna Fail parliamentary party is due to meet on Thursday, during which the formation of the next government is set to be discussed. Party leader Micheal Martin has already begun phoning TDs following their election. Mr Martin last night insisted there must be significant political reform in what is seen as his first public demand for any form of support for a Fine Gael minority government. Garda Eoin Cox was stabbed and beaten by several men Photo: Ciara Wilkinson The father of a garda who was beaten and stabbed as he attempted to arrest a man, yesterday said some people "have lost all respect for the gardai". Brian Cox was speaking as his son Eoin (35) was recovering from the assault which has left him with a suspected fracture of his shoulder and concussion. Garda Cox has been discharged from hospital but it is not known when he will be well enough to return to work at Dundrum Garda Station. He was beaten around his head and doctors think he was also stabbed in the leg with either a knife or a screwdriver. His family confirmed that he was attacked as he tried to arrest a man in the Hillview housing estate in Ballinteer, Co Dublin, around 6am on Sunday after gardai were investigating the theft of a car. Chased Gda Cox and his partner spotted the car, a Kia, and went to stop it when it stopped and the men inside ran off. Gda Cox chased one of them into the housing estate. The man ran up to a house and just as Gda Cox was about to handcuff him a number of men, possibly up to six, came out of a downstairs front window and attacked him. Gda Cox was in his uniform and was clearly identifiable as a garda on duty. "If Eoin's colleagues had not arrived so quickly and intervened we dread to think what injuries he would have sustained," his father Brian said. Recruits He revealed that his father, John, Eoin's grandfather, was one of the first recruits in Ireland's fledgling police force in 1922. "I remember growing up in the garda station in Howth, and it was a different world. Then, the public had great respect for the gardai. "Along with many parents, I was so proud when Eoin chose to become a garda, but what people don't appreciate is the danger they place themselves in every single day. "Eoin was just doing his job - the job he is asked to do by the State - when this attack happened," he said. "We have had enormous support from friends and from strangers since the attack." The garda press office confirmed that two men, aged 18 and 20, were arrested and are due to appear before Dun Laoghaire District Court next month. Nobel Prize winner, IU grad fondly remembers his time in Bloomington Philip H. Dybvig said he loves Bloomington and thought it was a great place to be an undergraduate. This weekend at least [beg ital]felt[end ital] like a tipping point in the Donald Trump phenomenon. Partly the feeling is attributable to Sen. Marco Rubio's demonstrated ability to draw huge crowds and substantial free media to his all-out battle against Trump. In taunting Trump, denouncing him for failure to condemn David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan and making his own campaign into a crusade to stop Trump from absconding with the GOP, the senator from Florida helped dispel the sense of fatalism gripping many Republicans and shred the mainstream-media narrative that the race is all but over. The media -- which slavishly covered every Trump rally and afforded endless free media access -- is now aghast that Rubio would make fun of Trump's spray tan, tiny hands and business failures. Rubio, it seems, has hit a nerve and deprived liberal pundits of the certainty that Hillary Clinton will get to face in the general election a vulgar bigot. Trump is now sputtering, backtracking and trying to defend his Trump University racket. Even Joe Scarborough, one of his most reliable apologists, has turned against him. ("It's breathtaking. That is disqualifying right there. To say you don't know about the Ku Klux Klan? You don't know about David Duke. . . . I mean, is he really so stupid that he thinks Southerners aren't offended by the Ku Klux Klan and David Duke? Is he really so ignorant of Southern voters that he thinks this is the way to their heart -- to go neutral, to play Switzerland when you're talking about the Klan?") Moreover, the floodgates have now opened and the Trump business failures and scandals are pouring out. The Post reports today: In the spring of 2006, the tycoon hosted a glitzy event at Trump Tower to introduce Trump Mortgage LLC, a new firm that specialized in selling residential and commercial real estate loans. He devoted a floor of the Trump Organization headquarters at 40 Wall Street to the new business. And his picture appeared atop the company website with the instruction: "Talk to My Mortgage Professionals now!" He ignored repeated warnings about the housing bubble. And when the business failed -- no surprise -- "Trump blamed the people he hired to run the company." Then he failed again: "After Trump Mortgage closed, Trump tried again to enter the world of mortgage lending, licensing his name to a firm once known as Meridian Mortgage, which would also be known as Trump Financial for a few years going forward. It was led by an experienced New York mortgage executive, David Brecher. But, like its predecessor, Trump Financial quietly ceased operations." Like his ventures into steaks, the United States Football League, airlines, casinos and other flops, Trump moved on while employees lost jobs. If Trump's image as a "winner" is shattered, will his fan base stick around? We will find out soon. If his image as the Midas-touch mogul is replaced with that of a privileged scion of a successful father who went from one glitzy business to another, never making good on his marketing, voters may come to suspect, just as Rubio claims, that he is a lucky con artist who cares not one whit about the little guy. Political expectations and voting preferences do not change overnight, so Trump is still likely to do very, very well Tuesday. A funny thing happened in the expectations game, however. Trump is now expected to win everywhere and rack up an insurmountable delegate lead. If he does wind up losing in some states, his aura of invincibility may take a hit. And many pundits still do not appreciate how the campaign calendar and proportional delegate count buy Rubio and others some time. After Super Tuesday, about 25 percent of the available delegates will have been awarded. After March 15, that number goes to about 50 percent. If the tide turns, Rubio has plenty of winner-take-all contests and delegate-rich states such as Florida (99), Illinois (69), Pennsylvania (71), California (172) and New Jersey (51). In short, even a lead of a few hundred delegates after March 1 does not lock in the nomination for Trump. But what about history? Momentum? The normal pattern is that the consensus candidate/eventual winner emerges early on and then continues to rack up wins. But there is no "normal" in 2016. The front-runner has a vibrant but limited base of support and, for now, extremely high negatives. The field has only just shrunk from 17 or so to five, and is likely to get down to 2 or 3 in the next couple of weeks. Like all bubbles, the Trump bubble can burst as quickly as it inflated. In short, what Rubio -- who after Super Tuesday may be the only candidate capable of stopping Trump -- needs to do is prompt a huge change in momentum. Did he start that this weekend? Maybe. What we can say is that this is the sort of shift in tactics, style and energy that one would need to accomplish that needed about-face. Jennifer Rubin writes the Right Turn blog for The Washington Post, offering reported opinion from a conservative perspective. This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/ The Supreme Court has asked Bollywood actor Karisma Kapoor and her estranged husband, businessman Sunjay Kapur, to resolve their matrimonial dispute amicably. Stating that it would help the couple resolve their differences, a bench headed by Justice AK Sikri asked them to appear before it on March 8 for a personal hearing. It also asked their counsels to work out the terms of settlement before the next date. Read: Karisma Kapoor files domestic violence case against husband Sunjay The apex court is hearing a plea from Sunjay, seeking the transfer of the divorce petition from Mumbai to Delhi because the businessman was allegedly warned by underworld don Ravi Pujari against entering the city. The bench at the outset advised the couple to settle their dispute in the Supreme Court itself, instead of going back to the trial court in Mumbai. To this, the counsels for both the parties agreed to a full and final hearing in the apex court. Karisma Kapoor and Sunjay Kapur with daughter Samaira. Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani and Sandeep Kapoor, counsels of the Bollywood actor, alleged that Sunjay had violated certain clauses of their agreement before filing a mutual consent divorce petition in Mumbai. They said there were encumbrances on Rs 8 crore of the bonds worth Rs 14 crore that the businessman had deposited on behalf of their children, so the latter a boy and a girl could receive a monthly interest of Rs 10 lakh for their upkeep. The counsels submitted that Karisma had apprehensions about Sunjay keeping his promise to pay the maintenance money, considering that more than half of the deposit was in the form of bonds that could fluctuate with the share market. Responding to this, Sunjays counsel Aman Hingorani said that his client was willing to pay the children Rs 10 lakh every month. We dont mind giving the amount. Even this amount of Rs 14 crore can go to the kids upon its maturity. But then, she has to assure access to the children, he told the bench, which later heard the counsels in the chambers. A matrimonial dispute filed by the couple is still pending before a court in Bandra, Mumbai. Karisma and her husband had initially moved a mutual consent divorce petition before the court in 2014. The consent was later withdrawn after differences cropped up between the two over the financial settlement as well as the childrens custody. Sunjay filed a fresh petition to seek judicial separation in December last. Read: We are Kapoors, we dont need anybodys money, says Randhir According to the petition filed by counsels Aman and Priya Hingorani, the businessman had gone to Mumbai for attending a court hearing on January 18 when his secretary received two threat calls. The caller, who identified himself as Pujari, threatened to shoot Sunjay if he returned to the city on February 2 the next date of the hearing. A police complaint was filed, and the number was verified as the underworld dons. The couple had tied the knot in 2003, but the marriage turned sour soon after. The actor moved out of Sunjays house and shifted base to Mumbai in 2010. Four years later, the two decided to end their 12-year-old marriage. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON There are millions of Shah Rukh Khans fans who want to look like him but the superstar himself used to believe he looked like Kumar Gaurav. While unveiling the trailer of his upcoming film, Fan, SRK said that before he joined the filmdom, he felt he looked like Bollywood actor Kumar Gaurav but at a later stage thought his looks matched that of Hollywood veteran Al Pacinos. In his upcoming film Fan, Khan will be seen playing two roles, one of a superstar Aryan Khanna and his fan Gaurav, who comes across as his lookalike. Initially I used to feel I look like Kumar Gaurav (son of Rajendra Kumar)... He was the first star I wanted to meet. I was happy that I looked like someone good like him (Kumar Gaurav). Then after some point, I felt I looked like Al Pacino, Khan said. Read: Shah Rukhs back with dark, edgy Fan Now at the age of 50, I feel I look like my father. I am hopeful a time will come when I would feel I look like myself, he said. Shah Rukh Khan goes a long way from his loverboy image for Fan. Check out the poster. After the launch of the trailer, appreciation poured in from Fans and Bollywood alike. A special recommendation came from friend Salman Khan who called himself a fan of Shah Rukh and tweeted the trailer of the film. Fan is the story of Gaurav, a young man whose world revolves around superstar Aryan Khanna or God as he refers to him. From the bylanes of Delhi, young Gaurav embarks on a journey to the city of dreams, Mumbai, in order to wish his God on his birthday. But when things dont go according to plan, Gauravs love and passion for the superstar turns in to a dangerous obsession. When asked about playing a psychotic obsessive role like Darr again in Fan, SRK said, No not really...the role (of Gaurav) is different from what one saw me doing in Darr, Baazigar. These are anti-hero. In this film, he is not a psychotic lover. Its the story of a young boy and his love for a superstar, he said. And we're not done yet! @iamsrk lives up to this FANtastic moment and interacts with his beloved FANs! pic.twitter.com/1PL0PBkAlj FAN (@FanTheFilm) February 29, 2016 The Chak De India star feels it is not right on his part to dictate or tell his fans how they should be. A fan should be however he pleases. I dont think of people as fans I think of them as admirers. I cant tell anyone how to love or admire. Yes it does get out of hand sometimes, but I cant tell how a fan should be. Talking about his earlier days, Khan said, I came by train for the first time when I came to Mumbai. The train would turn into a local after entering Mumbai which I was not aware of. So I did not let a few people sit on my berth saying that it is mine, I paid for it. I did offer it to a lady though saying that you can sit but not the men with you. She slapped me real hard saying try that it isnt yours, it is everybodys. Faced with huge uproar over the proposed tax on 60% withdrawal of your EPF, NPS and other pension funds, the government today issued a clarification and a minor roll back of the proposal. But are you still confused and lost in jargon? Heres a quick guide to the tax impact on your investments: What is this tax: This is tax under section 10 of the Income Tax Act. As it stands now: With the clarification only interest accrued on 60% of pension funds will be taxed during withdrawal. ETE: Your EPF and NPS now comes under ETE. It means that the investments made into the scheme are tax free. The interest on 60% of your accumulated money is taxable. However, your corpus is tax free. Tax is prospective: This tax is applicable only from April 1, 2016. And on deposits made after April 1, 2016. Employee Provident Fund & National Pension Scheme: Interest accrued on 60% of the corpus will be taxed during withdrawal. But the tax is applicable only on deposits made after April 1, 2016. Other government approved pension funds: Your investments in government approves pension funds will also come under the new measure. Employer managed pension funds: This will also come under the new tax. Superannuation funds managed by employers: This will be subject to the new tax. PPF: Public Provident Fund and other small savings schemes remain tax free. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Maharashtra government on Tuesday sealed the Sahara Group-owned Aamby Valley Resort for non-payment of dues worth Rs 4.82 crore, television channels reported. The Lonavala-based property was sealed by the Mulshi Taluka Tahsildar for failing to pay the non-agricultural tax. The Sahara conglomerate has been funnelling cash from small savers to fund the luxury resort south of Mumbai, according to documents Reuters reviewed recently. Sahara has ploughed at least Rs 1,500 crore from two of its credit cooperatives into the Aamby Valley resort project through investments in preference shares, according to documents filed with the companies regulator, as some investors in its credit cooperatives complained of having struggled to get Sahara to pay out their matured time deposits even for sums as low as Rs 30,000. Read: Sahara funnels cash from small savers to keep Aamby Valley afloat Sahara has been struggling financially since the Supreme Court ordered it in 2014 to repay investors in a 2008-11 Sahara time deposit plan that it declared was illegal. Founder Subrata Roy has been in jail for the past 22 months for not complying with the Courts order. Sahara said in a statement to Reuters the Aamby Valley project was valued at about Rs 1,00,000 crore, citing a 2014 report of property consultant Knight Franks India unit. Markets regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which had asked the Supreme Court to order Sahara to repay investors, has pegged its value at about Rs 40,500 crore. The high valuation claim of Sahara contrasts with the flagging financial profile of the project: Aamby Valley posted an after-tax profit of Rs 9 crore in the year ended March 2013. Elections in Iran offer the world a window to the workings of the countrys unique brand of democracy and can be used to gauge the pace and depth of change in the Islamic republic. The initial analysis of the elections held on Friday, to the 88-member Assembly of Experts and the 290-member National Consultative Assembly or parliament, show the moderates gaining the upper hand over the hardliners. The polls are significant for two reasons: First, it is the Assembly of Experts who will choose the next Supreme Leader in the event of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei passing away. Second, the polls are being seen as a referendum on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the Iran nuclear deal, signed in July. The fact that moderates have done better than hardliners in many places, especially in Tehran and other urban centres, is a sign that President Hassan Rouhanis push for economic reforms and better ties with the West has been appreciated by the middle class. Read | Reaction against radicals: Rouhani secures a moderate Iran parliament Like elections anywhere in the world there were many issues that dictated the course of the campaign and decided its outcome. The economy, jobs and the environment were among the topics discussed, but the JCPOA (signed by Iran and P5+1 nations) was the topic most hotly debated. It would be a mistake to see the election as a dichotomous fight between moderates and hardliners: This battle was more a contest between groups backing the nuclear deal, under Mr Rouhanis leadership, and those who opposed it. Not all hardliners oppose the deal and not all moderates support it, but a win for the moderates was seen as important to keep the deal on track. Western observers, in particular, have spun the narrative that the JCPOA cannot be entrusted to a Tehran run by hardliners. Read | Iran President Rouhanis allies lead elections after Tehran rout A win for the moderates strengthens Mr Rouhanis hand at world forums where stability in West Asia and the future of Syria are discussed. In turn, he will be expected to help bring peace and stability to the region. Domestically, his challenge lies in how he positions the economy to gain from the lifting of sanctions. A debate underway in Iran is about the supervisory roles of the Assembly of Experts with respect to the Supreme Leader. While moderates like Mr Rouhani and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani want more supervision, conservatives like the head of the judicial system, Sadeq Ardeshir Amoli Larijani, are against giving such powers to the assembly. Some observers are of the view that with these powers the assembly would be authoritarian and power would be in the hands of a select few who are not accountable. Democracy in Iran is very different to that practised in the West, but such debates show that far from being a rigid theocracy there are checks and balances that make Iran a bright spot in the general gloom that covers much of West Asia today. One mans fiscal problem is another mans lifeline. Economists may love shooting down subsidies because they bloat the fiscal deficit and burden the government but the fact is that a one-billion-strong nation, in which nearly one in three lives below the poverty line, needs an efficient social security method. The governments proposal to partially tax provident fund (PF) withdrawals from the next financial year needs to be seen through this prism. The big change in the Budget announcement was that the National Pension System (NPS), which was taxable on maturity, has now been made partially tax-exempt, and the employees provident fund (EPF) and superannuation funds, which were tax-free on maturity, are now partially taxable. The EPF corpus consists of employers contribution, employees contribution and interest on both. Until now, the EPF has enjoyed an EEE (exempt-exempt-exempt) status of tax treatment, which meant that the maturity proceeds after five years were tax-free. But this is not the case any more. Some analysts have the hailed the measure as a smart move to nudge people into switching to the mark-to-market-based NPS system. In the accounting world mark-to-market represents the price or value of a security, portfolio or account to reflect its current market value rather than its book value. The argument is that over the longer term, subscribers will reap substantial gains by switching to a market-based pension system. The other argument in favour of a long-term annuity scheme such as NPS is that pension products are long-term schemes. India needs resources to fund its infrastructure needs to build highways, ports, airports and railways. Creating a well-developed and regulated pensions market can ensure that thrifty Indians help bridge the cash deficit for Indias infrastructure sector. Frugal households could well turn out to be the primary financiers of these mammoth projects. Indeed, the same arguments can be applied to EPF as well, begging the question as to what prompted the government to make Indias largest workers welfare scheme that bit more taxing rather than marking it to the market. Most mature economies have highly developed and efficient social security systems. Thats not quite the case with India where an organised pension market is, at best, fledgling. Pensions do need a leg up. But should it come at the cost of provident funds? Both should co-exist and flourish together. Only then can Indias savings rate reach 40% of GDP in the next few years and potentially be sustained at high levels for well over a decade primarily by armies of young people entering the workforce. Its make or break time for thousands of students across India appearing for the Class 12 board examinations of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which began on Tuesday with English for core as well as elective papers. A total of 10,67,900 students will appear for these exams, which end on April 22. While some students were seen offering prayers at local temples before going inside the examination hall, their teachers and principals wished them good luck, and even helped them clear last-minute doubts. Many students were seen revising their notes and discussing important questions with friends moments before the exam began. In Jaipur, students were seen revising notes from textbooks and discussing important questions with friends moments before the commencement of Class 12 examination. A total of 1,24,304 students appeared for the first paper (English elective) of the Class 12 boards in 476 examination centers across the state. Many parents, who had come with their wards to the centre, were seen patiently waiting for the examination to begin. Read more: Stay focused ahead of board exams: Modi, Sachin, Anand tell students Class 12 board is obviously a big examination for my entire family and not just my son. Its a stepping stone for his career. I dont want him to feel alone and paranoid at the exam centre that is why I have decided to accompany him today, said Veerendra Singh Hada, a parent accompanying his child. Students were seen discussing questions from the last few years question papers of the English paper. Majority of students seemed quite relaxed before the exams commencement. Peace of mind is the most crucial aspect of board exams. Since, the first paper is English so there is no need to mug up the syllabus and come to the centre. What matters is how fresh our mind and how prepared we are with the syllabus. Stress occurs only when we appear in an exam with half baked knowledge, said Rajat Pareek, an applicant. The entry of students inside the centers was monitored by the CBSE officials as no applicants was allowed without his/her admit card. Students were only asked to carry a pen to the centre. Read more | Boards 2016: Not worried, say CBSE Class 10, 12 examinees There is no point putting pressure on our children before the exam as it will only ruin things further. Our childrens school teachers have been very helpful as they have been conducting pre board mock exams to give them an idea of the boards, said Srilekha Gupta. In Lucknow, school teachers and principals wished good luck to CBSE Class 12 examines by applying tilak and offering sweets as they walked inside the examination hall to write English paper. As the students were a touch nervous, teachers helped and guided the examinees to locate their examination centre. Rani Laxmibai Senior Secondary School was the biggest exam centre where students of many schools took exam. With prayers on their lips and kicking the last minute nervousness, more than 12,400 class 12 CBSE examines entered the examination hall. Ishita and Harshita both from City International School said they are confident of doing well in the examination as they have prepared well throughout the year. Sparsh Tamta, a Class 12 boy of Central Academy was unlucky. He fractured his right hand a day before the examination as he slipped from stairs. The school provided him with a writer Amisha Katiyar of class 11. Im little unlucky as I will not be able to write my own paper, he said. A total of 12,407 students will write the Class 12 CBSE exams in Lucknow. Teachers and experts say students should not treat these exams as a make or break situation and remain stress-free. Students should treat it as any other examination. This is not the first exam a student takes and neither will it be the last. Students should remain stress free and focus on what they have studied till now, Ameeta Mulla Wattal, principal of Springdales School, Pusa Road, said. Teachers advised students to manage time judiciously while appearing in the exam and not to leave any question unanswered. Students should first read the paper thoroughly. Students should not spend too much time on one question. Under no circumstance should they leave any question unanswered, Ashok Pandey, chairman of National Progressive Schools Conference, said. Our English question paper was easy but lengthy was the reaction of majority of Class 12 students who appeared for the first exam of CBSE boards 2016 on Tuesday. About 25 lakh students have registered for the Class 10 and Class 12 CBSE board exams this year. In Class 12 boards as many as 10,67,900 students have registered with 2,70,835 students from Delhi region alone. Delhi The first day saw students appearing for the English core as well as elective paper. The exam began at 10.30 am and ended at 1.30 pm. There are 691 exam centres in Delhi region. It was a very balanced paper and wasnt tough at all. Like all English papers it was lengthy, but who ever managed time well would have done well, said Solani Sukul, a student of Bloom Public School. This years English paper was perhaps the easiest compared to the last five years as both language and literature portions were such that scoring above 80 is almost assured, said Firoz Bakht Ahmed, who teaches English at Modern School Barakhamba. Jaipur There were mixed reactions from students who appeared in the English elective paper in Jaipur on Tuesday. The paper was not at all tough as there were balanced set of questions from all the portions of the syllabus. Anyone who has prepared the syllabus thoroughly wont find it difficult, said Priya Mathur, a student of Maharani Gayatri Devi School. Many students, however, found the paper to be lengthy and did not seem satisfied with the allotted time. The question paper was extremely lengthy and I couldnt get sufficient time to answer all the questions. I could only answer 80 marks question. I think the examiners should keep the allotted time in mind while framing the question, said another student Vagyashree. A total of 124,304 students appeared for the first paper of CBSE 12 boards in 476 examination centers across Rajasthan. In the morning, parents were seen accompanying their wards to the centers. The entry of students inside the center was closely monitored by CBSE officials. No examinee was allowed without his/her admit card and they were asked to only carry a pen. A student walking to enter her board exam centre at Saint Soldier School in Jaipur. (Prabhakar Sharma/HT photo) Lucknow Ishita and Harshita both from Lucknows City International School said that the paper was awesome. Since we did a lot writing practice we were able to finish the paper in the nick of time, the duo said. Children said the paper was awesome. They attempted all the questions. Even if few found it a touch lengthy yet they were able to attempt all the questions, said Sunita Gandhi director of City International School. Earlier before the start of the paper she had a quick word with examinees to make them feel relaxed. Teachers told students to read the question paper carefully. Many of the teachers were seen applying tilak and wished good luck to their students as they walked inside exam hall with confidence. Rani Laxmibai Senior Secondary School was the biggest exam centre where students of many schools took exam. With prayers on their lips and kicking the last minute nervousness, more than 12,400 class 12 CBSE examinees took the exam in the Uttar Pradesh capital. Class 12 English paper was lengthy but awesome: Lucknow students Kolkata In Kolkata, the first day of CBSE Class 12 and Class 10 board exams went without much problems. I was nervous as I do not like English but after reading the question paper I was comfortable and the paper went on well, said Sneha Chatterjee, a student of Lakshmipat Singhania Academy after taking her Class 12 English core exam. For Rupam Banerjee, reaching the exam hall became a challenge. We stay at Behala. Because of ongoing metro rail construction the area is prone to traffic snarls. But on Tuesday, I almost had a panic attack when the traffic refused to move for over 15 minutes. Luckily, we made it to the exam centre on time, said Kalpana Banerjee, mother of Rupam, who is taking the Class 12 board exams from Birla High School for Boys. Ranchi Shruti Arya, a class 12 student of Arts discipline in Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Ranchi said, The paper was easy and many of us are expecting a 90-above in the paper. It covered all portions of the syllabusnothing was left out. Anybody who had thoroughly studied the entire syllabus can score a 90 plus. Rohit Verma, a class 12 student of DPS Ranchi said, The paper was not difficult. The grammar and reading portions were relatively easier than the literature part. Read more | MP: Board exams begin, schools distribute sweets to help students relax Bhopal Bhopals Class 12 student Sarvagya Pathak of St Josephs Co-ed School said, The paper was a lengthy one but at the same time I found it easy. There was not a single question which I found complicated. I can hope for good marks in the exam. Read more | CBSE board exams begin, teachers, principals wish good luck to students Infrastructure and development projects, including the transfer of five colonies to the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG), are in limbo as government officials are busy with the Happening Haryana Global Investors Summit 2016. Gurgaon will host Haryanas first global investors meet on March 7 and 8. Two urgent meetings that were to be held with deputy commissioner TL Satyaparakash, who is also the acting commissioner of the MCG, to plan the transfer of private colonies were postponed. Considering the importance of Happening Haryana, the scheduled meeting of taking over private licensed colonies in Gurgaon by MCG has been postponed to Monday i.e, 29.02.2016 at 3pm,Satyaprakashs letter to MCG and Huda officials, and DLF Universal Ltd, Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd said. The meeting was scheduled for February 26. On Monday, Satyaprakash told officials that the meeting was rescheduled again to Wednesday as the superintending engineers of the MCG were not free. But, sources said the meeting is unlikely to take place as civic officials concerned might not be available on Wednesday either. On February 8, the Haryana government approved the transfer of five private colonies DLF phases 1 to 3, Palam Vihar and Sushant Lok Phase 1 to the MCG. The private developers had to file a compliance report in this regard by March 8, an order by the department of town and country planning said. Similarly, other projects delayed are free Wi-Fi on MG Road, Sadar Bazaar, Sector 29 and Sirhaul village. The service was to be inaugurated on February 15. But, the date was postponed indefinitely. Less than three weeks after the inception of Green Raahgiri, an MCG initiative to increase tree cover and to beautify Gurgaon, the project was deferred. Last month, the civic body sent a report to the Haryana government, listing the companies to be roped in for reviving Gurgaons sole solid waste management plant at Bandhwari. The plant, off the Gurgaon-Faridabad expressway, is defunct for the last three years. According to MCG officials, 10 companies were selected through a tender process. Despite receiving approval from the directorate of urban local bodies, the task was not taken forward as officials were occupied with the global investors summit. Christophe Novou, a 47-year-old Frenchman who had suffered a crippling accident, was told that his leg might have to be amputated at the hip given his persistent bacterial infection. He thought it would be better to die than be wheelchair bound. Till an article caught his eye about a clinic in Georgia which followed an obscure treatment for hard-to-treat infections using live virus. Its called Phage Therapy. Within hours, he was on a plane to Tblisi. Without it, I wouldnt be here, said Novou on the sidelines of a conference in Paris about the mostly forgotten therapy, which remains marginal outside a few former Soviet bloc countries. Read: India has one of the highest global rates of antibiotic resistance The treatment harnesses viruses called phages to attack and kill dangerous bacteria, including superbugs which have become progressively resistant to antibiotics. In Novous case, it was Staphylococcus, a common bacteria which can cause anything from a simple boil to horrible flesh-eating infections. Mostly ignored up to now by mainstream medicine, the alternative treatment has started to gain adherents over the last 15 years, especially in France, Belgium and the United States. The renewed interest is partly driven by a problem which the World Health Organization (WHO) recently described as a global health crisis: the dramatic rise of antibiotic-resistant strains of deadly pathogens. Read: Alarming! The growing resistance to antibiotics WHO chief Margaret Chan warned last November of a post-antibiotic era in which common infections will become killers once more. Show us the money Phage therapy is especially effective for infections that affect bones and articulation, but can also be used for urinary, pulmonary and eye infections, said Alain Dublanchet, a doctor at the forefront of the movement to resurrect the treatment in France. Discovered during World War I and developed during the 1920s and 1930s, it has few undesirable side-effects. Dublanchet, now retired, claims to have cured at least 15 patients of infections they contracted mainly after road accidents, and for whom antibiotics did not work. WHO has warned of a post-antibiotic era in which common infections will become killers once more. (Shutterstock) Treatment usually lasts a few weeks, and is generally far less expensive than last-resort antibiotics which can cost tens of thousands of dollars or euros. Pharmaceutical companies have shown little interest in phage therapy, in large part because viruses cannot be patented, according to participants at the Paris conference. The laboratories have turned their back on this because the return on investment is just too small, said Jean Carlet, an expert on infectious diseases and a consultant for the WHO. Read: Seasonal flu is stoppable, heres how A few startups have invested in phage therapy, which the European Union classified as a medicine in 2011. But the cycle of drug trials can easily take a decade, so these are long-term -- and perhaps long-shot -- investments. To date no virus used in phage therapy has been approved as a treatment. It will take years and a lot of money, said Jean-Paul Pirnay, a doctor at the Reine Astrid military hospital in Brussels, one of few actively researching the technique outside the ex-Soviet bloc. Because phage therapy is not recognised in France, Dublanchet and other practitioners -- working in a grey zone -- often wind up going to eastern Europe to procure the viruses. In the United States, the only phages on the market are used in the anti-bacterial treatment of food products. The EU has launched a clinical trial called Phagoburn to test the effectiveness of virus-based treatments on victims of severe burns. Half of a group of 220 participants are to be treated with established techniques, and the other half with phage therapy. Temporary authorisation for phage therapy may be granted in France if the products are of sufficient quality and there is a presumption of efficacy, said Caroline Semaille, a spokeswoman for ANSM, the French government agency that monitors drug approval and use. Novou spent 8,000 euros ($8,700) on going to Tbilisi in 2013 for his treatment, but has no regrets. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of other French people with similar problems have done the same, said Dublanchet, and most come back in better shape. Its not a matter of replacing antibiotics with phage therapy, he said. They should be complimentary. Dublanchet also warned of the possible spread of therapeutic viruses into the environment, saying medical use should be strictly monitored. George Millers dystopian action film Mad Max: Fury Road, which won six Oscars at the 88th Academy Awards, is all set to re-release in India on March 11. Warner Bros has decided to release the film in 3D & IMAX 3D. Fury Road, one of the most reviewed films of 2015, won maximum trophies at the Oscars on Sunday where it was honoured for Costume Design, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Production Design, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. Read: Mad Max review: Bold and bizarre, this film is pulse-pounding fun Set in the post-apocalyptic world, the film revolves around a female warrior (Charlize Theron) who decides to rebel against the warlord to rescue his five wives. Read: Full list of Oscar 2016 winners: From Spotlight to Leonardo DiCaprio She is helped in her mission by films titular hero, Max Rockatansky, played by Tom Hardy. Watch the trailer here Follow @htshowbiz for more After making it big in Hollywood with the television series Quantico and charming all at the Oscars, Bollywoods desi girl Priyanka Chopra has begun phase two of her Hollywood adventure. The actor has started shooting for Baywatch, which also stars Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron. The 33-year-old actor recently took to her Instagram page to share the first day shooting pic, captioning it as, Everything u need on a beach.. And day 1 on set! Amazing! Everyone is so great! Yay team #Baywatch. Everything u need on a beach.. And day 1 on set! Amazing! Everyone is so great! Yay team #Baywatch A photo posted by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on Feb 29, 2016 at 10:39pm PST Shortly after Oscars 2016 ended, Priyanka headed back to Miami to start shooting for Baywatch. Read: Priyanka Chopras Baywatch has a release date, and it is... Notably, she made her Oscar debut, stunning the 88th Academy Awards red carpet in a white Zuhair Murad strapless gown and looked ravishing in a structured cage bustier mermaid dress in white silk tulle adorn with 3D shimmering climbing flowers. Read: The big day is here: Look how Priyanka Chopra is prepping for Oscars The upcoming flick also stars Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron in key roles and the Mary Kom star will be seen in a negative role in director Seth Gordons film. Follow @htshowbiz for more The Vatican newspaper praised Oscar-winning film Spotlight on Monday as having given voice to the profound pain of the faithful over the reality of clerical sex abuse, and insisted its not an anti-Catholic film. LOsservatore Romano dedicated two articles in its afternoon editions to the Academy Awards and the Best Picture won by Spotlight, about the Boston Globes 2002 expose of the hundreds of Boston children who were raped and molested by Catholic priests and the churchs systematic cover-up of the crimes. Read: Spotlight is a compelling film all Indians must watch Read the investigative series that led to the Oscar-winning movie "Spotlight": https://t.co/92yWaoKNuQ The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) March 1, 2016 LOsservatore quoted producer Michael Sugars acceptance speech- Pope Francis, its time to protect the children and restore the faith - saying even his appeal was positive. It means theres still faith in the institution, theres faith in a pope who is continuing the clean-up started by his predecessor as cardinal. And theres still trust in a faith that has at its heart the defence of victims and the protection of innocents, said the piece by Lucetta Scaraffia, one of LOsservatores main columnists and the editor of its monthly edition on womens issues. Read: Spotlight wins Best Picture Oscar, trumps Revenant She said the film wasnt anti-Catholic because it manages to give voice to the shock and profound pain of the faithful when confronted with discovery of this horrible reality. Vatican Radio, which gave the film an enthusiastically positive review in October when it screened at the Venice Film Festival, also praised Spotlight in its Oscar wrap as a rigorous and authentic reconstruction, and cited Sugars appeal. The cast of Spotlight: Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schrieber and Brian dArcy James. The reaction marks a dramatic turnabout by the Vatican from a decade ago and even as recently as 2010, when the last convulsion of the long-running scandal flared as thousands of new victims came forward in Europe, Latin America and beyond. Then, the Vatican paper of record was a vehicle for ringing defences of how the Holy See had responded and criticism for the unjust attacks being hurled against its pope. Vatican praise for Spotlight reflects the generally positive reviews the film has had in Catholic circles: Just a few weeks ago, it was screened in the Vatican for members of Francis sex abuse advisory commission. And the Rev. Tim Kesicki, president of the Jesuit Conference in the US, said he had recently invited his staff to see it at a Washington theatre. He said they left feeling both moved and devastated. We were moved by the courage of those survivors who came forward and shared their truth, and we were devastated by the size and scope of the suffering, Kesicki told the AP in an email. It is a painful story that has to be told. The Oscar was handed out just hours after one of the most senior officials in the Vatican, Australian Cardinal George Pell, testified before Australias Royal Commission, which is investigating the scope of the abuse scandal there. The public hearing is evidence that more than a decade after the churchs cover-up was exposed, some level of accountability is beginning to take hold. In the eye of a raging political storm in Parliament over his allegedly inflammatory speech, junior HRD minister Ram Shankar Katheria said on Tuesday he did not name any community. But another BJP MP Babu Lal, faced with similar charges, remained unapologetic and said Hindus could not watch silently when they were being targeted. What has been published in one of the newspapers is false. I had not taken the name of any community. I had said that the culprits, who had murdered the VHP leader, should be given death sentence. I had also said that the Hindu community should unite for their safety. I will send a notice to the newspaper, Katheria, minister of state for human resource development, said. Katheria, along with BJP MP from Fatehpur Sikri Babu Lal, had on Sunday attended a condolence meeting held for VHP leader Arun Mahaur, who was allegedly killed by some youths from another community in Agra on Thursday. At the meeting, Katheria reportedly said, This conspiracy that is being hatched against the Hindu community, we have to be alert to recognise it and strengthen ourselves. We will have to fight it because if we do not do it now, today we have lost one Arun, tomorrow it could be another Arun... the killers should also go, we have to set such an example. Addressing the same gathering, Babu Lal said, If the Muslims have something in their mind, then draw a line and you will see the strength of the Hindu community. Tell me if we dont take revenge, should we worship them instead? Is the community only meant to worship others while the other communities come and shoot us down, was the MPs defence on Tuesday. Opposition parties reacted sharply to the remarks by BJP leaders with leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge alleging the BJP and the RSS had plans to divide the country. In the Rajya Sabha, deputy leader of the Congress Anand Sharma had given an adjournment motion even as Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav urged the PM to sack the minister. They speak whenever elections are nearing polls. They talk about dividing the country and not uniting. If they continue to speak like this, there will be repercussions across the country. Today we are raising this issue because Narendra Modi and home minister Rajnath Singh are silent on this issue, Kharge said. Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, said he was not surprised by the ministers remarks. But the BJP said the matter should end following the clarification by the minister. Katheria has made it clear in his statement that he has said nothing wrong. And after this clarification, there is nothing to comment on, BJP spokesperson Shrikant Sharma said. A senior Air India pilot, who came to work drunk, has been banned from flying for three months by the countrys aviation safety regulator. The commander-rank pilot was scheduled to operate a Boeing 777 aircraft from Delhi to Hyderabad, said sources in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), when he failed the preflight alcohol test. According to the DGCAs rule book on flight crew caught drunk on duty the pilot would not be allowed to operate flights for at least three months. The regulator is also in the process of scanning his records to check any similar offences earlier. If the pilot is a repeat offender the licence would be cancelled for three years, said a senior DGCA official, requesting anonymity. The official added that the pilot might also lose his check pilot status. Check pilots are among the senior-most in an airline who are authorised by the DGCA to double up as in-house watchdogs and conduct routine safety checks for other pilots. The Air India spokesperson did not respond to the HTs call and a query sent over email on the matter. Sources in the regulators office added that the amount of alcohol found in the pilots blood in this case was by far the highest they had recorded in the recent past. The breathalyzer readings showed 0.16, said officials. The readings indicate that the pilot could have had four to five drinks within 12 hours ahead of the flight, the DGCA official added. This was not a stray case. On January 1, this year a Boeing commander and a first officer with a private airline were grounded for three months for the same offence, officials added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Candidates appearing in army recruitment examination in Bihars Muzaffarpur District were asked to sit in their underwear to prevent cheating. Around 1150 candidates had appeared for the exam on Sunday when they were ordered to take off their clothes and sit in only underwear in an open ground. The examination was being conducted for the recruitment of clerks in the army. Read more: The kids are not all right: Going beyond the Bihar paper cheats According to a report in the Indian Express, candidates were asked to remove their clothes to save time on frisking so many people. The director of the army recruitment board defending the outrageous order by saying, We earlier had a bad experience while conducting exams. This has been done to avoid cheating. Last year, photographs of the mass cheating in Bihar parents climbing the wall of a school building trying to pass on chits to their wards in the exam hall grabbed eyeballs because of the spectacle it was. Read more: Caught cheating in exam, Jamshedpur college girl jumps off building But the reactions it elicited were mostly pretentious all this happens only in Bihar or What kind of parents are these They want their wards to cheat? or, lastly, What will these kids grow up to? Large scale cheating was also reported in Madhya Pradeshs Bhind town only a few days before the Bihar incident. There too relatives of candidates gathered at examination centres to help them submit a perfect answer-script. A detailed story by the Los Angeles Times, documents how, in states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal cheating in school exams is a very common phenomenon. The report showcases practices of writing formula on classroom walls, teachers being bribed to allow copying in exams, students breaking CCTV cameras to avoid being caught on camera cheating, and even parents tossing chits wrapped around small stones through windows into the exam halls. With inputs from Agencies The Maharashtra government has told the Supreme Court that close circuit television cameras would check obscenity and ensure the personal safety of the dance bar girls, while maintaining that as restaurants are public places, installation of CCTV cameras would not violate anyones right to privacy. The state on Monday refused to do away with conditions for granting licenses to dance bars across the state like providing live CCTV feed of performances to police, five days after the top court had called the Devendra Fadnavis governments move as absurd and asked it to review it. It needs to be seen that from the point of view of the security and law and order situation, it is necessary to install CCTV cameras in the dance bars. Because of the CCTV cameras, personal safety of the dance bar girls/artists can be secured in case of any untoward incident by quick response by the police machinery, read the states reply to the courts advice. A bench headed by justice Dipak Misra had, on the last hearing, questioned the condition saying it not only impinged on ones right to privacy but also violated the fundamental right of a dancer to pursue the profession. It added that the local police will be able to effectively prevent obscenity, which is a paramount concern of the state, with the help of the live feed. Even untoward incidents such as fights between customers can be avoided. The top court will take up the matter on Tuesday. The state said the recording shall not violate anyones privacy because the dance bars are in restaurants that are defined as public places under the local law. Cameras, it added, are installed above the bar to check the distribution of liquor by bar tenders these days. There are many women who feel that this is an avenue for them as they may not be able to do other professions. They have a right to a profession. That right has to be respected. We have to respect that right. It is possible that this is also a source of livelihood for transgenders, the bench had told additional solicitor general Pinky Anand during the hearing. The judges told Anand the administration should clamp down obscenity, if there is any, and not view dance as a form of vulgarity. It is an art and has to be understood as an art bereft of obscenity. If it ceases to be an art, then you can regulate. It seems you havent recognised them as artists, the bench told Anand, who insisted one loses the right to privacy at a public place. Justice Misra observed every individual has his own taste, style of eating or drinking and certainly would not like to be photographed or videographed. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Congress party plans to move another notice of breach of privilege against Union minister for human resource development, Smriti Irani, this time for allegedly insulting one of their members of Parliament. MP Ranjita Ranjan, representing Supaul (Bihar) in Lok Sabha, said Irani insulted her by mentioning that her husband Lok Sabha MP Rajesh Ranjan had written letters seeking favours from the minister. Countering Irani, the Congress argued that an MP can always send letters to ministers to help people. Theres nothing wrong in it. But the way she mentioned her name was a deliberate attempt to malign the image of our MP, Congress MP, K C Venugopal said. Ranjan is expected to give the notice to the Lok Sabha Speaker on Tuesday. Watch: Smriti Irani take on Rahul over Rohith Vemula suicide issue Venugopal had earlier moved the breach of privilege motion against Irani in the lower house, signaling a showdown between the government and Opposition over the issue of the Dalit scholar, Rohit Vemulas suicide at the Hyderabad central university. The motion was moved against the minister in both Houses of Parliament over her speech on the Jawaharlal Nehru University row and the Hyderabad University issue. Apart from the Congress, the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and Janata Dal (United) have also moved charges against Irani. Read: Irani slams Cong over Vemula suicide, JNU row; Modi tweets her speech SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Three people were booked on Tuesday for alleged hate speech during a condolence meet in Agra. Union minister Ram Shankar Katheria and Fatehpur Sikri MP Chaudhary Babulal, who too allegedly made inflammatory comments, were not named in the FIR. District secretary of eastern unit of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Ashok Lavania, corporator and vice-president of the BJPs Braj Kshetra unit, Kundanika Sharma, and Prashant Chaudhary were booked for their speeches during a condolence meet for Arun Mahaur, vice-president of Agras VHP unit who was shot dead in the communally sensitive Mantola locality on February 25. Senior superintendent of police, Agra, Dr Preetinder Singh said the role of others present at the event was also being examined. Meanwhile, the National Students Union of India handed over a memorandum to the Agra SSP, demanding that a case be registered against Katheria as well. Katheria, however, denied his involvement. What has been published in one of the newspapers is false. I had not taken the name of any community. I had said that the culprits, who had murdered the VHP leader, should be given death sentence. I had also said that the Hindu community should unite for (its) safety, he said. Nonetheless, the Samajwadi Party demanded that Katheria be sacked, alleging that his remarks were anti-national, while Congress alleged it showed that the BJP and RSS resorted to divisive agenda, especially ahead of elections. Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, said the real agenda of the NDA government was being exposed. The VHP, however, claimed it was a government tactic against the organisation. If the state government is resorting to such acts, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad will launch a statewide agitation, said Surendra Jain, joint secretary, central unit of the VHP. The police are applying pressure tactics at the behest of state government. The party organisation would deal with the matter, said Sharma, one of the accused. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON When 18-year-old Sataparna Mukherjee appeared in her school leaving exam on Monday, she was slightly tenser than she had been before. After being one of five to be selected by the prestigious Goddard Internship Programme of Nasa (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), she is starting to feel the pressure. Regardless of her performance in the ISC exams, she will be going this August to Oxford University and complete her graduation, post-graduation and doctoral thesis as Nasa faculty. All her expenses, including food and lodging, will be covered by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). Mukherjee is confident when speaking about her goal to help change how people and society think, and to promote a scientific rationale. I have chosen English and science as my subjects. The languages of both help expressing and interpreting observations. And that is all what I want. Getting high salaried jobs had never been my on my agenda, she says. I want to change the thinking pattern of man. Im confident science and literature will help me do so, she told HT prior to leaving for her exams. The daughter of a primary schoolteacher and a student of St. Judes School in Madhyamgram, about 30 kilometers from Kolkata, Mukherjee had neither a computer nor a private tutor to help her pursue her passion for science. Mukherjee is one of the many beneficiaries of Barang, a group which offers free tuition to schoolchildren in economically deprived areas. Her father, Pradip Mukherjee, is well known in West Bengal for being one of the leaders of the Kamduni Pratibadi Mancha - a forum created to demand justice for a Barasat Derozio College student who was gangraped and murdered in Kamduni village. She had been his student. She had always been an inspiration for me. When our forum came under threat from ruling party, many people told me to delink myself from the movement. But my daughter kept telling me that I should not stop protesting and that the victim was not only my student but also a daughter, Mukherjee said. Sataparnas big break came after she posted her observations about the Black Hole Theory on Nasas website, catching the eye of scientists. She was offered a scholarship last August but we could not accept the offer as we would have had to pay for her food and living expenses there. In October, Nasa said they were ready to bear all her expenses, he beamed. Unfazed by BJPs attacks, former Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday stood by the second affidavit in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, insisting it was absolutely correct and as the minister I accept the responsibility. Talking to reporters at the Congress headquarters, former Finance Minister expressed disappointment over former Home Secretary G K Pillai distancing himself from the affidavit issue despite being equally responsible. Pillai had said the decision to change the affidavit was taken at the political level. He also justified his remarks on the issue of hanging of Afzal Guru. I was part of the government (at that time). How can I distance myself from the government? Replying to a host of questions on the affidavit issue, Chidambaram said that the second affidavit in the case was filed as the first was ambiguous. He said that it was his duty to correct the affidavit which was drafted without his approval and was being misinterpreted. After consultations with the Home Secretary, Director, Intelligence Bureau and other officers, the second affidavit clarified what the real intention of the central government was, he said. The primary concern of the central government was input gathered by central agencies. Such inputs do not constitute a conclusive proof. It is for the state government to act. Central government does not condone nor endorse any unjustified action, he said. When told that the Ministry of Home Affairs has sought all files in this connection, he said they are most welcome to do that. Seeking to turn the heat on Congress, BJP has demanded a thorough probe into the alleged change of affidavits during the UPA rule in the Ishrat case and charged Chidambaram with saving the accused. Chidambaram said the second affidavit clarified what the real intention was. The second affidavit says the central government did not address any issue relating to the merits or otherwise of the police action, he said adding it was essentially concerned with dealing with allegations relating to intelligence inputs which were available with the Centre. Chidambaram insisted the primary concern of the central government is to see that inputs gathered by security agencies and the references are credible. It should be clear to all that such inputs do not constitute conclusive proof and it is for the state government and the state police to act on such inputs. The central government is in no way concerned with such action nor does it condone or endorse any unjustified or excessive action, he said. Besides, he said if on proper consideration of facts, it is found that an independent enquiry and investigation has to be carried by CBI or otherwise, the Union of India would have no objection to such a course and would abide by such order which the court may deem fit to pass. Chidambaram, who had come under attack from BJP for his reported remarks that perhaps Afzal Gurus hanging was not a correct decision, said it was possible to have an honest opinion on the issue, but it does not become anti-national, it does not become seditious. When told that he was quoted as having said in an interview that he had grave doubts in the matter, he took a veiled dig at Pillai. My position is position of the government. I cannot distance myself from it... That luxury is there for former civil servants and not ministers. The Delhi high court is likely to pronounce on Wednesday its order on whether JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, arrested on sedition charges, should be released on bail. Justice Pratibha Rani, who heard arguments from Delhi Police, and Kumars advocates senior counsel Kapil Sibal and lawyer Vrinda Grover for three hours on Monday, reserved her order for March 2. On Tuesday, Kumars co-accused -- JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya -- were remanded in judicial custody for 14 days by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House Court. Both Khalid and Bhattacharya are accused of organising the February 9 event in the JNU campus where anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. The police had told court that there were over 22 people present at the JNU event, including some outsiders, who had been identified after the joint interrogation of Khalid, Anirban and Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar arrested in the same case. An uncle and brother of Kanhaiya Kumar said the kind of support shown by the students and global intellectuals makes them proud of the JNU students Union president, currently in jail on charges of sedition. I never knew so many people liked Kanhaiya and he inspired people so much. Though he is in jail today, we are proud of him. For any boy from our village going to JNU is an impossible task and Kanhaiya making it there and garnering support not only from his friends but intellectuals across the globe has made us optimistic, Kanhaiyas uncle Rajendra Singh said while addressing students at the varsity on Monday night. Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh said, Our ancestors were part of the freedom struggle, people from our village had confronted the Britishers and a boy from same village is being called a terrorist for raising his voice. Modi ji called himself a chai wala and now he is not saying anything when a farmers son is being targeted. Kanhaiyas uncle and brother, who are in Delhi to meet him in Tihar jail, visited the varsitys administration block on Monday night where students are agitating against the student leaders arrest over an on-campus event against 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Gurus hanging. They encouraged the students to continue with their struggle, asserting the fight is not just for JNU but for the entire nation. This is a struggle for ideology. One Kanhaiya going to jail during this fight is no big deal. The way you people have taken up the battle demanding freedom of speech and from poverty, is a difficult route. You need to show courage and keep fighting, Singh said in his address. When we went to meet him in jail he calmly said I am walking on the way shown to me by you and I will fight my way out, Singh told the students. Kanhaiya Kumar's brother, Manikant talks to JNU students at the JNU campus in New Delhi on Monday. (Sanjeev Verma/ HT Photo) Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh spent a few tense moments mid-air on Monday, when his helicopter dropped over 50 feet in a few seconds while returning to Raipur from strife-torn Sukma district in south Chhattisgarh. However, the pilot managed to take manual control of the chopper and stabilise it before any damage was done. Singh was travelling with state education minister Kedar Kashyap Kedar Kashyap when the incident occurred. Prima facie, it appears as if the choppers flight director suffered some minor technical glitch, causing it to drop altitude by around 50 feet. However, the pilot quickly took control shifting the flight mode from auto to manual. There was no panic, aviation department director Rajat Kumar told Hindustan Times. The Chhattisgarh chief minister travels in a double-engine Augusta 109, which is regularly tested on all technical parameters of safety. The pilot, GK Panda, said that the chopper was flying on auto mode when it suddenly jerked mid-air and began falling. We immediately switched to manual mode and took control. This does happen at times, but we pilots are trained to handle such situations, he added. The chopper will be put through a thorough technical check before it is used again. Union minister of state for labour (independent charge) Bandaru Dattatreya on Tuesday denied mentioning the name of Rohith Vemula, a Dalit research scholar at University of Hyderabad who committed suicide, in his letter to the HRD ministry. I never mentioned Rohiths name (in the letter to the HRD ministry). I never mentioned any students name or any organisation of the university as casteist or anti-social or anti-national element? Jyotiraditya has tarnished my image, Dattatreya told reporters. Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia had on February 24 accused the BJP-led government of creating an atmosphere of intolerance in the country and alleged that efforts were on to crush any opposing point of view. Speaking in Lok Sabha, Scindia had demanded action against human resource development minister Smriti Irani and Dattatreya over Vemulas suicide. But, I have mentioned the petition which came to me through a BJP vice-president which I forwarded to the HRD minister because whatever activities were prevailing in the university, I wanted to make it correct. I dont want any punishment for anybody but my intention was only to see that these activities when Yakub Memon incident was glorified, I thought that I should mention that one, Dattatreya said. On Tuesday, the BJP hit back in Lok Sabha by pressing for a privilege motion against Congress chief whip Scindia for defamatory remarks against Dattatreya. BJPs chief whip Arjun Ram Meghwal accused Scindia of misleading the House on February 24 by alleging that Dattatreya had called Vemula anti-national, casteist and extremist. Meghwal said he and many other members, including Dattatreya, had given a notice of breach of privilege against Scindia. He raised the issue amid uproarious scenes in the House as AIADMK members were demanding action against former Union minister P Chidambarams son Karti in the Aircel-Maxis issue. Congress members too rushed to the Well, demanding Speaker Sumitra Mahajan decide on their privilege motion. Dattatreya accused Scindia of defaming him and tarnishing his image by attributing such comments to him that he never made about Vemula. My mother used to sell onions. I have always worked for OBCs, Dalits... I have made sacrifices for Dalits, he said talking about his humble background. He said his letter to Irani he made no mention of Vemulas name. I never made such charge against him. Congress members continued to protest with KC Venugopal showing the rule book to Mahajan to which she shot back, saying Dont show me the rule book. I know. The issue of privilege motion against Irani had created a brief uproar in Lok Sabha on Monday before finance minister Arun Jaitley started presenting the Union Budget 2016-17 with opposition members seeking to know the status of their notices against Irani for misleading the House on the Vemula issue. Vemula and four other Dalit students were allegedly expelled from their hostels following a tussle with students affiliated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) - the student wing of the BJP. (With ANI and PTI inputs) Signalling another showdown between the government and the opposition, Congress MP KC Venugopal on Monday moved a privilege motion against Union minister Smriti Irani over her remarks on Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula in the Lok Sabha. The CPI (M) will join the Congress with another motion as the Opposition parties have joined hands to corner the human resources and development minister for misleading Parliament and speaking untruths in the House. Read: Smriti Irani under fire for lying in Dalit students suicide case When Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan asked finance minister Arun Jaitley to present the Union Budget, Venugopal stood up and sought to know from the speaker the status of his privilege motion against the human resource development minister. It is painful for me to do that on the day of General Budget, I had to move a privilege motion against the HRD minister, Venugopal said. Other Congress members, including the partys Leader in the House Mallikarjun Kharge, asked the speaker to clarify the status of the notice. Read: Rohith Vermulas suicide: BSP seeks apology from Smriti Irani I have received the notices given on February 26 and 29 against Smriti Irani. The matter is under my consideration, Mahajan responded. Through mere rhetoric the minister was misleading the House and the nation by deliberately hiding the truths, Venugopal said. He said the minister misled the House when she said no doctor was allowed to reach near Rohith to confirm his death. The chief medical officer at University of Hyderabad had contested her statement. Read: Nationalism debate: Fight over Smriti Irani may escalate in Parliament Meanwhile, CPI(M) member Mohammed Salim said his privilege motion will come up on Tuesday. The CPI(M) also plans to move a motion in the Rajya Sabha, if the Lok Sabha speaker rejects the motion. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the motion can be moved because Irani is a minister, also a RS member and she spoke untruths in Parliament which is against her oath of office taken. The Pakistan high commission said on Tuesday that a team of its diplomats was denied access to inmates in Jaipur prison and the matter has been taken up with the external affairs ministry. The incident occurred on February 25 when the delegation came here to meet the Pakistani prisoners, which also includes Pakistani fishermen consisting minors and women, the high commission said. It said the matter has been taken up with the Ministry of External Affairs asking them to look into it and ensuring that such lapses do not recur in future. Pakistan has always given top priority to such humanitarian issues and facilitated the access of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to Indian prisoners, it said. According to an official at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, the four-member team had permission from the Ministry of External Affairs to give consular access to Pakistani prisoners but they were denied access. The Pakistani High Commission official said there are 25 Pakistani prisoners in Jaipur jail, including minors and women. A Delhi court on Monday allowed the custodial interrogation of two JNU students, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, arrested in a sedition case, by one more day. The court extended the police custody of the duo, which had allegedly organised a controversial event at the JNU on February 9 where anti-India slogans were said to have been raised, after police contended that they were required for further probe in the case to unearth the larger conspiracy. According to the police sources, the anti-terror unit of Delhi police special cell to which the case has been transferred, needed some time to interrogate both the accused. The police has claimed that around 22 people present at the flashpoint JNU event, including some outsiders, have been identified after the joint interrogation of Khalid, Anirban and JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar arrested in the same case. Khalid and Anirban are in police remand since their surrender and subsequent arrest on February 24. Earlier, the Delhi high court had ordered that confidentiality be maintained during the remand proceedings of Umar and Anirban, besides Kumar, while directing the police to ensure that no one suffers even a scratch and there is no ruckus this time. Lawyers had allegedly assaulted Kumar when he was brought to Patiala House Court for remand proceedings, in defiance of a Supreme Court order, on February 17. Two days earlier, when Kumar was to be brought to the court, the same set of lawyers had thrashed journalists and JNU students and teachers The battle between human resource development minister Smriti Irani and the Opposition may escalate on Tuesday as Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is likely to speak in the Lok Sabha . Irani, too, is slated to speak in Parliament and might defend her position in the wake of a series of privilege motions against her. Gandhi, who didn't participate in the debate on incidents related to the Jawaharlal Nehru University and the University of Hyderabad , may take the opportunity to hit out at the government when he speaks on the discussions on the motion to thank the President for his speech. Gandhi had been very critical of the government over its handling of the JNU students protests as well as the Hyderabad incident where Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula committed suicide. Gandhi visited both places and stood beside the students, earning flak from the ruling quarters. He was criticised for supporting anti-national elements. Irani too, also targeted Gandhi for supporting students in JNU. In her speech in the Lok Sabha on the students issue, Irani questioned if the Congress was attacking her because she dared to contest against Gandhi in Amethi during the Lok Sabha polls. The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider a plea asking it to initiate contempt and perjury proceedings against former home minister P Chidambaram for allegedly facilitating a false affidavit and concealing facts about Mumbai teenager Ishrat Jahan, an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba operative shot to death in an alleged fake encounter. Filed by advocate ML Sharma, the public interest litigation also wants the court to pass a direction that police and security forces should not be dealt as an offender if they kill a terrorist. Sharma mentioned his petition before a bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur, who told him that his petition would be listed in normal course. The petitioner did not impress upon the court for an urgent hearing. Sharma had cited the recent testimony of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks conspirator David Headley -- member of the LeT revealing that Jahan was part of the organisation who was on a botched up mission. Read: File sedition charge against Chidambaram: Shiv Sena on Ishrat Jahan Headley told the court that LeT leader Zaki-ur-Rehman had told him about operative Muzammil Butts botched up operation in India. It was some shootout with the police. I dont know which part in India. But there was one female who was killed in the shootout, Headley said. A team of Gujarat police officials facing trial for murdering Jahan in the alleged fake encounter have defended their action stating the teenager was part of a four member team that hatched a conspiracy to eliminate Narendra Modi, then the state chief minister. The shootout, they said, took place after the police received specific inputs from the Intelligence Bureau. The officers were, however, charged with murder after the Union ministry of home affairs denied sharing any intelligence inputs with the Gujarat police on Jahan being an LeT operative. Sharma has referred to former Union home secretary GK Pillais recent interview holding Chidambaram responsible for the U-turn. Pillai said the former minister had summoned the files relating to the case and had withdrawn certain references to her alleged links with the LeT in the second affidavit filed in the Gujarat high court in 2009. In an earlier affidavit, the Centre had at that time stated that Jahan was part of the LeT group. Congress member Kumari Selja on Tuesday sought a judicial inquiry into the reports of rape of several women in Haryana during the Jat agitation, saying jungle raj was prevailing in the state. Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, Selja said there was jungle raj in Haryana and the government has been a mute spectator to the large-scale violence during the agitation in the state. On the reported charges of rape and molestation by Jat quota agitators near Murthal town, Selja said the state governments inquiry team could not be trusted and demanded that the high court inquire into it: We demand a judicial inquiry. Haryana government has set up a three-member team of women police officers to look into the alleged incidents of rape and molestation of several women by Jat protesters. Congress Rajya Sabha member Pramod Tiwari also demanded a fair probe into the rape and molestation allegations. An office-bearer of the youth wing of Shiv Sena was on Monday arrested for allegedly assaulting a shop assistant for refusing to provide free vada-pavs. The member has been sacked by the party. The incident took place in suburban Vile Parle (West) on Saturday but the FIR was registered on Monday. The accused, Sunil Mahadik, allegedly hit Chetan Geveriya (28), who works at Trupti Sweet and Farsan Mart on D J Road, with a bamboo stick, police said. A day ago, Mahadik had sent another person to the shop demanding 100 vada pavs, a popular street-food here, free of cost. Chetan told him that they didnt have so much stock, so the person left. The next day, Mahadik allegedly called Geveriya on his mobile phone and abused him, and said he must hand over 100 vada pavs immediately to a person he was sending. Geveria said Mahadik should speak to the owner of the shop first. Irked, Mahadik himself went to the shop and hit Geveria with a bamboo stick and threatened to kill him, police said. Geveria, though not seriously injured, was taken to Cooper hospital in Juhu, police said. The incident was captured by the CCTV cameras in the shop and Juhu police registered an FIR. The footage was also aired by some local news channels. Mahadik was arrested and a local court sent him to police custody. This incident comes in the wake of another in neighbouring Thane where a Shiv Sena worker was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman traffic constable three days ago. CCTV footage of the incident had gone viral. Students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) who are fighting for the release of fellow friends Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya are in a fix with the varsity photocopy shops refusing to print their posters. Most of the student organisations print pamphlets, leaflets to mobilise students and also disseminate information. The problem is more acute as the students have planned a protest march to Parliament for March 2 demanding the release of jailed students and the removal of sedition charges slapped against them. When one of these photocopy shops was visited on Monday near Tapti hostel, the shopkeeper refused to make copies of the pamphlets. Our owner has asked us not to print any of the posters or pamphlets, said the worker at the shop. The owner of the shop, Pankaj, said the police had asked them not to print any of such publicity material. We have been told by the police not to print it, we cannot get into trouble. We cant get into this politics, said Pankaj. Outside the campus at Ber Sarai, Delhi Police had on Saturday detained one of the shopkeepers of a printing shop. Since then all the shops in the area have been refusing to print any of the publicity material. It is getting really difficult for us now. Now the shops in the varsity are refusing to print any of their posters or pamphlets and it is on the instruction of the university administration, said Shehla Rashid, JNUSU vice-president. However, the officiating registrar of JNU, Bupinder Zutshi denied the charges. No verbal or written communication has gone from the administration to the shopowners, said Zutshi. This restriction is costing JNU students a lot as they are now being forced to go to Delhi University and the surrounding areas in north campus to get copies of their pamphlets and other publicity posters. The state cabinet on Tuesday gave its nod to the Maharashtra Prohibition of Social Boycott Act one of the first legislations in the country that aims to put an end to practices of social boycott and excommunication. The draft bill by the state home department will now be tabled in the upcoming budget session of the state legislature, a year after the BJP-led governments assurance on the floor of the state assembly. Those found guilty of imposing such a boycott can face imprisonment of up to three years with a maximum penalty of Rs1 lakh. The offence is bailable. In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the draft bill has also proposed the case against the accused can be compounded if the victim is agreeable and on the condition that the accused agrees to do community service. The kind of community service has been left to the discretion of the magistrate concerned. The final legislation cleared by the cabinet, however, is a diluted version of the earlier draft that sought imprisonment of up to seven years and a maximum penalty of Rs5 lakh. The law was promised by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis during the budget session of the state legislature last year, following a debate initiated by the Opposition on growing incidents of such practices, largely in cases of inter-caste marriages and personal relationships. Typically, extra judicial bodies such as caste panchayats or gavkais or community and religious heads order such boycott dictats. Last year, around 60 such cases (conservative figure) had been reported in the state. We feel the law should have be made non-bailable as that means bail is granted under court supervision and those committing the offence will be more accountable. Also, we felt a stricter punishment was needed along with a penalty. Making it a bailable offence takes the sting out of the law, but on the whole we are happy the government deliberated with us and has prepared a legislation to tackle a menace that is far spread, said advocate Asim Sarode. Sarode and his wife Rama first highlighted the need for such a law following a case they represented from Harihareshwar, Raigad. This had led to the court in Raigad to ask the government to forumulate guidelines. While the draft law has not abolished caste panchayats or such groups, it has prohibited the assembly of any such groups with the intention of imposing a boycott. The law covers all religions, castes and communities in the state. Errors in the hall-tickets triggered panic among students appearing for language papers on day one of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams on Tuesday. The hall-tickets of a few students were riddled with mistakes; they had the wrong medium of instruction, name and birth dates printed on them. The school principals were forced to make changes to the hall-tickets at the last minute. We faced a lot of problems while conducting the exam as many students had wrong information printed on their hall-tickets, said Rajesh Pandya, senior teacher, Fatimadevi English School, Malad. We had to get the hall-tickets corrected from the school principal. In one of the hall-tickets, for instance, the medium of instruction was wrongly mentioned as Gujarati, while the candidates medium of instruction was English. If we had not corrected the hall-ticket, the child would have had to appear for the exam in Gujarati, said Pandya. The errors had cropped up despite the schools suggesting changes in the pre-list sent by the board before issuing the hall-tickets, added teachers. Despite this, the students had to pay Rs 100 to the board authorities as fine to make the corrections, said Pandya. On the other hand, the board officials said that the students should have approached them sooner. We had issued hall-tickets several weeks ago but students do not check them carefully. For this reason only we have given rights to the principals to rectify the mistakes at the last minute, said Siddheshwar Chandekar, secretary of the board, Mumbai division including Thane, Raigad and Palghar.Adding to the chaos, some students misread the exam timetable and showed up for the wrong exam. We received calls from students who had chosen their first language as English enquiring whether they had their exam today (Tuesday), said Shrikant Shingare, counsellor manning the board helpline. These students were mistaken because the exams started today, but we informed them that their papers were scheduled on Thursday and Saturday. Poor health facilities in Nalibar district, Assam, forced chronic kidney failure patient Akhil Khalita (29) to leave his hometown and live in Chandigarh. With finance minister Arun Jaitley announcing the setting up of dialysis centres in every district hospital, he has much reason to cheer. Akhil has been undergoing treatment for the last two years at the PGIMER (Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research) and has spent more than Rs 2 lakh on dialysis only and this expensive treatment has left him cashless. In Nalibar, there is no facility for dialysis. Hence, I had come to PGI for treatment. I undergo dialysis at a private clinic in Sector 16 and spent around Rs 1,200 per dialysis session and Rs 1,000 on injections, he said. For patients like Akhil, who were forced to leave their homes for better treatment, the finance ministers announcement, while presenting the Union Budget, has come as a relief. In his speech, Jaitley said about 2.2 lakh new patients of end stage renal disease get added in India every year, resulting in an additional demand for 3.4 crore dialysis sessions. He further added that the demand is only half met, as majority of dialysis centres are in the private sector and that too concentrated in the major towns. He said patients have to travel long distances to get access to dialysis centres incurring heavy expenditure, including travel and loss of wages. Every dialysis session costs about Rs 2,000, an annual expenditure of more than Rs 3 lakh. ADDRESSING THE CONCERN To address this situation, the minister has proposed to start a National Dialysis Services Programme. To provide dialysis services in all district hospitals across the country, funds will be raised through publicprivate partnership (PPP) mode under the national health mission. Further, to reduce the cost, the minister also proposed to exempt certain parts of dialysis equipment from basic customs duty, excise and other taxes. An official from PGI said, Last week, they held a meeting in New Delhi to discuss this issue. It was decided that space and dialysis machine will be provided by the government and the rest of the expenditure will be borne by private units. Government will bear the cost of treatment. BURDEN ON PGI The number of cases of kidney disease is only increasing. In Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, the cases have increased from 8,000 in 2012 to 22,000 in 2015. Dr KL Gupta, head, nephrology department, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research said out of these, 50% are suffering from chronic kidney failure and hardly 20% get treatment. Further, there are nearly 200 kidney failure cases awaiting (live donor) transplant and 800 are in the waiting list for ( cadaveric donor) transplant. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The UT administration has suffered a major setback with a cut of Rs 160 crore in the budget for the fiscal year 2016-17. In 2015-16, the allocated budget was Rs 860 crore as against Rs 700 crore this year. The UT administration had sought a budget of Rs 2,834 crore from the Centre but have got just Rs 700 crore as against the Rs 634 crore revised estimates last year. The failure of the UT administration to spend even half of the plan budget it spent only 43% has resulted in the cut. As a result, major projects like setting up hospitals, schools, water supply augmentation and housing projects could be affected. Even the forest and science and technology departments require funds for various projects. The below-average performance of the Chandigarh administration in 2015-16 has cost them dear. The plan head, which is used for development works, has seen a decline; as a result, important projects may be hit. This year, under the non-plan head, Rs 2,834 crore has been sanctioned as against last years Rs 2,586 crore. Both are roughly 110% of last years final figures. The maximum allocation has been made for the housing and urban development sector with Rs 214 crore allocated for various projects. Though in 2015-16, Rs 215 crore was allocated, the administration could spend only Rs 146 crore. In the education sector, the administration has got Rs 172 crore as against Rs 238 crore allocated last year. But the department had spent only Rs 162 crore. The heath sector has also seen a cut with the budget allocation coming down from Rs 176 crore to Rs 135 crore, though the health department fared much better on using the funds by spending Rs 167 crore. In the energy sector, the budget has been slashed from Rs 31 crore to Rs 26 crore, as only Rs 20.5 crore was used by the department last year. The police department has got Rs 20 crore allocated instead of the Rs 17 crore sanctioned last year. The administration claims to make Chandigarh a Smart city with transport being the major component to sort out the traffic congestion. However, there is almost 40% cut in the transport sector. Last year, the allocated budget was Rs 103 crore out of which only Rs 57 crore was spent, so the Centre has allocated only Rs 63 crore this year. The administration had projected a plan of Rs 2,095 crore on account of a larger share for the municipal corporation of Rs 660 crore as per recommendations of the Delhi Finance Commission. The projects planned to be undertaken by the administration are expansion of the high court, flats for police and expansion of the secretariat building. Administration officials said they would spend the money efficiently and seek more funds when the exercise of revision of estimates took place in October. ADVISER HAD PULLED UP OFFICIALS LAST YEAR Taking a serious view of Chandigarhs budget cut by the Centre, UT adviser Vijay Dev last year had pulled up officials and directed the heads of all departments to ensure timely completion of projects or face action. The adviser had said that the performance assessment of the officials would be done on the basis of completion of works in their departments. The UT administration had faced a cut of over Rs 225 crore owing to its poor performance. The budget has been curtailed under the plan head by the ministry of finance. It has come down from ` 860 crore to about ` 634 crore, following performance review of the administration between April and September. The administration had failed to get timely execution of projects and check the expenditures involved in various projects. Among the bad performers was the engineering department, which spent just about 36% of the allocated budget. The transport department also did not fare well in its performance. The Plan budget for the city increased by 19% in 2013-14 with Rs 876.5 crore sanctioned. The maximum budget was allocated to urban development. In 2012-13, the allocated budget under the plan head was Rs 737.23 crore. Even in the 201112 budget, Chandigarh had got 47% increase in the budget and was allocated Rs 661.89 crore with major priority to education. Also Read: Budget allocation for PGI cut, gets only Rs 728 crore Chandigarh MC gets Rs 84 cr, had sought Rs 572 cr SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has moved the court of the district and sessions judge, Ludhiana, seeking a copy of the challan in its probe into the multi-crore Ludhiana City Centre scam. Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh is one of the accused in the case. Punjab Police had failed to provide the copy of the challan filed on December 12, 2007 to the ED despite around 10 reminders to the police since the agency, taking suo motu action, had registered an enforcement case information report (ECIR) in 2013. According to an application moved by the ED dated December 18, 2015, a copy of which is with HT, the agency has requested the court to provide it the copy of the challan. We have started the probe but the actual investigation would begin when the challan copy is available with the ED, the agency has told the court. The next hearing is scheduled for March 19. According to the challan, Amarinder, son Raninder Singh and son-in-law Raminder Singh are among the accused in the scam that allegedly took place during the 2002-07 tenure of Amarinder as Punjab chief minister. The state vigilance bureau had registered the FIR in March 2007 under various sections of the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act. In the challan, the vigilance bureau had accused Amarinder of diluting the terms and conditions to favour Delhi-based company Today Homes to execute the project. Information from the ED said the agency had already summoned GK Gambhir, managing director of Today Homes. Former state Congress chief HS Hanspal, former local bodies minister late Choudhary Jagjit Singh and the then chairman of Ludhiana Improvement Trust, Wg Cdr Paramjit Singh Sibia (retd) were among the 19 people named in the FIR. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON An accused in the murder case of Congress sarpanch Rajwinder Singh Grewal Ravi Khwajke, Dharminder Singh Gugni of the Kala Hawas gang has reportedly told police that he had two options to kill or be killed. Khwajke was killed to reportedly avenge the murder of rival gang leader Kala Hawas. The leads gathered from Gugni suggest the contract to kill Khwajke was given to gangster Davinder Bambiha Davinder Shooter. Gugni is under police interrogation in the Central Jail here since February 25. Later, police also brought accused Karamveer Singh over on production warrant, and on Monday, secured two more days from the court to grill them. Seven accused remain at large. Read: Sarpanch gunned down at marriage function in Ludhiana After the murder of student leader Kala Hawas on September 6, 2014, the two gangs had many gunfights. Last month, Gugni was arrested in an attempt-to-murder case and sent to the Ludhiana Central Jail. Khwajke pursued the case against him. Gugni has told police that he was afraid that once he got out, Khwajke would kill him, so he first tried to smuggle in firearms for his safety but when these were seized, he hired Davinder Shooter and his gang to kill Khwajke on February 20. They shot the Congress sarpanch 14 times at a marriage function on the Malerkotla road. Sadar station house officer (SHO) inspector Amandeep Singh Brar said the attempt would be to establish whether or not Khwajkes murder was contract killing but a manhunt was on for the rests of the accused. Police had booked nine people in the murder case. Read: Khwajke sarpanch murder: Culprits hatched plan in jail, say police SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday admitted an appeal filed by Punjab seeking enhancement of punishment to former Akali leader Ranjit Singh Rana, principal accused in murder of assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Ravinderpal Singh, who was trying to protect his daughters honour. The high court on Tuesday admitted the appeal for hearing while ordering that it be heard as per the turn of the case. As of now, the court has admitted appeal in respect of Rana only. The state government while seeking enhancement of sentence had argued that the social abhorrent nature of the crime ought not to be ignored in the present case. If this is not revolting or dastardly, then it is beyond comprehension as to whatever act can be so described, the government had submitted. Besides, Rana four others had also got rigorous life imprisonment in the case. They include Dharamjit Singh, Sandeep Rampal, Gurbir Singh and Vikram Ohri. On December 5, 2012, Rana and others had shot police officer Ravinderpal Singh when he confronted them for harassing his daughter. The government had argued that case fell in the rarest of rare category and ends of justice would be met if the death penalty was given to all the accused. This is a case of broad day light murder of a police official in the heart of city with firearms and the entire incident continued for about 30 minutes with no one daring to come to the rescue of the cop, the state had argued while seeking death sentence for Rana and four other accused. A day after the attack on the cavalcade of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Ludhiana rural police have claimed that only one stone thrown by an unidentified person hit the windshield of the vehicle. The police have scanned the CCTVs installed at the marriage palace. The police are also taking the help of the video clips of the attack that went viral on social networking sites. Broken windshield of the car that was attacked when AAP convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was in the front seat, at Hasanpur village in Ludhiana on Monday. (HT Photo) The police in the FIR have mentioned that members of associations of Sikh riot victims and some Hindu organisations were protesting against Kejriwal outside the marriage palace, where a stone thrown by an unidentified person hit the windshield of the vehicle. The police have recorded the statements of eyewitnesses and heads of organisations leading the protest. The Danga Peerit Welfare Society and Hindu organisations, who were protesting with black flags, claimed that the attackers were not from their groups. Police said as there were hundreds of protestors from various groups, it was difficult to identify the attackers. SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, whose name was dragged into the controversy, denied the attackers belonged to the SAD. Ayali said it might by the work of AAP leaders to gain publicity and peoples sympathy. Meanwhile, the AAP asked state home minister Sukhbir Singh Badal to get the investigation done and arrest the culprits soon. In a statement issued on Tuesday, AAP leaders claimed that the video footage showed the attackers and police should arrest them immediately. Ludhiana range DIG SK Kalia said they were on the job and would identify the attackers soon. In a Punjab cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday here, the government decided to increase ex-gratia aid to the families of the soldiers killed or disabled in counter-insurgency operations. The assistance goes up from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh in case of death, from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 4 lakh in case of 75% disability; from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh in case of 51-to-75% handicap; and from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh in case of 25-to-50% disability. City bus service in all towns After Amritsar, Ludhiana, and Jalandhar, the cabinet has now extended the city bus service to all towns. The state transport undertakings will operate their stage-carriage buses as laid down in the recent city bus service scheme notification. These buses will operate within the respective municipal limits along with up to 10 kilometres outside. The government expects it will bring down the number of personal vehicles on road and help reduce both congestion and pollution. Food-grain project for Tarn Taran Seron village in Tarn Taran district will get an Integrated Foodgrain Management Project where a sugar mill stood earlier. The state co-operative department has transferred the land to the food and civil supplies department. The storage facility will have modern silos and a laboratory for scientific storage of grains. After it is operational, the procurement agencies will not have to send paddy far for shelling. Basmati/paddy will be shelled locally, which will save the agencies a lot of money and generate employment in the border area, a government spokesperson has said. Food panel appointments The Cabinet gave clearance to appointing three members on the Food Commission constituted in the light of the Centres National Food Security Act, 2013. The members will monitor and evaluate the implementation of this Act. Ordinance to become bill The cabinet approved converting the Punjab Infrastructure (Development and Regulation) (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2015, into a bill. In its earlier meeting on November 19, 2015, the cabinet had approved certain amendments in the Punjab Infrastructure (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002 by promulgating an ordinance. FDA posts: Nod to framing rules The cabinet approved the framing of new service rules for the upgrading/promotion of 33 posts and creating another 44 to be filled by direct recruitment for the newly created Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). A major objective of implementing the amended Drugs and Cosmetics Act is to make standard quality drugs, blood, and cosmetics available and take inferior drugs off the market. Pilgrim train for Christians The cabinet accorded ex-post-facto approval for running a pilgrim train under Mukh Mantri Teerath Darshan Yatra Scheme for Christian community as well. The train will run between Punjab and Chennai from March 8 to 13. The Cabinet also gave ex-post-facto approval for presently operated four buses going to Salasar and Chintpurni under this scheme daily since January 4. Bill banning plastic bags To minimise pollution because of the excessive use of plastic carry bags, the cabinet gave nod to Punjab Plastic Carry Bags (manufacture, usage and disposal) Control (Amendment) Bill, 2016. The Haryana and Himachal Pradesh governments have already implemented the ban. On December 22, 2015, the state cabinet had approved the issuing of an ordinance to insert Clause 2 in Section 7 of the Punjab Plastic Carry Bags (manufacture, usage and disposal) Control Act, 2005. After the ordinance was out, the government had prohibited the manufacture, sale and use of plastic carry bag in the jurisdictions of all municipal corporations and councils, besides nagar panchayats, from April 1. Bill on regularising Amritsar structures To regularise unauthorised construction in the walled city of Amritsar on the as is where is basis, the cabinet gave its approval to the recommendations of the cabinet subcommittee for presenting a bill to this effect in the ensuing Budget session. It was, however, decided that the government would notify the compounding charges separately. E-governance The cabinet also approved the recommendations of Punjab State e-Governance Society (PSeGS) for implementing the operation, maintenance, and management proposals of 2,174 Unified Service Delivery Centres in the state, from where all services of all departments were to be made available to citizens near their homes. A gang here exploited the easy-return policy of leading e-commerce portal Flipkart to cheat the company of at least Rs 25 lakh; police said the con may be worth Rs 1 crore. The district police have arrested five people under sections 420 (cheating), 465 (punishment for forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) , 471 (using a forged item as genuine), and 120-B (punishment for criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act. Accused Suresh Kumar, Gagandeep Singh, Yadvendra Singh, Kuldeep Singh, Kuldeep Singh and Sandeep Singh used to book orders online and return goods on delivery after replacing them with fakes, said station house officer (SHO) concerned Harpal Singh. How they did it o The gang included a mobile-phone retailer, besides a SIM-card seller who created fake email IDs and booked orders. They would order only costly mobile phones and when these were delivered, would call up the company to complain about quality issues. To the representatives sent to collect these handsets, they would hand over fake mobile phones in the box. The money paid through different banks would come back to their accounts before the goods reached the dealer. o Police claim to have recovered Rs 17 lakh cash, 10 handsets, and a laptop computer from the gang. They say this fraud might run into more than Rs 1 crore once we track all the mobile phones that the gang has sold further. The accused, so far, has accepted making at least Rs 80 lakh in the swindle, said SHO Harvinder Singh Sra, who is part of the investigation team. o A senior official at Flipkart told HT how the network was busted. Whenever a customer contacts us to return any item, we credit the money into his account immediately and check the item later when it gets to us within a week. In this case, a number of complaints from the same area prompted us to call the Mansa cops, said Flipkart deputy general manager Manoj Chaudhary. A local court has remanded all accused in police custody for five days. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Lee Road in South Kolkata will now be called Satyajit Ray Dharani, in memory of the legendary filmmaker who lived in the vicinity, announced West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday. Ray resided close to Lee Road on Bishop Lefroy Road for years till his death in 1992, and many of his masterpieces were planned and conceived from this house. As a token of our humble dedication to the memory and phenomenal contribution of legendary personality Satyajit Ray, we have decided to rename Lee Road, near Bishop Lefroy Road where his house stands, as Satyajit Ray Dharani, Banerjee said in a Facebook post. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor-in-Council held an important meeting during the day and passed a resolution rechristening the road after Ray. Read: 10 pearls of wisdom from Satyajit Ray for aspiring filmmakers Lee Road will now be called Satyajit Ray Dharani, in memory of the legendary director. (HT Photo) Earlier, Banerjee unveiled a spruced-up 150 metre stretch of Bishop Lefroy Road. The multifaceted genius (screenwriter, lyricist, music composer, calligrapher, illustrator, writer) worked on cult films like Agantuk, Pratidwandi, Ghare Baire and others. Read: Satyajit Rays sketches missing from Kolkata film centre A popular tourist destination, the colossal 1/1 Bishop Lefroy Road residence is a timeless reminder to the legacy of the master behind cinematic jewels such as Shatranj Ke Khiladi, Charulata, the Apu trilogy, and the Feluda series among others. It stands as a silent testimony to the man who took Indian cinema to the world. The locality has undergone a major makeover to accord a Ray touch. From re-laying the dilapidated pavements with designer blocks, installing Victorian-era street lights to replica of his films original posters, the famous locality has been transformed in consultation with filmmaker and son Sandip. Ray became the first, and currently only, Indian to receive an Honorary Academy Award in 1992. ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Mumbai-born Anish Kapoor has often hit the headlines with his work, some of it controversial, but he is now in the news for securing exclusive rights to use the blackest material ever produced, angering many in the art fraternity. The material, called Vantablack, absorbs 99.96% of the light that hits it and was originally developed for military use. Kapoor, 61, was reported to be interested in the colour for years and has now secured exclusive rights from its maker, Surrey NanoSystems. The company launched it at Farnborough International Air Show in 2014, and described it as super black material with the ability to be applied to lightweight, temperature-sensitive structures such as aluminium while absorbing 99.96% of incident radiation. Kapoors exclusive rights to the material has angered some in the art world, who say it should be free for anyone to use. Anish Kapoor exclusive rights to use the blackest material ever produced has angered many in the art fraternity. (Reuters Photo) Ive never heard of an artist monopolising a material. Using pure black in an artwork grounds it, artist Christian Furr told Daily Mail. All the best artists have had a thing for pure blackTurner, Manet, Goya. This black is like dynamite in the art world. Jonathan Jones wrote in The Guardian: It is a clever move by NanoSystems to associate their material with the greatest colourist in 21st-century art. With all due respect not much, really to the minor painters who are kicking up a fuss, Kapoor is an ideal artist to experiment with this freaky black. Jones added, He loves deep, dark, sensual coloursThis creator of sublime chromatic effects is just the guy to make Vantablack look like the new black. Knighted in 2013, Kapoor is best known in Britain for designing the 376-foot ArcelorMittal Orbit, built for the 2012 London Olympics. Kapoor told Artforum website in 2014: The nanostructure of Vantablack is so small that it virtually has no materiality. Its thinner than a coat of paint and rests on the liminal edge between an imagined thing and an actual one. Its a physical thing that you cannot see, giving it a transcendent or even transcendental dimension, which I think is very compelling. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump sought Mahatma Gandhis support for his rampantly divisive campaign on Monday, using a quote that has been found to be wrongly but frequently attributed to him. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win, Trump tweeted the quote with a picture from his rally in Alabama, attributing it to Mahatma Gandhi. This quote is not from Gandhi at all, it seems. Christian Science Monitor news magazine included it in its 2011 list of Political misquotes: The 10 most famous things never actually said. This line is probably the best summary of Gandhis philosophy of satyagraha as you can get in 16 words. But theres no evidence that the Great Soul ever said this. It said that though the source of those exact words was not known, a strikingly similar version was attributed to an American trade union leader, Nicholas Klein, in a 1918 address -- First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you. And that, is what is going to happen to the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. There was no response from the Trump campaign to a request for comments. The quote Trump attributed to Gandhi does capture the candidates pet peeve that he is often criticised and mocked for things he says, and then every one comes around. He likes to talk about the initial response to his remarks about illegal immigration that they are criminals and rapists that he was derided as rude, offensive and bigoted. But he has since found many takers, at least the sentiment behind them. And the wall that he has promised to build along the Mexican border, has since popped up in other poll agendas. But roping in Gandhi? This is not the first time this quote has been used for Trump. Sarah Palin, a former Alaska governor and a strong supporter of the candidate, used the same quote for him. She used it, once again attributed wrongly to Gandhi, imprinting it on a picture of Trump at a rally, in a post on her Facebook page on February 14. It got 19,000 likes and 3,782 shares. Palin ought to have been a little more careful as a victim of mis-representative quote herself. Christian Science Monitors list of famous misquotes included one comment often attributed to her. Palin never said, I can see Russia from my house. It was a line used by a comedian Tina Fey who was impersonating her in a Saturday Night Live skit in 2008. But it came to be widely attributed to Palin, who was then John McCains running mate, probably because it captured well her lack of knowledge on national security and foreign policy issues. The line came from an interview in which Palin had said, Theyre (Russia) our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska. Thats true, as Slate news magazine pointed out subsequently. On a clear day, Those on the Alaskan island of Little Diomede can see the Russian island of Big Diomede, located across the International Date Line some two and a half miles away. Canadian federal police has charged an American, a Briton and two Canadians with stealing sensitive satellite imaging technology and selling it to China in violation of export laws. Two of them stole the sensor from their employer Teledyne Dalsa of Waterloo, Ontario with help from a former employee, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They then sold it to two Chinese firms, one of them state-owned, in violation of the Canadian Controlled Goods Program and other laws. The fourth accused works for one of the Chinese companies allegedly involved in the scheme. The microelectronics were intended for space satellite use, the RCMP said in a statement on Monday. This investigation is an example of foreign governments having an interest in Canadian-based controlled technology and it highlights the RCMPs commitment to keeping Canadians safe from the potential misuse of that technology, RCMP Superintendent Jamie Jagoe said. The two-year probe also involved the Canadian Space Agency, the military, the US Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. Canadians Arthur Xin Pang, 46, and Binqiao Li, 59, were arrested and charged with more than a dozen related crimes. Meanwhile, arrest warrants have been issued for Nick Tasker, 62, of Britain, and Hugh Ciao, 50, of California, who is currently in China. Heavy clashes broke out overnight after two Israeli soldiers using a traffic app mistakenly entered a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, leaving one Palestinian killed and 15 people wounded, officials said on Tuesday. The two soldiers travelling in a jeep mistakenly entered the Qalandiya refugee camp while using the popular Israeli navigation app Waze and were targeted with rocks and Molotov cocktails, an Israeli military spokesperson said. Israeli reinforcements were sent to the camp between Jerusalem and Ramallah to rescue them, provoking further clashes. According to an Israeli police spokesperson, Palestinians threw homemade explosives and shot at the forces, who also opened fire. The Palestinian health ministry said one Palestinian was killed and 10 wounded. The dead man was identified as Eyad Omar Sajdia, a 22-year-old student. Five Israeli border police were also wounded, one of them seriously, police said. The two soldiers, who first entered the camp, abandoned their jeep, with one hiding in the courtyard of a house and shooting to defend himself and signal his position, the military spokesperson said. The other fled towards the nearby Israeli settlement of Kochav Yaakov. Both soldiers were rescued unharmed. Waze is an excellent tool, but it can have its limits, Israeli military spokesperson, General Moti Almoz told army radio. We are going to investigate what happened. Israeli raids on Qalandiya to arrest suspects have sparked heavy clashes in the past. A wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October has killed 178 Palestinians as well as 28 Israelis, an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean, according to an AFP toll. Most of the Palestinians who died in the violence were killed by Israeli forces while carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities. Others were shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes or demonstrations. On Sunday John Oliver, the popular host of Last Week Tonight, finally sat down to dissect the political campaign of the controversial tycoon, Donald Trump. Oliver, known for his scathing analyses of members of the American political establishment, took down the billionaire real-estate tycoon by sifting through public statements in support of him. I get that the character of Donald Trump is entertaining, and that he says things that people want to hear, Oliver said. And I know that his very name is powerful. Watch: John Oliver finally takes down Trump That name, though, may be misleading US voters. Oliver concluded his searing character-assassination of the Republican frontrunner by saying that Trumps family name used to be Drumpf, and that Americans should always keep that in mind when deciding whether to vote for him or not. If you are thinking of voting for Donald Trump, the charismatic guy promising to make America great again, stop and take a moment to imagine how you would feel if you just met a guy named Donald Drumpf, a litigious serial liar with a string of broken business ventures and the support of a former Klan leader who he cant decide whether or not to condemn. Would you think he would make a good president, or is the spell now somewhat broken? he said. That is why tonight I am asking America to make Donald Drumpf again, Oliver added. The British comedian then announced the launch of the #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain campaign, and the website DonaldJDrumpf.com, where anyone can download a browser extension that replaces the tycoons name with Drumpf. Twitter reacted, with parody accounts and tweets carrying forth Olivers desire to reconcile Trump with his Germanic ancestry. One user, @RealDonalDrumpf, has found great success in parodying Trump. People are saying I got schlonged by @iamjohnoliver. But white supremacists are delighted to know I'm really German #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain Donald J. Drumpf (@RealDonalDrumpf) 1 March 2016 For Republican presidential contender Marco Rubio, Arkansas holds outsize significance since its the only one among the states holding their primaries on Super Tuesday which has shown him with a lead in the polls. This is despite the broad consensus that Rubio is the Republican establishments favoured candidate to clinch their partys nomination. Joseph Giammo, chair of the department of political science at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, believes Rubio needs to win Arkansas because of the psychological momentum that comes with it. Of the three major Republican contenders, hes the only one without a victory. While Republican frontrunner Donald Trump is expected to sweep the majority of Super Tuesday states, Texas Senator Ted Cruz has an edge in his home state. Republican strategist Bill Vickery sees Arkansas as a three way race. As for Rubio, Vickery said, It certainly seems Arkansas is his best opportunity on Tuesday to win a state. He added, Rubio has done an excellent job of trying to build momentum right up to election day. This is his second trip inside about 10 days. Watch | Marco Rubio and the three way race in Arkansas Embed- On the eve of Super Tuesday, Rubio addressed a crowd at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. Given how Arkansas could be the closest race, it isnt surprising that Trump and Cruz too campaigned here this past weekend. Susanna Samson of the Arkansas Young Republicans said the state establishments endorsement for Rubio could generate an extra percentage or two that could make the difference for him. Rubio knows where his real threat comes from, as he launched a fiery attack on Trump in Conway, about 50 km from Little Rock. Hes asking you for the presidency of the United States, and if you look at it, he has no policy positions on anything. None. Zero. How can you elect someone that wont tell you what theyre going to do? he asked. A loss in Arkansas will truly hurt Rubio and some Republican analysts do not expect him to last even until March 15, when the primary in his home state of Florida is scheduled. Even there, he trails Trump by over a double-digit margin in recent polling. Arkansas, therefore, may be his last chance to stay relevant in the race. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Nepal and China are expected to ink a long-term deal on the supply of petroleum products from the northern neighbour, ending Indias monopoly, during Prime Minister KP Sharma Olis visit to Beijing this month. An official agreement on import of petroleum products from China, as discussed during Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapas visit in December, is likely during Olijis visit, Gopal Khanal, the prime ministers foreign affairs adviser, told Hindustan Times. After his six-day state visit to India last month, Oli is expected to travel to China later this month. The visit, likely to begin on March 20, was cleared by the cabinet on Monday. Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), the state-run organisation that deals with procuring and distribution of petroleum products, had signed a framework agreement with Petro China last October for importing one-third of Nepals fuel requirements. The country currently imports all its petroleum products from India under an agreement between NOC and Indian Oil Corporation. During Thapas visit to China, both sides signed an eight-point deal for the long-term supply of petroleum products, improving connectivity and increasing bilateral trade. Both NOC and Petro China were directed to work out details on pricing, taxation, transportation and other issues before a formal deal is sealed. But the deal got stuck because Nepal sought the waiver of certain taxes. A four-member team of senior bureaucrats and NOC officials left for China on Tuesday and it is expected to resolve all these issues before Olis visit. Nepal imported 287,473 kilolitres of petrol, 921,714 kilolitres of diesel, 19,653 kilolitres of kerosene, 141,404 kilolitres of aviation fuel and 258,299 metric tons of LPG from India during the last financial year. But a severe shortage of petroleum products, caused by a blockade imposed by Madhesi parties opposed to the countrys new Constitution, forced Kathmandu to look for other suppliers to diversify and reduce its reliance on New Delhi for energy supplies. The 135-day blockade was lifted last month and supplies from India are entering the country smoothly, though there is still paucity of fuel and LPG cylinders. In August last year, Nepal and India signed a deal to construct a 41-km pipeline connecting Raxaul in Bihar to Amlekhganj in Nepal at a cost of Rs 275 crores to ensure the smooth supply of petroleum products. During his visit to China, Oli is also expected to take part in the Boao Forum for Asia conference in Hainan province. The three-day annual conference will begin on March 22. Nepal and China are also likely to sign a Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (BIPPA) and transit treaties. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON New Zealand may be thousands of miles from the US presidential campaign trail but local Democratic Party supporters could boast about being the first in the world to cast ballots in multi-state primaries dubbed Super Tuesday and in a bar, no less. American voters living in Wellington and registered as Democrats voted just after midnight early on Tuesday local time, almost a day ahead of compatriots back home. In keeping with the South Pacific nations informal style, the votes, all 28 of them, were cast in local drinking spot, the Public Bar and Eatery. Handily winning the day in New Zealand was senator Bernie Sanders, who picked up 21 votes, while former secretary of state Hillary Clinton got six. One ballot was spoiled. The results will be confirmed later this month at the global voter tally centre in Germany. Wellington is the first of 111 cities in 41 countries outside the US to cast ballots in the primary for Democrats abroad. Republicans living overseas wont be able to do the same because the party doesnt have a similar mechanism for its supporters to vote in primaries. So far, four states have held primaries or caucuses to choose each partys nominee in Novembers presidential election. On Tuesday, Democrats will be voting in 11 states and American Samoa, with 865 delegates at stake. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the partys nomination. Democrats abroad are allocated 17 of those delegates. Republicans, meanwhile, will be voting in 11 states on Super Tuesday, with 595 delegates at stake towards the 1,237 delegates needed to capture the partys nomination. Americans living in New Zealand include students, people with specialised jobs, and retirees, said Kat Allikian, chair of the Democrats Abroad New Zealand. She said a big motivation for local voters was to stop Republicans winning the White House in particular, leading candidate Donald Trump. The overwhelming concern of all Democrats overseas is this Trump phenomenon that is happening on the Republican side, she said. Its mind-boggling that hes running away with the nomination. Although its not set yet. Allikian said it was an honour to lead the vote among those living overseas. People are really tickled that were the very first in the world, she said. A Sikh Army captain has filed a lawsuit against the US military on Monday after being ordered to undergo extraordinary, targeted, repetitive testing before receiving permanent permission to wear a beard and long hair for his religion, court papers said. Captain Simratpal Singh, a member of the 349th Engineer Battalion who was awarded the Bronze Star for his work clearing explosives from roads in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, was granted a temporary accommodation last year allowing him to dress according to his religious beliefs, the court filing said. But Assistant Army Secretary Debra Wada recently ordered additional tests before she would grant him a permanent exemption, saying she wanted to be certain he could safely wear a helmet and gas mask if he had a turban, uncut hair and a beard, the lawsuit said. Defendants abruptly informed Captain Singh that, because of his Sikh religion, he must immediately undergo extraordinary, targeted, repetitive testing ostensibly to ensure he can properly wear a combat helmet and safety mask, the lawsuit said. This discriminatory treatment is unfounded and violates the Armys own regulations, it said, adding that other soldiers had not been subjected to testing beyond what is given to most troops. Singh recently passed the standard gas mask testing with the rest of his unit, his supporters said. Read: Sikh soldier in US Army allowed to keep beard, wear turban Air Force Major Ben Sakrisson, a Pentagon spokesman, said the department did not comment on ongoing litigation. But he said the military worked to the maximum extent possible to enable the free exercise of religion by all troops. The US military took steps in early 2014 to give individual troops greater latitude to wear turbans, head scarves, yarmulkes and tattoos if required by their religion. The policy shift was mainly expected to affect Sikhs, Muslims, Jews and members of other groups that wear beards or articles of clothing for religious purposes. It also affected Wiccans and others who obtain tattoos for religious reasons. Read: Obama urged to remove restrictions on Sikhs in US army Only three Sikhs have been granted permission by the US military to wear turbans, beards and uncut hair over the past six years, court filings said. Singh and two other Sikhs are awaiting decisions on their requests for a waiver. Singh is unusual among Sikhs seeking accommodations because in 2006 he attended West Point, where he gave in to pressure to cut his hair and beard. But after a decade of service, including completing Army Ranger School, he obtained a temporary accommodation last year to enable him to follow the grooming traditions of his religion. Super Tuesday, when 12 US states hold their nominating contests, could help frontrunners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton take complete control of their respective races. Or watch rivals upend polls, and open up the fight. On the Republican side Donald Trump is leading polls in most of the 11 states holding Republican nominating contests in Super Tuesday, except Texas, where Ted Cruz is ahead and by far, and Minnesota, where Marco Rubio is leading according to the last poll, done in January. If Trump runs the table, he may become unstoppable, according to pollster John Zobgy. Trump has already won three of the partys four nominating contests New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Pollsters will also be watching for the impact of Trumps recent comments failure to disavow white supremacists and the racist Ku Klux Klan, for instance on his popularity. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz speaks at a campaign event in Jefferson. (REUTERS) Ted Cruz is expected to win Texas, his home-state. But he has to win big to stay in the race. After winning the Iowa caucuses, the first in the nominating contests, Cruz hasnt won any other state. He is locked in a close fight for the second slot with Marco Rubio in national polls, 19.8% to 17.4%. Marco Rubio has not won any contest yet, but remains in contention because of finishing second in South Carolina and Nevada, and as someone, the party establishment hopes, who can take on Trump, and stop him. Rubio is polling second in some of the big states polling Tuesday Virginia, Georgia, Massachusetts and Oklahoma. But he has to win something to stay in the race. He is trailing Trump, however in his home-state Florida, which holds its primaries on March 15. Ben Carson has not only won nothing yet, but has performed poorly in the contests held so far, and has been confined towards the bottom of polls for some time now. News reports suggest pressure is mounting on him to leave the race. John Kasich has not won any contest yet, but remains in the race after finishing second in New Hampshire, and is expected to do well in his home-state Ohio, which primaries on March 15, but he trails Trump there in the RealClearPolitics average of polls. On the Democratic side Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally to promote early voting ahead of Super Tuesday. (AP) Hillary Clinton, who has won three of the partys four nominating contests so far, is expected to do well on Super Tuesday specially in the southern states, which are demographically similar to South Carolina, where she posted a resounding victory last week. She is ahead in polls in Texas, Georgia, Virginia, Arkansas (home-state of the Clintons), Alabama and Tennessee, and mostly by double-digits, and up north in Massachusetts. A strong showing on Super Tuesday, as forecast by polls, could set her on the path to party nomination. Bernie Sanders is leading in home-state Vermont, Colorado and Minnesota, and could turn Massachusetts and Oklahoma into close contests. Sanders has the enthusiasm and money, Zobgy said, adding, Look for him to go to the very end. He has won one contest so far, the New Hampshire primary. Tens of thousands of Pakistanis on Tuesday joined the funeral of Mumtaz Qadri, the policeman who was executed for assassinating Governor Salmaan Taseer over his call for changes to the controversial blasphemy law. Hundreds more joined prayers offered in Islamabad and principal cities across the country. No untoward incident was reported as security personnel remained on high alert through the day. Schools and colleges were closed in most cities because of fears of violence after Qadris supporters vowed to protest against his hanging on Monday. Read | Pakistan hangs cop who assassinated Governor Salmaan Taseer Thousands of policemen were deployed at key junctions and sensitive buildings in the capital Islamabad and neighbouring Rawalpindi, from where the funeral procession started. Police blocked roads to Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi, where the funeral prayers were held, but thousands arrived on foot. Supporters cheered and threw flowers at the coffin of Qadri, hailed by his supporters as a hero for gunning down Taseer in 2011. Qadri, who was angered by the governors criticism of the law that mandates the death penalty for insulting Islam, was hanged on Monday. Thousands of people move with an ambulance carrying the body of police officer Mumtaz Qadri, the convicted killer of former governor Salmaan Taseer, during funeral prayers in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. (AP Photo) He lives! Qadri lives! chanted supporters who surrounded the coffin. From your blood, the revolution will come! Activists of Sunni Tehreek, a right wing religious group, supervised the funeral procession. They recited religious verses and abused the government for hanging their hero. He was the man who stood up against blasphemy and look what the government has done to him, said Sunni Tehreek leader Saleem Qadri. At the same, a large number of Pakistanis quietly praised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs government for going ahead with the hanging. The head of the Council of Islamic Ideology declined to endorse Qadris action. No one is above the law. I respect Qadris religious sentiments but I respect Pakistans Constitution more, Mohammad Sherani told reporters. Analyst Imran Sherwani said Qadris execution meant the government was finally getting serious about fighting religious extremism. Read | Qadri execution a turning point in Paks fight against extremism? Sherwani said the Sunni Tehreek may be at odds with more radical Deobandi groups, which included those who support the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, but the message had gone out that the government would not allow extremists to hold the country hostage. Analysts also gave credit to army chief Gen Raheel Sharif, who is believed to have pressured the civilian government into action. Gen Raheel is behind the move and it is significant not only because the army is pushing the government to take firm action but also because in the past, the Sunni Tehreek was supported by the army, said journalist Abid Hussayn. The media maintained a near-blackout of protests for the second consecutive day, a move that analysts said had helped limit the fallout from the execution. While the hanging is largely symbolic, it paved the way for more action against religious extremism, said another observer. At the time of the killing of Taseer, a senior leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Nawaz Sharif and his brother, chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, had distanced themselves from condemning the murder for fear of upsetting their political allies in Punjab, which include a number of religious groups, some of them banned under anti-terror laws. The US has nudged Pakistan to reduce its growing nuclear arsenal but Islamabad has refused to accept any curbs, saying Washington must show greater understanding of its security concerns in South Asia. Citing the example of the US and Russia, which are working to further reduce their atomic arsenals, secretary of state John Kerry asked Pakistan to acknowledge this reality and review its nuclear policy. I think, it is important for Pakistan to really process that reality and put that front and centre in its policy, Kerry said in an apparent reference to reports that Pakistan has the worlds fastest growing stockpile of nuclear weapons. The nuclear issue figured during security talks held here on Monday under the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue. Kerrys remarks came ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit to be hosted by President Barack Obama. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is among the world leaders who will attend the meet. Kerry said non-proliferation and nuclear safety is of obvious concern to the US and Pakistan. I expect that we continue to discuss the obligation of being a responsible state with nuclear weapons in the coming year, he said. He noted the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union had 50,000 nuclear warheads pointed at each other. We have moved in a completely opposite direction. And today, Russia and the US are operating under a treaty that has about 1,500 or so nuclear warheads and we are seeking to reduce that, he said. Pakistans foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz sought the nuclear mainstreaming of his country. Our engagement on non-proliferation and strategic stability will continue and Pakistan hopes to see greater US understanding of Pakistans security concerns and its desire to contribute actively as a mainstream nuclear power, he said. Pakistan has said it will not accept any unilateral curbs on its nuclear programme and any reduction should apply to India as well. At the start of the talks, Pakistan said the sale of eight F-16 jets would strengthen its ability to mount counter-terrorist operations and promote regional stability. The US this month approved the sale of the aircraft, radars and electronic warfare equipment to Pakistan in a deal worth nearly $700 million. The sale has been criticised by India and by US lawmakers. The US also commended Pakistans commitment not to differentiate between terrorist groups, including those targeting India. We commend Pakistan for its whole-of-government approach to implement the National Action Plan and eliminate the ability of militant groups to recruit, to finance, and to incite violence, Kerry said at the inaugural session of the dialogue. And we welcome Pakistans commitment not to differentiate between terrorist groups in the implementation of this strategy, he said. Groups like the Haqqani Network and Lashkar-e-Taiba (that) seek to undermine Pakistans efforts to foster strong, positive relations with its neighbours. Groups like the Haqqani Network, LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed, he said, are literally stealing the sovereignty of a nation. Sartaj Aziz said Pakistan had reached out to India as part of its policy for a peaceful neighbourhood. We believe the resolution of all outstanding issues, including the Kashmir dispute, is possible through resumption of full-scale and uninterrupted dialogue with India, he said. It is unfortunate that the agreement on resuming the dialogue process was disrupted by the attack on Pathankot airbase on 2nd January, he added. Pakistan has taken some important steps in the aftermath of the attack, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif immediately called his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and assured him of Pakistans support in the investigation. The national security advisers are maintaining frequent contacts, a case has been registered, and a special investigation team is likely to visit Indian in the next few days, he said. The US-Pakistan strategic dialogue process started in 2010 but it was interrupted the following year after a US raid in Abbottabad killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The process resumed in 2014. Its no longer Yes Minister in Whitehall a more realistic picture of the interaction between bureaucrats and ministers in the build-up to the EU referendum is No Minister. In a reversal of sorts of the theme of Yes Minister, Britains iconic political television series, a piquant situation has arisen after bureaucrats were told by the Cabinet secretary not to show documents related to European Union, brief or help write speeches by six ministers favouring the countrys exit from the EU. The David Camerons government official position is that Britain should remain in the 28-member bloc. Following this position, bureaucrats in departments headed by the six ministers have been told to deny any help to them to make the Brexit case. Called the Gang of Six, the ministers are Priti Patel, Iain Duncan-Smith, Michael Gove, Chris Grayling, John Whittingdale and Theresa Villiers. Cameron lifted the obligation of collective responsibility to enable ministers to take different positions before the June 23 referendum. As Duncan-Smith asked bureaucrats to ignore the directive and others claimed it was unconstitutional, his cabinet colleague, foreign secretary Philip Hammond, defended the order. The pro-Brexit ministers alleged officials cannot be used for pro-EU propaganda. But Hammond said: Whitehall civil servants and Whitehall papers are produced in support of the governments position on an issue. Now, those ministers who want to argue another case are being allowed to do so but the civil service cant support them in doing that. He added: Theyll have to find their own external support to do that and the Leave campaign will provide them with that capability. Cabinet secretary Jeremy Heywood told MPs that far from being unconstitutional, the civil service is upholding its primary role of carrying out government policy: What my letter does is put flesh on the bones of the prime ministers own letter of the January 11 saying the government would have a position on this subject. There are fears the impasse will lead to stalling of work in the six departments before the referendum. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Hi my name is Andrea. I'm an artist, wanderer, and lover of Hi my name is Andrea. living life as simple as possible. I remain thankful for things like running water, freedom, sunshine, and love. A Florida Native , I've recently moved from Australia to Door County. I've left my beautiful East Coast ocean for the monster Great Lakes. I spend my time traveling the world, swimming in every body of water I can get my toes in. I use film photography and art to remain inspired and inspire others. This is who is behind Cruz' nasty, deceitful campaign. This is who Cruz sought to advance him into the Presidency. Now one has to ask; if Cruz were to win, what would the make-up of his 'staff' look like and be? That's a scary image and one I can't endorse. Coral bleaching, the process that turns corals white or causes their colors to fade, is currently threatening reef symbiosis, the mutually beneficial relationship between two coral reef organisms. This process is a valuable source of biodiversity, tourism and fishing, and scientists are now warning that coral bleaching is occurring in the Great Barrier Reef due to the warming sea temperatures, something that could rapidly accelerate unless its temperature cools down over the next few weeks. Just last year, authorities pointed to a potential massive coral bleaching event stemming from the effects of El Nino, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies attempted to raise public awareness of the severity of its dangers. "Current reports of coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef do not equate to a mass bleaching event," said the center's director, Terry Hughes. "But we are concerned about a growing incidence of minor to moderate bleaching at multiple locations along the reef as the peak of summer approaches." Janice Lough, senior research scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, added to this concern. "The latest Bureau of Meteorology forecasts suggest that we could see significant above average temperatures through the month of March, which may mean more bleaching ahead for corals on the Great Barrier Reef unless we get some windy and cloudy weather soon," she said. The Great Barrier Reef is the world's biggest coral reef system, and it is already facing challenges posed by climate change, farming run-off and the starfish that feed off of them. In fact, it was almost put on the U.N. World Heritage in danger list last year, although it missed the classification by a hair. The Australian Conservation Foundation is currently challenging their government's approval of Adani's Carimichael mine due to the fact that the coal industry in one of the factors that is stimulating climate change and warming temperatures. Ultimately, scientists believe that reducing greenhouse emissions as soon as possible and keeping the rate of climate change under control is the most effective way to combat the negative effects of coral bleaching that are currently manifesting in the Great Barrier Reef. "Global warming - fueled by burning fossil fuels - is increasing the water temperature and bleaching coral reefs," said World Wildlife Foundation Great Barrier Reef campaigner Louise Matthiesson. "Right now, the Great Barrier Reef is on a knife-edge." @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. March is Women's History Month. It's a time to highlight the achievements of amazing women throughout history. This month, we'll likely hear all about Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, Malala Yousafzai, JK Rowling - all incredible, history-altering women who deserve to be celebrated all year round, not only in March. However, to kick off Women's History Month, we want to show you you some truly inspiring quotes from women in history that you may not have heard of. "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any," said Alice Walker, author of "The Color Purple." "When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn," said Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of 19th century abolitionist novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin." "Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live," said Mae C. Jemison, the first female African-American astronaut. "You can never leave footprints that last if you are always walking on tiptoe," said Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian peace campaigner and Nobel Prize winner. "I need to listen well so that I hear what is not said," said Thuli Madonsela, South Africa's Public Protector and anti-corruption advocate. "It is a source of happiness to do whatever can be done for our country that suffers so many anguishes, it is sad to stay with one's arms crossed," said Minerva Mirabal, one of the three Mirabal sisters who fought against the Dominican Republic's dictator, Rafael Trujillo. "I have an almost complete disregard of precedent, and a faith in the possibility of something better. It irritates me to be told how things have always been done. I defy the tyranny of precedent. I go for anything new that might improve the past," said Clara Barton, the woman who started The Red Cross. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Background Though Expedia's new Accelerator Program has not officially launched, it has been widely discussed by the company's top management during investor calls and TV interviews. It is also being promoted to hotels in a number of locations by Expedia's market managers. What exactly is the Accelerator program? Simply put, it is a "bid for position" commission program in which hoteliers are encouraged to provide Expedia with a higher commission in exchange for better visibility (read higher ranking) of the property listing in Expedia's search/availability results pages. The idea is that if a property is in a dire occupancy need, they will be willing to give Expedia a 30%, 40%, or even 50% commission for better "visibility," which in turn means more bookings for the property. Why is Expedia introducing this program? Over the past 10 years or so, OTA commissions have been going down at a steady clip. Many major brands were able to push down commission/margin levels from as high as 20% down to less than 14%. The proliferation of "soft" brands such as Autograph Collections, Luxury Collections, etc., have added a multitude of independent properties to the lower commission levels negotiated by the major brands. The true independent hotels have seen only slight improvement in commission levels yet some properties in strategic locations have been able to push down commissions below the 20% mark. If you exclude CPC revenue from Trivago.com, Expedia's other major revenue stream, Expedia Media Solutions is stagnant at best and generates revenues in the lower teens. Expedia has never been able to convince hoteliers to spend serious advertising dollars on its sites since hoteliers resent the "double taxation" nature of this advertising spend: paying for advertising while paying commissions for bookings on Expedia.com at the same time. So here comes the Accelerator Program, an attempt to reverse the trend of decreasing commissions and generate an additional revenue stream for the OTA. "Pay for Better Placement" is not a new concept Expedia's main rival Booking.com has been offering a static version of a similar "pay for better placement" program for over 15 years now. The OTA offers a two-tiered program: standard and premium listings, the latter offering higher ranking of the property in search/availability results. Naturally the premium listings come at a steeper commission of 18% and above. All the meta search sites utilize a similar "pay for better placement" business model: the higher you bid, the better the ranking on the page. Is the Accelerator Program good for hotels? With the new Accelerator Program the cost of distribution will go up, up and further up. What happened to the Internet being the most transparent and cost-efficient distribution channel ever invented? Even before this new Accelerator Program, the online OTA channel has become the most expensive distribution channel in hospitality: more expensive than traditional travel agents and tour operators, more expensive than the voice channel. This program will not only increase cost of distribution and further damage the bottom line, but will engage precious revenue management resources at the property and corporate level. In other words, the Accelerator Program will have a downward spiral effect on hotel profitability. Is it good for travel consumers? With this new "pay for better placement" program, Expedia will push properties that provide higher commissions to the top of search/availability results. How could this be good for travel consumers? Less-than-stellar hotels that offer bigger commissions to Expedia will "outshine" the rest of the pack who offer "regular" commissions. Naturally, Expedia will not be disclosing to its users that the top 10 or 15 hotels they see in search/availability results are paying a higher commission to be there. So who is the winner? The only winner is Expedia and its self-centered interests. Hoteliers and travel consumers are both losers from the Accelerator Program. What can and should hoteliers do? The new Accelerator Program should be a wake-up call for the whole industry. Now is the time for hotel owners, managers, franchisors and franchisees to take charge of their online distribution "destiny" and focus on the direct online channel. What should hoteliers do? First, hoteliers should have the confidence that they CAN drive more direct bookings. We are enjoying a great time in the hospitality industry and have more tools and technology available than ever before to shift share and improve the hotel's bottom line. Now is the time to take back control and not allow the OTAs to increase their market share further. Second , every property, hotel management company, hotel chain or brand should adopt a "Direct is Better" top-down strategy with the primary goal of generating more direct online bookings. Without such a strategy, the property and hotel company end up with under-staffed and under-budgeted in direct online marketing efforts, bandwidth and focus. A "Direct is Better" top-down strategy includes accountability for owning the property's website performance and determines whose salaries/bonuses are affected by the website's ROI (therefore incentivizing direct online bookings). Recent "direct is better" initiatives by Marriott and Hilton deserve the industry's admiration and should serve as a "shining example" worth following. Third, fix once and for all the highly unusual way hospitality accounts for costs of distribution: the OTA commissions are considered as acceptable "cost of distribution fees" together with travel agent commissions, GDS pass-through and other transaction fees, while direct online channel expenses come from the Marketing and Advertising Budget of the property. Many hoteliers account for the transaction cost for the website booking engine as a distribution expense, but the cost to generate this same booking (website, SEO, SEM, Online Media and retargeting, etc.) is considered an advertising expense. Why? Any expense to generate direct online bookings should be considered not as an advertising expense, but as cost of distribution expense, similar to the OTA and travel agency commissions and other distribution fees. This is the only way to compare "apples to apples" and provide much needed resources to boost direct online channel bookings. For example, in 2015 across our client portfolio, the average cost of distribution (Cost-of-Sale) in the direct online channel was 4%. Compare this to 18% from booking.com and 22%-25% from Expedia. Unfortunately, the 4% direct online channel cost of distribution came from the very limited hotel marketing and advertising budget, while the hefty OTA commissions came from the unlimited cost of distribution fund and were simply deducted from the booking revenue without any limitations. Fourth , invest the appropriate amount to digital technology and marketing to generate more direct bookings. Under-spending by independent and branded properties alike in digital marketing and technology has been a problem in our industry for many years. The limitations from the backwards way of accounting the cost of distribution in the direct online channel as an advertising and marketing expense (described above) is one of the main reasons for this systemic under-spend. We have entered a new era of online distribution and digital marketing in which just having a website, a few paid search campaigns and occasional email marketing initiatives no longer allows hoteliers to achieve any level of real success and only deepens their dependence on the OTAs. In 2016, the majority of hotel rooms (55%) will be booked online (Google Research). The vast majority of travel consumers, leisure and corporate alike, plus corporate group planners and SMERF group organizers, do their travel planning and research online. Hoteliers simply cannot afford to under-spend in digital! In addition, the process of planning travel has become increasingly complex, requiring hoteliers to engage the travel consumer at every possible touch point. The average travel consumer journey takes about 17 days, and the average visitor goes through eight research sessions, 18 site visits, and six clicks before making a booking (Google Research). We have a very concrete whitepaper on the subject: The Smart Hotelier's Guide to 2016 Digital Marketing Budget Planning. Page 21 offers a 2016 Digital Marketing Budget Snapshot and the "Budget Outline & Allocations" section (pages 6 19) outlines exactly how to structure your budget to achieve the right mix of ROI-generating initiatives. Conclusion: Expedia's new Accelerator Program is bad news for the industry. It will no doubt lure some weak and "asleep at the wheel" hoteliers, resulting in further over-dependence on the OTA channel and destruction of their bottom line. The industry must resist the temptation of "easy" bookings that come at the expense of irreparable "OTA drug addiction," deprive the property from gaining valuable payroll, capital and digital knowledge resources and lead to a downward race to lost hotel profitability. Investing in the direct online channel should become the ultimate strategic objective for any property and hotel company. Direct bookings should be the benchmark by which salary increases and bonuses are determined at the property and corporate level. Employees should be incentivized when the market share needle is moved from OTAs to direct online bookings. 2016 should be the year for investing in the right digital technology and marketing techniques, adopting optimum digital marketing budgets that will allow hoteliers to boost their direct online channel presence, and implementing a full-blown merchandising strategy to engage users and drive direct bookings. ABOUT NEXTGUEST NextGuest provides hoteliers with everything they need to thrive in the digital world, with bespoke technology solutions developed to meet the needs of luxury hotel clients coupled with elegant design capabilities that bring brands to life. We marry the power of data with brand discovery to uncover unique strategies that apply to everything from website design, content marketing, CRM, and more, helping the world's top hotel brands maximize ROI as they acquire, convert, and retain guests throughout the travel planning journey. While each of our services is available on its own, the integrated technologies, marketing, and consulting offerings work together to increase digital engagement and generate revenue for hoteliers, allowing them to focus on what matters most serving their guests. www.nextguest.com | [email protected] Mariana Safer SVP Global Marketing NextGuest merged with Cendyn One of the most iconic hotels in the Nordic region, the Hotel Kamp, is to join The Leading Hotels of the World. Hotel Kamp, part of Kamp Collection Hotels and located in the heart of Helsinki, has played an important, cultural role in Finland since it opened in 1887. The hotel has been the home to heads of state, celebrities and influencers for over 100 years and was founded before Finland became an independent state in 1917. The hotel sits at the gateway between east and west and architecturally brings Parisian flair and European elegance to Helsinki. The prestigious hotel has 179 rooms and suites, including the 258 sq.m Mannerheim Suite which has its own private sauna, as well as a spa, two restaurants including YUME offering contemporary Asian cuisine, and a bar and summer terrace. There is also an impressive art collection with 450 pieces of artwork showcasing the breathtaking diversity of Finnish contemporary graphic art. Marc Skvorc, General Manager at Hotel Kamp, commented: "Hotel Kamp is Helsinkis crown jewel among hotels and a major landmark for the city. It is an historical Finnish icon which breathes accessible exclusivity and luxury. As a team, we are honored to become a part of the distinctive The Leading Hotels of the World collection. A significant sense of heritage and personalized service is our forte. Membership of The Leading Hotels of the World is a perfect match and will bring even more benefits to our guests." In January 2016, the Kamp Group introduced its new corporate identity, which also involved renaming the group as Kamp Collection Hotels. The start of the year also featured the launch of an extensive international recruitment campaign to find top managers for the hotels. The new strategy aims to strengthen the positioning of the luxury and lifestyle hotels in the group's portfolio and the membership of Hotel Kamp in The Leading Hotels of the World is an important step in the new direction. "For more than 125 years, Hotel Kamp has played a central role at the heart of social life in Helsinki. Having hosted key international political leaders and military dignitaries, the hotel has witnessed eras and events integral to the recent history of Finland," said Deniz Omurgonulsen, Vice President, Membership, The Leading Hotels of the World. "We are delighted to welcome Hotel Kamp to our collection, as it will enrich the variety of our portfolio of uncommon luxury hotels, and will offer an ideal hotel for our customers visiting this major European capital." Laura Tarkka, CEO of Kamp Collection Hotels, says: "We are proud and privileged to become a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. We also felt that timing was right for the most legendary luxury hotel in Finland to join the collection." The Leading Hotels of the World was established in 1928 under the name Luxury Hotels of Europe and Egypt. It initially included 38 member hotels, among them the elegant Hotel Negresco in Nice, the legendary Mena House in Cairo, and King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Comprising more than 375 hotels and holiday resorts in over 75 countries today, The Leading Hotels of the World is one of the largest collections of luxury hotels in the world. The individual hotels are strongly rooted in their locations. As highly prestigious hospitality brands, they embody the very essence of their distinctive destinations. Through varied styles of architecture and design, LHW hotels embrace distinct cultural experiences with exclusive services. LHW is headquartered in New York City. The company maintains offices in 25 cities around the globe. About The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. (LHW) Comprised of more than 400 hotels in over 80 countries, LHW is the largest collection of independent luxury hotels. In 1928, 38 independent hoteliers came together to create LHW. Since then, the Company has carefully curated distinctive hotels, resorts, inns, chalets, villas, and safari camps from the snow-capped Alps of Europe to the African veldt, to share them with adventurous souls who seek the remarkably uncommon. The LHW community is filled of exceptional individuals, united by a passion for the surprising discoveries and details that come with every experience. LHW hoteliers are artisans of hospitality whose expertise, commitment to excellence, and individual flair allows them to create story-worthy moments for their guests. And it is these authentic, individualized experiences combined with the warm hospitality and high-touch service they provide that keeps discerning travelers returning again and again. LHW's collection covers the globe and promises a broad range of destinations and uncommon experiences, enhanced by LHW's tiered guest loyalty program Leaders Club. From converted former palaces, and countryside retreats run by the same families for generations, to gleaming skyscrapers in dynamic urban centers, serene private island escapes, glamorous tented camps and beyond explore, find inspiration, and experience unforgettable travel moments. For more information visit: www.lhw.com, Facebook at @LeadingHotels, Twitter at @LeadingHotels and Instagram @leadinghotelsoftheworld Mirkku Kullberg Marketing Director - Kamp Collection Hotels +358 40 5636636 LHW It looks like you've reached a page that doesnt exist (anymore). Please use the navigation or search above to find content on Hospitality Net. Go back to home Ford C. Barton, Principal of Lodging Partners located in Charlotte, North Carolina, has joined the Hotel Brokers International. Mr. Barton is a 33-year veteran of the hospitality industry and holds a Brokers real estate license in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Hotel Brokers International, the hospitality industrys leading hotel real estate sales organization, announced today that Ford C. Barton has joined their network of experienced, successful hotel asset brokerage specialists. Mr. Barton, a 33-year veteran of the hospitality industry, serves as the Principal of Lodging Partners a specialized hotel brokerage firm located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Barton and Lodging Partners offer a range of hotel real estate services, including brokerage, valuation consulting, and strategic acquisition planning. Mr. Barton holds a Brokers real estate license in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia and has acted on hundreds of hotel transactions. Lodging Partners serves a broad spectrum of clients, from single hotel owner-operators to large private equity groups and international hotel chains. Prior to his role with Lodging Partners, Mr. Bartons hospitality industry experience includes more than 24 years at the executive level with Marriott Hotels, Manor Care Hotels/Sunburst Hospitality, and Choice Hotels International. His experiences include hotel ownership, operations, development, and senior level real estate acquisition and disposition, asset management, and franchise development. Mr. Bartons new affiliation with Hotel Brokers International, combined with his proven track record in the industry, will reinforce Lodging Partners strong marketing presence in the industry, and will strengthen the HBI network's reach into the Carolinas and Georgia. This addition of Ford Barton and Lodging Partners to our network continues HBIs long history of tapping the industrys most experienced and knowledgeable brokerage talents to provide the hotel investment community confidence that they are working with a hotel real estate expert when they engage an HBI Broker, said Tony DeGeorge, HBI Membership Liaison. Founded in 1959, Hotel Brokers International members lead the industry in hotel real estate sales. HBI hotel brokerage specialists have successfully negotiated nearly 10,500 hotel real estate transactions and consistently account for the largest share of all select-service and economy hotel sales in the United States. The organizations database currently comprises more than 100 property listings and the HBI website attracts more than 55,000 monthly site visitors. Founder and host of the popular Hotel Investors Marketplace Webcast, HBI also developed the Certified Hotel Broker professional designation program. In addition to hospitality real estate advisory services, HBI offers affiliate membership to professionals in allied fields, including franchising, lending, appraisals and investment services. For more information about HBIs hotel listings or to become a broker or affiliate member, visit www.hbihotels.com. For more information contact: Ford C. Barton, Principal Lodging Partners Phone 704.341.8488 ford@lodging-partners.com Glenda J. Webb, Managing Director Hotel Brokers International Phone 816.505.4315 gwebb@hbihotels.com Joseph P. Kennedy, President of Crystal Investment Property, LLC, a licensed Oregon broker, has structured the sale of the 26-key Silver Spur Motel in Burns, Oregon. The final sale price was $735,000. Burns, Oregon, was recently in the national spotlight during the standoff at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge. Crystal Investment Property, LLC, a member of Hotel Brokers International, announced the successful sale of the Silver Spur Motel in Burns, Oregon. Crystal Investment Property, LLC, a licensed Oregon broker, exclusively represented the Seller in the sale. Joseph P. Kennedy, President of CIP, worked closely with the Seller as well as the Buyer and Buyers Broker, lender and other professionals to negotiate a mutually acceptable sale. The final sale price was $735,000. The classic 26 key highway motel has an outstanding location in the heart of town on the main highway through Central Oregon to Boise, Idaho and beyond. The property offers western themed rooms with unique artwork and nice amenities for travelers. Joseph Kennedy, President of Crystal Investment Property said, We worked with the Seller for 6 years as he prepared for the eventual marketing and sale of his motel. We had multiple competing offers and feel like we achieved top of market value for the Seller. There was quite a bit of excitement during the process as the national spotlight shone on Burns during the standoff at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, however we were able to work around the disruption to achieve a successful and timely sale. We congratulate the Seller as he moves on and look forward to the energy and enthusiasm the Buyers bring to their new motel and the community! Crystal Investment Property, a premiere hospitality investment advisory and brokerage company located in the Pacific Northwest, maintains the most cutting-edge technological, online and social media presence as well as a full range of traditional and web-based marketing reaching local, regional, national and international clientele. The firms core services of hospitality asset acquisition/disposition are supported by innovative and creative solutions to maintain position as the most active and successful hotel broker in the region. Crystal Investment Property represents the full spectrum of hospitality real estate owners and their experience covers all hospitality assets types, including: full service hotels, boutique hotels, select service hotels, limited service hotels, as well as development projects, and leasehold transactions. Crystal Investment Property may be accessed online at www.crystalip.com. Founded in 1959, Hotel Brokers International members lead the industry in hotel real estate sales. HBI hotel brokerage specialists have successfully negotiated nearly 10,500 hotel real estate transactions and consistently account for the largest share of all select-service and economy hotel sales in the United States. The organizations database currently comprises more than 100 property listings and the HBI website attracts more than 55,000 monthly site visitors. Founder and host of the popular Hotel Investors Marketplace Webcast, HBI also developed the Certified Hotel Broker professional designation program. In addition to hospitality real estate advisory services, HBI offers affiliate membership to professionals in allied fields, including franchising, lending, appraisals and investment services. For more information about HBIs hotel listings or to become a broker or affiliate member, visit www.hbihotels.com. For more information contact: Joseph P. Kennedy, President Crystal Investment Property, LLC Portland, Oregon 503.530.1316 joe@crystalip.com Glenda J. Webb, Managing Director Hotel Brokers International Kansas City, Missouri 816.505.4315 gwebb@hbihotels.com Reykjavik Consulate Hotel Hilton Worldwide (NYSE: HLT) has reached an agreement with longstanding partner Icelandair Hotels to bring Curio - A Collection by Hilton to Reykjavik with two new city center hotels. Hilton Worldwide (NYSE: HLT) has reached an agreement with longstanding partner Icelandair Hotels to bring Curio - A Collection by Hilton to Reykjavik with two new city center hotels. Reykjavik Consulate Hotel and Iceland Parliament Hotel will be the latest hotels developed in collaboration with Icelandair Hotels - a wholly owned subsidiary of Icelandair Group. The hotels will join Hilton Reykjavik Nordica, which opened in 2007, and the worlds first Canopy by Hilton, currently under construction in downtown Reykjavik, and due to open in Summer 2016. Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president, development, EMEA, Hilton Worldwide said: Icelandair has been instrumental in showcasing Iceland as an upscale leisure destination, supporting a 25% growth in tourism over the past 12 months, and welcoming more than 1.3 million visitors in 2015. In joining Curio A Collection by Hilton, the hotels will appeal to visitors seeking local experiences and Icelandic hospitality, while also benefitting from Hiltons superior commercial engine and global distribution. These hotels build on Curios early success in Europe, bringing impressive heritage properties for the modern traveller to the brands growing footprint in the region. Magnea Thorey Hjalmarsdottir, managing director, Icelandair Hotels said: Were proud to showcase Icelands beauty to international guests, and these two properties support our ambitions to provide sophisticated accommodation in Reykjavik. In introducing Curio to our established portfolio, we will bring a new style of premium hospitality to this legendary part of Reykjavik. Reykjavik Consulate Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton Reykjavik Consulate Hotel will join luxury and upscale Curio properties in cities around the world, including the recently opened Reichshof Hamburg, and properties under development in London, Paris, Dubai and Istanbul. Situated meters from the Harpa Conference and Concert Hall, the hotel is expected to welcome its first guests in 2018. Consistent with the capitals eclectic architecture, the development will restore a number of traditional properties and reflect the Icelandic aesthetic. Amongst these is the building which housed Thomsens Magasin Reykjaviks first department store. Detlev Thomsen was the German consul for Iceland and in welcoming the first foreign dignitaries in the 19th Century, established a lasting legacy of international hospitality on the island. With 50 guest rooms, the hotels interiors draw influence from Reykjaviks heritage, with natural building materials used throughout. The hotels spa will incorporate an original 19th century stone wall, and its interior reflects the tradition of natural bathing in Icelandic culture. Award-winning restaurateur and Icelandair Hotels Executive Chef, Stefan Vidarsson, will oversee the restaurant and bar concepts at both hotels, serving authentic Nordic cuisine and the highest quality ingredients. Iceland Parliament Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton Directly opposite Reykjaviks parliament building and the citys main square, which plays host to public celebrations throughout the year, The Iceland Parliament Hotel will offer 160 stylish guest rooms and suites when it opens in 2018. The development plans also include provision for a museum on the ground floor, which will publically display Icelands long history of democracy. Iceland Parliament Hotels elegant presidential suite on the top floor of the building will capture the imagination of distinguished luxury travellers, with 360 degree views of the harbour and Reykjavik, whilst the city centers only luxury spa will provide a sanctuary for visitors and local residents alike. The hotel will complement the Reykjavik Consulate Hotel in providing a number of high-end catering and conference facilities. Dianna Vaughan, global head, Curio A Collection by Hilton said: These remarkable hotels, which will differ considerably in look and feel, celebrate the diversity of the Curio collection. Reykjaviks vibrant cultural scene and stunning natural surroundings make it the perfect city destination for upscale travelers, and The Reykjavik Consulate Hotel and Iceland Parliament Hotel will be anticipated additions to our global portfolio of more than 80 properties open or in various stages of development. Reykjavik Consulate Hotel will be located on Hafnarstraeti, whilst Iceland Parliament Hotel will be located on Thorvaldsensstraeti. The Internet, especially with the proliferation of social media, has changed the music industry in a drastic way. Artists can act as their own A&Rs, and though its common for ones management to seize control of his or her Twitter account, theres much less of a middleman between the brand an artist seeks to project and the one that fans receive. The increased access to new fans and markets doesnt always guarantee success, though. Many rappers are for lack of a better word thirsty when it comes to self-promotion, leading fans to think he or she might be overcompensating for potential artistic weaknesses. It can also be off-putting to see an artist whose online behavior is much the same as anyone else on the timeline. When it comes to our favorite artists, we like it when every word they utter neatly fits into an ingenious persona, one thats often imagined. For these reasons, many young artists have been taking an opposite route. Instead of trying to market every aspect of themselves, they surround their artistic aliases with total anonymity. When nothing is known of an alluring figure, each piece of new music allows fans to build their own narratives and the audience-driven speculation can serve to boost the excitement around a particularly mysterious artist. Cause who doesnt love a good mystery? This strategy has long been in use within electronic music, especially due to the absence of song lyrics from much of the genre. When a face is removed from a song, theres more focus on the pure feeling of the music which is the goal in the first place. The trend has now seeped into the worlds of rap and R&B, especially the latter, as the genre is often more about mood-setting than first-person storytelling. Weve seen it recently with artists like THEY. just look at the name as well as dvsn, the latest act to sign to OVO, as reported yesterday. All thats known of dvsn is theres a vocalist and a producer, who could be one in the same. Nineteen85, who produced The Line, the track that first earned dvsn recognition, could be one of the members, the only member, or not a member at all. Whatever the makeup of dvsn, its likely that Drake will leave the mystery up to dedicated forum diggers for at least the next few months, as hes done with other artists on his roster at OVO. While the trend is far from over perhaps nearing exhaustion, even here are 5 prominent hip-hop/R&B artists who used anonymity to help achieve sizable followings. In the past two weeks, The Weeknd has performed at both the Grammys and the Academy Awards. His last album, Beauty Behind the Madness, contained two No. 1 singles and one more thats currently on its way to the top 10. Its hard to believe that, about four years ago, he had already achieved mainstream recognition when few knew his face or his story. In 2011, the then-unknown artist released three mixtapes, each receiving widespread acclaim and steadily fueling a buzz that made him seem like one of the hottest prospects to ever come out of Canada. The only side of his persona he shed any light on was the dark one: we saw a sex-crazed, drug-abusing late-night marauder, whose songs were fueled by an encompassing sense of pain. In contrast with all the hurt was a voice of stunning purity, akin to Michael Jackson the comparison came ready-made on his third mixtape, Echoes of Silence, with a sinister cover of Dirty Diana. Fans desperately wanted to know how such a talent could be riddled with such darkness, and even as hes achieved the type of success no one couldve imagined, the mystery surrounding the Beauty Behind the Madness is still alive, suggesting his stardom has only just begun. Remember when Odd Future took over the world? Their macabre humor and raucous live shows felt like something unprecedented in rap. The fearless and charismatic Tyler, the Creator was the leader, but the next member to garner the most fanfare was one of whom no one knew the true identity: Earl Sweatshirt. To be fair, Earl didnt deliberately use anonymity to his advantage. He was sent to a remote reform school in Samoa for almost two years, only to be uncovered by a couple of particularly resourceful Complex writers. Upon discovering Earls whereabouts, fans imagined a delinquent whose artful expression was being restrained by his mother. Earl has since, angrily and through his music, revealed that not to be the case whatsoever, but regardless, all the conspiracies led a reformed Earl to return home to a record deal and a fanbase of millions. As mentioned, none of this was strategic on Earls part, though it can be argued that the mystery worked on his behalf, as he remains one of the most successful artists to emerge out of the Odd Future camp. Post Malone Upon dropping his loose, melodic trap-n-b hybrid, produced by Atlanta duo FKi, all that was known about Post Malone was the color of the skin. Indeed, the image of a White Iverson seemed a lot cooler before Post, upon being discovered, had to actually explain himself. The song achieved 1,000,000 plays in its first month on soundcloud. Post has released a few near-hits since, and his talents have been enlisted by 50 Cent and Kanye West. Hes been tested by Charlamagne and the Black Lives Matter movement to see if he lives up to the title of his hit single not exactly, but he seems likable enough to make a dent in the industry with his debut album on Republic Records, which is set to arrive this month. Come to think of it, whenever the album does drop, hell still be riding off the hotness of White Iverson. Bryson Tiller In October 2014, Bryson Tiller, hailing from the oft-ignored town of Louisville, Kentucky, uploaded Dont to his soundcloud from almost total obscurity. In the months that followed, he watched as the track garnered millions upon millions of plays, including a couple from Drake, who flew Tiller up to the 6 and offered him a deal with OVO. The next year, as Tiller continued to crack six-digit soundcloud streams with each of his ensuing drops, all that was known of the guy was that he specialized in a sound branded as Trapsoul and that he had the balls to turn down a record deal from Drake. He released his debut album, named after his signature sound, on RCA in October 2015, and since, with little radio play or promo, the album has, as of earlier this month, moved almost 180,000 copies. And Dont the track he released almost a year and half ago is still on soundcloud, but its also on Billboard, as the No. 17 song in the country. PartyNextDoor PartyNextDoors first song was uploaded to soundcloud in April 2013, and it was immediately reposted on a prominent account that of Octobers Very Own, who used the track to announce the signing of the then-unknown artist. PND has followed in the footsteps of his fellow Toronto suburbanite The Weeknd, though he opted for a deal with the citys premier tastemaking label instead of starting his own brand, as Abel did with XO. Of course, Party hasnt achieved nearly the same level of success as The Weeknd, though its unclear if thats what he wants. Its unclear because very little is known of his persona, except that he enjoys styrofoam cups, trap couture, and lacing dark R&B songs with abstract, off-the-cuff vocals, sang with a hint of Caribbean patois. While Partys goals in the industry remain unknown, hes managed a string of solid releases, a few worthy contributions on platinum Drake albums, and hes been able to make serious cash and sustain a healthy buzz amid lengthy hibernation periods. Cant knock that hustle. In some ways, the thought process to this crime was in the right place. Air Force 1s are some of the bulkiest and heaviest sneakers out there, so when Perez Beltran decided to smuggle 3 pound of heroin into the United States, at least he was trying to think logically. However, he underestimated just how good US Customs is at catching people just like him. Perez Beltran, who is a United States citizen, flew in from the Dominican Republic to John F. Kennedy International Airport with three pounds of heroin stuffed into three separate pairs of Air Force 1s. During his customs search, officers discovered the three pairs of Forces were unusually heavy. Upon further inspection, they discovered powdered heroin had been hidden in the lining and under the insole of the sneaker. The three pounds of heroin has an estimated street value of $90,000, which doesnt really seem worth the risk. Besides, hes hardly the first person to try to sneak something illegal in his shoes and those people always seem to get caught. Perez has been charged with federal narcotics smuggling. Dont smuggle drugs, kids. [via] heroin-AF1 Following the announcement of a reunion tour Belly have just added a Dublin date to their schedule Following the announcement of a reunion in early February Belly have just announced a date in Dublin's Academy on July 23rd The American alt-rock legends disbanded in 1996 after releasing only long players '92s Star and King in '95. On February 8 the band announced that they would be making a comeback with Gail Greenwood taking the place of Fred Abong who left just after the release of their second LP. Advertisement Tickets for Belly go on sale this Friday, March 4 at 9am and are priced at 25 including booking fee. Their tenth anniversary celebrations will feature a surprise or three Knockanstockan is headed back to its home on the banks of Blessington Lakes for the tenth straight year - and they've got some surprises in store. While lips are well and truly sealed as to exactly what we can expect, we do know that bookers have been busy lining up well-known mavericks on the Irish scene to perform as honorary guests, sprinkled throughout a line-up of the best and brightest in fresh homegrown talent. Who, exactly, the acts are is still very much a secret - and will remain so until they take the stage. "We really want the element of a birthday surprise at this years festival, so our lineup is under lock and key right now," says Bettine McMahon, one of the festivals bookers. "Even most of the crew don't know who is playing! You will have to be there to witness history." And if witnessing history sounds like your thing, then there'll be three days in the Wicklow sunshine to be enjoyed this year; the festival takes place July 22-24, with weekend camping tickets priced at 115. Donegal folk-pop duo Little Hours have just joined Kodaline and Walking On Cars as part of the stellar line-up for the next Jameson Bow St. Sessions gig. Singer John Doherty takes TIME OUT from working on the bands debut album to tell Paul Nolan why hes hugely excited about the show. Donegal folk-pop duo Little Hours arent the type to hang around. John Doherty and Ryan McCloskey played their first ever gig at Electric Picnic; mere months later, their debut single Is This Love was jostling with Hozier and The Script for Choice Music Prize Song Of The Year honours. Theyve just been selected to join Kodaline, Walking On Cars and Canadian blues-rockers July Talk on an extraordinary Jameson Bow St. Sessions show line-up set for The Academy on March 16. Oh, and theres the small matter of a debut album to think about too. Yeah, weve been working away up here in Donegal, Doherty explains. Some of the ideas weve had for months, and were sifting through them now. And then theres other stuff weve literally just come up with over the past week. Its a process of surveying everything we have and picking the best material to go on the album. Were trying to nail the direction we want to go in and how we want to sound. It is a vital moment in any bands career but these guys have shown an ability beyond their years. In terms of standout material, weve got a track called Wires I love doing it live, John says. Theres another one, Call Somebody, which has also gone down very well at gigs. I mean, you might never hear of them again but theyre two Im excited about right now (laughs). Hopefully well head into the studio over the next two or three months itll definitely be before summer. But first theres the Bow St. Sessions gig. Little Hours have previously crossed paths with the Kodaline boys, joining Steve Garrigan and co. on their UK and Ireland tour last year. Advertisement We got very lucky with supports in 2015, reflects John. As well as Kodaline, we also played with Hudson Taylor, and Walking On Cars too. One brilliant aspect of the Kodaline tour was that we played 3Arena before Christmas. That was unbelievable! And then we played 3Arena again on New Years Eve! It was a really eclectic lineup, with ourselves, Kila, The Coronas and Fatboy Slim. I didnt know what to think beforehand, but Fatboy Slim actually blew my mind. So can we expect a dance element to Little Hours debut? It is a question asked at least half in jest! After that show, well definitely work with Fatboy Slim, chuckles John. In fact, hes up here with us in Donegal at the moment (Laughs)! The Jameson family motto is Sine Metu, which is Latin for Fear Less. Was there a moment when Little Hours decided to go for broke and pursue their musical dream? Yeah, there was, nods John. When we started the band, I was going to college at BIMM in Dublin, and Ryan was working as a software engineer. At the beginning of last year, we started to get a bit of radio-play and we got some support gigs. But Ryan was having a hard time getting off work, so there was a moment where we said, Look, weve got to do this full time now. Luckily enough, my college was very supportive, which was great. Anyway, Ryan left his job and shortly after that, we did a headline show in the Pepper Canister. Sony got interested as a result of that and then we signed a deal. Since then, its been a crazy year. Little Hours became friendly with Walking On Cars when they supported them. We were huge fans of theirs beforehand, he recalls, so it was brilliant to get the invite. To meet them and see how sound they were, it was great. That tour was actually the first run of bigger gigs that we did. It was a new environment, but afterwards, we knew we wanted to go on to that level. Theyre gas lads. We actually did a bit of writing with Pa we went down to his house in Dingle and worked on some stuff. We wanted to see how he writes and vice versa. Im not sure if any of that material will ever see the light of day, but there was one track in particular that was very cool, so you never know. John is clearly excited about returning to live performance starting with the Bow St. Sessions gig. Advertisement Its going to be a great night, he enthuses. We cant wait to do it and we feel very privileged to be playing with the other acts. Its going to be really special. Little Hours play Bow St. Sessions @ The Academy on 16 March with Kodaline, Walking On Cars and July Talk. For your chance to be there, apply for complimentary tickets at hotpress.com/bowstreetsessions Following days of speculation The Rolling Stones have now officially confirmed that they will play Havana on March 25 The Rolling Stones have officially confirmed via their website that they will be playing a date in Havana over the Easter weekend. The news comes after days of speculation after a Cuban news network posted the news on their official Facebook page. An article in Granma confirming the show then followed this. Granma is the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party, in their article they claim that the show "will open the doors for other great bands to arrive in Havana." This will be The Rolling Stones first show in Cuba and it is seen as another positive step that the country is taking towards lifting tensions that have existed between them and the United States since the 1950's. Advertisement The Stones are not the only band to ever play in Cuba, The Manic Street Preachers famously played Havana in 2001 and our man Stuart Clark took the trip over to see the historic occasion take place. We searched the archive to find his review of that show and you can read it here. You can also watch the MTV 2 documentary about the Manic's historic trip to Cuba below: During yesterday's trading the stock of American Green Inc (OTCMKTS:ERBB, ERBB message board) failed to sustain its move in the right direction and instead tumbled downwards closing the session with a loss of over 10% at $0.0017. Throughout the session over 134 million shares changed hands, which is the biggest daily volume seen by the stock since August 2015. Despite the steady influx of positive PRs ERBB hasn't been able to form a more consistent uptrend and their stock is still sitting precariously close to the 52-week low of $0.001 that was registered in January. In its February 17 press release ERBB stated that the American Green-branded Live Rosin is now available in eleven locations in Colorado while their premium joints can be found in five dispensaries in Oregon. Last Thursday the company also announced that it has created The American Green Xpress for the delivery of cannabis to approved recipients. It appears that ERBB are moving forwards with their plans but the company has to do a lot more if it wants to move to higher price ranges. And there certainly isn't a shortage of reasons for investors to be skeptical about ERBB. For years the company was talking about their ZaZZZ machines, which were supposed to be the first consumer-operated, ID-verifying vending machines for pot. In December, however, the company announced that each machine will be returned to them for "re-tooling" and now, over two months later, there has been virtually no new information about the vending machines. The development of the ZaZZZ machines did leave its mark on the financials of the company, though. Taking a single glance at the latest financial report filed by ERBB is enough to reveal the truly abysmal state of the company - as of December, 21, 2015, American Green had: $4888 cash $228 thousand total current assets $7.95 million total current liabilities $108 thousand revenue $732 thousand net loss Unfortunately, the depressing balance sheet is just the start of the red flags surrounding the company. Out of the reported liabilities over $5.6 million consisted of outstanding debentures and accrued interest. The myriad outstanding convertible notes can be turned into shares at a 50% discount allowing their owners to reap significant gains regardless of the current market price of the stock. Not to mention the simply atrocious dilution that has been taking place - in second half of 2015 over a billion fresh shares saw the light of day. Out of them around 894 million were issued for debentures and accrued interest. As of December 31, 2015, ERBB have approximately 5.53 BILLION outstanding shares out of the 7.75 BILLION authorized. While some investors might still be excited by ERBB's potential the risks around the company simply cannot be ignored. Any trades involving the stock must be preceded by extensive research and careful planning. Investors should also take into account that after the end of yesterday's session the pump newsletters owned by Stellar Media Group issued a round of email alerts touting the stock of ERBB. Naturally, they didn't do it for free disclosing a $10 thousand compensation. The CEO of the company will also hold a new conference call today and will be answering questions submitted by the shareholders. It remains to be seen if his answers coupled with the hype generated by the pump will be enough to stop the stock from losing even more of its value. 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The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Applying To a New Opportunity? Here Is How To Be Job-Ready. Posted by Saurabh Tyagi on Monday, 02-29-2016 11:50 pm Currently 3.0/5 Stars. 1 2 3 4 5 3.0 from 5 votes For many, the current job is just perfect. It might be enough to pay their bills and more. Or for some it might be just the ideal role they ever wanted. But, for many its not the case. If you are one of those then this post is for you. With the job market being more competitive than ever, it might seem a tough game for any jobseeker to get a role of their dream. You might be good, or even great at what you do and that is enough to keep you in the race, but not good enough to win it. In this mad, cut-throat competition there are people who can do your job as well as you or even better. So how do you compete with them? Those who are willing to change their career with a better job prospect need to be more employable. Even if you are satisfied with your job, you need to be employable too as you never know when you need to look for a new one. Lets discuss few of the most effective ways that can help you to become more job-ready: Update your resume Do not forget to keep ... Close Forgot Your Password? Enter in your email address and we will send it to you. Send Email An HR.com member profile provides you with access to a multitude of information and education along with the opportunity to network with the largest HR community on the web. If you need any help, call .877.472.6648 and ask for our Member Experience Co-ordinator. Hi Please check your email for an activation link. If you do not receive your activation email within a few minutes, check your spam folder or call our Help Desk at 1.877.472.6648 For faster assistance, dial extension 4. Thank you! Continue Hi Verification error - Please enter the correct code above. Verified Wow! You have successfully verified the account Continue Hi your HR.com account is ready Your Profile completion: 30% Complete your profile You are an experienced human resources professional. Youve attended numerous trainings, conferences, seminars, workshops, and HR association meetings. Maybe you have a national HR certification, or several. However, youve never received a sexual harassment complaint before. Before today, that is. On receiving a sexual harassment complaint, youre likely to feel bombarded. No wonder. A complaint has legal implications. It can damage careers and personal lives, seriously disrupt the work environment, harm the organizations reputation, lead to spiraling legal costs, and put a serious crimp on the workplace improvement projects you were working on. Breathe. And then, take it one step at a time. Following are the top 10 things to do after receiving a sexual harassment complaint: 1. Get the Diagnosis Right. Your main goal is to determine: Is it really sexual harassment? A generally accepted definition of sexual harassment is unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature. This can include offensive remarks, gestures, objects, jokes, or behaviors. The harassment can fall into two distinct categories, hostile environment and quid pro quo. Hostile environment harassment occurs when verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature is sufficiently severe, pervasive, or ongoing to alter the conditions of employment or create an abusive working environment for the harassed employee(s). ... The short answer is. well, there is no short answer. What? Do independent contractors and non-compete agreements mix or not? Maybe. Most often probably not, but sometimes yes. OK, thats more double-talk than usual. What gives? When can and cant a company compel an independent contractor to sign a binding non-compete without a risk of liability for worker misclassification? That is this weeks loaded question, which we will parse out after the jump Generally speaking, if a person or entity truly is an independent contractor, a non-compete clause or agreement will not be enforceable against him/her/it. Why not? Two basic principles are involved here. The first speaks of whether the non-compete is the only effective means for protecting a companys legitimate business interests.(Click here, here and here to review the basics of non-competes.) Most often, with an independent contractor, whose relationship with your company is, by definition, more limited than that of an employer and employee, confidentiality, nondisclosure and non-solicitation agreements will be sufficient to protect whatever legitimate business interests do exist. Those will often be enforceable against an independent contractor. However, an independent contractor is in business for themselves and the services/products it provides you are its business. Generally, you cannot compel an independent contractor to forfeit their livelihood just because you hon... One of the inevitable outcomes of sending employees on an international assignment is the occasional need to off-board or terminate the employee. There can be a number of reasons why an expat employee may be terminated, and there are often specific justifiable causes, or even agreed and amicable terminations. A successful off-boarding process will depend on whether the employment ends while still in the host country or after a return to the home country, company policy and which countrys employment laws will be applied. Overview of Off-boarding Off-boarding an employee on assignment needs to be handled in a way that protects the interests of both the employer and employee. This article will primarily address the complete termination of employment, and not instances of repatriation with continued employment in the home country. In some countries, such as the US, termination processes and reasons will be spelled out in the employment contract, and a company may wrongly assume that those terms will control off-boarding of employees abroad. However, many countries have statutory termination rules that will supersede contract terms, even if the employee initially agreed to the terms. Since most jurisdictions require that long-term foreign employees are pay rolled and sponsored by a local entity, the employee will also enjoy the protections of host country labor and employment laws. This becomes a factor in the event that an employee feels entitled to addi... Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 16-03-01 Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW No. 41/16 01.03.2016 [A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS [01] Ak?nc? discussed the latest developments on the Cyprus problem with the German EU Minister [02] The Turkish Minister of Science, Industry and Technology is visiting the breakaway regime [03] Atun evaluated the recent visit of the Turkish Minister of Customs and Trade [04] Kalyoncu is going to Ankara escorted by three "ministers" [05] Eroglu claims that a former US Ambassador has told that the USA had spent 30 million dollars for the Turkish Cypriot "yes" vote [06] Tacoy accused the Greek Cypriot side of unwillingness towards a federal solution in Cyprus [07] Turkey and the occupation regime signed an agreement for the improvement of the monitoring system for forest fires [08] The Turkish Cypriot newspapers are struggling to survive; Columnist assesses the situation of the press in occupied Cyprus [09] The breakaway regime participated in the "Ferie for Alle 2016 Tourism Fair" that took place in Denmark [10] Kurtulmus called political parties to attend talks for a new Constitution; Reaction statements by opposition parties [11] Erdogan filed a lawsuit against HDP' co-chairman Demirtas for allegedly "insulting" him [12] Two Gulen-linked broadcasters shut down [A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS [01] Ak?nc? discussed the latest developments on the Cyprus problem with the German EU Minister According to illegal Bayrak television (01.03.16) Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Ak?nc? met today with the German Minister for EU Affairs Michael Roth. The latest developments in the Cyprus negotiations process as well as the ongoing work to prepare the Turkish Cypriots for the EU acquis communautaire were discussed at the meeting held at the so-called presidential palace. The "chief negotiator", Ozdil Nami, the so-called presidential spokesman Bar?s Burcu and the "undersecretary" of the so-called foreign ministry Erhan Ercin were present at the meeting. No statements were made before or after the meeting. [02] The Turkish Minister of Science, Industry and Technology is visiting the breakaway regime Turkish Cypriot daily Halkin Sesi newspaper (01.03.16) reports that Fikri Isik, the Turkish Minister of Science, Industry and Technology is visiting the breakaway regime upon an invitation of the "minister of economy, industry and trade", Sunat Atun. Isik will arrive in the breakaway regime tonight and will participate in the 1st KOBI (SMEs, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) Summit that will take place tomorrow. (CS) [03] Atun evaluated the recent visit of the Turkish Minister of Customs and Trade Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (01.03.16) reports that Sunat Atun, the "minister of economy, trade and industry" stated that the breakaway regime does not negotiate but cooperates with "motherland" Turkey. Atun made these statements commenting about the recent visit of the Turkish Minister of Customs and Trade Bulent Tufekci. Atun stated that Turkey is the biggest market for the breakaway regime and added that having good relations with Turkey will increase the trade volume. He also stated that a delegation of his "ministry" and of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce will visit Mersin in the coming days in order to promote trade. On his part, Tufekci issued a statement saying that there are certain standards that must be followed so that investments to be made in any country of the world. He also said that in order for the international respect towards the "TRNC" to be increased and the isolation to be removed, the academic power of the island must be increased. (CS) [04] Kalyoncu is going to Ankara escorted by three "ministers" Turkish Cypriot daily Vatan newspaper (01.03.16) reports that the self-styled prime minister Omer Kalyoncu is going to Ankara tonight, upon an invitation of the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in order to sign the agreement reached with Turkey on the water issue on behalf of the breakaway regime. According to the paper, Kalyoncu is escorted by the "foreign minister" Emine Colak, the "agriculture and natural resources minister" Erkuk Sahali and the "culture minister" Kutlu Evren along with various "bureaucrats". Kalyoncu will hold contacts with Davutoglu tomorrow and also sign the water agreement. The paper, further reports that the "council of ministers" will hold a meeting today, prior to Kalyoncu's visit. (CS) [05] Eroglu claims that a former US Ambassador has told that the USA had spent 30 million dollars for the Turkish Cypriot "yes" vote Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (01.03.16) reports that former Turkish Cypriot leader, Dervis Eroglu has recalled that he had opposed the Annan Plan and claimed that the then US Ambassador "had made a sincere confession" during one of his visits to his office by saying "we have spent 30 million dollars for the Turks saying yes to the Annan Plan in Cyprus". Addressing a meeting in Turkey on the occasion of the fifth anniversary from the death of former Turkish Prime Minster Necmattin Erbakan, Eroglu said that Erbakan was one of the architects of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and that he lives in the heart of the Turkish Cypriots. He said that he had signed an economic "protocol" with Erbakan, who believed in the industrialization of the occupied area of Cyprus. Meanwhile, replying to questions of Turkish Milliyet newspaper, Eroglu alleged that the Greek Cypriot side is slyly attempting to take what it wants in the Cyprus problem. "Our side is daydreaming, we have had enough", he added and argued that the Turkish Cypriots should not abandon Turkey's active and effective guarantees and when necessary Turkey's intervention in Cyprus. He said that he sees nothing "extraordinary" in the negotiations adding that "the stance of the Greek Cypriot side is the same, their intention has not changed". Referring to the latest developments in the occupied area of Cyprus as regards the water from Turkey and the future of the self-styled government, Eroglu said that he is not satisfied with the existing situation and argued that "the water issue has actually ended the government". (I/Ts.) [06] Tacoy accused the Greek Cypriot side of unwillingness towards a federal solution in Cyprus Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Bakis newspaper (01.03.16) reports that Hasan Tacoy, general secretary of the Democratic Party-National Forces (DP-UG) issued a written statement and accused the Greek Cypriot side of not supporting a viable and fair agreement on the Cyprus problem. "Their wish is to entrap Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots", Tacoy argued. Tacoy accused the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiases for considering the "acceptance of the federal solution" as a "painful compromise". Recalling that the interlocutor of the Greek Cypriot leader, as he called President Anastasiades is not Turkey but the "TRNC's president", Tacoy said that it is not Turkey or the Turkish Cypriots the uncompromised side by the Greek Cypriots. Tacoy alleged also that the Greek Cypriot leadership's aim is to dilute Turkey's active and effective guarantees in Cyprus and to be rescued from the Turkish troops in the island. Tacoy went on and stated that the main priority of the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci should be the protection of the Turkish Cypriot's rights at the negotiating table and called him to do so. (AK) 7 Turkey and the occupation regime signed an agreement for the improvement of the monitoring system for forest fires Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris newspaper (01.03.16) reports that the so-called "Forestry department" and the Turkey's General Directorate of Forestry have signed an "agreement" for the development of the monitoring system for forest fires. According to information obtained by the so-called ministry of "public works, environment and culture", a delegation of the "forestry department" headed by its "general director" Cemil Karzaoglu held contacts in Ankara recently with officials from Turkey's General Directorate of Forestry and signed the above agreement. The agreement envisages the increase of cameras in forest areas and the renewal of the monitoring system. Commenting on the signing of the "agreement", so-called minister Kultu Evren said that the "agreement" was signed within the framework of the measures that need to be taken to prevent forest fires during the summer. (AK) [08] The Turkish Cypriot newspapers are struggling to survive; Columnist assesses the situation of the press in occupied Cyprus Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (01.03.16) reports that the Turkish Cypriot Journalists' Union (KTBG) has said that the unfair competition in the Turkish Cypriot printed media has made the survival in the sector more difficult. In a written statement, the Union noted that the newspapers are facing extinction as a result of the financial burden of the printed media and of keeping in pace with the technology. Referring to the end of the printed edition of Kibris Postasi newspaper as of today and the continuation of its circulation on the internet, the Union argued that this shows that the warnings it had made last year regarding the danger of elimination of the "corporate structure" of the newspapers, the expansion of "informality" etc. are being materialized. The Union said that if the necessary measures are not taken, many other workers will lose their jobs, like the workers of Kibris Postasi. Meanwhile, under the title "The gangs, the mafia and the media", Turkish Cypriot columnist Basaran Duzgun assessed in Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (28.02.16) the situation of the Turkish Cypriot media. He reports, inter alia, the following: "[?] We are complaining a lot about the gangs and the mafia in the country and we are always skipping over the fact that the media is the place in which the gangs reached their peak. The Turkish Cypriot press is actually passing through its most horrible period, not only its worst period. The journalists have been taken over by lead soldiers and the biggest part of the Turkish Cypriot press by the mentality which sees the ownership of a newspaper as 'a weapon'. These gangs of interest, which are also making use of the weakness of some politicians, are every day bringing onto the community's agenda their own commercial issues as if journalism was above the 'weapons' which they possess. They threaten everybody and try to fill up their pockets over these threats. There are even some who become so angry that they threaten to instigate the discrimination between 'Turks and Cypriots'. There are some who cooperate with mobsters and lose their temper so much that they threaten businessmen and some who attempt to launder money through the newspapers. [?] The media entering under the control of those using methods of mobsters causes so dangerous results as the legislative, executive or judicial power being possessed by the mafia. Unfortunately, the Turkish Cypriot press is passing through such a period. The government and the state have the responsibility of abolishing this situation. The first duty belongs to the real journalists. To those who have the ability to exercise this profession". (I/Ts.) [09] The breakaway regime participated in the "Ferie for Alle 2016 Tourism Fair" that took place in Denmark Turkish Cypriot daily Vatan newspaper (01.03.16) reports that the breakaway regime participated in the "Ferie for Alle 2016 Tourism Fair" that took place in Herning, Denmark, between 26-28 of February. According to the paper, tourist operators, airline companies, travel agencies and tourism technology firms from Scandinavian countries and other European countries participated in the fair. The delegation of the breakaway regime that participated in the fair held meetings with Danish and Scandinavian tourist operators and searched the possibility of doing business with them, the paper writes. (CS) [10] Kurtulmus called political parties to attend talks for a new Constitution; Reaction statements by opposition parties Turkish daily Sabah (01.03.16) reports that Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday that if the parties fail to reach a consensus on a new Constitution, the AK Party will make its own proposal to the Parliament. Speaking to reporters, Kurtulmus underscored the importance of a new Constitution for the future of Turkey and said it is a necessity. ''Turkey needs a new civilian, democratic and participatory Constitution'' Kurtulmus said, and added that any progress without such Constitution would be useless. Kurtulmus also noted that those who run away from the responsibility to participate in the constitution-making process will be remembered as 'fugitives' and urged all parties to participate with sincerity. Meanwhile, according to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily news (29.02.16), Turkey's main opposition leader will not engage in "bazaar diplomacy" with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) over the AKP's ambitions for a change of regime at an inter-party Constitution commission the Parliament Speaker is currently attempting to rebuild. "We are sitting at the table in a bid to cleanse Turkey of coup laws. The Constitution is also a part of the coup law," Kemal K?l?cdaroglu, the leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), said in remarks published in daily newspaper Milliyet on February 29. Recalling that any change in the first four articles of the current Constitution, which cover clauses about Turkey as a secular state and Turkey's official language as Turkish, is a "red line" for their party, K?l?cdaroglu added: "We would lend support to all arrangements for strengthening the parliamentary system. Sitting around a table for a different system, a different regime, doesn't work for us. What is the use of sitting around a table on an issue which we will not vote for and will not accept?" K?l?cdaroglu plans to send their response to the Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman's call later this week, while the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) is likely to send their response next week. The HDP will define the AKP's insistence on a transition from the current parliamentary system to a presidential system as an "imposition" and will underline that the debate has been "blocking" the negotiations. The HDP will emphasize that a new Constitution will be possible only through consensus by the four parties. (?) [11] Erdogan filed a lawsuit against HDP' co-chairman Demirtas for allegedly "insulting" him Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (29.02.16) reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's lawyer has filed a criminal complaint against the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtas, claiming that the latter "insulted" him in a recent speech. The indictment filed to the Ankara Chief Prosecutor's Office by Erdogan's lawyer Huseyin Ayd?n included related sections from Demirtas's speech at a HDP meeting in the southern province of Mersin on February 27. It said these statements amounted to "insulting the President," which is a crime according to Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code. During his party's Mersin meeting, Demirtas had said: "He [Erdogan] wants to be the caliphate of Islam. But thieves cannot be caliphs." The indictment said Kurdish-issue focused HDP co-chair Demirtas's remarks "cannot be considered within the scope of freedom of thought and expression." It also said they "cannot be defended legally as they amounted to statements beneath one's dignity and honor." Since becoming President in August 2014, Erdogan's lawyers have filed hundreds of lawsuits over alleged "insults" uttered by schoolchildren, journalists, and opposition politicians. [12] Two Gulen-linked broadcasters shut down Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (29.02.16) reported that the private broadcasters Kanalturk and Bugun TV, which were owned by the alleged Gulen-linked Koza Ipek Media Group, were shut down on February 29. In addition, the operations of Koza Ipek Media Group ended as of February 29. Employees have packed up their belongings from the building. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on Octover 26, 2015, ordered the Koza-Ipek Group to be placed under the management of a trustee panel while an investigation is ongoing into the group's purported ties to the U.S.-based cleric Fetullah Gulen, a former government ally. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) now accuse Gulen of heading a purported illegal organization that Erdogan believes is trying to topple the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government with followers working as insiders in the police, the judiciary and other state institutions. Istanbul police used force on October 28, 2015, to enter the media holding's headquarters and seize control of the media outlets owned by the Koza-Ipek Group, dramatically breaking into the main broadcasting room and shutting down the two TV stations owned by the group. TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION http://www.moi.gov.cy/pio (AK/AM) Cyprus Press and Information Office: Turkish Cypriot Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 16-02-29 Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Athens News Agency at Weekend News Bulletin CONTENTS [01] The agreement we signed is our limit, says gov't vice president Dragasakis [02] We are not the ones that will dissolve EU, says Alt. Migration Minister Mouzalas [03] Pope Francis refers to refugees and sends message of support to Greece [04] Kavala has turned into an open hotspot, says city mayor Tsanaka [05] Large number of identified refugees ready to leave from Mytilene and Chios [06] Refugees block the railway tracks at Idomeni [07] FM gen. sec Paraskevopoulos to meet with Turkish FM under sec. Sinirlioglou on Monday [08] Theodorakis re-elected Potami party leader [09] Weather Forecast [10] Athens Headlines at a glance Monday February 29, 2016 Politics [01] The agreement we signed is our limit, says gov't vice president Dragasakis "We do not talk about additional cuts in pensions or additional measures. The agreement we have signed is our limit and we are following it" said government Vice President Yiannis Dragasakis in an interview with Realnews newspaper. "Therefore, whatever problem, whatever demand outside the agreement is not only our matter but a matter of Europe and its institutional bodies" he added. Dragasakis estimated that the refugees issue in not directly linked with the first review, adding however that "the sooner the evaluation is completed and positive prospects for the Greek economy and society are formed, the higher our possibility to contribute in solving the problem". Finally, on New Democracy's proposal over the establishment of an examining committee on the banks' recapitalisation, Dragasakis said that "the examining committee should not be presented as a threat but as an opportunity to investigate those that have happened in the banking sector. [02] We are not the ones that will dissolve EU, says Alt. Migration Minister Mouzalas Alternate Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas on Sunday referred to the refugees issue at a SYRIZA event held at Haidari city hall. "Greece has submitted to EU an emergency plan in which Greece requests 450 million euros for goods and hirings outside the memorandum for the needs of the temporary camps expected to be set up for the refugees that will be trapped in Greece. The government is taking all the necessary measures as if the borders have closed for good by activating the plan B" he underlined. "We lost 20 days of preparations due to the sudden closing of the borders. We have seen it coming, but the agreement the status quo in Idomeni (of this unofficial hole at the borders with FYROM), to remain existed until the next summit on March 7. The agreement was violated and five countries' police chiefs reversed it" adding that in fifteen days the condition will get better because those migrants not entitled to asylum will be sent back and the condition will return to normal. On NATO's presence in the Aegean Sea, Mouzalas estimated that the national sovereignty is not at risk. "The plan is Frontex to be under NATO's umbrella and to be able to send the boats back to Turkey. If a boat capsizes and the people are in danger, it is a matter of protection of the human rights. We will be there to monitor that these rights are not violated" he said. Mouzalas also stressed that the government uses all the legal weapons it has "we are using the diplomatic channels, we are following the law and the right. We lose and we win. We want EU and we defend it, we are not the one that will dissolve it". [03] Pope Francis refers to refugees and sends message of support to Greece ROME (ANA-MPA/Th. Andreadis)---Pope Francis on Sunday referred to the refugees' crisis and sent a message of solidarity and support to Greece. "In my prayer and in yours is always present the dramatic condition of the refugees that try to get away from the war and other inhuman situations. Particularly Greece, as well as other countries that are in the front line, offers to the refugees a generous assistance which needs cooperation from all the countries. A collective, united answer can be effective for the just allocation of the burdens. For this reason, and without reservations but with determination, negotiations must be set as target. [04] Kavala has turned into an open hotspot, says city mayor Tsanaka The number of refugees currently hosted at the northern Greek city of Kavala has reached 1,500. On Saturday, 900 refugees arrived at the port of Kavala from Mytilene with the ferry Nissos Mykonos. Kavala mayor Dimitra Tsanaka in statement to ANA-MPA sounded the bell and said that "the city has turned into an open hotspot without plan, programme and infrastructures and most of all nobody knows for how long these people will stay in the area". [05] Large number of identified refugees ready to leave from Mytilene and Chios Approximately 2,500 refugees and migrants are identified and ready to depart from Mytilene to Piraeus and Kavala. On the island of Chios are roughly 650 migrants and refugees at the same condition and are currently hosted at the hotspot of VIAL and at Souda camp. Two boats leased by the Shipping Ministry are at the ports of Chios and Mytilene have not been used. Meanwhile, the arrivals recorded on Saturday were low despite the good weather conditions. 900 migrants and refugees arrived on Lesvos and 300 persons arrived on Chios. [06] Refugees block the railway tracks at Idomeni Refugees blocked earlier on Sunday the railway tracks in Idomeni at Greece-Fyrom buffer zone. The refugees sat on the tracks demanding from Fyrom to open the crossing point. Fyrom's authorities closed the crossing point at 20:00 on Saturday after allowing to only 300 refugees from Iraq and Syria to get into the country. According to police, roughly 6,500 refugees are currently hosted at Idomeni camp waiting to cross the border. [07] FM gen. sec Paraskevopoulos to meet with Turkish FM under sec. Sinirlioglou on Monday Greek Foreign Ministry general secretary ambassador Dimitrios Paraskevopoulos will receive on Monday the under secretary of the Foreign Ministry of Turkey ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglou at the Foreign Ministry in Athens. The two officials will discuss bilateral and European issues as well as the developments in the region and worldwide. The meeting is held within the framework of the regular political deliberation meetings between Greece and Turkey. [08] Theodorakis re-elected Potami party leader Stavros Theodorakis on Sunday was re-elected by a large majority leader of Potami party after the completion of the voting procedure for the election of the party's new leadership. Theodorakis received 715 votes (88.16 percent) while the second candidate Pavlos Eleftheriadis received 96 votes. [09] Weather Forecast Partly cloudy and northerly winds are forecast for Monday. Wind velocity will reach 7 on the Beaufort scale. Clouds and rain in the northern and western parts of the country with temperatures ranging from 07C-22C. Partly cloudy in the eastern parts and temperatures between 07C-22C. Scattered clouds over the Aegean islands and Crete, 12C-22C. Mostly fair in Athens, 08C-20C. Partly cloudy in Thessaloniki, 08C-18C. [10] Athens Headlines at a glance AVGHI: Save Europe and the refugees. ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: Greece and ...Tsipras (Alexis, prime minister) under siege ETHNOS: The eight-day double battle. KATHIMERINI: Brussels' emergency plan. PROTO THEMA: Another 120,000 (refugees) ready to pass. REAL NEWS: Europe's foundations are shaking! RIZOSPASTIS: New fight to start for the pension system. TO PARON: Forget the ecumenical government. TO VIMA: From the opportunity to the failure. 36, TSOCHA ST. ATHENS 115 21 GREECE - TEL: 64.00.560-63 - FAX: 64.00.581-2 INTERNET ADDRESS: http://www.ana.gr - E-MAIL: anabul@ana gr - GENERAL DIRECTOR: Michalis Psilos Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-03-01 Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Athens News Agency at CONTENTS [01] Greek bank deposits up 1.15 bln euros in Dec [02] FYRoM authorities increase security on border with Greece at Idomeni site [03] Athens declines invitation for SE Europe police chiefs' meeting on border issue [01] Greek bank deposits up 1.15 bln euros in Dec Greek bank deposits grew 1.15 billion euros in December, a "small but significant return of deposits" after six years of losses which amounted to 114 billion euros, National Bank chairwoman and Hellenic Bank Association president Louka Katseli said on Tuesday. Speaking in Parliament, Katseli said a full return of deposits should be expected in the next three years after a review of the programme was completed, normality returned to the market and capital controls were lifted. "Challenges we face after the recapitalisation of banks is the return of deposits, managing non-performing loans and channeling liquidity in the market," Katseli said, adding that adoption of EU directive 2014/49 into Greek law preserved a guarantee of 100,000 euros per depositor per credit institution, plus another 300,000 euros for deposits destined for certain types of transactions, such as real estate sales or compensations. [02] FYRoM authorities increase security on border with Greece at Idomeni site SKOPJE (ANA-MPA / F. Fragopoulos) -- Authorities in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM) have reinforced security measures in a no-man's land on the frontier between Greece and fYRoM in order to avert another attempt by migrants and refugees to break through the barriers and enter the country, local media reported on Tuesday. The Skopje government has significantly increase the number of police and military forces deployed in neutral zone, while two army and police helicopters were carrying out regular aerial patrols. According to sources, an additional 700 police officers and troops had been sent to the area. Greece's northern neighbor has stopped allowing refugees through as of Monday afternoon, following the clashes between migrants and security forces at the border. FYROM police sources said the point of passage in the no-man's land between Idomeni and Gevgelija, the border town on the fYRoM side, will remain closed until tensions subside and the situation normalises. [03] Athens declines invitation for SE Europe police chiefs' meeting on border issue The Greek government declined an invitation to participate in a second meeting of police chiefs from four Balkan countries -- Fyrom, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia -- along with Austria, which was held on Tuesday in Belgrade on the pressing issue of border controls. The first such meeting was held in Zagreb on Feb. 18. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias had condemned the initiative as unilateral and outside EU norms, clarifying that decisions from the meeting violated the agreement at the recent European Summit on the border and refugee issue. Athens turned down the invitation, which also precluded the possibility of making the previous Zagreb meeting "legal". Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article UPDATE: The Quebec government has announced it is seeking an injunction against the Energy East pipeline project and wants the project subject to the province's environmental regulations. "This is not a judgment by the government that it is for or against the project," Quebecs environment minister David Heurtel insisted Tuesday. "This is not directed at any province or region. This is about one company that wants to do a project in Quebec, which in our opinion, which is not respecting Quebec law." Heurtel said Quebec is not joining the environmental groups' lawsuit but engaged in its own legal action and it will go ahead, in the meantime, as planned with the March 7 truncated hearings despite asking the court to force the Energy East project to undergo a more fulsome environmental review process. OTTAWA Why do Canadian tax filers get a larger refund if they give to political parties than if they donate to charities? Conservative MP Ted Falk can't think of a real explanation, and he's made it his mission to change what he calls an unfair and inequitable policy. Advertisement Conservative MP Ted Falk speaks in the House of Commons. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) The Manitoba MP introduced a private member's bill, C-239, last week that would make the 2015 taxation year the last one where Canadians are encouraged to give more to political parties than to charities who aim to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and heal the wounded. While a $400 donation to a political party currently generates a 75 per cent federal tax credit, or $300 reduction, that same $400 donation to a charity only generates a federal return of $88 15 per cent tax credit on the first $200 and 29 per cent credit on the other $200. The changes Falk introduced would give Canadians the same federal tax rebate. "It shouldn't be any more important to feed a politician than it should be to feed someone that is hungry." Ted Falk "The bill is all about bringing fairness to charitable donations relative to donations made to a political party or candidate," he told The Huffington Post Canada Monday. "It shouldn't be any more important to feed a politician than it should be to feed someone that is hungry." Advertisement Falk recently won the Commons' lottery by landing the first spot for private members' business. That means his bill, the Fairness in Charitable Gifts Act, will be the first one debated this year, probably in late March. Green party leader on board Already, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May has jumped to his side, praising his initiative and asking to be a seconder to his bill. "It is clearly unfair to have larger tax rebates for people who donate to political parties than those who donate to Oxfam or their local food bank," she wrote to HuffPost in an email. Falk doesn't blame political parties for giving themselves a larger tax break to help more Canadians to part with their money, but he thinks charities deserve help too. Advertisement Elizabeth May, shown here at at 2015 campaign event, wants to second Falk's bill. (Photo: The Canadian Press) "Having been in politics for two and half years, I recognize how difficult it is to go out there and ask people if they would consider making a donation either to the party or to my campaign and person needs money to run a campaign," he said. "But why wouldn't the charity be entitled to the same thing? They have the same struggle, the same issues, it is difficult to get people to part with money even if it is for a good cause." Falk, who represents the riding of Provencher, one of the most generous regions of the country in terms of charitable donations, said it was ingrained in him as a young child that he should help the less fortunate and contribute a portion of his income to do good work. 'I wanted to make something that was impactful' He and his wife have supported the local food bank, homeless shelters, youth organizations and summer camps for disadvantaged youth, he said. They have also donated to organizations that work overseas such as MEDA, Mennonite Economic Development Associates and the Mennonite Central Committee. Advertisement "[Charities] successfully leverage donation dollars through volunteerism and do way more work, better work, and more effective work than a lot of government agencies could do in the same field," he told HuffPost. "I didn't want to just have a bill that would declare purple flower day' or something else like that I've seen some of those [bills] in the past and I wanted to do something that was significant and would make a difference," he said. Ted Falks serves at Dairy Queen "Miracle Treat Day." (Photo: Ted Falk) Falk was troubled to discover that while the total value of donations has gone up, the number of Canadian tax filers giving to charities had dropped over the past two decades, from 29.5 per cent in 1990 to 21.4 per cent in 2014, according to the latest figures by Statistics Canada. The median donation in 2014 was only $280. The provinces also have tax credits. In Ontario, for example, that $400 donation to a charity would get an additional provincial tax return of $50.57 for someone making $85,000 a year, Armando Minicucci from Grant Thornton LLP calculated for HuffPost. It is also far less than the provincial political tax credit which is 75 per cent for donations of up to $399. Advertisement Falk said he hopes changing the tax credits might encourage more people to give and to give more. "I would like to see that number go up, closer to that $400 mark." He initially thought of making the tax refund even more generous for charities to help them raise more money but then decided to go for something that all parliamentarians could easily get behind. "I wanted to make something that was impactful and something that was difficult not to support." ALSO ON HUFFPOST: Duane Howard wasn't the only person to represent his heritage well during the 2016 Oscars his date, Chastity Davis, also paid tribute to her mixed heritage of First Nations and European descent at the awards show on Sunday. The British Columbia-based activist, who does a lot of advocacy work for missing and murdered indigenous women, donned a floor-length wrap dress by Aboriginal designer Bethany Yellowtail of b.yellowtail to the 88th annual Academy Awards. The gown featured original florals "designed with love and purpose" by three former Miss Crow Nations: Teri Lea McCormick, Joree LaFrance and Destiny Bearclaw. Advertisement Davis, who is a proud member of the Sliammon First Nation in the Upper Sunshine Coast of B.C., also donned a suede b.yellowtail slip dress with rose beadwork while accompanying "The Revenant" actor at the Armani Pre-Oscars party on Saturday. She topped things off with a fringed cape from the same collection. Howard opted for a simple black suit with a red shirt and printed tie. To see more photos from Sunday night's Oscars, click through the gallery below: Oscars 2016 Red Carpet See Gallery Advertisement Who knew a ketchup could sell out due to popular demand. French's, best-known for their mustard, is learning just that with one of its products made with tomato paste harvested from farms in Leamington, Ont. and other southwestern parts of the province, according to CBC News. And one Orillia man was particularly thrilled to discover this all-Canadian condiment at the grocery store. Advertisement Brian Fernandez wrote on Facebook Feb. 23 that he loves French's because its ketchup is free of preservatives, artificial flavours and high fructose corn syrup. He praised the company's support of Canadian tomato farmers, many who were left without a customer after Heinz left Leamington in 2014. "Absolutely love it!! Bye. Bye. Heinz," wrote Brian Fernandez, whose post has now been shared over 129,000 times. Since Heinz decided to pull the plug on its Canadian plant in Leamington, 740 jobs were lost. Heinz decided to make its... Posted by Brian Fernandez on Tuesday, February 23, 2016 Advertisement Others also seem to be impressed by the product's pedigree. "Will buy French's from now on, no more Heinz!" wrote Christine Fernandez Richardson. Fernandez told the Windsor Star that he and his family did a blind taste test of the new ketchup alongside Heinz, and they all picked French's. The president and co-owner of Highbury Canco, the plant that processes the tomato paste for French's, told the outlet he's excited the product is getting so much attention. I think thats a testament to the growers in the area and to our facility and decades and decades of workers making tomato paste in our facility their whole lives, said Sam Diab. Want a bottle of the stuff? Better act fast. It's quickly disappearing from store shelves. Fernandez told the Windsor Star a few days after his post, he noticed that all of the French's at a local supermarket was gone and a clerk told him all of their stores were sold out, too. On Wal-Mart's Canadian site, the condiment was also out at the time this story was published. French's is noticing the upswing in sales. President Elliott Penner told CBC News on Monday it wants to triple its order of tomato paste from Highbury Canco. Advertisement While it expects the increased volume will be used to make barbecue sauce for U.S. and UK markets, new fans of French's products will likely be clamouring for it to show up in Canada, too. But Leamington's mayor, John Paterson, urged Canadians in a note on Facebook not to boycott all of Heinz's products. Highbury Canco still manufactures several products for the company, including vinegar and pasta sauce, he wrote, employing more than 400 full-time workers in the town. "Please feel free to choose a different Ketchup, but remember those 400 plus employees making a come-back in Leamington under the Highbury CanCo banner are depending on you." Also on HuffPost If it werent for an email, one Toronto police officers simple act of buying a hungry man a meal would have slipped away unnoticed. The city was experiencing a really cold day when Regent Park cop Ed Parks noticed a man standing at a street corner during a patrol. When he stopped to speak with the man, he noticed he was mumbling and stuttering his words. Advertisement He said he grew concerned for the mans safety. I asked him about his sugar and he told me he was diabetic, Parks said in a video uploaded Tuesday, explaining what happened that day. So I said to him, Would you like to go inside and get a coffee and a cookie? Once inside a cafe, the homeless man told parks he was hungry. So Parks bought him lunch. The email from a neighbourhood resident praising the Good Samaritan gesture prompted Toronto Police Service to identify Parks and the man he helped. Toronto cop Ed Parks with the unnamed homeless man he bought lunch for. (Photo: Toronto Police Service) Officers who go out of their way to ensure all citizens are okay renew my faith in the police, it read. Advertisement Though his act may be perceived as extraordinary to some, Parks is brushing off accolades recognizing him as a hero. The email was just a response to the community police work neighbourhood cops do every day, he said. Joel Carillet via Getty Images A desperate Syrian mother in a refugee camp tried to give me her sick little girl on my last visit to the region's conflict zones and neighbouring countries filled with fleeing people. She wanted me to take her child back to Canada for medical care. That day, I saw misery and despair that no one should bear. All I could do was help others find assistance for the little girl. But I suspect that mother's tragic plea might not be the worst that I witness on my upcoming trip to the region. Advertisement That's because two years have passed since that encounter and not much has changed for the better. It's true that some Syrians, including 25,000 welcomed recently by Canadians, have managed to find some peace, but the sad truth is that millions more are still suffering, starving and dying. Imagine, if you can, one third of Canada's population in urgent need of help. The facts are too terribly clear. It has been five long years since war first ripped Syria apart and flung thousands of families across foreign lands, and there is still no salvation in sight for most people. March 15, 2016 is an anniversary that no one will celebrate. Today, a country famous for its ancient kingdoms and empires is on its knees. Its people are on the run or dying on lonely beaches, in makeshift homes without adequate medical care or on long treks through harsh, unpredictable places. Humanitarian groups and governments are trying hard to help but the number of refugees still grows. I want to keep raising awareness and perhaps prick a few consciences, too. Because I have to believe that each of us, in our way, can do something to help stop this madness. Resources are simply insufficient to respond to an emergency of this scale. And we cannot forget the majority of people who need help are still struggling to survive in war-torn Syria. Sometimes, statistics can de-humanize and mask hard facts. When we hear, for example, more than 250,000 people have been killed and one million wounded since the conflict started, we might not want to recognize these numbers as mothers, children, grandparents and young people filled with potential. It's human to avoid such a painful reality. But frankly, we risk too much if we don't face the truth in these numbers. Thirteen million people, including five million children, still urgently need our help in Syria today. In some places now, families are trying to survive in basements surrounded by the rubble of flattened neighbourhoods, besieged by opposing groups in the conflict. There is no electricity, safe water, little food, fuel or basic health care. Treatable illnesses and injuries lead to agonizing deaths. Certainly, recent scenes of starvation in places like Madaya are beyond our imagination. Yet, the conflict is getting worse. And as fighting intensifies, it is absolutely unacceptable that access to humanitarian aid is not guaranteed for people still living in Syria. Health personnel who volunteer to treat the sick and wounded, and aid workers who deliver food, water and other desperately needed items are not always allowed to help. Advertisement Medical facilities are being bombed and destroyed. More than 60 Red Cross staff and volunteers have been killed. These cruel practices must stop. Humanitarian aid should not be a bargaining chip in political negotiations. Fast, safe, unconditional access to suffering people should be assured. Quite simply the dire situation in Syria must end. Enough is enough. We must put the needs of suffering people first, so answers can follow. Hopefully, each one of us can find a way to press for a solution to this conflict. Of course, you might wonder how one person can make a difference in such overwhelming circumstances. Many Canadians are already working hard, perhaps helping newly arrived refugees as the government fulfills its plan to welcome 25,000 by the end of February, and wraps up its program to match donations for related humanitarian campaigns. Others are exerting political pressure, in letters, emails, at rallies and through quiet conversations that encourage a diplomatic solution to the crisis. I know many people are already taking positive steps in the right direction. But the question remains: What else can we do about this suffering? This is something each of us must decide. For my part, I plan to use my upcoming Canadian Red Cross trip to the troubled region to help shed more light on the crisis and increase our assistance. I hope to share my thoughts and observations with anyone willing to listen. I want to keep raising awareness and perhaps prick a few consciences, too. Because I have to believe that each of us, in our way, can do something to help stop this madness. Advertisement This is our humanitarian imperative, as we say in my profession. But what this really means is: We must believe in people's compassion, and keep trying to help save lives, even when the challenge seems overwhelming. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: Matt Halton with British Royality It was one of the more surprising discoveries of my research for Dispatches from the Front. Sifting through piles of letters and memorabilia, I came across a crumpled photo of my father with the Royal Family on the grounds of Windsor Castle. There was my dad apparently enjoying an amiable chat with King George VI and the Queen as the young princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, stood politely in the background. Advertisement My first reaction was how did he get there? And what was he doing with the Royals? The answers proved to be as interesting as the picture itself. The photo was taken in April 1939 on the eve of a royal tour of Canada that marked the first visit here of a reigning monarch -- a huge event for English Canadians. My father, Matthew ("Matt") Halton, was then the London correspondent of the Toronto Daily Star. For weeks he had pestered Buckingham Palace for a photo opportunity with the royal couple, getting a condescending "such-things-aren't-done-here, old boy" kind of response. But later, to his great surprise, a sealed letter embossed with the royal coat of arms was delivered to the Star's London office. It invited Matt and two photographers to come to the palace, and then attend a second "sitting" at Windsor Castle later in the week. Advertisement The session at the palace went well, apart from the royal corgi jumping into the picture at inappropriate times. Matt suggested that he pick up the dog and remove him to an adjoining room. "I am afraid he would bite you," the Queen replied. Fortunately at this moment Dookie realized he wasn't welcome and wandered away. The second photo shoot at Windsor Castle allowed Matt more time to chat with the King and Queen. He would laughingly recall that they were standing in a semicircle putting him in the awkward position of having his back to one of the royals for long moments. They discussed the almost daily speculation that the visit to Canada might have to be postponed because of the looming war with Nazi Germany. "Three-to-one you go," Matt predicted, and the Queen nodded and said, "I think so, too." They also discussed the royal itinerary in Canada, a chance for Matt to venture how much they would enjoy the Rockies and "the flawless jewel of Lake Louise." Thirteen-year-old Princess Elizabeth said she would like to canoe on Canadian rivers one day, and the King talked about his passion for photography. Matt had not expected to write about his conversations, respecting the strictly observed protocol that the monarch never gives interviews to the press. But shortly after the photo sessions, the King's assistant press secretary told him the royal family was pleased with the "sittings" and gave him permission to write about them. Advertisement The concession was unprecedented, giving Matt and the Star an enormous scoop. My dad was to become the most prominent Canadian journalist of his era despite coming from an impoverished immigrant family. His father was known at one point as "Shithouse Halton" because he was given the job of cleaning out the privies in the small Alberta town of Pincher Creek. Looking at that photo, I couldn't help thinking that Shithouse Halton's son had come a long way. David Halton was interviewed for the Huffington Post. In this video he talks about his book Dispatches from the Front: Matthew Halton, Canada's Voice at War, which has been nominated for the RBC Taylor Prize. See that six-minute video HERE. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: Getty A few years ago I decided to embark on a backpacking trip across Europe for two months. Towards the end of my travels, I found myself at the Sisteen Chapel in Rome, Italy. As I was standing there, enchanted by this insanely crazy masterpiece, I felt a soft whisper perk the tiny hairs on the back of my neck. It was actually a woman whispering to her husband behind me, words that would eventually change my world: "Honey, I can die peacefully now. Now that I've experienced this, I'm good!" Advertisement My jaw dropped to the ground before me. The whole way back to Toronto, I couldn't stop thinking about what I'd contribute to society. What would MY masterpiece be? From that moment on, chasing my potential became part of my story. This epiphany made me realize for the first time that each of us has a very unique story to tell. Watch on to see why the world needs you to tell your story. See, I've had the vision of giving a TED talk for years. One day as I was on LinkedIn I discovered I had a connection who was a TEDx co-chair, Trishala Pillai. I seized the opportunity and messaged her, which in retrospect was quite a funny interaction: "Subject: Can I tell you a joke?" Body: I don't have one right now, but if you agree to have a coffee with me next week I will make you laugh." Advertisement We never got around to getting that coffee, but almost a year and a half later she gave me the great news. This goes to show two things. One, when we visualize our goals we find opportunities to make them a reality by the law of attraction. Secondly, we can all find a platform to share our story and change the world. What that platform looks like is different for everyone at different times. Sometimes that platform is simply inspiring a friend on a phone call, it could be a job interview or it might even be with a mic in front of 300 people and dozens of cameras listening closely to the unique perspective you bring to the world. The unique combination of circumstances, talents and beliefs that make up your story makes you one in 7.5 billion, and sharing that story adds to the richness of the world. While our bodies will all perish one day, our stories have the potential to last and inspire generations to come. The theme for this TEDx conference was collaboration. All the talks you see at TEDxUW.com are done with such poise and grace that you would never believe the average TED talk takes over 500 hours to prepare. Advertisement I now understand why TED speakers are considered some of the most powerful speakers in the world. Organizing teams, such as the phenomenal TEDxUW team, are so nurturing to their speakers; they truly give them an opportunity to hone in on their stories and leave the rest at the door. After being the humble recipient of a one-minute standing ovation at the end of my talk, I realized everyone has a story to share and each one deserves its own applause. Now you know my story -- tell me yours in the comments below, on Twitter or via email. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook shutterstock Anything you do or say may be used against you in the court of law. Increasingly, this includes what you may have shared online. Over the last few years, as sharing of personal information on social media has become more ubiquitous, many personal injury cases in Ontario are being decided on evidence gathered from plaintiffs' social media accounts, which provide 'metadata' creating a time and location stamp of a user's online activity. And it's all admissible as evidence in court. Advertisement Crucial to the admission of this kind of evidence is what social media now represents -- a public forum where users openly share details of their private lives and personal opinions. Once a comment, status update, tweet or photo is posted, it has gone public and it never really goes away, even after you hide or delete it. Whether the defendant is an employer fighting a case of wrongful dismissal or an insurance company denying an injury claim, they will often turn to their search engines and monitor a plaintiff's social media activity, cross-referencing the details of their legal claims with the content and timing of their online activity to invalidate or refute them. This is particularly the case if posts are made during a court proceeding. This is what happened inFrangione v Vandongen et al., where the plaintiff was suing for damages arising out of injuries--traumatic brain injury, neck and back pain and headaches--sustained in two separate car accidents. The defendant sought to access the entire contents of the plaintiff's personal computer, including any material contained on his Facebook account. The plaintiff insisted that submitting access to his Facebook profile -- and the communications to third contained within -- was a breach of privacy, while the defendant cited precedent to argue the contents of a claimant's social networking profile were relevant to the case and that submitting those documents was a practice that was "beyond controversy." Advertisement To have a photo or post be interpreted as indicative of your actual state of being is highly speculative. In the end, the plaintiff was ordered to preserve and produce "all material contained on his Facebook website including any postings, correspondence and photographs up to and including any postings, correspondence and photographs," up to and including the date of the order. Since this is becoming an increasingly common legal strategy in Ontario courts, a more difficult question arises over whether social media content can be considered reliable evidence. After all, social media profiles are typically used to exhibit a public profile that displays what we choose to share with our friends and followers. To have a photo or post be interpreted as indicative of your actual state of being is highly speculative. Judges now require proof of relevancy before ordering plaintiffs to submit social media materials. In a recent decision in Merpaw v. Hyde, Justice Rick Leroy denied the defendant's discovery motion to overturn a refusal to provide a private Facebook account by the Plaintiff, who claimed "a reduced enjoyment of life, incapacitation from employment, chronic fatigue and depression" resulting from a trip and fall injury. Advertisement In his decision, Justice Leroy cited "minimal probative value in this data to the issues of enjoyment," and was "unclear on the inferences that can be drawn from usage analysis." But as a standard practice, you should always be acutely aware of how your social media profile reflects your circumstances, especially as interpreted in a court of law. Be aware of how your profile appears to employers, insurers or any party that could use your personal information shared on a public forum against you. If you are involved in a court dispute, your lawyer should advise you to conduct a thorough scrape of your online presence before and during the proceedings, and highlight any potential red flags that could be used as evidence against you. Above all, don't post new content that you might regret later. Ask yourself: "do I really need to post this now?" Advertisement Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook ALSO ON HUFFPOST: Former chancellor Nigel Lawson (left) and former business secretary Lord Peter Mandelson at the Institute of Directors convention at the Royal Albert Hall, London, during a debate on the future of the European Union. Jonathan Brady/PA Wire The leader of the Vote Leave anti-European Union campaign is talking "absolute rubbish" about Brexit, Lord Mandelson has said. On Tuesday morning, the former Labour cabinet minister and EU trade commissioner said Lord Lawson was wrong to claim Britain would keep its current international trade deals if it voted to leave. Advertisement Rather than inheriting the agreements negotiated with other countries while part of the EU, the UK would have to start from scratch, Lord Mandelson argued. "Nigel Lawson, not for the first time, is wrong. He is engaging, I'm afraid, in fantasy politics and we need more facts and less fantasy," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Lord Mandelson also warned it free trade deals between governments take "between four and seven years" or "sometimes much longer" to negotiate. Pro-Brexit campaigners have argued trade deals, including one between the UK and the EU, could be completed much faster. Advertisement But Lord Mandelson told Today: "Any idiot can start a trade agreement. The question is where does it end up? You can deal with tariffs relatively easily. What is much harder to deal with are the behind the border regulatory barriers." Conservative cabinet minister Chris Grayling, one of the leading campaigners for an 'Out' vote, yesterday dismissed claims Brexit would lead to ten years of uncertainty. "Claims that it will take twice as long to sort out a free trade deal with the EU as it did to win world war two are clearly ludicrous," he said. In a speech today, Lord Mandelson will warn British firms will face years of uncertainty and the possibility of tariff barriers on exports if the country votes to sever ties with Brussels. Advertisement The ex-business secretary will say that negotiating a free trade deal with the EU following a vote to Leave would be "harder than Brexiters think" because for every sympathetic politician in the other 27 member states there would be others who believe the UK "must not be given a quick or easy ride". The Labour peer will warn that without the benefit of EU trade deals with international markets, British cars, whisky and textiles could attract tariffs of 20% or more. "Being part of a powerful trade bloc is an advantage not a straitjacket and one with a long track record of success," he will insist. "The EU is probably the world's leading rule setter in international trade and this is a significant strength for Britain." In a speech in the City of London, the former EU trade commissioner will say: "Brexiters cannot argue that we are weakened in the EU as it is but would suddenly be strong enough to dictate terms if we left. For every politician who saw the pragmatic case for dealing with the UK, there would be another who had little doubt that the UK must not be given a quick or easy ride." Brussels, he believes, would insist on the UK signing up again to common standards in order to gain access to the single market following a vote to leave in the June 23 referendum. Advertisement "As a result, we would have left the EU in order to assert our national sovereignty only to find that, as a condition of access, we did not have independence from EU regulation after all," he will say. Responding to Lord Mandelsons comments today, Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive of Vote Leave said: "Peter Mandelson told us the British economy would fall off a cliff if we didnt join the euro and now he is indulging in the same scaremongering about the referendum. He was wrong then and he is wrong now. He is starting to resemble a man wearing a sign saying the end is nigh. Demolition teams are set to begin a second day dismantling shelters in the Calais 'Jungle' migrant camp. Overnight, police tear gas was used to disperse migrants who hurled rocks at demolition squads. The action prompted more desperate people to try and cross over to Britain by jumping on board lorries under the cover of darkness. Advertisement Migrants gather in a stand-off against police last night Authorities had received permission from a court in France to begin bulldozing large parts of the camp last week. A judge ordered the eviction of around 1,000 migrants and refugees, but spared their "communal facilities" such as churches, mosques and schools from being flattened in the raid that began yesterday. Monday saw some migrants setting fire to their tents in an angry stand-off with police. Officers gathered in lines on the perimeter of the camp's southern section as 'Jungle' inhabitants were told their only option was to move. Advertisement Migrants and activists watch makeshift shelters burn About 100 shacks were said to have been dismantled on Monday. Large groups of migrants - around 150, according to reports - temporarily blocked police vans from entering the site by walking in the road. Some wielded sticks and iron bars. Lliana Bird, co-founder of Help Refugees, warned HuffPost UK the eviction would leave thousands of people with no place else to turn to. Migrants and activists face-off with French riot police "It has been publicly accepted in court that there are not enough state run places for all the refugees being evicted to go to, so this move will simply be making thousands of vulnerable people homeless," she said. Advertisement "With over 3,500 people in the zone to be bulldozed, and just over 1,000 places available in containers and French run centres there are more than 2,500 men, women and children who will soon be facing winter weather without shelter, and with no where to go once their current homes are destroyed. Supporters of democratic candidate Bernie Sanders gather in London, Tuesday, March 1, 2016 as voting begins in the U.S. Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein) Frank Augstein/AP With Big Ben providing a backing track, Americans in London chant "feel the Bern" as they make their way to a Super Tuesday polling station on Tuesday evening. Today is a crucial day in the race for the White House. And Democrats living abroad also get a say in whether Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders ends up as their party's presidential nominee. Advertisement An ability to create noise may not translate into support, but Sanders supporters were in good voice in the shadow of the British Houses of Parliament. Travis Mooney is clear why he will not vote for Clinton. "She's an untrustworthy person," he says. The 40-year-old does not like the "third way" centre-left politics of the Clintons and former Labour British prime minister Tony Blair which many on the left on both sides of the Atlantic see as Conservative-lite. And if Clinton ends up as his party's nominee, Mooney would have to "think about" whether he would vote for her or not. Advertisement Another Sanders fan, Matt, an artist from Philadelphia who has lived in London for five years adds that it is "obvious" why he did not support Clinton. "She's bought and sold. She's lobbiest, big money, she's the same cookie-cutter politician," he says. "Bernie's different, man. He's actually revolutionary. If you're not behind him you're behind the same old big money bullshit." If Clinton wins the nomination, he will vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein. The line to vote in the Democrats Abroad primary in central-London, which stretches around the corner of a takeaway sushi restaurant frequented by British government officials, no doubt contains Clinton as well as Sanders voters. But it is the Sanders fans wearing badges, stickers and carrying an illuminated sign - much to the bafflement of British passers-by making their way home from work. Michael, a 19-year-old, student, says he is voting for Sanders because the Vermont Senator "cares about getting money out of politics" and has thrust the issue of student debt into the limelight. "He sees the student loan debt crisis for what it is and nobody talked about it prior to him, maybe Elizabeth Warren," he says. He is unimpressed with Clinton as the preordained frontrunner. "For someone who is supposed to be the inevitable candidate I think she should have came forward with these policies far before him," he adds. Unlike some other Sanders supporters queuing to vote, Steven quickly adds he will vote for Clinton if she beats Sanders to the nomination. "If she got to the general election I most certainly will vote for her. Because it will most likely be against Donald Trump. And I will not vote for a fascist," he says. Advertisement His friend Michael, who has been studying healthcare abroad in London for two months and sees the British NHS as a model to emulated back home, agrees. "He really, really concerns me," he says of Trump. "The moment I heard him talk about banning refugees and his disdain for Muslims, I was appalled and cringing extremely hard," he says. He adds: "This is someone who is hoping to go on to represent our country and if other countries are going to view us by this man, that's not what America is and that's not what we should be viewed as." Paul Wood More than 70 firefighters have been tackling a "difficult" fire in an industrial yard near the M25, which has caused ash and sparks to drift over the motorway. Ten fire engines addressed the fire on Whitewebbs Lane in Enfield, which has destroyed a warehouse and badly damaged cars, forklift trucks, lorries and caravans. Advertisement Heavy smoke filled the sky after the fire broke out on Tuesday morning and Highways England warned motorists on the M25 at junction 24 and 25 to take extra care. Around 35 propane gas cylinders have been removed from the site. Photographer Paul Wood shared dramatic video and pictures of the fire, which the London Fire Brigade called "incredible". A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade told The Huffington Post UK that the team was working "exceptionally hard" to deal with the blaze. Advertisement The fire has been "under control" since around 6am but fire crews from Enfield and surrounding fire stations are still dealing with "pockets of fire". Six engines and around 30 firefighters will remain on the scene for most of the morning. A caravan on the site was safely evacuated before the firefighters arrived, and the two men inside were not injured. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham Ellis was at the scene, and said: This is a difficult fire to fight but crews worked exceptionally hard to bring it under control. Firefighters will remain at the scene throughout the morning damping down pockets of fire." Advertisement File photo dated 06/08/13 of someone using a laptop keyboard, as the Government announced that there will be no legal changes to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act after a review of the legislation found it was "working well". Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire A decision not to charge for Freedom of Information (FoI) requests has been hailed as a "victory for journalism". The government revealed on Tuesday that there will be no legal changes to the FoI Act after a review of the legislation found it was "working well". Advertisement Many journalists praised the decision on Twitter: Good news that UK #foi act is safe for now https://t.co/XnP3dHz7lz Wendy Bacon (@Wendy_Bacon) March 1, 2016 Brilliant victory for #journalism in the UK today with @guardian winning 10-year Freedom of Information battle re #princecharlesletters Ross Armour (@RossArmour346) May 13, 2015 Excellent news! Freedom of Information charges ruled out after review https://t.co/4j0AH3TfzE George Greenwood (@GeorgeGreenwood) March 1, 2016 Some encouraging news about the Freedom of Information Act - https://t.co/fneQ6f1duG - well done to all involved in #HandsoffFoI campaign News Associates (@NewsAssociates) March 1, 2016 Advertisement FoIs have been used to uncover all sorts of information, from highly scandalous stories to issues simply useful to the man in the street. We've rounded up some of the things we wouldn't have known without FoIs: Things We Wouldn't Know Without Freedom Of Information Requests [LIST] See gallery An independent commission examined the law amid claims by some parts of the public sector that it was placing too much of a burden on them and restricting officials' ability to provide confidential advice to ministers. But Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock said there would be no wholesale changes to the law, and pledged to encourage transparency in the public sector. He said: "After 10 years, we took the decision to review the Freedom of Information Act and we have found it is working well. "We will not make any legal changes to FOI. We will spread transparency throughout public services, making sure all public bodies routinely publish details of senior pay and perks. After all, taxpayers should know if their money is funding a company car or a big pay off." Advertisement The prospect of changes to FOI triggered a backlash from journalists, opposition politicians and transparency campaigners. Data watchdog Christopher Graham told the cross-party commission examining the system that the laws did not prevent officials providing advice to ministers. Giving evidence in January the Information Commissioner said he was "rather impatient" with critics who claimed the law was a "disaster" because of the impact on Whitehall decision-making. The Times reported that the Government will not introduce fees for FOI applications as they would "deprive the media of the tools they need to pursue important investigations that are in the public interest". Advertisement Cabinet minister Chris Grayling has previously accused journalists of "misusing" the laws to "generate" stories. The Oscar-winning actor George Kennedy has died aged 91. A star with more than 200 acting credits to his name, the popular veteran died in Idaho on Sunday morning of lung cancer, with the news confirmed to CNN by his grandson Cory Schenkel. Advertisement George Kennedy starred with Leslie Nielsen in the 'Naked Gun' comedies He made his name playing opposite Paul Newman in 'Cool Hand Luke' in 1967. His performance as 'Dragline' brought him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and he was also nominated for a Golden Globe. Following long service in the Army, George Kennedy started his new career as a military adviser to the 'Sergeant Bilko Show'. He went on to make the most of his military bearing - standing 6'4" in his socks - in a huge range of roles, most memorably as mechanic Joe Patroni in 'Airport' and its three sequels, and in fellow disaster flick 'Earthquake'. Flowers left for George on his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame One of his most successful partnerships was with Leslie Nielsen in the 'Naked Gun' films, where he played Police Captain Ed Hocken. Advertisement On TV, he was one of the original stars of 'Dallas', where he played corrupt oil baron Carter McKay - a stalwart of the Oil Barons' Ball - and acted into his eighties, taking on a seven-year stint most most recently on long-running soap 'The Young and the Restless'. "My grandpa loved acting. Every opportunity he had, he enjoyed with such a passion," his grandson told CNN following his death. "It was definitely amazing to see that passion. Acting was natural to him." Tap picture to start slideshow: Jeremy Corbyn has insisted he will not be getting rid of his, stylish, grey tracksuit anytime soon. Appearing on ITV's The Agenda programme on Monday evening, the Labour leader brandished a fake newspaper front page with the headline: "Tracksuits are back". "This is my shiny grey tracksuits that nobody, but nobody, but nobody, likes. Except me," he said. Presenter Tom Bradby asked if it was "staying at all costs" in his wardrobe. Nodding, Corbyn replied "the tracksuit's there" before offering to give it to Bradby. Advertisement Corbyn's dress sense was heavily scrutinised last week after David Cameron angrily told Corbyn to "put on a proper suit, do up your tie and sing the national anthem" after Labour MPs heckled him about his mother during prime minister's questions. Afterwards Corbyn appeared to take the jibe in good humour. A video clip of Corbyn getting ready for a TV interview showed the Labour leader laughing as he told the camera crew: "I've got to do the tie up." Grinning, Corbyn said of the prime minster: "He's actually jealous of the jacket. You know what's really jealous of? That I can go shopping in the greatest shopping centre in the world, Holloway Road N7, and he's stuck with Bond Street." Advertisement Appearing alongside Corbyn on The Agenda, comedian Marcus Brigstocke mocked Cameron for his angry response at PMQs having "poured" out of him. Corbyn laughed as Brigstocke added: He was properly cross because somebody mentioned his mum. Who presumably he doesnt know very well because he went to boarding school when he was seven." Questioned about criticism at PMQs on his dress sense, Corbyn told the programme with a smile: "I was obviously deeply hurt." BBC Jeremy Corbyn's history of rebelling against past leaders does not undermine his demand for loyalty from Labour MPs because his rebellions were right but theirs are wrong, Ken Livingstone has said. Last night backbenchers were told by Corbyn to stick to the leadership's message. The Labour leader's pleas for party discipline fall on deaf ears for some MPs - who point to Corbyn's past as a serial rebel who frequently defied the party Whip. Advertisement But Livingstone said Labour MPs were "out of kilter with the membership" and said "they've got to come to terms with Jeremy, not the other way around". "Jeremy and myself, we rebelled a lot, as [shadow chancellor] John McDonnell did. Go back and look at our rebellions. It's turned out we were right," he told the BBC's Daily Politics today. "We didn't want to see the bankers set free, we didn't go along with Thatcher's agenda." Livingstone said Corbyn was right to demand message discipline from his MPs because his message was right. "The simple fact is there's an awful lot of Labour MPs who can't come to terms with the fact that the British public at two elections, and the Labour Party membership last summer, have turned their back on the old Blair nonsense," he said. Advertisement "The message that Jeremy's got is one that is about rebuilding our economy by investing in infrastructure, increasing research, we've been going low wage, low skill, low tech, that's not the future." The former London mayor and Corbyn ally who sits on the party's National Executive Committee said he was often stopped in the street by people who ask: "What did the last Labour government do for me? It did a lot for the bankers and the small elite at the top." Livingstone said under the last Labour government voters saw "millions of jobs lost in manufacturing" while the party "didn't build homes for rent people could afford". The election of Corbyn as leader, he said, was "a new start" for the party. Asked by presenter Jo Coburn while the party's poll ratings were so low if the Labour leader was taking it in the right direction, Livingstone said it was in part due to "six months of lies and distortions by the media". He said Corbyn was "not going to change his policies because of the Tory media" and would "gradually win public support" ahead of May's local elections. Advertisement The Deutsche Lufthansa AG logo sits on the wing and tailfin of an Airbus A320neo aircraft during a delivery ceremony outside the Airbus Group SE factory in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016. Lufthansa, the sole airline so far to take delivery of the new A320neo model, will limit the plane to domestic German routes until glitches with the engine cooling system are resolved in coming weeks. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg via Getty Images A nine-year-old girl has died on board a Lufthansa flight from Shanghai to Munich. The aircraft, which was carrying 268 passengers, made an unscheduled landing in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk after a medical emergency was declared on Tuesday night, German outlet PZ News reports. It adds the unnamed child suffered a pre-existing condition but her cause of death was not revealed. Advertisement She was an Italian citizen, an ethnic Chinese, a spokesman for the West Siberian department of Russias Investigative Committee told the Russian news agency TASS. He added: The child was not breathing and had no pulse. The doctors tried to bring her back to life but to no avail. A spokesman for Lufthansa confirmed the death on board flight LH 727 to the Huffington Post UK. She added: "The deceased passenger was a child travelling together with its parents. After a diversion to Krasnoyarsk/Russia, a doctor pronounced the passenger dead. A concept drawing of Lockheed Martin's new Quiet Supersonic Transport X-Plane. NASA has unveiled plans to start work on an experimental new plane which would be capable of 'quiet' supersonic flight. By creating a 'low boom' aircraft NASA hopes the design will then lead to the rebirth of commercial supersonic flight, not seen since the Concorde took to the skies. Advertisement Working in partnership with Lockheed Martin, NASA has awarded the company $20m to begin the preliminary work of coming up with a design and then a physical test aircraft which can successfully prove that such an aircraft can be made. The aircraft would be the latest in a long and prestigious line of 'X-Plane' aircraft which have been designed by NASA to test out revolutionary new flight designs. Advertisement The original X-Plane, the Bell X-1 reached a speed of over 1,000mph in 1948. The Bell X-1 was the first of these aircraft which saw Chuck Yeager break the sound barrier for the first time. Since then X-Planes have tested everything from unmanned flight to new wing designs. NASA is working hard to make flight greener, safer and quieter all while developing aircraft that travel faster, and building an aviation system that operates more efficiently, said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. To that end, its worth noting that it's been almost 70 years since Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 as part of our predecessor agency's high speed research. Now were continuing that supersonic X-plane legacy with this preliminary design award for a quieter supersonic jet with an aim toward passenger flight." NASA's X48c showed off a new 'blended wing' design which would reduce on drag. Advertisement The US Navy's X-47b experimental drone showed how an unmanned aircraft could land itself on a moving vessel. Seamus Daly, who had been accused of murdering 29 people in the 1998 Real IRA Omagh bombing, has been released from prison after the case against him collapsed. Daly, 45, from Jonesborough, was the only suspect left in the case of the murder of 29 people killed in the 1998 bombing and a series of other offences. He had been on remand in prison since being charged with the atrocity and a range of other terror offences in April 2014 but on Tuesday the case against him was dropped. Advertisement The charges against Seamus Daly have been dropped The Co Armagh man walked free from Maghaberry high-security prison in Co Antrim just before 3pm, declining to make public comment before being driven away by family members. The decision to drop the charges was based on insufficient evidence, according to Sky News. No-one has ever been convicted of the murders in a criminal court. Daly has always denied involvement in the bombing, which inflicted the greatest loss of life of any terror atrocity in the history of the Troubles. All charges have now been dropped, the Press Association reported. Advertisement In 2009, Daly and three others were ordered to pay 1.6 million in damages to the bereaved relatives - money they are still pursuing. Daly faced a civil retrial after successfully appealing against the original finding, but the second trial delivered the same outcome as the first, with judge Mr Justice John Gillen ruling him responsible for the attack. Tuesday's dramatic decision by the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service (PPS) comes before Daly's case had even reached the floor of the Crown Court. A pre-trial hearing commenced in Omagh Magistrates' Court last week to establish whether the evidence in the case was of sufficient strength to warrant such a trial. Advertisement The aftermath of the Omagh bombing That decision has now been taken out of District Judge Peter King's hands, as the PPS has withdrawn the charges before the preliminary hearing had reached conclusion. A PPS lawyer officially withdrew the prosecution during a routine magistrate's hearing at Ballymena Courthouse, Co Antrim, on Tuesday morning. The dead came from both sides of the Irish border, England and Spain. One of the victims was pregnant with twins. More than 300 people were injured in the attack. Story continues below slideshow... Omagh Bombing See gallery Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was one of those killed , said he agreed with the decision to drop charges against Daly. However, he said he was angry that families of the victims were kept in the dark over the cases collapse. Advertisement He said: We have been failed once again by the police service, by the prosecution service, by the government and by the criminal justice system. A suspected meteor lit up the skies of the Scottish Highlands on Monday, prompting calls to the police from worried witnesses. A loud boom that shook buildings was also reported. Footage of the strange event was caught on car dashcams with one showing a bright white object streaking through the sky. Advertisement Captured this on my dashcam tonight beauty!! Posted by Bill Addison on Monday, February 29, 2016 More footage of flash in sky - Dee Scholes filmed the possible meteor near Glenlivet https://t.co/0DbljpAPnVhttps://t.co/Il4HfVJNJ8 BBC Scotland News (@BBCScotlandNews) March 1, 2016 Jenni Morrison told STV News: "It was amazing, I've never seen anything like it. It was like someone had switched a light on." Police said they received calls around 6.55pm on Monday evening. STV News weather presenter Sean Batty said: "I've had lots of tweets from around the north and east of the country this evening with people reporting a loud bang and a large flash in the sky. Most tweets have come from around Perthshire, Angus, Aberdeenshire and Moray. Advertisement "There are no thunderstorms being reported anywhere in Scotland this evening, therefore this is not due to a flash of lightning. "My only conclusion would be that this is indeed a meteor which has burned up and exploded during entry into our upper atmosphere. "The flash of light would be of an extraordinary level, and given tonight's full cloud cover this would have illuminated the whole sky." Children across England are learning what secondary school they will be attending from September 2016 today (Tuesday 1 March). Although this is a day of excitement for many, councils have warned that many children are likely to miss out on a desired place at their first choice of school. Advertisement The Local Government Association has issued a fresh call for local authorities to be handed the ability to open new secondary schools, or force academies - which are not under council control - to expand. The organisation has argued that without these powers, councils will not be able to meet their legal duty to ensure every child has a school place in the future. Primary schools in England have been struggling to keep up with demand in recent years due to a rising population, according to PA, and this is now moving through into secondary schools. Advertisement Children will be finding out which secondary school they will be attending in September 2016 In 2015, around one in six children did not get a spot at their first choice of secondary school. There were 54,600 appeals against school allocations - 3.7% of the total number of admissions to state schools. Just over a fifth (22.8%) of the appeals actually heard by a panel were decided in favour of the parents. The Government has said it pumped 5 billion into creating half a million new places over the last parliament and has committed a further 7 billion over the next six years. Speaking about National Offer Day, Justine Roberts, chief executive of parenting website Mumsnet, said while many families are happy with the place their child is given, others are left feeling anxious and struggling to find a spot at the school they want for their child. She said, according to PA: "How well the school admissions system works depends almost entirely on where you live. "Lots of parents are very content with the school places allocated to their children, but in some areas - parts of London, Bristol, East Sussex and Birmingham, for example - the admissions system is starting to feel seriously creaky. Advertisement "Stories abound of some families cheating the system, which only adds to people's anxiety and sense of injustice; many Mumsnet users say that their children can't get into schools that are a few hundred metres away from their front doors. "Parents are struggling, and the consensus on Mumsnet is that more needs to be done by central and local government to address the problems now." Families who do not win a place at their favoured school can appeal, and one admissions expert said more are now willing to take that step, and get legal help to do so. Matt Richards, of legal advice firm schoolappeals.com, said: "A few years ago out of 10 phone calls to us, maybe two would pay for some help. Now it's more like 50%. Advertisement "People are much more switched on in terms of their legal rights and in terms of not wanting to do it on their own and asking for help." Schools minister Nick Gibb said, according to PA: "We want every parent to be able to send their children to a good local school. Despite rising pupil numbers the vast majority of parents are able to do so. "The Government is investing billions of pounds creating new schools and new school places and through our free schools programme we want to open 500 more new schools during the five years of this parliament." Younger people could be forced to work into their 70s before retiring following a Government review of the state pension age, which critics say was quietly announced today. With all eyes in Westminster on controversial new surveillance laws, ministers revealed former CBI boss John Cridland would look at whether the current threshold - 66 by 2020 - is optimal in the long run. Given that people are living longer, putting a squeeze on public finances, it paves the way for men and women to work much longer. Advertisement In a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament, ministers said current plans to raise the state pension age to 67 by 2028 would not be affected. Labour seized on the Governments gross mishandling of a higher pension age for women born in the 1950s as evidence that people were right to worry, and that the Government would speed up rises in the state pension age. Owen Smith, Labours Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, told HuffPost UK: Its shameful that they have tried to smuggle out this important news in a written statement, hoping that it would go unnoticed. Advertisement Labours Owen Smith: "Its shameful that they have tried to smuggle out this important news." The move was announced as details of the Governments snoopers charter were revealed, which hands sweeping powers to authorities to monitor peoples web history. And it comes as the EU referendum debate becomes increasingly fierce and a crucial House of Commons clash between Chancellor George Osborne and his Labour counterpart, John McDonnell. The Department for Work and Pensions would doubtless argue the announcement was also made on the official government website, though it did not feature on the Whitehall department's Twitter feed at the time of writing. Stories 'buried' today? The Government announced it was delaying for a year the implementation of a cap on housing benefit payments on social rented properties, which critics said could have left people homeless. Meanwhile, ministers also announced a specialist "unit" tackling wildlife crime that was set to close has been awarded a reprieve. As it stands, the state pension age will rise to 66 by 2020, to 67 as early as 2026, 68 in the mid-2030s, and then 69 in the late-2040s. The terms of the review make clear a suitable state pension age will form part of the review, which takes place every five years. The decades-old default retirement age of 65 has been phased out. In January, MPs warned women were being "shafted and short-changed" by a decision to accelerate the rate at which the state pension age is to be equalised. The state pension age for women was due to rise from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020 but the coalition Government decided to speed up the process in 2011. Advertisement As a result the state pension age for women is due to go up to 65 in November 2018 and then to 66 by October 2020. My speech in response to the lack of action from the Government on the #WASPI issue."The responses the Government have made have been completely inaccurate and often irrelevant" Posted by Mhairi Black MP on Monday, 1 February 2016 SNP's Mhairi Black attacks the Government for trying to "justify doing absolutely nothing" on women's pensions Labours Mr Smith said: The Tories have a record of failing to be straight with people about the true impact of their pension policy, always keen to trumpet any potential gains from reforms, but reluctant to be honest with those set to lose out. So people are right to worry that the terms of this review may suggest that the Tory Government is set to speed up rises in the state pension age, throwing into chaos the retirement plans of millions of British workers. The gross mishandling of the acceleration of the state pension age for women born in the 1950s has already caused huge financial worries for 2.6 million women across the country, and the Government should consider this review an opportunity to look again at what more can be done to help those who are set to lose out. Advertisement The Government need to be honest with those women about what they now intend to do to help and honest with the rest of the population about what this review might mean for everyones future pension plans. At the daily Lobby briefing for journalists, the Prime Minister's official spokeswoman today highlighted just two Written Ministerial Statements: one from the DWP on Baroness Michelle Mone's review of business start-ups in deprived areas, the other on the review of the BBC. When asked why she hadn't mentioned the written statement on pension changes, the spokeswoman replied: "I don't always mention every WMS. It would a be a long list on some days." Minister for Pensions, Baroness Ros Altmann, said she was confident the review would be thorough, carefully considered and wide-ranging. A student has lost both legs and fingers after mistaking deadly meningitis for freshers' flu. Charlotte Hannibal, 19, from Selston, Notts, was a healthy teenager before contracting the toxic virus which left her with a sore throat and flu like symptoms after a house party. The former Business Studies student was eventually diagnosed with septicaemia and meningitis - meningococcal group W which usually targets young adults. The brave teen was hospitalised for two months before doctors decided to amputate both legs below the knee, as well as half the fingers on Charlotte's left hand in a bid to save her life. Advertisement The former Business Studies student was eventually diagnosed with septicaemia and a rare form of meningitis A year later, despite her life changing dramatically, Charlotte now has a can-do attitude and is making progress every day - she's now campaigning to warn other students to have the vaccination which she believes could've prevented the bacterial infection. Charlotte, who is still recovering from her ordeal, said: "I've always been a normal healthy person, I can't believe how much my life has changed in a year. Advertisement "I was going out at least once a week after starting university and I was having the time of my life, I never thought something like this could happen to me. "The Saturday before I fell poorly I'd been at a house party with my flat mates, on the Monday I left my lectures early as I felt so unwell, then I phoned my dad to pick me up Tuesday morning. "Throughout the night I woke up vomiting and my condition was deteriorating quickly by Wednesday I was in an induced coma for 17 days while doctors battled to save my life. "I had severe memory loss when I woke up all I can remember is having a sore throat and flu like symptoms so I just presumed I had freshers' flu as it had been going around. "My parents and doctors explained I'd contracted meningitis and septicaemia which had turned my lower legs, fingers and the end of my nose black. Advertisement "It was such a scary experience, my body was containing the septicaemia but it couldn't get rid of it completely so after two months doctors had no choice but to operate." The teen was hospitalised for two months before doctors decided to amputate both legs below the knee "I've had to make huge changes to my life, but I wasn't upset when doctors told me they had to amputate, I just wanted to get better and would've done anything at that point to beat the virus. "I feel incredibly lucky though, I'm still alive and although I've lost both my lower legs and fingers, some people have lost a lot more." After Charlotte's worried parents Dawn and Peter, and her younger sister, Sophie, dialed 111 for advise they took her to a walk in centre which they believe may have saved her life. Advertisement Charlotte was then rushed straight to an intensive care unit on February 25, after her legs had become so weak that she could no longer walk and doctors recognised that something was seriously wrong. Over the next two months Charlotte's body tried to fight off the blood poisoning at Nottingham City Hospital, but sadly in May doctors made the tough decision to amputate after the virus kept returning. Charlotte said: "By the time we got to the walk-in centre I felt so weak, I struggled to walk so my parents hired a wheelchair, little did any of us know then that that would be the last time I stood on my own two feet. "I later had complete organ failure and I had started developing a rash. "When I first woke from the coma I was so frightened I couldn't understand where I was and my body was completely paralysed, I could only move my eyes and mouth. "I spent 27 days in intensive care, before being moved to a burns and plastic ward where I spent a further 12 weeks as my scarring was similar to a burns victim. Advertisement "As well as battling both meningitis and septicemia my kidneys had stopped working too, so I've been on dialysis ever since and I'm hoping for a transplant later this year. "When I thought I had freshers' flu my hands and feet felt really cold but then my stomach started to bloat too, I didn't know it then but my kidneys were shutting down." On June 15, Charlotte was able to go home for the first time since being admitted to hospital over three months earlier. Since the terrifying ordeal, Charlotte has spent the last eight months continuing to beat everyone's expectations in her recovery and continues to challenge and push herself every day. Charlotte still goes to multiple rehabilitation appointments to help aid her recovery every week but she can now ride a bike, eat using one hand and can even do nail art on her prosthetic legs. Advertisement She added: "I used to be the laziest person I know but now I will give anything a go, I have a long journey ahead of me still but I will give every step of the way 100%. "It felt amazing being back on my bike again for the first time recently and before all of this I used to love nail art so I'm continuing to do things I love. "I've found new ways of using my left hand without my fingers, and soon I will be getting a cosmetic hand which will be amazing. "I hope to return to my studies in the future too, although the past year has really opened my eyes and I'm now considering an education in medicine." As well as recovering Charlotte has teamed up with her best friend William Fowkes and Meningitis Now to raise money and awareness. Advertisement Charlotte riding a bike, something she has only recently re-learned Charlotte said: "Meningitis Now have been incredible, I can't thank them and my family and friends enough for all the support they have given me. "I plan to do as much as I can to fundraise and raise awareness, I never thought I'd get meningitis I don't think anyone does but it can happen to anyone at any time. "I hear that a lot of young people are scared of injections, but my advice would be that one needle is worth it to prevent the hundreds of needles and operations I've had to endure since. "I was so happy when in August a free vaccination became available for all first year university students and 17-18-year-olds in the UK, now people just need to make sure they have it. Advertisement "I can't urge people enough, if I had had the vaccination, myself and my family would have never had to have gone through such a terrifying ordeal. "I'm taking each day as it comes but I know if I can get through what I have done in the last year, I will be able to do anything now." Charlotte now has a 'can-do' attitude and is making progress every day Lucie Riches, the East Midlands Regional Support Officer for Meningitis Now said: "We'd like to thank Charlotte and William for their wonderful fundraising efforts. "We rely on the energy, enthusiasm and initiative of her and those like her to raise the funds we need each and every day to continue our vital research, awareness and support work. Advertisement "Knowing the signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia, remaining vigilant and getting medical help quickly can save lives. "Common signs & symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia are fever, cold hands and feet, headache, vomiting, muscle pain and a rash. "If in doubt, trust your instincts and seek medical advice. The five things you need to know on Tuesday March 1, 2016 1) BARRELS OF BRENT CRUDE Cabinet meets this morning and the mood around the coffin-shaped table will be the most sombre for a long time. With the PMs own political death after a Brexit vote now openly canvassed by Tory MPs, its no wonder. Will Iain Duncan Smith finally explode, or will the PM himself reassert his authority again? Will anyone raise the fact that IDS is openly defying the No.10 edict on EU papers (see below)? Advertisement But the bigger picture is on just whether Dave can get the punters to trust him as they did in the general election last May. And whether Boris Johnson is actually the guy who will swing the referendum. Many Eurosceptics derided No.10s latest dossier on the risks of Brexit. Cameron did a quick David Brent impression on his roadshow yesterday, declaring This is not Project Fear, its Project Fact. Fact! Some say it's crude, but will it be effective, as it was in the Scots independence referendum? There were lots of scary things in the Government dossier, not least the threat of a sugar tax on British sweets and chocs. No wonder Chris Grayling slammed the Governments relentless campaign of fear. But it was Boris who had the best line, appearing on LBC to sum up Daves new tactic as baloney. Just as worrying for No.10 though is the fact that Boris is next Sundays star guest on the Andrew Marr Show (which confirmed him yesterday). Given all the alleged promises to No.10 that he and Gove would just set out a principled stance and then go quiet during the campaign, that looks like yet another act of war. It is indeed getting more fractious by the day. Rachel Sylvester quotes in her Times column a minister who has discussed Europe extensively with the PM in the past few days. He defends the occasional flash of anger such as his slapdown for Boris and has a quote guaranteed to upset Eurosceptics: He is determined to win. Finally he has stood up to the Out bullies and their tears are those of spoilt children being finally told No. Ooer, missus. Advertisement Politico website has some fascinating detail of No.10s EU man Daniel Korski and his lunch last Friday with diplomats in London. No.10 wanted banks and big business to keep quiet and let the In case be made by small business, apparently. But the joke over lunch was that the In campaign slogan Stronger, Safer and Better Off was inspired by Daft Punks 2001 hit: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. Peter Mandelson makes a speech today ramming home the trade tariffs point. Referring to Lord Lawson, the Dark Lord told Today: Hes in engaging in fantasy politics and we need more facts, less fantasy. Yes, you read that right. Lord Hill, the UK Commissioner for Financial Stability aka Daves mate, appears before the Treasury Select at 9.15am. 2) THE P-YELL-P Monday night is Fight Night as far as the Parliamentary Labour Party is concerned these days. Last nights meeting didnt disappoint grapple fans as the Labour leader and Shadow Communities Minister Jon Trickett came in for a bit of a no-holds barred kicking from their own MPs. The PLP is a four-letter word for Corbyn, one MP tells me. Ive written a full account HERE, but in a nutshell some MPs were irritated that they didnt get a chance to quiz Corbyn directly, others didnt like his presentation (his first to them of 2016) and yet others were in despair at Tricketts talk on the local elections campaign. Advertisement Tricketts missing slides in his slide show were ridiculed, his figures questioned and his lack of Tory and UKIP strategy condemned. Monty Python and Only Fools and Horses have been used to mock Trickett. It wasnt pretty and many felt it should have been stopped mid-fight. Nothing concentrates politicians minds like looming elections and many in Labour are worried the party will be going backwards not forwards in Wales, Scotland and English town halls this May. Liz Kendall made a rare intervention at the PLP last night and said Labour should be aiming to gain at least 434 council seats (a very specific minimum). Yet it could actually see a net loss of seats for the first time since 1982. Ive blogged on why fresh comparisons with Michael Foot could well surface on May 6. Corbyns appearance on ITVs The Agenda saw him declare Damian McBride was a sinner who has repented, defend his shellsuit fashion and make an unhelpful intervention for the In campaign (he seemed to say Daves Brussels deal was legally questionable). Meanwhile, Neil Kinnock has told a BBC radio documentary that no party can win a national United Kingdom election if it sustains a stance which means unilateral nuclear disarmamentI am seeking the exercise of the skills of leadership. Thats a tough opening gambit for Damian McBride. 3) SNOOPER TROOPERS At midday the Investigatory Powers Bill is set to be published, followed by a possible Commons statement from Theresa May. Theres been a bit of briefing overnight to suggest that the Home Sec has taken on board concerns expressed by all three Parliamentary committees reviewing the draft bill. A Home Office says: We have strengthened safeguards, enhanced privacy protections and bolstered oversight arrangements. But privacy and civil liberties campaigners have heard this kind of thing before. On encryption, internet firms look like they have won a partial battle but there are still powers in the bill that will worry many on that. (Apples court case in the US is bound to be cited today, by both sides). Advertisement Yet it is on the vexed topic of keeping a record of all websites visited by each of us that real fears remain for some. And despite the spin otherwise it looks like firms will still be required to keep internet connection records (ICRs) for 12 months - and the cops and security agencies will be given even greater powers to use that data to pursue leads in crimes other than those involving life and limb. At least the Government has listened on the Freedom of Information Act review, with the Mail hailing the victory on its front page (journalists will still be able to root out stuff from councils with no charge). Thats a bit less pressure on Sir Cover Up (see below) but the Times reports ministers will still be allowed to assert a veto over some requests. BECAUSE YOUVE READ THIS FAR In case you missed it, watch Donald Trump lay into Marco Rubios habit of reaching for a water bottle when hes nervous. Its a classic Trump moment. 4) JEZ BE FRIENDS At 6am today, TV crews were planning a dawn doorstep. Not for a Cabinet minister, but for the Cabinet Secretary. Yes, things are that crazy right now in the debate over whether Sir Jeremy Heywood is preventing ministers from doing their day jobs or rigging the EU referendum against pro-Brexit ministers. I have to say its pretty extraordinary when you have a minister of the crown (Priti Patel) accusing the most senior civil servant of committing an unconstitutional act, as she did yesterday. New reader start here: this all stems from a belief that Heywoods new note last week - banning civil servants from preparing new research for anti-EU cabinet ministers that could be used in the EU referendum campaign - was aimed directly at Iain Duncan Smith. No 10 was worried that IDS would ask his officials to assess the credibility of the PMs migrant benefit plans. Advertisement The Sun today has a nice scoop that IDS has taken the explosive step of defying the edict from Heywood. Mr Duncan Smith told a confidante: "My civil servants don't work for Jeremy Heywood, they work for me. It's me who has the seals of state, not him. I have told them that all European Union documents must pass across my desk. I trust my staff, and they will not withhold information from me. And according to some Whitehall sources, Patel may have a point as Secretaries of State alone are responsible for their own departments, not the Cabinet Secretary. Matt Hancock got 46 minutes of pain yesterday during the Urgent Question on this topic. Today, Heywood faces Bernard Jenkin and his Public Administration Select Committee at 4.15pm. Lets see if Sir Cover Up (he really hates the Mails tagline) keeps his cool. THE ECONOMY, STUPID At 11.30am George Osborne and John McDonnell square up for Treasury Questions. With the Budget looming, everyone will be looking for clues to his thinking. The Chancellor is clearly trying to soften up voters and nervous backbenchers (he met the 1922 Committee yesterday) about fresh cuts in the pipeline hinted to the BBC on his Friday China trip. Its a real test for McDonnell today (dont forget it will be Corbyn who answers for Labour on Budget day itself) as he has lots of possible ammo to fire, not least the contrast between the Autumn Statement complacency and recent warnings of global doom and gloom. Back in November, the OBR gave him a 5bn windfall from revised models and estimates but he spent it U-turns on things like tax credits cuts. He must wish he had the cash today. If Osborne does indeed set out deeper cuts, he may have no choice but to balance them out with a raid of higher rate pensions tax relief. As for McDonnell, he likes to claim Osborne is a bankers Chancellor, so todays Barclays increase in profits to 6bn may be timely. In keeping with his and his leaders approach to politics, the Shadow Chancellor will speak at 1pm at a Public and Commercial Services union protest outside parliament against plans to close almost all HM Revenue and Customs offices. The union is opposing plans by HMRC to close all but a dozen of its 170 offices in the UK and 150 compulsory redundancies in the department. Advertisement If youre reading this on the web, sign-up HERE to get the WaughZone delivered to your inbox. TUC members queue outside the Houses of Parliament to lobby against the Trade Union Bill, London. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire Tory plans to slash Labours cash from trade unions are facing a last-ditch Parliamentary ambush that would block any changes until there is progress on funding of all political parties. HuffPost UK has learned that a key House of Lords committee is poised to recommend that the Governments controversial Trade Union Bill should be halted without wider cross-party consensus. Advertisement Labours general secretary Iain McNicol warned earlier this year that his party faces the loss of 8m a year as the bill forces trade unionists to opt in to a political fund rather than opt out as at present. And MPs have claimed that the attack on the Opposition's funding is part of a wider attempt - along with voter registration, Short Money cuts and boundary changes - to 'rig the system' to keep the Conservatives in power. Labour's general secretary Iain McNicol But in its report published on Wednesday, the Trade Union and Party Funding Committee is expected to call for a sunrise clause to be inserted into the legislation. Advertisement The move would effectively freeze the bill until talks of party funding between Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and others come to a meaningful stage. Opting into the political fund should not be imposed without serious progress in the talks, the clause is believed to make clear. And with Lib Dem and Labour peers outnumbering Tories in the Lords, the clause could win a majority, just as they did over George Osbornes tax credits cuts. The Lords select committee, which believes Cabinet Office minister John Penrose was very unhelpful during its evidence sessions, is expected to actively call for the renewal of cross-party talks on political funding. Advertisement Tim Farron, Lib Dem leader The revelation came as Lib Dem leader Tim Farron today wrote to David Cameron, Jeremy Corbyn and other fellow party leaders to urge the resumption of talks last held in 2013 between the main parties. Reforming funding of political parties is vital if we are to remove the perception that influence and access may be bought, and elections influenced by millions of pounds rather than millions of votes, Mr Farron wrote. A full package of reform is also necessary to achieve balance if the Government pursues its proposals on trade union funding. It is understood that Tory peers on the Lords Select Committee have suggested that the sunrise clause has dubious legality, but they are not in a majority among its members. Advertisement TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady lobbies Parliament on the Bill Trade unionists have complained bitterly that the Trade Union Bills other measures will curb their right to strike, with higher thresholds for ballots. But MPs and peers in all parties have also been worried about the unilateral way the bill affects party funding, which is traditionally subject to cross-party agreement. Although the Tory manifesto pledged a change to the opt-in rules, rebel Tories have pointed out that the manifesto also stated we will continue to seek agreement on a comprehensive package of party funding reform. Former Cabinet Minister Lord Forsyth said earlier this year: Ive no desire to help the Labour party, but I do want to see fairness across the system. And I dont want us to get into an arms race in who can damage each others party most in terms of funding and support. Advertisement LLANDUDNO, WALES - FEBRUARY 27: UKIP Rosette at the UKIP Spring Conference on February 27, 2016 in Llandudno, Wales. UKIP's annual national Spring Conference is being held for the first time in Wales during the Welsh assembly election campaign. The elections for the National Assembly will take place on May 5 with polls predicting UKIP could win nine seats in the Senedd. (Photo by Richard Stonehouse/Getty Images) Richard Stonehouse via Getty Images Ukip activists have been told not to display anything bearing the partys logo while campaigning in the EU referendum, the Huff Post UK can reveal. In an email sent out to branch chairmen across the West Midlands ahead of an action day, activists are specifically instructed that no UKIP logo's, literature, rossettes [sic] must be visible on the day. Advertisement The advice seems to vindicate former party deputy chairman Suzanne Evans, who at the weekend pointed to research which claimed mentioning Nigel Farage or Ukip could deter floating voters from backing the Leave campaign. She cited a British Future study released last year which claimed Mr Farage was one of the two most untrusted voices on the EU issue - along with former Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Ukip leader later said he couldnt care less about the comments which were made at a fringe meeting at the partys Spring conference in North Wales. But an email seen by the Huff Post UK seems to endorse Ms Evanss advice. Sent by Andrew Illsley, Ukips Regional Organiser in the West Midlands, to branch chairmen in the region, the email discusses equipment being sent by Leave.EU for street stall campaigning. Advertisement The email reads: Chairmen: Do not forget to contact other non UKIP like local councillors/ conservative associations to join us. No UKIP logo's, literature, rossettes must be visible on the day. In addition to table packs you will also have sufficient GO referendum leaflets to hand out. GO Liability Insurance Certificate is attached for you to down load. It was mentioned at conference that you will need some weights to stabilise the pull up banner. A couple of small bags of sand are recommended. Have a great days campaigning and please interface with other non UKIP OUTERS -WE ARE ALL WORKING FOR THE SAME RESULT!! Shrewsbury & North Shropshire branches please collect you packs from Jill's office by miday Friday latest. Advertisement Staffs branches - Garry from NUL will pick up on Thursday morning. Don't forget to take pictures for social media & your branch websites. This is the first of a number of GO action days - there may be a few hiccups which we can both learn from for the forthcoming events. As well as supporting Ms Evanss claim about keeping the Ukip brand away from campaigning, the email again highlights the close relationship between Leave.EU and Grassroots Out (GO). Both organisations have received funding from Ukip donor Arron Banks, and Ukip initially backed Leave.EU for designation as the official leave campaign before switching to GO. James McGrory, spokesman for the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign, said: Its little wonder Grassroots Out are embarrassed by their association with UKIP their leader has been described as toxic to voters by his own former deputy. "But hiding the rosettes and logos cant hide the fact that Nigel Farage is the face of their campaign. Advertisement "A cheap rebranding exercise cannot cover up the weakness of UKIPs argument and the bankruptcy of their ideas. CARL COURT via Getty Images Young people in the UK aren't getting a fair deal and we need to do something about it. We can't trust the current government to protect our future, so the trade union movement offers the best opportunity to fight for the basic rights all workers deserve - but young people are particularly likely to lack. 1. We're the first generation in over a century on track to be be poorer than our parents Even though we're better qualified than ever before, it's predicted that people born after 1980 will be poorer than older generations for the whole of our lives. This is a reversal of the trend of the last hundred years, during which time every generation was wealthier than the previous one. Advertisement 2. We're not lazy, feckless or over-entitled It's sometimes claimed that young people deserve to be paid badly because we don't work as hard. In reality, there's every reason to believe that the opposite is true. Young office workers report working an average of seven hours and 22 minutes overtime every week. That's two hours more than over 55s. We want fair treatment, not special privileges. 3. Many of us can't get the hours we need to pay our rent and bills When young people do work fewer hours it's often not out of choice. One in five 16-24s in the UK are underemployed - meaning they'd like to work more hours but aren't offered them by their employer. Frequently, a part-time wage isn't enough to cover basic living costs. 4. We don't know if we'll earn the money we need from one week to the next People aged 16-24 are three times as likely to be on zero hour contracts in comparison with older workers. Often, this means not knowing in advance if you're going to be able to earn enough for the week or month. 5. We're struggling to survive never mind save for the future Saving money is an impossible dream when many of us are struggling to scrape together enough just for rent, food, transport and utilities. Advertisement Low wages and insecure employment are part of the reason why almost half of 18-25 year olds have debts other than student loans. A recent report found that 38% of us have overdrafts and 31% owe money on credit cards. 6. We're more likely to suffer anxiety that keeps us awake at night Medical professionals recognise job insecurity, financial struggle and debt can cause mental health problems. Is it any wonder, then, that young people are more likely to suffer from anxiety than ever before? One in five 16-24s report experiencing high levels of anxiety. 7. We're often expected to work for free just to get a foot in the door Many unemployed young people are being forced to complete unpaid workfare schemes just to receive jobseekers allowance of 57.90 a week. If they were paid at least minimum wage for the hours worked they would earn 201, or 159 for 18-20 year olds. Also, increasing numbers of employers are asking young workers to do unpaid internships. These positions sometimes replace paid entry level roles and may be illegal. 7. We're less likely to be a member of a trade union than older workers It's no coincidence that young workers are the least likely to be trade union members. Research has found that trade union members are better paid and enjoy better working conditions, on average, than other workers. Advertisement 8. We're also particularly likely to work in the least unionised industries Young people are disproportionately likely to be working in industries like retail and hospitality, where most workplaces aren't unionised. Trade unions can achieve the most in workplaces where they're supported by at least 50% of staff. This means the union has a legal right to negotiate with the employer for better working conditions and wages. 10. Trade unions really can make a difference for young workers Even if your employer doesn't recognise a trade union, you could still benefit from joining one. If you are being bullied, harassed or discriminated against at work, or if you undergo a disciplinary procedure, unions can offer legal advice and support - even representing you at tribunal if necessary. The benefits can be even greater if your workplace is officially unionised. In 2013, staff at Hovis in Wigan went on strike against zero-hours work in their factory. They won a landmark victory and Hovis agreed to treat any worker with more than 12 weeks service equally to full-time employees. 11. If we don't fight for our rights, who will? The Conservative government is trying to pass a Trade Union Bill that will limit, among other things, the right to strike. If it's successful, it will be much harder for workers to fight for fair treatment in the future. Advertisement Many of the employment rights we now take for granted - things like health and safety protections and legal entitlement to breaks - were secured through hard-fought battles by trade unions and their members. It's up to young workers to act together to resist new forms of exploitation. And the first step for many is to pick a side by joining the trade union that's most relevant to your job or industry. At the beginning of this year, a new email tool launched to help women stop apologising in emails. The 'Just not sorry' Gmail plug in, scans emails and highlights words such as 'sorry' and 'I think'. But what is the point? Looking at recent research it is clear to see that there is a phenomenon among women in business that needs to be rectified: the tendency to apologise in an array of professional and personal situations. But why do women feel the need to qualify their message with an apology? Studies have shown that the way women and men address colleagues when in a position of power differs. Men in a professional environment naturally adopt an authorative language, whereas women tend not to portray the same confidence. A recent study shows that women do in fact apologise more than men, and the reason for this could be down to women having a lower threshold for what constitutes offensive behavior. When comparing women to their male counterparts, men feel they don't have to apologise for many of their actions, where as women do, whether they are aware of it or not. Pantene has recently brought the issue into the mainstream though its latest advert, titled 'Sorry, not sorry'. In it women are shown in everyday situations apologising, for example, asking a question at work. The scenes are then regenerated without the use of the word 'sorry'. Bringing the issue to the forefront ultimately will help women to address confidence issues, both in their personal life and professionally. Advertisement Recent research from Aston University shows that out of all the leaders chairing board meetings in UK FTSE companies, there was little to no differences in linguistic skills. Both genders used authorative, decisive and goal driven language. This data shows that language is the key element in helping women progress to the top and succeed there. The question is then, how can women change their language to convey confidence? Firstly, using words such as 'I think' and 'I feel' are seen as weak words, they instantly reduce authority. Ellen Petry Leanse, a former executive at Google and Apple recently wrote that the use of 'permission' words such as 'just' covey a subtle message of subordination, she thinks "striking it from a phrase almost always clarifies and strengthens the message". In a similar way, body language has been proven to impact on how authorative a woman is perceived to be in the workplace or in a boardroom. Deborah Gruenfield, from Stanford University believes that women struggle with an inner conflict; likability vs. competency. Gurenfield believes that women can overcome this through their body language. There are a number of traits leaders, and people in high status jobs have in common. One is the ability to own any given space, they take up room and spreading themselves out. Simple adjustments such as reaching your hand out further when you go for the handshake, standing taller or sitting forward with your arms on the table in a meeting can make all the difference when making first impressions and conveying confidence in a professional setting. It is often forgotten in modern history classes that England is the birthplace of our modern conception of liberty. It is from the green and fertile nation, just a short distance from my home city of Edinburgh where I write these words, that the ideas of man's innate right to freely associate, contract, and, most importantly, to freely speak his mind first originated. It was the ancient, inherited English common law (whose origin remains shrouded in magnificent mystery) that gave birth to Magna Carta - the 800th Anniversary of which we celebrated recently - and subsequently begat the rights we all treasure. This tradition is the direct ancestor of J.S. Mill and John Locke and all their beautiful ideas and notions of the individual as supreme above the state and the person above the collective. The fine tradition of English liberty is why the English-speaking countries are the nicest places to live if one values one's own personal independence. As it says on the inscription on the monument to Magna Carta at Runnymede; English liberty and its academic tradition was the inspiration for "liberty under law". Everyone that follows in this tradition must surely be appalled by the recent decision taken by the University of Sheffield. For the unaware, this fine English institution recently took the decision to stop one of its students, 38-year-old Felix Ngole, from continuing his studies because of a Facebook post he shared that expressed disagreement with gay marriage. Mr Ngole shared a post that said "I stand with Kim Davis" - the Kentucky clerk who received some notoriety recently for refusing to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples and was temporarily the darling of the American conservative right. He also provided a biblical argument against homosexual behaviour, calling it an "abomination" - which is biblically accurate. Advertisement His (former?) university contacted him to inform him that his statements "transgressed the boundaries which are not deemed appropriate for someone entering the social work profession" and that his studies, computer use, and library privileges were being terminated. A spokesman from the University of Sheffield told The Tab, which reported the story, that the case was under appeal and that it would not comment further on it. In summary, the situation seems to be as follows: Mr Ngole shared a post on his personal Facebook page that expressed an opinion unbefitting of someone preparing themselves to enter the social work profession and his studies were terminated. First, an unfortunately necessary throat clearing. I do not agree with Mr Ngole. Homosexuality is not an abomination and saying so goes against the evidence we have on the subject. Gay people, regardless of whether their homosexuality is a matter of nature or nurture, are no more or less 'abominable' than their heterosexual or bisexual peers and, in the words of Christopher Hitchens, "homosexuality is not just a form of sex but it is also a form of love and deserves our respect for that reason". Neither is the extension of marriage rights an abomination (as if such a term were of any use in a political sense); it is purely the latest iteration of an ever-evolving institution that at one time considered women to be property and was the exclusive right of non-slaves at a time when slavery itself was an institution. As an aside, the tradition of English liberty can also be credited with the abolition of slavery - another sad omission from modern history textbooks. Advertisement The question is this; should a student be ejected from their course for expressing a view on a political subject - even one as unorthodox as the one Felix Ngole expressed? The answer, for anyone with a belief in free speech, must surely be NO! If we are to hold that that expressing a view in public - the publicity of which is the reason given for the action taken in this case i.e. it is not that Mr Ngole disagrees with homosexuality and gay marriage that got him evicted from his studies (which given that it was Masters level, he would have committed at least three years of his life to) but that he expressed such a view in public - is grounds for being expelled from an academic institution and a professional body then we set a worrying precedent. For instance, one of the candidates for President of the United States is Dr Ben Carson; by all accounts, an accomplished and brilliant neurosurgeon. He also holds some unorthodox beliefs on everything from ancient civilisation to gay marriage (he obliquely compared it to bestiality) and he presumably held these beliefs during his career. Did his beliefs, similar to those of Mr Ngole, prevent him from saving lives or discharging his professional duties as a neurosurgeon? Similarly, the former Congressman from Texas and Libertarian Presidential Candidate Dr Ron Paul wishes to abolish income tax and the Federal Reserve (again, an unorthodox stance) - did his beliefs stop him being an excellent obstetrician and gynaecologist? Self-evidently not! The point is that the personal and the political must be kept separate, especially in the age of social media where all of our opinions become a matter of public record. If the University of Sheffield does not reinstate Mr Ngloe's position as a student then it will contribute to a dangerous precedent that states that being qualified to do your job or complete your course is not enough - you must also think the correct way and hold the correct opinions. How many good social workers - which by all testimony Mr Ngole would have been - would be lost to this doctrine? I ask this, how many good professionals is this principle worth? Finally, if my case is not enough to persuade the reader that the political and the professional require a Jeffersonian 'wall of separation' then I ask simply this; what if it was your principles and your dream job on the line? Advertisement Perhaps you think that would never happen? The break-in alarm wouldn't stop screaming - and I knew I was screwed. Just as self-made multi-millionaire Brian Scudamore, the person I was about to interview, walked through the front door of the building, the ticket machine had malfunctioned and let out an ear shattering series of shrieks. We hadn't met before. "Hi, I'm you're 12:00" I tried to smile over the screeching. Luckily, Brian had a sense of humor and playfully shrugged it off. " Trying to break into the building?" he joked, before retreating from the turmoil. After I managed to get the machine to calm down, I boarded the lift and took it up to the offices of his empire's parent company O2E Brands. Advertisement Greeted by smiling secretaries at the front desk, coffee was thrust into my hand and I was seated by a table in the middle of the large and colorfully decorated office space. As I waited for Brian, I could see that Brian's story was reflected on the walls of the office. He started 1-800-Got-Junk in Vancouver, BC in 1989 to help pay for college, and there was a huge wall size photo capturing where he started. Having began with one truck which he bought for $700 dollars, the image stood in stark contrast to the fast-paced modern office where I sat now. Brian started "The Rubbish Boys" as a way to pay for college in 1989 Over the next decades Brian used his philosophy of taking ordinary businesses like junk removal, and executing them in extraordinary ways. He has tackled junk removal, painting, the moving industry and most recently window washing & gutter cleaning services. The parent company for his businesses is O2E Brands, which stands for ordinary to extraordinary. Advertisement Brian soon joined me and we began recording almost immediately - below is the transcription from our conversation. It's geared toward advice for upcoming entrepreneurs, with a focus on the theme "tips for my 25 year old self". However, upon finishing the interview there are great insights for people at all levels of their entrepreneurial journey. Ben: What is your opinion for someone who just got out of high school and they like the idea of being an entrepreneur - what would you recommend that person does? Brian: For me, my education was learning on the job. It was getting out there and buying a truck and starting to haul junk. It's hard to learn about entrepreneurism in school from a professor who's never run a business. So for me, someone who's 18 that wants to get out and do something on their own; go learn from an entrepreneurial business like O2E brands. We look for people that are entrepreneurial and we say "How do we help you be an entrepreneur" how do we help you find your entry point into this wonderful world of entrepreneurship. So people will often start here, learn things, and go start their own business. Find a place to get your learning; is it from mentors? Is it from asking questions of other people? Is it working in an entrepreneurial business and learning from them? Or is it just taking the leap like I did? Advertisement Ben: In school did you ever have a "small man's complex" where other kids thought you were stupid, but now it's kind of the other way around? Brian: I've never really been one to care what people think, so for me there were some people that thought, "Why are you not into school, why aren't you working hard, why aren't you focused?" They might be looking back going, "Okay, well it's worked out for him!" Brian Scudamore is the Founder and CEO of O2E Brands Ben: Tell me a little about your new window washing & gutter cleaning company Shack Shine. Brian: Shack Shine is our newest brand, and it's going really well. I partnered up with Dave Notte who created this idea; I didn't love the look and feel of the brand but I thought the concept was great. Advertisement Shack Shine is a window cleaning, gutter cleaning, and power washing service based in Vancouver Ben: And I know you are very serious about branding. Brian: It's kind of funny, but I went and hired our branding guy to recreate the Shack Shine look and feel before Dave and I actually did a deal. I was THAT confident that we would come to a deal. I knew that the name worked, but I said let's create something that VISUALLY looks right and it turned out really well. Ben: One of the things that I was reading about that you do is that you're REALLY meticulous with branding. You said that you spent $200,000 on a logo, and I had never heard of that before for a home services company. Brian: With WOW 1 DAY PAINTING the colors were very collegiate; they were blue and orange. I looked at the brand and thought with an industry filled with college run painting companies, we wanted to stand out. So we looked at colors and green is fresh, it's rejuvenating, so we really liked the color. We hired a branding company to help us create the right look, and they got us part way there, but not all the way. So we hired another branding company to come in and take over and they got us further, and then we actually went back to the original guy to take it across the finish line. So it was interesting that we had two branding companies work on it. It cost us more money than maybe it should have, but it took the time and energy to get the look and the feel right. Brian alongside the new WOW 1 DAY PAINTING design Ben: But the thing was was that you understood very well what was broken and you fixed it and it worked. And the ROI (return on investment) on that kind of branding has been, well what was it? Advertisement Brian: It was about $200,000 to re-brand. It was expensive, but the $200,000 wasn't hiring one company, it was the inefficiencies of us spending one year trying to re-create the new look and feel. Ben: That's entrepreneurship, though. Brian: Exactly; and once we got it right we shared it with James Alisch, who's our managing director. I shared it with him before he was a part of the brand, and he got excited about the vision of what we could create; revolutionizing the painting industry - a very "mom and pop" fragmented industry. Just the look of the logo was enough to bring him in to go, "Yeah I can see it." Our customers IMMEDIATELY got excited about the new look and feel, and it's been great. Ben: Looking at the way that you've done things, you took world class business chops and applied them to things that were being done inefficiently. And now you've got this business that does a world class service, world class branding. You're obviously run well and centralized, so it's hard to compete with you. Brian: Yeah, and I think that we're taking all the learning from everything we do and building on it even further. Our parent company O2E Brands is ordinary to exceptional, and everything we do is about taking ordinary businesses, junk removal couldn't have been more ordinary when I started, and we made it exceptional through the branding and the customer experience. Now we're doing the same thing to the painting world, the moving world, the house detailing and window washing world; who knows what's next. The goal is a billion in revenue by the end of 2021 with ten brands. And it's not a money-making thing, there's not a lot of billion dollar Vancouver companies; so to stand out knowing that we made a difference in the business world and the lives of people culturally is special. Advertisement Vancouver, BC (Vince Chow http://vincechow.ca/) Ben: You're really successful in Vancouver and as an entrepreneur, do you think about the place that you live? As a 22 year old entrepreneur it's a big decision I am just starting to make now and would love some insight. Brian: I'm inspired in Vancouver. I love Whistler, I ski almost every weekend with my family. I love the mountains, I love the ocean, I love the forest. So to me Vancouver's home, and you need to start something in a place where you feel inspired. Could there be more efficiencies to my business and my life is I was in Toronto or New York? Possibly, but it's not worth giving up the inspirational side of if I'm doing something special. Vancouver's a smaller market and there aren't as many big head offices; so for a company like ours that's growing it's been harder to find really seasoned people, but you've got to deal with that. We hire on attitude and train on skill, so a lot of it is just finding really great people and then building them up. O2E Brands strives to make the ordinary businesses of junk removal, painting, moving and home detailing exceptional by being leaders in customer experience and innovation. Advertisement Ben: You're one of the more interesting companies in town; O2E and HootSuite are two of the most recognizable companies. It's sort of like, "Where do I want to work?" you know you're not competing with Apple or Google, you can keep really good talent out of match. Brian: We can stand out in this market, but it's also harder because you don't have the big brands to pull people from as easily. Also the real estate in Vancouver is so ridiculously expensive that it's hard to pull people from the U.S. and say, "Hey why don't you come live in our city where EVERYTHING is over a million bucks? Ben: It seems like one of your biggest strengths is creative PR; do you have any tips for being creative with PR and thinking about things this way? Brian: It's just paying attention to press and thinking differently. Seeing opportunities in a situation where someone might not. Brian: One crazy example: we teach our truck teams to always be on the lookout for opportunities, and two of our 1-800-GOT-JUNK guys were driving along one day and some guy comes running out of a store and chased by someone else because this guy was robbing the store. The 1-800-GOT-JUNK guys got out of the truck and helped catch the guy. It turns out the guy was stealing a bag of shrimp, so right away they pick up the phone and they call our office and they're like, "Guys, we just caught a shrimp thief!" I mean it's ridiculous, and it made the evening news. Advertisement We're just always thinking about how we can get that awareness and that attention. When the Canucks years ago were in the playoffs we decided that we were gonna do a media stunt, and we put on blue wigs. We gave out a thousand wigs at the Canucks games, and a thousand wigs in 18,000 people, those blue wigs stand out. Everyone's like "Where'd you get those, what's that about?" Ben: So fun is kind of an element in that, too. Brian: Yeah have fun, be different. Everyone in the press is looking for a story every day. People have writer's block, people are stuck, so when there's a journalist, help give them a story. Pick up the phone and call and say, "Hey I've got a great idea for you." and run it by them. Ben: What is often overlooked when building a company? Brian: I think people don't talk about how hard it really is. If you knew how hard it was going to be on day one, you wouldn't do it. That's why so few people do actually start businesses, because it isn't easy. But if you REALLY knew how hard it was going to be and how much you were scraping the bottom of the barrel financially, and making wrong people decisions and all the stuff that happens to entrepreneurs, if you knew how hard it was I don't think you'd do it. Ben: What's funny is once you're so into it and you care so much, there's just no way that anything can stop you once you've gotten your momentum going. Advertisement Brian: Absolutely. It's absolutely worth doing. I think most entrepreneurs don't talk about how hard it actually is and all the challenges you face, but it is that challenge that makes it worthwhile. If you didn't have to overcome anything, it would be boring. Ben: What personal traits or strengths helped you stand out as an entrepreneur? Brian: I think vision. There's a quote from Walt Disney which we love, "It's kind of fun to do the impossible" I love going, "Wow, nobody wants to do that because it's impossible. We're going to figure out a way to make it possible." I think storytelling and captivating the vision in my mind, and being crystal clear as to here's what it looks like. I'm bad at figuring out how to get there, but that's where I've got Eric Church - who's our president and COO. He's great at encapsulating - taking the vision and packaging it into a plan and going, "Okay, let's rally the team now." Ben: So I'm an entrepreneur who is earlier in my journey than you are - how do you cultivate skills like that, or SHOULD you cultivate skills like that to be successful in business? Brian: I think it's the Marcus Buckingham "Focus on your strengths, don't try and fix weaknesses" I was a terrible reader and I'm STILL a terrible reader. I just focus on the stuff that I've been gifted with. So I think it's cultivating your gifts much more than trying to improve your weaknesses. Advertisement Ben: What are three things a starting entrepreneur should focus on? Brian: Vision, people, and systems. Vision is number one, it's knowing where you're going, but don't even think about how you're going to get there. Think of where you want to change the world and create a business that can do that. Don't think about all the steps, don't get overwhelmed, just think about the destination. Second: People. The very first employee you hire, the second, the third, the five hundredth employee, be incredibly selective. Don't ever compromise on people. If you bring in one bad apple, it spoils the whole bunch. Number three: Systems. Take everything that you created the business with that you're good at, and put it into a one page best practice and say, "Okay here's how we do things." Teach someone else how to do it and improve on it, and get things off your plate as an entrepreneur so you can do it. Advertisement Brian is a regular contributor to Forbes, writing about small business ownership and franchising Ben: Lastly, what is one piece of advice you'd give to your 25-year-old self? I am a mum to an amazingly strong, beautiful and engaging 15-year-old daughter. However, three years ago my daughter Libby was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Over the past 9-12 months Libby has filmed a CBBC My Life documentary called Marvellous Messy Minds. She made this documentary to try and change the stigma that surrounds mental health, and to share her story so others can find the help and support they need. I'd like to use this opportunity to share with you all our experiences and to hand out some tips that have helped us along the way. 1.Recognising the Signs: This is the thing I found the hardest. How to determine if Libby was ill and needed help or if it was teenage angst. There were, however, a few major character changes that made me realise it was more than a mere hormonal attitude. Over a period of a few weeks Libby started to withdraw and hideaway, she was very emotional, not sleeping well, not eating well, getting angry and aggressive, had little or no energy and was looking for excuses to not spend time with friends. Advertisement If this is your child - talk. It took a while to break through but with persistent questions and asking about her feelings she eventually came out of the fog for enough time to realise that she needed some help. 2.Seek Help and Diagnosis: Once Libby admitted she needed some help we decided to go to our GP. Before we went I asked Libby to write a list of all the things she wanted to see the doctor about in case she forgot anything. Once at the GP's Libby found it impossible to talk so just handed the GP her list, the GP asked if anything had happened to make her feel this way. Libby answered 'No' but the truth was her grandfather had suddenly passed away four months previous (I informed the GP of this). The GP diagnosed Libby with depression and anxiety but before she could do any form of referral she suggested Libby should get some grief counselling as it would be required by the referral team. After the diagnosis of depression Libby was very angry and dismissive, she realised she had anxiety but was in denial with depression, it took a couple of weeks for Libby to come to terms with that. Over those few weeks I did research online about bereavement counselling services within my local area and forwarded all the information to Libby for her to make a decision about her own path of treatment. Libby is an intellectual who likes to weigh up all options and look at things before making a final decision; her decision about the bereavement counselling would be the first knot in the treatment chain. Libby in her own words 'didn't want to sit in a room full of strangers, holding hands and singing kumbya', This does not mean it's not a great form of help and comfort to some, to Libby, however, this was the worst case scenario. She wanted a scientific, factual approach in a clinical setting; we went back our GP who explained that Libby's ideal setting was very hard to get and the best he could offer was to make a referral (he asked that her school did so also in order to speed up the process). The net result was Libby waiting for nine months before we heard anything about a referral, the only thing we have had is three phone calls asking ME not Libby about her wellbeing. Advertisement So MY advice - hound them. Chase the referral and persist until something is done. I understand the services are very stretched and there are children in dire need of them, however there is a massive gap and people do get lost and sometimes forgotten. Don't let it be your child! 3.Finding Help for Yourself: In the time it took to hear anything from the referral, Libby had been researching and found her own ways of coping. During this search came her first panic attack - the hardest thing to watch your child go through. Just stay composed, talk calmly and slow their breathing down until it stops. We ensured, as part of helping Libby through this, that she got support. Firstly, from us her family, secondly from a strong group of trusted friends that she knew would understand: those two things are the basis of the road to recovery. Libby found support groups and forums online that she could use to talk to others in her situation, she also used breathing apps and mindfulness. For Libby it was finding her triggers and recognising them. Once she was aware a panic attack was in bound she found a quiet spot started her app and did a breathing exercise to calm her down again. There is support out there if you want to find it. There's support not only for the sufferer but also for you as parents, although it does have some scary parts the internet can actually be quite a good resource. 4.THE GOLDEN RULE: Talk, don't hide away. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Talking and being open about it is the only way we as a nation will remove the stigma, it's also the best form of helping your child. The one thing I said to Libby was 'Define your mental illness and control it, don't let this illness define you. You have a bright future and you are going to achieve great things. Don't let this thing swallow you up'. Advertisement 5.The Aftermath: She followed my advice and she is already doing great things. Not only has she done Marvellous Messy Minds for the BBC (you can see Libby's story on Wednesday 2 March on CBBC at 5.10pm), she has also started a mental health support group within her school. So others don't have to jump through so many hoops to find help. She's changing perceptions, helping herself and helping others. I could not be more proud of her. I found out about womb cancer the hard way - I was diagnosed with it in June 2010. I knew nothing about womb cancer before diagnosis. There had never been an awareness campaign for it in the UK, I didn't know anyone else who'd been through it and I had difficulty finding out anything about it. It felt as though I had a cancer that didn't exist. I was diagnosed at an early stage because of obvious symptoms - mild spotting that became persistent bleeding. It took time for me to realise - perhaps to admit to myself - that I wasn't going through hormone changes due to my age. At my most ill I was in almost constant pain, had breathing problems, could barely walk and for good measure was diagnosed with anaemia. I slept frequently, for hours at a time. It turned out I didn't fit the risk criteria for womb cancer and was relatively young for such a diagnosis: it's a cancer that tends to be mainly associated with postmenopausal women in their 60s, whereas I was 50 and hadn't yet gone through the menopause. Doctors told me my case was random and assured me I was young and fit so could beat it. I came away from the hospital that day determined to see my daughter graduate the following year. I made it there and beyond. Advertisement Results from a hysteroscopy and biopsies had shown that I had a high grade endometrial tumour. I was scheduled for a hysterectomy and told to expect radiotherapy. Though in the end - and after a complication that had me in resus two weeks after the op due to a blood vessel opening up and me bleeding out - the cancer hadn't spread so surgery was the only treatment I needed. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I now know more about womb cancer than I ever knew I'd need to. I know I'm not alone as the number of annual cases has continued to increase since I was diagnosed. I know that womb cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women and - as far as I'm aware - is now the most common gynaecological cancer. I know there's still no screening programme for womb cancer and that many women - and seemingly also some GPs - don't always understand that a negative pap smear test result doesn't clear them of all gynaecological cancers. Smear tests aren't designed to detect womb cancer. One of the most important things I now know is that we need to be our own advocates when it comes to our health. That women must keep pushing for answers if abnormal symptoms persist even after a negative smear test result. By abnormal symptoms I mean bleeding after the menopause, bleeding between periods, spotting or discharge. As a result of womb cancer I've got to know women of all ages who've been through it or are going through it themselves. Some of them are only in their twenties. Some of them didn't make it. That's the saddest part of all. Advertisement Debbie Vince is a womb cancer survivor I met online who is now a very good friend offline too. Debbie and I are both involved in setting up a dedicated UK womb cancer charity called Action on Womb Cancer. Action on Womb Cancer is the brainchild of Dr Nic Orsi, Senior Research Fellow & Pathologist at Leeds University / St James Hospital. It was Dr Orsi's long held idea for his team to collaborate with womb cancer patients in order to set up a womb cancer charity. While Debbie and I were both keen to have a dedicated womb cancer charity, it was some time later before I could finally say yes to teaming up with Dr Orsi to make his vision - and ours - a reality. In between times my father became increasingly ill and, sadly, he died from cancer in October 2014. Dad didn't live to see me get the all clear: this charity is as much for him as for the women it's aimed at. He believed in us and in making womb cancer known about. Our prime minister would have us believe that the UK is safer and more secure trapped within an undemocratic EU super-state than as a sovereign, independent nation. Indeed, it is now a key plank of his 'Project Fear' strategy to persuade us to vote to remain. I find it shocking that he could be so disingenuous over so serious an issue as cross-border crime and the safety of the British public. If the UK public choose to leave the EU, we will be no less secure - in fact we will be safer than at present. The UK is signed up in its own right to all the key global crime-prevention organizations and this will not change upon Brexit. Firstly, we will still be members of the world's largest international police organization (INTERPOL). We can work together to prevent cross-border crime and terrorism via the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the World Customs Organisation (WCO). Advertisement We can work with our French neighbours via inter-governmental border agreements like the Le Touquet treaty and the Sangatte protocol. We can even sign a cooperation agreement with the EU's own law enforcement agency EUROPOL; just like non-EU countries like Australia, Norway and Switzerland have. In terms of military co-operation, will remain members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the UK-France Defence and Security Cooperation Treaty. Leaving the EU is not the risk that Mr Cameron is trying to present. What does pose a risk to public safety are the illogical government cuts to the key services that protect our citizens and UK society. Despite clear evidence that the EU is under threat from the migration crisis and the huge volume of peoples being allocated EU entry and residency, our PM and his governments have consistently made bad decisions in the areas of justice and security. Whether it be border control, policing or prison services, all have seen huge decreases in finance impacting to an almost unimaginable degree the resources that guarantee our daily peace of mind. If the British people decide to leave on June the 23rd, we could plough some of the savings from our eye-watering EU contributions into our police and security services. If we vote to remain, our contributions are only likely to increase, leaving less in the pot for these vital areas. David Cameron is trying to present Brexit as a risk, while his own actions could be described as nothing less than national sabotage. No amount of concealment or political spin can hide from the public at large that this is the case. Advertisement Only a matter of a few weeks ago the media laid bare one instance of the scale of security risk now facing the UK, and I cite the head of Europol who said that: "Up to 5,000 jihadists have returned after ISIS training". 'Returned' means that they are now back on European soil, unconstrained to undertake whatever evil or malicious intent they may have, and comfortable in the knowledge that recourse to Human Rights legislation will protect their interests rather than that of their potential victims. To cite Mr Cameron's well-worn and over used phrase 'let me be clear!'. What has happened on his watch and what he condones via continued EU membership represents far more of a security risk than anyone could possibly imagine, yet he continues to defend the misguided stance that only EU membership will provide the degree of public protection that is the pivotal responsibility of any government of HM the Queen. In the words of the head of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe: "If you've got porous borders and you've got migrants coming through there's a risk that terrorists are hidden amongst them or people who become terrorists get hidden amongst them." There was little in Mr Cameron's recent 'renegotiation' that would help contribute towards the safety and security of the UK - in fact there was little of substance at all. As I have said before, our membership of the European Union and associated acceptance of the 'free movement of people' principle means we are unable to prevent criminals arriving on our shores. Mr Cameron's 'deal' doesn't prevent this. Advertisement The Northern Powerhouse continues to strike a chord. Britain has the potential to become a more prosperous country, with George Osborne's focus on the north potentially playing a key role in rebalancing the economy. With a new wave of metro mayors set to be elected next year, installed to drive the economies of the north's great city regions, there is a genuine opportunity to foster a new kind of economy, where all people and places benefit from growth. But a more coherent and strategic approach is required if we are serious about achieving this rebalancing. JRF's new report highlights that the scale of the challenge could hardly be any greater, with 10 of the top 12 struggling economies being located in the north of England. Analysing the fortunes of 74 towns and cities with populations over 100,000, our index assesses how such places are faring on employment rates, skills levels, job quality, migration and population change. The north-south divide couldn't be any starker, with no southern city ranked in the top third of the index. Although cities in the north are growing, they are getting left behind as their growth rates significantly lag behind national levels. Advertisement This uneven growth between places is not just a national issue, it is also a critical issue within city regions. Greater Manchester, the poster boy for the Northern Powerhouse is a case in point. The city is going places. The cranes on the skyline, trams ferrying residents to and from work, a cultural offer of global appeal. Manchester's city centre has the buzz of a big, vibrant European city. Mancunians would have you believe that Manchester is the Northern Powerhouse. But away from its urban core and leafy southern suburbs the story of Manchester's northern boroughs is quite different. Three of the top 12 struggling cities in our index - Rochdale, Bolton and Wigan - are within the Greater Manchester conurbation. Whilst neighbouring authorities such as Oldham and Tameside may take some comfort at not being at the top of the index, it would be churlish not to recognise that deep and extensive social and economic challenges exist across the north of the city region. These challenges don't stop here. There are places such as Burnley and Blackburn (both in the top 12 of the index) on the periphery of Greater Manchester but lie outside the city region political construct. What will a stronger more powerful Greater Manchester mean for East Lancashire? A Northern Powerhouse cannot be built around one or two core business and service centres which overshadow their neighbours. We need a more inclusive growth strategy that seeks to ensure no person or place slips through the cracks or gets left even further behind. New metro mayors and council leaders must harness their increased economic powers to create an economy in which there are far greater opportunities for the people and places who have previously been left behind. Of course there are no silver bullets for creating jobs and connecting people and places to jobs. Extending a tram line might be part of the solution but will not be sufficient in its self. Investing in education and skills must be a priority, but again won't solve the problem if there are no jobs to access or those that are available are low quality and don't fully utilise employee's skills. Advertisement As a rule, it isn't very smart politics to insult the intelligence of the electorate. Voters will usually forgive a bit of spurious sloganising at election times, on the grounds that politicians can't help themselves, while being largely immune to it. But when it comes to a serious debate like that over the European Union they deserve better and, on the Tory side at least, they are not getting it. The early skirmishes of this long referendum campaign have been fought largely within the fractious ranks of the government. If it weren't so serious, it would be funny to see David Cameron, who has never previously had a good word to say for the European project, slapping down the EU's critics. Meanwhile Boris Johnson, who can be genuinely funny, asks us to take seriously his volte face from 'not an outer' to 'out for good' (via 'out to get back in again'). They are fighting as if their political lives depended on it, because they do. By comparison the Labour IN campaign has received relatively little publicity, despite having one of politics' great communicators, Alan Johnson, at the helm. It's been rather like a worthy but dull BBC4 documentary up against the high drama of Eastenders on at the same time. Advertisement Labour' team shouldn't be worried by this. The campaign to remain will be won by long and patient argument or it won't be won at all. Euro-waverers are not going to be convinced by histrionics but by persuasion, and that will take time. So Jeremy Corbyn was absolutely right to say he has a different argument to make to David Cameron's. It was unfortunate that on the weekend of the Labour IN campaign event, it was Corbyn's appearance at a mass CND rally that grabbed most of the headlines. As I've argued here before, Labour is in no position to change Britain's nuclear defence policy, but it does have the power and responsibility to swing the argument in favour of Britain's membership of the EU. To do that Labour can and must be smarter than the Tories as well as being more credible. For them it's all 'Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail'. Tory 'inners' spread fear of the consequences of leaving; Tory 'outers' can't disguise their loathing of the EU and all its doings. Neither is an honest position. Labour pro-Europeans should be prepared to admit that it's perfectly possible for Britain to go it alone, but to argue that it's neither desirable nor sensible for us to do so. We should respect the sincerity of those who have yet to make up their minds by acknowledging that neither side has all the answers. People are right to weigh up the pros and cons, and for many it will come down to a judgement that on balance the advantages of EU membership outweigh the disadvantages, or vice versa. Advertisement The overwhelming majority of Labour MPs, councillors and activists are in favour of staying in. For enthusiastic pro-Europeans like me, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. For more reluctant converts like Jeremy Corbyn the arguments are more finely balanced. But recognising that range of opinions works in our favour not against us. Put plainly, nobody has any reason to love everything the EU does, but everybody has something to be thankful to the EU for. Labour - united (for once) in the conclusion we have come to - can afford to have not one conversation with our supporters and those we seek to win over, but many. To those for whom the environment is the most pressing issue of the day, the impact of EU laws and directives has been a major benefit across the continent. If protecting rights at work and resisting the influence of the multi-nationals is your priority, the EU is on your side. If the protection of human rights in general, or LGBT rights in particular, motivate you then the European External Action Service has a better record than most national governments. Over the next few months, by having all of these conversations and more, Labour activists can be the decisive factor in a national campaign. That will feel good for a change. And because the UK is one huge constituency, for once it doesn't matter where they live. Their work on the doorsteps will make a difference. Advertisement (B-52s v. 2016, L-R: Cindy Wilson, Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson. Photo by Larry Jaffee) In Martin Scorsese's new HBO series Vinyl about the music industry in the early 1970s in New York, there's a scene in which the record label mogul gives his entire A&R staff two weeks to discover - or get fired - a song that would make any listener want to call a radio station and find out the name of the artist. The B-52s' debut album and particularly its lead single "Rock Lobster" in 1979 had that kind of effect on an audience already groomed on "new wave." The screechy vocals and infectious organ and guitar riffs reportedly prompted to bring John Lennon back into the recording studio with Yoko. Advertisement Thirty-seven years later, the trio of original lead vocalists - Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson - supplemented by four new musicians still entertain a rainbow audience of babyboomers with their solid catalog of hits, most of which were played last Friday night at The Space, in Westbury. Its original guitarist Ricky Wilson (Cindy's brother) died of AIDS in 1986, while its original drummer-turned-guitarist Keith Strickland gave up touring with the band in 2011. Pierson last year married her long-time girlfriend. To their fans, the B-52s always have been the ultimate feel-good party band, combining a campy girl-group sound with lyrical offbeat sci-fi adventures. They weren't really considered to be a gay band (and not that it mattered), but it's no wonder one of their early hits "My Private Idaho" inspired the 1991 Gus Van Sant film of the same name about two male hustlers played by River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves. As a fan of the movie posted on imdb.com, "The tragedy at My Own Private Idaho's core is so universal, it really becomes completely secondary whether it's about and between men, women, homosexuals or heterosexuals." The same could be said of The B-52s' music, although with the exception of the loss of Ricky Wilson, tragedy doesn't come to mind when considering the importance of the group, which no doubt belongs in Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. Dancing away to groove-laden hits including "Strobe Light," "Dance This Mess Around," "Planet Claire," Love Shack," and "52 Girls," The Space crowd consisted of the same Long Island outsiders who faced the strange and feel a huge loss from David Bowie's recent death. It should be noted that Long Island historically votes Republican, which made the B-52s' visit all the more foreign yet welcome to those who turned out. Advertisement There's still plenty of politicking to go until November, but The B-52s unlikely would be on the playlist of any of the current slate of Republican presidential candidates, whose "wholesome family morals," such as being against gay marriage, contradict basic compassion for fellow human beings. GOP frontrunner Donald Trump bullies from the podium those who disagree with him, and many of his followers are haters. Thankfully, they're not the kind of people who would attend a B-52s concert. Trump thought he was a Neil Young fan until the musician threatened legal action when he learned the candidate had usurped without permission his "Rockin' In The Free World" for campaign rallies. It'll be interesting to see if Vinyl tackles any political statements, as the Watergate scandal is about to topple the Nixon administration. My friend Tammy Faye Starlite, wrapping up her "Marianne [Faithful] Cabaret" residency at the East Village nightclub Pangea March 3 and 10, also deals with Manhattan circa the early 1970s, as she chronicles her rise to fame as the girlfriend of a young Mick Jagger, who happens to be co-executive producer of Vinyl. Garnering a rave review (http://tinyurl.com/homa6cq) in The New York Times, Tammy portrays Marianne as a personal mess who's been wronged by the powers that be, but one whose non-judgmental heart is in the right place. Advertisement The clue is in the name: Complicite. This word, meaning 'involvement in a crime or some activity that is wrong' (Cambridge Dictionaries), resonates with Brechtian dramatic principles, not only in its foregrounding of morality, but also in the notion of audiences as active participants rather than passive recipients. Simon McBurney's latest play, The Encounter, certainly asks a lot of its audience. Based on Petru Popescu's Amazon Beaming, it tells the story of the American National Geographic photojournalist Loren McIntyre, who gets lost in the Amazon rainforest in 1971 in his search for an indigenous Brazilian community called the Mayoruna. His initial intention - to take photographs that might witness the continued existence of a people that had been declared extinct - turns into a transformative journey of self-discovery. Going in search of the ultimate 'other' - a people whose ways of life seemingly encapsulated the very opposite of modern, Western 'civilization' (a word that recurs throughout the play) - McIntyre finds himself confronted with the depths of his own self. Advertisement The Encounter engages the audience in a relationship of complicity in a variety of (seemingly contradictory) ways: through intimacy and distance; through ethical engagement and critical detachment; through bodily participation and philosophical debate. Upon entering the auditorium, you are asked to put on a pair of head phones. Hearing McBurney's voice not from the distance between the stage and your seat, but 'directly' in your ear, gives a sense of intimacy and participation. Yet McBurney simultaneously undercuts this sensation of directness and immediacy by drawing attention to the artificiality of the play, mobilizing Brecht's alienation effect to distance us from the narrative. From the very opening, McBurney exposes the constructedness of the narrative by introducing us to the different dramatic techniques and technological devices that he will go on to use. Perhaps most striking is the use of the binaural head, which creates the sensation of three-dimensional presence, giving the audience the illusory impression of being in the middle of the action rather than on its peripheries. Yet this innovative use of recent technology is also combined with the age-old storytelling techniques - a point to which McBurney returns at the end of the play, when he reads to his daughter (one of the characters) a passage from Popescu's novel that tells the Mayorunan myth of the fall of man. As McBurney self-reflexively notes, this story, a product of oral tradition, has been handed down from generation to generation in the Mayorunan community, then told in 1969 by the community's headman (Barnacle) to McIntyre through the medium of the bilingual Portuguese-Mayorunan (Cambio), then re-told by Popescu in a 1993 novel, and then finally in 2016 by McBurney to a full audience in the Barbican. Advertisement The play's construction through multiple layered narratives reflects one of the central themes of the play: consciousness, or, as it is phrased in the workshop notes, 'altered states of consciousness and challenging the materialist view' (workshop notes, 3rd April 2014). Philosophically speaking, then, McBurney's play might be seen to adopt an 'idealist' position - privileging of the objects of spirit or mind over the material world, in the line of Plato, Kant, Hegel and Schopenhauer. As McIntyre is stripped of his shoes, his watch, his camera, his water purifier, and so on, he gains a deeper connection with what might be termed his 'inner self', his subjectivity: his states of mind, memories, sensations, bodily experiences, emotions, passions, dreams and delusions. Paradoxically, though, his transformative journey into the depths of his own consciousness give him access to profound connections with the other. We witness him communicating with the headman Barnacle in spite of language barriers, on an intuitive or pre-symbolic level. This extra-linguistic exchange is translated for the audience by the recurring phrase 'some of us are friends', which punctuates and concludes the play. Just as McIntyre's journey to discover the Mayorunan 'other' leads seamlessly to a confrontation with the self, his intensified self-awareness yields a deeper connection with the other. Perhaps surprisingly, though, at the heart of a self-reflexive play that explores altered states of consciousness and sets out to 'challenge the materialist view' lies something very tangible, material and immediate: the corporeal, present experience. Sound and light are not only used to tell stories, to convey the workings of the protagonist's mind, but also to produce physical reactions in the audience. The five senses are constantly, powerfully invoked. Most prominent are the sounds (of the plane in which he lands, the river, the jungle, the chanting), but these are conjugated with the feeling of itching produced by the buzzing mosquitoes, stunning plays of light and shadows, and so on. All illusory effects, of course, but also very real. As a squeamish person who faints at the sight of blood, the bit that most turned my stomach was when we 'see' the Mayorunan people opening their veins to drug themselves in order to 'return to the beginning', to a state of wholeness, during the climactic ritual. But for different audience members, those gut reactions would have occurred at different moments and been experienced differently. Advertisement In addition to corporeal experiences, the play represents and produces experiences of what Stacey Alaimo terms 'trans-corporeality'. In the context of an emerging school of thought known as New Materialism, Alaimo highlights the mutual interaction between human bodies and the more-than-human environment, disturbing our notion of the human self by forcing us to recognise that '"the environment" is not located somewhere out there, but is always the very substance of ourselves' (2010). The interactions between the jungle environment and the human body are foregrounded throughout the play, in McIntyre's fear of intestinal parasites, the thorns and worms extracted from his back by the shamans, his bleeding body becoming fuel for mosquitoes and other animals, and the intravenous injection of drugs in the Mayorunan ritual. Perhaps the closest we get to the 'real' - or at least to the impression of the real, the so-called 'truth effect' - in the play, though, is when McBurney returns to the stage after the inevitable stunned silence and rapturous applause, to deliver a poignant message from the Mayorunan people: 'we exist'. Herein lies another key aspect of our complicity: threaded together by messages of human and environmental injustice, the play makes constant reference to the rubber industry, to oil extraction, to deforestation, making us accomplices in the colonial crimes committed over centuries against this and other indigenous communities and their environments through exploitation, extermination and resource extraction. What we have witnessed, in the end, is not only their fragility and precariousness, but also their continued existence, their resilience. The final ethical demand of the play is one that touches on the very essence of theatre as encapsulated by a line from Complicite's fascinating workshop notes: 'theatre needs you to be dually present: projecting yourself into the consciousness of those on stage and yet bringing them to life by witnessing their actions, by being present.' (workshop notes, 29th September 2014) As audience members, we are asked to become the characters, but also to be the observer, to witness, to be complicit. Advertisement Otto Frederick Warmbier was arrested on January the 2nd 2016 for the crime of stealing a motivational poster from the staff only area of his hotel. In most other countries, such a minor misdemeanour would result in only a telling off. In North Korea, this chain on events has led to Warmbier being paraded sobbing on international television apologising profusely for his crime, stating implausibly that a church in America had asked him to steal the sign as a 'trophy' in exchange for a second hand car. It seems if Otto had played his prank at a time where North Korean relations with the rest of the world were less tense, then according toTIME he would probably have received nothing than the expected dressing drown. Sadly for Otto his visit to North Korea coincided with the regime's plan to detonate a hydrogen bomb a few days later meaning having an American hostage as leverage would be most welcome. Indeed, whenever North Korea wants something from the United States, someone from the country is arrested for anything from leaving a bible in a bathroom to having fought in the Korean War 60 years previously. This pattern began when Euna Lee and Laura Ling two American journalists were abducted by North Korean border guards on the Chinese side of the border whilst reporting a story on North Koreans fleeing the country. In his book, The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future North Korea expert and former White House official Victor Cha recounts that the only way the Obama administration could achieve the release of the two journalists was to send a senior former official. At first Al Gore was offered, but a former Vice-President was seen as too junior so Bill Clinton was sent instead, and according to Cha the sole reason on the American side for his visit was to get the North Koreans to let Ling and Lee go. From this the North Koreans have concluded that hostage taking is an acceptable political tactic in its struggle with the West. Advertisement The fact that you might be arbitrarily detained for geopolitical reasons should be enough to put off most travellers, but destinations such as North Korea should be avoided by tourists for moral reasons as well as ones of self-preservation. A brief purview of North Korean history takes in millions dying in famines, disease epidemics, gulags and purges which are of the regimes own making. There is nothing wrong with visiting the sites of mankind's bestial inhumanity after the fact whether at a World War Two concentration camp or somewhere further afield such as the killing fields of Cambodia, after the regime involved has fallen and the site has been dedicated in memory of the innocent victims of the crime. North Korea however is a crime against humanity that is still in progress and to visit whilst people are still being sent to gulags for watching and listening to Western and South Korean movies and songs is to be complicit in their suffering. You can go there and you can see whatever the authorities in the state wish to show you and be kept unaware of whatever they wish to keep hidden from you, and the chances are you'll be allowed to leave (unless you are unfortunate enough to inadvertently time your trip around the time of an nuclear test) and return to the free world. The people you came to gawp at as if they were animals in a zoo however, will be still be left to be living miserable lives long when you've forgotten your trip to North Korea. It's the same for other tourist destinations that visited only for the thrill of viewing totalitarianism as a pleasant excursion to write up on TripAdvisor as if you were going to somewhere as benign as Torbay for two weeks instead of the most despicable dictatorship on Earth. Advertisement Is the political sphere moving fast enough to keep up with the needs of the people who live in the world? With the looming EU referendum approaching do British young people feel confident enough to make a decision on what will probably be the biggest decision of their short lives? Advertisement In The Black Country I am leading on a smart city project that concentrates on empowering people who live in urbanised communities outside of cities, which will look to help citizens make decisions within their Local Council and attempt to hold their decision makers accountable through civic technology. The Dudley Smart Region Hub has given me the opportunity to speak to normal people who live in regular households and in usual neighbourhoods, far away from the politicians and bankers of the City of London. Unsurprisingly, it's not just young people who are confused, a lot of the debate in the community is around the referendum and it's clear Mr and Mrs 'Every Person' does not feel confident about making a decision on Britain's European future, but they will go to the polls none the less. Is the Government doing enough to support these people and could they do more to mobilise our young people in regards to involve themselves in shaping our democracy? I think there is a real opportunity for digital democracy to improve knowledge around important democratic issues and also encourage open dialogue with normal people which can be evidenced and presented through digital platforms for everybody to see. Advertisement In 2015, Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow MP launched a commission on how technology can improve parliamentary democracy in the UK by using digital practice and technology. The report recommended that the House of Commons understood what digital democracy is and secure online voting by 2020. But is this really relevant to people who live in marginalised areas? Considering the creation of civic digital platforms is far cheaper than launching staffed information programs, the central Government should be building from the ground up instead of the city minded top down mentality. Even though I find it very welcome Bercow is raising these issues, it could be a case of 'too big, too quick' and I feel our Councils should have more support in regards to engaging with its citizens to collect consultation, especially with Local Authorities who are facing more cuts, the people who live in those communities could be the answer to a lot of headaches such as allocating community funding and asset closures. This May there are elections sweepings across the UK but here in the West Midlands we'll be heading to the voting booth to elect a wave of new Councillors and the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner. This is a perfect opportunity to create and test civic participation platforms, and I will putting my money where my mouth is through the #SmartDudley project by creating a community owned digital platform, hopefully this can be something other parts of the country can access and utilise. Digital democracy could be one of the biggest impacts in participation governance in a generation, let's take into account the expansion of acts such of the 'Snoopers' Charter' giving the Police powers to access your web browsing activity and even hack you mobile devices. Advertisement If people understood their civil rights clearly and if they could hold open dialogue in a public place to clarify issues, would they support a lot of the polices that get passed in Britain? I'm not entirely convinced they would. Free speech is certainly the zeitgeist of 2016, with Spiked Online leading a campaign against students' unions. As a staunch supporter of free speech, and the lead representative at LSE Students' Union, we've seen some controversies that have portrayed our approach as hostile, as opposed to welcoming of this as a value. However, recent debates about whether to ban a free speech society at LSESU show that students, and students' unions, categorically do support free speech. What Spiked Online are fighting for is a more vitriolic, discriminatory use of language that can be used to marginalise certain groups. The democratic organisation of students' unions is fundamentally important when it comes to the debate ensuing around free speech. Students' Unions are political, charitable organisations that are member led and defined by the thoughts, intentions, and actions of the students that we represent. Advertisement They are run by elected representatives, and at LSESU we are proud to have had over 50 per cent of undergraduates voting in our elections, and over 30 per cent of postgraduates, meaning that we have greater legitimacy than the Mayor of London (with a turnout of 38.1 per cent). While it is near impossible to ever have one cohesive political view among the student body, it is by and large the students making the decisions themselves, or voting through a representative democracy structure for representatives who they feel embody their values. Tom Slater describes the student body as being 'told what to think by students' union bureaucrats'. As a Union with the highest levels of engagement in the country, what LSESU does is determined by what LSE students think, not the other way round. Now, time to examine the substance of claims that free speech is being curtailed. The free speech often talked about is the 'freedom to offend', or hate speech. Now, I believe in the freedom to offend, insofar as it does not amount to bullying, harassment, or discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics, as defined by the Equality Act. Telling someone they have poor taste in music, fine. I feel offended when people insult my taste in Nickelback, but it is no grounds for divorce. What Spiked Online is really trying to defend is a form of 'offense' that amounts to the aforementioned bullying, harassment, or discrimination. Advertisement One example cited of 'curtailment of free speech' by Spiked Online is the disbandment of the LSE men's rugby club, after they produced a sexist, homophobic, classist, and racist leaflet. Examples of this use of language include claiming to hold "misogyny dear" as a club value - otherwise known as the hatred of women, describing female netball players as slags, and claiming to not tolerate "homosexual debauchery". Students were not simply insulted, they felt discriminated against and vilified on the basis of identity. Another example of the "freedom to offend" that Spiked online attempts to defend and protect, is sexual harassment. Apparently, it is against free speech to have a zero tolerance to sexual harassment policy, despite the fact that in any workplace, if you are sexually harassed, people of all genders have rights against that form of discrimination. Having a policies and making decisions on forms of 'offence' that target and marginalise groups brings students' unions in line with what happens in the real world, outside the university bubble. Taking action against student groups who use discriminatory language to promote dominance of white, heterosexual men over every other group is not censorious, it is the right thing to do. Women, BME students, LGBT+ students, disabled students, students of different religions - these groups all remain the ones where voices can be limited by a university environment that privileges the voice of those most advantaged in society over everyone else. And that is why free speech is vitally important - and it has to be for everyone. We should fight for that, rather than conflating free speech and freedom to offend as if they are one and the same. Advertisement I'm proud that students' unions, as democratically led organisations, are challenging the status quo, taking action against lad culture, and carving out a positive, equitable environment that respects all voices. I'm proud that our Students' Union facilitated a free speech society in the first place, and subsequently voted to keep it after a student attempted to ban it - it is testament to our pluralism as a Union. Looking forward, it is my hope that Spiked Online will start to engage with free speech in a more broader sense than simply being anti-equality, and cease to patronise students by assuming that they are simply subject to SU diktats. And if the debate around free speech is legitimately concerned with free speech for all, then we should start having a wider debate about how to secure free speech for everyone, especially groups traditionally silenced by the white, patriarchal structures in our society. Without engaging with these issues, the current polemic around students' unions is simply an attempt to legitimise a certain type of free speech, a markedly discriminatory interpretation of the 'freedom to offend'. Last week, one of the million teacher-generated resources on the TES.com platform was singled out for criticism by the media. The resource asked pupils to decide whether Scott of the Antarctic was "a complete idiot who didn't even get to the South Pole first". This enraged campaigners who claimed it was, "part of a hidden agenda to rubbish British heroes by politically correct zealots". When approached for comment, the Department for Education (DFE) took an eminently sensible approach: it claimed "when it came to online resources, it trusted teachers to decide on the best ones to use". Amen to that. To teachers across the country, it must have been genuinely refreshing to hear that the DFE trusted their professional judgement about what best to teach, and that if they chose to download and use such a lighthearted resource to engage students, then they could get on and do so without fear of government interference and censure. The DFE's comments were consistent with the tendency of the department - in particular schools minister Nick Gibb and education secretary Nicky Morgan - to place more trust in how teachers teach in the classroom, and to hand far greater autonomy down to school level - in terms of budget, teacher training and also, if not what is taught, then certainly how lessons should be taught in the classroom. Advertisement So it was all the more jarring to pick up the Sunday Times on the weekend to read that, bizarrely, the government looks set to declare war on the humble sticker. Yes, it seems the gold star, something that pretty much every adult in the country would remember receiving at some point or another during their school days - followed by a momentary sense of pride, and sometimes a reward if enough are accumulated - is now under attack. The gold star appears to have gotten the goat of the DFE's new "behaviour tsar", Tom Bennett, who the Sunday Times reports as claiming that sticker charts are, "inappropriate for old children and that even primary schools should be prepared to drop them". His concern is apparently that the approach can be time-consuming and that "if teachers find this system is strangling their teaching, then it should be jettisoned". According to the Sunday Times, these recommendations are likely to shortly feature in a report on how to train teachers to maintain discipline in the classroom, commissioned after concerns were raised by Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw, "that misbehaviour, such as using mobile phones, is costing up to an hour a day in lost teaching time". Now, Bennett is - by all accounts - a truly inspirational teacher, and has long been highly respected across the teaching profession as a "guru" when it comes to behaviour. His fantastic researchED events are a huge draw for teachers the world over. But there is an important distinction between a "guru" and a "tsar", the first offers advice and insights you can take-or-leave, whereas the second carries the weight of government. While tsarly advice is certainly different from official government policy, in the eyes of many, the distinction can risk becoming blurred. Advertisement The debate around whether or not to use what academics dub "extrinsic motivators" such as stickers in the classroom has been around since Year Dot. And, indeed, these are rehearsed in the Sunday Times article - with U.S. parenting expert Alfie Kohn, who has been making the "case against gold stars" for the past two decades or so - quoted as saying the approach is tantamount to "bribery" and that "the method does not create children who do the right thing long term". There is substantial evidence on both side of the "for" and "against" camps, and the Sticker Wars will doubtless rage for many years more in academic circles, with both sides pointing authoritatively to their ever-growing evidence bases. But should it really be the role of government to take sides in this debate? For many years, teachers have used stickers as an important, practical part of their teaching toolkit, often spending money out of their own pocket to endow well-behaved pupils with either a classic gold star, or one of a vast range of motivational stickers that now exist. A representative from Super Stickers - one of the leading producers of stickers in UK schools - tells me that currently times tables stickers are increasingly popular "in light of the increased focus on times tables in light of the new times tables tests announced in January" and "for those primary subjects that don't have written work, such as PE, stickers provide a useful communication tool of achievement for classroom teachers". One such sticker fan is Maggie Jack, a peripatetic specialist teacher, who would often work with children of various ages, challenging them so their difficulties could be analysed and identified. She explains that, "the end of such a session would always mean they could choose a sticker from the variety that I carry... If they had worked particularly hard, they would be allowed to choose two. There is no doubt that this served not only as a motivator but gave them a tangible acknowledgement of their effort or work. Several children said they had somewhere at home where they kept their stickers - they valued them too." It is, she claims, "only necessary to see the look on children's faces when they are praised and are given something visible, to know stickers are an essential part of a teacher's tool box. Stickers can be used to incentivise, to motivate, to evaluate work, effort and engagement. They are quick and easy to use, and... they work!" Advertisement Stickers are no panacea for behaviour, and like any teaching tool can be overused to the point of ineffectiveness, but if used well they can serve to reinforce positive behaviours - or to be the little spur that incentivises pupils to get their times tables down pat. So is it really necessary for teachers to "jettison" stickers? Through undertaking her recent well-received Workload Challenge initiative with the teaching profession, education secretary Nicky Morgan received a whopping 43,832 responses. None, as far as I have read, suggest that the use of stickers is onerous on classroom time. Notably, however, they did cite "accountability/perceived pressures of Ofsted" (53 per cent) and "policy change at national level" (34 per cent). The teaching profession is currently in crisis, with an unprecedented teacher shortage caused both by a failure to attract young graduates into the profession and teachers leaving state-school classrooms in droves, either to work in independent or international schools, or out of the profession entirely. Bold, decisive action is needed to set this issue straight. Imagine the scene. An ante room in a horribly opulent Beverly Hills hotel. There are gaudy flower arrangements and vomit-print furnishings as far as the eye can see. And in the very middle of it, stands Sam Smith, convincing his management that he can go on camera and not make a fool of himself. "This time I'll be different," he says. "I can do this. I'll just say thank you to my mum and my dead childhood pets and I'll leave the podium - I promise." A flunky will smooth down his tuxedo as his PR gently reminds him that gazillions of people the world over will be watching, and Sam eagerly nods and says, he knows, he heard it's even bigger than a crowd at Wembley. You'd think this conversation wouldn't need to happen at Smith's level of fame - but media training and Sam Smith are strangers across a crowded room. Not that you can be media-trained for the specific brand of "Did I really just say that?" that Smith does so well. Advertisement Behind him lies a trail of gaffes, from the innocent denial disco existed before 2013 to his surprise that a new puppy would go to the toilet, via a problematic assertion women should go back to wearing pretty dresses and just singing on stage. But as annoying as they no doubt were for his management, these were print interviews and there was no footage, no tweets - things have been ramping up in that department a gear recently. His well-intentioned but incredibly low-wattage attempt to shine a light on racism on Twitter, and his dismissal of Radiohead's frontman Thom Yorke have meant that Team Sam Smith have never been so busy smoothing things over. Spare a thought, too, for Sam's longtime collaborator and fellow award-winner Jimmy Napes - doing his level-best not to send his eyes skyward as Smith plonks his Burberry-shod trotters in his mouth for the umpteenth time. The bill for Napes's ophthalmologist must eclipse Elton John's "fruit and flowers" chitties from his most hedonistic days. And now the big one, the Oscar. Widely expected to lose to the much-publicised Lady Gaga song from hard-hitting documentary The Hunting Ground, Sam actually got to raise the big gold guy aloft for his theme to latest James Bond epic Spectre. Whether he was woefully underprepared, or nervous, or merely 23, or all three, he gave a speech that aimed high but ultimately flopped like a leaden frisbee chucked across a park on a day without weather - by an asthmatic toddler. And there was no praise for the effort; it was merely the failure to launch that everyone noticed. Advertisement Smith's speech has been screen-grabbed and quoted in every corner of the internet, but the gist is that he misquoted a magazine interview with Sir Ian McKellen, in which the esteemed actor complained there'd never been an openly gay man win an Oscar for acting. Openly gay men are fast running out of things to be first at, and in a culture that celebrates leaders and record-breakers more than consistent achievement, it's no surprise Smith saw his chance to be a Wikpedia reference forevermore, and gushed that he might be the first out gay to win an Oscar, to an open-mouthed audience of millions. In isolation, I have to say, there was nothing wrong with Sam's speech. He didn't say he definitely was the first openly gay man to win, and he probably got a bit carried away, and will have been hugely nervous. He's just some guy, after all. And at least he mentioned LGBT people in his speech - how many others have ignored them? And he probably didn't run this factoid by anyone beforehand. If he had, it would have been shot down. I like to think so, anyway. And, really, as much of a gaffe as it was, it should have ended there. His management team very probably disappeared into their pelvic floor with brief mortification, the show carried on, and Sam (and the long-suffering Jimmy) plodded off to face the press - and then typing fingers across the world got busy with the criticism. Ten such digits who simply couldn't resist getting up close and personal with a keyboard were those belonging to a fellow Oscar winner and 'open gay', Dustin Lance Black. The 41-year-old screenwriter, director and producer seemed a little miffed at Sam Smith's "firstwashing" and wanted to remind him that he, too, had an Oscar to call his own. A link to a Wikipedia page or a GIF of Elton John screaming at a lackey would probably have done, but instead DLB took things to a Snapchat level of personal with this tweet. Advertisement Oh, yeah, and in case you've not been following Dustin Lance Black's storyline - and there's no reason you would, really - he also happens to be engaged to Olympic diver Tom Daley. You have to wonder how learned Dustin himself was at 23, or even how much his husband-to-be knows about past Oscar winners - he and Smith are of similar age. There was barely a gay man in the universe who didn't see Black's tweet and pull their chair a little closer to the screen. The force of the "Quote Tweet" button and screen-grabbing mechanism being applied in those few short seconds could've powered the London Eye for centuries. While this was going on, Sam was largely oblivious, learning from just about everyone who could get a microphone near enough that he wasn't the first, nor the second. I have to take my hat off to whoever taught Sam Smith at school, because while they may have failed him academically, when it comes to chutzpah, this guy's got straight As coming out of every orifice. On hearing that one such openly gay previous Oscar winner was lyricist Howard Ashman - who won twice, for The Little Mermaid and, posthumously, for Beauty and the Beast - said "I should date him". Sigh. The "posthumously" gave it away, I guess, but Howard Ashman is dead - he passed away from an AIDS-related illness in 1991. Smith can't possibly have known this, of course, but it does make you wonder why he didn't just... stop talking, or admit he hadn't heard of him. Better to be an ignoramus than to babble on, reducing yourself to nothing more than your sexuality and how that technically makes you available to others who share it - "Ooh another gay guy! I should be dating him!" Leaving aside for the moment that Sam is that embarrassing auntie who tries to fix you up with a random gay guy at her work, his ignorance of LGBT history wouldn't be so pitiful if he weren't utterly convinced that he was creating it. Advertisement And nine hours after his original tweet, during which I imagine lots of calls to fiance Tom went unanswered, Dustin Lance Black clarified this was the point he'd been making all along, and not merely trying to embarrass Sam. Sam's reply, no doubt sent through the horrified filter of a hangover, but one with an Oscar-gold sheen, was humble enough, but contained some arch shade which proves once and for all that Smith is not as stupid as his pull-quotes would have you believe. In other words: "Tom and I never talk about you or what you do." 1-0 to Smithy. When everyone had finished laughing themselves blind at this, DLB went on to clarify that he was not calling out his fiance and "the millionth openly gay man to walk in a straight line" for filthy messages, but merely that they're pals and Sam should know better. And so should the stupid old internet, for getting the wrong end of the stick. The Stephen Fry defence. Advertisement And that's the message here. He should know better. So should we all. As LGBT people - and I guess I'm talking especially about the white gay men here, because we don't half shout and whinge and cry "traitor!!" the loudest - perhaps we expect too much of Sam Smith. He's said in the past that he never actually had to come out as he was "always out" since childhood, but he acts like a teenager who's only just admitted to himself that he's gay. He shows no recognition for previous generations and their struggles or achievements, doesn't seem to be grateful at the platform his fame has afforded him and seems keen only to use it for self-promotion. When he speaks out about Grindr, we slate him; when he says he wants to be a role-model, we scoff; when he talks about how sexuality shouldn't be a big deal, we down the tranquillisers with a vat of whisky. Nothing he can do will ever be good enough, mainly because we're not sure *what* we want him to do except not say stupid things. Or learn that it's OK not to know stuff. Or indeed speak ever. But we think he should know better. And one day, he will. But it won't be because we've taught him how, and it certainly won't have anything to do with Dustin Lance Black's self-serving 140-character history lesson. It's because he'll grow. He will, hopefully, read those headlines back, go check a few sources, stop limiting his news to a throwaway interview in an airline magazine and will think, "Fuck, I really need to educate myself". Advertisement Let's hope it's soon. Real, real soon. From now on, I swear, I'm going to leave him alone to get on with it. Good luck, Sam. Also: In the next few hours the debate over the future of Employment and Support Allowance will be decided. The impact on many disabled people could be significant. The government's defeat in the House of Lords on Monday offered disabled people at risk of losing as much as 30 a week in benefit support, a temporary reprieve. It remains to be seen if the government is prepared to revise its plans or whether the 48 hours in between the vital votes in the Lords and Commons offers the 2.5 million people claiming out of work benefits due to illness or a disability, little more than false hope. Advertisement All the indications suggest that the Chancellor is not likely to reverse the planned cut to ESA in the Budget. However something has to be done to address the impact that cuts to ESA will have on the government's own ambitious target of halving the disabled employment gap by 2020. At Papworth Trust, we have developed some policy proposals that will help the government to reach its goal and provide disabled people with the peace of mind they need as they enter employment. One of the biggest barriers to work for ESA claimants is the fear of the unknown. It is the fear that if they accept a job and it doesn't work out, they may lose their benefits altogether or become embroiled in an elongated process of assessment which could see them lose months of benefit support that they rely on in order to live independently. Advertisement It is a leap in the dark that at present, many disabled people simply won't be prepared to take. Importantly, therefore, Papworth Trust believes that in order for the government's ESA plans to work, there should be an automatic entry route back onto ESA for claimants who have fallen out of work within a year of moving into employment. The government must also reconcile how they plan to encourage people on ESA to take that leap off their benefits and into work with no hard and fast guarantees around their re-enrolment onto ESA if the new job doesn't work out. We believe the government should be announcing, alongside the ESA cuts, some form of initial, upfront support for a disabled person's first couple of months in a new job, to acknowledge the additional cost of entering work, and the gap before the first full month's salary is paid. In Papworth Trust's experience, if people who were previously ESA claimants succeed through the first precarious months in work, the chances of them going on to stay in their job long term are high. It is well recognised that attitudes towards disability and health problems, age discrimination, language barriers, criminal records, lack of experience and transportation needs restrict the opportunities and ability for people to gain work. A major barrier for Papworth Trust's disabled customers is that employers often seek 'ready-made' employees who are proficient in their role with minimum training, support or cost to the employer. Extra support or training is viewed by some employers as inconvenient, time consuming and costly. Advertisement The Trust is seeing both through our own work and the work we are doing with Newcastle University that there are significant issues with the most basic of pre-employment skills, such as literacy, numeracy, basic communication skills, or basic anxiety management. This is an area that can get overlooked as jobseekers are often unwilling to disclose these issues as they are ashamed. Therefore much of the existing provision in this space is inappropriate to meet their needs. A training pot where jobseekers can be supported to gain transferrable skills (for example improving literacy skills) to get them 'job ready' would make a real difference. Finally, if the government is serious about halving the employment gap amongst disabled people, they should implement reforms that reverse the perverse situation where disabled people can't get hold of Access to Work type support whilst seeking employment, as it is outside the current definition of the Access to Work scheme. In our experience, customers are motivated to return to work by focussing on what they would like to do and the skills they possess. Our approach is to progress customers to the next stage in their return to work, not to focus on the end goal of getting a job. Taking smaller steps reduces the fear of returning to work sometimes felt by customers, and allows us to address each barrier into work. By addressing each issue, we build up an individual's confidence and ability to return to work. Things like access to travel support or specialist equipment would be hugely beneficial in this area in getting more ESA claimants into work. This could be delivered through extending Access to Work to ESA claimants who are currently seeking work. Advertisement If support in managing additional needs can be improved, and clearly defined and automatic routes back onto ESA are outlined by the government, the worst excesses of the cut to ESA as outlined in the Welfare Bill before Parliament, may be mitigated. Without this joined up approach, the laws of unintended consequences will once again mean that life for disabled people becomes harder, not easier. Vicky McDermott CEO of Papworth Trust Fairfax Media CANBERRA -- Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has defended ordering a review into the Safe Schools LGBTI program, in response to a fiery question from Greens MP Adam Bandt alleging the framework had been "thrown under a bus" due to conservative "bigots". The daily Question Time in the House of Representatives has recently been almost wholly dominated by questions on negative gearing and tax policy, but Bandt took a different tack with his question on Tuesday. Advertisement "The Safe Schools program has been stopping bullying around the country and has helped many young people feel that they fit in. Prime Minister, is your commitment to socially progressive values so skin deep that you will put young people's welfare at risk and throw a successful anti-bullying campaign under a bus just because the bigots in the conservative brotherhood tell you to?" Bandt asked, raising his voice over jeers and shouting from the government benches. A review into the Safe Schools Coalition program -- which aims to address homophobia in schools and support LGBTI students -- was ordered by Turnbull last week after a concerted campaign by conservative lobby groups and parliamentarians. As we reported last week, LGBTI people are between three and fourteen times more likely to commit suicide than heterosexual Australians, one in six young LGBTI people have attempted suicide, and one in three have self harmed. Calling over the shouting, speaker Tony Smith asked Bandt to withdraw the "unparliamentary term" of "bigot." "The Member for Melbourne should know full well that the last part of that question contained offensive language to members of Parliament and the PM will disregard it," Smith said. Advertisement MORE: Why The Safe Schools Coalition Is So Important In response, Turnbull rose to the dispatch box to defend his call for a review into the program. "Every student, every child has the right to be safe at school, has the right to be safe at home. We have no tolerance for bullying of any kind. Let's be quite clear about that. Bullying, whether it is in the classroom, whether it is on the bus, whether it is on the Internet, wherever it occurs, it is utterly unacceptable," Turnbull said. "And it is unacceptable on whatever basis that bullying occurs, whether it is on the basis of a child's sexual orientation, their perception of their sexuality, of their race, their gender, their religion, their appearance. Mr Speaker, all of us, all of us know, all of us have been children and many, if not most of us, are parents. And we know how damaging bullying against children is." He made reference to the claims made by some that the Safe Schools material was inappropriate -- including George Christensen, who likened some aspects of the program to a sexual predator grooming a child. "Members of this parliament on both sides of the parliament have raised concerns about some of the content in -- that has been made available apparently or purportedly through -- or in connection with this program," Turnbull said, before detailing how the review will function. "When concerns are raised I've asked the minister to examine the complaints and to report back to me. That is the responsible thing that any PM, any government should do. And the minister, Senator Birmingham, is doing just that. He is conducting a review or having a review conducted... and when that review is completed it will be provided to me and we will make that review public and we will be able to judge the merit of the criticisms and what, if any, steps should be taken consequent on the review." Advertisement Here's everything you need to know about the 13 states voting today and what it means for each party's nominee fight. And here's a look at Hillary Clinton's plan for Donald Trump in the general. [Daniel Marans, HuffPost] "Recent gains against the Islamic State in eastern Syria have helped sever critical supply lines to Iraq and set the stage for what will be the biggest fight yet against the Sunni militancy, the battle to retake Mosul, Pentagon officials said on Monday." [NYT] Setting precedent for the current battle over the San Bernardino terrorist's iPhone between the FBI and Apple. [Reuters] Advertisement The shooter, who was taken into custody, is a 14-year-old. [Matt Ferner, HuffPost] "The New York Times is sitting on an audio recording that some of its staff believes could deal a serious blow to Donald Trump, who, in an off-the-record meeting with the newspaper, called into question whether he would stand by his own immigration views." [Buzzfeed] Jesse Matthew, who is charged with the murder of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham and Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington, is expected to enter the plea Wednesday. [WaPo] WHATS BREWING "Andrews described her initial phone call to her father, saying, 'I was just screaming,' adding, 'I was naked all over the internet and I didn't know what it was.'" [People] Maybe it's a Leap Day thing? [HuffPost] It's virtual reality headsets for the kids now. [AdWeek] Maybe there's hope for the rest of us plebian drivers. Maybe. [Buzzfeed] And see what being part of the #squad is really about. [HuffPost] Inside the hidden bias of Netflix. [Marie Clare] For more from The Huffington Post, download our app for iOS or Android. WHAT'S WORKING Subway has joined McDonald's, Chipotle and Shake Shack in the pledge to move away from meat containing antibiotics. [HuffPost] Advertisement For more, sign up for the What's Working newsletter. BEFORE YOU GO ~ Russian authorities have arrested a woman who was pacing a metro station while waving a child's decapitated head. ~ Donald Trump "waffled" on the KKK. ~ Even with Leo's win, Sunday's Oscars had the lowest ratings in eight years. But hey, the Vanity Fair portraits don't disappoint! ~ A new Nirvana track is making its rounds on the web. ~ Mark Zuckerberg talks ISIS threats against his safety. ~ The computers with brains. ~ Yes, you should totally go to a museum alone at some point. ~ Testing for grit is a thing now. ~ Feeling blue? You can catch other people's emotions. ~ David Edelstein breaks down why Leonardo DiCaprio's win means "Leo can relax." ~ Where the solar eclipse will hit next week. ~ Dream job alert: Netflix could pay you to Instagram away. ~ And turns out sometimes you do have to listen to airplane announcements: This woman enlisted an American Airlines pilot to tell her husband they were expecting. As thousands of people gathered across Europe on Saturday to call for refugee rights, a human chain of hands was formed on a stony Lesbos beach next to a banner demanding 'No more deaths'. Lesbos is on the frontline of Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II and it's where Greenpeace is working with Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors without Borders (MSF) to rescue refugees in distress at sea. Half a million people fleeing war and horror made the dangerous sea crossing to Lesbos last year and that flow of human hope and suffering has continued unabated in 2016. Already this year more than 300 people have died trying to cross the Aegean Sea. Advertisement "Europe needs to embrace this crisis and not have the borders closed ... We don't want to see any more bodies washing ashore," Lesbos resident Dina Adam said, her voice choking up and tears in her eyes. "This has affected us all, the whole community. Let's hope Europe starts to respect people." Dina was one of several hundred people who gathered on a Molyvos village beach on the north of Lesbos as part of a citizens' initiative #safepassage protest coordinated by the Sea Scouts of Molyvos. The Molyvos activity was one of many across Europe and North America on the weekend calling for refugee rights and safe passage. According to the Facebook site promoting the event, rallies were planned in at least 115 cities across 28 countries. The MSF-Greenpeace crews on Lesbos echoed their show of solidarity, producing a powerful video message using an abandoned refugee dinghy. Advertisement In Brussels, the heart of the European Union, estimates of participants marching through city streets ranged from about 2,000 to 3,000. Staff and volunteers from Greenpeace Belgium were among them. More than 200 people took part in the march in Palma on the Spanish island of Majorca, while across the Atlantic in Canada, a choir sung hymns of peace as a dinghy arrived at a Vancouver beach with a dozen people in life jackets as part of activities there. "Safe passage means for us we want no more deaths," said Eleonora Pouwels, a Sea Scout leader addressing protestors at the Molyvos march. Women and children walk from the rebel held suburb of Moadamiyeh to the government held territory Tuesday Oct. 29, 2013 in Damascus, Syria. Nearly 2,000 residents of the besieged western Damascus suburb of Moadamiyeh have fled their homes and have surrendered to the Syrian authorities after reports of starvation and disease triggered an international outcry for their help. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic) The Assad regime's brutal murder campaign on Syria has destroyed my life back home. Four years ago, I had a lot of dreams that I planned to implement in my hometown. Today, I write this plea as a refugee who has lost family members to indiscriminate bombs and arbitrary detainment. My name is Ameenah and I am 25 years old, yet somehow I feel much older. I have experienced the siege on Moadamiyeh by Assad's forces in 2013. It's an experience I can never forget. To be besieged means to see tears and depression. You see grown men and women crying because they are not able to feed their starving children. You hear the voices of the children at night crying, unable to sleep because of the piercing pain of hunger. Advertisement A good day under siege meant I was given an expired can of food with worms in it. Even more haunting is how people looked. Their bodies are frail and their skin pale and yellow, a slight shake often took over so many children and adult bodies due to the lack of sugar in their blood. Living under siege put things in perspective. No longer was a good day to be a normal teenager that enjoyed hanging out with friends. A good day under siege meant I was given an expired can of food with worms in it. Moadamiyeh, a suburb of Damascus, has been part of the Syrian revolution against President Bashar al-Assad and has suffered from the regime's oppression and violence since. On December 25, 2015, 45,000 residents of the city were placed under a strict siege, surrounded by Syrian regime forces and its allies. Eight children died of malnutrition since the beginning of 2016 as a result of the siege on Moadamiyeh, a town in the Western part of Damascus suburbs, and one of 13 Syrian towns and cities, including the now well-known Madaya, suffering from Syrian regime's use of starvation as a weapon of war. Moadamiyha is quickly becoming another disastrous siege like Madaya. Leen, 6 months old suffering from malnutrition. However, this is not the first time the city has been besieged. In 2013, 12 civilians starved to death as the people of Moadamiyeh were once again used as a tactic to force a ceasefire with the regime. As a result of the starvation and dire circumstances, the opposition accepted the shaky truce by Assad's reconciliation committee hoping to prevent more loss of life. The December 2013 truce stated that the regime had to release all the detainees from Moadamaiyeh, uphold a ceasefire in fighting, allow all the employees and students from Moadamiyeh to go back to their work\study, remove all of the regime's forces who had surrounded the city almost since mid-2011, and open all the crossings to the city. Advertisement Though I was able to escape during this brief truce in Dec 2013, the agreements outlines under the ceasefire were never honored by the regime. The regime ended up only opening the crossings to the town for a few months; arresting more than 200 civilians who tried to get in and out of the town during that period. Meanwhile, people were allowed to bring in food, but only in specific amounts that were only enough for one or two days. This tactic ensured the residents would stay hungry as they were not able to store food, which served as a reminder that the town's fate and their survival still would remain in the hands of the regime. In times of siege like the one that is currently ongoing, it is not only food that is blocked but also electricity, fuel for heating, medication and medical care and even drinking water. In fact, Moadamiyeh has been living in a complete darkness since November 2012. The only hospital in the city was bombed with several mortar shells in 2012 and the volunteering doctors tend to work in unequipped basement as what they could call an almost safe field hospital. While in Moadamiyeh, I volunteered at this hospital. I had no previous medical training, yet tried to lend a helping hand to this under-resourced, always overwhelmed field hospital. "I have nothing to give a panicked mother but herbs and sugary water for infants who need special care and milk," one doctor said. In order to adapt to these circumstances, people risked their lives to cut wood for heating in an open field that was overlooked by regime snipers. For food, people are eating mostly herbs and mixed spices with huge amount of water as a soup. Bread, let alone any normal meals, has become a dream for the people in the city. At bombed out schools, volunteers insist on teaching young kids in an attempt to temporarily distract them from the pain in their stomachs and their perpetual state of fear from bombs. Advertisement To make this nightmare even worse, of my immediate family who are still alive, they have been besieged now for the second time in the last 4 years by the Assad regime - at risk of dying from starvation and cold. And despite our phone calls and their messages of reassurance, I know that any attempts to save them are not in my control. It requires international intervention to stop Assad's belligerence. Unfortunately, we Syrians have learned the hard way not to place faith in humanity after the international community has failed over and over again to support us with even the most basic amount of dignity. Facebook posts by activists from Moadamiyeh show just how serious the situation has become, demonstrating that this suburb of Damascus will likely become the next Madaya. Three thousand children under the age of three years old are in a desperate need of milk and special baby food to save their lives, as the mothers are not able to breastfeed because they are suffering from the malnutrition themselves. "Moadamiyeh has become a huge mass prison," said Ammar Ahamd, an activist and citizen journalist from Moadamiyeh. "Yusuf, who is three months old has starved to death, it's been almost 10 days for the baby without proper food and we are not far from the middle of the capital Damascus. It's only three km away, where children are able to have a normal life on the other side!" he added. Yusuf, 3 months old, died because of malnutrition. Two weeks ago, the ICRC tried to bring in some aid to the city but the destruction process was in the Eastern neighborhood of Moadamiyeh where Assad supporters and check points are based. Few families of Moadamiyeh had the courage to cross the street to get a small box of aids but many others didn't even think about taking the risk. The World Food Program after a long term procedure of pressure on the Syrian regime were able to bring in 4400 food baskets for 7500 families who live in besieged Moadamiyeh. The amount was almost enough for half of the population for a almost a week. Advertisement The most important thing was the infant's' milk and basic medication, and the trucks carrying those essentials were prevented from entering the city by the Syrian regime, Ammar Ahmad said. In response, the UN mission to Syria's stated to the residents of Moadamiyeh was: "We can't help you more! We hope we could bring in more but it's not our choice. We can't do anything without the regime permission." Later, hygiene kits, water gallons and blankets were brought in Moadamiyeh but people were not really satisfied with that because they were disappointed that the trucks of food, medication and infants' milk were not included. While many have become accustomed to living under constant shelling and without electricity, surviving starvation has proven significantly more challenging. Um Tareq, a local resident, said: "The regime is not going to break the siege and they will keep starving us until we surrender as they have done previously. They have arrested many civilians who were trying to get medical treatment outside of the city. Now, the only good thing we have about the ceasefire is that the kids are able to play outside and we can have a walk under the sun - which is a huge dream according to the unstable situation here- but the starvation goes on anyway and we are really threatened thinking about the 15 days ceasefire ending. We are really disappointed with the big number of the ceasefire violations in many Syrian towns. We also witnessed a violation yesterday when a young civilian was shot by one of the regime's sniper. I don't know really what they want from us. Maybe the regime wants us to leave the town or to leave Syria or to die! We are 45,000 people! Where are we supposed to go?" The mother of three described to me how hopeless she felt, saying, "This is my home! What we really need is opening the crossings! Our children have to survive and I just can't believe that the international community are not able to save our children!" Even the doctors in the field hospital feel stranded, unable to do anything to prevent the malnutrition, especially for infants who are suffering mostly from the lack of food and milk and have the lowest chances to survival under the siege. "We've lost one child every three days since the beginning of the 2016 and obviously it's going to be a disaster very soon. Every day I examine more children who are suffering from the beginning of the siege and I have nothing to give a panicked mother but herbs and sugary water for infants who need special care and milk. Even when we had milk here at the beginning of the siege it was impossible to give it to most families because the regime's siege left prices for infant milk as high as 60 USD I don't know if the motivation for the international community and NGOs is seeing the town's children turning to skeleton corpses because believe me we are not far away from that!" Although the power structure in Iran remains under the control of hard-liners, the Iranian political world is evolving. The increasing openness of Iranian civil society, encouraged by the successful diplomacy of Presidents Obama and Rouhani, fed the success of moderate reformists in last Friday's Iranian elections. More than a victory for reform and moderation, it is also a victory for the nuclear agreement. Despite all this, conservatives still control the institutions of state and especially the security structures, and Iranian 'moderates' are only moderately moderate. Still, the consolidation of the idea of reform and the support for reformist candidates - particularly in Tehran - is full of significance. The resounding success of President Rouhani, the principal proponent of the nuclear agreement, re-elected alongside his mentor, former President Rafsanjani, constitutes a rebuke to adversaries of the nuclear agreement. Affirmation of Rouhani means consolidation of his domestic policies for relative openness, and a boost for diplomacy. Most regional conflicts, could be de-escalated through mediation and diplomacy, while improving bilateral relations with the US could increase collaboration, and ramp up pressure on Da'esh (ISIL,ISIS,IS). Advertisement The Rigged Electoral System A compromise among republican (elected) and theocratic (unelected) institutions has created what may be called a pre-democracy based on a tense equilibrium between republican and theocratic principles. The Supreme Leader (Rahbar), is still the center of gravity of Iranian political power. He is appointed for life by the Assembly of Experts composed of 88 top clerics, and has final say on all important political issues. He appoints the heads of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and the Army, the Head of the Judiciary, as well as the official in charge of state broadcast media and a slew of other entities. He also appoints the clerical Members of the Council of Guardians. On a national level, elections are held for Parliament, and for the Assembly of Expert. But the Council of Guardians decides who may run, and who may not. The Council has twelve members: Six Clerics appointed directly by the Supreme Leader, and six Islamic Law Jurists appointed by the Chief of the Judiciary - who is himself appointed by the Supreme Leader. In this way, the Supreme Leader directly or indirectly controls all elections, and thus the legal rights of every Iranian citizen. Indeed, such a concentration of power is based on theocratic principles, which have some popular support, but so do republican principles, which hold that state power derives from the people and is based on citizenship rights. Thus, there are two forces tugging Iranian society in opposite directions. A Chink in the Armor: The Assembly of Experts The power of the Supreme Leader and the Council of Guardians, great as it is, is not quite absolute. The Assembly of Experts, elected by the people (admittedly from pre-selected lists of candidates), selects the Supreme Leader. The current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah A. Khamenei, is 76 years old (born July 16, 1939). The term of the Assembly of Experts elected lasts until 2024; they just might get to choose the next Supreme Leader, or at the very least plan for it - making this election especially important. Since the Assembly of Experts has very real (albeit infrequent) power, some members of the Council of Guardians presented themselves as candidates. Moreover, before the February 26, 2016 vote, nearly 80% of the candidates who applied for the Assembly were disqualified by the Guardian Council (including every female), while the rejection rate for Parliamentary candidates reached nearly 90%. Advertisement Re-Engineering towards a Modern Republic As payback, the voters rejected pro-Theocracy and Guardian Council candidate: Some are now out of the Assembly of Experts, and some have suffered a reduction in power and influence. Two top clerics, M. Yazdi and M.T. Mesbah-Yazdi, were completely rejected by the voters, while Guardian Council Chairman Ahmad Jannati barely squeaked through, coming in last place. These three hard-line clerical defenders of theocratic principles - and principal engineers of the disqualifications that slashed reformers from the candidate lists - have now been re-engineered by Iranian civil society. Top spots in the Assembly of Experts have gone to less hard-line candidates. Indeed: Former President Rafsanjani and current President Rouhani were among the top winners on the list in Tehran. Election results show that in Parliament, too, hard-liners have lost ground. This just in. The Civil War is over! Done. Finished. The whole thing was settled at Appomattox Court House in 1865. On that day, the Union was preserved and those who wanted to preserve slavery were defeated. After the war, Robert E. Lee said, "I think it wisest not to keep open the sores of war, but to follow the example of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife, and to commit to oblivion the feelings it engendered." The man who led the South's military campaigns thought it best to move forward and no longer remember what tore the country apart. Jefferson Davis, former President of the Confederate States of America, concurred, "My pride is that that flag shall not set between contending brothers; and that, when it shall no longer be the common flag of the country, it shall be folded up and laid away like a vesture no longer used." The President of the country that fought for a losing cause understood what his defeat meant and wanted the country to finally unite. February is Black History Month - an annual celebration of achievements by black Americans and recognizing the central role of African Americans in U.S. history. In 1976, President Gerald R. Ford officially recognized Black History Month, calling upon the public to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history." Let me reiterate - it is a time to honor the positive accomplishments of fellow Americans. Advertisement So, why am I bringing this up? As we close out Black History Month, the news emerged that Governor Phil Bryant of Mississippi signed into law Confederate Heritage Month. The proclamation explains how it is important to recognize "our" past. I suppose the State of Mississippi thought that this was the most urgent concern facing their state, despite the cacophony of problems of which they otherwise face. The political and military leaders of the ACTUAL Civil War did not think it necessary to continue the fight after they suffered defeat, but for whatever reason, there seems to be a need to perpetuate a fight today that was lost long ago. One hundred fifty-one years is a long time to brood over a loss. To my knowledge, America does not have a Red Coats Heritage Month nor do we opine for a German American Bund History Month. But, I digress. Instead of writing a post that is a diatribe about the how asinine Confederate Heritage Month is, let's examine what this decision means for Mississippi from a business perspective. Bad Business Whether they admit it or not, every state in the Union is a business. Each state has a budget, expenses and hopefully they're working to be in the black. The primary objective of every business is to attract consumers in an effort to increase the bottom line. We've all seen the commercials enticing couples, families, and wine and beach lovers to visit Virginia, Michigan, and California - these states are focused on increasing tourism, and thereby increasing state funds. So, from a purely business perspective, why would a state focus on activities other than those that improve the lives of its citizens or increase revenue? Furthermore, why would a state that has a whole host of other issues do this? Advertisement The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that Mississippi has an unemployment rank of 6.8% - the highest in the nation. In other words, of all the states in the Union, Mississippi does the worst at attracting businesses and fostering an environment where people can flourish - both of which ultimately lead to putting Mississippians to work. The state's 6.8% unemployment is well above the national average which sits at 5%. Education Week's annual Quality Counts report, which focuses on improvements in our nation's schools and provides a report card on the state of education for the nation and the states, ranked Mississippi 49th out of all 50 states. I think it's fair to say that the public schools in Mississippi leave much to be desired. But wait - there's more! The United Health Foundation, which ranks states according to their health, stated that "in the past year, premature death increased 4%." When it comes to health, Mississippians are LITERALLY dying! Hyperbole? Not so. The United Health Foundation report also stated that since 1990, cancer deaths in Mississippi have increased 15%. With the myriad of problems engulfing the State of Mississippi, one would think that Governor Bryant and state legislators would be focused on the aforementioned issues, instead of deciding to take on the pressing issue of Confederate Heritage, which only serves to distract the good people of Mississippi from the lack of leadership in place to handle the real issues facing the state. Business 101 teaches the CEO to deal with long term systemic problems FIRST. Unemployment, poor education and poor health seems, to this observer, to fit that bill. Business 101 also teaches the CEO not to alienate their customer base. Why would any tourist want to see the sights of Mississippi or visit their beaches when their state government chooses to writhe in a war long ago fought? From an academic standpoint, the decision by Mississippi's leadership fails the test of basic business at best, and at worst it calls into question Governor Bryant's capacity to prioritize his citizen's needs. Advertisement Financial Impact Based on the litany of problems facing the State of Mississippi, Jay Z would have to rename his song from 99 Problems to Too Many Problems in Mississippi. One would think that Governor Bryant would use the power of his office to address the real problems in his state; however, as chronicled, the leadership of the state has decided to go in another direction. So, what does Mississippi lose? The business term that the State of Mississippi will soon experience is called an expected loss. In other words, they can expect to lose an undetermined amount of income that might have otherwise come to their state treasury by engaging in ideas that most Americans don't approve of. Let's look at Mississippi's potential loss through the lens of South Carolina, and what they are now gaining due to the change on their position of hoisting the Confederate flag on state grounds. Previously, the NCAA boycotted South Carolina, ultimately banning the state from hosting NCAA tournaments. The NAACP also advocated a boycott of the state. Soon after these boycotts were in place, South Carolina developed a stigma and suffered not only in the court of public opinion, but also from a lack of much needed revenue. The business opportunities that the state lost is incalculable; however, since Governor Nikki Haley took a leadership role and led the fight to remove the Confederate flag, businesses are now considering operations in South Carolina, thereby giving the state a chance to increase revenue. The NCAA has lifted its ban, which means March Madness and other collegiate sports' tournament rounds may now be hosted in South Carolina - additional opportunities for the state to generate revenue. The image of South Carolina is improving due in large part to the leadership of their Governor. Mississippi's Governor on the other hand seems to be doubling down on a war that was decided in 1865. Dear John Kasich, We care -- start treating us like it. Sincerely, The Future Generation John Kasich speaking at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, New Hampshire. Photo by Andrew Plotch. At a town hall event in New Boston, New Hampshire a few weeks ago, John Kasich looked down at me and two friends, sitting in the front row, and asked, "How old are you guys?" "Twenty," I answered. "Oh! They're growing 'em younger!" he laughed to the older crowd. He then turned to my friend and asked her what she was studying in college. "Political science," she responded. "What are you going to do with that?" he quickly retorted. Of the four John Kasich town halls I have attended I have listened to him make fun of political science majors for being unemployable several times. However, the problem is more than a college major--he is dissuading youth from being civically engaged. And I am not the only one who has noticed Kasich's condescending tone towards youth, what others have described as an "overbearing dad shtick". In October at a town hall campaign event at the University of Richmond, an 18-year-old woman raised her hand to ask a question. As John Kasich looked at her, he said, "I don't have any tickets for, you know, Taylor Swift or anything." Advertisement In a single moment, not only did he chide the idea of youth being involved in politics, but demonstrated further surprise that the young questioner was a woman. However, I doubt Kasich, who nearly only appointed middle-age white men to his initial governor's cabinet, thought much about it. As I explained in a previous post, youth are not apathetic. Rather, it is people like John Kasich who do not even give us a chance that perpetuate the stereotype. On the campaign trail Kasich is making fun of young voters, when instead he could be asking what issues they find most important. A politician, of any level, should aim to get young people more involved in politics. Yet, here I was, watching my friend laughed at by a sitting governor, and presidential candidate, for studying political science. At age the age of eighteen John Kasich spent 20 minutes in the Oval Office with President Nixon, yet he seems to forget how much youth care when talking to them now. To have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people then the people need to be engaged. Advertisement Elected officials are in the position to engage more youth directly in politics. Work to include them in civic initiatives or creating youth councils, which work to ensure direct communication and idea sharing between a politician and youth in their community. Candidates, especially for the highest office in the country, each have the potential to inspire a generation to engage in politics. They should be holding more town halls and youth aimed at youth. Studies have shown that youth become more involved in politics during a major election year--candidates should take this opportunity to get young voters more involved in politics. Describing various events over the years as a moment of major change in Pakistan occurs with remarkable regularity. I am amongst those who are not convinced that Qadri's execution represents a decisive shift in Pakistan's direction. It is a symbolic gesture that Pakistanis who are attending the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue will be able to cite to their advantage. Qadri was the personal bodyguard of the then governor of Pakistan's largest province Punjab, Mr Salmaan Taseer. On January 4, 2011, Qadri shot Mr Taseer 27 times with an AK-47 assault rifle at a busy marketplace in Islamabad. Qadri accused Taseer of blasphemy alleging that the latter's calls for changes in Pakistan's blasphemy laws, one of the worst such laws in any country in the world, were akin to blasphemy. Unlike what is being portrayed in the media, the Qadri case is not tied to extremism. Murder and extreme religious belief may coincide but there is a difference religious extremism and religious vigilantism and Qadri's case is the latter. Qadri did not belong to any radical jihadi group. He belonged to the Sunni Barelvi School that is traditionally associated in the South Asian region with Sufism. Radical parties like Jamaat e Islami have tried to adopt him but his core supporters fought for him - and in some cases strew rose petals in his path - because they believe that the blasphemy law should stay as is on Pakistan's statutes. Qadri's murder of Taseer hit the headlines because here was a bodyguard who assassinated the person he was supposed to protect. This event led to panic within Pakistan's elite and many of them started to fear their own bodyguards. The elite were worried that a stray or random comment by them may become the basis for action. Hence, a lesson had to be taught to prevent future Qadris. This is not to say that there has been no change in Pakistan. Elements of Pakistani society, especially the civil society, have started to push back against the rising radicalization and extremism within Pakistan. Pakistanis who have become used to virtually no action being taken against hardline religious elements have expressed relief at this execution but it may be misplaced. The fundamentals in Pakistan have not yet changed. The real change would be if and when the state ended its support for extremism which has yet to happen. Advertisement The argument that jihadism and extremism in Pakistan can somehow all be traced back to 1979 and that the U.S. convinced Pakistan - against its will - to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan and now Pakistan is saddled with something created by the Americans may be a myth some naive Americans believe or choose to believe. The reality, however, is known to scholars who have studied Pakistan and the region. Right from the beginning the Pakistani state has used jihadis and extremism as an element of its foreign and domestic policy. It was not a result of the anti-Soviet Afghan jihad of 1979, rather dates back much earlier. Islamists were allies of the Pakistan military- the Al Shams and Al Badr brigates - in the civil war genocide in East Pakistan in 1971. Pakistan's support and assistance to Afghan Islamists like Burhanuddin Rabbani, leader of the Jamiat e Islami Afghanistan and Gulbeddin Hikmatyar, leader of the Hizb e Islami, started as early as 1974 and continued even after the Soviet retreat and American withdrawal in 1988. Support for the Afghan Taliban and its allied Haqqani network has continued despite Pakistan receiving billions of dollars in American aid over the last six decades. The creation of jihadi groups that targeted India started in the late 1980s and has continued till now. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, who led the three-judge apex bench on the Qadri case in his judgement stated that "If everyone starts punishing others, who have in their opinion committed blasphemy, then this society will disintegrate." Those who want to believe Pakistan has changed will point to this judgement to make their argument. However, the same judge in another case denied bail to Tahir Medi, the publisher of Al-Fazl, a 102-year-old Ahmadiyya publication, arguing that "when matters pertaining to religion were under consideration one had to ignore the law." Advertisement More than 90 academics, politicians and lawyers in Norway have signed a public statement in support of the country's organizations that fight for the rights of people who use drugs and their right to be heard and included in political decisions. The petition was published on February 12 in Norway's largest daily newspaper, Verdens Gang. Signatories include two former Supreme Court judges and the leader of the Liberal Democrat party. The group of Norwegian organizations believe that personal drug use should be decriminalized and that drugs should be regulated within the law, instead of a counterproductive blanket prohibition. People who use drugs in Norway also want better access to quality voluntary treatment while recognizing that most people who use drugs are healthy, productive individuals who do not require treatment. Their demands for decriminalization find support at the World Health Organization and U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. With an important United Nations meeting on drug policy coming up in April, the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS), the organizations made the following recommendations for Norway's contribution to the special session on drugs in New York: Advertisement 1. International drug policies must be grounded in human rights. 2. Norway must demand that countries in Asia and the Middle East immediately end capital punishment and forced internment against users and sellers of illegal drugs. 3. Use and possession of drugs for personal use must be completely decriminalized without punitive policies being replaced with new and intrusive sanctions. 4. Norway must be open about the fact that the majority of people who uses illegal drugs do not have drug problems. In a democracy they have a right not to be punished or persecuted. 5. Harm reducing measures with low thresholds, better housing, strengthened long-term follow-up and other measures designed to help those who experience problems with drugs must be widely available and voluntary. Advertisement 6. Norway should, in a sensible manner, regulate currently illegal drugs within the law instead of a general prohibition that is ineffective and has catastrophic consequences abroad and domestically. Ahead of the upcoming UN meeting, Norwegian activists and drug user organizations felt they were not being listened to in the preparatory process. The Norwegian government has boasted of strong civil society involvement and inclusion of people who use drugs, while in reality including anti-drug and temperance organizations that have no active drug users. Norway's minister of Health, Bent Hie, received the statement in person on March 1 at a public meeting in Oslo, where he reaffirmed the Norwegian government's intention to keep including the temperance movement as their main partner at the U.N. Despite its progressive stances in other areas, Norway has strict drug laws and focuses on punitive sanctions against drug use. People who use drugs are fined, imprisoned or subjected to demeaning drug control regimes and given criminal records. The sale or import of drugs (even cannabis) can result prison sentences that are on par with those handed out for murder, making Norway one of the strictest countries in Europe. Recently, Norway has expanded its drug court program, which in effect is a form of forced treatment. The Department of Justice has misleadingly called the program 'voluntary' (you could always 'choose' prison instead of supervised urine controls). Real penal reforms have not been on the table. Advertisement However, with this loud call from Norwegian organizations, supported by influential voices, there is hope that Norway will soon join the growing chorus of progressive countries demanding drug policies grounded in health and human rights. TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA - 2015/06/25: Muslim woman integrated to Canadian society, they partake in a High School graduation ceremony in Toronto,Canada. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images) When I made the decision to move to Canada, I was terrified. I feared that I would not be able to get used to life here. It was less a factor of the differences in culture and language, and more due to the fact that I wear the hijab. My scarf is a symbol of Islam, a religion considered by the West as the religion of terrorism. I was haunted by anxiety. Would people there accept me with my hijab? Would they talk to me or would they be afraid of me? How would I pursue my education and achieve my dreams, while people judge me based on stereotypes they get from the media? I tried to find answers to these questions, and I asked everyone I thought might have an answer, to no avail. I realized then that only experience would give me an answer. Advertisement En route to Canada, at Heathrow Airport to be exact, a woman stopped me and complimented me on my hijab, saying it was very pretty. I cannot describe how much her words calmed me down and warmed my heart. The compliment boosted my confidence in myself and my hijab, and reassured me. I was unintentionally showing them that the hijab did not make a woman ugly or scary. Once I arrived in Canada, my fear slowly started to fade. I didn't feel that my hijab was causing any problems for me. On the contrary, it was something that distinguished me from other people. People would often compliment me on it, which made me happy. I was unintentionally showing them that the hijab did not make a woman ugly or scary. In general, Canadians are loving people. They're always smiling, and they don't give off a racist vibe. I've encountered no trouble living with them. As I walk down the street, Canadian people stop me with a broad smile and greet me with the Islamic greeting, "Salam Aleykum" (Peace). I do not deny that after the Paris attacks, extremists have attacked Muslims in a number of Canadian cities. However, the way Canadians treat me hasn't changed. On the contrary, I have started to notice, after those attacks, that the Canadians I meet acknowledge that there is great gap between Muslims and terrorism. They are aware that Islam has no relationship to terrorists, who have no religion. Canadians know that we hate terrorism as much as they do. Advertisement A Canadian person recently told me that when she sees a woman wearing the hijab, she is immediately reminded of whiteness, purity, decency and righteousness. Now, after spending around four years living in Canada, I have come to realize that the hijab is one of the values I hold dear. I chose it based on love and conviction, and I have been wearing it since I turned 12, so how could I not defend my hijab and my right to wear it? How could I feel ashamed of it, when after those four years, I have become completely convinced that my hijab boosts, rather than undermines, my success. I have become convinced that the strength of my values and the confidence I have in my choices make people accept and admire my hijab, whether or not they're familiar with seeing it. I currently study among Canadians and enjoy the same rights they enjoy. I do not sense any discrimination or racism. They treat me gently, lovingly, and compassionately. In my opinion, success is not limited to the individual's personal and practical life. It is much deeper and broader than that. Success is about serving your society and your religion. These are the nobler goals that I am pursuing. There is no doubt that wearing the hijab places a huge responsibility on Muslim women in the West. The hijab is a symbol of Islam. It conveys Islamic morals and paints the true picture of Islam. A Canadian person recently told me that when she sees a woman wearing the hijab, she is immediately reminded of whiteness, purity, decency and righteousness. This has shown me that many educated Westerners have a good understanding of Islam. They know that we are not terrorists. This is my message: Trust your hijab. Overcome your fear. Be true to your principles. The West respects and values people of principle. The hijab is a responsibility on the shoulders of a Muslim woman because it announces that she is a Muslim. For example, when my husband goes to work everyday, no one can tell that he's a Muslim. This gives him the freedom to behave as he wishes. If he behaved badly, it would not be attributed to Islam. But if I was with him, everyone would know he was a Muslim. This means we always have to watch out for our behavior, so that we don't ruin people's impression of Muslims. I am writing this to reassure every young woman who wants to come to Canada, but is afraid that her hijab would be an obstacle to her living her life freely and achieving her dreams fully. This is my message: Trust your hijab. Overcome your fear. Be true to your principles. The West respects and values people of principle. If success is your goal, you will succeed. So do not let the hijab be an obstacle. Let it be an incentive. Prove to everyone that women wearing hijab can become whatever they want and can achieve their dreams. Columns in front of University of Missouri building in Columbia, Missouri, USA On Monday, November 9, 2015, I was glued to my television screen as I watched my alma mater become a breaking news story. Jonathan Butler was eight days into his hunger strike, Tim Wolfe, the UM System president, was refusing to step down out of his own selfishness and social media was filled with hate. Late that morning, Tim Wolfe resigned and the university erupted. I had never been so proud of my alma mater, of my people. To see them fight for something so fearlessly and demand respect still leaves me in awe. Advertisement Celebrations don't last forever though. I felt as if on this particular day it lasted mere seconds compared to the conversation that surrounds Melissa Click today, even in her dismissal from the university. What felt like a victory for the black community at Mizzou, and all over the country was quickly taken away. When Click was caught on camera asking for "muscle" to remove a student journalist from taking pictures as Concerned Student 1950 and their supporters celebrated, everything that had happened shifted to her. But it really wasn't about her and never should have been. I understand and agree that what Click did was wrong. I understand that it's extremely awkward and hypocritical that she's a journalism and communication professor who seemingly ignored journalists' first amendment rights. But what I don't understand is why most of the conversation about Mizzou, four months after last semester's events, have centered around her and not much else. The fight for equality and justice on the Mizzou campus didn't magically end when Tim Wolfe resigned, or when Interim UM system president Mike Middleton, a black man, was hired. It's going to take a lot more effort than that. That's why Concerned Student 1950 has a list of demands, it's why they still protest. But no one is talking about that. Advertisement It's ridiculous that 99 lawmakers can sign a petition in hopes of removing Melissa Click, but make no mention of the racist acts happening all across the state. It's disgusting that people had conversations about whether a faculty member deserved to be publicly fired and humiliated, but were (and still are) silent during protests on Mizzou's campus, which started happening way before last semester. I'm disappointed that after an incredible act of bravery from students last semester, all that anyone cares about now is about Click losing her job or how "embarrassing" it is to be affiliated with Mizzou. Why are we not more interested in the next steps for Mizzou? I want to know who is going to fill interim positions and what administration is going to do to make sure it doesn't get this bad again. I want to know if black students on campus feel safer, if the threats on Yik Yak have stopped. I get it, it's easier to focus on Click. Black students were able to create change last semester. So now Missouri legislature and alumni alike are out for blood and since it's frowned upon to go after students, they went after Click. I'm not saying her actions are dismissible, they aren't, but the complete lack of attention on what's next as it relates to race relations on campus seems odd. Black lives matter and our voices weren't being heard, that's what caused this, that's what the protests were about. If people believe that firing one faculty member will make the drama go away, they're wrong. Students on the Mizzou campus have already shown the world that they aren't backing down and that they'll fight for what's right no matter what. Now that Click has been let go, let's shift the conversation to the real issues instead of continuing to go after a professor with pitchforks in the form of sour and hateful comments. That's not constructive and it isn't furthering the conversation of diversity and inclusion on the MU campus. That is the conversation that MU desperately needs to be having. Advertisement I've got so much love for Mizzou, despite everything that has transpired over the last few months, which is why I want the university to do better. I understand these things take time, I don't expect racism to disappear from campus over night, but not talking about it, putting much of the focus of the last few months on one person, that's not going to get us any closer to justice and equality than we were before. After years of state-by-state battles over consumer calls for mandatory labeling of foods made with genetically modified ingredients (GMOs), time is quickly running out for the agribusiness and food manufacturing industries working to block such labeling. The threat that ticking clock holds for the food industry was underscored Tuesday in a hastily held meeting of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee. With less than an hour of discussion, members voted 14-6 to move forward with legislation that would prohibit state GMO labeling laws, notably one set to take effect July 1 in Vermont. Other states are considering similar laws. The measure preempts "any state or political subdivision law relating to the labeling of whether food or seed is genetically engineered or developed or produced using genetic engineering" and "authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations establishing a national voluntary bioengineered food labeling standard." Advertisement The measure also outlaws any "express or implied claims regarding safety or quality based on whether food is or is not bioengineered or produced or developed with the use of bioengineering..." Many of the senators in Tuesday's meeting cited the notion that something had to be done quickly before Vermont's labeling law takes effect. "We're running out of time," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota. She was one of three Democrats who joined with Republicans to vote for the bill -- she and other ag committee members said the bill needs work ("compromise") before it can pass the U.S. Senate. Sen. Pat Roberts, a Republican from Kansas and the bill's sponsor, has been working with ranking member Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat from Michigan, to find a compromise that could pass the full Senate. Advertisement Compromise may be hard to come by. Consumer advocates for what has become known as the "Right to Know" movement across the country see labeling on a voluntary basis as little more than a slap in the face to millions of consumers who have concerns about the health and environmental impacts of GMO crops, and want to know if GMOs are used in the food they buy and consume. And nullifying a law already passed in Vermont only adds to the insult to voters and consumers. "It is very disturbing that Republicans in Congress, while blocking any meaningful legislation, have found the time to push a law that deprives Vermont's citizens their right to know about the food they buy, and could rescind over one hundred and thirty other state laws on food and seed," said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Food Safety. Those who want to see mandatory labeling say that among their concerns about GMO foods is a worry that the herbicide glyphosate, which is widely used on genetically modified crops, is harmful to human health. Residues of the pesticide have been detected in foods, and a World Health Organization research unit earlier this year said glyphosate was a probable cause of cancer in humans. In the meantime, the food and agribusiness fear of labeling, and the efforts to scare consumers over the issue, only promises to heat up. Ironically, the food industry doesn't just admit that they fear consumers will turn away from GMO foods if they are labeled; the industry embraces that fear as a central theme. The Grocery Manufacturers Association, a chief backer of the legislation and other food industry backers warn that if labeling is required, consumers will turn away from GMO foods in droves, meaning farmers who grow GMO crops - the bulk of which are corn and soy - will suffer and food costs will soar. They give little to no nod to farmers who grow a multitude of other organic or conventional crops. Advertisement In a blog published Tuesday in The Hill, Lorraine Merrill, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food, said: "Mandatory labeling of foods derived from biotechnology will create a 'skull and crossbones effect' on our safe and affordable food supply which will generate or exacerbate fears of advanced genetic techniques... If consumers and food manufacturers migrate to more GMO-free products, food costs will go up." The measure now heads to the full Senate where passage is expected to be tricky. Sixty votes will be required to overcome a filibuster, and both senators from Vermont -- Sen Patrick Leahy and presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders -- promise to oppose the law. The GOP-backed bill would "move production methods into the shadows" and "give agriculture a black eye," Leahy told The Hill. "The legislation undermines the public's right to know." Stabenow was quoted saying that if the law is to pass the Senate, "it must contain a pathway to a national system of mandatory disclosure that provides consumers the information they need and want to make informed choices." A similar measure backed by Republicans was passed last July by the U.S. House of Representatives, 275-150. Only 45 Democrats voted for the bill. Advertisement Women at the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kenya [U.S. Embassy Nairobi Photo] I met Julie Hanna at last year's Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kenya. As the Executive Chair of the Board for Kiva, she was there as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. I was there as the U.S. Ambassador for Global Women's Issues. Considering that the total unmet financing needs for women-owned businesses around the world are an estimated $260 billion to $320 billion, it seemed only logical when we started to look at how we can partner to empower women entrepreneurs like the ones we met in Kenya. Last week our efforts came to fruition and we launched the Women's Entrepreneurship Fund, a new initiative that will help expand access to finance for women in the 84 countries where Kiva operates. Advertisement The fund works like this: Kiva.org posts loan requests from women entrepreneurs. When Kiva lenders respond, their contributions will be matched dollar for dollar by the Fund, which will accept contributions from large donors who can give $250,000 or more. As part of the Fund, the State Department will support data collection and analysis to measure how effective the initiative is in expanding women's access to finance. The data will help illustrate the financial needs and activity of women entrepreneurs around the world by measuring several indicators, including the size of loans women are taking on, in which industry, and for what purpose. This is a critical part of our broader efforts to empower women entrepreneurs. Right now we don't have enough data to fully understand the experiences of women entrepreneurs. For diplomats, that limits our ability to work with countries to reform policies to promote women's entrepreneurship. It also limits the ability of banks to find new, innovative ways to finance women entrepreneurs. With data from the Fund that shows not only the size and purpose of each loan, but also whether the lendee returns for additional funding, we'll be able to make the business argument to countries about why women entrepreneurs are worth the investment, and why laws and policies need to empower them, not restrain them. Advertisement The Fund is one of many ways the United States is working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. A key part of the global development agenda includes expanding women's access to financial resources--an important recognition that women's economic empowerment is a key part of our overall efforts to address other challenges--including gender-based violence, women's political participation, and the education and empowerment of adolescent girls. But the global goals can't be achieved by governments alone. We need to work with the private sector to empower women, including entrepreneurs. This Fund offers a clear, direct way for the private sector to advance the Sustainable Development Goals by helping women entrepreneurs access finance. And it will allow them to double the impact of their investment. Because the Fund will be used to match, dollar-for-dollar, what Kiva's lenders provide to women entrepreneurs, donors know that they are part of a global community of support for this effort. And thanks to the data collection, investors will have hard data and evidence to track the impact of their contributions. The Women's Entrepreneurship Fund can make a difference on so many levels in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. It can help make a positive difference for women and their communities, microfinance institutions and commercial banks, donors and investors, and regulators and policymakers. And that impact is going to start almost immediately. Time Magazine reported last year that the Islamic State, also known as "ISIS" and "ISIL," acquires as many as 1,000 new fighters each month. Recently leaked documents have revealed that ISIS is making a concerted effort to brainwash and groom young recruits to become their next generation of soldiers. The terrorist group's so-called "Cubs of the Caliphate" trainees may number in the thousands, and have been prominently featured in their propaganda videos over the past year. The youths, who range from small children to teenagers, hold rocket launchers, AK-47s and other heavy weaponry while posing for photos with ISIS banners. As members of the caliphate, these youths' duties are not much different from that of their adult counterparts--they are "educated" daily in the faction's religious mission, trained to use weapons and close-quarters combat techniques, and occasionally carry out suicide bombings and even executions. A portion of ISIS's junior faction are victims of mass abduction campaigns during which ISIS takes hundreds of children over the course of a few weeks. The organization's agents use fear and deception to lure, pressure, and sometimes trick young targets into joining their ranks. But not all of their child prospects assimilate well to the ISIS way of life--young recruits who cannot be molded into ruthless fighters are sold off as sex slaves or killed, sometimes by cruel methods such as crucifixion or live burial. Advertisement I made a trip to the Middle East last year to do investigative reporting on ISIS's recruiting methods, and discussed their techniques with Lebanese social worker Maya Yamout. She, together with her sister Nancy, conducted interviews with thirty-five suspected terrorists being jailed in Lebanon. Yamout is also involved in "Rescue Me," a Lebanon-based NGO founded by her sister that works with vulnerable youth to prevent them from being recruited into ISIS and other terrorist organizations. She told me that based on the cases she interviewed in Roumieh prison in Lebanon, she believes that the Islamic State's ruthless recruiters convert desperate targets by preying on their weaknesses. "Terrorists I interviewed confirmed that there is an ISIS recruiting agent in every corner in the world today. They prey on the vulnerable ones," Yamout said. "Those who are poor, they persuade them with money. Those with psychological troubles, they provide them with drugs." "They gave us drugs: hallucinogenic pills that would make you go to battle not caring if you live or die." 19-year-old former ISIS member Kareem Mufleh told CNN's Ivan Watson in November. "If they give you a suicide belt and tell you to blow yourself up, you'll do it." In an interview with B.M., a 19-year-old ISIS member jailed for beheading a Lebanese soldier, B.M. told Yamout that ISIS forced [him] to use opium regularly until he developed a severe addiction. He said he was high and hadn't slept for days when he carried out the beheading. Advertisement Following ISIS's release of a chilling video depicting a young boy beheading a Syrian army officer last year, terrorism expert Will Geddes said it was obvious the child was on drugs as he carried out the gruesome act. "It's probably cocaine or an amphetamine," said Geddes, the threat management firm International Corporate Protection. "His pupils are completely dilated and he has a thousand-yard stare. He looks like he's been wound up to do what he's about to do." After the infamous ISIS attack that killed 130 people in Paris last year, survivors described their assailants' demeanor as 'peaceful' and 'zombie-like' while pouring bullets from their assault rifles into anything that moved. French media has since reported that evidence has surfaced indicating the gunmen may have been high on a drug called Captagon, a synthetic amphetamine-based pill ISIS uses to make their soldiers ignore pain and hunger while fighting for days on end. Yamout told me during our interview that not all of ISIS's recruits are converted by coercion. She explained that children or young men who have lost their parents are often targeted by ISIS recruiters, who persuade them to join the ISIS 'family.' "For those who have lost their father figure [due to abandonment, death or otherwise], they send someone to them to replace that missing element in their life," Yamout said. "In fact, many of those I interviewed had the absent-father syndrome. They missed their father figure, so ISIS and other terrorist organizations send someone like a Sheikh to pretend they're there for them. Next thing you know, they are in Syria or Iraq fighting." Advertisement ISIS has focused an alarming amount of effort on developing their future force of terror, and sources report they are recruiting more children than adults. By forcing these 'cubs' to perform horrific acts of violence, ISIS aims to create a brutalized generation of fighters that will kill with reckless abandon. Near the end of my interview with Yamout, I asked her how the world can thwart ISIS' plans to transform their child army into cold-blooded killing machines. "The more we learn about ISIS, the more we know how to prevent terrorism," she told me. "The solution to halt their recruitment begins first with awareness, and then prevention." Yamout and her sister are currently seeking full scholarship for a clinical social work doctoral program to continue studying about terrorists and extremism. Her will to expand her work is partially driven by interactions she had with one former prisoner in particular, who she says was a student of Usama Bin Laden. Over the past few years, I have traveled nearly 300,000 miles across 35 countries and 60 cities as part of my role leading the State Department's Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. I have met finance ministers in Latin America seeking export opportunities for their domestic goods, business leaders in West Africa developing new technologies to serve their clients, and young entrepreneurs in South Asia working to turn their innovations into thriving businesses. Conversations like these are at the heart of economic engagement around the world, and demonstrate that, as Secretary of State John Kerry has said, "economic policy is foreign policy." Through my job, I also get to meet some of our country's greatest ambassadors: U.S. companies, who represent American values in the communities in which they operate. Today the State Department hosted the 17th annual Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence Ceremony--or ACE awards--to honor U.S. companies who are representing American values by operating sustainably and responsibly around the world. These firms are creating new methods to advance environmental sustainability, leading by example in respecting the rights of their employees and local communities, and growing small businesses with missions to both turn a profit and do good simultaneously. I encourage you to read the stories of all ten of this year's ACE finalists and see for yourself. Advertisement At the ACE Ceremony I had the honor of presenting this year's award winners: Cargill Vietnam Ltd., East Bali Cashews, and Weyerhaeuser Productos S.A. These three companies demonstrate that corporate excellence is not just about doing right by shareholders, but doing right by stakeholders. Cargill Vietnam Ltd. has operated in Vietnam for over 20 years, and during that time the company has transformed its relationship with its farmer-partners so the farmers can thrive today and maintain the health and productivity of their agricultural communities for the future. Cargill Vietnam Ltd. has trained over 1.5 million farmers in best practices on animal health and nutrition, and trained over 12,000 cocoa farmers in practices that allow them make more money by increasing their crop yields. The company is also utilizing new technologies to increase the transparency of their supply chains in-country. Beyond building responsible conduct into their core operations, Cargill Vietnam Ltd. supports local communities through the Cargill Cares schools program, with 58 schools across 41 provinces serving 13,000 children. For these reasons and more, we are proud that Cargill Vietnam Ltd. is this year's winner of the Award for Corporate Excellence in Human Rights and Labor Rights, a brand new ACE category. In November 2015, I was in Bali, Indonesia and had the opportunity to see first-hand the great work of this year's ACE winner in the small or medium enterprise category: East Bali Cashews. Beyond producing delicious nuts, East Bali Cashews has helped transform an entire community. Advertisement Several years ago, Balinese villagers sent their harvested cashews abroad for processing, and then imported them back into Indonesia but with a steep markup. Recognizing a business opportunity, company founder Aaron Fishman created East Bali Cashews so that these nuts could be processed locally and create economic opportunities for the community. To grow faster, Fishman linked up with U.S. investment company KKR, whose employees worked pro-bono to help East Bali Cashews develop a cutting-edge marketing plan and attract global investors. The company now employs over 350 people in Bali, including previously unemployed women, has built a preschool for employees' children, and has increased incomes of local farmers by 20 percent. East Bali Cashews' impressive growth has been fueled by its human investments in its local community, which is why it received this year's Award for Corporate Excellence for a Small or Medium Enterprise. In December of last year, the United States, along with governments around the world, came together for a historic climate agreement. Governments cannot achieve these goals alone, which is why this year for the first time we presented an Award for Corporate Excellence in Environmental Sustainability. We want to highlight private sector leaders who respect the environment, as that work helps to complement and reinforce the climate goals that governments have pledged to achieve. This year's ACE winner for environmental sustainability is Weyerhaeuser Productos in Uruguay. Weyerhaeuser, a renewable forest-product company, has worked directly with the government of Uruguay to set high standards for its industry, and their operations have been named a "project of national interest" by the government. Heat and power for Weyerhaeuser's Uruguay facilities are generated by renewable fuels and are carbon neutral, and their forest management removes 56,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year. These are remarkable initiatives, so I was proud to present Weyerhaeuser Productos in Uruguay with this year's Award for Corporate Excellence in Environmental Sustainability. VALDOSTA, GA - FEBRUARY 29: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reacts to supporters during a rally at Valdosta State University February 29, 2016 in Valdosta, Georgia. On the eve of the Super Tuesday primaries, Trump is enjoying his best national polling numbers of the election cycle, increasing his lead over rivals Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ted Cruz (R-TX). (Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images) Donald Trump has built a platform for himself on unabashed statements that spread fear and perpetuate hate, and his message continues to resonate with Americans. He's bragged that his supporters would stand loyal even if Trump attempted murder in the middle of 5th Avenue. And his campaign has gone to great lengths to ensure only these top-level supporters fill rally halls, going so far as enforcing a "loyalty oath" and ejecting those who don't comply. But like his policies, these security measures have flaws and dissenters have Jedi-mind-tricked their way through those cracks so that as a hate-filled piece of rhetoric masked as a plan to "make America great again" falls from Trump's lips, a voice of opposition is there to call for love instead. Advertisement National campaigns like StopHateDumpTrump have launched to unite and empower people to tackle the hateful rhetoric -- but it should be known that many, if not all of these actions have been uncoordinated amongst each other. These individual actions are united only in cause -- to dismantle Trump's platform of hate one disruption at a time. Here are some of the actions: November 22nd, 2015 -- A protester in Birmingham, Alabama was attacked after shouting Black Lives Matter during a rally. December 4th, 2015 -- More than two dozen Black Lives Matter protesters disrupted a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina with a sign that read "Stop the Hate. We Make America Great." Among the protesters was Romain Stanley who tweeted: "Forcibly removed from #trump rally. Trump supporters kicked me, grabbed my neck, pushed me, and more all while security jacks me up." December 11th, 2015 -- Trump's $1,000 plate luncheon was disrupted by a dozen protesters who chanted "Trump is trying to bring us down, targeting people black and brown." All protesters were forcibly removed, including a Latino veteran with a disability who was pushed down a flight of stairs and an Arab woman who was thrown to the ground. Advertisement December 12th, 2015 -- Holding signs reading "Refugees Welcome," protesters were threatened and shoved as they disrupted Trump's Aiken, South Carolina stop. December 14th, 2015 -- Up to 20 protesters were violently battered and removed from a Las Vegas event while a supporter yelled a Nazi salute from the crowd. January 7th, 2016 -- A half dozen protesters disrupted a Burlington, Vermont rally carrying "Dump Trump" signs. Trump made calls from the stage to confiscate a protester's coat, knowing it was 10 degrees outside at the time. January 8th, 2016 -- Muslim woman Rose Hamid stood silently at a rally in Rock Hill, North Carolina, wearing a hijab and a yellow star reading "Muslim". Hamid was removed for disrupting, but argues that the real disruption came from those who heckled her in the crowd. Several other protesters disrupted the rally after Hamid was ejected. January 20th, 2016 -- High school students in Tulsa, Oklahoma ditched school to interject their twist on Trump's campaign slogan into his rally. Their sign -- which was smuggled into the event in one of their shoes -- was eventually taken and stomped on by supporters. Advertisement January 21st, 2016 -- This was the day I took action and disrupted a Las Vegas, Nevada rally -- my banner reading "Stop the Hate" was ripped from my hands as I was shoved through the crowd and covered in supporter signs. January 24th, 2016 -- Two men -- one wearing a red turban -- unfurled a banner reading "Stop Hate" at a rally in Muscatine, Iowa while Trump spoke on "Islamic Terror". Trump questioned the audience as to whether or not the man was "wearing one of those hats". January 26th, 2016 -- At least three separate actions took place in the Iowa City, Iowa rally: Melyssa Jo Kelly pulled out a "No Racism" sign, Andrew Alemao wore a shirt reading "Heil Trumpler 2016" and threw tomatoes at the stage, and a series of whistle blowers adorning t-shirts reading "I Stand with My Muslim Neighbors" annoyed Trump to the point of him asking "Am I allowed to rip that whistle out of their mouth?" January 28th, 2016 -- Trump's "Special Event for Veterans" in Des Moines, Iowa held at the same time as the GOP Debate was twice interrupted by veterans shouting "We love Veterans, Trump loves War." February 16th, 2016 -- High school senior Thomas Hill was violently ejected from a North Augusta, South Carolina rally with sign reading "Keep America Great, Keep All Immigrants". Advertisement February 19th, 2016 -- On the eve of the South Carolina primary, a group of 10 military veterans unfurled a banner that read, "Mr. Trump: Veterans are not props for hate. We stand with our Muslim sisters and brothers." The group was forcibly removed from the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina rally. February 22nd, 2016 -- Protesters in Las Vegas, Nevada elicited Trump's most vile response yet on the eve of the Nevada primary. As one man was hauled off by security, a second protester held a sign reading "Veterans to Trump: End hate speech against Muslims." Now you may be thinking -- these disruptions are not as clever as the Marco Rubio Robot or as hilarious as Ted Cruz's Nickelback Troll or as pointed as this climate crew's many photobombs. Aside from some incredible, meme-worthy photos and viral videos from Trump disruptions, the real success of these actions is two-fold. First, these disruptions have detracted from Trump's rants, further exposing his hot-tempered reaction to confrontation and the violent tendencies among Trump and his supporters. After Black Lives Matter protesters disrupted Trump last fall, Trump suggested the next day that they should have been "roughed up" . After Thomas Hill's disruption in North Augusta, Trump brought the two "heroes" (one of the men was a two-tour Iraq War veteran), who abused the high school senior to the stage, for a handshake and a few words at the mic. And after a protester disrupted a Las Vegas rally, Trump said he would like to "punch him in the face." Any semblance of playfulness has worn thin enough to reveal the trajectory of his verbal bullying towards physical aggression and violence. Make no mistake: we're seeing a microcosm of what we as a country would experience from a Trump presidency. Advertisement Second, Trump has gone to great lengths to silence and mock those who challenge him and oppose him, rejecting the principle that dissent is at the core of democracy. He accused Megyn Kelly of being on her period and ultimately ditched a second Fox News GOP Debate to avoid another round of her challenging questions. He called Ted Cruz a "pussy" for his differing opinion on waterboarding. He barked "you tell me" when questioned on how his ban on Muslims were different from Nazi Germany policies. Latinos have had plenty of cause for concern regarding Republican front-runner Donald Trump's bid for the presidency. Trump has a long track record of hate-speech directed at Latinos, including blanketly calling Mexican immigrants drug dealers and rapist and blaming "Hispanics" for violent crimes across the country. Given that just this weekend the New York billionaire refused to disavow former KKK leader David Duke's support, it shouldn't surprise anyone that a growing number of racist hate-groups throughout the nation are working to put Trump in the White House. A new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) found that hate groups in America are on the rise, a primary reason being their use of Republican anti-immigrant rhetoric in their recruitment efforts. According to one of the study's authors, these "people are very, very excited about Trump. They call him the 'Glorious Leader' and it's all about the immigration issue." Advertisement Latinos are all too familiar with the dangers of racist extremists. From the lynching of thousands of Mexicans throughout the Southwest in the late-1800s, to the KKK's "border watch" patrols of the late-1970s, to the Neo-Nazi Minutemen militia members who "hunted" immigrants and shot and killed U.S.-born Latinos just a few years ago, racist hate-groups in America have a history of targeting the Latino community. Consequently, their increasing participation in Republican presidential politics should be a red flag for all of us. According to Heidi Beirich of the SPLC, "White supremacists love Donald Trump... and they're mobilizing politically" for him. Racist activists are promoting Trump on their radio shows, making robo-calls on his behalf, volunteering for his campaign, and even carrying pro-Trump signs while wearing hooded KKK garbs at GOP caucuses. Trump's anti-Latino rhetoric has had dangerous consequences extending far beyond electoral politics. For example, just a few weeks after Trump announced his presidential campaign, police arrested two white males for beating a 58-year old homeless Latino man with a metal pole and then urinated on him. The attackers were partly inspired by the likely GOP nominee, stating, "Donald Trump was right, all these illegals need to be deported." Far from merely an isolated incident, government data suggests that this act was part of a larger rising wave of hate-crimes committed against Latinos because of their perceived "foreignness." But while Donald Trump has used the issue of immigration to gain his lead in the Republican primaries, recent polls show that out of all GOP candidates, Trump's hate-filled rhetoric has "earned him the highest negative ratings" among Latino voters. Not only do 8 out of 10 of them express having negative views of Trump, but even among Republican-leaning Latinos Trump scores below the other two top GOP candidates. Advertisement This is bad news for Republicans given that a recent analysis shows that even if 60% of the white electorate votes for the GOP (which hasn't happen since 1988), Trump would still have to get between 42-47% of the Latino vote to win (Mitt Romney received only 27%). So what does all this mean for the 2016 Presidential Elections? It means that if Trump becomes the Republican candidate for president, Latinos have the potential to stop him from entering the White House. But the possibility of this becoming a reality depends on the degree to which Latinos electorally mobilize and what Democrats have to offer them. Only a few weeks have gone by since Chiara, a twelve year old girl from Pordenone (Italy) decided to put an end to the bullying she had become a victim of by letting herself plummet from a bedroom window. Fortunately the fall was broken by an open blind just below the family's apartment. Chiara was severely hurt but managed to survive. Although we are all overjoyed to hear that she is recovering physically, shock and concern as to the extreme decision of a child to take her life remains. A decision that is forced upon victims of bullying and cyberbullying by peers, " bullies " who project their fragility on to others by using violence, in an attempt to fill the voids produced by a society that has become increasingly incapable of fostering, nourishing and understanding the value of feelings and emotions, thus, hurtling youth into a vortex of solitude, in a world where conformism and materialism are expressions of popularity, power and strength. Some analysts of the phenomenon, in Italy, argue that bullying is inevitable, part of life, where nature divides us into " bullies and hypersensitive beings. " They also say that: " During adolescence those with fragile minds have always desired to be accepted by the popular pack whose arrogance and number become a depiction of strength." Advertisement According to this statement the desire to be part of "the pack" slithers into the mind of a twelve year old girl, whom in turn finds herself rejected, intimidated and humiliated by her peers. The psychological violence is enough to destroy the young girl's self -esteem, leaving her alone as she struggles and tries to cope with a sense of worthlessness. Parents and teachers have no way of reaching her on that far away " planet " of desperation where the " fragile minds " of youth find refuge. The theory is left without a solution, for there is no remedy capable of curing the human need to be " accepted and acknowledged " by the pack. But do we truly believe that Chiara needed and wanted to be part of the pack? Or did she simply wish to be left alone? Was she only asking to be free to live her life in peace, without having to feel like a prey that is being hunted down? Does the decision to attempt suicide stem from a " hypersensitive " person with a " fragile mind "? Or is it the reaction to pain and isolation caused by the kind of adolescent cruelty that some authorities confuse with primordial impulses of future leaders? Advertisement There are many theories which try to explain the causes of physically and psychologically violent behavior in children and teens. One of the given reasons is the need to overpower and destroy the other person's diversity in order to dominate and feed the lack of kindness that sadly characterizes a bully's personality. Aggressive youth will find any excuse to begin attacking: the prettiest, the most intelligent, the new kid, the boy from a different country, the girl with different religious beliefs, the child who suffers obesity, the " ugliest ", the least " intelligent ", the homosexual... are all potential targets of bullies. Others consider bullying a Darwinian instinct that places us at the mercy of natural inclinations regulated by the law of the jungle. As though humans, like animals, are susceptible to violence when survival is at stake. In the first case the solution is to be found in education. Schools should teach children to " put themselves in the other person's shoes," empathy, to live according to the golden rule: " Treat others like you would like to be treated. " However, in this day and age where callousness and inhumanity have grabbed hold of us all, such a morally benevolent answer appears unrealistic, even though it is inspired by the best intentions. It " appears " that way because our quest to reestablish a culture devoted to altruism, tolerance, gentleness and peace has just begun. The second solution suggests that bullies be assigned roles of responsibility within schools in order to soothe and ease the Darwinian instincts they are prisoners of. Unless you have been living under a rock, by now you have heard that gravitational waves, predicted by Albert Einstein, have been discovered. These are two monumental achievements that ought to be lauded. Einstein for seeing the ramification of the theory of general relativity that he worked so hard to accomplish, and to the LIGO team for steadfastly pursuing the goal to measure the ripples in spacetime directly, and with that create a new type of telescope that opens up a portal, as it were, to a universe that is unfamiliar to us. These telescopes use gravitons after all, not photons, to "see". And with gravitons we can see further back in time than is possible with photons. We might one day "listen" to the birth of the universe, through the ringing of gravitons gently shaking the Earth. What is less well known is that Einstein struggled mightily with the theory of gravitational waves. The fact that Einstein was a genius but nevertheless mortal is, by now, somewhat known. After all, it took him five tries to get the field equations of General Relativity right. Mind you, I don't fault him for that. Instead, I think he ought to be held in regard precisely because he dared to publish papers that were flawed, and there is ample evidence that he submitted them for publication in full knowledge that the theory was not finished. He was also fully aware of just how important this work was. Legendary physicists have opined that had Einstein not figured out these equation then, we might still be struggling with the theory. In 1916, Einstein submitted a paper to the "Sitzungsberichte der Koniglich-Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin". This may seem like an odd journal, but you have to understand that 1916 was a very different time than today when it comes to scientific publishing. You can translate the title to mean "Meeting Notes of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin". But this does not imply that Einstein actually gave a talk at the Prussian Academy. Instead, as he was a member of said academy, he could publish in the journal simply by sending in the paper. Without peer review. (Note that until recently, even the US National Academy of Sciences had such a publication track for members). Advertisement The paper that he sent in, entitled "Naherungsweise Integration der Feldgleichungen der Gravitation", contained a bombshell. The translation of the title seems harmless: "Approximate integration of the field equations of gravity". ("Integration" here just means "Solution"). Those field equations are, of course, Einstein's equations. He says he solves them approximately, because he considers small deviations from the exact solutions, something that you would do in order to treat fluctuations. These fluctuations would be gravitational waves, and Einstein was naturally led toward them. This is the paper that is now acknowledged worldwide of having introduced gravitational waves, 100 years before their direct discovery by the LIGO team. Except that the paper is wrong. It contains a monumental mistake in the calculation. This was not a simple mistake, because it changed the apparent nature of the radiation dramatically. If this was a different blog I would lead you precisely through the mistake to see how it could have happened. In my view it was simply an oversight (a 'prime' in his notation got lost). Unfortunately for him, the results of the mistake were, in hindsight, catastrophical. One of the defining characteristics of gravitational waves (as Einstein later figured out), is that it does not have a "dipole" character as the electromagnetic radiation (for example, light). In dipole radiation, the signal you "see" is due to charges moving to and fro. But gravitational waves are not like that (that is, being due to mass densities moving back and forth). Rather, the radiation must have a quadrupole moment, so that density is compressed in one direction, and expanded in the orthogonal directions. It is precisely this feature of the radiation that explains the "L"-form of the LIGO interferometers in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana, that opened up this new chapter in our exploration of the universe. Einstein's reasoning, mind you, was flawless as always. In fact, he was perhaps the greatest intuitive physicist who ever lived. But he struggled (by his own admission), with mathematics (something I can say I share with him). I don't know how or when he realized his mistake, but he published another article in the "Sitzungsberichte", simply entitled "Uber Gravitationswellen", or "On Gravitational Waves", two years later. He begins that article in his characteristically detached tone, writing: Advertisement "Da aber meine damalige Darstellung des Gegenstandes nicht genugend durchsichtig und auerdem durch einen bedauerlichen Rechenfehler verunstaltet ist, mu ich hier nochmals auf die Angelegenheit zuruckkommen". Let me translate this for you. "But since my exposition of the subject-matter at that time was not sufficiently transparent and furthermore blemished by a regrettable error in calculation, I have to return to the matter here one more time." As a side note, I find the manner in which he describes the error here (and further below in the article) delightful. In a sense, he does not think of the discovery (gravitational radiation) as "his". It was there all along, and he apologizes for its "disfigurement" at his hands. For us readers, Gravitational Waves 2.0 is a gift. It is indeed clearer than 1.0, even though it is not like Einstein did nothing but work on this paper for two years after discovering the error. In between he wrote six other articles for the Sitzungsberichte (among which an obituary for Karl Schwarzschild, the fellow after which a black hole's radius is named after). And ten other articles in various journals. Once he realized the mistake, he was able to take the calculation much further, and derives the famous "quadrupole formula" as Equation (30) in the 1918 paper, and writes immediately: Advertisement "Man sieht an diesem Ergebnis, da ein mechanisches System, welches dauernd Kugelsymmetrie behalt, nicht strahlen kann, im Gegensatz zu dem durch einen Rechnungsfehler entstellten Ergebnis der fruheren Abhandlung" or in English, "One can see from this result that a mechanical system that maintains spherical symmetry cannot radiate, in contrast to the result--disfigured by a calculational mistake--of the previous paper." So rightfully we should celebrate 1918 as the year that Einstein discovered gravitational radiation, but I think it is clear that he knew in 1916. While the 1916 mistake is not very well known, Einstein's repudiation of gravitational radiation (in error again, and corrected this time before publication) twenty years later is quite well-known. As you can read in the last linked reference, Einstein submitted a paper to the Physical Review in which he "shows" that gravitational waves do not exist. The paper was reviewed (as had become the norm at that US journal), and the reviewer carefully read it, and found it to be wrong. (Einstein had chosen a bad coordinate system). Einstein was furious. In a nutshell, he wrote to the editor that he (the editor) did not have permission to show the paper to anyone, and that he would never publish in that journal again. Clearly, Einstein was not used to peer review as we know it today. Fortunately, Einstein's co-author Nathan Rosen was in the room when Einstein threw the letter into the trashcan (and kicked it for good measure), retrieved it from its confines and revised the paper according to the reviewer's concerns. The way we do it now. But he submitted it to a much less well-known the journal, the Journal of the Franklin Institute. Advertisement I think their are some lessons for us today in this hundred year-old story. Progress in the sciences is not a linear affair. Progress moves via burps and jumps, sometimes going backwards, but moving forwards on average. Science is made by people, and people are fallible. We should always remain humble in the sense that we are only discovering the laws of nature--we are not making them. And mistakes are part of the equation. If we are timid, we would wait for decades before having the temerity to go forward with our discoveries. I much prefer Einstein's brash approach to publish first, and see how the chips may fall, but it is certainly not for everybody. Image courtesy of Josh John YOLO: This pop acronym has become a favourite battle cry for the hipsters, hacks and happy go lucky adventurers of our digital generation. YOLO expresses a desire to throw caution to the wind, to take on life and all it has to offer with reckless abandon, to go everywhere and do everything, to live each day as if it was your last. . . as long as you can Instagram it. Unlike their brow-beaten predecessors with their now-fading "carpe diem" tattoos and expanding paunches, YOLOers are free from the constraints of having to use full words, whilst also fortunate enough to have an unprecedented range of listicles to help them plan their YOLOing. Advertisement However, compared to other parts of the world there remains a dearth of African YOLO pointers, despite all the diversity, adventure, intrigue and sometimes outright danger that this vast continent has to offer. This post is an attempt to even out the scales somewhat. Here are seven of the best African YOLO experiences: Summit Kilimanjaro Image courtesy of Josh John The majestic Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa, the highest free-standing mountain in the world and one of the Great Seven Summits. This dormant Tanzanian volcano towers over the surrounding landscapes, its snow-capped peak in stark contrast to the lush green vegetation below. A large part of Kilimanjaro's popularity stems from its accessibility. But though it can be summited without technical gear or extreme fitness, this is no walk in the park, and getting to the top still affords some serious bragging rights. Kilimanjaro-Experience offers the widest range of different routes. You can choose from various scheduled climbs, or if you really want to take your YOLOing to a whole new level, you can book a private climb for you and your intimate partner and get down on one knee on the roof of Africa. Advertisement Trek with gorillas in the DRC Image courtesy of Gavin Langille The sudden eruptions of violence and general instability that have sadly so-long been the norm in the eastern Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo have meant that it hasn't often been on the radar for even the most adventurous of YOLOers. But peace has returned to the region and there is no better time than right now to visit the pristine jungle wilderness of Virunga National Park, which is home to more wildlife species than almost anywhere on earth, including about a third of the world's critically endangered mountain gorillas. There can't be many more exhilarating feelings than encountering one of these majestic animals on foot whilst trekking through the park. And if you book your trek as part of Africa Geographic's tailor-made package, you can also look into the lava-filled crater of an active volcano while you're there. Career along the Nile in a white water raft Image courtesy of Michell Zappa Just outside the pretty and laidback Ugandan town of Jinja, the vast Lake Victoria pours into the mighty, snaking body of the Nile River. Here, close to its source, this iconic river is particularly powerful and tumultuous and has become well-known amongst adventure tourists for some of the most intense grade IV and V rapids you'll find anywhere in the world. Rafting here is certainly not an activity for the fainthearted. It's almost guaranteed you'll be flipped out of your raft at some point, and the abundance of crocs in the Nile certainly won't do much to settle any nerves. Advertisement But for all the apparent risks, the safety record of well-established companies like Adrift and Nile River Explorers is astounding, as is their level of care and professionalism. This partly explains why a number of the rafters who come here are first timers. Paddle along the hippo and croc infested Zambezi Image courtesy of Jonny Peacock Continuing with the water theme, a canoe safari along the beautiful Zambezi River is a much more tranquil affair, and a particularly spectacular way to see the big game that is drawn to the water's edge, including elephants, buffalo, lots of plains game and astonishing birdlife. But keep your wits about you - your peaceful paddle may well be interrupted by an angry and territorial hippo taking a charge at your somewhat inadequate vessel. Hippos kill more people in Africa than anything other than the mosquito. But if you manage to keep on their good side, the hippos, as well the countless crocs, are another exhilarating part of this truly raw safari experience, which will have you feeling like a modern day David Livingstone. Organize your trip from the idyllic Sausage Tree Camp, which sits right on the river bank. Take a Walk on the Wild Side in South Luangwa Image courtesy of Robert Bernatzeder Staying with Zambia, South Luangwa is the country's flagship park, sometimes referred to as "Africa's last great wilderness", and the undisputed home of the walking safari, which was pioneered by Norman Carr in the 1960s. Norman Carr Safaris are still the best choice today. Advertisement There can't be many things in the world more exciting than tracking large African predators on foot, and then bedding down in the middle of the unadulterated bush with their calls reverberating in the darkness all around you. Among the many predators here you'll find an abundance of leopards, lions and hyenas, as well as the critically-endangered African wild dog. Be sure not to take any meat to bed with you at night, and don't be too alarmed if you find unwanted visitors snooping around your camp. Party in a Cape Town township Image courtesy of Christopher Clark Many of the visitors that flock to Cape Town leave with a very limited view of the city. They see the plush beachfront restaurants and hotels, take the cable car to the top of Table Mountain and top up their tan. Somewhere along the way, they might make time for a quick tick-the-box "township tour". But the townships have so much more to offer than a sad backdrop for what those in the know disdainfully call "poverty safaris". Ignore the disgustingly sensationalized safety warnings, step out of your comfort zone and you might just have more fun in the townships than you do anywhere else in Cape Town. For an unforgettable slice of township life, spend a weekend afternoon cruising up and down Khayelitsha's bustling Spine Road, where the sounds of sizzling chicken, bassy Kwaito music and happy revelry never seem to stop. Book with Coffeebeans Routes for the most immersive township experiences. Advertisement Dive with Great White sharks Image courtesy of Armin Rodler South Africa's False Bay is sometimes referred to as the "Serengeti of the Sea" due to its incredible abundance of marine life. The apex predator here is the feared and feted Great White shark, drawn by the veritable buffet of seal that is available to it in the bay. Great Whites are formidable and frighteningly efficient hunters and can grow to over 6 metres. In a section of False Bay aptly-known as Shark Alley, you can drop down into the water in a sturdy metal cage and observe white sharks in their natural environment. You don't need any scuba diving certification, just the ability to stay calm - sharks are inquisitive creatures and may well try to get a close look at you. Operators such as White Shark Ventures have been operating here for the best part of three decades, and their safety record and viewing success rates are second to none. Witness the Great Migration Image courtesy of James H From the "Serengeti of the Sea" to the real thing. Tanzania's Serengeti National Park sets the scene for what's come to be known as the "greatest show on earth." Every year more than a million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebra cover the vast open plains as they make their way towards the Mara River and then all the way into the northern reaches of Kenya's Masaai Mara Game Reserve. Well, that's the end goal at least. In reality, many of the migrating animals become prey for the numerous Nile crocodiles as they cross the Mara River in a mad frenzy. The feeling evoked by this spectacle is impossible to describe. You have to experience it for yourself. "So many of our Christians," the late right-wing activist Paul Weyrich intoned in 1980, "have what I call the goo-goo syndrome: good government. They want everybody to vote. I don't want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of people, they never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, [the right's] leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down." Since Weyrich declared war on voting thirty-six years ago, the effort to manipulate elections to protect entrenched interests has proceeded apace, aided by a Supreme Court that wrongfully decided the 2000 presidential election and gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013. In a stirring new book, Five Dollars and a Pork Chop Sandwich: Vote Buying and the Corruption of Democracy, former chairwoman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights Mary Frances Berry chronicles the multiple abuses inflicted upon voting rights in recent years--and the threats those abuses pose to our future. In an interview days before her March 2 appearance at Politics & Prose at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C., Berry noted that she wanted to cast a spotlight on how the manipulation of the vote through such procedures as vote buying affects the poor. Vote buying, Berry notes, "is voter suppression on the cheap. Poor people don't vote their choices and they get no real return; democracy is corrupted by the process. The politicians buy them and then vote against what they need in state legislatures -- against Medicaid expansion, for example." Advertisement Vote buying is obviously illegal in the United States, but as Berry observes, "Prosecutors don't prosecute; they are elected by the same system, and even if they did, local judges are elected by the same system." Vote buying is just one way to suppress and manipulate votes; another way to control the outcome of democracy is through unnecessary and discriminatory voter ID laws. "The voter ID problems," Berry says, "are among the most aggressive efforts" to affect the outcome of elections. These voter ID laws are favored by Republicans across the country; you might recall the Pennsylvania Republicans who acknowledged that voter ID laws reduced Democratic votes in the 2012 presidential election. Berry notes that Republicans are fixated on voter ID laws and other efforts to make it harder for specific constituencies to cast ballots because "Republicans know that blacks and Latinos and poor people in general are unlikely to vote for them, so naturally they don't want them to vote." As noted earlier, the Supreme Court diminished democracy with its shameful decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which effectively nullified key provisions of the Voting Rights Act. Berry notes that the decision "permitted states to pass voter ID, ending early voting and other measures that suppress the vote of those more likely to vote for Democrats. It also makes it harder for the Justice department to prosecute" voting-rights abuses. Advertisement One of the justices in the majority on that horrendous decision was the late Antonin Scalia, who made no secret of his contempt for voting-rights jurisprudence. Berry observes: "Justice Scalia, like his colleagues Justice Roberts, Thomas, Alito and Kennedy, was very skeptical especially of the whole fabric of civil rights laws and the Fourteenth Amendment as means of preventing or remedying discrimination against African Americans; Voting Rights was just one area." Berry notes that Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are raising awareness about the importance of voting rights, especially "when it comes to ID laws." However, "no one, Democrats or Republicans, is focusing on vote buying -- suppression on the cheap in state and local elections, which is regarded as essential to ensuring turnout in some places." Artificial intelligence (AI), once the seeming red-headed stepchild of the scientific community, has come a long way in the past two decades. Most of us have reconciled with the fact that we can't live without our smartphones and Siri, and AI's seemingly omnipotent nature has infiltrated the nearest and farthest corners of our lives, from robo-advisors on Wall Street and crime-spotting security cameras, to big data analysis by Google's BigQuery and Watson's entry into diagnostics in the medical field. In many unforeseen ways, AI is helping to improve and make our lives more efficient, though the reverse degeneration of human economic and cultural structures is also a potential reality. The Future of Life Institute's tagline sums it up in succinct fashion: "Technology is giving life the potential to flourish like never before...or to self-destruct." Humans are the creators, but will we always have control of our revolutionary inventions? To much of the general public, AI is AI is AI, but this is only part truth. Today, there are two primary strands of AI development - ANI (Artificial Narrow Intelligence) and AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). ANI is often termed "weak AI" and is "the expert" of the pair, using its intelligence to perform specific functions. Most of the technology with which we surround ourselves (including Siri) falls into the ANI bucket. AGI is the next generation of ANI, and it's the type of AI behind dreams of building a machine that achieves human levels of consciousness. Advertisement There is heated debate around whether or not machines will ever become conscious or sentient, at least in the same way as humans experience such a phenomenon. In a connected world where sharing one's own opinion is cheap and fast, one is bound to come across predictions that range from 10 years to 1000 years to never at all. But how do we know which opinions are grounded in research and experience, and which are simply echoed from the many collected voices of the web, akin to a classic game of telephone?) I decided to hedge bets and go into the trenches of the AI world, to interview 12 leading experts and researchers active in the field, and emerge with informed thoughts and perspectives on the possible futures of AGI and also the risks involved. While their answers seemed to vary more widely on related risks, there seemed to be a general consensus that the creation of a machine consciousness is possible. Dr. Helgi Helgason, vice president of Operational Intelligence at Activity Stream, believes that "since human intelligence (and consciousness) occurs in nature, it must be a process emerging from physics and chemistry, and I see no theoretical reason that would prevent us from eventually reproducing it in man-made systems if we so desired." The thread of his statement was a common one, echoed in Dr. Andras Kornai's claim that "such things are possible to build from protein; it is evident that no magic will be required." While Kornai, a professor at the Budapest Institute of Technology, eschews "magic", more than one expert notes that we still do not know how consciousness arises in humans, which seems to pose a real and present hurdle to the development of AGI. As Founder of Skeptic Magazine Dr. Michael Shermer sees it, "I am skeptical that this can be done any time in the near future because of the complexity of the human brain and our lack of understanding of how consciousness arises from neurons communicating via electro-chemical processes, but in the long term it will be done." Advertisement University of Sheffield's Dr. Noel Sharkey believes that because we don't have the facts around how consciousness arises, we don't know yet if it is possible to produce such a thing in a machine. "This question is not possible to answer because consciousness is still shrouded in mystery with no adequate scientific theory or model. People who talk with certainty about this are delusional. There is nothing in principle to say that it cannot be created on a computer but until we know what it is, we don't know if it can occur outside of living organisms," says Sharkey. Others, including Utrecht University's Dr. Medhi Dastani and Worchester Polytechnic Institute's Dr. Eduardo Torres Jara, believe that such consciousness can be created, but question if such a machine will experience 'consciousness' in the same way as humans, which at present seems to be the impossible question. No one can predict the future, but making an informed...Based on this sample of researchers, the greatest concentration was between 2021 and 2060, or next 10 to 50 years. If these predictions turn out to be correct, that's not a whole lot of time to consider the ethical ramifications of what such an AI presence might inflict on society as a whole. Elon Musk is not alone in some of his fears about the dangers of artificial intelligence - Oxford's Nick Bostrom and University of California's Stuart Russell are two of many who hold this stance - but there's disagreement around near-term AI threats. Of the 12 researchers interviewed, three threads rise from the data. The majority of the experts interviewed are concerned about the financial and economic harm that already exist but that may be exacerbated to extremes without a conscious plan to move forward, resulting in a range of risks from bigger gaps in wealth distribution to negative environmental effects, like pollution and resource exhaustion. "The risks brought about by near-term AI may turn out to be the same risks that are already inherent in our society. Automation through AI will increase productivity, but won't improve our living conditions if we don't move away from a labor/wage-based economy," says Cognitive Scientist Dr. Joscha Bach. Dr. Helgason argues that this is more of a certainty than a risk, and that suchs risk should already be factored into education policies. Advertisement Both Dr. Kornai and University of Arkansas's Dr. Daniel Berleant also foresee potentially catastrophic issues with autonomous financial algorithms that are employed to make money for their owners, without "human-centric" goals. Dr. Dastani worried that the computational capacity of intelligent machines will outpace that of humans. He states that "the increasing interactions between autonomous computer systems may cause unpredictable, not traceable, and perhaps undesirable outcomes." Financial regulations and a reworking of the structure of our economy are the most obvious solutions to these issues, but it would seem that the complex details remain to be adequately discussed and debated, especially in public political playing fields. In line with fears often read about in the media, both anti-killer robot activist Dr. Sharkey and Brandeis University's Dr. Michael Bukatin believe that autonomous machines, either superintelligences fighting themselves and obliterating us in the process or rampant autonomous armed conflict, pose a legitimate threat. Another thought is that AI aren't evil (and never will be); instead, it's the humans behind the AI that are unpredictable and often untrustworthy, with short-sighted aims such as financial and political gains. Dr. Michael Shermer sees the likeliest risk of near-future AI in the near future involving "evil humans manipulating AI toward their ends, not evil AI itself, as no such thing will develop." If autonomy and consciousness go hand-in-hand, then Dr. Eduardo Torres Jara believes the former is the greater threat - though he doesn't see this happening anytime in the near future. "It is hard to believe that AI will be an actual risk. Any advanced technology has its own risks. For example, the flight control of the space shuttle can fail and generate an accident; however, the technology used to control the space shuttle itself is not dangerous. In the case of robots, we might not want to have weaponized autonomous robot because "autonomy" is not reliable enough even in robots with less fatal consequences in case of failure," says Torres. While there are far fewer researchers on the opposite end of the spectrum, there are a few - including George Mason University's Dr. Robin D. Hanson - who see little to no risk at all of near-term AI threats. We might call this class the AI optimists. Advertisement Do we dare look beyond the next two decades into say, AI risks in the next 10 decades? Despite the open statements from some eminent businesspeople such as Bill Gates (and Elon Musk's well-publicized statements about AI), most researchers understandably get a bit more anxious about articulating such far-reaching risks, and some abstain from giving any answer. In some ways, this is a wise move; a persistent history lesson is that the future often turns out far different from what our minds are capable of imagining today. On the other hand, it's our present imaginations and actions that help shape the future. While prevention efforts and solutions to AI risk may stay grounded in the near-term, it doesn't seem wholly irrational to throw our gaze to a more distant future and imagine the potential darker paths that AI may take. For the most part, the same researchers tended to give similar though shorter answers to those AI risks that they envisioned as being relevant in the near-term. Republicans have now spoken on a third Bush presidency -- they aren't interested. As Hillary now seemingly barrels toward the Democratic nomination, it is worth Democrats considering whether they wish to follow the Republicans' proven failed path. The 'dynasty trap' that has befallen many countries around the world, from Argentina to Pakistan. Thirty years after his father's ouster as president, voters in the Philippines are even considering whether to include Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on the presidential ticket. Fifteen years after Bill Clinton stepped down from office, this is not the path America should be taking. It is not so commonly known, but since 1789, almost 400 parent-child duos, and nearly 200 pairs of siblings have served in the U.S. Congress. And more than 700 families have had two or more members in Congress , even though the Founding Fathers of the United States warned against the perils of dynastic succession in American politics. In 1786, Thomas Jefferson wrote to George Washington that "...a hereditary aristocracy will change the form of our Government from the best to the worst in the world". At that time, he called ancestral political rule a "scourge" that had condemned the overwhelming majority of France to a "cursed existence". Yet for some strange reason, many American citizens today seem to believe that because an individual may have come from a privileged background or a 'political' family, they should either have a right to attain elected office or will naturally do a better job than someone who isn't 'privileged' or part of a political dynasty. A January 2015 Washington Post-ABC News poll noted that only a third of voters polled would be less likely to vote for a Bush, and 14% less likely to vote for a Clinton, because of their surname. Advertisement Where did merit get lost in the equation, I wonder, and why do Americans fall for the dynasty trap? At least part of the answer is apathy. Voter turnout for the 2014 mid-term elections was just 36.4% -- the lowest since 1940. At the beginning of World War II, just at the time when voters should have been motivated to ensure that fascism didn't consume America, the voting public chose to remain politically apathetic. The current propensity of American voters to be so indifferent to political dynasties appears then to have something to do with a lack of interest in politics, the idea being to go with the devil that you know. Apathy appears to have spread beyond politics, to knowledge more generally, with a substantial decline in the number of Americans who regularly read a newspaper or a book. A 2012 Pew Research poll noted that only 23% of Americans read a newspaper regularly, and a 2013 Huffington Post poll showed that 28% of American hadn't read a book in more than a year. On this basis, how actively interested is the average American likely to be in politics or politicians? Not very. What does history teach us about the wisdom of going the 'easy' route and voting for candidates from political dynasties? Does being part of such a dynasty impart one with greater political wisdom or a higher level of achievement? The Roosevelts and Kennedys greatly contributed to modern American liberalism, while the Bushes did the same for conservatism. But the longer historical record is far more mixed. Our country's first two experiences with political dynasties did not end particularly well, with the Adams and Harrison Administrations being largely considered failures. Franklin Roosevelt's dramatic expansion of executive power resulted in a greater ability to promote economic reform and enhance military preparedness, but it also created a cult of personality and an enduring era of big government. The Kennedys were supremely devoted to public service and lofty liberal ambitions, but in the process, also to the acquisition of political power and the virtual elimination of competition in some areas of Massachusetts state politics for decades. Advertisement While Bill Clinton has made a significant contribution to solving some of the world's more pressing problems through the Clinton Global Initiative, he and Hillary have become extremely wealthy since they left the White House - something that would surely not have been so easily achieved had they not ridden their own political coattails to fortune. George W. Bush's legacy will likely be played out for decades to come as a result of the disastrous Iraq War and its lingering global consequences - which ultimately forced Jeb from the race. With that all said, I hope that the American people will choose not to elect another Clinton to the presidency in 2016. Despite their political aloofness, the American people must know that political dynasties are not what the Founding Fathers intended, and that in this country, dynasties have not proven to be a net positive throughout the course of history. Moreover, given the current state of the world, what is clearly needed is some fresh thinking and the ability to move beyond the legacies of recent political history. At least it is my hope that, given the stakes at hand, the voting public has the common sense to become more engaged in the political process and consider the consequences of prolonging the Clinton, and for that matter any, dynasty in American politics going forward. The recent G-20 pronouncement that the global economic environment is far from a crisis and hence that no special actions are necessary is both disappointing and worrying. It is disheartening inasmuch as the international community needs to be taken to task for not heading the warning signals noted by the IMF's Managing Director, the OECD's Secretary General, and the Financial Times this past week. It is further troubling because the global economy has yet to fully recover from the calamitous 2008-2010 downturn, as seen in large output gaps, and policy responses that have lacked coordination both nationally and internationally. Recent statements by the U.S. Treasury Secretary that the global economy is far from crisis and that there is no need for extraordinary measures reflect the political reality in the world's largest economy that nothing much can be accomplished that requires congressional action. Some parties would rather see the U. S. slip back than allow the Administration to boost aggregate demand through fiscal means as might be healthy. The Federal Reserve's long anticipated move to reverse abnormally high monetary expansion will now be cast in doubt, as recent US economic data is not yet convincingly positive. Yet politics encourages doing nothing. This paralysis is matched by the ostrich-like assertions by China that all is well despite the recent volatility seen in stock and foreign exchange markets. The issues in the world's second largest economy are more structural in terms of over-capacity and the underlying weakness of asset quality in both banks and shadow banks. Yet the policy statements claim that everything is under control and there should be no concern. Parallel statements by the influential Finance Ministers of Germany and the Netherlands re-enforce the view that more of the same is good economic policy. They are quite possibly mistaken, however, and their do-doing nothing simply increases global risks. Advertisement Countries and groups that try to rely excessively on monetary expansion while ignoring structural reform are wasting precious time and resources without addressing their fundamental growth constraints. Japan has done very little on its "third arrow" and further monetary expansion will not produce the expected miracle. China is also wasting precious time in failing to address financial bubbles, corporate over-indebtedness, and industrial over-capacity. Europe seems incapable of generating sustained forward momentum due to its internal imbalances, beginning with excessive saving and current account surpluses in Germany. In the latest twist of fate emerging markets are suffering, not only from commodity price shifts but also by the decline in global demand and in global trade. Under these circumstances, one may well ask, where is the coordinated policy response of the world's most powerful nations? Is it not legitimate to ask why collective action, a clear goal of the G-20 process, isn't happening. The answer lies in the awkwardness of the group's constellation as well as the political constraints affecting the world's largest economies. The result is somewhere between paralysis and indifference. It appears that the lessons of the Great Recession may have to be relearned. One may hope not, but recent actions raise the chances that we will. In the interim, the largest negative impact will be felt by emerging markets and developing countries, many represented in the G20. An odd group indeed. This year's theme for International Women's Day is Pledge for Parity. It is a call for all to respond; to be "leaders within our spheres of influence", and to "take pragmatic action to accelerate gender parity." This theme is particularly close to my heart. Make Music Matter, the NGO I founded, works is in the field of women's rights. My last visit to our specialized music therapy program was approximately four months ago. We worked with our partners Panzi Foundation USA and DRC, at their aftercare facility, Maison Dorcas, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on the implementation of the programs. Distinct change was immediately evident. As our beneficiaries filed into our record-ing studio, I observed they all brought notepads with them, containing lyri-cal, melodic and thematic ideas for songs. Along with their prepared ideas, they had mapped out as a group, which member should sing which part, behaving like a passionate and engaged band, tending deeply to their art and final product. In the past, beneficiaries would often arrive empty hand-ed, dependent on the guidance and creative prompting of our staff. The song that they were working on was called "The Criminal Father". It denounces the abusive, misogynistic, repressive (sometimes perpetrators) and unproductive men in their communities. It is a clever and sophisticated homage of defiance, dedicated to youth who have had negative experiences with irresponsible fathers or other authority figures, and serves as advocacy for more mature women in regards to their husbands. Advertisement "Our father, you caused us so much suffering,If you get money you spend it on your matters and now we live like orphans.Our father, you are a sadistic criminal,Its our mother that takes care of us." Even more incredible is that it was one of the beneficiaries who came up with the concept for the song and genesis of the composition. The lyrics stem from incredible stories of trauma and resilience, united in pleas for equality. For example, one particular survivor from this group had been raped at the age of 17 by Rwandan militia. She had gone into the forest, to fetch water for the day, when three men attacked her, taking turns assault-ing her, one after the other. This pattern continued every morning, tying her up when they were finished in order to complete other duties. One day they forgot to tie her up and she managed to escape. During her flight for safety, a man from a nondescript militia group stopped her and demanded that she have sex with him or he would kill her. Eventually this young girl made it home but, rather than being embraced by the sanctuary of her family, she was immediately accused of willingly participating in all of the violations that were perpetrated against her. About one month later she realized she was pregnant. When this pregnancy was discovered she was ostracized and forced to leave her family home by her father. Within a few months, she was able to secure a ride into town from a friend and arrived at Panzi Hospital where she gave birth to her child. After her physical treatments were completed she was admitted to Maison Dorcas where she is currently taking dressmaking courses and participating in our music therapy program. These are concurrently helping her to acquire a skills-based trade that she can use to support herself and her child, all the while reestablishing her emotional strength and stability. Advertisement I witnessed an amazing moment for this woman, along with the other survivors in her group, sing and record this piece with such strength, vigor and pride. Their song symbolizes the life-changing power one has over refram-ing their past, all the while carving out a new identity, one song, and joyful voice at a time. As this year's International Women's Day approaches, we should recognize the collective progress made towards gender parity begins with and from brave individuals such as these women. By emboldening these newly minted artists who conceived "The Criminal Father," we crystallize a salient example of the disparity women continue to endure in conflict and post-conflict scenarios. Advocating for these heroines provides agency and opportunity for them to contribute exponentially to social, economic, cultural, and political growth and in-turn brings lasting relevance to this year's theme. The Academy Awards are nothing more than an over indulged rich child's gold themed birthday party as their parents in the background keep yelling out: "Good job honey!" It means everything to the parents and the child and virtually nothing to anyone else. The hotbed political issue for me is not this silly, meaningless, self-promotional out of touch award show, but rather what the actual art of filmmaking in America is reflecting and as far as I can see it's all about narcissism. Our most famous and admired black actor is Barack Obama which is NOT a diss as I consider him one of the greatest most progressive president we've had since FDR. Advertisement To me all politicians are actors, some far better than others. This year's crop of GOPlayers are basically on the same level as the cast of a primary school (for children with learning disabilities) production of "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying." Their pandering and posturing, endless lying and hardly veiled attacks on anyone who is not white or evangelical to anyone with a soul is both transparent and brutally insulting. The fact that their little theater group has become a cage match for bottom feeders is nothing more than amusing to me. They are treating each other the way America ultimately treated Sarah Palin. It's almost too brutal to watch. But here is the thing: the Oscars the the GOP nomination races are basically the exact same thing. Why do all these painfully amateur actors run when they know they know that they don't have a chance in hell? Advertisement Because, like the Oscars, it's not about anything but self promotion. Branding. Getting that name above the title so you can cash in on it. They will all say anything, do anything, to become famous. Just like any other talentless reality show star in America. Like Donald Trump. Donald Trump as we know him simply does not exist. The version that is running is just some made up character who was born and raised on "The Apprentice." That character was HUGE and a $UCE$$. But the fact is he is no more real than Gilligan Island's very own Thurston Howell III or comic book legend Richie Rich. America loves a success STORY not a success FACT and that is what they are getting with the spoiled brat who is loving playing the part of the villain simply because, as any Hollywood actor will tell you, playing a villain is much more fun than playing the hero. Advertisement Trump is just a member of the Jets (as in West Side Story) who is into the gang life for kicks and who just loves beating the crap out of Latinos. None of it. Let me repeat: NONE of it is real. He's not a Republican any more than I am. He's not even a liar. He just plays one on TV and being on TV gives him Paddy Chayefsky POWER and it is every bit as thrilling as dominating his pouty, model wife. And as for President Obama, the way he has been treated by his "academy" is far worse than the way African Americans have been treated by Hollywood. I have worked as a successful writer in Hollywood for thirty years and all I can say is everyone there begins as a dismissed minority and by age forty you get to be one again. That is the circle of Hollywood life. There is very little personal regard for writers. In the 40's writers were known as "schmucks with Underwoods." Little has changed. Advertisement President Obama has been slammed and insulted for 8 years now. I will never forget when Joe Wilson yelled out "you lie" in Congress. This is why few actors can improvise. Blurting out the truth forces you to break character and in the process reveals the real you. Academy member and former President President Jimmy Carter said that the outburst was "based on racism. There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president." He characterized Wilson's act as "dastardly". This view was echoed by entertainer and educator Bill Cosby who should know a thing or too about acting...badly. While the Oscars are nothing more than this year's Fall line of Emperor's clothes, the world of politics has become, well, West Side Story with automatic weapons and personal insults instead of switchblades. The amazing thing about the President is how he never breaks out of character. No matter what kind of covert racist bullshit that Mitch McConnell and the other members of his Fox endorsed Sharks gang throw at him, they are always defeated by the President's personal style which is dominated by class and a broad smile. Advertisement So in my mind, the Oscar this year for Best Actor should go to our President. And as for the Award show if you really care about any of that nonsense, then instead of moaning like a street drunk with a cardboard sign, try not throwing money at Hollywood. Stop empowering them and teach instead that they are a minority who should be entertaining you instead of themselves. Instead of Spike Lee/Jada Pinkett Smith boycotting the pin the tail on the donkey event, try doing what we did in the sixties when we toppled an American president. Hit them in their wallets. Force them to clean up their act. Stop endorsing the crap that they throw our way while they pander to the intellectuals every Fall to make it seem like they are doing God's work. And PS: I worked on "black" shows for a decade: Fresh Prince, Sister, Sister and I co-created The Wayans. Working on these shows were the best experiences of my working life and not once did any kind of racism play into what we were doing. Advertisement Each and every show was its own tribe which was fueled by love and sheer imagination. Last fall, the Chicago City Council passed a record $588 million property tax increase. Downtown properties will shoulder a substantial portion of that sum, so Chicagoans can thank Loop landlords when their tax bills come. But my firm, Origin Investments, believes the higher tax bill is still a good value for those properties and the businesses they house. Loop landlords have reaped admirable benefits from their properties' prime location to date. Their buildings, and those in the surrounding central business district, command premium rents -- $36.79 per square foot across all classes and about 59 percent above the asking rents for suburban properties, according to JLL's year-end report. Advertisement Among Class A properties, the $40.69 asking rent is favorable for Chicago's businesses compared with New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Even the most expensive Loop properties have a long way to go before they reach Manhattan's $100 per square foot rental top tier. Chicago residents are also luckier than they think: New investment in the Loop has kept them from shouldering an even bigger tax burden since Cook County assesses commercial real estate at a higher value than housing, notes The Civic Federation. Apartment buildings get a lower rate, and exemptions cut homeowners' tax bills even further. Even after a tax increase, a Chicago Tribune analysis finds the city's effective tax rate for homeowners will still be in the region's bottom 10 percent. And real estate investors who choose properties in Chicago's Loop and central business district will be able to maintain their advantages for several reasons. First is Chicago's ability to draw a highly educated workforce that is attracted to city living. Investors are capitalizing on a factor that even suburban landlords rely on: the city's continued central role in the region's health. Advertisement This is especially true for millennials. The U.S. Census finds these young adults are more likely to move to urban centers and research hubs. Many matriculate here. With DePaul, Loyola, Northwestern, University of Chicago and more, Chicago has one of the strongest higher education systems nationally. And post-graduation, students from prestigious Midwest schools make a beeline to Chicago for its robust job market, vibrant urban attractions, conveniences and cross-country and international access from O'Hare and Midway airports. Second is Chicago's business and cultural assets. Coupled with that rush of well-educated, new talent, these resources attract big business to the city's center. Kraft, Heinz, United Airlines, BP, ConAgra and Hillshire brands are major old-line companies moving suburban operations to the city and among dozens of firms that chose to locate or expand in the Chicago area in 2015, notes World Business Chicago. Finally, when we look at a commercial real estate investment, we measure things such as walkability; we want areas that have it all. The Loop and its contiguous neighborhoods do, and their advantage is borne out in a commuting shift. Since 1994, CTA ridership has increased 97 percent while Metra ridership has increased 17 percent. Young people are choosing to live closer to the action. Development patterns bear out the Loop's advantage. In JLL's market survey, 64 percent of the Chicago market's office space is concentrated in the central city. Millennials have also driven a heated downtown market for apartments and condos. Appraisal Research Counselors estimates 3,101 multifamily units were added last year and predicts even faster growth in the next two years -- to 4,500 units by 2017. Advertisement Origin owns buildings in 10 major cities, from Seattle to Orlando. If you draw a circle around Chicago's City Hall for two miles in every direction, you have the fastest growing "city" in America, according to a JLL report that quoted U.S. Census data. Downtown housing creates more demand, not less, as it spurs retail growth and even more demand. The Loop is a positive feedback loop. We don't see any signs that will change. This growth will help investors and their tenants meet the higher tax burden. Our research of 95 central-city buildings indicates property taxes have been rising proportionally at the same rate. With all downtown properties on a level playing field, landlords are more likely to pass on the higher taxes to tenants, and tenants who pay taxes directly are unlikely to find lower taxes nearby. All this means the downtown office market will keep expanding: Between new construction and scheduled vacancies, CBRE estimates in the next three years, 6 million square feet of downtown office space will be on the market. With the building pace since 2010 at a historic low--only 4.5 million square feet built or under construction, compared with 15 million in the 2000s and 11 million in the 1990s, according to JLL -- the Loop will be able to absorb all of that space and more, as it has for generations. While there have been great strides for the inclusion of women in the tech industry in the past years, statistics actually show that there has been a decline. That's not to say that there aren't organizations and businesses making active efforts to improve these statistics, however. For instance, Toptal, a network of top freelancers and developers, has started Toptal Scholarships for Female Developers, a program meant to help support and empower females who have the desire, passion, and talent to become software engineers in what is a traditionally male-dominated field. The program will give out 12 scholarships total over the course of a year and is open to women worldwide, regardless of their education level. There have been three scholarship winners so far, with the first one being Rojina Bajracharya. The Python developer and entrepreneur from Nepal received a $5,000 scholarship and one year of weekly one-on-one mentorship with a senior Toptal developer. We had a chance to catch up with Rojina and talk with her about the program, the state of the tech industry in Nepal, as well as specific challenges present for females in the field. Advertisement 1. Why did you choose to make a career in tech industry? Rojina: Information technology has a huge scope in our country, as well as worldwide, and I felt it has become necessary for girls/women to join this field. Since from my childhood days, I have always seen that computers and technology are used only by men; girls do not fit in here. But, despite these bitter facts, I joined this field knowing that I already possess some interest on it. When we love learning, it's something more than a career, and we just keep on going. Now when I see myself standing in this field, I feel worthwhile for myself, as well as other girls who want to study technology. 2. What is the condition of tech industry in Nepal? Is there a lot of jobs for software engineers in Nepal? How much of them go freelance or work remotely? Rojina: Nepal is powerful in the technology field. There are so many IT companies in Nepal that work as outsourcing companies, and there are many talented software developers in our country who are freelancers. There are so a number of vacancies opening in IT companies everyday in job portals in Nepal. Most of the featured jobs belong to the technology sector and may be the most high-paid, according to the experience and education qualification. But it is again another bitter fact that these IT companies can rarely find the most-skilled people to work in their company. Thus, it is a clear fact that there are tremendous opportunities in this tech field -- the biggest challenge is producing the technical manpower. Advertisement 3. What specific challenges women meet there? What is the condition of diversity in the tech industry and in general? What do you think is the long term solution to address those challenges? Rojina: There are many challenges women face being in the tech industry, including having very few women to be able to share your personal struggles with in the field. Since there are very few women working in this field, women need a friendly environment in the work space, as well as time to adopt. b) Late hours Sometimes there might be the need to work overtime or maybe they have to return to their home lates -- in Nepal, some women find this difficult because their families may not allow them to stay late. It is a worldwide issue that there are few girls/women in tech; it is similar in Nepal. It's a government rule that any working place should fulfill 33% of women population, but the tech industry is the only place where there is difficulty to balance this criteria. Sometimes it's less than 5% or even 0%. Advertisement 4. How did you find out about Toptal scholarship? What does it give you? Why did you decide to apply for Toptal's program scholarship? I found about Toptal's scholarship through social media (Facebook). It gives me encouragement to continue and pursue what I am learning further. Toptal's scholarship has really given me an extra platform to work hard in my goals, as well as encourage other technology girls. Rojina: When I first learned about Toptal's scholarship program, I wasn't quite sure if this was truly happening, so I searched everything to make sure it was real. It was a completely rare thing to hear that such programs are available in the world without many restrictions and boundaries. There were various criterias to enter in this competition, yet it was an open program. The theme of the program was encouraging and made me feel that even I can apply. So my expectation was that my application would at least be viewed by that program -- and I was surprised and excited when I learned that I won! 5. What is your attitude to the freelance and communities like Toptal? Would you mind working there? Rojina: In my opinion, freelancing is one of the best platforms for girls/women in Technology, and communities like Toptal really bring opportunities to connect with freelancing jobs. Advertisement 6. What do you consult about with your mentor from Toptal? Rojina: My mentor, Anna Chiara Bellini, mentors me once a week and gives me assignments of programming language which I need to submit on a particular day. She also gives me possible solutions to work for my community "Girls in Technology". 7. What is the main purpose of the "Girls in Technology" community you founded in Kathmandu and what does it do? What are you future plans on the development of the Girls in Technology community? Rojina: "Girls in Technology"is a common platform that brings all the technology girls/women together. It also organizes various meetups, where we bring senior IT professional -- specially women where they share their stories of being in this field. This community also has various training sections for girls to build up their programming language concept. A website displaying McDonalds' famed golden arches and promising jobs at the fast-food empire quickly pushes visitors instead to recruiters at for-profit colleges, including those owned by two of the largest and most troubled companies in this sector -- ITT Tech and Education Management Corporation (EDMC). Republic Report has exposed in the past websites that promise jobs, government programs, or veterans benefits but seem to be mostly aimed at finding potential students for big for-profit colleges who pay handsomely for these leads. The college recruiters are desperate to find new students so they can cash their federal student grants and loans. The for-profit college industry has been taking as much as $32 billion in federal aid annually, but increased public awareness of how high-priced, low-quality programs in the sector leave students unemployed and buried in student loan debt have sent enrollments and revenues plummeting in recent years. The McDonalds-themed website, EveryJobForMe.com, starts off asking visitors for a zip code. Once that's entered, the visitor is informed that, yes indeed, there are jobs available in your area -- "We've found 156 Jobs in Washington, DC!" Advertisement But before you can see those jobs, EveryJobForMe.com asks for your email address. Enter that, and the site wants your name, phone number ("Mobile Recommended"), and high school graduation year so that "employers" can "contact you." But small print at the bottom of that page indicates what's really up: By submitting this form, I agree to the site privacy policy and understand that I may be called or messaged by everyjobforme.com and jobcase.com about employment opportunities, job search assistance, career advancement and educational opportunities at the phone number I provided, including my wireless number, through the use of an automated technology. Based on extensive experience studying, and talking with scores of former employees from the for-profit college lead generation industry, I am confident that if you enter your information on this page, many of the calls and messages you get will not be from employers like McDonalds, let alone Google, offering you jobs, or the Illinois Department of Job Search Assistance calling to help out. The calls will be about "educational opportunities," meaning for-profit colleges. Indeed, I learned about this site from an advocate for for-profit college students, who says he actually was looking for a job at McDonald's and Googled, and at the top of the search results was a paid listing for everyjobforme.com (as there was when I Googled "mcdonalds jobs" today). He says he "received a call literally two minutes after inputting my phone number" from a marketer pushing him to enroll at EDMC's Argosy University. Advertisement But just in case your phone is dead, the next screen of EveryJobForMe.com offers you some advice: It doesn't matter whether you check that box or not, because you've already consented to be called. But I checked it, just to see what would come next. I said I wanted to keep going, and then I got: So now EveryJobForMe.com had steered me to the Art Institutes, owned by EDMC, and ITT Tech. Both companies have been exposed by congressional and media investigations for engaging in predatory practices -- using deceptive recruiting, charging sky-high prices, offering some poor-quality programs. Both have now been investigated and sued by law enforcement agencies. Both are now in serious financial trouble. According to Internet domain registration information, everyjobforme.com is registered to Percipio Holdings, Inc., a company whose "under construction" website says simply, "Providing customized job search experiences." Percipio seems to operate a number of similar job websites, such as californiajobdepartment.com ("Not associated with California; we are your personal job department"). The company has an address at 40 Warren Street, 3rd floor, Charlestown, Massachusetts. That is a business center operated by Regus, whose representative told me that spaces there rent on both a long and short-term basis. I sent an email to the email address provided on everyjobforme.com seeking information about the site, but I haven't received a response. Last fall, the Federal Trade Commission held a public meeting on online lead generation practices, including for the for-profit college industry. (I spoke on a panel at the meeting.) An FTC official stated there that the Commission "will continue to look at unlawful practices involving lead generators and we'll bring enforcement actions where appropriate." The FTC, which for years did not pursue the deceptive practices of the for-profit college industry, has recently, under Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, taken important steps to go after misconduct, including a lawsuit filed last month against DeVry University, and investigations of Career Education Corp. and the University of Phoenix. UPDATE 03-10-16: Tonight, a visitor who clicks on EveryJobForMe.com won't find the McDonalds theme anymore, but if you get to the site by searching on Google for "McDonalds jobs" and clicking on the top ad result, you do see the McDonalds theme. Also, if you search for "K-Mart jobs," you end up at a similar lead generation site. Advertisement In 2004, Trump, along with respondent Michael Sexton and a nonparty individual, incorporated Trump University LLC as a New York limited liability company. Trump University purported, by way of seminars and mentoring programs, to instruct small business owners and individual entrepreneurs in real estate investing. By letter dated May 27, 2005, the New York State Department of Education (SED) notified Donald Trump individually, Sexton, and Trump University that they were violating the New York Education Law by using the word "university" when it was not actually chartered as one. Likewise, SED notified these respondents that Trump University was also violating the Education law because it lacked a license to offer student instruction or training in New York State. SED stated, however, that Trump University would not be subject to the license requirement if it had no physical presence in New York State, moved the business organization outside of New York, and ceased running live programs in the State. In June 2005, Sexton informed SED that Trump University would merge its operation into a new Delaware LLC, and would indeed cease holding live programming in New York State. However, the Attorney General alleges, Trump University failed to abide by any of these conditions. To the contrary, it is alleged that, despite Sexton's assurances to the Attorney General, SED learned in 2009 through newspaper advertisements and a student complaint to the New York State Attorney General that Trump University was continuing to provide live programming and instruction in New York without obtaining proper licensing or moving its operations out of New York. In March 2010, SED sent Trump University another letter demanding that it cease using the word "University" in its name. In May 2010, five years after SED had informed respondents that they were obliged to drop the word "University," Trump University filed a certificate of amendment to its Articles of Organization, thus formally changing its name to TEI. In August and September 2010, SED once again informed TEI that the company needed a license to operate, which it still did not have despite having been notified in 2005 that its failure to obtain a license violated New York State law. On October 7, 2010, Sexton informed SED that TEI had ceased operations. ... In its supporting affirmation, the Attorney General alleged that between 2005 and 2011, respondents operated an unlicensed, illegal educational institution. Further, the Attorney General stated, through various fraudulent practices, respondents intentionally misled more than 5,000 students nationwide, including over 600 New York residents, into paying as much as $35,000 each to participate in live seminars and mentor programs that the students thought were part of a licensed university. According to the Attorney General's affirmation, respondents represented in advertising that real estate experts handpicked by Trump himself would teach his strategies and techniques for real estate investing, and that these strategies would lead to success. One advertisement offered a free workshop and referred to "Donald Trump's handpicked experts." The same advertisement bore a quotation attributed to Trump, stating, "I can turn anyone into a successful real estate investor, including you." Similarly, a direct mail solicitation sent to prospective students read, "In just 90 minutes, my hand-picked instructors will share my techniques, which took my entire career to develop" and went on to state, "Then just copy exactly what I've done and get rich." The Attorney General noted that at the free seminars, instructors played a video featuring Donald Trump telling prospective students, "We're going to have professors that are absolutely terrific -- terrific people, terrific brains, successful, the best" and noted that they were "all people that are handpicked by me." However, the Attorney General averred, Trump did not handpick the instructors; indeed, only one of the live event speakers for Trump University had even ever met Donald Trump. Nonetheless, some students purchased seminars on the basis of their belief that Trump had approved each instructor. In an affidavit submitted to the Attorney General, one student stated that he "had some trust in the program because it was run by Donald Trump" and was "led to believe that... based on Trump's marketing materials, the course professors had been handpicked by Donald Trump." Similarly, the Attorney General stated, Donald Trump never participated in the creation of any instructional content and never reviewed any curricula. The Attorney General further maintained that the instructors had been inadequately vetted and in fact had little or no experience in real estate investing, instead having prior work experience such as food service management and graphic design. What is more, according to the Attorney General, the free seminars were merely an instrument through which instructors would induce students to enroll in increasingly expensive seminars, starting with a three-day $1,495 seminar. The Attorney General averred that although Trump University speakers represented that the three-day seminar would teach students all they needed to know to be successful real estate investors, the instructors at those three-day seminars then engaged in a "bait and switch," telling students that they needed to attend yet another seminar for an additional $5,000 in order to learn more about particular lenders. Instructors at the three-day seminars are also alleged to have engaged in a bait-and-switch by urging students to sign up for "Trump mentorship packages, which ranged anywhere from $10,000 to $35,000" and supposedly provided "the only way to succeed in real estate investment." The Attorney General also averred that individual respondents Donald Trump and Michael Sexton were each personally involved with the founding of Trump University. Trump, the Attorney General maintains, conceded that he had "significant involvement with both the operation and overall business strategy of Trump University," including "attending frequent meetings" with Sexton to "discuss Trump University operations." Further, Trump's photographs and signature appeared on all of Trump University's advertising; according to testimony from Sexton, Trump personally reviewed and approved all the ads that were in the newspapers.... For-profit college company DeVry Education Group announced last week that the Chancellor of the University of California-Davis, Linda Katehi, had joined its board of directors. Today, after facing criticism from public interest organizations and a California legislator, Katehi quit the DeVry board. The Federal Trade Commission sued DeVry in January for alleged deceptive advertising. The company also has been under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education and the attorneys general of Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York. DeVry last year received $1.47 billion in taxpayer dollars from federal student grants and loans. On February 22, DeVry announced that Katehi and Ann Weaver Hart, president of the University of Arizona, had joined its board. The company pays board members $70,000 a year, plus stock worth about $100,000. A DeVry press release quoted Katehi as saying, "DeVry Group's goal to enable a quality learning experience that inspires and educates students to be our next generation of leaders is essential to our nation's progress." Advertisement Today, Katehi sent a three-sentence letter to DeVry board chair Christopher Begley that stated, "in light of a variety of other issues that have come to the fore, I have determined that I am unable to serve." Officials of the non-profit groups Consumer Watchdog, the Center for Public Interest Law, the Veterans Legal Clinic, the Center for Responsible Lending, and Housing and Economic Rights Advocates sent a letter to Katehi this morning asking her to quit the DeVry board. They wrote, "your position of fiduciary trust on the board of a company that is currently subject to numerous and deeply troubling investigations, including two federal actions filed in January alleging deceptive practices harmful to students and taxpayers, is inimical to your position of trust as a leader and officer of the University of California." (Disclosure: I am a consultant to the Center for Public Interest Law, although I was not aware of the letter until after it was released.) California state Assemblyman Kevin McCarty also wrote to Katehi, stating, "The DeVry Education Group is a publicly traded, for-profit education institution that will always put its profits before its students. In the last few years, the state of California has enacted policies to protect students from predatory instititutions such as DeVry." In 2013, former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta quit the board of for-profit Corinthian Colleges after criticism from Republic Report and, a month later, a Los Angeles Times columnist. Panetta had served on that board for eleven weeks before resigning. Advertisement It's not surprising that DeVry was seeking validation by adding college presidents to its board. On January 27, the Federal Trade Commission sued DeVry University for allegedly misleading students about job placement rates and salaries for the school's graduates. The FTC complaint, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, alleges, "Through the use of English and Spanish-language advertisements and other marketing materials, and during sales pitches with prospective students [DeVry has] made deceptive representations about the benefits of obtaining a degree." The complaint focuses on claims that DeVry repeatedly made in its TV, radio, online, print and other advertising: that 90 percent of DeVry graduates actively seeking employment got jobs in their field within six months of graduation; and that DeVry graduates had 15 percent higher incomes one year after graduation on average than the graduates of all other colleges or universities. The FTC asserts that these claims were deceptive. The complaint alleges DeVry counted many graduates as working "in their field" when they were not: a business administration graduate working as a server at the Cheesecake Factory restaurant; graduates who majored in technical management working as unpaid volunteer positions at medical centers; a business administration graduate with a health care management specialization working as a car salesman. The complaint also alleges that DeVry counted as placed in jobs graduates who were working in the same jobs they held prior to enrolling at DeVry. The Commission voted 4-0 to file the lawsuit. In a related action, the U.S. Department of Education gave notice to DeVry to stop certain advertising regarding student employment outcomes. Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell said at the time that the Department was pursuing "an ongoing investigation, a complex investigation of DeVry." DeVry said the FTC's complaint "is without valid legal basis" and adding, "DeVry Education Group intends to vigorously contest a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission, challenging the employment and earnings outcomes of DeVry University graduates." DeVry also said it would request a hearing to contest the Department of Education's action. Advertisement Devry CEO Daniel Hamburger received $5.7 million in total compensation from the company in 2014. No word on the future of University of Arizona president Hart's service on the DeVry board. When I was four, the pronunciation of my last name suddenly changed. We went from the "Sol-EHR" family in Harlem, the place where I grew up and went to church, to the "SO-ler" family in Westchester County, the place where my parents moved us to in search of a better life. Both were me, but the accents were in two completely different places. One sounded foreign while the other sounded like home. My parents never told me why our name changed, and honestly, I never questioned it. Now as an adult, I wonder why I didn't ask. Advertisement With kids of my own now, I see how much influence I have on their lives. Both my husband and I encourage our girls to confidently comment or question life (that includes what we as parents do.) I'm positive that if I pronounced my married name (our family name) incorrectly, they'd probably publicly correct me or at the very least they'd ask me why I pronounced it wrong -- and I like that about them! I was raised a bit more traditionally. I knew there were times to speak and times to hold my tongue. I don't recall a single instance where I questioned either one of my parents on the way things were. They just... were. I went with the flow and took the "road of less resistance." From a very young age, I mispronounced my name. This went on for years. That's why after I married my gringo, I hesitated taking his name. It wasn't because I didn't want to, but rather because I felt I needed to reclaim my maiden name. Hyphenating seemed more like a nuisance. So what was I to do? I had other concerns too. I was afraid that if I let the Sol-EHR name be replaced with my married name, then somehow, I was letting my Latina-ness slip away again -- this time by my own accord. However obscure sounding that is, it was mine and I didn't want to let it go. Advertisement Perhaps because I spent my whole young life mispronouncing it, I felt like I owed it to myself and my Latina identity to honor it by keeping my name and more than anything, pronouncing it properly. And so, my name is Denise Soler (Sol-EHR) Cox. I liken it now to the melody of a song. The name my parents chose for me has resonance, meaning and connection. It's my very own Latina theme song. Dating back to the 70s, many chose to change their melodies in the spirit of making it "easier" for others to pronounce their name or in response to racial intolerance (or the fear of it). My parents were no different. They introduced that new melody, all in the name of assimilation. Of course this was not discussed; it just was. I'm not sure how, but on some level, I understood what was happening and why they were so deliberate about changing (our) song. I realized just how much I'd embraced the American Soler melody when I visited my family in Puerto Rico and they told me I sounded too "Americana." At 22, I moved to Miami to re-root me in my song. In Miami, Soler is a common Cuban name and mispronouncing it isn't tolerated. I mispronounced it once and was quickly corrected by the receptionist on the other line. Advertisement I never made that mistaken again. For starters, I recognized and accepted that I had let my melody fade away. Starting with my name and other identity compromises along the way, I had let go of everything that made me the Latina that I am today. This was not okay and I refused to allow it to continue. By reclaiming the pronunciation of my name, I was indirectly and directly reclaiming my culture. That day in Miami, I got an earful on that call. That receptionist schooled me in my theme song. She scolded me for changing the melody and charged me with the responsibility of holding onto my culture. That day was the turning point of the rest of my life. Ultimately, I decided to honor Soler (Sol-EHR) by making it my legal middle name and making Cox, my husband's name, my official last name. So let me be that receptionist for you. Next time you pronounce something with a more "American accent" ask yourself, "Is it worth making something easier for the dominant culture, if it changes the melody for one person, two people or an entire group? Is it acceptable to have Carlos become Charles or Juan become John? We now know that over the past two years, children and families in Flint, MI have been exposed to dangerously high levels of lead in their water. We know too that this lead exposure has likely caused irreparable damage to children and that the problem itself - lead leaching pipes that carry water into the homes of Flint families - will not be easily fixed. So what next for the children of Flint, MI? I spent a week in Flint, MI in February and was amazed at the can-do attitude and resolve of the people of this struggling city. I arrived as part of a team from Children's Health Fund, and we had been asked to consider getting involved in the Flint Emergency Response by Federal and State Officials due to our history of responding effectively in similar crisis situations. We deployed to Flint quickly, bringing with us resources, skills and tools that included a mobile medical clinic for use in serving those children most in need. What we found was not a city desperate for a quick fix, but a collective sense of resolve to do the right thing for children and families over the long haul. This community could not have met a more receptive partner than Children's Health Fund. We spent a week listening and learning about the situation and what was being done. One of the main takeaways is that while the water bottles, filters, other temporary band aids are welcome, what Children's Health Fund can do, and will do, is to focus on supporting three critical areas where addressing short term immediate needs strategically becomes foundational to long term solutions. Advertisement Priority #1: Lead testing for children With lead poisoning linked to various mental and physical health issues, especially in children under age five, worried parents are demanding immediate screenings for these potentially devastating conditions. Response: Children's Health Fund is working closely with local providers to ensure that lead screenings of all pediatric patients who might climb aboard the mobile clinic are done within a larger "wrap around" effort to make sure children are connected to a medical home for continuity of care. The lead test itself is a simple blood test, completed with a finger prick or by drawing blood from a vein. This immediate response is expected to last three months, guided by community-level demand. What is critical is that the lead testing campaign be used to bring children and families into longer term care and not be disruptive to their regular health care access. Priority #2: Mental health support Mental health support is the most acute need for the children of Flint and their families. The community needs reassurance, empathy and trauma-informed care to begin to heal from the traumatic events of the past couple years. The toxic stress that the children of Flint and their families have been exposed to requires immediate and long-term support. Response: Children's Health Fund is working with partners to develop and implement an effective mobile mental health program in coordination with providers from the Genesee Health System. Direct services provided by Children's Health Fund could include technical assistance in program design and quality assurance with program staff being employed, licensed, managed, and supervised locally. In addition, a mobile unit that has been used in both the Katrina and Sandy Hurricane responses designed specifically to provide mental health services is available for immediate deployment to Flint to provide an additional asset for use in the response. Advertisement Children's Health Fund will be deploying pediatric trauma and resiliency experts who directed our mental health focused crisis responses since 9/11. This immediate response is expected to last 12 months, guided by community-level assessments. Priority #3: Getting kids into an accelerated primary care regimen for the long term Long after the immediate crisis is over, children exposed to lead can suffer negative intellectual or behavioral consequences. Providing access to comprehensive health care is essential to optimizing the health and wellbeing of Flint's at-risk children. Response: Children's Health Fund supports minimizing the effects of exposure, and maximizing the long term needs of children in Flint by identifying, managing and treating any other health barriers to learning that they may have. The Children's Health Fund model is to create a long term, supportive mobile program to further reduce access barriers and facilitate the integration of vulnerable school-age children into a comprehensive medical home model of care. Working at community sites like schools and Head Start programs, the mobile program would conduct screenings for other chronic conditions that have been proven to undermine academic success and wellbeing--such as vision and hearing deficits, uncontrolled asthma, and behavior problems. Under the direction of local partners, the mobile program can become a vital part of the current system of care, enhancing--not disrupting--the local capacity. Again, direct services would be provided through local partners and program staff will be employed, licensed, managed, and supervised locally. A Changing Student Demographic Many boarding schools have found it difficult to consistently maintain full enrollments. Mercersburg was founded as a boys' school in 1893; it added girls in 1969 to counter a shrinking male applicant pool. When the coeducational pool also began to dwindle in the nineties, globalization came to the rescue. The number of international students increased from a handful in the early nineties to 100 in SY2012 - 27% of the boarding enrollment - a significant number, but still below the 34% national average reported by TABS (The Association of Boarding Schools.). The schools all sing from the same hymnal on how much they believe international students enrich the educational experience of their American counterparts. And there is much truth in the lyrics. But the paltry rate at which financial aid is offered to international students raises serious doubts about the depth of that belief. The economic diversity schools claim to desire in their student bodies seems to extend through financial aid only as far as the U.S. border. At a number of boarding schools, it is what the almost exclusively full-paying international students add to the bottom line that matters most. The very survival of some schools depends upon them. And, remember that $13,194 per student subsidy to Mercersburg in 2012 ... from American governments? Well, each of the school's 100 non-American students received the same stipend from the same source. Taxpayers might be surprised to learn that so much of the generous subsidy they provide wealthy schools is used to underwrite rich international students. Advertisement There is nothing underhanded about the tax benefits wealthy non-profits receive. It was my experience that Mercersburg's governing board was keenly aware of its legal boundaries and stayed comfortably within them. I have no doubt that other wealthy institutions act similarly. If there is anything wrong with what you have read thus far, it is to be found in U.S. tax policy. How to Make Things Right Despite the fact that over 99% of Americans now have incomes closer to zero than to the top income, neither the public nor its elected representatives can seem to agree that anything should be done about it. The economic inequality created among non-profits by bad tax policy is not well known or understood and unlikely to raise the public eyebrow. But some good thinking has been done on this matter. Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich has proposed a second tier of charitable deduction - only 50% - for gifts to "wealthy" charities. The definition of "wealthy" would vary according to the category of the charity. ("Wealthy charity" was once, of course, an oxymoron.) The Massachusetts legislature in 2008 considered taxing colleges 2.5% annually on all endowment funds in excess of one billion dollars (Harvard's tab would have been about $800 million.) The Great Recession put a quick end to that talk. Advertisement There was more recently a proposal in Congress to impose a 25% tax on non-profits themselves for all pay in excess of $1 million per year per employee. This idea has some appeal, but why limit the fun to non-profits? Wouldn't the Fortune 500 companies want equal treatment of their CEO's? To address charges of "hoarding" by colleges that spend too frugally from their endowments, Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa proposed a minimum endowment spending rate of 5% a year, the same rate as for foundations. A recent New York Times piece suggests 8%. Tax-free investment income for wealthy non-profits makes as much sense to me as taxing investment income to individuals at a lower rate than ordinary income. Non-profits have long been taxed on earned income from operations unrelated to their purposes (such as the sale of sweatshirts.) Why not apply the same principle to non-profit investment income, which is just as surely unrelated to their purposes? Why not a progressive tax, based on the value of a non-profit's assets - real estate, collections, endowment (per student), etc.? Generous tax reductions could be given to those that find creative ways to afford significant access to the poor or middle class. And what is the minimum number of international students needed in a school to assure all students an optimal learning experience? Is it reasonable for the United States to subsidize the education of any more than that number? Advertisement Wealthy schools and colleges can certainly withstand reduced tax advantages without harm to their people, plants, or programs. Sadly, while comprehensive tax reform is so clearly needed, Congress has no stomach for tampering with a tax system its wealthy backers have come to know and love. In Closing Having benefitted personally from the aforementioned inequities before raising this red flag, I also plead guilty of something we all dislike - suggesting how others could pay more tax, even a place that enriched my life in ways more important than money. It is not surprising to me that our last six presidential candidates are private school products. Nearly four decades of interaction with Mercersburg students and alumni left me with great pride in the character, sense of civic responsibility, and world views our graduates develop. I know of no more ideal environment for teaching or learning than Mercersburg's. There is indeed much at Mercersburg and at the Harvards of the world that is worth modeling. But big tax advantages over less well-off institutions are not among them. Men are mortal (women, too!) And one reason the estate tax was created was to make it harder - or at least not easy - for the wealth we accumulate to survive on its own into succeeding generations. Back then, we believed that our children should make their own marks on society. That notion still resonates with me. Advertisement Schools and colleges, by contrast, are not necessarily mortal. They can live forever, and the richest may keep getting richer ... but it is my firm belief that, absent meaningful competition, they will not get better. Our failure to rein in the accelerating accumulation of wealth, ad infinitum, by the richest schools and colleges, does not bode well for the future of U.S. education. It does not bode well, either, for the public's perception of wealthy institutions. People might become disappointed and upset, as I was, to realize just how much of that wealth comes from them. Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Barely an hour after Justice Scalia's death was confirmed, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a statement rejecting any judge President Obama chose to nominate to the Supreme Court. At that point, the President hadn't even announced his intention to fill the vacancy on our highest court. It's a sad state of affairs that the highest ranking Republican in the Senate would politicize the Court in such a grotesque way when many of us were still learning of Justice Scalia's passing. Advertisement But this is par for the course for the Republicans. On issue after issue, debate after debate, they continue to solidify their reputation as the party of "no," to the detriment of this great nation. Senate Republicans continue to maintain that they will deny a confirmation hearing to any individual nominated by President Obama to serve on the Supreme Court. This is part of the Republican political agenda to disrupt the work of government when it does not align with their far-right ideology. It is a thinly-veiled attempt to obstruct the nomination process in hopes of packing the Supreme Court with conservative justices who will roll back the progress our nation has made, from marriage equality to reproductive rights. Advertisement We have already seen what is at stake here. In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act--a major setback for civil rights and voting rights, and a major blow to fundamental democracy in this country. The president has a constitutional responsibility to nominate a successor to Justice Scalia. The Senate also has a constitutional responsibility--to give the nominee a fair hearing and a timely vote. This is about democracy and protecting the institution of the Supreme Court. What we are seeing from Republicans is a clear pattern of obstruction. They have shut down the government, and now they have halted the nomination process before it has even begun. This divisiveness is an insult to the American people, who deserve to have their nation's highest court working at full capacity. Republicans have said that there is no precedent for confirming a Supreme Court nominee during an election year. That is blatantly wrong: six Justices have been confirmed in presidential election years, including three Republican appointees. Advertisement What is unprecedented in modern history is denying the President of the United States a hearing or vote on a nomination to the Supreme Court. And yet that's what the Republican plan is. It's hard not to see this as an effort to delegitimize the nation's first black president. Republicans have been trying to derail President Obama ever since he took office. And now, whoever ends up being nominated for the Supreme Court, regardless of qualifications, will be rejected simply because he or she is an Obama nominee. The disdain Republicans have for Obama is so great that they are willing to trample on the U.S. Constitution to prevent him from appointing a judge to the Supreme Court. The U.S. Constitution--the very document that Republicans like to accuse the President of ignoring--states that the president "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint... Judges of the supreme court." Not only does he have the right, he has a duty to appoint a judge to the Court. Now, President Obama made clear that he seeks judges "who approach decisions without any particular ideology or agenda, but rather a commitment to impartial justice, a respect for precedent, and a determination to faithfully apply the law to the facts at hand." Advertisement There is nothing radical about the President's position. His comments speak to his respect for the law and the seriousness he brings to the nomination process. Republicans must do their job as it relates to that process--earnestly debate and then vote on the person nominated by the President. There are many hotly debated issues in our country--immigration, gun reform, health care, campaign finance; issues that necessitate the maximum strength of the Supreme Court. The American people deserve far better than attempts by Republican politicians in Washington to stack the Supreme Court with far-right judges who will forgo impartial justice to advance the conservative agenda. They expect their government to work for them, and Senate Republicans must meet that expectation by swiftly filling the vacancy on the Court. At a time politicians make a mockery of American values, I suggest an uplifting homework exercise: read the Declaration of legal scholar John E. Davidson, submitted in support of the suit that 21 young people and I have filed against the Federal government for not protecting the rights of young people by effectively addressing human-made climate change. (I have submitted a Supplemental Declaration to my prior Declaration, the supplement addressing the precatory COP-21 agreement, whose wishful thinking neither resolves nor ameliorates the crisis from the dangerous human-caused disruption of the climate system - but let's defer science to a later Communication for the sake of appreciating the brilliance of Davidson's declaration.) Davidson's declaration builds from discussion of basic principles extending back to Greek and Roman law articulated, e.g., by Cicero, through elaborations on intergenerational rights and justice articulated by English theorists such as John Locke, in a crescendo to pervasive concern of American founders for "unalienable" rights of future generations, expressed in their letters, the Virginia Bill of Rights, and ultimately in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution. When we first filed a case several years ago, it had a feeling of trying to draw attention to an injustice, but almost a long shot that it would lead to effective action, and indeed the case was ultimately stopped in the DC District Court. Now the case has a broad powerful foundation, including a basis in the most fundamental rights guaranteed by our Constitution. One cannot read Davidson's Declaration without concluding that we can and will win this time. Advertisement Our Federal government has temporarily lost its way, ignoring clear scientific warnings of extreme danger for young people, absurdly "discounting" the well-being of whole future generations for the sake of the few powerful individuals today, externalizing costs of fossil fuels today onto the backs of young people, babes, and the unborn. Incredibly, the principal perpetrators (American Petroleum Institute, National Association of Manufacturers, and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers) have chosen to join the Federal government as Intervenor Defendants. I believe these are the same clandestine funders of the "I am an Energy Voter" campaign. Now we have them all in the same foxhole. On March 9 there will be a hearing in the United States District Court in Eugene Oregon in which the United States Federal government and the Intervenor Defendants ask that the case be dismissed. Unless justice has entirely deserted our land, the kids will win this, and eventually the case will reach the Supreme Court. I find myself very perturbed. The old adage, "people that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" springs to mind whilst reading Mr Weiss' comments on the 23rd Feb. He has thrown several accusations in Turkey's name, and has quoted sources that suggest Turkey supports ISIL, works with them, "fuels the ISIS war machine". Where is the evidence? His political scaremongering, which is what this amounts to, will not cause Turkey to stand down from the terrorists that are infiltrating her borders. Advertisement Mr Weiss, however, sits comfortably in his office, thousands of miles away from the troubles, writing sweeping statements, and making suggestions that a new state be formed. This making of decisions on behalf of the already traumatized Syrians and further overwhelming them by a new state, run by who exactly? Did anyone ask the Syrians what they would like? Why is Mr Weiss not advocating the support of Syrians in Syria, instead of suggesting to cause even more conflict by separating different groups, when they have already been living together? Is it better to do that than actually deal with the real problem, the barbaric leader of Syria, his armed attack on civilians and all with the support of Russia? Surely Theodore Achilles must be turning in his grave. A country which sees itself as the "land of the free & home of the brave" should be leading in helping out more than 4 million Syrians who had to abandon their homes, villages & neighborhoods. Turkey is currently hosting more than 2.5 million Syrian refugees. We are actively giving them new meaning to a life that many thought they had lost. Those people now have opportunities to be safe with their families, to rebuild their life in schools, at work, at home, with new friends. The United States has given a large amount of financial assistance to help Syrians, but has accepted only 2,768 refugees so far. Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken recently said the US is planning to take another ten thousand refugees. I hope that decision can be implemented before Mr. Trump finds a way to sabotage it or, God forbid, veto it. Did you know one of the most dangerous animals on the planet is the hippo? Yes! Statistically, hippos actually kill anywhere from 500 to 3,000 people every year, while sharks kill less than 1 person annually. Sadly, there is a unique species of "HiPPO" that destroys the lives of thousands of people each year. This perilous beast also has the potential to kill any business nearly instantly. If you've been in business for a while, you've seen the damage a HiPPO - the Highest Paid Person's Opinion - can cause in a matter of minutes. Nobody is 100% certain who first muttered the term under their breath during an executive meeting, but the first confirmed "sighting" of the species on the World "Wild" Web was this email exchange between Avinash Kaushik and then Microsoft employee Ronny Kohavi. Encounters often unfold like this: you're in a business environment where there is a consensus of well-researched data, when a HiPPO comes trampling through, jaws agape, and tears that informed consensus limb from limb. Have you ever experienced the disappointment of having conducted focus groups, customer surveys, and extensive data analysis only to watch as a HiPPO brushes aside this precious information and overrides the expert consensus with brute force? Many good businesses and ideas have died an early death from the devastating effects of a hungry hungry HiPPO. Advertisement That's why Ritvij Gautam is on a mission to kill wild HiPPOs. Since his company's inception a mere 18 months ago, Ritvij, or Rit, has methodically constructed a fine-tuned tranquilizer "dart" designed to calm and overcome a HiPPO's natural tendency to make irrational decisions. This new HiPPO killer is a "Software as a Service" (SaaS) company called TryMyUI. TryMyUI offers website usability services and usability testing software that empowers companies of all sizes to measure and improve the user experience of their websites and applications in a cost-efficient manner. In today's information age, people know what they want and like, and that's fostered a sense of consumer entitlement and a demand for instant gratification. With the increasing impatience of the online consumer and instant access to a variety of alternatives, it's easy for a company's website to lose the attention of its visitors quickly. With more businesses allocating their advertising dollars to digital marketing, social media, and website development over traditional channels like print and radio, the World Wide Web has become an intensely competitive space where the customer largely sits in the driver's seat, and can quickly research which products and services will best suit their needs. Consumers know what they want, and they want everything... NOW. How else can you explain the success of the Amazon Prime program, or the launch of the company's same-day delivery services in major cities? Caption: Google is already showing people's impatience with Amazon's same-day deliveries! Savvy companies and entrepreneurs are quickly realizing that they must do whatever they can to help their website visitors find what they want, do it fast, and have the best possible user experience. If companies can empower potential customers to save precious time and enjoy their website experience, they will likely see a significant increase in sales. The first challenge for the company is to tame the dangerous HiPPO, who frequently claims the website or application works well already and that there is no need to allocate resources to improve the user experience. The second challenge is to confront the actual, time consuming task of identifying and addressing the problems that do indeed plague the website or application. That is why businesses are now realizing the need to invest in user testing services and usability testing software. As Rit explains, people ranging from solopreneurs to C-Level Executives are looking for a competitive advantage to win the attention of people on the web, improve ROI on product development, and kill off the wild and power-hungry HiPPOs that run roughshod over solid market research and consumer feedback. Here's the full interview with Ritvij Gautam, covering the value of user testing and how TryMyUI.com has benefited small companies, like a woman who painted pictures of other people's pets, to large, household brands including Amazon, NBC Universal, Bose, and Priceline. He also provides a very brief tour of the system's user interface and the benefits that the software provides. Advertisement When I asked Ritvij why more companies are not investing more in user testing, he responded that the analysis of the testing data requires a significant amount of time, time that most sprint/deadline driven companies struggle to optimize for. TryMyUI's culture is one of constant dedication to improving the usability data analytics process. They continually develops new tools and approaches for fitting the crucial research process into a collaborative, iterative and deadline driven design process. He cites these features as valuable time-savers that make user testing easier for companies to implement: Collaborative Analytics suite with tags and timestamps to sort, categorize and share insights with the team. Easy-to-understand dashboards with usability scores and grades A sprint based user testing process to test design changes on an iterative basis Charts to identify which task on the website or app vexes users the most UXCrowd to display a visual hierarchy of feedback User voting system to aggregate feedback and to prioritize which problems to resolve first In the interview, Rit specifically referenced how web designers and developers have used TryMyUI as a means to overcome people's (HiPPOs'!) resistance to change by sharing user test videos, feedback, and visual reports. For example, TryMyUI's Diagnostics dashboard helps to visualize the pain points visitors experience when using the website; this often diffuses a subjective debate about a HiPPO's perception of a design element by offering an objective data set that points to real flaws with the design decision. It's crazy to think that a CEO, founder, or entrepreneur would give more value to their own opinion and judgement than that of their own customers, but according to this Harvard Business Review study, "more than one third of the respondents say their managers rely on judgment [instead of data] to make decisions." However, Ritvij believes usability testing will play an integral role in giving companies an advantage in the intensely competitive online world, giving as an example the story of how NBC Universal tested their own Access Hollywood website AND their competitor's websites. This provided them with key insights on how they could provide a superior user experience and win visitors' business. When asked about his predictions for future trends in digital marketing in general, Ritvij responded that user-centric native advertising and UX-optimized sales funnels will likely be a major factor in success, to ensure that the user's experience organically flows to the intended conversion goals. He points out that evaluating and improving user experience is "essential to maximize the value of the marketing budget." For more information about TryMyUI, you can visit their user testing blog, or follow them on Twitter. People ask me -- specifically Asian-Americans ask me -- why Asian-Americans face such hatred, bullying, and disrespect. Their questions have become more numerous and urgent. Although I once wrote a book about this subject, I claim no expertise. Allow me to offer an answer to open discussion. Asian-Americans are an easy target for three reasons. Asian-Americans are perceived as perpetual foreigners; Asian-Americans are viewed as "the model minority;" and race is framed in a literally black-and-white paradigm. My hypothesis is as follows. First, Asian-Americans are perceived as perpetual foreigners. Asian-Americans have been here for generations. Hardly anybody acknowledges that. Asian-Americans themselves are unaware. We have been written out of history books. There were Asian soldiers on both sides of the Civil War. Major influxes of Chinese arrived alongside Irish starting in the middle of the nineteenth-century, but the former were characterized as "sojourners" only temporarily taking advantage of the benefits of the New World. Asian-Americans built half the transcontinental railroad that united the continent. Some Asian-Americans even trace their family tree to the Mayflower, thanks to intermarriage. Asian-Americans include adoptees with white parents, fundamentalist Christians, those with Southern accents, and many others whose stories are very much rooted on these shores. Advertisement Yet from the Exclusion era, when openly racial laws were passed prohibiting migration and even naturalization of those who had come properly, Asian immigrants have been described as inscrutable, an invading force, and hence forever an enemy within. The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, two-thirds of them native-born citizens of this nation, was carried out on that suspicion of potential treason. German Americans and Italian Americans were not similarly treated, due to their political power (except in individual situations of people who by and large were in fact foreigners). The constant concern about Asian "spies" in incidents such as Wen Ho Lee (pre-9/11, called the worst-ever violation of national security) and even more recent examples, spectacularly failed prosecutions that have embarrassed the federal government for its lack of proof and abundance of racial profiling, show that the mistrust of Asian-Americans endures as a shadow on our equality. The assumption that Asian-Americans are not "real" Americans, reflected in the persistent question of "where are you really from?" allows even people who proclaim themselves anti-racist to excuse their own bigotry. Here is how it works. People agree that racism is wrong. But they accept nativism as normal. There is a difference, they insist, between those who are citizens and those who are foreigners. Xenophobia, it seems, is integral to maintaining borders. Advertisement Many Asian-Americans would agree that citizens and foreigners are not alike. They would be even more adamant about the distinction. But because race has been used explicitly, and continues to be used implicitly, to demarcate who is a native, that means that racism can be readily concealed by patriotism. Instead of regarding anti-Asian-American bias as being about race, people treat it as being about citizenship. But that is possible if and only if Asian-Asians (the people who live overseas) and Asian-Americans (who call our democracy their homeland) are lumped together as if we all "look alike," even as Asian-Americans are separated from other Americans, for then people can shrug off their own ideals. After all, foreigners have no standing to object. They are guests at best, and in any event they can always go back to where they came from. Second, Asian-Americans are viewed as "the model minority." The myth is that Asian-Americans are uniformly "overachievers." They might have come with nothing but the shirts on their backs. But with their work ethic, and without complaining about civil rights, they have made it. They have average household higher than others, including whites. This notion is wrong for so many reasons. That objection isn't to take anything away from those who have earned accolades for what they themselves have done to realize the American Dream. It's merely to say that a generalization about a race is suspect even if it appears positive. The statistics aggregate people of multiple ethnicities: Southeast Asian refugees look much more like African-Americans and Hispanics in demographic terms. It does not account for the selective effects of migration: the difficulty acquiring a green card produces "brain drain," an influx of those who human capital, actual money, or both. (Or, for that matter, the horrible effects of discrimination. Asian-Americans and African-Americans cannot be compared in any objectively fair manner, setting aside qualms about group comparisons, because they face discrete forms of intolerance.) Yet the worst aspect of this false flattery is how it excuses selective sympathy and generates racial resentment. If virtually all Asian-Americans are doing well, enjoying a life more luxurious than where they really belong not to mention far better than their co-workers or neighbors, then they do not need any empathy. Just the opposite: they are a threat. In our culture that celebrates the underdog, perhaps someone who is conspicuously comfortable deserves to be reminded of their place -- in the vernacular, they need to be "taken down a notch." Ironically, the antipathy toward Asian-Americans enables its own denial. The feeling is that Asian-Americans have more than their fair share. That leads to anger. Third, race is framed as literally black and white. It is possible to embrace the historic Black Civil Rights Movement as just that, primarily a fight for African-American equality -- albeit with localized efforts by and on behalf of Latinos and Native Americans, and, yes, even Asian-Americans, supported by progressive whites, including especially religious outsiders such as American Jews and Quakers -- but to request that other people of color be included in the ongoing struggle, if only to form coalitions with greater likelihood of winning, and to prevent being set against one another. The tradition since "white" became an identity, however, has been to understand race in America as a drama of only a single color line, a simple division of black from white, if not vice versa. That was not always the case. There was a time, a long time, when those who were "ethnic" were not fully white but had a status of their own, when a family would name itself "Polish" and in turn be called worse. Then, there were multiple gradations of hierarchy, no better but to be sure more subtle. What happens when race is defined as black and white is people, whole communities, are expelled. They are forced out. In a contest of suffering, their grievance cannot be as great -- never mind that their suffering might well be real. It is dismissed in the abstract. Being neither black nor white means not counting, not quite, as minority or majority. Advertisement For my friends who are Asian-American, I close by being provocative. We are complicit. We have contributed to each of the factors I have identified. While most of us assimilate more than anyone else gives us credit for and sometimes that very adaptation generates further backlash, there also is a basis for anxieties about some Asians whose affiliations here are not strong. In spite of most of us being ordinary as must be true, a few of us promote the notion that we are superior to others by biology or culture or force of destiny -- and we likely will take over the world. All too many of us prefer to avoid these issues, leaving protest to other minorities as we pursue self-interest. The challenge is what it always has been: civic engagement, The responsibility to participate in self-governance is difficult to impress upon busy, cynical people, much less Asian-Americans in particular. That is what our society depends on: involvement in public life, as crazy as it might be. The stereotype of Asian-Americans portrays them as polite, deferential, submissive, and passive (this is changing over time, to an image of hoards of mainland Chinese tourists grabbing luxury brand-name merchandise). To the extent there is a germ of truth to the generalization, exaggerated and distorted though it may be, it has roots in Asian culture that encourages fidelity to tradition and deference to authority. We don't fight back, not effectively anyway. The Jamaican lottery scam is one of the most pernicious scams around. It largely targets the elderly, because they have accumulated their money over a lifetime, are often isolated and lonely, and sometimes are suffering from dementia. So they are especially vulnerable when a caller excitedly calls to tell them "You have won a million dollar lottery." But first they have to come up with some funds for taxes and other fees which they can send, usually by Western Union or MoneyGram, so they can get their winnings. But, of course, the prize never arrives, and some victims have lost their life savings or hundreds of thousands of dollars; a few even committed suicide after realizing what they lost. The scam has snared thousands of Americans each year at a cost of $300 million a year and has been going on for over a decade, according to Laura Northrup in the Consumerist. http://consumerist.com/2015/10/08/lottery-scam-victims-send-300-million-to-jamaica-each-year It is estimated that the scammers make as many as 30,000 phone calls a day to the U.S., typically from the 876 area code and often using a disposable cellphone, making the calls difficult to trace, as Steve Weisman, a lawyer and professor at Bentley University, points out in a USA Today article. Some scammers use spoofing, so it appears that the caller is in the U.S. Ironically, many scammers were trained in customer call centers established in Jamaica in the 1990s by legitimate U.S. and Canadian companies, including airlines, car insurers, computer manufacturers, and credit card companies, as Toble Stanger writes in Consumer Reports. The young Jamaicans were trained in customer service and learned how to communicate effectively with the people they called. Then, in the 1990s, the lottery scam began when some employees put the empathy skills they learned to target the elderly. Now even young kids want to grow up to become lottery scammers, because they see the scammers driving nice cars, owning big houses, and all they have to do is make some calls. Advertisement The scammers get the names of prospective victims from people who develop lead lists, and typically they make cold calls announcing some great news, such as "You just won $3 million dollars." Once a victim sends them any money to get the winnings, the scammers call again and again with reasons to send more and more money. Some even use web-based tools, such as Google Earth, to find out details about their victims, such as what their home looks like, or they may research potential victims on websites, such as Instant Checkmate, to learn previous home addresses and other personal information. If victims balk at sending more money, the scammers may threaten to kill family members or rape their grandchildren, as Wayne Drash, notes in a CNN article: Driven to Death by Phone Scammers. Sometimes the scammers pose as law enforcement officers or government officials investigating the scam, and the victim has to pay for that, too, such as for the cost of collecting evidence or making a claim. So what are the signs you have been targeted by a lottery scammer? Here are some tips provided by the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica. - You get a phone call from a stranger telling you that you have won the lottery, which you didn't enter, and you have to pay some fees or taxes to get the prize. Usually, you have to wire the money through Western Union or a MoneyGram - sometimes to Jamaica or sometimes to an accomplice at a U.S. address. Advertisement - The caller claims to be doing you a "service" by allowing you to pay upfront fees, so you can avoid additional taxes, paperwork, hassles, and lawyers. - If you have sent some money, the caller will tell you stories about why you urgently need to send more money and suggest creative ways you can obtain it, including selling property and taking out loans, so you will get your big windfall. - If you don't submit any funds, the scammers may appear to become angry and make threats, such as reporting you to the IRS, police, or causing you or your family bodily harm. - Scammers may later pose as government officials or lawyers, claiming you have to pay for their services to help with your case, reclaim your scammed funds, or protect you from being subject to criminal prosecution. What can you do to avoid being scammed and help to stop the scam? - Hang up and stop all communication with the scammers. If the caller calls again, tell him or her not to call anymore. - If the caller is persistent, say you will report the calls to the authorities and hang up. You can also try to block their calls or consider changing your phone number. Advertisement - Don't send any money via Western Union, MoneyGram, or other money transfer services. - Even if you get a check, it will probably be fraudulent, and a banker may be able to tell you this. In any case, don't cash it or pay any money out, thinking you have been reimbursed, since after about 2-3 weeks, the bank will discover the fraud, and you will not only be out the money but could be subject to a charge of bank fraud yourself. - Don't believe any threats to harm you, your family, or your grandkids, since the scammers are most likely in another country, and any U.S. or Canadian confederates would be unlikely to risk carrying out such a threat. - Contact the law enforcement officials who investigate or prosecute such phone scams. These include the Federal Trade Commission's online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP. You can also inform the U.S. Embassy in Kingston and the Internet Crime Complaint Center. "First rule of maintaining a healthy marriage while parenting an infant is nothing thats said between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. can be held against you." Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump smiles during a news conference before a rally in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday, Feb. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/LM Otero) They're not. It's March 2016, and Donald Trump is running away with the GOP primaries. A statistical model that has only been wrong once since 1904 points to Trump winning the presidency. We're asking ourselves the same question now that we have been asking since last summer: When is this joke going to end? All the adjectives that can be used to describe Trump have been said already. Criticisms of him at this point seem tired. America -- and the whole world -- is well aware of the plethora of garbage qualities that make up his persona. Yet, he's the clear frontrunner for a GOP party that is currently the world's laughingstock. Advertisement Do you want to know what white privilege is? White privilege is being able to entertain Trump's ideas. It's being able to openly support Donald Trump because you know that even when it all goes to shit? You'll be safe. You'll be fine. Trump hates minorities, not you. White privilege is being able to fish for excuses to support his archaic and xenophobic views. White privilege is the ability to not be terrified of a Trump presidency because it won't really affect you -- not like it will affect the minorities that Trump has been demonizing for months now. Don't think this privilege is limited to conservatives, either. The lack of understanding by White America on this topic is what has allowed Trump to come this far. His supporters follow him like blind sheep, either not knowing or refusing to acknowledge the consequences of doing so. But bigotry is a storied part of America's history, and old habits die hard. "Donald Trump's success to this stage is a pathetic reflection on the state of America." Donald Trump's success to this stage is a pathetic reflection on the state of America. The irony of his slogan "Let's Make America Great Again" is that he's doing the polar opposite. The fact that, as a nation, we've allowed him to reach this far in our presidential election is shameful. Everyone is at fault for entertaining the idea of him thus far. CNN has been advertising the cringeworthy GOP debates as some sort of reality show. NBC pissed off a lot of people by having him host Saturday Night Live. Advertisement The only thing scarier than Trump spewing his bigoted views are the tens of millions of Americans earnestly agreeing with his policies. Recent polls from South Carolina, a state that Trump ran away with, show harrowing statistics. Seventy-four percent of Trump voters supported a ban on Muslims entering the country. Forty-seven percent want undocumented immigrants to be deported right now. Thirty-eight percent wish the Confederacy won the Civil War. Twenty percent disagreed with the Emancipation Proclamation, thus wishing that slavery had continued. With each passing day, I'm more embarrassed to be an American. What a time to be alive. Yesterday, I was on the phone with my mom. She was telling me how at school, a girl walked up to my 10-year old sister and told her "You know if Donald Trump becomes president, you have to go back where you came from." My little sister -- a 5th grader, a kid who should not be having to worry about this BS -- replied, "I know." And these are the real victims. Young Muslim and Latino-AMERICANS who have to worry about not only Trump himself, but also his racist supporters and their kids who parrot these views. This is how his hate speech manifests. Today, it's my little sister hearing something mean at school. Tomorrow, it's the vandalism of a mosque. Or a health professional being verbally assaulted at her job. Or a group of men having coffee thrown at them while peacefully praying in a park. Or a homeless Latino man being savagely beaten by loud-and-proud Trump supporters. Or a Muslim store owner being brutally beaten and robbed. I think you get the idea. Right? Advertisement I could sit here all day linking you to hate crimes. In a normal world, the general population would acknowledge the hateful climate towards minorities and get the buffoon heavily responsible for it out of the paint. But it's too bad because this country is full of racists, open and closeted. I don't want to have to worry about my Muslim brothers and sisters living in fear. I don't want to have to worry about Sikh people being dragged into this mess by idiot racists. I don't want to have to worry about my fellow minorities living in fear, worrying about their families and friends. But unfortunately, that's a reality that millions of American voters are okay with and ready for. The jokes about Donald Trump just aren't funny anymore, and they haven't been for a long time now. Not when Trump's ignorance leaves his fellow Americans (Americans who are already marginalized) suffering in his wake. All the John Oliver segments and critical takedowns haven't stopped Trump's seemingly endless surge. I couldn't care less about Donald Trump's tax plan, or economic strategies, or anything else he has to say. If there are this many Americans who believe in this man to lead our country, then maybe America isn't the place for me. I have often written about trauma to the worldwide airline community, and more specifically about the trauma that employees of Pan American World Airways faced during the last 20 years of their beloved airline's existence. I'd like to recommend a new movie out on limited release - Neerja -that tells the extraordinary true story of one of our Pan Am heroines who, along with her fellow flight attendants, saved 359 passengers during an aborted hijack attempt in Karachi in September of 1986. If you can't see it now, hopefully it'll be out on a DVD at a later time. Pan Am Flight 73 was in transit at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on its regularly scheduled flight from Bombay/ Karachi/Frankfurt/New York when four armed Palestinian terrorists, dressed as security guards, from the Abu Nidal Organization (Libya) stormed and took control of the 747 with close to 400 passengers on board. In this year of 1986, the Israel-Palestine conflict was still raging 14 years after the 1972 Munich massacres: Pan Am had become the main target of terrorism worldwide in the early 1970's as the flag-carrying symbol of America. There are two different theories about what the terrorists wanted: one was that they wanted to fly to Cyprus and Israel to pick up their jailed comrades; the second was that this time the terrorists wanted to use a Pan Am plane as a weapon to fly into a building in Israel. In either case, they were determined to carry out murder and destruction. Advertisement At extraordinary risk to her own life, quick-thinking Neerja Bhanot called the cockpit with the code for "Hijack!" as the terrorists violently forced their way onto the plane, thus enabling the pilots to escape through the cockpit's overhead hatch. Her actions effectively grounded the aircraft. To many, this might seem strange that the pilots abandoned the airplane, but in reality, this is standard emergency protocol to prevent greater loss of life. However, this left Neerja, a brand new flight attendant of less than a year, on her very first flight as Senior Purser, in command. It was two days before her 23rd birthday when, realizing that the pilots left, she bravely stepped up and announced to the terrorists, "now that the pilots have gone, I am the commander." No one could have imagined the horror unfolding on this airplane on the tarmac in Karachi. One of the terrorists' first acts of atrocity was to murder an American passenger of Indian descent on board, shooting him in the head and dumping him out of the plane. This extreme violence alerted Neerja to the fact that the terrorists were intending to use the Americans onboard as pawns in their negotiations with the Pakistanis on the ground at the airport. Realizing that they needed to enlist the help of the flight attendants now that the pilots were gone, the terrorists ordered Neerja and her crew to collect all 379 passports on board. What Neerja and her crew did next was an almost unfathomable feat of courage. Under directions from Neerja, the crew collected all the passports, but, unbelievably, with guns pointed at their heads, either hid or put the 41 Americans' passports down a garbage chute. What followed was 17 hours of terror and violence that would have been total chaos if the crew under Neerja's leadership had not done their utmost to keep the passengers from a total state of panic. Advertisement The film beautifully recounts the way Neerja kept up a constant state of calm in front of the passengers, reassuring and comforting everyone, especially the elderly and children. The flight attendants went about their duties of giving the passengers what food and drinks were available. Neerja maintained her calming smile and reassuring whispered words throughout the ordeal. But the audience sees the moments of terror that Neerja experiences when the eyes of others are not on her, and we are skillfully introduced through flashbacks to Neerja's brief two-month arranged marriage (in the Hindu tradition) into a family in the Gulf the year before. Once she was married, the new family was extremely abusive to her because even though they agreed to no dowry, the father and husband humiliated Neerja constantly over the issue. Once Neerja's very loving and supportive family knew of the real situation, they welcomed her home with open arms. Neerja had been a well-known model in India before her marriage and employment with Pan Am, and her extraordinary beauty only complimented what everyone described as such a warm, glowing, vital, and obviously loving personality. Always a natural leader, Neerja (called "Lado"- "loved one") was adored by her family and two brothers, poignantly played by the actors in the movie. As the auxilliary lights in the airplane began to fail after 17 hours, the terrorists panicked and tossed a grenade and began emptying all their ammunition toward the passengers. Neerja and the crew dove for the emergency exits, opening the doors and pushing people onto the slides. Amazingly, only 20 people were killed and 100 injured, in what could have been a worse massacre. The Pakistani army then boarded the aircraft, but not in time to save Neerja, who was shot several times, trying to save three children. (Interestingly, one of those children who was seven years old at the time, grew up to be a pilot who says that every day of his life he thanks Neerja for saving him.) Despite her wounds, Neerja stayed at her post at her emergency exit until two crew members came back to the airplane to find her and help her down the slide. She limped on her own to the ambulance, but died on the way to the hospital. The funeral scene was magnificent in its simplicity. One of the reasons I love this movie is that the writers didn't make Neerja into a superhero. Sonam Kapoor, in the role of Neerja Bhanot, portrays her as an emotionally alive, tenacious person who was put into an unimaginable terrifying situation. Yet, she found the courage within herself to stand up to these murderous villains to defend what was right and to help those who needed assistance - because that's how her parents raised her and also who she was as a human being. It was her duty to protect her passengers. The audience can feel that she's authentic, and her actions make her a hero. With a few exceptions, the story as told in the film is all true. Neerja is an Indian movie with English subtitles, and because the movie is so emotionally riveting, I didn't find the subtitles to be distracting at all. The movie has been banned in Pakistan. The performances by the actors playing Neerja's mother (Shabana Azmi) and father (Yogendra Tiku) are heartbreakingly poignant, and the speech by Neerja's mother at the end of the film is flawless in its passionate mother's love and shattering grief. The portrayal of the terrorists as they are emotionally falling apart and turning against each other feels raw and accurate. Neerja Bhanot was awarded the Ashok Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award, and she is well- known in India for her heroism. For a flight attendant to be awarded such a high honor is a first and is truly deserved. Flight attendants have often acted courageously, but unfortunately, many airline passengers are either unaware - or perhaps would like to be in denial about - the crucial role that flight attendants play in airline disasters. After all, they are the first line of defense in the case of airline terrorism or crashes. If you have any interest in this subject, I recommend an excellent book by Valerie Lester (1995) titled Fasten Your Sea Belts! History and Heroism in the Pan Am Cabin. My personal experience in seeing this movie was cathartic for me. I was with a group of former Pan Am flight attendants - my Pan Am family - and we were experiencing a very traumatic event in our beloved company's history. But this time, we were living it together. At times, it was very hard to watch. There we were, imagining ourselves inside this Pan Am 747, seeing the uniforms and feeling the Pan Am ambience, but knowing how the story turns out. And also knowing that only two years after this event, Libyan terrorists downed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which turned out to be the nail in the coffin for the company we all loved. Yet we had the deep consolation of being together. Next to me watching the movie was my friend,Wendy Knecht, who wrote Life, Love, and a Hijacking: My Pan Am Memoir (2014). Wendy had trained and supervised Neerja, as well as having attended her funeral in Bombay. Wendy remains in contact with Neerja's brother who has just published a book in India, The Neerja I Knew (Aneesh Bhanot). Watching the movie was an "out-of-body experience" for Wendy, surreal not only because she knew her, but also because the movie brought alive such poignant memories from 30 years ago. Advertisement In March 2015, the state Department of Environmental Quality considered taking samples from Flint's water system to be tested for Legionella at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' laboratory. But neither agency followed through. That same month, the Environmental Protection Agency also suggested city water should be tested for Legionella during an EPA meeting about the outbreak and expressed that opinion to the DEQ in an email reviewed by The Detroit News. Again, no testing was done. This is just another indication of how weak the government response has been to the Flint crisis. It also highlights that testing for Legionella -- and indeed testing for several other hazardous contaminants that can often show up in drinking water -- is still not required by EPA anywhere. Experts, including Marc Edwards, the Virginia Tech professor whose research uncovered the problem of lead contamination in Flint water, argue the municipal water should have been tested for Legionella because the outbreak could be tied to changes in the water system. Genesee County Environmental Health Supervisor Jim Henry also called for such testing. Experts say had the source of the Legionella been confirmed as the water system, targeted chlorine treatments could have been applied to kill the bacteria. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are marauding through the Old South on Super Tuesday just like General William Tecumseh Sherman in his March to the Sea Most every Super Tuesday poll shows Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton marauding through the Old South like Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Philip Sheridan in their scorched earth march to the sea. To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, "the South is different from you and me." It may be 151 years since Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox but the South still remains a vastly different place than most of the nation. Advertisement There is a bifurcated, bi-polar, segregated world down there notwithstanding the integration of African-Americans into the police forces and into governmental office. This segregation manifests itself not just culturally but especially politically. Blacks are nearly universally Democrats and a plurality if not a majority of whites in some states are heavily Republican. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton will do well in the South on Super Tuesday because a huge proportion of the Democratic electorate is African-American and Bernie Sanders just has no ground game with that group. Breakfast with Al Sharpton isn't enough. The Clintons have been working the black vote for decades and Sanders, who is the darling of the Northeastern white intelligentsia is too much of an unknown to many of these voters. Black voters in the South are very clannish. Many black Southerners are more conservative than their northern counterparts and Sanders' socialism is not necessarily an attraction there. Sanders' Jewishness is also not an asset. Albert Einstein famously said that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and African-Americans vote as a bloc in the South in reaction to many whites' self-segregation into the GOP. To advance their interests in the region blacks vote en masse so they have political clout. Only a fellow black like Obama has been able to fracture that monolithic voting bloc. It's really only in the last 30 or so years that the Republican Party has been viable or visible in the states of the old Confederacy. Because it was Lincoln, Grant and the Republicans who brutally defeated their secessionist rebellion, white Southerners were religiously Democrats. Because of the subjugation of blacks for more than 100 years, whites were able to concurrently be Democrats and conservatives and/or reactionary racists. They were called Dixiecrats and they wielded enormous influence in national politics until the '80s. Advertisement Because of voting rights for blacks, integration, desegregation and a general easing of conditions for African-Americans, the liberalism of the national Democratic Party was able to permeate the Democratic Party in Dixie which drove most conservative whites into the arms of the GOP who welcomed the opportunity to finally attain political power in the South and thereby expand their control nationally in the House and Senate. It should be said that not all Southern Republicans are white and not all white Southern Republicans are racist bigots either overtly or subliminally but there is a large population of registered Republicans in the South who cling to the Confederate battle flag metaphorically if not physically. There is a sizable population there who are heavily xenophobic and who respond enthusiastically to notions of banning Hispanic and Moslem immigration entirely, who also don't like liberals, who don't like Catholics, Jews, Hispanics and who are so riled up about the mere existence of Barack Obama that they've channeled their rage into support of Donald Trump. Many of these folks are so angry that they'd like to smack someone upside the head. Trump, through his vulgar bellicosity allows them the vicarious ability to do just that. Trump's evasion of unambiguously condemning and repudiating David Duke and the KKK is a subtle signal to these voters that The Donald shares your anger. This is why despite all logic which clearly proves that Trump is not really a conservative and despite his flip-flopping on the issues, despite his not releasing his income taxes, his support of liberal positions that Trump is handily leading all the GOP polls in the South. Marco Rubio in the minds of many of these voters might just as well be Barack Obama -- a guy with a funny ethnic name who's Catholic to boot. It doesn't matter what Rubio actually says or stands for. Ted Cruz, with the exception of Texas (his home state) is not viewed far behind Rubio in the mindset of these types of people. This group comprises probably 35 to 45 percent of the Southern GOP electorate, but with a fractured field comprised of Rubio, Cruz, and the continued windmill-tilting campaigns of Dr. Ben Carson and Governor John Kasich it's enough to hand big victories to Trump. At the very least, Carson and Kasich should have dropped out prior to Super Tuesday to enable either Cruz or Rubio to emerge as a counter-weight to Trump, but the incredible hubris of all these candidates is still preventing the coalescence of the Republican majority to credibly oppose and stop Trump. The last stand for both mainstream and conservative Republicans after many Trump victories in the South on Super Tuesday will be the various primaries and caucuses between March 5th and March 15th where 356 delegates are up for grabs and in the second Super Tuesday primaries on March 15th in six big states like Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio. Beyond March 15th are huge states like New York on April 19th and Pennsylvania on April 26th. NARWATHIWAT,THAILAND - SEPTEMBER 1: A Thai Malay Muslim drug user breaks up the kratom leaf into a pan to form part of a popular cheap narcotic drink called 4 x 100 on September 1, 2011in Narwathiwat, southern Thailand. Translated as ' sii khun roi,' 4 x 100 is a mix of the illegal kratom leaf, cough syrup and Coca-Cola with added ingredients like tranquilizers and marijuana. Many unemployed young ethnic Thai Malay Muslims are becoming more embedded in daily substance abuse and a culture of drugs as they turn to substances such as 4 x 100, marijuana and methamphetamines to cope with daily life. In southern Thailand for the last 6 years there has been almost daily violence happening over a wide region which has claimed more than 4,000 lives. The on-going, low grade insurgency and violence is between Muslim separatists, and the Thai security forces in a country that is over 95% buddhist. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) With overdose death rates more than doubling in the U.S. since 2000, we need to be examining every possible avenue to save lives and reduce the harms of drug misuse and addiction. Two medicinal plants, kratom and iboga, have been used for hundreds and thousands of years in other parts of the world and show promise as tools in addiction treatment. Yet the United States' outdated drug war approach is standing in the way. Advertisement The naturally-occurring substance ibogaine is derived from the iboga plant, which native to West Africa, where it has been used in healing rituals and initiation ceremonies as part of the Bwiti religion in Gabon for hundreds of years. Since the 1960s, it has been used to help treat people suffering from seemingly-intractable problems with addiction. Larger doses of ibogaine can briefly eliminate substance-related cravings and reduce withdrawal symptoms from opiates. Like many of the most-known psychedelic drugs - LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca - ibogaine has long been used as an adjunct to psychotherapy and other therapeutic modalities.Ibogaine, however, is rarely used as a recreational drug, due to the overpowering intensity and long duration of its effects, often lasting 24-48 hours. The U.S. is one of only a few countries where ibogaine is prohibited. In some countries, it's administered in hospitals, medical centers, retreats, and private therapeutic practices. While only two governments have officially designated ibogaine as a recognized medical treatment (New Zealand and the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo), in most other places it remains unscheduled. Gabon, in fact, embraces iboga and Bwiti as part of their national culture.Since it's classified as a Schedule I drug in the U.S., people who struggle with problematic drug use often seek out underground providers or international clinics for ibogaine treatment. Fortunately there are some signs of hope stateside. In both Vermont and in New York State, legislators have introduced bills to facilitate research evaluating ibogaine's effectiveness in treating addiction to heroin and other opiates. Meanwhile, MAPS is sponsoring research evaluating the long-term effects of ibogaine treatment on patients undergoing therapy at treatment centers in Mexico and New Zealand. Advertisement (These developments will be a focus of this month's Global Ibogaine Conference, where I will be joined by hundreds of experts and will speak about potential regulatory frameworks for ibogaine and how it fits in the broader context of drug policy reform.) Kratom is quite different from ibogaine, but unfortunately prohibitionist policies are alsolimiting its potential as an addiction treatment. For millennia, kratom has been used as a folk remedy in southeast Asia, where it is traditionally popular among day laborers and has long been used as a replacement therapy for people struggling with opiate addiction. Kratomleaves can be chewed fresh, or dried and consumed in powder, tea or bar form. In small doses, it can have stimulant-like effects, and in larger quantities it acts as a sedative. Side effects of kratom are minimal and a briefing paper by the International Drug Policy Consortium and Transnational Institute notes that kratom's withdrawal symptoms are weak and nearly inconsequential compared to the suffering of people trying to quit opiates or amphetamines. In an unfortunate and absurd twist, kratom has recently been swept up in the ongoing hysteria around new psychoactive substances like "bath salts" and synthetic cannabinoids. Some lawmakers in states such as Florida and New York are now seeking to ban kratom entirely. Instead of prohibiting kratom and relegating it to the illicit market, what's needed is appropriate regulation - such as product labeling requirements, as well as marketing, branding and retail display restrictions, which are long proven to reduce youth access and substance misuse. Advertisement These are two very different plants that require different kinds of legal regulation. But they both suffer the same fate as countless other medicinal plants that have been used by our ancestors for millennia - there's little incentive for pharmaceutical companies to spend years and millions of dollars on clinical research to gain FDA approval. Perhaps we need some sort of new FDA for recreational drugs and psychoactive plants like iboga and kratom that help people avoid more harmful drugs and lead more happy, productive lives. In the meantime, though, there's no good reason for either ibogaine or kratom to be treated as criminal issues - especially given the now-widespread moral, political, and scientific consensus that drug use and addiction are best treated as health issues. Imagine your partner returning home from being abroad to have she or he unexpectedly pass away a week later. From AIDS. This was the unfortunate reality of Dr. Noerine Kaleeba, whose husband passed away from AIDS upon returning to Uganda after graduate study in the United Kingdom in 1987. Due to the stigma around HIV/AIDS, many of the Ugandan health workers would not help or touch Kaleeba's husband - leaving her to aid her husband all alone before he died. Despite such an adverse and sorrowful situation, Kaleeba was able to turn her tragic reality to that of transformative HIV/AIDS activism and advocacy in her native Uganda and beyond. Prior to her husband's diagnosis, Kaleeba served as the head physiotherapist at Mulago Hospital in Kampala, which is the largest teaching hospital in Uganda. Before joining the HIV/AIDS frontline, in her capacity at the hospital, she characterized HIV/AIDS as only a white, American-male, homosexual pandemic. Advertisement "I am embarrassed to say this now, but before my husband's [diagnosis], I believed that HIV/AIDS was a disease only [of] white, gay men in San Francisco," Kaleeba admitted. "I thought that it would never affect me, my family or Uganda," she continued. Kaleeba is not the only one who previously shared or even contemporarily shares such stigmas about HIV/AIDS and homosexuality. In Uganda, for those living with HIV/AIDS, many face intense socio-economic and political scrutiny and discrimination; with organizations even firing their employees upon discovery of their HIV/AIDS status. Extreme homophobia and discrimination has been rampant in Uganda since the government forbid homosexuality in the 1950s. In 2014, President Yoweri Museveni enacted several anti-homosexuality laws which permitted citizens to report any suspicion of homosexual presence to the police; which has continued a cycle of violence and prejudice against the LGBTQ community in Uganda. In an exclusive interview with CNN, President Museveni echoed anti-LGBTQ rhetoric by saying that gay people are "disgusting." Notwithstanding her previous ideals about HIV/AIDS, Kaleeba strongly advocates against such prejudicial norms. Advertisement "There is a concept that because we are an African country, there are no gay men or lesbians or transgendered, which is far from true", Kaleeba said. "[However], human rights should not be compromised to how leaders feel about sexuality," she continued. After experiencing several HIV/AIDS related deaths - from her husband, to immediate and extended family and friends - Kaleeba confronted the stigmatization by fostering an educational and community-based space to effectively advocate for those infected in Uganda. In 1997, she and fifteen others founded The AIDS Support Organization Uganda (TASO Uganda), one first community responses to HIV/AIDS in Uganda, which serves as the prototype for challenging the stereotypes and discrimination of those with the virus as well as restoring hope and dignity of people and families with the virus. With her leadership and tenacity, TASO Uganda has aided thousands of people in Uganda alone, with many of its services expanding into countries within the continent and the world. "Dr. Kaleeba has been on the forefront of HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care," said Dinnah Nabwire, a Ugandan policy and analysis coordinator for Marie Stopes International. Advertisement "She's shaped the whole HIV/AIDS agenda in Uganda from policy to service delivery - she's a pillar within the country," Nabwire continued. "You cannot talk about the history of HIV/AIDS and care without talking about Dr. Noerine Kaleeba." Providing HIV/AIDS counseling, medical care, social support, training and capacity building, community mobilization, partnerships and HIV education, networking and research, TASO serves as a true beacon of advocacy in a country where about 1.6 million people are living with HIV. While the number of AIDS-related deaths in the country decreased by an estimated 19 percent between 2005, by the end of 2013, Uganda had accounted for 7 percent of the world's total increase of new cases of HIV infections - the third largest increase in any country. "In Uganda, HIV and AIDS has impacted every household, every community, and every individual", Kaleeba said. Serving as TASO's first executive director for eight years, her vision for the organization has not only matriculated into a household name in Uganda but serves as pillar of activism in the global health community. Achievements of the organization include initiating and popularizing the Philosophy of Living Positively with HIV; eliminating stigma and discrimination directed towards individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS; creating national and international HIV/AIDS response programming as well as establishing service centers, regional offices and training centers covering all the 4 regions and major towns of Uganda. TASO has also contributed to the establishment of other HIV and AIDS service organizations including AIDS Information Centre, Uganda Network of AIDS Service Organization, Positive Men's Union, and National Community for Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda and THETA among others. Advertisement One of the key figures in organizing the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Kaleeba worked as a UNAIDS staff member for ten years, in the capacity of partnership and community mobilization adviser for the program. Although retired from both TASO Uganda and UNAIDS, she continues her advocacy work by publishing articles and speaking on both national and global platforms about awareness and preventive measures of HIV and AIDS. A pioneering educator and activist for global health equity, Kaleeba is habitually teaching others the importance of resiliency through her revolutionary work. Using the power of personal story, her profound words serve as an inspiration to continue to build a momentum for health parity in Africa and beyond. "I am here because I believe passionately that the work I do can surely change the world," Kaleeba said. BERLIN, GERMANY - MARCH 1: German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a speech during a joint press conference after his meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic (not seen) at German Chancellery in Berlin, Germany on March 1, 2016. (Photo by Mehmet Kaman/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) Donald Trump is now the face of the Republican Party and it appears that none of the remaining five candidates is looking to reform the party the right way. The necessity to modernise and moderate couldn't be more substantial right now. To achieve electoral success, the party must learn how to win, by learning from Europe. For reformed European conservatism is electable, and it is to be found in the one-nation conservatism of Prime Minister David Cameron and in Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party. It is a conservatism that not only defends markets and low taxation, but also encompasses within that the defense of economic inclusion, social modernization and environmental protection. It means defending and modestly reforming the welfare state, not destroying it. It means siding with the scientific consensus and facing the reality of climate change, not dismissing or flat-out denying it. It also means taking a reformed approach to social issues. Advertisement Though it would be desirable to ultimately see both political parties advocate some form of a single-payer health insurance like every other developed Western country, one has to be realistic and say it'll be difficult for Democrats to even get on that bandwagon, let alone Republicans. But at election time, European conservatives pledge that they will protect the state healthcare provision and perhaps pledge to make modest reforms. Cameron's Conservatives since coming to power in 2010 have protected spending on the National Health Service(NHS) and pledged in their winning 2015 manifesto that they would make an additional 8 billion in NHS investments by 2020. Because the NHS is so popular, it's conventional wisdom that any party rallying for the dismantling of the NHS is doomed to electoral defeat. This has historically been the case, as Fareed Zakaria in his article 'Center the serious place in politics' rightly notes that even the radical reformer Margaret Thatcher during the ideologically polarising period of the 1980s protected NHS spending while she was prime minister. She didn't completely transform, scrap, destroy or replace the existing healthcare system. What a far cry from today's Republican candidates. Every one of the five remaining Republican candidates support the repeal and replacement of Obamacare, including Ben Carson who stated that "Obamacare is really I think the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery." Advertisement The extremism extends. Every candidate also supports the repeal of the estate tax, and all but Trump support the elimination of the capital gains tax. Ted Cruz calls for the elimination of five federal departments, the abolition of the IRS and regards Social Security a "Ponzi scheme". Trump and Rubio support $11.2 trillion and $8.4 trillion in tax cuts respectively over the next decade while magically and simultaneously promising to balancing the budget. The radical consensus is found too on environmental policy, where the profound challenges of climate change are brushed aside. When 97% of climate scientists agree on human-induced climate change, it might be wise to side with the consensus. A commonly repeated phrase by some Republican candidates, notably Marco Rubio, has been that they're not scientists. Rubio is indeed not a scientist, but why not just have the humility to listen to the scientists? In contrast, European conservatives like Cameron and Merkel are committed in principle to confronting climate change. They don't deny it, they accept it, and state the importance in addressing it. In his recent speech at the Paris Climate Conference, David Cameron stated that, "instead of making excuses tomorrow to our children and grandchildren, we should be taking action against climate change today." Angela Merkel offered similar remarks in Paris, and is celebrated in Germany as the "climate chancellor" in her courage to phase out nuclear energy by 2022. Centrism is not only more respectable than right-wing radicalism, it's more electable. John Kasich is labelled as the most moderate candidate of the five, and he polls most favourably when up against Hillary Clinton, according to Real Clear Politics. Donald Trump who is arguably the most extreme candidate, polls the least favourably. Ultimately, the party ought to have, but doesn't, as it's frontrunner someone who not only demands low taxation and limited government, but also advocates modest, not overly-transformative reforms to the existing healthcare system. A candidate that acknowledges the reality of climate change, and offers compelling solutions. A candidate that endorses social and economic inclusiveness. Advertisement Rabbi Jay Michaelson, author of the new book The Gate of Tears: Sadness and the Spiritual Path, and Zen teacher Koshin Paley Ellison, co-director of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, are hosting a dialogue on the subject of "loss, compassion and service" on Wednesday, March 2, at the Zen Center in midtown Manhattan. In preparation for the event, they talked about the different ways in which they approach the nexus of contemplative practice and social activism. Jay Michaelson: I feel like people might assume a dialogue about loss must be depressing, but for me it is actually joyful to be able to talk about deep stuff. I'd certainly rather do that than debate Bernie versus Hillary. Koshin Paley Ellison: Life is precious. Recently, someone asked me, "You do all this work with dying people. Isn't that depressing?" I was touched by the sincerity of the question. I paused for a moment and responded, "Well, some of the time I work with people who know they are dying. They know their diagnosis. Yet, all the time I am teaching and in relationship with people who are dying and don't know tht they are dying--like all of us." We have such limited time in this life, and to wake up to this inspires me to live fully--how I look at people in my life, appreciate the quality of light in the room i am in, and the treasure of realizing this. So, the people who know they are dying soon remind me of the great possibility of appreciating life right now. For example, that you and I are having this conversation about sorrow and joy. Advertisement JM: Do you want to briefly explain what the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care does, for readers who might not be aware? KPE: The Zen Center is based in engaging your life. We do this through our three pillars of practice, study, and meditation. We are people engaged in being of service to those experiencing old age, sickness and death. So all our study, meditation and direct care flow from our beginner's mind, bearing witness and loving action. Of course, this is easy to say. We practice allowing the ten thousand joys and sorrows to teach us what it means to live. Which is also what your book, The Gate of Tears, is about. Tell me what continues to inspire you about the book? JM: With my previous books, and with any "spiritual" teaching, there's always a subtle power relationship, a claim of knowing something that the student doesn't. That's okay, as far as it goes, but I love that with this book I'm teaching from a place of vulnerability, of not having answers, of remaining with unanswered questions. It feels authentic and refreshing. I also tried, with this book, to present the one dharma teaching that has impacted my life the most, in real terms: how being present with sadness -- not pushing it away, not wallowing in it, just acknowledging and making space for it -- tends to open us up to ourselves, to other people, and to the call to pursue justice and be of service. It strikes me that all three of these might be essential and intertwined in the work that you do, right? Advertisement KPE: Absolutely. Welcoming everything that is being experienced, examining how our old fears block us from connection, and then softening to our vulnerability. This is essential spiritual practice. It is easy to push it away and hide, and maybe we need to go under the covers for a bit. The, come out and explore. How do we work with our fears, and struggles? How do we wrestle to become free of our conditoned habit responses. My vow is to work with this for at least this lifetime. What vows do you have Jay? JM: That's a hard one! Interestingly, in my other career, I write about law, religion, and politics for The Daily Beast and other newspapers, and I just finished a piece about Senators breaking their oaths of office by not considering a Supreme Court nominee. I wrote about the seriousness vows are meant to have in religious and civil-religious contexts. So now I'm reluctant to state one out loud! I think, for me, it's a matter of first principles. At least in my working life, what do I take on as a commitment? For me, one of those has to do with suffering. You know, the first noble truth: here's this thing, suffering. Maybe everything is illusion, empty, whatever, but inside that experience is suffering, and it would be better to have less of it. I like that Richard Rorty, the 20th century philosopher, said that that's all you really need to get going on creating a moral life: just knowing that cruelty is bad, that we should minimize it. And yet you've got to feel the truth of suffering, I think, to really want to alleviate it in others. You've got to be able to be present with (and not freak out about) people in pain, in grief, in fear, in order to be effective. And finally, to me at least, a good companion, chaplain, caregiver is also aware of what's going on in themselves. Does that make sense? KPE: There is such isolation in every sphere of life. In our Zen practice there are three jewels: our awakened mind, the teachings of the moment, and community. I never quiet understood why they were called jewels until a few years ago. They are precious and we need all three. We need to cultivate our and the awakened mind in a nourishing and tender way. Each moment is the perfect teacher. How do we open to the moment and not believe all our old stories and opinions? For me it is all about community and receptivity. Without my community and teacher, I would be adrift in the world. My teacher, my partner Chodo and community are a refuge. We care for each other and learnng to ask for help and support is essential. I did not used to ask for help, and I found myself depleted and feeling the world on my shoulders. And then, receptivity and vulnerability. How do we become receptive to allow ourselves to fully participate in a spiritual community? How can we be receptive and vulnerable to allow a teacher(s) into our life? These are ongoing questions for a life time of practice. The moment, I think I figured it out, I am far away from the authenticity of the fresh moment. How about you Jay? Advertisement JM: For me, I'm working a lot lately with the question of "how much is enough." Not in terms of sense-experiences -- as I get older, I'm less thirsty for those, plus I've been blessed to have drunk from the well quite a lot. But in terms of, how much do I have to do -- how many books, projects, students, media hits, friends, fans, fame is "enough" to feel complete? For me the answer is to let go of the feeling of "complete" and feel complete in being incomplete. That's what the book is about -- the beauty of the broken vase, the joy in sadness. I've often felt there's a beauty in sadness that feels like the beauty of silence. It's beyond my power to articulate, yet I find it profound. KPE: I agree. In our work training doctors, nurses, social workers and chaplains in contemplative care we have found there are a secret community of people who deeply value this beauty. Much of our work has been about bringing people together around this shared value. We do this through our sangha, retreats, our national symposium, and through our new book, Awake at the Bedside. My question for you Jay, is how do you create community around this beauty of sadness and silence? JM: I think this may be one place where our paths diverge somewhat. As an introvert, I am nourished by times of solitude, spaciousness, and quiet even more than by a formal spiritual community. I'm also married to my partner, who I love, and I'm blessed both with friends and with a subcultural 'tribe' that I'm part of which meets me in heart and body. I don't feel a lack of support or of community in my life. But it's true that I also flit between several worlds -- Jewish, Buddhist, pagan; journalistic, spiritual, academic. It's been the shape of my life for thirty years, so I've made my peace with it, joys and challenges together. Actually, I think one of the (many!) things that draws me to you and your work is how you, too, integrate different kinds of work, in this case contemplative practice and engaged work in the world. There's a myth out there that you can't have both spirituality and justice/compassion work, even though every tradition I know of says the exact opposite: that the two enrich one another. KPE: For me, the natural process is to serve others. Clearly, this is one expression, and there are many kinds of service and care. I think of the barista I see everyday, and the care she offers in the way she engages me with her eyes and conversation. I am more and more interested in the multiplicity of caring relationships. I'm all for the idea of a political revolution. I guess I'm just not sure what that has to do with running a presidential campaign within our existing electoral system. But let me give Bernie Sanders and his supporters some credit and go with the notion that they're legitimately interested in the idea of a political revolution. If that's the case, someone should let them all know there's no need to make Bernie the Democratic nominee, or the President of the United States, for such a revolution to take place. In other words, why wait? Look, I'm not expecting a real political revolution anytime soon, but let's at least seize the opportunity of its entry into mainstream discourse to ponder what the phrase actually means. America, 1776. France, 1789. Haiti, 1791. Russia, 1917. Cuba, 1959. Iran, 1979. These are names and dates that mark a few of history's great political revolutions. Take note, they were all violent, and none took place at the ballot box. Indeed, no political revolution ever has. Advertisement Haitian Revolution - Battle at San Domingo, a painting by January Suchodolski But even if we're just talking about US electoral politics, a political revolution should, at the very least, mean transforming our electoral system as it currently stands, along with the institutions and ideologies underlying its justification. I'm not so sure Bernie et al. have the stomach for that. It's certainly not mentioned in any of his policy proposals or stump speeches. Lamentably, it seems Bernie's version of political revolution is merely a plan to mobilize voters in the hopes of returning to a time when the US had a social compact among business, government, and labor, in a way that allowed some modicum of reciprocal progress. That progress was never distributed equally, though. In a nation founded and operating on white supremacy, class domination, land theft, ableism, xenophobia, and patriarchy, specific groups have often been systematically excluded. Consequently, there are concerns Bernie's "political revolution" doesn't do enough to tear down these oppressive power structures that it would change that stratification of progress in a way that's truly inclusive. These concerns, at least in regard to Bernie's failure to mount a challenge to white supremacist power structures, have been most vociferously voiced by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Examples here, here, and here. Given that much of what Bernie wants to do is reform and ultimately strengthen existing institutions, there's no reason to expect dramatically different, more inclusive results--even if his aims were achievable. And this brings me back to my earlier point: If we want a political revolution, why wait? Were he elected, a Bernie Sanders' presidency isn't a panacea for what ails the nation, and it certainly wouldn't be revolutionary. Would it be a significant moment in US progressivism? Sure. But many of Bernie's proposals that are being met with bewilderment by media and mainstream Democrats are actually remarkably mild--especially considered on a global political spectrum. Many are quite popular among US voters, too. Yet, in the reality of our current political milieu, most are fundamentally impossible. The answer to that conundrum isn't to settle for a pragmatic outlook that accepts this drab reality and plans to work within it--which, I'm sorry to say, is an apt description of the position of both potential Democratic nominees. The answer to that conundrum is to work to abolish the boundaries of our current political realities, and unveil a world truly full of new possibilities. This requires expanding our view of what political revolution looks like far beyond a political campaign for the President of the United States of America. Advertisement The more you study the major forces driving our lived experiences, e.g. education, knowledge production, healthcare, housing, journalism, politics, poverty, banking, racism, capitalism, imperialism, patriarchy, policing, the courts, the workplace... and so on, the more you come to understand they are nearly unanimously beyond reform. And if we want to achieve a genuine political revolution, one that opens the door for changes like those Bernie's proposing and more, then that's something The People can, should, and need to do outside of electoral politics. I can't say exactly what that might look like, but I know it's going to take a lot more risk and sacrifice than investing time, money, and energy into supporting a presidential campaign. It's just not going to come that easily. So, for those of us rooting for political revolution, there's work to do. That work might look like organizing mass strikes, protests, boycotts, and disruptions of the status quo. It might look like communal living, selective destruction of property, occupying public and unused private spaces, seizing the means of production at individual workplaces, mass whistle-blowing, and reclaiming resources from corporations that currently hoard and profit off them. By Jean Duplessis-Bertaux - L'Histoire par l'image [1], digital version produced by Agence photographique de la Reunion des musees nationaux [2], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6882357 Advertisement As the impacts of climate change become more apparent in the coming decades and people become increasingly desperate, violent approaches like guerrilla warfare, armed seizures of resources, targeted assassinations, and bombings, will become necessary tactics in the pursuit of any political revolt. In short, the sooner we get to the real work of revolution--political and otherwise--the better our chances of doing so with minimal violence and devastation. The path we are on is unsustainable, and looking to a presidential candidate or election to turn us around is misguided. We need to look to each other. One of the biggest problems with funneling potentially revolutionary energy into a political campaign is that if the campaign loses, then its revolutionary energy dies with it. At the very least Bernie could pledge to continue his political revolution beyond the primary no matter who wins. And no, I don't mean he should run as an independent or even tell people not to vote for Hillary Clinton. We need to remove the idea of political revolution from the paradigm of electoral politics. That's where Bernie should be encouraging his supporters to take this fight, regardless of who's president. Here's a simple example. Imagine if, instead of funneling donations to Hillary should he lose the nomination, Bernie promised to keep fundraising through his grassroots supporters, and using that money and influence as a sort of Super PAC or lobby for Progressive causes. Even that would be welcome. But without some effort to take his political revolution beyond this election, regardless of who's the nominee, labeling Bernie a Sheep Dog for the Left is apt. I'm not suggesting people don't vote for Bernie (or that they do). Personally, I like him as far as potential candidates in the two major parties go--which is to say I could stomach voting for him. No question, in the absence of an actual political revolution a Sanders' presidency is welcome in my book. But I won't delude myself into believing it would represent anything approaching a political revolution. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to admonish those who are "Feeling the Bern." I mean to challenge them to ruminate on what a political revolution might really look like and the sacrifices it will require of us. And, if they still want one, to stop waiting for the presidential election and start fighting now. I have recently published this blog in the 'CEO World Magazine', and would like to share it with you here to get your thoughts (direct link to CEO World Magazine) I'm the president of what I like to call a 24-year-old startup. It was launched in 1992 as a printed catalog out of the guest bedroom of our CEO and founder, Ed Kushins. Since then, we've evolved from one of the first online social networks into the leading home sharing company. We have a highly loyal community of more than 65,000 members in over 150 countries, supported by a team -- our "family" -- spread across 20-plus countries. Dispersed as we are, ensuring alignment across our organization is a challenge. Despite advances, technology alone will likely never be enough to ensure adequate communication. And so, for nearly a decade, every July we hold our HomeExchange Summit, bringing our entire team and their families together for a week. Over the years we've met in Canada, Italy, France, Portugal and the US. While this annual meeting is not our only meet-up (we have many smaller team meetings), our Summit is the only event of its kind, with over 100+ people attending. Advertisement Among other things, our annual Summit allows for: Face time. Team members who lack regular contact with team leaders and executives, and rightly or wrongly feel undervalued, make up for lost time. Team members who lack regular contact with team leaders and executives, and rightly or wrongly feel undervalued, make up for lost time. Morale boosting. Our Summit is a chance to see and feel how unique we are. Our Summit is a chance to see and feel how unique we are. Time out of the usual routine. An organization that plays together, stays together. An organization that plays together, stays together. Mingling of families. Many of our team spend more time with us than they do their own families. We are, in essence, an extension of their families. The more we can share life experiences, the more we can understand and meet everyone's needs. This is the chance for families to see that we're the real deal. Many of our team spend more time with us than they do their own families. We are, in essence, an extension of their families. The more we can share life experiences, the more we can understand and meet everyone's needs. This is the chance for families to see that we're the real deal. Alignment . The HomeExchange vision is unique. But for many, words aren't enough; when we get together, everyone "knows it when they see it." For new team members, this is the best opportunity we have to get them fully on board. . The HomeExchange vision is unique. But for many, words aren't enough; when we get together, everyone "knows it when they see it." For new team members, this is the best opportunity we have to get them fully on board. Cross-functional problem solving . Many of our biggest challenges have been solved by team members from different disciplines looking at them through new lenses. . Many of our biggest challenges have been solved by team members from different disciplines looking at them through new lenses. Recognizing superstars. Each year, we celebrate our top contributors in a variety of categories, e.g., our "Ambassador of the Brand" award was received by a staff member who put herself in the line opposing a proposed change to our business model (that we ultimately abandoned). Each year, we celebrate our top contributors in a variety of categories, e.g., our "Ambassador of the Brand" award was received by a staff member who put herself in the line opposing a proposed change to our business model (that we ultimately abandoned). Travel . We are, after all, in the travel industry and everyone at our company loves to hit the road. What better way to reward everyone? . We are, after all, in the travel industry and everyone at our company loves to hit the road. What better way to reward everyone? Recruiting. Yes, many Summits have resulted in the hiring of family members and invited guests! For most of the year, nearly everyone at our company works remotely, supported by a highly flat hierarchy and structured around project-based teams. This allows for work from the road as we encourage people to see and experience the world. As a result, we're highly dependent on email, chat and videoconferencing tools like Skype, to stay connected and even monitor our organizational "health." TinyPulse is a web service that helps us stay in tune with our staff, using industry benchmarks, including a "happiness" score. (Fortunately, we score off the charts for that!) We also use a project management tool called Trello to track our work, including product development. But our HomeExchange Summit is unique in that it offers us a chance to break from routine and gather in person. Advertisement Historically, the Summit was filled with "top-down" presentations from each working group. We realized that this was highly unproductive because it failed to engage all of our team, many of whom had great ideas but didn't have the best opportunity to share. It didn't facilitate the type of team interaction and communication we sought. Now we break into cross-functional teams, many of the members having never worked with each other before. We identify one or two areas for the company to innovate, such as how we provide opportunities for our site's non-paying members to see the strength of our community. Around our problem solving efforts, we plan activities: hikes (we call them TED-walks), canoeing, wine tasting, etc. through which teams bond, even as they try to solve big company challenges. While we "press pause" on much of our company work during our annual Summit, it is often our most productive week of the year. The flow of creativity and the ideas generated set the tone for many months to come. Family members are invited to all of our activities, so it's never a surprise when they help find creative solutions. There's nothing like a fresh set of eyes! Also, by seeing how passionate we all are about our mission, family members become much more understanding during periods of hard work. A few months back I walked into my kids' playroom and they were pretending to be my partners at work! We've watched children from many cultures grow up in this environment. And now they're poised to be the next generation of leaders. Inevitably, every year leading up to our Summit, someone asks whether the expense of such a meeting is warranted; we cover food and accommodation for everyone, as well as airfare for the team. And every year we reconfirm how critical the meeting has become... to our mission, our culture and our bottom line. Advertisement We are all too aware that even if a project has a leader with Van Gogh's genius and a team of other world class artists, a Skype call will never allow for the art to flourish. Having built an organization across languages and cultures, we know that ideas are communicated in different ways and that they're explanation and dissemination is best handled through in-person meetings. But, most importantly, this is the main opportunity each year to ensure everyone on the HomeExchange team is aligned in the belief that sharing travel changes lives. If you're going to be in Cadiz Spain this July 17-22, stop by and meet our team! About the author: Jim Pickell is President of HomeExchange.com, an advisor, angel investor, and frequent guest lecturer. Previously, Pickell founded several companies including OpenEnglish.com, Latin America's leading online language school, and served as Senior Vice President of SONY Connect in L.A., where he led the digital distribution of films, music, and eBooks. His later quest to collaborate with like-minded thinkers and create ideas that influence positive change led him to HomeExchange.com, first as a member and now as a core part of what he calls "a 23-year-old startup." Pickell is a member of the board of the Family Travel Association and an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the Argyros School of Business and Economics. He holds a degree in economics from UC Berkeley, a law degree from Loyola Law School, and an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA. LinkedIn: In the 2000's I helped pass two bills shoring up Colorado's public employee pension plan (PERA). Having opted out of social security in the 1930's, PERA embodies the State's promise that teachers, judges and snow plow drivers' declining years will not decline into destitution. It holds employee contributions, employer contributions and investment earnings accrued over the decades between contribution and retirement. In 1999 the PERA system was 102% funded, but improvident elected officials and two recessions abruptly dropped its funding ratio down near 60% where it remains. In a much appreciated effort to defend Israel from unwarranted attack, Representatives Dan Nordberg and Dominick Moreno have introduced HB16-1284. Well-intentioned, it is as bad for PERA as it is good for Israel. Advertisement The bill addresses a little noticed but persistent effort to boycott, divest from and sanction (BDS) Israel. BDS advocates are upset Israel still holds the west bank of the Jordan River that Israel captured from Jordan the country in 1967. Advocates feel the indigenous residents should create a new political entity called Palestine in Jordan's former territory. Jordan has no objection. Israel suggests such an event ought be accompanied by assurances the Palestinians will stop killing Israelis. As negotiations have stopped and started and stopped, a couple hundred thousand Israeli's have settled in the areas closest to Israel. Nordberg and Moreno would bar PERA from investing in companies participating in the BDS movement. Their intent is laudable. Israel needs all the friends it can get. But why PERA? There's no indication PERA actually invests in any BDS companies. PERA is not Colorado's only substantial aggregation of quasi-public money. Denver fire and police have their own pension fund as do Denver civilian employees. C.U., C.S.U. and Mesa University all have significant endowment funds. PERA is a small part of Colorado's $26.5 B state budget. Less than 2% of that budget goes to PERA. (See p. 60) What about the other 98%? Why should Colorado continue to contract with BDS companies while requiring only PERA to divest? For that matter, what about Colorado counties, municipalities and school and special districts? Advertisement Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. (The Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States/MCT via Getty Images) Last Tuesday, in the middle of the night in Phoenix Arizona, a 26-year-old man shot his mother, father and two younger sisters, then set the house on fire. On Wednesday, a 71-year-old woman was watching television when her husband walked in the room naked and began firing shots at her, he then left the room and shot himself in the head. Advertisement On Thursday, a convicted domestic abuser with a lengthy criminal record in Kansas entered his workplace after being served with a protective order and murdered three coworkers and injured 12 others. On Friday, a Washington man murdered his wife, her two teenage sons, and their neighbor before killing himself. On Saturday, a Virginia father killed his wife after she had alerted the police to a domestic dispute, when the police arrived he killed a young police officer on her first day on the job and injured two others. On Sunday, a 36 year-old Ohio man killed his girlfriend after the two had an argument, he later killed himself. Advertisement Today, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas broke his 10-year silence during oral arguments to question whether or not it was fair to prohibit convicted misdemeanor domestic violence abusers from owning guns. In addition to the legal arguments made by the government attorney, it is important to note that a gun present in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500 percent. Similar to sexual assault, women are murdered by and large by men already in their life, not strangers. In one study, female homicide victims knew their killer in 94 percent of incidences. Another study found that 34 percent of the time a woman's killer was a former or current intimate partner. In contrast, only 2.5 percent of male homicide victims were killed by their former or current intimate partner. A third study found that 57 percent of mass shootings were domestic violence related, so while women only make up 15 percent of the total gun homicide victims, they make up 50 percent of the mass shootings victims. In addition, nearly 30 percent of mass shooting perpetrators had a history of domestic violence charges. All people have a right to safety from preventable gun violence. To suggest that the firearm rights of known domestic violence offenders should be prioritized over the safety of their abused partners, is outrageous. The fact that Justice Thomas even questioned the fairness of prohibiting domestic abusers from owning guns, never mind broke his 10-year silence to do it, speaks volumes with respect to his misguided priorities. Today I couldn't help but speak up. But unlike Justice Thomas, I will not speak up for abusers. I am speaking up for the thousands of women being intimidated and murdered by their partners with firearms that they should no longer have the right to own. Prohibiting known domestic abusers from owning guns is just common sense and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas should know as much. Painter William Wray has a feeling for city grit and urban energy. A versatile artist who is both a skilled plein-air practitioner and an experienced animator/cartoonist, Wray has a brisk, bold style that gives his city scenes a jolt of painterly drama. A selection of Wray's recent paintings will be included in the group show "Uptown" which opens at Sue Greenwood Fine Art in Laguna on Thursday March 3rd. John Seed Interviews William Wray: William Wray Tell me a bit about your upbringing and early artistic experiences I traveled worldwide as the child of an Army Officer who also wanted to be a modern artist. My mother was a good artist too, but never persuaded herself to be serious about it, but did educate me by taking me to museums for modern art shows. As lonely kid I lived in my imagination spending lots of time copying comic book art, drawing hot rods and war scenes. Advertisement Roof, 24 x 24 inches How and when did you end up at the Art Student's League? I wanted to go to Art Center, but my folks said: "Get a degree first at Orange Coast College." To my dismay the teachers there had embraced free love and contemporary art. Foundation classes were spotty at best. So I dropped out and worked professionally in Animation going to school privately on the weekends and at night. One of my teachers recommended the Art Student's League. It was cheap, easy to get scholarships and in NYC where I longed to go anyway. HK Alley #1, 14 x 19 inches How did your cartooning career develop, and what were some high points? I've always made a living in animation and comic books. Highlights have included being the head of the Ren And Stimpy background painting department and directing and writing many episodes. I did comic books for all the majors and had a ten year stint at Mad Magazine. LA, 24 x 24 inches Your work has aspects of plein air painting, gestural abstraction and illustration (right?) How did it all come together? I always had fine art as a goal in my back pocket and in mid-life I discovered plein air as a way to break in to some kind of fine art, cartoon backgrounds being a good skeleton for realistic landscape painting. Eventually I evolved to paint more gesturally and came to understand abstraction by deconstruction of my landscapes. I also was obsessed with finding a way to make Illustration technique and narrative accepted as a legitimate fine art approach. My Hollywood Blvd Superhero paintings are my bid at selling that concept. Advertisement The Breakup, 24 x 24 inches What are you going to be showing at SGFA? I showing my Urban Landscapes which seem to be a comfortable fit for her gallery. It's a combination of loose realism with strong, but simple abstract foundation shapes, varying degrees of transparent under painting and some opaque passages. I generally crop a view as close as possible (without loosing the narrative) to achieve another level of abstraction very much like the process Richard Diebenkorn used to get abstracting from windows on the corner of a building. The show has a nice range of my approach from limited color to rich and bright. Newsbox, 16 x 16 inches Tell me a good art world story When I was going to the Art Students League in NY. I commuted from Soho to 57th Street. There was a new Keith Haring drawing on the subway every week or so. Part of me sensed that his work would one day have value, but I really didn't like it and came to blame him as a symbol of what was wrong with the art world. So I never took one off the wall. I could have collected at least a dozen of them and financed a lot of painting time for myself. Pride. Mobil, 24 x 48 inches What else would you like to tell people about you and your work? It's taken me years to understand and accept the contemporary art world and my place in it. As soon as I finally stopped resenting it's dominance, I realized I was interested (in my small way) to convince other classically oriented painters to learn to like or at least understand and be more accepting. I've lived to see the beginnings of a resurgence in figurative drawing and painting skills, I could not be more pleased about it critics like you helping to champion it. I'm hoping traditional art and contemporary can let the past differences go and work together. UPTOWN James Kroner, Francis Livingston, Craig Mooney, Glenn Ness, Siddharth Parasnis and William Wray Opening: Thursday, March 3, 6-9PM Continues through April 15th In general, when we think about scientific inquiry, much of its power rests in the idea that everything is open to question. Turning a scientific gaze upon the world enlightens us and opens our potential to understand more deeply, while often challenging us to reconsider previously held beliefs and ideas. But science is not an unambiguously moral good. Einstein questioned the ethics of building the atomic bomb. We know that research like the Tuskegee study of syphilis in African Americans has deep moral problems related to racism and informed consent. More recently, Stephen Hawking and others have raised ethical questions about whether or not we should engage in sending messages to the stars -- the risks of letting ET know we're here may outweigh the benefits of making contact if ET happens to be in a particularly foul mood when they answer our interstellar phone call. Those opposing Active SETI or METI (messaging extraterrestrial intelligence) have a point. There could be some risk involved with alerting ET to our presence in the universe, although if ET has knowledge of physics allowing them to visit our corner of the galaxy, hiding probably won't do us much good anyway. If the extraterrestrials want to vaporize us, they'll go ahead and do it. More likely the extreme distances between Earth and possible other civilizations will mitigate against any real threat -- if we send a message out to a star in the Orion constellation today, it will take over 1,000 years to get there... Advertisement Perhaps a more important question is not about the risks of transmitting, but the dangers in receiving. Many in the SETI community have shown commitment to the belief that a technologically advanced civilization will be altruistic, despite the lack of evidence supporting that assumption. Therefore it is assumed there are no significant risks with listening quietly. Maybe they're right. But even so, contact may prove quite dangerous to humans. Why? Because of the potential to destabilize our civilization. How will humans react? Will there be panic, infighting, conflict? Imagine if the Chinese intercept the first message from aliens and want to keep the information they gain to themselves. How will the American and other governments respond if they think the Chinese might have information from ET about physics that would allow them to build super weapons? How will religious zealots, who are suddenly confronted with the idea that humans may not be so special after all, cope with news that we are not alone? Imagine if ET sends us an encyclopedia of information about themselves in which we learn that they are a civilization of card-carrying atheists. And, perhaps, the most important question is what does sending a message say about them? One way to interpret this is to assume it means they want contact. But if they are significantly more advanced than we are morally (and there's no guarantee), perhaps they are also aware of what normally happens when more advanced civilizations come into contact with lesser ones. It's not typically great for the less advanced society whose culture tends to get run over, even if intentions are good on the part of those making contact. We have plenty of data to support this scenario from our own history. Put another way, if ET is so advanced, shouldn't they have something equivalent to Star Trek's Prime Directive in which they make every effort to avoid meddling in the development of less advanced civilizations? Perhaps the very fact that they sent the message indicates nefarious intentions, or just plain stupidity, on the part of aliens who didn't give much thought to how sending might negatively influence the civilization at the receiving end, whose culture they knew nothing about when they sent the message. Advertisement Now, we need to turn this around to ourselves. Many scientists in the SETI community argue against METI on the grounds that it is dangerous. We should simply wait and listen until we are sufficiently advanced to deal with contact. We should hold off until we mature from our cultural and technological adolescence, whatever that means, to adulthood. However, if we really think about it, the activity likely to be more dangerous to humans is receipt of a signal rather than sending a message. The way in which people will react on our socially fragile world is quite unpredictable. Awareness of the existence of another likely more technologically advanced civilization might propel our world into political chaos or it might have little influence. And we are left with the problem of what to think about an extraterrestrial civilization that sent a message without giving much thought to what it might do at the other end. Those aliens may be malicious at worst or naive at best. Neither possibility is terribly good from our perspective. The alternative, of course, is to roll up in a ball and hide. This seems rather pointless, since the genie is already out of the bottle, given the wide array of transmissions we constantly send from our planet. A society with technology 1,000 or 10,000 years beyond ours may well be able to pick up even the faint signals we are leaking out to the galaxy. Instead of hiding, we should give a great deal of thought to the kind of message we might send and to what the possible consequences are of sending. By consequences here, I do not mean self-centered worries about ET blasting us, but other-centered concerns about how sending a message might influence or harm the recipient. Perhaps the silence we have experienced to date is a product of more advanced civilizations saying, "don't send anything that way; those beings are primitive and we might ruin their development." If that's the case, then our only shot at contact will be METI as a way of alerting extraterrestrials that we are ready for contact. Advertisement NORTH CHARLESTON, SC - FEBRUARY 19: Donald Trump speaks to South Carolina voters on the eve of the state's primary on February 19, 2016 in North Charleston, South Carolina. While polls show that Ted Cruz has made some gains against Trump, the New York businessman still looks to win the state by a wide margin. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Donald Trump's extreme immigration proposals continue inspire his supporters to act violently against minorities, while other Republican presidential candidates like Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz renew their pledges to end and repeal DACA and DAPA on day one of their administration. With each passing day, Republicans continue to talk about their plans to deport millions of hardworking immigrants families. It is this type of anti-immigrant rhetoric that continues to divide our communities, and threaten to separate and deport families like mine. Advertisement I recorded the following video to help illustrate what's at risk for immigrants like myself, and to let you know what we can do to protect our friends and family against the anti-immigrant attacks from Republicans. Juan Escalante of America's Voice Talks About What Donald Trump Means for the Immigrant CommunityAs you know, there are currently 11 million people living in the United States without papers who, like myself, deserve a life of dignity and respect. That's why we fought and ultimately won pro-immigrant programs like DACA and DAPA. However, Republicans like Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are continuing to unleash an unprecedented attack on immigrants across the United States -- and now he is the leading Republican candidate for President. Advertisement In the coming weeks, America's Voice will launch a campaign to help protect DACA and DAPA. Currently, DACA provides me with a driver's license, a work permit, and the ability to live without the constant fear of deportation. The same could be true millions of undocumented parents who would qualify for DAPA; however, a Republican led lawsuit continues to stand in the way of their relief. One of the most heartening stories of today lies in the variety of ways that millennials are giving back to society. To be sure, they're not the heavy hitters of the charity circuit. According to one recent study, they provide only 11 percent of total charitable donations. That's not surprising, given that they are just beginning their money-making years. No one expects many young donors to turn up at $1,000-a-plate dinners. Millennials and Philanthropy But these individuals -- the 75 million born between the early 1980s and late 1990s --find other ways to give. An analysis in The Boston Globe notes they are behind such campaigns as #GivingTuesday, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and Livestrong crowd-sourced funding. "They don't give out of obligation. They give out of a sense of mission," Meg Fowler Tripp, an advisor to non-profit organizations, reports. The levels of commitment are remarkably high. An ADP Work Institute poll states that fully "89 percent of respondents surveyed will want to work on personal interests and things that impact society." Advertisement Giving through Entrepreneurship Millennial entrepreneurs are using their businesses to support charitable causes. That commitment is important because more than any earlier generation, this cohort has turned to self-employment. Forbes magazine observes that a full 67 percent of millennials say they want to start their own business. And for many of these start-ups their mission includes giving back to society. One high profile example is the announcement by Mark Zuckerburg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, that "to leave the world a better place" they will donate 99 percent of their Facebook shares or approximately $45 billion at present value, to charities. But the commitment of millennials extends far beyond this well-publicized donation. John Rampton, CEO of Due.com, posts a "How to show your love as a freelancer" blog, encouraging the self-employed to find their own ways to "give back" to society. Higgins Would Be Proud There is no better example of a fledgling, socially conscious enterprise begun by millennials than the Toronto-based t-shirt company, Higgins Would Be Proud (HWBP). Two Parsons School of Design grads--Ben Egnal and Fang Yu--created this business in 2013. Like all enterprises, this one began with a good idea. "Higgins is the name of my parents' grumpy old pug," Ben explains. "Even when he was younger, he had the stoic demeanor of an old man. It was hard to get a rise out of him. When we started the company, we wanted to create something that would make even Higgins proud. Hence, HWBP." Advertisement The firm's initial line of t-shirts emblazoned with Higgins' likeness was a big success. There was the Butcher Pug inspired by the image of the animals that hang in butcher shops. Instead of cross sections of loins and ribs, the shirt featured Higgins' jowls and back rolls. There was also The King Pug, with Higgins' wrinkly face topped with a noble crown. HWBP soon expanded from people clothing to matching hoodies for dogs. They sold their line of human and dog clothing through their Web site: www.hwbp.com. They also pounded the pavement and their merchandise was soon picked up by popular retailers in Toronto. "We're having such a blast," Fang notes, "knowing that we are delivering a product that makes people smile and enjoy life a little bit more." The HWBP brand won an Applied Arts award for complete design in 2014. These two millennials are also giving back to society through their business. "Being socially conscious is important for us," Ben notes. "It's not enough to have a cool t-shirt or design." Since its launch, HWBP has given 10 percent of each purchase to ElderDog. This charity helps older adults look after their dogs, and it provides care for older dogs whose lives have been disrupted because of illness or the death of their caregiver. More recently, the owners of HWBP have reached out to the homeless and their dogs. This winter HWBP teamed up with the Fred Victor Centre, a Toronto shelter for the homeless. These young entrepreneurs braved the cold to give out matching hoodies to street people and their dogs. View this video, "Share a Little Warmth," and you'll see how welcome those gifts were. Jane Truemner, Director of Communications and Capital Fundraising at the Fred Victor shelter, says: "We are pleased to be working with Higgins Would be Proud. Every day we have homeless individuals and the animals they love, seeking warmth, food and somewhere to sleep. The Campaign HWBP ran this past December, giving sweatshirts to both owners and their dogs on the street, was wonderful." Between now and the end of March 2016, for every hoodie sold through the HWBP website, another hoodie will be donated to the Fred Victor Centre. This story of HWPB illustrates how millennials are making the world a better place. Here are some of the ways that young, socially-minded entrepreneurs can contribute to society through their businesses: Advertisement (1) Form partnerships with non-profit organizations that speak to your brand; (2) share your products with the needy; (3) donate a portion of your revenues to charitable causes; (4) volunteer on behalf of your business (websites like VolunteerMatch and Idealist.org have wonderful suggestions); (5) support employees when they give back. The founders of HWBP are proud of what they have built. They are pleased they can help others in their own unique way. They have made Higgins proud! And along with many others of their generation, they make it clear that millennials are showing the way. The 88th Academy Awards aired live on Sunday, February 28th, 2016. Filmed in the heart of Los Angeles, the awards brought together directors, producers, writers, and the cast that turned their legendary visions into a reality. While the night was filled with beautiful gowns and tuxedos, exciting performances, and Girl Scout cookies, one of the most memorable parts was the social justice aspect of the night. From Vice President of the United States Joe Biden giving an honest talk about sexual assault to Lady Gaga's "Till It Happens To You" performance, Leonardo calling out climate change in his acceptance speech, and Chris Rock's opening monologue exposing blatant racism in Hollywood, the heavily-viewed event brought attention to some of the biggest issues facing society today. However, it wasn't all well-received. As a result of the open conversations surround the issues; some viewers expressed their dissent, accusing the award show of blaming white people for all their problems. People were offended at climate change being discussed, when Leonardo DiCaprio is a multimillion dollar actor. What's more, people expressed dissent about Joe Biden appearing at the awards to speak out about sexual assault on college campuses. Check out the tweets of the night showing people's disagreement: Advertisement This #Oscars is racist against White people. AHosch (@a_hosch) February 29, 2016 Dear white people: I understand that even chipping a fraction of an inch of your post-imperialistic dominance is enough to make you feel threatened, scared, and vulnerable. So coming from a white woman, here's why being uncomfortable watching the Oscars is an absolutely normal thing. Advertisement First of all, let's talk about Chris Rock's opening monologues. Many white people commented on the monologue, accusing of it being racist towards white people. Now, I'm going to say this loud and clear so that you can hear it over your Taylor Swift Spotify playlist: reverse racism does not exist. Racism is a result of privilege and power, which white people have historically been given. Thus, when people of color rise up, it is equalization, for they have been systematically denied the same privileges and powers that white people have been handed to throughout history. Now, while we are on the subject of privilege, let me bring something very important up. Saying you have white privilege does not mean you do not have problems of your own. There are a variety of different privileges including race, socioeconomic status, citizenship, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and age. Thus, you may be privileged in one area yet lack the privileges in others. However, when the people who vote on the Oscars consist of being 91% white and 76% male, you cannot deny the inevitable clouded judgments that will occur due to the lack of just representation. The Oscars is only one example of the lack of representation for people of color within influential roles. Our current Congress was named by Pew Research as the most diverse Congress within history, and that's still consisting of 83% of white dominance, although white people only make up 62% of the total population. Policymakers and elected representatives are supposed to be recognizing and representing their citizenry but fail to do so when they make no attempts to understand the cultural complexities of the people they serve. It is not an attack against white people, it is a cry of desperation for consistently marginalized groups to be endowed the opportunity to rise to the same level of opportunity that whites are expected to be handed to. Let's also talk about Leonardo DiCaprio and his climate change speech. At the most significant moment of his life, Leonardo DiCaprio decided to take the spotlight off himself and his own accomplishments to address the global issue of climate change. Yet that still was not enough for people, as it was immediately rebutted with Leonardo's multimillion dollar success as an actor and the frivolous things he has bought in return. Yes, it is true that he is economically sound, but accusing him of not being environmentally active is not fair to the contributions he has made towards bettering our world. In July 2015, his foundation donated $15 million dollars to help support conversation projects through global grants. Since 2010, the Foundation has funded over 70 projects in 40 countries across the globe, working specifically with regional environmental degradation and putting a stop to the issue at hand. He is using his talents as an actor to create films that encourage the respect of nature, while partnering with Netflix to ensure that the films are accessible to as many people as possible. Advertisement His actions are significantly more than the top 1% of the US population holding the greatest shares of wealth on the country, as they invest their funds in stocks and keep their money in banks instead of donating to campaigns, spearheading advocacy efforts or supporting small businesses so the currency flows back into the economic system. What's more, his work equates to more than typing angry comments on a computer screen out of rage, desperation and the blatant ignorance of the environmental degradations that unchecked corporations cause. Finally, let's talk about Joe Biden's speech on sexual assault on college campuses. Although it was a moving message, some people took to invalidating Biden's message with their own political agenda, saying that it was unnecessary to bring attention to a cause such as sexual assault. As a college woman, I am insulted by the comments made against Joe Biden's speech or Lady Gaga's performance. Until you are a college woman who has to walk home to her dormitory afraid that she runs the risk of being attacked, you will not understand the value of the speech. Until you have to live every day in fear because of your wardrobe, personality, alcohol content or unconscious body language being taken advantage of, until you summon the courage to tell somebody only to be victim-blamed for it, or until you report a case to the frustrating result that the agency does not see value in pursuing investigation, you will not understand the importance of the speech. While women are capable for speaking for themselves, we needed a male figure to penetrate the patriarchal bubble of invincibility that creates the dangerous and oppressive assumption that women ought to be victim-shamed. We needed a world leader to publicly acknowledge that that 1 in 5 women will face sexual assault within their college career, because for too long, it has been pushed to the side. Co-written with A. Crosser Taking a short break from an amazing NGO Leadership Summit put on by Center for Social Leadership and Sevalaya last week in Chennai, India, I decided to walk the halls of Anna Technological University and look for some tea with milk and cardamom. I met a man and his wife on an alumni gathering and he shared how dramatically things have changed. "When I went to school here in 1963 just two out of one thousand engineering students were women," he said. I cringed as I have spent the last four years hearing stories of isolation from many female engineers and computer scientists. "But walking around today, it's filled with young women. Now, over 60% of the students are female," he shared. "That's the biggest change." Advertisement "Progress," I said with a beaming smile, but then thought of the American Association of University Women report Why So Few, that shows only 12% of engineers are female in the US and we know women computer science majors have been on a significant decline in the past few decades... "Less progress," I thought to myself with a slump. With the turn of the century has come a flood of bright young minds looking to break into the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Medicine (STEM), hoping that through their life's work, they may find new innovations in the most important fields through research and development. Around the world STEM fields are growing, partially due to the rise of importance in computer science and engineering. Although the growth of these fields has meant the fulfillment of big dreams for many, many others continue to look in from the outside. Historically, STEM fields have been known to be the least diverse, with those employed typically being male Asians and Caucasians. In the United States alone, only 24 percent of STEM positions are filled by women, with African-Americans and Latinos combined making up less than 15% of the field's workers. In more promising news, many companies around the world have taken deeper notice of the issue, and are beginning to find solutions which will better promote diversity in the workplace. One angle is to increase flexibility, needed for working families and this came up a lot in discussions with many women especially around childcare. A executive from Sevalaya shared with me a front page article that Deloitte just announced that women employees will now be receiving 26 weeks of paid maternity leave in an attempt to decrease the turnover as well as encourage more young women to apply at the company. Several other employers such as EY, PWC and KPMG, have all noted that they will also be moving to a 26 week maternity leave as well up from the country's typical 12 week maternity plan. These companies efforts in India are setting an excellent example for other employers worldwide to increase diversity through offering more family friendly policies. Advertisement Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook also put a real stake in the ground when he took a few months off after the birth of his daughter. This is a time where the workforce is looking for work-life integration more than work-life balance and flexibility is paramount. In addition to these companies making efforts to encourage long-term employment for their female workforce, many initiatives are being taken in the United States to help encourage young women to pursue careers in the STEM fields. The U.S. Government has committed to increase the number of available STEM educational opportunities as well as to "broaden participation to inspire a more diverse STEM talent pool." In addition, the New York Academy of Sciences' are doing their part to inspire young women with several programs which will work to encourage more high school students to pursue STEM careers. For example, their 1000 Girls - 1000 Futures program aims to give one-on-one mentoring for each student in hopes that it will encourage these young women to pursue careers in STEM after college. Lockheed Martin teamed up with Girls Inc. and are scaling their mentoring program in 12-15 US cities. Diversity Rates Worldwide Most of the data being discussed so far pertains to diversity rates in STEM fields across the United States, however many other countries around the world share the low numbers and often a low pipeline of candidates. For example, in the United Kingdom it is said that only 6 percent of math professors are women, while 42 percent of math majors are women. After college, many women either pursue jobs in non-STEM fields or simply have trouble finding jobs in the field. Advertisement Despite the bleak numbers of diversity coming from some of the world's largest STEM hubs, some countries and regions are making significant progress in employing women and minorities in technical positions. For example, in Latin America, over 45 percent of scientific researchers are women, putting them far ahead of the world average of 29 percent. Much like Latin America, India is also becoming known as one of the greatest places for women to find careers in STEM fields. Over 30 percent of programmers in India are women, compared to only 21 percent in the United States. In addition, nearly 50 percent of STEM students are women in India, and between 35-40 percent of all STEM jobs are held by women. This gap is often attributed to the large number of female role models working in STEM fields in India. It is also said that tech fields are not considered to be masculine careers in India, which likely lends hand to the higher proportion of women workers. As in India, women in China are finding themselves more often employed in STEM careers than women in the United States. In a recent announcement by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, it was stated that one third of its partners are female, with similar rates being found in their general employment numbers. To put that number into perspective, California-headquarter Google states that only one in twelve of its partners are female. I sip the last drops of Masala Chai watching four young engineering students pass me by in purple and wine color Saris with ornate gold embroidery and the smell of fresh Jasmine in their hair. I think of our host former Tata Consultancy Services executive, Murali Sevalaya who opened a school for child laborers and now has 2,000 beautiful children enrolled with robust STEM training and more. On his "spare time" he and his team assembled top non-profit leaders from all over India for the conference run by CSL's Anthony Silard (very proud of my older brother!) on Leading with Head, Hand and Heart. Big discussions ensue on how the best leaders lead, and how they create an empowering culture based on trust, empathy, and passion to better retain their employees while driving significant change for good. You may have seen some alarming posts on social media recently about GMO labeling. Maybe you've been warned that your consumer rights are at risk or how food companies are trying to "keep you in the dark" about what you eat if we don't have GMO labels on our food. Some of your friends might be telling you that GMOs are unsafe and that they cause all kinds of health problems from allergies to autism. Please do not buy into this complete bullshit. Like most of you, I had heard only negative things about GMOs. As a cooking teacher and mom, I wanted to know why they had such a bad reputation so, about a year ago, I began heavily researching GMOs. I've read volumes of research, talked to scientists and farmers, listened to GMO opponents and even visited the headquarters of Monsanto (a company that makes a lot of genetically engineered seeds) to find out for myself. I've done the digging that most of you simply don't have time to do because you're busy with more important things, like earning a living or raising a family. I'd like to share with you a little of what I've learned. A GMO is an ingredient from a plant that has been improved via genetic modification. I know that sounds weird, but everything we eat has been genetically improved over time. One of the first graphics I saw was how kale, broccoli and Brussel sprouts originated from a wild mustard plant. The sweet corn you see at the farmstand in the summer isn't even close to what corn used be. Other food like ruby red grapefruit and seedless watermelon have been genetically modified. Farmers and breeders have been improving plants for centuries in order to produce certain traits, like color, pest-resistance and durability. Advertisement That's the old way of doing things. Now - through the magic of genetics - scientists can quickly identify which genes are responsible for certain traits. Plants have about as many genes as we do, around 25,000 - 30,000. A genetically engineered seed may have only one gene added or even muted to achieve a desired result. For the last 20 years, American farmers have used genetically modified seeds for crops like corn, soy, cotton and sugarbeets. This is where the "GMO" part comes in. Any ingredient that comes from a genetically engineered crop is considered a GMO, and there are lots of them. For example, high fructose corn syrup is a GMO because it is made from corn. Soy milk is a GMO (unless it's organic). Almost all of the animal feed here is from GMO grains. Another GMO ingredient is an enzyme to make hard cheeses that used to come from the stomach lining of a calf. To stop the need to slaughter calves, scientists created a genetically engineered version of the enzyme; almost all hard cheese uses that ingredient. Several vitamins, including B, C and E, are genetically engineered. The bottom line is you've been eating GMO ingredients for years and didn't even know it. That might sound scary, but it shouldn't be. Federal agencies from the USDA to the FDA support the safety of genetically engineered ingredients. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told a congressional committee a few weeks ago that: Advertisement "Yes, we do consider them (GMOs) safe. I've seen a summary of 660 studies that looked at the safety of GMOs in terms of human health. We know that GMOs have been providing the opportunity to reduce the level of pesticides and chemicals. Part of that is the science of agriculture." Genetically engineered crops have been a huge advantage for our farmers and food supply. Pesticide use is much lower. They use fewer resources like water. They're healthier for the soil and farmers can grow more crops on less land, easing some of the environmental pressures of modern agriculture. So now you might be thinking, why all the bad publicity? That's because some companies have been misleading you in order to make money. I discovered the backstory to the GMO debate that is quite disturbing and, while most of you probably don't know it, you should. The organic industry has spent tens of millions of dollars trying to convince you that GMOs are unsafe, harming your health and endangering your family. They specifically target moms and even enlist celebrity moms to tell us we should be wary about GMOs and that they need to be labeled. Here's why: Organic foods can't contain genetically engineered ingredients (claiming they aren't 'natural'), so organic companies are using GMOs as a way to push you toward buying their higher-priced products. For the last few years, they've used every tactic possible - from social media to mommy bloggers to folks like Dr. Oz - to make you afraid of GMOs. This is all designed to get you to stay away from foods that have genetically engineered ingredients and switch to organic. Advertisement Now they want to force all food companies to put a GMO label on their products (some do it voluntarily now). This will raise food prices while telling you nothing about what you're eating. For example, a package of Goldfish crackers lists more than two dozen ingredients. Do you really need to know (or care) which ones are from a genetically engineered crop? By the time the crackers are made, every trace of DNA has been obliterated. You are not eating genes, you are eating food that has ingredients that long ago had any trace of genetic material blasted out of them. There is nothing to know. As a mom, I will tell the other moms reading this: you are being used. Organic companies think you are so easily scared about every morsel of food you feed your family that you will buy into their neverending supply of bullshit about scary GMOs. Hell, they even flew Gwyneth Paltrow to Capitol Hill last year to shill for GMO labels. That alone should be a big red flag. Facts reminding us of past centuries are taking place during the last months in Greece due to the refugee crisis. And that's why some 2,000 weary refugees arrive every day in Greece where they get trapped, being forced to survive under bad and unhealthy circumstances. Just a walk in the center of Athens, and more specifically at Victoria Square is enough to give us an image of the prevailing situation, at the same time when millions of refugees find accommodation in the passenger terminals at the port of Piraeus. Advertisement Last Monday afternoon, while I was passing by that place, my sight caught a little child sleeping on the concrete without protection from the sunlight. I stood there, looked at the backpacks that his family had left there, and wondered what they must have gone through until they arrived in Greece, planning to travel to some other country of central Europe. After some minutes two children, a boy and a girl went close to a girl some years younger than them. I suppose that they were siblings. Barefoot and with dirty uniforms, they sat on the concrete and started drawing. When a lady standing next to me offered them sweets, I saw a bright smile lightening their faces and I also smiled to them spontaneously, in the sight of the majesty of child innocence. The little girl responded to my smile while unfolding the wrapper of the sweet, making thus my day. The situation is equally bad for the refugees staying in other places of the Greek capital city like the former national airport of Athens in Elliniko, which has been transformed into a hosting place. I was there last Sunday afternoon and what I saw did not resemble a European city at all. The elder people where sad, having an expression which was confessing all their tiredness, disappointment and resignation. On the other hand, the children were playing, singing and looking at the hands of the people who entered the yard of the airport holding bags, hoping that they were bringing them food. Advertisement While I was going up the stairs towards the room where these people are accommodated, I felt a stench, which became even more intense when I entered the room. In there, I saw people abandoned in a huge room with complete lack of hygiene, something which caused this awful smell. The few people taking care of these tormented individuals were some volunteers and a doctor which were offering their help on their own initiative. While I was wandering in the place, I was more and more ascertained of the complete absence of the state, as regards the cleanliness of the public places being used by thousands of people who were forced to gather any possessions they had in their destroyed country, hoping to find a better future in the Old World. Baring in mind that the number of the refugees being transferred at the former airport is growing every day, this situation is very dangerous for their health and must be confronted immediately. On my way out, while I was crossing the yard of the airport I saw many taxis waiting on a queue probably for a refugee-client. While I was passing by them a young man asked me something in a language that I did not understand- Arabian probably- and showed me a taxi. Then, a taxi driver standing close to him said "she is Greek" and then the young "linguist" turned his sight away from me. I don't know if it has to do with some "circuit" which takes advantage of the necessity of the refugees in order to gain money- in the last months we have heard of many such cases in Greece- but this "cooperation" seemed very suspicious to me... Not to mention that this is a classical method by which many financial deals are made here in Greece, something which confirms the lack of state acts, which would prohibit the financial exploitation of the refugees. The only thing that I can say with certainty is that despite this unpleasant situation which tends to get worse every day, a huge movement of solidarity has been organized by Greek and foreign volunteers, aiming to satisfy the needs of all those people that the state has totally abandoned. Advertisement Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that 20 large U.S. companies joined together to fight high health care costs, launching the aptly named Health Transformation Alliance. Employers account for one in five dollars spent on health care in the United States, yet they have relatively weak influence in the marketplace. But these influential companies are intent on aggressive action. With this kind of unified leadership, the Alliance promises to shake the foundations of our health care economy. There have been other efforts to harness the power of the business community to improve health care. My organization, The Leapfrog Group, is one such effort, founded by Business Roundtable in 2000 to address quality and patient safety in hospitals. Based on what we've learned over the past 16 years, here are three key principles for the Alliance to start with: 1. Lowering costs won't automatically lower prices. Whenever the subject of cost reduction comes up, some providers tout the enormous cost savings they have put in place through improved efficiencies, better technology, and/or less invasive procedures. Recently, they have also pointed to the potential of large hospital system mergers to reduce costs through economies of scale. But employers are right to wonder why their own health care price tag continues to rise, despite these marvelous advances. Why don't they see the cost savings? Advertisement Simply put, cost savings to the provider is not the same as cost savings to the purchaser. This sounds like such an obvious point. But the obfuscation over whose costs are saved persists and trips up progress year after year, with purchasers left scratching their heads. The Alliance will succeed in cutting their own prices only if they clearly demand that cost-reduction strategies have visible and substantial effects on their own bottom lines. 2. Lowering prices won't automatically lower costs. Even if purchasers do succeed in lowering prices, the cost reduction job is not done. That's because the amount of waste in health care is profound. The Institute of Medicine estimates as much as one-third of all costs are associated with unnecessary services, errors, infections and management inefficiencies. Not all providers are the same, and some incur much more waste than others. Whatever the price of a particular procedure, it's no bargain when there are infections, complications and mismanagement--or if the procedure wasn't medically necessary in the first place. This is not chump change, this is game change. A 2013 study in JAMA reported that, on average, purchasers paid $39,000 extra when a patient contracted a surgical site infection. That excess doesn't show up on the claim as a line item called "waste." It is buried in a series of excess fees, tests, treatments and time spent in the hospital. Employers intent on cutting costs must factor wastefulness into the pricing equation. 3. Focus on the market incentives. Our system of costs and pricing creates perverse incentives. The more a provider wastes, the more they can bill the employers. New financing models are slowly emerging, aimed at achieving value--the novel idea that payments align with patient outcomes. One of the most promising models is called "bundled pricing," in which a health system is paid one total price for a particular procedure, including physician fees, radiology, hospital charges, etc. In this model, a provider is incentivized to actually reduce waste, so they maximize their profit under the bundle. Advertisement Some large employers have developed bundled pricing arrangements with a select group of health systems, for a select group of procedures. Walmart is a leader in this, as are employer members of the Pacific Business Group on Health. What have they found? A significant reduction in waste and better care for employees. Another promising use of bundled pricing is coming from international medical tourism. Health services and pharmaceuticals are often much less expensive overseas than in the U.S. Most international providers offer bundled pricing and concierge hosting services. For example, Health City Cayman Islands offers bundled prices for certain heart and orthopedic surgeries, including all facility and physician fees, along with pre- and post-operative care at a lovely beachfront hotel. Its prices are four or five times less than comparable services in the U.S. I first met Hillary Clinton in 1990 when she was First Lady of Arkansas and Bill was running for re-election as Governor. A mutual friend in Little Rock introduced us, and our lunch conversation soon turned to innovative programs for helping improve schools serving the poorest children. I was a young lawyer in Los Angeles, and before lunch was over she had signed me up to help her connect with philanthropists and foundations in LA who were funding such programs across the country. Later she and Bill asked me to help them connect with other young professionals in California when Bill was running for President, and still later, to join the Clinton administration and to become the only Latino ever to serve as Secretary of the Army. Latino veterans and soldiers hugged me and sometimes cried to see the son of Mexican immigrants leading the U.S. Army in which they, their fathers, uncles, brothers, and increasingly sisters, had proudly and courageously served in numerous wars and conflicts, almost exclusively in the enlisted ranks. As Secretary, I worked to increase the Army's racial, ethnic and gender diversity in the enlisted ranks, but, importantly, also at West Point, in ROTC, in the Army civil service ranks, and all the way up to the General Officer ranks, taking steps to make the Army's leadership look more like America. Today there is still more to be done to increase diversity in the top ranks of the military and across the federal government and our society, but it will take the right leadership to do it. I'm only one of the many Latinos who had an unprecedented opportunity - to serve our country and to address the inequalities facing the Latino community - whose start came through the Clintons. Hillary knows literally hundreds if not thousands of Latinos and Latinas across America whose advice she solicits and listens to, to whom she's given opportunities to serve in the White House and in the State Department, and who will be among the ranks of her trusted advisors and administration appointees should she become President. Advertisement And she cares passionately about the issues facing Latinos, starting with equal educational opportunity and not cruelly ripping families apart through senseless and unjust application of broken immigration laws. You can hear it in what Hillary says: she doesn't just emphasize economic opportunity for everyone, she talks explicitly about the importance of defending civil rights and fighting the discrimination that holds certain groups back - girls and women, Latinos, African Americans, and gays and lesbians. Hillary knows what she's talking about because she's been there working on behalf of our community for years. The population of New York, where she was Senator, is 35 percent people of color, half of whom are Latino; and a quarter of those who call Arkansas home are people of color. Bernie Sanders' Vermont by contrast is 1 percent Latino and 1 percent African American. That's not Bernie's fault. But it does not bode well for how a Bernie Sanders would staff a presidential administration or address the critical issues facing Latinos, nationally and in states and communities, from California to Texas to Georgia to Florida. Once you become president, there is little time to make new friends who can become your trusted advisors and appointees. You already know most of the people you truly know and trust deeply, and you already know most of what you're ever going to really know about the lives and struggles of farmworkers, minority entrepreneurs, single mothers, and immigrant families and students whose first language is Spanish. Hillary already knows these things first hand. She's been coming to South Texas and the Central Valley of California for decades. Those Latinos like myself who know and have worked with Hillary will not just be there to advise her and help her implement her programs for this great nation. We will be there to remind her, in the mix of all that will be on her plate, of her commitments to our community and to champion the appointment of Latinos in roles across her administration including positions in which no Latino has ever served. Because politics is not just about electing candidates, but about making sure their deeds and priorities as office holders live up to their aspirations and promises as candidates. Advertisement Latino political empowerment still has a long way to go; it is imperative for our children's futures and for ours that more Latinos who are eligible take the necessary steps to become citizens, register to vote, and then get informed and involved, and vote regularly. Hand in hand with the rapid growth of the Latino population, we need increased opportunities for many more Latinos to be appointed to private and public sector leadership positions where they can make a difference and become the Latino candidates, officeholders and leaders our country will need in the future. By Kat Fiske Colors. Rich, vibrant colors as far as the eye could see. During my recent trip to India, I was in wonder of the vibrant, rich colors that seemed to be everywhere and on everything -- including the beautiful saris worn by the women gathered at the first ever Women Farmer's Convention in Losinga, Bihar. More than 500 women from surrounding villages crossed Bihar's arid plains on foot and motorbike to participate in this event in January, hosted by Lutheran World Relief and its local partner Action for Social Advancement (ASA). Under the billowing rainbow tent, women and men performed songs and plays about gender equality, farmers' rights, and the importance of working together. Most of these women had never spoken in front of men outside of their home before, let alone in front of hundreds of people. Their nerves were evident, but so too was their sense of pride and perseverance. Most agricultural work in Bihar, about 75 percent, is done by women. But for many of the women at the conference, this was the first time they were being recognized as farmers by their communities, local government officials, and agriculture professionals. Advertisement At crowded convention booths and in dusty field demonstrations, women farmers from an LWR-supported Self Help Group spoke of how they'd learned to use heavy field machinery like power tillers, and about the improved farming practices they've learned, as groups of fellow women farmers--themselves members of Self Help Groups in their own home villages--listened and learned. These Self Help Groups are designed to empower women by helping them learn essential skills and building their capacity to improve their income and livelihoods. Topics typically covered within the groups include accessing financial services, and speaking out in their homes, villages, and districts. And the groups have had a multiplying effect, with women in groups going on to assist women in other villages to establish their own Self Help Groups. Participation in the groups seems to be making a big difference. Many group members told me they are growing more crops, earning more money, and are experiencing better relationships with their husbands and families. I was also inspired by the amount of determination I heard in the women to go out and create even more positive change in their own and other communities. The indomitable women of Barmasia (pictured at top) have such determination. Harnessing their unified strength as Self Help Group members, these women are fighting to have their say not only inside their homes but with their local government as well. On their first trip (ever) outside of Barmasia, they paid a surprise visit to their District's Head Office to demand several rights and services, which they had previously been denied, such as payment of government pensions owed to the elderly in their community. Advertisement Shocked by their outspokenness, the District Manager immediately tasked staff with visiting the women's village to assess their situation and needs. The staff failed to reach Barmasia on their first attempt, however, because there was no road to the village. Within a few short weeks, the local government had built a road connecting Barmasia to the rest of the district. In their first attempt at civic participation, these women literally put their village on the map! I am in awe of these women. They face adversity everywhere they turn, yet they never give up their fight--their fight to be heard, to be respected, to be treated equal. Many in power do not wish to hear or acknowledge them. Despite knowing this reality, these women continue to raise their voices and to transform their words into actions as Self Help Groups to make life better, not only for themselves and their families, but for their entire communities. The Chuda's and Journey are welcomed by Scott Cordle Manager San Ysidro Ranch You could say he's spoiled. Or you could say so are we. You're right. Living the life with a Lab in Luxury can only happen at the posh and prestigious San Ysidro Ranch. No one does it better than Ty Warner. Where in the world can you experience a couples massage while your dog stretches out on your private terrace and gets one too. Advertisement LuxEcoLiving- photo credit- thank you to Peter for his healing hands. Journey loved his special massage Nestled in the lushness of Montecito in Santa Barbara California you enter THE RANCH in what has become known as a private 500 acre reserve. Dating back in history, the natural surrounds; trees laden with fresh citrus, the smell of a wood burning fireplace, the melodic pulsations of frogs at twilight and dawn.... all of these accompaniments take you back to a time when life for the very wealthy (the Kennedy's honeymooned here) was well preserved. Queen Elizabeth needs to take her entire brood of Welsh Corgi's for a visit. They would love it and so would she. Not a bad idea for another Beanie! Triplets in this case with a free collectible SYR tea cup and saucer. The New Valmont Spa at the San Ysidro Ranch A Healing Nest. It's a great idea! You check into your cottage, put on your robe and slippers, call the front desk and within less than 2 minutes you're jettisoned to one of the most charming cottages on the property. The soft palate of an artists creation rendered the walls with the branches and birds that are common to the area. The sweet smells from an array of aromatherapy oils, a new signature product of the spa, greet your senses with an immediate feeling of relaxation. And within only a few feet down a corridor you are welcomed by two well trained therapists, (mine was Nomi and Jim's was Pamela) who offer you the chance of serenity and togetherness in a space that you never want to leave. The warm water from the large soaking tub, turns colors of the rainbow into a primordial blessing. You soak in deep relaxation and undisturbed with only the sound of champagne bubbles (complimentary for guests experiencing a couples massage) luring you into the "mood" for a celebration. Together, you put aside the familiarity of your everyday lives and get lost in the warm glow of this haven and heavenly retreat. Both therapists were fantastic. So warm and welcoming. We left the nest begrudgingly and wanting more. With Valmont You See Miraculous Results "Sophie Guillon, the companies co-founder has dedicated her life to creating products that restore the skins natural ability to illuminate. Without cosmetic surgery or fillers, a Valmont facial with a trained aesthetician taught to use a special butterfly technique which helps to restore the natural collagen and boosts the need for plumpness which adds a youthful appearance and the best part about it... is it lasts! Valmont drew its inspiration from the butterfly; a symbol of metamorphosis, beauty, grace and lightness. This motion targets precise areas of the chest, neck and face and also boosts the microcirculation and promotes lymphatic exchanges allowing for the elimination of toxins thereby making the skin more receptive to the treatment. Melinda provided the signature technique and I was thrilled with the results." A 90 minute facial is what I recommend. It includes a very relaxing partial body massage but the emphasis is on the face and neck. More about the treatment . Valmont's origins are derived and developed in Switzerland. The company thrives in a very unique way. It has encapsulated products that rival the 4 aggravating factors of cutaneous aging; Hydration, Energy, Firmness, and Radiance. Valmont is one of the leading cosmetic companies in the world. For most women and some men, Valmont is a religion. It is the most essential time piece, ritual, and anti-aging program that does reverse the inevitable signs of aging from all skin types, naturally. I had a chance to speak with one of its founders, Sophie Vann Guillon during my recent stay at in Paris. I am delighted to share this information knowing guests who check into The will have the same opportunity in the privacy of their stay. This is truly an experience not to missed. Advertisement For me, the Eucalyptus Cottage with its fabulous hand painted bath tub and soaring ceiling, in-cottage dining at your finger tips... and more... the warmth and amber glow from the fireplace while relaxed in the magnificent 4-poster bed... the sound of the frogs.... but best of all... the look of contentment on your beloved dogs face makes this one of the best vacations of your lives. Togetherness has a new meaning...just three of us and it's darn swell. Editors's Notes: Tell them Journey sent you. The San Ysidro Ranch Set on 500 acres, this upscale boutique hotel dates to 1893. It's just off Highway 101, a 6.1-mile drive from Santa Barbara. Address: 900 San Ysidro Ln, Santa Barbara, CA 93108 Being able to kill animals on public lands will provide "more opportunities for Americans to enjoy the great outdoors" My email inbox has been "ringing" constantly with news that the U. S. House of Representatives passed what has become known as the SHARE Act, more specifically, the Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act, According to the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action, this act "provides enhanced access to public lands while limiting punitive regulations promoted by 'animal rights' extremists." Chris Cox, the executive director of NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, claims that if the SHARE Act becomes law, "There will be more resources available for public ranges, more hunter access to public lands, and more opportunities for Americans to enjoy the great outdoors." Safari Club International and the director of the USFWS want to increase hunting opportunities on the National Wildlife Refuge System Advertisement It'll also come as no surprise that Safari Club International (SCI) also helped move this legislation forward, as they are notorious for supporting trophy hunting, AKA trophy murder, (please see "Is Trophy Hunting Really Trophy Murder? Intentions and Words Should Matter"). They work closely with Dan Ashe, the 16th Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. You can see a photo of Mr. Ashe and members of SCI here, at a meeting where they discussed SCI's hunter advocacy mission. We also read, "President [of SCI] Whipple and Director Ashe focused on the need for youth engagement with the outdoors, and building SCI chapter relations with regional National Wildlife Refuge managers nationwide (there are over 500 Refuges in the U.S.). Each spoke passionately about reducing impediments to hunting and increasing hunting opportunities on the National Wildlife Refuge System." The last time I looked the word "refuge" meant a place where individuals are protected from danger and trouble and free to live in peace and safety. The House passing the SHARE Act is a rather disturbing move that will now go on to the U. S. Senate. I am amazed at how many people do not know about this legislation. Advertisement It's also essential to note that the SHARE Act is not at all about sharing or any sort of peaceful coexistence, but rather about killing an increasing number of nonhuman animals (animals) in places where they should be and have been relatively safe, namely, on public lands. The Act also allows the use of traditional ammunition, containing lead, which of course is bad for the environment. Those who oppose the SHARE Act are not animal rights extremists There still is time to act, and I hope that readers here and elsewhere and conservation psychologists and anthrozoologists will weigh in strongly about how there are numerous other and patently obvious ways for people "to enjoy the great outdoors" that do not involve killing other animals on public lands. There have to be some areas where animals can live in peace and safety and where people who frequent these areas can also enjoy nature in peace and safety. And, of course, labelling those who oppose the SHARE Act as animal rights extremists is ludicrous, as many people who support protecting animals in different venues are not extremists in any sense of the word. And, why is protecting animals "extreme" while wanting to kill them is not? Many people get involved in protecting other animals when their moral sensibilities are offended and also because they want to be able enjoy the great outdoors on their own or with family and friends absent hunters and guns. You can contact your U. S. senators here, and I strongly encourage you to do so. The SHARE Act is a death sentence for countless animals The SHARE Act is a death sentence for countless animals and lead bullets contaminate landscapes. It also hasn't been lost on me that this essay follows on the heels of a piece I recently wrote called "Are Animals 'Things?' The Evolution of Animal Law" about the evolution of animal law, including wildlife law, and the tireless efforts to protect other animals with whom we share our homes and with whom we should be sharing and coexisting peacefully a wide variety of magnificent habitats. There always is hope even when something seems hopeless. And, the animals need all the hope and help they can get. Advertisement I enjoy fashion. I enjoy exploring the possibilities of social media for brand building. And I'm Irish. This March, I'm combining all three passions in an effort to showcase Irish fashion. And I invite you to join me on this pilot. March is a special month to shine a light on all things Irish. No other country in the world owns a month. I'm aiming to put a spotlight on Irish designers by wearing Irish fashion, jewelry and accessory brands in the run up to Saint Patrick's Day. I plan to post a picture daily on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #WearingIrish. I'm inviting everyone to join in. Build awareness: I recently set out to buy a few items of Irish fashion and I was astounded by what I learned. The creativity of many Irish fashion designers is breathtaking. The quality of the product is often world class. The variety is unexpectedly great. But the biggest revelation of my personal hunt was that the awareness of modern Irish fashion brands and the Irish fashion industry as a whole is very low, even among people who love fashion. This is a pity. Start a pilot, imagine a movement: I see an opportunity for everyone who is both a fan of fashion and a fan of Ireland to come together, using social media, to support Irish designers. Imagine the possibilities if all fans use our influence to spread the word by posting the pictures that show how wearing Irish fashion is a choice we are making. My vision is to make this 2016 pilot a broad movement in the coming years with women and men globally wearing Irish and posting pictures in March. Advertisement Join once or join often: Now is the chance to demonstrate your love of fashion and your appreciation of Irish design. Wear Irish in March and post your pictures on your preferred platform Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using hashtag #WearingIrish. Commit to posting once or many times during the month. Dress head-to-toe in Irish fashion or pick one item or accessory to celebrate. Go casual, work wear, party, occasion, traditional or contemporary. The idea is that you are wearing Irish without compromising your style. Be a role model: While some people are fashion models, we can all be role models. Channel your inner stylist. It's about real people making wearing Irish fashion work in real ways. And if you can't join, please consider spreading the word about #WearingIrish by amplifying the initiative on social media. A tweet, a like, a comment are great contributions. Once March is over, I'll report back the lessons from this pilot in another post. Photo Credit: Tom Puchner, Creative Commons There is a great African proverb; "If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." Throughout my career I've seen it proven again and again, the lasting solutions in fisheries and maritime issues are ones where stakeholders can find common ground, earn trust and work together. Helping people today - but not at the expense of people or nature tomorrow. When I took office as Fisheries Commissioner, only four fish stocks were being fished sustainably in the EU. At the end of my term, 27 stocks were being fished sustainably. But the agency did not get there alone. This was only possible through collaboration between communities, fishers, seafood industry and government leaders. These changes took time but they have meant more fish in the sea, more jobs in the community and growth for the economy overall. It was a challenging journey and one we took together. The oceans team at The Nature Conservancy lives by this proverb as well and for decades has worked closely in and with coastal and fishing communities around the globe. For example, ten-years ago the Conservancy, fishermen and community leaders began working together in Morro Bay, California to help rebuild the collapsed groundfish fishery. Working together, our collaboration tested new technologies and tools to reduce bycatch and protect important ocean habitat. These new approaches are developed with and implemented by local fishermen and have led to a decline in bycatch of 50%, while increasing their target catch by 20%. Advertisement Now we are taking that concept to the waters of Palau, and to one of the most valuable fisheries in the world - tuna. For twenty-five years, the Conservancy has worked with the people of Palau and their government to help protect their ocean territory. And this month, we have made a major commitment to expand our work with the regional fishing industry. The Nature Conservancy has purchased a year's worth of fishing rights (400 vessel days) in Palau's longline tuna fishery. Together, The Conservancy and fishing industry will test new and innovative fishing practices that reduce the bycatch of turtles, sharks and rays by using different bait, hooks, time of day and depth of gear when setting the fishing line. A recent study in Palau's longline tuna fishery found one-third of everything caught in the fishery was bycatch, sharks, rays and other marine life important to the health of Palau's waters and its tourism. Once the fishing research is complete, we will work with the government of Palau to set new conservation standards for fleets fishing their waters - standards that support a more sustainable tuna fishery, local economy and healthy ocean. Our goal is to use this multi sector approach and the scientific data collected beyond the waters of Palau in order to better inform regional fishery management decisions, reduce illegal fishing and help establish a premium for sustainable and traceable tuna in the marketplace. Advertisement Ending illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, reducing bycatch, improving access to markets for more sustainable fishing products and other efforts to improve fishing is going to be a long journey and one we must take together. Livelihoods, coastal economies, food for millions and the health of our ocean are at stake. We have far to go and so we must go together. Astronomy has a long history of supposed sightings of space aliens. In the late 19th century, American astronomer Percival Lowell reported seeing canals on Mars and concluded that intelligent extraterrestrials must've dug them. In 1967, when British researchers spotted a powerful, pulsating source of radio waves, they speculated that it was a beacon from an alien civilization. They even dubbed the source LGM-1, for Little Green Men. Within months, though, the researchers discovered a second pulsating signal and realized it was a natural phenomenon, a rapidly rotating remnant of a dead star. It was renamed the pulsar. Now astronomers have focused on a new mystery, a strangely behaving F-type star -- slightly larger and hotter than our sun -- that has revived speculations about extraterrestrial intelligence. Known by its formal designation KIC 8462852, the star is located almost 1,500 light-years from Earth. It's one of the more than 100,000 stars observed by the Kepler Space Telescope, the NASA probe that measured the intensity of their light from 2009 to 2013 to see if any planets orbited them. If a planet passes directly in front of a star, it blocks a small fraction of the star's light, enabling scientists to estimate the size of the planet and its orbit. Scientists are still analyzing Kepler's observations, but they've already confirmed the presence of more than a thousand distant planets, including some that might harbor liquid water -- and perhaps life. Advertisement Last fall, however, a team of researchers led by Tabetha Boyajian of Yale University found that KIC 8462852 was dramatically different from all the other stars monitored by Kepler. The intensity of its starlight plummeted several times over the four years of observations, dropping 15 percent at one point and 22 percent at another. These stellar brownouts were far more severe than the dimming that an orbiting planet would cause. In other star systems monitored by Kepler, even the biggest planets blocked only 1 percent of the starlight. Still more puzzling, KIC 8462852 -- which became known as Tabby's star, after the lead researcher on the team -- darkened at unpredictable intervals instead of in the regular, clockwork pattern you'd expect to see if one or more planets had obstructed the light. Boyajian's team considered the possibility that a vast cloud of dust had blocked the starlight, but such clouds are usually seen around young stars, and all the astronomical evidence indicates that Tabby's star is much older. Furthermore, observations of the star by other spacecraft showed no sign of the infrared radiation that would be emitted by the dust grains. A more likely explanation, the researchers concluded, was that a huge swarm of comets zipped past the star as Kepler observed it. A gravitational disturbance, perhaps caused by another star nearby, could've thrown the comets out of their usual orbits and hurled them toward Tabby's star. But astronomer Bradley Schaefer of Louisiana State University undercut this hypothesis in January when he presented evidence from the archives of the Harvard College Observatory, which collected half a million photographs of the sky from telescopes around the world between 1890 and 1989. Tabby's star appears in hundreds of the glass-plate photos, and Schaefer concluded that its light has faded by about 20 percent over the century of observations. Although a comet swarm might explain the star's recent flickering, it couldn't cause the hundred-year dimming. Advertisement The stubborn mystery of Tabby's star has led to the more radical speculations involving extraterrestrials. A team led by Jason Wright of Penn State University had already investigated whether Kepler's data could aid the search for alien intelligence. In 1960 physicist Freeman Dyson theorized that an advanced civilization in a distant star system would be likely to build tremendous power-collecting structures around its star to capture its energy. These megastructures might consist of swarms of giant photoelectric panels, each thousands of miles across, or even a vast shell -- the so-called Dyson Sphere -- that completely encloses the star. A Dyson Sphere would absorb all the star's light and reradiate it as infrared emissions, but a swarm of megastructures would block the starlight in a highly irregular pattern. According to a research paper by Wright's team, Tabby's star has "all of the hallmarks of a Dyson swarm." The paper dutifully warned that researchers should first investigate all the possible natural causes of the strange dimming before "invoking alien engineering to explain an anomalous astrophysical phenomenon." That warning went unheeded, though, after the news hit the Internet. Stephen Colbert brought up the subject on his late-night talk show, discussing alien megastructures with Neil DeGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium. Colbert displayed a picture of Ringworld, the megastructure imagined in Larry Niven's 1970 science-fiction novel of that name, but Tyson was unconvinced. "Just because you don't understand what you're looking at," he told Colbert, "does not mean it's aliens." Still, the flickering starlight is a much stronger piece of evidence than a typical UFO sighting or a tale of alien abduction. Scientists are taking the megastructure hypothesis seriously because they can conduct further studies to test the idea. At the Allen Telescope Array in California, astronomers have already pointed their radio dishes at Tabby's star to listen for messages transmitted by extraterrestrials almost 1,500 years ago. The researchers found no unusual radio signals, but because the star is so far away, the Allen Array couldn't detect a signal broadcast from the star system unless it were transmitted with a power of at least four billion megawatts, which is hundreds of times greater than humanity's total power consumption. And it's very possible that an advanced alien civilization would have better ways to communicate than using the wavelengths that our radio telescopes are scanning. A more definitive answer could come from follow-up observations of the star by ground-based telescopes. Amateur stargazers in the American Association of Variable Star Observers have aimed their telescopes at Tabby's star, hoping to catch a glimpse of another dimming episode. If they do, they'll alert the global community of astronomers, who will then train some of the world's most powerful telescopes on the star. Better yet, the researchers will be able to make detailed spectroscopic observations the next time the star goes dark, and the analysis of the affected wavelengths will tell them a lot more about what's blocking the light. The astronomers may find evidence for an entirely unexpected astrophysical phenomenon that could be dimming Tabby's star. Or they may find more signs of megastructures. Carl Sagan, the astronomer and science popularizer who often speculated about extraterrestrial intelligence, was famous for saying, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." As of now, the evidence for an alien civilization at Tabby's star falls far short of that standard. But it could be a start. Co-authored by Anne Khodabandeh Situated on the east of Europe, Albania applied for membership of the European Union in 2009. As the poorest country in Europe and designated the most corrupt, there is a lot of work to be done before this country of 3 million people is accepted into the Union. A recent visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry does indicate that this work is well underway. But Albania's efforts to reform and strengthen its political, security, judicial and civic institutions after years of dictatorship, could be drastically undermined if the country ignores or underestimates the threat posed by the arrival of the Mojahedin Khalq (MEK) from Iraq. Albania is the target location for the transfer of the notorious terrorist organization Mojahedin Khalq into Europe. Currently based in Iraq, the MEK is now being transferred to Albania under a deal struck with America in 2013. Since the 1980s the MEK were paid and trained in terrorism by Saddam Hussein to effect regime change in Iran. After his ouster in 2003 the MEK aligned itself variously with the US army - during Senator Kerry's visit to Albania, the MEK was described as "a group that has supported the US in military operations in the Middle East and in its fight against terrorism" - as well as former Saddamists headed by Ezzat Ibrahim and more recently Al Qaida insurgents and Daesh in Iraq. Each successive government of the newly sovereign Iraq tried repeatedly to evict the group from their country, but the MEK leader Massoud Rajavi - himself a fugitive from justice - ordered his followers to put up violent resistance. Advertisement Even if they would agree to go willingly, the United Nations refugee agency has struggled to find third countries to take them in. It seems that, although Western countries have benefitted openly from the MEK's sometimes violent anti-Iran activities, and found the group particularly useful as a thorn in Iran's side through the period of nuclear negotiations, the MEK is deemed too dirty for them to willingly host any of them even as refugees. In an attempt to encourage other countries to take some of the MEK, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton persuaded the then Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha in 2013 to take just over 200 MEK members on humanitarian grounds. That process got underway, but in 2016 Albania is now expected to take up to 3,000 MEK after the President of Romania, Traian Basescu, refused to take them in 2014. This agreement has attracted surprisingly little attention from either inside Albania or even from a world media sensitive to terrorism and organized crime. The reason is partly because the transfers are taking place in small groups of around twenty at a time in a piecemeal fashion as the UNHCR is forced to defer to Massoud Rajavi's demands in order to circumvent threats of violence. Rajavi hand-picks the members he allows to be transferred, many using false identities. He ensures that each group of ordinary MEK members is accompanied by minders and enforcers to keep them under control and prevent them breaking loose. In order to accomplish their mandate to remove the MEK from Iraq, UN officials have had to accede to transferring the refugees under such conditions even though it reinforces the concept that the members belong to the MEK in conditions of modern slavery. Advertisement Once they arrive in Albania, the MEK leadership takes charge of the transferees. Although the US made a donation of $20 million to the UN refugee agency to help resettle the MEK, and according to a State Department official the US has provided the Albanian government with "security and economic development assistance, to help the country build up its physical capacity to house the refugees", none of this benefits the individual refugees. In Tirana the MEK has purchased an abandoned university campus into which it has corralled the new arrivals and recreated the conditions of isolation and cultic control which have always prevailed for the membership. What started out as a humanitarian gesture has turned into the mass relocation of a terrorist group to Europe. The MEK has created a de facto enclave in Albania which is outside the law, just as they did in Iraq. This has put the refugees out of the reach of the Albanian authorities and because they are not free to mingle with Albania's citizenry, the influx of over a thousand trained terrorists has cleverly avoided detection and therefore controversy. However, even though it appears that the MEK are somehow quietly contained, the citizens of Albania are entitled to ask whether the new refugees pose any actual threat to their civic life, to their security and to their ambitions to accede to membership of the European Union. To answer this, we must ask why the Iraqi government is so desperate to expel them and why other Western countries are so extremely reluctant to accept them. Advertisement As a violent criminal organization, the MEK thrives where the rule of law is weak - in countries like Iraq and Albania which are emerging from past turmoil and troubles. In such conditions the MEK can be dangerous through criminal activity and violence. As expert propagandists and manipulative persuaders, the MEK leaders have no problem making connections with and bribing government officials, power brokers and media types - let's be clear, the MEK has always been well financed. Former MEK have also reported that the MEK leaders are already vigorously pursuing links with Albania's mafia-like gangs. The MEK will work with these gangs for mutual benefit as they did with Saddam Hussein's regime. In the long run, if the MEK organization does become established Albania - with the quiet collusion of political circles who benefit from the cult's track record of terrorism - they will be better placed to do from Tirana what they can't do from Paris. The CIA characterizes Albanian corruption as a 'transnational' problem involving drugs, money laundering and illegal aliens. In this sense it is the very location of the country which makes it attractive to international criminal organizations and thereby creates huge problems for law enforcement agencies. Albania essentially acts as a gateway into Europe from the rest of the world. Now, while the various routes to Turkey, Syria and Iraq are under stringent scrutiny, terrorist commanders from any mercenary group can slip beneath the radar and seek training and logistical support in Tirana. What better location to establish a clandestine terrorist training camp than in Albania? It is in Europe, but not in the EU and therefore not so open to scrutiny by the international community. With the changed political mood following the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1, the MEK is looking for new friends and benefactors. The group has already aligned itself with the Syrian Free Army and has offered to help the Saudis fight against the Shias in Yemen. The MEK has over forty years of experience in terrorist activities. The real danger posed by this group is not only that they can re-arm themselves in Albania, but they can invite other groups in for training. Advertisement The worry is that the MEK has branched out and is open to do business with any terrorist group. It is impossible to ignore the fact that MEK members are radicalized to the core. They are not ordinary refugees. Enough of them have been trained in Iraq by the former Saddam regime for terrorist activities as well as forgery, intelligence, military operations and even torture methods, to make them extremely dangerous. Above all, the nature of the MEK leadership style is cultic. This means the followers are not able to resist the orders of the leaders even if they wanted out. So there is a danger they will be used for a variety of criminal activities without their real consent. There are already examples of people trafficked by the MEK from Albania to Western Europe and used for money laundry activities in Germany. However, the refugees could also be described as extremely vulnerable. Another reason they have not attracted attention is that the MEK can easily be dismissed as a defunct fighting force; the average age of its fighters is sixty years old and many of them are ailing with mental and physical disease after years of punishing training in the Iraqi deserts. But while this is true of the majority, there are still many among them who are expert terrorist recruiters and trainers, people who know how to train others for suicide missions; strangely transferrable skills in today's world of global terrorism. Not all the members who arrive in Albania do stay with the MEK. There is a growing community of formers - around two hundred to date - who have turned their back on the group and want to return to their families and to normal life. Interestingly, it is from this pool of former members that the US has carefully selected a quota of eighty individuals to be given asylum in America. They have undergone rigorous interviews to ascertain that they have completely rejected the MEK and so no longer pose any danger. Some others have been accepted by other European countries under the same conditions but the rest remain in Albania under conditions of hardship. With the stakes set very high, Albania's authorities will need to stop this organization from covertly establishing a terrorist base in Europe. The first step would be to remove the MEK members from the source of their radicalization. If this doesn't happen, the problem will simply have been moved instead of being solved. The authorities in Tirana can ensure that all the newly arrived refugees are treated as individuals, not as belongings of the MEK leader. They should be given protection and helped with accommodation and financial support as people entitled to determine their own future paths. Experience in Iraq has already shown that once these people are physically removed from the coercive atmosphere imposed by the MEK leaders and reinforced by their peers, they very quickly find that their commitment to terrorism evaporates and the de-radicalization process can begin. Advertisement De-radicalization is greatly helped when they have contact with their families. There are numerous examples of former MEK who managed to leave the cult and establish new and successful lives. Some now live in various western European countries because they have family there who have been able to help them. Some have returned to Iran - even though Iran doesn't want them back - where they have been granted amnesty and lead normal lives under the supervision of the UN and ICRC. Some others now live in Iraqi Kurdistan and have transferred their family assets there from Iran there so they can set up in business. A sudden commotion behind me grew louder and closer. Angry, menacing voices escalated into a hailstorm of vicious heckling, all of it directed at the back of my head. I tried not to flinch. A man's heavy breathing, loud and ragged, was inches from my right ear. I closed my eyes for a moment, as if shutting down one sense would somehow shut down another. The threats grew. Suddenly there was a violent jolt as if someone had kicked my chair. I'd had enough. I tore my headphones off. I looked over at my two teenage daughters, who were sitting next to me at a replica of a 1960s lunch counter in the Deep South, at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. The interactive exhibit, which asks the question, "How long would you last?" gives visitors an auditory simulation of what it was like to participate in a sit-in during the civil rights era. My daughters still had their headphones on, but both of them had their eyes squeezed shut. Finally, the tape finished, and they, too, took their headphones off. We looked at each other in silence, and then stood up, a bit shakily. The lunch counter exhibit in Atlanta was part of a tour of civil rights museums my husband and I recently took our children on. We figured our kids would not only learn a lot; they'd even find the trip enjoyable. The museums, which are relatively new, and for the most part cutting-edge, are full of interactive and multimedia exhibits that attract and hold kids' attention. Moreover, the story of the movement is inspirational and fascinating, peopled with towering moral leaders and courageous ordinary citizens. Advertisement We decided to concentrate on museums, rather than landmarks, figuring the kids would get more out of them. Interest in these sites is strong. The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, which just underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation, has more than 200,000 visitors each year. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute attracts 145,000 annually. You don't need to see them all -- it would be quite a drive -- but each museum has a slightly different emphasis and different exhibits. Want to visit a few and need help keeping it all straight? Just download the Alabama Civil Rights Trail or the Freedom Lifted app from the iTunes app store. Here are some of the possibilities: National Center for Civil and Human Rights Located on two-and-a-half acres of downtown Atlanta real estate donated by Coca-Cola, the museum opened in June 2014 and features three galleries: one that showcases the fight for equality in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, one that continues the story by focusing on ongoing human rights struggles around the world, and one that houses a collection of papers and artifacts from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "It's amazing to see his handwriting and notes," my husband remarked to the young security guard in the room, who smiled and responded, "Sometimes I just kind of wig out looking at them." PHOTO: Maura Mahoney One of the oldest and largest (it opened in 1992 and takes up 58,000 square feet) civil rights museums in the country, the Civil Rights Institute uses multimedia exhibits and striking tableaux -- for example, side-by-side segregated classrooms, in which the black children's classrooms have battered desks and not much else, and the white children's have shiny new books and a motion-picture projector -- to tell the history of African-American life and how Birmingham became a battleground in the struggle for civil rights. The Institute is directly across the street from the 16th Street Baptist Church, where four young girls lost their lives in a bomb blast in 1963, and faces Kelly Ingram Park, where earlier that same year, the public safety commissioner, Bull Connor, ordered the use of fire hoses and police attack dogs against civil rights protestors, many of whom were children. The park has commemorative statues of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and other heroes of the civil rights movement, as well as other installations along a "Freedom Walk," including one of snarling police dogs, one dedicated to the Children's March, and one memorializing the four girls killed in the church bombing. There is a free audio tour for mobile phones (call-in number is 205-307-5455). Advertisement PHOTO: Maura Mahoney National Civil Rights Museum The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis re-opened on the 46th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, and is filled with archival videos, interactive touch screens, life-size exhibits. There's a replica of the Supreme Court room where arguments were heard in the Brown v. the Board of Education case, an audio exhibit featuring the voice of Malcolm X and a replica of a jail cell where visitors can hear King read portions of his famous "Letter From Birmingham Jail." The museum takes visitors on a comprehensive tour of the civil rights movement, and culminates in the Lorraine Motel's Room 306, the actual room King stayed in the night before he was shot. The experience is jarring, painful and unforgettable. International Civil Rights Center & Museum The former F.W. Woolworth building, site of the lunch counter non-violent sit-ins in 1960, now houses this complex that features 30,000 square feet of space, including educational exhibits, a gallery, auditorium and archival center. Guided tours begin includes pictorials, artifacts, video reenactments, and interactive components. This site particularly resonates with teenagers, given that the counter protests were led by young college students. Rosa Parks Museum Bill Clinton said of Rosa Parks "Let us never forget that in that simple act and a lifetime of grace and dignity, she showed us every single day what it means to be free." Located by the bus stop where Parks was arrested, the museum celebrates her heroism and legacy and depicts the story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the early Civil Rights movement. There is a moving multimedia reenactment of her refusal to give up her seat as well as historic documents, audio/visual materials and interactive exhibits. The guided tour is informative and compelling. PHOTO: Maura Mahoney Visitors can add their names to the Center's Wall of Tolerance, which digitally displays a continuous loop of the names of more than half a million people who have pledged to take a stand against hate and to work for justice and understanding. There are exhibits about martyrs to the movement, and a movie about them as well, including Emmett Till, a boy accused of flirting with a white woman. He was beaten to death and thrown in a river in 1955 in Mississippi. Afterward, visit Maya Lin's memorial outside, where the names of 40 people who died in the struggle are inscribed on a circular, black granite table that details the history of the movement in lines that radiate like the face of a clock. Lin left a blank space between the first and last entries on the memorial timeline to signify that the struggle for human rights began before 1954 and continues to this day. Water gently burbles over the stone. The memorial has been called "poetry in granite," by Caroline Goodman, the mother of Andrew Goodman, a young civil rights worker who was slain in Mississippi, and we, too, felt its quiet power. It's a peaceful place. My 14-year-old daughter ran her hands under the water and over the names inscribed on top, as visitors are welcomed to do. "Emmett Till was my age," she said quietly. The 2016 presidential race marches on, with candidates of both parties making promises about economic reform. Some want to spend a lot more government dough, while others want to cut the budget by trillions of dollars. But what about the financial decisions they make for their campaigns? Some have managed to perform well in polls, based on the most recent nationwide averages reported by RealClearPolitics, while raising and spending less than the competition. Others weren't shy about burning through funds right out of the gate, with varying results. Here's a look at how frugal the candidates were as the race began to heat up this fall, and what their campaign promises suggest about how they might handle the federal budget. They're ranked by their "burn rate" -- the amount they spent divided by the amount they raised -- through the third quarter of 2015, according to the most recent Federal Election Commission filings cited in The New York Times (not including funds from super PACs and other outside groups). Advertisement To learn how to live for less visit Cheapism.com. Elizabeth King worked on this story. Read more of her stories here. Donald Trump has horrifyingly shot to the top of the Republican presidential primary in part by presenting a belligerent "us vs. them" message -- with "them" usually being immigrants. It's no surprise that Trump's rhetoric has been appealing to white nationalists. In calling for the mass deportation of Latino immigrants and for barring Muslims from the country, he paints a picture of a country of and for white people. Many Republicans have feigned shock and some, though not nearly enough, have spoken out against Trump's bigotry. But while Trump has certainly helped to take the vitriol of the immigration debate to new levels, calling Mexican immigrants "rapists" and drug dealers and promising a "great wall" at the southern border, the sentiments he's expressing and policies he's pushing are nothing new. Trump and his fellow Republican presidential contenders are working out of a playbook that has been guiding the anti-immigrant movement on the ground and in Congress for a very long time. The current anti-immigrant movement centers around three groups -- the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) and NumbersUSA that all grew out of the vision of one activist who, like Trump, has unapologetically depicted America as a country of and for white people. While even some on the right are horrified by Trump's racism, these groups have long enjoyed a friendly reception on Capitol Hill as they have helped to sink any meaningful attempt at immigration reform. In fact, when it comes to policy, these groups are in many ways more extreme than Trump. NumbersUSA, which gives grades to candidates based on their immigration views, even docked Trump's grade over the summer, not because of his offensive remarks about immigrants but because he had put forward a muddled plan for a "merit-based system" for some undocumented immigrants. A new report from People For the American Way explores the history and the influence of these three groups at the center of the opposition to immigration reform. John Tanton, the founder of all three groups, made his view of America clear when he wrote in 1993, "I have come to the point of view that for European-American society and culture to persist, it requires an European-American majority and a clear one at that." At other times, he worried about a "Latin onslaught" on the United States and of immigrants "defecating and creating garbage and looking for jobs." These views have been echoed by some in leadership positions of Tanton's organizations, including FAIR president Dan Stein, who once wondered, "How can we preserve America if it becomes 50 percent Latin American?" One member of FAIR's board of advisors once suggested giving "shoot-to-kill orders" to troops positioned on the southern border. Tanton and some of his allies in this network of anti-immigration groups have also promoted extreme "population control" measures that should be troubling to anyone no matter if they're pro-life, pro-choice or anywhere in between. Tanton has praised China's one-child policy and regretted that India did not impose similar measures, and expressed his concern about "less intelligent" people having children. When asked about a former FAIR board member espousing similar viewpoints, Stein responded, "Yeah, so what? What is your problem with that?" Those views were reflected years later when the conservative behemoth Heritage Foundation released a report estimating that immigration reform would cost the U.S. $6.3 trillion. The report essentially made the incorrect assumption that immigrants and their descendants would not be upwardly mobile. It was hardly surprising, then, when it turned out that one of the report's authors had previously written a dissertation positing that immigrants have lower IQs than native-born white Americans. The anti-immigrant demagoguery we're hearing from Trump and others has a long history that precedes even Tanton and his network of advocacy groups. But understanding the forces behind today's immigration debate helps to put Trump in perspective. Trump talks a big, hateful, game, but his views are disturbingly close to those that have too long been met with a warm welcome --or at least a blind eye -- in Washington. The latest in an overflowing, voluminous list of offences that President Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President in the 240 year history of the United States of America, has had to endure is that Senate Republicans have formally announced via a Judiciary Committee letter that they will not hold any hearings on any U.S. Supreme Court nominee presented by this sitting President. Senate Republicans once again appear determined to throw a wrench into the wheels of our democracy by having a seat upon the nation's highest Court remain open for an indefinite period of time, a seat vacated with the recent passing of the Court's longest-serving justice, Justice Antonin Scalia. It would be a gross misinterpretation of purpose to consider this opposition merely as political jockeying in a presidential election year. Instead, what President Obama is enduring is the same that has been endured by African Americans since the advent of this nation. Advertisement Obama is being told to know his place. Unquestionably, President Obama fits the description of an uppity Negro. He actually thinks that being elected by the American electorate to the presidency twice with an overwhelming majority of the popular vote gives him the right to function with the full powers of that office. Misguidedly, he thinks that he can simply nominate someone and have the Senate to meet with them as has transpired with sitting presidents before him, even presidents like him completing the final year of their term. This former professor of constitutional law actually thinks that the rights granted to the Office of the President by the Constitution apply to him. This boy, I mean, Obama should know his place. Since he has clearly forgotten, let us benevolently offer to him this quick reminder: Never, ever look a white person directly in his or her eyes. You are not their equal. In fact, science suggests that you are not fully human. Your total value derives from being the property of your master. If you serve your master well, you will make it to Black heaven--not to be confused with White heaven. To ensure that you understand this, when you die, we will bury you in the Black cemetery. So, you will have company with Black corpses until White Jesus comes to take you to Black heaven. Understand? Good. Never, ever share the sidewalk with a white woman. If you see a white woman approaching, stop immediately, and cross over to the other side of the street. If you cannot make it to the other side of the street, then run. Run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. Do not fail to heed these instructions, less we be forced to string you up upon the nearest tree. Advertisement Furthermore, your entrance is always in the back, and your seats are always in the balcony. You cannot attend this school, live in this neighborhood, or eat at this counter. You cannot use this restroom or drink from this fountain. Never forget that the key to your survival is to know your place, for stepping out of place can have fatal consequences. Obama, please do not allow your Ivy League education, your Hawaiian upbringing, or your white parentage to cause you for a moment to think that you are like us. Please, open your eyes and open your ears. We have been warning you about staying in your place throughout your terms in office. When we yelled "You lie!" during your State of the Union address, we were really saying, "Stay in your place." When we degradingly referred to you as a Muslim and questioned your citizenship, we were really saying, "Stay in your place." When we waved our finger in your face upon an Arizonian tarmac, or when we refused to show up all together to welcome a sitting president into our state, we were really saying "Stay in your place." Advertisement When we called your wife a monkey and when we called your daughter's hair un-American, again, we were really saying, "Stay in your place." Mr. President, it is imperative that you know your place. If you don't know your place, others may be tempted to step out of place as well. It is bad enough that an entire generation of young people can see themselves in you, in the tight curl of your hair and in the hue of your skin. To keep Negroes in their place we once made lynching a grand event. We invited the whole community to attend and to participate in these horrors, and we encouraged them to take fragments of clothing and even body parts of the deceased as souvenirs. We posed for pictures besides dangling corpses and charred bodies, and then we dragged the corpse through the streets of the Black community. In some cases, we forced Black families from their homes to view the corpse as it was being dragged down their street. Times have changed, somewhat, and we cannot take out our aggression always in the same manner of our forbears. Still, we have our ways of keeping uppity Negroes like you in their place. So, no, we will not meet with any person that you nominate for the Supreme Court. Hopefully, this time, you will learn your lesson. Stay in your place. The Alabama state legislature passed a far-reaching bill last Thursday preempting the right of cities and local governments to enact higher local minimum wages, and Governor Robert Bentley signed it into law less than an hour after it passed. Immediately, more than 40,000 of the lowest-paid workers in Birmingham will be denied the pay raises they were to receive under an ordinance enacted by the city to set a $10.10 per hour local minimum wage. Action on the preemption bill, HB174, was extraordinarily swift. Put on a fast track ahead of all other legislative business by Republican leaders, it became law just two weeks after it was first introduced, without any public hearings. Advertisement Birmingham was the first city in the Deep South to enact a higher local minimum wage than the current poverty-level federal minimum of $7.25, and the city recently moved up its plan to implement a $10.10 minimum wage to last week as the state legislature rushed to block it. Other cities in the state, including Huntsville, Tuscaloosa and Mobile recently began to consider following Birmingham's lead. The new state law invalidates Birmingham's local minimum wage and prohibits all local governments from enacting higher local minimum wages or any other labor standards affecting workers' pay or benefits. Because Alabama has no minimum wage law of its own, the federal minimum wage automatically sets the wage floor in the state. Congress has failed to raise the federal minimum wage for the last seven years. Alabama is one of twenty-one states where the minimum wage is stuck at $7.25 per hour. In the Alabama Senate Thursday, Democrats spoke against the bill for three hours before Republicans forced a vote to cut off debate. Just before the final vote, Sen. Bill Hightower, a wealthy Republican businessman and real estate investor, spoke in support of the bill saying "we should lower the minimum wage," and later posted on Twitter his claim that "raising the minimum wage hurts the poor." 23 Senate Republicans voted for the preemption measure, while all 8 Democrats were joined by 2 Republicans and 1 Independent in voting against it. Advertisement Proponents of the bill, including its sponsor Rep. David Faulkner, argued that the minimum wage should not be within the purview of cities or other local governments and that blocking them from enacting local minimum wages is necessary to ensure a uniform minimum wage throughout the state -- implying that they weren't opposed to a higher statewide minimum, just higher local minimum wages. But their hypocrisy is demonstrated by the fact that they have refused to either bring up or endorse any proposals to raise Alabama's minimum wage. Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison and Rep. Darrio Melton both have bills to raise the statewide minimum wage to $10.10. Republican leaders have not scheduled hearings on either bill, and no member of the Republican majority in either house has indicated they would consider supporting either measure. Their refusal to even consider a statewide increase reveals the truth of the matter: This has nothing to do with what level of government - state or municipal - should be able to legislate minimum wages. In Alabama, state lawmakers have never set any statewide minimum wage at all. And local governments are in a better position to gauge whether local residents need a higher wage standard and whether local businesses can afford it. What Alabama's done here is to have politicians, acting at the behest of myopic, regressive business interests, wield the power of the State to suppress wages. It's state-mandated wage suppression, pure and simple. Keeping the minimum wage low depresses workers' wages generally, and not just for the lowest-paid workers, even though they are most directly affected. And low wages hamper economic growth. Twenty-nine states have minimum wages higher than Alabama's, with most enjoying faster job gains. Last year, Alabama posted meager job growth of only one percent, about half the national average, and its unemployment rate (6.3 percent in December 2015) remains one of the highest in the nation. Advertisement Meanwhile, in Alabama, with its troubled history of segregation and racial discrimination, the legislature's act of state-mandated wage suppression - imposed by white politicians against cities with large African-American communities - hurts black workers the most, as they are disproportionately represented among the lowest-paid workers. It's yet another historic stain in the state's reputation. Alabama may be nearly 70 percent white, but the city of Birmingham, for example, is nearly 75 percent African-American. During the "Back to Africa" movement in the 1920s Marcus Garvey argued that African Americans could only attain social equality by moving back to Africa, and saw the continent as the only place in which self-emancipation could be attained. The idea of sending an oppressed group of people to find equality in a place where the individuals to whom the land belong face systematic oppression (by way of colonialism) doesn't make much sense, and could only exist in the realm of idealism and romanticism. Some African Americans have constructed for themselves a utopia image of Africa. The afrocentric rhetoric with which some discuss the continent often conceptualizes a glorified heritage. Such rhetoric romanticizes Africa, likening the continent to a sort of unblemished and innocent woman, "Mama Africa" as some often say. As a result, many envision an "African" experience that, I believe, greatly differs from the reality they should expect. And so I ask, If African Americans were to move back to Africa today (and actually settle, not a six week study abroad adventure or a one week safari trip) how would these romanticized expectations compare to the reality that exists in most African countries? Would some be disappointed that the continent of "queens and kings" isn't as regal as imagined? When some African Americans envision going to Africa, they expect to have an exuberant and overwhelming feeling of belonging. The desire to reconnect with one's ancestral past is only natural and cannot be disputed. However, expecting a heaven-like welcoming and effortless instatement into the country is quite a stretch. This idealism will be shaken once the individual comes to the solemn realization that belonging isn't as instantaneous or as natural. Advertisement Furthermore, racial homogeneity is the norm throughout the continent, which leads many to expect a gargantuan level of umbuntu and kumbaya-ness amongst the brethren. In reality racial homogeneity holds little significance amidst ethnic diversity. Ethnic diversity is wonderful, however, the level at which it exists in most African countries makes the search for belonging much more difficult to resolve. I often wonder how African Americans would react to the fact that ethnic diversity is too often the root of many political conflicts, and that tribalism, more often than not, acts as a threat to progress in many African societies? So how does one begin to truly feel they belong in places where unity has sadly been snatched away by the conflict breeding hands of colonialism? Many African Americans view Africa through a very traditionalist perspective, a place filled with men and women wearing dashikis and batik printed head wraps dancing in circles to the beat of drums. They expect to be immersed in the same cultural experiences their ancestors participated in. But what happens when the level of traditionalism and cultural expression found differs from what was envisioned? How does one begin to feel connected when Western culture dominates several aspects of life throughout the continent? Would African Americans be shocked to find Africans having a greater appetite for Western culture than their own? How would they react to those adopting foreign phonetics never having crossed national borders; when the colonial master's tongue continues to be esteemed higher than their own? Someone once told me, "It would be dope to live in a place where black people made all the political decisions, like it is in Africa". This is an expectation those who romanticize Africa hold. Unfortunately, a black ruling class isn't as idealistic as it may sound. I wonder how African Americans would react to black leaders who sign contracts selling the livelihood of their brethren to outsiders? What might they think of black governors and ministers who would much rather pocket millions than provide clean water and electricity to the masses? Advertisement Africans in the diaspora who return after several years hold similar expectations as African Americans. They too look forward to that feeling of belonging and connection. However, the reality that they will never be able to interact and relate to their land of origin in the same way quickly confronts them. These expats reluctantly realize that a resume button does not exist. In fact, they now possess a level of elitism that prevents them from ever reaching that state of "belonging" they once felt but now crave. African Americans will also be confronted with such complexities. No more ignoring it: Donald J. Trump is on a very real and highly probable path to the Republican nomination for President. I. Can we stop pretending he is a joke? Without hashing out the polls or doing the math (as more qualified sources than I have already done), suffice to say that Trump's three consecutive primary/caucus wins and his projected support in key states down the line leave no doubt that Trump is the heavy favorite. So no more pretending, as David Brooks and many other pundits continue to do, that any day now, Trump will magically disappear, and balance will be restored to the political universe. Risking the very ideals this nation holds dear is not worth the political equivalent of believing in the Tooth Fairy any longer. The opposition to Trump remains hopelessly divided, and unifying that opposition represents the last real chance to derail Trump's train. The Internet is littered with articles titled, "The "insert political/demographic/ethnic" Case Against Donald Trump." In the Republican primary, establishment GOP candidates Marco Rubio and John Kasich, and anti-establishment candidates Ben Carson and Ted Cruz, continue to compete for votes as Trump coasts to sweeping victories in state primaries and caucuses. Even Democrats remain either gleeful at the GOP's impending collapse or tragically ignorant of the grave consequences, however small the probability, of a Trump presidency. The awful combination of either scattered opposition (GOP) and blind optimism (Democrats) is problematic. It is time for all of us--of all politics, faiths, races, and backgrounds--to sh*t or get off the pot. And because I do not actually plan on moving to Canada if Trump gets elected (those silly Tweets and statuses are funny, but totally worthless), something real has to be done. It is dandy to bemoan about "what America has come to" around the dinner table every night, and joke perhaps more candidly than humorously about relocating to a foreign country, but the stark silence when it comes to meaningfully opposing Trump is shameful. Advertisement So too is the sense of "inevitability" that has pervaded the discussion of Trump's recent successes. "No one is going to stop Donald Trump. Except, maybe, voters" blared a recent Washington Post headline. File this complacency in the same drawer as the dinner table handwringers I just mentioned. Both types are unhelpful, and both types will inadvertently add fuel to Trump's fire. As a Democrat who cast my first vote for President Obama, I also find the argument that a Trump nomination would be great for our party, and result in a landslide victory for (presumably) Hillary Clinton, unpersuasive, mostly because even the small chance of a candidate as maniacal as Trump is not worth rolling the dice. This is the same argument we liberals have been making about Global Warming for years--"Sure, it's alarmist to talk about how bad things could be, but even if there's a small chance, why take the risk?" So too with Trump. For months, nearly every Democrat in the country has walked with a spring in their step gleefully hoping for the improbable: that when the GOP nominating dust settles, Trump will go toe-to-toe in the general election with Hillary Clinton. The joke's over. The head-to-head polling is much closer than most would care to admit (some polls even show Trump beating Hillary, hands down). And do Democrats really want to be one economic collapse, one (God forbid) terrorist attack, or one low-Democratic turnout away from a Trump presidency? That also assumes Hillary Clinton's campaign, which fumbled her presumed coronation in 2008 to a then unheard of Senator from Illinois, turns into the rock star movement it has repeatedly not turned into. I could not agree more with the following assessment from last week's Washington Post: "I believe that Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic nomination, and I intend to vote for her, but it is also the case that she is a candidate with significant weaknesses... Democrats, your leading candidate is too weak to count on as a firewall." Advertisement That said, the case against Donald Trump should transcend political, religious, ethnic, and socioeconomic dimensions. In fact, the reason he has done so well is because not a single political faction in this country has the political guts to join up and oppose him. It is equivalent to the playground game Red Rover where nobody links arms. A small sampling of the things that make a Trump presidency terrifying provides an ample reason to unite. II. Let's do something about it. If you watched John Oliver's brilliant takedown of Trump (and his brand), last night, in which he shredded the pro-Trump case and urged viewers to trend the hashtag #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain after unearthing a biography that revealed Trump's historical family name is actually Drumpf, you might be feeling a bit better. But the fact is, every comedy show in the world can't replace the concerted, unified action by major cultural and political institutions necessary to depose the Donald and his supporters. As a precursor, the hilarious notion that Trump is capitalizing on "anger," "angry voters," or anything close has to be done away with. Every time a news outlet or a pundit say that, your skin should crawl. The "anger" Trump supposedly takes advantage of is a sick euphemism for the real pillars upon which his campaign stands: subtle (hell, outward) racism, transparent xenophobia, a history of misogyny longer than I have been alive, and an anti-intellectual, frighteningly stupid approach to nearly every problem facing this country. Sure, it is a type of anger that drives Trump supporters--but bundling it under the term is about as misleading as explaining the Civil War through the lens of an "angry" collection of plantation owners. Exit poll data showed that 20% of the people who voted for Trump in South Carolina disagreed with the freeing of slaves after the Civil War. Let that sink in. Does that sound like just "anger?" Trump has called for a nationwide ban on Muslims, American citizens or not, from entering the United States. He has proposed Orwellian, 1984-style registration and monitoring of mosques. Beyond being anti-abortion and anti-gay, his history of vicious woman-hating is shocking for a serious candidate in the modern era. He has pledged to deport 11 million men, women, and children who live in the United States illegally, and keep them out with a large wall that the Government of Mexico will supposedly pay for. He has endorsed the large-scale reimplementation of torture for those detained in the war on terror, a practice illegal under both United States and International Law, as well as killing and/or capturing the families of suspected terrorists, making him perhaps the first serious candidate in the recent history of presidential elections to openly support impeachable offenses before even taking the damn oath of office. Advertisement And what is deeply saddening is that most of us know these things, but shrug them off, perhaps because we either don't want to believe it could be true that Trump might actually win, or because we honestly believe that someone like Trump cannot win. For better or worse, it is time to stop living in optimistic candy land. Consider the following four proposals to actually #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain: 1) The remaining Republican candidates should immediately withdraw from the Republican primary and, together with those who have already dropped out, endorse Marco Rubio. His performance in primary/caucus states thus far, combined with his broad appeal among mainstream conservatives, is unmatched. Since that's unlikely, the only alternative is the diametric opposite: Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and Marco Rubio all must stay in long enough to ensure that going into the convention, no candidate has enough delegates to claim the nomination. At a brokered convention, where delegates are up for grabs if no candidate wins enough of them on the first ballot, this makes nominating Trump much less likely ("Donald Trump would get smoked at an open convention," one state party chairman said to Politico). 2) That's where most "Let's get serious about Trump" shticks end, to which I wonder, why stop there? In addition to Congressional Republicans endorsing Marco Rubio, the House of Representatives and the Senate should formulate a bipartisan resolution in Congress calling for Trump to suspend his campaign, and condemning him for months of disgraceful remarks. Surely between Trump's allegations that Mexico is "sending us their rapists" and insinuating that John McCain is a disgraced veteran for his capture and subsequent torture in Vietnam, our hopelessly divided government can find common ground in that. This should be easy, since only four sitting Representatives and one Senator have endorsed Trump to date. 3) Speaking of governors, what about a joint statement condemning Trump from the National Governors Association, which represents, according to its website, "the collective voice of the Nation's governors?" What about the American Association of American Universities, on behalf of their students, and the professional organizations for every type of profession from brain surgeons to garbage workers? What about an interfaith coalition? 4) The networks and newspapers should tone down coverage of Trump's presidential campaign. The months of (free) air time for every racial slur, bogus proposal, and circus-style rally Trump has held, which undoubtedly fueled Trump's meteoric rise by distributing his message, free of charge to every corner of the country, will go down as one of the most misguided eras in modern journalism. Consider these stats from the Tyndall report, which tracked each candidate's air time for most of 2015: "Trump has received more network coverage than all the Democratic candidates combined. Trump has accounted for 27 percent of all campaign coverage his year." That is abysmal. That there has been so much coverage (and comparatively little serious reckoning by the institutions that exist to 'comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable') shows that, when it comes to Trump, the networks would rather sell their souls for advertising dollars that take a stand. If you don't believe me, consider what Lesley Moonves, the CEO of CBS, said yesterday (as summarized by POLITICO): Advertisement "Man, who would have expected the ride we're all having right now? ... The money's rolling in and this is fun ... I've never seen anything like this, and this going to be a very good year for us. Sorry. It's a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going ... Donald's place in this election is a good thing." In the interest of General Motors, you are going to have to stop treating me as a problem and accept me as --A large stockholder --An active board member --An experienced businessman The author of that 1985 letter, Ross Perot, would soon lose two of those qualifications and add some more experience to the third as he would be forced out by management in what the New York Times called "the business world equivalent of a pit-bull match." In that same letter, Perot told General Motors Chairman/CEO Roger Smith that he appeared bored in a meeting, did not let other people talk, and that he had an intimidating style that "stifles candid, upward communication." This letter is reprinted in full in Jeff Gramm's illuminating and often wildly entertaining new book, Dear Chairman: Boardroom Battles and the Rise of Shareholder Activism. Gramm, who runs a value-oriented hedge fund and teaches at Columbia Business School, includes his own modest efforts at pushing for change in a portfolio company, along with case studies that range from an investor who tried (unsuccessfully) to get the Wrigley Company to install lights so the Cubs could play night games to one of Carl Icahn's early battles, with Phillips Petroleum. One of the most fascinating is the fight between Karla Scherer and the company founded by her father and run by her soon to be ex-husband. Advertisement The essential challenge at the heart of capitalism is making sure executives focus on creating sustainable value for the people who provide the capital even though it's other people's money. When shareholders believe that is not happening, they may decide to sell. Or, they may write a letter, addressed to the company's chairman but directed to other investors and the public as well. In an interview, Gramm spoke how the opportunities and challenges faced by both activists and executives are changing. In the new television series, "Billions," an activist hedge fund manager says, "We're not scavengers; we're white blood cells." Is that a fair description? I don't think people perceive hedge funds as "scavengers" outside of distressed investing funds (which everyone used to call "vulture funds"). "White blood cells" isn't a good metaphor either because complacent corporate oversight is really the norm, not a passing infection. I can't think of the perfect metaphor. Maybe activists are like picky, outspoken restaurant diners? The fact that they exist keeps the restaurant staff on their toes and probably improves service for all of us. But sometimes the product is tailored to their tastes rather than ours. And every so often the chef gets mad and spits in the food. What is the difference between the way an activist evaluates a company and the way a securities analyst does? Advertisement I think a good activist needs to buy a cheap enough stock with enough margin of safety that the situation won't kill them if their activism fails. So ultimately, they should look at things exactly as a good security analyst does. If they don't, watch out. How has the rise of institutional investors affected the ability of activists to be effective? Do passive money managers have the resources to evaluate activist claims? This is a great question, and we're at an interesting juncture right now. As I argue in my book, and as you've written about in several of yours, Ross Perot's buyout at GM, as well as years of accumulated maltreatment, sparked a revolution among institutional public company shareholders. The subsequent boom in shareholder activism came out of this, because the big institutions have been very supportive of hedge funds behind the scenes. Entities like Blackrock and CalPERS have become the arbiters of activist disputes. But now, it seems like many of them have decided they want a greater, more public role in improving corporate governance. The FT reported that Jamie Dimon convened a secret meeting with bigwigs like Warren Buffett to discuss governance. Larry Fink publicly released a letter he sent to S&P 500 CEOs. The big Canadian plans introduced a "long-term value" S&P stock index to try to influence governance. So there's a sea change happening and it's going to be interesting to see how it plays out. To your second question, passive money managers certainly have the resources at their disposal to evaluate activists. . . the question is whether they'll use them to make it happen. They need to! Advertisement Do you agree with critics who claim activists benefit themselves (and their investors/clients) to the detriment of other shareholders in the companies they target? This certainly can happen - it's how capitalism works sometimes, right? And, of course, besides self-interest reigning supreme, an activist investor has a fiduciary duty to put their clients first. If they are an ERISA investor or a registered investment advisor, the penalties can be severe for violating that duty. So they need to do their best job to make money for their own investors. The system works best when the activist is aligned with other shareholders and everyone wins if they have success. But there can certainly be situations where activist profits hurt other shareholders. Greenmail was of course the best example of that. Fortunately, it's getting harder and harder to benefit your own fund at the expense of other shareholders. Because these big pension funds are the arbiters of these activist interventions, reputations matter. Is activism a market failure or a market correction? I think bad governance is a market failure, good activism is a market correction, bad activism is a market failure, and superb governance is, sadly, a market anomaly. What led you to decide to focus on the letters written by activists to the companies they target? What were some of the challenges you encountered in tracking them down? Advertisement I really started the book project as just a collection of letters. I had always collected angry, hedge fund 13D letters for fun. And I had this idea I should broaden my collection to other correspondences between shareholders and public companies. When Warren Buffett sent me his 1964 letter to American Express, that kicked everything into overdrive. Many of the letters were quite hard to get. The Benjamin Graham letter was a real challenge - I ultimately found it in the Rockefeller Archives. Carl Icahn's letter was really hard to find, and then I had to get his permission to republish it. Amazingly, lots of the SEC stuff is hard to get to if it was filed before 1994. There is no longer a public SEC reading room like there used to be. What happens when activists target other activists? Or when they're on opposite sides, as in Herbalife? For Super Tuesday and beyond, the words found in The Good Book may illuminate some consciences to live in the light and choose wisely. Guiding "red Gospel words of Jesus" offer the path for life and victory: "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26) Senator Rubio, many believed you to be a role model to look up to for upcoming generations. You were called the "GOP-JFK" that could bring "Camelot" back to America with your lovely wife and sweet young family. You were the hopeful visionary fostering an even better American Dream for our kids than the one given us by our parents. You were the youthful candidate with charisma and virtue. Noticeably, you were the candidate to visibly make "the sign of the cross" at the South Carolina debate, honoring the passing of Justice Scalia. In the Iowa debate, your response to the question of how you start your day was "in prayer, attending Mass" projecting a faithful "disciple of Jesus" image. TV ads promote Senator Rubio as a "Reagan Disciple." What happened to following Reagan's 11 commandment to never speak ill of Republicans? More critically where's Jesus' example being emulated? Jesus taught no more "lex talionis"-stand your ground, but no claw. In other words, "eye for an eye" or "tooth for a tooth" is out. Advertisement The shared strategy since Houston's debate by Senators Rubio and Cruz, to attack the GOP frontrunner by ganging up on him like a pair of alpha Havanese is embarrassing for the party of Reagan. Resembling Teddy Roosevelt's or General Patton's older and tougher terrier persona, CEO Trump doesn't back away from ankle biters. But beloved President and Mrs. Bush were not amused in their hometown. The mocking by Senator Rubio suggesting his elder contender Mr. Trump "wet his pants" and "you know what small hands mean" and vilifying by Cruz hypothesizing Trump tax returns "may show mob-ties" is infinitely more degrading to the junior Senators, who purport to be "Reaganites." Like him or not, CEO Trump's unique resume of accomplishments deserve respect. Career politicians tearing down business people harkens insight from President Reagan: "The most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help!'" Reagan Republicans in some circles are disheartened with the anti-discipleship strategy of the GOP Senators. Is it working and worth it? Advertisement Kitchen Chatter and Kitchen Cabinet Americans at kitchen tables, including our diverse family, are dismayed with the personal rather than policy attack strategies in the Rubio campaign just as they were turned off by Ted Cruz after his campaign cheated in Iowa. It seems candidates of both parties succumb to the temptation of short term gains over long term victory. The same "dark" spirit or type of misguided political strategists that lured Senator Cruz to undermine the good Dr. Ben Carson, thwarting the true will of the good people of Iowa, seems to have entered the Rubio campaign. Fighting like frat boys in "Animal House," the only thing missing was food flying on the stage, not the expected stature of U.S. Senators and the antithesis of "virtue-driven" candidates. All know the stakes are high for Presidential elections, but this "win at any cost" mud-slinging lowers the office to gangster behavior. Accusations without any basis defrauds voters, with the mentality "throw enough mud, some of it sticks." The Houston debate was like watching the alley fight scene in West Side Story. And neither turned out well. Reagan Conservatives are embarrassed. Votes lost. Is it worth it? Listen to Jesus and Yoda Christians hold that the words that matter most come from the only true Savior of any nation. Jesus taught to be cautious so not to fall from grace, asking what is the profit if we try to gain the world but lose our soul along the way? Are extra delegates worth it? This dirty antics race brings to mind sage advice when I ran for office in 1998. Friend and statesman, the first Japanese-American Governor of Hawaii, George Ariyoshi, delivered a valuable message perpetually worthy of consideration. He was Chief Executive for 14 years of our 50 state as a fiscal conservative. Unlike most politicians, he inspirationally operated the state in the black with a surplus, like a successful business. Governor Ariyoshi looked me straight in the eyes. Like Yoda, he softly but firmly said, "Noel, in politics political strategists will try to offer you advice for 'winning' at any cost but you must discern if you are being influenced to go against your character, your conscience, your virtues and the ethics of what you believe is truly right or wrong. Advertisement It is tempting to do what they say will help you 'win,' but you have to live with the outcome of how it changes who you are as a decent human being. Be careful not to succumb to the promise of 'winning' if it means losing your soul and reputation." White House Not "Animal House" Protocol This primary election discourse of both parties no longer appears to be about determining what is best for America as a world leader: better jobs and opportunities for people struggling, clear strategies for counteracting perils for the future of humanity from ISIS to North Korea to addressing the number of new and dangerous viruses. Rather the fights for who will become President of the United States of America has been dragged into scenes in "Animal House" with debates mirroring boisterous shouting matches rather than a show of statesperson-like decorum. Even the woman in the race is not behaving dignified. Denigrating! Candidates, is it worth it? American Values Matter My late Scottish-Presbyterian Grandmother Lucia Pamela Beck came from St. Louis, the "Gateway to The West". Her husband, Italian-American Billy Angelo left his entire life savings in Cuba in 1959 to fulfill the American Dream with her in Florida. Grandpa Billy was like "Rocky Balboa," a champion prize fighter who never took on a fight unless he thought he could win it fair and square. They told me to be proud of being a "Daughter of The American Revolution," because our nation offered every citizen the opportunity to excel with hard work and cooperative team spirit. God rest their souls, they like many Americans are chagrin watching the immature conduct of both parties aspiring to lead our nation. At fifteen I signed our Family Bible in Missouri and noted the signatures of our ancestors Reverend Eleazar Wheelock and his daughter Lucia. A Congregational Minister and founder of Dartmouth College in 1769, he desired to educate Native Americans and lift their plight. His dream for Dartmouth was never meant to be the portrayal in "Animal House" as a place which housed petulant frat brats and spoiled sorority sisters. Notably similar bad behavior is becoming the new norm by some aspiring to be President. Disturbing! Politicians and Entrepreneurs Must Unite for America One of our sons, founder of a successful company based in Florida, introduced us to Marco Rubio. Major donors from the hospitality industry supported Marco for Senate with a hopeful eye to his candidacy for President in 2016. Advertisement At the Miami estate of a tourism industry colleague we had in-depth "one on one" dialogue with Senator Rubio. He candidly expressed his views on defending the State of Israel; concerns with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and his ardent thoughts about America's foreign policy with Cuba. The changes taking place in the country of his family heritage were of keen interest to him. He like fellow Cuban-American Ted Cruz, has voiced clear opposition to opening relations with the current government of Cuba. Marco Rubio is articulate and knowledgable, well-versed about foreign policy. Before Houston, Senator Rubio's promise of "uniting" the party inspired some active Reagan Republicans to discuss a winning "Trump/Rubio" ticket. Pioneer entrepreneur and policy wonk working together for the greater good sounds appealing. The strategy of combining successful global business expertise with foreign policy experience could be a way to "unite" the GOP and the country. Better trade negotiations logically create more jobs and higher revenues. Domestic manufacturing lifts minorities and struggling union members. A stronger military with a well-crafted strategic plan for winning. More competitive and caring healthcare plans including for Vets and homeless. Lower taxes with simplified reporting. Secure borders. By "uniting" the candidates pledges to "Make America Great Again" with "A New American 21st Century" the bells of freedom and prosperity ring for future patriotic generations irrespective of political or educational backgrounds. Like the team of elder visionary President Reagan and younger statesman Vice President Bush. Recent strategies by the Senators of Florida and Texas to personally belittle or vilify Mr. Trump is questionable, lacking Reagan-like statesmanship, making a team endeavor unlikely. Paradigm Shift in U.S. Politics? Go back to Reagan Days to understand dynamics. Working with Lyn Nofziger, political advisor to Ronald Reagan, was an enlightening experience. He agreed to come out of retirement for my campaign bringing wisdom and wit. Lyn was an outspoken loyal "Reaganite" with a great sense of humor. I can imagine him chuckling while comparing this election cycle to the Reagan Revolution of the eighties, similarly attracting new voters for a greater America. Feisty Nofziger would applaud 'We The People.' Notably he proclaimed, "Government should work to insure the rights of the individual, not plot to take them away!" Adding, "I don't like government. It's just that simple." "We The People" Will Decide So far a diverse range of Americans voting illustrates the "People's Choice" award is going to CEO Mr. Trump. He is attracting new voters. The GOP competition has produced a "non-reality" show of party unity in favor of mud-wrestling, amateur imitators. With the exception of the dignified statesman Dr. Ben Carson and the Ohio Governor Kasich, all the rest have broken the President Reagan 11 Commandment of friendly competition. The new reality show to watch this coming season stars "We The People" and is directed toward the RNC and DNC establishment with the mandate: "You're Fired!" Lobbyists with self-serving establishment plot the "Ides of March," before the will of 'the people' is revealed. Advertisement Chump Change for Trump Change "The People" sentiments reflect the words of greatly missed Ronald Reagan, "Status quo, you know, is Latin for 'the mess we're in.'" People across America are not "chumps" anymore, trusting in campaign promises of "change" from 'status-quo' politicians. The people want leadership change that leaves them with more than "chump change" in their pockets. People want success, security and salvation! If people's choice, not super delegates, ruled the Democrat Party- they would probably nominate "Bernie, the Metal Snake" (his Chinese birth symbol) to duke it out with the Republican nominee. The flawed system means the lucky candidates to undertake the intense "Fire Fight" will likely be "Hillary, the Fire Pig" (her Chinese character) in the "status-quo" corner and "Donald, the Fire Dog" (his Chinese character) in the "entrepreneurial change" corner. With Governor Chris Christie as his new "pressure fighter", there will be a plethora of knockout punches to the opposition. Establishment, like it or not, most bets now favor "The Dog" in the hunt. The roaring-soaring "We The People" Movement desire passionately to hear in 2017: "You're Hired!" Remember, Trump promised to be "The Greatest Job-Creation President in History." Supporters say, "There's lots of life in the old dog yet!" As The Good Book says, "Where there's life, there's hope! (Ecclesiastes 9:3)" By Rosalind Cummings-Yeates for the Orbitz Travel Blog Who wouldn't love a vacation on a postcard-perfect tropical island? When it comes to the Caribbean, you have a lot of choices but the island of St. Lucia is something special. Yes, there are beaches and palm trees and crystalline ocean waves but St. Lucia is nicknamed "Helen of the West Indies" for good reason. This island is out-of-this-world beautiful, with a striking landscape of much more than beaches. Whether you're a fan of romantic getaways, sun and sand or adventure travel, here are five compelling reasons to visit St. Lucia: La Soufriere Volcano, courtesy of Rosalind Cummings-Yeates 1. La Soufiere Drive-In Volcano and Sulfur Springs Steam and the stench of rotten eggs will greet you as you drive through the crater of "the world's only drive-in volcano." A guided walking tour takes you right up to the volcano's bubbling mud and sulfur, with just a small fence to separate you from the activity. Although La Soufriere is dormant. it doesn't look like it and it forms the hottest and most active geothermal area in the Eastern Caribbean. You can cool off in the sulfur springs and small pools just outside the volcano. The sulfur and volcanic mud is reputed to have healing effects, soothing mosquito bites, arthritis and eczema. The Pitons, courtesy of Rosalind Cummings-Yeates. 2. The Twin Peaks of The Pitons The two volcanic plugs that soar up from the sea are the dramatic symbol of St. Lucia and are worth the trip alone. The Pitons are named Gros Piton for the taller 26919 ft. peak and Petit Piton for the smaller,2461 ft. one. They loom all over the island but the best views can be grabbed in the villages of Soufriere and Choiseul. Active travelers can hike the Pitons or swim up to the peaks. Advertisement Anse Chastanet open wall suite, courtesy of Rosalind Cummings-Yeates REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF REAL CLEAR DEFENSE China's New "Cat" -- Type 022 Houbei Fast Attack Catamaran Source: US Navy In an era in which Chinese hackers have stolen almost every major weapons system from the Pentagon - Aegis, Black Hawk, F-22, F-35, V-22, PAC-3, THAAD -- the Navy brass apparently has decided to just start giving stuff away on YouTube for free, thereby saving Beijing the trouble of stealing or reverse engineering it. That was my first thought when I stumbled across a 2014 video from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) trumpeting its development of "autonomous swarm" boats developed to protect American capital ships. As long as ONR has opened up that particular can of swarm boat worms, it might be useful to do a quick strategic comparison of the American versus Chinese swarm boat approach. In the ONR video, we see a bunch of small and fairly old boats upgraded with a sensor and accompanying software kit called "Caracas." That's would seem to be the obvious strength of the American approach: You don't have to build a bunch of new boats with money the Pentagon doesn't have - just retrofit the old dogs in the pound with cool new software that moves the human operators to the sidelines. Advertisement According to ONR, the autonomous swarming software was adapted from code developed by NASA for the Mars Rover - which is a "name drop" no doubt meant to impress us. On the other hand, how many times has the Mars Rover had to fight off a swarm of Martian bots coming at it at 40 knots? (Did I mention that the ONR video also shows some interesting details about the software and its operation that the Chinese, Russians, and Iranians will no doubt be keenly interested in?) Watch This Video For a Comparison of Chinese and US Swarm Boats At any rate, the ONR video demonstrates how a cluster of autonomous swarming boats can quite effectively neutralize a single hostile. That's all well and good if the goal is to defend against, say, a small fiberglass boat with two suicide bombers like the one that damaged the USS Cole and killed 17 American sailors. But here's a perhaps far more relevant "what if": What if an aircraft carrier strike group operating in the Taiwan Strait or a US destroyer conducting a freedom of navigation patrol near a South China Sea island is approached by a swarm of Chinese Type 022 Houbei class fast attack catamarans? Will it be enough to send out America's autonomous drones to parry the Chinese swarming thrust? Advertisement In fact, the results are not likely to be pretty - at least from an American perspective. Here's how US Naval War College Professor Toshi Yoshihara has described China's shiny (and very well-armored) new arsenal of Type 022 Houbei cats: They are small, maneuverable, and nimble craft with a stealthy infrastructure specifically designed to engage in swarming-attack tactics. They are armed with long-range anti-ship cruise missiles, and they pack a truly out-sized because the missiles are designed specifically to go after capital ships. As Yoshihara explains, China's swarm cats will be able to rapidly move in and out of ports, use their stealth to avoid detection, and engage in multi-vector attacks against everything from a US aircraft carrier strike group to the surface feet of Taiwan. In any such scenario, America's "autonomous swarm" boats would likely be obliterated (or simply ignored) because they lack the armor, speed, firepower, and maneuverability of the Chinese swarms. Of course, ONR is likely to protest that this is not a fair comparison, but howl all you want. If you are going to put up a propaganda video to trumpet the rise of a new technology, it's more than fair to point out that the Chinese approach is to simply build hordes of newer, better, and faster boats for their swarms while we retrofit what looks from the ONR video to be at least some boats dating back perhaps as far back as the Vietnam era. Last take: If I had my way, defense analysts and journalists would never have anything to write about when it comes to new American weapons systems. Loose lips - and porous firewalls - do indeed sink ships. ONR please take note. _______________ Peter Navarro is a professor at the University of California-Irvine. He is the author of Crouching Tiger: What China's Militarism Means for the World (Prometheus Books) and director of the companion Crouching Tiger documentary film series. For more information and to access film interview clips, visit www.crouchingtiger.net or see his book talk on CSPAN2. "How's Brooklyn College doing these days?" Justice Antonin Scalia asked. It was 1994. I was at the Supreme Court to receive the Supreme Court Historical Society's award for scholarly writing about the Court. I was also in my 15th year on the American Civil Liberties Union's board of directors. Cases like Citizens United and the gun regulations decisions were still in the future, and so was the vitriolic language Justice Scalia used later in life, but his votes and his opinions had already made it clear that he and the ACLU saw the Constitution quite differently. Homosexual rights, affirmative action, reproductive freedom, the death penalty for juveniles: just a few areas of serious disagreement. So I went to the Court prepared to meet an ogre. I had heard that Justice Scalia was delightful in person but I very much doubted that I would be charmed. And yet I was. Justice Scalia's father had taught at Brooklyn College and I had been on its faculty since 1972, so we had at least that in common. We chatted briefly about inconsequential things, he laughed and smiled and seemed to listen intently, and I was indeed charmed. Advertisement Our next meeting was not as fortuitous. I was writing a book about a 1996 case that involved the refusal of the Virginia Military Institute, a state-funded college, to accept applications from women. The Supreme Court in effect decided that VMI had to open its doors to all qualified students. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the Court, drew on the precedents she had set back in the 1970s when she was on the other side of the bench arguing gender equality cases. In doing so, she established a high threshold for any governmental action permitting gender discrimination. Justice Scalia was the sole dissenter in the case (Justice Clarence Thomas recused himself because his son was a student at VMI). He didn't like the new test of gender discrimination and he accepted Virginia's argument that women could not hack VMI's physically demanding regime. That didn't charm me but, as a scholar, I did want to interview him. I had already spoken about the case with Justice Ginsburg. He was known for his reluctance to grant such interviews and perhaps it was a word from Justice Ginsburg that persuaded him to see me; I'll probably never know. In any event, he made it clear from the moment I walked into his chambers that he was not happy that I was there. By then I was the ACLU's national secretary. He of course expected me to view the VMI decision favorably, and he was right. The famous Scalia charm was not in evidence as he curtly reiterated the view he had taken in dissent. The interview was very brief. As a courtesy, I sent him a copy of the book when it came out. He did not respond. That, I assumed, would be my last interaction with Justice Scalia, but it wasn't. In 2014, the Supreme Court Historical Society invited me to give a lecture in the courtroom about the people behind a 1946 Mexican-American school desegregation case (Mendez v. Westminster). Advertisement Anyone giving such a lecture is hosted by one of the justices of the Supreme Court. I don't know what led the Historical Society to choose Justice Scalia as my host but it did, and so on the afternoon of the lecture I was invited to his chambers for the usual pre-event chat. By that time I was an ACLU vice president. My earlier dismay at the justice's jurisprudence had multiplied exponentially, as since our last encounter he had written one opinion after another whacking away at many of the things that I and my colleagues believed in as passionately as he did not. But it was a time for politeness, not an ideological debate; after all, he was being gracious in hosting me. I could only hope that, given the brevity of our less-than-cordial interview about VMI, he didn't remember me. We once again chatted inconsequentially until he said, "You know, it really should be Justice Ginsburg who introduces you tonight." "Why is that?" I queried, although I knew the answer. "Because she cares so much about women's rights," he replied. Unable to resist, I asked not-so-innocently, "But don't you care about women's rights, Justice Scalia?" "Not as much as she does," came the amused rejoinder. Next he turned to my 37-year-old son, who had accompanied me, and commented, "Your mother is a strong woman." "Yeah," my son replied, with a "You-don't-know-the-half-of-it" expression on his face. Then it was time to go down to the courtroom. Justice Scalia was generous in introducing me and at one point, talking about my scholarly work, he mentioned the VMI book. His timing was impeccable. He paused for a beat before noting, with a big grin, "Of course, I dissented in that case." The audience laughed, and he winked at me. It appeared he did remember. I don't know if you heard, but on February 3, 2016, I became the first rabbi ever to declare my "candidacy" for President of the United States of America. As you can imagine, mine is not a conventional candidacy. I do not seek to be nominated by the Republican party or by the Democratic party. I am not even declaring myself an independent. Rather, I, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald, have created a new party that has one primary goal: to bring back sacred time! Sacred time for individuals-sacred time for families-sacred time for businesses-sacred time for America! Therefore, my new party is known as "The Shabbat Party." Now that I have your attention, allow me to explain: Jewish tradition views the Sabbath Day (Shabbat) as "An Oasis in Time." In an era when digital technology has made the world a ubiquitous and continuous universal work space and has created an environment of constant distractions via smartphones, text messages, radios, telephones, televisions, videos and computer games, the Sabbath is a unique opportunity for spiritual and psychological renewal. It is a heavenly gift, a bit of "Divine therapy." Around the year 1802, the British Romantic poet, William Wordsworth, wrote a poem entitled, "The World Is Too Much With Us." In this poem, Wordsworth criticized society's intense absorption with materialism, which he maintained resulted in people distancing themselves from nature. He wrote movingly that, "Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers, little we see in Nature that is ours; we have given our hearts away..." Imagine, Wordsworth wrote these words in the early 19th century, when a day of rest was still part of the social fabric of Western society! What would Wordsworth have written today, in the frenetic-paced, media-driven world of the 21st century? Advertisement The Shabbat Party agenda is to boldly declare the significance of the Sabbath Day. With my candidacy, I hope to convince the country that the Sabbath is a Divine opportunity for us to catch our breath, to look inward, not outward, to be introspective. It offers us the chance to dedicate time to simple but invaluable pleasures such as hugging our children, looking our spouses in the eye, and engaging in true communication without the constant interruptions of today's technology. And this therapy is absolutely FREE! Imagine sitting down to dinner without the pressure of answering calls from the boss, and being able to exercise this freedom again at lunch the next day. Consider how therapeutic a slow Sabbath Day walk is for those fighting burnout, how invigorating the opportunity to nap is for those suffering chronic exhaustion, and how important the opportunity to build community is for those suffering from existential loneliness. Every community may have their own method of celebrating the Sabbath, but there is one constant idea that they all share -- that a Sabbath Day is a day for connecting more profoundly to others and more meaningfully to the Divine. Technological advances have made our lives easier, but they have complicated the ways we interact with each other, with the world and with God. At the heart of the Shabbat Party is family and/or community. By slowing down and unplugging, even for one day a week, we give ourselves the opportunity to connect with ourselves, connect with our families, connect with our friends and connect with our neighbors. I am running for President because if our society truly desires to put an end to much of the malaise, depression, violence and crime that afflict our nation, we need to transform America into one family and build a united American community. I am running for President because the Jewish concept of Shabbat is something that I believe that all the people of our country desperately need and can benefit from. My political agenda is simple: weekly sacred time -- perhaps a 25 hour period -- for friends and families to spend time together without distractions -- time to resurrect the human infrastructure and to heal society's ills. Advertisement It has been said that the Sabbath is G-d's greatest gift to humankind. Embrace it. Savor it, and you will soon recognize that it is truly "a Taste of the World to Come." TEHRAN, IRAN - FEBRUARY 26: An Iranian woman votes in the parliamentary and Experts Assembly elections at a polling station in Qom, 125 kilometers (78 miles) south of the capital on February 26, 2016 in Tehran, Iran. Iranians voted on Friday in parliamentary elections, the country's first since its landmark nuclear deal with world powers last summer. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images) Unlike what many may think, elections in an illiberal country like Iran are not only a political show. Their outcome serves as a test of strength among Iran's competing power centers. Over the weekend, the Iranian people went massively to the polls to elect members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the parliament, and the 88 members of the Assembly of Experts, which is in charge of selecting the next supreme leader to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This was the first time that the two political bodies were elected simultaneously. The results of the elections -- the first since the start of President Hassan Rouhani's tenure in 2013 and the landmark nuclear agreement with the U.S. and five other world powers in July 2015 that lifted sanctions against Iran -- overwhelmingly favored moderates and reformists while marginalizing hard-liners. The large turnout in the elections -- about 34 million out of the nearly 55 million eligible voted on Feb. 26, according to Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli -- is very meaningful. Without a doubt, the results amounted to a popular endorsement of Rouhani's policy of "constructive and dignified engagement with the world." Advertisement The real effects of the February elections in Iran will be felt in the next few years, when the battle for the next supreme leader starts. Very much aware of the hawkish resistance that had lay before him, Rouhani chose a viable path through the art of principled compromise through allying with the pragmatic centrist forces against the power base of the hard-liners in the Iranian parliament and in the Assembly of Experts. What emerged in the run-up to the elections was an alignment between three key figures of the Iranian Revolution, notably Hassan Rouhani, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Hassan Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini's grandson, who, by targeting the Assembly of Experts, tried to push back ultra-conservative figures like Ahmad Jannati and Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, and win a victory against all those who have been empowered since the election of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005. The most surprising result of this successful strategy was the defeat in Tehran of Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, a representative of the hard-liners in the Assembly of Experts. Although the Guardian Council, the influential oversight body that examines all laws passed by parliament and vets candidates, disqualified a high number of applicants -- out of a total of 12,123 aspiring candidates registered to run in these elections, only 4,720 were qualified to participate, according to Tasnim News Agency -- the reformist candidates came first on the Tehran list for the parliamentary elections. Given the extent of these disqualifications, the sweeping win in the two elections came as quite a surprise. This is good news indeed. Advertisement What happened in the Iranian elections over the weekend is even more significant than Hassan Rouhani's victory in the presidential elections of 2013. With the unexpected win of the reformists in the Iranian parliament, Rouhani's government finds itself with a legislative body that will be run by a majority of moderates and semi-conservatives rather than only ultra-conservatives. And despite the disqualification of Hassan Khomeini, Rouhani and Rafsanjani's surprise victory at the top of the list in the race for membership of the influential Assembly of Experts will certainly steer the assembly toward a new strategy in choosing the next supreme leader. No doubt, this outcome of the Assembly of Experts election will have a big impact on Iranian domestic and foreign policies. The essential contest is between those like Rafsanjani who advocate for a permanent leadership council to replace the role of the supreme leader and those among the hard-liners who are for the selection of a new supreme leader by the assembly. In view of the importance of the role that the supreme leader plays in Iranian politics, that decision which will be made by the Assembly of Experts in the coming years would be a turning point of the Iranian Revolution with enormous ramifications. One doesn't have to be clairvoyant to discern the shape of the future of Iranian politics. We all know that the Iranian elections will change nothing immediately, but we also know that these elections are the closest that the Iranian public can come to shaping the country's future. The real effects of the February elections in Iran, then, will be felt in the next few years, when the battle for the next supreme leader starts. What happened in the Iranian elections over the weekend is thus even more significant than Hassan Rouhani's victory in the presidential elections of 2013. Also on WorldPost: Every evening at dusk, the fireflies come out and display their green flashing light show. At night the turacos and occasional tree hyrax call with their haunting voices. Then there is a gunshot, and the poachers have possibly killed another monkey or duiker to bring to market and sell the bushmeat. During the day, we hear chainsaws, killing in minutes trees that took hundreds of years to grow. This is the present state of the rainforests in Cameroon. I am here working with a team of scientists in a race against time, to catalogue the mosquitoes and bird diseases before the rainforest is gone. We know when and where the logging will happen, so we are taking advantage of a situation we can not stop: to learn as much as possible about the pristine rainforest before it is gone. I arrived in Douala, and witnessed the terrible traffic that people encounter every day. People use all kinds of vehicles to move around, often 3-4 on one motorcycle. The bridge out of Douala is notoriously bad, and can create havoc for hours at a time. Then the police stop us twice along the road to Buea, blatantly asking for bribes. "Happy new year" are his words, delivered with a suggestive connotation. Corruption is just accepted, as is the poverty and lack of infrastructure. In short, life is not easy in Cameroon. At the University of Buea, the professors and students are wonderful, dedicated and excited about learning and participating in the project. This will be an opportunity for them to learn about the diversity of the rainforest, and it is the first time for some of them to camp in the jungle. We have to pack up a lot of gear, and get organized for the 10-day trip. We drive past Kumba, and it is clear that the logging trucks are a priority. The road has completely changed since I was here last in the summer of 2014. We see Chinese workers beginning to pave the road, and one of my favorite spots along the way that had a tremendous view of a river and deep forest is now a gravel mine. This is "progress", allowing traffic to reach the interior of the forest in half the time. Advertisement We become a village of 18 people after hiking for more than an hour from the nearest road into the forest. We carry everything; the tents, food, cooking supplies, traps for mosquitoes and nets for birds. It is the very dry season, and it won't rain at all. Our problem is that it means that we have a very limited supply of water because the stream is not flowing. We must conserve, and drink boiled water, with the smoky sediment that grows on the tastebuds with our increasing thirst. One bucket of water each day is sufficient to clean the sweat off our bodies. The stinky clothes never dry. We are professors, students, and 4 helpers, developing a working community. We all get along and become friends living in the bush. The bees attack us the first day, and hundreds enter my tent as soon as I open the fly. When I want to bathe, I am attacked by biting ants, piercing my feet with their jaws until I run to safety. The tingle in my feet lasts a few hours, and I start to think that perhaps this could be developed as a natural alternative to acupuncture. The ants are bad, but at this time of year, the mosquitoes are not. Still somehow, I end up with a lot of itchy bites. We dance together on Saturday night, accompanied by music on a battery operated CD player. Every morning at dawn we open the nets to catch the birds. We take a drop of blood for our molecular studies, and make blood smears for microscopy. Most common is the Fire-crested Alethe, an orange-headed squawky bird. We get a lot of olive sunbirds, and some beautiful wattle-eyes. The diversity is still high in this pristine forest, but it won't last long. By the summer, most of this will be gone. The mosquito group works in the tent trying to learn these obscure forest insects that don't seem to bite humans, but may feed on frogs, birds or snakes. Nighttime is my favorite, and I go to sleep early, so that I can wake up in the middle of night, and listen to the sounds. One night a poacher walks through the camp, shining his light on my tent, but then quickly departs. Our headlamps are indispensable tools, allowing us to see in this dark humid place. Advertisement MINNEAPOLIS, MN- FEBRUARY 29: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) speaks to a crowd of supporters at the Minneapolis Convention Center February 29, 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sanders, who has spent the last four days campaigning in Minnesota, is hoping to win the State in the Super Tuesday primary election on March 1st, 2016. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Last summer, my 16-year-old daughter asked me whether I felt the Bern. "Did you leave the stove on again?" I asked her. Now, after listening to We, the People, I feel the Bern. I hereby endorse Bernie Sanders to be our Democratic nominee for President of the United States. I will vote for him as a Super-delegate at the Democratic National Convention. And I enthusiastically join, shoulder to shoulder, his political revolution. Advertisement Perhaps inspired by the Bernie Sanders message of "Not me. Us.", for the past several days, I have appealed to Democrats across the nation to tell me for whom I should vote, as a Super-delegate at the Democratic National Convention. The response has been absolutely overwhelming. Almost 400,000 Democrats voted at GraysonPrimary.com. More than the number who voted in the South Carolina primary. More than the number who voted in the New Hampshire primary and the Nevada caucus combined. The results: Sanders 86 percent, Clinton 14 percent. More than just a landslide. An earthquake. We invited not just votes, but also comments. I have been fascinated by the reasons you all gave for your votes. We'll be sharing some of those, in coming days. But in Bernie's case, it boils down to this: America needs a revolution. And only Bernie Sanders, as President of the United States, can make one. For those of you who read these missives (and if you don't, then welcome!) this endorsement may not be entirely unexpected. You know that: Advertisement (1) I have passed 54 amendments on the Floor of the House in the last three years, more than any other Member. And when Bernie Sanders served in the House, in his time Bernie was the "Amendment King," getting so many good things done in a hopelessly waterlogged institution, again and again. (2) I am the only Member of the U.S. House of Representatives who raised most of his campaign funds from small contributions of less than $200 (in both 2012 and 2014, by the way). Bernie Sanders is the only Member of the U.S. Senate who raised most of his campaign funds from small contributions of less than $200. And this year, Bernie Sanders is the only Presidential candidate who has raised most of his campaign funds from small contributions of less than $200. Bernie and I are not owned and beholden to the billionaires and the multinational corporations and the lobbyists and the special interests. Bernie Sanders is unbought and unbossed. So am I. That is an essential element of the political revolution. Bernie Sanders and I share a goal of building a grassroots movement of people who want to take back our country from the billionaires and the multinational corporations. We want to make elections into about something different: Not the lesser of two evils, but the greater good. But Bernie and I cannot accomplish this on our own. We need your help. We need to declare our Declaration of Independence from the baneful power of Big Money, by coming together one and all. Advertisement This is the revolution you've been waiting for. The place is here, and the time is now. Power... to the People. Courage, Earlier today, Nielsen released preliminary reports on viewership of the 88th annual Academy Awards -- and the results are telling. Overnight ratings for the ceremony declined to an 8-year low. For those of us that campaigned around asking citizens to tune out, this is heartening news. It is a significant decline and should send a clear message to the Academy and to movie studio executives that we will not tolerate discriminatory practices whether they impact what we see on screen or what takes place behind the lens. Though we don't take full credit for the decrease in viewership, certainly one would have to assume that we were effective and part of the decline. As the brilliant Frederick Douglass once said, "Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never did and it never will." To those that mocked the idea of a tune out, it seems that the joke was on them. Yesterday, National Action Network (NAN) and I held a demonstration and marched in LA protesting the industry's continued lack of inclusion and the ongoing disrespect of ticket goers who support Hollywood with their dollars but have been marginalized on many levels. As I stated yesterday, we are not dictating who should or who shouldn't win an Oscar, but if you are locked out of the process, then what we must come to terms with is addressing systemic exclusion. And this isn't just about Black actors not being appropriately recognized for their talent; it is about the larger notion of what projects get funding for production, who gets hired behind-the-scenes, what stories are told and from whose perspective, what roles are available for Black and minority actors, how people of color can secure producer and director positions, how those who actually live in the Los Angeles area can get jobs in the industry and more. NAN and those who gathered with us yesterday wanted to send a clear message to Hollywood: It is beyond time for a change. We also held simultaneous demonstrations in New York, Washington, Cleveland, Atlanta and Detroit. There are studies after studies that indicate that people tend to hire those that are either in their circles or those that look like them. If a majority of those in power in Hollywood are White, they tend to green light projects by those they know, those that are referred to them in their own sphere of influence, or those that they "can relate to." This has reverberations on many levels. Not only does it impact what movies are made and how people of color are depicted on a mainstream level, but also who gets a foot in the door even in an entry-level position. Access gets you more access, so if we truly care about shifting the cycle of inequality, this systemic racism in pop culture cannot continue. In 2016, it is absolutely insulting that we are still grappling with such issues. This isn't 1950s America, and the movie going audience that spends its hard earned money to support films is comprised of a significant proportion of people of color that are simply sick and tired of being disenfranchised. The Black buying power in general is forecasted to reach $1.3 trillion by the year 2017. That tremendous power can no longer be ignored, and Hollywood must do its part to make changes immediately. It's not enough for the Academy to try and double the number of women and minority members by 2020; we need to see real substantive moves that give more employment opportunities and opportunity in general on every level to people of color. Actors and artists will often tell you (even in acceptance speeches) that there is perhaps no greater honor than being recognized for your work by your peers. When Black, Latino, Asian and other minority actors are shunned out of the Academy nomination process for the second year in a row, what message does that send to them, to the acting community, to the actors of tomorrow and to society at large? This is a very serious part of the problem and why so many boycotted last night's ceremony, but it is not the only issue. If we want to equalize Hollywood, then we must address the deeper challenges behind-the-scenes as well. Until we do, the Academy and studio execs can expect that declining viewership will be the new norm because the people that support your films are just tired of being snubbed. I grew up in Portland, Or, which is a city that has lots of churches and religious communities. During the time that I lived in Portland, I attended Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist, American Baptist and United Church Of Christ congregations. As a teenager, I was involved in an organization called Hub-Cap, which was an ecumenical agency that was working on issues regarding the elderly and the poor. Being religious and active in a faith community was important for me then and is important for me now. Years later, I would learn, probably urban legend, that Oregon is one of the least religious states in the country in terms of church attendance. I must say that it didn't appear to be the case when I was growing up. According to a recent study published by the Pew Research Center, Oregon ranks 39Th in terms of its religious affiliation. The religious profile of Oregon is as follows: Religious profile of Oregon 45% (39th) say religion is very important in their lives 29% (42nd) say they attend worship services at least weekly 45% (47th) say they pray daily 57% (38th) say they believe in God with absolute certainty How religious is your state? Pew Research Center - 1 day ago ... levels of religiosity in the Pew Research Center's most recent Religious Landscape Study According to the same study, Mississippi and Alabama are rated No. One for religious affiliation. In Alabama, 77% report the religion is very important for their lives, 51% report that they attend church weekly. In Mississippi, where I once lived, 74% percent report that religion is very important in their lives and 49% percent report attending church weekly. The state that appears to be the least religious is Massachusetts, home of Harvard, MIT, Tangle Wood and the Boston Red Socks, which is ranked 50TH. In Massachusetts, 33% report that religion is very important in their lives,23% report that they attend church at least weekly. ( Pew Research Study ) Perhaps it's not surprising that the South would be listed as being more religious than the Northeast, but I wonder how does this translate with regard to social policy, especially taking care of the poor and the needy ? Mississippi has been traditionally viewed as a poor state. According to an article in the Atlantic Magazine; I It is hard to find a list where Mississippi doesn't rank last; Life expectancy. Per capita income. Children's literacy. "Mississippi's people do not fare well," wrote Willie Morris, a seventh-generation, native son who grew up in Yazoo City How Obamacare Went South in Mississippi - The Atlanticwww.theatlantic.com/...obamacare...in-mississippi/382313The Atlantic Nov 4, 2014 - Why did the Affordable Care Act fail in the country's unhealthiest state? ... view among the poor is: "Mississippi don't care about its poor people. This is in contrast to Massachusetts, according to an article from the Boston Globe. The poverty rate for children in Massachusetts increased more than three percentage points between 2009 and 2013 -- to 16.3 percent -- even as the reported unemployment rate declined. Poverty has been slowly climbing in Massachusetts for the past five years (although specialists caution that each annual increase is not necessarily statistically significant), and children are being affected at a higher rate than the general population. Overall, the number of homeless family members in Massachusetts has increased by 81 percent in the past six years, the second-highest increase of any state in the nation, according to Horizons for Homeless Children. Child poverty continues to climb in Massachusetts The...https://www.bostonglobe.com/...massachusetts/.../story.ht...The Boston GlobeSep 21, 2014 - "It can lead to another cycle of poverty," Luby said. ... In Massachusetts, nearly 31 percent of urban children are poor, a 6.4 percentage point increase... And children require access to health care, nutrition, and education so that their future is not determined by adversity. So, you can be very religious as a state, or not so religious as a state and not do a good job with regard to taking care of those who are vulnerable. Jesus said, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' ( Matthew 25:40 ) The late Mario Cuomo once said " the measure of a society is how well it takes care of its less fortunate citizens." Maybe, the good news this season is that we can be committed to our religious faith and we can be equally committed to providing assistance to those who are poor, marginalized and who have no voice. May it be so. Republican Presidential candidate Ted Cruz is taking heat for dirty tricks allegedly orchestrated by his campaign. The tricks range from photoshopping an image to make it appear that one of his opponents, Marco Rubio, is gleefully shaking hands with President Barack Obama, to allegedly creating a counterfeit Facebook profile for conservative U.S. Representative Trey Gowdy (R-SC), where Gowdy disavows his past support for Rubio and announces he now backs Cruz. It is also alleged that Cruz's campaign tried to fool supporters of opponent Ben Carson by informing them that the retired neurosurgeon had dropped out of the race. Political skullduggery is not a novelty in American Politics. Sometimes the tricks are quite juvenile. In 1970, 19-year-old Republican political operative Karl Rove, who later became the chief campaign strategist for George W. Bush, broke into the campaign office of Allan J. Dixon, the Democratic nominee for State Treasurer of Illinois. He then pilfered Dixon's campaign stationery. Learning when Dixon had scheduled a rally, Rove proceeded to advertise: "Free beer, free food, girls, and a good time for nothing" on Dixon's stationery. Rove then distributed the homemade flyers at rock concerts and homeless shelters, inviting these people to the rally. Dixon won the election and Rove eventually apologized for his actions. Dirty tricks can sometimes backfire on the trickster. In 2010, Florida Republican State Legislative candidate Greg Brown, along with his bride, stole his opponents campaign signs from lawns. His opponent, Doug Bronson, caught the couple on video camera stealing the signs. Advertisement In 1950, Time magazine reported that U.S. Representative George Smathers (D-FL) made the following charge about U.S. Senator Claude Pepper (D-FL) while campaigning to defeat him in the 1950 Democratic Primary: Are you aware that the candidate is known all over Washington as a shameless extrovert? Not only that, but this man is reliably reported to have practiced nepotism with his sister-in-law and he has a sister who was once a wicked thespian in New York. He matriculated with co-eds at the University, and it is an established fact that before his marriage he habitually practiced celibacy. Smathers denied making this statement and offered $10,000 to anyone who could prove he made it. No one could prove it. Smathers won the election. The alleged tactics used by the Cruz campaign are reminiscent of those used in previous political campaigns, sometimes without even the knowledge of the candidate. In 1888, after his razor-thin victory (winning the Electoral Vote but not the national popular vote), President-Elect Benjamin Harrison said to Republican National Committee Chairman Matthew Stanley Quay: "Providence has given us victory." Quay later opined to a newspaper reporter: He ought to know that Providence didn't have a damn thing to do with it. Harrison will never know how many men were compelled to approach the penitentiary to make him President." Advertisement Incumbent President Grover Cleveland was locked in a whisker-close battle with Harrison. A Harrison supporter, George Osgooby wrote a letter using the alias "Charles F. Murchishon." He claimed to be a naturalized citizen born in Britain. Osgooby mailed the letter to the British ambassador to the U.S., Lionel Sackville West, requesting advice regarding whom he should vote for. West wrote back, suggesting he should vote for Cleveland. President Cleveland was held in high esteem by the British for his support for reducing the protective tariff on British goods imported into the U.S. When the letters were published, some Irish-Americans, indignant at the British for their treatment of the Irish, turned against Cleveland and helped put Harrison over the top. The Kennedy family is notorious for the use of political legerdemain. In 1946, after entering a race for an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, future President John F. Kennedy used a clever tactic to muster an electoral advantage. A popular candidate in the race was Boston City Councilor Joe Russo. To siphon support from Russo, the Kennedy campaign persuaded and bankrolled a custodian domiciled in the district, who had no political experience or political aspirations, to enter the race. His name was also Joe Russo. The City Councilor Joe Russo complained that someone had "seen fit to buy out a man who has the same name as mine." But the city councilor had no recourse, and John F. Kennedy won the race. When John F. Kennedy (a Roman Catholic) sought the Presidency in 1960, his campaign, led by campaign manager and brother Robert F. Kennedy, won plaudits for their victory in West Virginia, which was about 95% Protestant. This stunning victory was not only the result of indefatigable campaigning, but also the result of implying that Humphrey had sought draft deferments because he was "a political organizer whose services were needed (as a civilian) during WWll." The Kennedy campaign dispatched surrogate Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., whose father's name reached near demi-god status in the state, to suggest that Humphrey had been a draft dodger during World War ll. The accusations were mendacious. In actuality, Humphrey failed his medical examination because of a hernia. John F. Kennedy denounced the charge, averring that the allegations were "done without my knowledge and consent and I disapprove of the injection of this issue into the campaign." Roosevelt later withdrew his charge against Humphrey, but the damage was done. Humphrey was running a shoestring campaign against Kennedy's unlimited resources. In fact, Humphrey allocated funds he had saved for his daughter's college education to pay for his last television advertisement. In addition to failing to inoculate himself from the draft dodging charges, Humphrey could not overcome Kennedy's infinite campaign spending. In the General Election that year, Kennedy employed the services of Dick Tuck, a noted dirty trickster. After Kennedy debated Republican nominee Richard M. Nixon, Tuck paid a senior citizen to wear a "Nixon for President" button and to approach Nixon after the debate in the presence of the media and tell Nixon: "Don't worry son! He beat you last night, but you'll get him next time." Kennedy eked out a victory over Nixon. Advertisement After winning the Presidency himself in 1968, Nixon became the perpetrator of, and accomplice to, numerous dirty tricks. His Presidency was toppled as a result of the Watergate Affair, where he tried to cover-up his re-election campaign's role in a break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters. But that was just the tip of the iceberg for dirty tricks in that administration. Nixon and his coefficients were obsessed with enfeebling their potentially formidable opponents for re-election. Former Alabama Governor George Wallace had run for President in 1968 as the nominee of the American Independence Party. Nixon wanted to purloin and monopolize the populist blue-collar conservative message that Wallace had preached in 1968. He feared Wallace would become either the Democratic nominee or would again be the American Independence Party nominee, and would once again become the tribune of the message. To stop Wallace, the Nixon forces subversively tried to have him defeated in his 1970 bid to recapture the Alabama Governorship. Accordingly, Nixon ordered his lawyer, Herbert Kalmbach, to clandestinely funnel $100,000 to Wallace's opponent, incumbent Democrat Albert Brewer. Brewer defeated Wallace in the primary, but did not garner the requisite majority of the vote to avoid a runoff with Wallace. In the Runoff election, Kalmbach secretly sent a $330,000 donation to Brewer. However, the scheme proved feckless as Wallace won the General Election comfortably. Wallace then ran for President two years later, but his campaign came to a halt when he was shot and paralyzed at a campaign rally in Laurel, Maryland. In 1972, much of the Democratic establishment was aligned with U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie (D-ME). The Nixon campaign feared Muskie would muster the nomination. To prevent this possibility, they tried to derail his candidacy before the New Hampshire Presidential Primary. They wanted to run against the insurrectionist candidate George McGovern who was well to Muskie's left. Shannanagators in the Nixon campaign penned a letter written to the Editor of the influential Manchester Union Leader. It was published just two weeks prior to the New Hampshire Primary. The letter-writer alleged in the missive to have asked Muskie how he could represent African-Americans as President when there were so few African-Americans in Muskie's home state of Maine. This letter went on to state that Muskie had responded: "No Blacks, but we have Canucks." (A derogatory term for French Canadians who have a large representation in Maine). The letter proved effective in that Muskie challenged the letter-writer and the newspaper by standing outside its headquarters and branding the paper's editor, William Loeb, "A gutless coward." It was reported in the media the next day that Muskie cried, though some observers maintain that the water on Muskie's face was from snowflakes. However, after the incident some New Hampshire voters began questioning if Muskie had the temperament to be President. Consequently, many Muskie supporters defected to McGovern. While Muskie won the primary, he garnered an underwhelming 46.4% of the vote. Muskie never reclaimed his early electoral momentum. He dropped out of the race in late April, telling news reporters: "I do not have the money to continue." McGovern eventually pocketed the nomination. Yes, revolutionaries, Bernie has two problems; and his "movement" needs to go interactive to help him solve them. Saturday night my junkmail received its almost daily email pitch from Bernie Sanders. It was titled "An unmistakable message." Its text made unclear what Bernie thought that message was. But the "unmistakable message" communicated to me from South Carolina that night was that Sanders has a black women problem. Money will not solve that problem. Other states may not face him, as South Carolina did, with a Democratic electorate that is both 61% black and 61% female to deliver such a resounding defeat. Only 23% of South Carolina Democrats claim to be very liberal. It would be easy to write off South Carolina as the outlier state it has always been in US history, starting as the most oligarchic and repressive of all the slave states, home of the very prophet of slavery Sen. John C. Calhoun, another of its slave-power politician's caning of Charles Sumner nearly to death on the floor of the Senate with impunity, firing the first shot of the Civil War. If the slave power had a heart, it would have looked like South Carolina. But dismissing the message from South Carolina with such excuses would be too easy. South Carolina is today not the most impoverished, unemployed or unequal of southern states. Advertisement A teachable moment will be wasted if Sanders' campaign does not take away from its rout from South Carolina the fact that Bernie has a serious black women problem and that he must decide to take strategic action to solve that problem. Black women were 37% of South Carolina's primary voters. Clinton won their votes by a margin of 78 points (i.e., 89%-11%), and black men by 64 points. If Sanders had reversed the black women vote, which is a core component of his working class coalition and principal beneficiary of all his policies, he would have won South Carolina - not ignominiously lost it. This black women problem is strange because Sanders' opponent was accurately called out by Ashley Williams from #BlackLivesMatter for using, in her checkered conservative past. the "Super predator" and "Bring them to heel" slurs, to make the larger point that "Hillary Clinton has a pattern of throwing the Black community under the bus when it serves her politically." Even more revealing, Clinton was also at the same time caught, in her present "progressive" incarnation, promoting highly offensive Jim Crow fake history propaganda. She was called out for her "chilling" reversion to that pre-civil rights era slavery-by-another-name discourse by no less an authority than the best selling author and columnist Ta-Nehisi Coates. Coates criticized Clinton for "retelling a racist ... version of American history" and "doling out the kind of myths that undergirded racist violence," like a retro- Scarlet O'Hara. But such a direct accusation of racism from an authoritative source (who was not yet a Sanders' supporter at the time) had no noticeable effect in South Carolina. Advertisement As experienced practitioners of identity politics the Clintons know how to dish out symbols, such as Hillary Clinton's opportunistic southern drawl or reading a list of black victims, with an actor dramatizing that "She says their names ... and makes their mothers' fight for justice her own." Really, just like that? Desperation creates "a hunger for even symbolic victory," as Cornel West has eloquently said. These theatrical gestures, like Bill's saxophone, cancel out the reality of a Doughface conservative who has done much more harm than good to black Americans throughout her career, ever since she was a Goldwater youth in the same year he voted against the landmark Civil Rights Act. Sanders, who at that same time was arrested as a young civil rights activist, does not deal in identity politics symbolism. People of all identities who are capable of going deeper than superficial symbols and empty gestures to understand the concrete policies that Sanders has consistently backed unfailingly support him. Cornel West instructs that Sanders is "more progressive than ... Obama--and that means better for black America." West was not alone in taking this powerful message to South Carolina. West does not have to prove his own transcendence of identity politics in pursuit of the truth wherever it may lead. Like West, Sanders also does not pander to identity politics. Nevertheless Sanders hired a young black woman, Symone Sanders, as his national press secretary, and he also has attracted the support of some of the most dynamic black women in the country, as well as black men. But all this has not translated at a symbolic level into a message capable of gaining support from black women generally. What Sanders is missing is the kind of identity symbolism that would communicate the centrality of black women to his movement, Such symbolism must at the same time be completely consistent with, and an authentic expression of, his core message and purpose of restoring democracy from the grip of plutocracy for everybody. It is the weakest members of society, those subject to structural discrimination, who have the most to gain from restoring political equality. Sanders can be trusted not to pander like the Clintons as a substitute for that equality which Bill Clinton was instrumental in denying. Yet the message delivered by the South Carolina rout, like a wakeup slap in the face, is that Sanders needs to find an authentic progressive action that will at the same time communicate to black women about who he is at a symbolic level and in an unmistakable fashion. This message needs to be embedded in some elementary movement-building initiatives. Advertisement Fortunately events have presented him just such an opportunity. Where is the Sanders' progressive SCOTUS shortlist? Not only does Sanders have a black women problem. He also has a Supreme Court problem. Sanders will not be able to deliver on his promise to take our government back from the "billionaire class" unless he can effectively address his problem of taking the unelected Supreme Court back from the billionaire class. This is where events have intervened to Sanders' advantage. The Supreme Court problem has suddenly taken a more tractable form in the pending question about the best nominee to fill the swing-seat vacancy left by Scalia's timely demise. A 4-4 deadlocked Court puts a hold on any further plutocratic decisions until the seat is filled. Republicans insist that the election should determine the nomination. This creates an opportunity for Sanders to either as Senator recommend a nominee who is validated by his campaign success or as president to appoint the new justice who will turn around the Courts' plutocratic decisions which would otherwise prevent accomplishment of his progressive goals. To date, Sanders has been strangely and inappropriately silent about this opportunity, though it concerns him more than anyone. He is the one who has prioritized cleaning up the corrupt campaign finance system which cannot be done without a Supreme Court strategy. Sanders' campaign has made him at the same time both the most prominent U.S. Senator on the Democratic side of the aisle, and the most prominent progressive politician in the country. Meanwhile President Obama is undertaking his predictable Kabuki quest to offer a nomination that will be plutocratic enough to entice even Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell to treat it with courtesy. Those who reject plutocracy in 2016 are entitled to depend upon Senator Sanders to correct Obama with Senatorial good "advice" about this nomination. It is Senator Sanders' own constitutional duty to give Obama such advice. Since he is now a Senate leader, he should take the lead in doing so. If progressive advice is not given by Sanders then who will give it in a way that Obama can hear it? As both the most prominent Senator to advise Obama on this nomination and also the most prominent progressive in the country to deflect Obama from appointing a plutocrat acceptable to Republican Party funders, Sanders' current silence on the issue is deafening. Advertisement Sanders' likely prospects for winning the presidency increase his legitimate interest in how Obama handles this matter. McConnell claims "that the nomination should be made by the president that the people elect in the election that's now underway." Obama's mishandling of the nomination, by appointment to the Court of a plutocrat slightly disguised behind an identity-politics veneer, could prevent President Sanders from nailing down and taking advantage of McConnell's offer to fulfill his campaign promise of a revolution against plutocracy. Sanders should take up this challenge for a democratically determined nominee, and announce that he intends to hold McConnell to his promise that the election will determine the swing-seat appointment. If Sanders performs well on Super Tuesday, he will have additional political capital to claim, at least in private, that Obama should not send up a nomination unless it is someone that Sanders' can support. But Sanders should not delay in announcing his own short list of indicative candidates that Sanders would support now as Senator and in the future, as president. Most of the short lists imputed to Obama, like Obama's first apparent trial balloon, consist mostly of corporate lawyers and other plutocrats. Most of them have some veneer to satisfy whatever identity politics Obama chooses for his Identity Plutocrat nomination. But the identity that would be a truly historic first is that of a black woman. This identity lies at the very intersection of the two greatest democratic movements since the Constitution, against racism and patriarchy. It thus also represents the convergence of the identity politics played by both Obama and Clinton, the same convergence that ran Sanders out of South Carolina. These identities are rooted in tectonic political struggles, not just the steady stream of immigration and ethnic assimilation which is the American story. Yet there is an Hispanic woman and two Jewish women sitting on the Supreme Court, but no black woman. The slap delivered to Sanders in South Carolina says, if he chooses to interpret that message, "it's now time." It's time to move beyond symbolism to authentic participation in power. Advertisement One of the few names of non-judges appearing on some short lists of possible Obama nominees is the name of a black woman. Obama has been separately advised by the ranking member of the judiciary committee, the respected former Chair, Senator Leahy, that "nominees from outside the judicial monastery" would be preferable to nominating a judge. McConnell's politicization of the appointment discloses the deception that Leahy rightly dispels. Appointing a judge sustains the pretense that the Supreme Court has something to do with the law rather than using legal pretense to disguise political judgments, like Scalia did. The Supreme Court, the way it operates under Chief Justice Roberts, is today a purely political body. Pretending otherwise by appointing a sitting judge rather than a politician only sustains the pretense. Therefore this name of a non-judge black woman should be taken very seriously, particularly in light of the historic nature of the appointment. If President Obama is not going to appoint a black woman Supreme Court justice, then who will break this barrier in the foreseeable future? Unfortunately the name of the black woman that appears on these various short lists, who is also endorsed by what Glen Ford calls the Black Misleadership Class, is Obama's revolving door Attorney General Loretta Lynch. As former corporate lawyer and prosecutor in New York City she cannot be clearly distinguished from the other plutocrats that populate these circulating short lists as leading Obama prospects for Scalia's seat. She has been criticized for being "marinated in the [plutocratic] worldview." Letting the global bank HSBC off the hook is possibly what won her the top job to continue Justice's practice of taking a cut from the RICO bankers for terrorists and drug-dealers, among other criminals, instead of yanking their licenses and sending the offending money-laundering and predatory banksters to jail. If Sanders delays his advice on this nomination until Obama chooses such an Identity Plutocrat, it will be too late for him to oppose it. The identity politics messaging, amplified by mass media propagandists for plutocracy, will divert attention from the fundamental problem of appointing another plutocrat to the Supreme Court for the unspoken ulterior purpose of perpetuating the Supreme Court's "money is speech" jurisprudence. In effect, Loretta Lynch would be another Clarence Thomas for purposes of perpetuating plutocracy. What the country desperately needs, as its first priority, Sanders knows, is instead a justice who will go on the Court with the express determination of overruling Buckley v Valeo at the very first opportunity, and with the same intensity of purpose as Lincoln had toward overthrowing Dred Scott. Unless such a new justice is appointed, Sanders' promise to clean up the corrupt campaign finance system, as the prerequisite for achieving any of his proposed economic reforms, is an empty one. A corrupt Congress has proven incapable of defending its legislative powers against their usurpation by means of the Court's routine violations of the Constitution's separation of powers. It will be much easier and quicker for a new president with a mandate to win a nomination battle in a Democratic Senate than to try building a new backbone for a corrupt Congress to stand up to a judicial supremacist Court. The second most important issue arising from the justice system is closely related. While the Court has been illegitimately meddling in elections to legalize their plutocratic corruption, it has also been neglecting its proper official duty to oversee the criminal justice system in a manner so as to maintain the rule of law and due process. The Court has violated its judicial oath required by law that they "do equal right to the poor and to the rich." As a result of the Court's failure, both ethical and constitutional, criminal justice is a New Jim Crow system possessing significant police state overtones, especially against people of color and the poor. This is the problem that has created a civil rights crisis. Next to systemic political corruption, it is the most pressing national problem arising from the legal sector. Loretta Lynch, as a former prosecutor, now managing the Justice Department component of this broken system, is on the wrong side of this issue. She is what needs to be reformed, not a reformer. What is needed is a lawyer or legislator who has worked the victim side, not the police state side, of the broken system, one who can bring relevant expertise to the MIA Supreme Court on how to fix it. Where is Lynch's list of publications or best selling book about the broken justice system and failed federal drug war and corrupt prison industrial complex that drives it? If Sanders is going to get such a new Supreme Court justice appointed who will perform in the public's interest, not the plutocrats' interest, on these two crucial issues then he needs to be proactive. Right now he needs to get out in front of a Lynch or any other Identity Plutocrat nomination Obama might make. Lynch would likely be the strongest such nomination that Obama could make, since she was only recently approved by the Republican Senate as Attorney General and blows the two strongest identity-politics dog whistles of any possible alternative. By planning for the worst, Sanders would be prepared for any similar possibility. Sanders should be able to immediately find a half dozen qualified potential nominees of the same identity as Lynch, but who are progressive supporters of his revolution, not plutocratic opponents, and who are also on the right side of the civil rights crisis instead of on the wrong side of both civil rights and plutocracy crises. Sanders needs to make public his own indicative list of alternative nominees from which Obama could choose, at the implicit cost of losing Sanders' support if he refuses. Such a Sanders short list could include such names as the accomplished legislators Nina Turner and Cynthia McKinney, law professors Michelle Alexander (J.D., Stanford), Nekima Levy-Pounds (J.D., Illinois), and Anita Hill (J.D., Yale), maybe the versatile apparatchik formerly of Obama's own office Melody Barnes (J.D., Michigan), plus another nominee to be named by a group of young uncoopted women civil rights activists like Ashley Williams and Aislinn Pulley of Chicago. Symone Sanders should be fully capable of convening such young activists for the special purpose of appointing their own representative to this group of distinguished black women. While each member of this group should have qualifications to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court at least as impressive as those Antonin Scalia had when he was appointed, Sanders would ask this group to convene and deliberate on his behalf for purposes of jointly recommending to him who they think would be the best nominee. His nominee should be the modern version of a Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman and Frances Ellen Watkins rolled into one to invade, talk truth to, and conquer the influence peddling Senators of the Judiciary Committee. The nominee should be capable of winning over the public in Senate hearings on a progressive Supreme Court nominee or in a political campaign against any obstructive Senators, if necessary. After winning appointment, she would proceed to outlaw their plutocratic business model from her seat on the Supreme Court. Advertisement If the influence peddling Senators either refuse her a hearing, or defy public opinion by denying consent to her appointment after gavel-to-gavel broadcast hearings, she could still join the Court no later than July 31, 2016 as Obama's Article II, Section 2 recess appointee. According to law, Congress must recess by that date. Before that date her recess appointment should be urged upon Obama by Sanders as the Democratic candidate for the presidency, running well ahead of his Republican opponent in the polls. Sanders and his nomination team may need to publicly instruct the former constitutional law instructor about the power that the Constitution wisely gave the presidency to meet just the type of obstruction from Congress that McConnell has mounted against Obama. Sanders' efforts to overcome Obama's habitual instinct to deny his own presidential powers would conflict with Obama's Kabuki performance for plutocrats. But in these circumstances it would only serve to publicize Sanders' support for his nominee and for his own nomination process. This will demonstrate to black women Sanders' difference from Obama in following through his determination to get the best progressive, publicly supported, black woman nominee on the Court, one way or another, by August 1, 2017 at the very latest. Sanders' campaign should provide this consultative group whatever resources might be needed to reach out to an even broader community of progressive black women legal professionals. The process should be announced publicly and begin immediately to preempt any contrary action by Obama to appoint an Identity Plutocrat. Whatever reasonable time is needed should be made available for consultations with the objective of gaining widespread participation and support of black women for fashioning Sanders' ultimate Senatorial "advice" to Obama about the best black woman Justice who can be found. A formal model for such a process would be Jimmy Carter's widely-praised and groundbreaking judicial selection process that brought then unprecedented diversity to the federal bench. This exercise would have the additional benefit of providing practice for Sanders' eventual search the other important vacancy of a VP running mate. There are also a number of vacancies in the lower federal courts that are in need of mass recess appointments for any runner-up participants recommended by this consultative group who would not mind taking a sabbatical year as a federal judge, assuming Republicans will have the necessary votes to remove them at the end - whether in 2017, or 2018 - of their one-year recess appointment to the federal bench. Advertisement Sanders could in this way convert his current black women problem into a solution of his, and the country's, even greater need for an authentic progressive nominee to fill Scalia's vacant seat on the Supreme Court, as well as key vacancies in the lower courts. "We live in a time when we don't need marginal improvements" - Shaun King. The country cannot afford another Kabuki-disguised cave-in by Obama on one of the most important Supreme Court appointments in U.S. history. Sanders needs to demonstrate his leadership capabilities on this issue right now. It is as important to the recovery of democracy as is his election itself. If his chosen nominee does not get a hearing in the Republican Senate, then she should immediately become a partner in his campaign to obtain a national mandate for when her name is finally sent to the Senate on inauguration day 2017. Over to you Bernie. It's time to start actually building this important missing element of that movement you talk about. ----- Rob Hager, a Harvard Law graduate, is a public interest litigator who filed amicus briefs in the Montana sequel to Citizens United and has worked as an international consultant on anti-corruption policy. He is currently writing a three-part book assessing proposals for ending the political influence of special interest money. The current eLibrary draft of the first part, Hillary Clinton's Dark Money Disclosure "Pillar," is available online. The Sabah Wildlife Department issued a dire warning last week over the survival of the last remaining elephant population in Borneo. The African elephants have been the focus of media attention so much so that some people are surprised to find out that there are elephants in Indonesia and Malaysia and not just orangutans. This mono species conservation focus which has most conservation dollars going towards saving orangutans is casting too much of a shadow over species like the elephants. More efforts have to be placed on habitat preservation. In fact, if saving the orangutans is truly a global goal for conservation, we should use the Asian elephant ( Elephas Maximus ) as an icon species instead of the orangutan. Look at it this way. The estimated population of the Bornean orangutans still floats around plus or minus 50,000 animals depending on which report you read. The Bornean elephant( Elephas Maximus Borneensis) on the other hand, has been estimated at less than 2,000 animals, most of which are in Sabah state, Malaysia. The Sumatran elephant( Elephas Maximus Sumatranus) fares no better with less than 2,000 animals remaining compared to an estimated 6,000 Sumatran orangutans and yet the monthly deaths of Sumatran elephants rarely gets exposure in popular media. Advertisement Wild animals need big areas to survive in, elephants more so. It's a well known fact that there isn't enough money or interest in saving all threatened wildlife but there is a good chance that if we could focus on habitats rather than exclusive sanctuaries or safe enclosed areas, we could possibly even save species like the wild buffalo( banteng as it's called locally )and the pangolins in Sabah as happy beneficiaries of holistic conservation. Both of which are reportedly near extinct. Unfortunately, neither the banteng nor the pangolin is cute enough to be an iconic species. So, if we are choosing which animal to be an icon based on their level of cuteness, well then, baby elephants can be darn cute too! Just look at this photo from Bornean elephant expert, Megan English, of baby elephants in Sabah state, Malaysia. This has to be the cutest thing you'll see this week! Unfortunately, Sabah state is also the same place where the poisoning deaths of 14 elephants in 2013 made headlines around the world. This should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with conservation issues in Sabah. Way back in 2012, I received a report indicating that human-elephant conflicts would rise over the years. The report which was prepared jointly by a local NGO and the Sabah Wildlife Department indicated that some 64% of the elephants were found outside of protected forests. Local news reports on human-elephant conflicts since then have served to confirm that report's warnings. Advertisement A recent study on the elephants and one of their key habitats in the Lower Kinabatangan Floodplain can be accessed here. The report comes with a warning that the future of elephants in Sabah is questionable if isolated populations continue to in-breed. Action Now or Future Extinction In last week's public statement, the Director of Sabah's Wildlife Department, William Baya called the rescue of baby orphan elephants a "worrying trend " and appealed to Malaysian corporations to help fund their rescue. I am extremely concerned about what is happening to our Bornean Elephant population in the wild . For the past three years we have rescued 15 baby elephants , all below 1 year old that were found wondering alone. The numbers are actually on the increase when in 2013 we rescued 2 babies, followed by 3 babies the following year and in 2015 ,we rescued a record of 8 babies. Though 2016 has just dawned , we have already rescued 2 baby elephants just in the month of February alone. Assistant Director, Dr Sen Nathan was more emphatic in his assessment of the situation. Coupled by this alarming trend of orphans being rescued which basically means mothers are being killed, could spell a deadly cocktail that would lead the Bornean elephant on the same trail of extinction as the now extinct in the wild, Bornean Rhinoceros of Sabah. We should never ever allow our Bornean Elephants to join the Bornean Rhinoceros to that path. Steps must be taken right now and not 20 years down the road on both in-situ ( in natural habitat) and Ex-situ (managed /captive breeding) conservation to save our elephants in Sabah Saving Bornean Elephants Should be a Global Project While I expect companies like Sime Darby and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council to answer the wildlife departments call for help and increase conservation funding in Sabah, this won't be anywhere near enough to save the entire population of elephants. The timber industry in Sabah must get involved as part of a wider local campaign to ensure their survival. International conservation groups like World Land Trust which ran a successful fundraising campaign in 2014 to save parts of the elephant's habitat in the Lower Kinabatangan Floodplain have to do more. Advertisement Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a campaign event, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Springfield, Mass. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill) I was a newly-minted lawyer working for a federal appeals judge in Shreveport, Louisiana, when Hillary Clinton made the then-controversial comment that she had chosen to pursue her profession rather than "bake cookies and have teas" when her husband was governor of Arkansas. That was in 1992 and Bill was running for president. Hillary took a lot of flack for that comment but for me, it was soul-deep validation. No longer was I an old maid on the fringes of society. Professional women were legitimate. And Hillary solidified that vision during her time as First Lady. For that I will always owe her a debt. Advertisement I'm not suggesting women vote for Hillary simply because she's a woman. There are plenty of women I wouldn't vote for. But I want young women to know what it was like for "boomer" girls like me, growing up in the 1950s, before they make their decision. I grew up in New York City, more specifically, in Manhattan's "silk stocking district." From third grade on, I would hide my report cards so my mother wouldn't scold me for getting all A's. "Don't be too smart," I was told, "or the boys won't like you." When I asked why I had to learn to play piano, my mother said it would make me popular at parties. But "too much" reading, whatever that meant, would lead to a reprimand. My mother begged my father to stay with her long enough to try to conceive a son. They did. The relatives cooed over him and ignored me. I remember them gushing that he would be president one day, although I was the one who excelled at school and was president of my class. I felt like a dark shadow and crept back to my room. After sixth grade I got the chance to attend Brearley, the elite girls' school that attract the daughters of the Rockefellers, Kennedys and the like. My mother was dead-set against it. She wanted me to go to a co-ed school so I'd have dates. I got to go to Brearley, but only after warnings that I was making a terrible mistake and ruining my life. My mother died soon after from breast cancer, but even my father, who was proud I was smart, sent me away to a summer program for party girls flunking high school before I began my freshman year at Harvard-Radcliffe. I guess he hoped I'd learn how to party. Years later, family friends had only one question when I visited: Did I have a boyfriend? My professional accomplishments were of no interest. Slovakian musicians cellist Jozef Luptak and accordion player Boris Lenko will be back in Billings to perform a series of public concerts. When they performed in Billings in November, audiences gave them standing ovations. This round of live shows will feature Jewish Chassidic music, and the two musicians will be joined by Milos Valent on violin and viola and Rabbi Baruch Myers on piano and vocals. Luptak and Myers were searching for ancient Jewish music from Central and Eastern Europe that they could modernize and make more classical at the same time. Their goal was to use music to bring people together in a country still suffering from the memories of war. The project was introduced at the Konvergencie chamber music festival in Bratislava in 2008, and it has been applauded by audiences throughout Central Europe ever since. The free series of shows begins on Wednesday with a 6:30 p.m. free performance at the Yellowstone Art Museum. Donations will be accepted. On Thursday, they will perform at 7 p.m. at Cisel Hall at Montana State University Billings. The show will also be streamed live to YouTube. On Friday, the musicians will be featured at St. Johns Seeds of Kindness appreciation event from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at St. Johns Lillis Center. Hors d'oeuvres will be served. A special Signature Concert has been organized in conjunction with Congregation Beth Aaron for Sunday, March 6, at 6 p.m. at Losekamp Hall at Rocky Mountain College. The purpose of the concert is to honor these four musicians for their efforts in bringing people together in their country, by bringing people together in ours, organizers say. A reception will follow the concert. On February 22, 2016, Isa Mustafa, the Prime Minister of Kosovo made a speech at the Oxford Union, addressing a range of political, geopolitical and socioeconomic issues in Kosovo and the historical legacies that underpin them. Mustafa, the former mayor of Pristina (Kosovo's capital city) from December 2007 to December 2013 became Kosovo's Prime Minister on December 9, 2014 and is the current leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo Party. Below is a synopsis of Mustafa's thoughts on recent developments in Kosovo and its progress towards economic modernization and European integration: Mustafa on Kosovo's International Recognition as an Independent State Mustafa hailed the success of the status negotiations that began in 2007, in giving Kosovo widespread international recognition. While 111 countries have recognized Kosovo's right to independence and Kosovo has integrated itself into major international institutions like the IMF and World Bank, five EU countries still view Kosovo as merely a part of Serbia. These five countries are Spain, Slovakia, Romania, Greece and Cyprus. Countries have opposed Kosovo's independence on the grounds that the secession of Kosovo from Serbia would create instability in the Balkans and potentially result in the displacement of non-Albanian minorities. Mustafa emphasizes safeguards for minorities and the Kosovo government's positive human rights record as proof that these claims are unfounded. Mustafa believes that Spain has been vocal about resisting Kosovo's independence because its own problems with separatism. Mustafa notes that Spain's opposition to Kosovo's independence does not necessarily mean that it is hostile to Kosovo's interests. He traveled to Madrid in 2015 as representative of the European Peoples Parties Congress, and while his speech did not draw attention to Spain's position on Kosovo's independence, there was no objection amongst the Spanish audience to Kosovo's European integration efforts or the display of the Kosovo flag. Advertisement Greece's opposition can be explained by its historic alliance with Serbia, though Mustafa noted that Greece and Kosovo still have favorable relations. Cyprus's opposition can be regarded as a consequence of being intertwined with Greece; while in Mustafa's view, there is no discernible strategic reason for the resistance of Slovakia and Romania. Russia's opposition to Kosovo's independence can also be explained by its long-standing alliance with Serbia, and while Mustafa believes that Russia is very unlikely to compromise on Kosovo, Kosovo can still ameliorate tensions with Moscow by normalizing relations with Serbia. Mustafa on Recent Political Unrest in Kosovo Mustafa, when asked about whether he intends to resign as Prime Minister on February 27, vehemently defended his government's record against opposition criticisms. He drew attention to two landmark agreements forged in Brussels and Vienna: the first relating to the establishment of Serb enclaves in Kosovo and the second relating to Kosovo's ongoing border dispute with Montenegro. He argues that despite these agreements, the current political crisis is attributable in large part to the opposition's failure to engage in open discussions over vital issues of Kosovo's territorial integrity. In addition to criticizing opposition figures, Mustafa emphasized his legitimate right to remain Prime Minister of Kosovo, by noting that his government has 87 MPs of the 120 in the elected Kosovo parliament, with 31 MPs representing the opposition and 2 MPs being independents. While democracy cannot be measured purely by electoral math, Mustafa believes that his retention of power despite mass protests respects Kosovo's democracy. Advertisement The Democratic League of Kosovo and Mustafa's leadership would prefer not to work with a big coalition, as a coalition of many parties leaves some minority opposition parties feeling marginalized, sentiments which can create instability. The establishment of a specialized court to prosecute war criminals necessitated the creation of a large coalition, as achieving this would require a 2/3 majority. Sweeping political reforms have given the opposition a coherent voice over Kosovo's internal politics, which makes his opponents' exclusion arguments disconnected from realities on the ground. Mustafa on Serbian Majority Enclaves in Kosovo One controversial issue that Mustafa cited as playing a major role in inspiring the current unrest in Kosovo is the establishment of ethnic Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo to guarantee Serbs decision-making power. Mustafa notes that Serbs are only 5% of Kosovo's population, and therefore these enclaves do not threaten the territorial integrity of Kosovo. He also insists that the safeguards afforded to ethnic minorities in Kosovo and Serbs in particular, supersede those given to ethnic Albanian minorities in other jurisdictions, and the well being of minorities can be proven by their support for Kosovo's independence from Serbia. Mustafa on Kosovo's Border Dispute with Montenegro Mustafa argues that Kosovo's border dispute with Montenegro has been the subject of severe politicization, to rally nationalist feelings. Building on tactics used to invoke anti-Serbian nationalism, opposition figures have accused the Mustafa government of giving away land for free to Montenegro. Mustafa refuted these allegations by claiming that not even one square meter of Kosovo's land has been freely given to Montenegro. He admitted that the methodology behind the determination of the Kosovo-Montenegro border was under challenge. In former Yugoslavia, the border was an administrative rather than a state border, so a substantial adjustment in legislation has been necessary to take this fact into account. Mustafa cited Western assistance in setting the Kosovo-Montenegro border as proof that his government did not unilaterally give up territory for political purposes. He notes that British, German and American experts provided compelling support for his claims. These experts took into account opposition concerns and provided an impartial assessment, which Mustafa, as Prime Minister of Kosovo has faithfully upheld. Mustafa on Kosovo's Youth Unemployment CrisisMustafa argues that Kosovo is facing a severe challenge raising economic growth (currently averaging 3% per annum) to a level that can seamlessly integrate 30,000 new workers into its labor market. Kosovo's government has set an ambitious target of doubling economic growth in the medium-term and tripling it in the long run. Mustafa attributes the youth unemployment crisis in Kosovo to severe disinvestment dating back to the Cold War era of a multi-ethnic Yugoslavian federation. Mustafa describes Slobodan Milosevic's regime, which ruled Yugoslavia from 1989-1999, as an apartheid system. Milosevic disenfranchised Kosovar Albanian youths by excluding them from the national education system, leaving them with the sole option of being tutored at home. Advertisement Attempts to diversify and change the structure of Kosovo's economy have temporarily exacerbated the youth unemployment crisis, as while the mining sector and some large companies existed, the bulk of Kosovo's post-war economy was dominated by infant industries. Kosovo's trade balance is also skewed in a pernicious way for long-term prosperity, as it requires a high volume of imports with little manufacturing capacity for exports. Mustafa claims that the 30% official unemployment statistic in Kosovo overstates actual levels of joblessness, as including the informal economy would reduce levels to 23%. Credit guarantees have helped ameliorate the crisis and the Kosovo government has made efforts to target young women, who have been especially disenfranchised. Mustafa believes that European integration and incentivizing student exchanges could assist young Kosovars in finding jobs, and progress towards these objectives would make a major impact as Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe. Mustafa on Economic Development of Kosovo Mustafa believes that Kosovo has considerable economic growth potential, with the agriculture sector being an especially important driver of economic expansion. Grants and subsidies have been crucial to the modernization of Kosovo's rural areas, with 70% of the agricultural land being privatized from cooperatives that existed previously. Subsidizing agricultural production without subsidizing the landowners is key to reducing inequality in rural Kosovo. Overall, Kosovo's rural modernization project has been successful with almost all the arable land being processed and the EBRD has been working closely with Kosovo's government on expanding irrigation networks. Kosovo's government has also developed fiscal policies to ensure the dominance of formal sellers in the agriculture sector. Advertisement Kosovo's National Democratic Strategy and IMF budget for 2015 have focused more on savings, revenue extraction and on dismantling the informal economy. The construction of a major power plant and the expansion of Kosovo's tourism industry could be vital for successful long-term economic development. The IT sector has also been considered as a possible employer for many young Kosovars struggling to find jobs. The Brezovica ski resort is a particularly notable success that has highlighted Kosovo's appeal as a tourism destination. Kosovo's government under Mustafa has cooperated closely with a French consortium to build hotels and ski lifts, infrastructure projects worth an estimated 415 million euros. This project could hire 3,000 young Kosovars, and provide a major boost to the national economy. Mustafa believes that tourism to Kosovo will increase as foreigners realize that it is a safe travel destination. He noted that there have been no major violent incidents against foreign tourists to Kosovo since the 1999 war. Mustafa on Kosovo's EU Visa Liberalization Plans Kosovo has taken many crucial steps towards European integration in recent years. Under the Stabilization and Association Agreement, Kosovo's businesses have established their presence in EU countries, which has given the country's private sector the ability to compete in a market of 500 million consumers. These infant industries have struggled to gain a visa to operate in Europe, a problem, which has restricted Kosovo's development. Mustafa believes that as of September 2015, Kosovo has acceded to 95% of the requirements for EU visa liberalization. Completing the visa liberalization process will be vital for the 700,000 Kosovars who live in Germany, Switzerland and Scandinavia to be able to integrate with and invest in their ancestral homeland. Advertisement Mustafa on Ethnic Violence and Extremism in Kosovo Mustafa believes that Kosovo's government has enacted highly effective policies to combat extremism and restrict ethnic violence. Even though Kosovo is a religiously diverse country consisting of Orthodox Christians, Muslims and Catholics, inter-faith violence has been kept in check since the 1999 Kosovo War. Kosovo's citizens have been banned from partaking in foreign wars, and have developed legal institutions. US Secretary of State John Kerry described Kosovo as a leader in the struggle against extremism and terrorism. The legacy of the Kosovo War, which resulted in the displacement of 1 million Kosovars to Albania, Turkey and the Western world, remains an obstacle. Mustafa regards the dislocations and violence that occurred in Kosovo under Milosevic to be comparable to the refugee crisis in Syria. The Red Cup is a coffee shop in the Uptown 23rd District that attracts millennials in the area. OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.--Today is Super Tuesday in Oklahoma City and the millennial generation in the Uptown 23rd District is feeling the Bern. Adrianne Peters, 33, voted earlier today for Bernie Sanders. She said she likes that he has stayed consistent in his views of equal rights. "I just feel like he's the most honest candidate at the moment," Peters said. Cameron Rodgers, 32, also voted for Sanders saying that his stance on issues like equal rights and education are similar to her own. Advertisement "I feel like he's the one who is honestly for the people the most," Rodgers said. Ryan Child, 28, said he had not voted yet, but was planning on making a drive to his precinct in Guthrie later today. He plans to vote for Sanders because he supports the democrat's stance on big business. "I've paid my taxes for the past 15 years and I'm curious as to why certain corporations don't have to pay taxes at all," Child said. Alex Delgado, 24, voted earlier today, but she did not wish to disclose the candidate that she voted for. She did say that making the effort to participate today was worth it. "I don't believe you get to complain if you're not going to do anything about it," Delgado said. Felix Rodriguez, 24, said he drove two hours up to Tulsa County to vote for Sanders. He said Sanders has policies that are important to the millennial generation including minimum wage reform. Advertisement "I chose to vote for Bernie because he actively supports the lower class," Rodriguez said, sporting a sticker indicating that he voted. During a visit to Serbia with the International Rescue Committee this month, I met with refugees who told me about the dangers they fled and their hopes for the future. This family from Syria hopes to build a new life in Germany. Photo: Monique Jaques/IRC A week ago, things were looking up. I was returning from a trip to Serbia with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) having followed the refugee route from Macedonia to the Croatian border. We spent time in train and bus stations, at parks where refugees camp, and with partner NGOs who are servicing the desperate population. I met with aid workers and refugees alike-- conversations and questions and tears and hope. On the plane home, I was looking forward to writing a piece about how the international aid community is doing a really marvelous job of keeping this vulnerable and war-weary population fed, informed, and safe as they transit to their new homes in Europe. The one caveat was this: our work will continue to succeed as long as the borders stay open. What a difference a week makes. Borders are tightening and shutting all over Europe and the Balkans now, and particularly for Afghans things are looking dire. Hundreds of thousands of people could be stranded or left vulnerable to the exploitation of smugglers in the coming weeks. With the humanitarian crisis -- somehow --getting worse, I wanted to put a face on the Afghan Refugee. Advertisement The Man Who Served the U.S. Government I was in a bus station in Adasevci, Serbia, a few miles from the Croatian border. Inside a warming tent I met a woman who spoke some English. I sat down with her and her sister. Her son --two-and-a-half, my own son's age -- orbited us, playing with a ball. She was beautiful, round-faced and somehow immaculately clean with a bespoke wedding ring I noticed when she put her hand on her belly -- she was seven months pregnant. I asked a question about the baby and our language skills stalled. We waved our arms, laughed -- no luck. She motioned to her husband a few tables away, and he came over: How can I help? Sorry --I was over there talking with some people. Your English is perfect.... Thank you. I was a U.S. Army translator. I'll be honest -- that wasn't the direction I expected the conversation to take. He continued to tell me that he worked with the U.S. Army for eight years, first at an airport, then at a base, then on patrols. He speaks four languages, has an easy way about him, and is really funny. One imagines he was invaluable to U.S. efforts against the Taliban when he was beside us in the region. But we left and he stayed behind. And when the Taliban re-emerged, he was targeted because of his work with the U.S. Army. He and his family will be killed in Afghanistan now -- so he fled. Remember his pregnant wife? She trekked beside him 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) through the snow-covered mountains into Turkey to meet a smuggler to bring them to Greece. Their toddler son nearly froze to death, but his father carried him on his back until he found an abandoned barn and built a fire. When I spoke with them they were about three days from Germany if all went well. I thanked him for his service to the U.S. armed forces and wished him and his family well on their journey. Advertisement The day after I left, policies regarding Afghan refugees changed, and I have no idea if they made it. This Afghan student (right) was forced to leave his home after Islamic extremists approached him about joining their forces. It took him two months to reach Europe, where he hopes to find safety in Germany. Photo: Monique Jaques/IRC The Man of Peace I met this student at a refugee center in Belgrade, Serbia, standing with a group of young men waiting for tea. They were resting for a few days in Belgrade after a two-month journey from Afghanistan, hoping to make it to Germany by the end of the week. He is Muslim. But when he was approached by Islamic extremists about joining them, he refused: That is not Islam, he tells me. They returned to recruit him a few more times, each time telling him he would be in danger if he did not fight with them. Finally, he fled rather than be forced into violence and ideology he rejects. Since he's left, they have returned to his home and told his family they will kill him when he returns. He speaks decent English, says he will learn German when he arrives there. I ask him about what he hopes to do there, he tells me he wants to study. Once he's learned enough he'll be ready to go home and start a school -- as soon as it's safe. He bemoans the lack of educational opportunities in Afghanistan -- he had to go to Pakistan to be educated -- and he wants to lift his people up by teaching. Advertisement Days after we met, many Balkan countries began refusing entry for all Afghans. In the rhetorical storm of libel being leveled against some of the refugees -- particularly the Afghans this past week -- let's consider putting some human faces on this population. Afghanistan is a death sentence for the two men I met --they are refugees in every sense of the word and yet thousands like them are being refused refugee status. These are men of ambition, intelligence, and character who would be an asset to any country who gives them safe harbor. You can find out more about the IRC's work in response to the refugee crisis here. The Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development was adopted with much fanfare at the special Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit in New York last year. Millions of people across the globe advocated for an ambitious agenda for people, planet and prosperity. In the end, the final document was much better than expected not least in terms of linking the process to human rights and thereby leaving nobody behind as compared to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However, now the real struggle has begun to transform what is on a piece of paper to concrete reality on the ground in every country in the world. Alongside the process of developing the goals, many civil society organisations, including Amnesty International, advocated tirelessly to ensure greater accountability for implementation of the SDGs. Whilst a few member states showed openness for greater accountability, unsurprisingly, the majority were keen to avoid it and worked to the contrary. They ensured the language around accountability was vague, weak and diluted, knowing fully well that this agenda is a political declaration and not legally binding. There was even an unwritten understanding to avoid using the word "accountability" and replace it with a nebulous phrase "monitoring and review". Given Amnesty's experience in the routine resistance we meet in trying to secure accountability for legally binding human rights obligations, it is not surprising that states would try and avoid being held to account through the 2030 process. Yet accountability must play a key role in ensuring that the Agenda 2030 delivers what the MDGs did not particularly do in improving the lives of the poorest and most marginalised. Advertisement Key elements of effective accountability are benchmarks and indicators. Without the ability to measure progress (or the lack of it) in a transparent, objective and rigorous way, it is impossible to hold those responsible to account. Member states mandated the UN Statistical Commission to work on defining the indicators for the goals and targets. It was felt that this exercise needed technical expertise from the statistical community. However, from the beginning the process of developing the indicators has lacked openness and transparency thus raising concerns by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). In October 2015, over 100 CSOs issued an open letter to the Co-chairs of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group (IAEG) expressing concern and issuing red lines on content and process. The result of this letter led to a few gains in terms of CSOs being able to provide inputs on draft indicators, even though some of these were deemed to have been agreed. However, these were not long lived. Once again in February 2016, over 170 CSOs worldwide had to send their second open letter to the UN Statistical Commission and co-chairs of the IAEG calling for greater inclusion and transparency, at the global and regional level. The UN Statistical commission has now published its report with a final list of proposed indicators for the SDGs. As this is a universal agenda, all countries will have to report against progress made. Many targets and indicators in Agenda 2030 have set out the lowest common denominator. E.g. Target 1.1 identifies the poverty line as those living on less than $1.25 a day. Yet this figure does not make much sense in a developed economy where a minimum wage may be set at $10 per hour. However, if you juxtapose this with target 10.1 - Progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average, then we can be sure that every single country has something to report on about ending poverty and reducing inequality. In this respect, developed countries can report on how the income of the bottom 40% is growing over the years as compared to the national average. This is an opportunity to show how governments, even in the wealthier economies, can stretch to make this agenda meaningful within its own context and leave no one behind. The aim here is to go for the ceiling and not the floor. Last week, I attend a round table discussion on the Sustainable Development Goals Indicators organised by the UK Stakeholders for Sustainable Development (UKSSD) in collaboration with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) & the Department for International Development (DFID). Participants for this round table included stakeholders from civil society, academia, the private sector and the government. Advertisement The round table explored a number of fundamental questions including: How to make the SDGs indicator process relevant for the United Kingdom? What are the specific areas we need to report on? What reporting frameworks do we need at the country level? How do we ensure we are collecting the right data? How can we incorporate and align existing data collection and reporting process to the SDGs? How do we involve the general public in this process? In so doing the round table provided important inputs to both the ONS and DFID on issues which need to be considered by the United Kingdom on delivery, monitoring and accountability on the SDGs. Whilst this round table in London was not a place to find answers to all the questions, it was definitely a welcome move to have such a space for an open consultation. I hope this was not a tick box exercise but a genuine interest and willingness to listen and act. This is something other countries can and should consider, involving their respective national statistical office, governments departments and stakeholders. HAFIZABAD, Pakistan -- "If you put a drop of piss in a gallon of milk, the whole thing gets ruined. That is what she has done -- destroyed everything." Those were the words spoken by a father in a desperate attempt to justify pulling the trigger on his teenage daughter, Saba Qaiser. In a small town in the province of Punjab in Pakistan, in the dead of night, Saba's father and her uncle lured her into a car, drove her to a riverbank and then shot her twice before stuffing her body in a sack and dumping it in the river. Her only crime was marrying the man she loved without her family's permission. Advertisement A few hours before this horrific incident, Saba had run away with her fiance and married him in court. As punishment for her defiance, her family deemed it fit to end her life -- this, in their minds, was the only way to restore their family's honor. Much to their surprise and despair, Saba miraculously survived the two bullets directed at her and lived to tell her tale. Saba was shot twice and thrown into a river in the city of Hafizabad in the province of Punjab. (HBO) Saba's father and uncle were arrested by police officers shortly after. From behind bars, her father shouted, "For respect and honor, I am willing to spend my whole life in jail. I will stay here -- for honor and for respect." But that was never to be the case. The existing Pakistani law allows perpetrators of honor killings to walk free by seeking forgiveness and paying blood money -- a longstanding practice in the country. Pressured by the village elders, Saba eventually decided to forgive her attackers in an effort to bring peace back to the neighborhood and release the sole breadwinners of her large family from prison. Advertisement THE CURSE OF HONOR In the name of preserving family "honor," women around the world are shot, burned, strangled or stoned to death in shocking numbers. According to the United Nations, over 5,000 honor killing cases are reported annually worldwide, though this is thought to be a gross underestimation. In 2014, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that 923 women and 82 minor girls were killed in the name of "honor" in Pakistan -- a 15 percent rise from the previous year. But these are just reported figures. Many honor killings are never reported because of the "shame" they would bring upon the family. No cases are registered, no bodies are found and no investigations take place. 'That is what she has done -- destroyed everything.' Men are also subject to honor killings but women remain the prime victims. The executions are almost always carried out by family members -- fathers, husbands, brothers and even mothers -- who believe the woman has brought shame and dishonor to them. The practice is widespread across various religions and cultures. Although it is more common in Pakistan, honor killings have occurred in many countries including India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. WOMEN AS PROPERTY In the southern province of Sindh, honor killing is referred to as karo-kari, and among Pashtun communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the practice is known as tur. In both cases, the names translate to "black" -- referring to the moral corruption of the person accused of bringing shame to the family. Advertisement Honor killings are deeply rooted in patriarchal and conservative traditions derived from ancient tribal customs whereby the honor of the family or the community is measured by the morality, chastity and obedience of its women. In some parts of Pakistan, women are seen as the property of men. This thinking, coupled with the notion that women embody family honor, makes men the "protectors" or the "preservers" of that honor. Any perceived "immoral" act often leads to deadly consequences: even a mere suspicion or a false accusation of pre-marital sex or interaction with a strange man can mean death for some women. A mother and a father doused their 15-year-old daughter with acid solely for looking at a boy on a motorcycle. Questions like "what will people think" and "what will people say" become the driving force behind these murders. In 2012, a mother and a father doused their 15-year-old daughter with acid solely for looking at a boy on a motorcycle. In another harrowing case, five women and three men were killed in the remote region of Kohistan after a cellphone video of them singing and clapping surfaced and caused "shame" to their families. Almost everyday, you read about a woman who has been killed for "falling in love" or "running away from home" or "seeking a divorce," and in most cases, the only thing to blame is a man's insecurity. Advertisement These attacks continue partly because of structural inequalities that make it difficult for women to access the judicial system. If someone is able to file an honor killing complaint, it often gets caught in a heavy backlog of similar cases. Even if the case is heard, the conviction rate of perpetrators is numbingly low. BLOOD MONEY The prevalence of honor killings also stems partly from troubling misinterpretations of Pakistani law. In the late 1970s, Pakistan implemented Sharia law, which introduced the Islamic concept of forgiveness and retribution. According to this law, victims of an attempted murder can choose to forgive the perpetrator in return for monetary compensation. If the victim is killed, the family of the victim has the right to forgive the perpetrator. Under the current law, like murder, honor killings are also seen as a crime against the individual and not the state. Hence the victim or her family (if the victim is dead) can choose to forgive and settle matters out of court on payment of compensation. This allows convicted murderers to go scot-free, taking the writ away from the government and placing it in the hands of the family and community. This shift of power is especially worrying in honor killing cases as the victims' families are usually the perpetrators themselves. So if a father kills his daughter, his wife can forgive him, and when a brother kills his sister, his parents can forgive him. Even a mere suspicion or a false accusation of pre-marital sex or interaction with a strange man can mean death for some women. In 2004, Pakistan's then-President Pervez Musharraf enacted the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, which not only called for stricter punishment in honor killing cases but also added the death penalty as a maximum sentence. A month before, the highest court in Pakistan empowered women to marry of their own free will without the approval of their parents or legal guardian. While the acknowledgment of honor killing and free will for women by the Pakistani legislation was monumental and much awaited, it failed to address the loopholes created by the Sharia law of forgiveness. In 2014, former Pakistan People's Party Senator Sughra Imam introduced an Anti-Honor Killings Bill, which lobbied for more effective protection of honor killing victims by making the crime a non-compoundable offense and hence, "unforgivable." The bill passed through Pakistan's Senate but lapsed in the Parliament, which is why it was never passed into law. PUBLIC OUTRAGE That same year, the brutal murder of one woman in broad daylight outside the High Court in Lahore highlighted, once again, the apparent scale of the problem and outraged liberal-thinking people across Pakistan to question the government's blase attitude towards eradicating this heinous crime from society. A pregnant Farzana Parveen was stoned to death by dozens of her family members, including her father and brother, because she dared to marry against their wishes. What made Farzana's death unique was that it took place outside the gates of one of Pakistan's most respected state institutions while the police stood by and watched as her family beat her to death with bricks. Saba, in her early days of recovery, gets ready at her in-laws' home before appearing in court in Gujranwala, Punjab. (HBO) The public outcry and global attention that the horrific case received resulted in immediate investigations leading to the arrest and incarceration of most of the perpetrators -- a welcome move in a country that has rarely seen justice for the hundreds of men and women who are killed in the name of honor each year. After her death, some of the country's top Muslim clerics announced that the practice -- which actually pre-dates the onset of Islam -- has no place in religion, declaring it inhuman and vicious. This added an important element in the existing debate and construction of honor killings as a Muslim issue, encouraging citizens, politicians and lawmakers to look at the practice not only as a cultural construct but also as a punishable offense. STRICT MINDSET From its origin to its execution, honor killing is entirely community-sanctioned. Rigid tribal customs dictate what is acceptable. Patriarchy places the burden of upholding honor on the shoulders of women, and communities consequently sway them into obedience and conformity. Simultaneously, families are granted reputation and status according to how well everyone is keeping up with these assigned roles. This is something Saba and her family are all too familiar with. After he attempted murder, Saba's father boasted of a newfound respect and worth in his community. "Everyone says I am more respected. They say I am an honorable man. They say what I did was right," he said. "I have other daughters. Since this incident, each daughter has received proposals because I am called an honorable man." 'They say I am an honorable man. They say what I did was right.' It has now been over a year and a half since the horrific incident, and her father is out of jail. He says he has "forgiven" Saba for her error but his words evoke a chilling realization: family honor is everything. To him, whatever he did to restore that honor was right, and the only one here who was supposed to, and has, learned a lesson is Saba. His release sets a precedent for others in the region that those who kill women will be allowed to walk proud and free. Advertisement Our film "A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness," which just won an Oscar for best documentary short on Sunday, has helped trigger a national discourse on the issue of honor killing in Pakistan. The film was screened at the house of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad, after which he asked his team to redraft laws on honor killings to help ensure that perpetrators are punished and victims are protected. The proposed amendments to Pakistan's penal code are expected to be presented to Parliament by mid-March. In a country where almost anything goes, there are still some things you shouldn't do. Take it from meI made each of these mistakes at least once when I moved to Sydney. Here's what not to do if you'd like to avoid overspending, missing out on the best activities, and getting severely sunburned. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, or M-7 as his ardent followers like to call him, won another election on Feb. 18 which is confirmation of the old national joke that everything in Uganda changes except the president. Musevani has been in power since 1986 after seizing power by force and then changing the constitution to eliminate a term limit to the presidency. Some of the opposition media highlighted his endless reign with series of photos of him growing increasingly older and standing alongside six American presidents--Reagan, Carter, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, and Obama. Ordinary Ugandans are not celebrating this, but neither are they grieving or protesting because there seems an inevitability of his dominance, even though the elections have been condemned by the European Union and other Western powers. According to the deputy spokesperson at the U.S. State Department Mark Toner the elections were "deeply inconsistent with international standards and expectations for any democratic process." The elections, according to the State Department, were characterized by "delays in the delivery of voting materials, reports of pre-checked ballots and vote buying, ongoing blockage of social media sites, and excessive use of force by the police." Advertisement Most African leaders have kept silent about the elections. Only Botswana has denounced the election in strong terms. But President Museveni is riding the waves of victory. While addressing journalists at his country home in Rwakitura on February 23, he dismissed election observers saying that they are "jokers; I am not a joker." He dismissed claims of rigging, saying that those who may harbor the intentions of contesting the results in court should not be taken seriously by the people. He wondered why anyone would think that he rigged the elections if he could lose in the capital city, Kampala. Museveni is the typical African dictator who combines some benevolence with a streak of vengeful brutality which chills his opposition into silence. Like Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Paul Biya in Cameroun, and Sassou-Nguesso of Congo-Brazaville, Museveni has a Messiah complex which drives his unconscionable and insatiable quest for power. All African dictators follow a common pattern, with each attuned to the specific geo-political and economic dynamics of their respective countries. They first sustain their retention of power through a patron-client relation of reward and punishment. Those who support Museveni have access to jobs and contracts, while his opponents are totally neglected. In 2013 when I went to Mbale and Soroti in the North-East, I could see the neglect of this whole area. The people's crime? They did not vote for Museveni in the previous elections. At a school which we set up to help displaced young men and women, one could see the parameter walls of the abandoned air strip in Soroti. One of my Ugandan colleagues told me that by 2015 the road would be constructed and the airport will be active because Museveni's helicopters will need a safe space to land when he comes for campaign. And it happened just as he said. These sit-tight dictators also rule by fear, intimidation and violence. A mystique of life and death surrounds these presidents-for-life. They are demi-gods and political demagogues whose words and wishes are commands in their countries. They are also vampires who suck up blood and life from their country and from their opponents. Uganda revolves around Museveni. He gives life and he can also give death; those who adulate him enjoy some portion of the national wealth, and those who loath or oppose him suffer. Advertisement A third method of retaining power is the destruction of the apparatus of state that builds civil society. The first victim of a dictator is usually the national constitution; then comes the different arms of government, and then finally the rule of law, civil society and any sense of transparency. I have been visiting and working in Uganda for the last seven years but I have never been able to comprehend its basic government footing. Is it presidential, parliamentary, federal, confederal, welfarist, consensual, royalist? It is all of these, and none of these, depending on the daily whim of Museveni. Making the system so unclear helps to create confusion. It is in such atmosphere that the strong arm tactics of dictators become the only compass to navigate the unchartered waters of statecraft. Most Ugandans are at least relieved that peace has returned to most part of the country, that the economy is picking up and that there is security in the land and that people can go to school, hospital and to their farms. They are even grateful to Museveni for the part he played in bringing this about. But they also know that it is their own courage and determination that makes life bearable. "God grant, that not only the love of liberty, but a thorough knowledge of the rights of man, may pervade all the nations of the Earth, so that a philosopher may set his foot anywhere on its surface, and say, 'This is my Country.'" Benjamin Franklin The late justice Antonin Scalia certainly left his mark on the highest court in the land. Son to an Italian immigrant and born in Trenton, New Jersey, Scalia made it publicly known he cherished his Catholic faith. Considered an originalist and textualist in terms of interpreting the Constitution, Scalia was front and center during historic debates surrounding religious liberties. Scalia's deeply religious beliefs put him at odds with what he saw as a "culture war" bent on tearing down societal norms on contraception, abortion and marriage. The culture war is still ongoing, albeit greatly diminished since Scalia arrived at the Supreme Court nearly thirty years ago. Advertisement For those that liked Justice Scalia's brash style and unwavering commitment to religious liberty, the impulse would be to nominate someone like him. Thirty years ago such a nomination may have made sense, but much has changed in just a few short decades. When Justice Scalia was appointed to the Supreme Court, nonreligious Americans accounted for about 7 percent of the population. That number now stands at 22.8 percent and rising. This demographics change, for better or worse, is fundamentally transforming social norms. Today, contraception is widely available and same-sex marriage is legal across the United States. Yet exemptions based off of religious liberties have been largely respected. Catholic institutions still have the legal right to hire and fire religious ministers who don't adhere to their sexual norms and threats to strip the tax exempt-status from religious institutions that reject same-sex marriage have fallen on deaf ears, with a recent poll showing 76 percent of Americans against such a measure. As for abortions, in 1986 there were an estimated 1.5 million. Today, the numbers of abortions have dropped to less than a million. Despite all this, support among Catholics for contraception and same-sex marriage has been on the rise, signaling internal disagreements the church must come to terms with before it seeks to effectively evangelize society. Going forward, Christians committed to religious liberty have two options: Continue fighting the culture war like Scalia did for the last few decades, or work to maintain religious liberties while not fighting, or at least staying neutral, during efforts to expand civil liberties. Advertisement Sooner or later, the Supreme Court will take up the issue of LGBT discrimination in the workplace, housing, and elsewhere. Catholics committed to protecting religious liberty should turn to Salt Lake City, where an updated hate crimes bill gained support from the local dioceses, or New York, where the Conference of Catholic Bishops decided not to take a side on Governor Cuomo's effort to ban insurance companies from covering conversion therapy of minors. Bottom line, Christians don't like being told their faith and customs are backwards or wrong. Not surprisingly, neither do those who don't share Christian values. As a Catholic, I interpret my evangelizing mission as living through example. I try and live my life with purpose and charity towards all. In my view, natural rights, given to each of us as individuals at birth, can't be legislated, regulated, or repealed. Like when man first discovered how to create fire, natural rights will find a way to spread to the minds of others. Natural rights formed the basis of religious liberty in the young American Republic just as much as it constituted the foundation of civil liberties for women, African-Americans and LGBT Americans as the nation matured. This self-evident truth about the universal and timeless power of natural rights is one of the primary reasons I love and cherish my country so much. Advertisement If a young woman uses contraception or two men decide to marry each other, Christians must take time to not judge, but rather reflect on how we can bring light and love into their lives. Judging others is easy, hating is easy; learning to love one another despite our differences is the universal struggle of humanity. That being said, the next justice of the Supreme Court needs to step in and tell both sides of the culture war to take a time out. KALAMAZOO, MI - FEBRUARY 21: People gather and pray at Center Point Church following a mass shooting on February 21, 2016 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Authorities said that a shooter who killed six people and injured two others was an Uber driver who appears to have gunned down people at random during a four-hour rampage in the parking lots of a western Michigan apartment complex, a car dealership and a Cracker Barrel store on February 21, 2016 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) The day I learned about my brother's death began as just another ordinary day. I was watching television with my father and had fallen asleep, only to be woken up by a knock at the door. My father answered the door, began speaking to someone and returned to the family room in utter devastation. He had a very hard time finding the words to tell me that my brother had been brutally murdered in a senseless act of gun violence. I was a freshman in high school, just 14-years-old and barely able to cope with such a grueling reality. My first reaction was to go to my room, shut the door and pretend that it wasn't happening. Advertisement The next thing I recall is traveling to Grand Rapids, Michigan, so my parents could identify Tom's body and assist the police with the criminal investigation. It's a surreal experience being a member of a family whose loved one was taken so quickly by such a violent criminal act. You're walking around through this devastating experience, not really knowing what to do because it's too much to wrap your head around. My parents were tasked with taking care of the business end of things -- talking with police, identifying the body. I could shut down, but my parents had to go through the motions. I cannot imagine what they went through, what every parent goes through when their child is stolen from them. My brother had just received acceptance to attend Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo when his life and future were stolen from him. Even though our family was living in Indiana at the time, my brother and I always considered Kalamazoo our hometown because when our family had lived there, we really thrived. My brother and I would often visit the museum, walk downtown and to school -- kids being kids. I remember going down to the nearby ravine, digging around and collecting Native American arrowheads. At one point, my brother was a cross guard when I was in Kindergarten. I was proud of that. When I heard of the recent random mass shooting in Kalamazoo, I was shocked. My fondest memories of my brother took place there. We never thought of Kalamazoo as being anything but safe, but look at what's happened there. And just days before the anniversary of my brother's death, it seems almost eerie how we are all connected to gun violence. I always wanted to do something about gun violence, but living in a staunchly conservative state, I never really perceived an opportunity. Our lawmakers' positions were so deeply ingrained in gun lobby rhetoric and ideology, I didn't think speaking out would have mattered. Advertisement A pivotal moment came while watching the news just after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook. At first, people were saying it was too soon to talk about strengthening gun laws because America was still grieving. I thought to myself, I've been grieving my whole life. If we wait to address gun violence after the grieving is over, nothing will ever change, because the pain of having a loved one killed by gun violence never goes away and therefore, the grief never ends. But then, all of the sudden, people started saying, "No, we're talking about this." I feel like that's when our country hit rock bottom and, finally, people were ready to stand up, speak out and do something. I sent a flurry of emails to lawmakers after Sandy Hook, and then reached out to Mayors Against Illegal Guns, now a part of Everytown for Gun Safety -- and they reached back. I know I'll never get my brother back, but if I can bring meaning to his death and help change the culture of gun violence in America, that's what I'll do. I've always subscribed to the idea that if you believe something is not right, you should be a part of changing it. I encourage anyone who is angered by our nation's unique problem with gun violence to join me -- and the millions of other Americans who have come together -- to push for change. Together, we can and will save lives. So you think you might want to retire overseas? There are a lot of good reasons to do that -- although granted, it's not for everyone. Puerto Morelos, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico Certainly, all of us have different reasons for considering an overseas retirement in the first place. Some are looking for a change in scenery or better weather. Others are looking for a fun-filled adventure, or hoping to find a lower cost of living, or a slower-paced and completely different (and hopefully better) lifestyle. Still, no matter what your motivation, this idea of retiring overseas isn't something to take lightly. Not unless you've more money than sense. Because mistakes can be costly. We've known a few people who've moved overseas only to find it wasn't what they expected or that they weren't quite suited to the place they chose. (It's happened to us, in fact.) You can always move on and try on another country for size. And should you decide to go back home, that's fine, too. Hopefully, you'll have wonderful memories and great stories to tell. Advertisement But if you're not the type who enjoys moving around ... or, frankly, you don't have the funds to support multiple moves, then what can you do to increase your chances of success? Tamarindo, Northern Pacific Coast, Costa Rica First, as we've advocated many times before, it's critically important to assess yourself and your ability to live the expat life. It's not a difficult life... In fact, it's far easier in many ways than life back home. But you do need to be aware of some of the challenges and requirements, and be willing to assess yourself honestly to see if you're able to meet them. As part of this assessment, decide what it is you're really looking for. A few years back we wrote an article about how to do that self- assessment. It includes seven questions to ask to determine if you're cut out for the expat life. Once you've put some thought into what it is you're after (a climate change, the chance to learn a new language, or to totally immerse in a foreign culture ... or because you simply want to save some money and live a less-complicated life), then it's time to move forward. Now it's time to do some research. Here are five ways to start researching your potential overseas retirement destination: 1. Subscribe to a magazine like International Living. Sure, we're biased, as we happen to be International Living editors. But this is the granddaddy of them all when it comes to reporting on the world's best overseas retirement destinations. International Living was founded back in 1979 and you can be sure there is a vast vault of research available to you in the magazine archives which you gain access to as a subscriber. Advertisement (You can, of course, opt for the free daily e-letter, but you'll certainly get access to more information when you are a magazine reader.) 2. Do as much Internet research as you can. Google (and/or any search engine of your choice) is your friend. Start plugging in "retire Panama" or "retire Ecuador" and see where you go. Remember, though, that the internet is where information goes to live forever. Statistics and, importantly, information about visa regulations, cost of living, etc. can quickly become outdated. Be sure to cross check several sources. 3. Make contact with other expats already living overseas in the communities you may be considering. (Yes, we'd recommend doing your research at the community level rather than the country level. For example, living in Omaha is a whole lot different than living in Los Angeles or New York.) There are plenty of blogs and expat forums out there, including on Facebook. Join up and ask questions. (Here's where we should mention International Living's own community board--free and open to all.) 4. Consider attending a conference in a country you're interested in. And once you've done that, spend some extra time visiting the communities you are most interested in. There is no better way to see for yourself than to...well, go there in person and see it for yourself. Spend some one-on-one time with expats who live there and get some firsthand input. See how it "feels." 5. Try to find someone else to help you with some of the expenses for your exploratory trip. This can get a little tricky, but with some perseverance you may find someone in Mexico or Ireland or Costa Rica who wants to do a house swap. (This will most likely only work if you live in a place someone wants to visit.) Or maybe you can find someone in your desired destination that needs a house sitter. Be creative. Advertisement Earlier on Huff/Post50: HELENA Gov. Steve Bullock made his re-election campaign official Monday afternoon, walking the hallway from his office to Secretary of State Linda McCulloch's to file the paperwork. Bullock made the trip with his wife and three children, along with Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney. "At the end of the day this isn't really about me or Mike," Bullock said. "It's about what kind of state we can continue to create for our kids and grandkids and to make sure that Montana provides all those opportunities." The governor said his campaign will focus on job creation, wage growth and ensuring Montana remains a fiscally prudent state, issues that have been the centerpiece of what he hopes to be his second term in office. He also laid out differences between himself and Republican opponent Greg Gianforte, who announced his candidacy earlier this year and has yet to officially file. "I think that there's a lot at stake this election for certain." Bullock cast Gianforte as the candidate who wants to gut Montana's tax structure and raid the state's rainy day fund, a hallmark of Bullock's administration. In a release Monday, Gianforte, 54, said it's time for a change. Aside from being at the bottom of the nation in wages, we are entering even more challenging times. Grain prices are down. Miners, railroaders, timber community families, and the Bakken have seen some painful layoffs, and there are more threats on the horizon," he said. "Its time for new leadership. Montanans are looking for a high-wage job creator who can bring business experience to Helena. Bullock, 49, was elected governor in 2013 when he beat former U.S. Rep. Rick Hill. He is running with Cooney, 61, who was named lieutenant governor Dec. 30 after former Lt. Gov. Angela McLean announced she was leaving for a job in the office of the Commissioner of Higher Education. Bullock has required the state to maintain a $300 million rainy day fund, something Gianforte has said could be tapped to help address the states infrastructure woes. The 2016 governors race is shaping up to be one of the most expensive in Montanas history. Bullock has raised $1.2 million in donations since 2014; Gianforte has brought in $570,000 since forming an exploratory committee last summer. Gianforte, a wealthy businessman, has issued a no-PAC pledge, calling on Bullock to not accept and return any money hes received from political action committees. So far Bullock has received $68,214 from such committees. His campaign has called the pledge silly, and pointed out Gianforte has a large amount of personal funds he can tap. Based on tax records, Gianforte reported income of $220.5 million between 2005 and 2014. In 2001, he sold his Bozeman tech firm RightNow Technologies to Oracle for $1.8 billion. Montana Republican Party Chairman Jeff Essmann said Bullock's record on protecting jobs in the state's natural resource industry is weak. Bullock had formed a committee to look at how the state can adapt to the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan, though that work stopped after a U.S. Supreme Court decision delayed implementation of the plan. Bullock has objected to the plan, which would require Montana to drastically cut its carbon dioxide emissions and could threaten parts of the Colstrip power plant, but believes in reducing emissions over time and has said Montana should work to meet the goals anyway. "Bullock has continued to abandon Montana workers and families by siding with President Obamas job-killing energy agenda. In the last year alone, our natural resource industry lost nearly 700 jobs, and thousands of Montana jobs are at risk if we dont stop this radical job-killing energy agenda in November. I feel confident Montanans will elect a Republican governor who will always defend and protect all Montana jobs. At the end of the day, Montanans cant count on Bullock to put them first." In a statement, Jim Larson, chair of the Montana Democratic Party, touted Bullock's leadership and cast Gianforte as a wealthy out-of-stater. "Bullock is doing an outstanding job leading Montana and will continue to responsibly manage our finances and bring Montanans together to get things done. "... But the stakes in this election are too high if we want to continue this economic growth and responsible financial management. New Jersey multimillionaire Greg Gianforte would turn Montana's budget surplus into a deficit, he supports job-killing discrimination laws, and would raise taxes on Montana families just to give himself and other millionaires a tax break." Running mate Mike Cooney has a long history in Montana politics, most recently as deputy director of the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. He was first elected in 1976 to the Montana House of Representatives and served through 1980. He then served three terms as secretary of state, from 1989 through 2000. Cooney was a state senator from 2003 to 2010, and was elected as Senate president in 2007. From 2001 to 2006, Cooney served as director of Montana Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies. He also served as the interim head of the Montana Historical Society. Cooney was named lieutenant governor at the end of last year after McLean quit to work as the director of American Indian and minority achievement and K-12 partnerships. Emails between Bullock and McLean showed a rocky relationship between Bullock's administration and the former lieutenant governor, who said she was frozen out of her initiatives, Bullock has said the fit wasn't right and she seemed "frustrated with the role of lieutenant governor, and that was disruptive to our work for Montana." Bullock ran for attorney general in 2000, losing in the Democratic primary to Mike McGrath, who is now chief justice of the Montana Supreme Court. Bullock was then elected attorney general in 2008 after a three-way Democratic primary. In the general election, he defeated Republican Tim Fox, who is the current attorney general and running for re-election, with with 52.6 percent of the vote. Bullock grew up in Helena and earned a law degree from Columbia University. He and his wife, Lisa, have three children: Caroline, Alexandria and Cameron. Arizona House Bill 2613, approved by the House Commerce Committee last week, proposes to eliminate state licensing requirements for occupations such as fruit packers. Yes, you read that correctly. Under current Arizona law, you may not pack citrus fruit without a license from the state, which will cost you $200 per year. Packing citrus fruit without a license will earn you a $500 fine. HB2613 also removes questionable licensing requirements for occupations including yoga instructor, landscape architect, and geologist. The bill is consistent with one of Republican Governor Doug Ducey's top priorities--to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses and consumers. One of Governor Ducey's policy advisors explained that "[occupational] licensing should be the last option, not the first. ... reducing regulations means more money for hardworking Arizonans." That sounds great, but HB2613 doesn't uniformly reduce barriers to entry. In at least one case, it significantly raises them. For at least 300 hardworking Arizonan cremationists, this regulation "reduction" will mean far less money because they will suddenly become unqualified to do their job. Under current Arizona law, only a person licensed as a cremationist can operate a crematory retort and perform the cremation of human remains. HB2613 eliminates the cremationist license, but not the requirement that a licensed person operate a crematory retort and perform cremations--the government grants the exclusive privilege to perform those tasks to another licensed group: funeral directors. HB2613 does so by redefining "funeral directing" to include "operating a crematory retort and performing the actual cremation of human remains." Arizona law already provides that no one may perform "funeral directing" without a funeral director's license. Advertisement Under current Arizona law, in order to receive a cremationist license, a person must complete a crematory operator's certificate course, submit a fingerprint card for a background check, have a good moral character, and pay an annual fee of $85 to the Arizona Board of Funeral Directors & Embalmers. To become a licensed funeral director in Arizona, an applicant must pass the funeral service arts section of the national board examination or the state equivalent examination, pass an examination on funeral director state laws and rules, be of good moral character, pay an annual fee of $85 to the Board and, oh yes, have held an active license as an embalmer for at least one year and have assisted in arranging and directing at least 25 funerals. To become a licensed embalmer in Arizona, an applicant must pass the funeral service science section of the national board examination or the state equivalent examination, pass an examination on embalmer state laws, have been licensed as an intern for at least one year, have successfully completed an internship program that included assisting in the embalming of at least 25 human bodies, and pay an annual fee of $85 to the Board. Advertisement To become a licensed intern in Arizona, an applicant must be a high school graduate, be a graduate of an accredited school of mortuary science, be of good moral character, and pay an annual fee of $85 to the Board. So, to recap, HB2613, which is designed to implement Governor Ducey's plan to reduce needless occupational licensing in the State of Arizona, proposes to replace the requirement that people who operate a crematory retort must first take a course on crematory operations with a requirement that people who operate a crematory retort must: (1) graduate from a two-year mortuary school program, (2) complete a one year internship where they must embalm at least 25 bodies, (3) pass the national board examination in funeral service arts and funeral service science, (4) pass two examinations on the laws that apply to funeral directors and embalmers, (5) work as a licensed embalmer for at least one year, and (6) assist in arranging and directing at least 25 funerals. Oh, and we can't forget that (7) they must continue to pay an annual fee of $85 to the Board. Unfortunately, Arizona is not alone in its overly aggressive approach to occupational regulation. Nearly 1/3 of U.S. workers must obtain a license from the state to engage in their occupation. In 1950, less than 1/20 of U.S. workers needed a license. It has been estimated that over 1,100 occupations are licensed in at least one state, but fewer than 60 are regulated in all 50 states--clearly the states disagree quite a bit on what occupations require licensing and which do not. It is easy to understand why states may use occupational licensing to protect the public from unqualified doctors and lawyers, but it is a bit harder to understand how state legislatures rationalize requiring a license for hair braiders and florists. Critics across the ideological spectrum argue that occupational licensing regimes do little to protect consumers from incompetent practitioners and instead raise costs for consumers by stifling competition and imposing barriers to entry. In July 2015, the White House issued a report prepared by the Department of Treasury Office of Economic Policy, the Council of Economic Advisers, and the Department of Labor calling for state policymakers to adopt a more "tailored approach" to occupational regulation. For example, the report recommends that states target occupational regulations to closely tie the substantive requirements (like education and experience) with public health and safety concerns. The Institute for Justice has found that occupational licensing regimes "can pose substantial barriers" for those seeking even low and moderate income jobs, particularly for "minorities, those of lesser means and those with less education." Cremationist seems like a prime example of this phenomenon. Under the guise of reducing regulation, Arizona has transformed a fairly low paying occupation with low barriers to entry into a job that requires a significant investment of time and money to acquire. It is unclear how requiring cremationists to master the art of embalming and graduate from mortuary college (which typically includes no training on operating a crematory retort) protects Arizonans. Advertisement I am not a registered Democrat. I vote based on who I believe will put forward initiatives that are best for me, my daughters, my community and this country. I've always dreamed of a presidential showdown between former Secretary of State, Republican, Condoleezza Rice and former Secretary of State, Democrat, Hillary Clinton. Exactly how would one decide who is most professionally qualified, smarter, engaging or wears a pant suit better? Most would agree that on paper they are equally yoked. Who would win the African-American vote -- the Democrat or the African-American? No chance of a candidate getting a woman's vote just because she too is a woman. Racist Republicans who hate Hillary would find themselves in quite a tizzy. Advertisement This type of presidential race would have forced the American people to vote based on the issues and their belief in the candidate's ability to be the best Commander-in-Chief of the United States of America. But this type of issue-focused, bias-minimized and party-crossing race is only in my dreams. The reality is, we are in a new era of presidential campaigning and debating. It is shocking, disturbing and, yet, wildly entertaining. I watch each debate with popcorn and a bottle of red wine. The Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, have maintained a level of decorum expected of one vying for the most powerful and respected position in the world. They've each thrown punches, but nothing below the belt and definitely, no biting of the opponent's ear. The Republican party has rightfully and wrongfully been characterized as the party of the elite, the dignified, the suit, tie and pearls. The conservative ideology of the party very often mimics the posture and etiquette of many of its members, until now! In 2016, the GOP is a H.A.M. -- a hot ass mess! The Republican Party and its candidates are so conniving and classless -- ergo -- GHETTO! Advertisement The Republican primary looks like a ghetto reality show, where we are one debate away from water being thrown in Marco Rubio's face and smearing his caked-on make-up. It's only a matter of time before Donald Trump's weave is pulled out and holier-than-thou Ted Cruz breaks down and storms off the stage in dramatic Kardashian fashion. We are only moments away from "Yo' Momma" jokes being scripted for the campaign trail rallies. This Republican primary has been so ghetto and embarrassing to the GOP. I can only see it getting worse before it gets better. As Bette Davis famously warned in All About Eve, "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night." After September 11, 2001, U.S. government intelligence agencies gathered information from every likely source in an effort to learn everything possible about the 19 hijackers and how they carried out their murderous plot. While Americans mourned the innocent lives lost, we trusted our government would take the necessary steps to ensure terrorists would not continue killing Americans on American soil. However, incredibly, when the intelligence they gathered pointed to an ally of the U.S. -- namely Saudi Arabia -- the evidence was buried and classified under the ambiguous umbrella of "national security." I am speaking of the 28 redacted pages of Part Four of the "Congressional Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks" -- "the Joint Inquiry" which refers to "specific sources of foreign support for some of the September 11th hijackers while they were in the United States." Advertisement As National Chair of 9/11 Victims' Families & Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorism, I would like to know, if the Department of Justice accesses the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, what will they do with the information if it leads back to an ally of the U.S.? Will they allow it to be buried like the 28 pages, which according to former Senator Bob Graham (D-Fl) who co-chaired the Joint Inquiry, point a strong finger at Saudi Arabia for the financial and logistical assistance they gave toward the worst terrorist attack on American soil? Since the redaction of the 28 pages from the Joint Inquiry, several prominent U.S. government officials have called upon their release. Namely, former Senator Bob Graham and more recently, Reps. Walter Jones (R-NC), Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who all have read the pages and publicly stated "there is no threat to national security" in releasing them. In the September 10, 2015 episode of 5-time Emmy award winning reporter, Sharyl Attkisson's show Full Measure, Rep. Stephen Lynch, told Ms. Attkisson that the classified 28 pages give names and identities of individuals who were "complicit" in the terrorist attacks. "They are clearly identified. How people were financed, where they were housed, where the money was coming from, the conduits that were used and the connections between some of these individuals." Further reported by Ms. Attkisson, "Other lawmakers also give hints about some of the alleged responsibility and financial ties the attackers had to prominent figures in Saudi Arabia, and speculate that the reason the documents are still classified is to shield that nation from embarrassment and maintain U.S.-Saudi diplomatic ties." Advertisement Like the victims' family members of the San Bernardino murders, we want justice and are incensed certain members of our government are more concerned with "embarrassing" Saudi Arabia then our civil right to pursue justice for the murder of our loved ones in a U.S. court. Without any help from the government, although we are armed with tens of thousands of pages of evidence we have gathered and submitted in Court, our lawsuit has been stalled by misinterpretation of the law and egregious errors by the courts. In an effort to correct this injustice, the 9/11 victims' families & survivors have called on Congress to enact legislation called the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act -- "JASTA" (S.2040/H.R.3815). On January 28, 2016, JASTA passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee 19-0 and has strong bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress and should move to the floor of the Senate for a vote. JASTA amends the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) so that foreign sponsors of terrorism cannot invoke "sovereign immunity" in cases arising from a terrorist attack that kills Americans on American soil. For example, if evidence were to prove the San Bernardino shooters had foreign government assistance, without JASTA, it is possible the victims' families may not be able to achieve the justice they seek and hold the evildoers responsible in a U.S. court. Because a few Senators have imposed a "hold" on JASTA, delaying its consideration by Congress, Saudi Arabia's accountability for its role in the 9/11 attacks remains in question, allowing Saudi Arabia to continue to act with impunity, funding terrorist organizations like al Qaeda, ISIS, Boco Haram and countless others. Because someone in our government is more concerned with protecting Saudi Arabia from embarrassment than stemming the flow of money from the wealthy paymasters in the Middle East to the terrorists, the nation's protection from further terrorist carnage, and the justice due to the 9/11 families, we sit with JASTA in a "holding pattern." Advertisement The results of the two studies showing that a vaginal ring can help reduce the risk HIV infection among women is being hailed as an important HIV prevention breakthrough. Launched four years ago, the two clinical trials, known as ASPIRE and The Ring Study, set out to determine how safe and effective the ring was in prevention of HIV infection in women. The ring, which is used for a month at a time, contains an antiretroviral drug called dapivirine that acts by blocking HIV from multiplying. The studies enrolled close to 4500 women aged 18 to 45 in South Africa, Uganda, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Each study found that the ring helps reduce the risk of HIV infection in women. In ASPIRE, the ring reduced the risk of HIV infection by 27% overall. In The Ring Study, infections were reduced by 31% overall. Advertisement But there were differences in how effective the ring was based on how consistently the women used it. Both studies showed that the more consistently the ring is used, the more effective it is in protecting women. For women aged 18 to 21 in both studies there was no significant protection because they did not use the ring consistently. ASPIRE found that HIV protection was greater in groups with evidence of better ring use. Incidence of HIV was cut by more than half - 56% - among women 21 and older, who, as a group, appeared also to use the ring most consistently. The studies show that the ring has the potential to help make a difference in reducing the burden of HIV by at least one third in women overall. This has significant implications for reducing the burden of disease in women in Africa. Women can have another option It is the first time two phase-three clinical trials have confirmed statistically significant efficacy for a microbicide to prevent HIV. The dapivirine ring was designed to offer potentially long-acting protection against HIV through slow, continuous delivery of dapivirine into the vaginal tissues over the course of four weeks. Advertisement Women account for nearly 60% of adults with HIV. Unprotected heterosexual sex drives this figure. Despite tremendous advances in preventing and treating HIV, women still face a disproportionate risk of infection because there are insufficient practical HIV prevention options available to them. If the ring becomes available for commercial use it will add to the tools in the HIV prevention toolbox for women alongside female condoms and Truvada, an antiretroviral tablet taken by HIV negative people as daily pre-exposure prophylaxis. EPA/Maurizio Gambarini In 2015, South Africa and Kenya joined the US in approving Truvada. Pre-exposure prophylaxis has been proven to be very effective for people at risk of HIV. Studies have shown that Truvada provides users with up to 90% protection provided it is taken consistently. In earlier studies it was shown to be less successful in women who did not take the drug daily. Hurdles that need to be cleared There are still several more steps that need to be followed before the ring becomes available to women. Advertisement Dapivirine was originally developed as an oral antiretroviral compound. This was tested in phase- one and two clinical trials with more than 200 participants. Although it was first conceived as an oral therapeutic, dapivirine became a promising topical microbicide candidate because it was effective both in vitro and in vivo, had a favourable safety profile, and the right physical and chemical properties. To licence the product, the ring must be approved for public use by global and national regulatory authorities. Because at least two phase three efficacy trials are needed for regulators to approve a licence for the product, the two phase-three trials were conducted in parallel to speed up the process to potentially approve the ring. Licensure is an important but complex and timeous process. The authorities will review the comprehensive dossier of scientific evidence when deciding to licence the ring. The ring's developer, International Partnership for Microbicides, a global health non-profit enterprise, will follow this process. Next round of studies Supplied In the meanwhile, as the ring is under regulatory review, there are several more studies planned. Two of the studies are open-label extension (OLE) studies called DREAM and HOPE. Advertisement These OLE studies aim to provide all women who participated in the phase-three trials access to the dapivirine ring. This will help understand how the ring is used in a real world setting now that the level of effectiveness is known and also inform its future roll out. These studies are currently being reviewed by local regulators. A third study, MTN-034, that is also under review, will offer women both the dapivirine ring and oral Truvada. Targeted at adolescent girls and young women between the ages of 16 and 21, this study will help understand what young women want and how they respond to the active products once they know their levels of effectiveness. This study is important because across both efficacy trials, women aged 18 to 21 showed no significant protection because they did not use the ring consistently. Young women aged 15 to 24 are at the highest risk of HIV infection globally and so this is clearly an age group where research is needed. But poor adherence may not be the only reason for the lack of protection among these women. Further research is needed to understand if there are biological or physiological factors that may affect how dapivirine is taken up in vaginal tissue, or whether the trial design itself is especially intimidating to young women. Not knowing whether they are using an active product or a placebo, or how safe and effective it is, may have influenced their use. Advertisement Thesla Palanee-Phillips, Director: Clinical Trials, Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, University of the Witwatersrand Woman lying in bed with hands on stomach, cropped It's been a red-letter couple weeks for menstruation-related media. First came Olivia Goldhill's call for funding for period-pain research in Quartz, followed by news of a policy in China's Anhui province to institute a "paid menstrual leave" program. In many ways, stories like this are positive, simply because they challenge the notion that periods are inherently wrong and shameful and should never be discussed. We live in a world, after all, where children grow up thinking menstrual blood is blue, legislators are silenced for using the word "vagina" during session, and, from a young age, we're taught to speak about periods in euphemisms ("ladies don't discuss that time of the month"). Judy Blume's classic Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was published 46 years ago, but still serves as "Periods 101" for many girls -- a testament not only to the timelessness of her writing, but also to how little this discussion has progressed over the past few decades. Advertisement At the same time, though, both stories reveal a deeper problem with the way we discuss menstruation. The stigma surrounding periods, it turns out, cuts both ways: While menstruation isn't taken seriously as an actual medical condition, it's also seen as being so serious, it can render some women unable to function. Welcome to the Period Paradox. Our culture of shame has enabled the medical community to dismiss what is, for many, the very real and even debilitating issue of period pain. Up to 90% of girls and women experience some type of menstrual pain, with about 20-25% experiencing moderate to severe pain. Yet all too often, doctors don't prescribe or suggest anything beyond taking an extra dose of ibuprofen to treat symptoms of menstruation. The other two commonly offered remedies -- the oral contraceptive pill or IUD -- may alleviate severe pain for many, but don't work for everyone; for some people, there are simply no effective treatments. And even if you are one of the lucky ones who respond well to hormonal adjustments, there is no guarantee that your insurance company will cover your "birth control" -- regardless of its intended purpose. Surgery is one possible treatment for endometriosis -- a condition where tissue similar to uterine lining grows outside of the uterus, resulting in severe pain -- but for many of the 176 million people worldwide who suffer from the condition, even surgery does not alleviate the pain. As Goldhill's story correctly pointed out, treatments are insufficient in part because of limited research into period pain -- a natural byproduct of a culture that's stigmatized the menstrual process. This gap in research is not only a public health issue, but problematic from a research ethics perspective. The ethical principle of justice dictates that the benefits and burdens of research should be shared. This includes, for example, determining which areas of research to fund, taking into consideration the seriousness and fatality of the health conditions being studied, as well as the number of people affected by the condition. In the case of period pain, the lack of research funding for a condition that affects more than half the population at one stage in their lives is hardly a fair use of resources. Advertisement Laura Payne, Ph.D., an assistant adjunct professor at the UCLA Pediatric Pain and Palliative Care Program, points to several reasons for the limited research on menstrual pain. "It's possible that because it seems so common, it may not [be seen to] warrant further investigation," says Dr. Payne, who is also the principal investigator for a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research project examining mechanisms of menstrual pain. There's also the fact that women's health issues in general are not treated as seriously. According to Dr. Payne, most basic scientific research has been carried out on male rats, and only recently has there been a push to focus on including female rats. Not all of the issues stem from stigmas; as Dr. Payne notes, "Personally, I think that research has been lacking because research on menstruation is really challenging." The menstrual cycle is a multifaceted process that requires "a very careful approach including multiple assessments of hormones [and] attempts to pinpoint ovulation," which can be burdensome for both researchers and research participants. Yet she also acknowledges that it's "also conceivable that, decades ago, discussing one's menstrual cycle was seen as inappropriate and perhaps there is some carryover from those days." Dr. Payne does note that "times are changing" in terms of NIH-funded research into menstrual pain. For one thing, a number of high-profile academic articles published recently demonstrate that painful menstruation may share common features with other chronic pain problems; for example, abnormalities in how pain is processed in the brain. There is also a hypothesis that painful menstruation may be an early indicator that a person could potentially develop more serious chronic pain problems in the future. Advertisement But while this progress is promising, it doesn't change the fact that on a systemic level, the medical community hasn't adequately treated or researched the symptoms of menstruation. Which raises the question: How do we get period pain to be taken seriously without letting it define and restrict us? There are myriad examples of our culture dismissing women outright because of their periods. The most egregious recent example of this was, of course, Donald Trump rebuffing Megyn Kelly's debate questioning of him by remarking, "There was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever." But the list hardly ends there. Menstrual symptoms have been used to justify keeping women out of everything from the military to the Supreme Court to the Oval Office. Being a complex, multifaceted biological process and something that affects most women at some stage in their lives, periods have been used as a lazy means of systemic oppression -- an easy way to automatically disqualify women from all manners of ranks and positions. The story about China's new policy taps into this damning stereotype. While ostensibly progressive, the policy requires a "certificate from a legal medical institute or hospital," exists largely in name only, and is not without criticism. In addition to requiring you to disclose your menstrual and fertility cycles to your employer, there is also the possibility that it could result in increased discrimination against hiring women -- not to mention potentially reinforcing the notion that periods incapacitate all women, all the time. Periods do not have to be -- nor should they be -- an all-or-nothing issue. As far-fetched as it sounds, it is entirely possible to adequately fund research into menstrual pain and take it seriously as a medical condition without undermining women's capacity to fully function in society. Advertisement This piece by Elizabeth Yuko originally appeared on The Establishment, a new multimedia site funded and run by women. By Darcy Kennedy January 20, 2016. President Obama, invited to the North American International Auto Show, begins his tour of the Cobo Center. Hours before, teachers and their supporters wave signs that decry the deplorable conditions of Detroit Public Schools (DPS). This protest shut down 88 of DPS' 100 schools for the day. Teachers in Detroit love their students, and see themselves as the front-line defenders of students' educational rights. So, sick and tired of working in these conditions, teachers staged multiple "sick-outs" to recuperate from "Snyder Flu" caused by the inaction of Michigan governor. Three weeks later, a fifth-grade class at Clippert Academy staged a "walk-in" with the support of their teachers, classmates, and community members. Echoing the outrage of insufficient infrastructure, students had an additional demand: the return of their bilingual secretary, whose absence was acutely felt in their primarily Spanish-speaking community. In defiance of legislators continuously ignoring the needs of the school system, students and teachers marched into the building to continue learning and teaching in sub-par conditions. The message is clear: legislators cannot be allowed to further deprive teachers of opportunities to express outrage at the state of affairs in their schools. How bad are conditions within these schools? Results from health and safety inspections showed there were numerous health code violations due to rodents, water damage, and broken facilities. Black mold grows in classrooms where students and teachers have to wear coats to combat faulty or broken heating systems. These conditions are the result of years and years of neglect and budget deficits - by the end of this summer, Detroit Public Schools will be carrying $515 million in debt. This is in spite of having been under control of an emergency manager since 2009. Advertisement Teachers are calling out sick instead of striking because it is illegal for public employees to strike in 37 states. Due to legislation like the Hutchinson Act of 1947 and Public Act 112 of 1994, DPS teachers are forced to use their own personal sick days to draw attention to the conditions they have spent years teaching in. The Republican-controlled House and Senate are attempting to fight the sick-outs by proposing increasingly stringent laws and legal action. On February 2nd, the Senate Education Committee voted 4-1 for legislation that would make it easier to punish teachers and schools that are involved in strikes. These punishments include revoking teaching certificates for those involved in strikes, and cutting school aid to districts who don't dock pay for said teachers. The House revealed their plan to fix Detroit's schools last week. These include an eight year plan to reinstate a locally elected school board, switching from a pension plan to a 401-k for new hires to the district, reducing the bargaining power of teacher's unions, and creating a letter grade system for ranking Detroit schools, complete with merit pay for educators and administrators. Ivy Bailey, Interim President for the Detroit Federation of Teachers, stated: "There's a bigger picture here -- they want to destroy unions, plain and simple." It looks like she might be right. After actions such as 15 years of state-mandated emergency management, continuous budget cuts, and placing the same man who poisoned Flint in charge of the district, legislators in Michigan have subversively underinvested in the education of Detroit's young people for long enough. Control of Detroit Public Schools must be placed back into the hands of local stakeholders, and restrictions on teachers and administrators' right to collective bargaining must be curtailed. They have been silenced for long enough, and should not be further punished for using the last tools left to them. Advertisement by Engin Polar With more than 50 million people displaced by conflict and violence throughout the world, universal collective responses aimed at dealing with the main causes of insecurity and violence should be the international communities' priority. In recent years, the growing instances of armed conflict has created record numbers of population displacement and extreme poverty, which puts Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals (dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies) at risk. A fresh perspective to address the complex roots that underlie today's intertwined security, humanitarian and developmental crises is necessary in order to combat the attacks on long-term advances in global peace. Photo credit: UNHRC Building peaceful, just and inclusive societies at local and national levels requires action on a number of fronts. With half of the world under the age of 30, it is crucial that this agenda puts young people at the forefront of change and development. There are 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 years old. Empowering young people to lead the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is necessary to ensure meaningfulness and effectiveness. Given their influence, youth have both the right and the power to demand a seat at the table with their governments. As young people, we face many of the challenges addressed in the SDGs, and because the goals affect our future, it is essential that youth from all over the world participate actively in all levels of decision-making processes. Advertisement Source: UNFPA In addition to bringing fresh perspectives, young people often have direct knowledge and insight into issues that are not accessible to adults. Youth best understand the problems they face and can offer new ideas and alternative solutions. Many of the major issues in our world are not being told from the youth point of view; however, youth activism is on the rise thanks to broader connectivity and access to social media. The youth outreach with technology not only makes them more productive, but also far superior at creating inclusive, far-reaching campaigns with global impact. A single tweet, viral video or Facebook post can inspire protests led by thousands demanding change and reform that have the ability to fundamentally transform cultures infested by corruption. Source: Mohamed Hossam/AFP/Getty Images Youth-led organizations and networks should be supported and strengthened as they contribute to the development of civic and leadership skills among young people, especially marginalized youth. As United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated during his International Youth Day message this year: "I am calling on young people to speak out - and I am urging leaders to listen. As the world changes with unprecedented speed, young people are proving to be invaluable partners who can advance meaningful solutions." When young people are empowered with the knowledge of their rights and supported to develop leadership skills, they can drive change in their communities and countries. We cannot have a world where only some regions enjoy sustained levels of peace, security and prosperity while others fall into seemingly endless cycles of conflict and violence. We cannot possibly hope to establish a sustainable, peaceful, stable, socially just world, unless every child today has that same expectation. The Tunisian revolution was precisely about these goals: reasserting people's sovereignty and demanding governance that involves citizens as well as economic growth that benefits them. Having successfully held two rounds of free and fair elections and peaceful transfers of power, Tunisia's experience as the most successful democratic transition to emerge from the Arab uprisings illustrates just how marginalized youth can peacefully call for change after experiencing long years of corruption, bad governance, and the repression of their rights and freedoms. A new system of inclusive governance that puts the youth at its heart must be developed and promoted in order to establish "peace, stability, human rights and effective governance based on the rule of law for sustainable development" as SDG 16 states. Young leaders who can contribute fresh ideas, take proactive measures, and mobilize massive movements through social media must be empowered, as inclusive and peaceful societies are vital to the achievement of all the other sustainable development goals. Advertisement Engin Polar is a Senior at Noblesville High School interested in International Humanitarian Law and Middle Eastern Politics. Engin is a member of the American Turkish Association of Indiana and an Ambassador for the National Society of High School Scholars. by Natasha Louis Young people play the biggest role in implementing the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as we are the change makers of the future. We are the community of force that will be implementing and progressing these movements. This generation encompasses so much passion and drive that will produce the solutions needed to solve our world's dilemmas. One of the most crucial goals is number 5: gender equality. Human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry in the world, with a major emphasis on sex trafficking. Rape, violence against women, and the struggle of women's right to education and economic opportunities are issues that women face in every community. The gender equality goal also expands to all of the areas discussed in the SDGs. Women are not able to contribute either equally or at all to job markets, which negatively affects the global economy by costing it several trillion dollars per year. This stumps progress and does not allow other sectors to grow, such as innovation and national growth. Women and girls are always the population to suffer the most in regards to lack of access to healthcare and sanitation, food, education and other resources. Advertisement By young women working together to uplift each other and not tear each other down, we can build an alliance to fight for empowerment. The future leaders of the world do not and should not wait until tomorrow to achieve this when we all can start today. We must ban together and take issues seriously that are consistently brushed aside due to our passive culture that often allows negative words and actions against women. As young professionals and members of society, we must continue to be activists and push forward. This generation will be the party to carry out the ideas and concepts that have been conceded by the UN. We must go further than those who have come before us in order to tackle the severe and broad issues by not only telling the stories, but taking action on the stories. Our job is to keep pushing to see the results we desire. A crucial component that must be a part in gender equality is the inclusion of men. It is not only men who are already supportive who need to take part; it is those who do not understand why violence and discrimination is wrong. We need to work together to engage with them in order to grow together as a global society. Young people can take action now; with persistent pressure on our policy makers and leaders, protesting and demanding to have our voices heard, community outreach and education to our own communities and engaging in conversations about the dilemmas women face that negatively impact us all. We also must participate with organizations that promote women's rights and the incorporation of men, such as UN Women, He for She and the Man Up Campaign. As Mohammed Naeem stated during the Youth Assembly at the United Nations' Step it Up Planet 50-50 by 2030 Youth and Gender Equality workshop, "you cannot expect men to participate in the process of empowering women unless they are whole men themselves." Advertisement We cannot allow our age to create insecurity and discourage us from our capability of taking action now. We must join together in order to create overall empowerment and equality for women around the world. The essential message that young people must conceive is that the change begins with you. Natasha Louis is a current graduate student at New York University in the Global Affairs program. Her concentration is in International Law and Human Rights and is devoted to continue her professional career to assist survivors of sex trafficking and refugees. by Aria Mia Loberti Through the platform of the Youth Assembly at the United Nations, young leaders can gather together to gain a deeper, more knowledgeable perspective of international affairs and hone their abilities to foster positive change. For me personally, the Youth Assembly is an opportunity to further my understanding of the plethora of key issues, obstacles, and triumphs faced by my peers throughout the world. When fellow aspiring international young leaders connect with each other, each individual develops deepened awareness of world affairs, so that we may return to our communities to enact change. I am beyond inspired to gather with such a broad and diverse range of my peers, who all possess unique passions and represent so many distinct causes. As an advocate for blind and, like myself, visually impaired individuals, I am exceptionally passionate about spreading awareness of my platform. Particularly, I promote equality for blind and visually impaired students, whose needs are often not accommodated in school. When I was an elementary school student, my public district school department did not meet my visual needs in the classroom; it was nearly impossible for me to experience a school day without experiencing debilitating visual fatigue directly resulting from the absence of services to which I am legally entitled. As a result of our school department's noncompliance to provide my Free and Appropriate Public Education, my family developed a plan to homeschool me to provide the Least Restrictive Environment for my education. Neglect towards disabled students--visually impaired or otherwise--continues to be a far from unique occurrence in the classroom. Many disabled students are correspondingly not as fortunate as I have been, to receive a high-caliber education through homeschooling and to have the support of my parents as advocates. The root of the problem, in my opinion, is the lack of representation for disabled individuals in every level of the U.S. government. Advertisement I have found that, overall, disabled individuals are woefully underrepresented in my community, state, and nation; we have minimal political support, few resources, and scanty representation. The opportunity to be a U.S. Delegate to the Youth Assembly at the United Nations allows my voice to become stronger, so that I can more powerfully share my message of equality. The more people aware of the situation, the faster we can move towards equality in both the education system, socially, and in the workforce. Furthermore, being a part of this delegation allows me--an American high school senior and aspiring medical researcher and policy-maker--to understand what disability services are like in the rest of world. The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) do not specifically highlight people with disabilities, although the United Nations itself has taken a powerful stand on the issue in other areas of its administration. Concurrently, my goal within the Youth Assembly is to imbue my current disability advocacy efforts with activism for gender equality, Goal 5 of the SDGs. In my personal life, I have witnessed the relationship between the fight for gender equality and disability rights. Disabled women feel the brunt of both struggles. As a legally blind young woman, I personally strive for gender equality, and it is my mission to make known the intersection between gender and disability equality. The U.S. Aid Website shares the statistic: "75 percent of women with disabilities are unemployed and women with disabilities who are employed often earn less than their male counterparts and women without disabilities." This quote speaks for itself, and it makes clear the need for action. As an elementary school student, I recall my parents and I being told by a school administrator that it was unimportant for me to learn or succeed in mathematics because of my "disability and gender". The fact that such archaic statements and statistics are commonplace is not only saddening in this day and age, but repeated oppression can also discourage young disabled women from pursuing their personal definition of success. In closing, it is an honor to even be considered to attend the Youth Assembly at the United Nations. It is surreal to be a part of this event, and it is meaningfully humbling to know that I am a part of something much larger than myself, or my cause. I look forward to deepening my knowledge of the world around me and expanding my skills as leader and activist through this platform. I cannot imagine a more diverse and inspiring way to educate myself than by uniting with my international peers at the Youth Assembly, promoting the aims of the United Nations. In the words of Nelson Mandela, "young people must take it upon themselves to ensure that they receive the highest education possible so that they can represent us well in the future as leaders." Advertisement Aria Mia Loberti hails from Rhode Island, USA. As a legally blind individual, she is an activist for blind and visually impaired students, advocating on the state and local political levels prior to taking her cause to the Youth Assembly at the United Nations. Loberti is one of the five Outstanding Youth Delegates at the 2016 Winter Youth Assembly at the United Nations. by Kritika Amanjee I am, like many aspiring doctors, waiting for my train. I wait to enter a crowded vessel amongst overworked, overwhelmed young minds rushing to their respective destinations: the cell, pathology, drug therapy, pharmacology, biomedicine. Their eyes burn from the glare of the microscope and their lungs desperate for air outside of the fume hood. I see in them the fervor of a competitive medical student, but fail to find the warmth of a cultured physician. Frustrated by the demands of science and fearful of its demands on the doctor, I look around and realize that I am, like many aspiring doctors, waiting at the wrong station. In the last couple of days, I carried my frustration with me to the 2016 Winter Youth Assembly at the United Nations in New York City. I hoped to gain a fresh perspective on what it really means to contribute to a greater cause as a doctor, beyond the microscope and the fume hood and the limitations of a pre-medical school education. The two-day conference discussed the importance and implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) listed under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development set by the United Nations. As an intergovernmental initiative that encompasses a broad range of human concerns, from climate change to industry to peacekeeping, the SDGs also demand the involvement of our 1.8 billion youth to mobilize efforts and impact real change in the short deadline afforded. Advertisement Photo credit: Kritika Amanjee Naturally, my interests gravitated towards Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. I scoured through the words of renowned panelists and contemplated deeply on how their discussion could help me find my place in health and medicine, but a voice from the General Assembly podium still seemed too far away to reach me. Yes, I know the youth of today are agents of tomorrow's change. Yes, I know our voice is important to become a transformative force. Yes, I know. But, I don't understand. Where do these skyward, almost intangible, ideas fit into the scheme of measurable change? By the end of my short, but worthwhile, time at the assembly, I did find where those lofty ideas fit. They fit in the eyes of the hundreds of other young delegates just like me, thirsty to find their place in their own worlds. Never had I witnessed a larger group of curious minds, each more sure of her/his sense of agency and urgency than the other. These were people who didn't need to be told that their ideas and creativity must be transformed into action because they had been acting before they understood what it really meant to be a force of movement. But beneath this force and passion, was the real source of their inspiration: a profound craving for human connection. A connection that opens doors to meaningful relations and cultural understanding, the kind that makes us more similar than different and helps us realize why platforms like the Youth Assembly at the United Nations are necessary to construct the future we restlessly envision. This was the connection I had been craving, but didn't realize needed to fit into my world of cell cultures and micropipetting. This is the warmth necessary to become that cultured doctor, to breathe in the air outside of the fume hood, and turn our eyes to the people that deserve our compassion. I believe I can find my train station ensuring good health and well-being for all, as soon as a genuine appreciation for human culture and connection finds its destination in me. Advertisement Kritika Amanjee is a pre-medical health management, biology, and Spanish student at Union College. She finds her source of inspiration in global health development work and hopes to create sustainable models for health development. Whenever Yellowstone County officials propose improvements to the overcrowded, 28-year-old jail in Billings, some folks inevitably say that using the mostly empty jail in Hardin is a better choice. That argument deserves a thoughtful answer, which has been given by Yellowstone County Finance Director Kevan Bryan. About a month ago, operators of the Two Rivers Detention Facility, came to Billings and told Yellowstone County officials they could house inmates for $68 per day. The Two Rivers operators even promised to do all transportation between Billings and their private jail 50 miles away. There are multiple reasons why that offer isnt as good as it may sound. At $68 a day, Yellowstone County would spend nearly $2.5 million a year to keep 100 inmates in Hardin. In doing so, it would send $2.5 million in county tax money out of the county and save only a small fraction of that in reduced food and supply costs at the Billings jail. The fixed costs of running the Billings jail wouldnt change; the same staffing and utilities would be required. The Billings jail would still be double-bunking inmates; it would still fail to provide parity in housing female inmates; it would still have worn-out kitchen and laundry equipment, deteriorated plumbing and housing units. The jails current annual operating budget of $9 million would have to be increased to pay Two Rivers. Insurance concerns In the several weeks since Two Rivers came to Billings and talked with county officials here, they have not followed up with answers to information requested by Commission Chairman Bill Kennedy, Bryan said last week. They havent put the verbal offer into writing. The only document received from Two Rivers as of last week was a copy of a lengthy insurance policy for several properties operated by the private company. The policy raised more questions for Bryan, who noted multiple exemptions for medical services. Health care is a significant cost in running the Yellowstone County jail. Insurance itself is a major concern. Yellowstone County is insured through the Montana Association of Counties, which only insures county jails not private enterprises like Two Rivers. If Yellowstone County placed inmates at Hardin, the county would still be legally responsible for them, but would have no coverage under its own policy, Bryan said. Yellowstone County has contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service, Montana Department of Corrections, Carbon and Stillwater counties to hold inmates for them. If Two Rivers is a good deal, why arent any of those entities contracting with it? The Gazette has previously reported over the past decade that various law enforcement agencies deemed Two Rivers has lacked the security and humane treatment features agencies require. Even Big Horn County isnt contracting with Two Rivers. Renovation alternative A better alternative, according to Bryan and Sheriff Mike Linder, is careful investment in improvements to the Billings jail, a plan that Yellowstone County commissioners may place on the June 7 ballot. That plan would allow the county to borrow money for construction to be repaid over 20 years from existing tax levies with no levy increase required. Bryan, a CPA who worked in the private sector for 25 years, said he is taking a businesslike approach to fixing the jail problems. We are looking at the fact that buying makes much more sense than renting in this case, he told commissioners on Feb. 9. We could send 100 prisoners down the road and be out $10 million in four years, assuming no rent increases from what, in large measure, is a for profit landlord. That number will never be less. If we commit our resources to our own construction, then the expense after only a handful of years goes way down. Its a good deal for our taxpayers or we wouldnt be putting it out there, Bryan told The Gazette. Wednesdays Gazette opinion will take a look at that deal. Credit: Dan Gentile/Thrillist Everyone knows what it's like to have their paws covered in Cheetos dust, but for most people the history behind the snack is as ambiguous as the ingredient list. With that in mind, we've compiled a list of 16 factlets that you can think about while you lick your fingers clean after your next bag of Flamin' Hots. Credit: Dan Gentile/Thrillist Flamin' Hot Cheetos were invented by a janitor As revealed in an inspiring story reported by the Kansas City Star, what began as a spicy hack by a Frito-Lay plant worker has now become one of Frito-Lay's best-selling products. Janitor Richard Montanez talked his way into a meeting with the company's CEO, and armed with just a sample bag and a few nights of marketing studying, put on such an impressive presentation that it vaulted him up the corporate ladder into an executive vice president position. It takes 5,000 cows to make a year's worth of Cheetos This stat comes straight from Kimberly Scott, the director of communications at PepsiCo, Inc./Frito-Lay North America: a year-long production run requires 11 million gallons of milk, which translates to 10 million pounds of cheddar cheese that's then used in the Cheetos seasoning. That averages out to an astonishing 2,200 gallons of milk per cow. Advertisement Cheetos are intimately linked to the US military Hot on the heels of his purchase of the Frito recipe for $100 in 1932 and a successful expansion to five manufacturing plants, Frito company founder C.E. Doolin's next move was to adapt a dairy preservative technique to bring cheese into the world of dried snacks. According to WIRED, Doolin's business acumen wasn't the only reason behind his success: he also owes thanks to the US military, which pioneered research into cheese dehydration to better feed the troops. Credit: Jennifer Bui/Thrillist Each bag has more Cheetos than the serving size claims The label on a large bag of crunchy Cheetos lists the contents at 189 chips, but thanks to meticulous investigation it's been proven that a bag actually contains 237.5, meaning Chester is a very generous cat indeed. Cheetos are produced in 22 countries and come in 50 flavors Although they're typically considered an American snack, Cheetos has production facilities in 22 different countries including Cyprus, Pakistan, Spain, and Poland. These international outposts produce a wide array of foreign flavors like fizzy Pepsi (Japan), ketchup (Poland), strawberry (Russia), peanut butter covered (Eastern Europe), and Japanese steak, which is strangely sold in China. Advertisement The original mascot was a mouse Before Chester's slick Wayfarers and ferocious snacking appetite became a worldwide marketing campaign, the chip was represented in commercials by a much more demure mascot: a simple, unnamed mouse. The cheese seasoning has a stupid number of ingredients The "enriched cornmeal" that's heated and fried to form the base of the Cheeto is then blasted in a complicated cheese seasoning that's not dissimilar to the stuff that comes in the Kraft macaroni and cheese flavor packet. It's comprised of over 12 different ingredients including whey, yellow 6, more enriched cornmeal, vegetable oil, vitamin B, sugar, salt, and MSG. Check out our in-depth snack composition analysis right here to better understand the role of each of these ingredients. Credit: Drew Swantak/Thrillist You can make Cheetos waffles at home with this recipe Say goodbye to a balanced breakfast and hello to Cheetos waffles. More from Thrillist: Advertisement Like Thrillist on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Thrillist Also on HuffPost: The X-Files revival, a six-episode miniseries, has just come and gone and the reaction seems clear enough. It was a mixed bag, with real highs and, er, not-so-highs. And it certainly proved popular enough for another run of the venerable show, a true pioneer and powerhouse of the '90s which, after nine full seasons, petered out the spring after 9/11. Which is fortunate, given what a complete cliffhanger the ending of this run turned out to be. Some spoilers ensue. Its melange of conspiracies and supernaturalism, bringing incisive and often elegant thinking in the midst of frequently crackpot scenarios is certainly a match for this era of American history. Perhaps too much so. When the real world is clearly weird, one needn't turn to fiction for one's fix of the outre. Back when The X-Files premiered in September 1993, the consensus view of reality was that we lived in a well-ordered post-Cold War world. George Bush I and the Democrat who defeated him, Bill Clinton, both nonetheless subscribed to belief in a real and expanding "New World Order" typified by a benign big capitalism and rational technological progress. The end of messy history seemed at hand. To some. Others of us suspected that what was really emerging both beneath and far away from a bland corporatist surface was a "New World Chaos." Advertisement With some hiccups here and there, The X-Files made a successful return to the television universe with its recently concluded six-episode miniseries run. Its trademark conspiracism and embrace of the weird, once a "truth" that "is out there," may now be all too of our time. What The X-Files rather brilliantly created was a metaphorical universe in which New World Order forces -- usually typified by Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully's FBI superiors -- both tamped down evidence of an encroaching chaos to maintain the consensus illusion and worked within that New World Order to further nefarious ends of a conspiracy between aliens (as in outer space, not illegal immigrants) and some global elites. Today, with America ever more a surveillance state amidst the murk of the seemingly endless (and endlessly morphing) post-9/11 "Long War," a poor recovery from our near repeat Great Depression, massive and growing economic inequality, a corrupt political system, and a fragmentary ADD media culture, seeing the conspiratorial and weird around us doesn't take much of a leap. Or, put another way, an America in which a know-nothing billionaire bully boy "reality" TV star -- of whom the only substantive question is whether he is a neo-fascist, a proto-fascist, or a flat-out fascist -- is on the verge of the Republican presidential nomination may just be an America for which The X-Files isn't quite weird enough. Advertisement The show, by the way, despite being somewhat uneven, proved to be damn good in its new iteration. What problems it had -- and the pluses far outweighed the minuses -- seem due to a structural problem, a programming mistake, and what I've noticed over the years is a Hollywood penchant for the avoidance of proper rehearsal. The programming mistake was running one of the strongest episodes opposite the Grammy Awards. On the substantive front, The X-Files miniseries just past, which the Fox network has now taken to calling Season 10, was too short, at six episodes. It should have been at least eight. Ironically, what suffered most was the show's overall conspiracy arc. Though each episode was at least tinged with the overarching conspiracy, the "mythology," as X-Files creator and showrunner Chris Carter dubbed it, is concentrated in the first and last episodes. Which, not coincidentally, were the two episodes most prone to garner critical brickbats. I think that both the opener and the closer should have been two-parters. Things just happened too abruptly in each episode and as a result seemed a bit too by-the-numbers. The episodes which fared the best were the four in between the miniseries premiere and finale. They were penned by X-Files veterans James Wong, Darin Morgan, Glen Morgan, and Carter himself. Where Carter has updated the "mythology" scenario -- now it's apparently more authoritarian human elites using alien technology in pursuit of global domination -- to moderate effect, the so-called "standalone" episodes were reminiscent of some of the show's great moments of the past. Advertisement In the first, a benignly enigmatic super-rich technologist uses his defense contractor status to pursue human mutation. In another, this one deliciously comedic, a disgruntled were-monster reaffirms the faith of Mulder in the excitingly out-there. (One of the underlying jests of the show is that liberal atheist Mulder actually believes all manner of supernatural nonsense whereas it is the supposedly religious Scully who resolutely applies reason and science.) In yet another outstanding standalone, a murderous avenger against oppressors of the homeless literally animates one of the show's key metaphorical notions, that ideas and feelings have weight in the material world. In the final standalone, written and directed by Carter which introduces an amusing pair of youthful Mulder/Scully doppelgangers, Mulder tries with mysterious effect to communicate with a comatose jihadist suicide bomber. While doing nothing to deny the potential threat of terrorism, the episode clearly places the show in direct opposition to the demonization of Islam per se and the growing hatred on both sides of the religionist divide which increasingly frames much of world politics. By the time the too-brief finale rolls around, it's as if Mulder and Scully had never left while the perception of the world caught up with their milieu. Where David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson seem rather off playing their iconic characters in the opener, they are very much on it in the finale. Indeed the second episode -- dealing with the tech billionaire manipulating the genome for the military -- showed them locked-in again to Mulder and Scully. The repetition of the first episode helped them recover their full take on the characters, just as they would have with proper British-style rehearsal. It's good that they're back in form, for their portrayal of two of science fiction's most important characters should, to borrow a phrase from a rather more straightforward sort of trek, live long and prosper. Advertisement Though it's more than 20 years since they began, Duchovny and Anderson both look and act wonderfully as Mulder and Scully. They've had some losses since last we saw them, and Mulder, something of a recluse as the show begins again, is more deliberate-sounding than he used to be. But the old zest and vitality are, for the most part, definitely back. That's especially so for Anderson's portrayal of Scully. As terrific and, in the specific case of the show itself, necessary a character as the brilliant and ever-questing Mulder is, Scully is still more important. Still one of the most important female characters -- not least as a role model -- in television history, Anderson's portrayal of the steadfast yet soulful scientist and action-oriented FBI agent was especially ground-breaking two decades ago. Anderson, decidedly attractive but not at all glamorous when the show began, was no studio executive's idea of a potential breakout female TV star. Chris Carter had to fight hard to get his casting choice through. And her serious manner, leavened always by a sly humor, provided an against-the-grain sort of gravitas that other female characters lacked. Now the still dynamic duo is back, relaunched anew with another slate of shows seemingly assured for some future date. Advertisement The weirdness of our time -- the notion of President Donald Trump would only have been a slight throwaway joke during the first-run heyday of The X-Files -- does present a challenge for the show to stay at least a little ahead of the curve. But I suspect the crew is up to it. PRAKASH SINGH via Getty Images Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) R. K. Pachauri delivers his speech during the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit in New Delhi on February 2, 2012. The 12th edition of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit focusing on the theme, 'Protecting the Global Commons: 20 Years Post Rio', was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. AFP PHOTO / Prakash SINGH (Photo credit should read PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images) NEW DELHI -- Delhi Police has finally filed its chargesheet against RK Pachauri in a sexual harassment complaint lodged over a year ago by his 29-year-old female colleague. The research assistant at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) had, last February, accused the 76-year-old climate scientist of sexually harassing her at work for over a year and a half. Pachauri has been reportedly booked under five sections of the Indian Penal Code assault or criminal force to a woman, outraging her modesty, sexual harassment, stalking, and criminal intimidation in the 1400 pages-long police chargesheet. Advertisement Police, which usually has 90 days after a complaint is lodged to file a chargesheet, told the Delhi high court earlier last month that they would submit the chargesheet within two weeks. It submitted the chargesheet today after a year-long investigation in the case, and it includes copies of the inappropriate emails and text messages that Pachauri allegedly sent the complainant. The case will come up for hearing on 23 April in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Shivani Chauhan. Several of the 23 prosecution witnesses mentioned by police are current or former employees of TERI. Pachauri had earlier alleged that his electronic devices had been hacked and that he had never sent any such messages to his female colleague, a claim that the police have rejected. They have sent his phone and laptop for forensic examination and are awaiting the lab reports. Pachauri, who had to step down as chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) almost immediately after the complaint against him, continued heading TERI and was later even promoted as executive vice chairman of the think tank and inducted into its governing council. He is currently on leave from TERI. Contact HuffPost India Also See On HuffPost: ASSOCIATED PRESS Mohit Goel, right, Director of Ringing Bells Pvt. Ltd., and Ashok Chadha, left, spokesperson, show a Freedom 251 smartphone, which is to be priced at Rs 251 or $3.6 approximately, during its release in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das) The world's cheapest phone, Freedom 251, is in murky waters once again. Its maker Ringing Bells has started to refund early customers who had made payments through the website. The company had tied up with payment gateway CCAvenue for the sale of Freedom 251. But the sale was halted after initial 30000 transactions were made as the servers faced heavy load. Now all the payments for the phone will be done through the cash on delivery mode once the orders are confirmed. Advertisement A report in ET suggested that a total of 84 lakh was paid to 14800 unique customers. In the report, Vishal Patel, CEO of Avenues India said "due to negative publicity in media and scrutiny by the government, the merchant has asked us to refund all transactions." The phone has hit a storm of controversy since its launch. The devices given to the media had white paint on it with the phone having the Adcom branding. A lot of people from the industry and consumers had raised the question of how the phone can be this cheap while the components are costlier than 251. The phone's website was poorly made too. With the website being inaccessible many time in the day it had no HTTPS protection for registration. And it even leaked the user data upon manually changing the order number in the order confirmation URL. The company was also accused of copying iPhone's look and feel in terms of the software and the hardware. Advertisement In a letter to the media, co-founder Ashok Chaddha had denied all allegations saying, "We wanted to provide a 'made in India' handset. But we faced problem on finding scratch proof components. So we sourced the components from ADCOM for the prototype. The final handset will have a different look". He also said, "Our icons are not copied from apple you can see that in prototype too. Also, we are in the process of registering with BIS and we have already obtained Google Developer License." When we asked that have you registered with Qualcomm for 3G technology, he responded by saying, "At present we are using Spreadtrum Chip set then why do we need to register with Qualcomm?" Consumers are still waiting for solid answers and commitment from Ringing Bells. Meanwhile, the government has distanced itself from the Freedom 251. Advertisement Hindustan Times via Getty Images NEW DELHI, INDIA - NOVEMBER 9: Dr. Ram Shankar Katheria taking oath as a cabinet minister in the administration of President Pranab Mukherjee during the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan, on November 9, 2014 in New Delhi, India. With 21 new faces inducted into Prime Minister Narendra Modi Council of Ministers on Sunday, the strength of his team now stands at 66. This is the first expansion since Modi took oath with 45 ministers on May 26. (Photo by Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) The parliament session was disrupted on Tuesday, a day after the union budget was presented, as the opposition parties demanded the resignation of union minister Ram Shankar Katheria for allegedly making inflammatory comments at a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. At a prayer meeting for murdered Vishwa Hindu Parishad activist Arun Mahuar in Agra in which Katheria participated, Muslims were reportedly likened to demons and descendants of Ravana while the speakers urged Hindus to corner and destroy the demons. Advertisement Katheria allegedly said, referring to the murder of Mahuar, that there has been a conspiracy against Hindus and that the community should fight it. All of this that is happening to the youth in this country, the conspiracies against the Hindu community...We will have to get strong and fight this conflict...Today, one Arun has died, tomorrow another Arun will die...before the second Arun dies (his) killers should go," Katheria had reportedly said. However, the minister of state for education on Tuesday denied of saying anything controversial. "What has been published in one of the newspapers is false. I had not taken the name of any community. I had said that the culprits, who had murdered the VHP leader, should be given death sentence. I had also said that the Hindu community should unite for their safety. I will send a notice to the newspaper," he said. While Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav demanded that Modi sacks Katheria, Congress party leader Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh of trying to divide the country. Advertisement Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, said that he is not surprised by the remarks of the union minister. "This has been the continuous, consistent and obnoxious behavior by the Modi government. I am sure that no action will be taken," he said. Owaisi added that this "was good because the real agenda of the government is being exposed". "Their real agenda is to promote Hinduvta. A Minister speaking such language clearly shows that he went to Agra not for condolence meeting but to create communal mayhem there," Owaisi said. Meanhile, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Babu Lal remained defiant as he reiterated his comments against Muslims that he first made at the meeting in which he shared the dais with Katheria. Speakers at the meeting allegedly urged Hindus to fight Muslims. Mahuar was killed last week allegedly by some Muslim men. Advertisement A defiant Babu Lal asked whether it was wrong for the society to unite at a time when people are killing Hindus with bullets. If we cant take revenge against these people then should we worship them?, Lal said. BJP spokesperson Shrikant Sharma said the Minister has clarified his remarks. "Katheria has made it clear in his statement that he has said nothing wrong. And after this clarification, there is nothing to comment on. "I have seen his statement in which he has cleared everything. The real issue is the deteriorating law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh," he said. (With PTI inputs) Advertisement Contact HuffPost India ASSOCIATED PRESS People look at the bodies of two among the victims fatally stabbed by a man as they are kept inside an ambulance outside a hospital in Thane, outskirts of Mumbai, India, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016.A man in western India fatally stabbed 14 members of his family, including seven children, early Sunday before hanging himself, police said. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade) On Sunday 28 February, Mumbai woke up to a horrifying news. Hasnain Warekar, a 35-year-old resident of Thane, had sedated 14 members of his family and had gone around slitting their throats. Seven children, including on as young as five-months-old, were among the dead. While initially it was suspected that property dispute was behind the murders, one survivor, Warekar's sister said that there was no property dispute in the family. The alleged murderer hung himself after killing his family members. Advertisement It is now being assumed that Warekar, who had been obsessing about 'jannat' or heaven in the days leading up to the murder, killed his family so that they could accompany him there. A report on Mumbai Mirror claims, for the past three months, Warekar had been jobless. Neighbours and acquaintances said that he had become increasingly interested and involved in black magic and other such absurd rituals. A police officer stands outside a morgue as relatives carry the body of one of the victims fatally stabbed by Warekar. Advertisement "Hasnain visited Pardesi Baba ka Dargah in Thane's Anand Nagar locality every day, often spending four to five hours there. He forced his 28-year-old wife, Jabin, to cover her face all the time and restricted her movements outside the house. He never consulted a doctor when the couple's daughters six-year-old Mubtashira and three-month-old Umaira fell ill, taking them instead to a baba. He would make them eat sand or drink "holy water", claiming it was medicine, a neighbour claimed," Mirror reports. According to a report on Mid-Day, police has sought the help of psychiatrists to figure out why Warekar may have killed his entire family. Survivor Sobiya Bharmal, whose baby was killed by Warekar, said that when she woke up and tried to escape, her brother had screamed, "Maine sab gharwalo ko khatam kiya hai. Main tumhe bhi nahin chhodunga. (I have killed the entire family, I won't spare you either)." "The cops have learnt that for the past two years, he would threaten to kill everyone every time he was annoyed by the family members. Tum logo ko dekh ke mera khoon khaulta hai, main tum sab ko ek din maar daaloonga was the clinching line he had made to Sobiya on several occasions, confirmed a senior police official," reports Mid-Day. Advertisement Contact HuffPost India Also see on HuffPost: Hindustan Times via Getty Images PANIPAT, INDIA - FEBRUARY 23: A damaged Amusement park on National Highway 1, at Murthal town after Jat protests for reservation in government services turned violent on February 23, 2016 in Panipat, India. Jats are agitating for quotas in jobs and want to be counted as a part of Other Backward Classes, a section that has 27% quotas in government jobs. (Photo by Ravi Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) UPDATE:The reportage of the Delhi-based journalist cited in this article is allegedly fabricated. This allegation emerged several months after this article was first published. We request you to keep this in mind while reading further. Also read: Journalist Cooked Up Evidence In Murthal Gangrape Case, Should Be Prosecuted, Amicus Curiae Tells Court NEW DELHI -- Were women dragged out of their vehicles and raped in the fields near the National Highway in Murthal, when Haryana was besieged by the Jat agitation? Advertisement While the Haryana government has steadfastly denied that such a crime occurred, women claiming to be survivors and their family family members have spoken to the media about their ordeal. If true, this would be one of the most horrific instances of sexual violence in India. If true, this would either expose a sinister coverup, or betray the gross incompetence of the police, with catastrophic repercussions on the the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state government. And if true, it will lay bare just how far the police has fallen in the eyes of the public. This week, the state government told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that no such crime had occurred. Similar Accounts The mystery of Murthal has deepened since The Tribune first reported that at least 10 women were allegedly raped near NH1 in the early morning hours of March 22, but witnesses and families of the victims were silenced by the Haryana police for "the sake of their honour" and because "what had happened could not be undone." Advertisement On Monday, FirstPost carried accounts of two women who claimed that they were raped in Murthal during the Jat agitation. One woman told FirstPost that she was dragged out of a bus near the Sukhdev Dhaba and gang raped until she "lost consciousness," and other women on the bus met with the same fate. "Even worse, we were advised by the officials there not to report the matter for the sake of honor, because what has happened could not be undone," she toldFirstPost. This language - "sake of honor" and "what has happened could not be undone" - was also reported by The Tribune in its report. The FirstPost reported that the second woman was too traumatized to narrate her ordeal, and so the news outlet spoke to her mother. Advertisement The mother told FirstPost that she doesn't know exactly what happened to her daughter after she was kidnapped at gunpoint by assailants on a motorcycle, but she was rescued from a water tank situated near a dhaba, along with other women, hours later. The mother also told FirstPost that the dhaba owner turned of the lights of his eatery to avoid attention from the goons. A similar version of events was also reported by The Tribune. Jai Bhagwan, who runs a dhaba on the highway, told The Tribune that four young women took refuge inside a water tank. "We turned off the lights so as not to attract the attention of the goons. The hapless women remained there for hours till they were escorted out at daybreak," he told the newspaper. Undergarments The Haryana government was quick to refute The Tribune's report on the evening of March 24, just hours after the Chandigarh-based newspaper had published its account. Even before conducting a preliminary , the state government called it a "rumor." But the Punjab and Haryana High Court felt that such serious allegations needed a more thorough investigation, and ordered a probe. But just how invested the Haryana police is in solving the crime is up for conjecture. How could trained investigators not find the women's undergarments which were discovered by reporters from the Anandabazar Patrika in the road and fields near NH1? Advertisement In its report to the High Court on Monday, the three-member committee of women investigators, which was set up by the state government, said that no rapes had occurred near Murthal. Could the Haryana government inform the public whether the forensic laboratory - to which the underclothes were reportedly sent for examination - has conclusively ruled out rape. Independent Probe? Once the media started pursuing the Murthal case, and the Punjab and Haryana High Court got involved, senior officials of the Haryana police asked survivors to come forward without fear because their identities would be kept secret. But the state government's tone and tenor hasn't inspired confidence. And if it is the police which tried to coverup the crime, why would any survivor muster up the courage to speak up. Perhaps, it is time for the investigation to be conducted by an independent agency. The mother, who was interviewed by FirstPost, asked how was she expected to trust a police force which had dismissed the entire episode as a "rumor." Advertisement The husband of the woman, who was interviewed byFirstPost, said that it would be pointless to speak with the police. "We are sure that the police will shield the criminals. Instead of acting swiftly after the incident of gangrape was reported and launching a crackdown on the suspects, the cops are in denial mode waiting for us to come forward first," he told the news outlet. Tragic Coincidence? Meanwhile, a Delhi-based woman registered a case of gang rape against seven people, including her brother-in-law, near Murthal on the intervening night of Feb.22 and 23rd. But isn't clear whether this crime is connected to the alleged gang rape of several women by goons in the midst of the Jat agitation, which occurred in the early morning hours of Feb. 22. Press Trust of India has reported that the woman knew all the perpetrators, and the reason for this crime could be a family dispute. Advertisement Contact HuffPost India Also on HuffPost: Hindustan Times via Getty Images NEW DELHI, INDIA - NOVEMBER 19: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi during a convention of the Indian Youth Congress to mark the 98th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on November 19, 2015 in New Delhi, India. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son and party vice president Rahul Gandhi hit out at the government as well as the BJP and RSS accusing the Modi government of pursuing communal and divisive politics. (Photo by Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) NEW DELHI -- The news that several Opposition leaders including Congress Party vice president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Community Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury, have been slapped with charges of sedition for speaking in support of JNU students charged with sedition has inspired much critical commentary. The news has led many to comment that this is reminiscent of the Emergency, when Indira Gandhi suspended civil liberties and threw political opponents in prison. Advertisement Yes, sedition is a charge that has no place in a modern democracy. And yes, it is indeed terrible that political leaders can get slapped with sedition for merely speaking in support of someone who was unfairly slapped with sedition charges to begin with. But it would have been a serious matter only if the BJP could have been at least remotely been behind the incident. That is not the case. To begin with, the case arises from a private petition against seven political leaders and two JNU students, which has been filed by one S. Janardhan Goud in the court of a Metropolitan Magistrate in L.B. Nagar, which falls in the state of Telangana. Neither the state government of Telangana (a non-BJP government) nor the Modi government at the Centre could be argued to have influenced the matter. Advertisement Instead of throwing out the petition on the grounds of absurdity, the magistrate followed routine procedure and asked the local police to register the case against the nine men. This seems quite reasonable compared to the summons for Lord Hanuman to appear in a Bihar court. "It is a court-referred matter. Following the court's directive, a case under section 124A of the IPC (sedition) has been registered yesterday against nine persons, including Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Sitaram Yechury, JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and others," said S. Lingaiah, Inspector of Saroornagar Police Station. The court hearing is for scheduled for March 4. Now, Goud, a practicing advocate, is really disturbed by the videos he has seen of "anti-national" sloganeering, which have allegedly been taking place on JNU campus, and he is upset that Gandhi and other political leaders are hobnobbing with students who organize these activities. "I have been told that the videos are genuine and that some students really chanted slogans that they will cut the country into pieces. How can Rahul Gandhi and other leaders sit alongside such student leaders and express support to them when they chant anti-national slogans? I am a citizen of this country and I want to know what is going on at JNU and why these leaders visited the students. That is why I filed the petition," he told The Indian Express. It is the right of any Indian citizen to have their day in court. Thakur Chandan Kumar Singh, a lawyer in Bihar, recently sued Lord Rama for cruelty to Sita. Advertisement But good luck to Goud making a case for sedition because Section 124A (as jurists have been at pains to explain after the JNU row) is is only invoked if words, spoken or written, are accompanied by disorder and violence and/ or incitement to disorder and violence. Many such cases are filed against politicians all over the country. They tend to get dismissed at some stage in a higher court. There is no case to argue that the BJP is cracking down on Opposition leaders. Advertisement Contact HuffPost India Also On HuffPost: Columbia University A group of 130 academicians have called for the removal of historian Sheldon Pollock from his post as mentor and chief editor of Murty Classical Library for being "a prominent signatory of two recent statements released by US academicians condemning the actions of the JNU authorities and the Government of India against separatist groups who are calling for the independence of Kashmir, and for Indias breakup." "While Pollock has been a well-known scholar of philology, it is also well-known that he has deep antipathy towards many of the ideals and values cherished and practiced in our civilization," said the Change.org petition to Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy and his son Rohan Murty. "[I]t is crystal clear that Pollock has shown disrespect for the unity and integrity of India. We submit that such an individual cannot be considered objective and neutral enough to be in charge of your historic translation project." Advertisement Pollock, who has a PhD focussing on history and interpretation of Sanskrit texts from Harvard University, is currently a professor of South Asian Studies in Columbia University. The petition was started three days ago by Ganesh Ramakrishnan, an IIT Bombay professor in the Computer Science and Engineering department. It has attracted support from people in USA, UK, Australia, Abu Dhabi, etc, and has got over 11,000 signatories. The petitioners have attacked Pollock for not being "politically neutral" and for showing "utter indifference and disrespect for democratic values and even the international norms of non-interference in the internal functioning of constitutional representative institutions in other countries". They have accused him of misrepresenting India's cultural heritage, calling his writings "deeply flawed". Instead, they have asked for "fair representation" of Sanskrit texts, and demanded that the library project should follow the ethos of the Indian Prime Minister's 'Make in India' scheme. "The project must be part of the Make in India ethos and not outsourced wholesale to American Ivy Leagues. Just as your visionary role in Infosys showed the world that Indians can be the top producers of IT, so also we urge you to champion the development of Swadeshi Indology." The signatories in the petition include former Chief Election Commissioner of India N. Gopalaswami, former JNU Pro Vice Chancellor Kapil Kapoor, and International Association of Sanskrit Studies president V. Kutumba Sastry, among others. The Murty library aims to make available the great literary works of India from the past two millennia, and reintroduce these increasingly inaccessible texts to a new generation of readers by providing their English translations. Advertisement Contact HuffPost India Also See On HuffPost: Days after a Shiv Sena member was arrested for assaulting a woman traffic constable, another member has caused some major trouble for the party. A member of the youth wing of the Shiv Sena was caught on CCTV, beating up a shopkeeper with a bamboo stick. Sunil Mahadik, who was arrested later, allegedly lost his cool a shopkeeper refused to give him 100 free vada pavs. The incident took place in Vile Parle (West) area. The CCTV footage shows the Shiv Sena leader assaulting 28-year-old Chetan Geveriya, who works at Trupti Sweet and Farsan Mart on DJ Road, with a bamboo stick. Advertisement WATCH it here: Shiv Sena's Sunil Mahadik hits shopkeeper with a stick in Mumbai for allegedly refusing to give free vada pavshttps://t.co/oQqpcnYZnx ANI (@ANI_news) March 1, 2016 According to reports, Shiv Sena has expelled the leader from the party following the incident. According to reports, a day ago, Mahadik had sent another person to the shop demanding 100 vada pavs, a popular street-food in Mumbai, free of cost. Geveria told him that they didnt have so much stock, so the person left. The next day, Mahadik allegedly called the shopkeeper on his mobile phone and abused him, and said he must hand over 100 vada pavs immediately to a person he was sending. Geveria said Mahadik should speak to the owner of the shop first. Irked, Mahadik himself went to the shop and hit Geveria with a bamboo stick and threatened to kill him, police said, reports PTI. Advertisement Geveria, though not seriously injured, was taken to Cooper hospital in Juhu, police said. The incident was captured by the CCTV cameras in the shop and Juhu police registered an FIR. The footage was also aired by some local news channels. Mahadik was arrested and a local court sent him to police custody. Contact HuffPost India Also See On HuffPost: POLSON A Dayton resident has been banned from Wild Horse Island, and lost his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for three years, for multiple violations of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks regulations. Michael Filipek accepted a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing bighorn sheep horns that came from Wild Horse, and to illegally killing a bobcat and mountain lion. The killings did not take place on the 2,164-acre Flathead Lake island, most of which is a primitive state park. FWP said Warden Sgt. Nathan Reiner and Polson Game Warden Ron Howell were on Wild Horse to investigate the reported killing of a large bighorn ram when they encountered Filipek on March 13, 2015. The wardens interviewed Filipek on the island and were able to determine that Filipek had picked up two bighorn ram heads and moved them out of plain view, according to FWP Region 1 spokesman John Fraley. It is illegal to pick up bighorn sheep horns anyplace in Montana, FWP Warden Capt. Lee Anderson said. Filipek was not cited at the time. But later, Reiner, Howell and FWP criminal investigator Brian Sommers obtained a search warrant for Filipeks home. A set of bighorn sheep horns that Filipek had previously taken from Wild Horse Island were seized, Fraley said. The investigation also showed that Filipek had illegally shot a bobcat in 2013 and illegally shot a mountain lion in 2013. This is a very important case for the state parks division, regional park manager Dave Landstrom said. It is illegal to remove natural or cultural artifacts from any of Montanas state parks. The intent of this law is that anyone who visits a state park should have an opportunity to enjoy these artifacts and then leave them where they lay so that then next visitor can do the same. Fraley said there is a huge commercial value in bighorn sheep horns, especially ones of world class-caliber like the Wild Horse Island sheep. Anderson said the sheep were not shot and were likely killed by a mountain lion. Filipek pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of bighorn sheep horns, unlawful possession of a mountain lion, unlawful possession of a bobcat and hunting without a license. In addition to being banned from Wild Horse and losing his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for three years, he was ordered to pay $1,200 in fines and restitution. Sikh Pride Awareness/Twitter WASHINGTON -- A Sikh Army captain filed suit against the U.S. military on Monday after being ordered to undergo "extraordinary, targeted, repetitive testing" before receiving permanent permission to wear a beard and long hair for his religion, court papers said. Captain Simratpal Singh, a member of the 349th Engineer Battalion who was awarded the Bronze Star for his work clearing explosives from roads in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, was granted a temporary accommodation last year allowing him to dress according to his religious beliefs, the court filing said. Advertisement But Assistant Army Secretary Debra Wada recently ordered additional tests before she would grant him a permanent exemption, saying she wanted to be certain he could safely wear a helmet and gas mask if he had a turban, uncut hair and a beard, the lawsuit said. "Defendants abruptly informed Captain Singh that, because of his Sikh religion, he must immediately undergo extraordinary, targeted, repetitive testing ostensibly to ensure he can properly wear a combat helmet and safety mask," the suit said. "This discriminatory treatment is unfounded and violates the Army's own regulations," the suit said, adding that other soldiers had not been subjected to testing beyond what is given to most troops. Singh recently passed the standard gas mask testing with the rest of his unit, his supporters said. Air Force Major Ben Sakrisson, a Pentagon spokesman, said the department did not comment on ongoing litigation. But he said the military worked to "the maximum extent possible" to enable the free exercise of religion by all troops. Advertisement The U.S. military took steps in early 2014 to give individual troops greater latitude to wear turbans, head scarves, yarmulkes and tattoos if required by their religion. The policy shift was mainly expected to affect Sikhs, Muslims, Jews and members of other groups that wear beards or articles of clothing for religious purposes. It also affected Wiccans and others who obtain tattoos for religious reasons. Only three Sikhs have been granted permission by the U.S. military to wear turbans, beards and uncut hair over the past six years, court filings said. Singh and two other Sikhs are awaiting decisions on their requests for a waiver. Singh is unusual among Sikhs seeking accommodations because in 2006 he attended West Point, where he gave in to pressure to cut his hair and beard. But after a decade of service, including completing Army Ranger School, he obtained a temporary accommodation last year to enable him to follow the grooming traditions of his religion. Advertisement Contact HuffPost India Asianet/YouTube A Malayalam television news anchor is facing a barrage of threatening calls and abuses, and being systematically targeted on social platforms after she hosted a show to discuss whether worshipping the mythological demon god Mahishasura amounted to treason. The mobile number of Sindhu Sooryakumar, the Chief Coordinating Editor of Asianet News, was circulated on WhatsApp allegedly by activists of right wing groups offended by a TV programme where members of Congress, BJP and Left parties debated whether celebrating Mahishasura, a common custom among certain tribes in India, is enough to accuse students of Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University of "anti-national" activities. Advertisement Recently, Union Human Resource Development Minister (HRD), Smriti Irani, read out in Parliament a pamphlet found in JNU that allegedly mentioned a Mahishasura event to be held on the campus. The pamphlet also found a mention in a report submitted by the Delhi Police. Six students are facing sedition charges for attending an event to protest the hanging of terrorist Afzal Guru. The subject of JNU as a den of extreme Leftist and potentially seditious activities have split public opinion on social platforms with many accusing the government of suppressing civil rights of students who indulge in campus politics. They said they wont let me live in peace and will destroy my family. The comments were sexist and abusive. In an interview in Malayalam to Asianet news, translated by Kracktivist, Sooryakumar said she discussed the issue on her programme 'The News Hour' on Friday, with VV Rajesh representing the BJP side. The main accusation of the thousands who set up Facebook posts denigrating her, called her a prostitute, and circulated vicious WhatsApp messages threatening her, Sooryakumar said, was that she called Goddess Durga a sex worker. She categorically denied having ever made that comment and asked people to watch the video of the debate. Meanwhile, Rajesh has promised his support to her in her fight against abusive trolls. Advertisement "They said they wont let me live in peace and will destroy my family. The comments were sexist and abusive. I filed a police complaint when I couldnt take it anymore. I gave them details of the calls I attended. For the past three days my mobile phone has been inundated with abusive calls, which is still continuing," she said. "The messages circulated from pro-BJP, pro-Sangh Facebook profiles published my phone number and exhorted people to call me. The FB posts wrongly quoted me as saying Sindhu Sooryakumar asks whats wrong if someone calls Goddess Durga a sex worker. Sindhu Sooryakumar is a sex worker. This is her phone number. Call her to protest, she said. It's deliberate harassment and Sooryakumar said she believed activists of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a far right, non-governmental organisation, were behind it. "There are no signs of the abusive calls stopping. When people call from their own mobile phones, it shows they have no fear of the law. The police have filed charges against a few of them. If the charges against them are not strong, I will move court with a private complaint. I stand by what I said. I will not allow anyone to challenge my freedom of speech and right to live," she said. Advertisement Sooryakumar said some of the callers admitted they were "either RSS or BJP activists". "Most of them asked me three questions: Why do you dislike Narendra Modi. Why cant you acknowledge RSS. What is your problem with the BJP." CPI(M) State secretary, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, yesterday accused the Sangh Parivar of attempting to gag the media, reported The Hindu. Most of them asked me three questions: Why do you dislike Narendra Modi. Why cant you acknowledge RSS. What is your problem with the BJP. In a statement released to the press, Balakrishnan said Sooryakumar was being targeted for "dispassionately anchoring a discussion on the JNU issue." "The Sangh Parivar had raised grave allegations and intimidated her and exhorted not to spare her through the social media platform," he said. Advertisement In an interview to The News Minute, Sindhu said most of the people who called her up and abused her "had actually not seen the discussion on television". She said the abuse was being fuelled by rumours on social media sites. Meanwhile her phone number is up on public platforms for anyone to misuse. The calls haven't stopped even after a police complaint, even though the Kerala Police arrested five persons yesterday. All of those arrested are connected to BJP, RSS and Hindu groups, including Sri Rama Sena. G Sparjan Kumar, Commissioner of Police, Thiruvananthapuram city, told The Indian Express that "all of those arrested are connected to BJP, RSS and Hindu groups, including Sri Rama Sena. One of the arrested said he got Sooryakumars number from a WhatsApp group called Sanga Dhwani, reported the Express. A member on that group asked others to call and abuse her. As hate campaigns go, most of the abusers were clueless about what the charge against her was, acting as a herd on calls from social media cells of right wing groups. "Most of the abusers called me a prostitute and abused me. Some threatened me while others didnt even know what the charge was. I got a call this morning from someone asking whether I was Durga. Another person called me sometime ago, saying I had posted something against Durga on Facebook, and that he wanted to abuse me for that, she told the Express. Advertisement Contact HuffPost India Also on HuffPost: Hindustan Times via Getty Images NEW DELHI, INDIA - DECEMBER 21: HRD Minister Smriti Irani comes out of the Patiala Court on December 21, 2015 in New Delhi, India. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley filed a defamation suit against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and sought Rs.10 crore in damages for accusing him of corruption when he headed the DDCA. Kejriwal retorted that he and his AAP can't be intimidated. (Photo by Ravi Choudhary/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) NEW DELHI -- With the Budget presentation out of the way, the Opposition is closing ranks against Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani over her fiery defense of the Modi government's crackdown on the "anti-national" students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, and her response to the suicide of a Dalit student at the University of Hyderabad. While the Congress Party moved a privilege motion against Irani in the Lok Sabha today, Mayawati's Bahuhan Samaj Party did the same in the Rajya Sabha. Advertisement In contrast to the vigorous debate over the JNU row and the suicide of Rohith Vemula, which preoccupied lawmakers last week, both Houses of Parliament today deteriorated into a routine of chaos and adjournments. The ruckus was over Irani's responses during the debate, BJP lawmaker Ram Shankar Katheria's grotesque remarks against Muslims, and allegations of money laundering against Karti Chidambaram, son of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, in connection with the Aircel-Maxis scam. While AIADMK leaders shouted slogans against Karti Chidambaram in Rajya Sabha, Congress Party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad accused the Modi government of organizing the ruckus to avoid a discussion on the motion against Irani. Meanwhile, Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, a BJP lawmaker, moved a privilege motion against Congress Party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, who called for action against him and Irani, while speaking in the parliamentary debate on the JNU row and Rohith Vemula's suicide. Advertisement Last year, Dattatreya wrote to Irani about the anti-national acts" of the Dalit students, urging her to take action against them. Irani is under fire because the HRD Ministry sent five letters to the University of Hyderabad, asking the educational institution to look into the concerns raised by Dattatreya. "I never mentioned Rohith's name. Never mentioned any student's name," he said, ANI reported. "I never mentioned any organization or incident in university as casteist or anti-national. Jyotiraditya has tarnished my image." The first week of the Budget session was taken up by heated arguments on whether slapping a sedition charge on students is an overkill, even if they push the boundaries of free speech in the hallowed space of a university campus, and their remarks hurt the sentiments of other sections of society. While Irani held her own against speeches advocating liberty and leniency, the tenor and substance of her remarks have been criticized for being high on drama, and not entirely accurate. In the case of Rohith Vemula, the Dalit student who committed suicide at the University of Hyderabad on January 17, his mother has refuted Irani's claim that no doctor was allowed his body for quite a while after he was found hanging in his friend's room. Advertisement Irani is also getting flak for her remarks against Mahishasura, who is regarded as a demon by many Hindus, but also revered by adviasis, who mourn in his slaying by Goddess Durga. "What is Mahishasura Martyrdom Day?," she said in the Lok Sabha, referring to "statement" from October, 4 2014 by the SC/ST and Minority students of JNU. Durga Puja is the most controversial racial festival, where a fair skinned beautiful goddess Durga is depicted brutally killing a dark-skinned native called Mahishasura....Mahishasura, a brave self-respecting leader, tricked into marriage by Aryans. They hired a sex worker called Durga, who enticed Mahishasura into marriage and killed him after nine nights of honeymooning, during sleep," Irani read out. "Freedom of speech, Ladies and Gentlemen," she said. "What is this depraved mentality." Advertisement Contact HuffPost India Also on HuffPost India: Dallas Stribley via Getty Images Rajasthan, India, Indian Sub-Continent, Asia 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 After four previous losses, Leonardo DiCaprio finally took home an Oscar, scoring Best Actor for The Revenant. Here are the Oscars 2016 highlights, winners and top moments. Advertisement The Delhi Police found itself in an embarrassing situation when the High Court, at the hearing of Kanhaiya Kumars bail plea, asked if it really knew the meaning of sedition. The police admitted there was no tangible evidence on Kumar shouting anti-national slogans other than the video footage sourced from television channels. Days after allegations of rape and molestation by Jat quota agitators near Haryana's Murthal, a woman came forward and registered a case of gangrape against seven people, including her brother-in-law, in connection with the incident. Shoma Chaudhury, editor of digital news platformCatch News, has reportedly been asked to quit. Catch News is owned by Rajasthan Patrika. Chaudhury was previously the managing editor of Tehelka magazine. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury are among nine persons who have been booked on sedition charges in connection with the JNU row, the police said. Advertisement In separate letters to Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani, a student from JNU, and SC/ST faculty members from the University of Hyderabad, objected to her describing Rohith Vemula as a "child", in the Parliament. Main News Finance minister Arun Jaitley painted a rare rural mural in his budget speech, signalling where priorities lay for the Modi government the farm and social sectors, with added focus on women and small businesses. The Class 12 board examinations of the CBSE start today. As many as 10,67,900 students across the country will write the exams, which will end on April 22. Teachers and experts say students should not treat these exams as a make or break situation and remain stress-free. A Delhi court allowed the custodial interrogation of two JNU students, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, arrested in a sedition case, by one more day. In Ludhiana, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals car was attacked by protesters allegedly belonging to the Akali Dal who pelted stones on it, breaking the windshield, but the AAP leader escaped unhurt. Advertisement Off The Front Page In an attempt to curb public urination in the city, the Hyderabad traffic police has come up with the best passive-aggressive solution ever. It has decided to felicitate the offenders by putting garlands around their necks. A 95-year-old former Nazi SS paramedic at the Auschwitz death camp, accused of being an accomplice to the murder of thousands, is to stand trial in Germany, one in a series of such recent cases. Punjabi teen was Canadas PM for a day. Once back home, PJ (Prabjote) Lakhanpal pinched himself to see if it was true. ''It was amazing to go to Parliament Hill in Ottawa.. I never expected all this even in my wildest dreams, he said. Before you walk your dog in Chennai, get a licence. A majority of dog owners havent realised that the city corporation has for ages made it mandatory to have a licence for pet dogs. Opinion The budget ticks the boxes on fiscal, revenue and primary deficit parameters. It has also done better on the revenue deficit target and effective revenue deficit target, says V Anantha Nageswaran in Mint. In the final analysis, it is a thoughtful, prudent and careful budget. But it is hard to avoid the impression that it has been more careful than it needed to be, especially in the critical areas of bank recapitalization and corporate tax reforms. Advertisement This week there are three films I want to watch: Aligarh, Carol and Spotlight. The first two explore loving, consensual adult relationships that happen to be of the same-sex variety. Spotlight, however, is different; it explores unpleasant sex between adults and non-consenting children and the only similarity it has with the other two is the same-sex aspect, writes Radhika Vaz in The Times of India. There is no doubt that vaccine research and development would again become the centrepiece of the efforts to contain the spread of Zika. India must seize this opportunity to impress upon the various stakeholders the critical role of vaccination as a comprehensive preventive healthcare strategy that may be needed more and more in the years to come, writes NK Ganguly in the Hindustan Times. Advertisement HELENA The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is in the midst of analyzing a mine operating permit submitted by Tintina Montana Inc. And as the company looks to get the project underway, it is already touting the mining potential near White Sulphur Springs that could last for decades. The Black Butte Copper Project is a small mine proposal by most estimations, targeting high-grade ore underground. The project has stirred emotions for years between supporters who look forward to an economic boon for Meagher County and opponents who point to minings poor environmental record in Montana and argue the mines proximity to a tributary of the Smith River jeopardizes the iconic waterway. As Black Butte works its way through permitting, a process estimated to last two years, Tintinas President and CEO Bruce Hooper has pitched interested investors in part on long-term exploration and mining potential for the area. Materials for prospective investors echo the possibilities, mentioning numerous untested extensions along strike over 20km and district-wide potential to extend mine life and establish a 50-year district. In many ways wed love to get out and do some more exploration but its not part of our short- and medium-term plans, Hooper said in an interview. Permitting is really our focus right now. If permitted, Tintina will mine copper deposits called the Johnny Lee located about 15 miles north of White Sulphur Springs. Another deposit, called the Lowry, was discovered a short distance away but is not part of the current mine proposal. In 2014, Tintina purchased 40 federal mining claims adjacent to Black Butte. At the time Vice President of Exploration Jerry Zieg said the purchase guarded against competition. He also mentioned potential exploration but noted the company had no immediate plans. Tintina still sees the claims in a similar way, Hooper said, adding that the purchases are probably it for the time being. Black Buttes small size using modern mining techniques has been a staple of Tintinas public message as it seeks a permit. But with an estimated mine life of between 11 and 14 years, long-term potential is something important to investors and employees, Hooper said. For the investment community, spending a lot more money if you dont know it can be permitted does not make sense, he said. Once its in operation, then well certainly look to extend the mine life. Thats a positive for the community weve invested in as well that its not just a short-term operation and theyll benefit from any new discovery. Many White Sulphur Springs residents have thrown their support behind the mine, with Meagher County commissioners among the staunchest advocates. In an interview with commissioners last year, Chairman Herb Townsend said he was convinced Tintina was taking extra steps to ensure responsible mining and questioned the messaging of outside groups opposed to the mine as relying on scare tactics. Hooper emphasized that any new mining would be the subject of the same permitting process and scrutiny as Black Butte. Mine expansion is also a common practice in the industry as mines often explore and grow over time, he added. Because of legal agreements with area landowners, future mining would be underground, he said. You just cant have an open pit mine in this area, Hooper said. Opponents of the mine questioned whether Black Butte is simply a foot in the door for a larger vision of a half-century of expansive mining encompassing multiple tributaries. Our primary concern here is what theyre selling Montanans is a small footprint, underground mine with a relatively minor impact, when in reality what theyre telling investors is this is a much larger project that will create an industrialized zone, said Derf Johnson, Clean Water Program director and staff attorney for Montana Environmental Information Center. While mines initially seeking permitting go through a gamut of analysis, amending existing operating permits is a common practice with a lower environmental review, he said. As an example, Johnson pointed to multiple amendments to the operating permit for Golden Sunlight Mine near Whitehall. I think theyve been selling us something theyre not entirely interested in and they havent been telling the full truth, he said. I think they really want to turn this into a big money-maker. As it considers permitting, DEQ should consider the talk of potential expansion as a potential impact, Johnson said. But DEQ has nothing to suggest Tintina is planning beyond its permit application, nor could it consider potential expansion unless it was concurrently considering another project, DEQ Public Policy Director Kristi Ponozzo said. DEQ is limited by the Montana Environmental Policy Act to concurrent considerations, she said, with separate analysis for future proposed projects. As Tintina submitted its operating permit for DEQs initial review in December, Trout Unlimited convened a technical review team to scrutinize the application. On Wednesday, the team released its findings, which highlight several concerns including what it calls incomplete and insufficient data for fisheries and hydrology. Because the Smith is one of Montanas most beloved rivers, the Black Butte mine proposal requires world-class scientific scrutiny, Bruce Farling, executive director of Montana Trout Unlimited said in a statement. Were confident thousands of Montanans agree with our view that the state of Montana should not permit this mine unless it has been demonstrated with near 100-percent scientific certainty that it poses no risk to water or fish. Its clear to us the information Tintina has provided to the state falls far short of this threshold. DEQ must make a determination within 90 days of receiving the application, at which time it notes any deficiencies and Tintina will have an opportunity to remedy them. If the permit application is accepted, Tintina must then pay for an environmental impact statement which will include chances for the public to comment. Dave Chambers, president of the nonprofit Center for Science in Public Participation, coordinated with Trout Unlimiteds review team and says he believes Black Butte is ripe for expansion. While he says he would not consider himself independent, he does believe his analysis is objective. Its pretty obvious theres more potential for expansion, and our primary concern is how much and what kind of mining, Chambers said. Tintina says it will not use open-pit mining due to agreements with landowners, but it doesnt offer a guarantee, its just a statement, Chambers said, adding that several surface mineralized zones lend themselves to open-pit mining. An additional concern is the proximity of some of the claims to tributaries and the main stem of the Smith River, he said. The Black Butte site is 19 miles from the river, but Tintinas claims extend much closer. DEQs response to Tintinas mine operating permit is due out in March. Hutchinson's Orscheln Farm store has become a Bomgaars location The Hutchinson store was one of 73 the FTC said Tractor Supply could not own due to anti-trust concerns. Transition to new store could take 15 months. Downing: 'We Need a Mount Greylock High School' LANESBOROUGH, Mass. While the Mount Greylock School Committee works on its pitch to voters on the fence about a new building project, the idea of staying the course with the Massachusetts School Building Authority has the support of officials from outside the district. "I don't pretend to tell voters what to do on these things," Sen. Benjamin Downing said on Monday. "But it's worth noting that if a project at this iteration isn't passed, you won't be able to jump the line and get into the MSBA process again. "It isn't an award in perpetuity, and it isn't an award without conditions." The danger of going to the back of the line with MSBA repeatedly has been mentioned by Mount Greylock officials, who point to the number of statements of interest (i.e. applications) the district filed with the state authority before being invited into the process in 2014. At last week's meeting of the Superintendency Union 71 committee, representatives from the elementary school committees in each member town voted unanimously to support the building project and encourage voters to do the same at debt exclusion votes in Williamstown on March 1 and Lanesborough on March 15. Mount Greylock building project supporters also reason that the current junior-senior high school is inefficient and faces costly repairs estimated to cost more than $50 million that would be borne entirely by the member towns if they opt out of the MSBA program. "In Boston, they usually think of Western Mass as anything outside of 495," Williamstown Elementary School Committee Chairman Dan Caplinger said at the Feb. 24 SU71 meeting. "We've been looking at this project and thinking this is finally our money coming back to us for a purpose that's meaningful for us. "To sacrifice that in exchange for paying for at least that much or more in annual expenses to keep this [building] puffing along in some inadequate form, it's so sad. We can't let that happen." Voters in each town will be asked to exclude a debt of $64.8 million. After MSBA reimbursement, the district's share of that debt would end up between $31.5 million and $35.3 million. Two-thirds of that district share would be paid by the district's larger town, Williamstown. A "no" vote in either town would either kill the project or precipitate a revote. But School Committee and School Building Committee members note that a revote would be on the same project, which already has been vetted by MSBA. One of the arguments of those advocating a no-vote on the debt exclusion is that Mount Greylock should not proceed with a building project while there is a possibility high schools may be consolidated in Berkshire County. At Lanesborough's recent special town meeting, a resident said that such consolidation would be the end product of the Berkshire County Education Task Force. The chairman of that task force refuted the assertion. "The Berkshire County Education Task Force (and I as Chair) have been been very clear that we do not in any way want to interfere with, stop or postpone the efforts of the Mount Greylock MSBA building project," Chairman John Hockridge wrote in an email to Mount Greylock School Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Greene. "Being well familiar with MSBA projects, I know how long and how difficult it is to get to where your school district is now. And I also know that when MSBA approves and authorizes a school building project, it has been thoroughly vetted by them. "School closures may or may not be among the recommendations, but if so, would be last resort recommendations after all other modeling options are explored. School closures are not on the table now. Preferred options would include regionalizing neighboring districts into larger regions or superintendency unions without any school closures, but with a greatly improved financially sustainable, quality education model. There are many of us on the Task Force that believe our goals can be realized without school closures." That echoes what Greene told the Lanesborough special town meeting: that her colleagues on the task force encouraged Mount Greylock to go forward with the MSBA process. Downing agreed that the task force is no argument for delay. "These processes are always complicated, especially in regional districts as different towns have different ideas on what their needs are and what the capacities are to meet those needs," Downing said. "There also is the countywide context to consider as we look a the county's needs. But I think if you look at any of those maps moving forward, any of them will show you we need a Mount Greylock High School." A federal bankruptcy judge has approved Arch Coal's request for $275 million in interim financing, delivering a victory to the embattled mining firm and a blow to junior creditors and environmentalists opposed to the deal. The ruling removes two significant obstacles to Arch's restructuring efforts and puts the company on track to meet its fall timeline for reemerging from bankruptcy. Unsecured lenders had sought to block the agreement, saying the deal amounted to a loan-to-own bid on the part of Arch's senior creditors. Secured lenders, represented by Wilmington Trust NA, will receive nearly all the equity in the new company. In exchange, they will provide a $275 million loan used to operate the firm during bankruptcy. The court rejected junior lenders' arguments Arch had enough money to operate without the loan the company entered Chapter 11 with more than $600 million or that the Missouri-based company could secure cheaper financing elsewhere. "Were here, were moving fast, we have a good company. The last thing a judge needs to do is get in the way of a company moving forward," Judge Charles Rendlen of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri said, in comments reported by Debtwire. An Arch spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment. The ruling also amounted to a defeat for environmental groups, which had opposed a deal struck by Arch and Wyoming regulators on the coal company's reclamation costs. The interim financing package included $75 million to cover reclamation, which can be applied toward Arch's cleanup costs. Environmentalists had opposed the proposal, noting it guarantees roughly 16 percent of the company's $468 million in estimated reclamation. Arch and state regulators have said the deal would help keep the company in operation, which would enable the firm to continue its reclamation obligations. The deal also guarantees $17 million in secured financing for cleanup of the company's closed mines in the state. Shannon Anderson, a lawyer for the Powder River Basin Resource Council, said the Sheridan-based landowners group was disappointed in the decision and is considering its other legal options. "Its another stay, basically. Lets keep taking a timeout and not face the music," Anderson said. "The music is going to play one way or another, and we might as well get going on it." Arch is the operator of the Black Thunder Mine near Wright. The mine, the second-largest in the nation, produced some 99 million tons of coal in 2015. The Spruces Land Use Committee's request for engineering funds was cut by $11,500; three other applicants were rejected. Williamstown Community Preservation Committee Rejects 3 Projects WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. The Community Preservation Committee has recommended that town meeting fund six projects to the tune of $154,421. The committee at its Feb. 23 meeting voted to send just six of nine active applications for Community Preservation Act funds to May's annual town meeting. The CPC rejected three projects outright and reduced the request of a third applicant by $11,500. A 10th applicant, the South Williamstown Community Association, has withdrawn its initial application. It was by far the most contentious CPC meeting in recent memory as the panel grappled with a large applicant pool and a CPA "pot" constrained by the town's fiscal 2017 payment on a bond to help fund the Cable Mills apartments. In 2007, town meeting committed the town to a $1.5 million contribution toward the restoration of the then-vacant Water Street mill building. The project was seen as satisfying three elements of the Community Preservation Act: historic preservation, the creation of open space and recreation opportunities by providing access to the adjacent Green River and affordable housing. Thirteen of the Cable Mills apartments are set aside as income sensitive. Subsequent to the '07 town meeting, Cable Mills was put on hold, but the recent completion of the project means the town had to take out a bond to pay its obligation. Repaying that debt will cut down on the available CPA funds for new projects for some years to come. The FY17 payment is $137,500. Two members of the committee, Jeffrey Thomas and Michael Sussman, urged their colleagues not to recommend town meeting spend the full $284,000 expected to be available in FY17. Both encouraged the committee to create a "carryover" into FY18, as the CPC has done in the past. The carryover did not require as much of a conscious sense of fiscal restraint in other years, when total funding requests did not bump up against the available funds. "Plus or minus, I see us being able to have $130,000 to $135,000 left in the bank this year depending on what we choose to fund," Thomas said in a meeting telecast on the town's community access television station, WilliNet. "I would suggest that's a good target for next year and would be on a par with what was carried over from last year." After three rounds of voting, the committee ended up recommending funding that would produce a carryover of $129,420. The first votes taken at the Feb. 23 meeting decided whether applicants satisfied the requirements of the CPA. All did, and the votes either were unanimous or 7-1 with two exceptions: the First Congregational Church project and the restoration of the historic Smedley House on Main Street. The church project passed by a 4-3-1 margin; the Smedley House bid passed, 5-3. Both ended up being cut in a second round of voting. After deciding whether the projects were acceptable under the terms of the act, the committee took a vote to see whether members actually favored funding each project with the understanding that it would go back and take another vote to set overall recommendations in light of the fiscal realities. The $50,000 request from First Congregational Church was requested to support a larger renovation project. At past meetings, members of the committee questioned whether town funds should be used to support a religious institution albeit one critical to the town's history that makes its meeting space to secular and sectarian groups of all stripes. At the most recent meeting, the focus was more on the nature of the work being done, which is less about restoring space in question (a 1960s addition) to its original look but to make it fit in more with the 1914 structure as a whole. Church officials have told the committee the entire restoration project is about preserving the historic church as a community asset. "In the Community Preservation Act, historic preservation doesn't just mean fixing old things," First Congregational Church stewardship co-Chairman Kevin Jones told the committee. "In a broader sense, it talks about preserving the use of the building." The committee voted 5-2-1 against recommending the church project to town meeting. It voted 7-1 against the Smedley House project without any discussion at the Feb. 23 meeting. That application had faced particularly sharp questions at past meetings. The second round of voting yielded positive votes on the Spruces Land Use Committee, the Hoosic River Watershed Association's Spruces swale restoration project, the Conservation Commission's Hunter Property bridge project, the Williamstown Historical Museum, the Gale Hose Company, the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation's Stone Hills Trail project and the Affordable Housing Trust. With the $29,500 for the Hunter Property bridge and the full $53,000 requested by the Spruces committee, that brought the total recommended to $195,421. Then the committee faced a third vote to see if that total was acceptable. At that time, amendments were offered to cut the bridge and lower the allocation to the land-use committee from $53,000 to $41,500. Thomas suggested the CPC similarly trim the request from the Affordable Housing Trust, but failed to receive any support for the idea. The former amendment was predicated on the fact that the land use committee had a low end estimate for the work it needs done in the amount of $41,500. It had asked for more (initially $63,000) on the theory that if responses to its planned request for proposals come back higher than the $41,500 estimate, the committee wants to be able to move forward with planning for the town-owned property and not have to wait until annual town meeting 2017. But committee members insisted that the land-use committee be limited to funding to support the low-end estimate it had in hand preliminary though that estimate may be. CPC members suggested that if the town give the committee more than the $41,500, it would guarantee the request for proposals would get responses quoting a higher price tag for the engineering services needed. The amendment to cut the application to $41,500 was approved on a 5-3 vote. The committee voted to pull the Hunter Property bridge proposal. Philip McKnight, who fills the Conservation Commission's chair on the CPC, held out in favor of the Con Comm's proposal. "Given that we have the funds available it doesn't make sense to eliminate this project when it's generally part of the plan approved by the town in the Master Plan and the Conservation Commission in its conversations," McKnight said. "It's an essential link between two town-owned properties in terms of safety and convenience." CPC member Mark Reinhardt, who voted against the bridge project in a 6-2 vote in the second round of voting, said that at a time when the town has to prioritize its CPA allocations, the bridge is not as high a priority as other items applied for. "I agree with spending money on public land," Reinhardt said. "But I thought if three people walk across that bridge and two people don't get a mortgage [under the AHT's Mortgage Assistance Program], I don't have a hard time giving the money to the Affordable Housing Trust and making the bridge wait. "It doesn't seem like a difficult comparison." Reinhardt occupies the Housing Authority's chair on the CPC. His sentiments were echoed by Selectmen Chairwoman Jane Patton, who also chairs the CPC. "I can think of no single one more important thing that we're doing than trying to help folks move into this town, find jobs in this town," she said. "There is nothing more important this one [AHT] application because its reach is broad and wide and critical. "Maybe we pare some other things." Four More Shots Please S3 Review: This Old Wine In New Bottle Doesn't Get You Drunk As Easily Anymore We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector CHEYENNE, Wyo. Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead on Monday signed into law a bill requiring judicial review of police seizures of vehicles, cash and other property that law enforcement authorities believe to be involved in the illegal drug trade. Under the law that goes into effect in July, the Wyoming Attorney General will review seizures and decide whether they were justified. The AG then will have 30 days from the seizure to ask a judge to determine if there was probable cause that the property was involved in the drug trade a finding that would enable the state to file a civil case to forfeit the property. Previously, the AG's Office often has taken up a year after a seizure to file civil lawsuits seeking to forfeit property seized by law enforcement. Some defense attorneys had criticized the state's previous lack of an established legal procedure for handling forfeiture cases. Mead last year vetoed a bill that would have required a criminal conviction to support civil asset forfeitures. A former federal and state prosecutor, he said he didn't believe law enforcement was abusing the forfeiture process. In an interview after the bill-signing ceremony in Cheyenne on Monday, Mead said the bill that passed this year marked a great improvement over the bill he vetoed last year. "To have to have a conviction on the books just didn't match the practical, day-to-day aspects of law enforcement," Mead said. "Law enforcement needs to be able to make those decisions." Mead said he believes the previous forfeiture process has worked well in the state by having the attorney general review cases and determine whether they were justified. However, Mead said, "For those who had concerns about what the process was, I think this codifies a solution that provides for judicial review and still allows forfeiture to be another tool in the toolbox for law enforcement in the work that they do to enforce not only drug laws, but other laws as well." The new law specifies that forfeiture may not be grossly disproportionate to the offense. Many lawmakers expressed concern in committee hearings that people shouldn't lose assets such as new pickup trucks for minor offenses such as possessing a small amount of marijuana. The law also specifies that a judge may award attorney fees and damages to a person who successfully challenges an unwarranted forfeiture. Sen. Leland Christensen, R-Alta, is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which endorsed the bill. Speaking at the bill-signing ceremony, he said work on the issue since Mead's veto last year resulted in a much better product. CHEYENNE, Wyo. Gov. Matt Meads office has asked a state panel to study abuse of heroin and other opioids in Wyoming, as problems with the drugs are on the rise nationally. In Wyoming, we do have a problem with these, Tony Young, Meads deputy chief of staff, told members of the Joint Judiciary Committee on Monday. The committee met to discuss topics that they might study in depth during the period after this years session ends and next years begins. The Legislative session is expected to wrap up this week. Although a majority on the committee voted in favor of studying opioids, legislative leadership will have the final say on which topics the group explores. Drug deaths may be on the rise in Wyoming, although its hard to tell because county coroners list the causes of death differently. For instance, some coroners call them accidental overdoses or drug overdoses. Others call them opioid deaths. Frankly, we have very poor tracking, Young said. The committee would also like to study allowing first responders to use Naloxone kits, which can reverse the effects of an opiate overdose. Lives could be saved if paramedics were allowed to use the drugs. Other states are discussing allowing the kits, Young said. The committee discussed nearly 20 different topics to potentially study, although they ran out of time to vote on each topic. Rep. Charles Pelkey would like the committee to commence a review of the states marijuana statutes. Colorado has legalized medical and recreational marijuana. Gov. Matt Mead assembled a group of agency heads and state leaders to study the effects of legalization. A group is attempting to collect signatures for a ballot initiative in 2017 to legalize medical marijuana. We could take a comprehensive look at those issues, said Pelkey, a Laramie Democrat. The committee did vote on studying marijuana, but there were questions about whether a majority of the committee favored the study. The committee will vote on it again Tuesday. Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, requested the committee study trespass statutes. Last year, the Legislature passed two laws punishing people who trespass to collect data, after an environmental group allegedly trespassed on private land to collect water samples of E. coli levels in ranching areas. The two bills are being challenged in court, with environmental and photojournalism groups contending people could be arrested for taking pictures on public land. Hicks, who favors tough laws punishing people who trespass to collect samples of water, earth or other data, said the study would look into current trespassing laws, in case the judge tosses out last years laws. Even if the judge holds up all or some of the laws, hed like an examination of regular trespassing laws. Lets start with the reason we had those two separate bills: Its because our existing trespassing bills are so inadequate, he said. CASPER, Wyo. The amount of money lawmakers plan to cut from public schools was trimmed recently, but Wyoming education officials are still divided on what it means for the future. Lawmakers agreed Friday to cut about $36 million from K-12 education instead of $45 million, as they had originally planned in January to compensate for declines in energy revenue. The new number was decided in a series of meetings between members of the House and Senate. Gov. Matt Mead now has three days to sign or make line-item changes to the bill. It's not ideal, said Kari Eakins, spokeswoman for the Wyoming Department of Education, but she said she respects legislators' effort to compromise. It's tough when cuts are made to K-12 education, but considering where we started, I think it underscores our continued commitment to keeping education a priority, she said. The plan now calls for a 1 percent cut from school funding the first year of a two-year budget, and 1.4 percent the second year. The original bill called for a 2 percent cut the second year. The cuts will be taken exclusively from one part of the school funding account, an external cost adjustment. It is essentially an extra pot of money that makes up for the increasing cost of textbooks, materials and wages. Rather than change how schools are paid for, lawmakers add a bonus to the paycheck districts received from the state each year. Cuts to the ECA mean that bonus will be smaller. Money from the newly created ECA only began arriving last year, but some districts say it now makes or breaks their budgets. Compromise Many officials from the education community are grateful at least for a reduction from $45 million. Others are not satisfied. Kathy Vetter, president of the Wyoming Education Association, said schools are still facing a $15 million reduction next year, the same decrease suggested in January. When you go in and come out with the same number, it didnt feel like a compromise, she said. The cuts will likely have a negative impact on students, she said. Districts, especially rural ones, will ultimately have to trim services used by kids, whether by staff, programs or teachers. When (lawmakers) talk, it is only for a year or two. Those students never get that year or two back, she said. If you are a senior, you never get your senior year back. If you are a first-grader you never get your first grade back. Wyoming's second largest school district, on the other hand, is not fearful of the cuts. The Natrona County School District has been preparing for this for more than 18 months, said Superintendent Steve Hopkins. This isnt an event. Its more of a journey for us. A year ago we could see this on the landscape, he said. We are going to stay on that track and continue to look for ways to run the district more efficiently. Natrona is currently evaluating each vacancy that comes up in the district, as well as cutting basic costs and evaluating programs. They anticipate this approach will prevent the need for layoffs, Hopkins said. The district has identified 12 vacancies so far that it could operate without, he said. It has also experienced a 10 percent reduction in overtime and savings from teachers and principals on things like utilities and materials, Hopkins said. The boom and bust mentality of Wyomings economy is something school districts deal with differently, he added. Natrona never spent its money without an eye to the future of the states economy, foresight that the district is benefiting from today, he said. No easy decision Lawmakers spent many hours, and a number of extra meetings, debating the cuts, said Rep. Mike Greear, R-Worland, one of the lawmakers involved in the final ECA discussions. It was not an easy decision, he said. Many amendments were considered and set aside. The bulk of money for education is calculated by the cost per student, an amount the state then guarantees whether or not a school district makes enough money locally to pay for the number of students in its schools. That model is relatively uncompromising, making it difficult for lawmakers to make simple cuts during an economic downturn, Greear said. Ultimately the districts will be okay, despite the cuts, he said. Ive heard from a lot of educators that dont want us to make any cuts to education, he said. I understand that. But the simple fact is, if we dont try the very best we can to curb education spending now, we are going to have a severe problem in the future. There is a caveat to the cuts that lawmakers must abide by, Greear said. Before next session, they must take into account the number of students leaving Wyoming due to the bust which should reduce states education costs. They will also consider cuts to transportation costs an early alternative to ECA cuts that was discarded and debate whether the external cost adjustment is actually necessary. Edward Price Non-Resident Senior Fellow NYU Center for Global Affairs Contact email linkedin Edward Price, a former British economic official, teaches international political economy, financial systems and international relations at NYUas Center for Global Affairs. He is also an economic advisor for BritishAmerican Business (BAB). Educated at the London School of Economics (LSE), Edward holds an MSc in Finance and Economic Policy and an MA in German History. He has worked in both the British and European parliaments, was Americas editor at IFLR and has worked in the City of London. He speaks German, gets by in Italian and is a member of the Economic Club of New York (ECNY). Project LIBRO awarded the Most Innovative Project at the TAYO 13 Awards Can the act of going back to basics also be innovative? Project LIBRO, the official entry of the University of San Carlos Chemical Engineering Society (USC ChES) at the 13th Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awards, had a simple premise to provide educational reinforcement and support to pupils of remote public elementary schools in Cebu. Project LIBRO is a program that began in 2014 that builds mini libraries in public elementary schools in remote areas of Cebu. It aims to bring out the reader in every child by providing them with literary and academic reading materials and has already helped five schools within the province of Cebu. Lenovo chose USC ChES Project LIBRO because of the role that technology can play in further promoting the organizations advocacy, especially since the project aims to instill basic and vital abilities in children. As the exclusive technology partner of TAYO Awards, Lenovo annually chooses an organization from the TAYO finalists to give the Most Innovative Project award to. TAYO Awards is the countrys top award-giving body that recognizes exceptional youth organizations that are passionate, driven, and creative in responding to the call of nation-building. We hope that our devices can help USC ChES achieve their goal of bringing the enriching experience of learning through reading to the children in their community, and eventually, in other far flung provinces in the country, said Michael Ngan, Country General Manager, Lenovo Philippines. The organizations vision is for the students of these far flung communities to achieve the same kind of quality education as that of other students from other parts of the Philippines. Were finding more ways on how to develop the intellectual capacity of these communities in Cebu and other parts of the Philippines not only through the mini libraries, but also through different activities that can motivate them to keep on reading books, said Marianne Abuan, Former Project Head, Project LIBRO. The selection of schools to be adopted by the organization is based on the schools vicinity, existing conditions, and its capacity to house a mini library. After the schools are shortlisted, the local government and educational sectors in the area are tapped to help build the mini library. Project LIBRO has five phases which starts with the mini library installation and ends with the organization hosting reading and comprehension competitions to award the most progressed reader and the best reader award in each of the chosen institutions to further motivate children to read. This year, Lenovo also gave out an ideapad 100 to Project LIBRO on top of donating tablets to further help the organization and its chosen communities get the quality education they deserve. Back to top Imperial Valley News Center Security with the wave of a wand Washington, DC - Increasingly, health care is moving out of the doctor's office and into the home, allowing greater patient freedom and monitoring, but also giving rise to new security risks. One of the main challenges facing home health technology design is the public's inability to set up a secure network in their home and keep it operational. This can lead to compromised or stolen data, or even potentially hacked devices, such as heart rate monitors or dialysis machines. To address this problem, researchers from Dartmouth College have developed a digital "magic wand" to improve home health care and to prevent hackers from stealing one's personal data. The system, called Wanda, makes it easy for people to add a new device to their Wi-Fi network at home (or in a clinic), even if they don't have professional IT support staff to configure, track and update the medical devices. The researchers will present a paper on the wand-based cybersecurity configurations at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM) in San Francisco in April. The research is part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), titled "Trustworthy Health and Wellness" (THaW.org) and led by Dartmouth computer science professor David Kotz. The project aims to protect patients and preserve the confidentiality of medical data. The THaW team conducts research related to mobile and cloud technology for health and wellness applications, including efforts to secure small-scale clinical networks and to reduce malicious activity in hospitals. Supported by a $10 million, five-year grant from NSF, the project includes experts in computer science, business, behavioral health, health policy and health care information technology from Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), the University of Michigan and Vanderbilt University. As part of ThaW, graduate student Tim Pierson developed a system where an individual can simply pull a small wand from a USB port on a Wi-Fi access point and point it at a new device at close range. Within a few seconds, the wand securely beams the secret Wi-Fi network information to the device, making it secure and operational. One can use the same method to transfer any information from the wand to the new device without anyone nearby capturing private data or tampering with the information. "People love this new approach to connecting devices to Wi-Fi," says Pierson. "So many of our volunteer testers remark on the frustration they've encountered in configuring wireless devices at home and ask when they can take our 'wand' home." There are three basic operations involved. First, Wanda configures a device to join the wireless local-area network. Second, it partners that device with others nearby, so they can work together. And third, it configures the device so it can connect to the relevant individual or organizational account in the cloud. Wanda -- a small piece of hardware with two antennas that uses radio strength as a communication channel -- accomplishes all of these tasks without the need for outside assistance. "We anticipate our Wanda technology being useful in a wide variety of applications, not just health care, and for a wide range of device management tasks, not just Wi-Fi network configuration," Kotz says. Kotz notes that mobile health technologies have incredible potential, but that insufficient attention to their security could hinder their adoption and lead to the theft of personal data or worse. Fortunately, THaW researchers are identifying gaps in security and providing practical security solutions, says Kotz. "We are developing novel methods for security and privacy so we can help usher in an era of effective and secure mobile health solutions," he says. Imperial Valley News Center Racial rhetoric in the 2016 campaign Berkeley, California - What is the effect of whats being said on the campaign trail by Donald Trump and other presidential candidates? And when does political rhetoric turn into action? Maria Hinojosa, host of NPRs Latino U.S.A., recently explored these questions with a leading thinker on the evolution of U.S. racism, Berkeley Law professor Ian Haney Lopez. According to the Berkeley prof, Trumps rhetoric may stand out for its venom, but hes following a playbook thats by now is 50 years old. Its message to white voters: fear people of color and vote for politicians who promise to protect you from threatening minorities, but in fact are serving the interests of the very rich. His most recent book is titled Dog Whistle Politics. Listen to their conversation about the changing nature of political rhetoric around race. Pioneering Stanford computer researcher and educator Edward McCluskey dies Stanford, California - Edward J. McCluskey, a professor emeritus at Stanford whose research helped pave the way for electronics and computing, died on February 13. He was 86. Born on the eve of the Great Depression, McCluskey graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine in 1953, earning honors in mathematics and physics, then went on to study electrical engineering at MIT, where he earned his doctorate in 1956. But the experience that set him on the path toward professional greatness occurred during the period from 1955 through 1959, when he worked first as an MIT intern and later as a staff researcher at Bell Telephone Laboratories during its heyday. In a 2008 lecture, when he won an award from the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), McCluskey fondly recalled that storied period when Bell researchers were inventing many of the building blocks of electronics and computing. It was in this intellectual crucible that McCluskey helped devise a way to efficiently and unerringly design logic chips, an achievement that would form the basis of his dissertation. More important, the Quine-McCluskey algorithm, as it is called, paved the way for the automated design of complex chips and ultimately enabled the success of the semiconductor industry. "He was the father of modern digital design," said Arvind Krishna, senior vice president and director of IBM Research. Aart de Geus, chairman of Synopsys, a company whose design automation software traces its lineage to McCluskey's work, likened him "to a great oak tree that we suddenly see fall." Entry into academia McCluskey left Bell Labs in 1959 to become an associate professor of electrical engineering at Princeton and established the Princeton University Computer Center. In 1966, he joined the faculty at Stanford Engineering, where his later career achievements would overshadow even his promising start. Three years after joining Stanford as a professor of electrical engineering, he founded the Stanford Digital Systems Laboratory, which would become one of the fountainheads of the high-tech industry. In 1970 McCluskey helped establish the Stanford Computer Engineering Program and in that same year became the first president of the IEEE Computer Society. Recalling these times in his 2008 lecture, McCluskey observed that nowadays collaborations between electrical engineers and computer scientists are common, even obvious, but in those days it was the exception rather the rule. Among other notable research efforts, McCluskey founded the Center for Reliable Computing (CRC) at Stanford University, which made major contributions to the testing of computer chips and helped design fault-tolerant systems to avoid so-called computer "crashes" that cost money and lives spurring research that will only become more essential as self-driving cars and other autonomous technologies become a reality. In recognition of his lifetime achievements, McCluskey was awarded the IEEE John von Neumann Medal in 2012, one of the top honors bestowed in computing. "Professor McCluskey had a profound impact on the field of electronics," said Shekhar Y. Borkar, an Intel Fellow and director of Extreme-Scale Technologies at Intel Corporation. Over the years McCluskey helped recruit many notable researchers to Stanford, including John Hennessy, who went on to become a computer industry innovator and president of the university. "Ed McCluskey was a pioneer in the computer engineering community, and I am deeply saddened to learn of his death," Hennessy said. "Ed was the founding director of the Digital Systems Laboratory at Stanford [renamed the Computer Systems Laboratory]. He recruited me to Stanford to join the laboratory in 1977. In addition to shaping the development of digital systems, he was a great educator, producing an incredible group of PhD graduates, many of whom have gone on to become industry leaders. We were very fortunate to have him as our colleague. He will be deeply missed." Known for unusual hats and his green school bus Among the 75 PhDs that McCluskey mentored over the years, one of the earliest is Dan Siewiorek, who earned his doctorate from Stanford in 1971. Siewiorek, today a noted professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, began his studies with McCluskey in 1968, a turbulent year on many campuses. Siewiorek recalled one time when a building on the Stanford campus was occupied by protestors and McCluskey decided to find out what was on the students' minds. "He donned his poncho and gaucho hat and joined the discussion circle outside the building," Siewiorek recalled. "I often wondered whether the protestors realized they were conversing with a Stanford engineering professor." Unusual hats were a McCluskey trademark a collection of thumbnail images shows him wearing headgear from Mickey Mouse ears to a powdered wig as was the open-mindedness that characterized his personal and professional views. "He thought 'out of the box' in almost every way," said Michael Flynn, a professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Stanford, who recalls his former colleague's charming idiosyncrasies, like the green school bus in which he took his family camping. The school bus is part of the McCluskey family lore, which began back at Bell Labs, when Edward met and married Roberta Jean Marie Erickson, who became the mother to six children born during the years when he worked at Bell and taught at Princeton. As McCluskey recalled in his 2008 ACM lecture, it was in order to get his family of eight from Princeton to Stanford that he decided to buy and convert that green bus to move everyone to their new home in Palo Alto. "I remember riding that bus to California," said his son Joe McCluskey, who was 7 at the time. "We used to go camping on it all the time. He loved the outdoors. That's something everyone who knew him would remember." Edward and Roberta McCluskey were divorced and she passed away in 1996. In 1981, he married Lois Thornhill McCluskey, who was his companion to the end. In addition to Lois, he is survived by five of his six children, 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. The family asks that anyone wishing to remember Edward McCluskey with a donation make a gift in his name to the Sempervirens Fund, Peninsula Open Space Trust or Save the Redwoods League. Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District Takes Health and Wellness Screenings to Local Students Imperial, California - In an effort to improve the quality of life for Imperial Valley College students, Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District will be offering a range of complimentary health screenings during their Spring 2016 Student Health and Wellness Fair on Tuesday, March 1. Scheduled activities include flu vaccines, blood pressure and cholesterol screenings; blood-glucose tests to test for diabetes; and nutritional consultations. All consultations and screenings will be conducted under the oversight of a Pioneers professional health care provider. Pioneers is committed to the well-being of Imperial Valley College students and staff. Its important that our local students have the needed health resources to live a healthier life in order for them to attend college, said Larry Lewis, CEO of Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District. Pioneers Memorial Healthcare Districts participation in the Spring 2016 Student Health and Wellness Fair is a coordinated effort with Imperial Valley College and other local Health Agencies and providers to help improve the quality of life of Imperial Valley residents. Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District is committed to helping improve the health of the IVC community and currently operates the Imperial Valley College Student Health Center and provides basic health service such as first aid and care for minor illnesses to students. The services also include health education and nutritional programs. Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs Amos J Hochstein Travels to Baku, Sofia, and Zagreb Washington, DC - In Baku, Special Envoy Hochstein will represent the United States at a February 29 meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council the second meeting of this Council. He will meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, EU Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, Bulgarian Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova, Turkish Minister of Energy Berat Albayrak, Greek Minister of Energy Panos Skourletis, and other ministers of energy and officials from Southern Gas Corridor member countries, as well as representatives of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and private sector companies. On March 1, Special Envoy Hochstein will travel to Sofia to meet with senior government officials to discuss regional energy security. In Croatia, Special Envoy Hochstein will meet with members of the newly elected government to discuss regional energy security issues including natural gas interconnectors, a potential plan to import natural gas via a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, and domestic oil and gas exploration. The Southern Gas Corridor, an ambitious plan to unlock a market for Azerbaijans Caspian Sea gas, enhance regional cooperation, and provide energy security for Europe, is a longstanding Administration priority. Gas from the second phase of the Shah Deniz gas field will be routed through the expansion of the South Caucasus pipeline in Azerbaijan, extending through Georgia to Turkey. Via the Trans-Anatolian pipeline (TANAP), gas will be provided for Turkish domestic use and transit to the Trans-Adriatic pipeline (TAP) that will take the gas from the Turkish-Greek border through Albania and on to Italy for use elsewhere in Europe. Watch: This Video Of Woman Failing At Archery, Hitting Arrow On Head Is Hilarious DULUTH, Minn. When Candice Richards moved her mother here from southern Michigan, it created a new set of challenges for the Duluth woman. Although her mom, who has Alzheimers, is deteriorating mentally, shes very physically able and very hyper never sits down or takes naps, Richards said. Shes always looking for something to do, and at home it would wear me out. Richards, who had lived alone and at the time had no siblings in the area, found she had to stay up until midnight, so she could get tasks done after her mom went to bed. Shed get up at 6 a.m. to shower and read the paper before her mom awoke. So my nights were shorter and shorter, and I ended up getting sick, Richards said. And that was a wake-up call. As the population ages, more people are facing the challenge of caring for loved ones who no longer can care for themselves. In Minnesota, an estimated 89,000 people suffer from Alzheimers, said Jenna Herbig, program manager in the Duluth office of the Alzheimers Association. Although a variety of institutions offer around-the-clock care, the majority of care takes place at home. The work of family caregivers accounts for 92 percent of the long-term care provided to older adults in Minnesota, according to the MN Leadership Council on Aging. More than 600,000 family caregivers provide $7.1 billion worth of assistance nearly three times as much as Medicaid spends on long-term care in the state. On a bipartisan level, everybody realizes that if you can keep folks at home its better all the way around, said Peg Kirsch Lee, supervisor of the senior companion and caregiver respite programs of Lutheran Social Service in Duluth. The cost of caring But providing the care takes a toll mental, physical, emotional, social, spiritual on those providing it, experts in the field say. The risk is to the health of the caregivers themselves, said Kristine Dwyer, who has worked as caregiver consultant for Carlton County for 10 years. Some of those risks are sleep deprivation, poor eating and exercise habits, failure to stay in bed when they are ill. Its pretty tough because youve got to keep going. They often postpone their own medical appointments. ... The caregiver dies before the care receiver. Ive seen it happen several times. Early death is not uncommon for the caregiver. What compounds the risk is that caregivers often are slow to seek help for themselves, said Linda Kolocek, respite coordinator at Virginia, Minn.-based Range Respite. Most family caregivers think: Well, Im his mom or Im her husband. Im their daughter. Of course, Im caring for them, Kolocek said. They often do not reach out for help until they have reached the point of crisis. Adult day services Richards found relief in the form of Adult Day Services at the Benedictine Health Center, which is adjacent to the College of St. Scholastica and the St. Scholastica Monastery. The program offers snacks, a healthy lunch, personal care, structured exercise, opportunities for worship and tons of activities, said Sarah Dvergsten, who manages it. On a recent Tuesday, Richards, Paul Frost and Sally Zelen talked about the program in Dvergstens office as their mother, wife and husband, respectively, participated in activities on the main room. It not only benefits them, it gives their loved ones a lift, all three said. They enjoy it, Frost said. They get things to do here that we dont do at home. My wife likes to sing. Shes always singing here. ... She knows all the words to the 1940s songs, but she doesnt know who I am. Zelen, whose husband was diagnosed with Alzheimers seven years ago at age 61, had just started bringing him to the program about a month earlier. She already had seen the effect. The first opportunity here was sitting in the lunch group, and Bill was with the guys, she said. He was so happy, so taken by the ... interaction. And that continues through the day. Richards was hesitant at first, she said, because she wasnt sure her mothers hard-working past as a manager of retail stores would be a good fit with a bunch of old ladies who all they ever did was knit and cook cookies. But her mom found a purpose in the group, Richards said. She considers it her work, and thats how we got her here in the first place, she said, explaining she told her mother, There are a bunch of people here who dont have anyone to talk to, and they need someone like you. The program has existed since at least 1988 and is licensed for up to 25 people, Dvergsten said. On average, just under 22 come per day. Its staffed by four people with two more on call. Theres little turnover in the staff a couple of them have worked there for 25 years or more, she said. The program is currently available weekdays, and plans are in the works to be open for six hours on Saturdays, she said. It cant come soon enough for some caregivers. She wants to be here, Richards said. So the weekends are an issue for us, and theyve been really long sometimes. Were on the edge The daily rate is $45 for up to five hours and $63 for anything beyond that, Dvergsten said. For many, financial help is available. Richards said she started with a visit from a county public health nurse for a long-term-care assessment. Her mother qualified for a waiver program on a sliding scale. That costs the government less than having her in a nursing home, Richards said. For some caregivers, the program may make the difference between being able to keep their loved one at home and having to turn to a nursing facility. Were on the edge, Zelen said. We would be on the edge. But as it is, she and her husband still can share some of their favorite activities, such as snowshoeing and biking in the snow, she said. Frost, whose wife was diagnosed with Alzheimers nine years ago, lives at home with his wife and daughter, who joined them about a year ago, he said. Arrangements have been made for his wife to spend 11 days in March at the adjacent Marywood assisted-living center while he and his daughter enjoy a cruise. One of the biggest problems we have as caregivers is that we have a seven-day-a-week duty, Frost said. And we need to get away. The Benedictine Health Center has been one of the regions best resources for caregivers for years, Dwyer said. They can know their loved one is in good hands while I can have that time to rejuvenate myself, and I can go to my own appointments and I can attend my social groups, she said. I cant say enough about it. That program is amazing. Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free 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 The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Leonardo DiCaprio might have finally won his Best Actor Oscar but few people know that he also made a sneaky cameo appearance in Best Actress winner Brie Larsons movie Room. The Revenant star can be seen on a poster, albeit in his fresh-faced Titanic days, when Larsons character Joy is saved from her kidnapper and returns home to her high school bedroom that has remained unchanged for seven years. It was A24, the indie distributor of Room, who shared the still on Twitter. The first time a Best Actress and Best Actor were in the same movie since As Good As It Gets, it wrote, to nearly 2,500 retweets. Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt won their big gongs for As Good As It Gets in 1998, when Titanic took home an impressive 11 Oscars including Best Picture. Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Show all 8 1 /8 Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - Jordan Belfort Rex Features Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac The Great Gatsby (2013) - Jay Gatsby Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Django Unchained (2012) - Calvin Candie Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Inception (2010) - Cobb Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac The Aviator (2004) - Howard Hughes Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Catch Me If You Can (2002) - Frank Abagnale Jr. Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Leonardo Di Caprio as John Edgar Hoover in J. Edgar (2011) Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Leonardo DiCaprio's roles as a rich maniac Blood Diamond (2006) - Danny Archer DiCaprio triumphed on Sunday night 22 years after receiving his first Best Actor nomination for Whats Eating Gilbert Grape? He has three other nominations to his name for performances in The Aviator, Blood Diamond and The Wolf of Wall Street. Leo acceptance speech A24 also had a successful Oscars, winning Best Documentary for Amy and Best Visual Effects for Ex Machina, beating Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free 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 The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Even with Chris Rock hosting, Leonardo DiCaprio winning, and Lady Gaga performing, the Oscars couldnt get the viewership it normally commands, with only 34.3 million people tuning in - the lowest number of viewers in eight years. In comparison, last year - which saw Birman claim best picture - was watched by 37.3 million people, while the year before that - when 12 Years a Slave came out top - had 43.7 million viewers. Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist who told people to boycott watching the ceremony due to a lack of diversity among actor nominees, has claimed his campaign was partly responsible for the drop in viewers. In a blogpost for The Huffington Post, he wrote: For those of us that campaigned around asking citizens to tune out, this is heartening news. #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Show all 19 1 /19 #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Jada Pinkett-Smith Today is Martin Luther Kings birthday, and I cant help but ask the question: Is it time that people of color recognize how much power and influence we have amassed that we no longer need to ask to be invited anywhere? I ask the question: Have we come to a new time and place where we recognize that we can no longer beg for the love, acknowledge, or respect of any group? - Posted on her Facebook page. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Will Smith "The beauty of Hollywood combined with American ideals is the ultimate dream for humanity: the basis of the American concept of anything is possible, with hard work and dedication, no matter your race or religion, creed, none of that matters in America. I think that diversity is the American superpower. That's why we are great. So many different people from so many different places adding their ideas and their inspiration and their influences to this beautiful American gumbo and for me, at its best, Hollywood represents and then creates the imagery for that beauty. But for my part, I think I have to fight for and protect the ideals that make our country and make our Hollywood community great. So when I look at the series of nominations of the Academy, it's not reflecting that beauty." - Quote from ABC News appearance. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Reese Witherspoon "I really appreciated this article in TIME on the lack of racial and gender diversity in this year's Oscar nominations. So disappointed that some of 2015's best films, filmmakers and performances were not recognized... Nothing can diminish the quality of their work, but these filmmakers deserve recognition. As an Academy member, I would love to see a more diverse voting membership." - Posted on her Facebook page. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Spike Lee "This whole Academy thing is a misdirection play. We're chasing a guy down the field, he doesn't even have the ball. The other guy's high-stepping in the end zone. It goes further than the Academy Awards. It has to go back to the gatekeepers. We're not in the room. The executives, when they have these greenlight meetings quarterly, they look at the scripts and see who's in it and decide what we're making and what we're not making." - Quote from ABC appearance. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say George Clooney "If you think back 10 years ago, the Academy was doing a better job. Think about how many more African Americans were nominated. I would also make the argument, I dont think its a problem of who youre picking as much as it is: How many options are available to minorities in film, particularly in quality films? There should be 20 or 30 or 40 films of the quality that people would consider for the Oscars. By the way, were talking about African Americans. For Hispanics, its even worse. We need to get better at this. We used to be better at it." - Interview with Variety. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Snoop Dogg Somebody was actually like am I gonna watch the motherf***ing Oscars. F*** no. What the f*** am I going to watch that bulls*** for? They aint got no n***** nominated. All these great movies and all this great s*** yall keep stealing from us. F*** you! F*** you! - Posted on his Instagram page. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Don Cheadle "Yo, Chris. Come check me out at #TheOscars this year. They got me parking cars on G level." - Posted on his Twitter page, directed at host Chris Rock. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Mark Ruffalo I woke up in the morning thinking, what is the right way to do this? Because if you look at Martin Luther Kings legacy, what he was saying was that the good people who dont act are much worse than the wrongdoers who are purposefully not acting and dont know the right way. - Quote from interview with BBC News. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Lupita Nyong'o "I am disappointed by the lack of inclusion in this year's Academy Awards nominations. It has me thinking about unconscious prejudice and what merits prestige in our culture. The awards should not dictate the terms of art in our modern society, but rather be a diverse reflection of the best of what our art has to offer today. I stand with my peers who are calling for change in expanding the stories that are told and recognition of the people who tell them." - Posted on her Instagram page. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Tyrese Gibson "This is not us saying we're against the Oscars because we're gonna combat racism. We're just saying, 'Yo, this is not cool.' You can't be doing this in 2016 and act as if no one is gonna notice." - Quote from interview with People. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say David Oyelowo The reason why the Oscars are so important is because it is the zenith, it is the epitome, it is the height of celebration of artistic endeavor within the filmmaking community. We grow up aspiring, dreaming, longing to be accepted into that august establishment because it is the height of excellence. I would like to walk away and say it doesnt matter, but it does, because that acknowledgement changes the trajectory of your life, your career, and the culture of the world we live in. This institution doesnt reflect its president and it doesnt reflect this room. I am an Academy member and it doesnt reflect me, and it doesnt reflect this nation." - Speech at gala honoring Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Brie Larson "Thank you @hollywoodreporter for covering this very unique moment in my life! It was wonderful spending time with all of you. Personally, I'm interested in reading their article on #OscarsSoWhite. This is a conversation that deserves attention." - Posted on her Instagram page. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say How many black films are being produced every year? How are they being distributed? The films that are being made, are the big-time producers thinking outside of the box in terms of how to cast the role? Can you cast a black woman in that role? Can you cast a black man in that role? You can change the Academy, but if there are no black films being produced, what is there to vote for? - Quote from interview with Entertainment Weekly. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Charlotte Rampling "It is racist to whites. One can never really know, but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list. Why classify people? These days everyone is more or less accepted... People will always say: Him, hes less handsome; Him, hes too black; He is too white... someone will always be saying You are too [this or that]... But do we have to take from this that there should be lots of minorities everywhere?" - Quote from interview on Europe 1. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Michael Caine Theres loads of black actors. In the end you can't vote for an actor because he's black. You can't say 'I'm going to vote for him, he's not very good, but he's black, I'll vote for him'. You have to give a good performance and I'm sure people have. I saw Idris Elba (in Beasts Of No Nation).I thought he was wonderful. Be patient. Of course it will come. It took years to get an Oscar, years. - Quote from interview with Radio 4 Today programme. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Steve McQueen "This is exactly like MTV was in the 1980s. Could you imagine now if MTV only showed music videos by a majority of white people, then after 11 oclock it showed a majority of black people? Could you imagine that happening now? Its the same situation happening in the movies. Hopefully, when people look back at this in 20 years, itll be like seeing that David Bowie clip in 1983 [of artist critiquing channel for not featuring black artists]. I dont even want to wait 20 years. Forgive me; Im hoping in 12 months or so we can look back and say this was a watershed moment, and thank God we put that right." Quote from interview with The Guardian. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Julie Delpy "Two years ago, I said something about the Academy being very white male, which is the reality, and I was slashed to pieces by the media. It's funny - women can't talk. I sometimes wish I were African American because people don't bash them afterwards. It's the hardest to be a woman. Feminism is something people hate above all. Nothing worse than being a woman in this business. I really believe that." Delpy has since clarified these remarks, saying, "I'm very sorry for how I expressed myself. It was never meant to diminish the injustice done to African American artists or to any other people that struggle for equal opportunities and rights; on the contrary. All I was trying to do is to address the issues of inequality of opportunity in the industry for women as well (as I am a woman)." Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Clint Eastwood "I don't know anything about it. All I know is there's thousands of people in the Academy, and the majority of them haven't won Oscars. A lot of people are crying, I guess." - Quoted by TMZ. Getty #OscarsSoWhite: What Hollywood has to say Ellen Page Its awful, and I think what just happened in regards to the nominations two years in a row is a reflection of the industry itself, and the lack of diversity in all positions. Its so upsetting that were still having this conversation. I dont know what to say other than its so disheartening, and I feel like we all have to be doing what we can to make a change, because were supposed to be telling stories that reflect human experience, and we cant just be showing one group of people." Quote from interview with The Wrap. Getty It is a significant decline and should send a clear message to the Academy and to movie studio executives that we will not tolerate discriminatory practices whether they impact what we see on screen or what takes place behind the lens. Though we don't take full credit for the decrease in viewership, certainly one would have to assume that we were effective and part of the decline. As the brilliant Frederick Douglass once said, Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never did and it never will. To those that mocked the idea of a tune out, it seems that the joke was on them. Celebrities who boycotted the ceremony include Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, and Spike Lee, all of whom cited the #OscarsSoWhite controversy as a reason not to attend. A protester in LA (Getty) Sharpton - who protested in LA hours before the Oscars took place - continued: We are not dictating who should or who shouldn't win an Oscar, but if you are locked out of the process, then what we must come to terms with is addressing systemic exclusion. And this isn't just about Black actors not being appropriately recognised for their talent; it is about the larger notion of what projects get funding for production, who gets hired behind-the-scenes, what stories are told and from whose perspective, what roles are available for Black and minority actors, how people of colour can secure producer and director positions, how those who actually live in the Los Angeles area can get jobs in the industry and more. In recent post-Oscars news, the Vatican has given a remarkably positive review of best picture winner Spotlight. Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free 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 The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Daisy Ridley is having the craziest year. Catapulted to fame thanks to her lead role as Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, this weekend saw her step out onto the Academy Awards stage with Dev Patel to present the award for Best Documentary Feature. An adrenaline which shows no sign of slowing, with the actor in the midst of shooting on Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII. Speaking to MTV News on the Oscars red carpet, she enthused about her second turn with the franchise, particularly the chance to finally interact with Luke Skywalker himself. "Me and Mark have been rehearsing a lot, and its really amazing," Ridley stated. "When we went back to Skellig to do the opening of [Episode] VIII, it was so crazy doing the same scene with a different crew of people. Hes amazing to rehearse with, and Im very excited to be doing the rest of the stuff." "Its such a good story, she added. "Seriously. Luke is so cool in this one. Really." She did admit, to her own disappointment, that the film won't just be two hours of the pair staring at each other; though Ridley's mention of a Skellig shoot's return to The Force Awakens' final scene won't be a revelation to anyone who saw the official production announcement. Still, her enthusiasm over her work with Hamill does tease a strong narrative interlinking the two; as opposed to Rey's arrival at Luke's hideout to return his lightsaber being a simple drop-off job. Which is very good to hear. Star Wars: Episode VIII is set for UK release 15 December 2017. Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free 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 Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Rolling Stones will become the first British band to play an open air concert in Cuba. Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood will play for free at the Ciudad Deportiva de la Habana in Havana on March 25. In a statement, The Rolling Stones said: "We have performed in many special places during our long career, but this show in Havana is going to be a landmark event for us, and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba too." The Rolling Stones through the years Show all 30 1 /30 The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones pictured in Crossfire Hurricane The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones in the early days Getty Images The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones in 1964 Getty Images The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones performing in concert in 1964 Rex Features The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years Guitarist Mick Taylor, 62, joined the Rolling Stones (second left) when he was 20 Rex Features The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The legendary 'glimmer twins' Keith and Mick in 1961. Getty Images The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones, Baker Street, London, 1963 TERRY O'NEILL The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones signing an autograph for a young fan, at Dublin Airport, during the band's second Irish tour of 1965. Irish Photo Archive/ PA/ irishphotoarchive.ie The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones exiting the airport bus at Dublin Airport before their concert at the Adelphi Theatre during the band's second Irish tour of 1965. Irish Photo Archive/ PA/ irishphotoarchive.ie The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones receiving awards at the NME Poll Winners Concert at Wembley, London, in 1965. Getty Images The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger in 1967 Rowan Bulmer The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years Rock of ages: The Rolling Stones in Hyde Park in 1969 REX FEATURES The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones at the Roundhouse in London in 1971: from the left, Keys, Charlie Watts, Mick Taylor and Mick Jagger Getty The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years Jagger on stage with the Rolling Stones in 1978 The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones sits in the stands of JFK Stadium in Philadelphia in afternoon on Wednesday, August 26, 1981, where he is scheduled to hold a concert on September 25 to kickoff his 1981 American tour. The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger performs in front of a crowd of 70,000 at Wembley Stadium in 1982 Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years Jagger performing on stage during the opening night of the bands new tour, 'Voodoo Lounge' in 1995 PA The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones perform on stage at Twickenham Stadium in 2006 in London MJ Kim/Getty Images The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years Charlie Watts, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones perform live at 02 Arena on in 2012 The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones performing at the O2 arena, at their 50-year anniversary show in 2012 Getty Images The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones perform live on stage during day two of British Summer Time Hyde Park on July 6, 2013 Getty Images The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones perform at Glastonbury in 2013 Getty The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones at Glastonbury in 2013. Getty Images The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years 'Rolling Stones 50 & Counting Tour' at The Honda Center on May 15, 2013 in Anaheim, California. Getty Images The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones performing in California in 2013. Getty Images The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years Keith Richards on stage in 2013. Getty Images The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years Suits you: Mick Jagger (far right) with his bandmates in 2014. Getty Images The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones at Glastonbury in 2014. The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones on stage in 2014. Getty Images The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones through the years The Rolling Stones at Glasotnbury in 2013. Getty Images The Rolling Stones concert, which has been in the planning stages for several months, comes only days after President Barack Obama's recently announced visit to Cuba. The band are also leading a musician to musician initiative in which musical instruments and equipment are being donated by major suppliers for the benefit of Cuban musicians of all genres. Donors include The Gibson Foundation, Vic Firth, Zildjian, Latin Percussion, Roland and Boss, with additional assistance from the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation. The Rolling Stones are currently on tour in South America for their America Latina Ole tour, which is receiving rave reviews. They have played to huge audiences in cities including Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and Rio De Janeiro, with Lima, Bogota and Mexico City following next week. The Rolling Stones Concert For Amity will be filmed and produced by award winning production company JA Digital. Paul Dugdale, the filmmaker who helmed One Direction: Where We Are is directing. The Rolling Stones perform surprise show in Los Angeles The producers will be Simon Fisher of Ed Sheeran: Live at Wembley Stadium fame, and Sam Bridger who produced The Rolling Stones: Sweet Summer Sun - Hyde Park Live. Julie Jakobek of JA Digital said: "It's a great honour to be working with the Rolling Stones again on this hugely exciting and historic event". In the years following the Cuban Revolution, which culminated with Fidel Castro becoming prime minister in 1959, rock music was viewed as a symbol of Western capitalism in the Communist country. Following the Cuba concert, The Rolling Stones will fly to London to open Exhibitionism, the band's first ever exhibition, at the Saatchi Gallery on April 4. Press Association Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts 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 IndyArts email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Ever thought It would be so cool to live where they film The Walking Dead, that way Id see all the characters in action before anyone else"? Turns out living in Senoia, Georgia, really isnt that great when the producers are in town as, not only are tourists constantly running rampant trying to get snaps of the stars, at times residents are trapped in their own homes, as described by a local known only as Brittany in a piece for Cracked. According to the report, residents have to live under very strict conditions when filming is taking place: "They had to agree to things like specific exit/entry times at their own homes to work around filming, and allowing bright lights and loud noises at three in the morning. I believe they are legally obligated to wait until the crew okays their leaving so that they don't mess up a scene. Apparently the community is divided into two groups: those who dont mind the show being filmed in their town and those who really do. The Walking Dead series 5 Show all 51 1 /51 The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Walker on the final episode of season 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon and Ross Marquand as Aaron. Season 5, episode 16 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon and Ross Marquand as Aaron on Walking Dead's final episode of season 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon and a walker. Season 5, episode 15 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes and Katelyn Nacon as Enid. Season 5, episode 15 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Dahlia Legault as Francine and Michael Cudlitz as Abraham. Season 5, episode 14 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Ross Marquand as Aaron and Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon. Season 5, episode 13 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Walkers. Season 5, episode 9 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Major Dodsen as Sam, Alexandra Breckenridge as Jessie and Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes. Season 5, episode 13 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes. Season 5, episode 12 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler and Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee. Season 5, episode 12 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Walker. Season 5, episode 11 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 walking-dead5.jpg Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene and Michael Cudlitz as Abraham. Season 5, episode 10 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha. Season 5, episode 10 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Michael Cudlitz as Abraham, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier. Season 5, episode 10 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Walker, Season 5, episode 9 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 walking-dead-production.jpg Greg Nicotero, Steven Yeun and Andrew Lincoln. Season 5, episode 9 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Walker and Andrew Lincoln in The Walking Dead episode 8, Series 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon on episode eight Fox The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Christopher Matthew Cook as Officer Licari in episode 8, series 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Danai Gurira as Michonne on episode eight Fox The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Christopher Matthew Cook as Officer Licari and Walker on episode seven Fox The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Norman Reedus on episode seven of The Walking Dead Fox The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Walker in Episode 2, Season 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Maximiliano Hernandez as Lamson, Teri Wyble as Shepherd, Chad Coleman as Tyreese and Tyler James Williams as Noah on episode seven Fox The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon and Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes on a scene from episode seven Fox The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier in episode six AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Emily Kinney as Beth in The Walking Dead episode Slabtown Fox The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Walkers in The Walking Dead Episode 6, series 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier in episode 6 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee in The Walking Dead Episode 5, Season 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Walker in Season 5, Episode 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Walker in The Walking Dead Episode 4, season 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Emily Kinney as Beth Greene in episode 4, season 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Sonequa Martin-Green, Lawrence Gilliard Jr. and Lauren Cohan in episode 3 Fox The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes in episode 3 Fox The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Sonequa Martin-Green and Lawrence Gilliard Jr. in Episode 3, Season 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Sonequa Martin-Green, Lawrence Gilliard Jr. and Lauren Cohan in Episode 3, Season 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha and Chad Coleman as Tyreese in episode 3 Fox The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 A walker in episode two Gene Page/AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Daryl Dixon, Father Gabriel, Rick Grimes, Tyreese, Maggie Greene, Carl Grimes, Michonne, Tara Chambler, Carol Peletier, Sasha, Glenn Rhee, Abraham, Dr. Eugene Porter and Bob Stookey in episode two Gene Page/AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Seth Gilliam as Father Gabriel in episode two Gene Page/AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Walker in Episode 2, Season 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 A scene from episode two Gene Page/AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler, Chad Coleman as Tyreese, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Seth Gilliam as Father Gabriel, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene, Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha and Lawrence Gilliard Jr. as Bob Stookey Gene Page/AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Walkers in episode one Gene Page/AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Walkers in Episode 1, Season 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier in episode one Gene Page/AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Denise Crosby as Mary Episode 1, Season 5 AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 A walker from episode one Greg Nicotero/AMC The Walking Dead series 5 The Walking Dead series 5 Andre Lincoln as Rick Grimes Gene Page/AMC At one point during filming, I was actually told by a cop directing traffic that I wasn't allowed to be out on my own lawn. When they were filming at the wall of Alexandria, we were really close to where they were shooting. Security had to make sure that nobody walked past the blocked portions of the road, so when we walked out into the yard to see what was up, a security officer told us we couldn't be out there unless we were trying to leave. Theres also a constant police presence in the town, with officers deterring tourists and fans while also monitoring residents closely. There is pretty much 24/7 police presence here," Brittany said. "They're on the lookout for anyone trying to mess with the Alexandria wall / leftover props, or anyone who is going to disturb residents living in the homes that appear in the show, so they watch us closely when we're walking our dogs down the street or pulling into our own driveways. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up As you may have suspected, this did not sit well with many of the locals: "You have old men who are very big on their rights and control over what is theirs and aren't going to let anyone take that away. A couple of my neighbours got really mad ... They complained, but I don't think anything was ever done. What's worse is that many of the props, such as the Alexandria wall, are left up for prolonged periods of time. "If you don't know what it is, you'd think that we didn't take pride in our town or something," Brittany said. "A lot of residents are upset about it, especially the ones who have been in town a while. They don't really care about the show, so to them it's just a big eyesore and flocking spot for tourists. Even when the crew are no longer in Georgia to film The Walking Dead, apparently there are dozens of guided tours which disrupt the community. "The guided tours are mainly annoying just because of how they disrupt the flow of traffic and stand around near homes," said Brittany, but "the self-guided tours are terrible, because there is nobody to tell them what not to touch, where not to park, and where not to walk." Still fancy living where they film The Walking Dead? Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email 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 Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Britains world-leading police unit dedicated to fighting wildlife crime, which had been threatened with closure, has been given a last minute reprieve and will continue operations until at least 2020. Environment minister Rory Stewart has committed the Government to 1.2m in funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit over the next four years. The units current round of funding had been due to run this month, and conservationists had expressed dismay over the Governments failure to commit to continued support. In a statement to MPs, Mr Stewart praised the NWCUs important role in combatting both animal cruelty and the international trade in illegal animal parts. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Home Office will each provide the NWCU with 136,000 a year for the next four years, he said. It will also receive an additional 29,000 to combat wildlife crime conducted online. Chief Inspector Martin Sims, head of the NWCU, told The Independent that the funding represented a commitment to tackle wildlife crime and to give our staff more long-term job security. Tiger Temple fight for cats NWCU works closely with Interpol to combat the illegal wildlife trade, which is estimated to be worth up to 14bn a year. Britain is a hub for the trade, investigators say, and in 2015 alone the NWCU orchestrated the seizure of more than 400 items banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). It also helps coordinate the work of police forces around the country combatting domestic wildlife crimes such as hare coursing and the persecution of birds of prey. Wildlife Photographer of the Year Show all 26 1 /26 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year A polar bear's struggle - Highly Commended Justins whole body pained as he watched this starving polar bear at an abandoned hunter's camp, in the Canadian Arctic, slowly heave itself up to standing. With little, and thinning, ice to move around on, the bear is unable to search for food. Justin Hofman / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Curious Encounter - Shortlisted Cristobal Serrano, Spain. Any close encounter with an animal in the vast wilderness of Antarctica happens by chance, so Cristobal was thrilled by this spontaneous meeting with a crabeater seal off of Cuverville Island, Antarctic Peninsula. These curious creatures are protected and, with few predators, thrive. Cristobal Serrano / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Bond of brothers - Winner David Lloyd, New Zealand / UK. These two adult males, probably brothers, greeted and rubbed faces for 30 seconds before settling down. Most people never have the opportunity to witness such animal sentience, and David was honoured to have experienced and captured such a moment.The picture was taken in Ndutu, Serengeti, Tanzania. David Lloyd / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Fox meets fox - Highly Commended Matthew Maran, UK. Matthew has been photographing foxes close to his home in north London for over a year and ever since spotting this street art had dreamt of capturing this image. After countless hours and many failed attempts his persistence paid off. Matthew Maran / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Three Kings - Highly Commended Wim Van Den Heever, South Africa. Wim came across these king penguins on a beach in the Falkland Islands just as the sun was rising. They were caught up in a fascinating mating behaviour the two males were constantly moving around the female using their flippers to fend the other off. Wim Van Den Heever / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year One toy, three dogs - Highly Commended Bence Mate, Hungary. While adult African wild dogs are merciless killers, their pups are extremely cute and play all day long. Bence photographed these brothers in Mkuze, South Africa they all wanted to play with the leg of an impala and were trying to drag it in three different directions! Bence Mate / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Clam Close-up - Shortlisted David Barrio, Spain. This macro-shot of an iridescent clam was taken in the Southern Red Sea, Marsa Alam, Egypt. These clams spend their lives embedded amongst stony corals, where they nest and grow. It took David some time to approach the clam, fearing it would sense his movements and snap shut! David Barrio / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year The Orphaned Beaver - Shortlisted Suzi Eszterhas, United States. A one-month-old orphaned North American beaver kit is held by a caretaker at the Sarvey Wildlife Care Center in Arlington, Washington. Luckily it was paired with a female beaver who took on the role of mother and they were later released into the wild. Suzi Eszterhas / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Ice and Water - Shortlisted Audun Lie Dahl, Norway. The Brasvellbreen glacier moves southwards from one of the ice caps covering the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway. Where it meets the sea, the glacier wall is so high that only the waterfalls are visible, so Audun used a drone to capture this unique perspective Audun Lie Dahl / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Teenager - Shortlisted Franco Banfi, Switzerland. Franco was free diving off Dominica in the Caribbean Sea when he witnessed this young male sperm whale trying to copulate with a female. Unfortunately for him her calf was always in the way and the frisky male had to continually chase off the troublesome calf. Franco Banfi / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Resting Mountain Gorilla - Shortlisted David Lloyd. The baby gorilla clung to its mother whilst keeping a curious eye on David. He had been trekking in South Bwindi, Uganda, whenhe came across the whole family. Following them, they then stopped in a small clearing to relax and groom each other. David Lloyd / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Painted Waterfall - Shorltisted Eduardo Blanco Mendizabal, Spain. When the sun beams through a hole in the rock at the foot of the La Foradada waterfall, Catalonia, Spain, it creates a beautiful pool of light. The rays appear to paint the spray of the waterfall and create a truly magical picture. Eduardo Blanco Mendizabal / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year The Extraction - Shortlisted Konstantin Shatenev, Russia. Every winter, hundreds of Steller's sea eagles migrate from Russia, to the relatively ice-free northeastern coast of Hokkaido, Japan. They hunt for fish among the ices floes and also scavenge, following the fishing boats to feed on any discards. Konstantin took his image from a boat as the eagles retrieved a dead fish thrown onto the ice. Konstantin Shatenev / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Shy - Shortlisted Pedro Carrillo, Spain. The mesmerizing pattern of a beaded sand anemone beautifully frames a juvenile Clarkii clownfish in Lembehstrait, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Known as a 'nursery' anemone, it is often a temporary home for young clownfish until they find a more suitable host anemone for adulthood. Pedro Carrillo / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Red, Silver and Black - Shortlisted TinMan Lee, USA. Tin was fortunate enough to be told about a fox den in Washington State, North America, which was home to a family of red, black and silver foxes. After days of waiting for good weather he was finally rewarded with this touching moment. Tin Man Lee / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Isolated - Shortlisted Anna Henly, UK. Snapped from a helicopter, this isolated tree stands in a cultivated field on the edge of a tropical forest on Kauai, Hawaii. The manmade straight lines of the ploughed furrows are interrupted beautifully by natures more unruly wild pattern of tree branches. Anna Henly / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Sound Asleep - Shortlisted Tony Wu, USA. This adult humpback whale balanced in mid-water, headon and sound asleep was photographed in Vavau, Kingdom of Tonga. The faint stream of bubbles, visible at the top, is coming from the whales two blowholes and was, in this instance, indicative of an extremely relaxed state. Tony Wu / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year All That Remains - Shortlisted Phil Jones, UK. A male orca had beached itself about a week before Phils visit to Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands. Despite its huge size the shifting sands had almost covered the whole carcass and scavengers, such as this striated caracara, had started to move in. Phil Jones / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Ambush - Shortlisted Federico Veronesi, Kenya. On a hot morning at the Chitake Springs, in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe, Federico watched as an old lioness descended from the top of the riverbank. Shed been lying in wait to ambush any passing animals visiting a nearby waterhole further along the riverbed. Federico Veronesi / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Gliding - Shortlisted Christian Vizl, Mexico. With conditions of perfect visibility and beautiful sunlight, Christian took this portrait of a nurse shark gliding through the ocean off the coast of Bimini in the Bahamas. Typically these sharks are found near sandy bottoms where they rest, so its rare to see them swimming. Christian Vizl / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Otherworldly - Shortlisted A school of Munk's devil ray were feeding on plankton at night off the coast of Isla Espiritu Santo in Baja California, Mexico. Franco used the underwater lights from his boat and a long exposure to create this otherworldly image. Franco Banfi / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year The Bats Wake - Shortlisted Antonio Leiva Sanchez, Spain. After several months of field research into a little colony of greater mouse-eared bats in Sucs, Lleida, Spain, Antonio managed to capture this bat mid-flight. He used a technique of high speed photography with flashes combined with continuous light to create the wake. Antonio Leiva Sanchez / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Under the Snow - Shortlisted Audren Morel, France. Unafraid of the snowy blizzard, this squirrel came to visit Audren as he was taking photographs of birds in the small Jura village of Les Fourgs, France. Impressed by the squirrels endurance, he made it the subject of the shoot. Audren Morel / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Unique Bill - Shortlisted Rob Blanken, The Netherlands. The pied avocet has a unique and delicate bill, which it sweeps like a scythe, as it sifts for food in shallow brackish water. This stunning portrait was taken from a hide in the northern province of Friesland in The Netherlands. Rob Blanken / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Family Portrait - Shortlisted Connor Stefanison, Canada. A great grey owl and her chicks sit in their nest in the broken top of a Douglas fir tree in Kamloops, Canada. They looked towards Connor only twice as he watched them during the nesting season from a tree hide 50 feet (15 metres) up. Connor Stefanison / Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year A dog jumps to catch a disc during a dog frisbee competition in Poznan via REUTERS In a written statement to MPs, Mr Stewart said the new funding would give the Unit significant financial stability and enable their vital work to continue until at least 2020. But Alex Cunningham, Labours shadow minister for the natural environment, said that leaving the announcement so late had severely compromised the work of the Unit. Like the police budget, funding for the Unit has not been protected in real-terms, he said. With over 18,000 police officers lost already under David Cameron, the National Wildlife Crime Unit will find itself having to do more with less if it is to continue its success in tackling wildlife crime. Josh Kaile, from the charity World Animal Protection, which has led the campaign to save the Unit, said the announcement of new funding was fantastic news for British wildlife. Sign up to IndyEat's free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our Now Hear This email for free 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 IndyEats email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Great humility and respect are not necessarily the first qualities that come to mind when you think of world-girdling coffee chain Starbucks. Personally, I think: outsize paper cups, people in hurry, and an ever-present snake of a queue to use the single lavatory. But that's just me. Humility and Respect, those two messianic qualities, will, apparently, be hot-iron branded onto the company's latest expansion plans, according to Howard Schultz, the CEO and chairman. And as well they might, considering the place they intend to open next is Italy. On Monday, in a release to the press, the company explained why it was attempting to take coals to Newcastle. The statement began with the line, It's a dream more than 30 years in the making, and went on to explain that it was in a Milanese espresso bar that Schultz, the marketing director of the then-small, Seattle-based company, was first inspired to turn Starbucks into what it is today a coffee chain with 23000 links. What got him going was that these bars were not only a place for the romance and theatre of coffee but that visiting them was part of a morning ritual, which created a sense of community. Presumably to make sure that Starbucks doesn't scare the horses, the plan is to partner with all-Italian retail and real estate conglomerate Percassi. Percassi will help the coffee giant with the first stores, which are set to open in 2017 in as yet unspecified cities (although Schultz is pictured in front of the Duomo in Milan on the mail-out, so draw your own conclusion). We are confident that Italian people are ready to live the Starbucks experience, says Antonio Percassi, the company's president. It is a strange homage, to attempt to throttle the thing that inspires you. But business is business, I suppose, and Italy is another market ready for the taking. And in all likelihood they will capture it. How could they not? If McDonald's can take France, that country of de Gaulle and 246 different types of cheese, anything is possible. Food trends in 2016 Show all 11 1 /11 Food trends in 2016 Food trends in 2016 Celeriac root We had a kale obsession in 2015, but 2016s vegetable sine qua non is predicted to be the knobbly celeriac root. Celeriac milk (Tom Hunt at Poco in Bristol serves it with winter mussels and wild water celery), celeriac cooked in Galician beef fat (from Adam Rawson of Pachamama, hot new chef in the capital) and salt-baked celeriac (to be found in Matthew and Iain Penningtons kitchens at The Ethicurean in the West Country) are just a few examples. Getty Images Food trends in 2016 Middle Eastern food The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook (24.95, Phaidon) by grand-dame Salma Hage, author of the bestseller The Lebanese Kitchen (whose halva is pictured here), is out in April Liz & Max Haarala Hamilton Food trends in 2016 Non-alcoholic cocktails Grain Store mixologist Tony Conigliaro has created Roman Redhead, a riot of red grape juice, beetroot, pale ale and verjus, and Rose Iced Tea (black tea, rose petals, anise essence, pictured here) Food trends in 2016 Gin The discerning will be slurping Hepple gin from chef Valentine Warner and cocktail guru Nick Strangeway which is punctuated with bog-myrtle nuances Food trends in 2016 Argyll and Bute Restaurant followers are getting in a froth about Pam Brunton in Scotland, who opened the Inver restaurant in Argyll and Bute to acclaim last year Food trends in 2016 Andy Olivers Som Saa One of the most eagerly awaited restaurants of 2016 will be the permanent incarnation of Andy Olivers remarkable pop-up Som Saa opening very soon in east London. Oliver, who worked at Thai god David Thompsons Nahm in Bangkok, raised a whopping 700,000 through crowdfunding, and is renowned for his piquant Thai flavours and obsessive attention to detail, including in his home ferments and DIY coconut cream Adam Weatherley Food trends in 2016 Venison Another ruminant in vogue is venison, with Sainsburys doubling its line for 2016. It provides a protein-packed punch, with B vitamins and iron, and its low in fat. Its entry into the mainstream is in part thanks to the Scottish restaurant Mac and Wild, just opened in London, whose Celtic head chef Andy Waugh (who also runs the Wild Game Co) has been touting it as street food for years (his venison burger pictured here) Food trends in 2016 Goat From Brett Grahams The Ledbury to Angela Hartnetts kitchens at Lime Wood Hotel in the New Forest, Cabrito is the go-to goat supplier among the chef cognoscenti (roasted loin of kid pictured here) but this year, domestic cooks can get in on the action, as Sushila Moles and James Whetlor of Cabrito offer their meat through Ocado Mike Lusmore / mikelusmore.com Food trends in 2016 Coffee Coffee sage George Crawford is launching the much-anticipated Cupsmith with his partner, Emma. Crawford believes that 2016 is the year purist coffee will finally meet the masses; Cupsmiths mission will be to make craft coffee as popular as craft beer on the high street. The company roasts Arabica beans in small batches, improving its quality but sells it online, at cupsmith.com, in an approachable way: expect cheerful packaging and names such as Afternoon Reviver Coffee (designed for drinking with milk no matter how uncouth, most of us want milk) and Glorious Espresso Julia Conway Food trends in 2016 120-day-old steak Hanging meat for extremely long lengths of time has become an art. In Cumbria, Lake Road Kitchens James Cross is plating up 120-day-old steak (pictured here). The beef is from influential ager Dan Austin of Lake District Farmers, who is currently investigating the individual bacterial cultures that go into this maturing process Food trends in 2016 Lotus root Diners can expect root-to-stem dining - cue the full lotus deployed by the Michelin-starred Indian Benares in its kamal kakdi aur paneer korma Getty Images It is all very well to blether on about Italy's unique coffee culture, the cappuccino with breakfast, the espresso after lunch, and all that Fellini business. But Starbucks knows what it is about quickness and convenience and a caffeinated hit on the hop. And the cities of Italy, like the cities of England and Chile and America and Brazil and all the other crowded towns in which the chain operates, contain people in a rush, people who feel tired and want to feel a little more alert. They are we are, even a world-spanning constituency. And as the flow of information, and the pace of communication, becomes greater and faster, we grow more similar, more set in our modern ways: zombies with hands clawed around paper cups, sipping and zooming, like little exocets running on caffeine and cortisol. There's no time not even a fraction of a minute to lean against il banco for your espresso. It has to be to go. Perhaps Starbucks' plans should be a source of mourning. But, if so, that mourning shouldn't be for some airy concept like, Italian coffee culture but for ourselves rushing here and there, with not a moment to sit and pause and drink our coffee in peace. Sign up to IndyEat's free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our Now Hear This email for free 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 IndyEats email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Spanish wine is the most popular on the planet, according to the latest international export figures, but few of the countrys vineyard owners will raise a glass to that news; on average their vintages fetch less than a third of the price of those sold abroad by France. Spain exported a record 2.4 billion litres of Rioja, Ribera del Duero and other wines in 2015, significantly bettering second placed Frances two billion litres, according to the Spanish Wine Market Observatory, At the same time, exports brought in 2.6bn (2bn) in sales. But Spanish wine makers glasses are half empty, as their French counterparts raked in 8bn. more than three times as much. Even Italian wine commanded sales worth 5bn last year. Experts point out that Spanish vino is often sold in bulk. The price per litre fell last year by 2.9 per cent, to 1.10. The situation is frustrating, but we know what we have to do to catch up, Rafael del Rey, the head of the Spanish Wine Market Observatory, told the Independent. Italy was in the same situation as Spain 15 years ago, but now Italian producers have doubled their average price. We need to sell less wine in bulk to other producers and more Spanish wine that indicates origin. The Spanish wine industry will look very different in 10 years time. The problem facing Spains wine makers was clear on the Sainsburys website. A bottle of Codorniu Cuvee Barcelona, the supermarkets most expensive cava, was for sale at a modest 13.00. The priciest bottle of champagne, a Krug Grande Cuvee, would set you back 10 times that at 130. Climate change good news for English wine For the EU as a whole, there was better news as demand from the US and China boosted wine exports. The European Union remains the most important wine exporter worldwide and, after three years of relative stability, [it] attained its best ever performance in 2015, Jean-Marie Barillere, president of the Comite Europeen des Entreprises Vins, told The Drinks Business magazine. Helped by a positive dollar to euro exchange rate, the US paid more than a 1 a litre more for its EU wine in 2015, while exports to China grew by 26 per cent. Still, Spanish wine remains popular with some. Last month saw the sad passing of Antonio Docampo Garcia, aged 107, from Vigo. Before he died Mr Docampo Garcia attributed his longevity to drinking four bottles of homemade wine each day, and never touching water. He could drink a litre and a half all at once, his son, Miguel Docampo Lopez, told La Voz de Galicia newspaper. When we were both at home we could get through 200 litres of wine a month. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Apple has publicly stated that it wants to significantly expand its operations in Ireland. The Cupertino, California-based company employs 5,500 people in Cork, where its European headquarters is based and Apple CEO Tim Cook has plans to hire an additional 1,000 people in the region by mid-2017. But relatively little is known about what Apple does in this small city on the southeast coast of Ireland, which has a population of 120,000. In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Show all 21 1 /21 In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Apple CEO Tim Cook takes to the stage in San Francisco, California AP In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Reuters In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, talks about the features of the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus AP In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple Inc, speaks about the live photo capability for new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Reuters In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple Inc, speaks about the live photo capability for new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Reuters In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Mac Software Engineering, takes the stage to discuss the 3D Touch featured on the new iPhone 6s Reuters In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Andy Wafer, CEO of game maker Pixeltoy, discusses the game for the new line of iPhone 6 Reuters In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Apple CEO Tim Cook shows off the new iPad Pro AP In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Phil Schiller explains the specification details of the new iPad Pro Reuters In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple Inc, speaks about the CPU of the new iPad Pro Reuters In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple Inc, speaks about the new iPad Pro Reuters In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Eric Snowden, Director of Design for Adobe/Behance, displays Adobe software for the new iPad Pro Reuters In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, introduces the new Apple Pencil AP In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Accessories for the the iPad Pro include the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Reuters In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Apple CEO Tim Cook predicts an appy future for television AP In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Apple CEO Tim Cook discusses the Apple TV product at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco AP In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Eddy Cue, senior vice president of Internet Software, discusses the Apple TV product AP In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Added information can be displayed via the Siri app while using Apple TV Reuters In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch John Carter of Harmonix discusses his company's game Beat Sports for Apple TV Reuters In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Jeff Williams, Apple's senior vice president of Operations, speaks about the Apple Watch and Facebook Messenger Reuters In pictures: Apple products launch 9/9 2015 Apple launch Dr Cameron Powell discusses AirStrip, which features a fetal monitor via Apple Watch Reuters The company's main campus is in a suburban area of Cork called Hollyhill, while it also has another discrete, yet large, offices in the heart of the city. Business Insider visited these sites as well as a site for a proposed 850 million (669 million) Apple data centre on Ireland's west coast to see what we could find out. Apple did not allow us to enter any of its buildings. This map shows where Apple's European headquarters is in relation to its proposed data centre and the Irish outposts of other Silicon Valley giants. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) Having visited Apple's global headquarters in California less than two years ago, I was eagerly anticipating a visit to its second biggest hub in the world. This is the first Apple logo I encountered in Ireland, at the company's main Hollyhill site. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) The logo was attached to a sign. When I pulled up, there were several lorries coming in and out of the entrance, possibly containing some of the customised iMacs that made in Cork. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) I was turned away by a security guard at the shipping and deliveries entrance. I wasn't able to park my hire car in the Apple car park, either, as I didn't have a pass. So, I parked in a housing estate over the road. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) A local dog walker told me the housing estate is home to an Irish travelling community that Apple and the Cork city council relocated. The council reportedly spent 5 million (3.9 million) building the estate for the travellers, who used to live in caravans on a plot of land that Apple wanted to expand onto. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) Retrieving the rental car from the housing estate proved difficult. When I returned, a pack of aggressive dogs were reluctant to let me in. I managed to retrieve it in the end, albeit with the help of the Garda, the Irish police. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) After accidentally leaving the car somewhere I shouldn't have, I walked straight past a security checkpoint and onto Apple's Hollyhill campus. This is the first of Apple's newer buildings at Hollyhill that I came across. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) In order to gain access to Apple's offices, visitors must have a prearranged appointment with an Apple employee. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) This is what the signs around the Apple campus look like. The main buildings are simply called Hollyhill followed by a number. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) This glass bridge joins two of Apple's latest buildings. The majority of people in these buildings are thought to work in customer services, where they take calls from Apple customers across Europe. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) The majority of the campus was off limits, requiring an employee badge to enter. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) An on-site gym provides Apple employees with somewhere to work out when they're not at their desks. There were over a dozen treadmills on show as I walked by. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) The buildings in Hollyhill aren't particularly high, but they're incredibly long when measured horizontally. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) This lamppost on the Hollyhill campus had a strange glass window with something metal on the inside. It could have just been a switch, but it could also be something more exciting. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) This telecoms mast in the Apple car park was also intriguing. It's unclear what Apple uses it for. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) The car park had a couple of electric cars in it that were attached to a charging point. Apple is making increasing efforts to become a greener company much of the Hollyhill site is powered by solar energy. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) There were also a number of motorbikes in the car park, including this Harley-Davidson. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) Apple employees in Cork aren't allowed to smoke across most of the campus. There are designated smoking areas they must visit if they want a cigarette. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) An Apple accounting calendar was lying on the floor of the car park. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) This shelter was also in the car park, although it's unclear why it's there or who is meant to use it. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) A number of building applications can be found on empty plots of land at the Hollyhill site, highlighting Apple's plans to construct new offices to accommodate a growing workforce. But a lack of suitable housing in Cork is threatening to derail Apple's plans. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) This is one of the plots of land that Apple wants to build on at Hollyhill. This may have been where the travelling community was based before it was moved by Apple and Cork city council. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) Around the Hollyhill campus, there are also some pleasant walking routes for Apple employees to use at the end of a busy day or maybe even during their lunch breaks. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) Down in Cork, Apple's second-biggest base in Ireland can be found at Lavitt's Quay. An Apple employee told Business Insider that somewhere between 500 and 1,000 staff work here in many roles, including customer services, finance, and operations. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) This is the view over the River Lee from a point close to Apple's office at Lavitt's Quay. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) Roughly 2 1/2 hours' drive from Cork, this site near Athenry on the west coast of Ireland is where Apple is hoping to build an 850 million (669 million) data centre. The blue dot is me, but Apple wants to build the data centre on the eastern edge of the forest, according to planning documents. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) A local said this is the entrance to the proposed data-centre site. Apple is waiting to hear from an Irish planning board as to whether it will be able to go ahead and build the data centre, which it wants to have up and running next year. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) Athenry Golf Club backs on to Derrydonnell Forest. One of the bartenders at the club said it would be great to see Apple come to Athenry, as there are lots of people in the town looking for work. The receptionist said she hadn't heard about Apple's plans. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) Locals in the town of Athenry were largely in favour of the new data centre. The medieval town is home to 3,950 people, based on 2011 statistics. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) Athenry is home to an astonishing number of pubs, including The Skillet Inn. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) This was the only sign of technology that I saw on my quick walk around Athenry. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) Other routes into the site where Apple plans to build the data centre were inaccessible. (Photo credit Business Insider/Sam Shead) (Business Insider/Sam Shead) This is a computer-generated image of what Apple's data centre could look like when finished. Apple is planning to build up to eight data halls in the middle of Derrydonnell Forest. (Picture credit: Apple) (Apple) Read more: Investors are abandoning Barclays' stock as legal costs spiral European manufacturing is in the toilet ISIS has killed 8 of its Dutch fighters for 'desertion and mutiny' Read the original article on Business Insider UK. 2015. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter. A Mandan man shot by a Bismarck police officer after he reportedly drove a stolen vehicle in reverse with the alleged intent of hitting the officer pleaded not guilty to charges on Monday. Miguel Stubing, 18, has been charged with four felonies, including theft of property, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, two counts of reckless endangerment as well as reckless driving, a misdemeanor. Each felony carries a maximum sentence of five years and a $10,000 fine. Stubing entered the plea to South Central District Court Judge Bruce Haskell, following a preliminary hearing on the case. Luke Kapella, a special agent with the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, described his investigation of the officer-involved shooting at Mondays hearing. At about 2:30 a.m. Jan. 23, Bismarck Police Sgt. Jordan West located a stolen car near Kirkwood Mall. The vehicle was reported stolen to the Mandan Police Department the night before the shooting, according to the affidavit. West later found the vehicle parked in a parking lot on the 1100 block of South Third Street. In his statement to Kapella, West said he pulled into the parking lot to perform a felony traffic stop. West found a man, later identified as Cody Conica, walking near the stolen vehicle carrying grocery bags. West said he had believed Conica was the driver, Kapella said. West then noticed Stubing sitting in the drivers seat of the vehicle and gave him a verbal command. Stubing ignored Wests command, and West said he heard the cars engine rev and drive at a high speed toward him in reverse. Conica, who was later interviewed by Scott Betz, a special agent with the BCI, said he believed Stubing was going to hit West and the officer narrowly escaped being rammed between the stolen vehicle and his patrol car. West, who already had his weapon drawn, told Kapella he feared for his life and fired his weapon five times into the vehicle. A bullet hit Stubing on the left side of his body and exited the center of his chest area, Kapella said. Stubing continued to reverse out of the parking lot in the stolen car and was later apprehended by the Emmons County Sheriffs Department. Burleigh County Assistant States Attorney Marina Spahr said the state would need up to three days to present its case. A trial date has not yet been set. 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 Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Across Wales, people will be celebrating St David's Day in honour of the Welsh patron saint, and Google has marked the occasion with a Doodle. Welsh schools will be holding eisteddfodau - music, song and poetry competitions. Some people even wear leeks on their clothing to celebrate their patron saint. This is not a public holiday in Wales or the rest of the UK. Here are five things you may not not know about St David: 1. St David was actually Welsh He was born around 500 AD in Caerfai in Pembrokshire, Wales to Sandde, Prince of Powys and Non, daughter of a chieftain. Comparing nationality, St Andrew was Palestinian, St Patrick was a Romano-British missionary, while St George was a Roman soldier of Greek extraction. Indeed, of the patron saints of the British Isles, only St David and St Patrick had visited the country they are the patron saint for. 2. St David's Day marks the date of his death St David was the Welsh bishop for the city of Menevia, in Pembrokshire - now called St Davids . According to historical sources, he died on 1 March ,589 AD. He was officially recognised as a saint by Pope Callixtus in 1120. The best Google Doodles Show all 50 1 /50 The best Google Doodles The best Google Doodles Mister Rogers Google Doodle celebrating children's TV presenter Mister Rogers Google The best Google Doodles Lucy Wills Google Doodle celebrating haematologist Lucy Wills Google The best Google Doodles Falafel Google Doodle celebrating falafel Google The best Google Doodles St George's Day Google Doodle celebrating St George's Day Google The best Google Doodles James Wong Howe Google Doodle celebrating Hollywood golden age cinematographer James Wong Howe Google The best Google Doodles Seiichi Miyake Google Doodle celebrating Seiichi Miyake, developer of tactile paving Google The best Google Doodles Walter Cronkite Google celebrates US broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite's 100th birthday The best Google Doodles Lantern Festival 2016 Google celebrates the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations with a doodle of the Lantern Festival Google The best Google Doodles Google Doodle celebrating Sergei Diaghilev Google Doodle celebrating art critic Sergei Diaghilev Google The best Google Doodles George Boole Google marks mathematician George Boole's 200th birthday The best Google Doodles Sergei Eisenstein Google Doodle celebrating soviet film director Sergei Eisenstein Google The best Google Doodles 41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy' Google marks the 41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy', the name given to a collection of fossilised bones that once made up the skeleton of a hominid from the Australopithecus afarensis species, who lived in Ethiopia 3.2 million years ago The best Google Doodles Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Google celebrates physician and suffragist Elizabeth Garrett Anderson 180th birthday The best Google Doodles Sir William Henry Perkin Google Doodle celebrating chemist Sir William Henry Perkin Google The best Google Doodles Nelly Sachs Google Doodle celebrating poet and playwright Nelly Sachs Google The best Google Doodles Thanksgiving 2018 Google Doodle celebrating Thanksgiving 2018 Google The best Google Doodles Nigerian Independence Day Google Doodle celebrating Nigerian Independence Day Google The best Google Doodles Mary Prince Google Doodle celebrating abolitionist Mary Prince Google The best Google Doodles Father's Day 2016 Google celebrates Father's Day The best Google Doodles Ebenezer Cobb Morley Google Doodle celebrating "father of football" Ebenezer Cobb Morley Google The best Google Doodles Octavia E Butler Google Doodle celebrating science fiction author Octavia E Butler Google The best Google Doodles Tamara de Lempicka Google Doodle celebrating painter Tamara de Lempicka Google The best Google Doodles Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss Google Doodle celebrating mathematician and physicist Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss Google The best Google Doodles Fanny Blankers-Koen Google Doodle celebrating Dutch Olympic gold medalist Fanny Blankers-Koen Google The best Google Doodles John Harrison Google Doodle celebrating clockmaker John Harrison Google The best Google Doodles Guillermo Haro Google Doodle celebrating astronomer Guillermo Haro Google The best Google Doodles St. David's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google The best Google Doodles Carter G Woodson Google Doodle celebrating Carter G Woodson, a pioneering African-American historian Google The best Google Doodles St Andrew's Day Google Doodle celebrating St Andrew's Day Google The best Google Doodles Gertrude Jekyll Google Doodle celebrating horticulturist Gertrude Jekyll Google The best Google Doodles Children's Day 2017 Google Doodle celebrating Children's Day 2017 Google The best Google Doodles Studio for Electronic Music Google Doodle celebrating the Studio for Electronic Music Google The best Google Doodles Olaudah Equiano Google Doodle celebrating abolitionist Olaudah Equiano Google The best Google Doodles Fridtjof Nansen Google Doodle celebrating Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen Google The best Google Doodles Ladislao Jose Biro Google celebrates Ladislao Jose Biro's 117th birthday The best Google Doodles Amalia Hernandez Google Doodle celebrating ballet choreographer Amalia Hernandez Google The best Google Doodles Dr Samuel Johnson Google Doodle celebrating lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson Google The best Google Doodles British Sign Language Google Doodle celebrating British Sign Language Google The best Google Doodles Eduard Khil Google Doodle celebrating baritone singer Eduard Khil Google The best Google Doodles Fourth of July Google Doodle celebrating Fourth of July Google The best Google Doodles Victor Hugo Google Doodle celebrating author Victor Hugo Google The best Google Doodles Google Doodle celebrating Giro d'Italia's 100th Anniversary Google Doodle celebrating Giro d'Italia's 100th Anniversary Google The best Google Doodles Google Doodle celebrating St. Patrick's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. Patrick's Day Google The best Google Doodles Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google The best Google Doodles Steve Biko Today's Google Doodle features anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko Google The best Google Doodles The history of tea in Britain Google celebrates the 385th anniversary of tea in the UK The best Google Doodles Nettie Stevens Google celebrates geneticist Nettie Stevens 155th birthday The best Google Doodles William Morris Google celebrates English polymath William Morris' 182 birthday with a doodle showcasing his most famous designs Google The best Google Doodles Professor Scoville Google marks Professor Scovilles 151st birthday The best Google Doodles Sophie Taeuber-Arp Google marks artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp's 127th birthday 3. St David was a vegetarian Nicknamed the "water drinker", St David only drank water and ate only herbs, vegetables and bread. 4. Welsh regiments eat raw leeks on 1 March Historically Welsh regiments such as the Queen's Dragoon Guards eat raw leeks to celebrate their patron saint. Before a battle against the Saxons, legend has it, David advised Welsh warriors to wear a leek in his hat so that they could distinguish themselves from their enemies. Thus inspiring the tradition of wearing leeks on his name day. 5. His symbol is not the leek or daffodil His symbol is actually a dove normally resting on a shoulder as he stands on a hill. It is believed while speaking to a crowd of people at the synod of Brefi, a hill arose at the very spot he had preached from. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The new Investigatory Powers Bill will allow the police to look into all of everyone's internet browsing history. Theresa May has presented the re-drafted bill as including new provisions for user privacy. But a key part of the bill expands the powers that police have to look at Internet Connection Records (ICRs) a full list of every website that a person has connected to. Internet service providers (ISPs) must hold on to the browsing histories of all of their users for a year, and hand them over to authorities when required to. Recommended Read more UK Government introduces law requiring WhatsApp to be broken The draft bill also vastly expands the police's hacking powers, allowing every force to hack into a computer. It expands that same power to some public authorities, like tax officers and the Home Office itself. In earlier versions of the bill, police access to those records was limited to seeing the illegal websites that a person had read. But police will now be able to see all of a person's browsing history, if officers believe it relevant to certain investigations. The use of the powers is not subject to the same controls that safeguard other parts of the bill, and will not require a warrant. The changes come after extended pressure by the police, which was reported last year to be lobbying the government to widen its powers within the new bill. Police said that they needed to extra powers because of the increasingly sophisticated nature of online crime. Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty The Government and police have argued that ICRs only offer something like a telephone record, showing which specific sites a person connected to. But since internet browsing is much more sophisticated and tends to lead to much richer data, many have pointed out that it would be possible to learn a great deal about a person from a full list of their browsing history. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Government is pushing through a bill that will cripple WhatsApp and iMessage as they currently exist. The bill has been re-drafted after it was criticised by every parliamentary committee responsible for scrutinising it, but many of the most controversial powers remain. The new draft of the Investigatory Powers Bill includes a clause that forces technology companies to weaken their security when spies need it to. That includes the removal of end-to-end encryption, the technology that allows services like WhatsApp, iMessage and FaceTime to allow people to communicate securely. The Government said that it had re-written the law to respond to concerns about the weakening of encryption, and that it would no longer force them to weaken encryption. It will only force companies to weaken security that they themselves applied, for instance. But the new law could still force companies to install backdoors in their security, undermining the technology used in many of the most popular chat apps. Charities including Privacy International criticised the bill, arguing that no changes had been made to guarantee people's security. "It would be shameful to even consider this change cosmetic," said Gus Hosein, the executive director of Privacy International. "The Bill published today continues to adhere to the structure and the underlying rationale that underpinned the draft IP Bill, despite the criticism and lengthy list of recommendations from three Parliamentary Committees. "The continued inclusion of powers for bulk interception and bulk equipment interference - hacking by any other name - leaves the right to privacy dangerously undermined and the security of our infrastructure at risk. Despite this, the Home Office stands by its claim that the Bill represents "world-leading" legislation. It is truly world-leading, for all the wrong reasons." The bill also requires that internet companies keep information on everything their users have looked at for an entire year. That information can then be accessed by the Government. The new changes to the draft bill widen the situations where those powers can be used. Law enforcement will now be able to access internet usage records for pursuing investigative leads, after concerns that police would not be able to get hold of them for missing people inquiries and other investigations. The ban on encryption only requires companies to remove the security features when it is deemed practicable. Technology companies have repeatedly complained that it isnt clear what that restriction means. Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty The new bill does include new explicit checks on that measure, making clear that the test must include a consideration of how much it would cost to remove that encryption, for instance. If the powers are used as written, they could lead to the outlawing of many of the worlds most popular internet services or force products including Apples iOS, which powers the iPhone and iPad, to be re-written from the ground up. But those same restrictions could bring the bill into conflict with other . The draft powers do not make clear how the Government would treat instances of extra-territorial conflict, meaning that the new bill could force companies to break the law in other countries to satisfy the UK powers. Technology companies have also worried that the powers to weaken encrypted chat services could set a precedent and lead to them also being instituted by other countries with fewer protections. The Government hopes that it can pass the bill by the end of the year. It claims that it is necessary because many of the laws allowing for spying will go out of date in 2016, and says that passing it will allow all of those powers to be brought under one umbrella. 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 Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The sea does strange things to people. More than 40 years ago, after 240 days afloat, a novice sailor called Donald Crowhurst was about to claim the trophy in the first single-handed round-the-world yacht race when his boat was found adrift in the Atlantic abandoned. A study of his log later showed he had faked his epic voyage and never left the northern waters where his yacht was found. Fearing his secret would be discovered, it is believed he jumped overboard. But the mystery was never solved. :: Warning: Image of mummified body appears below Now Manfred Fritz Bajorat, a German round- the-world sailor, has been discovered on his yacht drifting off the coast of the Phillipines, seven years after the last reported sighting and a year after the last message received from him. Bajorat, 59, was still with his yacht, but in strange circumstances. His mummified body was found slumped over a table next to the radio telephone, leading to speculation he may have suffered a heart attack and been trying to make an emergency call. Pictures show a man with silver hair and a beard, his head leaning towards his crooked arm, which is resting on the table, as if he were studying a chart. His body is remarkably intact. Seated in the cabin, it was protected from scavenging sea birds; and the high temperature, low humidity and salty sea-air appear to have combined to produce ideal conditions for preservation of the corpse. Recommended Read more Mummified sailor found on yacht missing for a year Had he fallen into the water, it would have been a different story. In tropical seas, decomposition and putrefaction begin quickly and progress rapidly. A body may sink to the bottom initially but the bacterial action which causes it to bloat with gas will normally mean that, after three or four days, it will again float to the surface, where it is exposed to sea-birds, sharks and buffeting by the waves. In cold water, this process may be slowed. The tissues form a soapy, fatty acid known as grave wax that protects the corpse and halts bacterial growth. Bodies have been recovered almost completely intact after several weeks in cold seas. However, a natural mummification such as Bajorat's is rare, as it requires extreme conditions of cold, salinity, acidity or aridity. The earliest ancient Eqyptian mummies occurred naturally after being buried in shallow pit-graves in the hot dry sand of the desert, which promoted dehydration and desiccation of the corpses. The natural preservation of the dead led to deliberate mummification, which became an integral part of the death ritual in ancient Egypt. Manfred Fritz Bajorat's mummified body Natural mummies have also been found in other extreme environments. The Saltmen of Iran were first discovered when miners came across a body with long hair and a beard in the Chehrabad salt mines outside the city of Zanjan in 1993. Another body was found in 2004, two more in 2005 and by 2010, six bodies had been uncovered, all well preserved by the salt. They are estimated to be at least 1,700 years old. More venerable still is the oldest known natural mummy in Europe Otzi, also known as Iceman, whose remains emerged from a retreating glacier in the Otztal Alps (hence his name), close to the Italian-Austrian border. He was found in September 1991 and is estimated to have lived around 3,300 BC. More recently, in England, a 61-year-old former Devon taxi driver, Alan Billis, who was terminally ill with lung cancer, volunteered to be mummified to help scientists research the processes involved. After he died in 2011, his skin was covered in oils and his body immersed in a bath of cold salt water for more than a month before being wrapped in linen and dried for three months. A documentary about the process was shown on Channel 4. In his case we know the cause of death. But in that of Bajorat, his body frozen in time, it's unlikely we shall ever discover what happened in his final days, alone on the high seas. 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 Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The benefits of a drug dubbed female Viagra have been found to be "marginal". Flibanserin, now sold as Addyi, was found to only increase the number of satisfying sexual experiences women who used it had by one every two months. The researchers expressed concern over the limited benefits of the drug in addition to a number of unpleasant side effects that it can also cause. Researchers in the Netherlands looked at eight studies testing the drug, intended for women with "hypoactive sexual desire disorder" (low libido with a number of possible causes), which totalled nearly 6,000 women. They found that users experienced "one-half of an additional sexually satisfying encounter per month". This was in addition to the two or three sexually satisfying events the women were able to experience without the help of the drug. However, researchers expressed concern that the poor benefits of the drug were also statistically and clinically significantly increasing the risk of dizziness, somnolence [drowsiness], nausea, and fatigue. Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. 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. While humans were weak to the diseases of the new lands, breeding with the resident neanderthals made for a better equipped immune system PA Health news in pictures Cancer breath test to be trialled in Britain The breath biopsy device is designed to detect cancer hallmarks in molecules exhaled by patients Getty Health news in pictures Average 10 year old has consumed the recommended amount of sugar for an adult By their 10th birthdy, children have on average already eaten more sugar than the recommended amount for an 18 year old. 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. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. 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. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. 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. REX Health news in pictures Cannabis extract could provide new class of treatment for psychosis CBD has a broadly opposite effect to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active component in cannabis and the substance that causes paranoia and anxiety. 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. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. The study of 3.5 million Britons found that even metabolically healthy obese people are still at a higher risk of heart disease or a stroke than those with a normal weight range Getty Health news in pictures Sleep deprivation When you feel particularly exhausted, it can definitely feel like you are also lacking in brain capacity. Now, a new study has suggested this could be because chronic sleep deprivation can actually cause the brain to eat itself Shutterstock Health news in pictures Exercise classes offering 45 minute naps launch David Lloyd Gyms have launched a new health and fitness class which is essentially a bunch of people taking a nap for 45 minutes. The fitness group was spurred to launch the napercise class after research revealed 86 per cent of parents said they were fatigued. The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty When combined with alcohol, the drug posed further risks, including hypotension and fainting. The report continued: "Overall, the quality of the evidence was graded as very low for efficacy and safety outcomes." "Women do experience some sort of benefit, but the benefits are marginal and have to be seen in the light of more side-effects," study author Dr Loes Jaspers of Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, said in to CBC. The research confirms concerns that some parties have long held about the drug. PharmedOut, a campaign group which monitors how pharmaceutical companies influence prescribing drugs, expressed concern in 2015 about the clever, aggressive public relations campaign that it says saw the drug gaining FDA approval. In regards to the new findings, Dr Adriane Fugh-Berman, PharmedOuts director, said to the New York Times: An additional half a satisfying sexual encounter a month is that meaningful? I think only the women can answer that, but perhaps they already have with their lack of enthusiasm for getting prescriptions. Flibanserin is not as popular as expected, with less than 300 prescriptions being given a week and sales of $11 million a year, rather than the $100 million or more which was expected, Wells Fargo analyst David Maris told the New York Times. Flibanserin, first produced by Sprout Pharmaceuticals and now owned by Valeant Pharmaceuticals , was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year after two previous failed attempts. In a seperate development, Valeant Pharmaceuticals are currently under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and have seen their stock plummet over the last few days. While the drug does not actually work like Viagra which improves blood flow to the penis Flibanserin, originally developed as an anti-depressant, targets chemicals in the brain with the aim of increasing female sexual desire. Despite not yet being widely available to in the UK, the drug does appear on specialist British pharmaceutical websites to buyers with a prescription. The drugs introduction was strongly supported by womens campaign groups such as Even the Score, who felt it was unfair that drugs to treat sexual issues in men were easy to come by but not for women. 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 Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A blood cancer charity is calling on young men with in demand stem cells to sign up to become donors, to combat a desperate shortage. Men between the ages of 16 to 30 have the most sought after stem cells, but they only make up 15 per cent of the register, according to the Anthony Nolan charity. A fifth of the 345 British men in this age group surveyed by the charity said a lack of information put them off from registering. A further 34 per cent said that they were afraid it may be painful, while 27 per cent said they did not like needles or hospitals. The charity made the call after a student launched her own appeal on social media to try to find a stem cell donor. Cardiff University student Vithiya Alphons, 24, was diagnosed with aggressive leukaemia in the final year of her medical degree. She must now find a donor in order to receive a stem-cell transplant, made more difficult by her Sri Lankan heritage. Ms Alphons is calling on people with a south Asian background to join Antony Nolans worldwide register. Henny Braund, chief executive of Anthony Nolan, said: "We desperately need more young men to join the register. "There are so many myths that surround stem cell donation. It isn't necessarily about being brave, as the process is so straightforward. "All you have to do is fill out a simple form and provide a saliva sample. If you are a match for someone, 90 per cent of the time the process is similar to giving blood." Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. 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. While humans were weak to the diseases of the new lands, breeding with the resident neanderthals made for a better equipped immune system PA Health news in pictures Cancer breath test to be trialled in Britain The breath biopsy device is designed to detect cancer hallmarks in molecules exhaled by patients Getty Health news in pictures Average 10 year old has consumed the recommended amount of sugar for an adult By their 10th birthdy, children have on average already eaten more sugar than the recommended amount for an 18 year old. 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. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. 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. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. 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. REX Health news in pictures Cannabis extract could provide new class of treatment for psychosis CBD has a broadly opposite effect to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active component in cannabis and the substance that causes paranoia and anxiety. 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. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. The study of 3.5 million Britons found that even metabolically healthy obese people are still at a higher risk of heart disease or a stroke than those with a normal weight range Getty Health news in pictures Sleep deprivation When you feel particularly exhausted, it can definitely feel like you are also lacking in brain capacity. Now, a new study has suggested this could be because chronic sleep deprivation can actually cause the brain to eat itself Shutterstock Health news in pictures Exercise classes offering 45 minute naps launch David Lloyd Gyms have launched a new health and fitness class which is essentially a bunch of people taking a nap for 45 minutes. The fitness group was spurred to launch the napercise class after research revealed 86 per cent of parents said they were fatigued. The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty Stem cell transplants can be used to treat conditions affecting a patient's bone marrow or blood. If a patient has a condition that affects their bone marrow or blood, then a stem cell transplant may be their best chance of survival. The donor's stem cells are transfered into the patient through their blood stream. This enables the patient to grow and product healthy blood cells and platelets. Those who are interested in becoming donors are required to send a sample of their saliva to Anthony Nolan for testing, by first sending off for a "spit kit". Those eligible will then be asked to donate stem cells when a patient with cancer or a blood disorder is in need. The vast majority of donors will give stem-cells by undergoing peripheral blood stem cell collection. And one in 10 people will have their stem cells collected from their bone marrow while under general anaesthetic. The charity stresses on its website that donation does not hurt, citing the responses of countless donors. Additional reporting by PA 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 Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A company has introduced a period policy in an effort to give women more flexibility and create a happier and healthier working environment. Coexist, a community interest firm in Bristol, has a largely female workforce and believes tapping into employees natural cycles will benefit everyone. It hopes to tackle the taboo of menstruation by becoming the first company in the UK to introduce a policy to allow women leave if they are suffering. Bex Baxter, a director at Coexist, said: "As a manager of staff I have seen women really suffer with their periods and I have found them doubled over in a lot of pain. "They feel guilty and ashamed for taking time off and often sit at their desks in silence not wanting to acknowledge it. "It started from there and we thought we had to see what we could do about it and try and break the last great taboo. "Nothing like this has been done in the UK before, we believe, and if it has, it has been very small." According to the NHS, studies suggest 90 per cent of women experience period pain. Around 20 per cent describe their pain as moderate, while two per cent say it is severe. Another study, it says, claims 14 per cent of women are frequently unable to work because of the pain. Miss Baxter believes the scheme will increase productivity and hopes other firms will follow the lead of global sportswear giant Nike and introduce similar policies. Nike introduced menstrual leave in 2007 and makes business partners sign a memorandum of understanding to ensure they maintain the companys standards. Miss Baxter said: "Many companies are male-dominated and encourage long hours but there is a misconception that taking time off makes a business unproductive," she said. "This is not about employees taking more time off but working more flexibly and efficiently around their menstrual cycle and encouraging a work-life balance. The issue of menstruation leave has previously divided opinion, with some saying it is discriminatory or even sexist to allow women extra time off, while others argue it is a medical necessity. Miss Baxter said: "When women are having their periods they are in a winter state, when they need to regroup, keep warm and nourish their bodies. "The spring section of the cycle, immediately after a period, is a time when women are actually three times as productive as usual." The policy has been created as part of the Pioneering Period Policy: Valuing Natural Cycles in the Workplace seminar which will take place on March 15 at Hamilton House in Stokes Croft. It is based on the work of Alexandra Pope, the founder and creator of women's leadership programme, Red School. The school teaches a radical new approach to woman's health and wellbeing; creativity and leadership; and spiritual life based on the power of our menstruality consciousness. Ms Baxter added: "It seemed a great opportunity to host an event for other businesses which can launch their own conversation about it." For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Antony Jenkins, Barclays former chief executive, is to receive a bonus of half a million pound taking his total remuneration to 3.4 million for 2015, despite being ousted last summer. The banks annual report said Jenkins would receive a bonus pro-rated for service of 505,000. When he left in July after three years, his contract entitled him to 12 months notice from the company. This meant that until July 7, 2016, he would continue to receive a salary of 1.1 million, a further allowance worth 950,000 a year paid in shares and a pension allowance worth 363,000 and other benefits, according to the Guardian. The additional 505,000 bonus amounts to around a quarter of his fixed pay. The [remuneration] committee has determined that Mr Jenkins will remain eligible to be considered for a pro-rated 2015 bonus for time in role as group chief executive, subject to an assessment of the relevant performance measures relating to his 2015 bonus and the general discretion of the Committee, Barclays said in the statement which announced Jenkins exit. Mr Jenkins, had been in the job for just three years, having been hired to replace the high-profile American investment banker, Bob Diamond. At the time Sir Michael Rake, Barclays deputy chairman, said that a new set of skills were needed to run the bank and that the search for a new chairman was already underway. Barclays' bonus pool for staff was 1.67 billion for 2015, 10 per cent down from 2014, as it reported a two per cent drop in annual adjusted profit before tax to 5.4 billion. This was lower than the 5.8 billion expected by investors. The results came with plans for Barclays to sell its African business to try and stem losses and cut costs. Biggest business scandals in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Biggest business scandals in pictures Biggest business scandals in pictures Volkswagen emissions scandal VW admitted to rigging its US emission tests so that diesel-powered cars would looks like they were emitting less nitrous oxide, which can damage the ozone layer and contribute to respiratory diseases. Around 11 million cars worldwide were affected. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Martin Shkreli and Turing Pharmaceuticals Martin Shkreli became known as the most hated man in the world after his drug company, Turing, increased the price of a 62-year-old drug that treated HIV patients by 5,000% to $750 a pill. He was charged with illegally taking stock from Retrophin, a biotechnology firm he started in 2011, and using it pay off debts from unrelated business dealings. Shkreli, who maintains he is innocent, and says there is little evidence of fraud because his investors didn't lose money. Biggest business scandals in pictures Panama Papers: Millions of leaked documents expose how worlds rich and powerful hid money - April 2016 Millions of confidential documents have been leaked from one of the worlds most secretive law firms, exposing how the rich and powerful have hidden their money. Dictators and other heads of state have been accused of laundering money, avoiding sanctions and evading tax, according to the unprecedented cache of papers that show the inner workings of the law firm Mossack Fonseca, which is based in Panama. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Google's tax avoidance Google reached a deal with the HM Revenue and Customs to pay back 130 million in so-called back-taxes that have been due since 2005. George Osborne championed the deal as a major success. But European MEPs have since called for the Chancellor to appear in front of the committee on tax rulings to explain the tax deal. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Rogue trader A French court cut the damages owed by rogue trader Jerome Kerviel from 4.9bn (4.2bn) to just 1m (860,000). The court ruled on that Kerviel was partly responsible for massive losses suffered in 2008 by his former employer Societe Generale through his reckless trades. Kerviel has consistently maintained that bosses at the French bank knew what he was doing all along. AP Biggest business scandals in pictures Barclays CEO under investigation for trying to identify whistleblower - Monday Paril 10 Authorities have launched an investigation into Barclays chief executive officer Jes Staley for trying to identify a whistleblower, the bank said on Monday. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are both investigating Mr Staley after the bank notified them that Mr Staley had tried to identify the author of two anonymous letters, which were sent to the board and a senior executive in June 2016. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures UK to crack down on bank money laundering after reports of 65bn Russian scam, City minister says - March 2017 The Economic Secretary to the Treasury has vowed that the Government will crack down on money laundering practices, after several of the UK's biggest banks were accused of processing money from a Russian scam, believed to involve up to $80bn (65bn). Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Former HBOS bankers convicted of bribery and fraud over 245m loan scam - February 2017 Two former HBOS bankers were among six people found guilty of bribery and fraud that cost customers and shareholders hundreds of millions of pounds, the BBC reports. Lynden Scourfield, 54, a manager at HBOS, forced struggling clients to use the services of his friends David Mills, 60, and Michael Bancroft, 73. In return, the two businessmen arranged sex parties, cash and lavish gifts. On Monday, the three were convicted at Southwark Crown Court on accounts including bribery, fraud and money laundering. Mark Dobson, another manager at HBOS, Alison Mills, and John Cartwright were also convicted. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Lloyds chief apologises for damage caused by affair allegations - August 2016 Antonio Horta-Osorio, the chief executive of Lloyds Bank, has broken his silence over allegations about his private life admitting he regrets any "damage done to the group's reputation". In a message sent to the bank's 75,000 employees, the banker said that anyone can make mistakes while insisting that staff had to maintain the highest professional standards. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Christine Lagarde faces court over 340m Bernard Tapie payment - July 2016 The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, must stand trial in France over a payment of 403 million (now 340m, then 290m) to tycoon Bernard Tapie, a France's highest appeals court has ruled. The court rejected Ms Lagarde's appeal against a judge's order in December for her to stand trial over allegations of negligence in her handling of the affair. Ms Lagarde could risk a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros if convicted. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures HSBC senior manager arrested in FX rigging investigation at JFK airport in New York - July 2016 A senior executive at HSBC has been arrested at New York's JFK airport for his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to rig currency benchmarks, according to reports. Mark Johnson, global head of foreign exchange cash trading in London, was reportedly arrested on Tuesday. He will appear before a federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Bloomberg said. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Former PwC employees found guilty in 'Luxleaks' tax scandal - June 2016 Two ex- PricewaterhouseCoopers staffers were found guilty in Luxembourg of stealing confidential tax files that helped unleash a global scandal over generous fiscal deals for hundreds of international companies. Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet face suspended sentences of 12 months and 9 months and were ordered to pay fines of 1,500 (1,230) and 1,000 (822) for their role in the so-called LuxLeaks scandal. Despite the minimal sentences, the ruling was described by Deltours lawyer as shocking and a terrible anomaly. The ruling puts on guard future whistle-blowers, Deltour told reporters.The LuxLeaks revelations sped beyond Luxembourg, causing European Union regulators to expand a tax-subsidy probe and propose new laws to fight corporate tax dodging, while EU lawmakers created a special committee to probe fiscal deals across the 28-nation bloc. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Goldman Sachs dealmakers lavished Libyan officials with prostitutes to win contract - June 2016 A former Goldman Sachs dealmaker trying to persuade Gadaffi-era Libya to invest $1 billion with the investment bank procured prostitutes and invited Libyan officials to lavish parties in the hope of winning the business, the High Court heard on Monday June 13.The Libyan Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund is suing Goldman Sachs for inappropriately coercing its naive staff into giving its sovereign wealth fund cash to the bank to invest in products they did not understand. The products were designed to generate big profits for Goldman, the LIA claims.Goldman denies wrongdoing and says the LIA was treated as an arms-length customer Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Former boss of BHS said his life was threatened - June 2016 Darren Topp, the former boss of BHS, has said former owner Dominic Chappell threatened to kill him when he challenged him over a 1.5 million transfer out of the business. MPs on the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee asked Mr Topp about a 1.5 million transfer Mr Chappell made from BHS to a company called BHS Sweden. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley admits paying workers below the minimum wage - June 2016 Mike Ashley admitted paying Sports Direct employees below the minimum wage at a hearing in front of MPs. The company founder said that workers were paid less than the statutory minimum because of bottlenecks at security in an admission that could result in sanctions from HMRC. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Mitsubishi admits improper fuel tests - April 2016 Mitsubishi has admitted to using false fuel methods dating back to 1991. The scale of the scandal is only just coming to light after it was revealed in April that data was falsified in the testing of four types of cars, including two Nissan cars. AP Biggest business scandals in pictures Quindell, the scandal-ridden insurance firm Quindell was once a darling of AIM but its share price fell in April 2014 when its accounting practices were attacked in a stinging research note by US short seller Gotham City. In August the group was forced to disclose that the 107 million pre-tax profit it had reported for 2013 was incorrect, and it had in fact suffered a 64million loss. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Toshiba Accounting Scandal The boss of Toshiba, the Japanese technology giant, resigned in disgrace in the wake of one of the countrys biggest ever accounting scandals. His exit came two months after the company revealed that it was investigating accounting irregularities. An independent investigatory panel said that Toshibas management had inflated its reported profits by up to 152 billion yen (780m) between 2008 and 2014. Biggest business scandals in pictures FIFA Corruption Scandal Fifa, football's world governing body, has been engulfed by claims of widespread corruption since the summer of 2015, when the US Department of Justice indicted several top executives. It has now claimed the careers of two of the most powerful men in football, Fifa President Sepp Blatter and Uefa President Michel Platini, after they were banned for eight years from all football-related activities by Fifa's ethics committee. A Swiss criminal investigation into the pair is ongoing. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Libor fraudster City trader Tom Hayes, 35, has become the first person to be convicted of rigging Libor rates following a trial at London's Southwark Crown Court. Hayes worked as a trader in yen derivatives at UBS before joining the American bank Citigroup in Tokyo. He was fired from Citigroup following an investigation into his trading methods. He returned to the UK in December 2012 and was arrested following a two-and-a-half year criminal investigation by the SFO. Getty Jes Staley, Barclays Group Chief Executive Officer, said the results showed the ban was fundamentally on the right path and at its core a very good business. 2016 will consequently be a year of accelerated delivery from a good base, Staley said. Staley said he would not be taking a bonus this financial year. Additional reporting by Reuters For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Daily Mail has launched a "campaign" of anti-refugee propaganda which paints Sweden in a dim light because of its liberal migration policy, the Swedish embassy in London has reportedly said. In a report filed by embassy staff for their superiors in the Swedish foreign ministry, diplomats said the newspaper was portraying Sweden as being "naive" for taking in more than its fair share of refugees. Quoted by the Swedish news agency TT, it appeared to express concern that the Mail Online, the Daily Mail's digital arm, has a wide international reach and that stories about Sweden received hundreds of unpleasant and racist remarks in the comment section. The memo was reportedly signed off on by the Swedish ambassador Nicola Clase, and sent to senior officials including Swedish cabinet secretary Hans Dahlgren. According to a translation by the Swedish edition of The Local, it read: "The tabloid Daily Mail has launched a campaign against Swedish migration policy. "Sweden is being used as a deterrent and an argument against allowing more refugees into the UK. "The Daily Mail characterises Sweden as naive and an example of the negative consequences of a liberal migration policy." 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. The Guardian quoted Swedish officials as saying such reports are a "routine" part of diplomatic work and "statements of fact". When contacted by The Independent, a spokesman for the Swedish embassy declined to comment and directed enquiries to Stockholm. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The BBC will find no hiding place for its failings under a regulatory shake-up giving Ofcom responsibility for overseeing the corporation, the author of an independent review commissioned by the Government has claimed. The BBCs 94-year system of self-governance should be scrapped following a series of scandals, Sir David Clementi concluded. John Whittingdale, the Culture Secretary, is now considering the report, which argued that the BBC Trust should be axed and oversight of the corporation passed wholly to Ofcom, the communications watchdog. A former deputy governor of the Bank of England, Sir David said there should be fundamental reform of the system of governance and regulation for the BBC. The BBC Trust model is flawed. It conflates governance and regulatory functions within the Trust, said Sir David. Blurred accountabilities between the Trust and BBC Executive, led by the Director-General, contributed to scandals over Jonathan Ross, executive pay and a failed 100m digital media initiative. Created in 2006, the Trust was a mistake, Sir David said. High pay, the remuneration issues, IT issues, are things that I have in mind because when they go wrong there is the question about which board is responsible. One of the difficulties in those cases was it wasnt quite clear if the Trust were dealing with it or whether the Executive board were dealing with it. It fell to both of them and neither of them. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA 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 I think in what I propose, itll be entirely clear that the unitary board will be responsible for the activities of the BBC. There will be no hiding place. Ofcom would provide independent regulation and a new BBC unitary Board, led by a heavy-hitting chairman supported by a majority of non-executive directors, would represent the interests of licence-fee payers and defend the BBCs impartiality. Archie Norman, the former ITV chairman, has been mooted as a possible candidate for the post which would now effectively be a full-time job. Regulation over issues such as impartiality, offence, and the BBCs impact on the commercial marketplace should be handed to Ofcom, since it already enjoys some powers over the BBC and has the experience and credibility to oversee the UKs biggest public service broadcaster. Ofcom could fine the BBC in exceptional circumstances, extending powers it already possesses. Sir David said the relationship between Ofcom and the BBC could become combative. I dont expect Ofcom to bash the BBC for the sake of it but I expect it to be pretty tough. The relationship would be one of mutual respect, he said. Ofcom would issue the BBC an operating framework, which would set out the obligations placed on the BBC. The BBC should handle complaints in the first instance with Ofcom handling appeals on editorial issues. The BBC receives 250,000 complaints a year, compared to the 25,000 Ofcom receives. Sir David said he expects Ofcom would receive some funds from the licence fee to cover the cost of its additional regulatory responsibilities. The BBC Trust has previously questioned whether Ofcom is equipped to regulate the BBC, because it is held to a different standard of accuracy and impartiality than the broadcasting watchdog applies to commercial rivals. Rona Fairhead, BBC Trust Chairman, said she had argued for a strong BBC board and an external regulator. It will be important to get the details right, and we now want to work with the Government to ensure roles are clear, the structure is effective and the BBCs independence protected, she said. A BBC spokesman said: If delivered, these proposals will bring about the most significant change in governance and regulation of the BBC in its lifetime. A move to a single external regulator with strong powers will provide assurance to the market that the BBC is independently regulated. However Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said the union was unconvinced that the regulatory oversight of the BBC should be passed wholly to Ofcom. It has allowed news and current affairs to be chipped away and we fear it will not safeguard the BBCs future news output. Whatever structure replaces the Trust must have a robust policy on whistleblowers and it must act as a watchdog to ensure full diversity in front of and behind the camera. Wayne Nygaard Wayne Nygaard, 66, Bismarck, formerly of Tioga, passed away Feb. 25, 2016, at his home after a valiant battle with cancer while under the care of hospice. Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, at Bismarck Funeral Home. Interment will be at North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Visitation will be held one hour before the service at the funeral home. Wayne was born Dec. 22, 1949, to Milo and Elna (Sobak) Nygaard in Grafton. He received his elementary education at Shepard School, rural Fairdale; graduated from Edmore High School in 1967; and from North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton in 1969 with a degree in diesel mechanics. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in April 1970 and served on the USS Forrestal and the USS Vulcan based out of Portsmouth and Norfolk, Va. During this time, he also worked in the shipyards and became a federally certified welder. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in May 1974. On Aug. 16, 1971, in Brocket, Wayne married the love of his life, Marja Maatta, and they began their 44 1/2 year life adventure. They had their first child, Kim, in May 1972 while living in Virginia. Wayne and Marja welcomed two more children, Amber in March 1976 and Jaden in September 1979. After moving back to North Dakota in 1974, Wayne was hired as a welder with Amerada Hess in Tioga and was soon transferred to the mechanics department, where he worked until his retirement in 2005. Wayne was also a member of Norman Free Lutheran Church, where he served as both a deacon and trustee. After retirement, Wayne and Marja traveled and spent time in Texas every winter until 2009 when he was diagnosed with cancer. They moved to Bismarck to be closer to family in November 2010. Wayne enjoyed woodworking, among his projects were a magnificent grandfather clock and a beautiful china hutch. He also enjoyed reading and spending time with his grandchildren. He is survived by his loving wife, Marja; his children, Kim (Kurt Cook) Andrews, Amber (David) Sundhagen and Jaden (Jessica) Nygaard; eight grandchildren, Jacob, Owen, Tristen, Harlee, Adam, Riley, Tucker and Deven; his father, Milo Nygaard; his brothers, Mark (Pam) Nygaard, Jon (Denise) Nygaard and Kevin Nygaard; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents; his paternal grandparents; his mother, Elna Nygaard; and several aunts and uncles. Those wishing to sign the online register book or leave a message of condolence please go to www.bismarckfuneralhome.com. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The suffragette Emily Wilding Davison is most widely remembered for her death. Davison running out in front of the Kings Horse at the Epsom Derby in 1933 with a WSPU (Womens Social and Political Union) flag pinned onto her jacket imprinted her name into history. The 40-year-old was a member of the WSPU, dubbed by members of the press at the time as the 'Suffragettes'. A more militant faction of the womens suffrage movement than the National Union Of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), the group gained notoriety for smashing the windows of politicians homes and landing themselves in prison where they were subject to brutal force-feeding methods. Yet the one event which proved the most shocking than any other in the history of the movement was Davisons death. Her funeral was organised by the Suffragettes and attended by those highest up in the ranks, including Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters. It echoed a state funeral procession and featured in the haunting, closing scenes for the 2015 film Suffragette starring Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter. Anne-Marie Duff and Carey Mulligan in 'Suffragette' Davison's character in the film, depicted by Natalie Press, is presented as determined, clever and ambitious. Who really was Emily Wilding Davison and what questions remain about her death? The Independent spoke to historical consultant Dr Diana Atkinson, who advised the Suffragette filmmakers, to find out more. She was capable of much more than being a governess Davison was born in Greenwich to what Dr Atkinson describes as a lower middle class family. Her education was interrupted by her fathers death which left the family with less money. After completing her education she became a governess, a position which Dr Atkinson believes she cant have been too thrilled about given her education. Of course, it was for interesting families who were well off but at this time, she was capable of much more than that, explains Dr Atkinson. Davison actually wanted to be a journalist. Davison came from a large family as her father married twice. Dr Atkinson said that in terms of a partner, there was no love in her life that Ive ever been able to find out about. 'That was her purpose, being a militant suffragette' Dr Atkinson says Davison was excited by the thought of joining the WSPU and left her job as a governess to throw herself into the cause. Her abiding love was being involved in campaigns whether it was organising or speaking or doing increasingly militant acts. These militant acts included storming the House of Commons, breaking windows and Dr Atkinson believes it was her who essentially invented setting fire to letter boxes as a militant action. She was jailed and force fed many times. You name it, she did it. That was her purpose: being a militant suffragette. Davison was familiar with top ranking Suffragettes such as the Pankhursts. However, she wasnt quite in the inner circle, where Dr Atkinsons says she aspired to be. She worked at the information department but had bigger ambitions and hoped to run her own branch. In pictures: Suffragettes Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: Suffragettes In pictures: Suffragettes suffragettes-4.jpg PA In pictures: Suffragettes suffragettes-2.jpg PA In pictures: Suffragettes Pg-3-games-getty.jpg Getty In pictures: Suffragettes Emily-Davison-(1872---1913).jpg Getty In pictures: Suffragettes 24-Suffragette-Burial-Getty_1.jpg Getty In pictures: Suffragettes suffragettes-3.jpg PA In pictures: Suffragettes suffragettes.jpg PA In pictures: Suffragettes emily5.jpg Mark Pinder The circumstances surrounding are death are still contested today Did Davison run towards the horse with the intention of attaching something to it, in an action that had tragic consequences, or was it a planned suicide? The answer is still uncertain, but Dr Atkinson believes Davison planned it. She had a jacket with a WSPU flag pinned to it, to me that seems ritualistically planned. The theories that it wasnt planned as Davison had apparently brought a return ticket are disputed by Dr Atkinson, who says it was cheaper to buy a return ticket anyway. Emily Davison lies fatally injured after being struck by the Kings horse, Anmer, in the 1913 Derby (Getty) Additionally, everyone at that time rode horses and were aware of the danger they posed. Nowadays youd be forgiven for not knowing about horses but then they were everywhere and you knew how dangerous they were. How could she have imagined stepping out as a horse galloping at x miles an hour came her way that it would have pulled up for her and not mowed her down?" It also wouldn't have been Davisons first suicide attempt, according to Dr Atkinson, who says she had suicidal moments before including a highly dangerous instance where she tried to throw herself over a prison staircase during a long sentence at Holloway prison. The last six months of her life seem to be building up to something. Her death was a big moment - she got the attention she craved". 'Her death kept women's suffrage on everybody's lips' Suffragettes in the funeral procession of English suffragette Emily Davison on14th June 1913. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Her death has gone down as a key point in the history of the women's suffrage movement. Thousands of column inches and headlines were dedicated to her passing. Much of it was negative and some individuals against female suffrage used it as ammunition to exemplify how women were unhinged lunatics who couldnt be trusted to make political decisions. Dr Atkinson doesnt think it brought women the vote any sooner, but it did remind the British government and wider world that the suffragettes werent going to stop until equality was reached. Crowds line the street as the funeral procession Emily Davison on 14 June 1913 (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) "We can't say that it pushed the cause any further forward, but it kept women's suffrage on everybody's lips." Commemoration of her death didnt stop at the extravagant funeral, which was put on by the suffragettes and attended by those highest up in the ranks. The anniversary of Davisons death was marked by the WSPU for several years, and each year this brought the issue of female suffrage to the forefront - until 1918 when married women attained the vote and in 1928 when universal suffrage was passed in the UK. Suffragette is now available to buy on Blu-ray and DVD. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Jeremy Corbyns son was allegedly assaulted while leaving a nightclub in York over the weekend. The 22-year-old University of York student allegedly suffered a cut to his eye after being headbutted, according to the Daily Mirror. The youngest son of the Labour party leader was reportedly leaving Mansion Club in the city centre after partying with friends when he was allegedly assaulted at around 4am. When contacted by the Independent, a North Yorkshire police spokesperson said: Police in York are investigating an allegation of assault on a 22-year-old man. The incident occurred at the Mansion Nightclub, Mickelgate, between 4am and 4.30am on Saturday. The victim, who suffered a cut to his eye, reported the matter to North Yorkshire Police at 1.26pm on Saturday. People news in pictures Show all 18 1 /18 People news in pictures People news in pictures 7 October 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in an ice hockey match between former NHL stars and officials at the Shayba Arena in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Vladimir Putin spent his 63rd birthday on the ice, playing hockey with NHL stars against Russian officials and tycoons EPA People news in pictures 6 October 2015 German designer Karl Lagerfeld (R) and model Cara Delevingne (C) appear at the end of his Spring/Summer 2016 women's ready-to-wear collection for fashion house Chanel at the Grand Palais which is transformed into a Chanel airport during the Fashion Week in Paris, France Reuters People news in pictures 5 October 2015 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne addresses the Conservative party conference in Manchester. The Chancellor argued that reducing the payments to people in low paid jobs would give them economic security by reducing the Governments spending deficit Getty Images People news in pictures 4 October 2015 Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston takes a moment in the centre of the field with his daughter Frankie Thurston, holding dark-skinned doll, after winning the 2015 NRL Grand Final match between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. The image quickly became the talking point of Australias National Rugby League Final and provoked a strong reaction on social media, with many praising Thurston for giving his child a toy that promotes inclusiveness and diversity Getty Images People news in pictures 3 October 2015 Pope Francis gives a thumbs-up as he greets people at the end of an audience to the participants of a meeting organized by the "Food Bank" at the Paul VI audience hall in Vatican Getty Images People news in pictures 2 October 2015 Britain's Finance Minister George Osborne (L) throws an American football as he meets with former American football players Dan Marino (2nd R) and Curtis Martin (not pictured) at 11 Downing Street in London, ahead of the New York Jets playing against the Miami Dolphins at London's Wembley Stadium on 4 October Getty Images People news in pictures 1 October 2015 An honor guard opens the door as Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a hall to attend a meeting with members of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia People news in pictures 30 September 2015 Former Mrs America Lisa Christie, who alleges misconduct by Bill Cosby, holds up photos of her younger self during a news conference at the law office of attorney Gloria Allred in Los Angeles People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Matt Damon has defended himself against claims that he instructed gay actors to remain in the closet. He had said I think youre a better actor the less people know about you and sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether youre straight or gay, people shouldnt know anything about your sexuality but an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show said, I was just trying to say actors are more effective when theyre a mystery. Right? Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Marion Cotillard has said that there is no place for feminism in Hollywood. Speaking to Porter magazine, she saidFilm-making is not about gender/ You cannot ask a president in a festival like Cannes to have, like, five movies directed by women and five by men. For me it doesnt create equality, it creates separation. I mean, I dont qualify myself as a feminist." Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Paul Walkers daughter, Meadow, is suing Porsche over her fathers death in a lawsuit that claims he was trapped in the burning car because of design flaws and the seat belt. The Fast and Furious star was killed when the Porsche Carrera GT he was a passenger in hit a pole in California in 2013. The driver, his friend Roger Rodas, also died when the vehicle burst into flames. AP People news in pictures 28 September 2015 Robert Mugabe waits to address the United Nations General Assembly. The leader of Zimbabwe reportedly exclaimed 'We are not gay!' as he criticised Western nation's "double standards and attempts to prescribe new rights that are contrary to our values, norms, traditions and beliefs. In 2013 he described homosexuals as worse than pigs, goats and birds. Reuters People news in pictures 28 September 2015 South African comedian Trevor Noah hosts the first 'Daily Show' since taking over from Jon Stewart as host. Stewart had presented the US satirical news show since 1999 and was described by Noah during the show as a 'Political father' 2015 Getty Images People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Sir Elton John may have received a phone call from the real Vladimir Putin. Mr Putin's spokesman announced he had made contact weeks after the singer was duped by pranksters pretending to be the Russian President. Getty People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was mistakenly declared as the artist who produced the Mona Lisa by Fox News anchor Shepard Smith. It was in fact Leonardo da Vinci. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 A new biography claims Donald Trump expected to be dead by 40 and never marry. The Guardian says the a new book also claims that in 1980, Mr Trump manufactured a fake vice-president of his real estate conglomerate, whom he called John Baron. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 The Dalai Lama has said that Britain's policy towards China is just about 'Money, money, money.' And asked 'Where is morality?' People news in pictures 24 September 2015 Puff Daddy secured the number-one spot on the Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings list, with the publication calculating he made an estimated $60million (39m) between June 2014 and June 2015. Enquiries are on-going to investigate the full circumstances surrounding the incident. Nobody has been arrested. Witnesses or anyone with information that could assist officers are asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 1, and speak to the Force Control Room. A spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn told the Independent he would not be commenting. Sign up for a full digest of all the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email Sign up to our free weekly Voices 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 Voices Dispatches email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Tales of tragedy written on papyrus that lay hidden for centuries in an Ancient Egyptian rubbish dump have been revealed after being pieced together with the help of a small army of citizen scientists. The stories range from a doctors report on the drowning of a 12-year-old slave girl to a rendition of the Book of Exodus in the style of a Greek tragedy allowing an unknown actor to play Moses 2,000 years before Charlton Heston got his chance in the 1956 blockbuster film The Ten Commandments. They have been reconstructed partly thanks to the help of 250,000 volunteers worldwide, who have contributed to transcribing papyrus fragments found at the site of the ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus, about 120 miles south of modern Cairo. When the Victorian archaeologists Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt dug into what looked like a sand dune there in January 1897, they found it was full of bits of papyrus that had been tossed on to rubbish tips by the inhabitants of a city that had been the ancient Egyptian equivalent of Birmingham. Grenfell and Hunt eventually uncovered a haul of more than 500,000 fragments that are now housed in the Sackler Library in Oxford and owned by the Egypt Exploration Society, London, under whose auspices the pair had travelled. But transcribing what is written on the individual pieces dating mainly from the 1st Century BC to the Seventh Century AD, when Egypt was occupied by the Greeks and Romans proved to be far more time consuming than digging them up. Charlton Heston, who played Moses in 1956, was not the first actor to play the prophet an extract from the Book of Exodus suggests the role could have been played 2,000 years earlier Between 1898 and 2012, scholars managed to transcribe just over 5,000 of the 500,000 documents. At this point, the first Ancient Lives project was piloted, allowing citizen scientists with at least a rudimentary knowledge of the ancient Greek alphabet to look at the documents online and have a go at making out the words written on them. Using algorithms devised by Oxford University astrophysicists to cross-check transcriptions with known texts and to assess the accuracy of the work of individual volunteers, the project, which went fully live in 2014, has allowed even schoolchildren to delve into the secrets of the papyri. Professor Dirk Obbink Professor Dirk Obbink, of Oxford University, the director of the Ancient Lives project, told The Independent: By allowing public access to one of the largest unfinished archaeological projects in the world, we have been able to move beyond one scholar with a papyrus and a magnifying glass, to transcribe between 100,000 and 200,000 more texts some of which had been partially eaten by worms, or used to wrap fish, or worse. The finds, due to be unveiled by Professor Obbink at the Royal Geographical Society at a meeting of the World Monuments Fund, Britain, range from official documents a 3rd Century doctors official report on the twisted and lifeless body of a drowned slave girl to the literary, including an extract from Andromeda, a lost tragedy written by Euripides and thought to have been first produced in 417 BC. That was like finding a new speech in a play by Shakespeare, said Professor Obbink. The Ancient Lives volunteers also helped discover a fragment of a long-lost rendition of the Book of Exodus, written in the style of a Greek tragedy, by a little-known author called Ezekiel, in the Second Century BC, in Alexandria. Before, we had only known about this work because it had been quoted by the [4th Century AD] Church Father Eusebius, said Professor Obbink. We didnt know for certain that a text existed: Eusebius might have made it up or misremembered it. Now we have a real copy, a long speech by Moses, in iambic trimeters, telling the history of his life and how he was discovered as a baby in the bulrushes. We can put some flesh and bones on a lost work of literature, one that was presumably performed long before Charlton Heston. Its amazing what gets thrown out in the rubbish. Egyptian artefacts on display Treasure trove: Excerpts Documents found at Oxyrhynchus and transcribed with the help of the volunteers from the Ancient Lives Project: 3rd Century AD doctors report into the death by drowning of a 12-year-old slave girl in Oxyrhynchus: From Aurelius Philantin... son of Neoptolemus Aurelius... I certify that a slave girl, by accidental death after being caught in a sluice... while swimming with her friends... twisted and lifeless body... by drowning... Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt excavating at Oxyrhynchus in 1897 (The Egypt Exploration Society) Newly discovered fragment of Ezekiels Exagoge, spoken by Moses: Then the princess with her maidservants came down to bathe. When she saw me, she took me up and recognised that I was a Hebrew. My sister Mariam then ran up to her and spoke, Shall I get a nursemaid for this child from the Hebrews? The princess urged her on. Mariam went to fetch our mother who presently appeared and took me in her arms. The princess said to her, Woman, nurse this child and I shall pay your wages. She then named me Moses, because she had taken me from the watery river-bank. In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Ancient forest, discovered in February 2014 Ancient forest revealed by storms. The recent huge storms and gale force winds that have battered the coast of West Wales have stripped away much of the sand from stretches of the beach between Borth and Ynyslas. The disappearing sands have revealed ancients forests, with the remains of oak trees dating back to the Bronze Age, 6,000 years ago. The ancient remains are said by some to be the origins of the legend of Cantrer Gwealod , a mythical kingdom now submerged under the waters pif Cardigan Bay In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Medieval royal palaces, discovered in November 2014 Archaeologists in southern England have discovered what may be one of the largest medieval royal palaces ever found buried under the ground inside a vast prehistoric fortress at Old Sarum. The probable 12th century palace was discovered by archaeologists, using geophysical ground-penetrating x-ray technology to map a long-vanished medieval city which has lain under grass on the site for more than 700 years In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered ca. 1950 The Dead Sea Scrolls are almost 1,000 biblical manuscripts discovered in the decade after the Second World War in what is now the West Bank. The texts, mostly written on parchment but also on papyrus and bronze, are the earliest surviving copies of biblical and extra-biblical documents known to be in existence, dating over a 700-year period around the birth of Jesus. The ancient Jewish sect the Essenes is supposed to have authored the scrolls, written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, although no conclusive proof has been found to this effect In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Diamond, discovered in March 2014 This rare diamond that survived a trip from deep within the Earth's interior confirmed that there is an oceans worth of water beneath the planets crust In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Whale skeletons, discovered in February 2014 Chilean and Smithsonian paleontologists study several fossil whale skeletons at Cerro Ballena, next to the Pan-American Highway in the Atacama Region of Chile In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Complete mammoth skeleton, discovered in November 2012 The first complete mammoth skeleton to be found in France for more than a century was uncovered in a gravel pit on the banks of the Marne, 30 miles north-east of Paris. Picture shows experts at work making a silicon cast of the mammoth's tusk In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Million-year-old human footprints, discovered in February 2014 Photograph of the footprint hollows in situ on the beach as Happisburgh, Norfolk In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Terracotta warrior, discovered in June 2010 Chinese archaeologists unearthed around 120 more clay figures in June 2010 excavations at the terracotta army site that surrounds the tomb of the nation's first emperor in the northwestern Shaanxi Province Jason Lee / Reuters In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Neolithic 'lost avenue' - prehistoric stone circle, discovered in September 1999 The discovery of a Neolithic 'lost avenue' was described as one of the most important finds of the last century. Since the 1700s, archeologists and historians have argued over the existence of the huge sarsen stones, which were unearthed at the site of the world's biggest prehistoric stone circle at Avebury in Wiltshire In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Byzantine mosaic, discovered in February 2007 Plans for a walkway at the centre of the furious dispute over Jerusalem's holiest site were delayed by the discovery of a Byzantine mosaic In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Ancient gold, discovered in March 2014 Gold fitting for a dagger sheath (around 1900 BC.) found near Stonehenge In pictures: 12 amazing archaeological discoveries Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799 The Rosetta Stone is a basalt slab inscribed with a decree of pharaoh Ptolemy Epiphanes (205-180 BC) in three languages, Greek, Hieroglyphic and Demotic script. Discovered near Rosetta in Egypt New fragment from Euripides Andromeda Perseus, (to Eros): Just as my father Zeus once appeared in secret when he came to Argos out of love for Danae in golden drops of rain in the bronze house in Argos and embraced her, so, in this same way, to me honouring you, give salvation from my love troubles. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Just before 10am on a rainy Thursday in southeast London, a small group of men gather in a pokey corridor inside Bexley magistrates court to await their punishment. They don't chat much and they have little in common one is in his 70s, another is a self-employed T-shirt seller, while a third is just out of prison but they share the status of convicted domestic abusers. As they trail one by one into court for a morning of sentencing, common themes emerge: alcohol, anger and then remorse and sometimes a promise that it will never happen again. But a major change in the working of the criminal justice system only becomes obvious when Karl Langridge, 41, takes his turn. He accepts that he had too much to drink in the pub before heading to the home of his business partner and brief short-term partner. He refused to leave the house when asked, then hurt her wrist when he wrenched a phone from her. So she called the police. What happened next was captured on a camera pinned to the breast of an officer that answered the call. Prosecutor Clare Carey presses the button on her laptop to transmit wirelessly the footage to a widescreen television screen in the court room. The magistrates see the flustered victim open the door and beckon the officers in. After a rudimentary search of the substantial property, officers found Langridge hiding behind the kitchen door. What then happens is hard to ascertain from the footage, but there is a scuffle as officers try to arrest him. Behave, says one officer, just before the clip ends. You're on camera, sir. Criminal record: an officer wears a new Reveal camera The footage was cited by police and prosecutors as key to why Langridge pleaded guilty, which he denies. What I pleaded guilty to, I was guilty of, he said after the hearing in which he was ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work. It had nothing to do with the body camera. But what happened in Bexley is likely to become the norm. In 2016, the Metropolitan Police will introduce the world's biggest single roll-out of 22,000 body-worn cameras. By the end of the year, the majority of front-line police officers across the country will have access to one. Published trials by Hampshire police on the Isle of Wight, Essex police, and Scotland Yard, suggest that the cameras are particularly effective for capturing evidence in domestic abuse cases. In one case, a camera captured evidence of a man who punched his partner in the face and hit her with a frying pan in front of her children. The woman gave a statement, but later withdrew it. The evidence from the video camera was enough to charge the man. In another, the camera captured the threatening demeanour of a suspect and the emotional anguish of his parents whose home had been smashed up after they refused to give him money to buy heroin. The suspect was charged and remanded in custody. But it is not the only perceived potential benefit. The largest pilot study by the Metropolitan police which led to its 3.5m investment in the cameras set out to show that malicious complaints against police would fall, oppressive behaviour by police particularly on stops and search would decline, and evidence gathering would improve. The findings of the report were mostly inconclusive, though malicious complaints against police were down. Where officers were wearing cameras, there was a 33 per cent reduction in allegations against them, said Nerys Thomas, head of research at the College of Policing. It was enough for the Mayor, Boris Johnson, to claim that our trial simply scratched the surface and, once rolled out, these cameras have massive potential to help our officers continue their great work in fighting crime and keeping our city safe. *** The market for the cameras is dominated by two companies, Britain's Reveal and the US-based Taser International. While Reveal supplies more forces, Taser bagged the world's biggest single force contract with the Metropolitan Police and followed it up with another large deal with Greater Manchester Police. I was given a demonstration of the technology at Reveal's marketing HQ on board a boat moored on the River Thames in west London. The company has experienced rapid growth across the world on the back of the expansion of body-worn cameras in the criminal justice system. Its turnover last year was 6m. It is now selling into 30 different countries and has won tenders for the police in Hong Kong and Singapore, and secured contracts with the French Ministry of the Interior, says chief executive Alasdair Field. The UK has the highest density of cameras per officer, says Field. Almost every officer in the UK within the next year will have access to a camera for their front-line duty. I would say the UK is two years ahead of the US, but they're catching very quickly. The industry's growth has not always been driven by positive reasons. President Obama demanded millions from Congress for the technology in the wake of riots that followed the shooting of black teenager Michael Brown by a white officer in Ferguson, Missouri. In Britain, the scandal of mistreatment of youngsters at G4S detention centre in Medway, Kent, prompted prison inspectors to demand cameras for all warders working in youth detention centres. The months-long saga and multimillion pound cost of the Plebgate affair could have been resolved in minutes if one of the officers had been wearing a body-worn camera. The original use of body-worn cameras was to gain better evidence, says Field. Nowadays, because of the political agenda and Plebgate, it's a bit more about keeping an eye on the officers. It's a real shame that it seems to have shifted from evidence-gathering to making sure the police are doing the right thing. The camera revolution started with a small-scale Home Office project in Plymouth eight years ago using 50 bulky camera kits. The camera unit was mounted on a headband and linked by wire to a hard drive. Officers chosen to test them reported side-effects including nausea after prolonged use. Since then, the cameras have developed into small self-contained palm-size units that clip on to police uniforms. The Reveal camera has an outward-facing screen, so it's clear to the suspect or witness that they are being filmed. It's simple to operate, with the flick of a switch. Once filmed nothing can be deleted from the unit and the information is fully encrypted. If this gets lost, stolen or forgotten on the kebab shop counter, no-one else will be able to replay that data, says Field. After recording, the unit is dropped into a multi-dock port, where the pictures are uploaded to a secure server within police buildings. An audit trail is created that shows who has used it, and when, not only useful for processing the evidence through the criminal justice system but to guard against leaks. About a fifth of the 840 police corruption cases passed to the police watchdog for investigation over three years involved the misuse or passing on of police information, according to a 2012 report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. If a celebrity was arrested and filmed, I could tell you every officer who has logged on and viewed that footage. That protects the privacy of that celebrity, says Supt Adrian Hutchinson, the lead for mobile technology at the Metropolitan Police, which is using Taser International's Axon system. *** The leak of sensitive information is a key concern of privacy campaigners. While data on the systems of the market leaders are encrypted, cameras being used by other forces still are not. The best standards should be high levels of encryption so that if they're lost, the pictures couldn't be flooded on to YouTube, says Tony Porter, the surveillance commissioner and a former police officer. At the moment there's not 100 per cent adoption of encrypted cameras. Those forces that don't yet have encrypted cameras have spoken about having very firm policies about merging and uploading as soon as possible after an event so that risk is negated. The question I ask: is that sufficient? My answer would be that it's not. All body-worn cameras used by law enforcement should be encrypted. The College of Policing sets out the rules on retaining, using and disposing of police information. The policy at the Met is that if an officer is going to make a note in their pad, then they should start filming. If the footage is not to be used for a criminal investigation or subject to a complaint against police then systems automatically delete the footage after 31 days. The College says that extremely strong justification would be needed to keep footage that did not contain evidence for any longer than that. Difficult decisions remain to be made over when footage would be publicly released, for example to trace suspects. Superintendent Hutchinson says the US experience which has a much more liberal attitude to the release of police recording information has seen huge amounts made available for potential public viewing. In one case, footage showing a child having its throat cut that was shown on television prompted a huge public backlash, according to the officer. We will not be routinely releasing footage unless it's absolutely appropriate, says Supt Hutchinson. What I don't want to see is a 15-year-old who makes a mistake which 10 years later comes back to damage their life chances. That's not fair. Senior officers at the Metropolitan Police say that they would consider showing footage to a select group of community leaders to prevent unrest if there were erroneous rumours of police wrong-doing. But if there was police wrong-doing, the guidance suggests that it might only be released if an officer was convicted of a criminal offence. Forces will need to consider how transparent they want to be, and this will be critical in preparation for high-profile incidents where BWV is available, says the Met police report, adding that routinely sharing footage may not be desirable. *** Britain's Chief Inspector of Policing, Tom Winsor, has been scathing about the police's use of technology. In his maiden speech on taking the job in 2013 he highlighted how some 2,000 different IT systems are in use in 43 different police forces. While forces buy their own gear, they do not always operate within their own force borders. When a major incident takes place, officers are drafted in from other forces, bringing their own equipment. The big two in the body-worn camera market Reveal and Taser are working on technology that will allow recordings from one system to be used by their rival's software, but it's not in place yet. The criminal justice system has a patchy record in keeping information safe. The Crown Prosecution Service which will be handling the data obtained from the cameras for court cases was fined in November after burglars stole unencrypted laptops containing videos of sex abuse victims detailing how they had been groomed and attacked. The Information Commissioner's Office said that the CPS had been complacent in protecting that information. And despite the pledge of Justice Secretary Michael Gove for a technological revolution, and the advent of the first digital courts such as Bexley, the security of the data becomes problematic once it leaves police servers stored in protected headquarters. The CPS is not yet linked up to the system and Field, of Reveal, says that a DVD player used in court would not be able to read encrypted footage. Generally speaking in the UK, not many constabularies are connected to the outside world, so the majority of them are resorting to burning DVDs it's not a restriction of our software but a restriction of the infrastructure of the criminal justice system. It's odd that when you have a connected world where the internet is ubiquitous that we're still in an age when it's difficult to get it from one part of the justice system to another. The Met says that it was committed to ending the use of the computer disk, and will send any footage used for court cases on a protected email link to prosecutors. We want to bring about the end of the disk. A disk could get lost, it corrupts, or it gets damaged, says Supt Hutchinson. *** Four years after the killing of gangster Mark Duggan sparked nationwide riots, senior Scotland Yard officers returned to Tottenham in December to explain another fatal shooting by police. Jermaine Baker, 28, was shot dead in a police operation before an apparent attempt to spring two gangsters from a prison van. The police conscious of the misinformation spread after Duggan's shooting wanted to address any concerns raised by the community. Top of the list of those concerns was the use of personal cameras by officers involved in Baker's shooting. The coroner at the inquest of Duggan concluded that if three officers had cameras on that operation, they could have avoided the difficulties and distrust that led to rioting in the capital. But at the meeting in December despite the coroner's recommendations senior officers and the police watchdog told the 150 people assembled that there was no CCTV, and no footage from body-worn cameras to show what happened. The officers were repeatedly challenged why not? When I walk the streets of London, there are thousands of CCTV cameras that pick me up when I don't want them to it's an everyday reality for us, says Stafford Scott, a campaigner who helped organise the meeting. But these are situations when we absolutely need them to win the trust and confidence of the whole of society. After Jermaine Baker's shooting, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, head of the Metropolitan police, said that his force was struggling to find kit that could be used for armed covert operations. What I'm not going to do is equip surveillance officers with kit which allows them to be identified, particularly if you've got firearms officers who I assume are going to be facing people with guns, he told journalists. But the equipment is available and being used by police forces, says an industry source. One company sells cameras that are fitted in buttons. The equipment does exist, the solutions are available, says the source who declined to be named because of the nature of his work. People are absolutely shocked and appalled that they could come back and kill someone and there's no video or audio that catches the event, says Scott. Anything that can bring greater transparency about how the police operate in these fast-moving situations would be helpful, not least to the police themselves. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Museums are spending too little to maintain the security of their collections in the face of a growing threat from the sort organised crime groups responsible for the theft in Britain of rhino horns and Chinese artefacts worth nearly 60m, a leading international expert has warned. Ton Cremers, the former head of security at Amsterdams Rijksmuseum, said that leading institutions were too slow to respond to raids targeting their collections amid claims that the Rathkeale Rovers cartel behind a spate of multi-million pound thefts in Britain and across the world were stealing for pre-arranged buyers in China. Over a period of four years, the syndicate named after the Irish town where its senior members from the Traveller community were based was linked to raids or planned break-ins at nine British museums and auction houses, including thefts from the Durham Oriental Museum and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge over an eight-day period in 2012 where antiquities worth 57m were taken. Mr Cremers, a consultant who now runs the Museum Security Network, said that museums across Europe were lethargic in reacting to thefts at other institutions and wrongly blamed reduced funding for an inability to increase spending on improved anti-theft measures. He told The Independent: In general museums are far too slow in taking security measures after incidents in peer museums. They always use lack of funds as an excuse for what really is lethargy. However, there always are plenty of funds to make fancy exhibitions, publish colourful catalogues. Museums that complain about not [having] enough funds to update security know that their security is not up to standard but continue displaying very valuable objects, many of which are loans. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA 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 In Britain, several museums removed rhino horns from display, replacing them with replicas, after receiving security advice that such items were at risk of theft. The advice followed raids including a bungled attempt in 2012 to steal a whole rhino head from the Castle Museum in Norwich, which proved too heavy for the thieves, causing them to drop it as they tried to flee. Experts have underlined that the Rathkeale group, whose members were among 16 people convicted for involvement in thefts in Britain, had been stealing in the knowledge that they had a ready market for their plunder in the Far East. Horn from endangered rhinos is prized for its fictitious medicinal properties in places such as Vietnam, fetching up to 45,000 a kilo, while antique jade is highly-prized in China, where wealthy buyers fuel demand to repatriate art works from Europe and North America. Members of the Traveller family identified as senior planners for the Rathkeale syndicate used a Hong Kong-based middle man, Chi Chong Donald Wong, to funnel the stolen goods to buyers in the Far East. Chris Marinello, chief executive of the London-based Art Recovery Group, said: This wasnt so much theft to order as theft in the knowledge that there was a ready market for what had been taken. The thieves would know that they wouldnt be able to offload stolen goods on the London market, so instead they look to places that remain largely unregulated such as Russia, China and the Middle East. While proceedings against the rhino horn thieves have now been concluded in Britain, the American authorities have confirmed that their investigations continue. Operation Crash, led by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), has so far resulted in 27 convictions and the confiscation of goods worth $5.5m (3.9). A number of extradition requests are understood to remain outstanding. In a statement, the FWS said: Operation Crash is an ongoing investigation. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The families of the Omagh bomb massacre have reacted with fury after the criminal prosecution against the suspected mastermind of the Real IRA attack which killed 29 people was abandoned. Bricklayer Seamus Daly, 45, once described by a High Court judge as a foot soldier for the dissident Republican terrorist group, walked free from Maghaberry prison after all charges against him were dropped due to flaws in evidence from a key witness. He had been in the Northern Ireland high security jail awaiting trial for two years. It is now highly unlikely anyone will ever be held criminally responsible for the atrocity the worst single terrorist attack during The Troubles. Recommended Read more Omagh bombing murder case collapses over lack of evidence Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was killed in the car bombing on 15 August 1998 and who has campaigned tirelessly for almost 20 years to try and achieve some sense of justice, expressed outrage that families were kept in the dark amid reports of an imminent collapse of the prosecutions case. Here we are again after 18 years, extremely disappointed," he said. "We have been failed once again by the police service, by the prosecution service, by the government and by the criminal justice system. And this is probably, or was probably, the last chance for justice. Unfortunately now thats not going to be the case. Dalys defence had protested throughout the lengthy legal proceedings that he had no case to answer. A crucial moment which ultimately led to the collapse at Ballymena court in Omagh came last month at a pre-trial hearing when the evidence against him was tested and prosecution star witness Denis OConnor contradicted himself under cross-examination. Seamus Daly released The builder, from Kilkenny in the Irish Republic, claimed he received a call from Daly around 20 minutes after the bomb detonated. However, Mr Gallagher said it was obvious after listening to him in court that the case was going nowhere. Dalys lawyer, Peter Corrigan, said the case against his client was paper-thin and based upon a witness who was himself arrested as part of the bombing probe. He claimed Mr OConnor gave an account to Irish police in 1999 and had given three or four other versions meaning words could not be relied upon. As well as the 29 murder counts, Daly had faced charges of causing the Omagh explosion and possession of a bomb with intent to endanger life or property. He was further charged with conspiring to cause an explosion and having explosives with intent in connection with a separate dissident republican bomb plot in Lisburn in April of the same year. The aftermath of the car bomb attack in Omagh in 1998 (PA) Mr Gallagher said he regrettably agreed that the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) was left with no other option than to drop all the charges. This was a difficult case and hinged on the testimony of one individual and that one individual did not seem to be up to meeting the test needed to put someone behind bars, he said. Mr Gallagher said he was trying to contain his anger and channel it positively into seeking the truth. We need some answers, we need to know what went so drastically wrong 18 years on - conviction after conviction has failed in Omagh and yet there is so much knowledge about Omagh. If there is any decency in society, in the people that manage our state, they need to work together to get the truth to the families of what happened. Michael Gallagher, father of one of the victims, said the families still need answers (PA) He said most families had given up on achieving justice. It will be difficult for all of them but also very difficult for all those other victims out there who are expecting answers. Daly, originally from Cullaville, County Monaghan, always denied involvement in the attack whose victims came from both sides of the Irish border, England and Spain. The youngest victim, Maura Monaghan was just 18 months old, while her mother Avril, 30, was pregnant with twins when she died in the blast. The then Prime Minister Tony Blair called the atrocity an appalling act of savagery and evil and the strong international condemnation which followed turned many RIRA sympathisers against then in favour of the peace process. Former Northern Ireland Secretary of State Peter Hain told the BBC the whole case raises criticism of what he called a piecemeal approach in dealing with Northern Irelands recent past. Sadly it, too often, neither brings justice nor truth for the victims or all concerned, he said. Northern Ireland is not really confronting and dealing with its past properly. An aerial view of the devastation caused in Omagh, at the junction of Market Street and Dublin Road, in 1998 (PA) A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service said: On behalf of the PPS, I extend our sympathy to the families affected by the Omagh bomb. We understand how difficult this decision will be for them. We hope they are assured that this decision was not taken lightly but is required in accordance with our duty as prosecutors to keep a decision under review and to discontinue criminal proceedings when the Test for Prosecution is no longer met. Seamus Daly, and the three other men found responsible for bombing in civil court In June 2009 the landmark civil case taken by victims relatives eight years previously concluded with Michael McKevitt, who was then already serving a 20-year sentence for directing terrorism for the Real IRA, to be responsible for the attack. Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Daly were also found to have been responsible for the bombing. A fifth man, Seamus McKenna, who died in July 2013, was cleared of involvement. The four were ordered by Belfast High Court Judge Mr Justice Morgan to pay 1.6m in damages to the Omagh families. The case had made legal history when the judge crossed the border to hear evidence from gardai at a court in Dublin. Seamus Daly was released from Magheraberry Prison on Tuesday (Getty) (Getty Images) At the time the relatives said the ruling had brought them a measure of justice yet seven years on they are still pursuing the money. Murphy and Daly faced a civil retrial after successfully appealing against the original finding, but in March 2013 the second trial delivered the same outcome as the first. The evidence linking him to the Omagh bombing was described as overwhelming by judge Mr Justice John Gillen, one of Northern Irelands most senior judicial figures. Daly had been connected to mobile phones used during the bombing. The judge said: Given the strength and quality of the evidence, I have determined that both defendants were involved in assisting the preparation, planting and detonation of the bomb in circumstances where those involved in assisting those acts would be joint tortfeasors (individuals who committed a wrongful act injuring another person). Omagh bombing: A timeline 15 August, 1998: A 500lb bomb rips through Market Street, Omagh, killing 21 people instantly and injuring more than 300. Eight more die of their injuries later in hospital. 7 September, 2000: The inquest into the Omagh bombing begins. 18 October, 2000: Gardai arrest three men in connection with the bombing. They are released without charge two days later. 23 January, 2002: Colm Murphy is found guilty by the Dublin Special Criminal Court of conspiracy to cause the Omagh bombing. Jailed for 14 years, he is the only person yet convicted in connection with the explosion. 26 July, 2002: The families of the Omagh bomb victims begin a landmark civil action against two men suspected of being responsible, Seamus Daly and Seamus McKenna. 23 April, 2004: Preliminary hearing at the high court in Belfast. 21 January, 2005: Murphy has his conviction overturned but will face a retrial. 26 May, 2005: Sean Hoey is charged with multiple offences including 29 counts of murder. Goes on trial in September. 20 December, 2007: Hoey found not guilty. 7 April, 2008: Nineteen relatives of victims start a civil action against Michael McKevitt, Daly, Murphy, Liam Campbell and McKenna. All five men deny they had any part in the bombing. 8 June, 2009: McKevitt, Daly, Murphy and Campbell are found liable for the bombing and ordered to pay 1.6 million in damages to 12 relatives. McKenna is cleared of any involvement. 13 January, 2010: Retrial of Colm Murphy begins at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin on a charge connected with the Real IRA bomb in Omagh. Acquitted a month later. 20 March, 2013: Murphy and Daly are again found liable for the bombing having appealed. 8 April, 2014: Daly arrested and later remanded in custody. 1 March, 2016: Prosecutors drop all charges against Daly after the evidence provided by a civilian witness was called into question. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Traveller who allied himself with the rights campaigners Vanessa and Corin Redgrave to fight the closure of Britains biggest illegal Traveller site can be named today as a key organiser in a global rhino horn smuggling racket. Richard Sheridan, 47, fought a 10-year battle against attempts by the authorities to clear Dale Farm in Essex, securing the backing of two members of the acting dynasty. Sheridan also travelled to Geneva to address a UN committee and persuaded them to call for a suspension of the eviction of 400 people. The whole situation is really about planning, said the Oscar-winning actress and activist in one of her visits to the camp. Theres no crime being committed. Many of the families at Dale Farm had their roots in Rathkeale, the Co Limerick town identified by law enforcement as the focal point of the organised crime gang behind Europe-wide antiquities and rhino horn thefts. Travellers started to move to the site on the green belt near Billericay, Essex, in 2001 and efforts to remove them started almost straight away. Families fought against their eviction on medical and personal grounds. Despite the support of the Redgraves and the UN, the camp was demolished in 2011 with many of the families moving to Smithy Fen in Cambridgeshire. It was there Sheridan was arrested during the 2013 police operation targeting the ringleaders of the British museum raids. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email 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 Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A factory in Lancashire which manufactures plastic carrier bags has closed, with owners blaming the introduction of a 5p charge in shops last year. Up to 40 workers at Nelson Packaging have reportedly been made redundant, and management hit out at the new legislation for causing a reduction in demand. The five pence charge on plastic bags in shops, introduced in England in October, came after successful trials of similar measures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. BBC News reported that the workers in Nelson, Lancashire were asked to leave immediately once the news was broken last Wednesday. Michael Flynn, managing director of factory owners Intelipac, said: "This was an outcome primarily of the English bag legislation and the corresponding impact on customer and retailer demand for plastic carrier bags. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA 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 Added to aggressive overseas competition this ultimately proved too devastating for the ongoing viability of the business, despite the continued efforts of the loyal workforce, he said. Some workers expressed their shock at the decision. "It's daunting as I have no interview skills, Robert Copeland, a worker and Union representative who began working at the factory in 1986, told the BBC. I'm 49 years old and I've got to now go into a new working environment and start again. It is scary. He added: I was 19 when I started and you were seeing the children of people you have been working with for 30 years starting to come through so you had parents and children [at the factory]. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email 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 Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Residents in Scotland have been intrigued by a mysterious bright flash that lit up the skies over Aberdeen and Inverness on Monday evening. The phenomenon was described as a "huge flash of bright blue light" by one local resident, and others reported that it was accompanied by a loud sound. Seen at around 6:45pm on Monday, there was speculation it could have been a sonic boom. However the majority of people believe it was a meteor breaking up in the atmosphere. Police Scotland said they received numerous calls from residents reporting the sighting. Although they were unable to confirm what it was, they ruled out an aircraft being in distress. Bill Addison, from Moray, told The Independent about the moment he spotted the flash: "I was driving in my car from Cullen to Buckie in Moray, just before the village of Arradoul and there was a huge flash of bright blue light, followed by the meteor falling from the sky." Other people took to social media to describe the sighting. On Facebook, Mark Dammer said: "I noticed the sky suddenly lighting up extremely bright for a few seconds." "The light was flickering and in a blue-green colour. After about three to five minutes, I could hear two explosions. It sounded like a very low frequency rumble coming from a great distance." On Twitter, Strathspey resident John Poyner suggested the phenomenon could have been a small asteroid breaking up. Garry Hunter described it to BBC Scotland as a huge fireball-like trail across the sky. He added that it seemed to explode and light up the whole sky. Sean Batty, a weather forecaster for STV, said he had received tweets from residents located in the north and east of the country, "with people reporting a loud bang and a large flash in the sky". Perseids meteor shower around the world Show all 9 1 /9 Perseids meteor shower around the world Perseids meteor shower around the world meteor-7.jpg EPA Perseids meteor shower around the world meteor-2.jpg Getty Images Perseids meteor shower around the world 635004.bin Getty Images Perseids meteor shower around the world meteor-5.jpg EPA Perseids meteor shower around the world meteor-8.jpg AP Perseids meteor shower around the world AN26102353epa03821652-A-sho.jpg EPA Perseids meteor shower around the world meteor-3.jpg AP Perseids meteor shower around the world meteor-9.jpg EPA Perseids meteor shower around the world meteor-4.jpg Getty Images "There are no thunderstorms being reported anywhere in Scotland [on Monday evening], therefore this is not due to a flash of lightning. My only conclusion would be that this is indeed a meteor which has burned up and exploded during entry into our upper atmosphere." Lee Schofield, from the Highland and Islands weather group, told The Independent: "It was most probably a meteorite which came into the earth's atmosphere - it is unusual for them to come so close to earth as this one did." "The noise that people heard was it breaking up as it entered our atmosphere. Here in Carrbridge we saw it very clearly as a bright blue light for three or four seconds at 6.45pm followed by a distinct burning smell in the air for a few minutes after. He added that it was "a very interesting event, one I have not witnessed in my 42 years". Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email 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 Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Only a handful of far-right protesters have turned up to stage a hapless demonstration outside one of Londons largest mosques. Fewer than 10 members of Britain First - including deputy leader Jayda Fransen - showed up to picket the East London Mosque in Whitechapel. During the protest which started at 11am on Tuesday, two men unfurled a Britain First banner while Ms Fransen held up a Christian cross and shouted We want our country back. The trio were only there for around 20 minutes - leaving shortly after police arrived. Ms Fransen is seen arguing with a police officer, asking him if it is within [his] job description to come and mock a Christian whos preaching in the street. She then calls the police traitors for turning against Christians in a Christian country. She claimed it was [her] duty as a Christian to save fallen souls from the damned. Men are observed filming the incident and laughing at the group - though some indistinct shouting can be heard off camera. Britain First controversies Show all 8 1 /8 Britain First controversies Britain First controversies 20 November 2014: Britain First claims credit for success of Ukip campaign With the Tory defector Mark Reckless forecast to win the hotly-contested by-election in Rochester and Strood, Britain First suggested they only campaigned to bolster the Ukip campaign. Prior to the start of the vote some bookmakers had Nigel Farages party as huge 1/100 favourites to take the seat, which would make Mr Reckless their second MP at the expense of the Conservative Party. And with things going so smoothly for Ukip, the far right-wing group Britain First has tried to claim some of the credit Britain First controversies 5 November 2014: Britain First accused of hijacking the poppy as Remembrance Day approaches to promote its own agenda The far-right group used the symbol, which is a registered trademark of the Royal British Legion, on its website masthead and in Facebook posts driving more people to its page. It is seen alongside Britain Firsts logo telling people to take our country back and crudely superimposed into the centre of the European Union flag with a message about national sovereignty. Members of opposition group Exposing Britain First believe many Facebook users are sharing poppy posts without realising who it comes from or what they stand for Britain First controversies 28 October 2014: Britain First accuses Ukip of 'playing political game' with snub over Rochester photo Britain First accused Ukip of playing the political game after Nigel Farages party reprimanded its campaigners for posing for a picture with members of the far-right group. A spokesperson for Ukip said the picture, taken while both parties were campaigning for the Rochester by-election on Saturday, was a mistake would not happen again Britain First controversies 25 October 2014: Britain First starts 'direct action' on Mail and Sun journalists over Lynda Bellingham post Britain First encouraged its followers to boycott the Daily Mail and The Sun after it was accused of using actress Lynda Bellingham's death to boost support. The party has threatened to launch "direct action" on the journalists after they said that the group used the cancer victim's death as a way to gain more attention on social media. Britain First posted a photograph to their Facebook subscribers of Mrs Bellingham with co-star Christopher Timothy, above the caption: "RIP actress Lynda Bellingham. Britain First", which garnered more than 6,000 'likes' and 500 shares Britain First controversies 28 July 2014: Britain First founder Jim Dowson quits over mosque invasions and 'racists and extremists' The founder of Britain First resigned from the far-right group over its provocative and counterproductive mosque invasions. James Jim Dowson, a former British National Party (BNP) member and anti-abortion campaigner, announced his departure on 27 July 2014. While Britain First blamed media pressure and family issues for the decision and said he would be missed enormously in a saccharine post, Mr Dowson publicly shamed the groups tactics as unacceptable and unchristian Britain First/Facebook Britain First controversies 15 July 2014: Britain First 'battalion' invades mosque demanding removal of 'sexist' entrance signs A self-styled battalion of the far-right group Britain First invaded a mosque in south London. The stated aim of the altercation was to demand the removal of sexist signs outside the Crayford Mosque. The signs designate separate entrances for men and women, so they can enter for segregated worship as is the custom in most mosques. Men and women also sit apart in Orthodox Jewish synagogues and some Sikh gurdwaras. A film of the encounter was posted on Facebook, set to dramatic drumming music and ending with the slogan: "Britain First Defence Force. No fear. No retreat. No surrender." Britain First/Facebook Britain First controversies 27 June 2014: Britain First's Facebook page taken down for 'hate speech' Britain Firsts Facebook page was taken down for hate speech only to be restored again an hour later. Facebook claimed the extremist groups page was taken down by mistake but a screenshot posted by anti-fascist campaigners Hope Not Hate seemed to show the social media site had removed Britain First in response to a complaint. With almost 500,000 likes Britain Firsts page has a following that far outstrips the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats, arguably making it the UK's biggest political site Britain First controversies 27 April 2014: Inquiry over far-right Britain First party's use of Lee Rigby slogan on voting slip The election watchdog faced an inquiry over its decision to allow a far-right party to use a slogan referencing the murdered soldier Lee Rigby. The Electoral Commission apologised for allowing Britain First to use the description Remember Lee Rigby on voting slips for next months European elections but Jenny Watson, the chair of the commission, said on Sunday that an immediate and full independent investigation would follow to prevent this from ever happening again PA The caption on a video of the incident posted on YouTube, said: Another hapless Britain First protest outside the East London Mosque today. Last time they entered the mosque and trampled over the carpets, before running off when a traffic warden approached their illegally parked vehicle. A spokesman for the mosque, Salman Farsi, told the Evening Standard: "It was a bit worrying for us because we had a school group on a tour inside the mosque. "There was a moment when they were provoking passers-by and someone confronted them and spat in their direction, so mosque staff stepped in to move them along." Does the Republican field have the sense to change tactics when the very nature of the party and country are at stake? Ted Cruz, who bears some responsibility for the rise of Donald Trump, keeps aiming his Jimmy Swaggart-style pitch to the choir, unctuously proclaiming his status as truest, bluest conservative in the race, and as such the logical tribune of the grass roots. Cruz encouraged them to destroy the Washington cartel and boy did they listen except not to his benefit. Irony: The greatest crony/corporate Democrat in America is alive and Ted Cruzs campaign is nearly dead. John Kasich and Ben Carson are deaf to everything except their own egotism. Unlike Cruz, Marco Rubio didnt spend months praising the semi-fascist joker in hopes that the anti-establishment vote would one day drop into his lap, but he didnt attack him frontally either. He hopes that clearing the field of competitors will permit him to defeat Trump one-on-one because a majority of Republicans have voted not-Trump. But campaigns are dynamic. A winner attracts many opportunists, and Trump is on the verge of seeming unstoppable. Those hoping that Trump will say or do something to disqualify himself have surely seen by now that we are in a new world. His gaffes (I dont need to list them, do I?) have not hurt him. The more he vomits venom, the more free press he gets. While Cruz keeps impotently pounding Rubio as insufficiently harsh on immigration, Trump a corrupt Democrat promising trade wars, universal health care and war crimes is winning. If ever there were a moment for a Republican establishment a powerful cabal of donors, officeholders and power brokers to intervene, this would be it. Because if Trump is the Republican nominee, it spells the end of the party as a conservative vehicle. It will be transformed into a contemptible platform for the worst excesses of American life: using government for personal gain, bullying minority groups, undermining civil liberties and enhancing centralized power even more than has been accomplished under Barack Obama. Deluded voters who imagine they are getting the anti-Obama by voting for Trump are in for the biggest disillusionment yet. But, of course, the Republican establishment is not going to ride to the rescue, because it is itself mostly a shell. Money doesnt buy elections (see Bush, Jeb), and there is no one behind the curtain. I believe Rubio to be the most viable non-Trump candidate left. But above all, he and the others (who have plenty of money) must abandon the strategy of fratricide. The winner cannot rely on anti-Trump votes alone. He must undermine support for Trump. Cant be done? How about hasnt been tried? Of the $215 million spent so far by super PACs this year, only 4 percent has been spent against Trump. Its been the longest free ride in recent political history. Trump is not strong; hes frighteningly weak. He arguably suffers from narcissistic personality disorder meaning his wobbly self-esteem needs constant, mantra-like invocations of his own fabulousness and endless affirmation from others. He goes ballistic when suffering even the smallest slight. Hes an ignoramus. Ads should remind voters, for example, that he doesnt know what the nuclear triad is. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email 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 Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Britains largest developers have been accused of profiteering on the back of the countrys housing crisis by restricting the supply of new houses to keep prices unnecessarily high. Latest figures reveal that a record half a million homes in England now have planning permission granted but have yet to be built. The length of time it takes for developers to complete a house has jumped from 24 to 32 weeks. Ministers are increasingly concerned by the failure of developers to speed up housebuilding and there are fears that some are deliberately restricting supply of new houses to boost profits. While rates of planning permission for new homes have increased by 60 per cent since 2010 there has only been a 48 per cent increase in the number of new homes being built. Taylor Wimpey announced a record operating profit margin of more than 20 per cent yesterday as it sold more homes at higher prices. Pre-tax profits at Britains biggest housebuilder Barratt Homes have also jumped 40 per cent in the past six months to nearly 300m. When you have got housebuilders delivering, on average, 48 homes a year on some [large] sites thats not good enough, the housing minister, Brandon Lewis, said. We know they can go further. Housebuilders will talk about saturating the market. But we are aware that in too many places we are still taking 20 weeks to build a house when we can do it in three or four. New homes built by Taylor Wimpey on the edge of Didcot in Oxfordshire Housebuilders should be playing their part to ensure we deliver the homes this country needs. Ministers are understood to be contemplating new measures to force up the rate of development amid fears that they will fall short of their manifesto commitment to build one million new homes by 2020. This could include forcing developers that buy publicly owned land to commit to rapid construction as part of the planning process. Clive Betts, the Labour chairman of the Local Government Select Committee, said: I think it is clear that the big developers are building at a rate to maximise their profits rather than addressing the countrys housing need. Mr Betts added that some developments that have had planning permission were not due to be completed for another 10 years. These are private companies who are very simply trying to make money for their shareholders. They are restricting supply and the Government urgently needs to come forward with measures to address this. 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 Figures compiled by the Local Government Association show that there are now a record 475,647 homes in England which have been given planning permission but have yet to be built. In 2012-13, the total was 381,390. In comparison, the number of planning applications being approved had risen to 212,468 up from 187,605 in 2007-08 and is higher than all previous years. Peter Box, the LGAs housing spokesman, said the figures conclusively proved that the planning system was not a barrier to house building. To tackle the new homes backlog and to get Britain building again, councils must have the power to force developers to build homes more quickly, he said. A spokesman for the campaign group Generation Rent added: These are businesses out to maximise their profits so it makes sense for them to limit the supply of housing that is being built. But it shows that you cannot rely on them to fix the housing crisis. Some senior Whitehall figures are concerned that because some smaller developers went bankrupt as a result of the financial crisis, the market is now dominated by a handful of big companies reluctant to increase output significantly. This view is shared by charities such as Shelter which said one of the major problems with the industry was that it relied on a small number of big developers to deliver the lions share of the homes we need. Pre-tax profits at Barratt Homes have jumped 40 per cent in the past six months (Getty) (Getty Images) However, Mr Lewis has ruled out measures such as imposing council tax on plots that have been granted planning permission for fear that such a move could prove counter-productive. Instead, the Government believes that there is a case for trying to split up sites among rival developers to increase production rates. It is also investigating how to promote ready-made houses that could be built off site. If I go and look at a site like Didcot where they are building roughly 400 properties a year, they are doing it because there are four outlets, Mr Lewis told the select committee. If you have got a site which only has one outlet they [developers] will go back to building roughly 50 a year. Its not about whether that site can take 200 or 400 a year, its how they manage it. But Labours shadow housing minister, John Healey, said the Government could not escape the blame for the overall shortage of housing. Ministers are right to be nervous about the performance of the private housebuilders, he said. For five years theyve written developers one blank cheque after another, with little to show for it. Cutting back planning rules has meant the number of affordable homes developers build has halved, and now extraordinary plans in the Housing Bill will let them dispense with building low-cost housing altogether and build starter homes on sale for up to 450,000 instead. A spokeswoman for Taylor Wimpey said that during 2015 the company had built more homes than at any point in the past six years. Pete Redfern, the groups chief executive, said it would continue to work with stakeholders to ensure we open all sites with implementable planning and begin building as quickly and efficiently as possible. A spokesman for the Home Builders Federation said the most recent government figures showed that there were 170,690 net additions to the housing stock during 2014-15, an increase of almost 25 per cent on the previous year. He blamed the planning systems of local and central government for the shortfall in housing. As a priority, government needs to work with local authorities to speed up the planning system and ensure local plans allocate enough sites of different types and sizes that are attractive to a range of companies, he said. Its simply not credible for ministers to complain that housebuilders arent doing their bit. This is a failure of policy and a failure to see that all parts of the housing sector need to be doing much more to fix the cost-of-housing crisis. UKs biggest developers: What they earn Taylor Wimpey Market capitalisation: 6bn Pre-tax profit: 604m Profit margin: 20 per cent Chief executive: Pete Redfern Salary (including long-term bonuses) 5.8m Barratt Developments Market capitalisation: 5.9bn Pre-tax profit: 570m (est) Profit margin: 18 per cent Chief executive: David Thomas Salary (including long-term bonuses): 4.28m Berkeley Group Market capitalisation: 4.43bn Pre-tax profit: 586m (est) Profit margin: 25 per cent Group executive chairman: Anthony Pidgley Salary (including long-term bonuses): 3.38m Bovis Homes Market capitalisation: 1.29bn Pre-tax profit: 160m Profit margin: 16.9 per cent Chief executive: David Ritchie Salary (including long-term bonuses): 1.5m Redrow Market capitalisation: 1.6bn Pre-tax profit: 95m (est) Profit margin: 17.2 per cent Group chief executive: John Tutte Salary (including long-term bonuses): 1.09m Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight 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 Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Leaving the European Union would create an economic shock and be clearly more risky than staying in the bloc, Boris Johnsons chief economist has said. In an official Greater London Authority report, Gerry Lyons wrote that in the short term Brexit would likely depress economic activity, while in the long term there were higher risks to leaving than staying in. The analysis appears to directly contradict claims made in Mr Johnsons newspaper column yesterday accusing opponents of Brexit of scaremongering. I am ever more convinced that the real risk is to sit back and do nothing, to remain inertly and complacently in an unreformed EU that is hell-bent on a federal project over which we have no control, the Mayor wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper. The Mayor of London also described the Treasurys inclusion of a prediction of an economic shock in an analysis as a curious spectacle. But Mr Lyons, the GLAs chief economist, appeared to contradict Mr Johnson in a new report, London: The Global Powerhouse, released on Tuesday morning. Leaving the EU would be an economic shock. Most, if not all, economic shocks depress economic activity, the report states. Thus economic forecasts that focus on, say, a couple of years ahead would tend to show that leaving the EU is always worse than the alternative. The report examines a number of scenarios (GLA) Assessing longer-term forecasts, the economist concluded that Britain faced higher risks leaving, but that there were also some risks to staying in. Clearly these forecasts show a higher downside risk outside the EU, highlighting the importance of the policy chosen, he said. However, these forecasts also indicate there is uncertainty associated both in leaving the EU and staying in it. The Mayor of London announced last month that he would campaign to leave the European Union deepening the divisions in the Conservative party over the issue of Europe. He was ridiculed by the Prime Minister David Cameron, who appeared to suggest Mr Johnson had made the decision to further his political career within the Conservative party. What has the EU ever done for us? Show all 7 1 /7 What has the EU ever done for us? What has the EU ever done for us? 1. It gives you freedom to live, work and retire anywhere in Europe 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. What has the EU ever done for us? 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. What has the EU ever done for us? 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. What has the EU ever done for us? 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. What has the EU ever done for us? 5. It offers greater protection from terrorists, paedophiles, people traffickers and cyber-crime Another example of a lesser-known advantage of EU membership is the benefit of cross-country coordination and cooperation in the fight against crime. What has the EU ever done for us? 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. What has the EU ever done for us? 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. I am not standing for re-election. I have no other agenda than what is best for our country, he told the House of Commons. I am standing here today telling you what I think. My responsibility as prime minister is to speak plainly about what I believe is right for our country. Mr Cameron at the weekend described the idea of Brexit as a leap in the dark while George Osborne, the Chancellor, also said it would amount to an economic shock. The pairs warnings attracted the ire of Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith on Sunday who said people who made such arguments had a low opinion of the British people. Despite the new GLA report apparently contradicting Mr Johnsons stated view on the effects of Brexit, the Mayor of London signed an introduction to it, arguing that it was an excellent piece of work that will enrich the present debate and help enhance our understanding of Londons economy. Commenting on the report, James McGrory, Chief Campaign Spokesman of Britain Stronger In Europe, said: With every day that goes by, wheels just keep falling off the Boris bus. From his own Deputy Mayor saying leaving Europe would put Londoners at risk of terrorism, to his economic adviser showing exit could hammer Londons economy and jobs, the message is that Londoners are stronger, safer and better off in Europe. Boris appears to have put his own political ambitions ahead of what is best for London. As Mayor of our capital city he should be making the full-throated case for Britain to remain in Europe, and not advocating a risky and costly leap into the dark. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email 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 Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Britain has not pledged to take in enough Syrian refugees and will have to accept more, Lord Mandelson has warned. The former Labour business secretary and EU trade commissioner said Germany, which is expected to take a million refugees this year, should not be left alone to bear the burden of taking Syrians. He called for the creation of safe and legal routes for refugees to travel through and arrive in Europe and said external border policing needed to be overhauled. David Cameron has pledged to take 4,000 refugees from Syria a year over this parliament though the Government has refused to take any who have arrived in Europe and will instead draw recruits from camps near the conflict zone. Whilst Germany has done an enormous amount and taken on a huge burden, there are responsibilities for the rest of us we cannot create a situation where Germany alone is being largely expected to cope by itself, Lord Mandelson told BBC Radio 4s Today programme. Im glad that Britain has agreed to take 20,000 Syrian refugees over the next five years I suspect that will not be enough. I am glad the British government is funding Turkey and other relief efforts I suspect we will have to do more. He praised Angela Merkels moral mission in accepting Syrian refugees and said the answer to the refugee crisis was not to throw up new fences and new walls. Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Show all 15 1 /15 Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees try to bring down part of the border fence during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees try to break a Greek police cordon in order to approach the border fence at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees flee tear gas fire by the Macedonian police, after trying to bring down part of the border fence during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees try to break a Greek police cordon in order to approach the border fence at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees in the northern Greek village of Idomeni approach the Greek-Macedonian border as they try to enter Macedonia AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Macedonian riot police officers stand next to part of the border fence brought down by protesting stranded refugees and migrants during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees try to bring down part of the border fence during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees break an iron fence and throw stones from the Greek side of the border as Macedonian policemen push them back, near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February A girl cries as she flees clashes during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Refugees try to broke an iron fence from the Greek side of the border as Macedonian police stand guard, near the northern Greek village of Idomeni AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees and migrants in the northern Greek village of Idomeni approach the Greek-Macedonian border as they try to enter Macedonia AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February A man helps children to run away after Macedonian police fired tear gas at a group of refugees who tried to push their way into Macedonia AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February A woman carries a child on the Greek side of the border as they run away after Macedonian police fired tear gas at a group of refugees who tried to push their way into Macedonia AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Refugees run away after Macedonian police fired tear gas AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February A woman falls as refugees with their children run away after Macedonian police Getty Images Britain has also refused to take part in efforts by the EU to redistribute refugees and migrants who have arrived in heavily burdened southern European countries. Last week Martin Schulz, the Germany social democrat president of the European Parliament said Britain should take more refugees. The vast majority of refugees from the Syria conflict are in countries neighbouring the war zone in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. Overcrowded conditions and overstretched resources have however led some to make the perilous journey to Europe. Recommended Read more Mandelson breaks silence to warn of punishing Brexit cost A relatively small number of people are camped in Northern France hoping to get to Britain many of whom have connections to the UK, according to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has visited the camp. Yesterday the French authorities moved to clear the largest camp, located in Calais. Riot police used tear gas and demolition equipment to evict people sleeping there. Mr Cameron has refused to take more refugees from the camp, branding them a bunch of migrants at Prime Ministers questions last month. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight 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 Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Cambridge Universitys vice-chancellor has thrown his weight behind the campaign to stay in Europe. Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, the son of Polish refugees who was brought up in Wales, warned of the risk to thousands of students studying in Europe if links were severed. He said that 200,000 UK students currently studied in Europe underr the Erasmus programme - and that those who had been on it were 50 per cent more likely to avoid long-term unemployment. Recommended Read more Mandelson breaks silence to warn of punishing Brexit cost In addition, he added that 60 per cent of scientific research emanating from the UK had been produced with the help of a European co-author to the research. Collaboration between European nations had also produced major health - saving initiatives in the treatment of diseases like Ebola - which he doubted whether the UK could have managed on its own. !n short, I cannot identify a single persuasive reason to recommend leaving Europe, he added. Sir Leszek was addressing a meeting of the Higher Education International Forum. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight 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 Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} British exporters would face trade tariffs of up to 20 per cent on goods such as cars, whisky, pharmaceuticals and fashion sold around the world if the UK pulled out of the European Union, the former Trade Commissioner Lord Mandelson will warn on Tuesday. In his first intervention in the referendum debate, the Labour peer will claim that the UK could not only lose access to the single European market but could also lose the EUs preferential trading status in foreign markets. In retaliation, he will warn, the UK might also have to raise tariffs on imported goods pushing up the cost of foreign imports while new trade deals are agreed. This he will claim would be harder than those in favour of Brexit think, as after years in the EU the UK has no real trade negotiating capacity. While Lord Mandelson has always been an ardent pro-European, his views nonetheless carry weight as the man responsible for overseeing all EU trade deals between 2004 and 2008. In trade you need bargaining chips in order to negotiate benefits in exchange and Britain is already a relatively open economy, he is expected to say. Losing the EUs preferential trading benefits in foreign markets could mean new tariffs of 10, 20 per cent or sometimes even more on key UK exports, such as cars, machine goods, whisky and textiles. We would end up having to sacrifice sensitive positions in order to secure these deals. Brexit impact is 'baloney' Lord Mandelsons comments came as David Cameron sought to dismiss allegations that the Remain campaign amounted to little more that project fear. In a question-and-answer session with students, the Prime Minister denied he was fighting a negative battle and insisted that he was only interested in project fact. This is not about raising concerns and worries which arent there. They are real concerns and worries based on fact, he said. Mr Cameron also raised the issue of trade deals, pointing to the length of time it took Canada and Switzerland to negotiate free-trade agreements with the EU. He added that major economies would negotiate deals with the EU first and the UK second. It will take at least two years to work out our relationship with the EU, he said. The Prime Minister also invoked the success of the EU in rebuilding Europe after two world wars and bringing nations together. I never forget when I sit round that table often at meetings that can be very frustrating with 27 other countries I never forget that 70 years ago we were butchering each other in the continent of Europe, in two world wars, and now we talk with each other and try to resolve issues, we try to get things done for the good of our country, for the good of our continent. Meanwhile in Westminster the row continued over the decision not to give anti-EU ministers access to government papers related to the referendum. On Sunday a Downing Street spokesman said that the only papers that would be withheld were those specifically relating to the EU referendum.But it later transpired that official advice to civil servants said that all documents with a bearing on the referendum question should not be shown to those ministers in favour of Brexit. The Cabinet Secretary, Jeremy Heywood, will be questioned on the edict by MPs on Tuesday, but he has already been accused of acting in an unconstitutional manner by the employment minister, Priti Patel. It is important that the Civil Service maintains impartiality during the EU referendum, she said. Secretaries of state are responsible for their departments. For an unelected official to prevent them being aware of the information they need for their duties is wrong. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email 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 Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Ministers have decided not to introduce monetary charges for freedom of information requests, following a review of the policy. Under the Freedom of Information Act, introduced in 2000, any private citizen can request any information held by a public body, subject to certain restrictions. FOI is regularly used by campaigners and the media to scrutinise the Governments activities, at both a local and national level. Officials and ministers have however complained that the extra scrutiny the Act provides does not give them a safe space to discuss things without the public knowing about it. Tony Blair has said he regrets introducing the law, describing himself as a naive, foolish, irresponsible nincompoop. The Government set up a Freedom of Information Commission last year to look at the policy and how it might be changed. One of the ways proposed to water down the transparency rules was to introduce fees however this has now been rejected. 9 things we only know because of the Freedom of Information Act Show all 8 1 /8 9 things we only know because of the Freedom of Information Act 9 things we only know because of the Freedom of Information Act Hinkley B Working for the Stop Hinkley campaign group, nuclear engineer John Large analysed papers that revealed cracks in the graphite bricks that are part of the nuclear reactors core. Getty 9 things we only know because of the Freedom of Information Act Tasers BBC Radio 5 Live obtained figures from the Home Office Taser database which showed that more than 400 children had Tasers drawn on them in 2013 38 per cent higher than 2012. Oli Scarff/Getty Images 9 things we only know because of the Freedom of Information Act Incinerated foetuses The Sunday Times reported that British hospitals, including Addenbrookes in Cambridge, incinerated miscarried and aborted foetuses as clinical waste. 9 things we only know because of the Freedom of Information Act Sir Cyril Smith An investigation by the Manchester Evening News uncovered secret files showing how the late Liberal MP confronted police at Rochdale police station and tried to dissuade them from investigating claims that he had been sexually abusing young boys. This was one of countless examples of the local and regional press using FoI to great investigative effect. Getty 9 things we only know because of the Freedom of Information Act Afghan civilian victims A series of FoI requests by The Guardian and Channel 4 have resulted in the emergence of information that would otherwise have remained secret about British troops alleged involvement in the killing or wounding of around 100 Afghan civilians. Much of the information related to compensation paid by the MoD to victims families. AP 9 things we only know because of the Freedom of Information Act Michael Gove A long-running battle in 2011 and 2012, between journalists and the Department for Education, culminated in the resignation of an aide to Michael Gove, Dominic Cummings, in 2013. The DfE had been criticised over the use of private email accounts for departmental business, an obstructive approach to Freedom of Information requests, and aggressive communications to journalists. Getty Images 9 things we only know because of the Freedom of Information Act Black spider memos A long-running legal battle, relating to claims of royal and ministerial exemption from FoI, culminated in the publication this year of correspondence in which the Prince of Wales lobbied ministers on subjects ranging from homeopathy to the Patagonian tooth fish. Getty 9 things we only know because of the Freedom of Information Act MPs expenses The publication by The Daily Telegraph in June and July 2009 of leaked details of MPs expenses was the last, spectacular act in an investigative saga that began in 2005 with two separate FoI requests by the journalists Heather Brooke and Jon Ungoed-Thomas. AP After 10 years, we took the decision to review the Freedom of Information Act and we have found it is working well, Cabinet Office minister Matthew Hancock said. We will not make any legal changes to FOI. We will spread transparency throughout public services, making sure all public bodies routinely publish details of senior pay and perks. After all, taxpayers should know if their money is funding a company car or a big pay-off. The Government which has a slim majority and could face defeat over any controversial proposals says it will not legislate to change the Act. In September newspapers including the Independent, Guardian, the Daily Mail, Metro, Evening Standard, the Sun, Times, Telegraph and Mirror group, signed a joint letter addressed to the Prime Minister asking him not to water down the law. Britains top civil servant, the Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood, also said he opposed significant changes to the Acts powers and instead favoured clarification. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email 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 Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Conservative Cabinet minister has been accused of using smears and insinuation to attack Labours candidate for Mayor of London on account of his Muslim faith. Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, claimed that Mr Khan had spoken alongside extremists despite the Labour MP having in fact dedicated years to fighting radicalisation. A spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain told the Independent Mr Fallons comments illustrated that Muslim politicians still faced attacks that played to prejudices about their religion and that that Mr Khan should be judged on his record rather than his faith. When British Muslims take part in politics and in the democratic life of our country, they deserve to be treated fairly and not be subject to smears that they are somehow closet extremists, the MCB spokesperson said. The Conservative peer Sayeeda Warsi once described Islamophobia as having passed the dinner table test, and this is a case in point, where the loyalty of British Muslims and Muslim politicians is questioned. By denying Muslims their obligation and right to take part in our democracy, we risk doing Daesh's work who, likewise, are keen for Muslims to turn their back on democratic politics. Sadiq Khan deserves to be scrutinised on his record and policies, not smears by insinuation. Mr Khan has in fact previously criticised the Government for not being tough enough on extremism arguing that the Government had identified the problem but done nothing to fix it. The row follows an allegation from Mr Khans campaign that a speech in which Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith described the Labour candidate as radical and divisive was coded racism. Michael Fallon made the controversial comments in a speech to Tory activists (EPA) Mr Khan was asked about his appearance at an event run by the Islam Channel on LBC radio on Tuesday and pointed out that David Cameron had done work with the same media outlet, which is available completely legitimately on Sky satellite service. Government ministers since then including Conservative ministers and Labour ministers at the time have done stuff with the Islam Channel and so, you know, like many other ministers I was invited and I attended, he told the radio station. And by the way, in the last couple of years David Cameron has done events with Islam Channel. Mr Khan was also attacked in some newspapers on the basis that his sisters ex-husband, now a high-profile lawyer, had previously held extremist views, which he has long-since renounced. The Labour candidate noted that he had not seen Makbool Javaid in 12 years. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA 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 Mr Fallons latest attack was delivered a speech to Conservative activists in which he said Mr Khan would be unable do his job. We need a candidate who can unite our city, not a Labour lackey who speaks alongside extremists, proving himself unfit to perform that role, he said, according to the Evening Standard newspaper. A man who has said Britains foreign policy is to blame for the terrorist threat. A spokesperson for Mr Khans campaign said Mr Fallon would literally say anything during an election and accused him of demeaning the office of defence secretary. The Tory campaign is in real desperation and it was only a matter of time before they went down this route so its no surprise its Michael Fallon who will literally say anything during an election, a spokesperson has said. Sadiq has consistently spoken out against extremism and terrorism. Hes suffered death threats and constant abuse from Muslim extremists throughout his life because of his mainstream views. Hes the only candidate in this election who has a real plan to put a stop to radicalisation. Attacks like this on mainstream Muslims like Sadiq only make it harder for us to fight extremists, put an end to radicalisation and beat the terrorists it demeans the office of Defence Secretary. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The woman once seen as Robert Mugabes preferred natural successor has challenged Zimbabwes President by launching her own political party. Former Vice-President Joice Mujuru announced the formation of Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) with a promise to revive Zimbabwes toxic economy by repairing ties severed with the West, as infighting threatens to consume the nations political elite. The Presidents former protegee, who once described herself as like Mr Mugabes daughter, will lead the rival party to his ruling Zanu-PF. At the Harare hotel where she made the announcement Ms Mujuru known as Spill Blood during Zimbabwes war for independence from white-ruled Rhodesia was joined by former Zanu-PF Speaker, Didymus Mutasa, and former Economy Minister, Rugare Gumbo. Outside, Ms Mujurus supporters danced in the streets. Ms Mujuru, 60, served as Mr Mugabes deputy for a decade of his 35-year rule, and once was seen as his likeliest successor until she was sacked in 2014 on charges, instigated by Mr Mugabes wife, Grace, that she had led a plot to oust and even kill the President. Today is a historic day, said Ms Mujuru. This is a day of significance in our countrys political history. Mugabe's $1m 92nd birthday The widow of General Solomon Mujuru, a veteran of the liberation war who was killed in a house fire in 2011, was quick to address Mrs Mugabes claims that she had plotted against the President. I am now swearing before you that I am neither a witch nor an assassin, she said. She suggested her party would seek to overturn existing employment laws should it be elected in 2018. Its manifesto calls for a review of the so-called indigenisation legislation which has blocked foreign investment for a decade. All persons who call Zimbabwe home shall be entitled to access land and participate in its sustainable utilisation, the manifesto says. No white person can legally own farmland in Zimbabwe at present. The nation is struggling to emerge from a recession that shrunk its economy by half during the decade to 2008. It also faces its worst drought in years. Zanu-PF has nominated Mr Mugabe, 92, for re-election. Mrs Mugabe and Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over after Ms Mujurus expulsion, are rumoured to be contesting the position. Ms Mujuru said she was willing to forge alliances with other opposition groups. She was rumoured to be due to hold talks with Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change who was Prime Minister for four years under a power-sharing agreement. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} China's military equipment is now being used by more than two-thirds of African countries, a report into the military capabilities of powers around the world has revealed. According to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, in their new report the Military Balance, China has been making significant inroads into the African defence market, reflecting the broader growth in Beijings influence and investment in the continent. Using an analysis of the exports into 51 countries on the continent the IISS determined that 68 per cent of them currently use Chinese military equipment. Speaking to The Independent, the author of the research Joseph Dempsey, a research analyst who worked on the wide-ranging report, said African nations were increasinly using military exports supplied by Beijing. Recommended Read more One chart that shows the biggest arms exporters of the last five years What is interesting, he adds, is that since 2005 ten new countries on the African continent have become emergent customers for Chinese military exports. These include Algeria, Angola, Cape Verde, Nigeria, Chad, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Uganda and Ghana. In a separate report released in February by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, an independent resource on global security, it was revealed that Chinese exports of major arms excluding most light weaponry grew by 88 per cent between 2011 and 2015, compared to the earlier five-year timeframe. The country still accounted for only 5.9 per cent of global arms exports from 2011-2015, well behind the United States and Russia, by far the world's two largest arms exporters. Mr Dempsey, on the IISS report, said: China has exported to Africa for decades. Its not a phenomenon per se but were seeing more advanced equipment being exported by China, maybe because they cant get it elsewhere armed UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] to Nigeria for examplemore types that affordable from elsewhere. (Statista) Mr Dempsey added, however, that is hard to verify the quantity of sales as often the countries are not very transparent or no values are attached to them. The IISS report claims that China is capitalising on the void left in the post-Cold war era by replacing obsolete Soviet systems from the inventories of the Warsaw Pact states. Although the level of technology may not be wholly indicative of the full capabilities of Chinas defence industry nor be equivalent to Western capabilities these exports reflect the threat levels and robust operating environments of the continent, the report adds. Indeed, a significant proportion of imported Chinese equipment manufactured by state-owned industry represents government-to-government agreements often enabled by Chinese loans or agreed as part of wider infrastructure investment packages. Amnesty Internationals Arms Control Researcher Patrick Wilcken said to The Independent: Theres been a long history of irresponsible arms supplies to African countries which have then ended up being used to commit dreadful atrocities. Chinese-manufactured weapons and ammunition have spread across the continent through illicit trade, and have been found in the hands of armed groups and government forces in places like South Sudan, Darfur and the Central African Republic. China - or any other arms exporter - must not send weapons where theres a risk that they will be used to commit or facilitate serious human rights violations. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email 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 Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} In the last six months, a 90-year-old woman has seen some of the most famous landmarks in the US, including Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon. Norma, who was diagnosed with cancer last year, decided to take the epic road trip across the country rather than undergo treatment. Currently seeing the sights in Florida, Norma is travelling in a motor home with her son Tim, daughter-in-law Ramie and their pet poodle Ringo. Over Christmas, she fulfilled one of her dreams by taking a ride in a hot air balloon. Norma, from Michigan, told The Huffington Post: People shouldnt be afraid to travel. No matter your age. She made the decision to go on the trip in August 2015 after she was diagnosed with uterine cancer and was asked by a doctor about how she would like to proceed with her treatment. Norma, whose husband had died two days earlier, said: Im 90 years old, Im hitting the road. Her decision has been widely supported and a Facebook page documenting her travels, called Driving Miss Norma, has so far garnered almost 90,000 likes. In a post on the page, her family wrote about the decision to not have treatment and to travel instead. According to them, Normas doctor fully supported the idea and said: As doctors we see what cancer treatment looks like every day. ICU, nursing homes, awful side effects and honestly, there is no guarantee she will survive the initial surgery to remove the mass. You are doing exactly what I would want to do in this situation. Have a fantastic trip! Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 Show all 20 1 /20 Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 20. Museum of Old and New Australia Daniel Munoz Getty Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 19. Galapagos Islands, Eduador Getty Images Getty Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 18. Santorini, Greece Justin Foulkes Lonely Planet Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 17. Fiordland National Park, New Zealand Pete Seaward Lonely Planet Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 16. Sagrada Familia Josep Lago Getty Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 15. British Museum England Peter Macdiarmid Getty Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 14. Tikal, Guatemala Johan Ordonez Getty Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 13. Petra, Jordan Joe Windsor-Williams Lonely Planet Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 12. 12 Apostles, Australia Clarissa Cavalheiro Reuters Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 11. Fez Medina, Morocco Wolfgang Kaehler Getty Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 10. Aya Sofya, Turkey Mark Read Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 9. Alhambra, Spain Pete Seaward Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 8. Iguazu Falls, Brazil-Argentina Matt Munro Iguazu Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 7. Colosseum, Italy Justin Foulkes Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 6. Grand Canyon National Park, USA Mark Read Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 5. Taj Mahal, India Pete Seward Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 4. Great Wall of China, China Mark Read Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 3. Machu Picchu, Peru Philip Lee Harvey Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 2. Great Barrier Reef, Australia Matt Munro Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist: Top 10 1. Temples of Angkor, Cambodia Mark Read Speaking to The Huffington Post, Norma's daughter-in-law Ramie said they had no plans to stop travelling yet. She said: We have no idea where or when it will end. We are living in the present moment. Everyone has different ideas about how they want the end of their life to work. As a planet, we need to have this conversation, she told ABC News. The 2016 South Dakota Legislature has a chance to make history. If undecided lawmakers have the courage to join their colleagues and vote for Gov. Dennis Daugaards education reform package, they can help give our children a brighter future while bringing property-tax relief to homeowners, businesses, farmers and ranchers. Its a win-win scenario that would ripple through the states economy for years to come. Now, South Dakotas teachers are by a wide margin the lowest paid in the nation, making it difficult for school districts to find and keep good teachers. The problem extends to the business community, whose leaders will tell you that being ranked 51st in teacher pay hampers their efforts to recruit and retain top talent. The centerpiece of the governors proposal raises the sales tax by one-half percent and generates an estimated $67 million mostly earmarked for teacher pay and $40 million for property-tax relief. The beauty of using sales tax to pay for the plan is that about 35 percent of the money would come from tourists, rallygoers and other visitors. Meanwhile, 100 percent of the benefits would be enjoyed by South Dakotans. But, more importantly, a reliable source of funding will enable school districts to compete with other states for the teachers who will prepare our children for the future, a fundamental duty of government. South Dakota teachers earn an average of $8,000 to $12,000 less a year than their colleagues in neighboring states. Instead of receiving 20 applications for a teaching position, schools now only get two or three, if any. Once an opening is filled, those same teachers often leave after a year or two for better-paying jobs. This is happening as many veteran teachers are about to retire, raising concerns about where the next generation of educators will come from. At the same time, the governors proposal will reduce a property owners payment to the local school district by 12 percent, a savings of $14 million for homeowners alone. An increase in teacher pay also makes South Dakota a more attractive place for doctors, nurses and others in the health-care industry to work. Regional Health officials say job candidates want to be assured their children receive a quality education, but wonder how that is possible with the way we now fund education. Companies and small businesses have the same recruitment and retention concerns and wonder why they should continue investing in a state that isnt willing to invest in public education at the level other states do. The goal of the legislation is to raise the average teacher pay from $40,023 to $48,500, which some claim is too much. But the legislation does not boost all of the teachers pay to that level. In Rapid City, starting pay for new teachers with a bachelors degree is around $33,000 a year, but those newcomers will not see an immediate $15,500 pay raise. They will have to earn it by putting in their time and continuing their education. And we need them to stay here and improve their skills. In 2014, a total of 501 out of 2,793 high school graduates had to take remedial classes in their first year of college at the states public universities, imposing an additional financial burden on them or their parents. Daugaard and his Blue Ribbon Task Force have worked for months to address a problem that impacts every aspect of our lives. While the Legislature will consider other proposals to pay for education reform, none are as reliable as sales tax nor do they guarantee property-tax relief. Yet, the bar is high to raise taxes as two-thirds of lawmakers need to support it. Some are opposed to any tax regardless of the benefits to others. It is time for those lawmakers to open their minds and do what is best for the entire state, which is to vote for education reform, and for the governors sales tax proposal to fund it, both of which the Rapid City Journal wholeheartedly endorses. Rapid City Journal Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email 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 Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump has ordered dozens of black students to be removed from a campaign rally as a furore continues to rage over his failure to condemn the Ku Klux Klan on CNN. The Republican Presidential candidate was speaking at Radford University in Virginia on Monday when the group started chanting: No more hate! No more hate! Let's be equal, let's be great!" Get them out of here please, get them outget them out, Mr Trump ordered, before asking: Are you from Mexico? Protesters are escorted out of a rally for Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump at Radford University in Radford, Va., Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. (AP) Footage showed the students leaving the packed auditorium in a long column while chanting and waving Black Lives Matters posters. A Time magazine photographer attempting to get a photo as they passed was caught on camera being thrown to the ground by a Secret Service agent, causing some demonstrators to break off in concern. Mr Trump paused his speech as the disruption continued, saying: Get them out of here pleasetrouble, nothing but trouble. As the rally settled back down, he told supporters: Folks, youre going to hear it once all lives matter. 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 You have some people who are just looking for trouble and if youre looking for trouble, I dont want to talk. We have to act tough, and we have to act swiftly. Just hours later, at another rally at Valdosta State University in Georgia, another group of Black Lives Matter protesters were removed after being spotted standing on bleachers in a silent protest before Mr Trump's speech began. They claimed Secret Service agents told them Mr Trump had demanded they be removed before he started speaking but a spokesperson for his campaign later said it was not the candidates request. I think we got kicked out because were a group of black people and I guess with whats going on in America, theyre afraid were doing to say something or do something, but we just really wanted to watch the rally, one of the protesters told USA Today while being escorted away. Another young woman said the group wanted to make a statement with our attire, evoking the Black Panthers. We werent starting any trouble, we werent saying anything, we came in together as a group to see what the Presidential candidate had to offer to our campus, to our community and our country, she added. The sight of the visibly upset students being led outside by police caused discomfort university that was a whites-only campus until 1963, USA Today noted. The rallies came a day before one of the most important days in the US Presidential race, Super Tuesday, when when 11 states hold contests for the Republican and Democrat selections. Additional reporting by AP Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email 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 Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Here's what happened: Winners: Georgia: Hillary Clinton (Democrat); Donald Trump (Republican) Vermont: Bernie Sanders (D); Trump (R) Virginia: Clinton (D); Trump (R) Alabama: Clinton (D); Trump (R) Massachusetts: Clinton (D); Trump (R) Oklahoma: Sanders (D); Ted Cruz (R) Tennessee: Clinton (D); Trump (R) Arkansas: Clinton (D); Trump (R) Colorado: Sanders (D) Minnesota: Sanders (D); Marco Rubio (R) Texas: Clinton (D); Cruz (R) Alaska: Republican winner not yet determined American Samoa: Clinton (D) Please allow a moment for the liveblog to load On Tuesday, the residents of 12 US states - Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma,Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia along with American Samoa and Democratic voters living abroad, cast their vote in the primary election. Results for Wyoming's Republican caucuses will also be completed by the end of Super Tuesday, with counties having caucused in the weeks preceding the day itself. A poll published on Monday morning put Mr Trump on 49 points nationally, ahead of all his rivals combined, the Democratic contest sits at 55-38 in favour of Ms Clinton. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email 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 Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Super Tuesday, when a dozen states vote, is the biggest day of the primary season, with the largest single haul of convention delegates at stake. On this day the process of electing a president goes national. And this year it could effectively resolve both parties nomination battles. A sweep or near-sweep by Donald Trump would make it close to impossible for any Republican rival to overtake him, barring a colossal bolt from the political blue. Much the same goes for Hillary Clinton in her straight fight with Bernie Sanders. Eight southern states are among those voting. If her substantial victory in South Carolina on Saturday is a guide, Ms Clintons overwhelming support among black Americans could propel her to victory in every one of those states, including Texas, the biggest prize at stake (and where, on the Republican side, home state Senator Ted Cruz must hold Mr Trump at bay by winning, to keep his candidacy alive.) If that happens, and given Ms Clintons near monopoly of her partys 700 non-elected super-delegates at Julys Democratic convention in Philadelphia, she will be well on the way to the 2,383 total she needs for victory. Mr Sanders path to the nomination, even if he does well in non-Southern states voting now Colorado, Minnesota, Massachusetts and his home state of Vermont will be all but non-existent. A new national CNN poll confirms the Trump-Clinton ascendancy. Mr Trump has support from a stunning 49 per cent of Republicans, more than his four remaining rivals combined, and destroying any notion he has a ceiling of 35 per cent or so. Far from hitting a plateau, his support appears to be only increasing, despite the pounding he took in last weeks candidates debate and the swingeing attacks by Marco Rubio, the Florida Senator on whom the shell-shocked Republican establishment is pinning its dwindling hopes of blocking Mr Trump. Ms Clinton meanwhile leads Mr Sanders by 55 per cent to 38 per cent nationwide, upping her advantage since the previous such poll in late January, before primary voting began. Women, older voters, African-Americans and moderates side heavily with her, while young, independent and liberal voters are almost equally divided between the two. Mr Sanders says he will fight on, whatever happens today. But on the Republican side, former neurosurgeon Ben Carson is likely to drop out, barring an unexpected surge in his vote. Mr Cruz might follow him if he loses in Texas; meanwhile Ohio governor John Kasich faces pressure from party elders to withdraw, to clear the way for Mr Rubio. That pressure will only grow if, as expected, Mr Kasich loses across the board today. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} It was, the prosecutor said, a callous assault on the dignity and identity of entire populations and their religion and historical roots, as she laid out war crime charges against Mali jihadist Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi. Yet this was not about taking lives or physically torturing victims, but something unprecedented in international law: the desecration of cultural heritage. The hearing at the International Criminal Court in The Hague is the first ever to charge an individual for war crimes against a historic and cultural monument in this case, the mausoleums of Timbuktu. Mr al-Faqi, a former trainee teacher, is accused of leading the 2012 attack by al-Qaeda affiliate Ansar Dine against the 15th century historic shrines. An ethnic Tuareg, known as Abu Tourab, he sat impassively in court, wearing a collarless white tunic and rimless spectacles, with his headphones barely visible under his straggly black curly hair. He only responded once, when the courts president, Judge Joyce Aluoch, addressed him directly. Yes, I have understood the charges well, he said, in Arabic. Mr al-Faqi was among Tuareg rebels that seized Timbuktu for a few months in 2012, before French and Malian troops ousted them the following year. He was arrested in neighbouring Niger and transferred to the court last September. Recommended Read more Enforcer for Islamist rule in Timbuktu captured by Malian Tuareg As leader of the so-called manners brigade, Mr al-Faqi is accused of planning and leading the attacks on nine mausoleums and a mosque with pick-axes and iron bars. The prosecution showed video clips of him being interviewed at the time, explaining the Islamic jurisprudence behind his actions. Founded by Tuareg tribes in the 5th century, Timbuktu has near mythical status as the city of 333 saints and the Pearl of the Desert. Prosecutors noted that its destruction was among a series of recent cultural desecrations, including the razing of Palmyra in Syria by Isis; the bombing of Aleppo by Syrian combatants and Russia forces; and the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban in 2001. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Fierce clashes between riot police and refugees have erupted at the Jungle camp in Calais following the clearance of makeshift homes. Around 50 structures were demolished by the local prefecture, despite an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to prevent the operation from going ahead. The decision to clear the southern half of the camp, thought to accommodate up to 3,400 people, was announced on Thursday. Refugees in this section were woken early on Monday morning and told they had an hour to collect their possessions and leave. Mayhem in Calais camp I lost everything I had. They said I had to be out in 10 minutes, said Atif Ibrahim, a 37-year-old Sudanese man who has been in the camp for eight months. The judge on Thursday said the police would not demolish any house that had someone in it, so we thought wed be safe. The clearance began peacefully but tensions spilled over at around lunchtime. After a structure was set alight, police fired tear gas and refugees pelted them with rocks. A water cannon was deployed to extinguish the fire. Recommended Read more Calais Jungle evicted by police with tear gas and rubber bullets Hamdi Abbas, 25, from Sudan, complained of ill treatment at the hands of the police. They dragged me out and hit me, I said, this is where I live, where should I go now? During the day, local media reported the presence of 55 police vans on site, each apparently carrying around 12 officers. As darkness fell, the camp began to resemble a war zone as hundreds of additional officers flooded the area. Tear gas was fired from a motorway overpass and from empty land adjoining the camp. Hundreds of refugees flooded on to the motorway and rocks were thrown at passing traffic as smoke trails lined the sky. One volunteer described the polices approach to using tear gas as like putting on a firework display. Calais Jungle evicted by police with tear gas Another volunteer, Joe Murphy, who helps run the Good Chance theatre, questioned why the prefecture had not stuck to the soft clearance techniques they had apparently committed to at a televised press conference on Thursday. Bulldozers were used this was certainly not the soft clearance that was promised, he said. Clare Moseley, founder of the Care4Calais charity, was among those caught in the tear gas. She expressed alarm at what she viewed as heavy-handed policing. They said they wouldnt be forceful but I saw 10 policeman carry out one refugee from his shelter. The prefecture [officials] then set about them [the shelters] with sledge hammers. Riot police extinguish a fire during Monday's clashes (EPA) (AFP/Getty) After saying last week that it would be a slow process and they would work with us, that now seems to have gone out of the window. It was extremely unpleasant, especially when you consider what these people have been through already. After Thursdays announcement, no timeframe for the clearance was given but volunteers said the local prefecture had pledged that there would be no action for three weeks, giving the European Court of Human Rights time to hear the case. The appeal argues that the refugees human right to accommodation is being violated by the clearance as not enough alternative shelter is being provided. In recent weeks, a number of specially modified shipping containers fitted with beds have been installed at the camps. They are thought to have 300 spaces vacant while 700 places have been provided at reception centres around France. Some refugees have accepted these arrangements but most are reluctant. The shipping containers require fingerprints to access, raising concern that these records could harm future asylum claims in other countries. Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' Show all 8 1 /8 Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' Heavy rainfall has turned the camp into a 'swamp' The Hummingbird Project Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' Heavy rainfall has turned the camp into a 'swamp' The Hummingbird Project Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' Heavy rainfall has turned the camp into a 'swamp' The Hummingbird Project Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' People gather outside the Eritrean church at the camp The Hummingbird Project Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' Heavy rainfall has turned the camp into a 'swamp' The Hummingbird Project Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' Heavy rainfall has turned the camp into a 'swamp' The Hummingbird Project Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' A fire at the camp destroyed shelters for 180 people The Hummingbird Project Calais refugee camp is at 'crisis point' A fire at the camp destroyed shelters for 180 people The Hummingbird Project In addition, volunteers argue that the prefecture has severely underestimated the numbers living in the section they hope to clear, with a recent survey putting the population at 3,400. Many say that the refugees will simply set up smaller satellite camps. It is believed that the clearance will continue on Wednesday. The targeted section of the camp contains many of the camps volunteer-led amenities such as its legal centre and women and childrens centre. At the court hearing on Thursday, a promise appeared to be made that these facilities would be exempt from the clearance. For Mr Abbas, despite the demolition of his temporary home, his long-term goals remain as clear as ever. Ive been here for eight months, he said. Im not going to give up until I reach England. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Demolition teams flanked by squads of riot police were returning to the Calais "Jungle" this morning to destroy hundreds more refugee shelters following overnight clashes. Riot units fired tear gas at crowds of asylum seekers who reportedly threw stones and other missiles, while others were seen attempting to stop lorries heading towards the Channel Tunnel and board before being forced back off the motorway. There were no reports of serious injuries but at least three people, possibly pro-refugee activists, were arrested during the demolitions. Calais Jungle evicted by police with tear gas French authorities say around 1,000 people are affected by the eviction plan but humanitarian groups have put the total at more than triple that figure. Ginny Howells, UK emergency manager for Save the Children, described the scene at the camp as very chaotic. They are all just incredibly worried and anxious, she said. People are dispersing into the northern part of the camps - it's really just moving the problem to other camps, which are in a worse condition. No one wants the Jungle to exist but until you've worked with them, don't demolish the community structures that have been built up. Migrants watch a hut burn as police officers clear part of the 'jungle' migrant camp on February 29, 2016 in Calais, France (Getty Images) Ms Howells claimed children taking shelter in a Save the Children youth centre on the site had been affected by tear gas on Monday. She expected further clashes and more of the same as the demolition continued. It is the largest in successive rounds of demolitions aiming to destroy squalid parts of the sprawling camp, near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel and ferries to England, and move refugees away from a motorway that has seen frequent disruption and clashes as groups attempt to board lorries. Converted shipping containers complete with lights, heating and sanitation have been used to create new accommodation for 1,500 people in the camp, where conditions were previously described as diabolical. But the much-touted facility has been greeted by suspicion and distrust. In pictures: Calais crisis Show all 15 1 /15 In pictures: Calais crisis In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis Migrants climb in the back of a lorry on the A16 highway leading to the Eurotunnel in Calais Getty Images In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis Protesting French employees of the company English Channel passenger and freight ferry company "MyFerryLink" block the railway tracks of the Eurostar Channel tunnel line in Calais Getty Images In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis Protesting French employees of the company English Channel passenger and freight ferry company "MyFerryLink" block the railway tracks of the Eurostar Channel tunnel line with a burning plastic barrier In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis French riot police officers drive out protesting French employees of the freight ferry company MyFerryLink Getty Images In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis French riot police take position to drive out protesters blocking the railway tracks Getty Images In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis Passengers stranded by the cancellation of Eurostar trains wait at St. Pancras station in London. Eurostar said it has canceled all passenger trains through the tunnel that links France and England, after striking ferry workers swarmed the train line setting tires alight In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis Passengers sit on stairs after being stranded by cancelled Eurostar trains at St. Pancras station in London In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis A police vehicle drives past lorries are backed up on the M20 motorway which leads from London to the Channel Tunnel terminal at Ashford and the Ferry Terminal at Dover In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis Trucks queue up as part of Operation Stack in Dover In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis Cars queue to board a ferry in Dover bound for Dunkirk, France, as the disruption at Calais looks set to enter a second day as migrants continue to target lorries in a bid to cross into the UK In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis A police officer sprays tear gas to migrants trying to access the Channel Tunnel on the A16 highway in Calais, northern France PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis Migrants wait near the A16 highway as they try to access the Channel Tunnel in Calais, northern France PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis Striking employees of the French company My Ferry Link, a cross-channel ferry service, stand in front of tyres set on fire as they block the access to the Channel Tunnel in Calais, northern France PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis A striking employee of the French company My Ferry Link, a cross-channel ferry service, sits on a tyre in front of tyres set on fire as he takes part in a blockade of the access to the Channel Tunnel in Calais, northern France PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Calais crisis Calais crisis Striking employees of the French company My Ferry Link, a cross-channel ferry service, prepare to set tyres on fire to block the access to the Channel Tunnel in Calais, northern France PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images Some of the vulnerable refugees earmarked to move in have refused as rumours spread about why it is fenced off from the rest of the camp, requiring refugees to scan their hands to enter and leave. Authorities also say they have offered to relocate people into centres in other parts of France where they can apply for asylum but many have resisted the move, fearing it will hurt their chances of reaching Britain. Prefect Fabienne Buccio, who had ordered the camp evacuated and dismantled earlier this month, was present for the start of demolitions on Monday. Her office accused some activist groups of intimidation tactics, claiming they were manipulating migrants into refusing to accept government offers of shelter. Refugees block a truck on the highway near the so-called Calais Jungle make-shift camp at the start of the expulsion of a part of 'the Jungle' in Calais, France, 29 February 2016 (EPA) Really three houses out of four - I mean three huts out of four, or three tents out of four - were already totally abandoned with a lot of rubbish inside, she said. Migrants, she said, had the time necessary to gather their belongings. The rest was good enough to throw away. But cameras filming at the time appeared to capture daily life continuing in the shelters marked for demolition, populated by families and other groups of refugees. About 4,000 people are estimated to live in the camp - down from 6,000 in December and the refugees presence has driven far-right sentiment in both Britain and France. A judge in Lille ruled last Thursday that a partial clearance should go ahead, apart from public buildings and social spaces, including schools and places of worship. Campaigners had called for a postponement to remove people from the slum, saying that there is not enough new accommodation for people to move to. Meanwhile, the refugee crisis is reaching crisis point elsewhere in Europe as border restrictions by Austria, Slovenia, Macedonia and other nations is trapping thousands of homeless migrants in Greece after they arrive on smugglers' boats from Turkey. Additional reporting by AP and PA For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A "pregnant" refugee has slit her wrists in an apparent suicide attempt after failing to stop her makeshift home being demolished in the Calais Jungle camp. The Associated Press reported that the womanm said to be pregnant, stood on their shelters rooftop as demolition teams moved in for a second day of clearing work on Tuesday. The couple, believed to be Kurdish-Iranians, warned police not to come closer but as officers moved in, the woman sliced her wrists. Her condition was not immediately known but reporters at the scene said she was conscious as the man was beaten with batons and both were removed from the roof. Calais Jungle evicted by police with tear gas A crowd of activists were kept behind a police cordon as the eviction unfolded and could be heard crying and shouting for police to stop. The desperate scenes came as authorities continued to demolish an area of the squalid camp where thousands of asylum seekers from the Middle East and Africa are living as they attempt to reach the UK. Recommended Read more Demolition teams and riot police return to Calais camp after clashes Local councillors claim no more than 1,000 people are affected by the eviction plan but humanitarian groups have put the total at more than triple that figure after conducting their own survey. Tanya Freedman, from Help Refugees, told The Independent her groups research put the total at around 3,500 and counted the available places for relocation at just 1,156 in the whole of France. Only 300 places remain in shipping containers converted into refugee housing in Calais, she said, while much of the other accommodation being offered to migrants was in holiday camps elsewhere that will be turned back over to tourists in the spring. Inside the camps in Calais Show all 20 1 /20 Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais A Kurdish child and her father get out of their tent in the makeshift migrant camp in Grande-Synthe near Dunkerque Inside the camps in Calais Kurdish migrants works around the tents of the makeshift migrant camp in Grande-Synthe near Dunkerque Inside the camps in Calais Volunteers from Holland set up a bridge of fortune over the mud using pallets of the makeshift migrant camp in Grande-Synthe near Dunkerque Inside the camps in Calais Refugees walk among tents in a makeshift camp as containers (rear) are put into place to house several hundred migrants living in what is known as the "Jungle", a squalid sprawling camp in Calais Inside the camps in Calais A makeshift camp is seen in front of containers (rear) put into place to house several hundred migrants living in what is known as the "Jungle", a squalid sprawling camp in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais The camp near Calais harbour where refugees from the Middle East and central Asia congregate to attempt the crossing from France to the UK Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Most of the temporary residents in this camp are from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria or the Kurdish administered regions Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Camp residents cook and share food at their site just outside Calais Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais A group walk through the camp near Calais Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Most of the temporary residents in this camp are from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria or the Kurdish administered regions Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais A 16 year old immigrant from Eritrea tries to brace himself against the rain and cold by sheltering under the road bridge Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Rubbish strewn on the ground near one of the campsites Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais A man stands among the tents at the campsite just outside Calais, France Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais A camp near Calais harbour where migrants from the East africa congregate to attempt the crossing from France to the UK. Most of the temporary residents in this camp are from Eritrea. Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Graffiti depicting the dangerous journey trying to smuggle onto a lorry to the UK Rumours that migrants being relocated will be forced to apply for asylum in France, rather than continue to the UK, or face being deported were causing refugees to reject the scheme. Some people are packing their bags and leaving but they arent getting on the buses provided by the prefecture and we dont know where theyre going, Ms Freedman added. A lot of families are just moving into the northern part of the camp, theres a feeling of resignation. Around 100 tents and shelters were destroyed on Monday as angry clashes broke out and fires swept through the camp. French riot police in front of a burning shelter at the start of the demolition of a part of the Jungle migrant camp in Calais, France, 29 February 2016. (EPA) Riot police fired tear gas at crowds of asylum seekers who reportedly threw stones and other missiles, while others were seen attempting to stop lorries heading towards the Channel Tunnel and board before being forced back off the motorway overnight. Ginny Howells, UK emergency manager for Save the Children, described the scene at the camp as very chaotic on Tuesday morning. They are all just incredibly worried and anxious, she said. People are dispersing into the northern part of the camps - it's really just moving the problem to other camps, which are in a worse condition." Ms Howells claimed children taking shelter in a Save the Children youth centre on the site had been affected by tear gas on Monday. Refugees block a truck on the highway near the so-called Calais Jungle make-shift camp at the start of the expulsion of a part of 'the Jungle' in Calais, France, 29 February 2016 (EPA) She expected further clashes and more of the same as the demolition continued. It is the largest in successive rounds of demolitions aiming to destroy squalid parts of the sprawling camp, near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel and ferries to England, and move refugees away from a motorway that has seen frequent disruption and clashes as groups attempt to board lorries. Prefect Fabienne Buccio, who had ordered the camp evacuated and dismantled earlier this month, was present for the start of demolitions on Monday. Her office accused some activist groups of intimidation tactics, claiming they were manipulating migrants into refusing to accept government offers of shelter. About 4,000 people are estimated to live in the camp - down from 6,000 in December and the refugees presence has driven far-right sentiment in both Britain and France. A judge in Lille ruled last Thursday that a partial clearance should go ahead, apart from public buildings and social spaces, including schools and places of worship. Riot police extinguish a fire during Monday's clashes (AFP/Getty) Campaigners had called for a postponement to remove people from the slum, saying that there is not enough new accommodation for people to move to. Meanwhile, the refugee crisis is reaching crisis point elsewhere in Europe as border restrictions by Austria, Slovenia, Macedonia and other nations is trapping thousands of homeless migrants in Greece after they arrive on smugglers' boats from Turkey. More than 130,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Europe by sea so far this year, according to the latest UN figures, mostly Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis crossing from Turkey to Greece. Asylum seekers are arriving at roughly eight times the rate seen during the same period in 2015, which was a record-breaking year as conflicts across the Middle East and Africa drove the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War. Additional reporting by agencies For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Riot police firing tear gas, migrants catapulting missiles at lorries and shelters set on fire. The dismantling of the Jungle migrant camp near Calais has had a lurid start. Those incidents lead to the question: is the never-ending crisis in Calais about to explode into uncontrollable violence? No, says Fabienne Buccio, the calm and friendly woman who has one of the hardest jobs in France managing police, security and government policy in the Pas de Calais area. There is a largely unseen, or little reported, battle of Calais, which the French government is beginning to win, she says. We must remain humble. The problems are very great. But, yes, I think we are starting to make real progress, Ms Buccio told The Independent in her first interview with the British media. The Calais crisis cannot be solved in Calais. It can only end completely when the problems which create these great flows of mass migration are resolved. But since the autumn, we have had a clear plan, balancing the need for greater security and the need for humanity. And it is beginning to succeed. Recommended Read more Demolition teams and riot police return to Calais camp after clashes The figures support her claims. Nearly 3,000 migrants have agreed to move to reception centres elsewhere in France since 27 October. Eighty per cent of them have applied for French asylum. The number of Calais migrants accepting financial help to go home has increased sixfold since the start of this year. The population of the Jungle the patchwork of official and unofficial migrant camps north of Calais has fallen from 6,000 in September to about 3,700 and is still falling. New razor wire fences and police reinforcements mean that very few migrants are now reaching Britain illegally. Ms Buccio believes that she is on course to reduce the migrant numbers to a manageable population of 2,000. She blames this weeks violence on mostly British extremist activists in the No Borders movement and a hard core of about 150 migrants whom they manipulate. Calais Jungle evicted by police with tear gas The great majority of the migrants are co-operative and are beginning to accept that we not the extremists have their best interests at heart, she said. Ms Buccio, 56, a great admirer of Jane Austen, is the prefect, or senior national government representative, in the Calais area. There is no equivalent in Britain; think of it as an unelected, provincial governor. Inside the camps in Calais Show all 20 1 /20 Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais A Kurdish child and her father get out of their tent in the makeshift migrant camp in Grande-Synthe near Dunkerque Inside the camps in Calais Kurdish migrants works around the tents of the makeshift migrant camp in Grande-Synthe near Dunkerque Inside the camps in Calais Volunteers from Holland set up a bridge of fortune over the mud using pallets of the makeshift migrant camp in Grande-Synthe near Dunkerque Inside the camps in Calais Refugees walk among tents in a makeshift camp as containers (rear) are put into place to house several hundred migrants living in what is known as the "Jungle", a squalid sprawling camp in Calais Inside the camps in Calais A makeshift camp is seen in front of containers (rear) put into place to house several hundred migrants living in what is known as the "Jungle", a squalid sprawling camp in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais The camp near Calais harbour where refugees from the Middle East and central Asia congregate to attempt the crossing from France to the UK Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Most of the temporary residents in this camp are from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria or the Kurdish administered regions Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Camp residents cook and share food at their site just outside Calais Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais A group walk through the camp near Calais Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Most of the temporary residents in this camp are from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria or the Kurdish administered regions Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais A 16 year old immigrant from Eritrea tries to brace himself against the rain and cold by sheltering under the road bridge Justin Sutcliffe Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Rubbish strewn on the ground near one of the campsites Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais A man stands among the tents at the campsite just outside Calais, France Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais A camp near Calais harbour where migrants from the East africa congregate to attempt the crossing from France to the UK. Most of the temporary residents in this camp are from Eritrea. Inside the camps in Calais Asylum seekers in Calais Graffiti depicting the dangerous journey trying to smuggle onto a lorry to the UK It was Ms Buccio who devised the plan to clear the southern part of the Jungle, which began this week. It was she who launched the first intensive effort by the French authorities to offer asylum to the migrants and test their determination to reach the imagined El Dorado of Britain. Past generations of Calais migrants were obsessed with Britain. Those who have arrived more recently have been misled by people smuggling gangs to make for Calais, she said. When they realise that they cannot cross the Channel, they are ready to try their luck in France. French police prepare to remove a woman, who threatened to cut her wrists, and a man from the top of a hut as they clear the Jungle camp in Calais. Both were arrested (Getty) Of those who agree to be bussed to the 102 reception centres elsewhere in France, 100 per cent of Eritreans, 87 per cent of Syrians, 80 per cent of Afghans but only 40 per cent of Sudanese agree to give up all chance of seeking British asylum and apply to remain in France. Ms Buccio was scathing about the No Borders activists, four-fifths of whom are British. They are young people who are driven by an anarchist ideology of hatred of all laws and frontiers, she said. They have no real concern for the suffering of the migrants. They manipulate them and they mislead them. They harass the social workers we send to canvass them about staying in France. And they are dangerous. One of my police officers had his hand broken in five places on Monday. They are not throwing pebbles. Mayhem in Calais camp Ms Buccio is herself the grand-daughter of an Italian migrant who faced racist violence from local people when he fled from fascist Italy to Marseille in the 1930s. She has worked her way up from the bottom of the administrative pyramid to one of the most high-profile government jobs in France. She has made a reputation since she arrived last year as a humane and hands-on official. Unlike many French prefects, she seldom appears in braided hat and white gloves. While we speak, she takes a stream of calls from officials in the Jungle. Be careful when you are dismantling shelters in that area, she tells one caller. Thats where the mosque is. And watch out that the No Borders people dont burn it down and blame us. Riot police secure an area inside the camp (EPA) For 20 years, Calais seems to have been a never-ending crisis, but that is changing, Ms Buccio insists. First, the Calais port and the Eurotunnel freight terminal are now almost water-tight, she said. The new security arrangements are working. Im not saying that no one ever gets through. A few people managed to cross the Berlin Wall after all. But it is now very, very hard to reach the UK illegally. Secondly, we have been reaching out actively to the migrants in the Jungle to persuade them to go to reception centres elsewhere in France, Thirdly, we have basic but decent living conditions to offer converted shipping containers, a shelter for women and children for up to 2,000 migrants who wish to remain here. Calais threatens to become an issue in the Brexit debate. Some French politicians say that, if Britain leaves the EU, France should stop defending the British border. I am not a politician. That is not a question that concerns me, Ms Buccio said. The frontier must be protected and properly policed. We get on well with our British counterparts. There is often criticism of France in the British press but the people we deal with every day appreciate the efforts that we are making. Ms Buccios great test will come this spring and summer as more Syrian and other migrants pour into Europe. Will thousands of them make for Calais? Some will, inevitably, she said. But the intelligence we are getting, from as far away as Afghanistan, is that people now know that the Channel is an unbreachable barrier. The word is going around: it is time to forget Calais. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Parts of Cologne airport have been evacuated after a "breach" involving a woman who was able to walk through security without being checked. At least one flight has been cancelled and several more are delayed after the failure to check a passenger sparked a major police operation. A spokesman for Cologne Bonn Airport told The Independent the evacuation of Terminal 2 was still going on and a "federal police investigation" had been launched. But he denied earlier reports that both terminals were evacuated, or that there had been a separate incident involving "unauthorised people" entering the airfield. "A woman passed security check without being checked," he said. "In such cases there is a rule that the whole security area has to be evacuated." Passenger Marco Tarsia posted an image to social media showing throngs of passengers being forced to leave the terminal in order for checks to be carried out again. Airport officials were unable to say how long the investigation would take when contacted at midday local time, but monitoring site AirLive reported that passengers of at least one Ryanair flight, bound for Berlin, had been forced to leave the plane and return to security screening. The breach - and subsequent police operation - come amid a climate of heightened checks and concerns for safety following the Paris attacks and Russian plane bombing in November last year. Such threats to European security have seen the establishment of a joint continent-wide counter-terror initiative, the European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC), launched at the end of January. Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Show all 13 1 /13 Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Women protest against sexism outside Cologne Cathedral on 5 January after the assaults Oliver Berg/EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Women protest against sexism in Cologne following the rash of sex attacks on New Year's Eve Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police initially failed to mention the assaults in report the following morning EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police officers patrol in front of the main station of Cologne, Germany AP Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks German far-right supporters demonstrate at Cologne`s train station (Reuters) Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016. Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police used pepper spray to control supporters of Pegida, Hogesa (Hooligans against Salafists) and other right-wing populist groups as they protested against the New Year's Eve sex attacks on 9 January, 2016 in Cologne, Germany Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police use a water cannon during a protest march by supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016 Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police use pepper spray against supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida, in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016. Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Artist Mira Moire protests naked in Cologne against the mass sex attacks on New Year's Eve AP Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks A demonstrator holds a sign in German that reads 'No violence against women' during a demonstration in the wake of the sexual assaults on New Year's Eve, outside the cathedeal in Cologne, Germany, 09 January 2016. EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Counter demonstrators hold up a sign reading "Against sexism, against racism" as they protest against a demonstration of the islamophobic movement PEGIDA at the train station in Cologne, Germany, on January 9, 2016. AFP/Getty Images Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Demonstration by a womens group on Saturday (AP) AP And security fears linked to the refugee crisis have become an issue in Cologne in particular, following a spate of sexual attacks on women by men of North African and Arab origin on New Year's Eve. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Europe is on the cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian disaster, the United Nations refugee agency has warned, as thousands gathered along Greeces sealed-off northern border with Macedonia. The UNHCR said there were 24,000 refugees who needed accommodation in Greece, about 8,500 of them at the border with Macedonia. About 1,500 had spent at least one night in the open this week. In January and February, 131,724 refugees, mainly from Syria and Iraq, landed in Greece, with 410 lives lost so far, the agency said. Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Show all 15 1 /15 Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees try to bring down part of the border fence during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees try to break a Greek police cordon in order to approach the border fence at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees flee tear gas fire by the Macedonian police, after trying to bring down part of the border fence during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees try to break a Greek police cordon in order to approach the border fence at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees in the northern Greek village of Idomeni approach the Greek-Macedonian border as they try to enter Macedonia AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Macedonian riot police officers stand next to part of the border fence brought down by protesting stranded refugees and migrants during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees try to bring down part of the border fence during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees break an iron fence and throw stones from the Greek side of the border as Macedonian policemen push them back, near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February A girl cries as she flees clashes during a protest at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni Reuters Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Refugees try to broke an iron fence from the Greek side of the border as Macedonian police stand guard, near the northern Greek village of Idomeni AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Stranded refugees and migrants in the northern Greek village of Idomeni approach the Greek-Macedonian border as they try to enter Macedonia AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February A man helps children to run away after Macedonian police fired tear gas at a group of refugees who tried to push their way into Macedonia AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February A woman carries a child on the Greek side of the border as they run away after Macedonian police fired tear gas at a group of refugees who tried to push their way into Macedonia AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February Refugees run away after Macedonian police fired tear gas AP Refugees break through Macedonia border fence in February A woman falls as refugees with their children run away after Macedonian police Getty Images The European Commission is expected to propose 700m (545m) over the next three years for humanitarian aid, mainly for Greece, where most refugees have been landing. It comes in the run-up to a crucial EU summit in Brussels next Monday to agree border and asylum rules. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Europe cannot allow Greece to fall into chaos, but she is facing opposition from Austria and Balkan countries, who have closed their borders, in effect ring-fencing Greece, and creating a bottleneck of refugees heading northwards. Meanwhile, in a blow to Germanys refugee relocation plans, the EUs top court ruled on 1 March that asylum seekers could not be moved across the region to spread the burden of social welfare payments. BISMARCK The Bank of North Dakota expects to lose $400 million to $500 million in assets during the current economic downturn, but President Eric Hardmeyer said the state-owned bank will remain on solid footing and proceed with construction of a $17 million financial services center. The banks assets have more than tripled over the past decade, from just more than $2 billion in 2005 to slightly more than $7.4 billion last year, driven largely by strong energy and agricultural sectors. But plunging crude oil and farm commodity prices have sent state tax revenues tumbling, with a $1.07 billion shortfall projected by July 2017. Thats caused a dip in deposits of tax revenues used by the bank to fund loans for things such as businesses, college tuition and home mortgages. Hardmeyer said the banks internal analysis predicts it may lose $400 million to $500 million in assets, depending on how long the downturn lasts. So we dont see a drastic reduction in size, but its something that we look at daily, he said. Student loans account for about $1.3 billion of the banks $4.3 billion loan portfolio. The rest of the banks assets are in securities and other investments, giving the bank plenty of ability and liquidity, Hardmeyer said, adding the bank has other sources for loans. We just dont see any concerns here at this point, he said. We still see a lot of good things happening throughout the state. Theres a diversified economy underneath all of this commodity-based stuff that continues to plug along pretty well. The bank plans to start construction in late spring or early summer on the financial services center, which will encompass 40,000 to 45,000 square feet next to the existing glass-and-brick bank building that opened in January 2008 near the Missouri River. State lawmakers authorized the use of $17 million in assets for the center if the banks income exceeded $125 million in 2015. The bank posted its 12th consecutive year of record profits last year, at $130.6 million, up from $111 million in 2014. The center will house three state agencies currently renting private space in Bismarck: the Department of Commerce, Department of Financial Institutions and Housing Finance Agency. Hardmeyer said the goal is to create a one-stop shop for economic development, noting the bank building already houses the states Small Business Development Center and U.S. Small Business Administration office. This is just expanding on a concept that has been here for 20 years plus, he said. As a state agency supported by special funds, the bank avoided the 4.05 percent budget cuts in mid-February that hit agencies that receive general fund dollars. But Hardmeyer said the bank understands the struggles happening around the state and is viewing the center as a way to boost government efficiency and reduce costs in the long run. We think theres a longer-term view of this than just the immediate issues were dealing with, he said, adding its a good time to build with construction costs coming down and more competition for work. The last time a North Dakota governor ordered across-the-board budget cuts to offset a general fund shortfall was in 2002, when the bank also transferred $18.7 million to help cover the $37 million shortfall. But that contingent transfer was specifically authorized in a bill passed by the 2001 Legislature, and similar authorization was not in place this time around to help cover the $1.07 billion shortfall, according to Office of Management and Budget Director Pam Sharp. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Being gay and Muslim is like trying to decide whether to cut off one arm, or the other, says the founder of Europes first inclusive mosque. Dr and Imam Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed told the Evening Standard that being gay is not sin but that the rejection of LGBT Muslims is modern and new in Islam. Imam Zahed said: It has to do with colonisation, complexes and the fact that Arab Muslim societies are in turmoil and are looking for very macho identities to push forward. But it has nothing to do with Islam as spirituality, because our tradition is much more peaceful in terms of dealing with sexuality and gender identity. Reactions to Mr Zahed being a gay Imam and setting up an inclusive mosque in France have been much more positive than we expected. We had many people telling us we are dirtying up Islam, but we had many more people telling us you are the true Islam. People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Show all 10 1 /10 People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Caitlyn Jenner People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Miley Cyrus Getty People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Kristen Stewart People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Cara Delevingne People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Keegan Hirst People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Ruby Rose People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights St Vincent (who's in a relationship with Cara Delevingne) People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Annie Lennox People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Ellen Page People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights Justice Anthony Kennedy Dominic Arnall, who works for LGBT rights charity Stonewall, believes events such as last months LGBT History Month celebrating religion means the future looks bright for gay people of faith. There are a number of excellent groups springing up, based here in London, all of which are specifically seeking to support LGBT people of faith. Blogger Asad Dhunna supports this view: Growing up gay and Muslim in London is a little bit tricky, but I actually do not think there is a better place to do it I feel quite open and free here." What needs to change in the future is more people having the confidence to speak up and more people thinking it is okay to be gay and Muslim." If you grow up in a traditionally Muslim area, lets say East London for example, and you are coming out, it can be quite difficult because you might pop along to Shoreditch or over into Soho and you see a completely different world, then go home and think how do I even begin to put this together? For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Uzbek nanny allegedly responsible for the beheading of a four-year-old Russian girl has told Moscow she heard "voices". Gyulchekhra Bobokulova told police that on the day of the murder she was upset at her husband starting a new family in Uzbekistan while she was in Moscow, according to Life News. The 38-year-old also reportedly told officers she had refused her husband's offer to be his second wife. Initially, some mistakenly suggested it could be a terror attack given she was reportedly shouting on the street "I'm a terrorist" and "Allahu Akbar". She is accused of strangling then beheading Nastya Meshcheryakova with a kitchen knife before setting fire to the apartment. Nastya has been described as having learning difficulties. Bobokulova returned to the murder scene with police officers to explain what happened. Russian journalist, Polina Nikolskaya, said she witnessed Bobokulova on the street, saying: "I was on my way to the metro station from home. "She was standing near the metro entrance and caught my attention because she was screaming 'Allahu Akbar'. People leave flowers to commemorate the murdered child (Reuters) "I saw that she had a bloodied head in her arms but I thought it was not real. People in the crowd said it was real." Bobokulova is currently in psychiatric care to determine if she can be held repsonsible for her alleged actions, the Moscow Invesitgative Committee announced. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Isis has killed eight Dutch members after they allegedly tried to desert the jihadist group, Syrian activists said on Monday. "Isis executed 8 Dutch fighters on Friday, 26 of Feb, after fights with Iraqi leaders in Raqqa and they arrested more Dutch fighters," Abu Mohammed, a member of the citizen journalist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), said on Twitter. The group said tension between 75 Dutch jihadis, some of Moroccan origin, and Isis intelligence operatives from Iraq had reached a new high over the last month. Three other Dutch jihadis were arrested by Iraqi Isis members, who accused them of wanting to flee. One of the detainees was beaten to death during the interrogation, RBSS reports. When Isis leaders sent a delegate to solve the dispute, the Dutch cell's enraged members reportedly murdered the intermediary in vengeance. In pictures: The rise of Isis Show all 74 1 /74 In pictures: The rise of Isis In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters of the Islamic State wave the group's flag from a damaged display of a government fighter jet following the battle for the Tabqa air base, in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters from Islamic State group sit on their tank during a parade in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters from the Islamic State group pray at the Tabqa air base after capturing it from the Syrian government in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters from extremist Islamic State group parade in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis kidnapping A video uploaded to social networks shows men in underwear being marched barefoot along a desert road before being allegedly executed by Isis Getty Images In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis kidnapping Haruna Yukawa after his capture by Isis In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis kidnapping Khalinda Sharaf Ajour, a Yazidi, says two of her daughters were captured by Isis militants Washington Post In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Spokesperson for Isis Vice News via Youtube In pictures: The rise of Isis A pro-Isis leaflet A pro-Isis leaflet handed out on Oxford Street In London Ghaffar Hussain In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Isis Jihadists burn their passports In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis controls Syrian Aid A man collecting aid administered by Isis in Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis controls Syrian Aid A woman collecting aid administered by Isis in Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis controls Syrian Aid Local civilians queue for aid administered by Isis. Since it declared a caliphate the group has increasingly been delivering services such as healthcare, and distributing aid and free fuel In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces detain men suspected of being militants of the Isis group in Diyala province In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Mourners carry the coffin of a Shi'ite volunteer from the brigades of peace, who joined the Iraqi army and was killed during clashes with militants of the Isis group in Samarra, during his funeral in Najaf In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi Shiite Turkmen family fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, arrives at a refugee camp on the outskirts of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi A photograph made from a video by the jihadist affiliated group Furqan Media via their twitter account allegedly showing Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi delivering a sermon during Friday prayers at a mosque in Mosul. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared an Islamist caliphate in the territory under the group's control in Iraq and Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Islamic extremists destroying mosques in Iraq Shiite's Al-Qubba Husseiniya mosque explodes in Mosul In pictures: The rise of Isis Islamic extremists destroying mosques in Iraq Smoke and debris go up in the air as Shiite's Al-Qubba Husseiniya mosque explodes in Mosul. Images posted online show that Islamic extremists have destroyed at least 10 ancient shrines and Shiite mosques in territory - the city of Mosul and the town of Tal Afar - they have seized in northern Iraq in recent weeks In pictures: The rise of Isis Islamic extremists destroying mosques in Iraq A bulldozer destroys Sunni's Ahmed al-Rifai shrine and tomb in Mahlabiya district outside of Tal Afar In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces celebrate after clashes with followers of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi, in front of his home in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces arrest a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces arrest a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi at his home after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces arrest a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis A vehicle burns in front of a home of a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi woman holds her exhausted son as over 1000 Iraqis who have fled fighting in and around the city of Mosul and Tal Afar wait at a Kurdish checkpoint in the hopes of entering a temporary displacement camp in Khazair In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees Displaced Iraqi women hold pots as they queue to receive food during the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, at an encampment for displaced Iraqis who fled from Mosul and other towns, in the Khazer area outside Irbil, north Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria A militant Islamist fighter waving a flag, cheers as he takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa. The fighters held the parade to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters wave flags as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province Reuters In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters travel in a vehicle as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Fighters from the Isis group during a parade with a missile in Raqqa, Syria. Militants from an al-Qaida splinter group held a military parade in their stronghold in northeastern Syria, displaying U.S.-made Humvees, heavy machine guns, and missiles captured from the Iraqi army for the first time since taking over large parts of the Iraq-Syria border In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters during a parade in Raqqa, Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Fighters from the Isis group during a parade in Raqqa, Syria. Militants from the splinter group held a military parade in their stronghold in northeastern Syria, displaying U.S.-made Humvees, heavy machine guns, and missiles captured from the Iraqi army for the first time since taking over large parts of the Iraq-Syria border In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters hold a military parade in their stronghold in northeastern Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters during a parade in Raqqa, Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria A member loyal to the Isis waves an Isis flag in Raqqa In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi anti-government gunmen from Sunni tribes in the western Anbar province march during a protest in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. The United Nations warned that Iraq is at a "crossroads" and appealed for restraint, as a bloody four-day wave of violence killed 195 people. The violence is the deadliest so far linked to demonstrations that broke out in Sunni areas of the Shiite-majority country more than four months ago, raising fears of a return to all-out sectarian conflict In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces hold up a flag of the Isis group they captured during an operation to regain control of Dallah Abbas north of Baqouba, the capital of Iraq's Diyala province, 35 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Iraq Isis fighters parade in the northern city of Mosul In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Isis group, demonstrate their skills during a graduation ceremony after completing their field training in Najaf In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Kurdish Peshmerga troops fire a cannon during clashes with militants of the Isis group in Jalawla, Diyala province In pictures: The rise of Isis Lieutenant General Qassem Atta speaks during a press conference Iraqi Prime Minister's security spokesman, Lieutenant General Qassem Atta speaks during a press conference about the latest military development in Iraq, in the capital Baghdad. Iraqi forces pressed a campaign to retake militant-held Tikrit, clashing with jihadist-led Sunni militants nearby and pounding positions inside the city with air strikes in their biggest counter-offensive so far In pictures: The rise of Isis A police station building destroyed by Isis fighters An exterior view of a police station building destroyed by gunmen in Mosul city, northern Iraq. Iraq's new parliament is expected to convene to start the process of setting up a new government, despite deepening political rifts and an ongoing Islamist-led insurgency. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani issued a decree inviting the new House of Representatives to meet and form a new government In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Iraq Smoke billows from an area controlled by the Isis between the Iraqi towns of Naojul and Tuz Khurmatu, both located north of the capital Baghdad, as Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces take part in an operation to repel the Sunni militants In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An elderly Iraqi woman is helped into a temporary displacement camp for Iraqis caught-up in the fighting in and around the city of Mosul in Khazair In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi Christian woman fleeing the violence in the village of Qaraqush, about 30 kms east of the northern province of Nineveh, cries upon her arrival at a community center in the Kurdish city of Arbil in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi woman, who fled with her family from the northern city of Mosul, prays with a copy of the Quran AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Iraq The body of an Isis militant killed during clashes with Iraqi security forces on the outskirts of the city of Samarra Reuters In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi civilians inspect the damage at a market after an air strike by the Iraqi army in central Mosul EPA In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Members of the Al-Abbas brigades, who volunteered to protect the Shiite Muslim holy sites in Karbala against Sunni militants fighting the Baghdad government, parade in the streets of the city AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Shia tribesmen gather in Baghdad to take up arms against Sunni insurgents marching on the capital. Thousands have volunteered to bolster defences AFP/Getty In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis A van carrying volunteers joining Iraqi security forces against Jihadist militants. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced the Iraqi government would arm and equip civilians who volunteered to fight AFP/Getty In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters of the Isis group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle down a main road at the northern city of Mosul In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq An Islamist fighter, identified as Abu Muthanna al-Yemeni from Britain (R), speaks in this still image taken undated video shot at an unknown location and uploaded to a social media website. Five Islamist fighters identified as Australian and British nationals have called on Muslims to join the wars in Syria and Iraq, in the new video released by the Isis In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Al-Qaida inspired militants stand with captured Iraqi Army Humvee at a checkpoint belonging to Iraqi Army outside Beiji refinery some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad. The fighting at Beiji comes as Iraq has asked the U.S. for airstrikes targeting the militants from the Isis group. While U.S. President Barack Obama has not fully ruled out the possibility of launching airstrikes, such action is not imminent in part because intelligence agencies have been unable to identify clear targets on the ground, officials said In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants attacked Iraq's main oil refinein Baiji as they pressed an offensive that has seen them capture swathes of territory, a manager and a refinery employee said In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants from the Isis group parading with their weapons in the northern city of Baiji in the in Salaheddin province In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq A smoke rises after an attack by Isis militants on the country's largest oil refinery in Beiji, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad. Iraqi security forces battled insurgents targeting the country's main oil refinery and said they regained partial control of a city near the Syrian border, trying to blunt an offensive by Sunni militants who diplomats fear may have also seized some 100 foreign workers In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group stand next to captured vehicles left behind by Iraqi security forces at an unknown location in the Salaheddin province. For militant groups, the fight over public perception can be even more important than actual combat, turning military losses into propaganda victories and battlefield successes into powerful tools to build support for the cause In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq An injured fighter (C) from the Isis group after a battle with Iraqi soldiers at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters from the Isis aiming at advancing Iraqi troops at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters from the Isis group taking position at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters from the Isis group inspecting vehicles of the Iraqi army after they were seized at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq One Iraqi captive, a corporal, is reluctant to say the slogan, and has to be shouted at repeatedly before he obeys Sky News In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Iraqi captives held by the extremists Sky News In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Iraqi captives held by the extremists Sky News In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group force captured Iraqi security forces members to the transport In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group transporting dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members to an unknown location in the Salaheddin province ahead of executing them In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq A major offensive spearheaded by Isis but also involving supporters of executed dictator Saddam Hussein has overrun all of one province and chunks of three others In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group executing dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members at an unknown location in the Salaheddin province In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Isis militants taking position at a Iraqi border post on the Syrian-Iraqi border between the Iraqi Nineveh province and the Syrian town of Al-Hasakah In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Isis rebels show their flag after seizing an army post AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Isis militants waving an Islamist flag after the seizure of an Iraqi army checkpoint in Salahuddin Getty Images In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Demonstrators chant slogans as they carry al-Qaida flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad. In the week since it captured Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, a Muslim extremist group has tried to win over residents and has stopped short of widely enforcing its strict brand of Islamic law, residents say. Churches remain unharmed and street cleaners are back at work The Isis leadership in Iraq then ordered the arrest of all of the Dutch group's members, imprisoning them in Tabaqa and Maadan in Syria. Eight have since been executed, RBSS reported. At least 24 people, including a top Isis official in Mosul, were executed on various changes on Monday, the Kurdish media group Rudaw reported. "On Monday ISIS executed 24 persons charged with refusing to fight for the group on the battlefields," Saeed Mamuzni, a Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK) official in Mosul, told Rudaw. He said Ahmed Abdulsalam al-Obeidi, the Isis finance minister in Mosul, was among the executed who were charged with treachery. "Two hundred and thirteen other civilians were also detained by ISIS in Mosul," he added. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} When Mohammed al-Ghabban became Interior Minister of Iraq in 2014, he found that he was employing 230 brigadier generals and 660,000 policemen. The vastly bloated size of the Iraqi security forces, most of whose members hold their jobs through political patronage, goes a long way to explaining why they cannot stop Isis bombers murdering people in the streets and markets of Baghdad. Seventy-three people died in a single incident in the Sadr City district of the capital last Sunday and another 40 died when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a funeral at Muqdadiya in Diyala province. Recommended Read more Isis fights back in Iraq with Abu Ghraib raid I have reduced the number of brigadier generals to 110 and I am not recruiting new policemen or replacing those who retire, said Mr Ghabban in an interview with The Independent in Baghdad. He admitted that the Iraqi public did not trust the police because of their failure to stop the bombers and the high level of corruption, which was pervasive in the system. He cited, as an example of this, the infamous case of 1,500 fake bomb detectors, which were bought for 52m by the interior ministry in 2008 and 2009, even though they were a patent fraud consisting only of a metal aerial that supposedly detected explosives, attached to an empty plastic casing. Although the British businessmen who sold the useless devices were given lengthy prison sentences last year, the detectors known as the ADE-651 are still used extensively in Iraq. Reliance on them, rather than a physical search of vehicles, makes it easier for bombers to pass through checkpoints and slaughter large numbers of civilians. ISIL kills scores in bloody day of attacks across Iraq Mr Ghabban used the example of fake bomb detector to underline the saturation levels of corruption among Iraqi government officials, which damages security, and to explain why nothing is done about it. He says: The equipment cost the Iraqi government about $50,000 for each item, but the real cost to the manufacturers was only between $40 and $50. Recommended Read more Divisions among forces fighting Isis delays push to recapture Iraq He assumes that much of the difference was pocketed by a large number of officials in Baghdad who were bribed to sign off on the deal, so today they have every reason to prevent an investigation of the scam. The fraudulent magic wands were still being used by security men to check individuals for explosives outside the Shia holy shrines in Karbala last week. The Iraqi bureaucracy is like a beached whale that does little except employ seven million people whose salaries cost $4bn a month. With Iraqi oil revenues running at half that figure because of the fall in the oil price, there is deep apprehension in Baghdad about what happens when the money begins to run out in April. One woman said that even when things were at their worst in Baghdad in 2006-07, when there were the mass sectarian killings, people were still being paid their salaries. Mohammed al-Ghabban, the Interior Minister, is cutting the size of Iraqs security forces (Getty) (Getty Images) Iraq has an all-embracing client or patronage system whereby ordinary people get a cut of the oil revenues by holding a job for which they are paid, though they may do little or no work and a sizable proportion of job-holders may not even exist. The interior ministry employs everybody from traffic policemen to paramilitary assault troops, most of them untrained but so numerous that almost all its money has to go on salaries. Where police have been trained for free abroad by foreign police forces, as happened in Italy, few of those returning to Iraq take up a post in which their expertise is of any use. Recommended Read more Fall of Mosul to Isis should not have surprised the Iraqi government Another senior government official, who did not want his name published, said in a separate interview: We have nearly one million fighters [army and police] but we would be much more effective if we had only 200,000. The Iraqi National Intelligence Service employs 12,000, although it needs only half that number. We dont have money for food, said the second senior official. He added: The corruption is a huge support for Daesh [Isis]. He said that bombers frequently travel through checkpoints that supposedly protect Baghdad because they bribe the police, soldiers or paramilitaries in charge. A further problem with the patronage system is that jobs are unfairly distributed in favour of those with the right political or sectarian connections. In pictures: The rise of Isis Show all 74 1 /74 In pictures: The rise of Isis In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters of the Islamic State wave the group's flag from a damaged display of a government fighter jet following the battle for the Tabqa air base, in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters from Islamic State group sit on their tank during a parade in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters from the Islamic State group pray at the Tabqa air base after capturing it from the Syrian government in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Fighters from extremist Islamic State group parade in Raqqa, Syria AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis kidnapping A video uploaded to social networks shows men in underwear being marched barefoot along a desert road before being allegedly executed by Isis Getty Images In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis kidnapping Haruna Yukawa after his capture by Isis In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis kidnapping Khalinda Sharaf Ajour, a Yazidi, says two of her daughters were captured by Isis militants Washington Post In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Spokesperson for Isis Vice News via Youtube In pictures: The rise of Isis A pro-Isis leaflet A pro-Isis leaflet handed out on Oxford Street In London Ghaffar Hussain In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters Isis Jihadists burn their passports In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis controls Syrian Aid A man collecting aid administered by Isis in Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis controls Syrian Aid A woman collecting aid administered by Isis in Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis controls Syrian Aid Local civilians queue for aid administered by Isis. Since it declared a caliphate the group has increasingly been delivering services such as healthcare, and distributing aid and free fuel In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces detain men suspected of being militants of the Isis group in Diyala province In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Mourners carry the coffin of a Shi'ite volunteer from the brigades of peace, who joined the Iraqi army and was killed during clashes with militants of the Isis group in Samarra, during his funeral in Najaf In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi Shiite Turkmen family fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, arrives at a refugee camp on the outskirts of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi A photograph made from a video by the jihadist affiliated group Furqan Media via their twitter account allegedly showing Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi delivering a sermon during Friday prayers at a mosque in Mosul. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared an Islamist caliphate in the territory under the group's control in Iraq and Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Islamic extremists destroying mosques in Iraq Shiite's Al-Qubba Husseiniya mosque explodes in Mosul In pictures: The rise of Isis Islamic extremists destroying mosques in Iraq Smoke and debris go up in the air as Shiite's Al-Qubba Husseiniya mosque explodes in Mosul. Images posted online show that Islamic extremists have destroyed at least 10 ancient shrines and Shiite mosques in territory - the city of Mosul and the town of Tal Afar - they have seized in northern Iraq in recent weeks In pictures: The rise of Isis Islamic extremists destroying mosques in Iraq A bulldozer destroys Sunni's Ahmed al-Rifai shrine and tomb in Mahlabiya district outside of Tal Afar In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces celebrate after clashes with followers of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi, in front of his home in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces arrest a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces arrest a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi at his home after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces arrest a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis A vehicle burns in front of a home of a follower of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi after clashes with his followers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi woman holds her exhausted son as over 1000 Iraqis who have fled fighting in and around the city of Mosul and Tal Afar wait at a Kurdish checkpoint in the hopes of entering a temporary displacement camp in Khazair In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees Displaced Iraqi women hold pots as they queue to receive food during the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, at an encampment for displaced Iraqis who fled from Mosul and other towns, in the Khazer area outside Irbil, north Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria A militant Islamist fighter waving a flag, cheers as he takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa. The fighters held the parade to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters wave flags as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province Reuters In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters travel in a vehicle as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Fighters from the Isis group during a parade with a missile in Raqqa, Syria. Militants from an al-Qaida splinter group held a military parade in their stronghold in northeastern Syria, displaying U.S.-made Humvees, heavy machine guns, and missiles captured from the Iraqi army for the first time since taking over large parts of the Iraq-Syria border In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters during a parade in Raqqa, Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Fighters from the Isis group during a parade in Raqqa, Syria. Militants from the splinter group held a military parade in their stronghold in northeastern Syria, displaying U.S.-made Humvees, heavy machine guns, and missiles captured from the Iraqi army for the first time since taking over large parts of the Iraq-Syria border In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters hold a military parade in their stronghold in northeastern Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria Isis fighters during a parade in Raqqa, Syria In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Syria A member loyal to the Isis waves an Isis flag in Raqqa In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi anti-government gunmen from Sunni tribes in the western Anbar province march during a protest in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. The United Nations warned that Iraq is at a "crossroads" and appealed for restraint, as a bloody four-day wave of violence killed 195 people. The violence is the deadliest so far linked to demonstrations that broke out in Sunni areas of the Shiite-majority country more than four months ago, raising fears of a return to all-out sectarian conflict In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi security forces hold up a flag of the Isis group they captured during an operation to regain control of Dallah Abbas north of Baqouba, the capital of Iraq's Diyala province, 35 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Iraq Isis fighters parade in the northern city of Mosul In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Isis group, demonstrate their skills during a graduation ceremony after completing their field training in Najaf In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Kurdish Peshmerga troops fire a cannon during clashes with militants of the Isis group in Jalawla, Diyala province In pictures: The rise of Isis Lieutenant General Qassem Atta speaks during a press conference Iraqi Prime Minister's security spokesman, Lieutenant General Qassem Atta speaks during a press conference about the latest military development in Iraq, in the capital Baghdad. Iraqi forces pressed a campaign to retake militant-held Tikrit, clashing with jihadist-led Sunni militants nearby and pounding positions inside the city with air strikes in their biggest counter-offensive so far In pictures: The rise of Isis A police station building destroyed by Isis fighters An exterior view of a police station building destroyed by gunmen in Mosul city, northern Iraq. Iraq's new parliament is expected to convene to start the process of setting up a new government, despite deepening political rifts and an ongoing Islamist-led insurgency. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani issued a decree inviting the new House of Representatives to meet and form a new government In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Iraq Smoke billows from an area controlled by the Isis between the Iraqi towns of Naojul and Tuz Khurmatu, both located north of the capital Baghdad, as Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces take part in an operation to repel the Sunni militants In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An elderly Iraqi woman is helped into a temporary displacement camp for Iraqis caught-up in the fighting in and around the city of Mosul in Khazair In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi Christian woman fleeing the violence in the village of Qaraqush, about 30 kms east of the northern province of Nineveh, cries upon her arrival at a community center in the Kurdish city of Arbil in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraqi refugees An Iraqi woman, who fled with her family from the northern city of Mosul, prays with a copy of the Quran AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Isis fighters in Iraq The body of an Isis militant killed during clashes with Iraqi security forces on the outskirts of the city of Samarra Reuters In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Iraqi civilians inspect the damage at a market after an air strike by the Iraqi army in central Mosul EPA In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Members of the Al-Abbas brigades, who volunteered to protect the Shiite Muslim holy sites in Karbala against Sunni militants fighting the Baghdad government, parade in the streets of the city AP In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis Shia tribesmen gather in Baghdad to take up arms against Sunni insurgents marching on the capital. Thousands have volunteered to bolster defences AFP/Getty In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq crisis A van carrying volunteers joining Iraqi security forces against Jihadist militants. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced the Iraqi government would arm and equip civilians who volunteered to fight AFP/Getty In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters of the Isis group parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle down a main road at the northern city of Mosul In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq An Islamist fighter, identified as Abu Muthanna al-Yemeni from Britain (R), speaks in this still image taken undated video shot at an unknown location and uploaded to a social media website. Five Islamist fighters identified as Australian and British nationals have called on Muslims to join the wars in Syria and Iraq, in the new video released by the Isis In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Al-Qaida inspired militants stand with captured Iraqi Army Humvee at a checkpoint belonging to Iraqi Army outside Beiji refinery some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad. The fighting at Beiji comes as Iraq has asked the U.S. for airstrikes targeting the militants from the Isis group. While U.S. President Barack Obama has not fully ruled out the possibility of launching airstrikes, such action is not imminent in part because intelligence agencies have been unable to identify clear targets on the ground, officials said In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants attacked Iraq's main oil refinein Baiji as they pressed an offensive that has seen them capture swathes of territory, a manager and a refinery employee said In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants from the Isis group parading with their weapons in the northern city of Baiji in the in Salaheddin province In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq A smoke rises after an attack by Isis militants on the country's largest oil refinery in Beiji, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad. Iraqi security forces battled insurgents targeting the country's main oil refinery and said they regained partial control of a city near the Syrian border, trying to blunt an offensive by Sunni militants who diplomats fear may have also seized some 100 foreign workers In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group stand next to captured vehicles left behind by Iraqi security forces at an unknown location in the Salaheddin province. For militant groups, the fight over public perception can be even more important than actual combat, turning military losses into propaganda victories and battlefield successes into powerful tools to build support for the cause In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq An injured fighter (C) from the Isis group after a battle with Iraqi soldiers at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters from the Isis aiming at advancing Iraqi troops at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters from the Isis group taking position at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Fighters from the Isis group inspecting vehicles of the Iraqi army after they were seized at an undisclosed location near the border between Syria and Iraq In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq One Iraqi captive, a corporal, is reluctant to say the slogan, and has to be shouted at repeatedly before he obeys Sky News In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Iraqi captives held by the extremists Sky News In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Iraqi captives held by the extremists Sky News In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group force captured Iraqi security forces members to the transport In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group transporting dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members to an unknown location in the Salaheddin province ahead of executing them In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq A major offensive spearheaded by Isis but also involving supporters of executed dictator Saddam Hussein has overrun all of one province and chunks of three others In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Militants of the Isis group executing dozens of captured Iraqi security forces members at an unknown location in the Salaheddin province In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Isis militants taking position at a Iraqi border post on the Syrian-Iraqi border between the Iraqi Nineveh province and the Syrian town of Al-Hasakah In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Isis rebels show their flag after seizing an army post AFP/Getty Images In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Isis militants waving an Islamist flag after the seizure of an Iraqi army checkpoint in Salahuddin Getty Images In pictures: The rise of Isis Iraq Demonstrators chant slogans as they carry al-Qaida flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad. In the week since it captured Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, a Muslim extremist group has tried to win over residents and has stopped short of widely enforcing its strict brand of Islamic law, residents say. Churches remain unharmed and street cleaners are back at work Iraq is ruled by predominantly Shia government in which Shia party leaders do not really trust anybody who is not a member of their party, he said. Unsurprisingly, given the way the system works, about 85 per cent of the INIS are Shia, making it difficult for intelligence officers to learn about the Sunni community from which Isis and its bombers are recruited or to recruit informants. Mr Ghabban said that a conference in his ministry earlier that day concluded that Isis was likely to relocate its senior leaders to Libya, where conditions were easier for it than in Iraq and Syria. He agreed that there had been serious bombings, but overall Isis bomb attacks were down by between 60 and 70 per cent, compared with a few years ago. Isis has suffered heavy casualties and has lost the cities of Ramadi, Sinjar, Baiji and Tikrit, though the self-declared Islamic State has not imploded. Since Isis likes to compensate for battlefield defeats by targeting soft civilian targets, atrocities are likely to continue. The recapture of cities by anti-Isis forces such as the Iraqi army or the Kurdish Peshmerga gives an exaggerated impression of their effectiveness, because their victories would generally not have been won without thousands of air strikes by the US-led coalition. Mr Ghabban said government forces are not likely to try to capture Mosul this year, preferring to seize Isis strongholds further south at al-Shirqat and Hawaijah. He thought that, more immediately, the security forces would try to root out pockets of Isis fighters around the Tharthar lakes. He downplayed friction between the government of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and the Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Forces), the Shia paramilitaries created after Isis captured Mosul in June 2014 and which are seen as an additional power centre. Recommended Read more The only way to ensure Isis is beaten in Iraq is to defeat it in Syria The issue is sensitive for Mr Ghabban because his own political origins are in the Badr Organisation, a Shia political and paramilitary movement that the US sees as sectarian and too close to Iran although he says the US has never said that to him. But the biggest problem for many Iraqi ministries is not that they are controlled by a single party, but that they are not controlled by anybody at all: anyone who is in charge acts for their own advantage. Iraqi ministries fulfil some useful functions, albeit slowly, inefficiently and corruptly; but even this may be impossible if falling oil revenues are insufficient to pay state employees who make up so much of the Iraqi workforce. Asked what would happen then, the senior government official replied: Then we all go to hell. Core issues: Peace talks delayed The Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, said that a fragile ceasefire offered a glimmer of hope for Syria but accused rebel fighters of violating the truce. The cessation of hostilities forged by the US and Russia appeared largely to hold on its fourth day, though Mr Assad added to a chorus of claims of breaches by both sides. The United Nations announced that it would push back the start of peace talks in order to let the ceasefire settle down. The UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, had hoped to reconvene for talks in Geneva on Monday but told Reuters that they would be delayed by two days. He said he wanted them to address the core of the Syria conflict rather than descending into claim and counterclaim. Laura Pitel in Istanbul For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails 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 Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A university in the US has been encouraging debate after taking the decision to ban the sale of all energy drinks on campus for fear they will cause students to participate in high-risk sexual activity. The Dining Services at Middlebury College in Vermont reportedly distributed a flyer among the student body which, according to the college student newspaper, The Middlebury Campus, revealed a scientific connection between the consumption of the drinks and unsafe behaviour in young people Energy drinks, said the flyer, cause increased alcohol consumption, increased likelihood to drive while intoxicated, increased probability of use of other intoxicating substance, and increased participation in high-risk sexual activity. Recommended Read more We students need to ditch our addiction to energy drinks According to its section on the Middlebury College site, Dining Services outlines its mission as being to nourish and nurture today and tomorrow by sustaining mind, body, and earth. However, it was a recent American studies undergraduate and now intern with the food provider, Myles Kamisher-Koch, who took issue with the mission statement and argued at a Community Council meeting that it didnt reflect its message accurately so long as energy drinks were available on campus. The colleges Community Council says it serves as a forum in which all segments of the college community have a voice on non-academic issues it faces, adding: With a membership representing students, faculty and staff, deliberations and decisions consider the interests and concerns of the whole community. With several Dining Services staff members agreeing with Mr Kamisher-Koch, according to The Middlebury Campus, he presented the council with data from a study which stated that up to 25 per cent of current drinkers combine alcoholic beverages with energy drinks. He further added that the drinks promote poor academic tendencies which led to a culture of stress. When asked if a survey should be conducted among the student body, according to the minutes of the council meeting where the banning of the sale of the drinks came into effect, council member Emma Bliska said: Im not sure a survey is necessary. I understand why the Student Government Association (SGA) is concerned, but were here to do the right thing and the right thing is to pass this because energy drinks shouldnt be on this campus. People who are upset about it will get over it. Another member, Brandon Baird, opposed the ban and told the meeting: Im not in support. From a personal statement, I agree with all the literature. I do think its a personal infringement on rights. I dont drink energy drinks, alcohol, or coffee but I dont think its my place to tell someone else. Again, when pressed about gathering student opinion prior to the ban, Miss Bliska said: Polls are kind of a waste of time. The whole point of a representative body is that you dont have to poll everyone. In the end, eleven voted in favour of the ban, while one member opposed, and two abstained. The aforementioned flyer also reportedly backed-up Mr Kamisher-Kochs arguments, and read: Consuming these products may result in serious health-related issues such as; cardiovascular events, seizures, and liver damage. The decision, though, was made final by Dining Services executive director of food service, Dan Detora, who signed off on the campus literature. Speaking with NBC News, Mr Detora remained unyielding on his stance to ban the drinks, and said: I see it as the equivalent of banning cigarettes. Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Nadine White Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter The Race Report 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 The Race Report email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Resplendent in Burberry with sole approval from (Christian) Louboutin, Chris Rock, host of the 88th Oscars opened by delivering a winning monologue which appeared to have nothing to do with the nominees the event celebrates and everything to do with the controversy surrounding it. (BTW, other than Leo, does anyone know who won anything else?) Like most modern comedians, Chris Rock draws upon the offensive for material while managing to make a rather good point about the type of racism in Hollywood today: Their prejudice is sorority racist, like We like you, Ronda, but youre not a Kappa.. I get this. Most of us in the black community get this. Historically, when Black people moved into new neighbourhoods, White people moved themselves out. If we want in, they want out. Of course a token is usually allowed. So taking the fashion industry as example, Naomi (Campbell) was a supermodel along with her white counterparts but when other black models dared also to be beautiful then the problem arose which one shall we use now? In fact, several of my Black designer friends deliberately choose white models in order to avoid being seen as a Black designer with a target audience based on their abundance of melanin production. Its like a one-in, one-out system. If two or more Black people start to work together, no matter the product, it automatically becomes a Black thing. So yes, insidious racism is a serious and continuing problem. Chris Rocks comments resonated when he said: We want opportunity give black actors the same opportunities as white actors. Thats it. Leo gets a great part every year. What about Jamie Foxx? Placing aside the obvious artistic differences between these two named actors, what Chris is really asking for is a little more coffee with that milk, please and Im pretty sure all of us with our PC hats on would agree. Where Chris started to lose the vote though, is when he added another taboo subject to his speech. Racism and sexism? Really, Chris? Youre a braver man than many. With reference to the #AskHerMore hashtag which protests against the seemingly inane questions women are asked on the red carpet, Rock continued: Youre not allowed to ask women what theyre wearing any more. Everythings not sexism; everythings not racism. They ask the men more because theyre all wearing the exact same thing. If George Clooney came in a lime-green tux with a swan coming out of his ass theyd say, What are you wearing George? Recommended Read more The drama at the Oscars was nothing to do with the films Cue outrage about how Rock can stand up for institutional racism, and call out insidious incidences of it, but wont do the same for women and institutional sexism. But I agree with Chris Rock. Actresses and their female celebrity counterparts presumably spend a fortune on stylists and private fittings with sought-after designers to look good on the red carpet; personally Id be offended if I didnt get asked about my outfit. There should be more Black people in Hollywood, and every other industry. The racism he humorously called out is endemic and extreme. But a far as #AskHerMore goes, I think we all need to just lighten up a bit. Oops. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email 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 View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} On Wednesday, the US Supreme Court will hear a case hailed as the most important abortion case in a generation. It addresses a restrictive law that was passed in Texas in 2013 that led to the closure of more than half the states abortion clinics. Famously, State Senator Wendy Davis filibustered against the law passing for 11 long hours but failed, and it went through anyway. This week the Supreme Court is considering whether the laws requirements place an undue burden on women that would prevent them from reasonably accessing abortion. Whats perhaps most alarming about this case is that a Supreme Court Judge involved has been loudly voicing his concern for the mental health of women who have abortions. He seems to imply that by banning abortion, we can protect women from depression. Supreme Court judge Justice Anthony M Kennedy, who is one of the most powerful men in the US, stuck his oar in during a speech in 2007, saying: "While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon, it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow. No reliable data to measure the phenomenon. Isnt that strange? For a Supreme Court judge - the same man in whose hands the fate of 40 abortion clinics in Texas lies this week - it seems a little wacky to speculate on something, and to turn that speculation into a law which would have a profound impact on millions of women. Even wackier when you find out that a simple Google search could have put him right. The American Psychological Association stated as early as 1989 that a legal abortion does not pose a psychological hazard for most women. The John Hopkins University also found in 2008 that long-term mental health problems - sadness, guilt, regret and depression - occur in only a minority of women who have had an abortion. Meanwhile, the Guttmacher Institute discovered in 2011 that negative feelings are no worse after an abortion than after carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term, and rather it is the stigma of having an abortion that can have negative mental health consequences rather than the procedure itself. But if Republicans cant convince women that they will feel racked with guilt for evermore after having an abortion, the lack of access to healthcare facilities should be able to do the job. Abortion clinics in the US as a whole are already struggling with increasing amounts of debt as they work to operate under new, stricter standards that make them more like surgical centers rather than family planning clinics. Bloomberg data show that 162 clinics have shut down in the US since 2011, with just 21 opening in the same period. Now lets imagine that some women have no option but to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. Surely they are just as likely, if not more likely, to suffer mental health problems? That seems to carry much less of a logical leap than assuming that a woman who wants an abortion and then is able to access an abortion clinic will end up severely depressed. Justice Kennedy and his cohort do not have the ability to regulate depression, just as they cant regulate good and bad parenting. Recommended Read more Why people really hate Cheryl and Liam Ultimately, its irrelevant what harm a woman experiences, either if she has an abortion and faces guilt or carries the pregnancy to term and struggles with the mental effects of childbirth and parenthood, such as postnatal depression. Postnatal depression is, after all, the most common complication of a pregnancy. Abortion doesnt raise the rate of mental health problems but having babies does. It's also irrelevant whether you, the reader, agree with someone terminating their pregnancy. The point is that women have a choice in the first place and, as this court case shows, its a choice we can never take for granted. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email 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 View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Nobel Peace Laureate and former leader of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev has praised Independent readers for their amazing response to the Give to GOSH appeal as he announces a donation of 50,000 to Great Ormond Street Hospital from the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation, named after his late wife. Mr Gorbachev is the latest big name to get behind Give to GOSH, now the most successful fundraising campaign in The Independents history, having raised more than 3.5m for sick children. On his 85th birthday, Mr Gorbachev, the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union, is also donating 50,000 to the Raisa Gorbachev Memorial Institute for Childrens Haematology and Transplantion in St Petersburg. Give to GOSH followed staff, patients and families over a three-month period before officially drawing to a close on Valentines Day, GOSHs birthday. Other high-profile endorsements have come from David Beckham, Paul McCartney, Adele and the Queen. Readers donated hundreds of thousands of pounds while corporations also gave generously, with large donations coming from Morgan Stanley, Prudential and Deloitte among others. One of the most important endorsements came from the Treasury, which agreed to match-fund the campaign up to 1.5m using money recouped from the Libor-rigging scandal. While the day-to-day running of Great Ormond Street Hospital is covered by the NHS, the hospital relies on charitable donations to maintain world-class standards. Give to GOSH will help fund the creation of a 14-bed cardiac unit for children with heart failure, as well as supporting the priority needs of the Louis Dundas Centre, a world-leading unit dedicated to childrens palliative care. A figure of 1m has been set aside for research into rare childrens diseases, including gentler, less intrusive treatments for cancers prevalent among children. To Give to GOSH go to: http://ind.pn/1Mydxqt To find out more about our appeal and why we're supporting GOSH go to: http://ind.pn/1MycZkr Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email 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 View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Thanks to Sir Kevin Tebbit, former Permanent Under Secretary at the Ministry of Defence and visiting professor at the Policy Institute, King's College, London, for talking to our "Blair Years" students yesterday. The subject was liberal interventionism in Tony Blair's first term. Sir Kevin, who was the top civil servant at the Ministry of Defence 1998-2005, reviewed the interventions up to 2001. Kosovo, Sierra Leone, East Timor (a small force under the Australians to secure East Timor's independence from Indonesia in 1999) and Iraq, particularly the US-British Desert Fox bombing campaign of 1998: "People tend to forget that Iraq was a continuous issue since 1990." This represented a marked shift in foreign and defence policy away from the past. Of course it wasn't just about Tony Blair. All sorts of factors came together under the heading of liberal interventionism. There were new insecurities and challenges after the end of the cold war. By 1997 defence thinking was already changing. The first Gulf War in 1990 and the crisis in Bosnia in the mid-1990s taught policy-makers two lessons: the importance of working closely with the US and, in Bosnia, the dangers of leaving intervention too late. New Labour had other reasons for wanting to be seen as reliable on national security, he said: the unpopularity of unilateral nuclear disarmament in the 1980s. They were determined not to let that happen again. "Mr Corbyn ought to be listening to this." New Labour were also anxious to define national security in a way that distinguished themselves positively from the Conservatives. They felt the Major government had too narrow an idea of national self-interest, acting only to protect trade and immediate interests: It was Robin Cook not Tony Blair who promulgated the idea that the interest of the international community is also our national interest. The example he gave was Afghanistan, which was quite ironic, really. He said ungoverned space in Afghanistan led to narcotics on the streets of Glasgow. And it was he who used the phrase "an ethical foreign policy". I was at the Foreign Office at the time and we said you never know where [such an open-ended phrase] might lead you. I kept trying to insert "dimension to", and he kept crossing it out. However, there was a "Blair factor", said Sir Kevin. There was no doubt he was a conviction politician, particularly in foreign policy. He persuaded a reluctant President Clinton to threaten the use of ground troops in Kosovo, which was what finally forced Slobodan Milosevic to yield. The Chicago speech, delivered at the height of the Kosovo campaign in 1999, in which he said that we had learned twice this century that "appeasement does not work", and that "in the past we have talked too much of exit strategies", was a statement of his beliefs. "He said it and he meant it: the establishment, the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence, hardly knew it was coming. It was a surprise to the civil service when the Chicago speech came out that it was so strong." However, Sir Kevin pointed out that Jack Straw, in his memoir, "says that if he'd decided to oppose Iraq it couldn't have gone ahead: you can overdo this idea of Blair in a unique role". In discussion, Sir Kevin was sceptical of the idea that Blair's successes in foreign policy in his first term led to over-confidence in his second. "To the extent that he [Blair] may have been over-confident it may have been more about his ability to push the US into channels we wanted." He was keen to use British support in Iraq to promote the Middle East peace process, for example. He added that it was true that the "military memory" was that the British had not lost a war. After the Second World War, we avoided Vietnam and succeeded in the Falklands. "So there was confidence, but I wouldn't call it over-confidence or hubris." In his view 9/11 was "so cataclysmic that it changed everything". He said: "We still under-estimate the impact of 9/11 on the Americans. Donald Rumsfeld pulled bodies out of the Pentagon. That changed everything by lowering the threshold for the US." After 9/11 the US wanted to intervene to anticipate threats before they materialised. Afghanistan and Iraq, however, are the subject of next week's class. Sign up here to receive a daily "Catch-Up Service" email (9am Sunday to Friday) with links to new posts by John Rentoul. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email 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 View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} It was never going to be easy for the French government to transfer residents of the Jungle into new, more permanent housing. Refugees and migrants have put work into building rudimentary huts, and many do not wish to leave, fearing that they will be prevented from attempting to reach Britain and forced to claim asylum in France. With homes and hopes on the line, French police ought to have approached their task delicately. That has not happened. Tear gas was fired into crowds to disperse them before the bulldozers moved in on 29 February, only adding to the sense of crisis. The eviction has been handled poorly. But the process the French authorities have begun is both sensible and necessary: there are disputes over whether there are enough new shipping-container homes for evicted camp residents to move into, but at least 1,000 people (which the government claims to be the total) will have the chance to live under a proper roof, with access to far better sanitation. The authorities would have been wise to run a more involved information campaign in the Jungle before the move began, and to make absolutely sure that there were enough new homes on offer. Recommended Read more Calais Jungle clearance sparks clashes between police and refugees But some responsibility here also lies with the residents themselves. It is the idea of staying in France that makes many unwilling to take up space in a permanent home, and consequently be put into the French asylum system. Some will have family ties to the UK. But many cite the difficulties of learning a new language, or concern with the lengthy French asylum system. In these cases, more should be willing to accept an imperfect, but nonetheless reasonable offer. The French asylum system is not much different to the British; the children of those granted refugee status receive free education, and adults are given language classes. France is not a bad place to end up, and surely better than the squalor of the Jungle. The Pierce County Commission shut down any opportunity to drill an exploratory borehole near Rugby that would allow researchers to probe any potential for nuclear waste disposal. On Tuesday, the commission unanimously voted to tell the Energy and Environmental Research Center thanks but no thanks for the project, which the EERC wanted to conduct on state-owned land to help the federal Department of Energy determine whether crystalline rock 3 miles deep could be used for storing spent nuclear fuels. We want them to know were not interested in this project, said commission chairman Dave Migler, adding the county did not have a drilling application from EERC and wanted to pre-empt any attempt to submit one. About 300 people attended a public hearing in Rugby Feb. 16, and it was clear from comments made that there was very little support for the project, he said. We have no regrets at all, Migler said of the countys position. That leaves the EERC with a partnership in the $35 million federal project and nowhere yet to drill. Associate research director John Harju said the countys action is consistent with the public meeting and not unexpected. A lot of people couldnt believe that it was about science and technology. I know it is, but I fully respect their self-determination, said Harju, adding that the EERC, the DOE and project lead Battelle Memorial Institute will keep talking and figure out whats next. Migler said people in the county understand the research aspect of the project, but remain worried that nuclear disposal could happen in the future, despite reassurances from EERC, DOE and Battelle to the contrary. It didnt leave our mind that it sure could happen, maybe not in my lifetime, but in the life of my grandchildren and great-grandchild. We just dont want it, Migler said. Harju said the partners will keep looking for options. Its too soon to say whether we will or will not look in North Dakota. Its not about the location, but the similar conditions of crystalline rock, which exists in much of the United States and much of the world, Harju said. The DOE wants to study at the rock to determine if it is stable and sequestered enough for long-term storage of spent nuclear waste capsules. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email 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 View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} National Offer Day, the moment when over half a million pupils find out if they have the secondary school place of their choice, is an excellent opportunity for the Government to play one of its favourite games: Lets Be Disingenuous With Statistics. So, the Department for Education says that 95 per cent of families will have received a place at one of their top three schools. If 95 per cent were an exam mark, youd be beside yourself with delight. But we may as well rename National Offer Day as Dodgy Data Day, because the Governments figures do not tell the real story of the agony in tens of thousands of homes nationwide. First, the concept of top three choices is misleading, because in many cases there are not three good schools locally where you would want to send your child let alone the six that parents are asked to list as their choices, in this loosest definition of the word. I know families for whom there is a gulf between school numbers one and two the top choice is the over-subscribed, outstanding-rated school a not-too-far distance away, and the second is just a little bit short of fine. Last year it was 84 per cent of pupils who received their first choice of school; that figure, not the Governments 95 per cent, is the relevant one. Second, while that remaining 16 per cent who didnt get their first choice is a small proportion, its still a lot of families. Last year, 84,000 pupils did not get their preferred choice, and this year the figure is reported to be as high as 90,000. In this sense, statistics cease to matter because any child denied a good state education or put through the emotional upheaval of missing out on their preferred choice is a travesty in a country as rich as ours. But nevertheless, 90,000 is a staggering amount. A secondary education can make or break a childs life. It is far too serious to be dismissed by ministers shielding themselves with misleading statistics. Third, the DfE says it has spent 5bn on creating half a million new places since 2010, and will spend another 7bn on creating more over the next parliament. Again, big numbers. So why is there still such a pressure on places? The rising population of soon to be secondary school age children is driving this pressure, as a result of increased immigration and a post-millennium baby boom. But that is only half the story. These are two major factors the Government should have seen coming, yet have failed to prepare for. Education policy of the past six years has not been fit for our age, despite the laudable stated intentions of Michael Gove, the architect of the policy, to create a decent education for every child of whatever background. The demographic challenge needs an education system driven by supply; instead it has created one tied up by ideological dogma. Let me be clear: I am not against academies, started under Tony Blair, or against free schools, the brainchild of Gove. The majority of these new institutions are good schools for those children lucky enough to get a place. The problem lies in the political obsession of this Government with giving so much freedom to academies and free schools that local authorities are powerless to create new school places, even where they are desperately needed. A policy that pretends to be decentralising is the most centralised of all, because it is politically driven. Recommended Read more Sadiq Khan coming out against Uber with Zac Goldsmith is a bad move Academies can and do refuse requests by councils to expand to take more pupils, no matter what the local pressures are. Local authorities are also restricted in the creation of new schools, which have to be academies. Communities with a shortage of places are reliant on a free school being set up, yet they do not have to be built in areas where there is the highest demand. It is depressing to hear people such as Bernadette John, of the Good Schools Guide, who told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme yesterday morning that families who are not happy with their offer could move to other parts of the country, as if this were choosing a different place to go on holiday. The supply issue is partly to do with teacher shortages, which is a problem in northern cities, and if this Government were serious about its Northern Powerhouse agenda then it should incentivise teachers to work in schools that need them. But it should not be for families to shoulder the burden of a narrow-minded, dogmatic and hidebound education policy. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email 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 View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} In an attempt to gain Black support for the Brexit campaign, Ukips migration spokesman Steven Woolfe has argued that it is the Black community that has the most to fear from remaining in the EU. In an interview with the Voice, Woolfe was quoted as saying, If you look at the black community, they are more likely to be struggling on low skilled wages. So far, so good. This is an accurate and important observation. But then the problems start. [T]he impact of large scale migration has pushed down wages for low skilled and semi-skilled people. In this remark, the fallacies and political biases in Woolfes argument start to become apparent. There is in fact strong historical precedent to support the argument that migration is good for the economy. Rather than recognising an exploitative system that sees capital increasingly filtered from the bottom to the top, Woolfe chooses to blame migrants the easy scapegoats. Putting the Brexit debate aside, Woolfes comments are problematic for a number of reasons. Ukip is not a party known for its concern for the wellbeing of Black people living in Britain, but rather its concern about Black people living in Britain. Indeed, to consider Ukip and racial progress in the same breath often feels like something of an oxymoron. So to suddenly feign concern for the lives of Black Britons in an attempt to gain Black British support for the EU Out campaign seems both disingenuous and offensive. Woolfe assumes the role of the acceptable BAME face of the pursuit of Ukips anti-immigrant agenda one that has gained increasing political currency on the Right. And it is the same position that saw Winston McKenzies ascent to Ukip commonwealth spokesperson. This was before he left, of course, claiming he had experienced in-party racial discrimination. Woolfe playing on the us vs them idea is supremely ironic. Such rhetoric should have an air of familiarity to Black Britons like him who have historically (and contemporarily) been positioned as the them outside of the British us. Absurdly, Ukip now expect Black Britain to be complicit in the stirring of such a climate of hate through simplistic scaremongering. However, while Woolfe continues to refer to evidence that supposedly suggests Black Britons are opposed to EU membership, substantive research from the Runnymede trust finds that Black Britons are divided and largely ambivalent on the issue. They do, however, recognise that immigration debates were likely to negatively stigmatise them. The most fundamental flaw in Woolfes logic is the ready consignment of Black Britons to the lowest rung in society. His arguments hinge upon an acceptance that Black people occupy and will continue to occupy low skilled jobs in British society; they thus should be content with staying one rung above new migrants. This is a contemptuous position that belies any kind of commitment to racial justice. Recommended Read more Corbyn is now being advised by a Greek biker and a Marxist hack A real commitment to racial equality would look at the institutional racism that pervades education, employment, and the criminal justice system, and offer constructive arguments about how that situation can be resolved. Shifting xenophobic arguments from one oppressed group to another, however, isnt exactly the inspiring narrative that Black communities are looking for when deciding which way to vote on a possible Brexit. Spring has, hopefully, finally sprung. Its my favourite of year and is inevitably associated with spring cleaning, which I both hate and love. I loathe the doing part but, on completion, relish the cleaner, decluttered living space and feel both mentally and emotionally refreshed. Our younger daughter, Ruth, was watching TV one night when she said, "Mammy, you should get Mr Muscle, he'd do the cleaning for you." She innocently believes the simple act of bringing the bottle into the house is enough for the dirt to be magicked away, by a cartoon man clad in a white-coat and orange-leotard. Forget Steve Silvermint; such a man really would be a cool clean hero. Getting in someone to help is another possibility. Once, when a few of the ladies were over for a coffee, I mentioned I never had a cleaner in and, looking about, their murmured response varied from, "I can believe that" to "you could tell." But I it's my dust so it's my job. I finally accepted I couldn't put it off any longer when I walked into the sitting room to see cobwebs in the corner that had become so heavy that they detached at one end and were hanging from the ceiling like dreary stalactites. There are several suggested origins for spring cleaning based on religious rituals, including those around the Jewish Passover. Observant Jews are supposed to refrain from consuming leavened foods including bread, known as chametz, in the week of fasting after Passover. Houses have to be cleaned thoroughly and this culminates on the night before the festival begins with the family hunting by candlelight for any remaining chametz crumbs. However, rather like Christmas, it's possible this was more about religion attaching meaning to an existing pattern of behaviour rather than the other way round. In many pre-Christian pagan cultures, winter festivals - especially those centred on the winter solstice - were the most popular of the year. This was because, the world at the time being an agricultural one, it was the natural lull in the working cycle. It's more likely that spring cleaning dates backs to prehistory. Days are getting longer at either end. The extra light would have exposed the messy state of the caves or huts, while the improved weather made a good clean-up easier. Down the ages, people in many climates kept their houses shut up over the winter, staving off the cold with fires of coal, wood and turf. On the first fine day, windows were flung open and every available body was dispatched, to sweep and scrub while heavier clothes were washed. Most homes today are bright, well-appointed and, thanks to central heating and the vacuum cleaner, relatively easy to keep. But I wonder whether we are any happier with them? In the way that skinny celebrities make young people insecure about their appearance, has the proliferation of glossy homemaking magazines and house makeover shows on TV made us insecure about the appearance of our homes? When I was a child, no-one made an appointment to call on a friend, neighbour or relation. Now, like most of my circle, there are few people I would drop in on unannounced. Except my mother's friends! It reminds me of the adage, "If you want to see me, drop in any time; if you want to see my house, make an appointment." Meanwhile, a number of community clean-ups are underway in the run-up to the 1916 celebrations while An Taisce's Spring Clean litter campaign takes place in April. Participation would help your locality and be a good chance to catch up with neighbours. Restoring a link with the past I recently fell into conversation with painter/restorer Vincent OBrien from nearby Durrow about an unusual aspect of his work: the refurbishment of holy statues for farming families. Most of the statues are of Our Lady or Saint Joseph, with others including the Child of Prague, ranging in size from 12-24 inches. Sometimes its just painting but often they arrive in pieces and substantial reconstruction is required. This work has always been steady, from the time of my dad, Ned, says Vincent, who along with brother Paul, took over the business in 1990. This is remarkable, considering the many church scandals since coupled with the general secularisation of society. Vincent says there is a greater demand for this work from the farming sector compared to the population in general, though he doesnt know why. Given that the work is done by hand, the cost is obviously significant but Vincent says this doesnt really seem to come into it. Maybe some people feel they couldnt get rid of the statue so restoration is the only option. But, mostly, there seems to be some sort of deeper affinity, whether to the statue itself or as a link to their ancestors. The hunt is on for the country's top farmers as the Zurich Farming Independent Farmer of the Year Awards returns, with a fantastic prize fund of over 20,000. If you believe you are one of the best producers in the country or you know one of the top farmers now is your chance to get recognition for all the hard work. You can log on to www.farmeroftheyear.ie to apply online or to download a form to enter by post. The awards are free to enter and farmers can nominate themselves or alternatively be nominated by a third party There are a wide range of categories available to enter including Beef, Sheep, Dairy, Tillage, Equestrian, Alternative Farm Enterprises and Rising Stars, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award and a Grand Prix Award for the overall Farmer of the Year for 2016. Last year's Lifetime Achievement Award went to Anna May McHugh for her dedicated service to the National Ploughing Association. In addition there is a category to promote excellence in farm safety, which is being sponsored by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). The Alternative Farm Enterprise category gives farmers involved in more niche enterprises such as vegetables, fruit, pigs, poultry, flowers, and organics, along with those engaged in forestry, an opportunity to show-case their achievements. The Rising Star section is aimed at recognising the huge pool of talent that is coming up through the ranks of Irish agriculture. Award winners will share a prize fund of 20,000 which will be presented at a glitzy ceremony in The Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin on Friday May 20, 2016. The competition is run in conjunction with Zurich Insurance, and with categories sponsored by ICMSA, ICSA, Teagasc, Landrover and the Health and Safety Authority. Michael Doyle, head of sales and agri-business with Zurich Insurance, said that the company was thrilled to be involved in the initiative for the third year in a row. "As one of the country's leading providers of farm insurance, we are proud to continue as title sponsor of these prestigious awards, which are now an annual highlight in the farming calendar," he said. "The Farmer of the Year Awards highlight the dedication and innovation which has been witnessed in the farming community over the past few years, and celebrate the high achievers in the industry. We are delighted to be involved in recognising these successes and look forward to seeing this year's entries." 'Atrocious' ground conditions have persisted across much of the country this spring, despite large covers of grass being available for grazing. The heavy rainfalls that have seen most of the country receive double the average level over the last three months has continued right up to the end of February, with up to 60mm falling in parts of Munster on Friday. "Ground conditions are atrocious," said Teagasc's grass expert, Michael O'Donovan. "We've had three days in February where an inch of rain fell each day. That's why we've only 12-18pc of the area grazed so far, when we would be targeting 20-25pc to be grazed by now." Higher than average temperatures over the last three months have resulted in large covers of grass building up on farms, but without dry enough conditions to get it grazed. "Soil temperatures are good, and were as high 8.5C in December. But the covers of 1,400-2,000kg/ha of drymatter that have been built up are beginning to die back, and really they need to be grazed in the next two weeks to prevent it setting back grass growth even further," said Mr O'Donovan. Data from Teagasc's PastureBase shows that growth rates are on a par with last year, but Met Eireann figures show that rainfall amounts for December, January and February are over double long-term averages. Meanwhile, farmers are being encouraged to attend a nationwide series of flooding consultation meetings. The National Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management group is hosting meetings in the southeastern region in Inistioge, Graiguenamanagh, Mountmellick, Rathdowney, Portloise, Freshford, Portarlington and Daingean over the next week. This is the fifth stage of a seven-part process to decide how resources will be spent on managing flooding throughout the country over the coming years. Preliminary risk and mapping consultations have already been completed, with options now being presented to the public for the first time. The process was started by the OPW in 2011. Insurance rates look set to rise at FBD following an 85m pre-tax loss after an "exceptionally difficult" year and well-known figures in farming circles are exiting the insurer's board. Chief executive Fiona Muldoon said the company is targeting increases in farm accounts in the "low single digits" this year. FBD is likely to generate a loss of about 1.5m next year before returning to profitability in 2017. "We have an enormous amount to do during 2016 to make sure we get there," Ms Muldoon told the Farming Independent. "I think we've gone about doing all the things that we said we would do. I am confident that we have set ourselves the right challenges. It's not a slam dunk to get there. We're going to have to be vigilant and keep ploughing our own furrow." Meanwhile, FBD Holdings plc chairman, Michael Berkery - who served as the IFA's general secretary for 25 years before retiring in 2009 - has confirmed he plans to retire next year from the FBD board after 19 years. Former IFA president Eddie Downey has also confirmed he will not be seeking re-election to the FBD board next month. Mr Downey, who received 30,000 in director's fees for 2014 from FBD, stepped down from the IFA presidency last November. His resignation followed the exit of then general secretary Pat Smith after it emerged Mr Smith received a total of nearly 1m in remuneration from the IFA over two years. In a statement to the markets, FBD said four board members would not be going forward for re-election for a variety of reasons. The issue of board fees was highlighted in the report on corporate governance at the IFA produced by the association's former chief economist Con Lucey following the pay controversy. Mr Lucey recommended that all payments to the president from outside bodies should be paid into IFA funds. All three candidates for the IFA presidency race have stated their position on the issue of IFA presidents serving on the board of FBD. Henry Burns said the next IFA president would have an extremely busy schedule and the director position with FBD would have to be examined. Joe Healy, who said he received 3,597 as a director on the separate Farmer Business Developments co-op - which owns 25pc of FBD - stated he felt the president of IFA should not be the representative on the FBD plc board. "To be a director on the FBD board is an onerous task," he said. "I feel the president of the IFA will be much too busy with the IFA over the next few years working to restore it." Flor McCarthy, who last week claimed the IFA has been hit by a drop of 1m a year following the collapse in profits in the insurance company, said board membership for IFA officers should go back into the organisation. Meanwhile, Mr Berkery said he wanted to record his and the board's "deep appreciation" to all four board members, including Mr Downey. Farmers are seeking an opt-out from IFA levies as part of their malting barley contracts with Boortmalt, and have also called for more action from the organisation's grain committee. A meeting of the Irish Grain Growers Association (IGGA) heard strong criticisms of the delay in reaching a deal for malting barley with sowing now just weeks away. Tom Cushen, chair of the new group formerly known as the Irish Malt Growers Association, said they have agreed that members will not purchase any additional inputs from Boortmalt Ireland such as sprays for the coming season until they are prepared to meet and recognise them as a body. The group said they were making the move due to a lack of action by the IFA. They also said a deal had been struck on the payment before Christmas. However, it has since been changed with a suggestion by Boortmalt that 25pc of the contract tonnes would be paid at a surplus price to be set by Boortmalt after harvest. The group, which has over 200 members, said the company has not met with them so far. "We are people who weren't listened to by the other organisations. It is hard for one organisation to represent, beef, growers, dairy and the whole lot," said chair Tom Cushen. Farmers attending the meeting in Athy, Co Kildare said they were not being kept up to date on the stage the negotiations were at between the IFA and Boortmalt over the contracts for 2016. Bobby Miller said they have to "make a stand" as they are on the verge of sowing the crop. "It is just not good enough. The questions aren't being asked for us by the IFA," he said. "There has been no action from the IFA on it. They are sticking their heads in the sand." Contracts Ahead of a meeting between the IFA committee and Boortmalt yesterday, grower Colm Fingleton, who is also on the IFA malting barley committee, said contracts must be established at an earlier stage to allow people "proper forward selling". Mr Fingleton, who is also on the committee of the IGGA, said it was the "only commodity in which farmers are forced to pay a levy" as there is currently no opt-out clause. Farmers have been told they can claim a return of the IFA's share of the 38c/t levy. However, the meeting heard a number of farmers from Enniscorthy had filled out forms for return of their levies over the past two years but have never received them. Mr Miller said forms were also filled out in the Athy area for 19 farmers in 2015 and no response has been received yet. Farmers have been told that the 38c/t levy is partly spent on trials at UCD (12c/t) and the IFA's Ifarm (7c/t), which promotes farm-to-farm selling. However, there is no-farm-to farm selling on malting barley. GRAND FORKS Al Palmer is no stranger to retiring, but this time he thinks itll stick. The 63-year-old has had ties to the University of North Dakotas aerospace programs for years, retiring in 2010 from his position as UND chief of flight operations and becoming director of UNDs Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research, Education and Training. Now, due to his health, Palmer said hes retiring to spend time with his grandchildren and feed the deer on his property in western Grand Forks County. Im not going to pass away anytime soon but I just cant continue at the same pace I have been over the years, Palmer said in an interview. Because it could take more than a month to find out if his application for medical retirement has been accepted, Palmer doesnt know exactly when hell be leaving UND but is on sick leave until June 30. Palmer said he is optimistic about the future of UNDs UAS programs and is proud of the work he did while working as director. In my career thats a good one to end on, he said. Bruce Smith, the dean of the UND John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, will also be retiring in June after about 15 years of leading the school. He said Palmer proved to be indispensable while serving as interim director for the UAS Center, which is why he was selected for the job permanently despite a national search. Instead of just being a placeholder, instead of just being there, he showed us he was the right guy for the job, Smith said. Palmer began his career as an hourly flight instructor in 1978 and spent time in the U.S. Air Force. His flight instructor was Odegard, who urged Palmer to join the Air National Guard. Hes one of those remarkable people who went from enlisted one stripe to one star as a general, Smith said. That almost never happens. But Palmer said now, after more than 10,000 flight hours, hes ready to bow out to someone younger. We do a really good job of mentoring our younger people and I have great hopes, he said. Unmanned aircraft systems is an emerging technology. Its going to mean good things for North Dakota and for the University of North Dakota. Palmer is a large part of the reason why UNDs UAS programs have grown successfully, Smith said, adding Palmer was also key in implementing the SPECTRUM airline training program. When the center really needed a boost, Al comes as close as you can to being indispensable, Smith said. According to Popular Science, UND was the first school in the nation to offer a four-year degree in unmanned aerial vehicle piloting in 2013. Weve got a training program that has national and international recognition, Palmer said. Its the best in the world and a lot of people worked really hard to make that happen. Moving forward, Smith said the UAS center will likely be run through the Department of Aviation and Palmers position wont be refilled, especially in light of budgetary constraints as UND looks at how to cut $9.5 million from its 2015-17 budget. And while hes sad that he wont be flying anymore, Palmer said he is looking forward to feeding the deer on his property, noting he buys 200 lbs. of corn each week for them. I get so much joy in doing that, he said, laughing. Cairn, which is building Parkside, above, raised 642m in 2015 House builder Cairn Homes has amassed enough land to build 11,000 homes after raising 642m over the course of 2015. The company floated on the London Stock Exchange last year and followed up that deal with further equity and debt raisings. It posted a net loss 5.5m before exceptional items in the 13 months to the end of December, its first year in operation, according to preliminary results published yesterday. Operations over the year focused on acquisitions, including Ulster Bank's Project Clear, a portfolio of loans linked to lands that account for a fifth of zoned Dublin residential sites. "Following the successful acquisition of the Project Clear loans portfolio and the nine other individual site acquisitions since our IPO, the company now has access to an exceptionally well located and well-priced core land bank of in excess of 11,000 units," Cairn chief executive Michael Stanley said. Cairn expects construction to begin at its Rathgar site in South Dublin in the second quarter of this year. "We are currently building in Parkside, North Dublin, and Killiney, South Dublin," Mr Stanley said. "We will commence construction on five further schemes within the next 12 months and look forward to making a meaningful contribution to the much needed supply of quality new homes in Ireland over the coming years," he said. After the launch of the company's first site at Parkside, Dublin 13, in September, 52 houses are now sale agreed, with Cairn reporting positive feedback from customers. The company is now staffing up on the construction side as it looks to ramp up output. The homebuilder has continued to buy so far this year, acquiring a site on Hanover Quay in Dublin's docklands area as well as striking a deal with Hines for developments in Cherrywood. That deal will see the construction of over 300 homes on the Cherrywood site, in line with the site's masterplan. Cairn's 2015 profits were hit by exceptional charges of 2.9m related to the acquisition of Cairn Homes Holdings Limited and a further 29.1m non-cash fair value once-off accounting charge relating to the Founder Share scheme. The company's revenue was 3.7m in the year. Pictured at the Cork China Business seminar attended by a high profile Chinese trade delegation, hosted by Cork County Council were Mayor of County Cork Cllr. John Paul O'Shea speaking with Mayor of Xuzhou, Mr. Zhou Tiegan. PCH, an Irish design firm that manufactures products for clients including Apple, has cut almost 10pc of its workforce as the company looks to improve its efficiency. Chief executive Liam Casey, inset, described the move as "the right thing to do" after the company reports revenue growth of 57pc over the last three years. Mr Casey, dubbed "Mr China" for his long-standing focus on manufacturing there, told the Irish Independent that an increase in its quality of engineering, paired with improved efficiencies at its Chinese operations, was behind the job losses. "This year we're focused on the future. Using technology and interacting with our facility in San Francisco we're able to do it with a lot less touches in China. We want to make sure we're competitive. This is the right time to do it and it's the right thing to do," Mr Casey said. PCH currently employs around 100 people in Ireland at its global headquarters in Cork out of a total of 2,600 worldwide, the majority located in China. The Irish company has long been tipped as a potential candidate for a stock market listing. However, Mr Casey yesterday played down the prospect of an initial public offering (IPO), saying that it wasn't on the agenda. "I think before you look at any financing or anything like that you have to make sure that you're set up for the future and this is a big step forward for us," he said. The PCH chief outlined the changes in work the company has been doing over the last three years. "The level of sophistication in the products that we're doing and in the engineering that we're doing and the clients that we're doing it with, it's become a very different profile to the type of work we would have been doing three years ago," Mr Casey said. Asset Management Trust is understood to have had between 30m and 40m assets under management, before the Central Bank began probing its operations. Clients of a Dublin-based investment firm are set to be compensated by a State compensation fund. The Central Bank said it made the decision about Asset Management Trust as the firm will be unable to meet claims from clients. In a statement, the Central Bank said it has "determined that it appears that the firm is unable for the time being, for reasons which are directly related to its financial circumstances, to meet its obligations arising from claims by clients and has no reasonably foreseeable opportunity of being able to do so". The firm had its authorisation withdrawn by the Central Bank last March. The Investor Compensation Company Limited, which operates the statutory compensation scheme for investors, will write to the firm's clients. Investors have until July 27 next to make a claim for compensation. Central Bank executive Des Ritchie has been appointed as administrator to assess claims for compensation. Asset Management Trust is understood to have had around 300 clients, and assets under management of between 30m and 40m, before the Central Bank began probing its operations. The most recent filings in the Companies Registration Office show that the directors of firm are Robert Brickell and Gerard McCoy. It had an address at Fosters Avenue, Mount Merrion, Dublin. The Central Bank is understood to have begun inquiries into the company's affairs in 2014. The Investor Compensation Company was set up to give private investors a way to claim compensation without the need for expensive legal action. It is funded by levies paid by authorised or registered investment firms that are members of the scheme. It can pay eligible investors 90pc of the money they have lost, up to a maximum of 20,000. However, if the investments were in pensions or property, the losses are likely to be far higher than 20,000 per client. Assassin's Creed Identity has just launched, making this a pretty busy year for a franchise that's supposed to be taking a break Remember when Ubisoft said the Assassin's Creed franchise was taking a break for 2016, well it doesn't really seem that way. In reality we've already had two games this year - AC India and AC Russia, as well as a triple pack of those two and the previously released China game. And now there's another title which has just released called Assassin's Creed Identity. Here's the launch trailer. As you can probably guess from the video, this is a mobile game and is launching first for iOS. But the technology has come along so far that those graphics are actually pretty impressive and it looks like there's a lot to do as you run and jump and slice and dice. You travel to attractive locations in Italy and during the same timeline as Assassin's Creed II. You might even meet Ezio along the way! Weirdly enough this title actually came out first in New Zealand and Australia as free to play all the way back in 2014 which we don't totally understand. Anyway it's now available for a fiver on iOS and coming to Android soon. The Arctic is thawing faster than lawmakers can formulate rules to limit the environmental threat of heavy fuel oil pollution from ships plying an increasingly popular trade route. Average Arctic temperatures are rising twice as fast as elsewhere in the world and the polar ice cap's permanent cover is shrinking at a rate of around 10pc per decade. By the end of this century, summers in the Arctic could be free of ice. As the ice melts, shipping of gas, coal and diesel through the region has increased. Russia, in particular, is keen to expand shipping through the Arctic given its rich natural resources and efforts to cut costs. It aims to cut journey times between Europe and Asia by up to 30pc. "It is time for regulators to wake up and realise that the Arctic is melting away right in front of us," said Whit Sheard of the Circumpolar Conservation Union (CCU) green group. "Common-sense regulations, integrated ocean planning, and explicit protections are all needed before the resources of the region are targeted for exploitation or before it becomes a major shipping route." While there is a non-binding agreement in place between Arctic states aimed at environmental protection, campaigners say there has been no progress on regulating the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO), which is banned in the Antarctic. Regulations for the Antarctic came into effect in 2011 after being adopted by the United Nations' shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It was arguably an easier sell as fewer commercial cargo ships operate there. Any effort to tackle the issue in the Arctic is likely to take some time even after last year's climate deal in Paris, which commits nations to curb emissions. The Paris deal did not set specific targets for commercial shipping, leaving the IMO to take up the charge. HFO was not the top focus of an Arctic Council meeting on environmental protection earlier this month, leading campaigners to seek more action. They plan to raise the issue at the IMO's next marine environmental protection committee session in April. According to a 2009 study by the intergovernmental Arctic Council, the release of oil into the Arctic's marine environment "either through accidental release, or illegal discharge, is the most significant threat from shipping activity". Last year, the US, Russia and other Arctic nations signed an agreement to bar their fishing fleets from seas around the North Pole. The code imposed prohibitions on the carriage of oil or oily mixtures from any ship into the sea and prevented pollution from garbage and noxious liquid substances. But it only "encouraged" ships not to use or carry HFO in the Arctic. A 2015 study by the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis estimated that two-thirds of the volume of world trade that goes through the Suez Canal could be rerouted via the Arctic, but it gave no timeframes. Suez accounts for an estimated 8pc of world seaborne trade. Looser ice may make travel easier, but it also means icebergs and there is the risk of vessels being holed. Insurers are also looking for more clarity. "The level of regulation applying to these new waterways has, perhaps inevitably, not had time to catch up with the physical changes to the Arctic environment," said Joe Hughes, chairman of shipping insurer American Club. (Reuters) Actor Michael Fassbender (R) and guest attend the 88th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 28, 2016 in Hollywood, California Actor Leonardo DiCaprio (L) and Kate Winslet attend the 88th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on February 28, 2016 in Hollywood, California Actress Brie Larson wins Best Actress for 'Room' during the 88th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre. Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images Screenwriter Benjamin Cleary (L) and actress Chloe Pirrie in attendance at the 88th Annual Academy Awards, Hollywood, California. Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images Irish director Benjamin Cleary was the triumphant underdog at the 2016 Oscars. In the run up to the 88th Academy Awards all eyes were on Saoirse Ronan - but it was Rathmines native Ben who walked away with a shining statuette for his short film 'Stutterer'. It was an impressive feat given it is the first film he ever made and cost just 5,000. The 32-year-old wrote, directed and funded the project and said accepting the award in front of some of the biggest names in the film industry was "a pretty emotional moment". "Every day is a proud day to be Irish but today more so than usual. So everyone for all the support back home thank you so much," he said. Cleary was inspired to write about a man with a speech impediment after witnessing the struggles of a childhood friend. "I had a friend growing up who had a severe stutter - that must have stuck with me," he told the Irish Independent last month. Yesterday, his alma mater St Michael's College congratulated him on the win. "The entire College community, and especially the class of 2002 are delighted with Ben's wonderful success," a spokesperson said. 'Brooklyn' star Saoirse Ronan (21) missed out on the Best Actress award which went to Brie Larson for her harrowing role in Irish co-production 'Room'. Ronan previously attended the Oscars as a teenager in 2008, when she was up for best supporting actress for her part in 'Atonement'. She described attending as "surreal". Lenny Abrahamson missed out on Best Director which went to Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Michael Fassbender lost out on the Oscar for Best Actor but his girlfriend Alicia Vikander picked up Best Supporting Actress. Video of the Day Even if Martin Hayes, Iarla O Lionaird, Caoimhin O Raghallaigh, Dennis Cahill and Thomas Bartlett never formed The Gloaming, they've all had astonishing careers in music. Since 2011, they've collectively received a slew of five star reviews, a Choice Music Prize for their debut album and the honour of playing the Royal Albert Hall on the historic occasion of Michael D. Higgin's official state visit to the Queen. On the opening night of a five date residency in the National Concert Hall, they repeatedly call the venue home. Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill have plenty of previous performing here as a duo, so it makes complete sense to celebrate the launch of their new album The Gloaming 2 in this hallowed hall. The sound is pristine and so is the performance. O Lionaird haunting voice and Hayes' mercurial violin playing often take centre stage, but they all bring something extra special to the party. Thomas Bartlett has been involved with some of the most revered names in contemporary music from The National to David Byrne. His minimal piano playing gives these wonderful soundscapes an innovative backbone and he sometimes stomps the stage in time to the music. Hayes remarks that the band receive a lot of praise for doing something new, but to his ears, it all just sounds like Irish traditional music. He definitely has a point when you listen to The Hare or Oisin's Song, but they still have the imagination and talent to bring it somewhere else, lending a modern twist to an ancient art form and creating stunning trad for the 21st century. Martin Hayes is quite simply a demon on the violin and an absolute joy to watch. For years, his work has marked him out as something of a Jimi Hendrix figure of traditional fiddle playing. Caoimhin O Raghallaigh plays an intricate ten-string violin, which he explains is perfect for playing quietly. Whenever Iarla O Lionaird isn't singing his heart and soul out in his unique, self-styled sean nos style, he perches behind a harmonium adding subtle layers of sound. In the centenary year of 1916, The Gloaming are continuing their stunning musical revolution. They deserve to be celebrated and cherished. Matt LeBlanc (left) and Chris Evans before taking part in the first challenge for Top Gear A BBC boss has slammed as 'rubbish' reports claiming that Chris Evans' has been 'unprofessional' on the Top Gear set. The Sun had reported that tensions between Evans and producer Lisa Clark were behind her decision to leave after five months on the show. It had also been reported that Evans had objected to the hiring of former Friends star Matt LeBlanc for the presenting line-up. However, acting director of BBC Television Mark Linsey has released a statement refuting these claims. Expand Close Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc filming Top Gear in Blackpool / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc filming Top Gear in Blackpool "It is rubbish to suggest Chris Evans's behaviour on the set of Top Gear has been in any way unprofessional," he said. "Chris is a consummate professional and a real team-player. He is a passionate presenter who commits his heart and soul into everything he does - whether his Radio 2 show, Children In Need or Top Gear - and we are extremely fortunate to have him leading the show. "Also, it is simply not true to suggest Chris did not support the signing of Matt LeBlanc, when he has been behind Matt joining the presenting team since day one. "Chris and Matt are part of a wider production team that is full of brilliant and talented people. That team is tight-knit, in great spirits and utterly focused on delivering the best possible series for viewers." Expand Close Jeremy Clarkson was involved in a bust-up with Oisin Tymon at a hotel in North Yorkshire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jeremy Clarkson was involved in a bust-up with Oisin Tymon at a hotel in North Yorkshire When Lisa Clark departed the show she said she was simply "moving on to new projects" and she said, "I'd like to wish production all the very best on the show." Clark had worked with the 49-year-old presenter since his time on The Big Breakfast in the 90s. She had replaced Andy Wilman on Top Gear. He left when Jeremy Clarkson was sacked following his bust-up with producer Oisin Tymon. Clarkson issued a formal apology to the Irish producer and settled a racial discrimination and personal injury claim for a estimated 100,000 (127,000). The launch of the show, which has seen the departure of script editor Tom Ford and BBC2 controller Kim Shillinglaw, has been put delayed two weeks until May 22. Expand Close Jeremy Clarkson punched Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon (pictured) after he was told he could not order a steak dinner at a hotel. Photo: BBC Worldwide/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jeremy Clarkson punched Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon (pictured) after he was told he could not order a steak dinner at a hotel. Photo: BBC Worldwide/PA Wire Video of the Day Clarkson will team up with fellow Top Gear presenters James May and Richard Hammond for a new car series for Amazon Prie. Seamus Daly was once described by a High Court judge as a Real IRA foot soldier. The evidence linking him to the dissidents' Omagh bombing was described as overwhelming by one of Northern Ireland's most senior judicial figures during a claim for damages by grieving relatives. The bricklayer from the Republic of Ireland was connected by Belfast's High Court to mobile phones used during the bombing. In 2013, a judge ordered Mr Daly and three others to pay the bereaved families civil damages worth 1.6 million after they were found liable for one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles. On Tuesday, a criminal court cleared Mr Daly, originally from Cullaville, Co Monaghan, of 29 murder charges at Omagh. He was held in prison awaiting trial for nearly two years. His defence had protested throughout lengthy legal proceedings that he had no case to answer. And when the evidence against him was tested last month and prosecution star witness Denis O'Connor contradicted himself under cross-examination, it became clear the accusations were crumbling. Mr Daly's lawyer, Peter Corrigan, said the case against his client was paper-thin and based upon a witness who was himself arrested as part of the bombing probe. He claimed Mr O'Connor gave an account to Irish police in 1999 and had given three or four other versions. The implication was clear - his words could not be relied upon. Mr Corrigan also said his client had an alibi for the time when he was supposed to be involved in murder. He insisted the evidence was stale and could have been presented to his client at any time in recent years. The bricklayer's militant republicanism stretches back to at least 2004 when he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in the Republic after admitting membership of the outlawed Real IRA which carried out the Omagh attack. But convicting him of a string of murders in a Co Tyrone market town which shocked the world just months after the landmark Good Friday peace agreement was to prove a hurdle too high. Two Belfast civil cases, one in 2009 and a retrial in 2013, only had to prove on the balance of probabilities that the respondents were behind the bombing. In 2013 Justice Gillen concluded that the evidence against Mr Daly and three others was overwhelming. The judge in the original civil case said he was satisfied that Mr Daly was in possession of one of the two phones which, trace records indicate, were used by the occupants of the bomb car and the getaway car on the day of the attack. He said the fact that Mr Daly had provided no answer to the evidence presented before the court further supported suspicions. A one-month retrial of the civil case was shown data from mobile phone masts that tracked calls made from two phones as they moved from the Irish Republic to Omagh and back across the border ahead of the bomb attack on August 15 1998. But criminal prosecutors had to establish Mr Daly's guilt beyond all reasonable doubt and on Tuesday that barrier was judged too high. Lawyers for Mr Daly said he had been living openly in Jonesborough in Northern Ireland before his arrest but was detained by officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Serious Crime Branch in Newry in Co Down as he accompanied his wife to the town hospital's maternity unit. One of the victims of the Omagh bombing was a woman pregnant with twins. Mr Daly's second child's due day coincided with the date he was charged with 29 murders and put behind bars. Today he can finally see his child. The scene of the robbery at Durham University. Photo credit: Durham Police/PA Wire A photo issued by Durham Police of an 18th century Chinese jade bowl stolen from Durham Universitys Oriental Museum. Photo credit should read: Durham Police/PA Wire More than a dozen members of an Irish Traveller gang have been convicted of plotting to steal rhino horns and Chinese artifacts worth almost 60m (76m) from museums across Britain. Dubbed the 'Dead Zoo Gang' or the 'Rathkeale Rovers', at least eight of those convicted had links to the Co Limerick town. Four of the so-called 'generals' who helped plan raids at Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum and Durham's Oriental Museum were convicted yesterday following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court. Ten men had previously been convicted of their part in the raids, but details can only now be revealed after reporting restrictions were placed on the case by the trial judge. Police said the stolen items may have fetched up to 57m (73m) on the booming Chinese auction market. The court heard how the gang targeted a string of museums which had rhino horn artefacts on display, in order to sell them to wealthy Chinese buyers, who value its supposed medicinal and healing powers. Valuable Powdered rhino horn is thought to be the most valuable commodity on earth and can fetch as much as 64,000 per kilo in China. Daniel 'Turkey' O'Brien (45); John 'Kerry' O'Brien (26); Michael Hegarty (43); and Richard 'Kerry' O'Brien Junior (31), all from Cambridgeshire but with links to Rathkeale, were found guilty yesterday of conspiracy to steal, following a lengthy trial at Birmingham Crown Court. Eight other men, aged between 33 and 68, from Cambridgeshire, London, Southend-on-Sea and Wolverhampton, had been found guilty at three previous trials, all at Birmingham Crown Court. Two others, one aged 28, from Kent, and the other, aged 46, from Belfast, pleaded guilty to the charges in March of last year and January this year. All 14 men were charged in connection with all the incidents. Among those convicted of conspiracy to steal was Travellers' rights campaigner Richard Sheridan and Donald Chi Chong Wong, a London-based 'fence' who made frequent trips to Hong Kong. As a result of the raids, many museums removed rhino horns from display, but the gang simply targeted rare Oriental artefacts, such as jade ornaments and vases, instead. There were raids at the Norwich Castle Museum, an auction house in Lewes, East Sussex and the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow, as well as those in Cambridge and Durham. One Ming Dynasty bowl that was taken from Durham University raid was estimated to be worth as much as 16m (20m) but was later discovered dumped on waste ground. During one bungled raid, the thieves attempted to make off with a rhino's head that was on display at Norwich Castle Museum, but were forced to dump it because it was too heavy to carry. The court heard that the ringleaders would "hire" in criminals to carry out the raids, some of whom were aged just 15. Detective Superintendent Adrian Green, of Durham Police, said: "If you look at the audacity of what they do and the value of the property taken, that makes them significant criminals both within the UK and potentially across the world." Sentencing of the men will take place in April. A 17-YEAR-OLD, who suffered two black eyes and a laceration to his nose while playing Blind Mans Bluff in an adventure centre, has been awarded 27,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court. Barrister Caroline Williams told the court the incident happened in October 2012 as Anthony McDonagh was blindfolded for the purpose of an activity at Carlingford Adventure Centre, Tholsel St, Carlingford, Co Louth. Ms Williams said Anthony collided with a tree while he was playing and suffered two black eyes and a laceration to his nose, which was deviated. The court was told Antony was taken to the A&E department of Tallaght Hospital, Dublin, where he underwent minor surgery under general anaesthetics. Mr Justice Raymond Groarke today heard that since the incident Anthony suffered nasal congestion and his wound had left a lump on his nose. Through his mother Geraldine McDonagh, Anthony, of Castlebrook, Newcastle Road, Rathcoole, Co Dublin, sued Carlingford Adventure Centre Ltd for negligence. Ms Williams said the defendant had accepted an assessment of the damages at 27,133 made by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board and she recommended acceptance of it to the court. Judge Groarke, hearing that Anthony will require cosmetic surgery to his nose, accepted the settlement offer. Gerry Adams would be open to prosecution for IRA activity if he steps down as leader of Sinn Fein, according to a respected author and expert on the Provos and Sinn Fein. Ed Moloney points to the precedent set by the jailing last week of the Sinn Fein President's friend, Thomas 'Slab' Murphy. Mr Murphy was sentenced to 18 months in prison for tax evasion. Mr Moloney told 'The Guardian' newspaper: "This party [Sinn Fein] was created out of the IRA by Gerry Adams and the small group of advisers and colleagues that surround him. They will decide whether he goes or not, not the membership. "As long as he is leader of Sinn Fein he is also leader of the peace process project and as such he is protected from efforts to pursue him for IRA activity during the Troubles. "As soon as he relinquishes leadership it would be seen as a sign that the peace process is now secure and in those circumstances he could well become vulnerable; one could almost foresee the calls for his prosecution that would soon follow. "The precedent of Slab Murphy is not a happy one and so continuing as Sinn Fein leader provides him with a shield." Mr Moloney also said Fianna Fail's next move on whether or not to enter coalition or an arrangement to support Fine Gael, will have a strong influence on Sinn Fein's future progress. He described the prospect of Fianna Fail joining a grand coalition with its old civil war rivals as a "wet dream" for Mr Adams's party. "It [would] allow Sinn Fein to present itself as the real opposition. Not only would the party's Stalinist-like discipline compare favourably with the chaos and backbiting that would infect the coalition government, but the Shinners would play it all to their advantage in other ways," he said. Mr Adams insists 'Slab' Murphy is a "good republican", despite his jailing. Mr Adams said again the party was opposed to the Special Criminal Court and does not want to see anyone tried before the juryless court. "The Fine Gael party were guilty of not making tax returns. I didn't hear any questions of Michael Noonan at the time," he said yesterday. "David Drumm is due back. I would not like to see him tried by a non-jury court." Mr Murphy was sentenced following an 11th hour legal submission moved by Mr Murphy's lawyer, John Kearney QC, arising from a Court of Criminal Appeal ruling involving Perry Wharrie, an Englishman jailed for his role in the largest drug seizure in the history of the State. The Wharrie ruling was issued on February 15 last, after Mr Murphy's sentence hearing but before the Special Criminal Court handed down its 18-month sentence to the bachelor farmer. The outgoing Government parties are set to lose more than 3m in State funding after their disastrous election results. The Labour Party alone is now facing a nose-dive in the taxpayers' cash of around 2m a year due to the decimation of the party. A party spokesman conceded that the loss of the funding would have a "very significant impact". Fine Gael's loss will be more than 1m. Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein, on the other hand, will enjoy healthy increases in State funding of at least 580,000 and 320,000 respectively. Smaller parties, such as Anti-Austerity Alliance/People Before Profit, the Social Democrats and the Greens, are also eligible for funds after securing more than 2pc of the vote. Ultimately, the sums allocated won't be determined until all of the Dail and Seanad seats are filled. The Irish Independent's calculations are based on the sums allocated in 2014 - the most recent figures available - and the state of play of the parties' seat numbers. A Labour spokesman said it was too early to assess the loss of funding, but admitted: "Clearly it will have a very significant impact on the Labour Party, no doubt about it." A Fine Gael spokesman said the party would not be assessing the impact of the election on the funds it receives from the State "until all the seats are filled". The funds are paid out under two categories and have been used to cover costs ranging from the general administration of party organisations to hiring public relations consultants, research and policy development. Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail have all used the State funding to top up their leaders' salaries while in opposition. Enda Kenny received an annual 48,344 top-up on his salary in the years before he became Taoiseach. Labour's Eamon Gilmore and his then deputy leader Joan Burton had their salaries topped up by a combined 22,100 in 2010. Micheal Martin's salary was topped up to the tune of 30,000 using the fund in 2014. Under the Electoral Act 1997, the sums allocated to the parties are in line with the percentage of first-preference votes they got in the last general election. The Parliamentary Activities Allowance is based on the number of TDs and Senators and parties in government get a third less funding in this category. Parties are restricted from spending the money from either of the two funds directly on election or referendum expenses. With Labour's 6.6pc of the vote - and six TDs in place last night - the party is in line for around 840,000 in State funding a year, based on the 2014 allocations, when it received almost 3m. It will get more, depending on how many Senators it has after the forthcoming Seanad election. Fine Gael got 4.8m in 2014, but that will be down to around 3.5m - again not taking into account the Seanad results. The Social Democrats, who secured 3pc of the vote in the election, are now in line to receive state funding. "Obviously, we're happy that we qualify for it," the party's joint leader Stephen Donnelly said. We're still only going to get a tiny fraction of what the big parties get but at least we can start to build. "We can now hire someone to head up policy, we can hire someone to do organisational development. "We can hire someone to do admin. So it's a start," said Mr Donnelly. With 2.2pc of first preference votes, Renua Ireland is also eligible for funding under the Electoral Act 1997. Generations of tradition was set aside in Cork South West as councilor Margaret Murphy-OMahony (FF) was elected the first female TD to serve the constituency. Over the length of the election campaign pundits predicated that Deputies Jim Daly (FG) and Noel Harrington (FG) would hold on to their seats while Labours Michael McCarthy would lose out to Fianna Fail candidate Cllr Margaret Murphy-OMahony. The people of West Cork proved the pundits wrong. With the first count eliminating not only Theresa Heaney (Catholic Dem), Fiona OLeary (Ind), Johnny OMahony (GP) and Deputy Michael McCarthy (Lab) the pundits seemed to be spot on. However, it soon became clear that a major shift was underway as Cllr Margaret Murphy-OMahony (FF) topped the poll and stayed there. But it was Cllr Michael Collins (Ind) who defied the pollster as more ballot boxes were opened to reveal a very strong vote right across the constituency for the independent candidate from the Mizen Peninsula. The Sinn Fein candidate Cllr Rachael McCarthy was then eliminated, followed by former Fianna Fail now independent Cllr Alan Coleman who conceded defeat before the results were announced. It was clear at this point that the two remaining FG candidates had a fight on their hands to retain even one of their seats. Following the elimination of Noel Harrington (FG), Cllrs Margaret Murphy-OMahony (FF) and Michael Collins (Ind) both exceeded the quota of 10,815 and to wild celebrations from their supporter they were deemed elected on the fifth count. As the only other candidate remaining Jim Daly (FG) retained his Dail seat, being elected without reaching a quota. Speaking after the count, he said he was happy that he held on to his seat but feared for the formation of a strong stable government. "This has been a very disappointing day for Fine Gael, I am glad that I can return to Dail Eireann and continue to work for the people of West Cork. I would like to talk my supporters for all their hard work and I look forward to what I hope will be a strong stable government." Speaking after her election triumph Margaret Murphy-OMahony said she was overwhelmed with the support from the people of West Cork. This is a great day for the party nationally and I am certain that with this result it will be a very good day for West Cork and the people who live and work here. I want to thank all those who have worked tirelessly on my behalf and I look forward to continuing to work for the people of West Cork in Dail Eireann, Cllr Murphy-OMahony. Celebrating with his supporters Michael Collins (Ind) said that he feels that his election has sent a message to the political parties and that he vows to be the Healy-Rae of West Cork. This is a massive victory for the people of West Cork who have been ignored for far to long. I want to do for West Cork what the Healy-Raes have done for Kerry and I promise that I will work tirelessly to achieve this up in Dail Eireann, Michael Collins concluded. Senator Zappone after being told that the ballot check did not change the original verdict. Photo: RollingNews.ie Katherine Zappone has taken the final seat in Dublin South West following two days of rechecks and recounts at the request of Fine Gael. Late last night the returning officer informed candidates he was satisfied the recounts had not changed the initial result. The former senator said she was thrilled to be an Independent female TD entering the 32nd Dail for her constituency. "As I said at the beginning I really respect the democratic process... I can imagine that Anne-Marie Dermody is feeling the loss and I offer her my support," she said. "Politics is a tough game, even though I haven't been in it very long." The news that the long stalemate was over was met with applause and cheers from supporters of Ms Zappone, who rose to prominence during the marriage referendum. Solicitor Anne-Marie Dermody lost out on the 16th count by some 152 votes following a large transfer of votes to Ms Zappone. Former Tanaiste Michael McDowell was among her supporters. After rechecks the gap narrowed to 120 votes, but it was largely considered to big a gap to close. Others candidates who won seats in the five-seat constituency are Fianna Fail's John Lahart, Fine Gael's Colm Brophy, Anti-Austerity Alliance candidate Paul Murphy and Sinn Fein's Sean Crowe. Deputy Kehoe dedicated his victory to his late father Myles, who passed away a year ago After a tight battle for the final seat in Wexford, outgoing Chief Whip and Junior Minister Paul Kehoe was declared elected last night as the second Fine Gael TD. In an emotional speech following a lengthy recheck of votes, Deputy Kehoe dedicated his victory to his late father Myles, who passed away a year ago, saying: "He was no doubt looking down on me over the past 48 hours." He told Sinn Fein candidate Johnny Mythen, whom he defeated by just 52 votes, that Mr Mythen had put him through the "wringer" over the previous 48 hours. "It has been a difficult election. I thank my family for such loyalty and support. The impact the last number of hours had can best be reflected by my five-year-old daughter. She turned to me this morning and asked had I lost my job," Mr Kehoe said. At 6am on Sunday, a recount was declared by returning officer John Garahy, after a request from Mr Mythen. The process of rechecking, which began at 10am yesterday, involved count staff examining the votes of Mr Kehoe, Mr Mythen, Mick Wallace and Michael D'Arcy. After a full day of checking, Mr Garahy said there was still a discrepancy of 31 votes which could not be bridged. When the end came, it was quick. Things began to change after count staff were sent home mid-afternoon, but with the proviso they could still be needed for the following day. As everyone was readying to go home but expecting to return again today, Senior Counsel Kevin O'Higgins was seen in conclave with Deputy Kehoe and his supporters. It emerged Mr Kehoe was to be elected, with no objection from Mr Mythen. Mr Garahy declared the five candidates for the constituency, which retained two Fine Gael TDs, Mr Kehoe and Michael D'Arcy, alongside the Labour Party's Brendan Howlin, Fianna Fail's James Browne and Independent Mick Wallace. THE abolition of water charges, a major package for rural Ireland and the introduction of a 2,000 childcare tax credit in October's Budget will be among Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin's key demands in return for supporting a minority Fine Gael government. But Mr Martin has been told that his TDs would be more likely to back such an arrangement if it did not involve Enda Kenny as leader of Fine Gael. With just nine days to go until TDs meet to elect a Taoiseach, Fianna Fail has dramatically raised the stakes as the fallout from the election continues. Senior sources have confirmed that the party would be willing to support Fine Gael as part of a 'Tallaght Two Strategy' - but that this may only last one budget. And a series of Fianna Fail demands would have to met in return for the party's support. These include the abolition of water charges, which sources say is a 'red-line' issue for Fianna Fail. The party will also demand the introduction of a 2,000 childcare tax credit for working families. Expand Close Click to view full size graphic / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Click to view full size graphic In phone calls with deputies in the last 48 hours, Mr Martin has also been told to demand a major package for rural Ireland which focuses on broadband, jobs and roads. But in a worrying development for Fine Gael, Fianna Fail TDs are insisting that an arrangement which involves supporting a Fine Gael minority government would not be passed by an ard fheis unless Mr Kenny was replaced as Fine Gael leader. "The Fine Gael leadership is an issue for Fine Gael, but certainly it would be easier for our TDs to agree to such an arrangement if Kenny was gone," said a party source. Mr Martin last night made his first real play ahead of any future negotiations with Fine Gael, insisting that a series of Dail reforms must be agreed before any new government takes office. Read More "We believe that the new Dail should not represent more business as usual - that it should involve a decisive move towards a reformed politics," the Cork South Central TD said. In a statement, Mr Martin set out a deadline of two weeks for each Dail grouping to make nominations to a negotiating committee. Principles That body would then be given another fortnight to agree "core principles", which would be adopted by the Dail immediately. Fianna Fail's list of desired changes include: Limiting the ability of the Government to control all business in the Dail Having set timings for legislation to be debated The establishment of an independent budget review office And a new regulatory oversight process. Senior Fianna Fail sources insist that Mr Kenny will be forced to serve as a caretaker Taoiseach until beyond Easter in a move that will allow deep tensions to surface within Fine Gael over its disastrous election results. "He can go try and woo the Healy-Raes and others but at the end of the day, he won't be able to provide a stable government without our support," said a senior Fianna Fail source. Meanwhile, the blame game within Fine Gael has intensified, with ministers and TDs privately criticising the Taoiseach's key advisers for the botched campaign. One senior figure, speaking anonymously, hit out at what they described as the "macho nature" of the campaign. "Not a single woman, including Frances Fitzgerald, was giving any significant role in the campaign," the source added. As the post mortem continues into the result, which saw the party lose in excess of 20 seats, the finger is being pointed at senior figures who advised the Taoiseach. Read More Throughout the party, it has been claimed that the election strategy proved disastrous, particularly in rural Ireland. "It was a top-down approach. The elderly, in particular, punished us because they felt no compassion whatsoever from Fine Gael. That is a huge problem," said one minister. Fine Gael ministers were due to meet today, prior to a full Cabinet meeting, to discuss the fallout of the election. The Cabinet meeting has a number of procedural issues to deal with but is expected to mostly focus on how the Government can continue to work in the coming weeks and possibly months. The Taoiseach has not yet sought support from any other party leaders or Independents, although he has spoken with Labour Party leader Joan Burton. Labour sources last night insisted that the party would not be involved in any negotiation talks and that its members wanted the party to return to opposition to rebuild. However, Labour will endorse Mr Kenny as Taoiseach on March 10. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin will contest the election, as will Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams. A number of Independents told the Irish Independent they would be willing to listen to the Taoiseach if he made a case for re-election. Waterford TD John Halligan said he would "speak to anybody" and that he didn't have 'red-line' issues. He said one local priority would be increasing services at Waterford Hospital. "We haven't even 24-hour cardiac services. If someone gets a heart attack, they've to go to Cork," he said. Mr Halligan added that there were national issues "which are very dear to me as well", citing water charges and the property tax. He said the Government parties had "underestimated the anger" on those issues. Independent Michael Healy-Rae said: "Anything that we'd ever do would always be with the best interests of the people and for the county of Kerry at heart. Our phones are turned on all the time. If somebody rings us, we'll answer them." It has been confirmed that Taoiseach Enda Kenny will travel to Washington DC for St Patrick's Day, even if a new government isn't formed by then. While Mr Kenny will travel to US capital, the number of ministers going abroad as part of the annual promotion of Irish business, culture and tourism will be "curtailed". A government spokesman confirmed that ministers that lost their seats will not travel but could not say how many other Cabinet members will go abroad. It has been confirmed this evening that Mr Kenny's visit will include a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House. Tanaiste Joan Burton is expected to travel but the destination has yet to be confirmed. Earlier Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said he believed that that Mr Kenny should still travel for St Patrick's Day but that there is a "question mark" over whether other ministers should go abroad. Mr Adams said there was "an option for them not to go around the world. In the past we've been represented very well by ambassadors and consulates. "I think there is an argument for the Taoiseach, even though he might not have the mandate, to represent the State." "We [Sinn Fein] haven't discussed this in any detail but I'm sure people will be a bit offended if they see somebody traipsing off as a minister when indeed they were rejected at the polls. Now I'm not personalising that. That's just the reality of that." "So the short answer to that is, yes certainly the Taoiseach but a question mark over the rest of them." Mr Adams is travelling to Washington and New York himself. "We always do that and the diaspora expects that," he said but added that it will not be at the taxpayer's expense. The publication of a damning report on Ireland's public services was delayed until after polls closed at the end of last week. Officials in the European Commission decided to hold back the lengthy and often critical report so as not to influence voters. Although highlighting the strength of the economic recovery, the 89-page report criticises the lack of funding in education, the high cost of childcare and pointed to problems in housing, the increase in poverty and income inequality and the inadequacy of public transport in Dublin. Similar reports for other EU member states were released Friday but the Commission confirmed that it delayed the Irish one. It is likely that the report would have been seized on by Opposition parties, which have spent the campaign arguing that while the economy is on the mend, public services are still in crisis. The body said Ireland had experienced a "remarkable" economic turnaround over the last two years, and that the rebound had broadened. Unemployment, debt and the deficit were falling, and the banks were improving, the Commission said. But it warned long-term unemployment and the low work intensity of households remained a concern, as did mortgage arrears. Childcare, infrastructure and funding for education came in for criticism with the Commission warning that even though levels of educational achievement and attainment are fairly high, public funding for education is well below the EU average. Upskilling and reskilling opportunities remain insufficient, it said. The Commission said relative poverty and income inequality has increased. "The proportion of people living in households with very low work intensity continues to be high," the report said. "Children in low work intensity households are directly affected by the risk of poverty or social exclusion." Poverty The Commission warned that the rate of severe material deprivation remained much higher than at the onset of the crisis in 2008, although it remained slightly under the EU average. The proportion of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion fell to 30.3pc in 2014, but remains higher than the EU average. Brussels argued that the limited availability and high cost of childcare hinder women from taking up work and stymies efforts to tackle child poverty. "According to 2013 figures, the average fee for childcare nationally was 152 per child per week, amounting to almost 16,000 per year for a two-child family," the report said. "As a percentage of wages, net childcare costs in Ireland are among the highest in the EU. They were the second highest in the EU for couples and the highest for single parents." In addition, the report said seven years of sharply reduced government investment had taken its toll on the quality of the State's infrastructure. It said the shortage of mass transit around Dublin had led to increased traffic congestion, with an overall congestion level of 38pc, according to the recent TomTom roads index. "If only peak morning and evening hours are considered, the congestions index surges to 81pc, ranking Dublin as the ninth most congested city of any size among more than 200 cities monitored by the index," it said. On housing the report warned constraints limiting the construction sector and the supply of housing could generate risks of "imbalances" if they are not resolved. "These constraints are indeed being addressed but the extent to which announced measures will be effective and free of adverse unintended effects will need to be monitored," it said. And it said the adverse consequences arising from the housing supply shortage are exemplified by the surge in homelessness. A significant number of Fianna Fail's first-time TDs say they would be open to supporting a minority Fine Gael government in order to avoid another election. But many of the newcomers are completely opposed to a Fine Gael-Fianna Fail 'grand coalition' and insist that Enda Kenny should be replaced as Taoiseach by Micheal Martin. In an extraordinary election result, some 19 of the newly elected Fianna Fail TDs were first-time candidates. The election also saw the return of several older faces, including ex-TDs Eamon Scanlon, Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher and John Curran, as well as Seanad members Thomas Byrne, Marc MacSharry and Darragh O'Brien. While a number of the party's veteran politicians have ruled out entering government with Fine Gael on traditional grounds, the party's newcomers insist that their opposition relates to policy and public perception. "Civil War politics never meant anything to me," said Dublin South West TD John Lahart. "But we need to respect the message we heard loud and clear on the doorsteps - this Government has been rejected," Cork North West TD Aindrias Moynihan said: "The people have clearly voted against this outfit. It would be wrong to try force the public to have them back in." Voters Meanwhile, several first-time deputies - such as Pat Casey (Wicklow), Declan Breathnach (Louth) Eugene Murphy (Roscommon), Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East) and James Lawless (Kildare North) - said they were open to supporting a minority Fine Gael government. However, all five insisted that this could happen only if a series of demands were met, including a substantial package for rural Ireland. The Dail's youngest TD, Jack Chambers, said politicians must look to the example set in Nordic countries, where governments are minority-based. He explained: "I think fragmentation is here to stay. It would be an insult to the Irish people to go back to the polls just because what they chose doesn't suit that conventional type of politics." The Fianna Fail parliamentary party is due to meet on Thursday, during which the formation of the next government is set to be discussed. Party leader Micheal Martin has already begun phoning around the party's TDs following their election. SINN Fein leader Gerry Adams has said that Taoiseach Enda Kenny should still travel to the White House for St Patrick's Day even if a government isn't formed by then. However, Mr Adams - who is travelling to Washington DC himself for the festivities - said he believes that ministers who lost their seats should not be sent abroad to represent the government and that there is a "question mark" over the rest. A number of ministers, including James Reilly, Alex White and diaspora minister Jimmy Deenihan, won't be returning to the Dail. A government spokesman this afternoon said no decision has been taken on the trips - where ministers promote Irish business, culture and tourism - as yet. Asked by Independent.ie about his view on St Patrick's Day travel if a new government isn't formed in the next two weeks Mr Adams replied: "Well there's an option for them not to go around the world. In the past we've been represented very well by ambassadors and consulates. "I think there is an argument for the Taoiseach, even though he might not have the mandate, to represent the State." "We [Sinn Fein] haven't discussed this in any detail but I'm sure people will be a bit offended if they see somebody traipsing off as a minister when indeed they were rejected at the polls. Now I'm not personalising that. That's just the reality of that." "So the short answer to that is, yes certainly the Taoiseach but a question mark over the rest of them. Asked if he would represent the country in a European capital or elsewhere if requested as part of a cross-party deal in the absence of a government he confirmed he already has plans to travel. "I will be travelling and others in our party will be travelling. We always do that and the diaspora expects that. They expect the State to be represented but they also, because they give a lot of support to our particular party, like to see us represented. So we're going to be flying anyway and it won't cost the taxpayer any money. "I'll be in Washington and New York," he said. Deputy leader May Lou McDonald confirmed that she will also be travelling for St Patrick's Day. "Once I get over the election jet lag, [it'll] be in to more jet lag. I'll be in New York. I may also be in Washington too and perhaps a third city." Thomas Pringle (Independent) celebrates after being elected in Donegal on the 13th count. Photo: Clive Wasson Sinn Fein's Padraig Mac Lochlainn last night lost his seat after a shock battle with Independent Thomas Pringle in the new five-seat Donegal constituency. The lead between Mac Lochlainn and Pringle swung backwards and forwards throughout the count, with the latter ahead by almost 1,500 votes at once stage. But the elimination of Sinn Fein's Gary Doherty and the election of Pearse Doherty saw Mac Lochlainn surge into a commanding lead. However, the elimination of Independents Dessie Shiels and Tim Jackson, and transfers from elected Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher (SF) and Joe McHugh (FG), saw Pringle home in the 13th count by just 184 votes. Mr Mac Lochlainn conceded defeat, putting an end to plans to ask for a recount. There had been a tense atmosphere at Aura Leisure Centre, as Mr Pringle was being supported by members of the dissident group The 32-County Sovereignty Movement. Among them was Gary Donnelly, an Independent councillor in Derry, who is a bitter opponent of Sinn Fein. Mr Pringle paid tribute to the work of Mr Mac Lochlainn, but said it was important there was an independent voice for Donegal. Asked about support from members of the dissident 32-County Sovereignty Committee - including Cllr Donnelly - Mr Pringle insisted he was part of an 'independent movement'. "The people who were here were independent councillors," he said. "They are independent councillors and they are working as independent councillors. "I don't know if he (Gary Donnelly) is a member (of The 32-County Sovereignty Committee) or not. However, I know the political work he does. "I do know he is committed to independent politics, and that's the key thing for me." Mr Donnelly said he was at the count centre as an independent councillor to support Mr Pringle and that his links to the group were "irrelevant". He added: "I am here as an independent councillor - because I believe the independent model is the way forward." Earlier, Gallagher and Joe McHugh had been elected on the 11th count. The vote left MacLochlainn just 74 votes ahead of Pringle, but the surplus from the two candidates left Mr Pringle on 10,082 votes and Mac Lochlainn on 9,898. On Saturday, Charlie McConalogue (FF) topped the poll and was elected on the first count, almost doubling his first preferences. McConalogue (38) was one of the few Fianna Fail candidates elected in 2011 to actually increase his vote at the time. His popularity in his native Inishowen also damaged Padraig Mac Lochlainn, who said while the Sinn Fein vote in Inishowen had held, the drop in support for him personally was "extremely disappointing". He said he had become aware late in the campaign that a rumour had taken hold that he was rarely in the constituency. "This is just untrue," he insisted. 'No Doctor, No Village' candidate Dr Michael Harty will be brought back down to earth this morning from the weekend delirium that marked his election as a TD in Clare. Dr Harty will be treating the aches and ailments of his patients at his Kilmihil surgery. It will give him little time to reflect on his stellar performance that saw him grab the second seat in Clare. Working as a GP in west Clare for the past 32 years and aged 63, Dr Harty was contemplating his radical career departure in the early hours of Sunday morning. He said that "my one regret" in securing a seat "will be no longer treating my patients - and I think the feeling is mutual". He said: "I have mostly an elderly population - people with complex illnesses, with complex diseases - that is what I specialise in. "To move into an area looking after people in a different way will be strange for me, but I feel I can do it and I feel that we have a message that is worth fighting for." Dr Harty said he will get a locum to operate the practice and he will retain a supervisory role. He stressed: "My income from the practice will be zero." A political novice, Dr Harty said that he had never been to an election count before, after receiving a rapturous welcome on Saturday night. Meanwhile, an emotional Joe Carey (FG) spoke of going to his mother's grave on Saturday "to have a word with her". He managed to hold on to his seat but admitted the polls told another story in the run-up to the vote. He travelled out to Cree in west Clare for a month's mind for a deceased party colleague, before finally arriving into the count through a side door just before 2am on Sunday morning. Mr Carey said it was "a serious achievement" for Fine Gael to retain two seats with only 26pc of the vote. He said that a local poll one week before the election that wrote off his chances had "galvanised my campaign". Meanwhile a despondent Michael McNamara of Labour said at the count yesterday that he doesn't know if he will remain in politics after losing his seat. Mr McNamara was eliminated after the 11th count and revealed that his parents are both hospitalised, making the campaign very tough for personal reasons. He said: "It was an incredibly tough campaign for a variety of reasons, including the fact that both of my parents are hospitalised and are in hospitals as we speak. "I want to thank hospital staff in both St Joseph's and the County Hospital in Ennis for the care they are giving to them," he said. Labour's Aodhan O Riordain with his team after conceding Labour candidate, Aodhan O Riordain rests his head on his wife's Aine Kerr's shoulders as a recount continues in the Dublin Bay North constituency at the RDS count centre. Picture: Damien Eagers Independent candidate, Finian McGrath, celebrates with his daughter, Caoimhe after he was elected in the Dublin Bay North constituency at the RDS count centre. Picture: Damien Eagers Labour candidate, Aodhan O Riordain pictured after he lost his seat in the Dublin Bay North constituency at the RDS count centre. Picture: Damien Eagers Labour candidate, Aodhan O Riordain is embraced after he lost his seat in the Dublin Bay North constituency at the RDS count centre. Picture: Damien Eagers Outgoing Equality Minister Aodhan O Riordain has lost his Dail seat after being eliminated from the race for Dublin Bay North. The latest high-profile casualty for the party follows what has been a disastrous result for Labour across the country. Expand Close Aodhan O Riordain with supporters in the RDS / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Aodhan O Riordain with supporters in the RDS The loss of Mr O Riordains seat now puts in serious doubt whether Labour will retain its speaking rights in the Dail. Previously having 33 seats when the Dail dissolved, the party has only so far returned six TDs. Expand Close Labour's Aodhan O Riordain with his team after conceding / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Labour's Aodhan O Riordain with his team after conceding Visibly emotional after his loss in Dublin Bay North, Mr O Riordain said: Today wasnt with us." "The tide was out. We expected that maybe the government would have more support, and that maybe we would be trying to prove to people that Fine Gael needed I suppose partners in government," he added. "But people made a very clear decision that they didnt want the government returned," he continued. Expand Close Labour candidate, Aodhan O Riordain pictured after he lost his seat in the Dublin Bay North constituency at the RDS count centre. Picture: Damien Eagers / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Labour candidate, Aodhan O Riordain pictured after he lost his seat in the Dublin Bay North constituency at the RDS count centre. Picture: Damien Eagers Read More Speaking later on RTE News at One, Mr Riordain said he knew the writing was on the wall after he failed to garner the majority of Averil Powers transfers following her elimination. Expand Close Labour candidate, Aodhan O Riordain is embraced after he lost his seat in the Dublin Bay North constituency at the RDS count centre. Picture: Damien Eagers / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Labour candidate, Aodhan O Riordain is embraced after he lost his seat in the Dublin Bay North constituency at the RDS count centre. Picture: Damien Eagers Read More "Weve spent so much time thinking about the country the last five years, weve got to spend a little bit of time thinking about our own party. Clocks are altered by an hour twice a year in Britain Daylight saving time increases the risk of having a stroke by eight per cent, researchers claim. Turning the clocks forward or backwards by one hour at the start and end of summer may be tied to an increased risk of ischemic stroke - but only temporarily. Previous research has shown that ischemic stroke is the most common kind of stroke, accounting for 87 per cent of all cases. It is caused by a clot blocking blood flow to the brain. Study author Doctor Jori Ruuskanen, of the University of Turku in Finland, said: "Previous studies have shown that disruptions in a person's circadian rhythm, also called an internal body clock, increase the risk of ischemic stroke, so we wanted to find out if daylight saving time was putting people at risk." For the study, the researchers looked at a decade of figures in Finland to find the rate of stroke. They compared the rate of stroke in 3,033 people hospitalised during the week following a daylight saving time transition to the rate of stroke in a group of 11,801 people taken to hospital either two weeks before or two weeks after that week. They found that the overall rate of ischemic stroke was eight per cent higher during the first two days after altering the clocks for daylight saving. There was no difference after two days. People with cancer were 25 per cent more likely to have a stroke after daylight saving time than during another period. The risk was also higher for those over age 65, who were 20 per cent more likely to have a stroke right after the transition. But hospital deaths from stroke did not increase in the week after a daylight saving time transition. First introduced by William Willett in 1907, the system was designed to make use of the daytime and prevent wasting it first thing in the morning during the summer. British Summer Time is also known as Daylight Saving Time, and Willett's idea also saw him publish a pamphlet called The Waste of Daylight. It was designed to get people out of bed earlier in the summer, by changing the nation's clocks and boosting productivity. Dr Ruuskanen added: "Further studies must now be done to better understand the relationship between these transitions and stroke risk and to find out if there are ways to reduce that risk." The findings of the preliminary study were due to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] Garda Eoin Cox was attacked by up to six men. Pic Ciara Wilkinson The father of a garda who was beaten up and stabbed as he attempted to arrest a man has said some people "have lost all respect for the gardai". Eoin Cox (35) is recovering from the assault which has left him with a suspected fracture of his shoulder and concussion. The garda is the son of RTE broadcaster Valerie Cox and her husband Brian. Garda Cox, who is based at Dundrum Garda Station, was beaten around his head and was stabbed in the leg with either a knife or a screwdriver. His family confirmed that he was attacked as he tried to arrest a man in the Hillview housing estate in Ballinteer, Co Dublin, at around 6am on Sunday after gardai were investigating the theft of a car. Garda Cox and his partner spotted the car and went to stop it when it abruptly stopped and the men in it ran off. Garda Cox chased one of them into the housing estate. The man ran up to a house and just as Garda Cox was about to handcuff him a number of men, possibly up to six, emerged from the house and began to attack him. His father Brian said: "If Eoin's garda colleagues had not arrived so quickly and intervened we dread to think what injuries he would have sustained." He revealed that his father John was one of the first recruits in Ireland's fledgling police force in 1922. "I remember growing up in the garda station in Howth, Co Dublin and it was a different world. Then the public had great respect for the gardai. "It's very different now. Some people have lost all respect for the gardai and really they have lost respect for themselves. "Along with many parents, I was so proud when Eoin chose to become a garda, but what people don't appreciate is the danger they place themselves in every single day. Eoin was just doing his job, the job he is asked to do by the State, when this attack happened." Two men, aged 18 and 20, were arrested and are due to appear in court later this month. There has been widespread condemnation of the latest gangland killing of Vincent Ryan in Dublin yesterday. Noel Rock, the newly-elected Fine Gael TD for Dublin North West, led the outcry, saying more needs to be done to tackle gangland shootings. "It's quite clear we're going to need even further measures in respect of targeted gangland shooting," he said. Yesterday's incident was the latest in a wave of gangland shootings that started with the killing of criminal David Byrne in the Regency Hotel last month. Mr Rock said there was "great fear out there about repeated incidents", and added that the measures introduced by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald may not be enough. "This is in broad daylight in a busy area not too far away from Finglas garda station," he said. "This was very brazen and there is deep, deep concern that this would spill over into the area. Mr Rock's concerns were echoed by local People Before Profit councillor Andrew Keegan. "It's something that started in the inner-city and is now spreading out to the suburbs. These thugs are tracking each other down in different areas," he said. Mr Keegan raised concerns over the increasing possibility of innocent people being caught in the crossfire. "If this goes into different communities - old and young communities - the collateral damage could happen again. You could see families and innocents getting hurt," he said. Councillor Paul McAuliffe, the Fianna Fail leader on Dublin City Council, also condemned the violence. Premium Colette Browne Opinion Every effort must be made to retrieve oral histories of mother and baby home survivors With three days to go until the Mother and Baby Homes Commission ceases to exist as a legal entity, we are being told that audio recordings of hundreds of witnesses which were deleted may not actually be gone forever. It is another usual twist in a most emotional saga. For decades, survivors of mother and baby homes have been denied a voice and denied autonomy. When they fell pregnant, many through rape and abuse, they were marched to the doors of religious institutions. Without a doubt, the single issue which has dogged the outgoing administration has been the creation of Irish Water and the introduction of domestic water charges. No issue has polarised the nation to the same degree. Citizens from all backgrounds and every parish had an opinion and thousands took to the streets to register their opposition. It was manna from heaven for left-wing parties keen to capitalise on the anti-austerity mood sweeping the country. Water charges affected everyone, rich and poor, urban or rural, and the smaller parties were quick to mobilise. People Before Profit and the Anti-Austerity Alliance were first off the mark. Sinn Fein joined somewhat later and were followed by Fianna Fail, sensing an opportunity to claw back support and tap into anti-government sentiment. But now the Soldiers of Destiny face a dilemma. Fianna Fail pledged to abolish charges and dismantle Irish Water if returned to office, but it now faces the prospect of entering a grand coalition with Fine Gael, which doesn't share its views. But what is the price of dismantling the unpopular utility? And is abolishing charges the right thing to do? Domestic charging came into force from January 1 last year, but a series of controversies from when Irish Water was established in April 2012 had stoked up opposition. While there remains a common belief that the EU/IMF troika imposed charges as part of the November 2010 bailout, they were already on the way. The year previously, when Fianna Fail and the Green Party were in power, Ireland submitted plans to the European Commission, outlining how it intended to comply with the Water Framework Directive. That aimed to improve water quality across the EU and effectively instructed member states to charge for water to discourage waste and help recover treatment costs. The submission is telling. "Following a recent Government decision, legislation is to be introduced to enable local authorities to charge domestic users for water services in a manner which provides incentives for efficient water use and which recovers an adequate contribution of the costs of water services," it said. So Fianna Fail is trying to have it both ways - making the abolition of a charge they planned to introduce a condition of entering government. The reason is simple. The hard Left owns the issue and now appeals to a section of the electorate which Fianna Fail once called its own. It must act to get those voters back. To the outsider, the policies of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are not much different. Both want to build houses and schools, reduce the USC and invest in health. Water charges are the one major issue where they are very different. But abolishing the charge would pull the rug from under the Left and remove a major issue from the minds of the electorate. Fianna Fail would be seen to be acting in the interests of the people and it is highly likely that the Left would move on to something else and Fianna Fail could clap itself on the back for a job well done. But what are the implications? To begin, there are around 700 employed in the company, all of whom signed contracts. Most are likely to sue if their jobs disappear. Fianna Fail says it will cost 172m to dismantle Irish Water and proposes creating a publicly owned National Water Infrastructure Company with a staff of 100, with no bonus payments and the Oireachtas responsible for costs. But we have learned to our cost that politicians turn off the investment tap at will and meddling could result in investment decisions being made for political reasons, instead of need. Abolishing charges raises even more issues. Irish Water expects to collect around 270m a year from households. If charges go, it means the Government will have to provide that money. The company's business plan is predicated on domestic and commercial charges, government subvention and borrowing being used to fund upgrades. If its revenue stream disappears, borrowing money becomes more difficult. What bank will lend money on the basis of a government 'promising' to provide the means to repay a loan? There's another problem too. If Irish Water is not financially independent, its borrowings remain on the State's balance sheet. That limits of the ability of government to cash in on the so-called 'fiscal space' to provide goodies like tax cuts, nurses, teachers and libraries. It also means the company will be forced to compete for money with other government departments, which could delay or postpone the necessary investment. There is a return from paying water charges - the money is used to upgrade the network, which benefits us all and will help drive the economy. The charge which people should have opposed was the property tax - it's an additional burden, with no transparency on where the money goes. Unlike water charges, you must pay even if councils fail to provide a decent standard of service. Irish Water is designed to deal with the long-term maintenance and upgrade of our water network. That's not a five-year cycle. It's 30 or 40 years. We have learned to our cost that politically dictated investment cycles do not result in a top-class water network. While the Left romped home in the election by seizing on the issue of water charges, abolishing them to regain those voters is fraught with danger. The water network has been neglected for years, and the biggest issue for any party which professes to act in the best interests of the country is ensuring that renewal of the network continues. stock picture Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin's call for parties to agree a programme to reform politics before any coalition talks take place is a smart one. If nothing else, it gives his party breathing space and time to address the thorny issue of how it will tackle the question of Irish Water before entering into any discussions with Fine Gael about the formation of a new government. For most voters, there is little difference between the parties of the Civil War. Both want to solve the crisis in housing and health, improve public services and grow the economy, but on the issue of water they are poles apart. Fianna Fail plans to abolish charges, and replace Irish Water with a slimmed-down agency with Dail oversight. Fine Gael intends to persist with the existing model. Abolishing charges would be popular with the electorate, and could draw some voters back to the 'natural' party of government, but this issue should be above politics. The water network has been neglected for years, and the biggest issue for any party which professes to act in the best interests of the country is ensuring that renewal of the network continues. Leaks must be fixed, plants replaced and public health risks from cryptosporidium and the cancer-causing THMs reduced. Only by addressing decades of under-investment will the system be fit for purpose. History shows that funding has been contingent on the prevailing economic conditions of the day, and the political will to spend. Allowing Irish Water to become a stand-alone utility, independent of the State, means that investment won't be put at risk in difficult economic times. Real reform involves making difficult decisions. Abolishing Irish Water to secure votes from a disillusioned electorate is not reform, but a return to the politics of old which has decimated the establishment parties. Ireland's film industry can take an Oscar bow Don't pay any attention to the critics, don't even ignore them, movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn once advised. But it's hard to ignore the Oscars, especially when the Irish film industry has such a connection to the contents of the famous golden envelope. Dubliner Ben Cleary's exceptional short film 'Stutterer' was justly recognised and the gifted young director walked away with the industry's ultimate accolade. This year, Ireland had a record nine nominations, which was extraordinary. Lenny Abrahamson has also found a deserving place for himself on Hollywood's A-List for 'Room'. He may not have won an Oscar himself, but his role in shepherding Brie Larson to a 'best actress' golden statue will make him a hot ticket as the man to work with. Saoirse Ronan's stand-out performance in 'Brooklyn' has further endorsed her position as one of the most accomplished performers in the industry. In the build-up to the big night, Irish Film Board chief executive James Hickey noted: "The eyes of the film world truly are on us." He hoped to send a signal to the industry that the Irish film sector is a world player in creativity and technical skills. That signal has been received loud and clear. For creativity and innovation, Irish productions can compete with the best. The depth of talent and expertise must be supported and nurtured at every opportunity by the State. As recently as six or seven years ago Vodafone was known as a mobile phone company. However that has changed and changed utterly. Vodafone now provides a broad portfolio of voice and data services across fixed and mobile networks, M2M services, unified communications solutions and even data centre services. More and more, voice is just one of many applications that run across these networks. You might be reading this on your smartphone. We call it a phone, but it would be more apt to call it your powerful pocket computer. Its therefore crucial that your mobile service provider is fully capable to provide you the full range of services for which your phone is equipped. The same goes for business customers, we work in very different ways than we did just a few years ago and Vodafone is both enabling and responding to this change. Liam OBrien, Head of Product Management at the Business Division in Vodafone tells us about the journey Vodafone has been on over the last few years and about where, along with their customers, they are going. Expand Close The Vodafone Cloud App / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Vodafone Cloud App Whats of interest is over the last seven or eight years is weve moved away from being just a mobile company. The breadth of products and services we have on the market is quite significant. Its fundamentally all about connectivity, but its not just voice and text communication any more. Its about data communication and connecting people, connecting places and things, says Liam. Like any company you have to evolve with your customers and your market. Having a mobile heritage is very good for us, as one of the two key trends at the moment is the mobilisation of the workforce. People are working on the go, working from phones, tablets and devices. A smartphone is no longer just a phone, its a powerful computer with a phone application on it. If you go back seven or eight years ago we were selling mobile phones, today we are selling mobile computing devices, as a lot more besides. As a result, our customers are looking to us to help them to work in an agile and flexible manner, and that opens up a whole new world of opportunity. For the customer its not really a big shift, they see Vodafone as having provided them with their mobile communications for decades, so actually to then provide them with their mobile applications for working, mobile computing devices, in the customers minds its a natural progression. Weve heard a lot about the Cloud in the last few years. It seems an omnipresent concern for businesses of all shapes and hues. However, Liam explains that the Cloud means different things to different people. The other key trend the move to the Cloud. In our consumer division weve moved to television recently. People consume television now as an application on their TV or their phone or tablet. But in the very same sense business customers need access to their content, it may not be TV, but it could be access to their emails, corporate account systems, their ERP platform their billing systems, their development systems thats their content. Expand Close Vodafone Cloud and hosting services / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Vodafone Cloud and hosting services The two trends: mobilisation of the workforce and migration to cloud are actually quite complimentary. Because as you move into a mobile centric workforce with people working on the go on any device they have to have access to their corporate applications. Having those applications delivered out in a legacy fashion, by an in-house IT department becomes very difficult. Moving applications to a cloud based infrastructure is very complimentary to having a mobile workforce. Thats a big area of opportunity for us to help our customers on their journey to Cloud and mobilising their workforce. The old-school in-house IT services functions can now be outsourced to Vodafone, meaning greater flexibility, reduced costs, always up-to-date technology and the knowledge of having a telecommunications heavyweight on your side. However there is a full range of cloud migration stages and different business need different things. One of the challenges with the cloud is that it means different things to different people. If you ask people have they got a Cloud strategy they will all tend to say yes, but what this actually means in their own context can be quite different. But thats ok. The Cloud in itself is multifaceted; there are varying degrees of what it means to migrate things to the Cloud. So for some of our customers the first step would be migrating all their legacy IT hardware out of their building maybe into a third party data centre where they have more confidence that its going to be maintained with state of the art power and cooling solutions, and its going to be secure. Others might be look at migrating from their legacy hardware to modern infrastructure, virtualising the hardware and getting into a shared storage and shared computing environment. Ultimately others are looking at migrating part of their estate to a public cloud like Amazon or Microsoft Azure Different customers are on different stages of that journey. We did some research last year and the results compiled a Cloud Barometer Report. We just asked our customers where they were on their journey and how relevant the Cloud was for them. Our research showed that 89% of business customers anticipate using some kind of cloud by the end of 2016, up from 77% in 2014, with over 70% of businesses saying they would use or would consider using cloud for mission-critical enterprise applications, such as business intelligence (BI) and enterprise resource planning (ERP). For customers its something very relevant and real and they see a tangible link between their Cloud strategy and mobility strategy, they see them as two sides of the one coin. Whats more 87% of organisations confirmed that their mobility strategy was intrinsically linked to their IT and Cloud strategy There has been a tectonic shift in the mobile services landscape and all in the space of a few years. Vodafone have been on point to migrate into new areas just as their customers have been demanding them. Its a huge change, a superfast evolution for a huge company and theyve come a very long way. But how far are we the customers going to go on this journey? The reality is that Cloud is a journey, not a destination - with adoption of cloud approaching saturation level; the question is not whether youre using it, but how extensively and in what areas youre using it. The next phase of adoption will be the degree of clouds penetration within the business, across departments and workloads. The journey to the cloud is going to be with us for many years to come But how are Irish business customers responding to Vodafones offerings? For a business to outsource business critical IT solutions to a partner, trust in that partner is a key imperative. We are fortunate that Vodafone have a firm foundation of trust with our customers. Vodafone have a decades long reputation in the communications sector, for example building and managing large scale and complex data communications networks, across Ireland and the world for our customers such as Sisk, Ryanair & Aviva. Customer trust that as a market leader in the global communications market, Vodafone can help them on their journey with IT services and Cloud services; whether thats a small businesses moving into using Office365 so they can use their applications on the go, or whether its large companies looking at taking their applications and putting them into a data centre so they can focus on running their business, weve got solutions that fit both the small business and large business market. Our customers see Vodafone as a strong and credible player that help support them as they evolve their business. Vodafone are on this journey for the long term evolving with our customers for years to come Sponsored by: Tom Hollander has said public school educated actors like Eddie Redmayne are more prominent because sounding posh is "fashionable" at the moment. Alongside The Thick Of It's Rebecca Front, the 48-year-old Rev actor was talking to the Radio Times about their new ITV drama Doctor Thorne. On the topic of award-winning, public school actors Redmayne, Damian Lewis and Benedict Cumberbatch, Front talked about her own experience. "It's not impossible to be an actor if you went to state school. I went to state school," the 51-year-old said. "But there is a problem of affordability, I know one major drama school is worried that only rich kids can access an arts education." Hollander said: "Isn't it just that three actors who seem to have gone to public school are getting highly visible work?" He continued: "When I started in the profession there were very visible actors who were Scottish, Welsh or regional. "Lots of working-class-hero leading actors - it was not fashionable to sound posh. Now I'm middle-aged, it's fashionable to sound posh if you are the generation behind me." The issue of class is another dimension of the continuing diversity debate. Dame Helen Mirren, EastEnders' Danny Dyer and Julie Walters are just three names who have voiced concern about what they perceive as acting's growing class divide. Video of the Day However, Hollander and Front were in sync as they discussed Doctor Thorne. Based on Anthony Trollope's novel, and written by Bafta and Emmy award-winning Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, it is set in the village of Greshamsbury, in the fictional county of Barsetshire. Doctor Thorne lives with his penniless young niece Mary, played by Rada-trained newcomer Stefanie Martini. Mary is devastated when she learns she is the illegitimate child of the doctor's late brother. Her predicament is made worse by the love between her and Frank Gresham (newcomer Harry Richardson), the heir to the Greshamsbury Estate. Frank's overbearing mother Lady Arabella (Front) insists he must save the family from financial ruin by marrying wealthy American heiress, Miss Dunstable (Mad Men actress Alison Brie). Meanwhile, Doctor Thorne acts as both physician and advisor to millionaire Sir Roger Scatcherd (Lovejoy's Ian McShane), who has the fate of Greshamsbury in his hands. Like Downton, the three-part production, which will also feature Prince Harry's former girlfriend Cressida Bonas as Mary's confidante Patience Oriel, is another period drama. Front, who recently portrayed Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskoy in BBC One's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War And Peace, joked about how happy she will be if she never has to wear a corset again. Bristol-born Hollander hailed his character, calling Doctor Thorne "strong and really courageous". Published in 1858, this is the first television adaptation of the novel. ::Doctor Thorne is broadcast on ITV on March 6 at 9pm. Ciara Grehan proposes to her boyfriend James Lyons (both from Tallaght) at Martin Gear Jewellers after winning a 1000 voucher at the store on this leap year day. Picture: Steve Humphreys Ciara Grehan proposes to her boyfriend James Lyons (both from Tallaght) at Martin Gear Jewellers after winning a 1000 voucher at the store on this leap year day. Picture: Steve Humphreys Ciara Grehan proposes to her boyfriend James Lyons (both from Tallaght) at Martin Gear Jewellers after winning a 1000 voucher at the store on this leap year day. Picture: Steve Humphreys Ciara Grehan proposes to her boyfriend James Lyons (both from Tallaght) at Martin Gear Jewellers after winning a 1000 voucher at the store on this leap year day. Picture: Steve Humphreys A Leap year marriage proposal got some added sparkle when Ciara Grehan popped the question yesterday. The young Dublin woman used the special once-in-four-year lady's choice day to go down on one knee to propose to thrilled partner James Lyons. Ciara (26) won a competition for a 1,000 voucher for a male engagement ring, offered by Mary Street jeweller Martin Gear, and kept it a secret from James. "I love you more than anything," she told James as she proposed. James (26) had left their home in Killinarden, in Tallaght, in the morning to work as an electrician, but got a telephone call later from Ciara asking him to leave work and meet her. Expand Close Ciara Grehan proposes to her boyfriend James Lyons (both from Tallaght) at Martin Gear Jewellers after winning a 1000 voucher at the store on this leap year day. Picture: Steve Humphreys / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ciara Grehan proposes to her boyfriend James Lyons (both from Tallaght) at Martin Gear Jewellers after winning a 1000 voucher at the store on this leap year day. Picture: Steve Humphreys "I thought maybe she was going to treat me to a meal for my recent birthday. I was a bit shocked when she proposed," he said. Ciara entered the free competition on Facebook which was organised by the jeweller. When her name was selected at random by Mr Gear's wife Caroline, she immediately set about surprising James. After the initial surprise, the couple were ready to share the moment with a waiting media team in the shop. "Nothing would make me happier to spend the rest of my life with you," said James in response to her proposal. Expand Close Ciara Grehan proposes to her boyfriend James Lyons (both from Tallaght) at Martin Gear Jewellers after winning a 1000 voucher at the store on this leap year day. Picture: Steve Humphreys / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ciara Grehan proposes to her boyfriend James Lyons (both from Tallaght) at Martin Gear Jewellers after winning a 1000 voucher at the store on this leap year day. Picture: Steve Humphreys Mr Gear said a tradition of men receiving engagement rings in the 1950s and 1960s "fizzled out", but the tradition has made a comeback. The firm also manufactures jewellery, and his business received a significant boost with ring sales to same-sex couples after the passing of the marriage equality referendum, he said. Video of the Day The jeweller dispensed with the 1,000 limit to ensure both received a diamond and gold ring of their choice. Ciara and James first met on a blind date at a Dublin cinema when they were both 14. Their teenage romance came to an end after a few months but they met again at a nightclub eight years ago and their relationship has blossomed since then. Expand Close Ciara Grehan proposes to her boyfriend James Lyons (both from Tallaght) at Martin Gear Jewellers after winning a 1000 voucher at the store on this leap year day. Picture: Steve Humphreys / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ciara Grehan proposes to her boyfriend James Lyons (both from Tallaght) at Martin Gear Jewellers after winning a 1000 voucher at the store on this leap year day. Picture: Steve Humphreys The couple said their son, Brendan (6), will be delighted with their wedding plans. US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters at a rally at Madison City Schools Stadium in Madison, Alabama. Photo: Reuters Supporters of US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump fly US flags during the national anthem at a rally at Madison City Schools Stadium in Madison, Alabama. Photo: Reuters Donald Trump's speeches sound like a drunk on a bus explaining why his wife made a mistake when she left him. Some highlights from his Arkansas speech on Saturday. "Rubio has the biggest ears I've ever seen." "Lightweight Rubio. Little mouth on him. Bing, bing, bing." And "Rubio looks like he puts his make-up on with a trowel." Then he spent a good 10 minutes explaining why Trump is not a crook. He just "got sued by a lawyer who sued because he sues". Donald Trump's State of the Union is going to be a long rant about the time McDonald's refused to serve him breakfast after 10.30am. I've left it a little late to say, definitively, "please don't vote Trump" - but here goes. Like many observers, I didn't take his campaign seriously. I was wrong. Mea culpa. But he stands a good chance of sweeping the board on Super Tuesday and turning an eccentric candidacy into an inevitable one. He must be stopped and for good conservative reasons. By which I mean moral, all-American reasons. Betrayed I have friends who have voted for Trump. I understand why. I acknowledge the frustration with a stagnant economy and a cultural surrender to the Left, while Middle America is betrayed by a Republican Party that seems to exist merely to exist. I get, too, the emotional appeal of having a street fighter on one's side - it's like hiring a tough kid to beat up the school bully. I understand also that Trump isn't an apocalyptic choice. America has had presidents who have been rubes, slave-holders, grifters, adulterers and reckless populists. Donald Trump is not historically abnormal. He's just "below average". America would survive a Trump presidency. But I doubt Trump will make it that far - because he polls the worst against Hillary Clinton. At a time when America is becoming less white, less male and less angry, he only promises to bring more of that particular demographic to the polls. Moreover, it is well known that the Democrats intend to make his character an issue in the election - a huge issue. They are right to do this. The US presidency is nothing if it is not supposed to be a moral office. The Founding Fathers argued that the republic would rise or fall according to the virtue of its citizenry. The character of the occupant of the White House should reflect the nation's highest moral ambitions. Donald Trump is an unethical person. He has used the powers of eminent domain to try to force a woman from her house in order to build a parking lot for limousines. He boasts that he has used political donations in order to influence lawmakers to do his bidding. He has used illegal labour. He has used the laws of the land to avoid the full financial costs of businesses going bad. Then there is Trump University, a higher education course that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman described as "a classic bait-and-switch scheme. It was a scam, starting with the fact that it was not a university." At one seminar, attendees were promised that they'd get to have their photo taken with Trump. It turned out to be a cardboard cut-out. The university is estimated to have taken around $40m in total from students and Trump will soon have to take to the witness stand to answer questions about it. Ring any bells? The similarities between Trump and Hillary Clinton - the person all conservatives claim they love to hate - are astonishing. Both New York politicians. Both fans of the abortion-provider Planned Parenthood. Both in favour of big spending. Both critical of free trade. Both accused of lying on an epic scale. They're so similar that Hillary even went to Trump's wedding. They are two trashy peas in a pod. With a couple of notable differences. First, Hillary doesn't have Trump's genitalia. Second, she doesn't have his record of slandering foreign races. Indeed, the one thing that obviously distinguishes Donald from Hillary has been his willingness to toy with the politics of race and religion. His claim that large numbers of illegal immigrants from Mexico are rapists, or his insistence that Muslims be barred from migrating to the United States "until we can figure out what's going on", jump straight from the Know Nothing, nativist tradition of American politics. Judge him by his supporters. One of them is a former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke. Another is Jean-Marie Le Pen, a French fascist who has broken from his fascist daughter because he doesn't think she is fascist enough. By the way: Trump is not an anti-Semite and most of his supporters are not anti-Semitic. But he is the only candidate whose critics are sent anti-Semitic abuse. One produced a cartoon of me in a Nazi gas chamber. The Donald's finger hovered over the execution button. Here's the bottom line. Conservatism depends upon faith and reason. Without these two, it can descend into something terrible. Remove the faith and it becomes utilitarian and materialist, motivated by greed. Remove the reason and it is a vehicle for prejudice. Trump is conservatism without any ethical foundation. He is pure id. Worse, he is a populist who doesn't respect the populace. William Jennings Bryan, Ross Perot, even Pat Buchanan were all motivated by a love of the little guy. Trump is laughing at the very people who support him. "I love the poorly educated," he said. Happily, there are alternatives. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz or John Kasich would each make a fine Republican nominee. Personally, I am attracted to Ted Cruz's constitutionalism and his calm, lawyerly demeanour. Vote for him in Texas. Elsewhere, the polls suggest Marco Rubio has the better shot of winning - and his reinvention as a witty slayer of the Trumpite ego is what has The Donald so rattled and might, eventually, bring him down. He must be stopped. Or else the country will face a choice between Clinton and Trump - which is little choice at all. Predicted GOP campaign song: "This land is my land now get the hell off it." ( Daily Telegraph, London) Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] St David's Day celebrations in one town in Wales were certainly full of fire - after a giant dragon appeared outside its castle walls. People in Caerphilly woke up this morning and saw a 13ft art installation of the mythical winged creature. F eaturing scary and real looking black and red scales, it has smoke coming from its nostrils. The dragon was created by Cardiff-based prop design company Wild Creations - which hit the headlines last year for installing a massive rugby ball in the walls of Cardiff Castle. The dragon's arrival coincided not only with St David's Day but also marks the launch of the Historic Adventures campaign. It is run by heritage organisation Cadw and bosses hope it will bring some of Wales's most famous monuments to life. The Welsh Government's deputy minister for culture and tourism Ken Skates described the installation at Caerphilly Castle as jaw-droppingly lifelike. He said: "We're always looking at new and exciting ways to bring Wales's historic monuments to life for visitors to explore and enjoy; and we're confident that this creative programme of events will attract a wide-range of visitors to experience Cadw sites. "Dragons feature in many of Wales' great myths and legends and it is stories like these that make our country's heritage so unique. "We hope that the arrival of the dragon at Caerphilly Castle will ignite people's interest in Welsh history and inspire them to have their own historic adventures during the year of adventure." The dragon weighs one tonne and took a team of 15 six weeks to construct. Matt Wild, owner of Wild Creations, said: "The medieval backdrop of Caerphilly Castle is the perfect location for this mythical, reptile-like monster. "It could almost be the billboard of a Hollywood blockbuster! We're delighted with the end product and hope that it inspires people from across Wales to pay the site, and the dragon, a visit this spring." Visitors to Caerphilly will be able to see the dragon for free until 3pm on Sunday March 6, or later by normal site-admission when it moves inside the castle from March 7 until the summer. Those that take the most dramatic pictures "being captured" by the dragon and use the hashtag #HistoricAdventures on Facebook or Twitter will be in with a chance of winning one of 10 Cadw explorer passes. The US government is trying to force Apple to help the FBI hack into a shooter's locked iPhone (AP) The high-stakes legal fight between Apple and the US Justice Department over a locked iPhone is moving from the courts to Congress. FBI Director James Comey and Apple chief lawyer Bruce Sewell are appearing before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington for a hearing on encryption on Tuesday. The hearing comes amid two significant and conflicting court rulings in New York and California on whether Apple can be forced to help the FBI gain access to locked phones. Mr Comey warns in his prepared testimony that technological advancements have been accompanied by "new dangers". He says those can prevent law enforcement from collecting critical evidence in criminal and terrorism investigations. But Mr Sewell says the FBI is asking Apple to weaken the security of its products, which he says could create a dangerous precedent. Republican Representative Darrell Issa of California Mr Comey whether his agency had asked Apple for the underlying software code to the iPhone before forcing the company to create its own digital workaround. Mr Issa suggested the FBI hasn't exhausted its own efforts before the government went to court over a phone that federal investigators said is linked to the San Bernardino, California, mass shootings. Mr Comey said the government has tried hard to break into iPhones like the one in California. But he seemed unaware if that method was successful, either by Apple or the government. Mr Sewell insisted Apple has no sympathy for terrorists and the "utmost respect" for law enforcement and their work. But he says the FBI, in seeking access to a phone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers, is asking a judge to "give them something we don't have" and to create an operating system that does not exist. He maintained that the government is "asking for a back door" that would allow the FBI to break into every iPhone and weaken security for all of them. Mr Sewell says the US government has spent millions on supporting strong encryption used by activists and journalists, many in countries with fewer free-speech rights. Parts of Cologne airport have been evacuated after a "breach" involving a woman who was able to walk through security without being checked. At least one flight has been cancelled and several more are delayed after the failure to check a passenger sparked a major police operation. A spokesman for Cologne Bonn Airport told The Independent the evacuation of Terminal 2 was still going on and a "federal police investigation" had been launched. But he denied earlier reports that both terminals were evacuated, or that there had been a separate incident involving "unauthorised people" entering the airfield. "A woman passed security check without being checked," he said. "In such cases there is a rule that the whole security area has to be evacuated." Passenger Marco Tarsia posted an image to social media showing throngs of passengers being forced to leave the terminal in order for checks to be carried out again. Airport officials were unable to say how long the investigation would take when contacted at midday local time, but monitoring site AirLive reported that passengers of at least one Ryanair flight, bound for Berlin, had been forced to leave the plane and return to security screening. The breach - and subsequent police operation - come amid a climate of heightened checks and concerns for safety following the Paris attacks and Russian plane bombing in November last year. Such threats to European security have seen the establishment of a joint continent-wide counter-terror initiative, the European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC), launched at the end of January. And security fears linked to the refugee crisis have become an issue in Cologne in particular, following a spate of sexual attacks on women by men of North African and Arab origin on New Year's Eve. A refugee from Afghanistan waiting for a permission to cross the border at Macedonia Credit: Boris Grdanoski Croatia might deploy its army top help control migrant flows in response to the refugee crisis, says Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic. Read More Neighbouring Slovenia approved such a move last month after amending existing laws. Croatia would have to follow a similar process to do likewise. Read More Since last September more than 650,000 migrants have passed through Croatia towards western Europe, primarily Germany, but border restrictions imposed by countries along the Balkan route have led to a build-up of new arrivals in Greece. Elsewhere the European Union is proposing increased humanitarian aid for Greece, where more than 20,000 refugees and migrants are stuck. The European Commission, the EU executive, said on Tuesday it will put forward a plan on Wednesday to offer emergency financial assistance for humanitarian crises inside the 28-nation bloc, comparable with operations it has launched elsewhere in the world. Read More Schinas said the Commission was very concerned with the outbreak of violence at the Greek-Macedonian border. He was speaking as the bloc is gearing up to a summit on Monday with Turkey, the main departure site for the vast majority of people heading to Europe. More than a million refugees and migrants arrived in Europe last year -- mostly via Turkey to Greece -- and another 130,000 have reached the continent so far in 2016. Overwhelmed, Greece and other countries along the main migration route have tended to wave the people through and the influx has brought Europe's Schengen zone of free travel to the verge of collapse. Russian police officers, right and below, secure the area after arresting a woman who was waving the severed head of a small child outside a Moscow subway station Russian police wrestled to the ground a woman in a hijab brandishing the severed head of a child outside a Moscow metro station yesterday and charged her with murder, in an incident that stirred fears of an Islamist terrorist attack. The macabre episode was caught on camera by passers-by, with footage showing the unnamed woman in a black hijab wandering around in the street holding an infant's severed head high in the air. "I am a terrorist, I want your death," she can be heard screaming in heavily accented Russian in a rambling tirade in which she appears to criticize democracy and talk about the end of the world. Investigators said they thought the woman had been working as a nanny for a Moscow family and had murdered a child in her care before setting fire to the family's flat and fleeing. The child was three or four years old, they said. "Given the clearly deranged behaviour of the detainee, investigators swiftly ordered her to undergo psychiatric tests to establish whether she is capable of understanding the significance of her actions," Moscow's investigative committee said in a statement. Drugs News agencies cited an unnamed police source as saying the woman appeared to have been under the influence of psychotropic drugs. Immigration authorities told media the woman was from the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan and had been working in Moscow illegally. With frequent warnings from government officials about the danger that Isil militants pose to Russia and a long history of terrorist attacks in Moscow, some onlookers thought they were witnessing an act of terror. One eyewitness, a reporter from the RBC.ru news portal, said she heard the woman screaming "Allahu Akbar" (God is great). "I was on my way to the metro station from home," Polina Nikolskaya, the reporter, told Reuters. "She was standing near the metro entrance and caught my attention because she was screaming 'Allahu Akbar'. "I saw that she had a bloodied head in her arms, but I thought it was not real. People in the crowd said it was real." Lifenews.ru, an online news portal with close contacts to the police, said a policeman had first approached the woman to check her documents near the Oktyabrskoye Pole metro station in the north-west of the Russian capital. The woman had responded by removing the child's head from a bag and shouting that she had killed the infant, it said, saying she had also threatened to blow herself up. Footage of the incident showed a policeman wrestling the woman to the ground before his colleagues helped restrain her. Some rights activists warned of a possible backlash against migrant workers from Central Asia who have in the past been targeted for beatings by far-right groups. Security services are on high alert for a possible terrorist attack after a Russian passenger plane was blown out of the sky above Egypt in October, killing all 224 people onboard. Isil said it was responsible and had acted to avenge the Kremlin's decision to launch air strikes in Syria. Refugees fills looking for employment and training possibilities at a jobs fair in Berlin Credit: Carsten Koall (Getty Images) A refugees fills a form at a stand offering employment and job training possibilities at a jobs fair for refugees in Berlin Credit: Carsten Koall (Getty Images) A refugee-only job fair in Germany attracted thousands of hopeful migrants looking for work. Some 4,000 people attended a refugee-only job fair in Berlin hosted by 211 different employers as apart of an effort to encourage greater integration. The one-day event was organised by Germany's Federal Employment Agency and a number of private businesses, and was held in the Neukolln district of Berlin where about 10 pc of the population is of Arab descent owed in part to the influx of Turkish migrants during the 1970s. The jobs advertised varied by field but included openings in the citys tourism and construction sector, as well as in IT, medicine, and retail. "Germanys population has been aging and the country faces a chronic manpower shortage," said one of the employers at the fair. "If refugees are integrated in the country through jobs, it could be a win-win solution for both sides." A total of 476,649 asylum applications were registered in Germany last year, almost twice as many as in 2014, with more than a third coming from Syrian nationals. A man helps children to run away after Macedonian police fired tear gas at a group of the refugees and migrants who tried to push their way into Macedonia, breaking down a border gate near the northern Greek village of Idomeni. Photo: AP Macedonian police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of migrants who stormed the border from Greece yesterday as a deeply divided Europe traded barbs over the biggest humanitarian crisis in decades. As frustrations boiled over at restrictions imposed on people moving through the Balkans, migrants trapped on the Greece-Macedonia border tore down a metal gate in the barbed wire fence. A witness said Macedonian police fired several rounds of tear gas into the crowd and onto a railway line where other migrants sat refusing to move, demanding to cross into the country. Greece raced to set up temporary accommodation for a build-up of thousands of migrants stranded in the country after Austria and countries along the Balkans migration route imposed restrictions on their borders, limiting the number of migrants able to cross. Many of the migrants, fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and North Africa, hope to reach Germany, which last year took in 1.1 million asylum seekers. There were an estimated 22,000 migrants and refugees trapped in Greece yesterday, some sleeping rough in central Athens, some in an abandoned airport and at the 2004 Olympic Games venues. Greece's migration minister said without any outlet, that figure could rise as high as 70,000 in coming days. More than one million migrants passed through Greece last year, prompting criticism from other European nations that Athens simply waved people through. "These people do not want to stay here," said Thodoris Dritsas, Greece's shipping minister. "Even if we had a system in place for them to stay here permanently it wouldn't work." German Chancellor Angela Merkel, facing the biggest test of her decade in power, on Sunday defended her open-door policy for migrants, rejecting any limit on the number of refugees allowed into her country despite divisions within her government over the issue. "There are many conflicting interests in Europe," she told state broadcaster ARD. "But it is my damn duty to do everything I can so that Europe finds a collective way." That was lacking yesterday, a week before EU leaders meet with Turkey on how it could help quell the flow of migrants from its shores. In an increasingly shrill debate, Austria's defence minister suggested Merkel take in all those who were stranded in Greece. "The German chancellor ... said that formally there is no upper limit in Germany. Then, I would invite her to take the people, who arrive in Greece now and whom she wants to take care of, directly to Germany," Hans Peter Doskozil told Austrian's Oe1 radio. Thousands of people have been gathering at Idomeni, the small frontier community on Greece's border with Macedonia, for days. Hundreds of tents were pitched in soggy fields yesterday and there were reports that fights had broken out among families over tents, which were in short supply. Macedonian Foreign Minister Nicola Poposki, speaking in Geneva, said 'encouraging' cooperation had been established with Greece on the issue, but that it may not be enough. "Shifting responsibility from one border to the next is clearly not the solution," Poposki told the UN Human Rights Council. Yesterday, a crush developed along the frontier after rumours spread that Macedonian authorities had opened the border. Crowds who gathered at the razor wire fence proceeded to use a heavy metal pole to bring down a gate. At least two people collapsed in the crush and ensuing use of tear gas, Reuters television images showed. The remains of Manfred Bajorat. He was last heard from a year ago Fishermen recover the yacht off Barobo in the Philippines, in which the mummified sailor was discovered Christopher Rivas and his colleagues were about to turn their fishing boat for home when they noticed the half-submerged hull of the yacht Sajo sitting in the water about 60 miles off the coast of the southern Philippines. It had been more than a year since anyone had heard from the 40ft Sajos 59-year-old German skipper, Manfred Fritz Bajorat. It did not take long for Mr Rivas to discover why as he scrambled on board to help. Expand Close The remains of Manfred Bajorat. He was last heard from a year ago / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The remains of Manfred Bajorat. He was last heard from a year ago The Filipino fisherman found Mr Bajorats body sat next to the vessels bank of radio transmitters. Such had been the dry, salty conditions since the unexplained death of the German sailor that his corpse had been mummified in its final position, slumped over a table used for charts with the transmitter handset just inches away. Police in the port of Barobo, about 700 miles south of Manila, where Mr Rivas towed the Sajo, said that a post-mortem examination had found no evidence of foul play and it was believed Mr Bajorat had died of natural causes, possibly from a heart attack. His identity had been established using documentation, including dozens of photographs, found on board the yacht, which it is believed had been drifting for months in the Pacific Ocean before Mr Rivas and his fellow fishermen came upon the wreck. The discovery signifies a sobering end to what had started as a life of adventure for Mr Bajorat and his wife, Claudia. The couple had begun sailing around the globe about 20 years ago, but their marriage did not survive their travels and they broke up in 2008. Expand Close The yachts skipper, Manfred Fritz Bajorat / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The yachts skipper, Manfred Fritz Bajorat Two years later, Claudia died from cancer while on the French island of Martinique. Mr Bajorat posted a tribute online to his former wife, saying: Thirty years weve been together on the same path. Then the power of the demons was stronger than the will to live. The mariner, from the Ruhr region of Germany, continued his voyages alone, sailing between Europe and the Pacific. Expand Close A picture thought to show the wife of Mr Bajorat / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A picture thought to show the wife of Mr Bajorat Reports in German media said that Mr Bajorat had taken to the waves to avoid central Europes bitter winters, which he disliked. Photographs found on board the 160,000 yacht showed carefree family moments a sea-water damaged picture of picnic with friends or relatives, a Polaroid of a visit to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and an image of children playing in the snow. Two other documents chronicled a journey taken by the Bajorats on board a large container ship with certificates recording their crossing of the Equator, naming Manfred as Tiger Shark and Claudia as Angel Fish. Mr Bajorat, who is believed to leave behind a daughter who works as the captain of a freight vessel, is not thought to have been in contact with anyone since he sent a birthday message to a friend on Facebook a year ago. Police are investigating whether Mr Bajorat may have been trying to send a mayday message at the time that he died. A police spokesman said: We have no evidence of a second person aboard and no weapon was found on the yacht. Stranded refugees and migrants are pushed back by Greek riot police after they tried to storm Macedonia from the Greek side of the border during a protest, near the Greek village of Idomeni, February 29, 2016 The UN special representative for international migration Peter Sutherland has made a heartfelt plea to European leaders to respond to the refugee crisis appropriately. "[Ireland] can certainly take the million refugees that come across on an annual basis over the last couple of years, if it is properly organised," said the former Fine Gael attorney-general and chairman of the London School of Economics. "It's not good enough to say we can't take them. If we can't take them, what is your suggestion as to what is to be done? "Should they be pushed back out to sea? Sent back to Syria? "After the second world war, we agreed as a community that we would take refugees - that is people who are fleeing persecution. Those who say we're taking too many, what do you suggest is to be done? "There is no answer except to welcome them. There is no answer to this except to be humane," he said when speaking to Newstalk Breakfast presenter Ivan Yates. "The Irish [absorption] figure is not bad relative to some others but the more we can take the better. We have to be vocal in support of the [open-door] approach Angela Merkel is taking." The German Chancellor has rejected a proposal to introduce a limit on the number of refugees allowed into her country despite divisions within her government and has called for a "collective way" for Europe to deal with the refugee crisis. Speaking to public broadcaster ARD, Ms Merkel said: There is so much violence and hardship on our doorstep. Whats right for Germany in the long term? There, I think it is to keep Europe together and to show humanity." The statement follows news of developing tensions in the French port of Calais on Monday as authorities began the process of dismantling part of the migrant camp known as the 'Jungle', home to thousands of recently displaced refugges. Clashes have also broken out on border of Greece and Macedonia when refugees uprooted the fence on the Greek in an effort to get into Macedonia. As a result, Macedonian police tightened their border controls, therefore pinning refugees into Greece and adding further pressure to an already backed-up refugee trail. "One thing is clear," said Mr Sutherland. "Many of [the refugees] are simply not going to give up. The want to go to [northern Europe] and the want to apply for asylum which many of them are entitled to." David Priestly was abducted in Nigeria last year The family of a 72-year-old Briton who was abducted from a construction site in central Nigeria a year ago has appealed for information about his disappearance. David Priestly's Nigerian wife called on anyone with information to come forward, describing her husband as a "good husband and loving father", in a statement released by the British High Commission. She said he is well respected in the Nigerian community for his good works during the 30 years he has lived in the West African nation. The statement said Mr Priestly's two children "miss him terribly" and are "desperate for any information about their father". It said nothing about a ransom. Kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria. Hostages are often released unharmed once money changes hands. Mr Priestly was kidnapped by armed men on January 21, 2015, from Kwali, 38 miles south-west of Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. When Isis leaders sent a delegate to solve the dispute, the Dutch cell's enraged members reportedly murdered the intermediary in vengeance Isis has killed eight Dutch members after they allegedly tried to desert the jihadist group, Syrian activists said on Monday. "Isis executed 8 Dutch fighters on Friday, 26 of Feb, after fights with Iraqi leaders in Raqqa and they arrested more Dutch fighters," Abu Mohammed, a member of the citizen journalist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), said on Twitter. #Raqqa #ISIS Executed 8 Dutch fighters on Friday, 26 of Feb After fights with Iraqi leaders in #Raqqa and they arrested more Dutch fighters Abu Mohammed (@Raqqa_sl1) February 29, 2016 The group said tension between 75 Dutch jihadis, some of Moroccan origin, and Isis intelligence operatives from Iraq had reached a new high over the last month. Three other Dutch jihadis were arrested by Iraqi Isis members, who accused them of wanting to flee. One of the detainees was beaten to death during the interrogation, RBSS reports. When Isis leaders sent a delegate to solve the dispute, the Dutch cell's enraged members reportedly murdered the intermediary in vengeance. The Isis leadership in Iraq then ordered the arrest of all of the Dutch group's members, imprisoning them in Tabaqa and Maadan in Syria. Eight have since been executed, RBSS reported. At least 24 people, including a top Isis official in Mosul, were executed on various changes on Monday, the Kurdish media group Rudaw reported. "On Monday ISIS executed 24 persons charged with refusing to fight for the group on the battlefields," Saeed Mamuzni, a Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK) official in Mosul, told Rudaw. He said Ahmed Abdulsalam al-Obeidi, the Isis finance minister in Mosul, was among the executed who were charged with treachery. "Two hundred and thirteen other civilians were also detained by ISIS in Mosul," he added An Ohio teenager has denied charges linked to a school shooting A 14-year-old boy accused of shooting students in an Ohio school canteen has denied the charges during an appearance in juvenile court. The boy is charged in Butler County with attempted murder, felonious assault, inducing panic and making terror threats. With his ankles shackled, he sat silently during the brief hearing and kept his head down, reading the complaint. Defence lawyer Ed Perry entered a denial of the charges, and a magistrate ordered that the suspect remain in juvenile detention pending a hearing on April 5. Mr Perry and the boy's supporters declined to comment afterwards. There was no indication whether prosecutors might seek to move the case to an adult court. Authorities allege the boy fired at students on Monday in a canteen used by high-school pupils in Madison Township, near Middletown. Two students were shot and two others were hurt, possibly by shrapnel or while running away, authorities said. The injuries were not considered life-threatening. In a recorded call, a 911 caller reporting the shooting immediately identified the suspect by name. Breathing heavily, the unidentified caller told a dispatcher: "He just pulled out his gun and started shooting." Sheriff Richard Jones said he is aware of a motive but was not ready to release it. Students were eating in the cafeteria when the shooting happened at around 11.30am, Mr Jones said. A sheriff's deputy stationed in the school had just been in the cafeteria, he added. The students who were shot were 14 and 15 years old and were taken to a hospital where they were in stable condition. The school, which had carried out drills for such an event, immediately went into lockdown, Madison Local Schools spokeswoman AJ Huff said. The district cancelled classes and extracurricular activities on Tuesday. What is believed to be an improved version of the KN-08 ballistic missile is paraded in Pyongyang in October (AP) The United States has asked the UN Security Council to hold a vote on a resolution that would impose tough new sanctions on North Korea in response to Pyongyang's latest nuclear test and rocket launch. A vote on the resolution, drafted by the US and North Korea's traditional ally China, has been held up for several days by Russia, which asked for more time to study the lengthy text and has reportedly suggested changes. Angola takes over the rotating Security Council presidency on Tuesday. The US asked that the vote be held after the council meets to discuss its programme for March. The draft resolution would subject cargo ships leaving and entering North Korea to mandatory inspections. It would also prohibit the sale of small arms and other conventional weapons to North Korea, closing a loophole in earlier resolutions. US Ambassador Samantha Power has said the sanctions would limit and in some cases ban exports of coal, iron gold titanium and rare earth minerals from North Korea, and would prohibit countries from supplying aviation fuel, including rocket fuel, to the country. But the draft resolution lets countries determine whether such exports are for military or humanitarian purposes, which takes into account the bleak humanitarian situation of the majority of North Koreans. In addition, the draft resolution would impose financial sanctions targeting North Korean banks and assets and ban all dual-use nuclear and missile related items. Items such as luxury watches, snowmobiles, recreational water vehicles and lead crystal have been added to a long list of luxury goods that North Korea is not allowed to import. As with previous resolutions, the test will be whether UN member states enforce the sanctions. A UN panel of experts monitoring the sanctions has repeatedly pointed out that enforcement can be weak. North Korea started off the new year with what it claims was its first hydrogen bomb test on January 6 and followed up with the launch of a satellite on a rocket on February 7. It was condemned by much of the world as a test of banned missile technology. Over the past 20 years, North Korea has conducted four nuclear tests and launched six long-range rockets, all in violation of Security Council resolutions. The US, its Western allies and Japan have pressed for new sanctions that go beyond the North's nuclear and missile programmes. But China, Pyongyang's neighbour, is reluctant to impose measures that could threaten the stability of North Korea and cause its economy to collapse. SC Supreme Court hears challenge to 6-week abortion law The SC law, temporarily blocked until the court considers its fate, is being challenged on the grounds that it violates privacy rights in constitution. SHARE MICHAEL EADS/Independent Mail Nationally acclaimed educator Ron Clark (second from right) was introduced to a packed Henderson Auditorium on Monday night by three Anderson University graduates who work for him in Atlanta Hope King, James Houge and Wade King. By Mike Eads of the Independent Mail A celebrated national educator told local teachers and teachers-in-training Monday night that they are the most essential parts to successful schools. Ron Clark, best-selling author, educator and motivational speaker, told the capacity crowd of teachers, school administrators and Anderson University teaching majors at the school's Henderson Auditorium that curriculum controversies and charter schools and titles have little to do with successfully educating children. "The name of the school doesn't matter," said Clark, who was introduced by three teachers from his Atlanta school for at-risk youth James Houge, Hope King and Wade King who all received their teaching degrees from AU. "I wish people would leave curriculum alone, too ... when you have the best people, you're going to have an outstanding school." Clark regaled the audience with stories from his time teaching low-income North Carolina and New York elementary students, including the time his class earned a visit to the Clinton White House by using newspaper classified ads to ask questions and engage with readers around the world. Punctuating his anecdotes by leaping onto chairs in the audience and doing impressions of former bosses and co-workers, Clark said his students got invested in such things because they saw he and his colleagues were just as invested. "Every year, I tried to do something that made the kids run to school to see what we were going to do," said Clark. The author of titles such as "Move Your Bus" and "The Excellent 11: Qualities Teachers and Parents Use to Motivate, Inspire, and Educate Children" warned the student teachers against gravitating toward those veteran teachers who are prone to complaining and criticizing. "We need educators who aren't going to listen to that crap and are going to go above and beyond," Clark said to loud applause. The audience buzzed with anticipation prior to Clark's appearance with the Kings married veterans of Anderson School District 4 and Houge, then cheered loudly and roared with laughter throughout his presentation. The insights Clark shared from classrooms in rural North Carolina and urban Harlem and Atlanta resonated with those teachers from Belton, Anderson, Iva and other spots represented Monday night. "We take away whatever we can from this and use it in the classroom," said Wallace Cobbs, who took over Wade King's class at Pendleton Elementary School. "They're all still kids, after all." Follow Michael Eads on Twitter @MikeEads_AIM Sophia Rhodes By Mike Ellis of the Independent Mail A Honea Path church, where 5-year-old Sophia Rhodes played just hours before a fire took her life, is collecting donations on behalf of the child's grieving family. Krista Overby, wife of the First Assembly of God's pastor, said the family is stunned and struggling with the loss. "They are hurting," she said. Donations of gift cards will help feed the family, with three young girls. "Help with food to get by really is what they need now," she said, adding that they no longer need donations of clothes. The church, which is across the road from the home that burned on Green Street, is taking donations marked "emergency relief" that will be set aside for the family, Overby said. American Red Cross workers have helped with emergency supplies, said Ann Wright, the executive director of the Upstate South Carolina branch. "But critically, and especially in a fire like this where someone died," Wright said, "what we are there for is often more emotional support than physical help. Sometimes with tremendous tragedies we can be there for a year or more, giving families someone who will continue to be with them." Among other volunteers, the Red Cross uses trained mental health professionals, some of whom helped the family immediately after the fire and are continuing to do so, Wright said. "We had a team member who went to the (Joseph M. Still) Burn Center in Augusta to support the family there until their daughter passed," she said. "And we had others here with the family back home." Students at Honea Path Elementary, where Sophia and her twin sisters attended, were able to speak with grief counselors this week, according to a statement from the school district. Red Cross volunteers had already planned to go out into neighborhoods in Anderson and Homeland Park this weekend to hand out smoke detectors while talking to neighborhoods about fire safety, Wright said. "It's really important not just to check smoke detectors," she said, "but we sit down with people, go over their escape plan and give safety tips." Honea Path Fire Department has been planning its own smoke detector drive with help from the Red Cross, said Meg Massengill, spokeswoman for the department. She said officials will target the neighborhood near the Green Street home. Sophia was the first person to die by fire in Anderson County this year, said Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore. The fire remains under investigation by the Honea Path Fire Department and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. SHARE By Walter C. Jones And Mary Landers, Savannah Morning News ATLANTA - The Texas-based energy company planning to build a 210-mile pipeline from Belton through East Georgia to Florida suffered a setback in court Tuesday when a Georgia judge rejected its appeal of a state decision to deny the pipeline developer the right of eminent domain. Attorneys for Kinder Morgan had asked a Fulton County Superior Court judge to overturn Georgia Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry's denial last May of the company's application for the power to seize property from owners unwilling to sell. The so-called eminent-domain authority allows utilities to avoid costly detours by requiring a judge to set a fair price for rights of way across the seized property. Kinder Morgan has said it plans to invest $1 billion in what it calls the Palmetto Pipeline, which would carry up to 7 million gallons of gasoline, diesel and ethanol a day from Belton to Jacksonville. Its route through Georgia parallels the Savannah River and then turns south, crossing every coastal county and five major rivers. Judge Kimberly M. Esmonds Adams issued her decision Tuesday, ruling against the pipeline company. "Having concluded that the record does support the commissioner's decision, and in the absence of any proffer by Palmetto as to how some different procedure or additional evidence would have changed the commissioner's decision, this court finds that the commissioner's decision is adequately supported by the record evidence and therefore affirms the decision of the commissioner and denies Palmetto's petition for review," she wrote in a court order signed Monday. On Monday, the Georgia House of Representatives voted 165-2 in support of a bill designed to stall the pipeline by imposing a moratorium until July 2017, while new procedures are written. Steve McWilliams, a lobbyist for the newly formed Landowners for Property Rights, was pleased that the court concluded the likely benefits of a pipeline would not be enough to justify using force against landholders. "We're delighted that Judge Adams has rendered a decision that is consistent with what the private property owners' community has been saying all along," he said. Environmentalists were also happy with the decision and recent action in the Georgia and South Carolina legislatures to erect more hurdles to petroleum-pipeline construction. "It's incredibly encouraging that both Georgia and South Carolina are clearly listening to the people and standing up and protecting private-property rights," said Tonya Bonitatibus with the Savannah Riverkeeper, an Augusta-based advocacy organization. "I think that it's been clear all along neither necessity nor convenience exists in this situation." Kinder Morgan lobbyists didn't publicly oppose the Georgia legislation. Instead, company officials have repeatedly said the pipeline would be built even if it couldn't use eminent domain. "If that is true and they really believe that, there is no reason for them to appeal," said Steve Caley, legal director for GreenLaw, an Atlanta-based legal advocate for environmental causes. Kinder Morgan did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on the judge's ruling, but most observers expected whoever lost to appeal to a higher court. The company argues that delivering gasoline and diesel fuel through a pipeline would be inherently safer and cheaper than delivering it to Savannah by ship or by trucking it from terminals in Augusta and Macon. But because Kinder Morgan won't own the material it transports, it has refused to guarantee a savings to motorists. McMurry rejected that argument. He concluded that the Savannah market was already adequately supplied by competing firms and that demand is gradually declining as vehicles become more efficient, meaning there was no public necessity for a new source. Adams found no problem with his reasoning. "The commissioner's decision is supported by substantial evidence," she wrote. She also dismissed Kinder Morgan's complaints of procedural errors that McMurry was not following precedent and was preventing the company from responding to public comments opposing the project and extending the deadline for public comments. By Nikie Mayo of the Independent Mail One slap. One punch. One instance of: "I threw the phone and it hit them in the back of the head." That's how Donna Green says a lot of her cases start. Green prosecutes domestic violence cases on behalf of the 10th Judicial Circuit solicitor's office. "You see a lot of minimizing by both the victim and the defendant," Green said Monday. "There's a lot of: 'Well, it's not like I left them bloody and bruised all over.' There's a tendency among people to think that it has to reach a certain degree before it counts as domestic violence. Assaulting someone is enough." Vickie Fleming said she believes she knows why some people minimize domestic violence. "It's because it is a learned behavior in their home," she said. "So it seems normal, even though it is not." Fleming's sister, Rhonda, was killed 13 years ago. Rhonda Fleming's estranged husband, William Snipes, was accused in her death and later turned the gun on himself. Fleming has said that her sister witnessed domestic violence earlier in her life before she became a victim of it herself. Fleming and Green are part of a group working to create a domestic violence task force in Anderson County. County Councilman Tom Allen, one of the leaders of the group, said he would like to see curriculum offered in schools that would teach children what kind of behavior is healthy and what is not. Joey Nimmer, Anderson County Board of Education administrator, said there are already some offerings in local schools. "But I don't know that there is anything as comprehensive as what we are looking for," Nimmer said. One of the task force's goals will be to develop a uniform message about domestic violence that can be shared with all Anderson County Schools. "Prevention is key," Allen said. "That means getting to the kids in schools." The task force also established subcommittees Monday to talk about other key aspects related to domestic violence. Subcommittees will address how first responders handle cases, how legal matters are handled and how community groups can help victims of domestic violence. State Rep. Anne Thayer is leading the task force with Allen, but was absent Monday because she has had minor surgery, he said. Allen said the task force will reconvene in about a month when Thayer is available. South Carolina is repeatedly recognized as one of the worst states in the nation for domestic violence. Anderson Police Chief Jim Stewart recently said his department has seen a significant increase in crime reports involving women and children. Allen said the reality of what is happening in the Upstate and beyond cannot be escaped. "We have to do something," he said. Follow Nikie Mayo on Twitter @NikieMayo The audio of Oopiri was released at Novotel Hotel in Hyderabad. Besides members from cast and crew, K Raghavendra Rao, Sumanth, Harish Shankar, and others made it to the event. Hosted by Suma and Anasuya Bharadwaj, the event was graced by Nag along with his wife, Amala. K Raghavendra Rao said: "Cinema doesn't care for language barriers. PVP has proved that. Gopi Sunder has been brought in from Malayalam. When Nag did Gitanjali, it was a big hit in Tamil Nadu. Karthi will repeat this, by delivering a hit in Telugu. I appreciate Vamsi Paidipalli for choosing such a beautiful story line. Tamannah looks gorgeous. If I were the director, I would have made Nag dance with Tamannah and Karthi." Ashwini Dutt said: "Production houses like Suresh Productions come to my mind looking at PVP." Writer Hari said: "When we first met him Nag garu, he encouraged us as soon as we narrated the idea. Throughout our journey, he encouraged us with the same spirit. This is not a regular action film, drama film, romantic film. We have seen Karthi in films like Awara and Na Peru Shiva. We were sceptical about whether her will accept this film. But he took the decision in 10 minutes." Tamannah Bhatia, who could not be present, said: "I couldn't be at the venue because of shooting. We have all given it some part of ourselves. I am very proud that such a film has come my way. I thank PVP garu, Vamshi garu for giving me one of the most memorable characters. Gopi Sunder garu's songs are more than music, they are like a character." A special AV was played in fond remembrance of late Kalpana, who plays an important role in this film. The Malayalam actress breathed her last a day after completing the shoot in Hyderabad. Harish Shankar said: "Cinema is my 'oopiri'. My best friend is Vamsi Paidipally. We friends re-united to get that kick which we got when we watched Hello Brother. I and Vamsi both started our career with a flop. At that time, we had none to fall back on except we ourselves. When Vamsi told me he is making a film titled Oopiri, I was sceptical. When he told me about the framework, I was sure that Nag sir is the 'oopiri' of the film. Sumanth: The other day, I was sitting in a restaurant and smiling at a girl. The girl got up and walked by. When she asked me why I was smiling at her, I replied saying, 'Beauty not admired is a sin'. After this film, this line is going to be on everyone's lips. Ramajogayya Sastry: My wife is my 'oopiri'. This will be a film which will bring more fame and money to PVP garu. I appreciate Nag garu and others for doing this 'hatke' film. Gopi Sunder's music feels like native music. Nuvvemicchav brought tears to my eyes. I feel fortunate that I am sharing the credits with my guru, Seetharama Sastry garu. I have written two songs. Abburi Ravi: Don and Oopiri. Yevadu and Oopiri. Kshanam and Oopiri. It will be a huge hit. While he was doing tapas, I had the fortune to be there and observe him. Doubt, each and every song has come out very well. Jayasudha said: "I have acted in Yevadu previously. This is my second film with Vamsi. This will be one of the best films in Nag garu's career. I am a fan of Nag garu. Coming to Karthi, he is an amazing actor. He is a natural. I am also doing PVP garu's Brahmotsavam. My oopiri are my two children." Dil Raju said: "Sirish and Laxman are my best friends. They are my left and right. I wish that Vamsi makes it big even in Tamil. PVP makes films with the intent of making good movies. Vamsi doesn't compromise on quality even if it costs his life. Nag garu is the one '80s-era hero who has joined the Rs. 50 cr club." The Kshanam team, Adivi Sesh, Anasuya, and Satyam Rajesh, thanked PVP for giving them the opportunity to do the film. Kajal Aggarwal said: "I am someone who has had the biggest crush on Nag sir. I have known Tamannah, Vamsi, PVP sir for years. I think this film is going to be far, far better than the original." Dasaradh said: "I am jealous of Vamsi. On the one hand, he has done mass-y films, On the other, he has done a film with sensibilities like these. Karthi garu, I have been following all your films ever since the release of Na Peru Shiva. Nag garu, we are very lucky to have an artist like you." Ali said: "You will enjoy comedy, sentiment, everything. Audience will surely be touched by all the emotions and scenes in Oopiri. My oopiri is cinema." Vamshi Paidipally said: "It's an emotional moment. In the process of re-inventing and re-discovering myself, this has come out. I'm not saying this in a hyperbolic sense. I came to PVP sir scared. But I can't thank Nag sir enough. It was he who upped my spirits, he gave me energy, I bow my head to him. Oopiri is a breath of relief. Many have tried to launch Karthi in Telugu. But he didn't like any of those stories. Karthi became a hero after working as an asst director. Without Karthi and Nag garu, this film wouldn't have been possible. The biggest magic of the film is the bonding between Nag garu and Karthi. The real-life camaraderi is the real magic of the film. Hari, Abburi Ravi and Solomon were there throughout with me. Gopi Sunder made our journey even more beautiful. PS Vinod garu's frames and production design are great. Jayasudha mam, thanks for being here. Prakash Raj anna will make you laugh from the first scene to the last. He is a boon to the film industry. Tamannah has done a great job. Without co-director Ram, this film wouldn't have been there." PVP said: "Nag garu and Karthi garu are the oopiri of this film. I am not a believer in words, I believe in deeds." Nagarjuna said: "Manam, MEK and SCN later, you have showered so much love on me. You are all my oopiri. My elder son is doing Saahasam Swasaga Saagipo. It's my favourite title. With saahasam I di Finance Minister Arun Jaitley offered telecom companies a proposal to settle their tax disputes, which could account to paying principal amount and get waiver on interest and penalty. The proposal was said to be directed towards Vodafone who has been in a tax dispute with the government since long time.The telcos however did not sound enthusiastic about the proposal. As per reports, telcos said that there is no tax liability on them as they had not done anything wrong.While presenting the Union Budget, Jaitley said, "In order to give an opportunity to the past cases which are ongoing under the retrospective amendment, I propose a one-time scheme of Dispute Resolution for them." He added that the companies can settle the case by paying only the tax arrears, in which case liability of the interest and penalty shall be waived. However, the companies will have withdraw all pending litigation in courts or tribunals or arbitration proceedings.Vodafone spokesperson was quoted as saying, "We will of course study the details of what the Finance Minister has proposed today, while continuing to seek resolution of this matter through international arbitration." Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2016-2017 on February 29 in the Parliament. The budget, although, did not focus much on IT sector except the exemptions made in customs and excise duty under Make in India campaign, the digital and technology driven approach of the Union Budget is likely to prove beneficial for the tech firms.NASSCOM has termed the budget as a mixed bag for the sector. Chairman of the industry body, Mohan Reddy has expressed disappointment over the budget, saying, Our wish list for Budget 2016 included three key priorities policy bottlenecks including ease of business; nurturing start-ups, products and ecommerce sector; and clarifications on transfer pricing to enable inward investments in India. Budget 2016 only partially covers these priorities. Extension of Section 10AA for SEZ units till 2020 is a positive outcome though the imposition of MAT on startups will not allow the full impact of the benefits to be realizedNASSCOM President R. Chandrashekhar, however, has a positive approach. He said, The finance ministers speech had a strong emphasis on leveraging technology to transform India. The initiatives announced today combined with swift implementation of Digital India will help to digitize India and provide effective citizen services. We would urge the government to move forward at a swift pace and build an effective PPP model.CEO of the countrys largest IT firm, TCS, N. Chandrasekaran has welcomed the budget giving it a 8/10 score. He said, The extension of SEZ scheme till 2020 and reduced tax at 10% for global revenues generated by India-registered IPR will further energise entrepreneurship. The FM has announced a slew of Digital platforms to connect farmers with their ecosystem. This is a very comprehensive technology-led plan that will significantly bootstrap the Indian heartland into the digital age. Also heartening is the plan to use digital technology across the board from administering taxes to issuing secure education certificates.Lets have a look at the sections of Union Budget 2016 which could be boon in disguise for IT companies:The Budget mentioned that, service tax on the services of Information Technology software on media bearing RSP has being exempted, provided appropriate Central Excise duty is paid, with effect from March 1, 2016.FM Arun Jaitley said, Investment limit for foreign entities in Indian stock exchanges will be enhanced from 5 to 15% on par with domestic institutions. This will enhance global competitiveness of Indian stock exchanges and accelerate adoption of best-in-class technology and global market practices. This likely to have an effect on the stock market performance of companies in IT sector in FY17.The Budget revealed Government plans to spread digital literacy in rural India. The budget stated that presently, of the 16.8 crore rural households as many as 12 crore households do not have computers and are unlikely to have digitally literate persons.While announcing the digital literacy schemes, FM Arun Jaitley said, We have already approved two Schemes to promote digital literacy, National Digital Literacy Mission and Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (DISHA). We now plan to launch a new Digital Literacy Mission Scheme for rural India to cover around 6 crore additional households within the next 3 years.Moreover, the National Land Record Modernisation Programme has been revamped under the Digital India Initiative and will be implemented as a Central sector scheme with effect from April 1, 2016.The Government has asked farmers to take up other allied activities to supplement their family income in an effort to make dairying more remunerative to the farmers. Apart from an animal wellness programme, it includes an advanced breeding technology programme, creation of E-Pashudhan Haat which is an e-market portal for connecting breeders and farmers and a National Genomic Centre for indigenous breeds. These projects will be implemented at a cost of Rs. 850 crores over the next few years.Education Sector: The budget proposed to establish a Digital Depository for School Leaving Certificates, College Degrees, Academic Awards and Mark sheets in order to help students, Higher Education Institutions and employers to access degree certificates of candidates.The government plans to provide entrepreneurship education and training in 2200 colleges, 300 schools, 500 government ITIs and 50 Vocational Training Centres through Open Online Courses.To provide an online mechanism to resolve mismatches in Income-tax returns, the budget plans full expansion of pilot initiative of e-Sahyog by the I-T Department reducing compliance cost, especially for small taxpayers.FM Arun Jaitley said, We have to bring more transparency and efficiency in Government procurement of goods and services. The Director General of Supplies and Disposal (DGS&D) will establish a technology driven platform to facilitate procurement of goods and services by various Ministries and agencies of the Government.The Union Budget has allotted Rs. 1804 crore for Investment Promotion scheme and Amended Technology Upgradation Fund scheme under the Make in India campaign while the Digital India Programme and E-learning, E-panchayat, Land Records Modernisation has been allotted Rs. 2059 crore .The Urban Rejuvenation Mission which includes AMRUT and Mission for Development of 100 Smart Cities has been granted Rs. 7296 crore while Rs. 1100 crore has been allotted for the Start-up and Stand up initiative. We are supposed to learn from our small mistakes but who knew the silly ones could also change the course of human history? Take a look. 1. World War I began because someone took a wrong turn We all know that World War I started with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie. Although the aristocratic couple managed to deflect an assassination attempt earlier in the day, their chauffeur drove them into the jaws of death this time. While on their way to visit a hospital full of victims of a targeted bomb blast, their car took a wrong turn where one of the assassins happened to be. While the car was reversing, he took his chance and succeeded. smithsonianmag.com 2. Failure to buy new rifles prolonged the American Civil War The Union States (the North) could have won the American Civil War in a shorter period of time had they procured newer rifles. The man responsible was James Wolfe Ripley, the Chief Ordnance, who constantly blocked the move to buy new guns. An aide suggested they buy cheaper Enfield rifles from the British but he refused to turn to his old enemies for help. Sadly, the Confederacy (the south) procured these cheap British rifles and sent the Union on the losing side for the first few battles of the War. Ripley was ousted soon after and the Union succeeded in winning the War. wikipedia 3. It wasn't icebergs that made the Titanic sink, but a set of keys We all know that the maiden voyage of the Titanic came to a tragic end when it hit an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean. The man in charge of looking out for icebergs wasn't equipped with binoculars because it was locked up in a box and the keys hadn't made it aboard. Apparently the second officer on the ship was changed last minute. Charles Lightoller who was assigned as the new second officer was not given the keys in the handover, as the man he replaced had forgotten to get them out of his pocket. bbc.co.uk 4. Constantinople fell thanks to an unlocked door The impenetrable city of Constantinople was guarded by the thick wall that kept out invading forces. However, it's fall in 1453 AD brought an end to the Middle Ages and brought about the dominance of the Ottoman Empire and the Renaissance. The Byzantine Empire fell thanks to a failure to lock one of the gates of its great wall. Once the Ottomans discovered this flaw, all hell break loose and resistance rapidly faded. wikipedia 5. D-Day took place because someone took the day off The day the Allied forces managed to occupy the coast of France from Nazi Germany during World War II is better known as D-Day. It all happened because of one man who felt that the bad weather would keep his enemies at bay. Field Marshall Rommel took the weekend of June 6 off to celebrate his wife's birthday, leaving his troops unprepared to keep off the Allies from continental Europe. pinterest.com 6. The Wicked Bible encouraged adultery in the 1600s In 1631, printers Robert Barker and Martin Lucas forgot to add the word 'not' to the seventh commandment of the Bible, leading it to be printed as "Thou shalt commit adultery" which made many people commit it openly in the 17th century. When King Charles I found out, he took the business license away from the printers, fined their wages for a year and ordered all copies be burned. Today, only 11 copies of 'The Wicked Bible' remain. brushedwithmystery.com 7. The Berlin Wall fell because of a bureaucrat's misinformation In 1989, as the grip of the Socialist regime in East Germany loosened and the Soviet Union came under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachov, there was a decision to ease travel restrictions between the East and West. Gunter Schwabowski, a bureaucrat, was supposed to hold a press conference announcing the ease of travel restrictions. When asked by reporters when the new measures would come into effect, he went into a moment of doubt and muttered, "Immediately, right away." This led to many people heading to the wall to enter West Berlin while others just decided to do away with the symbol of the oppressive regime. Today, only parts of the wall stand in the city of Berlin. fd.nl 8. An error in interpretation caused the atomic bombing of Hiroshima The Americans drafted the Potsdam declaration which demanded the unconditional surrender of Japan. Kantaro Suzuki, the Japanese premier, responded with the word, 'mokusatsu' which means to withhold from comment. However, the same word can also mean 'to contemptuously ignore' and this is where his interpreters got it wrong. It was sent across to the Americans and a week later, Hiroshima became the target of an attack that claimed many lives. nydailynews.com 9. Marie Antoinette's failed attempt at escaping When the French Revolution broke out, King Louis XVI planned to escape alone and mobilise his supporters to counter the revolution and save his crown. However, his wife, Marie Antoinette, demanded that she join him with the children. They chose a slow moving luxurious carriage which stood out and it soon became apparent to the people that it belonged to the royal couple. The people of France were insulted that their monarch was trying to escape a nation embroiled in commotion. They just decided to do away with him and his cowardly kind. wikipedia After claiming to have nuclear weapons and having launched satellites into space, North Korea has now come up with a weapon that has countries across the world shivering in their knickers. North Korea today boasted of a newly developed anti-tank weapon that its leader said was so powerful it could turn the most heavily armoured enemy tanks into "boiled pumpkin". Pyongyang's state media said leader Kim Jong-Un had watched tests of the portable, laser-guided rocket and declared it had the "longest firing range in the world", and was "as accurate as a sniper's rifle". evdesifa.com "He noted with great satisfaction that even the special armoured tanks and cars of the enemies which boast their high manoeuvrability and striking power are no more than a boiled pumpkin before the anti-tank guided weapon", the KCNA news agency. Kim called for the weapon to go into mass production as soon as possible and for it to be deployed to frontline units and coastal defence units. Reuters With a siege mentality bordering on paranoia, North Korea maintains a huge military. It has some 1.2 million active troops out of a population of around 25 million -- double the size of the armed forces in South Korea, which has twice as many people. But most of North Korea's weapons are outdated and the military is seriously hamstrung by the impoverished state's chronic fuel shortages. Reuters The shortages are likely to worsen when the country is slapped with tough new sanctions the United Nations is now weighing over a nuclear test and long-range rocket launch Pyongyang conducted earlier this year. The UN Security Council sanctions include a ban on the supply of aviation fuel to North Korea. dawn Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is using her movies to address several social issues plaguing her nation. The Pakistani filmmaker won her second Oscar in the category of Best Documentary Short Subject for her film A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, that talks about honour killings. But its not her big win that matters. Of course, Sharmeen made history on February 29 by becoming the only Pakistani to win two Oscars, her first one being for a short subject documentary on acid attacks in her country. But her achievement lies more in terms of the subjects she chooses to highlight. Sharmeen's strong acceptance speech at the Oscars is also being lauded as one of the most important this year. She said her latest film is forcing Pakistan to work towards protecting women against 'honor killings'. "This is what happens when determined women get together To all the brave men out there, like my father and my husband, who push women to go to school and work, and who want a more just society for women." In a conservative society like Pakistan, making such daring films invites equal amounts of anger and threat from certain fundamentalist groups. According to a recent AFP report, a prominent cleric had accused her of being immoral and even called her a prostitute. "I think society is in a flux While there are very promising indicators... you also find pockets in Pakistan where violence against women is rising." BBC/ Still from A Girl in the River Honor killings are deeply rooted in South Asian countries, including India, where arranged marriages are common and women are, at times, subjugated to the lethal authority of their male relatives. Sharmeen's major target is to stop honor killings in Pakistan, where she says more than 1,000 women are murdered each year by male relatives for allegedly bringing shame on the family. Her film A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, tells the story of 19-year-old Saba who was beaten, shot and thrown into a river by her family after she eloped to marry her fiance. The same family had initially accepted them, but later decided that the guy was too poor. At the last moment, Saba had tilted her head, and the bullet grazed her cheek instead of shattering her skull. In a rarity for such attacks, Saba not only survived but went to the police too. But under Pakistan's "obsolete" laws, men who kill female relatives escape punishment as they are "pardoned" by relatives through blood money. dailypakistan Sharmeen's film has sparked a revolution in Pakistan, pushing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to come up with changes in the law. The prime minister has now promised to rid the country of the crime by tightening up legislation. In fact, two brothers were sentenced to death in Lahore on Monday, after being accused of the honour killing of their sister and her husband for marrying "against the family's will." That's the change Sharmeen intends to bring about. Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has congratulated Ms Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy on winning the Oscar's Award for the... Posted by Prime Minister's Office on Monday, 29 February 2016 "If we get this law passed, then I'll be a winner, it will be all worth it. The biggest victory would be to get the legislation passed - to take forgiveness off the table, to have a law that deters killing women in the name of honor and for people to realize that this is a serious crime." ahmadladhani/ Still from Saving Face Even her first documentary Saving Face, exposed the horrors endured by women who survive acid attacks. Her initial success helped boost awareness about the particularly horrific crime, and the government in Punjab province started processing acid cases through anti-terrorism courts to offer women speedy justice. As a Pakistani filmmaker, Sharmeen is interested in the issues that affect her people. And that's what she wishes to work upon. Sharmeen is an inspiration for us, from across the border, and we hope that her films inspire village councils in India as well to stop advocating such heinous crimes and this horrible practice against women. It is a global issue, and films have the power to change it. telegraph Karachi born Sharmeen, who studied in America, says she is proud to live in Pakistan. She believes creative people like her can help the country improve. In fact, she said that at the Oscars too! "That is the power of films." (With inputs from AFP) dainikbhaskar Priyanka Chopra's every move was noticed at the Oscars this year. But the Indian beauty didn't disappoint anyone, be it the global media or fans back home. Her walk down the red carpet looked like a scene straight out of a fairy tale. Dressed in white with diamond jewellery, her princess look became the topic of discussion. So much so, that she dominated all internet records the entire day. According to a Google announcement, PC has been ranked a close second to Hollywood actress Olivia Wilde on its search rankings related to the keywords "red carpet dress". Actresses Jennifer Lawrence, Charlize Theron and Saoirse Ronan follow after Priyanka and Olivia on the list of top searched celebs. (Read: Here Is Why Priyanka Chopra Won Hearts And Emerged The Best Dressed At Oscars 2016!) entretenimento.band.uol Further, India contributed about two per cent of the global searches for the event and made it to the top 10 countries and markets for searches related to the 88th Academy Awards. Going by the Indian statistics, no doubt Priyanka was the most Googled celeb in her own country, followed by Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio who won his first Oscar and actor Matt Damon, the internet search giant said. Priyanka, who looked every inch stunning in an ensemble by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad, chose to flaunt diamonds worth $8 millions! The actress who was at her glamorous best even at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, left for Miami where she will begin the shoot of her Hollywood debut film Baywatch. She is playing all her cards right! So proud of you PC! Don't we all believe that actors enjoy such a fancy and larger than life lifestyle? This is true, but only in parts. When you are a famous celebrity, you also have certain power. But remember, with great power comes greater responsibility. Thankfully, these celebrities used their power for a better cause and have been fighting to save our environment. And I am not just talking about fancy speeches or publicity stunts. These celebs have actually stepped on to ground level and brought about a change. 1. Leonardo DiCaprio pixgood Of course, if you were living on another planet until now, at least after his Oscar acceptance speech you'd know that Leonardo DiCaprio holds the issue of climate change pretty close to his heart. He has actually been associated with the cause years now. Apart from having his own Leonardo DiCaprio foundation which works towards the cause of climate change and wildlife, DiCaprio also helped raise funds for the Haiti earthquake. The United Nations had even named DiCaprio a U.N. Messenger of Peace with special focus on climate change. 2. George Clooney greenbuzz Clooney is currently fighting for human rights in the Maldives, but the actor has done his bit for the environment. In the pas,t he has vehemently slammed those who were spreading the reports that climate change has got nothing to do with humans. He even argued that denying the existence of climate change is ridiculous. He has also been involved with the launch of Oil Change, a campaign to eliminate America's dependence on foreign oil. He even traded his BMW for two-seater eco-friendly electric car! 3. Rahul Bose huffingtonpost Our very own Bollywood actor and social activist, Rahul Bose has been active in the fight against climate change and environmental protection as well. In 2009, Rahul, who represented Oxfam at the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen, joined tens of thousands of demonstrators at a mass rally and candlelight vigil outside the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen. He even has his own Rahul Bose foundation which works towards the cause of climate change. 4. Mark Ruffalo washingtontimes While you all may know of Mark Ruffalo as the big green guy, Hulk, he's pretty green in real life too. He is an active clean energy supporter and even has his own charity organisation Water Defense. He was also awarded The Humanitarian Award for his work with Water Defense at the BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards. He has actively worked towards fighting the fracking in New York. 5. Brad Pitt industrytap Well, we all know what great social activists Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are. Brad Pitt in particular, has been working towards green environment and sustainable homes. In 2007, Brad Pitt founded The Make It Right Foundation for providing affordable and sustainable homes to communities around the world. Pitt also supports the concept of green housing to be made available nationally as a housing model. He also received an award from the U.S. Green Building for his housing concept. 6. Gul Panag thealternative Gul Panag is part of the Col. Shamsher Singh Foundation and Gul 4 Change. It works towards basic sanitation, waste disposal and effective employment of natural energy resources. In fact, she also formulated a "green home" by effectively employing water harvesting and solar power energy instead of exhaustive resources. 7. Matt Damon borgenmagazine Since years now, Matt Damon has been working for the cause of clean water. Damon founded H2O Africa, a charity providing clean water to African communities. Not only that, he also created Water.org to provide access to clean water in all continents. 8. Emma Watson ecouterre The Harry Potter actress has been actively involved in promoting sustainable fashion. She has designed eco capsule collections for People Tree, a fair trade sustainable clothing brand. She even flew to Bangladesh to see where the clothing was being made, and met the people who were making it. She also collaborated with The Green Carpet Challenge which works to promote sustainable style on the red carpet. Resul Pookutty bagged the Oscar in 2009 and made India super-proud. Not many know that Pookutty who won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for Slumdog Millionaire was the first Malayali to win an Oscar. Following AR Rahman, Resul Pookutty and Bhanu Athaiya's footsteps, here's another man who has made India proud at the Academy Awards. Kerala Boy Saajan Skaria can now proudly boast about his stint with Oscars. Saajan was a part of the team behind 'Inside Out', which was named the Best Animated Feature Film at the 88th Academy Awards. Skaria works for Pixar Animation Studios & he was the character supervisor in the American 3D computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film. Skaria revealed that Cartoons have always been his childhood obsession & it was after graduating from Regional Engineering College, Calicut that he joined Siemens. But one interaction with his German Boss changed his life and how! It was after his German boss saw he could draw, that he said, "Good work, you shouldn't waste your time as an engineer." There was no looking back for Skaria. He took this advice seriously and changed his life. Now Sajan lives in the US with his wife and kids. K Skaria, Skaria's father said, "We never forced him to try any other profession. His boss's word of praise encouraged him to pursue his dream." One decision can change your entire life and for Saajan, it was quitting engineering! All good things must come to an end. Scott Kelly, the man who spent a year orbiting the Earth and making a record for spending the most time in space, is returning home on 1st March. After spending time aboard the International Space Station for 340 days straight, Scott Kelly handed over the command to NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, in an emotional farewell speech. He says, "Obviously, you know, Misha and I have been up here for a really, really long time and recently we've been joking with each other that we'll say something like 'We did it!' or 'We made it! But we both recognise that this is a lot more about teamwork and all the people that it takes to put these missions together and be successful than it is about us. "Spaceflight is the biggest team sport there is, and it's incredibly important that we all work together to make what is seemingly impossible possible." Watch his signing-off speech here: Kelly has had an incredible run in space that included a close encounter with Pluto, growing veggies in space, and even drinking nearly 730 litres of his own sweat and urine! But apart from all that, the astronaut also shared some astonishing snaps of the Earth, which we would have never gotten to see if it wasn't for him. Here's a look back at some of his beautiful captures from the ISS. 1. "#Bahamas, the strokes of your watercolors are always a refreshing sight. #YearInSpace" Scott Kelly 2. "Another pass through #Aurora. The sun is very active today, apparently. #YearInSpace" Scott Kelly 3. "Color palette of the #Spanish coast is an appealing morning view. #GoodMorning from @ISS! #YearInSpace" Scott Kelly 4. "Cool frozen lake in #Himalayas! #YearInSpace" Scott Kelly 5. "Day 114. #Moon #Venus #Jupiter...#Earth Good night from @space_station! #YearInSpace" Scott Kelly 6. "That #polarvortex even looks cold from here! #Burr! #YearInSpace" Scott Kelly 7. "#Italy and the #Alps last night were breathtaking! #YearInSpace" Scott Kelly No doubt we will miss Scott Kelly sharing the best of the universe with us from the skies. But we will also look forward to seeing what Tim Kopra has in store for us. It was supposed to be the biggest day for Kerala based mobile manufacturing start-up Mango Phones. But the day turned disastrous for it on Monday after two of its promoters were arrested by police for financial fraud, that to just hours before the launch of their phones. Anto Augustine, and Josekutty Augustine two brothers were arrested for defrauding 2.68 crore from Bank of Baroda. Police said the promoters had cheated other banks too. A third brother and Chairman of the company, Rojy Augustine, claim that it is suspicious that his brother got arrested on the big day of launch. mPhones, which came into the limelight out of nowhere was supposed to change the smartphone market in Kerala. The company claims it had an investment of Rs 35,000 crore as well as a research and development centre in Korea. And it had some big ambitions too calling themselves the 'iPhone Killer'. Unlike the Freedom 251, which was touted as the world's cheapest smartphone, mPhone's website listed a couple of smartphones, ranging between Rs 12,000 and Rs 40,000. The phones listed in the company's website also details the specifications of the phone which seemed at par with phones from other brands with similar specs. Interestingly enough, despite full page ads and media coverage in Kerala for the past couple of days, none, including tech bloggers have actually seen the phone. This comes soon after Ringing Bells, the manufacturer of Freedom 251, began to run into one controversy after another over the delivery of their phones. The fate of jailed JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar will be known on Wednesday when the Delhi high court decides his bail plea, taking into account police's admission that they don't have electronic evidence to show his involvement in the anti-national sloganeering. oneindia Instead, the police claimed on Monday it now possesses testimony of three witnesses in the form of statements recorded under the section 161 of CrPC to bolster its allegation that Kanhaiya organised, participated and led the protests where these slogans were raised. The witnesses include two students and a staffer from the JNU administration. During the hearing, Justice Pratibha Rani raised a pointed query more than once. "Is there any contemporaneous recording of pre and post-event that occurred on February 9 apart from the Zee News footage? One issue is organising and the other is raising anti-national slogans. From the videos, do you have any evidence of him raising these slogans," she asked the cops. The police maintained that the case against Kanhaiya was based on the testimony of witnesses and not just video footage.1800 It also asked the cops as to why they woke up only after Zee aired the news instead of taking action on February 9 itself. indiatvnews "When your policemen were present in the campus in plain clothes, why didn't they take cognisance of an offence when anti-national slogans were raised? Why did not they video-record it? Why you waited for Zee news video?" the HC said. The court wondered if the policemen on duty were "sleeping" that it escaped their attention how anti-national sloganeering occurred inside the JNU campus despite their presence. It also pulled up the investigating officer for failure to get a mobile video recorded by a JNU staffer verified by forensic lab and place it before court. Additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for Delhi Police, defended its stand on slapping sedition charges against Kanhaiya, saying there is evidence, including pamphlets and statements of the witnesses, which clearly show that Kanhaiya and others, were shouting anti-India slogans and that some of them were carrying Afzal Guru's posters. "Umar Khalid was leading the group that shouted anti-national slogans. Evidence suggests that Kanhaiya too participated in the slogan shouting, since witnesses have identified him," Mehta submitted. thehindu He claimed there is enough evidence to show Kanhaiya's continuous role in the incident, from organising, participating to slogan shouting. Mehta also submitted there was a joint interrogation of the accused by the IB and Delhi Police in which the accused didn't cooperate. "...He (Kanhaiya) was very much there on the spot, along with other accused," Mehta said, adding that the investigating agency is also probing into the financial aspect behind this incident which is part of a larger criminal conspiracy. But HC observed that "only thing we have to see at this stage is Kanhaiya's active role" before wrapping up proceedings. Earlier, Kumar, who is in Tihar , submitted through senior advocate Kapil Sibal that anti-India slogans were raised by people with covered face and he had no role in the matter. Sibal also questioned the conduct of the police on registering the FIR on the basis of an alleged doctored video. He wondered why the FIR was not registered on that day itself if Kanhaiya and others raised anti-India slogans as police personnel were present in plain clothes during the event. "They didn't find anything amiss. They are the best witnesses," he said. 7 months ago, the government had given up the battle on porn, simply because it's impossible to ban every porn site out there. huebang Now, the Supreme Court has asked the government to to explore "ways and means" to block online "blue films", India Today reported, as obscenity "cannot be allowed to be perpetuated". The new ban might ban you from watching porn of any kind, across public places, and making it a crime. After waves of criticism spanning social media and civil society, the Centre had claimed to only support a ban on child porn, not invading people's right to privacy. Expressing concern about the internet hosting multiple child pornography websites, "which are being deliberately run with perversity to make money", the bench directed the government to sit with information technology experts to find out ways to block them. "It is not permissible under Indian law and you have to block it," the bench said. reuters Hearing the PIL filed by anti-porn activist-lawyer Kamlesh Vaswani, the court had observed: "Obscenity is recognised by the law. Pornography can be obscene. Obscenity has been linked to misogynism, perversion, sadism, and voyeurism. These are acts depicted in pornography which have a direct nexus with obscenity as crime under Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code. Somebody doing it for gain cannot be entertained as other countries have not accepted defeat on this account. Look at UK." However, Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, representing the Centre, said blocking all sites "cannot be done and was not our job". Also read: The Supreme Court Just Told The Government - No, You Can't Ban Porn Sites! A retired government employee in Rura village of Kanpur Dehat district has been offering free railway information service to people for the past 28 years through the public address system of a temple. TOI Gradually, he has even switched on to WhatsApp and earned the sobriquet 'Train wale Baba ji' "Raj Narain Mishra is running a parallel railway enquiry system in his village to help locals get up early and leave for railway station on time to catch trains," said Jai Ram, deputy station superintendent of Rura. Mishra used to work as a lab assistant from Ganesh Shanker Vidhyarthi Memorial Medical College. thebetterindia "Nearly 500 people from various localities of Rura wake up early only after hearing Mishra, who uses a loudspeaker and WhatsApp to update them about movement of trains," said a school teacher. "The timing of trains keeps on changing. But Mishra keeps us updated," said Golden Singh. Mishra said he launched the initiative when he was working at GSVM Medical College in Kanpur and used to travel daily between Rura and Kanpur Moscow police have arrested a woman for beheading a young girl she was babysitting. Witnesses claim they saw the black-clad woman carrying the girl's severed head, threatening to "blow everyone up". The agitated woman, who was reportedly shouting "Allahu Akbar", was spotted pacing up and down outside a Moscow metro station in front of bewildered bystanders Russian investigators said a woman had been detained after killing a child aged three or four who reportedly had learning disabilities, then setting fire to the apartment and fleeing. "I hate democracy. I am a terrorist. I want you dead," the woman in a headscarf shouted as she waved the head. "You have become so hardened, you have eliminated so many of us. Look I am a suicide bomber, I will die, doomsday will come in a second," she said in accented Russian. Witness Alyona Kuratova told independent Dozhd TV that the woman was holding the head by its hair. Kuratova described scenes of chaos, with police cars and ambulances arriving at the scene and some people yelling: "terror attack, terror attack." She said she could not make out what the woman shouted but some media reported that she yelled "Allahu Akbar" -- Arabic for "God is greatest" -- and threatened to blow herself up. Another witness said the woman shouted that she would "kill everyone, blow up everyone." Some said the woman had paced up and down for some 20 minutes before she was detained near Oktyabrskoe Pole metro station. 'Monstrous and inexplicable' LifeNews, a news service with close ties to law enforcement agencies, said that when police approached her for a document check, she pulled the head out of her bag and started yelling that she had killed a child. Television footage showed several men approaching and overpowering the woman, who some media reported suffered mental health problems. "Monstrous and inexplicable," tweeted Russia's children's rights commissioner Pavel Astakhov, urging parents to carefully check on the mental state of nannies when they are hired. Investigators said a nanny had been detained after the body of a child aged three or four years with "signs of violent death" was found on Monday in an apartment in northwest Moscow. "According to preliminary information, the child's nanny... waited until the parents left the apartment with their elder child and, guided by unknown motives, killed the little one, set the apartment on fire and left the scene," the Investigative Committee said. State news agency TASS, citing a law enforcement source, said: "The child's body was without the head. According to a preliminary version, the nanny carried away the head." Psychiatric testing Investigators said a criminal probe had been opened and that the suspect would undergo a psychiatric examination to establish whether she "understands the meaning of her actions and behaviour". Interfax news agency, citing a law enforcement source, identified the woman as 38-year-old Gyulchekhra Bobokulova, a native of Muslim-majority Uzbekistan. LifeNews said Bobokulova had told authorities she committed the crime because of her husband's infidelity, adding that she may be suffering from manic psychosis. The mother of the slain girl was taken by ambulance to an undisclosed location, Zvezda television channel said. Follow us on confirmed preity zinta marries boyfriend gene goodenough in los angeles New Delhi: Actress Preity Zinta has ditched her single hood to get hitched to American boyfriend Gene Goodenough, suggest media reports. Though there has been no official confirmation from any one of the rumoured lovers, but the news is going strong. Moreover, Kabir Bedi's congratulatory tweet to Preity and Gene is fuelling breath in the rumours. Here is what he posted. Media reports claim that the dimpled beauty tied the knot in an intimate affair on February 29 in Los Angeles. The Kya Kehna' girl plans to hold a lavish Indian wedding in April, this year. Shedding some light on the plans, a source close to Preity told a leading daily, Since Preity has worked with the biggest names in the film industry and continues to remain close friends with several of them, she plans to host a big celebration in Mumbai where we can expect some of the biggest names to attend. It was also reported that the couple have decided to auction their wedding photographs and donate the amount to charity. More substance has been added to these rumours after Preity's close friend, Sussanne Khan posted a picture on Instagram from LA. Actor Hrithik Roshan's divorced wife posed for a picture with Surily, the two standing in front of a vintage car. It shouldn't be forgotten that time and again Preity has refuted her marriage rumours. But, we cannot also negate the fact that there isn't smoke without fire. So, maybe she and Gene have actually taken the leap. Latest Bollywood News Follow us on beware decline in memory unhealthy feeling can predict early death London: Not just chronic medical conditions and unhealthy lifestyle, psychological factors such as decline in memory or just feeling unhealthy are also likely to elevate the risk of early death mortality rate especially in the middle-aged and the elderly. The result of the longitudinal study of over 6,000 adults revealed that better perceived health and smaller decreases in processing speed over time could help reduce mortality risk. "Our study shows that two psychological variables, lower self-rated health and age-related decrements in processing speed, appear to be especially important indicators of elevated mortality risk in middle-age and older adults," said Stephen Aichele, scientist at University of Geneva in Switzerland. Being a woman was also linked with reduced mortality risk, while years of smoking tobacco was connected with an increased risk of early death. The findings, published in the journal Psychological Science, may provide useful insights to health professionals, who need better methods for identifying individuals at risk of early death, the researchers noted. The researchers investigated the relative influence of cognitive, demographic, health, and lifestyle variables in predicting mortality risk from the Manchester Longitudinal Study of Cognition's data collected for 29 years' from 6,203 adults who ranged in age from 41 to 96 years old when the study began. Participants' subjective reports of various lifestyle factors, including perceived health, number of prescribed medicines, sleep patterns, hobbies, leisure activities, and social interactions were also examined. Read More Lifestyle News Follow us on candidates asked to appear in underwear for army recruitment exam def min orders probe Patna: Candidates appearing for a recruitment exam to hire clerks in the Indian Army were in for a rude shock when they were asked to write their papers sitting in their bare minimum. Candidates appearing for the examination were asked to sit in their underwear in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district while giving their exams. The move, as was expected, kicked off a huge storm prompting the Defence ministry into action. Sources said Defence minister Manohar Parrikar has already sought an enquiry report from Army Chief Dalbir Singh on the matter. Besides the government, the judiciary has also not taken to this move, which the Army claimed had been taken to deter candidates from cheating. The Patna high court on Tuesday also sought a reply from Defence Secretary RK Mathur and posted the matter for hearing for April 5. The incident took place on Sunday when around 1,150 candidates appeared for the exam were ordered to sit in their underwear. The step was taken to ensure that the candidates could not indulge in unfair means or cheating in the examination. Unmoved by the criticism and ridicule that the move has evoked, the Director of Army Recruitment defended the outrageous order. "We earlier had a bad experience while conducting exams. This has been done to avoid cheating," he said. One of the candidates appearing for the exam told The Indian Express that they were asked to remove their clothes when they reached to the ground for the exam and that it was an embarrassing but unavoidable circumstance. "We had no other option but to follow the instructions though it was odd for all the candidates," he said. Pictures of people dangerously clinging to classroom walls and windows across school buildings in Bihar in order to help kids cheat were splashed across both national and international media last year. Nearly 300 people were arrested for cheating by using unfair means in matriculation examinations. Even Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar admitted that reports of cheating where visuals of people climbing the three to four-storied school buildings made embarrassing headlines. The latest development from the state does not bode any better either. Latest India News Follow us on ishrat jahan case cbi director anil sinha keeps mum on david headley s revelation New Delhi: CBI Director Anil Sinha today refused to be drawn into the issue of American-Pakistani terrorist David Headley's recent testimony in 26/11 case that Ishrat Jahan was an LeT terrorist, saying the matter is subjudice. He noted that the agency has already submitted the chargesheet in the alleged fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan. The matter is sub-judice. We have already submitted charge sheet in the case. Hence I would not like to comment anything on this, Sinha, who was in Mumbai for inauguration of the new CBI office in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), said. He was asked by media persons if the revelation made by Headley before a special court here last month that Ishrat Jahan was an operative of banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) would have any impact on the case. Headley revealed this while deposing before a special court here, which is conducting trial against alleged LeT operative Abu Jundal in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case. Headley told the court that LeT leader Zaki-ur-Rehman had told him about Muzammil Butt's botched up operation in India. It was some shootout with the police. I don't know which part in India. But there was one female who was killed in the shootout, Headley said. Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam then said, If I give you three names will you be able to point out who was the female who was killed?. To this Headley replied yes. Nikam then said, Was it Noorjahan Begum, Ishrat Jahan or Mumtaz. Headley then said, I think it is the second one. Headley had added that Ishrat was an Indian national. Ishrat, 19, was killed along with Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai from Kerala, and two alleged Pakistanis Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana on June 15, 2004 on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. The encounter team was led by D G Vanzara, who was then Deputy Commissioner of Police in Ahmedabad Crime Branch. The CBI, which was handed over the probe later, filed a chargesheet in 2013 against seven police officers and observed that it was a fake encounter. Currently, all the seven officers are out on bail. Latest India News Follow us on ishrat case was forced to file 2nd affidavit burnt with cigarettes New Delhi: Close on the heels of former Home Secretary G K Pillai casting aspersions on the role of the then Home Minister P Chidambaram regarding his decision to file a second affidavit in the Ishrat Jahan case, another bureaucrat has now spoken up saying he was forced and tortured by senior government officials to sign the second affidavit. In fresh revelations, the former senior bureaucrat R V S Mani, who served as Under Secretary (Internal Security) in the Union Home ministry, has claimed that he was hounded, harassed and forced to sign on an affidavit that claimed that there was no proof that Ishrat Jahan and the four other people, who were killed in an alleged fake encounter, were terrorists. This affidavit, Mani claimed in an interview to Times Now, was not written by him and neither was he aware of its contents. Former bureaucrat RVS Mani is the man who signed the two affidavits in the Ishrat case. He has claimed that he was used as a rubber stamp by the government. His comments echo the claims of former Home Secretary G K Pillai who said last week that ex-Home Minister Chidambaram had changed the affidavit which clearly described Ishrat and her slain aides as LeT operatives. Pillai had also claimed that as Home Minister during UPA government, Chidambaram had recalled the file a month after the original affidavit, which described Ishrat and her slain aides as LeT operatives, was filed in Supreme Court. Chidambaram, meanwhile, has stood by the second affidavit in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, insisting it was "absolutely correct" and as the minister "I accept the responsibility". The former Finance minister expressed disappointment over former Home Secretary Pillai distancing himself from the affidavit issue despite being "equally responsible". Mani, who signed both affidavits filed in court in the case, claimed in an interview to Times Now that though he had prepared the first affidavit based on intelligence inputs, he did not prepare the second affidavit. He was forced to sign it, he claimed. I was asked to go and file it (affidavit), so I went and filed it. It was an order of what you say the conduct rules for us is very clear that if I am ordered something, I have to go and execute it. I cannot refuse, he said. Mani further said in the interview that he was hounded by Satish Verma, the then head of the Special Investigating Team looking into the case, coercing him to implicate the Intelligence Bureau officials. According to Mani, he was being constantly chased by certain officials at the behest of Verma. Satish Verma was head of the unit of SIT and he was helped by two three cronies who were all engineering evidences, Mani said. I was coerced to file second affidavit. What Satish Verma (SIT Chief) did to me was unprecedented, On 21 June 2013, Satish Verma burnt me with cigarettes, Mani added. Mani further claimed that false cases were registered against him and the harassment continued even after he went to different ministries. The hounding, he said, was so intense that he was forced to seek voluntary retirement. At one point of time, I thought I won't be able to continue at this stage. The way so many cases were opened, baseless cases were opened against me. The government wanted the chargesheet to be filed, which is an elaborate process. Even to withdraw the chargesheet it takes around 8 to 10 months, he said referring to the second affidavit. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party, on the back foot over a string of controversies in the recent days, has latched on to the revelations in the Ishrat case, saying it was a deliberate ploy by the then Congress government to implicate Narendra Modi. Enough suspicious circumstances have arisen from the statements of the Home Secretary, confirmed by the then under secretary that the decision was taken by Mr Chidambaram by bypassing them by changing the complete complexion (of the case), said Union minister Ravishankar Prasad. There was a consistent campaign against Mr Modi that he needs to be framed, Amit Shah needs to be framed by hook or by crook. And the entire government machinery was abused. BJP demands that the government of India investigate this. We are demanding that a fair inquiry be done on the entire flip flop on the Ishrat Jahan case, he said. Did Congress party compromise with the national security due to its hate for Modi? A quick probe should be done, Prasad said. Asked if he wanted a judicial probe, he said we are not closing that option. The first affidavit filed by the government had said that Ishrat and her aides were LeT operatives and there was no need for a CBI probe into their killing, he said, adding that the second affidavit changed the stand, facilitating a CBI probe that led to the arrest of several Gujarat police officials. Ishrat, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an encounter with Gujarat Police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004. The city crime branch had then said that those killed in the encounters were LeT terrorists and had landed in Gujarat to kill Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat. Latest India News JACKSON, Mississippi -- A Moss Point native has filed a federal lawsuit against Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant seeking to eliminate the nation's last state flag with the Confederate battle emblem. In the suit filed Monday, attorney Carlos Moore of Grenada -- a 1995 graduate of Moss Point High School -- said the flag is "state-sanctioned hate speech" that makes him and other African-Americans fear for their lives. He is asking a judge to remove the flag and declare it unconstitutional. Republican Bryant, who recently issued a proclamation naming April as Confederate Heritage Month, has said voters should decide whether to keep the flag used since 1894. "This is a frivolous attempt to use the federal court system to usurp the will of the people," Bryant spokesman Clay Chandler said Monday. "The governor hopes Attorney General Jim Hood will seek attorneys' fees to reimburse taxpayers the cost of defending against this needless drain on state resources." The lawsuit was filed less than a week after Mississippi legislators killed several bills that would have either removed the Confederate emblem from the flag or withheld state money from schools and local governments that refuse to fly the current banner. The public display of Confederate symbols has been debated since the slayings of black worshippers at a Charleston, South Carolina, church in June. The white suspect had previously posed for online photos with the rebel flag, which has a red field with a blue X dotted by 13 white stars. Moore's lawsuit says the rebel flag "has been shown to incite racial violence and terror." It cites the South Carolina attack and two incidents in Mississippi. In 2014 at the University of Mississippi, a noose and a former Georgia flag that prominently featured the Confederate battle emblem were draped on a statue of James Meredith, the black student who integrated the university in 1962. In November 2015, a man known for flying large Mississippi and rebel flags from his car was charged with detonating an explosive after police said he threw a homemade device into a Wal-Mart store in Tupelo, Mississippi, after the retail chain stopped selling Confederate flags. The device made a loud bang but did no damage. "With each passing day, plaintiff and other African-American citizens are subjugated to second-class status by virtue of the official state flag bearing the confederate battle flag emblem flying high and proud on public property within the state of Mississippi. It is past time for this unconstitutional practice to end," Moore wrote, using a lowercase c for confederate. In a statewide election in 2001, Mississippi voters decided by a 2-to-1 margin to keep the flag that has the rebel emblem. Mississippi's population is almost 38 percent black. Mississippi Press staff writer Warren Kulo contributed to this report. Follow us on meet hawa singh the bank guard who saved rs 137 cr from jats Gurgaon: Setting off an inspiring example of bravery and dedication towards one's duty, a 52-year-old bank guard pulled off a heroic feat saving Rs 137 crore from being looted by protesters during the Jat agitation. In an exemplary show of courage and bravery, former soldier Hawa Singh Yadav, who was alone guarding the State Bank Of Patiala in Jhajjar on February 21, dealt with the Jat protestors single-handedly. When a mob armed with crude bombs tried to storm the bank and break the strong room, Yadav challenged and opened fire thrice at the hundreds of rioters itching to loot public money. Shouting at the top of his voice from inside the bank, Yadav warned that he had 25 bullets in his rifle and would not let anyone enter the strong room. "It was a bank holiday that day. I saw miscreants barging in and setting my bike on fire after breaking the main gate. I opened fire when they ignored my warning and tried to break the bank's shutter," Yadav told IANS. A few crude bombs thrown at the bank exploded a gas cylinder inside, triggering a fire. The attackers left when they realised they could not enter the bank because of Yadav. Yogesh Kumar, a soldier posted in Jammu and Kashmir and son-in-law of Yadav, said that Hawa Singh called the police control room, fire fighters and civil officials but no one came to his help. Finally, he called his family members on his mobile before falling unconscious, Kumar said. The family rushed him to a hospital where doctors said on Tuesday that Yadav was recovering well after having inhaled smoke. On Tuesday, union Minister of State for Defence Rao Birendra Singh visited Yadav at the hospital here in Civil Lines and praised him profusely. "Yadav saved more than Rs.137 crore in cash in the strong room and other bank lockers when a mob tried to loot the bank. "He bravely saved the public money. We will recommend the highest civilian gallantry award for him," Singh said. Widespread looting and arson took place during the nine days when Haryana was paralyzed by Jat protests demanding job quotas. Thirty people were killed in the violence. Latest India News Follow us on pathankot attack by non state actors who operate with pak support manohar parrikar New Delhi: The terror attack on Pathankot Airbase in January was carried out by Pakistan's non-state actors who operate with support of the Pakistani establishment, government suggested in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The complete details will come out in the NIA investigation. But in this, non-state actors from Pakistan are surely involved. This is for sure. Any non-state actors there, they cannot function smoothly without full state support, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said. He was responding to a question by Shiv Sena member Sanjay Raut who wanted to know whether it was merely a terror attack or an armed operation carried out with the support of Pakistani army. Replying to supplementaries, Parrikar said intelligence had been received about the possible attack indicating Pathankot Army installations as suspected targets. Following the attack, steps are underway to ensure that vital defence installations in the country are secure. We have now done a security audit in addition to the normal security and are in the process of ensuring that all Army installations will be properly secured, he said. Asked if the Airbase would be shifted from Pathankot in Punjab as it is perilously close to the border, Parrikar ruled it out. A lot of investment has been carried out in Pathankot and it will be very costly to shift the Airbase. But we have other bases which we have created, the Defence Minister said. Other bases are strategically located within the country, much inside the border, but Pathankot is also equally important because it is closer to the enemy border, he said. Parrikar refused to share further details of the attack, saying the NIA is already investigating the matter and investigations are on. ..Further details about the incident cannot be given till the investigation is complete, he said. In a written reply, the Minister said government has constituted a Committee under the chairmanship of a former Vice Chief of Army Staff to inter-alia suggest measures to strengthen security of various military establishments across the country. He said, The Committee appointed is to ensure that defence establishment security audit and any lack of security aspects and to further improve the security aspects and to give suggestions on that. He said in his written reply that a group of terrorists attacked the Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab, in the intervening night of January and 2, 2016 and a joint operation by the Army, Air Force and National Security Guard (NSG) was conducted to neutralise the terrorist attack. The terrorists were confined to non-residential and non-operational area of the base. Thereby, they were successfully prevented from damaging the strategic assets of Indian Air Force, he said. Latest India News Follow us on sc to hear plea against chidambaram on ishrat jahan New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea seeking suo motu contempt action against former home minister P. Chidambaram for perjury and misleading the apex court on Ishrat Jahaan and quashing of criminal prosecution, suspension and other actions taken against Gujarat cops in the 2004 alleged fake encounter killing of Ishrat Jahan in view of recent testimony of jailed LET operative David Headley. Headley, the Pakistani-American terrorist, had told to a Mumbai court that Jahan was a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative. Let it be listed. We will see it then, a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit said when advocate M L Sharma mentioned the matter for its urgent hearing. Mr. Sharma said that the statement of Headley is significant as it conclusively establishes the fact that Jahan was an LeT operative. Gujarat Police personnel, including the then DIG D G Vanzara, are facing trial in a Mumbai court for their alleged role in the encounter. The plea, which cited the recent statements before a special court recorded by Headley, who allegedly conspired with LeT in plotting the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, said the facts are now undisputed that all four persons killed by Gujarat Police, including Ishrat Jahan, were terrorists. The judicial proceeding and statement of David Headley, who conspired with LeT in plotting the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, stated via video conference and recorded in the special court at Mumbai that four persons, including Ishrat Jahan who were killed in June 2004 by Gujarat Police, were a part of LeT terrorist organisation belonging to Pakistan and they were assigned to kill then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, it said. Ishrat Jahan was killed by the Gujarat Police in 2005. The PIL has sought direction that all criminal proceedings and actions taken against Gujarat Police personnel and others involved in the death of Ishrat Jahan be declared unconstitutional. Have you filed the petition, asked the apex court bench comprising Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit petitioner advocate M.L. Sharma. Let the petition be listed in due course, the judges said. Basing his PIL on the deposition of Pakistani-American terrorist-turned-approver David Coleman Headley that Ishrat Jahan was an LeT activist, Sharma also sought "proper compensation" to the Gujarat personnel who were prosecuted for her killing. Latest India News Follow us on f 16s needed for counter terror ops pak tells us Washington: Pakistan said on Monday at the start of strategic talks with the United States that a contentious sale of F-16 fighter jets would strengthen country's ability to mount counter-terrorist operations and promote regional stability. The US government this month approved the sale of the aircraft, radar and electronic warfare equipment to Pakistan in a deal worth nearly $700 million. India opposes the sale, which has drawn criticism from some US lawmakers. Congress could block the deal, although such action is rare. Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz said he appreciated the US leadership's public assessment that Pakistan uses F-16s effectively against terrorists. Secretary of State John Kerry last week told a House committee that Pakistan's existing fleet of F-16s has been critical for its counter-terrorism fight on its western border with Afghanistan. But Aziz urged the Obama administration to do more to bring Congress fully in the picture about the positive steps taken by Pakistan to further our mutual interests and the very significant change in ground realities that has taken place in the past two-and-a-half years,". Kerry did not mention the F-16s sale in his remarks on Monday, but he commended Pakistan's counter terrorism operations, including in North Waziristan, a tribal area where militants have launched cross-border attacks into Afghanistan. Kerry welcomed Pakistan's commitment to not differentiate among terrorist groups. He said groups like the Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba seek to undermine Pakistan's relations with its neighbors. Kerry also said they would also discuss Pakistan's obligations of being a responsible state with nuclear weapons,. Kerry noted that the US and Russia had succeeded in reducing their nuclear stockpiles. We are moving in the other direction, and I think it's important for Pakistan to really process that reality and put that front and center in its policy, Kerry said. He looked forward to Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif being among world leaders attending a nuclear security summit to be hosted by President Barack Obama in Washington at the end of March. Latest World News Follow us on osama s fourth wife had tracking device in her teeth claim declassified documents Washington: Almost six years after the death of the world's most wanted terrorist and the founder of al-Qaeda Osama Bin Laden, documents declassified have revealed that his fourth wife had a tracking chip in her tooth. The revelation comes as part of a set of documents declassified by the US Intelligence agencies. According to the documents, Laden wrote in a letter in worrying words to his wife living in Iran and warned her to remove tracking device from her teeth before she visited him in case Iranian inserted a tracking device. The size of the chip was almost equal to the length of a grain of wheat and the width of a fine piece of vermicelli, read the revealed documents. The documents also contain a collection of Osama's letters, books and video games found in his compound offering new insights into the thinking of the world's most wanted man. In a letter written in 2010, he wrote, "Here we are in the tenth year of the war, and America and its allies are still chasing a mirage, lost at sea without a beach." "America appears to be hanging on by a thin thread," he wrote. "We need to be patient a bit longer. With patience, there is victory!" The terrorist who had a $27 million bounty on his head also wrote to his father in 2008. "If I am to be killed pray for me a lot and give continuous charities in my name, as I will be in great need for support to reach the permanent home," he said. The documents declassified from his hideout indicates that Osama was single minded. His focus was to kill and fight with American people and their representatives. Bin Laden's letter recovered from his hideout in his own hand-writing reveal a network run like a business with an online job application asking for spying qualities following questions like: - Any hobbies or pastimes? - Do you know any workers or experts in Chemistry, communications or any other fields? - Do you wish to execute a suicide operation? - Who should be contact in case you become a martyr? The letter ended with this instruction: "Please destroy this letter after reading it." Latest World News Follow us on nawaz sharif narendra modi may meet in washington later this month sartaj aziz Washington: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Washington later this month on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, a top aide to Pakistan Premier said on Tuesday. "There are chances of meeting between the two (prime ministers)," Sartaj Aziz, the Foreign Affairs Advisor to Sharif, told PTI. "There are possibilities, when they are here (in Washington DC). They would interact with each other. Whether there would be a structured meeting I do not know. Depends on...Chances are there (for a meeting)," Aziz said. The top Pakistani diplomat is in Washington to attend the sixth US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue which he co-chaired with Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday. Aziz said Sharif would be travelling to Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit at the invitation of US President Barack Obama. Modi too has been invited to the Summit on 31 March and 1 April. No official announcement has been made yet. Responding to a question on the status of India-Pak relationship after Modi came to power in May 2014, Aziz said in the first year the situation was "not good". "But the last two months are better," Aziz said. Ahead of the Modi-Sharif meeting, Aziz said there is likelihood of a meeting between the foreign secretaries of the two countries. The timing of which has not been decided yet, he noted. "We do not know (when foreign secretaries would meet). He (Indian Foreign Secretary) has to come to Islamabad first. We are hoping that now," Aziz said after the breakfast meeting with Defence Writers Group in Washington. Latest World News Follow us on us asks pakistan to reduce its nuclear arsenal Washington: Ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit, the US has asked Pakistan to reduce its nuclear weapons arsenal as a responsible nuclear power, while Islamabad has sought greater US understanding of its security concern. "It's important for Pakistan to really process that reality and put that front and centre in its policy," Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday, noting that the US and Russia were seeking to further reduce their nuclear warheads. Speaking at the inaugural session of the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue here, Pakistan Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz, however, sought greater US understanding of Pakistan's security concern and its desire to contribute actively to non-proliferation. "Our engagement on non-proliferation and strategic stability will continue, and Pakistan hopes to see greater US understanding of Pakistan's security concerns and its desire to contribute actively," Aziz said. As a mainstream nuclear power, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is looking forward to attending the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on March 31, he said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to attend the summit. Earlier, welcoming Aziz, Kerry said: "Non-proliferation, nuclear safety is of obvious concern to both our countries, and I expect that we will continue to discuss the obligations of being a responsible state with nuclear weapons in the coming year." He noted that once both the US and the then Soviet Union had 50,000 warheads pointing at each other, but today, Russia and the US are operating under a treaty that has about 1,500 or so nuclear warheads. "And we are seeking to reduce that. So we're moving in the other direction," he said. "And I think it's important for Pakistan to really process that reality and put that front and centre in its policy." Latest World News Follow us on bjp mp babu lal defends controversial remarks against muslim community New Delhi: BJP MP from Fatehpur Sikri Babu Lal,who was present with Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) Ram Shankar Katheria as he made inflammatory statements against Muslims in Agra, defended later's comment saying that the Hindus would not keep quiet against atrocities committed on them. On sunday, speaking at a prayer meeting organised for a slain VHP worker Arun Mahaur, who was killed last week allegedly by some Muslim youths., Babulal urged an open fight with Muslims, and said: Don't try to test us We will not tolerate insults to the community. We do not want unrest at any cost, but if you want to test Hindus, then let's decide a date and take on Muslims. When Hindus are being murdered in front of everyone, what else can be done? The entire Hindu community will unite to fight such things. If we can't take revenge against these people then should we worship them?, said Babu Lal. We have to make ourselves powerful. We have to launch a struggle. If we don't begin a struggle, then today we have lost an Arun, tomorrow we will lose another. Doosra jane se pehle, yeh hatyare hi chale jayen is prakar ki taqat humen dikhani hogi (Before another is lost, we must show such strength that these killers themselves disappear), said Katheria. Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., confers with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., before a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 1, 2016, where he told reporters that anyone who wants to be the Republican presidential nominee must reject any racist group or individual. Ryan made the tacit swipe at GOP front runner Donald Trump saying "this party does not prey on people's prejudices." Trump is showing weariness with repeated questions about when, and whether, he has disavowed any connection with David Duke, a onetime Ku Klux Klan leader. (J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press) WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The two top Republican leaders in Congress denounced Donald Trump on Tuesday for his slow-moving disavowal of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted Trump's "seeming ambivalence about David Duke and the KKK" as Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., warned that anyone who wants the Republican presidential nomination must reject racism. The rebuke of Trump came as GOP voters went to the polls in 11 states in a "Super Tuesday" of balloting that many Republicans fear could give the combative and controversial New Yorker unstoppable momentum toward claiming the GOP presidential nod. "This party does not prey on people's prejudices. We appeal to their highest ideals. This is the Party of Lincoln," Ryan told reporters as voters in 11 states holding GOP contests headed to the polls on Super Tuesday. At the same time, Ryan reiterated that he will support the eventual GOP presidential nominee. Never mentioning Trump's name, Ryan and McConnell were clearly referring to the billionaire businessman's appearance Sunday on CNN when he declined to disavow the support of Duke and other white supremacists. "Let me make it perfectly clear: Senate Republicans condemn David Duke, the KKK, and his racism," McConnell said. Duke served as a Republican in the Louisiana state legislature in the early 1990s. "When I see something that runs counter to who we are as a party and a country I will speak up. So today I want to be very clear about something: If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party there can be no evasion and no games. They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry," Ryan said. Last year, Ryan and McConnell disavowed Trump's plan to block Muslims from entering the U.S. Otherwise, they've tried to stay clear of commenting on the race. Trump subsequently disavowed Duke, blaming his interview performance Sunday on a bad earpiece. His two top rivals -- Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas -- criticized Trump and said the GOP must condemn white supremacists. But House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi argued that "Trump's radical agenda" reflects the House Republican conference. Pelosi said that while some in the GOP are distancing themselves from Trump, Republicans refused to remove the Confederate flag from the Capitol grounds and have blocked renewal of the Voting Rights Act. "The reality is, Donald Trump is just being more candid about the agenda of discrimination House Republicans have been advancing for years," Pelosi said in a statement. Top Senate Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada noted that both GOP leaders say they expect to support the eventual nominee. "Republicans say they they'll support a man who refuses to denounce the KKK so until they withdraw their support, talk is really cheap," Reid said. On Tuesday, USA Today reported that a group of about 30 African-American students from Valdosta State University were kicked out of a Trump rally by law enforcement officials. "The only reason we were given was that Mr. Trump did not want us there," 22-year-old senior Brooke Gladney told the newspaper. The campaign denied any role in their ouster from the event. Ryan, the GOP's 2012 vice presidential nominee, bemoaned the current discourse in the GOP and said it was time to get back to focusing on how Republicans would solve the nation's problems. "We believe all people are created in the eyes of God and our government. This is fundamental. And if someone wants to be our nominee they must understand this," said the Wisconsin congressman. He said he has tried to avoid commenting on the presidential race but felt a need to speak up. "I try to stay out of the day-to-day ups and downs of the primary," Ryan said. "But I've said when I see something that runs counter to who we are as a party and a country I will speak up." Many Washington Republicans are increasingly open about their dismay at the prospect of Trump winning the GOP nomination. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., an advocate of updating U.S. immigration law, said the prospect of voting for Trump is "not a pleasant thought at all .... I'm still holding out hope we don't have that choice." Last month, Trump took a swipe at Ryan, saying the GOP lost the White House in 2012 because the vice presidential candidate was synonymous with a budget that targeted Social Security. That, according to Trump, cost Republicans with seniors. Ryan rejected that argument on Tuesday, saying he and Mitt Romney won the senior vote by 12 percentage points, "the best performance a Republican ticket has had since 1984 when Ronald Reagan had a landslide election." By popular demand Sumatra Miner returns in 2016. Your personal invitation to join us for Sumatra Miner 2016 . You can be assured of another great program and line up of speakers, exhibition of the latest technologies, and more opportunities to network with operators, suppliers and service providers from all over Sumatra. ining Media International, through The ASIA Miner is proud to launch its Regional Technology Conference Series in the Asia Pacific region. These conferences are an opportunity to present new technologies and showcase their successful use in exploration, development and operational situations throughout the Asia Pacific. With the emergence of a strong mining, energy, oil and gas industry in the Asia Pacific, these conference aim to provide a scientific but practical platform to outline and discuss the use of new technologies and their application for target projects. Sumatra Miner Conference 2016 will examine the mining industry in Sumatra, focusing primarily on coal but also including other resources such as gold and copper. It will also look at plans to provide more infrastructure in Sumatra to benefit the industry Conference topic will include : - Overview of Sumatra Mining and Current Operations - Investment - Innovative Technology : Operational Excellence - Regulatory Environment - Exploration - Health and Safety - Drilling and Blasting - Mineral Processing The presidency says President Muhammadu Buhari has never promised to pay N5,000 monthly stipend to the unemployed graduates in the country. However, about 500,000 graduates who would be integrated into the teaching system as promised, would be paid N5,000 token while on training. It also stated that there was a provision of half a trillion Naira in the 2016 budget to execute six social safety net programmes. According to the presidency, one of the programmes was a conditional cash transfer where the federal government would pay N5,000 monthly to the vulnerable and extremely poor Nigerians. The budget for 2016 which has been submitted to the National Assembly has made an allocation of half a trillion naira, the first time in the history of this countrys budget where you have that huge chunk of money allocated for social investment. There are six social safety net programmes. One of them is the conditional cash transfer where government is going to pay N5, 000 monthly to the vulnerable and extremely poor Nigerians. That promise stands, the media aide to the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande told State House Correspondents in Abuja on Monday. The President never promised to pay unemployed graduates N5, 000; the President never made that promise and the government never made that claim that it will pay N5, 000 to unemployed graduates. The programme for unemployed graduates is the direct creation of half a million teaching jobs so that they will be trained; 500, 000 unemployed graduates will be trained to teach and they will be deployed to teach, while they are looking for their career paths or jobs. That still stands! In addition to that, there is also a scheme to train 370, 000 non-graduate youth for skill acquisition and vocational training. During the time of that training, they will also be paid. So the President did not say that he would be giving unemployed graduates N5, 000. The N5, 000 monthly stipends which is already in the budget is for the vulnerable Nigerians and the extremely poor. Once the budget is okay , one million extremely poor Nigerians will receive N5, 000 monthly, Akande stated. The Judicial Commission of Enquiry set up by the Kwara State Government to investigate the communal crisis between Share and Tsaragi communities has submitted its report to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed. According to the Chairman of the commission, Justice Sulyman Akanbi, the commission received 23 memoranda from witnesses while the two communities also appeared with their legal representatives. He urged the government to fully implement the four volume report in order to permanently bring an end to the constant clashes between the two communities. Governor Ahmed, while receiving the report, promised to implement the recommendations for lasting peace in the area. The crisis, which broke out in December 2015 over a parcel of land, led to the destruction of houses, schools and other valuables. The 14-year-old Ese Oruru who was abducted and forced into marriage, has been rescued from her abductor. The teenager was rescued following a directive by the Inspector General of Police to the Commissioner of Police, Kano State, Mohammed Katsina to liase with the States Emirate Council and relevant persons to ensure Ese was freed. Confirming the rescue in a telephone chat on Monday, Force Public relations Officer, ACP Olabisi Kolawole disclosed that the Inspector General of Police has directed that Ese Oruru be giving protection adding that she will be flown to Abuja tomorrow (Tuesday) to be re-united with her family. Already, it was gathered that the IGP has made arrangements to move the family to Abuja to re-unite with their daughter. Ese Oruru was allegedly abducted from Bayelsa state and was forcefully married by a man in Kano. Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II had ordered the immediate release of the 14-year-old teenager. He also asked the state sharia commission to liaise with office of the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of police, zone 1 to commence the process of returning girl who was abducted by Yunusa of Kura local government area of Kano state. According to Vanguard, the emir of Kano, in his first official response since the abduction of the youngster was made public, distanced himself, Kano emirate council from the purported abduction by her suspected lover. The young lady was allegedly abducted in Opolo, Yenagoa local government area of Bayelsa state, by Yunusa in August, 2015. The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu has stated that Nigerias economic challenges could be addressed if the people of the country would embrace science and technology. In a face of global economic crisis in the price of crude oil, we should diversify our mono economy by embracing knowledge and emphasise technology as an important instrument for national development, Onu said while delivering the 2015 convocation lecture, yesterday, at the University of Lagos. Positioning Nigeria as the Technology Hub of Africa, he said that embracing technology as a nation will arm us with the necessary tool to address our economic crisis. He maintained that if Nigeria must get out of its present economic challenges, we must diversify our economy through science and technology offer. According to him, science and technology will reduce poverty, protect our environment, create jobs, check insecurity, recreate the middle class and restore honour and accountability in the conduct of government business. The Minister lamented that Nigeria has never paid sufficient attention to science and technology, noting that pupils and students run away from the study of Mathematics and science in our primary and secondary schools. Many parents discourage their children from pursuing a career in science, engineering and technology, he said. Very little attention is paid to the innovation going on in the informal sector of the economy, as the infrastructure needed to harness the creativity of our people in the informal sector is lacking. Even the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology which should coordinate science and technology activities in the country was in the past treated as if the nation did not know what to do with it. No nation that has made sustainable progress has been able to do so without emphasising science and technology. Such emphasis sustained over a long period of time has always helped quicken the pace of economic growth and development, Onu said. Air strikes in Yemen have killed 40 people in a market northeast of the capital Sanaa, residents say. Saturdays air strikes in the Nehm district in Sanaa province wounded 30 others, they told Reuters news agency, adding that most of the casualties were civilians. The attack hit Khulaqa market, which is known for selling qat, a mild narcotic that is chewed throughout Yemen, witnesses said. Residents said the strikes were carried out by the Arab coalition, a force assembled by Saudi Arabia. The Arab coalition has yet to comment on the report. The coalition is battling the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in a bid to restore the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Coalition-backed loyalists have been advancing in Nehm against the rebels as they try to close in on Sanaa. The UN says nearly 6,000 people have been killed in the fighting, which began after the Houthis advanced on the southern port city of Aden, where Hadi had been based. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced. The coalition launched in late March 2015 an air campaign against the rebels. Saudi Arabia sees the Houthis as a proxy for Iran, its main regional adversary. The Houthis and Saleh accuse the coalition of launching a war of aggression. Rights groups have repeatedly urged the coalition to avoid causing civilian casualties. Aljazeera. Cheating devastates relationships and shatters dreams. If you have entertained the idea of cheating on your spouse or significant other, let this serve as your official warning. Your handsome boss, cute office secretary or sultry neighbor down the street comes with a price tag that you cannot afford. Before you cheat here are 14 things you really need to know. 1. You will become a liar Its bad enough to bear the title of Cheater, but if you cheat, you will also wear the hat of Liar. Cheating cannot occur without deceit on some level and normally the white lies in the beginning become full-fledged lies at the end. Im working late at the office tonight may be a half-truth but youll need to redefine the word working to silence your compromised conscience. Cheating and lying go hand in hand. (For more about the lies that cheaters tell, click here.) 2. You will get caught It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow. But eventually, your affair will come to light. Your world will come crashing down on you. If you are fortunate, the story of your indiscretion may avoid the evening news or the front page of your local paper, but your circle of friends will know your deeds. And everyone likes to share juicy news. Your poor decision will become as public as a billboard. Its not a matter of if but when. As Pastor Rick Warren tweeted recently, If the Director of the CIA cant hide and cover up an affair, no one can. As the Chinese proverb goes, If you dont want anyone to know it, dont do it. 3. You will disappoint everyone Everyone. Your spouse. Your friends. Your co-workers. Your God. Your parents. Your nephew. Your children. Yourself. The disappointment you cause will be like the stench of skunks and it will take a long time to remove the smell. 4. You will be a bad example Everyone is either a good example or a bad example in all things that we do. Cheating is not only a very bad example in relationships but brings with it a cloud of doubt that hovers over you in other areas of your life. If you cheated in one area, would you cheat in another? Cheating communicates to everyone that you took the easy road. It tells others that you were willing to cut corners in your most primary relationship. It reveals that you were not willing to do the hard work and get the help you needed. No one ever admires a cheater. No one looks up to an adulterer. Even if you did a lifetime of good, this one bad deed can erase it all. 5. You will lose your moral authority Its hard to tell your children (or others) to do the right thing when they know you didnt. Saying Do as I say, not as I do is the fastest way to lose the respect of others. Not only will you lose their respect, youll lose yours. Every moral judgment you make in the future will be weighed against your adulterous action of the past. It doesnt mean you cant speak the truth in the future, it just means that few will listen to you. 6. You will create trust issues for your spouse Forever. You will single-handedly damage the precious self-esteem of the one you promised to love. Every relationship they have after you will be one that they struggle to trust. If that were not enough, you will rock the world of children and cause them to question the stability of every meaningful relationship they have. For children, their parents relationship is their anchor and cheating cuts the line. 7. You will lose your standard of living Depending on what you do for a living, you may lose your job. Many lose their home. Most end up with enormous court fees since cheating is usually the precursor to divorce. Betrayed spouses have a way of making you pay and that payment is always expensive. Every check you write is a constant reminder of your foolishness. 8. You will spend years trying to rebuild your life Literally years. Even if you somehow weathered the storm financially, you will find it takes years for you to recover emotionally. It takes years for you to restore certain friendships, if you even do. It takes years for you to rebuild your character. It takes years to rebuild trust. It takes years to truly forgive yourself. 9. You will lose relationships You will lose a LOT of relationships. Lifelong friends will walk away. Close friends that you have helped countless times will not be around to help you. Even some family members who are supposed to love you no matter what will vanish. A cheater can end up living a very lonely life. Its hard for many people who used to call you friend to get past that skunk smell of disappointment. 10. You will increase your chances of getting an STD Sexually transmitted diseases run rampant among promiscuous people. But your paramour is clean, right? After all, they told you so. And if there is one thing we all know we can trust a cheater and their word. As the saying goes, There is honor among thieves. One helpful thought may be to assume that everyone but your spouse has an STD. That should curb your appetite for destruction. 11. The grass is not greener on the other side The grass is greener idea is a common misconception. Because we have never been on that grass, we assume it must be better than where we currently stand. Its not. In fact, though it may look greener from a distance once you get there and make yourself comfortable, something interesting happens the grass changes color. This usually happens soon after you get caught. You will then see that patch of land differently. You will also have a strange desire for the green grass you left except now it is burned and wont let you back. The best way to enjoy green grass is to water your own yard. 12. Would you want this done to you? Thieves like to steal wallets but hate when its done to them. If we all lived by the Golden Rule (Treat others the way you want to be treated.) most of lifes problems would be solved overnight. Think about this action as if it were being done to you. The problem is that it requires thought and thinking is often the last thing a cheater has on his/her mind. 13. You will eventually regret this decision In the heat of the moment, cheating appears to make sense. It feels good and sometimes even feels right. Feelings are deceitful. Soon afterward, your eyes will be opened and you will regret that you ever partook of the forbidden fruit. Dont we all have enough regrets in our lives? Why add another one particularly one that can only destroy everything you have worked so hard to build? Your home may not be perfect but it sure beats living in a tent. 14. The pain outweighs the gain No one ever says from their deathbed, I wish I would have had an affair. No one ever leaves their lawyers office with a smile on their face grateful for the experience. No one loses dear friends and is glad they have one less Christmas card to receive this year. The loss is immeasurable. The pain can be unbearable. Entire kingdoms can be lost for a few minutes of pleasure. It is just not worth it. For those Nigerians who were raised by their grandparents or had the opportunity to spend vacation with them, this piece would serve as a beautiful reminder of some of the things they might have forgotten about their grandmothers. However, for those people who didnt get a chance to meet either of their grandmothers, well this piece by INFORMATION NIGERIA would give you a clear picture of how a Nigerian grandmother is Repetition: A Nigerian grandmother is the queen of repetition. She can tell you one thing until you start reciting it from your subconscious. Nigerian grandmas would totally flip, if you go against that which they had instructed you to do after having literally said it hundreds of times. And when you make a mistake, she is going to keep taunting you with it. You are only free from being constantly reminded of what you did 3days ago, only when you commit a new offence to replace the old one. Old Nurse: A Nigerian grandmother is an average hospital matron. She knows everything about newborn babies and could sometimes fault hospital practises when it comes to taking care of newborns. Best cook: Almost all Nigerian grandmothers are excellent cooks. The mysterious part is, they do not indulge in modern seasoning as such yet the food tastes awesome. Peacemaker: A Nigerian grandmother could leave her house and walk a couple of blocks or even the whole street just to settle a quarrel. A true Nigerian grandmother sees herself as an umpire She enjoys making peace. Greetings: Nigerian grandmothers can greet the known and the unknown. Walking with them on the street will take double the time only you would because she would make sure she greets everyone she possibly can as she passes. Mind you, these are not the hello/hi kind of greetings. They are like inquiry or public hearing. Encyclopedia: It is not rare to see people troop into the house of a Nigerian grandmother to seek counsel on life issues. She knows exactly what to say about any situation she is called upon for. Worry much: A Nigerian grandmother could win a Nobel price for worrying and blowing things out of proportion. Anyone who wants to be held responsible for their grandmothers death should just go ahead and break a news to her without caution and see how agitated shell get in a blink. What do you remember about your grandma??? IMG_6177.jpg L to R: (sitting) Myya Robinson (Gulf Coast Parent Coach), Gail Smith (President of Moss Point Chapter of Parents for Public Schools). Standing: Clifton Magee (Moss Point School Board President), Jimmy Rodgers, Melton Harris Jr. (Jackson County Board of Supervisors President), Jaleasa Walden, Marcia Webb, Kim Gonzalez (Treasurer of Moss Point Chapter of Parents for Public Schools), Dr. Maggie Griffin, Karen Logan, and Aniece Liddell attend Parents for Public Schools Inception in Moss Point. MOSS POINT, Mississippi-- The Moss Point chapter of Parents for Public Schools was officially chartered on Monday afternoon. With its inception, the total number of chapter in the state rose to five as Moss Point joins already-existing chapters in Starkville, Philadelphia, Greenwood/Leflore County and Jackson, the initial chapter in Mississippi. Parents for Public Schools is a national non-profit organization of community-based chapters working with public school parents and other supporters to improve and strengthen local public schools. Founded in Jackson in 1989, there are 17 PPS chapters in 12 states. Moss Point is the first on the Mississippi coast. Monday's press conference/meeting to announce the new chapter, attended by about 30 people, began with Myya Robinson giving a brief history of PPS and then spoke about some of the issues the Moss Point chapter of PPS will cover. "We hold leadership training where we focus specifically on education," said Robinson, who also works as a freelance correspondent for The Mississippi Press. "We also cover how school boards run and function, as well as state and local boards. "Testing and data are also main keys we like to focus on so when parents come out of these meetings, they are refreshed and ready to advocate not just for their children, but for all children-- and these are things we are proud of." Joann Mickens, Director of Chapter Services and Jane Beach, Clearinghouse Director, spoke about the mission and goals for the Moss Point PPS chapter. "The mission of our organization is to educate, engage, and mobilize our parents," Mickens said. "We believe the parents are the third leg of the stool responsible for educating our children. There is the home, the community, and then there are the parents. Parents are essential because we provide the raw materials. "If there are no parents, if there are no kids, then there is no school. PPS is an advocacy organization built to improve schools and make them the best they can possibly be for our children." Mickens and Beach took the opportunity to visit neighboring schools in the area and sung their praises as they talked about how great the faculty and staff were at each of the local elementary, middle, and high schools. Both Mickens and Beach also discussed the protocol Robinson and the local members of the community took to bring PPS to Moss Point. "Part of the application process for PPS is to outline what the major issues are in their community and how PPS can help. Then, they prioritize them into short and long-term goals, which we will be discussing tonight in our training," Beach said. "The board then comes up with an actual action plan, which we will roll out on April 2 at the literacy event where the chapter will bring one of its goals to the attention of the community," Mickens said. With the negativity that seems to cloud Moss Point schools, one of the chapter's goals is to bring some positivity to dispel some negative notions. "One of the goals we have discussed is to inform the community about the good things that is going on in Moss Point," Beach said. "Evidently, there is a lot of negativity as far as test scores are concerned, but we have been very impressed with the teachers, superintendent, and facilities we were in today, so the chapter would like to promote the good that is going on. "The amount of people who attended the press conference today shows there is obviously a lot of community support and they would like for more of the positive to be displayed." Miss Ese Oruru, the teenager, who was allegedly abducted from her Bayelsa home and moved to Kano for a forced marriage to one Yunusa Yellow, is en route the Louis Edet House Police Force Headquarters in Abuja. Miss Oruru was reportedly abducted by her lover from her Bayelsa home, who took her to Kano for underage marriage. Speaking to a PREMIUM TIMES reporter, the spokesperson for the Zone 1 Police Command, Rabilu Ringim, disclosed that Miss Oruru left Kano for Abuja by road at 6AM Tuesday under heavy security. Others accompanying the teenager to Abuja, where she would be reunited with her parents, according to Ringim, are an Assistant Commissioner of Police and other top ranking officers. They are on their way already, and the parents are expected in Abuja today where they would be reunited, Mr. Ringim said. She is being taken to Abuja based on the express instruction of the IG. He also said Miss Oruru was taken thorough medical check late Monday night ahead of her journey back home early on Tuesday. The Benue State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has alleged that the recent killings in Agatu Local Government Area of the state was retribution for the victory of its candidate in the recently held Benue South senatorial district re-run election, David Mark. The party made the allegation on Monday when a delegation led by its chairman, Agbo Emmanuel, visited the National Chairman of PDP, Ali Modu Sheriff, at the national secretariat of the opposition party in Abuja. Mr. Emmanuel said the delegation was at the party headquarters to brief Mr. Sheriff on the state of PDP in Benue state. Mr. Emmanuel stated that the state chapter of the party was doing well as demonstrated by the Mr. Marks victory in the rerun elections. He, however, said that the party faced serious challenge following the victory of Mark in the last re-run. Several members of our party were beaten, severely injured and maimed while also having their properties worth millions of naira destroyed. It is noteworthy that in spite of these acts of brigandage, the people of Benue South stood their ground and voted massively to elect Senator David Mark as their Senator. He added that the All Progressives Congress, APC, had refused to accept defeat. Benue had also witnessed massive attacks on several communities in Agatu Local Government Area. This resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives and property worth billions of naira. We have reason to believe that this recent attack on the Agatu people was punishment for their resolve to vote overwhelmingly for Sen. Mark. He called on Mr. Sheriff to use his good offices to call attention of the Federal Government and the international community to the plight of people of the Benue South Senatorial District. In his response, Mr. Sheriff said the party is putting its house in order to achieve victory in future elections. He said by the time the party reconciled with its aggrieved members, it would make the desire attainable. Winning rerun election at this time in Benue state is very important to us in PDP because we always say that Benue State is for PDP. It is our in-house problem that created what made us to lose election and we are putting our house in order. I have promised to talk with everybody to come back to enable us to rebuild the party so that we can work as a team, he said. The chairman also commended the leadership and members of the party in Benue over the re-election of Mark, who has made history by contesting election into the Senate six times, and winning for the same number of times. The victory of Mark is a clear demonstration that Benue is for PDP. He also commended them for not taking the laws into their hands on the ongoing attack in some parts of the state. Sheriff promised to present their matter to the Inspector General of Police and other security agencies for appropriate action. As a party, we will be law-abiding but our rights should not be taken for granted; for us leaders here, we will follow it up to make sure that none of our members are intimidated for nothing. The Nigerian Army yesterday paraded a man in Bauchi believed to be a Boko Haram spy, who provided surveillance that aided the terrorist sects 2011 Christmas Day bombing of the St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger State. The blast left 44 worshippers dead and 75 others injured. According to the army, the suspect, whose names was given as Victor Moses and believed to be an indigene of Benue State, was arrested in Alkaleri town of Bauchi State near a mosque, claiming he wanted to convert to Islam. Moses was arrested with three other suspects Abubakar Shetima Bama, Salisu Mohammed Bello and Umar Madaki. They were paraded before the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, at the 33 Artillery Brigade, Shadawanka Barracks in Bauchi. The Brigade Commander, Brigadier General Abraham Luka Dusu, said the suspects were arrested on a tip-off. Our troops on duty in Alkaleri arrested Victor Moses after receiving a report from people in the area that the suspect had been loitering around the mosque claiming he was a Christian and wanted to convert to Islam but because he is not from the area, they suspected him and reported to our men. Victor Moses confessed to conducting surveillance for Boko Haram when in a shop belonging to Abubakar Shetima Bama in Jos while Salisu Mohammed Bello and Umar Madaki are based in Gombe, he said. Mr. Dosu said after investigation, the suspects would be handed over to the Joint Intelligent Centre in Maiduguri, Borno State. Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has explained the role of his office in the controversial payment of N50 billion by MTN Nigeria to the Federal Government. The telecommunications giant had made the down payment last week as a sign of good faith towards the settlement of the N780 billion fine imposed on it by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC. The telecoms regulatory agency had imposed the fine on MTN in October last year for its failure to deactivate 5.1 million unregistered Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards as directed by the authorities, thereby contravening the provisions of the regulation on SIM card registration. The minister, who made the clarification in an exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES in Abuja on Monday, said contrary to any misgivings, his office did not take any illegal decision. The matter is what the office of Attorney-General, as the chief law officer of the federation, is constitutionally vested with the powers to do, as the matter is pending in court, Mr. Malami said. We have not even gotten to the point of negotiation, talk less of entertaining any request for consideration or not. Its too early in the day for anyone to raise concerns that it is not carried along, because there isnt any engagement with anyone, as the point of that engagement is still being considered. The minister, who made the clarification in response to separate claims by the NCC and Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu that they were not involved in the negotiation that led to the N50 billion down payment by MTN Nigeria, stressed that there was no cause for concern about any agency being left behind in the discussions with the telecoms firm, as no concrete terms had been negotiated or agreed upon. According to Malami, The position of things is that MTN, through their foreign solicitors, made specific overtures to the office of Attorney General of the Federation seeking audience to discuss things that bordered on the pending case in court. The reaction of the office of Attorney-General was that the Federal Government was not open for any negotiation, not even an audience, until certain good faith gestures were demonstrated. That is how the N50 billion good faith payment came about, and the terms of audience in court in respect of the discontinuance or withdrawal of the pending case in court, he explained. These were terms they agreed upon, and if they do so, then the possibility of an audience would be granted. Mr. Malami, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said eventually when MTN agreed to discontinue with its case in court and made the good faith payment in return for an audience, it was made clear that it was not in any way intended to create any obligation on the part of NCC, Federal Government or the office of Attorney General concerning the fine. The N50 billion payment was just a demonstration of good faith if they (MTN) wanted to engage in a discussion with government. Despite the withdrawal of the case in court, it was still agreed that there was no formal audience until they commit whatever request they had into writing for consideration, the Attorney-General noted. He said MTN had since made a formal presentation by writing conveying what they wanted to discuss when the audience would eventually be granted, pointing out that the formal request was without an opportunity for MTN to discuss or negotiate anything. The request in writing has been circulated to all stakeholders, namely NCC, ministries of Communications and Finance. Their comments and technical inputs would be required to determine whether there is any room for further negotiation or deliberation on those terms. Even if they were to be given audience, what should they expect, the minister said. On whether the N50 billion would be considered as part of the fine to be paid by MTN, Mr. Malami said it was only equitable or logical, whether there is agreement or not, for the N50 billion to be factored into whatever final payment is made as penalty at the end of negotiation. The Plateau State chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has commended President Muhammadu Buhari on recorded successes in the fight against insurgency and called on all Christians to support his efforts with prayers. The Plateau CAN Chairman, Soja Bewarang, who gave the commendation when he visited some internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the Zang Commercial Secondary School in Bukuru, Jos, on Monday, said the success against insurgency, if sustained, will encourage all the displaced persons to return to their homes. Bewarang, however, said the federal government must not rely on guns to win the war but find ways of de-radicalising and educating the insurgents against violence. The CAN chairman, who sympathised with the Muslim Ummah in Plateau State over the recent fire outbreak at the Jos Central Mosque, prayed that God would provide the funds to rebuilt the burnt sections. An Abuja High Court has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Nigerian Army to release former Aide-de-Camp to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Col. Ojogbane Adegbe, on liberal terms. Justice Yusuf Halilu of the FCT High Court ordered that the former ADC be released pending his arraignment before a competent court. Justice Halilu held that Adegbes continued detention is unconstitutional as it violates his right to personal liberty as guaranteed in Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution. It would be recalled that Col. Adegbe was detained after he appeared at the instance of the Army, who are probing the activities of the last administration as it relates to the alleged diversion of funds for arms purchase through the office of the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.). Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State on Monday urged Nigerians to remain calm and not challenge President Muhammadu Buhari over his recent comment that he would not pay N5,000 to unemployed youths in the country for doing nothing. Mr. Al-Makura said the president reserves the right to change his mid or review the promise based on current realities in the country. Mr. Buhari had at the weekend in Saudi Arabia declared that he had different priority as far as the N5,000 monthly stipend was concerned, saying he would rather channel resources into the building of infrastructure, education, agriculture and mining to create employment opportunities for able bodied young men. Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Nasarawa governor said: The president is the person that can tell you precisely how he is working on promises and interventions that he has created by his ingenuity. And if at any point in time the president is reviewing that issue, I think he is the only person to do that because what he is doing is in the best interest of the country. And so, it is not challengeable by anybody whatever his position. Al-Makura also disclosed that he discussed with the vice-president the incessant violent clashes between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in Nasarawa, which spilled over to neighboring Benue State. Attacks by the herdsmen on Agatu communities in Benue state last week had left hundreds dead and several building and farmlands destroyed. Gov. Al-Makura said he was liaising with the Benue State Government to end the clashes and that Mr. Osinbajo was quite understanding and cooperative as he promised federal governments quick intervention. He said: Secondly, I have also discussed with Mr. Vice President about the security situation in my state and what effort we are making to bring everything to sanity. Also, I am making effort with my colleague the governor of Benue state in having a joint effort to see what we can do to ensure that these long standing communal clashes between Fulanis and farmers and Agatus in Nasarawa and Agatus in Benue to see that we find a lasting solution to it. He also lamented that since 1978 when the state was connected to the national grid with 33KVA transmission lines, no improvement had been made despite growing population and energy needs in the state. According to him, he discussed with Vice President Osinbajo the need to connect the state with 330KVA transmission lines. He said: Basically, I spoke with the Vice President about the issues of power and energy in my state. And as you must have known, Nasarawa State being very close to the federal capital territory, and I raised a lot of demands for power and energy for domestic and industrial purposes. And given the sophistication of this area in terms of different kinds of activities. And ironically, the state which was first connected to power in 1978, is still within 33KV which is not even enough for the state capital not to talk about other local government councils. So, I have come specifically to request and plead with Mr. Vice President and the chairman of NIPP about the impending power initiative in the country to consider Nasarawa State as one of the states that will benefit from the 330KV which is the robust infrastructure for power that comes all the way from Enugu to Benue and to Plateau States. It just passed beside the Government House but Nasarawa State has not been able to benefit. I have been on this struggle since 2012, but up till this time the state is still terribly deprived of power and he has listened to me. I believe that the people of Nasarawa State will heave a sigh of relief once the 330 Kva is done and another 132kva is connected to it for easy distribution, he added. On the Vice Presidents response, Gov. Al-Makura said: It was very fantastic and he assured us that they will see what the federal government can do to quickly ameliorate the problem and about the power, I got assurance from the Vice President that we will succeed. Kaduna State government has confirmed the death of three people following an outbreak of Lassa fever. The trio a doctor, a nurse and a pregnant woman, were confirmed dead at Saint Louis Specialist Hospital, Zonkwa, Zango Kataf local government area. The Commissioner for health in the State, Professor Jonathan Andrew Nok, told newsmen on Monday that the doctor and the nurse had symptoms of Lassa fever shortly after operating on the pregnant woman, who was brought in from another hospital in Kafanchan. He said they died few days after testing positive to the deadly disease. Nok disclosed that the affected hospitals had been put under isolation, with a view to tracing the primary and secondary contacts with the deceased. Nok called on residents of the state not to panic. He urged them to maintain personal hygiene as well as keep their environment clean. Source: Daily Post Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian and injured several more by live ammunition during an incursion into a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Eyad Omar Sajadiya, 22, was shot dead, while at least ten others were injured by live fire during Tuesday mornings clashes with Israeli troops in the Qalandiya refugee camp, according to Palestinian medical sources. The armed clashes broke out after an army jeep entered the camp situated between occupied East Jerusalem and the central West Bank city of Ramallah by mistake, an Israeli police spokesperson told the AFP news agency. Palestinian protests against Israels occupation have increased and tensions have soared in the occupied territories and Israel since October, as anger gave way to violence. A wave of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October has killed 178 Palestinians as well as 28 Israelis, an American, a Sudanese and an Eritrean, according to an AFP toll. Nigerias Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has expressed confidence that the price of oil in the international market, which currently sells for about $30/barrel, will rebound to about $50 in the days ahead. The minister made this known while speaking with CNBCs Fast Money on Monday. According to Kachikwu, who just returned to Nigeria with President Muhammadu Buhari after attending a meeting of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, in Doha, Qatar, Nigeria will continue to push for production freeze consensus. He was also hopeful that OPEC members would be able to come to an agreement to freeze oil production as a way to combat the low oil price, which came down to a seven-year low. The minister for energy in Qatar and the president of OPEC is leading that pact and there is a lot of conversation going on and theres a lot of consensus building on the issue of the freeze. Saudi Arabia and Russia are aligned on the issue of a freeze, so I think the chances are very high, Kachikwu stated. Stressing that movements towards a freeze represent a big step in the right direction, the Minister, who also doubles as Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, told CNBC that he remained confident of his plan to work with OPEC members, adding that the Saudis are quite frankly in the forefront of pushing the freeze issue. Mr. Kachikwu, who explained that a potential output freeze among OPEC members has made him bullish when it comes to oil prices in 2016, said that he expects crude prices to take a major leap by the end of the year. I am certainly hoping for prices in the range of $45 to $50. Im hoping a consensus can be built and that parties can begin to work together across the board, not just OPEC members, but also non-OPEC members, which is what the Gulf States and most of us have pushed for. With that, youll begin to see movement upwards in those prices, he stated. PASCAGOULA, Mississippi-- The Pascagoula City Council held a special meeting on Monday to discuss overages that may be deemed as excessive based on residents receiving utility bills which seemed higher than normal. City Manager Joe Huffman spoke with The Mississippi Press to discuss the overall issues and concerns and preliminary plan to getting to the bottom of these issues. "The Jackson County Utility Authority increased our costs dramatically by over $1.1 million," Huffman said. "The total was levied in addition to prior year's totals on the city this year. Most of this came as a surprise as we only suspected a quarter of a million dollar increase and being that we have a significant increase than expected, the city has had to endure this and increase rates to cover it." "We do have a couple of concerns-- first off, we want to be sure we are collecting the right amounts and analyses is underway to determine if we are achieving this goal," Huffman continued. "Secondly, we are looking at a lot of the bills that have been sent out to residents, and most were correct, but we have some that may have been affected by a computer glitch that added a sales tax of about $1, and this will be credited back to their accounts." According to Huffman, examinations of the bills should be completed by Friday and more information will be available. This story will be updated. The immediate past Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (rtd) has prayed the Federal High Court, Abuja, to grant him bail on health grounds. The former defence chief has been in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Lagos since February 8, 2016 when he honoured the commissions invitation for questioning. Badeh is accused of complicity in an alleged fraudulent transaction involving the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). His request is contained in a bail application he filed before the Federal High Court, Abuja. After hearing arguments on the application on Monday, Justice James Tsoho fixed March 4 for ruling. Arguing the application on Monday, applicants lawyer, Samuel Zibiri (SAN), who filed the bail application dated February 15, said though the EFCC had granted his client bail, the ex-CDS could not meet it because of the onerous conditions attached to it. The lawyer said the former CDS was recovering from a recent surgery and also had a history of kidney stone. Zibiri hinged the application on Section 35(4) and Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution and sections 158, 162 and 165(1) (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015. He urged the court to grant bail to his client on self-recognizance, or on such favourable and liberal terms as the court might deem fit to make. Zibiri equally prayed the court to grant him bail pending the completion of investigation by the EFCC and/or arraignment before this court. He further argued that the alleged case of fraud for which Badeh was invited for the EFCC, was a bailable offence. There is no reason for, or any likelihood that the applicant will jump bail, escape from Justice, interfere with witnesses or investigation if same is still ongoing, or the course of justice upon his being granted bail. The applicant has no criminal antecedent or records. The applicant owing to his status in the society can be granted bail on self-recognizance, or on the most liberal of terms, as he will be available to attend any invitation by the respondents at all times. That the applicants health condition is bad and he recently had surgery on his spine which requires constant post-operative follow-up by his physician as well as renal condition which he is currently undergoing treatment for. Zibiri said Badehs detention by virtue of a remand order issued by a Magistrates Court in Lagos is a gross abuse of the ACJA 2015, insisting the ex-CDS be granted bail because a Federal High Court is superior to the magistrate court. In a counter-argument, EFCCs lawyer, Cosmas Ugwu, told the court that Badeh had not made any effort to fulfil the administrative bail granted him by the EFCC in Lagos. He is in custody in Lagos. Abuja is not holding him, so, the convenient court to grant the applicant bail is a court within the same territorial jurisdiction, Ugwu argued. The EFCC lawyer, in opposing the application, also informed the court that Badeh was being held under a remand order issued by a Lagos magistrate court because he was mentioned in the NIMASA fraud allegation. Thousands of job-seeking refugees have attended an employment fair in the German capital of Berlin which attracted 211 prospective employers from a number of fields, including information technology, medicine, tourism and construction. Mondays event at the Estrel Hotel was part of a collaborative effort by the public and private sector to integrate refugees with protection status into the local labour market. According to Christian Henkes, spokesperson for Germanys Federal Employment Agency, which co-organised the event, the turnout was higher than expected, with more than 4,000 job-seekers in attendance. Theres big interest on [the] part of the employers that really want to give these people a chance in the country, Henkes told Al Jazeera. And theres also a huge willingness by those people who came here to Germany to find a job. A total of 476,649 asylum applications were registered in Germany last year, almost twice as many as in 2014. The number of applicants has continued to rise this year, with 52,103 applications registered in January alone. Over a third of the 2015 asylum applicants in Germany were Syrian nationals. Kais Almudhi, a Syrian refugee who worked as a mechanical engineer before the war, arrived in Germany three months ago and is now hoping to find work. He told Al Jazeera that it was important for him to make use of the opportunities the job fair presented. I came here to consult with others, to choose what job is best, and I have registered with three or four companies. I think I have a good chance, the 45-year-old said. On this day in 1995, Lawan Gwadabe was arrested, on a charge of plotting a coup against the Abacha government, and was jailed, tortured and later convicted of treason along with others Colonel Lawan Gwadabe was Military Administrator of Niger State in Nigeria from December 1987 to January 1992 during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida.He was accused of planning a coup against General Sani Abacha in 1995, for which he was jailed, tortured and convicted of treason. After Abachas death he was granted a state pardon. Gwadabe served as Chief of Staff of the Gambian Army, succeeding Brigadier Abubakar Dada. On his return to Nigeria after the July 1994 Yahya Jammeh coup in Gambia, he was briefly Principal Staff Officer to General Sani Abacha before being appointed commander of 23 Armored Brigade in Yola. On 1 March 1995 he was arrested on a charge of plotting a coup against the Abacha government, and was jailed, tortured and later convicted of treason along with others. He was on death row when Abacha died unexpectedly in June 1998.Years later, Abachas chief of staff Lt-Gen. Oladipo Diya said that he considered that the claimed coup plot was non-existent The Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, yesterday said that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was focused on delivering its campaign promises to the people. This is just as he disclosed that the government had gone past blaming the past administration for the countrys woes, contrary to insinuations. Mr. Mohammed stated this during an interview monitored on Channels TV in Lagos. The minister explained that many PDP members were being probed in respect of the $2.1bn arms scandal because the National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, who allegedly diverted the money, is a PDP member employed by a PDP-led government. He reiterated that the anti-corruption campaign of the Buhari-led administration was not targeted at members of the opposition as being insinuated. Mohammed also said the government does not in any way dictate to the EFCC in the discharge of its duties. For any cloud to be taken seriously, it has to meet an ever rising bar of features. Machine learning seems to be on that list, as all the major cloud providers now feature it. But how they go about doing it is another story. Aside from the "curated API vs. open-ended algorithm marketplace" models, there are the "everything and then some vs. just enough" variants. Here's how the four big cloud providers -- IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon -- stack up next to each other in machine learning. [ Also on InfoWorld: How machine learning ate Microsoft. | Get a digest of the day's top tech stories in the InfoWorld Daily newsletter. ] IBM: Turning the ship with, Watson at the helm When IBM first announced it would turn its Watson AI system into a consumable service, the questions piled up. What would it look like? How would it be consumed? But most important, how much support would it lend IBM's effort to reinvent itself as a cloud giant? Two years and change later, IBM has rolled out an array of machine learning-powered services on its Bluemix PaaS: weather prediction, for instance, or systems for analyzing language, image recognition, language translation, sentiment and tone analysis, and so on. Of all the companies offering machine intelligence of some kind in the cloud, IBM's roster has the most ambition behind it. More significant, IBM has also been working to complement the pie-in-the-sky tools with more down-to-earth ones, mainly involving analytics and reporting. (Growing Watson also seems to be the motive force behind many of IBM's strategic acquisitions across multiple fields: weather, health care, and so on.) The question isn't even whether Watson services will find practical uptake -- in time, they're likely to do so -- it's whether they'll do so at a scope and at a pace IBM is comfortable betting the farm on. Most of these offerings need time to find use cases, whereas IBM's well-established Spark services (or its new AWS Lambda-like service, OpenWhisk) are easier to monetize immediately. Some organizations have started to put Watson's analytics services to work in creative ways. But while IBM has said it believes it can grow all this into a a $10-billion-a-year business, the uptake for Watson so far hasn't been nearly enough to offset IBM's slumping revenues. Microsoft: Built for you and by you Where IBM has Watson, Microsoft offers Project Oxford, a set of curated high-level APIs to cover machine vision, speech recognition, and language analysis. The list of APIs isn't as broad as Watson's (and let's face it, How-old.net wasn't quite as fun as Watson playing "Jeopardy"), but Microsoft's intentions are much the same: a proprietary set of curated APIs that leverage machine learning. Azure Machine Learning Studio is possibly the more important half of Microsoft's machine learning ambitions. There, people can bring their own data, train machine-learning models on it, then reshare the resulting model as an API via a REST interface. IBM has something similar in its Predictive Analytics service on Bluemix, but Microsoft's Studio has been around for longer and has a more general-purpose feel to it. Both IBM and Microsoft are attempting to create two different flavors of machine learning services. One's been created behind closed doors, as it were, with a curated data set and tuned behaviors (the Watson APIs, Project Oxford). The other is a platform upon which new kinds of machine learning services can be built, shared, and even monetized (Azure Machine Learning Studio, Predictive Analytics). But the biggest difference between Microsoft and IBM isn't in the services, but the motivations. Microsoft's attempts at future-proofing itself by pivoting to the cloud have been aided by its other successful business sectors -- gaming, for instance -- so it hasn't felt existential pressure of the same degree that IBM has. But that doesn't mean Microsoft can't sense which way things must go. Amazon and Google, the minimalists If Google and especially Amazon have any one guiding tenet to their cloud approaches, it's "less is more." Maybe better to say "just enough is more," which includes the way both companies offer cloud-based machine learning services. In Google's case, Google Cloud Platform currently offers only two services akin to the others profiled here: Google Translate (an API supporting Google's existing machine translation engine), and Google Prediction API. The former is a proprietary API maintained exclusively by Google. The latter, despite the unassuming name, is a broadly inclusive service that allows users to upload data and train models in the manner of of Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio. (Data can be derived from Google services like Google BigQuery.) Amazon Machine Learning is similar to Google Prediction API in that models can be trained against data and used to make predictions. It's a deliberately simplified service, either for the sake of appealing to developers who only want to solve a specific, narrow problem or because Amazon wanted to test the market waters first. In both Amazon and Google's cases, their targets are developers both with narrowly defined needs and with data already on those clouds -- the "just enough" model. IBM and Microsoft are aiming for far broader territory, and while IBM strives to have the most to offer, it also has the most to lose. IBM will acquire Resilient Systems, it announced Monday, and along with the company, it will gain a big name in the security world: Bruce Schneier. Resilient makes an incident-response platform that automates and orchestrates the processes for dealing with cyber incidents such as breaches and lost devices, and enabling companies to respond more quickly. The acquisition will give IBM Security the industry's first integrated end-to-end platform combining analytics, forensics, vulnerability management and incident response, the company said. IBM intends to bring Resilient's full staff of roughly 100 on board once the acquisition is completed, including cryptographer and security guru Bruce Schneier, Resilient's CTO. The transaction is expected to close later this year; terms were not disclosed. IBM has already been beefing up its security muscle for some time, including hiring 1,000 new experts last year, it said. Late last year, it appointed Mark van Zadelhoff general manager of its security business. The Resilient acquisition bolsters IBM's incident-response capabilities. Toward that end, IBM on Monday also launched IBM X-Force Incident Response Services to help clients plan for, manage and respond to cyber-attacks. Resilient's platform will be a key component of those new services, as will IBMs QRadar Security Intelligence Platform. IBM plans to integrate Resilient's technology across the full IBM Security portfolio, it said. Security has become an increasingly pressing challenge in the corporate world, because it's no longer possible to make any company fully secure, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst with Enderle Group. "The race has now moved to how quickly an attack can be discovered and mitigated so that damage is minimized," Enderle added. At the same time, more than two-thirds of U.S. security executives say they do not have a cyber-security incident-response plan in place, according to a Ponemon Institute study released last fall. In 2015, the average cost of a data breach for companies participating in a separate global study was $3.8 million, the research firm found. Cyber-threats to businesses have changed considerably over time, said Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT. "During the past decade, cyber attacks have grown in number, speed and sophistication, evolving from random individual incidents to systematic assaults, often funded by organized criminals or hostile governments," King explained. "The most effective way that companies can address such incidents is with what IBM calls 'immune response' solutions that constantly monitor IT environments, detect security breaches and respond instantaneously." The addition of Resilient should broaden the areas where companies can use IBM security and also deepen the features and performance of those tools, King said. "The deal should be good for both companies, and will certainly benefit their respective customers," he added. You can't build tomorrow's applications with yesterday's hardware -- nor should you build tomorrow's hardware for yesterday's applications. That's the view Cisco seems to embody with its new data center switches and combined storage/network/compute HyperFlex system. These products are part of Cisco's larger vision of a cross-cloud fabric for running the next generation of microservices-based apps. [ Find out how software-defined networking is changing the data center with InfoWorld's special report. Download it today! | Get the latest practical data center info and news with Paul Venezia's The Deep End blog. ] Starting from scratch HyperFlex, an extension of Cisco's Unified Computing System (UCS) design, is aimed at enterprise customers who plan to deploy applications across data center and branch office environments. Cisco claims a HyperFlex stack can be set up in minutes and can perform "flexible, adaptive, and independent" scaling of compute, network, and storage. To accomplish this, Cisco decided it couldn't leverage existing file system technology. Todd Brannon, director of product marketing for Cisco UCS, described in a phone conversation how Cisco partnered with SpringPath to build it. The new log-structured object file system isn't a repackaging of existing work like Red Hat's Ceph, Brannon said, but is something entirely new built from the ground up. A key advantage of this, according to Cisco, is the capability to distribute and tier all of the data in a cluster to eliminate data locality problems that manifest with modern applications. "With containers, there's a lot of 'stickiness' with the data," said Brannon, meaning that containerized apps (and VMs) need their data close at hand to perform well. HyperFlex allows data to be distributed across an entire cluster at once, so if a container or VM needs to move, "their egress into the storage environment is identical no matter what node of the cluster they're on," he said. Another reason for taking a from-scratch approach was to be able to provide deduplication, compression, and cloning functionality -- but without the usual performance tradeoffs. "If you flip on dedupe and compression on some of the other solutions out there, their performance really tanks," said Brannon, who declined to name names. Cisco also wants to keep the management learning curve low, so HyperFlex launches with support for VMware by way of a vCenter plug-in. Support for other hypervisors is slated for the future, and while an actual application-addressable object store will not be available at launch, "the potential is there for it," according to Brannon. A better backbone HyperFlex is intended to underpin a hybrid cloud environment that spans local and remote data centers. Networking is needed to accomplish that, and so Cisco has also unveiled a new generation of Nexus-brand switches. Speed isn't the only goal with the Nexus 9000 -- although Cisco claims it can deliver 100Gbps, with better performance at half the cost of the competition. Transparency and manageability are advantages that Cisco sees as even more relevant. "Consolidation of workloads on a single fabric requires better visibility," Thomas Scheibe, senior director of product management for Cisco ACI, said in a phone interview. As applications become increasingly distributed and lean toward a microservices design, the network becomes more of the bus for the application than the compute layer. Being able to have real-time visibility and control over the network, at a full 100Gbps wire rate, is "not just for things like troubleshooting, but [for] capacity planning," Scheibe said. The next steps up (and out) There's little question that Cisco has the networking chops for a project of this breadth. Other startups that deal in hyper-converged architectures might have innovative ideas for storage and compute, but there are few other hardware companies with Cisco's pedigree in networking. Plus, UCS has been successful enough to rank fourth in the worldwide server market. Next up is for Cisco to use HyperFlex as part of a larger strategy for multi-cloud (read hybrid cloud) application deployments -- where the network is a crucial component in how applications are orchestrated, as Cisco's new CTO, Zorawar Biri Singh, described recently. The details remain vague, though; Cisco's previously announced "Intercloud Initiative" hasn't been discussed in detail since Chuck Robbins became CEO nine months ago. But earlier today Cisco announced it had acquired CliQr, a cross-cloud application deployment company (reviewed favorably by InfoWorld's Martin Heller), which could be a major hint of where things might be headed . As it did with SpringPath, Cisco isn't shy of bringing in outside expertise to help build its new vision -- whatever form it eventually takes. Triple Digit Hog Rally Barchart - Fri Oct 21, 4:40PM CDT Lean hogs extended their rally into the weekend with another $0.20 to $2.10 gains in the front months. December was up the most on Friday, but is still a $1.40 discount to Feb. Through the week, December... HEZ22 : 89.125s (+2.41%) HEJ23 : 93.850s (+0.78%) KMZ22 : 98.000s (+1.16%) Cotton Limits the Weeks Pullback with Friday Strength Barchart - Fri Oct 21, 4:40PM CDT Cotton futures traded in a wide 413 point range from +253 to -160 (Dec). At the close the front months were 32 to 173 points in the black. December closed the week at a net 402 point loss, having spent... CTZ22 : 79.13s (+2.24%) CTH23 : 78.55s (+1.67%) CTK23 : 78.15s (+1.44%) Wheats Closed Mixed on Friday Barchart - Fri Oct 21, 4:40PM CDT CBT SRW futures ended the last trade day of the week with 1 to 1 1/2 cent gains. For the December contract that meant a net 9 cent loss for the week. KC futures pulled back by 1/2 a cent to 2 cents on... ZWZ22 : 850-6s (+0.18%) ZWH23 : 869-4s (+0.17%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.8533 (+0.24%) KEZ22 : 948-2s (-0.16%) KEPAWS.CM : 9.0581 (-0.16%) MWZ22 : 961-4s (-0.10%) Nov Beans Held under $14 Barchart - Fri Oct 21, 4:40PM CDT The Friday session ended with soybean futures 3 1/4 to 4 cents higher with November options having expired. Nov soybeans spent the week in a 41 1/2 cent trading range and ended 11 3/4 cents higher from... ZSX22 : 1395-4s (+0.29%) ZSPAUS.CM : 13.5026 (+0.29%) ZSF23 : 1404-4s (+0.32%) ZSH23 : 1411-6s (+0.28%) New Contract High for Dec Cattle Barchart - Fri Oct 21, 4:40PM CDT Cattle added another 62 to 75 cents to the upside on Friday, with December printing a new life of contract high of $152.50. Dec gained a net $4.65 for the week. The weeks cash trade picked up on Thursday... LEV22 : 150.475s (+0.47%) LEZ22 : 152.425s (+0.49%) LEG23 : 155.525s (+0.44%) GFV22 : 175.275s (-0.17%) GFX22 : 178.350s (+0.45%) Fractionally Mixed Friday Close in Corn Barchart - Fri Oct 21, 4:40PM CDT Corn futures firmed up on Friday for a fractionally UNCH close to the week. From Friday to Friday December futures traded in an 18 1/4 cent range, and went home 5 1/2 cents lower. The board has a 6 1/4... ZCZ22 : 684-2s (unch) ZCPAUS.CM : 6.7335 (-0.09%) ZCH23 : 690-4s (unch) ZCK23 : 689-6s (unch) 9994225_G.jpg Alex Fourroux and Ashley Aicard were each charged with indecency after police say they were found having sex in a vehicle behind a Baton Rouge Walmart. (EBRSO photos) BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- A man and woman have been charged with obscenity after police say they were having sex in a vehicle behind a Baton Rouge, La., Walmart, according to multiple local media reports. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office responded to a report of people in a vehicle in the parking lot behind the store around 2 a.m. Monday. A deputy responding to the call approached the vehicle and, after knocking on the window, instructed the two people to "get some clothes on" and get out of the vehicle, which they did. The two people were identified as Alex Fourroux, 22, and Ashley Aicard, 23. Aicard repotedly admitted to the deputy they were having sex, adding "I didn't think it was a big deal. We weren't being loud or anything." In his report, the deputy noted the area where the couple's vehicle was parked is a "high traffic" area behind the Walmart due to the number of deliveries coming in during the nighttime/early morning hours. Both Aicard and Fourroux were charged with obscenity and police discovered a bench warrant was also out for Aicard's arrest. Police also learned Fourroux had previously been banned from all Walmart properties for shoplifting. Another day, another story about the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's mission to promote a culture of health. But wait! There's a good reason for our extensive coverage. Part of why we find ourselves talking about RWJF grants so often is that the healthcare funding behemoth is doling out copious amounts of money to attack a giant problem from many angles. There's a lot to write about here. RWJF is casting a wide net to find creative solutions to improve health in America. From research to neighborhood programs to tech start ups, the grantmaking encompasses a variety of sectors working toward a common goal. Along the way, though, RWJF has kept an eye on the challenge of nurturing greater diversity among those working in healthcare research and policy. It's no secret that the academic and policy worlds are very white. According to the National Science Foundation, African Americans accounted for 6.4 percent of U.S. doctorates awarded in 2014, while Latinos made up 6.5 percent. This lack of diversity is a serious problem, particularly in fields grappling with complex socioeconomic problems that disproportionately affect communities of color. Ten years ago, RWJF launched New Connections to support minority and low-income scholars in health and healthcare research. The program has invested over $9 million to help more than 830 individuals with less than 15 years of post-grad experience. In addition to grant money for research, New Connections offers mentorship, community, and career development for its scholars, many of whom benefit from guidance in areas such as reaching tenure, getting published, and writing grant applications. The program's Deputy Director Lisa Aponte-Soto told Inside Philanthropy that minorities in academia have a harder time receiving the recognition they deserve. She recounted stories from New Connections scholars who showed up to teach a class and were mistaken for students or janitors. "Academia is sort of an intense and rigorous environment, but they have those additional challenges of feeling like they're never good enough or that their work is never good enough and it makes it more difficult to advance," Aponte-Soto said. As New Connections celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, the program is making some minor changes to expand its reach and test out what Aponte-Soto calls a "rapid-response process." So instead of a two-year, $100,000 grant mechanism, New Connections will give out 17 to 18 grants of up to $50,000 for a one-year grant period. Recognizing that improvements in public health come from many sectors, the program will also be opened beyond the traditional health care field to other disciplines such as urban planning, architecture, and business. The application process is set to launch on March 9 with a May 4 deadline, and a March 23 webinar will offer details for potential applicants. Eligible scholars must hail from low-income communities and be first-time RWJF grant recipients, ethnic or racial minorities, and first-generation college grads. Scholars who go through the New Connections program are more likely to be awarded grants from the foundation's other funding mechanisms. We wrote about the shake up in health care philanthropy when RWJF shuttered existing programs in 2014 to shift focus toward advancing a culture of health. Last year, we took a look at the foundation's progress and noted the importance of its commitment to cross-sector collaboration. One thread in our coverage is that RWJF values investment in human capital. With 10 years and counting of financial support for New Connections to bring in unique perspectives, the foundation is putting its money where its mouth is. Many experts have argued that nothing is more important for global development than empowering women to play an equal role in all societies. Lately, that view has growing sway at the world's biggest foundation. Signs have been emerging for a while now that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is giving more attention to womens empowerment, with Melinda leading this shiftwhile also becoming more independent in her philanthropy. This could be a very big deal over the long term. Here are some of the tea leaves we've been reading. First, Melinda Gates has recently raised her profile as a leader on womens issues. In the past 18 months, she's given interviews to several national media outlets, including Fortune and Elle, about her increasing focus on womens empowerment, and authored an opinion piece for CNN about the need for more data on women. She even recently said she would like to see a woman become president. No clear endorsement here, but thats a pretty big hint about how this powerful female leader sees the world. She is making more videos in which we hear her voice and see her face. She's making it crystal clear that one of the richest women in the world is also a huge believer in womens empowerment. Second, Gates created her own unit at the foundation last year called Pivotal Ventures, which operates through her executive office. (Bill also has his own office, by the way, called bgc3.) According to Geekwire, she established the effort to further her work on issues of gender inequity and womens empowerment. Pivotal Ventures has a number of staff members, including Haven D. Ley, who is senior director for program strategy. Ley has worked with Gates for a few years, and before that, she worked on the foundation's agricultural development grantmaking. There, she led work focused on women in agriculture, which she once pointed out as a crucial issue: "The majority of farmers in the developing world are women working on plots of less than two hectares; it is women who produce food for most of the world's poor people." The foundation's emphasis on gender-responsive agricultural development is one example of its growing work on women's empowerment. Other examples include the creation in 2014 of a new Grand Challenge: "Putting Women and Girls at the Center of Development," which the foundation described as an effort "to effectively reach and empower the most vulnerable women and girls to improve health and developmentincluding economicoutcomes as well as gender equality." Third, Melinda Gates recently penned her own section of the Gates Annual Letter, separate from Bill, for the first time. Bill and Melinda have issued other letters together, but they mainly seemed to have Bills tone and subject focus. This year, Melinda carved out her own section in the 2016 letter, and devoted it to the concept of time poverty and how much unpaid work is done by the world's women. This is probably something Melinda knows about firsthand, having just mothered three children nearly to adulthood, with the youngest, Rory, being 16. Now she has time (finally!) to speak to the world about how to work on the inequality caused by time poverty and its impact on women. Fourth, the Gates Foundation has awarded big grants for data mining on women. As we've reported, Gates partnered with The Clinton Foundation in 2014 to fund No Ceilings and the Full Participation Project, the largest data research and analysis projects to date on the global status of women. On another front, Gates made a $2.1 million grant to the Womens Philanthropy Institute last year to explore questions related to women and giving. Related: Whats the Clinton Foundation Doing for Womens Empowerment? All this paints a picture of a different level of action and leadership from Melinda Gates on women's issues. How much this shift might ultimately reshape the priorities of the world's largest private foundation remains to be seen, but clearly, some changes have already been put in motion over the past year or two. We expect more going forward. This is definitely a story worth watching closely. Real estate developer Kingston Development Group recently acquired the KOI Auto Parts warehouse and neighboring land at 630 Burbank St. in Cincinnati, with the intent to convert a portion of the building to self-storage. The 3-acre property in the Walnut Hills neighborhood was purchased earlier this month through a company affiliate called 630 Burbank LLC for $950,000. The developer envisions using 89,000 square feet for self-storage and leasing the remaining 40,000 square feet back to KOI, which was looking to consolidate its space, according to the source. The conversion will be the first self-storage project for Kingston, which has been in business for two years, the source reported. Josh Loewenstine, director of acquisitions at Kingston, formed the purchasing entity with his father, Leon. The affiliate acquired the property from Neltner Properties, a real estate affiliate managed by Dave Wesselman, who is president of KOI. "We felt there was a growing need for [self-storage]," Josh Loewenstine told the source. "[Housing] unit sizes are getting smaller, and we came across this at the perfect time." The developer is still working through the permit process but has targeted a late-summer opening, according to the source. The extra acreage at the site could enable additional development projects on the property, but Loewenstine indicated any future plans would likely wait at least five years. "We think its still a little early for residential uses," he told the source. "Self-storage is the highest and best use in the next five to 10 years." Viking Self Storage in Bedford, England, partnered with YMCA Bedfordshire to host a local Sleep Easy fundraiser on Feb. 26 to benefit YMCA programs and services. This years event highlighted issues related to homelessness, inviting participants to camp overnight at the self-storage facility in a cardboard shelter to simulate what its like to live on the streets, according to the Viking website. The annual event, which featured three levels of experiences, was held in the facilitys vehicle-storage area. Participants in the Classic or Extreme groups had to be 15 years old or older and in relatively good health, according to a press release. A less intense program called Sofa Surfer was available for those under 15. Those who signed up for the Classic experience were provided with cardboard from which they could erect a shelter or create a sleeping mat. Food and drinks were provided within this particular Sleep Easy zone, the release stated. The Extreme experience was a bit more life-like. Participants had to fend for their own shelter and work for food and drinks. In addition, security personnel could disturb or require these participants to move from their spots during the night. For the youngest participants, Sofa Surfer simulated the experience of not having a home and needing to sleep at the house of a friend or family member, according to the release. Viking provided its own boxes for participants. Prizes were awarded for the best box house, according to the release. Viking Self Storage is pleased to be working alongside YMCA Bedfordshire for its annual Sleep Easy event, Charlie Schneider, area sales manager, said in a released statement prior to the event. Its a worthy cause. Not only are we happy about being part of the event, [were] looking forward to hosting it outside our facility in Bedford. Even Viktor [the companys mascot] will be taking part and sleeping rough for the night. Hell be hoping his Nordic clothing will keep him warm. Proceeds from the Viking event will go directly to the YMCA Bedfordshire, the release stated. Since 2010, the collective YMCA event has raised nearly 1 million across the United Kingdom. The Viking facility serves business, residential and student customers. It offers a full array of moving and packing supplies and features flex-office space. Walmart Neighborhood Market site 001.jpg After initially saying a Neighborhood Market would be constructed on the site of this vacant building in Ocean Springs during 2016, Walmart officials have now told the city its plans have been moved back to 2020. The property manager, however, says Walmart no longer has an option on the property and it is available to any other interested business. (File photo/Gulflive.com) OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- After being told in late 2015 that a Walmart Neighborhood Market planned for a vacant building in Ocean Springs, city officials now say they have been told there are no plans to build the store until 2020. Mayor Connie Moran said Tuesday City Building Official Hilliard Fountain had spoken with the city's Walmart contact who advised of the change in plans. The Neighborhood Market -- a scaled-down version of a Walmart Supercenter -- has been planned for the vacant Delchamps building on U.S. 90 west. On Monday, however, both Moran and Fountain participated in a conference call with the building's property manager, who advised that she has not been contacted by Walmart officials in two years and that the company no longer has a legal option on the property. "They already had a demolition permit," Moran said of Walmart. "Their plans call for tearing down the existing building and constructing a new one with a car wash and a drive-thru pharmacy. They had even gone through the design review process." Now, Moran and city officials have been given the blessing of the property manager to recruit other businesses which might be interested in the vacant building. "She encouraged us to recruit others who might be looking to open here," Moran said. "She even indicated she's willing to offer very attractive terms, including a willingness to split the site, if necessary." Moran has long advocated for a whole foods or fresh market type business in Ocean Springs, although she admitted the market might not support one. She did say the city was contacted by a "major retailer" in Birmingham interested in coming to Ocean Springs and informed them of the availability of the old Delchamps building. "I'm optimistic," she said. "We're going to continue to explore options, now that we now there's nothing to stop another business from coming in and taking over that building." Walmart has secured a building permit and broken ground to construct a Neighborhood Market on North Washington in the St. Martin community. In addition, the company has plans to construct a Sam's Club -- a warehouse-type Walmart store -- in D'Iberville in the Sangani Boulevard corridor. Cyclists given access to insurance products and services and other benefits Zurich Insurance has appointed Herve Marguin as chief underwriting officer (CUO), General Insurance, Asia Pacific, effective immediately. Marguin will report to Stuart A. Spencer, chief executive officer, General Insurance, Asia Pacific, and Alan Fairhead, CUO, General Insurance, Zurich Insurance Group. Marguin joined Zurichs General Insurance business in 1997 as an actuary in France, and in 2001 joined Zurich Corporate Solutions as chief actuary working in underwriting, based in Switzerland. Marguin then held various finance and operational managerial roles for General Insurance in the performance management area, prior to his move to Hong Kong where he has been chief financial officer, General Insurance, for Asia Pacific since 2011. The position of CUO, General Insurance, Asia Pacific. was held during the past four years by Adrian Sweeney. Sweeney has been appointed CUO for Zurichs Global Corporate business and will be based in London. Herves in-depth knowledge of the APAC region and strong actuarial background make him the ideal successor for the chief underwriting officer role. We are delighted that the region will continue to benefit from his skills and talent, said Spencer, who went on to thank Sweeney for his commitment and contribution to the APAC business. Marguin said: I look forward to building on our past successes and to help ensure the underwriting needs of our customers are met beyond their expectations as we protect the growing needs of businesses and individuals in Asia Pacific. Source: Zurich Insurance Topics Underwriting More than 40 percent of insurers see Google as a potential threat because of its strong brand and ability to use customer data, a report released on Tuesday said. And young, mobile phone-friendly consumers may bypass traditional insurers for new, more nimble competitors, consultancy Capgeminis annual world insurance report said. Google beat other household names Amazon and Wal Mart as the biggest new entrant threat, based on interviews with more than 150 insurance executives. Insurers are looking to use technology to gain more information about their customers and potentially offer them lower-cost insurance. This has already happened in car insurance with telematics the use of a black box in cars to see how safely customers are driving. One of the next areas for insurers is the connected home with technology that enables homeowners to turn off their oven from a distance if it has been left on, for example, potentially avoiding a fire. Google owns connected home products maker Nest, which could act as a springboard to providing insurance. To withstand the coming competition, insurers must build up their brands, learn to take advantage of real-time customer data, and develop agile operating models, Capgemini said. However, some insurance industry specialists doubt that technology companies will enter the heavily regulated insurance sector directly, seeing them as more likely to form partnerships with insurers, potentially giving those firms an advantage. In the United States, Liberty Mutual has already joined up with Nest to offer insurance discounts for Nest users. Google will not become an insurance underwriter, said Nigel Walsh, head of UK insurance at Capgemini. But with products such as Nest, they are a massive part of the insurance value chain, because of what they know about consumers, he added. The insurance industry also needs to improve its service if it is going to win business among younger customers. Only 34 percent of customers below the age of 35 reported positive experiences with their insurers, compared with 55 percent of over 35s, a Capgemini survey of more than 15,000 customers in 30 countries found. [The survey was taken before Google announced it is shutting down its Google Compare online auto insurance agency.] (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Alexander Smith) Related: Topics Carriers Google Accident Fund Holdings Inc., based in Lansing, Mich., announced it is rebranding as AF Group. The company said the transition reflects the organizations unified, collective strength while positioning it for future growth and diversification. Founded in 1912 as a Michigan accident fund, the company has experienced significant growth from its start as a state agency. Liz Haar, president and CEO of AF Group, said the company is focused on transforming our organization by expanding our insurance offerings outside of workers compensation to meet the evolving needs of employers and agents. AF Group presently supports four brands: Accident Fund, United Heartland, CompWest and Third Coast Underwriters that specialize in workers compensation. AF Group has more than 1,100 employees and is licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Source: AF Group Topics Michigan A passenger from a cruise ship that was battered by a major storm in the Atlantic Ocean filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Royal Caribbean in Miami federal court, his lawyer said Thursday. The lawsuit filed by attorney Michael Winkleman says Royal Caribbean knew or should have known of warnings for hurricane-force winds in the Atlantic before Anthem of the Seas set sail Feb. 6 from Bayonne, New Jersey. The 4,500 passengers hunkered down as the ship encountered 30-foot waves off North Carolina the next day. A portion of the propulsion system was damaged, and the Miami-based cruise line canceled the seven-day cruise, returning to New Jersey. Passengers received a refund and certificate for half off a future cruise. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Frank DeLuca of Cinnaminson, New Jersey, includes forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Ocean Prediction Center, which noted the possibility of storm-force winds along the coast near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, on Feb. 7. The agency on Feb. 5 issued a storm warning for the area. According to the lawsuit, passengers had to hold onto their beds or anything else to keep from falling due to the severe crashing of waves and listing of the vessel for about 12 hours. Furniture was overturned, broken glass littered the ship, elevators were inoperable and water rushed through numerous areas of the ship. Any passenger who was on the ship can be represented by the lawsuit, which alleges gross negligence on the part of Royal Caribbean. The lawsuit seeks punitive damages for severe emotional, psychological and emotional stress endured by passengers. At least one other lawsuit was filed over the incident on Feb. 18 by Bruce Simpson of Delaware, who was also onboard Anthem of the Seas. Under terms of passenger tickets, most lawsuits against cruise lines are filed in South Florida federal court. Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said via email that the company doesnt comment on pending litigation. Associated Press Legal Affairs Writer Curt Anderson in Miami contributed to this report. Related: Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Windstorm New Jersey Federal regulators are failing to refer serious safety violations involving freight rail shipments of crude oil and other hazardous cargo for criminal prosecution, and are going lightly on civil fines, according to a report released last week by a government watchdog. The Federal Railroad Administration routinely applies only modest civil penalties for hazardous materials safety violations, even though inspectors request penalties only for serious or repeated infractions, said the report by the Department of Transportations inspector general. Instead, the agencys attorneys have made it a priority to process penalties quickly and avoid legal challenges, the report said. And, although the agency processes hundreds of safety violations each year, it appears that not a single case has ever been referred for criminal investigation, the report said. After examining a random sample of safety violations over five years, the inspector generals office found 17 cases it said should have referred for criminal investigation. Based on that sample, the inspector generals office estimated 20 percent, or 227 out of 1,126 violations, may have warranted criminal referral. The agencys attorneys told the watchdog that they didnt make criminal referrals because they didnt know the procedures for doing so, and they didnt think it was part of their job. As a result, penalties have little deterrent effect, and criminal penalties arent being pursued, wrote Mitchell Behm, assistant inspector general for surface transportation. Concern about rail shipments of hazardous cargo has been heightened in recent years by a series of fiery oil train explosions in the U.S. and Canada, including one just across the border in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, that killed 47 people. More than 400,000 tank cars of oil are shipped across the country annually. Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the senior Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the report confirms that the federal government has failed to provide the necessary oversight to protect communities across the country from serious accidents involving the rail transportation of hazardous materials. One case the report said should have been referred for criminal investigation involved a company that produced tank car valves that hadnt been put through a required design approval process. The valves subsequently leaked hazardous liquids. In another case, a company may have deliberately failed to disclose that a shipment included radioactive containers. Matt Lehner, an FRA spokesman, said most of the inspector generals recommendations are being implemented. He noted that the agency collected $15 million in fines for violations in the 2015 federal budget year, a 12 percent increase over the previous year and the most in the agencys history The inspector generals office also found that the agency doesnt have a complete understanding of the risks of hazardous cargo shipments because the agency makes safety assessments by looking narrowly at operations in specific regions, not the nation as a whole. The regional evaluations also dont include an assessment of the risks of transporting highly volatile and hazardous materials like crude oil near cities and major population centers, the report said. Without an accurate national assessment, the railroad administration cant be sure that all the appropriate risk factors are being considered when deciding which operations are most in need of inspections, the report said. The inspector general also faulted the agencys complex records system, saying it makes difficult for inspectors to access safety information on rail operations outside their region. As a result, the railroad administration and a sister agency, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, dont share critical and up-to-date information with safety inspectors and investigators in different regions throughout the country. Related: Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics USA Energy Oil Gas How much people trust technology and what type of driving alerts they respond to may have as much or more to do with the success of autonomous vehicles than technological, legal and security concerns, according to two new studies. The studies on human behavior and self-driving cars have been published in Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. One paper assesses the level of drivers trust in the autonomous car by monitoring how often they interrupt a non-driving task to look at their surroundings. This study presents the first empirical evidence making this connection. The other study suggests that drivers will respond best to verbal prompts, as opposed to sounds or visual displays, alerting them to driving conditions and the state of the vehicle (for example, low tire pressure). Keep Your Scanners Peeled: Gaze Behavior as a Measure of Automation Trust During Highly Automated Driving is the work of Sebastian Hergeth, Lutz Lorenz, and Roman Vilimek of the BMW Group in Munich, and Josef F. Krems from Technische Universitat Chemnitz, Germany. In this study, 35 BMW Group employees ages 18 to 55 participated in a self-driving car simulation while engaging in a visually demanding non-driving task. The driving scenario was a standard three-lane highway with a hard shoulder in which uneventful driving was periodically interrupted by incidents requiring the driver to take control. Although trust is difficult to quantify, drivers use of eye-tracking glasses enabled the researchers to capture data about how frequently participants looked away from the secondary task to observe the driving scene. Hergeth and his team then used these data to draw preliminary conclusions about drivers levels of trust in the simulated cars automation. The more the participants trusted the automation, the less frequently they looked at their surroundings. They were also more trusting of the car once they learned the system. Overall, more than half the drivers said they trusted the car more at the end than at the beginning of the trials. The researchers postulate that appropriate trust in automation is crucial for drivers to get the maximum benefit from self-driving vehicles. In Speech Auditory Alerts Promote Memory for Alerted Events in a Video-Simulated Self-Driving Car Ride, human factors researchers Michael A. Ness, Benji Helbein, and Anna Porter of Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, studied the usefulness of speech alerts to help drivers perceive and remember driving conditions while engaged in a non-driving activity. Eighty-five undergraduate students performed a word search task while watching three driving simulation videos. Each scenario showed a routine driving condition. The participants were randomly assigned to one of three display conditions: sounds such as a jackhammer, indicating construction ahead; a visual display with text; and speech alerts such as pedestrian or front hazard. After watching the videos, participants reported what they recalled about the driving scenario, how useful and how annoying the alerts were, and how confident they would feel if they had to resume control of the car at the moment the video stopped. Participants who heard the speech alerts had better recall than those who were given the sound icons or visual displays. However, both audio alerts were rated as annoying, and studies show that annoying alerts have a tendency to be turned off. Both research teams said they plan further investigations to assess how these areas of study can impact safety and how quickly and effectively drivers would take over the controls when necessary. The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society is an association for human factors/ergonomics professionals, with more than 4,800 members globally. HFES members include psychologists and other scientists, designers and engineers. Source: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Related: Topics Auto InsurTech Personal Auto American International Group Inc. said on Monday that it had reached a settlement resolving a $2 billion lawsuit accusing a Philadelphia-area firm overcharging it for life insurance policies acquired from elderly people. The settlement between AIGs Lavastone Capital LLC unit and Coventry First LLC came as the parties awaited a ruling from U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan following a non-jury trial that ended in October. As part of the deal, Lavastone will be able to transfer Coventrys servicing of AIGs life settlements portfolio to another party, the parties said. The deal also allows AIGs unit to freely sell policies that were originated by Coventry. Life settlements involve the sale of life insurance policies by policyholders for more than their cash value and less than their face value to investors, who then pay the premiums and collect the payout when the individuals die. Coventry, headed by founder Alan Buerger and owned by Montgomery Capital Inc., describes itself on its website as the leader and creator of the life settlement industry. AIGs Lavastone bought nearly 7,000 life settlements from Coventry with a total face value of $20 billion from 2001 to 2011, when AIG stopped acquiring life settlements. Lavastone, which filed its lawsuit in September 2014, said the Fort Washington, Pennsylvania-based firms actions caused it to pay about $160 million in hidden markups and fee overcharges. The alleged scheme ramped up during the financial crisis in 2008, when AIG was receiving government bailouts to avert its collapse, AIG contended at trial. AIG at trial sought damages of $2.02 billion based on its demands that Coventry disgorge all of the fees it collected and its request for Rakoff to impose triple damages under the civil racketeering statute. The case is Lavastone Capital LLC v. Coventry First LLC et al., U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 14-7139. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York and Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Alan Crosby) The Oklahoma Workers Compensation Commission has determined that the opt-out portion of the states 2013 workers compensation statute is unconstitutional. Ruling on an appeal under the provisions of the Oklahoma Employee Injury Benefit Act, or Opt-Out Act, the three judge panel found the act to be unconstitutional and not enforceable. The ruling in Vasquez v. Dillards opens the way for an appeal to the state supreme court. The Oklahoma Employee Injury Benefit Act was created by Senate Bill 1062 in 2013 as an alternative system that employers may use to satisfy state requirements to provide benefits to injured workers. That bill also established the Oklahoma Workers Compensation Commission to replace the former Oklahoma Workers Compensation Court. The restructuring of the states workers comp system and the Employee Injury Benefit Act were held to be constitutional by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in December 2013 in response to various legal challenges. The Opt-Out Act allows qualified employers to opt out of the Oklahoma workers compensation system by establishing an Employee Benefit Plan (Plan) under the provisions of Federal law, the Employee Retirement lncome Security Act (ERISA). The case under Commission review revolves around the denial of a work injury claim filed by Dillards Inc. employee Jonnie Yvonne Vasquez, who injured her shoulder and neck while lifting shoe boxes at her workplace. Dillards denied her claim saying Vasquezs injury was a pre-existing condition and not an injury as defined by the Plan, according to the Commissions order. The Commission noted that the Vasquez case was the first appeal brought before it due to a denial of benefits under the Opt-Out Act. In investigating Vasquezs appeal, the commission addressed the issue of whether plans under the opt-out provision provide benefits and protections equal to the benefits provided under the Administrative Workers Compensation Act. It found the Opt-Out Act wanting. Although at first blush it appears that the Opt-Out Act requires that injured workers under an authorized benefit plan must be afforded benefits equal to or better to those under the Administrative Workers Compensation Act, this is decidedly not so. A closer look at the statutorily authorized plan requirements reveals that the benefit plans permitted to be used to opt-out establish a dual system under which injured workers are not treated equally, the order states. The order goes on to state: The appearance of equal treatment under the dual system is like a water mirage on the highway that disappears upon closer inspection. Responding to the Commissions ruling, the Association for Responsible Alternatives to Workers Compensation (ARAWC), which helped to craft the 2013 law, posted the following message on its website: The Oklahoma Workers Compensation Committee on February 26, ruled that the Oklahoma Option is invalid under the Oklahoma state Constitution. This decision is not the final word on the Oklahoma Option. The case is far from over. It is almost certain there will be further legal and legislative efforts in response to the decision. In the relatively short time since the Oklahoma Option was created, Option plans are resulting in better medical outcomes for injured workers compared to traditional workers compensation. ARAWC continues to support the Option as a voluntary alternative with better medical outcomes, fewer benefit claims disputes and greater cost savings for employers. The Commission itself recognized that its decision is immediately appealable to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. [T]hat Court is required to retain the appeal and must consider the case on an expedited basis, the Commissions order states. The Oklahoma Supreme Court has previously declined to take up a similar case challenging the constitutionalityof the Opt-Out Act. That case, Judy Pilkington etal. v. State of Oklahoma et al, like Vasquez, claimed that the act denies injured workers process of the law. Judy Pilkington also worked for Dillards. Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak, who was a proponent of the 2013 workers comp overhaul, was named as a defendant in Pilkington. In an email to Insurance Journal, Commissioner Doak said he appreciates the difficult work the Commission has performed during its first two challenging years and their dedication to our collective goal of protecting Oklahomas workers. Commissioner Doak said the commissions order anticipates an appeal and stays its referral until appeals are decided, and I look forward to a complete and careful review of these issues by the judicial branch. My department will continue to perform its statutory responsibilities while this consideration occurs, and we will support our legislators as they continue to develop Oklahomas workers compensation system this session. I believe that addressing these issues head-on will enable our state to provide the best care possible for Oklahomans at a price employers can afford. Opt-out plans such as those in Texas and Oklahoma were criticized in a searing article published in October 2015 by ProPublica and NPR. That article states that the ProPublica/NPR investigation found that the plans almost universally have lower benefits, more restrictions and virtually no independent oversight. Related: Topics Workers' Compensation Oklahoma The Vineyard and Brewery at Hershey The Vineyard and Brewery at Hershey partners toast inside the Silver Oak Winery production center in Oakville, Calif. From left, Doug Gellatly, Jason Reimer, Mike Wilson and winemaker L. Paul Vezzetti. (Submitted) The Vineyard and Brewery at Hershey in Dauphin County recently marked their fourth anniversary in business by traveling to the West Coast and touring seven wineries in and around Napa. Mike "Merlot Mike" Wilson, one of the partners, was asked to send along his perspective on the tour. Here's what he sent in: Duckhorn Vineyards: My personal favorite in terms of variety and quality. One of the few that that had dry whites. They had estate-only tastings. Love it. Since it was my personal favorite, I offered our hostess the opportunity to wear my Money Team hat :) Mike Wilson with Dennis Zablosky, the legendary tasting-room manager at Frank Family Vineyards in Calistoga, Calif. Frank Family Vineyards: The man in the photo is Dennis, and he is a legend. He has sold over 8 million bottles of wine over a 30-year career. They have a huge Disney philosophy, given their ownership's history with Disney, and we subscribe to that as well. One of the more experiential wineries as opposed to being pretentious and insulting everyone else. Dennis deserved my Money Team hat :) Palmaz Vineyards: This place is unreal and is a story in and of itself. Started by the man who invented the balloon heart stint who has more money than most global economies. His process is unique. The technology behind it is unreal and is now run by his son, who used to work for Apple and has developed apps using infrared technology to make the best decisions in the process. Silver Oak Winery: They were probably the most gracious hosts. Fitting, because we broke a bottle of Silver Oak cab over our very first vines at our planting party when we decided to start the Vineyard as a means of "blessing" them. Silver Oak knows this and we have interacted many times over the years on our anniversary as we fondly recall that memory. They also inspired our Merlot Release Party idea. They were great. And a few questions that he answered: If you have the time, I wouldn't mind just getting your insight on the similarities and differences between California tasting rooms and those in the midstate. It was fascinating taking away the experience of visiting Napa and comparing and contrasting experiences from back home. We found several wineries that used the same sort of approach in trying to build value that, quite frankly, was somewhat off-putting. For example, they would focus on how they had "the oldest this" or "the oldest that" or "the oldest approach to (insert tactic here)," and in using this approach they would use it to compliment themselves in a pretentious fashion while insulting others. There were other wineries who took a more personalized approach to spend time with us as customers and to get to know us and our interests, and they would cater their offerings and presentation accordingly. How did they differ? The answer to this was really in the layout. Some wineries were very interested in showing off their estate and demonstrating their approach to winemaking, as well as the equipment used, whereas other wineries provided a private area within the operation for us to sit down and meet with someone in a one-on-one fashion. Others did both. That was the beauty in this experience, we were able to see such versatility in practice. This also applies in the Hershey Harrisburg Wine Country with our 15 local wineries within 30 minutes of Hershey-Harrisburg, as each winery has a very unique setting as compared to other members. And that is what makes visiting them so great. And did you see any sweet wines for sale out there? I saw very few sweet wines, and I saw very few white wines, which surprised me. It seemed like everyone wanted to sell me their version of the "Best. Cab. Ever" while inserting some sort of story behind its unique process. The sweet wines we encountered were Moscato [non-sparkling] and ports, which were cab or zinfandel bases. It was a fascinating trip, overall. EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants has hired Steve Hall as a property/casualty insurance broker/producer. Hall will be based in EPICs Concord, Calif. office and report to Curt Perata, regional director of property/casualty operations. Hall will be responsible for new business development and the design and management of insurance and risk management programs for clients across the region. Hall will serve a range of industries, including food production, healthcare, restaurant, real estate and manufacturing clients. Hall will also focus on expanding and supporting EPICs group captive program business. Hall has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry. He comes from Wells Fargo Insurance Services. He previously held sales/production positions with brokers Jenkins Insurance Services and Angelo & Associates. EPIC is a retail property/casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm. Topics California Agencies Property Casualty 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. Nella capitale vicini Michetti e Gualtieri. A Siena e a Roma si vota anche per le elezioni suppletive alla Camera dei deputati Si sono chiusi alle 15 i seggi per le consultazioni elettorali che si sono tenute domenica 3 e lunedi 4 ottobre, che hanno chiamato a esprimersi oltre 12 milioni di elettori. Si e votato per il rinnovo di 1.192 amministrazioni comunali, per le suppletive della Camera dei deputati nella XII circoscrizione Toscana, collegio uninominale 12 Siena e nella circoscrizione XV Lazio 1, collegio uninominale 11 Roma Quartiere Primavalle, e per le regionali in Calabria. Alle 15, con 621 comuni campionati su un totale di 1.153, il Viminale rende noto che laffluenza e pari al 59,79%, quando nel 2016 il dato era stato 65,98%, anche se in quelloccasione si era votato un solo giorno. Ecco i primi exit poll effettuati dal consorzio Opinio Italia per la Rai. Roma A Roma il candidato del centrodestra Enrico Michetti raggiunge una forchetta del 27-31%, seguito dallex ministro Roberto Gualtieri, candidato del centrosinistra, con il 26,5-30,5%. In una forchetta tra il 16,5 e il 20,5% Carlo Calenda e la sindaca uscente Virginia Raggi. Milano Alle comunali a Milano il candidato del centrosinistra e sindaco uscente Giuseppe Sala raggiunge una forchetta del 54-58%, dietro di lui Luca Bernardo (centrodestra) con il 32-36%, mentre Layla Pavone e Gianluigi Paragone in una forchetta tra il 2 e il 4%. Napoli Calo dellaffluenza nel capoluogo campano, con il dato definitivo al 47,19%, quando alla tornata del 2016 ma in quelloccasione si votava in un solo giorno al primo turno si reco il 54,12%. In base al primo exit poll del consorzio Opinio Italia per la Rai, il candidato del centrosinistra e Movimento 5 Stella Gaetano Manfredi raggiunge una forchetta del 57-61%. Dietro lui Catello Maresca (centrodestra) con il 19-23%; Antonio Bassolino (9-13%) e Alessandra Clemente (5,5-7,5%). Torino Affluenza sotto il 50% a Torino, dove si e presentato alle urne il 48,06% degli aventi diritto: peggior risultato della storia nel capoluogo piemontese. Il candidato del centrosinistra Stefano Lo Russo raggiunge una forchetta del 44-48%, seguito da Paolo Damilano del centrodestra con il 36,5-40,5%, Valentina Sganga, tra il 7 e il 9%, e Angelo DOrsi (1,5-3,5%). Trieste A Trieste il candidato Roberto Dipiazza, del centrodestra, raggiunge una forchetta del 46-50%, seguito da Francesco Russo del centrosinistra tra il 29 e il 33%. Poi Riccardo Laterza (9-13%) e Alessandra Richetti (2-4%). Notizia in aggiornamento STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Members of the St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School Class of 1990 turned out in vast numbers at the newly refurbished Annadale Terrace Friday evening for a unique reunion fundraiser, the proceeds of which benefited the daughter of a former classmate. Actually, alums Christine Gargano, Franca Wilson and Christine Maresca brainstormed the idea back in November, an event at which they expected no more than 40-to-50 former classmates. But when news of the reunion traveled via social media, the planning committee had to limit the number of guests to 95 -- because of room capacity. All were overwhelmed with the outpouring of support for Aaron Okola's daughter Monroe, who is 4 years old and fighting stage 4 Neuroblastoma after her initial diagnosis Oct. 9 of last year. So far, a YouCaring.com crowdsourcing campaign has raised nearly $61,000 for Monroe's ongoing medical care. Aaron and Leah left their other two children -- teenage son Jake and baby sister Arden -- in California in order to relocate to New York so that Monroe receive proper treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to help fight the disease that has a one out of two survival rate. Classmates flew in from other states to show their support during the evening that wasn't about them, but rather the Okola family. Alums were unanimous in stating: "We may have graduated 26 years ago but that night time stood still." In fact, the same family of kids who were was always there for one another in high school, were there now pulling strength for Aaron and his family. In conversing, they opined the government should begin to recognize that way too many children are dying from cancer due to lack of funding. They pointed out the government provides only four percent of funding for children cancer research and so many other organizations receive hundreds of thousands of dollars for research? "We have to be the voices for our children and this night showed that there's strength in numbers -- and no matter how many years pass we will always come together for support," noted Ms. Gargano. "We pray that all children receive a cure and receive the care they need. And this night restored a lot of faith in a lot of people. It means so much to Aaron and his family." Several teachers were present to lend their support to the cause. "We could fill the entire paper with the words and photos that were posted on our Facebook page the next day, which was wonderful to see," Christine Gargano said."Amazing night with an amazing group of people that truly shows we come together when needed, God Bless!" In addressing the crowd, Aaron Okola noted "We are completely humbled and eternally grateful for all of your generosity and hard work putting this together. What a wonderful night.. you are amazing! Love you all and thanks so much." Anthony Belisario pointed out: "It was an awesome time spent not only to revisit with everyone but to come together for that beautiful little girl. My friend, your family is in our hearts and our thoughts. May God bless all of you in this journey and whatever you need we are here." Christine Maresca said: " It was a beautiful night and love how we reconnected and all pulled together for this event! I love you guys!" Jennifer Enos chimed in: "Can't be said enough how amazing you guys are, Inspiring! Almost as inspiring as the strength of that little girl. Love and prayers for Monroe." Dina Nazario gushed: "An awesome job for an amazing little girl!" Dorejo Moore added: "I had a fabulous time and keep finding myself smiling as I replay the evening in my mind. we don't see each other often but it is comforting to know we can pick up right where we left off. Good times." And in closing Franca Wilson stated: "Through the efforts and generosity of everyone involved we were able to raise an amazing amount of money for Aaron Okola and his beautiful little girl Monroe." When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. A checking account is a necessity for most people, but theyre definitely not one-size-fits-all. Ultra-high-net-worth individuals need checking accounts that are equipped to meet their unique wealth management needs. Many high-net-worth individuals choose to conduct their banking at the same institutions that are frequented by average consumers. In order to meet the needs of this clientele group, these banks have created accounts that come with special perquisites for the ultra-rich, such as personal bankers, waived fees, and the option of placing trades. Key Takeaways Ultra-high-net-worth individuals need checking accounts that are equipped to meet their unique wealth management needs. Bank of America, Citibank, Union Bank, and HSBC, among others, have created accounts that come with special perquisites for the ultra-rich, such as personal bankers, waived fees, and the option of placing trades. The ultra rich are considered to be those with more than $30 million in assets. These ten checking accounts are designed with the wealthy in mind and are intended for banking clients who desire convenient access to cash with premium benefits. 1. Bank of America Private Bank Private Bank is the private banking division of Bank of America, and it targets individuals with a minimum of $3 million in liquid assets. The Wealth Management Interest checking account is geared toward high-net-worth individuals who want to earn a competitive rate, with standard bank fees waived when you meet minimum balance requirements. There are no monthly maintenance fees and members are eligible to enroll in the Preferred Rewards program, which offers exclusive benefits such as a 75% bonus on rewards earned with a Bank of America credit card. 2. Citigold Private Client The Citigold Private Client Account Package is an all-in-one banking product thats designed to simplify cash management for wealthy clients. The package includes access to Citibank checking, savings, and money market accounts with perks such as unlimited refunds on non-Citibank ATM fees and higher daily limits on ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases. Account-holders also receive personalized guidance from a wealth professional, and many of Citibank's typical banking service fees are waived for Private Client members. 3. Union Bank Private Advantage Checking Account The Union Bank Private Advantage checking account is available exclusively to Private Bank clients. This account, which can be opened with $1,000, has no monthly maintenance fees of any kind and no minimum balance requirements. Balances earn interest, which is compounded and paid monthly. Private Advantage Checking customers pay no overdraft fees and no ATM fees worldwide and have a dedicated relationship manager available to answer questions and provide assistance. 4. HSBC Premier Checking HSBC Premier Checking makes it easy to enjoy valuable benefits while avoiding monthly maintenance fees. To avoid a monthly service fee, you can do one of the following: Meet a $75,000 minimum balance requirement Schedule recurring direct deposits totaling at least $5,000 per month Have an HSBC U.S. residential mortgage with an original loan amount of $500,000 or more. If you're unable to meet one of these requirements, a $50 monthly maintenance fee applies. Premier Checking customers enjoy unlimited rebates on non-HSBC ATM fees, access to preferential mortgage rates and access to one of the bank's highest-yielding savings accounts. 5. Morgan Stanley CashPlus Morgan Stanley CashPlus is designed to be an all-in-one cash management solution. There are two account tiers available, Premium CashPlus and Platinum CashPlus. There are no cash management fees with either account and both offer unlimited ATM fee rebates worldwide. A $25,000 average daily cash balance is required to avoid a monthly service fee of $45. The Platinum CashPlus account also comes with additional benefits, such as a $695 annual engagement bonus for customers who have the Platinum Card from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley. 6. TD Bank Private Banking TD Bank offers private banking services to clients in the U.S. and Canada and is ideally suited for those with $750,000 or more in investable assets. Private banking options include Private Tiered Checking and Private Tiered Savings accounts. Business deposit accounts and liquidity solutions are also offered. Private Client members can withdraw up to $1,500 daily at ATMs and make point of sale transactions up to $20,000, while mobile deposit limits of $50,000 per day and $100,000 per month are included with premium concierge banking services. 7. Truist Wealth Checking Truist's (formerly BB&T) wealth management division offers an impressive range of products and services. The Truist Wealth Checking account offers perks such as tiered interest checking, fee discounts, and preferred rates on loans. Benefits also include a daily ATM withdrawal limit of $3,000 and a daily purchase limit of $25,000. There are no monthly maintenance fees on secondary checking accounts, one personal Truist savings account or existing Money Rate savings account or one Health Savings Account. 8. PNC Private Bank Checking PNC Private Bank Checking is a cash management solution for people who want convenience and the opportunity to earn interest on balances. PNC Private Bank Clients work with a dedicated Banking Advisor to help you better understand and plan for your short- and long-term financial needs. In addition to the Private Bank Checking account, you can also open a Private Bank Money Market account. Neither account requires a minimum balance to open or carries a monthly service fee. Private Bank Checking comes with a debit card while Private Bank Money Market Accounts offer an ATM card only. 9. BNY Mellon Cash Management Access Account The BNY Mellon Cash Management Access account is a self-directed investment product that combines the functionality of a brokerage account with the features of a checking account. Clients have the option of placing trade orders for stocks and mutual funds, paying bills, and overseeing their general day-to-day finances. This account could work well if you want to be able to combine investing with other financial management tasks. 10. Chase Private Client Chase Private Client is designed for individuals who maintain a minimum daily balance of at least $150,000 in a combination of linked checking, savings, or investment accounts or have a Chase Platinum Business Checking Account. Theres no monthly service fee when these conditions are met; otherwise, a $35 monthly fee applies. Account benefits include higher interest rates on linked savings accounts and CDs, higher daily deposit and withdrawal limits as well as fee waivers on selected services, including wire transfers and foreign ATM withdrawals. What Is an Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individual? These are people with investable assets of at least $30 million, according to the 2021 Knight Frank Wealth Report. By comparison, high-net-worth people have at least $1 million in assets. This group of people is small but continues to grow. The U.S. has the most of these people in the world by a large margin. How do the ultra rich get their wealth? Many ultra-high-net-worth individuals derive the majority of their wealth from owning their own businesses, and may others get most of their wealth from their investment portfolios, while a smaller portion get most of their wealth from their salary, according to the Knight Frank Wealth Report. What banking services do the ultra rich expect? Most do not have their money sitting in certificates of deposit (CDs), money market accounts, or mutual funds in a 401(k). From their private bank they expect personalized investment services, low-interest loans, high-touch financial management services, and other generous amenities that entice them to remain a client. Bottom Line The ultra rich, or those individuals with more than $30 million in assets, are growing in number. They expect more from their banks than the usual mortgages, low-interest savings accounts and basic checking offered to the bulk of banking customers. From their private bank they expect personalized investment services, low-interest loans, high-touch financial management services, and other generous amenities that entice them to remain a client. And the world's biggest banks have responded in order to keep these high spenders satisfied customers. There's safety in numbers, the old saying goes, and when it comes to mutual fund investing, it's not a bad principle. The largest mutual funds have trillions in assets under management (AUM), in addition to lower expense ratios, which may improve performance over time. In addition, the biggest mutual funds provide access to premiere money managers who specialize in maximizing your investments on a very granular level (though they'll also charge you fees for this upkeep). Currently, two companies dominate the domestic mutual fund market: Vanguard and Fidelity. Both offer very robust funds with high growth potential and have trillions under their belt in total assets. If you're looking to cash in on the potential advantages of size in your mutual fund investments, here are the five largest mutual funds. Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTSAX) - $1.3 trillion Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares (VFIAX) - $808.8 billion Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTIAX) - $385.5 billion Fidelity 500 index Fund (FXAIX) - $380.7 billion Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund Admiral Shares (VBTLX) - $305.1 billion 1. Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTSAX) Assets under management: $1.3 trillion (as of Feb. 28, 2021) Expense ratio: 0.04% (as of Apr. 29, 2021) 1-year performance: 11.67% (as of Mar. 31, 2022) 3-year annualized performance: 17.46% (as of Mar. 31, 2022) For investors willing to invest a minimum of $3,000, the VTSAX fund provides exposure to the entire U.S. equity market: small-, mid-, and large-cap growth and value stocks. Created in 1992, the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares has more than 4,070 stocks in its holdings, including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Tesla. For those who can't meet the $3,000 initial investment, Vanguard also offers an exchange traded fund (ETF) called the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI). The ETF version is similar to the VTSAX and costs the price of one share. 2. Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares (VFIAX) Assets under management: $808.8 billion (as of Feb. 28, 2022) Expense ratio: 0.04% (as of Apr. 29, 2021) 1-year performance: 15.60% (as of Mar. 31, 2022) 3-year annualized performance: 18.89% (as of Mar. 31, 2022) The Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares (VFIAX) mirrors the S&P 500 index, offering exposure to 500 of the largest companies in the U.S. stock market across various industries. The 507 stocks within the VFIAX have approximately the same weighting as the stocks within the S&P 500. Some of the top holdings include Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla, Nvidia, and Berkshhire Hathaway Inc. The minimum investment requirement is $3,000, but for those who can't meet the initial investment, Vanguard also offers an exchange-traded fund (ETF) called the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO). The ETF version is similar to the VFIAX and costs the price of one share. 3. Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTIAX) Assets under management: $385.5 billion (as of Feb. 28, 2022) Expense ratio: 0.11% (as of Feb. 25, 2022) 1-year performance: -1.85% (as of Mar. 31, 2022) 3-year annualized performance: 7.76% (as of Mar. 31, 2022) Vanguard's VTIAX fund tracks the performance of various indexes that contain stocks from developed and emerging markets. The fund excludes the U.S. and holds 7,754 stocks with 25% from emerging markets, nearly 40% from Europe, and nearly 27% from the Pacific region. Some of the top holdings include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Nestle SA, Samsung Electronics, and Toyota Motor Corporation. For those who can't meet the $3,000 initial investment, Vanguard also offers an exchange-traded fund (ETF) called the Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS). The ETF version is similar to the VFIAX and costs the price of one share. 4. Fidelity 500 Index Fund (FXAIX) Assets under management: $399 billion (as of Mar. 31, 2022) Expense ratio: 0.015% (as of April 29, 2021) 1-year performance: 15.63% (as of Mar. 31, 2022) 3-year annualized performance: 18.91% (as of Feb. 28, 2022) Fidelity's large-blend fund tracks the S&P 500. As of Dec. 31, 2021, the top ten holdings make up 29.29% of its portfolio, including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet. However, FXAIX's expense is one of the lowest in the market and maintains a solid 5-star Morningstar rating. 5. Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund Admiral Shares (VBTLX) Assets under management: $305.1 billion (as of Feb. 28, 2022) Expense ratio: 0.05% (as of Apr. 29, 2021) 1-year performance: -4.09% (as of Mar. 31, 2022) 3-year annualized performance: 1.69% (as of Mar. 31, 2022) Vanguard's VBTLX provides investors investment exposure to U.S. investment-grade bonds, including U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. The fund's holdings are primarily U.S. government bonds with 66.5% of the fund's weighting, while 3.7% are AAA-rated bonds and 3.1% are AA-rated. For those who can't meet the $3,000 initial investment for the VBTLX, Vanguard also offers an exchange-traded fund (ETF) called the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND). The ETF version is similar to the VBTLX and costs the price of one share. What is Umpire Clause n umpire clause refers to language in an insurance policy that provides for a means of resolution by an unbiased third party if an insurer and an insured cannot agree on the amount of a claim payment. An umpire clause is the same thing as an arbitration clause. The arbitration process requires both the insurance company and the policy holder to hire an appraiser of their choosing to assess the damages and the cost to repair them. The umpire will agree with one or perhaps both of the resulting appraisals and that amount will be used to satisfy the claim. Understanding Umpire Clause The umpire clause is closely related to the appraisal clause, which allows a policyholder to hire an independent appraiser to determine the value of their damages. In turn, the insurance company will also hire their own appraiser. The two appraisers will then get together and select an umpire. The umpire is basically the arbitrator. These three individuals are known as the appraisal panel. The purpose of the appraisal panel is to set or determine the amount of loss, or the total dollar amount needed to return the damaged property back to it's original condition by repair or replacement. Key Takeaways The umpire clause is similar to an arbitration clause and is used to settle disputes between insurance companies and the insured. Each party hires an independent appraiser who works with the umpire to resolve differences relating to the claim. Only two of the three members of this panel need to agree to resolve the case. With an appraiser panel in place, the policyholder's chosen appraiser and the insurance company's chosen appraiser will review the documents, estimates, and differences between them. They'll then try to resolve their differences. In such a scenario, the three will discuss the issues and try to reach an agreed settlement of the differences. If disagreements between the two appraisers can't be resolved, the umpire makes the ultimate decision. Interestingly, not everyone one on the appraiser panel has to agree. Only two of the three individuals need to agree, the umpire and either appraiser or the two appraisers themselves. Once two of the three individuals on the appraisal panel sign the award, the dispute is over. The amount on the award is paid to the policyholder. Example of How an Umpire Clause Works For example, let's say Max has a car accident and his car is totaled. He is at fault, so he files a first-party claim with his own insurance company. The insurer determines that the value of his totaled vehicle is $10,000 and offers to pay him the $10,000 minus his $1,000 collision deductible. According to his research, Max believes the value of his car to be closer to $15,000. Since they are so far apart, Max and his insurer agree to invoke the policy's umpire clause and have an umpire and appraisers determine the value of the car. What Is an American Express Card? An American Express card, also known as an Amex card, is an electronic payment card branded by the publicly traded financial services company American Express (AXP). The company issues and processes prepaid, charge, and credit cards. American Express cards are available to individuals, small businesses, and corporate consumers across the United States and around the world. Key Takeaways American Express cards are issued by American Expressa publicly traded financial services companyand are charge cards, credit cards, or prepaid cards. An American Express card, also called an Amex card, can offer a variety of perks, including rewards points, cash back, and travel perks. Some cards are co-branded, such as those with Delta and Hilton. American Express is one of the few companies that issues cards and has a network to process card payments. Visa and Mastercard have processing networks but dont issue cards. Understanding American Express Cards American Express cards are issued by American Express and processed on the American Express network. American Express is one of only a few financial service companies in the industry that has the capability to both issue and process electronic payment cards. American Express is a publicly traded company in the financial services industry. It offers both credit lending and network processing services, giving it a broad range of competitors in the industry. As with traditional lenders, it has the capability to issue credit products, which it provides in the form of charge cards and credit cards. American Express has its own processing network that competes with Mastercard (MA) and Visa (V). Its most comparable competitor is Discover Financial Services (DFS), which is also a publicly traded financial service company offering both credit lending and a processing service network. With multiproduct capabilities, American Express generates revenue from both interest-earning products and network processing transaction services. The term Black Card refers to the American Express Centurion card, which is offered by invitation only. American Express Fees American Express generates a significant portion of its revenue from transaction processing. Many merchants accept American Express cards and are willing to pay the transaction fees associated with processing because of the advantages that come with offering American Express as a payment option to customers. In an American Express transaction, the merchants acquiring bank communicates with American Express as both the processor and the issuing bank in the transaction process. Merchant acquiring banks must work with the American Express processing network to transmit communications in American Express transactions. American Express is also the issuer that authenticates and approves the transaction. Merchants pay a small fee to American Express for its processing network services, which are part of the comprehensive fees involved with a single transaction. As both a processor and high-quality lender, American Express has built a strong reputation in the financial services industry. Types of American Express Cards As noted above, American Express credit cards and prepaid debit cards are offered to a variety of both retail and commercial customers. It is also an industry-leading provider of charge cards, which offer month-to-month credit with card balances that must be paid off each month. American Express charge and credit cards follow standard underwriting procedures. The company seeks good- to high-credit quality borrowerswhich means a credit score of at least 670and generally is not a subprime lender. American Express credit and charge cards come with a variety of benefits in the form of rewards points and travel perks, which depend, in part, on the annual fee charged. American Express cards may offer cash back on certain purchases, though they arent among the best cash back cards currently available. American Express also offers numerous branded prepaid debit cards, which can be used as gift cards or special-purpose reloadable payment cards. Annual fees for American Express cards tend to run high: $95 for the Blue Cash Preferred Card, $99 for the Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card, $150 for the Green Card, $250 for the Gold Card, and $550 for the Platinum Card. That said, the Green, Gold, and Platinum cards have no predetermined spending limits. American Express does offer at least six cards with no annual fee. Customer service for all Amex cards is highly rated, with the company coming in No. 1 on J.D. Powers 2020 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. Partnerships, co-branded cards American Express issues many of its cards directly to consumers, but it also has partnerships with other financial institutions. In the U.S., for example, Wells Fargo issued an American Express card (new applications were paused in April 2021, although this doesnt affect current cardholders), and in Mexico, Banco Santander offers American Express cards. American Express also has partnerships with other companies to encourage consumers to apply for its credit cards. Two examples are its co-branded cards with Delta Air Lines, which allow consumers to earn frequent flier miles redeemable on Delta, and its Hilton Hotels co-branded cards. Pros and Cons of an American Express Card What Is Structural Unemployment? Structural unemployment is a longer-lasting form of unemployment caused by fundamental shifts in an economy and exacerbated by extraneous factors such as technology, competition, and government policy. Structural unemployment occurs because workers lack the requisite job skills or live too far from regions where jobs are available and cannot move closer. Jobs are available, but there is a serious mismatch between what companies need and what workers can offer. Key Takeaways Structural unemployment is long-lasting unemployment that comes about due to shifts in an economy. This type of unemployment happens because though jobs are available, theres a mismatch between what companies need and what available workers offer. Structural unemployment can last for decades and usually requires a radical change to reverse. Technology tends to exacerbate structural unemployment, marginalizing certain workers and rendering particular jobs, such as manufacturing, obsolete. 1:25 Structural Unemployment How Structural Unemployment Works Structural unemployment is caused by forces other than the business cycle. This means that structural unemployment can last for decades and may need radical change to redress the situation. If structural unemployment is not addressed, it can increase the unemployment rate long after a recession is over and increase the natural rate of unemployment, which is also known as frictional unemployment. Hundreds of thousands of well-paying manufacturing jobs were lost in the United States over the past three decades as production jobs migrated to lower-cost areas in China and elsewhere. This decline in the number of jobs is responsible for a higher natural rate of unemployment. Growing technology in all areas of life increases future structural unemployment, because workers without adequate skills will get marginalized. Even those with skills may face redundancy, given the high rate of technological obsolescence and the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI). Structural unemployment is influenced by more than just the business cycle, impacted by major mismatches in the employment system. Examples of Structural Unemployment While the 2007-2009 global recession caused cyclical unemployment, it also increased structural unemployment in the United States. As the jobless rate peaked over 10% in October 2009, the average unemployment period for millions of workers rose significantly. These workers skills deteriorated during this time of prolonged unemployment, causing structural unemployment. The depressed housing market also affected the job prospects of the unemployed and, therefore, increased structural unemployment. Relocating to a new job in another city would have meant selling a home at a substantial loss, which not many people were willing to do, creating a mismatch of skills and job availability. France has also been hit hard by structural unemployment, which arises from the fact that a large portion of Frances workforce is participating in temporary second-level jobs with little chance of being promoted to long-term contracts, forcing them to strike. This results in a lack of job flexibility and little job mobility, sidelining many French workers who have not adapted to new tasks and skills. President Emmanuel Macron came into office in May 2017, when the unemployment rate stood at 9.5%. He vowed to address the countrys strict labor laws and make it more business friendly. Labor unions and the Macron government began negotiating to help reduce the ranks of the structurally unemployed, and the trends have been encouraging. As of the end of 2019, Frances unemployment stood at 8.1%, down from 8.7% at the start of the year and the lowest since 2009. Macrons stated goal is to get to 7% by the year 2022. Apple has seeded tvOS 9.2 beta 5 to developers for testing. Apple has seeded the fifth beta release for tvOS 9.2. It arrives just one week after the fourth beta was released for the set-top boxs platform, and over four weeks since the first beta was released. There are quite a few new additions with tvOS 9.2, including the ability to create folders on the home screen, official support for the stock Podcasts app, and support for Bluetooth keyboards as well. tvOS 9.2 also makes it easier to scrub through video, thanks to a new way to bring up the ability by clicking the glass trackpad on the Siri Remote first, instead of accidental activations. The new software also includes support for U.S. Spanish (for those in the U.S. only), French Canadian (for those in Canada only), UK English (for the United Kingdom) Australian (U.S. English) for Siri, redesigned app switcher, and MapKit support. Developers can download tvOS 9.2 beta 5 from the Apple Developer Center, but you need to connect your Apple TV to your computer with a USB-C to USB-A cable. You can check our article on how to install tvOS beta on Apple TV 4 if you need help. We dont know whats new in the fourth beta version of tvOS 9.2 yet. If you find anything new then please send us an email to [email protected] Well update the post if we discover any new features or changes. So dont forget to join our Facebook fan page, follow us on Twitter, add us to your circles on Google+, subscribe to our RSS feed, our Daily Newsletter or subscribe to our all-new push notifications on your Mac in Safari President Barack Obama has officially launched Irish-American Heritage Month, celebrated during the month of March, to honor the achievements and contributions of Irish immigrants and their descendants living in the United States. Irish-American Heritage Month was first celebrated in 1991 and coincides with St. Patricks Day, March 17. Although the feast of the patron Saint of Ireland is officially a Roman Catholic holiday it has become a celebration of all this Irish across the world and especially the United States. In fact so much so that every St. Patricks Day, the Taoiseach (Prime Minster) travels to Washington DC to present the US President with a crystal bowl of shamrock, at the Shamrock Ceremony, in the Oval Office, followed by various other Irish American celebrations. Marking the launch of 2016 Irish-American Heritage Month Obama released the following decree: BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION Hailing from the Emerald Isle, generations of Irishmen and women have helped shape the idea of America, overcoming hardship and strife through strength and sacrifice, faith and family. With an undying belief that tomorrow always yields a brighter day, Irish Americans symbolize the perpetual optimism that defines our country, and they have long embodied the truth at the heart of our promise -- that no matter who you are or where you come from, in America, you can make it if you try. As we celebrate Irish-American Heritage Month, we recognize the Irish people's contributions to our country's dynamism, and we reaffirm the friendship and family ties between our two nations. For centuries, sons and daughters of Erin have come to America's shores, adding to our rich vibrancy and putting their full hearts into everything they do. From building our country's cities as preeminent architects and earnest laborers to building our national character as people of great joy and cherished culture, Irish Americans have endured intolerance and discrimination to find a place for themselves and their children here in the United States. While remembering the great Irish Americans of the past, we celebrate what forms the foundation of the lasting Irish-American story -- a shared embrace of hard work and humility, fairness and dignity, and a mutual quest to secure a freer and more peaceful future. Today, the United States and Ireland enjoy a thriving and cooperative bond buoyed by a strong legacy of exchanges between our peoples. During Irish-American Heritage Month, let us pay tribute to the extraordinary mark Irish Americans have made on our Nation, and let us look forward to continued collaboration, friendship, and partnership between our countries. NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2016 as Irish-American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortieth. BARACK OBAMA. Informer, analyser, comprendre, prevenir sans lavage cervicale afin d'eviter des intoxications propagandistes d'informations execrables et abrutissantes a prendre avec des pincettes quitte a les examiner sous loupe, avant de la servir en potage cervicale digestible. Blogofort, pluriculturel et neutre. An Irish priest has been caught on video snorting cocaine in a room full of Nazi memorabilia at a party in his home on church grounds. Father Stephen Crossan (37) was on leave from his duties in the Catholic Church due to depression at the time of the party. His actions were videoed by revelers at the party who claimed there was also Nazi memorabilia in his home at St Patrick's Church in Banbridge, County Down. While Crossan admitted that he had taken cocaine, he said he did not have an issue with drugs. In the video, released by The Sun on Sunday newspaper, Crossan can be seen snorting the cocaine with a British 10 note. Catholic priest filmed snorting cocaine in room filled with Nazi memorabilia. STORY: https://t.co/gqK0Le4IyZ#7News pic.twitter.com/LnVpxF9AUe 7News Yahoo7 (@Y7News) February 29, 2016 He also said that the memorabilia was in his home because he collects historical stuff. He told the paper, Im no Nazi. I collect historical stuff. Theres stuff there from every country. The paper reports that the video was recorded at the end of two days of partying with friends that Crossan had invited into his parish home. Revelers returned to the house at 11am and stayed for seven hours after which Crossan asked them to leave. The people at the party told the Sun there were Nazi flags, hats and an eagle with a swastika on a plinth on the mantelpiece. They said, Stephen said he was a social worker but told us the truth when we realised he lived on church grounds. Hed been drinking beers and Jack Daniels as well as taking coke. "The house was lovely but we were stunned to see the Nazi stuff. It was all over the house. At one point Stephen put on a cap and did the Nazi salute. Its shocking. Hes supposed to be an upstanding member of society. He shouldnt be taking drugs. Video: Catholic Priest Snorts Cocaine At Party On Parish Grounds - https://t.co/cz8EBQmw37 pic.twitter.com/uIrwJ27MX1 Newsbreak (@NewsbreakNg) February 29, 2016 Father Crossan was on sick leave, for depression, when the footage was taken. Crossan has since left the Church, but a spokesman for his bishop said the priest would be supported through his issues. The former priest studied for the priesthood at St Patricks College in Maynooth and completed a degree in Theology in 2007. During his years at Maynooth he was involved in various pastoral activities including prison and hospital chaplaincy, according to a parish website. He was appointed to Seapatrick parish as Curate in 2012 and before that served as Curate in St Peters parish, Lurgan and the parish of Tullylish. The family of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands is incensed that a graphic novel depicting his story and death was published without their consent. Sands died on hunger strike in 1981 at the age of 27. His family claims the book exploits his memory. The National Lottery funded the graphic novel, which is titled Bobby Sands: Freedom Fighter, through the Arts Council. The comic, written and illustrated by 80-year-old Gerry Hunt and published by OBrien Press in Dublin, was launched on Feb 22. In a statement, Sands family said: "It is reprehensible that the family, including our elderly mother, was first made aware of this book when confronted by extracts displayed in the media. "We are given to understand that the book contains intimate family scenes that no one, other than our family members, would be privy to. It is unfortunate that well-meaning people, such as Mr Hunt, are misled by those who profess to be authorities on Bobby's life story. "Our family once again reiterates that the Bobby Sands Trust does not act on behalf of Bobby, nor does it represent our family, in any shape or form. We again call upon the trust to disband and desist from using Bobby's memory as a commercial enterprise." According to the Belfast Telegraph, the family is opposed to having Sands legacy controlled by the Bobby Sands Trust, which is run by senior Sinn Fein members, such as Gerry Adams, who authored an epilogue for the book, and Danny Morrison. The hunger strikers sister, Bernadette Sands-McKevitt (who is married to prominent dissident, Michael McKevitt) has called for the end of the trust several times. Unionists have also criticized the comic, saying it glorifies terrorism. Because it is a comic book, it is directed at young people. It is wrong to be sending out a message that somehow terrorism is appropriate. That is just not right, said Former Ulster Unionist Party leader Tom Elliott, the Irish Times reports. He was not a freedom fighter. He was a terrorist who belonged to an organization that murdered fellow Irish citizens, he added. How the Arts Council ever came to fund this project I have no idea. I will be putting in some questions about what were the criteria for funding to the department and to the council, said Elliott. A spokesman for the Northern Arts Council said: The Bobby Sands book, a full color graphic novel by Gerry Hunt, is by an author and illustrator who has a significant track record in the genre of graphic novels and has written other historical graphic novels." He added: We do not interfere with editorial content nor do we draw a line regarding content chosen by publishers which may attract controversy, he said. Michael OBrien, the books publisher, said he was surprised by the reaction and regretted that the book had become highly politicized. He said the graphic novel form is aimed at adults and not children. In response to Elliots description of Sands as a terrorist, OBrien said, You could also call the men of 1916 terrorists. I would say when all peaceful protests have failed and there is grave injustice sometimes people are left with no alternative except violence. Declan Garrity (24), the Barclays financial analyst accused of torturing his Upper East Side roommates cat will be escorted by the police to pick up his belongings at the apartment where the alleged offense took place.. He could face up to four years in prison for the felony offense. Meanwhile members the public, so shocked by the crime, have set up a petition online demanding that the Omagh, County Tyrone man receive the maximum sentence for his crimes and be banned from owning a cat. The Irishman faces up to four years in prison for two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, a felony offense. He was released on $5,000 bail and is subject to a restraining order to stop him contacting his roommate, Danielle (29). In court on Monday Garrity spoke only to confirm that he understood the courts instructions before being led out of court..He declined to answer any questions. He will appear in court again on April 28. Read more: The banality of evil revealed when justifying torturing a cat It is alleged that Garrity tortured the black, white and brown cat, named Lucy, over three months ripping out its claws and setting it on fire. The cat underwent a number of surgeries last week, being treated for broken bones and burns. Her nails had also been pulled out. Its reported that her hind legs, pelvis and bones in her face were broken, along with her teeth, and there was bruises on her back. He is also accused of setting the cats tail on fire. The three-year-old feline has been in intensive care but is now said to be recovering and has begun to purr again. Garrity, who had studied in Boston before moving to New York, appeared in court on Monday (Feb 29). He stood accused of battering the eight-pound animal in an especially depraved or sadistic manner. Online members of the public have set up petitions at ForceChange.com and AnimalPetitions.org directed at the District Attorney of Manhattan, Cyrus Vance, calling for Garrity to receive the maximum penalty for man accused of brutally torturing his roommates cat for three months. The petition states This level of animal torture is sick and alarming. This person, if guilty, should be brought to justice. We urge you to seek the maximum penalty in this case and see to it that this man is banned from ever owning animals if he is found guilty of this horrific crime. Garritys roommate, named publicly only as Danielle, said the abuse went on for three months. When she asked her Irish roommate, who she had met through Craigslist,he told her an iron had fallen on the cat. When Garrity moved into the Upper East Side apartment he told Danielle that he had grown up around cats. He moved into her apartment last November. As Danielle works as a nurse she believes that attacks took place while she was working late shifts. She said the abuse had continued until February 20 when Danielle came home from work to find the cat cowering in her carrier. Her back foot was badly broken and her fur was burnt. Danielle went to the police and vet Dr Robert Reisman carried out an inspection of Lucy. The vet found evidence of a number of injuries that had occurred during the last few days. He noted a dislocated right tibia bone, a fractured right tibia, broken teeth, severe inflammation to her mouth, burns to the tail, anal area, right thigh and left thigh. Since Garrity moved in the cat has been acting strangely including hiding in Danielles closet, not eating and licking her paws constantly. On January 25 Lucys pelvis was broken and Garrity said an iron had fallen on the cat. Danielle has spent $12,000 in veterinary bills. She has set up a GoFundMe page for the cats care. So far she has raised $10,573. Danielle had noted that Lucy was saying away from Garrity but never suspected what was going on. She said I thought it was weird. I was like: "How can we get the cat to like him?" Your mind doesn't go straight to: 'He's doing something to my cat". It's nauseating. I've been disgusted with everything...I thought he was the best roommate I ever had. It's bizarre. According to his LinkedIn profile, Garrity joined Barclays in New York as a financial analyst in October 2014. His profile also shows that he studied Science at Queens University Belfast and then at the Hult International Business School, in Boston. In his youth he attended the Christian Brothers Grammar School, Omagh. The Daily News reports that Garrity has a working visa. He is currently on a leave of absence from Barclays. How hard is it to say you reject the aims, objectives and endorsement of the Ku Klux Klan? That's the question both pundits and the public are asking after GOP frontrunner for president Donald Trump's shocking appearance on CNN on Sunday. Trump was asked point blank by anchor Jake Tapper whether he would disavow David Duke, the white nationalist and former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, and the other white supremacist groups that are enthusiastically supporting his campaign. I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists, Trump replied. So I don't know. I don't know did he endorse me, or what's going on? Because I know nothing about David Duke; I know nothing about white supremacists. Trump was asked three times on Sunday whether he'd distance himself from the Ku Klux Klan but he refused to mention the group in his answers. On Monday, hoping to get ahead of the roiling controversy, Trump blamed a lousy earpiece for not knowing who David Duke was during the CNN interview. But as John King on CNN mentioned the earpiece worked fine for other interviews he did on the same morning. It looks like it was a deliberate dog whistle to people in the South where Trump needs to win on Super Tuesday. If so it was a dreadful stereotyping of whites in the south who have overwhelmingly moved on from the Ku Klux Klan. For good measure, at the weekend Trump threw in a quote from Mussolini, the fascist dictator of Italy during the Second World War, in his twitter feed. There is nothing casual about these comments they are clearly aimed at a key demographic group that Trump wants to win over. It was pathetic to see Bill O'Reilly defending Trump's comments on Monday night and seemingly encouraging him to change the first amendment and making it easier to sue. O'Reilly, of course, blamed the media for jumping on Trump. The media did not issue a statement saying it had no position on the KKK. Explaining his support for Trump in a Facebook post over the weekend Duke wrote: I think he deserves a close look by those who believe the era of political correctness needs to come to an end, adding that white nationalists should look for a leader who would secure the border and dismantle the Jewish controlled financial industry. Later on Sunday, evidence was produced that Trump had in fact expressed strong disapproval of Duke in the past. Back in 2000, after deciding not to pursue a presidential bid with the Reform Party, he wrote a strong repudiation of Duke's views. The Reform Party now includes a Klansman, Mr. Duke, a neo-Nazi, Mr. Buchanan, and a communist, Ms. Fulani, Trump said in a statement at the time, referring to arch conservative Pat Buchanan and Lenora Fulani, an advocate of Marxist-Leninist politics. This is not company I wish to keep. But during the interview on Sunday, when Trump was asked repeatedly if he'd distance himself from Duke and other white supremacist groups, he hedged instead, saying he knew nothing about their support for his bid for the GOP presidential nomination. I have to look at the group. I mean, I don't know what group you're talking about, Trump said. You wouldn't want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about. I'd have to look. If you would send me a list of the groups, I will do research on them and certainly I would disavow if I thought there was something wrong. You may have groups in there that are totally fine it would be very unfair. So give me a list of the groups and I'll let you know. Tapper replied: OK. I'm just talking about David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan here, but Trump interjected: Honestly, I don't know David Duke. I don't believe I've ever met him. I'm pretty sure I didn't meet him. And I just don't know anything about him. Trump's comments were made two days before twelve states mostly Southern ones vote on Super Tuesday. If he defeats Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio in all or most of those states, he will become a near lock for the 2016 Republican nomination. Rubio quickly slammed Trump for his comments on Sunday. We cannot be the party that nominates someone who refuses to condemn white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan, he said. By the way, not only is that wrong, it makes him unelectable. How are we going to grow our party with a nominee that refuses to condemn the Ku Klux Klan? Don't tell me he doesn't know what the Ku Klux Klan is. This is serious. Cruz tweeted on Sunday: Really sad. Donald Trump you're better than this. We should all agree, racism is wrong, KKK is abhorrent. At a campaign stop in Massachusetts on Sunday, GOP presidential hopeful John Kasich called Trump's comments just horrific. We don't have any place for white supremacists in the United States of America and he really needs to make his position clear and he ought to do it quickly, Kasich said. On NBCs "Today Show" on Monday, Trump clarified that he does know who Duke is, but he insisted he has never met him. Trump explained that he didnt know which white-supremacist groups Tapper was asking him about on CNN. On Sunday, however, he refused several opportunities to denounce any racist groups supporting him. Ireland may have an acting Taoiseach (Prime Minister) for up to a year by some counts if no party is successful in forming a ruling coalition of 79 seats or more in the 157 person Dail (Parliament). There are some strong indications that a minority Fine Gael government may continue to run the country in an acting capacity with the abstention support on key issues by Fianna Fail. Read more: The Irish people have spoken, but no one knows what they mean It is considered highly unlikely now that Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, opponents for almost 90 years, will join together. Fianna Fail rank and file are adamantly opposed to being the junior partner in any coalition after their major breakthrough to the mid-40s in seat numbers. A @ClaireByrneLive poll shows the people want Micheal over Enda - but then again a lot want neither as Taoiseach https://t.co/H3ACkYrhlv TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) March 1, 2016 Fianna Fails preference may well be to prop up the government by abstention on key votes before bringing it down in a year or so. There is no appetite at all in Ireland for another quick general election. Fianna Fail also wants to institute parliamentary reforms which would make is easier for individual TDs or representatives to have more access and opportunity to speak. That would prove a highly popular move, say insiders, because the government of the day is long considered to have far too much power over the Dail's proceedings. March 10 is the key date when an election for Taoiseach will take place. All the major party leaders will be put forward, but Fine Gael is expected to end up with around 50 seats (there are still disputed counts going on) and will likely have the largest vote. Absent a Fianna Fail/Fine Gael government there is no other realistic combination for a majority government. If that proves to be the case then Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny would become acting Taoiseach just before his annual visit to the White House for the St. Patricks Day period. March 2016 marks a milestone for Irish genealogy. Ten million Irish Catholic parish register records spanning the years 1670 1900 are now fully indexed and searchable online and will be free to access forever from genealogy hub Findmypast. The parish register records are among the most crucial for anyone tracing their Irish ancestry. In many cases, these local baptism and marriage records are the only documented trail for descendants to explore since the Irish Censuses of 1821, 1831, 1841, and 1851 were burned in the Public Records Office when the Four Courts caught fire during the Irish Civil War. The records released today contain 40 million names, cover 1,000 parishes across all 32 counties of Ireland, and form the most important resource for Irish ancestors prior to the 1901 census, allowing researchers to trace their roots back to pre-Famine Ireland. These are the same records that were released online for free to wide applause by the National Library of Ireland at the end of 2014, except theres one major difference. While the NLIs Catholic Parish Registers database is fully digitized and searchable by parish, it isnt indexed or searchable by other criteria such as name. Findmypasts offering marks the first time that National Library of Irelands collection of Irish Catholic Registers has been fully indexed with images to the original documents linked online. The records can now be searched by name, year and place, allowing relatives and historians the opportunity to make all important links between generations with the baptism records and between families with the marriage registers. This ease of access will be a complete game changer in the search for ones Irish ancestors. For many decades, gaining access to parish records involved a trip to Ireland and, in some cases, a visit to the parish in question, where a priest, a nun or an official from the parish office would be the gatekeeper to the records. The Irish American writer Mary Pat Kelly, who is the author of two acclaimed novels inspired by what she discovered about her Irish ancestors, Galway Bay and Of Irish Blood, recently recalled her experience trying to trace her roots in the 90s. I had spent 40 years trying to find out where my Kelly ancestors came from. I had a general idea of Galway but nothing specific - I had no maiden names, and Kelly is the second most common surname in Ireland. Finally my cousin in her 90s, who was also a nun, she told me my great-great-grandmother Honoras maiden name was Keeley," she told IrishCentral. This was in the 90s when they had most of the records at family history centers in each county digitized, but not online. So I did find Honora Kelly Keeleys birth certificate and those of her children, but I was still having trouble finding her husband, Michael J. Kelly. It ultimately took a trip to the Presentation Convent in Galway, where a venerable sister with extensive knowledge of the records agreed to help after Kelly bonded with her over having been a novitiate in a convent for six years. Together they tracked down Kellys great-great-grandfather, Michael Kelly, discovering that he had married Honora in 1839, and the sister would go on to help many other people navigate the records. After that I sent dozens of people to her Kelly said. Shes met some of them at the train station, shes gone up to Dublin to check in the land commission records for people, and now shes also a wiz on computers. She feels its her apostolate to help people find their ancestors, to connect people. While genealogists and people who know the parish records like the backs of their own hands will always be invaluable, the full indexing of these once hard to navigate records will make it significantly easier for people to get started on their Irish ancestor search independently, and without the financial or time commitment it once required. This important publication marks a further step in Findmypasts commitment to making Irish family history more accessible. In less than 5 years, we have made over 110 million records (with 300 million names) available online for the first time, Brian Donovan, Irish records expert at Findmypast, told IrishCentral. Irish research has been transformed from the select pursuit of the few, to a fun and relatively easy hobby for the many. The Irish story of hardship, migration and opportunity is a global story, and in partnership with the cultural institutions around the world we are bringing the fragments of their lives within reach. He noted that there have been various indexing attempts over the years but they were done by local bodies and were sometimes expensive to access. These records are free and forever and accessible from a computer. That was important to us with a release of this magnitude we feel that Irish family history can be made easy and we know how popular it is. For those setting out to trace their ancestry for the first time, Donovan recommends getting as much information in advance as possible, be it from family members or from the paper trail their relatives created after immigrating to the US. People assume that because Ireland is so small that finding their ancestors will be easy, but they forget that before the famine there were 8 million people in Ireland thats a bigger population than any state in the US at that time, he explained. The Catholic Parish Registers will be particularly valuable for people who have filled in their ancestors lives post-immigration from Ireland but are still looking for answers to their familys past on the Emerald Isle. One of our core ambitions is to make the link between Europe and North America that much easier, and these records are a key part of that link, Donovan added. We have far more Irish records than anyone else, and in addition to birth, death and marriage records, we have historic newspaper archives, petty court records, dog license applications and loads more besides that that allow people to form fuller stories of who their ancestors were. On an important historical note, the indexing of the parish records also allow researchers to witness the devastating effects of Irelands Great Hunger (1845-1852) first hand. Using the records to examine baptism rates in pre and post Famine Ireland revealed that the number of children baptised across the whole of Ireland dropped by more 50% in the decade that followed. Across all 32 counties, 2,408,694 baptisms were recorded from 1835-1844, while 1,109,062 baptisms were recorded between 1851 and 1860, a difference of more than 1,299,000 baptisms. The records reveal the worst affected regions, with counties Limerick, Wexford, Roscommon and Kilkenny seeing the most dramatic drops in baptism rates. --- Findmypast is home to the most comprehensive online collection of Irish family history records with millions of exclusive records, published in partnership with The National Archives of Ireland, The National Archives UK, and a host of other local, county and national archives. *Originally published March 1, 2016 It has emerged the four Afghan men found in a container coming off a boat at Rosslare Harbour had travelled from Cherbourg in France. The discovery was made in the early hours of yesterday morning by Gardai from the national immigration unit. Lucinda Creighton has said Renua will not disband despite the party's failure to secure any seats in the General Election. Ms Creighton, who founded the Renua party after she left Fine Gael, lost her seat in Dublin Bay South. The former Fine Gael Junior Minister was first elected to the Dail in 2007. Lucinda Creighton has said she believes she has made a contribution to political life and that she is looking forward to the next chapter. Creighton also claimed she is committed to the party, but it is too early to say whether she will remain on as leader. Thank you to all the @RENUAIreland supporters & candidates.Disappointed but happy to have more time with this lady! pic.twitter.com/ZJc0wIBuMw Lucinda Creighton (@LCreighton) February 28, 2016 Obviously we are very disappointed that we lost the three seats that we had in the Dail, but on the other hand we have exceeded the 2% threshold for State funding and that means that the party now has a future, said Creighton. It has the capacity to build, to grow and a lot of our candidates around the country who stood in the Election are firmly committed to running in the next local elections and building a base. Irish politics requires you to have that type of base. There are fears of a further outbreak of gangland violence in Dublin following yesterday's murder of a prominent dissident republican in the city. The victim has been named as 25-year-old Vincent Ryan, the brother of Real IRA figure Alan Ryan, who was murdered in 2012. He lost his fight for life in the Mater Hospital last night, after being shot a number of times on McKee Road in Finglas. Superintendent John Quirke says Gardai are hopeful witnesses will come forward. Supt Quirke said: "There may have been a number of witnesses in the area at the time, McKee Road is quite a busy area, very residential, a well-established area. "So we anticipate that there may have been people in the area at the time of the shooting. "We have no evidence at the moment to indicate that it was connected to any of the shootings that happened in the last couple of weeks in Dublin city." Gardai are seeking information about a silver or grey Volkswagen Golf with alloy wheels believed to have been used by the gunman in the latest killing on the capital's streets. It was seen speeding away from the murder scene towards nearby Clune Road and Jamestown Road. A car has since been found burnt out in the Victoria Bridge area on the Naas to Rathangan Road which investigators believe may be involved in the shooting. A number of scenes have been sealed off for technical examination by Garda forensic experts. Cross-posted from the Curriculum Matters blog. Thirteen states and 40 school districts are joining the U.S. Department of Educations open education resource initiative, #GoOpen, federal officials announced today. The Education Department launched its #GoOpen initiative, which encourages states and districts to use open resources, last October . Open education resources are available for free, unlike traditional textbooks and workbooks, and are often released under licenses that allow them to be shared or altered by users. Theyve posed a challenge to commercial publishers, which say many open resources are oversimplified or lacking. Districts and teachers are still figuring out how to manage, evaluate, and use the materials. But theyve been embraced by the Education Department, which recently proposed a set of regulations for open curricula and hired a full-time staff person focused on the resources. ESSA, the new federal education law, also allows states to target federal grant money toward open education resources. The #GoOpen states and districts are tasked with developing strategies for the use of such materials. In a press release, John King, the acting education secretary, said the resources can increase equity by providing all students, regardless of zip code, access to high-quality learning materials that have the most up-to-date and relevant content. Education department officials said the materials allow districts to invest in technology and other needs instead of costly curricular resources. Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin are in the first cohort of states to launch #GoOpen Initiatives . The states will develop technology strategies that prominently feature the use of open education resources, develop repositories for open resources, and will share strategies and lessons with one another. The participating districts will also create strategies for the use of open education resources. Thirty-one districts will replace at least one textbook with an open resource. Nine districts will mentor those districts. (See the full list of districts here .) The department has the support of a slew of organizations and companies: The Center for Digital Education is creating a guide for selecting digital resources; Creative Commons, which licenses open content, will be holding workshops for districts hoping to use more open resources; Amazon Education will provide infrastructure to the Education Department; and ASCD will provide professional development through an online course, among other supporters. The professional development organization ASCD also released a set of case studies and polls on open education resources tied to the #GoOpen initiative today. The case studies highlighted collaborations between school districts in California, Ohio, and Wisconsin and in rural schools. The poll, conducted in late January through the organizations Smartbrief newsletter, found that more than 50 percent of teachers surveyed are in schools and districts where the use of open resources is prevalent. Related stories: About two dozen migrants protesting against the demolition of the sprawling Jungle camp in Calais have climbed on to shanty rooftops, and are surrounded by police. The slow tear-down of the encampment is continuing, angering migrants who live there in squalid conditions in the hope of reaching a better life in Britain. A suspected meteor shower over Scotland triggered calls to police from people claiming their homes shook. The spectacle last night was witnessed across Scotland, and prompted many to report the sight of a "fireball" in the sky and a violent bang to the police. A Police Scotland spokeswoman said they began receiving calls at around 6.55pm on Monday evening. She said: "One told us the sky had been lit up with an object like a fireball. Another caller said there was a very loud bang and others said the house shook. "We know police in Inverness and in the south also received calls, it was seen by people across Scotland. "We have checked and been told it was likely to be a meteor shower." A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said they would not discuss if there was any link to any operations in the area. The wheel may yet come off the bandwagon, of course. That said, the time is coming to consider the economic and financial implications of a Trump presidency. Let us imagine that the Republicans also retain a large degree of control over both the Senate and the House of Representatives, following the November elections, allowing the newly elected president to start implementing his pre-election commitments. Mr Trumps most notorious plan, the enforced repatriation of roughly 11 to 14 million undocumented, or illegal immigrants from the US over the period of a year to 18 months could plunge America into a Depression, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist, Moodys Analytics. Mr Zandi warned in the Politico website that as a result many jobs in restaurants, hotels and construction would go unfilled. There would also be 11 million fewer consumers of US goods and services further driving down economic activity. The plans have been slated by many economists of the right as well as the left. Mass returns would slash repatriation income, while increasing the burden on struggling Latin American economies, potentially provoking retaliation against American gringos. The American Enterprise Forum warns that immediate and full enforcement of immigration law would cost the Federal government between $400 billion (365.7bn) and $600 billion. John McLaren of the University of Virginia tells The Street that farmer income would plunge while food prices would soar as output fell. Mr McLaren points to a 2008 raid by Immigration & Customs on a slaughtering and packing plant in Postville in Iowa. Almost 400 undocumented workers were detained, 300 jailed and over 1,000 migrants left, devastating the local economy. A toning down in rhetoric looks likely as the election deadline approaches, assuming Mr Trump clinches the nomination. This is also likely to hurt the economy. There are precedents. A UK government crackdown on visas is badly hurting the restaurant trade, causing many Indian eateries to close. Mr Trump also has free trade in his sights. He would renegotiate the Nafta agreement and the proposed transatlantic partnership. Interestingly, Hillary Clinton has also shifted position on free trade, becoming much more of an avowed sceptic. Mr Trump has also promised a 35% tax on Mexican car imports while he would declare China a currency manipulator. He is on firmer ground with a pledge to force the Chinese to uphold intellectual property laws, end illegal export subsidies and tackle lax labour and environmental standards. The concern is that a series of retaliatory actions on trade would be triggered, helping to further fan the flames of global financial instability. The New Yorker, with the big hair, also promises tax cuts across the board. He insists that lower earners will get to send a form to the Inland Revenue with the words I win on it. The business tax rate , for example would fall to just 15% while profit repatriations from overseas would be pushed strongly giving the IDA and Ireland plenty to think about. The non-partisan Tax Foundation estimates that Trumps tax plan would cut taxes by $12 trillion, leading to 11% growth in GNP, a 6.5% jump in wages, and 5.3 million extra jobs. The rich fare best with growth in capital stock of 30%. However, the Foundation warns tax revenues would fall by over $10 trillion causing global investors to take fright as the US drove deliberately over a fiscal cliff. His backers such as the Texas-based Institute of Policy Innovation insist that his tax plan is one of the most dynamic tax plans out there. It certainly has echoes of the supply side economics beloved of President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. On the spending side, Obamacare would be shelved by Mr Trump. No fan of Islamic extremism, he would also boost spending on the military, fanning concerns about a yawning fiscal gap even further. Whatever else you say, these plans are not dull, but neither is Mr Trump. On the back of the publication of its first set of annual results as a publicly-quoted company, the Dublin-based housebuilder yesterday said it was assessing strategic opportunities and considering funding options, such as additional debt financing, joint ventures and equity funding; in that regard. No timeframe for additional funding announcements was given, however. Cairn became the first Irish housebuider in 20 years to float, when it listed on the London Stock Exchange last June raising over 440 million in the process. In all, the company raised 642m last year when a 150m senior debt facility, with AIB, and a follow on share placing, which raised 52.1m, are taken into account. Yesterdays results show a maiden year pre-tax loss of 37.52m; but revenues of 3.72m. The loss was driven by exceptional costs 2.9m of which related to the acquisition of Cairn Homes Holdings (formerly Emerley Holdings), which was purchased as part of last years IPO, and 29.1m in relation to a once-off accounting charge. Cairn has spent around 554m, to date, which has seen it amass a total landbank of 25 sites with the potential to develop more than 11,000 houses; nearly 90% of which are based in and around Dublin. A vast chunk of that spend went on buying (along with US private equity firm Lone Star) the Project Clear loan book from Ulster Bank which will provide it with the largest residential landbank in Ireland and 20% of the available residentially zoned land in the greater Dublin area. Around 3,000 new houses were built in Dublin last year; considerably less than an estimated requirement of 8,000-10,000. Cairn plans to build around 1,000 new units per year by 2019. We are currently building in Parkside, North Dublin and Killiney, South Dublin. "We will commence construction on five further schemes within the next 12 months and look forward to making a meaningful contribution to the much needed supply of quality new homes in Ireland over the coming years, said chief executive, Michael Stanley. Customer feedback has been positive regarding its debut Parkside development in north Dublin, with 52 houses now sale agreed up from 40 in November. Cairn had net debt of around 30m as of the end of last year. The decline in the 15 districts defined as the English capitals prime areas was 0.6%, according to London-based broker Knight Frank. In Knightsbridge, home to the Harrods department store, values dropped by 7% in the 12 months to February, while there was a 3.3% fall in South Kensington and a 2% drop in Chelsea. During a recent press conference, Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback said he is working to figure out a plan to address the recent Kansas Supreme Court ruling that deemed the states funding formula inequitable, according to the Kansas City Star . The court ruled that Brownbacks move two years ago to replace the states funding formula with a block grant formula left the states districts having to raise local property taxes. The court threatened to shut down the entire public school system if the legislature doesnt come up with a remedy before July 1. Brownback said during a press conference Thursday he was meeting with legislators and the states lawyers over the issue. He estimated that satisfying the court could cost the state $100 million, just a fraction of the states $4 billion education budget, according to a press release by the Kansas Association of School Boards. I take (the supreme court) seriously on the issue of equalization, Brownback said. Shortly after the ruling, Brownback, along with several Republican legislators, said an activist court was attempting to shut down the schools. On Thursday, when asked if the court was bluffing, he said, Im not going to comment on that. The state legislature didnt address the ruling in its most recent revisions of the budget, according to the Kansas City Star. The courts made a ruling, and they put a hard deadline on, it but I think you have to respect the process, Brownback said. Educators in the state complained that, buried in the budget, the legislature earmarked $50,000 to pay for a lawyer to represent it in future school funding cases. Dont miss another State EdWatch post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. And make sure to follow @StateEdWatch on Twitter for the latest news from state K-12 policy and politics. Members of the Labour Party who are now battling to get seven TDs elected in order to retain speaking rights in the Dail feel there is no appetite to return to any sort of government coalition. The party is still reeling from the massive losses sustained in Fridays election having gone from a historic high of 37 seats in 2011 into single digit figures. The cabinet is due to meet today and there will be a meeting of Labour ministers before this. Many of them failed to be elected. The Labour parliamentary party, which now is made up of more senators than TDs, will also meet later in the week when the final number of Labour seats is known. Aodhan O Riordain was still in a battle for a seat in Dublin Bay North last night, while a recount in Longford-Westmeath meant that Willie Penrose still did not know his faith. Labour needs at least one of these candidates to make it over the line to have seven elected TDs, which would provide it with speaking rights and funding. Leader Joan Burton has said she will stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed. A spokesman for Ms Burton yesterday said: I would not anticipate an appetite to return to government. This line has hardened even further among members who believe that they have no mandate to return to power. Speaking on local radio yesterday Labours deputy leader Alan Kelly categorically ruled out doing business with any government party. The Labour Party wont be part of government. We need a period in opposition, he said. However, he refused to rule out going for the leadership of the party himself. Labour rules dictate there must be a leadership election within six months of the party being returned to opposition. Some sources in the party believe this will take place in June and Ms Burton will not be re-elected. Junior Minister Kevin Humphreys, who failed to get re-elected, said the parliamentary party will meet this week when all the counts have finished and there will be a meeting of the executive board then. Nobody is talking about government or forming a government. We were not given a mandate to go into government, he said. For more election news, analysis and general banter join us HERE County Mayor John Paul OShea and Mayor of Xuzhou, Tiegen Zhou, signed the memorandum of understanding between Cork and Xuzhou, in the northwest Jiangsu province, as a high-profile Chinese trade delegation attended a business seminar in County Hall. Xuzhou, midway between Beijing and Shanghai, is one of Chinas most influential transportation hubs. The visiting delegation includes senior representatives of a number of large companies based in Xuzhou and the wider province. They were addressed at the seminar by leading business figures in Cork including Barrie OConnell, president of Cork Chamber, who gave an overview of the regions business strengths, Orla Flynn, the vice president for External Affairs at Cork Institute of Technology, Ronan Murphy, the chairman of it@cork; Kieran Evans of Dairygold, Seamus Fives of Pfizer and Tian Chen, the vice president of Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking. The main focus of the seminar was to explore opportunities to develop economic, education and cultural links between Cork and Xuzhou, with the seminar paying attention to key trade growth areas including construction, food and beverage, ICT, energy, pharmaceuticals and transport. Mr OShea said he was delighted to welcome the Xuzhou delegation to Cork after county officials visit the Chinese city last November. This return visit represents a golden opportunity for us to continue exploring potential business, education and cultural links between our two regions, he said. Cork County Council, he said, is focused on highlighting the economic development, education, tourism and cultural exchange potential which exists between Ireland and China and, specifically, between Cork and Xuzhou. Developing a relationship with Jiangsu province is part of a South-West Regional approach, which has Cork City Council building a long-standing relationship with the Municipality of Shanghai and Kerry County Council developing a relationship with Zheijiang Province, south of Jiangsu. With Fine Gael and Fianna Fail still officially saying they will not consider coalition, both parties may target Independents and smaller parties to put together a workable government that does not include their rival. Fianna Fail sources said last night no phonecalls have yet been made, while senior Fine Gael figures said it is likely Taoiseach Enda Kenny will set up his own negotiating team after todays cabinet meeting. However, with an intense spotlight now turning on what the likely six Independent Alliance TDs, three Social Democrats, two Greens, 14 unaligned Independents and two Healy Raes are looking for, what exactly will the two largest parties in Ireland face when they eventually sit down to talk to their would-be saviours from themselves. And unsurprisingly, at this stage it appears that the abolition of Irish Water, new roads, reopened hospitals, rural jobs, more local doctors and genuine Dail reform will be the price of power. Independent Alliance leader Shane Ross last night told the Irish Examiner the likelihood of a minority government is an excellent result because it will enhance the powers of the Dail compared to cabinet. He said his coalition, if called, would seek its Alliance Charter for Change to be implemented. It wants new anti-cronyism rules, Oireachtas reform and the protection of the vulnerable. Chief among the other Independents will be the Kerry TD duo of Michael and Danny Healy Rae, whose father Jackie controversially brought millions of euro into the kingdom by supporting boom-time Fianna Fail governments a deal some see as warranted and others view in a far less positive light. Michael said last night he and Danny have been contacted by nobody, its early days yet and we are looking at prolonged negotiations, but has previously called for job investment, farming supports and improved broadband. Next door, in Cork South West, Independent TD Michael Collins said he is willing to do a deal with Micheal Martin or Enda Kenny or anyone else because we have to run a country, saying he has been speaking to other Independents too. I have two words that they would have to discuss with me: West Cork, he said, noting the need for more jobs, giving rural development Leader programmes control over their own funds and increased help for the fishing industry. Among other Independents, Tipperarys ex-Fianna Fail TD Mattie McGrath will ask for local borough councils to be restored as local democracy has been shut down, the re-opening of St Michaels Hospital, a road bypass for Tipperary town and the abolishment of Irish Water, saying: Tipperary must get its share of the cake. Roscommon-Galway Independent and ex-Fine Gael TD Denis Naughten said he would not only reference the need for radical change in the Dail. Dublin Central TD Maureen OSullivan whose predecessor Tony Gregory struck the 1982 Gregory deal with Charlie Haughey said she is open to a listening exercise, while Clares new single- issue TD Michael Harty will push for rural GP investment. One of the Social Democrats three TD co-leaders, Catherine Murphy, told the Irish Examiner last night that like Independents, no one has yet sought support. However, the TD said while she and fellow co-leaders Roisin Shortall and Stephen Donnelly will meet in Leinster House today to discuss strategy, it is unlikely they will support the larger parties. Greens leader Eamon Ryan said his first choice is a seemingly unimaginable multi-coalition of Fianna Fail-Sinn Fein-Labour- Social Democrats-AAA/PBP-Left-leaning Independents and the Greens. However, he said anyone addressing climate change, Brexit and the Mediterranean migrants crisis alongside Greens housing and transport national plans deserves consideration. For more election news, analysis and general banter join us HERE Airport managing director Niall MacCarthy and senior DAA executives will travel to the US to attend several high-profile Irish-American events in both cities in the run-up to the March 17 celebrations. They will use the week to brief influential figures on the importance of the service proposed by low-cost carrier Norwegians Irish subsidiary, Norwegian Air International (NAI). Protracted delays by the US department of transportation (DoT) on NAIs application for a foreign carrier permit forced the airline to postpone its proposed May launch of a Cork to Boston service. The deferral also affected its plans to launch a Cork to Barcelona service and is also threatening the launch of its Cork to New York service next year. European Transport Commissioner, Violeta Bulc, is due in Washington over the coming days to meet her US counterparts. While the primary purpose of these meetings is to discuss ongoing negotiations on decarbonisation of aviation, we expect the issue of NAI to be raised, her spokesman said. The Commission is also poised to trigger an arbitration process in a bid to break the permit deadlock. With the European Commission now on the case, the Irish aviation executives hope that by leveraging all diplomatic channels, pressure will build on the US authorities ahead of the Taoiseachs expected arrival in Washington for the annual shamrock ceremony. Cork Airport management has called for joined up Irish/EU pressure on US secretary of transport anthony Foxx to grant NAI its foreign carrier permit to operate its Cork-Boston service, as the delay is damaging Corks economy and our ability to grow tourism and foreign direct investment, a Cork Airport spokesperson said. NAI has been waiting two years for a decision from the US DoT on its foreign carrier permit application. It is now the longest pending application of its kind. Objections from US airlines and labour unions have been blamed for the delay amid concerns NAI will operate under a flag of convenience which will drive down the terms, conditions, and wages of American crew. However, the European Commission has insisted the airlines application is fully compliant with the EU-US Open Skies Agreement and that a permit should be granted. Meanwhile, it has been confirmed Shannon Airport has also struck a deal with Norwegian on a proposed Boston service, pending US approval. Passengers using Shannon Airport can avail of US Custom and Border Protection pre-clearance a major advantage over Cork Airport. A Shannon Airport spokesman said the deal arose out of discussions which began in 2014. A spokesman for Norwegian said the Cork routes are the focus but the airline is looking at opportunities from other Irish airports. Not only are we fully committed to new transatlantic flights from Cork this year but we are also looking at options for further expansion in Ireland, he said. However, he stressed the plans all depend on the US DoT finally approving NAIs permit application. Its the largest number of county councillors from Cork elected to Leinster House at any one time, and a seventh may shortly be following them into the Seanad. Fianna Fail will have to replace three councillors: Kevin OKeeffe, Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West) and Margaret Murphy-OMahony (Cork South West.) Speculation is rife Mr OKeeffe will be replaced by a family member, although he refused to comment. It is expected his father Ned OKeeffe, a TD for 30 years, is likely to prefer another family member watching over the constituency while Kevin is in Dublin. He has two brothers, Pat and Ciaran, and two sisters Lorraine and Deirdre. Its very possible a family member will also replace Mr Moynihan on the council. I would expect a replacement on the county council before the Seanad elections take place in two months time, he said. He has three brothers and four sisters, all of whom were involved in his impressive poll-topping campaign. I havent been talking to anybody inside the family or outside it for that matter about the council seat. Meanwhile, Ms Murphy-OMahony said a few people had expressed an interest. She had not spoken to her family about it. The day of that being an automatic assumption [having a family member take over] should be gone. I just want the seat to go to a good home, she said. Sinn Fein leader on the council, Cllr Des OGrady, said the party will decide on nominating its two replacements before the end of March. Cllr Donnchadh OLaoghaire, (Cork South Central) and Cllr Pat Buckley (Cork East) were also elected onto the council in 2014. A bit of groundwork has been done already and we will be meeting during the week to progress this, he said. Independent Michael Collins (Cork South West) did not comment on speculation his brother Danny will replace him. He plans to make a decision by March 14. Anyone going to take over my seat will have to be 100% independent-minded, whether it be a brother, a 41st cousin or anybody else, he said. Meanwhile, Fianna Fail councillor Frank OFlynn has been nominated to contest the agricultural panel for the Seanad. If Im successful which I hope I am, there will have have to be a co-option to fill my council seat, he said. And at this stage I dont have a clue as to who that will be. For more election news, analysis and general banter join us HERE FINE GAEL and Labours joint vote in Cork collapsed by nearly half compared to 2011, analysis of last weeks election shows. The election has been a disaster for the coalition parties on Leeside, with Fine Gael and Labour losing four and three TDs, respectively, following a haemorrhaging of votes across Corks five constituencies. The coalition parties capitalised on Fianna Fails weakness in 2011 to draw in a combined 157,411 first preferences across Cork as they swept to power with a massive majority. But Fine Gael and Labour are now nursing their wounds after pulling just 83,560 votes between them across the five Cork constituencies. Between them the two lost 25% of the share of votes in Cork compared to 2011, while the election was a resounding success for Fianna Fail. Over 30% of voters in Cork gave Micheal Martins party their first preference, exceeding the national average of 24.3% of voters who gave their number one to Fianna Fail. The swing in fortunes has seen the party retain its three TDs in the city, while picking up seats in the three rural Cork constituencies. It has now gone from having four TDs in Cork in 2011 to winning seven in 2016. While only increasing its share of the total Cork vote by 1.8 percentage points, Sinn Fein still picked up an extra seat to up their representation from the county to three. There were gains too for AAA-PBP and independents, who both picked up one seat. The major swing in Cork North Central saw Labours share of the vote drop from nearly 27% in 2011 to just over 7% in 2016. The party attempted to mitigate for the change in its fortunes by running Kathleen Lynch as a solo candidate instead of introducing a running partner as it did in the last election, but it was not enough to prevent the junior minister from losing her seat. With Billy Kelleher elected on the first count with 4,051 votes to spare, Fianna Fails share shot up to nearly 28% of the vote, and party leaders may well be wondering if a running mate for the health spokesman maybe a viable option next time around. Mick Barry was the other main beneficiary from Labours collapse, with his share going from 9.2% to 15.7% and gaining a seat in the process. The group of death in Cork South Central was a talking point before the election. The redrawing of the constituency boundaries and reduction to a four-seater impacted particularly on Fine Gaels Jerry Buttimer, who lost his Bishopstown base to Cork North Central and his seat in the process. Here Fianna Fail benefitted most from the collapse of the government parties, with Micheal Martin and Michael McGrath consolidating their seats and both getting in on the first count. Sinn Fein increased its share by 4.3 percentage points, but that was enough for Donnchadh O Laoghaire to win his seat. Sean Sherlock is the last man standing for Labour in Cork, despite the party taking a hammering in Cork East. Boasting a 30.8% share of the vote between Sherlock and John Mulvihill Snr in 2011, Labour ran the junior minister on his own this time around and took just 13.2% of the vote, but this was enough to get him over the line. A 7.4% swing in Fianna Fails share of the vote was enough to win Kevin OKeeffe a seat, while Fine Gael will question its vote management. It ran three candidates who between them managed a 28.5% share of the vote. It was only enough to secure re-election for David Stanton, while Tom Barry lost his seat. Vote management was also a hot topic in Cork North West, where Fine Gael ran its two sitting TDs and lost one of the seats to Fianna Fail. Here independents and others claimed more than 20% of votes, five years after an all-party contest. Having never won a seat in Cork North West, Labour cut its losses and decided against running a candidate, meaning its 14% share from 2011 was up for grabs. Fianna Fail boosted its share by 9.7 percentage points and took a second seat, deposing sitting Fine Gael TD Aine Collins in the process. The Green Party doubled its share of the votes on 2011, but it was not enough to halt early elimination for Cormac Manning. History was made in Cork South West when Margaret Murphy OMahony (FF) became its first female TD despite a reduction in Fianna Fails vote share. The party ran two candidates in 2011, and shared 23.6% of first preferences in that election. The 19.6% won by lone candidate Murphy OMahony was enough, however, to secure her seat. Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Labour all ceded a share of the vote in Cork North West in this election the latter party taking just 7% and losing Michael McCarthy in the process and the big winners were non-party candidates. Five independent or other runners shared 31.3% of the vote this time, up from just 4.52% in 2011. This mainly benefitted Michael Collins, who took the second seat on the fifth count, and Alan Coleman, though the former Fianna Fail man was eliminated on the fourth. Fine Gaels share of the vote went from nearly a half in 2011 to less than a third, and this ultimately cost Noel Harrington his seat. For more election news, analysis and general banter join us HERE The man most readily associated with the Ballyhea Says No and Charleville Says No campaigns, Diarmuid OFlynn, said yesterday the group would now change its focus towards building its campaign both politically and in the media. The marches held on Sunday mornings through the north Cork village gained national and international coverage as it focused unerringly on the issue of bank-debt imposition on Ireland and, in particular, the Promissory Note debt. Mr OFlynn, a former Irish Examiner sportswriter, failed to secure a seat in the general election in Cork North West, having polled 2,159 first preferences. Yesterday he announced the end of the Ballyhea march in a post on Facebook entitled A Fork In The Road. This coming Sunday, March 6, 2016, marks the exact 5th anniversary of the first Ballyhea Says No protest march against the imposition of the odious bank-debt on the people of Ireland, March 6th 2011. Just as that was the first Sunday after the election of a new Dail, this is the first Sunday after another general election, he said. A full five years, a full Dail cycle, a circle closed. So it is with this phase of the Ballyhea campaign. Noting that bar Christmas Day 2011 the march had been conducted every week in all weathers, he said the group had now decided it had served its purpose. He said the campaign was still trying to right the wrong of bank debt imposition. The group is to support re-elected Joan Collins TD in her continuing Supreme Court challenge to the constitutionality of the Promissory Notes, and Catherine Murphy TD on her work involving IBRC, as well as working towards the establishment of a cross-party committee to bring this bank-debt justice fight to Europe, on the Promissory Note debt specifically. He said around 30 members of the next Dail have already signed a pledge to support the campaign and he was optimistic Fianna Fail would follow suit, meaning more TDs in Leinster House would lend support than not. The group also intends to work to expand the number of MEPs who support its cause, including the establishment of a cross-group committee there to work with the proposed Dail committee. Mr OFlynn said he would not be running for office again and while the campaign would continue, people who have been missing GAA matches and family events to attend every week could now return to having normal Sundays. As for how he will spend his time at weekends now that the marches are coming to an end, he said: I have no idea. And he added: Its been a major effort, but worth it. For more election news, analysis and general banter join us HERE Alabamas state schools chief, Tommy Bice, announced his resignation Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. Bice said he decided his work was complete and that he is leaving to work for the Mike and Gillian Goodrich Foundation as its education director later this spring. His last day will be on the job will be March 31. Bice was appointed by the states board of education in 2011 and has led the state in increasing its graduation rate and adopting a strategic plan . He also opposed legislators attempts to toss the states common core standards and allow parents to use tax credits to send their children to private schools. Both of those efforts have so far failed at the statehouse. During last years contentious battle over allowing charter schools into the state , Bice argued that the state should leave it up to local districts to decide whether to allow for their expansion. Until last year, the state was one of the few in the country without charter schools. When youre a proponent of innovation and change and rigor and doing whats right for kids that might not feel politically correct, you expect to have challenges to that, he said during a press conference Tuesday. Alabamas state board of education will meet next week to appoint an interim superintendent. State superintendents and their departments will be under increased pressure in the coming years to create new teacher and school accountability plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act which was signed in December by President Barack Obama. Dont miss another State EdWatch post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. And make sure to follow @StateEdWatch on Twitter for the latest news from state K-12 policy and politics. Insurer FBD, which made an 85m loss in 2015, warned the industry still had not increased rates sufficiently despite a 31% rise in the cost of motor cover last year. The spike in premiums which earlier this year prompted a government review into the industry seems set to continue, with FBD predicting price hikes on its motor policies of between 10% and 15%. In 2014 the Naval Service carried out 936 boarding of trawlers, which was nearly half what it managed in 2009. Problems started surfacing in the fleet in 2013 when it was only able to carry out 994 boardings, compared to 1,329 the previous year. However, figures for 2015 showed an increase to 1,076, even though the Naval Service was missing one ship for most of the year which was deployed on humanitarian rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea. LE Samuel Beckett, LE Niamh and flagship LE Eithne rotated on that mission. The drop in trawler boardings resulted from a number of unexpected issues, especially the discovery of asbestos on some ships. The presence of the potentially deadly substance onboard ships came as a major surprise to senior officers because in 2000 a private consultancy firm had swept the fleet and given it an asbestos all clear. LE Ciara and LE Orla were out of action for several months after specialists were brought in to remove asbestos which had been discovered during routine maintenance. Two other ships were discovered will lower levels of asbestos. The introduction of new vessels, LE James Joyce and LE Samuel Beckett, has helped the navy get back on track and another new vessel, which is being built by Babcock Marine in Appledore, Devon. The ship, William Butler Yates, will arrive in the summer. A jury convicted four of the gangs generals who helped to plan and oversee a string of offences, including break-ins at Cambridges Fitzwilliam Museum and Durhams Oriental Museum in 2012. John Kerry OBrien Jr, aged 26, Richard Kerry OBrien, aged 31, Michael Hegarty, aged 43, and Daniel Turkey OBrien, aged 45, were found guilty after a trial which could not be reported because of similar offences committed by travelling criminals dubbed the Rathkeale Rovers. The two-month hearing at Birmingham Crown Court was told that 10 other men had previously been convicted for their parts in the conspiracy, which included a bungled attempt to steal a rhino head from Norwich Castle Museum. Although jurors heard that exhibits stolen in Durham and Cambridge were valued at around 17m, detectives believe they might have fetched up to 57m on the booming Chinese auction market. Members of the gang also masterminded an offence at Gorringes Auction House in Lewes, East Sussex, and organised the disposal of stolen artefacts. At least eight of the men convicted after a four-year international police inquiry have family or business links to Rathkeale, Co Limerick. The latest trial was told a computer used to make incriminating internet searches was found at a house in the town. Other defendants aged between 28 and 68 from Cambridgeshire, London, Southend-on-Sea, Wolverhampton, Kent and Belfast either admitted the offences or were found guilty by jurors. They included six members of the same Rathkeale family, travellers rights campaigner Richard Sheridan, and Donald Wong, a London-based fence who made frequent trips to Hong Kong. A previous trial heard that Sheridan, a former spokesman for the Dale Farm travellers encampment in Essex, was seen in the company of Wong shortly before police found 50,000 in cash in the boot of a car. Sheridan, aged 47, of Water Lane, Smithy Fen, Cottenham, Cambridgeshire; Wong, aged 56, of Clapham Common South Side, London; and Richard OBrien, of Dale Farm, Oak Lane, Billericay, Essex, denied taking part in the plot between September 2011 and August 2012. Hegarty, John OBrien and Daniel OBrien, all of Orchard Drive, Smithy Fen, also denied any involvement in the offences but were unanimously convicted. None of the 18 jade exhibits stolen from the Fitzwilliam Museum in April 2012 have been recovered, but a bowl and figurine stolen in Durham were found. Derbyshire chief constable Mick Creedon, the national policing lead for organised crime, said: This case starkly demonstrates the level of threat, the lengths criminal gangs will go to and the importance of law enforcement agencies sharing intelligence and working together. One of the men convicted has already been jailed and served his sentence. The other 13 offenders will be sentenced in April. There is mixed opinion on options open to Enda Kennys party, who are taking a wait and see approach amid suggestions it will take weeks to hammer out a deal. Preference for a minority Fine Gael government with support from Fianna Fail and others on the opposition benches is strong among senior party figures who spoke to the Irish Examiner last night. One source said: Opposition might only be allowed in a minority on financial bills or motions, such as a budget or motions of confidence in the government. But who is going to oppose expansionary budgets giving pensioners more? Motions of confidence are also only allowed every six months. Nonetheless, a separate source said a minority government would be very vulnerable. We could be annihilated, one minister said. The Cabinet will meet today, in what will be a strange gathering of ministers, three of whom have lost their seats but still hold ministerial power. Ministers will examine the post-election landscape and consider the options, after voters smashed any of Fine Gael-Labour coalition hopes for a smooth second term. The first priority for Fine Gael will be a vote on Thursday week, when the 32nd Dail first meets with its new TDs, over who should be Taoiseach. This is the first battle. Its important Enda polls more than Micheal. Fianna Fail are trying to humiliate him on the way to that vote. But we can get the numbers [for support], said a senior party source. Fine Gael believes it can gain support from the two Green TDs elected as well as a cohort of Independents, including Roscommon-Galways Denis Naughten, Dublin-Centrals Maureen OSullivan, Galway Easts Noel Grealish as well as possibly votes of confidence from the two Healy-Rae brothers in Kerry. Separately, approaches are expected to be made to the Independent Alliance, who could take up to six seats when the last election counts are finished. This jigsaw of up to a dozen Independents, plus the support from the Greens and that already pledged by Labour, could give Mr Kenny close to 70 votes out of 158. While it may not be a majority, party sources said it would send out a clear message to the country Mr Kenny would command the most support to go and try and form a government. Meanwhile, newly elected Fine Gael TDs are expected to gather for their first parliamentary meeting next week, at which Mr Kenny will also judge the levels of support or opposition to potential government formation options. With election counts likely to run until today, party sources say its TDs would instead be asked to attend the parliamentary meeting next week some time. With an emphasis now being placed on the need for Dail reform, given that any coalition put together will not have a dominant position, attention is also expected to turn to how the whip will be operated for TDs. Senior Fine Gael sources though are stressing any agreement for power, which might involve cooperation on Dail reform, is likely weeks away from being hammered out. For more election news, analysis and general banter join us HERE Global experts in the field attended the opening day yesterday of the two-day Lewis Symposium, hosted by the MaREI Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy in Ringaskiddy, to mark the immense contribution of Professor Tony Lewis to the sector. Among the attendees was Stephen Salter, Emeritus Professor of Engineering Design at the University of Edinburgh who invented the Salter duck wave energy device. Prof Lewis, who has dedicated his entire career to marine renewable energy, spearheaded the development of the MaREI Centre, based in the new state-of-the-art 15m Beaufort Building, which now houses more than 130 researchers across six institutions working with 45 industry partners. He was also instrumental in the development of the Lir national ocean test facility, also based in the Beaufort building. The 2,600 sq m tank hall houses four different wave tanks and a suite of electrical test infrastructure. The entire five-storey Beaufort complex, which was officially opened last July, is a major extension of University College Corks Environmental Research Institute, and is viewed as a critical piece of national research infrastructure. MaREI and the Lir wave tank are also part of the IMERC cluster, a strategic initiative by UCC, Cork Institute of Technology, and the Irish Naval Service, which is positioning Ireland as one of the worlds top ocean energy research hubs. Prof Lewis, who was recently awarded Professor Emeritus status in UCC, described Prof Salter as a real inspiration to him. I am honoured that he, and so many of others, have travelled to Cork to celebrate what we have achieved so far, he said. With a sea to land ratio of over 10:1, Ireland is one of the best locations in terms of marine renewable energy resources, but it is only in the last 10 years that we have started to get serious about the potential of marine renewable energy. I am honoured to have played a part in that and I look forward to the continued collaboration with my colleagues in Ireland and across the world. The director of the MaREI centre, Prof Jerry Murphy, said Prof Lewis, through his teaching, research, industrial, and ambassadorial roles, has been one of the great influencers in marine renewable energy. Which is why so many of his contemporaries have travelled to Cork for this event honouring him, he said. Tony saw the potential of our marine resource before many others and was instrumental in developing the sector here. Recent figures show that Irelands maritime economy grew by 9% between 2010 and 2012 almost double that of the general economy. Employment in the sector increased from 17,425 to 18,480 full-time equivalents. Research indicates that a fully developed Irish ocean energy sector could be worth up to 9bn to the economy by 2030 and could sustain thousands of jobs. Buffeted by high winds and thick snow, Senator Bernie Sanders came back to the Cleveland area for the third time since he started running for president, speaking to the crowd of 3,600 packed into the Baldwin Wallace University gym. Ohio remains one of the worst hit US states by successive economic crises over the last two decades, with some of the highest foreclosure rates in the country in 2008-09, and the average person earning 20 percent less now than in 2000. So, its no surprise that Sanders stump speech championing free college education, a higher minimum wage, and all his other proposals against inequality would draw rapturous cheers here. Democratic socialism means that going to a public university tuition free would be a right in this country. pic.twitter.com/LimwBugl03 Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 23, 2016 Zachery Olivos, 23, a graduate of Case Western University hoping to apply to medical school while working as an EMT, said, Tuition is still rising. Bernie is the only candidate seriously considering this issue and the economic fallout which has screwed up my generation. Ohio is also the place where one of Sanders inspirations had one of his greatest moments. On June 16, 1918, Eugene Debs, labour organiser and five-time Socialist candidate for president, made the most important speech of his long career in nearby Canton. Bernie Sanders has recorded filmstrips and a record celebrating Debs life and ideas, even using his own voice in the role of his hero. Easy to make fun of, and easy to forget what was at stake: World War One was raging. Debs took a principled and unpopular stand against it in Canton. He was arrested after his speech, convicted of sedition, and spent four years in prison. At his trial in Cleveland, he said: I am thinking of the women who for a paltry wage are compelled to work out their barren lives; of the little children who in this system are robbed of their childhood and in their tender years are seized in the remorseless grasp of Mammon and forced into the industrial dungeons, there to feed the monster machines while they themselves are being starved and stunted, body and soul. I see them dwarfed and diseased and their little lives broken and blasted because in this high noon of Christian civilisation, money is still so much more important than the flesh and blood of childhood. In very truth, gold is God today, and rules with pitiless sway in the affairs of men. Almost a hundred years later, the oratory may sound baroque and at least one issue remote and no longer relevant widespread child labour was abolished in the United States long ago but Sanders inheritance from Debs rang clear when he said in his speech last week: The 20 wealthiest people now own more wealth than the bottom 150 million. When I talk about a rigged economy, I say to the Walton family, get off of welfare. Start paying your workers a decent wage. If we stand together, if we build a political revolution, there is nothing we can't accomplish. pic.twitter.com/drxkkGaxcW Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 24, 2016 Back in 1919, to protest Debs detention and agitate for a $1 a day minimum wage (sound familiar?), 20,000 demonstrators paraded on May Day in Cleveland. Businessmen and police attacked them, and in the mayhem that followed, two marchers were killed and hundreds wounded. Before the rise of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union and then the Cold War confused and conflated the issues and the terms used to describe them, democratic socialism as exemplified by Debs was the largest political movement in the United States outside the Republican and Democratic parties. Dozens of socialist mayors and several socialist congressmen were elected to office. So when Sanders says that nothing he espouses is new or radical, and that socialism is as much a part of the American tradition as anything else, hes right. Its uncertain, in Americas profoundly ahistorical society, how many people know or remember that socialist past. Thats certainly true in places like Cleveland and Canton, even as Sanders retraces Debs footsteps both literally and symbolically. Some in the audience, though, clearly had history on their minds after the rally. Judy Flamik, a 67-year-old retired high school teacher, said, We need a work programme, like FDR did during the Great Depression. My dad was in that in the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) out in Idaho and Utah. My son went to see a bridge that they built there. I wish we could address that. People are fed up. Alan Chin was born and raised in New York Citys Chinatown. He has worked in China, the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Central Asia as both a writer and photographer. A RECENT survey conducted by holiday agency Agoda.com asked 15,000 customers to choose their dream honeymoon resort. The Maldives, a nation in the Indian Ocean made up of some 1,200 islands and atolls, came out on top with a resounding 20.3% of the vote. Tourism is big business in the Maldives. Last year, well over one million visitors came to soak up the sun and sea. It has a population of around 350,000. Just under half of those visiting were from Europe and many were Irish. For approximately 1,500 you can fly from Dublin and spend a week in what is undoubtedly a paradise. But away from the swathes of white sand and palm trees, is a country of volatile politics and human rights abuses led by an increasingly oppressive regime. At a nighttime court session held last week, in the capital Male, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, leader of the moderate Islamic Adhaalath Party was convicted on terrorism charges. His crime? A speech against the government of President Abdulla Yameen, delivered at a rally last May which, the Maldivian government claimed, incited protesters to confront police. Some 175 of those attending the rally were arrested along with Abdulla. At his trial, the defendants lawyer claimed that his client had instead taken all steps to prevent violence. But this was not good enough for the criminal court and, as it stands, Abdulla will spend the next 12 years in prison. The Adhaalath Party leaders sentence is just one more example of what appears to be a return to despotism. Yameen is becoming more dictatorial by the day, says Dr Azra Naseem, a Maldivian post- doctoral Research Fellow in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University. The powers of the state are no longer separate; all three are under control of the executive. Yameens party has a parliamentary majority which is used to amend the constitution, or pass new legislation, to suit the partys dictatorial ambitions. The countrys lack of judicial independence is now infamous, and has been criticised by almost every international organisation and authority on justice. In his protest speech, Abdulla had called for the release of Mohamed Nasheed, a secularist and the countrys first democratically elected president. Nasheed came to office after a 2008 election that saw him win over 53% of the vote in a run-off. His opponent, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, half- brother of the current president, had been in power since 1978 and had ruled the country as a personal fiefdom. When in 2011, Nasheed, ordered the military to arrest a judge, who he accused of blocking corruption cases against members of the former presidents government, it led to rioting. Nasheeds opponents seized the opportunity, accusing him of abusing his power by calling in the army to do the job of the police. Weeks later, Nasheed was out of office in what most observers agree was a coup lead by supporters of the Gayoom family. In 2013, the country held a presidential election. Nasheed was defeated in a run-off. Shortly thereafter he was arrested on trumped up charges of terrorism and last March, sentenced to 13 years in prison. There are over 300 officially accepted definitions of terrorism in international discourse, says Dr Naseem. None of them include an order issued by an incumbent president to arrest a sitting judge as an act of terrorism. Curiously, the government allowed Nasheed to travel to London last month for specialised medical treatment. While there he highlighted his countrys current situation. Some governments are listening. India and the US have expressed concern and are calling on all parties to get around the table. Abdulla Yameen seems unmoved. If anything his grip is tightening. Late last September, Maldivians woke to the news that an explosion on a boat had almost killed both he and his wife. Rumours circulated that the attempt on his life came from within his own Progressive Party. Yameens vice president, Ahmed Adeeb, who was away on government business at the time of the blast, was arrested on his return and charged with the attempted assassination. Adeeb has since been impeached and charged with plotting to kill the president. This is despite an FBI investigation which found no evidence of explosives on the boat. If convicted, Adeeb faces up to 25 years in prison. After the event, and in a demonstration of paranoia worthy of Joseph Stalin, Yameen forced the members of his ruling party to pledge allegiance to him. But while international pressure is being applied to the president, he does hold a trump card extremism. For most Maldivians, life is a far cry from the ideal presented by travel agencies. Male, the capital, is a densely populated city of over 100,000. Many young men are out of work. Drug dealers and gangs vie with one another in an area of just six square kilometres. There is another factor, the Maldives, away from the resorts of course, is an already religiously zealous state. The law prohibits the practice by Maldivian citizens of any religion other than Islam, and the constitution precludes non-Muslims from citizenship, voting or holding public office. On top of all this, money to build houses of worship and schools has poured in from abroad resulting in a growth of conservative strands of Islam. Radicalism has found a foothold here. Recently, violence against moderate preachers and campaigners has resulted in death. Last September a rally in support of militant religious groups marched defiantly through the streets of the capital and it is estimated that since 2013 between fifty and 100 young men have left the capital to fight in religious wars abroad. As a consequence, Yameen, just months after the lifting of a 60-year moratorium on the death penalty, introduced tough new terrorism laws earlier this year. According to the new legislation, the government can obtain a court order to fit suspected religious militant sympathisers with electronic tags. Suspected sympathisers can also be prevented from travelling abroad. Most worryingly perhaps, the new laws allow the president to declare any group a terrorist organisation and it is this that is being used against Yameens opponents. The Anti-Terror Bill passed this year has yet to be applied to any of the would-be, or has-been, Jihadists, says Dr Naseem. So far, the only use made of that piece of legislation is crushing dissent. There is trouble in paradise. With the horse-trading set to begin in the aftermath of the 2016 election, a number of key promises or commitments could go by the wayside depending on who gets the keys for government. Fine Gael, with the largest number of seats, is likely to be in pole position to try and cobble together some negotiations for a government after the first day of the new Dail next week. Whoever coalesces with Enda Kennys party will have their own demands and there will have to be compromises agreed on social, financial, or infrastructure issues. Its somewhat premature to talk about red-line issues, but with such a shock outcome from the election for Fine Gael (the party looks set to lose a third of its seats), the strength of Mr Kennys hand is weakened. So what big ticket issues or manifesto promises could get ditched? The most obvious casualty to emerge from the shock election result will be any concrete commitment for a referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment. This was a key platform for Labour during its election campaign, a party that insists the liberalising of the abortion laws in the last Dail would not have happened without it as junior government partner. With the partys meltdown at the polls its seat numbers have reduced from 19 to as few as seven, with a handful of results still unknown Labours bargaining tools are blunted, compared to its previous influence. Its drive to have a referendum on liberalising the abortion laws, namely to remove the protection of the life of the unborn from the Constitution, is likely to fall by the wayside. Labour, now unlikely to muscle in on any programme for government, will have bigger priorities such as regrouping as a party after the drubbing it got from the electorate. Fine Gael sources last night insisted that Mr Kennys promise to set up a citizens forum to examine whether constitutional change should proceed on the abortion laws would still stand. But how far down the list will this liberal issue now fall, given the partys own fresh priorities such as how to juggle possibly several new coalition partners and keep them in check, when forming a government? Another priority which may be dropped could be Fine Gaels commitment to abolish the much-hated Universal Social Charge. It was to the forefront of its manifesto promises. However, if Fine Gael is to rely on Fianna Fail in a minority government, the latter would likely insist that elements of the charge remain so cash-starved public services could be properly resourced. Fianna Fail, after all, proposed a 60:40 spread of tax cuts to spending on services in its manifesto. Furthermore, any power-sharing deal with Fianna Fail would also likely see conservative elements within Micheal Martins party oppose any move to abolish the Eighth Amendment. Another priority which may be expunged from any wishlist are matters around Irish Water and the flat charges regime, in place until 2018. Fianna Fail in the event of propping up Fine Gael as a minority government would find it very difficult to renege on its pledge to scrap charges and overhaul the entire Irish Water debacle. One Fine Gael source told the Irish Examiner, however, that Mr Martins party would be expected to soften its stance on red-line issues when the public and media eventually begin baying for a government, once the economy starts to stagger under a caretaker administration. Lastly, any reliance on Independents to form a government could see a loosening of the whip approach used for Dail votes. The Independent Alliance, which could support either a Fine Gael or Fianna Fail administration, would require this as part of its charter of principles. For more election news, analysis and general banter join us HERE DEAR President Higgins, Youre probably beginning to think already about what you should say to the Taoiseach when he comes to see you on March 10. And Im probably one of the last people you want to hear from in advance of that visit. But Im going to take my impertinence in my hand and offer you some advice anyway. It hasnt dawned on the pundits yet, although it will, but you will have an extraordinary and critical role to play after the Dail meets. It happens very seldom in the life of a president, but it is going to happen to you. For a brief moment at least, and perhaps for longer, youll have the future of the country in your hands. On March 10, as things stand, the Taoiseach will cease to retain the support of a majority in Dail Eireann. Under Article 13.2.1 of the Constitution, that gives you absolute discretion about what to do next. The next sub-section of the article, 13.2.3, says that you may at any time, after consultation with the Council of State, convene a meeting of either, or both, of the Houses of the Oireachtas. Those articles, in my humble opinion, were written precisely to deal with the situation that exists right now. Weve had an indecisive general election. Already a sense of crisis is beginning to develop. The buzz word of the next few weeks is going to be stability. Already Im hearing on the radio that the markets are going to be spooked, that bond yields will rise, that people will be less willing to lend to us. The editorial writers are sharpening their pencils to demand that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael bury their historical differences in the national interest. Stability, stability, stability. Mother of God, President. Weve had four stable governments in a row 20 years of it and would you look at us. Fifteen years of Bertie Ahern grew the economy by unsustainable tax cuts and spending increases, and ultimately destroyed the country. That was followed by five years of the biggest majority in the history of the state. It restored the economy, but badly divided our society. President, we dont need a stable government. We need an honest, open, and accountable government. We need a government thats created, in the open, by the whole Dail and answerable to the whole Dail. You and I both worked in an era in politics where government wasnt stable where politicians knew every day that an election could happen any day. Then politicians got used to the idea of stable five-year terms, and very high incomes for not doing a lot. The consequence was that gradually they grew further and further and further from the people they represented. My sense is that the people are sick of it. Sick of politics as is, sick of broken promises, sick of being lectured to, sick of choices being made that seem to have no impact or a negative impact on their personal lives, sick of government that always seems beholden to powerful vested interests, sick of a style that constantly suggests arrogance and a sense of we know best, sick of a politics that seems to have no value base to it. Sure, Fianna Fail had a wonderful election this time, fair play to them. But they won a lot of seats by default, by being in the right place at the right time. They can certainly lay claim to more of a mandate than either of the government parties Labour has no mandate at all, just a stern message from the electorate to rediscover itself. The worst thing that could happen now, the very worst thing, would be some grubby deal to parachute people into office for another stable and unaccountable five years. Im suggesting you can stop that, by making it clear after March 10 that you want to see open and public debate. Weve just fought an election campaign about two issues who could provide stable government, and who could offer the largest tax cuts. The RTE exit poll published on Saturday showed that stable government was a top-of-mind issue for 9% of the electorate, and tax cuts mattered to a measly 5%. In fact the poll showed that half the people would be willing to pay more for better services, while only about one in six wanted the government to cut taxes and spend less. Thats how badly the political system as a whole (with the honourable exception of the Social Democrats) misread the mood of the electorate. So heres what we need. First, an acknowledgement by each of the main party leaders that politics needs to change fundamentally. Second, a commitment by the Taoiseach that the resources of the Department of Finance and the ESRI will be made available to any party that wants to publish a programme for government. Then any party that wants to lead the next government should be required to do exactly that publish a programme for government. Not a secret document, but published for scrutiny and debate. It doesnt need to be an attempt to deliver on the vast array of promises made in advance of the election, but an honest and sober attempt to set out directions for the future. I honestly believe that any programme for government written now must recognise that there are priorities that come before tax cuts. In a country that has a lot of resources, but a shamefully high rate of child poverty, it simply makes no sense to have been offering to narrow the tax base as the larger parties have done. As a citizen and a member of a political party, I could well see myself arguing that my party should support a programme for government in the Dail, and as a result vote for a taoiseach. I consider it crucial that the party should seek no office in return for that, and should reserve the right to disagree and vote against the government on any issue of principle. If others took a similar view, we might, you know, end up with a minority government, a government that will have to persuade the Dail week after week that it is on the right course. That in itself will mean that the relationship between parliament and government will have to change fundamentally. That could only be good. Your old sparring partner Michael McDowell used to say and it used to really annoy you that a good dollop of inequality was essential. Well, heres a thought. A dollop of instability would do no harm for our politics. A minority government that lived on its wits, and that had to recognise the primacy of parliament, could well last a year or two. They might even discover that the way to bring stability is to instil new respect by being open, honest, and accountable every day. That wouldnt be just refreshing, it would be good for a democracy that is becoming corroded by cynicism every day. We desperately need a politics that is more inclusive and responsive, and Im delighted that youre going to be in a position to influence moves in that direction. For more election news, analysis and general banter join us HERE The first official Whitehall analysis of the process of withdrawal, published by foreign secretary Philip Hammond, warned an out vote would mark the start of a period of uncertainty, of unknown length, and [with] an unpredictable outcome. The 23-page document said it was unlikely the terms of withdrawal could be fully negotiated within the formal two-year process, opening the door to other EU states demanding concessions in return for an extension. But Chris Grayling, leader of the Commons, dismissed the findings, insisting it would be just as much in the interests of the remaining 27 nations to reach a speedy conclusion to the talks. Why on earth would we think it would take twice as long as the Second World War to be able to sort out our trading relationships with Europe and elsewhere? he said on BBC Radio 4s Today. What possible evidence is there that it would take 10 years to sort out our trading arrangements? "If you look at our relations with the European Union, we have a 50bn-plus trade deficit with the European Union. "They sell far more to us than we sell to them, they lose out their jobs, their businesses are in danger if we do not sort it out quickly. The paper warned the complexity in agreeing terms of withdrawal and setting up trade deals and other new arrangements would affect financial markets, the pound and the rights of 2m expats. It would begin a period of uncertainty, of unknown length, and an unpredictable outcome, it said. The process of withdrawing from the EU is untested, and would contain numerous elements, including the outcome of the negotiations, about which there is currently little clarity. "It could lead to up to a decade or more of uncertainty. It is important that the risk this presents is understood. Cabinet office minister Matt Hancock denied accusations the government was stoking fears about the consequences of a vote to leave, insisting the analysis was a cautious assessment. Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who is backing the in campaign, cautioned ministers against relying on fear tactics, saying they had backfired in the Scottish independence referendum. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, has signed a plan to address the Washington Supreme Courts 2012 ruling that deemed the states funding formula unconstitutional, according to the Associated Press . Inslee says the billwhich sets in motion a series of actions the legislature will take in order to fundamentally change its funding formula by the end of the 2017 sessionwill temporarily satisfy the courts ruling. The court levied a $100,000-a-day fine on the legislature last summer to spur it into action. It does advance a significant recognition by the legislature that they need to act and have a full intention to act, Inslee said during a Monday signing ceremony, according to the AP. Opponents of the legislation, which include Randy Dorn, the states superintendent, criticized it as a punt and said it leaves schools picking up the states costs in the interim. In the meantime, the funds are being funneled into a special account for the benefit of basic education until the state succeeds in addressing the issues the court raised, according to the Seattle Times . I dont think the court will buy it, said Dorn, a Democrat, in a recent interview with Education Week. When the court fined the state $100,000 a day, the legislature said, No big deal, well let the fine roll up. No harm, no foul. The legislature gave the court the back of the hand two years ago, and they just gave another hand signal to the court. State high courts in Washington and Kansas are seemingly fed up with their legislatures lackluster efforts to address their rulings in school funding cases. Kansas Supreme Court ruled last month that if the state doesnt provide millions more dollars to its districts by July 1, the court will effectively shut the states public school system down. Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback said late last week that hes working to address the ruling. In Washington, the states supreme court ruled in its 2012 McCleary v.State of Washington decision that the states funding formula didnt pass muster under the Washington constitution and leaves local taxpayers picking up education costs through their local levies that the state should pay for. The court gave lawmakers until 2018 to address its ruling. But last year, the court said lawmakers werent moving fast enough and held the legislature in contempt, imposing the $100,000-a-day fine until it meets the judges orders. Observers say the fines have amounted to $15 million so far. The legislature to date has addressed several of the courts requests, including reducing the states average class size and expanding all-day kindergarten. But the state has not addressed teacher pay, a contentious and expensive part of the courts order. Last year, thousands of Seattle teachers staged a strike partly over teacher pay, effectively shutting down the school system for five days. Educators now say a teacher shortage , which they partly blame on low pay, has left hundreds of classrooms across the Evergreen State with unqualified teachers. While bills have been proposed and passed this session to address the teacher shortage, legislators cant agree on how to increase teacher pay without raising taxes. The next step before us is arguably the most complex, and Im confident the legislature is up to the task, Inslee said Monday. In the meantime, the legislature earlier this session passed a bill that would allow local districts to raise their levies this year to cover education costs. But Dorn, the states superintendent, said that action may not be legal and has discussed suing the state for improper use of local levies. The plan Inslee signed Monday establishes a task force to find the money from state coffers needed to replace local tax levy money and requires legislators during next years session to approve a plan. It also asks the task force to clarify how local levies are being used, and ensure that no more legislation is needed to keep the states average class sizes low and the states all-day kindergarten in place. Dorn earlier this session skipped Inslees State of the State Address, where the governor discussed at length whats been referred to as a plan-for-a-plan. On the chair in the Capitol chamber usually reserved for the state superintendent, Dorn left a sticky note that read, Reserved for kids and students. I still believe that we dont have a strong enough internal force to force the legislature to do its job, but I think its coming to a head that our state may have to look at its whole tax system in the 21st century, Dorn said. We have one of the least-fair systems in the nation. This is the Armageddon. Its a culminating moment of McCleary. Dont miss another State EdWatch post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. And make sure to follow @StateEdWatch on Twitter for the latest news from state K-12 policy and politics. Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has been attacked by his party rivals for refusing to condemn an implicit endorsement from a white supremacist leader. Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio used the issue to savage the billionaire before todays Super Tuesday multiple state primaries could put him on an irreversible path to the partys nomination. Trump was asked on CNN whether he rejected support from David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan grand dragon, and other white supremacists after Duke told his radio followers that a vote against Trump was equivalent to treason to your heritage. Well, just so you understand, I dont know anything about David Duke. OK? Trump told host Jake Tapper. I dont know anything about what youre even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. Trump was asked by journalists how he felt about Dukes support. He said he did not know anything about it, adding curtly: All right, I disavow, OK? A former host of the television show The Apprentice, Trump has not always claimed ignorance about Dukes history. In 2000, he wrote a New York Times opinion piece explaining why he abandoned the possibility of running for president on the Reform Party ticket. He wrote of an underside and fringe element of the party, concluding: I leave the Reform Party to David Duke, Pat Buchanan, and Lenora Fulani. That is not company I wish to keep. His comments sparked a wave of censures just ahead of Super Tuesday when 11 states hold Republican primaries. At stake are 595 delegates to the partys national convention this summer, with 1,237 needed to win the nomination. On the Democratic side, 865 delegates are up for grabs in Super Tuesday contests in 11 states and American Samoa. It takes 2,383 delegates to gain the Democratic nomination. Hillary Clinton, who received another burst of momentum on Saturday after a lopsided victory in South Carolina, turned her attention to the Republican field, all-but-ignoring rival Bernie Sanders during campaign events in Tennessee. Clinton described Dukes support for Trump as pathetic. Clintons South Carolina victory was fuelled by an 84-16 advantage among African-Americans, a key Democratic constituency that will also play a dominant role in several Super Tuesday states in the South. Sanders acknowledged being decimated in South Carolina, though he promised to continue his campaign against what he describes as a political and economic oligarchy. He avoided mentioning his huge South Carolina loss at a rally before more than 6,000 cheering people at an Oklahoma City convention centre. Protesters denounced the hanging. Some religious and political leaders, as well as militant groups, defended the killer. Most schools closed down in the capital, Islamabad, and in the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi, in fear of violence. The macabre episode was caught on camera by passers-by, with footage showing the unnamed woman in a black hijab wandering around in the street holding an infants severed head high in the air. I am a terrorist, I want your death, she can be heard screaming in heavily accented Russian in a rambling tirade in which she appears to criticise democracy and talk about the end of the world. Investigators said they thought the woman had been working as a nanny for a Moscow family and had murdered a child in her care before setting fire to the familys flat and fleeing. The child was three or four years old, they said. Given the clearly deranged behaviour of the detainee, investigators swiftly ordered her to undergo psychiatric tests to establish whether she is capable of understanding the significance of her actions, said Moscows investigative committee in a statement. News agencies cited an unnamed police source as saying the woman appeared to have been under the influence of psychotropic drugs. Immigration authorities told media the woman was from the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan and had been working in Moscow illegally. One eyewitness, a reporter from the RBC.ru news portal, said she heard the woman screaming Allahu Akbar an Islamic phrase meaning God is Great or Allah is Greater. I was on my way to the metro station from home, said Polina Nikolskaya. She was standing near the metro entrance and caught my attention because she was screaming Allahu Akbar. "I saw that she had a bloodied head in her arms, but I thought it was not real. People in the crowd said it was real. Lifenews.ru, an online news portal, said a policeman had first approached the woman to check her documents near Oktyabrskoye Pole metro station. The woman had responded by removing the childs head from a bag and shouting that she had killed the infant, it said, saying she had also threatened to blow herself up. The protesters, who were chanting Open the border and throwing stones at Macedonian police, were repelled. There were no reports of arrests or injuries from the latest clashes. Police said 500 people earlier pushed their way past Greek police to reach the gate, which is used to let trains through at the border crossing. About 6,500 people are stuck on the Greek side of the border. Some have been there for up to eight days with little food or shelter as Macedonia only accepts a small number of people every day. Macedonian police opened the crossing to receive about 50 people just before 12pm, after keeping it closed for eight hours, but shut it again after the clashes. The Idomeni crossing is a key point on the mass migration route that has prompted a major Europe-wide crisis. More than a million people have entered the continent since January 2015 mostly arriving in small smugglers boats from Turkey on Greeces eastern Aegean Sea islands. After first sending welcoming messages, European authorities are now struggling to handle the situation. Hungary has fenced off its borders, refusing to accept any migrants, and other eastern European countries say they will not take in anyone under an EU refugee-sharing deal. Macedonia has said it will only allow in as many people as Serbia accepts. This has led to a huge bottleneck in Greece, where authorities say more than 22,000 people are stuck and hundreds more are arriving every day. Meanwhile, clashes with police broke out as work got underway to clear part of the shanty town outside Calais in northern France where refugees and migrants are trying to reach Britain. Police fired tear gas around 12pm, about 150 to 200 migrants and activists threw stones, and three makeshift shelters were set ablaze. Earlier, one person was arrested for trying to stop a group of about 20 workers under heavy police protection from clearing the site, where about 3,000 people are staying. The migrants are just going to run and hide in the woods and the police are going to have to go after them, said activist Francois Guennoc of the Auberge des Migrants migrant support group. Regional Prefect Fabienne Buccio had said the police presence was needed because extremists could try to intimidate migrants into turning down housing offers or buses to reception centres. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said last week that authorities would work with humanitarian organisations to relocate the refugees to a nearby park of converted shipping containers or other reception centres around France. Otto Warmbier, 21, a student at the University of Virginia, was detained before boarding his flight to China over an unspecified incident at his hotel, his tour agency said in January. North Korea has a long history of detaining foreigners and has used jailed US citizens in the past to exact high-profile visits from the United States, with which it has no formal diplomatic relations. Asia Grim Future Awaits Migrant Workers Since 2009, Thailands migration policy has enabled the regularization of irregular-entry migrant workers. Are we now seeing a deregularization process? Since 2009, Thai governments have had a general nationwide migration policy to meet strong national economic, demographic and lifestyle demands that enabledbut didnt necessarily ensure or promotethe regularization of irregular-entry lower skilled migrant workers from Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. This policy enabled an origin country nationality verification (NV) process for these workers. This short-term, poorly planned and implemented migration policy has always prioritized national and economic security over human security concerns. Almost all low-skilled migrant laborers prior to 2009 entered Thailand irregularly through lucrative smuggling and trafficking routes and networks. A formal (memorandum of understanding or MoU) worker import system for migrant laborers only became functional from 2010. Since 2009, temporary or permanent passports and certificate of identity (CI) documents have been issued by a migrant workers origin country within Thailand through the NV process at One Stop Service Centers to millions of these irregular workers who have become a cornerstone of the countrys economic development. With these documents, the workers then applied for Thai visas and work permits valid for two years at a time, which eventuallyafter much policy confusion and lack of advance clarityenabled a stay in Thailand of up to a maximum of six years. Passports and CIs issued through this non-transparent NV process were of three, five, six or 10 years validity. Thai visas allowed two, four or six-year stays in the kingdom. Corruption and confusion was rampant in these seemingly well-designed processes which were never fully clear, nor well-organized. This policy and these regularization systems have brought huge profits to brokers, agents and Thai/origin-country officials, as well as employers HR staff. However, fully regularized NV workers and new MoU workers coming into Thailand benefited from this regularization process as follows: freedom of movement in Thailand and to/from home countries was possible (temporary Thai issued migrant ID cards restricted movement to province of registration only); access to social security systems was open (although not always clear benefits and access) as well as eligibility for bank accounts and driving licenses. Workers were more strongly protected with their regular or fully legal status than before, however difficult access to rights remained in practice. Workers with passports or CIs too often, however, have simply ended up throwing away valid or expired (4/5/6-year) documents when visa, passport or CI renewal processes since 2013/14 became unclear, impractical or exorbitantly expensive. This was because Thai and country-of-origin migration policies were often quietly and confusingly announced only once expiry dates had passed. Many of these workers then applied for semi-regular temporary ID cards instead when the Prayuth government allowed this regularization. In addition, others returned home and entered Thailand anew with fresh names or identity documents at great expense. Under the threat of a EU red flag for illegal fishing, the government trumpeted high regularization statistics in fisheries and across the country when in fact many newly registered workers were formally registered with passports anyway. In addition, as a result of this policy chaos, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers often lost all accrued worker and social security benefits by starting anew with changed names and ID numbers. Bonuses and work incentives started afresh. Social security pensions and health benefits vanished. In another important migration policy development, or U-turn, the cabinet on February 23 allowed all migrants in Thailand to move back to a temporary, semi-legal migrant ID card system as was the case pre-2009, whatever their current regular or irregular documentation status. So are we now, after seven years, seeing a deregularization process for migrant workers? Will migrant workers once again lose their identity status and nationality to a short-term, irregular or semi-legal registration status that will benefit primarily in the short-term Thailands economic security and business needs for a flexible easily expendable lower skilled migrant workforce? Its not clear yet whether the new policy move back to a semi-regular pink card migrant worker status will be compulsory, or if existing or expired migrant worker passports can still be renewed or extended with workers coming in and out of Thailand on a four-year limited formal or regular MoU entry scheme, as exists already. Also, its not yet clear what origin countries think of this migration policy U-turn which could make more of their workers irregular, with fewer rights protections and less formality of status. In particular, the Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN) will be working closely with Burmas new government, which is expected by many to champion stronger migrant worker rights during its first term in office. In particular, the MWRN is deeply concerned at potential negative implications of the vague Thai government announcement for the future of millions of migrant workers in the country and is closely monitoring policy development announcements. The MWRN cannot accept a return to the pre-2009 semi-legal or irregular status for millions of migrant workers in Thailand which will possibly lead to the eroding of basic migrant worker rights as past worker benefitssuch as pensions, health care and employee welfare benefits from long-term service for employeessimply disappear. If what we fear becomes a reality, the international community and buyers of exported goods manufactured in migrant labor-intensive industries should not accept these developments that fail once again to prioritize the security of millions. Andy Hall is International Affairs Advisor to the Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN) and State Enterprise Workers Relations Confederation (SERC). This piece was originally published in the Bangkok Post. Burma Parliament Awaits Government Support on Urgent Proposals Burmas Parliament has initiated multiple democratic proceedings to which ruling government officials have yet to offer support. RANGOON Since opening in early February, the Upper and Lower Houses of Burmas new Parliamentdominated by lawmakers from the National League for Democracy (NLD)have initiated multiple democratic proceedings to which ruling government officials have yet to offer support. Lawmakers of different party backgrounds have submitted five urgent proposals in recent weeks that have been backed by a majority of parliamentarians, but to which central government officials have not responded. Union Parliament Speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than forwarded the first such urgent motion to lawmakers on February 8, requesting that all MPs make a monetary donation from their daily stipends to victims affected by fires in Shan States Namhsan Township and Labutta Township in Irrawaddy Division. Parliamentarian Sai Tun Aung, representing the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) and hailing from Kyaukme Township in Shan State, submitted a proposal to the Lower House on February 16 calling for an end to fighting between the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and later, the Burma Army. He asked that the Parliament discuss an immediate ceasefire and the provision of assistance to people displaced by the conflict. Maung Thin of Mandalay Divisions Meiktila constituency, is an MP representing the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)a group aligned with the military which formerly made up the parliamentary majority. He submitted an urgent request to the Parliament on February 22 asking government to take preventative measures to address social and economic problems which could potentially be caused by El Nino. He said he feared that, due to unusual weather patterns, Burmas public could face more natural disasters in the coming months, including forest fires, drought and flooding, resulting in agricultural and health problems. On February 24, a proposal by Lagan Zal Jone, who represents Kachin States Waingmaw Township, called on the government to provide protection assistance to the anti-opium vigilante group known as Pat Jasan established by ethnic Kachin Baptist elders. At the time, Pat Jasan members were on their way to destroy poppy fields in northeastern Kachin State but were stopped outside of the capital, Myitkyina. Another proposal was tabled by Khin San Hlaing of the National League for Democracy (NLD) on February 25, urging authorities to review permission to sell or lease state-owned factories, facilities and projects to private companies before the transfer of power to a new government next month. Government officials failed to appear at the Parliament last week to discuss the latter two issuesthose of privatization and of protection for anti-poppy campaigners. Instead, a letter was sent to the legislature from the central government stating that officials were busy with transition process. One notable action by military lawmakers last Friday was their united opposition to a support statement read by another NLD MP in response to Khin San Hlaings proposal. The soldiers all stood up collectively in the Parliament to express their disapproval of the statement, which addressed issues relating to the controversial Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Division. A military MP, named Moe Kyaw Oo, refuted the statement by detailing various facts and figures related to the mining project. Such active participation by military MPs is incredibly rare in Parliament. The new Parliament has also formed several committees that will guide the legislatures work over the next five years, including 18 in the Lower House and 16 in the Upper House, and a Legal Affairs and Special Cases Assessment Commission lead by the USDPs Shwe Mann, Burmas former Union Parliament Speaker often viewed as an ally of Aung San Suu Kyi. In the past month, the lawmaking body has appointed chairpersons and committee members. Unlike in the previous Parliament, where military MPs were assigned as committee observers, in the current arrangement, a military lawmaker has been appointed as a functional member to each of the committees formed. The Union Parliament has thus far formed three standingor more permanentcommittees: a joint public accounts committee; a joint draft bill committee and the Committee on Scrutinizing Hluttaw (Parliament) Representatives. Burma Presidential Nominees To Be Announced On March 10 Burmas Union Parliament announces that presidential nominees will be declared on March 10a week earlier than the original date. RANGOON Burmas Union Parliament announced on Tuesday that presidential nominees will be declared on March 10a week earlier than the date originally set for the occasion. Speaker Mahn Win Khaing Than of the Union Parliament read the announcement, but no reason for the revised date was given at the legislative session. After nominees are announced, an electoral college will select Burmas next President from among them; the deadline for the transition of power to Burmas new government is the end of March. The date to hold meetings for the three presidential nominees has been put forward to March 10, a week earlier than the previously decided date, the Speaker told the MPs. NLD senior members were engaged in a meeting and not available for comment when The Irrawaddy reached out for interviews on Tuesday. Political commentator Yan Myo Thein told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that he assumed the revision of the date stemmed from an internal decision within the party, and was optimistic about the extra week it would allow the NLD during the process of transitioning power. The revision of the date is an appropriate and better approach [for the NLD] to form a new government and union level organizations, he said. The revised date was announced following a meeting between chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and military commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing on February 17. The talks were reportedly held to discuss matters related to the rule of law and sustainable peace. Yet Yan Myo Thein speculated that the possibility of a direct connection was slim between Suu Kyis meeting with the military chief and the decision to advance the nomination date. He instead attributed the change to a tight schedulethe original date of March 17 to announce the nominees was too close to the deadline of the power transfer, he said. The state-owned newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar quoted Arakan National Party (ANP) lawmaker Khin Saw Wai in Tuesdays edition, who said that it was possible to hold nominations earlier because both the people and the military were ready for the announcement. Both the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament will nominate candidates for vice president, while military representatives, who were appointed by the commander-in-chief to fill 25 percent of the legislative seats, will nominate another candidate. Despite the NLDs landslide victory in Novembers general election, where the party acquired nearly 80 percent of the seats in each house, Suu Kyi remains barred from the presidency. This is articulated in Article 59 (f) of Burmas controversial 2008 Constitution, which prohibits anyone with a foreign spouse or foreign children from holding the position; the NLD chairwomans late husband was British, and her two sons also hold British citizenship. Suu Kyi has held three meetings with military leaders since the election, reportedly to discuss changes to Article 59 (f), but the military has expressed an unwillingness to consider an amendment to or a suspension of the law. Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly stated that that she will find other ways to head the government, by, as she said, being above the President. Burma Suu Kyi Highlights Ethnic Unity and Responsibility The National League for Democracy chairwoman encourages ethnic lawmakers to work together regarding peace implementation at a meeting in Naypyidaw. RANGOON Aung San Suu Kyi, chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD), promised ethnic lawmakers at a Monday evening meeting in Naypyidaw that Burmas new government will prioritize peace issues as promised. During the first such meeting with ethnic MPsheld after a Union Parliament sessionSuu Kyi encouraged ethnic lawmakers to work together regarding peace implementation. We need to have the attitude that no matter what happens in any part of our country, it concerns to the whole nation, said Aung San Suu Kyi, according to a social media statement published by the NLD chairpersons office on Tuesday morning. A reiteration of the partys commitment to peace comes at the time when clashes have flared in northern Shan State between the Burma Army and ethnic armed groups such as the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), the armed wing of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), a 2015 signatory of Burmas so-called nationwide ceasefire pact. We frequently remind people that we are not the government yet, as no power transition in the world takes so long as here in Burma, she explained, adding that the NLD has received complaints from people impatient for political change. To that, she said, our simple answer is, we dont have any authority yet. The party chairwoman advised ethnic lawmakers to strive for unity when representing Burmas people, and to refrain from discriminating against one another. I would like to encourage our representatives to focus more on responsibility rather than opportunity. The main responsibility of lawmakers who represent the public is to form peace in the country that is based on unity, the Facebook post said. The NLD won a landslide victory in November general election last year, and the current government is expected to hand over power to the new administration later this month. Are Prisons Liable for Inmate Attacks? It's understood that prison is and should be unpleasant. Still, that doesn't mean prisoners have no protections. The protections are more limited than for a free person, of course. Still, in the case of an inmate attack, under some circumstances, there are claims that even the imprisoned can make. Let's take a look at vicarious liability for institutions of incarceration. Prison Negligence for Violence First, let's make some important distinctions. Where the inmate is incarcerated and how the attack and injury occurs will dictate what claims can be made and whether an institution can be held vicariously liable for its failure to protect. So, the basic breakdown is this: there are federal prisons and detention centers, as well as state prisons and jails, public institutions and private ones run by contractors. Institutional liability for negligence resulting in injury due to inmate violence is limited. Beyond all the elements of negligence that would normally need to be shown -- duty, breach, causation, and harm -- federal law limits vicarious liability to governmental institutions, not private prisons and detention centers. That can present a major hitch in a prospective prison negligence suit, as private contractors manage many institutions. The bar applies to employees of private contractors as well, ruling out a sizable number of prison guards. Still, there are state tort claims available and creative approaches to formulating a claim. Constitutional Question Apart from the institutional barriers, there are legal hurdles to overcome. Unless there is a constitutional violation or a violation of federal law, federal prisoner claims are barred. An example of a constitutional claim is that the prison engaged in cruel and unusual punishment. In the context of a prison attack scenario, plaintiffs might argue that failure to safeguard them inside the institution amounted to a kind of cruel and unusual punishment. For example, two inmates in Maine claimed that failure to relieve prisoners of padlocks, although they were used in attacks, was a form of negligence resulting in cruel and unusual punishment. The claim failed but the warden is no longer at the prison. Talk to a Lawyer If you have been accused of a crime, speak to a criminal defense attorney. Many attorneys consult for free or a minimal fee and will be happy to give you guidance. Related Resources: Tuesday, March 1st, 2016 (9:29 am) - Score 529 One of the biggest consumer frustrations with signing up to any new broadband, phone or other service is the mass of small print and complicated contract terms that sit in the way, which most of us probably skip or at least skim through. But now the Government want to tackle this. Like it or not contracts are a necessary evil and in an ideal world we should be reading through them before confirming our agreement. On the other hand some small print and contract terms can be both confusing and excessively long (a few were longer than Shakespeares Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet), which makes it difficult to read or even comprehend unless youre a trained lawyer. The reality is that most consumers simply skip the text and as a result they could end up being caught out by hidden nasties, such as extra charges or service restrictions, that they may have only been aware of had they set aside the time needed to read through everything. As a result the Governments Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has begun asking consumers who have experienced similar issues to respond to their new Call for Evidence. Sajid Javid MP, Business Secretary, said: It seems like everything we buy these days comes with the line Terms and Conditions apply. Whether its a train ticket, car insurance or downloading an app, we are faced with pages of small print that is difficult to navigate through. If terms and conditions were clearer, and easier to navigate consumers would be able to easily consult them and make better informed choices before buying a product. It would make similar products easier to compare, increasing competition which could inevitably drive prices down for consumers. In order to kick off the process, those with views are asked to respond to our straightforward call for evidence. The challenge in all this is the need to balance simplicity with the often complex reality of service or product delivery, particularly with solutions like Internet access that can be exposed to all sorts of different situations and network complexities. Like it or not a certain degree of T&C complexity may be unavoidable, although there are still plenty of ways in which ISPs and other industries could make things simpler (e.g. dont hide charges for important service features, such as new line connections or exit fees, in the small print). Part of the Governments consultation also includes a proposal for the creation of a new power, which could impose civil fines against businesses that fail to comply with consumer protection rules. The power to fine non-compliant businesses would, claims the Government, deter future breaches and strengthen fair competition. Tuesday, March 1st, 2016 (11:03 am) - Score 658 Rural ISP Wessex Internet (M12 Solutions) has confirmed that their hybrid superfast fibre optic and wireless broadband network, which operates in North Dorset, South Wiltshire and East Somerset (England), is now an approved supplier for the 60m 2Mbps for all rural broadband subsidy (USC). The Universal Service Commitment subsidy was officially clarified at the end of 2015 (here) and is focused upon helping an estimated 300,000 UK premises that might not benefit from the Broadband Delivery UK roll-out of superfast (24Mbps+) fixed line broadband services. Broadly it offers grants worth up to around 350 that could be used to reduce the initial cost of having a Satellite broadband connection installed. But not everybody is a fan of inferior Satellite connectivity and initial uptake was low (here), which might explain why the Government then extended the scheme to include a fixed wireless ISP like Quickline (here). Now Wessex Internet has confirmed that they too have been successful in securing BDUK approval to allow businesses and residents who get less than 2Mb/s Internet to receive a 350 connection grant, which shows that the Government are serious about extending the USC funding to a wider variety of ISPs and network types. Andrew Skipsey, Wessex Internets Tech Boss, told ISPreview.co.uk: This will be great news to help us serve more remote areas and potential customers where we already have a presence where BT speeds are slow. Mind you that wasnt the only good news out of Wessex Internet today. Customers have also been promised bigger data allowances, which wont cost extra. The top Family + package now comes with 500GB of data and the middle popular Family package is 150GB. On top of that theyve added 25% more data for Residential Starter and business broadband customers. The ISP has also announced plans for a further network expansion, which will see them move into a number of new areas like Henstridge and Cucklington. James Gibson Fleming, WIs Infrastructure Man, said: We have plans to move into 7 new areas in the near future with agreement underway for sites at Henstridge and Cucklington covering many badly served homes and businesses. We expect our service will have a significantly increased footprint by this time next year and with the new website we could well be past 1750 customers by the end of 2016. Its fair to say that Wessex Internet, which is a fairly young alternative network ISP, is enjoying some good growth and their network already provides service to over 900 homes and 100 businesses. The network itself is a combination of 160km of buried fibre, with over 100 points of presence on hillsides and tall buildings that can also help distribute a fixed wireless signal. Armed at Work: Lessons From a Georgia Business Everyone's got a different idea of what keeps the peace. Gandhi preached nonviolent resistance and Georgia businessman Lance Toland believes that armed women are the answer. "As more people arm themselves, women in particular, the world's going to be a safer place," Toland told The Daily Beast. Referring to his office workers specifically, he said, "This is a group of very, very professional women, well-educated, pilots, but they're armed and they're deadly, so do not screw with us." Prompted by a rash of crime in the metro Atlanta area, Toland sponsored concealed carry licenses for his crew. Pink Pistols Please Lance Toland's business insures corporate aircraft. His team works in an office, and is mostly made up of women. Toland himself is always armed and knew of one other woman in the office who was. But she is retiring and the crime spree got him thinking about what would happen if there was a robbery in the office. "Who's going to protect the office? If I'm not there and [she's] gone, what are the other ladies going to do," Toland asked. According to the boss, no one opposed his motion to get them all legal. Within a month all had concealed carry licenses and he supplied them with pistols. There was one minor issue, reportedly. The guns come in only one color. "The only complaint I had was from one of the ladies in the office. She asked if they had it in pink. I'm no slave to fashion; I had to go with black." Despite his enthusiasm for guns,Toland does insist that they're best left unused. ""Instead of using it, you could diffuse a situation," he suggests. You, Your Office, and Guns Can you do what Toland has done in your office? The answer depends on where you live, what business you are in, and whether your workers will acquiesce. Unless you make having a gun license a condition of employment and you are in security or some other business that would justify this, it's not a good idea to implement this policy. But remember, Toland said his workers did not resist and saw the utility. It may be that your workers too will accept your proposal enthusiastically. Consult With Counsel Still, before you make any bold gun-toting moves, you should consult with counsel. Talk to a lawyer about local laws, permit requirements, risks, benefits and any possible insurance or other issues. Get guidance. Follow FindLaw for Consumers on Google+. Related Resources: How to Effectively Deliver IT Projects in the Digital Age If youre an IT professional who has ever been involved in a sales force transformation project, you might have read the words sales force transformation and shuddered. There are so many constituencies to satisfy, facets to consider, and things that can go wrong, that sometimes the project seems to be doomed to failure. So whats the secret of those organizations that have gotten it right? I recently had the opportunity to discuss that question with Warren Shiver, managing partner and founder of Symmetrics Group, a sales and marketing management consultancy in Atlanta, and co-author of the book, 7 Steps to Sales Force Transformation: Driving Sustainable Change in Your Organization. Shiver and his co-author, Michael Perla, formerly worked at Siebel Systems, so it was no surprise to find that Shiver was able to discuss the topic knowledgeably from an IT perspective. I opened the conversation by asking Shiver to clarify what the term sales force transformation means to him. He said its a transformation that fundamentally changes the way a sales force sells. Its a big dealits a change thats not going to happen overnight. In our research and experience, weve seen these transformations typically take longer than a year, and typically involve functional areas other than sales. So when you think about transforming a sales organization, sales cant succeed as an island, and go it alone. Youre involving other areas, like marketing, IT, and HR, if youre really looking to make a transformative change in the way that you sell. Shiver has a degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech, so I asked him if he has found that having a STEM degree helped him prepare to become a sales effectiveness consultant. He said he thinks it has: I would have to say that if I had it to do all over again, Id still get a major in engineering, but Id get a minor in psychology. When you think about salesits cliche, but weve found that its trueit really combines the best of a scientific approach, with a little bit of art and an understanding of human behavior. In most, if not all, business-to-business sales processes, there is a defined process that you can map out; you align that process with how your customers are purchasing your products or services; and you automate that, so you can do things like have a robust pipeline and sales forecast, and have some discipline around managing the science of sales. Especially when you think about the traditional trusted advisor type of sales representative, where the position requires a deep level of gravitas, experience and knowledge in order to be successful, certainly analytical problem-solving skills are important for that. But empathy-type skills and behavior are just as important. I asked Shiver what the key barriers to a successful sales force transformation are from an IT perspective. He came up with three: One major barrier we see is that, through no fault of IT, IT is sometimes asked to automate chaos. The sales organization hasnt defined a common way of selling; or the organization has grown historically through a series of acquisitions, and there are multiple sales processes, multiple CRM tools. All of that is thrown onto the lap of IT. What needs to happen first is the leadership of the sales organization needs to thoroughly define the type of selling, the type of customer conversations they want technology to enable, and then the technology can be successful. So to summarize that, one key barrier is relying on IT to enable a solution where the process has not been defined. Secondly, we see companies that confuse a CRM implementation with a sales transformation. We certainly see technology as a critical enabler of a sales transformation but, in and of itself, it is typically not a transformation. Finally, I think a barrier related to that is the order in which you start. Michael Perla, my co-author, and I are big fans of Jim Collinswe love his work, Good to Great, and in that, he has a philosophy of, first who, then what. Picking a star leader, and building a business around her, is an example. Weve found with sales force transformations, you actually flip thatits first what, then how, then who. Start with what the types of conversations are that you want your sales team to be having, that are going to add value for your customers; second, how you are going to enable that, through a process and an enabling technology; and then focus on whowhat the skill sets are that you need in order to be successful in that new model. So a barrier for some companies is one of sequence. Shiver went on to explain that the IT organization must speak the same language as sales: Often you find that IT will have a tremendous depth of resident technical expertise, and even sometimes business process expertise, as well. Sales certainly has expertise in what they see, day in and day out, from a customer perspective. Sometimes those worlds dont seem to quite meet. Its almost like you need a translation layer, or a Rosetta Stone, to translate the business strategy and process into IT requirements. Much like marketing in consumer products companies, where a customer marketing division sits between the brand teams and the sales teams, we see a similar capability thats needed to sit between IT and the sales and marketing functions, that basically serves as that translation layer. Some IT organizations have capitalized on truly having that. To wrap up the conversation, Shiver said what he and Perla tried to make clear in the book is that sales transformation is an overused phrase: We were intentional around writing the book to say, for most organizations, the first question you should ask yourself is whether you really need to transform, or you just need to tweak whats already working fairly well. If you need to do a tweak, that may involve skills training, or sourcing enabling technology, or some teambuilding, perhaps. There are point solutions short of a radical transformation. So I want people in IT to understand that were talking about a massive change to the sales organization. And technology, certainly CRM technology, is a key enabler of that change. 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. Massive (Multi-modal Australian ScienceS Imaging and Visualisation Environment) is part of the Monash Research Cloud, which in turn is part of the Nectar (National eResearch Collaboration Tools and Resources) Research Cloud. The idea is to provide Australian researchers with access to the computational infrastructure they need wherever they are in the country, and to enable local and international collaboration. The original Massive system (now known as M1) was based on IBM servers and Nvidia GPUs. The latest Massive system (M3) officially commissioned yesterday uses around 70 Dell PowerEdge C6320 servers and 13 C4130 servers fitted with 25 Nvidia Tesla K80 GPU cards. That gives M3 a total of 1,700 Intel Haswell cores, 50 K80 GPUs and 80 Grid K1 GPUs, and a 1.5PB (usable) Lustre file system. Dell's APJ manager of high-performance computing Andrew Underwood told iTWire that the cluster was designed for 100% utilisation and optimised for power efficiency as well as performance. M3 is "one of the world's first 100 gigabit Ethernet end-to-end deployments," he added. In addition to providing the server hardware, Dell collaborated with Monash on the design of M3 - along with Intel, Mellanox and Nvidia - and led the services side of the project, looking after installation, configuration, support, and so on. This is the first Massive generation that Dell has been involved with, although Monash's MC2 cluster was also based on Dell C6320 servers. And Cave2 - the university's immersive 3D environment - was built around Dell servers and Nvidia Maxwell GPUs. Underwood said Dell is supplying similar systems to commercial customers in various sectors including finance, oil and gas, artificial intelligence, and digital content creation such as animation and special effects. "High performance computing is a key pillar of Dell's business," he said. Monash e-research centre director Paul Bonnington said M3 represents a significant expansion of the computational facilities available at Monash. High performance computing is "indispensable" for large scientific instruments such as the Australian Synchrotron, the Square Kilometre Array and the Large Hadron Collider, said Nvidia accelerated computing CTO Steve Oberlin (pictured), noting that Nvidia had been one of the partners for all three generations of Massive. M1 and M2 are still in use and are fully subscribed, standing as a testament to GPU technology, he told iTWire. But M3 represents "a significant boost" in terms of the memory bandwidth and processing speed. Australia's chief scientist Alan Finkel said there was a nexus between science and technology in that new instruments enable us to learn more, and that knowledge leads to the development of the next generation of instruments. "Each enables the other," he said, adding that it will probably take two to five years before the contribution of M3 is fully understood. In the commercial space, the fastest growing impacts of GPU technology are in deep learning, Oberlin told iTWire. This is being used by service providers such as Google, Facebook and Twitter, who are applying "lots and lots of GPUs" to massive data sets in order to provide features such as voice recognition and the ability to search images and videos that have not been manually tagged. "All of these things are based on deep learning, trained on GPU arrays" and deliver value to the user base, which then contributes more data that can be used to further improve the services - "a virtuous cycle." Scientists are able to achieve something similar by pooling their data, providing more opportunities to find patterns and anomalies, he said. Monash academic vice president and dean of medicine, nursing and health sciences Christina Mitchell made a similar point, saying that the level of computational power provided by M3 allows data collected by different researchers to be linked, potentially leading to important outcomes such as explaining why particular antibiotics are no longer effective (and presumably allowing the development of new ones). "Society benefits tremendously from science and research," said Oberlin. "The value to society is incalculable compared with the cost." The total cost of M3 was not disclosed. The deal is Condats maiden overseas contract and the deal, with the unnamed customer, will see Condat deliver a content management solution. Condat will use its Smart Media Engine to deliver a content management solution for the customers video on demand services in what Invigor says is expected to be the beginning of a longterm relationship with the new partner. Invigor Executive Chairman and CEO, Mr Gary Cohen said the international expansion by Condat, as well as the opportunity to provide core solutions to major communications and media groups, is a key element of Condats growth strategy. This is an important milestone for Condat as it extends its reach outside of Germany for the first time and establishes itself with a major new customer. We will continue to explore such opportunities and take advantage of what we expect to be a significant new growth prospect for the Condat business.Cohen said the project is expected to be completed in Q2 FY16 with the revenue realised during this period. Heavy weighs the crown of the developer king. Yes, as software eats the world, demand for skilled developers remains high. But softwares pervasiveness -- from the server to the cloud to the coming onslaught of wearable and IoT devices -- means far greater responsibilities for software engineers and the need to constantly expand your skills. Companies are now frequently looking for someone who is comfortable with every layer of the development stack, has the ability to extract insights from massive data sets, and can think strategically about devices to come, all while reconsidering old systems using the latest languages and frameworks. Its enough to have no idea where to start. To find out the most sought-after developer skills this year, we reached out to a mix of recruiters, CTOs, CEOs, and other executives who offered their must-have technologies to try, strategies to consider, and soft skills to master. If youre looking to dust off your resume or update your current skill set (you should be), let our breakdown of the most desirable skills and trending technology needs be your guide. Brush up on JavaScript These days, developers who have mastered JavaScript cant go wrong, say those we surveyed. JavaScript proficiency is by far the most frequently sought skill named by executives and recruiters. JavaScript has proven to be a highly portable and valuable skill set in todays market. -- Todd Anglin, chief evangelist, Progress Software Most developers already have an impression of the top keywords employers are searching for, having pored over job boards and comparative salary reports, while preparing for a job interview, says Sherif Abushadi, an instructor at Dev Bootcamp. JavaScript is the talk of the town, as are dozens of related frameworks and libraries built by the JavaScript community. Regardless of whether youre building for the desktop, the Web, or mobile, JavaScript has proven to be a highly portable and valuable skill set in todays market, says Todd Anglin, chief evangelist at Progress Software. Engineers with solid computer science fundamentals and knowledge of a modern stack wont go looking for work, says Mark Stagno, principal consultant for the software technology practice at WinterWyman Search. This could be full-stack engineers or UI-focused developers who know JavaScript and a modern library such as AngularJS or React, he says. Abushadi adds that, while JavaScript is king, other popular languages and approaches worth dipping your toes into these days include Ruby, in concert with the Ruby on Rails framework, and Python, in conjunction with Django; both technology stacks have proved themselves vital to building scalable Web applications. Go big with data Big data projects continued to get, well, bigger last year, and theres no sign of that slowing down in the years to come. While big data has been around for years, its a trend thats here to stay, says Andrey Akselrod, co-founder and CTO of Smartling. Developers must have in-depth knowledge of [business intelligence] and analytics products, machine learning tools, and other solutions that transfer, store, and aggregate large amounts of data. Only then can they help their organizations store, interact, and analyze big data to make better business decisions. Technologies that capture and act on data the moment it arrives, such as streaming solutions and in-memory data stores, are becoming must-have skills to master. -- John Piekos, vice president of engineering, VoltDB The pace of data creation is dizzying, says John Piekos, vice president of engineering at VoltDB. But so are the opportunities. Mobile and Internet of things devices are becoming ubiquitous worldwide, Piekos says. Applications being developed today are harnessing amazing amounts of data and analyzing and reacting in real time. Technologies that capture and act on data the moment it arrives, such as streaming solutions and in-memory data stores, are becoming must-have skills to master. And technology that can store, manage, and historically analyze massive amounts of data -- petabytes and up -- will be skills that serve developers well for the next decade. For developers looking to add data wrangling to their arsenals, technologies such as Hadoop, Spark, R, and the variety of machine learning frameworks currently emerging are great places to start. Master the full stack Many top firms are now seeking full-stack developers who comfortably move between a variety of technologies and platforms. These engineers understand the implications of technical decisions from core layers of the software onto the presentation layer, says Hossein Rahnama, founder and chief product officer of startup Flybits. These are great assets as they make the job much easier for their peers and will prevent the startup from developing silos by following a classical hierarchical technical decision-making. They enable the teams to remain small and effective. Leveraging platforms such as Top Coder and Amazon Mechanical Turks are also great ways to engage in cool projects. Bryan Reinero, developer advocate at MongoDB, says going forward, engineers will need a broader range of skills to be effective: Fortunately, increasing the scope of expertise is both healthy for the engineer as well as for the company in which she works. Buy into devops Devops skills are a clear stand-out, often expressed by the dicta Engineers responsible for writing an application are the same engineers who maintain the application in production." -- Bryan Reinero, developer advocate, MongoDB Some tech gurus think devops will fall by the wayside as the use of cloud computing continues to grow inside corporations. Not so, says MongoDBs Reinero. Devops skills are a clear stand-out, Reinero says, often expressed by the dicta Engineers responsible for writing an application are the same engineers who maintain the application in production. This includes the need to break down engineering silos such that engineers understand how their code operates in production and are mindful of performance and stability during the development phase. Greater access to hot job prospects isnt the only reason to look into adding devops to your resume; devops practices simply make you a better developer and a more invaluable collaborator, Reinero argues. Engineers who think in these terms will release better code faster and with greater confidence, Reinero says. Devops practices also improve team cohesion and operational agility. This is the kind of edge that allows a company to accelerate ahead of the pack. Diversify The skill of giving -- and receiving -- feedback is more often than not the key difference between successful and unsuccessful projects. -- Sherif Abushadi, instructor, Dev Bootcamp The skills companies are looking for today are considerably more varied compared to a few years ago, says WinterWyman Searchs Stagno: Java and C# remain a part of the market, but when you look at companies founded after the last recession, you're seeing a variety: Ruby on Rails, Python/Django, Node.js, and the emergence of functional programming languages, with Scala the most prevalent. We're starting to see some companies adopt Go as well. I'm not a believer that you need to find the right technology to master, but you want to make sure that you are current, as there are wrong technologies to choose that will put you behind the curve as the landscape is ever-changing. Use the source In particular for freelancers, the ability to point to your code on GitHub shows that your work has been put to good use and reviewed by your peers. With the increase in adoption of the cloud, security and compliance are growing concerns for organizations. -- Aashish Kalra, chairman, Cambridge Technology Enterprises Work on meaningful libraries and open-source them to demonstrate instantaneous value to potential employers, says Kiran Bondalapati, co-founder and CTO of ZeroStack, adding that contributing to open source projects can also help establish collaboration credentials. Candace Murphy, recruiting manager at staffing services firm Addison Group, says that .Net and Java skills are still in great demand, but larger trends in open source development are growing. Were seeing uptick in requests for IT professionals with Ruby, Python, Node.js, and AngularJS open source JavaScript experience. This trend is driven by companies moving away from the traditional platforms that require licensing fees. If companies themselves are exploring GitHub for technologies to add to their stacks, shouldnt you? Be agile -- and hone your teamwork skills I would argue that being a successful mobile developer is not achieved through a particular technology skill set, but rather through business savvy. Writing code is only the first phase of the project. -- Andrey Akselrod, co-founder and CTO, Smartling Agile development should be part of a coders quiver of skills in 2016, says Greg Sterndale, co-founder of PromptWorks, a Philadelphia software consulting shop specializing in Web and mobile applications. And keep it simple: Be humble and be hungry. Be familiar with agile and lean methodologies -- the ability to break down big projects into small stories, prioritizing, adapting to change, and delivering the most value. Since offering feedback is important in an agile environment, Dev Bootcamp instructor Abushadi stresses the need to understand your co-workers as well as the project: The ability to provide honest, kind, and actionable feedback when working in teams is only truly possible when you have empathy, and the skill of giving -- and receiving -- feedback is more often than not the key difference between successful and unsuccessful projects. Get secure According to Addisons Murphy, companies that suffered security breaches last year already know what they want and what skills will be the most useful to them in 2016. Everyone now confronts the next big challenge: How do I get data -- in the right format, of the right size, with the right resiliency and responsiveness -- fed into these apps? Thats a much bigger trick. -- Jeff Haynie, CEO and co-founder, Appcelerator Theyre taking more proactive approaches to increase security, not only within their IT department but across the board, Murphy says. Well see a shift in the most in-demand technologies this year as a result. Experts noted the increased demand for network security, in particular adaptive application security, as well as cloud security. With the increase in adoption of the cloud, security and compliance are growing concerns for organizations, says Aashish Kalra, chairman of Cambridge Technology Enterprises. This has resulted in an upsurge of demand for experts in security, compliance, governance, and data administration. While developers may have traditionally passed the security buck to dedicated security pros, the need for developers to safeguard their code keeps growing. Consider it an invaluable, growing niche to fill. ze has announced a number of interface improvements new features are on their way to the Android app. The 4.0 update will finally bring parity to the iOS version with a refreshed UI, quicker access to key features, improved alerts for all those road hazards. The notification experience looks improved, with a promise of more rapid updates that are easier to spot at a glance. ile the visual overhaul isnt in keeping with Material Design (which is a little strange since owns ze) it is nonetheless easier on the eyes makes key capabilities st out. The update isnt here yet, but ze promises it will soon arrive in the ay Store. ll be sure to let you know once its here. y this matters: ze is a great travel aide because of its reliance on crowdsourced traffic data. Ive found in navigating large, urban areas like s Angeles the San Francisco Bay Area that it can weave through out-of-the-way streets to more quickly get to a destination when the main routes are jammed. Since ze is under the umbrella, I also expect more integration with Maps for the Android app to start getting the goods at the same time as the iOS app. First Sexually Transmitted Zika Virus Case in Oregon Health officials in Oregon last Friday announced the state's first known case of sexually transmitted Zika virus. The victim is a woman whose partner had active Zika symptoms. Officials do not yet know if the disease can be passed to sexual partners when it is dormant, which would make infection even more dangerous than it now seems. "Though mosquito bites appear to be the most common way Zika is spread, there is increasing evidence for sexual transmission as well," Dr. Richard Leman, Oregon's public health physician, said in a news release. Meanwhile, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating more than a dozen similar cases around the country, also seemingly transmitted sexually. Daytime Flights Oregon health officials said that sexual transmission of the Zika virus is more common than they initially believed. The CDC is looking at 13 cases of Zika around the country that they believe were sexually transmitted. The vast majority of cases thus far seem to come from direct infections. The virus is reportedly carried by one species of mosquito -- aedes aegypti -- that thrives in tropical and subtropical climates, and can be found in Hawaii as well as some parts of the southern United States. The virus is also carried by another species, aedes albopictus. Both species are daytime biters, unlike some other types of mosquitoes. Although Oregon health officials declined to give details on the infected woman, where she lived, or even which country her sexual partner had traveled to, they did say that he went abroad and that she did not. The health officials also specified that they have not yet come across a case of sexually transmitted Zika in someone whose partner did not show active sign of the infection. That indicates there is still some hope that Zika is not secretly spreading among people who are seemingly uninfected. But little is yet known about the virus or how to treat it. Talk to a Lawyer If you or someone you know has been infected with zika or any other disease, whether transmitted sexually or otherwise, speak to a lawyer. Many attorneys consult for free or a minimal fee and will be happy to assess your case. Related Resources: A Lexus SUV being controlled by Google's autonomous vehicle (AV) technology has crashed into the side of a bus, marking what may be the first accident caused by the self-driving technology while it was in full autonomous mode. The accident, first reported by freelance writer Mark Harris, showed up on an accident report filed with the California DMV on Feb. 23. The collision -- involving an RX450h SUV and a public bus in Mountain View, Calif. -- took place on Feb. 14. The Lexus was in "autonomous mode" while traveling about two miles per hour in the right-hand lane as it approached an intersection and signaled for a right hand turn. Sandbags surrounding a storm drain caused the vehicle to move left, into the center lane. Creative Commons Lic. Google's Lexus RX45h self-driving SUV. "A public transit bus was approaching from behind. The Google AV test driver saw the bus approaching in the left side mirror but believed the bus would stop or slow to allow the Google AV to continue," the accident report stated. "Approximately three seconds later, as the Google AV was reentering the center of the lane, it made contact with the side of the bus." The report indicated that Google car's safety driver believed the bus would yield. The bus was traveling at about 15mph, according to the report filed by Chris Urmson, Google's director of self-driving cars. While no injuries were reported, the Google AV sustained body damage to the left front fender, the left front wheel and one of its driver's-side doors, the report stated. In a reply to Computerworld, Google said its AVs spend a lot of time on El Camino Real, a wide boulevard of three lanes in each direction that runs through Googles hometown of Mountain View. The boulevard has hundreds of sets of traffic lights and hundreds more intersections, it has helped Google AVs to navigate "a busy and historic artery. And on Valentines Day we ran into a tricky set of circumstances on El Camino..." "Most of the time it makes sense to drive in the middle of a lane. But when youre teeing up a right-hand turn in a lane wide enough to handle two streams of traffic, annoyed traffic stacks up behind you," Google stated. "So several weeks ago we began giving the self-driving car the capabilities it needs to do what human drivers do: hug the rightmost side of the lane. This is the social norm because a turning vehicle often has to pause and wait for pedestrians; hugging the curb allows other drivers to continue on their way by passing on the left. Its vital for us to develop advanced skills that respect not just the letter of the traffic code but the spirit of the road." The accident involving a Google AV is not the first. In June of last year, Google began actively reporting accidents involving vehicles using its self-driving technology. Google AVs have been in more than a dozen accidents to date, but all previous ones were blamed on human error, making the latest the first while a vehicle was in fully autonomous mode. Google has 23 Lexus RX450h SUVs performing test drives on California public roads. To date, the vehicles have logged more than 1 million miles, according to Google. Verizon is known for its huge annual Data Breach Investigations Report, but this morning it released a less data-heavy digest organized by case study. The digest tells the stories of 18 common scenarios that many attacks fall into, and is intended to be used at a higher level than than the full data breach report, as well as for end user training and security awareness. "Everyone is told by their company, 'Do this, don't do that' and they may not understand why," said Chris Novak, director of investigative response team at Verizon. "This digest explains the why." According to Novak, the digest is based on 1,175 forensic investigations that Verizon has conducted over the past three years. Two-thirds of the cases fall into just a dozen scenarios, he said. Another six scenarios are less common overall, but have a bigger impact on targeted companies. "One of the key take-aways that we're hoping folks will realize here is that there's such commonality between the cases," Novak said. "There's a perception that everyone is in this alone. By putting these stories out there, it shows the industry that they are not alone." The scenarios are grouped by type of attack and while they include a frequency number, this is not how common these attacks are in general, but by how often the attack strategy occurs in the Verizon forensic investigations. The individual case studies go through the methods that investigators used to figure out what happened, as well as the steps taken afterwards to address the problem. For example, the first case study, in which plans for new construction equipment were stolen by a competitor via a spearphishing attack, involved traditional detective work. Investigators interviewed experts at the company to find out what data the thieves must have taken, then interviewed employees to zero in on the ones who had access. At that point, computer forensics helped find the phishing emails from the fake recruiter who had been sending the targeted employees emails with appealing job offers -- one of which that contained the malware that got into his computer and stole the files. There are some lighter moments in this report, as well, such as the story of the cyberextortionist who was caught when the targeted financial services company pretended to offer him a job. Investigators flew the criminal from Eastern Europe to the U.S., conducted a mock job interview, and at the end asked for a demonstration of his abilities in the form of details of how he had compromised the company. The crook explained in great detail how he was able to infiltrate the various corporate systems, but instead of getting a job offer, he was thanked for his confession and arrested. And there's the story of the best developer at a company -- who turned out to have outsourced his job to China in order to spend the day reading Reddit and watching cat videos. He had FedExed his authentication token key fob to the contractor, and was caught when logs showed mysterious -- but authorized -- VPN access from China. The full digest is 84 pages long, but it's a fun, fast-paced and gripping read that even involves pirates on the high seas. Get unlimited access to all content and features at ivpressonline.com with our Full Online Access Subscription. Read our E-Edition, the digital replica of the print newspaper online, access content in exclusive sections including Family, Teen, Business, Databases, Farm and more. This option does not include daily home delivery of the Imperial Valley Press newspaper. For home delivery service, please select Premium or Premium Plus. KINGSTON: Kingston Rotarian Roy Jukes was honoured with the award of a Paul Harris Fellowship at Kingston Rotary Club recently. Mr Jukes has been a member of the Club since 1979 and has held many positions during his 20 years' service. KINGSTON: The first performance of a new work by successful Chiswick based composer, Cecilia McDowall, will provide the centrepiece of the Thames Philharmonic Choir's concert on Saturday, May 6, in Kingston Parish Church. Call the box office on 020 89983529. FindLaw Legal Blogs FindLaw's Legal Blogs bring you the latest legal news and information. Both consumers and legal professionals can find answers, insights, and updates in the blogs listed below. To receive blog posts right in your inbox, subscribe to FindLaws Newsletters. Before the minimum wage law of $10.10 could take effect, Birmingham, Alabama workers were frustrated when it was turned down by the state legislature. Workers were elated when the bill was passed by the local city council on August last year. But they did not expect that it will be shot down just by the higher body of lawmakers. The state legislature had its own plans when it, together with the state governor, rapidly passed a bill that prevented any local city from implementing its own minimum wage law, and that includes the new law of Birmingham. There's nothing the Birmingham's city council could do but say that the lawmakers had "dealt a severe blow to the working-class citizens" of the city and the entire state. The existing wage law in Alabama calls for employers to pay a minimum of $7.25 per hour to wage earners. Alabama legislators would want this rate to be followed by every local city in the state. Alabama follows the Uniform Minimum Wage and Right-to Work-Act which does not allow cities from implementing their own minimum wage. The state has no state minimum wage in place so the $7.25 minimum rate is enforced. The bill stopping the implementation of Birmingham, Alabama's $10.10 minimum wage was approved by the state senate which was readily signed by Gov. Robert Bentley. "This is a clear indication that the plight of the working class is of no relevance to the GOP," said Jonathan Austin, President of the Birmingham City Council in a released statement. "Never before in the history of Alabama's post-segregation era has a bill so detrimental to the very people who most of us depend on daily-the cooks, the waiters and busboys at our favorite restaurants, the barista at our neighborhood coffee shop, the caddy at the local country club and the maids at the hotels that help to boost our local economy-been fast-tracked in the state legislature," he lamented. According to estimates arrived at by computer engineers and software developers, Apple Inc. would have to spend $101,000 to assist the FBI in hacking a terrorist's iPhone. But that's not all. In order to not let this hack from going out into the open, the tech giant has to spend millions of dollars more. This was revealed by Apple in court documents filed on Thursday, as to what the company needs to do to hack one of its iPhones. Previously, Apple was ordered by a federal magistrate-judge to design a back-door hack that will help the FBI to break into a San Bernardino shooter's iPhone 5C. Although the computer giant has already estimated the cost of hacking, it is not willing to do the bidding of the court without a fight. Apple also indicated that a new version of its OS will have to be designed. It was called "GovtOS" by one of its staff. "All told, I would estimate that the process of designing, creating, validating, deploying GovtOS would take two to four weeks," said Erik Neuenschwander, manager of user privacy at Apple, according to the papers filed court. Neuenschwander added that it would take "six to ten Apple engineers and employees dedicating a very substantial portion of their time." Tim Cook, Apple's CEO is refusing to give in to the demands of the FBI. "The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers," said Cook in a public letter. "The same engineers who built strong encryption into the iPhone to protect our users would, ironically, be ordered to weaken those protections and make our users less safe," he added. But the FBI is equally adamant. The spy agency has previously been critical of the tech giant's encryption tactics and argued that these will impede their investigations. It has been lobbying with congress to pass a law that requires Apple to build OS backdoors. Partners Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko are finally going back to Earth today after spending a year aboard the aboard the International Space Station, making their mission a total of 340 consecutive days. American astronaut Kelly turned over the command of the ISS to Tim Kopra, a fellow American astronaut. His partner Kornienko is a Russian cosmonaut. Both Kelly and Kornienko have made a U.S. record for having spent the most consecutive days in space. They also made a record for NASA for having spent the longest stay by 125 days. The partners, during their stay, were able to share lodgings with 13 others. Kelly and Korneinko have also served with eight different crewmates. Included in their achievements during their stay are unpacking six cargo ships, weathering two botched supply runs, and participating in dozens of science experiments. Meanwhile, the overall duration record goes to Valeri Polyakov, after spending 437 days on the former Russian Mir space station in 1994 and 1995. " NASA will release video of the hatch closure, as well as undocking and landing activities at 1:30 a.m. ET Wednesday. Kelly and Kornienko will be joined in the Soyuz space capsule by cosmonaut Sergey Volkov," CBC reports. The data gathered by the partners during their time on the ISS will give agencies further information with regards to how space travel affects the body. The partners will also be able to provide further information on the kind of "physiological and psychological performance challenges astronauts face during long-duration missions." On the side note, Kelly's identical twin brother Mark Kelly, is also an astronaut. Mark is serving as an experimental control. This will allow the researchers to analyze and compare how space changes a person with the same genetic makeup. The brothers joined "joined forces to provide NASA with a potential gold mine of scientific data: one twin studied for a year in orbit - twice the usual space station stay - while his genetic double underwent similar tests on the ground." Snow on Rental Property: Landlord and Tenant Removal Duties It's snowing yet again and you can't wait for spring to arrive. But it's not yet here and someone has to clear all the snow on the sidewalk and covering the walkway. Who has to do it? Depending on where you live it is either the tenant or the landlord, which is to say it varies from state to state. Snow removal is required of owners in some places and renters in others, and sometimes local ordinances make demands, so it's not enough to know state law. Snowed In Snow shoveling, which seems like a simple enough matter, can get quite complicated when you consider state and local ordinances, plus additional demands, like salting, and the deadline for removal. Most places have guidance on when removal must be complete, within 24 or 48 hours of a snowfall generally. According to RentPrep, owners are on the hook for removal in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania whereas in Ohio and Illinois it is the tenant's responsibility to clear the snow. But watch out Chicago owners and occupants because local law says snow removal is everyone's job, notwithstanding state law. Clearing Up Confusion Make it clear who is in charge of clearing the snow in advance to prevent disputes and lawsuits. It should not be a mystery that the landlord and tenant solve during or after a storm -- or worse yet -- when someone's been injured because snow removal was neglected. It is in a landlord's interests to know local and state laws and to outline these in a lease agreement. If you rent out your space yourself, then talk to your tenants about expectations before the lease is signed. This prevents problems down the line. Whoever is responsible, be it landlord or tenant, knowing is half the battle in preventing battles. The other half, of course, is getting it done. Snow must be removed because slip and fall injury cases are costly and negligent landlords pay a heavy price in court. Do everyone a favor and clear up confusion and snow as promptly as possible. Landlord/Tenant Dispute? If you are an owner or tenant having trouble with a property dispute, talk to a lawyer. Many attorneys consult for free or a minimal fee and will be happy to provide guidance. Related Resources: Top 5 Voting Rights Laws It's primary season and the next presidential election is right around the corner, which means the focus will turn to voting rights and access to the polls. You know we live in a democracy, and you've probably heard of "one person, one vote." But what exactly are your voting rights? Do you need ID? And does your boss need to give you time off to vote? We've got the answers to these and other questions in our top five posts on voting rights laws. Many states have recently passed laws requiring voters to show a valid picture ID at the polls in order to cast a vote. While many of these laws are aimed at combating voter fraud, some courts have found voter ID laws overly restrictive and can have a discriminatory effect. You should check your state's laws to confirm whether you will need ID in order to vote. Depending on where you live, your employer may need to give you time off in order to vote. While some states require employers to give paid time off for employees to head to the polls, other states have no laws regarding time off to vote. You may need to consult your boss or your state statutes regarding time off to vote. Whether you can vote after being convicted of a felony can vary significantly depending on where you live. While some states bar felons from ever voting again, others allow incarcerated persons to vote from jail. And there are many states in between, including some that require felons to request their voting rights be restored. What kind of accommodations must polling places provide? Can people campaign at a polling location? Are you eligible to cast a ballot? Here's everything you need to know about heading to the polls on Election Day. But what if you want to vote before Election Day? Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia allow some sort of early voting, some allowing you to cast a ballot 45 days before the election. And all states allow absentee voting as well, although you may be asked to provide an excuse for absentee voting and you'll likely have to request an absentee ballot. If you have more questions about your voting rights, or feel like your voting rights have been violated, you can contact and experienced election campaign attorney near you. Related Resources: "No one wants to take a tenderfoot on the trail, it's too much responsibility." I've probably said it a dozen times since I've started writing for High-Def Digest but it's worth saying again: I love a good western. I was brought up watching the exploits of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. These men were the icons of the dusty trail and the six-shooter, and with my regular intake of these movies I didn't so much as watch them as absorb them like a dry sponge. One iconic actor of the western that I've never felt got enough love for his numerous contributions to the genre was Glenn Ford. While known for raising Clark Kent and starring in his fair share of noir gangster films, Ford would collaborate with Delmer Daves to create three amazing entries into the western genre, 1956's 'Jubal,' 1957's '3:10 To Yuma,' and 1958's 'Cowboy.' While it may be a bit lighter in tone, 'Cowboy' proves that Delmer Daves had a knack for telling personable dramatic stories using the old west as the perfect backdrop. Frank Harris (Jack Lemmon) is tired of living a dull life as a clerk at a prestigious upper-crust Chicago Hotel. He's a man of ambition, means, and most of all - he's in love with the beautiful Maria (Anna Kashfi). Knowing that Maria's father Senor Vidal (Donald Randolph) would never allow his daughter to marry beneath her station, no matter how much she loves him, Frank has a plan to get into the cattle business to make some serious money and cement a place for himself and prove he's the right man for Maria's hand. The only hangup is he needs the right partner to invest in. Long on the dusty trail driving cattle to market from Mexico to Chicago, Tom Reese and his crew are ready for a little revelry, and even a night at the opera! As it turns out Tom has a bit of a gambling streak and can hold his own at the card table, most times that is. After getting gutted at poker, Tom aims to clear out and get another herd onto the trail while his credit is still good. As Tom is settling his bill with Frank at the hotel desk, Frank sees the perfect opportunity, a man in need of some stake money to get a herd together, a partner. Only Tom doesn't like partners - even when they're willing to put up $3,800.00 in cash on the spot. Now that Frank is attached to his hip, Tom isn't going to make life easy for the greenhorn whose only previous experience with cattle was devouring a well-seasoned steak. As Frank sees the reality of the life he only dreamed of, his soft and easy-going nature turns hard and sour. While Tom doesn't want a partner, he hates to see a good man go mean. The trail isn't for everyone and while Frank has turned into a formidable cattleman, Tom works the man to see that this life may not be for him after all. But as Tom tries to convince Frank of the facts, he's also left confronting his own bitter nature and how the trail has changed him over the years. Together the two men will learn that working cattle can make or break a man and if they're going to survive this drive they're going to have to learn to work with each other as equal partners. After the drama loaded 'Jubal' and the suspenseful '3:10 To Yuma,' it's nice to see Delmer Daves take on a softer more character-driven film. While the film manages to squeak in a few comedic light-hearted moments, the brooding character drama underneath is what brings 'Cowboy' home. Since he's largely known as a comedic actor, Jack Lemmon delivers a wonderfully nuanced performance as Frank Harris. He's a man who goes into this exciting life of a cattle drive blinded by the idea of love and gold at the rainbow, but when he gets to work he quickly learns it's nothing like he thought it would be. Without giving too much away, it's really something to see Lemmon go from sweet and innocent to surly, uncaring and outright mean. By contrast, Frank's decent gives light to Tom's own ways. By being a loaner who doesn't want partners and only wants to be a boss, Tom has put himself at a constant distance from ever truly knowing anyone. While his men may respect him, he wouldn't wade into a fight to save one of their necks - that's just the life of the trail. As Frank becomes a mirror image Tom sees for the first time the fallacies of how he's lived his life. For those expecting some sort of rip-roaring Cowboys vs Indians yarn, 'Cowboy' isn't that sort of film. While there are some very good action and suspense moments that nicely tie this film back into Delmer Daves' previous effort on '3:10 To Yuma,' 'Cowboy' takes more of a character study beat from 'Jubal' while infusing the story with its own form of genre deconstruction. Yes, this movie is a western that takes place in the old west, but it's also a movie that could transport the same characters into a different time and a different livelihood and it would remain incredibly effective and personable. While I was a little worried this would be another comedic turn for Jack Lemmon, I was once again surprised and reminded by the late actor's incredible range as a dramatic presence. If you've yet to consider taking the time to give 'Cowboy' a viewing, now is as good a time as any. It absolutely rewards you for the time you put into it. The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats 'Cowboy' arrives on Blu-ray thanks to Twilight Time in a limited run of 3,000 units. Pressed onto a Region Free BD50 disc and housed in a clear Blu-ray case, the disc opens directly to the main menu with standard navigation options. Also included is a booklet featuring stills as well as a great essay about the film by film historian Julie Kirgo. An apartment development, with five buildings totaling 186 units, is being proposed by Wangard Partners for a warehouse site in Elm Grove north of W. Watertown Plank Road and east of N. Elm Grove Road. Credit: AG Architecture By of the An apartment development, with five buildings totaling 186 units, is being proposed for a warehouse site in Elm Grove. Wangard Partners Inc. wants to develop the buildings north of W. Watertown Plank Road and east of N. Elm Grove Road, according to plans filed with the village. The firm also plans to seek village funds to help finance the project. It would be the largest multifamily housing development in Elm Grove, said Casey Griffith, village zoning and planning administrator. The village's largest such project is a condominium community with nearly 100 units, he said. The apartments would be north of stores that front on Watertown Plank Road and would replace some older warehouses, which would be razed. Wangard is proposing two four-story buildings and two three-story buildings, which together would house most of the apartments. One of those buildings would have 72 apartments, according to the conceptual plans. The three other buildings would each have 36 units. There also would be a two-story building with six townhouse-style apartments. The complex would include 402 parking spaces, divided between underground spaces and surface lots. The main access to the site would from Watertown Plank Road, with two additional access points from Elm Grove Road. Most of the apartments would have one or two bedrooms. There also are a smaller number of studio and three-bedroom units. The plans, by AG Architecture, show buildings with several balconies and a walking path that connects the development to Watertown Plank and Elm Grove roads. Wangard Partners also plans to seek village funds to help finance the development, according to the proposal. It doesn't specify an amount. Those funds, if approved by the Village Board, would be repaid through the new property taxes generated by the apartments. "As we fine-tune construction budgeting and overall costs, we will work with village officials on the specific allocation the project will require," said a letter from Wangard President Wayne Wiertzema. The village funds would be used for such items as demolition, environmental cleanup and utility extensions, Wiertzema's letter said. The development would provide a substantial economic benefit by adding a significant number of residents within walking distance of Elm Grove businesses, the letter said. The Plan Commission is to conduct an initial review of the proposal at its March 7 meeting. The property was used by Reinders Inc. as a distribution center for commercial mowing equipment, fertilizer and other items, according to a village report. That business has moved to Sussex. Along with the apartments, future additional development on the site, which extends north to Juneau Blvd. and east to the Canadian Pacific railroad tracks, could include retail, office and residential use, according to that report. Facebook: facebook.com/JSBusiness Twitter: twitter.com/TomDaykin SHARE By of the Shareholders of Journal Media Group Inc. approved the $280 million sale of the company to Gannett Co. Inc. Tuesday. More than 92% of shares that were voted were cast in favor of the merger, Steven J. Smith, chairman of Journal Media Group, told shareholders during a special meeting at the company's headquarters in Milwaukee. Federal regulators who oversee antitrust issues still must sign off on the merger, in which the parent company of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and JSOnline.com would join Gannett. No timetable for the regulatory review was available. "We continue to work with the Department of Justice in its review of the proposed transaction with Gannett," said Tim Stautberg, president and chief executive officer of Journal Media Group. Under terms of the deal, Journal Media Group stockholders would receive $12 per share in cash. Gannett, based in McLean, Va., announced in October it planned to buy Journal Media Group in a merger that would bring it not only Wisconsin's biggest newspaper, but 14 other daily newspapers, including the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn.; the Knoxville News Sentinel, also in Tennessee; and the Naples Daily News in Florida. Journal Media Group, which has about 3,400 employees, was created in April after The E.W. Scripps Co. and Journal Communications Inc. merged their local TV operations and spun off their newspapers into an independent, publicly traded company based in Milwaukee. In June, Gannett also split its newspaper and broadcast assets into separate companies. Gannett owns USA Today, 92 daily publications in the U.S. and Guam, and more than 400 nondaily publications. "We are pleased with the overwhelming support for this transaction by the Journal Media Group shareholders and look forward to completing the required regulatory review and bringing these two great companies together," Bob Dickey, president and chief executive of Gannett, said in a statement. "Today's vote is an important step toward enabling our portfolio of local media brands to better navigate the transformation of our industry and continue to serve readers and advertisers with quality content, products and services," Stautberg said. "We look forward to joining Gannett's USA TODAY NETWORK with a commitment to strengthening lives and communities." Gannett has been in Wisconsin since 1980, when it bought the Green Bay Press-Gazette and Wausau Record-Herald. It also owns dailies in Appleton, Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Marshfield, Oshkosh, Sheboygan, Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids. The Gannett state newsrooms make up the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, part of the nationwide USA TODAY NETWORK. In addition to the Milwaukee, Memphis, Knoxville and Naples newspapers, Journal Media Group includes: The (Redding) Record-Searchlight and Ventura County Star in California; the Treasure Coast Newspapers in Florida; the Evansville Courier & Press in Indiana; The (Henderson) Gleaner in Kentucky; The (Anderson) Independent Mail in South Carolina; the Abilene Reporter-News, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, San Angelo Standard-Times and Wichita Falls Times Record News in Texas; and the Kitsap Sun in Washington. Henry Schwartz, the co-owner of Wisconsin craft brewer MobCraft, makes an appearance on Shark Tank on March 11. The Brass Tap, 7808 W. Layton Ave., Greenfield, is hosting a viewing party at 8 p.m. Credit: Journal Sentinel files SHARE By of the Wisconsin craft brewer MobCraft will get national television exposure March 11 when the brewery's co-owner, Henry Schwartz, makes an appearance on "Shark Tank." The Brass Tap, 7808 W. Layton Ave., Greenfield, will have the television set to the show for a "Shark Tank" viewing party at 8 p.m. and pouring MobCraft brews for the show, according to the Brass Tap Facebook page. Here are a few more beer events of note: March 5: Craft beer meets live music at Madison On Tap at the Alliant Energy Center, 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, Madison. Sample beers from 1:30 to 5 p.m. in Session 1 or from 6:30 to 10 p.m. in Session 2. Tickets are $45. VIP tickets are $60. March 7:Cafe Hollander, 7677 W. State St., Wauwatosa, hosts the Troubadour Bier Dinner with Stefaan Soetemans, owner and master brewer of Brouwerij the Musketeers, and a collaborator in Hollander IPA. Six beers will be served with a five-course meal for $65. Call (414) 475-6771 to reserve a spot. March 8: 3rd Sign, part of Octopi Brewing in Waunakee, visits the Malt Shoppe, 813 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa, from 5 to 7 p.m. A representative will be pouring samples. March 10: The Milwaukee County Historical Society, 910 N. Old World 3rd St., hosts a panel discussion on the city's changing beer scene called Evolution to Revolution featuring industry leaders at 6:30 p.m., part of the "Brew City MKE: Craft, Culture, Community" exhibit. Admission is $5. March 10: Burnhearts, 2599 S. Logan Ave., breaks out some barrel-aged Hinterland brews including a mystery firkin. The beer is tapped at 7 p.m., according to the Hinterland event Facebook page. March 12: 3 Floyds takes over the taps at The Brass Tap, 7808 Layton Ave., Greenfield. March 11 and 12: Shully's, 146 Green Bay Road, Thiensville, pairs beers with four courses of a Southern barbecue dinner. Drinks and appetizers begin at 6:30 p.m. and the first course will be served at 7 p.m. The price is $45 per person. Call (262) 242-6633 or by them via Shully's website. March 12: Crafty Cow, 153 E. Wisconsin Ave., Oconomowoc, holds its second annual Barrel Fest, pouring 20 barrel-aged beers from open to close. Special tappings begin at 4 p.m. March 12: Rock Bottom Brewery kicks off the 50th annual Shamrock Club St. Patrick's Day Parade with Kegs and Eggs! from 9 to 11 a.m. at the brewery, 740 N. Plankinton Ave. The deal includes all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet and bottomless tap beers. Admission is $20; $25 at the door, according to the Kegs and Eggs! event page on Facebook. March 16: Pearl Street Brewery comes to Ray's Growler Gallery, 8930 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa, at 5 p.m. Expect to try some limited release beers from the LaCrosse brewery. March 17-20: Champps, 1240 S. Moorland Road, Brookfield, kicks off four days of March Madness and special beers with a firkin of Ballast Point Victory at Sea Imperial Porter brewed with Samoa Cookies. The extensive list of rare beers continues through Sunday when they pour all Central Waters beers including the 18th Anniversary Ale. April 3: The Sugar Maple, 441 E. Lincoln Ave., will mark its eighth anniversary April 1 but will celebrate with a party from noon to 5 p.m. April 3. The party includes a 2 p.m. bottle share; a silent auction and a live auction at 4:30 p.m. Expect special beers on tap. The Sugar Maple hopes to raise funds toward renovation of the Mitchell Park Domes. The date was incorrect in an earlier version of the party announcement. Other dates to keep in mind: The eighth annual Kohler Festival of Beer opens April 29 with Hops at the Shops and includes a weekend of seminars and tastings through May 1. Milwaukee Beer Week kicks off on April 16, and the annual Crafts & Drafts Spring Beer Festival is set for April 17 at Serb Hall, 5101 W. Oklahoma Ave. Tickets are on sale now. For a guide to beer news and more, check out Tap Milwaukee's Beer Here page. Nicole Sheldon practices yoga in the east side Milwaukee studio she co-owns. Sheldon turned to yoga and therapy after leaving her job as an assistant district attorney as a result of the trauma she endured from an armed robbery. Credit: Michael Sears By of the As a confident young Milwaukee prosecutor used to dealing with violent criminals, Nicole Sheldon never expected to be a crime victim herself or considered the aftermath. "This experience broke me in a lot of ways," she recently wrote on Facebook. "It changed who I am." For weeks after she was robbed outside her home in Bay View, she couldn't sleep, stay in her house alone or walk past unknown young men on the sidewalk, even in daylight. But she missed only one day of work, and as she focused on the step-by-step of her own case (her attacker was arrested the same night), she thought she had successfully compartmentalized her own trauma. "I'm like, OK, I'm fine, I'm just going to block it out," she said in an interview. She was robbed in late March 2013. By the end of that year, she was promoted to the homicide unit, her dream job since joining the Milwaukee County district attorney's office immediately after law school in May 2008. Three months into the assignment, however, she realized the constant interaction with victims' families was breaking down the wall she'd built around her own fears. She pressed on to the fall, finally transferred from the homicide unit, then resigned from the DA's office in February 2015 because the work kept aggravating her own post-traumatic stress. Sheldon, 35, said it was hard to leave since her job so defined her identity, but it was, ultimately, a necessary step in coming to terms with her own trauma experience something she has tackled with the help of therapy, friends and family, and yoga. Her attacker's appeal was denied Feb. 4. Sheldon posted on Facebook she felt relieved. "Maybe a door can now ... finally ... begin to close." She agreed to tell her story with the hope it would start a dialogue about the need for more services for crime victims. "If it's been hard for me, someone who had a good job, a strong spouse, insurance, transportation," she said. "It can be virtually impossible for the many victims without those things." "It's a house of cards for many people," she said, where something like a carjacking can collapse all the scaffolding that helps them manage life. "The (criminal justice) system is not designed to help victims. It's a re-victimizing system, as much as we try to prevent that." The robbery On March 25, 2013, Sheldon was walking to her house after work when a man approached with something shiny and black in his right hand and said, "Ma'am, just drop the bag." She dropped her purse and screamed as he grabbed it. Her husband, a firefighter, ran out from the house and chased the suspect as he climbed into a car that drove up, until Sheldon yelled that he had a gun. Sheldon's husband got a good description and the license plate number. Kenyatta Clincy, 25, was arrested driving the car later that night. He denied robbing Sheldon, but two other people told police they were in the car when Clincy randomly targeted Sheldon. Accustomed to asking tough courtroom questions, Sheldon found herself on the witness stand at Clincy's trial, which the state attorney general's office handled to avoid the appearance of a conflict. "I sweat out my shirt," she recalled. "It felt like forever." She had to admit she had not been able to pick Clincy from a photo array or a live lineup. She got cross-examined about her estimate of the attacker's height, shorter than Clincy. No gun was ever found, and the complaint charged only that Clincy used something perhaps the tire iron found on the floor of the car when he was arrested to suggest he had a gun. "You can't convince me it wasn't a gun," Sheldon said. Clincy was found guilty of armed robbery and sentenced to 10 years in prison, plus five years of supervision. Feeling survivor's guilt Sheldon tried to keep suppressing her own angst as she plowed into prosecuting homicides. Many were "armed robberies gone bad," and she started having survivor's guilt about her own attack. "Why them, and not me?" she asked, each time thinking she, too, could just as easily have been shot. In September 2014 she landed the case of Aurelius Williams, a 17-year-old shot in the back as he and two younger friends tried to run from armed robbers in March. She had to interview his parents. "I could tell the mom was forever going to be broken," she said. "You lose your only son for what? How ridiculous." She left the homicide unit shortly after. Her former boss, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, said he'd hire Sheldon back, if and when she felt ready. "She had tremendous talent and potential," and was excelling as a young prosecutor, he said. "Then this happens to her." He said it wasn't the first and probably won't be the last time personal trauma affected a prosecutor's career. "Not everyone has Mark Williams' constitution, they just don't," he said, referring to his assistant who prosecuted only homicides, some 700 cases, for 23 years until his retirement at the end of 2014. Chisholm also agreed that, despite strides in victim assistance his office sends advocates to all shooting scenes now, in addition to guiding them through the court process more could be done. "No question it's not resourced anywhere near where it should be." Credits PTSD therapy Sheldon credits her therapist, Stephanie Delmore of the Ommani Center, and a treatment called EMDR, for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, for getting back on track. EMDR trains the brain to move traumatic memories from reactive areas of the brain to areas with fuller control, where they can be dealt with more rationally. It has been used extensively in treating post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans. Delmore said the therapy induces a semi-hypnotic state that helps a patient "get out of your own way," in learning to rewire how the brain deals with memory of trauma. For some people, EMDR opens a back door to parts of the brain that traditional talk therapy can't reach. Before she found EMDR, Sheldon said, yoga also helped her. "It was the first place I found that, for 75 minutes, I wasn't thinking about my cases or my own garbage," she said. It was during yoga that she first felt a release of the stress she'd been carrying since being robbed. Now she's a partner in a yoga studio, mostly handling the business side. She said she's not alone in getting much more than a physical workout from yoga. "A lot of people are there for a lot of reasons," she said, and the studio clearly promotes the more holistic health benefits of yoga. For now, she's not sure she'll ever return to practicing law. "In my heart, I'm a prosecutor," she said. "But I kind of feel that career is what I was really robbed of." A mock Apartheid Wall set up by Students for Justice in Palestine was taken down by Marquette. Credit: Students for Justice in Palestine Facebook page SHARE By of the A group of Marquette University students is accusing the campus administration of censorship and discrimination after a mock "Apartheid Wall" set up by Students for Justice in Palestine was taken down by the university. It's the second time in less than a year that the university has sparked controversy by taking down a depiction that it said violated campus rules or values. Last May, a mural of an African-American activist convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper in 1973 was painted over in the Marquette Gender and Sexuality Resource Center within a day of being targeted by a conservative blogger. University officials said the mural conflicted with Jesuit values. The mural depicted Assata Shakur, considered a domestic terrorist by some and a wrongly accused folk hero by others who say she was targeted by authorities for her involvement in the Black Liberation Army and for being a Black Panther. The Gender and Sexuality Resource Center where the mural was painted was created after Marquette drew fire for rescinding a job offer to a lesbian candidate for a dean's position. The mock "Apartheid Wall" set up in the Alumni Memorial Union late at night on Feb. 21 was part of a table display for the Students for Justice in Palestine campus chapter's "Israeli Apartheid Week," according to the students. They followed campus rules to reserve the space to hand out informational brochures, and when they came back the next morning to finish the table, the 6-foot-tall poster board wall behind it was gone. The problem, according to Marquette spokesman Brian Dorrington, is that they did not submit the display in advance for approval, so did not have permission to put it up as part of their event. He said the Office of Student Development worked closely with the group on several events for the week, including a speaker, but that the group never mentioned it would have an "Apartheid Wall." Group president Gadeer Ayesh said the wall was put up the past two years in the same manner without specific permission and without issue after the space was reserved in accordance with campus rules. According to Ayesh, after the wall exhibit was taken down, a representative of the Office of Student Development informed the group that the wall would not be allowed "because it 'alludes to eliminating the state of Israel.'" Ayesh disputed that characterization. "Our wall has no mention of Israel, Jews or in any way spoke of an elimination of a state." It carried the phrase, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," which Ayesh said was a call for free and equal rights for all. Dorrington did not directly address whether there was a discussion about the message on the wall. "We encourage all our student organizations to contribute to the university's role as a forum for intellectual discussion and debate," he said. "This was about process." Clarence Huettenrauch stood near an open grave in central Wisconsin and waited for his wife's casket to arrive. And waited. And waited. Hours ticked by, and soon the whole day had passed with no sign of his wife, June, who died Jan. 24 at age 81. The Mequon man now knows the funeral director left Brookfield at 7:30 that February morning in a hearse carrying the casket and began the 210-mile trip to the town cemetery in Neillsville, where June grew up. But the hearse failed to arrive for the 11:30 a.m. graveside service, and Huettenrauch is being told by Church and Chapel that the driver claimed he and dear departed June wound up in a ditch for part of that snowy day, and was pulled back onto the highway by a farm tractor. The road adventure lasted 12 hours and ended with the hearse driver bringing the casket back to Church and Chapel in Brookfield that evening, right where it started. It's the kind of crazy detour you'd rather not see on the way to eternal rest. Huettenrauch, 81, was so upset that he insisted Church and Chapel make a $100,000 donation to his church, a demand he later dropped. He refused the full $6,800 funeral refund offered to him. "All in all, it is a very sad story to tell. All the mental anguish and emotional distress that has been left upon the family and friends is incomprehensible," Huettenrauch, a retired architect, wrote in a letter about the ordeal he sent last week to 125 family members, friends and Baptist churches in the area. He also sent one to Church and Chapel owner Ted Larsen, who fired the funeral director on his staff who failed in his mission and didn't call about problems he was having. "He was disoriented in some capacity. Yes, he did get lost" despite having a cellphone, GPS and directions to the cemetery, Larsen said. "I'm very apologetic for what happened. I wish this had not been the case," Larsen told me. "That's not the service level that we wish to portray." The way Larsen tells it, snow played a role in the driver's difficulties that day, Feb. 2. But Huettenrauch and his family drove up to Neillsville that morning on dry roads with no problem. And National Weather Service records show that not a flake of snow fell before 11:45 in that part of the state. So where was the driver that whole morning? At the very least, lost. He said he skidded into the ditch about 12:30 p.m. an hour after the scheduled service, and five hours after leaving on what should have been about a three-hour drive. "Clarence did whisper to me, 'Was your driver at a tavern for goodness sake?' And I'm like absolutely not would I suspect that in a million years," Larsen said. The funeral director had worked reliably for Larsen for several years, he said, and had driven bodies to northern Wisconsin cemeteries on other occasions. As the hours passed that day, Huettenrauch called Church and Chapel and was given the name of the driver and his cell number. Huettenrauch called at 12:30 p.m. and was told he was in Plover, about an hour's drive from Neillsville. He called him again at 1:30 p.m. and the driver said he was west of Junction City, still about 45 minutes away. The driver said nothing to Huettenrauch about any ditches, though later told his boss it took two hours to walk for help and get the vehicle out. Subsequent calls from Huettenrauch, and those from Larsen, went right to voice mail. The Clark County sheriff and highway departments were contacted and joined the search for the runaway hearse. Larsen became increasingly distressed that the driver was not letting him know what was going on. The driver would claim later that his cellphone had died and that at least one store clerk had refused to let him use their phone. "I considered getting in my own car to go try and find him, but how am I going to get there in those conditions and that time frame?" Larsen said. The afternoon brought heavier snow, and it became clear the service would not proceed as planned. "4:30 p.m. came and the burial vault people proceeded to remove the tent, chairs and ground carpet, and they left for the day," Huettenrauch wrote. He and fellow mourners headed home to the Milwaukee area, still in the dark as to June's whereabouts. The service was rescheduled for Feb. 4. A different Church and Chapel driver got the casket there just fine. After the long, strange trip his wife had taken two days earlier, Huettenrauch was tempted to check the casket to make sure she was still in there, but he did not. Larsen said he did not look in the casket himself when the driver returned on Feb. 2, but insisted the family need not worry. At Huettenrauch's request, Larsen paid $1,400 to reimburse family members who had taken off work to be pallbearers. They were not able to return on Feb. 4, so Larsen paid a stipend to Neillsville funeral home workers and cemetery workers to do the honors. He paid the vault company overtime costs, and he also paid for a limousine to take Huettenrauch, his daughter and his pastor back up north. Larsen said the demanded six-figure donation to Huettenrauch's church, Falls Baptist, was unacceptable. On further reflection, even Huettenrauch said he didn't want to blackmail his word the funeral service. He said he may, however, file a complaint with the state's licensing board. Someday, Huettenrauch will be buried next to his wife of 60 years in Neillsville, and he hopes his route there is not as circuitous. Amid all the uncertainty and frustration of that day at the cemetery, he enjoyed a lighter moment. "We kind of chuckled, my daughter and I, and we said: 'Yeah, mom is having her fun. At least she got a good tour of Wisconsin for 12 hours.'" Call Jim Stingl at (414) 224-2017 or email at jstingl@jrn.com SHARE Julie Tolan will step down as chief executive officer of the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee on June 30. Mark Hoffman By of the Julie Tolan will step down as chief executive officer of the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee on June 30, the organization announced Tuesday. Tolan, who joined the Milwaukee Y in July 2013, led the organization through a tumultuous economic period, as it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 2015. "If there ever was a definition of the 'right leader at the right time,' Julie was it," Richard Canter, chairman of the board of directors of the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee, said in a prepared statement. "Even when our challenges seemed insurmountable, Julie persevered thanks to her clarity of vision, strong sense of faith and courage to make the difficult, but necessary, decisions. On behalf of our board of directors, we thank Julie and wish her nothing but the very best in her future endeavors," Canter said. A special committee will be formed by the Milwaukee Y board of directors to identify Tolan's replacement. She will lead the organization during the next four months and has offered to serve as an adviser to help the new leadership team. In an email statement to the Journal Sentinel, Canter said there is still work to be done "in our continued journey toward sustainability." "Our focus remains on maximizing both earned and contributed revenue and delivering a quality experience for each member and program participant...," he said. Shortly after she joined the Milwaukee Y, Tolan and others came to grips with the organization's finances to eliminate $30 million in debt. During its reorganization, the Milwaukee Y sold nearly all its suburban branches, closed the South Shore Y when a buyer couldn't be found, sold its former charter school Young Leaders Academy to Milwaukee College Prep, and cut staff by 55%. The reorganization left the Milwaukee Y with a smaller footprint of five branches Downtown, Northside, Northwest, Parklawn and Rite-Hite Family YMCA in Brown Deer and Camp Minikani on the shores of Lake Amy Belle in Hubertus. The Milwaukee Y set an ambitious $3.8 million fundraising target last year, which couldn't be met. The Milwaukee Y announced in January that it would cut $1.7 million in operating costs for the current year. The cuts included the loss of 15 full-time and five part-time positions, the elimination of the Y's diabetes prevention program and a voluntary pay reduction for Tolan and the organization's No. 2 executive, Jack Takerian. Tolan's salary was due to be cut by more than 40%. She received $314,586 in compensation, including salary and benefits, in 2014, according to government filings. "Among our biggest accomplishments over the past few years was how our community came together to proclaim the Y matters and is worth saving," Tolan said in a statement. "Tens of thousands of our friends and neighbors rely on the Y for a sense of community; for support during a health crisis; for inspiration to get not just fit, but well; for a head start on their kids' education; for safe, fun and engaging places to learn and play when school is out; and so much more." Tolan added that she was "forever grateful to them, our team and our board for the way in which we all pulled together to address our challenges, and put the Y on the path to a more sustainable future. While the time is nearing for me to recharge and consider my next chapter, I will forever support the mission of the Y and advocate for others in our community to do the same." Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump meets supporters after a rally at Valdosta State University on Monday. Earlier, a group of African-American students were escorted from the event by security personnel. Credit: Mark Wallheiser On the strength of his brand as a say-anything-anytime outsider, Donald Trump diced up a divided Republican field once again in the Super Tuesday primary states. Trump's surge has party regulars in a panic. They worry that Trump can't win a general election and will drag down vulnerable Republicans, including Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. Conservatives see no kinship in an opportunist who has supported Democrats and claimed to be pro-choice. But that may be the least of it. As Trump careens down Fury Road, an unsavory group of toughs is riding bumper to bumper with him. This is a small minority of Trump's millions. At the Trump rally in Iowa last month, I met only hardworking people worried about their future good people drawn to Trump's orbit by his seeming straight talk. But there is a segment of Trumpeters who roam beneath the anonymous cloak of Twitter handles and in the bowels of large crowds. When Republican political strategist Cheri Jacobus had the cheek to criticize the New York real estate mogul for skipping a debate in January and said he was a "bad debater," Trump quickly labeled her as a jilted job seeker. This, even though she later proved that his campaign had approached her, not the other way around. "We said no and she went hostile," Trump tweeted. "A real dummy!" Picking up Trump's cue, some of his 6 million Twitterati went after Jacobus fast and furious. For days, they posted demeaning, sexually charged insults about her. It got so bad that Jacobus sent a cease-and-desist letter to Trump and a top aide. "I have been trashed and ruined on Twitter," Jacobus told The New York Times. There is a pattern: Trump Twitter-bombs. His followers carpet bomb. It is intimidation meant to silence criticism. Trump's social media strategy is of a piece with his schoolyard bully image. Giving protesters the heave-ho is practically a set piece at Trump rallies. An immigration demonstrator was slugged at a rally last fall. A protester for Black Lives Matter says she was beaten and heard a racial slur at another. Supporters have used racially charged language to describe Hispanics. At a Las Vegas rally in December, a person yelled the Nazi oath, "Sieg heil! Just this week, African-American students were ejected from two Trump rallies in the South, some in tears. For Trump, it's just part of the show. "Get them out of here," he says, disdain dripping from his voice. After a protester interrupted a rally in Nevada last week, the candidate said he'd like to "punch him in the face." Trump's absurdist calls to ban Muslims from entering the country or to return all 11 million undocumented immigrants to their nations of origin have brought white nationalists flocking to roost on his dung heap of a campaign, The Washington Post reported Monday. A white nationalist group has been robocalling for Trump in Super Tuesday states, and David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader in Louisiana, told radio listeners recently that "voting against Donald Trump...is really treason to your heritage." When asked by CNN's Jake Tapper to "unequivocally condemn" Duke on Sunday, Trump responded that "I don't know anything about David Duke, OK?" Trump later disavowed the racist and blamed the incident with Tapper on a bad ear piece, which might even have been believable if Trump hadn't built his entire campaign on fantasia. Trump is shallow and vain and claims to be more successful than everybody at everything. He shows no intellectual curiosity. He's willing to say anything, do anything to win and gain the enormous power of the presidency. Maybe, sadly, that makes him an effective politician for these times. But everyone, from politicians to talk show hosts to newspaper columnists, have an obligation to consider how their words will be interpreted or put to use. Words have consequences. Maybe Trump doesn't realize this. But I think, more likely, he just doesn't care. David D. Haynes is editorial page editor for the Journal Sentinel. Email dhaynes@jrn.com Twitter: @DavidDHaynes Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio holds a campaign rally at the Intercontinental Buckhead Hotel in Atlanta, Ga., on Monday. Credit: Getty SHARE By If the people around Marco Rubio are right, the Republican presidential campaign is about to turn into a two-man race between Donald Trump and one remaining anti-Trump the senator from Florida. That's why Rubio has abruptly launched a series of attacks on Trump his business practices, his veracity and more. In strategy sessions last week, Rubio and his aides decided "that the arguments (against Trump) would break through now ...and he could make it a two-man race," one of his advisers told me. The resulting shouting match reveals how thoroughly Trump's style heavy on personal insults, but light on, you know, policy has transformed the entire GOP campaign. When Trump is in the ring, nobody can avoid mud wrestling. Thursday's high-decibel debate in Houston was only the opening salvo. Rubio continued the attacks on Friday, repeatedly labeling Trump "a con artist." "A tough guy?" Rubio scoffed at a rally in Dallas. "This guy inherited $200 million. He's never faced any struggle." At the debate, he claimed, Trump "asked for a full-length mirror ...maybe to make sure his pants weren't wet." That wasn't exactly the kind of discourse the Founding Fathers had in mind in 1787. Maybe they had the right idea when they gave state legislatures the power to elect the president instead of the public. Yet Rubio's attacks were strategic. After watching other candidates fail to stop Trump by questioning his policies, Rubio concluded that the only way to win is by attacking the core of Trump's appeal: his authenticity as a champion of the angry white working class. "Don't shoot down the airplanes, blow up the aircraft carrier," Stuart Stevens, Mitt Romney's chief strategist in 2012, argued. "A campaign that beats Trump will have to prove that the core of his message and the messenger both are fakes." There's an irony in Rubio's sudden turn to negative campaigning. When he launched his candidacy, it was supposed to be about optimism (he proclaimed a "new American century"). In keeping with Ronald Reagan's commandment never to criticize a fellow Republican, he not only avoided tangling with Trump; he even praised the billionaire for his proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. But Rubio is nothing if not agile. He's been alternately admired and criticized as an ambitious political natural since his first run for the Florida legislature in 2000. Elected to the Senate in 2010 as a tea party challenger to the GOP establishment, he began thinking about running for president almost immediately almost like Barack Obama, who also ran for the White House in his first term. He's a genuine conservative who supports sweeping tax cuts, opposes abortion (including in cases of rape or incest), is skeptical on climate change and is a thoroughgoing hawk on foreign policy. Conservative score cards rank him to the right of most of his Senate colleagues. But Rubio isn't an insurgent like Ted Cruz; he wants to work inside the system, not blow it up. He's a dealmaker. That interest in bipartisan bargaining led Rubio into his boldest and, in retrospect, most painful legislative venture, the 2013 bipartisan immigration bill. Rubio helped write the bill, which included a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. That turned out to be wildly unpopular among most Republican voters. He now says he wouldn't even try to change immigration laws until the border is fully secure. So instead of trying to convert primary voters on the issues, Rubio hopes to peel some of them away from Trump by painting the mogul as a "con artist." Even then, Rubio could be too late to stop Trump. He hasn't won a primary yet, and Rubio aides already concede that they are unlikely to win any on Super Tuesday; they're pinning their hopes on his delegate-rich home state of Florida, which votes in a winner-take-all primary on March 15. Trump leads the polls there as well. If Rubio fails to take down Trump, he has one consolation: He's only 44. He'll be well-positioned to run again the next time the job opens up. Doyle McManus is a columnist for The Los Angeles Times. Email doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com Twitter: @DoyleMcManus Lincoln Hills School: Such youth prisons should be closed, the head of the Annie E. Casey Foundation argues. Credit: Mark Hoffman SHARE By Recent coverage by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel describes ghastly conditions at Wisconsin's last remaining juvenile prison complex, with allegations ranging from sexual assault to strangulation and suffocation of children, tampering with public records and misconduct in public office. But, sadly, this is anything but a unique story. Instead, the alleged abuses at the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls provide more horrifying evidence that our current approach of locking up large numbers of young people in trouble with the law in prisonlike facilities not only doesn't work but is also a national disgrace. With these revelations, Wisconsin joined a long list of states with at least one juvenile correctional facility rife with alleged abuse. The Annie E. Casey Foundation has documented systemic and recurring maltreatment in these facilities in 30 states since 2000. All the evidence points to a simple conclusion: these large, conventional juvenile facilities or, plainly stated, youth prisons are inherently prone to abuse. It's long past time to close these ineffective, inhumane, wasteful factories of failure once and for all. Despite a plethora of research and experience that offers a different, more hopeful approach to working with troubled young people, today's system all too often rests on a philosophy of punishment, not rehabilitation. As a result, we continue to incarcerate far too many young people who could be safely guided, supported and held accountable in their communities. Then adding insult to injury, we place all too many of them in institutions that leave them more likely to commit crime and less likely to succeed as adults. We know that sending kids to youth prisons does not rehabilitate them when 70% to 80% of youths are rearrested within two or three years of being released. Kids in youth prisons are denied the guidance, education and support network they need to re-enter the community and become contributing citizens. We can do better, much better. Most young people in confinement don't need to be there. These youths should be in community-based programs that promote their development and reduce their chance of being rearrested. Young people who pose an imminent risk to public safety should be placed in smaller, safe, secure, healthy and therapeutic residential settings that prepare them to return to their communities with a second chance and new opportunity. Some cities and states are already implementing strategies and approaches for the small segment of the youth population who truly require confinement. More effective, evidence-based models have consistently improved the likelihood that youths will go on to finish their education and lead productive lives, while doing a better job of protecting public safety. It is time to take advantage of these alternatives. In fact, Wraparound Milwaukee is an award-winning model with a terrific track record of delivering less restrictive, less expensive and more effective interventions for troubled children and youths. Moreover, Milwaukee, Racine and Manitowoc counties already are working to improve their approach to juvenile justice as part of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), a national effort that for more than two decades has helped jurisdictions safely reduce juvenile detention and other confinement. Legislators, judges and government leaders in Wisconsin may want to consider what's happening in Connecticut, which was confronted last year with shocking revelations about abuse in its youth prison. The horrific images of youths in shackles, handcuffs and isolation led Connecticut to announce plans to close the youth prison by mid-2018 and replace it with alternatives that work better for most youths. Connecticut's example demonstrates that political and community leaders can use revelations about abusive conditions as a catalyst to reform the juvenile justice system so that it rehabilitates kids and gives kids a new opportunity to get it right. Wisconsin's youths need second chances. The state needs a second chance, too, to rethink how it wants to rehabilitate kids. Patrick McCarthy is president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. For a week, a mysterious high-pitched tone has been interrupting the sleep of people in Forest Grove, a suburb of Portland. The sound has been coming and going for decades. Here's what it sounds like. It's loud and annoying: Mystery sound frustrates people in a west Forest Grove neighborhood. Where it could be coming from? #LiveOnK2 @ 11pm pic.twitter.com/p0inj5TBr2 Chris Liedle (@chrisliedle) February 16, 2016 The tone was unusual for its combination of high pitch and ambiguous point of origin, said audio engineer Tobin Cooley. "Higher frequencies like this tone are very directional sounds, versus low-frequency sounds which can seem to come from anywhere or everywhere at once," Cooley said, cautioning that he had listened only to poor-quality recordings but not made a thorough investigation. "What surprises me is that neighbours have not been able to locate where this is coming from." Cooley speculated that the sound could be coming from a release of compressed air or natural gas, but officials with the local gas company said they had ruled out any of the utility's equipment or pipelines as a source. Guardian: Mystery high-pitched noise keeps Oregon town awake at night The probes into the troubled Lincoln Hills School for Boys have expanded to include a federal grand jury, opening up the possibility that the states former corrections secretary could testify before it. Credit: Mark Hoffman SHARE By of the Madison Federal agents investigating staff abuses at a troubled prison for youths in northern Wisconsin are examining not only if laws were broken but whether there was a pattern of civil rights violations against inmates there, officials said Tuesday. Depending what FBI agents and federal prosecutors find, Wisconsin could find itself facing the same kind of formal federal civil rights investigation being conducted into police departments in cities such as Ferguson, Mo. As part of the ongoing investigation, federal officials have brought the investigation into Lincoln Hills for Boys to a grand jury meeting in Madison, opening up the possibility that the state's former corrections secretary will be called to testify before it. Underlining the scope of the inquiry into Lincoln Hills is confirmation Tuesday that there are two simultaneous probes into the prison north of Wausau: one that could lead to criminal charges and another that could prompt a federal court order to reform the alleged abuses there. "The Department of Justice, my office and Washington, are reviewing all materials, all the news articles, all the reports generated by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, and then a determination will be made if a pattern and practice civil lawsuit, a civil investigation is warranted," said U.S. Attorney John Vaudreuil, who added Washington must approve a formal investigation and that has not occurred yet. Last month, Vaudreuil acknowledged the existence of a federal criminal civil rights probe, saying, "We'll go wherever the facts take us. ... Are there any criminal violations of federal civil rights laws? Essentially, has there been the unlawful criminal use of excessive force in any specific situations?" The investigations have already led to the resignation of former Corrections Secretary Ed Wall and his awkward return mandated under state law to a job he once held in the state Department of Justice, one of the agencies investigating Lincoln Hills. Despite a recent law overhauling state civil service rules, Wall is now on paid leave in a $108,000 a year state job while the probes continue. "In light of the FBI's ongoing grand jury probe into the criminal activities at Lincoln Hills, in addition to the United States Department of Justice's ongoing pattern and practice investigation of the same, it is likely that former Secretary Wall will be called to testify or to be interviewed as part of those separate investigations," said Anne Schwartz, a spokeswoman for state Attorney General Brad Schimel. "To assure that the public has confidence in those outcomes, (the Wisconsin Department of Justice) decided that it is best if Secretary Wall remain on paid leave and not have access to any DOJ facility or access to its computer systems." The criminal investigation into Lincoln Hills and its sister institution, Copper Lake School for Girls, includes allegations of second-degree sexual assault, abuse of prisoners, and intimidation of victims and witnesses. A grand jury can be used to subpoena documents and compel witnesses to advance an investigation, and it also can be used by prosecutors to seek criminal charges. In a "pattern and practice" investigation of state or local agencies, authorities examine whether their policies and conduct violate the civil rights of citizens under federal law and the U.S. Constitution. If federal officials find such abuses, these investigations can eventually result in a public report on the findings, negotiations with local officials, a lawsuit and an order in federal court overseen by an independent monitor to overhaul local practices, according to the federal Department of Justice. In the case of Lincoln Hills, Vaudreuil said his office and the FBI are sending information to Washington, D.C. U.S. Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta will make the decision of whether a formal pattern and practice investigation will be opened. If an investigation is opened, the state may be able to settle the matter short of a lawsuit, Vaudreuil said. If there is not a settlement, the case could result in a so-called "consent decree," which lays out a plan for reforming the problems within an agency and is then supervised by a federal court. Such agreements can lay out a range of changes, from training and procedures to internal investigations of future problems. It can sometimes take years to reach such an order and years more to implement it. As of December, the federal Department of Justice had eight open investigations into police departments and was enforcing 17 agreements with law enforcement agencies, including 13 consent decrees. In 2008, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and the U.S. Department of Justice reached an agreement over inadequate mental health care for female inmates at Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Fond du Lac. In that settlement and another with the American Civil Liberties Union, the state agreed to spend millions of dollars to provide female prisoners with the same level of psychiatric treatment as male inmates. The actions followed years of reporting on the problems by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Chris Ahmuty, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin, said his group is monitoring the Lincoln Hills probe and would consider legal action if the ACLU later feels that the federal investigation hasn't addressed all the problems there. In a statement, Schwartz said Schimel had no choice but to place Wall back into the job he had previously held leading the state Division of Criminal Investigation. That agency has been involved in the probe of Lincoln Hills since January 2015. Wall is entitled to the job under the state's civil service law, despite recent legislation overhauling that system and revising the practice of state workers receiving so-called "bumping rights" into other jobs. Gov. Scott Walker signed that legislation last month, rewriting the rules within the state's century-old system of merit hiring and firing. Schwartz said that law, however, didn't change the requirement in Wall's case. One change in the legislation said that employees who are laid off from their current job no longer have a right to reinstatement to their former positions. But that change doesn't take effect until July 1. The two lead sponsors of the civil service overhaul, Sen. Roger Roth (R-Appleton) and Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna), and a spokeswoman for Walker had no comment. Two weeks ago, Walker tapped Jon Litscher, a former corrections secretary, to replace Wall as the head of the agency. Jason Stein reported for this story in Madison and John Diedrich in Milwaukee. State and federal officials have launched a massive investigation of civil rights violations and abuse allegations at the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake juvenile prisons. Credit: Journal Sentinel files SHARE By of the Madison Jon Litscher took over the state Department of Corrections on Monday amid a widespread investigation of the state's youth prison, and the former head of the agency has gone on leave at taxpayer expense. Former Secretary Ed Wall transferred Sunday to his previous job leading the state Division of Criminal Investigation. That agency is involved in the probe of the youth prison, so Attorney General Brad Schimel immediately put Wall on paid leave, according to the state Department of Justice. Wall is getting an annual salary of $108,000 while on leave. The investigation of Lincoln Hills School for Boys in Irma started in January 2015 and could last another year, according to Schimel. Gov. Scott Walker two weeks ago tapped Litscher to run the Department of Corrections. Litscher ran the agency from 1999 to 2003 under two other Republican administrations, for Govs. Tommy Thompson and Scott McCallum. Litscher announced Monday he was making changes to the top leadership at the Department of Corrections, which is common when a new secretary takes over. He is keeping two of Wall's top aides, but putting them in diminished positions. Litscher named Cathy Jess as the deputy secretary. Jess had previously run the Division of Adult Institutions. The assistant deputy secretary is Deirdre Morgan, who moved down a peg from her previous job as deputy secretary under Wall. Also moved down was Don Friske, a former state representative who served as Wall's assistant deputy secretary. Under Litscher, he is serving as legislative liaison. Tristan Cook will serve as the agency's spokesman. "These are challenging times for DOC due to the many issues that need addressing, but my faith rests in you and the thousands of employees we work with on a daily basis," Litscher wrote in an email to staff Monday. "Your knowledge, skills and abilities along with the creativity and resiliency of our employees will bode well for the department as together we address our challenges." State and federal authorities are investigating allegations of sexual assault, child neglect, prisoner abuse and other crimes at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake School for Girls, which share a campus 30 miles north of Wausau. Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump clamor for autographs during a rally at Radford University in Radford, Va., on Monday. Credit: Associated Press SHARE By , Valdosta, Ga. On the eve of Super Tuesday's crucial primaries, a sharp new divide erupted between Republicans who pledge to fall in line behind Donald Trump if he wins their party's nomination and others who insist that they can never back the bombastic billionaire. The fissure could have major implications beyond the primaries, exposing the looming challenges in uniting the party after the general election, no matter who wins. Meanwhile, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is solidifying her lead. Like Trump, Clinton could begin putting her party's nomination out of reach over rival Bernie Sanders with a strong showing on Tuesday. Clinton cast herself as a civil alternative to the insults, bullying and personal attacks that have consumed the Republican race. "What we can't let happen is the scapegoating, the flaming, the finger-pointing that is going on the Republican side," she said in Springfield, Mass. "It really undermines our fabric as a nation. So, I want to do everything I can in this campaign to set us on a different course." Nebraska's Ben Sasse, a rising star among conservatives, became the first current senator to publicly raise the prospect of backing a third-party option if Trump clinches the nomination. In a letter posted on Facebook late Sunday, Sasse urged Republicans to consider whether a party led by Trump would still represent their interests. "If our party is no longer working for the things we believe in like defending the sanctity of life, stopping Obamacare, protecting the Second Amendment, etc. then people of good conscience should stop supporting that party until it is reformed," he wrote. The Associated Press asked Republican senators and governors across the country if they would support Trump if he secured the nomination. Just under half of those who responded would not commit to backing him, foreshadowing a potentially extraordinary break this fall. "I am increasingly concerned by Donald Trump's statements and behavior, and I have serious concerns about his ability to win the general election and provide presidential leadership," Indiana Sen. Dan Coats said in a statement. The concern among Republican leaders appeared to grow in light of Trump's refusal to immediately disavow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke's support. Mitt Romney, the party's 2012 nominee, called that "disqualifying." South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, campaigning in Atlanta alongside Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, said she would "not stop fighting a man who refuses to disavow the KKK." Trump said he had not understood the interviewer who first raised the question about Duke, and he did later repudiate him. "How many times do I have to continue to disavow people?" he said. At a campaing rally in Tennessee, Rubio said no matter how bad the earpiece, "'Ku Klux Klan' comes through pretty clearly." The audience responded to Rubio's attacks with chants of "Dump Trump, dump Trump!" Several high-profile Republicans and conservative writers have embraced an anti-Trump social media campaign, using the Twitter hashtag "NeverTrump." Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura said he cannot decide whether to support Trump or Sanders. After attending a Sanders rally in Minneapolis and meeting with the Democratic candidate, Ventura said he also is considering launching his own bid for president. Trump has won three of four early primary contests, roiling a party that had assumed his populist appeal with voters would fizzle. Instead, he has only grown stronger and appears to be in commanding position heading into Super Tuesday, the biggest single-day delegate haul of the year. Tensions boiled over during Trump's rally in Radford, Va., where he was repeatedly disrupted by demonstrators, including 20 or more chanting "Black lives matter." At another point, he asked a protester, "Are you from Mexico?" after he was interrupted during remarks about immigration. He ordered several people to be removed, then cast himself as a unifying political force. "Believe it or not, we're going to unify this country," he said. Speaking to thousands later in Valdosta, Ga., Trump vowed to restore Christian "power" by working "like hell" to repeal rules that limit the political activity of religious groups and other tax-exempt nonprofit organizations. If Trump sweeps most of the states up for grabs Tuesday, he could amass a delegate lead that would be difficult for any rival to overcome. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is banking on a win in his home state to keep him in the race, while Rubio wants to stay close in the delegate count until the primary hits his home state of Florida on March 15. As Trump has rolled through the early voting states, he has received enthusiastic endorsements from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and from Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, one of the most vocal opponents of immigration law changes on Capitol Hill. Several other party officials have said they would back the real estate mogul if he does become the nominee, although some say their support would be reluctant. "I'm a Republican, and I will support the nominee," Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said. "I do not think he is our best nominee, but I will support the nominee." Party leaders are particularly worried about the ripple effect of a Trump nomination on other races. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson urged Republicans to remember that their White House pick also impacts "the Senate and whether we're going to continue to elect Republican governors across the country." To see video For video related to this story, go tojsonline.com/video/world More politics Trump: Ron Johnson and Scott Walker react to Donald Trump's front-running status and the David Duke flair-up. 5A Democrats: Bernie Sanders looks beyond Super Tuesday. 5A Sen. Ron Johnson wouldnt say Monday whether he would back the GOP if Donald Trump is its presidential nominee, saying instead he is praying whoever gets it is a person of integrity, intelligence, ideas and courage. Credit: Associated Press By Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson refused Monday to promise he would back whoever is the GOP nominee for president, instead saying that he is praying whoever gets it is a "person of integrity, intelligence, ideas and courage." Johnson for months, and as recently as last week, said he would support Donald Trump or whoever is the nominee. But he wouldn't go that far on Monday when asked about Trump not immediately disavowing the support of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. "I'm praying, let's see how the process plays out," Johnson said on WTMJ radio. "We have such enormous problems facing this nation. I don't like demagoguery on any side of the political spectrum and we have it across the political spectrum." Johnson is locked in a tough re-election fight with Democrat Russ Feingold. Gov. Scott Walker, meanwhile, said he stood by a pledge he signed when he was still in the presidential race to back whoever is the eventual nominee. Walker, who dropped out of the GOP presidential race in September and urged others to do the same so Trump could be defeated, recommitted Monday to supporting the nominee no matter who it is. "I signed a pledge and I'm a person of my word that I wasn't going to run against someone else and I wasn't going to support someone other than the nominee," Walker told reporters in Blue Mounds. Republicans in Wisconsin and across the country were being forced to respond to Trump's latest comments related to the support of Duke and other white supremacists. Trump told NBC's "Today" on Monday that he did not hear or understand the question Sunday on CNN when he was asked about Duke's support, blaming a "very bad earpiece." He did eventually disavow Duke's comments on social media. Both Johnson and Walker denounced white supremacists. 6 dead in fire at Hartland apartment complex Hartland Police Chief Torin Misko said the fire took place at a four-family apartment building on Mansfield Court in the village. SHARE By of the Workers at a Beloit meat plant must be paid for the six minutes a day they spend putting on and taking off special gear and clothing required for the jobs, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The decision affirmed a 2013 ruling by Rock County Circuit Judge Michael Fitzpatrick that Hormel Corp. owed $195,000 to about 330 current and former employees at its Beloit plant, where it makes products such as Hormel Chili and Mary Kitchen Hash. The plurality opinion involved only six of the court's seven justices, and generated 93 pages, including dissents, and revealed nearly as much about the court's ongoing internal conflicts as state wages and hours law. "The wages involved are not a 'trifle' either for the employees or for Hormel," wrote Justice Shirley Abrahamson in a lead opinion joined by Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. Justices Patience Roggensack and David Prosser concurred in the finding that workers are entitled to pay for "donning and doffing" their work clothes at the start and end of the day, but disagreed that employees who choose to leave the plant for lunch are also entitled to extra pay for undressing and redressing. Justice Michael Gableman, joined by Justice Annette Ziegler, dissented. He found the required clothing was not "integral and indispensable" to the principal activities at the Hormel plant. Even if it was, Gableman wrote, the required time was trivial and blasted Abrahamson's opinion for just assuming it was not, without sufficient analysis. "Because the lead opinion elects to leave today's question unanswered, it shortchanges the people of Wisconsin," he wrote. Justice Rebecca Bradley did not participate. The case was argued before her appointment to the court in October. She has participated in the decisions of two search and seizure cases that were also argued before she joined. Fitzpatrick found that Hormel requires its workers to wear the uniforms, which exceed USDA food safety guidelines, and forbids them to wear the uniforms outside the plant. It takes five or six minutes each day to put them on, which adds up to about 24 hours a year of unpaid time, in violation of wage and hours laws. Hormel appealed and the Court of Appeals certified the case directly to the Supreme Court, after determining the case couldn't be resolved under current state law. Hormel argued that the dressing and undressing was such a minimal activity that it was not compensable as work under state law. The workers and their union, United Food & Commercial Workers Union, brought the dispute to court in a class-action lawsuit in 2010. An honest essay has numerous characteristics: original thinking, a good structure, balanced arguments, and plenty more. But one aspect often overlooked is that an honest essay should be interesting. It should spark the readers curiosity, keep them absorbed, make them want to stay reading and learn more. An uneventful article risks losing the readers attention; whether or not the points you create are excellent, a flat style, or poor handling of a dry subject material can undermine the positive aspects of the essay. The matter is that a lot of students think that essays should be like this: they believe that a flat, dry style is suited to the needs of educational writing and dont even consider that the teacher reading their essay wants to search out the essay interesting. You might want to have online essay editor service to boost your confidence in writing with an error-free output. Academic writing doesnt need to be and shouldnt be bland. The excellent news is that there is much stuff you can do to create your essay more attractive, while youll be able only to do such a lot while remaining within the formal confines of educational writing. Lets study what theyre. Have an interest in what youre writing about Dont go overboard, but youll be able to let your passion for your subject show. If theres one thing bound to inject interest into your writing, its being fascinated by what youre writing about. Passion for a subject matter comes across naturally in your essay, typically making it more lively and fascinating and infusing an infectious enthusiasm into your words within the same way that its easy to talk knowledgeably to someone about something you discover fascinating. Include fascinating details Another factor that may make an essay boring maybe a dry material. Some topic areas are naturally dry, and it falls to you to form the article more interesting through your written style and by trying to seek out fascinating snippets of knowledge to incorporate, which will liven it up a small amount and make the data easier to relate to. A way of doing this with a dry subject is to create what youre talking about that seems relevant to the critical world, as this is often easier for the reader to relate to. Emulate the fashion of writers you discover interesting When you read lots, you subconsciously start emulating the fashion of the writers you have read. Reading benefits you a lot, as this exposes you to a spread of designs, and youll start to require the characteristics of these you discover interesting to read. Borrow some creative writing techniques Theres a limit to the quantity of actual story-telling youll do when youre writing an essay; in the end, essays should be objective, factual and balanced, which doesnt, initially glance, feel considerably like story-telling. However, youll apply a number of the principles of story-telling to create your writing more interesting. consider your own opinion Take the time to figure out what its that you think instead of regurgitating the opinions of others. Cut the waffle Rambling on and on is dull and almost bound to lose the interest of your reader. Youre in danger of waffling if youre not completely clear about what you wish to mention or havent thought carefully about how youre visiting structure your argument. Doing all your research correctly and writing an essay plan before you begin will help prevent this problem. Editing is a vital part of the essay-writing process, so edit the waffle once youve done a primary draft. Read through your essay objectively and eliminate the bits that arent relevant to the argument or labor the purpose. employing a thesaurus isnt always a decent thing Avoid using unfamiliar words in an essay; theres too great a likelihood that youre misusing them. You may think that employing a thesaurus to seek out more complicated words will make your writing more exciting or sound more academic, but using overly high-brow language can have the incorrect effect. Avoid repetitive phrasing Please avoid using the identical phrase structure again and again: its a recipe for dullness! Instead, use a variety of syntax that demonstrates your writing capabilities and makes your writing more interesting. Mix simple, compound, and complicated sentences to avoid your paper becoming predictable. Use some figurative language Using analogies with nature can often make concepts more accessible for readers to know. As weve already seen, its easy to finish up rambling when youre explaining complex concepts mainly after you dont know it yourself. One way of forcing yourself to think about a couple of pictures, present it more simply and engagingly is to form figurative language. This implies explaining something by comparing it with something else, as in an analogy. Employ rhetorical questions Anticipate the questions your reader might ask. One of the ways ancient orators held the eye of their audiences and increased the dramatic effect of their speeches was by using the statement. A decent place to use a statement is at the top of a paragraph, to steer into the following one, or at the start of a replacement section to introduce a brand new area for exploration. Proofread Finally, you may write the top interesting essay an instructor has ever read. Still, youll undermine your good work if its plagued by errors, which distract the reader from the particular content and can probably annoy them. Reddit Email 0 Shares By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | Russian deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov said Monday that Russia supports whatever arrangements the Syrians in the current negotiations reach about the future, included a possible federal state. The United States has a federal system, which means that individual states retain a certain amount of autonomy, retain rights and privileges not given to the over-arching federal government. Likewise, India maintains its unity despite numerous languages and ethnicities in part because its central government has limited powers, and the various states set their own domestic policies on some issues. Most Middle Eastern states do not have a federal system but rather are ruled by a powerful unitary state. So, for instance, most provincial governors in the Middle East are appointed, not elected. Most provinces do not have elected provincial legislatures. Small elites in the distant capital dictate policy to the provinces or governorates. Some of this preference for central government rule goes back to the British and French colonial apparatuses. Where a province is distinctive in the ethnicity that dominates it, a federal state can accommodate that diversity better than a unitary one. In Syria the regime makes all the important decisions in provinces under government control. In Syria in the 1960s, the central government took citizenship away from thousands of Kurds. The central government was then Arab nationalist, and the presence of the non-Arab Kurdish people was seen as a deficit detracting from national unity rather than as a strength deriving from multi-culturalism (Kurds do not speak Arabic. Syrian Kurds were left as worse than second class citizens. Interestingly, in the Middle East the term federal is often taken to mean strong central state rule, the opposite of what it means, or should mean, in the West. Some sites, in contrast, read Ryabkovs language as suggesting a Russian plot to break up Syria. One of the likely ways Syria could be restored as a relatively unified country would in fact be a federal system, in which provinces such as Raqqa and Deir al-Zor (now in the hands of Daesh or ISIL), have their own post-Daesh elected governor, their own school curricula, etc. That is, if they are unhappy with the close embrace of the al-Assad police state, then federalism may meet many of their desires without requiring a surrender to extremism. Likewise, the mistreated Syrian Kurds, who have been recognized as citizens by Bashar al-Assad now that his country fell apart, want a Rojava super-province. But if it were one state among many in a new federal Syria, then Kurds could achieve many of their goals while remaining citizens. related video: AFP: Syria task force meet to shore up fragile truce VANCOUVER, Feb. 29, 2016 /CNW/ - Amarc Resources Ltd. ("Amarc" or the "Company") (TSXV: AHR; OTCBB: AXREF) is pleased to announce that a definitive agreement (the "Agreement") has been finalized with Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. ("Thompson Creek") (OTCQX:TCPTF; TSX:TCM) in order to advance the IKE porphyry copper discovery in south-central British Columbia ("BC"). Under the Agreement, Thompson Creek has the option to acquire up to a 50% interest in the IKE Project through a staged investment process. Thompson Creek has the option to acquire an initial 30% interest through staged investments totaling $15 million on or before December 31, 2019, of which $3 million was completed in 2015. Subsequently, Thompson Creek can acquire an additional 20% interest, subject to certain conditions, including completing a Feasibility Study within a two-year period that can be extended to three years in certain circumstances. The IKE copper-molybdenum-silver porphyry discovery, together with the surrounding district of highly prospective porphyry copper (molybdenumsilvergold) targets yet to be drill tested, have the potential to possess the grades and resources necessary to develop an important mining camp. The project is located 45 kilometres northwest of Gold Bridge, in south-central BC, near the heartland of BC's producing porphyry copper mines. Assay results from all 18 holes (10,437 metres) drilled by Amarc at IKE since 2014, combined with results from geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys completed outwards from the area drilled, indicate the presence of an important porphyry-style copper-molybdenum-silver deposit (see Amarc news release December 9, 2015). All drill holes have intersected varying amounts of chalcopyrite and molybdenite mineralization over a broad area measuring 1,200 metres east-west by 1,000 metres north-south, and extending to depths of over 500 metres. The deposit remains open to expansion in all lateral directions and to depth. Grades returned over long continuous drill intercepts continue to compare favourably to the range of copper equivalent grades at active BC porphyry copper ( molybdenum gold silver) mines. Highlights from the 2014 and 2015 drill programs include: 247 metres of 0.41% CuEQ 1 @ 0.28% Cu, 0.030% Mo and 2.0 g/t Ag @ 0.28% Cu, 0.030% Mo and 2.0 g/t Ag 123 metres of 0.41% CuEQ @ 0.32% Cu, 0.017% Mo and 2.5 g/t Ag 92 metres of 0.40% CuEQ @ 0.31% Cu, 0.020% Mo and 2.1 g/t Ag 194 metres of 0.47% CuEQ @ 0.30% Cu, 0.046% Mo and 0.8 g/t Ag 308 metres of 0.39% CuEQ @ 0.26% Cu, 0.032% Mo and 1.8 g/t Ag 97 metres of 0.45% CuEQ @ 0.32% Cu, 0.030% Mo and 2.2 g/t Ag 124 metres of 0.45% CuEQ @ 0.34% Cu, 0.022% Mo and 3.2 g/t Ag 214 metres of 0.37% CuEQ @ 0.26% Cu, 0.023% Mo and 2.2 g/t Ag 592 metres of 0.44% CuEQ @ 0.30% Cu, 0.032% Mo and 2.1 g/t Ag 86 metres of 0.47% CuEQ @ 0.33% Cu, 0.032% Mo and 2.2 g/t Ag 111 metres of 0.36% CuEQ @ 0.30% Cu, 0.010% Mo and 2.3 g/t Ag 1 Copper equivalent (CuEQ) calculations use metal prices: Cu US$2.25/lb, Mo US$8.00/lb and Ag US$17.00/oz. Metallurgical recoveries and net smelter returns are assumed to be 100%. The Agreement Under the terms of the Agreement, Thompson Creek can earn an initial 30% interest in the IKE Project under a Stage 1 Option by funding $15 million of expenditures before December 31, 2019, of which $3 million was completed in 2015. For each $5 million of project expenditures funded, Thompson Creek will incrementally earn a 10% ownership interest. Stage 1 Option expenditures can be accelerated by Thompson Creek at its discretion. Amarc will be operator during the Stage 1 earn-in period. If Thompson Creek fully exercises the Stage 1 Option, Thompson Creek will have a one-time right under a Stage 2 Option to elect to earn an additional 20% ownership interest in the IKE Project (for a total 50% ownership interest). To fulfill its obligations under the Stage 2 Option, Thompson Creek must fund and complete a Feasibility Study for the IKE Project that could serve as the basis for a decision by an internationally recognized financial institution to finance the development of a mining project. This Feasibility Study must be completed within a two-year period, which can be extended to three years under certain conditions. While completing the Feasibility Study under the Stage 2 Option, Thompson Creek would also be required to meet all other expenditures necessary to maintain and advance the Project. Thompson Creek will become operator of the IKE Project upon initiation of the Stage 2 Option, and will remain operator so long as it holds a 50% interest. When Thompson Creek has concluded its earn-in period, the parties expect to form a joint venture to further develop the IKE Project, provided that Thompson Creek has earned at least a 10% interest. During both the Stage 1 and Stage 2 Options, Amarc will retain a 'co-expenditure right', whereby it can fund, at its discretion, additional expenditures on the IKE Project. Thompson Creek may elect to pay its 30% or 50% share of these additional expenditures upon completion of the Stage 1 Option and Stage 2 Option periods as the case may be, failing which its ownership interest would be reduced. Under the 'co-expenditure right' provision of the Agreement, the maximum amount that Amarc can recover from Thompson Creek on completion of the Stage 1 Option period is capped at $6 million (i.e. 30% of $20 million). The maximum amount that Amarc can recover from Thompson Creek on completion of the Stage 2 Option period is capped at $10 million (i.e. 50% of $20 million). About the IKE Project The IKE discovery is located 45 kilometres northwest of the historical mining communities of Gold Bridge and Bralorne, BC, in an area of wide U-shaped valleys bounded by ridges within the Coast Range. Amarc's 2014 and 2015 drilling programs were conducted above tree line within two adjoining large and barren cirques. The district surrounding the IKE discovery has long been explored for its numerous showings of copper, molybdenum, gold and silver mineralization. Current access to the property is by helicopter, although significant infrastructure exists in the region. Mainline logging roads, which lead west from Gold Bridge are located 20 kilometres south of IKE. Access to power, railways and highways, and other services are available in the area of Gold Bridge and the nearby towns of Lillooet and Pemberton. Like many major porphyry deposits, IKE formed in a very active, multi-stage hydrothermal system that was extensive and robust. Geological mapping and logging of diamond drill core at IKE indicate the deposit is hosted entirely by multi-phase intrusive rocks. Its overall geological setting is similar to that of many important porphyry belts along the Cordillera in North and South America. The footprint of the hydrothermal system at IKE exceeds six square kilometres. At IKE, chalcopyrite and molybdenite mineralization occurs as fine to relatively coarse, mostly discrete grains, mainly as disseminations and less commonly in fractures and veins. Multi-element analyses have returned consistently and unusually low concentrations of metallurgically or environmentally deleterious elements. These characteristics, and the generally low concentrations of pyrite at IKE, suggest excellent potential to produce clean, good-grade copper and molybdenum concentrates by standard flotation processing. Field exploration conducted by Amarc, in addition to the 2014 and 2015 drilling programs, includes a detailed ground induced polarization survey over IKE as well as a district-wide high resolution airborne magnetic survey, and geological mapping with copper and multi-element-in-talus fines geochemical surveys over prioritized target areas. Collectively, the results of these surveys indicate excellent potential for a number of deposit-scale targets beyond the immediate area of the current IKE discovery. Exploration results from Amarc's surveys and historical programs by previous operators throughout the district, combined with the common tendency of porphyry deposits to cluster, lead the Company to believe a number of targets identified proximal to IKE have potential to host additional bulk-tonnage porphyry copper mineralization. Amarc holds extensive mineral tenures throughout the IKE region. Amarc is fully committed to working constructively with governments and stakeholders towards the responsible development of the IKE project, while contributing to the sustainable development of local communities. All work programs are planned to achieve high levels of environmental performance and local benefit, including providing opportunities for employment, contracting and training for local people. Amarc is committed to meaningful and constructive engagement with First Nations communities and has offered and remains open to establishing comprehensive and progressive agreements at IKE. The Company also works proactively to support government's consultation duties to assist with timely and fair decision making. About Amarc Resources Ltd. Amarc is a Vancouver-based mineral exploration and development company with an experienced and successful management team focused on advancing the IKE Project a major porphyry copper-molybdenum-silver discovery near the heartland of BC's copper mining industry, with proximity to mining infrastructure, power, rail and highways. Amarc is associated with Hunter Dickinson Inc. (HDI) a diversified, global mining company with a 25 year history of porphyry discovery and development success. Previous and current HDI porphyry projects include some of BC's and the world's most important mineral resources such as Mount Milligan, Kemess South, Kemess North, Gibraltar, Prosperity, Xietongmen, Newtongmen, Florence, Sisson, Maggie and Pebble. From its head office in Vancouver, Canada, HDI applies its unique strengths and capabilities to acquire, develop, operate and monetize mineral projects to provide superior returns to shareholders. About Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. Thompson Creek is a North American mining company. The Company's principal operating property is its 100%-owned Mount Milligan mine, an open-pit copper and gold mine and concentrator in British Columbia. The Company's molybdenum assets consist of the 100%-owned Thompson Creek Mine, an open-pit molybdenum mine and concentrator in Idaho, its 75% joint venture interest in the Endako Mine, an open-pit molybdenum mine, concentrator and roaster in British Columbia, and its Langeloth Metallurgical Facility in Pennsylvania. The Company's development project is the Berg property, a copper, molybdenum, and silver exploration property located in British Columbia. The Company's principal executive office is located in Denver, Colorado. More information is available at www.thompsoncreekmetals.com. Qualified Person as Defined Under National Instrument 43-101 Mark Rebagliati, P. Eng., a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Ronald W. Thiessen Chief Executive Officer Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor any other regulatory authority accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward Looking and other Cautionary Information This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All such statements, other than statements of historical facts that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and other related events or developments are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Assumptions used by the Company to develop forward-looking statements include the following: Amarc's projects will obtain all required environmental and other permits and all land use and other licenses, studies and exploration of Amarc's projects will continue to be positive, and no geological or technical problems will occur. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, potential environmental issues or liabilities associated with exploration, development and mining activities, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and tenure and delays due to third party opposition, changes in and the effect of government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, exploration and development of properties located within Aboriginal groups asserted territories may affect or be perceived to affect asserted aboriginal rights and title, which may cause permitting delays or opposition by Aboriginal groups, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on Amarc Resources Ltd., investors should review the Company's annual Form 20-F filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com. SOURCE Amarc Resources Ltd. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - March 1, 2016) - Precipitate Gold Corporation (the "Company" or "Precipitate" or "PRG") (TSX VENTURE:PRG) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Alistair Waddell to the Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Waddell is a geologist with over twenty years of diverse resource industry experience, including senior roles with both junior and senior mining companies. Mr. Waddell was one of the founders and past President & CEO of GoldQuest Mining Corp. and was instrumental in GoldQuest's initial foray into the Dominican Republic. Mr. Waddell and GoldQuest's other founders were the first to propose the Cretaceous Tireo volcanic belt of the Western Dominican Republic could be as prospective as contemporaneous rocks in the Eastern Dominican Republic and other parts of the Caribbean basin. GoldQuest's ground-breaking regional exploration laid the foundation for the more recent discovery of the Romero deposit and the heightened interest in the Tireo Gold Belt, where Precipitate is currently active with its Juan de Herrera project. Mr. Waddell's knowledge and experience in the region bring invaluable new guidance as the Company's work programs progress. In addition, Mr. Waddell brings a significant network of capital markets contacts and the ability to introduce the Company to potential new investors. Jeffrey Wilson, Precipitate President & CEO, states, "We are very pleased to have Alistair join the Company. His exceptional industry experience and talents will greatly complement our technical team and our ongoing work programs within the Tireo Gold belt. Additionally, Mr. Waddell's recent tenure with Kinross, evaluating properties throughout the Americas, will provide increased guidance and expertise should the Company seek to expand its landholdings outside its current jurisdictions. We expect Mr. Waddell's expertise to bring immediate and ongoing benefits to the Company and its shareholders." Most recently, Mr. Waddell was Vice President - Greenfields Exploration for Kinross Gold Corp. During his nearly six years at Kinross Mr. Waddell served in several senior roles prior to his appointment as Vice President - Greenfields Exploration. Those prior roles include, Vice-President, Global Epithermal Gold Exploration, Regional Director, Exploration South America, and Director, Exploration (Ecuador & Colombia). Throughout his career, Mr. Waddell has lived and worked as an expatriate in Australia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Chile and the Dominican Republic. About Precipitate Gold: Precipitate Gold Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on exploring and advancing its mineral property interests in the Tireo Gold Trend of the Dominican Republic. The Company also maintains assets in northern British Columbia and southeast Yukon Territory and is actively evaluating additional high-impact property acquisitions with the potential to expand the Company's portfolio and increase shareholder value. Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.precipitategold.com. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of Precipitate Gold Corp., Jeffrey Wilson, President & CEO 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 this release. This press release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward looking information. Generally, forward-looking information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "proposed", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, or might occur or be achieved. This forward-looking information reflects Precipitate Gold Corp.'s ("Precipitate" or the "Company") current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Company and on assumptions it believes are reasonable. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Precipitate to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: the exploration concessions may not be granted on terms acceptable to the Company, or at all; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the concessions acquired by the Company may not have attributes similar to those of surrounding properties; delay or failure to receive governmental or regulatory approvals; changes in legislation, including environmental legislation affecting mining; timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; conclusions of economic evaluations; and lack of qualified, skilled labour or loss of key individuals. Although Precipitate has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Precipitate does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - March 1, 2016) - Lara Exploration Ltd. ("Lara" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:LRA) is pleased to report that it has signed an Option Agreement ("the Agreement") with BCV Consultoria e Projetos Ltda. ("BCV"), to acquire the Damolandia Nickel Project in central Brazil. The property comes with an extensive database of airborne and terrestrial geophysics, geochemistry and drilling, including seven diamond drill holes (for a total of 1,553 metres) completed in 2008, which intersected a shallowly-plunging, pipe-like body of disseminated nickel-copper sulphide mineralization approximately 600 metres long and open down plunge. Table 1., below, summarizes the drill intersections that reported greater than 0.2% nickel values. Table 1. Damolandia Drill Intercepts (0.20% Nickel Cut-off) Hole ID From (m) To (m) Width (m) Ni (%) Cu (%) FSDM-01 6.25 12.90 6.65 0.22 0.06 FSDM-02 98.00 138.60 40.60 0.26 0.10 FSDM-03 75.85 106.50 30.65 0.42 0.19 including 82.80 87.00 4.20 0.70 0.24 including 82.80 83.85 1.05 0.98 0.54 FSDM-04 8.00 18.80 10.80 0.24 0.06 FSDM-05 6.00 24.50 18.50 0.44 0.10 including 14.55 19.70 5.15 0.77 0.14 FSDM-06 107.00 114.00 7.00 0.24 0.08 FSDM-07 114.20 137.45 23.25 0.29 0.11 Notes: drilling is believed to have intercepted the mineralization close to perpendicular, but widths may not represent true-thicknesses Lara's interpretation is that the target may represent the distal extension of more massive mineralization. Certainly there are several geophysical anomalies along the trend, including electromagnetic (conductivity) anomalies, with coincident soil geochemical anomalies that may reflect more massive sulphides, which were not tested at the time. Damolandia Purchase Option Under the terms of the Agreement with BCV, Lara has agreed to make staged cash payments totalling US$580,000 as follows in Table 2. Milestone/Date Payment US$ Upon transfer of the Exploration License to Lara 15,000 2 years from signing the Agreement 15,000 3 years from signing the Agreement 50,000 4 years from signing the Agreement 50,000 5 years from signing the Agreement 50,000 >100,000t of nickel in Measured & Indicated Resources 100,000 Start of Commercial Production 300,000 BCV will also be entitled to a 1% net smelter return royalty on any production, but Lara retains the right to purchase this royalty for a cash payment of US$2 million. Quality Assurance and Quality Control Industry standard sample procedures and QA-QC methodologies were utilized at the time. Sampling intervals vary from less than one metre in the sulphide-rich intervals up to three metres in weakly to non-mineralized zones. The samples were shipped to the SGS Geosol sample preparation laboratory in Goiania, then to their main laboratory in Belo Horizonte. Following multi-acid digestion, analysis was by ICP for 31 elements and fire assay for precious metals. Check assays included 33 element four-acid ICP and XRF at ALS laboratories in Lima, Peru and Vancouver, Canada respectively and by XRF at SGS Geosol, in Belo Horizonte. The QA-QC procedures also included the insertion of blanks every 40 samples and certified standards every 20 samples. Qualified Person Michael Bennell, Lara's Vice President Exploration and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has approved the technical disclosure and verified the technical information in this news release. 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 of prospects and deposits in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Chile. Lara's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "LRA". For further information on Lara Exploration Ltd. please consult our website www.laraexploration.com. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. KEARNEY A bill aimed at increasing the population requirement before a fire department must have a paid fire chief made its way to the floor of the Legislature. The Urban Affairs Committee voted 6-0 Wednesday, with one state senator abstaining, to send LB857 to the Legislatures General File, which is the first round of debate. Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley of Kearney introduced the bill, which would require first-class cities with a population of more than 41,000 residents to have a paid fire chief. A 2008 law says when a first-class city one with a population more than 5,000 up to 100,000 has a population of 37,500 it must have a paid fire chief. In January, Hadley introduced LB857, which would have amended that population requirement to 45,000. In a compromise with the Urban Affairs Committee, last week the bill was amended to reduce the population requirement to 41,000 residents. Because Hadley has prioritized the bill as a senator it will be heard this session. Currently, Kearney is the only city close to the population requirement that the bill affects, Hadley said. In 2014, Kearneys population was at 32,469. Im confident it will pass, Hadley said. On Feb. 16, Kearney Fire Administrator Jason Whalen and Kearney Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jim Tacha testified before the committee in favor of the bill. Whalen is appointed by the city manager and is responsible for the supervision, scheduling, performance evaluation and discipline of 11 full-time firefighter/engineers and other office staff. Tachas position is elected annually by the 58 volunteer firefighters he oversees in both the city and suburban fire districts. He is responsible for overall planning of fire protection and for command and control at fire scenes. KVFD has operated with a fire administrator/fire chief combination since 1991. Whalen and Tacha work together daily and say they already do what LB857 intends. Everything this bill is trying to accomplish, we do already, minus the paid fire chief, Whalen said. Tacha receives a small stipend of $2,300 annually for being chief. Hadley agreed Kearney has the best of both worlds with Whalen and Tacha, which is why he wants to see the bill passed. Darren Garrean president of the Nebraska Professional Fire Fighters Association, testified before the committee in opposition of the bill. The NFFA represents many of the paid firefighters in the state. Garrean is concerned for all first-class cities where paid staff are responding to a volunteer chief, specifically in Columbus, where he says paid firefighters have had issues with their administrative layout. The need to have a volunteer fire chief seems semantics. To me, it seems counterintuitive and doesnt make sense administratively. I just wonder if theres a better way to do some things, he said. We want to make sure were providing the best working environment and the best service to the communities. Garrean started as a volunteer firefighter and eventually served as chief with the Peru Volunteer Fire Department. He understands both sides of the bill and is thankful to Hadley for reducing the population requirement in LB857. Our stance wasnt against Kearney or the way they appear to be doing things. This is a first-class city issue, he added. There are 23 cities in the state that have a combination of paid and volunteer departments, said Micheal Dwyer, secretary/treasurer at the Nebraska State Volunteer Firefighters Association. However, its not clear how many of those are first-class cities. The state has 449 departments that are all-volunteer firefighters. Whalen said other first-class cities have contacted him wanting more information on how the combination paid fire administrator and volunteer fire chief works. None of Kearney's paid firefighter/engineers are members of the firefighters union. Nine of the firefighter/engineers are also volunteers, and the remaining two are retired KVFD members. Tacha said a paid fire chief for Kearney, Just isnt necessary. I dont do it for that. I do it because I like what I do. I like being a volunteer, and I consider it an honor to be the chief and carry on the torch that has been in the department for 133 years, he said. Tacha is in his first year as chief, and will seek re-election in April. During his 14 years as a volunteer, Tacha has served as one of five captains and one of two assistant chiefs. @HubChic NEW YORK (AP) The U.S. Justice Department cannot force Apple to provide the FBI with access to locked iPhone data in a routine Brooklyn drug case, a federal judge ruled Monday. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein's written decision gives support to the company's position in its fight against a California judge's order that it create specialized software to help the FBI hack into an iPhone linked to the San Bernardino terrorism investigation. Apple on Thursday formally objected to the order in a brief filed with the court. The San Bernardino County-owned iPhone 5C was used by Syed Farook, who was a health inspector. He and his wife Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people during a Dec. 2 attack that was at least partly inspired by the Islamic State group. Apple's opposition to the government's tactics has evoked a national debate over digital privacy rights and national security. Orenstein concluded that Apple is not obligated to assist government investigators against its will and noted that Congress has not adopted legislation that would achieve the result sought by the government. Orenstein said he was offering no opinion on whether in the instance of this case or others, "the government's legitimate interest in ensuring that no door is too strong to resist lawful entry should prevail against the equally legitimate societal interests arrayed against it here." He said the interests at stake go beyond expectations of privacy and include the commercial interest in conducting business free of potentially harmful government intrusion and the "far more fundamental and universal interest ... in shielding sensitive electronically stored data from the myriad harms, great and small, that unauthorized access and misuse can cause." "How best to balance those interests is a matter of critical importance to our society, and the need for an answer becomes more pressing daily, as the tide of technological advance flows ever farther past the boundaries of what seemed possible even a few decades ago," Orenstein wrote. "But that debate must happen today, and it must take place among legislators who are equipped to consider the technological and cultural realities of a world their predecessors could not begin to conceive." The Justice Department said in a statement that it's disappointed in the ruling and plans to appeal in coming days. It said Apple had previously agreed many times prior to assist the government and "only changed course when the government's application for assistance was made public by the court." Apple and their attorneys said they were reading the opinion and will comment later. In October, Orenstein invited Apple to challenge the government's use of a 227-year-old law to compel Apple to help it recover iPhone data in criminal cases, noting that another law on the books already covered the issue. The Cupertino, California-based computer maker did, saying in court papers that extracting information from an iPhone "could threaten the trust between Apple and its customers and substantially tarnish the Apple brand." It followed up by declining to cooperate in a dozen more instances in four states involving government requests to aid criminal probes by retrieving data from individual iPhones. In ruling, Orenstein wrote: "I believe Apple has the better argument" because the other law covering wiretaps for telecom companies "explicitly absolves a company like Apple of any responsibility to provide the assistance the government seeks here." Federal prosecutors say Apple has stopped short of challenging court orders judicially, except in the cases before Orenstein and the California jurist who ruled about the San Bernardino shooter's phone. "Ultimately, the question to be answered in this matter, and in others like it across the country, is not whether the government should be able to force Apple to help it unlock a specific device; it is instead whether the All Writs Act resolves that issue and many others like it yet to come," Orenstein wrote. "For the reasons set forth above, I conclude that it does not." AURORA -- An investigation into what authorities are calling a murder-for-hire plot led to the arrest of two men on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, the Nebraska State Patrol said Tuesday. On Friday, the patrol was contacted by the Aurora Police Department regarding an Aurora man who had arranged for another person to kill his estranged wife, the patrol said in a press release. The investigation continued through the weekend. Monday, an undercover investigator with the patrol contacted Robert S. Honken, 37, of Aurora. During the meeting, the patrol said, Honken arranged to pay the undercover officer to kill his estranged wife. Honken gave the investigator a cash deposit to commit the slaying, the patrol said, with the remainder of the agreed-upon price to be paid after the woman was slain. Afterward, Honken drove away, the patrol said. Patrol investigators and a State Patrol plane monitored his movements. Honken's vehicle was stopped by a state trooper and he was taken into custody. Honken was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and taken to the Hall County Jail. Honken's wife, Bethany Honken, 38, requested a protection order Monday. According to the petition and affidavit to obtain the order, the Honkens have three children, ages 6, 10 and 12. In the affidavit, Bethany Honken wrote, His level of rage (and) anger multiple times over the past 13 years of our marriage always made me fearful he would kill someone else, but didnt want to believe he would ever turn on me. When I filed for divorce in October 2015, his anger has continued to escalate, even from a distance, and I have been fearful for my life several times since our separation and pending divorce. The final week that I lived with Robert (Sept. 28-Oct. 2, 2015) he was rapidly escalating in anger (and) destructive behavior. The night I took our boys and left, he threatened to commit suicide if I did not come back home to talk. My dad called the sheriff to come check on Robert, and our oldest son ... feared that daddy would shoot the cops when they showed up to see him. When the child saw a sheriff's vehicle pull up in the driveway, the son panicked, wondering what was happening. Bethany Honken explained his father was threatening to harm himself, and the sheriff needed to get involved. "At that point, (he) started crying and said, what if daddy is so angry that he tries to shoot at the sheriff? A second person, Derrick Shirley, 30, of Bradshaw, also was taken into custody in conjunction with the investigation, the patrol said. Shirley had made a previous arrangement with Honken in which he also was paid cash to kill Honkens estranged wife, the patrol said. Shirley also was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and was taken to the Hamilton County Jail, the patrol said. A migrant awaits on the Greek side of the border to enter Macedonia near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Macedonia is restricting the entry of refugees to match the number of those leaving the country, allowing in only refugees from Syria and Iraq, in response to bottlenecks further up along the Balkans migrant route. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu) FILE - In this August 4, 2014, file photo, a woman walks by a graffiti that reads in Spanish "Vultures," in reference to the dispute between the Argentine government and a U.S. hedge fund, known locally as "vulture funds," in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In a statement Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, Daniel A. Pollack, appointed arbiter in the negotiations between the Argentine government and U.S. holdout creditors, said that a deal has been reached that will put an end to a standoff that has kept the South American country on the margins of international credit markets. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano, File) An injured victim of bombing attacks receives treatment at the Imam Ali Hospital in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. In Iraq, the death toll from devastating back-to-back market bombings carried out by the Islamic State group the previous day in eastern Baghdad climbed to at least 70 on Monday, officials said. Several of the critically wounded died overnight while over 100 people remain in hospital, two police officials said. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (Kitco News) - Although there was significant negative market sentiment in the gold market last year, the sector shone brightly in Australia as miners saw their highest gold production since 2003, according to one Australian mining consulting firm. In a recent report, Surbiton Associates said that Australias gold production totaled 285 tonnes last year, beating 2014 production of 284. The nations gold-mining sector continues to benefit from falling costs and a weaker Australian dollar. Last year gold priced in Australian dollar averaged around A$1,540 an ounce, up more than 10% from the 2014 average price of around $1,390. Dr. Sandra Close, a director of Surbiton Associates, noted in the report that last year Australias gold production was valued at A$14 billion. The Australian dollar has fallen from near 95 U.S. cents in mid-2014, to around 82 U.S. cents at the start of 2015, to around 72 cents by end 2015, Close said. Such a significant devaluation has provided quite a boost to the Australian gold sector, as well as to other exporters. The Australian gold market has seen further improvement as prices have shot higher since the start of the new year and is now trading above $1,700 an ounce. I wonder if investors are aware that the Australian dollar gold price, at around A$1,700 per ounce, is only about A$100 per ounce less than the all-time record Australian dollar gold price reached in August 2011, she added. Along with increased profits as a result of the currency exchange range, Close said that companies are seeing higher margins as a result of weaker labor and energy costs. Close also said that previously mothballed projects are coming back on line as a result of the red-hot mining sector and should help to boost the nations gold production in 2016. According to Surbiton, Newmont Ming Corp was the biggest winner in the Australian market as three of its mines were the top five producers last year. Newmonts Boddington mine produced 794,000 ounces of gold last year. The Super Pit, a 50/50 joint venture between Newmont and Barrick Gold, was the second biggest project, producing 640,000 ounces last year. Operation Ounces Owner Boddington 794,000 Newmont Mining Corp Super Pit JV 640,000 Newmont Mining Corp 50%, Barrick Gold Corp 50% Cadia East 508,303 Newcrest Mining Ltd Tropicana JV 488,939 AngloGold 70%, Independence Group 30% Telfer 488,817 Newcrest Mining Ltd By Neils Christensen of Kitco News; nchristensen@kitco.com Follow me on Twitter @neils_C Looking at the world through the eyes of the Web (Kitco News) - Demand for U.S. gold and silver bullion coin sales took a bit of a dip last month, compared to January; however, sales are still dramatically higher compared to 2015. The latest sales data shows that sales of various denominations of American Eagle gold coins and Buffalo gold coins totaled 102,500 ounces last month, down 35% from Januarys sales of 124,000 ounces. However, year-over-year data shows that gold bullion sales are up 236%. Last February, the U.S. mint only sold a total of 30,500 ounces. Erica Rannestad, senior analyst at Thomson Reuters GFMS, dismissed the monthly drop as a seasonal factor as retailers tend to overstock at the start of the new year. She added that the year-over-year growth shows just how strong the demand is. George Gero, vice president of RBC Capital Markets, said that it is not surprising to see the considerable demand for gold this year. If you look at the markets last year, stocks were higher, the U.S. dollar was strong and there was no reason for retail investors to get into the gold market, he said. Now retail investor are buying coins so they have some security, he said. Phillip Streible, market strategist at RJOFutures, agreed that golds safe-haven appeal should continue to support physical gold demand in the near-term. However, he added that Februarys sales drop could be an indication that investors dont see the economic outlook as so dire. In January investors ran into gold because it felt like the world was coming apart at the seams, he said. Now maybe things dont look so bad so investors might pare back their coin purchase. Streible added that higher gold prices could also dissuade some investors from buying coins; but both Rannestad and Gero see the opposite scenario. Buying begets buying, said Gero. Now that gold has attracted the attention of retail investors, I think demand is going to remain strong. Silver bullion coin sales also saw the same demand pattern as gold with the U.S. mint seeing sales of 4.782 million ounces last month, down 20% from January, multi-year record of 5.95 million ounces but up more than 58% from 2014. Gold prices are seeing some modest selling pressure Tuesday with prices hovering around $1,231 an ounce, relatively unchanged on the session. By Neils Christensen of Kitco News; nchristensen@kitco.com Follow me on Twitter @neils_C MAG Silver Corp. (TSX: MAG, NYSE MKT: MVG) announces that it has completed its previously announced bought deal financing by issuing 8,905,000 common shares at $7.30 each, generating proceeds of $65,006,500. The underwriters reserve the right to exercise all or any portion of an over-allotment option of 1,335,750 shares within 30 days following closing. The company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to fund development and exploration expenditures at the Juanicipio project and for working capital and general corporate purposes, MAG Silver reports. By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com Pretium Resources Generates Nearly $130 Million On Share Offering Tuesday March 01, 2016 09:04 Pretium Resources (TSX, NYSE: PVG) announces the closing of its previously announced market offering of 28,384,000 common shares at a price of $4.58 per share for gross proceeds of $129,998,720. This includes the exercise of the full amount of the over-allotment option of 2,174,000 shares, Pretium source says. The net proceeds of the offering will be used to fund development of the Brucejack Project, for working capital during start-up and for general corporate purposes, the company says. Pretiums website describes Brucejack in northern British Columbia as one of the largest and highest-grading undeveloped gold projects in the world. By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com Endeavour Receives $25.3 Million For Sale Of Youga Mine Tuesday March 01, 2016 09:04 Endeavour Mining (TSX: EDV; OTCQX: EDVMF) says it has received $25.3 million upon closing the sale of its non-core Youga Mine to MNG Gold. Endeavour has retained a 1.8% net smelter royalty on production realized beyond the current reserve from the property sold, and with the inclusion of a buyback provision. "This transaction provides upfront value for Youga's remaining two-year mine life and gives us greater financial flexibility to pursue growth opportunities, says Neil Woodyer, chief executive officer of Endeavour. It is in line with our strategic objective of actively managing our portfolio to improve its overall quality. Since MNG's nearby Balogo high-grade deposit will give a second life to the Youga operation, we firmly believe that this transaction is in the best interest of all stakeholders, including our employees, the government, and the local population." By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com Jeff Fleming practices in the garage of his South Kitsap home last week. Fleming drums in two Kitsap-based rock bands, and nearly made it big as a member of a 1980s Bremerton-based punk group known as Le Max. (LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN) SHARE Jeff Fleming gave up his rock and roll dreams in the late 1980s, when he took a job at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard while helping raise three children. Now the former drummer for onetime almost-big punk rock band Le Max is regularly performing again. (LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN) A Drummer Magazine writer blogged that Jeff Fleming's drum "kit screams 'hard rock and everything else that is good and holy.'" LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN Jeff Fleming's drumset was recently featured in a blog post in an international drum magazine. (LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN) Jeff Fleming gave up his rock and roll dreams in the late 1980s, when he took a job at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard while helping raise three children. Now the former drummer for onetime almost-big punk rock band Le Max is regularly performing again. (LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN) By Maks Goldenshteyn More than two decades have passed since drummer Jeff Fleming last boarded a tour bus bound for a sold-out show. His band, the Bremerton-based punk group Le Max, was once on the verge of signing a recording contract with a prominent label, their biggest break yet. But inner turmoil and the shady dealings of its Los Angeles-based manager triggered the group's disbanding in the late 1980s, near the height of its popularity. Fleming found that he had outgrown the rock and roll lifestyle and took an extended break to raise his three children. A native of Bremerton, Fleming resumed his career as a blacksmith at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in 1987, the same position he holds today. Six years ago, he got the itch to play again. Packed arenas have been supplanted by local bars. Once a punk rocker, he now plays drums for Kitsap power pop band Boy Blue and the Moon and another called The Ras Project. Even at the age of 52, Fleming looks every bit the part of an 80s musician, his long backcombed hair and black clothing a dead giveaway. Standing inside his Port Orchard home's garage, which he calls his "Man Cave," Fleming recounts his first ever performance ? a dance at East High School. "We blew off some smoke pods and that backfired," he said. "The fire department had to come and clear the smoke out. It seems to me we were cleaning weeds for about a month out front by the school." A year after graduating from East High School in 1976, Fleming moved into a house with his bandmates. They were watching TV one morning when the Sex Pistols came on. "We thought, 'Wow, those guys are terrible. But look at the big audience. We can do that,'" he said. Fleming and guitarist Tony Cole decided to break away and form a punk band of their own called The Crisis, the forerunner to Le Max (they named the band after Cole's dog, Max). By 1982, they had composed enough of their own music to land gigs at house parties, Pioneer Square venues and even gay punk bars. Their first real taste of success came in 1983 after their single, Cope USA, climbed to No. 1 on KJET, a Seattle punk rock radio station. Much of the song was written on a ferry ride from Bremerton to Seattle. As was customary, the seven-man band made a dash for the squared-off booth in the corner of the passenger deck as soon as they stepped aboard. "I swear by the time we left Bremerton and got over by Bainbridge Island, we had the song done. It was a short, kind of dumb song, and it took off," Fleming said. "The whole song was about living in Bremerton and hanging out and not having a lot to do. Making things good. Just walking down Pacific Avenue." The song's popularity led to an appearance on a KING-TV music program, where they performed live with Judas Priest and Night Ranger. They returned to Bremerton a day later for a sold-out live show at Olympic College, a stark contrast from the dozen or so people who saw them play the previous weekend at a transvestite bar in Pioneer Square. A music critic from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer likened the band to a cross between The Cars and The Clash. "That was an honor because we loved both those bands," Fleming said. "We just wrote what we felt. We didn't really have a style." A few years before the band's breakup, members of Le Max found themselves on tour, playing with the likes of Joan Jett and Romeo Void. But the band's rise to near-stardom was derailed shortly thereafter. "Our manager was involved in some very shady deals that led us to be blacklisted down in Los Angeles. It hurt. It was really tough on us," he said. Nearing his fourth decade of drum playing, Fleming spends a lot of time in his garage, home to his collection of drums and equipment. It's also where both of his bands rehearse. The jewel of the collection is a Ludwig drum kit designed by TV tattoo artist Corey Miller, one of just 250 ever manufactured. Fleming has added black chrome rims for extra effect. The drum set is a big hit everywhere Fleming takes it. At a fundraiser held in Kirkland last year called Woodstick, a manager for legendary Yes drummer Alan White caught sight of the drums and snapped a picture. The image found its way into a Drummer Magazine blog post. Said one writer: "This kit screams 'hard rock and everything else that is good and holy.'" A little bit like its owner. Boy Blue and The Moon will be performing at the Family Inn At Manchester on March 19th at 9 p.m. MICHAEL C. MOORE | KITSAP SUN Juliet (Caitlyn Gorman) and Romeo (Dylan Macabitas) have their fateful meeting at a masked ball. SHARE MICHAEL C. MOORE | KITSAP SUN After their chance meeting at a masked ball, Juliet (Caitlyn Gorman) and Romeo (Dylan Macabitas) hit it off. MICHAEL C. MOORE | KITSAP SUN Romeo (Dylan Macabitas, left) unloads his troubles on his pal Benvolio (JJ Hernandez). By Michael C. Moore, mmoore@kitsapsun.com PORT ORCHARD When she scheduled a production of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" for the early-spring slot at Western Washington Center for the Arts, director Rebecca Ewen had no idea that Bremerton Community Theatre had beaten her to the punch by a few weeks. "It didn't bother me," Ewen said. "I didn't feel like we needed to change and do a different show, or anything like that. And when I went and saw (BCT's) which I thought was very good, by the way I knew we had made the right decision. "I think people will be amazed by how different two productions of the same play can seem," she added. BCT's "R&J," which wrapped up its four-weekend run Feb. 28, was a lavishly staged and costumed period piece, buttressed by Renaissance-appropriate musical performances. WWCA's version won't be like that. "The script is the same," Ewen said. "That's about it." Ewen chose a black-box setting for her Verona, and has the teenage protagonists going through their well-worn paces in a nonspecific time, with costumes and music chosen by her cast members. "I pretty much let them choose their own costumes, as part of a character development exercise," Ewen said. "I told them to think about how their characters might dress." Ewen also mined her cast for other input. JJ Hernandez, who's playing Benvolio, is serving as fight choreographer, and John O'Guin (Paris) is using his dramaturgy training to edit the script. Anika Crosta (Tybalt) and Kassy Bawlin made the black box less black with colorful bits of graffiti. So, right now Shakespeare buffs are doing double takes at the previous sentence, doubtless noticing the traditionally male Tybalt is being played by a female. Like we said, this ain't your same-ol' same-ol' "R&J." "We decided to do some cross-gendering, set this in a place where women are stronger and can act the same way men act," Ewen said. She has cast WWCA regular Amanda Pease fresh from the female lead in the company's most recent production, "You Can't Take It With You" as Mercutio, Romeo's best pal. This effectively turns the Mercutio vs. Tybalt sword battle which sends the story barreling into tragedy into a girl-fight. There will be a few similarities between BCT's "R&J" and the one at WWCA, as some of the former production's cast migrated straight to Port Orchard to take part in the contrasting version. Owen Eardley, who played Benvolio in Bremerton, will be Ewen's Balthazar, and BCT ensemble members Erica Miller and Michael Schmidt will play Capulet and Nurse, respectively. And Cody Masoner, who played Romeo in director Kristi Jacobson's BCT mounting, will reprise the role for one week, and with a significant costume change at WWCA, subbing for Dylan Macabitas, who won the role but was unavailable for the final weekend of the run. It's Masoner's first time onstage at WWCA. Juliet opposite their Romeo will be another WWCA first-timer, Caitlyn Gorman, a recent castmate of Hernandez in Paradise Theatre's "Scrooge, the Musical." Carl Olson, who directed "You Can't Take It With You," will play Friar Laurence for Ewen, one of several of his former South Kitsap High School students in the production. "I've got my old teacher here with me, and I went to school (at Central Washington University) with JJ," Ewen said. "We're working with each other, and we're learning from each other." PREVIEW 'ROMEO AND JULIET' Who: Western Washington Center for the Arts What: Tragedy by William Shakespeare Where: WWCA playhouse, 521 Bay St., Port Orchard When: March 11-April 3; 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 5 p.m. Sundays except 3 p.m. April 3 Tickets: $17-$14 Information: 360-769-7469, wwca.us Mason County Chief Deputy Ryan Spurling discusses details of the shooting Friday afternoon. By Ed Friedrich of the Kitsap Sun BELFAIR The man who shot and killed four people and then himself Friday emitted two different personalities. David Wayne Campbell was seen by former business partner Kim Rohr as a loving husband and father who got himself into financial trouble by being too easy on customers. Former employee Joe Gallegos viewed Campbell as abusive and hooked on painkillers. Campbell, 51, shot and killed his wife, Lana J. Carlson, 49, and her children Tory Carlson, 18, and Quinn Carlson, 16, and neighbor Donna Reed, 68. They were found Friday in a chicken coop on the Campbell-Carlson property at 350 NE Horseshoe Drive. He then shot himself in front of police after a 3 -hour standoff. A 12-year-old daughter escaped. She now is with child welfare officials, according to Mason County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Ryan Spurling. Gallegos, 49, and wife Lisa got an anti-harassment protection order against Campbell on July 27 in Kitsap County District Court. Gallegos, who worked for Campbell Family Heating and Air Conditioning from October 2014 until July 2015, said Campbell discovered he'd been speaking with the state Department of Labor and Industries about Campbell's business practices. Campbell phoned him July 10 and told him to stop attacking his company or he'd kill Gallegos and his wife, according to court documents. The court ordered Campbell to surrender his firearms, which Gallegos said included a .32-caliber pistol and deer rifle. Campbell said he didn't have any weapons. Gallegos called the Kitsap and Mason sheriff's offices to report that Campbell hadn't turned in his guns, but they couldn't agree which department was responsible, he said. Campbell turned around and obtained a protection order Aug. 3 in Mason County District Court against Gallegos for threats Gallegos made after being fired, according to court documents. Campbell portrayed himself as a retired Army colonel. "That's what he always told everyone, including myself," Rohr said. Campbell said he was in intelligence, had been shot, stabbed and sustained 125 broken bones when an under-fire helicopter jerked and tossed him 50 to 70 feet to the ground, he said. Gallegos believed it was a ploy to impress potential clients. Even before the order for Campbell to surrender his weapons, it should have been illegal for him to possess them because of an extensive criminal history in Pennsylvania. He had misdemeanor and felony convictions there dating to 1996, according to an Associated Press review of court records. He was charged with multiple crimes, mostly related to bad checks, stolen property and forgery. He served time in prison starting in 2000 on a charge of theft by deception. Campbell's most recent conviction was nearly 16 years ago. On Aug. 15, 2000, he was charged with 18 counts: six counts each of theft by deception, receiving stolen property and bad checks. He pleaded guilty to one theft charge and the other counts were dismissed. He was sentenced to two to five years in prison, records show. Campbell also faced similar charges in 1996 and 1997. In one 1996 case, he was charged with 31 counts, including 12 felony forgery charges. He pleaded guilty to six of those charges, and the others were dismissed. It is not clear when he moved from the East Coast to Washington. He married Carlson in November 2009 in King County. The Pennsylvania time line casts doubt on Campbell's claim to be a retired Army colonel. If he were in prison in 2000, at age 35, he couldn't graduate from college and serve 20 years before then. The Army doesn't release personnel records. Rohr, who worked for Campbell and became a partner in the business three years ago, stands by him, though he didn't like his authoritative style. He even quit once because of it. A year ago he dissolved the partnership as the business started to crumble but still worked for Campbell occasionally. Suppliers dried up because Campbell owed them money. He paid for past jobs from new ones, "like a big Ponzi scheme," Rohr said. He owed Labor and Industries at least $14,000 in fines for performing electrical work for which he wasn't licensed, which he was appealing, according to spokeswoman Debby Abe. "He was really a nice guy," Rohr said. "People would take advantage of him. He would just bend over backward trying to help people." Gallegos said Campbell was abusive, continually screaming at the kids, and struck the boys with a belt or wooden spoon. Rohr described him as a loving father. "He would do anything for them," he said. "There was nothing the kids had need of. He was a loving and caring dad." Campbell told Rohr he didn't see himself and his wife staying together because they were having troubles. Gallegos alleged that Campbell took Percoset pain pills by the handful, getting them from dentists, urgent cares, relatives and buying from individuals. Rohr only saw him take pills in the past few months when Campbell was experiencing pain from work on his teeth. The Associated Press contributed to this report. SHARE By Chris Henry, chenry@kitsapsun.com NORTH KITSAP Gordon Elementary School was evacuated Monday after a staff member reported a burning odor in a classroom. North Kitsap Fire and Rescue responded to the school shortly after a fire alarm sounded around 11 a.m. They found that a fan motor in one of the buildings HVAC units had shorted, causing the odor. NKFR checked for noxious gases and found none, fire district spokeswoman Michele Laboda said. Students returned inside the building at around 11:45 a.m., after it was deemed safe, according to North Kitsap School District spokeswoman Jenn Markaryan. Thirteen students complained of headache or nausea, Markaryan said. They were checked out by paramedics, and parents were notified. Several took their students home for the day. The classroom most affected by the odor was left empty for the day on advice of fire officials. Repairs on the unit are underway. The HVAC unit has been turned off and wont be back on until the unit is repaired, Markaryan said. The district for months has been battling problems with HVAC units at Poulsbo Elementary School. The maintenance department is researching options for replacing failing units on the aging system. The school board Feb. 11 discussed problems with Poulsbo Middle Schools HVAC system. Eric Orville Waldenberg By Andrew Binion PORT ORCHARD The Kitsap County Jail inmate who apparently killed himself Saturday night had been raising money on a gofundme.com page, asking for assistance in his attempt to stay sober and continue his legal education. Eric Orville Waldenberg, 49, who had addresses in Kingston and Jefferson County, was found unconscious and unresponsive in his cell by a corrections officers performing periodic checks. Kitsap County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Wilson said the office was not releasing details on how Waldenberg killed himself. Waldenberg was arrested at about 4:30 a.m. Feb. 21 by a Poulsbo police officer who wrote she observed Waldenberg walking out of the door of Aroydy Thai restaurant, 225 Lindvig Way. The officer searched the area and found a pry bar and a bag of money. The door to the restaurant had marks on it indicating a forced entry. The officer also found narcotic pain pills and a tranquilizer pill in his possession, according to court documents. Waldenberg told the officer he had a prescription for the pills. He was charged Feb. 22 with second-degree burglary. On his gofundme page, which had raised $1,150 in three months, Waldenberg wrote that he had earned his paralegal certificate, was interning with an ACLU program that helped felons return to society and was attending legal classes. "The gratitude for any help you are able to provide is beyond my capacity for words," Waldenberg wrote. "Just know that not only will you be helping me, but all those that I commit to helping directly, and through my lifelong commitment to reform of the criminal justice system." Waldenberg had an extensive criminal history dating to 2001, according to court records. As of June 2013 he had 10 convictions for burglary in Montana and Washington. He is the fifth jail inmate to commit suicide since 2000, according to Sheriff's Office records. The ABC reports: The United Nations has called on the West Australian Government to withdraw controversial new legislation that imposes harsh penalties on protesters. The proposed laws were first introduced into Parliament in March 2015, and the Government insists it will only target radical protesters using devices like chains or thumb locks to block or stop lawful activities. But the UN said it would result in criminalising lawful protests and silencing environmentalists and human rights defenders. If the bill passes, it would go against Australias international obligations under international human rights law, including the rights to freedom of opinion and expression as well as peaceful assembly and association, the UN Human Rights Office said in a statement. The bill would criminalise a wide range of legitimate conduct by creating criminal offences for the acts of physically preventing a lawful activity and possessing an object for the purpose of preventing a lawful activity. For example, peaceful civil disobedience and any non-violent direct action could be characterised as physically preventing a lawful activity. Under the proposed legislation, an offence would carry serious penalties of imprisonment of one year and a fine of $12,000. If the offence was committed in circumstances of aggravation, the penalty could be as high as imprisonment for two years and a fine of $24,000. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. 290216MINING MORATORIUM STANDS By Tom Kathoa Members of the Bougainville Executive Council (BEC) today discussed the 1971 mining moratorium imposed by the Colonial Administration at the request of Bougainville leaders to control the spread of mining beyond Panguna. Bougainvilles Mining Minister, Robin Wilson in announcing BEC decision says, as things stand, our Mining Act preserves the moratorium, in the form of a mining reserve area covering almost all of Bougainville. While the moratorium remains in place, the Mining Registrar is prevented by the Act from accepting any applications for mining tenements over land subject to the mining reserve area. Reporter Tom Kathoa takes up the story. IN..Despite the fact OUTTOM KATHOA reporting. The BEC is now asking the Bougainville Mining Advisory Council to provide it with advice on the options available to the ABG in how best to deal with the moratorium. The House of Representatives will also be given an opportunity at its next sitting to debate what should be done. Ends.. Online - 30th Oct 2022 2nd International Conference on Research and Developments In Engineering and Management 2nd ICRDEM-2022 SHARE By Staff Reports News Sentinel parent's shareholders approve sale to Gannett The $280 million deal still subject to regulatory approval Shareholders of Journal Media Group Inc., the owner of the News Sentinel and 12 other newspapers, approved the $280 million sale of the company to Gannett Co. Inc. on Tuesday. More than 92 percent of shares that were voted were cast in favor of the merger, Steven J. Smith, chairman of Journal Media Group, told shareholders during a special meeting at the company's headquarters in Milwaukee. Federal regulators who oversee antitrust issues still must sign off on the merger, in which the News Sentinel, The Commercial Appeal in Memphis and newspapers in 11 other markets would join Gannett. No timetable for the regulatory review was available. "Today's vote is an important step toward enabling our portfolio of local media brands to better navigate the transformation of our industry and continue to serve readers and advertisers with quality content, products and services," said Tim Stautberg, president and chief executive officer of Journal Media Group. "We look forward to joining Gannett's USA Today Network with a commitment to strengthening lives and communities." He said the company continues to work with the Department of Justice in its review of the proposed transaction with Gannett. Under terms of the deal, Journal Media Group stockholders would receive $12 per share in cash. Gannett, based in McLean, Va., announced last October it planned to buy Journal Media Group. Journal Media Group, which has about 3,400 employees, was created in April 2015 after The E.W. Scripps Co. and Journal Communications Inc. merged their local TV operations and spun off their newspapers into an independent, publicly traded company based in Milwaukee. In June of last year, Gannett also split its newspaper and broadcast assets into separate companies. Gannett owns USA Today, 92 daily publications in the U.S. and Guam, and more than 400 non-daily publications. In addition to the Knoxville and Memphis newspapers, Journal Media Group includes: the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; (Redding) Record-Searchlight and Ventura County Star in California; Naples Daily News and Treasure Coast Newspapers in Florida; Evansville Courier & Press in Indiana; (Henderson) Gleaner in Kentucky; (Anderson) Independent Mail in South Carolina; Abilene Reporter-News, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, San Angelo Standard-Times and Wichita Falls Times Record News in Texas; and Kitsap Sun in Washington state. SHARE By Mary Constantine of the Knoxville News Sentinel I participated in something special Sunday evening which did more than fill my belly. It made me thankful for the giving spirit of our region. The Second Harvest Food Festival is a new event created as a kickoff celebration for the annual Restaurant Week benefit for Second Harvest of East Tennessee. For those unfamiliar with Restaurant Week, there are 29 local and regional restaurants offering prix fixe menus through Friday, March 4, at a cost of $35 or $45. A portion of proceeds from each sale goes to Second Harvest. On Sunday many of those same restaurants gathered in one place offering samples of their menu for a price of $25 per person. As I stood in line with other food-loving folks just as excited as I was to sample what the restaurants had to offer, I realized the event was doing for attendees what Second Harvest does for its clients every day. It was feeding the hungry, and with every ticket sold Second Harvest was able to chip away at its mission to eliminate hunger in an 18-county area by providing food, services and nutritional education. But without volunteers like U.S. Foods, who underwrote the festival, and the participating restaurants, the challenge would be much more difficult to execute. Ultimately it takes the help of others to make Second Harvest successful. I urge everyone who can to attend at least one of the eateries participating in this year's Restaurant Week. If you're not sure where you want to dine, I can tell you those who attended Sunday's festival voted Season's Innovative Bar and Grill as their favorite casual dining vendor; Citico's Restaurant and Club as tops in the fine dining category; and Goodness to Go as best dessert. All three are participating in Restaurant Week, as are Naples Italian Restaurant, Ruth's Chris, RT Lodge, Pete's Coffee Shop, Central Flats and Taps, Chesapeakes, Big Kahuna Wings, Connie's Kitchen, Dead End BBQ, the Melting Pot, Don Gallo Mexican Grill, and 18 others. A complete list can be found at www.secondharvestetn.org. Pelancho's Mexican Grill won in the ethnic category and Chef Jeff Carter of Aubrey's Restaurant group was the winner in a chef cook-off challenge. Neither will be participating in the week-long event but their openness to volunteer during the festival should not go unnoticed. It's all those restaurants that give back to our region that we as a community should support with our dollars. After all, it's that circle of giving that keeps a village strong. SHARE By News Sentinel Staff Five people, including a woman charged less than a year ago, are charged with TennCare fraud in Knox as part of separate investigations, the state Office of Inspector General announced Tuesday. Christina M. Rogers, 27, of Knoxville is charged in Knox County with three counts of fraudulently using TennCare to obtain controlled substance by doctor shopping, or using TennCare to visit multiple doctors in a short period of time to obtain prescription drugs. District Attorney Charme Allen will prosecute. Brittney N. Ensley, 25, of Knoxville is charged in Knox County with TennCare fraud and theft of services over $10,000. The state charges she under-reported her income to qualify for TennCare healthcare insurance benefits. Susan Ott-Turk, 48, of Knoxville is charged in Knox County with four counts of using TennCare benefits to obtain controlled substances by doctor shopping. Angelia L. Burrell, 39, of Alcoa, is charged in Blount County with fraudulently obtaining the painkiller Percocet by doctor shopping. The arrest is Burrell's second for TennCare fraud. She was charged in Knox County in May of last year with three counts of doctor shopping. Both times, she used TennCare benefits to pay for either the doctor visits or the controlled substances. District Attorney General Mike Flynn will prosecute. Michael Douglas Grainger, 57, of Rocky Top, is charged in Anderson County with TennCare fraud for using TennCare to obtain the painkiller Oxycodone and later selling a portion to a confidential informant. District Attorney General David Clark will prosecute. TennCare fraud is a Class E felony carrying a sentence of up to two years in prison per charge. Theft of services over $10,000 is a Class C felony punishable by up to six years in prison. Tennesseans can get cash rewards for TennCare fraud tips that lead to convictions. Report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or go to www.tn.gov/tnoig/ and click on "Report TennCare Fraud." District Attorney General Russell Johnson outlines events that led to an officer-involved shooting on Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. Rockwood Officer Brandon Smith has been cleared by a grand jury of any wrongdoing in the Christmas Eve shooting of a suspect following a tense chase up a narrow winding road and the suspect then trying to run the officer over. (BOB FOWLER/NEWS SENTINEL) SHARE By Bob Fowler, bob.fowler@knoxnews.com OAK RIDGE - There were some birth pangs in the creation of what's likely Tennessee's newest drug court, but officials are optimistic the results will pay widespread, ongoing dividends. Roane County launched what's known as its Recovery Court on Feb. 1 to provide those convicted of misdemeanor drug-related offenses with an alternative to jail. Russell Johnson, the 9th Judicial District attorney general, and Public Defender Kim Nelson teamed up Tuesday to give an overview of the new program to members of the Oak Ridge League of Women Voters. The district includes Roane, Loudon, Meigs and Morgan counties, but Tuesday's remarks focused on the startup of the new Roane County program, funded by federal, state and local grants. Johnson said the idea for a drug court was broached about nine years ago when he first took office, and it faced early opposition - including from him - before it was finally adopted. In the Recovery Court program, carefully screened participants who have pleaded to nonviolent, drug-related offenses can apply for the intervention program. It's an alternative to jail. Already, some of the initial participants have strayed, failing some of the frequent drug screens, and been sent to jail. Being locked up doesn't break the cycle of addiction, Nelson said. "It's not going to treat the problem," Johnson said. Local jails, including the lockups in Roane and Loudon counties, are facing overcrowding, Johnson said. The women's cellblocks in those jails are where overcrowding is particularly worrisome, Johnson said, and many of those inmates are behind bars for drug-related offenses. Nelson called drug addiction a sickness. "I see kids not with their moms and dads because of drugs," she said. "It's heartbreaking, and it's a problem that's being handed down generation to generation." In Tennessee, statistics show the drug problem has reached epidemic proportions, the officials said. There has been a 220 percent increase in drug overdose deaths in Tennessee since 1999, and nationwide, 44 people per day die from overdoses. Young people in the Volunteer State are using pain killers at a 30 percent higher rate than the national average, and an estimated 69,000 residents are addicted to those various opioids. The state already has 44 similar drug courts, and results indicate an impressive overall success rate, the officials said. Statewide, 80 percent of those who complete the programs haven't been arrested for drug-related offenses a year after they graduate, according to statistics. Tuesday's presentation was the first of a two-part overview of the new Recovery Court. Dennis Humphrey, the Roane County General Sessions Court judge who oversees the new Recovery Court, will speak March 15. 290216MINING REGULATION ACT 2016 By Tom Kathoa The Bougainville Executive Council has adopted a new Bougainville Mining Resolution 2016 which will come into effect once all the necessary papers are finalized. In announcing the BEC decision, Mining Minister and Member for Tera, Hon. Robin Wilson said this is an important step in the implementation of the Bougainville Mining Act. The regulation provides for a number of matters that are needed to fully implement the Mining Act, such as forms and fees. The minister said the regulation will come into force in accordance with a notice that will be published in the Bougainville Gazette in the coming days. He further added that copies of the regulation are available from his department. Ends SHARE Brian Witham, 45, of Waterville, Maine, one of two men accused in robbery and kidnapping schemes at two area banks and a third in upper East Tennessee. The other man is Michael Benanti, 43, of Lake Harmony, Pa. (FBI/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS SENTINEL) Michael Anthony Benanti, one of two men accused in robbery and kidnapping schemes at two area banks and a third in upper East Tennessee. The other man is Brian Witham. (KNOX COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE) Related Coverage Accused bank extortionist: 'I'm somebody big' By Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel One of two men accused in a series of kidnappings of bank employees and their families in three states, including Tennessee, confessed his role Tuesday in the highly orchestrated but rarely successful attempts to rob financial institutions to prop up a failing inmate fraud venture. As his Tennessee victims watched, Brian Scott Witham, 45, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to a string of crimes including carjackings, a bank robbery, a store robbery and four kidnappings of bank employees and their families, including a toddler and a baby held at gunpoint. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Lewen spent more than half an hour outlining the case against Witham and Michael Benanti, who's accused of masterminding the plots but maintains his innocence so far. Lewen unveiled court records on crimes in Knoxville and Elizabethton in Tennessee, as well as in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. As part of his plea deal, in which Witham has agreed to turn on Benanti, Witham faces a minimum 42-year prison term. Chief U.S. District Judge Tom Varlan will have final say and, according to a plea agreement, could impose a life term. Sentencing is set for Aug. 17. The plea agreement outlines the following about the crimes: In the late 1990s, Witham and Benanti, both robbers, met in federal prison. When Benanti was freed, he launched a venture known as Prisoner Assistant, in which he convinced prison inmates to pay him a fee and give him power of attorney over their finances and he, in turn, would provide them with banking and investing services. He later hired a freed Witham. The Wall Street Journal reported on the business, which operated from Benanti's Pennsylvania basement, in 2014. The venture was a sham, prosecutors said, and the operation began to unravel as Benanti and Witham squandered the inmates' money. Benanti "needed to explore ways to quickly inject cash into his floundering business," Lewen wrote. First, he and Witham tried identity theft, but it was "too time-consuming with too little return," Lewen wrote. In September 2014, the pair decided to rob the Peoples Security Bank and Trust in Clarks Summit, Pa., prosecutors said. First, they stole a series of cars they would use for various purposes in the robbery and then burn, then they bought guns, according to court records. Witham stocked up on food and water and, dressed in camouflage with a camera and binoculars, surveilled the bank and its employees. As tellers arrived on the morning of Sept. 12, 2014, they were greeted in the parking lot by the two men, who wore masks, hats and gloves, and forced into the bank, prosecutors said. The tellers were bound, and the bank manager was ordered to open the vault. That robbery netted $156,000, which Benanti pumped into Prisoner Assistant, Lewen said. The money didn't last long. Prosecutors said Benanti and Witham then decided to target bank executives and their families, using Facebook and LinkedIn to identify targets and to learn all about the families. Witham's job was to hide outside the families' homes and surveil them. He spent hours at that task, even bagging his excrement to avoid detection. In February 2015, the pair decided on a target in Connecticut, prosecutors said - Matthew Yussman, executive at Achieve Financial Credit Union in New Britain. Yussman lived with his mother. As he arrived home after work, prosecutors said, Benanti and Witham - dressed in black, armed and posing as police - forced Yussman and his mother inside their home. Authorities said the pair taped a fake bomb to Yussman's body, bound his mother and insisted there were explosives in her room they would detonate if he failed to carry out orders to rob his bank. The plan was foiled when police were alerted after Yussman went to the bank alone, as instructed. His mother was freed unharmed. Prosecutors said the pair next traveled to Maggie Valley, N.C., where they rented a cabin as a base of operation. Prosecutors said they targeted Mark Ziegler, an executive with the Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge, and his family, including his teenage son. After two days of surveillance from trees surrounding the Ziegler home in West Knoxville, the pair in April caught Ziegler in his garage and handcuffed him before forcing him inside his home, Lewen wrote. Ziegler's wife and son were bound and guns trained at their heads. Lewen said the men threatened to cut one finger off Ziegler's wife's hands for every minute he was late on the mission to rob his bank and, if she ran out of digits, to carve up his daughter, who was not in the home at the time. The men wore masks, including one of a woman in a bid to trick the Zeiglers into thinking there was a third kidnapper who was female, prosecutors said. Witham also used a fake tattoo to throw off the family's description. Ziegler took $200,000 from his bank, but police stopped him. The plea does not elaborate. His wife and son were freed unharmed. The pair fled. Prosecutors say the men, broke and desperate for cash, robbed an Ingle's Market in Arden, N.C., firing a gun into the counter, on May 6. Two months later, the pair had new extortion victims, Lewen wrote - Tanner Harris, a loan officer with SmartBank in Knoxville, his wife and their baby. They pried open the front door of the family's home, according to court records, and chased Harris' wife up the stairs into the bedroom, where her husband and baby were. Prosecutors said the family barricaded themselves inside the master bathroom, but the men pried their way in and followed Harris to the bank with his family in tow. Harris gave them $195,000 from the bank. The men fled with his wife and baby but later released them. Prosecutors say the pair next targeted Brooke Lyons, a teller at the Northeast Community Credit Union in Elizabethton, and her 3-year-old son. Mother and son were snatched from their driveway and taken to the bank. Lyons begged her co-workers for money, but they refused. She ran back outside and begged the masked, armed men not to kill her son, whom she hugged as she pleaded. The men eventually released them unharmed, too. Prosecutors said the pair went back to their cabin, where they had 13 dossiers on new victims in South Carolina and Georgia. By then, the FBI was on their trail, and in November they were captured in North Carolina after a chase and crash. SHARE Joshua Scarlett (Roane County jail) By News Sentinel Staff A Rockwood man who was shot on Christmas Eve when authorities say he attempted to run down a police officer with a stolen Jeep surrendered Tuesday to face indictment on several charges. Joshua Scarlett, 35, turned himself in at the Roane County jail on Tuesday following his Feb. 17 indictment by a grand jury on charges of aggravated assault, felony reckless endangerment and evading arrest, according to a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation news release. The day of the shooting, Scarlett led police on a tense chase up a narrow, winding road, authorities said. When Scarlett turned onto a four-wheel-drive path, Rockwood Police Officer Brandon Smith parked his cruiser at a turnoff and followed on foot. Scarlett put the Jeep in reverse and tried to back into Smith, police said. The officer emptied his service weapon, striking Scarlett in the jaw and torso. The officer escaped injury. Smith's body camera recorded the chase and the shooting. A grand jury later cleared the officer of any wrongdoing. Scarlett was hospitalized for several days and then disappeared after being released from the hospital. Scarlett was booked into jail Tuesday and fitted with a GPS monitor before being released due to a medical condition. More details as they develop online and in Wednesday's News Sentinel. Laura Buckingham of Kingston (Photo courtesy Roane County Sheriffs Office) By Bob Fowler, fowlerb@knoxnews.com KINGSTON If the woman accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill her former husband makes bond between now and next Monday, she'll have to wear an electronic ankle bracelet and stay in Tennessee, a judge has ruled. Related: Authorities: Ex-sniper thwarts girlfriends plot to kill her ex And it was announced in court during a Monday hearing on a motion for an increased bond for defendant Laura Ann Buckingham, 29, that she is pregnant. Buckingham was arrested last week on a warrant accusing her of criminal intent to commit first-degree murder and remains in the Roane County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bond. Buckingham wanted to have Bradley Sutherland of Indiana killed, according to police reports, and had tried to convince her live-in boyfriend, Joseph Chamblin, to do the deed. Buckingham was reportedly upset over an ongoing custody dispute she was having with Sutherland over their 3-year-old son. Buckingham had moved from Indiana to Kingston less than two months ago, according to the bond motion. She and Chamblin had shared a rental home in Kingston. Chamblin, a former Marine sniper, is notorious for an incident in 2011 where he and other Marines were seen on a YouTube video urinating on dead Taliban fighters. Chamblin reportedly had grown concerned by Buckingham's continued requests for him to kill Sutherland or find someone to do it, so he recorded conversations and provided them to Roane County authorities, according to police records. An undercover agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation then posed as a contract killer and recorded on audio and video "many conversations" with Buckingham, according to the motion. The state in that motion argues that Buckingham has no local connections, and Chamblin has expressed fear that she will retaliate against him. He has sworn out an order of protection against her, court records show. The motion for an increased bond states that Buckingham is a former U.S. Marine who served in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan and has "unique military training and experience, coupled with reported historical mental health concerns." The state argues that the current bond wouldn't ensure Buckingham's return to court "and protect the safety of the public." While Roane County General Sessions Judge Terry Stevens granted part of the motion requiring Buckingham to stay in the state and wear an ankle bracelet if she makes the current bond he continued the matter on the request for a bigger bond until next Monday while Buckingham tries to find and hire an attorney. In the meantime, the Roane County Public Defender's office has been appointed to her case. SHARE By Lydia X. McCoy of the Knoxville News Sentinel Knox County Schools has received all of its testing materials to administer the state's new assessment, TNReady just in time for the Wednesday's first day of the testing window. Schools Superintendent Jim McIntyre updated board members about the test's administration at their workshop meeting on Monday. McIntyre said 44 schools received their materials on Friday, and the remaining school on Monday. "We kept our fingers crossed and breath held until this morning when all of our schools, did in fact, receive their assessment materials for TNReady," he told board members. "While it's a bit of a tight time frame we do plan to move forward with our current testing schedule." Districts across the state have been waiting for the paper assessment after the state decided not to move forward with it online as planned after computer glitches in February halted testing on the first day it was rolled out. Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said she lost confidence in the system's ability to perform with consistency. The state contracted with Measurement Inc., a North Carolina-based company, to develop the assessment. McQueen said the state has paid the company $1.6 million for the tests' development and there will be no additional costs for printing and distributing the paper tests. The state is also reviewing its $108 million five-year contract. TNReady assesses math and English skills for grades 3-11. It replaces the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, known as TCAP tests. After Monday's meeting, McIntyre said if a significant number of schools had not received the tests the district would have had to make a contingency plan. McIntyre said all students should be done with testing before the district is out for its spring break later this month. "This has been a bit of a journey but I do believe that ultimately the TNReady assessment will be beneficial," he said. "It will measure some very sophisticated skills that will be critical for our student's future." Chancellor Jimmy Cheek walks out of a meeting with leaders from the UT Diversity Matters coalition in the Frieson Black Cultural Center at University of Tennessee on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016. (CAITIE MCMEKIN/NEWS SENTINEL). In the meeting they discussed inclusivity issues on campus such as gender neutral pronouns and accessibility for the disabled. SHARE By MJ Slaby of the Knoxville News Sentinel University of Tennessee administrators and students from UT Diversity Matters coalition will meet today to review a list of student demands. The meeting is at 5 p.m. in Frieson Black Cultural Center and follows a Feb. 4 meeting where students and campus leaders discussed a list of demands developed by the diversity-focused coalition. The coalition of mostly student groups was a response to the continuing controversy about diversity at UT as state legislators file bills to cut funds for diversity programs. On Wednesday, a joint meeting of the house education committees will review diversity and inclusion in public higher education and hear from both UT and the Tennessee Board of Regents, the system that oversees all state colleges and universities not in the UT system. The UT Diversity Matters demands include reinstating a post on the Office of Diversity and Inclusion's website about gender-neutral pronouns, returning sole oversight of the website to the diversity office, campus-wide diversity training, added accessibility for the disabled and an apology. Coalition students expressed frustrations following the last meeting, but Chancellor Jimmy Cheek called it a positive "beginning dialogue." The two groups agreed then to meet once the chancellor's cabinet, vice chancellors and Provost Susan Martin, could review the demand list. More details as they develop online and in Wednesday's News Sentinel. Y-12 nuclear engineers Christy Fisher, left, and Marsha Bartholomay have some fun during the "Introduce a Girl to Engineering" program Tuesday, March 1, 2016, at Y-12's New Hope Center. Nearly 150 girls from area schools participated in the event, where they were able to interact with female engineers from Y-12, UT and other professional engineering organizations. (FRANK MUNGER/NEWS SENTINEL) SHARE National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office Deputy Manager Teresa Robbins takes part in the "Introduce a Girl to Engineering" program Tuesday, March 1, 2016, at Y-12's New Hope Center. Nearly 150 girls from area schools participated in the event, where they were able to interact with female engineers from Y-12, UT and other professional engineering organizations. (FRANK MUNGER/NEWS SENTINEL) Brianna Short, left, and Alexandra McFall of Lenoir City High School take part in the "Introduce a Girl to Engineering" program Tuesday, March 1, 2016, at Y-12's New Hope Center. Nearly 150 girls from area schools participated in the event, where they were able to interact with female engineers from Y-12, UT and other professional engineering organizations. (FRANK MUNGER/NEWS SENTINEL) Participants fill Y-12's New Hope Center during the "Introduce a Girl to Engineering" program Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Oak Ridge. Nearly 150 girls from area schools participated in the event, where they were able to interact with female engineers from Y-12, UT and other professional engineering organizations. (FRANK MUNGER/NEWS SENTINEL) By Frank Munger of the Knoxville News Sentinel OAK RIDGE - Teresa Robbins is a top executive in the National Nuclear Security Administration, overseeing work at two nuclear weapons plants, and she said the foundation for her successful career was a decision to pursue a degree in engineering. Engineering made everything possible, she said. "I came from a family that had never gone to college, and I really didn't know what I wanted to do," Robbins said Tuesday at an "Introduce a Girl to Engineering" program at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Robbins said she tried a couple of majors, accounting and then computer science, but wasn't fully committed. Her boyfriend at the time - now her husband - suggested she might try engineering because she was good at math and science. "I didn't even know what engineers did," she said. So she researched it a little, and then along came the catastrophe at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the Soviet Ukraine. That caught her attention and sparked her interest in getting a degree in nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee. "I wanted to learn more about that and what happened there," she said. Robbins, deputy manager of the NNSA's Production Office, was among dozens of women engineers who shared stories and interacted with about 150 girls from local schools at Tuesday's event. Syretta Vaughn, a facility safety engineer, said her favorite job was helping with the demolition of old buildings at the K-25 uranium-enrichment site in Oak Ridge. She said it involved a lot more than just a wrecking ball hitting a wall, requiring preparations to make sure the environment wasn't hurt during the process. "I really liked tearing down buildings," Vaughn said. The professionals told the students that engineering jobs satisfied their wants and needs on many fronts - solving problems, being creative and earning substantial salaries. Susan Kozemko, a senior technical advisor at Y-12, admitted that money was a motivator when choosing a career, although it wasn't her top priority. Brianna Short, a junior at Lenoir City High School and a self-described nerd, said she loves working with computers and looks forward to a career as a software engineer or something akin to that. Her classmate at Lenoir City, Alexandra McFall, said she too is considering engineering as a career path, but she's more likely to become a chemical engineer. "I really like chemistry," she said. Dave Rivoira casts his early voting ballot at the Downtown West location Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. (AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS/NEWS SENTINEL) By Gerald Witt of the Knoxville News Sentinel Knox County residents will select a new law director and property assessor in today's primary election, as well as nominees for president and in local offices. Polls are open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. in all Knox County precincts. Eight years ago, some 92,000 Knox Countians voted in the presidential primary, and election officials expect a figure to rival that total this year. "We'll get close," said Chris Davis, assistant administrator of elections for the Knox County Election Commission. "Turnout has been very good." See also: Voter guide | Live coverage of Super Tuesday The county's next law director will be determined through the Republican primary race between current Law Director Richard "Bud" Armstrong and challenger Nathan Rowell; and the property assessor will be selected among Andrew Graybeal, Jim Weaver and John Whitehead. Both races have no opposition from other parties in the general election. There are numerous other primaries in Knox County Commission races, including Democratic races in the 1st and 2nd districts, and Republican primaries in the 4th and 6th districts. With a large field of presidential hopefuls, the Republican ballot also has a long list of delegates vying for votes to represent candidates at the national convention. Davis cautioned that voters "really do need to look all the way through the ballot." Though the Republican ballot is bigger, Knox County Democratic Party Chairman Cameron Brooks is urging his party's voter base to pull Democratic ballots. Knox County has a very deep base of Republican support overall. "I believe that voters who vote in the Democratic primary will be selecting the next president of the United States," Brooks said, "whether it's Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton." Davis estimated that 70 percent of the early votes have been on Republican ballots. Results from early voting and absentee voting are expected to go online at 8 p.m. today on the Knox County Election Commission's website knoxcounty.org/election. SHARE JOHN SHEARER/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS SENTINEL History Professor Beth Vandlandingham, center, with students Anna Connolly, left, and Gabrielle Lumpkin, views a Voting Rights Art exhibit recently at Carson-Newman University. The exhibit, We March With Selma, opened in January in the Appalachian Cultural Center on campus and runs through April 4. By John Shearer of the Knoxville News Sentinel JEFFERSON CITY Years of effort and sometimes slow progress were required before the landmark Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965 ensuring all Americans equal and fair access to the voting booth. A few months longer than expected were also required to put together a student-produced exhibit at Carson-Newman University about the passage of that law. But the result has also brought a similarly satisfying feeling for participants of hopefully aiding society, too, through a better understanding of and appreciation for that time. "To be able to research how much people had to sacrifice, it was cool to meet all these people in history and to realize there was usually more to the story," said student participant Gabrielle Lumpkin of Sevier County. "And it's still relevant today." The exhibit, "We March With Selma," which opened in January in the Appalachian Cultural Center on campus and runs through April 4, has received positive reviews for its detailed information and presentation quality. In fact, students and officials said they have been told it looks like an exhibit that might be found in a bigger museum. "We've had older people come in and many of them just start crying, and younger people come in and they're appalled and astounded," said Carson-Newman history professor Beth Vanlandingham, the faculty coordinator of the project. Vanlandingham, who grew up in northwestern Florida during the later years of the civil-rights struggle, said the idea for the exhibit came in 2014 during a senior-level history seminar she was teaching. "Rather than write their own individual research paper that no one would ever read, they wanted to do a public history project and take what they had learned and take it to the public," Vanlandingham said. With 2015's 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act passage and the famed Selma-to-Montgomery march, a decision was made to do an exhibit on that topic. The initial class envisioned some of the concepts, and subsequent classes followed through with putting the exhibit together. Other departments and businesses also helped, and faculty members Susan O'Dell Underwood and Artress Bethany White contributed poems about the topic. The project organizers had to cross their own proverbial bridge when popular Carson-Newman faculty member Jim Baumgardner died, and Vanlandingham had to devote additional time to picking up some of his course load. But, like the marchers of old, she and the students plunged ahead with determination. Vanlandingham said the students wanted to focus on the ordinary people black and white who helped in the effort, and not just Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Also, an effort was made to focus on the student effort to secure the voting law, so some information was gathered on the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. Students also tried to find photographs that have not been commonly used in history books and other media to offer a fresh look. On a lighter note, they occasionally had to improvise, such as when they bought a tire thumper at a truck stop to simulate a billy club and when they used a painted can of shaving cream to look like a tear-gas canister. Among the numerous students who ended up working on the project were Lumpkin, who helped put together the "roll call" of mini-biographies, and Anna Connolly of Bristol, who wrote the gallery guide. Connolly tried to summarize such sections of the exhibit as the early voter registration efforts, the Birmingham church bombing, the Mississippi Freedom Summer, and the incidents that took place in Selma and the subsequent march to Montgomery to demand the passage of a voting rights law. There is also some space in the exhibit devoted to recent racial conflicts and the Supreme Court decision that repealed some of the aspects of the Voting Rights Act. For Connolly, not only was learning more about that time period enlightening, but working on the project also made her change her career goals from working as an editor/publisher to now wanting to get into museum studies. "This helped give me a firm foundation for what to start off with," she said. Lumpkin, meanwhile, said she hopes to become a civil-rights attorney. While the exhibit was impactful to the students, Vanlandingham also hopes it is meaningful to those who visit the exhibit. "The students wanted to convey what they had learned and bring some discussion about voting rights into the public arena here on campus and in the larger community," she said. IF YOU GO What: "We March With Selma," a student-produced exhibit on the Voting Rights Act Where: Appalachian Cultural Center, Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City Exhibit hours: 2-4 p.m. on Mondays; 9:30-10:30 a.m. and 3-4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays; 12:30-4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays; 9-11 a.m. on Thursdays; and 9-10:30 a.m. on Fridays. Admission: Free; special group tours can be arranged. More information: Call 865-471-3323. Pellissippi State Community College student Kristy Hilliard studies inside the J.L. Goins Administration building at the college's Hardin Valley campus on Tuesday, February 4, 2014. Governor Bill Haslam proposed the "Tennessee Promise", a program that will provide two free years of community college or trade school for high school graduates. (SAUL YOUNG/NEWS SENTINEL) SHARE By News Sentinel Staff Students can tour multiple Tennessee colleges in one day thanks to the first statewide virtual college fair. Tennessee Pathway Day will be held 2-7 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, and is designed to help incoming college students as well as transfer students, according to a news release. During the event, students can live chat with representatives from Tennessee colleges and universities using their computers, tablets or smartphones. Participating colleges include Tennessee Board of Regents institutions, which are the state colleges and universities not in the University of Tennessee system, as well as private universities Lipscomb, Tennessee Wesleyan, Carson-Newman and Fisk universities. "This is the first statewide college fair offered entirely online in Tennessee," Tristan Denley, TBR vice chancellor of academic affairs, said in the release. "It's an incredible opportunity for students to discover what opportunities are out there, whether looking at colleges close to them or across the state." Students can ask questions and learn about scholarship opportunities as well as learn about the Tennessee Transfer Pathway, which helps students transfer from community college to a four-year institution by ensuring community college classes will transfer to a bachelor's degree program. Interested students are asked to register at www.tnpathwayday.org. After the event, college and university information will be available on the pathway day website until March 31. LaTasha Dyer, left, talks about the October slaying of her 8-year-old daughter, MaKayla Dyer, who was shot to death by an 11-year-old neighbor while Beth Joslin Roth of Safe Tennessee Project listens Tuesday, March 1, 2016. The two encouraged lawmakers to support a bill to penalize adult gun owners who leave loaded weapons unlocked and accessible to children under age 13. (RICHARD LOCKER/NEWS SENTINEL) By Richard Locker, locker@knoxnews.com NASHVILLE - LaTasha Dyer, mother of an 8-year-old girl shot to death by an 11-year-old neighbor in October in Jefferson County, urged state lawmakers Tuesday to pass a bill to penalize adult gun owners who leave loaded guns unlocked and accessible if children under age 13 get them. But the National Rifle Association's lobbyist, Erin Luper, told the Senate Judiciary Committee the NRA believes it's a gun owner's responsibility to safely store firearms and the state shouldn't impose a requirement on them with a criminal law. The NRA's opposition set off a round of questioning in the committee, despite the testimony of a Middle Tennessee district attorney that existing reckless endangerment laws are difficult to prosecute in such cases. After the NRA's opposition, Sen. Sara Kyle, D-Memphis, the bill's sponsor, postponed further discussion in the committee for two weeks. Moments earlier, LaTasha Dyer had spoken softly to the panel about the Oct. 3 shooting death of her daughter. "As a mom, I never thought I would outlive one of my children but last year my 8-year old daughter MaKayla Dyer was killed by our neighbor. She wouldn't show him our puppy. Our family is devastated by this avoidable tragedy," she said in support of the bill named MaKayla's Law after her daughter. "If the gun had been simply locked away and not loaded, MaKayla would still be here," Dyer said. "We are so pleased that today state lawmakers are working to keep guns out of the hands of children. Please help me make sure MaKayla's horrible fate isn't shared by one more child." Dyer said she would return to Nashville in two weeks to work again for the bill's passage but she may face an uphill battle in a committee with a 7-2 Republican majority, given the NRA's opposition. MaKayla was killed near her home in White Pine, Tenn., east of Knoxville. A Jefferson County Juvenile Court judge found Benny Tiller, 11, delinquent by reason of first-degree murder in her death and ordered him held in state custody until age 19. No one else has been charged. Jefferson County authorities say she was killed by a shotgun blast to her chest after the boy got his father's 12-gauge shotgun and fired it through a window. She was outside with two other girls who were not hit. LaTasha Dyer - previously identified by bill advocates as Tasha Patterson but who told reporters Tuesday her name is LaTasha Dyer - was joined by Kyle, who is sponsoring Senate Bill 2294, and Beth Joslin Roth, head of Safe Tennessee Project. The bill would make it a violation for an adult gun owner to "recklessly place, leave or store in plain view and readily accessible to a child under 13" a gun "if the gun is left unattended," not under the owner's control and either contains ammunition or ammunition is in the immediate vicinity, unless the gun has a trigger lock or similar device or is in a locked container or cabinet only accessible to the owner or owner's spouse. The law could not apply retroactively to MaKayla's case or any other case before its effective date. Twenty-seven states have passed similar laws. Bowalley Road Rules The blogosphere tends to be a very noisy, and all-too-often a very abusive, place. I intend Bowalley Road to be a much quieter, and certainly a more respectful, place. So, if you wish your comments to survive the moderation process, you will have to follow the Bowalley Road Rules. These are based on two very simple principles: Courtesy and Respect. Comments which are defamatory, vituperative, snide or hurtful will be removed, and the commentators responsible permanently banned. Anonymous comments will not be published. Real names are preferred. If this is not possible, however, commentators are asked to use a consistent pseudonym. Comments which are thoughtful, witty, creative and stimulating will be most welcome, becoming a permanent part of the Bowalley Road discourse. However, I do add this warning. If the blog seems in danger of being over-run by the usual far-Right suspects, I reserve the right to simply disable the Comments function, and will keep it that way until the perpetrators find somewhere more appropriate to vent their collective spleen. It's election day It's is Super Tuesday, primary day. Go vote if you haven't already. Knox County precincts are open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. And if you are running up against a tight deadline, don't worry. Voters who are in line at 8 p.m. in polling locations will be able to vote. Election parties Since it is an election day in Tennessee, there are a few local election parties are planned. Republicans will start the gathering around 7:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza hotel, 401 West Summit Hill Drive. Democrats are meeting up at the Marriott hotel, 501 East Hill Ave., around the same time. A permit militia State Sen. Frank Niceley was proud of gun legislation he co-sponsored that would make carry permits cost less and renewal easier after the bill passed through a Tennessee General Assembly Senate subcommittee last week. Niceley, whose 8th Senate District covers Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson and Union counties, is a well-known firearms supporter. The proposed legislation makes various changes to handgun carry permits, including extending permit renewals to occur every eight years and lowering the initial application fee from $115 to $100. And if someone can't afford $100 in a single gulp, then the payment can be spread out, he said. The legislation helps the approximately 500,000 gun permit holders across Tennessee, he said. "That pretty a good sized army, or militia a permit militia," Niceley said. The bill lowers the fee and removes the current requirement that it go to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for updating and maintaining that agency's fingerprint criminal history database. The bill has been placed on the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee's calendar for today. The Klan Over the weekend Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump received, and then eventually disavowed, an endorsement from David Duke, a former Louisiana legislator, white nationalist and former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard. The delay in Trump's renouncement of the endorsement was enough for Tennessee state Rep. Eddie Smith, R-Knoxville, though he never backed Trump anyway. Smith had already voted for Marco Rubio, but that link to the Ku Klux Klan was something that he couldn't take for the GOP. "The KKK does not support anything that the Republican party stands for," Smith said. Staying out State Sen. Richard Briggs wouldn't predict the outcome of Tennessee's GOP presidential primary. He was on Jeb Bush's team before that campaign folded. "I'm not ever sure on these Republican primaries that I've picked a winner," he said. UT Martin coach gets a shot at Vols after watching son lose in Neyland chaos After watching son Ty Simpson and Alabama lose to Tennessee football in epic game, UT Martin coach Jason Simpson returns to Neyland to face Vols. As we go to the polls today, we may remember that day 97 years ago when women in our city voted for the first time, on Sept. 6, 1919. It was during the mayor's race in which incumbent John E. McMillan was challenged by E.W. Neal. McMillan had been elected for two two-year terms in 1915 and 1917. Both candidates courted the female vote. The city was 128 years old and had experienced scores of elections, but women had not been a part of the process. Even after a dinner party when men began to discuss politics, women were expected to retire to another room to talk about more "feminine" issues. Even when they began to form organizations for the betterment of society, their motives were suspect. When Knoxville's leading women's community advocacy group, the Non Partisan League, was organized, men were not sure what to make of it and its "meddlesome" women. Its president, Mrs. Thomas Peacock Miller, said, "I was surprised yesterday when a woman told me that we have been accused of being a political machine. I told her that the league was organized May 9 before we were even sure we could vote." Miller said the sole purpose of the Non Partisan League was for the betterment of conditions in Knoxville. Local columnist Elizabeth Thompson espoused that sentiment when she wrote: "It must be made possible for a girl to walk our streets, attending to her own affairs without some ugly remarks being made to her. It must be made impossible for some 'smart aleck' in an auto to drive by slowly along the curb and invite a strange girl to ride with him. A good, strong organization of women working together and causing a few prosecutions of 'mashers' will help a lot." Regardless of its primary motives, when the right to vote came, the league was skilled in organizing voter registration, getting poll taxes paid and getting people to vote. Efforts like that led to the formation of the League of Women Voters a year later in 1920 and the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which was ratified Aug. 18, 1920. It read: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." That amendment came 72 years after the first Women's Rights Convention in Senecca Falls, New York, in 1848. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869. Later, Josephine St. Pierre, Mary Church Terrell and Anna Cooper formed the National Association of Colored Women. All advocated for the national right to vote. Here in the Knoxville mayor's race of 1919, both candidates vigorously sought the female vote. In his invitation to a rally at the Market House, McMillan said, "Good people to hear the truth the good women are especially invited. One entire section of the seats on the main floor of the hall will be reserved for the ladies and their escorts." Neal said, "Good women, Neal takes a bold stand in favor of putting all the principals, supervisors and teachers of the public schools under Civil Service. This would protect them from removal just as firemen and policemen are protected." The Non Partisan League reported that nearly 7,000 women had registered to vote along with 11,500 men. Opinion polls did not exist then, so nobody knew how women would vote. Pundits after the election surmised the vote between the candidates to be about evenly split. Neal won by 500 votes. SHARE A recent letter writer tries to make the point that "Republicans wanting to wait until after the election to confirm a new Supreme Court justice is pure partisan politics of the worst sort." He does this by presenting a litany of examples where presidents in their final year in office nominated justices for the Supreme Court. The problem with this argument is that it was the Democrats who established the precedent of confirming Supreme Court justices solely on partisan issues when they rejected the nomination of Robert Bork. Sen. Edward Kennedy set the tone for the confirmation hearings with his proclamation that "Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, and schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution." None of Kennedy's sensational demagoguery had anything to do with Bork's judicial qualifications. They are all purely partisan rants. The attack on Bork was so crass that it resulted in the addition of a new word to the English language, "borked." The Oxford English Dictionary defines "borked" as "to defame or vilify a person systematically." Tom Goldstein, publisher of SCOTUSblog, which covers the Supreme Court, said, "The (Bork) nomination changed everything, maybe forever." So it was the Democrats who changed the precedent on how Supreme Court nominations are treated in the Senate, and people like the letter writer are complaining about the rules established by their own political party. John Shaw, Powell Roane County High School students, from left, Ethan Argus, Justin Adams, John Edgar and Chris Angros check out a mechatronics device used in manufacturing during Roane State Community College's "Leap Day" on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, in Clinton. (BOB FOWLER/NEWS SENTINEL) SHARE Mechatronics student Zachary Boor uses a dimmer switch to activate a lamp during a Leap Day demonstration Monday on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, at the Roane State Community College Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility in Clinton. (BOB FOWLER/NEWS SENTINEL) Students and instructors gather around one of the high-tech devices used in manufacturing that were on display on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, at the Roane State Community College Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility in Clinton. (BOB FOWLER/NEWS SENTINEL) With a robotic arm behind a plastic protective window, mechatronics program director Gordon Williams helps Roane County High School student Jamie Martin use the controls for the device on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, at the Roane State Community College Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility in Clinton. (BOB FOWLER/NEWS SENTINEL) By Bob Fowler, fowlerb@knoxnews.com CLINTON A community college chose Monday's "Leap Day" the additional day tacked onto February once every four years to celebrate its LEAP Grant. That $970,000 state Labor Education Alignment Program grant was received by Roane State Community College last year, and it's been put to use at the college's Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility. The facility is located in a former National Guard Army next to the Anderson County Fairgrounds off Charles Seivers Boulevard. Amid the din of high-tech machines on display and in action, students from Clinton and Roane County high schools got up-close views of what officials say could be promising futures in well-paying jobs in local factories. "Leap Day" was an opportunity for Roane State officials to showcase the training equipment funded by the grant, intended to close skill gaps in the state's workforce by aligning educational training with industrial needs. The grant helped the college expand its program in mechatronics the name given for knowledge of a variety of engineering skills for an assortment of machines electrical, mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic and the computers that control them. Today's modern factories use many robotic machines, and officials said those versed in mechatronics are in demand as the technicians that program the machines, keep them running and update them. Local auto parts manufacturers such as SL Tennessee and AISIN of Tennessee are always on the lookout for skilled machine operators, said Gordon F. Williams, the mechatronics program director. "If you enjoy hands-on learning and high-tech equipment, mechatronics is a program you will want to explore," he said. "I'm seeking a good-paying job at a young age," said Clinton High senior Caleb Arwood, who is in a special dual-credit program that allows high school students to obtain certification in mechatronics. Roane State also offers a two-year associate degree in mechatronics. Zachary Boor, a Roane State student helping out at Monday's event, said with his plan to continue training, "I'll be able to repair or reprogram robots" at a local factory. "These are very promising jobs, from what I've been told," he said. "I'll have a lot of jobs waiting for me, and a lot of internships." Mercedes-Benz S350 / Korea Times file By Ko Dong-hwan, Park Si-soo The government has banned Mercedes-Benz Korea from selling four of its S-Class models after the company made an error while reporting the transmissions installed in the vehicles to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The German carmaker said that this was a "minor mistake." Nevertheless, the transport ministry is considering filing a complaint against the company with the prosecution. Ministry officials didn't specify how long the ban will be imposed. They said that the ban will be in place until the issue is "settled completely." According to news reports, Mercedes-Benz Korea recently reported that four of its S-Class models S350 d, S350 d 4Matic, S350 d L and S350 d 4Matic L are equipped with the nine-speed transmissions, not seven-speed, as reported to the ministry, which constitutes a violation of the government certification process required for all imported automobiles. The company reported the error to the ministry last month. An estimated 100 vehicles with the 9-speed transmission have been sold. The ministry will soon begin an investigation to confirm the details of the case and determine whether to file a complaint against Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Dimitris Psillakis. Under the law, car importers are required to report the mechanical details of all vehicles they import to the transportation ministry. CEOs of firms that fail to provide accurate information can be held responsible and face up to a year in prison or pay a 10 million won ($8,000) fine. By Choi Sung-jin Korea's per capita GDP is approaching that of Japan, a private think tank said Tuesday. The figure fell last year for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis, but that of Japan has fallen sharply for three consecutive years, it said. According to the Hyundai Research Institute, Korea's per capita GDP was $27,226 last year, 84 percent of Japan's $32,432. The difference between the two countries narrowed to $5,200. It was the first time the gap has reduced to the 10-percent range since the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released related statistics in 1981, it said. The think tank affiliated with the Hyundai Group estimated per capita GDP based on factors such as the foreign exchange rate (1,132 won per dollar), population (56 million) and GDP deflator (2.4 percent). Korea's per capita GDP last year dropped 2.6 percent from 2014, for the first time since it recorded falls of 11.4 percent in 2008 and 10.4 percent in 2009. As recently as 2012, Japan's per capita GDP, at $46,683, was nearly twice Korea's. It has since fallen 17.2 percent to $38,633 in 2013, 6.2 percent to $36,222 in 2014 and 10.5 percent to $32,432 last year. The biggest reason is the Japanese currency's weakness, which saw the yen fall from 79.79 per dollar in 2012 to 97.6 in 2013, 105.84 in 2014 and 121.02 last year. "Korea's higher nominal economic growth rate than Japan's and the yen's accelerated fall have combined to narrow the gap in per capita GDP," said Ju Won, a senior fellow at the think tank. In 1981, Korea's per capita GDP was $1,870, less than a fifth of Japan's $10,217, but Korea kept narrowing the gap to a quarter of Japan's in 1993, and to a third in 1996. In 2005, Korea came closer to 52 percent of Japan and has further reduced the gap to the 10-percent range in the course of recovering from the global financial crisis. With Korea's per capita GDP estimated to top $30,000 next year, at stake now is whether and when the nation will be able to catch up with its former colonizer in per capita GDP. The IMF estimates Korea's GDP to grow to $32,178 in 2018, $34,268 in 2019 and $36,750 in 2020. Japan's per capita GDP is expected to grow more slowly than Korea's, to $34,486 next year and to $35,450, $36,759 and $38,174 in the following three years. By 2020, Korea will reach 96 percent of Japan in per capita GDP, the IMF estimated. "That means if Korea's economy continues to grow faster than Japan's and the yen remains weak, Korea's per capita GDP could exceed Japan's in the not so distant future," Ju said. "It can be quite meaningful because per capita GDP shows a country's income level." Meanwhile, the per capita GDP of the United States, which stands at $55,759 this year, is expected to grow to $67,064 by 2020. China, whose per capita GDP stands at $7,847, will see it jump to $12,117 in 2020. India's GDP is also expected to increase from $1,688 to $2,500 over the period. By Lee Hyo-sik Shin Dong-bin Shin Dong-joo Lotte Group has long been known as one of the stingiest family-controlled conglomerates when it comes to how Korea's fifth-largest business group compensates its employees. Compared to their counterparts at Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK and LG, Lotte executives and employees are said to receive lower wages and fewer benefits, while working longer hours. This employee-unfriendly compensation scheme is largely attributed to Lotte's opaque governance structure and owner-centered corporate culture, according to chaebol insiders, who say group founder Shin Kyuk-ho and his offspring can bypass anything to do whatever they want to. However, things have begun changing since the unprecedented sibling feud between Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and his older brother Dong-joo, former vice chairman of Lotte Holdings in Japan, erupted over control of the group. In a bid to appease increasingly disgruntled employees and bolster their morale amid the prolonged managerial infighting between the group founder's two sons, Lotte has been taking various steps to boost workers welfare. The group said Sunday that it will provide company vehicles, either Hyundai Motor's Grandeur sedan or Kia Motors' K7 sedan, to some 530 managing director-level executives. So far, senior vice presidents or CEOs have been given the vehicles for business use. The country's major business groups, such as Samsung and Hyundai Motor, have long been paying for vehicles used by their executives, including entry-level managing directors. "We will provide all managing directors with company-paid cars through our newly-acquired Lotte Rental," a group official said. "This will help improve welfare for our hardworking executives and boost their morale." Lotte also said it will open eight more daycare centers at its affiliates in the first half of the year. The group currently runs seven facilities in which employees can leave their children for free of charge while working. In January, the group introduced a flexible work system in which employees can choose work hours at their discretions as long as they spend eight hours in office. It also offers a credit card to its workers through which they can get discounts when making purchases at Lotte Department Store and other Lotte retailers. A public relations official at one of Korea's large business groups said Lotte's employee-friendly measures are a surprise to him. "Lotte is stingy in all aspects as far as I know. It is all too surprising to hear that the group is beginning to treat its workers better," said the official, who declined to be named. "Everybody knows that Lotte's employee-friendly steps have been introduced since the sibling dispute began early last year. And they are solely aimed to garner support from workers for Chairman Dong-bin is his fight against Dong-joo." However, the group official dismissed the correlation between improving employee benefits and the ongoing sibling feud. "The group has long been planning a range of measures to boost employee welfare. It has nothing to do with the managerial dispute," he said. By Lee Hyo-sik Dimitris Psillakis Mercedes-Benz Korea, headed by CEO Dimitris Psillakis, may face a prosecution investigation for selling unregistered vehicles, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Sunday. The ministry said it has suspended the sale of Mercedes-Benz's four S350 diesel models after the carmaker was found to have sold the vehicles with a nine-speed transmission without registering them with the authorities. The controversial S-Class models are the S350 d, S350 d 4Matic, S350 d L and S350 d 4Matic L. The company had reported that it was only importing and selling the cars equipped with a seven-speed transmission called the 7G-Tronic. "Mercedes-Benz Korea notified us that it inadvertently sold the 9G-Tronic transmission-installed S350 diesel vehicles," a ministry official said. "The company said it did not know the cars had that type of transmission. We will find out what really happened and then take appropriate actions." He said the ministry will decide whether to refer the case to the prosecution after concluding its probe. By Yoon Ja-young Foreign investors in Seoul stocks will get over 5.7 trillion won ($4.6 billion) in dividends for 2015. The government has been encouraging businesses to expand dividends on expectations that the money will flow into households, but the policy doesn't seem to be of much benefit to individual investors. FnGuide, a financial market information provider, released a report Tuesday after analyzing corporate filings of 748 companies regarding payout plans. These companies, which close their books in December, are scheduled to pay a combined 15.8 trillion won in dividends from their earnings last year. Among them, foreigners will get 5.7 trillion won, or 36.4 percent of the total. On the main KOSPI bourse, the payout totaled 14.9 trillion won. Foreign investors will get 37.9 percent of the dividends, which is higher than their market cap of 32.2 percent. In the junior, tech-heavy Kosdaq market, meanwhile, 11.2 percent of the 883.5 billion won in dividends will head to foreign investors. They hold 9.9 percent of the market cap. They are getting more dividends compared with their market cap, thanks to their investment pattern in which companies with high dividend payout ratios are preferred. However, the data is triggering questions about the government's policy regarding dividends. It has been inducing businesses to expand payouts, including giving tax benefits, in expectations that the money will flow into the household sector to boost consumption and spur growth. Moon Jung-hiu, an economist at KB Investment and Securities, said, "It is doubtful whether the payouts will notably increase household income," pointing out that individual investors have only small stakes in conglomerates. Samsung Electronics is scheduled to pay 1.6 trillion won in dividends to foreign shareholders, who hold 49.5 percent stake in the company. Shinhan Financial, where foreigners hold 65.6 percent of the stock, followed in the dividends list, paying foreign investors 376 billion won. Hyundai Motor, SK Telecom, KB Financial, POSCO, and KT&G are also paying over 200 billion won each to foreign shareholders. Increasing dividends may not be a cure-all. "Dividends are paid from corporate earnings, which are also used for facility investment and paying back loans," said Lee Han-deuk, a senior researcher at LG Economic Research Institute, in a report. He added that using corporate earnings for profitable investment opportunities instead of paying out dividends may be better for shareholder value as well since they can gain from rising share prices instead of dividends. Still, most analysts agree that Korea's dividend payout ratio is still low compared with other economies. It stands at around 20 percent, which is 20 percentage points lower than other Asian countries. By Nam Hyun-woo Korea's exports have dropped by more than 12 percent from a year earlier. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Tuesday that Korea's total outbound shipments stood at $36.4 billion in February, shrinking 12.2 percent year-on-year. With this number, the country extended its losing streak in exports for 14 straight months, replacing the previous record of 13 months from March 2001 to March 2002. Since January last year, the country's monthly exports tally has been plunging. After sharp decreases in August and October, exports briefly showed signs of recovery with only a 4.7 percent decline, but tumbled again in December with a 13.8 percent drop, January with 18.8 percent and a 12.2 drop percent in February. January's 18.8 percent drop was the largest drop since August 2009 with 20.9 percent. Improvements in computer (6.2 percent), wireless devices (2.8 percent) and machinery (2.4 percent) contributed into narrowing the February decline from January, but failed to offset decreases in ships (-46.0 percent), petrochemical products (-26.9 percent), cars (-9.3 percent), semiconductors (-12.6 percent) and flat panel (-22.1 percent). Organic light-emitting diodes and cosmetic products each showed a 29.7 percent and a 22.4 percent increase from last year, but solid state drives recorded a 4.4 percent decline. The ministry said that the decline in exports was mainly due to "rising uncertainties, low oil prices and a slow Chinese economy," adding that such a trend will likely continue until the first half of this year, weighing down the Korean economy. The timid outlook has cast a cloud over the government's stated goal of 3.1 percent growth with the aim of reaching $1trillion in foreign trade by the end of this year. As the global economy is forecast to remain bleak for now, voices are growing that Korea should identify the cause from the inside and not blame external factors. "This is the time to review the government's economic policy," said Kim Chang-bae, research fellow at Korea Economic Research Institute. "Of course external factors have not been favorable in recent years, but the country needs to examine internal factors rather than attribute the plummet to external factors." According to Kim, every economy sees a new industry emerging as a new growth engine every 10 to 15 years. However, the Korean economy has been slow in acclimatizing itself to the ever-changing environment and is heavily relying on traditional core businesses, such as shipbuilding, cars and semiconductors. "It is true that the domestic slump was attributed to harsh global economic conditions, but the country should have sought a way out of it by looking into its companies' competitiveness," Kim said. "For that, the government had to come up with proper policies allowing companies to renovate themselves, or at least compensate them through various ways such as manipulating the currency rate." Kim added that expanding trade with Middle Eastern countries is an option for breakthrough. "The demand from existing markets will decrease down the road, so companies need to turn their attention to Middle Eastern countries. Iran, in particular, is an indispensible trade partner." According to ministry data, exports to the European Union and the United States rose 5 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively, while shipments to China declined 12.9 percent. The data showed that imports also dropped 14.6 percent to $29 billion in February, extending its losing streak for 14 consecutive months. Korea's trade surplus stood at $7.4 billion, posting a trade surplus for 46 straight months. President Park Geun-hye vowed Tuesday to put pressure on North Korea unless Pyongyang abandons its nuclear program and ends its provocative behavior. "We and the international community will continue to put pressure on North Korea unless the North shows its commitment to denuclearization... though our government will not shut the door for dialogue," Park said in a televised speech marking the 97th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement. The Independence Movement on March 1, 1919 paved the way for Korea's independence from Japanese colonial rule, which lasted from 1910-45. Park said South Korea and the international community should make North Korea recognize that its nuclear weapons cannot "maintain its regime" and are "meaningless." Last month, Park warned that North Korea's nuclear program "will only hasten its collapse." It marked the first time that she Park has mentioned a regime collapse. The North has repeatedly pledged to boost its nuclear capability, viewing its nuclear program as a powerful deterrent against what it claims is Washington's hostile policy towards it. Park said a draft U.N. Security Council resolution on North Korea represents the stern will of the international community to make North Korea pay the price for its recent provocations. Her comments came as the council faces a last-minute hurdle in adopting a resolution meant to punish North Korea for conducting a fourth nuclear test and launching long-range missile. Russia has yet to give its consent to the draft resolution worked out between the United States and China on the grounds that it needs time to review the proposed resolution. Winning Russian support is a must for the resolution's adoption as Moscow is one of the five permanent veto-wielding members of the council. The four other council members -- the U.S., China, Britain and France -- endorsed the text. The draft resolution requires U.N. member countries to inspect all cargo going in and out of North Korea. It also bans the North's exports of coal, iron and other mineral resources, a key source of hard currency that accounts for nearly half of the country's total exports. Still, it remains unclear whether the new resolution would make any difference in North Korea, which it claims has been under sanctions for decades. North Korea has already been under U.N. sanctions for its three previous nuclear tests, with one each in 2006, 2009 and 2013, though they have failed to deter North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Touching on Japan, Park called on Tokyo to faithfully implement the terms of December's landmark deal on resolving the issue of the Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II. Under the December pact, Japan formally apologized for its past actions and offered 1 billion yen ($8.29 million) in reparations. South Korea agreed to end the dispute once and for all if Japan fully implements the deal. Park vowed to make the utmost efforts to help victims restore their honor and heal their scars. She also promised to expand substantial assistance to victims, though she did not elaborate. South Korean victims are dying off. In 2007, more than 120 known South Korean victims were alive, but the number has since dropped to 44, with their average age standing at 89. Japan has recently denied the forced nature of its military's sex slavery of Asian women during World War II in a written answer to questions from a U.N. committee. Historians estimate that more than 200,000 women, mostly from Korea, were forced to work in front-line brothels for the Japanese military during the war. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910-45. In Geneva, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the "faithful implementation" of the landmark agreement between South Korea and Japan. The December deal "highlights the need to address the pain of the victims, no matter how many years have passed," Ban said at a high-level panel discussion at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, according to a transcript of his speech posted on the U.N. website. "I hope the faithful implementation of the agreement, guided by the recommendations of U.N. Human Rights mechanisms, will help such wounds to be healed," he said. (Yonhap) A crowd of visitors are gathered at Gyeongbokgung Palace during one of the palace's evening openings in this May 2013 file photo. /Korea Times file By Kwon Ji-youn Royal palaces in Seoul will be open in the evenings from today. Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace will remain open from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. through April 4. This year, the areas open to evening visitors will be expanded to include Sajeongjeon Hall of Gyeongbokgung Palace, where the king routinely discussed national affairs with court officials; Gangnyeongjeon Hall, the king's sleeping quarters, and Gyotaejeon Hall, the queen's living quarters. Each palace will allow 2,500 visitors an evening to tour the grounds, and entrance will be barred from 9 p.m. The National Palace Museum of Korea has also extended hours during this period. A night view of Gyeongbokgung Palace /Korea Times file Visitors can purchase up to four tickets each. Tickets cost 3,000 won for Gyeongbokgung Palace and 1,000 won for Changdeokgung Palace. They can be bought online through Auction and Interpark. Those over 65 can buy tickets over the phone. Gyeongbokgung, however, will be closed on Tuesdays and Changdeokgung on Mondays. By Kang Seung-woo The military will develop robots to detect and remove mines in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). "We will embark on the development project from 2017," a military official said Thursday. "The demining robots will be used in rear-areas operations, including handling explosives as well as removing landmines buried in the DMZ." About 170 robots will be put into operation in the early 2020s, and the budget for the development is estimated to be less than 500 billion won ($431 million). The project comes after two South Korean soldiers patrolling the DMZ were severely wounded by a North Korean landmine attack on Aug. 4 that pushed South and North Korea to the brink of a military confrontation across the border. Meanwhile, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Wednesday the military will develop 100 unmanned vehicles for DMZ search operations. Jennifer Linley Taylor, the granddaughter of Albert Taylor who let the world know about the March 1 Independence Movement in 1919, shows the book, "Chain of Amber," written by her grandmother about her experiences in Korea, at Seoul City Hall, Tuesday. / Korea Times photo by Kim Se-jeong By Kim Se-jeong Jennifer Linley Taylor, 57, from California, was one of 33 people who rang the bell at Bosingak in Seoul to celebrate the March 1 Independence Movement Day, Tuesday. Her grandfather was Albert Taylor (1875-1948), who was a correspondent for the Associated Press in 1919 and reported the story about the movement to the world. "I feel honored to be able to participate in the bell ringing ceremony," she told The Korea Times in an interview at Seoul City Hall. The bell ceremony was only a part of her visit to Korea. "My father died in April last year, and I wanted to be in Korea where he was born for his birthday," she said. Her grandfather found a document of the Declaration of Independence in the bed clothes of his son, Bruce, who was born on Feb. 28, 1919, a day before the Koreans staged the massive independence movement against Japanese colonial rule. "Patriots were in the basement of the Severance Hospital printing the declaration," she said. "My father was born in this hospital. So this is where my grandfather came to see his son. In between, the Japanese raided the hospital. One of the nurses grabbed the document and went up to the room because it was extra territoriality on account of my grandmother being British. She put the paper in the baby's bed clothes to hide it. He (her grandfather) picked up the baby and the paper fell out." Her grandfather ran to his office near where the Westin Chosun Hotel is now and gave the document to his brother, who "put it in his shoe and went to Japan to cable the news." Albert Taylor stayed in Korea until 1942 when he was expelled. He was one of the few who wrote about the independence movement, and was even jailed for it. What had happened on Feb. 28, 1919, is also written in her grandmother's book, "Chain of Amber," published in the U.S. in 1992. The book was published in Korean last year as well. Jennifer Taylor will donate 349 belongings of her grandparents to Seoul City. The items include Albert Taylor's letters to his mother-in-law in Britain about the independence movement and the new-born baby; portraits of the couple's Korean friends drawn by her grandmother, who was an artist; and boat tickets back to the U.S. The idea of donating the items came from her Korean friend, and "it took two seconds for me to say yes." The items will be on display at Dilkusha, the house in Jongno district where her grandparents used to live. Dilkusha means a palace of heart's delight in Sanskrit. "My grandma named the house," her granddaughter said. The two-story red brick building will be restored as a cultural heritage and be open to the public in 2019. The house is dilapidated and homeless people have illegally occupied it, with 23 people currently living there. She said she is happy about Dilkusha's restoration, "but, I am concerned about the people living there. If the government relocates them to a new, clean environment, that's going be good for them." As an artist, she said she is hoping to make the story into a feature film. By Choi Sung-jin Korea's middle and high school students think the most urgent problem between Korea and Japan is the "comfort women" issue, a survey showed Monday. According to an opinion poll of 218 students by a uniform maker, Hyungji, 54.1 percent of secondary school students cited the sex-slavery issue as the problem awaiting the most urgent solution. Moreover, 84.9 percent think the recent agreement between Seoul and Tokyo on comfort women was wrong. As to the reason for thinking so, 40.5 percent said it was closer to an accord for politicians, not the suffering "grandmothers;" 23.2 percent said officials conducted negotiations without sufficient dialogue with the victims; and 21.6 percent said Japan is still denying the coerciveness in recruiting comfort women. As the next urgent bilateral problems, the students cited sovereignty over Dokdo (20.6 percent) and history textbooks (20.2 percent), the survey said. Citizens reenact the March 1 Independence Movement in 1919 at the Seodaemun Prison History Hall in Seoul, Tuesday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul By Kim Se-jeong Civic groups called for the nullification of a Korea-Japan verbal agreement over victims of sexual slavery during World War II at various events nationwide to commemorate the March 1 Independence Movement Day, Tuesday. In one event organized by the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, booths were set up near Cheonggye Stream to present arts and crafts, brochures, music and performances related to the issue. "Commemorating the Independence Movement Day, a day of protest for independence and peace, we reaffirm our determination to fight Japan's history distortions and restore the sexual slavery victims' honor," the group said in a statement. The participants denounced both the Korean and Japanese governments over the agreement made on Dec. 28, according to which the issue of sexual slavery would be resolved finally and irreversibly with Japan funding the care of the victims. "What the victims have requested for decades was not the 1 billion yen funding but Japan's official apology and legal reparations," they said. Activists and citizens also walked to Insa-dong near the Japanese Embassy. In Insa-dong and on streets in Jongno, activists invited citizen to a street performance as part of an awareness campaign. In 24 places outside Seoul, similar events took place. In Busan and Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, citizens celebrated the placing of new statues of a girl, the symbol of the victims of sexual slavery. Meanwhile, civic groups and local governments organized activities in celebration of the Independence Movement. In Seoul, 333 people reenacted the Independence Movement of 1919 at Deoksu Palace, reading out loud the Declaration of Independence. The palace is where the king of the Joseon Kingdom was forced to sign a treaty in 1905 through which Japan deprived Joseon of its diplomatic rights. Citizens dressed in traditional outfits and Japanese police outfits also marched and reenacted the 1919 movement at Seodaemun Prison History Hall. The Gangbuk district office invited people to speak out loud for Korea's independence. In Incheon, the subway operator introduced trains decorated with photos of independence fighters and the Taegeukgi. A University of Bristol professor is one of three neuroscientists who today won the worlds most valuable prize for brain research, for their outstanding work on the mechanisms of memory. Professor Graham Collingridge from the University of Bristol, Professor Tim Bliss of University College London, and Professor Richard Morris from the University of Edinburgh, are this years winners of The Brain Prize, which is regarded as the most prestigious award in neuroscience. Worth one million Euros, The Brain Prize is awarded annually by the Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Foundation in Denmark. It recognises one or more scientists who have distinguished themselves by an outstanding contribution to neuroscience. The research by Professors Collingridge, Bliss and Morris focused on a brain mechanism known as Long-Term Potentiation (LTP), which underpins the life-long plasticity of the brain. Their discoveries have revolutionised our understanding of how memories are formed, retained and lost. The three neuroscientists have independently and collectively shown how the connections the synapses between brain cells in the hippocampus (a structure vital for the formation of new memories) can be strengthened through repeated stimulation. LTP is so-called because it can persist indefinitely. Their work has revealed some of the basic mechanisms behind the phenomenon and has shown that LTP is the basis for our ability to learn and remember. Sir Colin Blakemore, chairman of the selection committee said: Memory is at the heart of human experience. This years winners, through their ground-breaking research, have transformed our understanding of memory and learning, and the devastating effects of failing memory. Without the capacity to store information in our brains, we could not remember our past and would be incapable of planning our future. Without memory, we could not recognise other people, find our way around in the world or make decisions based on past evidence. We could not learn language, ride a bicycle, drive a car, or use a smart phone. There could be no education, no literature or art. Professor Collingridge, who works at the University of Bristol School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, said: I am delighted to share this award. Working on the cellular mechanisms of learning and memory has been both richly challenging and intensely rewarding for me. I am really excited about now translating discoveries about LTP into new treatments for dementia. The strength of the connections between neurons in the brain the synapses can change in response to experience. LTP exemplifies this inherent plasticity, which underlies the brains remarkable capacity to reorganise itself, at least to some extent, after damage such as a stroke or after the loss of normal input, as in blindness. Conversely, deficits and disorders in the capacity to alter synaptic strength appear to be involved in many brain-related conditions affecting millions of people around the world, including autism, schizophrenia, stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, epilepsy and addiction. New and emerging knowledge of the role of LTP will help guide the way to improving treatments. Professor Collingridge developed and applied techniques to identify several of the key molecules responsible for LTP. He is particularly known for discovering the role of the so-called NMDA receptor in the induction of LTP. The NMDA receptor is a protein in the brain that is important for communication amongst nerve cells. Professors Bliss, Collingridge and Morris will share the prize of one million Euros, which will be presented to them at a ceremony on July 1 in Copenhagen by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. The award to three UK neuroscientists testifies to the strong and sustained support that the UK funding bodies, particularly the Medical Research Council, have given to their research over the past three decades. President Park Geun-hye speaks about North Korea at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul, Tuesday, during a ceremony marking the 97th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement. / Yonhap President urges Japan to fulfill sex slavery agreement By Kang Seung-woo President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday that South Korea and the international community will continue to put greater pressure on North Korea unless it abandons its nuclear weapons program. "As long as the North does not show its commitment to denuclearization and refuses to change, we and the international community will continue to put pressure on the country," stated Park during a speech marking the 97th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement. She said her administration will aim to make North Korea have no choice but to abandon its nuclear program. "Now, the ball is in the North's court," she said. Park said that the North has concentrated all its efforts on developing nuclear weapons, but that this pursuit cannot help to maintain its regime and is, ultimately, meaningless. "Unless we keep the North, which repeats reckless provocations, in check, it will continue to carry out a fifth and sixth nuclear test, which will threaten stability in Northeast Asia and world peace." To punish the Kim Jong-un regime for its Jan. 6 nuclear test and Feb. 7 long-range rocket launch, the United Nations Security Council issued a draft resolution last week that will impose the harshest sanctions yet on the North, which is scheduled to be put to a vote at 5:00 a.m., Wednesday (KST). Following the North's string of military provocations, the Park government has adopted a hard-line stance on the repressive state, apparently departing from her administration's trust-building process on the Korean Peninsula, based on inter-Korean dialogue. However, the President raised the need for peaceful unification between the two Koreas in order to stop the North's nuclear development and defuse tensions on the peninsula. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Monday for the "faithful implementation" of a landmark agreement between South Korea and Japan on resolving the issue of Japan's wartime sexual slavery. Ban made the remark during a high-level panel discussion at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, referring to the December deal between Seoul and Tokyo that centers on Japan's admission of responsibility for the wartime crime and plans to pay reparations to the victims. "The agreement last December between Japan and the Republic of Korea on the so-called 'comfort women' subjected to tremendous suffering during the Second World War highlights the need to address the pain of the victims, no matter how many years have passed," Ban said, according to a transcript of his speech posted on the U.N. website. "I hope the faithful implementation of the agreement, guided by the recommendations of U.N. Human Rights mechanisms, will help such wounds to be healed," he said. The deal removes the biggest thorn in relations between Seoul and Tokyo, and offers hope not only for greater cooperation between the two neighbors, but also for significant progress in U.S. efforts to forge stronger security cooperation with the two allies in a region marked by a rising China. Ban also called for greater efforts to improve the human rights situation in North Korea. "In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, systematic and widespread human rights violations have been vividly documented by the Commission of Inquiry and highlighted by the High Commissioner for Human Rights in a briefing to the Security Council last December," he said. "The United Nations system must continue to work with the Governments of all States that routinely deny human rights, to address these challenges," he said. (Yonhap) NEW YORK (Yonhap) -- The U.N. Security Council could adopt a resolution this week for sanctions on North Korea for its recent provocations, a South Korean official said Monday. The council is set to vote on the resolution at 3 p.m. on Tuesday (5:00 a.m. Korean time on Wednesday), said an official at the South Korean mission to the U.N., adding that a draft resolution was circulated among council members. The official also said Russia and 14 other members of the council endorse the text, a move that suggest that the council can unanimously adopt the resolution. Russia had put a last-minute hold on it, saying it needs time to review the proposed resolution that was worked out between the United States and China. Yun Byung-se By Yi Whan-woo Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will address a U.N. conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday concerning North Korea's dire human rights record. Pyongyang's top diplomat Ri Su-yong will also attend. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that Yun left for Geneva on Tuesday, to deliver a keynote speech at the 31st session of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The annual session began on Feb. 29 and will focus on the state of human rights worldwide, including North Korea, Syria and Iran. It will run through March 24. Diplomatic sources said that Yun will call for stronger action to be taken against North Korea's state-perpetrated human rights violations in conjunction with the envisioned U.N. resolution. Drafted by the United States and China, the U.N. resolution proposes expanding economic sanctions against the Kim Jong-un regime for defying the U.N. and recently carrying out a nuclear test and launching a long-range rocket. Ri is expected to join Yun's UNHRC speech after speaking before the council at a separate session scheduled for Tuesday. North Korea has denied U.N. accusations that its leadership has been running political prison camps where up to 120,000 people are thought be detained, tortured and executed while those outside the camps are left in extreme poverty and starvation. Instead, the repressive regime has argued that the U.S. is behind "malicious slandering" concerning its human rights record. It also claimed that it needs nuclear weapons for its self-defense against the U.S. and its allies. Meanwhile, Yun is also scheduled to deliver a speech at the Conference on Disarmament early Wednesday before joining the UNHRC. The conference, also a U.N. members meeting, is concurrently taking place besides the UNHRC session from Feb. 29 to March 4. Its primary concern is cessation of the nuclear arms race and prevention of nuclear war. Yun is expected to address threats posed by North Korea's nukes and ballistic missiles and will urge the international community to bolster efforts for non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Ri will not attend the disarmament meeting. It is speculated Yun will not address issues related to Japan's sexual enslavement of the Korean women before and during World War II at the UNHRC. Korea and Japan agreed not to bring up Tokyo's wartime sex slavery in the future as part of a controversial verbal agreement in December. Canadian urban explorer Javin Lau's night photo features the Dongdaemun Design Plaza and the shopping mall area in Seoul. Courtesy of Javin Lau By Jon Dunbar Canadian Javin Lau recently made his fourth consecutive January visit to Korea. The urban explorer, 28, always brings lots of equipment to photograph his visits, from way up on the roofs down to the deepest, darkest recesses of the city. "I find that Seoul has that grit to it, that most Asian cities either try to wash away or lack," he told The Korea Times. "Also, straight lines don't exist in this country. It's all mountainous terrain." Known for his "... is Home" video series, the videographer released "Hong Kong is Home" and "Toronto is Home," with plans to produce "New York is Home" next. A Seoul video remains a work in progress. "I have a very large body of content from Seoul, and I hate myself for not devoting the time to edit it into something coherent," he told The Korea Times. Since his 2013 visit he's amassed an impressive collection of Korea images, from still photography and real-time video to time-lapse and drone footage. Seoul is his landing point in Asia before moving on to Hong Kong and mainland China. "I want to showcase Seoul reflecting the city properly as the way I see it," he said. "And the way I see Seoul or Korea in general is as the underdog of Asia, which is unfortunate. Korea does a lot of things well, but it's still the underdog of Asia and nobody knows why. "Hopefully I can create something that doesn't perpetuate the underdog narrative but still showcases that Korea has had to work from being one of the world's poorest countries following the Korean War to being one of the richest today." He said his favorite sight in Seoul is the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. "I remember in 2013 when I came here that was a hole in the ground, and in 2014 it was almost finished but not open yet, and by 2015 it was open," he said. This year, he took interest in the Seoul Station Overpass, currently being remodeled into a park. He contrasted it with Toronto's Gardiner Expressway, an aging overpass the Canadian city hasn't brought itself to redevelop. This year, one of his goals is to finally finish a Seoul video. "I definitely want to showcase Seoul in some way shape or form, regardless of what happens, whether it's called Seoul is Home or something else," he said. "It's gonna happen in 2016." He also hopes to return in warmer months. "I only ever see Korea in the winter," he complained. His work can be viewed at javinlau.com. By John Redmond The Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ICCK) and the Embassy of India in Seoul will host a breakfast meeting at the JW Marriot Seoul, March 8. Under the theme of "Leadership in the 21st Century: Is the Task of Leadership Changing," the event will feature a keynote presentation by Egon Zehnder CEO Rajeev Vasudeva. The morning session will also include welcoming remarks by ICCK Chairman Dilip Sundaram and Vikram Doraiswami, ambassador of India to Korea. Vasudeva is based in London having joined the firm in 1995 where he successfully led the firm's growth in India and expansion across the Middle East and Africa. Before joining Egon Zehnder, he worked as a management consultant in the U.S. and India. Founded in 1964, Egon Zehnder is a global executive search firm that operates in 41 countries with 68 offices. India and South Korea have made efforts to boost bilateral ties, especially since the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries took effect in 2010. "The ICCK was established the same year as the effectuation of CEPA to be the commercial vanguard of this important budding relationship," according to the ICCK homepage on its website. "Over the past five years, the ICCK has supported India-Korea business development and helped upgrade Indian-Korean bilateral relations to higher levels. ICCK is also very active in exploring additional areas and sectors for economic cooperation between the two countries." The breakfast will be from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and will cost 50,000 won for members and 60,000 won for nonmembers. Payment can be made to ICCK bank account KEB 630 008 921 009. For more information, visit www.indochamkorea or email events@indochamkorea.org. By Javier Solana MADRID Five years after the start of the so-called Arab Spring, the hope that initially characterized those revolutions has largely been dashed. In many cases, the revolutions have evolved into brutal and protracted internal conflicts, with no solution in sight. Amid all of this strife, the international community has paid little attention to countries like Algeria, where the revolutionary spirit was stifled while still incipient. But Algeria's fate is back on the world's radar and not a moment too soon. On February 7, Algeria's parliament approved a new package of constitutional reforms , which, among other things, limit presidents to two terms (President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the last surviving leader of Algeria's war of independence against France, has been in office since 1999) and recognize some fundamental freedoms. These steps, in the making since 2011, aim to strengthen Algeria's democratic standing; but they have been widely criticized as insufficient. What is not in doubt is that the reforms come at a sensitive time, when Algeria is plagued by political and economic uncertainty. The "consensus" that supposedly shapes Algerian politics has, in fact, paralyzed decision-making for many years now. With the ailing Bouteflika not seen in public for more than a year, important questions have emerged about how the 2019 presidential election will play out. Efforts over the last three years to curtail the power of the security and intelligence services in September, Mohamed Mediene, who had been chief of the intelligence services since 1990, was forced to retire are just one source and manifestation of domestic political tension. Significant external challenges have exacerbated Algeria's situation. In particular, with the oil and gas industry accounting for fully 97% of Algeria's export income, the sharp decline in oil prices since June 2014 has underscored the unsustainability of the country's economic model. Falling oil revenues mean that Algeria's government cannot maintain the broad array of subsidies that traditionally served as a social balm, helping prevent protest. The government has already had to increase some taxes, while raising prices for fuel, electricity, and gas. If the price of oil does not rise soon, and Algeria's leaders are forced to take more drastic measures, social stability could be jeopardized. To be sure, some factors may help to stave off social unrest namely, the population's memories of the brutal civil war of the 1990s, in which more than 150,000 people were killed. But, memories fade as time passes, and a new generation of young people lack the same fear of social strife that their parents and grandparents have. In this social context, and if economic hardship persists, protests and even revolt may not be a distant prospect. To avoid such an outcome, Algeria's government must work fast to diversify the economy. But such concerted action will be difficult in the current political environment, especially in view of the government's increased focus on security challenges in Algeria's neighborhood. Given the revolution in Tunisia, the war in Libya, the rebellion of the Tuaregs in Mali, and, most important, the 2013 terrorist attack on Algeria's large In Amenas gas plant, the country's leaders are placing an increasingly high priority on regional security. Although the constitution explicitly prohibits military intervention in other countries, Algeria has a clear interest reflected in its foreign policy in ensuring that its neighbors are stable and capable of dissuading extremist groups. For example, in Libya, Algeria has defended a process of inclusive national reconciliation of all forces, in support of efforts by the United Nations to stabilize the country. The United States and Europe have already recognized Algeria's leadership and cooperation in anti-terror efforts in its neighborhood. For the European Union, a further strengthening of ties with Algeria is particularly important, given both sides' interest in the stability of nearby North Africa and the Sahel, as well as Algeria's potential to help improve the EU's energy security. One key way Algeria can help improve security cooperation in its region would be to restore diplomatic relations with Morocco. True, the countries have been at loggerheads for 40 years, owing to their sovereignty dispute over Western Sahara. But the economic, commercial, and security-related dividends that renewed cooperation would provide should be enough to persuade them to reconsider this position. If the two North African giants were to recognize their mutual interests and reestablish ties, they would disentangle relations in the Maghreb. Algeria's influence across Africa would also receive a boost. Already, Algeria's Africa-wide influence may be set to grow. Some have suggested that an Algerian candidate could become Chair of the Commission of the African Union when the current term expires next July. Here, Algeria's consistent support for the AU and its commitment to regional security exemplified in its role in the Mali peace agreement and its hosting of the Libya talks would speak in its favor. If successful, Algeria would become the first North African country to lead the AU. The severe challenge posed by falling oil prices and a jittery regional context attest to the urgent need for change in Algeria. But if the government acts to unblock the political system, diversify the economy, and ramp up diplomatic efforts, Algeria can emerge stronger and more influential than ever. Javier Solana was EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary-General of NATO, and Foreign Minister of Spain. He is currently President of the ESADE Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics and Distinguished Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Chey Min-jeong By Yi Whan-woo An heiress of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group is on a mission to protect the country's western maritime border from North Korea as a naval officer, according to military officials, Tuesday. They said Chey Min-jeong, 24, the second daughter of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, is serving as a combat intelligence officer with a battle squadron under the Navy's Second Fleet Command, which is responsible for defending the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea. Refusing to acknowledge the U.N.-created NLL, North Korea has crossed the border several times for years and often conducted deadly attacks. The officials added that Chey, a lieutenant junior grade, was assigned to her post in late January after carrying out anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and returning home Dec. 23. Her routine duty is to assist her battle squadron commander, to convey the commander's instructions to subordinate units on time, to collect information concerning the squadron and to manage its communications system. She also accompanies her commander on patrols in the waters near the NLL when the squadron conducts defense drills and related operations. "Chey is unnoticeably yet sincerely carrying out her mission," an official said, asking not to be named. "She doesn't want to draw attention to herself just because she is the daughter of a conglomerate owner." Chey is the first woman from a chaebol family to serve in the military, drawing public attention for "setting an example of noblesse oblige" for leaders and the elite in the society to follow. In South Korea, women are exempted from mandatory military service while all able-bodied men are required to fulfill their duty, mainly in their 20s. Some of those who are subject to conscription, including children of politicians and business tycoons, have been suspected of dodging the draft by exploiting loopholes in the conscription regulations. Chey voluntarily joined the Naval Academy's midshipmen training in September 2014 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in November of the same year. In April 2015, the SK heiress was assigned to the KDX-II destroyer Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin, a 4,500-ton warship, as a combat intelligence officer. She was dispatched to the Gulf of Aden in June 2015 as a crew member of the destroyer to combat piracy off the coast between Yemen and Somalia. Chey has an older sister and a younger brother. Chey's father was released from jail in August 2014 under a presidential pardon while serving a four-year jail term for embezzlement. Upon his release, the SK Group chairman abruptly confessed he had a mistress and has had a baby daughter with her. Chey's mother, Roh Soh-yeong, is the daughter of former President Roh Tae-woo. By Yi Whan-woo China's top nuclear envoy Wu Dawei met with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se in Seoul, Monday, as part of a series of consultations with South Korean officials over a draft U.N. resolution aimed at toughening sanctions against North Korea. Wu earlier visited Cheong Wa Dae and met Cho Tae-yong, the deputy chief of the National Security Office (NSO). They assessed the U.N. resolution that awaits approval from the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) after being drafted by the United States and China and then circulated to the 15-member council, including non-permanent members, according to government officials. "We reckon China's support is essential to press North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions," a presidential official said on condition of anonymity. It is believed Wu reaffirmed the Chinese government's stance, Sunday, that it will faithfully carry out the U.N. resolution once it is passed. Upon his arrival in Seoul, Sunday, Wu held talks with his South Korean counterpart Hwang Joon-kook. Wu then said Seoul and Beijing will cooperate for the UNSC's adoption of the resolution in response to North Korea's latest nuclear test on Jan. 6 and long-range rocket launch on Feb. 7, which was suspected to be a test of its ballistic missile technology. Wu's visit came after Beijing, Pyongyang's largest benefactor, voluntarily agreed on a set of punitive measures outlined in the U.N. resolution. The measures are aimed at the scope of sanctions against the Kim Jong-un regime for continuing to develop weapons of mass destructions in defiance of a set of four UNSC sanctions. They include banning exports of jet oil to North Korea, prohibiting imports of North Korea-produced iron ore and inspecting all cargo ships entering and leaving North Korean ports. Wu did not mention the possible deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula. China has protested that THAAD could be used to spy on its military activities. It is believed Beijing asked Washington to reconsider its joint talks with Seoul on the deployment in return for its support of the U.N. resolution. It is also speculated that Beijing will ask Seoul soon to consider peace talks to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War. The talks have been repeatedly proposed by the Kim Jong-un regime, but both Seoul and Washington suspect that the North could use the talks as an excuse to demand that U.S. troops stationed in South Korea be removed, while maintaining its nuclear arsenal. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will attend a series of U.N. meetings in Geneva this week to address North Korea's human rights situation, among other issues, his ministry said Monday. Yun plans to leave for Switzerland on Tuesday to join the 31st session of the U.N. Human Rights Council and the Conference on Disarmament during his three-day stay, the ministry said in a press release. On Wednesday, he is scheduled to deliver speeches at high-level panel meetings in both conferences and hold talks with senior officials from key participating nations. His speech is expected to draw attention to North Korea's human rights abuses as the U.N. adopts a new resolution imposing sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile tests. The resolution could be adopted as early as Tuesday under relevant U.N. procedures, according to diplomatic sources. North Korea's foreign minister Ri Su-yong is also reportedly scheduled to join the human rights meeting to deliver a speech on Tuesday. Ri participated in last year's session, during which he claimed that the U.N. Commission of Inquiry's 2014 report on the communist nation's human rights abuses was based on falsified testimony. (Yonhap) By Bernard Rowan Following North Korea's recent "nuclear missile test," status quo powers have decided to take notice and to provide a result. This week, the United States, South Korea, and China (perhaps, most hope) have signaled an agreement on sanctions against Pyongyang. These sanctions won't harm the North too much, let alone prompt changed behavior. South Korea can't allow provocative actions to go without a response. However, the context of forces and relations in the region will need continuing patience and vigilance, for there is no quick fix. The basic story of politics in the North is the endless melodrama of stabilizing Kim's power base. It'd appear Kim Jong-un is prone to scapegoating, to using outliers (even loyal supporters) as displays of his power. Nonetheless, he never achieves enough consensus. His use of "sticks" and other forms of display occur to impress the masses ever further. Kim does have a fondness for public displays of military and political grandeur. His police and security apparatus provide a backup against expressions of dissent. He's the unquestioned leader of his nation in all ways, and he uses redundant and excessive means to redisplay this status. However, outside North Korea, regime maintenance buys Kim little else. I don't think the world can soothe his problem for him, since it's a self-fulfilling negative feedback loop of monstrous proportions. I'm also not sure Kim cares. The North doesn't seek wider integration with the world. Japan, the United States, and to a lesser extent Russia and China don't fear these actions. Russia and China pretend to care. Their ambitions and pretensions compete with the interests of Japan and the United States. The United States is committed to using the full range of its defense capabilities to safeguard South Korea in the event of war with North Korea, a defense ministry official here said Monday after attending a joint defense exercise in California. The allies held their annual anti-nuclear joint exercise at Vandenberg Air Force Base last week where some 40 defense officials from the two countries discussed warfare strategies to counter North Korea's nuclear and weapons of mass destruction threats. During the three-day exercise, the U.S. side demonstrated its contingency plan to deploy the U.S. Air Force's B-52 bomber to South Korea. The South Korean side has also been briefed on the aircraft's capacity to carry nuclear bombs, the official told reporters, asking not to be named. The global power also has a warfare strategy to intercept North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles with its Ground-Based Interceptor, known as GBI, if the communist country launches them at the mainland U.S., the official said, referring to a set of anti-North Korea combat strategies discussed in the exercise. The South Korean officials also sat in for the U.S. Air Force's test launch of a Minuteman 3 missile, which took place in California during the exercise, the official noted. (Yonhap) The State Department made all-out efforts in 2011 to break a hold that a senator had put on the confirmation of then-nuclear envoy Sung Kim as ambassador to South Korea, newly released emails of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton showed. After serving as special envoy for the six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear program, Kim was nominated by President Barack Obama in June 2011 to be his top envoy in Seoul. The nomination, which had widely been expected to be confirmed easily by the Senate, encountered an unexpected hurdle as a Republican senator from Arizona, Jon Kyl, put a hold on Kim's confirmation over U.S. policy on North Korea. As efforts to persuade the senator to lift the hold produced no breakthrough, then-Deputy Assistant Secretary for Senate Affairs Miguel Rodriguez sent an SOS email on Oct. 6, 2011, asking a series of top department officials for help, according to the Clinton emails. "Apologies for casting the net so broadly, but we're stuck, and I could use some advice and help," Rodriguez said in the email sent to then-Deputy Secretary William Burns, Under Secretary Wendy Sherman, Clinton's Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills, Assistant Secretary Kurt Campbell and others. Rodriguez said that Kyl sent him a letter in mid-September regarding North Korea, and his team responded to the letter promptly. As the senator asked several follow-up questions, Rodriguez said he was trying to set up "a classified briefing to address all their questions." What the senator was seeking through the questions included specificity regarding the required actions on the part of North Korea, including the standard by which the administration will judge the North's sincerity, the administration's definition of nuclear programs and the administration's plans regarding food aid, sanctions relief and energy assistance to the North, Rodriguez said. Sherman sent a response, but it was unclear what her point was as some of the response was blacked out before being disclosed to the public. In subsequent emails, Rodriguez also said he asked Sens. John Kerry and John McCain to reach out to Kyl to "see what if anything they can work out." After a week of such exchanges and efforts, the senator lifted the hold on Kim on Oct. 13. It was unclear in the Clinton emails what led the senator to do so, but the department is believed to have provided sufficient answers to his questions. Kim served as ambassador to South Korea from November 2011 to October 2014. After returning to Washington, he has been serving as a special representative for North Korea policy, as well as a deputy assistant secretary for Korea and Japan. (Yonhap) North Korea on Monday called for strengthening its economic self-sufficiency as the United Nations Security Council is poised to slap tougher sanctions on the country for its nuclear and missile programs. "Imperialists stick to the scheme to choke liberal countries' economies and coerce them into submission by pushing for sanctions and containment," said the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's main newspaper. The U.N. Security Council looks set to adopt a fresh resolution for what's called "the strongest set of sanctions in more than two decades" on the North over its latest nuclear test and long-range rocket launch. It would require U.N. member states to conduct mandatory inspections of all cargo going into and out of North Korea, and ban mineral resource exports, a main source of dollars for the cash-strapped North. Ahead of the U.N. move, North Korea called for raising internal solidarity, stressing the need to make its moribund economy stand on its own. "To strengthen our economy's self-sufficiency might be a daunting task, but it should be carried out for the future," the newspaper said. North Korea showed that it won't back down against the United States, stressing the need to boost its defense capability. "Imperialists rely on military power to crush liberal countries' sovereign rights," it said. "We need to strengthen our defense posture in the face of aggression and pressure." (Yonhap) A U.S. college student detained in North Korea has confessed to his "severe" crime of stealing a political sign from a hotel there and has asked for forgiveness, the North's state media said Monday. Otto Frederick Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, was questioned by North Korean officials after being caught committing, what the media there called, an anti-North Korea activity. Warmbier said that on Jan. 1 he stole a political sign that had promoted "the Korean people's love for their system" from the hotel, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "The aim of my task was to harm the motivation and work ethic of the Korean people. This was a very foolish aim," he said at a press conference in Pyongyang. The state news agency earlier said that the student entered North Korea nominally for tourism, though his real intention was to undermine North Korea's unity. Warmbier, 21, said he entered the North in late December via Beijing to commit the crime after being given such a task by the Friendship United Methodist Church, and with the U.S. government's approval. He said a female church member asked him to bring back the sign as a "trophy" as doing so could "harm the unity and motivation of the North Korean people and show this country an insult from the West." She promised to give him a used car worth US$10,000 if he succeeded and that her church would pay $200,000 to his mother if he were to be held captive by the North, the KCNA quoted him as saying. Warmbier said his crime was "very severe and pre-planned." "I apologize to the people and the government of the DPRK and beg for forgiveness," he said, referring to the acronym for the North's official name: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. (Yonhap) /Screen capture from Twitter Will some countries be able to deploy a killer robot within a decade? An international agreement banning artificial Intelligence (AI) killer robots that selects a target and destroys it on its own is facing strong backlash from countries including the U.S. and the U.K. Several countries, including South Korea, the U.S. and the U.K., have developed and deployed semi-autonomous robots. However, no country has fully developed and deployed what are officially termed "lethal autonomous weapons systems" because of an international ban on developing and possessing autonomous killer robots. The international agreement reflects an awareness that lethal autonomous weapons systems could go out of control. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera met US Secretary of State John Kerry today (25) at the State Department before the first Sri Lanka US Partnership Dialogue which will commence tomorrow, Friday 26 February 2016. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Colombo 25 February 2016 Their remarks to the press are below: SECRETARY KERRY: Im very happy to welcome my friend Mangala Samaraweera here, the foreign minister of Sri Lanka. I had wonderful occasion to visit with him in Sri Lanka, and I want to congratulate the Government of Sri Lanka for their very impressive continuing steps towards reconciliation. Their efforts to try to address the regional issues, and most importantly, to make peace in their own country are very, very significant. And we really welcome you here. Weve had an ongoing dialogue. This is the eve of a Strategic Dialogue with Sri Lanka, which will be led by our Under Secretary Tom Shannon, and we very much look forward to defining the roadmap ahead for continued progress. So welcome, my friend. FOREIGN MINISTER SAMARAWEERA: Thank you. I am also extremely happy to be back here at the State Department and also to meet Secretary of State John Kerry exactly one year after one year and one week, in fact, of visiting you here since the new administration took over last year. In fact, during the last 12 months you were able to come to Sri Lanka, the first visit by a Secretary of State of the United States of America in 43 years. We also had a cabinet-level visit of Samantha Power last May, and of course, many other visits by high-level officials of the State Department. And this has elevated what has always been a very cordial relationship to what I would call a very special friendship between the United States of America and Sri Lanka. And that is why Im looking forward for the inaugural meeting of the U.S.-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue, which Im sure will go which will further strengthen and broaden the relationship between our two countries. Thank you again for inviting me here. Thank you. Rocket engine manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne and United Launch Alliance will join forces with the Air Force to develop an American-made rocket propulsion system to replace the Russian engine currently being used to blast many government satellites into orbit. The public-private partnership, announced Monday, will fund development of Aerojets AR1 engine. The liquid oxygen and kerosene-fueled booster engine is slated for completion in 2019. Under the agreement, the Air Force will invest two-thirds of the money needed to complete development by 2019. Initially, the Air Force will contribute $115.3 million, and Aerojet and ULA will fund $57.7 million. Advertisement Aerojet is based in Sacramento and has a facility in Canoga Park. ULA is a joint venture of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. based in Centennial, Colo. Read the latest Essential California newsletter >> The total potential investment from the government is $536 million. Aerojet and its partners total potential investment is $268 million, for a total agreement value of $804 million. Aerojet Chief Executive Eileen Drake said in a statement that the company was drawing on its rich knowledge of rocket engines, along with new advances in modern manufacturing to make a state-of-the-art engine that will end our reliance on a foreign supplier to launch our nations national security assets. Aerojets AR1 engine is intended to replace the Russian-built RD-180, which powers ULAs Atlas V rocket. Aerojet said the AR1 engine can also be used for ULAs Vulcan rocket, which will launch in 2019 with an American engine, and other launch vehicles currently being used. ULA is fully committed to transitioning as quickly and affordably as possible to a domestic engine, ULA Chief Executive Tory Bruno said in a statement. On Monday, ULA and the private space company owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos also announced a public-private partnership with the Air Force to develop an American engine for ULAs Vulcan rocket. Development of the BE-4, which is a liquid oxygen and liquid natural gas rocket engine, has been fully funded by Bezos Blue Origin, with investment from ULA, the companies said in a statement. The agreement with the Air Force also includes funding for ULAs Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage rocket propulsion system, which is an upper-stage engine for the Vulcan rocket. A majority of the funding amount is intended for the BE-4s development. Initial funding from the Air Force will total $26.3 million, with ULA contributing $40.8 million. The total potential investment for the government is $201.7 million, and the total potential investment for ULA is $134.2 million. ULAs partnership with Blue Origin is separate from the one it has with Aerojet. ULA continues to work with both Blue Origin and Aerojet Rocketdyne to pursue two options for a next-generation American engine and that is why were teaming with two of the worlds leading propulsion companies, Bruno said in a statement. For more business news, follow @smasunaga on Twitter. ALSO Pentagon wages cyberwar against Islamic State SpaceX scrubs rocket launch just moments before liftoff Rubicon Project earnings and Snapchat ad moves are among the weeks L.A. tech highlights Visiting from Missouri, Alexander Godbey concentrated on the shop window before him, trying again and again to make something happen. After a fifth circular wave, the electronic wizardry in the 9-year-olds wand triggered a small chest of drawers in the window to open, rearrange its contents and close. Excellent technique, intoned a Universal Studios Hollywood employee as another wand-waving visitor stepped up to try the incantation. Advertisement On the way to an April 7 opening, the Los Angeles-area version of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is going through dress rehearsals using random groups of park visitors. Already, the merchandising magic is grabbing center stage. Displays in 11 shop windows throughout the Potter land are embedded with motors, lights and sensors so that guests who wave their wands in a prescribed motion can make the items in the displays to come to life. But the enchantment works only with the more expensive interactive wands ($47.95), not with the less expensive replica wands ($39.95). As you see people doing this, you will say Ive got to get one of those wands, said Robert Niles, editor of Theme Park Insider. When a similar Harry Potter land opened in Universals Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Fla., in 2010, attendance shot up 20% and revenue jumped 41% for the year, as visitors cleaned out the shelves of magic wands, Gryffindor robes, chocolate frogs and other Potter-themed souvenirs. The Universal Studios Hollywood version of the boy wizards stomping grounds will be less than a third the size of Orlandos offerings, and will arrive six years later. Still, industry experts say Pottermania remains strong, and the theme park should conjure up big attendance numbers and a surge in food and merchandise sales. SIGN UP for the free In the Loop theme parks newsletter >> If the companys Harry Potter debut in Orlando is any indication, the Hollywood opening of the Wizarding World attraction should be massive, said Nick Petrillo, an analyst for Santa Monica-based research group IBISWorld. Much is at stake for the theme parks parent company, Comcast Corp., which invested an estimated $500 million to build the Wizarding World of Harry Potter on the site of the Gibson Amphitheatre. The Potter attraction is the latest in a $1.6-billion, 25-year makeover of the park and adjacent studio facilities. The overhaul includes the 2014 opening of the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem attraction, the 2015 opening of the ride Fast and Furious: Supercharged and the Simpsons"-themed Springfield land, which also opened in 2015. More is in the works. Osaka, Japan-based Nintendo Co., the worlds largest video game company, announced a partnership last year with Universal Studios Parks & Resorts to develop attractions based on the companys popular video games and characters, such as Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong and Pokemon. Combined, the new attractions are sure to boost the theme parks sales. On average, U.S. theme parks generate about 30% of their revenue from food, beverages and merchandise, but that percentage surges with the opening of a new attraction. That was true when Disneyland opened a 12-acre expansion based on the popular movie Cars in 2012. For that fiscal year, Walt Disney Co. reported a 9% increase in park revenue, partly thanks to sales of Cars merchandise. If you look at any theme park attraction, retail sales is a core element, said Martin Palicki, editor in chief of InPark Magazine, a trade publication based in Milwaukee. The Harry Potter brand has a big advantage over other brands, he added, because the movies and books by J.K. Rowling have been popular with both boys and girls. It has a cross-gender appeal, Palicki said. That means double the number of wands you can sell. The 6-acre attraction is a much smaller version of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter that initially opened at Universals Islands of Adventure in 2010 and expanded to adjacent Universal Studios Orlando in 2014. Together, the two parks themed areas, connected by a Hogwarts Express train, take up about 20 acres. Despite its compact size, Universal Studios Hollywood has packed the new land with eight retail shops, two street carts, a restaurant and a pub. The layout of the new Wizarding World is designed to promote retail sales by funneling visitors past the shops and eatery before they can get to the two featured rides. Guests also exit the rides into stores. Inside the shops, the park workers will be peddling more than 600 Harry Potter-themed items toys, hats and collectibles ranging in price from $10.95 for a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour jelly beans (watch out for booger, earwax and vomit varieties) to $300 for a replica of the Nimbus 2001 broom. Kat Miller, a Harry Potter devotee who lives in Venice, said she has flown cross-country to visit the Orlando attraction but is looking forward to the Southern California Potter world, where she plans to guzzle a glass of butterbeer, a nonalcoholic drink inspired by the books and movies. A regular butterbeer (cream soda with a butterscotch top) sells for $5.50, and a frozen version for $6.50. They could sell it for $20 and I would still have to get some, she said. The park has added a money-making feature not found in Orlando: a replica of the train car in which Harry Potter rode when he traveled to the Hogwarts school. Guest can pose for a photo in the car, with a green-screen image imposed outside the train window, for $24.95. The restaurant, dubbed the Three Broomsticks, features a menu of British-style foods such as bangers and mash, fish and chips and Guinness stew. The Hogs Head Pub inside the eatery will serve beer, wine and liquor. They are going to move millions of dollars in merchandise and they are going to make tons of money, said Niles of Theme Park Insider, who has attended sneak previews of the attraction. Twitter: @hugomartin ALSO Universal Studios adopts demand pricing before its Harry Potter world opens Where to grab grub and grog at Universals Wizarding World of Harry Potter Hey, Harry Potter fans, heres an exclusive sneak peek at Universals Wizarding World Craig Miller is chief executive of a Los Angeles office-leasing firm. Hes also a landlord, with seven houses for rent around the region. As Miller tells it, the tenants at one of his properties, a house in Calabasas that rents for $5,225 a month, stopped making payments last summer. Miller began eviction proceedings in August. Six months later, he told me, theyre still in the house. Advertisement There are plenty of unscrupulous landlords out there greedy, nasty types who try to squeeze more money out of tenants or ignore unsafe conditions. Im not overlooking what many honest renters are up against. Join the conversation on Facebook >> But property owners and lawyers tell me that the other side of the coin are court-savvy tenants who know how to work the system and often get away with staying rent-free for months in other peoples homes. There are even services that specialize in buying extra time for renters who know that eviction is inevitable but want to stay put for as long as possible. An L.A. company called 866-Eviction markets itself online as the "#1 eviction delay service and says it can deliver for clients 2 to 7 months rent-free. I dont want to evict anyone but I have my own mortgage payments to make. I have insurance payments. My son has a brain tumor and I have to care for him. Craig Miller, chief executive of a Los Angeles office-leasing firm It happens a lot, said Artin Gholian, a Studio City real estate lawyer. There are a lot of things people can do to slow down the process. Some renters, he said, will keep moving from home to home, running the same racket over and over to reside comfortably in the Southland without paying rent. Miller said that when he rented his Calabasas house to a middle-aged couple last year, they said they were facing some financial pressure. In return for their signing a two-year lease, Miller agreed to lower the rent to $3,500 for the first six months, rising to $4,500 for the next six before reaching the full $5,225. They frequently didnt pay on time, he said, but I allowed them to catch up. Miller finally set the eviction wheels in motion after the tenants missed multiple payments. I dont want to evict anyone, he said, but I have my own mortgage payments to make. I have insurance payments. My son has a brain tumor and I have to care for him. Miller is typical of many property owners who arent full-time landlords but instead seek extra income through one or more rental homes. Theyre small-time players in a market dominated by larger investors who typically deal in apartment buildings. California has clear rules when it comes to evicting a tenant. According to the state Department of Consumer Affairs the process begins with the property owner filing an unlawful-detainer lawsuit in Superior Court. In most cases, a tenant has just five days to file a written response after being served with a copy of the complaint. The state says judges often will hear and decide eviction cases within 20 days after a trial has been requested. In reality, lawyers say, it can take a couple of months for a case to be heard. Then the delaying tactics can begin. Tenants can file a motion to quash the landlords unlawful-detainer lawsuit. This usually involves a claim that the tenant wasnt given sufficient notice. If approved by the judge, the landlord will have to serve the summons a second time. Tenants can file a demurrer challenging the reason for the eviction. If accepted by the judge, this can require the landlord to restart the entire process from scratch. Tenants also can file requests for additional information or raise special circumstances. Once you get into this mode, months can go by, said David B. Epstein, a Pasadena real estate lawyer. For the property owner, youre just stuck. Eviction-delay services such as 866-Eviction specialize in preparing stacks of go-slow court motions for clients. Typically, the client simply has to sign his or her name to the documents. Julian Moutan, 866-Evictions office manager, told me the company is just helping the little guy. He said a few months of rent-free housing isnt much to ask of landlords, considering how high the rents are in California. I asked how much his company gets paid in light of the fact that his clients are stiffing their landlords. We handle that on a case-by-case basis, Moutan said. Then he observed that this is starting to sound like an interview and hung up. Epstein said people using these services usually pay a flat fee upfront thats significantly less than the rent theyd have to pay their landlord over the course of several months. The eviction process was designed with the best intentions to protect tenants rights, said Laine Wagenseller, a Los Angeles real estate lawyer. People in Millers situation have little choice but to keep jumping through each legal hoop that arises, he said. Theres no magic wand, Wagenseller said. You just have to wade through the process. Millers lawyer, Lisa Rosenthal, told me the tenants, identified in court documents as David and Paula Caplan, wasted no time in running the usual playbook a motion to quash, a demurrer, a bankruptcy filing. Finally, Rosenthal said, a judge ruled in January that the tenants had to go. They challenged the ruling, thus allowing them to remain in the house. The Caplans didnt return my call for comment. But Ken Carlson, an Idyllwild lawyer who said hes advising the couple, told me the pair arent just trying to postpone the inevitable. He said the tenants are simply challenging technical defects in Millers paperwork, such as not including the days and hours that hed be available to receive payments. This is an example of a landlord accusing tenants of using dilatory tactics to cover their own mistakes, Carlson said. Miller sees it differently. Theyre gaming the system, he said. But its a system that allows itself to be gamed. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for next week. David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com. MORE FROM DAVID LAZARUS Car makers had to install air bags; shouldnt Apple have to hack its iPhone? Government may soon begin putting an end to forced arbitration clauses Why airlines frequent-flier programs are now rewarding big spenders President Obama unduly influenced federal regulators to adopt tough net neutrality regulations for online traffic last year, according to an investigation by a Republican senator. Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and his staff were finishing work on a less heavy-handed approach in November 2014 when Obama publicly called for the agency to take a more aggressive and controversial direction, said a report released Tuesday from Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. Obama urged the independent FCC to put broadband providers in the same legal category as more highly regulated conventional telephone companies. Advertisement Public interest groups and many top Democrats were urging such a move, which was strongly opposed by Internet service providers and Republicans. After Obamas statement, an internal email from FCC staffer Paula Blizzard to other agency employees said not sure how this will affect the current draft and schedule -- but I suspect substantially. Plans to finish work on the rules was delayed, and several weeks later, Wheeler released a proposal that mirrored Obamas suggestions, the report said. This investigation has convinced me that the White House overrode the FCCs decision-making apparatus, Johnson said. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> It is concerning that an independent agency like the FCC could be so unduly influenced by the White House, particularly on an issue that touches the lives of so many Americans and has such a significant impact on a critical sector of the United States economy, he said. Obama is allowed to publicly express his views to an independent agency but is not supposed to direct its actions. Wheeler has said there were no secret instructions from the White House and that his views on net neutrality regulations evolved from his original proposal in early 2014. Responding to the Senate report, FCC spokeswoman Kim Hart said the agency ran a transparent and robust rule-making process. Its no secret that 4 million Americans, including the president, urged the FCC to protect a free and open Internet, she said, referring to a flood of public comments during the agencys rule-making process. Obama appointed Wheeler, a Democrat, as FCC chairman. The agencys Democratic majority pushed through the net neutrality regulations by a 3-2 vote in February 2015. SIGN UP for the free California Inc. business newsletter >> The rules prohibit Internet service providers from discriminating against legal content flowing through their wired or wireless networks, such as by charging websites for faster delivery of video and other data to consumers. To enforce those rules, the FCC reclassified broadband as a more highly regulated telecommunications service under Title 2 of the Telecommunications Act. Internet service providers opposed the reclassification and have a suit pending in federal court challenging it. Republicans on the FCC and in Congress criticized the agencys action as unnecessary and warned that heavy-handed regulations could stifle investment in expanding broadband networks. Ajit Pai, one of the FCCs two Republican commissioners, said Johnsons report showed that FCC Democrats succumbed to White House pressure and forfeited the agencys independence. Whether you support or oppose Internet regulation, this has been a sad chapter in the history of the FCC, Pai said. The report, titled Regulating the Internet: How the White House Bowled Over FCC Independence acknowledged that Obama and other White House officials were allowed to advocate for actions by the FCC. But a 1991 Justice Department opinion said that White House staff members should avoid even the mere appearance of interest or influence -- and the easiest way to do so is to avoid discussing matters pending before the independent regulatory agencies, the report said. Johnson said his investigation was triggered by a Wall Street Journal article last year that said two White House aides were involved in unusual, secretive efforts to build support for tougher net neutrality regulations. Congressional Republicans have been pushing legislation to reverse the FCCs net neutrality rules. jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com Follow @JimPuzzanghera on Twitter. ALSO Tribune Media is looking to sell assets in bid to boost stock price Stocks climb as construction spending hits 8-year high; tech shares jump Rubicon Project earnings and Snapchat ad moves are among the weeks L.A. tech highlights A federal judge sentenced the head of a defunct Southern California real estate investment firm to 14 years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme that lost as much as $169 million for hundreds of investors, the U.S. attorneys office said. U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney on Monday also ordered Michael J. Stewart, a 68-year-old San Clemente resident, to pay 120 victims $9.2 million in restitution. Read the latest Essential California newsletter >> Advertisement Stewart and his partner John Packard founded Pacific Property Assets in 1999 and bought, renovated and sold apartments in Southern California and Arizona. As property values soared in the early 2000s, the firm -- which had offices in Irvine and Long Beach -- refinanced mortgages and sold properties, using the proceeds to pay investors and business expenses, the U.S. attorneys office said. But by late 2007, the real estate market was faltering and the company was unable to refinance properties or sell buildings at a profit. Prosecutors alleged Stewart misrepresented the companys financial condition to new investors and used their money to pay off previous investors, lenders and Stewart and Packards salaries. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2009. While all investments carry some risks, victims who were lured into this scheme in 2008 and 2009 faced a guaranteed loss of their funds, U.S Atty. Eileen M. Decker said in a statement. Investors are entitled to know how their money is being spent and the true financial state of a company, but Mr. Stewart did everything in his power to conceal the truth. A jury convicted Stewart last year of 11 counts of mail fraud. Packard has pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced in late March. Reach me by email at andrew.khouri@latimes.com or on Twitter @khouriandrew ALSO Instead of record rains, L.A. gets the hottest February on record Apple wins a round in fight over accessing locked iPhones in criminal investigations Kidnapping suspect with children in SUV in standoff with police after chase through O.C. Spanish-language media star Mario Kreutzberger -- better known to audiences as Don Francisco -- is returning to television. Nearly six months after Kreutzbergers long-running variety show, Sabado Gigante, ended its popular run on Univision, Kreutzberger has struck a partnership with Univisions archrival, Telemundo. See more of Entertainments top stories on Facebook >> Advertisement Telemundo, owned by media giant NBCUniversal, said late Monday that it has signed a multiyear deal with Kreutzberger to form a joint production company. The goal will be to produce original programming for Latino audiences in the U.S. and Latin America. Unique talent is timeless, and Mario has incredible insight into this community and into creating innovative content that connects and engages audiences, Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, said in an interview with The Times. More immediately, Kreutzberger will join Telemundos news division as a special correspondent. The Chilean-born entertainer will be tasked with conducting high-profile interviews with politicians, celebrities and other newsmakers. Im starting a new era, Kreutzberger said in an interview with The Times. I will try to do the best interviews that I can and find the best personalities. Asked whether he wanted to interview Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, Kreutzberger was non-committal. It would depend on [Telemundo], whether they wanted me to do that and the conditions of any interview, Kreutzberger said. Im so new that I havent really talked to many people in the company. This deal was made in the last 48 hours. Kreutzberger said hes more intrigued by human interest stories than conversations that delve into the nuts and bolts of politics. I would look more for the human side, rather than the political side, he said. I would like interviews to be more about the life of the person. Financial terms of the Telemundo arrangement were not disclosed. Negotiations have been ongoing for nearly two months, with other media companies expressing interest in landing the man behind the popular Don Francisco persona. The move reunites Kreutzberger with Conde, who previously served as a top executive at Univision until Conde decamped for NBCUniversal a few years ago. Kreutzberger said hes known Conde for nearly 20 years. The partnership comes as Telemundo continues to expand its programming ambitions by owning more content. Owning shows rather than licensing them is part of a business strategy that enables Telemundo to aggressively sell its Spanish-language content to TV networks in other countries, increasing profitability. Univision rolled the credits on Kreutzbergers zany Sabado Gigante in September, even though the Saturday night staple continued to deliver sizeable audiences. But the audience was graying, and Univision was looking to trim programming costs in advance of a corporate public offering that has since been postponed. Kreutzberger, for his part, praised Univision. He said he learned much from his long association with Univision, the media company that boasts the nations most popular Spanish-language network. Im very grateful to Univision for the 30 years, he said. Kreutzberger launched his variety show in 1962 in his native Chile. The show, which was produced at Univisions facilities in Miami, became an enduring hit that lasted 53 years and appeared in more than 40 countries, including the United States and in Latin America and Europe. I started in television when it was black and white, Kreutzberger said. Now, new content has to include Internet media and social media.... Ive seen so many changes but I am very excited to do something new. Twitter: @MegJamesLAT MORE: Univision fought with Donald Trump and now it wants to register 3 million new Latino voters Its no joke: Univision buys a stake in the Onion How Leslie Moonves continues to guide CBS to the top of the TV industry As he walked briskly out of the Dolby Theatre on Sunday night, his screenwriting Oscar in hand, Spotlight filmmaker Tom McCarthy slowed down a moment as a reporter sidled up to talk about the season that had just ended. Wouldnt it be a relief, after all these months of extolling journalism, to get a break from the ink-stained wretches? I gave you guys a shout-out! he said playfully, referring to a comment he made about journalists during his screenplay acceptance speech. I mean, you gotta take care of everyone, he continued lightheartedly. Advertisement McCarthy has been taking care of a lot over an improbable 20-year run thats included a mix of acting, writing and directing. It is, in many respects, a career as uncommon and unexpected as the idea of a slow-burn journalism procedural taking the top prize of the film year. OSCARS 2016: List of nominees | Red carpet arrivals | Best and worst dressed Starting out in the mid-90s as a character actor (at the comparatively late life-stage of 30-ish), McCarthy segued into writing-directing with the Peter Dinklage quirky-loner tale The Station Agent in 2003. What seemed like a promising if uncertain beginning he won the Spirit Award for first screenplay, as sure a sign of such uncertainty as there is would soon turn into a finely calibrated arc. McCarthy would continue acting, often in studio pictures such as Meet the Parents and 2012. Those gigs (besides paying the bills) gave him an entree into Hollywood and writing; the writing jobs, which themselves sometimes include more for-hire-ish studio pieces like Up and Million Dollar Arm, would in turn pave the way for his passion projects. He would follow his filmmaking debut with 2007s The Visitor, an immigration-themed story of solitude and otherness that hit a post-9/11 sweet spot and gained Richard Jenkins an Oscar nomination. OSCARS 2016: Show highlights | Backstage | Winners room In 2011, McCarthy returned with Win Win, a seemingly simple story set in a small New Jersey town that somehow managed to encompass parent-child relationships, the Great Recession, high-school wrestling, masculinity and the legal system. (McCarthy grew up in New Jersey and sets most of his movies on the East Coast.) His trajectory is unusual. The actor-director or at least the actor-director who consistently finds work in both realms is a rare enough breed in moviedom. A person whos able to wear that label while also putting together a dossier of acclaimed movies like The Visitor, Win Win and Spotlight is even less common. Throughout, McCarthys work has been known for a kind of humanist authenticity; characters are rarely all good or all bad, and they tend to talk and act as people do in real life. He also often mixes the comedic with the dramatic, a difficult skill and lost art. Achieving this isnt easy. McCarthy has developed a reputation as an exacting on-set presence patient and friendly, but also intense with a hint of the obsessive. One day during production of Win Win witnessed by a reporter, a 15-second scene was shot and re-shot with the persistence of Steph Curry taking 300 practice jumpers. If that attitude demands a lot from those around him, it has also attracted the right kind of talent: the likes of Jenkins, Paul Giamatti, Mark Ruffalo and a host of actors actors have sought to work with him. Speaking to The Times last spring about the musician-turned-actor Cliff Method Man Smith, McCarthy gave a glimpse into his own mind-set on the subject of going all out. OSCARS 2016: Awkward Oscar moments | Awards season database Cliffs work ethic is great, he said of Smith, whom he had worked with in the past. And whether youre a good rapper or not, you only become a famous rapper if you work hard. Mary Jane Skalski, a producer who has often collaborated with McCarthy, said in an email Monday that Tom is endlessly curious, amazingly open and the smartest guy in the room who never has to be the smartest guy in the room. Im not surprised he made a great movie about investigative journalists he would have been a great investigative journalist. The New York-based McCarthy became a favorite of journalists this season because he made a movie that flatters them. But it hasnt hurt that in his rapid-fire interview responses, he tends to avoid soundbites, frequently responding with some of the nuggets about human nature for which his movie are known. Asked about his unvarnished depiction of a slack-jawed teenager in Win Win at the time of that films release, for instance, he said, The thing about people that age is they know everything thats going on. They just dont let you know they know everything thats going on. (He has also, it should be said, earned something of a good-guy image in the chatty film industry. On Sunday night, as executives at Open Road Films and Anonymous Media the distributor and producer of Spotlight, respectively waited for him to arrive at a post-Oscars party at a West Hollywood restaurant, they noted the role that McCarthys favorable reputation might have played in the tight race for best picture.) Where his newfound awards cachet takes him remains to be seen. Cautionary tales of the Oscar-anointed abound, such as the story of the European director Florian von Donnersmarck, who in 2007 hit it big with his foreign-language Oscar winner The Lives of Others " like Spotlight also about the perils of institutional secrecy and used the clout to make a star vehicle, the Angelina Jolie- and Johnny Depp-toplined The Tourist. It was a notorious misfire. Though McCarthy and his representatives havent locked in a new project, most in the industry dont believe the director is likely to take a step to big studio movies. Partly thats because his unflashy directing style hasnt earned McCarthy the same kind of attention or director-category acclaim as, say, The Revenant helmer Alejandro G. Inarritu. But its also because McCarthy is the kind of filmmaker who would much rather write and direct his own stories; if the screenplay and best picture Oscars for Spotlight give him desired leverage in Hollywood, its simply to make more such tales. 1 / 40 Brie Larson and Alicia Vikander backstage (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 40 Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet backstage (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 40 Leonardo DiCaprio backstage (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 40 Leonardo DiCaprio with his Oscar for best actor (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 40 Brie Larson celebrates (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 40 Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu backstage (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 40 Brie Larson (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 40 The cast of Best Picture Spotlight take a selfie backstage. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 40 Lady Gaga (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 40 Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 40 Brie Larson (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 40 Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 40 Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 40 Sacha Baron Cohen (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 40 A Secret Service watches Vice President Joe Biden backstage (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 40 C3PO (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 40 Kevin Hart (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 40 R2D2 and C3PO (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 40 Kate Winslet (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 40 Mark Rylance (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 40 Cheryl Boone Issacs (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 40 Backstage at the 88th Academy Awards (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 40 Vice President Joe Biden (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 40 Andrew Whitehurst and Mark Ardington (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 40 Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy accept the award for Original Screenplay for Spotlight. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 40 Paul Norris and Sara Bennett (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 40 R2D2 and C3PO (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 40 Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 40 Oscar statuettes (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 40 Charlize Theron (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 40 Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 40 Sam Smith (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 40 Adam McKay (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 40 Alicia Vikander (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 40 Charlize Theron (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 40 Adam McKay and Charles Randolph (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 40 Alicia Vikander (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 40 Emmanuel Lubezki (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 40 Benicio Del Toro and Jennifer Garner (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 40 Liev Schreiber and Priyanka Chopra (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) (Questions about next films, incidentally, havent always permeated the best-picture category: Last years best picture director, Inarritu, was already well under way on The Revenant after his movie won the Oscar.) Hard to avoid in the Spotlight victory story is the turnaround aspect, or, really, a recent failure. Much has been made of Inarritus prolific work pace. But McCarthy, too, had a movie at the fall festivals in 2014. It was The Cobbler, a fable-slash-high-concept action comedy starring Adam Sandler that marked a leap to a new genre. It didnt work. The film was dissed by many critics for its tonal jumble and given only a limited release. McCarthy was open about how the backlash affected him. The critical reaction was difficult, he said in an interview in the fall. Its like the athlete who had a bad moment or game...Youd be lying if you said you dont feel it. But in the end, it reinforced that all we could do is the work. The reviews for The Cobbler came out while we were working on Spotlight. And what they really did was just reinforce my desire to keep going. steve.zeitchik@latimes.com ALSO: Joe Biden wasnt as funny at the Oscars as Chris Rock, but at least he didnt make an Asian joke How Lady Gaga won the Oscars without taking home a trophy Chris Rocks hot mess of an Oscars show: powerful, confounding, possibly revolutionary The Rolling Stones have gigged in every major city on every continent, as well as any island with a nice beach that would have them. Come March 25, the band will be able to cross another major city off the bucket list after announcing its first-ever performance in Havana. Theyll play a free concert at the Ciudad Deportiva de la Habana. The band will travel to Havana after concluding its America Latino Ole Tour, which features scheduled dates in countries including Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Mexico. Said the Stones in a statement: We have performed in many special places during our long career but this show in Havana is going to be a landmark event for us, and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba too. Advertisement See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour >> 1 / 1 Mick Jagger and Keith Richards embrace in New York while announcing the bands 2005 tour. (AFP/Getty Images) Billed as the Concert for Amity, the Stones event is being promoted by AEGs Concerts West and Musica Punto Zero, with support from the Institute of Cuban Music. The Stones are also spearheading an initiative to bring desperately needed new musical instruments into a country bruised by decades of American sanctions. Among the companies donating are Gibson, Vic Firth, RS Berkeley, Pearl, Zildjian, Gretsch, Latin Percussion, Roland and BOSS. Hopefully that means Cuban music featuring fresh tones -- Roland drum machines, bass generators, drums -- cant be too far behind. For tips on playlists, Los Angeles music news and video clips, follow @liledit MORE: Rolling Stones will tour South America in 2016 Sting and Peter Gabriel to play Hollywood Bowl on co-headlining tour Coachella wont be the first place to see the Guns N Roses reunion Neil Young, cast revisit 1982 film Human Highway at screening, Q&A Reckless behavior could cost Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) his law license and derail the career of his attorney girlfriend, Kimberly Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), on Amarillo, Episode 203 of AMCs Better Call Saul. Jimmys new job involves client outreach for a multi-million-dollar class action lawsuit targeting Sandpiper Crossing assisted-living facilities, which routinely cheat elderly residents out of their life savings. See more of Entertainments top stories on Facebook >> Advertisement After his letters to the seniors go unanswered (perhaps Sandpiper illegally destroys the correspondence), Jimmy launches an aggressive and unethical scheme that could get him disbarred. By bribing a Sandpiper employee, Jimmy gains access to a busload of Texas seniors, including Alma May Urbano (Carolyn Wickwire). Soon the entire group listens attentively. Maam, Im here to make sure you get your money back, Stetson-wearing Jimmy promises Alma May in his usual folksy manner. And nothing makes me sadder than to see people of the Greatest Generation, people like my own Nana and Bobo, getting overcharged by some great big company, Jimmy adds, even if it was an accident. When Jimmy reports the latest recruitment tally at a staff meeting he signed up more than 200 clients in three weeks his attorney brother Chuck McGill (Michael McKean) raises a red flag. Did Jimmy unscrupulously solicit new business? Really astonishing results, Jimmy. Incredible, Chuck says. Im just wondering how you account for your success. Because, Chuck cautions, those remarkable numbers will definitely raise eyebrows at the opposing counsel. What happened in Texas? Kim pointedly asks Jimmy after the meeting. I need you to understand something very important. I put myself on the line to get you this job! In other words, everything sneaky Jimmy does reflects back on Kim. Abruptly changing tactics, Jimmy proposes a highly targeted TV commercial that would air when Sandpiper residents faithfully watch reruns of Murder She Wrote in the dayroom. And let me tell you, Jimmy informs his skeptical boss, Clifford Main (Ed Begley Jr.), when that thing comes on, it draws the blue hairs like moths to a bug zapper! Unbeknownst to Cliff, Jimmy hires a couple of film students (Josh Fadem and Julian Bonfiglio) to shoot a commercial featuring elderly Mrs. Strauss (Carol Herman) as she clutches a tattered shawl and laments the loss of her nest egg. A phone number for the Davis & Main law firm follows. Also unbeknownst to Cliff, Jimmy pays a Colorado TV station to broadcast the ad, which prompts calls from 103 concerned Sandpiper residents. When Cliff finds out, hes furious at Jimmys unauthorized actions. Did you really think this would fly? Cliff yells at Jimmy, ordering him to report at 8 a.m. the following day for an emergency meeting with the partners. Unfortunately for Kim, her golden boy Jimmy just jeopardized both their careers. In other developments, former Philadelphia cop Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) decides to move his widowed daughter-in-law Stacey (Kerry Condon) and granddaughter Kaylee (Abigail Zoe Lewis) to a safer neighborhood. This after paranoid Stacey supposedly hears gunfire on two consecutive nights in her Albuquerque suburb. Because Mikes meager salary as a parking lot attendant wont purchase a new house, he contacts a shady veterinarian (Joe DeRosa) with underworld connections. Mike could receive $200 for a bodyguard job, but thats not nearly enough cash. You want next-level pay? You gotta do next-level work, the vet insists. Its not long before Mike gets an offer of serious money from drug dealer Ignacio Nacho Varga (Michael Mando). Ive got a problem, Nacho tells Mike during a late-night rendezvous. I cant solve it myself. Theres a guy. I need him to go away. Will Mike become a cold-blooded killer for hire? Hes considering it, at least. MORE: Better read Saul: A first look at Saul Goodmans new book Better Call Saul recap: Boring corporate law? Jimmy prefers wild side In Better Call Saul, Breaking Bads creators have another success on their hands Was all the diversity talk at Sundays Academy Awards lacking in, well, diversity? While Chris Rock earned high marks from many critics for his performance as host, some observers are unhappy with the comedian for focusing on Hollywood's black-white divide at the expense of other underrepresented minority groups, particularly Asians, Latinos and Native Americans. As many predicted, Rock was fearless in addressing racism within Hollywood and American culture at large. He opened the ceremony with a 10-minute monologue that included references to rape and lynching in the Jim Crow era, police brutality against black people and the dearth of opportunities for top-tier African American actors like Jamie Foxx. And he returned to the theme of black-white relations throughout the night, including a field piece where he interviewed African American patrons of a movie theater in Compton (or maybe not) and a send-off, in which he gave a shoutout to the Black Lives Matter movement. Things Rock didnt mention? Hollywoods exclusion of other people of color, including Asians, Latinos and Native Americans. He also didn't really acknowledge the issue of industry sexism, except to dismiss objections to questions about red carpet fashion directed at actresses. The comedian has also taken heat for a gag in which Asian children were introduced as accountants as from Pricewaterhoursecoopers, which some saw as evidence of his singular focus on the black versus white divide. And the only time Native Americans were referenced was in Leonardo DiCaprios acceptance graceful (and clearly well-rehearsed) speech. It was very African American-centric, said Alex Nogales, president and CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, of Rocks performance. We understand that they deserve their place. So do Latinos, Asian Pacific Americans, Muslim Americans, Native Americans and women. If were going to talk about inclusion, lets talk about inclusion for all the groups that are not represented. Similar sentiments reverberated across social media Sunday night. Disappointed that #theoscars missed the point on diversity. Didnt bring Latinos and Asians into the conversation, said writer-producer Nancy De Los Santos on Twitter. Nogales and other advocates were particularly let down because in the past, Rock has been outspoken about the industrys problematic attitude toward Latinos. Forget whether Hollywood is black enough. A better question is: Is Hollywood Mexican enough? he wrote in a widely circulated essay for the Hollywood Reporter in 2014. You're in L.A, you've got to try not to hire Mexicans. Like Nogales, actress and filmmaker Fanny Veliz was frustrated by Rocks set. This fight is not just about black and white. When you only include African Americans, its a disservice to everybody, she said. Latinos are the most underrepresented group in the industry and its never talked about. According to a study of 600 popular films by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, Latinos make up 17% of the population but account for just 4.9% of speaking roles. Thats one of the reasons actress Eva Longoria threw her support behind the Brown Ribbon Campaign, asking Oscar attendees to wear brown ribbons to the ceremony and encouraging supporters to tweet using the hashtags #HollywoodBrownout and #BrownRibbonCampaign. Aside from the accountant joke, Asians were also left out of the conversation Sunday, a fact which exposed one of the failings of how we talk about race in America: race relations are not a black-white binary," said Mee Moua, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, in a statement Monday to the Associated Press. "It is to all of our detriment to look at race narrowly. We need to work together to dismantle the systems that devalue the experiences of minority groups so we can see the tales of the diversity that have shaped our nation reflected accurately." Inspired by the social conversation surrounding the telecast, writer and activist Jaya Sundaresh started a new hashtag #onlyonepercent, to draw attention to the Hollywoods exclusion of Asians, who constitute just 1% of Oscar acting nominations since 2000. This is a problem of representation that affects our communities too, said Sundaresh, who like many others, was disappointed by Rocks Asian jokes. I dont think he has an obligation to give [Asian Americans] a shoutout, but he has the obligation to not resort to offensive stereotypes. Still, it could be that viewers were expecting too much of Rock, who is, first and foremost, an entertainer and not a representative of any particular movement. Chris Rock hosted the awards last night knowing full well the hornet's nest he was stepping into, said April Reign, activist and creator of #OscarsSoWhite. I think while we can critique his performance, he does not speak for #OscarsSoWhite. I am concerned that people are assuming that because he is black he is a spokesperson for #OscarsSoWhite and that our objectives are completely intertwined." Follow @MeredithBlake on Twitter. Times writer Tre'vell Anderson contributed to this report ALSO: Chris Rock's hot mess of an Oscars show: powerful, confounding, possibly revolutionary Read Chris Rock's 2016 Oscars opening monologue Joe Biden wasn't as funny at the Oscars as Chris Rock, but at least he didn't make an Asian joke Maybe youre looking for something different to do for date night. Or maybe youre a gourmand who likes to walk around food events wearing a wine glass attached to a lanyard. Either way, youll want to know about the following food and wine events. Taste of Israel: The first Los Angeles Israeli food and wine festival is 5 to 8 p.m. March 20 at the Majestic Downtown. The event will include wine from 19 Israeli wineries, as well as food and cooking demos from both L.A.-based and Israeli chefs, including Alex Reznik from Ditmas food and cocktail, Alain Cohen from Got Kosher, Ofir Arbel from Hummus Bar and Grill, Kahn Chingis Byambasuren from Sushiko and Shaul Ben Aderet from Blue Rooster. General admission tickets are $125, and VIP tickets, which include access to the event an hour early, are $300. All proceeds benefit Meir Panim, a nonprofit that provides food and social services to Jews, Christians and Muslims in need, living in Israel. www.TasteofIsrael.net. Bon Appetit is hosting its 10th annual Vegas Uncorkd food and wine event April 28 to May 1 in Las Vegas. Featured events will take place in downtown Las Vegas, as well as at a number of hotels and restaurants along the Strip. Participating chefs include Emeril Lagasse, Giada De Laurentiis, Michael Chow, Guy Savoy, Nobu Matsuhisa and Gordon Ramsay. Highlights will include a mystery dinner with Lagasse, a $1,000 omakase dinner with Matsuhisa, dinner and a show with Chow and a steakhouse redux at the Golden Steer with Michael Mina. Prices for event tickets vary and can be found at www.VegasUncorked.com. The International Chardonnay Symposium, a gathering of winemakers, sommeliers and Chardonnay fans, is happening May 12 to 14 in Pismo Beach, Calif. There will be a French forum on May 13, featuring a presentation and discussion of Frances Chardonnay regions, and wine producers from more than 80 wineries will pour tastes of wine at the Grand Tasting on May 14. Other panel discussions during the symposium will cover pairing Chardonnay with cheese and how to hone your Chardonnay blind-tasting skills. Prices for event tickets vary and can be found at www.TheChardonnaySymposium.com. How about we both bring the wine? Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Jenn_Harris_ ALSO: Advertisement What to do in March: four upcoming L.A. food events Doughnuts, beer and stuff-on-toast, at a new restaurant in downtown L.A. What were into: Banh xeo, Glenfiddich Bourbon Barrel Reserve, Republiques roast chicken Good morning. It is Tuesday, March 1. Googles self-driving cars arent perfect. An accident report finds one of the cars struck a bus in Mountain View as it attempted to change lanes. Heres what else is happening in the Golden State: TOP STORIES Inside foster care Advertisement Several years ago, L.A. County officials opened two waiting rooms for young people placed into the foster care system. But rather than providing a safe and temporary space for children with no place to go, the rooms turned into makeshift shelters that made young people vulnerable to sex trafficking. Now, the waiting rooms will be shut down. The failure of the waiting rooms underscores how difficult it is for L.A. County to find homes for foster youth at a time when the number of vacant beds is declining. Los Angeles Times Competency case A trial over the mental competency of media mogul Sumner Redstone will be allowed to move forward. Judge David J. Cowan denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by the businessmans former companion Manuela Herzer. We are confident that when the court has evaluated the evidence it will determine that Mr. Redstone had capacity to change his healthcare directive and that Ms. Herzer should have no role in his life whatsoever, said Gabrielle Vidal, an attorney for Redstone. Los Angeles Times The VAs land The Department of Veterans Affairs wants to turn its West L.A. land back over to veterans and their needs. Doing so will require kicking out some nonveteran groups, such as the city of Los Angeles and the Brentwood School. Theyve all lobbied up and lawyered up. They saw the plan, they know the veterans want the land back, and theyre talking now, said Vincent Kane, special assistant to VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald. Los Angeles Times DROUGHT AND CLIMATE Hot, hot, hot: So much for El Ninos record rains. By one measure, it was the hottest February on record with an average high of 77.5 degrees. The atmosphere is chaotic and has a certain randomness to it, said Nicholas A. Bond, a research meteorologist at the University of Washington. Los Angeles Times Little fish: Californias fishermen want locals to embrace herring, a tiny fish that often finds its way into overseas markets. This means customers will have to get used to fish with flavor and bones. We live in one of the most progressive, conservation-oriented cities in the country, and virtually no one is utilizing this healthy, sustainable resource thats right in their backyard, said Geoff Shester, California campaign director for the marine protection group Oceana. NPR L.A. AT LARGE Concerts in the park: The Greek Theatre has a new general manager in charge of bookings. Can you attract concertgoers without angering nearby residents? If they can make the venue more profitable, these funds can be pumped back into the parks system to bankroll additional park rangers, new shuttle services and other improvements. LA Weekly A legend passes: Radio personality Charlie Tuna has died at the age of 71. During his career, he may have worked as a morning personality for more stations and formats than anyone else in L.A. radio history. His crystalline baritone introduced musicians and hit records to radio listeners across Southern California for nearly half a century. Los Angeles Times Modern rail: Plans are in the works to modify classic Red Cars so they can run on light-rail tracks near the waterfront in San Pedro. Tentative plans have the line running from the Los Angeles Maritime Museum at 6th Street and Harbor Boulevard to the southern end of Ports O Call. Daily Breeze POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT Standing trial: There has been a dramatic increase in mental competency cases in Los Angeles County, and no one attorneys, judges, doctors is quite sure why. From 2010 to 2015, the number of cases increased from 944 to 3,528. I think its a sign that we urgently need to embrace the mental health diversion program, said Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey. Los Angeles Times CRIME AND COURTS Police response: Criticism is mounting against the Anaheim police and the way the agency handled a weekend rally hosted by the Ku Klux Klan. There did not appear to be uniformed police at the start of the event, but video showed them arriving after klan members were swarmed by counter-protesters. Los Angeles Times Targeted violence: Los Angeles County officials believe there has been an increase in hate crimes against Muslims and people mistaken for Muslims. Eleven such crimes were reported in November and December of last year. Los Angeles Times K-9 units: Police agencies in Orange County are expanding the use of police dogs. A typical dog costs $10,000 and then requires five weeks and $4,000 in specialized training. Just like kids learn at a different rate, dogs learn at a different rate, said Anaheim Police Sgt. Ray Drabek. Orange County Register BUSINESS Let the air out: There are more signs that the bubble is about to burst in Silicon Valley. In the last month, Fidelity has written down more than a dozen investments in the tech space. Theres a funding slowdown, and in January, there were no IPOs of a tech company for the first time since September 2011. Vanity Fair CALIFORNIA CULTURE Happy Birthday: Lorna Deshane was born in 1932 and just celebrated her 21st birthday. The Orange County native is a leapean. The leap year birthday has been the best thing in my life. Every four years is very special, she said. Orange County Register Homegrown talent: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is getting flak for saying he grew up in East Los Angeles, an area that represents culture, hardship and ethnic roots that are hard-earned. The Oscar winner grew up in Echo Park, East Hollywood and Los Feliz, none of which could be described as East L.A. LA Weekly Art project: The Griffith Park Teahouse has found a second life in San Pedro. The art piece is on Knoll Hill with the consent of the Department of Recreation and Parks and the Department of Cultural Affairs. It will open to the public on Saturday. Los Angeles Times CALIFORNIA ALMANAC San Francisco will have a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 65. Sacramento will have clouds before the sun comes out and temperatures reach 73 degrees. In Los Angeles, the morning will bring fog. Later in the day, the sun will come out and highs are expected to reach 81. Riverside will be mostly sunny and 86. San Diego will have sun and a high of 76. AND FINALLY Todays California Memory comes from Wendy Forsch: My husband and I relocated to Westlake Village in the summer of 1997. We were totally unprepared for that winters El Nino rains. I remember seeing sand bags for the first time when I had to step over them to get into my ground-floor office in Ventura. It was a wet welcome to California, but it was far better than the snow and ice we left behind in New York. If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. Send us an email to let us know what you love or fondly remember about our state. (Please keep your story to 100 words.) Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Alice Walton or Shelby Grad. Im Davan Maharaj, editor of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I dont want you to miss today. TOP STORIES Big Government Republicans and Super Tuesday Advertisement Super Tuesday is upon us, with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump poised for big nights. Will it play out that way? You can follow all the action on our live blog. For now, heres something to chew on: the role of big government Republicans. Though theyd probably object to the term, pollsters say these voters are focused not on slashing government, but on getting programs such as Social Security and veterans aid working more for people who have earned it. Heres one guess as to whom they support. Kids With Nowhere Else to Go Last year, more than 5,000 children spent time at two county-run waiting rooms for foster youths. Many ended up there because they were the most difficult to place: newborns, older teenagers, the mentally ill and so on. As The Times reported last year, the rooms had evolved into makeshift shelters where some spent weeks at a time and some fell prey to sex trafficking by other youth. In a few days, the county plans to close both centers, acknowledging they didnt work as intended. And no one seems too happy with the alternatives in place. Can an Oscar Stop the Honor Killings? The documentary A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness tells the story of a teenage girl whose father shot her in the head and dumped her in a river for marrying a man her family didnt approve of. The film has drawn praise from human rights organizations and the Pakistani government. On Sunday, it won an Oscar. But can it stop the so-called honor killings? Who Wants the Dogs Out? Dogs may be mans best friend, but can they coexist with veterans? The Brentwood dog park has become a flashpoint in the debate about federal plans to build housing for thousands of homeless veterans. The idea is to finally develop the Veterans Affairs Departments West Los Angeles campus. But that means some current tenants, such as the city-operated dog park and a private school, are negotiating with the VA to protect their turf. See how theyve all lobbied up and lawyered up, as one official says. Yes, It Was That Hot It wasnt your imagination: By one measure, this February in Los Angeles was the hottest on record. The average high temperature: 77.5, almost two degrees above the previous record set in 1954, according to a Times analysis. As for the much-anticipated El Nino rains: The month was the 37th driest out of 137 years of National Weather Service records. CALIFORNIA -- All of Californias voters are now in one online database. -- Everything you need to know about the healthcare plans tax the Legislature just passed. -- L.A. County looks into an increase in hate crimes against Muslims and Sikhs. -- The states system of seizing and spending unclaimed cash has survived a Supreme Court challenge. NATION-WORLD -- Apple wins a round in its fight over accessing locked iPhones in criminal investigations. -- Hark! Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas asks questions in court for the first time in 10 years. -- Refugees are buying one-way tickets home after becoming disenchanted with Germany: overcrowded housing, bureaucracy, even the food. -- Will a trial in Japan reveal the hidden truths of the Fukushima nuclear meltdown? -- A 14-year-old student opened fire in an Ohio school cafeteria, injuring four, police said. HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS -- The Oscar producers explain how the show came together. They werent happy with the thank-you scroll, for one. -- The Academy Awards had its smallest audience since 2008: 34.3 million viewers. -- Chris Rocks joke about Asian American accountants stirred outrage. -- Inside Vanity Fairs Oscar party (yes, Ben and Jen were there). -- Spotlights Tom McCarthy took the unusual actor-writer-director path on his way to victory. -- Charlie Tuna, one of the Boss Jocks of L.A. radio, has died at 71. -- George Kennedy, who won a supporting actor Oscar in 1968 for Cool Hand Luke, has died at 91. -- The Griffith Park Teahouse has been moved and is reopening in San Pedro. BUSINESS -- Many young adults are staying away from homeownership, and its a chicken-and-egg thing. -- A judge allows the Sumner Redstone competency case to proceed. -- David Lazarus: When court-savvy tenants play the eviction system and frustrate landlords. -- Would eliminating the $100 bill cut down on crime? Join the conversation. SPORTS -- The L.A Galaxy is aiming for a fear factor as it fields a more physical team. -- Horses just like to run for jockey Rafael Bejarano, the leading rider at Santa Anita. WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING -- An analysis by the Atlantic finds students of color in U.S. cities are more likely to attend schools where most of their peers are poor or low-income. -- Artist Anish Kapoor gets exclusive rights to the worlds darkest pigment. (Hyperallergic) -- What makes con artists tick? (Slate) ONLY IN CALIFORNIA Would you like to buy some cookies? The Girl Scouts at the Oscars didnt have to make that pitch, with Chris Rock urging celebrities to pony up. And as it turns out, the proceeds arent going to his children and their pals, as he said on TV. Instead, the scouts were members of a troop based in Inglewood, and according to Rock, they collected $65,243. The money is going to the Inglewood troop, a spokesperson for the Girl Scouts L.A. branch said. Were working with the team on the final count. That would indeed be a lot of dough. Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj. The waiting rooms for foster youths with nowhere else to go opened with great fanfare several years ago. Known as Youth Welcome Centers, they were hailed by Los Angeles County officials as an important way to address the chronic shortage of foster homes, especially for children hardest to place. They were the only facilities in the county system with a no-refusal policy and quickly became a place for youths who would otherwise be homeless. But in the next few days, the county plans to close both of its centers, acknowledging they didnt work as intended. Advertisement As The Times reported last year, the waiting rooms had become makeshift medium- and long-term shelters where some youths spent days or weeks at a time well beyond the 24 hours allowed under state law. In some cases, young residents were recruited into the sex-trafficking trade by other youths at the facility. A county report commissioned in response to the article recommended that the centers in Boyle Heights on the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center campus be shut down. State regulators followed with a lawsuit alleging that the centers amounted to illegal foster care facilities because of the childrens and young adults long stays. In place of the waiting rooms, county supervisors have decided to outsource the care of the youths to private 72-hour shelter contractors a plan estimated to cost $12 million annually. County officials and experts said the failure of the waiting rooms underscores how difficult it is for L.A. County to find homes for foster youths at a time when the number of vacant beds is declining. Since 2000, the number of beds in homes of foster parents who are unrelated to the foster youths has dropped from 22,000 to 9,000. The long-term solution, according to Department of Children and Family Services Director Philip Browning, is for state and federal officials to raise payment rates so that some foster parents can quit their jobs and provide additional attention that the highest-need children require. A department spokesman said Browning expects state Department of Social Services and federal Medicaid officials to decide in about three months whether they will provide that money. For now, thousands of foster youths who had relied on the welcome centers from day-old infants to 21-year-olds will move to five emergency shelters. More than 5,000 children spent time at the two county-run waiting rooms last year. Many ended up there because they were the most difficult to place: newborns, older teenagers, mentally ill or medically fragile youths, as well as those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender. These young people also tend to be the most vulnerable to the sometimes negative influence of other residents that can occur in overcrowded, impermanent welcome centers. In November 2014, Vonie Bonjour, a transgender woman who was then 19, arrived at the waiting room. After more than 100 calls, a social worker found a home to take Bonjour. But when the social worker disclosed that she was transgender, the foster parent changed his mind. Bonjour lived in the waiting center off and on for more than a year. For transgenders, the system is very hard, it just destroys you, Bonjour said one night after her arrival, as she sat eating a hamburger at a welcome center dining table. You deal with a lot of negative people. Dilcia, 15, another welcome center resident, listened as if the older woman were a career counselor. My long-term plan? I dont have one, Bonjour told her. For transgenders, its hard to get jobs, so we go on escort sites. Hook me up, Dilcia said. Creating short-term emergency shelters and better-paid foster parents for longer-term housing would segregate youths such as Bonjour who are involved in sex trafficking from other youths, Browning contends. A separate facility would provide them with specialized services. The new, emergency shelter approach also will separate the young people into four facilities according to age and how recently they entered the foster care system. By law, each site will be allowed to keep a youth for no more than 72 hours, although officials acknowledge that they would probably be forced to exceed that deadline in some cases. At least one architect of the existing welcome center system, Dr. Astrid Heger, warns that the new approach presents potentially disastrous risks, because the shelters will not be connected to healthcare clinics as is now the case. Heger, director of the Violence Intervention Program at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, said the emergency shelters dont have sufficient medical personnel to treat the youths and determine whether they are victims of abuse meaning that some could wind up back with abusive parents. She added that the new sites will discourage homeless youths from dropping by for showers and meals, which gives staff members opportunities to offer them additional help, she said. Heger has advocated for keeping the welcome centers but moving the most difficult young people to a more suitable facility. The approved plan calls for Hegers physicians to continue to screen youths before theyre sent to the emergency shelters. The time at the medical center will be much more limited, however. Heger said she worries that worn-out social workers will sometimes skip the medical visits as they transport the young people to far-flung shelters in Alhambra, Baldwin Hills and other locations. Kids might die again, she said. Theyre going to be invisible again. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, which has jurisdiction over child welfare, decided against taking a public vote on the plan. Just two years ago, Supervisor Hilda Solis was so enthusiastic about the waiting rooms that she called one a symbol for her own pledge to be a champion for children. By then, however, problems were developing. Mike Ross, the centers chief, worked to establish a therapeutic environment with peer counselors and mental health professionals providing unconditional positive regard to the youths. But, he said, the waiting rooms crushing pressures undermined those efforts. Last year, several teenagers rushed the armed guard stationed at the front door at the older youths welcome center and attempted to wrestle a gun away, Children and Family Services officials said. Staff members staged a sickout after the incident to highlight concerns about their safety, and a sheriffs deputy was permanently assigned to the waiting room. Since then, disciplinary problems have been handled by law enforcement. Some of the young people found the centers that were supposed to be their salvation worse than other bad alternatives. After being convicted of domestic violence, Bonjour, for example, told a judge that she would rather serve time in jail than return to a life of sporadic stays at the welcome center. Now 21 and back on the streets, she finds herself struggling, addicted to methamphetamine, and wondering what kind of life she might have had if the county had found her a foster home. What can I do to possibly get back to the old Vonie, you know? It is really embarrassing because I didnt see my life ending up like this. I swear to you. garrett.therolf@latimes.com Twitter: @gtherolf See more of our top stories on Facebook >> ALSO Instead of record rains, L.A. gets the hottest February on record After violent KKK brawl, marchers in Anaheim try to fight fire with love and compassion On The Streets: Living homefree in a van in Venice About 100 school administrators across Los Angeles County gathered to learn about school safety on Monday. About the same time, authorities said a 14-year-old in Ohio opened fire on his cafeteria. The location is telling. School shootings are on the rise. There were 38 school shootings in 2013 compared with 64 last year. And the cafeteria is now considered one of the most dangerous places for a school shooting. Theyre noisy, crowded spaces that can be hard for kids to escape, and for teachers to control, said Dennis Lewis, the founder of Edu-Safe, a school safety consulting company. Cafeterias the worst-case scenario, Lewis said in an interview after Mondays training in Downey, where he and co-consultant Judy Brunner taught the group how to prevent and react to bomb threats and active-shooter scenarios. Lewis previously directed school safety in Missouri. Advertisement After Columbine, the 1999 massacre in which a pair of students killed 13 people and injured dozens more at Columbine High School in Colorado, schools began to take the threat of an assailant more seriously. Schools across the country now have intruder and lockdown plans in place, and some conduct active-shooter drills to prepare students and teachers. Teachers and administrators around L.A. know to close classroom doors and keep children inside, with the blinds closed and lights off, when necessary. But what if students are outside the classroom when a shooter pulls a gun? Los Angeles Unified School Districts lockdown policy, for example, calls for students who are outside to be moved to the nearest room that can be locked, and for students in a cafeteria to be kept there. It doesnt mention what to do if a shooter is inside the cafeteria along with students. Lewis didnt know about the Ohio shooting while the Downey training was in session, but he and Brunner spoke during an interview afterward about how schools can better prepare and react to a threat when students arent in the classroom: 1. Prepare ahead of time The day an assailant appears on campus shouldnt be the first time a school implements its active-shooter plan, and both teachers and students should know what to do. Lewis and Brunner suggest teaching the active-shooter and lockdown plan as part of the curriculum at the beginning of the year, with age-appropriate language. For the younger kids, youre talking about running from danger, Lewis said. If students are outside, schools can establish safe sites where children and teachers can meet; depending on the scenario, that could be the edge of campus or a nearby park. Schools should tell teachers that if theyre outside and unable to get into a locked classroom, they should run with the students to one of those sites. Its a good idea to walk the routes with students early in the year, Lewis said. 2. One-word commands Even if these reunification sites are set up, it can be difficult to get students attention in playgrounds or outdoor areas. Teachers should tell their students to recognize one word to react to when they hear it. For example, a teacher should just have to scream, Run! on a playground to get students attention and lead the way to the nearest safe site. If a shooting occurs on a school bus, for example, the bus driver should be trained to yell, Down! and the students should know that means to hide under their seats because theres a dangerous situation, Lewis said. 3. Give teachers and students options Students near an exit when an active shooter enters the cafeteria should try to use it. If they cant do that, they should try to find a place to hide. In a cafeteria, that could include a crawl space under a stage, a storage room for tables or behind a wall or partition, if possible. Both Lewis and Brunner said they couldnt comment directly on the Ohio shooting. There are too many variables to create a standard procedure for cafeteria shootings, said Timothy J. Anderson, a deputy chief with the Los Angeles School Police Department. Instead, school police try to train administrators and staff to think clearly as humanly possible and to be able to make sound decisions, he said. He echoed Lewis advice: Staff and students can escape the room if possible and find cover if its not possible to get out. Lewis said schools should give students directions for survival at the beginning of the year when training them, so that they feel prepared. The same goes for teachers and administrators: Depending on the situation, an adult close to the shooter might try to take the assailant down when he or she pauses to reload, or might try to get as many students outside as possible if farther away. There are countless scenarios involving shooters, and are almost impossible to prevent; still, its statistically unlikely that any one school will face a shooter on campus, Lewis said. He admits that not all schools should adopt his plan; parents might object to talking about shootings or school danger with young children. And even with a plan in place, it would be difficult to keep track of children who are running to a designated meeting spot off campus and for them to remember those meeting spots during an emergency situation. But local schools are thinking about these possibilities more as the threats feel closer to their districts, L.A. County Supt. Arturo Delgado said. School administrators requested the training after the December shooting in San Bernardino, which prompted a districtwide school lockdown, and after L.A. Unifieds recent decision to close its schools following a potential bomb threat. Reach Sonali Kohli on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli or by email at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com. A surgeon described on Tuesday the life-saving efforts performed on a woman believed to be the lone survivor of the so-called Grim Sleeper serial killer, telling jurors that he removed a bullet from her chest when she arrived at a Los Angeles County hospital more than 27 years ago. Dr. John Robertson testified that paramedics worked to keep the blood pressure of Enietra Washington from plummeting after she was shot on Nov. 7, 1988. Robertson said he was working at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center when Washington was rushed in for treatment. See the most-read stories this hour >> Advertisement Under questioning from Deputy Dist. Atty. Beth Silverman, Robertson said Washingtons wound was consistent with her being shot as she sat in the passenger seat of a vehicle while her assailant was in the drivers seat. The testimony echoed Washingtons recounting of her ordeal last week. Washington testified she was attacked after accepting a ride from a man in an orange Ford Pinto. The man shot her as she sat in the passenger seat and forced himself on her, she recounted. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> In the downtown Los Angeles courtroom where the trial is taking place, Washington identified Lonnie Franklin, now 63, as her attacker. Prosecutors allege that Franklin, a former LAPD garage attendant, is responsible for a series of 10 slayings and the attempted murder of Washington during a period that spanned more than 20 years. He has pleaded not guilty. Jurors also heard testimony from Debra Gibson, a criminalist with the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter >> Gibson testified that she responded to the site where the body of 15-year-old Princess Berthomieux was found in 2002. Berthomieux, who had been strangled and beaten to death, had been left in an Inglewood alley. For more on the Grim Sleeper trial, follow @sjceasar ALSO San Francisco deputies charged in jail fight club case Prosecutors to consider charging anti-KKK protesters in Anaheim melee Man charged with 26 felonies in string of violent crimes across L.A. County San Bernardino County sheriffs deputies are looking for as many as four people who are suspected of hanging county law enforcement personnel in effigy, authorities said. On Feb. 18, sheriffs deputies in Twin Peaks, near Lake Arrowhead, received a call of a mannequin hanging by a rope near the road with the name of a deputy sheriff and a bulls-eye painted on it. Twin Peaks deputies responded and collected it when another mannequin was found near a school bus stop. Shortly after that, the station received a call that about five other mannequins with deputies names on them were hanging at multiple locations. Authorities found seven mannequins in the Crestline and Cedarpines Park communities, six of which had the names of current and past Twin Peaks deputies. A probation officers name was scrawled on the other. Advertisement Within a few hours, deputies identified Sarah Stewart, 36, as the person responsible, authorities said. Stewart is a known criminal in the community with ties to white supremacist gang members, according to Gil Flores, a spokesman for the Twin Peaks sheriffs office. Witnesses reported seeing Stewart loading mannequins into a U-Haul van with another suspect, Erin Elder, on the night of the incident, authorities said. Deputies arrested Stewart and Elder at a residence in the 300 block of Davos Drive in Crestline on Saturday. Stewart was arrested on suspicion of threatening an officer in order to prevent duties, criminal threats against an officer and criminal activity to promote the reputation of a street gang, authorities said. She is also being held on suspicion of cruelty to a child. Elder, 47, was arrested on suspicion of cruelty to a child. Deputies said they found methamphetamines in the home where the pair were arrested. Authorities ask that anyone with information on the other suspects call the Twin Peaks station at (909) 336-0687 or call (800) 78-CRIME. sarah.parvini@latimes.com For more local and breaking news, follow me on Twitter: @sarahparvini ALSO Ku Klux Klan without robes makes headlines, but influence fading, anti-hate group says Gunman in Prius shoots at unmarked LAPD vehicle, police say More than a third of people shot by L.A. police last year were mentally ill, LAPD report finds U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx did not mince words. The future of Los Angeles and the West looks crowded, he said, conjuring nightmarish images of gridlock in the minds of the hundreds of Angelenos. But over the course of more than three hours Monday, transit experts, business executives and policymakers such as Foxx also presented hopeful visions of an exciting and high-tech transportation future. Later in the 21st century, they said, people will sit in self-driving cars, freight will move at 750 mph though vacuum tubes, and the Los Angeles International Airport will finally connect to rail. Advertisement I think this is a decade of incredible re-imagining of our city, Mayor Eric Garcetti said. I think technology will fundamentally change how we get around. Read the latest Essential California newsletter >> The local and federal leaders came together Monday at the Mark Taper Auditorium for the latest installment of The Times California Conversation series. The event, titled The Road Ahead, thrust the experts into discussions with Times reporters in front of an audience of more than 250 people. The Road Ahead On Now California Conversation: Chris Urmson, Head of Google's Self Driving Project (Excerpt 1) On Now California Conversation: Chris Urmson, Head of Google's Self Driving Project (Excerpt 2) On Now California Conversation: Chris Urmson, Head of Google's Self Driving Project (Excerpt 3) On Now California Conversation: Chris Urmson, Head of Google's Self Driving Project (Excerpt 4) On Now California Conversation: Chris Urmson, Head of Google's Self Driving Project (Excerpt 5) On Now California Conversation: Chris Urmson, Head of Google's Self Driving Project (Excerpt 6) On Now California Conversation: U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx (Excerpt 1) On Now California Conversation: U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx (Excerpt 2) On Now California Conversation: U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx (Excerpt 3) On Now California Conversation: U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx (Excerpt 4) Many of those in attendance were locals who said they worked directly in the transportation industry or in advocacy groups that seek funding or push for policy change. Of interest to the observers: Garcetti said the citys new GoLA app, which tells smartphone users the fastest, cheapest or greenest way to get from one point to another, will soon include a system that allows users to pay for whatever transportation mode they choose to use. He confirmed that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to place a proposal on the November ballot that would seek to raise the countywide sales tax by a half-cent and extend an existing tax for almost two more decades. He promised there would be parking at some of the new Expo Line stations opening in May. Meanwhile, Metro is preparing to present a list of major highway and rail projects to its board that could be built with $100 billion to $120 billion in sales tax revenue. CEO Phil Washington said Monday that he would present the projects that represent the greatest benefit and let the politics fall where they may. I think we are at a crossroads, not just here in L.A. County but [in] the country, in terms of what to do about congestion and what to do about decaying infrastructure, he said. Do we just say were going to let congestion eat us alive? We want to try to mitigate this congestion thats out there. I say we build the infrastructure now. But much of the conversation took on a more abstract quality that at one point invoked a reference to The Jetsons for the cartoons portrayal of a future filled with flying cars and jet packs. Chris Urmson, head of Googles self driving car project, offered a presentation showing how its autonomous cars learned to avoid even the most anomalous hazards -- such as a duck in the road being chased by a person in a wheelchair. Urmson said 94% of accidents are caused by human error and argued that self-driving cars would save lives. If somebody T-bones a [self-driving] car while its going though a green light, thats probably not the cars fault, he said. Rob Lloyd, CEO of Hyperloop Technologies, then took the stage to discuss his companys plans to create a high-speed transportation system that will shuttle compartments filled with people and goods through large tubes. He said he expects the companys first project to begin next year, adding that he hoped the project would be in the L.A. region. We will not accept that its going to take 10 years to make this happen, Lloyd said. Indeed, Garcetti, Foxx and others agreed that technology will soon reshape how people get where theyre going in one of the nations most notoriously congested cities. Since the wheel, weve just been improving the technology that we control, Foxx said. And now were at a stage where now the technology can take on more of the operating tasks that we always assumed wed be doing. There are going to be close to 40 million people in the region in the years to come, Foxx said, so officials will need to keep investing in infrastructure. These are urgent issues, he said. Sometimes I feel like Noah trying to argue for building the Ark. Do we need more investment? Yes, we need much more investment. Twitter: @ByMattStevens ALSO L.A. logs its hottest February on record Passenger bus teaches Google robot car a lesson Aerojet Rocketdyne and ULA win Air Force funds to replace Russian engine Would a stay at Yosemite National Parks Ahwahnee Hotel by any other name be just as sweet? Park officials certainly hope so, as the iconic inn and several others inside the park were forced to change their names Tuesday after the National Park Service failed to reach a settlement with the hotels departing vendor. Starting Tuesday, the Ahwahnee Hotel, established in the 1920s, is now The Majestic Yosemite Hotel. The Wawona Hotel is Big Trees Lodge and Curry Village a campsite leading to Half Dome is now Half Dome Village. Yosemite Lodge at the Falls has been renamed Yosemite Valley Lodge and Badger Pass Ski Area is now the Yosemite Ski and Snowboard Area, the park announced. Advertisement Join the conversation on Facebook >> This action will not affect the historic status of the facilities, as they are still important cultural icons to the National Park Service and the public. Our stewardship of these properties is unwavering, Park Supt. Don Neubacher said in a statement announcing the changes in January. While it is unfortunate that we must take this action, changing the names of these facilities will help us provide seamless service to the American public during the transition to the new concessioner. Ahead of Tuesdays change, someone stole the historic sign for the Ahwahnee Hotel over the weekend that greets park visitors heading into the village, said park spokesman Scott Gediman. The Ahwahnee name had been connected to the park since 1927. I definitely feel like its a historical moment, he said. Theres always change but Half Dome and El Capitan are still thereYosemite is as beautiful as ever. The name changes avoid potential trademark infringement issues with the parks previous concessioner, DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite Inc., the Park Service said. The company or its predecessor had trademarked the names of the famed Yosemite attractions without the Park Services approval and says they are worth $50 million, according to the Park Service. Some signs, like Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, are simply covered with a piece of plywood with the new name printed on top of it, Gediman said. The brown metal direction signs are being covered with new ones, he said. The Park Service is fighting a trademark of the name Yosemite National Park, it said. The company that claims to own the trademark told the Times on Monday that the dispute is only over the value of the name for merchandising purposes. The new vendor, Yosemite Hospitality LLC, was selected through a bidding process that ended in June. The contract is for 15 years and gives the company management of the parks lodging, retail, recreational services and food for an estimated 4 million annual visitors, the Park Service said. For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna. ALSO Instead of record rains, L.A. gets the hottest February on record Garcetti, transit leaders envision an L.A. of self-driving cars and Hyperloop Ecstasy overdose caused death of UCLA student who went to rave at county fairgrounds He left office seven years ago, settling into a retirement of writing and painting, carefully maintaining a vow to leave politics and the conflicts of campaigning behind. But family comes first, and George W. Bush emerged from his quiet life in Dallas on Monday and returned to the political stage in South Carolina, a state that resuscitated his White House aspirations in 2000. This time he was on another rescue mission, for his younger brother, Jeb, and a once-promising candidacy now in grave peril. Advertisement The older Bush made his return less than 48 hours after the front-runner for the Republican nomination had publicly labeled him a failure and said his administration had lied about the Iraq war. Looking relaxed in slacks, an open-collar shirt and a sports coat with a Jeb Bush campaign sticker, the former president was met with roars of approval at the convention center here. He displayed the easy charm that had won him two terms, telling 3,000 supporters that his brother had the steady hand the country needed in a time of uncertainty at home and upheaval abroad. The presidency is a serious job that requires sound judgment and good ideas, and theres no doubt in my mind that Jeb Bush has the experience and the character to be a great president, Bush told the cheering crowd. He was flanked onstage by his wife, Laura, brother and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. The appearance of Bush made for a striking, perhaps unprecedented moment in campaign history; another former two-term president, Bill Clinton, will be in the state Tuesday campaigning for his wife, Hillary, in the Democratic primary, which falls seven days after the Republicans vote on Saturday. Ive seen in my brother a quiet conviction and a core conscience that cannot be shaken, and my hope is that the people of South Carolina will see this as well, he said with his trademark Texas twang. This is a serious election for a serious job, so please welcome a serious and thoughtful candidate, a good man, a man I am proud to call my big little brother Jeb Bush. Jeb Bush entered the presidential campaign determined to demonstrate that he was his own man, separate from his brother and his father, former President George H.W. Bush. But as the onetime presumed front-runner failed to gain traction with voters, he has called in his family in recent weeks to revive his efforts to set himself up as the establishment alternative to Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz. Its a recurring role for the older brother Bush tapped his fundraising base and advised Jeb Bush after his failed 1994 Florida gubernatorial bid, helping him win the seat four years later. Buoyed by the passage of time, the deeply polarizing president is the most popular he has been since leaving office. More than three-quarters of GOP voters view the nations 43rd president favorably in a November Bloomberg poll. But his legacy remains fiercely disputed. In Saturday nights GOP debate in Greenville, S.C., Trump called him a liar who failed to keep the nation safe, could have prevented the Sept. 11 attacks and destabilized the Middle East by invading Iraq charges he repeated during a news conference Monday in Hanahan, S.C. The audience at the debate loudly booed Trump for disparaging Bush. Bush did not address Trumps criticism, but he did recount the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, when he learned of the attack while listening to a child read at a Florida elementary school. He did not directly denounce any of his brothers GOP rivals, or Democrats. But he appeared to allude to Trump as he addressed the qualities voters should look for as they elect a new president. These are tough times. I understand Americans are angry and frustrated, but we do not need someone in the Oval Office who mirrors and inflames our anger and frustration, he said. We need someone who can fix the problems that cause our anger and frustration, and thats Jeb Bush. Barry Wynn, a trust company owner who attended the rally, said he is a longtime fan of the Bush family. I love the family and I admire them a lot and I just think Jeb would be a great president. Hes got the background, said the 69-year-old Spartanburg, S.C., resident. This marshy state, with a large military presence and veteran population, revived Bushs presidential campaign in 2000 amid false smears spread by Bush allies that rival John McCain had fathered a black child out of wedlock. (The Arizona senator and his wife adopted a daughter from Bangladesh.) Southerners, especially South Carolinians, we like to take care of our own. We feel as though we have some ownership of George W.'s political success, said Hogan Gidley, a GOP strategist in Columbia, S.C., who is neutral in the campaign. We helped him resurrect his campaign to the nomination here in South Carolina, so hes one of ours. Leigh Ann Gailes, 55, said Bushs speech resonated with her. He stirs you and I really do appreciate that he was my president, said the veteran and travel nurse who lives in Charleston. Bush met with veterans and Gov. Nikki Haley earlier in the day in Columbia. He had cut radio ads and headlined closed-door fundraisers for Jeb Bush before making this public appearance. The former president has said previously he didnt believe it was appropriate for him to insert himself into affairs of state, and preferred spending his days in Dallas working for wounded veterans and taking up his new avocation of oil painting. Ive been kind of quiet in the public square. Eight years in the limelight was plenty. Laura and I are really happy in what she has described as the afterlife, Bush said. His disappearance also reflected the reality that voters viewed him as a pariah in the immediate aftermath of his two terms, when the nation was struggling through an economic recession. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> He has gone out of his way to avoid being in the limelight because he didnt think that was his place, but when your brother is running for the leader of the free world, you make an exception, said Reed Galen, a Republican strategist who worked on both of Bushs presidential campaigns and in his administration. If hes the biggest gun you have in your arsenal, theres no reason not to roll him out now. Bush displayed the folksy charm he is known for and his brother is not recalling campaigning in South Carolina and making self-deprecating jokes about himself. He noted that he wrote two books since leaving office, surprising those who thought he couldnt read. Ive been misunderestimated most of my life, Bush said, repeating a Bush-ism from a 2000 speech. seema.mehta@latimes.com Twitter: @LATSeema ALSO How Carly Fiorina lost the moment and the momentum in Iowa That blockbuster California ballot will be a $452-million battle Donald Trump attacks Jeb Bush in personal terms, as death of Scalia hangs over GOP debate Interrupted by jeers from observers, one of Pope Francis top advisors on Tuesday denied an accusation that his testimony to an inquiry into child sex abuse was an attempt to deflect blame for the Catholic Church transferring Australias worst pedophile priest from parish to parish. Australian Cardinal George Pell was a priest in the 1970s in the town of Ballarat where he advised Bishop Ronald Mulkearns about the placement of priests within the diocese. Pell, now the popes top financial advisor, told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that he had no idea that priest Gerald Ridsdale was repeatedly transferred by the bishop for more than a decade because of pedophile accusations. Advertisement Pell rejected an accusation made by the lead counsel assisting the commission, Gail Furness, that his answers were designed to remove his own responsibility for Ridsdales crimes. My answers were designed to answer your questions accurately and completely, Pell told the Sydney inquiry via videolink from a Rome hotel. Asked if he accepted any responsibility for Ridsdales repeated transfers within the Ballarat diocese, Pell replied: No, I dont. The Royal Commission which is Australias highest form of investigation is looking into how Pell dealt with abuse allegations as a priest, educator and advisor to Mulkearns, as well as how the Melbourne archdiocese responded to allegations of abuse, including when Pell served as a Melbourne auxiliary bishop. Tuesday was the second day of evidence for the 74-year-old cleric, who because of ill health could not travel to Australia to give evidence in person at the inquiry into decades of child abuse. On Monday, Pell dubbed Mulkearns handling of Ridsdale a catastrophe for the church. He said Mulkearns was a prime candidate for the Vaticans proposed tribunal for negligent bishops, although there is no indication the elderly Mulkearns would stand trial by the time the tribunal is operational. Commission chairman Peter McClellan asked Pell on Tuesday whether it was surprising that he hadnt heard rumors about the scandal Ridsdale had created in the diocese. Not necessarily, given the work I was doing, Pell said. I wasnt working full-time in the diocese. Furness said that as an advisor to the bishop one of a group of Ballarat priests known as the College of Consultors Pell should have questioned why Ridsdale was frequently transferred. I was happy to take the bishops word that it was appropriate for him to be shifted, Pell said. Gentle and euphemistic language was regularly used by Bishop Mulkearns on these occasions, so that some of us were kept in the dark, he said. NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >> Pell accompanied Ridsdale to court in 1993 when the pedophile faced his first child molesting charges. He was convicted in 1993, 2006 and 2013 with sexually abusing more than 50 children. Pell told the Royal Commission Mulkearns refusal to act on the allegations against Ridsdale was extraordinary. Unfortunately, I would have to say that I cant nominate another bishop whose actions are so grave and inexplicable, Pell said. Pell agreed with McClellan that even if a priest did not have a legal responsibility to stop Ridsdales crimes, a priest would have a moral responsibility to do whatever he could to prevent such abuses. I think that is a reasonable proposition, Pell said. The Royal Commission in December accepted medical advice that 85-year-old Mulkearns was dying and was unfit to testify. He was Ballarats bishop from 1971 until he retired in 1997. The bishops former advisor, priest John McKinnon, told the Royal Commission in December that Mulkearns was profoundly sorry for relocating suspected pedophile priests, but could no longer remember details. Ballarat, Pells hometown, has been devastated by disclosures about the huge number of abuse victims, scores of whom killed themselves in a cluster of abuse-related suicides. Two dozen Australian abuse survivors and their companions traveled across the globe to witness Pells testimony in a hotel conference room, a significant show of accountability in the churchs long-running abuse saga. Pell said priests didnt discuss with him the allegations against Ridsdale. Pells testimony was interrupted by jeers from the public gallery as he explained the moral framework in which priests live. We work within a framework of Christian moral teaching, or certainly we should, and discussion of the secret faults of others is not encouraged, Pell said. Furness told Pell that Ridsdales crimes were not secret, since they were common knowledge in the towns of Apollo Bay and Inglewood where Ridsdale had been the parish priest and police had reported their suspicions to the church. Pell said he had not known the sexual abuse was common knowledge in Inglewood. I didnt know whether it was common knowledge or whether it wasnt. Its a sad story and it wasnt of much interest to me, Pell said, bringing audible gasps and jeers from the public gallery. Andrew Collins, a clergy abuse victim from Ballarat, said outside the Rome hotel that he found Pells denials of any knowledge of pedophilia allegations against Ridsdale absolutely unbelievable. Hes always been seen as an ambitious man and ambitious people have knowledge. They crave knowledge, Collins told reporters. They know everything thats going on and he wouldnt be in the position he was today if he was the sort of person who sat back and didnt pay attention to what was going on, he added. Before Pells testimony on Tuesday, he told reporters: Ive got the full backing of the pope. The Vatican said a private audience Pell had with the pope on Monday was a long-scheduled appointment related to Pells duties as Holy See finance minister, and had nothing to do with the abuse hearings. Pell will testify for a third four-hour session late on Tuesday Rome time. ALSO Pentagon chief to appeal to Silicon Valley for help with cybersecurity Why Super Tuesday is so important to the presidential candidates in both parties Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas asks questions in court for first time in 10 years The heated dispute over the FBI effort to force Apple to help unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino killers moved Tuesday to Capitol Hill, where lawmakers appear deeply divided on the issue. FBI Director James B. Comey and Apples general counsel, Bruce Sewell, both testified at a crowded House Judiciary Committee hearing on encryption and the balance between privacy and national security. Comey warned that public safety may suffer if Apple and other Silicon Valley companies can defy court-ordered warrants to cooperate with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. Advertisement Join the conversation on Facebook >> If there are warrant-proof spaces in American life, what does that mean? And what are the consequences of that? Comey asked. Comey denied Sewells claim that the FBI is asking for a backdoor key to open Apple devices, insisting the California case is focused only on a single iPhone 5c. There is already a door on the iPhone, he said, referred to the encrypted password. We are asking Apple to take the vicious guard dog away and let us pick the lock. The FBI wants Apple to write software that would turn off a security feature designed to wipe out data if 10 incorrect attempts are made to enter the password. Once those settings are disabled, the FBI would then try passwords until the phone unlocks. The hearing convened a day after Apple won a major federal court ruling in New York, a ruling that could affect the San Bernardino case, as well as potential legislation in Congress. In Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein said he did not have the authority to order Apple to disable security on a iPhone used by a drug dealer who had pleaded guilty in a methamphetamine distribution case. Across the country in Riverside, Apple is fighting U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pyms order to write software so FBI technicians can unlock a work phone used by Syed Rizwan Farook. He and his wife killed 14 people on Dec. 2 at the Inland Regional Center. Its unclear if any useful evidence exists on Farooks phone. The FBI insists it might hold clues to the couples location, contacts and communications before the attack. The debate has created unusual alliances in Congress, as libertarian Republicans have lined up with civil liberties Democrats to support Apple stand on privacy. But it also has aligned national security hawks in both parties, who warn that law enforcement will be blocked from accessing evidence in terrorism and criminal cases unless high tech companies are forced to cooperate. The divide was clear from the start of Tuesdays hearing when Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he once led efforts to prevent law enforcement from getting a backdoor key to commercial encryption, allowing U.S. companies to thrive and keep the market from heading overseas. But now, he said, the use of stronger encryption and other new tech tools by those intending harm to the American people is outpacing law enforcements technological capability to access those communications in legitimate criminal and national security investigations. We must find a way for physical security not to be at odds with information security, Goodlatte said. Law enforcement must be able to fight crime and keep us safe, and this countrys innovative companies must at the same time have the opportunity to offer secure services to keep our customers safe. The question over how to balance privacy and security is too complex to be left to the courts and must be answered by Congress, Goodlatte said. But the top Democrat on the committee, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), warned that the FBI may be using the San Bernardino case to win public sympathy and change the law. I would be deeply disappointed if it turns out that the government is found to be exploiting a national tragedy to pursue a change in the law, he said. This case appears to be little more than an end run around this committee, Conyers said. In testimony submitted before Tuesdays hearing, Sewell argued that the FBI is asking for a back door into the iPhone specifically to build a software tool that can break the encryption system which protects personal information on every iPhone. Weakening encryption, he said, will only hurt consumers and other well-meaning users who rely on companies like Apple to protect their personal information. In court papers, Justice Department lawyers have argued that they are asking Apple to write software only for the one phone, not for all iPhones, and that the company would still control the software, not the government. Manhattan Dist. Atty. Cyrus Vance Jr., who also will testify at the hearing, said in a statement submitted to the committee that his office has 175 Apple devices in its forensics lab that investigators cant open. It is important to recognize that 95% of all criminal prosecutions in this country are handled at the state and local level, and that Apples switch to default encryption in the fall of 2014 severely harms many of these prosecutions, Vance wrote. Vance has given lawmakers proposed legislation that would require companies to design their products so police and prosecutors can read locked data subject to a search warrant. Lawmakers are split over whether the government should be able to force tech companies to weaken security features meant to protect customers private data. A bill being drafted by Sen. Richard M. Burr (R-N.C.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the panels top Democrat, would penalize companies that dont comply with court orders to help authorities crack encrypted devices. No ones above the law in this country; no company, no individual, no organization, Feinstein said last week after Apple said it would fight the court order. All the FBI is asking them to do is cooperate and do their best to help. Apple supports a competing proposal that would create a blue-ribbon commission to study encryption and privacy concerns, and then make recommendations to Congress. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, introduced a bill Monday to create the National Commission on Digital Security. It would include tech executives, privacy advocates, law enforcement officials and academics. Rep. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a privacy hawk who has repeatedly sought to push back on government surveillance, is backing Apple. He says the FBI attempt to force the company to bypass encryption will allow hackers to break in as well. Encrypted devices made overseas would quickly replace smartphones made by Apple and other American companies, he warned. The FBI request, he said in a statement, is wrong from a security standpoint, wrong from a liberty standpoint, and wrong from an economic standpoint. Google, Facebook, Verizon and Yahoo are among the tech and telecom companies drafting briefs in support of Apple. U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym has scheduled a hearing March 22 at the federal court in Riverside. brian.bennett@latimes.com Follow me @ByBrianBennett on Twitter See more of our top stories on Facebook >> MORE ON APPLE VS. FBI Apple wins a round in fight over accessing locked iPhones in criminal investigations The federal government is fighting Apple for something the police want too Apples Tim Cook to shareholders: Taking on the FBI is the right thing to do Growing up in Montgomery, Ala., Gregory Gunn was raised with a healthy respect for law enforcement. His father was one of the first black men to be sworn into the citys police force. All of which makes his death fatally shot by a white police officer as he walked to his mothers home on a recent morning that much harder for those who knew him to accept. His family and former neighbors in Mobile Heights, a tightknit African American neighborhood in Montgomery, said they were struggling to make sense of his death, and the case is being investigated by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Advertisement On Monday, state Rep. Alvin Holmes, whose district is in Montgomery, said he and the Gunns attorney were drafting a letter to send to U.S. Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch, requesting that the Justice Department assign a special investigator to conduct a full inquiry. We want police officers to maintain peace in the community, not shoot someone down simply because they are walking down the street, Holmes said. We dont think the state of Alabama is going to do anything other than whitewash. Holmes said he thought the officer should be brought before a grand jury and indicted on a first-degree murder charge. At about 11 p.m. Wednesday, Gunn walked to a friends house for a neighborhood game of cards after his shift at a grocery store, said Tyrone C. Means, the Gunn familys attorney. Sometime after 3 a.m. Thursday, he headed to his mothers home about 600 feet away, Means said. ------------ For the Record, March 3, 11:25 a.m.: In an earlier version of this story, an attorney speaking for Gunns family said the man worked at a Winn-Dixie grocery store. The grocer says he did not. ------------ A lone officer, A.C. Smith, who was conducting a routine patrol in the neighborhood, pursued him. Police officials said there had been an upsurge in burglaries 23 in just two monthsin the Mobile Heights neighborhood. According to a Montgomery police statement, Smith approached a suspicious person and a struggle ensued. Means said he had not been told the nature of the suspicious activity. According to Means, witnesses reported that at the time of the shooting, Gunn was knocking on the window of a neighbors house, pleading for help. His neighbor said he called out four or five times, Means said. He could hear the fear in his voice. The neighbor instructed his wife to call police and then opened his front door, Means said. He saw the police, and he saw his friend on the ground. Gunn was pronounced dead by 3:35 a.m. Smith, who has worked for the Montgomery Police Department for four years, had no prior record of misconduct. He has been put on administrative leave, a routine procedure. We dont believe that there was any justification for the police officer to even engage Mr. Gunn, let alone get out of his car and chase him and take his life, Means said. Witnesses reported hearing five shots, Means said. Montgomery officials did not say how many shots had been fired, noting that the case and evidence had been turned over to the State Bureau of Investigation. Some in the community, however, are suspicious of local and state officials. In 1975, Montgomery police officers shot an African American man named Bernard Whitehurst, mistakenly believing he was the suspect in the robbery of a grocery store. Officers then reportedly planted a gun on him and claimed he had fired shots. The shooting death ignited a scandal that roiled the city, ultimately causing the resignation of the mayor and police chief. Last year, Montgomery officials erected a marker in Whitehursts name on the street where he was gunned down, and formally apologized. Gunn, 59, was recently divorced and living with his 87-year-old widowed mother, providing care and financial support. She is taking it very badly, Means said. Her son was suddenly snatched from her. At a news conference Monday, Mayor Todd Strange urged the community to have patience. We pledge to you that we will do our best, and that the full truth, and nothing but the truth, comes out, Strange said. Wherever that truth leads to, whatever factual situation it presents, we will in fact act as strongly and as judiciously as we can. During the news conference, Gunns brother, Franklin Gunn, requested five minutes of silence for his brother before angrily calling on the mayor and police chief to resign. Another speaker, who identified himself as one of Gunns friends, urged the Police Department to withdraw all white police officers from black neighborhoods. We want all white police officers to be taken out of our community, he said. We dont trust them. We dont trust you all. Strange, who is white, tried to convince the crowd that the city had changed, distinguishing between the Montgomery of yesterday and Montgomery of today. This is our Montgomery, Strange said. Were better than erasing tapes. Were better than trying and convicting someone in their frontyard. Lets not tear down the bridges weve built. This is a defining moment for us. Jarvie is a special correspondent In a vast region of Texas that is larger than California, the Supreme Court was recently told, no doctors or health clinics would be licensed to perform abortions if the state is allowed to enforce stringent new medical regulations. So, are these regulations a valid means to increase the health and safety of abortion patients, as the state maintains, or an unconstitutional scheme to deprive millions of Texas women access to legal abortion? NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >> Advertisement That is the question before the Supreme Court on Wednesday in a case that may be reshaped by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia was the courts fiercest critic of the Roe vs. Wade ruling that established a right to abortion. He would have been a strong voice in favor of giving states more leeway to limit the procedure. Without him, however, it is highly doubtful the Texas case will yield a broad conservative ruling that gives states a green light to adopt ever-stricter restrictions on abortion. The outcome still turns on Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who has been both a steady critic of abortion and a key defender of the principle that women have a right to decide for themselves whether to end an early pregnancy. In June, Kennedy joined with the courts four liberals to bar Texas from fully enforcing the law while the justices considered an appeal from abortion-rights advocates. But in the courts last abortion ruling, Kennedy wrote the 5-4 opinion in 2007 that upheld a federal ban on so-called partial-birth abortions. The two key regulations at issue now require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital and to work in clinics that meet the standards of an outpatient surgical center. Prior to 2013, Texas carefully regulated and inspected abortion providers. Doctors needed transfer agreements with hospitals if a medical emergency arose, and clinics that performed abortions after 16 weeks of a pregnancy had to meet the standards of a surgical center. The new state law, HB 2, extended both regulations so that, for example, a woman seeking an early abortion using medication must go to a surgical center to take the pills. And for women in western Texas who seek an abortion, that could mean driving 300 miles to a clinic in Ft. Worth or Dallas, said Amy Hagstrom Miller, the president of Whole Womans Health who led the suit challenging the law. We had a call from a working mother of three from the Lubbock area. And she asked, How can I make a 600-mile trip with three kids? Miller said. And because the law includes mandatory waiting periods, the woman would have to spend several days in Ft. Worth. This is not about safety, Miller said. Leading medical experts, including the American Medical Assn., the America College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Family Physicians, strongly urged the court to reject the Texas regulations as unneeded and potentially harmful. Early abortions are one of the safest medical procedures performed in the United States, they told the court. Neither requirement [in the Texas law] is supported by accepted medical practice or scientific evidence. No woman died in Texas from an abortion in the four years prior to the state adopting its new law, they said. Abortion-rights advocates, citing similar data, said a woman in Texas is currently 100 times more likely to die from carrying a pregnancy to term than from having an abortion in a licensed abortion facility. They say many abortion providers in communities outside the major cities cannot afford the multimillion-dollar cost of expanding their facilities to meet the standards of an outpatient surgical center. Texas had 40 abortion providers several years ago, but expects to have 10 or fewer, all in the major metro areas, if the new law is fully enforced. For their part, Texas state lawyers say the justices should defer to the state Legislature. Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller said lawmakers aim was to ensure patient safety and raise standards of care. Those challenging the law have nothing close to the clearest proof needed to show that the legislatures stated purpose is a sham, wrote Keller, who served as a law clerk for Kennedy six years ago. He said Texas legislators were motivated to act after Dr. Kermit Gosnell was tried and convicted of criminal negligence and murder in Philadelphia for botched abortions in 2011. If Kennedy votes with the three conservative justices to uphold the Texas law, the court would likely be split 4-4 and unable to issue an opinion. If so, the court may issue a one-line order that affirms on a tie vote the ruling of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the Texas law. Such a move does not set a legal precedent, but it would allow Texas to enforce its law. Twitter: @DavidGSavage ALSO Supreme Court agrees to hear biggest abortion case in two decades Op-Ed: Sandra Day OConnor and the fate of abortion rights Pope opens the door to contraception in averting harmful effects of Zika virus A 14-year-old boy pulled out a gun in a school cafeteria Monday and opened fire, hitting two students, authorities said. He was apprehended nearby with the help of a police dog. Two additional Madison Local Schools students were injured, possibly from shrapnel or from running away. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, said Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones. Jones said the 14-year-old was a student and there was a motive in the shooting, which he did not identify. The boy was charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, inducing panic and making terrorist threats, Jones said. Advertisement Join the conversation on Facebook >> Students were eating in the cafeteria when the shooting happened about 11:30 a.m., Jones said. Afterward, classmates described a chaotic scene where they werent sure what was happening. Thirteen-year-old Shelby Kinnin said she heard a couple of bangs and realized she was near the shooter. I didnt really know it was gunshots until I looked over and a kid was grabbing his leg and falling over, she said. Many people ran and the shooter went out a door, she said. She recognized him as a boy who was in a class with her last year, though she wasnt sure of his name. Her stepmother, Stephanie Kinnin, said it was unnerving to see emergency responders swarm the school. There is no feeling like that in the world, she said. But my eyes found the children walking out looking for parents, and that was heartbreaking. Their eyes just told the story. The students who were shot were 14 and 15 years old and were taken to a hospital, where they were in stable condition, investigators said. A 14-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl were also injured, though it was unclear how, Jones said. We dont know if it was from the shooting or from exiting the school or because of the shrapnel from the bullets hitting into that small of an area, Jones said. Students who were in the cafeteria at the time said they didnt immediately recognize the sounds as gunshots. Some students ran outside to a field before being brought back inside. A sheriffs deputy stationed in the school had just been in the cafeteria, Jones said. All other students were safe, according to the school website. The school, which had practiced for such an event, immediately went into lockdown, said district spokeswoman A.J. Huff. The campus is near Middletown, roughly 30 miles north of Cincinnati. State records show enrollment of about 250 junior high and 500 high school students. ALSO Salt Lake City police battle rock-throwers after shooting Pentagon worker admits killing his wife and shooting three police officers Kansas town, company mourn victims of workplace shooting: We are like a family For most folks, this is just another Tuesday. But in the world of politics, this is Super Tuesday, the biggest day of balloting in the 2016 presidential race. Voters in a dozen states will turn out for primaries and caucuses, allotting a generous share of the delegates who will decide which candidates carry the Democratic and Republican banners into the fall campaign. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the Democratic and GOP front-runners, respectively, are poised for big nights. They start out with a considerable advantage, each having won three of the first four contests. Advertisement TRAIL GUIDE: All the latest news on the 2016 presidential campaign >> The polls start closing at 4 p.m. Pacific time, and results will roll in East to West throughout the night and, depending on how the counting goes, into early Wednesday. Here are five things to watch for: Can Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont significantly cut Clintons delegate lead? The two candidates are not all that far apart in their share of pledged delegates. But Clinton opens up a huge advantage when adding in the super delegates, or party leaders, who have given the former secretary of State their support. If Clinton leads by 100 or more delegates after Tuesday, it will be exceedingly difficult for Sanders to overtake her in the remaining contests, because Democrats award their delegates on a proportional, rather than winner-take-all, basis. He may stay in the race for some time. But his only hope of wresting the nomination from Clinton would be one blowout win after another, which seems unlikely. Can Sanders break through among black voters? Seven of the Super Tuesday contests will take place in the South, in states with substantial African American populations. In her crushing South Carolina victory Saturday, Clinton won the votes of nearly 9 in 10 black voters. Some of the earliest returns Tuesday will come from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Virginia. The results in those states, and exit polls giving an insight into the black vote, will indicate what kind of night its going to be for Sanders and Clinton. Beyond that, it could also signal the candidates respective strength heading into future contests, including primaries in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio, where the African American vote will be significant. Trump leads the polls in all the biggest contests save Texas, where Sen. Ted Cruz is favored to carry his home state. The question is whether two other rivals, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, can avoid a Super Tuesday shutout. Both their strategies are predicated on surviving Tuesday and winning once the race gets to their respective home states for winner-take-all contests on March 15. A big Trump win Tuesday would not only pad his already substantial delegate lead but also raise serious doubts about the viability of Rubio and Kasich, who have yet to win a state. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> If they lose to Trump, can his rivals at least keep it somewhat close? Several states, including Texas and Georgia, require candidates to win a minimum of 20% of the vote to qualify for delegates. My big question is, do other candidates add up to more or less delegates than Trump? said David Wasserman, a campaign analyst with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. If more, odds of a contested convention increase. Whither Ted Cruz? If he fails to win Texas, his campaign is finished. But how does he fare among evangelical voters elsewhere across the South, the most religious part of the country? Christian conservatives powered Cruz to victory in the Iowa caucuses, Trumps only defeat. Since then, however, evangelical voters have favored the businessman over the senator, despite Cruzs explicit appeals and consistently conservative stance on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. Take away that base of support and Cruz is left with very little. mark.barabak@latimes.com Twitter: @markzbarabak ALSO A complete breakdown of how delegates are awarded See how much you remember from last week in politics All of Californias voters are now in one online database Super Tuesday offers the opportunity for presidential candidates to leverage momentum from the early-nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada into a more valuable currency: delegates. For Republicans, about a quarter of the 2,472 convention delegates will be decided on this single night. On the Democratic side, more than 1,000 delegates are at stake as Hillary Clinton looks to build an insurmountable advantage over Bernie Sanders. How does it all work? Warning: Math lies ahead. In general, both parties award delegates similarly. In each state, one chunk of delegates will be divided among the candidates based on the popular vote, and another based on the results in individual congressional districts. Some state Republican parties have established minimum thresholds a candidate needs either statewide or in a congressional district to be awarded delegates. Some set a trigger point at which one candidate wins them all. Democrats are simpler. They dont have minimum thresholds, though they also differ from Republicans by weighting congressional districts instead of awarding the same number to each. SIGN UP for our free Essential Politics newsletter >> A breakdown of how Super Tuesdays delegates will be awarded and what to look for as polls close: Alabama Polls close: 5 p.m. PST Republicans Delegates at stake: 50 How it works: Twenty-six delegates will be awarded proportionally among candidates receiving more than 20% of the statewide vote. Should one candidate win more than half the vote, he would claim all 26 delegates. Three more delegates will be awarded in each of the states seven congressional districts with the same criteria typically two delegates for the winner and one for the second-place finisher. 2012 result: Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania won 35% of the vote, while ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich barely beat former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for second place. Who has a 2016 advantage? There has been a dearth of reliable public polling. Donald Trump rolled out his first Senate endorsement here Sunday, appearing with Jeff Sessions of Alabama. Democrats Pledged delegates at stake: 53 2008 winner: Obama Alaska caucuses (Republicans only) Polls close: 9 p.m. PST Delegates at stake: 28 How it works: Twenty-five delegates will be awarded proportionally to each candidate who receives at least 13% of the vote, based on the statewide preference poll results. The three other delegates are the elected state party leaders. 2012 result: Romney won a close three-way race with 33%, over Santorum at 29% and former Rep. Ron Paul at 24%. 2016 advantage: There has been no public polling and no candidates made the trek here. Trump already has the endorsement of former Gov. Sarah Palin. Arkansas Polls close: 5:30 p.m. PST Republicans Delegates at stake: 40 How it works: Any candidate receiving 15% of the vote will receive at least one at-large delegate. If any candidate wins 50% of the vote, he would receive all of the remaining at-large delegates. If no candidate reaches 50%, then the pool of at-large delegates is split proportionately among each candidate who surpassed 15% of the vote. In each of the state's four congressional districts, the winner receives two delegates and the runner-up one, unless the winner got more than half the vote, in which case he would win all three delegates. The three other delegates are the elected state party leaders. 2012 result: Romney won easily in the May 22 primary, at which point he had already become the presumptive nominee. 2016 advantage: There have been no public polls in the state. The daughter of former Gov. Mike Huckabee has signed on to Trumps campaign as an advisor. The sitting governor, Asa Hutchinson, endorsed Rubio. Democrats Pledged delegates at stake: 32 2008 winner: Clinton Colorado (Democrats only) Polls close: 6 p.m. PST Pledged delegates at stake: 66 2008 winner: Obama Georgia Polls close: 4 p.m. PST Republicans Delegates at stake: 76 How it works: Thirty-one delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate receiving more than a fifth of the statewide vote. But if any candidate wins more than half the vote, he gets all 31. The winner in each of the state's 14 congressional districts will earn two delegates, and the second-place finisher will win one, unless one candidate wins more than 50% in a district. The remaining three delegates are the elected state party leaders the chairman, national committeeman and national committeewoman. Live coverage from the campaign trail and Super Tuesday results >> 2012 result: Gingrich won 47% of the vote in his home state for his second state victory in the cycle, along with South Carolina. Eventual nominee Romney placed second with 26% of the vote, finishing ahead of Santorum, who was at nearly 20%. 2016 advantage: Trump. No public poll has showed another candidate leading here this year. An NBC News/Marist poll showed him at 30%, with Rubio and Cruz tied at 23%. Democrats Pledged delegates at stake: 102 2008 winner: Clinton Massachusetts Polls close: 5 p.m. PST Republicans Delegates at stake: 42 How it works: Twelve delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate receiving more than 5% of the statewide vote. The same applies to each of the nine congressional districts, which each award three delegates. The other three delegates are the elected state party leaders. 2012 result: Favorite son Romney romped here on a night that helped cement his hold on the nomination. 2016 advantage: Trump appears to be the clear leader here based on public polls. Ohio Gov. John Kasich had initially hoped to put in a strong showing, given the amount of time he had spent campaigning in nearby New Hampshire. Democrats Pledged delegates at stake: 91 2008 winner: Clinton Minnesota caucuses Polls close: 6 p.m. PST Republicans Delegates at stake: 38 How it works: Eleven at-large delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate receiving 10% of the statewide vote, and three more delegates from each of the eight congressional districts will be awarded on a similar basis. If any candidate receives more than 85% of the statewide vote, he would receive 35 delegates. The final three delegates are elected state party leaders. 2012 result: Santorum won the caucuses with 45% of the vote. Paul finished second with 27%, followed by Romney at 17%. 2016 advantage: Unclear. The last public poll conducted by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, in January, showed Rubio with a slight lead. Rubio will campaign here Tuesday and has endorsements from the states leading Republicans, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and ex-Sen. Norm Coleman. Democrats Pledged delegates at stake: 77 2008 winner: Obama Oklahoma Polls close: 5 p.m. PST Republicans Delegates at stake: 43 How it works: Twenty-five delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate receiving more than 15% of the statewide vote, unless one candidate has more than 50%, in which case he wins all 25. In each of the state's five congressional districts, three delegates will be awarded proportionally to candidates with 15% of the vote, unless, again, one has more than 50% of the vote in that district. If three candidates get 15% of the vote in a congressional district, each receives one delegate. The three other delegates are the elected state party leaders. 2012 result: Santorum won with 34% of the vote; Romney edged Gingrich for second place by fewer than 2,000 votes. 2016 advantage: Oklahoma offers perhaps the best chance for Cruz outside of his home state of Texas. A Sooner poll, conducted in early February, had Trump leading Cruz by 5 points, and Rubio just behind. Democrats Pledged delegates at stake: 38 2008 winner: Clinton Tennessee Polls close: 5 p.m. PST Republicans Delegates at stake: 58 How it works: Twenty-eight delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate receiving more than 20% of the statewide vote. If one candidate has more than 66% of the vote, he wins all 28 at-large delegates. Three delegates will be awarded in each of the nine congressional districts as follows: a candidate wins all three delegates if he wins 66% of the vote; if the winner and runner-up both have 20% to 66% of the vote, the winner receives two delegates and the runner-up gets one. The three other delegates are the elected state party leaders. 2012 result: Santorum won with 37% of the vote, while Romney earned 28% and Gingrich 24%. 2016 advantage: Rubio scored an endorsement from two-term Gov. Bill Haslam last week, and Sen. Lamar Alexander this weekend. But an NBC News survey showed Trump leading with 40% and Cruz in second place at 19%. Democrats Pledged delegates at stake: 67 2008 winner: Clinton Texas Republicans Polls close: 6 p.m. PST Delegates at stake: 155 How it works: Forty-four delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate receiving more than 20% of the statewide vote. Should one candidate win more than half the vote, which is unlikely, he would claim all 44. Three other delegates will be awarded in each of the states 36 congressional districts with the same criteria typically two delegates for the first-place finisher and one for the second-place finisher. 2012 result: Mitt Romney trounced in the Lone Star State, because the primary came in late May after he had essentially clinched the nomination. 2016 advantage: Texas is one of the nights biggest question marks. Most polls have shown home-state Sen. Ted Cruz in the lead, but Donald Trump is within striking distance. Ironically, Rubio might be hoping for a Trump win here, because it would probably push Cruz out of the race and perhaps set up a one-on-one fight going forward. Democrats Pledged delegates at stake: 222 2008 winner: Clinton Vermont Polls close: 4 p.m. PST Republicans Delegates at stake: 16 How it works: Ten at-large delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate receiving more than 20% of the statewide vote, unless one candidate receives a majority. Three more congressional district delegates will be awarded on the same basis. The final three delegates are the elected state party leaders. 2012 result: Romney won nearly 40% of the vote as part of a clean sweep of New England. Paul edged Santorum for second. 2016 advantage: The only public poll conducted here showed Trump in the lead. Kasich campaigned here in hopes of a New Hampshire spillover effect. Democrats Pledged delegates at stake: 16 2008 winner: Obama Virginia Polls close: 4 p.m. PST Republicans Delegates at stake: 49 How it works: Thirteen at-large delegates and three delegates from each of the 11 congressional districts will be awarded to all candidates proportionally. A final three delegates are the elected state party leaders. 2012 result: Only two of the candidates qualified for the ballot that year: Romney and Paul. Romney won 59.5% to 40.5%. 2016 advantage: Northern Virginia is home to many members of what you might call the Washington establishment, who wont be happy with the result here. Trump again has lead in public polling a Monmouth survey showed him at 41%, followed by Rubio at 27% and Cruz at 14%. Democrats Pledged delegates at stake: 95 2008 winner: Obama For more campaign coverage and delegate math, follow @mikememoli With five Super Tuesday wins under his belt and more still possible, Donald Trump brushed off new concerns about a fractured Republican Party and said he was ready to take the fight to Hillary Clinton if she's even allowed to run. "Believe me: I am a unifier," Trump told reporters. "We are going to be a much finer party. We're going to be a unified party. We're going to be a much bigger party. Our party is expanding." Trump opted for a prime-time news conference in an opulent ballroom of the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., instead of a traditional election-night rally. And over the course of more than 30 minutes, the billionaire GOP front-runner opined on rival Marco Rubio "He's nasty" and brushed off the controversy over David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan "I disavowed! How many times are you supposed to disavow?" He reiterated his signature pledge to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border: "This is going to be a very serious wall," but insisted he still got along great with Latinos. And as he has done for months, he railed against policies that he said have boosted foreign economies instead of this country's vowing to make Apple produce computers and iPhones here all while insisting he had the temperament to lead the country. "I'm going to get along with the world," he said. Trump was introduced by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie but there was not, as had been reported and speculated, an endorsement from Florida Gov. Rick Scott. Even as Trump insisted he was growing, not fracturing, the party, he was hardly receptive to its leaders. On House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, he said he was sure they would get along great. "And if I don't, hes going to have to pay a big price," he said. Ultimately, though, Trump said Republicans would realize he stood the best chance of beating Clinton. "'Make America great again' is going to be much better than making America whole again," he said, referring to the Democratic front-runner's remarks earlier in the night. In 2007, my organization produced a documentary called Hillary: The Movie and tried to put it on TV. The name of our nonprofit? Citizens United. Our name, of course, has become synonymous with the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that followed in 2010. And ever since it unfairly has become the boogeyman of liberal politicians, blamed for opening the floodgates to excesses of money in elections. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders say opposing Citizens United should be a litmus test for the next Supreme Court justice, and both support a constitutional amendment to overturn it. To me, however, the decision represented then and now a sweeping victory against government censorship of free speech, especially political speech. Advertisement Simply put, since the Citizens United decision there is more free speech in America -- and, importantly, no evidence that corporations have been able to buy an election. People upset by the repercussions of Citizens United might blame me, or maybe Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion. But they should turn their gaze to filmmaker Michael Moore. In June 2004 a presidential election year he released Fahrenheit 9/11. That documentary produced and promoted with corporate money made a tremendous impact in the run-up to election day. TV was filled with ads for the film, which made President George W. Bush look ridiculous in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. That inspired me to produce conservative films. But when I made Hillary: The Movie in 2008, the Federal Election Commission argued that, unlike Moores film, it was a form of electioneering and that I couldnt show it during an election season the very time that free speech matters most. Under the McCain-Feingold campaign finance laws, the government could actually have thrown me in jail for showing Hillary: The Movie or its promotional ads on television. Our case focused narrowly on making Hillary: The Movie available as video-on-demand. But the justices rightly looked at the bigger picture. If federal election laws could be used to prevent my nonprofit organization from advertising or distributing our movie, what was to prevent other forms of speech with corporate ties books from publishing houses, DVDs from film studios from being limited during an election cycle if they mentioned or favored a political candidate? Its worth remembering that during the first round of oral arguments, Deputy U.S. Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart asserted that McCain-Feingolds limitations could have been applied to additional media as well. Under that kind of broad interpretation of the law, Michael Bays 13 Hours about the debacle in Benghazi, Libya, or Johnny Depps Funny or Die Presents Donald Trumps The Art of the Deal: The Movie also could have been challenged for violating corporate political spending during an election season. Simply put, since the Citizens United decision there is more free speech in America and, importantly, no evidence that corporations have been able to buy an election. In fact, the candidates with the biggest super-PAC war chests have often lost. Jeb Bush, who spent more than $100 million before dropping out of the Republican primary on Feb. 20, is just the most recent example. I dont mean to suggest that the Citizens United ruling has had no effect. Prior to it, American political speech was stifled by excessive and burdensome rules aimed at protecting incumbents and the establishment class of both parties. As Justice Kennedy explained in his opinion, since the Federal Election Campaign Act was enacted in the 1970s, the Federal Election Commission had adopted 568 pages of regulations, drafted 1,278 pages of explanations and justifications for those regulations, and issued 1,771 advisory opinions interpreting the law. There were rules for 71 distinct types of entities, each of which was subject to separate rules for 33 different types of political speech. This regulatory scheme was thwarting the ability of anti-establishment candidates to get their messages out. And our 2010 victory knocked a hole in it. It made it clear the 1st Amendment protects everyones speech during the process of choosing elected leaders and that their voices couldnt be stifled by spending caps or blackout periods. Almost immediately, a shift began that has put the political establishment on its heels. Marco Rubio, Mike Lee and Rand Paul defeated GOP establishment candidates in Senate primaries in the 2010 election. Scores of tea party-backed candidates were elected to the House, returning that body to Republican control. Super-PAC spending in support of former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz helped him defeat a well-funded Washington-backed opponent on his way to the U.S. Senate. While some critics of the Citizens United decision are driven by ideology, many just preferred the status quo. Most politicians surround themselves with high-priced election consultants and lawyers who are masters of Washingtons rule book and they want to retain the advantage theyre paying for. For Clinton, its not really about ideology, corporations or money; its about her. After her lopsided loss in New Hampshire, she tried to out-Bern Bernie Sanders, reasserting that (despite her own super PAC backing) shes ready to reverse Citizens United. In her concession speech Clinton ranted, Citizens United, one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in our countrys history, was actually a case about a right-wing attack on me and my campaign. A right-wing organization took aim at me and ended up damaging our entire democracy. Not surprisingly, I disagree. The right of anyone to criticize political leaders and political opponents is one of the founding principles of our democracy. That said, I do believe we need common-sense campaign finance reform. We should raise the limits on direct contributions to candidates and traditional membership PACs which would help make super PACs unnecessary and obsolete. Increasing the disclosure threshold for individual contributions from $200 to $1,000 also would reduce the burden of election regulations and promote more participation in politics. In the final analysis, I will always believe that more speech is better than less speech. David N. Bossie is the President of Citizens United, which was the plaintiff in the U.S. Supreme Court case Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: As with every fairy tale, the article ends with the inevitable fact that presidential popularity and power will fade with time once Donald Trump in this scenario newly elected as president is faced with reality: that he is not the anointed king or dictator and that the America he wants to make great again is a great democracy. (What a Donald Trump presidency might actually look like, Feb. 28) Though he may want to believe that America is suffering and is in dire need of his unvarnished leadership, this country is not one of his corporations that he can ride roughshod over. And sadly, if the American public and electoral college grant Trump his wish, then columnist George Skelton was correct in his Dec. 10 article when he stated, Too many Americans are susceptible to stupidity, shamelessness and scapegoating. Advertisement Al Chin, Lake Forest .. To the editor: This article could have specifically answered its own question in two words: It wont. Instead of a real estate mogul, Trump is really a contemporary robber baron, in the fashion of Gordon Gekko, who apparently relishes quoting Mussolini. Hes a shallow, opportunistic showman, lacking a clear understanding of the serious issues confronting the country. Perhaps like Mussolini he can get the trains running on time, and if he does he should take one out of town. The American public is angry. Lets hope that anger isnt driven by the stupidity of voting for Trump. Stephan Desales, Rancho Mission Viejo Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Momentum builds in the Capitol for vote on stalled tobacco bills Proponents of a slate of tobacco regulation measures are pushing for the bills to come up for a vote as early as Thursday, resurrecting a thorny legislative battle that ensnared the California Assembly last year. The anti-tobacco package, which includes raising the smoking age from 18 to 21 and regulating electronic cigarettes, failed to come up for consideration on the Assembly floor last year in the face of discord within the Democratic caucus. But the bills still remain viable as part of a special legislative session on healthcare, convened to tackle a revamp of a tax on healthcare plans. That tax package was approved earlier this week. Now, legislators and anti-smoking advocates want the tobacco bills to be revived -- and quickly. Our tobacco package has been on the [Assembly] floor since August. Its time for a vote, said Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina), who authored a bill to raise the smoking age. The question of whether to bring up the bills was the subject of the Assembly Democratic caucus weekly meeting on Tuesday. Both Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and incoming Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) voiced support for the measures, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussion who did not want to be identified discussing internal caucus matters. But others in the caucus have reservations about the proposals as well as objections over process. Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced), who chairs a committee that blocked some of the tobacco bills during last years regular session, said he was mostly supportive of the proposals but concerned about raising the smoking age and how the legislation would define an electronic cigarette. Gray is also concerned about the bills being taken up in special session, allowing them to be fast-tracked without following regular procedure. I think bills should go through the appropriate process, which includes committee votes and appropriation and should not necessarily be done in special session, he said, acknowledging that he felt the same way about the right-to-die legislation that he ended up ultimately supporting. Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael), who supports the tobacco regulation measures, said he believed the bills should be put up for a vote on Thursday. The caucus should let the world see who wants reasonable control on tobacco, Levine said. The bills up for consideration all require a simple majority vote to pass. Proponents had originally sought a tobacco tax measure -- which would have required a two-thirds vote -- but have since pursued a ballot initiative for the tax hike. Hillary Clinton emerged from Super Tuesday having regained the mantle of prohibitive front-runner, decisively winning the biggest and most important states in an election that confirmed her overwhelming support from minority voters and left her rival with no clear opening to catch her. Clinton appeared likely to rack up twice as many delegates from Tuesdays contests as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, as she swept through the South with crushing victories in delegate-rich states including Georgia, Virginia and Texas. She also won a narrow victory in Massachusetts. Along the way, she won more than 8 in 10 African American voters taking part in Democratic primaries, as well as two-thirds of Democratic Latino voters in Texas and a majority of white voters in at least six of the 11 states holding Democratic nominating contests. Advertisement Her double-digit margins of victory in state after state, including Tennessee, Alabama and her former home state of Arkansas, moved the race into a new phase in which she can focus on attacking Republican front-runner Donald Trump rather than tangling with Sanders, the 74-year-old democratic socialist whose earnest campaign has embarrassed her political machine at several turns. As expected, Sanders won his home state of Vermont. He also prevailed in Oklahoma and in caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota, according to early returns and exit polls. TRAIL GUIDE: All the latest news on the 2016 presidential campaign >> Sanders vowed to keep fighting all the way to the Democratic convention this summer in Philadelphia. Clinton, however, largely ignored Sanders as she spoke to supporters in Miami, where early voting already has begun ahead of Floridas March 15 primary. Instead, she aimed her verbal barbs at Trump. The stakes of this election have never been higher. The rhetoric were hearing on the other side has never been lower, she said. Trying to divide America between us and them is wrong and we are not going to let it work. Whether we like it or not, we are all in this together. The speech reflected the impact Sanders has had on the race, even as Clinton starts to build a lead over him that is looking increasingly insurmountable. When she remarked on the greed of some of the wealthiest corporations and individuals, the need to nominate an unabashed progressive to the Supreme Court, or the urgency of global warming, it was as if she were channeling the Vermonter, who has continued to outperform Clinton with some groups of voters, particularly those younger than 30. Clinton also focused her remarks heavily on the rights of immigrants and on racial injustice, particularly as she sees it playing out in the polluted drinking water coming out of taps in homes of the largely African American community of Flint, Mich. Her speech reflected the identity politics she has mastered over decades of working with minority communities. Sanders has struggled to make such connections despite his early activism in the civil rights movement. But Sanders, speaking to supporters in Vermont, said he was not going anywhere. He noted that even after Tuesday night, 35 states had yet to vote. Let me assure you that we are going to take our fight for economic justice, for social justice, for environmental sanity, for a world of peace to every one of those states, he said. This campaign is not just about electing a president, Sanders said. It is about transforming America. It is about making America the great nation that we know it has the potential to be. Despite a determined effort, Sanders has been unable to expand his support much beyond the white, liberal voters who began flocking to him last fall. In a Democratic contest, thats an unsustainable position. More than 40% of the Democratic turnout Tuesday was projected to be nonwhite voters. You cant win the nomination writing off the most diverse states, said Brian Fallon, Clintons press secretary. Thats the lesson from tonight. Democrats who voted Tuesday also were not looking for an outsider, according to exit polling. While Sanders has relentlessly and derisively tagged Clinton as an establishment politician, more than 8 in 10 voters said they preferred a candidate with deep experience over an outsider. Houston lawyer Keith Hampton, 61, voted for Clinton on Tuesday, as did his 25-year-old daughter in Dallas. He said his 30-year-old son, a chef, backed Bernie Sanders. He says hes going to get better benefits, raise the minimum age and address student loans, Hampton said as he stood outside his polling place at a church in the heart of Houstons liberal Montrose neighborhood near two Sanders signs. But Hamptons reasoning was simple: Hillary can win. I dont think Bernie can. Jimmy Grossman, 39, works in corporate sales and said he, too, voted for Clinton. I dont believe much of what Bernie says, said Grossman, who has always liked the Clintons. He listened to an interview with Sanders recently and thought, How are they going to accomplish this? Its funny young people are so influenced by this. We need a woman, Grossman added. Even without counting her support from super-delegates Democratic Party leaders and elected officials who can vote at the convention for whichever candidate they want Clinton has pulled so far ahead of Sanders that he would have to win more than 60% of the delegates still up for grabs to get the nomination. Because the Democrats award delegates proportionately to each candidates vote, Sanders would need huge victories in most of the remaining states to achieve that. Once a candidate falls behind, catching up is extremely hard, because even in a landslide both candidates receive delegates. Clinton learned that lesson eight years ago when she was the trailing candidate, trying unsuccessfully to catch then-Sen. Barack Obama. Now, she seems likely to be on the winning side of the equation. Even so, Clinton wont be in position to clinch the nomination for months. Those same proportional delegate rules mean that getting to a majority takes time. Clintons path to dominating the Democratic race was set in place by a victory in South Carolina on Saturday, following the same pattern that Obama followed eight years ago. Similarly, in 1992, Bill Clinton used an impressive victory in South Carolina as a springboard that put him on the path to the nomination. In both cases, however, the candidates did not mathematically clinch the nomination until June. Hillary Clinton now seems poised to replicate their experience. Sanders remains popular in some Northern and Western states, some of which voted Tuesday. He spent considerable time in the last week in Minnesota, whose mostly white electorate has a long tradition of backing progressives, including former Vice President Walter F. Mondale and the late Paul Wellstone, who both represented the state in the U.S. Senate. 1 / 19 Donald Trump, joined by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, speaks to the media on election night at his Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla. (John Moore / Getty Images) 2 / 19 Hillary Clinton greets supporters as she arrives at her Super Tuesday rally in Miami. (Gerald Herbert / Associated Press) 3 / 19 Ted Cruz poses for a photo after speaking to supporters at his election night party at the Redneck Country Club in Stafford, Texas. (Thomas B. Shea / EPA) 4 / 19 Sen. Bernie Sanders, with his wife, Jane, speaks at an election night party in in Essex Junction, Vt. (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press) 5 / 19 Sen. Marco Rubio speaks at an election night rally at Tropical Park in Miami. (Brian Blanco / EPA) 6 / 19 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders arrives at a Super Tuesday rally in Essex Junction, Vt. (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press) 7 / 19 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders with supporters in Vermont after winning the states primary on Super Tuesday. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images) 8 / 19 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the Port Columbus airport in Columbus, Ohio. (John Minchillo / Associated Press) 9 / 19 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville. (Aaron P. Bernstein / Getty Images) 10 / 19 Penny Novack shows her support for Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders in Buckland, Mass. (Matthew Cavanaugh / Getty Images) 11 / 19 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton greets patrons at Mapps Coffee in Minneapolis. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) 12 / 19 Voters line up to cast ballots at Flint Baptist Church in Flint, Texas. (Sarah A. Miller / Tyler Morning Telegraph) 13 / 19 Ohio Gov. John Kasich addresses a town hall-style meeting at George Mason University Law School in Fairfax, Va. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 14 / 19 Sen. Bernie Sanders talks to reporters afer voting in Burlington, Vt. (Herb Swanson / EPA) 15 / 19 Sen. Ted Cruz talks to reporters before casting his vote in the Texas Republican primary. (Pat Sullivan / Associated Press) 16 / 19 A girl waits while her mother votes at a polling place in Edmond, Okla. (J Pat Carter / EPA) 17 / 19 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump signs autographs at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville. (Aaron P. Bernstein / Getty Images) 18 / 19 A student takes a selfie photo with Republican presidential candidate John Kasich at George Mason University Law School in Fairfax, Va. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 19 / 19 Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio prepares to take the stage for a campaign appearance in Andover, Minn. (Craig Lassig / EPA) The Vermonter has run a strong campaign so far, exceeding most expectations. But it was always built on the strategy of a big win in one of the early states that would propel him into contention in parts of the country where few voters had even heard of him until recently. ------------ FOR THE RECORD March 1, 12:59 p.m.: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Bernie Sanders is the governor of Vermont. He is a senator from that state. ------------ Sanders got one early win in New Hampshire, where he tapped into disenchantment with what he calls the nations rigged economy and excitement about the plan for free public college that Clinton ridicules. Yet even the 22-percentage-point victory Sanders achieved in New Hampshire has proven insufficient to overcome the huge advantages Clinton has in organizing, name recognition and endorsements in key states. Sanders poured extensive resources into the battle against Clinton in Nevada, but fell short. Since his loss in South Carolina on Saturday, he has in some ways been acting more like a candidate vying for a prominent speaking spot at the Democratic convention than one hoping to win the nomination. His spending on advertising over the last two weeks suggested he had all but given up in states such as Texas, Virginia and Georgia. Yet Sanders still runs ahead of Clinton in recent fundraising, with his campaign bringing in an eye-popping $42 million in the month of February alone. Even if he trails far behind in the delegate count, that money would allow his campaign to continue through the end of the primary season, in June, when California votes. Almost all of his money has come from small donors, who have made a record-setting 4 million contributions over the course of his campaign. That is more contributions more contributions than any candidate in the history of this country, up until this point, Sanders said in Minnesota over the weekend. And do you know what that average contribution is? The audience shouted back a number that is well-known to Sanders supporters: Twenty-seven dollars! Said Sanders: With such a brilliant audience here, theres no way were going to lose Minnesota. Staff Writers Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Houston and Chris Megerian in Miami contributed to this report. Follow me: @evanhalper ALSO A complete breakdown of how delegates are awarded See how much you remember from last week in politics All of Californias voters are now in one online database During a seven-month outbreak of Zika virus infection that ended in April 2014, health officials in French Polynesia noticed an uptick in the number of patients showing up at hospitals with a rare but dangerous constellation of symptoms known as Guillain-Barre syndrome. Typically in the wake of a viral or bacterial infection, patients stricken with Guillain-Barre syndrome suffer a sudden onset of weakness, pain and paralysis in their legs and arms. Occasionally, paralysis progresses to the chest, impairing a patients ability to breathe. Even with access to a respirator and intensive care, some 5% of those stricken by Guillain-Barre die. See the most-read stories in Science this hour >> Advertisement The mini-outbreak in that Pacific paradise offered the first ominous hint that the Zika virus is a pathogen capable of causing something more than just red eyes and a brief bout of muscle aches and fever. Just a year later, as it began to circulate across Brazil, came evidence that Zika virus is also linked to microcephaly in newborns exposed while in utero to the virus. In French Polynesia, the numbers of those affected by Guillain-Barre syndrome have remained a matter of debate, as has the role of Zika-virus infection in causing the rare autoimmune reaction. Until now. A study published Monday in the journal Lancet has found substantial evidence that Zika virus infection and Guillain-Barre syndrome are causally linked. The study has also put public health authorities on notice that, as the Zika virus tears across the Americas infecting millions with no immunity, it is likely to claim adult lives and strain hospitals caring for the unlucky few who develop this post-infection complication. During the Zika outbreak in French Polynesia, scientists estimate that 24 additional cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome would occur for every 100,000 people newly infected with Zika virus. Thats a substantial increase in the rate at which Guillain-Barre Syndrome is normally seen. A rare response to infection with campylobacter bacteria, influenza or dengue virus, the cluster of symptoms collectively identified as Guillain-Barre syndrome is seen across Europe and North America in one to two of 100,000 people per year. During the seven-month outbreak in French Polynesia, physicians at a hospital in Papeete, Tahiti diagnosed Guillain-Barre syndrome in 42 patients. To glean what role the Zika virus played in their afflictions, researchers based in France, Scotland and French Polynesia returned to the blood samples of those patients and compared them to two groups of otherwise similar patients in Papeete at the time: a group that entered the hospital with no fever, and a second group of patients who were confirmed to have been infected with Zika virus but who did not develop Guillain-Barre syndrome. Nearly 9 of 10 of the patients who suffered Guillain-Barre syndrome reported symptoms consistent with Zika virus infection on average six days before seeking treatment at the hospital for their worsening symptoms of weakness, pain and paralysis. Blood tests confirmed that all had been exposed to Zika virus. By contrast, just 54% of those who came to the hospital without fever had signs of a recent Zika infection. A large majority of all the patients in the three comparison groups also had had past exposure to the dengue virus. But the presence of antibodies to the Zika virus as well was far more common in those who had Guillain-Barre syndrome. Among the 42 Guillain-Barre sufferers who arrived at the Centre Hospitalier de Polynesie Francaise, none died. But 38% had to be admitted to the intensive care unit, and 12% required breathing assistance. Ominously, the scientists deconstructing the French Polynesian outbreak of Zika concluded that the mechanism by which Zika prompts Guillain-Barre syndrome may be different from any seen before. Polynesian patients with Guillain-Barre all had damage to the nerves ability to conduct electrical signals, which is typically seen when the immune system attacks the nervous system. But only a few carried certain biological markers that are the hallmark of Guillain-Barre. That could mean, at least, that Zika prompts the immune system to attack nerves by some other means than have been seen in past cases of Guillain-Barre, the authors wrote. It could also mean that Zika has some more direct role in damaging the nerves, they added. Study coauthor Arnaud Fontanet of Frances Institut Pasteur said its not clear that Zika will leave the same trail of post-infection misery in its wake as it spreads across South and Central America as it did in Polynesia. But he said high numbers of cases ... might be expected in the coming months in those countries where Zika is spreading explosively. At-risk countries need to be prepared to have adequate intensive care beds capacity to manage patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome, the authors of the latest study wrote. Infectious disease epidemiologist Michael Osterholm said the new research offers a stark warning that Zika will tax hospitals intensive care units as well as pediatric and maternity wards in the coming months. If the estimates drawn from French Polynesia prove to apply to South and Central America, said Osterholm, the current Zika outbreak could claim lives on a par with the Ebola virus in Africa. Osterholm, who directs the University of Minnesotas Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, said the new research also suggests that trouble may lie ahead in efforts to develop a Zika vaccine. Because some vaccines can also prompt Guillain-Barre Syndrome, vaccine developers will need to be on the lookout for that complication as they test their candidates, he said. That will be complicated by the fact that Guillain-Barre is a very rare reaction to vaccines. Youre going to have to vaccinate lots and lots of people to see the signal, Osterholm added. Follow me on Twitter @LATMelissaHealy and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook. MORE SCIENCE NEWS A view of the Milky Way like youve never seen before Porter Ranch leak declared largest methane leak in U.S. history Pregnant woman in L.A. County who traveled abroad tests positive for Zika virus A bottle of red, a bottle of white Whatever kind of mood youre in tonight Like life doesnt offer enough reasons why you feel left behind, now comes this. Wine is all the rage among baseball types, perhaps most with the Boys in Blue. Advertisement Players, managers, former owners, advisors and now the organization itself, are all happily re-discovering the wonders of the ancient juice. No doubt the expertise varies. Currently popular in the Dodgers spring clubhouse is a wine touted by Sandy Koufax, because you know, it was touted by Sandy Koufax. His find: Meiomi Pinot Noir 2013, which is currently available at your local Total Wine & More store for $16.99 a bottle. See, they are like you and me. I tried it and gave it a very positive review, but being a few tastings shy of Robert Parker Jr., I consulted with The Times resident wine expert, ex-Dodgers beat writer Dylan Hernandez, who found it something less than 100 points and termed it over-oaked. Like sucking on a tree, Hernandez said. I have not run this review past Manager Dave Roberts, who is one of three owners of the Red Stitch winery in Napa. His Pinot Noir goes for $56 a bottle, though his sold-out signature Cabernet Sauvignon went for $90 a pop. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> Roberts, of course, is not the first Dodgers manager to go the vintner route. Tommy Lasorda still has his name across a series of wines imported from Italy, all priced under $30. That little ol winemaker, Tommy. Adrian Gonzalez is an investor in a wine bar near San Diegos Petco Park. Right-hander Joe Blanton, when he thought he was retiring in 2014, actually bought a vineyard in Napa. Must be neighbors with ex-Dodgers owner Jamie McCourt, who bought one there the year before. Feeling left out yet? Hey, at least now you can own your very own bottle of Dodgers wine. Thats right, a bottle of blue. Starting March 1, Santa Marias Qupe winery is offering a Dodgers Syrah and Chardonnay. It comes complete with a blue label and the cursive Dodgers logo splashed across the Qupe poppy emblem. This comes from a real, legitimate winery. The wines will be available this season at Dodger Stadium, and at Vons and Gelsons. Both are sold on the company website for $24. Will update with the Hernandez review as soon as its available. Follow Steve Dilbeck on Twitter @SteveDilbeck MORE DODGERS NEWS Corey Seager is vital to Dodgers success Dodgers plan to use Cuban right-hander Yaisel Sierra as a reliever Dodgers pitcher Josh Ravin breaks his non-throwing arm in a car accident Angela Gui always heard from her father on her birthday, even as he was busy running a booming book publishing business in Hong Kong. But when she turned 22 last week, there was only silence. Her father, Gui Minhai, a naturalized Swedish citizen, had been missing for more than four months, along with his four business associates in Hong Kong. They had found a successful niche publishing books about political intrigue among Chinas Communist Party leaders; now they are in the custody of mainland Chinese authorities, apparently charged with selling illicit books. In mid-January, Gui gave a morose confession on Chinese state-run TV, saying he had fled China while on parole for a 2003 vehicular homicide of a young woman in his hometown. Advertisement This was too much to bear for Angela Gui, the lone voice protesting her fathers innocence in the drunk driving case. Much as she has missed seeing her fathers face, she still cant bring herself to watch the TV footage. It was quite a shock, Angela Gui said in a recent interview in the small English town where she lives while commuting to university to finish her senior year. I do believe he was disappeared because of his work, and nothing else. On Sunday night, Gui and his three missing colleagues were featured on a mainland Chinese TV newscast admitting to having shipped banned books to customers across China. On Monday, Hong Kong police were allowed to meet with the fifth missing bookseller, British national Lee Po, who was believed to have been snatched from his Hong Kong office and taken to a mainland Chinese city just across the border. Police, however, said Lee insisted he traveled there of his own volition. Born and raised in Sweden, Angela Gui spoke with a British accent and a demure demeanor, while putting forth a brave face. Her jet black curls shaded full, round cheeks that take after her fathers. Her voice was hoarse from months of fielding endless media queries, even as families and friends of the other detained booksellers have been cowed into acquiescence. Her parents divorced when she was 5. She stayed with her mother in Sweden, while her father moved back to China and then settled in Germany, with frequent trips to Hong Kong to oversee his business. In recent years, Angela Gui said shes grown closer to her father and sees him as a friend. Soon after the disappearance, she appealed for help from Swedish authorities. Her mother, despite her estrangement from Gui, has been keeping the pressure on from Stockholm, where she lives. They receive weekly updates from the Swedish government, but so far Swedish consuls in China havent been allowed to visit Gui. In my opinion, said Angela Gui, they have been working quite hard on this case. Sometime around mid-October, just a few days after father and daughter had their last biweekly Skype chat, Gui was apparently taken from Thailand to mainland China. Thai authorities confirmed Gui had entered on his Swedish passport on Oct. 6, but had no records of his departure, leading to speculation that he had been taken to China by extrajudicial means. NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >> His disappearance was followed by those of his two fellow co-owners and two employees of the business, Causeway Bay Books, which specializes in titles that irritate Chinas leadership and are banned on the mainland. Hong Kong, a former British colony turned semiautonomous Chinese territory of 7.3 million people, has enshrined a range of civil liberties, including freedom of the press and publication, under its own constitution, which is to remain in force for 50 years after the 1997 transfer of sovereignty. The territorys freedoms, coupled with tightening controls just across the border, have fueled a cottage publishing industry churning out explosive exposes on Chinas politics, past and present. Since 2007, Gui has thrown himself into writing political tomes, putting behind an academic career in cultural history and literature. He first learned at the feet of more established publishers but soon struck out on his own. Causeway Bay Books is known for its prodigious output, with Gui completing as many as 10 titles a year on his own while commissioning authors to generate others. I know the competition is very cut-throat, said his longtime friend Bei Ling, a Chinese poet who splits his time between Boston and Taiwan. Hes always very excited [that] he could publish titles that others couldnt. He hopes to become a prominent publisher and more successful than the longer-established ones. By some measures, Gui had been doing well. Around 2010, he bought an apartment in suburban Hong Kong and two years ago a beachfront condo in Pattaya, Thailand. He found the peacefulness of the Thai coast conducive to writing, his daughter said. It was there that he was last sighted. He also shared a home in Germany with his current wife, Jennifer. Bei, as current executive director of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, an advocacy group for freedom of expression, has taken it upon himself to investigate Guis case. Last month, he inspected the Pattaya condo and found that both Guis laptop and the hard drive of his new desktop computer were missing. He said that a group of four Chinese and Thai men had gained access to the unit days after Gui vanished. Angela Gui said she received a Skype text message from her fathers account a day or so after his TV confession on Jan. 18, when she was widely quoted in foreign media as saying she had never heard of the vehicular homicide case he cited. The message told her to please keep silence. Judging from the grammatical errors, Gui said she didnt believe her father was the author. Even as she vowed not to be silenced until her father is released, she also didnt hold out hope that he will get to see her when she graduates from university in July. There seems to be a lot about this story that is yet to unfold, she said. Special correspondent Law recently reported from England. ALSO Pentagon wages cyberwar against Islamic State Student activists in Hong Kong expect justice as they face charges over protests Trial in Japan will delve into the hidden truths of the Fukushima nuclear meltdown They have disrupted movie screenings, scuffled with fellow students and briefly held a liberal journalist hostage. And in recent weeks, the political activism of the student organization Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad has become even more controversial in India. Activists with the ABVP which springs from the same Hindu nationalist organization as Prime Minister Narendra Modis governing Bharatiya Janata Party complained about a campus event at the University of New Delhi where students condemned the hanging of a convicted terrorist. Advertisement Top government officials launched an investigation. Students who organized the Feb. 9 event were charged with sedition and the president of the student union was jailed. That followed an episode at a university in the southern city of Hyderabad, where ABVP members complained to federal education officials about a student protest against the execution of a man convicted for his role in serial bombings in 1993. One student targeted in the complaint committed suicide. The agitations have turned Indias university campuses into a battleground between liberal, secular voices and supporters of Modis conservative government of which ABVP has become among the most prominent. The groups leaders say they are fighting an ideological battle against professors and others they accuse of downplaying the traditions of Indias Hindu majority to appease minorities. There is a myth called secularism, which believes in denying Indian culture and tradition, said Sunil Ambekar, national organizing secretary for the ABVP. And these so-called intellectuals propagated this myth for all these years. Instead of teaching patriotism, they encourage anti-national activities. Secularism is enshrined in Indias constitution, and professors who have clashed with ABVP say that Indias right-wing establishment sees an opportunity to promote a pro-Hindu agenda at universities. Professors worry that the groups rising influence is shrinking the space for free debate. The government is using ABVP as its foot soldiers because to bring about ideological change in society, it is better to start with students, said Milind Awad, assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, where the February incident occurred. ABVP maintains it is independent of the BJP, although many party leaders, including government ministers Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad, were members. The group claims to be Indias largest student organization, with 9,800 chapters nationwide. Its membership doubled from 1.1 million in 2003 to 2.2 million a decade later. In 2014, the year Modi took office, the group said it added more than 900,000 members. The group traces its roots to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a hard-line Hindu nationalist organization that was temporarily banned after Mahatma Gandhis assassination in 1948 for spreading hatred against the independence leader. The organization, which also spawned the BJP, formed the student group to attract young followers. Yadunath Deshpande, secretary of the ABVP in Mumbai, organized symposiums across universities last year with the aim of getting students to think pro-nation. One topic focused on Indianizing the subjects that students are taught. There are many aspects of our rich history ignored in Indias education curriculum, Deshpande said. Deshpande vigorously denied that the BJP had any say in its functioning. Students are gravitating towards ABVP because we take up student issues, he said. We will not hesitate in standing up to this government either if the situation arises. Tensions between the right and left wings have long roiled Indian university campuses. The difference now, many observers say, is that ABVPs links to the governing party are prompting top officials to become involved in the disputes. That is what happened in January at Hyderabad Center University, where ABVP student members targeted a student group that opposed the execution of Yakub Memon, convicted for his role in serial bombings in 1993 that left 257 people dead across the city of Mumbai. After the ABVP complained, a BJP official wrote to the federal education ministry, accusing the protesters of turning the university into a den of extremist and anti-national politics. Then, in an unusual move for a top official, Education Minister Smriti Irani wrote five letters to the university inquiring about the issue. Rohith Vemula, a Ph.D. student from a poor background who was involved in the protests, was suspended from school, had his scholarship withdrawn and was kicked out of his dormitory. After his appeals to be reinstated went unheeded, he committed suicide. Clashes between student organizations at universities are not new, said Suresh Gaikwad, a friend of Vemula. But today we have central and state ministers interfering with it. Jawaharlal Nehru University, one of Indias most prominent educational institutions, has been a bastion of liberals, who have long controlled the student government. ABVP activists pushed to have an annual festival honoring the Hindu goddess Durga observed, over the objections of liberal students. They denounced worship of God and are now denouncing love for the country, Ambekar said. When students shout anti-national slogans, it is time to question the kind of education they have been subjected to. There are limits to freedom of expression. Gaikwad said ABVP members are quick to brand anyone who opposes their views as anti-national. Nationalism is about fighting for equality, justice and democracy, he said. It is about staying true to the constitution of India. Students say ABVP members have become more militant in the last two years, frequently disrupting campus events where liberal student groups raise issues of caste or capital punishment. A university is a place where students should question conventional norms, debate, discuss and engage, said Kancha Illaiha, a prominent author and critic of ABVP. By compromising the autonomy of universities, we are playing with the future of potential thinkers in the country. Parth M.N. is a special correspondent. Three former executives of the Tokyo Electric Power Co. were indicted Monday on charges of failing to take measures to prevent the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011, the Tokyo prosecutors office announced. The accident resulted in a triple meltdown that displaced more than 100,000 people and raised alarms about nuclear energy around the world. The indictment says it also caused deaths and injuries. The trial will center on whether key Tokyo Electric Power Co. executives can be held criminally responsible for what the Japanese parliaments Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission called a man-made disaster. Advertisement NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >> Tsunehisa Katsumata, 75, chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Co., or Tepco, at the time of the accident, and two former vice presidents Sakae Muto, 65, and Ichiro Takekuro, 69 were indicted on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury. A court-approved lawyer will act as the prosecutor in the trial. The prosecutors offices announcement noted that the six-reactor plant, located on the Pacific coast, was disabled after tidal waves triggered by the massive earthquake on March 11, 2011, flooded power supply facilities, which were unprotected, and crippled reactor cooling systems. The Nos. 1 to 3 reactors suffered fuel meltdowns, while hydrogen explosions damaged others. The indictment blames the three former executives for injuries to more than 10 people from hydrogen explosions at the plant, as well as the deaths of 44 patients forced to evacuate from a nearby hospital. The indictment does not hold Tepco executives responsible for the deaths of two workers who had rushed to the turbine room of the No. 4 reactor after the earthquake. Autopsies suggested they were killed by the impact of the tsunami. All of the former executives will probably plead not guilty, Japanese media reported. None were taken into custody after they were charged, although in Japan, suspects in criminal cases are typically arrested and held for up to 23 days. Last year, former Toyota Motor Corp. executive Julie Hamp was kept in custody for 20 days after she was arrested in Tokyo on suspicion of importing tablets of the painkiller oxycodone without permission. Prosecutors later dropped the case. The Tepco prosecution has been a long time coming. Last July, the Tokyo Prosecutorial Review Board No. 5 decided to mandate that the three be charged with professional negligence for their handling of the disaster, overturning a 2013 decision by prosecutors not to indict them. This trial will take quite a long time but I feel that ultimately they will be found guilty, lawyer Hiroyuki Kawai, who was instrumental in seeing that Tepco officials faced prosecution, said in an email. The hidden truths of what really caused the Fukushima nuclear accident keep coming to light, one after another. Nuclear power plant operators in Japan have faced similar charges in the past and been found guilty. In April 2003, the Mito District Court found the company JCO and six of its employees guilty over a fatal nuclear accident. They ruled that the company had allowed workers to use buckets to pour uranium solution into a processing tank, causing a nuclear fission chain reaction that resulted in the deaths of workers. Those found guilty were given suspended sentences and served no time in jail. Kawai said the Fukushima disaster was a clear demonstration that Japan, which is located in the so-called Ring of Fire, with frequent seismic activity, was unsafe for nuclear power. Tepco has not returned calls asking for comment. According to Kyodo News service, the power companys public relations office offered a renewed apology over the accident but wouldnt comment on the indictment because it concerns a criminal case. Last year, amid public protest, Japan restarted its long dormant nuclear reactors. The Kansai Electric Power Co. announced Monday that a reactor at its recently restarted Takahama plant in Fukui prefecture had been shut down after a problem with a generator triggered an alarm. On Feb. 20, there was also a coolant water leak at a building attached to the reactor. Adelstein is a special correspondent. Special correspondent Mari Yamamoto contributed to this report. ALSO Pentagon wages cyberwar against Islamic State Methane explosions in Russian coal mine kill 36; cause disputed Student activists in Hong Kong expect justice as they face charges over protests Wael Alagha was curling up for the night on the cold ground outside a freeway rest stop. He had a black ski jacket and blanket to shield him from the nights cold, but still shivered slightly. Around him, dozens of people sat around fires that filled the air with acrid smoke. In tents nearby, charities handed out tomato sandwiches and bottles of water. Young men crowded around picnic tables to charge their phones, intermittently shouting over access to the outlets. For weeks, thousands of migrants, many from Syria and Iraq, have been stranded on this tense border between Greece and Macedonia. Fleeing war, or poverty, or grim prospects at home, they have been trying to get north, through the Balkans and on to Germany or Sweden but a closed border has left them sleeping here in the open. Advertisement In January, Austria announced strict limits on the number of asylum claims it would accept, spurring a series of border closures in the Balkan countries north of Greece. Since then, Macedonia has been allowing only limited numbers through, and pressure has been mounting. NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >> On Monday, Macedonian police fired tear gas and stun grenades to subdue migrants who stormed the border and tried to tear down the barbed-wire fence. Greeces migration minister has warned that 70,000 migrants could end up trapped in Greece. The flow of refugees heading this way is increasing by several hundred a day, and United Nations officials said Tuesday there are now an estimated 8,500 migrants waiting for passage in this quiet rural community. Alagha, 21, left his hometown in Syria in early February and was hoping to make it to the German town of Marl, where his fiancee has been for three months. The two havent seen each other since November. Instead, he is stuck at a camp for migrants and refugees here in Idomeni, a small farming village that is the settlement closest to the border. Idomeni was a name unknown even to many Greeks until it became in recent months a focal point of Europes migration crisis. The town sits along a path that begins in Turkey, where migrants go by sea to one of Greeces islands, then by bus to Athens and north toward Macedonia. The camp is a cluster of tents set amid farm fields. Occupants sprawl out on bunk beds in the tents or pick up food and bottled water at booths. In one corner, there are tables with paper and crayons for children to draw. The drawings, hung on a wall, show houses and smiling families. Alagha sat on a wooden bench with several other young Syrian men, fighting off boredom and the stress of not knowing how long they will be in limbo. Maybe later today, maybe tomorrow, Alagha said of moving on. I just want to go. Theres nothing to do in Syria. Theres nothing to do here. The young men ask every uniformed aid worker or volunteer who passes, Do you know when they will open the border? The answer is always no. In late January, a strike by Greek ferries meant that arrivals from Turkey couldnt get from the islands to the mainland, and that slowed the flow north. But ferry traffic resumed after that and the camp has been filling fast. Bus after bus pulls in, and passengers disembark lugging backpacks and suitcases. Alagha was fleeing his hometown of Aleppo, which has been split in two by Syrias civil war, one side controlled by the government, the other by a mishmash of rebel militias. Over the past few years Alagha heard screeching bombs and rockets whenever he tried to sleep or study. His patience ran out a few weeks ago when a close friend was shot in the leg by a sniper. I realized then that I could die at any time, he said. Join the conversation on Facebook >> He paid a smuggler 1,200 euros (a little more than $1,300) to take him from Aleppo into Turkey. The smugglers, he said, abandoned him and the other refugees he was traveling with on a mountain near the Turkish border. He had to walk for an hour dodging border guards, then crawl through a hole in a barbed-wire border fence. Alaghas plan is to join his fiancee in Germany, where he says first he will learn the language, then look for a school where he can work toward a degree in medicine. But with the border shut, those plans were on hold. Alagha paced in the afternoon sun, looking for something to pass the time. He watched German language instruction videos on YouTube (the camp has free wi-fi) but said he misses movies simple, romantic ones are his favorite. I like romance and want to live a simple life, he said. Alagha said he is sure that he and his fiancee will be reunited in the end. But for the moment, all he could do was wait. Its like the governments are trying to make the situation so bad that we all give up and go home, he said. But he was determined to keep moving. Borowiec is a special correspondent. Special correspondent Maria Petrakis in Athens and the Associated Press contributed to this report. ALSO Italian Senate passes bill recognizing same-sex unions, but strips adoption rights from measure Refugees buying one-way tickets home after finding Germany intolerable There was no Trump on the ballot, but Irish voters still made their anger clear A powerful setback for hard-liners in Irans parliamentary elections may present President Hassan Rouhani with a golden chance to speed up his countrys reopening to the world and remake an economy long weakened by Western sanctions. The disparate political ideologies that came together under a pro-Rouhani banner to secure a large minority of parliamentary seats in last weeks vote marked a victory for centrist politics, analysts said. It also vindicated the approach taken by the moderate president, who forged an agreement last year with the United States and five other world powers to roll back Irans disputed nuclear program. Advertisement The test for Rouhani is whether he can work with the new parliament and overcome vested conservative interests to pass legislation that will help rejoin Irans financial sector to the world economy and pave the way for the foreign investment that has been pledged since most sanctions were eased under the nuclear deal. Hard-liners have held Irans political system in a tight grip for more than a decade, starting with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his combative, anti-Western rhetoric. It continued after Rouhani took office in 2013 as staunch conservatives in parliament blocked much of his agenda. By winning 95 seats in the 290-member parliament and with dozens still up for grabs in runoff elections or held by independents the pro-Rouhani side secured a more cooperative legislature on at least some of the governments policies. Conservatives have won 103 seats, 92 fewer than they had in the outgoing parliament. Runoffs will be held in late April. I see this as a realignment toward the middle, bringing together those who think they can work together, said Rouzbeh Parsi, a professor at Lund University in Sweden and director of the European Iran Research Group. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> For the United States, the results of Fridays elections help show the popularity of the nuclear deal in Iran and signal broad support for the more conciliatory foreign policy adopted by Rouhani and his U.S.-educated foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. Two of the most prominent hard-liners were also ousted in a parallel election for the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member council that helps select Irans supreme leader. Clerics backed by reformists and centrists won 59% of assembly seats, up from 23%, according to the interior ministry. The resounding message from voters on Feb. 26 was a rejection of hard-liners and an endorsement of President Hassan Rouhani, wrote Garrett Nada and Katayoun Kishi, Iran researchers at the United States Institute of Peace, a Washington think tank. Irans politicians are generally divided along a narrow political spectrum with hard-liners who resist change and support Islamic theocracy at one end and reformists who favor greater democracy and social freedoms at the other. In a hybrid political system in which theocrats have the final say, coalitions of lawmakers come together and break apart with each election, depending on the political winds of the moment. Rouhanis efforts to repair relations with the West and strike a nuclear deal were opposed by hard-liners but won support among reformists, moderates and even some conservatives who said an agreement would end Irans isolation and improve the economy. When Irans Guardian Council, a clerical panel that vets political candidates, disqualified thousands of mainly reformists and moderates from running in the elections, supporters of Rouhanis policies came together under a banner called the List of Hope that included a diverse array of ideologies that have not always meshed in the past. NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >> Mohammad Reza Aref, the head of the List of Hope in Tehran, is a moderate, like Rouhani, and has not supported many of the reformists most liberal positions. The pro-Rouhani candidates won all 30 seats from Tehran, the capital, whose lawmakers often determine the direction of the parliament. Among the winning candidates were Ali Motahari and Kazem Jalali, who support the nuclear deal but are outspoken conservatives on social issues. Analysts say Rouhani who is up for reelection next year is unlikely to attempt more contentious social change such as expanding rights for women, but has a more stable mandate for pursuing economic reforms. If Rouhani wants to become a two-term presidentthat will require that he show some tangible results where it affects people the most, Parsi said. For the overwhelming majority, the main issue is not social liberalization but the economy. The conservative views of some members of the list could tamp down reformists priorities, observers say. Mohammad Reza Aref might not follow the reformists, said Nader Karimi Juni, an analyst in the reformist camp. He could ask the radical reformists to stay silent about womens rights or something else, and in exchange hard-liners would help elect him speaker of the parliament. Rouhanis efforts to loosen state control of the economy and make oil sector and other contracts more transparent are likely to face serious opposition from entrenched hard-line forces that remain ideologically opposed to foreign investment while enjoying extensive domestic economic holdings. Among these groups is the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps paramilitary organization, which remains subject to U.S. sanctions and reportedly earns billions of dollars a year in income from transportation, construction and other industries. Rouhani is unlikely to risk a direct confrontation with the powerful group, a major obstacle toward opening up the economy. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the countrys most powerful figure, has given tacit support to Rouhanis agenda. The economic stagnation in a country in which half the electorate is younger than 35 was a recipe for social upheaval, and Khamenei was said to have been frustrated by hardliners in the last years of Ahmadinejads government, who squabbled among themselves and left domestic problems to fester. Khamenei was like the kindergarten teacher who had to keep peace between people who were all conservatives, Parsi said. My guess is he understands that on the economic front ... the government needs to legislate and reform certain things and you cant do that if you cant get people to vote in parliament. Staff writer Bengali reported from Mumbai, India, and special correspondent Mostaghim from Tehran. Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia. ALSO Pentagon wages cyberwar against Islamic State Iran complying with nuclear deal, U.N. report says Refugees buying one-way tickets home after finding Germany intolerable The Australian Shark Attack File listed a total of 33 incidents of shark-to-human interaction within the Australian waters in 2015 alone -- 23 were injured while two lives were lost. The local governments in the country have ramped up their efforts amid a rising number of shark attacks and sightings. A new strategy involves the nouveau technology of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to spot these cold-blooded marine predators and save lives in the process. The Use of New Technology to Aid Coastguards The New South Wales government together with Westpac Bank launched the trial of a U.S.-built drone, which was dubbed as The Little Ripper, at Westpac Lifesaver Helicopter base at La Perouse on Feb. 28, 2016. "This technology has the potential to improve the way our emergency services respond when people find themselves in trouble," New South Wales Premier Mike Baird said in a statement via Mashable. The Little Ripper will be patrolling the skies above the coastlines of Newcastle, Hawkes Nest and Byron Bay in the northern portion of New South Wales. If the trials would prove to be successful, Baird hopes that "the future of rescue" could be made available for the different surf clubs in the entire state, per The Sydney Morning Herald. About The Little Ripper According to the news outlet, the use of these UAVs in search and rescue was the idea of Kevin Weldon, who is the founding president of the International Life Saving Federation. Back in 2009, Weldon, together with former Australian astronaut Paul Scully-Power, wanted to develop a drone that "has got to look like a helicopter, flies like a helicopter and save life like a helicopter." The drone, which is a military-grade Vapor 55 drone, was developed to able to detect sharks using its high-tech camera. It could last for an hour of flight in one charge and is expected to be able to fight off the cross winds and maintain stability better than an ordinary drone. The Drone Could Provide a More Practical Alternative to Helicopter Rescue Mashable notes that The Little Ripper will be used to carry and deliver ULB Life Saving Pods, which could contain rescue items like floatation devices or inflatable life raft, EPIRB locator beacon, shark repellent and medical equipment. "We'll be open to ideas once the trial has been completed," said Baird via the Sydney Morning Herald. "But I think every surf club in this state will see the potential in this new technology and will want to have access to it." The Latino population plays a huge part in the U.S. economy as a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy revealed that the undocumented immigrants pay up to $11.6 billion in taxes annually. Meg Wiehe, State Tax Policy Director of the ITEP, explained in a statement that the study is especially relevant nowadays amid the ongoing discussion on immigration and its economic implications. The executive pointed out that the recently collected data proves that the significance of the undocumented immigrants in the economy is not just limited to labor, but also in their tax contributions. Wiehe added, "With immigration policy playing a key role in state and national debates and President Obama's 2014 executive action facing review by the Supreme Court, accurate information about the tax contributions of undocumented immigrants is needed now more than ever." According to a report from teleSUR, undocumented immigrants make up less than 3 percent of the entire U.S. population. However, ITEP revealed that the average undocumented immigrant shells out about $1,050 in taxes annually or about 8 percent of their income. This is more than the 5.4 percent that's paid by the top 1 percent of the country In the event that Obama's executive acts were upheld by the Supreme Court, the increase in tax revenues would reach around $805 million, the teleSUR report said. Furthermore, if the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States were legalized and granted citizenship through the comprehensive immigration reform, there would be an additional $2.1 billion in taxes yearly. The states with the biggest immigrant populations would consequently benefit the most, specifically California, Texas, New York and Florida. Apart from being a huge chunk of the tax revenue, Latino-owned businesses are also a big part of the demographic's contribution to the economy, according to a report from Nebraska TV. The Center for Public Affairs Research in Omaha revealed that these businesses are paying over $17 million in taxes across the state. They are also credited with creating 5,149 jobs statewide and 387 jobs in central Nebraska as of 2012. "Without this population, there would be fewer jobs or fewer jobs filled and would be harder for employers to find the workers they need," Ken Lemke, an economist with Nebraska Public Power District, said. "In some instances they would have to significantly raise wages, but that only goes so far." It was a meeting of two Argentine leaders -- one that holds the most power in the South American country and the other, who is one of the most revered men in the world today. Pope Francis received his fellow countryman President Mauricio Macri from his home country for a meeting that took place in the Roman Catholic Church's seat of power, the Vatican City, on Saturday, Feb. 27, Vatican Radio reports. Macri also got the chance to meet with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's Secretary of State, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States. "This was a meeting of old acquaintances," said Macri in a press interview. The Argentine Head of State also shared that he and Pope Francis touched on the "problems like poverty and drugs trafficking," Yahoo! News reported On the part of the Vatican, the meeting between the two world leaders turned out "cordial" and "demonstrated the good bilateral relations between the Holy See and the Argentine Republic," the Holy See Press Office wrote in a statement. The Vatican also seconded Macri's statement that they talked about the two aforementioned social issues and added that the pair also discussed other topics on human rights, assistance for integral development, peace, social reconciliation, and social justice. During the meeting between the two, Pope Francis and President Macri also talked about the role of the Catholic Church and its contribution to the society of Argentina, particularly to the youth, Yahoo News added. According to Radio Vatican, President Macri was formerly the Head of Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, where he served between 2007 and 2015, the Vatican Radio also cited. He only took the presidential office last December 2015. Prior to heading the Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, he was also elected to the country's lower house of Congress for Buenos Aires in 2005. On the other hand, the Roman Catholic's top brass had been the Archbishop of Buenos Aires since 1998 until he emerged victorious after the Papal conclave of 2013. He succeeded Pope Benedict XVI after his resignation in the earlier part of 2013. The two leaders also had some presents to give each other. The Argentine president bestowed the Pope some gifts, which include CDs with traditional Argentine music and tango, a poncho and a wooden Matara Cross. For his part, Pope Francis presented President Macri a peace medallion that bears the symbol of an olive tree. A new immigrant rights report finds that, over a two year period beginning in 2010, at least eight people died from inadequate medical care while being held at Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) detention centers across the country. Produced by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Detention Watch Network (DWN) and the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), the report, entitled "Fatal Neglect: How ICE Ignores Death in Detention," probed how ICE routinely failed to comply with its own medical standards, even after violations in fatal cases were found to be "contributing factors in these deaths." Still, inspections conducted before and after the deadly instances failed to highlight serious flaws, with seven of the eight facilities receiving passing ratings even after the Office of Detention Oversight (ODO) noted various violations. Detention Center Death Raises Questions The death of Pablo Gracida-Conte, a detainee at Arizona's Eloy Detention Center, has particularly raised eyebrows. For four months, Gracida-Conte desperately pleaded for medical attention for a condition that caused him to vomit after every meal and persistently sparked upper abdominal pain. The help never came, and four months later he succumbed to cardiomyopathy, a heart muscle disease that was medically treatable. Throughout his ordeal, Eloy staff were reportedly unable to effectively communicate with Gracida-Conte because he spoke Mixtec and no interpreter was ever called in to translate. Still, after his death the facility not only passed inspection, but an ODO investigator decided not to cite the company for noncompliance stemming from its neglect in violating ICE policy by not seeking the assistance of an interpreter. "Remarkably, the Office of Detention Oversight inspection claimed that Mr. Gracida's death was the first death to ever occur at Eloy when, in fact, it was the tenth death at the facility," said Jennifer Chan, associate director of policy with the National Immigrant Justice Center. Arizona Center Known as "Deadliest Immigration Detention Center in America" In all, Eloy has reported at least 14 deaths since 2004, when it earned the dubious distinction of being known as the "deadliest immigration detention center in America." Over at least part of that time, reports are the center operated without the benefit of a clinical director. Salvadoran national Anibal Ramirez-Ramirez was another victim. He died seven days after being taken into custody by ICE and five days after being processed at the privately operated Immigration Centers of America-Farmville (ICAF) in Virginia. Though he experienced various medical issues, such as constant vomiting, involuntary bowel movements and extreme disorientation, none of his symptoms were communicated between staffers at the different facilities, almost certainly slowing down any treatment he could have received. Since the Obama administration came into power in 2008, there have been at least 56 other deaths involving individuals in ICE custody. Just last year, at least ten men filed a complaint against the Theo Lacy facility in California, alleging physical abuse, medical neglect and retaliatory transfers. Over that same timeframe, numerous immigrants launched hunger strikes in detention centers around the country demanding better medical and dental care. Hundreds of sea lions are turning up dead on Chile's shores. According to marine researchers, more than 100 South American sea lions, or Otaria flavescens, have washed up on the shore of a small peninsula in northern Chile during the past three months, CNN reported. The location of the dead animals is in the area of the Mejillones Peninsula in the province of Antofagasta, where marine studies are commonly conducted by researchers. "This is happening along the entire coast of northern Chile and we're getting reports that it's also happening in Peru, our neighbor to the north," researcher Carlos Guerra-Correa said in an interview with CNN. "We could be talking about hundreds of sea lions washing up ashore dead in the entire region." Guerra-Correa, the director of the Regional Center for Environmental Studies and Education at Antofagasta University, noted that the majority of the dead sea lions are newborns, but adults and juveniles were also found. He told CNN that some of the young sea lions they found "still had their umbilical cords attached" and one "with a placenta." The recent sea lion deaths is part of a more extensive die-off currently taking place on South America's Pacific coast, the news outlet wrote. Cause of Death Guerra-Correa blamed the sea lions' deaths on a number of factors, including lack of food sources, CNN noted. Over-fishing is an issue as well because it intensely lessens the sea lions and other marine animals' feeding options. The weather is also the culprit. The El Nino phenomenon across the Pacific brings forth warm water to Chilean coasts. Unlike colder water, this warm water does not carry an abundance of phytoplankton, which is the food source of sardines and anchovies that sea lions consume. As a result, sea lions' food chain becomes unsettled and the animals end up starving to death, the news outlet added. "Starvation is primarily affecting female sea lions in the latter stages of pregnancy. That's why their babies are dying at birth or being miscarried," said Guerra-Correa, as reported by CNN. El Nino a Threat According to a report from BBC, the El Nino phenomenon also affects Indonesia, Australasia, the Galapagos and even as far away as Europe. The weather pattern occurs every two to seven years, but the global climate change has been intensifying El Nino's effects. With a year of intense El Nino, islands could receive 15 times as much rain as in a regular season, the news outlet added. This increased rainfall benefits terrestrial animal populations because plant growth increases, but the same cannot be said for marine creatures such as sea lions, penguins, marine iguanas and seabirds. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calls for the strongest warning for Essure's birth control device. The FDA issued a new requirement for German drug maker, Bayer AG, to create a new clinical study for their permanent birth control implant Essure in order to determine its effects on women who use it. Furthermore, the government agency is requiring the company to include a black box warning and a "Patient Decision Checklist" on the product's label. Essure has been around for 14 years since it was released in 2002. The postmarket study will include more than 2,000 women who will be followed for at least three years. The results of women who have used Essure's birth control implant will then be compared to those who have undergone tubal ligation. "The actions we are taking today will encourage important conversations between women and their doctors to help patients make more informed decisions about whether or not Essure is right for them," said Dr. William Maisel, FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health director for science, in a press release. "They also reflect our recognition that more rigorous research is needed to better understand if certain women are at heightened risk of complications." According to Reuters, Essure is marketed as an alternative to ligation in women. It is a small coil that is inserted into the fallopian tubes that will prevent sperm from reaching or fertilizing the eggs. It is considered to be a permanent form of birth control. There have been numerous complaints against Essure. Some women have reported that the device has broken or moved, therefore resulting in unwanted pregnancies. Others have complained of chronic pain, lupus and psoriasis. The Washington Post reports that Bayer is being sued over the device failing, but they maintain that it is "effective at preventing pregnancies." The outlet reports that a Facebook group of women called "Essure Problems" has criticized the FDA's decision to have Essure still be available on the market. "These studies could take several years, and leaving the device on the market will only put more women's lives at risk," the group said. "We are disappointed but not surprised the FDA has once again chosen to side with industry rather than protect patients of a failed medical device." In the agency's press release, the FDA believes that Essure is still a viable alternative for women who are looking for other forms of birth control. However, they added that women may experience some complications from using Essure, including "persistent pain, perforation of the uterus or fallopian tubes from device migration, abnormal bleeding and allergy or hypersensitivity reactions." Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo has decided to resign from his post following the controversial corruption scandal he is handling. Cardozo Resigned On Monday, Brazil's presidential palace informed the public that Cardozo is leaving his position as justice minister. His resignation comes shortly after his political allies disapproved of his ways in handling corruption issues, The News & Observer reported. Cardozo was assigned to the said position in 2011. Following his resignation, Wellington Cesar Lima e Silva, a Bahia prosecutor, will take over the position. Cardozo Was Pressured Per Reuters, the former justice minister was pressured by several factors. The investigation of bribery and corruption has already led some of the officials behind bars and recent speculation suggests that former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is also under investigation. Silva, who lead the country from 2003 to 2010, was notified that the court is planning to examine his bank, telephone and finances. This move reportedly increased the pressure on Cardozo, which triggered him to leave his post. Per the report, Worker's Party officials were not happy about Cardozo's refusal to limit the investigation of "Operation car Wash." The said corruption investigation involved several senior politicians and business executives. Moreover, they are also mad about the investigation towards Silva, who allegedly enjoys several benefits from the construction of companies that are implicated in the kickback scandal. Silva is Innocent On Saturday, Worker's Party celebrated its 36 years and during the said event, Silva expressed his dismay against the media and the opposition. He explained that all allegations against him are lies. He also lashed out about the subpoenas he received, stressing his innocence. "If this is the price people must pay to prove their innocence, I'll do it," Silva said. "The only thing I want is that afterward they give me a good conduct certificate because I doubt there is anyone more honest than I am in the country." The Guardian reported that Silva is willing to run for president in 2018 if necessary. Cardozo's Resignation on the Corruption Case ABC News reported that Cardozo's departure will not affect the investigation. However, Claudio Couto, a political science professor at Fundacao Getulio Vargas, believed that it will affect President Dilma Rousseff because the two were close allies. Currently, Rousseff is battling her own impeachment trial for allegedly manipulating government accounts two years ago to have more of a budget during the run-up until the election. The opposition party is also investigating if her campaign in 2014 was funded with illegal money. If proven, her re-election might be at stake. "It's a tragic situation," Couto said. "She has to try to please the party because she needs its support, but every time she does so she undermines what little credibility she has left." Donald Trump's rally in southwest Virginia was filled with his supporters but there were also protesters and a bit of chaos during the whole event. Donald Trump in Virginia Thousands of individuals gathered in the Radford University gymnasium to hear the Republican front-runner's statement about his position concerning the race to the White House. The presidential aspirant is positive that he will be victorious in states that formerly supported Democrats, like Michigan and New York, The Washington Post reported. Trump did not delay his announcement and started it by noting his huge lead based on the recent CNN poll. "So you know CNN just released a poll an hour ago. And it even surprised me," Trump said according to ABC News. "I'll tell you. Just came out. Trump, 49 percent. Just came out. Oh, it's too bad. Gee, that's too bad. I'm looking at little Marco Rubio, 16 percent. Lying Ted Cruz, 15 percent. Carson, 10 and Kasich, 6 percent." Trump and the Woman Protester While Trump was discussing his plans for keeping jobs in the United States, there was a commotion at bay. Some of the crowd in the bleachers were mocking a woman protester. When the billionaire politician noticed it, he addressed the woman and shouted at her as she stepped down from the bleachers, "Are you from Mexico?" He repeated it several times while the crowd booed the woman as she was escorted out. Trump vs. Mexicans Trump is very open about his plans concerning illegal immigrants. He has also called them rapists and killers in the past. In a separate report from The Washington Post, Trump thinks Mexico is beating the country economically and that they are just making the Americans look stupid. "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you," Trump said. "They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." Other Protesters and Commotions Meanwhile, another group of protesters, mostly African-Americans made noise by shouting "No more hate." It took about 10 minutes to escort the young protesters out. As they left the place, the GOP candidate shouted, "All lives matter," which resulted in louder cheers. He made the same statement in Alabama on Sunday. After the young protesters left, another commotion happened. TIME magazine photographer, Christopher Morris was about to leave the press section to take a few shots of the Black Lives Matter protesters when he was attacked by a Secret Service agent. Morris was thrown onto the ground and choked. He said he did not touch the agent, but a video showed him kicking and reaching the officer's neck. TIME reported that Morris was briefly detained. Bolivian President Evo Morales has just received some of the best news any father could have: his supposedly dead son is alive. Earlier this February, Morales had just acknowledged the fact that he fathered a son to his former lover, Gabriela Zapata, who is now imprisoned for allegations of corruption. According to a New York Times report, the Bolivian leader's "love scandal" with Zapata, among other issues tied to him, had brought Morales to an uncertainty in his race for a fourth term as the president of the poorest country in South America. Apparently, Morales and Zapata became "close" in 2005 and had a child in 2007. The child, however, had died shortly after he was born due to an unspecified illness. "After 2007, I cut all ties," he said, referring to his short-lived relationship with Zapata. But in an unexpected twist of fate, Morales found out from the child's aunt that he is alive and well. "Sir, the child lives, I have held him in my arms; the child is eight or nine (years-old) and he is [in La Paz]," Buenos Aires Herald quoted Pilar Guzman telling PAT television on Saturday. Now, the Bolivian leader is faced with a new challenge in his career in politics as well as his personal life: proving that he did not lie and seeking the audience of his own child. According to Buenos Aires Herald, the revelation about his son with Zapata being alive did not help Morales' bid for another term in the presidency as critics saw his previous statement as a lie. However, the Bolivian president is sticking to his statement, even claiming that he was the one who was lied to by his former girlfriend. "It may be true, or it may be unfortunate but it is worrying that an alleged aunt claimed that the child is alive," he said in a statement cited by BBC News. "Nevertheless, now that they say the child is alive, I want to tell you that if he is alive, well firstly it is a great joy for me, it is like a blessing in the end, if he is alive," he added. Now, Morales is asking Zapata's family to give him the chance to see his son, pointing out that he has the "right to see him, to know him, to care for him," according to a report from Tico Times. Meanwhile, his bid to amend the constitution to allow him to run for his fourth term via a referendum was rejected by 51.3 percent of Bolivian voters. Santiago Uribe, the brother of ex-Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, has been arrested on murder allegations in the death squad case probe. Santiago Uribe was arrested Monday in Medellin, Antioquia on charges of murder and conspiracy and for allegedly forming a death squad called the "12 Apostles" (Los Doce Apostoles). According to Colombia Reports, Uribe was arrested by officers from the Prosecutor General's Office and was detained there until the arrest was approved by a court judge. According to the outlet, Senator Paloma Valencia of Uribe's Democratic Center party says that the arrest was politically-motivated. "We received this news with great sorrow for what it means for the country that are being lost democratic freedoms and that this corrupt government, through a corrupt prosecutor, is dedicated to the persecution of honorable people with political coups, while seeking impunity for terrorists," Senator Valencia said. Uribe has denied any involvement in the paramilitary group and the murders. The Guardian reports that the main witness against the former president's younger brother, ex-chief of police Juan Carlos Meneses, points to Uribe as one of the leaders of the death squad. The Twelve Apostles is allegedly responsible for numerous murders in Antioquia in the 1990s. Meneses described The Twelve Apostles as "a group of people doing cleaning, or social cleansing, or disappeared people who identify themselves as guerrillas, as thieves, as kidnappers, extortionists or even if they only had a vice, or vices. The only thing you have to do is, when that group goes to do a job, you have to collaborate with them," TeleSur TV reports. Meneses said that "collaboration" meant in the form of monthly cash payments. He also testified that Uribe had a base in a La Carolina ranch where he used radios to operate the death squad. He added that he saw 15 death squad members with AR-15 and AK-47 rifles at the ranch who were doing training, CBS News reports. Ex-Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was also linked to the killings, especially in the El Aro massacre in 1997, the place where he was a governor during that time. An earlier report by The Guardian stated that the victims said that armed men killed at least 15 people, raped women and burned homes during two days of carnage. However, Ex-President Uribe said that he was only being "slandered" since elections were just around the corner at that time. Former President Uribe accused his successor, Juan Manuel Santos, for his brother's plight in order to hinder the progress of the Democratic Center movement. Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has reached an unfathomable point in a person's life where success is in every corner but the question remains: what is his secret? John Oliver may have revealed the answer to that during Sunday's episode of HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver." In the 22-minute long video posted over YouTube, the Emmy Award-winning writer basically trashed the same reputation that Trump is waving in his presidential competitors' faces. According to Oliver, those who supported Trump who won the primaries in three huge states in the United States should rethink who they're voting for, pointing out that he may not who they think he is. One of the reasons why Americans like him is because "he tells it like it is." This, says the host, is a grave and utter misconception, pointing out statistics posted by the website PolitiFact stating that "77 of his statements, and rated 76 percent of them as varying degrees of false." Another thing Oliver straightened out in the clip is the idea that Trump is independent because of his reiteration that he funds his own campaign and is not beholden to anyone. Aside from that, the host also pointed out how Trump is wildly inconsistent with his statements, saying: "He's been pro-choice and pro-life, for and against assault weapon bans, in favor of both bringing in Syrian refugees and deporting them out of the country." But aside from discrediting the characteristics his supporters see as his advantage, Oliver also revealed that Trump had not been very honest with how he presented himself to be. Talking about the businessman's success, Oliver made the big reveal: Donald Trump used a surname that was not his to begin with, just to build his "brand." Apparently, one of Trump's ancestors changed their last name to "Trump" from "Drumpf." A report from the September 2015 Boston Globe revealed that the Donald Trump that America looks up to today hailed from a German wine-growing family. Citing Gwenda Blair's "The Trumps: Three Generations That Built An Empire," the outlet explained that the Drumpfs officially became the Trumps during the Thirty Years' War. From there, Fred C. Trump, Donald's father, started using their new last name in every business he put up, including their supermarket chains and real estate company. After that, the Republican frontrunner started throwing his last name in every business venture that he claims to be of high "quality." While the name changing is not illegal, Oliver's main point in the video was to open the American people's eyes at who he really is and not be "blinded by the magic of his name." Calling Trump a "litigious serial liar with a string of broken business ventures," he called for the Republican presidential candidate to become "Donald Drumpf again." Check out the entire video of Sunday's episode "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Donald Trump." Despite Donald Trumps controversial statements against the illegal immigrants and coming up with the concept of building a wall between the United States and Mexico, the presidential candidate is still getting a lot of support from the Latino community. Here are five Latinos who actually side with the billionaire. Latino Supporters 1. Shawn Bambaro The Daily Beast wrote that the 39-year-old is the son of Colombian immigrants and operates the Facebook group Latinos Support Trump. He agrees Trumps stance on immigration, saying that there needs to be a process where illegals have to be deported although the process will take a long time. He said that the media portrayed a negative image about the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. 2. Lhessa Lyons The 41-year-old has a Dominican background and works as a research analyst for a government contracting company. She also agrees with Trumps immigration plan and created the Facebook page Latinos for Donald Trump. She said that she does not consider herself either a Republican or Democrat, but would vote for Trump in a general election. She added that she was not offended by Trump calling undocumented immigrants rapists. More Hispanic Supporters 3. Delilah Rodriguez In an article from the Huffington Post, Rodriguez is described as a 59-year-old from Laconia and was a notable figure in the New Hampshire rally. She shared that she admires how Trump is fearless in speaking the truth. She believes that the U.S. government should fully close the U.S.-Mexico border for a while. She also said that potential immigrants should go through the proper procedures. 4. Alex Chapa The 39-year-old son of Rodriguez from Manchester who joined the army 10 days after 9/11. He also shares the same views as Trump and his mother. He said that American Hispanics do not want undocumented immigrants to take their tax money. Chapa said that his paternal grandparents legally transferred to the United States from Mexico in the 1940s. As Mexicans, they are supporting Trump. 5. Alex Vargas According to The Hill, the Republican Party activist in Massachusetts said that he likes Trumps brashness and how he is not afraid to say what is on his mind. He is the one who can speak what people can only think. I think there was a better way to say why we need to control the border, and so I may actually flip a coin on Tuesday to see whether I vote for Trump or for Rubio," he said. A 15-month investigation conducted by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office found one Long Island School District denied enrollment to unaccompanied immigrant students. The initial inquiry began in October 2014 when Schneiderman launched an internal review of various school districts in Rockland, Nassau, Westchester and Suffolk counties. Blatant discrimination was found at Long Island's Westbury District, where undocumented children, primarily from Central and South America, were either delayed or outright denied admission. "Education is the bedrock of our American democracy, and every child in our country - no matter where they were born -- deserve the chance to attend school and seek a diploma," Schneiderman said in a press statement. "I am pleased that the Westbury District has agreed to come into compliance with the law and that I will also provide additional services to any student who was, until now, unable to enroll." Questionable practices -- those of requesting Social Security numbers, debating a student's country of birth, and excluding English language learners age 16 or older from attending high school -- lasted over three years. At least two dozen students eligible for the district's only high school were told they were too old, many forced to toggle between programs with limited academic offerings. "We will continue to work tirelessly with school districts across New York State to ensure that every child is treated equally and has full access to the tools needed to become productive members of society," said Schneiderman. Westbury joins 21 other school districts in reaching agreements with the attorney general. Among the new requirements are the need to develop new enrollment procedures, provide compensatory educational services to students affected between 2012 and 2015 and maintain records of district denials and reasons they were denied until March 2018. Steven Choi, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, said the non-profit organization will work with Schneiderman to ensure education is provided for all students, regardless of their citizenship status. "As recently arrived Central American children started settling on Long Island, we started to see them be deliberately shut out of basic educational opportunities -- being able to enroll in local schools, or accessing academic materials that would help them graduate on time," Choi said in a statement. Choi added, "We commend Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for making sure school districts across New York are complying with state and federal laws that ensure recently arrived immigrant children are given the rightful opportunities to be their best selves in the country they now call home." Argentine chef Francis Mallmann, who is widely esteemed among the culinary circle in South America, forays into the United States food industry as he opens his first restaurant at the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach named Los Fuegos. According to NBC News, Mallmann is highly regarded for his dramatic open-fire cooking technique and contemporary Argentinian menu. His book "Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way" received the James Beard award while the chef himself gains more popularity from the Netflix series "Chef's Table." When asked about the connection between his new restaurant and his work from both his travels and home in the Patagonia region along the boundaries of Argentina and Chile, he said, "Work is sort of a language of life that is very related with the outdoors and that's why we have this beautiful terrace at the Faena Hotel where Los Fuegos is and our fires, which are very important." "When I talk about the language of life, it's not only about the cooking. It's about the experience which is very important," he added. "I have to feel very tuned to everything I do. It has to be related to the way I live. Inside the business, first there has to be this huge happiness and comfort and yeah -- feeling at home." Miami.com listed Faena Hotel Miami Beach as one of the 10 best Miami hotels for foodies to visit during the recently held South Beach Wine & Food Festival last Feb. 24 to Feb. 28. Mallmann's restaurant was also cited as one of the two main attractions for diners in the hotel. Together with fellow James Beard Award winner and Austin-based chef Paul Qui's pan-Asian restaurant called Pao, the outlet described Los Fuegos as two of the hottest new restaurants in town. The website also mentioned the ribeye steak from Los Fuegos, which the reviewer said is just the best slab. The two restaurants from Mallmann and Qui were also cited by Conde Nast Taveler as part of the Faena District, which the site dubbed as one of the four new reasons to visit Miami. Mallmann was also one of the vocal critics of the World's 50 Best Restaurants by the trade magazine Restaurant, the New York Times cited. While Mallmann was formerly a judge for the best restaurant list and admits that the list include some of the world's very best, he also said that having such a list somehow makes chef work for the recognition more than anything else. He also added that the process involves a lot of lobbying and politics. The New York State Education Department's Board of Regents has approved a plan allowing certain Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, who came to U.S. as children, to apply for classroom teaching certificates and other forms of professional licenses. "These are young people who came to the U.S. as children," said State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia, noting that the only hurdle now remaining is a public comment period. "They are American in every way but immigration status," she added. "They've done everything right. They've worked hard in school, some have even served in the military, but when it's time to apply for a license, they're told 'Stop. That's far enough.' We shouldn't close the door on their dreams. Allowing these young people to get professional licenses will open up a new world of economic opportunity for them." DACA Evolves From 2012 Implementation Back in 2012, the Obama administration implemented the current DACA policy that allows individuals who came to the U.S. as children and meet established guidelines to request consideration for deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal. Typically, individuals falling under that umbrella are young people who derive their immigration status from their undocumented parents. The situation has left many of these individuals with few options when it comes to gaining legal residency, even though many of them have spent their entire lives in the U.S. DACA recipients are authorized to work in the U.S., but up until now, they have been prohibited from obtaining teaching certification and licenses in such professions as pharmacy, dentistry and engineering solely based on their immigration status. The action by the Board of Regents, when finalized after the public comment period, will open up the licensing process to DACA recipients. "Today is a great day for a State which prides itself in being a national leader on issues of social justice," said New York Assembly Member and Chair of the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force Marcos Crespo. "The decision by the New York State Board of Regents to grant licensure in various professions to individuals who came to the United States as children and who are qualified under the Obama Administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is an example of government performing at its best." Cesar Vargas Rises From Ranks of Undocumented Recently, state officials celebrated the story of Cesar Vargas, a 31-year-old undocumented immigrant who rose to become an attorney. The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court recently ruled that Vargas, who has lived in the U.S. since the age of five, had a legal right to be permitted to the state bar after passing the New York bar exam on the first attempt. He is now the first undocumented law school graduate to practice law in the state. To date, more than 53,000 New Yorkers have registered for DACA, with an estimated 200,000 more who also fit the restrictions still living there under the radar. Across the country, some 787,000 have registered for DACA status. The Vermont Senate approved on Thursday a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana use in the state. The bill will be submitted to the House of Representatives for a decision. Should the House approve the bill, Vermont will become the first state to legalize marijuana through legislation. Forbes reported the bill was passed by a vote of 17 to 12 in the Senate. The bill paves way for the creation of a taxed and regulated system of selling marijuana. Starting 2018, only state-licensed growers and merchants can cultivate the plant and operate businesses. The state of Vermont will collect 25 percent excise tax from the marijuana industry. The revenues will provide additional support for drug treatment, prevention and enforcement of laws and regulations. Under the bill, only adults aged 21 years or older will permitted to possess a maximum of one ounce of marijuana. Non-residents can purchase only a quarter of an ounce of weed. Additionally, the bill does not allow the sale of marijuana edibles and home cultivation. The bill also designates a research committee that will study the advantages and disadvantages of these activities in the future. According to Vox, although Vermont is not the first state to legalize pot-Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Alaska have gone ahead-other states approved legalization through a general election, unlike in Vermont where it was done by legislative initiative. Once the House of Representatives for the legalization of recreational marijuana use, Democrat Governor Peter Shumlin will sign the bill to effectuate it. Shumlin is a known supporter of the bill. "This bill will allow us to address those important issues by driving out illegal drug dealers, doing a better job than we currently do of keeping marijuana out of the hands of underage kids," Governor Shumlin said. "[The bill will help in] dealing with the drugged drivers who are already driving on our roads, addressing treatment, and educating Vermonters to the harmful effects of consuming marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes." Reports, however, indicate that the bill would struggle in the House of Representatives where there is far lesser support for marijuana legalization. The House's Judiciary Committee will review the bill on the second week of March, as noted by High Times. A full House vote on the bill will commence by the end of month. A recent poll conducted by the Vermont Public Radio showed that 55 percent of residents support marijuana legalization. The Council of Europe warned that reforms of Poland's constitutional court pose a danger to the rule of law in the European Union member state. Legal experts advised the Council of Europe to strike out provisions of a law reforming the country's highest court. The reform took place after Poland's ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party removed judges from the constitutional tribunal based on the sole ground that they were installed by the opposition Civic Platform party. According to the draft opinion of the Venice Commission, obtained by the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, it stated that "constitutional crisis" meant "not only is the rule of law in danger, but so is democracy and human rights." "As long as the situation of constitutional crisis related to the constitutional tribunal remains unsettled and as long as the constitutional tribunal cannot carry out its work in an efficient manner, not only is the rule of law in danger, but so is democracy and human rights," the expert body concluded. It said PiS reasoning on the need for pluralism of judges was wrong because "such a claim misunderstands the role of pluralism in a constitutional tribunal, which is not to represent political interests and parties." To prevent future crises, it "recommended that the constitution be amended in the long run" to guarantee an "effective anti-deadlock mechanism" for the Constitutional Court. It also said such changes could "slow down" the tribunal's decisions and make it "less effective as a guardian of the constitution." It added that judicial checks and balances were "especially important in times of strong political majorities," alluding to PiS' dominant position in parliament. Polish PM Beata Szydlo told that the draft text was under deliberation and that the Venice body will file its final conclusion. She noted that the findings would have no binding effect. "Poland is a sovereign country and Polish authorities take decisions relating to its internal affairs in a sovereign manner, directed by the national interest on the basis of the constitution," she said. The Polish government has yet no response to a letter from the Council of Europe secretary-general, sent in early January, expressing concern about the law's effect on "the integrity and independence" of the media. "We hope to pursue a dialogue on that with the Polish authorities," the spokesman said. The Council of Europe is an international organization that seeks to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law, working closely with the EU. A U.S. Appeals Court upheld on Monday the legality of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's action when it designated more than 187,000 square miles as a critical habitat for polar bears in Alaska's northern coast. The court ruling is a hallelujah for the protection of endangered species, but is seen as a blow to Alaska's waning petroleum industry. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco overturned a decision rendered by the lower court in 2013, which held that the designation was too arbitrary and extensive to be enforced. ABC News reported that a three-judge panel in the appeals court ruled that the Fish and Wildlife Service did not violate any law for the designation. Moreover, the Endangered Species Act does not require for specificity when identifying critical habitats for threatened animals. U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline held that while the designation of sea ice as a critical habitat was valid, the Center of Biological Diversity did not make clear that the areas covered would be appropriate for polar bear dens. On this, the appeals court judges argued that the lower court only considered the denning aspect, but failed to appreciate the polar bears' need to unrestricted access to sea ice, as noted by the San Francisco Chronicle. The Court of Appeals ruling was hailed as a victory for the Center of Biological Diversity. "The polar bear gets the full protection of critical habitat to which it's entitled, it deserves and it truly needs," Brendan Cummings said, who represents the petitioner. The Alaska Oil and Gas Association did not welcome the decision, branding the land designation an overreach. The American Petroleum Institute will also review the court's decision and look at its options. "The U.S. can sustain and build on our nation's positive energy trajectory while protecting the polar bear and providing greater regulatory certainty not only to the oil and natural gas industry but also to all U.S. manufacturers," API said in a dispatch, via Bloomberg. Former Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell argued that the designated critical habitat covers areas vital to nearly half of Alaska's oil and petroleum production and exploration. Fish and Wildlife Service has imposed the critical habitat program to save the polar bear population, which has been on a decline in the last decade. As of 2010, the number of polar bears in the Alaskan region has fallen to 1,000. Ahead of the Super Tuesday when voters choose their Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, the United States State Department released the final batch of emails from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton, who is running for president, has sent and received these emails from her private server located insider her home. In a report by VOA News, the latest release of the last batch of emails results to a total of more than 52,000 emails including 2,000 censored information categorized as classified. The final batch contained 3,800 pages including one sensitive email about North Korea's nuclear program, which is said to be "top secret." It has been since changed to "secret" and State Department spokesman John Kirby said that the initial assessment was not correct. Clinton has denied that the information she sent or received, which were deleted, was marked classified at the time she turned over other files and emails to the U.S. State Department, News 4 San Antonio reported. However, the released emails contained exchanges between Clinton and U.S. President Barack Obama and they are being withheld for "executive privilege" reasons. These emails with Obama are in top of those classified as top secret and sensitive. Other messages also include memos from then-Senator John Kerry regarding his meeting with foreign generals, emails about an Associated Press story concerning drone strikes, and portions of messages from Sidney Blumenthal about Kyrgyzstan. Politico reported that Clinton is facing an ongoing FBI investigation regarding her email arrangement and possible breaches regarding classified information. Clinton's campaign has been plagued with this issue but she says she has used a personal email instead of a state.gov account for convenience. Critics, however, believe she was evading federal public records laws. Her Republican opponents have been making the issue their main point against Clinton, but her co-Democrat presidential frontrunner, Bernie Sanders, has not commented on it. It is expected that if Clinton wins as the Democratic candidate, the emails will again be the point for argument for the Republican presidential bid. On Tuesday, the names of the famous Yosemite landmarks' are set to change amidst the bitter legal battle of the Park Service against its former concessionaire, Delaware North. Work crews have put up new signages to some of the popular tourist destinations around Yosemite National Park as the park endorse a new vendor Aramark. During the weekends, Delaware North, the locally based hospitality and tourism giant tried to offer a last-minute settlement to its competitor Aramark. Delaware North claimed that changing the names of the Yosemite landmarks are not needed. The company offered Aramark transferring names of Ahwahnee Hotel, Curry Village and other park venues while a compensation due to the former will be pending. However, Aramark dismissed the deal and instead pushed on Delaware to put down the case, Buffalo News reports. "This dispute is like an ugly divorce, with the park-loving public as the children," San Francisco Chronicle columnist Debra Saunders wrote. According to Yahoo, the legal battle between National Park Service and Delaware North started in June after the park chose Aramark as its concenssionaire. The $2-billion contract covers a period of 15 years where Aramark will operate restaurants, stores, hotels and other Yosemite landmarks. The park was sued by Delaware North in September over a breach of contract claiming rights to the trademarks, which they priced at $44 million. Delaware North also wants compensation from the damages and other assets. "This is corporate greed," Eric Raymond, a Bay Area resident said on Twitter while urging support for a petition that seeks the release of the names to the citizens of the United States, Reuters claims. In response to the suit over the Yosemite landmarks change of names, the Park Service said that Delaware put a high price on the price of the properties. As per the court filings, the Parl Service valued the Yosemite landmarks value at $3.5 million. In January, the Buffalo-based company was shaken up when the Park Service claimed that they are pursuing the change of names of the trademarked properties. The National Park Service and the Aramark have remained quiet whether a last-minute talks are happening to resolve the Yosemite landmarks' issues. Yosemite is one of the popular tourist destinations in the U.S. with 4.3 million visitors in 2015. At present, preparations in setting up of temporary signages are ongoing in Yosemite. As far as the National Park Service and Aramark are concerned, they are pursuing with the smooth transition of the concession from the Buffalo-based comapany while the case is ongoing. A Bethlehem man faces charges after being caught by officers stealing from unlocked vehicles throughout Bethlehem Township, police said. (file photo) James Joseph Johnson, 37, of the 900 block of Monacacy Drive, at 6:20 a.m. Monday was seen by a resident peering into vehicles and pulling door handles to check if doors were unlocked the area of Skyline Drive and Moravian Court in the township, according to police. The resident told police, according to court records, that when Johnson realized she was watching him, he pretended to wave at a window. The woman knew the homeowners at that residence and told police Johnson didn't belong there, records say. An officer dispatched to the scene found Johnson allegedly running through back yards in an attempt to flee from police. The officer radio-ed to another officer to be on the lookout for Johnson, who allegedly was then running behind the 3500 block of Timber Lane toward Easton Avenue. Once Johnson spotted the second officer, police say, he walked over to a parked pickup truck and pretended to put something in the bed of the truck. A few items dropped to the ground, according to police. Police then searched the pickup truck and seized a fire starter, cellphone, rubber glove and candy bar. In his possession were three rosaries, $7.68 in loose change, nail clippers and a leather wallet with a PBA gold family member card from a New Jersey police officer, court records say. The New Jersey police officer confirmed his vehicle had been rummaged through and he was missing various items, records say. Officers arrested Johnson and the witness also confirmed Johnson as the alleged thief. Johnson is charged with theft from a vehicle, criminal attempt, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and loitering. He was arraigned before District Judge Patricia Broscius, who sent him to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail. The judge ordered Johnson have no contact with the victims, submit to random drug and alcohol testing, have no firearms and enroll in Northampton County Pretrial Services. The judge allowed 10 percent of $75,000 bail if approved by Pretrial Services. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. UPDATE: Missing man found safe and back at home, police say Fountain Hill police are looking for a 24-year-old man who is in the higher functioning portion of the autism spectrum and has run away from his parents' home. Emmanuel Alvarez Torres. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com) Emmanuel Alvarez Torres, of the 900 block of Cherokee Street, was last seen Sunday afternoon at New Bethany Ministries in Bethlehem, police said. Torres, who only speaks Spanish, is 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 93 pounds, police said. He has brown hair and brown eyes and might have a goatee, police said. He has run away before, but usually quickly returns, police said. He is not a threat to himself or others, police said. If anyone sees Torres, they are asked to call Lehigh County communications at 610-437-5252. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Bethlehem police are searching for an attacker they say beat a woman, bound her with packaging tape and tried to force pills down her throat to stage a suicide. Bethlehem police are looking for Jeffrey Salemo, 27. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com) The Bethlehem Police 911 Center at 2 a.m. Saturday received a call from a woman they heard in the background saying, "Don't hurt me" several times, said Bethlehem Police Chief Mark DiLuzio. When officers arrived, they found the victim with injures to her face and body. The suspect, 27-year-old Jeffrey Salemo, allegedly beat the woman, choked her and later bound her with packaging tape. He fled before police got there. Salemo had threatened to kill the victim and make it look like a suicide, DiLuzio said. He allegedly tried to force Xanax pills down her throat. Police say small children were at the home during the attack. The victim was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in Fountain Hill for her injures. Police said Salemo remains on the lam. Once arrested, he will be charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, making terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person and unlawful restraint, according to police. Salemo has not been heard from since the incident and his whereabouts are unknown, police said. Those with information are urged to call 610-865-7187. Salemo is described as a white man with blue eyes and brown hair. He's about 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, police said. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A Bethlehem woman is accused of attacking her ex-boyfriend's car with a metal pipe Tuesday morning, and then throwing the pipe at him, hitting him in the forehead. Monica Garcia wasn't finished, city police said. When Garcia's ex sat in the driver's seat of the Nissan Maxima she just dented, police said Garcia got into another car and rammed the side of the Maxima. The 37-year-old Garcia was arrested and charged with criminal mischief, two counts of simple assault, as well as single counts of reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, harassment, disorderly conduct and driving with a suspended license. Garcia, of the 1200 block of Lebanon Street, was freed after posting 10 percent of $2,500 bail. Bethlehem police said they were called about 6:30 a.m. to the 1200 block of Flower Drive. The girlfriend of Garcia's ex reported she saw Garcia hitting the Maxima with a metal pipe, police said. Garcia and her ex-boyfriend have a child together and she knew the ex and his girlfriend drove the car, police said. Garcia's ex went outside as Garcia was hitting the car, police said; the two began to argue, when Garcia threw the pipe and hit the man on the forehead. The victim got into the driver's seat of the Maxima, and that's when Garcia got into her car and purposefully drove into the driver's side door, police said. An officer saw multiple dents and scratches on the Maxima; its headlights, taillights and side mirrors smashed; and a metal pipe was on the ground. Police said a Nissan Altima parked next to the ex-boyfriend's car was also damaged with a dent on the driver's side door. The damage was estimated at $5,000. Surveillance video corroborated statements from the victims and witnesses, police said. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A psychological report has been requested on a Laois man convicted of repeatedly striking a Polish man in the face with the butt of a rifle. A psychological report has been requested on a Laois man convicted of repeatedly striking a Polish man in the face with the butt of a rifle. The incident arose out of a dispute between two sets of brothers, Anthony Bowe, Rathdowney, and Barry Bowe, Shanahoe; and Polish men David Marszelewski and Piotr Marszelewski. On OMoore Street in Rathdowney on October 30, 2011, after Anthony Bowes front window was smashed with a rock, Barry Bowe hit David Marszelewski repeatedly in the face with a rifle, while Anthony Bowe hit Piotr Marszelewski with his fists. Before Portlaoise Circuit Court last October, Anthony Bowe pleaded guilty to assault causing harm, and Barry Bowe pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm. The case was adjourned in October for probation and community service reports, and for medical reports on David Marszelewski. When the case returned to the recent Circuit Court on April 29, a letter from Dr Niall ODoherty said that Mr David Marszelewski, who underwent craniology surgery, had made a good recovery, but still has issues. He suffered a loss of vision and a loss of balance, experienced headaches, and had been referred to an eye clinic. His wife also claimed he was slow to respond. State prosecutor, Mr Will Fennelly read out further reports in which it was said that Mr Marszelewski had been left with poor vision and a skull defect and would need help returning to work as a security guard. However, defence for Barry Bowe, Mr Colm Hennessy said there were a number of contradictions in the victim impact report. Mr Hennessy said that Mr Marszelewski had claimed I had to learn to walk, think, and read again, but two consultant neurosurgeons had used the phrase a good recovery. Remarked Judge Tony Hunt: People who suffer serious injuries are not the most objective observers, for obvious reasons, but that doesnt detract from the seriousness of the assault. Mr Hennessy said that his client did not resile from the seriousness of the offence, but as the probation report on Barry Bowe said that a comprehensive psychological report could be of use, Mr Hennessy told Judge Hunt that a report of that nature would be of assistance. I dont know what difference it will make, said Judge Hunt. Im not convinced its necessary, but I will defer to the probation officer. Mr Piotr Marszelewski took the witness box to give his own victim impact evidence. Admitting that he didnt get much injuries, he said that he had suffered a broken lip and a few bruises and had to go to hospital a few times due to a big headache. Defence for Anthony Bowe, Ms Geraldine Fitzpatrick said that her client accepted he had let himself and his family down. Remarking that Barry Bowe was in very serious danger before the court, Judge Hunt put the matter back to July 30 and said the case would be disposed of one way or another on that date. Background to the case was given at the October Circuit Court by retired Garda Sgt Luke Kavanagh, led by Mr Will Fennelly. The court heard that there was animosity between the two sets of brothers, concerning incidents around Peadars Inn in Rathdowney, of which Barry Bowe had been the licensee. It was alleged that both Polish men had been barred from the pub in August 2011 due to an altercation in which Anthony Bowe, who had been working the door, claimed he was punched and kicked by David Marszelewski, and the following day was threatened by him saying: You are a f*cking dead man. Poplar Square one of the best known landmarks in Naas could be renamed with a 1916 theme. Local councillor Seamie Moore wants the 1916 Rising to be remembered by renaming a location such as Poplar Square with a name linked to the event like Independence Square, Pearse Square or Patriot Square. However not every Naas Municipal District councillor supported the move with Cllr Darren Scully pointing out the other well known people from Naas could be remembered in Naas and not just the past leaders of 1916. Naas Mayor James Lawless said Poplar Square is a well established name and perhaps other streets or landmarks might be renamed. Cllr Moore said its only fair and honourable that Naas give tribute to the events of 1916. He said: Many streets, town squares, railway stations, bridges, schools and military barracks have been renamed around the 1916 leaders in other towns. He described Naas as being one of the most anglicised towns which has never given any tribute to patriots or rebellious events or our national fight for freedom. On the contrary he said addresses in the town like Jubilee Terrace and Victoria Terrace reflect the UK governance here, while townland names like Halverstown, Punchestown and Sherlockstown reflect Irelands Norman history. He conceded that Naas Town Council has named Wolfe Tone Street and Devoy road and the Army names Devoy Barracks and Devoy Terrace. Nevertheless there is nothing in Naas to recognise the 1916 Rising Tomorrow is International Rare Diseases Day, and I shall be asking in the Lords what contribution the Government are providing for the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium. The EU defines a rare disease as one that affects no more than 5 in every 10,000 persons. But since between 6,000 and 8,000 such diseases have been identified, about 3.5 million patients are affected in the UK. Three quarters of these diseases can affect children, and nearly a third of the youngest patients die before their fifth birthday. The Department of Health launched a draft plan for rare diseases a year ago and undertook a consultation on it leading to the definitive plan, scheduled for the second half of this year. Rare Disease UK, the National Alliance for people with rare diseases and their supporters, launched a report today on the value of care coordinators to both patients and the NHS, a win-win scheme that benefits patients and saves money for the NHS. The UK participates in rare disease research at the European level, a programme costing 38 million over the next six years. The theme of tomorrow is Rare Disorders without Borders, highlighting the importance of sharing medical research and practice on diseases which may only affect a few people in the UK. Yesterday in the European Parliament two Alliance of Liberals and Democrats MEPs were hosting a stakeholder meeting to discuss revision of the Transparency Directive on medicinal products, that would improve the pricing transparency of medicinal products and thus help to lower the cost of treatment of rare diseases. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the US Orphan Drugs Act, which gave special marketing protection to the developers of drugs for rare diseases. This side of the Atlantic, the European Medicines Agency provides incentives to SMEs for the development of orphan medicines. An article in the December issue of the magazine Health argued that the current orphan drugs regime led to higher prices and there seems to be a case for it to be reviewed at EU level. Here, the Prime Minister launched the report Strategy for Life Sciences: One Year On in December, announcing a new focus on genomics, a field which is set to change the way disease is diagnosed, prevented and treated. The NHS is earmarking 100 million towards sequencing the genomes of 100,000 patients with cancers and rare diseases. The UK is already a leading player in life sciences, with a pharmaceutical industry worth 30 billion a year; medical and biotechnology sectors turning over 20 billion a year, and a similar huge potential for innovation in our universities and the NHS. The combination has made this country an attractive destination for overseas investors, to the tune of 1 billion in 2012. As an example of how the life sciences strategy will enhance our capability on rare diseases, the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund is putting 10 million into an 85 million partnership between University College London and the Great Ormond Street Hospital, for a Centre for Childrens Rare Diseas Research. So in spite of the economic problems we face, there is a good story to tell on how we are tackling rare diseases with more resources and greater collaboration, both domestically and internationally. * Eric Lubbock, Lord Avebury, is a working peer, and Vice-Chair, Parliamentary Human Rights Group. He blogs here. G20 countries say Brexit would be bad news for the world economy, says George Osborne in the Independent (video). A Cabinet Office report says it would take years, perhaps a decade, to replace trade agreements if the UK were to leave the EU. Gibraltar has passed its legislation to take part in the referendum. Gibraltar is part of the UK for purposes of EU membership so we remain or leave together, although like Scotland it may be that a UK exit would lead Gibraltar to review its relationship with the UK. Bank UBS are advising clients that the risk of IN losing the referendum is currently 40%. They go on the advise, as HSBC and Goldman Sachs have done, to expect a sharp fall in the pounds value if Brexit happens. Those two other banks have said to expect a 20% drop. UBS think the Euro pound will fall from 1.27 (already significantly lower than recent times) to 1. That would be a massive blow to pensioners, consumers of imported goods and anyone booking a holiday, among others. Iain Duncan-Smith has accused the Prime Minister (and by implication IN campaigners generally) of having a low opinion of the British people. This is a common attack by OUT speakers at public meetings who tend to suggest that any praise for Europe amounts to a diminuniton of Britain. Ways to tackle this include making the point I am British and European and proud to be both or we are a great country, but so are many of our neighbours in Europe and by working together we are greater still and can achieve more. Be careful around free movement. If you say that European workers have filled gaps in our economy some people hear that as a criticism of British workers or that we do not care for the latter. It is worth pointing out that EU workers pay 33% more take than they draw on public services so there are more jobs and better public services for British workers because we have an open economy. Chinese media outlet Xinhua reports that Tory MPs are threatening to call a leadership election against David Cameron. Lib Dem Ceredigion is apparently the least Eurosceptic place in the country. John Rentoul has a roundup of campaign cliches we are suffering so far. * 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. In 1995 our immigration law was amended so that asylum applicants from countries that were designated as safe no longer had a right to appeal against refusal unless their case was certified by the Secretary of State. With a Border Agency prone to error, a risk arose that people with good cases might be unjustly be detained, speeded through a truncated process and deported. Even the Home Office recognised that in some designated countries, there was endemic persecution of women. In 2005 an Order was made adding some countries to the list of those deemed safe, but for men only. I asked for a similar exception be made for LGBT people, on the floor of the House and in correspondence with the Minister, Lord Bassam, pointing to the particular case of Jamaica, where, notoriously, homophobia was (and still is) rampant. The power to do so exists in law, but the Government refused to exercise it. Over ten years later, after a good deal more unproductive correspondence and debates with both Labour and Tory Ministers, the Court of Appeal has come to the rescue! In the case of JB (Jamaica), the court ruled that the claimant hqad been wrongly detained, and the designation of Jamaica as a safe country for LGBT people was unlawful. The Government is spending public money on an appeal to the Supreme Court, but with luck, the genies out of the bottle. The whole subject of LGBT persecution, not just in Jamaica but also in a number of other Commonwealth countries where same sex relationships are outlawed, must surely be considered. The Commonwealth Charter, agreed by member states last December, commits them to equality and respect for the protection and promotion of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, for all without discrimination on any grounds as the foundations of peaceful, just and stable societies. Yet in Uganda, American evangelical missionaries openly incite hatred of gays, leading to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill and the murder of the brave gay rights activist David Kato a year ago. In Gambia, homosexuality is illegal and President Jammeh refers to gays as Satanic. Surely, these grave breaches of the Charter should attract condemnation from the Commonwealth Heads of Government when they meet in Sri Lanka in November. In the meanwhile, the Government must demonstrate their commitment to equality between people of all sexual orientations, as provided by our own Equality Act, by withdrawing their appeal to the Supreme Court, and amending the immigration law to restore the right of gay people from homophobic states to appeal against refusal of asylum applications. * Eric Lubbock, Lord Avebury, is a working peer, and Vice-Chair, Parliamentary Human Rights Group. He blogs here. Ive been worried for weeks about how the vote would go on our crucial Diversity motion at Scottish conference on Saturday. Ive spent the past 4 years as Convener of Scottish Women Liberal Democrats and Convener of Campaigns & Candidates (Scotland) driving forward all the measures we say as a party should ensure we get equal numbers of women elected to men: talent spotting, encouraging, running targeted training sessions, mentoring and supporting women across the party to get selected and elected. Just like at Westminster now, we had an opportunity 5 years ago when we lost 11 of our Scottish Parliamentarians in the May 2011 election, to ensure the next set of candidates we presented to the electorate would be more gender balanced. But we have failed. I am the only woman who tops a regional list for the Scottish Parliament elections in 2016 (we get most of our seats from regional lists) and we have very little chance of increasing the gender balance of our MSP group. Why has this happened? Well a mixture of reasons but we do need to face the fact that there is a strong culture of deference in our party, maybe more so north than south of the border, where if a former parliamentarian or even a prominent local man wants to run for a winnable seat, women drop out of the running (or dont even put their names forward in the first place). There is also a tendency amongst some members to think that behaviour they approve of in a male candidate is not appropriate in an equally good female candidate, which doesnt help in selection contests. We have spent years if not decades struggling with the fact we are a liberal party, instinctively against quotas, all women shortlists or any similar measures, but we must now accept that we have fallen so far behind Labour, the SNP and even the Tories, on gender balance that it is embarrassing. We cannot go through another election cycle thinking that fixing the women by training, mentoring etc is the answer. So our fabulously brave party leader in Scotland, Willie Rennie, decided this summer to take the bull by the horns. He set up a working group on gender balance containing prominent sceptics of positive discrimination and worked closely with them to get a workable set of proposals ready for spring conference. The result was the doubled headed motion we debated in Edinburgh on Saturday. Alongside many measures to radically change the culture of the party, the key bones of contention were that for the next 5 year parliamentary cycle: our top MEP candidate must be a woman, the top 5 Westminster target seats must have all women shortlists and 5 of the top 10 Holyrood target seats must have all women shortlists (the specifics of the latter dependent on the results in this Mays Holyrood elections). These 3 measures, for Europe, Westminster and Holyrood, were argued over fiercely during the debate. Jo Swinson proposed the motion in a very powerful speech. Alison McInnes MSPs speech was so moving it brought tears to my and many other eyes, while those arguing to retain the status quo brought audible gasps from some in the room as they asserted that any such measures were discriminating against men and would prevent the best candidate getting selected. New young female members seeking about feeling encouraged to stand for election due to the measures in the motion had a powerful effect, as did Willies rousing plea at the end of the debate, to al members to come with him on this journey. It felt very tense in the room as the cards were counted and I only realised I was holding my breath when the result was announced: three quarters of conference had backed the proposals! I almost couldnt believe we had finally won. That we were at last taking gender balance seriously in the Scottish party and starting down a path that will radically alter the status quo. I think what really swung it was both Willies personal plea to members to come with him even if they feel uncomfortable about it plus the powerful arguments from so many who had previously been against AWS that nothing else has worked and the time had come to take the radical step. I know it wont be comfortable for everyone, but, as I said in my speech in the debate, I dont care if some people think I am a token woman because I have the confidence to know Im not. What I do care about it creating a path for other less confident or experienced women in the party, to show them we are serious about diversity in deed as well as word, to inspire them to choose to become our next generation of parliamentarians. For our party, Saturday was a truly glorious day for diversity. We may have bumps in the road, but we are at least on the right path at last. I hope we have shown our federal colleagues the way, as I know Tim Farron was as delighted with Saturdaysresult as we all were and as keen to see a more diverse set of parliamentarians as Willie is. So long as we dont become Willies babes (pace Tony Blair), Ill be happy. As a big fan of Yes, Prime Minister, I find Sir Humphrey an endless source of funny quotes. But little did Humphrey know back in 1980, how topical his remarks would be in 2016: Sir Humphrey: Minister, Britain has had the same foreign policy objective for at least the last five hundred years: to create a disunited Europe. In that cause we have fought with the Dutch against the Spanish, with the Germans against the French, with the French and Italians against the Germans, and with the French against the Germans and Italians. Divide and rule, you see. Why should we change now, when its worked so well? So nothing new there, suffice to say the UK has always taken a slightly different view of the European ideal. But as a Dutch liberal democrat, as a European, my message to the British people is clear: We want you IN, we need you IN. Not because of some vague deal between a handful of government leaders, but because only with a strong, united Europe can we respond to the challenges of the 21st century. Inside or outside the EU, Britain will be confronted with cross-border challenges like refugees, terrorism, climate change or the energy crisis. Britain will be much better able to face those challenges as a member of the EU than alone. As part of the EU, Britain will benefit more from the opportunities we are faced with in todays globalised and interconnected world. Only together can we make the lives of our citizens better, as a powerful player in the world economy. Britain is amongst the top beneficiaries of EU funds for research and innovation, essential for remaining competitive in the global economy. Dont throw it away. The UK is an influential member of the EU. Brits have leading positions in the European Commission and the European Parliament. They have been very prominent in helping shape the European Union and its policies. As a Dutch liberal democrat I work closely together with my British friends, and more often than not, that alliance has been essential for achieving our goals in areas like free trade and competition, sustainability, innovation or civil liberties. A Brexit would leave the UK out in the cold. There is nothing splendid about isolation. The UK will always rely heavily on its relations with the rest of Europe, whether it is in or out. Better to be part of those who are shaping the policies, than being on the outside. Sir Humphrey was wrong: divide and rule is not the best strategy. Being in the lead is. Dear British friends, lets prove Sir Humphrey wrong on June 23rd! * Sophie in 't Veld has been an MEP for the Dutch liberal D66 party since 2004. Since 2014 she is also the first Vice-President of the ALDE group. She works on civil and human rights, privacy and economic affairs. THE president of the University of Limericks Students Union, Colin Clarke, has called on local off licences and alcohol vendors to refrain from selling glass bottles throughout Charity Week. Mr Clarke said the request was a response to local residents who have, in the past, complained about broken glass in housing estates, which he said has resulted in health and safety risks and damaged car tyres. Charity Week, formerly RAG Week, takes place this week and ends on Friday, March 4. I dont think it is asking too much to ask local off licences to not sell glass bottles during Charity Week," he said. But we must not lose sight of why we organise Charity Week. The hint is in the name. We are trying to fundraise a significant amount of money for worthwhile charities and ULSU will continue to take preventative measures to ensure student and resident safety and to ensure that Charity week will always happen in UL, he said. He added that the students union is taking progressive, preventative measures to encourage increased community awareness amongst students. There will be two drink driving checkpoints during the week and the presence of the Garda drug dog unit around the estates in order to discourage non-student gangs from entering the housing estates looking to sell drugs. A GARRYOWEN man accused of burglary was refused bail after gardai expressed concerns he would not appear in court if released. Paul Foran, aged 33, of North Claughan Road is accused of stealing a handbag from a private office at the Dooradoyle branch of Permanent TSB on October 12, last. The defendant, who is to be tried on indictment, sought bail, after the book of evidence was served on him. Opposing the application, Detective Garda Denise Moriarty said it will be alleged the defendant entered the bank and took the bag at around 3.30pm. She alleged he concealed the bag, which contained 100 in cash, in a plastic shopping bag before leaving the bank. Judge Marian OLeary was told the alleged injured party followed the culprit from the bank and confronted him at a nearby premises a short time later. While the woman recovered her handbag at this point, the money was missing. Foran was arrested in the city centre a short time after the alarm was raised having allegedly travelled there in a taxi. Detective Garda Moriarty said 100 in cash was found on his person and that it is the State case that this is the money which was taken from the handbag. She told Sergeant Donal Cronin, she was concerned the defendant, who has addiction issues, would engage in further criminality if released and she added she was concerned he would not stand trial if released. The court was told the prosecution case centres on statements from witnesses, CCTV and admissions which were allegedly made by the defendant following his arrest. However, Detective Garda Moriarty agreed with Laurence Goucher BL, that the presumption of innocence still applies. Having heard details of the garda objection, Judge OLeary said she was refusing bail. Noting that the Director of Public Prosecutions consented to the matter being sent forward to Limerick Circuit Court, the judge formally advised Foran that he must supply the details of any potential alibi witnesses to the State within two weeks. Legal aid was extended to include a barrister and Foran was remanded in continuing custody to appear before the next sittings of the circuit court, later this month. The DPP has directed summary disposal of a connected trespass prosecution. A NUMBER of men with close links to Rathkeale have been found guilty of masterminding a plot to steal rhino horns and rare Chinese artefacts worth 76m from a number of museums across Britain. Fourteen men with connections to the so-called Rathkeale Rovers gang have now been convicted following an operation involving more than 1,000 police officers across several jurisdictions. This week, four of the ringleaders of the gang were found guilty following a two-month hearing at Birmingham Crown Court. They are John Kerry OBrien Jr, 26; Richard Kerry OBrien Jr, 31; Michael Hegarty, 43; and Daniel Turkey OBrien, 45. All have addresses in Cambridgeshire but are well known in the Rathkeale area. Two of the men are sons of Richard Kerry OBrien, a businessman from Rathkeale who has consistently denied any connection with the rhino horn trade. Another - Michael Hegarty - is his son-in-law. Following a raid on his home by members of the Criminal Assets Bureau in September 2013, Mr Kerry OBrien Sr posted a blog claiming that he and his family were the victims of harassment by gardai. He has never been charged with any offence. The four men convicted this week all denied any involvement with the plot between September 2011 and August 2012. However, the trial heard evidence that they were the ringleaders behind raids on museums in Cambridge, Norwich, Glasgow and Durham as well as an auction house in Sussex. Among the items stolen were a Ming Dynasty bowl worth up to 20m and a number of valuable jade pieces. Raiders also attempted to remove a rhinos head from Norwich Castle but had to abandon it because it was too heavy. Sentencing will take place in April. It's been awhile since I posted an entry welcoming the new month. I feel inspired to write one now because I am in the mood for goal setting again. I remember I started to document my monthly goals in this blog last year but I quickly went back to just using my planner. This year, I have not bought a single planner (highly unlikely but I really didn't get one purposely). I plan to utilize my computer and my phone for all it's worth.February was quick. I spent most of the first 2 weeks preparing for Summer's 1st birthday. I'm glad that it's over and that it was a success. It wasn't grand but it was a day full of memories that we could all look back to. I'm not sure if Summer will curse me one day for letting her wear a pineapple costume.I ended February with a rather heavy heart because I was blocked by a person in Instagram who ordered several items from me. I bought all the items in Denmark and I especially took care of her items. She used to respond to my messages until late January when she just started to disregard and not mind me. When I checked her profile again a couple of days ago, I was already blocked, so was my online store and my daughter's Instagram account. So rude! She could have just told meBut she didn't! Her audacity is appalling. I was livid but I am feeling a little bit better now. I waited for more than 4 months for nothing. To get even, I posted her IG profile info in my feed so my followers can at least see how disrespectful she was for wasting my time and effort. The money I can always earn back but my time and effort are forever gone. She's ain my book already. If she ever gets to read this I want her to know that she may be rich but she can never buy integrity. That said, I really appreciate the empathy from some of my blog followers. Case closed!My main goal this month is to manage my time to avoid getting burned out or spreading myself too thin. Yes, I still spend all-nighters sometimes and most of the time I go to bed a little too late - 2AM or 3AM and wake up at 8AM. I'm not getting enough sleep and it's never a good practice to deprive one's self of rest. Organize my computer desktop. Arrange files and folders - alphabetical order. I created a wallpaper with spaces to categorize files/folders in different boxes (files/archive, personal, business, pending tasks/WIP, and miscellaneous). I like it and I am going to fine tune the document so I can share it as a freebie. Review the VFS website and take note of visa application process. We're scheduled to fly to Denmark again and a relative will be traveling with us so I have to prepare my own documents and help him organize his requirements as well. Create a pricing document for KT Paper Designs so I don't have to manually type in my answers when I get inquiries for my services. Revise the product and price list for Excellent Organics . We've recently launched new products (Grapefruit Shower Gel, Grapefruit Body Butter, Raw African Shea Butter Ultra Moisturizing Soap, Germ Buster Sanitizer Spray, Underarm Whitening Tonique and Healing Balm). I've tried using the soap and body butter and so far I am loving it. Let me know if you are interested in trying any of our products. We currently have more than 40 different kinds of organic products for bath and body. Attend the blogging workshop I signed up for. I'm glad the hubby will be home again this weekend so he can stay with Summer on the day of the workshop midmonth. Install all the plugins I need for the Wordpress blog that I am going to launch soon. I'm so excited about this project. I will share the blog link when the blog is ready to be shown. Drink at least 2 liters of water every day. I tried 4 liters but I didn't enjoy the several trips to the bathroom. It just takes so much of my time. Delete apps installed in my phone that I rarely use. Delete unnecessary files that I saved in my laptop. I need to free up some space in my life. Drink my collagen supplement as advised - once a day. Even if I don't like the taste so much and the only way I could drink it is when I mix it with coffee. I've noticed a very good change in my skin especially when I wake up in the morning. Allot more play time with Summer. Bring her to Gymboree at least once a week so she can develop her social skills. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page. Scientists searching for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life should put themselves in the aliens' shoes, a new study suggests. Researchers have identified and characterized many potentially habitable alien planets via the "transit method," which notes how parent stars' light changes when orbiting worlds cross these stars' faces from Earth's perspective. (NASA's Kepler space telescope is the most famous and prolific instrument to use this technique.) Intelligent aliens could theoretically use this same strategy to discover Earth, and to determine that it has the ability to support life, scientists said. [13 Ways to Contact Intelligent Aliens] "It's impossible to predict whether extraterrestrials use the same observational techniques as we do," study lead author Rene Heller, of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany, said in a statement. "But they will have to deal with the same physical principles as we do, and Earth's solar transits are an obvious method to detect us." Advanced aliens who have made such a detection might try to send Earth a message to get in touch, the reasoning goes. But cosmic geometry dictates that Earth's solar transits are visible from a limited swath of the sky a sliver Heller and co-author Ralph Pudritz, a professor of physics and astronomy at McMaster University in Canada, dub the "transit zone." The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) including projects such as the recently launched Breakthrough Listen Initiative should therefore focus on the transit zone, Heller and Pudritz wrote in the new study, which will be published in the journal Astrobiology. The transit zone contains about 100,000 stars, according to the researchers, so there's no shortage of potential targets for SETI scientists' radio telescopes. (Observations by Kepler and other instruments suggest that every Milky Way star hosts at least one planet on average, and many of these worlds orbit in the "habitable zone" the range of distances from a host star where water may exist in liquid form on a planet's surface.) "If any of these planets host intelligent observers, they could have identified Earth as a habitable, even as a living world long ago, and we could be receiving their broadcasts today," Heller and Pudritz wrote in the new study. To date, researchers have discovered about 2,000 confirmed exoplanets; Kepler is responsible for more than half of these finds. Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com. The sun turns this breaking wave a golden hue around Monterey Peninsula, near Monterey, California. Sean Gravem captured this shot with a GoPro and a KNEKTUSA trigger. Chasing waves is a way of life for Sean Gravem. After his first scuba lesson, the Pacific Grove, California, photographer got hooked on shooting under the ocean. His images freeze shore-break waves in time, capturing water droplets right before or after they turn to foam. For other shots, Gravem dives below the waves to reveal sun-dappled sand. You can almost hear the watery silence. "I enjoy this genre because every wave is different," Gravem says. "I am always learning from and always fascinated by them." Live Science interviewed Gravem about how he captures these wave shots. Live Science: What inspired you to start taking these wave photographs? Gravem: I would be lying if I didnt say I was inspired by [Hawaiian wave photographer] Clark Little. Ocean photography had been a hobby for many years but the first time I saw one of his images I knew that wave photography was what I wanted to do. It has been a healthy addiction since. Now, the ocean provides all the inspiration anyone would need. [The Best Cameras of 2016, from Tom's Guide] To snag this awesome shot of an offshore wave, Gravem used his Sony a6000 in a CMT Water Housing. (Image credit: Sean Gravem , @decompresean) Live Science: What kind of equipment do you use? Gravem: My go-to setup is a Sony a6000 in a CMT Water Housing with a KNEKTUSA bicep leash. The a6000 is capable of capturing up to 11 fps so it is an excellent camera for wave photography. For mini waves I use a Gopro Hero 3+ Black mounted in a KNEKTUSA trigger and usually shoot in burst mode at 30 fps. For over/unders I use the KNEKTUSA KSD6 dome. Live Science: What is the process of capturing these waves? How much post-production is involved? Gravem: To capture wave images, it is much like any other photography you just have to be in the right place at the right time. Being in that right place involves lots of practice and experience. The standard way to capture a lookout barrel image is to place yourself in front of an oncoming wave and try to duck under the lip as the wave crashes, all while pointing the camera in the right direction, and trying to keep it level. With my Sony/CMT setup I shoot in RAW and edit from there, tweaking contrast, saturation, etc. The same goes for my Gopro/KNEKTUSA setup, only the images are obviously in JPEG and there are a lot more to look through. [Which GoPro Is Right for You?] To freeze this just-about-to-break wave in all its glory, Gravem used a KNEKTUSA dome for GoPro. (Image credit: Sean Gravem , @decompresean) Live Science: What's the biggest challenge in getting these shots to work? Gravem: The biggest challenge is that the ocean is so unpredictable. Current, tides, weather and swell are always changing and you have to be able to work with all of these together. Studying weather and swell charts helps me to prepare, but that is only part of it. Other issues you have to deal with are water spots on the housing port, crooked horizons, and choosing the right camera settings, all while trying not to get caught out of position. The shaka sign can be seen over and under this peeling wave near Monterey, California. (Image credit: Sean Gravem , @decompresean) Live Science: Have you had any particularly memorable moments or experiences capturing these images? Gravem: Too many to count: sharing waves with pods of dolphins, being in perfect waves from sunrise to sundown, awesome days in clear water with family and friends and pushing the limits in XXL swell with a few buddies. Every day in the water is special and there are far too many memorable moments to share here I could go on forever. There was one particular week last year, at my home break, when the conditions were pristine and every day I shot with friends. [The Best Action Cameras of 2016, from Tom's Guide] Sean Gravem took this shimmery shot below the waves near Monterey, California. (Image credit: Sean Gravem , @decompresean) Live Science: Has this line of work inspired you to try anything different or new? What's the next project on the horizon? Gravem: From the time I started attempting wave photography it has been an addiction. It has inspired me to travel to new places in the world, chasing down perfect waves. It has inspired me to study the ocean more than before. It has also led me to many new friendships. I am friends with a very talented group of ocean photographers who continually inspire me. Live Science: What's your next project? Gravem: I have a few shows in the coming months in Davis, California, with the subject "Waves of Monterey Bay." Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook& Google+. Original article on Live Science. Fossils of an ancient creature resembling a shrimp with an armored head contain the oldest and best-preserved nervous system ever found, which could help scientists decipher the evolution of nervous systems in animals alive today, according to a new study. The remarkable remains belonged to Chengjiangocaris kunmingensis, a crustaceanlike creature that lived 520 million years ago in what is now South China. The fossils revealed a long "ropelike" central nerve cord that extended throughout the body, with visible clusters of nerve tissue arranged along the cord, like beads strung on a thread. Even individual nerve structures could be detected, the scientists discovered. They noted that the nerve tissue masses, or ganglia, grew progressively smaller along the central nerve cord, with the smallest masses being the ones most distant from C. kunmingensis's head. The researchers also found that the ganglia were associated with pairs of legs, which also reduced in size as they progressed along the animal's body. [Fabulous Fossils: Gallery of Earliest Animal Organs] Other structures in C. kunmingensis's nervous system dozens of nerves that emerged at regular intervals from the nerve cord near the underside of the body resembled those found in certain types of modern worms, but were absent in modern arthropods, offering clues to the scientists about how nervous systems adapted as different forms of life in these related lineages evolved. Complete C. kunmingensis specimen with nerve cord a dark, ropelike strand visible on the left, near the head shield. (Image credit: Jie Yang (Yunnan University, China)) Arthropod ancestors C. kunmingensis lived during the Cambrian, the geologic period on Earth when life was rapidly diversifying, and they belonged to a group of arthropod ancestors called fuxianhuiids. These predecessors of insects, arachnids and crustaceans had armored heads and long, segmented bodies atop numerous pairs of legs with three or four pairs per segment. These creatures likely scuttled across the sea bottom, scooping food into their mouths with a larger pair of limbs close to their heads, according to study co-author Javier Ortega-Hernandez, a biologist in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom. "Some of the largest individuals can reach up to 15 centimeters (6 inches) long, and they had at least 80 legs!" Ortega-Hernandez told Live Science in an email. But until now, little was known about what they looked like on the inside. Fossils typically provide scientists with records of bones, teeth, shells and other tough organic structures, while softer tissues generally disintegrate too quickly to be preserved, and are lost to time. But sometimes conditions prevail that protect the more delicate organs, allowing them to fossilize as well. According to Ortega-Hernandez, the Xiashiba area in Kunming, South China, where the specimens were found, is "world famous" for preserving soft-bodied life. He explained that the animals were likely buried in fine sediment in an oxygen-poor environment, which would protect the carcass from both scavengers and microbes, slowing or even halting decay. "Eventually the carcasses become preserved in the fossil record, and the limited decay allows for the preservation of amazing morphological detail," he said. [Photos: Ancient Sea Monster Was One of Largest Arthropods] Magnification of C. kunmingensis nerve cord and ganglia (ga) linked by longitudinal connectives (cn). (Image credit: Yu Liu (Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Germany)) "Our jaws dropped" Prior studies from this period described fossils providing evidence of these arthropod ancestors' brains, but this study is the first to describe a complete nervous system from this ancient time, and with a level of detail that has never been seen before, the researchers said. When the scientists looked closely at the ganglia masses, they spied fibers that measured around five-thousandths of a millimeter in length "less than [the width of] a human hair," Ortega-Hernandez said. "Our jaws dropped when we put the specimens under the microscope and observed the fine nerves on the sides," he told Live Science. "It was hard to believe that something so small would be preserved along with the main nerve cord, but even more so because they show a unique organization that is otherwise unknown in living arthropods." This organization nerve cord, ganglia and dozens of nerves extending along each side is similar to the neural systems of modern arthropods, Ortega-Hernandez said. But, in arthropods alive today, the number of fine nerves is significantly lower, he added. The number of these nerves is higher in velvet worms cousins to arthropods which suggests this feature dates back to the last shared ancestor for these two groups. "It is possible that as arthropods became more specialized in their function, they managed to make their nervous system more efficient by reducing the number of nerves," Ortega-Hernandez said, adding that this is only a hypothesis. "But it will be an interesting topic to explore in future studies," he said. The findings were published online today (Feb. 29) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Follow Mindy Weisberger on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. The harmless scarlet kingsnake is colored in repeating patterns of red, black, yellow and black rings the red rings are surrounded by black rings. Kingsnakes are medium-size nonvenomous snakes that kill by constriction. They are one of the most common snakes in North America. They are called kingsnakes because they sometimes eat other snakes, as does the king cobra. Kingsnakes are popular among pet owners. Milk snakes are a type of kingsnake. Kingsnakes are members of the family Colubridae and the subfamily Colubrinae. Colubrid snakes are a large family of nonvenomous snakes found around the world, including North America. Kingsnakes are members of the genus Lampropeltis. In Greek, this means "shiny shields," according to Anapsid.org. The name is appropriate for the genus, which is known for its well-defined, glossy scales. In recent years, the classification of kingsnakes has been shaken up somewhat. Alan Savitzky, a professor of biological sciences at Utah State University and snake biology specialist, credits the upheaval to advances in molecular evolutionary studies. Whereas scientists used to determine species and subspecies classifications by examining whether snakes could interbreed and produce fertile offspring, they can now analyze DNA to determine how closely related snakes are. With that data, scientists can now classify snakes into groups by looking at if they share an evolutionary path. Because of these new data collection methods, a team of researchers in argued in a 2009 paper published in the journal Zootaxa that several snakes that are classified as subspecies of the common kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula) black kingsnakes, eastern kingsnakes, speckled kingsnakes, Sonora kingsnakes and California kingsnakes should be considered separate species, said Savitzky. He also noted that a 2013 paper in the journal Systematic Biology posited that the scarlet kingsnake, previously considered a milk snake, is actually its own species. Some publications have adopted the proposal; others still refer to these snakes as subspecies of kingsnake. Physical characteristics and distribution Most species of kingsnake have vibrant patterns on their skins with vivid contrasting colors. The patterns, especially bands and speckles, break up the snake's body outline so it is less visible to predators like birds of prey, mammals like foxes and coyotes and other snakes, according to the San Diego Zoo. Their coloring can be understood by their geographic location, according to Savitzky. For example, the farther west one goes in the eastern kingsnake's range, the more the snakes' coloring resembles the black kingsnake, which lives in Tennessee. According to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, they have smooth scales, a single anal plate, round pupils like most nonvenomous snakes, and a spoon-shaped head with a rounded jaw. They typically range from 2 to 6 feet (0.6 to 1.8 meters), depending on the species. The following is a description of some common kingsnake species' appearances and ranges. Eastern kingsnake, also called common kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula) These creatures are sometimes called "chain snakes" or "chain kings" because their distinctive markings can resemble a chain linked across their bodies, said Savitzky. They have shiny black scales with white or yellowish chain-like bands that cross their backs and connect on the sides. According to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, eastern kingsnakes on the coast generally have wide bands while those in the eastern mountains have very thin bands. They may be nearly black. Eastern kingsnakes are found from southern New Jersey to north Florida and west to the Appalachians and southeastern Alabama, according to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Black kingsnake (Lampropeltis nigra or Lampropeltis getula nigra) The nearly black eastern kingsnakes in the Appalachians give way to the black kingsnake species in mountains of Tennessee. These snakes average 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 m) in length and range from southern Ohio and western West Virginia to southeastern Illinois and south to northeastern Mississippi and northwestern Georgia, according to Outdoor Alabama, the website of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Black kingsnakes appear almost solidly jet black, but they have traces of white or yellow spots or bands and sometimes white throats, said Savitzky. Speckled kingsnake (Lampropeltis holbrooki or Lampropeltis getula holbrooki) Moving farther west, one sees the faint spots of the black kingsnake grow into the full, vibrant markings of the speckled kingsnake. This colorful snake has a yellow or white speckle on every single scale, said Savitzky. Scales are black or brownish in color. The size of the speckles can be evenly distributed, leading to the nickname "salt and pepper snake" or can be denser in certain areas, creating a banded look. Speckled kingsnakes are found in the middle of the United States, ranging from Illinois to Iowa and south to Alabama and Texas, according to the Cincinnati Zoo. California kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae or Lampropeltis getula californiae) This is a relatively small species of kingsnake, generally growing to between 2.5 and 4 feet (0.7 to 1.2 m), according to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. California kingsnakes have shiny black scales with bright white markings. Most California kingsnakes have white bands, but some populations have longitudinal stripes going from their heads to their tails. Those populations are usually in Southern California. Both color patterns can appear in the same clutch of eggs, said Savitzky. California kingsnakes live everywhere in the Golden State except the rainy redwood forests. They're also found in dryer parts of Oregon, as far west as Colorado and south into Mexico, according to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. Scarlet kingsnake "In recent years, it's been going back and forth between being its own species of kingsnake [Lampropeltis elapsoides] or a type of milk snake [Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides]," said Savitzky. These are small snakes, averaging 1 to 2 feet (0.3 to 0.6 m), according to the Virginia Herpetological Society. They are found from central Virginia to Key West, Florida and west to the Mississippi River. This range overlaps with the dangerous coral snakes', which scarlet kingsnakes mimic, said Savitzky. Like venomous coral snakes, scarlet kingsnakes are red with yellow and black bands that encircle their bodies. Nonvenomous scarlet kingsnakes evolved to look like venomous species in order to scare predators. "This type of mimicry, where a harmless species mimics a harmful species, is known as Batesian mimicry," said Bill Heyborne, a herpetologist and professor of biology at Southern Utah University. Though the coloring is the same the pattern differs between coral snakes and scarlet kingsnakes. Coral snakes have red and yellow bands next to one another, while harmless scarlet kingsnakes have red and black bands next to each other. "In areas of the world where both species exist, there are a variety of rhymes, which have been used to help people distinguish the two. For example, 'Red on yellow kills a fellow. Red on black, friend of Jack,'" said Heyborne. While Batesian mimicry may be helpful in keeping predators away, it can cause problems for scarlet kingsnakes. Humans often kill them thinking they are dangerous. Habitat Across their various ranges, kingsnakes find similar habitats to live in. They live in forests, grasslands, suburbia, and rocky areas in fields and deserts. Snakes in wetter areas, such as the eastern and southern United States spend more time around swamps and riverbanks. They are terrestrial, meaning they stay mostly on land rather than venturing into water or trees. Kingsnakes are less conspicuous than many other snakes, such as rat snakes, Savitzky said. "This is because they are adapted to living undercover, such as under rocks, under logs, and in burrows in the ground." Behavior The habits of these wide-ranging snakes depend somewhat on their location. According to the San Diego Zoo, in most parts of the country, kingsnakes are primarily nocturnal. They are diurnal in places with more moderate climates, like Southern California. For kingsnakes, moderate climates include the southeast, at least in the winter; according to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, eastern kingsnakes in Georgia are likely to be spotted during the day. During the hot summers, they come out mostly in the morning. If they are threatened, kingsnakes will emit an unpleasant musk and shake their tails. This is another example of Batesian mimicry, this time of a rattlesnake. They are also known to bite, though their bite is not poisonous to humans. Savitzky said that some species of kingsnake are "bitier and snappier" than others, but that it mostly comes down to the individual temperament of the snake. In general, kingsnakes are well known for being docile once tamed. For this reason, they are popular pets. Kingsnakes generally hibernate over the winter, according to the San Diego Zoo. They stay in caves, mammal burrows, rock crevices and hollow logs and stumps. Hunting and feeding Kingsnakes are constrictors, said Savitzky. This means that they squeeze their prey to death and swallow it whole. There are some common misconceptions about how constricting works, Heyborne told Live Science. One is that constrictors crush or break the bones of their prey. Another is that they suffocate it, squeezing the prey's lungs too tightly to work. "It turns out that the squeezing overwhelms the circulatory system," explained Heyborne. "Blood cannot get to the brain, and the animal dies within seconds due to ischemia." Kingsnakes are active hunters, not ambush hunters, according to the San Diego Zoo. They actively seek out their prey through scent. Once they've found it, they grab it with their mouths and start squeezing. Kingsnakes may only eat a few times a month depending on the size of their meals. Kingsnakes eat rodents, birds, bird eggs and lizards. Kingsnakes in wet climates also eat turtle eggs and frogs, according to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Their most famous meal, however, is other snakes. Kingsnakes have a natural immunity to pit viper venom, meaning that they can eat venomous snakes like cottonmouths and rattlesnakes. They also eat nonvenomous snakes like rat snakes and garter snakes and their fellow kingsnakes. Kingsnake reproduction and life span Kingsnakes are oviparous, meaning they lay eggs that spend little to no time incubating inside the mother, said Savitzky. Their mating time depends on the climate, with snakes in warmer climates mating earlier in the spring and snakes in colder climates waiting until late spring or summer. In general, mating season lasts from March until August, and females often have more than one clutch of eggs per season. Males seek out females through chemical scent. They will fight each other for a female, wrestling other males until their heads are flat on the ground. Males often bite the female's neck during mating, according to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. Female kingsnakes lay clutches of three to 24 eggs in debris, rotting logs or other secluded places. Mothers then leave the eggs, which hatch on their own two to three months later, according to the San Diego Zoo. Hatchlings can be up to a foot long and are completely independent from the moment they enter the world. Kingsnakes reach sexual maturity between 2 and 4 years of age. Their lifespan in the wild is unknown, though they can live up to 20 to 30 years in captivity, according to the San Diego Zoo. Endangerment status The kingsnakes found in North America are not considered endangered, though the populations of some are decreasing, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. The Todos Santos Island kingsnake is critically endangered, however. Scientists are also concerned that the population of eastern kingsnakes in the southeastern coastal plain and Florida is decreasing. While the cause of the decrease is uncertain, some suspect invasive fire ants that may swarm and eat kingsnake eggs or newly hatched young, according to Outdoor Alabama. El Jefe (Image credit: Conservation CATalyst & the Center for Biological Diversity) El Jefe, the only known jaguar in the United States, has been in southern Arizona for at least three years. The male jaguar dispersed from the nearest jaguar breeding population in Mexico's Sonora state and has made his territory near Tucson. He's the first known jaguar in the country since 2009. This is a still of a camera trap video released in February 2016 by Conservation CATalyst and the Center for Biological Diversity, conservation groups lobbying for strong protections to preserve U.S. jaguar range. Jaguar in the shadows (Image credit: Steve Winter, Panthera) A jaguar in the Brazilian Pantanal, a region that extends into Paraguay and Bolivia. Jaguars range as far south as Argentina and as far north as Arizona, and connections between habitat are key to keeping this endangered species from going extinct, conservation experts say. Sleepy cat (Image credit: Steve Winter, Panthera) A resting jaguar in the Brazilian Pantanal. There is currently one known jaguar in the United States, a male known as "El Jefe." Arizona is in the northern reaches of jaguar range; the next northernmost breeding population is in Mexico's Sonora state. According to Howard Quigley of the big cat conservation group Panthera, the two greatest threats facing jaguars throughout their range are habitat loss and retaliatory killings for the loss of livestock. Pantanal Jaguar (Image credit: Steve Winter, Panthera) Jaguars are the third-largest cats in the world, after lions and tigers. They are elusive, solitary creatures. Males in the relatively dry habitat of Sonora and Arizona range upwards of 40 square miles (100 square kilometers), Quigley told Live Science. It wetter habitat in places like Belize and Colombia, cats require less space. A peaceful spot (Image credit: Steve Winter, Panthera) A jaguar in Brazil. Jaguars have been listed as an endangered species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act since 1973, but it was not until 1997 that the big cats were confirmed to exist in the United States. One Arizona male, Macho B, died after a botched trapping-and-collaring attempt in 2009. El Jefe is the first jaguar sighted in Arizona since Macho B's death. A hiding hunter (Image credit: Steve Winter, Panthera) A Pantanal jaguar. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, 88 percent of jaguar range sits within the Amazon basin, which is not ideal habitat for the animal. Brazil's Pantanal, the Paraguayan Chaco and Caatinga in northeastern Brazil are more suitable, according to the agency, but jaguars have been pushed out of much of this area. What big teeth (Image credit: Steve Winter, Panthera) Jaguars occupy less than half of their historical range, according to the IUCN. Historically, jaguars ranged into the American Southwest through Arizona, as far west as California and as far east as Texas. Today, only one is known to exist in Arizona, a male named El Jefe. This jaguar was photographed in Brazil's Pantanal region. On the move (Image credit: Steve Winter, Panthera) A jaguar moves through the Brazilian Pantanal. Jaguars are skilled hunters. In Arizona, El Jefe eats a lot of deer and the occasional skunk. In many portions of jaguar range, the preferred prey is javelina or peccary. Ready to pounce (Image credit: Steve Winter, Panthera) A jaguar of the Brazilian Pantanal in motion. Space is important for these cats, which require a lot of range and connectivity between populations to keep up genetic diversity. Panthera's Jaguar Corridor Initiative aims to keep an open backbone of wilderness for jaguars from northern Colombia to northern Argentina. Big cat (Image credit: Steve Winter, Panthera) GPS collars have shown that Pantanal jaguars like this one (shown here) hunt wild species more than cows, but that about one-third of their kills are cattle. This puts jaguars on a collision course with ranchers looking to protect their livelihood. Panthera is experimenting with various protective measures at several experimental ranches, including electric fences and even a guard donkey named Napoleon. Spots and stripes (Image credit: Steve Winter, Panthera) Jaguars are a controversial topic in the United States, which includes only the northern portion of the animal's range. Arizona conservationists argue that this state could become more important for jaguars as the globe warms and prey moves northward, but the climate future for the Southwest remains murky. In 2009, a failed Arizona Game and Fish capture of Macho B, the last known male in the state at the time, led to two criminal convictions and a spate of firings; a later investigation suggests the department may have covered up its intentions to capture a jaguar without proper permits. The saga has left a cloud of bitterness in its wake, with "jaguar" becoming "almost like a four-letter dirty word in southern Arizona," said Aletris Neils of Conservation CATalyst, a Tucson-based conservation group. Paul Polman has been CEO of Unilever since January 2009. Polman is chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development; a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, the B Team, and the Global Commission on Business and Sustainable Development; and serves on the board of the U.N. Global Compact. In 2016, the U.N. Secretary-General asked Polman to be a member of the Sustainable Development Goals Advocacy Group, tasked with promoting action on the 2030 Agenda. Polman contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Our understanding of the global climate, economic system and world has changed dramatically over the past decade. And with it, the roles and responsibilities of businesses have also changed. But even amid this rapid disruption, there are certainties. Businesses, in agreement with scientists and national leaders, know it's critical that we limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) or, better still, 1.5 C (2.7 F) to avoid the most dangerous consequences of climate change. We also know that we have to change our mind-set and habits in an increasingly resource-constrained world, where there is pressure on resources, ranging from water to wood. Irreversible change 2015 gave us the frameworks and momentum we need to address these problems. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals provide a global policy framework to eradicate poverty without putting natural resources at risk, and the Paris Agreement to combat climate change, agreed to by 195 nations, set a new direction and scale for global climate action. But frameworks are only the starting point. It is up to everyone governments, businesses and communities included to take action to end extreme poverty and shift to a zero-carbon economy. As the head of a company operating in more than 190 countries and whose products are used by 2 billion people every day, I'm convinced that businesses have both a responsibility and an interest in supporting sustainability. There is overwhelming evidence that the transition to a thriving, clean economy is inevitable, irreversible and irresistible. Last year, for the first time, the global economy grew without materially increasing carbon dioxide emissions. In many of the world's major economies, including China, India, France and the United States, renewable energy is now able to produce electricity for the same cost as traditional technologies. [The True Costs of Renewable Energy ] Businesses around the world have started to change their mind-set. Whereas many used to see sustainability as an environmental or development issue, they now understand it's also a business and economic imperative. Peter Bakker of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development recently noted that there were 13 business attendees at the first U.N. conference to address climate change in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. In Paris last year, there were more than 1,000 business representatives. This new generation of business leaders has realized that supporting the sustainable development agenda will help them protect their long-term performance and grow their businesses. Gravity has less pull at the equator. (Image credit: NASA/NOAA.) Responsible businesses gain the advantage Business can help speed up implementation, and unleash the investment, innovation and economic transformation required to achieve this ambitious agenda. According to "Towards the Circular Economy" (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2014), if we shift to a circular economy model, it can generate more than $1 trillion each year and create 100,000 new jobs in the next five years, while reducing both waste and emissions. Moreover, investments in energy efficiency could boost world economic output by up to $18 trillion by 2035, according to the report "Capturing the Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency" from the OECD/IEA, and also contribute to our goal of keeping global warming below 2 degrees C. If we create a more equitable workforce, in which women participate in the economy identically to men, the annual global GDP would increase by an estimated $28 trillion in 2025, according to the 2015 McKinsey Global Institute report "The Power of Parity." And we know that $90 trillion will be spent on infrastructure in the world's cities, land use and energy systems over the next 15 years according to the 2014 New Climate Economy report "Better Growth, Better Climate." If we make all the right choices now, it won't cost more to make those investment choices low-carbon, which will have major economic and climate benefits. The financial market is already showing interest in doing so, which is a sign that the transformation is happening. To grasp these opportunities, business leaders have realized that they need to collaborate, not just compete. So, we've seen a groundswell of partnerships and coalitions to support business action for sustainable development. Companies in the We Mean Business coalition with combined revenues of $6 trillion, as well as 144 investors with $20 billion in assets have made nearly 800 commitments to climate action. If you're a topical expert researcher, business leader, author or innovator and would like to contribute an op-ed piece, email us here Individual companies are also making ambitious commitments Unilever will become carbon positive in its operation by 2030, which means directly supporting the generation of more renewable energy than we consume and making the surplus available to the markets and communities in which we operate. To achieve this and other targets, businesses will need to source from renewable sources and work in partnership with their supply chains. But there's a lot more businesses can do to grasp and promote the economic case for sustainability. That's why business and civil society leaders have formed the Global Commission on Business and Sustainable Development, launched recently at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. We will work over the next year to articulate and quantify the compelling economic case for businesses to support the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, mapping the ways that businesses can get involved, build competitive advantage and flourish even as the world shifts to a different trajectory. Our message is a simple one: Business interests and the human imperatives at the heart of sustainable development both pull in the same direction. Business investments and actions are already underway, but we need to come together with governments and civil society in an unprecedented partnership if we want to achieve the scale and ambition of the change needed. Done right, and done together, these actions will power our economies and sustain the world's people for generations to come. The U.S. National Climate Assessment shows that summers are getting hotter, heat waves are lasting longer, and weather is getting more extreme. (Image credit: By Karl Tate, Infographics Artist) Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates and become part of the discussion on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Live Science. In the first documented case of its kind, a man taking an effective antiviral medication still contracted a drug-resistant strain of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a new report finds. The 43-year-old man in Canada was taking Truvada, the medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce HIV risk among HIV-negative people, according to the FDA. The case suggests that people taking Truvada can still get HIV if they're exposed to a strain of the virus that is resistant to the two antiviral medications contained in the pills tenofovir and emtricitabine, the researchers said. [7 Devastating Infectious Diseases] The man had been taking Truvada daily for the past two years. Normally, HIV-negative people who are at high risk of contracting HIV, including those who have sex with HIV-positive partners, take Truvada on a daily basis to lower their chances of getting the virus, according to the FDA. The man, who reported that he has sex with men, got tested for HIV, according to the report. The test showed that he was HIV-positive, the researchers said, according to the February report, presented at the 2016 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Boston in February. A genetic analysis of the viral strain the man was infected with showed that he had likely acquired it recently, and from a single source, the report found. Moreover, tests showed that it was multidrug-resistant. The case is concerning, but likely rare, experts told Poz, a news outlet that covers HIV and AIDS. "I certainly don't think that this is a situation which calls for panic," report co-researcher Richard Harrigan, the director of the lab program at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Vancouver, Canada, told Poz. "It is an example that demonstrates that [pre-exposure antiviral medication] can sometimes be ineffective in the face of drug-resistant virus, in the same way that treatment itself can sometimes be ineffective in the face of drug-resistant virus." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Truvada can reduce by 92 percent the risk of HIV infection in people who are at high risk of contracting the virus. The drug is more effective when it is taken consistently and used with other HIV-prevention methods, such as condoms. Two large clinical trials of Truvada show that it lowered people's HIV risk substantially, according to the FDA. In one trial, of about 2,500 HIV-negative gay and bisexual men and transgender women, Truvada lowered HIV risk by 42 percent. In another study of 4,800 heterosexual couples in which only one was HIV-positive, it reduced the risk of HIV infection in the HIV-negative partner by 75 percent. Although the man's HIV strain is resistant to multiple drugs, doctors have still found a way to treat him. The man is on a regimen of other drugs, including dolutegravir (brand name Tivicay), darunavir/cobicistat (Prezcobix) and rilpivirine (Edurant), and has "a fully suppressed viral load," according to Poz. Follow Laura Geggel on Twitter @LauraGeggel. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. Panalpina believes consolidation in the international freight forwarding and logistics sector will continue at a much faster pace than most people anticipated, but is more concerned about completing the implementation of its new IT platform, SAP Transportation Management (SAP TM), than any major acquisitions at present, outgoing CEO Peter Ulber has revealed. Speaking yesterday following the presentation of the Switzerland-based international freight forwarding and logistics companys full-year 2015 results, he gave an update on the rollout of its SAP TM platform, which the company has described as its most comprehensive technology project to date, and the foundation for future sustainable growth. Last month, Panalpina announced that it had gone live with the new software in Switzerland and Singapore for ocean freight in mid-December 2015. Just a few days ago in Singapore we went to 100% of the (ocean freight) volume. Normally when you test these systems you go with a small volume at the beginning to see whether all the other functionalities come up, and then you go into the stress test and put 100% of the volume through. In Singapore we have done that already on the ocean freight side in the last few days and it worked out quite well obviously not without any issues, as is never the case but we can say it was a significant success. He said Panalpina was still aiming to be close to running 50% of all transactions using the new platform by the end of 2016. In 2017, we plan to bring in the next 40%, with the remaining, smaller countries coming up a little bit later. He claimed the company was in quite a unique position by being able able to run the new system in parallel with the old system. Very often when you roll these things out you come to the time when you flip the switch into the new environment and that brings significant risk with it, not just in our industry but in many other industries. So, if we run into problems in certain areas we can actually bring it back to the existing one. We see a huge advantage in this over some of our competitors. That is also why we have confidence to say that it is not a matter of whether we are going to make the change into this new environment, but rather how fast we can make it happen. Ulber said that besides the investment of around 200 million Swiss francs, the significance of the new IT platform lay in where it would put the company in the coming years. In a couple of years we will be one of the few companies in this business who has gone through such a transformation. When you look at the market, quite a few of our competitors have not started this investment cycle. Logistics investment analyst Stifel has identified a uniform global IT platform as the clearest divide between the haves and the have nots and the strongest indicator in terms of international freight forwarding and logistics companies profitability. And the costly failure last year of DHL Global Forwardings new IT roll-out has further highlighted the importance of getting this right. Asked about his forthcoming move from CEO to chairman, announced yesterday in Lloyds Loading List , Ulber said Panalpinas board had decided that what was best for the company was continuity and stability. The management, but also the majority shareholders, are convinced we are on the right track to bring Panalpina back to a very sustainable development and growth pattern, and we wanted to make sure that there was continuity in these efforts and not a real management change with a chairman coming in with very different ideas. In the last few months, what we have seen is that it is quite likely that consolidation in the industry is going to progress much faster than most people would have anticipated. And from that point of view, I think it is quite important that there is someone on the board of directors who is from the industry who understands what is going on in this market rather than maybe a candidate from outside the business. Those were the thoughts that went into this decision. Asked how far Panalpina could participate in the industrys continuing consolidation, Ulber appeared to rule out significant acquisitions for the time being at least, it being more important to get our new technology environment in place rather than getting involved in a complex acquisition. He continued: Having said that, even big companies like ourselves and some of the other players are all operating in lower single digit-market shares and the kind of consolidation that is going to happen within the other 80% of our market will be significant in the years to come. However, Ulber did not rule more modest-scale acquisitions in 2016 and 2017 such as those in regions where Panalpina did not have a strong geographical presence or which concerned some specific know-how or niche market. He said he expected to be a very active hands-on chairman, with responsibility for strategy, M&A, and new product development. As well as occupying the chairmanship from May, Ulber revealed he was likely to continue as CEO for the remainder of 2016 to allow his successor to settle in. To the editor: Today, as many of you are aware, is the day to vote in the Texas primary elections, assuming you have not already participated in early voting. The Democratic primary offers the choice between a well-connected establishment politician and a man who stands with the majority of Americans against corporate interests. Bernie Sanders campaign is attempting to end the 40-year decline of our middle class and the growing gap between the rich and the poor. He is fighting for a progressive agenda that creates jobs, raises wages, protects the environment and provides health care for all. Before you go out and vote, please feel free to visit his website at http://berniesanders.com. Our Laredo for Sanders group was formed last year by us and fellow Laredoans who recognized that Bernie Sanders fights for all Americans, including minorities and the disadvantaged. This past weekend Senator Sanders took the time to meet with our group (before the Dallas, Texas rally on Saturday afternoon) and discuss the needs of Laredoans and all of us along the U.S.-Mexico border. Despite his busy schedule, Bernie mentioned that he was aware of the unique problems faced in South Texas. Among other things, he vowed to do his best to support comprehensive immigration reform, whether accomplished through a congressional bill or through Presidential executive orders. Additionally, Sanders recognizes the struggles that our country faces with respect to health care accessibility, affordable college tuition and income inequality. Bernie is the only candidate pushing for real change. When Bernie says he will fight for women, minorities, young people and others facing disadvantages or anything else for that matter I believe him because of his consistent record and because he is financed by average people, not billionaires and special interests. Bernies support has grown leaps and bounds since he first announced he was running for president. He faces an uphill battle, but he has a powerful message and growing support among Americans all over the country. Clearly he will need your support to build his political revolution and make this a reality. This election represents a major decision for the American people do we want to continue electing traditional politicians who are funded by wealthy campaign donors, and therefore represent their interests? Or do we want to support someone who has an ambitious plan to improve the lives of all Americans and fight for their interests, rather than just the 1 percent? Today is your opportunity to choose. Sincerely, Laredo for Sanders School & Education, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: March 01 2016 On February 17, the Green Vale School participated in its first D.E.A.R. event Drop Everything And Read the latest endeavor in the series of Kids Connect events on campus. Old Brookville, NY - March 1st, 2016 - On February 17, the Green Vale School participated in its first D.E.A.R. event Drop Everything And Read the latest endeavor in the series of Kids Connect events on campus. This initiative celebrates reading and reminds children of all ages to make reading a priority in their lives. For 30 minutes, Big Buddies students in grades 4-8 spent time reading, playing and bonding with their Little Buddies students in grades Pre-Nursery to 3. Aside from its seamless fit with academics, reading boosts brain power by improving memory; helps us relax; and encourages younger students to make it a habit of their own, said faculty member and Kids Connect Coordinator Ms. Valerie Field. Our students enjoyed this first all-school D.E.A.R. event because it connected buddies more closely. They were able to share and discuss stories they knew and loved. Green Vales dining services staff baked cookies, which made the event a little sweeter for both the Little and Big Buddies. Green Vales Kids Connect Coordinators Ms. Field and Ms. Cathy Iannotta were both thrilled with D.E.A.R.s positive reception and thanked everyone for their help and support in creating a very memorable day. About The Green Vale School The Green Vale School, located in Old Brookville, Long Island, is an independent school specializing in Early Childhood through Middle School situated on a 40-acre campus on the doorstep of New York City. Green Vale has been providing students with an uncommon core of academic excellence and character development since 1923 inspiring students to excel, to lead and to care. School & Education, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: March 01 2016 Five $3,000 scholarships are being offered to high school seniors. Merrick, NY - February 26, 2016 - New York American Water is offering five $3,000 scholarships to high school seniors who plan to pursue a career in the water-utility industry or related fields. This is the sixth consecutive year New York American Water has offered scholarships to New York American Water is offering five $3,000 scholarships to high school seniors who plan to pursue a career in the water-utility industry or related fields. This is the sixth consecutive year New York American Water has offered scholarships to high school students within its service area as part of its commitment to fostering the future workforce and leaders of the states water supply. The scholarship program is part of an outreach effort by the New York Chapter of the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC), of which New York American Water is a member. Students must submit their applications no later than April 1, 2016. The water industry faces challenges in the near term and long term, such as aging infrastructure and managing a finite supply, said Brian Bruce, president of New York American Water, and chairman of the New York Chapter of NAWC. The brightest minds in our high schools today will be tasked with meeting those challenges and developing solutions. These scholarships will help them meet their educational goals and help nurture the future leaders of the water industry. The scholarship is offered to all high school seniors in New York American Water's service area who meet the following criteria: United States Citizen A New York resident for 5 years High school senior pursuing a degree at a New York college or university (two- or four-year) as an undergraduate student (part- or full-time) Maintain at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 GPA grading scale Enrolling in a curriculum related to the water utility industry or related fields such as,environmental sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, computer science, environmental law, etc. Students interested in applying for a scholarship are encouraged to contact their guidance counselor or visit the New York American Water website , obtain a copy of the application. For more information contact Rose Simpson at 516-632-2208 or rose.simpson@amwater.com Arts & Culture, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: March 01 2016 The Fugees's Pras Michel will be Tom Needham's special guest this Thursday at 6 P.M. on WUSB's The Sounds of Film. Stony Brook, NY - March 1st, 2016 - The Fugees's Pras Michel will be Tom Needham's special guest this Thursday at 6 P.M. on WUSB's The Sounds of Film. The two-time Grammy-winning rapper will be discussing his film Sweet Micky For President, which is part of the Port Jefferson Documentary Series on March 14th. The film follows Pras as he returned to his homeland of Haiti post-earthquake. After being unimpressed with the corrupt government, he decided to mobilize a presidential campaign featuring the unlikeliest of candidates: Michel Martelly, otherwise known as "Sweet Micky," one of Haiti's most popular pop stars. Pras will also be talking about what happened when Pras' former band mate, superstar Wyclef Jean, surprised everyone and entered the presidential race too. Throughout the interview, Pras shares incredible stories about his adventures with Sean Penn, President Bill Clinton and Warren Beatty. Pras states," The most important thing to come out of this whole experience is to realize how much power people really have. People just don't understand how much change they can make when they share a common cause." Also on the show, is the best-selling author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins. He is out with a new updated version of the book called New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. The book is an autobiographical tale about his role as an "economic hit man" who would convince leaders of underdeveloped countries to accept substantial loans for construction and engineering projects in exchange for U.S. influence in the region and access to their natural resources. He explains that when countries ultimately couldn't pay back their debts, they would be forced to privatize their nation's assets or risk a military engagement. In 2009, his documentary, also called Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, was shown at festivals all over the world. He also appeared in a number of other documentaries including Project Censored the Movie, American Empire, The End of Poverty? and Zeitgeist:Addendum. John Perkins will be doing a book signing on March 7th at 7 PM at the Rare Book Room at the Strand Bookstore in Manhattan. Perkins warns,"We have to really change our ways. So many businesses are making huge amounts of money in the conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, and so much of why we go to war is because these corporations really want to increase their business portfolios." In addition, Tom Needham will be joined by Hollywood film composer, Hanan Townshend. Originally from New Zealand, Hanan now lives in Austin, Texas. He got his big break when he became a music licensee on Terrence Malick's Palme D'Or award-winning film, The Tree of Life. Since then, he has worked with Malick again on To the Wonder and Knight of Cups. About The Sounds of Film The Sounds of Film is the nation's longest-running film and music radio show. For over 28 years, the program has delivered a popular mix of interviews and music to listeners all over Long Island, parts of Connecticut and streaming live on the internet. Recent guests include Dr. Cornel West, Spongebob's Tom Kenny, Jim Breuer, Big Daddy Kane, Congressman Steve Israel, Cicely Tyson and composer Carter Burwell. 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 Photo of Abu al Nour al Andalusi, who was reportedly killed near Timbuktu by French forces According to jihadist social media accounts connected to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), al Qaedas official branch in North Africa, French forces conducted two separate raids on al Qaeda figures in Mali in recent days. The attacks left one commander of AQIM and two fighters from AQIMs Katibat al Murabitoon dead. Both AQIM and the French Ministry of Defence have yet to release statements confirming or denying these reports. However, Al Jazeera has reported that sources close to the group have confirmed the operations to the Qatari news site. The jihadists online said that the AQIM commander Abu al Nour al Andalusi, a Spanish national from the Melilla enclave in Morocco, was killed by French forces 180km north of Timbuktu. Additionally, an Egyptian fighter, identified as Marwan al Masri, was also killed alongside the Spanish commander. Al Andalusi was prominently featured in a video released last September in which the jihadist group advertised an ambush on UN troops near the city of Timbuktu. Al Andalusi called on Muslims in Spain and the city of Melilla to join the jihad in his Spanish-language address in the video. He is also identified as a field commander of the Al Quds Brigade, which is another name for AQIMs Al Furqan Battalion. The Al Furqan Battalion is one of AQIM branches that make up its Sahara Emirate in Mali. [See LWJ report, AQIM highlights attack on UN troops in Mali.] In addition to the raid near Timbuktu, the jihadists also allege French special forces targeted the spokesman of AQIMs Katibat al Murabitoon near the northern city of Gao. However, Abu Dujana al Qasimi, the Saudi spokesman, is said to have survived the attack and was able to flee the scene. The jihadist accounts say that two fighters accompanying al Qasimi were killed in the firefight. French special forces conducted a similar raid near Gao, which has traditionally been within Al Murabitoons area of operations, last December. The French Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that its forces neutralized 10 terrorists in a four hour firefight with the jihadists. The MoD also said that two pickups and a dozen motorcycles were seized along with a significant amount of arms and explosives. (See LWJ report, French special forces target Al Murabitoon in northern Mali.) Al Murabitoon was formed in 2013 from the merger between Ahmed al Tilemsis Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) and Mokhtar Belmokhtars Al Mulathameen Brigade and swore allegiance to Al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri. After being led by an Egyptian commander, Al Tilemsi took over as emir of Al Murabitoon until being killed by French forces. In July, the groups Shura Council confirmed it elected Mokhtar Belmokhtar as its overall emir. However, some members in the MUJAO side of the group defected to the Islamic State, but it is not known how many. (See LWJ report, Confusion surrounds West African jihadists loyalty to Islamic State.) On Dec. 4, AQIMs Al Andalus Media released an audio statement from Abdelmalek Droukdel, the emir of AQIM, announcing the merger of Al Murabitoon into its ranks. That statement came after an audio recording released by Abu Dujana al Qasimi announced the pledging of allegiance to Droukdel, which also reaffirmed Al Murabitoons allegiance to al Qaeda. Despite France killing several AQIM commanders and leaders in northern Mali since beginning its intervention in 2013, the jihadist group and its many affiliated groups in the country continue to maintain the ability to mount attacks in the north. Additionally, al Qaeda has been able to penetrate deep into the south of Mali and hit the capital Bamako several times. Al Qaeda has also increasingly spread the violence to neighboring countries, with several attacks occurring in Burkina Faso and in Niger in the last two years. (See this map of al Qaeda-linked attacks in Mali and neighboring countries since 2014 made by The Long War Journal here.) 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. Months prior to his death, Osama bin Laden ordered one of his chief lieutenants to evacuate the brothers from Pakistans tribal agencies of North and South Waziristan to Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to a letter seized by US forces in the al Qaeda masters Abbottabad, Pakistan compound. The letter is addressed to Shaykh Mahmud, a known alias used by Atiyah Abd al Rahman, who served as al Qaedas general manager until he was killed in a US drone strike in August 2011. The missive is among the 113 documents from bin Ladens cache that were released today by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). While the author of the letter is not explicitly named, it is clearly written by Atiyahs superior. The tone and tenor is also consistent with other letters known to be written by bin Laden to his deputy. The Dec. 3, 2010 memo was written at the peak of the US drone campaign in Pakistans tribal areas. The author describes the airstrikes as a major and long-standing issue, and insist(s) on taking precautions at peoples homes, and cutting off surveillance as soon as (anyone) leaves them. I insist on the brothers quickly leaving Waziristan for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and they should enter Afghanistan in small groups, the author states. They also should be advised how vital it is they take security precautions in Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan, and remind them of the harm that could befall every mujahidin from the carelessness of a few. A previously released letter showed that bin Laden had already advised key al Qaeda personnel to relocate to several provinces in Afghanistan. In an Oct. 3, 2010 missive to Rahman, bin Laden said that al Qaeda should relocate as many brothers as possible to the eastern Afghan provinces of Nuristan, Kunar, Ghazni and Zabul to avoid the US drone campaign in North and South Waziristan. [See LWJ report, Bin Laden advised relocation of some leaders to Afghanistan due to drone strikes in Waziristan.] However, the Dec. 3, 2010 letter, which was released earlier today, confirms that al Qaedas emir also intended to move his followers into areas in Pakistan outside of the tribal areas. Al Qaeda is known to operate in all four of Pakistans provinces and in many of its major cities. These areas are off limits to the US drone campaign. The relocation of al Qaeda members is one reason why the US drone campaign in Pakistan has slowed dramatically from its height of 117 in 2010 to just 11 in 2015. (There have been two strikes in Pakistan so far this year.) The drone strikes have primarily focused on the small kill box in North and South Waziristan. The Long War Journal has tallied a total of 391 such bombings since the program began in 2004. Only 21 of these strikes have taken place in tribal areas outside of North and South Waziristan. 280 missiles have struck in North Waziristan and another 90 in South Waziristan. Senior al Qaeda leaders have been killed in airstrikes in Afghanistan, but those based in Pakistan outside of the tribal areas are not in the drones crosshairs. The US has relied on cooperation from Pakistani security forces in some cases. In the raid that killed bin Laden, however, American forces snuck into Pakistan unannounced. Al Qaeda maintains a significant foothold inside Afghanistan to this day. Another previously released bin Laden file discussed the groups operations in at least eight of Afghanistans provinces. [See LWJ report, Osama Bin Ladens Files: Very strong military activity in Afghanistan.] Last month, the US Treasury Department designated Farouq al Qahtani, who is the head of al Qaedas eastern zone in Afghanistan. Qahtani plans operations against coalition forces and has also helped plot attacks against the West. Al Qaeda has relied on Qahtani to establish safe zones in Afghanistan for other members. Despite bin Ladens order to relocate al Qaeda leaders from Waziristan, the group was never able to completely vacate the key jihadist stronghold. Some of al Qaedas top leaders were killed in North and South Waziristan after bin Laden ordered the move, including Rahman and Ilyas Kashmiri (2011); Abu Yahya al Libi (2012); Abu Ubaydah Abdullah al Adam (2013); and Adam Gadahn, Qari Imran, and Ustad Ahmad Farooq (2015). For more information on the drone strikes targeting al Qaeda leaders and other high-value targets, see LWJ reports, Senior al Qaeda, Taliban, and allied jihadist leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 2016, and US Strikes in Pakistan, HVTs. Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal. 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. Abdelmalek Droukdel (also known as Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud), the emir of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. A newly declassified memo recovered in Osama bin Ladens compound reveals that al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) considered a truce with the government of Mauritania. It is not clear what, if anything, came of the proposal. But al Qaedas senior leadership drafted the terms of a possible deal. The authors of the undated file state that the matter was raised after AQIMs leader, Abdelmalek Droukdel (also known as Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud), sent a letter to al Qaedas management team. The brothers discussed the matter, and Shaykh Mahmud [Atiyah Abd al Rahman] and Shaykh Abu Yahya [al Libi] were tasked to write a legal research on the truce matter with the apostates and as to whether it was permissible also to propose it to the leadership, after which we would send it to Abu Musab [Abdel Wadoud]and to correspond with the Mauritanian brothers to convince them, the US governments translation reads. Atiyah Abd al Rahman and Abu Yahya al Libi served as al Qaedas general managers before being killed in US drone strikes. Rahman was killed in August 2011 and Libi was struck down in June 2012. The proposed deal would have been very favorable to al Qaeda. In exchange for not carrying out any military activity in Mauritania, al Qaeda would have received a number of concessions. The Mauritanian government would have been prohibited from intercepting the Mujahidin, including the seekers of knowledge. Therefore, al Qaeda could have proselytized inside the country without harassment from security forces. All of the prisoner brothers were to be released and the government should commit to not carry out any hostile attack against the brothers from its territories. If Mauritania agreed to the proposal then it would have been effective for one year and subject to renewal with the government paying 10 to 20 million euros annually.to compensate for AQIMs loss of income from the kidnapping of tourists. For obvious reasons, al Qaeda wanted the deal to remain a secret agreement between both parties. If the deal was struck, then AQIM could benefit from the truce and focus on Algeria, while also safely putting cadres in rear bases available in Mauritania. There is no evidence in the files that Mauritania agreed to the proposition. Although the memo does not indicate precisely when this potential agreement was discussed, there are clues in other bin Ladens files. One of the al Qaeda leaders who deliberated the permissibility of a truce was Shaykh Haji Uthman, a nom de guerre used by Shaykh Saeed al Masri (also known as Mustafa Abu al Yazid), who perished in a May 2010 drone strike. Like Rahman and Libi, Masri served as al Qaedas general manager prior to his demise. This means the discussions took place sometime before May 2010. Another clue can be found in a letter previously released from bin Ladens cache. On June 19, 2010, Rahman informed bin Laden that the brothers in Algeria are definitely waiting for an answer regarding the truce with the apostates and the ransom of their prisoners. This is almost certainly a reference to the same deal that AQIM wanted to enter into with Mauritania. Rahman noted that Sheikh Saeed (al Masri) had previously sent bin Laden the letters [from] Algeria and others, but he wanted to double-check that bin Laden received them. We wrote to them before, and we told Sheikh Abu Yahya to look into this matter further and I hope that you will write to them and us, Rahman wrote in June 2010. Again, this is consistent with the details in the newly released memo. Abu Yahya al Libi and Rahman are named as the jihadists responsible for researching the issue. Rahman informed bin Laden that their opinion in that matter (that is, the proposed truce) was attached to his June 2010 letter. Sought bin Ladens advice on expanding AQIMs shura council The bin Laden files document other occasions when AQIM sought guidance from al Qaedas senior leadership. In another newly released letter, Abdelmalek Droukdel asks bin Laden for his advice concerning the expansion of AQIMs elite Shura (or advisory) council. I decided that it was my duty to expand the Shura council of the Organization [AQIM] to include representatives from all the countries of the Islamic Maghreb, Droukdel informed bin Laden in the undated letter. Droukdel said it was a legal right for our Mujahidin brothers in these countries, and was also the only way for us to become aware of their situation and circumstances and to know about the condition of the people. Droukdel thought that the inclusion of more jihadists on the Shura would help in establishing AQIMs plans and policies in their areas. Also, without knowing the real situation, we cannot advance and spread jihad in the best fashion to the countries of the Islamic Maghreb, which we are striving to cleanse from the filth of apostates and aspiring to liberate from the Western dominance, he wrote. Droukdel decided to include representatives from Tunis, Morocco, Libya, Mauritania, and the Western Sahara. Still, there was a problem. The number of brothers who join jihad, such as the Libyans and Tunisians, can be significant, but most of them are young (may God extend their lives) and they lack jihadi experience. AQIMs emir selected a jihadist known as Munir al-Tunisi to represent the Tunisians, because Tunisi is known to the brothers in Afghanistan after participating in the first Afghan jihad. But Droukdel wanted to consult with bin Laden on this issue, given the al Qaeda masters rich and invaluable experience and expertise in the area of organization and management. We await your guidance and counsel for completing this process, which without a doubt will increase the harmony, unity, and strength of al Mujahidin in the Islamic Maghreb, Droukdel wrote to bin Laden. It is not surprising that AQIMs emir would seek guidance from bin Laden. Al Qaedas leaders refer to various districts in the files recovered in Abbottabad. Each one of these districts is a regional branch of al Qaedas international organization. The head of each branch swears an oath of loyalty (bayah) to al Qaedas overall leader. At the time of the aforementioned correspondence, Droukdel was bound by a bayah to bin Laden. After the May 2011 raid in Abbottabad, Droukdel reaffirmed his fealty to Ayman al Zawahiri. 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. Luton is a large town, borough and unitary authority area of Bedfordshire. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 258,000. Luton is home to Championship team Luton Town Football Club, London Luton Airport and The University of Bedfordshire. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter. For all the latest news from Luton sign up to our newsletter here. A federal judge has denied a government motion to force Apple to unlock an iPhonebut its not in the San Bernardino (California) case. Still, the ruling could have implications for Apples current battle with the FBI over San Bernardino shooter Syed Farooks iPhone 5c. In the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Magistrate Judge James Orenstein ruled on Monday that the All Writs Act is being applied overly broadly by the government. The New York case concerns an iPhone 5s used by a meth dealer (who later pled guilty), but its running iOS 7. Since that version of iOS isnt encrypted by default, Apple could extract the data without needing to break the phones passcode. In the California case, by contrast, Farooks iPhone 5c is running iOS 9, so the FBI wants Apple to write new software that would allow law enforcement to brute-force the passcode, since thats the only way of unencrypting the phones data. But Apple is making a similar legal argument in both cases, that the government shouldnt be using the All Writs Act to issue these warrants. That law, first passed in 1789 and updated most recently in 1948, authorizes the government to issue warrants that arent covered by other existing statutes. Apple says that the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which outlines specific guidelines, is more appropriate, or a new law yet to be passed. Judge Orenstein wrote of the All Writs Act, [T]he established rules for interpreting a statutes text constrain me to reject the governments interpretation that the AWA empowers a court to grant any relief not outright prohibited by law. Later the ruling continues, The relief the government seeks is unavailable because Congress has considered legislation that would achieve the same result but has not adopted it. To determine if the All Writs Act applies, the judge also considers the same three-pronged test mentioned by the Department of Justice in a February 19 filing in the San Bernardino case. But after reviewing both sides arguments, Orenstein writes, I conclude that none of those factors justifies imposing on Apple the obligation to assist the governments investigation against its will. I therefore deny the motion. Why this matters: The judge in California, Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym, may not come to the same conclusion as Orenstein, who is considered by some to be an activist judge in matters of surveillance. Hes clearly a judge who is interested in opening topics to discussion in the judiciary, but he also thinks the larger public should know about the debate, said Brian Owsley, a former magistrate judge in Texas, to The Washington Post last year. Apples Senior VP and Chief Legal Counsel Bruce Sewell will highlight the All Writs Act argument in his testimony to the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, as seen in his prepared opening remarks released Monday morning. Incat Crowther has entered into a contract to design a 20m catamaran passenger ferry to ply the waters of Loch Ness in Scotland, taking tourists in search of Nessie, the lakes the famous monster. Construction of the vessel for Cruise Loch Ness is underway at Exeter Fabrication Ltd in England. The vessel will be the first vessel to be fully designed in Incat Crowthers Europe office, providing a full service from preliminary design through to functional and production design. In addition to regulatory guidance, the preliminary design phase included an analysis of the vessels platform, with a narrow-beam catamaran was proposed, giving good efficiency whilst allowing the vessel to access the loch via a canal and lock. The main deck will is spacious with large windows for monster-spotting opportunities. Toilets and a bar are located aft. The upper deck is effectively and interior space, being open at the side whilst being covered above. This allows the cruise to operate in various weather conditions, without forcing passengers inside. As with a number of other Incat Crowther vessels, this design features an asymmetric wheelhouse. This incorporates an enclosed wing control station on the port side (which will see all docking movements), and an open access passage to starboard. The open starboard side passage allows direct access for crew between the wheelhouse and foredeck, whilst also giving the flexibility of passenger flow between foredeck and upper deck. The vessel will be powered by a pair of Volvo D9 MH main engines. Producing 313kW per side, these efficient engines are capable of propelling the vessel to speeds over 20 knots. The Cruise Loch Ness project confirms Incat Crowthers commitment to providing Europe with a level of service, experience and expertise consistent with the companys global network. SPECIFICATIONS - 20m CATAMARAN PASSENGER FERRY PRINCIPAL DIMENSIONS Length Overall 68 11 / 21.0m Length Waterline 65' 8 / 20.0m Beam Overall 23 / 7.0m Draft (hull) 3' 4 / 1.0m Construction Marine grade aluminium CAPACITIES Fuel Oil 2 x 264 gallons / 2 x 1 000 litres Fresh Water 1 x 1321 gallons / 1 x 500 litres Passengers 220 Crew 4 PROPULSION AND PERFORMANCE Speed (Service) 19.9 knots Speed (Max) 22 knots Main Engines 2 x Volvo D9 MH Power 2 x 313kW @ 2200rpm Propulsion 2 x Fixed-pitched Propellers Generators 2 x Kohler 11 EFKOZD 11kvA REGULATORY Flag UK Class / Survey MCA The Manufacturing Institute to honor Volvo Pentas Marcia Kull with STEP Ahead Award on April 21; award honors top women leaders in the manufacturing industry Marcia Kull, vice president of marine sales for Volvo Penta of the Americas, has been selected by the Manufacturing Institute as one of the top women in U.S. manufacturing for 2016. Kull and the other honorees will be recognized at the fourth annual Women in Manufacturing STEP (Science, Technology, Engineering and Production) Ahead Award at a gala dinner April 21 in Washington, D.C. The STEP Ahead Awards celebrate those women who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in their careers in all levels of the manufacturing industry, from the factory floor to the C-suite. These 130 women are the faces of exciting careers in manufacturing, said Jennifer McNelly, executive director, The Manufacturing Institute. We chose to honor these women because they each made significant achievements in manufacturing through a positive impact on their company and the industry as a whole. The STEP Ahead Awards are part of the larger STEP Ahead initiative, launched to examine and promote the role of women in the manufacturing industry through recognition, research and leadership for attracting, advancing and retaining strong female talent. As Volvo Pentas vice president of marine sales for the Americas, Kull has profit-and-loss responsibility for marine engine sales in a competitive territory that covers Canada to Panama and the Caribbean. Before joining the marine engine sales division in 2011, Kull served as the companys general counsel and prior to that role, acted as vice president of dealer and consumer relations. Marcia Kull has leveraged all of the experience shes gained working across the industry to help her succeed as a commercial leader to promote Volvo Penta, said Ron Huibers, president of Volvo Penta of the Americas. She is highly respected by her peers, customers and even competitors for her depth of knowledge of Volvo Penta products and markets, and she has taken on great responsibility with her involvement in industry and governmental organizations that serve the national marine community. At Volvo Penta, Kull has facilitated year-over-year diesel engine unit growth averaging 14 percent while increasing profitability; created a regionally-based dealer development team to generate pull-through sales of Volvo Penta-powered gasoline sterndrive boats; developed Volvo Pentas North American marine commercial segment; restructured the commercial distributor network; and mentored young employees through the Volvo Penta International Mentorship Program. She also developed a national program to promote recreational boating as a leisure activity for women. Called Women Making Waves, the turn-key program provided boating skills classes for women in over 1,600 marine dealerships nationwide. Kull chairs the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) Engine Manufacturers Division the first Volvo Penta employee and the first woman to serve in this role. Prior to this appointment, she served as chairwoman of the NMMA Boating Industry Risk Management Council for six years the first woman to chair that committee as well. She also serves on the six-member NMMA executive board of directors. She was appointed by the Secretary of Homeland Security to serve on the National Boating Safety Advisory Council in 2007. In that role, she chaired a team that drafted a compliance section for the U.S. Coast Guard Strategic Plan to reduce recreational boating casualties. Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb will take the 550th anniversary of the Rotterdam philosopher Erasmuss birth as an occasion to visit Basel. During the Mayors visit Rotterdam will renew its existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Swiss city. The municipal representatives will be joined by a large delegation from the Rotterdam port. Erasmus lived in Rotterdam and Basel and died in the latter city in 1536. Since both cities are situated on the Rhine, Rotterdam itself also has close logistics and commercial ties with Basel. This connection has led to the decision by Mayor Aboutaleb and his Swiss partners in dialogue to once again scrutinize the existing MOU. The inter-city dialogue will also deal with substantive matters like rail corridors and the second Gotthard Tunnel tube. Aboutaleb will travel to Basel in the week of June 14, and the renewed version of the MOU will be signed later this year. On June 15, the Rotterdam Mayor will also attend the Port of Rotterdam Seminar and Business Event. In addition to offering opportunities to network with the Rotterdam port and logistics delegation, this event will also bring Swiss freight forwarders, shippers and logistics service providers up to date on the latest developments in the Port of Rotterdam, with special attention to the Rotterdam Port Connector website. U.S. Marines and Royal Thai sailors have grown close during Exercise Cobra Gold 16. Theyve spent every day together, living, eating and training. Marines with aircraft rescue and firefighting section, Marine Wing Support Squadron 172 teamed up with Royal Thai sailors during a unique training event, February 16, 2016, where they set an unserviceable aircraft on fire to practice their procedures together. Were going to use our roof turrets and rain down to put out most of the fire when we come up to any aircraft that is fully engulfed, said Sgt. J. Diskin, an aviation rescue and firefighter with MWSS 172, Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force. When we spray our roof turrets were putting out 90 percent of the fire in the first minute. Using their roof turrets is the first step in the process of putting out an engulfed aircraft. Once they have the fire under control they send in the hand line operators. Theres going to be fuel on the ground when you have an aircraft crash, said Diskin, from Uda, Texas. We simulated spraying the fuel away from them, they got to the aircraft, made entry and put out the cargo area. During this event there were two teams, one being Royal Thai sailors, and the other being U.S. Marines. Together, they worked together to put out spot fires with hand line hoses. Throughout this exercise the Marines and Thai Sailors have spent most of their time together. Cobra Gold has been a really good experience, said Diskin. Ive learned a lot from the Thais, and weve had a pretty strong bond. A lot of the guys came last year so weve been able to share a lot of moments together during training, like the fire today. Cobra Gold is a multi-national exercise designed to improve cooperation and interoperability with aims to preserve and promote peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region. I hope my Marines got to do something they wont get to do anywhere else, said Diskin. It gives us a different perspective and is good for the Marines to learn new ideas and ways to do things. They can bring that knowledge back to grow themselves. More Media In order to demonstrate the ability to transport, tactically insert, support, and conduct high-intensity, combined-arms operations with a battalion-sized infantry force, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing conducted a large-scale tactical exercise in conjunction with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia, during Exercise Eager Response, Feb. 24-29. During the exercise, Marines trained in events including casualty evacuation, assault support missions and aerial refueling, proving the Marine Air-Ground Task Force a highly combat effective force. 3/6 Marines were transported from Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina, in MV-22B Ospreys and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters to accomplish a long-range insert of a battalion-sized force into the remote training area of the U.S. Army base. The exercise allowed cross-training between ground and air units. Where the air units practiced aerial deliveries from a KC-130J, the ground unit focused on receiving the delivery. In the same manner, the ground units focused on proper casualty evacuation procedures that called on Marines to treat a simulated casualty while the air assets worked to hastily transport them aboard a Super Stallion. As a continuation of Wing Exercise 15, 2nd MAW continues to train its planners in all aspects of command and control honing its ability to provide outstanding support to the MAGTF. This exercise was designed to test the squadron and battalion-level planners in their integration of combined efforts, said Maj. Gen. Gary L. Thomas, 2nd MAW commanding general. Our ability to transport, support and tactically insert ground troops in any environment is what makes us a highly effective force. This training reiterates our dedication to supporting the 2nd Marine Division; our dedication to teaching our Marines and enhancing their knowledge; and ultimately, getting it right when it matters, with little to no notice, Thomas said. In addition to being forced to defeat a simulated enemy, Exercise Eager Response prepared Marines for future training requirements, such as weapons and tactics instructors course, and future deployment operations. I believe this exercise is a valuable opportunity for our Marines to train in a challenging and dynamic environment, while supporting the Marines with 2nd MARDIV, said Capt. Sarah K. Horn, a UH-1Y Huey pilot with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 269. 2nd MAW brings a wide range of capabilities to the fight, and any evolution that allows us to hone our skills of supporting Marines on the ground is extremely worthwhile. Horn explained that the ability to function as a MAGTF is a powerful capability, unique to the Marine Corps, and it is important that Marines train to employ their forces in such a fashion, and Eager Response allowed the Marines to do exactly that. Throughout the exercise, an opposing force lurking in the surrounding tree line sporadically attacked the battalion day and night to put their ability to fortify and defend to the test. We took some contact from our opposing force, said Cpl. Matthew J. Haines, a squad leader with India Company, 3rd Bn., 6th Marines. They acted as a platoon-sized element that tried to find a weak spot in our defenses and exploit it. We responded by sending security patrols from the various companies. We fight and we train as a MAGTF, Mahar said. Our ability to work together with the wing and conduct inserts like we did with more than 400 Marines on multiple aircraft allows us to rapidly build up combat power in any zone and flood our forces in the area to conduct operations. Our ability to do that is what we do as Marines. Small-unit leaders regarded the exercise as a valuable opportunity to mold junior Marines into skilled, upstanding members of "Teufelhunden. This is what we do, Haines said. Its about brilliance in the basics, in both offensive and defensive operations. Everything from security to alertness and digging a proper fighting hole is what we want to instill in our Marines. Its on us as small unit leaders to spin them up on how [3rd Bn., 6th Marines] operates and our expectations of them. At the conclusion of the exercise, the squadron returned to lift the battalion back to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, with their time occupying and defending the area as an entire battalion a success. The MAGTF lives, breaths and reacts exceptionally well in moments of crisis, Thomas said. That is because the men and women that encompass it are some of the most dedicated group of Marines and Sailors I have ever seen. I am extremely proud of the work they accomplished here. More Media Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 167 is among one of the squadrons aiding in the air-ground capabilities. HMLA 167 is currently supporting Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force in Thailand during Cobra Gold 16 as part of the unit deployment program. Cobra Gold is a multi-national exercise designed to increase interoperability and cooperation through training events that are meant to advance solution solving skills between the participating nations. The goal of this exercise is to preserve and promote peace in the Asia-Pacific region. Were proud to be part of this exercise as we participate with the Thais and other partner nations here, said Capt. Ryan R. Morrison. Were expanding our influence in the region, learning from them, hopefully showing them some ways we do things and building relationships. Throughout this Cobra Gold, this years being the 35th iteration, HMLA has been able to exercise this trait in an atmosphere foreign than the traditional training areas in the United States. Generally speaking, HMLA will be responsible for going in and conducting reconnaissance of landing sites and objective areas and ensuring any threats are attrite before (other aircraft) come, said Morrison. HMLA is home to the UH-1Y Huey and the AH-1 Cobra. The two caveat off each other with the Huey providing highly capable sensors and a Gods eye view and the Cobra bringing longer distance weapon capabilities. HMLA really does provide a lot of noncombatant opportunities, said Morrison. Weve already seen a lot of that in Nepal and in other humanitarian disaster relief situations where we are able to provide access to zones a lot of larger aircraft such as MV-22 Ospreys and CH-53E Super Stallions arent able to get into. HMLA is capable of bringing in supplies, limited CASEVAC and troop transportation assets during these humanitarian type situations. More Media In Defence of Marxism is committed to safeguarding your privacy. At all times we aim to respect any personal data you share with us, or that we receive from other organisations, and keep it safe. This Privacy Policy (Policy) sets out our data collection and processing practices and your options regarding the ways in which your personal information is used. This Policy contains important information about your personal rights to privacy. Please read it carefully to understand how we use your personal data. 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We recommend that you check this Privacy Policy occasionally to ensure you remain happy with it. We may also notify you of changes to our privacy policy by email. Third party websites We link our website directly to other sites. This Privacy Policy does not cover external websites and we are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any external websites you visit via links on our website. Updating information You can check the personal data we hold about you, and ask us to update it where necessary, by emailing us at webmaster@marxist.com Contact We are not required by law to have a Data Protection Officer however we have a Data Protection Manager. Please let us know if you have any queries or concerns whatsoever about the way in which your data is being processed by emailing the Data Protection Manager at webmaster@marxist.com From 1937-45, China became one of the main theatres of the Second World War. This entangling of China in World War II raised the country out of its subjugation on the world stage, such that at the Wars conclusion China was given a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Only 4 years later the immense Chinese revolution was finally completed, freeing China from imperialist domination. The war's violent dragging of China onto the world stage had effected a thoroughgoing internal transformation of China. In this article we examine the war and its effect on China, the role of the Chinese ruling class in the war, and the strategy and tactics of the Chinese Communist Party that led the revolution of 1949. [Editor's note: this was originally a 10 part serialised article, which has now been combined into a single article.] All this time was required to produce the philosophy of our day; so tardily and slowly did the World-spirit work to reach this goal. What we pass in rapid review when we recall it, stretched itself out in reality to this great length of time. For in this lengthened period, the Notion of Spirit, invested with its entire concrete development, its external subsistence, its wealth, is striving to bring spirit to perfection, to make progress itself and to develop from spirit. It goes ever on and on, because spirit is progress alone. Spirit often seems to have forgotten and lost itself, but inwardly opposed to itself, it is inwardly working ever forward (as when Hamlet says of the ghost of his father, Well said, old mole! canst work i the ground so fast?) until grown strong in itself it bursts asunder the crust of earth which divided it from the sun, its Notion, so that the earth crumbles away. Hegel, Philosophy of History In the dead of night on 8th July 1937, a unit of the Japanese Army opened machine gun fire on Chinese troops stationed around the Marco Polo or Lugou Bridge in Wanping, now a suburb of Beijing. The shots were fired in retaliation for the apparent (but not actual) kidnapping or killing of a Japanese soldier by the Chinese. But by the end of the night, the bridge was back in Chinese hands and both sides swiftly came to a gentlemanly agreement to prevent anything like this happening again. However, the high-minded intentions of the peace-loving Japanese and Chinese Generals notwithstanding, by the very next day hostilities had not only recommenced but increased, beginning an unavoidable slide to all out war. How can an insignificant little skirmish quickly resolved have been allowed to start a war? The Israeli occupation of Palestine has familiarised the contemporary reader with the principle that imperialist occupations have an insane logic of their own. The contradictions and injustice of the occupation are precisely the fuel for further encroachments and oppression; each act of resistance or even miscommunication a justification for defensive assaults on the occupied. The Japanese occupation of China after 1931 was no different, and it was just such a mistake which sparked the Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937-45, which was to be the Pacific theatre of World War II, claiming around 32m lives, the vast majority Chinese civilians. With a similar unconscious necessity, this entangling of China in World War II would raise the country out of its passivity and subjugation on the world stage, such that at the Wars conclusion China was given a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. But this violent dragging of China into world relations could not be achieved without effecting a thoroughgoing internal transformation of China. China could only match the tasks of modernity by throwing off all its accumulated baggage and mess from the past, and thus its modernisation and active participation in world politics meant the long overdue Chinese social revolution. The accidental spark known as the Marco Polo Bridge or Lugouqiao Incident is possibly the best example of necessity expressing itself through chance one could imagine. Crossed wires, mutual stubbornness and minor (or not so minor) outbreaks of verbal or actual hostilities are inherent in imperialist occupations, and of course they are always the responsibility of the imperialists. As the only point of connection between free China and the key city of Beijing (not then Chinas capital), the taking of the Marco Polo Bridge was naturally an immediate aim of the Japanese occupation of China, which was in reality a one-sided war ongoing since 1931 [see http://www.marxist.com/chinese-comminist-party-1927-37-part-8.htm]. Chiang Kai-shekFor that reason the Japanese had been patrolling the bridge every night with the kind permission of Chiang Kai Shek (the dictator of China), on the condition that the Japanese only inform the Chinese each night of their plans. For one reason or another, on the night of 8th July 1937 this communication failed to take place, leading the Chinese troops to interpret the maneuvers as an actual attack, who as a result fired their weapons (ineffectively). When a Japanese soldier failed to return with his squad, it was assumed he was killed or kidnapped, leading ultimately to the Japanese attack. Japan had its own reasons for using this pretext, which was an inevitable outcome of six years of occupation and exploitation, to further invade and enslave the profitable regions of China. But in addition to its main motivation of greed, several authors contend [see Guillermaz 1968, p287 and Eastman, Nationalist China During the Sino-Japanese War 1937-35] that a major cause of the Japanese aggression after this incident was the appearance of growing Chinese resolve to resist Japan as realised in the Guomindang governments new alliance with the Chinese Communist Party [CCP]. They wanted to strike before the Chinese had time to mobilise. The likelihood of this as a factor demonstrates the inseparability of the twins of the Sino-Japanese war and the Chinese revolution - as we have previously shown this resolve and unity came not from Chiang Kai Shek and his Guomindang. It was instead a product of the powerful impetus amongst the Chinese masses towards launching a revolutionary war against the Japanese invaders, an impetus that was fast propelling the CCP to the power it would finally take in 1949. Therefore, before we look at the eight years of war, we will examine this second unlikely alliance between the two nemeses of the Chinese revolution, the Guomindang and the CCP. This alliance to defend China was struck in the months before the Marco Polo Bridge Incident under revolutionary pressure. As Marxists we are naturally most interested in the perspectives and justification for the alliance that the CCP elaborated around 1937, in order that we can compare this with the actual history of the war and its aftermath. The CCPs Opportunist and Nationalist Perspectives in 1937 As explained previously, the CCPs perspectives for the Chinese revolution and war with Japan had been changed under Moscows orders in late 1935 in the direction of opportunism. The first major fruit of this perspective was the alliance struck with Chiang Kai Shek at gunpoint in late 1936. Why a revolutionary party, finding itself in possession of the defenceless dictator responsible for killing thousands of its own members, would then sign a deal with him on terms favourable to his regime, is analysed in our above linked article. Such a choice of action should in itself be enough to condemn the new perspectives of the CCP. What followed was a rapid degeneration of the partys programme along nationalist lines. National unity between the CCP and Guomindang was preached; talk of socialism was relegated, in its place the CCP promoted democratic reforms to be introduced by the Guomindang at its leisure; property, including of the landed kind, was not to be touched; rural soviets and the independent Red Army were to have their names changed and placed under Guomindang leadership. Outlining to party members his new perspectives, Mao stated that the democratic [i.e. not socialist] revolution (will) transform (itself) in the direction of socialism. There will be several stages of development in the democratic revolution, all under the slogan of the democratic republic, not under the slogan of the Soviet...We maintain that socialism will be reached through all the necessary stages of the democratic republic...To maintain that the bourgeoisie should be eliminated because of its transitional nature and to accuse the revolutionary groups of defeatism and collaboration with the bourgeoisie are Trotskyite words with which we cannot concur. The present alliance between the bourgeoisie and the revolutionary group is a necessary bridge to socialism. (Mao, speech to the National Conference of the CCP, 1937, our emphasis) We have already explained at length why the perspective of a necessary bourgeois democratic stage to the Chinese revolution was utterly false, as was proven concretely in 1927. For now, it is sufficient to point out that the very man whose personal dictatorship of China proved in practice the falseness of this perspective, was the man whom the CCP was here allying with as the embodiment of the present alliance between the bourgeoisie and the revolutionary group. If Chiang Kai Shek obliterated his previous alliance with the CCP and all hopes for a democratic stage to the revolution in 1927 by staging a violent coup, why rekindle that alliance only ten years later, during which time he had done nothing but strive for the physical liquidation of the CCP? Of course, what had changed since 1927 was the invasion by Japan. But it was elementary to anyone in the CCP that Chiang Kai Sheks dictatorship was the primary obstacle to fighting Japan, since he had pursued a policy of total capitulation to the stronger Japanese forces, concentrating instead on eliminating the CCP. Thus the Japanese invasion only further increased his criminality. Nevertheless, Mao argued that these policies must be carried out only with the consent of the Guomindang [i.e. of Chiang Kai Shek], because the Guomindang is at present still the largest party in power. (Mao, Urgent Tasks of the Chinese Revolution since the Formation of the KMT-CCP United Front, 1937). Well, it was the only party in power, because China was a one-party dictatorship! It is not an exaggeration to say that at this stage, the CCP was transforming itself into the chief prop of Chiangs dictatorship. Such a perspective requires the substitution of the reactionary nationalist ideology of national unity at all costs for one of class struggle. It is no surprise then, that at the same time the CCP, in a public statement only one week earlier than Maos above remarks, claimed that the aggression of imperialist Japan can only be overcome by the internal unity of our nation...all our fellow-countrymen, every single zealous descendent of Huangdi [Chinas first emperor] must determinedly and relentlessly participate (CCP Public Statement on KMT-CCP Co-operation, 1937, our emphasis). To clear up what was meant by all countrymen, Mao stated it is a united front of the whole nation...of all parties, groups, classes (Mao, op cit., our emphasis). The ideology of the CCP was at this time, under Maos leadership, drifting away from Marxism and internationalism and emphasising nationalism above all else. According to Brandt, Schwarz and Fairbank, Mao answered to the question whether the Communists are Chinese first or Communist first, with Without a Chinese nation there could be no CCP. The implication is clear - we are nationalists who use Marxism only insofar as it is useful to achieve national ends. This compares very unfavourably with Marx and Engels statement in the founding document of Marxism that the workers of the world have no country. Maos biographer Schram believes that for Mao himself, the alliance of all Chinese for the salvation of their country was not merely skilful tactics; it was a value in itself. (Schram, Mao Tse-Tung, our emphasis). The same author points out that the main content of political work [by the CCP at this point] both within the army and among the population was to preach national revival, to stimulate national consciousness (ibid). Defenders of the Party will argue that this emphasis merely reflected the concrete reality of fighting a war of national liberation, and that tapping into the national feeling to fight Japan was a revolutionary act, the first step on the road to social revolution. But the task of Marxists in preparing the masses for socialist revolution would in these circumstances be to elevate the national consciousness of the workers to class consciousness. This should not be hard to do given that the bourgeois nationalist party with which they were now in alliance, which was the only serious bourgeois party in China, had been practising a complete national sellout to the Japanese by refusing to fight them. This is further underlined by the fact that the Guomindangs new pledge to fight Japan was only won against their wishes and under revolutionary pressure from below. Contrary to Maos claims, the invasion did not make possible the alliance of all classes, instead it revealed the traitorous complicity of the ruling class in that invasion. To this should be added the general fact that, since the end of the Opium Wars, the Chinese bourgeoisie had always sacrificed the wider nations interests in favour of the imperialists for a share in the latters profits. The lesson for China was that, along with all other capitalist countries, it was not one nation to be united but a class divided nation. The perspectives outlined for the party by Mao in 1937 cut across the very real tendency for the CCP to gain support at the Guomindangs expense (being rightly seen as the only force prepared to stand up for the oppressed Chinese). The new programme worked to lower the masses consciousness of the need for the overthrow of Chiangs dictatorship. This is clear from the extraordinary historical revisionism in the Guomindangs favour which we find in Maos justifications for the alliance. He explained that as a result of the co-operation between the two parties on major policies, the Great Revolution of 1925-7 was successfully guided[!!] to the point where we were able to achieve, within two or three years, the revolution for nationalism, democracy, and peoples livelihood (Mao, op cit.). For those unclear on exactly what happened in the revolution of 1925-7, please see our series of articles here:http://www.marxist.com/90-years-of-the-chinese-communist-party-part-one.htm. For the aftermath of this successful revolution, please see our subsequent series of articles: http://www.marxist.com/chinese-comminist-party-1927-37-part-1.htm. Suffice it to say here that the revolution of 1925-7 was wrecked because of this alliance, and its product was twenty two years of dictatorship, the virtual breakup of the nation into warlords fiefdoms, and the continuing domination of the country by Japan and the West. One can hardly imagine a less successful revolution. This revisionism was followed up with poetic praise for Chinas dictator and his apparent role in freeing China, If [the Guomindang] do not consent [to our offer of an alliance to fight Japan], then...Japanese imperialism will not be defeated[but] the more intelligent members and leader of the KMT will certainly not allow this to happen. (Ibid). No wonder then that Roosevelts personal envoy to Chiang Kai Shek Patrick Hurley did not believe that Mao and his comrades were real Communists (Schram, op. cit.), and that Molotov had told him that the Chinese were radish Communists, red on the outside, white on the inside! (Harrison, The Long March to Power). The alliance between the bourgeoisie and the revolutionary group in Practice Mao in 1946Given that Chiang Kai Shek described the Communists as Chinas disease of the heart as opposed to the mere skin disease that were the Japanese, the second attempt at mixing the oil and water of the Guomindang and CCP would require a special recipe concocted to meet Chiangs tastes. This can already be seen in the above quoted historical revisionism of Mao in which he paints the Guomindangs history in bright colours. At this time Mao also predicted a brilliant future for the Guomindang, and praise[d] its great leader Chiang Kai Shek (Schram, op cit.), whom Mao also especially hope[d] would take up the task of reform (Mao, op cit.). The concrete application in policy was of subordination to the Guomindangs political programme and leadership, under the one precondition that the Guomindang remain committed to fighting the Japanese - though that too was predictably violated, as Mao admitted in 1945 that 64% of the fighting against the Japanese and 95% of that against Japanese puppets was carried about by the much smaller CCP forces (Mao, Chinas Strategy for Victory). This meant in practice that the CCP publicly pledged that it abandons all its policy of overthrowing the KMT by force and the movement of sovietization, and discontinues its policy of forcible confiscation of land from landlords...abolishes the present Soviet government and practices democracy based on the peoples rights in order to unify the national political power...abolishes the designation of the Red Army, reorganises it into the [Guomindang controlled] National Revolutionary Army, places it under the control of the Military Affairs Commission of the National government, and awaits orders (CCP Public Statement on KMT-CCP Co-operation, 1937, our emphasis) For any who still believe that in making such statements, the CCP was merely maneuvering to gain legality and breathing space for itself, or to tap into any feeling for national unity without actually surrendering independence from the Guomindang, it must be noted that these public pledges were accompanied by a drive from Mao and the CCP for a common political programme for both parties (Mao, op cit.). In the same document of 1937 Mao argues for the need for co-operation between officers and men in the army, without in any way putting forward concrete demands regarding the character of the army, the election of officers or any other social or progressive content whatsoever. Such a position, when coupled with the offer of abolishing the Red Army, the Soviet political bases and for a common political programme acceptable to the Guomindang dictatorship, could only mean supporting the domination of rank-and-file peasant soldiers by the corrupt Guomindang officers. We have argued in our previous series on China that such a strategy of political alliance with the Guomindang may indeed have been cleverly engineered to gain the party greater organisational breathing space; but as we showed, this only reveals a complete degeneration for a Marxist organisation. In the Communist Manifesto Marx and Engels stress that The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. As we argued previously, the point is that they publicly declared they were [following the Guomindangs orders]. They publicly supported and propped up the Guomindang bourgeois dictatorship. They deflected popular anger away from Nanjing, and thus made themselves incapable of mobilising the masses for a political overthrow of the regime. This is borne out by the fact that little was gained in the way of recruits or influence from within the Guomindang. CCP members doing entry work in the Guomindang were generally isolated and for the moment served mainly in intelligence work (Harrison, op cit, p350). It must be understood that this inversion of priorities, of sacrificing the duty to raise the class consciousness of the masses for organisational gains, flows from its abandonment of its urban working class base for a strategy of using the countryside to win power militarily and independently of any mass class mobilisation. This thinking is revealed in a Party meeting in August 1937 in which a compromise was reached whereby the CCP accepted Guomindang military leadership and the "suspension of the political commissar system", but "would keep real control under the CCP". "Zhang Wentian proposed and won approval for, first, following nationalist orders in Shanxi and assigned areas in order to gain nationalist confidence... Then expanding into other areas." (Harrison, op cit.). In September 1938 Mao reported to the CCP Central Committee that to subordinate the class struggle to the present national struggle to resist Japan - that is the fundamental principle of the united front (Ibid). [I]n September and November he sent pledges of support for Chiangs leadership (Ibid), as did Zhou Enlai according to Chiang himself. He even accepted in advance two limitations similar to those which Chiang had imposed in 1926 [and which aided his coup and subsequent slaughter of Communists] on the activity of Communists in the Guomindang: a complete list of Communist Party members who joined the Guomindang would be handed over to the latter, and Guomindang members would not be recruited into the Communist Party (Schram, op cit.). Finally, we can add to this that the party publicly promoted in its Manifesto on the Current Situation that it was not only cooperating with the dictatorship under the special and dire circumstances of the war, but also that it is determined to cooperate [with the Guomindang] for national reconstruction after the successful conclusion of the war (Harrison, op cit., our emphasis). There can be no doubt that the CCP was in this time guilty of out and out opportunism and a complete abandonment of any Marxist, class based perspective for the war and Chinas future. All this was justified under the tag united front. Let us therefore compare Maos United Front with the classical United Front worked out by Lenin and Trotsky in the Third International. Lenins United Front The starting point for the united front tactic of Bolshevism is political independence. We mean by this not necessarily refusing to work with or in other parties and tendencies, but only steadfastly committing to a truthful Marxist analysis, irrespective of this or that trend or pressure. In fact, the Bolsheviks were always independent, in the sense that they never compromised in the defence of their revolutionary programme, policy and theory (Woods, Bolshevism). As Trotsky said on behalf of the leadership of the Communist International in 1922, In order to summon the proletariat for the direct conquest of power and to achieve it the Communist Party must base itself on the overwhelming majority of the working class. So long as it does not hold this majority, the party must fight to win it. The party can achieve this only by remaining an absolutely independent organization with a clear programme and strict internal discipline. The question of all questions for Marxist parties is how to help the working class become conscious of this programme and its necessity, in other words, how to unite the maximum possible number of proletarians around a revolutionary programme. It is the role of the united front tactic to bridge the gap between Marxists and their programme on the one side and the working masses on the other, many of whom will be involved in and loyal to non-revolutionary organisations. Now, it is a rather difficult and clumsy discussion to compare the united front tactic as worked out in the Communist International under Lenins leadership, with Maos purported united front with Chiang Kai Sheks Guomindang, since none of the conditions for the former apply to the latter. In particular, the united front is not operable outside the context of working class organisations. It has no purpose other than to raise the need for unity amongst workers and to reveal that the chief obstacle to that is the erroneous reformist leadership of many workers organisations, such as the Social Democracy. Only those who cannot think dialectically imagine that a united front of different political forces requires the denial or suppression of those differences. On the contrary, it opens up a broader and more equal platform for the fighting out of those forces, within the confines of and in relation to certain agreed common aims. A common campaign allows all forces of that campaign to debate with one another as to the best means to achieve the campaigns ends, and of course to debate the real causes of and solutions to the issue at hand. Hence the fact that in the Communist Internationals formulations for the United Front tactic to be employed under different circumstances by different sections, it was expressly stated that any sort of organizational agreement which restricts our freedom of criticism and agitation is absolutely unacceptable to us. We participate in a united front but do not for a single moment become dissolved in it. We function in the united front as an independent detachment. It is precisely in the course of struggle that broad masses must learn from experience that we fight better than the others, that we see more clearly than the others, that we are more audacious and resolute. (Trotsky, On the United Front, 1922) It is self evident that the logic of these two united fronts is diametrically opposite. The united front of Marxists is a clear and carefully chosen political programme advanced to raise the revolutionary consciousness of the working class, and operates only in the context therefore of workers organisations. The demands and political content of the call for a united front must be framed in relation to the workers real problems and their solutions; thus the programme has an educational content. It is not so much about necessarily achieving unity in action, although that would be desirable, especially if under the instigation of the Marxists: A policy aimed to secure the united front does not of course contain automatic guarantees that unity in action will actually be attained in all instances. On the contrary, in many cases and perhaps even the majority of cases, organizational agreements will be only half-attained or perhaps not at all. But it is necessary that the struggling masses should always be given the opportunity of convincing themselves that the non-achievement of unity in action was not due to our formalistic irreconcilability but to the lack of real will to struggle on the part of the reformists. (Ibid) Maos United Front with Chiang Kai Shek, on the other hand, has a directly contrary logic. Mao was indeed correct to centre the CCPs programme around the need for a war to be waged against the Japanese occupation. Given that there were no mass organisations of the working class in China at this time, there was no basis for a united front proposal to fight Japan, since workers were not loyal to reformist leaders. However, if we allow ourselves the luxury of imagining the Guomindang was a mass workers organisation, then it would have been necessary for the CCP from 1931 onwards to place the demand on it for a united front to fight Japan. This call could then be filled with a Marxist content - in other words, its concrete points would be that such a war should be organised by the workers organisations involving such weapons as a general strike, occupations of Japanese owned factories and the formation of a workers militia responsible to the trade unions etc. There can be no doubt that such a call, if energetically campaigned for in the cities amongst the working class, would have gained an enormous echo and helped the CCP to rebuild in urban centres. It would not matter from this point of view if the proposal were rejected by the other party; the CCP would have made its point and would have advanced class consciousness thereby. Precisely because the Guomindang was not a democratic workers organisation with a real base, but was instead a bourgeois party under the direct control of the state apparatus, the CCPs offer of unity with it could have no such character. It would be useless and absurd to fill the proposal with a revolutionary class content, for the Guomindang represented a different class and was already detested by workers. That is why the proposal lacked any programmatic content. It served no educational value for workers and can only have alienated them from the CCP - which had up till 1936 regained a degree of respect from workers for being the only organisation willing to fight Japanese imperialism and for its unjust suppression by the Guomindang. At a stroke, the alliance with Chiang Kai Shek served to destroy much of this. Maos sole justification for the alliance was that it rallied a greater number of people to fight Japanese imperialism because armed invasion by Japanese imperialists has brought about changes in class relations in China, thus making imperative and making possible the alliance of all classes (Mao, Urgent Tasks of the Chinese Revolution since the Formation of the KMT-CCP United Front, 1937, our emphasis). If that were the case, the Guomindang would have not spent the first six years of the occupation co-operating with the Japanese to fight the CCP. Why was the proposal for the alliance made before the intensification of the occupation after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, and why could the Guomindangs hand in this alliance only be won on the basis of literally holding a gun to Chiang Kai Sheks head, if the invasion had made possible and natural an alliance of all classes? As argued above, a far better way to rally greater numbers to fight would have been to consistently make an appeal to the working class for a general strike and the formation of urban workers militias like in Shanghai in 1927 to overthrow the Japanese and the capitulationist dictatorship of Chiang, and to organise militias in the cities to cripple the Japanese. We will see in the course of these articles that there is no evidence that the unity of these two parties ensured a stronger resistance. Japan maintained its occupation and got what it wanted from China throughout the war until it was defeated by the US in 1945, and a class based mobilisation of strikes in the industries the Japanese were profiting from would have been far more effective. We will also see how, far from changing the class relations and somehow bringing the bourgeoisie into solidarity with the workers, the rotten Chinese bourgeoisie only intensified its plundering of the nation and used the oppression of the Japanese as an excuse to economically and politically crush the working class. Unfortunately, the CCPs alliance with the bourgeoisie only aided the latter in doing so. The CCPs Direct Participation in the Regime A Marxist organisation must be extremely flexible in its tactics. Any opportunity to reach a bigger audience with its ideas should be considered. That can even mean, in conditions of dictatorship or political repression, forging temporary alliances with liberals to gain political freedoms or changing the language of ones publications to get it past the censor - but always under the condition that the fundamental revolutionary ideas and programme are not thereby violated. Indeed, the more the party understands correctly the necessary political programme for building socialism, the more confident it will be of applying this flexibly without selling out. After the CCPs mistaken alliance with Chiang was made, there were many more legal openings for the party to take. The question is, did they skilfully use these to advance a socialist programme to the working class? One such political opening was the convening of the Peoples Political Council in 1938, which is comparable to the Dumas formed under the Tsar in Russia, but without even the slither of democracy the Dumas represented. In the workers elections to the Shidlovsky Commission in 1905, the Bolsheviks rightly participated in the early stages, despite the sham democracy the elections represented. This is because for the first time in Russian history it afforded the working class a limited opportunity to express itself politically and organisationally, and so by participating the Bolsheviks linked themselves and their programme with the masses, gained a larger audience for their ideas and in turn themselves learnt from the working class. However, there was a strict political limit placed on this tactic which was that there could be no democratic liberal intrusions into the politics they put forward. Instead, they used the opportunity of the elections to denounce the Tsarist regime and the idea of a peaceful, liberal democratic reform of it. At no point did the Bolsheviks use the elections to seek careers for themselves nor did they entertain any illusions in reforming the regime from within. In some cases they ran in the first round of elections, to gain a hearing, only to boycott the second round. In genuine bourgeois democracies, Marxists would participate in Parliament under certain conditions, but again would in no way seek to sow illusions in its democratic nature as the true voice of the people, but would instead simply use it as a soap box for revolutionary ideas. Given the CCPs perspectives of national unity with the Guomindang dictatorship, it is not surprising that when these legal openings for the CCP did arise after 1937 they did precisely the opposite of the Bolsheviks up to 1917. The Peoples Political Council was a mere consultative assembly formed by Chiang in 1938 to appease demands for democratic reform without threatening his own rule. Several leading Communists were invited (not elected) by Chiang to participate in this body. Given that this body had no democratic legitimacy or independence whatsoever, it is elementary that the CCP should have denounced this move and demanded instead a real Constitutional Assembly. Instead they participated in the council which they used chiefly not to address the masses with revolutionary ideas but to develop alliances with the liberals, both within and without the Guomindang, who also sat in this council. One can only imagine the spectacle this presented to the Chinese workers enduring the twin evils of occupation and Guomindang dictatorship as well as ruthless exploitation and poverty made constantly worse by hyper-inflation. The effect would not be dissimilar to that of the discrediting of social democracy in contemporary Western society in the eyes of the working class. In total contradiction with this was Lenins method, which always warned most sharply against alliances and illusions in liberalism, the nice face of the regime of capitalist dictatorship, the most dangerous of advisers are those liberal friends of the workers who claim to be defending their interests, but are actually trying to destroy the class independence of the proletariat and its organisation. (Lenin, The Liberals Corruption of the Workers, 1914) At the same time, Zhou Enlai was invited to attend the Guomindang National Executive Congress...he was even appointed Deputy Minister of Political Training in the army, maintaining the post until 1940, though its attributions were entirely honorific (Guillermaz, op cit., our emphasis). In other words, the leading Communist Zhou Enlai accepted political and moral responsibility for the bourgeois Guomindang dictatorship without even gaining the consolation of a little control of the army! It is interesting to note that at exactly the same time as this, the Stalinists in Spain (along with the Anarchists) were participating in another bourgeois government to save the country from the threat of fascism. In both cases the tactic led to the negation of any effective working class based resistance to fascism, whether foreign or native. Finally, the CCPs self-debasement in favour of liberalism was completed when it enthusiastically lent support to the US governments proposals for liberal reform in China in 1944, taking the opportunity to flatter the American imperialists at the same time by heap[ing] lavish praise on the American democratic tradition (Schram, op cit.) - despite the fact that at this time, as previously and as they would do in the civil war after Japans defeat, the US continued to arm and support the Guomindang against the CCP. Just before they agreed a project with US General Hurley for liberal democratic reform (on terms agreeable to US imperialism of course), the CCPs Liberation Daily wrote that: Democratic America has already found a companion, and the cause of Sun Yat Sen a successor, in the Chinese Communist Party and the other democratic forces (quoted in Schram, op cit.). This reveals the full extent of the CCPs descent into opportunism in the late 1930s on the eve of the war that would decide Chinas fate and put all political and class forces to the test. With this understanding of the programme of the CCP and the alliance of political forces, we must now evaluate the playing out of the Second Sino-Japanese War not only so that we can better understand the background to the peculiar revolution of 1949, but also so that we can understand what could have happened had the party had a Marxist programme and leadership. The Sino-Japanese War If the Japanese leadership had not planned the Marco Polo Bridge Incident which sparked the full-scale war, they didnt let that show. By October, only three months after the war started, the Japanese had already reached the most westerly point of the entire war. They succeeded in totally destroying Chinas air force in only a few weeks, which enabled them to mercilessly bomb civilians for the remainder of the war with no threat to themselves, like shooting fish in a barrel (Guillermaz, op cit. pp287). Between 1939 and 1941, the temporary capital of free China, Chongqing, was bombed 268 times, with 4,400 being killed in the first two raids (Eastman, op cit.). Within a year Japan had effectively taken control of all the lucrative areas of China it desired - that is the industrially developed and agriculturally productive North and East of the country. In a number of key battles that were all over by the end of 1938, the Japanese brutally crushed any hopes of an effective Guomindang led resistance. Losing 15 of 18 Provinces We have argued that a far more effective means of fighting the Japanese would have been to organise a revolutionary war of resistance by mobilising the hundreds of millions of Chinese workers and peasants on a socialist programme to make the occupation impossible. Given that the CCP sacrificed this perspective for one of collaboration with the militarily stronger but politically reactionary Guomindang, it is our duty to honestly assess the calibre of this fighting force with which the CCP had allied at such great political cost. Evidently, the Guomindang did not match up well to the Japanese since it only took the latter twelve months to achieve all it wanted - the control of North and East China and the total destruction of the Chinese air force. The anti-Japanese united front for which Mao argued so vociferously failed spectacularly to defend China. But how and why? Part of the reason for Japans rapid success was Chiang Kai Sheks cruel contempt for the Chinese people. Despite Chiangs nationalism, these hundreds of millions never entered his plans as Chinas greatest force for resistance. Anticipating the war he argued in 1935 that even if we lose 15...of the 18 provinces of China proper, with Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces in our control we will definitely beat any enemy (quoted in Eastman, op cit.). Instead of spending the period from 1935 onwards to prepare the masses in the 15 other provinces to make the Japanese occupation impossible, he sacrificed those millions to Japans tender mercies with barely a fight. The key northern cities of Beijing and Tianjin were taken with ease by Japan in only a few days in late July 1937 thanks to Japans already existing military occupation of Manchuria. Immediately after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Japan was able to mobilise 160,000 troops in Northern China in only a few weeks. The vital southern city of Canton (now Guangzhou) fell without a fight in October 1938. The most graphic application of Chiangs policy of sacrificing the majority of China to the Japanese was his scorched earth policy in which he took the trouble to kill and destroy Chinese people and industry on behalf of the Japanese in order to make their occupation less feasible. For example, in November 1938, as the Japanese were approaching Changsha, capital of Hunan province, it was decided to set fire to the entire city to make its occupation strategically pointless and costly. Tragically, in their haste they started the blaze before everyone had evacuated, so not only was this historic city destroyed but so were the lives of 2,000 of its inhabitants. A much worse incident had already taken place in June of 1938 on the Yellow River at Kaifeng, Henan province. Retreating from encircling Japanese forces, the Guomindang commanders hit upon the idea of destroying the entire valley behind them by diverting the great river in order to halt the Japanese. It worked rather too well, flooding 4-5,000 whole villages and leaving over two million homeless, destitute and without crops and food (Eastman, op cit.). Guillermaz even claims that millions of Chinese peasants died from the loss of harvest. It was a funny kind of national united front against Japan when the nationalists were often responsible for more death and destruction of Chinese than were the Japanese. The Invasion of Shanghai and the Nanjing Massacre Despite the policy of retreat and self-sacrifice (or rather, the policy of sacrificing the Chinese masses on their behalf), there were some instances of determined Guomindang led-fight backs and even victories in the early days of the war, however these often only sparked off a more vicious Japanese assault for which the Chinese were not prepared. Only one month after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Japanese found a pretext for invading the lucrative city of Shanghai when a Japanese lieutenant was killed by a Chinese guard in August 1937. The Japanese lost no time in seizing the excuse for an invasion with a front line of troops formed outside the city in a couple of weeks. Feeling that to lose Shanghai without a fight would be too politically humiliating, Chiang moved in roughly 300,000 soldiers to the city to fight the 200,000 of Japan (Guillermaz, op cit. p291). However despite not only their numerical superiority but also their enormous home advantage, the Guomindang army lost the battle with around 270,000 killed and by November were retreating from Shanghai. History shows that an occupying force, even one of tremendous technical superiority, can have enormous difficulties in winning a war in a large city if its inhabitants are united in fighting against the occupation. Every building becomes a war zone, a potential hiding place for snipers and bombs, every citizen a potential soldier. It is therefore testament to the Guomindangs fear of and hostility to their own people, as well as their general ineptness and corruption, that they failed to hold Shanghai or make the Japanese occupation of it particularly difficult despite the fact that the latter had not even made plans to invade this far south. As Guillermaz points out (referring to later battles), the Japanese action was helped at a political level by the unpopularity of the nationalist troops who, underfed and undisciplined, laid waste countryside already hit by severe famine. Had the CCP spent the decade since 1927 rebuilding a base in cities like Shanghai, campaigning against the bourgeois dictatorship of Chiang Kai Shek and for the need to wage a revolutionary war with Japan, they could have mobilised the working class of Shanghai (their original stronghold along with Canton) for a general strike and urban guerrilla warfare against this Japanese invasion. But worse was to come from this defeat, for Chinese forces retreated in such a way as to give the Japanese open access to Nanjing, the then capital of free China, failing even to use the deliberately constructed concrete fortifications outside the city, which the Japanese entered on 13th December 1937. This was when the defenceless population suffered the infamous rape of Nanjing in which up to 300,000 civilians were raped and massacred, for which one of the chief perpetrators Prince Asaka was never tried. The methods of killing included burying alive and burning alive with kerosene (Eastman, op cit.). The Guomindang government fled Nanjing and set up a temporary command in Hankou (now part of Wuhan) before reestablishing the national government in Chongqing, which would remain the capital until the end of the war. The Character of Chiang Kai Sheks Military If war is a continuation of politics by other means, than it is no surprise to find the Guomindangs army was as corrupt, inefficient, inept and exploitative as was his political tutelage. We have already explained the reasons for the corruption and degeneracy of Chiangs regime. In summary, despite being a so-called party of national unity and modernisation, because in coming to power it had to base itself on Chinas weak and corrupt bourgeoisie in order to defeat the working class-led revolution, the party sunk into the worst backwardness. It abandoned itself to the most reactionary forces, in particular landlordism and warlordism, since those were the ones who were allies against the CCP. Thus Chiang maintained his power by balancing between, flattering and bribing the archaic local warlords and the most corrupt speculative capitalists. His regime had to be one of corruption because its power base was an inherently corrupt class. He had no independent power to unite the country, and so it actually became more divided into competing warlord fiefdoms than before. Frequently, when his power loomed too large above those of his lords, they would forge alliances against him, and he would have to bribe one or the other with promises of political influence. Chiang very much resembled a feudal king or chief thief sitting uneasily atop many lesser thieves. Given that Chiangs power was based on that of local warlords, it is unsurprising that such corruption and disunity found its sharpest expression in the military and the war against Japan. Many Chinese commanders were hesitant and cowardly. Most of them had enjoyed regional autonomy too long to risk their lives and power merely at Chiang Kai Sheks command. Governor Han Fuju, for example, ignominiously abandoned Shandong province to the Japanese, although he, in contrast to most, paid for his disregard of Chiangs orders with his life. He was executed in January 1938...It was not, however, a united, national army, but a coalition of armies which differed in degrees of loyalty to the central government as well as in training, equipment and military capabilities...Long Yun, governor of Yunnan, for example, resisted central government encroaches upon his provincial power...Governor Yan Xishan, commander of the Second War Zone in North China and vice chairman of the Military Council, ruled his native Shanxi as an autonomous satrapy. He prohibited units of the Central Army from entering his war zone...since 1941, Yan had even maintained close and amiable relations with the Japanese. (Ibid). Eastman points out that from non-Central Chinese armies, 12 generals defected to the Japanese in 1941, 15 in 1942 and 42 in 1943, taking with them around 500,000 troops who were now used against the Guomindang and, in the main, the CCP! And of course we cannot leave out the most infamous of all desertions, that of Wang Jingwei, who in 1927 was trumpeted by the CCP as the leader of the Guomindangs left wing and a reliable ally for the Communists. In 1938 he deserted the Guomindang and by 1940 was installed as the leader of Japans puppet Reorganised National Government of China based in Nanjing. As with all gangster politicians, Chiang demoted or minimised the influence of the few generals with actual talent since they posed a threat to his power with their independent ideas and incorruptibility. The others were promoted precisely because they were mediocre or came from powerful warlord backgrounds but typically with no idea how to fight a modern war - nor the desire to do so. The epitome of this was reached when in 1944 Roosevelt demanded that Chiang place the US general Stilwell in full command of the war effort since Chiang and his commanders could not be relied upon, and instead Chiang sent Stilwell back to America, understanding this as a mortal threat to his own power. Stilwell was replaced by General Wedemeyer, who quickly drew the same conclusions and hit the nail on the head when he described Chiangs commanders as incapable, inept, untrained, petty...altogether inefficient. Class exploitation in the Military What they lacked in talent, determination and unity, they made up for in the art of exploitation and cruelty for their own troops. All males between 18 and 45 were subject to military conscription, however recruitment was left in the hands of the local gentry [again revealing Chiangs complete dependence on these anachronistic classes and lack of any real national state apparatus], which meant that al the relatively well-off families escaped conscription. Consequently the poorest and physically weakest sections of the population found themselves herded into primitive depots, and then had to cover several hundred or thousand kilometres on foot to join their units. Out of 1,670,000 men conscripted in 1943, 750,000 never reached their destination. (Guillermaz, op cit., p302, our emphasis) In many cases peasants were simply rounded up without any formal conscription process taking place. Guillermaz quotes General Wedemeyer on the realities of conscription, Conscription comes to the Chinese peasant like famine or flood, only more regularly - every year twice - and claims more victims. Famine, flood, and drought compare with conscription like chicken pox with the plague. Eastman adds more horrific details to the treatment of peasant conscripts, Frequently the recruits were tied together with ropes around their necks. At night they might be stripped of their clothing to prevent them from sneaking away. For food, they received only small quantities of rice, since the conscripting officers customarily squeezed the rations for their own profit. For water, they might have to drink from puddles by the roadside - a common cause of diarrhoea. Soon, disease coursed through the conscripts bodies. Medical treatment was unavailable, however, because the recruits were not regarded as part of the army until they had joined their assigned units...Within a month [of General Wedemeyers appointment] he realised that the soldiers were too weak to march and were incapable of fighting effectively, largely because they were half starved...An American expert, who in 1944 examined 1,200 soldiers from widely different kinds of units, found that 57% of the men displayed nutritional deficiencies that significantly affected their ability to function as soldiers. Unsurprisingly, not only did millions of soldiers die from starvation and disease - more than from fighting the Japanese - but in many cases over half the soldiers in a given unit would desert - sometimes to the CCP, others just fled in desperation. It is genuinely not an exaggeration to say that during the Sino-Japanese war, the most fearful and directly harmful enemy of the Chinese people was their own Guomindang government (and the class it represented). This is the reality of the regime established by Chinas successful bourgeois revolution of 1927. It is undeniable proof that the Chinese bourgeoisie, to the extent it even existed, was incapable of taking society forwards or even holding it together. This was a rotten, bedraggled and crisis ridden regime ripe for the overthrow. We believe we have shown enough evidence of corruption, cruelty, ineptness and disunity to prove that the CCPs about-face and silencing of all anti-Guomindang propaganda was profoundly wrong. The united-front was clearly a farce because the Guomindang could not even hold together its own army to fight Japan, not to speak of the way it ran the economy and exploited the working class (more on that soon). And yet despite finding itself unable to organise an army worthy of the name, it did manage to keep one generals forces well fed and trained - those of General Hu Zongnan, because it was his troops that in the early 40s - whilst the united front was still being practiced by the CCP - that were charged with containing the CCPs forces in the north. At times in the war Chiang committed as many as 500,000 of his best troops to blockading the CCPs bases, especially after the Guomindangs treacherous role in the New 4th Army Incident, which will be explained in part III. Throughout the war Chiang deliberately held back the anti-Japan war effort in order to save his forces for a future struggle to wipe out the CCP. This fact says everything about the sincerity of the Guomindangs alliance with the CCP to defeat Japan. The united-front was always a fiction dreamt up in Moscow and imposed onto the Chinese reality, because for Stalin the CCP was not an agent of the Chinese revolution but a bargaining chip in his negotiations with Chiang Kai Shek. This is underlined by the fact that the USSR signed a treaty of nonaggression [with Chiang Kai Shek] on August 21, 1937, sent aid of about $300m to the Nationalists, and stationed as many as 500 military advisors and pilots with them, though none with the Communists, so far as is known. All this aid reportedly led Mao to query in December, 1937, If so much could be given to Chiang Kai Shek, why could we not get a small share? Why indeed. The Literal Bankruptcy of Chiang Kai Sheks Regime The same ossified, fractured approach to the war effort was the defining characteristic of Chinas economy in this period. Social and economic life was choked by an intolerably corrupt, short sighted and grasping bureaucracy taking advantage of the absence of a strong capitalist class able to control the state. This state of affairs, already firmly entrenched by the ten years of Chiangs rule before 1937 fed off itself in a vicious circle; the dead end of Chinese capitalism and all pervasive corruption it caused only further encouraged those with the ability to fleece the state, workers, peasants and anyone else to do so with abandon. Faced with a Japanese blockade of what was already an extremely sickly economy, the government increased its issuance of currency over 700 fold from 1937 to 1945; as a result average prices rose over the same period by a multitude of 2,395! There are a number of reasons why price rises were around three times as high as the increase in currency; the main one was most likely the huge decline in industrial output after Japan took possession of the most productive cities, meaning that supply could not meet demand. Industrial production fell to below 12% of the prewar level. As well as the loss of factories to Japan, within Guomindang controlled China 82% of factories folded due to a particularly short-sighted boom in 1939-40 (Eastman, op cit.). Farmers in turn started to hoard grain as they had lost confidence in the currency, the resulting lack of grain naturally caused this staple commodity to rise in price, worsening the inflation. Additionally, during the 1930s the rural economy suffered under the iron fist of Chiang, who imposed compulsory labour onto the peasantry that benefited the rich landowners, and the brutality of this experience forced them into striking (Bianco & Lloyd, Peasant Movements, Cambridge History of China volume 13, p290). Agricultural production worsened still thanks to the Japanese invasion, especially from 1942 onwards, further impoverishing both rural and urban workers (Myers, The Agrarian System, Cambridge History of China volume 13, pp267-9). Indeed the effects of this on the working class were devastating, as wages failed to rise by anything like this amount, a fact which Eastman perversely celebrates as the one success of Chinas hyper-inflation, the consequences of inflation were not all negative. During the eight years of war, for example, real wages of workers rose only during 1938; thereafter, to the benefit of employers, they declined. The destitution of the working class is always a silver lining for the capitalists when enduring a crisis! With rampant inflation came rampant speculation, which had always been the chief vice of Chinas capitalist class (see the above linked article), diverting investment from productive activity: investors made substantially larger profits simply by storing the cotton than by chancing long term investment in mills that processed cotton (Ibid). 86% of liquid capital went into speculation as opposed to real investment in 1944! Thanks to all this, from 1937-45 industrial workers real wages fell by more than half! Roughly the same figure applies to rural workers, although farmers who owned their land only saw their incomes fall by around 20%. But extraordinarily, the real wages of civil servants, university workers and professors and soldiers all fell by around 90%! (Ibid). The poverty of soldiers, professors and civil servants is explicable by the governments austerity drive to counter the costs of inflation on war expenditure, and in the case of the civil servants also gives an insight into why corruption became so rampant. We apologise for the lack of a discussion of the CCPs analysis, propaganda and political intervention regarding this dire economic situation and class exploitation, but thanks to its alliance with Chiang Kai Shek and its absorption in rural and military survival, the CCP said and did little or nothing about this state of affairs. Consequently it failed to make political headway amongst urban workers, students and professors. Rapidly spiralling prices, which the government had failed to anticipate, forced a reaction. In 1941 it started to scratch around for tax revenue to pay for the war. Thus it fell back on the hated likin tax (again, please see above linked article), one of the most economically depressing taxes possible, as well as other ingenious taxes like the contribute-sandals-to-recruits tax, the comfort-recruits-families tax, the train-antiaircraft-cadres tax, and the provide-fuel-for-garrisoned-troops tax! (Fairbank & Goldman, China: A New History, p314). For the same reasons the government also pursued a harsh austerity agenda. Through measures like holding down the wages of government employees during extreme inflation and cutting back on government support for industry, the government actually reduced its real expenditure during the war by more than three quarters, despite having to feed a huge army! Although, as we have seen, it barely fed the soldiers if it could help it. Bureaucratic Capital Far from uniting the working class with the bourgeoisie, the rigours of the war revealed the bourgeoisies rotten, self-serving and venal characteristics, preferring as it did to use the chaos of war to speculate and hoard, driving millions to starvation. Wartime, more than any other, demands the superiority of a collective plan and unified effort to overcome what are profoundly social questions. Such an effort and coordination was far beyond the capacities of a class raised on a diet of usury and easy money. Whereas the planned economy of the USSR was able, despite all its bureaucracy, to move the key war industries in a short space of time from European Russia to behind the Urals, the anarchic Chinese capitalists failed in their equivalent task. Despite the governments bribery of guaranteed 5-10% profit rates for 7 years, plus low interest rate loans and free factory sites for capitalists who moved their factories into the interior far away from the Japanese, only 120,000 tons of equipment ever got moved, far less than both what was available to be moved and what needed to be moved. [M]ost industrialists and financiers felt little or no personal involvement in the cause of Chinese resistance...They did not allow patriotism to dull their business instincts. (Eastman, op cit.). And yet the CCP remained wedded to this patriot class right to the end of the war. Indeed the failures of the capitalist class in the war forced the government to play the leading economic role long before the CCP nationalised the means of production after 1949. By 1942 the state controlled 17.5% of all factories, 70% of all capital, 32% of workers and 42% of horsepower (ibid). This tendency towards statisation of Chinese capitalism is important to note for the later discussion on exactly why - contrary to their stated aims and perspectives - the CCP proceeded to expropriate capitalism after taking power. It also forms important evidence in our argument that the alliance with the bourgeoisie was totally unjustified for it lacked the capacity to and interest in taking China forwards. Of course, this had been obvious ever since the bourgeoisie backed Chiang Kai Shek to become the dictator of China. His autocracy was the political expression of the same inability of Chinese capitalism to develop the productive forces that forced the government to play an increasingly large economic role. The terms of the CCPs deal with Chiang was that his regime would gradually reform itself into a democratic one in which the CCP could legally participate, and yet in 1939 the Military Affairs Commission, chaired by Chiang, arrogated to itself all administrative functions of government, making Chiangs control direct for every aspect of Chinas life. Chiang Alienates the Imperialists Given the basket case of China under Chiang Kai Shek, the British and American imperialists were in 1939 giving serious thought to forging an alliance with Japan, which they correctly estimated as being so much stronger than China that it might be worth abandoning the latter. The British, perhaps understanding how rotten and unpopular Chiangs regime was, even wanted to wait to see if Wang Jingweis Japanese puppet regime in Nanjing might manage to be more popular than that of Chiangs before choosing whether to back China or Japan. However these designs were scuppered by Japanese intransigence with regard to British and American interests in China (Akira Iriye Japanese Aggression and Chinas International Position, Cambridge History of China volume 13, pp525-6). The imperialists had no concern for the plight of the Chinese masses under the heel of Japan and only sided with China to protect their narrow interests there, and in the hope that China could be used in an American dominated post-war setup to contain Russia and grind Japan and Germany into the ground. With China apparently an important inclusion in the schemes of the imperialists, the egotistical Chiang began to fantasise that this had elevated China into one of the worlds great powers. In reality Chinas lying prostrate in the face of Japanese imperialism meant that it required the American and British imperialists, who were concerned about the Japanese threat to their interests only, to fight the battle on its behalf. We have already seen how the Chinese capitalists were not prepared to lead the fight themselves, economically or militarily. Chiangs foolish delusion that having the US fight on his behalf (whilst he concentrated on the CCP) would mean the future elevation of China at the hands of the US led to increasing frustration from the US, to the point where they refused Chiangs government a $1bn loan and considered supporting the CCP more (which they saw as the better fighters, and not really Communists anyway). Chiang Kai Shek was a miserable, grasping and lazy leader only ever interested in the preservation of his own power. He staffed his army with incompetent generals simply because they were loyal, and concentrated his best troops not against Japan but the CCP. As disastrous as this was for the Chinese ruling class, they could have it no other way, for they had not the means to effectively resist Japan without arousing the masses to military activity, the last thing they wanted. Chiangs cowardice and preference for passivity in the war by banking on the US to fight on his behalf, and his determination to get the maximum for his regime from the US with the minimum disturbance to his kingdom, is the true political expression of a capitalist class born too late and with no role to play. The CCP at war For twenty two years after 1927 the comrades of the CCP knew of no state other than constant war. Physically liquidated from the cities in 1927-8, they fled to the countryside, where they suffered one extermination campaign after another by the Guomindang, forcing them to embark on the Long March in 1934. This exhausting state of affairs brought the party to near extinction (it certainly was enough to destroy its Marxist programme), a big factor in its forging an alliance with Chiang Kai Shek in 1936 to gain breathing space. And yet no sooner had this truce been signed when Japan launched an all out war with China, a war whose secondary motivation for the Japanese (after the exploitation of Chinese industry and raw materials) was the extermination of the communist threat. Throughout this new and higher stage to the struggle, it must be noted that the CCPs successes and survival owed themselves to its politics and not its military. Despite its erroneous support for Chiangs dictatorship the party continued, at least to some extent, to be seen as the only genuinely anti-Japanese and anti-landlord force in China. Beneath the surface of shoddy deals the CCP cadres continued to organise the peasants and dish out something resembling revolutionary ideas of a way out from endless poverty and exploitation. Of course, this was nothing as compared with what the party could have done had it retained political, revolutionary independence from the loathed Chiang regime. However it was something and that was enough to distinguish the CCP from the rest. In many cases the objective necessity for an independent left wing party was forced onto the CCP by events themselves. The Expansion of the Red Bases through Political Work Throughout this war the CCPs headquarters, as agreed with Chiang, remained where they ended up after the Long March, in Yenan (now known as Yanan; we will use Yenan as this is the form of the name most closely associated with the CCP), Shaanxi province, north west of Chinas population centres. Our thesis is that the CCPs strength lay in its political role as apparent liberator of the peasant masses and leader of the anti-Japanese and anti-Guomindang movement and not in its armed struggle. This is backed up by the fact that when the CCP concentrated not on fighting the Japanese or Guomindang, but concentrated on consolidating its bases, implementing its (admittedly somewhat mild) land reforms and recruiting and training cadres, it significantly expanded its membership and areas under its control. The Red Army fought no major battles for more than two years after late 1937, and its most rapid growth came during this period of relative calm, with the recruitment of up to 400,000 men into the Eighth Route Army and 100,000 into the New Fourth Army by 1940 (Harrison, The Long March to Power, p294). Although the CCP forces managed to expand massively during the war, they were always playing catch up with the much larger and better equipped Japanese and Guomindang forces - in 1937 the Guomindang had around 1.5m troops in total, and the Japanese roughly 600,000, whereas the CCP had at most 100,000 - all of whom were worse equipped. The CCP expanded significantly, as the above figures suggest, but never nearly enough to catch up with the also expanding forces of their enemies. The CCPs one advantage would always be its independent political role and ability to inspire its own troops and the wider peasant population with its propaganda and land distribution. During the years 1937-9, when it fought no major battles, its military forces increased not through military victories but through political expansion and recruitment. Without any battles taking place, the [Guomindang] government watched its rivals steady military and territorial expansion far outreach the three divisions of the Eighth Army and the eighteen districts in the Pien chu laid down by the agreement of September 1937...The population under communist control was to increase almost a hundredfold in eight years (Guillermaz, A History of the Chinese Communist Party 1921-49, p345). Between 1937 and 1940, the party membership increased from 40,000 to 800,000! Thanks to its political influence the CCP managed to expand into areas far away from its headquarters in Yenan, setting up new soviet bases without military invasion. For example, it managed to recruit the remnants of anti-Japanese militias formed in the western Shandong province so that by 1943 the CCP controlled an area with 15 million inhabitants with a 500,000 strong militia (Harrison, op cit. p302). According to Guillermaz, from 1937 onwards the CCP even managed to maintain a force of up to 50,000 behind Japanese lines (Guillermaz, op cit. p308). Their effectiveness is proof of the military advantages the Red Army enjoyed thanks to its political basis, The teams were organised on the three in one principle - they were to fight as troops, to do political work on behalf of the government but to act like the common people in ordinary times. Military and political struggles thus went hand in hand...The armed work teams would appear or disappear unexpectedly in the very heart of the enemy occupied areas. Their whereabouts were known to the people all the time, but the enemy could never find them. Naturally such political successes were profoundly uncomfortable for the Japanese and Guomindang alike, and therefore each square mile and military division gained by the CCP was pregnant with military conflicts. It is in fact not quite true that the CCP fought no battles whatsoever between 1937 and 1939, for in September 1937 Lin Biaos 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army distinguished itself in a joint strike with the Guomindang on Japanese forces at the Battle of Pingxingguan in Shanxi province, capturing 1000 weapons and 100 vehicles and inflicting around 500 casualties on the Japanese (Ibid, p308). A similar, smaller scale success was achieved shortly after nearby. These were however ultimately insignificant and involved few CCP forces. They did however allow the CCP to establish the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei military zone on the basis of these victories, since Guomindang officials had left the area with the Japanese defeat (Harrison, op cit. p299). Out of this zone the CCP managed to form the Chin-Cha-Chi Border Region government, which involved a great many local residents in its administration who were not in the CCP. This government was very successful in organising the peasant masses of this region into womens, youth and self-defence organisations, and in educating them and establishing medical facilities, and consolidated itself by recruiting disaffected Manchurian Guomindang troops and commanders who had disobeyed Chiangs orders (we mustnt forget that the Japanese had long established a colonial regime in Manchuria, to which Chiangs regime had completely acquiesced, causing Manchurians to be much more sympathetic to the CCP than most). It was strong enough to resist the Japanese counter-attack which involved the burning to the ground of this governments capital in March 1938. Following the capture of another region further to the south by other CCP forces with the aid of local activists, the CCP was able in July 1941 to establish a much larger government linking these two and other bases in Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong and Hunan provinces, despite intense Japanese attacks (Ibid, pp301-2). These successes caused not only frictions with the jealous Guomindang but were part of the cause of the complete breakdown of relations between the two parties, more of which later. The Conditions Behind CCP Lines in the Sino-Japanese War There were however severe economic and military difficulties implicit in this strategy of forming politically independent rural bases. We have analysed at length the economic and political realities of such rural submergence in our previous series of articles ( http://www.marxist.com/chinese-comminist-party-1927-37-part-4.htm) , (http://www.marxist.com/chinese-comminist-party-1927-37-part-5.htm), and later in this series we will look more closely at the limitations of the peasant movement and how this conditioned the opportunist programme on which the party rose to power. Nevertheless it should be pointed out here that the new administrative systems [of the newly conquered areas] had great difficulty in gaining a foothold and their power was precarious right to the end. As the region was important both strategically and politically, the Japanese felt obliged to purge it from time to time. Cleaning up campaigns...acted as a deterrent to the inhabitants, who as far as possible avoided taking part in elections, with the risks they involved (Guillermaz, op cit. p311). In a moment we will take a look at both these attacks and others from the Guomindang. Before we do so, we must note that the effect on the CCP of having to maintain a viable administration responsible for leading the economic life of millions of peasants and landlords etc. Generally, the rural areas most revolutionary were those most densely populated and fertile, for these had the highest, most exploitative rents. The logic of taking administrative and military responsibility for certain areas, against constant attacks from two militarily stronger powers, politically consumed a party which had already lost all trace of proletarian politics and obliged it to seek solace in non-revolutionary areas and layers of the population (see Bianco and Lloyd, Peasant Movements, in The Cambridge History of China Volume 13 p324) The CCPs forces had therefore to be constantly replenished by new recruits. Its survival depended on the fine quality of its cadres and its strict discipline (Ibid, p328), and yet these cadres were regularly being killed or absorbed in the tasks of bare survival. True, its effective propaganda conducted by ordinary people among other ordinary people who were their fellow-countrymen, in the language of their region or even their profession, could not fail to succeed among the Chinese (Ibid, p335), and thus furnished a regular supply of new faces. However, this propaganda was limited in scope by the shackled political programme of the CCP we have discussed above. The rapid turnover in membership and the influx of rural recruits lacking any political experience in organisations of their own (unlike the working class, who have experience in trade unions), led Mao in 1937 to decry the tendency towards warlordism in the Eighth Route Army, many of whose members have become unwilling to submit strictly to Communist Party leadership, [and] have developed individualistic heroism (quoted in Guillermaz, op cit. p329). Mao therefore stressed that the Red Army must oppose the danger in which the military does not obey the political and that the army must be one led by the proletariat (Ibid, p329). But that was exactly the problem - thanks to Moscows shortsighted strategy, to which Mao adapted so well, the party had long ceased to have any relation to the proletariat, and the army could in no way be led by anything other than the largely petty bourgeois individuals at the top of the CCP. These very problems, inherent not only in submerging the party in a rural environment, but even more so in attempting to establish on that basis an alternative government under constant siege, were to lead in the early 1940s to the Zhengfeng or Rectification Campaign as the party leadership struggled to keep control of this band of roving-rebels. In this campaign around 10,000 were killed and was the precedent for the Cultural Revolution more than twenty years later. The Hundred Regiments and Three Alls Campaigns The CCPs enormous gains in northern central China described above were as mentioned causing serious concern amongst both Japanese and Guomindang leaders. Their fears were proved correct when the CCP launched its biggest and most successful (unless we count its consequences, as we shall see) military campaign of the entire war period, ending its period of peaceful advance. This is known as the Hundred Regiments Campaign, and it lasted from August to December 1940 and involved 400,000 CCP led troops against roughly 290,000 Japanese. The fighting spanned five provinces in northern central China. It is difficult to assess the damage inflicted by the CCP onto the Japanese forces, as both sides claimed (and still claim) wildly divergent figures. There is no doubt however that the initial battles were an enormous success for the CCP, with tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers killed and much of the Japanese military infrastructure destroyed. The ability of the CCP armies to fight head on a far more well equipped and trained imperial army is testament to the incredible growth of CCP forces from their political work and organisation, as well as their tactical nous. Nevertheless the true results of this military adventure once again underline the futility of the strategy of armed rural struggle and further justify our contention that the CCP should have stuck to clandestinely recruiting workers in the cities with socialist propaganda. For ultimately the CCP was and always would be powerless in the face of the Japanese army, which maintained complete freedom of action at a strategic level (Ibid, p332). This harsh fact was proven by the Japanese counter-attack to the Hundred Regiments Campaign, which was aptly named the Three Alls Policy - standing for kill all, burn all, loot all. Since the Japanese imperialists managed to so succinctly sum up the character of their invasion of China, I think it is only reasonable to suggest that their entire invasion of China and other countries be known by this name. There was a calculated purpose behind such an indiscriminate strategy of literally killing, burning and looting everything within areas associated with the CCP, which, as with all ultra-reactionary and counter-revolutionary campaigns, was to punish the masses for daring to pose a political challenge to the status quo and to traumatise them into never doing so again. In particular, the aim of this campaign was to drain the water from the Communist fish (Harrison, op cit. p301) - in other words, to so effectively massacre the rural poor that the CCP could have no social basis in this region. According to Mitsuyoshi Himeta the death toll of this vile campaign totalled more than 2.7m Chinese. This campaign devastated the CCP in northern central China, and the CCP would not launch another campaign of any significance against Japan for the remainder of the war. Although the CCP did manage to recover their influence in the region around three years later, this was tellingly achieved through political action and propaganda, not military offensives. Not only would it have been possible, it would have been easier and far more effective to carry out this political propaganda had the CCP concentrated on work amongst the urban proletariat and, having won influence this way, among the rural poor. This would have freed the party up both politically and organisationally to campaign for the need to paralyse the Japanese occupation with strikes and for a government of the workers to carry out a revolutionary war against the Japanese. Guomindang Betrayals As if to underline the fact that the CCP had fallen into an opportunist trap by accepting the Guomindangs proposal for Zhou Enlai to be Deputy Minister of Political Training in early 1938 (as discussed in Part I), a few months later the very government in which leading Communist Zhou Enlai was now a minister dissolved a mass organisation [in Hankou] suspected of having strong communist sympathies. The Guomindang then rebuffed communist overtures towards forming a new inner block (Guillermaz, op cit. p348). These (entirely inevitable and predictable) traitorous actions should have been taken as a sign that the Guomindang was planning an attack on the CCP. No quantity of overtures and second-rate ministerial portfolios could protect the CCP from the Guomindang, which only lulled the CCP into a false sense of security. In the spring of 1939, 300 CCP guerrillas were allegedly slaughtered in Shandong province by Guomindang forces (Brandt, Schwartz & Fairbank, A Documentary History of Chinese Communism, p240). What the communists represented both to the poor and the rich was in itself enough to invite repression. CCP speeches were sufficient to whet the peasants appetite for land and freedom, but proved unable to put that genie back in its bottle when the CCP line changed. Nor for that reason could such acquiescence ever convince the Guomindang and the ruling class of the CCPs loyalty, especially when it had armed layers of the peasantry. Beneath the surface of the alliance the Guomindang was always maneuvering and strategizing to inflict mortal blows on the CCP. Different tendencies and factions within it proposed different ways to deal with the CCPs continuing popularity, including dissolving its bases in different provinces by dictat. Local armed clashes with the CCP began to increase and certain generals from Chongqing [the seat of governmental power since late 1938] were plotting with the Japanese to attack the CCP (Guillermaz, op cit. p315). These tensions were caused by the very objective forces which the CCPs political allegiance with the Guomindang made it incapable of anticipating, explaining or consciously leading. Despite the formal alliance, these contradictory forces operated in and through these two parties because of their conflicting class bases. The political successes the CCP scored, particularly in Shanxi and around the western ends of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers as described above, by basing themselves on the peasant masses, made inevitable the Guomindangs betrayal of their alliance. Rising tensions led to more numerous skirmishes until the barely suppressed conflict exploded in the New Fourth Army Incident in 1941 in precisely this geographical area. This was already presaged by the Pinzhiang and Zhukou Incidents in June 1939, in which the Guomindang raided the New Fourth Army and executed CCP members and their families (see Harrison, op cit. p305 & Kataoka, Resistance and Revolution in China: The Communists and the 2nd United Front, p233). The New Fourth Army Incident In June 1940 an agreement had been reached between the two parties that the CCP could keep its newly conquered bases in the northern part of central China, i.e. north of the Yellow River, so long as it abandoned the peasants of central China in between the two great rivers. Chiang could not tolerate the success of the CCP in this area and here attempted to exploit the CCPs opportunist policy. On the basis of this agreement, Chiangs representatives showed active hostility to CCP forces in the central China region they had now been ordered to evacuate (Schram, op cit. p218). Because of this, as they were leaving the area the CCP forces successfully attacked Guomindang troops encountered on the way. This caused Chiang to hasten his demand that the CCPs New 4th Army evacuate the entirety of the area south of the Yellow River. For one reason or another, despite the vast majority of the army meeting the deadline, the 9,000 strong HQ force had failed to cross the river in time and in January 1941 it was ambushed and wiped out by the Guomindang. Following this, the Guomindang demanded the dissolution of the remainder of this strongest of CCP armies. This the CCP refused to do and the ensuing strengthening of the army ended the farce (though not officially) of CCP/Guomindang allegiance. From a revolutionary point of view, we cannot help but conclude that the New Fourth Army Incidents taking place was a good thing precisely because it brought the infamous national united front to an ignominious conclusion. This is proven by the fact that following this incident the CCP continued its meteoric rise throughout China, so much so that arguably no single event in the entire Sino-Japanese war did more to enhance the Communists prestige vis- a-vis the Nationalists than the destruction of the New Fourth Army headquarters while it was loyally following orders (Johnson, Peasant Nationalism and Communist Power: The Emergence of Revolutionary China, 1937-1945, p140). Once again we can see that the CCPs gains came not from military successes - indeed in this case its biggest success came from a defeat - but from its political role as the (perceived) opposition to a capitulationist government. In this case the objective forces, which required (and rewarded) such an opposition, were so strong that they were imposed onto the CCP against its will. Interestingly, Mao, who was evidently under pressure from left wing critics inside the CCP, felt the need to explain that the New Fourth Army incident did not prove that the allegiance with the Guomindang was a mistake (see Mao, Conclusions on the Repulse of the Second Anti-Communist Onslaught, May 1941). He argued that the war with Japan meant that the primary contradiction of Chinese society was not a class one but a national one. In Maos article On Contradiction, he reveals his highly mechanical interpretation of dialectical materialism, whereby different contradictions supplant one another whilst remaining entirely unaffected and self-contained, like billiard balls knocking into each other. He uses this to justify the opportunism of allying with the Guomindang, for according to him the primary contradiction now being between China and Japan, the internal class contradictions of China are effectively negated. A real understanding of dialectics would teach the direct opposite - that Japans exploitation of China would happen through Chinas class system, making the two inseparable. The New Fourth Army Incident is merely one in a long list of examples where the Chinese ruling class proved that the dynamic of the Sino-Japanese war was the class struggle. There is one final betrayal of their alliance by the Guomindang we ought to mention. In the remote province of Xinjiang the CCP struck a similar alliance with its warlord Sheng Shicai (who was not in the Guomindang) as its national alliance with Chiang. However, for the very same reasons as the New Fourth Army Incident, namely the CCPs gains in Xinjiang (along with Moscow ceasing to butter-up Sheng with arms), Sheng turned in 1942. He joined the Guomindang and arrested 600 Communists, many of which he then executed, including Maos brother. And yet flying in the face of reality the CCP continued to articulate a thoroughly acquiescent and frankly liberal line with regards to the Guomindang. One would expect and hope it would use its repression at the hands of the Guomindang as the political justification for the need to overthrow the Guomindang to liberate China from both imperialism and its stooge the Chinese ruling class. Instead the leadership demanded in March 1942 only legal status for the CCP and the recognition by the government of its war efforts, including the request for more troops. Proving the utter failure of the attempt since 1936 to ally with the Guomindang, even these demands were rejected. It is very interesting to note that the character of these demands is not only exclusively bourgeois-democratic, lacking a single social demand, but also in its demands for political liberty refers only to the CCP, not the Chinese working class and peasantry. There are no demands for political liberty or a constituent assembly. More than a decade of isolation in rural armed struggle found its expression in the CCPs inward looking demand for CCP, not Chinese, freedom. When the Sino-Japanese war began in 1937, the CCP had already been an exclusively rural party for almost ten years. As we pointed out previously, this was an improvisation born out of the partys confusion at Chiangs power grab. By 1935, when Mao became the undisputed leader of the party, this improvisation and temporary retreat had been transformed into the partys raison detre. The Peasants Sans CCP According to Bianco and Lloyd, the revolutionary decade of 1922-31 saw no significant increase in all types of peasant disturbances - from theft of landlords property to local uprisings. The fluctuations that do occur seem only correlated to particular years in which there happened to be a good or bad harvest. Furthermore, the type of action taken remained in its traditional form - riots or petitions - and rarely if ever escaped a purely local horizon. Furthermore, they contend that in any case the total number of disturbances remain extremely small (Bianco and Lloyd, Peasant Movements, in The Cambridge History of China Volume 13, pp278-9). The peasants, without the CCP would, quite simply, never have conceived the idea of a revolution thanks to their parochialism which overrode distinctions of class. The typical village, to which peasants narrow horizons and allegiances were restricted, was a socially heterogeneous community that villagers sought to protect against attacks from outside. This is attested by the frequent incidence of vertical movements resembling wars between different peoples rather than social warfare. As in a national war, the natural enemy is not the privileged member in ones community but the foreigner (Ibid, p302). Bianco and Lloyd give many examples of movements in the early 1930s, around the time the CCP was embedding itself in this milieu, which were based exclusively on opposition to new taxes, not rent, and thereby could unite peasants and landlords, with the latter more often than not initiating and leading the movements. The character of such movements, more common than those aimed against rent and landlordism, are not progressive since they aimed to preserve local privileges in the tax system, chiefly to the benefit of the local landlords. Indeed, sometimes the wrongs against which the taxpayers rise up are purely imaginary. They suspect any project of fiscal reform...allow[ing] themselves to be incited into a revolt, which is harmful to their own interests, by a handful of large landowners practicing tax evasion on a large scale (Ibid, p284). Throughout these movements, what is notable is the lack of a questioning of landlordism by its peasant victims: the principle of paying rent is almost never called into question (Ibid, p278). Along with hostility to new tax codes, most peasant disturbances were strictly local in the sense that they pitted one village or Xien against another. So one group of peasants, led by their landlord, would frequently fight those with the same conditions of poverty in a neighbouring village, because the latter had, say, dredged rivers to improve their crop, which threatened to flood the other village. These conflicts, which Bianco and Lloyd argue should be known not as peasant but as rural disturbances due to their vertical social character, frequently had an extremely violent character. They were spontaneous, chaotic and unplanned explosions of rage with no political perspective attached to them. They were not prepared and the rebels do not appear to have had a strategy nor is there any discernable progression in the forms taken by the resistance. There was no fundamental questioning of the principle of tenancy, simply a protest against sudden changes in the status quo (Ibid, pp274-5). Instead of landlords or even local government leaders being attacked, it was usually their underlings, who were more visible to the peasants. Bianco and Lloyd insist that we cannot even speak of a rural movement (other than the CCPs army), only local flare-ups of fury. The theory of Marxism has always explained that the peasantry can be an important ally of the revolutionary working class but can never politically lead. It must be led by a more organised and homogenous urban based class. This evidently applied to 1920s and 30s China, to the extent that Maos talk of the Sinification of Marxism due to Chinas special rural conditions and revolutionary peasantry must be rejected entirely. According to the evidence, the peasants themselves hardly ever take up arms offensively with a view to improving their lot. The apparent peasant basis of the 1949 revolution is therefore an outcome not of peasant revolutionary initiative and elan, but of the CCPs dogged hiding out in its mountain fastness. The peasant revolts had nothing in common with the CCPs Red Army, which latter had a national political character that the former lacked entirely. They were generally conservative, more interested in rising up to maintain old privileges, against local rivals or the mysteries of the governments vicissitudes. They were not inspired by any overall vision of society nor questioned the bases of its organisation (Ibid, p303). It was precisely this parochialism and passivity that suited the CCP, because in the rural backwaters they were hard to find and suffered no danger of ambitious revolutionary demands from the politically passive peasants the Soviet bases administered. The rural submersion of the party was ideal for launching a military struggle but not a social and revolutionary one. Wearing the Peasants Coarse Garb As we shall see, the CCPs approach in the countryside resembled the discredited strategy of the Russian Narodniks of the 19th Century. It is a profound irony that the Chinese offshoot of the Communist International should repeat the mistakes of the Russian forefathers of the Bolsheviks, when it was precisely the learning and overcoming of these mistakes that produced the Russian Marxist organisation that in turn gave birth to the Communist International! When Peng Pai, before he joined the CCP, experimented with a Chinese Narodnism in the early 1920s, he was initially, just like the Narodniks, rejected by the peasants as a strange outsider with grandiose and unrealisable goals. He found that he had to change his clothes and speech and enticed and entertained [the peasants] as a conjuror and magician, taught the children a song of his own composition, had them listen to a gramophone he had brought along, and put on a puppet show (Ibid, p308) in order to get them to take seriously his ideas of liberation. Ten years later, the CCP found itself having to perform similar routines each time they settled in a new rural location. Because of the completely rural base of the party, the CCP was obliged to send any workers or intellectuals it recruited in the cities to the countryside. Whereas in the cities they would have been able to carry out political work quite naturally, Mao explained the requirements of their work in the countryside: they should enthusiastically go to the villages, exchange their students clothes for the coarse garb of the peasants, start willingly from the bottom...help awaken the peasants...and fight for the completion of the extremely important task in Chinas democratic revolution - the rural democratic revolution (Mao, < On Coalition Government<, April 1945). Despite these efforts, the CCP leadership regularly found that the organisations of peasant liberation and awakening they had set up, when left on their own, frequently pursued policies quite different from the Party line and resented the directions of outsiders, whatever their politics (Harrison, < The Long March to Power<, p312). It is quite clear that the contradiction between the self-appointed leadership of the rural revolution in the CCP and the peasants themselves was never overcome. This relationship is in stark contrast to that of a Marxist organisation and the working class, since the aim of the former is always to win the confidence of the workers not by dressing up as them but by being part of and giving voice to the already existing class struggle. Marxists recruit, and themselves often are, workers. They do not parachute in members from elsewhere to occupy and administer workers districts! Indeed the CCP sent vast swathes of its recruits away from the cities in which they were recruited, thus negating any potential they may have presented for building a permanent urban working class base for the party. They used the legal openings gained through the allegiance with the Guomindang not so much to begin building in the cities but to set up within them Communist Liaison Offices to facilitate the emigration of volunteers to Yenan (Guillermaz, A History of the Communist Party 1921-49 , p348). Peng Shuzi, an early leader of the CCP before being expelled for Trotskyism, stresses that the CCP did everything possible to encourage the most active elements of the working class to leave the struggle in the cities and join the peasants in the countryside. It was for precisely this reason that while the CCP considerably increased its armed peasant forces during the Resistance War, its influence remained extremely weak among the worker masses of the cities (Peng, The Causes of the Victory of the Chinese Communist Party over Chiang Kai-Shek, and the CCPs Perspectives). The environment into which these workers and urban intellectuals were taken was one of extreme poverty and backwardness. As with the pre-Long March bases in Jiangxi and especially the Jinggangshan, Yenan made an effective base precisely because it was so barren and therefore hard to penetrate and considered strategically irrelevant by the Guomindang. Here CCP comrades, including leaders, were forced to live in caves carved into the cliffs. The area at the time had an estimated 60% infant mortality rate, 1% literacy rate, the death of up to 2.5m people (one-third of the provincial population), and the migration of another half-million in the catastrophic famine of 1927-30 (Harrison, op cit., p310). Because the Guomindang suspended its subsidy of $100,000 per month (part of the united front agreement) in 1940 due to the above discussed breakdown in the alliance, the CCP was obliged to increase the tax burden on the Shaanxi population it was occupying, especially of the peasants (Ibid, p316). In other CCP bases inflation rose to even higher than in Guomindang controlled areas, but this failed to take place in Yenan as the economy was largely a barter one! As described in more detail our previous series, the bare struggle to survive in these remote conditions absorbed the partys attention to the detriment of its political and theoretical development - although it must be said that the biggest obstacle in that respect was not the rural conditions but the non-revolutionary programme. As a result the number of leaders with Night 17.jpg The MassMutual headquarters in Springfield at night. ((DAVE ROBACK / THE REPUBLICAN).) This story updates and expands upon: 'A milestone event in the 165-year history of MassMutual': Springfield insurance giant buys sales network from MetLife SPRINGFIELD -- MassMutual Financial Group's purchase of MetLife's distribution network of sales representatives could make the Springfield-based financial services giant the largest writer of new life insurance policies in the country. MassMutual sold $483 million in whole life insurance in 2015 while Metlife sold $290 million worth of all types of life insurance, including $90 million in whole life policies, MassMutual said Monday following the announcement of the deal. The combination of the two agent networks will make MassMutual No. 1 for life insurance sales in the country and No. 2, behind Northwestern Mutual Life, when it comes to the whole life policies MassMutual considers its core business, said Michael R. Fanning, executive vice president of MassMutual's U.S. Insurance Group. Whole life is an insurance policy that provides for insurance coverage of the contract holders for their entire lives. This is different from term life, which covers the contract holder up to a specific age limit. A whole life policy never runs out. "It really is a once in a lifetime opportunity," he said of the MetLife deal. The purchase represents roughly 20 percent growth for MassMutual. "This is clearly a growth story for us," Fanning said. "It is a transition that reposition's our business for decades to come. It truly is a distribution powerhouse." MetLife, a publicly traded company based in New York City, announced earlier this year that it would divest itself of part of its business in order to avoid being labeled as "too big to fail" by federal regulators, according to published reports. If labeled too big to fail, MetLife would have to carry more capital to back up its business operations, something it did not want to do. The regulations grew from the 2008 financial crisis. In the MetLife transaction announced Monday, MassMutual gets more than 40 local sales and advisory operations and approximately 4,000 advisers across the country. They will add to MassMutual's network of 5,800 Career Agency System advisers. These are not MassMutual employees, but independent contractors with the ability to sell MassMutual products. The same will be true of the agents coming from MetLife. Also under the deal, MassMutual will get MetLife's affiliated broker-dealer, MetLife Securities Inc., and certain assets associated with the MetLife Premier Client Group, including employee contracts. Fanning said the combined sales network will be used to sell other MassMutal products, like retirement accounts and annuities. "We believe we are the best company in terms of delivering holistic, insurance-based financial planning to customers," Fanning said. The MetLife purchase is also MassMutual's way of preparing for new fiduciary rules the federal Department of Labor is expected to put out later in March. Those rules may change the way advice can be provided to retirement customers, Fanning said. It's is a major issue for MassMutual, leading MassMutual chairman, president and CEO Roger Crandall to write an op-ed on the topic in late December. On a combined basis, MSI and MassMutual's existing broker-dealer, MML Investors Services, LLC, will be among the nation's largest insurance company-owned broker-dealers. Additionally, as part of the agreement, approved MassMutual financial professionals will provide individual life insurance and annuity products through the MetLife PlanSmart Financial Education Series. Some of the agencies share the same geographic market, but Fanning said it won't be a problem because no life insurer commands 10 percent of the market. "There is plenty of opportunity in the local markets," he said. Fanning didn't provide specifics when asked what impact this deal will have on MassMutual operations here in Springfield and in Enfield other than to say it will grow MassMutual as a whole. "It is a transition that prepositions our business for decades to come," Fanning said. "It truly is a distribution powerhouse." This MetLife deal is unrelated to news last week that MassMutual laid off approximately 5 percent of its 7,200-person workforce in Springfield and Enfield. The company said the cutbacks are part of a regular review of its business operations. According to a news release, the MetLife transaction is expected to close by mid-2016 and is subject to certain closing conditions, including regulatory approval. Founded in 1851, MassMutual is one of the region's largest private employers. IMG_5399.JPG The Grateful Hound, a boutique that specializes in retail for dogs, will open on Northampton's Main Street Thursday. (Laura Newberry) NORTHAMPTON -- Leash up Rover and prepare for a chew toy shopping spree, canine lovers. A husband-and-wife team are opening an environmentally conscious dog boutique in the space formerly occupied by Deals & Steals on Main. The Grateful Hound at 114 Main St. will open Thursday, its owners say. Featured products include toys, treats, collars and grooming supplies for dogs and cats, as well as pet-oriented home decor. John and Maggie Granquist, both in their mid-30s, launched their business in Savannah, Georgia in 2010. They built a loyal customer base at the store, as well as a wholesale operation for their bow-tie and flower dog collars. They started their own line of dog treats -- for example, their chicken jerky "Savannah Sticks" -- made from meat smoked in Georgia. From left to right: Annette Granquist, Maggie Granquist, John Granquist and David Mundey inside The Grateful Hound on Northampton's Main Street, set to open Thursday. "Customers just loved coming into the shop and finding something their dogs will love," said David Mundey, the company's sales and marketing manager. "Some people came by just to hang out." But the coastal southern city was becoming too commercialized for their tastes, Maggie Granquist said. "There used to be lot of mom-and pop-shops, and it was a really cool vibe," she said of Savannah. "But a major developer came in and bought up all these properties, put in a Victoria's Secret, H&M." The Grateful Hound's lease was up in Savannah in 2016, so the Granquists decided to relocate last summer. After careful research, they chose Northampton for a few reasons: the city's strong market for independent businesses, a good quality of life and schools for their two young children, and more retail space for less money. And Maggie Granquist grew up in nearby Newton, so she's familiar with the area. There's also not much competition in the immediate area, John Granquist said, other than Dave's Soda and Pet City in Northampton and Hadley. Maggie Granquist said their two rescue dogs test most of the products on their shelves. "We really spend a lot of time and energy finding really unique and high quality products," shet said. "There's nothing that we carry that we aren't proud to sell." The company's ethos has a heavy emphasis on environmentally friendly and healthy dog and cat toys. And all treats are made in the US, the owners said. Pets are welcome in the store, they added, which has vinyl floors for easy cleanup. The Granquists said they're considering building a toy-testing area for pups. The Grateful Hound will hold monthly "Yappy Hours" on weekend nights, for which people are encouraged to bring their pets, socialize and peruse discounted merchandise. Mannys38.jpg Manny D. Rovithis, of Manny's TV and Appliance, is seen in one of the display kitchens in his Wilbraham store. (Photo by Dave Roback / The Republican) WILBRAHAM -- Manny's TV & Appliances is asking for the help of those in Western Mass to Feed 30,000 people in need this month. For every appliance purchased at a Manny's store in March, Manny's will make a donation to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. The goal is to raise enough in donations to feed 30,000 people. As the leader of the emergency food network in this region, The Food Bank provides healthy food to the pantries, meal sites, shelters, and other feeding programs that are on the front lines of emergency food assistance, playing a crucial role helping individuals, families, seniors and children. The Food Bank of Western Mass provided meals to 211,000 individuals across four counties last year. They distributed nearly 10 million pounds of food to their member agencies in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties, providing approximately 8.25 million meals. This illustrates the urgent need for attention to hunger in our community. Manny's is creating a conduit for the consumer to help fund this effort. Each purchase made at any Manny's store will generate a contribution to The Food Bank, providing more funds to gather food for those in need. You can contribute by making a purchase at any of Manny's stores in Wilbraham, Westfield, Hadley, Greenfield and Spofford, New Hampshire. George Kennedy In this April 10, 1968, file photo, George Kennedy poses with his Oscar in Santa Monica, Calif, after winning best supporting actor for "Cool Hand Luke." (AP) George Kennedy, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in "Cool Hand Luke" and co-starred in "The Dirty Dozen, died Sunday. He was 91. Kennedy passed away at a care facility in Middleton, Idaho, a spokesman for the Canyon County, Idaho coroner's office told The Wrap on Monday. Kennedy's grandson Cory Schenkel told TMZ that the Oscar-winner had been in failing health since the death of his wife Joan slightly more than a year ago, and had been in hospice care for a month. Kennedy's more than 75 film credits included the four "Airport" films, "Naked Gun" comedies and the disaster film "Earthquake." He starred in the TV series "Sarge" and "The Blue Knight." He also had a reoccurring role on the TV series "Dallas" as Carter McKay. His final screen credit was in the 2014 movie "The Gambler" with Mark Wahlberg. on the 20th century.jpg The cast of Theatre Guild of Hampden's production of "On the Twentieth Century;" from left, Kevin Wherry, David Leslie, Ally Reardon, Gavin Mackie, Kathy Rayno and Brad Shepard. WILBRAHAM Mark H. Giza first saw a production of "On the Twentieth Century" in Boston in 1978. It featured Madeline Kahn and the then-unknown Kevin Kline, and Giza thought the show would be a big hit; it moved to Broadway and won five Tony Awards that year. Now the artistic director of Theatre Guild of Hampden is delighted to direct its production of "On the Twentieth Century," what he calls a "musical, rompy, madcap comedy." The show follows struggling Broadway producer Oscar Jaffe and actress Lily Garland whom he helps become a great Broadway actress. But eventually she rebels and leaves for movie stardom in Hollywood. When coincidentally they end up on the same Twentieth Century train back to New York, the bankrupt Jaffe tries to get her to work with him again. Giza saw the revival of the show in New York in July; the 2015 Broadway production featured Kristin Chenoweth. "It was fabulous," Giza said. "And I'm a very picky person when it comes to theater." He wants the local production to look like the "crazy, zany, screwball comedies of the Thirties," and he said the production features great dialogue and funny music. "It's going to be one of those evenings [for theatergoers] you can go with the whole family," he said. Shifting from the dramas he has directed in the past, Giza said comedy is more difficult than drama. "You need actors with comic timing," he said. Brad Shepard of East Longmeadow, a veteran Theatre Guild of Hampden actor, plays Owen O'Malley whom he described as a "half booze-soaked, long-suffering press agent for the outrageous impresario Oscar Jaffe." He said he has loved the production since he first saw it on Broadway in 1978 and has since wanted to perform in a production of it. "I didn't think anybody would do it regionally," he said, because it's a challenging one to stage with music that is a "blend of traditional Broadway musical theater material that veers to operetta." It's fun and a lot of work to be in the "1930s screwball comedy," he said, noting that his role is a comedy part that moves throughout the show. Ally Reardon, 21, of Hampden, plays Lily Garland. "This is a role of a lifetime" for her, Giza said. "It's big." Playing the same role as Chenoweth is "very intimidating" and daunting, Reardon said, noting that people have said Chenoweth was born to play the role. Though she did not see the Broadway production, she saw Chenoweth perform in a YouTube video and was "in awe." Calling her a "bundle of talent and energy," she is absolutely suited to the role, Shepard said. "It's not easy material, but she is up to it." This is Reardon's seventh role with Theatre Guild of Hampden; she also acted with the Drama Studio in Springfield from the time she was eight through high school, and she attended Marymount Manhattan College for a year to study musical theater. Now pursuing a bachelor's degree in theater from American International College in Springfield, she hopes to be a performer. "I'm not sure what I want to do with my degree; I'll see where it takes me," she said, adding her appreciation for working with those involved in the Hampden acting company. Giza praised Choreographer Kathleen Delaney for her work with "a lot of big tap numbers." This is the first time he has worked with Music Director Elisabeth Weber, whom he said is "excellent" in that role. Giza founded the Theater Guild of Hampden in 2004; it is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing quality theater experiences to audiences of all ages. "If you're going to pick a show, pick this one. It's not done to death around here" by numerous theater groups, Shepard said. "It's the first time it's being done around here. Think of it as off, off, off Broadway in Wilbraham." "On the Twentieth Century" will be performed on March 4, 5, 11, 12 at 7:30 p.m. and March 6 and 13 at 2 p.m. at the Wilbraham Middle School in Wilbraham. This is a change in venue from previous performances of the theatre guild. The new location seats about 300 and is handicap accessible. Tickets are $20 and available online or at the door. For tickets and more information, go to theatreguildofhampden.org. RANDOLPH A Brockton man was killed after being thrown from a van involved in a rollover crash early Tuesday. The fatal crash happened shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Route 24 south in Randolph, according to Massachusetts State Police officials, who continue to investigate. Eduardo Semedo, 51, was one of two people in a Chevy van that struck a guardrail before rolling over and ejecting him from the vehicle. Semedo was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The other occupant, a 25-year-old man, sufferered serious injuries and was taken by ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton, police said. Authorities are still trying to determine who was driving at the time of the crash. DUNSTABLE A teenager has been arrested in connection with a weekend stabbing at a house party in the Middlesex County town of Dunstable. Aaron Fox, 18, of Pepperell, was arraigned Monday in Ayer District Court on charges of assault to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct. Fox is being held until a hearing later this week to determine if he's too dangerous to be released on bail. The stabbing allegedly occurred at a Dunstable home early Saturday morning. "We do not believe this was a random act of violence. The victim and suspect appear to be known to each other," Dunstable Police Chief James G. Downes III said, calling the incident a "senseless act of violence." Massachusetts State Police troopers assigned to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan's office are assisting with the investigation. The teenage victim, who wasn't publicly identified by police, suffered serious injuries. Officers found him with multiple stab wounds when they responded to an Adams Street home around 3:45 a.m. Saturday. Police rendered medical aid to the victim until he was taken by ambulance to Lowell General Hospital. He was later airlifted to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where he underwent emergency surgery. An update on his condition was unavailable. Dunstable, Groton and Pepperell police searched the area and quickly located Fox near the intersection of Adams and Kemp streets, where he was taken into custody. "Our officers responded swiftly and professionally to a violent crime in progress and were able to render aid to the victim while simultaneously securing the perimeter," Downes said. It was rainy Saturday morning in 1874 when a massive stone-and-earth dam in the woods of Williamsburg gave way, sending 600 million gallons of water and a wall of debris plummeting into Haydenville and Leeds, killing 139 people and destroying factories and five villages along the Mill River. The remains of that ill-fated dam still stand, but the site is hard for hikers to find because a private landowner has blocked access to the traditional trailhead at the end of Judd Lane in Williamsburg. Now the city of Northampton, which owns the dam site as part of its drinking water protection land, may collaborate with Williamsburg to create a new trail to the site, and a contract between the two municipalities is up for a City Council vote on March 3. Williamsburg selectman chairman David E. Mathers wrote to Northampton Mayor David J. Narkewicz on Dec. 10 to submit a formal proposal for a trail with parking off Ashfield Road that would follow the upper reaches of the Mill River through the woods to the dam site, skirting land owned by Christopher A. Joyner, who does not want people to cross his property. Other private landowners have agreed to let the trail cross their property instead. "The story of the flood is a formative story in our communities' history; unfortunately, access to the Williamsburg Reservoir Dam site, which tells so much of that story, has been off-limits to the general public due to private property concerns," Mathers wrote in his letter. According to the proposed memorandum, Northampton will allow the construction and public use of the trail by the Williamsburg Woodland Trails Committee, which will monitor and maintain the path, including a wooden pedestrian bridge. No motor vehicles will be allowed except by a separate agreement, dogs except service animals will be banned, and trail users will be prohibited from camping, entering streams, moving stones, or altering historic structures. The agreement indemnifies both communities from claims arising from the use of the trail. Northampton has reserved the property for possible future water supply needs and sometimes conducts forestry operations there. The Haydenville dam disaster was chronicled in an award-winning book by Elizabeth M. Sharpe in 2004 entitled "In the Shadow of the Dam: The Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874." The dam, completed in 1866, was 600 feet long and 43 feet high, holding back a 100-acre reservoir. It had been built by 11 manufacturers who formed the Williamsburg Reservoir Company. An 1875 coroner's inquest blamed both the reservoir company and the Massachusetts Legislature. which chartered it, and further faulted the contractors who built the dam, the engineer who designed it, and the county commissioners who inspected and approved it, according to Sharpe's research. The New England Historical Society has called the flood "a preventable tragedy." The event led to the adoption of dam safety regulations in Massachusetts and surrounding states. "We hope you will look favorably upon this proposed project, and we invite you, your staff and your family to come experience the trail," wrote Mathers to Narkewicz. The Northampton City Council will consider the petition at its Thursday, March 3 meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. Andrew J. Wakewood sentenced in Hampshire Superior Court March 1, 2016 Andrew J. Wakewood, 32, of California, is sentenced in Hampshire Superior Court March 1, 2016. Also pictured is his attorney, Korrina Burnham, and a court officer. (Rebecca Everett) NORTHAMPTON -- A California man who swindled more than $15,000 from the Newman Catholic Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst confessed and will pay his penance, so to speak, in the form of restitution and four years probation. Andrew J. Wakewood, 32, of Yucca Valley, California, pleaded guilty in Hampshire Superior Court Tuesday to a dozen counts of larceny over $250 by forgery, admitting that he forged checks from the center to pay off debts. He has been jailed for 64 days since he was arrested in December in California and waived extradition. Judge Richard J. Carey sentenced Wakewood to 64 days time already served and waived the rest of a 2 1/2-year house of correction sentence. Wakewood will also be on probation for four years, during which time he will have to pay $15,788 in restitution. The money will not go to the Newman Catholic Center, but to a bank and its creditors who made the center whole after the fraud was discovered. The sentence was recommended as part of plea agreement worked out by Wakewood's attorney, Korrina Burnham of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, and First Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Steven E. Gagne. In court Tuesday, both attorneys described Wakewood as a generally law-abiding man who made a bad decision when he found himself facing serious financial problems. Gagne said the Newman Catholic Center in 2013 and 2014 purchased equipment online from Wakewood's company, JB Tool, and paid him each time by sending checks. Wakewood apparently kept one of the checks, Gagne said. When he got into financial trouble, he recreated the checks and between February and March of 2015 used 12 of the forged documents to pay off his debts to credit card companies and suppliers of his business. "He fell into some dire financial straights," Gagne said. "And unfortunately, he just dug the hole deeper." Gagne said Wakewood has already been punished, in a way, in that he was arrested at his home in front of his family and has spent more than two months in jail. Now, he said, Wakewood can "begin righting the ship." Burnham said Wakewood is getting a $5,000 settlement payment, and will immediately sign the full amount over to the court for restitution. While on probation he agreed to pay at least $250 a month until he has made full restitution. The Newman Catholic Center at 472 North Pleasant St., run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, offers masses, social events and other services to students and staff on the UMass campus. It also houses the Newman Center Cafe. Gagne noted in court that staff from the Newman Catholic Center did not have an opinion on Wakewood's sentence. Mark Dupont, a spokesman for the diocese, said in January that staff quickly noticed the funds coming out of the center's account last year and notified police. A growing number of engineers and tech workers from the San Francisco Bay Area are looking to leave Silicon Valley for burgeoning tech hubs such as Austin, Texas, and Seattle, Washington, according to a job-search sites data. Indeed.com found that the share of searches from within the Bay Area for tech jobs outside of it is on the rise. As of Feb. 1, 35% of tech job searches on Indeed.com from the region were for jobs elsewhere, data from the company shows. That share, which is based on 30-day averages and adjusted for seasonal factors, was up about 30% year-over-year. Ashley Rodriguez Full Story: http://qz.com/627414/tech-workers-are-increasingly-looking-to-leave-silicon-valley/ *** Montana Governors Office of Economic Development http://business.mt.gov/ Come Home Montana (Career Opportunities): http://www.matr.net/news.phtml?cat_id=39&catlabel=Come+Home+Montana After more than a million miles of autonomous driving over the past six years, Googles self-driving car had never been at fault in the 17 accidents the company reported to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Until now. According to a report to the DMV, on February 14 a self-driving Lexus SUV owned by parent company Alphabet was testing on the streets of Mountain View, Calif., when it struck a bus while traveling at 2 mph. The incident was the result of road conditions that were compromised by sand bags placed in a lane, which caused the Lexus to move into the left lane. The municipal bus was approaching in that lane at 15 mph. Marco della Cava, USA TODAY Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/02/29/google-car-hits-bus-first-time-fault/81115258/ Low prices and a less frenetic working environment are drawing tech employees to Portland, Oregon. Gentrification may loom, but along with it may come expanded economic opportunities for the city and state. Some residents are also concerned that a massive inflow of tech could lead Portland down Seattles path. Full Story: http://www.planetizen.com/node/84728/tech-sector-makes-inroads-portland Gov. Steve Bullock http://governor.mt.gov/ says Montanas diversified economy will help the state weather difficult times for agriculture and energy. Both economic sectors have been suffering from low commodity prices. Speaking to the Downtown Rotary in Billings on Monday, Bullock said he doesnt envy the challenges facing Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead and North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple. Both neighboring states have seen state tax revenues plunge in the wake of steep declines in prices for oil, gas and coal. Taxes on resources account for about 70 percent of the money that goes into Wyomings general fund, Bullock said. Likewise, North Dakotas Dalrymple is facing significant budget cuts as the states oil production has declined. TOM HOWARD For the Independent Record Full Story: http://helenair.com/news/politics/state/diverse-economy-will-help-state-weather-downturns-in-agriculture-and/article_677c0254-a2dd-546b-951b-94ed69cb38e0.html If your dream is to stay in Montana but you need to find some way to make a living, a great way to do it is to start your own business, says Mystery Ranch http://www.mysteryranch.com/ backpack maker Dana Gleason. At the Bozeman factory he co-founded, Gleason gave a tour Monday for 18 teenagers visiting from rural Simms High School and urban Bozeman High. Mystery Ranch employs 110 people in Bozeman and makes high-quality backpacks sold all over the world, used by everyone from weekend hikers to wildland firefighters and special ops warriors. "Kids your age are Montanas greatest export," Gleason told the students, because so many young people leave the state to seek careers. But today, thanks to technology, its easier than ever to be decentralized and, he said, "to get an idea and put something together, if you want to stay where you grew up." By Gail Schontzler Chronicle Staff Writer Full Story: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/education/teens-learn-business-lessons-at-mystery-ranch/article_5b18b82c-a1f5-5277-8ae5-4558e66ba444.html One Montana http://www.onemontana.org/ One Montana brings rural and urban interests together to ensure a resilient and prosperous Montana. VISION: One Montana envisions a state where good ideas are more important than partisan ideologies and where we have the highest percentage of collaborations amongst business, agencies and communities of any other state in the nation. Montana will be an example to the rest of the country on how to create success without declaring winners or losers and how to use rural-urban partnerships to develop long lasting solutions You can find what unites us rather than what divides us. You can create One Montana. Due to an increase in influenza throughout North Carolina, Mission Health is asking family and friends to limit their visits to patients at the hospital, including McDowell Hospital. In particular, Mission Health is asking that children younger than 12 and people who do not feel well should call patients rather than visit them at the hospital. Mission Health is starting this precaution at Mission Hospital in Asheville and all Mission Health member hospitals and affiliates in western North Carolina including McDowell Hospital in Marion, CarePartners in Asheville, Transylvania Regional Hospital in Brevard, Blue Ridge Regional Hospital in Spruce Pine, Angel Medical Center in Franklin and Highlands-Cashiers Hospital in Highlands, according to a news release. In addition to limiting exposure, the spread of the flu can be controlled with frequent hand washing, reads the news release. All hospital visitors are urged to wash their hands before and after visiting. Hand sanitizing stations are available at hospital entrances and throughout the buildings. The decision to limit patient visitations is based on recommendations from Mission Healths Infection Prevention Committee in a system-wide effort to minimize the spread of influenza among our patients, said Dr. William Hathaway, chief medical officer with Mission Hospital and Mission Medical Associates. Moreover, we dont want healthy visitors picking up the flu and then spreading it throughout the community. Our patients are our first priority and their health and safety is vital as we work toward our goal of achieving our BIG(GER) Aim: to get each patient to the desired outcome, first without harm, also without waste and with an exceptional experience for the patient and family. Limiting visitations is a precaution often taken during flu season when flu activity reaches a certain level. Locally, health care workers are seeing a progressive increase in influenza A that generally coincides with the onset of the annual peak period. Should the flu activity level increase, further restrictions may be recommended or implemented, reads the news release. As a reminder, Mission asks that those who do not feel well at any time, and not just during flu season, refrain from visiting loved ones in the hospital for infection prevention reasons. People who have not yet received the influenza vaccine are urged to do so immediately, and to ensure their children have been vaccinated. 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. Hospitals and clinics rely on all sorts of refrigerators to keep vaccines, drugs, tissues, blood, and a variety of different products at the right temperature throughout each day. Open doors, loss of power, and malfunctions can spoil the contents inside that can be many times more valuable than the fridge itself. Emanate Wireless, a company out of Ijamsville, Maryland is releasing a special monitoring device that keeps an eye on a fridge to make sure it keeps its contents nice and cold. The PowerPath Temp can be used alone in a small facility or in a group to monitor a large number of fridges at a hospital. Each fridge plugs into the PowerPath Temp, and the device itself plugs into the power outlet. A temperature probe attached to the device is then snaked into the interior of the fridge. The PowerPath Temp is then setup to raise an alarm if the fridge falls out of a predefined range, if power is lost, or unusual readings are detected. It works over WiFi and Bluetooth Low Energy and doesnt require any batteries to maintain. Heres Emanates promo video for the PowerPath Temp: Product page: PowerPath Temp by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, February 29, 2016 The growing use of encryption, combined with consumers' increasing reliance on smartphones and tablets, has deprived Internet service providers of comprehensive information about their subscribers' Web use, privacy expert and former White House official Peter Swire argues in a new paper. Swire, former Chief Counselor for Privacy in the Office of Management and Budget, says the 125-page report aims to address "a widely-held but mistaken view about Internet service providers and privacy." His report comes as the Federal Communications Commission is preparing to propose new privacy rules for broadband providers. The report says it isn't making any specific policy recommendations, but broadly argues that "public policy should be consistent and based on an up-to-date and accurate understanding of the facts of this ecosystem." advertisement advertisement Dozens of consumer groups have urged the FCC to require broadband providers to obtain consumers' explicit consent before tracking them for ad-targeting purposes. One of those organizations, the Open Technology Institute at New America, which joined in the call for new regulations, recently published a report arguing that Internet service providers pose unique risks to consumers' privacy. Swire's report aims to cast doubt on that assertions. The report was funded by Broadband for America -- a coalition that includes AT&T, CenturyLink, CTIA - The Wireless Association, Comcast, National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), Time Warner Cable, USTelecom Association, and Verizon -- and the Institute for Information Security and Privacy at Georgia Tech, and the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business. Swire says the report expresses his own views. The report argues that consumers today access the Web through multiple devices, as well as multiple broadband providers. The result, he says, is that any one ISP has "far less of a comprehensive view of a users Internet activity." "Roughly half of mobile traffic is offloaded to WiFi hotspots today, and that fraction will grow rapidly. The image of an ISP having 'comprehensive' visibility due to its provision of home broadband service is outdated" the report states. He also argues that many popular Web sites use encryption technology that prevent ISPs from seeing detailed URLs and content. "There clearly can be no comprehensive ISP visibility into user activity when ISPs are blocked from a growing majority of user activity," Swire writes. The report also argues that other companies -- namely social networks and search engines like Google -- are able to glean a great deal of information about people. Swire says that Google and Bing are able to see search results and destination pages, but that ISPs can only see that a user has visited the root domain (like www.Google.com), when the results are encrypted. Google has encrypted all organic search results since 2013. Swire writes that his comparison of search engines with ISPs "undermines the widely-held, but mistaken view that ISPs have comprehensive and unique knowledge about users online activity because they operate the last mile of the network." He adds: "Non-ISP search engines are able to gain much unique insight into online user activity, often greater than that of an ISP." But Harold Feld, senior vice president at consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge, says the report "dramatically overestimates the value of what encryption hides, and dramatically underestimates the value of information encryption cannot conceal." He adds that even if ISPs don't know what Google searches people conduct, ISPs still are able to amass a great deal of information from people's activity at sites like Google and YouTube. "First, the ISP knows how long I'm there, which tells it whether or not this is search," he says in an email. "If I stay a long time, they know I am getting some other kind of information. .. If the ISP sees me regularly going to YouTube at around 1 a.m. and staying on the sight steadily downloading video until about 2:30-3 a.m., they deduce all kinds of things about me and my behavior." Feld adds: "Modern information marketing is not a one-shot thing. It is all about identifying patterns of behavior." Jason Kint, CEO of the publishers' group Digital Content Next, adds that consumers need more control over their data -- regardless of whether ISPs can collect more information than other companies. "Much of the report hinges on this idea that Google, Facebook and ad tech companies are able to collect more consumer information than ISPs," he says in an email to MediaPost. "Regardless whether this is true, we need to build trust across the ecosystem rather than take a lowest-common denominator approach. Simply put, consumers need transparency and simple, persistent choice to not be tracked across the web." Digital Content Next recently said in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission that ISPs should inform consumers about online tracking and give them a "meaningful choice" about whether their data will be used for behaviorally targeted ads. The industry group also asked the FCC to work with the Federal Trade Commission "to ensure that other entities with similar access to all or substantially all of a consumers online activity are held to a similarly high standard so that consumers are not confused by different standards across the same ecosystem." by Richard Whitman , Columnist, February 29, 2016 First it was that Boston Dynamics robot getting the sh*t kicked out of it by a lowly human. Now it's the whole of Turner Incite handing its sales operation over to IBM Watson technology. I mean, seriously. In 20 years or less all of advertising -- no, all of everything -- will be handled by Terminators...uh...computers. The poor human race will have nothing left to do. So yes, Turner Incite -- the companys platform for advertising sales -- will now be powered by advertising sales technologies of the IBM Watson platform along with advanced predictive analytics from MarketShare. The partnership is said to be a first for broadcast advertising sales. Of the move, Turner EVP of Client Strategy and Ad Innovation Michael Strober said: Turner is investing in innovation that allows our partners to have access to real-time intelligence leading to faster and smarter business decisions. By fueling Turner Incite with Watson Technology and MarketShare, and continuing to enhance our content and data solutions, we are further enabling clients to achieve their goals across an array of next generation portfolio capabilities. advertisement advertisement Turner Incite is an "advanced intelligence platform" built by Turner and now powered by IBM Watson and MarketShare to provide client insights and industry intelligence. The tool fuels a recommendation of best advertising solutions aimed at achieving the highest ROI for marketers. Explaining the approach further, IBMCognitive Business Solutions VP Adam Steinberg added: This solution addresses one of the timeless objectives of marketing leaders -- infusing new levels of data and science into advertising decisions. Armed with deep, fact-based recommendations, Turner will hone the precision of every advertising recommendation, and in turn, lift the impact of the customers who place advertising on Turners award-winning programming. What would Arnold Schwarzenegger say? The new approach will be overseen by James Russo, who was recently appointed to the newly developed role of senior vice president, Client Strategy & Development. Reporting to Strober, Russo will work with Turners Client Insights group to make recommendations to clients based on the new insight-driven selling approach. by Thom Forbes @tforbes, March 1, 2016 A January slowdown in signed contracts for the sale of existing homes is being pegged to low inventory rather than being any sign of a faltering economy. The National Association of Realtors monthly measure of pending home sales was down 2.5% in January to 106.0 from an upwardly revised 108.7 in December. Thats still 1.4% above January 2015 and the index has now gained for 17 consecutive months, the NAR points out, although only September 2014 (1.2%) showed a slower gain during that time. Only the South saw sales gains over the previous month. The drop surprised analysts. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had predicted a 0.5% increase in Januarys sales, writes that papers Anna Louie Sussman. Pending sales offer insight into the housing markets direction because they measure purchases at the time a contract is signed, rather than at closing, she informs us. advertisement advertisement While Januarys blizzard possibly caused some of the pullback in the Northeast, the recent acceleration in home prices and minimal inventory throughout the country appears to be the primary obstacle holding back would-be buyers, according to NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. Additionally, some buyers could be waiting for a hike in listings come springtime. In a note to clients cited by the WSJs Sussman, Pantheon Macroeconomics economist Ian Shepherdson acknowledges the snow but pointed out that sales had also declined in the balmier West. Its possible that the drop in the stock market beginning at the start of the year persuaded would-be home buyers to wait a while, but we have no way of knowing for sure, he writes. Jonathan Smoke, chief economist of Realtor.com (the official Web site of the NAR), is optimistic that the pace of homes going into contract will soon pick up again, Clare Trapasso writes on the site. The mortgage rate decline will more than offset the declines in the stock market, says Smoke. We should see another year of growth, but not as much as last year because the [inadequate] supply of homes will limit that. Indeed, coming on the heels of recent strong data on consumer spending, the labor market, industrial production and durable goods orders, Mondays reports did little to change the view that the economy was regaining momentum after slowing to a 1.0% annual rate in the first quarter, writes Reuters Lucia Mutikani. The disappointing data tone points to ongoing weakness in the housing and manufacturing sectors, says Millan Mulraine, deputy chief economist at TD Securities. Nevertheless, with underlying domestic fundamentals remaining supportive to growth, the economic recovery should regain its footing in the first quarter. First-time buyers in high demand areas continue to encounter instances where their offer is trumped by cash buyers and investors, the NARs Yun writes. Without a much-needed boost in new and existing-homes for sale in their price range, their path to homeownership will remain an uphill climb. Existing-home sales, which are tabulated when a deal closes, make up about 90% of the market and unexpectedly climbed in January to the second-highest pace since early 2007, the NAR said last week, Michelle Jamrisko reports for Bloomberg. Prices climbed from January 2015 as the number of dwellings on the market fell. The bottom line may be that in a year that is proving unpredictable in many ways, people dont know what to expect. The latest Index of Consumer Sentiment from the University of Michigan's Survey of Consumers indicates that consumers' confidence continues to stagnate by increasing a little, then decreasing a little based on the latest news they see, read or hear, luxury market tracker Bob Shullman points out in his monthly Insight Briefs emailed yesterday. And presidential follies aside, theres plenty of monkey business ahead to keep us guessing, as the annual Feng Shui Index issued by Kong Kong-based CLSA, the brokerage and investment group, informed us last month. It is, after all, the first Year of the Fire Monkey since 1956. There are going to be a lot of ups and downs. The monkey is a creature who is tricky and cunning, Cherry Ma of the firm's feng shui team says in a piece by the AFP newswire published in the Daily Mail. There will be fluctuations but it also means opportunities for fast-movers, she said. All is revealed: Get moving. by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, March 1, 2016 Today, March 1, is the biggest day in the presidential primary cycle. The GOP will vote in 11 states and the Democrats in 12. For former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, overwhelming success today will most likely sew up the Democratic nomination. Sen. Bernie Sanders, however, wont go down easy. In the four Super Tuesday states where both Clinton and Sanders have bought TV ads -- Colorado, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Oklahoma -- the Vermont Senator is outspending Clinton and her Super PACs on the airwaves, according to Politico. Sanders is also on the radio in Texas, but is not spending TV dollars. In Colorado, as of Feb. 26, a state which carries 66 delegates, proportionally apportioned, Sanders is leading Clinton in TV and radio spending $739,000 to $401,000. FiveThirtyEight notes that Sanders must win Colorado, if he is to have any shot at the nomination. In Minnesota, where Sanders will have a good chance to pick up a win, he outspends Clinton again by $883,000 to $470,000. advertisement advertisement Accordingly, the heavy spending by the Sanders campaign has been bolstered by an enormous swell of donations in February, totaling more than $40 million. Clinton still has her Super PAC and a strong donation game. However, the money advantage she expected to have at this point in the race looks to be disappearing. The three Republicans who still have a legitimate chance to win the nomination are Donald Trump and Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. Marco Rubio and his supporters, particularly his Conservative Solutions PAC, have been spending heavily in Super Tuesday states and are also looking forward to Florida, where the PAC has spent over $1 million. Rubio is the only candidate whose supporting PACs are already spending in post-Super Tuesday states. Conservative Solutions is spending in the Super Tuesday states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia, which garners the highest spend of about $492,000 (the Rubio campaign is also spending in these states, but significantly less). The PAC is spending in Texas where it has dished out $1.2 million in support of Rubio just last week. Ted Cruz is spending in many of the same states, but primarily using money his campaign has generated. He spends more heavily on cable television when compared to broadcast, a strategic difference from his rivals, according to Politico. Cruz is not spending much in Texas, a sign that his campaign is confident of a good outcome. The GOP front-runner, Donald Trump, who could be many steps closer to the nomination come Wednesday morning, is spending more than $1.1 million across six states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Club for Growth, a PAC that opposes Trump, has spent $719,000 in Arkansas and Oklahoma, countering the real estate moguls buys in those states. Regardless of tomorrows outcome, to paraphrase South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham on Showtimes The Circus, this point in history will be a soul-searching moment for the Republican party. by Sara Guaglione , March 1, 2016 Conde Nasts Wmagazine today announced a partnership with luxury fashion company Hugo Boss for a fashion photography contest called The Shot. The Shot is a talent search for the next big name in fashion photography, according to a statement. The winner will have the chance to shoot a feature for Ws September issue. The partnership will include high impact advertising from Hugo Boss on wmagazine.com, as well as social-media integration. Conde Nast told Publishers Daily there will be Hugo Boss-sponsored posts on Ws social media accounts. The winner of the contest will also be considered to shoot a brand campaign for Hugo Boss. advertisement advertisement Additionally, W and Hugo Boss will team up for an event celebrating The Shot during New York Fashion Week. W has also teamed up with Tumblr to share the talent search with the social media platforms creative community. Publishers are increasingly taking part in similar partnerships to extend their brand beyond print and reach their audiences in a more personal, connected digital space. To enter the contest, photographers who have not worked for a major U.S. fashion magazine can visit W magazines Web site and upload up to three original images. Submissions will be showcased on Ws The Shot Web site, for public vote, and select images will be spotlighted on Ws social-media channels. Entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges, including Stefano Tonchi, Jason Wu, photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, the International Center of Photographys curator in residence Charlotte Cotton, and W senior photo editor Esme Rene. Last year, the magazine scouted for models instead of fashion photographers, launching the #WmagModelSearch on Instagram. The winner was signed by IMG Models and walked the runways of New York Fashion Week. The contest is open until April 30. The winner will be announced in May and featured in Ws September issue. The new name is inspired by the year The Economist was founded. 1843 plans to increase its global coverage by going beyond Europe to include America and Asia. For example, the launch issue will feature Sophie Roberts visiting the only hotel in Antarctica. 1843 will include profiles of headline-makers from The Economist, a fashion shoot in every issue and in-depth travel narratives. The magazine will also have sections devoted to tech, food and drink, art, design, and body and mind. Nick Blunden, global managing director of client strategy for The Economist Group, explained the thinking behind the decision to relaunch the magazine as a global publication targeting well-educated, affluent readers around the world. Although the print magazine Intelligent Life had only been in Europe, when we looked at the digital side of it, on the Web site, most of the traffic was coming from outside, from North America and Asia The opportunity seemed to be a truly global one," he says. "Thats what The Economist Group does really well, creating content that is relevant all around the world. advertisement advertisement The launch issue hits newsstands March 9 with an April/May cover, and will have 120 pages, including a profile of French politician Marine Le Pen. Like Intelligent Life, 1843 will publish six issues a year. On the advertising side, Blunden noted that over 30 big luxury advertisers signed up for the launch issue, spanning product categories including watches, jewelry, fashion, automobiles, and the like, adding: From an advertising perspective, the launch issue of 1843 is four times bigger than the last issue of Intelligent Life. Many clients are drawn specifically by the magazines global scope, according to Blunden. Luxury advertisers are really thinking in terms of global campaigns. Luxury is a truly global phenomenon, not just in Europe but now in North America, South America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa, he adds. There will be apps for all devices and a redesigned Web site with new content posted daily. The site will go live -- without a paywall -- on March 7, the same day all social accounts and the app will switch from Intelligent Life to 1843. Because there is no paywall, 1843 will rely more heavily on advertising for revenue. All display ads on 1843 will be in-stream formats that can be customized, breaking away from the model on Intelligent Lifes current site, according to reports. Brand partners will have more commercial opportunities to create content in partnership with the editorial team, particularly video content. Unlikewill be bundled in thepremium subscriber package, which includes the digital and print editions of the title, as well as the annual outlook report. The premium bundle has 460,000 subscribers. The magazine will also be sold on newsstands in the U.K., Europe, North America and parts of Asia. by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, March 1, 2016 Google searches may not decide a Democratic or a Republican candidate, but they do provide insight into the candidates drawing the most interest from those in the primary and the caucus states. iQuanti released data analyzing Google searches related to Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses for the Democratic and Republican parties in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming. The data might say more about Democratic and Republican voters then the candidates themselves. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders see the most popularity in searches for their respective parties across all states holding primaries and caucuses on Super Tuesday, although Sanders sees the greatest popularity among Democrats in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Minnesota. Trump is weakest in Tennessee. advertisement advertisement In January 2016, Trump peaked in Texas as the top-searched candidate with 725,270, up 2.13% compared with the prior month. Sanders followed with 474,380. Cruz took 343,490 searches on google.com, and Hillary Clinton rounded out the top four with 265,550. For the Democratic candidates, Bernie Sanders saw a slight surge ahead of Hillary Clinton beginning in December, with January his strongest month, seeing 170% month-over-month growth. Sanders led in searches during January 2016 in Massachusetts and Vermont with 275,700 and 59,110, respectively. Cruz, who is the second-most searched Republican, follows Sanders. Marco Rubio in third for his party, surpassing Ben Carson in January, who has been in a steady decline in searches since November. The least-searched candidate is John Kasich, who has been in last place for the duration of the campaigns. In South Carolina, where Cruz and Marco Rubio nearly tied for the No. 2 spot in the Republican race, taking 22.5% and 22.3% of the votes, the data shows the strongest correlations. Trump took 32.5%. The data also shows that searches in January 2016 on google.com show 101,220 for Trump, followed by 41,500 for Cruz and 40,170 for Rubio. by Colleen G. Steinman , March 1, 2016 A newly developed joint international campaign, U.S.-China Tourism Year, gives tourists and travel industry providers new resources to increase travel between the two countries. Along with increased tourism, the campaign seeks to boost cultural understanding and appreciation of natural resources. It extends reciprocal short-term tourist and business visas issued to each other's citizens from one to 10 years and reciprocal extension of student visa validity from one to five years. We are setting the stage for great growth in Chinese visitation to all areas of the United States in 2016 and beyond," said Chris Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA, the company that manages the campaign. The U.S. Department of Commerce and the China National Tourism Administration launched the project in Beijing on Feb. 29, bringing together about 350 U.S. and Chinese tourism industry professionals and national and provincial government leaders representing China and the United States, including U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews, U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus, and Kelly Craighead, National Travel and Tourism Office executive director. advertisement advertisement Key business partners for the launch event include Visa, Inc. and United Airlines. President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping first announced the bilateral initiative during President Xis fall visit to the United States. To support the campaign, Brand USA has created a Web site to serve as an online resource center to the travel industry, including a calendar of events and additional marketing resources for travel industry businesses. Brand USA and the U.S. Department of Commerce will use the site to communicate best practices for each country. China is the sixth-largest source market for inbound tourism to the United States, according to statistics tracked by the National Travel and Tourism Office of the Department of Commerce and Brand USA. More than 2 million Chinese visited the United States during 2014, a jump of 20% over the previous year. China could become the largest source market for long-haul travel into the United States within three years, Thompson added. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, March 1, 2016 Clear Channel's new outdoor advertising initiative -- which involves tracking consumers to figure out whether they visit stores after viewing billboards -- raises privacy concerns, according to Sen. Al Franken. "When done appropriately, targeted advertising may provide consumer benefits, but we must ensure that Americans' very sensitive information, including their location data, is protected," Franken (D-Minnesota) writes in a letter to Clear Channel Outdoor Americas CEO Scott Wells. Clear Channel's new program reportedly draws on location and demographic data from three other companies: AT&T, PlaceIQ (which uses location data from apps) and Placed (which pays customers to track them). Clear Channel told The New York Times that the data, which is anonymous and aggregated, doesn't identify individual customers. advertisement advertisement "Given the sensitive nature of location data, all parties involved in Clear Channel's Radar service should provide clear and comprehensive privacy policies and should disclose detailed information about their data-sharing relationships with other companies," Franken adds. "Unfortunately, as currently written, Clear Channel's privacy policy, which appears to apply to all of its products and services, leaves consumers largely in the dark." Franken is asking the company to answer a host of questions, including ones about the anonymization process. "At what stage are the data aggregated and anonymized?" he asks. "Is the information Clear Channel receives from mobile services already anonymized and aggregated or is Clear Channel responsible for making the data anonymous?" The lawmaker also is asking Clear Channel to elaborate on its privacy policy, which says it may share customers' personal information with third parties, and with affiliates for "business and operational purposes." "How does Clear Channel define "business and operational purposes"? Can you provide a list of all outside parties with whom Clear Channel may share personal information collected for the operation of Radar?" he asks. Franken is requesting answers by March 30. Clear Channel did not respond to MediaPost's requests for comment. by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, March 1, 2016 Tencent Online Media Group and Omnicom Media Group have forged a deal giving Omnicom Media clients access to the Chinese tech giants massive consumer database. Under the agreement the two parties will explore and develop data models for eight different industries. Tencent will create target audience profiles for OMG clients including demographic attributes, interests and other characteristics that can be gleaned from online footprints. The firms started cooperating last year when an OMG client became the first automotive brand to launch video ads on Tencent's social platform, WeChat. Analytics from the initial trial proved to be valuable for the client and led to more discussions and ultimately to the agreement announced today. The deal follows similar agreements between Tencent and both GroupM and Dentsu Aegis Network that were forged late last year. Tencents collection of consumer data is huge. The firm reported having some 860 million active monthly users in its third-quarter 2015 financial report. The company provides social networking, e-commerce, gaming, mobile phone and other services. Out of every 100,000 people who get Zika virus, 24 could develop Guillain-Barre syndrome, suggests research published in The Lancet. Share on Pinterest A study in French Polynesia suggests that Zika increases the chance of developing GBS. Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is a severe neurological disorder that affects the immune and nervous systems. Apart from trauma, it is the most common cause of paralysis. Symptoms develop rapidly and include pain and weakness in the muscles and limbs. About 5% of cases are fatal, and 20-30% of patients face respiratory failure. It is usually triggered by an infection such as herpes, influenza or dengue virus, and it affects about 1-2 people per 100,000 annually in Europe and North America. The symptoms of Zika virus infection include fever, rash, joint and muscle pain and conjunctivitis. The current outbreak in Central and South America, which the World Health Organization (WHO) have declared as a global emergency, has been accompanied by unusually high rates of microcephaly and GBS. Now, analyses of blood samples from 42 patients diagnosed with the syndrome in French Polynesia during the Zika virus outbreak have suggested there could be a link. GBS seen with Zika in French Polynesian outbreak French Polynesia experienced a major Zika outbreak between October 2013 to April 2014, the largest outbreak globally at that time. Fast facts about GBS There are normally 3,000-6,000 cases of GBS per year in the US It appears randomly rather than in clusters Most people recover within weeks or months, but 1 in 20 cases are fatal Learn more about GBS Approximately 32,000 patients consulted a doctor about a suspected Zika virus infection, and from November 2013 to February 2014, 42 patients were diagnosed with GBS. Lead author Prof. Arnaud Fontanet, from the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France, and colleagues set out to examine the link between Zika virus infection and GBS. They also looked at dengue virus as a potential risk factor for GBS, because French Polynesia is also prone to outbreaks of dengue. At the Centre Hospitalier de Polynesie Francaise in Papeete, Tahiti, 42 patients were diagnosed with GBS, all of whom were included in the study. Two control groups were matched for age, gender and island of residence. In Control Group 1, there were 98 patients who attended the same hospital but did not have a fever. Control Group 2 consisted of 70 patients who were diagnosed with Zika virus infection, but the patients did not show any of the neurological symptoms associated with GBS. Cannabis appears to have a significant impact on the recognition and processing of human emotions like happiness, sadness and anger, according to research published in the journal PLOS One. Share on Pinterest Using marijuana may change how people process emotions. Scientists are only just starting to understand how cannabis affects the brain. Cannabis consumption is known to cause immediate, residual and long-term changes in brain activity that can affect appetite and food intake, sleep patterns, executive function and emotional behavior. Conflicting evidence has suggested that it can intensify both positive and negative mood states. Lucy Troup, assistant professor of psychology at Colorado State University, and her graduate students wanted to look at how, if at all, cannabis use impacts a persons ability to process emotions. For nearly 2 years, the team has been conducting experiments using an electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure the brain activities of about 70 volunteers. All the participants identified themselves as chronic, moderate or non-users of cannabis. They were all confirmed to be legal users of marijuana under Colorado Amendment 64, either medical marijuana users aged 18 years and above, or as recreational users aged 21 years or older. An EEG can record a wide variety of generalized brain activity. In this study, the researchers used it to measure the P3 event-related potential of the participants. P3 refers to the electrical activity in the brain that is triggered by noticing something visually. P3 activity is known to be related to attention in emotional processing. An international study of almost 120,000 women has newly identified five genetic variants affecting risk of breast cancer, all of which are believed to influence how breast cells respond to the female sex hormone oestrogen. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women. Around one in eight women in the general population is expected to develop the disease at some point in her life. The majority of cases occur in women aged 50 and over. The female sex hormone oestrogen acts as a trigger, binding to a molecule known as an oestrogen receptor in most breast cells and triggering a cascade of signals that cause the cell to behave normally. However, the oestrogen receptor is switched off in some cells and these do not respond to the hormone. An international collaboration, led by researchers at the University of Cambridge and the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, examined the DNA surrounding the gene for the oestrogen receptor - known as ESR1 - in women with different types of breast cancer against those of healthy controls to identify genetic variants responsible for an increased risk of breast cancer. The results are published today in the journal Nature Genetics. Among their findings, the researchers discovered five cancer-risk variants based within or around the ESR1 gene. This gene has long been known to be related to the risk and progress of breast cancer, but little is understood of how it works and why it should affect breast cancer. Of the five variants discovered by the team, four were more strongly associated with tumours where the ESR1 gene is switched off, so the tumour cells have no oestrogen receptors. These represent around one fifth of breast cancers. One of these four variants was of particular interest as it was associated with a rarer type of breast tumour that contain active receptors for the protein known as 'human epidermal growth factor 2' (HER2). Such tumours can be treated by the drug trastuzumab (marketed as Herceptin). This is believed to be the first time a specific genetic risk factor for HER2 positive breast tumours has been found. Dr Stacey Edwards' team from QIMR Berghofer, Brisbane, had been searching for gene regulatory elements around the ESR1 gene, which act like the volume controls on a radio or TV, turning the activity of the nearby genes up or down. There are two major types of gene regulators: 'enhancers', which increase activity of the genes express such that they make more protein, and 'silencers', which have the opposite effect. When the Cambridge and Brisbane teams compared notes, they spotted that four of the breast cancer risk variants coincided with 'volume-up' enhancers. These particular regulators did not just affect the ESR1 gene but also other nearby genes. The variants that increased risk of breast cancer directly reduced the effectiveness of each enhancer, hence turning down the volume of ESR1 and the other nearby genes. This reduced the amount of oestrogen receptor produced by breast cells. The researchers say that their results suggest the ESR1 gene works with other nearby genes to affect breast cancer development. The fifth genetic variant was found to be more strongly associated with tumours where the oestrogen receptor is switched on. This variant coincides with and alters the effectiveness of 'volume-down' silencer, which means that it increases the amount of oestrogen receptor protein produced by breast cells. "It's interesting that all five of the genetic variants that we have found affect levels of oestrogen receptors in breast cells," says Dr Alison Dunning from the Department of Oncology at the University of Cambridge, one of the lead authors on the study. "This suggests that there may be a 'Goldilocks' level of these receptors in breast cells: too few or too many and the breast cells are more likely to become cancerous." "As our research looks at how tumours with and without the oestrogen receptor are regulated, it's possible it could help make sense of the enduring mystery of how tamoxifen works and why tumours develop in these two divergent ways," says Dr Edwards, one of the study's senior authors. "Our findings could open the way to developing new, more specific breast cancer preventions." The genetic variants are all very common, each one carried by around one in three women. Each variant only increases the risk of developing breast cancer by a small amount. Professor Doug Easton, another senior author from the University of Cambridge, adds: "breast cancer is a very complex disease, with many genes, and other factors, contributing to an overall increased risk of developing the disease. These five common variants that we have identified will contribute to an eventual predictive test for breast cancer risk, and for determining the risk of the particular subtype of breast cancer, that will include hundreds of similar variants." Funding for the study came from organisations including the European Union, Cancer Research UK, the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and the Australian National Breast Cancer Foundation. Dr Alan Worsley, Cancer Research UK's senior science information officer, said: "We know that hundreds of genes are likely to play a role in how cancers start. And this latest study adds more detail to our genetic map of breast cancer risk, potentially helping understand which type of breast cancer is likely to develop based on a woman's genetic makeup. Understanding more about each individual's risk of cancer could help us find ways to potentially prevent the disease or pick it up in its earliest stages." A specific molecule involved in maintaining pain after a nerve injury has been identified and blocked in mice by Hiroshima University researchers. These results reveal a promising therapeutic strategy for treating neuropathic pain. Mice with an injury to their sciatic nerve showed less pain after multiple injections of a drug that blocks the activity of a molecule called high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1). Researchers also discovered that a single dose of a drug to block the activity of a different molecule, called matrix metalloprotease-9 (MMP-9), could also alleviate pain from the injury. The chemical pathways that these drugs use to inhibit HMGB1 or MMP-9 are different from common pain relievers, like opioids (Morphine) or acetaminophen (Tylenol). Therefore, the potential for addiction or negative side-effects may be reduced. The results reveal that the drug to block HMGB1, called anti-HMGB1, has the downstream effect of preventing the increase of MMP-9 that would normally be expected when HMGB1 increases. Therefore, an inhibitor of MMP-9 may be a more direct route to produce the same effect. This is the first study to link HMGB1 and MMP-9 together in the cellular process of maintaining pain. A research team led by Professor Yoshihiro Nakata, PhD, at Hiroshima University's Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences began their investigation of sciatic nerve pain as part of their long term studies of the central nervous system. Sciatic nerve pain, or sciatica, causes pain in the lower back, buttocks, or back of the leg and is often caused by a herniated disc in the spine or a pinched nerve. Similar pain can occur in different nerves in patients with cancer or diabetic neuropathy. Previous studies by other research groups have injected anti-HMGB1 underneath the protective membranes surrounding the nerve. This method, called an intrathecal injection, is more complicated for doctors to perform and has more potential risks. Prof. Nakata's team demonstrates a pain-relieving effect from injecting anti-HMGB1 into the hip in the slightly broader area around the nerve, called a perineural injection, avoiding the complications of other injection methods. A localized injection also avoids the potential side-effects of delivering the drug through larger body systems, like a pill into the digestive system or an injection into the blood. Blocking HMGB1 lessened pain with no negative impact on healing. Selectively blocking MMP-9 also relieved pain with no obvious changes to the activity of other molecules responding to the injury. The results of this Hiroshima University study show promise for relieving nerve pain with a chemically specific approach that is convenient for patients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced the availability of $2 million in research grants to fund natural history studies in rare diseases. The aim is to collect data on how specific rare diseases progress in individuals over time so that knowledge can inform and support product development and approval. This will be the first time the FDA will provide funding through its Orphan Products Grants to conduct these types of studies for rare diseases. Natural history is the course a disease takes in affected individualsfrom the time immediately prior to its inception, progressing through a presymptomatic phase and different clinical stages, to a final outcome in the absence of treatment. This type of information is often not available, or incomplete, for many rare diseases. "Rare diseases are often poorly understood," said Gayatri Rao, M.D., J.D., director of the FDA's Office of Orphan Products Development, within the Office of Special Medical Programs. "Not understanding how a rare disease progresses is often a major obstacle in the development of life-saving medical products. Information about a disease's natural history can aid in clinical trial design, identify study end points and lead to faster, better trials - hopefully leading to new and effective diagnostics and treatments." The goal of the program is to help characterize the natural history of rare diseases, identify subpopulations, and develop and/or validate clinical outcome measures, biomarkers and companion diagnostics. "Despite their importance, it is very difficult for groups, such as patient advocacy organizations, to find funding to conduct natural history studies," said Dr. Rao. "As we observe Rare Disease Day today, we are excited to announce a program that will bridge some of this funding gap and complement existing efforts to help bring new and important therapies to rare disease patients." Congress appropriates funding for the study of rare diseases. FDA is using the funds for this new Orphan Products Natural History Grants Program as well as the existing Orphan Products Grants Program for clinical trials, which has provided more than $350 million to fund more than 570 new clinical studies and has supported the marketing approval of more than 55 products since its creation in 1983. Grant applications will be due Oct. 14, 2016. All responsive applications will be reviewed and evaluated for scientific and technical merit by a panel of rare disease and natural history experts. The anticipated start date of funding for grantees is March 2017. The funding levels and durations of these grants will include: A maximum of $400,000 in total costs per year for up to five years for prospective (looking forward) natural history studies involving clinical examination of affected individuals. A maximum of $150,000 in total costs per year for up to two years for retrospective (looking back) natural history studies (i.e., chart review) or survey studies (i.e., questionnaire). Rare diseases, as defined in the Orphan Drug Act, are diseases or conditions with a prevalence of less than 200,000 persons in the United States. Though the diseases are individually rare, together, the 7,000 known rare diseases affect approximately 30 million Americans. The post-translational addition of ubiquitin to proteins by enzymes of the E3 ubiquitin ligase family is largely recognized as a means to target misfolded or unwanted proteins for degradation by the proteasome. However, it is now understood that ubiquitination serves as a signal to modify a number of cellular functions such as protein trafficking, cell signaling, DNA repair, chromatin modifications, cell-cycle progression, and cell death. Though these functions are integral for all cells throughout the body, the physiologic role of specific E3 ligases must yet be defined in the context of various tissues. For example, very few studies exist that interrogate the function of specific E3 ubiquitin ligases in the reproductive system. The physiologic roles of E3 ubiquitin ligases have been examined in knockout or mutant mouse models. In previous work with a mouse model that contained a loss of function mutation in the ITCH E3 ubiquitin ligase gene (mice termed itchy due to the chronic dermatitis phenotype) it was discovered that male mice displayed a number of alterations in testicular germ cells. Although there were phenotypic changes in the germ cells of the itchy male mice, fertility assays suggested that male reproduction remained functional. Itchy females, however, produced fewer offspring when bred to either itchy or wild type male mice. This led Richburg and colleagues from the University of Texas at Austin to evaluate the physiologic role of ITCH in the female reproductive system. Their findings reported in the February 2016 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine reveal several alterations in reproductive function in itchy female mice when compared to wild type female mice. Itchy females had both fewer implantations and tended to have fewer corpora lutea. Additionally, the itchy females remained in estrus longer, resulting in extended estrous cycles. The loss of ITCH within the ovary was confirmed, yet alterations in the expression of prototypical ITCH targets in the ovaries were not indicated. These results suggest the existence of an ovary-specific ITCH substrate or non-degradation dependent signaling pathway responsible for these phenotypic alterations. Alternatively, because ITCH works in the immune system to polarize T-cells towards an autoimmune type 2 activation state, these results may be indicative of immune interactions within the female reproductive system. The results of this work illustrate the functional participation of E3 ubiquitin ligases, specifically ITCH, in physiologic female reproduction. The lead author further reflects, "The female reproductive tract has long been recognized as a specialized immune environment, from macrophages that aid in luteal progression to T-cell tolerance in the uterus during fetal implantation. The results reported in this manuscript suggest that the Itchy mice could provide a useful model to evaluate the repercussions of preferential T-cell differentiation towards the type 2 phenotype on ovulation, estrus, and implantation." Dr. Steven R. Goodman, Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Biology and Medicine said "the results of this study indicate that female itchy mice have altered reproduction. Future studies are required to determine the mechanism by which altered ubiquitination leads to this physiological effect." Neuro-Bio Limited, a biotech company founded by world-renowned neuroscientist Professor Susan Greenfield to explore novel therapeutics and diagnostics for neurodegenerative disorders, describes in the peer-reviewed journal, Neuropharmacology, a new model for the mechanism of neurodegeneration leading to Alzheimer's disease and its potential for new treatments. Alzheimer's is characterised by, amongst other factors, the presence of amyloid, in its various forms, and hyperphosphorylated tau leading to cognitive impairment. The research published today suggests that a previously undiscovered mechanism in a key group of neurons affected in a neurodegenerating brain is the key driver of the continuing cycle of neuronal cell death. It could be possible to halt the progression of the disease by intercepting this mechanism. Over 46 million people live with dementia worldwide; this is predicted to reach 131.5 million by 2050 due to the ageing populations. There is an urgent need for a different type of therapy that actually stops the characteristic progressive cell loss. Researchers at Neuro-Bio have now validated a novel theory for the continuing cycle of neuronal death that typifies Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Motor Neurone Disease. The key driver is a 14 amino acid peptide ('AChE peptide') that originates from acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme essential in breaking down a well-known chemical messenger between neurons, but increasingly recognised as a signalling molecule with non-enzymatic functions. Whilst the existence of the AChE peptide and its link to neurodegeneration have been previously proposed in Professor Greenfield's work, these are the first reports of its detection in both human and rat brain and its actions in driving an Alzheimer-like biochemical profile. The two consecutive papers in Neuropharmacology report raised levels of the novel peptide in Alzheimer's midbrain and cerebrospinal fluid compared with controls, and demonstrate that, in vitro, the peptide drives production of both amyloid and hyperphosphorylated tau. In the first paper, the damaging effects of either the AChE peptide or amyloid are shown to be blocked by a novel prototype drug (NBP-14), a cyclised form of the AChE peptide. NBP-14 intercepts the action of the AChE peptide on the alpha-7 nicotinic receptor, which is found on the outer surface of neuronal cells. In the second paper, the effects of the AChE peptide and their blockade by NBP-14 are demonstrated in ex vivo rat basal forebrain, using real-time optical imaging of large-scale, transient 'neuronal assemblies'. Professor Susan Greenfield, CEO of Neuro-Bio and senior author on both papers, commented: "These publications are the culmination of some 40 years research from our lab building up a picture indicating that the naturally occurring AChE peptide is a pivotal signalling molecule in a mechanism underlying Alzheimer's and related disorders. We are encouraged by the potential for the prototype compound NBP-14 to block the activity of this peptide and also by the possibility of monitoring the peptide as a biomarker for early, even pre-symptomatic diagnosis." Professor Gary Small of the Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, and member of the Neuro-Bio Scientific Advisory Board added: "This recent work showing that a peptide derived from acetylcholinesterase is elevated in the Alzheimer brain and that a synthetic version of this peptide enhances calcium influx and eventual production of amyloid beta and tau phosphorylation via an allosteric site on the alpha-7 nicotinic receptor is extremely exciting. The fact that a synthetic cyclic version of this peptide is neuroprotective makes this innovative therapeutic approach highly promising." Professor Margaret Esiri of the Neuropathology Dept at the John Radcliffe Hospital Oxford and member of the Neuro-Bio Scientific Advisory Board commented: "After quite a number of years of research this is an important staging-post at which Neuro-Bio can develop aspects of the work in new directions and with new confidence. This I can see is really exciting and gives new opportunities to increase the pace of the research." Professor Terry Sejnowski, Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Francis Crick Professor at The Salk Institute said: "Any new approach to Alzheimer's disease, which is increasing in prevalence as we live longer, that shows as much promise as this new peptide should be quickly brought to the attention of the scientific community. The dominant focus on beta amyloid has side-tracked the scientific community and the potential new direction will be a surprise to Alzheimer's researchers." OTTAWA March 1, 2016 Canada Canada Canada Quebec Canada Canada Francine Lemire Andrew Padmos January 1, 2018 Quebec Quebec's Quebec Charles Bernard Canada /CNW/ - The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of(Royal College), the College of Family Physicians of(CFPC) and the College des medecins du Quebec (CMQ) have jointly released a national standard for the development and delivery of accredited continuing professional development (CPD) activities for physicians inThedescribes a set of ethical standards and expectations relating to sponsorship support that physician learning activities must meet in order to be accredited.It is the result of many consultations with 47 organizations. These include private industry, universities, national and provincial medical organizations, and organizations that develop and deliver physician continuing professional development or CPD.It reflects the Canadian Medical Association's policy calledas well as theof the CQDPCM (Conseil quebecois de developpement professionnel continu des medecins)an ethical framework for CPD activities already in place inAccreditation is an "educational stamp-of-approval." It assures physicians that the learning they are about to undertake is based on the needs of the profession and meets certain standards of educational quality.In order to maintain a license to practice, Canadian physicians are required to participate in CPD activities designed to address their needs and enhance their practice every year. They must complete and report on a certain number of credits of continuing professional development. For example, many attend conferences to meet this need.Theaddresses previous concerns regarding private sector influence on accredited learning activities. Before now, the ethical standards for accredited learning activities varied significantly across"For the first time in, there is now a single unified standard of ethics across both family physician and specialist physician audiences," said CFPC Executive Director and CEO,, MD CM, CCFP, FCFP, CAE. "These standards will establish a clearly defined role for private-sector sponsors so that organizations can deliver high-quality learning activities to our current and future doctors."Thewill ensure that high standards of quality and accountability are respected, while keeping accredited learning activities as free as possible from bias and influence.For example, planning committee members and speakers at accredited learning events will be required to disclose all potential conflicts of interest over the previous two years to participants.As well, sponsor representatives will not be allowed to sit on the scientific planning committees that control the content of accredited learning events."As a self-regulated profession, we have an ongoing obligation to the public to put supports in place that encourage our doctors to remain competent, informed and unbiased," said Royal College CEO, MD, FRCPC, FACP. "In applying the same ethical standards of quality to the continuing education of family doctors and specialists, we're contributing to the quality of care received by Canadian patients across the board."Recognizing this is a big change for organizations, there will be a two-year transition phase to allow them to align to the new standard, which will officially launch onAccredited learning activities held inwill need to comply withown, however the limitations on industry involvement are the same for both."If an activity does not meet the educational and ethical standards of either the, theof the CQDPCM or theof, the event is not accredited" said, MD, President and CEO of the College des medecins du Quebec.In this way thewill ensure that professional development activities are always based on the real needs of doctors and their patients.Theis accessible on the Royal College's website at royalcollege.ca/nationalstandard.SOURCE Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Advertisement "Our group is specifically interested in understanding the mode of action of this toxin to gain information that can guide us in the design and optimization of novel pain therapeutics," said Henriques, senior research officer at the University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience.How does ProTx-II work? "It binds to the pain receptor located within the membrane of neuronal cells, but the precise peptide-receptor binding site and the importance of the cell membrane in the inhibitory activity of ProTx-II is unknown," explained Henriques."So the group zeroed in on its structure-activity relationship by exploring the structure, the membrane-binding properties, and the inhibitory activity of ProTx-II and a series of analogues," she added.Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy enables 3-D characterization of the structure of this peptide, which allows the group to explore whether it's important for its ability to inhibit the pain receptor.They also use surface plasmon resonance and fluorescence methodologies, as well as molecular simulations, to further characterize the interactions between the peptide and the neuronal cell membrane and to identify the molecular properties of the peptide involved in the interaction and inhibition with the pain receptor."Our results show that the cell membrane plays an important role in the ability of ProTx-II to inhibit the pain receptor. In particular, the neuronal cell membranes attract the peptide to the neurons, increase its concentration close to the pain receptors, and lock the peptide in the right orientation to maximize its interaction with the target," said Henriques.The group's work is the first to describe the importance of the membrane-binding properties of ProTx-II for its potency as an inhibitor of Nav 1.7, an important pain receptor. "Until now, studies characterizing the inhibitory activity of venom toxins have ignored the potential role of the cell membrane in their potency and activity," she noted."Beyond Nav 1.7, other voltage-gated ion channels are located at the cell membrane and involved in a range of physiological processes such as muscle and nerve relaxation, regulation of blood pressure, and sensory transduction," Henriques pointed out. "Their 'faulty' activity is, however, associated with several disorders, so other ion channels are actively being pursued as drug targets for the treatment of neuromuscular disease, neurological disorders, and inflammatory and neuropathic pain."Based on the group's findings, they're now designing new toxins with greater affinity for the cell membrane and fewer side effects."Our work creates an opportunity to explore the importance of the cell membrane in the activity of peptide toxins that target other voltage-gated ion channels involved in important disorders," said Henriques.Source: Eurekalert Advertisement "Both must contend with breaching the germline barrier," Adashi and Cohen wrote. "Both entail the manipulation of a human embryo. Both must address significant safety concerns. Both must engage a skeptical public. Both must face up to the first-in-human imponderable. Both must grapple with ethical concerns. Both must stamp out unease with technology running unchecked. And both must assuage fears of an altered natural order known to man for millennia.""It follows that key insights derived from the MR experience may well prove applicable and potentially helpful to deliberating the genome editing challenge."The essay appears amid rapid-fire bouts of news, some supportive and some discouraging, from the debates swirling around MR therapy and germline editing.Earlier this month, the U.S. National Academies issued a report advising the U.S. government to follow the UK's lead - for the most part - on MR therapy. A key difference, though, was approving only the transfer of male embryos, because men don't pass on mitochondrial DNA to their offspring.A few days before that, the UK approved editing the genomes of human embryos - those produced but not used for in vitro fertilization - for research purposes. In this case, however, the experimental embryos would be destroyed at the conclusion of the study, again preventing genetic changes from appearing in an individual or being handed down through generations.Adashi said, "If the U.S. government is going to consider therapeutic MR or germline editing like the U.K. It won't actually be able to approve any of the needed preclinical research, because of provisions tucked into to a spending law passed in December 2015. The act prohibits the Food and Drug Administration from using any appropriated monies to accept or approve any project in which a human embryo is intentionally created or modified to include a heritable genetic modification."That law passed within two weeks of a major summit on genome editing that brought numerous prominent scientists together in Washington DC to debate the future of the technology.In, Adashi and Cohen praise how the UK grappled with five prevailing concerns during the decade-long process that led to approving MR therapy: "The presence of a compelling medical rationale, the safety and efficacy of the preclinical science, the rigor of the ethical framework, the scope of the public engagement, and the soundness of the regulatory constructs."These same principles could guide assessments of germline editing, they wrote.The UK, through specially convened expert panels and studies; parliamentary debate; and public forums, meetings and interviews invested heavily in examining MR therapy's ethics, safety and public concerns, they wrote."Applying the principles relied upon on in the regulatory evaluation of MR will go a long way towards assuring that the prospect of therapeutic genome editing in the human is the subject of a thorough, inclusive, ethical, safety-minded and confidence-inspiring process," Adashi and Cohen wrote.Source: Eurekalert On January 31, the Indian Islamist group All India Thowheed Jamaat (AITJ) held an "Anti-Shirk [i.e. polytheism] Conference" in the southern city of Tiruchy in Tamil Nadu state. The conference, calling for the abolition of all forms of shirk, was organized under the auspices of AITJ's local affiliate of Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamaath (TNTJ), which is practically identical to the parent organization due to its predominant presence in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The AITJ was founded by the Islamist leader P. Jainulabudeen, who wields political influence in the state. The organization's main leaders for the Tamil Nadu branch are: P.M. Althafi, the state president; Abdul Rahman, the state secretary; and Mohammed Yusuf, the state general secretary.[1] The state branch apparently has another secretary: M.S. Sulaiman.[2] A report on the anti-shirk conference in Roznama Rashtriya Sahara The Hindu, a leftist daily read mainly in southern India, published a three-paragraph report titled "Muslims Urged To Shun Superstitions," arguing that the conference was simply against superstition.[3] The New Indian Express, another leading newspaper published in more than two dozen cities in southern India, carried a report titled "'Anti-Shirk' Meet Stirs Dargah Worship Debate."[4] Given that the proceedings of the conference were carried out in the Tamil language, and that non-Muslim journalists are generally not intellectually equipped to grasp the ideological meanings of Islamic concepts such as shirk, most newspapers have dismissed the gathering as a conference against "superstition" and "dargah" worship. Dargah means shrine, usually one for a Sufi mystic. However, the Urdu daily Roznama Rashtriya Sahara described the conference as a "revolution," publishing a report titled "The Tawheed Revolution Crushes Obstacles [Under Its Feet]." A subheading in the report noted: "Islam cuts the root of shirk and encourages [adoption of] the belief of Tawheed and righteous deeds; the Ulema [Islamic scholars] address hundreds of thousands of Muslims in shirk-termination conference in Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu..."[5] (see image above). Journalists, politicians, and intellectuals in India do not realize that it is because of the theological principle of anti-shirk ideology, practiced in this case by the TNTJ, that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, or Movement of the Pakistani Taliban) has bombed many Sufi shrines in Pakistan in recent years. The Daata Durbar shrine in Lahore - perhaps the second most important Sufi shrine in South Asia after the Khwaja Gharib Nawaz shrine in the Indian town of Ajmer - was targeted by jihadi suicide bombers on July 1, 2010, in an attack that killed some three dozen and wounded 175 others.[6] While the TNTJ cannot bomb Sufi shrines in India as of yet, it is necessarily an organization that is ideologically indistinguishable from the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State (ISIS). At the very least, the TNTJ, or its parent organization the AITJ, is a precursor organization to ISIS. Theologically, the TNTJ stands for demolishing all idols - much like the Taliban demolished the Buddhas or ISIS demolishes human figures in Iraq and Syria. However, the TNTJ is at this time targeting only Barelvi-Sufi groups. The concept of shirk is an important principle for all Islamic groups, especially the Deobandi groups. The anti-shirk conference in Tamil Nadu should be a cause of concern, because a 29-year-old man from this state, Mohammed Naser Packeer, was recently deported by Sudan after trying to enter Libya to join the Islamic State (ISIS).[7] There were also previous incidents in which young Singapore-based men from Tamil Nadu state joined ISIS in Syria. This should also cause concern because it was in the coastal town of Thondi in Ramanathapuram district of this same state that, in 2014, a group of 26 young Muslim men posed for a group photograph sporting black T-shirts with the ISIS logo in front of a mosque.[8] 26 Muslims pose in ISIS t-shirts at a mosque in Tamil Nadu state The Concept Of Shirk And Sufi Shrines The Arabic word shirk means partnership. In Islamic theology, shirk means associating a person with or attributes to Allah. Since India is home to millions of idols worshipped by Hindus, and thousands of Sufi shrines visited by large number of Muslims as well as Hindus, the TNTJ's theological principle of anti-shirk means opposing all forms of idolatry. Under this theological principle, even if a Hindu or non-Muslim believes that there is only one god, it does not automatically follow that he is not committing shirk. Such a person must accept that there is only one god, Allah, as explained by Indian Islamic televangelist Zakir Naik in a video speech.[9] Naik's view is no different from that of other Indian clerics, whether Deobandi or Barelvi. It follows that a true believer in Islam must oppose all forms of shirk, and, when possible, remove all signs of it forcibly - a key reason that the Taliban bombed dargahs (Sufi shrines) in Pakistan. Under this theological principle, the TNTJ is no different from ISIS, albeit sans the practice. A January 31 post on the TNTJ's Facebook wall included a picture of crowds present at its Tiruchy conference and notes: "Lakhs [hundreds of thousands] of people proclaiming 'There is no God but Allah.'"[10] The phrase "There is no God but Allah" is the basic tenet of Islam. Nevertheless, it makes it clear that no deity other than Allah is acceptable. These words also appear on the flags of Saudi Arabia, ISIS, and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Islamist conception, monotheism only means "Islamic monotheism" - i.e. Tawheed. Across India and Pakistan, Deobandi clerics vehemently oppose dargahs. As per a February 2 post on the Facebook page of the AITJ's Hyderabad branch, an exhibition was held at the Tiruchy conference that showed models of dargahs (Sufi shrines) visited by a large number of Muslims and Hindus across India, presenting them as a form of shirk, i.e. idolatry or polytheism [11] Below are some of the photos from the Facebook post: Models of dargahs at the Tiruchy conference Models of dargahs X'ed out The model on the left, with fire at the door, shows that entering a dargah means entering Hell; the model on the right with green plants is the place of One God (Tawheed) The following images were posted by the TNTJ on its Facebook page on January 31.[12] In these images actors explain how dargahs function to promote shirk across South Asia: Photos Of The Audiences At The Anti-Shirk Conference The anti-shirk conference's focus was on theological issues, but it is clear that the organization is also seeking to impact political issues in India. According to a newspaper report, "the focus of the debate was on the concept of Dargah worship, this being against Islam[ic] ideology, as [the] Koran does not encourage such worship, claimed debaters. Nineteen resolutions were passed on various religious and political aspects, with an emphasis on certain decisions such as 'worship only Allah,' 'do not believe in black magic,' and 'do not believe anyone as equal to the Almighty.' Urging the Centre [i.e. the federal Indian government] and the State governments to implement Muslim reservation [i.e. reserving places for Muslims in jobs and educational institutions] was also discussed."[13] The Indian media has ignored the anti-shirk conference in Tiruchy as if it were a minor event. However, photos and videos available on websites and social media platforms associated with the TNTJ indicate that it was a sizeable conference. Following are photos shedding light on the thinking behind the Tiruchy conference and its influence on the masses: A man who, along with his family, converted to Islam at the Tiruchy conference A view of the crowds at the Tiruchy conference A poster on the Tiruchy conference issued by ATTJ emphasizes Islamic monotheism A family converted to Islam by AITJ A large number of women attended the conference TNTJ volunteers distributing water at the conference A view of the crowd at the anti-shirk conference * Tufail Ahmad is Director of MEMRI's South Asia Studies Project Endnotes: A screen shot of the Roznama Ummat editorial Following the November 13, 2015 coordinated terror attacks in Paris, the leading Pakistani Urdu daily Roznama Ummat published, on November 20, an editorial titled "Daesh [the Islamic State, i.e. ISIS] Can Never Be An Organization Of Muslims" accusing the U.S. and its allies of creating ISIS, to be an excuse for attacking Muslim countries. It states that Osama bin Laden's creation of Al-Qaeda was the result of American expansionism and of the American presence in Muslim holy lands. The widely circulated Roznama Ummat is a staunch supporter of Islamist political parties such as the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and the jihadi groups that work to the benefit of Pakistan, e.g. the Taliban in Afghanistan, and Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad which have an anti-India agenda. Following is the text of the editorial, as translated from Urdu: "Recent History Attests To The Fact That Al-Qaeda Was Formed In Reaction To American Expansionism, Enmity Against Islam, And Killings Of Muslims" "With regard to terrorism all over the world, Daesh [ISIS] is No. 1. America and its allied countries call Daesh a more savage and brutal terrorist organization than Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, though in the recent past they considered Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda the most dangerous, with false and true stories about its members being concocted and spread. Recent history attests to the fact that Al-Qaeda was formed in reaction to American expansionism, enmity against Islam, and killings of Muslims. At first, this organization's [Al-Qaeda's] only demand was that America should close its bases on Saudi Arabia, the spiritual center of Muslims, and withdraw its troops. But [these troops'] presence will continue posing threats to the Haramain Sharifain [the Holy Mosques in Medina and Mecca] and it is feared that anti-Islam and Western culture will flourish in Saudi society. "It may be clarified that in every country, including Saudi Arabia, embassies not only are the representative of their own countries, but their facilities are not subject to local laws and follow rules and regulations of their own countries. The embassies' limits are considered the boundaries of their own countries. Similarly, Western countries' embassies in Saudi Arabia are totally free from any restriction. In the countries in which their embassies are located, they get opportunities, through interaction with local people, to promote their conspiracies and cultures. Irrespective of whether Al-Qaeda as an organization was right or wrong, its vision about Western countries was not wrong. In response, it was obligatory for the Western world to make the Muslim world believe, through their words and deeds, that they were not the enemies of Islam and Muslims, and that they believed in interfaith solidarity and harmony. "Similarly, Afghanistan's Taliban movement sought to establish a peaceful society based on Islamic teachings. The Taliban, in their five-and-a-half-year rule [1996-2001], after purging the country of crime and drugs, had set on such a humanistic path that even the Western women who went there to find fault [with the Taliban government] acknowledged this. On returning to their own countries, they [the Western women] reported that they saw peace and respect for humanity in Afghanistan that they had not seen anywhere else in the world. Even a British journalist, Mariam Ridley [aka Yvonne Ridley], was so impressed with the Taliban's etiquette that she embraced Islam." "[On The Pretext Of 9/11 Attacks] America Committed The Worst Kind Of State Terrorism In Afghanistan, And After That, Extremism Was Born Among The Muslims" "In the eyes of America and its allies, the Taliban committed two crimes: one, giving protection to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on their land, and two, creating an Islamic society in which people enjoyed their basic rights, and which could become an example for other societies to follow. "The rise of Islam has bothered the non-Muslims for the last 1,400 years. So, on the pretext of attacks on its two cities by unknown terrorists [i.e. 9/11], America committed the worst kind of state terrorism in Afghanistan, and after that, extremism was born among the Muslims, and the terrorism of a few groups was depicted as Islam and all the Muslims were accused of terrorism. "The Muslim scholars and public worldwide... condemned the activities of these extremist and terrorist organizations, which emerged in response to America's and its allies' killing of Muslims. They [i.e. the Muslim scholars] proved, with the Koran and the Hadiths [traditions of Prophet Muhammad], that there is no room for terrorism in Islam. In fact, our religion declares that the murder of an innocent person, even a non-Muslim, is as heinous a crime as murdering all of humanity. "The Western governments and their media, however, continued conducting the worst propaganda campaign against the Muslims. It is possible that a terrorist organization called Daesh may be also a reaction to this. "From the beginning, its [i.e. ISIS's] acts of mass murder, slitting people's throats and burning them cruelly, were disliked by the Muslims, and the Muslims did not support them. In contrast, all the muftis [who deliver fatwas] and religious scholars issued edicts against Daesh. Though it has not yet been ascertained who was responsible for attacks in France, Daesh is being implicated in them. [The Friday after the attacks], Muslims of France in 2,500 mosques condemn[ed] the acts of November 13 in sermons." ISIS "Is The Creation Of America And Europe" - It "Threatens The Muslims More Than The Infidels"; With ISIS's "Barbaric Actions As A Pretext [America And Europe] Can Justify Their Attacks And Terrorism Against Muslims" "Many scholars believe that Daesh is the creation of America and Europe. [But] it threatens the Muslims more than the infidels. Such organizations have no association with Islam. The reality is that Daesh leaders often pardon non-Muslims [and tell them] that they can live in Islamic State by paying jizya [poll tax on non-Muslims under Muslim rule], but the Muslims who do not conform to their views could be murdered after they are declared as idolatrous and apostate. They [Daesh] take pleasure in killing them in a barbaric way, or chopping their heads off, and also issue videos of their brutal actions. It may be remembered that the Muslim Council of Britain, the coalition of hundreds of Muslim organizations of Britain, also condemned the Paris attacks, in the strongest terms. "And then in India, there have been protests against Daesh at 75 places in various cities, including Delhi, under the auspices of [the leading religious organization] Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. Western countries' launching of anti-Muslim actions following the suicide attacks in France strengthens the feeling among Muslim scholars and religious leaders that this can be an anti-Muslim act like [after] 9/11. Whether Daesh or [any other] group takes responsibility, in reality this looks like part of a deep and broad conspiracy against Muslims. On this basis, a majority of Muslims believe that this organization [ISIS] is a creation of America and Europe, who, using its barbaric activities as a pretext, can justify their attacks and terrorism against Muslims. "It is the responsibility of the rulers of the Muslim world, and of Muslim religious leaders, intellectuals, and common people, to comprehend the incessant conspiracies against them and to prepare for combat on intellectual and real grounds. By declaring the Paris attacks to be part of the world war, Pope Francis dropped a hint of war against Muslims - just as former president George Bush did at the time of the invasion of Afghanistan by calling it a a Crusade." Source:(Pakistan), November 20, 2015. In recent articles, Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, an internationally renowned Islamic cleric from India, has argued that the Islamic State (ISIS) was created by Jews, Christians, Western powers, and Islam's enemies. A lengthy piece titled "ISIS: You Are such [A Friend] Who Even Leaves Behind The Foe" was published in two parts on two successive Fridays, January 1 and January 8, 2016, in the prominent Urdu-language daily Roznama Inquilab. In it, he argued that ISIS is an offshoot of Al-Qaeda, and adds: "It is clear as day that the U.S. is the power that strengthened Osama bin Laden and created Al-Qaeda." The following are excerpts from the article: "Israel And The Western Powers Are Conspiracy Experts... [But] After A While They Expose Their Own Conspiracies" "...It is difficult to establish the date of [ISIS's] formation because no movement comes into being and reaches a position where it can be noticed by all with the stroke of a pen. This is true for ISIS, but it is also well-accepted that it is rooted in Al-Qaeda, which was founded by Osama bin Laden in 1990 [sic; Al-Qaeda was founded in 1988 in Peshawar]. With the help of the U.S and the Western powers, Osama launched jihad in Afghanistan, taking it to the point where a superpower like Russia had no option but to leave..." "Three things are important and noteworthy about ISIS. Firstly, who brought this blood-shedding movement into being? Secondly, what are its ideologies and activities? Thirdly, what is the position of its views and deeds in light of the Koran and Hadith [traditions of the Prophet Muhammad]? "The answer to the first question is evident - this movement was brought into being by Jews, Christians, Western powers, and Islam's enemies... It is clear as day that the U.S. is the power which strengthened Osama bin Laden and created Al-Qaeda, and it also did not keep its help a secret. Instead, it helped [Al-Qaeda] openly because it wanted to disgrace its opponent power, Russia. Therefore, after a secret Pentagon report was published, it was established that the U.S., Britain, France, Israel and other Western governments not only endorsed Al-Qaeda's type of methodology but also oversaw it. From the belly of that organization, ISIS was gradually born... "Only a few days ago, a U.S. commander's statement that they trained ISIS [was reported] in newspapers. IN 2013, Edward Snowden, leaking NSA reports, said that the U.S., Israel, and Britain created ISIS... Snowden further said that Israel trained [ISIS leader] Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi... [It was also reported] in newspapers that some of ISIS's wounded were treated in Israel. Besides, only the U.S and Israel could provide the modern technology that ISIS is using. The Muslims are so backward in such resources that it cannot be expected from them that they would create such things. Israel and the Western powers are conspiracy experts... but after a while they expose their own conspiracies, and it is not too much to attribute to such cunning people... "The real work of creating, strengthening, and promoting this fitna [mischief of ISIS] is being carried out by the Western powers, especially Israel. Also, it is Israel and Syria that are benefiting the most from the rise of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Apparently, its end result would be this: that Iraq and Syria will be divided into small pieces so that there could be no Arab neighbor to even raise its eyes towards Israel." "Khwarij [Like ISIS] Will Spring Up In Every Era - Therefore, Therefore, Allah's Messenger [Muhammad] Said That These Faithless [Apostates, i.e. ISIS] Will Be Born In Every Age" "The second question is: What is the source of ISIS's actions and ideology? In one sentence, we can say that they are the Khawarij [Kharijites] of this age. Kharuj means to split off [from the Islamic regime] and rebel. A group from Iraq, were living in Harua and Nahrawan areas, rebelled against Hazrat Ali [the fourth caliph of Islam], and were called Khawarij... Gradually, Khwarij became a sect, and many sects emerged from it, the most violent of which were the followers of Nafe bin Arzaq, called Azareqas... "Azeraqas held the view that those who are not with them are all infidels and polytheists. In their view, it is obligatory to rebel against the tyrant Muslim rulers even though they say Kalima [expressing belief in the oneness of Allah and in the Prophet as His messenger], because in their view they are polytheists and infidels and killing them, or even killing and imprisoning their children, is allowed - to the point where indiscriminate genocide of their opponents is right and their women are Halal [allowed by Islam] as slaves. The property taken from them, and their Amanat [items in safe keeping] are also Halal; neither Nikah [marriage] with them nor Zabiha [animals slaughtered by them] are allowed; and if someone cannot come out against the tyrant ruler because of some [valid] excuse, even he is criminal and it is obligatory to leave a place where such people rule... "Looking at it, ISIS ideology and practice are the same of the Azeraqas, and the whole ummah [Muslim nation] is unanimous and united in [the view that] it has astray and become perverted. It is very important [to note] that Khawarij will spring up in every era - therefore, Allah's Messenger said that these faithless [apostates, i.e. ISIS] will be born in every age. He [Prophet Muhammad]... said, three times, that they are the worst people in creation (Musnad Ahmad 4/621)... The Khawarij would be slain at Jabal al-Lebanon [Hills of Lebanon] or some other hilly areas (Fatahul Bari: 4/334)OC "Therefore, the rise of the Khawarij in the Middle East, and their fight with the Muslims, and their gaining strength in a hilly area like the hills near Lebanon - all of this is included in the prediction of Allah's Prophet... It is in the narration of Sahal Bin Haneef; asked whether Allah's Prophet... had said anything about Khawarij... he [Muhammad] pointed towards Iraq with one hand and towards Syria with another and said that there would emerge from there those who would shave their heads, who would have the Koran on their tongues but that it would not go down their throats, and that they will be out of Islam like arrows from bows... There is a clear sign in this Hadith that Iraq and Syria will become the special center of Khawarij and that this fitna would rise from Iraq. "The third question is about the Islamic teachings regarding ISIS's activities. This needs to be clearly explained. The first and basic ideology of ISIS, according to them, is: Anyone who abandons any practice of Islam or commits a sin is no longer a Muslim and becomes an infidel. This is totally wrong... "ISIS's second basic concept is that the killing of those who are deprived of faith and are infidel is allowed, and that their property is Halal, and that even enslaving their women is allowed. This is a very wrong concept; it is a conspiracy to defame and disgrace Muslims. The Koran calls for jihad only against those who are fighting with Muslims; there too there are limits that should not be crossed. "Therefore, Allah says: Fight in the path of Allah with them who fight against you, and do not transgress, because Allah does not like the transgressors (Chapter Al-Baqrah, Verse 190)..." Source: Roznama Inquilab (India), January 1 and 8, 2016. There are some who love listening to stories and then there are some who love telling them. They slip easily into this magical world of theirs and they want to take others to this world as well. And there's no one better to take you into this mystical land other than children. Five of these little storytellers got a chance to share their stories on a scale never seen before. They co-wrote an extraordinary story with author Amish Tripathi. And if you think that is exemplary, this next bit will just blow your mind. The true magic happened when these kids, without meeting Amish, shared their stories with everyone in a book titled 'Udaan' at the Jaipur Literature Festival. Watch this video by Airtel to see these children's dreams come true. While the country was obsessed with Priyanka Chopra on the Oscar red carpet, another Indian made a noteworthy mark at the Oscars. Sajan Skaria, who works for Pixar Animation Studios, was the character supervisor in the American 3D computer-animated comedy drama-adventure film, Inside Out, which was named the best animated feature film at the Oscars on Monday. He is the second Malayali after Resul Pookutty to be on the Oscar stage. Earlier, Pookutty won the Academy award for best sound mixing for Slumdog Millionaire. Skaria graduated from regional engineering college and joined Siemens, but was actually obsessed with cartoons since childhood. Skaria was encouraged by his boss, who saw his inclination toward the creative field and pushed him to pursue his dream. We couldnt be more proud! Georgia interested in increasing purchase of Azerbaijani gas - expert There is no alternative to Azerbaijani gas for Georgia, considering its affordable price and the fact that Azerbaijan is the countrys strategic partner, Lasha Dzebisashvili, a professor at the University of Georgia, told Trend.Gas purchases from Azerbaijan are more favorable [than purchase from other suppliers] for Georgia, he said. If SOCAR [Azerbaijans State Oil Company] is able to supply additional gas to Georgia, then I do not see a sensible alternative to Azerbaijani gas.However, if Azerbaijan refuses to increase the supply to meet Georgias growing needs in gas during the winter season, the current deficit will be reimbursed by supplies from other sources, such as Iran, said Dzebisashvili.Earlier, the Managing Director of the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) Alireza Kameli said that Tehran and Tbilisi conduct negotiations about the supply of 200 million cubic meters of the Iranian gas to Georgia.The infrastructure for the supply both through Azerbaijan and Armenia exists. But the admissibility of these gas prices is an important question, said the expert.Considering the prices for the Iranian gas, transportation and transit, this idea becomes highly questionable, he explained.In addition, Dzebisashvili noted that gas production in Iran is mainly carried out in the countrys southern regions, while supplies to Georgia would have to be delivered from the north. In his remarks at an event on The Destruction of Cultural Heritage, held by the Cypriot Permanent Mission to the UN, in collaboration with the Permanent Missions of Greece, Brazil, Ethiopia, Iraq, Ireland, Poland, Serbia and Switzerland, as well as the Geneva Academy, Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Amanatidis noted the need to protect cultural heritage. In his statements, Mr. Amanatidis underscored, among other things, that the principle of free access to and enjoyment of cultural heritage is an essential aspect of this right and, as such, has a firm basis in international law of human rights. It is closely linked to the cultural identity of persons and communities, as well as with the enjoyment and exercising of a number of other human rights, including freedom of expression, religious freedom and the right to education. Thus, the destruction of cultural heritage can lead only to serious violations of human rights. In this context, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has rightly stressed that all contracting parties are obligated to respect and protect cultural heritage in all its forms, in times of war and peace and during natural disasters. Mr. Amanatidis also noted that it is of particular importance that we understand that we all have a common responsibility to protect cultural heritage in times of peace and war. While human life is more important that material objects, it is nevertheless important for there to be rules for protecting cultural goods that constitute the collective memory of humanity. It is obvious that the preservation of cultural heritage is vital in rebuilding damaged communities and restoring their identities and the connection between the their past, present and future. The Human Rights Council can play an important role in defending respect for cultural rights, as an intrinsic aspect of its tireless efforts to protect and promote human rights for all, in accordance with the founding principles. The event was addressed by distinguished politicians and academics, as well as by representatives of international organizations. Among the speakers were Alexandros Zenon, the Permanent Secretary of the Cypriot Foreign Ministry; Yuri Fedotov, Executive director of the UNODC; Karima Bennoune, UN special envoy for Cultural Rights; and Kristin Hausler, the Dorset Senior Research Fellow in Public International Law at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. HURON COUNTY Local leaders have made clear they oppose the governors plan to privatize public mental health services, claiming a $300 million cut to behavioral health services would be the largest in the states history. Concerns lingered last week. In a dispute that started in the mid-2000s, the state notified Huron Behavioral Health it can no longer pay the county to rent its former 1108 S. Van Dyke Road facility. The then-Michigan Department of Community Health took HBH to court in efforts to recoup money that had been paid to the county in rent. A ruling by the Michigan Court of Appeals in August 2011 favored HBH. However, HBH was put on notice from the state that it could no longer pay the county to rent the facility, so it had to seek a new location. The agency moved into a new building in 2014. County Commissioner David Peruski called it a paradox the state saying it doesnt need the HBH agency anymore after requiring the move. Peruski and commissioners Rich Swartzendruber and Clark Elftman say they met with Rep. Ed Canfield recently in Pigeon. I think he got the message, Swartzendruber said. The section of the governors proposed 2017 $54.9 billion budget that has irked local officials would move state funds to Medicaid HMOs. Crains Detroit Business reported Snyders budget doesnt cite savings for the switch, but the Michigan Association of Health Plans says it could save millions of dollars through improved efficiency. Canfield, 60, a Sebewaing Republican and physician, says his concern is the move will push people out of primary care physicians and into a health care program where theyll lose their doctors. He says there needs to be better coordination between primary care and mental health providers. But rather than make a statewide change, he said, a pilot program should be used to pick some of the lower performing mental health districts to show if changes actually improve access and are a long-term solution for people with mental illness. This is a starting point, Canfield said. He said hes not sure privatize is the right term. Its trying to move it into the Medicaid/HMO system, which is paid by state agencies to do their work, he said. The goal is to move it into managed care systems. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Monday that he would seek to revive his "Force of the Future" plan for overhauling the military personnel system, which appeared to be dead on arrival in Congress last week. At a Pentagon news conference, he said he would continue to defend the plan at future congressional hearings to make sure that "we attract the very best and also that we retain the very best" for the military. Carter said he would be appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the coming weeks and "I look forward to telling them more about it. And I hope that everyone understands the logic of what we're doing." Last week, Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and the chairman of the panel, called Carter's plan "an outrageous waste of official time and resources during a period of severe fiscal constraints. It illustrates the worst aspects of a bloated and inefficient defense organization." In unveiling the plan last year, Carter said he was looking to make the military more business-like and family-friendly through a series of reforms. He proposed 12 weeks service-wide for maternity leave for active-duty female service members. The Navy currently provides 18 weeks of maternity leave; the Air Force and the Army provide six weeks. The proposals initially included major changes to military pay, benefits and promotion schedules, with suggestions of midcareer sabbaticals and the elimination of the up-or-out rank advancement rules. The secretary has also pushed for reforms to the personnel management systems to match troops with desired job assignments and the creation of a new office to oversee efforts to attract top talent to the ranks. On Monday, Carter insisted that he was not trying to take the business model to the extreme in crafting the proposals. "We're not a company. We're not Walmart," he said. As a military organization, "we're not like anybody else." He added, "Our objective here simply is force effectiveness. We're not trying to be futuristic. We're not trying to be progressive. We're trying to make sure that we continue to attract and retain the very best." At a SASC hearing last week, Brad Carson, the nominee for undersecretary of Defense for personnel and one of the architects of the "Force of the Future" plan, came under withering criticism from Senate Republicans. "I find it deeply disturbing that you are proposing to add expensive fringe benefits allegedly aimed at retention during a time when we are asking 3,000 excellent Army captains to leave the service who would have otherwise chosen to remain on active duty," McCain said, referring to the downsizing of the Army to 450,000 soldiers by fiscal 2018. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, said the plan was too "progressive" for his tastes, and Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican, questioned whether business models were suited for an organization involved in national security. Carter's plan disclosed last year raised eyebrows with the suggestion that military pay should be influenced by "the principles of talent management." The Pentagon was going ahead with "a comprehensive study for the purposes of better aligning basic and special pays with the principles of talent management," according to a Pentagon fact sheet on the plan. The fact sheet did not define what was meant by "talent management" or provide other details but stated, "This study will build upon the recent findings of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission (MCRMC) by focusing exclusively on possible reforms associated with basic and special pays." When asked for an explanation, a senior Defense official, speaking on background said that Carter's intent was to reform the way the military pays its troops to be more in line with the way major corporations handle compensation to attract talent. "Right now everyone is paid the same based on your rank and time in grade," the official said, but "that isn't necessarily how America's leading companies do that. You might be on the same team and you make different amounts," because the wages for particular skills were different, the official said. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Almost 100 people mostly from Haiti who were rescued from an overcrowded boat off the Florida coast had no food or water for... The U.S. Army will hold off until Friday an order requiring a Sikh Army officer to undergo three days of gas-mask and helmet testing it claims are necessary to determine whether he may continue wearing the long hair and beard required of his religion. Capt. Simratpal Singh, a 10-year Army officer, was granted a temporary waiver from the Army's beard, hair and uniform regulations in December. Though he passed a critical gas-mask test to ensure the beard would not interfere with a tight seal, the Army ordered him to take additional special tests designed to show he can effectively wear a helmet. But in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Monday, the Army had "to retreat on the order," Singh's lawyer said. "Under vigorous questioning from Judge Beryl A. Howell, Army lawyers conceded that they did not need to subject Captain Singh to immediate testing that no soldiers permitted to wear beards for medical reasons have ever had to endure," Eric Baxter of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty said in a statement following the proceeding. The Army has not responded to Military.com's request for comment. Both sides are scheduled to be back in court on Tuesday, when the Army is expected to make its case to the judge, Baxter said. The Army will hold off on the order until Friday, by which time the court hopes to make a final decision, a spokesman for The Becket Fund said. The non-profit fund takes up cases involving the free expression of religious traditions. Singh is a West Point graduate who, until getting the temporary waiver from the Army, served without the hair, turban and beard that are considered articles of faith by devout Sikhs. He is only the fourth Sikh to be granted permission by the Army to wear the facial hair and turban since the all-out ban on them was imposed by Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger during the Reagan administration. In December, 27 retired Army and Air Force generals wrote to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, asking him to lift the ban on Sikh beards, hair and turbans. The Pentagon has declined to act, instead continuing its policy of permitting each service to determine its policy. -- Bryant Jordan can be reached at bryant.jordan@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @bryantjordan. NATO's commander warned Tuesday that ISIS fighters hiding in the massive refugee flows from Syria and other areas posed an increasing terrorist threat to the U.S. and Europe. "I think that they (ISIS) are doing that today," Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO's Supreme commander and also head of U.S. European Command, said in testimony to the Senate Armed Services committee. "I think every refugee flow needs to be looked at with an eye towards it could be taken advantage of by those who seek to do us harm," Breedlove said when asked by several committee members to comment on the hot-button political issue of asylum for refugees. Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and the panel's chairman, said that based on Breedlove's remarks, "Logic then compels us to assume the risk of attacks on the United States of America or European countries is significantly increased." Breedlove said, "I would take Daesh at their word -- they have stated they intend to attack the West to include the U.S. and I believe they will take the opportunities" to infiltrate the refugee flows. He was using another word used to describe the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Related Video: The secretary of the Navy will retire within the next year after nearly eight years in office, he confirmed Tuesday to a congressional panel. Addressing the House Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on defense for an annual hearing on the sea service budget, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said the hearing would be his eighth and last before the committee. Mabus, 67, has held the office since May 19, 2009 -- serving 2,478 days in office under four different defense secretaries. He did not say during the hearing when exactly he planned to step down. The last Navy secretary to serve as long as Mabus was Josephus Daniels, who served 2,922 days under President Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1921. "For me, leading the Department of the Navy is the greatest honor of my life," Mabus said. "I couldn't be more proud of our sailors, our Marines and our civilians. I'm also proud of the many steps we've taken and the changes we've made to try to ensure ... the Navy and the Marine Corps in the future remains the greatest expeditionary fighting force the world has ever known." The former Democratic governor of Mississippi, Mabus forged a reputation in the Navy as a maverick who prioritized social changes and environmental issues and did not shy away from unilateral actions, controversial decisions and conflict with service counterparts. Soon after assuming his current post, Mabus announced the creation of a "Great Green Fleet" as part of a series of ambitious energy-saving initiatives for the Marine Corps and the Navy that included the goal to get the department to source half of its energy from alternative sources by 2020. A 2012 debut of the concept at the Rim of the Pacific exercise stoked furor in Congress when it was discovered that the Navy had spent $12 million for biofuels that cost around $26 per gallon. The exercise resulted in new legislation requiring that bulk purchases of alternative fuels be competitively priced. This year, the Great Green Fleet finally launched on a beef-fat fuel blend that cost $2.05 per gallon. Mabus also made waves with a series of moves aimed at tearing down gender barriers within the Navy and Marine Corps. He spearheaded a number of controversial uniform changes aimed at making male and female sailors look at similar as possible. Last October, the Navy rolled out a sweeping list of phased uniform updates that included unisex dress covers, female "crackerjack" dress blues, and a new women's version of the dress whites uniform. This year, the Naval Academy will do away with women's skirts for graduation in favor of pants uniforms. The Marine Corps is also adopting a gender-neutral version of its dress blues uniform. "In the Navy and in the Marine Corps, we are moving towards uniforms that don't divide us as male or female, but rather unite us as sailors or Marines," Mabus said, according to Navy Times reports from the time. In recent months, the issue of women serving in combat has highlighted a widening rift between Mabus and Marine Corps leadership. The Marines were the only service to request an exception to a Pentagon-wide mandate opening previously closed combat jobs to women, citing a Marine Corps study that showed teams and squads with women were more injury-prone and performed slower and less accurately than all-male teams. Mabus publicly disparaged the study, accusing the Marine Corps of presupposing a negative outcome for women and of failing to recruit physically capable women to participate in the research. Later, he ordered the Marine Corps to make job titles gender-neutral and train genders together in boot camp, sounding a warning note to Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller not to "unreasonably delay or prevent the execution of a policy imperative." The memo reportedly stoked a heated conflict between the two men. Ultimately, Neller presented Mabus with a brief on how the Marines were currently training recruits, rather than a plan to further gender-integrate training, according to congressional testimony and sources with knowledge of the briefing. The drawbacks of Mabus' tendency to effect unilateral change without coordinating with other military leaders can best be seen, perhaps, in the series of evolutions that have taken place regarding maternity leave for Marines and sailors. Last July, Mabus announced he was tripling maternity leave for the department of the Navy from six weeks to 18, citing a desire to retain more female service members and acknowledge the needs of military families. But at the end of January, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced he was implementing a 12-week maternity leave policy for all the services -- a six-week increase for the Army and the Air Force, but a six-week cut for the Navy and Marine Corps, except for currently pregnant sailors and Marines, who will be honored under the old policy. In testimony Tuesday, Mabus declined to criticize the Pentagon and its rebuff to his policy change, but maintained his support for an 18-week maternity leave offering. "We lose twice as many women as men between about the six-year mark to the 12-year mark in both services. In a dual-military couple, almost always, it's the women that leave," he said. "If we keep that nine-year sailor, we don't have to replace that sailor with a brand-new recruit." Amid controversy and conflict, Mabus has many supporters in Congress who approve of his progressive policies and ability to affect change. At the hearing, Defense Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, a Republican from New Jersey, saluted Mabus for his years at the helm of the Navy. "There's a cake in your future...celebrating your eight years of service and dedication to our nation," he said. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky -- A new program from the USO focuses on connecting transitioning troops and their spouses with resources that can help them tackle life in the civilian world. The USO's RP/6, known in the past as Rally Point 6, is a series of one-stop-shop transition centers at major military bases in the U.S. that focuses on helping veterans and their families move out of the military world and into the civilian one. Part of the USO's Transition 360 Alliance, the program seeks to connect with military families during the 18 months before transition and through the 18 months after, a time that many veterans fall through the cracks as they hit the reality of life outside the military. "Our mission is to do what the USO has always done, which is to make you feel like you're cared for, that you've done your service and that you deserve to be treated well," said Tonya Wacker, the site manager for RP/6 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. "I think people forget that military service is a gift to us, that we are protected. What the USO does is say 'thank you' for that, and what this program does is we continue to stay involved in your life." Military transition help for veterans Although military officials put a strong emphasis on troops going through intense group-based transition classes, many attend just to check off the requirement, and the amount of information presented can be overwhelming. "This is the last thing you should be checking the box on -- but isn't that the thing you've been learning to do your whole career?" Wacker said. "We do things differently here at RP/6 -- everything is one-on-one." Veterans looking to find work, get help with housing, guidance on financing, medical assistance or really anything related to moving into the civilian world can get that assistance at RP/6, Wacker said. For many troops, real transition doesn't begin until the day they no longer put on the uniform. Through resources within the USO and partnerships with the community, RP/6 can assist veterans with pretty much anything they need, she said. The program is also working to bring resources from the community into the USO facility. At Fort Campbell, for example, the Department of Veterans Affairs' closest major facility is in Nashville, Tenn. -- about an hour's drive away. For many veterans, getting to the VA from Fort Campbell is a major burden, and those dealing with post-traumatic stress issues often find the traffic in Nashville to be a huge extra stress. RP/6 is working to have the VA bring its resources to the USO facility on a monthly basis to make it easier for veterans to get the help they need without having to travel. 'People have problems' RP/6 officials also don't care why you left the military or what problems you have had since, Wacker said. They are simply there to help veterans, regardless of their circumstances. "People have problems -- that's none of my business. My business is to help you," she said. "People make mistakes in their life and they have consequences ... but who is going to give you a second chance?" Military transition help for spouses Leaving the military community is a major change for former military spouses, as well, Wacker said, and any resources RP/6 has for veterans, they also share with transitioning spouses. "You want to go to school, we help you get into school. You want to find a job, we help you find a job. You want to get involved, we help you get involved," she said. One of the major problems with transition classes hosted by the military is that spouses are permitted to attend only on a space-available basis. That means a spouse could very well find childcare or take off work, only to arrive and be turned away because the class is full. Wacker said spouses can come to RP/6 and get the same help and information on an individualized, one-on-one basis, without worrying that there won't be space for them. "I know there are problems with the system. We're not here to fix them, we're not that," she said. "We're the USO. What do we want for you? We want you to be happy, we want you to feel connected to your community. We want you to have a home, and we want you to feel like you're being taken care of." A full list of RP/6 centers can be found here. USO officials said they plan to open as many as eight more locations in the next year. -- Amy Bushatz can be reached at amy.bushatz@military.com. Five arrested in Miller County On Sunday, October 9, 2022, the Miller County Sheriffs Office was dispatched to 772 Grady Cobb Road, located within Miller County. Dispatch advised officers that a male subject at this... Miller County School System has graduation rate of 92.6% in 2022 October 6, 2022 -- Georgias high-school graduation rate increased in 2022, rising to 84.1% an all-time high since the state began using the adjusted cohort calculation now required by... Early voting has now started Early voting got underway Monday morning at the Miller County Courthouse, and local election officials are busy preparing for the next few weeks leading up to the November 8th General... Fishing is good The Nunnary crew are at it with a fine catch of Louisiana salt water fish that will be fit for the table. Catching a good mess of fish is nothing... Its the single day in history that will never be repeated in our lifetimes. February 29th, Leap Day in the year of our Lord 2016, is also Season 20s Fantasy Suite episode, when boy-bachelor and Christian centerfold Ben precedes his evidently chaste visits to the rose petal-strewn boudoir by telling two of the girls he loves them. Hes either genuinely confused about his feelings, or the scriptwriter was deeply moved after listening to Torn Between Two Lovers. Meanwhile, bachelorette number three is left out in the cold, most likely having to spend the night sleeping on the balcony wrapped in a Snuggie. The gaggle of prospective Neil Lane ring receivers will be with Ben in Jamaica, where trusted media outlets with Hollywood in their titles report that JoJo, Lauren B., and Caila will each tell the doodled stick figure that they love him. Agonizing drama ensues, mostly in the numerous commercials for diabetes medications. Whats more, that paragon of discreet Edwardian conduct, Chris Harrison, believes Ben wasnt gentlemanly enough during the Fantasy Suite encounters. Well find out exactly what he means by that later in the episode. Does Ben manfully stride forward and tear JoJos negligee from her ivory shoulders, like a darkly brooding English duke in a novel with Fabio pictured on the paperback edition? Will he ask Caila to play Naked Twister? Does his sex-maddened drooling cause Lauren to consider a lawsuit against ABC? For the answers to these and other important questions, such as why its called Super Tuesday when it really kind of sucks, and how my dog manages to shed so much fur and not have massive bald patches, fill a plate with Little Debbies and tune in with me at 8/7 central. You never know whats going to happen, Ben marvels in the shows opening clips, indicating that he hasnt seen the previous 19 seasons of the show. He doesnt know what hes going to do, and fears making a mistake, as if a televised engagement is as sacred and unbreakable a pact as the Second Amendment is to the NRA. Nevertheless, he excitedly anticipates doing romantic things in the most romantic place in the world with the most romantic boom mics hanging overhead. First he discusses Caila, one of the most beautiful women he has ever seen outside of a spread in Penthouse magazine. But the problem with Caila is that shes afraid she cant love somebody, and also of spiders. Then theres Lauren, who is the closest thing hes ever experienced to love at first sight, unless you count Pamela Anderson in the opening credits of Baywatch. But questions remain about her, such as who on earth would willingly choose that shade of blond. Mostly Ben wants to know why no other dude has snatched her up. Apparently its a red flag that someone in their early 20s to hasnt been married long enough to receive gifts made of crystal on their next anniversary. Finally, there is JoJo, the girl who was wearing a rubber horse head when they first met. Being around her makes him feel more confident than ever, especially about his boyhood attraction to Flicka. However, her brutish brothers are a plot point that needs to be addressed. Still, Ben is excited to see all of them in bikinis in Jamaica. For Cailas part, she hopes she can stop holding back, since being in the Fantasy Suite means putting out. JoJo is also worried about her brothers being such intrusive, controlling troglodytes, although that seems less of an issue for her than for the EEO officers at their workplaces. Meanwhile, I have two brothers, and neither of them would give a damn if I brought Ted Bundy home for dinner. In Jamaica, amid the dew-dazzled leaves and soaring ocean vistas that the tourism board provided free footage of, Ben meets Caila first. Since it might end up being an overnight date, Ben reflects, it will be big for them, especially if he brings the ExtenZe. They ride a log raft along a gently flowing river as a Rustic Water Vehicle Cam documents the trip, which resembles a kiddie ride at Six Flags Over New Jersey. Caila cant stop worrying about her two rivals, who may wisely choose to wear briefer bathing suits than she did. Ben notices that she is unusually quiet and not herself. Is she nervous? Does she have regrets? Or is she just not fond of jerk chicken? I dont want you stressing out, he soothes, applying the psychological techniques he learned from the radio show call-in segments on Frasier. Meanwhile, Caila tells the camera guy that she doesnt want to ruin the day with her preoccupations. At least she can open up to someone. Disappointed by her emotional distance, Ben worries about the evenings prospects for sex thats more fulfilling than he experiences watching YouPorn. They sit before a raging fire pit, where he questions her about why today she wasnt the joyful, bubbly girl hes known for half-hour periods over the course of a few weeks. I was off today, she acknowledges, explaining that until the last Rose Ceremony, she didnt think about all the other girls whose bios are on the ABC site with hers. It doesnt help that shes had doubts in all her other relationships, even when only three or four other girls were dating the guy. Finally, shes able to reveal to Ben that she loves him. Soaring romantic music plays as they kiss, before she joyously reveals to the camera that no other man has ever made her feel this way. She feels in his breath that he feels the same, and also that he likes wintergreen Tic Tacs. Everything just feels right, Ben enthuses after he manages to get his hand under her dress. Together they read the Fantasy Suite invite from Chris, which is a really tacky way to suggest someone boff you. Caila thinks they should take advantage of the offer. Was there anything preventing them from having done it this afternoon? They head into the surf, embracing as fireworks explode overhead. Nice way to set them up for serious disappointment later. Next morning, the two greet each other with satisfied glee. Last night was amazing, Caila sighs. She can see herself waking up next to Ben for the rest of her life, or at least until he develops sleep apnea. It will keep blooming, even after that final rose, she reports confidently of their relationship. Only if they didnt buy the roses at the deli around the corner from me. Now its Laurens turn to anticipate her night with Ben while simultaneously expressing her fears of telling him she loves him. She wears short shorts to increase the chances hell want to go to the Fantasy Suite. Ben notes that its weird to spend a romantic day with Lauren after he shtupped Caila not 24 hours ago. He quickly dismisses that concern, however, since surely the housekeeping service will have changed the sheets. Lauren has an authenticity about her, he explains, as do all the actors on a reality show. For their date, theyre going to release baby sea turtles into the sea. Its one of Laurens dreams to be part of this experience, along with expanding her hamsters Habitrail and teaching a parrot to curse. She hopes her relationship with Ben lasts as long as a turtles life. I hope not the turtles I had as a child. They always died after about three months. They tip over the bucket of tiny squirmy creatures, and watch delightedly as they flee frenetically from the couple to plunge into the waves, as much of the viewing audience would like to do. Recalling her sisters suspicions about his motives, Ben tells Lauren he thinks she may be too good for him. But Lauren has the same fear of being unworthy of Ben. They also both resent her sister. Despite this progress in their understanding of each others pathetic emotional limitations, which seem based on okcupid.com algorithms, Lauren remains anxious about telling Ben she loves him. Once again, the spectre of the two other girls gives her pause, much as the presence of mold makes me hesitate before eating leftover General Tsos. That night Ben and Lauren remind each other how much fun they had, in case they dont get a chance to see the footage edited to suggest that. Im, like, very invested in you, Lauren confesses. But I dont know where you stand with the other people. He may have lain down with one already. Together, they read the card that offers them the chance to forgo their individual suites, which is the most formal language ever used to propose a one-night stand. He eagerly agrees to this opportunity to have alone-time with Lauren, and break in her new Rotating Rabbit. Its all or nothing for me, Lauren reveals, which really puts the pressure on Ben to successfully locate her G-spot. Finally, she tells him she loves him. He does not respond immediately, seeming uncertain exactly how to reply, or maybe just appalled at her vocal fry. Then he tells her hes known hes been in love with her for awhile, ever since the producers first showed him her 8 x 10 glossy. Theyll just have to avoid her sister at family reunions. He closes the curtains and the lights go off as Lauren giggles inside the bedroom. Maybe she found his blankie. Next morning, Lauren feels its like a dream waking up next to him. Sometimes things just feel right, Ben announces, probably referring to her thighs. She hopes that in a few days, shell be waking up next to her fiance, and more importantly, with a $25,000 rock on her finger. All this mutual satisfaction only complicates things, since now Ben must go on his date with JoJo, about whom he also has strong feelings. But he knows that if he doesnt think he loves her today, or more likely if shes too loud in the Fantasy Suite, he must send her home. One issue is that shes so short, hell get a crick in his neck kissing her for any length of time. They fly off in a helicopter. JoJo loves Ben and sees a future with Ben, especially after she called the psychic hotline. But she doesnt know if his feelings are as strong as hers. Cant they come up with a single variation on the stated problem for one of these girls? Like shes got a colostomy, or gambling debts, or is considering selling Amway? To explore their relationship more deeply, the two strip to their swimsuits. They leap into a pool under a waterfall, then wrap themselves around each other on a rock, similar to how a pair of bearded dragons might spend their day. At this point, JoJo gets to repeat the dialogue about how hard it is for her to reveal her feelings, that shes scared, and how big last week was for her. But she, too, admits she loves him. He smiles patiently at her before saying, JoJo, I love you, too in the same way one might comment, JoJo, I love Nutella, too. She is rhapsodic with joy. It all makes sense to him now. I dont know how you can be in love with two women, but I am, he muses. Henry VIII managed to do it with six women. That evening, they meet up again. Its really incredible that I get to spend the night with the woman I love, he says,which shouldnt seem so impressive since he did it last night, too. But hes not going to think about that conflict right now, and especially not how his eventual fiance will feel after seeing tonights show. Meanwhile, JoJo has zero doubts that Ben will be her husband one day. And well he might, if Lauren runs off with the cable guy while Bens on a business trip. However, Ben is still worried about those meddling brothers. JoJo asks him to tell her more about what happened with them. It was a weird day, Ben explains with his usual nuanced insight. She assures him that her brothers are merely protective of her, and also about the directors insistence on them creating dramatic dissension in that scene. Ben is pleased that theyve sorted it all out, but still plans to get a security system installed in his apartment. JoJo wants nothing more than to spend the night with Ben, the ideal conclusion to a day that was her most incredible life moment. Other people catch those on video and send them into AFV. She feels safe enough to give her heart to someone again, an event which calls for donning another bikini, getting into the hot tub and making out. In the morning, JoJo feels a hundred times more confident about their relationship, especially since he brought the ribbed-for-her-pleasure brand. Theres no doubt in her mind, as there was none in Laurens and Cailas, that Ben will be hers forever. Indeed, Ben loves Lauren, too, but Caila has become that pair of underpants that are comfortable and still hold their shape, but the waistband is unraveling and youre tired of cutting off all those loose threads. He walks pensively among the lush foliage and sparkling pools that are prominent in the resort brochure, preparing himself to tell Caila that he doesnt feel the same about her. He does not look forward to saying goodbye to her, although he plans to keep her number in case she wants to get drunk and hook up sometime. Meanwhile, the poor creature is giddy, prattling about being in love with Ben and knowing he feels the same. They cant possibly pay these women enough to alleviate the public humiliation. Naturally, Caila decides to go and see him. His baggy shorts would be enough for me to kick him to the curb. As he sits brooding in an Adirondack chair, she sneaks up on him, getting it right after four takes, and plants a happy kiss on his forehead. Then we fade to black, like the last scene in Schindlers List, only this time Ben wont say he couldve saved more. When we return, following an ad for bran flakes that look more exciting than being married to Ben, he seems surprised to see Caila. They must have rehearsed it that he would go visit her. He acts as shocked as Fox Mulder would be if his alien-abducted sister knocked on the door. They sit to talk. This has been a crazy week, Ben begins. He realizes how real this all is, how crazy-great, and how they can gain so much from it, like mentions in The Inquisitr and spokesperson bookings. But he cant tell her he loves her, even though her cover letter convinced him that her skills and experience are well-suited to the job of Mrs. Higgins. Somber music plays as he escorts her to the limo, which still has its motor running. Caila sobs into his arms before getting into the car. A moment passes before she gets out again. Did you know this week? she pleads. Probably not until they rewrote the scene last night. Nobody shared feelings like you did this week, Ben says, like its a performance evaluation for a management position. That makes her feel better. As a result, shell share her feelings freely in the future with strangers on TV. Also, the merit increase will help pay off her MasterCard. Caila remembers to belt in before the limo rides away, since shes a role model for all heartbroken women who just got rejected on national TV. I was ready to be his wife. I was ready for our future, she sobs. She even had her china pattern selected and got bids from caterers. Now Ben must address the issue of which of his two true loves he will marry, if converting to Mormonism is not an option. Meanwhile, in advance of the Rose Ceremony, JoJo updates Chris on the situation, after which Lauren tells basically the same story, only without a push-up bra. The two stand there waiting for Ben before acknowledging there are only two roses, but not three woman present. Maybe they think Caila had to run out for Tampax. Ben arrives, and helpfully points out that Caila is not present. Despite their having a good thing, he explains, he had to downsize her after he had a chance to explore his feelings and review the videos from the Fantasy Suite on his laptop. He lifts the first of the two roses. The suspense is less than that on an average episode of The Gumby Show. He gives it to JoJo, and of course, the other one to Lauren. The two girls both feel confident, but still concerned that he may have whispered the same sweet nothings to the other. Im more concerned about having to sit through the reunion show next week. Honda Civic Hatchback Prototype Honda Civic Hatchback Prototype (Honda) DETROIT, MI - Honda showed off the Civic Hatchback Prototype Tuesday at the Geneva International Motor Show, and the sporty 5-door will make its North American debut later this month in New York. The Japanese automaker is calling it a prototype, but judging on what's been revealed so far, a production version of the Civic Hatchback should look pretty similar. Honda is saying the car will be slightly wider, lower and longer than the current generation Civic. The company said it will be a key volume pillar in Europe. It arrives there in 2017. More plans on the car for the North American market, where it should arrive later this year, will be revealed when it debuts at the New York International Auto Show March 22. A Civic sedan was unveiled in September, followed by a shorter Civic Coupe in November. The company still plans to also introduce a high-performance Si model and the first-ever Civic Type-R model for the U.S. market. David Muller is the automotive and business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com, follow him on Twitter or find him on Facebook. DEARBORN, MI-- Seventy-five years ago today, Ford Motor Co. began producing jeeps for the U.S. Military for use in WWII. The vehicles were nicknamed "GP," for their "general purpose designation," according to Ford Motor Co. The term "jeep" became synonymous with the small 1/4-ton 4-wheel-drive vehicle. Related: See historical photos of how Detroit automakers retooled to build tanks, weapons for WWII "They were modified for many different uses, including garbage trucks, artillery platforms, messenger service and heavily armed rapid strike assault vehicles," according to a text by Detroit Historical Society on the Detroit's efforts in the war. In March of 1941, Ford began the planning process to build the GPA, an amphibious version of the Jeep, which was better known as the "Sea Jeep" or "Seep." See the photo gallery above for some spectacular images of these vehicles "swimming" in the Rouge River. Unlike the modern Jeep, its amphibious brother was "not popular or successful with the U.S. military. It was judged too small, too difficult to maneuver and subject to swamping in significant waves," according to Detroit Historical Society. Most of the Sea Jeeps produced were used by the Soviet Union, which liked the vehicle so much they began producing their own version, the GAZ 011. During WWII, Ford produced 12,400 armored cars, over 12,000 Sea Jeeps, 93,000 trucks and 12,500 automotive vehicles for the U.S. Military. A 1943 Willys-Overland Jeep on display at The Henry Ford in Dearborn. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive Detroit) Ford Motor Co., Willys-Overland and American Bantam all produced their own versions of Jeep for the U.S. Military. A 1943 Willys-Overland Jeep can be seen on display at The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn. Willys-Overland, which was the only manufacturer to continually produce Jeeps after the war, won the Jeep trademark in 1950, according to Steve Statham's book "Jeep Color History." The Jeep brand would change hands many times before Chrysler acquired Jeep in 1987. Good things tend to happen to RoosRoast coffee owner John Roos. "Opportunities land on his lap," laughed Katherine Weider-Roos, John's wife and co-owner of RoosRoast. "People will give him things. Things just kind of happen." The latest opportunity to land on Roos's lap? A prime downtown location for his Ann Arbor coffee shop. Roos was approached earlier this month by Ed Renollet, owner of two Elixir Vitae coffee shops in Ann Arbor, about taking over the lease at 117 E. Liberty Street. Renollet was feeling stretched thin between that location, which opened in 2012, and the original shop on Maynard, and wanted to hand-pick his successor for this highly sought-after piece of downtown real estate. "For us, we always had it in the back of our mind that it would be really nice if we could find a location downtown," said Weider-Roos. "But to take that on, and find a new place, and turn it over, and it felt a little overwhelming. But here's this cafe, and it's already set up as a cafe, it's not a complete remodel or any kind of craziness. It feels like a gift, in a way." The windows at 117 E. Liberty have been papered over, and signs advertising "now even deeper local Ann Arbor" have appeared. John and Katherine have plans to renovate the interior during the month of March, and are shooting for an April 2016 grand opening for their new downtown RoosRoast. Other than planning some minor fixes to the floor and a redesigned coffee bar, the couple is hard at work coming up with ways to translate their popular coffee shop's south side aesthetic to the Main Street area. Where the original RoosRoast is spacious and comfortable, inviting customers to spend time and hang out, the much smaller downtown location will have some physical limitations. "We can do it, though, believe me." said Roos. "It's about small interactions and moments," said Weider-Roos. "Moments that include art and conversation and humor and a great cup of coffee." But how will RoosRoast succeed where another cafe did not? Roos and Weider-Roos say that that retail sales of their coffee beans gives them an additional revenue stream that Renollet has not had at Elixir Vitae. They're also planning to introduce a light food menu. Once the new downtown RoosRoast is ready to open, the couple wants to throw a community party to celebrate the grand opening. "The community has supported us, and we want to do thank them with a big party," said Roos. "I feel like our luck, our passion about coffee, and just the fact that we try to be really nice to people - our sense of community, I guess - has gotten us where we are, and we just want to celebrate it." Jessica Webster covers food and dining for MLive and The Ann Arbor News. Reach her at JessicaWebster@mlive.com. You also can follow her on Twitter and on Google+. Editor's note: This story has been updated in regards to who owns the building Elmo's operates in. ANN ARBOR - After 28 years of operating in the heart of downtown, Elmo's Main Street T-Shirts is leaving its storefront at 220 S Main St. "It's kind of a phased closing. It's not an abrupt closing. We've come to the end of our lease after 28 years at this location, and we're no longer able to sustain paying rent," said owner Elmo Morales. Elmo's Main Street T-Shirts, shown here during construction in 2014, will be leaving its Main Street location. Owner Elmo Morales said rising rent costs are part of the reason why he is leaving the space after 28 years. Elmo's has been in business for 39 years, Morales said, but won't be closing its doors once the lease runs out this spring. The store will be moving to a smaller location a few blocks away on East Liberty Street. "Our challenge now is to fit 2,000 square feet of inventory into 400 square feet," Morales said. The store will still carry its line of licensed University of Michigan apparel along with its Ann Arbor-centric clothing. Screen printing will be handled in a warehouse Morales has rented in the city, however orders will be placed and picked up at the East Liberty store. Morales said it's hard to think that he won't be running his business on Main Street anymore. "When I first made the decision, it was hard emotionally," Morales said, adding that he is also dealing with a family medical issue. "That made the decision a whole lot easier because it frees my time to be with (the family member)." Morales made it clear however that he doesn't look at the move as a bad thing, and he doesn't want people to feel sorry for him. Instead he is looking at the relocation as a positive next step. "All this is a step for the better. I'm still going to be in business, I still get to play around, I still get to make some money," Morales said. "Who knows? Maybe the whole thing will be better for me." Over the last 15 years business has leveled, Morales said, and in the last five years particularly, business has started declining. Even though he says his pricing is often lower and faster than online custom t-shirt services, the convenience factor of ordering from home has hurt his bottom line. "The internet has hurt us tremendously," Morales said. "The only way we've been able to survive is to have less workers and that I work all the time, seven days a week." The declining sales, combined with higher rent prices on Main Street made it a tough but economically sensible decision. In the past three decades of being on Main Street, Morales says he can clearly see a change going on with downtown Ann Arbor's shopping options. "What I think is happening just most recently with the Rahmani deal, so many buildings being bought and bringing in national types, I'm thinking the other landlords are saying 'he's doing it, why can't I?'" Morales said. "And they're business people and they have the right to do that. But the whole clientele and the demographics around here is changing." Morales was referencing several downtown properties that have been bought in recent years by developer Dr. Reza Rahmani. In updating those properties, Rahmani has drawn tenants with nationally recognized name brands that can also pay higher rents. Stores that have moved into Rahmani-owned properties include Shinola Detroit and Fjall Raven. The building Elmo's operates out of currently is owned by an limited liability company operated by John Curtis. The space is being listed by Colliers International agents Jim Chaconas and Brendan Cavender. The listing for the 4,130-square-foot space markets the property as a potential restaurant, but also says it can be divided in half. Leasing rates are listed between $15-37.50 per square foot. The space will be available in the spring, according to the listing. Matt Durr is a business reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Email him at mattdurr@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter. Bids are due Friday, March 4, for an outdated municipal office building on the edge of a sizzling hot redevelopment zone of Detroit. The building at 640 Temple is located midway between the new $627 million Red Wings arena and Motor City Casino, with freeway access a few blocks west and the Masonic Temple one bock to the east. "The area is obviously a hot spot in the city of Detroit," said Khalil Rahal, executive director of Wayne County's Economic Development Corp. "... In a lot of ways, it's a gateway to Midtown." The eight-story Albert Kahn-designed building is owned by Wayne County, which is shedding its excess real estate as it deals with a multi-million dollar structural deficit and operates under a consent agreement with the state. The 167,000-square-foot building is marketed as a mixed-use redevelopment opportunity. An additional 23,000 square feet of space is in the basement, and 200 parking spaces are included. "With the pending development of the new Arena District surrounding this building a buyer for this site would not be difficult or time consuming to find," listing agent Mike Deighan wrote to the county in March 2015. "It's an amazing location, considering what it looked like 2 years ago compared to today," said commercial broker AJ Weiner of Jones Lang Lasalle in Royal Oak. The nearby Red Wings arena is part of the $1.2 billion The District Detroit, which also includes private development - retail, residential and office - on 50 city blocks bordered by Woodward, Cass, Sproat and I-375. It's under development by Olympia Development of Michigan, an entity of Ilitch Holdings Inc. That leaves 640 Temple in a unique position: "It's a building that found a whole new neighborhood without having to move," Weiner said. Based data for office building sales in the area, the price for 640 Temple could range from $4.75 million to $19 million, Deighan told county officials a year ago. More current figures peg sold buildings in the area to $24-$50 per square foot, said Rahal. "We don't have a range" for an expected offer, Rahal said. "We're letting the market determine that." Weiner, who works in the downtown market, said a building that size with parking is a rare combination, and "investors are excited about it." However, it's more difficult to predict an eventual sale price, given multiple variables for how a purchaser would use the property. A better question, Weiner said, centers on what Wayne County would accept for the property to sell it in this round of offers. The immediate sale of the building was recommended in a study completed in March 2015 by O'Keefe and Associates of Bloomfield Hills. In that study, Deighan examined the 257 properties owned by Wayne County in 25 of its 43 municipalities. According to the report on Wayne County, "Optimizing its oversized real estate portfolio will yield lasting savings in annual operating costs." At the time, annual rent across its portfolio cost the county $8 million, while other buildings - like the Guardian Building in downtown - were about 50 percent utilized. 640 Temple came onto the market in early November. Most county staff, including Child & Family Services, was moved to The Guardian Building. Rahal said that, due to location, the building "definitely is one we want to list ... and hear offers." The building was built in 1920 for the Standard Accident Company and it has experienced some mechanical upgrades in the last 25 years. It has two courtyards and high ceilings, and covered parking on the first level. The county will evaluate all bids, Rahal said, not just on price but also the next use and how it will impact that nearby area. Increasing commercial uses may be a priority, Rahal said. The new stadium may make that more likely, he added. Possibilities for the redeveloped building could include residential or hotel uses, with first-floor retail space. The property on Temple is one among 16 Wayne County properties that O'Keefe recommended the county sell immediately in its 2015 real estate review. Among other buildings listed with Deighan is the former Eloise complex in Westland and a former drain commission industrial yard also in Westland. Once the call for bids concludes on Friday, the county will evaluate the response, Rahal said. When the administration is ready to make a selection, a sale will have to be authorized by the Board of Commissioners. The building's strategic location made it attractive to unsolicited offers in years before County Executive Warren Evans' administration, Rahal said. Unclear is whether investors and developers will continue to come to his conclusion on the property: "There's a lot of opportunity." JACKSON, MI - With 11 savory and 11 sweet crepes on the menu, City Crepes in downtown Jackson has something for everyone's tastes. The mother-daughter team of Janice and Nikki Lane opened the creperie in 2012. "We were looking for a business and we both liked crepes," Nikki Lane said. "We thought it would be fun and unique for Jackson." Following are five things you probably didn't know about City Crepes: * The crepe griddles were imported from France and special outlets had to be installed in the building to accommodate them. * Most people think of sweet and fruity when they think of crepes. While many sweet crepes are offered at City Crepes, there are just as many other options with ingredients like meats, cheeses, and veggies. Business Info Address: 137 N. Jackson St., Jackson Type of Business: Creperie Owners: Janice and Nikki Lane Number of Employees: 4 Serving Community: Since 2012 Business Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday Contact Info: Phone: 517-789-8090; Facebook: Email: * A gluten free batter is available. * The business offers many specialty drinks including a hot Nutella drink, Italian sodas and French press coffee. * The business attracts just as many men as women, partially due to the large portion size offered, said Nikki Lane said. If you'd like to suggest a Jackson-area business for this feature, please contact reporter Leanne Smith at lsmith12@mlive.com or 517-262-0720. KALAMAZOO, Mi -- Global pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. will use a small Kalamazoo company's chemistry and compounds to develop new medicines for infectious diseases. Kalamazoo-based AureoGen Biosciences Inc. says it has a licensing agreement with Merck for the use of AureoGen's proprietary chemistry and compounds. The science has helped produce derivatives that show promise in fighting diseases that impact organ transplant recipients, AIDS patients and others. The company did not disclose how much Merck is paying as part of the agreement. According to a press release from AureoGen, Merck receives exclusive rights to new derivatives of the antifungal compound Aureobasidin A made by AureoGen, as well as additional derivatives generated using AureoGen's chemistry. AureoGen is also eligible to receive royalties from commercial sales of approved products derived from the agreement. AureoGen will receive an upfront payment and is eligible to receive milestone payments based on progress and regulatory approvals related to Merck's development of drug candidates that use AureoGen's chemistry and/or compounds. The company did not say how much those future payments may be worth. Kenilworth, N.J.-based Merck & Co. Inc. produces and sells a wide range of pharmaceuticals including treatments for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, nasal allergy symptoms, HIV-1 infection, fungal infections, arthritis, osteoporosis, male pattern hair loss, and fertility diseases.Its many consumer brnads include Afrin, Claritin, Coppertone, Coricidin, Dr. Scholl's, Gyne-Lotrimin, and Miralax. It reported $39.5 billion in sales last year. "AureoGen is very pleased with the agreement with Merck," AureoGen Biosciences Chief Executive Officer Ake Elhammer stated in a press release. "It will allow for efficient and rapid development of novel drugs for a market with a very immediate unmet medical need. And it will allow for a broadening of AureoGen's continued research and development efforts in the anti-infectives area." Elhammer said Merck has demonstrated leadership in antifungal rsearch and development and in the marketing of antifungal drugs. That makes it "an ideal partner for the development of novel drugs based on AureoGen's Aureobasidin A chemistry." Todd A. Black, executive director of infectious diseases at Merck Research Laboratories, said "Merck is committed to advancing meaningful therapeutic options to address serious infectious diseases. We are pleased to enter into this agreement with AureoGen and look forward to applying its novel chemistry platform towards the potential development of important new medicines." Founded in August of 2003 by former Pfizer Inc. scientists, AureoGen uses state-of-the-art chemistry and genetic engineering methods to find and isolate new drugs from natural product compounds called "existing cyclic peptide templates." Many drugs are built on synthetic compounds, which are generated by complicated and often expensive chemical synthesis. In contrast, natural products are isolated from microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. Drugs such as penicillin, vancomycin and cyclosporin are the result of such work. The company started at the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center, a life-sciences incubator/accelerator, and is now located at 6475 Technology Ave., Suite C, in Texas Township. AureoGen received support through the Michigan Economic Development Corp.'s Entrepreneur and Innovation initiative, and the Western Michigan University Biosciences Research and Commercialization Center. Planned Central Bank reforms could end state-owned banks reluctance to participate in the interbank foreign exchange market, which bankers at private lenders say is causing distortions in the kyat-dollar exchange rate. The [currency] flow between private banks and state banks has not been smooth, U Mya Than, chair of the Yangon Foreign Exchange Market Committee, said. The Central Bank has to urge [the state banks] to participate and follow the same rules. But Central Bank intervention has not been strong enough. A Central Bank official said there were plans to put both groups of banks on an equal footing. U Mya Than was speaking at a Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) seminar last week. Other private bank officials at the same event said that the lack of state-owned bank participation in the interbank market is the biggest driver behind exchange rate distortions. Distortions arise because the state-owned banks reluctance to sell dollars to private banks artificially reduces supply. This in turn pushes up demand for dollars across the financial sector and affects the kyat-dollar exchange rate. A majority of formal foreign exchange transactions are made through state-owned Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank and Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank. Until 2011, these two banks were the only entities licensed to deal in foreign currency. As a result, all government departments and state enterprises keep foreign currency accounts with MFTB, as do several private companies. MFTB and MICB both require customers to deposit 100pc of the value of the trade to be viable for a foreign currency letter of credit. But state-owned banks are reluctant to trade their foreign currency with private lenders, said U Mya Than. Years of following strict rules set by the Ministry of Finance has made them unwilling to be flexible, he said. The state banks are also concerned that trading foreign currency with private banks could deplete their own reserves, leaving them unable to provide payment and settlements services to foreign banks, he added. Both state-owned and private lenders are required to sell foreign currency to the Central Bank or the official market if the banks net open foreign exchange position exceeds 30 percent of paid-up capital. Private banks on average have net open foreign exchange positions of up to 20pc of paid-up capital, and never more than 30pc according to U Mya Than. One reason is that historically exporters and importers have used state banks to conduct foreign trade transactions. Another is that until recently exporters and importers traded foreign currency between themselves, bypassing the banking system altogether, said Asia Green Development Banks deputy managing director U Soe Thein. State-owned banks, on the other hand, frequently have net open foreign exchange positions of over 30pc, but the Central Bank does not enforce the rule, said bankers at the GIZ event. This leaves the state banks exposed to significant exchange rate risk, and drains the interbank market of dollars, they said. But a Central Bank official said there are long-term plans to ensure all lenders participate in the interbank foreign exchange market and follow the same rules. Following the enactment of the Financial Institutions Law on January 25, state and private lenders have to return their banking licences within six months. Once they [the state banks] have renewed their licences, they will have to follow the same policies as private banks, the Central Bank official said. This policy of equality is enshrined in the Financial Institutions Law, although specific details will be laid out in accompanying regulations that are now being drawn up. The Central Bank is also planning to allow private banks to offer a wider range of foreign banking services and better compete with state-owned lenders, with the specific aim of improving the interbank foreign exchange market, the official said, although he did not comment on what these services would be. Commercial banks have been able to offer some foreign banking services for several years, but have yet to catch up with their state-owned peers in terms of market share. The Central Bank believes that if private banks offer the same services often at a higher standard more firms will move their accounts from state-owned to private lenders, the official said. As more foreign currency and US dollars in particular flows to the private banks, the state-owned lenders should have a larger incentive to take part in the interbank foreign exchange market. As private banks trade more and more dollars on behalf of clients and for their own balance sheets state banks will inevitably have to participate in the interbank market, the Central Bank official said. As speculation mounts over whether the new government will back Myanmars divisive special economic zones, a National League for Democracy spokesperson says in theory such projects are good for the economy and will continue to receive support. However, the party will need to scrutinise details before deciding whether or not individual projects have a future, said U Han Thar Myint, a member of the NLD economic committee. Of the three SEZs conceived by Myanmars outgoing administration, two have stalled amid much controversy. Managed well, special economic zones can benefit an economy, allowing innovative policies to be tested in a controlled area and boosting investment. Over the past few years, despite the hype surrounding all three projects, only Japanese-backed Thilawa SEZ near to Yangon has made any real progress. The other two zones Thai-funded Dawei SEZ in Tanintharyi Region and Chinese-backed Kyaukphyu SEZ in Rakhine State have been delayed for a number of reasons including local opposition and a lack of funding. U Han Thar Myint of the NLDs economic committee said it is too early to take a stance on their future. It is clear that the project in Thilawa has been a success, he said, but the NLD does not yet have detailed information about the zones in Dawei and Kyaukphyu, as the relevant ministries have not handed over project documents. Until we have the details and figures about the SEZs under development we cannot form a plan, he told The Myanmar Times. But there are many examples of successful special economic zones in other countries that prove they can be very useful for Myanmar. The NLD will need to study commitments made by the former government to investors, and speak with the relevant state and regional governments and local residents, before deciding whether the projects in Dawei and Kyaukphyu should continue, he said, adding that a balanced and informed choice will be made. Ko Zaw Aung, a freelance social researcher, said that civil society groups have opposed the projects because of their negative effect on local residents, adding that local people should be treated fairly and supported by the government. More equitable policies and laws could improve public sentiment about the zones, he added. The new government has been highly recommended by the people, so its policies and laws will be better than those set by the old government. I am optimistic, and hoping to see many good things. Ichiro Maruyama, minister-counsellor at the Japanese embassy, said Thilawa could be used as an example for developing the other two zones. Thilawas proximity to Yangon meant it was a priority, he said, adding that Japan is now in discussions to help fund the project in Dawei. Dawei SEZ was originally designed to be one-quarter the size of Singapore, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and generating up to 5 percent of Myanmars GDP. However, approvals and funding have proved challenging, as has winning local support. Work began on the initial phase last year, almost a decade after the original MoU was signed. U Han Sein, the chair of Dawei SEZ Management Committee, said he hoped the new government would allow the project to continue. This is our first experience of a new government, but we believe it will support projects started by the old government. SEZs help countries to develop, and should be built regardless of who is in power, he said. The zone in Kyaukphyu will be developed by Chinas CITIC. U Aung Kyaw Than, joint secretary of the Kyaukphyu SEZ tender evaluation committee, said he believes the project will continue, as new parliamentarians have a responsibility to uphold commitments made by the former government. However, a report published by BMI Research last week said its development will be disrupted by security risks. Looming ... risks stemming from ongoing ethno-religious tensions, environmental concerns and opposition to Chinese investment, will plague the construction of the SEZ and threaten its future success, the report said. While CITIC has made promises about how the SEZ will benefit the local community past Chinese investment projects have shown that Chinese companies prefer to bring their own workers and their projects may not bring significant benefits for local communities. Lacking modern technology and competing with industrial zones in neighbouring countries that churn out ever-cheaper products, many factories in Mandalay have been forced to close their doors. Over the past year, around 20 percent of factories in Mandalay Industrial Zone 1 and 2 have shut up shop, according to a spokesperson for the Mandalay Industrial Zone Management Committee (MIZMC). Products made in neighbouring countries across ASEAN are cheaper than ours. Their quality is lower, but people tend to choose the more affordable option, U Maung Maung Oo told The Myanmar Times. Meanwhile we are facing challenges such as low-quality technology, a dearth of skilled workers and old machinery, while state support and investment into industries is weak. As a result, one in five factory owners had to close their businesses last year. The two industrial zones, located in Mandalays Pyigyitagun township, had a total of 392 large factories, 312 medium factories and 576 small factories in operation by the end of last year. In particular, small and medium sized factories and iron melting factories have closed, said U Maung Maung Oo. Those who have managed to remain in business face volatile conditions and are badly in need of support, which they hope the new government will be able to provide, said one factory owner who asked not to be named. MIZMC offers monthly training sessions to help factories increase their competitiveness, and is also negotiating with officials from the Japan Myanmar Association to secure support for small- and medium-sized companies, said U Maung Maung Oo. This is not the time for individuals to strive in their own interests. Success can be achieved only through collaboration, he said. We are trying to raise the spirits of businesspeople by offering to link them up with international companies and facilitate loans. We are also providing training, which could help them to run their factories better. Translation by Thiri Min Htun A hoped-for election dividend has not paid off, at least not so far, for Myanmars tourism industry. Despite the mostly smooth and peaceful elections last November and the subsequent progress made toward handing over power to a new government, tourism experts say the sector has not seen the fillip they had expected. High prices, poor infrastructure and inadequate human resources remain the same old problems. Ongoing tensions in Thailand are also seen to have had a negative impact on the industry. U Aung Myat Kyaw, former chair of the Union of Myanmar Travel Association and central committee member of the Myanmar Tourism Federation, said hopes of a democracy boost to the industry were beginning to flag. Tour numbers are down even at popular resorts like Bagan, while hotels along Ngapalis sandy beaches are reporting a sharp downturn in foreign visitors, with occupancy rates down by about 10 percent from a year ago. Domestic tourism is up and offsetting the lull to some extent. But where foreign tourists tend to come fairly steadily during the peak season from October to April, local travel is more concentrated around public holidays. Myanmar is among the most expensive of all ASEAN countries, U Aung Myat Kyaw told The Myanmar Times. It is not easy to book online, room charges are high and services do not offer value for money. Foreign travel companies are directing tourists to cheaper and more convenient countries like Thailand and Vietnam. We need to do better marketing, he said. According to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, the country had 1279 hotels and 49,946 rooms available as of the end of December. But many remain almost empty. Thanks to the election, our image is good. Were just too expensive, said U Zaw Win Cho, chair of the Bagan Guide Association. He said the rate for a four-star hotel is US$50 in Thailand or Cambodia, but $100 or more in Myanmar. An air ticket from Yangon to Bagan costs the same as Yangon-Bangkok, he said. We should also extend the visa-on-arrival system to more countries, he said, suggesting the new National League for Democracy MPs should make tourism a priority. They can ask advice from private travel experts. We believe the NLD has a plan, and now is the time to implement it, he said. Koji Morio, deputy team leader of community-based tourism for the Japan International Cooperation Agency, said more Japanese visitors would come if they were exempted from visas for a 14-day trip. He added that priority should be given to developing human resources, infrastructure and tourism management. In my opinion, human resources are not sufficient in Myanmar at this moment, he said. Daw Hlaing Hlaing Win, general manager of the Amazing Hotels & Resorts group, said occupancy had fallen despite the availability of wider choice and price discounts. We cut room prices by at least 10pc. But in Ngapali, Inle and Bagan tourist numbers are down despite an increase in domestic visitors in Ngapali, she said. One Ngapali hotel manager said she believed many tour groups had decided well in advance to give Myanmar a miss during the election and transition period, but said hopes still remain that bookings will recover after the 2016 monsoon season. A community tourism initiative near Inle Lake could potentially provide an alternative income to opium farmers, relieving them of persecution for growing illegal crops. The Parami Development Network, an NGO heavily funded by the Pa-O National Organisation, and Golden Island Cottages are developing community-based tourism in and around the Pa-O Self-administered Zone. Nine villages have been identified as suitable for the project by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, and four have been selected for the first phase. All are inside what was previously known as Shan State Special Region 6 an area controlled by the PNO after it signed a ceasefire with the military government in 1991. None of the initial villages are in the self-administered zone or have been linked to opium cultivation. But if the project is successful, the PNO hopes to see it expand into the Mae Taung area of east Hopong township, which is known for growing poppies. We will expand to poppy villages if the initial projects are a success, said Khun Saw Kyaw Win, an administrative officer for the Pa-O National Organisation, the main authority in the area. The four villages, in Nyaungshwe and Taunggyi townships in southern Shan State, are already open to tourists, who visit the area on treks organised through local guides. These are significantly cheaper than the community-based tourism initiative, which costs US$100 for a day trip and $150-200 for overnight stays. But Khun Saw Kyaw Win said he hoped that visitors would be attracted to the more immersive experience offered by the project, which he argued would have stronger benefits for the community than standard treks. Those who visit under the project can undertake a range of activities, including cooking classes, agriculture and bird watching. They will also be treated to cultural performances that regular trekkers will not likely have the chance to experience. We believe community-based tourism will develop education, healthcare and business in the villages. Now they depend on agriculture, which provides them only with a small income, said Khun Saw Kyaw Win. Locals traditional culture will be maintained and regional products can continue to be produced if tourism is conducted in this way, he added. We dont only focus on improving the villagers income but also to reduce heroin production. That is why we provided the necessary training and investment, he said. Khun Tun Oo, project and marketing manager for the community-based tourism project, said more work needed to be done to attract visitors. We should organise more activities to attract tourists when they are touring in villages and make it financially more attractive as well, he said. A website is being developed so that tourists can easily book their trip online but, for now, bookings go through the Golden Islands Cottage Hotel Group. For now, visitors can make a booking on 09-785215573. Arakan Army officers have strongly denied a government accusation that they fund their military activities and weapons purchases through the sale of illegal drugs. The United League for Arakan, the groups political wing, has lashed out at a story in state-owned media yesterday that stated the movement funded its activities with illegal narcotics sales. The spokesperson insisted the AA had no connection with drugs. The Global New Light of Myanmar reported yesterday, in a front-page story entitled How to Fund a War, that the seizure of 330,800 stimulant pills and weapons by Yangon police last month was connected to the Rakhine State-based ethnic armed group. On February 6, police arrested a man named as Aung Myat Kyaw after finding a suspicious vehicle in Tarmwe township. Police said a search of the vehicle led to the discovery of 42 pieces of military equipment, including plastic explosives, at a house in North Dagon township. The other resident of the house, named as Wai Tha Tun, was also arrested. A search of his house in North Okkalapa township discovered the stimulants. Further searches of properties linked to Wai Tha Tun in Hlaing Tharyar township and Rambre township, Rakhine State, last month discovered thousands of rounds of heavy machine gun ammunition, dynamite, smoke bombs and detonators, and other weapons and explosives. Police said Aung Myat Kyaw was a lieutenant colonel in the Arakan Army and, according to the state-owned media story yesterday, said he had admitted that the AA engaged in illegal drug dealing to finance their weapons purchases. He also reportedly admitted making 14 arms deliveries to Sittwe, Rakhine State, over the past two years. U Khaing Thu Kha, of the groups information department, told The Myanmar Times yesterday that the weapons belonged to the AA, but that it had no connection with illegal drugs. The government always accuses ethnic armed groups of drug dealing. We deny this false accusation, he said. The ULA/AA released a statement yesterday condemning the state-run media for damaging their dignity in the eyes of the international community. We dont support, sell, produce or distribute drugs, said the statement, adding that the confession had been forced. U Khine Thu Kha said the government had no desire to eradicate drugs and opium fields, which they blamed on ethnic armed groups. Weve already seen how the government acted when Pat Ja San asked them for help in destroying the poppy fields in Kachin State, he said, referring to the attempts of a Kachin Christian voluntary organisation to destroy poppy fields in Waingmaw township. The group abandoned its attempt to destroy the fields after a violent clash with the poppy growers after local police and military said they could not protect the activists. The AA clashed with Tatmadaw forces on February 27 in Buthidaung township, Rakhine State, killing two government soldiers, the group said. We expect more fighting as the military are reinforcing their troops near the township, said U Khine Thu Kha. In yet another capricious policy shift with repercussions for millions of workers, Thailand has announced that migrant labourers must re-register for temporary documents known as pink cards. The announcement follows back-and-forth negotiations between Myanmar and Thailand over how to transition the largely irregular and undocumented workforce to a more permanent status. Pink cards were introduced by Thailands military government during a post-coup amnesty window, which closed in October 2014. Over 660,000 Myanmar workers and their dependants signed up for the interim measure, which was meant to give workers time to apply for regular documents including a passport, work permit and visa. The initial deadline elapsed so the validity of the pink cards was extended until April this year, allegedly giving origin countries more time to confirm nationality and provide passports. But after being mired in delays and administrative flip-flops, the process is getting another reboot. After meeting with Myanmar officials on February 22 and 23, Thailand requested workers again come forward and register for pink cards, which will now be valid for two years. According to the agreement, all newly issued pink cards will also be eligible for a two-year extension. Thailand has said the decision will grant foreign labourers with temporary cards extra time to get regular, legal documents from their origin country. However, migrant rights groups, which criticised past regularisation programs as money-making schemes for corrupt officials, said the latest announcement is no less problematic. According to the Thai Cabinets statement, holders of temporary passports will no longer be able to renew the document for another four- or six-year period. Instead, the holders must revert to registering for a pink card when the window opens on April 1. This shift will force already regularised workers into the undocumented category. This is a backward policy, said U Sein Htay, chair of the Thai-based Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN). The requirements for migrant workers identity documents have drifted so far they returned to the starting point. U Sein Htay added that unlike a temporary passport, the pink card is not a legal ID and does not grant regularised working status. Pink cards are intended to allow short-term stays in Thailand for people who entered the country undocumented. The pink-card holders can be deported at any time, and are vulnerable to arrest or extortion by police. Unlike those with temporary passports and work permits, pink-card holders are not eligible for benefits like social security, leave, workers compensation or a drivers licence. Workers informed of the latest announcement are said to be outraged that they must re-register for pink cards or, in the case of those with a passport, turn over legal documents in exchange for the temporary cards. Ko Zaw Tun, a migrant worker from a steel factory in Mae Sot, said he has registered during every pink-card window, but does not want to jump through the same hoops again. Even though I have a pink card, I have been cheated quite often, he said. So what I want is for an ID that is something other than a pink card. The pink card plan has only cheated migrant workers, nothing more. The costly system has already penny-pinched workers. Registering for the pink cards the first time around typically cost 300 baht (K10,000). Many were told they needed to renew the pink cards before a Thai-imposed deadline at the end of June for 500 baht (about K17,000), plus as much as 10,000 baht (K320,000) for brokers. Myanmars Ministry of Labour has already agreed to the re-registration plan, according to permanent secretary U Myo Aung. The ministry has also agreed to verify the Myanmar workers who complete the registration and provide certificates of identity the same arrangement made in 2014. U Myo Aung added that it is up to Thailand to set the policy for expired visa and work-permit holders, but that Myanmar pressed for re-registering pink cards rather than deportation. We have agreed that the verification program for the certificates of identity will restart in May or June, he said. But first, we have to wait first for the pink card re-registration to finish. The student union of the University of Medicine in Magwe has joined the campaign against the construction of a US$70 million private hospital on public land near Yangon General Hospital. Malaysian firm IHH Healthcare, which is working with Myanmar partners on the 250-bed Parkway Yangon Hospital through a Singaporean subsidiary, said it will help efforts to train local Myanmar health professionals. But medical professionals have campaigned hard against the project, urging the regional and Union governments to scrap the plan. They say the site should instead be used for a training hospital built to international standards. The Magwe students said in a statement yesterday said that the plot of land on the corner of Bogyoke Aung San and Pyay roads was originally intended for the extension of Yangon General Hospital but had now been rented out to Parkway Group. They have sent a petition to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Speakers of the Union parliament, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Thura U Shwe Mann and others. Ko Swe Thet Zaw, a member of the Magwe University of Medicine, said that even though the government claimed the project was in the public interest, few people could afford treatment at private hospitals. Now we are waiting to see the results of our campaign, he said. A spokesperson for Parkway Yangon Hospital refused repeated requests for comment. The National League for Democracy has also taken aim against the hospital, describing it as one of several projects initiated in the final days of the current administration that requires greater scrutiny. On February 25, NLD MP Daw Khin San Hlaing called for the scrutiny of an apparent fire-sale of government assets and listed a number of cases that had arisen since the November election, which her party won in a landslide. She said government assets were being disposed of through fast-track procedures that appeared to bypass the necessary arrangements and negotiations. The government has rejected these accusations but refused to send officials to parliament to explain the projects in question. On February 26, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar carried an article titled Parkway plot not sold in response to rumours that the government had sold the 4.4-acre site to a foreign consortium. The article said the land had been leased under a 50-year contract after which the hospital would revert to government ownership. It quoted Myanmar Investment Commission secretary U Aung Naing Oo as saying that the project would support the development of the health sector through training and knowledge transfer. When the country updates the health sector, we need medical care that is up to international standards, he said, adding that Myanmar people who formerly travelled overseas for treatment would no longer need to. A spokesperson for Ahlinkar Oo, an organisation that facilitated the black ribbon campaign against the militarisation of the Ministry of Health last year, said the group has also written to the government urging it to cancel the project. The letter was accompanied by a petition with 979 signatures. They are renting it out for 50 years for a project that is unsuitable for the public, who are in need of medical care now, a representative of the organisation said. Members of the Union Election Commission, political parties and civil society groups yesterday reflected on the successes and shortcomings of the countrys unprecedented election last November. We cannot say the election was perfect, because there were weak points due to a lack of experience and knowledge, UEC chair U Tin Aye said in opening remarks at the national post-election conference. Despite the flaws, the 2015 vote accomplished a historic feat, with millions lining up at polling stations nationwide to cast their ballots. Figures revealed at yesterdays conference put the total number of voters at more than 23.9 million, yielding a turnout of almost 70 percent. The turnout is just below the 72pc Asia average, according to data collected by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance from to 1990 to 2001. Though many speculated in months prior to the election the extent to which the nationwide races would be free, fair and inclusive, peaceful proceedings as well as largely positive reviews from foreign observers impressed on the local and global stage. However, issues with the countrys legal framework remain, and Myanmar has more to do to educate its politicians and people, according to the UEC and civil society groups. U Tin Aye told The Myanmar Times that the UEC, political parties and the media have little practice with elections, as there have only been a handful in the 67 years since Myanmar gained independence. They dont understand the election framework because of their inexperience, which causes conflicts, he said. UEC member U Myint Naing said that training and voter education were weak before the November 8 election. Civil society representatives went on to recommend that voter education should be conducted more effectively throughout the country, and that election information should be worked into the school curriculum for children. Voters misunderstood the advance voting process and also the UEC staff made some mistakes, giving the wrong voting papers to people, said U Myint Naing. Serious mistakes did not happen, but we need to take care they dont happen again. On the side of candidates running for office, procedural rules were not always followed, leading to problems. U Myint Naing said that some candidates tried to enter the race despite being too young. Meanwhile, U Myint Naing reported some candidates had faced trouble over campaign finance reporting. Forty people facing disqualification from future political activities have appeared before the UEC to explain their budget bills. In 23 cases, justifications were accepted, but those that pled with unacceptable excuses such as familial illness could be disqualified from running for office again. He also alluded to a candidate who was disqualified from running as his parents were not citizens when he was born. The UEC rejected 124 candidates, the majority Muslim contestants barred due to citizenship complaints. Under pressure from international observers and diplomats, the UEC reinstated 11 Muslim candidates. There were also concerns about voter disenfranchisement, especially in conflict areas or due to voter list errors. U Myint Naing said yesterday the UEC overcame problems to create the digital voter list, which counted more than 34 million names and would be recorded in the annals of Myanmars election history. However, the Constitutional Tribunal ruled at the beginning of last year that holders of white cards, temporary IDs, would not be able to vote. These issues were not addressed in depth at the conference. Carter Center field office director Frederick Rawski pinned many weaknesses in the electoral process to its underlying framework, saying some of the blame lies with the constitution and issues related to electoral and other laws. Many of these changes have to do with taking powers within the discretion of electoral bodies and writing them into the law, he said. Things like a timeline for elections and campaigning, supervision and auditing of campaign expenses, the appointment mechanism itself for sub-commissions and election commissions, and the guarantees of access to observers, civil society and others that have been practiced by this election commission. The Peoples Alliance for Credible Elections director Ko Sai Ye Kyaw Swar Myint echoed concerns around a proper election calendar. We can imagine the next election will be held in 2020, but we dont know the exact date, he said. Since 2009, Thailands successive governments have had a general countrywide migration policy to meet strong national economic, demographic and lifestyle demands. This policy enabled, but didnt necessarily ensure or effectively promote, the regularisation of irregular, lower-skilled migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, and recently also Vietnam. This short-term and generally schizophrenic, poorly planned and implemented migration policy has always prioritised national and economic security over human security concerns. Almost all low-skilled migrant labourers prior to 2009 entered Thailand irregularly through well-established and lucrative smuggling and trafficking routes and networks. A formal memorandum of understanding (MoU) worker import system for migrant labourers only became functional from 2010. Since 2009, temporary or permanent passports and certificate of identity (CI) documents have been issued within Thailand by a migrant workers origin country through the nationality verification (NV) process at One Stop Service Centers (OSS). These documents have been issued to millions of irregular workers. With these documents, workers then applied for Thai visas and work permits valid for two years at a time. Eventually, after much policy confusion, the documents enabled a stay in Thailand of up to a maximum of six years. Passports and CI issued through this very non-transparent NV process were of three, five, six or ten years validity. Thai visas allowed two, four or six-year stays in the kingdom. Corruption and confusion was always rampant in these bureaucratically designed processes which were never fully clear or well-organised. Albeit with some cost improvements on the Thai side post the 2014 coup, brokers, agents and Thai/origin-country officials, as well as corrupt employer HR staff, profited handsomely from these regularisation systems. Fully regularised NV workers and new MoU workers coming into Thailand benefited from regularisation processes however as follows: freedom of movement in Thailand and to/from home countries was possible (temporary Thai-issued migrant ID cards restricted movement to the province of registration only); access to social security systems was opened (although not always with clear benefits and access); and eligibility for bank accounts and driving licences appeared. Workers were more strongly protected by their regular or fully legal status; however, in practice, difficultly accessing these protected rights remained. Workers with passports or CI too often have simply ended up by the hundred-thousands just throwing away valid or expired (four/five/six year) passports or CI when visa, passport or CI renewal processes became unclear, impractical or exorbitantly expensive. This was because of poorly planned Thai and country-of-origin migration policies often quietly and confusingly announced only once expiry dates had passed. Many of these workers then applied for semi-regular temporary IDs or pink cards instead when the Thai government allowed this during post-coup regularisation. In addition, others returned home and entered Thailand anew with fresh names or identity documents at great expense. The Thai government dishonestly trumpeted high regularisation statistics in the fisheries sector and across the country when in fact many newly registered workers were formally registered with passports anyway. In addition, as a result of this confusion and migration policy chaos, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers often lost all accrued worker and social security benefits by starting again with new names and changed ID numbers. Bonuses and work incentives started fresh. Social security pensions and health benefits just disappeared with the wind. But now, in another important migration policy development or u-turn, a vague February 23 Thai Cabinet decision suggests all migrants in Thailand can or will have to move back to a temporary pink semi-legal migrant ID card system like was the case pre-2009. This blanket decision was declared applicable whatever their current regular or irregular documentation status. So after seven years are we now seeing a de-regularisation process for migrant workers? Will migrant workers once again lose their identity status and nationality to a short-term, irregular or semi-legal registration status that will primarily short-term benefit Thailands economic security and business needs for a flexible easily expendable lower-skilled migrant workforce? Its not clear yet whether the new policy move back to a semi-regular pink card status will be compulsory, or if existing or expired migrant worker passports can still be renewed or extended with workers coming in and out of Thailand on a four-year limited formal or regular MoU entry scheme, as exists already. Also, importantly, it is not yet clear what origin countries think of this migration policy u-turn which could make more of their workers irregular with less rights protections and formality of status. In particular, Migrant Worker Rights Network will be working closely with Myanmars new National League for Democracy government that is expected by many to champion stronger migrant worker rights during its first term in office. Whatever the case with this policy, which will surely become clearer in the coming weeks, MWRN is deeply concerned at potential negative implications of the vague Thai government announcement for the future of millions of migrant workers in the country and is closely monitoring policy development announcements. MWRN cannot accept a return to the pre-2009, semi-legal or irregular status for millions of migrant workers in Thailand. MWRN also cannot accept once again a migration policy if it will be implemented in a way that leads to the eroding of basic migrant worker rights and past worker benefits like pensions, healthcare and employee welfare benefits. If the drafted policy is as poorly thought out as we fear, it should not see the light of day, nor should the international community and buyers of exported goods manufactured in migrant labour-intensive industries accept these concerning developments. The policy cannot fail once again to prioritise the human security of millions of migrant workers in the country. Andy Hall is an international affairs adviser to the Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN) and State Enterprise Workers Relations Confederation (SERC). The Raspberry Pi Foundation was created by several talented people who believed that families should be able to have affordable, programmable computers. The company wanted to break the paradigm of having to spend hundreds of dollars in order to own a PC to have access to the Internet. It is with this goal in mind that Raspberry Pi created a low cost, credit card sized computer designed to plug into a computer monitor or TV using a standard keyboard and mouse. Normally, when a company makes changes to its products, no matter how slight, they take the opportunity to change the version number and increase the price, yet another concept that the company does not follow. In February 2015, the company released the Raspberry Pi 2, which included a 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU and 1 GB LPDDR2 SDRAM (2x memory), for a selling price of $35. Earlier this week marked the fourth anniversary of Raspberry Pi, and with it came the release of the Raspberry Pi 3 with the same $35 price tag. The small, yet powerful Pi 3 is now powered by a 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU, which runs at 1.2GHz, making it about 60 percent faster than the Pi 2. Similar to the previous version, the Pi 3 has an HDMI port, Ethernet, MicroSD and four USB ports, running a Broadcom VideoCore IV 3D graphics processor that can play 1080p video at 60 frames per second. What separates the Pi 3 from the Pi 2 is the inclusion of several wireless options that include 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4. The previous versions tied the unit to a physical Ethernet connection, which as mentioned above is still available, but users wanted the freedom of wireless connections and they were heard. While the initial goal of the company was to provide small, affordable computer options, the credit card sized unit now goes beyond that concept. Over the course of the past four years, Raspberry Pi has generated the development of robots and electronics. The latest version will allow users to build simple smart homes by connecting Raspberry Pi 3 to Bluetooth-based devices. According to Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry Pi, the new features in Raspberry Pi 3 align well with Microsofts Azure cloud service, which will provide remote automation, security, and analytics, as well as other services. At this time, about 200,000 units are ready to be used, with an expectation of having about 100,000 units manufactured every week. At some point in the near future, Raspberry Pi plans to have a modular version of the Pi 3. This unit will have similar capabilities but be packaged in a board that could be installed inside computers. Edited by Rory J. Thompson 01.03.2016 LISTEN Management and staff of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) have organised a thanksgiving service to thank God for His faithfulness to the bank in the past year. The service, held under the theme, God's Faithfulness, was attended by staff from their headquarters and other branches within the Greater Accra Region. It was laced with intermittent prayer sessions and musical interludes that kept the place alive from the beginning to the end. In a sermon, Reverend Fr Joseph Henry Mensah of Corpus Christi Parish, Sakumono, urged the workers to remain faithful to their creator. I can tell you all here that God is always faithful no matter how long it takes. But it is we human beings that easily loose our faith, he said. He advised that in spite of the difficulties they found themselves in, it was incumbent on them to eschew negative practices such as laziness and total inertia that had the potential of lowering productivity. Rev Fr Mensah added that ADB belonged to Ghana and Ghanaians and as custodians of the bank, there was the need for the workers to continuously change their attitude towards work to step up productivity. . He said:We need to change our attitude; we need to change our mindset towards what we do today for a living, for you are the trustees of the bank and Ghanaians are watching your performance. Mr James Agbedor, Acting Managing Director of the bank, called for unity that would empower them to work assiduously and uplift them from the hardships they encountered in the past years. Never again shall we experience the things of the pastWe need to work together as a united force to generate more wealth at ADB. Mr Agbedor commended the staff for giving him the maximum support during what he described as my short tenure of office. He indicated the readiness of staff to support in-coming MD, Mr Daniel Asiedu, in his quest to quickly put the bank on track after a difficult year. 01.03.2016 LISTEN One of Ghana's highlife musicians, Rex Omar, has called on Akosua Agyapong to desist from making baseless allegations of misappropriation of funds against the executives of the Ghana Music Right Organisation (GHAMRO). According to the Abiba hitmaker, who is an executive member of GHAMRO, Akosua Agyapongs accusations are far from right and should not be given listening ears, adding that the female highlife musician is a liar. Akosua Agyapong a few weeks ago accused the leadership of GHAMRO of embezzling funds belonging to the right owners and also enriching themselves as a result of poor monitoring and accountability. Rex Omar in an interview with Atinka FM stated that Akosua is only telling lies from one radio to the other, and also tarnishing the image of GHAMRO board. Rex Omar stressed that the GHAMRO board can sue Akosua Agyapong if she does not stop peddling false allegation against GHAMRO executives. President of Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Bice Osei Kuffour, popularly known as Obour, who is a member of GHAMRO board, dared Akosua Agyapong to take Ghana Music Right Organisation (GHAMRO) to court over her alleged embezzlement of musicians' royalties. Speaking on Pluzz FM, Obour disclosed that there is a system in place you can use if you feel the executives of GHAMRO are not doing things right as to how to run the association, I will suggest to Akosua to rather go to court to point out her complaints than moving from one radio station to the other. 01.03.2016 LISTEN Celebrated international sound engineer and beat maker, Maxwell Asante Ansong, known on the international music scene as Mo Beatz, has been tipped by some industry players to win the Producer Of The Year Awards at the forthcoming Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) slated for the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) in May. The sound engineer and beat maker, according to some industry players, deserves the award because of his track records and recognition on the international scene. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Scratch Studio & Music Publishing, Kofi Amoakohene, who is currently working with Mo Beatz, told BEATWAVES in a chat that Mo Beatz deserves the awards because he has done a lot for local artistes and he is still producing a lot of them. Because of his track record, most of the local artistes visit his studio every day for assistance. . Whether he will win as he is competing in the same category with Bisa K'dei, Akwaboah Jnr, Beatz Dakay, Chapter Beatrs, E.L, Dr Ray and Kin Dee, Kofi Amoakohene mentioned that he believes Mo Beatz has a great chance of grabbing the award, adding, Let's see how it goes. Mo Beatz is credited with a number of hit songs on the international music scene. He has also produced a number of songs for local artistes such as VVIP, Stonebwoy, M.anifest, SSUE and a host of others. By George Clifford Owusu President John Mahama has hailed young Ghanaian actor Abraham Attah for making Ghana proud. In a tweet on Monday, the President said, Congrats @AttahNii. Such a positive positioning of the Ghana Brand. We can do with many more Abraham Attah's. Attah, who won Best Actor at the Film Independent Spirit Awards last week, also made international headlines when he presented an award at the Oscars on Sunday. The actor, 15, beat fellow actors Ben Mendelsohn (Mississippi Grind), Christopher Abbott (James White), Jason Segel (The End of the Tour) and Koudous Seihon (Mediterranea) for the honour. Attah won the best actor prize for his portrayal of a child soldier in the Netflix drama Beasts of No Nation his first acting role. President John Mahama has eulogised young Ghanaian actor Abraham Attah, 15, for raising high the flag of Ghana to the world. President Mahama believes the actors exploits has positioned Ghana positively to the world. The President in a tweet congratulated the young actor and said Ghana needs more of his kind. Congrats @AttahNii. Such a positive positioning of the Ghana Brand. We can do with many more Abraham Attah's. #BeastsOfNoNation, President Mahama said. The Beasts of No Nation star was among the numerous award presenters at the 88th Academy Awards (Oscars) at the Dolby Theatre, Sunday. Attahs acting prowess has grabbed worldwide attention following his impressive debut role in the Netflix movie starring alongside Idris Elba. Prior to presenting at the Oscars, Attah had won the Best Male Lead award at the 2016 Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday night. On the Oscars red carpet, it came to light that 10,000 pairs of the shoes he wore will be donated to charity in Ghana. The Independent Spirit award is Attahs third major award after starring in the Netflix movie. He had won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor at Venice Film Festival 2015. Abraham Attah also bagged the award for Rising Star Award at the Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC). Abraham Attah is already preparing to star in his second major movie The Modern Ocean, an adventure drama, alongside some Hollywood actors including Anne Hathaway, Keanu Reeves and Daniel Radcliffe. Follow the writer on Twitter: @delaXdela / Instagram: citizendela Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Ernest Dela Aglanu (Twitter: @delaXdela / Instagram: citizendela) Sorry, we can't find the content you're looking for at this URL. The Bureau of the Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment met today at the African Union Commission Headquarters to review and adopt the draft ministerial report from the inaugural session that was held on October 5-9, 2015. ` The inaugural meeting of the STC on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment, was organized under the theme, Advancing concerted action for improved livelihoods in Africa, and reviewed the relevant strategic goals and linkages in agriculture, rural development, water and environment related initiatives and their implications on the achievement of the overarching goals set out in the Malabo Declaration on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the Africa Agenda 2063 to transform Africa. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Bureau meeting, H.E Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture assured the Bureau that the, Commission stands ready to provide the necessary support and guidance as we all work together to achieve the desired outcomes, which includes, reviewing the draft Ministerial report, with a view to concluding the pending discussions on the working arrangements of the STCs, as well as come up with a framework of integrating the existing Ministerial bodies within the STC on Agriculture Rural Development, Water and Environment. Officially opening the meeting, Chair of the Bureau of the STC, and Minister of Forest Economy and Sustainable Development of Congo, Hon. Henri Djombo, commended the AUC for preparations towards the meeting. He noted that the inaugural STC held in October 2015 was a success and that the Bureau looked forward to concluding all matters and adopting the draft report. The African Union Commission (AUC) in collaboration with the United States Mission to the African Union (USAU) held a discussion on Civic Engagement and Women's Political Participation in honor of U.S Black history month and AU Project 2016. The objective of the discussion was to provide a platform to share experiences between the continents. To ensure a lively discussion, five panellists were selected from both the AUC and the US. The AUC panellists included, Ms. Victoria Maloka, Head of Coordination and Outreach Division, AUC Women and Gender Directorate, Amb. Salah Hammad, Project 2016, Human Rights Expert, AUC Political Affairs Department, and Ms. Kesaobaka Pharatlhatlhe, AUC Economic Affairs Department, Youth representative. The US panellists included Ms. Patrisse Cullors, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement and Ms. Monica Dennis is the New York City Regional Coordinator for the Black Lives Matter movement. The discussion which took place both on Skype and twitter through the hashtag AUProject2016 was an opportunity to draw connections on civic engagement and social issues between Black American's and Africans. It was also an opportunity to revive old bonds. As many may recall the relationship of the AU and black Americans is anything but new. In the summit of 1964, in Cairo, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) issued a resolution on racial discrimination in the USA. African Members states expressed sympathy and concern for the situation in the US and urged the USA to eliminate all forms of discrimination. In 1964 Africa's main human rights concern was abolishing the apartheid and gaining independence. Yesterday's conversation was proof that Africa has since evolved. The dialogue on Human rights and Civic participation was pegged to the AU's theme of 2016 The year of human rights with a particular focus on the rights of women with conversations centred on the promotion and protections of human rights, the necessity of engaging and mainstreaming women and youth -who are the demographic dividend of the continent, the challenges faced, and the way forward. As the discussions grew it was easy to draw common good practices from across the continents, i.e. Creating spaces where women and youth are key and central, spaces which can uplift and centralize those voices and where conversations are driven by people's lives instead of policies. Policies need to reflect the realities on the ground and once this is established the focus needs to be more action. The event enlisted the support of various departments in the AUC. This includes the Directorate of Information and Communication (DIC), Directorate of Women and Gender (WGD), The Human resources, Science and Technology Department (HRST), Department of Political Affairs (DPA) and was coordinated by the Directorate of Citizens and Diaspora Organization (CIDO). This morning, Pope Francis welcomed His Holiness Abune Mathias, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. During the meeting the Bishop of Rome emphasized that the patriarch's visit strengthens the fraternal bonds that already unite both churches. He mentioned as milestones of the common path towards unity His Holiness Abune Paulos' encounters with St. John Paul II in 1993 and with Benedict XVI in 2009, who invited him to participate in the Synod of Bishops for Africa as was common practice in the early Church for representatives to be sent to the synods of other Churches. Likewise, a delegation from the Holy See was present at the 2012 funeral of Patriarch Abune Paulos. Moreover, as Francis explained, since 2004 the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches have deepened their communion through theological dialogue in the International Joint Commission, which over the years has analysed the fundamental concept of the Churches' communion understood as participation in the communion between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Many things have been found in common: one faith, one baptism, one Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and many elements of the monastic traditions and the liturgy. "What unites us," the Pope said, "is greater than what divides us." He continued, "We truly feel that the words of the Apostle Paul apply to us: 'If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together.' Shared sufferings have enabled Christians, otherwise divided in so many ways, to grow closer to one another. Just as in the early Church the shedding of the blood of martyrs became the seed of new Christians, so today the blood of the many martyrs of all the Churches has become the seed of Christian unity. The martyrs and saints of all the ecclesial traditions are already one in Christ. Their names are inscribed in the one martyrologium of the Church of God. The ecumenism of the martyrs is a summons to us, here and now, to advance on the path to ever greater unity." The Pope recalled that the Orthodox Tewahedo Church has been, from the beginning, a Church of martyrs and that still today "you are witnessing a devastating outbreak of violence against Christians and other minorities in the Middle East and in some parts of Africa. We cannot fail, yet again, to implore those who govern the world's political and economic life to promote a peaceful coexistence based on reciprocal respect and reconciliation, mutual forgiveness and solidarity." He also acknowledged the great strides being made in Ethiopia "to improve the living conditions of its people and to build an ever more just society, based on the rule of law and respect for the role of women". In particular, he noted the problem of access to water, with its grave social and economic repercussions. "There is great room for cooperation between the Churches in the service of the common good and the protection of creation," he stated, certain of "the readiness of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia to work together with the Orthodox Tewahedo Church". "it is my fervent hope that this meeting will mark a new chapter of fraternal friendship between our Churches. We are conscious that history has left us with a burden of painful misunderstandings and mistrust, and for this we seek God's pardon and healing. Let us pray for one another," the pontiff concluded, "invoking the protection of the martyrs and saints upon all the faithful entrusted to our pastoral care. May the Holy Spirit continue to enlighten us and guide our steps towards harmony and peace. May he nourish in us the hope that one day, with God's help, we will be united around the altar of Christ's sacrifice in the fullness of Eucharistic communion. 01.03.2016 LISTEN A crowd of migrants has broken down a barbed-wire fence on the Macedonia-Greece border using a steel pole as a battering ram. TV footage showed migrants pushing against the fence at Idomeni, ripping away barbed wire, as Macedonian police let off tear gas to force them away. A section of fence was smashed open with the battering ram. It is not clear whether any migrants got through. Many of those trying to reach northern Europe are Syrian and Iraqi refugees. About 6,500 people are stuck on the Greek side of the border, as Macedonia is letting very few in. Many have been camping in squalid conditions for a week or more, with little food or medical help. The chaos on Monday erupted at a gate festooned with barbed wire, keeping migrants away from a railway line. The protesters shouted Open the border! and threw stones at Macedonian police, who responded by firing rounds of tear gas to prevent them from getting through. Macedonia and some other Balkan countries have erected fences in an attempt to reduce the influx of migrants, after more than a million reached Germany last year. Greece is angry with Austria for having imposed a cap on migrant numbers. The crisis has left Greece shouldering much of the burden of housing migrants arriving in the EU from Turkey. . Many are refugees fleeing war in the Middle East, while others are escaping human rights abuses in Afghanistan, Eritrea and other conflict zones. Merkel defends welcome On Sunday German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Europe to help Greece in the current migrant crisis. In a TV interview she said: Do you seriously believe that all the euro states that last year fought all the way to keep Greece in the eurozone, and we were the strictest, can one year later allow Greece to, in a way, plunge into chaos? She defended her decision last year to allow migrants in without a cap on numbers, saying she had no Plan B. She has insisted that Germany can cope with the influx and has a humanitarian duty to look after war refugees. But her stance has been strongly criticised by some EU neighbours and some politicians in her ruling conservative CDU-CSU bloc. Greece, under intense pressure from anxious EU partners, has erected extra reception centres on the Greek islands near Turkey, where thousands of migrants have been arriving daily. Austria and Hungary have adopted a tougher stance than Germany. Hungary has fenced off its southern border and refuses to take in any non-EU migrants. -bbc 01.03.2016 LISTEN Pakistan has hanged the former police bodyguard who shot dead Punjabs governor over his opposition to blasphemy laws, officials say. Mumtaz Qadri killed Salman Taseer in Islamabad in 2011, in a murder that shocked the country. Qadri was hailed as a hero by some Islamist groups, and thousands of hard-line activists protested to show their support for him at the time. After news of his execution, crowds again took to the streets in protest. Security forces have been put on high alert and a heavy police presence, including riot police, are in place in the area around Qadris home in Islamabad, AFP news agency reports. His funeral will be held on Tuesday at Liaquat Bagh park in nearby Rawalpindi, where large numbers of mourners are expected. Prison officials said Qadri was executed at 04:30 local time (23:30 GMT) at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad. Religious duty Qadri, who had trained as an elite police commando and was assigned to Taseer as his bodyguard, shot the politician at an Islamabad market in January 2011. He was sentenced to death later that year. . He claimed it was his religious duty to kill the minister, who was an outspoken critic of Pakistans harsh blasphemy laws and supported liberal reforms. Pakistan has seen Islamist groups grow in influence in recent years and several high profile blasphemy cases. Qadri was lauded by religious conservatives, and in his first court appearance was showered with rose petals by supporters. He never expressed any regret for the killing. His brother appeared to reassert that when he told the AFP news agency about his final meeting with Qadri. I have no regrets, Malik Abid told AFP. We started crying, but he hugged us and chanted God is great,' he added. In May, just months after Taseer was gunned down, Pakistans Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, the cabinets only Christian, was shot dead by gunmen who ambushed his car. That August, Salman Taseers son, Shahbaz Taseer, was abducted in Lahore. His whereabouts are still unclear. Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive issue in Pakistan and critics argue that blasphemy laws are often misused to settle personal scores and unfairly target minorities. -bbc 01.03.2016 LISTEN From Naabenyin Joojo Amissah, Cape Coast The government's decision to convert some of the country's polytechnics into technical universities in the 2016/2017 academic year, minus the Cape Coast Polytechnic, could be a recipe for its collapse. The National Council for Tertiary Education has raised the entry requirements into polytechnics across the country to meet the standards set for technical universities. This means that prospective applicants are supposed to present grades that would be accepted by any of the universities across the country to enable them gain admission to any of the ten public polytechnics in Ghana. The NCTE has, however, decided to undertake the conversion exercise in phases, following thorough assessment of the ten public polytechnics and recommended that five out of the ten must be converted in phase one. They include Accra, Koforidua, Kumasi, Takoradi and Sunyani polytechnics. According to their assessments, these polytechnics met the key critical indicators as prescribed by the Afeti report (2015). Following the assessment, Cape Coast, Ho and the Tamale polytechnics were to be converted in phase two, subject to their attainment of some specific requirements and rectification. In the case of the Cape Coast Polytechnic, the assessment team reported that it had weak Governance and Academic leadership and was tasked to retool critical laboratories and workshops. The Ho Poly, according to the assessment, had a lot of instructors listed as Lecturers who needed to upgrade. According to the report, most of the academic staff with masters' degrees, did not have the degrees in the specialized areas. But to the surprise of the Alumni of the Cape Coast Polytechnic, Ho Polytechnic which was earmarked for the second phase by the assessment team had been added to the first five to raise the number to six. The inclusion of Ho Polytechnic, according to the Alumni of the Cape Coast Polytechnic, Central Region Youth for Development, Fante Students Association and the Central Regional Women Association, was facilitated by the education ministry. At a press conference, the above named associations claimed that Cape Coast Polytechnic has effected all the necessary recommendations by the assessment team and, therefore, can't fathom why it should be left out. They stated that NCTE refusal to include C Poly in the phase one of the conversion exercise, and would lead to decline in enrolment which would eventually lead to the collapse of the polytechnic. They explained that the school is located in between two pioneers of distance education The University of Cape Coast and the University of Education, Winneba, and they have been competing for students over the years. They added that the NCTE's decision to raise the entry requirement into the Polytechnics would mean that many applicants would prefer going to those polytechnics that have been converted at the expense of C Poly and the rest. The group averred that many applicants would also want to pursue distance education at either the UEW or UCC where there it is much flexibility for them to work and school at the same time. They are, therefore, demanding answers regarding how the Ho Polytechnic found its way into the first phase. They are also threatening to sue the NCTE and the Ministry of Education if they go ahead to implement the conversion without C Poly. Cape Coast Polytechnic was established in 1984 as a second cycle institution. In 1986, it operated under the administration of Ghana Education Service to offer intermediate courses leading to the award of non-tertiary certificates. In 1992, the Polytechnic was upgraded to tertiary level by PNDCL 321 to run programmes for the award of the Higher National Diplomas. 01.03.2016 LISTEN The Paramount Chief of Buipe Traditional Area, Buipewura Abdulai Jinapor II has charged the National Security and the Inspector General of Police to re-strategise by digging into the frequent fire outbreaks being recorded in the country to discover the root cause of the fires. The Buipewura, who is a Former Security Boss, is of high suspicion that the fires were not just natural occurrences but rather orchestrated gambit by certain faceless and devious individuals to desperately satisfy their selfish interest. Speaking to a section of the media at his palace in Buipe, after visiting the Buipe Central market to assess the extent of damage caused by fire outbreak at the weekend, Buipewura Jinapor said that the trend of the various fire outbreaks being recorded in Ghana in the last few years were not only mysterious but had political undertones. He suspected that there were some mischievous people out there who were probably setting state properties ablaze to make the ruling government unpopular and also create the fear of insecurity among the citizenry and investors. The Buipewura therefore charged the Inspector General of Police and National Security to begin to go beyond the Ghana National Fire Service's routine fire investigative reports and rather dive deeper into the incidence and fish out the perpetrators for prosecution to serve as deterrent to others. The fire outbreak is getting rampant and alarming. So there is the need for thorough investigation into these fire outbreaks, and the investigation should go beyond ordinary investigation. Because I highly suspect there is something wrong and as a traditional ruler and a former security boss, I suspect underground work towards these fire outbreaks. The motive is not known! But those who are behind it must stop because Ghanaians don't have anywhere to go. This is our country! So any person or group of persons who are behind these fires should stop. Buipewura Jinapor said that the fire outbreaks were probably calculated plan to tarnish the image of the government so that it (government) would be blamed for lack of security. The people may feel that once the government is not on top of security then we are not safe. So there is political undertone in these fire outbreaks. I am talking from experience. I know National Security is doing well but they should do more. They should not rely on Fire Service but rather look beyond to find the remote cause of the fires, because it is getting alarming. Ghana has for the past few years lost huge sums of monies and properties as a result of devastating fire outbreaks. Ghana's Central Medical Stores were ravaged by fire destroying large quantity of medical equipment worth over GH237 million,,, as well as several other prominent markets and buildings across the regions of Ghana. From Edmond Gyebi, Buipe 01.03.2016 LISTEN The Coalition of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Tobacco Control (CNTC) has described Parliament's inability to pass the Legislative Instruments (Lis) governing the implementation of the Tobacco Control measures as unacceptable, four years since it was brought before it. This state of affairs is unfortunate, declared Oscar Bruce, Vice President of CNTC, adding that without these LIs being passed into law, it was almost impossible to ensure public compliance to the provisions of the Tobacco Control Measures. Citing the WHO, he said without dramatic efforts to reverse the current trend, tobacco usage would kill one billion people worldwide this century. Also, some 6million individuals, globally, are losing their lives on an annual basis, most of who are from developing countries like Ghana he added. It was against this backdrop that the CNTC was calling on the relevant authorities to immediately pass the LIs to protect the present and future generations for the devastating consequences of tobacco usage and exposure to tobacco smoke. He said at a National Stakeholders' Forum Thursday on Ghana's Tobacco Control Legislation, that: On behalf of Civil Society Organizations in tobacco control, in particular, and the public, in general, call for the immediate passing of the legislative Instruments for the Tobacco Control Measures of the Public Health Act to save present and succeeding generations of Ghanaians from the scourge of Tobacco use. Ghana, after signing unto and ratifying the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco (FCTC) developed a Public Health Act of 2012 or Act 851, which included the Tobacco Control Measures. The Act was passed, assented to and Gazetted the same year. Immediately after the passage of the Act, LIs accompanying it were drafted, which were yet to be passed. The Head of Tobacco and Substances Abuse of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Olivia Boateng, said that the assertions that FDA cannot implement some portions of the Tobacco Control Measures, until the passage of the LIs were not entirely accurate. She explained that the reason why the LIs are still not passed because it was fraught with some issues and that Parliament cannot be faulted for that. According to her, the LIs are currently not with the Ghanaian Legislative house, noting that it was rather with the Ministry of Health undergoing the needed restructuring. Olivia Boateng assured that immediately the restructuring exercise was complete, the LIs shall be brought back to Parliament for passage. The passage of the LIs would not go beyond 2016, she assured. Also, Bright Amisah, Vice Chairman of the Coalition of NGO's in Health called for the rapid passage of the LIs. Habiba S. Suleimana from the Mothers' Club said the tobacco usage should be banned in the country. It is killing us why can't we ban it, she queried. Not all of us are smoking but a lot of us are dying from the exposure to the tobacco smoke, bemoaned a participant at the forum. Another participant described the situation as damn appalling, hence appealing to the relevant stakeholders to ensure that the LIs are immediately passed to prevent the carnage from the scourge from tobacco usage. Mohammed Awal( [email protected] ) 01.03.2016 LISTEN An aid convoy has reached one of several besieged towns in Syria, as the UN takes advantage of a partial truce brokered by the US and Russia. The UN and its partners are stepping up deliveries of food, water and medicine, and plan to reach more than 150,000 people over the next five days. They hope to help 1.7 million in hard-to-reach areas by the end of March. Earlier, the UNs secretary general said the cessation of hostilities had held by and large since Saturday. Ban Ki-moon also said a taskforce monitoring compliance, co-chaired by the US and Russia, would meet for the first time to evaluate alleged violations. France has expressed concern about reports of air strikes by Syrian government and Russian aircraft on areas controlled by mainstream rebel forces. Russia has said that it is only targeting UN-designated jihadist terrorist organisations including the so-called Islamic State (IS) and the al-Nusra Front, which is part of a major rebel alliance in line with the terms of the cessation of hostilities. Sealed off The relative calm on the ground around the capital Damascus allowed 10 aid lorries carrying blankets and hygiene supplies to entered the suburb of Muadhamiya on Monday afternoon, Syrian Arab Red Crescent officials said. On Wednesday, the UN and its partners plan to deliver aid to the rebel-held towns of Madaya and Zabadani, in the mountains north-west of Damascus, and the government-controlled towns of Foah and Kefraya, in the northern province of Idlib. They are also expected to attempt another air-drop over the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, where 200,000 people in government-held areas are under siege by IS. High winds and parachute failures meant that pallets carrying 21 tonnes of food dropped last week either missed their target, went missing or were damaged. . The UN says more than 450,000 Syrians are trapped in 15 besieged towns and villages under siege, while 4.1 million others are living in hard-to-reach areas. Some of these people have not been receiving assistance for months or even up to a year in some cases, so its really, really important that we get food in and other kinds of assistance, Greg Barrow of the World Food Programme told the BBC. Were very concerned about the nutritional status of people living in those areas that have really been sealed off from the outside world, he added. Some incidents The UNs secretary general meanwhile told reporters in Geneva that by and large the cessation of hostilities is holding even though we have experienced some incidents. The taskforce monitoring the truce is now trying to make sure that this does not spread any further and that this cessation of hostilities can continue, he added. Mr Ban also confirmed receiving a letter from the main opposition umbrella group, the High Negotiations Committee, in which it urged the UN to help specify the territory covered by the truce to prevent hostilities in the designated inclusion zones. The HNCs general co-ordinator, Riad Hijab, wrote that since Saturday there had been seven barrel-bomb attacks, 24 cases of artillery shelling and five cases of ground attacks by government forces, resulting in a large number of civilian deaths. Russian warplanes had meanwhile carried out 26 air strikes on territory held by rebel forces abiding by the truce on Sunday alone, he added. Mr Hijab warned that continued violations would jeopardise the resumption of UN-brokered talks aimed at finding a political solution to the five-year conflict. State media said armed groups had fired dozens of mortar rounds at government forces in Latakia province on Sunday, though rebels in the area denied the reports. -bbc 01.03.2016 LISTEN Police in the Russian capital Moscow have arrested a woman on suspicion of murdering a child after she was found apparently carrying a severed head. The woman, believed to be the victims nanny, is suspected of killing the child before setting fire to its parents apartment. CCTV appears to show the woman, dressed in a hijab, walking near a metro station with a head in her hands. A police officer then intercepts her and wrestles her to the ground. The suspect has been placed in psychiatric care to determine whether she is capable of understanding her actions, the Moscow Investigative Committee said in a statement (in Russian). A criminal investigation was launched after the discovery of the remains of a child aged three to four, whose body bore traces of a violent death, in a charred flat on Narodnoye Opolcheniye Street in north-western Moscow, it added. According to preliminary information, the childs nanny, a citizen of one of the Central Asian states born in 1977, waited for the parents and elder child to leave the flat and then, for reasons not established, murdered the infant, set fire to the flat and left the scene, it added in the statement. Police sources told Russian news agencies that the victim had been decapitated and the head removed from the scene by the nanny. I am your death The suspect has been named by Russian media as Gyulchekhra Bobokulova, from the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan. Russias tabloid news website Life News, which specialises in crime coverage, reports that the victim was a little girl. According to Life News, a policeman asked to see her identity documents outside Oktyabrskoye Polye metro station, at which point she pulled the head of the child out of a bag and began screaming that she would blow herself up. . No traces of explosives were found on the suspect after her arrest, the site adds. Amateur video posted online shows a black-clad woman, apparently the suspect, outside a metro station shouting the Islamic phrase Allahu Akbar (God is Great). I am a terrorist, she cries. I am your death. Russian journalist Polina Nikolskaya witnessed the incident. She told Reuters: I was on my way to the metro station from home. She was standing near the metro entrance and caught my attention because she was screaming Allahu Akbar. I saw that she had a bloodied head in her arms but I thought it was not real. People in the crowd said it was real. Other witnesses says the woman walked up and down outside the metro station for some 20 minutes, shouting and brandishing the head. The phrase Allahu Akbar has been trending on Russian social media, in a country with a recent history of violent Islamist militancy. In 2010, a twin bombing by women suicide attackers on the Moscow metro killed at least 38 people while in 2011, a bomb at Domodedovo airport killed 37 people . Islamist groups from restive parts of Russias North Caucasus region such as Dagestan and Chechnya have been behind most of the attacks. Uzbekistan, which like other Central Asian states has a Muslim majority, has long supplied migrant labour for the Russian capital. -bbc 01.03.2016 LISTEN Four of the five missing Hong Kong booksellers have appeared on Chinese TV, saying they have been detained for illegal book trading on the mainland. The men said they had sold 4,000 unauthorised books to 380 customers in mainland China, Phoenix TV reported. The five men, who disappeared late last year, worked at a publishing house that sold books critical of Chinas leaders. Some people in Hong Kong believe they were detained by China because of a book about President Xi Jinping. Four of the men from Mighty Current publishing house, Gui Minhai, Lui Bo, Lam Wingkei and Cheung Jiping, gave details of their alleged offences during their appearance on Phoenix TV (in Chinese) on Sunday. Public confessions have long been a part of Chinas criminal law, but experts say many confessions are forced. Good attitude Mr Gui, a Swedish national, said he had concealed the books in bags to evade customs and was identified by the other detainees as having been in charge of the operation. Mr Lui said: I have deeply reflected on what I have done and very much regret the illegal book trading I have carried out with Gui Minhai. Meanwhile, Mr Lam said the books content had been fabricated. They were downloaded from the Internet, and were pieced together from magazines. They have generated lots of rumours in society and brought a bad influence. Mr Lam, Mr Lui and Mr Cheung had shown a good attitude by confessing and might be allowed to return to Hong Kong this week while they await trial, Phoenix TV said, citing police sources. . However, Mr Gui was expected to remain in China. He had appeared on Chinese TV in January saying he voluntarily handed himself over to the authorities over a fatal drink-driving incident more than a decade ago. The Swedish foreign ministry said an envoy had visited Mr Gui and said his condition was very good. Lee Bo not shown The fifth detainee, British national Lee Bo, who disappeared from Hong Kong in December, was not shown. The Phoenix TV report said Mr Bo had voluntarily handed himself over to the mainland authorities to assist in the investigation. However, his travel document was found in Hong Kong after his disappearance and the Hong Kong authorities said they had no record of his having crossed into the mainland. The UK has said Mr Bo was probably involuntarily removed to China, calling it a serious breach of the handover treaty that undermined the principle of One Country, Two Systems. Under Hong Kong law, Chinese police do not have jurisdiction in the territory. The case has sparked international concern that China could be attempting to rein in freedom of expression in Hong Kong. However, Chinas foreign ministry has said its officials would not behave illegally, and urged other countries not to meddle in its affairs. -bbc 01.03.2016 LISTEN At least 18 people have been killed by a suicide bomb at a Shia funeral north-east of Iraqs capital, officials say. About 50 people were injured in the blast in Muqdadiya, Diyala province, some 80km (50 miles) from Baghdad. Local media say some leading figures in the Shia-dominated Popular Mobilisation Forces were among the victims. No group has so far admitted carrying out the attack a day after at least 70 were killed by so-called Islamic State (IS) militants in Baghdad. IS said its militants had organised Sundays blasts in the Shia district of Sadr City and more attacks would follow. The mainly Sunni group, which controls large swathes of northern and western Iraq, has attacked numerous Shia targets in the country recently. -bbc 01.03.2016 LISTEN From Richard Owusu-Akyaw, Agogo Two farmers have reportedly been gunned down by Fulani herdsmen in Agogo in the Asante Akyem North District of the Ashanti Region. An eyewitness has narrated that last Friday afternoon at about 4:30pm, gunfire erupted in a farming community of Abrewanko, near Nyamebekyere. Unfamiliar with the gunfire, some members of the community went to the area to have a look of what has transpired in respect of the gunfire. The eyewitness noted that to their surprise, a farmer was seen gunned down in a pool of blood, while blood oozed from his eyes and nose. They further combed the farms and saw another farmer shot dead. The rumour mill has it that Fulani herdsmen came and killed these farmers for revenge. The deceased farmers were identified as Mustapha Ibrahim 32 and Haruna who is 20 years old. For the past one week, some Fulani herdsmen are reportedly combing Abrewanko with their animals, claiming that they are looking for their missing cattle. A Few weeks ago some residents in the area killed some cattle which encroached on their farms. Mr. Paul Kinsley Aruweh Averu, the District Chief Executive for Agogo said REGSEC has driven away all the cattle and this unfortunate issue is an isolated one and that there were no cattle around when the recent killing occurred. He revealed that Fulani herdsmen who were driven away have changed their modus operandi and are robbing residents at gunpoint, a situation he said the security is dealing with. Reached on phone about the incident, the public relations officer of Ashanti Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mohammed Russia Tanko confirmed that two people have been killed at Agogo. According to him, the Police saw gunshot wounds on the corpses, which had been deposited at Agogo Government Hospital. ASP Tanko stressed that no one had been arrested and that the case is under investigation to unravel those behind the crime. Mr. Tanko stated that security at Agogo is intact and that the Fulani herdsmen have been put at bay by the security apparatus. 01.03.2016 LISTEN It has emerged that the Chief Executive Officer of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Mr. Kojo Bonsu gave leadership of the Muslim Community at Tafo in the Ashanti Region the go ahead to construct the controversial fence wall around a piece of land at the Tafo cemetery. The order resulted in clashes between the Muslim group and loyalists of the Tafo Traditional Council. According to reports, the clashes were ignited by an order from the Tafo chief for the cemetery fence wall to be demolished because he was not aware of the construction. When the chief instructed his men to pull down the wall, they were met with a fierce protest from the Muslim community. Two people died in the process. Following the clash, the next day, scores of young people in the area gathered in front of the Chief's palace, in anticipation of possible attacks from the Muslim youth in the area. That was after the police had confirmed the arrest of one person who was firing gunshots indiscriminately in the company of a gang. The altercation on the part of the Muslim youth was perhaps informed by a letter their leadership wrote to the KMA, headed: Permission to Fence the Tafo Public Cemetery, which was duly responded to and approved by Mr. Kojo Bonsu. In the said reply, which was addressed to the Secretary of the Concerned Muslim Youth Movement and copied to the Regional Chief Imam, Abdul Mumin Harun, the KMA boss wrote: I refer to your letters to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly on the above subject in which letters you requested permission from the Assembly to construct a fence wall around the Tafo Cemetery as your contribution to the development of the Region, expressing his sincere gratitude to the Muslim group for the initiative. He remarked:Your effort is laudable. According to him, I note from the title of your letters that you recognise not only the fact that the cemetery, the subject matter of your interest is a public one, but also your commitment and indeed undertaking that you will carry out the construction of the fence wall in accordance with the technical advice of the Assembly. Having said that, I think it is necessary to emphasize your recognition of the public nature of the facility within the territorial jurisdiction of the Assembly, the Assembly retains total responsibility for it, for which reason your construction of the fence wall should not in any way be understood as suggesting even remotely that the Assemblys authority and superintendence over it is shared with you, the letter stated in part. Mr. Kojo Bonsu added that: the Assembly is by law the sole and exclusive political and administrative authority in the metropolis, all use of the cemetery is subject to the exclusive direction and supervision of the Assembly, stressing that the Assembly consented to their request to construct the fence wall around the Tafo cemetery. That notwithstanding, the agreement would be subject not only to the technical advice of the cemetery, but also that, the construction would be undertaken under the auspices of the Assembly with the effect that the construction would be carried out under the supervision and control of the Assembly. The Assembly, however, indicated that the Muslim group could support the construction of the project with labour and building materials, including cement, blocks etc. It would be recalled that a clash in Tafo over a piece of cemetery land led to the death of 25 year old Aminu Sulemana, leaving several others injured and properties destroyed after the Muslim youth attacked the chief's palace. A mosque and some churches were reportedly destroyed in the clashes, prompting the Ashanti Regional Security Council to impose a dusk to dawn curfew so as to protect lives and property. Led by the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kofi Boakye, the police arrived in the town with support from the military. Meanwhile, the Assembly member for Ridge Nhyiaeso in Kumasi, Abraham Boadi, accused the Kumasi mayor for the violent clashes. His reason was that he permitted the Muslim group to fence the said cemetery in 2014, without due diligence, even after the assembly had approved about GHC1.5 Billion for the project. By Pascal Kafu Abotsi ([email protected]) In accordance with Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the President, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, delivered to Parliament a message on the state of the nation on Thursday 25 February, 2016. Following the release of the President's State of the Nation Address, we have critically examined the paper and highlighted six major issues we think the President could potentially have been misinformed. In each case, we have quoted the President and juxtaposed that with a critical appraisal of available policy documents, the NDC 2012 manifesto, and empirical evidence, and drawn implications on policy and practice. We do not think this is exhaustive of all the issues inherent in the address, but we believe this could be a starting point to engaging in a critical discussion of the President's speech with the view of enriching the discourse on the state of Ghana's education. Issue 1 Ghana has been commended by the United Nations for meeting the target of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on achieving universal primary education with gender parity. Despite that achievement, there are still a significant number of school-age children that are not enrolled. These children are now being targeted under the Compulsory Basic Education (CBE) programme of the Ministry of Education. In the last year, a total of 54,800 out of school children in four regions have been enrolled into schools. These are 54,800 children who would not have received an education. These are 54,800 children whose lives will now have much different outcomes as a result of this programme. (SONA 2016, p 3). At present, there is no such government programme known as Compulsory Basic Education (CBE) of the Ministry of Education. It would appear that the President was referring to the Complimentary Basic Education (CBE) programme, which seeks to provide learning opportunity to disadvantaged Out-Of-School-Children on how to read and write within a nine-month period so that they could enter primary school at class three or four. The CBE programme has since 1995 been a flagship programme of School for Life (SFL), a non-governmental organisation in the Northern Region. Having recognised its success, demonstrated by significant impacts at the individual, family, and community level, the government decided to replicate the programme nationwide through the Complementary Basic Education Policy with funding from the DFID over a 4-year period (2012-2016) at the cost of some GBP 18 million. One would have thought that the President would cease the occasion to commend SFL for the initiative rather than surreptitiously taking credit for its introduction, especially when SFL appears to hold copyright over some of the CBE teaching and learning materials. Issue 2 Secondary education was plagued with a number of challenges, notably lack of access, leading to a poor transition rate from JHS to SHS. We are vigorously confronting these challenges. Under our programme to establish 200 Senior High Schools, I can report that 123 are currently being constructed. (SONA 26, p. 4) Firstly, the President was quite vague when he touched on progress being made to establish the promised 200 Community Day Senior High Schools. In a speech delivered in August 2015 at the Agbleza Festival in the Volta Region, the President indicated that work was ongoing on the 123 out of the 200 Senior High Schools.[1] Six months later, he only repeats the same line without providing specific rates of completion and specific locations for these schools unlike his report for other sectors. This does not only leave room for his sincerity to the people to be questioned but also makes his address potentially unreliable. We do know of the availability of funding for only 23 SHS under the World Bank's $156 million grant facility for the Secondary Education Improvement Programme, but cannot ascertain the source of funding for the remaining 100 SHS. That notwithstanding, we contend that the Government cannot meet its campaign promise of establishing 200 Community Day Senior High Schools before January, 2017. Given that a broken manifesto pledge massively undermines people's trust in a political party, we urge government to be transparent on the progress of work on the Community Day Senior High Schools. Secondly, the President appears to narrowly conceptualise access to secondary education as mere provision of infrastructure, without taking account of the broader issues of policy imperatives. In the training colleges for instance, the repeal of the quota system policy extended access from 9,000 to 15,000 according to official figures, a demonstration of expanding access to education through removal of a draconian policy. Agreeably, existing secondary schools have a capacity to absorb only 60% of the students who qualify from Junior High Schools; therefore expanding infrastructure could potentially increase access to secondary education. However, given that the pass rate of BECE is roughly around 60%, only this proportion of students can gain access into secondary education even if there are adequate facilities. That is, the present policy regime imposes barrier on 40% of JHS graduates to proceed to SHS. The government can expand access to secondary education, or increase the transition rate from JHS to SHS by scraping BECE, and establish a six year continuous secondary education system. Although, transition to the secondary school should be automatic, students must write a lower secondary school examination to enable schools place them into different upper secondary school programmes (e.g. academic or technical) at either the same institution, or they may transfer to another institution of their choice. The implication is that, we must redefine basic education to include secondary education in order for us to remain relevant to the present highly competitive global economy. Issue 3 In our determination to improve quality education, we have also introduced two new programmes - the Teacher Professional Development Initiative and the Provision of Teaching and Learning Materials programme. The Teacher Professional Development initiative aims to achieve a target of 95% trained teachers at the basic level by 2020 as set out in the Education Strategic Plan (ESP) (SONA 2016, p5). The ESP stipulates a target of achieving 95% trained teacher by 2015 as illustrated in page 7 of the document. At the end of the 2015 academic year, the government had missed this target and it would appear that the President wanted to extend the timeline to five more years, or he, probably, might have been misinformed. Issue 4 To fulfil the policy of providing Colleges of Education in under-served areas and to expand access to teacher training, Government is absorbing into the public stream the following colleges - Saint Ambrose College of Education, Dormaa District, Al-Farak College of Education, Wenchi District - this will become our first ever Islamic College of Education, Gambaga College of Education, East Mamprusi District, St. Vincent College of Education, Yendi Municipality, Bia Lamplighter College of Education, Bia District (SONA 2016,p.3) . At Present, training of teachers in the 38 public Colleges of Education (CoEs) has been tied to the GBP 17 million DFID funded project, dubbed Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T-TEL), at least until 2018. The President acknowledged this in the last paragraph of page 6 of his speech. Therefore attempting to absorb 5 private CoEs into the public stream has wide implications for the T-TEL project especially in relation to funding for the additional COEs, a position the project's quarterly report of August 2015 tends to support. Regrettably, the 2016 budget highlights this policy but appears to ignore the funding issue, casting doubt on the government's intentions. Issues 5 It should be recalled that the government had in its 2012 Manifesto a promise of establishing at least 10 new Colleges of Education in the medium term to be located in areas not well served currently in anticipation of the increase in student numbers on account of our increased access to education programme (2012 NDC Manifesto, p. 19). During the last budget statement to Parliament, the Finance Minister stated that as part of the pledge to establish 10 new Colleges of Education in areas that are not well served, government absorbed five existing private (pg 127, para 671), a quotation repeated in the President's speech (Pg 6, para 3). The question is; how does the absorption of existing private CoEs becomes part of an agenda to establish new Colleges? Issues 6 Beyond absorbing the five CoEs, the President and his Finance Minister appear uncertain of the number of new CoEs to be constructed in 2016, and have contradicted themselves. Whilst the Finance Minister mentioned that the government in 2016 will commence the construction of two new Colleges of Education in the Central and the Greater Accra Regions to improve access (pg 127, para 671), the President also said in his speech that work will begin on three new Colleges in the Greater Accra, Central and Northern Regions (SONA 2016, p.6). There is every reason to believe that the government will miss its election promise of constructing 10 new colleges of education. Conclusion We have demonstrated several inconsistencies, misinformation and lack of sincerity in many areas of the President's speech specific to the education sector and urge the government to exercise circumspection and transparency in reporting such matters to the people. Dr. Prince Armah Executive Director, VIAM Africa [1] 123 out of 200 SHSs under construction - Mahama. Starrfmonline.com 29.02.2016 LISTEN Waren, Germany, ACCRA, FEB.29 - (dpa/GNA) - The trial of a former Nazi official over his suspected involvement in the deaths of 3,681 people at the Auschwitz concentration camp has been postponed because the defendant is unwell, a court in northern Germany said on Monday. The trial had been scheduled to begin the same day with expert assessments on whether the 95-year-old is fit to stand trial. But the regional court in Neubrandenburg said that he was suffering from high blood pressure and suicidal thoughts. It has not yet given a new date for the hearing. The man, identified only as Hubert Z under German privacy laws, is thought to have worked as a medic at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland from August 15 to September 14, 1944, during which time he supervised the work of other Nazi officials. State prosecutors said that 3,681 people were murdered in the gas chambers there during that period. The indictment is based on the passenger records of 14 trains to the camp, one of which is thought to have been carrying Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family. The indictment is to be read out in full on March 14. The news comes after an appeal court last year overturned a verdict that the former SS medic was too unwell to stand trial. In April 2015, the so-called bookkeeper of Auschwitz, Oskar Groening, was sentenced to four years in prison for being an accessory to the murder of 300,000 people in what was widely thought would be the last Holocaust trial in Germany. However, German prosecutors have been under pressure to bring Third Reich war criminals to justice before time runs out. GNA Tax Policy Advisor at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Edward Larbi-Siaw, has urged Ghanaian business community to embrace the ECOWAS Common External Tariffs to expand their business. He said Common External Tariffs allow industries to expand to take over from other businesses and urged the business community not to be afraid to take such opportunities. Dr Larbi-Siaw was speaking at the Ghana Revenue Authoritys (GRA) 2015 Stakeholder Awards organised in Accra to recognise excellence in revenue mobilization and motivate all who participated to achieve the Authoritys objectives. The Common External Tariff is one of the instruments of harmonising ECOWAS Member States and strengthening its Common Market. The ceremony awarded 21 companies, including the Ghana News Agency and individuals who contributed immensely to the growth and sustainability of the economy and celebrated them for their efforts. It also created a platform for GRA to familiarise, acknowledge and appreciate stakeholders as well as other organisations that helped the Authority carry out its mandated obligations. Dr Larbi-Siaw therefore urged the public to embrace the policy instead of trying to fight it from a position that was unattainable. Dialogue with GRA and develop spirit of corporation to resolve issues, he added. Mr George Blankson, the Commissioner General of GRA, said the occasion was to recognise tax payers who have gone extra miles to honour their obligation and other stakeholders who assisted the GRA in its activities. He said the year 2015 saw consistent challenges but it was also a year that a lot have been achieved as they exceeded their revenue target. Mr Blankson said in spite of the challenges in the economy last year, the Authority collected GHa22.17 billion, given a positive deviation of GHa620 million. He said the 2015 revenue mobilisation performance showed a growth of GHa5.014 billion, representing 29.3 per cent over the previous year. He said the main reasons accounting for the achievement of the target were the strategies adopted by the Management to ensure that the taxpayers encountered less difficulties as well as encouraging them to comply voluntarily. Mr Blankson said in 2016, the Authority would stay the course of the measures taken in 2015 that gave them the positive results,we will continue to make tax payment easier to customers to voluntarily comply, he assured. Mr Frank Gamadey, a Board Member of GRA, said the Authority will continue to ensure improved customer service and urged the public to keep them on their toes by demanding best customer service delivery from the GRA. He said voluntary tax compliance would be achieved if customers saw improvement in customer service delivery, and on behalf of the authority I want to assure you that we will continue to improve customer service to enhance voluntary tax compliance among our customers. Mr Gamadey therefore urged customers to ensure that other colleagues who flout tax payment were brought to book as pertains in developed countries. I entreat you to assist GRA to bring those people to book, because it is unfair for those people to partake in benefits that they do not contribute to, he added. He congratulated the awardees for their achievements and expressed the hope that the awards scheme would be expanded in future to cover more customers. Mr Samuel Sarpong, acting Managing Director of GCB Bank Limited, one of the Awardees, on behalf of other awardees said it was worth to be recognised as a citizenry and thanked GRA for the awards. He urged GRA to continue the efforts to widen the tax net to ensure that everybody honoured their tax obligation to build the country. BFT NANA ADDO PROMISES TAX REFORMS Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, leader of the countrys largest opposition party, NPP, has pledged to introduce a raft of tax reforms to lessen the burden on consumers and businesses should he win the November 7 polls. 7,000 FOREIGN STUDENTS FLOOD VARSITIES There are about 7,000 foreign students from 16 countries, currently attending a university in Ghana, Deputy Minister of Education Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has revealed. BOOST FOR CONTAINERISED CARGO GRADE Effective July 1 this year, packed cargo to be shipped from the country will have to be weighed to meet a specified verified gross mass before they could be loaded onto vessels for export. Daily Guide NANA FLAYS MAHAMA OVER HALF-TRUTHS Presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, yesterday took his turn to deliver what he called the Real State of the Nation Address. MAD MANTHREATENS PRESIDENT A 33-year-old man arrested and handed over to the BNI for allegedly making a threatening comment that President John Mahama will collapse during this years Independence Day parade appears to be mentally challenged. TRADERS CLOSE SHOPS Traders under the aegis of Joint Private Sector Business Consultative Forum, led by the Ghana Union of Traders (GUTA), yesterday locked up their shops in Accra, signaling a three-day strike action to protest against the introduction of some new taxes by government. Finder MAHAMA OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY - NANA ADDO DECLARES Flagbearer of the opposition NPP has described the current state of the Ghanaian economy as one that is in crisis and at complete variance with what the President sought to portray in his State of the Nation Address. OIL AND GAS: HFC BANK AFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO LOCAL CONTENT Leading Ghanaian bank, HFC Bank Ghana has expressed its commitment to promoting local content in Ghanas oil and gas sector. FPSO ATTA MILLS TO ARRIVE THIS WEEK Ghanas second Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading vessel, named FPSO Prof John Evans Atta Mills, would arrive in the country by the close of this week, the CEO of the Petroleum Commission, has confirmed. ATTAH MAKES GHANA PROUD The youngest Ghanaian sensation to take the world by storm, 15-year-old actor Abraham Attah, has secured a deal that will provide 10,000 free designer pair of shoes to Ghanaian children in need. Today MAHANA HAS BORROWED 37BN DOLLARS SAYS AKUFO-ADDO 2016 presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has accused the Mahama-led government of embarking on reckless borrowing, contracting a total of 37 billion dollars within a period of seven years. 01.03.2016 LISTEN As the Kumawu chieftaincy dispute drags on, the double agents who for their parochial interests used to courier information from one camp to the other have been exposed. They became human conduits, eavesdropping on conversations at one camp and delivering them to the other and vice versa. I decided to name them but at a second thought, I have decided not to. However, they all know themselves. They have lost the respect I had for them. They had been double agents, same believing to benefit financially from both camps or simply for the joy of being two-faced. One thing about them is they will interact with you, seeming to be pleasant and feeding you with information but all in attempts to knowing or gathering your secret plans to convey to the other camp. Nonetheless, they have all been caught in the nick of time and done away with. Many people who have come to know these double agents have shunned them. Some of them are now biting their fingers in regret. Had they known, they would have remained faithful to only one camp of their choosing but not to have sought to enrich themselves being cunningly part of both camps. As I speak, one woman has gone far and wide to cast aspersions on Kumawuhene Barimah Tweneboah Koduah V, the real royal from the matrilineal lineage of Barimah Tweneboah Koduah I, the originator of the Kumawu Koduah Stool. She has been spreading false information intended to tarnish his integrity. She had been informing people that Barimah Tweneboah Koduah V can never come to the United Kingdom because he had duped someone hence he is a declared wanted person. His passport has been retrieved from him; he has no place of his own in Kumasi but lives in the house of his Jamaican friend in Ghana, she misinforms her listeners. All her assertions are complete balderdash. I will advise the public or all those people she tells such stories to, to take her claims with a pinch of salt. As we speak, Barimah has been to the UK; gone twice to Belgium to see his dead sisters body that will be flown back to Ghana on Tuesday, 1st March 2016 for burial. Can a person who cannot travel to the UK because his passport has been confiscated or expired without the possibility of ever having it back or renewed do this? He went to Belgium accompanied by his best Jamaican friend who has a house in Kumasi and is presumed to be looking for Barimah to arrest because he had duped him. Can this be possible? Both are more of brothers than friends, if anyone cares to know. This same double agent woman has infiltrated into Barimahs family, instigating some family members to mutiny against him. Yes, they did as admonished by her but they have FAILED very miserably. Ever since she became aware of Barimah Tweneboah Koduah Vs arrival in London with his two trips to Belgium accompanied by his best Jamaican friend alias Kwasi Robinson, this double agent woman is awash in shame like her predecessor male double agents. My advice to these double agents and would-be such agents is, please be it known to you that the chiefship of Barimah Tweneboah Koduah V is from God Almighty, the Creator of Heaven and Earth and everything therein. Therefore, anyone who tries to lie about him or attempts to obstruct the materialisation of Gods purpose for him will fall flat on their face before him. He who doubts me can inquire from Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II about how easily people who had criminally sought to rob Barimah Tweneboah Koduah V of his God-ordained chiefship have been exposed and disgraced. If you are such an evil double agent, you can pray and fast until thy Kingdom come, your prayers will never reach God but will be like the smoke from the burnt offering to God by Cain. The smoke did not go straight to heaven like that of Abel but was all over the place on the ground. This goes to tell that his offering was not accepted by God. Shame on these double agents! Finally, may I advise people to always try to tell the truth for if you tell lies and the truth comes out, you will be awash in perpetual shame? I extend my heartfelt condolences to Barimah Tweneboah Koduah V; his entire bereaved family and his Elders on this occasion of the demise of his 47-year old youngest sister. Barimah, damifra due, Due, due ne amanehunu. Rockson Adofo Joy 99.7 FM will Tuesday present a major public forum on the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunication Messages Bill, 2016'. The object of the bill, initiated by the Ministry of Interior, is to enact legislation for the lawful interception of postal pickets and telecommunication messages. The Interior Ministry hopes to fight crime and suppress organized crime, including money laundering, terrorism, narcotic trafficking, identity theft and generally for the protection of national security. However, there are concerns about the implications of the bill for the rights, freedoms and liberties of Ghanaians, especially the right to privacy as guaranteed by the 1992 Constitution. The forum on expected to start at 8am on Tuesday March 1, 2016 at the Alisa Hotel, Ridge in Accra will examine the pros and cons of this contentious bill which could have enduring implications for privacy in Ghana. We want to ventilate the issues and subject the bill to some thorough scrutiny, said Coordinator of Joy FM Thought Leadership, Nicholas Opoku. Deputy Interior Minister, James Agalga, IMANI Vice President, Kofi Bentil and MP and Member of Parliaments Defence and Interior Committee, Major Derick Oduro are among six distinguished speakers at the event. The event is opened to the general public. The Chief Executive Officer of West Blue Consulting, Ms. Valentina Mintah, has said that girls are the future of every developing nation that is hoping to develop. She said supporting female head-porters, popularly known as kayayei is an important step towards developing the economy of the country by integrating them into mainstream activities. She called on corporate organisations to extend their support to head-porters. She said this when she supported a vocational center for kayayei near the Kayayei House at Mamobi, a suburb of Accra. The center is to equip disadvantaged girls in dress making and other vocational skills to make them economically independent. Giving the youth vocational training is important towards harnessing their potential for the socio-economic development of the nation she said. She added that the nation cannot discard the challenges faced by the girls such as peer pressure and it is therefore important to support the underprivileged girls to make life comfortable for them. She said West Blue Consulting would be glad to work with the Mamobi Kayayei Vocational Center, which is not far from her office, to ensure that the girls benefit from IT training to be offered by her organisation. She would be happy to extend the support of West Blue Consulting, a world class IT consulting and technology firm, towards helping disadvantaged girls in the country to realize their dreams and ambitions in life The Communication Director of the Pamela Bridgewater Project, Bruce Misbahu Bulmuo, thanked Ms. Mintah for supporting what he called the disadvantaged segment of our populace and he appealed to government to appoint more women to public positions and also consider qualified women in awarding contracts. More opportunities for women means less kayayei he opined. The project presented an artwork painted by a beneficiary kayayei in appreciation of her support to the Pamela Bridgewater Project, which provides future and welfare to kayayei and their children through education, advocacy, protection and research. Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Education Minister 01.03.2016 LISTEN Tension is brewing among teachers at Chemu Senior High School in Tema over unpaid salaries for the month of February 2016. According to some teachers who spoke to News Ghana Monday morning said most public sector workers across the country received messages from the Controller and Accountant Generals Department (CAGD) and their various banks of their salaries. Our source further hinted that not a single of the over one hundred (100) teachers and the non-teaching staff of the school had received any notification from the CAGD and their banks. This situation has generated anger among the teaching staff who most of them have decided to abstain from the various classes. Most teachers who spoke on anonymity said they will be absenting themselves from school from March 1, 2016 till they were paid. Attempts to contact the headmistress proved futile as she was seen to be discussing the issue with some section of the teaching body. News Ghana has gathered that the welfare association of the school was about convening an emergency meeting to discuss the matter and report the case to the relevant authorities for prompt action. More soon. 01.03.2016 LISTEN Following a simmering tension at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) as a result of workers' agitations against the Director General, the National Media Commission (NMC) has called for calm between management and the staff. In a press statement signed by its Chairman, Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, the NMC said that workers of GBC had been agitating, citing various grievances. The Commission indicated in the statement that it has met with the Board of the Corporation and concluded that the issues at GBC can be resolved amicably to the satisfaction of all parties thus, appealing to both parties to remain calm. Controversy The NMC argued that as far as the Commission is concerned, there is no controversy about the tenure of the Director General (of GBC) as it's been speculated that he is seeking an extension. According to the NMC, The Director-General, Major Albert Don-Chebe, has not sought an extension of his contract and the Commission is therefore not considering any such extension. . The Commission wishes to explain that the Director General's contract expires in May 2016. Until then, he remains the substantive Director General of the Corporation. As part of his contract, Major Albert Don-Chebe is entitled to 30 working days' leave for each year served. He has therefore taken his outstanding leave for the past two years. In the meantime, the Deputy Director General, Mrs. Francisca Ashietey-Odunton, acts as the Director General. It continued, The Commission enjoins any person or group who has any grievance at GBC to use laid-down procedures to make their complaints to the relevant authority for redress. The Commission directs the Acting Director General to take steps to ensure that there is harmony at the Corporation. The workers have erected red flags, some at the main entrance of the Corporation, to protest what they termed the poor running of the place. Some inscriptions read: No Director of TV License, BOD Chairman dont collapse GBC and BOD Chairman, GO! BY Melvin Tarlue 01.03.2016 LISTEN The Wa Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Alhassan Nunu Putiaya, in a bid to prevent the pupils of the Kperisi Primary School from benefiting from Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's promised furniture, has rushed a consignment of desks and tables for use by the kids. The belated gesture of the assembly has ironically failed to win them the public applause it appears to need at this time as people ask why it took a promise by Dr. Bawumia before it thought it wise to rescue the children from a prolonged writing on bare floor and its attendant complications. When Dr. Bawumia, running mate of the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), visited the Kperisi Primary School in Wa, he found the kids lying on the bare floor and writing. He decided there and then to order some furniture for the kids. DAILY GUIDE has gathered that when the truck conveying the furniture to the school got there, the excited kids started shouting Bawumia, Bawumia to acknowledge the gesture of the politician whose promise they had heard earlier. Whoever is behind this particular consignment truly is immaterial, but the one which triggered it all and none other than Dr. Bawumia and the headmistress of the school, Rosina Diedong. One of the politicians present not finding the kids' compliments unpalatable retorted, It is not Bawumia. Whether that erased what had already been implanted in the kids' memory is yet to be seen. Another effect of the Bawumia visit to the Kperisi Primary School has been the taking of inventory of furniture of schools in the municipalities by the local authorities. Perhaps more than ever before the authorities have felt the need to supply furniture to all schools in the Wa municipality. A prank making the rounds in Wa and its environs is that whenever one's school is deprived, Dr. Bawumia should be invited to visit such schools for effect. . The headmistress, who was accused of inviting the media to the school when the sorry state of learning went viral, stood her grounds that she spoke about the plight of the kids so benevolent organizations could come to their rescue. She has achieved her aim and should be smiling for a job well done. Threats Speaking to the media yesterday after the Municipal Assembly, led by the Upper West Regional Minister, Alhaji Aminu, the MCE and heads of the District Education Directorate had presented some desks to the school, Ms Diedong said although she was happy upon receipt of the furniture, she was concerned for her life. I am happy and sad at the same time, she expressed. According to her, some youth of the incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC) had been assaulting her verbally. She also said she had received threatening phone calls and messages, saying she might be forced to seek transfer from the school if her safety could not be guaranteed. I am happy but with challenges; without the furniture the children were suffering but now it will improve a whole lot of things. I have collected the things and I am happy but because of the manner in which the things came, I am feeling sad and happy at the same time because people are talking all over. There is even a youth group here who are threatening my life and saying I should wait and see; so all that cannot make me happy, Ms Diedong disclosed. A DAILY GUIDE Report Antwi Boasiko Sekyere in a photograph with some MMDCEs 01.03.2016 LISTEN Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere, the outgoing Eastern Regional Minister who was fired by President John Mahama in the recent reshuffle, has officially handed over the administration of the region to his deputy, Mavis Ama Frimpong. The ceremony took place in the presence of the 26 MMDCEs in the region at the Regional Coordinating Council in Koforidua, the regional capital, yesterday. Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere, who was the Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, was appointed as the Regional Minister to replace the current Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, then Regional Minister. His removal from office was instigated by the Regional Secretariat of the NDC with the aim of achieving the agenda 50-50 project. It appears the president thinks that Mr Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere cant execute this project but his deputy, now the substantive minister, can achieve it in the upcoming November polls to secure more votes for the party in the region. Also, Mr Antwi-Boasiako Sekyere's dismissal, as gathered, might have been due to the demand of the 33 constituency chairmen of the NDC in the region that he be fired after he attacked with pepper spray, some party executives who stormed the Mpraeso District Chief Executive, Joseph Omaris office. Meanwhile, there is division in the regional branch of the party ahead of the president's appointment of someone to fill the Deputy Minister position. . The regional executives are lobbying for one candidate of their choice while another group, made up of the partys grassroot members and sympathisers, are rooting for another candidate. Appau Haruna Wiredu, the Eastern Regional Youth Organiser, who doubles as the New Juaben North parliamentary candidate, Ransford Owusu Boakye, the Regional NADMO Coordinator, who also doubles as the Regional Organiser of the NDC, and the Regional Secretary, Mark Oliver Kevor, according to a reliable source within the NDC, have been shortlisted for the position. Information gathered within the regional party caucus indicates that Mr Owusu Boakye stands tall among the three and is likely to become the next deputy regional minister. President Mahama last week swore in Mavis Ama Frimpong as the Eastern Regional Minister. FROM Daniel Bampoe, Koforidua 01.03.2016 LISTEN Defence lawyers in the case involving the four Yemenis standing trial for possessing fake passports, have hinted of filing for no case in respect of the charges. The accused persons are Esmail Yahya Zeyad aka Evra Allerson; Waleed Ahmed Yahya aka Debuchya Allard; Eissa Yahya Amer all students and Gaafar Eissa Yahya Amer aka Ciro Carlos, businessman. Dominic Owusu Sekeyre believes his clients have no case to answer. This was after the prosecution, led by ASP Stephen Adjei, had presented Detective Chief Superintendent Abalu-Ba Baba, a colleague of the substantive investigator in the case, on behalf of Chief Inspector Paul Mahama who was indisposed. D/Chief Supt. Baba, who tendered the investigation caution statements of the accused persons, said he got to know them when a case of fake visa was brought to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for investigation by the Immigration Service. He told the court presided over by Aboagye Tandoh, that the accused persons were said to have entered the country with fake visas. The police chief indicated that it was revealed during investigation that three of the accused persons had French passports. He said a security outfit wrote to the French embassy in respect of the passports and the accused were subsequently charged. The prosecution witness said Eissa Yahya Amer and the three others were charged for possessing emergency visas. D/Chief Supt. Baba, responding to a cross-examination by Mr Owusu Sekeyre, said he was not aware that Yahya Amer arrived in Ghana without an entry visa. Mr Owusu Sekeyre insisted that the accused persons were not a security threat to the country. Hearing continues on March 9, 2016. According to the prosecution, the four, on November 24, 2015 forged official document being the Republic of France Passport Number 04417928. They are facing an additional charge of possessing fake Emergency Entry Visa. . The accused persons were arrested by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra last year with different names in their French passports onboard Ethiopian Airline Flight ET 920. Whiles undergoing immigration arrival procedures, Evra Allerson, Ciro Carlos and Debuchya were found with French passports with different names. A further search on them revealed that all the accused persons had Yemen passports. When the French passports with different names were examined they were found to be fake. When they were quizzed they mentioned one Abdulai Mohammed in Yemen as the one who secured them the French passports and gave them a phone number to call a certain Mohammed in Ghana on arrival. Accused persons were to transit in Ghana and continue to France and to Istanbul in Turkey. A further examination of their Yemen passports indicated that Allerson and Carlos had travelled several times to Djibouti before their trip to Ghana. The accused persons have all denied the offence. [email protected] By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson 01.03.2016 LISTEN The 33-year-old man arrested and handed over to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for allegedly making a threatening comment that President John Dramani Mahama will collapse during this year's Independence Day parade appears to be mentally challenged. Kwame Gyebi, who allegedly made a comment at a beer bar at Dzorwulu in Accra, is said to have boasted that he knew what he was referring to and dared anyone to mark his words that the president would swoon when delivering his speech on 6th March. But according to his brother who spoke on an Accra-based radio station yesterday, Kwame was suffering from a mental disease occasioned by typhoid which he had some time back. The suspect, who was arrested by the police and later handed over to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) upon a tip-off, is reportedly receiving treatment at the Valley View Hospital, Dzorwulu. Kwame Gyebi, who lives with his elder brother at the Dzorwulu neighbourhood, according to the brother, has his medical records at the hospital and said any doubting Thomases could check at the health facility. The supposed mentally challenged man referred to the president as John when making the comment. . BNI sources say it is investigating the matter to ascertain if there are collaborators. It will be recalled that on July 26, 2015 a 36-year-old man, Charles Antwi, was arrested during Sunday church service at the Ringway Estate Gospel Centre of the Assemblies of God Church with a gun allegedly targeting the president, who worships with his family at that church, to kill him. It took a curious observer to cause the arrest of Charles Antwi as President Mahama was not in church that day. Charles Antwi was later convicted and sentenced to a 10-year prison term by an Accra circuit court before he was freed by the Human Rights Division of the Accra high court. He was later examined and found not to be mentally sound and was receiving treatment at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital. A DAILY GUIDE Report The suspected prostitutes in police custody 01.03.2016 LISTEN The Cantonments Divisional Police Command has apprehended 18 women and a male for allegedly engaging in prostitution. The suspects, between the ages of 20 and 35, were arrested near the Togo and Italian Embassies, Danquah Circle and some parts of Cantonments in Accra. Superintendent Gladys Mpere, Acting Cantonments Divisional Police Commander, told the media that the suspects had paraded themselves soliciting for men when the police grabbed them between 1:00 am and 3:00 am on Saturday and Sunday. The male prostitute was also apprehended at the Danquah Circle soliciting for clients. Superintendent Mpere said the police embarked on the operation following a report they received from some residents of the areas that the activities of the prostitutes were causing a lot of nuisance to them. . The supposed prostitutes, according to the police commander, always made excessive noise and fought in those areas. Some residents also complained to the police that some of the purported prostitutes usually blocked the roads when people did not pay attention to them. They have provisionally been charged with soliciting for immoral purposes and have since been fined GH300 each by an Accra circuit court. In default, the suspects will spend two months in prison in hard labour. By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey ( [email protected] ) The Minister in a handshake with the Mayor of Accra 01.03.2016 LISTEN Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Alhaji Collins Dauda, has disclosed that the high incidence of cholera cases and resultant deaths which occurred in 2014 within the Accra Metropolis has dropped significantly in 2015. Comparing figures for cholera cases and its resultant deaths, the minister mentioned that 28,975 cholera cases and 243 deaths were recorded at various communities within Accra in 2014. He was, however, happy that in 2015 cholera cases and deaths dropped sharply to 692 cases and 15 deaths. Alhaji Dauda attributed the significant drop in cholera and its attendant death cases as a success story for the institution of the National Sanitation Day campaign among other key related interventions by government and other stakeholders. Alhaji Collins Dauda made the disclosure during a meeting he held with metropolitan and municipal chief executives (MMCEs) in Accra last Thursday. The meeting which took place at the ministry's conference room in Accra provided a platform for the minister and the MMCEs to share best practices and strategies for planning for the National Sanitation Day (NSD) event for 2016. He further instructed them to submit within a fortnight proposals on how each municipality hopes to sustain the National Sanitation Day campaign in 2016. . Background The National Sanitation Day campaign was instituted by government at the peak of the cholera outbreak in Accra and other parts of the country in 2014. The country at the same period had been ranked among the world's dirtiest destinations, and for which drastic measure needed to be put in place to arrest the situation. The National Sanitation Day campaign is a government intervention to sensitise Ghanaians on the need to adopt proper sanitary and hygienic practices, including proper waste management practices. Vice President Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah Arthur performed the launching of the National Sanitation Day (NSD) campaign which was held at the Ghana Trade Fair Auditorium, La, Accra. The campaign is under the theme: 'Environmental Sanitation, A Shared Responsibility'. The NSD is held every first Saturday of each month throughout the country. By Solomon Ofori 01.03.2016 LISTEN Alex Segbefia with other dignitaries cutting the tape to officially open the unit The Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) as part of plans to scale up the institutional practice of herbal medicine alongside orthodox have opened a new herbal medicine unit at the Tema Polyclinic. The unit which brings to 18 the number of pilot centres for herbal medicine centres to be opened by the GHS and MoH is expected to help in the mainstreaming of herbal medicine in Ghana. Minister of Health Alex Segbefia, inaugurating the unit, said nearly 25 percent of Ghanaians rely on natural and herbal medicines to deal with their illnesses. He said the situation has placed a responsibility on the health ministry to ensure safety and effectiveness of the traditional medicines. The establishment of herbal medicine units in our health facilities has always remained relevant in our effort to mainstream traditional medicine in Ghana. I am happy to note that patient's safety is a key principal on which the practice will be based, he mentioned. Mr Segbefia said the potential of herbal medicine cannot be overlooked as estimates show that 35 and 50 percent of prescription drugs have been derived from natural products, including herbs. We expect to harness both Western medicines research products as well as herbalists-reviewed products that have passed the FDA evaluations, he indicated. . Dr Linda Van-Otoo, Greater Accra regional health director, said the new unit would help the two institutions in a number of ways, including minimising quacks as well as encourage genuine producers of herbal medicine. She further mentioned that the unit would help orthodox practitioners to know what kind of herbal preparations are available and what they can do so they can better support the herbal sector to improve. Explaining how the unit would work, Dr Van-Otoo said patients would be given the option of choosing between orthodox or herbal treatment when they come to the polyclinic. She said when a patient opts for the herbal unit; he or she would be sent to the unit for examination by a physician assistant who has been trained in herbal medicine to see if the unit can treat the ailment. If they have the medication for the sickness they will treat the patient, if not they will be asked to go for the orthodox treatment, she added. Dr Van-Otoo further called on hospital staff to take advantage of the unit and learn about herbal medicine practice. My call is for them to show interest in what happens at the unit and add the information gathered to their reports; how many people went to the herbal unit what treatment they were given, how the outcomes were like and if there is anything that will be an adverse effect it should be well documented, she indicated. The Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (GHAFTRAM) also donated herbal medicines to support the operations of the herbal centre. By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri 01.03.2016 LISTEN Unibank has constructed a new 20-seater KVIP toilet facility for students of Mampong Presbyterian Senior High School (PRESEC) in the Eastern Region as part of its corporate social responsibility. As part of uniBanks contribution towards the promotion of good and quality education in Ghana of which Mampong is inclusive, we see this as an honour by providing the school with a 20-seater KVIP, the Eastern Regional Branch Manager of Unibank, Isaac Omari-Koranteng, speaking at the inauguration of the facility mentioned. He believes that the facility would help the school in a very long term if it is kept in good shape and condition at all times, adding that the gesture would mark the beginning of a cordial and fruitful relationship between the bank and the school. Headmaster of Mampong PRESEC, Rev E. T Akusaki, expressed his appreciation to the bank for their support, calling on other organisations to partner with the school to advance the cause of the institution. By Daniel Bampoe 01.03.2016 LISTEN Former President JA Kufuor chatting with Nana Akufo-Addo before the flagbearer presented his real state of the nation address Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, yesterday took his turn to deliver what he called the Real State of the Nation Address. The flagbearer, in his two-and-a-half hour statement, virtually made mincemeat of the several achievements President John Dramani Mahama claimed to have chalked during his recent State of the Nation Address. Last Thursday, the president delivered a State of the Nation Address in fulfilment of a constitutional provision with a message full of grandiose achievements said to have been executed under his leadership. But most of those projects and programmes he trumpeted with 'evidence-based' testimonials have either been questioned or turned out to be 'half truths.' But addressing an enthusiastic audience of a packed conference room at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Accra yesterday, Nana Akufo-Addo could not fathom why the president went to Parliament and gave no indication whatsoever of the enormity of the youth unemployment problem facing the country, and instead dabbled in what could suffice for a propaganda piece full of lies. Nana Addo noted that what President Mahama sought to do was to explain the theatrical show he staged in Parliament with the claim he was providing us with evidence for the claims he was making about the state of the nation, noting that Ghana is in crisis. That, he said, did not work since in his opinion It turned out to be an embarrassing exercise in mediocrity, an expression he associated with the president. Concerns Why ignore the clear evidence of this canker that characterises the true state of the economy? he asked rhetorically and articulated, We heard nothing of the bold and radical measures that would encourage enterprises to expand, or that would help build new businesses in agriculture or industry to generate the hundreds of thousands of jobs that our youth need. Instead, Nana Addo said, The president mentioned the prospects of a few jobs here and there and went on to make an embarrassing display of a few vulnerable Ghanaians. There was a thunderous applause and cheers from the charged audience made up of key party people, including former President John Agyekum Kufuor, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Members of Parliament and former Ministers of State. That, he described as a sad spectacle in propaganda, one that did a disservice to the image of our Parliament and that it appears we have a president who is out of touch with the country he is governing. A befuddled Akufo-Addo related, As I listened in disbelief to some of the things the president said, it soon became clear that he was taking liberties with the Ghanaian people that should not be accepted. Doubts Chief among them was Mahama's claim that work was progressing on the 60-bed district hospital in Salaga, which he (Nana) said those who live in that community had described as a site fenced, locked and abandoned. In the case of a road at Hohoe in the Volta Region that President Mahama said had been completed, Nana noted: The residents of Hohoe have said their town roads were done during the Kufuor administration. It is disrespectful to the people of Ghana and to our republican institutions for the president to exhibit such a cavalier attitude to facts in a formal address to the nation. He also talked about stories about the water shortages in different parts of the country which had been lingering on for the past month or so, with places like Nsawam-Adoagyiri and Winneba making the headlines. . Less than 24 hours after the president stood in Parliament displaying Madam Naomi Appiah Korang, a teacher and known NDC activist from Kyebi, the Member of Parliament for Keta from his own party was in the House telling the country about the desperate water situation in his constituency, he noted. Interestingly, he recalled that On that Friday, his Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing was in the House to give an account of the water situation in the country very much at variance with the complacent picture painted by the president. There had been no mention of water problems by the president in his address. Mockery Nana Akufo-Addo made a mockery of President Mahama's decision to parade 16 supposed beneficiaries of his various programmes and projects he claimed his administration had initiated which he prided himself with. But according to Nana, Their stories do not constitute the reality that is present day Ghana. He wondered why the president omitted an important group of persons who had also benefitted from his government over the past eight years, including Alfred Woyome and other beneficiaries of the 'create, loot and share' judgement debt brigade; the beneficiaries of the looting of the SADA guinea fowl and tree planting schemes; the beneficiaries of the looting of the GYEEDA schemes and the beneficiaries of the looting of the Smarttys bus rebranding scheme. On a Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) beneficiary that allegedly now has 10 pigs, Nana Akufo-Addo said, I can point to ten hardworking individuals whose businesses have collapsed due to the unfavourable economic conditions. What about the teacher and nursing trainees whose allowances have been cancelled? What about teachers who have worked for two years and are only paid three months' salary arrears? What about the children of Kperisi Primary, Wa in the Upper West Region who have no desks or chairs and so lie on the floor for their lessons to the detriment of their health? What about people who cannot afford hospital fees because of the virtual return of the cash-and-carry system? What about our Black Queens who, after winning the gold medal at the All Africa Games, were treated so shabbily by this government which has refused to honour its promises to them? Is the president saying that he has no evidence of these? Why did he not bring them to Parliament? The reason, Nana Addo said, was because running a nation and reporting on its state is serious business which should not be reduced to a public relations activity. Instead, the NPP leader said It should be a comprehensive illustration to our people of what the big picture is. Bloated Contracts The NPP standard bearer observed that his party in government constructed eight times more roads than the NDC, even though the NDC had had 10 times more money. This, according to him, was because the NDC had inflated the costs of road contracts, unlike the NPP's value-for-money attitude. Nana Akufo-Addo said under the eight years of the NPP the average cost of a kilometre of asphalted road was $480,000, while the average cost of the same stretch of asphalt under the current NDC administration was $1.5 million. His Excellency spends over 40 minutes recounting his achievements in the road sector; the story is unfortunately not corroborated by the facts on the ground, Nana Akufo-Addo underscored. For instance, he mentioned works on the Drobo-Sampa road as he did last year. At the time President Kufuor was leaving (office) the 40km stretch from Drobo to Soma had been done, leaving seven kilometres from Soma through Sampa to the border. For over seven years, the seven-kilometre stretch has not been completed. The Atebubu-Kwame Danso road, which the president said was on course, has long been abandoned by the contractor GN Ganin. The Tarkwa-Bogoso-Ayanfuri road the president mentioned as part of the Takoradi-Kumasi road, President Kufuor had secured funding and works had been executed from Takoradi to Apepeyem. President Kufuor secured another $73 million to do the road to Ayanfuri. The Apepeyem to Ayanfuri version has taken more than seven years to complete. Notwithstanding, it is an indisputable fact that the NPP investment between 2001 and 2009 far exceeds that of the NDC since 2009. The road network in President Kufuor's time increased from 37,320 km to 67, 291 km. The NDC has moved it from 67, 391 to 71, 063km. The NPP leader averred, The president himself admitted that his government's contribution to the road network is a mere 3,700km over the eight years of stewardship. There is a very good reason why the NPP managed to construct a lot more roads with less money than the NDC has done in these last seven years. In conclusion, the NPP flagbearer said, This, fellow Ghanaians, is the real state of governance in Ghana today where government throws so much money at fewer projects. The more inflated the costs of projects are, the less our country develops and the less we are able to spend on the needy. By Charles Takyi-Boadu Nana Kobina Nketsia V 01.03.2016 LISTEN Nana Kobina Nketsia V, Omanhene of Essikado Traditional Area in the Western Region, has called on government to decentralize the award of contracts in the various sectors of the economy to local enterprises in order to promote their growth. According to the chief, the practice whereby some government projects in the various regions and districts of the country were executed by contractors from the country's capital, Accra was not proper since there were equally competent contractors in the regions. Decentralizing the award of contracts will not only promote the progress of local industries, but will help improve the living standards of the people since the profits will be invested in the local economy, he added. He stated that I learnt most of the people contracted to work on the expansion project at the Takoradi Habour were from Accra, meanwhile we have people in Sekondi-Takoradi who are capable of executing the said jobs. Omanhene of Essikado stated this at the official opening of an office complex for the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce in Takoradi. Nana Nketsia indicated that even though businesses were currently facing many difficulties, the Chamber should be tough and lead in the fight to create the needed environment for local businesses to thrive. Nana Dr. Appiagyei Dankawoso I, National President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce, explained that the association consisted of business operators, firms and industries with interests spanning every sector of private enterprise in Ghana. He indicated that as an advocacy organization, the Chamber was established with the prime objective of promoting industrial and commercial interests in the country. . Stephane Miezan, Western Regional Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, mentioned that his outfit was poised to build the capacity of members of the business association to enable them expand their businesses. He indicated that the expansion of the private sector would invariably led to the creation of thousands of jobs for many jobless youth, adding but without strong capacity building, many of our members will remain where they are and the potential of job creation would be affected. He noted that available statistics indicated that between 2013 and 2015, about 5,000 businesses were registered. If we are able to build the capacity of these establishments they will stand the chance of creating many jobs, he added. From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi File Photo 01.03.2016 LISTEN DKT international Inc. the NGO behind the No Yawa Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health Education movement kick started the 2016 inter regional schools debate from the Volta region with eight selected second cycle school across the region as part of its closing activities. With over 300 students gathered at the regional house of chiefs Hall on Friday, 19/02/2016 in Ho where the event took place. The participating schools were Sogakofe senior high, Ziope Senior High, Hohoe EP Senior High,Fodome Senior High, Vakpo Senior High and Akatsi Senior High Technical School. The Motion for the first round Exposing Ghanaian youth to sexual and reproductive health education has cause more harm than good saw Sogakofe SHS(against the motion) come up against Ziope SHS(for the Motion), whiles Vakpo SHS (for the motion) came up against Fodome SHS(against the Motion), Akatsi SHTS(for the motion)against Hohoe SHS(against the motion) and the first round ended with Ziope SHS obtaining 29 points, Sogakofe 52 points, Fodome 30 points, Vakpo 46 points, Akatsi 37 points and Heps 45 points respectively making Sogakofe, Heps,Vasec,and Akatsi emerging the winners and qualifying for the second round of debate. Round two started with theMotionSexual and reproductive health education must be incorporated into the schools curriculum which saw Sogakofe SHS (against the motion) coming up against Hohoe EP SHS (for the motion) whiles Vakpo SHS(for the motion) came up against Akatsi SHTS (against the motion) and at the end of the second round Sogakofe secured 48 points,Hohoe 44 points, Vakpo 44 points and Akatsi 42 points respectively taking Sogakofe SHS and Vakpo SHS into the finals. The finals Motion was The media in Ghana has promoted sexuality among the youth than discourage it which saw Vakpo speaking against the motion and Sogakofe for the motion. It all ended with Sogakofe emerging overall winners of the completion to represent the Volta region in Kumasi with 50 points whiles the runner ups vakpo senior high came up with 44 points. Miss Irene Addai from Hohoe EP SHS was adjudge the best debater for the day while Sogakofe took away a certificate,100 exercises books, school bags, pens, stickers, T-shirts from the organizers and a cash amount of Gh500.00. All the other schools benefited from exercises books, school bags, pens, stickers, and T-shirts. Madam Doris Abayavor from the regional inspectorate unit of Ghana Education Services was the chair person for the event and advised the winners to work hard for the bigger task ahead of them since they will becoming against the other nine regions in Kumasi in June for the national competition. Meanwhile Mr. Frank Alornyo, a regional community rep of DKT in the Ho-central zone thanked the school heads that allowed their students to take part in the competition and that they had really done well and encouraged them to form debating clubs on various school campuses The southern fieldsoperation manager of DKT international Ms. Rosie Gbegnedji was full of praise for the schoolsthat took part in the competition encouraging the other schools to emulate them since this type of competition brings out the best in the students and grooms them into good public speakers in future. she advised the winners not to give up or think because they have won the regional completion it will make then the eventual winners in June in Kumasi but rather study hard and to focus not only on debating skills but the content they will be presenting. The No Yawa youth platform started in 2012 and has since educated in excess of 400,000 on their sexual and reproductive health rights with the focus on staying in school and making smart choices. The service educates students in schools, online, through youth friendly clinics, SMS services, in the field across the 10 regions of Ghana with 40 regional community reps, and uses a mix of interesting and educative media. For more information visit www.noyawagh.com or search for noyawagh on facebook. Barclays plans to sell down its 62.3 per cent stake in Barclays Africa over the next two-three years, CEO Jes Staley told CNBC this morning. Barclays is withdrawing from Africa after almost a century there. The news first emerged in December and then again on Friday, sending shares in its business Barclays Africa Group tumbling. The British bank said on Sunday its board was evaluating strategic options for its 62.3 percent stake in the African business, a holding worth about $8.3 billion. On Tuesday in a Sens statement it said: Barclays PLC is reducing its shareholding in BAGL due to recently introduced regulatory burdens specific and particular to Barclays PLC as a UK headquartered and globally significant financial institution. These regulations significantly decrease BAGLs standalone returns for Barclays PLC. Shares in Barclays Africai, which is based in South Africa and also operates in nine other countries (see map), dropped 6.8 percent on Monday before recouping some losses to trade down 5.5 percent at 1440 GMT. This morning they were down 5.5 per cent. iiThe review comes within months of Jes Staley taking over as chief executive of the British lender, at a time when it is required by regulators at home to hold more liquid assets to shore up defences against any future financial crises. Once at the heart of executives' expansion plans, Africa's growth prospects were dealt a blow in mid-2014 when prices of oil and other commodities - export mainstays of many economies - dived, partly due to a slowdown in leading consumer China. Staley's review also came after South African President Jacob Zuma decided to change his finance minister twice in less than a week in December, at a time when the economy is under severe stress, raising questions about Pretoria's commitment to prudent fiscal policy. While the African company accounted for 13 per cent of Barclays' core profit in the first nine months of 2015, its earnings growth was the slowest among the British lender's main businesses in that period. Analysts and bankers said the share price drop was mainly driven by investor expectations that any sale of such a large stake in Barclays Africa would be conducted at below market prices.i "Barclays could not have picked the worse time to sell. Apart from the standard discount the sale of major stakes, they will struggle to find buyers," said a Johannesburg-based banker, who declined to be named as he is not authorised to speak publicly. 'YOUR MONEY IS SAFE' Fund manager Korner Perspective director Graeme Korner said there was little appetite in the market for a major banking transaction also said finding a buyer for such a large stake would be challenging. "Unless there is a really powerful player that has a deep balance sheet and can add strategic value to Barclays Africa its not in the interest of minority shareholders to see it passed on to somebody else," he said. But another banker, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Chinese banks might be best placed to do a deal because they had stronger balance sheets than their European or U.S. counterparts. "But $8 billion is not a small change for anyone so there's stronger likelihood that Barclays will sell down rather a complete exit," he said. Barclays Africa said any announcement by its parent would not affect its operations, while its Kenyan division assured customers it would not be shutting down. "I assure you that your money is safe with us and you should not be concerned about the operation of your account," said Kenyan Managing Director Jeremy Awori.i Barclays has had a presence in Africa since 1925. Barclays Africa was created three years ago under a deal in which the British bank handed over ownership of its businesses in eight African countries to its South African subsidiary in exchange for a 62.3 percent stake in the new entity. The company makes most of its profit and revenue in South Africa and also operates in Kenya, Botswana, Ghana, Zambia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Uganda and Tanzania. It had 36 billion pounds ($54 billion) of assets on a risk-adjusted basis and made a profit of 791 million pounds ($1.1 billion) in the first nine months of 2015 Barclays also has small businesses in Egypt and Zimbabwe which are not part of Barclays Africa; it tried to sell them to Barclays Africa after the 2013 deal, but talks fell through due to disagreements about the price.ii 01.03.2016 LISTEN The Initial Public Offer (IPO) extension of Agricultural Development Bank Limited (ADB) has been hailed as an opportunity for Ghanaians to own shares in the wholly national bank. This follows the resumption of high flying Mr Daniel Asiedu as Managing Director to spark the restoration of the bank Market watchers say the extension would also ensure that moves to make the bank a financial institution owned by the Ghanaian public and other investors become a successful reality. This observation agrees with reports that Solomon Adu Atefoe, Marketing and Communications Manager of ADB has disclosed that foreign investors have shown the biggest interest in acquiring the bank's shares, therefore local investors also need to show more interest in the shares. The extension of the closing of the offer period from Friday, February 26, 2016 to 24 March, 2016, was granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission possibly as a gesture to allow for more local mobilization of share purchases. The bank issued a public offer in the latter part of December 2015 for the sale of 74,888,369 Existing ADB Shares, an offer for subscription of 75,471,698 New ADB Shares, and the primary listing of all the 155,451,524 Existing ADB Shares and 75,471,698 New Shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). The share was priced at GH 2.65 per share and can be purchased at a minimum of 100 shares. The total shares being offered represents 75 percent stake in the bank that is intended to mobilise about GH300 million. So far indications are that the Initial Public Offering has received positive response, however, more was needed to make the ordinary Ghanaian the owner of this cherished national asset that has been dedicated to the countrys agriculture sector. Reports said that last year, some farmers stated their intention to buy shares in the Agricultural Development Bank (adb) when the bank floated its shares on the market. The Secretary of the Ghana National Tomato Farmers Federation, Patrick Ahiabu was reported to have said that they propose buying a minimum of 20 percent of the banks shares when the IPO commences. According to the reports the farmers indicated that ADB had served their interests and as such they should be allowed to purchase shares in order to feel part of the financial institution. The farmers say the decision to make the ownership of the bank public is a good one and should go ahead. The ADB channeled about GH381 million in 2014 into the agriculture sector, representing over 400 per cent on the 2010 figure of GH72 million. This brings total investments in the agricultural sector in the past five years to GH500 million, the highest investment by a bank over a period of five years. The breakdown of the GH381 million amount was as follows: Fishing and Aquaculture GH125.366m; Industrial Crops GH60.085m; Food Crops GH38.622m; Livestock and Poultry GH22.067m; Agro Marketing GH3.919m; and Agro Processing GH130.860m. In 2015, not only did it sponsor the farmers forum as part of the National Farmers Day celebrations, but also as commitment to farmers and fishermen in the country, sponsored a fully furnished three bedroom house to the ultimate winner of the 31st National Farmers Day Award. The Bank has presented 13 three-bedroom houses to winners of the national farmers day award celebration since 2001 and has been the main sponsor of other activities of the National Farmers Day Celebration such as the National Farmers Forum and the Welcome Cocktail for the award nominees over the last five years. Persons familiar with the banking industry have said that the ability of ADB to generate extra funds for expansion of its operations would be a resounding financial maneuver of the bank that would enable it to chalk the greater accomplishments it seeks to attain in the countrys banking industry. The bank won the Best Agricultural Financing Bank as well as also came first runner up in Product Innovation at the recent 14th Ghana Banking Awards held in 2015. The ADB was further named the bank with the best customer service in the latest survey by the research wing of consulting firm, Nest of Ideas. The survey, dubbed Customer First, sampled the experiences of 2000 customers of various banks in a period of one year (October 1, 2014- October 9, 2015) involving 27 banks and 22 savings and loans companies. It centered on timeliness of transactions, customer service activities and whether employees were smart, courteous and knowledgeable. These awards and mark ups are more than indicative of ADBs capability, persons familiar with the banking sector observed, adding that these attributes should leave no one surprised when the second phase of the IPO witnesses over-subscription. According to the lead advisors, IC Securities (Ghana) Limited Further details on the IPO are contained in the offer prospectus which can be obtained from any ADB branch, any SCB branch, IC Securities (Ghana) Limited, and any Licensed Dealing Member of the GSE or go to www.adbipo.com . The successful listing upon the closing of its IPO would make ADB the second public bank to trade on the GSE following in the steps of GCB Bank. ### 01.03.2016 LISTEN Accra, March 1, 2016 Busy Ghana, a leading 4G Internet and mobile data service provider in Ghana has opened its new ultra-modern sales and service experience centre at the Ring Road Central, Accra; to offer customers access to Busys range of innovative products and services. The new experience centre, located within the refurbished Busy Building, is equipped with the latest technology to give customers superior 4G experience, excellent customer support and sale of Busys innovative and affordable devices. With special area for customers to browse and explore Busys range of 4G data devices; customers can touch and feel any of these devices and get the full 4G experience. Opening the facility, the President of the Association of Ghana Industries, Mr. James Asare Adjei commended Busy Ghana for maintaining a very high standard in the provision of Internet services in the country as he acknowledged the pioneering role of Busy. Busy is a household name in Ghanas Internet and mobile data services sector; having played a pioneering role in the fledgling phase of the industry, he said. Mr Praveen Sadalage, Managing Director of Busy expressed excitement about the new developments and said the renovated experience centre represents Busys commitment to continue building on the foundation laid in 2001; which was re-enforced in January this year when Busy launched its 4G services with affordable devices starting from as low as Ghs99.00, unlimited freebies, superior network quality and widest 4G coverage in Accra and Tema; spanning from Kasoa to Prampram and to the foot of the Aburi mountains. Mr Sadalage said: While our main goal is to ensure that our existing clients and customers get the timely service and support they need, we also wish to extend a warm welcome to all seeking quality and reliable Internet services. He assured customers of Busys continuous effort at improving its services with innovative products to make mobile data services affordable to all. Mr Sadalage, also encouraged Busys customers to share their feedback with the business via the toll free line, Busys website and on the various interactive media platforms. He commended the management and staff of Busy for their support to the business commitment to continuously improve and enrich lives for national development. The official opening of the Experience Centre is part of the launch of Busys extensive retail network across Accra and Tema aimed at reaching all consumers within the region; with thirteen (13) point-of-sale outlets spread across Accra Mall, Westhills Mall, Achimota Mall and partner outlets like Electroland, Palace, Techno, Starlite, Melcom & Hisense. Customers can also visit any of Busys one hundred and twenty (120) dealers to connect with Busy or over six hundred (600) indirect retailers to purchase physical recharge vouchers. The event was attended by captains of industry, corporate bodies, the media and other relevant stakeholders in the ICT industry. The largest gathering of Ghanas Christian Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders has been scheduled for Saturday April 2, 2016 at the World Trade Centre Accra. Time is 8:30am. The event dubbed, Spiritpreneurship Summit will provide leading entrepreneurs and business leaders the rare opportunity to network and learn emerging business opportunities as well as how to position their brands to maximize these opportunities. Previous editions of the Spiritpreneurship have been held with phenomenal success, attracting overflowing numbers of business executives and entrepreneurs who went home with life-transforming experiences. This years edition promises a greater experience according to the event organizers, Kharis Group LLC. Themed, Divine Strategies for Wealth Creation, the 2016 edition will examine some of the time-tested Biblical strategies for creating wealth. "Spiritpreneurship embodies synthesizing spirituality with the art of creating wealth. If you are Christian, every aspect of your life including your business should be rendered as worship to God, says Dr. Randy Osae Bediako, summit host. Today, it is very disheartening that billions of dollars are currently in the hands of godless entrepreneurs, business leaders and other corrupt organizations whose hidden agenda is to shut down the preaching of the Gospel. That is why God is anointing men and women to go into business, plunder the wealth of the sinners and use the spoils for the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Business and entrepreneurship can be an effective vehicle not only to meet our own needs and that of shareholders but also as a means of underwriting world evangelization, he emphasizes. The event organizers believe that in these last days, God is raising a new breed of entrepreneurs and corporate executives and empowering them to create substantial wealth. This new breed of business people see wealth, not as an end to be sought after, but as a tool to do the work of God and promote kingdom agenda in the marketplace. The event targets CEO's and high-ranking government executives, civil society leaders, top-level strategists and groundbreaking entrepreneurs. Board Chairmen, Management Consultants, Managing Directors, Chief Executive Officers, Chief Operating Officers, Chief Information Officers, Chief Strategy Officers, Chief Marketing Officers, Finance Managers just to name a few, have all made Spiritpreneurship their must-attend event. Leading professionals from key sectors of the economy, such as Banking, Real Estate, Aviation and Transport, Retail, Media and Marketing, Energy and Tourism, Utilities, Healthcare, IT and Technology, Oil and Gas etc., have all attended the event within the past two years. Confirmed speakers for this years event include: Bishop Charles Agyinasare, Founder, Perez Chapel International, Mr. Richard Dugan, Group President & CEO, McOttley Holdings, Mrs. Linda Larbi, Former Head, Marketing, Coca-Cola Equitorial and Mrs. Dzigbordi Dosoo, Founder & CEO, Allure Africa Group Ltd. There will also be a symposium session on Courting Business Success in Tough Economic Times, with four industry chieftains. They include: Mr. George Kojo Addison, MD StarLife Assurance Company, Mr. Samuel Sakyi-Hyde, CEO, unicredit Ghana, Dr. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, Executive Director, Databank Group and Dr. Joyce R. Aryee, CEO, Salt & Light Ministries. Spiritpreneurship 2016 has McOttley Holdings as Title Sponsor. Other sponsors include: Databank, StarLife, uniBank, McOttley Capital, Centrifuj, McOttley Money Lending and uniCredit Ghana Ltd. Media Partners include: Business Day, Business and Financial Times, DDP, Joy FM, Sunny FM, Starr FM, Sweet Melodies FM, Live FM, Faith TV, Precious TV, TV Africa and Viasat 1. Strategic partners include: 4 Heem Apparel, Eqonsept, Throne Gaits, Nick Solomon, Pretty Cutty and Divine Media Ltd. 01.03.2016 LISTEN Former presidential aspirant and former Minister of Trade, Industry and Presidential Special Initiatives, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen has assured the people of the Brong-Ahafo region of a revival of the oil palm industry, which has collapsed under the John Mahama led-National Democratic Congress government. Addressing a meeting of Moslem clerics and chiefs of settler communities at Derma, in the Tano South constituency, whilst accompanying Nana Akufo-Addo on a visit to the constituency, Alan Kyerematen noted that the NPP, under President John Agyekum Kufuor, had a vision of making oil palm a cash crop and a major foreign exchange earner for the country. To this end 11,000 acres of oil palm were cultivated in four communities in the Tano South constituency Derma, Ankaase, Ada and Sesekpo. This was an unprecedented feat by the NPP. If this government, as usual, had not played politics with it and continued with this initiative, all of you here, as oil palm farmers, would have been rich by now, he said. Again, with the people of Derma also engaged in the cultivation of tomatoes, Alan Kyerematen explained that, under the NPP government, the Pwalugu Tomato Factory was rehabilitated and equipped with modern state-of-the-art equipment for the processing of tomatoes. This factory, located in the North, has collapsed under John Mahama. His government did not pay attention to this factory, which has the capacity of processing 25 truckloads of tomatoes every day. If the NPP had continued in office, the processing of tomatoes alone would have also made tomato farmers rich, he added. He, therefore, assured the gathering that the oil palm industry and the Pwalugu tomato factory will be revived under the next NPP government, led by Nana Akufo-Addo. When the NPP came into office in 2001, we brought so many job opportunities for which the population of Derma and Tano South were major beneficiaries. We will do it again under Nana Akufo-Addo, he said, drawing a rousing round of applause from the packed Assemblies of God Church Hall in Derma. He continued, It is because of the change he wants to bring to the people of Ghana which is why he is contesting for the Presidency of this country. When he comes into office, he will revive all these businesses so that prosperity for all is achieved. Measure of performance not in projects On the NDC's touting of their so-called projects as an election winner, Alan Kyerematen stressed that: in spite of their so-called unprecedented projects, the people of Ghana are suffering. There is suffering everywhere because they have mismanaged the Ghanaian economy. According to the NPP leading figure, every government, from independence till now, has projects to its name and, therefore, the only measure of performance of any government should be the condition of living of its people. Have you come across any government which has not built a school or hospital before? The management of the economy, however, is what is important because it will bring relief to all. When Nana Akufo-Addo comes into office, the good works of President Kufuor will be replicated and even surpassed, he added. Nana Akufo-Addo's message for the 2016 election, according to Alan Kyerematen, is that: he is coming into office with a team, to solve the problems of Ghana and, thereby, bring relief and prosperity for all Ghanaians. That is his message. With Ghana's GDP growth rate for 2015 hovering at some 4%, as opposed to a growth rate of 8.4% at the time the NPP left office, Alan Kyerematen explained that: this means we are retrogressing as a nation. He continued, If someone who is giving you a growth rate of 4% tells you to vote for him again, then it means you are voting to retrogress. I am pleading with you, in 2016, let us vote for Nana Akufo-Addo and we will all be witnesses to the change that will come to our country. Email: [email protected] The United Cadres Front of Ghana (UCF-GHANA) Tema Regional Branch wish to react to Mensa Otabils attempt at inciting the Ghanaian citizenry against the ruling government. We are particularly at pains to understand the logic behind: We cant just be happy because a road has been done. We cant just be happy because we didnt have electricity and now we have electricity. This is a purely partisan political talk and the UCF-GHANA will not acknowledge him speaking as a minister of the Good Gospel of God. To us he has become a seasoned politician and we are addressing him as such. If the NPP has unleashed some clergymen to hide in their clerical cloaks and dabble in the dirty politics that has infected this other-wise well cultured and peaceful country and wish to soil their reverend apparels in it, we shall respond to them in like-manner. What sense does it make when vehicle owners who complain of bad roads that affect them badly not be happy when a road is done? Why should citizens not be grateful to government when a damning energy crisis that nearly stopped the heart-beat of a whole countrys economy when it is finally FIXED? And why should an individual who crowns himself as the super depository of knowledge think that because he is not satisfied, the entire citizenry must flow with him? Mensa Otabil sank himself in Partisan politics when he posited that those who constitute the current ruling government are not citizens of this country thus, the need for citizens to take back their country. What else could we make of this?: WE HAVE TO WREST THE NATION BACK AND CONTROL IT AS CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY AND THAT IS THE CHALLENGE I WANT TO PUT TO YOU. YOU HAVE TO DARE TO DREAM TO TAKE OUR NATION BACK. I HOPE THAT AS WE CELEBRATE THIS STORY, AND I LIKE HOW IT WAS PUT EARLIER (referring to a book he was launching) THAT ITS A REVOLUTION AND ITS REALLY A REVOLUTION. WE HAVE TO BATTLE, WE HAVE TO FIGHT, WE HAVE TO WREST THE DESTINY OF OUR NATION FROM INCOMPETENCE AND FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE DETERMINED TO RUN US TO THE GROUND (all emphasis, ours). Politician Mensa Otabil ought to be told in plain language that he and his ilk are not more Ghanaian than the current political leadership and if he wants to incite a revolution he should bring it on, we are more than ready for him and his fellow self-glorified demi-gods. We, however, caution him that he be mindful of the cost involved in his proposal. Meanwhile we wish to elicit an answer from Mensah Otabi whether his latest foul-mouthing is to atone for his commission of sin against the NPP in his famous BAD COMPANY and ALL-DIE-BE-DIE sermon in 2012? He suffered a trashing from the NPP that forced him to organize a press conference, calling radio stations who kept playing the recording as evil. In that media interaction he had not the guts to state that indeed, I said what is being played. He confirmed the voice was his but that the recording was doctored. That is the attitude of a FEARLESS and TRUTHFUL man of a god who cannot own up to his own careless utterances. He advocated government weaning itself off the management of the health and educational sectors to private business because it had no business meddling in those sectors. Hear him: The state is doing everythingrunning our hospitals, running our schools, employing all the people and messing it up big time. How else could majority of Ghanaians understand him than a purely business cleric? This is a man who does not believe in Free Education because education to him must necessarily be expensive and exclusive of the wealthy. His BAD COMPANY message in which he mentioned education cannot be free was not really against the Nana Akufo Addo message per se, but his own commercial conviction in that belief. Long before the Nana Akufo Addo campaign message, Mensa Otabil had advocated in one of his sermons to the congregation that if Ghanaians wanted good education they must expensively pay for it. Mensa Otabil, will fight any Ghanaian who advocates Free Education, because he has become an Educational Entrepreneur whose business interest will be crushed if any government succeeds in fully implementing it. We can cite his Central University as one of the most expensive private universities in the country currently. A semester fees of his university is over twice that of public universities. He has become a rich elite personality in society and, therefore, it is only the rich elite who can cough out such fees to have their wards educated. So, for the poor in society who are being catered-for by subsidized public universities, Mensa Otabil wants government to take her hands off that sector and hand it over to business men like him? And this is somebody who is inciting a revolution? In whose interest is he launching it the elite? This is the man who claims to have this country at heart and wished the government shirks its civic responsibilities of providing health and education to especially the poor because of his selfish business ambitions. That is the Revolutionary Advocate! Mensa Otabil then veered into the purely NPP political jargon of our time labeling the leadership of government INCOMPETENT. How else could he have satisfied his political masters and getting their pat without belching it out. Mr. Otabil bring your revolution on! But remember that over 51 per cent of the Ghanaian citizenship voted for President John Dramani Mahama in the 2012 elections. If you see we, those who voted the NDC into government as non-citizens we leave you to your conscience for this wicked insult. Discernible Ghanaians are watching you, including some of your church members. Signed Edward Aganaboya Mba (Chairman) 0244284795 Camillus Maalneriba-Tia Sakzeesi (Media/communications Dept.) 0266223333 IMANI Vice-President Kofi Bentil says the 1992 constitution stands in direct opposition to a bill introduced by government seeking to listen in to private conversations. Kofi Bentil says passing the Postal Packet and Telecommunications Message bill into law will still be an illegal law. Although, security agencies under the 2008 Terrorism Law can obtain a warrant to intercept communications, the new bill branded the 'Spy bill' removes the need for a warrant from court. It however demands that government operatives come to court after 48 hours to justify why they intercepted the communication of a private citizen they suspect of engaging in crime. But the bill has sparked opposition from the Minority in Parliament and further opposition from sections of the Ghanaian public. At a Joy FMs Thought Leadership series dedicated to the discussion on the propriety of the bill, Kofi Bentil, a leading voice against the bill restated his position that the law can bring no good it can only bring bad. He is convinced that government wants to bypass the need to obtain permission from judges but it can never dodge the enshrined provisions of the 1992 constitution protecting privacy. He says the right to privacy as detailed in Article 18 can never be taken away by any new law because it is a fundamental human right. The referred article states: 18. (2) No person shall be subjected to interference with the privacy of his home, property, correspondence or communication except in accordance with law and as may be necessary in a free and democratic society for public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the protection of the rights or freedoms of others Although the article contains a caveat giving conditions under which this right can be suspended, the lawyer said the phrase in accordance with law should not be misinterpreted to mean that if there is a law that permits the interception of communication then the action is lawful. Kofi Bentil explained, the phrase in accordance with law means the new law must be compatible with the rule of law. The rule of law protects a citizen from being abused based on the discretion of the government. But Kofi Bentil believes this abuse is exactly what the Postal Packet and Telecommunications bill is about and exactly what the rule of law is against. The policy expert who has already signalled he will go to the Supreme Court to strike out the law if it is passed, said every citizens right to liberty stands endangered. For him critical journalists, opposition politicians will be hunted down through the law and the private life including marital and extra-marital relationships will be laid bare before listening ears and watching eyes of security operatives. He finds these possibilities revolting. The Deputy Interior minister James Agalga has however rationalised the law. He explained that the novel aim of the law is to help prevent crime instead of responding to crime already committed. Instead of a reactionary response to crime from security agencies, the law will allow them to be much more proactive. This could signal a break-through in fighting terrorism, money-laundering, drug, human and arms trafficking, armed robbery, corruption, he highlighted. Think about the benefits James Agalga dismissed pessimist pour downs on the laws noble objective. More soon... Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|[email protected] 01.03.2016 LISTEN Some ex-soldiers who have sued the Ghana Armed Forces over alleged deductions of their gratuity are asking government to set up a committee of inquiry to investigate what they say is recurring fraud in the system. More than 650 soldiers who retired last year are in court demanding the payment of up to a25,000 each, which they say was fraudulently deducted from their gratuity. The Accra High Court has however adjourned the case to next two weeks. Joseph Opoku Gakpo was in court and reported the ex-soldiers believe there is some corrupt activity going on at the military high command. They want those involved in the misappropriations punished. They deducted my money and I need the money immediately, my children are crying, one told Joseph. Another said government should make sure that those who took our money should return it so that we dont cause any mayhem in the country. We need our money. It is a very bitter pill to swallow for someone to work for over 20 years and to be treated this way". Although the Finance Ministry has released the full amount, it is the Ghana Armed Froces they are blaming for sitting ont he remaining cash. Chief of Defence Staff, Rear Admiral Mathew Quashie Lawyer for the aggrieved ex-soldiers John Kwame Quayson said it is incomprehensible that the GAF will refuse to release monies meant for the ex-soldiers. This matter is straight forward, each WO1 was supposed to receive 85,000 cedis and government released the monies. Now the monies have gotten to the leadership of the GAF and they gave each person 60,000. The question is where id the remaining 25,000 cedis?" This is not the first time, that has been the culture. The committee should find out where those monies are and if it went into the wrong hands the government should make them pay, he added. The deductions in his view are unlawful and everything must be done to apprehend the perpetrators. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Naa Sakwaba Akwa | [email protected] Government has lauded Mechanical Lloyd for having the confidence and continually investing in the Ghanaian economy. Vice President Kwesi Amissah Arthur who was speaking at the commissioning of Mechanical Lloyds Takoradi Branch on Tuesday said such investments prove to rest of the world that investing in the Ghanaian economy is good. He was confident that the company with its history in the automobile industry will not disappoint the people of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis and the Western Region. The Government of Ghana is very happy that a company like Mechanical Lloyd is voting to support the Ghanaian economy. A company like Mechanical Lloyd is showing to the rest of the country that it is good to invest in our economy which is something we applaud Mechanical Lloyd for. Mr Amissah Arthur noted He stressed that such a facility should help prolong the lives of vehicles. When we spend monies on these ford fusions and so on its really a poor country spending money to improve the economy of a rich country so we must use the vehicle to the maximum possible extent so this facility will help us to extend the lives of the vehicles so that we extract as much value as possible from it and I know that Mechanical Lloyd with its history is able to help the consumers to benefit from the technology that is applied. He also made the call for the company to transfer knowledge and expertise to artisans who operate in the western region Regional Manager, sales and marketing for Sub Saharan Africa for ford motor company Rob Johnson described Africa is one of the youngest economies in the world. Its growing and the projections are unbelievable in the next 10 years and we want to be a part of it in Ghana and this facility is just the next step. With this new dealership, ford together with the team at mechanical Lloyd will be able to have some great plans together and grow together. We aim to improve customer satisfaction, Tailor our global vehicles to the needs of the local market, offer parts and services accessible and available to where the customers are and we will be able to do that through a service that is second to none, he emphasized. Mechanical Lloyd is a fully owned Ghanaian company with its headquarters in Accra-South Industrial Area. The company also has branches in Adenta, Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and now Takoradi and holds franchises for BMW and Ford vehicles as well as Massey Ferguson agricultural tractors and implements. Authorities of the E.P Church Mawuko Girls Senior High School in Ho in the Volta region are having tough time in providing quality education to students due to myriad of challenges confronting the school. The school with students population of about 1,780 is battling with inadequate classrooms and dormitories, among others. A recent visit by this reporter to the school revealed that some Getfund projects began in the school are at a standstill with classes being conducted in some of the uncompleted structures and part of the dinning hall. There is congestion in the dormitories as students pack their trunks and chop boxes on the corridors. Assistant headmistress of the school in charge of welfare, Rose Nyawuto said, the situation has become a headache to management. She said in anticipation of the completion of some of the projects, first year students that were posted to the school for the 2015/16 academic far exceeded the vacancies declared during the computerized selection process. We were assured that, the projects especially the dormitory will completed by September/October [2015], that is why we absorb all the girls that were given to us. But as of now the contractor has not come back to site. If these projects were completed, it will alleviate our challenges. She also lamented about the difficulty in maintaining discipline among students, especially those in the boarding house as only two teachers are staying in the school premises due to lack of staff accommodation. We need bungalows for our staff, currently the headmistress doesn't stay on campus. Only two female teachers are here taking care of the over 1000 girls. The rest of the teachers have to come from town every evening to supervise preps and ensure discipline on campus, Madam Nyawuto said. Meanwhile, the school's estate officer has revealed that two of the contractors have return to site after several follow ups and they are due to complete work on some of the stalled projects which consist of a science laboratory, Home economics department. Mr. Samuel Kwame, however noted that the dormitory project which was abandoned since 2012, will be repackage and re-awarded to a new contractor. He is therefore optimistic that, two of the projects will be completed by the end of the year. 01.03.2016 LISTEN Introduction Under Article 32 of the Schengen Visa Code, the consulate shall refuse your Schengen visa application if any of the following factors are present. Presentation of a travel document which is false, counterfeit or forged. The consulate shall refuse your visa application if you present a passport or other travel document which is found to be false, counterfeit or forged. The consulate will verify your travel document to ascertain whether it was properly issued by the competent authority or has been tampered in any way. The verification will also include the verification of visa stickers affixed into your passport or other travel document. If the consulate finds that the stickers in your passport are forged, your visa will be refused. How does the consulate check your travel document? There are so many ways the consulate can check whether your travel document is forged. They may compare your travel document with a genuine specimen of the document. They may also examine the travel document by checking the numbering, the printing and stitching of pages, inserted seals and stamps, and use of equipment such as UV lamps, magnifying glasses, retrieval lamps, microscopes and, where necessary, more advanced equipment such as video spectral analysers. When the consulate detects that your travel document is forged, they will retain it and refer the document to the appropriate issuing authority in your country for onward action. You may end up being prosecuted for possessing a false, forged or counterfeit document should your passport or visa stickers in them be found to be so. Failure to provide justification and purpose and conditions of your intended stay. Your application will also be refused if you are unable to justify the purpose and conditions of your intended stay. In fact, a greater number of Schengen visa refusals are based on applicants inability to sufficiently justify the purpose of their visit. Often times, applicants are bewildered by the import of this ground. The purpose of the intended stay In determining the purpose of your intended stay, the consulate will verify the purpose and the legality of your intended stay and its justification. In making this determination, the consulate will obtain ample information from you at the time of submitting your application in addition to the supporting documents to verify the purpose of your journey. If the consulate finds that the person or company inviting you has previously sent a large number of invitations to other persons they may conclude that the purpose of your travel is geared towards illegal immigration and/or employment and will refuse your visa. If the consulate finds that your travel document contains a stamp indicating that you have made a previous application in another consulate but no visa was issued, it may raise concerns about your intentions, but not an automatic refusal. The consulate may wish to contact the other consulate for them to clarify the reasons for their refusal to issue you a visa. In further examining the purpose of your stay, the consulate will assess whether your declared purpose is coherent and credible and the supporting documents correspond to the stated purpose: Examples of incoherence between declared purpose of stay and factual information provided include situations where you claim to travel for purposes of tourism but your documents show that you intend to stay in an industrial area or in a cheap hotel. This may also be the case where you claim to visit a professional event at dates that do not correspond to the actual dates of the event, or where the purpose of your trip is to visit a friend, but it turns out that your friend is absent during that period; or you claim to be a trader in jewellery but have been invited to attend a medical conference. Other examples include situations where the purpose of your trip is to participate in a congress for which you hold an invitation confirming your participation. However, you fail to provide any documentation showing that you hold a profession or a qualification related to the subject of the congress. To be continued Emmanuel Opoku Acheampong Disclaimer: This article only provides general information and guidance on Schengen immigration law. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. The writer will not accept any liability for any claims or inconvenience as a result of the use of this information. The writer is an immigration law advisor and a practicing law attorney in Ghana. He advises on U.S., UK, and Schengen immigration law. He works part-time for Acheampong & Associates Ltd, an immigration law firm in Accra. He may be contacted on [email protected] . Head of Research and Deputy Director of the Center for Democratic Development (CDD), Dr. Franklin Oduro, has expressed surprise in the way the government is determined to ensure the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunication Messages Bill is passed by Parliament. He said a bill that seeks to interfere with the privacy of individuals must be passed in a participatory atmosphere devoid of any hidden agenda. Dr. Oduro said the executive must not seek to rush the bill through parliament but rather ensure it addresses all other outstanding ambiguities. Speaking at the Joy FMs Thought Leadership program at the Alisa Hotel on the bill, he said the reference to "national security in the Bill is nebulous and this must be clarified". What is the nature of the threat that this country seeks to defend against? he questioned. He advised Parliament to refer the bill back to the executive to address some of the deficiencies identified in the document. Executive Director of Media Foundation of West Africa (MFWA), Sulley Braimah, said the passage of the bill before Parliament will paint a negative picture of the country. According to him, if the executive wants to have a good law, it has to ensure the process leading to its passage has to be participatory, and transparent for all. Mr. Braimah said what the civil societies in the country seek to achieve was to ensure the process is engaging and open for the citizens to contribute. However, Deputy Minister of Interior, James Agaga, rebutted claims that the bill seeks to encourage arbitrariness saying the law will cure the inherent inefficiencies of all the other laws such as the Anti-terrorism Act. Anti-terrorism act is specific to act of terrorism and this is very limited in its scope, he said. Mr. Agaga said the bill seeks to expand the scope of existing laws on terrorism, suppress organized crime and narcotic trafficking in the country. According to him, for the country to avoid abuse of the law in terms of interpretation, the current bill before the House has detailed the circumstances and conditions for an interception warrant. He advised Ghanaians to be positive about the bill and support the government to address the issues of terrorism. Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Austin Brako-Powers|[email protected] The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 577thmeeting held on 23 February 2016, received from the Commission a briefing on early warning, including an update on the state of operationalization of the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS) and horizon scanning, as a follow-up to its communique PSC/PR/COMM.(CCCLX)on the Full Use of All Available Tools in Preventive Diplomacy, adopted at its 360thmeeting held on 22 March 2013, as well as communique PSC/PR/COMM.(CDLXIII) on structural conflict prevention, adopted by Council at its 463rdmeeting held on 27 October 2014. Council took noteof the briefing on early warning, including the update on the state of operationalization of the CEWS and horizon scanning provided by the Commission. Council also took note of the statements made by the representatives of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA). Council recalled theSolemn Declaration on the 50thAnniversary of the Organization of African Unity (OAU)/AU, adopted by the Assembly of the Union, in Addis Ababa, on 25 May 2013, on the occasion of the Union's Golden Jubilee [Assembly/AU/Decl.3(XXI)], in which the Heads of State and Government pledged not to bequeath the burden of conflict to the next generation of Africans, setting as an objective the elimination of all conflicts by 2020; expressed their determination to anchor African societies, Governments and institutions on respect for the rule of law, human rights and dignity, popular participation and the management of diversity, as well as inclusion and democracy and committed themselves to place the African people at the centre of the Union's endeavours and to eradicate poverty. Council acknowledged that the CEWS is the most important tool to achieve conflict prevention in Africa and reaffirmed its commitment to ensure the effective implementation of its decisions on conflict prevention, including the strengthening of the linkage between early warning and early response. Stressing that the primary responsibility for ensuring effective conflict prevention lies with the Member States, Council reiterated its appeal to those Member States, that have not yet done so to speedily sign, ratify and domesticate the relevant AU instruments, particularly the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, as well as the African Union Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation (Niamey Convention). Council stressed the need for effective collaboration with respect to information sharing on early warning between the Commission, the Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs) and the CISSA, which should provide to the PSC such information to enable it take the required decisions in a timely manner. In the same vein, Council called for strengthening coordination and synergy between all AU Commission Departments involved in early warning, with a view to providing timeous and comprehensive early warning information to the PSC. Council encouraged the Commission and the RECs/RMs to accelerate their efforts towards the full operationalization and strengthening of their early warning systems,and urged AU Member States to provide the necessary financial support to enhance the human resource and technical capacity to this effect. Council reiterated the need for the Panel of the Wise and AU Special Envoys/Representatives to regularly brief the PSC on potential threats and crises to enable Council to take timeously appropriate decisions. Council agreed that the AU Commission, working with the RECs/RMs and CISSA, should provide to it, briefings on early warning, on a quarterly basis. Council agreed to remain seized on the matter. File Photo 01.03.2016 LISTEN The school feeding programme was never a brainchild of the President kuffour administration. Ghana was part of the 189 countries that adopted the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs ) in 2000 under president Rawlings. The first two goals are 1. To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 2. To achieve universal primary education According to the United Nations World Food Programme, 66 million primary school age children go hungry every day, with 23 million hungry children in Africa alone. In order to eradicate hunger and increase enrolment, in 2003, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, established the UN Hunger Taskforce (UNHTF) together with AUs NEPAD (New Partnership for Africas Development) designed the Home-grown School Feeding as part of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development. Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and other African countries were chosen to pilot the programme. The Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) started in earnest in 2005 as a pilot programme in at least one school in every of her ten regions. Hans Eenhoorn, a former Dutch top executive of the Unilever multinational was a member of the Hunger Taskforce and played a crucial role to convince the Dutch Government to Support Ghana to implement the expanded first phase between 2007 and 2010 with a little over 400,000 school children across the country. The Netherlands government agreed to give Ghana 40 million that will cover 2007 to 2010. Government of Ghana under president Mills assumed full responsibility and expanded it to rural areas. The school feeding programme can now boast of over 1.7 million children across the country without any external support. Looking at the history behind the school feeding I think the first credit should be given to president Rawlings for signing up with the millennium development goals. Whichever political party was in power between 2001 and 2008 will only implement what the UN was rolling out. So I find it incongruous that Mr Akufo-Addo who was a cabinet minister then fully acquainted with these facts, will lie through his teeth and tell Ghanaians that the Kuffour administration initiated and introduced school feeding programme. In fact, they rather denied Ghana the funding for the second phase 2010 and 2016 because of the malfeasance that took place under Dr Amoako Tuffour. It came to light from the audit conducted by Pricewater House Coopers, at the instance of the Royal Dutch Embassy. The Ndc government believes in continuity that is why we chose to continue with the policy under the same name Ghana school feeding programme even after the donor country withheld the funding in 2010. We could have changed the name and paint the picture that we have initiated a new policy just like when president kuffuor collapsed Omnibus Service Authority (OSA) and introduced metro mass transit ( I'll tackle this in my next epistle) The truth must be told. We are watching Awal Mohammed Dep National com. Officer Ndc Zongo Caucus The Headmistress of the Kperisi Basic School in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region, Rosina Die, says her life has been threatened after she allowed the plight of her school to be publicized. Earlier, unconfirmed reports said the District Assembly had demanded an apology from her. Harrowing pictures of children lying on the bare floor but showing determination to learn were awash on social media and some news portals last week, not long after President John Mahama boasted about major achievements in the educational sector at his state of the nation address. Dr. Bawumia interacts with the pupils before Mondays donation. The Headmistress was quoted as saying that several efforts to get desks for the children had proven futile. According to her, some authorities of the Municipal Assembly even asked her to instruct the pupils to carry their own stools to school. Speaking to the media today [Monday] after the Municipal Assembly led by the Upper West Regional Minister, the MCE and heads of the District Education Directorate presented some desks to the school, Madam Die said although she was happy upon receipt of the furniture, she was concerned for her life. I am happy and sad at the same time According to her, some youth of the incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC) have been assaulting her verbally. She also said she has received threatening phone calls and messages, saying she might be forced to seek transfer from the school if her safety cannot be guaranteed. I am happy but with challenges; without the furniture the children were suffering but now it will improve a whole lot of things. I have collected the things and I am happy but because of the manner in which the things came, I am feeling sad and happy at the same time because people are talking all over. There is even a youth group here who are threatening my life and saying I should wait and see; so all that cannot make me happy. The pupils excited about the desks. Bawumias wakeup call The Assemblys intervention comes few days after the Vice Presidential Candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamoud Bawumia, ordered 500 desks to be made for them. Dr. Bawumia, who was on a visit to the region visited the school to interact with the kids where he made the promise. Watering down Bawumias intervention? Although the Assembly appears to have hurriedly constructed the desks to save their face, they claim they were being done before Dr. Bawumia gave the pledge. Citi News Latif Mahama said he counted fifty-two desks in classes one and two, but the Assembly claims about 200 desks are being made. According to Latif, there were also a few new desks together with some old ones in class three, but could not confirm whether those ones were also provided by the Assembly. He said the Headmistress of the school, Madam Rosina Die, who was full of praise upon receiving the furniture, said she was unaware about the exact number of desks provided by the Assembly. She however says what has been provided is enough to solve the problem. Latif says the pupils showed great excitement, as they sat on the desks after learning on the bare floor with waist pains for nearly a year. Public sector victimization common in Ghana In Ghana, the practice where public sector workers are victimized for merely doing their work by exposing wrongs is common. This is because in most cases, the government always feel that only positives must be highlighted since the negatives go against them, particularly in an election year such as this. By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana The African Womens Development Fund in partnership with Alliance Francaise Accra presents International Womens Day 2016 with exciting panel discussions and a film screening on Tuesday 8th and Friday 11th March. International Women's Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. For us, its a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to honour acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. This International Women's Day 2016, the African Womens Development Fund (AWDF) in partnership with Alliance Francaise will host two lively panel discussions to talk about women in the Arts and the state of women-men relationships on campus. The first event will feature renowned Ghanaian Photographer Nana Kofi Acquah whose exhibition "Dont Call Me Beautiful" celebrating African womens resilience is currently underway at Alliance Francaise. This panel is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 8th March at the Exhibition hall, Alliance Francaise Accra at 6pm. This informal and interactive discussion will look at Nana Acquahs exhibit and other pertinent topics such as the stereotypical depiction of women in current social media trends, womens rights, gender, arts and culture and feminism. On the panel would be Nana Acquah himself, Nigerian/South African writer Yewande Omotoso and representation from AWDF. The moderator would be Kinna Likimani. There will also be readings by participants of the 2016 Writivism workshop which is to be held in Accra. For the second event, AWDF in partnership with the Center for Gender Studies and Advocacy (CEGENSA) and the African Studies Department of the University Of Ghana Legon, will host another interactive panel discussion on Campus Relationships on Friday, 11th March at the Institute Of African Studies Auditorium, University of Ghana, Legon. Dont miss the opportunity to be a part of the discussion dubbed About Last Night which will have a mixed gender panel to get "real" and "deep" about issues like date rape, sexuality and violence against women. The event will be preceded by the screening of a film: The Hunting Ground, which is a ground-breaking documentary on rape on campuses in the US. The film will show at 4.00pm- 5.30 pm, followed by the Panel Discussion at 6.00pm. The predominantly female panel would include student representation, writer and activist Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, Creative Storm CEO, Kofi Owusu, journalist Akua Blakofe, Nana Hanson, AWDF representation and will have Professor Audrey Gadzekpo as moderator. Students and the general public are warmly invited to attend and participate in both events. Join us to celebrate women in Africa and help build support for womens rights and participation in the political and economic arenas. Step It Up for Gender Equality! The African Womens Development Fund (AWDF) is a grant-making foundation that supports local, national and regional womens organizations working towards the empowerment of African women and the promotion and realization of their rights. Its mission is to mobilise financial, human and material resources to support African women and the work of the African womens movement to advance womens rights and gender equality in Africa. The Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) has called on journalists to avoid the usage of words that have the potential of setting the country on the path of conflict during this electoral period. Ghana is at an electoral cross road as scores of the public claiming to be overnight electoral experts are propounding several mandatory electoral reforms to the Electoral Commission (EC), the stage is therefore ripe for aggressive antagonistic campaign. The media as constitutionally mandated watchdogs must protect the national communication gate to ensure that information disseminated to the public are pure, devoid of hate speech with insightful words, Mr Francis Ameyibor, General Coordinator of CDA Consult stated at Ho. Mr Ameyibor who was speaking at a workshop organised by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) and sponsored by the British High Commission for Journalists from Western, Central, Eastern, Volta, and Greater Accra Regions at Ho, noted that the basis of either conflict or peace emanated from the usage of One word. The capacity training sought to provide guidance and practical knowledge for effective, non-violent, positive citizen participation in election. It was also aimed at equipping journalists with the requisite skills in election reportage to ensure violent free, transparent and credible general elections. The media as traditional gatekeepers must desist from using or offering a platform for politicians to use that one word which could create confusion, setting the stage for conflict. Journalists and politicians must use that one word which will lead to building national cohesion and holding us all together as one people with a common destiny, Mr Ameyibor noted. The CDA Consult General Coordinator appealed to journalists, politicians, and the general public to resist the temptation of using that one word to ignite conflict; think about the impact on your family, the image of this country among the community of nations. Speaking on General guidelines for coverage of elections, Mr Ameyibor urged media practitioners to be fair to all political parties and independent candidates so as to enhance free and peaceful 2016 elections. He told Journalists to promote and disseminate truthful unbiased political and electoral news to feed the general public You must reduce conflict and contribute to peace-building efforts through the application of ethical and professional standards. Journalists should be guided by the medias role in conflict prevention, peace-building and reconciliation instead of fanning political violence; foster responsible and accurate reporting in conflict situations, based on facts and fair treatment of all parties involved, giving as many view points as necessary in their proper content, context and unbiased way, avoiding inflammatory language, taking sides and giving opinions. Mr Ameyibor also urged journalists to avoid writing one-sided stories and allegationsCheck and crosscheck information and figures and treat statements on opinion polls with great circumspection. He reminded media practitioners that the duty of every journalist is to write and report the truth, bearing in mind his/her duty to serve the public as the public have the right to unbiased, accurate, balanced and comprehensive information as well as the opportunity to express themselves freely through the media. Ms Daphne Lariba Nabila, LRC Executive Director, underscored the need for journalists to protect the rights of electorates and be mindful of legal principles bordering on elections. She stressed on the need for journalists to play their watchdog role in exposing rots and human right violations during elections. Ms. Nabila who is a legal practitioner charged the media to highlight and address such activities to the appropriate quarters for redress. She said the laws of the country places high premium on issues of human right violation and also laws relating to elections, and that the media as key stakeholder, has a major role to play in protecting the rights of persons, hence the need for the training workshop. Participants were taken through various topics such as basic media ethics, role of the media in conflict management and peace building, ethical guidelines in elections reportage as well as general guidelines for credible election coverage. 01.03.2016 LISTEN Thousands of Pakistanis have turned out for the funeral of a former bodyguard executed for killing Punjabs governor over his opposition to blasphemy laws. Security was tight as a crowd of about 30,000 gathered to pay their last respects to Mumtaz Qadri in Rawalpindi. Qadri was hailed as a hero by Islamists for the 2011 killing of Salman Taseer, who wanted to reform the strict laws. Thousands of police were deployed along the route of the funeral procession and in the nearby capital, Islamabad. Qadri supporters threw rose petals on his coffin, Reuters reports from Liaquat Bagh park where the funeral was held. He lives! Qadri lives! mourners chanted, the news agency reported. From your blood, the revolution will come! Security forces kept their distance and stick-wielding activists of the hardline Sunni Tehreek movement, which organised the funeral prayers, controlled the crowd. The coffin was then taken in its flower-strewn ambulance some 20km (12.5 miles) north to Qadris ancestral village on the eastern outskirts of Islamabad. . His execution on Monday prompted protesters to take to the streets in cities in Pakistan. But the rallies in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad were mostly peaceful. Demonstrators burned tyres and chanted slogans, as well as blocking some roads into Islamabad. Qadri was executed at 04:30 local time (23:30 GMT) at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi on Monday. He had trained as an elite police commando and was assigned to Salman Taseer as his bodyguard. Qadri shot the politician 28 times at an Islamabad market in January 2011 and was sentenced to death later that year. He claimed it was his religious duty to kill the minister, who was an outspoken critic of Pakistans harsh blasphemy laws and supported liberal reforms. Pakistan has seen Islamist groups grow in influence in recent years and several high-profile blasphemy cases. Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive issue in Pakistan and critics argue that blasphemy laws are often misused to settle personal scores and unfairly target minorities. -bbc 01.03.2016 LISTEN A man who snatched a Honda CRV saloon car from a woman and her son at gunpoint has been given 32 years imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court. The convict, Godson Martey, who after robbing the woman with his other accomplices currently at large, later dumped her in a bush near Mitchell Camp, is expected to serve his 32-year jail term in hard labour. He has already spent close to four years behind bars on remand since 2012 when he was arrested. Martey was charged with conspiracy to commit crime, to wit robbery and robbery. He was, however, discharged of the conspiracy and convicted for the robbery, after the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that he committed the crime. The Presiding Judge, Aboagye Tandoh, when reading the verdict said, he took into consideration the three years and 10 months the convict had spent in custody. Nonetheless, the convict found himself in very dangerous company and was daring as much as his desire to make money was concerned. Something he described as an attitude which should not be tolerated in society. He added that his 32 years in prison would be a deterrent to others who are of the same intentions. Meanwhile, his other accomplice, Daniel Fiator, who was charged with dishonestly receiving property, contrary to sections 146 of the Criminal Offences of Act 1960 Act 29, was convicted to a fine of 600 (Six Hundred) penalty units, which is equivalent to GH7,200. In default, Fiator would face two years imprisonment. Facts The complainant lives at Community 22, Tema. On March 29, 2012, at about 10:45p.m., the complainant, Regina Adjoa Osei, and her son were driving in her Honda CRV vehicle with registration No GT 2822-12. They got to her front gate, and the son, who was driving the vehicle, got down to open the gate. When he entered the vehicle to drive into the house, four men came from behind a shop in front of the house, pulled out guns, and pointed at them. The son was pulled out of the vehicle and ordered to lie down on the floor with a gun pointed at him, while another ordered the complainant, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, to remain seated. All four men got on board the vehicle and drove off with the complainant towards the Community 22, Mitchell Camp road, where the complainant was thrown out of the vehicle into the bush. They also took away the complainant's handbag, one Samsung mobile phone, and cash in the sum of GH180. The complainant was able to identify the first accused when he was arrested in connection with another robbery, in which a police officer was killed. The first accused person (A1) denied the robbery, but investigations led to the arrest of the second accused, who told the police that it was A1 and some other people who sold the said vehicle to him in Togo for GH7,000, and when he bought the vehicle he changed the colour from ash to black, and gave it to the third accused person to offset a debt of GH12,800 he owed him. A3 then changed the chassis number, forged the papers of the vehicle, and also sold it to someone for GH37,000, after telling the buyer that he was a military officer. A3 also registered the vehicle for the new buyer, after claiming that he had sources at the Licensing Office who will expedite the registration. By Maame Agyeiwaa Agyei ([email protected]) Turkey President, Erdogan 01.03.2016 LISTEN In view of President Erdogans visit to Ghana this week, this paper seeks to highlight five reasons why Turkey could well be one of the best partners Africa could count on to support the continent in its efforts to provide sustainable peace to its populace. The world is currently reeling from the wake of global terrorist attacks and regional conflicts. From Asia to Europe, the Middle East to the Americas, countries and regional blocs are under enormous pressure to find sustainable ways to deal with the menace of terrorism and regional conflicts which have left citizens all over the world in a state of agitation as their security and by extension economic conditions continue to worsen. The result of such security fears has had massive impact on the political thinking and choices of people the world over. The 2015 Nigerian presidential election for instance, found many Nigerians who once backed former President Goodluck Jonathan, widely reject him as a result of what was considered a weak approach to dealing with the Boko Haram threat, among other things. The current President, Mr. Muhammadu Buhari was largely favoured to deal with the threat more decisively as a result of his military background and no-nonsense approach. Only time will tell how well he lives up to this billing. Even in the USA, GOP Presidential frontrunner Donald Trumps very radical approach to tackling the threat of terrorism from ISIS is gaining widespread support from the rank and file of the American society. To deal with this threat of terrorism and resolve conflicts, African countries have historically relied on old colonial powers and other imperial powers for support. However, changing global dynamics and the perennial failure to find lasting solutions has necessitated a rethink of our entire peace-building approach. In doing so it is also important to reconsider the possibility of engaging new partners with demonstrated interest, ability and influence to support Africas quest in finding lasting solutions to its security and conflict challenges. Here are five reasons why an African-Turkish alliance should be considered. 1. Turkeys neutral political interest on the African continent Neutrality in a mediators role is pivotal because it pre-empts a guarantee of fairness. In conflict resolution, concessions, sometimes very difficult ones, need to be made to achieve the required peace. For the parties to wholeheartedly agree to such concessions, they have to be convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the key parties involved in brokering the peace have no other ulterior motives as this will undermine the process ab initio. Unfortunately, this challenge has often plagued our peace-building efforts on the continent. As earlier indicated the key peace brokers have usually been former colonial powers and other imperial powers, many of whom have shown or at least are perceived to have vested interest, beyond the peace they seek to broker. A classic example is the peace-building efforts in Francophone African countries, where France, often perceived as the instigator-in-chief of conflicts as a result of its continuous political meddling, also doubles as the primary peacemaker. It is little wonder then that such peace-building activities are usually fleeting at best. Turkeys neutral political interest on the continent, built on a culture of moral diplomacy coupled with the countrys locational proximity to continental Africa places it in a very good position to host peace talks between feuding parties as well as offer crucial diplomatic support to conflict-ridden countries across the continent. 2. Turkeys historical and cultural connections to the African continent Many people particularly on the African continent are oblivious to the strong historical ties that existed between several African countries and the once powerful Ottoman Empire (now Turkey). In fact, the Ottoman Empire is credited by some historians to have provided military support to a number of African countries thereby delaying colonization for significant periods as imperial powers shied away from countries with such arrangements. Turkeys more recent political and economic struggles which include military coups and stints with the IMF is very akin to what still prevails in many African countries today.. Furthermore, Turkeys strong Islamic roots and culture resonates with more African countries than many other western powers. This strong historical and cultural connection puts Turkey in good stead to act as a crucial ally in Africas search for regional peace and security. Clearly, the Turks are in a superior position to deeply appreciate the political and socio-cultural nuances that usually fuels these conflicts in the first place. 3. Turkeys growing geo-political influence in world affairs Neutrality and historical/cultural ties notwithstanding, a mediator in any conflict requires a certain level of gravitas or influence to gain the attention and cooperation of the feuding parties. This is fundamental to any peace-building effort. Over the past decade or so Turkey has leveraged its strategic location in the Eurasia region, its massive tourism appeal, its incredibly entrepreneurial and educated human resources backed by strong and able leadership to the extent that the country is now Europes 6thlargest economy and the fastest growing one at that. Still only a developing economy, with a population close to 80 million, Turkey clearly has the potential to surpass the major economic powers in Europe in the not-too-distant future if it continues on its current trajectory. The massive economic growth has brought the country widespread political influence as well. Currently a member of NATO and the G20 as well as a crucial ally to the United States in its war against the Deash(ISIS) and the Assad regime in Syria, Turkeys geopolitical influence continues to soar. Such influence makes Turkey a very credible partner in supporting the efforts of African governments in their quest for lasting peace and security on the continent. 4. Turkeys history of dealing with internal terrorist activities Many may be tempted to point to Turkeys own internal struggles to deal with terrorists and insurgent activities as a major flaw in the argument that Turkey is a credible peace-building partner to the African continent. Indeed, Turkey is no stranger to political fanaticism and insurgency. In fact, as I write, the country is battling on three fronts, first the local terrorist group PKK, ISIS and the Assad regime in Syria. This notwithstanding, the Turkish government has displayed remarkable resolve and military savviness in dealing with these challenges to the extent that despite isolated cases of terrorist acts, the general populace are largely secure. Recent developments in Europe, Asia and even the USA has brought the world to the realization that no country is completely immune to the global wave of terror. The real challenge is when the terror syndicate is local and seek to wave a long term battle as we have seen with Boko Haram and Al Shabab in West and East Africa respectively and of course the PKK in Turkey. Turkey has so far proved to the world that a combination of strong, decisive military activity backed by a strategic plan can be very effective in significantly curtailing the disastrous effects of terrorists. The Turkish Prime Minister, Professor Ahmet Davutoglu, recently launched a master plan which details how the Government plans to combat the terror activities in the areas affected as well as develop these regions. Such a combination of tough yet strategic actions doesnt only help to combat the actions of insurgents but also builds the confidence of the citizenry who then support the Governments efforts. What the Turkish government has been able to achieve in the face of arguably its biggest challenge is clearly an example to African governments facing similar challenges. Better still, close collaboration with Turkey could prove useful in helping governments facing similar perils to learn from Turkeys example. 5. The Turkish Governments interest in Africa as an partner All the above points will count for nothing if the Turkish leadership has no interest in partnering the continent in this important venture. Gladly this is far from the case. The Turkish government has over the years displayed remarkable interest in the affairs of the continent and invested heavily in building diplomatic and economic ties to the continent, particular since 2005, a year the Turkish leadership christened the year of Africa. Currently, Turkey has diplomatic missions spread all over the continent. Turkish businesses are investing heavily in key areas like energy and infrastructure in Africa. Turkish Airlines plies more routes in Africa than any other carrier.. TIKA, Turkeys official aid agency already works in about 15 countries in Africa whiles Turkey is at the moment the 4th largest provider of official development assistance to the continent. Furthermore, there are over 6000 African students and academics on various scholarships in Turkey sponsored by the Turkish government. Turkeys remarkable interest in the continent was perhaps most evident in its support of Somalia. After years of civil unrest, the country was neglected by the world. Its Airports had not seen a plane in about two decades as it was deemed a no-go zone. And yet, at the height of such hopeless isolation, the Turkish President (then Prime Minister) Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family, senior members of his government, businessmen etc flew in to offer a helping hand. For many young kids who were born in wartime, this was their first opportunity to see an aircraft. What followed was a huge bilateral nation-building effort. Indeed, President Erdogan in a few years is credited to have resuscitated Somalia from near death. These actions earned the President the nickname the hero of Somalia. In the just ended High Level Partnership meeting held on the 23rd of February, 2016 to discuss Somalias security and political future ahead of the countrys 2016 elections, President Erdogan, was adamant that Turkey will not leave Somalia and Africa alone. He cited the fact that Turkey is currently building its largest ever embassy in Somalia as evidence of Turkeys commitment to Somalia and Africa as a whole. Thus the framework for strong collaboration between Turkey and Africa has already been laid. Indeed, Turkey is playing a mediating role in the conflicts in Chad and Mali, while the negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan were hosted by Turkey. All thats required is for such collaborations to be scaled up through broad collaborations and partnerships. In conclusion, it is important to point out that Africa needs all the help it can get in order to overcome its security challenges. As the geopolitical scene of the world changes its imperative that we change too. Crucially, Africa requires new partners who will not merely seek to milk the continent of its raw materials or to keep it subdued. What we need is to seek partners, emerging powers whose own interest align with ours, and who will seek to work with us on the basis of friendship and mutual interest. I am convinced that Turkey is precisely that type of partner. Aboagye Mintah is Head of Business and Associate Director of International Affairs at IMANI Center for Policy and Education, Africas second most influential think tank. Washington, DC, Feb, 28, GNA - The White House has shelved the petition on its website calling for the US government to end its sanctions against Sudan, which petitioners had said were 'oppressing the poor and innocent'. When the deadline of February 15 ended, the petition had recorded 117,150 signatures - thus meeting the threshold of 100,000. But a statement on the White House website said: 'This petition has been archived because it did not meet the signature requirements.' Nothing more was said, but there had been earlier discrepancies regarding the signatures. By February 10 the site recorded 93,752, only to come up with a figure of just over 75,000 signatures three days before the February 15 deadline. The petition, which was first posted on January 16, read: 'The poor and helpless in Sudan are bearing the brunt of the economic sanctions imposed on the country by the United States 23 years ago. 'The intended goal of the sanctions might have been to weaken the oppressive government of Sudan, but they are producing exactly the opposite result. 'They are weakening and impoverishing the people of Sudan and strengthening the grip of the regime on the country. 'We plead with president Obama to do the right and humane thing by ordering an immediate end to the Sudan sanctions.' The petitioners were emboldened by an opinion piece published on January 14 on the website of the US magazine, Foreign Policy, which highlighted the dire plight of ordinary Sudanese people in the face of crippling US sanctions against their country. The petitioners' argument is that the unintended consequence of US sanctions on the living standards of ordinary Sudanese has been exceptionally severe. They note that in key sectors such as finance, transportation, agriculture, health, and information technology there has been serious 'damage to the lives and opportunities of ordinary people in Sudan to free themselves from poverty, wreaked by the US sanctions regime - including the State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST) listing'. Their argument goes: 'Even though it sees them as unjustified, arbitrary, and unfair, the government of Sudan has a moral obligation to never give up actively trying to get US economic sanctions removed. 'Sanctions invariably tend to have a direct proportional relationship with the bottom of the pyramid. 'They hurt the poor hardest. Sudan has been no exception to this rule.' We the People on the White House website is an initiative to give greater access to citizens to petition the US president to take action on issues close to their hearts. When it was launched in September 2011, the threshold for signatures that would warrant a response from the administration was just 5,000. But as the website began receiving strange requests, such as secession by some states from the Union, the signature threshold was gradually ramped up until it reached the current 100,000. The Atlantic Monthly, in an article on its website reported that the administration of President Barack Obama had come in for criticism 'for selective answering and long response times'. The publication quoted a 2011 argument by J.H. Snider, a former fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Centre for Ethics at Harvard University: "We the People will likely have a short shelf life for the same reason so many political initiatives have short shelf lives: because the interests of the public and elected officials are misaligned. "The public is inclined to ask politicians to take controversial stands that politicians have no rational self-interest in taking." GNA 01.03.2016 LISTEN By Maureen Chigbo * Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria and Chairperson of the Tana Forum Board, scored a crucial point when he said that 'Africa has become too important to be discarded from the global security agenda and debate'. Africa is the second largest and second most populous continent on earth with an estimated population of 1.166 billion people in 2015, with 54 sovereign countries. The figures also show the continent has a major role to play in bringing about a peaceful and secure world. It has enormous human and natural resources which could be tapped to ensure the economic security of its people and the world at large. This means that if the region is destabilised by either externally or internally induced conflict, the humanitarian crisis that would erupt would have huge implications for the world as a whole. With the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East and the current refugee crisis reverberating in Europe, Africa must be saved from such occurrences and its forces positively harnessed to ensure a peaceful world order. Despite the potentials of Africa with its robust youthful population to contribute to a peaceful and secure world, the continent's ability to play a forceful role in determining the course of global security is weak. This is because the continent is afflicted with weak institutions, corruption and lacks capacity and the technological knowhow to effectively tackle its internal security crises without reaching out for help from the global community. Across Africa, there are growing cases of internal discontent and pockets of ethnic militias which threaten the main fabric of society. Governments have been unable to nip such cases in the bud, thereby allowing them to fester and materialise into cankerworms. For instance, the containment of the Boko Haram insurgency, which started in Nigeria in 2009, has been a herculean task for the country to tackle alone. Hence, the Nigerian government has been reaching out to both neighbouring countries and Western powers to help contain the scourge of Boko Haram that has greatly wrecked north eastern Nigeria. Suffice it to state that Nigeria's inability to sort out the insurgency within its domain has also limited the most populous nation in sub Saharan Africa from forcefully pushing for an African perspective in setting the global security agenda. This is because of its reliance on external help from United States and from European nations in solving its security problems. This reliance ranges from seeking arms and technology to gathering intelligence and deploying combat missions to help the country address the threat posed by Boko Haram. Because of Nigeria's inability to manufacture its own arms to wage this battle, the country is reduced to taking crumbs from the master's table to engage the insurgents. And if the country fails to do the master's bidding even the crumbs thrown its way in terms of rickety ammunition will be denied it and such governments could be forced out by a regime change by Western Powers. Seeking foreign help to tackle internal security crises in some African countries like Nigeria was extensively chronicled in a recent report prepared for the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), which is responsible for advancing U.S. national interests and promoting regional security and stability in Africa. According to the report, as of today, violent extremist organisations (VEOs) are among the greatest threats to the future of Africa and to U.S. interests on the continent. In the past six years, Boko Haram has emerged as the most aggressive and virulent of all the African VEOs. In April 2014, Boko Haram became a global household name after it kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls from the northern town of Chibok, Nigeria. To date, the girls have not been found. Since the insurgency started, about 20,000 people have been killed with 2.3 million persons displaced from their homes. The cries of infants still rend the air on a weekly basis as child suicide bombers who have been indoctrinated and brainwashed by the insurgents have a field's day bombing hapless displaced persons in camps. According to the report, Nigeria is among the United States' top partners in Africa, and its continuing stability is critical to the future of U.S. interests on the continent and other countries in Europe. In recent years, through a variety of diplomatic, development, and security assistance efforts, the U.S. government has worked with the government of Nigeria in a supporting role to dismantle the insurgents. Recently, the US donated 25 faulty armoured vehicles to support the fight in north eastern Nigeria. It is not only the United States that has supported Nigeria. Countries such as Britain, France and Germany among others have also given their support, which have so far not doused the threat posed by Boko Haram. The threat of Boko Haram incursions across Nigerian borders into Cameroon, Chad and Niger is increasingly affected by the mounting humanitarian crisis caused by the violence in northern Nigeria. This is why President Muhammadu Buhari, upon assuming office, immediately reached out to these countries to streamline a coordinated response against Boko Haram. The precise effect of this regional attempt in tackling the insurgency will become more obvious in the future. Suffice it to state that containing the spread of Boko Haram in the region is important given the report that Islamic State (ISIS) militants are teaming up with Boko Haram to spread their tentacles in the region. There have been reports of ISIS representatives coming to recruit fighters from universities in Nigeria. On the contrary, the AFRICOM report invalidated the notion that Boko Haram is a Nigerian branch of another international terrorist organisation, such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and argued that Boko Haram is an insurgent group sustained by localised grievances and conflict dynamics. The AFRICOM report recommended that the starting point for devising an effective response should follow the tenets of a counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy. 'To determine whether the government of Nigeria and the United States government have been following such an approach, we identified eight 'best COIN practices' and compared all their efforts to those best practices. The results of our analysis revealed that the Nigerian and the United States have been taking divergent approaches to the conflict: The GoN (Government of Nigeria) has followed a narrow counterterrorism approach that relies heavily on the military to crush the group with intermittent attempts to negotiate an end to the conflict. The USG (United States Government), in contrast, has pursued a whole-of-government approach that overlaps with many of the best practices for COIN. To implement a comprehensive COIN strategy, the GoN would need to significantly alter its current approach. But, given current political, social, and economic conditions in Nigeria, to include endemic corruption, the GoN is unlikely to shift its approach. In an effort to convince Abuja to undertake a whole-of-government (or COIN) approach to the conflict in northeast Nigeria, the USG has used various levers to apply pressure on Abuja. This has not yielded significant results.''. Judging from above, it is obvious that African governments and the global community need to be on the same page in tackling internal security crisis in the interest of all concerned. This should among the main topics to be discussed at the Tana Forum on peace and security whose main focus would be this year about Africa's role in the global security agenda. The Forum will be held on April 16 and 17 in Ethiopia with Kofi Anan, former United Nations Secretary-General as keynote speaker... * A Nigerian Journalist and Publisher Realnews Online Magazine, Maureen Chigbo is a Regional Fellow of the Tana Forum GNA Accra, March 1, GNA - Mr Mark Woyongo, the Outgone Minister of the Interior on Monday handed over his ministerial responsibilities to Mr Prosper Bani, who replaced him in a recent ministerial reshuffle by President Mahama in Accra. He commended all the Agencies under the Ministry for their collaboration which resulted in the Ministry achieving so much despite the financial challenges. Mr Woyongo noted that under his authority 11 bills had been sent to Parliament, one of which is the Immigration Service Bill that was passed by Parliament. He said the Immigration Service Bill would enhance security operations of immigration officials especially at the country's borders. He said the passage of the bill has empowered Immigration officers to carry arms and ammunitions in the discharge of their duties. He therefore appealed to the Immigration Service to make maximum use of the weapons. Mr Woyongo said a draft Bill on Non-Custodial Law has been sent to the Attorney General's Department to be fined tuned and submitted to cabinet. He said that Bill would help decongest the country's prisons so that people who committed minor offences and have found themselves in the prisons would be released and made to do community work. He also praised the coming into force of the Justice for All programme, noting that through it, a High Court has now been established in Nsawam which looks into remand cases. The former Minister said the Efiase project has yielded encouraging results and appealed to Ghanaians to assist to contribute to it. He said President Mahama also promised 50 million Ghana cedis for infrastructural development for remand prisoners, adding that 'we want to separate remand from convicts. He also called on the security agencies to ensure free, fair and transparent elections to proof to the world that Ghana was still a beacon of hope and a peaceful country as far as democracy was concerned. He said logistics would be provided to the security agencies to ensure peaceful elections. Mr Prosper Bani on his part said his responsibility was to build on what Mr Woyongo has left off, because his predecessor has achieved a lot. He said there were challenges on conflict, over-crowding, logistics for the Police, and capacity building on issues bordering the Agencies. The New Minister tasked the Agencies to have a preventive orientation on issues, especially the way the rains cause a lot of havoc to lives and property, so that such disasters would be curbed. GNA Istanbul, ACCRA, MARCH 1 - (dpa/GNA) - Turkey has partially lifted a curfew on Cizre, in the mostly Kurdish south-east of the country, after 79 days of strict, round-the-clock restrictions, the governor's office said Tuesday. A nighttime curfew will still be in effect from 7:30 pm until 5 am in Cizre, a district in Sirnak province, near the borders with Syria and Iraq. Tens of thousands of people have fled intense battles in the district, which intensified when the military launched a major operation in December. At least 152 people have been confirmed killed in Cizre, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said, noting that these are people who were not identified as fighters. The military says 666 fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were killed, though this number cannot be verified and the armed group has only admitted to losing a smaller number of militants. There is still a strict, round-the-clock curfew in Sur, in the Diyarbakir province, where clashes are ongoing. Other districts, including in Sirnak, are facing partial curfews. Violence between the state and the PKK, which the government deems a terrorist group, erupted last year, after a two-year ceasefire collapsed as peace talks stalled. The civil war in Turkey has been ongoing for more than 30 years, with many Kurds complaining of systemic discrimination. The PKK has modified its original quest for independence and is now demanding greater autonomy and rights for the minority group, which makes up at least 15 per cent of the population. GNA Washington, ACCRA, MARCH 1 - (dpa/GNA) - Voters are heading to the polls in a dozen US states on so-called Super Tuesday, the biggest prize yet of the US primary election season to determine the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates. The stakes were high for Republicans as Donald Trump hopes to gather the necessary momentum to become the party's candidate in November elections and his four challengers led by Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz hoping to stop the political outsider they say would tear apart the party. Trump leads in all opinion polls except in Cruz's home state of Texas. Among Democrats, Hillary Rodham Clinton hopes to take firm control of a race that was once considered smooth sailing for her before Bernie Sanders nearly tied with her in Iowa and then defeated her by a large margin in New Hampshire before she steamrolled him in Saturday's South Carolina primary. Clinton is favoured over Sanders in most of the 11 states holding votes for the centre-left party. Opinion surveys showed Sanders leading in his home state of Vermont and narrowly behind Clinton in neighbouring Massachusetts. Some 600 delegates, or about a quarter of those needed to secure the Republican nomination, are at stake, while about 1,000 are up for grabs among Democrats, some 20 per cent of the total. Among Republicans, Texas is the biggest prize with some 155 delegates, followed by southern states Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. On the Democratic side, the largest state is also Texas with 252 delegates, followed by Georgia and Massachusetts, with 116 each and Virginia with 110. The first polls opened in the north-eastern state of Vermont at 5 am (1000 GMT) and the final polls were not due to close until 0500 GMT Wednesday in Alaska. Voting will take place for both parties in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. Republicans also vote in Alaska. GNA Accra, March 1, GNA - An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced Ameyonye Tsoeke Selah, an unemployed man to 90 days imprisonment for the use of narcotic drug (marijuana) without lawful authority. Selah is to pay 500 penalty units and in default serve three years imprisonment in hard labour. The Court, presided over by Mr Agboagye Tandoh, sentenced the convict on his own plea of guilt. Prosecuting, Chief Inspector K. Adu, told the Court that the complainants in the case were Police Officers stationed at the Achimota Mile 7 Police Station. He said on January 29, the Police had a tip-off that, the convict was peddling dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp. The Police, therefore, proceeded to the accused person's house and arrested him, as a search conducted in his presence revealed compressed dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp. 'The convict claimed ownership of the exhibits and stated that he sold some of the stuff and kept some for personal use,' the prosecution said. GNA Sydney, ACCRA, MARCH 1 - (dpa/GNA) - Allegations of sexual abuse against a Melbourne priest were not a top priority when they surfaced in the 1980s, Australian cardinal and senior Vatican official George Pell told an inquiry on Tuesday. Pell, who was working as a church official in the area at the time, was appearing by video link for the second day before the Royal Commission investigating widespread abuse in Australia's institutions over past decades. "It's a sad story and it wasn't of much interest to me," Pell said regarding the paedophile crimes of former priest Gerald Ridsdale, jailed since 1993 on more than 100 counts of assault and abuse of children. "The suffering, of course, was real and I very much regret that, but I had no reason to turn my mind to the extent of the evil that Ridsdale had perpetrated." "I knew nothing about his paedophilia, I knew he was a somewhat difficult person and I knew, obviously, that he had been shifted around quite a bit," Pell said. He blamed his senior bishop at the time, Ronald Mulkearns, who knew about Ridsdale's crimes but moved him from one parish to another for more than a decade. Pell said Mulkearns' silence was "a gross deception," and his actions "reprehensible" and "inexplicable." Mulkearns, 85, is now in a nursing home with terminal cancer. In February, he told the same commission of his "profound sorrow" at his mishandling of Ridsdale's case. Ridsdale's nephew and one of his victims, David Ridsdale, said Pell had thrown "a whole bunch of people under a bus" by shifting the blame to Mulkearns, local media reported. "It beggars belief," he was quoted as saying by broadcaster ABC. "We are speaking of moral leaders ... and for them to have no interest in such behaviour seems remarkable." David and other survivors from the Ballarat diocese in Melbourne, where the majority of the abuse took place, travelled to attend the testimony in Rome. Pell, 74, is the pope's troubleshooter for financial matters. His questioning is set to continue for two more days. His doctors have said he is too unwell to travel. GNA Accra, March 1, GNA - Jonas Quaye, a building Contractor, has been put before an Accra Circuit Court over the double sale of a piece of land at Aplaku, in the Greater Accra Region. Quaye, who originally owned the land, allegedly sold it to one Hajia Mamuna, 15 years ago, and later resold it to one Amegashie Kafui Emmanuel Yao. Charged with defrauding by false pretences, Quaye has pleaded not guilty. The Court, presided over by Ms Patricia Quansah, has admitted Quaye to bail in the sum of GHa50,000.00 with two sureties, one to be a public servant. Quaye is expected to reappear on April 4. Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Francis Tarsan said on October 7, 2014, Mr Yao, the complainant needed a plot of land to buy, so he met Quaye, who offered to sell to him his parcel of land at Aplaku, near Accra. Chief Inspector Tarsan said Mr Yao, after inspecting the land, expressed interest in buying it, and, therefore, paid GHa24,000.00 to Quaye. The Prosecution said when Mr Yao went to develop the land, Hajia Mamuna went to the site and told Mr Yao that she was the owner of the said land. According to Hajia Mamuna she bought the same land from Quaye 15 years ago. Based on that, the prosecution said, Mr Yao asked Quaye to refund the money to him, but he failed and went into hiding. Luck, however eluded Quaye, when he met Mr Yao at a restaurant on February 19, this year and he caused his arrest, the prosecutor said. GNA New Delhi, ACCRA, MARCH 1 - (dpa/GNA) - At least eight Maoist rebels including five women were killed in a gunbattle with police in southern India Tuesday, police said. Acting on intelligence information, police attacked the group of militants who had gathered for a meeting in a forested area on the borders of Chhattisgarh and Telangana states. "Bodies of the insurgents were recovered following the gunbattle," Shrawan Davuluri, police chief of Chhattisgarh's Sukma district where the clash took place, said over the phone. The police reported no casualties. Local news reports said a Maoist commander was among those killed. Sukma is located in the Bastar region, a known Maoist stronghold. The left-wing militants, who reject parliamentary democracy, say their rebellion is to secure rights for the poor and marginalized. According to the South Asian Terrorism Portal, nearly 7,000 people including civilians, militants and security personnel have been killed in Maoist-related violence in India since 2005. GNA H.E Mr. Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) led the commission in celebrating the Black History Month. In commemorating the annual event, H.E Mr. Mwencha called on Africans and the Africans- Americans to reflect and recognize their common heritage, shared values and philosophies that have served them well in addressing challenges such as colonialism, instability and other realities. The Deputy Chairperson also called on Africans to define themselves and to have the courage to identify progressive authentic principles and norms that forms the foundation of the Black race. While appreciating the struggle for equality, democracy, justice, and human rights, H.E Mr. Mwencha called on the Africans and the Africans- Americans to emulate the non-violence nature demonstrated by icons such as Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement in America in the mid-1950s. He challenged victims of injustice to seek recourse through peaceful protests and non-violent or extremist means. H.E Mr. Mwencha joined in watching a movie organized by the Embassy of Democratic Republic of Congo in collaboration with US Mission to African Union to mark the Black History Month, at the Nelson Mandela Plenary Hall, African Union Commission Headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Women and Environment Forum opened today with a strong call for improvement of women's economic and social rights to enable them attain their full potential. ` The forum which is a prelude to the commemoration of the Africa Environment and Wangari Maathai Day which will take place on March 3, with the theme, 'Strengthening Women's Right over Natural Resources.' The forum, organized by the African Union, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), will; raise awareness on sustainable environmental management; draw attention to the increasing environmental problems faced by Africa which are being exacerbated by climate change, desertification and demographic changes and encourage the development of appropriate policies and strategies at national and regional levels and to enhance environmental sustainability. Opening the forum, H.E Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, reiterated that inclusive growth could not be achieved without deliberate and serious attempts at continental, regional and national levels to address the challenges of improving women's economic and social rights, especially in areas of tenure security to land and other natural resources. It holds the key to the advancement of the women and by extension, the entire African continent. To attain the laudable goals of the Agenda 2063, it is indispensable that women's rights are strengthened and consolidated in all domains, she said. The opening of the forum had a high level panel comprising AUC's Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture acting Director, Dr. Janet Edeme, Ms. Thokozile Ruzuido, Coordinator for the African Centre for Gender (UNECA), Ms. Letty Chiwara UN WOMEN Representative to AU and ECA and Mr. Edward Kilawe Forestry Officer representing Mr. Bukar Tijani the FAO Regional Representative for Africa. Also present was Kenyan Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU), H.E Catherine Mwangi, who commended the forum for honoring Prof. Maathai and for working to promote the rights of women. The two-day meeting is expected to come up with policy recommendations for strengthening the rights of women over natural resources and to encourage the development of appropriate policies and strategies at national and regional levels to enhance environmental sustainability. Africa Environment Day was designated in 2002, by the AU Council of Ministers at their meeting in Durban, South Africa based on the recognition of the numerous environmental challenges confronting the African continent. Over the years these challenges have been further aggravated by loss of biological diversity, climate change, desertification and increased pollution and unsafe disposal of wastes and chemicals. In January 2012, the African Union adopted a decision calling for joint celebrations of the African Environment Day and Wangari Maathai Day. The celebration of the Wangari Maathai Day is in recognition of the work and life of the late Prof. Wangari Maathai who dedicated her life to promoting environmental conservation and sustainable development in Africa. Its Monday, the last day of February 2016; a leap month in which Ghanaians have waited in vain for the first downpour in the year. Since birth, seven month-old Kwaku cries to the piercing ears and frustrating heart of his parents. Little Kwaku is neither hungry nor thirsty. He is also not sick. Staying indoors, even with all windows opened, is torture as the family wonders why the winds have stayed still from morning till night. Kwaku momentarily stays calm and stops crying whilst feeling the warmth of mums hand fan or when placed in the home-made bucket pool of water. But filling up the bucket is also turning luxurious because water bodies are drying up. Some communities have already been hit by acute water scarcity. The gravest concern, perhaps, is the looming food crisis to hit Kwakus family if the drought situation persists. Farmers in Ghana are eagerly awaiting the downpour to bless their lands in order to grow their crops. But the rains have failed. Edward Naabanj, a farmer in the offinso north district of Ashanti region says vegetables, maize, cassava, yam and other tuber crops planted earlier in the year are drying up, due to the uncompromising drought. He and his colleagues are running out of food stock whilst prices of commodities shoot up with no signs of the rains anytime soon. Ghanaian farmers, mainly subsistent, are vulnerable and less-resilient to the dry spells because they are over 90 percent dependent on the rains to till their lands for food production. According to David Alfred Mensah, a Management Information Systems Officer at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the country could be hit by a drop in food supply due to the failure of rain in both the major and minor planting seasons last year. The entire population depends on productivity on the farms to feed. But variability in the rainfall pattern is affecting crop and livestock production as well as fisheries. Other plantations and species also have to contend with the incessant widespread bushfires which sweep through farms uncontrollably. Agriculture is really suffering, observed Kingsley Offei-Nkansah of the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU). You have a drought disaster not because of dry spells but because we failed to put in place the measures that enable us to live normal lives when we have dry spells. The weather is indeed hotter than usual and the heat wave is becoming unbearable. Ghanaians cannot wait for the heavens to open up to mitigate the long dry spell. The northern sector of the country will be dry and slightly hazy with few clouds during the forecast period. The day will be sunny and warm, said a 24-hour forecast by the Ghana Meteorological Agency for February 29. The middle and coastal sectors will be cloudy over the entire period with sunny intervals during the day. Isolated cases of thunderstorms and rain showers will occur this evening and tomorrow afternoon especially over the forest and mountainous areas of the middle sector as well as the coast. Alas, on the first day of March 2016, some parts of the country had the soothing relief of momentary showers of blessing. Yet sooner in the days and months ahead, the joy of the rains will ease and in its wake the pain of torrential rains. The excessive downpour will lead to sea rise and overflow of other water bodies, causing the havoc of flooding; displacing communities, washing away top soils for crop production and destroying other infrastructure like roads. A lot of changes are happening in the weather pattern as a result of climate change. Both natural and human factors have been identified as being responsible for the harsh changes in weather conditions. Interestingly, the first universal agreement to combat climate change was adopted in 2015, a year recorded as the hottest in the history of mankind. The Paris climate change pact spells out global and local mechanisms required for climate change mitigation and adaptation, including financing climate activities and technology transfer. The signing of the agreement by world leaders should bring hope to the vulnerable farmer, but these local communities would want interventions to be in the immediate. Ghanas Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is already worried at the prevailing uncertainties and variability in the weather. The country has documented flood and land degradation as the most climate-impacted. But drought is also emerging as a major concern. The sustainable land and water management programme, already being implemented in the northern part of Ghana, is helping to address the drought situation within the zone. We have to be able to work hard so that within the transition zone of Ghana, we can also implement such a programme where a lot of tree growing exercises are undertaken, bush fire control, soil conservation, water conservation to make sure that our resources are sustainably used, stated Kyekyeku Oppong-Boadi, head of the Climate Unit at the EPA. Strategies to address climate change concerns in the country are contained in the nationally determined contribution submitted to the UNFCCC ahead of the climate change talks in Paris in December 2015. According to a World Bank report released ahead of COP21, there could be more than 100 million additional people in poverty by 2030, without rapid, inclusive and climate-smart development, together with emissions-reductions efforts that protect the poor. The report finds that poor people are already at high risk from climate-related shocks, including crop failures from reduced rainfall, spikes in food prices after extreme weather events, and increased incidence of diseases after heat waves and floods. Already, increased heat stress and drought-related deaths in both humans and livestock are occurring in the extreme north of Ghana, according to the World Bank. Further risks are related to the higher incidence of malaria and parasitic infections that are linked to flooding. As weather patterns increasingly become erratic, scientists suggest adoption of drought and flood resistant crops and diversification of income sources as protection for smallholder farmers from effects of climate change. The task ahead is to domesticate the Paris Climate Agreement for efficient implementation at local level. Ghana should therefore be seen to be taking action to reduce the negative effects of drought, flood, high temperature and other extreme weather events. The negative effects of extreme weather events impact on agriculture, roads, rivers, even the management of our health centres and the wellbeing of people and communities are visible, said Kingsley Offei-Nkansah. Better management of water resources, increase in areas under irrigation, security in land tenure as well as innovative farming system and investments in agriculture are among critical areas to combat climate impacts, he noted. Hopefully, Little Kwaku should be able to feed and slept in comfort when the climate uncertainties, variability and impacts are arrested in local actions to tackle the global threat of climate change. Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh Gifty Twum Ampofo 01.03.2016 LISTEN A science teacher Gifty Twum Ampofo has won the parliamentary primaries to represent the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in a bye-election following the murder of the incumbent, Joseph Boakye Danquah. Gifty who is the Eastern Regional president of the Ghana Science Teachers Association (GAST) garnered 207 of the votes to beat her closest challenger Isaac Osei who got 104 votes. The third aspirant Kyei Brobby obtained 27 votes. Two other contestants dropped out on voting day in a move believed to favour Gifty Ampofo. Soon after the results were declared, supporters of the winner poured powder on Gifty who was dressed in mourning clothes. The election was held at the Tafo District office of the Electoral Commission began Tuesday 8am and ended at 1pm for counting. The Abuakwa North constituency is a traditional NPP seat located in an NPP stronghold in the Eastern region. The seat became vacant after the MP Joseph Boakye Danquah Adu was stabbed to death in his bedroom at dawn on February 9, 2016. The Electoral Commission has set April 9 for the bye-election. -myjoyonline File Photo 01.03.2016 LISTEN Ghana Home Loans Limited the leading home finance institution has announced its acquisition of the first commercial plot at Appolonia, City of Light, the mixed-use urban development near Accra. The company intends to place a branch at the site to provide financial services and support to individuals who wish to build or buy homes within the project. Commenting on the acquisition, Mr. Dominic Adu, CEO of Ghana Home Loans said, Appolonia is a bedrock of opportunity for the Accra real estate sector, and Ghana as a whole. Their vision is well thought out and being a part of it will enable us continue do what we do best providing a suite of appropriate home finance products to Ghanaians. Our residential housing products fit perfectly into Appolonias goal, be it home or land acquisition, home completion or construction, we will be there to provide financial support and education every step of the way. Construction of the branch will begin by the third quarter of 2016 with an initial staff strength of five. This will increase in line with the speed of development at Appolonia. Financing will be available to purchase either plots within the Buy and Build development of Nova Ridge or a home within the new housing development; The Oxford. Appolonia is planned to be a self-sustaining satellite city with the requisite infrastructure and all the benefits of urban living. At full capacity, Appolonia will have approximately 80,000 residents with 22,000 housing units. "Ghana Home Loans is now a household name, and has become synonymous with housing finance. said Anthony Okyere, Chief Executive Officer of Appolonia City of Light. "Their presence at Appolonia will give individuals the opportunity to buy, build or complete their dream house within our residential enclaves and be part of the Appolonia vision About Ghana Home Loans Limited Ghana Home Loans ("GHL") is a home finance institution which operates under Bank of Ghana supervision as a non-bank financial institution. At present, the Company remains the only such institution that focuses exclusively on the provision of mortgage product. Since its inception, Ghana Home Loans has disbursed loans in excess of $150 million through their housing products including; Home Purchase Mortgage Home Equity Mortgage Home Completion Mortgage Home Construction Mortgage Land Purchase Mortgage Quick Cash About Appolonia City of Light Appolonia City of Light, a partnership between Rendeavour, Africas leading urban land developer and local communities, is a fully master planned, mixed-use and mixed-income urban development in the Greater Accra Metropolitan area. The project will be developed for residential properties, retail and other commercial centres, as well as schools, healthcare and other social infrastructure. All local and national regulatory approvals have been met and a full land title certificate has been granted. In April 2015, sales of the first residential phase, Nova Ridge, were launched, offering Ghanaians an opportunity to live in a master-planned environment with close access to Accra. Tayyip Erdogan 01.03.2016 LISTEN President of Turkey, H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has appealed to Ghana to give a befitting commemoration to its first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah for his tremendous contributions to Ghana. He said Nkrumah did marvelously well for Ghana by way of leading the country into attaining independence and it would be prudent to give him a respectful commemoration. "...Ghana holds a specific position within the history of the continent and in exclusive position. The Independence struggle in Ghana is a shinning beckon and an outstanding example for the rest of the countries within the African continent. "The First President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana deserves a respectful commemoration", he said. Talking about unity amongst African countries, H.E. Recep continued that Ghana is part of the countries that championed the unity of Africa people and that makes Ghana stand out in the pursuits of unity amongst African countries. He said the ideologies of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah for the African United Nation is very much relative which can be realized even decades after his death. "....Ghana is one of the pioneering countries to pursue the idea of unity of Africa people. The African United Nations ideology of president of Ghana is still a very much relative dream to be realized", he said and added that "I would like to salute this memorable ideology of the former president of Ghana as the current president of Turkey". He furthered that Turkey condemns the terrorist attacks on Burkina Faso and Mali and noted that his country will use its "experience" to help combat terrorist attacks on African countries. President Erdogan stated that combating terrorism attacks should be an effort based on principles to be able to know all strategies to use in combating terrorist. Addressing the MPs, he said other countries should make efforts to provide security for its nation so that they would not have to depend on the five member security council alone. According to the Turkish President the five member security council does not do much of what they are expected to do. "......if the UN security council say yes it is yes, if they say no it is no....the world is bigger than the UN security council......they do the talk, they don't do the work.....", he opined. He urged Ghanaians to be confident to invest in Turkey because Turkish investors would be investing in Ghana and that, he noted would promote business partnerships in these countries. He said Ghana and Turkey would have a very good relations which will go a long way to benefit both countries. "...I see a bright future for the relation between Ghana and Turkey.....Ghanaians should give a constructive support to the relation between Ghana and Turkey", he urged. The president of Turkey, H. E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan was on a two day visit in Ghana on the invitation of President John Mahama. Alumni of the Tamale Polytechnic have expressed displeasure with their exclusion by the government in the first list of Polytechnics to be converted into Universities. Also, the Alumni reiterated the significance the conversion would serve to the Northern region should they gain university status. They, therefore, urged the government to hasten the necessary procedures to turn all the selected Polytechnics into Universities. In a press release, they charged the government to ensure logistics are in place for the smooth running of all converted polytechnics. Below is the press release: PRESS RELEASE The Alumni of the Tamale Polytechnic has been following with keen interest, the government plans to convert the Polytechnics into Technical Universities. We note particularly the Presidents mention of the matter in the State of the Nations Address (SONA), which demonstrates a further commitment of the government to follow through the policy as a matter of priority. The Alumni of the Polytechnic, however, notes that the President cited only six (6) out of the ten (10) existing Polytechnics and this could have given the impression that, the other four (4) Polytechnics are not qualified or ready, as per the stated conversion criteria. We do understand that the statement by the President and other documents relevant to the subject matter are only for purposes of illustration and urge the government to proceed with the necessary steps and processes that would lead to the conversion sooner than later. While we share the forgoing notion, we are both glad and proud to assure our alumni and current students that we have been in constant touch with the Polytechnic authorities and have a settled conviction that the Polytechnic is more than ready to become Technical University anytime soon. Our conviction is based on an assessment of the programme menu and the faculties available in the Polytechnic. These, coupled with the available infrastructure, human resource and the strategic need to cite many more Universities in the northern sector, more so considering the deprived nature of the area, our belief coincides with the governments agenda to make tertiary technical education not only affordable but also accessible. We further wish to draw the attention of Government through the Ministry of Education that when converted into a technical University, the then Tamale Technical University (TTU) could serve as a key resource and catalyst for the implementation and realization of the lofty development goals enshrined in the SADA project. The point is that, the implementation of the SADA project cannot be without high level of research and technical expertise, which the TTU would readily supply to the labour market. But we the Alumni of Tamale Polytechnic are not happy with the exclusion of Tamale Polytechnic among the first list of polytechnics to be considered and therefore call on the Government to reconsider its decision by adding the Tamale Polytechnic among the first list of Polytechnics to be considered considering the deprived nature of the area and regional balance as well. In conclusion, we like to urge the government to, in this incubation period take accelerated steps to engage thoroughly, all relevant stakeholders, share information and provide assurance in order to clear doubts around knotty or grey areas, as well as galvanize support and momentum for takeoff. In all of the foregoing, we believe that government still retains a greater responsibility to provide the required logistics, scholarship opportunities for faculty development, and general policy or legislative support, for the polytechnics in their emerging stages, all geared towards serving as the midwives of this major policy initiative. We believe this is long overdue and nothing should stand in the way to start even if it is for a few courses in each of the ten (10) Technical Universities. We welcome the Technical Universities Initiative and call on all to support the implementation effort of the Government. Thank you. PRINCE MASH-HUD ABDULAI PRESIDENT, TAMALE POLYTECHNIC ALUMNI Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim | Email: [email protected] Introduction Many political analysts had projected that if Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani Muslim won the March 2015 Nigerian presidential election, it could lead to the deceleration of the Boko Haram conflict because the local grievances into which those terrorists tap would be removed. Unfortunately, despite President Buharis victory at the polls, the Boko Haram conflict has failed to abate. In fact, it has been estimated that between the time Buhari was sworn in as president on May 29, 2015 and the end of October 2015, more than 2,000 Nigerians have lost their lives to Boko Haram . These tragedies have occurred despite the fact that fighting the terrorists has clearly been one of the Buhari regimes top priorities . In September 2015 Buhari gave the army a three-month deadline to defeat Boko Haram. That deadline clearly has come and gone, but Boko Haram has not. Though the Buhari government continues to argue that technically it has defeated Boko Haram, ostensibly because the group can no longer mount conventional attacks against security forces or population centres, several Nigeriansincluding myself have scoffed at the government's triumphalism as rather premature . Indeed, while the government claims that the terrorists no longer control any territory in Borno Statethe epicenter of Boko Harams activitiesSenator Baba Kaka Garbai, who represents Borno Central in Nigerias Senate, claims that the terrorist group still controls about 50 percent of his state. Boko Haram is well-known as a plague on the security of the Nigerian state since the group became radicalized in 2010. Officially it is estimated that between 2010 and July 2015, over 15,000 people lost their lives to the Boko Haram conflictthough some estimate the actual death toll between 2010 and 2014 could be anywhere between 100,000 and one million . In addition, the 2014 report of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and Norwegian Refugee Council have estimated that over 3.3 million people have been displaced in the northeast part of Nigeriaor 10 percent of the 33 million internally displaced persons worldwide. Over this time Boko Haram has evolved from being a small-time terrorist organization, hidden in the civilian population and using guerrilla strategies to a sophisticated, well-motivated group that overpowers the police and military for weapons, seizes territory, and engages the Nigerian military in conventional battle. Indeed, by January 2015, the sect had succeeded in establishing a mini Islamic state the size of Belgium . The continued resilience of Boko Haram under the Buhari government calls for a second look and re-evaluation of some of the earlier rumors and notions about the sect. Death of conspiracy theories The continued resilience of Boko Haram under Buharis administration is debunking some conspiracy theories about the sect. Indeed, before Buhari came to power a conspiracy theory popular in the southern part of the country was that the group was being sponsored by eminent northern politicians to make the country ungovernable for former President Goodluck Jonathan because he is a Christian and from a minority ethnic group in the south. If this theory were true, Buharis victory over Jonathan would have mellowed the group. But it hasnt. Another conspiracy theory was that Boko Haram was being sponsored or ignored by former President Jonathan either to depopulate the north ahead of the 2015 general elections or to make Islam look bad in order to enable the former president to use religion as a tool of mobilization for his candidacy. Boko Harams continued mayhem long after Jonathans loss of power negates any suggestion that he was sponsoring the groupor the similar claim that he deliberately did not do enough to stop them because it was a northern problem. In fact, recently the army accused some influential indigenes of the northern state known as Borno of deliberately undermining their efforts to defeat Boko Haram because they were profiting from the situation. These theories undermined any attempt at collective action against the sect. For instance, when Jonathan first declared a state of emergency in the northeastern states of Adamawa, Yobe, and Borno in May 2013 in a determined bid to fight the terrorists, some eminent northern elders declared that the measure, which included the imposition of curfews, the mounting of several roadblocks, and the shutting down of the states communication infrastructures, amounted to a declaration of war against the north. In the same vein, when the Chibok girls were kidnapped, some key Jonathan supporters openly doubted the story, and believed it was part of a grand design by the north to bring down the Jonathan government . With the election of a Muslim ruler and the death of such conspiracy theories as the above, the expectation is that Buhari has the social capital for a united action against the sectso why is Boko Haram still posing a threat? Underestimation of the strength and resources of Boko Haram The resilience of Boko Haram under the Buhari administration suggests that there has been a gross underestimation by the government of the numerical strength, organizational efficiency, and motivation of the sect members. For instance, in October 2015, government leaders were shocked when a failed suicide bomber claimed that the sect was planning to attack Maiduguri with as many as 8,000 fighters far more than what many people estimated the entire numerical strength of the sect to be. At one point, Theophilus Danjuma, a retired lieutenant-general and former defense minister, claimed that Boko Haram's ability to gather intelligence was 100 percent better than that of the Nigerian military . In fact in 2014, when Governor of Borno State Kashim Shettima claimed that Boko Haram fighters were better armed and more motivated than the Nigerian army fighting them, he was criticized by many Nigerians, including President Jonathan . These portraitures of Boko Haram contrast heavily with the former image of the sect in the popular imagination as a group of rag tag snipers, and poor and uneducated youth that probably did not number more than a few hundred. Indeed, the underestimation of Boko Haram helped fuel the narrative that the Nigerian army fighting the terrorists was under-equipped, ill-motivated, cowardly, or heavily compromised. This underestimation also probably explained why the army, which Buhari vowed to better motivate and equip with more sophisticated weapons than Jonathan did, was given only three months in September 2015 to defeat the terrorists. In retrospect, that deadline was counterproductive because it unduly raised public expectations and put enormous pressure on both the military and the government. As Boko Harams attacks have continued long after the expiration of the deadline, the government continues to try and save its face with the rhetoric that the sect had been technically defeated. The truth is that terrorism is rarely easily defeated in any country. What is clear is that what Nigeria needs first is a realistic estimation of the numerical strength of Boko Haram, its organizational forms, and intelligence-gathering methods to enable the government to devise realistic strategies for confronting and containing the sect. The idea that Boko Haram could be defeated within any specified time frame should be abandoned. The continued resilience of Boko Haram Like a phoenix, Boko Haram has shown incredible capacity for regrouping after suffering setbacks. There have been at least three occasions when a successful anti-Boko Haram strategy led to a lull in the groups murderous activities that was erroneously interpreted as a sign of the groups imminent annihilation. The first time a lull in the groups activities was misinterpreted was in 2013 during the war against some al Qaida-linked insurgents in northern Mali, which was also thought to be a training base for Boko Haram and other terrorist groups. It was believed that many Boko Haram fighters relocated to northern Mali to fight with the insurgents against the combined troops from Benin, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, and Niger . When the French later intervened and routed the insurgents, the general belief was that Boko Haram had been dealt a deadly blow because of the suspected high number of causalities of its members and the destruction of their training bases. But Boko Haram lived on. The second occasion a lull in Boko Harams activities was mistaken for imminent victory against the sect was when a state of emergency was declared in 2013 in the three northern states of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe believed to be the three foci of Boko Harams activities. With the emergency rule, there was an increase in the number of troops deployed to the affected states; more road blocks were set up to search people and vehicles; and telecom networks were shut down to prevent the terrorists from using mobile telephones to communicate with one another and their informants. The general consensus was that the emergency rule was initially very successful in that it led to a sharp drop in the sects murderous activities. However, like the previous occasion, Boko Haram quickly regrouped and hopes that the solution lay in a state of emergency quickly faded. The third occasion Nigerians thought that Boko Haram was a minute away from complete destruction was after the joint military operations with Chad and Cameroon in February 2015. The initial successes of the joint operation goaded a euphoric Jonathan, who had then already conceded defeat in the March 2015 presidential election to boast in April 2015 that the ongoing military operations in the northeast had already recorded huge successes, with two states completely free from the control of terrorists while operations in the third state had reached a concluding stage. However, long after Jonathan made this statement, many people, such as Senator Baba Kaka Garbai of Borno State, insist that Boko Haram still controls half of his state . Conclusion One of the main lessons in the fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria is that the sect has shown an incredible capacity for regrouping after major setbacks. It is not clear if the Buhari government, which has shown a single-minded determination to militarily defeat the terrorists, appreciates this fact. The truth is that terrorists, because of their methods, are not easily defeated. They can be contained in the short to medium termsnot completely routed as Buhari seems to believe. It is important that the government does not mistake a lull in the groups murderous activities as a sign of imminent defeat. In the same vein, in its single-minded desire to be seen as defeating Boko Haram on record timesomething the preceding government was unable to do for yearsthis government seems unmindful of the many potential Boko Harams that are breeding across the country. Elsewhere I argued that a major explanation for the emergence of Boko Haram is the crisis in the Nigerias nation-building, which has led to several alienated groups de-linking from the state into primordial identities, often with the Nigerian state as the enemy. Rather than deliberately engaging other alienated groups such as the new agitation for a Republic of Biafra or the regrouping of ex-Niger Delta militants , Buhari appears to regard such groups as deliberate plans to undermine his government. It was essentially the same mistake former President Jonathan made with Boko Haram. Overall, while the Buhari government must be lauded for its determined fight against Boko Haram, it needs to be encouraged to expand the tools of such fight beyond securing quick military victory to putting the servicing of Nigerias nation-building process in the front burner. It is in fact by re-energizing the countrys nation-building process that it can win over several de-Nigerianized Nigerians (i.e., Nigerians that have de-linked from the Nigerian state into other primordial identities). This will ensure that other Boko Harams do not emerge across the country if, and when the present Boko Haram is defeated. Jideofor Adibe Associate Professor of Political Science at Nasarawa State University Keffi 01.03.2016 LISTEN The opposition NPP has said it is double standards for the governing NDC to tag some critical think-tanks as NPP appendages when only eight years ago, it hailed reports from these institutions. Deputy NPP Communications Director Anthony Karbo who made the criticism said the NDC while in opposition referred to reports by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and IMANI Ghana, a policy think-tank to demonize the NPP which was then in power. He was questioning the cause for the u-turn by the NDC which is now in government. The governing party at a press conference Tuesday , the General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia said the NPP had manufactured their own NGOs here who create reports favourable to the narrative of the opposition party that the government was corrupt. Asiedu Nketia said the NPP had adopted this strategy because internationally acclaimed think-tank, Transparency International has been scoring the NDC government higher and higher marks in its fight against corruption. NDC General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia We are not surprised that they will be engaging in this type of thing Asiedu Nketia said. The NPP, he said found Transparency International report inappropriate fodder to feed the public about the so-called corruption by government. But Anthony Karbo finds this argument a naked display of double standards and hypocrisy. He said in the bitter debate over free education policy of the NPP in the 2012 elections, the NDC conveniently used IMANIs opposition against the idea as basis to criticise the NPP programme. IMANI doubted the feasibility of the grand education project. The NDC also highlighted a study conducted by the CDD in 2004 that pointed to several instances of the abuse of incumbency during the 2004 electioneering year. The NDC accusations are however not new. Relationship between the NDC and groups like the CDD, IEA, IMANI have been strained for years now. NDC boycotted an IEA debate on the voter's register in October last year. As far back as August 2005, the NDC announced that it was formally severing any relations with the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana). Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|[email protected] President John Dramani Mahama has pledged Ghanas support to help Turkey fight terrorism. He made the statement while having discussions with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdorgan. We stand in solidarity with Turkey on the issue of terrorism and the situation in Syria...we also condemn all the terrorist attacks that have taken place against Syria, President Mahama indicated. President Tayyip Erdorgan is on a two-day working visit to Ghana. He was accompanied by his wife, Mrs Emine Erdogan and more than 150 business and government officials. Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur received him and his delegation at the Jubilee Lounge of the Kotoka International Airport, early Tuesday. President Tayyip Erdorgans visit is expected to strengthen bilateral relations and enhance economic cooperation between Ghana and Turkey. The Turkish President welcomed President Mahamas pledge and stated that all countries across the globe must rise against terrorism because terrorism does not recognise religion or ethnicity. Addressing the Members of Parliament as part of his visit, President Tayyip Erdorgan also applauded Ghanas democratic credentials. Speaking about trade, the Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Ajaho said Ghana is proud to be the fourth largest trading partner of Turkey in Sub Saharan Africa. President Erdogans visit follows a 2013 visit to Ankara and Istanbul by President Mahama and an earlier 2011 visit by former Turkish President, Abdullah Gul. The Turkish First lady, Emine Erdogan, is also expected to hold discussions with Mrs Lordina Mahama and visit the Osu Childrens Home. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com| Akosua Asiedua Akuffo| [email protected] 01.03.2016 LISTEN Accra, March 01, GNA - The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, arrived in Accra last night, to begin a two-day official visit. While in Ghana, President Erdogan is expected to address the Parliament of Ghana and attend a State Luncheon to be held in his honor by President John Dramani Mahama. President Erdogan would also join President Mahama to cut the sod for the official commencement of work on a new terminal building at the Kotoka International Airport. The visit follows a 2013 visit to Ankara and Istanbul in Turkey by President Mahama. President Erdogan was met on arrival at the Kotoka International Airport by Vice President Amissah Arthur and a large number of state dignitaries. Mr Erdogan, born in February 1954, assumed office as the 12th President of his country on 28th August 2014. A British Broadcasting Corporation profile described him as: 'The country's first elected president who has been at the forefront of Turkish politics for more than a decade.' President Erdogan is said to be exceptionally charismatic' and is recognised for advancing the economic and political progress of Turkey. The Middle-East country is located between South Eastern Europe and South Western Asia. Turkey's more than 79 million people consist mainly of Turks; with Kurds being in the minority; and other nationals. The population is predominantly of the Muslims faith. The country operates a largely-free market economy driven by its industry, service and agricultural sectors. Turkey has booming automotive, petrochemical, electronics and textile businesses, though traditional agriculture employs about 25 per cent of the population. The World Fact Book of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) put Turkey's 2015 GDP purchasing parity at $9.576 trillion. Turkey opened its Embassy in Accra in February 2010, following the commitment on both sides to deepen bilateral links. Since then, according to an official report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, several agreements have been signed. These include: a Framework Agreement on Military Cooperation, an Agreement on Cooperation in the Fields of Health and Medical Sciences, an Agreement on Bilateral Air Services, an Agreement on the Mutual Abolition of Visas for Holders of Diplomatic Passports, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a Political Consultation Mechanism between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries have been signed. The Ghana-Turkey Parliamentary Friendship Association was formed on 21 March 2011 within the Ghanaian Parliament. The Ministry has said the commercial relations between Turkey and Ghana were progressing on a path. The bilateral trade volume, which amounted to 175 million USD in 2009, reached 290 million USD in 2010. Thus, Ghana has become Turkey's third largest trade partner in Sub-Saharan Africa (after the Republic of South Africa and Nigeria), the Ministry's report has said. GNA 01.03.2016 LISTEN Accra, March 1, GNA - Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, has advised Ghanaians to make environmental cleanliness a daily routine to prevent outbreak of diseases. 'What I will like to say is that we should not wait till the National Sanitation Day before we clean our surroundings; it must be on daily basis from our homes, communities and beyond,' he said. Dr Vanderpuije gave the advice at a forum organised by the College of Basic and Allied Sciences of the University of Ghana. He said environmental sanitation was a shared responsibility and people should contribute their quota towards educating others 'because those who create the filth could be our friends, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers and what have you.' He called on the media to support the assemblies with information by filming or taking pictures of wrong doers to assist the appropriate authorities to take action. Some of the issues participants touched on were noise-making, open defecation, pan-latrine usage, behaviour of AMA Taskforce, and fighting over ownership of public toilets. Dr Vanderpuije said the AMA, in an effort to eradicate open defecation, had built a number of public places of convenience in the metropolis, while landlords who had no toilet facilities in their houses were being summoned. The Mayor said noise-making by some religious groups was a challenge in the metropolis which the assembly needed to curtail. 'As for our Taskforce we hold them in high esteem that is why we have given them numbers and anybody who misbehaves must have his number or photograph taken including the misdemeanor and send it to our offices and action would be taken. 'As I was going round the Ministries today I saw two of our guards in some shady action. I just took their numbers and called their leader and as I speak now those guys have been sacked,' he said. Dr Vanderpuije said the fight over ownership of public toilet had been a political phenomenon for the past years adding; 'anytime there is new political administration people lay claim to those things.' He suggested that those in control of the toilets must be allowed to continue to take charge whether there was a change in government or not. Dr Vanderpuije said the assembly needed financial assistance to carry out its activities because it could only rely on the District Assemblies Common Fund and, therefore, called on landlords to pay their property rates. He appealed to institutions to assist, saying; 'we have achieved a lot but there are more to be done especially on waste management.' 'Let us all hold our hands and work together to make Accra and indeed Ghana a safe place to live,' he said. GNA 01.03.2016 LISTEN Accra, March 1, GNA - Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has received Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Jubilee Lounge of the Kotoka International Airport. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in Accra for a two-day official visit. He was accompanied by his wife, Mrs Emine Erdogan and more than 150 business and government officials. President Erdogan is expected to hold talks with President John Dramani Mahama at the Flagstaff House after which the two leaders would hold a joint news conference and also address a business forum. President Erdogan would also join President Mahama to cut the sod for the commencement of work on a new terminal building at the Kotoka International Airport. President Mahama and his wife, Lordina, would host a state luncheon in honour of President Erdogan and his wife at the Banquet Hall. The Turkish leader would hold discussions with the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, and address the house before visiting the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. President Erdogan's visit follows a 2013 visit to Ankara and Istanbul by President Mahama and an earlier 2011 visit by former Turkish President, Abdullah Gul. Besides, the Turkish First lady, Emine Erdogan, would hold discussions with Mrs Lordina Mahama and visit the Osu Children's Home. GNA 01.03.2016 LISTEN Accra, March 1, GNA - The Registrar General's Department has begun inspecting all businesses and companies operating in the country. The Department has, therefore, directed Sole Proprietors, Partners, Company Secretaries, Directors, Shareholders, Local Managers and Auditors of companies, to provide copies of their Company's certificate of incorporation, commencement of business, annual returns, and evidence of current renewal of business registration to the team for inspection. A statement signed by Ms Constance Adomaa Takyi, the Public Relations Officer, also urged companies to provide their current Audited Accounts or Nil returns whichever, is applicable, depending on the date of incorporation. 'The Filing of annual returns is mandatory as stated in Section 122 (1&2) of the Companies Act, 1963, (Act 179), that a company shall file its annual returns eighteen (18) months after Incorporation and at least in once every year thereafter'. The statement urged companies to take notice because failure to file their annual returns after the deadline would automatically attract a fine of 12 penalty units for each day in default whilst that of business names would elapse completely. "Businesses and companies who do not update their records after the deadline would automatically be considered as being inactive," it said. The statement said inspectors from the Registrar-General's Department would have their staff identification tags on. The first phase of the exercise, which started in the last quarter of 2015, resulted in many companies adhering to the earlier press release by updating their records with the Department. However, it noted that, a lot more companies had not complied with the directive of updating their records as well as filing their annual returns. GNA 01.03.2016 LISTEN Tamale, March 01, GNA - Mr. Abdallah Abubakari, the Northern Regional Minister, has appealed to the people, particularly the youth to join in efforts at bringing conclusion to the many conflicts, plaguing the region. They should accept work together in good faith to build bridges - to promote enduring peace. Speaking during a ceremony held in Tamale to mark his official assumption of duty, he said the situation where the region tended to be associated with violence was completely unacceptable and blot on the image of the region. He said he would do everything to re-brand the area's image and that would require strong support of everybody. Mr. Abubakari takes over the administration of the region from Alhaji Limuna Mohammed-Muniru, who now heads for the Food and Agriculture Ministry as the substantive Minister. He pledged to work with the chiefs, technocrats and all the people to bring socio-economic development. He underlined the need to tackle with urgency the continued migration of its young people to the south, where they are engaged as head porters. This, he noted, was denying many of them education, something he said gave cause for concern. Alhaji Mohammed-Muniru advised his successor to be more careful and tactful, telling him that, the region 'is the most difficult place to work as a Minister'. He thanked the people for the support and cooperation during his watch and invited them to do same for Mr. Abubakari. He used the occasion to remind them to conduct themselves peacefully and warned that the government would not tolerate acts of violence. GNA 01.03.2016 LISTEN Oboadeka (E/R), March 1, GNA - Kwabena Adjei, a 40 year old farmer from Oboadeka, a farming community in the Eastern Region, suspected to have murdered his wife in cold blood on the morning of Tuesday,(March 01), is being hunted for by the police. A source at the Nsawam Police told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the body of Awo Okyerewa, the 35 year old trader, has been conveyed to the police Hospital in Accra pending postmortem examination. Giving the facts, the police source said the couple on Monday (yesterday) engaged in hot exchanges over a misunderstanding on some issues. Early this morning at about 7.30 Hours, the deceased left home to collect monies from her debtors and on reaching a spot close to Uombofo, a nearby village, the husband who had ambushed her, suddenly emerged from the bush attacked and slashed her with the sharp cutlass he wielded. The Police said Adjei cut the back of his wife's neck and her hands after which she fell and died on the spot in a pool of blood. He fled the scene immediately, the police source said. GNA We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. you are here: BHP Billiton was in a spot of trouble yesterday when news broke about their struggling Mount Arthur coal mine. The trouble? Mount Arthur is struggling to turn a profit. BHP Billiton was in a spot of trouble yesterday when news broke about their struggling Mount Arthur coal mine. The trouble? Mount Arthur is struggling to turn a profit. The recent decline in thermal coal prices has squeezed already tight margins. There are even talks of closing down the mine altogether if things dont start to pick up. BHP has already performed two rounds of job cuts, eliminating 300 positions last year. CEO Andrew Mackenzie has described the Mount Arthur project as touch and go. The average coal futures contract was about US$56 per tonne for 1H FY16. This price gave BHP earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of around US$7 per tonne. The problem is that prices are now down to around US$50 per tonne, making margins extremely tight. Costs have already been cut, and it doesnt seem to have had any effect on the Mount Arthur operations. However, cutting dividends has positively affect BHP so far, even if shareholders dont want to admit it. Ratings agency Standard & Poors confirmed its A rating on BHPs debt situation. The extra capital seemed to have done the trick in combating the companys debt levels. Shares climbed 2.9% today on the news, with BHPs London shares moving up 1.3% last night. Source: Google Finance Whats more important, dividends or financial stability? Im sure many shareholders were angry at BHPs decision to cut dividends. Not only were shares already in the negative, but investors must put up with reduced dividend payouts. And not by a small amount either. Dividend payments went from 62 cents to 16 cents per share. But, with the dividend cut, BHP was able to free up US$1.2 billion-worth of cash flow. It could use this capital to reinvest in the future interests of the company. I know many investors dont really think long term; were only human. We want things nowwaiting for rewards is the worst. Yet shareholders should span their investing time horizon in years, not months. Warren Buffett likes to claim he buys a stock forever. That means he has no intention of selling investments once he identifies a good one. Now of course Warren Buffett has sold out of positions before. Not every stock he picks will be a winner, as he cannot tell the future better than anyone else. But Buffetts mindset, I believe, could help many retail investors succeed in the market. Imagine if you could only invest in 10 stocks for the rest of your life. You arent allowed to have any more than 10. My guess is that you would be more cautious with your stock picks. Youd want to know everything about the company. This is exactly how Buffett approaches his investments too. But lets go back to BHPs conundrum: paying dividends or reinvesting in the business. Surely its preferable that a company would elect to reinvest its earnings to create a better business for the future. Dont get me wrong, dividends are nice. They are a great way to earn a small, passive income. Many investors form entire strategies around this. Yet when it comes down to it, I believe reinvesting earnings is preferable than paying out dividends. If theres a problem it should be addressed immediately. If not, the problem will fester for years. And, after all, you want to stay away from the companies with inherent problems, right? Harje Ronngard, Junior Analyst, Money Morning PS: From a long term perspective, BHP is cheap. Looking at cyclical charts, its easy to see that you might never see BHPs share price this low again. Jason Stevenson is Money Mornings chief resource analyst. Jason has named his Top 10 mining stocks in a free report, The Top 10 Australian Mining Stocks for 2016. The market has played havoc on Australian mining stocks, seeing them fall to drastically cheap prices. And it could be one of the best times in history to pick up a cheap mining stock that could catapult your portfolio into six figures. Jason will show you why now is the perfect time to start buying cheap mining stocks. To get your free copy, click here. March 01, 2016 Syria: A Turkish-Saudi Countermove In Lebanon Threatens Latakia (Updated) Updated below Fabrice Balanche is a French professor and a specialist on Syria's political geography. He is currently a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute (formerly WINEP) which is part by the U.S. Zionist lobby. So far the writings of Balanche for WINEP have been rather sane, neutral analyses. In a piece published on February 5 he looked at the situation after the Syrian campaign cut the northern insurgency supply line to Turkey. At the end Balanche muses about possible countermoves by the Turkish and Saudi supporters of the insurgency: Yet Turkey and Saudi Arabia may not remain passive in the face of major Russian-Iranian progress in Syria. For example, they could set up a new rebel umbrella group similar to Jaish al-Fatah, and/or send antiaircraft missiles to certain brigades. Another option is to open a new front in northern Lebanon, where local Salafist groups and thousands of desperate Syrian refugees could be engaged in the fight. Such a move would directly threaten Assad's Alawite heartland in Tartus and Homs, as well as the main road to Damascus. Regime forces would be outflanked, and Hezbollah's lines of communication, reinforcement, and supply between Lebanon and Syria could be cut off. The question is, do Riyadh and Ankara have the means and willingness to conduct such a bold, dangerous action? Some Turkish, Saudi or CIA strategist may have had the same thought, or may have taken up Balanche's idea: Cargo ship from Turkey full of weapons seized by Greek authorities According to Greek and Turkish sources, a cargo ship containing thousands of weapons, ammunition, and explosives was seized by Greek authorities on February 28th. The ship sporting a Togo flag had reportedly left a Turkish port in Izmir and was traveling to Lebanon as well as the southeastern African coast. The above source is not always reliable, but Elijah J. Magnier, reporting from Syria for the Kuwaiti paper AL RAI, just confirmed the news: Elijah J. Magnier @EjmAlrai #BreakingNews: Fuelling Lebanon? #Greece arrest crew of a ship 6 #Syria/n, 4 #India/n 1 #Lebanese carrying weapons from #Turkey to #Lebanon. The ship was carrying 6 containers of which 2 full of weapons designated to a harbour in #Lebanon, intercepted at #Greece Crete #Island. Very alarming indeed & shows a possible escalation planned n #Lebanon when the #SaudiArabia / #Hezbollah/#Iran relationship is at its worse. This indicates that #Lebanon is no longer outside the circle of the war in #Syria and is supposed to be dragged in It is unlikely that this is a purely Turkish operation. The Saudis do have enormous influence in Lebanon due to their frequent bribes paid to the various actors there. The general Saudi influence is now somewhat diminished. None of the major Lebanese followed the Saudi's demand to take its side and to seek conflict with Syria or Hizbullah, the Lebanese Shia party that supports the Syrian government. But there are still groups in Lebanon, especially Salafis, which the Saudis essentially command. A few weeks ago a Saudi prince was imprisoned in Lebanon after being caught loading two tons of amphetamine Captagon pills onto his private plane. There are also rumors that the Saudis recently found a video which showed Hizbullah operators training Yemeni Houthis in intelligence matters. This was seen as a direct attack on Saudi interests. The Saudis cut $4 billion of Saudi paid French weapon aid they had promised to the Lebanese military. A week ago they warned all their citizens to leave Lebanon. The now caught ship is likely the result of Saudi and Turkish cooperation. The idea is reckless as it could throw Lebanon back into the terrible years of the Lebanese civil war. But the idea is also very bold which lets me believe that its origin is neither Saudi nor Turkish. The weapon ship may not have been the only or the first one. It is quite possible that some weapons have already reached the Sunni quarters of Tripoli in north Lebanon. In 2012 some fierce fighting erupted between the Alawite enclave in Tripoli and some Sunni neighborhoods. Then the Lebanese army intervened to calm the fighting down. With weapons for some 10,000 men and lots of dollars to pay them, a serious threat to the soft underbelly of Syria could be implemented within a few weeks. An attack from the Tripoli area northward into Latakia would open a new dangerous front against the Syrian government. Hopefully the Syrian government and Hizbullah are prepared to squelch such a campaign in its infancy. Update: Stratfor, a private U.S. intelligence service, distributed this claim today: A Sunni politician in Lebanon tells Stratfor that the Saudi government wants to build a Sunni anti-Hizbullah militia by providing for Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon. bigger The sourcing is fishy - "According to a Sunni politician ... Saudi Arabia is reportedly ...". Why does Startfor need a politician to tell them that something is "reported" somewhere. Why not source to the original report? Is this all a "Plan B" head fake to gain some leverage for negotiations? Or is this a real program? Posted by b on March 1, 2016 at 15:06 UTC | Permalink Comments HILDEBRAN - Former Rose Hill town administrator Tom Drum was unanimously appointed as town manager and administrator for both Catawba and Hildebran during the special joint meeting with the Western Piedmont Council of Governments (WPCOG) and the two towns Monday night. WPCOG Executive Director Anthony Starr presented the appointment of Drum before the two town councils. Starr said that Drums 28 years of total experience with town administration, most recently with Rose Hill for 22 years, as well as his strong command of town issues should serve as major benefits for both Catawba and Hildebran. His longevity speaks for itself, Starr said. For these two towns, theyll get a chance to have Tom lend his expertise. Both towns approved their respective contracts with WPCOG in appointing Drum, which includes a minimum service of two years. Starr said contracts are the same for both towns and Drum will be serving both towns on a shared-duty basis. Although his first day in the office is set for March 16, the two towns have yet to officially determine which days of the week he would be working for them. Drum says he is looking most forward to serving the needs of both towns. He also said the idea of being able to serve a town that his father was born in gives him a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. This opening just seemed like a great fit and it ended up being exactly what I wanted, Drum said. Its a blessing for me to be here, hoping that we have a great relationship for a long time. Drum, a Newton native, is a graduate of Appalachian State University and prior to being a town administrator at Rose Hill, he was also the manager for the Sugar Mountain resort. WPCOG is a voluntary association of local governments organized in 1968 as a nonprofit group to provide long-range planning and technical assistance, according to the organizations website. The council serves four counties - Alexander, Burke, Caldwell and Catawba - as well as 24 municipalities. Along with several other non-government organizations and advocacy groups, a lawyer is set to submit collective petitions on housing rights to a United Nations committee in Geneva, Switzerland. Attorney DJ Larkin of the Pivot Legal Society is just one of dozens of concerned individuals and organizations who are calling on the United Nations to hear about Vancouvers homelessness and Canadas housing obligations. The petitioners expect the U.N. to finalize and announce its recommendations before the end of March. Canada previously committed to the U.N.s Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which covers the right to housing. The U.N. last reviewed the countrys progress on this front around 10 years agoa decade that, according to Larkin and her compatriots, has yielded little fruit despite the recently-elected Liberal governments promise to invest in affordable housing. Citing figures from think-tanks and other independent observers, Larkin said that the affordability crisis leaves as much as 250,000 people to experience homelessness every year in Canada, with another 50,000 individuals qualifying as hidden homeless (i.e., those who couch surf or squat in vacant structures). We thought that participating in this review was particularly important because the housing and homelessness crisis in Canada is growing and it really is at the point where it really is a national emergency, Larkin told Metro News. Larkin noted that during the previous review, the U.N. has already urged Canada to take steps to the address the problem. She added, however, that the increasing number of people dying on the streets in British Columbia and recent rise of tent cities in locales such as Victoria and Abbotsford have placed doubts on the governments commitment to rectify the problem head-on. Instead, what were seeing is the increase in use of bylaws and law enforcement to displace people who are found in the streets because of the increase of visible homelessness in Canada, Larkin said, emphasizing that real estate affordability is spiraling out of control. The percentage of people who are paying more than 30% of their income on rent is increasing. We have a disturbing percentage of people who are paying more than 50% of their income on rent, and even people who are paying more than 80%. This puts us in the situation where we have a lot of people at risk of being homeless, Larkin stated. Another Price Report Shows Significant January Increases January is shaping up to have been a good month for house prices - or a bad one if you are in the market for a home. CoreLogic today said that its Home Price Index (HPI) indicates that prices were up from January 2015 to January 2016 by 6.9 percent. This was substantially above the December annual price change estimate of 6.3 percent. Prices rose month over month by 1.3 percent compared to 0.8 percent in December. Last month CoreLogic predicted a 0.2 percent December to January increase. The CoreLogic figure makes the annual price gain for existing homes released last week by The National Association of Realtors (NAR) a little less of an outlier. They had put the January year-over-year gain at 8.2 percent, the largest since last April. Washington led all states with an annual price increase of 11.6 percent followed Colorado at 10.9 percent and Oregon at 10.0 percent. The rest of the top five didn't quite hit double digits, Florida was fourth at 9.0 percent and California posted a 8.9 percent annual change. Mississippi lost the greatest amount of ground; prices fell 1.3 percent and Louisiana was also in negative territory at 1.1 percent. Maine, eked out a 0.1 percent gain and Maryland and Delaware increased by 0.4 and 0.7 percent respectively. The CoreLogic HPI Forecast predicts prices will rise 5.5 percent from January 2016 to January 2017, and on a month-over-month basis are expected to be up 0.5 percent from January 2016 to February 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. "While the national market continues to steadily improve, the contours of the home price recovery are shifting," said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. "The northwest and Rocky Mountain states have experienced greater appreciation and account for four of the top five states for home price growth." "Heading into the spring buying season, home prices continue to rise across much of the country," said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "With rates staying low for now and continued solid job and income growth, the spring buying season is shaping up to be a good one." A Canadian island is seeing increased popularity among would-be buyers from the U.S., especially since a website that promotes the islands real estate has seen nearly half a million visits from American users by mid-February. The Cape Breton if Donald Trump Wins campaign, which offers Cape Breton home listings for buyers who are apprehensive about a possible Trump victory in the U.S. presidential elections this year, has been cited by industry observers as a main driver in the islands flourishing status. We noticed that after the web site went live, that they jumped to over 20,000 visits daily, and that trend is still holding. The majority of those visits are coming from the U.S.," real-estate portal Point2Homes customer relations director Jacquelyn Bauer told CBC News. Bauer noted that several Cape Breton agents have already received emails from interested buyers, adding that the generous exchange rates afforded by the low Canadian dollar is proving attractive to those in the market for new homes. Point2Homes said that interest in the Trump page might wane over time, which is why local agents should take advantage of this level of attention. Orchestra Abby Barto School: Midland High School Year: Senior Instrument: Trumpet All-state ensemble: 6A All-State Philharmonic Orchestra Extracurricular activities: Concert Band, Jazz Band, Marching Band, Orchestra, Handbells, Choir, NHS, German NHS Other honors you have received: All-region for four years, all-area for four years, all-state for two years, State Solo and Ensemble, and academic awards What does it mean to you to be an all-state performer: Being an all-state performer means pushing yourself to go the extra mile in order to accomplish one of the highest honors available to high school musicians. People who make all-state demonstrate the responsibility and dedication that is required to make such great performing ensembles. I am very blessed to have gained the experience of playing with both the all-state band (last year) and the all-state philharmonic orchestra (this year). Both ensembles were incredible, and I will remember playing with them for the rest of my life. Why are the fine arts important to education: The fine arts are important to education because they not only teach students what it means to hold responsibility within a group but also allow them to dedicate their time towards the creation of something beautiful. Favorite moment in your fine arts discipline: My favorite moments in band definitely have been both of the times I have made all-state. Reaching that level of competition only enhanced my love for music. Choir Crystal Jaquez School: Midland High School Year: Senior Voice part: Alto All-State ensemble: Girls Choir Extracurricular Activities: Church Other honors you have received: For three years I have been in all-region. Then, two years of state ensemble and three straight years of state solo. Last year I was the Choirs historian but this year I got the honor to be the president. What does it mean to you to be an all-state performer: To be an all-state performer means that all of my hard work finally paid off. It was such a honor to have been able to sing with such amazing and talented young women like me. Why are the fine arts important to education: Fine arts education is very important. Music is connected to many things and many people. It can make people happy or sad. But none of this would happen if it wasnt for the education we receive from our elementary to even our college days. Favorite moment in your fine arts discipline: My favorite moment would have to be when we sing a song and time just comes to a hold. Its like all of my worries go away and the music fills my heart with more joy then I could ask for. Parents can apply for pre-kindergarten Application packets for Midland ISDs Early Childhood Program -- pre-kindergarten -- will be available at the administration building, 615 W. Missouri Ave., beginning March 14. When parents or guardians pick up a packet, they will schedule an appointment to discuss eligibility. The program is for children from low-income or homeless families; children who are limited in English; children who currently are in or previously have been in foster care; children in active military or reserves family. They must turn 4 on or before Sept. 1. For more information, call 240-1530. SRSU honors Midlander Midlander Brad Carter was among individuals honored Feb. 20 at Sul Ross State Universitys annual Hall of Honor/Distinguished Alumni banquet. Carter, a 1976, graduate, received the first Outstanding Alumni Association Advisory Board member award. The award has been established to recognize exemplary volunteer service and dedication to the university, according to a press release from SRSU. Bill Nye is MC lecture series speaker Bill Nye, the Science Guy is coming to Midland College on March 17 as part of the Davidson Distinguished Lecture Series. Nye is a scientist, engineer, comedian, author and inventor. His mission is to help foster a scientifically literate society and to make science entertaining and accessible, according to MCs website. The free lecture is 7:30 p.m. at Chaparral Center. Albuquerque schools face enrollment decline ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Enrollment at New Mexicos largest school district is projected to drop more than 10,000 students within this decade. The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://goo.gl/nFPlX2) the most precipitous declines are in kindergarten, making the outlook even bleaker as fewer students enter the pipeline for Albuquerque Public Schools. cq Officials say the slide began shortly after the economic downturn, with enrollment dropping at the beginning of this decade. Rose-Ann McKernan, executive director of the districts Office of Accountability and Reporting, said Albuquerque Public Schools administrators are looking at options should the decline continue. McKernan says lower birth rates and movement of students to charter schools, other districts within New Mexico and other states are to blame for the decline. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Without Texas, Tuesday wouldn't be so super. The state is the largest of 12 holding "Super Tuesday" presidential primary elections in one or both parties, and its 155 Republican and 252 Democratic delegates could reshape both parties' nomination battles. It takes 1,237 Republican National Convention delegates to win the GOP's nomination and 2,382 delegates to secure the Democratic one. All 36 of Texas' U.S. House seats also are up, but only a few races appear competitive in the primary. And GOP control of both the Texas Senate and House won't change, but some establishment Republicans could be tested by tea party-backed challengers, while other tea party legislators may be put to the test themselves. Here are some key questions that could be answered: ___ HOME STATE ADVANTAGE? Ted Cruz is Texas' junior senator, claims 27,000 volunteers statewide and was endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, former Gov. Rick Perry and many top state Republicans in Congress and the Legislature. Amid expectations he'll lock up his home state, however, Cruz still appears to face a dogfight with New York billionaire Donald Trump and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. That means Cruz supporters could face a scary proposition should their candidate lose in his must-win home state. Even the Texas winner may not take all, though. Garnering 50-plus percent of the statewide vote guarantees just 47 Republican delegates, while taking the remaining 108 will require capturing a majority of the votes cast in each congressional district. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, is not from Texas but has decades-long ties to its Democratic base and is favored over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. The Texas Democratic primary winner statewide locks up 77 delegates, while 145 will be allocated based on the results in each of the 31 state Senate districts. The final 30 are super delegates who can back any candidate in July, at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. ___ CONGRESSIONAL DRAMA? Powerful House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady is among 13 Texas Republican congressional incumbents facing primary opponents. Brady has challengers from the right in a four-way primary, and may be forced into a runoff May 24 if no one wins a majority Tuesday. That's when things could get really dangerous for him. On the Democratic side, 12-term U.S. Rep. Gene Green has drawn his first serious primary challenger in years from former Harris County Sherriff Adrian Garcia. The Houston-centric district is about 60 percent Hispanic. Fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa is retiring. Among six Democrats vying for the party nomination for his South Texas seat is Dolly Elizondo, who is trying to become the first Hispanic woman to represent Texas in Congress. A runoff may be necessary. That's also the case in the West Texas district where U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer is retiring and hasn't endorsed any of the nine Republicans running to replace him. ___ TEA PARTY TAKEDOWNS? In the Texas House, some conservative insurgents are aiming to topple establishment Republicans even as other tea party-backed legislators could find themselves ousted by more-moderate challengers. House Speaker Joe Straus is facing a pair of challengers from the right in his San Antonio district, while tea party-backed candidates are hoping to upset Straus lieutenants Rep. Byron Cook of Corsicana and Fort Worth Rep. Charlie Geren. Meanwhile, Reps. Jonathan Stickland of Bedford and Molly White of Belton, leading tea party voices in the chamber, are facing primary challenges. Irving Rep. Matt Rinaldi is competing with former state lawmaker Bennett Ratliff, who lost to Rinaldi by fewer than 100 votes during 2014's Republican primary. ___ EARLY WINNER? During the governor's race two years ago, 53 percent of Texas voters cast ballots before Election Day, and early voting topped 63 percent of all ballots cast during the November 2012 presidential election. That means Texas' primary could be decided long before the polls even open Tuesday. More than 1.7 million votes representing 12 percent of registered statewide voters were cast through the end of early voting on Friday. Of those, about 450,000 were in the Democratic primary and nearly 660,000 in the Republican one. It won't be clear until after Tuesday, though, what percentage of the overall number of votes cast those tallies represent. ___ TURNOUT TURNAROUND? During the 2012 presidential race, Texas held its primary in May, after the Republican nomination had been locked up by Mitt Romney, and with no one challenging the sitting Democratic president for his party's nomination. This cycle, Texas deliberately moved up to Super Tuesday, seeking outsized influence on still-competitive nomination races. Turnout this time could be closer to March 2008, when the much-watched race between Clinton and Barack Obama saw more than 2.8 million Texans, or nearly 23 percent of statewide registered voters, participate in the Democratic primary. More than 1.3 million Republicans, or nearly 11 percent of the state's registered voters, cast ballots in that year's Republican primary, featuring John McCain and Mike Huckabee. Polls indicate U.S. S en. Ted Cruz is the front-runner to win in the Republican primary for president in Texas. As we head into Tuesday's balloting, the question is: Will billionaire Donald Trump take Midland County? Cruz -- who leads by nearly 10 points, according to the Real Clear Politics average of Texas polls -- should have a lock on Midland County based on past elections. But voters here have been known to throw a curve ball or two. Specifically, Midland County voters have been known to support that anti-establishment and certainly that anti-Washington candidate. Cruz carried 62 percent of Midland County voters in the Republican Party primary runoff for Senate in 2012. Dewhurst, the lieutenant governor of Texas, was branded establishment, while Cruz ran on a platform to change how business would be done. An even greater of example of Midland County voters turning their backs on the establishment candidate occurred in the GOP primary for governor in 2010 when insurgent candidate Debra Medina finished with more votes in Midland County than U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Medinas second-place showing in Midland County was one of many around the Permian Basin, as she also placed second to Gov. Rick Perry in Andrews, Ector, Pecos, Ward and Martin counties. Medina actually beat Perry and Hutchison in Crane County. So for anyone looking for an interesting story line tonight, check out which presidential candidate actually wins Midland County and other counties in the Permian Basin. Voters in the region have been known to buck conventional wisdom before. -- Turnout: Many expected voter turnout to be higher this year compared to four years ago, and the results so far are living up to expectations. The Midland County Elections Office reported 10,352 (9,458 Republican and 894 Democrat) ballots cast in Midland County. That is more than the 6,000-plus in 2012. Historically, the number of voters on Election Day in Midland County is comparable to the number who voted during the early voting period. If that trend holds up this year, the 19,000 or so voters would be a significant increase to the 11,620 who voted in the Republican and Democratic party primaries in 2012. Dave McDermand/The Eagle NAVASOTA, Texas (AP) A man training to become a pilot was flying with his instructor and his girlfriend's two children when their single-engine plane crashed over the weekend in Southeast Texas, killing all four. Grimes County Sheriff Don Sowell told The Eagle newspaper (http://bit.ly/1nbu3nE ) that Amjad Sultan owned the plane and was working to earn his pilot's license. David Starfire, an electronic music producer from Los Angeles, returns with his fifth album Karuna, out for release TODAY, March 1, on Bandcamp, iTunes, Beatport, Amazon, Spotify, Apple Music and all digital music stores. The album is Kickstarter funded, which is a collaboration between Starfire and Burmese musicians. Its unique cover art is created by esteemed digital painter Android Jones. "Karuna" means "Compassion" in Sanskrit, perfectly describing the album, which was created during his visit to the refugee border zones in Northern Thailand back in 2015. Proceeds of the album will go to the Thai Freedom House in Chiang Mai, which is devoted to educating Burmese refugees through language, arts and academic programs, a press release stated. The music of Karuna integrates Eastern and Western scales from native and modern instruments. It also incorporates glitched violins, delayed xylophone, gamelan, homemade harps, buffalo horn flutes, and Burmese vocals. The versatility and complexity of Burmese musicianship are reflected in the album. The track The One includes the voice of legendary visionary artist and philosopher Alex Grey, reciting an excerpt from his book Art Psalms, along with the shamanic flute of Joaqopelli. Harp player and social activist Doo Plout is featured on the track Tenaku which is compose by William Close and The Earth Harp Collective. Meanwhile, the song Ywa features the voice of Chi Suwichan, a prominent Karen social activist and harp player who travels the globe promoting the cause of his people through music, LA Weekly reported. The album also features Burmese stroh violinist Len Pong, vocalist Gonlao, and temple drummers from Wat Pa Pao and Wat Tung Salee in addition to electronic artist/violinist Govinda, violinist HAANA, hammer dulcimer player Jamie Janover, vocalist Oriel Poole, and more. Starfire will have an album release party in Toronto on Friday, March 5. He will also be performing at the festival circuit, beginning with Tree Fort Festival and Lightning in a Bottle. Karuna Tracklisting 01. Qilin (feat. Len Pong) 02. Osi (feat. HAANA) 03. The One (feat. Alex Grey and Joaqopelli) 04. Khong (feat. Govinda and Jamie Janover) 05. Na Hearn (feat. Gonlao) 06. Tenaku (feat. William Close & Doo Plout) 07. Taphon (feat. Oriel Poole and Len Pong) 08. Y'wa (feat. Chi Suwichan & Len Pong) 09. The One (Instrumental) 10. Na Hearn (Instrumental) 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. M83 has unveiled some long-awaited details on their upcoming album now titled Junk. Led by frontman French synth master Anthony Gonzalez, the LP will be released on April 8. No further details are known about the follow-up to their breakout 2011 LP Hurry Up, We're Dreaming that netted the hit "Midnight City." To support the album, M83 will tour extensively this spring and summer. The news was first announced by Pitchfork. Speaking to EW when the album was first announced in December, Gonzalez described the LP as "very epic" and "very different from previous albums." This would make sense with a five year period in between LPs. He cites 1970s and 1980s television as a main influence on his new music and says "we really tried to be very modern but also very old-school at the same time." For their tour, M83 posted an open call for a female keyboardist. The tour kicks off on April 6 in New Orleans, which means they have to complete the auditions very soon to learn and drill the music in the next few weeks before hitting the road for the next several months. They will be supported by the likes of YACHT, Tame Impala, Bob Moses, Borns and Okay Kaya on select dates throughout their various tour dates in North America. The group will tour the world from April to August, hitting North America, Asia and Europe, hitting concert halls and festivals like Sziget, Governors Ball, Bonnaroo, Sasquatch, Melt, NOS Festival, Solidays Festival and so many more. Get all of the details on their tour here and stay tuned for a complete tracklist in the next few weeks. 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Please enable JavaScript to experience the functionality of this website. - MWEB Sarkodie should have been bigger than ... Microphone and US Flag View Photos Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski delivered this weeks Republican address and talked about President Obamas plan to close Guantanamo Bay. Walorski was Tuesdays KVMLs Newsmaker of the Day. Here are her words: The President says Guantanamo Bay makes us less safe because terrorists use it as a propaganda tool. But terrorists use just about any type of military response as a propaganda tool. Thats no reason to unilaterally disarm. And, I can tell you that when were talking about Gitmo, were talking about the worst of the worst terrorists in the entire world. The President isnt talking about trying to move people to the United States prison system that are low level criminals or terrorists. These are the worst of the worst, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was the mastermind behind 9/11. Not only that, but 30 percent of former Guantanamo prisoners are either confirmed or suspected of re-engaging in terrorism. In fact, just this week, a former Guantanamo prisoner was arrested in Spain after trying to recruit for ISIS. Theres a reason these terrorists are in Guantanamo. And we should keep them there. Thats why the peoples representatives have repeatedly voted to forbid the transfer of Guantanamo prisoners to American soil. This goes all the way back to when the presidents party controlled Congress. And just last year, we affirmed this decision by a big, bipartisan vote370 votes in the House and 91 votes in the Senate. Finally, the biggest problem with the presidents plan is that its not much of a plan at all. It lacks crucial details required by law. For instance, he doesnt say exactly how much money a new facility would cost taxpayers. He doesnt even say where it would be. The President has had seven years to come up with this alternative plan. The burden is not on the American people to hand him one more legacy trophy. The burden is on him. This whole debate is just a distraction from the Presidents failure to defeat ISIS. But it does speak to a larger point. The President seems to think as if a more timid America would keep us safe. We, in the House, could not disagree more. We think a confident America is what keeps the peace. A confident America is what will make us secure. So we will continue to do all we can in the House to hold the President accountable, to keep terrorists off our soil, and to keep the American people safe. Thank you. The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning on AM 1450 KVML at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 AM Ahwanhee Hotel...or Majestic Yosemite Hotel View Photos Yosemite, CA A highly-anticipated March 1 transition only hours away today is reportedly full of last-minute wrangling with the passing of the reins between Yosemite National Parks outgoing and incoming concessionaires. There is a lot of transition going on a lot of folks from Aramark herea lot of issues with the signs that folks are familiar with, but also this is a huge undertaking, explains Yosemite National Park spokesperson Scott Gediman. They are coming in and changing out everything from computer systemsreservations systemsuniforms, to getting folks oriented, so operationally, this is a huge undertaking, but Aramark is doing a great job preparing for it Delaware North has been very gracious about the transition, and we are just moving forward. Visitors are scarfing up certain park souvenirs at half-price today, due to a multi-million-dollar trademark lawsuit (previously reported here) brought by departing concessioner Delaware North Companies, as it currently has legal control of the words Yosemite National Park for commercial uses, as well as the iconic names of several park attractions, which were recently renamed and are still physically being re-signed at the park. Among these are Yosemite Lodge at the Falls; The Ahwahnee; Curry Village; Wawona Hotel; and Badger Pass Ski Area. Unless the concessioners otherwise arrange terms, these attractions will become respectively known as Yosemite Valley Lodge; The Majestic Yosemite Hotel; Half Dome Village; Big Trees Lodge; and Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area. Delaware North, as reported here, maintains that it hopes that a fair and just agreement may be reached that would allow the use of the historic names to continue. Yosemite No Matter What As far as sportswear and other gift shop sales, Gediman notes, In the final hours of Delaware Norths contract, Yosemite National Park [branded merchandise] is being sold, and what will be sold tomorrow or how it will be sold is something that is being worked out by Aramark and Delaware North today. For their part, Aramark spokesperson David Freireich shares, Due to the outgoing concessioners claim that it owns the trademark for Yosemite National Park, we are unable to sell certain items, including apparel, pens, mugs and stickers, branded with Yosemite National Park. To avoid trademark infringement, we will be introducing a Yosemite branded line of souvenirs. In what she plans to be the last week of an email petition requesting intervention from the U.S. Congress over Delaware Norths trademark lawsuit (reported here) Columbia College Professor Laurie Sylwester reports that, internationally, there have been 36,400 views of the petition, and 7,474 signatures from all 50 states and 48 countries around the world, to date. Sylwester hopes that federal lawmakers, and ahead of them, Congressional staffers making note of all the comments provided with the signatures will send up a red flag for protective legislation. I would really hope for action on federal law to keep from having [similar lawsuits] happen because other parks are in the same position, really, she states. Last week, in response to the ensuing issues from the Delaware North trademark lawsuit, the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors approved sending a letter to the National Park Service and Delaware North Company, urging that the two sides find a solution. It was also last week that Mother Lode lawmaker Assemblymember Frank Bigelow helped introduce AB 2249, which aims to prevent concessionaires from claiming ownership of any names associated with state parks, as reported here. Moving Forward As Smoothly As Possible Any disputes aside, Freireich reports that his company remains extremely honored to have won the 15-year, estimated $2 billion Yosemite concessions contract and looks forward to working with the National Park Service to deliver great experiences for visitors as stewards of the iconic park that is special place for so many. As he states, Our top priority is to ensure as smooth a transition as possible for guests and we have been working closely with the NPS to develop a comprehensive transition plan in advance of commencing operations March 1. Aramark, as Yosemite Hospitality LLC, will annually provide lodging, retail, recreational services, and food to over four million park visitors. The new concessionaire has, since the new contract was announced last June, maintained that specific details of its plans for the park would be announced over the coming months, also sharing a goal to elevate the guest and visitor experience by introducing new offerings, upgrading amenities and enhancing existing programs. However, still clearly dealing with the complexities of transitioning with Delaware North, which has held the concessions contract for the past 20 years, no specific details of Aramarks move forward plans have yet been publicly made available. For now and over the short-term, as Gediman states, Yosemite National Park never closes and it has to be a seamless transition from tonight to tomorrow. Aramark has hired a significant number of folks from Delaware North I do not have the exact number so I know that a lot of the folks who had worked for Delaware North will continue to work for Aramark. Above all, and even with some apparent wrangling in the final hours between the two concessionaires, Gediman says, I do want visitors [to know] that, if someone has a reservation and they are coming tomorrow, the stores, restaurants, shops will all be open, and the seamless transition has been a huge priority for us and we feel really good about Aramark taking the reins. Aramark currently provides concessions for numerous public attractions through contracts with the National Parks Service and other entities. Among these are: Denali National Park & Preserve; Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve; Mesa Verde National Park; Olympic National Park; Glen Canyon National Recreation Area; Lake Mead National Recreation Area; Lake Tahoe Basin National Forest; Grand Canyon National Park; Olympic National Forest; Hearst Castle; The Field Museum; Pikes Peak; National Museum of the Marine Corps; US Mint; and Gettysburg National Military Park. Sacramento, CA California lawmakers are looking at ways to beef-up cyber security among state agencies. A recent report from the states Auditors office pointed out several recent state breaches, partially due to ineffective training among individual agencies. The Associated Press reports that 73 of 77 agencies that were reviewed last year had holes in its cyber security systems. These agencies have access to the personal information of several Californians, such as addresses and social security numbers. At an information hearing in Sacramento, Assembly member Jacqui Irwin, Chair of the states Assembly Cybersecurity Committee, stated, The place we start is with the Auditors report and looking at what the departments are doing, and if they have the proper security in place. We just need to stay on this. There is going to be another hearing in August, and we will see how the departments are moving forward. Other lawmakers at the hearing referred to the auditors report as horrible and unacceptable. The Department of Information Technology has requested an additional $1.5 million this year to hire 11 additional employees to focus on auditing the efforts of state agencies to protect personal information. Yosemite, CA In its dwindling hours as concessionaire at Yosemite National Park, Delaware North Companies moved to clarify the legal case over its retention of iconic Yosemite trademarks with the CFO of the National Park Service. In a letter shared with Clarke Broadcasting, dated Monday, February 29, Delaware North Companies Executive Vice President/CEO Rick Abramson claimed to National Park Service CFO Lena McDowall that his company was unable to fulfill a final clause in their contract when incoming concessioner Aramark declined to purchase certain assets at fair value and when the National Parks Service (NPS) did not subsequently mandate Aramark to do so. Among these assets are the disputed Yosemite-related trademarks and related inventory. Delaware North noted that Aramark furthermore rejected its offer to transfer to them the trademarks for use, pending the outcome of Delaware Norths related lawsuit. In the letter, Delaware North further posed its willingness to transfer the marks to the National Park Service, either directly or through an escrow. The company also made it clear that, as it makes its formal exit, it is not abandoning other unresolved assets that remain at the park. In a subsequent media release, Delaware North stated that, with that offer, the fate of the historic names is now fully within the control of the National Park Service. The full text of the emailed letter is provided below: National Park Service February 29, 2016 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240 Attn: Ms. Lena McDowall, Chief Financial Officer Re: Concession Contract No. YOSE004-93 Dear Lena: As you know, today is the final day that DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc. (DNCY) will perform concession services at Yosemite National Park under its contract with the National Park Service (NPS), i.e., Concession Contract No. YOSE004-93 (the Contract). I thus write to inform you of the status of the parties performance of their obligations under Section 13 of the Contract. Section 13 of the Contract requires DNCY to sell and transfer to a successor concessioner all of the Possessory Interest and other property DNCY uses or holds for use in connection with its Yosemite operations, and obligates NPS to require the successor concessioner to purchase and pay fair value for that property. As of this writing, DNCY has sold and transferred to the successor concessioner (Aramark) all of the property subject to Section 13 except for four categories of property that DNCY has offered to sell and transfer to Aramark but which Aramark to date has declined to purchase for fair value. DNCY maintains that NPS has breached Section 13 of the Contract by failing to require Aramark to purchase at fair value these four remaining categories of assets. These four categories of assets therefore remain subject to the lawsuit pending before the United States Court of Federal Claims, DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc. v. United States, No. 1:15-cv-91934-PEC (Fed. Cl.) (the Litigation). The four categories of property remaining to be purchased by Aramark and subject to the Litigation are (1) DNCYs Yosemite-related trade names, trademarks, and service marks (the Marks), (2) all inventory and items such as plates at The Ahwahnee displaying the Marks (the Branded Inventory and Assets), (3) capital improvements to real property at Yosemite (the Real Property Capital Improvements), and (4) trade fixtures at Yosemite, including without limitation range hoods and the structural components of tents and tent cabins (Personal Property Capital Improvements, and together with the Real Property Capital Improvements, the Capital Improvements). Aramark has refused to purchase the Marks because DNCY and NPS dispute their fair value. Further, Aramark has refused to purchase the Branded Inventory and Assets until the dispute regarding the Marks is resolved. Aramark and NPS contend Aramark is not required to purchase the Capital Improvements. To comply with its contractual obligation to NPS to sell and transfer this property to Aramark, DNCY has offered to transfer the Marks, Branded Inventory and Assets and Capital Improvements to Aramark, with the amount of compensation to which DNCY is entitled for the property to be determined either by subsequent negotiation or in the Litigation. This would fulfill the intent of the Contract that the new concessioner has all of the property needed to run the Yosemite operations with the same excellence with which DNCY has done so for the past 23 years, and that DNCY receive fair value for its property. DNCY has forwarded a trademark assignment to Aramark, and Aramark has not accepted this offer. As you know, DNCY has been attempting since 2014 to ensure that these transition issues were fully resolved if and when a new contractor took over concession operations in Yosemite. Unfortunately, NPS did not reciprocate and it is now apparent that Aramark will begin operations without having acquired all of the necessary property. Most importantly, by refusing to acquire or take assignment of the Marks, Aramark will begin operations without ownership of the famous, iconic names associated with the concessions at Yosemite. This is obviously contrary not only to the plain language and intent of Section 13 of the Contract, but also to the interest of the public and its deep affection for the Marks. In light of Aramarks refusal to accept the Marks, DNCY is willing to transfer the Marks directly to NPS, so long as DNCYs right to continue to seek fair value for its property is not diminished. We do not perceive any reason for NPS to decline this offer, especially in light of the fact that NPS intends to become the owner of these Marks eventually pursuant to the provision in Aramarks contract requiring the transfer of any Yosemite-related trademarks to NPS. Nonetheless, if NPS is for some reason unwilling to take ownership of the Marks in a direct transfer from DNCY, DNCY would be willing to place the Marks in escrow under the control of NPS until the respective rights and obligations of DNCY, NPS and Aramark are resolved through the Litigation or otherwise. In any event, because NPS is expected to be the ultimate owner of the Marks, it is important for NPS to be aware that important rights with respect to the Marks could be affected by action or inaction of NPS, Aramark, or an escrow agent with respect to protecting the Marks after today, including maintaining their registrations at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Furthermore, DNCY is seeking damages and other relief in the Litigation for NPSs failure to require Aramark to purchase for fair value the Capital Improvements. To remove all doubt, DNCY is not abandoning this property, but instead is leaving it in the Park for Aramarks use pursuant to DNCYs obligations under Section 13 of the Contract, and is pursuing in the Litigation the compensation NPS should have made Aramark pay for this property under Section 13. We hereby provide notice to NPS that it is obligated to preserve and maintain the Capital Improvements after the Contract expires and refrain from taking any action, directly or indirectly, to waste or diminish their value until the Litigation is resolved. Please contact me if you would like to discuss this matter or have any questions. Sincerely, Rick Abramson Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Delaware North Companies, Inc. Sonora, CA Tuolumne County leaders learned more about the federal National Resilience Competition money that will be coming to fund post Rim Fire projects. The Rim Fire application requested around $117-million from the HUD grant program, but only $70-million was approved by federal officials. The funding is being broken down into three major categories. At todays board of supervisors meeting, County Administrator Craig Pedro stated that $40-million was requested for Forest and Watershed Health, but only $28.6-million will be allocated. The lead agency in charge of overseeing the use of the money will be the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, and partners will include CAL Fire, the US Forest Service and the California Conservation Corp. $55-million was requested to build Community Resilience Centers in both Groveland and Tuolumne. However, $19.8-million was approved, so only one of the facilities will be constructed. Tuolumne County is the lead agency to oversee the planning, and must decide which is the more beneficial project. Additional agency partners include Columbia College, the California Conservation Corp., Tuolumne County Economic Development Authority and the US Forest Service. $22-million was requested to build a Biomass Facility and Wood Products Campus, and the full allocation was approved by HUD. The Sierra Nevada Conservancy and CalEPA will be in charge of the planning, and the agency partners include Tuolumne County and the US Forest Service. More information should be known later this month as launch events are being organized in both Sacramento and Tuolumne County. The federal grant funding is designed to help communities bounce back from national disasters, and become more resilient against future disasters. SpaceX will try again Tuesday evening to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Coast. SpaceX scrubbed the launch three times in the past few days., including an attempt on Sunday. The new target window is Tuesday from 6:35 p.m. to 8:05 p.m. SpaceX said it shifted the window slightly to avoid upper-level wind issues. PREVIOUS: SpaceX scrubs 2nd Falcon 9 launch attempt Live Blog SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch -- Live Chat The SES-9 satellite will provide service to Southeast Asia with high-speed internet and high-definition television. The launch was to be the first by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral since Dec. 21, when the company landed the first stage of its rocket on the ground. Coverage from the Space Coast: Headlines, Launch Schedule, Resources The SES launch was delayed for several months after a Falcon 9 rocket with NASA cargo on board exploded in June 2015. The Falcon 9 rocket has been upgraded since the explosion. SpaceX has agreed to burn the upper-stage rocket for a few extra seconds to help get the SES satellite into its proper orbit sooner. While the second stage is helping the satellite get into orbit, the first stage of the rocket will return to Earth. SES said it plans to be back out on the Cape this fall to launch two more satellites, SES 10 and SES 11. An investigation is underway after a man was shot and killed by a Palm Bay police officer following a standoff Tuesday morning. Neighbors say things escalated after a noise complaint. It all started with a 911 call that led to a police standoff and ended with the death of one man on Mariposa Drive in Palm Bay. It was a typical morning involving construction work on this block, until things got out of hand. I just heard that the gentleman that lived there was upset with the people next door cause they were making too much noise during their construction remodeling or whatever they were doing, said Freen Manning who lives across the street. A 911 call was made about a man making threats to shoot three people doing construction at the home next door. According to investigators, the suspect, later identified 39-year-old Dimitri Corcino, was armed with a loaded semi-automatic handgun. When Palm Bay Police Department got to the scene, there was a one and a half hour stand off between Corcino and officers. Its tough for everybody including the family, the officers involved," said Palm Bay Police Department Chief Mark Renkens. "Its just something that we dread but sometimes were forced to do. Officials say Corcino kept coming in and out of the home holding the weapon while making threatening gestures. That is when Corporal Jason McCoy fired a single shot that killed him. Some neighbors believe the police couldve held off longer. Hes never been an individual to be aggressive like that so I was very surprised, said one neighbor. Others believe, police were just doing their job. I hope the officer gets through it and I feel bad for the suspect but you shouldnt come out with a firearm, said William Worth who lives close by. The Palm Bay Police Department said this is the first time McCoy has ever been involved in a situation like this under their agency. Due to standard protocol, the officer has been placed on administrative leave. Veterans injured in war zones will be traveling to Cocoa Beach on Tuesday for a one-of-a-kind experience on the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Operation Surf returns this week to the Space Coast. Amazing Surf Adventures, a nonprofit organization, started Operation Surf in California. This will be the second year the event is in Brevard County. Volunteers teach disabled veterans how to surf as a form of therapy. Organizers said surfing helps veterans many of the participants served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan heal physically, mentally and spiritually. Six veterans from different parts of Florida will participate in this year's event. "It just opened my eyes that everything is possible," said Joel Ramos, a retired U.S. Army soldier. "That not because I'm missing a leg, I can't do anything. It's amazing what the water does and what these people do for us. It's just amazing." The veterans will arrive at the Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront on Tuesday afternoon, and surfing classes begin Wednesday on the beach. Classes continue through the weekend. Go here for volunteer information. The University of Central Florida is $3 million closer to getting a new downtown Orlando campus. On Tuesday, UCF announced Dr. Phillips Charities is pledging $3 million to the UCF Downtown project. Raquel Toro will likely graduate from UCF before the new downtown campus is even built. But shes happy other students will have the chance to learn there. I think its going to be an awesome opportunity for anyone thats going to be over there, said Toro, a UCF Senior. Since Governor Rick Scott rejected a plan to spend millions of dollars of state money for the UCF Downtown project in 2015, the university has collected $16 million in public and private donations from the community, including the $3 million announced Tuesday the largest donation to date. It just shows some people see our vision and want to contribute and be a part of it, said Toro. UCF needs $60 million total for the UCF Downtown campus. They have $20 million ready to go in university funds. This latest donation gives them $16 million of the $20 million they need from the community. UCF is hoping the funding already in place will now convince state leaders to approve contributing the remaining $20 million of state money. On Wednesday, UCF will present their plans for the project to the Florida Board of Governors in hopes the board will approve the project. That approval would pave the way for Governor Scott to approve state spending for the project. Rachel Toro says she plans on doing graduate work at UCF, and she loves the idea of studying in the heart of downtown Orlando. I like the idea of taking SunRail into downtown. You know, you can go to class and then be around network and go to your internships because its right over there. I think its going to be awesome, said Toro. DONATIONS Dr. Phillips Charities $3 million Orange County Government $3 million Valencia College $2 million Orlando Magic $1.5 million CFE Federal Credit Union $1.5 million Florida Hospital $1.5 million UCF Leadership and Boards $1 million Creative Village Development, LLC $1 million Alan Ginsburg, Orlando Philanthropist $500,000 Orlando City Soccer Club $300,000 CNL Financial Group $250,000 Universal Orlando Foundation and Universal Orlando Resort $250,000 Dr. Bruce Douglas of Winter Park $100,000 Coca-Cola $100,000 Total $16 million PREVIOUS STORIES Although St. Patricks Day 2016 is two weeks ago, the Plainview High Powerhouse of the Plains Marching Band already is looking ahead to 2017 when it travel to Dublin, Ireland, to be a part of the St. Patricks Day Parade. To help band members begin preparing for the trip, Adrian Farrell, consul general of Ireland, and Eddie Lopez, representative of TMF Tours & Travel visited PHS on Friday. After spending time with band members, Farrell, who has been at the Irish Consulate in Austin since it opened seven months ago, visited several classrooms at the school. We are excited to have this outstanding group, which is so large, to represent Texas at Irelands biggest celebration each year, said Farrell. The band has an outstanding reputation and will be one of the largest groups marching in the parade. The PHS band is one of a handful of college and high school bands from across the United States invited to participate in the parade through downtown Dublin. The trip is scheduled for March 14-20, 2017, and will include visits to various destinations throughout the Emerald Isle as well as taking part in Irelands largest annual celebration. Anthony Gonzales, head band director at PHS, previously said that the Powerhouse of the Plains was also chosen to perform at the 2017 Fiesta Bowl in Arizona, but opted to visit Ireland after getting that invitation out of the blue. It came not long after the band received its 78th consecutive Division I rating in UIL marching competition, and competed in the state marching contest in San Antonio. Lopez of Austin, representing TMF Tours, said his company has been selected to handling travel arrangements for the band. They will be traveling in eight chartered buses to DFW Airport, Lopez said Friday, and flying from there to Dublin, after first changing planes at New Yorks JFK Airport. Its about 14 hours of flying time to Ireland. Being invited to perform at Dublin on St. Patricks Day is a high honor, he adds. Its really based on past performances, and the Plainview band is the only one from Texas that will be marching in the parade. The band will have five days on the ground in Ireland, and will have time to see numerous attractions and cultural locations, including Blarney Castle where they can kiss the Blarney Stone. We anticipate about 320 band members, Lopez said. With sponsors and parents, that means about 400 on the tour. TMF, he said, is helping set up all aspects of the trip. That includes helping participants apply for passports as advising on fundraising efforts. This years celebration is the 100th, so the Plainview Band will be going over for the 101st St. Patricks Day Parade, Lopez. At least for this years parade, the route will be longer than in past years. TMF already has made arrangements for eight groups with a total of 2,000 students to visit Hawaii in 2017, along with several groups going overseas including the Jackson State University from Kentucky and the University of Kentucky. Farrell said Texas has strong ties to Ireland and Irish heritage from immigration in the 1800s and early 1900s. Engagements such as these, and my visit to the high school today, can only help to build stronger ties and better understanding between our two nations, Farrell said. This is a wonderful opportunity for all concerned. Not only is it inhumane and cruel, but it's illegal. And one rural resident who lives outside Plainview says she's fed up with people abandoning unwanted pets in the country. "As animal lovers, it just kills us to see this," said a woman, who asked her name not be published. Living about 16 miles outside of Plainview, the woman has expressed her frustration at individuals who choose to drive out to rural parts of the country and abandon pets. "It happens all the time," said the woman, who explained her family has already taken in six cats which have been left to die in the country. The woman said she can't afford to take in any more, but the family still places a bowl of food and water outside their property so newly abandoned animals can eat and drink. The woman says she can hear people dropping off the dogs in the middle of the night, and has even seen the act in the middle of the day. The woman said she is keeping an eye out for any individuals attempting to drop off animals. "I will resort soon to taking pictures of these animals and will be posting the pictures throughout Plainview and Lockney. If you can't take care of your own animals, you should not have them. Take them to animal control, don't throw them out to be coyote bait," the woman stated. According to the Texas Humane Legislation Network, it is a Class A misdemeanor to "abandon unreasonably an animal in the person's custody." The crime is punishable by one year in jail and up to $4,000 in fines. But this particular rural family are not the only ones being bombarded with abandoned animals. "Many other people who live out in the country have said that people just come out and drop them off," said Cynthia Davidson, co-director of Paws Pet Adoption of Plainview. Davidson agreed that the act was a cruel way to get rid of unwanted pets, especially puppies. "Not only are coyotes going to get them, but they don't have food and water. They don't have hunting abilities. Maybe a cat can learn to chase mice or something like that, but these are domesticated animals, and they're not taught to fight, forage or find food on their own. And if you're talking about this area, where are they going to find water?" Davidson continued. Davidson said recently people have even found boxes of puppies inside the city limits next to trash Dumpsters. To help curb this trend of abandonment, Davidson pushed the spay and neuter effort driven by Paws. If you have a Plainview address, Davidson said individuals can apply to get financial assistance to get their pets spayed or neutered. "This can certainly cut down on them having unwanted puppies or kittens." Pets of citizens inside of the Plainview city limits can drop off their pets at the animal shelter, but there is a fee. Though it's not what is desired, Davidson said abandonment in the country is a way harsher death than euthanasia. "It's a little more humane but it's certainly not the result we want," Davidson said. Davidson says the organization is still doing all they can to facilitate the adoption of strays through their program. Animals are frequently featured as pets of the week in the Herald and on social media. To see animals or donate to the spay and neutering fund, stop by the 500 SW Third Street, location Monday through Friday or call 806-292-8440. Image source: Qualcomm. Ahead of the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S6 flagship Android smartphone, word leaked that Qualcomm's then-flagship Snapdragon 810 processor would not make it inside the Samsung Galaxy S6 flagship phone. Shortly thereafter, Qualcomm admitted this in its Jan. 2015 earnings release. This loss, coupled with "heightened competition in China" as well as broader share loss on the part of Qualcomm's applications processor customers to Apple , led the wireless giant to bring its revenue guidance down by about $800 million. That said, a year later, Qualcomm looks as though it's back inside Samsung's flagship Galaxy S7 device, at least in the models that will be sold in North America and in China. Qualcomm could use the revenue and margin boost The Snapdragon 820 chip that powers some versions of the Galaxy S7 is the wireless giant's highest-performance mobile processor. I would expect that this means that it's also Qualcomm's most expensive and its highest margin. Qualcomm's chip group has seen operating margin compress significantly over the last several quarters, with the company having projected operating margin in this business to be in the "low to mid-single digits" in the current quarter. Increased premium chip sales should certainly help bring in more higher-margin revenue, which should boost operating margin in the coming quarters. This is probably more of a "sentiment" boost, though Losing the Galaxy S6/Note 5 certainly served to negatively impact sentiment around Qualcomm stock, perhaps more so than the (very real) revenue impact. Investors have a habit of extrapolating trends (both positive and negative) from relatively limited data, and the loss of the Galaxy S6/Note 5 might have had (potential) investors thinking the following: Samsung kicked Qualcomm out of these phones, which could mean that Samsung isn't interested in using Qualcomm-designed chips for its flagships from here on out; Since Samsung has been able to replace Qualcomm with its own in-house applications processor, all other high-end smartphone vendors will do the same. Seeing Qualcomm win a spot inside of the Galaxy S7 (and likely the upcoming Note 6) should quell investor fears around the first point. Additionally, with Qualcomm having won practically every premium Android smartphone of note at the recent Mobile World Congress, it's likely that the fears expressed in the second point above will fade into the background for now. Things are looking up for Qualcomm After a year of a seemingly endless stream of bad news, things are starting to look up for Qualcomm. Its chip business should benefit from both operating expense cuts as well as a potentially better sales performance of its Snapdragon processors in the marketplace. Indeed, although revenue growth in the current fiscal year will be difficult to achieve (analyst consensus calls for an 11% drop), a return to revenue growth in the coming fiscal year seems like a good bet (analyst consensus calls for 6% growth). Additionally, though not the main focus of this article, Qualcomm's licensing business seems to be turning a corner as well, with the company having signed licensing agreements with major Chinese smartphone vendors such as Xiaomi and Lenovo over the last couple of months. Although I was certainly early in buying Qualcomm stock, I think that over the long term the company, and the stock, should do well. With business fundamentals seemingly bottoming out, and with a very nice dividend yield of 3.72%, I believe that there's significantly more upside potential than downside risk for investors buying Qualcomm stock at current levels. 3 companies poised to explode when cable dies Cable is dying. And there are 3 stocks that are poised to explode when this faltering $2.2 trillion industry finally bites the dust. Just like newspaper publishers, telephone utilities, stockbrokers, record companies, bookstores, travel agencies, and big box retailers did when the Internet swept away their business models. And when cable falters, you don't want to miss out on these 3 companies that are positioned to benefit. Click here for their names. Hint: They're not the ones you'd think! The article Qualcomm, Inc. Wins the Samsung Galaxy S7 originally appeared on Fool.com. Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LOS ANGELES George Kennedy, the hulking, tough-guy character actor who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a savage chain-gang convict in the 1960s classic "Cool Hand Luke," has died. His grandson Cory Schenkel says Kennedy died on Sunday morning of old age in Boise, Idaho. He was 91. He had undergone emergency triple bypass surgery in 2002. That same year, he and his late wife moved to Idaho to be closer to their daughter and her family, though he still was involved in occasional film projects. His biggest acting achievement came in "Cool Hand Luke," a 1967 film about a rebellious war hero played by Paul Newman who is bent on bucking the system as a prisoner on a Southern chain gang. Its theme of rebelling against authority and the establishment helped make it one of the most important films of the tumultuous 1960s. Kennedy played the role of Dragline, the chain-gang boss who goes from Luke's No. 1 nemesis to his biggest disciple as Newman's character takes on folk hero status among fellow inmates. The movie garnered four Academy Award nominations, and Kennedy was named best supporting actor. Newman and Kennedy provided a spectacular one-two punch Luke as the reticent anti-hero, Dragline as an illiterate brute. They shared several memorable scenes, including one in which Kennedy's character wins a bet by getting Luke to eat 50 eggs in an hour. After the critical and commercial success of "Cool Hand Luke," Kennedy carved out a niche as one of Hollywood's most recognizable supporting actors. He had parts in several action flicks in the 1970s, played Leslie Nielsen's sidekick in the "Naked Gun" spoofs and was J.R. Ewing's business rival in the final seasons of "Dallas." One of his strongest supporting roles was in the hit 1970 film "Airport," which spurred the run of 1970s disaster pictures. Kennedy played Joe Patroni, a no-nonsense, cigar-chomping troubleshooter who stubbornly guides a jetliner stuck on a snow-clogged runway out of harm's way. The film spawned several sequels (Kennedy was in all of them) and landed Kennedy a Golden Globe nomination. Kennedy said his acting ambitions were cemented when he was a young child. "I remember listening to a radio program when I was young and it made me feel good and I remember telling my mom that I wanted to make people feel the way this radio program made me feel," Kennedy said in 1995. "I got some great breaks, and I wound up being an actor." His film career began to take flight in the early 1960s. He starred in 1963's "Charade," a whodunit that features Kennedy, Cary Grant, James Coburn and Walter Matthau seeking out the $250,000 they suspect was left behind by Audrey Hepburn's dead husband. His other acting credits in the 1960s included "The Dirty Dozen" and "Guns of the Magnificent Seven." Kennedy once called "Charade" the favorite movie in which he appeared. "It had Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, music by Henry Mancini; it was shot entirely in Paris," he said in 1995. "I have nothing but wonderful memories." Kennedy became regular face in action movies in the 1970s after the success of "Airport," including "Earthquake" and "Death on the Nile." He made several film and television appearances in the early and mid-1980s, but few were successful. He turned to comedic roles in the 1980s and 1990s, the most memorable being the three "Naked Gun" films. Among his later credits was a small role in Wim Wenders' 2005 film, "Don't Come Knocking." Kennedy's last on-screen role was in the 2014 remake of "The Gambler," which starred Mark Wahlberg. Kennedy was born in New York in 1925. He started acting at the age of 2 when he joined a touring company production of "Bringing up Father." Five years later, he became a disc jockey with a kids radio show. He enlisted in the Army at 17 and served in World War II, opening the first Army Information Office that provided technical assistance to films and TV shows. Kennedy spent 16 years in the Army and left as a captain. After his Army stint, Kennedy made his television debut in "The Phil Silvers Show" in 1955 and had a variety of guest appearances in the Westerns "Have Gun, Will Travel," ''Cheyenne" and "Gunsmoke." Kennedy, an avid reader, also dabbled in writing and published a couple of murder mysteries. Schenkel remembered sitting in on an autograph session in London with his grandfather. "I sat behind him for hours that day watching the hundreds of fans in line waiting to meet my grandpa," Schenkel recalled. "At the end of the day we sat in our hotel room eating room service and he said to me, 'Seeing all those people I was able to bring a little enjoyment and happiness into their life That is why I did it.'" In later years, Kennedy became an advocate for adopted children. He had four adopted children, including his granddaughter Taylor, whose mother, also adopted by Kennedy, had become addicted to drugs and alcohol. "Don't let the fact that you're 77 or 70 get in your way. Don't let the fact that you're a single parent and you want to adopt get in your way," Kennedy said in a Fox interview in 2002. "That kid, some place right now, cold and wet, needs somebody to say, "I love you, kid, good night.'" Associated Press writer Josh Hoffner contributed to this report. Click through the gallery above to see Kennedy through the years. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate We hate to be the bearer of bad Boerne news, but Katy Perry is not planning to ride her dark horse into Texas to become the one that got away. She will most likely remain a "California gurl," or maybe wake up in Vegas, but not in the antique-loving Hill Country. RELATED: 18 places in San Antonio where you might spot a celebrity The McKenzie Post, a website which has made its purpose of being a premiere fantasy news site evident, published an article claiming the songstress was packing her bags and fleeing the insincere Los Angeles lifestyle for Texas Hill Country comforts. I want a ranch, I want cows, I want chickens! Perry supposedly told People Magazine, according to the satirical site. Im not giving up my career, I just want to move to a place that feels so different than what Ive been used to all my life. For me, that place is Boerne, Texas. RELATED: Miranda Lambert hangs in New Braunfels with Buc-ee's, chicken fried steak, Texas' oldest dancehall Without further investigation into the story or the publication which hosted it, fans frenziedly shared the link more than a thousand times on Facebook, gave it 6,313 thumbs ups and opened a forum of nearly 3,000 comments as of Tuesday, according to SharedCount. Would the A-lister peruse H-E-B aisles like a true Texas native, make appearances at hometown festivals or become a Spurs fan? The ideas snowballed while The McKenzie Post published additional articles tacking places like Wetumpka, Ala. and Rock Hill, S. C. on the stars map of big moves. RELATED: Serena Williams takes Texas: floats San Marcos River, watches Drake at Austin City Limits The world's richest female celeb could very well afford to make three contributions to the American housing market, but it's not happening. Not in those places, at least. But, for a brief moment, Smalltown, USA had glimmering hopes and excitement. Now that you're wide awake, you can scoff at the poor, gullible souls sharing the link on your Facebook and Twitter feeds. You're welcome. mmendoza@mysa.com Twittter: @MaddySkye This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A day after Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump hosted a rally at the Fort Worth Convention Center, proponents of marijuana legalization rolled into the venue for the Southwest Cannabis Conference and Expo. The two-day event welcomed more than 300 exhibitors as well as a line-up of speakers pushing for marijuana legalization including: Montel Williams, Ricky Williams and Alexis Bortell, the young Rowlett native whose family relocated to Colorado in order to legally treat her severe seizures with cannabis oil. RELATED: Texas is prepping to license people to grow, sell marijuana. Here are 10 things you need to know Montel Williams, former talk show host and long-time advocate of medical marijuana, was the featured keynote speaker of the event. He has previously discussed his reasoning for self-medication, using cannabis to treat his once debilitating effects of multiple sclerosis. I sat in a closet in my own home in Greenwich, Conn., supposedly with the world in my palm, with a gun in my mouth for hours on end because I wanted to end my pain, the 59-year-old divulged into his illness and how medical marijuana soothed the pain, while arguing in defense of it at Harrisburg, Penn. last June, PennLive.com reported. RELATED: These things probably won't be legal in Texas anytime soon What has been labeled as a pot party was hosted in the same venue where Trump appeared at a rally ahead of the Texas primary elections. While Trump has weighed heavy on topics such as immigration, his views on pot have been a little fuzzy. In a conversation with Bill OReilly, Trump discussed his flip-flop stance on marijuana. [] in some ways, I think its good and in other ways, its bad, he said during the Feb. 10 interview. I have to see what the medical effects are and by the way, medical marijuanamedical, I am in favor 100 percent. I know people that have serious problems and they did that and it really did help them. While 23 states have approved medicinal use of marijuana and four have legalized it across the board, possession, even for medical use, remains a crime in the Lone Star State. However, the Texas Legislature signaled a shift in marijuana policy last year by passing a full legalization bill out of committee (it never reached the House floor for debate) and passing the Compassionate Use Program. According to a previous report, the state will soon license dispensaries to create cannabis-derived oil products with low levels of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, for people diagnosed with intractable epilepsy. At least a year remains until the law will be completely implemented. RELATED: You can 'feel the Bern' by buying a Bernie Sanders weed pipe for $60 from an Oregon woman Expo tickets sold for as much as $100 are a testament to the views of those in attendance at the expo. From men in pot plant-festooned outfits to business women in pantsuits, a wide array of cannabis supporters mingled with keynote speakers and perused the bong-selling tables, snapping photos for Instagram along the way. Click through the gallery above for your free peek into the convention. mmendoza@mysa.com Twitter: @MaddySkye This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate An Instagram account is binding together pages of an illustrious, online storybook of Big Bend National Park giving some insight to why new numbers released by the National Park Service show the state gem has seen the 6th largest visitor increase nationally. RELATED: Landowners under siege in the Big Bend El_Rangerr, a self-proclaimed desert dweller, shared photos posted to his profile showing the caverns, formations, creeks and the creatures who roam them, throughout every season with mySA.com. NPS data proves the 801,163-acre park was top-ranked for an uptick in creatures of the human kind throughout 2015. El Ranger virtually leads those who are unable to make it to 8th largest park in the United States this year and his more than 7,000 followers throughout his massive nature walk by horseback. RELATED: A part of Texas pop culture in Big Bend Ranch State Park could be demolished soon Along the way, he captions his photos to describe the history of spots which would otherwise fade into the landscape. One of the tales is that of Gilberto Luna and is rock pile jacal, which might have also housed his 11 wives and approximately 58 children. Luna lived his entire 109 years of life in the small home, El Ranger said. RELATED: A part of Texas pop culture in Big Bend Ranch State Park could be demolished soon Click through the gallery above to for a tour of Big Bend through the Instagram lens of a man who has made it his backyard. mmendoza@mysa.com Twitter: @MaddySkye SAN ANTONIO Sarah Barton cast her vote at Huebner Elementary School just before 10 p.m. Tuesday. "I just voted. I've been in line for over three hours," Barton said after walking out of the polling location. "I was close to the end of the line. There's several people that left. But there's still people there voting right now." As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, there were lines at dozens of Bexar County polling locations, said Jacquelyn Callanen, the county's top election administrator. Callanen said she expected at some locations on the county's north and northwest sides it will take until after 9 p.m. for all voters cast their ballots. Anyone who was in line at 7 p.m. can vote, according to state law. Jeanna Leslie said two of the four voting machines at Carl Wanke Elementary School were malfunctioning. "When I left there at 7:10, we were in line for an hour and a half and there were still over 100 people behind," she said. Leslie said just about everyone ahead of her stayed in line to vote. "I havent heard of any machines malfunctioning," Callanen said. "What were seeing is people vote after they come home from work. We have lines where people are already going to be voting for another hour at some of our really robust sites." Early in the day, Callanen predicted that 65,000 to 75,000 people would vote on Super Tuesday. With two hours until the polls closed, she had pushed that prediction to more than 100,000. "We havent seen this in so long. Its wonderful," Callanen said. "I know the people standing outside dont feel that way, but what a cry for democracy." RELATED: Bexar County early vote up from last presidential race The enthusiasm for the primary contests brought some people not registered to vote out to polling locations, which was causing problems, Callanen said. Recent arrivals to San Antonio, among others who aren't registered to vote, demanded that workers at polling locations call the elections office to verify their registration, Callanen said. "All the time that takes is its causing a line," she said. "I dont know how we can get ahead of that. Were trying to figure it out." After a surge of early voters cast ballots last week in heated primary races, Bexar County election officials were bracing for a busy Election Day. RELATED: Express-News 2016 Texas Primary endorsements Callanen and local party leaders say they're pleased with the numbers so far, given the lackluster voter turnout of past elections. Nearly 106,000 people cast ballots during early voting this year, the highest number since Democrats came out in force during the 2008 primaries. When Barack Obama first ran for president, nearly 139,000 people participated in early voting. Competitive races at both the national and local levels are driving more voters to the polls, said Manuel Medina, chairman of the Bexar County Democratic Party. "It's being driven by young people," Medina said of Democratic voters. "It's also being driven by women." Democrats dominated the 2008 primaries. But this year, Republicans are also flocking to the polls. More than 57,000 cast ballots during early voting a possible record for the GOP in Bexar County. More than 48,000 Democrats voted during that same period. "It's just an exciting time for the Republican party," said Robert Stovall, chairman of the Republican Party of Bexar County. "We've got more energy on our side. The turnout is very vibrant for Republicans." At voting Precinct 3088 on the North Side, which attracted the highest number of voters in the 2008 primaries, a dozen people sipped coffee early Tuesday and waited outside Bulverde Creek Elementary School to cast their ballots. RELATED: Express-News 2016 Texas Primary endorsements Stephen and Laurie Ersch said they had tried to vote Friday during early voting but encountered a long line that barely budged. "I think there's such a huge turnout because people are concerned for the future," Stephen Ersch said. "That's the great thing about the U.S. Everyone has an opinion." Laurie Ersch said the rise of front runner Donald Trump in the Republican presidential race was her main motivation to vote. "I'm fearful of Donald Trump being our candidate," she said. "And it's not going to be my fault if that happens." At Precinct 1055 on the far Northwest Side, where more Democrats voted in the 2008 primary than any other precinct, many voters who arrived at the polling site at Virginia Myers Elementary avidly supported Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. "I don't want Hillary to automatically take the nomination," said voter Dustin Lyssy, who explained he was there to "show support for Bernie." Jennifer Martinez said she liked what Sanders has to say about education. "However, I'm going to tell ya, I voted for Hillary," she added. At 10 a.m., Callanen wrote on Twitter that more than 13,600 people had voted at half the polling sites in Bexar County. By noon that total had grown to more than 24,200. "Great turnout," she wrote. jtedesco@express-news.net Former President Bill Clinton touched down in San Antonio, Houston and Fort Worth on the eve of Super Tuesday to tout his wifes presidential campaign. Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, was the best candidate to help American families and underserved communities, the former president said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate If you're a member of the U.S. Armed Forces stationed in Texas, going to these places could land you in trouble. RELATED: These San Antonio spots are deemed off-limits for military members Directives from base officials at Joint Base San Antonio, Laughlin Air Force Base, Sheppard Air Force Base, Fort Bliss and Fort Hood have barred personnel stationed there from frequenting certain establishments. The businesses include stores that sell drug paraphernalia, strip clubs, bars and places that provide financial services. RELATED: Marine promised date to military ball by Ronda Rousey apparently hasn't heard from her And, the directives don't apply solely to Texas establishments. Several Mexican cities and states are off-limits to service members at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio. Members at Sheppard Air Force Base can't cross the border to Oklahoma to frequent some businesses there, per that base's directive. And, for members at Fort Bliss in El Paso, at least one establishment in New Mexico has been deemed off-limits. RELATED: Photos: Camp Bullis military training through the years Service members are forbidden from attending these establishments under punishment of court martial, according to the directives. Scroll through the slideshow to see where members of the U.S. military stationed in Texas are forbidden from going. jfechter@mySA.com Twitter: @JFreports The 26th annual San Antonio International Womans Day March & Rally to unite communities and lift the voices of all women and girls, will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 5, at Plaza del Zacate, 501 W. Commerce. A rally with music, dance, childrens activities, free STD testing, community resource information, free snacks and more will follow the march. Speakers and performers will address issues such as reproductive rights, police brutality, migrant rights and domestic violence. Alamo Plaza snow cone vendors lottery coming Vendors interested in selling snow cones at Alamo Plaza can participate in an annual lottery beginning at 2 p.m. March 30 in the Central Library auditorium, 600 Soledad. For the lottery, vendors must submit a complete application as well as meet all other necessary requirements. Applications are available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday (except holidays) at Center City Development & Operations offices, 400 N. St. Marys St., Suite 100, or they can be accessed at www.sanantonio.gov/ccdo/vending.aspx. Applications will only be accepted until 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 15. For more information, call 210-207-3677. San Antonio Pre-K 4 SA still taking applications for 2016-17 The application period for Pre-K 4 SA, a full-day prekindergarten program for San Antonio 4-year-olds continues through April 10 for the 2016-17 school year. The program is free for qualifying students and accepts tuition-paying students. The four Education Centers are at 3635 Medical Drive, 7031 S. New Braunfels Ave., 5230 Eisenhauer Road and 1235 W. Old Highway 90. To apply, visit www.sanantonio.gov/prek4sa or call 210-206-7735. Free tax help available The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program will offer free tax-assistance services at San Antonio Public Library locations in the upcoming weeks. VITA services are available for families and individuals earning $60,000 or less annually. Those using VITA must bring the following items to prepare a tax return: valid photo identification; Social Security card or Individual Tax Identification Number for the person filing, spouse and any dependents; and W2 forms from all employers. If filing jointly, both spouses must be present. For details, check out the event calendar at mysapl.org or call 210-207-2500. 40 Cans for Lent ongoing Catholic Charities is organizing the 40 Cans for Lent drive to help feed needy families in the archdiocese, regardless of religion. People are asked to collect one canned good each day during Lent and drop off donations at the Guadalupe Community Center, 1801 W. Cesar E. Chavez Blvd., or at Catholic Charities, 202 W. French Place. Call Lizzy Nemeth at 210-226-6178 or email nemeth@ccaosa.org for more information. South Side Mayfield Park Church offers support groups The Out of Darkness depression support group meets 7-8 p.m. Wednesdays at Mayfield Park Church, 700 W. Hutchins Place. The church also holds Celebrate Recovery meetings starting with a meal at 6:30 p.m. every Friday for people struggling with hurts, hang-ups and habits. The large group meets at 7:15 p.m.; men and women meet in smaller groups at 8:15 p.m. Child care is available. Call 210-923-2241 for information. Harlandale ISD hosts special-needs event The Harlandale Independent School District Special Education Department will host its fourth annual Whats Next? free symposium from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at the McCollum High School cafeteria, 500 W. Formosa. More than 40 local agencies will be on site with information for those with lifelong disabilities. There will be food, performances, giveaways, games and activities for all ages. For information, visit the Harlandale special education website at www.harlandale.net Free parenting classes offered at academy Blessed Sacrament Academy is offering free parenting classes for families with young children beginning March 15 at the campus at 1135 Mission Road. Classes meet 6-8 p.m. for nine weeks, and meet requirements for Child Protective Services. There is a free dinner and child care for parents attending. Call Kathy Lozano at 210-532-0894 to register. Compiled by Melissa Renteria Sheriffs deputies in West Texas' Brewster County busted a couple with a load of drugs, scales and a pink gun during a routine traffic stop last week. According to the Sheriffs Office, Deputy Michael Jurado pulled over Krista N. Lujan, 36, and John Danile Hernandez, 22, for a traffic violation on Feb. 25 in the large county that includes part of Big Bend National Park and an international border with Mexico. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A former officer for a South Texas police department allegedly assaulted a man and put a gun to the man's head, according to court documents. RELATED: South Texas police chief, officer indicted for allegedly stealing marijuana from evidence locker Mauricio Ramos, a 50-year-old former officer for the Alton Police Department, has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a first-degree felony punishable by a maximum life sentence upon conviction. Ramos turned himself into the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office on Monday, according to a news release from the sheriff's office. RELATED: Report: South Texas deputy arrested for DWI while driving sheriff-owned vehicle The 50-year-old allegedly assaulted a man as the man was taking out the trash at around 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 31 at his business in Alton, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by mySA.com. The affidavit says Ramos followed the man onto the porch, grabbed him by both arms and asked, "You know who I am?" Ramos then pushed the man "into the door of the business and produced a black semi-automatic handgun," according to the affidavit. Ramos placed the gun against the man's chest and then his head, police said in the affidavit. The former officer slapped the man and grabbed him during the incident, according to the affidavit. The man believed that Ramos planned to shoot him, the affidavit said. RELATED: North Texas police officer arrested on animal cruelty charge involving 5 dogs Investigators interviewed witnesses whose accounts were consistent with the man's telling of events. The man also had bruises and marks consistent with his account, the affidavit said. Ramos is in Hidalgo County Jail on a $250,000 bond as of Tuesday morning, according to online jail records. jfechter@mySA.com Twitter: @JFreports SAN ANTONIO A man suspected of walking out of a CVS Pharmacy with nearly $900 worth of womens hair care products stuffed in his pants has been arrested. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Nathan Allen Finley, 59, faces a charge of theft for his alleged role in the incident. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A lieutenant for the Barrio Azteca gang has been sentenced to a 25-year stint in federal prison for his connection to a racketeering conspiracy involving a murder in March 2012, according to media reports. RELATED: 21 alleged members of drug cartel-affiliated Barrio Azteca gang arrested in West Texas The El Paso Times reported that Manuel "Manny" Minjares was sentenced before senior U.S. District Judge David Briones on Monday. Minjares pleaded guilty on August 20 to a federal charge of racketeering conspiracy, according to court records. The 55-year-old, allegedly a gang lieutenant who headed the organization's El Paso branch, was arrested in 2014 along with 17 other alleged Barrio Azteca members following a joint investigation by the El Paso Police Department and FBI into the 2012 killing of Raymond Puga. Minjares is the 16th suspect in the investigation to receive a prison term. The court dismissed a a count of racketeering conspiracy against 56-year-old Jose Paz Minjares in December, according to court records. RELATED: West Texas woman indicted in husband's strangulation by 'hair wad' death Jose Angel "Chamuco" Barrios, an alleged gang member, pleaded guilty to killing Puga in October 2015, court records show. According to an indictment, Barrios killed Puga with a "hotshot" or by injecting Puga with a lethal dose of heroin. Puga had apparently reneged on a payment deal designed to allow him to gain entrance to the gang, the indictment reads. Barrios was sentenced to 20 years in prison in February on charges of murder in aid of racketeering activity and racketeering conspiracy. RELATED: Police: North Texas woman, boyfriend waterboarded mentally disabled boy, tied up his genitals The Barrio Azteca gang was initially formed in El Paso jails in 1986, but later morphed into a transnational criminal organization. An ally of the the Juarez Cartel, the gang is primarily headquartered in El Paso and Juarez but members have also been located in Midland, Odessa and San Angelo, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety's annual Gang Threat Assessment. However, the agency downgraded the threat posed by the Barrio Azteca gang in 2015 after considering it among the state's most violent Texas-based gangs since 2010. The gang's relationship with the Juarez Cartel had long driven that status, according to DPS, but the 2014 arrest of cartel leader Vicente Carrillo Fuentes and the occupation of Juarez by the Sinaloa Cartel diminished the gang's influence there and in El Paso. DPS also cited the 2014 indictment of 55 Barrio Azteca members and associates as handicapping the gang's effectiveness. jfechter@mySA.com Twitter: @JFreports This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTONIO A former licensed vocational nurse who was charged with murder last year in the shooting death of her common-law husband has pleaded no contest to manslaughter in a deal with prosecutors reached this week. Maraliz Medina, 28, who shot and killed Rodolfo Espinosa, 31, could get seven years of deferred adjudication probation and community supervision under the deal. She also faces a fine of $1,000, according to court records. Medina described herself as Espinosa's common-law wife and had been in a relationship with him for several years, court records show. They had a son, who was under age 10 when the shooting occurred last year. READ MORE: San Antonio woman charged with murder of lover at West Side home is a licensed nurse According to police, Espinosa and Medina were arguing July 20, 2015, and things turned physical just before the shooting. Around 12:45 p.m., Medina ran out of the West Side home she shared with the victim and their child in the 10500 block of Dugas Drive and screamed that she had killed the man inside. Officers found Espinosa dead in a bedroom and arrested Medina. She was charged with murder the next day. Police reports and court records say their child was at home but not in the room where the shooting occurred. SEE ALSO: Shocking San Antonio crimes by women Medina told authorities that shortly before she and Espinosa argued that she saw Espinosa with his hand inside the back of their son's pants, and she believed he was molesting him, court records show. She told police that at some point during the argument, Espinosa began to choke her, and she grabbed a 9mm handgun and shot him. Espinosa was hit nine times, according to court records. A police report said Medina had marks on her neck when authorities arrived. At the time of her arrest, Medina's Facebook page indicated she was employed as a nurse at VistaCare Hospice. An official with Gentiva Hospice had said then that the company had no records showing she was employed at the time of the shooting. RELATED: Woman shoots, kills man in West Side home with child inside Public records indicate Medina's licensed vocational nursing license was revoked at a hearing Feb. 9 because of the criminal charge against her, as recommended under the Texas Board of Nursing's Disciplinary Guidelines for Criminal Conduct, according to a spokesman with the agency. "Crimes of that sort are looked at very seriously by the board," said Bruce Holter, information specialist for the Texas Board of Nursing. Medina could get 2 to 20 years in prison for the manslaughter charge, but the state is recommending deferred adjudication and community service. State District Judge Melisa Skinner is scheduled to sentence her on March 23. ezavala@express-news.net Twitter: @elizabeth2863 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Whether they get caught or not, thieves suspected of stealing a $1,500 portable toilet in Lytle are in some deep doo-doo. Lytle Police Department Capt. Frank Reyes said the john disappeared from the Union Pacific Railroad along Adams Street tracks sometime in early February. UP workers initially noticed that the toilet had gone missing on Feb. 10 and reported it to its owners, Cortez Liquid Waste Services. RELATED: Police: Teen arrested in $200 turkey heist tried to steal 'Thanksgiving dinner in a grocery cart' At first I thought it was misplaced, said CLWS office manager Elisa Medellin. After some digging, Medellin managed to determine that it had, in fact, been swiped. She reported the theft to LPD on Feb. 22. LPD Chief Richey Priest used his weekly newsletter released on Monday to urge residents of Lytle to keep their eyes peeled for any suspicious toilets that spring up in the area. So Im asking every law abiding citizen that reads this to take a look around and see if any of their neighbors have a new portable toilet in their backyard (You can remain anonymous). To the person responsible I want you to ponder the thought that every time you use that toilet there may be a Lytle Police Officer waiting for you when you open the door, Priest said. Reyes said the size and weight of the toilet likely point to more than one suspect. Its a pretty good sized porta-potty, Reyes said. Weve never really had anything like that. Anyone who has information of the theft is asked to call LPD at 830-709-0277. mdwilson@express-news.net Twitter: @MDWilsonSA This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTONIO A man who had already been arrested for allegedly using the credit cards of an elderly woman found dead in her home last year was re-arrested and charged with capital murder on Tuesday. R.C. Curtis is suspected of robbing and killing Paula Boyd, 75, on Oct. 21, 2015. He was arrested without incident by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Lone Star Fugitive Task Force around 10:45 a.m. in the 5600 of Evers Road. San Antonio Police Department spokesman Douglas Greene said that credit cards belonging to Boyd led them to arrest Curtis, believed to be her grandson-in-law, on credit or debit card abuse charges on Nov. 6. The Bexar County Medical Examiner ruled shortly after Boyds death that she died as a result of blunt force trauma and strangulation. After Curtis initial arrest, Greene said investigators collected DNA evidence that connected him to the scene of the slaying. RELATED: Police arrest person of interest in killing of 75-year-old H-E-B employee, search for two more Detectives have enough probable cause to charge him with capital murder. The reason why it is capital murder is because Ms. Boyds purse was missing, Greene said. That indicates that he was in the act of another crime, and during the act of that crime committed the murder another human being. Boyd, a deli specialist at the H-E-B on DeZavala and I-10, was a 75-year-old with the spirit and energy of a 25-year-old, according to her daughter Brenda Boyd Perez. She was found dead in her apartment after not showing up for work. RELATED: Longtime H-E-B deli specialist leaves mark on community While many described her as motherly, or loved, all agreed that Boyd could talk for hours, finding new tangents at the drop of a hat. Her manager, Jaime Lozano, said this is what made Paulita such a hit among customers and co-workers since he met her in 1995. This is a case thats caught the hearts of a lot of people here in San Antonio. To learn about the heart of this woman, she touched everybody that she knew, Greene said. We are just pleased that we were able to find the person that was allegedly responsible for her death. mdwilson@express-news.net Twitter: @MDWilsonSA A teacher at Southside Independent School District arrested last week on federal child porn charges waived a bail hearing Tuesday because he didnt have anyone who could sign a surety bond for him. Michael Javier Ottogalli, 36, a teacher at Pearce Primary School, was indicted Feb. 17 as part of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Bexar County election officials are bracing for a busy Super Tuesday as Texas holds its 11th primary election. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the states first primary. Only one candidate, Republican or Democrat, has lost in the Texas primary and gone on to be president. RELATED: 2016 San Antonio-area Primary Election voter guide: Where to vote in Bexar County The year was 2008, when then-U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton beat then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama by three percent of the Democratic votes in Texas, according to the Office of the Secretary of State. Four years later, Obama won 88 percent of the Democratic vote in the Texas primary. Click through the slideshow to view past Texas presidential primary winners since 1976. News researcher Julie Domel contributed to this report. rsalinas@mysa.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Ahead of Super Tuesday, Republican candidate Ted Cruz and former president Bill Clinton, on behalf of his wife and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, trailed through San Antonio during their vote-seeking Texas trek. RELATED: Former President Bill Clinton stops by The Pearl during San Antonio campaign stop While his wife was busy campaigning against Bernie Sanders in places like Boston, the 42nd president made his local push for her. Before speaking to crowds at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center on the citys West Side, he made a pit stop for Bakery Lorraine pastries at The Pearl Brewery. Jeremy Mandrell, the shops co-owner, confirmed to mySA.com in a previous report that the former president paid the spot a visit and mingled with patrons. Presidential selfies, which has replaced the kissing babies approach to garnering public admiration in political campaigns, flooded Twitter and Instagram as unexpecting locals spotted Bill Clinton sauntering around the popular shopping and dining area. RELATED: Bill Clinton stumps for Hillary in San Antonio Further north, Cruz spoke to a full house at the Alzafar Shrine Auditorium around 2 p.m. Time for senator selfies and sightings was limited as the Republican nominee made headway in Texas with appearances in Dallas and Houston scheduled throughout Monday. It was the Texans first San Antonio drop-in as he works to battle win the state from Donald Trump and Marco Rubio in the Republican battle. RELATED: These teen sisters have managed to get nearly every 2016 presidential candidate to take a selfie Click through the gallery above for snippets of the footprints made by the Clinton and Cruz campaigns on San Antonio as part of the 2016 Presidential Election. mmendoza@mysa.com Twitter: @MaddySkye Comedian Katt Williams was arrested and charged with battery following an altercation in Gainesville, Georgia on Monday. MORE CELEBRITY TROUBLE: Shia LaBeouf arrested on 6th Street while Austin City Limits kicks off 2nd weekend Williams was booked just after noon Monday by the Gainesville Police Department and is being held on $5,000 bond for the misdemeanor charge, according to online jail records. Gainesville police officers responded to an assault call at a pool supply store around 11:30 a.m. and found Williams outside "lying on the ground with his hands behind his back as though he was ready to go to jail," Sgt. Kevin Holbrook told the Associated Press. SEE ALSO: Model Blac Chyna arrested for alleged public intoxication, drug possession in Austin, Texas airport A store employee told officers Williams, who was in the store with two women, began arguing with the employee and threw a pair of goggles at him, Holbrook said. Williams then went behind the counter and punched the employee at least once, Holbrook said. The cause of the argument wasn't immediately clear. When officers tried to question Williams, he told them to ask the store employee what happened, Holbrook said. RELATED: 'Glee' actor Mark Salling arrested for allegedly possessing child pornography The Associated Press contributed to this report. kparker@mysa.com Twitter: @KoltenParker Posted on 03/01/2016, 1:05 pm, by mySteinbach Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-Canada), representing seven provincial Agriculture in the Classroom organizations are participating in the fifth annual Canadian Agriculture Literacy Week (CALW) in schools through March 5, 2016. Canadian Agriculture Literacy Week is a hands-on program that encourages children to learn about and celebrate agriculture in various ways, including reading books about farming, watching videos and meeting with farmers and other agricultural representatives. An important element to the success of Canadian Agriculture Literacy Week is the connection between students and local farmers and/or agriculture industry representatives. This year, Agriculture in the Classroom-Canada organizations will deliver Canadian Agriculture Literacy Week programming to over 20,000 students in over 500 classrooms across Canada. We are thrilled to participate in the fifth annual Canadian Agriculture Literacy Week, said Sara Shymko, AITC-Canada Director. In Canada, most families are two or three generations away from the farm. CALW provides an opportunity to help all young Canadians understand the importance and value of agriculture. As consumers, our personal connection with agriculture can affect our food product selection. Knowledge of local farm communities positively impacts public support for a viable agricultural sector in our country. The Canadian Agriculture Literacy Week initiative is made possible through generous core funding from Farm Credit Canada. As the agriculture industry grows, so does the need for additional talented, energetic and welleducated young people, said Michael Hoffort, FCC president and CEO. Given that one in eight jobs in Canada are tied to the agri-food industry, there are a lot of opportunities for young people. Ag Literacy Week can stimulate some ag passion at an early age. In Manitoba, a new educational partnership with Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers (MPSG) will heighten awareness of the provinces $600-million/year pulse and soybean industry. Education is key during the 2016 International Year of Pulses, says MPSG executive director Francois Labelle, and our collaboration with AITC-Manitoba is a wonderful way to deliver the message that pulses are good for people and good for the planet. Manitoba pulse farmers will take part in classroom activities in several communities, joined by the MPSG Kid Bean mascot and community engagement team. GlobeIn Artisan Box 4.1 overall rating 271 Ratings | 81 Reviews The theme for the upcoming GlobeIn March 2016 Box is Memory! More from GlobeIn: Memory goes backward and forward in time. As in, Remember that time we... and Dont forget to... Memory encapsulates our nostalgia for the past, our plans and dreams moving forward, and those pesky little to-dos that will get us there. Each Artisan box will include: Wooden Photo Frame from Turkey (Retail Value $15). Wooden frame production is Celebi Erturks family business, and theyve been at it for over 100 years, ever since his great-grandfather migrated to Istanbul from the poor, eastern city of Bagistas. Surely his great-grandfather would be happy to know that after all this time, Celebis generation has recently opened a showroom and begun exporting to neighboring countries. Although Celebis business does not offer any formal training programs, he and his family make a point of giving a helping hand to individuals who wish to learn the craft. Currently, 50 craftsmen work in Celebis atelier. Soon, his sons will open their own ateliers, carrying their family lineage both forward in time and outward into the community as a resource for those seeking to learn a trade. Materials: fir tree wood Fits 4x6-inch photo Suggested use: Fill with a happy photo. Station at your desk or work area. Take momentary wanders. And in case you missed the first spoiler: Weekly Planner by Marie Mae Co. (Retail Value $18). A stationery company, Marie Mae outsources design work as a way of supporting African artisan-entrepreneurs. Your planner was designed by Ewurama in Ghana. As a child, Ewurama made pictures from the terrazzo patterns in the floors of her home. Today, she is starting her own textile design company. Meanwhile, in Rwanda, the Marie Mae Business school offers its students one hour of training per each product sold. One student, Xavera, dreams of becoming an independent businesswoman able to fund a complete education for her three children and see them, in turn, thrive professionally. In the school, Xavera has developed the elusive and yet vital visionary qualities of the entrepreneur, such as the ability to identify hidden markets right under her nose. She and her coworkers soon plan to pitch local school leaders with the idea of their producing all local school uniforms for the next year. Pretty clever! Made in the US. Designed in Ghana. Each planner provides an hour of Business School training for students in Rwanda. What do you think of the latest spoiler? Also, if youre thinking of signing up, use coupon code WELCOME to save 25% off the first month of a 3-month subscription. Flaviar 3.5 overall rating 11 Ratings | 0 Reviews Flaviar introduces subscribers to premium liquors from around the world. They curate and send sample packs that allow subscribers to sample various spirits before committing to the purchase of a full-sized bottle. This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.) The Subscription Box: Flaviar The Cost: $60 per quarter The Products: Quarterly curated tasting packs that contain 3 x 1.5 oz. vials of premium spirits from around the world. Ships to: EU and US (All states EXCEPT: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah) Check out all of our Flaviar box reviews and the Drinks Subscription Box Directory! A Note about Shipping: Tasting packs ship from Slovenia. Shipping is free for the tasting packs, but they typically take 10-21 business days to reach US destinations. Flaviar has recently changed their subscription model and pricing. Their new subscription program is called the Flaviar Speakeasy and costs $60 per quarter. Every quarter, subscribers receive a themed tasting pack that features 3 x 1.5 oz. vials of spirits. Flaviar Speakeasy members will also receive personalized bottle recommendations, access to exclusive bottlings, and free shipping. If you sign up for a new Flaviar subscription, you will be enrolled in the Flaviar Speakeasy program. This review is of the Best of 2015 Tasting Pack. This pack is no longer available for sale, and this box is not representative of what you will receive if you sign up for a new Flaviar Subscription. If you would like to purchase a one-time tasting pack, prices start at $40.99 and packs can be found here. My tasting pack included tasting instructions and notes on each spirit included in the box. Gin Mare The bottles included in the Best of 2015 Tasting Pack are Flaviars best drams of the year. The Flaviar community sipped and rated lots of bottles in 2015, and these are some of their top picks. I first sampled Gin Mare in the Ori-gins tasting pack, and I really enjoyed it. Its distilled in Spain, just outside the small fishing village of Vilanova. In addition to the traditional botanicals used to flavor gin, its also flavored with basil, rosemary, thyme, orange, and olive. Prichard's Rye Whiskey Prichards Rye Whiskey is made in Tennessee and offers both the sweet and sour side of Rye. Its very sweet with silky flavors of dark chocolate, toffee, [and] vanilla. Kavalan Whisky Single Malt Im a little surprised to see that the winner in the whisky category is from Taiwan, but the reviews speak for themselves. Words like wonderful, perfect, and incredible pop up in nearly every one, and the critics seem to agree with the Flaviar community. This bottle was named Best in Class at the 2011 International Wine & Spirit Competition and also won a gold medal at the 2013 Beverage Tasting Institute. The flavor is described as spicy, creamy, woody, and fruity. Zafra 21 Year Old Master Reserve Rum Flaviars winner in the rum category is Zafra 21 Year Old Master Reserve Rum. Its made in Panama and matures for at least 21 years in ex-bourbon barrels. Its a smooth rum with flavors of toffee, molasses, cherries, vanilla, and oak. Lecat XO Memoire Cognac Last up in this tasting pack is Lecat XO Memoire Cognac, which I sampled in the Le Cognac tasting pack I reviewed last month. Its rich and deep with flavors of wood, orange zest, vanilla, and dark chocolate. Its full-bodied and the best cognac I think Ive ever had. Verdict: Im always impressed with Flaviars packaging, and I think they do a wonderful job curating their tasting packs. I have some concerns about the shift in price and value in the new Flaviar Speakeasy program (when I first started reviewing Flaviar, the price was $39.99 per month for a 5 vial tasting pack, whereas the new model is $60 per quarter for a 3 vial tasting pack), but Im going to reserve judgement until Ive sampled the new subscription firsthand. Do you like trying spirits from around the world? Have you tried Flaviar? Customers enter with their smartphones, which they also use to scan items. VIKEN, Sweden A late-night rush to find baby food for his crying toddler spurred Robert Ilijason to build Swedens first unstaffed convenience store, The Daily Journal reports. The shop, naturally accessible 24/7, does not have a cashier. Customers sign up for the service and download an app, which they then use to unlock the door and scan their purchases. Payment is collected monthly via an invoice. The store stocks c-store basics, such as bread, canned food, diapers, milk, snacks and sugar, but it doesnt have tobacco or other high-theft items. My ambition is to spread this idea to other villages and small towns, Ilijason said. He stocks the shelves and ensures everythings neat and tidy. Six surveillance cameras record activityand discourage shopliftingin the 480-square-foot store. A text message alerts him if the door is open for longer than eight seconds or if a break-in is attempted. His biggest challenge has been convincing some of the towns older residents to conquer the technology involved in shopping at his store. But overall, customers have embraced the no-service convenience store, especially with its speedy checkout and lack of register lines. Ilijason might install a credit-card reader as an alternative to the app to open the door, and perhaps hire a clerk to work for a few hours a day to assist customers having trouble with the technology, but for now, hes content to allow his customers the freedom to shop on their own. SEATTLE Its been many years in the making, but Starbucks will return to its Italian roots with its first Italian outlet opening in Milan next year, Marketing Daily reports. There are very few markets and stores that Im as intimately involved in as this, said Howard Schultz, chairman and CEO of Starbucks. Everything weve done to date sits on the foundation of wonderful experiences that many of us have had in Italy. Starbucks has partnered with the Italian company Percassi, which will operate and own the stores through a licensing agreement. We know that we are going to face a unique challenge with the opening of the first Starbucks store in Italy, the country of coffee, and we are confident that Italian people are ready to live the Starbucks experience, as already occurs in many other markets, said Antonio Percassi, president of the company. Thirty-three years ago, Schultz took his first business trip to Milan and Verona, a journey that changed his life forever. Inspired by the craftsmanship of the Milanese barista, the spirit of the Italian people, their passion for community, their friendliness and taste for quality, Schultzs vision for Starbucks began to take root. Starbucks history is directly linked to the way the Italians created and executed the perfect shot of espresso, Schultz said in a press release. Everything that weve done sits on the foundation of those wonderful experiences that many of us have had in Italy, and weve aspired to be a respectful steward of that legacy for 45 years. Now were going to try, with great humility and respect, to share what weve been doing and what weve learned through our first retail presence in Italy, Schultz continued. Our first store will be designed with painstaking detail and great respect for the Italian people and coffee culture. And, my hope is that we will create a sense of pride for our partnersso much so that every partner who sees our store or walks through the doors will say: We got it right. Yves here. This article may seem a bit wide of this sites usual terrain, but its a vignette of corruption and how far corporations are willing to go in their pursuit of profit. And its not as if the proponents can justify this plan by arguing that the nuclear plant is in a remote location. What makes the logic of the defense of the close to co-location of two potentially hazardous activities is that a local event could damage and/or make it difficult for personnel to get to both at the same time. By Katie Herzog. Originally published at Grist Whats scarier than an aging nuclear power plant? An aging nuclear power plant next to a natural gas pipeline. That could be the new reality for the Indian Point Energy Center, a nuclear power station located in Westchester County, just 45 miles north of Manhattan. A proposed expansion of a natural gas pipeline across the power stations property has environmentalists and other groups concerned that an accident could turn the power plant into an unrivaled disaster. Its a bit like smoking next to a gas tank a gas tank filed with nuclear fuel near one of the densest population centers on the planet. Despite how ill-advised this sounds, the pipeline has already been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Why would they allow such a thing? Well, as the New York Times notes, approval was partly based on reviews carried out by the Entergy Corporation which happens to be the same company that owns the plant. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a resident of Westchester County, is not having any of it. Cuomo recently directed his administration to conduct an independent safety analysis of the pipeline project after hearing that radioactive water had leaked from the aging plant and into the groundwater. This is just the latest strike against Indian Point by the Cuomo administration, which called for the plants closure last year. The safety of New Yorkers is the first responsibility of state government when making any decision, said the governor in a statement. Cuomo isnt alone. In Nov. 2015, a group of climate activists known as the Montrose 9 blocked construction of the pipeline, which would transport natural gas from Texas to Massachusetts. In addition to the activists concerns about the affects of burning natural gas on the climate, they targeted the Spectra-owned pipeline for its proximity to Indian Point, which the federal government previously listed among the nations worst power plants. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, however, seems unconcerned. Our expert confirmed that both units could safely shut down, even if the pipeline were to rupture and a blast of flame were to come from that line, said Neil Sheehan, spokesperson for the commission. Cuomo and activists like the Montrose 9 have the support of many locals, who oppose the project not just for the potential nuclear bomb in their midst, but because of the ill health affects of the pipeline itself: People who live near gas infrastructure have reported chronic fatigue and respiratory ailments. As Westchester resident Courtney Williams told Grists Ben Adler, There is a sensationalism about potential rupture because its catastrophic, but it will [also] be a catastrophe for folks having to breathe this stuff. We dont know yet what will happen with the pipeline or with Indian Point, for that matter but we know that when it comes to natural gas and nuclear power, the mix will surely be explosive. The Animals That Sniff Out Tuberculosis, Cancer, and Landmines Pacific Standard (Chuck L) Mysterious Chimpanzee Behavior May Be Evidence of Sacred Rituals The Conversation via Scientific American (Chuck L) Yosemite landmarks set to lose famous names in ugly divorce Reuters (Chuck L) China? Fighting Deflation: ECB Needs Support in Lonely Battle Wall Street Journal Refugee Crisis Brexit? Syraqistan American Jewish Millennials Arent Disengaged From Israel, Were Angry Haaretz. Paywalled, but Googling the headline should work.. Big Brother is Watching You Watch NY judge backs Apple in iPhone case Financial Times 2016 The Graveyard of the Elites Chris Hedges, TruthDig (RR, Glenn F) Clarence Thomas Breaks 10 Years of Silence at Supreme Court New York Times U.S. top court rejects union challenge to New Jersey pension reforms Reuters. EM: NJ immunized from violating a black-letter legal obligation. Legalized fraud upon the taxpayers in the form of permanent underfunding its whats for breakfast. U.S. court test on abortion reflects success of strategy shift Reuters (EM) Police State Watch Oil The End of Big Banks Simon Johnson, Project Syndicate The Worlds Reluctant Central Banker Project Syndicate (David L) Feds Dudley sounds warning on US economy Financial Times Class Warfare Antidote du jour (Kittie Wilson, via Lawrence R): See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. By Jomo Kwame Sundaram, an Assistant Secretary General working on Economic Development in the United Nations system during 2005-15, and was awarded the 2007 Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. Originally published as a Global Development and Environment Institute Policy Brief The Trans-Pacifc Partnership (TPP) Agreement, recently agreed to by twelve Pacifc Rim countries led by the United States,1 promises to ease many restrictions on cross-border transactions and harmonize regulations. Proponents of the agreement have claimed significant economic benefits, citing modest overall net GDP gains, ranging from half of one percent in the United States to 13 percent in Vietnam after fifteen years. Their claims, however, rely on many unjustified assumptions, including full employment in every country and no resulting impacts on working peoples incomes, with more than 90 percent of overall growth gains due to non-trade measures with varying impacts. A recent GDAE Working Paper finds that with more realistic methodological assumptions, critics of the TPP indeed have reason to be concerned. Using the trade projections for the most optimistic growth forecasts, we find that the TPP is more likely to lead to net employment losses in many countries (771,000 jobs lost overall, with 448,000 in the United States alone) and higher inequality in all country groupings. Declining worker purchasing power would weaken aggregate demand, slowing economic growth. The United States (-0.5 percent) and Japan (-0.1 percent) are projected to suffer small net income losses, not gains, from the TPP. This GDAE Policy Brief is intended to help clarify the differences with other modeling studies and to present our findings in a less technical manner. Flaws in TPP Economic Projections Optimistic claims about the TPPs economic impacts are largely based on economic modeling projections published by the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics.2 Its researchers used a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to project net GDP gains for all countries involved. These figures have been widely cited in many countries to justify TPP approval and ratification. Updated estimates, released in early 2016 and incorporated into the World Banks latest report on the global economy,3 now stress income gains for the United States of $131 billion, or 0.5 percent of GDP, and a 9.1 percent increase in exports by 2030.4 The projections methodology assumes away critical economic problems and boosts economic growth estimates with unfounded assumptions. The assumption of full employment is particularly problematic. Workers will inevitably be displaced due to the TPP, but CGE modelers assume that all dismissed workers will be promptly rehired elsewhere in the national economy as if part of labor churning. The full-employment assumption thus inflates projected GDP gains by assuming away job losses and adjustment costs. The modelers also dismiss increases in inequality by assuming no changes to wage and profit shares of national income. Again, this is not supported by empirical evidence, as past trade agreements have tended to reduce labors share. Finally, foreign direct investment (FDI) is assumed to increase dramatically, which contributes a significant boost to economic growth in the Peterson Institute projections, accounting for more than 25 percent of projected U.S. economic gains in the recent update. This assumes that: 1) income to capital owners will be invested; and 2) this will result in broad-based growth. Neither is supported by the evidence. A U.S. Department of Agriculture study,5 which did not assume such FDI-related investment gains, found zero growth for the United States and very modest growth elsewhere at best. The methodology of the Peterson study is flawed; consequently, growth and income gains are overstated, and the costs to working people, consumers and governments are understated, ignored or even presented as benefits. Job losses and declining or stagnant labor incomes are excluded from consideration, even though they lower economic growth by reducing aggregate demand. Some economists have pointed out6 additional misleading findings in the most recent Peterson Institute update: U.S. income gains of 0.5 percent from TPP in 2030 This is raised from the institutes previous 0.4 percent, mainly by extending the implementation period from ten to fifteen years. In any case, added growth of 0.5 percent is very small, about 0.03 percent per year over fifteen years. Exports rise by 9.1 percent, but so do imports, because the model assumes fixed trade balances. This excludes, by assumption, the problems associated with rising trade deficits, which have been common after previous trade agreements. All displaced workers are absorbed immediately and costlessly in other sectors again, by assumption. The paper does acknowledge that manufacturing employment will increase more slowly because of the TPP, and that some 53,700 more U.S. jobs per year will be displaced annually. But they view this as a small addition to normal labor market churn. More Realistic Economic Projections We employed the UN Global Policy Model (GPM) to generate more realistic projections of likely TPP impacts. Unlike most CGE models, the GPM incorporates more realistic assumptions about economic adjustment and income distribution, assessing the TPP impact on each of them as well as on economic growth over a ten-year period. Importantly, it does not assume large unexplained FDI surges or investment, growth and income gains due to nontrade measures. The modeling results are summarized in the table. To facilitate comparison, we used the Peterson Institutes projected estimates of the TPPs impact on exports, applying the macroeconomic model to assess the efects of projected TPP trade increases.7 The GPM analyzes macroeconomic sectors primary commodities, energy, manufacturing and services but does not contain data on single markets (such as car parts or poultry). The main fndings include: The TPP will generate net GDP losses in the USA and Japan. Ten years after the treaty comes into force, US GDP is projected to be 0.54 percent lower than it would be without the TPP. Similarly, the TPP is projected to reduce Japans growth by 0.12 percent. For other TPP countries, economic gains will be negligible less than one percent over ten years for developed countries, and less than three percent over the decade for developing countries. Chile and Perus combined gain of 2.84 percent comes to only about a quarter of one percent per year. The TPP is projected to lead to employment losses overall, with a total of 771,000 jobs lost. The United States will be hardest hit, losing 448,000 jobs. The TPP will also likely lead to higher inequality due to declining labor shares of national incomes. In the United States, labor shares are projected to fall by 1.31 percent over ten years, continuing an ongoing multi-decade downward trend. Conclusions In sum, the TPP will increase pressures on labor incomes, weakening domestic demand in all participating countries, in turn leading to lower employment and higher inequality. Even though countries with lower labor costs may gain greater market shares and small GDP increases, employment is still likely to fall and inequality to increase. In fact, most goods trade among TPP countries has already been liberalized by earlier agreements. Instead of promoting growth and employment, the TPP is mainly about imposing new rules favored by large multinational corporations. The TPP greatly strengthens investor and intellectual property rights (IPRs), while weakening national regulation, e.g. over financial services. The TPP will strengthen IPRs for big pharmaceutical, information technology, media, and other firms, e.g. by allowing pharmaceutical companies longer monopolies on patented medicines, keeping cheaper generics of the market, and blocking the development and availability of similar new medicines. The TPP would also strengthen foreign investor rights at the expense of local businesses and the public interest. The TPPs investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system will oblige governments to compensate foreign investors for losses of expected profits in binding private arbitration. These pro-investor measures impose significant costs, especially on developing countries. They will exert a chilling efect on important government responsibilities to promote national development and protect the public interest. Our modeling suggests that TPP skeptics, concerned about the agreements impacts on growth, labor incomes, employment and inequality, have good reason to doubt optimistic projections. Our results show negative impacts in all these areas, particularly in the United States. Legislatures in TPP countries should carefully consider these findings and their implications before approving the agreement. Endnotes 1 The participating countries Canada, United States, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Australia and New Zealand have finalized and signed the text of the agreement, but the treaty must be ratified in all of them before it can come into force. 2 Peter Petri, Michael Plummer and Fan Zhai (2012). The Trans-Pacific Partnership and Asia-Pacific Integration: A Quantitative Assessment. Policy Analyses in International Economics 98, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, DC. The Peterson Institute study has also been criticized by others, e.g. http://www.sustainabilitynz.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/EconomicGainsandCostsfromtheTPP_2014.pdf. 3 See Global Economic Prospects, Spillovers Amid Weak Recovery, January 2016, The World Bank Group, Washington, DC. 4 Peter Petri and Michael Plummer, The Economic Efects of the Trans-Pacifc Partnership: New Estimates, January 2016, Working Paper 16-2, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, DC. 5 See http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1692509/err176.pdf 6 See, for example, Dean Baker, Peterson Institute Study Shows TPP Will Lead to $357 Billion Increase in Annual Imports, January 26, 2016. 7 A robust debate over such modeling followed the release of the GDAE paper, with a critique from Robert Lawrence for the Peterson Institute (Studies of TPP: Which is Credible?) and two responses from GDAE: Are the Peterson Institute Studies Reliable Guides to Likely TPP Effects? and Modeling TPP: A response to Robert Z. Lawrence. GDAE clarifed that the GPM is fully documented in the UNCTAD publication, The UN Global Policy Model: Technical Description. Spencer Fischl helps Deb Krech with her furniture questions at Expressions in Design in Naples on Friday, January 22, 2016. (Scott McIntyre/Staff) SHARE Diane Oldfin sits for a portrait at Expressions in Design in Naples on Friday, January 22, 2016. (Scott McIntyre/Staff) Expressions in Design owners and operators Diane Oldfin, bottom left, her husband Jack Oldfin, right, and her sons Jason, left, and Spencer Fischl at their store in Naples on Friday, January 22, 2016. (Scott McIntyre/Staff) Expressions in Design in Naples on Friday, January 22, 2016. (Scott McIntyre/Staff) Expressions in Design owners and operators Diane Oldfin, bottom left, her husband Jack Oldfin, right, and her sons Jason, left, and Spencer Fischl at their store in Naples on Friday, January 22, 2016. (Scott McIntyre/Staff) By John Osborne, Daily News Correspondent If there's anything Jack Oldfin has learned in life, it's that a house divided against itself cannot stand. A former banker who along with his wife, Diane, 25 years ago opened an interior design business that a few years later would spin off a home furnishings store run by the couple's two sons, Oldfin isn't the sort of man to tolerate sibling rivalries. "The way it works in our family is that I do the financial end of the business and Diane does the design end, while one of our sons, Jason, runs the retail space and our other son, Spencer, is in charge of the warehouse and shipping," said Oldfin, whose family owns Expressions in Model Furniture Outlet and Expressions in Design at 3905 Radio Road in East Naples. A Vancouver native and grandfather of seven, Oldfin said compartmentalization is a key component to running a friction-free family business. "The boys have roles in which they don't conflict with each other, and the secret to a family operation is no competition," he said. "That will destroy more family business than anything else. They both get the same salaries and same perks, and it works out well that way." And if trouble ever should rear its head, Oldfin said it is addressed promptly. "If it's not working on some level, there's no hesitation about pointing it out," he said. "We have regular family meetings around the conference table, and we put everything on the table." Still, Diane Oldfin said, the joys of working so closely with family far outweigh the challenges. "It's great, obviously, anytime that someone can say they work with their family," said the award-winning interior designer with a full shelf of hardware that includes five straight SWFL Choice Awards. "As great as it is, though, we're all emotionally connected to it. So we always have to separate the two." As a bonus, Diane Oldfin said her sons, both Army veterans, share their parents' all-hands-on-deck philosophy about running the businesses. "Nobody is an absentee owner," she said. "We're all here six days a week running things, with 13 employees and three trucks that make deliveries five days a week." Older brother Jason Fischl, 45, who served in the Army for 15 years, echoed his mother's sentiments about the joys outweighing the challenges of running a family business. "We always count on each other because it's in all of our best interests to work hard and get the job done," he said, praising his father's "separate but equal" business philosophy. "Having assigned roles is critical for our success. We have jobs that overlap, but we help each other out rather than stepping on each other's toes." Spencer Fischl, a 41-year-old father of two, said much the same. "Working together as a family, we don't really have many challenges because every one of us do different jobs and we're proficient at them," he said. "We're happy with the team we've put together, and since we're all family, we know we can count on each other. Employees may come and go, but we know we're all here for the company and to accomplish our goals." With a laugh, Jack Oldfin said he had a clear goal in mind for the near future. "When Dianne and I decide to pack it in which I hope is soon we feel confident about the boys taking over and supporting the store," he said. Both business are open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information call 239-434-2227 or see www.emfo.us. Where to give, get supplies, help in Collier County after Hurricane Ian SHARE WASHINGTON The inimitable Will Rogers once said that when Congress (make that any legislature) was in session it was sort of like when the baby gets hold of the hammer. But what if the baby got hold of the gun? If anyone needs more evidence of the accuracy of Rogers' troubling analysis of democracy, they only need to look at what the Iowa House of Representatives did the other day. They passed and sent a bill to the state Senate that makes it legal for children younger than the age of 14 to handle a pistol and ammunition as long as they were being supervised by a parent or another person. Hopefully that precludes one of the many homicidal maniacs shooting up the American landscape under the watchful eyes of constitutionalists. But I wouldn't bet on it. The justification for this insanity is right out of the gun lobby's guide to bringing up baby in the sacred gun culture. It's based somehow on the belief that the younger a person learns to handle a gun, the less likely he is to abuse it. Talk about tortured reasoning. I think John Dillinger's father must have had the same thought. Perhaps the mother of the kid who shot up the elementary school in Connecticut was thinking that way when she kept buying him guns, one of which he used on her before fulfilling his destiny. Are they nuts? Or are they utterly ignorant or insensitive to the mayhem that has occurred on a regular basis from the "accidental" slaying of adults and other children by youngsters who handle firearms? Oh, well. The law minimizes the possibility of that type tragedy by providing that children must be strictly supervised by parents or legal guardians who maintain verbal and visual contact with them at all times. Right! That will do the trick. Bully. Tell that to the family of the Arizona shooting range instructor accidentally blown away by the 9-year-old girl he was trying to teach how to fire a Uzi not so long ago. Or the 4-year-old boy who put one into a playmate when he got ahold of his father's handgun. The horror just keeps on keeping on. Iowa already allows children to possess rifles and shotguns. So it seems reasonable to cover all firearms, doesn't it? I mean without including the pistols, the lack of uniformity is jarring to the legislative sense of balance. It doesn't matter that children have no real understanding of death at the ages included in this monstrosity of a bill, no matter how much supervision they receive. There is bound to be less of that than is responsible; there will be accidents, weapons pointed the wrong way and triggers pulled inadvertently. Oops, sorry, Daddy, it just went boom! Every three hours a child dies from gun violence in this country, an opponent of the bill charged to no avail. But to be fair to the legislative geniuses who committed this offense to civilized behavior at the expense of the Lord knows how many pre- and barely post-adolescent atrocities, the bill prohibits the children from walking into a gun store and purchasing a Glock or even a Saturday night special. Who says they're irresponsible? Does that turn their parents into straw purchasers? I'm not certain, but an argument could be made. All this was taking place in the shadow of more mass shootings in Michigan, where an Uber driver randomly gunned down pedestrians in between hauling passengers, and in Kansas where a former felon took out anger in a small town near Wichita by killing three and wounding 14 before being killed by a police officer. "We do not need a militia of toddlers," Iowa state Rep. Kirsten Running-Marquardt, was quoted as saying. She is absolutely correct. African rebel armies are often made up of AK-47 carrying children as young as 9 or 10 who will shoot you without question. As we sit in this world of increasing turmoil, we can only hope that Iowa's example doesn't spread. The civilized world already thinks of us as a violent land full of those who worship instruments of death over nearly everything else. Will Rogers was kidding, probably on the square, but somehow I don't think even that Oklahoma cowboy, as used to guns as he was, would think this was funny under the circumstances. SHARE Estero Historical Society member Ken Wisen built this water pump cabinet where students would wash after recess at the 1904 Estero Creek School. He and his wife, Diane, will be honored at a grand opening March 5 for their work in furnishing the school. Laura Gates/Banner Correspondent Furnished with period-appropriate desks and other historic decor. Laura Gates/Banner Correspondent Estero Historical Society members Beverly MacNellis and Marlene Fernandez sit in the restored 1904 Estero Creek Schoolhouse and discuss details for the March 5 Grand Opening and ribbon cutting festivities. Laura Gates/Banner Correspondent Period-appropriate books and furnishings for the 1904 Estero Creek Schoolhouse were acquired through donations to the Estero Historical Society. Laura Gates/Banner Correspondent By Laura Gates, Banner Correspondent What was school like 100 years ago? With the restoration of the 1904 Estero Creek Schoolhouse, students throughout Southwest Florida will now be able to answer that question through hands-on experience as they write on slates, browse McGuffey readers and recite the Pledge of Allegiance to a United States flag with just 46 stars. The Estero Historical Society is celebrating the grand opening of this historic schoolhouse on March 5, inviting the community to come and imagine living and learning in a time before electronic devices. The one-room schoolhouse is where the great-grandparents of today's children may have gone for lessons -- with no air conditioning, no electricity or running water and no security procedures. Norma Chappell remembers those days. She will be providing a musical prelude to the grand opening festivities, playing songs of yesteryear on the schoolhouses' period-appropriate Monarch Baldwin upright piano. The piano is among dozens of furnishings donated or acquired by the historical society. Other authentic items include a wooden teacher's desk, several student desks, a blackboard, many books and a pot-bellied, wood-burning stove. Diane Wisen researched the period and coordinated donations as the Schoolhouse Chair. She and her husband, Ken, who put his carpentry skills to work on the schoolhouse, will be among those recognized for their contributions at the grand opening. "The Wisens have been very dedicated to the school," said historical society archivist Marlene Fernandez. For the grand opening, Fernandez will present a brief history of the 1904 schoolhouse. It was actually Estero's second school, and it was mandated to teach no Koreshan doctrines, according to research by local historian Georgia Nelson. By 1904, the Koreshan Unity's influence was growing, much to the distaste of local farmers and citrus growers. F.M. and Elinor Hendry, who owned Estero's oldest citrus grove, deeded land to the Lee County Board of Public Instruction, "clearly stating it was to exclude the teaching of Koreshan doctrine and the hiring of Koreshan sympathizers," according to Nelson's research. A one-room schoolhouse was built along the Estero River on Highland Avenue in 1904, but was severely damaged by a hurricane on Oct. 27, 1910. It took almost a year before the school reopened, with a coat of white paint and the addition of a front porch, along with a small room at the back for younger children. The building also served as the first meeting house for what would become Estero United Methodist Church. Grove owner Frank Hall, who lived next door to the school, served as a trustee for many years. His historic home and the Estero Creek Schoolhouse were both relocated to their current location in Estero Community Park in 2009. Charles Dauray, who recently was elected president of the Estero Historical Society, is the man behind this move. He serves as chairman and CEO of the College of Life Foundation, which purchased the Hall House and the Estero Creek School properties in 2003. He believed these historic buildings belonged to the public, so when Maryann Weenen, then-president of the historical society, approached him for a fundraiser, she got much more than expected. "She went to College of Life to sell Charles Dauray chutney, and she left with these two buildings," said Beverly MacNellis, the historical society's vice president and chair of Saturday's grand opening festivities. It is fitting Dauray is now at the helm of the historical society, MacNellis added, because his donations came at a time when "the society didn't have a window or a pot, to use an old Polish saying." After years of fundraising -- through mango chutney production, personalized bricks, historical book sales and fundraising galas -- the society now uses the renovated Hall House as its headquarters and holds numerous events there throughout the year. Now, the first groups of schoolchildren are starting to tour the restored schoolhouse. "So many people have given so much," MacNellis said of the efforts undertaken to get to this point. "Everyone who bought a jar of chutney added to the schoolhouse here." The keynote speaker for Saturday's event will be Jeff McCullers, director of grants and program development for the School District of Lee County. He's also a member of one of Estero's pioneer families. The program ends with a formal ribbon cutting as Chappell pounds out "God Bless America" on the old Baldwin. Then it will be time to celebrate with a custom-made cake donated by Publix which bears a photo of the 1904 Estero Creek School and this message: "Welcome Back." ### IF YOU GO What: Grand Opening of the 1904 Estero Creek Schoolhouse When: Saturday, March 5, at 11 a.m. Where: Estero Historical Society headquarters at Estero Community Park (9200 Corkscrew Palms Bvd.) More Info: www.esterohistoricalsociety.com ### SHARE Attendee peruse though artwork during the Bonita Springs National Art Festival in January. The festival will host it's final 2016 showing from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 5, and Sunday, March 6, at Riverside Park in Bonita Springs. Patrice Shields/Banner Correspondent An attendee gazes at some artwork during the Bonita Springs National Art Festival in January. The festival will host it's final 2016 showing from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 5, and Sunday, March 6, at Riverside Park in Bonita Springs. Patrice Shields/Banner Correspondent The Bonita Springs National Art Festival will hold it's final 2016 showing from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 5, and Sunday, March 6, at Riverside Park in Bonita Springs. Patrice Shields/Banner Correspondent By Patrice Shields, Special to The Banner The Bonita Springs National Art Festival, one of the nation's most highly rated art festivals in the country, returns to the exciting redeveloping Riverside Park on Old 41 Road in Bonita Springs from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, and Sunday, March 6. Two hundred fine artists from the US, Canada and Europe will fill the old Florida style park with fine art paintings, glass, jewelry, clay works, photography, sculpture and more. Rated one of the top Fine Art Festivals in America and the top ranked show in Bonita Spring/Naples Metropolis by The Harris List and ranked 11th nationally by Sunshine Artist Magazine, the festival attracts tens of thousands of residents and visitors each year who attend to view and purchase fine art. According to Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs staff, artists are chosen by a highly selective jury to ensure the highest quality craftsmanship in paintings, glass, jewelry, clay works, photography, sculpture, wood and more. "Our festivals introduce hundreds of artists to residents and visitors of Bonita Springs," said Susan Bridges, president of Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs. "Part of what makes our festival so unique is the mix of top notch well-known artists who return to our festivals each year to display their art side by side with new award-winning artists chosen through our highly selective jury process. We are thrilled that our festival brings thousands of attendees to Riverside Park from Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero Marco Island, Ft. Myersmany, for the first time." Guests can expect to be introduced to returning award winning artists including Edward Loedding of Brandon Vermont and his stunning digital florals, Steve Palmer of Minnetonka, Minnesota and his stunning blown glass pieces and Fabricated, hand-engraved, 14k gold, sterling silver, and semi-precious stone jewelry by Jayne DeMarcay to name a few. Those who enjoy Contemporary Ceramics will enjoy the unique collaborative work of Ed and Katel Coleman and guests who appreciate masterful oil paintings will want to stop and see the work of Laurent Dareau of Alva, Florida. The Bonita Springs National Art Festivals are an integral part of the Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs and their programming, said Centers for the Arts staff. As part of their mission of "Arts for All," the Centers for the Arts provide programming to over 12,000 at-risk youth annually. Last year they awarded over $100,000 in scholarships. The Riverside Park location offer ample free parking on site with wine, beer, food and beverages available for purchase and live music to enjoy while you view and purchase fine art. While there is no admission fee for this event, the Centers for the Arts of Bonita Springs volunteers will be asking for an optional $5 donation, directly supporting the Centers for the Arts programming. If You Go 37th Bonita Springs National Art Festival When: 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. March 5 and March 6 Where: Riverside Park, 10451 Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs Cost: Free ($5 optional donation for admission to support the Center for the Arts Bonita Springs) Information: 239-495-8989 or visit artcenterbonita.org/artfest Collier County Commissioner Donna Fiala greets Marco Island resident Dolores Siegel prior to holding a town hall meeting in this file photo. SHARE Collier County Commissioner Donna Fiala answers questions in this file photo during one of her previous Town Hall meetings. Swimming manatee. 1. Fiala town hall gathering is Wednesday Collier County Commissioner Donna Fiala will hold a town hall gathering 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, at the Marco Island Historical Museum, Rose Hall Auditorium, 180 S. Heathwood Drive. Key members of the county administrative team, including county manager Leo Ochs, growth management division administrator Nick Casalanguida, chief hearing examiner Mark Strain, emergency medical services chief Walter Kopka, library division director Val Kocin and Collier County Museums division director Ron Jamro, will give presentations. Fiala says the town hall meetings an annual tradition for the past 16 years provide residents with the opportunity to get answers to some of their most pressing questions. "I encourage everyone interested to attend this town hall gathering regarding issues affecting Marco Island and the surrounding communities," she said. "This gathering provides me the opportunity to bring staff to (participants') own backyard, where they will share information and meet with residents directly to discuss their issues." For more information, call 239-252-8601 or email michaelbrownlee@colliergov.net. 2. Florida budget talks begin with $5.5 million in the mix for Collier County projects The fate of some of the $5.5 million in requests for Collier County groups was uncertain Saturday as the Legislature spent the weekend negotiating the details of next year's $80 billion state budget. Not all of the 10 requests written into the proposed House budget by Reps. Matt Hudson and Kathleen Passidomo, both of Naples, were accepted by the Senate. The differences in the spending plans between the two sides of the Legislature will be settled during a series of joint-chamber budget conferences, which should continue throughout the week. Legislative leaders began conferences Friday night by agreeing to cut two priorities of Gov. Rick Scott, wiping out $250 million he requested in incentive money for Enterprise Florida and slashing his $1 billion tax-cut plan. There was no talk Saturday of bringing back the incentive money, and both chambers remained set on providing only $400 million in tax cuts. The most expensive Collier request $2 million was for the Southwest Florida Collier County Business Accelerator. The money would go toward business development projects in Naples and Immokalee. Gov. Scott vetoed the request last year. 3. City seeks volunteer for appointment to Local Rule Review Committee The City of Marco Island is seeking a volunteer to serve as the city's representative on the Collier County Local Rule Review Committee (LRRC). The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has directed Collier County to create the LRRC to review proposed changes to FWC manatee protection zones and provide recommendations and comments on the proposed changes. The committee will consist of 10 voting members and four four nonvoting members who will represent the interest of the entire county. Currently the county is advertising for the 10 voting members. Each municipality, along with the county, will appoint a nonvoting member. Due to the accelerated deadline established by Collier County, the City of Marco Island must convey the name of its appointee no later than March 8. Interested individuals are urged to submit a resume and/or letter of interest to the City Clerk Laura Litzan at llitzan@cityofmarcoisland.com or by calling Laura Litzan at 389-5010. Merchandise available runs the gamut. The San Marco Columbiettes hosted Treasures in the Trunk Saturday morning, a massive used merchandise sale in the church parking lot. Lance Shearer/Eagle Correspondent SHARE Brandi Tramazzo displays the shotgun shell jewelry her group sells. The Brandi Tramazzo Hero House Foundation for Recovering Warriors held a fundraiser outside Centennial Bank on Friday. Lance Shearer/Eagle Correspondent Linda Flores looks over the shotgun shell jewelry her group sells. The Brandi Tramazzo Hero House Foundation for Recovering Warriors held a fundraiser outside Centennial Bank on Friday. Lance Shearer/Eagle Correspondent Visitors and foundation representatives mingle outside the bank. The Brandi Tramazzo Hero House Foundation for Recovering Warriors held a fundraiser outside Centennial Bank on Friday. Lance Shearer/Eagle Correspondent The shotgun shell jewelry her group sells comes with a Bible quote from Ephesians. The Brandi Tramazzo Hero House Foundation for Recovering Warriors held a fundraiser outside Centennial Bank on Friday. Lance Shearer/Eagle Correspondent By Lance Shearer Someday, the Brandi Tramazzo Hero House Foundation for Recovering Warriors might be a charitable powerhouse. Right now, they are working to get off the ground. Created with the goal of providing a vacation getaway for servicemen and women returning from overseas deployments, to help them and their families readjust to life Stateside, Hero House organizers are trying to raise money to purchase "a retreat for our country's recovering warriors." "They put their boots on the ground, let's put their toes in the sand," says a handout from the group. The Brandi Tramazzo Hero House Foundation held an event Friday over lunchtime at Centennial Bank on Elkcam Circle, telling people about their quest and offering hot dogs and snacks near a canopy set up in the bank's parking lot. "Warriors come home, thinking it's going to be home sweet home, but it's more like home horrible home," said Tramazzo, standing by a display of the shell-casing jewelry the group sells to support its mission. "They've missed out on birthdays, their kids are three inches taller. They need the chance to reconnect with their families. "Our warriors have been fighting for our freedoms. We need to fight for them. Our goal is for them to have a smooth transition." Hero House hopes to provide a one-week getaway for service people "deployers," Tramazzo called them away from the stresses and pressure of their regular home life. The group's first returning deployer is set up with a vacation condo in North Carolina, when he returns to the U.S. in April from service in a combat zone overseas in Afghanistan. Tramazzo pointed out that on Marco Island, many beautiful dwelling units sit empty for long stretches, and she is hopeful that some of the owners of those homes will donate time to her organization to provide the vacations for veterans. "If someone has a condo that sits fallow here, maybe they will let us use that time" to help out a member of the military, she said. "Our local community is filled with so many snowbirds, and some people here have two or three homes." But long-term, the group wants to purchase a residential unit which can be dedicated to the project full time. "It's like making a dress you need to have a pattern," Tramazzo said to explain why the foundation wants to acquire a parcel of real estate instead of taking advantage of existing furnished homes that donors would offer when available. Asked why the group's name includes her own name, Brandi Tramazzo said that wasn't her idea. "My executive board decided to have my name. I was very hesitant," she said. The group includes an Air Force colonel, and "he says you always need to have a name attached." Brandi and her husband John Tramazzo have lived on Marco Island for 13 years, she said. She is owner and president of Fussy Fraulein, Inc., a janitorial and construction cleaning business. The foundation has applied for 501(c) 3 nonprofit status, and all proceeds go to support their work, she said. "No one takes a salary." Each piece of jewelry, made from the brass casings of shotgun shells, fired not by the military but primarily on the gun range at Port of the Islands, comes with a Bible verse, Ephesians 6:11. They call the bracelets and pendants "Arm Armor," and have a variety of designs available. For more information, or to support the Brandi Tramazzo Hero House Foundation, email btramazzo@gmail.com or go online to btherohouse.org. SHARE By Associated Press DEERFIELD BEACH Deputies are searching for a man who broke into a courthouse in Deerfield Beach, Florida. The Broward Sheriff's Office said in a news release that a one-handed burglar used a bat to gain entry through a glass door of the North Regional Courthouse on Sunday morning. Deputies say the man tried to open several doors once he was inside. He then entered one room and remained there for a few minutes before exiting. Courthouse security staff arrived to work Monday morning and noticed that the doors had been smashed. No items were reported missing. Surveillance video captured the man on tape. The suspect is missing his left hand, has a beard and short hair. He was seen driving a silver Nissan Pathfinder. Anyone with information is asked to contact deputies. FILE - Russ Ayers in 2011. Photo by Gordon Campbell/Special to the Daily News. By Ryan Mills of the Naples Daily News Naples police fired longtime officer Russ Ayers on Monday after finding he was deceptive during two separate internal investigations, including the disappearance of a gun belonging to the ex-husband of wounded former officer Amy Young. Ayers, an 18-year veteran of the force, was uncooperative during an investigation into the theft of Sgt. Robert Young's pistol in November 2014. While taking a polygraph, he attempted to use countermeasures to defeat the test, according to investigators. Investigators also believe Ayers lied when confronted with accusations he'd made to a local security guard during which he accused Robert Young of being a criminal and having something to do with the July 2014 domestic shooting that injured his ex-wife and killed officer Dave Monroig. The guard told investigators that Ayers was convinced Robert Young was in the home when his ex-wife was shot in the face and her boyfriend, Monroig, died of a gunshot wound to the head. A Lee County Sheriff's Office probe found that Monroig shot Amy Young before shooting and killing himself. Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators interviewed 30 Naples Police Department employees, including Ayers, as part of their investigation into the theft of Robert Young's Glock pistol. Most were "consistent, strong and believable," FDLE special agent Carl Shedlock told Naples investigators. "Officer Russell Ayers, however, was the sole exception to that characterization," Shedlock said. Entrance and exit records show Ayers was alone inside the police department building on a Saturday morning in November 2014, the weekend Robert Young's gun vanished. He was seen on security footage exiting the office where Young stored his gun. "Ayers was carrying (something) in his right hand in what appeared to be an awkward manner in a position relative to his right leg that shielded his hand from the camera," Shedlock told Naples investigators. Ayers told investigators he was in the building to get his sunglasses and to buy a soda. During his polygraph exam, Ayers tensed his muscles and attempted to control his breathing in an attempt to manipulate the results. He grew "visibly upset" when questioned "as to why he had such a hatred for Sgt. Amy Young," the report said. When questioned about his relationship with Young "Ayers stood up in the interview room and clenched his fists," the report said. Ayers was also questioned about a string of anonymous letters sent to Naples City Council, residents and media in 2010, 2011 and 2014 detailing dozens of allegations of police misconduct, including charges against Amy Young. When asked if he had anything to do with them, Ayers response was "All the letters?" Shedlock told Naples investigators he believes without a doubt that Ayers was involved in stealing the gun, however there isn't enough evidence to arrest him and charge him with a crime. Ayers denied the allegations against him, and said he was insulted when questioned about his relationship with Amy Young. Attempts to reach Ayers on Monday were unsuccessful. "I did not have anything to do with (Robert Young's) gun, nothing, zero. I did not conceal anything," Ayers told investigators. "I never touched his gun, never, never." In the second investigation, Ayers was questioned about statements he made about Robert Young to a local security guard last May relating to the shooting of Amy Young and Monroig. "Bobby is a criminal and had something to do with the shooting," the security guard recalled Ayers telling him. "All of a sudden his gun comes up missing when he is about to get investigated." Ayers admitted to talking with the guard, mostly about religion. He denied making any accusations against Robert Young. Young told investigators Ayers has an apparent obsession with him and the shooting. Ayers has long been a controversial figure inside the police department. During an interview with the FDLE agent, he acknowledged he has had problems in the past with co-workers and superiors. Over the course of his career, he has been involved in 18 internal affairs investigations and has 12 sustained policy violations, 11 of which resulted in disciplinary action, according to the department. SHARE Donald W. Wortham. By Kristine Gill of the Naples Daily News Hodges University has hired a new president after more than a year without a permanent person in the job. Donald W. Wortham's first day on the job will be April 1. He replaces Interim President David Borofsky who served since December 2014. Borofsky, who was formerly president of Dakota State University, took up the post replacing Jeanette Brock, who served for just one year before leaving the position, citing personal reasons. Brock was the university's Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs before taking on the role of president. Keith Arnold, vice chairman of the Hodges University Board of Trustees, described Wortham as a visionary with the skills to lead the university for many years to come. "It's a great opportunity for us and a great opportunity for Hodges," Arnold said. The nine-month interview process solicited 115 applications. The pool was whittled down to 12 and the board interviewed all 12 in person in public interviews. "He is someone who worked at a small college in Duluth, Minnesota. He has tremendous experience in adult education and online education," Arnold said. "Don comes to us as someone who has been well prepared to lead a university but this is his first opportunity to do so." Arnold said there were no internal applicants. Collectively, the staff and trustees seemed to agree, he said, that an outside view would help the university. Wortham earned his doctorate and master's degrees in educational psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before attending graduate school he graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in history and the literature of religions. He most recently served as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth. Wortham also served as the Executive Director of Extended Studies at CSS from 2009 to 2012. Before that, he worked at American Higher Development Corp., where he held senior roles. He began his career in higher education when he served as executive director of Unext/Cardean Learning Group in Illinois. "Hodges University is poised to become a national leader in higher education," Wortham said in a statement. "I am honored to have been selected to lead Hodges into its next phase, and build on its legacy of excellence. I am very pleased to be joining the communities of Fort Myers and Naples, and the greater southwestern Florida area." An 'Idle Speed, No Wake' sign for boats in Moorings Bay is pictured in Naples on Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015. (Dorothy Edwards/Staff) By Eric Staats of the Naples Daily News Moorings Bay remains without boat speed signs after state regulators rejected an emergency petition Tuesday and a judge put off a ruling on a similar petition. The order by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came on the eve of a Collier County circuit court hearing Tuesday in which Moorings Bay boater Michael Crofton asked a judge to order the city and the FWC to put the signs back up for the sake of public safety. After a three-hour hearing, Circuit Judge James Shenko asked the lawyers involved to send him proposed orders within 10 days. He said he would be "diligent" in then issuing his ruling. The hearing drew about 10 Moorings Bay residents, Councilman Sam Saad, city attorneys Bob Pritt and Jim Fox, City Manager Bill Moss, harbor manager Roger Jacobsen and Naples charter captain and speed zone opponent Allen Walburn. The Moorings Bay issue has its roots in a case, spearheaded by Walburn on Naples Bay, in which a judge eventually tossed out the city's boat speed zone laws, including on Moorings Bay. Without the law in place, the FWC ordered the city in November to remove the unenforceable boat speed zone signs. Crews complied last week. In its order on the city's petition, the FWC found that no emergency exists in Moorings Bay and that state law does not allow speed zone signs to be posted without a valid city law backing them up. FWC attorneys argued the same points during Tuesday's hearing, which drew on long-standing feuds between the city and the state over boat speed zones on Naples waterways. Crofton's attorney Damian Taylor urged Shenko to not be drawn into the debate over whether the city or state should have authority to allow boat speed zones and to err on the side of public safety. "I don't know that there could be a better example of bureaucracy run amok without the court's assistance here," Taylor said. FWC attorney Ryan Osborn said the request to have boat speed zone signs erected, even on an emergency basis, was akin to putting school zone signs on a road without a school. "It confuses us why opposing counsel is pressing on erecting signs we can't enforce," Osborn said. Besides the emergency petitions, the city of Naples also has asked the FWC for permits to post speed zone signs near Moorings Bay bridges and a marina and has petitioned for a more comprehensive boat speed zone to protect manatees in Moorings Bay. That could take more than a year to win approval, if at all. Crofton said he was disappointed with the "legalistic rather than common sense, public safety stance" taken by the FWC. "I have confidence that the judge will rule in our favor and restore the status quo that has served our community so well for decades," he said.

FILE PHOTO -- Boaters gather on the southern end of Keewaydin Island on Dec. 30, 2013, in Naples.A DAVID ALBERS/STAFF

SHARE Curt Clawson By Bartholomew Sullivan, bartholomew.sullivan@jmg.com WASHINGTON President Barack Obama on Monday signed into law a bill that revised the boundaries of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System, giving 17,044 acres of pristine Collier County shoreline federal protections. The legislation, authored by U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson, R-Bonita Springs, was introduced and passed the House over a period of a few hours on February 9. The Senate passed the same bill by unanimous consent on February 22, sending it to the president for his signature. The bill was one of six the president signed without fanfare or a public ceremony Monday. "I want to thank the president and both of Florida's U.S. Senators for acting so quickly and promptly for the residents of Collier County, following the bill's passage in the House," Clawson said after the signing. "The 15 miles of coastal barrier protected by this new law is sound economics, as it will grow Southwest Florida's real estate values and tourism industries, which attract over five million visitors each year, generating $4.6 billion in annual revenues." The new law is expected to protect the ecological integrity of certain barrier islands against winds and tidal forces during major tropical storms and will discourage development of the area south of Naples including parts of Macro Island, Keewaydin Island and Cape Romano that are part of the Ten Thousand Islands chain. Clawson has said the measure will have a "profound, permanent and positive impact" on the region, including the tourism industry. He said he was originally driven to seek his seat in Congress by concerns about the local environment. The size of the area protected is believed to be the largest since legislation authorizing such protections was enacted in 1982. Clawson's bill also corrected some outdated maps of lands in the area making some private property available for flood insurance. Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society, said the area is a "virtual nursery" for avian and aquatic species that thrive in an estuary environment mixing fresh and salt waters. He mentioned blue herons, spoonbills, snapper and other species that thrive along the mangrove islands. operating oil and gas well profiled on sunset sky SHARE By Arek Sarkissian of the Naples Daily News TALLAHASSEE - A bill that would regulate fracking and do away with local bans is likely dead after it was withdrawn from consideration Tuesday during its second chance before the same committee that had rejected it. The bill sponsored by Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, had already failed to pass the Senate Appropriations Committee with a vote of 10-9, but it was given a chance for reconsideration and placed on Tuesday's committee agenda. Richter spent the weekend trying to change two of the 10 opposing committee votes, but he was unsuccessful. "I didn't have the votes," Richter said after the Tuesday meeting. "I worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday trying to convince my colleagues and I didn't have the votes." Richter was unable to sway Sens. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, and Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, in favor of the bill. Negron said he heard plenty of opposition from constituents around the Treasure Coast. He was also not convinced the bill would protect the environment. "I've got some concerns about how we're balancing the regulation with the way that we're protecting the environment," Negron said. Opponents of the bill, from local elected leaders to environmental groups, quietly rejoiced after Richter withdrew it. Kim Ross, president of ReThink Energy Florida, said overwhelming opposition from cities and counties influenced the vote. "They got what they wanted," Ross said of the cities and counties. "They did not want fracking in their backyards." Richter's bill called on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to carry out a yearlong, $1 million study of the environmental impact of fracking. DEP would have used the results from the study to create regulations that required ratification from the Legislature. The bill would also override more than 70 bans passed by cities and counties across the state over the past year. Lee County communities Bonita Springs and Estero were among the first to pass bans. Bonita Springs City Manager Carl Schwing said he appreciated the study included in the bill, but regulation should be left up to local governments. "We're very pleased that a bill that ignored what cities really wanted did not pass the Legislature," Schwing said. Richter's withdrawal of the bill left little chance for its House companion to survive. HB 191, by Rep. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, cleared the House in January with a vote of 73-45. Rodrigues said the likely death of Richter's bill left the state without any specific regulation of the oil drilling method. "I'm proud to have worked with (Richter) on these important issues and disappointed in the results," Rodrigues said. The most common form of the drilling process blasts rock with water to release oil and gas below ground. Another process - perhaps the most controversial - uses an acid mixture to eat into the rock. The issue surfaced in Collier County in December 2013 when the Dan H. Hughes Co. fracked about 1,000 feet from homes on the edge of the Everglades. The company refused to heed DEP's requests to stop. Hughes eventually ceased drilling, and the company was fined $20,000 for a work order violation. It was also ordered to install groundwater monitors around the site. The majority of the Collier County Commission were in support of Richter's bill. Commissioner Tim Nance said the bill was not perfect, but it provided DEP with some groundwork to stop companies such as Hughes from ignoring state orders. "It was by no means perfect but it was a start to lay out some ground rules," Nance said. "I definitely, like a lot of other people, had problems with the loss of home rule, but it was clear we had to do something." Contact Daily News reporter arek.sarkissian@naplesnews.com or 850-559-7620 SHARE By Joseph Cranney of the Naples Daily News The three candidates for Naples mayor faced questions Monday night regarding development, the airport and ways they would improve local government during the final debate before their March 15 election. From the start, the debate hosted by the Old Naples Association featured a different style from previous forums. Council members Bill Barnett and Teresa Heitmann, and Mayor John Sorey were frequently asked to give one-word responses and the debate ended with tough questions directed at individual candidates. The result was an hourlong discussion before a crowd of more than 180 at the Norris Center that yielded some of the campaign's most revealing moments. The candidates clarified their positions on how much power they think the City Council holds over the Naples Municipal Airport. They also gave opinions on the degree to which city codes should restrict downtown building plans. A notable exchange gave the impression Barnett, a longtime City Councilman, thinks the council's control of the airport is more limited than what his opponents believe. When asked if the council has a "substantial influence over the direction and policies at the airport," Barnett, who answered first, said, "False." Heitmann, a City Councilwoman for eight years, and Sorey both answered, "True." Airport issues are particularly important to Old Naples residents who live under flight paths and complain about noise. Heitmann and Sorey said they would work with the Naples Airport Authority to complete an up-to-date noise study, if elected. Barnett said his position depends on the will of the Naples Airport Authority, whose Board of Commissioners is appointed by the council. In defense of his record in his opening statement, Barnett said the airport's 75,000 pound weight limit, which restricts the size of jets, "must stay without any doubt." Barnett struck a different tone in his closing remarks than the most recent debate, when he described Sorey as self-serving and said Heitmann is an "expert at saying no to everything others propose." This time, Barnett sought to reaffirm his role as a consensus builder. "If I am elected your mayor again, I will find solutions we can all support," said Barnett, who previously served as mayor from 1996 to 2000, and 2004 to 2012. Sorey continued to promote his ideas of executive leadership, in which the mayor plays an active role in major projects. Speaking about how the city should get involved in a nearby county project, Sorey referred to his time as a combat infantryman in Vietnam, when, "If you do nothing, you get killed." "Doing nothing is not an alternative," Sorey said. Heitmann pointed to her record on recent redevelopment projects, in which she voted against some controversial projects that Barnett and Sorey voted to approve. Promising to protect neighborhoods, Heitmann said she would redirect the city's attention from commercial development to residential development. "It's time to refocus," Heitmann said. "It's time to have new leadership. It's time to have leadership that's responsible to the community and says what they mean, and means what they say." Sorey was asked toward the end of the debate about a trip to China he took last year, which the Naples Daily News reported Monday cost the city taxpayers $4,228. Sorey submitted a one-page invoice without supporting detailed receipts that would show specifically how the taxpayer money was spent, except for his air fare. Questioned about the purpose of the trip, Sorey said overseas investments can benefit the city. He cited a previous example of an Asian investor, who bought the Robb & Stucky furniture store out of bankruptcy. "We are a world economy," Sorey said. "Most Chinese wealthy individuals are looking to put resources overseas." SHARE The election year leaps in earnest now with Super Tuesday, local races heating up and a political landscape for the fall election that's beginning to come into focus. Tuesday's primaries and caucuses will help shape the decision that will come before Floridians in two weeks, as more than a dozen states and territories go through a presidential selection process. On Super Tuesday, more than 650 Republican delegates will be allocated to candidates, or about half of those needed to capture the nomination at the 2016 Republican National Convention in July in Cleveland. For Democrats, more than 850 delegates are up for grabs, or about 35 percent needed to secure the nomination at the Democratic National Convention, a week later in July in Philadelphia. Democrats and Republicans will then compete in several more states in the coming days. Together, those state primaries or caucuses may change the field viably left by the time Floridians hold their presidential preference primary March 15. So it's time for partisan Floridians who have dutifully registered to vote to begin sorting through the sound bites, demagoguery, dishonesty and absence of presidential decorum to weigh the remaining field on issues. Even if it comes down to a choice of the lesser of the evils, that's no excuse to stay away from the polls. City elections Party politics are on the sidelines in nonpartisan municipal elections in Naples and Bonita Springs, where mayor and council seats are up March 15. Unlike on the national stage, an excellent slate of candidates in each municipality leaves voters with multiple fine choices, not a lesser of the evils. Early voting in each city starts Saturday and goes through March 12. In Collier, it's from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. An early voting site in the city is Norris Center at Cambier Park, 755 8th Ave. S.; among other sites are Library Headquarters at 2385 Orange Blossom Drive and the Supervisor of Elections Office, 3295 U.S. 41 East. In Bonita Springs, early voting is 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; one site is the Bonita Springs office of the elections supervisor, Bonita Commons, 25987 U.S. 41. Politically charged No matter who speaks up first when the Naples City Council meets at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, political undertones will accompany any discussion of Mayor John Sorey's poorly documented trip to China at city expense in January 2015. The Daily News reported Monday that Sorey went on the eight-day trip that cost city taxpayers $4,228 in hopes of interesting an investor in Naples. Among seven members, Sorey and two council members are running for mayor on the March 15 ballot. The other four members have publicly stated their support for one candidate or another. So, no matter who brings up Sorey's trip, it will appear political because the trip was more than a year ago and is just now coming up after council member allegiances have been openly cast. Yet it needs to be aired. We suggest a council directive that any member taking an out-of-town trip at taxpayer expense be required to report back to council on the cost and benefit at the next meeting after the member returns, or face a financial penalty. Fall elections Last week's announcement by Collier Commissioner Georgia Hiller that she is running against adversary Dwight Brock for the Clerk of Courts position he holds will have side-effects. Candidates will begin lining up later for Hiller's district. Two other commissioners are leaving Tim Nance and Tom Henning, who is listed as a fire board candidate. Each of their commission districts already have several candidates running. Ditto for two Collier School Board seats with a total of five candidates so far. Those votes are months away, but it's time to start tuning in because a new majority could take control and send the County Commission and School Board in new directions. Coming Wednesday: We begin our endorsements in local March 15 contests. SHARE Guy Turcotte, Naples A demurrer I'm torn, undecided as to which target to launch my 275 or so slings and arrows at: that proto-Fascist, Donald Trump? The benighted fools who support him? Gun insanity? Republican Supreme Court obstruction? Naples traffic? So many deliciously tempting subjects, each deserving of ridicule and contumely, but none as tempting as the Rev. Les Wicker's recent screed. But first, a caveat: I am a non-believer in supernatural beings, unwilling to surrender reason for the dubious comforts religions promise. However, I have zero interest in wasting my time trying to convince you that I'm right. Still, Wicker pushed my "whoa!" button when he wrote that societies where Godness is suppressed he mentions the Soviet Union as an example are societies where "such moral traits as goodness, love, hope, and kindness" (I'll give him a pass on love and hope as moral traits) are absent, causing people to become "hard and even sinister." So focused is Rev. Wicker on his message, so zealous in his appeal to the choir that he fails to realize what a monumental insult he has heaped upon billions of human beings who live/have lived in countries where religious sects are suppressed. Atheism, in other words, means that all citizens of, say, China, Russia, Cuba, etc. are, ipso facto, devoid of morality of love, hope, and kindness, which is, of course, complete and utter rubbish. Wicker has repeated the long-discredited canard that morality is solely the province of religion. It is not; civilization rests securely and depends on the Golden Rule with its emphasis on reciprocity and empathy. Gods, in other words, are unnecessary. SHARE William H. Poteet Jr., Naples Best for Florida There is only one candidate in the Republican presidency race who will be good for Florida. Sen. Marco Rubio is the only one who has his allegiance to our great state. As for experience, as Speaker of the Florida House he crafted balanced budgets in the tune of $66 billion annually, a budget larger than 135 different countries. He is by far the most knowledgeable and the strongest on foreign policy, believes in limited government, lower taxes, family values, and free enterprise. Most importantly, Rubio embodies the qualities you want in a president respect, honor, loyalty, determination and fairness. He brings hope for our future. Marco Rubio will unite our party, win the presidency, and lead us to greatness in the 21st century. SHARE Mary Storto, North Naples Finally a decision I've been almost distraught about our upcoming election this year. Mostly I've been terrified that possibly Donald Trump could win. I am a registered "Independent" and have been paying close attention to what and who is available that would do the most good for our country in these trying times. After the Iowa debates, I was relieved that Sen. Ted Cruz beat Trump. I was hoping for either Sen. Marco Rubio or Cruz to win and was elated that Trump at least was not first. However, I still didn't feel that great about either Cruz or Rubio. In the back of my mind, I always thought that Gov. John Kasich from Ohio seemed the best in all areas but discounted him because of reading that he didn't have a chance. At the beginning, I thought Dr. Ben Carson had a chance. I still love him and his humor but don't think he'd be good or strong enough for politics. All I felt for Jeb Bush was pity and was sure he'd leave. At one time, I could have voted for Hillary Clinton but now see her for the phony she's proven to be. Carly Fiorina sounded so competent, intelligent and so well-informed but there was something about her that I couldn't pinpoint and I just didn't like her. If it's so important to have a woman president (not to me), she could well have been the one to beat Hillary Clinton. I'd probably personally like Sen. Bernie Sanders but he's a little too far left for me and I do believe it's been proven that socialism just doesn't work. Now, after studying the New Hampshire debates, I believe I've made my choice (not that anyone else really cares). Hands down, I think and predict John Kasich to be our next president and I hope that Jeb Bush is available as vice president. SHARE JoAnn Smallwood, Naples Where the buck stops I would like to clarify some misinformation about Gulf Shore Boulevard's landscaping debacle. I can do so because I was involved from the beginning. In June, a contract was approved by the mayor and a majority of City Council, and 400-plus mature palms and 85 mature canopy trees were chain-sawed. Immediately a group of citizens contacted Mayor John Sorey's office, demanding a meeting and an explanation. On Aug. 11, more than 100 very angry residents attended a special meeting some even flew in from up North. The mayor and city staff tried to justify the chain sawing. After much heated discussion the mayor stated that if he knew in June what he knew now, he would have made the same decision. Residents were told they would have to accept the situation. That meeting further energized residents who continued their networking. By late August considerable progress had been made in gaining a sympathetic ear to the plight of Gulf Shore Boulevard. Among the first to step up was Councilman Bill Barnett who declared: "We made a big mistake we need to fix it." From that moment, the determination to fix Gulf Shore Boulevard North snowballed. The ongoing effort to restore Gulf Shore Boulevard is a result of citizens who were aghast at what occurred, disillusioned about the mayor's initial response, and then quickly acted to right the wrong. Mayor Sorey should not take credit for what the residents achieved. When Gulf Shore Boulevard North's 4,000 registered voters go to the polls on March 15, please remember who occupied the mayor's office when the trees were killed. The buck stops at the mayor's office. SHARE Garrett Richter By Sen. Garrett Richter, Naples District 23 In 2013, the Florida Legislature updated the expert evidence standard used in our courts. I was honored to be the Senate sponsor for this important change to our laws. Now, the Florida Supreme Court is considering whether to acknowledge the Legislature's directive, or ignore it in favor of its own opinion. First, let me explain how we got here. In a legal proceeding, both sides may present "expert" witnesses. Since an expert's opinion is just that an opinion the courts allow either side to question whether the opinion meets certain thresholds for scientific evidence, and as a result, whether the opinion should be allowed and admitted for consideration. Expert opinions have a powerful influence on juries and often determine case outcome. That is why justice can best be served if people masquerading as experts are not allowed to speak to the jury. Prior to 2013, Florida's courts used a 90-year-old standard to determine whether a proposed expert opinion could be scientifically justified and admitted. This standard grew out of step with modern world advances in medicine, science and engineering. Even worse, several Florida Supreme Court decisions over the years allowed people to claim to be an expert based solely on their personal opinion, and no science at all. This situation contributed to an unpredictable and uncertain legal environment that undermined trust in the legal system as a fair process. As the Legislature studied the issue, we learned that Florida was lagging behind, as all federal courts and nearly all state courts had moved to a better, more stringent standard based on a 1993 Supreme Court case, Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. Under this modern scientific standard, judges act as "gatekeepers" and are responsible for ensuring that expert opinions presented in court are based on sound science, relevant and reliable. Finally in 2013, after years of dedicated study and countless hours of testimony and discussion, we changed Florida's expert evidence standard to Daubert. Since then, in a disturbing turn of events, The Florida Bar is continuing a fight the trial lawyers lost, and they are asking the Supreme Court to ignore the law and the Legislature and keep the outdated standard. According to the Bar, the expert evidence standard falls under the court's right to determine its own procedures. Let's face it the trial lawyers who control The Florida Bar have an interest in preserving an outdated standard that encourages bogus claims and jackpot litigation. All the arguments raised by The Florida Bar now were also raised when the Legislature considered this issue, but ultimately we decided to make the change. Who exactly is The Florida Bar to substitute their perspective for the will of the people? I am confident that all three branches of government want to ensure that Floridians' substantive right to a fair trial isn't lost in a courtroom where self-proclaimed "experts" can drive out the proper consideration of modern scientific concepts and processes. The Supreme Court should respect the Legislature's decision and implement the Daubert expert evidence standard. Bob Edwards, Managing Director Investments, Senior PIM Portfolio Manager of Moran Edwards Asset Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors (www.MoranEdwards.com), will host a seminar titled, Florida Domicile, on Tuesday, March 1 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Advisors Building located at 5801 Pelican Bay Boulevard in Naples. Attorney Adam Kerlek of Bond, Schoeneck and King will discuss the benefits of Florida domicile; what to do when you move to Florida; and planning your estate under Florida law. Seating is limited. Make a reservation by calling 239-513-2511. The opinions expressed by the guest attorney at this seminar reflect the judgment of the author as of the date of the event and are subject to change without notice and are not necessarily those of Wells Fargo Advisors or its affiliates. Tom Moran and Bob Edwards, Managing Directors - Investments Senior PIM Portfolio Managers of Moran Edwards Asset Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors (www.MoranEdwards.com), will host a seminar series titled, Whats Ahead for Investors in 2016 on March 1 and March 2 at the following locations and times. Tuesday, March 1, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Moran Edwards office at the Wells Fargo Building, 5801 Pelican Bay Boulevard, Naples Wednesday, March 2, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Trianon Bonita Bay, 3401 Bay Commons Drive, Bonita Springs The seminar series will include information about the following topics: A focus on performance: how is your investment portfolio performing in the market? How we plan to navigate risk in a year of change: what it may mean for investors. What rising rates could mean for investment portfolios. Building better portfolios: the role of stocks, bonds and non-traditional asset classes. Seating is limited, so please make a reservation by calling 239-513-2511. February conjures visions of hearts and passion. For ten families and their young adults with developmental disabilities, the month illuminated a dream for the future that was built on their passions with heartfelt input from parents, friends and professionals from local nonprofit Adonis Autism and Picasso Einstein, an educational consulting firm in South Florida that envisions a future of self-employed individuals with disabilities as a societal norm. Picasso Einstein assists both individuals with disabilities as well as their families to explore, establish and initiate small business ventures with the main purpose of providing meaningful employment for the person with a disability, explains co-founder Boaz, It is what we call Person-Ventured Entrepreneurship. Picasso Einstein was founded by Boaz & his wife, Minerva Vazquez Santiago, an entrepreneur with expertise in the areas of business law and special needs law. The couple is raising two teenage sons with autism, making the mission of Picasso Einstein that much more meaningful. The three-day workshop last week, hosted at the United Way's conference center in North Naples, focused on options and opportunities that are outside of the traditional thought process when imagining employment for people with disabilities. Teaching alongside Boaz was Picasso Einstein team member, Jennie Trocchio-Kirkland, an autism expert and Special Education Professor at Lynn University. This is Picasso Einstein's third and most comprehensive workshop in Collier County. Ten families attended the pilot program from February 15 17 that required attendees to tackle difficult questions and brainstorm together on everything from establishing a strong peer support network to favorite motivational music. Entrepreneurship is a buzzword we usually see associated with high tech innovations or Shark Tank product inventions, but it comprises a wide spectrum of ventures, ranging from the most complex to the simple. For young adults with developmental disabilities like cerebral palsy and autism, self employment offers another door to post-secondary education. "More than 150,000 students with disabilities age out of the U.S. school system each spring, and graduates greatly outnumber the jobs that currently exist in today's market," says Debby Kays, executive director of Adonis Autism. "This is one of the top needs we have identified in our community, along with housing, respite care and transportation. It fits together as we prepare for the future, and Picasso Einstein teaches families and individuals to develop strategies to meet these challenges." Road-mapping options for everyone, even those with limited communication skills, behavioral and physical challenges, is Picasso Einstein's focus. The individuals and their families, along with an extended support network, move the plan forward based on their unique business plans. Or, they may opt to pursue more traditional employment if they determine that is their desired path. Developing a person-centered plan is key for both outcomes. Parents and their young adults were excited about their prospects at the end of the three-day session. I am self-employed but never considered it for my daughter living with autism. said Darlene Lanza. This has helped me look at my daughters circumstance in a different way. I am very grateful and excited to think differently and get started. Thinking differently is the first step in solving challenges, and establishing a strong support network is vital. Adonis Autism received support and sponsorship for the seminar from the Joseph J. Schott Foundation, Lance McKinney PA, Terry Kays and the Marco Island Hilton. Picasso Einstein believes that entrepreneurship involves both art and intelligence into the sustainable independence equation. Were looking forward to the amazing and varied opportunities that lie ahead for our students and their families, says Boaz. For more information about Adonis Autism, check out adonisautism.org, contact Debby Kays at debby.adonisautism@gmail.com or follow Adonis Autism on Facebook. To read more about self-employment for people with disabilities, go to www.picassoeinstein.com and sign up for their newsletter. Welcome to the Narco News Archives Narco News published original investigative journalism & analysis for 19 years (2000 - 2019) on the "war on drugs" from Latin America, and on social movements, community organizing, nonviolent resistance and election campaigns throughout the world. In 2001, Narco News won the landmark New York Supreme Court case, Banco Nacional de Mexico vs. Al Giordano, Mario Menendez and Narco News; this case extended First Amendment rights to the Internet and journalists who publish on it. The independent online newspaper did not accept advertising but cut a wide swath (Boston Globe), with "hard-hitting reporting" (Fairness & Accuracy in Media), that "broke a string of scoops" (The Guardian), that were "on the mark and well documented" (Washington Post). "The new, independent journalists of the Internet, as personified by Al Giordano" (Electronic Frontier Foundation), who "actually makes things happen" (Gary Webb, 1955 - 2004), invented "the platinum standard in Authentic Journalism" (Barry Crimmins, 1953-2018). You can read more of what the critics have said at www.narconews.com/mediacritics1.html. Here, free to the public, you will find two decades of reports in seven languages, including major drug war scoops by Bill Conroy, the censored San Jose Mercury-News "Dark Alliance" series by Gary Webb, early viral videos from Narco News TV, translations to English of Latin American and other international news stories otherwise unreported in the United States, in-depth reporting on the Obama presidential campaign in 2007 and 2008 by Al Giordano, "the prophet of the Obama paradigm shift" (Vanity Fair), and original reporting by hundreds of journalists from almost every corner of the planet. The nonprofit Fund for Authentic Journalism is currently rebuilding the Narco News site to fix broken links and graphics that too often on the Internet get disappeared forever as the technology of web platforms becomes regularly replaced and must be updated to preserve the history of early online journalism. We beg your patience as we complete this kind of archeological dig and repair of these vital reports and stories. Please consider supporting the preservation of real reporting through the nonprofit Fund for Authentic Journalism, via the donate links at our website: authenticjournalism.org. If you have tech skills and can volunteer to help repair and update this important historical record, please contact Al Giordano at al@organizeandwin.com. Thank you for your readership and participation in 19 years of journalism history and for your support as we continue to support authentic journalism in the present and future. The Fund for Authentic Journalism Ocwen Financial in West Palm Beach, Fla., is the target of a second Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its mortgage servicing practices. The company, formerly based in Atlanta, made the disclosure in its 10-K filing on Monday. That news, along with the announcement of a full-year loss of $247 million and a fourth-quarter loss of $224 million, has caused Ocwen's stock price when adjusted for splits to plunge to levels not seen since the spring of 2008, according to data from Yahoo Finance. Ocwen shares fell nearly 45% Tuesday, to $2.10 apiece, with a low point during the day of $2.05. Almost 34 million shares changed hands. On Monday the low during the day was $3.73, and the trading volume was almost 12.7 million shares. On Friday, Ocwen closed at $6.15 per share, with a trading volume of 2.6 million shares. According to the 10-K, on Feb. 11 of this year the SEC sent a letter informing Ocwen that the agency was conducting an investigation of fees and expenses charged regarding liquidated loans and real-estate-owned properties held in nonagency residential mortgage-backed securities trusts. As previously disclosed, nearly a year earlier the SEC sent a letter to Ocwen stating it was conducting an investigation into the use of collection agents by mortgage servicers. Ocwen said it believes that letter "was also sent to other companies in the industry." An SEC spokesman, Ryan White, declined to comment on either investigation. During Ocwen's conference call Monday, when asked about the fees and expenses investigation, President and Chief Executive Ronald Faris said that he could not comment but that Ocwen feels confident that the fees that are part of the servicing business that are either assessed to borrowers or passed on to RMBS investors are monitored closely by master servicers and trustees. "We've had various third parties look at them," Faris said. "We have a good sense as to what others servicers have done since we've acquired a lot of servicing portfolios and have been able to see what industry practice has been, and we feel comfortable that our process is within industry practice." Ocwen has had its share of legal and regulatory battles over its servicing practices. The company's portfolio activities are monitored as part of the $25 million national mortgage settlement. It also paid $2.5 million to settle a case with California regulators in January 2015 and $150 million to New York in a December 2014 deal that forced its founder, William Erbey, to resign as chairman. "We must continue to work with California and New York to both lift our restrictions on servicing rights acquisitions and to allow us to operate in a more normalized business environment which includes winding down the monitorships and associated costs," Faris said on the call Monday. In January Ocwen paid $2 million to the SEC to settle charges it misstated its financial results. A press release from Zacks Investment Research said "the magnitude of the [fourth-quarter] loss took the market by surprise." As for the two latest probes, Zacks commented, "We remain concerned about the impact of mounting compliance and monitoring expenses, apart from the endless regulatory probes into the company's near-term financials." Attorneys Title Agency in Farmington Hills, Mich., has acquired the direct operations of Stewart Title in Michigan. The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal, which was announced on Monday. Attorneys Title will add Stewart's three locations in Michigan and keep the majority of Stewart's employees attached to those locations. Attorneys Title established a new division as a result of the acquisition. Its National Relocation Services division will provide employee-relocation title and settlement services. The contributions women have made throughout the years are apparent in all walks of life, and the Air Force is no exception. With the observation of Womens History Month in March, visitors to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force can view exhibits that pay tribute to the accomplishments and achievements of women who served in the Air Force. In the World War II Gallery, visitors can learn about U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) flight nurses and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). A tribute to flight nurse Capt. Lillian Kinkela Keil can be found in the Korean War Gallery. The global scope of World War II (WWII) forced the USAAF to revolutionize military medical care through the development of air evacuation and the use of flight nurses. On Feb. 18, 1943, the U.S. Army Nurse Corps first class of flight nurses formally graduated at Bowman Field, near Louisville, Ky. Eventually, about 500 Army nurses served as members of 31 medical air evacuation transport squadrons operating worldwide. It is a tribute to their skill that of the 1,176,048 patients air evacuated throughout the war, only 46 died en route. Seventeen flight nurses lost their lives during the war. Their story is told in the museums Winged Angels: USAAF Flight Nurses in WWII exhibit. Facing the need for male combat pilots, the situation by mid-1942 favored the use of experienced women pilots to fly USAAF aircraft within the United States. Two womens aviator units were formed to ease this need and more than 1,000 women participated in these programs as civilians attached to the USAAF. These were merged into a single group the WASP program in August 1943 and broke ground for U.S. Air Force female pilots who would follow in their footsteps. The WASP exhibit displays uniforms and features a mannequin standing near the cockpit of an AT-10. Capt. Lillian Kinkela Keil was one of the most accomplished women in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, and one of the most decorated women in American military history. She served as a flight nurse during WWII and returned to active duty when the Korean War broke out. Her extraordinary experiences inspired the 1953 Hollywood movie Flight Nurse, and she remained active in veterans affairs until her death in 2005. Keils service dress uniform is displayed in the Aeromedical Evacuation exhibit in the Korean War Gallery. Details about museum exhibits and online resources related to Womens History Month are available at www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Collections/Research/WomensHistory.aspx. Finally, the Air Force Museum Theatre will continue its Living History Film Series on March 12 with an event commemorating Womens History Month. Beginning at 4 p.m., the theatre will screen Beyond the Powder: The Legacy of The First Womens Cross-Country Air Race. Dr. Terry Von Thaden, granddaughter of Louise Thaden who won the first race in 1929, will join filmmakers Kara Martinelli and Adam White to share personal insight on the film. Tickets are available at the theatres ticket counter for $10 ($8 for museum Friends Members) or by calling (937) 253-4629. The theatre is operated by the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc., a Section 501(c)(3) private, non-profit organization that assists the Air Force in the development and expansion of museum facilities. The Living History Film Series is sponsored by Texas Road House, the Boeing Co. and Holiday Inn Dayton-Fairborn. (No federal endorsement implied.) The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the worlds largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about one million visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil. NOTE TO PUBLIC: For more information, please contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at (937) 255-3286. NOTE TO MEDIA: For more information, please contact Sarah Swan at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs Division at (937) 255-1283. The NATO Secretary General Mr. Jens Stoltenberg will visit the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, 2 March 2016. During his visit, Mr. Stoltenberg will have meetings with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, His Highness Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, His Highness Sheikh Abullah bin Zayed al-Nayan, with the Minister of State for Defence Affairs, His Excellency Mohammed Ahmed Al Bawardi Al Falasi, with the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Hamad Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithi. Mr. Stoltenberg will also visit the Joint Operation Centre to the French Naval base in the UAE and will be welcomed by the Commander of the Maritime Area of the Indian Ocean, RADM Antoine Beaussant. Still and video imagery will be available from the NATO website after the event. Follow us on Twitter (@NATOPress and @jensstoltenberg). The programme of the visit is subject to change. For further information, please contact the NATO Press and Media Service at tel: + 32 2 707 50 41. The people were told to drink the poisoned water State employees in Michigan heard a different story Will anyone be held responsible? (NaturalNews) In 2014, by the order of the state, the city of Flint, Michigan, switched its water source from Detroit's Lake Huron, to the notoriously murky Flint River . The excuse? The city was too poor to afford clean water.The result? For almost two years, residents of Flint and their children were consistently poisoned with lead . Lower IQs, developmental delays and learning difficulties, are only some of the permanent effects of lead in these children, while the recent spike in the numbers of Legionnaire's disease in the affected area has also been linked to the poor treatment of the water. Once the situation was properly acknowledged and a state of emergency was declared in 2016, residents were given bottled water to drink.But the story was not the same for state employees in Michigan , who knew beforehand that the water systems were in a state of collapse It seems like yesterday that Former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling went on local TV and drank the lead-poisoned water in order to make a point about its safety. At the time, people were already receiving notices stating that Flint was in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. This is just how the residents of Flint, Michigan, were bullied into drinking unsafe tap water for almost two years.Although they immediately reported the poor quality of the water as soon as the switch to the Flint River took place, no one paid attention until a group of researchers from Virginia Tech took matters into their own hands. When testing the tap water in Flint they discovered high levels of lead. Still, state officials ignored these results and fronted their own, more "accurate" research.Finally, in October 2015, the issue was publicly acknowledged and the water source was switched back to Lake Huron. In January 2016, the National Guard was mobilized to distribute bottled water to all the residents in Flint, Michigan.But here's the thing: If state officials were so convinced of the water's safety, then why did the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget decide to bring water coolers into the Flint state building in January 2015, a full year before the water crisis was publicly acknowledged? On each occupied floor, a cooler was placed next to the water fountain so as to give state employees a choice to drink clean, purified water According to the DTMB, the coolers were to remain in the building for as long as "the public water does not meet treatment requirements."The big picture doesn't get any clearer than this. In 2015, everyone knew that the tap water in Flint was unsafe, but in the media , the story was a different one. State officials quietly received clean water through the course of the entire year, while other residents had to struggle to obtain the same treatment one year later in 2016 As outrageous as this may seem, it is perhaps even more disturbing that up to this day no one has been held responsible for this man-made water disaster. In 2012, the emergency manager for Flint, Michigan, rejected the idea of using the city's river for water. Only 16 months later, the Snyder administration decided otherwise , and claimed that the Flint River was a safe water source.What's worse, it seems that even if Flint had maintained its original water source, it would have saved the same amount of money . Why, then, was the water source switched? And when will someone take official responsibility for the life-long consequences of this act for the residents of Flint? The DARK Act's Survival Depends on Keeping People in the Dark Accounting for the Confusion: The Decisive Role of Deception The Delusions Cannot Last Much Longer (NaturalNews) An ardent attempt is afoot on Capitol Hill to prevent states from requiring the labeling of genetically engineered foods made especially urgent by the fact that Vermont's labeling bill is set to take effect July 1st.Although proponents of these foods scored a major victory in July when they induced the House of Representatives to pass a bill (HR 1599) that would ban such state-enacted legislation, a version of that bill has not yet been introduced in the Senate; and because of the intense focus on crafting and passing crucial legislation that will provide necessary funding to keep the federal government functioning, none is likely to be during this session. Accordingly, biotech advocates are endeavoring to get key provisions of HR 1599 attached as a rider to the must-pass appropriations bill and sneak them into law without meaningful scrutiny and debate. But this attempt could be quickly foiled by one simple occurrence: the dissemination of a few essential facts. Moreover, if these facts had been widely known in July, HR 1599 could not have even made it through the House. That's because the bill has always relied on disinformation and could not survive an open airing of the truth. (Story by Steven M. Druker, republished from IndependentScienceNews.org .)HR 1599 was artfully titled the "Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015."But because it would actually restrict the labeling of GE foods, public interest groups dubbed ittheon keep consumers in the dark, the legislators were significantly operating in the dark themselves. Indeed, it's safe to say that virtually every member of the House who voted on that bill whether for or against was mistaken about at least one of the key relevant facts.Some of the greatest confusion involves food safety. For instance, the bill's sponsor, Congressman Pompeo, declared that consumer demands for labeling of GE foods have nothing to do with health or safety, and its other supporters have backed that assertion and proclaimed that no legitimate food safety concerns exist. Even the main witness who testified against the bill before a congressional committee in 2014 declared that there aren't any. But this is flat-out false. For example, science-based concerns about the dangers to human health were repeatedly raised in memos written by the technical experts at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) when they analyzed the risks of genetic engineering in 1991. The pervasiveness of the concerns within the scientific staff is attested by a memo from an FDA official who asserted: "The processes of genetic engineering and traditional breeding are different, and according to the technical experts in the agency, they lead to different risks."Such concerns have been expressed in subsequent years by numerous other scientists and scientific institutions as well, including the British Medical Association, the Public Health Association of Australia, and the respected medical journal The Lancet. One of the strongest set of cautions appeared within an extensive report issued by the Royal Society of Canada, which declared (a) that it is "scientifically unjustifiable" to presume that GE foods are safe and (b) that the "default presumption" for every one of them should be that the genetic alteration has induced unintended and potentially harmful side effects.Laboratory testing has confirmed the legitimacy of the concerns, and a number of well-conducted research studies on GE foods published in peer-reviewed scientific journals have detected statistically significant instances of harm to the laboratory animals that were consigned to consume them. Moreover, a review of the scientific literature on GE foods (itself published in a peer-reviewed journal in 2009) concluded that "most" of the safety assessments have not only indicated problems, but indicated that "many GM [genetically modified] foods have some common toxic effects."Confusion also reigns regarding the adequacy of federal regulation, and it's widely believed that the FDA is assiduously following the law and subjecting GE foods to rigorous scientific review. But in reality (and as will be seen), that agency has not conducted a genuinely scientific review for any GE food on the market, and far from following the law, it's been deliberately violating the law's express mandates in order to enable these products to be marketed without the kinds of testing that the law requires.The widespread misconceptions about GE foods have been created and sustained through the systematic spreading of disinformation by a large number of their proponents. Deplorably, one of the chief spreaders has been the FDA; and if that agency had not routinely distorted the facts and instead told the truth the GE food venture would almost surely have collapsed.For instance, when the FDA issued its policy statement on GE foods in 1992, it claimed it was "not aware of any information showing that foods derived by these new methods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way,"despite the fact its files contained multiple memos from its own scientists explaining how GE foods do indeed differ, why they pose greater risks, and why none should be presumed safe unless its safety has been demonstrated through rigorous testing.Moreover, the FDA compounded the fraud by claiming that GE foods were "Generally Recognized as Safe" among experts and could be marketed without the requirement of any safety testing at all, even though its files reveal that it knew there was no expert consensus and even though the law mandates that foods containing novel substances must be established safe through solid technical evidence.Furthermore, to create the illusion that responsible regulation was being exercised, the agency set up a voluntary consultation process that it claims affords "rigorous" review. But the process is not a genuine scientific review, and the FDA's Biotechnology Strategic Manager has acknowledged that fact while admitting that the agency does not even request or receive any original test data.The agency's shameful behavior continues, and although by now it is well aware of much more information showing that GE foods significantly differ from others, it persists in its bogus claim that it is "not aware" of any; and this blatant falsehood was repeated by an FDA official on October 21st at a hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee. She also asserted that the consultation process is so rigorous that it resolves "all safety issues," which is not only misleading but ridiculous, because the process is far too superficial to achieve such certitude.Because the facts weigh so heavily against the GE food venture, and because it has relied on distorting them in order to survive, it cannot long endure. When enough people in general, or even a small number on Capitol Hill, finally learn the truth and realize the extent to which the truth has been consistently twisted there will be dramatic change. And if a sufficient dose of enlightenment were to soon suffuse The Hill, the Dark Act would be dead.The author is Executive Director of theRead more at IndependentScienceNews.org [1] Document 1 atThe FDA covered up the memos from its scientists, and they only came to light because a lawsuit initiated by the Alliance for Bio-Integrity compelled the agency to release its files on GE foods.[2]prepared by The Royal Society of Canada at the request of Health Canada Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Environment Canada" The Royal Society of Canada, January 2001[3] Dona, A., and I. S. Arvanitouannis (2009) Health Risks of Genetically Modified Foods. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 49: 164-75.[4][5] The legal requirements are delineated at 21 CFR Sec. 170.30 (a-b). For a fuller explanation of what the law requires for GRAS status and how the FDA has been violating the requirements, see Chapter 5 of my book, Altered Genes, Twisted Truth, or my article, "Why the FDA's Policy on Genetically Engineered Foods is Unscientific, Irresponsible, and Illegal." [6] Maryanski, J., "Safety Assurance of Foods Derived by Modern Biotechnology in the United States," July 1996.[7] Statement of Susan Mayne, PhD, Director, FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, before the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, U.S. Senate, October 21, 2015. More pills to more people equals more ODs They're known to be highly addictive and, in 2013, nearly a third of the 23,000 people who died from prescription drug overdoses were taking them. Bachhuber's team looked at large health surveys to find trends in their use and abuse. This ought to be criminal (NaturalNews) Big Pharma is claiming more and more victims every year, but "the system" appears to be on autopilot, and there is little to no political will in Washington, D.C., to reverse course.As reported by, new research shows that more Americans than ever before are overdosing on anxiety drugs, but scientists say they aren't sure why (we have an idea more on that here ).According to the new study, not only are more Americansthose drugs, which include brand names like Xanax and Valium, but they taking themResearchers also found that the quantity of prescriptions tripled between 1996 and 2013, but the number of overdoses quadrupled during the same period. The research was published in the"We found that the death rate from overdoses involving benzodiazepines, also known as 'benzos,' has increased more than four-fold since 1996 a public health problem that has gone under the radar," said Dr. Marcus Bachhuber of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, a co-leader of the study."Overdoses from benzodiazepines have increased at a much faster rate than prescriptions for the drugs, indicating that people have been taking them in a riskier way over time," Bachhuber added.Big Pharma, with the assistance of the "traditional" medical establishment, has made benzodiazepines extremely popular in the United States. Then again, patients have a responsibility here, too: Too many have allowed themselves to be talked into thinking that for every anxiety or concern they have, no matter how infrequent or minuscule, theysomething they can use to. In steps Big Pharma. And Big Medicine.In the last century, when drugs like this were not available, Americansbuck up and "deal with" things not small things, either. Such society-changing events like the Great Depression and World War II transformed the Americans who lived in that era into "the Greatest Generation," many believe. And it was a generation that didn't get its feelings hurt, its psyche damaged or its "safe space" violated. And it was a generation that a) didn't kill itself; and b) didn't need drugging to deal with everyday life.How things have changed. Today, more than 5 percent of U.S. adults will fill a prescription for benzodiazepine every year, for all sorts of conditions including anxiety, (supposed) mood disorders and an inability to sleep well.Asnoted further:"The rate of overdose deaths involving benzodiazepines increased more than four-fold from 0.58 per 100,000 adults to 3.07 per 100 000 adults," the researchers wrote. "However, this rate appeared to plateau after 2010.""Between 1996 and 2013, the number of adults filling a benzodiazepine prescription increased 67 percent, from 8.1 million to 13.5 million," the team continued.Researchers discovered a similarly large increase in the number of pills that adults were being prescribed, though to the research team it wasn't clear why overdoses went up so much (it is to click here .)"It could be people are taking the drugs for longer times, raising the odds that they'll eventually overdose,"reported. "Or it could be the pills are getting to people who don't have prescriptions, the researchers wrote."These mind- and mood-altering drugs are not safe, as has repeatedly been demonstrated at PsychDrugShooters.com . But for some reason profits? the medical industry and Big Pharma keep cranking them out, in higher doses and in greater numbers to more people.That the mainstream medical community refuses to acknowledge the direct link between these increases and the increases in overdoses and deaths ought to be criminal. Rosemary from ancient times to the present The potential health benefits of rosemary oil Growing your own rosemary at home (NaturalNews) Rosemary is an evergreen herb native to the Mediterranean, and a member of the mint family, alongside oregano, thyme, basil and lavender. Although some of us are most familiar with the culinary uses of rosemary, this beautifully scented herb is also commonly used in cosmetics, perfumes and traditional medicine.As a rich source of iron, calcium and vitamin B6, rosemary displays numerous health benefits and has been hailed by medics since ancient times for alleviating muscle pain, improving memory and boosting the circulatory system. Rosemary oil shares some of these uses, and makes an absolutely delightful addition to any aromatherapy kit In Ancient Greece, rosemary was considered to be one of the most important plants. Its name was derived from the Latin "rosmarinus," which translates into "dew of the sea." Although our ancestors were also impressed with this herb's wonderful fragrance and its tasty condiment qualities, in ancient times it was primarily used to improve memory. Students in Ancient Greece would braid it into their hair because they believed it would help them pass their exams. As it later turned out, they were right to do so.Shakespeare was also familiar with the beneficial link between rosemary and memory, which is why he mentioned the aromatic herb in Hamlet ("There's rosemary, that's for remembrance"). Famous herbalists throughout the ages recommended it for improving a patient's failing memory , while in Europe and Asia, it became a symbol for remembrance. As such, it would often be placed on graves by loved ones or offered by women to traveling men.As many of our ancestors rightly observed, rosemary was indeed linked to increased blood circulation and improved cognitive performance A study from 2013 showed that even sniffing rosemary can improve memory by as much as 75 percent. In addition, the herb is a rich source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, including carnosic acid, which is able to prevent free radical damage in the brain and significantly slow down brain aging.Rosemary essential oil also shows promising health benefits. It is known to help detoxify the liver and regulate the bile as a part of the digestive process, while relieving flatulence, stomach cramps and constipation. Rosemary oil can also be used for stress relief and reducing the levels of cortisol, as well as for pain relief, especially with rheumatism, sprains or joint aches. Last but not least, inhaling the scent of the oil can help with throat congestion, respiratory allergies, bronchial asthma, colds and the flu, due to its antiseptic action and antispasmodic effect.Got a spare pot at home? Planting and growing your own rosemary is as easy as it gets, especially if you live in a warm climate. Otherwise, you can always bring the rosemary plant inside throughout the cold season, and you'll still be able to keep it green all year long. Once you've harvested your first rosemary herbs, you'll be able to dry them and use them as condiments, or transform them into a homemade essential oil All you need are a few sterilized jars, a cup of rosemary and two cups of oil. If you'd like to use the homemade rosemary oil for cosmetic purposes, then you'll need some baby or almond oil to work with. For general purposes, you can utilize canola or safflower oil. At first, put your rosemary in the jar and cover it with the oil. Then, cap the jar tightly and place it in a warm spot (a sunny place, a windowsill or a warm cupboard). About one week later, when you notice the rosemary turning brown, take the cap off and smell the oil. If the smell is strong enough, strain it thoroughly and pour it in a clean jar. And voila! Your rosemary oil is ready to use. (NaturalNews) German beer as in, beer is almost a food group in and of itself. For beer connoisseurs, German brands are generally at the top of their lists.But that may be about to change, after new scientific analyses of several German brews found them to contain varying levels of the primary ingredient in Monsanto's main herbicide, Roundup As reported by, the Munich Environmental Institute has recently released the shocking laboratory evidence: 14 of the most widely sold beers in Germany contain glyphosate, the world's most common and most widely used herbicide, which was labeled a potential carcinogen by the World Health Organization last year.Here are the results of the testing:Hasseroder Pils 29,74 g/l (ppb)Jever Pils 23,04 g/lWarsteiner Pils 20,73 g/lRadeberger Pilsner 12,01 g/lVeltins Pilsener 5,78 g/lOettinger Pils 3,86 g/lKonig Pilsener 3,35 g/lKrombacher Pils 2,99 g/lErdinger Weisbier 2,92 g/lPaulaner Weisbier 0,66 g/lBitburger Pils 0,55 g/lBeck's Pils 0,50 g/lFranziskaner Weisbier 0,49 g/lAugustiner Helles 0,46 g/lPerhaps predictably, the German Brewers' Association reacted by calling the study "not credible," but went on to admit that low residues of the likely human carcinogen could not be completely prevented from winding up in beers because, "the herbicide is now found virtually everywhere after decades of use in agriculture."Of the findings,Director Henry Rowlands said, "Stone-Age industry funded science suggested that the higher the dose of a chemical the more dangerous it was, however modern independent science has discovered that many toxic chemicals have as much or more of an influence on our health at low dosesthese chemicals are known as hormone hackers (endocrine disruptors)."A study from March 2015 stated that the health costs to the European Union of hormone hacking chemicals is over $ 150 billion per year," he continued. "The study stated that lower IQ, adult obesity and 5% or more of autism cases are all linked to exposure to endocrine disruptors. Glyphosate is likely to be one of these hormone hacking chemicals according to independent science."European law bans substances that disrupt hormones, but a number of EU governments don't believe that glyphosate qualifies as one such substance.One of them is the German government, as theIn fact, the endocrine-disrupting effect of glyphosate and its commercial variations is one of its most dangerous qualities. Also, it's not uncommon that when industry studies are done on the effects of glyphosate, they are conducted "for regulatory purposes" and "use relatively high doses," but are not able to detect such effects.Among the peer-reviewed findings regarding the ill-effects of glyphosate:-- It has altered hormone levels in female catfish while decreasing egg viability; this study concluded that herbicide is harmful to catfish reproduction.-- Roundup has disrupted production of progesterone, a steroid hormone, in the cells of mice.-- Glyphosate was a potent endocrine disruptor in rats, causing disturbances in their reproductive capabilities after exposure during puberty."In an in vitro experiment in human cells, glyphosate herbicides prevented the action of androgens, the masculinizing hormones, at levels up to 800 times lower than glyphosate residue levels allowed in some GM crops used for animal feed in the USA," thenoted. "DNA damage was found in human cells treated with glyphosate herbicides at these levels."And now, it seems, legendary German beers have become tainted by glyphosate as well.[1] Soso AB, Barcellos LJG, Ranzani-Paiva MJ, et al.Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2007;23:308-313.[2] Walsh LP, McCormick C, Martin C, Stocco DM.Env Health Perspect. 2000;108:769-776.[3] Romano RM, Romano MA, Bernardi MM, Furtado PV, Oliveira CA.Arch Toxicol. 2010;84:309-317. (NaturalNews) Apress release reported, "Children and adolescents have a doubled risk of aggression and suicide when taking one of the five most commonly prescribed antidepressants," according to a study published inon January 28, 2016. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotoninnorepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are the most commonly prescribed antidepressants , the release notes.Researchers from the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Denmark carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of 68 clinical study reports of 70 trials involving 18,526 patients to examine use of antidepressants and associated serious harms, including "deaths, suicidal thoughts and attempts as well as aggression and akathisia, a form of restlessness that may increase suicide and violence."But "because of the poor design of clinical trials that assess these antidepressants, and the misreporting of findings in published articles," the experts report, "the true risk for all associated serious harmssuch as deaths, aggression, akathisia and suicidal thoughts and attemptsremains unknown for children, adolescents and adults."The researchers examined "trials that contained patient narratives or individual patient listings of associated harms," the authors explained, that "are often not included in published trial reports." They also "analysed clinical study reports, prepared by pharmaceutical companies for market authorisation, and summary trial reports, both of which usually include more information."Clinical study reports for duloxetine (Cymbalta), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft) and venlafaxine (Effexor) were from regulatory agencies in the UK and Europe. Reports for duloxetine and fluoxetine were also taken from Eli Lilly's website."However, clinical study reports could not be obtained for all trials and all antidepressants , and individual listings of adverse outcomes for all patients were available for only 32 trials," the release noted."The true risk for serious harms is still unknown [because] the low incidence of these rare events, and the poor design and reporting of the trials, makes it difficult to get accurate effect estimates," the study's authors explained.The researcher's found limitations in trial designs and reporting that may have lead to "serious under-estimation of the harms," the authors wrote.They compared the results from the study reports with individual patient listings or narratives of adverse effects. "This revealed misclassification of deaths and suicidal events in people taking antidepressants. For example, four deaths were misreported by a pharmaceutical company, in all cases favouring the antidepressant, and more than half of the suicide attempts and suicidal ideation, for example, were coded as 'emotional lability' [] or 'worsening of depression,'" the press release reported."In the summary trial reports on Eli Lilly's website, almost all deaths were noted, but all suicidal ideation events were missing, and the information on the remaining outcomes was incomplete," the authors wrote in the BJM study."Because of the shortcomings identified and having only partial access to appendices with no access to case report forms, the harms could not be estimated accurately," they concluded."Many cases of aggressive behaviour have been reported," they wrote, "but, unlike with suicidality, little systematic research has been undertaken." Perpetrators of school shootings and similar events have often been reported to be users of antidepressants and the courts have in many cases found them not guilty as a result of drug induced insanity, they point out in the study."We believe our study shows that, despite using clinical study reports, the true risk for serious harms is still uncertain," they wrote. "The low incidence of these rare events and the poor design and reporting of the trials makes it difficult to get accurate effect estimates."Therefore, the authors "suggest minimal use of antidepressants in children, adolescents, and young adults, as the serious harms seem to be greater, and as their effect seems to be below what is clinically relevant," they advised in the study. Press On this page Springer Nature Press Office Please visit the Springer Nature Press Office Site for an archive of Springer Nature press releases (2015-2019) and contact information for corporate media inquiries and book or journal related inquiries. Press releases published before 2015 are available by downloading zip files via the links below. Press release archives (zip): 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 Susie Winter Director of Communications and Engagement, Research London, UK Phone: +44 (0)203 426 3325 E-mail: susie.winter@springernature.com Top of page Journals and Editorial Press Office The Journals and Editorial Press Office provides a service for science journalists and science writers. For enquiries regarding content in the Nature Portfolio journals, please contact press@nature.com or visit https://press.nature.com. Alice Henchley Communications Director, Journals & Editorial London, UK Phone: +44 (0) 20 7843 4562 E-mail: alice.henchley@springernature.com Lisa Boucher Press Manager London, UK Phone: +44 (0) 20 7843 4804 E-mail: l.boucher@nature.com Michael Stacey Senior Communications Manager London, UK Phone: +44 (0) 20 7843 4795 E-mail: michael.stacey@nature.com Sarah Hausman Press Manager New York, USA Phone: +1 (212) 726 9378 E-mail: sarah.hausman@nature.com Sarah McClenaghan Press Manager London, UK Phone: +44 (0) 20 7843 4570 E-mail: sarah.mcclenaghan@springernature.com Emily Cooke Press Officer London, UK Phone: +44 (0) 20 7418 5534 E-mail: emily.cooke@springernature.com Isobel Lisowski Assistant Press Officer London, UK Phone: +44 (0) 20 3192 2097 E-mail: isobel.lisowski@springernature.com Lt. Governor of California and vociferous Donald Trump critic Gavin Newsom challenged the Republican Presidential candidate to a debate about immigration in a Facebook video Monday. Let me talk in a way that Donald J. Trump will understand: his immigration plan is a loser. A big loser, Newsom says in the video. I made this animated video to illustrate why its impossible to do the stuff he says he's going to do. So putting aside the fact that it's racist it's also ineffective and stupid....make sense Donald? In the video titled Donald Trumps Immigration Plan is a Loser, Newsom starts off by attacking Trumps border wall between the U.S. and Mexican border, calling it ineffective and a waste of money. A wall wont secure our border or keep us safe, Newsom says. As for Trumps idea of deporting 11 million men, women and children, Newsom cites a think tank that says the cost would amount to over $400 billion. So what would the Mr. Make America Great Again scheme do to our countrys economy? Newsom asks, replying that it would force America to lose half of its farmworkers and six percent of its workforce, sending the economy on a downturn worse than the great recession. Trumps plan would be a disaster, and Donald, Ill debate that plan anytime, anywhere, Newsom says. Theres been no response from Trump yet. NBC Bay Area has reached out to the Trump campaign for a response. Newsom hasnt been afraid of lashing out at Trump in the past, attacking his proposals and comments on social media. On Feb 27, Newsom posted a montage of Trumps various campaign speeches, urging his followers to watch it: I hope you'll share this video as it illustrates exactly who Donald J. Trumpis: a racist, insane man who uses threats and intimidation to get his way. We are better than this. We are so much better than this. Yosemite National Park is set to start showing the new names for some of park's most iconic attractions after no settlement was reached to a bitter legal dispute. As of Tuesday, the historic Ahwahnee Hotel will become the Majestic Yosemite Hotel and Curry Village campground will be named Half Dome Village. Badger Pass Ski Resort will now be Yosemite Ski and Snowboard Area. The park service announced last year that it would change the names of Curry Village, the Ahwahnee Hotel, Badger Pass Ski Resort and many other attractions after failing to reach agreement with the company that says it owns the trademarks to those attractions. Amy Trainer, executive director of the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin, who keeps close tabs on the national park system, said in an earlier interview that the move to trademark such high-profile park institutions is likely unprecedented. "I don't know that this has ever happened before," Trainer told NBC Bay Area in a 2014 interview. "It will be a real travesty if this company is allowed to hijack the name of one of America's most beloved places and hold it for ransom. It won't change the majesty of the Ahwahnee Hotel, but certainly something will be lost." The trademark issue was first reported by the alternative weekly in Oakland, the East Bay Express, and it appeared to have caught the National Park Service off guard. The company, Delaware North, has served as the park's concessionaire since 1993, running numerous park operations until losing the contract to Aramark, which is scheduled to take over at midnight. Delaware North and the Park Service have been unable to agree on the value of the trademarks and the Buffalo, New York-based company filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit. The dispute prompted the Park Service to announce the name changes. Starting at midnight, Park Service employees began placing temporary signs over road signs directing visitors to the attractions while Aramark will be responsible for changing the names of the attractions. Park Service spokesman Scott Gediman said temporary signs are being used in the hope that a settlement will be reached with Delaware North. An historic sign welcoming visitors to the park's Ahwahnee Hotel was stolen sometime Saturday night or Sunday morning, Gediman said. "It's part of the park's historic fabric," Gediman said. "And we are taking this seriously." The Ahwahnee Hotel is to be renamed the Majestic Yosemite Hotel. Delaware North spokesman Glen White said Park Service officials turned down the company's offer to let the park continue using the trademark names until the legal dispute was resolved. In a lengthy email to NBC Bay Area two years ago, Delaware North at Yosemite Director of Marketing Jim Stellmack explained what he called a "complex" issue. He said that the National Park Service required his company to buy the stock from the previous concessionaire, the Yosemite Park and Curry Co., which it turn made Delaware North the owners of those assets, which are both "tangible and intangible." Stellmack compared the issue to when the National Park Service gave intellectual property rights over to "The Ansel Adams Gallery" in Yosemite, "Verkamp's," a shop previously operated in the Grand Canyon and the logo for the Red Bus Tours in Glacier National Park, which the previous concessionaire would not sell to the successor. In a follow-up phone interview at the time, Stellmark said the naming rights have been trademarked "all along," since before Delaware North took over the hotel and restaurant operations, and it's likely coming to light now as his company's contract is up for renewal. Gediman said the Park Service turned down the offer made Friday because that would "acknowledge they own the names.'' Mark Bartholomew, a University at Buffalo law professor who teaches trademark law, says Delaware North may also want to preserve the value of the names at issue. The iconic names will lose value if they are no longer used, he said. "I think all sides will ultimately come to an agreement after some more posturing,'' Bartholomew said. Court filing show the Park Service valuing the trademarks at $3.5 million and Delaware North puts their worth at $51 million. Cook County states attorney candidate Kim Foxx was fined nearly $20,000 Monday by the Illinois State Board of Elections after missing a variety of deadlines for filing campaign disclosure forms and failing to report a substantial donation from Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. In February, the Illinois State Board of Elections ruled unanimously that Foxx violated campaign finance law by not disclosing a $25,000 donation from Preckwinkle. The donation was used to pay for a campaign poll. Foxx previously served as Preckwinkle's chief of staff. Foxx is also being fined for filing a quarterly campaign report 73 days late and for reporting 10 individual contributions of $1,000 or more one day late. The Board of Elections ruling assessed fines of $40,250 against Foxxs campaign for 13 seperate violations of campaign finance laws and regulations. The election board provides relief for first and second time campaign finance offenses, so the Foxx campaign will instead be tasked with paying $19,450 in fines. During a speech at the City Club in February, Foxx made it clear that she and her campaign disagreed with the election board's ruling. The state board of elections has made their ruling, Foxx said. We disagree with it and were moving on. The Foxx campaign intends to appeal the fines. This is one of the largest fines, if not the largest fine ever, to be imposed by the state board of elections against a candidate running for countywide office, said Alvarez's election attorney Burt Odelson. Incumbent States Attorney Anita Alvarez filed the complaint against Foxx after she failed to report the poll paid for by Preckwinkle. How can we trust Kim Foxx to enforce the law as states attorney when shes repeatedly proved herself unwilling or unable to follow the laws as a candidate, Alvarez campaign spokesman Mike Carson said in a statement. Alvarez's campaign donations have also come under scrutiny amid reports that she has received campaign donations from 59 workers in her office. In the third quarter of 2015, Alvarez received 69 donations from 42 states attorneys office employees totaling more than $14,000. Alvarez came under fire in the wake of the Laquan McDonald shooting in October of 2014. McDonald, a Chicago teen, was shot and killed by Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke. Van Dyke was not charged with McDonalds murder until November of 2015 when dash-cam footage of the incident was being made public as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request. Foxx was recently endorsed by the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune. Foxx, Alvarez and former state and federal prosecutor Donna More will face off in the March 15 Democratic primary for Cook County State's Attorney. Christopher Pfannkuche will run uncontested on the Republican ballot. Hillary Clinton's campaign will host an event Tuesday in Chicago to track results from the day's 11 decisive primary elections. The Super Tuesday event will be held at 6 p.m. on the second floor of Old Crow Smokehouse, located at 149 W. Kinzie St. It is free and open to the public. City Clerk Susan Mendoza will address the crowd to dicscuss "why Hillary Clinton is the right choice for Chicago." "The watch party comes as enthusiasm and support for Hillary Clinton grows throughout Illinois and follows Clinton's decisive win in South Carolina on Saturday," a statement from the Clinton campaign said. Clinton defeated her Democratic opponent, Bernie Sanders, by a margin of 74 percent to 26 percent in South Carolina's Saturday primary. Clinton previously won the Iowa and Nevada caucuses, while Sanders won the New Hampshire primary. The Democratic primaries for Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia as well as the Colorado and Minnesota caucuses will all be held on Super Tuesday. It has historically been considered a pivotal day in the presidential election cycle. Clinton has won 90 pledged delegates to Sanders 65. She has 543 projected delegates to Sanders 85. In total, 2,383 delegates are needed for the party's nomination. Earlier this month, Clinton held a get-out-the-vote rally at the Parkway Ballroom in Bronzeville in an effort to gain the support of African-American voters. At the event, Clinton slammed Gov. Bruce Rauner and his Turnaround Agenda. The governor has refused to start budget negotiations unless his so-called turnaround agenda gets passed, first, Clinton said during her speech. Now, his plan will turn Illinois around, all tight. All the way back to the time of the robber barons of the 19th century. During the same trip, she attended a private host reception for donors who have raised more than $27,000 for her campaign. In addition to this, Clinton opened two Chicago offices last Tuesday. They are located at 5401 S. Wentworth Ave. and 1543 N. Wells St. Clinton will not be in attendance. She will instead host a Super Tuesday event in Miami. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright praised Rep. Tammy Duckworths plan to welcome Syrian refugees to America in a campaign ad released Monday before slamming Sen. Mark Kirk for his foreign policy record. I think Tammy Duckworth has a very good plan for how we deal with the greatest humanitarian crisis since the end of World War II, Albright said in the ad. Albright, the first female secretary of state, served in that office from 1997 to 2001. She also served as the 20th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1997. In the ad, Albright claims the refugees are not a threat to American security and the country has a thorough screening process to filter out potential enemies. Following last years terrorist attacks in Paris, Kirk pushed for a temporary cessation to the program bringing Syrian refugees to the U.S. As long as the screening process is weak, Senator Kirk is calling for a pause in the program to ensure those seeking to take advantage of our nation are stopped, Kirk spokesperson Eleni Demertzis told Ward Room. Kirk released an ad in December of last year titled Big Differences claiming Duckworth wants to bring 200,000 Syrian refugees to America. Duckworth had signed a letter asking the Obama administration to resettle 200,000 refugees by the end of 2016. Only 100,000 of those refugees were to come from Syria. Kirks ad also warned of a potential ISIS attack on American soil and asked, for your familys safety, who do you trust? Albright slammed Kirks ad for appealing to Americans fears of another terrorist attack. Senator Kirks commercial is pure demagoguery operating on the basis of the fear factor and I think that is a very, very dangerous approach because we got into the war in Iraq as a result of the fear factor and it was based on the wrong information, Albright said. The Duckworth ad also includes a news clip from an October 2008 edition of the Daily Herald that reads, Kirk was wrong to have voted to authorize the Iraq war. Albright echoed these sentiments in the ad. I think the war in Iraq was one of the biggest mistakes that this country made, Albright said. It was based on the wrong information and as people worked in order to get us into that war, the claims became more and more exaggerated and Mark Kirk was one of those who helped to exaggerate. Albright also lauded Duckworths military experience. Duckworth joined the United States Army Reserve in 1990 and lost her leg in 2004 while co-piloting a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in Iraq. Duckworth subsequently served as Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and later as Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs in the US Department of Veterans Affairs from 2009 to 2011. Kirk is also a combat veteran. The senator was commissioned for duty as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve in 1989. He was later recalled to active duty in 1999 when he participated in Operation Allied Force during the Kosovo War. Duckworth and Kirk have previously sparred over the issue of radicalized refugees. During a Chicago Tribune endorsement session, Duckworth insinuated that Kirks policies encouraged radicalized Iraqi refugees in Texas. They came as teenagers and they were radicalized because they were on those talk lines with ISIS because they see people like Mark Kirk demonizing Muslim and Islam and wanting to shut down our borders, Duckworth said. Thats how we turn people against us, is when we play right into ISIS hands. Kirk responded to Duckworths claims on the John Howell Show, calling Duckworth a naive fool not fit for office in the Senate. The incumbent Kirk will face James Marter in the March 15 Republican primary while Duckworth will face Andrea Zopp and Napoleon Harris in the March 15 Democratic primary. The idea that appears to be gaining the most traction in the state capitol as a way to reduce wait times at troubled DMV branches across Connecticut would allow drivers to register a car even if they have an outstanding car tax bill. Current law prohibits someone from registering a car if they owe local car taxes to their town or municipality. Cities and towns depend on about $33 million in revenues as a result of back taxes each year. It seems to be rewarding those who are not paying their taxes and penalizing those that are the right citizens every single year" said First Selectman Leo Paul from Litchfield. The money would still be owed, but it wouldn't be a barrier to registering a new car. In many cases, people are aware that they owe back taxes. Dennis Murphy, the Interim Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles told the General Assembly's Transportation Committee that in 2015 DMV branches worked with about 50,000 customers who had delinquent tax bills. Look, if you want to reduce the wait times at DMV this is a step that will do that" Murphy, who's been on the job less than two weeks told lawmakers. He says he's confident cities and towns can still get their money, but they won't have to depend on DMV to collect taxes for them. "Towns can be creative and collect taxes in all sorts of ways for businesses there that have computers in their business. They collect property taxes on those in a number of different ways." The other issue discussed during the hearing is the prospect of allowing the Automobile Association of America offices in Connecticut to handle more DMV functions. Theres a breaking point here. I think we all realize that" said, Rep. Tony Guerrera, (D - Rocky Hill), who chairs the Transportation Committee. "So if were going to shift some of that then lets do it the right way. Lets take some of that off and lets maybe give AAA some of that responsibility. AAA already handles license renewals, reprinting of licenses and permits, and offers driving school. Amy Parmenter, a spokesperson for AAA said the organization would welcome expanding its existing partnership with the DMV. Guerrera also shot down the notion of full privatization of the DMV to a group like AAA or a different one. In no way are we going to privatize DMV. Im not for that. I dont want that. Three Waterbury elementary school principals could face disciplinary action because of what they posted online. District officials first received a complaint from the local teacher's union regarding Kingsbury Elementary Principal Eric Brown. During the investigation, officials say they found inappropriate public posts on Brown's Facebook page. One was a video showing elderly women smoking marijuana which had offensive language. Another was a picture saying "Tomorrow is National Slap Your Irritating CoWorker [sic] Day." The one that was considered the most offensive by officials was described as "sexual in nature where children are involved." "It depicts an animated character in front of what appears to be a school with a soundtrack of children playing in a playground behind it, and at best, it's disgusting," said Waterbury Public Schools Director of Personnel for Education Robert Brenker. Following the investigation into Brown, district officials began investigating the Facebook pages of other school administrators and found two others with what they deemed to be inappropriate content. One picture of "Toy Story" characters had the captioning "Drunk teachers. Drunk teachers everywhere." Officials say that was posted by Wendell Cross Elementary Principal Joseph Amato. Officials say one of the inappropriate posts Generali Elementary Principal Kathy Stamp shared was a picture of Morgan Freeman with the caption "Respect is taught at home. If your kid is a disrespectful [expletive] , it's your fault. Not society's or a video games [sic] fault. Yours." Brown was placed on paid administrative leave. The other two principals are still working. Officials say they're working to determine what "corrective action" needs to be taken. During the investigation, Brown told officials he thought the posts were private. He added that they're "jokes" and said "I don't see anything wrong with them" when asked if the posts were compliant with the Connecticut Code of Professional Responsibility for School Administrators. This isnt the first time Brown has been investigated by the district. Officials say while Brown was principal at Walsh Elementary School, the local teachers union raised concerns about the way Brown treated teachers. He was demoted to Assistant Principal at Kingsbury. Brown successfully appealed through arbitration and became principal of Kingsbury, just a short time before he was placed on paid leave for the social media postings. For the social media investigation, it was determined Brown violated that code as well as the Waterbury Board of Education's policy regarding drug, tobacco, and alcohol, its policy for a drug-free workplace, as well as its guidelines for social media. The investigation determined Amato violated the Connecticut Code of Professional Responsibility for School Administrators as well as the Waterbury BOE's social media and drug and alcohol policies. The investigation determined Stamp violated the Connecticut Code of Professional Responsibility for School Administrators as well as the Waterbury BOE's social media guidelines. "These people represent the school system in Waterbury. Their posts were public information. That's not how Waterbury intends its schools to be portrayed. We have an excellent school system. We have many good things in the school system. We don't need this as the face of our school system," said Brenker. Brenker says at the beginning of the year, there is social media training. In response to the violations the school district says it's found, there are plans for another social media training class for principals and teachers soon. Twelve states cast votes for presidential nominees on March 1, also known asSuper Tuesday, the biggest single-day delegate haul of the nomination contests. Republicans are voting in 11 states, with 595 delegates at stake. Democrats are casting ballots in 11 states, too, plus American Samoa, with 865 delegates up for grabs. Here's a look at what some voters had to say as they went to the polls: Donald Trump: Tyler Murphy, a 26-year-old Boston resident who works as a project manager for a construction company, voted for Donald Trump on Tuesday even though he thinks the billionaire businessman is "undeniably wrong on a lot of things." For better or worse, he said, the controversial candidate is the "wake-up call" the country needs. "Ultimately, if we have to elect someone who is borderline crazy to get people to understand what's going on, then that's what we have to do," Murphy said. "I like Trump and we need some change," said Trump merchandise seller Tim Engelskirchen, according to an NBC News video on voting in Southern states. My feeling is, we need someone who can make definitive decisions and has no ties to the infrastructure in Washington, Ben Alred, a 52-year-old middle school history teacher in Virginia said. Hes definitely someone whos not aligned with any party too deeply. "He's got a different way of looking at things, and he's an independent thinking guy," Troy Wakller of Virginia said. "He's not going to be influenced by anyone else." Ted Cruz: "These were the more hot-button issues with me. He's been pretty consistent with what he was elected here in the state to do," said Owen Worley, a 26-year-old Houston resident who likes that Cruz is focusing on economic issues, like reducing the size of government and controlling the national debt. Bill Weise, an 86-year-old retired Marine Corps general, voted for Cruz, with seven months of deliberating coming down to the final 10 seconds before he filled in the bubble next to Cruz's name at at a Fairfax County, Virginia, precinct He picked Cruz over Trump, even though Ben Carson was actually his favorite candidate. But he concluded Carson wasn't viable, and picked Cruz because he ultimately decided he "would make better decisions as chief executive than Trump." John Kasich: "I wanted to vote for somebody who wasn't Donald Trump so that maybe he wouldn't win Tennessee," said Julia Price, an attorney in Knoxville, who cast her vote for the Ohio governor. "Normally, I'm a Democrat." Bill Snipes of Oklahoma said he voted for Kasich. Snipes, who is employed in the insurance business, said that of all the GOP hopefuls he felt Kasich was most in line with his political views. Michael Kernyat of Chesterfield County, Virginia, said he voted for Kasich "even though I think I threw my vote away." The 60-year-old retired computer consultant said Kasich is "the most reasonable person running," but probably has no chance of beating Donald Trump. Kernyat says "nobody is going to stop that freight train." Twin sisters Vivien and Gillian Gattie, both retired, 72 years old and originally from England, were less than thrilled at their options as they showed up to cast ballots at Boston City Hall. "I'm so appalled at the choices," said Gillian, an independent who voted for President Barack Obama twice, but chose Kasich, as a "protest vote" because she didn't care for any Republican or Democrat this time around. She said she would only vote for Hillary Clinton in November if it came down to a contest between her and Donald Trump. Vivien, a registered Democrat who also voted for Obama in the last two presidential elections, cast her ballot for Clinton, though reluctantly. "I voted for her because I think she can win," she said. "I can't get excited for Bernie Sanders." Like her sister, Vivien said she has concerns about Clinton. "I really don't care for her much. I don't trust her," Vivien said. "But I think she's qualified the most qualified of the candidates." Marco Rubio: Out of the options, hes the better one, but I wish he had more experience, 54-year-old Nick Bryant of Arlington, Virginia, told the Washington Post. If both parties dig in their heels and stick to their guns, how do we govern? I really like Kasich, I like his calm and even tone, his demeanor. But you have to get ratings now, and he hasnt. After the first couple of debates I was impressed by Kasichs experience and Trump on the issues, 19-year-old Massachusetts voter Michael Reed told the Washington Post. I know the media hates Trump, and the media likes Rubio. But Rubio doesnt have a track record on anything hes talking about." John Cook, a retired investment adviser in Houston, said he chose Rubio because Jeb Bush has dropped out of the race. Cook said it's likely too late to stop Trump because he has too much momentum. He said Trump is "narcissistic" but that if he wins the nomination then Cook would likely support him, "but it would be like buying a ticket on the Titanic." Sandi Garrett, who voted in Dallas, says she wanted to support Ohio Gov. John Kasich but his low poll numbers prompted her to vote for Rubio instead. She backed Rubio because she vehemently opposes Trump. Nicole Freed of Virginia, crossed over and voted for Rubio. The moderate Democrat said her vote was intended to knock Trump off the ballot in November's general election. Freed is a disabled 32-year-old Army veteran who served in Iraq. She said she doesn't like what she called Trump's broad generalizations about Muslim Americans. She added, "I don't think we can fight the entire Muslim world." In November, she said she'll probably vote for Clinton. Hillary Clinton: Its tragic. I would love to see a woman president, but I just dont trust her, Claudia Mackintosh, a 61-year-old real estate agent voting in Norfolk, Virginia, told the Washington Post. My perception is that shes controlled by the corporate donors." David Taylor said he voted for Clinton because of her background in international matters. Taylor, an attorney, said he believes Clinton has the right kind of experience in international politics that the nation needs. "I love Bernie, but I'm too old to vote for Bernie," said Ellyn Sonik, 66, who works as a courier for a medical lab and was interviewed outside a suburban Dallas, Texas, polling station. "I feel like he's on the right track, and it's never going to happen. He can't do what he says he's going to do." She said she voted for Hillary. "She thinks the way I do pretty much on social issues and business." Sara Mosher, a doctoral student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said she voted for Clinton because the former secretary of state and U.S. senator has "the most knowledge of what it's like to be president." She said Sanders presidency would not be effective, but she wants the Vermont senator to remain in politics because he has an important message. Karen Lahrman, a 57-year-old paralegal in Dallas, said she voted for Clinton and said it's time for a woman president. She said Clinton is the one with the most experience and "knows what she's doing." Army veteran, 80-year-old Clarence Wall, was firm in his support of Clinton. He called her a fighter after voting in Virginia. Karen Williams, a lifelong Democrat from Duluth, Georgia, said she voted for Hillary Clinton. But the 55-year-old voter mostly has her eyes on Donald Trump, whom she wants to stop from gaining the White House. "I can't see him talking to dignitaries from other countries, insulting people," she said. "A lot of countries don't take kindly to insults." Bernie Sanders: I will tell you: After a lot of thought, I voted for me for president, said Sen. Bernie Sanders. "He's targeting the common people," Farrukh Jangda, a 21-year-old senior in computer science at the University of Texas at Dallas, said after voting for Sanders. Jangda said Clinton has been in politics so long that he thought she could be swayed by special interests, such as Wall Street, and he considers Sanders an outsider. Referring to Donald Trump, he said, "I just am afraid that if the people here a lot of them aren't taking him seriously how will other countries take our country seriously? That's what scares me." Jangda said he is a Muslim-American and has concerns with how Trump portrays Muslims. "He doesn't have the personality to be president." Mary Rodriguez said she is a longtime fan of Clinton, but she voted for Sanders. After voting at a heavily Republican precinct in Chesterfield County, Virginia, the 38-year-old insurance agent said much of what Sanders talks about is what she believes in and "what I want for my children." Police are looking for the people who opened fire inside a Dallas nightclub Monday morning. It happened at about 1:30 a.m. at the Taqueria Linares Club on Haskell Avenue behind Cotton Bowl Stadium. Officers say one person was shot several times. Their identity and condition are not known. A security guard fired several shots at the shooters as they drove away from the scene. Their empty car was found a few miles away outside an apartment complex. No other injuries were reported. Police said a man was fatally shot after a possible road rage incident in Everman Monday night. [[370613691,C]] Everman police said they responded to a shooting call in the 500 block of Georgetown Drive at 7:23 p.m. Responders found a victim with multiple gunshot wounds, who was pronounced deceased on scene by paramedics. Police said the victim later identified as Dannie Glan Neal Jr. was driving from Arlington to Everman when he noticed he was being followed. Neal then stopped near the intersection of Georgetown Drive and Peppermill Lane to confront the other driver. When Neal exited his vehicle, police said the other driver fired at him several times. After neal fell, the man walked toward him and fired one more shot at him. Police said they don't have anyone in custody, but are looking for a person of interest. Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton swept through the South on Super Tuesday, claiming victory in their parties' primaries in delegate-rich Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia. The front-runners appeared ever more likely to end up in a general election showdown. On the Republican side, Ted Cruz won his home state of Texas, the night's single biggest prize, as well as neighboring Oklahoma to keep his campaign alive. And early on Tuesday morning, Cruz won in Alaska, NBC News projected. Democrat Bernie Sanders picked up his home state of Vermont, as well as Oklahoma, Colorado and Minnesota, but failed to broaden his appeal with minority voters who are crucial to the party in presidential elections. The night belonged to Trump and Clinton, who turned the busiest day of the 2016 primaries into a showcase of their strength with a wide swath of American voters. Each candidate won seven states most in the South but also in New England. Signaling her confidence, Clinton set her sights on Trump as she addressed supporters during a victory rally. "It's clear tonight that the stakes in this election have never been higher and the rhetoric we're hearing on the other side has never been lower," she said. Trump, too, had his eye on a general election match-up with the former secretary of state, casting her as part of a political establishment that has failed Americans. "She's been there for so long," Trump said at his swanky Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. "If she hasn't straightened it out by now, she's not going to straighten it out in the next four years." Clinton also picked up wins in Texas, Arkansas and Massachusetts, nabbing her first victory in New England, while Trump carried GOP contests in Arkansas, Massachusetts and Vermont. Trump's dominance has rattled Republican leaders, who fear he's unelectable against Clinton in November. Even as Trump professed to have good relationships with his party's elite, he issued a warning to House Speaker Paul Ryan, who declared earlier in the day that "this party does not prey on people's prejudices." Trump said that if the two don't get along, "he's going to have to pay a big price." But all efforts to stop Trump have failed, including an aggressive campaign by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to discredit the billionaire businessman. For Rubio, Super Tuesday turned into a bitter disappointment. He emerged with his first victory in Minnesota but failed to live up to the wider hopes of the numerous Republican officeholders who have promoted him as the party's best alternative to Trump. With an eye on Florida's March 15 primary, Rubio vowed to keep up efforts to "unmask the true nature of the front-runner in this race." Cruz desperately needed his win in Texas in order to stay in the race. He beat Trump in four contests this primary season, more than any other Republican, a fact he wielded as he called on Rubio and other candidates to step aside. "I ask you to prayerfully consider our coming together, united," Cruz said. Trump won at least 203 Super Tuesday delegates, while Cruz picked up at least 144 and Rubio at least 71. Overall, Trump leads the Republican field with 285, Cruz has 161, Rubio has 87, Kasich has 25 and Carson has eight. It takes 1,237 delegates to win the GOP nomination. Sanders' wins did little to help him make up ground in his delegate race with Clinton. She was assured of winning at least 457 of the 865 delegates at stake Tuesday. Sanders gained at least 286. When including party leaders, Clinton has at least 1,005 delegates and Sanders has at least 373. Trump's wins in the South were a major blow to Cruz, who once saw the region as his opportunity to stake a claim to the nomination. Instead, he's watched Trump, a brash New York real estate mogul, display surprising strength with evangelical Christians and social conservatives. Republicans spent months largely letting Trump go unchallenged, wrongly assuming his populist appeal would fizzle. Instead, he's appeared to grow stronger, drawing broad support for some of his most controversial proposals. In six of the states on Tuesday, large majorities of Republican voters said they supported a proposal to temporarily ban all non-citizen Muslims from entering the United States, an idea championed by Trump. Nine in 10 of Trump's voters were looking for an outsider, and half were angry with the government, according to exit polls conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks. In the Democratic race, Clinton has steadied herself after an unexpectedly strong early challenge from Sanders. The Vermont senator did carry his home state decisively, and told the crowd at a raucous victory party that he was "so proud to bring Vermont values all across this country." Sanders, who has energized supporters with his calls for a "political revolution," has struggled to expand his base beyond young people and liberals. His weakness with black voters, a core part of the Democratic constituency, was underscored anew. Clinton was supported by at least 80 percent of black voters in the Deep South and Texas. She was also bolstered by women and older voters. Out front and looking ahead, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton hope to begin charting a final path toward the general election on Super Tuesday, a delegate-rich day of primary contests likely to reveal candidates' strengths -- and weaknesses -- with a broad swath of American voters. Elections were being held in a dozen states, from Vermont to Colorado, Alaska to American Samoa, and a host of locations in between. Trump and Clinton entered Super Tuesday having each won three of four early voting contests. Strong showings for both on Tuesday could start putting the nominations out of reach for other contenders. Even before the results started flowing in, Trump was calling for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, one of his chief rivals, to give up if he didn't win anywhere on Tuesday. "He has to get out," he told Fox News. "He hasn't won anything." Rubio, along with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, is scrambling to block Trump's path to the nomination. Both senators have launched furious verbal attacks on the billionaire businessman in recent days, but some in the party establishment fear the anti-Trump campaign has come too late. Cruz once saw the Southern states that vote Tuesday as his opportunity to stake his claim to the nomination. Now his campaign's future hinges on a victory in his home state of Texas, the biggest prize up for grabs. Rubio's goal is even more modest. He's seeking to stay competitive in the delegate count and hoping to pull off a win in his home state of Florida on March 15. Republicans spent months largely letting Trump go unchallenged, wrongly assuming that his populist appeal with voters would fizzle. Now GOPO leaders are divided between those who pledge to fall in line behind him if he wins their party's nomination and others who insist they can never back him. An Associated Press survey of GOP senators and governors across the country showed just under half of respondents would not commit to backing Trump if he's the nominee. Their reluctance could foreshadow an extraordinary split in the party this fall. The worries among Republicans appeared to grow after Trump briefly refused to disavow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke during a television interview. Trump later said he had not understood the interviewer who first raised the question about Duke, and he did repudiate him. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday that anyone who wants to be the Republican presidential nominee must reject any racist group or individual. "When I see something that runs counter to who we are as a party and a country I will speak up. So today I want to be very clear about something: If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party, there can be no evasion and no games. They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry," Ryan said. The disarray among Republicans comes as Clinton appears to be tightening her grip on the Democratic field. She scored a blowout victory over Bernie Sanders in Saturday's South Carolina primary, a contest that underscored her strength with black voters. Clinton's campaign is hoping that support will continue in Tuesday's contests in several Southern states with large African-American electorates. She has increasingly turned her attention to Trump in recent days, casting herself as a civil alternative to the insults and bullying that have consumed the Republican race. "What we can't let happen is the scapegoating, the flaming, the finger pointing that is going on the Republican side," she told voters in Springfield, Massachusetts. "It really undermines our fabric as a nation." Sanders, who has energized young voters with his call for a political revolution, was seeking to stay close to Clinton in the South and pick up victories in other states including Minnesota and his home state of Vermont. But Sanders faces tough questions about whether he can rally minorities who are core Democratic voters. After he voted Tuesday in his hometown of Burlington, Sanders told reporters that if voter turnout is high "we are going to do well. If not, we're probably going to be struggling." Democrats will vote in 11 states and American Samoa on Tuesday, with 865 delegates up for grabs. Republicans will vote in 11 states, with 595 delegates at stake. States holding voting contests in both parties are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. Republicans also vote in Alaska and Democrats in Colorado. Democrats also have a contest in American Samoa and for Democrats Abroad. Families are flocking to get a look at brand new model homes in a beautiful canyon west of Los Angeles. What some buyers might not realize is that the development, called Arroyo Vista at the Woodlands, is right next to one of the most contaminated sites in California -- the former Santa Susana Field Lab. Previous Reports: LA's Nuclear Secret State regulators and the lead developer for the project, KB Home, say the land is "safe for residential development." But the NBC4 I-Team found evidence, and experts, who raise questions about whether families should be living so close to the former nuclear and rocket test site. "I'm not comfortable with homes being built there," says Robert Alvarez, who studied the Santa Susana Field Lab as a senior advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Energy in the 90s. The Woodlands, located in Runkle Canyon in Simi Valley, will eventually include more than 450 homes, right next to Santa Susana. As the NBC4 I-Team has documented in its LA's Nuclear Secret series, nuclear accidents and years of rocket tests have left the Field Lab stained with radioactive and toxic chemical waste. Studies have shown that some of that waste has migrated to nearby neighborhoods. And, a 2007 federally funded study found rates of certain cancers are 60 percent higher in neighborhoods within two miles of the Field Lab, though it didn't identify the cause of those illnesses. "Initially I thought I was going to die," says 24 year old Dante Ferrari, who battled lymphoma at 21. Ferrari grew up three houses from the Runkle Canyon property. "We always hiked up there," Ferrari told NBC4. "We were always just playing in the dirt, like kids do," he added. There have been at least seven different studies done on the dirt at Runkle Canyon, around where homes are being built. Soil tests done in 2007 and 2010--some paid for by the developer, some done by the state, say the potential impact of radiation found is "less than significant," according to an Environmental Impact Report by the City of Simi Valley. But the NBC4 I-Team obtained five earlier studies done on Runkle Canyon starting in 1998, paid for by a different developer. The consultant's conclusions in those earlier reports varied, from saying "there might have been some impact of radionuclides (radiation) to the site" to "the site was non-contaminated." But four experts, asked by the I-Team to take a closer look at actual data, say the tests all found elevated levels of Strontium-90, a potentially cancer causing radioactive material, in numerous samples of Runkle Canyon soil. "You're running the risk of putting people in harm's way" by building homes there, said Peter Strauss after looking at summaries of the test data for the I-Team. Strauss is an environmental consultant who has received EPA funding to examine toxic sites. One study, done by Foster Wheeler Environmental consultants, took 58 soil samples from different areas in Runkle Canyon. All 58 samples showed elevated levels of radiation, between two and 165 times higher than what the United States EPA says is normal for that area. "You can't just throw out those samples and pick the lowest ones," said former Energy Department advisor Robert Alvarez, who also looked at the data. But the city of Simi Valley approved the Woodlands project, based mainly on the later tests from 2007 and 2010. "The site is safe for development," says Simi Valley city spokesperson Samantha Argabrite. When asked by the I-Team to explain the earlier tests which found elevated levels of radiation at Runkle Canyon, Argabite responded, "I can't speak to how there were earlier levels and then later that was not what was found." She added that the city gave approval in large part because the California Department of Toxic Substances Control concluded that radiation found at Runkle Canyon "did not pose a significant health risk." "We deferred to the experts, the DTSC," Argabrite said. But the I-Team found the DTSC has been wrong before, when green lighting housing developments. In 2014, it gave approval to development on the site of a former sewage plant in Riverside called Ag Park, after saying the site was "not contaminated with toxic PCBs." Construction began shortly after. But later tests overseen by the U.S. EPA found elevated levels of PCBs, and construction was halted, because the DTSC had been wrong. "What they (the DTSC) declared to be clean, was not clean," says community advocate Penny Newman, who helped get construction on the toxic land halted. "It alarms me because this is an agency that is supposed to protect the public, not the developer." The developer of the Woodlands project in Simi Valley, KB Home, said in a statement to NBC4, "Under no circumstances would we have ever built on land if it posed potential health issues...before starting construction we followed rigorous testing protocols and received approval from the DTSC." But the experts who looked at the Runkle Canyon soil tests for the I-Team disagree, and say more testing should be done before home construction continues. "I don't think there's enough evidence to convince me that it's safe enough to live there," says former Energy Department Advisor Alvarez. "They shouldn't build houses with so many unanswered questions. Err on the side of caution," says former US EPA Senior Science Advisor and radiation specialist Gregg Dempsey. Dempsey examined Runkle Canyon soil tests when he oversaw an EPA radiation survey of the Santa Susana Field Lab. "I would have not have developed the property. They (the developer) never settled the risk," Dempsey told the I-Team. The DTSC said it wasn't able to verify the accuracy of the earlier tests done that found elevated levels of radiation. A statement by the DTSC says the "results might have been an artifact of sampling methodology, laboratory analysis or lack of string quality assurance and quality control measures." But the experts interviewed by the I-Team believe the earlier are sound, having been done using methods approved by the US EPA. In a disclosure to buyers at the Woodlands, KB Home suggests they "conduct their own review of potential health risks" and says it will provide them with records and documents upon request. Neighbors who live near Runkle Canyon, like Dante Ferrari who battled lymphoma, thinks buyers should be aware of all the tests done on the land. "It definitely seems like there's a lot more cancers in our neighborhood," Ferrari told NBC4. "I don't want somebody to go through what I went through," he added. Full statement from Runkle Canyon LLC: "Under no circumstances would we have ever built on this land if it posed potential health issues for our homeowners and neighbors. That is why, before starting construction at Runkle Canyon, we followed rigorous testing protocols and received approval from the California DTSC. Furthermore, testing by the U.S. EPA has shown that Runkle Canyon soil is no different than soil tested at other areas throughout Greater Los Angeles. It is irresponsible for KNBC to frighten viewers by relying on old research using outdated methodologies while ignoring verifiable scientific findings which show that Runkle Canyon is safe for residential development." Nearly a dozen anti-Muslim/Middle Easterner hate crimes were reported in Los Angeles County in November and December, compared with one such crime during the comparable period in 2014. The analysis was conducted by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations in the wake of the terror attacks that occurred in Paris in November and San Bernardino in December. "We expected there to be an uptick," said Robin Toma, the executive director of the Los Angeles County Commission of Human Relations. "We always hope and wish that we progress as a society [and] that people are less prone to acting out without thinking and not generalizing an entire group or religion based on the acts of a few, but we know that not everyone is there yet." On the same day of the San Bernardino shootings, someone allegedly called and threatened to kill everyone inside of the Islamic Center in North Hollywood, the report said. "Unfortunately, it's not like those things have never happened," Toma said. Last December, a Hawthorne mosque was vandalized -- "Jesus is the way" was spray-painted on the walls. Crosses on the windows and a plastic grenade was placed on the driveway. The case was being investigated as a hate crime. Among the 11 incidents recorded in November and December: -- on Dec. 1 at a restaurant in Los Angeles, a man asked the victim, "Where are you from?" When the victim said he was from Saudi Arabia, the suspect yelled at him and punched and kicked him; -- on Dec. 2, which was the day a married couple when on a shooting rampage in San Bernardino, an Islamic organization in North Hollywood received phone calls from a suspect who used profanity, ridiculed Islam, and "stated that he hoped that Israel would eliminate Palestine, Turkey and Syria"; -- on Dec. 3, an Islamic school in Hawthorne received a threat that everyone on the premises would be shot; -- on Dec. 14, a suspect defaced the exterior of a middle school in Lake Balboa with graffiti that included expletives and anti-Islamic rhetoric; -- on Dec. 17 at a park in South Los Angeles, a homeless person who is Muslim and from Iraq was punched by a man who used profane language and told the victim, "Go back to your country"; and on Dec. 19 in Chatsworth, a man found his motorcycle scratched and spray-painted with anti-Arab language. On Dec. 15, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion to condemn the Dec. 2 attack that killed 14 people at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, to recognize that "no religion or race or ethnicity is responsible for these acts," and that "fear-based stereotyping and scapegoating creates an atmosphere conducive to Islamophobia, xenophobia, discrimination, hate and bigotry." The motion directed county agencies to increase outreach and assistance to the targeted vulnerable communities. Last month, the Los Angeles Countywide Criminal Justice Coordination Committee established a task force to promote stronger relations and cooperation among police agencies and affected communities, and to more effectively prepare for any future incident that could result in a spike in hate crimes. The Los Angeles chapter of CAIR, Council on American-Islamic Relations, did not return NBC4's messages seeking comment. City News Service contributed to this report. A week after police shot and killed a man and woman in a car in Inglewood, family members were demanding answers Monday at a protest. Relatives of the woman, identified as Kisha Michael, were asking for clarity on specifically what happened in the 45 minutes between when police responded and when the shooting happened. Michael, 31, a single mother of three sons, and Marquintan Sandlin, 32, a single father of four daughters, were both killed in the confrontation. Police responded to a call at 3:11 a.m. Sunday of an occupied car stopped facing westbound traffic in lanes. Police said that Michael had a firearm, and officers took cover before ordering Michael and Sandlin out of the car. It wasn't clear what occurred that led police to open fire. On Tuesday, Inglewood Mayor James Butts spoke to the community about the fact that police said the two were unconscious when officers first arrived at the car in lanes at Manchester Boulevard and Inglewood Avenue. Officers tried to "rouse" the two for 45 minutes, Butts said. A week after the shooting, family members say it's troubling that they still don't know what happened to result in the shooting death of the two. "Why call SWAT for backup?" Lola Sewell, Michael's cousin, said. "Why not call the paramedics to see if they are breathing, if they are OK?" Family said both Michael and Sandlin have had their troubles with the law but add they were hardworking single parents trying to overcome their pasts. Michael's twin said the family hired attorneys from the well-known Cochran Firm. Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. famously lead the defense team in O.J. Simpson's acquittal during his 1994-95 trial. The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office said it will review this case as is done for all officer-involved shooting cases. "For her life to be taken like this...we don't know why," Virginia Sewell, Michael's aunt, said. A Ku Klux Klan leader who was injured when his small group of demonstrators got into a bloody melee with counter-protesters in a Southern California park this weekend said Monday that he called police beforehand asking for security and was told, "We don't do that." Will Quigg said in an interview with The Associated Press that he contacted the Anaheim Police Department but that the agency denied his requests for a police presence. The KKK then told officers that the group would hire an outside security company. "They said, 'No, you can't do that either,'" Quigg said. The confrontation escalated to a brawl in the street. Three people were stabbed by a KKK member, who told officers he was acting in self-defense Saturday when his group was attacked by counter-protesters during an afternoon rally near Anaheim's Pearson Park. Five KKK members who were arrested after the brawl were released from police custody, and seven counter-protesters were facing charges. Police were searching Monday for a protester who they say was caught on video attacking a KKK member and celebrating. "We were jumped by a mob," Quigg told NBC4, describing injuries to his wrist from being shoved to the ground. "I'm black and blue all over from getting kicked, hit with fists, lead pipes, two-by-fours." Quigg says his group was targeted for their beliefs. "Why is everybody against people who say, 'Hey, I'm white and proud to be white,'" Quigg said. "You're called a racist if you're proud to be white, and that is not right." A peacefel protest was held Monday night to counter the violence that erupted on Saturday. Several protestors shouted, demanding the release of demonstrators who were still in jail after they were arrested in last weekend's brawl. Three of the stabbing victims from last weekend's violent confrontation were expected to recover. The Anaheim Police Department is facing scrutiny for its response. The department notified the public that the KKK planned to hold an anti-immigration protest at a park about 3 miles from Disneyland, but at least one witness said he saw no uniformed officers when the attack began. Police Sgt. Daron Wyatt said officers were present, but he has declined to say how many. He acknowledged that Quigg had contacted the department but believed that the group leader was asking for police to act as personal security guards. According to Quigg, Today's Loyal White Knights are a charted church, not a lynch mob. But members of Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development see it differently. They say the klan's message underscores a growing anti-immigrant sentiment. On Monday night, they expect hundreds to gather at Pearson Park to deliver another message. "Hatred should not be tolerated," said Ada Briceno of the OCCORD. "Anaheim is a city of kindness and we don't think that that type of hatred and decisiveness and racism not belongs in the city." Quigg claims his group is not against any one race, but believe that all races should exist separately. "When you put a bunch of different cultures and heritages together there are going to be problems," he said. A coalition of community and faith leaders planned to gather Monday night to draw attention to what they call racist rhetoric. Gadi Schwartz contributed to this report. The Miami Dolphins placed the transition tag on Olivier Vernon on Tuesday which will give the team a contract matching opportunity. The tag used by Miami is the same one it used last year on Charles Clay. In the end, the Dolphins opted not to match Clay's offer from Buffalo and he was lost. Vernon is a key part of Miami's defense and the team is likely to try and match an offer if at all possible. The move by Miami is risky, because other teams with more cap space could opt to overpay for Vernon's services. This would leave the Dolphins with little recourse and could result in being financially unable to match an offer. Miami could have avoided this scenario if it franchise tagged Vernon instead. That tag however comes at an extra cost of roughly $3 million. If Miami does not match an offer sheet on Vernon, it would receive no compensation. The Dolphins would essentially lose one of their biggest defenders for nothing which is a scenario that is frowned upon. With a franchise tag on Vernon, the team could have opened trade discussions if it was unable to work out a long-term deal. Since being drafted out of the University of Miami in 2012, Vernon has been heavily involved in Miami's plays. The 25-year old has already been AFC Special Teams Player of the Week and AFC Defensive Player of the Week in his young career. Losing Vernon would have an adverse and immediate effect on a team that showed progress at times in 2015. Vernon's career totals include 29 sacks, 194 tackles and four forced fumbles. Part of the problem with losing an impact player such as Vernon is the adverse effect it has on those around him. Other players will get more focus from the opposition and the overall production of Miami's defense could decrease significantly. Miami will have five days to match an offer that Vernon receives on the open market. It remains to be seen which teams may have an interest in Vernon now that he has been made available. After thousands of women complained of pain, allergic reactions and even punctured tissue while using a contraceptive device brand Essure, the federal government wants to force its manufacturers to print a so-called black box warning on the product's packaging. Black box warnings are the strictest labeling requirements the FDA imposes, generally notifying doctors and patients about significant risks or life-threatening adverse events. Health regulators will also require Bayer, the maker of Essure, to conduct new safety research. The regulatory orders come more than two years after the I-Team first revealed inconsistencies in the safety studies that led the original FDA approval of Essure "The actions we are taking today will encourage important conversations between women and their doctors," said Dr. William Maisel, chief scientist at the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health. "They also reflect our recognition that more rigorous research is needed to better understand if certain women are at heightened risk of complications." Representatives of Bayer were not immediately available for comment, though in the past the company has said it stands behind the clinical trial research that supported the safety of the contraceptive. Beginning in 2013, the I-Team began revealing clinical trial participants who say they reported severe and sometimes debilitating pain after being implanted with Essure. Despite the reports of pain and discomfort, researches marked their comfort level as "excellent" or "very good." Although the FDA wants more research, the agency stopped short of criticizing the original clinical trials. As part of its review, the agency conducted a re-analysis of clinical trial responses. In the end our analysis did not find evidence of systematic or intentional modifications of study subject responses. The agency believes the original clinical data relied upon represents valid scientific evidence, Maisel said. The agency did not explain how a clinical trial participant could be marked down as having excellent comfort while at the same time reporting severe and continuing pain after implanatation. Shortly after the FDA announced its orders for new research and warnings, a social media group called Essure Problems erupted with discontent. An administrator of the group wrote we are outraged that it appears as if the FDA is going to leave Essure on the market. A member of the group wrote, Epic fail again, FDA. Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA), who has sponsored a bill to circumvent FDA governance and pull Essure off the market, issued a statement saying its unbelievable that it took the FDA since September to make just two recommendations with no enforcement measures and ask the manufacturer to perform another study while leaving Essure on the market. Before the FDA orders for new research and a black box warning go into effect, there will be a 60-day public comment period. An LSD arrest at Villanova University first had the NBC10 Investigators asking questions about how the university handles on-campus drug busts. In mid-February 2016, police arrested a Villanova freshman for selling drugs. But as NBC10 Investigators dug deeper, we found local police reports with little information supplied by Villanova, when it comes to drugs on campus. Radnor Township Manager Bob Zienkowski told the NBC10 Investigators he believes there is an illegal drug problem at Villanova. I think theres been ongoing problems for years there, Zienkowski said. Radnor Police Lieutenant Andy Block said his department needs more information from the school, so it can investigate. There's a fair amount of drugs that are being located on the campus. Where? That's the question," Block said. Police reports obtained by the NBC10 Investigators show multiple occasions where Radnor officers picked up drugs and paraphernalia from Villanova. In the space meant for a narrative or explanation for the contraband, little or sometimes no information is written. Township officials consider this underreporting. Theres no names attached to them, so you have to be underreporting. I dont see any other way around it. You have to be under reporting, according to Zienkowski. The Radnor Police Dept. says it needs more information so its officers can investigate and determine if police action is needed. "The concerning part for law enforcement is that, yes, it might seem minor at the time, when you're dealing with a small amount of marijuana, but it could be considered broken windows theory if it leads to more illicit and more dangerous drugs being brought onto the campus," Block said. Students we spoke with expressed concerns with underreporting. Just that level of honesty the administration has with us, freshman Michael Dacanay said. The NBC10 Investigators kept digging and found Villanova drug incidents reported to the government as part of a mandated program. In 2013 and 2014, Villanova reported 16 drug arrests. Over those same two years, there were 92 drug law referrals, or incidents resolved through disciplinary actions at the university, that may not involve police. Villanova's Director of Public Safety agreed to speak with NBC10 Investigative Reporter Harry Hairston about how it deals with illegal drugs on campus, and its relationship with Radnor Police. Less than an hour before that interview was scheduled to take place, the university backed out. Villanova University told the NBC10 Investigators in a statement: Villanova University is committed to a community free of substance abuse. We have a strong, unwavering drug policy, and students found in violation of that policy are held accountable. There are a range of sanctions for violations of the Universitys drug policy, up to and including suspension or expulsion. The process Villanova follows is a standard practice in higher education. As is required for all universities and colleges, these incidents are reportedunder both federal and state reporting guidelinesand made publically available on the Universitys website. These statistics are also proactively distributed to the campus community. We work closely with Radnor Police through a long-standing and mutually-agreed process to handle incidents involving drugs. In fact, the University conducted the recent LSD investigation with their full knowledge, consent and cooperation. Given the collaborative and productive relationship weve established, the comments from Radnor Police are a surprise and frankly disappointing. A French-inspired restaurant on the Delaware River Waterfront will be transitioning into an American bar and restaurant less than two years since its debut. Chef Peter Woolsey's La Peg, named after wife Peggy Baud-Woolsey, debuted two years ago, with a grand opening celebration held in September to coincide with the start of the Fringe Festival. Housed in the former 111-year-old Philadelphia Fire Department pumping station, the restaurant will be transitioning from a French brasserie into an American bar and restaurant, with Woolsey debuting a new menu to match the concept. While the menu will focus on American fare, the chef who also opened Bistrot La Minette on 6th and Bainbridge streets will be integrating his French techniques into the dishes. Read the full story here. For more business related news, check out PBJ.com. Two men and a woman caught on camera flagging down a cab in South Philadelphia earlier this month before police say they robbed and shot the driver are now facing charges in the incident. Syheed Wilson, Kierston Carroll and Michael Jones, all 19, are each charged with aggravated assault, robbery, conspiracy, illegal gun possession, attempted theft and related offenses. Wilson and Carroll, who both live on Marston Street near Tasker -- around the corner from where the shooting and robbery took place -- were identified and arrested last week after detectives received a tip about them. Jones, of Windsor Street near 59th in Southwest Philadelphia, was captured on Saturday on Torresdale Avenue near Levick Street in Tacony. Police say the trio flagged down a cab driver by Alex Destin, 38, about 3:15 a.m. Feb. 6 after leaving the Broad Street Line subway at Tasker-Morris. They asked Destin to drive them to 28th and Tasker, and when they arrived there, police said, Wilson and Jones both pulled out guns and demanded, "Give me all the money you got." Police said both men then fired shots at Destin, wounding him in the shoulder, before Destin crashed the cab and all three escaped. They wound up not stealing anything from the driver, police said. Destin, who spent a few days hospitalized for his injuries, recounted the harrowing moments he looked down the barrels of two guns in an interview with NBC10 earlier this month. "The guy pointed a gun in my face, told me, 'Don't move,' and he shot me," Destin said. "I have a lot of pain, but I say thank you, God, I still survived," he added. Surveillance video from a deli near 24th and Morris streets, where the cab crashed after the shooting, shows a man waiting on two others at the corner five minutes after the crash and two minutes before police arrived at the scene. The trio captured on that video is believed to be the suspects. Destin, who has a wife and four children, still had blood on his shoes, stitches above his eye and a bullet lodged in his arm at the time of his release from the hospital, when he spoke with NBC10. "Thanks to God he's still alive," said Destin's sister-in-law Ginia at the time. "He's in pain but he's alive." Wilson and Carroll both faced arraignment last week, and a judge held Wilson on $350,000 bail and Carroll on $150,000, court records show. Jones was arraigned Sunday and held on $750,000 bail. Wilson and Carroll are set to appear for preliminary hearings March 10, and Jones is scheduled to appear March 15. All three remain in custody at city jails, according to court documents. More than three years after Hurricane Sandy devastated New Jersey, thousands of homeowners are still feeling its effects. According to data obtained and analyzed by the NBC10 Investigators, just more than one out of every three homes has been fully rebuilt in the states largest recovery initiative. NBC10 Investigative Reporter George Spencer spoke with three residents who -- a full 40 months after Sandy -- are still waiting for their homes to be completed. Penny Ryan of Little Egg Harbor Township showed Spencer her front door, which sits well above her head but has no stairs. The backyard where her six children played remains a mud pit. We continue to come back every single day and its a reminder, every day, that this occurred. And were still living in it. Were still living this devastation, Ryan said. On Pelican Island, adjacent to Seaside Heights, Sue Kosakowskis retirement dream is also still not rebuilt. Neither is Lori Tyskas home across the street. I just feel almost hopeless. Almost hopeless, Tyska told Spencer. Each of the three women is frustrated by the pace of the recovery, and by public claims seeming to indicate the recovery is complete. At his last presidential debate, Governor Chris Christie exclaimed that the state had recovered. And when the worst natural disaster in your states history hits you, they expect you to rebuild their state, which is what Ive done, Christie said. The NBC10 Investigators dug into the data for New Jerseys largest recovery initiative: The Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation, and Mitigation (RREM) Program. The program either reimburses homeowners for repairs or pays contractors directly for the work. We found 7,774 RREM grant agreements have been signed since the October 2012 storm. Yet, only 2,774 RREM homes have actually been re-built, which is about one out of every three approved projects. The NBC10 Investigators also confirmed that more than 600 of those projects were just finished in the last quarter of 2015. Ryan says her case was slowed because RREM was unprepared for the contractor fraud she suffered. The first crews at Tyskas house didnt correctly repair her foundation. Tyska says RREM wasnt able to quickly find a new contractor to do the follow-up work, which left her home with township code violations in the meantime. Kosakowski blames her delays on inconsistency in re-building standards between RREM, her insurance, and the township. The RREM program is intended to help residents re-build, even despite such complications. Yet these homeowners say, inefficient and inadequate communication from RREM has often slowed repairs down further, and has occasionally added new hurdles. They are not equipped to handle the scope of what Sandy brought to New Jersey, Sue Kosakowski. After RREM representatives declined our on-camera interview request, we caught up with Governor Christie on the campaign trail in New Hampshire in February. Christie told Spencer: Im never satisfied until everybody gets back in their home. But going from 365,000 homes destroyed to four or five thousand Spencer then asked about the RREM program, but Christie walked onto his campaign bus instead of answering. The governors office never responded to our requests for a more complete interview. The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs points to other numbers, saying nearly all RREM grant agreements have been signed, and about 6,700 of RREMs 7,700 participants have received a notice to proceed with construction. However, those numbers dont reflect whether or not construction has begun. For the many in the still-unfinished group, frustration continues to grow. Its hard to explain what it does to you, but it actually gets to the fiber of your soul, Kosakowski said. Kosakowski, Ryan, and Tyska are part of a group called the New Jersey Organizing Project. State officials say theyve 'personally met and frequently communicate' with the group to address concerns. By May 1, 2016, New Jerseys Housing Recovery Centers will be closed and consolidated into just two offices. Officials say that will allow them to focus more of their resources on rebuilding and project completion, which they say are now the predominant needs of RREM homeowners. A recent gathering of American Reform rabbis in Jerusalem was meant to celebrate the small gains the liberal Jewish movement has made in Israel in recent years. But a series of comments by Israeli officials denigrating the group marred the event, reflecting an awkward relationship that many fear is alienating the world's second-largest Jewish community from Israel. The Reform Movement is the largest stream of Judaism in the United States, claiming to represent 1.5 million people, and its members provide a key source of financial support and political advocacy for Israel. But the movement is marginal in Israel, where religious affairs are dominated by the Orthodox rabbinical establishment. Israeli lawmakers, both secular and ultra-Orthodox, have repeatedly disparaged the group, questioning their Judaism and accusing them of promoting Jewish assimilation. "How do you ask Jews around the world to support Israel politically, economically, socially ... and at the same time you have these ministers who say to our people 'you're not really Jewish' or 'you don't have a place here in Israel?' That incongruity is a real problem for us," said Rabbi Steven Fox, the chief executive of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which held its septennial convention in Israel last week. The group represents 2,000 rabbis. In the U.S., Reform synagogues are commonplace, characterized by practices such as mixed-gender prayers, services led by female rabbis and members who drive to synagogue on the Sabbath customs that violate Orthodox norms. In Israel, Reform Judaism is at best seen as a curiosity and at worst, a threat. This in turn has placed obstacles in the way of the movement's effort to make inroads in Israel, beaten back by an Orthodox monopoly over Jewish rituals such as marriage, burials and conversions. Reform rabbis have made small gains in Israel, and in January, the movement was jubilant over perhaps its greatest victory Israel's announcement that it would create a special mixed-gender prayer area at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The wall, managed by an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who opposes having Reform customs at the site, is the holiest place where Jews can pray. The new area will also permit women to wear prayer shawls and skullcaps, a rite reserved for men under Orthodox custom. The announcement came after three years of painstaking negotiations between Israeli officials and the liberal streams of Judaism and appeared to mark a historic turning point in relations between Israel and diaspora Jews. But right after the plan was approved, Israel's secular Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said the Reform movement was a "waning world." He accused it of tolerating intermarriage, encouraging assimilation and predicted the mixed-prayer area would become unnecessary within two or three generations. Under religious law, Jews cannot marry non-Jews. Even after Reform rabbis criticized him, Levin expressed no remorse. "It's very important that we'll be aware of the problem of assimilation and do our best efforts in order to solve it," he told The Associated Press. A chorus of other lawmakers, most of them Orthodox, have publicly lashed out at the Reform movement. As the rabbis' convention was kicking off, a legislator from an ultra-Orthodox party compared the movement to the "mentally ill." The rhetoric has put Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a tough spot. He met the visiting rabbis but, wary of antagonizing religious factions in his coalition, his office made no announcement of the meeting, as it typically does with nearly all visitors. Fox, the rabbi group's chief executive, said the encounter was "more positive" than past meetings with Netanyahu, though they were surprised by the absence of the public announcement. When asked by the AP, Netanyahu's office declined to comment on the meeting. "The ministers here paint us as if we're not really Jewish. And the ignorance they display makes my congregants ... think 'is Israel really that backward of a nation?' It reflects poorly on the state of Israel," said Rabbi Denise Eger, another leader of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. For decades, American Jewry the second largest Jewish community in the world after Israel has served as a bedrock of support for Israel. But there are signs of that support eroding, particularly among younger and more liberal Jews. Jay Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation, a Boston-based group that teaches Israeli leaders about the American Jewish community, said that at a time when Israel faces so many challenges, it makes no "strategic sense" for Israeli leaders to alienate American Jews. "A smart politician would say, 'These Jews are different than us, but they play a very important strategic role,'" he said. Beyond the Western Wall compromise, the Reform rabbis say they do see progress elsewhere as well. Israel's Supreme Court ruled last month that the country's ritual baths must accept all converts to Judaism, even those who have undergone non-Orthodox conversions outside the country. The rabbis also point to the movement's small but growing base in Israel and their invitation to a parliamentary committee during their convention last week, where lawmakers, mainly from centrist parties, showered them with gratitude and praise. "When I read statements by the Israeli tourism minister about Reform Judaism in the United States, it comes from a denial and a misunderstanding and an ignorance about the importance of the powerful contribution that you make to relations between the two countries," Nachman Shai, a lawmaker from the centrist Zionist Union, told the packed auditorium, where women and men wore rainbow-colored skullcaps and sang Hatikva, Israel's national anthem. Reform leaders told the meeting that the harsh reactions from some lawmakers were an unfortunate but expected response to the gains the movement has made. "These are clearly changes that are long overdue," said Rabbi Richard Jacobs, the President of the Union for Reform Judaism. "The change signals to the ultra-Orthodox that there will no longer be a monopoly." When a 52-year-old construction worker from Guadalajara faced a federal court judge last March for illegal entry, he was no stranger to the court room. Since 1998, the man had been arrested nine times for illegally entering the country. Through a plea deal system called Fast Track, the man faced a two-year prison sentence for the latest offense. It was less time than he received in 2011 when the same federal court judge sentenced him to 30 months for the same crime. Court documents show the federal court judge objected, saying seems to me that if a guy keeps doing the same thing one would think the penalties would go up, not down. Federal Court Judge Larry A. Burns overturned the defendant's plea deal, sentencing the Guadalajara worker to 45 months behind bars, according to court documents. He added, This isnt Starbucks where you get your eighth coffee for free. The defendants court appointed lawyer declined to comment. The Southern District of California is the fifth busiest U.S. court district. Immigration cases make up 60% of the caseload. According to 2014 data released by the U.S. Justice Department, 41.7 percent of the federal criminal cases U.S. attorneys filed in all U.S. district courts across the nation were in the five U.S. attorneys' districts that sit along the U.S.-Mexico border. Those numbers are just tracking the more serious illegal re-entry cases, federal data shows. On average, a person is caught for illegal entry and deported 3.2 times before they ever see the inside of a federal court room, according to the data. The federal prosecutions are reserved for criminals who illegally enter the country in addition to committing some other offense, such as drug offenses, theft or domestic violence, according to legal experts and federal court records. The Southern District of California uses a system called Fast Track to handle the huge volume of immigration cases, but court documents show two federal court judges are raising concerns about the process. Fast Track offers a quick resolution to illegal entry cases, in return for lighter sentences. In 2015, about 27 percent of all cases were handled by the Fast Track Sentencing Unit in the Southern District of California, according to a U.S. Attorney spokeswoman. Essentially, you show up, heres your Fast Track offer, its on the table, take it or leave it. If you dont take it, your sentence is going to be way jacked up, said Criminal Defense Attorney Patrick Griffin. Both the U.S. Attorneys office and Griffin said Fast Track preserves court resources, saving time and money. Theres a balancing act between do we give these people lighter sentences for not using resources, or do we expend a ton of resources, time, energy to incarcerate people who are eventually going to get deported anyway? Griffin said. One federal court judge, Larry A. Burns, has said recently in open court that preserving court resources is no longer a concern because few cases go to trial anymore. Both Burns and U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy declined an on-camera interview. According to the U.S. Attorneys office, prosecutors are granted full discretion in deciding who is offered a Fast-Track disposition, a break in the previous policy that required the defendant to not have already gone through the Fast-Track system before and not have any serious violent felonies on his or her record. Griffin said theres really no simple solution to the complicated problem. What the statistics have found is these people simply are not deterred by federal incarceration, and theyre not, Griffin said. The numbers back it up. They just dont sit there and think Oh, I better not do this, because for a lot of these people, three square meals a day and having a bed to sleep in is not that much worse than what theyre dealing with when they decide to cross. For children who lack a home or a secure place to live, having their own book and a set of crayons can mean a world of difference. This week, preschool teacher Sasha Sharpe donated 40 copies of her self-published book, "Counting With Friends Outside," to the Monarch School for Homeless Children in downtown San Diego. On Tuesday at 4 p.m., Sharpe will present preschool and first grade students at Monarch School with their very own hardcover copies of her book, along with a set of crayons. She will also sit and read with students. Sharpe says that she created the book because she understands the crucial impact reading skills have on a child's development. As a preschool teacher with over 10 years of experience, she is well aware of how important it is for kids to have access to books. "Counting With Friends Outside" is an interactive children's book which teaches essential skills such as counting, identifying numbers, colors and words. Sharpe says that its message encourages children to embrace and celebrate cultural differences. Her goal was to find an organization that specifically serves underprivileged children with limited access to learning resources. Kristen Paruginog, Executive Director of Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence, helped to point Sharpe in the direction of the Monarch School, which serves homeless youth. The school has served San Diego for more than 25 years. It began as a one-room education center before expanding into a K-12 school. Wrike, considered one of North Americas fastest growing companies, announced the opening of an office in La Jolla. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer celebrated the opening Monday touting it as proof of a trend in the city's ability to create good, quality jobs and great careers in our innovation economy. This is about creativity, this is about ingenuity and this is about talent, Faulconer said noting that universities like Cal State San Marcos, UC San Diego and San Diego State University are turning out graduates prepared for high-tech companies like Wrike. Sean Barr, Senior VP of Economic Development, San Diego Regional EDC said San Diego won out over other comparable cities when Wrike chose its newest location. We are the fastest growing place for millennials, Barr said. He added that Wrike will bring the types of jobs San Diego wants to have including engineering and computer science positions. We look forward to adding another 120 jobs to the local economy in the next few years, said Seth Shaw, CRO at Wrike. Wrike was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California. The company offers a work management platform that allows clients to integrate multiple business tools in one place. Police have created a memorial fund for the Prince William County officer who was fatally shot on her first day on the job. The Prince William County Police Association has created the fund for the family of Officer Ashley Guindon. The association will collect all donations and send them directly to Guindon's mother. If possible, checks should be made out to "PWCPA in memory of OFC Ashley Guindon," authorities said. Anyone who wishes to donate can leave their donation at any county police station or mail it directly to the police association at: Prince William County Police Association, Officer Guindon Memorial Fund, P. O. Box 1845, Manassas, VA 20108. Police are warning people not to donate to GoFundMe pages that purport to be raising money for Guindon's family. Police determined that at least one fraudulent page was set up in the officer's name. Guindon's funeral is scheduled for Tuesday. She was fatally shot Saturday night after responding to a domestic call in Woodbridge, Virginia. It was her first shift on the job; she had been sworn in Friday. An Army staff sergeant, 32-year-old Ronald Hamilton, has been charged in the deaths of his wife, Crystal Hamilton and Guidon. Two other officers were also injured and will have a long road to recovery, the police chief said. The man charged in the deaths of Virginia college students Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington is expected to enter a plea agreement this week. Jesse L. Matthew Jr. will enter the pleas in Albemarle County Circuit Court on Wednesday, Commonwealth's Attorney Robert N. Tracci announced Monday afternoon. Graham, an 18-year-old student at the University of Virginia, vanished in September 2014 after a night out with friends. She was seen on surveillance video on Charlottesville's downtown mall, both alone and with a man prosecutors have said is Matthew. Her remains were found five weeks later. Harrington, 20, was a student at Virginia Tech when she disappeared in fall 2009 after attending a concert on the University of Virginia campus. Her remains were found in early 2010. "...(It) is anticipated that Jesse Leroy Matthew, Jr., will be entering a plea agreement to resolve both the Hannah Graham and Morgan Harrington abduction and murder cases," Tracci said in a release Monday. An earlier version of the media release said Matthew would be entering guilty pleas in the cases. A second version simply called it a plea agreement. Matthew had been charged with capital murder in Graham's death and first-degree murder in Harrington's death. His trials in those cases had been scheduled to be held in July and October, respectively. During a pretrial hearing in January, Matthew's defense attorneys argued that crucial evidence should be thrown out, but after 10 hours of testimony, a judge sided with the prosecution. Matthew is already serving three life sentences in another case, the attempted murder and assault of a 26-year-old woman in Fairfax in 2005. The victim had been walking home from a grocery store when she was grabbed and grabbed into the woods, where she was assaulted and choked. Matthew took an Alford plea in that case in June 2015. An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence to convict. Prosecutors have said all three cases were linked by DNA evidence. Investigators had first linked the Harrington and Fairfax cases, but didn't have a suspect. After Matthew was arrested weeks after Graham's disappearance, Virginia State Police said the arrest "provided a significant break" in the Harrington case. Family, friends and law enforcement officers gathered Tuesday to remember a Virginia police officer who was shot and killed on her first day on the job. Thousands of people, including officers from around the region, attended funeral services for Prince William County Officer Ashley Guindon on Tuesday at Hylton Memorial Chapel in Woodbridge, News4's Julie Carey reports. Guindon's mother was held in the embrace of two Prince William County officers as she entered the chapel, followed by other family members. During the service, Guindon, 28, was remembered as a loving daughter and a highly intelligent young woman driven to pursue a career of service. "She had accomplished more in 28 years than I think I could in a hundred. That was her desire to serve, to be involved in things that mattered, to give her life to something worth giving it to," Prince William County Police Chief Steve Hudson said during the service. Guindon was one of three officers shot Saturday while responding to a domestic violence call. The other two officers are expected to survive. The suspect, Ronald Hamilton, is jailed facing a capital murder charge and other counts. Hamilton's wife, 29-year-old Crystal Hamilton, was shot and killed Saturday before police arrived. The suspect's 11-year-old son escaped the gunfire, police said. "[Ashley Guindon] had a willingness for the 11-year-old boy in that home, a willingness to give her life for that child," Prince William County Police Chaplain Danny Glusko said. Police services in Prince William County were not disrupted Tuesday while officers attended Guindon's funeral. Members of the Manassas City Police Department, Prince William County Sheriff's Office and Virginia State Police assisted. The two officers injured after being shot, Jesse Hempen and David McKeown, were not able to attend the services, police said. Guindon went through training with the department last year before leaving for personal reasons. She rejoined the department this year and had been sworn in as an officer on Friday. She was on her first shift Saturday when she was shot. "We were struck by her passion to do this job," Hudson said. "She did share with us when we rehired her that she felt like she wanted to do this job. She couldn't get it out of her blood." Guindon, a Woodbridge resident who previously lived in Merrimack, New Hampshire, enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She relocated to Virginia to pursue a graduate degree and sought to become a crime scene investigator, Prince William County police said in an online biography. She was the only daughter of Sharon Nowack Guindon and the late David Guindon, police said. Guindon's body will be flown to Massachusetts where she will be buried with military honors. Police in Arlington, Virginia are investigating whether a man arrested last week on charges he sexually assaulted a woman this summer is linked to a string of other assaults on women. Santos Efrain Vasquez-Lopez, 19, was arrested Wednesday after Arlington County Police say his DNA matched a sample recovered from an attack on Aug. 1. A 25-year-old woman was walking home about 11:30 p.m. Aug. 1 when a man grabbed her from behind on the 4300 block of N. Pershing Drive and pushed her to the ground, police said. The attacker held her down, covered her mouth and tried to take off her shorts. The victim bit the attacker's hand and he ran away, police said. Investigators identified Vasquez-Lopez as a suspect based on the physical description the victim provided. His DNA then matched a sample analyzed by a state lab, police said. Vasquez-Lopez, of Arlington, was arrested at his home late Wednesday night and charged with abduction with the intent to defile. Police are investigating whether he may be connected to several assaults in Arlington last summer. In one instance, on July 31, a woman was thrown to the ground as she ran on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail in the Glencarlyn Park area. Vasquez-Lopez is being held without bond at the Arlington County jail. Anyone with information on the attack Aug. 1 or on Vasquez-Lopez is asked to contact Det. Bercovicz at 703-228-4235 or email kbercovicz@arlingtonva.us. To report information anonymously, call 1-866-411-TIPS. A man known to be violent escaped from a mental health facility in Falls Church, Virginia, on Monday and is being sought by Virginia State Police and Fairfax County police. Michael Marshall, 33, escaped from the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute in the 3300 block of Gallows Road, Fairfax County police said. It was noticed about 6 p.m. Monday that he was gone. He is known to "exhibit violent behavior," police said. Marshall was described by police as black, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 235 pounds, with black hair and glasses. Police said he may be on foot in Falls Church or Annandale. He has ties to Sequoia Farms Drive and Woodfield Drive in Centreville, and the Sterling area, authorities said. Anyone who sees Marshall or has information on his location is asked to call police immediately at 703-691-2131. Anyone who sees him is advised to use caution and not approach him. Tuesday marks a tragic milestone in the case of Relisha Rudd, the missing D.C. girl who vanished from a city homeless shelter: It has been two years since she was last seen. On March 1, 2014, the eight-year-old girl was seen at a Northeast D.C. motel with 51-year-old Kahlil Tatum. He was a janitor at D.C. General, the homeless shelter where Relisha lived with her mother and three brothers. Relisha has not been seen since, and no one has been charged in her disappearance. Police believe Tatum committed suicide. Today marks 2 yrs since Relisha Rudd was seen. We thank the community, as we continue our search for the missing. pic.twitter.com/MbryZon21n DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) March 1, 2016 Relisha's family had allowed her to spend time with Tatum before her disappearance, and she appeared to have been missing for weeks before officials realized she was gone. Relisha, a second-grader, hadn't been seen at Payne Elementary School since the month before her disappearance. Investigators said on March 10, 2014, Tatum posed as a doctor, telling city officials who were concerned for the girl's safety that she was sick with a neurological disorder and was undergoing treatment. When they asked for documents, "Dr. Tatum" said he would leave them at the shelter where Relisha and her family lived. When officials went to the shelter March 19, 2014, to pick up the paperwork, they couldn't find "Dr. Tatum" or Relisha. Shortly after, a missing persons report was filed with D.C. police. The next day, Tatum's wife, Andrea Denise Tatum, was found dead in a motel in Oxon Hill, Maryland. On March 31, 2014, Tatum was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Kenilworth Park. There has been no sign of Relisha, who now would be 10 years old. In the two years since then, investigators and K-9 teams have searched multiple sites, including at Kenilworth Park, a construction site and the Anacostia River. Police have said Tatum purchased a shovel, lime and contractor-sized trash bags, and spent a significant amount of time at Kenilworth Park around the time Relisha was last seen. Investigators have looked into the possibility that Tatum killed Relisha and buried her in the park, but her body was never found. In December, police conducted a new round of searches, and Police Chief Cathy Lanier renewed her call for community members to come forward with any information about the girl's disappearance. The FBI's Washington Field Office is assisting D.C. police with the ongoing investigation. "One of the FBI's top priorities is protecting children from violent crimes and we remain committed to finding Relisha or any child that goes missing," the FBI said in a statement in December. After Relisha's disappearance, D.C. officials took a second look at how they handled her case, but their report found the District couldn't have prevented her disappearance, citing, in part, misleading information provided by Relisha's family. However, the report did suggest more than two dozen recommended policy changes on issues including how schools deal with unexcused absences, background checks for homeless shelter employees, and fraternization between families and shelter staff. Editor's Note: This story is no longer being updated. For the latest on Virginia results, click here. Polls closed at 7 p.m. in Virginia, where primary voters cast their ballots for the Republican and Democratic nominees for president. Virginia -- a battleground state with scores of delegates up for grabs -- is one of nearly a dozen states holding primaries on Super Tuesday. The outcomes could go a long way in determining both parties' eventual winners. Republicans are voting in 11 states, with 595 delegates at stake; 49 of those are in Virginia. Democrats are casting ballots in 11 states as well as American Samoa, with 865 delegates up for grabs; 95 of those are in Virginia. In Fairfax County, election officials say more than 700,000 people have registered to vote, an increase of nearly 100,000 voters from 2008. Many voters say this election is too important to stay home. Voters had lined up in many polling places early Tuesday, before polls had even opened. "This is an important election," one voter said. "I'm a little concerned about getting two really good candidates.... It's been a pretty wild election season. It's been entertaining up 'til now, but I'm thinking it's not funny anymore." "A lot is at stake in this country at the moment," another voter said. And a lot of Virginia delegates are at stake for the candidates, which is why many of the presidential hopefuls have visited in recent weeks, hoping to sway voters. "I was definitely leaning one way, and kind of changed my mind over the course of the campaign," said another voter. John Whitbeck, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said GOP voters were fired up to get to the polls. "The evidence is clear that we're looking at a record turnout in Virginia,'' he said. Susan Swecker, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said she expected turnout on the Democratic side to be "robust," but wasn't sure whether it would be record setting. She noted that there are only two candidates running for the Democratic side, Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, compared with five GOP candidates. Even before polls opened Tuesday, voters were weighing in. "Our absentee voting has been very robust," said Lisa Connors, a spokeswoman for Fairfax County. "We have several t hrousand voters more than we did back in 2008." Whoever wins Virginia is also likely to bolster their case that they can do well in the general election, as the Old Dominion has a diverse electorate and is expected to be a pivotal swing state. "Virginia is America in miniature," said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. "A win here means more than a win in a lot of other states." Delegates for both parties will be awarded proportionally. What You Need to Know Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Virginia. Voters in line at 7 p.m. will be allowed to cast ballots after that time, but they must be in line by then. Registered voters can find their polling places online here. A current photo ID will be required to vote (see acceptable forms of ID here). Registered voters who forget their IDs may cast provisional ballots. If your ID is expired, go to your nearest Voter Registration Office (see a PDF of locations here) and apply for a free Virginia Voter Photo ID Card, which you can get the same day. The primaries are open, which means each registered voter can choose to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary. Voters will not have to sign a loyalty pledge to vote in a party's primary. Although the Republican Party of Virginia initially wanted voters in its primary to sign a form stating they were Republicans, the party backed off the pledge after a public outcry, as well as criticism from GOP front-runner Donald Trump and his supporters. Voters should be aware that the ballots for Virginia's primary were printed weeks ago and actually list several candidates on them who are no longer running. Candidates Visit Virginia Virtually every candidate in both parties made at least one stop in Virginia in the run-up to the primary. Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) will hold a primary day rally at George Mason University Law School from noon to 1 p.m. Doors will open at 11 a.m. Those who wish to attend may RSVP online. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) held a four-stop tour around the commonwealth Sunday, and has recently consolidated a large amount of the state GOP establishment's support. Rubio and a super PAC supporting him recently purchased more than $400,000 of airtime in Virginia's four biggest TV markets, according to the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project. Clinton's campaign has bought more than $360,000. Donald Trump (R) was at Virginia Beach's Regent University last week and was set to hold a rally Monday evening at Radford University in southwest Virginia, home to a large number of blue-collar voters more likely to support him. Trump has made small TV ad buys around the state. A super PAC devoted to attacking Trump announced Friday that it was running radio ads attacking him in parts of central Virginia. Sec. Hillary Clinton (D) spoke Monday in Northern Virginia, home to wealthier, more liberal voters, and in Hampton Roads, which has a high concentration of African-American voters. The Clinton campaign has focused on courting black voters in Virginia, lining up support from most African-American state lawmakers. And Gov. Terry McAuliffe is a longtime family friend and confidante. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt. ) has shown momentum in Virginia. A rally he held in Norfolk drew thousands. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Dr. Ben Carson (R) recently appeared at Regent University's presidential candidate series in Virginia Beach. A man in Ohio who fatally shot his roommate almost 40 years ago and ate part of his brain is under review for parole. David Allen Chapin, 60, is currently serving a life sentence at the Allen Correction Institution in Lima, Ohio, according to state records. He has been denied parole at least six times, a spokesperson from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction told NBC Chicago. Chapin shot his roommate Donald Liming in Milford, Ohio, on Oct. 3, 1978, The Cincinnati Enquirer reports. The pair, who had been friends since childhood, had been arguing about religion; Chapin was a Baptist and Liming said he was a Catholic, a Buddhist, as well as a pagan, according to the publication. Chapin put Limings body into the trunk of his Buick Skylark and drove to a community college he was attending, the Enquirer reported, citing archives. While in biology class, Chapin asked the professor if he needed a corpse to dissect. During the course of his murder trial in Clermont County, Chapin explained to a court-ordered psychiatrist that he devoured part of Limings brain as part of a "mutual agreement" between the roommates, according to the Enquirer. The Ohio Parole Board conducted a closed release consideration hearing on Feb. 1, and the case was referred to the Central Office Board Review, according to JoEllen Smith of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. A decision is pending. The case has now been moved to the Central Office Board Review for consideration, which will review his case history and the publics opinion before they make a recommendation, according to Smith. Additionally, a public hearing could be scheduled where Limings family and the Clermont County Prosecutor would oppose Limings release, according to the Enquirer. On the eve of Super Tuesday's crucial primaries, a sharp new divide erupted between Republicans who pledge to fall in line behind Donald Trump if he wins their party's nomination and others who insist they can never back the bombastic billionaire. The fissure could have major implications beyond the primaries, exposing the looming challenges in uniting the party after the election, no matter who wins. Nebraska's Ben Sasse, a rising star among conservatives, became the first current senator to publicly raise the prospect of backing a third party option if Trump clinches the nomination. In a letter posted on Facebook late Sunday, Sasse urged Republicans to consider whether a party led by Trump would still represent their interests. "If our party is no longer working for the things we believe in like defending the sanctity of life, stopping Obamacare, protecting the Second Amendment, etc. then people of good conscience should stop supporting that party until it is reformed," he wrote. The Associated Press asked Republican senators and governors across the country if they would support Trump if he secured the nomination. Just under half of those who responded would not commit to backing him, foreshadowing a potentially extraordinary break this fall. "I am increasingly concerned by Donald Trump's statements and behavior, and I have serious concerns about his ability to win the general election and provide presidential leadership," Indiana Sen. Dan Coats said in a statement to AP. The concern among Republican leaders appeared to grow in light of Trump's refusal to immediately disavow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke's support. Mitt Romney, the party's 2012 nominee, called that "disqualifying." And South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, campaigning in Atlanta alongside Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, said she would "not stop fighting a man who refuses to disavow the KKK." Trump said he had not understood the interviewer who first raised the question about Duke, and he did later repudiate him. "How many times do I have to continue to disavow people?" he said. Several high-profile Republicans and conservative writers have embraced an anti-Trump social media campaign, using the Twitter hashtag "NeverTrump." Trump has won three of four early primary contests, roiling a party that had assumed his populist appeal with voters would fizzle. Instead, he's only grown stronger and appears to be in commanding position heading into Super Tuesday, the biggest single-day delegate haul of the year. Tensions boiled over during Trump's rally Monday in Radford, Virginia, where he was repeatedly disrupted by demonstrators, including 20 or more chanting "Black lives matter." At another point, he asked a protester, "Are you from Mexico?" after he was interrupted during remarks about immigration. He ordered several people to be removed, then cast himself as a unifying political force. "Believe it or not, we're going to unify this country," he said. If Trump sweeps most of the states up for grabs Tuesday, he could amass a delegate lead that would be difficult for any rival to overcome. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is banking on a win in his home state to keep him in the race, while Rubio wants to stay close in the delegate count until the primary hits his home state of Florida on March 15. Meanwhile, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is solidifying her lead. Like Trump, Clinton could begin putting her party's nomination out of reach for rival Bernie Sanders with a strong showing on Super Tuesday. Sanders hopes to score victories in Minnesota and Massachusetts, where he was traveling to later Monday, and in Oklahoma and Colorado. He was ending his day in his home state of Vermont, which stands as the only sure thing in his Super Tuesday calculus, underscoring Clinton's sky-high expectations of padding her delegate lead this week. Clinton, powered by strong support among black voters, was in firm control in several Southern states holding contests on Tuesday, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas. The former secretary of state campaigned in Massachusetts on Monday and was holding events later in the day in Virginia, another general election battleground holding its primary on Super Tuesday. As Trump has rolled through the early voting states, he's received enthusiastic endorsements from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and from Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, one of the most vocal opponents of immigration -law changes on Capitol Hill. Several other party officials have said they would back the real estate mogul if he does become the nominee, though some say their support would be reluctant. "I'm a Republican and I will support the nominee," Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said Monday. "I do not think he is our best nominee, but I will support the nominee." Party leaders are particularly worried about the ripple effect of a Trump nomination on other races. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson urged Republicans to remember that their White House pick also impacts "the Senate and whether we're going to continue to elect Republican governors across the country." A new commercial released Monday by Arizona Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, who is challenging John McCain for his Senate seat, served as a likely preview of how Democrats would seek to link GOP candidates to Trump. The 60-second spot highlighted several of Trump's more incendiary statements and questioned how McCain could say he would support him in the general election. Some Republicans said Senate candidates and others would have to forgo party unity in order to save themselves. "It's not going to be a team effort. It's going to be every man for himself," said Matt Mackowiak, a GOP strategist who is unaffiliated in the 2016 race. Calls to 911 reveal the frantic scene after a bizarre attack involving a machete sent one man to the hospital in Connecticut over the weekend. Terror in the callers' voices is evident in the recordings from Saturday night, when 30-year-old Zchacorey Pouncey, of Broad Brook, allegedly attacked another man with a machete outside the victims home on Abbe Road. The victims girlfriend called 911. "I have a head injury. We got somebody running theres (expletive) blood all over the place. We just need somebody here right now," the woman told the dispatcher. She then handed the phone to her boyfriend, who had been cut with the machete. "She went out. Came home with her cousins boyfriend. Ive got the machete right now that this dude tried to chop me up with," the victim said in the call. "OK, is the person with the machete still there?" the dispatcher asked. "I took the machete from him. He (expletive) tried to kill me," the victim replied. Police said the man fought back against the suspect but wont be charged because he was acting in self-defense. "I dont even know if hes all right. You guys may have to look for him," he told the dispatcher. Neighbors found Pouncey lying on their porch, bleeding heavily from a head wound. Pouncey was taken to the hospital and later arrested and charged with assault, breach of peace and carrying a dangerous weapon. "The house is a mess. Theres pure blood in here. Nobody died or nothing like that, but yeah, he came home and tried to kill me," the victim repeated on the 911 call. Police still dont have a motive but said Pouncey was intoxicated. Pouncey also faces charges for allegedly starting a fight and breaking the window of the German Club in Broad Brook. Employees said they kicked Pouncey out after he appeared to become intoxicated and start a fight. Upon being locked out of the club, police said Pouncey used the machete to break a window. East Windsor police said they plan to charge him with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. Information on an attorney for Pouncey was not immediately available. It was a huge and surprising win for a movie that has its foundation at the Boston Globe. "Spotlight" won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and for the real people behind the movie characters, the win means much more than a gold statue. Winning best picture at the Academy Awards, the film Spotlight shined a bright light on an issue sex abuse victim Alexa MacPherson knows intimately. She faced abuse from her priest, but as exciting as this moment was, it didn't offer her something she longs for more than anything. "Not a sense of closure, at least not for me," said MacPherson, "It's a sense of being understood. And not being called a liar." The movie is about the Boston Globe's Spotlight investigation into the child sex abuse scandal in the Boston Catholic Church. NECN spoke with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Walter Robinson, who was part of the Spotlight team that exposed the sex abuse scandal involving clergy. In spotlight, Robinson is played by actor Michael Keaton. Robinson hopes with "Spotlight's" now global fame, swift action will be taken in the Catholic Church. "Perhaps it will move the church to move more quickly to Institute the reforms to make sure that this kind of Wholesale abuse of children doesn't happen again," said Robinson. But as journalists, attorneys, and now movies fight for the justice of victims, victims themselves live a reality none of us can understand. MacPherson no longer goes to the Catholic Church and doesn't believe in its doctrine regardless of court wins and now Academy Awards. At its core, she will never be able to understand what happened and why it was allowed for so long. "How can you follow a doctrine that allows abuse of children and then covers it up and doesn't hold the perpetrators liable in any way shape or form?" said MacPherson. NECN also spoke with Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney for more than a dozen victims and portrayed in the movie Spotlight. He says with this kind of international attention on the scandal, the Vatican has to do something about it. Donald Trump has won the Massachusetts and Vermont Republican primaries, according to NBC News projections. Republican voters gave Trump the win over fellow Republican candidates Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Ben Carson, who were hoping for strong second place finishes. For Republicans, Massachusetts has 42 delegates awarded on a proportional basis. That means multiple candidates will likely receive delegates. All GOP delegates are awarded based on the primary tally. Trump was projected as the Vermont Republican primary winner overnight. Heading into Super Tuesday, Trump was leading the pack with 82 delegates after winning New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Cruz won Iowa and was in second with 17 delegates. Rubio was in a close third with 16 delegates. The Republican candidates spent Monday making a final push for voters. Trump ended his campaigning in Georgia, where he was joined on stage by some big names in NASCAR. Kasich spent the day campaigning in New England, while Cruz focused his attention on Texas. Rubio's stops included Georgia and Oklahoma. In Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker headed to the polls in Swampscott early Tuesday morning. Baker had endorsed former Republican candidate Chris Christie, who is no longer in the running and has not backed another candidate publicly. He didn't say who he voted for, but did say it wasn't Trump or Cruz. The presidential candidate is spending Super Tuesday in his home state of Vermont Bernie Sanders arrived at his polling place in Burlington, Vermont on Super Tuesday to super encouragement from neighbors. "I would love to see democratic socialism spread throughout the country," beamed Tom Barber, a voter in Sanders' home ward in Burlington. Several voters cheered, one shouting, "keep fighting, Bernie," as the Secret Service motorcade pulled into the polling location. Sanders and his wife, Jane, cast their ballots around 7:30 Tuesday morning, contributing two votes toward what's universally expected will be a landslide win for the Vermont senator on his home turf. Elsewhere, polls show significant challenges in states favorable to Hillary Clinton's more established name. Still, Sanders has a goal of ending Super Tuesday with as many proportionally-awarded delegates as possible, he said. "We're very proud of what we are doing, and we're proud of what we're going to continue to do," Sanders told reporters gathered outside the polling place. "This is a campaign that's going to the Philadelphia convention in July and I want to thank the millions of supporters throughout this country." But not everyone in Sanders' backyard is on board with their hometown senator. "I call him 'Bernie Santa Claus' because he thinks everything should be free, but there's no connection between paying for it," said Karen Rowell, a Burlington voter. Hillary Clinton supporters planned an afternoon of phone calls to get out the vote for the former Secretary of State across Vermont. Polls in Vermont close at 7 p.m. Sanders is holding an evening rally on Super Tuesday at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction. Stay with necn and www.necn.com for coverage of that event. Many people say you cant know where youre going without knowing where youve been. For some this quote may not mean much, but for the women of the 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing who provide the Air Forces largest remotely piloted aircraft enterprise with support this statement rings true. Womens History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as Womens History Week. In 1987, Congress designated the month of March 1987 as Womens History Month. Since 1995, Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as Womens History Month. On a daily basis these women provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support, maintain both the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper; safeguard control centers, administer medications, file records, maintain secured communications capability, command squadrons, fly aircraft and tell the Air Force story. As we enter March, we celebrate women and their contribution to the defense of our nation. We honor them regardless of backgrounds, nation or creed. Sgt. Esther Blake was the first female to enlist in the newly formed Air Force on July 8, 1948 on the first hour of the first day it was authorized for women to join. Since that faithful day women all over the world have followed in her footsteps. Airmen like Lt Col. Mackenzie who serves as the only female commander at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. She commands 320 men and women of the 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, to include two aircraft maintenance units that provide aircraft maintenance needed to sustain global RPA operations. Additionally, she serves as a mother raising two children with Lt Col Ted who is also an Air Force commander. Women of the 432nd Wing, serving in command positions, both past and present have achieved historic milestones while serving their country. Women like Lt Col Shawna, who broke racial barriers when she became the first black female fighter pilot. She joined the Civil Air Patrol, worked at air shows and earned her private pilot's license. Eventually, she was accepted into the Air Force Academy. She did all of this despite people telling her there was no such thing as a female fighter pilot. She earned her pilot wings in August 1999. These women represent the caliber of women serving in todays officer corps. According to the DOD, there are a total of 60 female military flag officers with 21 of those belonging to the Department of the Air Force, the most from any military branch. Female Airmen also serve in key enlisted positions to include command chiefs, first sergeants, and Chaplain Assistants to name a few. They continuously improve the quality of life both on and off duty here at the 432nd Wing. Senior Master Sgt. Christin serves as the only female squadron superintendent as Creech. She is the chief enlisted advisor for nearly 290 aviation and intelligence Airmen, aviation resource management personnel while integrating Air Force Reserve Command members. Together they provide 24/7/365 combat support to combatant commanders in multiple Areas of Responsibility. She also served as Creechs Top III President and Vice President and currently teaches Unmanned Aircraft System courses at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Despite the many misconceptions about women serving in todays military, in a recent statistics release from the Defense Department, women make up 29 percent of all USAF military personnel, 30.5 percent of all civilian personnel, with nearly equal representation in both the officer (20.3 percent) and enlisted (18.9 percent) corps. Of the officers, 55 percent of the female officers are line officers, and 45 percent are non-line. Of the 307,001 active duty personnel, 58,785 are women, with 676 female pilots, 288 navigators and 223 air battle managers. President Barack Obama during a 2015 presidential proclamation said, "We honor the many patriots who have shaped not only the destinies of other women, but also the direction of our history, let us resolve to build on their efforts in our own time." Ecumenical prayer walk in E Norfolk village 2016: On Sunday February 21 a cross-section of members from the church of England, Roman Catholic and Methodist fellowships in the East Norfolk village of Acle joined for their annual prayer walk. Led by Rector Rev Martin Greenland, Deacon, Rev Peter Glanville and lay preacher Vernon Cumpstey the group met for prayers outside St Edmunds Church, processing around various spots in the village, including the police station, banks, veterinary hospital, high school, cemetery, recreation centre, medical centre and library with appropriate prayers being recited at each location. The walk concluded at the Methodist church where refreshments were grateful consumed. The photo shows, from left to right, Martin Greenland, Peter Glanville, Vernon Cumpstey and the prayer team outside the police station. This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitters approach. Cloud storage revenue is forecast to grow more than 28% annually to reach $65 billion in 2020. The driving force is the substantial economies of scale that enable cloud-based solutions to deliver more cost-effective primary and backup storage than on-premises systems can ever hope to achieve. Most IT departments quickly discover, however, that there are significant challenges involved in migrating and synchronizing many thousands or even millions of files from on-premise storage systems to what Gartner characterizes as Enterprise File Synchronization and Sharing (EFSS) services in the cloud. According to Gartner, by 2019 75% of enterprises will have deployed multiple EFSS capabilities, and over 50% will struggle with problems of data migration, up from 10% today. In a newly-published report titled, How to Migrate File Shares, SaaS and ECM to EFSS Gartner identifies four ways organizations can manage migration to and/or synchronization with EFSS servicescustom integration; rudimentary copy; EFSS import services; and specialized third-party toolswhich well explore more here: Custom integration Custom solutions can be handled internally by IT or outsourced to consultants with expertise in content management. Either way, the question remains: Is an integration army required? The answer depends on how similar or different the storage systems are, and in most situations, the troops find the system differences to be both broader and deeper than initially anticipated. Every file has a unique set of properties associated with it, and most file systems treat at least some of these file properties differently. The properties include the basics, such as file name, format and metadata, along with the more advanced, such as versioning, ownership preservation, and permissions. In a hybrid storage environment, file names might need to be normalized. Versions might need to be tracked manually. Different security models might be needed for each file system, potentially creating problems for usersand placing a significant burden on the Help Desk. In any complex custom integration, there are bound to be mistakes. And the biggest problem in a hybrid storage environment is often an inability to detect file transfer corruption or version problems before they cause problems for the organization. Even seemingly simple scenarios can grow enormously complex. Consider the experience of Shawmut Design and Construction, a construction management firm with offices throughout the U.S. The company uses BIM 360 software from Autodesk for construction management, and the ShareFile platform from Citrix for collaboration with the team in the field. Change orders are common in construction projects, and using out-of-date information can cause costly mistakes. So the superintendent in charge of the project took great care to ensure that all of the files were accurately synchronized daily. Using the file management capabilities built into BIM 360 and ShareFile, the effort required three project managerstwo full-time and one part-time. Every day, the staff compared the versions of the many files in both systems, copying the latest from one to the other as needed to keep everything in sync. If three people are needed to handle synchronization between just two file systems, it is not surprising that complexity can increase exponentially in an organization with a dozen or more. Shawmut did not attempt to have IT resources automate the file synchronization task, but other companies havenormally with unsatisfactory results. Getting bi- or multi-directional file synchronization to work well is not a trivial endeavor. Indeed, successfully navigating the different file logistics of multiple incompatible storage systems can become a Tower of Babel that is fraught with potential peril. Making a mistake when comparing just one of the files properties involving the last accessed/modified date, user/group access permissions or locking can result in a file becoming corrupt or over-written by an older version. And if the custom integration application lacks robust error detection and reporting (something that is deceptively difficult), the mistake will remain undetecteduntil a user complains. For a one-time migration or a one-way backup, a custom integration effort, consisting of a combination of manual and automated procedures, may work well enough. This is especially true if the differences among the storage systems involved are relatively minor and manageable. But in most cases, the answer to the question asked in the title is: Yes, it will take an army to successfully and securely synchronize files in a hybrid storage environment. Fortunately, there are three alternatives to custom integration. Rudimentary copy Using familiar, proven and low-tech brute force bulk copy commands, such as xcopy in Windows/DOS and rsync in Linux, is certainly simple and, therefore, might seem to be fairly foolproof. Applications like the File Explorer in Windows and the file management applications offered with most EFSS services also provide bulk file and folder copying capabilities. For brute force bulk copy to work well, though, the storage systems involved either need to be compatible or must be made interoperable at their lowest common denominator. For example, more lenient file naming conventions and more generous file size capabilities might need to be abandoned in order to accommodate the most restrictive storage system, but doing so will minimize the complexity involved. Unless all systems can be made fully interoperable, however, challenges are certain to remain, especially involving file locking and security context via properties like user and group permissions for read/write/delete access. As with custom integration, rudimentary copy can work well for a one-time migration or as a one-way backup solution. But because basic bulk copy commands and utilities lack robust file comparison capabilities, this approach is risky as a file synchronization solution in a hybrid storage environment. Import services Various forms of import services are available with virtually all EFSS platforms. Each has its own file management application with an online file import function, and some providers recommend using a physical disk drive when importing more than 100GB of data. While these online applications and services shift responsibility to the EFSS provider, they can suffer from the same potential complexities and/or limitations such as lost permission models and structures, user-defined metadata, file ownership, and versions as encountered in custom integrations and rudimentary copy mechanisms. So if the import service fails to adequately accommodate the underlying file property differences between or among the different storage systems, the results are destined to be less than satisfactory. And it is for this reason that EFSS providersjust like a growing number of enterprise IT departmentsare starting to use purpose-built third-party file migration and synchronization tools. Third-party tools The growing popularity and inherent complexities of hybrid storage architectures have created a demand for specialized middleware software designed specifically to manage storage system migration and synchronization. While designs vary, the more advanced of these file logistics systems use a custom connector for each storage system supported. The connectors provide a common set of functionality that enables every storage system to interoperate with all others, without sacrificing the advanced capabilities of any. The result is a hybrid content management system capable of serving as an intelligent intermediary between or among many different storage systems. To provide the agility desired in a hybrid storage environment, the connectors normally support a wide range of both on-premises storage systems (e.g. NFS/SAN/NAS, SharePoint, and various Enterprise Content Management solutions) and EFSS platforms (e.g. Box, Dropbox for Business, Google Drive Office 365, OneDrive ShareFile, and Syncplicity). The depth and breadth of support makes these tools suitable for supporting most enterprise applications, as well as the shadow IT Bring Your Own Storage (BYOS) environment being created as users increasingly migrate their own data to the cloud. Increasing frustration with its manual synchronization motivated Shawmut to pilot a third-party hybrid content management tool, and the improvement was immediate. With connectors for both Shawmuts on-premises storage system and Citrix ShareFile, the tool automatically synchronizes files every night based on just a few point-and-click instructions, which has eliminated the need for painstaking manual comparisons. Now the project superintendent spends only a few minutes at the end of each workday to set up the synchronization. After confirming the tool worked as desired, the three project managers previously responsible for synchronizing the files were reassigned to more productive tasks. While security was not a major concern at Shawmut, it is at most organizations. To accommodate this important requirement, the connectors usually include support for each file systems security provisions, and the tool itself is normally installed behind the enterprise firewall and other perimeter defenses. The journey to deciding which of these four alternatives might be the best and most cost-effective in any particular situation begins with taking an inventory of all the storage systems being used enterprise-wide both on-premises and in the cloud. Gartner recommends using a file analysis tool capable of scanning each file system to index its contents and file attributes. With more powerful tools now becoming available to automate the migration and synchronization of on-premises and cloud-based storage services, IT departments no longer need to assign an integration army to the task. Brazeau is CEO of SkySync, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company with more than 30 years of collective IT and Enterprise Content Management experience. Prior to co-founding SkySync, Brazeau was CEO and founder of BlueThread Technologies, which was named by Microsoft as a Managed Partner in the High-Potential Independent Software Vendor group and Most Innovative SharePoint 2010 ISV. Ciscos reseller event, Partner Summit, kicked off this week in San Diego. The event is normally a big one for Cisco as thousands of its resellers gather to be updated on the latest, greatest plans for Cisco. All eyes are on Chuck Robbins as this is the first Partner Summit held under his watch as the companys CEO. The event kicks off today and has already seen Cisco make a couple of significant announcements in the data center. This morning Cisco announced its intention to acquired Silicon Valley based, CliQr Technologies for $260 million. The 105-person company provides application centric cloud orchestration that enables customers to model, deploy and manage across bare metal, virtual and container environments regardless of whether the infrastructure is on premise or in a private or public cloud. The technology will be used to help Cisco customers move to a seamless hybrid cloud model where the information can be moved between clouds, and resources can be provisioned across clouds. CliQrs technology is already tightly integrated into a number of Cisco data center products including ACI (Application Centric Infrastructure) and Unified Computing System (UCS). CliQr complements Ciscos current data center portfolio nicely. ACI enables customers to automate the provisioning of data center infrastructure through policies driven from the infrastructure up. CliQr uses a model-based approach and is more top down and uses application or business policies to provision. Cisco ACI has broad appeal with traditional network and data center operations personnel, where CliQr is DevOps and application focused. The acquisition of CliQr will certainly fuel the Cisco-VMware fire, as CliQrs primary competitor is VMwares vRealize cloud management suite. While the talk track from the two vendors is similar, the approach is quite different. VRealize presumes the world is all VMware centric where CliQr was designed to work across multiple clouds and multiple cloud types. CliQr works with a wide range of public and private clouds including VMware, Azure Pack, OpenStack, Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, RackSpace, Dimension Data as well as some specialty clouds like Microsoft Azure Government. For Ciscos channel partners, the acquisition provides some interesting opportunities. First and most obviously, CliQr can be used to help customers move to a scalable hybrid cloud model comprised of on premise, private and public clouds. Because CliQr is an up the stack solution, Cisco partners can now start dialoging with line of business managers, application developers or DevOps. Also, CliQr can be used to facilitate the customer moving to managed service where the partner can work with the customer to set up the policies and manage it for them. One of the more intriguing elements of the acquisition is what the combination of ACI and CliQr could offer. Currently, CliQr is an as a service offering with the software being deployed on premises or in the cloud. ACI, however is deployed in the customer data center so the model would be run CliQr as a service on top of ACI. In the future, a partner could offer ACI as a service using CliQr to manage infrastructure that was partner or service provider hosted. The multi-cloud capabilities of CliQr creates a number of options for Cisco and its partners. The second interesting piece of data center related Partner Summit news is that Cisco is jumping into the hyperconverged market through an OEM agreement with Springpath. There has been wide speculation that Cisco would be moving into hyperconverged and even some rumors that it would acquire either SimpliVity or Nutanix. While Springpath doesnt have the brand name of the hyperconverged market leaders, its a better fit for Cisco as it has made investments in the company and has likely heavily influenced the direction of the product. Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco has the option of acquiring Springpath if it meets certain financial goals. In many ways, this is similar to the model that Cisco used to bring and Andiamo into the company. The new Cisco HyperFlex hyperconverged systems are part of a larger converged strategy that includes Nexus and UCS. Ciscos unique differentiator is that it can move hyperconverged from being a standalone technology to being part of a larger converged architecture where converged and hyperconverged systems can be managed through a single, policy driven console offered via Cisco Enterprise Cloud Suite. Because HyperFlex is a complement to UCS, the obvious low hanging fruit for Ciscos partner community is to take the hyperconverged solution into the massive base of UCS customers first. While Cisco is late to the hyperconverged party, I certainly dont think theyve missed the opportunity. The first wave of hyperconverged was sold into smaller businesses that wanted the ease of deployment. Now hyperconverged is moving up the market and is an important part of having an agile infrastructure than can meet the needs of DevOps. This is the wave that Cisco is trying to catch and appears to have the right strategy in place. Lastly, no Cisco event would be complete without a networking announcement. At the event the company announced its next generation of Nexus Switches and Software. These new products are built on Ciscos latest ASICs (Tahoe) and are the first switching products specifically built for cloud scale. Cisco is bringing 25/50/100 Gig capabilities to the data center at the same costs and density of current 10/40 Gig products. This is an increase in up to 10x the bandwidth at the same costs. The new version of its flagship switch, the Nexus 9000, includes three modular and two fixed form factor units. The products offer 100 Gig performance with 25% more non-blocking performance over the merchant silicon solutions. The new Nexus also includes real time network telemetry with pervasive NetFlow at 100 Gig speeds for better network security and network wide troubleshooting. Cisco also added a number of other features designed for supporting cloud deployments including the ability to scale up to 10x in IP addresses, support over 1 million containers in a rack and has adaptive capacity and congestion control. The last feature is important for running IP storage, converged and hyperconverged infrastructure on a single unified fabric. Last week Jim Duffy wrote this post that cites research from Synergy that highlights that despite the onslaught of new competitors, SDN and white box, Cisco has maintained its dominant position. I contend that Ciscos homegrown ASICs are one of the key reasons for this. I did some research last year that indicate that Cisco consistently maintains an 18 to 24 month advantage over merchant because its ASICs allow it to get more features to market faster. In addition to the 9000, Cisco also announced it was finally had ACI support for Cisco Nexus 7000 switches, something customers and channel partners have been asking for. For customers that have purchased the 7000, this news offers a degree of investment protection. Lastly, for customers that want a merchant silicon product, Cisco announced new Nexus 3000 data center switches built on Broadcoms Tomahawk silicon to deliver 25/50/100 Gig. This may be Chuck Robbins first Partner Summit as CEO but theres certainly as much or more news coming out of this one as Ive seen in a long time. The Federal Trade Commission found few surprises in its annual summary of consumer complaints offensive debt collection activities, identity theft, and imposter scams were the main offenders in 2015. Imposter scams have been in the news of late because the Internal Revenue Service issued a report in January that said that aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents continues to plague taxpayers. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration in January said it has received reports of roughly 896,000 contacts since October 2013 and have become aware of over 5,000 victims who have collectively paid over $26.5 million as a result of the scam. The IRS also noted recently that there has been a 400% surge in phishing and malware incidents in this tax season alone. +More on Network World: IRS Scam: 5,000 victims cheated out of $26.5 million since 2013 The IRS has also been involved on one of the identity theft issues, saying recently that 700,000 taxpayers may have had their personal information stolen in a security breach last year. The complaint categories making up the FTC top 10 are: 1. Debt Collection 2. Identity Theft 3. Imposter Scams 4. Telephone and Mobile Services 5. Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries 6. Banks and Lenders 7. Shop-At-Home and Catalog Sales 8. Auto-Related Complaints 9. Television and Electronic Media 10. Credit Bureaus, Information Furnishers and Report Users +More on Network World: + Here a some details about the FTC complaint list: Abusive debt collection was 29% of overall complaints. The FTC brought a record number of new cases, banned bad debt collectors, talked with industry, and found new ways to do outreach. While debt collection complaints rose to the top spot among complaint categories, the report notes that this was due in large part to a surge in complaints contributed by a data contributor who collects complaints via a mobile app. This change caused a spike in complaints related to unwanted debt collection mobile phone calls. Throughout 2015, the FTC said it ramped up enforcement against companies violating laws protecting consumers from illegal debt collection practices. The agency coordinated the first federal-state-local initiative (Operation Collection Protection) to combat the problem, leading 70 partners to bring more than 130 actions. In 2015, the FTC also directly filed 12 actions against 52 defendants for illegal debt collection practices, permanently banned 30 companies and individuals from the industry and obtained nearly $94 million in judgments against debt collectors. Identity Theft: Identity theft complaints were the second most reported, increasing more than 47 percent from 2014 on the back of a massive jump in complaints about tax identity theft from consumers. Identity theft complaints had been the top category for the previous 15 years. Tax- or wage-related fraud (45%) was the most common form of reported identity theft, followed by credit card fraud (16%), phone or utilities fraud (10%), and bank fraud (6%). Other significant categories of identity theft reported by victims were loan fraud (4%) and employment-related fraud(3%). Thirty-seven percent of identity theft complainants reported they contacted law enforcement. Of those victims, 89% indicated a report was taken. Missouri is the state with the highest per capita rate of reported identity theft complaints, followed by Connecticut and Florida, the FTC stated During 2015, the FTC launched a major advance to help identity theft victims: When you use IdentityTheft.gov, you'll get a personal recovery plan that walks you through each recovery step, tracks your progress and adapts to your changing situation, and pre-fills letters and forms for you. Imposter scams: These are scams where con artists impersonate government officials or others remained the third-most common complaint in 2015. The FTC brought cases, shut down an operation that claimed to work for Medicare, issued dozens of blog posts, and partnered with consumer groups and other federal agencies to host webinars, town halls, and twitter chats, the FTC said. States of confusion: The report includes some interesting state-by-state data. For example, Florida took the top spot, with Georgia and Michigan ranking second and third highest per capita rate of fraud and other types of complaints. The highest per capita rate of reported identity theft came from Missouri giving a whole new meaning to The Show Me State. Next on the list were Connecticut and Florida. But heres an important caveat: Were talking about reported complaints, which means theres no way to accurately differentiate between states with a high incidence of fraud and identity theft vs. states with savvy consumers who are more likely to file a complaint if theyve been victimized, the FTC stated Complaint Central: The FTC received more than 3 million complaints in 2015 -- up from 2.5 million in 2014. The Consumer Sentinel Network (CSN) which is the secure complaint database of the FTC contains almost 12 million complaints dating from calendar year 2011 through calendar year 2015. (In addition, the CSN contains over 16 million do-not-call complaints from this same time period. Check out these other hot stories: NASA wants to get supersonic with new passenger jet Oscar ad finds Carrie Fisher and IBM Watson dealing with humans AAA: Distracted driving, driver apathy for safety making roads treacherous IT manager gets 30 months in jail for code-bombing firms intellectual property Are we in artificial intelligence winter? IRS warns: 400% flood in phishing and malware this tax year alone